RhinoEarlier this year, Whitesnake frontman David Coverdale told ABC Radio that the band planned to release Unzipped, a compilation of "acoustic journeys through the years." Now full details of the project have been unveiled. Unzipped will arrive on October 19 and will be available in multiple configuration, including a Super Deluxe Edition containing five CDs and a DVD, single and double-CD versions, and a two-LP vinyl set. Unzipped features a bevy of rare and unreleased unplugged live and studio performances and demos from the last 20 years or so. The Super Deluxe Edition's first CD includes unreleased versions of songs from two recent Whitesnake albums -- 2008's Good to Be Bad and 2011's Forevermore -- plus a tune from David's 2000 solo effort, Into the Light, and the previously unreleased track "All the Time in the World." The second CD, titled Starkers in Tokyo, is a live album featuring Coverdale performing as a duo with then-Whitesnake guitarist Adrian Vandenberg in Japan in 1997. The album has not previously been available in North America. The third and fourth CD features more "Starkers" performances, with Coverdale teaming with Vandenberg and with Doug Aldrich in various European cities and in New York. The recordings span from 1997 through 2012. The fifth disc, titled Up Close & Personal, features various acoustic demos and alternative versions. The Super Deluxe Edition's DVD showcases video footage from various "Starkers" performances spanning from 1997 through 2015, including the full Tokyo show with Vandenberg and an eight-song set with Aldrich in New York City in 2008. Bonus features include an interview with Coverdale and Vandenberg, bootleg videos, the "Love Is Blind" music video and a slideshow. Here's the full Unzipped: Super Deluxe Edition track list: Disc One: Unzipped...In the Studio: The Love Songs "Love Is Blind" "One of These Days"* "All the Time in the World"* "Wherever You May Go" "Easier Said than Done"* "Fare Thee Well"* "Summer Rain" "Forevermore" "'Till the End of Time" Bonus Tracks "Wherever You May Go" (Instrumental, Strings Only)* "Love Is Blind" (Instrumental, Strings Only)* Disc Two: Starkers in Tokyo "Sailing Ships" "Too Many Tears" "The Deeper the Love" "Love Ain't No Stranger" "Can't Go On" "Give Me All Your Love" "Don't Fade Away" "Is This Love" "Here I Go Again" "Soldier of Fortune" Bonus Tracks "Only My Soul" (Acapella)* "Fool for Your Loving" (Excerpt)* Disc Three: Snakeskin Boots -- Starkers in Europe Starkers in Warsaw (Poland, 4/18/1997) Intro "Sailing Ships" "Too Many Tears" "Here I Go Again" Starkers in Stockholm (Sweden, 12/2/2006) Intro "Give Me All Your Love" "Ain't Gonna Cry No More" "Only My Soul" (Acapella) "All I Want Is You" "Dog" "Here I Go Again" Starkers in Cologne (Germany, 11/24/2006) Intro "Give Me All Your Love" "Ain't Gonna Cry No More" "All I Want Is You" "Slow & Easy" "Dog" Starkers in Paris (France, 11/30/2006) "Give Me All Your Love" "Ain't Gonna Cry No More" "Northwinds" (Acapella) "All I Want Is You" "Dog" "Blindman" (Acapella) "Here I Go Again" Disc Four: More Starkers Promo Tour Rehearsals (2005) "If You Want Me"* "Give Me All Your Love"* "Slow & Easy"* "All I Want Is You"* "Judgement Day"* "Ain't Gonna Cry No More"* "Dog"* Starkers in New York (New York City, 4/10/2008) "Give Me All of Your Love" "Can You Hear the Wind Blow" "All I Want All I Need" "Lay Down Your Love" "Fool for Your Loving" "The Deeper the Love" "Ain't No Love in the Heart of the City" "Here I Go Again" "WSTV Jams" Excerpts (2012) "Easier Said Than Done" "Fare Thee Well" "Love Will Set You Free" "Mistreated" "Slide It In" "'Till the End of Time "Shake My Tree" "Made in Japan" Soundcheck Versions (2011) "Good to Be Bad" "Tell Me How" Disc Five: Up Close & Personal "Wherever You May Go" (Demo Version)* "Surrender"* "Ain't No Doubt About My Girl"* "Scat Man Blues"* "Love's a Crazy Game"* "I Will Love You"* "Oh Baby You're the One"* "So Long" (Acapella)* "So Long"* "It Would Be Nice"* "Slide Thingy Blues"* "Down to the River"* "Feel Your Love Grow Stronger"* "Blues Jam Riff"* "Fun Lick Blues"* "Don't Wanna Change the World"* "It's So Hard"* "River Song" (Early Version)* "Let's Have a Drink Before I Go"* "Can You Ever Forgive Me"* "So Much to Live For"* "Another Lick While the Missus Is Busy in the Kitchen"* "Just the Two of Us (Together You and I)"* "Oh S___ Blues" (featuring Jessica)* "Seasons"* DVD Starkers in Tokyo (1997) "Sailing Ships" "Too Many Tears" "The Deeper the Love" "Can't Go On" "Is This Love" "Give Me All Your Love" "Here I Go Again" "Soldier of Fortune" "Love Ain't No Stranger" "Don't Fade Away" "Only My Soul" (Acapella)* "Fool for Your Loving" (Excerpt)* Starkers in New York (2008) "Give Me All of Your Love" "Can You Hear the Wind Blow" "All I Want All I Need" "Lay Down Your Love" "Fool for Your Loving" "The Deeper the Love" "Ain't No Love in the Heart of the City" "Here I Go Again" Starkers in Warsaw (1997) Intro "Sailing Ships" "Too Many Tears" "Here I Go Again" Starkers in Stockholm (2006) Intro "Give Me All Your Love "Ain't Gonna Cry No More" "Only My Soul" (Acapella) "All I Want Is You" "Dog" "Here I Go Again" Starkers in Cologne (2006) "Give Me All Your Love" "Ain't Gonna Cry No More" "All I Want Is You" "Dog" Starkers in Sofia (Bulgaria, 11/24/2015) "Soldier of Fortune" Starkers in Paris 2 (France, 6/4/2009) "Blindman" Starkers in Wolverhampton (England, 6/16/2011) "Fare Thee Well" Starkers in Glasgow (Scotland, 6/15/2011)* "One of These Days" Bonus Features --One-on-One with David Coverdale and Adrian Vandenberg discussing "Starkers" --Poor Albert's Last: Photographic Slideshow (featuring audio from "Sailing Ships") --Purplesnake's "Forevermore" Video --"Love Is Blind" Music Video * = previously unreleased Copyright 2018, ABC Radio. All rights reserved. Advertisement A critically endangered rhino has shocked keepers at Chester Zoo by giving birth in front of unsuspecting visitors. Tourists enjoying a day out at the Cheshire park saw the birth of the rare black rhino first hand, when it was born in his mother's enclosure right in front of them. Proud mother Malindi delivered the youngster after a 15-month pregnancy in a huge success for the animal. A critically endangered rhino has shocked keepers at Chester Zoo by giving birth in front of unsuspecting visitors Poachers hunting black rhinos for their horn has driven the animal to near extinction as only 650 remain in the wild. While most rhino births typically happen at night or in the early hours of the morning, Malindi, a 12-year-old critically endangered Eastern black rhino, shocked onlookers when she went into labour at around 12.30 in the middle of a busy summer's day. A healthy male calf was delivered safely less than half an hour later in what zoo conservationists have described as a 'very rare and special event' to witness. Tourists enjoying a day out at the Cheshire park saw the birth of the rare black rhino first hand, when it was born in his mother's enclosure right in front of them The little one was up on his feet within 15 minutes and was seen running around soon after, before returning to suckle from mum. Tim Rowlands, Curator of Mammals at the zoo, said: 'Visitors to the zoo were treated to something incredibly special when Eastern black rhino, Malindi, went in to labour in front of them. With just 650 Eastern black rhino left in the wild, seeing the birth of a new calf and its very first steps is a very rare and special event indeed. 'The newborn was delivered onto soft wood mulch and within next to no time it was up on its feet and running around it couldnt have gone any smoother. The little one (pictured) was up on his feet within 15 minutes and was seen running around soon after, before returning to suckle from mum 'Although its still very early days, the little one is showing great signs by feeding regularly and mum and calf appear to have bonded very quickly. 'We just hope this new calf helps us to raise some much needed attention to this truly magnificent species, and inspires urgent action to protect their future on this planet. We cannot and must not allow this subspecies to become extinct a fate which has, tragically, already become of some of its cousin.' Conservationists now fear that less than 650 Eastern black rhino remain across Africa, with the animals listed as critically endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The staggeringly low wild number is a result of the illegal wildlife trade, driven by the increasing demand for rhino horn, which supplies the traditional Asian medicine market where it is currently changing hands for more than gold and drugs. Malindi (left) has had one calf previously a female named Dakima, born in 2013 Mike Jordan, Collections Director at Chester Zoo, said: 'This new arrival is a real boost to a critically endangered species. It increases the number of Eastern black rhino at Chester to 11 and is another vitally important success story in a Europe-wide breeding programme for these highly threatened animals. 'A thriving, healthy population of this high profile species in good zoos is vitally important to the future of this species and a key component of our mission to prevent their extinction. Malindi has had one calf previously a female named Dakima, born in 2013. Dad Magadi is 19-years-old and has sired five previous calves one male and four females. The latest arrival means that 11 Eastern black rhino calves have now been born at the zoo in the last 20 years. Advertisement A series of black and white photographs taken throughout Australia between 1892 and 1935 have been transformed into living colour replicas for the very first time. The historical Australian images of a bygone era have been brought back to life by UK-based photo colourisation artist Claudia D'Souza. 'My work is about bringing history to life. If a photo is in colour it's immediately more relatable,' Ms D'Souza told Daily Mail Australia. With the help of old magazines, fashion sheets, genealogy records and history experts, the former teacher immerses herself in the colour palettes and clothing of yesteryear to make accurate interpretations of eras and people gone by. The 44-year-old applies her skills to a myriad of different contexts, from portraits of ANZAC soldiers and nurses in uniform to photographs of Australian rural and suburban family life. Slide me Children can be seen lining up outside the Belmore North Public School in Sydney's inner west for free soup and bread during Australia's Great Depression. This photo was taken during the winter of 1934 and originally was in the form of a glass negative But it's the photographs that tell a story beyond the mere subjects in the frame that inspires Ms D'Souza the most, who shares her photo restoration work on her Facebook page titled The Photo Alchemist. One photograph she restored, captured in 1934 at the height of Australia's Great Depression, shows young primary school aged children lining up outside the Belmore North Public School in Sydney's inner-west for free soup and bread rations. The photo was taken in late August during a cold and bitter winter where children of the unemployed relied upon charity organisations such as the Parents and Citizens' Association for their daily meals. Organisations such as these served over 300 bowls of soup to children who often went without shoes or jackets each day and distributed warm clothing in winter. It wasn't until the late 1930s that the economy would start to recover. 'These children don't have a single smile on their faces,' Ms D'Souza said. 'Children are almost always smiling so this photo is rare. It really shows what life must have been like'. Slide me This 1935 photograph which shows two young cousins, Daphne and Lilibeth, feeding a kangaroo in Western Australia, reminded the photo colourisation artist of a more tranquil period in Australian history in between both World Wars A 1935 photograph of two young cousins, Daphne and Lilibeth, feeding a kangaroo in Karijini national park in Western Australia reminded the photo colourisation artist of a more tranquil period in Australian history in between both World Wars. The children are seen kneeling in the grass as a young joey leans in to take some food from the boy's outstretched hand. 'You can't get much more Australian than that!' Ms D'Souza said. 'This photo was taken so soon before WWII. The children seem peaceful and calm. In a few years, a war would break out ... I always wonder what happened to these children'. Pictured here is Australian soldier Alfred Charles Fuller who was 20 years old when he enlisted for the first time in August 1914 in the 4th Battalion Ms D'Souza says military photos are usually easier to bring back to life as more resources are available to provide accurate details for uniform colours and specifications. 'Australians have a particularly huge interest in military photos,' she explains. Photographs of soldiers pictured after they had been enlisted are common in Australian photographic records and many families continue to hold photos of relatives who went to war. Less common are photographs of Australian nurses during wartime. One striking studio portrait taken sometime between 1915 and 1919 in Melbourne in Victoria, shows Staff Nurse Mary Agnes (Daisy) Day. Ms Day was a member of Queen Alexandra's Imperial Military Nursing Service Reserve during the First World War More than 2,000 Australian nurses served with the Australian Army Nursing Service during the First World War, some of whom were assigned to Queen Alexandra's Imperial Military Nursing Service Reserve. Taken sometime between 1915 and 1919, this striking studio portrait taken in Melbourne, Victoria, shows Staff Nurse Mary Agnes (Daisy) Day, a member of Queen Alexandra's Imperial Military Nursing Service Reserve during the First World War Australian soldier William Hugh Gilmour, 19, (left) returned to Sydney in 1919 after serving in the 25th Battalion. Gilmour had worked as a clerk when he enlisted in 1918. Henry Hill Osbourne (right) was photographed in Sydney in 1903 Restoring old wedding photos from decades-old family albums is another regular feature of Ms D'Souza's work. 'A wedding is one of the few occasions where people have formal photography,' she explains. In an era when photography wasn't as accessible or affordable as it is today, photographs of marriages may be the only surviving reminders of someone's past. Enormous care was taken in wedding attire and photos were often taken of guests in various poses. It was also a chance for people to dress in their formal best. But it is not the outfits themselves that consume the most time to recolour and bring to life. Ms D'Souza says the intricacies and flesh tones of a person's complexion are the hardest to accurately recreate. This photograph shows a bride with her three bridesmaids clasping floral bouquets at a May wedding in 1911. Enormous care was taken in wedding attire as it was an opportunity for people to dress in their formal best This wedding group portrait colorisation of Mr and Mrs Grounding was taken when the couple were married in 1919 in Victoria, Australia In this colourful photo taken by Steffano Webb, the Adams and Hooper wedding party can be seen posing with an automobile in 1913 Slide me William Woodward Twigg, (left) was 22 at the time he was photographed with his younger sister Nellie Griffiths Twigg, then 17, (right) in Bendigo, Victoria, in 1914 More candid shots of Australian families also feature in the collection and shine a different light on the day-to-day realities of less fortunate Australians. One man and his young daughter had their photo taken in 1932 at the Happy Valley camp in the Sydney suburb of La Perouse. The camp was one of many shelters for the unemployed which sprung up throughout the nation during the Great Depression. In another photograph, one Australian family stands outside a tin shack called Wiloma in New South Wales during the same time in 1932. 'I find it heartbreaking how - with exception of the oldest sister - all of the children look quite uncomfortable having their photo taken,' Ms D'Souza explains. 'It's in the faces of the people where the story comes to life,' she says. 'Working on so many Australian photographs has taught me so much about Australian history.' One Australian family stands outside a tin shack called Wiloma in New South Wales during the Great Depression in 1932 Some 200 people paid their respects to four veterans who served in the Korean and Vietnam Wars and were laid to rest on Thursday - even though they never knew them. The burial ceremony was held on Thursday at Southeast Louisiana Veterans Cemetery in Slidell. Active soldiers, veterans, and other civilians gathered at the funeral home to honor Army Corporal Whitney Moses; Army Spc. 4 Hal Dwight Hofland; Navy Seaman Leon Alphonse Brayman; and Coast Guard Seaman Leonard Smith. Four folded American flags are seen above in honor of four veterans who were laid to rest Thursday in Slidell, Louisiana Active soldiers, veterans, and other civilians gathered at the funeral home to honor Army Corporal Whitney Moses; Army Spc. 4 Hal Dwight Hofland; Navy Seaman Leon Alphonse Brayman; and Coast Guard Seaman Leonard Smith Moses served more than two years in Korea and Hofland spent more than two years in service during the Vietnam conflict The four men passed away recently and did not have family or friends that could be located, according to officials at the cemetery Moses served more than two years in Korea, according to The Times-Picayune of New Orleans. Hofland spent more than two years in service during the Vietnam conflict. Brayman served almost two years in Vietnam, as did Smith. The four men passed away recently and did not have family or friends that could be located, according to officials at the cemetery. All of you who are attending are their family, cemetery director Ted Krumm told the crowd at the service. Veterans advocacy groups often organize funerals for vets who do not have family or friends In some cases, veterans do have family, but the family members decline to take any part in the funeral service Doug Nobles, the state captain of Patriot Guard Riders/Louisiana, said he and the members of his organization attended the funeral because its extremely important that all these veterans are honored and were very proud to be here Doug Nobles, the state captain of Patriot Guard Riders/Louisiana, said he and the members of his organization attended the funeral because its extremely important that all these veterans are honored and were very proud to be here. This is the second time this week that scores of total strangers decided to attend a funeral for American veterans. In Macomb County, Michigan, about 120 people turned up at Harold W. Vick Funeral Home in Mount Clemens to pay their respects to three veterans who passed away. Local businesspeople and other residents heard about the service and decided to attend the ceremony, according to funeral director Michael Kolb. The ceremony paid tribute to Navy Seaman 1st Class Cyril Brown; Air Force Airman 2nd Class Gerald Suttkus; and Army Private Thomas Novak. Brown served during the Second World War; Suttkus served in Vietnam; and Novak served during peacetime, according to the Macomb Daily. Michael Kolb, the funeral director, said he organized the funeral for other veterans who either did not have any family or did have family but they declined to handle funeral services. Michel Barnier (pictured) has released an article via 20 European newspapers Michel Barnier has rebuked the UK's Brexit proposal, warning it poses a threat to the future of the European single market. In an incendiary article published in 20 newspapers across Europe yesterday, the EU's chief negotiator issued a stark warning to Prime Minister Theresa May. The open letter is likely be seen by international powers as a direct response to British attempts to get EU leaders to back May's soft Brexit Chequers Plan. In the article he writes: 'The UK knows well the benefits of the single market. It has contributed to shaping our rules over the last 45 years. And yet, some UK proposals would undermine our single market, which is one of the EU's biggest achievements. 'The UK wants to keep free movement of goods between us, but not of people and services. And it proposes to apply EU customs rules without being part of the EU's legal order. Thus, the UK wants to take back sovereignty and control of its own laws, which we respect, but it cannot ask the EU to lose control of its borders and laws.' Barnier's line is not entirely novel. However, the publication of the article will be seen as a purposeful slight to Whitehall given it comes as May and her cabinet try to forge a new negotiating position with the 27 EU countries, reports The Guardian. In a major diplomatic push this week, Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt, Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab and Mrs May have all travelled to France to make the case for a softening of attitude. Barnier's declaration appears designed to send a message to the Prime Minister that his Brexit red lines have not shifted. Barnier's (pictured right) comment come as Theresa May attempts to woo Emmanuel Macron (pictured left) into supporting he Chequers soft Brexit plan In the piece, he reasserts his negotiating stance including that basic free trade agreement lifting tariffs on goods, alongside a security deal, is the best offer he can make. It comes as May meets with Emmanuel Macron at the French president's summer retreat, Fort Bregancon. During the visit Macro issued a statement explaining that those talks were not meant to be seen as a substitute talks led by Barnier. Macron's spokesman added that the French President had full trust in Barnier's position on the UK white paper. In his article the EU negotiator denied he was going outside his mandate in dismissing the UK proposal of free trade in good based on a common rulebook. He insisted he was simply reflecting the position of the 27 EU nations. He adds: 'Let's be frank: as the UK has decided to leave the single market, it can no longer be as close economically to the rest of the EU.' Scott Baio has revealed he's taken five polygraph tests that prove he's telling the truth about not molesting his former costar Nicole Eggert. The Charles in Charge sitcom star made an impassioned statement at a press conference on Thursday, in which he maintained his innocence in the sexual molestation and assault case brought by Eggert earlier this year. In June the LA County District Attorney dismissed the case because although the claims were found to be 'credible', the statute of limitations had passed. Baio has been adamant about his innocence, claiming at the press conference Thursday that there was a large body of evidence against Eggert's accusations, including multiple polygraph tests. At a press conference Thursday actor Scott Baio revealed he's taken five polygraph tests to prove he is telling the truth about not assaulting former Charles in Charge costar Nicole Eggert. Earlier this year Eggert accused the 57-year-old of molesting her in the 80s, but the Los Angeles DA dismissed the case in June because the statute of limitations has passed Baio's wife of more than a decade Renee Sloan stood by his side as he addressed reporters. The 57-year-old actor claims Eggert has been harassing his family in recent weeks 'I have taken five separate polygraph tests given by two highly renowned examiners' Baio announced at the conference in Woodland Hills. In each test he was asked the same set of questions five times: 'Did you have any kind of sexual contact with Nicole Eggert before she turned 18 years old?' 'Did you put your finger in Nicole Eggert's vagina before she was 18 years old?' 'Have you ever threatened Nicole Eggert that she needed to keep your alleged sexual contact with her a secret?' 'Have you ever exposed for genitals to Alexander Polinsky?' Baio answered 'No' to each of the questions and the tests returned results of 'no deception' in each, according to a report from The Blast. Polygraph testing is viewed as controversial in the legal community, with results rarely being deemed admissible in courts of law due to suspect reliability. Baio asserted that multiple polygraph tests showed 'no deception' when he answered 'No' to questions regarding Eggert's allegations of molestation and sexual assaults This week Baio filed a police report claiming that Eggert had been harassing him and his family. His wife of more than a decade, Renee Sloan, stood by as he addressed the media Thursday, saying: 'I went to the police because I want this to end. Its over.' Baio said he had turned over all threatening correspondence to investigators, and said he didn't want his allegation that his accuser is lying 'to be interpreted as an indictment of anyone except Nicole Eggert and her co-conspirators. 'There's no coming back from what she did. No. You say anything you want about me. You can't come after my wife and my kid. You can't do that.' Shortly after Eggert came out to accuse Baio of misconduct, the actor learned that his wife had been diagnosed with microvascular brain disease following years as a stuntwoman. At the time Scott told The Blast: 'All we know is she must live as stress-free, depression free and anxiety free life as possible and a get good amount of sleep each night. This new disease can cause strokes and dementia.' Baio, pictured with Sloan and their daughter Bailey in 2015, said Thursday: 'You say anything you want about me. You can't come after my wife and my kid. You can't do that' Regrettably the diagnosis was followed up by plenty of stress when Eggert filed a police report in February accusing Baio of sexually assaulting her on multiple occasions beginning in 1986 when she was 14 and he was 25. The abuse continued during their time on the set of Charles in Charge until she was 17, Eggert claims. Under the current laws, there is no statue of limitations for cases where a minor is molested by an adult, but at the time of the alleged assaults by Baio, the statute was only three years. Eggert told TMZ in May she knew the new law wouldn't be applied retroactively and that the DA would not be able to prosecute Baio. 'However I also knew the importance of laying the groundwork for any future victims of Baio's that may come forward and to warn parents who might unknowingly allow their children to be alone with this molester.' A source told the website that officials in the DA's office found Eggert to be 'credible' and Baio's crimes were 'potentially prosecutable' were it not for the statute of limitation. Baio has repeatedly denied that there is any truth to Eggert's claims. Eggert said it all started when she was 14 back in 1986 on the set of Charles in Charge, the television show she worked on with Baio, who was then 25 Eggert, a child actress who got her first big role in Rich And Famous in 1980, opened up about her relationship with Baio on Megyn Kelly in January. 'He immediately took to me and befriended me and earned my trust,' she said of the early days on Charles in Charge in 1987. 'And then he started expressing his love for me. And talking about marriage in the future. 'And then I was still 14, before my 15th birthday, we were at his house in his car in his garage. And he reached over and he penetrated me with his finger. And that is when the sexual touching and abuse started after that.' She went on to claim that these incidents 'probably happened once a week' until she was 16, along with kissing and groping that she believes the pair's co-stars on the program saw at the time. Baio has firmly denied Eggert's allegations and said that the two did not engage in any sexual activity until she was of age. Co-star Alexander Polinsky (center) also accused Baio of abuse. 'I was sexually harassed by Scott Baio and ultimately assaulted by him between the ages of 12 and 15 years old,' Polinsky told reporters during a news conference alongside Eggert (left) and attorney Lisa Bloom (right) Eggert wasn't the only Charles in Charge cast member to accuse Baio of inappropriate conduct. Co-star Alexander Polinsky also accused Baio of abuse earlier this year. 'I was sexually harassed by Scott Baio and ultimately assaulted by him between the ages of 12 and 15 years old,' Polinsky told reporters during a news conference alongside Eggert and attorney Lisa Bloom. He went on to allege that Baio once threw hot tea in his face, cut a hole in his dressing room door so he could expose himself to the youngster and even pulled down Polinsky's pants in front of 100 people on set one day. Polinsky also said he witnessed Baio behaving inappropriately toward Eggert. Baio has denied all of the allegations made by Eggert and Polinsky. 'Scott denies every single claim of inappropriate behavior and there is absolutely nothing when you examine the facts and the evidence and the claims that have been made - almost every one of them can be refuted with evidence,' a representative for Baio told Variety. Baio accused Eggert and Polinsky of embarking on a 'media tour' because they were 'hungry for publicity.' Disturbing new data has revealed that Western Australia's Kimberley region has the highest suicide rate in Australia. The federal government recently released data on the causes of death for Australians between 2012 to 2016, which revealed the remote region has the highest suicide rate than anywhere else in Australia. According to Australian Institute of Health and Welfare data, suicide accounts for 42.8 deaths per 100,000 people in the Kimberley region. The Kimberley region tops the list for the most suicide deaths per 100,000 people between 2012-16, according to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare The remote Kimberley region (pictured) has the highest suicide rate in Australia, according to new data from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare It's followed by outback North Queensland (31.9) and the Northern Territory's Litchfield region (28.1). Suicide rates in the Kimberley are higher than Sri Lanka (34.6 per 100,000 people) Guyana (30.6) and Mongolia (28.1), the nations with the worst rates in the world, according to the World Health Organisation. Nine out of 10 suicides in the Kimberley involve Aboriginal people with poverty a major motive, according to local support worker Gerry Georgatos. 'Despite the affluence of many doing well in the Kimberley, despite affirmative actions and investments in infrastructure in the Kimberley, the reality is that the Kimberley also has the second highest homelessness rate in the nation,' he told the The West Australian. In 2017, the WA Coroner launched an inquest into the suicides of 13 young Aboriginal people in the Kimberley between 2012-2016 but is yet to release the findings. Of the six Aboriginal suicides last financial year in the Kimberley, five were aged 15-17, according to Mr Georgatos. 'That's a disturbing and increasing trend, but despite the suicide toll decreasing in the last year and pray that continues that doesn't reflect in hospital admissions for self-harm, attempted suicide and police call-outs for aberrant behaviour, which have continued at the same rates,' he told The West Australian. The majority of suicides in the Kimberley region (pictured) involve Aboriginal people The WA and federal governments expressed concern about suicide rates in the region. Federal Indigenous Affairs Minister Ken Wyatt has been working closely with community and health groups from across the region. The WA government had spent $10.2 million on a statewide Specialist Aboriginal Mental Health Service and implemented suicide prevention coordinators in every region across the state. If you or someone you know needs support call Lifeline 13 11 14, or Beyond Blue 1300 22 4636. Advertisement Lindy Chamberlain and Deborah Hutton have joined thousands of mourners to farewell music producer and celebrity agent Harry M Miller. The late showbiz legend left specific instructions for his own memorial, held at Sydney's Capitol Theatre on Friday morning. 'The guiding mission statement for this memorial is: This is the best bloody memorial I have ever been to in my life!' the New Zealand-born entertainment industry titan wrote in his autobiography. Scroll down for video Harry M Miller's former partner Deborah Hutton attends the memorial service at the Capitol Theatre in Sydney on Friday Long-time client Lindy Chamberlain was among those seen arriving at the venue for Harry M Miller's memorial on Friday Simmone Logue, partner of the late showbiz impresario, was photographed arriving at the Capitol Theatre, the venue chosen by Miller himself decades ago Marcia Hines, who starred in the Miller production of Jesus Christ Superstar, appeared on stage to farewell the legendary producer with a rendition of the song I Don't Know How to Love Him from the popular musical Michelle Leslie arrived at the venue along with other Australian entertainment greats to pay tribute to Harry M Miller on Friday Harry M Miller photographed during the Elle Macpherson Boudoir Collection Launch at Quay Restaurant in Sydney, Australia 'There will be no funeral service as such, but a memorial, preferably at the Capitol Theatre in Sydney. People will get up and speak and sing and they should all have a drink without having to leave the premises.' Billed as a celebration of Miller's life, the 10am memorial was open to the public and featured performances by Marcia Hines, with Osher as compere. Hines, who starred in the Miller production of Jesus Christ Superstar, appeared on stage to farewell the legendary producer with a rendition of the song I Don't Know How to Love Him from the popular musical. Miller hired Hines in Boston when she was just 16-years-old during auditions for the US musical Hair, and became her guardian until she was 21. Simmone Logue, partner of Harry M Miller, attends the memorial service at the Capitol Theatre in Sydney on August 3 Richard Wilkins and Virginia Burmeister are seen arriving at the Friday morning memorial service to farewell Harry M Miller Deborah Hutton (pictured, left) and Maggie Tabberer (pictured, right) speak at the memorial service for Harry M Miller A large image of the legendary celebrity agent forms the backdrop as Deborah Hutton and Maggie Tabberer address the service An order of service on a chair at the memorial of Harry M Miller which was attended by dozens of entertainment personalities Long-time client Lindy Chamberlain was among those seen arriving at the venue on Friday, as was Miller's former partner Deborah Hutton. Hutton is among those who delivered speeches, along with broadcaster Alan Jones, former judge Michael Kirby, Miller's son Simon, and theatre director Jim Sharman. Daily Mail Australia Managing Director Peter Holder, co-author of Miller's 2009 autobiography, Harry M Miller: Confessions of a Not-so-Secret agent, delivered a eulogy during the service. Racing identity and former bookmaker Robbie Waterhouse was seen arriving at the memorial service for Harry M Miller Broadcaster Alan Jones is among the long list of speakers who are lined up to pay tribute to the legendary celebrity agent Australian entertainment greats were joined by big political names, with former Speaker of the House Bronwyn Bishop also in attendance Harry Maurice Miller was born in Auckland on January 6, 1934, the only child of Jewish parents, Sadie and Jim Miller. The publicist to the stars represented a long line-up of people including Lindy Chamberlain, Judy Moran and Gai Waterhouse. He also represented Thredbo disaster survivor Stuart Diver. Miller died on July 4 after a long battle with vascular dementia starting when he was diagnosed with the disease in 2011. He was 84. He is survived by his partner Simmone Logue, sons Simon and Miles and daughters Brook, Lauren and Justine. Miller's son Simon Miller (pictured) was among those who spoke at the event in front of a host of Australian entertainment greats Trevor Ashley performs at the memorial service for Harry M Miller at Capitol Theatre on August 3, 2018 in Sydney, Australia The Salvation Army Chior sings during the memorial service for Harry M Miller at Capitol Theatre beneath a slideshow of old images In their eagerness to crack down on speeding drivers, the police are partly hiding the truth from motorists breaking the lawl In a statement earlier this week, Victoria Police urged drivers to slow down, saying that for every 5km/h over 60km/h, their risk of a collision doubles. But a report from the Herald Sun has reveled that their facts are outdated, and could just be a scare tactic. The statement that every 5km/h doubles the risk of being involved in a crash is based off research from 2001. Victoria Police (AFP pictured) are citing 20-year-old research as a basis for enforcing stricter road rules Driving technology has progressed hugely in the past 20 years, particularly anti-lock brakes becoming more common, making the research appear redundant. The study says: 'In the absence of anti-lock brakes, braking in an emergency results in the wheels locking and the vehicle skidding, even for highly skilled drivers.' The anti-lock braking system (ABS) is now in almost every car, which stops the wheels of a car locking during a skid, and allows the car to come to a stop quicker. Stability control, which brakes individual wheels in order to bring a car back under control when it careers sideways, has been mandatory on new cars since 2011. The statements from Victoria Police don't take into account the braking capabilities of different cars. A luxury car with pristine brake pads will come to a stop quicker than a worn-out station wagon, which varies the risk of a collision. The research says that for every 5km/h over 60, the risk of being involved in a collision doubles The message was delivered only days after a report from The Transport Accident Commission said that Victorians are feeling more comfortable flaunting road rules. The survey of 2000 people revealed that 35 per cent believe they should be able to go 5km/h above the speed limit in a 100 zone, a figure which has risen from 24 cent in 2013. 119 Victorians have died in road accidents so far in 2018. A former New South Wales politician who supplied teenage boys with heroin and cannabis so he could rape them has lost his third bid for parole. The State Parole Authority (SPA) declined to consider an application for parole by Milton Orkopoulos after he claimed to be the victim of 'manifest injustice'. Orkopoulos, a onetime Labor Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, was eligible for parole in January last year and has served 10 years in prison. He was refused parole in January this year after his first unsuccessful bid in 2017. 'The Serious Offender Review Council do not consider release to parole appropriate,' a spokeswoman for the SPA said. Former Minister for Aboriginal Affairs Milton Orkopoulos, who was jailed for almost 14 years, has been denied parole for the third time. Orkopoulos claims to the be the victim of injustice Judge Ralph Coolahan said Orkopoulos had been 'premeditated, predatory and manipulative' in his assaults on two youths. He was jailed for a maximum 13 years and eight months The 61-year-old was sentenced in May 2008 to almost 14 years' jail after being found guilty of 28 offences relating to the sexual assault of minors and supplying drugs to his victims. Orkopoolos was elected to the Legislative Assembly as the member for Swansea, near Newcastle, in March 1999 and resigned in November 2006 after he was charged. He reportedly attempted suicide the next day. The married father-of-three was originally charged with 30 offences including involvement in child prostitution by using taxpayer funds to pay a teenage boy to have sex with him. Further charges were laid against Orkopoulos in April 2007. He was sentenced to 13 years and 11 months in jail with a minimum term of nine years and three months. Judge Ralph Coolahan said Orkopoulos had been 'premeditated, predatory and manipulative' in his assaults on two youths, while his assaults on a third young male victim were a 'gross breach of trust'. His sentence was reduced upon appeal to a maximum 13 years and eight months with a non-parole term of nine years. Milton Orkopoulos plied teen boys with heroin and cannabis so he could sexually assault them Orkopoulos's application for parole was refused in January last year on the grounds he had failed to complete a rehabilitation course for sexual offenders. He was originally charged with 36 counts relating to drug and sexual offences and pleaded guilty to two charges of supplying cannabis and possessing child pornography. The rest of the 34 charges involved allegations of supplying heroin and cannabis and sexual offences against three complainants dubbed D, M and B. Those offences occurred between August 1995 and August 2006. A jury heard Orkopoulos's modus operandi was to befriend teenage boys, introduce them to cannabis, alcohol or heroin and then have sex with them. It returned guilty verdicts for 28 of the counts. Victim D was 15 and living with his grandparents when he met Orkopoulos, who supplied him with cannabis and told D he had been molested as a boy. Former New South Wales Labor Minister for Aboriginal Affairs Milton Orkopoulos, 61, is currently in the Metropolitan Special Programs Centre at Sydney's Long Bay jail (pictured) D said Orkopoulos later introduced him to heroin; on the first occasion he tried the drug Orkopoulos commenced to perform oral sex on him in a car. Before that assault D smoked the heroin but Orkopoulos later showed him how to inject the drug and held his arm while the victim did so. Orkopoulos then had oral and anal sex with the teenager. The last encounter D had with Orkopoulus was when he was in Year 10 when he again used heroin and was anally raped by the politician while he was lying in the back of a car with his arm over his face, trying not to let Orkopoulos see him cry. Victim M met Orkopoulos on his way home from a shift a McDonald's restaurant when he was 15. Orkopoulos offered M cannabis on several occasions before the pair went to a lookout where the older man unzipped M's trousers and fondled his penis. A few weeks later M went to Orkopoulos's parliamentary office where the pair smoked cannabis and the politician raped him. Orkopoulos was transferred to the minimum security Kirkconnell Correctional Centre near Bathurst after he was bashed in Cooma jail in 2015. He has been elibigible for parole since February 18, 2017 and his maximum sentence expires on October 18, 2021. Orkopoulos is currently in the Metropolitan Special Programs Centre at Sydney's Long Bay jail. A woman has taken to social media in the hopes of reuniting a family with their precious memories after finding a memory card containing hundreds of images of their dream holiday on a beach. The card, found on a beach on North Stradbroke Island off south-east Queensland, contained images of a woman and two children. Sonja Elliot and her eight-year-old son, Zakai, were whale watching on the island, and found the memory card on the Gorge Walk as they were leaving. It is believed the family is from Germany, and began their trip to Australia in Sydney (pictured) before travelling up the coast towards Brisbane After looking around and finding they were alone, they had decided to hand it in to the fish and chip shop across the road. 'We were running late for the ferry and we forgot it was in our pocket, so we took it home with us,' Ms Elliot told ABC. Curious about who the memory card may belong to, she went through the photos on Wednesday and found images of a mother and two children around Australia. She said that after going through the images, it seemed that they were from Germany and holidaying in Australia. The images begin at what seems to be the daughter's graduation, where she's holding a certificate. A memory card was found on North Stradbroke Island containing images of a woman (pictured) and her two children From what Ms Elliot saw, it seemed the family began their trip in Sydney before travelling up the coast to Brisbane. She posted two photos to Facebook, in the hopes that someone might identify the mysterious family. 'The memory card holds hundreds of photos, most of which document the travels of a mother & her two children,' the Facebook post read. 'From looking at the earlier photos on the memory card, I believe they are from Germany. Attached are two of the photos from the memory card. Please share - it would be great if we could reunite it with its owners!' Sonja Elliot posted to Facebook in an attempt to find the family and return their memory card She has also posted to Stradbroke Facebook pages and contacted businesses in the area hoping they would share the photos. Ms Elliot also reached out to a group called 'Germans in Australia' in case the travellers had family in Australia, but hasn't heard anything as yet. One photo shows the family posing at Booti Booti National Park located 282 kilometres north-north-east of Sydney. 'There are not many shots of the woman, and lots of nature photos,' Ms Elliot said. 'The last photo is a beach, but it's not Straddie so obviously they've changed memory cards and dropped this one.' Many of the country's biggest insurers are refusing to cover people for mental health conditions - instead placing it in the 'too hard' basket, according to new research. Mozo.com.au conducted research on 47 travel insurers and found that half of them do not cover people with mental health issues. 'While its feasible to cover for a range of conditions, from cancer to heart disease, mental illness falls into a murky area that many travel insurers dont want to touch,' Mozo director Kirsty Lamont told The Sydney Morning Herald. Results from a comparison website study have been rejected by the insurance council after it was discovered mental health is not covered in travel insurance for many of the country's biggest insurers 'While many common pre-existing conditions such as asthma and diabetes tend to be covered automatically as part of most travel insurance policies, shockingly a health condition that affects one in five every year often isnt covered - mental illness,' the Mozo report read. 'In fact, a recent Mozo mystery shop of 47 different travel insurers found huge inconsistencies when it came to cover for mental health conditions.' 'From the way conditions are defined and diagnosed, to the number of insurers willing to offer cover at all.' Some of the larger insurers found not to cover mental illness include Suncorp, AAMI, American Express and GIO. The Insurance Council of Australia has flatly rejected the results of the research However the Insurance Council of Australia has flatly rejected the results of the research. A spokesman for the council told The Sydney Morning Herald that the industry has moved forward in leaps and bounds. 'The travel insurance industry has moved forward dramatically over the past three years. Most travel insurers have removed blanket exclusions for mental health conditions. Most now cover for first instance episodes of mental health conditions,' the spokesperson said. Some of the larger insurers found not to cover mental illness include Suncorp, AAMI, American Express and GIO Some of the key findings published by Mozo include more than half, 51 per cent, of insurers tested did not cover for mental health-related incidents. Mozo used a 'mystery shop' model to call the travel insurers and inquire about travel insurance. Only 49 per cent of travel insurers offered to cover mental health - at a premium rate - and the definitions of mental health 'differ greatly between insurers'. Controversial alt-right activist Lauren Southern has suggested if it weren't for the 'good people' in Melbourne, the city deserved to be blown up. As part of the Brisbane leg of her Australian speaking tour, the 23-year-old Canadian last week threw shade on the Victorian capital to a crowd of cheering fans. The YouTube personality said deciding whether to 'nuke' Melbourne was like 'that old tale in the bible where Abraham is talking to god about Sodom and Gomorrah,' the Herald Sun reported. Controversial alt-right activist Lauren Southern (pictured) has suggested if it weren't for the 'good people' in Melbourne, the city deserved to be blown up 'You know that old tale in the bible where Abraham is talking to god about Sodom and Gomorrah?,' Southern said. 'He's like begging with god and says "God, if I can find 10 good people in Sodom and Gomorrah, please, do not nuke Melbourne".' Taking a swipe at the second-most populous city in the country, she said: 'We did find a few hundred good ones there there is a silent majority I believe in Melbourne, so we can't nuke it yet guys I'm sorry.' Fellow Canadian YouTuber Stefan Molyneux referred to indigenous Australians as 'the Melbourne savage' before introducing Southern earlier in the night. After being cheered onto the stage to a standing ovation, she launched straight into an attack on Melbourne, saying it was the worst part of Australia she'd seen. As part of the Brisbane leg of her Australian speaking tour, the 23-year-old Canadian (pictured) last week threw shade on the Victorian capital to a crowd of cheering fans 'So far my trip in Australia has been absolutely lovely, wonderful country, wonderful people...And then there's Melbourne.' Earlier this year Southern was barred from entering the UK for distributing flyers that read 'Allah is a Gay God' and 'Allah is trans' outside a restaurant in Luton, England. She was also originally denied access to Australia for her current tour before her visa was approved by the Home Affairs Department on Tuesday. The Toronto-resident rose to prominence in 2015 as an outspoken critic of illegal immigration, Islam and LGBTQ rights. A teen who was allegedly stabbed by a fellow student at a prestigious school has forgiven her attacker. The 17-year-old girl was stabbed in the shoulder in a bathroom at a school in Adelaide's north, about 3pm, on Wednesday. Appearing in Adelaide Youth Court on Thursday, the court heard the victim and accused, 14, had never met and the knife attack was random, Seven News reported. Scroll down for video The victim (middle with her parents) says she forgives her alleged attacker who stabbed her in the shoulder The 14-year-old accused (pictured) appeared in Adelaide's Youth Court on Thursday 'I didn't know her...I didn't even know she went to my school because she was in casual clothing,' the victim said. The alleged victim said she was traumatised over the incident. '...It's happened now and you can't really take back what's happened.' After the stabbing, it is alleged the accused, 14, apologised and ran away. However, police said she left her backpack in the bathroom which had her name on it, and they found her moments later. She was arrested by police and taken into custody where she was charged with aggravated intentionally cause harm and five counts of unlawful threats. The victim said she has no hard feelings towards her alleged attacker and hopes she has support. 'I just hope she has every support that she needs to get over that.' The accused has been remanded in custody. New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has admitted she is torn between running a country and being a new mother. The 38-year-old Labour leader is returning to work six weeks after the birth of her baby girl Neve and said both duties were weighing on her mind. 'I have a huge weight of responsibility,' she told Sky News. 'I've been elected to be prime minister: I need to make sure I fulfill the roles and functions that I have but I'm also desperate to prove to my family that I won't let them down.' Scroll down for video New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has returned to the top job just six weeks after giving birth to her daughter The minority government leader is returning to parliament in the capital Wellington next week for the first time since the birth of her daughter Neve Te Aroha Ardern-Gayford on June 21. She posed in family photos cradling baby Neve next to the girl's father Clarke Gayford, a TV fishing show host, at their Auckland home on Thursday. The Kiwi leader spoke about the conflict between being a hands-on parent in public and protecting her daughter's privacy. 'Neve did not choose politics, she's just been born into it,' she told Sky News. 'So we do want to try and give her some privacy but at the same time, accept that we live a very public life and that because I want to be a very hands-on mother, that means by default she will be with me a lot.' The 38-year-old Labour leader, who is returning to work six weeks after the birth of her baby girl Neve, said both duties were weighing on her mind Ms Ardern also revealed the most surprising thing she experienced after becoming a new mother was to do with her daughter's digestive system. 'That a baby can go so long without pooing. There you go. That's the first thing that came to mind,' she told the New Zealand Herald. 'I did not expect that. Apparently completely normal as well. I guess that's just an indication of what every parent experiences, you go down to being so focused on food, nappies and sleep. That's day in, day out.' Her boyfriend Clarke Gayford will be a stay-at-home dad while Ms Ardern runs the southwest Pacific nation. The Kiwi leader has spoken of the conflict being being a hand-on parent in public and protecting her daughter's privacy The Prime Minister will move into Premier House with Neve and Mr Gayford on Saturday. Speaker Trevor Mallard has warned journalists they will be kicked out of parliament and stripped of their accreditation if they take photos of the baby. The Parliamentary Press Gallery was told journalists who broke the rules would be kicked out, and their employer would also be penalised. Photos and videos of the baby are only allowed in specified areas or by invitation as part of the new regulations. Mr Mallard is understood to have made the decision to limit coverage of Neve after discussions with Ms Ardern, in an attempt to make parliament more family friendly. Her partner Clarke Gayford will be a stay-at-home dad while Ms Ardern is working Speaker Trevor Mallard has warned journalists they will be kicked out of parliament and stripped of their accreditation if they take photos of the baby Babies can be taken into the debating chamber at parliament with their parents but Ms Ardern said she doesn't think that will be necessary with Neve. 'There might be times when I might, but by and large I don't think I'll have to which will be very upsetting for the Speaker,' she said. 'We have MPs who have a very legitimate need already to have the children in the Debating Chamber, and they have. I don't think that should be something we have to make statements about. It should just be a natural thing.' The New Zealand PM was the first world leader to have a baby in office since January 1990 when Benazir Bhutto gave birth to a girl Bakhtawar as the prime minister of Pakistan. Ms Ardern announced the birth of her first child, weighing 3.31kg, on Instagram. Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters, the 73-year-old leader of the New Zealand First party, led the nation in her absence. A Florida teacher had his license permanently revoked for talking about different kinds of sex acts and positions with fifth graders last year. Carlos Pena, a former Spanish teacher at Plumosa School of the Arts in Delray Beach, said he was only trying to provide his students with correct information when he launched into a topic about anal and oral sex and what the term '69' means. State officials allege in a complaint that during a 'Human Growth and Development' class last year Pena talked sex, masturbation and pornography when he was given specific instructions on how to teach the boys-only course. Officials said Pena, who was 30 at the time, was told before the class that he was to not talk about his personal sexual experiences or give his opinion on sex. If a student did ask a question about sex, officials said Pena was instructed to tell them that 'sex is the way that animals reproduce'. A former teacher at Plumosa School of the Arts in Delray Beach had his license revoked for talking to a fifth grade class about sex, porn and masturbation 'If questions persists, the teacher can utilize a question box, review the questions and choose to respond or not the next day,' the complaint read, adding that if he did decide to answer the students' questions he had to use 'scientific/medical terminology only'. Officials said during the class, Pena 'discussed sexual topics in a manner inconsistent with training and engaged in inappropriate conduct when teaching'. They allege that he told students he had personal experience in anal and oral sex and while he was having anal sex 'he had brown stuff on his penis which prompted him to immediately stop'. He also allegedly told the students that he uses lubricant with his girlfriend, and had experience engaging in unprotected sex. Pena, according to the document, also explained that sex toys help girls masturbate and told the class that '69 is when both people are having sex in an oral sex position'. The complaint further accuses the teacher of telling his students that he has friends who work in the porn industry and 'the actors on camera were not the same as in real life'. In addition, Pena was accused of embarrassing a fifth grader by dumping water of his head in front of other students. He told the Palm Beach Post in an interview on Wednesday that some of his students indicated they learned incorrect information about sex from social media so he wanted to 'to be honest with them'. 'It was never meant to hurt anyone,' he said, admitting he regrets discussing sexual topics with the class. 'They had a lot of mistaken impressions,' he explained. 'I wanted to make sure the kids who were three weren't listening to lies and wouldn't make those mistakes.' Officials said his actions in the class violated state guidelines for educator's professional conduct and his teaching license was permanently revoked, barring him from teaching again in Florida public schools. Shakayla Denson, 26, (above in her booking photo) was arrested and charged with first-degree murder. Police said Denson threw her daughter, Je'Hyra Daniels, off a bridge A four-year-old girl tragically drowned Thursday afternoon after a woman identified as her mother threw the child off a bridge and into a Florida river. Police in Tampa confirmed the body of Je'Hyrah Daniels was found in the Hillsborough River around 4:30pm. Her 26-year-old mother, Shakayla Denson, has been charged with first-degree murder. Witnesses told authorities they saw Denson toss the child in the river near West Aileen Street and Rome Avenue shortly before. Tampa Police Chief Brian Dugan said at the scene witnesses were 'shaken up' when they phoned the department about the horrific incident. 'It's a crazy scene that we are still unraveling many of the pieces,' Dugan said in a statement to WSVN. Within a half hour, police located Daniels' body approximately 75 feet off shore. Police in Tampa confirmed the body of Je'Hyrah Daniels was found in the Hillsborough River around 4:30pm on Thursday. A photo from the scene is shown above Within a half hour, police located Daniels' body approximately 75 feet off shore She was pronounced dead at St. Josephs Hospital. Denson was taken into custody after she was found walking near the scene. Police said the mother stole a car hours prior in St. Petersburg. 'The mom is in custody, and right now we are sorting through to get answers,' Dugan said. 'Thats why I say we believe its her child, but we are trying to piece this whole thing together.' The horrific homicide mimics a January 2015 case in which John Jonchuck Jr, 25, (left in his mugshot) threw his five-year-old daughter, Phoebe Jonchuck, (right on Facebook) off a bridge in Tampa Bay. Jonchuck's trial is approaching on September 24 The murder mimics that of a January 2015 case, when an unfit father threw his five-year-old daughter 60 feet off a bridge in Tampa Bay. John Jonchuck Jr, 25, was arrested a half hour after he was seen speeding toward the Dick Misener Bridge and tossing Phoebe Jonchuck to her death. His trial is still ongoing, and he is set to appear in court next on September 24, according to the Tampa Bay Times. The state is seeking the death penalty. President Trump appeared to mock cancer-stricken senator John McCain over his 2017 vote against repealing Obamacare during a rally in Pennsylvania on Thursday. 'I had Obamacare done except one guy at two o'clock in the morning. Went in and said. He went, thumbs down,' Trump told the crown in Wilkes-Barre while making an exaggerated thumbs-down gesture and grimacing. The President did not explicitly name McCain but the reference was clear as he was the sole GOP no vote. Trump criticized him for opposing the bill even though he campaigned for years' in support of repeal. 'I had Obamacare done except one guy at two o'clock in the morning. Went in and said. He went, thumbs down,' Trump told the crown in Wilkes-Barre on Thursday while making an exaggerated thumbs-down gesture and grimacing The Arizona senator drew gasps on July 28 when he humiliated Trump by voting against a Republican vote to overhaul President Obamas healthcare legislation because the 'skinny reform' fell short of a full repeal. McCain, who had just been diagnosed with brain cancer, made a dramatic entrance to the chamber to be greeted by applause from his colleagues. He then strode up to the front of the Senate floor before extending his right arm. He paused for a second then made a thumbs-down motion and said 'no' as several Senators audibly gasped and others clapped. The lawmaker's opposition to the partisan measure was a shock, and one that Trump has not gotten over. Trump has chided McCain for his no vote on repeated occasions since last summer. On February 23, he told a group of Republicans he 'would have had healthcare' if it was not for 'one senator, who came into a room at 3 o'clock in the morning and went like that' (making a thumbs-down gesture). During the crucial vote on July 28, 2017, strode up to the front of the Senate floor before extending his right arm (left). He paused for a second then made a thumbs-down motion and said 'no' as some Senators gasped and others clapped (right) His relationship with the former GOP nominee for president became even more strained in May this year when a White House communications staffer suggested during a staff meeting that McCain's vote no longer mattered because he's dying soon anyway. The comment that leaked out of the White House drew a swift and stern rebuke from both sides of the aisle, particularly after the aide, Kelly Sadler, declined to apologize in public. On June 4, Trump wrote a tweet trumpeting the achievements of his first 500 days in which he wrote, 'we had repeal and replace done... except for one person'. The President has attacked McCain no other issues before, most prominently in 2015 over his service in the Vietnam War, where McCain was held as a prisoner of war, by saying, 'I like people that weren't captured.' A special set of wings came in for a landing at Denver International Airport this week in honor of Colorado Day. A bald eagle was spotted watching over the tarmac on Wednesday afternoon, even posing for a few patriot shots in front of a surveillance camera. Airport officials tweeted photos of the iconic American symbol standing on a railing overlooking the runways as planes land and take off in the background. Air traffic control? A bald eagle was spotted at the Denver International Airport on Wednesday Americana: The stunning bird was photographed by surveillance cameras at the airport. Airport officials shared the photos on Twitter, gaining more than three thousand likes The bird that made an appearance at DIA this week is believed to have come from nearby Barr Lake State Park. The airport's Twitter account commented: 'We think he just stopped by for a plane spotting selfie.' Several Twitter users replied to the photo saying the regal eagle had visited specifically to celebrate Colorado Day, which marked the state's 142nd birthday this year. The bald eagle population has been growing rapidly in Colorado, according to recent federal reports. A man has been charged with the murder of his 75-year-old mother after police discovered the deceased woman's body in her home on Thursday. She had allegedly been dead for more than 24 hours by the time authorities were called to the property in Mango Hill, north of Brisbane, just after 1pm. The woman's 50-year-old son, who made the triple zero call, was also found at the house, allegedly with self-inflicted injuries. A man has been charged with the murder of his 75-year-old mother after police discovered the deceased woman's body in her home on Thursday She had allegedly been dead for more than 24 hours by the time authorities were called to the property in Mango Hill, north of Brisbane Queensland Ambulance paramedics rushed the man to the Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital, 27km from Mango Hill, where he is due to appear at a bedside hearing on Friday afternoon as police investigate the possible murder-suicide. Detective Acting Senior Sergeant Richard Hoffman told The Courier Mail that the man was in a stable condition while a friend of the dead woman, who remained anonymous, said she was shocked at the news. 'She was a kind lady, there were times where she's dropped off little gifts at the front of my house, she was beautiful,' she said. 'She never caused any trouble and she was very independent, she kept to herself but she was a loving mother.' The woman's 50-year-old son, who made the triple zero call, was also found at the house, allegedly with self-inflicted injuries There were reports of a large blood stain near the front door of the house on Topaz Drive, which remains sectioned off with police tape The friend further added that the son was 'a very nice guy'. Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Snr-Sgt Hoffman asserted that police would speak to the man in due time. 'Police are currently with him at the hospital and he's having his injuries treated,' he said. There were reports of a large blood stain near the front door of the house on Topaz Drive, which remains sectioned off with police tape. Flight attendant Luke Urso was sacked by Qantas A Qantas flight attendant was living his 'dream job' flying to exciting destinations and flaunting his envious lifestyle on social media before he was fired for getting too drunk on peach martinis. Flight attendant Luke Urso was sacked by Qantas for getting drunk with a colleague during a stopover in New York on July 22 last year. Mr Urso claimed his drink was spiked when he collapsed and started vomiting in the bathroom. He required an ambulance to take him to hospital after drinking two peach martinis and three gin and tonics at the 230 Fifth Rooftop Bar in New York. When he arrived at Greenwich hospital his blood alcohol level was 0.205 per cent. When he was discharged from hospital he told his Qantas bosses he was too sick to work. The Qantas flight attendant was living his 'dream job' flying to exciting destinations and flaunting his envious lifestyle on social media Flight attendant Luke Urso was sacked by Qantas for getting drunk with a colleague during a stopover in New York on July 22 last year The company paid $20,000 for his hospital stay. When Mr Urso was fired by Qantas he lodged an unfair dismissal claim. Before he was fired Mr Urso flaunted his lavish lifestyle on social media, posting photos of himself in Los Angeles, Hawaii, Japan and Singapore. He also boasted of views from the plane, saying 'the view from my office today as a Business and First Class Attendant'. When he scored the job in February 2016, the former flight attendant took to Instagram to share his excitement. 'After a long recruitment process, today I received a phone call that I have been waiting for my whole life!' he said. Mr Urso posted this photo to his Instagram saying, 'drinking Watermelon Mimosas in Malibu' 'Them 7am Volcano Hikes in Hawaii,' Mr Urso said alongside this photo Fair Work deputy president Lyndall Dean found Mr Urso's conduct was in breach of Qantas policies, and he was not unfairly dismissed Fair Work deputy president Lyndall Dean found Mr Urso's conduct was in breach of Qantas policies, and he was not unfairly dismissed. Fair Work said Qantas was justified in firing the flight attendant because his drinking prevented him from performing his job the following day. 'Qantas was entitled to be able to have trust and confidence that their flight attendants can perform their safety critical roles in a safe manner,' Ms Dean said. 'Mr Urso's claim that he could have five alcoholic drinks without compromising his ability to operate the next day, in my view, was unfounded and was proved to be wrong. 'The evidence in my view clearly supports a finding that Mr Urso consumed an excessive amount of alcohol.' Fair Work said Qantas (stock) was justified in firing the flight attendant because his drinking prevented him from performing his job the following day A report detailing the educational background of Florida school shooting suspect Nikolas Cruz should be made public despite defense concerns it might threaten his right to a fair trial, a judge ruled Friday. Circuit Judge Elizabeth Scherer said at a hearing that the redactions protect Cruz's privacy rights and overruled defense objections that the report paints a misleading portrait of Cruz's longstanding psychological problems, many of which have already been disclosed. Scherer said all of Cruz's actual educational records are among 27 pages of redacted material. Parkland shooter Nikolas Cruz's school records should be made public, a judge ruled in a Broward County court on Friday (pictured) 'I do find there is nothing in the redacted report ... that would interfere with the administration of justice and the defendant's right to a fair trial,' Scherer said. Attorneys for media organizations including The Associated Press argued the report must be disclosed under Florida's broad public records laws. It wasn't immediately clear when the report might be released. Debra Klauber, an attorney for the Broward County school board, said officials would consult with Cruz's defense attorneys on the timing. The defense lawyers said no further appeals were planned. Cruz, 19, faces the death penalty if convicted of 17 counts of murder and 17 counts of attempted murder in the Valentine's Day massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. Assistant Public Defender Erin Veit, left, talks with Cruz during Friday's hearing in Ford Lauderdale Scherer said all of Cruz's (pictured) actual educational records are among 27 pages of redacted material His attorneys have said he will plead guilty if guaranteed a life prison sentence, but prosecutors have rejected that offer. Defense attorney David Frankel said the independent report, commissioned by the school board, appears crafted to defend against civil claims filed by victims' families, by attempting to show that Cruz's mental problems did not rise to a level that caused great concern. That could affect jurors considering Cruz's guilt and his sentence at a criminal trial. 'It gives the misperception that somehow he didn't have psychological issues that were that important,' Frankel said. 'This was a broken and damaged person from the get-go. They want to ignore that.' Judge Elizabeth Scherer, rear, listens to chief assistant state attorney Jeff Marcus during Friday's hearing Klauber said schools officials there believe the report is public record that should be released but took no position on its implications for Cruz's trial. Media attorney Dana McElroy said it does not qualify for any of the exemptions that apply in a criminal case. 'This is not the kind of record that this court has the ability to review,' McElroy said. The Cruz school report is the latest of several court battles involving media organizations, the school board, prosecutors and defense lawyers over release of evidence and other material related to the Feb. 14 mass shooting. Previous requests to unseal video showing the law enforcement response outside the school and Cruz's post-arrest statement to detectives are under appeal. Donald Trump Jr. has compared the Democratic Party of today to the Nazis back in the 1930s. President Trump's eldest son made the comparison at a screening of conservative commentator Dinesh D'Souza's new documentary in Washington DC on Wednesday night. 'You see the Nazi platform from the early 1930s... and you look at it compared to the DNC platform of today, you're saying, 'Man, those things are awfully similar' to a point where it's actually scary,' he told One America News Network. Donald Trump Jr. compared the Democratic Party of today to the Nazis back in the 1930s while attending the screening of a new documentary in Washington DC on Wednesday night with girlfriend Kimberly Guilfoyle 'To me that was one of the most striking things I took from the movie because it's the exact opposite that you've been told.' Trump Jr attended the screening of 'Death of a Nation: Can We Save America a Second Time?' with his new girlfriend Kimberly Guilfoyle. The documentary draws comparisons between President Trump and Abraham Lincoln. It references how Democrats didn't accept President Lincoln's reelection in 1865. A poster for the documentary shows Trump and Lincoln's faces merged together. The film, which has been slammed by some critics for 'stretching the truth' and portraying 'historical inaccuracies', advertises itself as an 'examination of fascism and racism'. Trump Jr said at the screening that Democrats are unfairly labeling the right as fascists and Nazis. After the screening, Don Jr took to Twitter to defend his comparison of the Nazis and the DNC Don Jr posed with his girlfriend Kimberly Guilfoyle and film director Dinesh D'Souza and his fiancee Debbie Fancher at the Washington DC screening on Wednesday 'I've been out hearing the left talking about all these things... fascism, Nazism on the right. When you look at the actual history of how these things evolved, and when you actually look at that platform versus the platform of the modern left, you say, 'Wait a minute, those two are really heavily aligned and frankly contrary to the right', he said. The documentary draws comparisons between President Trump and Abraham Lincoln. A poster for the documentary shows Trump and Lincoln's faces merged together 'It's more about having real history... when people talk about these things, you can't dispute it because someone told you about it in a history class when academia and everything has been so wrongly influenced by the left. 'When you look at the movie, you'll see that there is a very distinct and clear difference between what actually happened and what is being sold to our youth today.' Trump Jr took to Twitter on Thursday, saying: 'So the left spends the last 3 years falsely calling my entire family NAZI's, but the second I point out the similarities between the economic platform of the National Socialists and the Democrat Party, they scream bloody murder.' D'Souza, the man behind the documentary, was pardoned by Trump in May after pleading guilty to illegal campaign contributions. He pleaded guilty in 2014 to funneling the campaign contributions to Wendy Long, his college classmate. She was running against Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand in 2012 for Hillary Clinton's old New York Senate seat. Far-right provocateur Lauren Southern has been slapped with a last-minute venue cancellation ahead of her New Zealand tour. The 23-year-old outspoken conservative arrived in the country on Thursday with her co-speaker Stefan Molyneux, following a controversial nationwide Australian 'free speech' tour. The Powerstation venue in Auckland pulled out of hosting the pair just hours ahead of the Friday event, citing a disagreement with the speakers' message. Far-right provocateur Lauren Southern has been slapped with a last-minute venue cancellation ahead of her New Zealand tour. (Pictured: Southern and Molyneux at Auckland Airport) Venue locations are kept secret and only advised via SMS or email to ticket holders just 24 hours prior to each event. Powerstation venue owner Gabrielle Mullins said she had been contacted at short notice about hosting Southern and Molyneux and knew nothing about them until she received complaints. 'As soon as we found out we weren't comfortable at all because it goes against quite a lot of things that we say,' Mullins (pictured) said 'As soon as we found out, we weren't comfortable at all because it goes against quite a lot of things that we say,' Mullins told the NZ Herald. 'They can say whatever they want but personally I don't want it in my venue,' she said. Southern took to Twitter, saying: 'One does not simply walk into a venue in New Zealand.' Molyneux also expressed his disappointment, tweeting: 'It turns out that you cannot give a speech about free speech in New Zealand.' The Powerstation venue in Auckland pulled out of hosting the pair just hours ahead of the Friday event, citing a disagreement with the speakers' message Southern's agent, Caolan Robertson, told Newshub that they were unable to find another venue and Axiomatic Events confirmed via their website that 'due to circumstances beyond our control tonight's event in Auckland has been cancelled.' Axiomatic Events confirmed via their website that 'due to circumstances beyond our control tonight's event in Auckland has been cancelled' On Thursday, Molyneux and Southern were pictured arriving at Auckland Airport, posing under a Maori carving at the Arrivals hall. Auckland Mayor Phil Goff banned the pair from using council venues, saying he did not want such spaces used to stir up ethnic tensions. Protests were planned by anti-racism groups outside the Auckland venue. Police were seen on Friday conducting a security sweep at the Powerstation venue and said their main concern was for people's safety. Immigration Minister Iain Lees-Galloway previously said he personally felt their views were repugnant but that there was no grounds to reject their visas. Gabe Greaves, 41, fell 100 feet to his death at Larrabee State Park in Washington last Friday A father-of-two fell nearly 100 feet from an overlook to his death at a Washington park. Gabe Greaves, 41, was watching the sunset with his girlfriend last Friday night when he mysteriously fell from the cliff in Larrabee State Park. Greaves had worked as a mechanic for Camano Island Fire & Rescue for nearly 10 years and also served as a volunteer firefighter. In the wake of his death, the heartbroken community has rallied around Greaves' daughter Paige and son Gabe Jr, raising nearly $14,000 through a GoFundMe page to support them in the future. 'I know he's not gone,' Paige told KOMO news. 'He's still with us. He's just in heaven. He's looking down, and he's never really going to really be gone. And I know he'd want us to be happy.' The mechanic and volunteer firefighter is survived by his two children Gabe Jr, left, and Paige, right. A GoFundMe page has already raised nearly $14K to support the children Greaves' mother Debbie said: 'He was very generous, he was very kind, he was very gracious. He would find something good in everybody.' His father said: 'His legacy will go on and on and on. He's still reaching out, even as he's gone.' Greaves worked hard to provide for his children by running a repair shop. Fellow mechanic Jay Jacks is now running the shop alone. 'It's difficult, but we're going to get through this,' Jacks said. 'You just have to move forward. 'He was a great technician, but he was an even better person. You couldn't ask for a better guy.' A memorial has been set up outside the station. Fire Chief Michael Schick said: 'He was a very important part of our family. He always had a smile. Always someone you wanted to talk to and be around. So, it's hit us pretty hard.' Other fire departments have reportedly offered to help shoulder some of Gabe's workload until a replacement is hired. The Whatcom County Sheriff's Office is still investigating the cause of Greaves' fall. Damian Simms, 41, was arrested for dumping human waste on the floor of a 7-Eleven in St Petersburg A Florida man seeking revenge on a store manger who kicked him out dumped a bucket of human feces and urine on the floor, authorities said. Damian Simms walked into a 7-Eleven in St Petersburg around 1.30am on Wednesday and emptied the bucket containing human waste on the floor. Police said some of the feces and urine splashed onto merchandise valued at $28, according to the Smoking Gun. Simms was reportedly upset that the manager had him booted from the convergence store in late May for trespassing. Authorities said Simms gathered his bucket waste by scooping it out of a nearby porta-potty. Officer Donald Ziglar said in his report that Simms may have been under the influence. Simms was arrested on Wednesday, but apparently isn't fazed by his most recent run-in with the law. He is seen with a big grin on his face in his mugshot. Authorities said he used a bucket to scoop human feces and poop out of a porta-potty and then tossed it on the floor of the store (pictured) He was charged with trespass and criminal mischief, both misdemeanors. He's being held at the county jail on $300 bond. Upon his release, he is barred from contacting the 7-Eleven or its manager. Simms is a convicted felon and has a long rap sheet which includes convictions for burglary, weapons possession, animal cruelty, grand theft, loitering, drunk driving, carrying a concealed weapon and disorderly intoxication. A woman has been caught on camera taunting staff at a Chinese restaurant even though she hadn't even ordered takeaway food. The barefoot customer at the Sun Lai Chinese Restaurant on Bribie Island, north of Brisbane, was wearing a cap and sunglasses when she launched her vile rant shortly after it opened for night-time business. 'This is our country,' she said, slurring her words as she held her thongs in her right hand. A woman has been caught on camera taunting staff at a Chinese restaurant during a dispute about takeaway fried rice 'I've been waiting and I just want my food. 'I don't want to pay again, I've got no money.' The woman started her abuse by sitting down on a bench at the front of the restaurant in suburban Bellara on Wednesday afternoon shortly after 5pm. After lingering in the restaurant for about 10 minutes, she stood up and taunted the staff, as she was unsteady on her feet. In a barely coherent rant, she claimed to be a 'f***ing mum' whose partner wanted a feed. She then walked to the side of the counter and grabbed a random plastic bag containing a takeaway order which wasn't hers. A female staff member Jenny, who requested her surname not be published, then told her to put the bag down. 'No, it's not yours,' she said. The woman started her abuse by sitting down on a bench at the front of the restaurant in before she stood up and continued taunting the staff, as she was unsteady on her feet The rude customer, however, ignored this plea despite the fact she had not called the restaurant to place an order. 'I'm hungry. Give me mine. Which one's mine?,' she said. 'Which one is mine?' She also disputed another customer Darren Mutze's assertion that she had not ordered any food. 'I did order,' she said. Jenny told Daily Mail Australia the woman only left the restaurant empty-handed because Mr Mutze had stood at the front door and grabbed the plastic bag from her. She described the encounter with the woman, who was wobbly on her feet, as a scary experience. 'At that time I was so scared,' she said. She then walked to the side of the counter and grabbed a random plastic bag containing a takeaway order which wasn't hers Jenny also felt threatened by the woman's language and thought she 'might punch me if we didn't give her food'. 'When she talk in that so-rude language, I've never faced normal people like that,' she said. The 50-year staff member of the restaurant said this was the worst abuse she had encountered in Australia since she moved from Shanghai in 1990. 'Even I been living here so long, because my skin colour doesn't look like white people, I never ever think I'm Australian,' she said. 'I don't think I'm proud of this kind of Australia. 'We're working hard, we pay the tax. This kind of people will still look down on us.' Darren Mutze uploaded the footage to Facebook on Wednesday and asked his followers if they could identify the woman who abused staff at the Sun Lai Chinese Restaurant (pictured) at Bellara, on Bribie Island, north of Brisbane Mr Mutze uploaded the footage to Facebook on Wednesday and asked his followers if they could identify this woman. 'Anyone recognise this female that I just stopped from stealing food from the Sun Lai Chinese on Bribie?,' he said. The video has been viewed 55,000 times on social media. He said the staff had been 'great and extremely good to me in return'. Retail website Amazon failed to capitalise on the pre-Christmas spending spree in its first month of operation in Australia last December, figures revealed. There was much hype in lead up to the online giant's entry into the Australian market on December 5 last year. But documents submitted with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission obtained by Fairfax Media show that Amazon recorded just over in $16 million in sales during the period December 5-29. Amazon failed to capitalise on its much-anticipated entry into the Australian marketplace in during the pre-Christmas rush (stock image) The figures include $10 million in third party sales from other businesses on Amazon's marketplace and $6.3 million in 'first-party' sales. Sales revenue at Myer was 2125 per cent higher with the cash registers ringing in almost $340 million every month in the final quarter of 2017. The documents also revealed Amazon threw $31.6 million into its Australian business, which ran at a $8.9 million loss with $16 million in sales for the 2017 calendar year, Fairfax Media reported. The launch Amazon in Australia in the lead up to Christmas posed little threat to department store giant Myer (pictured) Its early figures fared slightly better when compared in the online retail market, where JB Hi-FI recorded almost $20 million a month in online sales during the second half of 2017, while online-only retailer Kogan.com recorded a monthly $36 million. Amazon Australia recorded its two biggest days of sales and highest days of traffic since its launch when it held its 36-hour Prime Day last month. JB Hi-FI (pictured) recorded almost $20 million a month in online sales during the second half of 2017 It was the first online sales event in Australia, where subscribers had exclusive access to deals on a wide range of products slashed by up to 70 per cent. According to Bain & Company, Amazon.com.au is now the second highest ranking retail site in Australia after eBay for searches, the Australian Financial Review reported last month. The consulting firm said traffic for the site is growing faster than retailers such Kogan.com, Harvey Norman and department stores. Police are moving to block deadly Dutch biker gang Satudarah from moving to Australia, following reports that they are looking to relocate. Saturdah, meaning 'one-blood', is an organised motorcycle gang that was first set up in Moodrecht, Netherlands in 1990. Dutch authorities have since outlawed the gang calling them a threat to public order and banned OMCGs from operating in the country. Police are moving to block deadly Dutch biker gang Satudarah from setting up in Australia Dutch authorities have outlawed the gang and banned OMCGs from operating in the country Bruce Hill from the Australian Federal Police told the Herald Sun that this is likely to have a dispersal effect. '[This] means they will then move off to other countries with existing chapters or come to Australia to bolster their current attempts in gaining a foothold,' he said. 'That is the type of thing we have to keep on top of. We need to constantly keep them off balance and not let them set up in places. Do not let them establish themselves. We have to chase them where they are established offshore and help our partners.' The police have been working closely with Dutch authorities and have a list of names connected to the gang as well as details of registered members so far identified. The Dutch gang previously attempted to set up operations in Queensland, South Australia and NSW, but their Sydney clubhouse was shut down in 2016 with drugs and firearm components seized. In the past, Satudarah has claimed to have connections in the Australian Defence Force and Royal Australian Navy. Police have been working with the Dutch authorities and have a list of connected names However, police think it would be hard for Satudarah to fully establish themselves in Australia given the law enforcement around OMCGs, as well as the territorial defence from existing Australian motorcycle gangs. 'Satudarah will be fighting for territory against sophisticated, violent, organised crime groups,' he said. 'Satudarah are not established or operating in Australia with any kind of functionality,' Bruce said. 'We intend to keep it that way. A man has been charged after police allegedly uncovered dozens of firearms inside his home. The 57-year-old man was arrested on Thursday after authorities searched his home on Sydney's northern beaches. The search was promoted after Australian Border Force (ABF) officers allegedly uncovered 14 consignments of firearm parts being imported without a permit, earlier this year. During the search, police allegedly found 21 unregistered rifles, four unregistered prohibited firearms and an unregistered air pistol. In addition, police also allegedly uncovered eight registered firearms, three registered handguns, large quantities of ammunition and various firearms accessories. The firearms were seized by authorities and will undergo forensic and ballistic examination. Police have seized dozens of unregistered firearms from a property in Sydney's Northern Beaches. The man has been arrested and charged The man was arrested and taken to Manly Police Station where he was charged with numerous possession offences. He was refused bail and his firearms licence was also suspended by police. He is expected to appear at Parramatta Bail Court on Friday. ABF Investigations Superintendent Garry Low said the detection of the firearms highlighted the commitment to remove dangerous weapons from the community. 'Any firearm in the wrong hands can be extremely dangerous. Which is why we work so closely with our state police partners to ensure any weapons coming into the country are imported and kept in accordance with the law,' Superintendent Low said. NSW Police Drug and Firearms Squad Commander, Detective Acting Superintendent Jason Weinstein said it was a good time to remind the community about the punishments for prohibited firearm possession as the Firearms Amnesty date closes in. 'The Firearms Amnesty is an opportunity to legally dispose or register an unregistered firearm or firearm-related item without penalty until 30 September 2018,' Det A/Supt Weinstein said. 'The maximum penalty for possessing a prohibited firearm is 14 years imprisonment, and an unregistered firearm is five years, so now is the time to hand them in.' Police believe a leaking gas canister was behind the death of a father who as killed when his car exploded while outside a primary school waiting to pick his son up. The 51-year-old man was in a parked ute at the front of St Clare of Assisi Primary School in Conder, south of Canberra, when it exploded shortly before 5pm Thursday. Emergency crews were called to the school following reports of an explosion, and the man was rushed to hospital where he died a short time later, Nine News reports. School principal Matthew Egan-Richards described the man as an active and well-liked member of the school community. The father who died after his car (pictured left) exploded while outside a primary school waiting to pick his son up from after-school care was a 'down-to-earth, good bloke' ST Clare of Assisi Primary School (pictured) principal Matthew Egan-Richards described the man as an active and well-liked member of the school community 'He was a down-to-earth, good bloke [from a] lovely family [who are] very supportive of the school and very involved in their community,' Mr Egan-Richards told reporters Friday morning. 'I have had contact with the family, and of course, it's tough. It's very, very tough. [It has been] a tremendous shock and heartache for them.' Mr Egan-Richards said staff 'did a great job of lock down' after hearing the blast, and the school would be providing support to those affected in the wake of the incident. 'The contact that I have had from the Catholic Education Office, from all our parents in the community, from the principals of all our Catholic schools - but the way our families work together has been very heartening.' Mr Egan-Richards (pictured) said staff 'did a great job of lock down' after hearing the blast, and the school would be providing support to those affected in the wake of the incident Detectives arrived at the explosion scene Friday to examine the damage and investigate circumstances surrounding the freak blast (school car park pictured) The 50-year-old man was in a parked ute at the front of St Clare of Assisi in Conder, south of Canberra, when it exploded shortly before 5pm Thursday (car park pictured) The school sent out an email following the incident informing the community a parent had died. 'It is with deep sadness that I need to let you know that following an incident in the school carpark today, one of our parents has passed away,' the email read. 'At this difficult time, we pray for the family and friends. We will offer all the support we can in the coming days and weeks.'' In a message shared to Facebook, the school announced it would be closed Friday and reopened on Monday. 'St Clare of Assisi Primary School and OSHC will be closed on Friday 3 August. Parents wanting further details are referred to the Principal's message sent to all families via email and Skoolbag message. School will resume as normal on Monday 6 August,' the post said. Emergency crews were called to the school following reports of an explosion, and the man was rushed to hospital where he died a short time later (detectives pictured at the scene) The school sent out an email following the incident informing the community a parent had passed away (detectives and police pictured at the scene) In a message shared to Facebook, the school announced it would be closed Friday and reopened on Monday (school car park pictured) Hailee Williams lives in a home just across from the school and said the explosion rocked her entire home. 'We instantly checked the cars outside hadnt blown up because thats what it felt/sounded like,' she told Daily Mail Australia. Members of the school community shared their shock and grief in the comments, with several posting their condolences. There was a hole in the side of a white ute in the car park, ABC News reported. Residents in nearby homes said they heard a large blast and noticed their windows rattle. The incident is being investigated by ACT Policing and WorkSafe ACT. Hailee Williams (pictured) lives in a home just across from the school and said the explosion rocked her entire home Members of the school community shared their shock and grief in the comments, with several posting their condolences (ladder pictured at the scene) Emergency crews were called to the school following reports of an explosion, and the man was rushed to hospital where he died a short time later (ladder pictured at the scene) Police are appealing for assistance in locating a child who has been missing for more than 48 hours. Thomas McGrath is only 11-years-old and has been without his parents for two days, police say. He was last seen at a shopping centre on Olsen Street, in Frankson at approximately 1:50pm on Wednesday. Police are concerned over Thomas' welfare due to his age. Thomas McGrath (pictured) was last seen at a shopping centre on Olsen Street, in Frankson at approximately 1:50pm on Wednesday He also requires daily medication. An image of Thomas has been released in the hope someone recognises him and can provide information on his whereabouts. The Cheltenham resident is described as a blue eyed boy with short, ginger hair and 130 centimetres tall. He was last seen in grey tracksuit pants, with a black jacket and without shoes. Police believe Thomas has since been spotted in the Yarrawonga area, on the border of New South Wales and Victoria. While they are unable to confirm a time of this citing, the New South Wales police have since shared his image, expanding the search parameters to their jurisdiction. Whether or not Thomas was alone in this alleged citing is currently unclear. Anyone who sights Thomas or has information on his whereabouts is urged to contact Cheltenham Police Station on 9583 9767 or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000. 'Daft' police sent an armed unit to raid a bride's house after a nosy neighbour called 999 saying she was carrying a body that turned out to be her wedding dress. Beth Jack, 26, from Swindon, had wrapped the precious gown in a duvet to protect it and took it to her car on the night before her big day. But a neighbour saw her and thought she had murdered someone and was lugging a corpse into her boot so she could dump it elsewhere. They dialled 999 and four armed armed officers and a detective swooped on Mrs Jack and her husband Jordan's home in the Wiltshire town. Luckily, Mrs Jack was able to clear up the misunderstanding in time to wed husband Jordan in Didcot, Oxfordshire, on Saturday. Beth and Jordan Jack were able to marry in Didcot on Saturday despite an armed police raid after a neighbour thought her wedding dress was a body stashed in her boot And Mr Jack's mother, Anita, from Dunfermline, Fife, even joked that he should watch his back during their Tanzanian honeymoon. Jordan Jack's mother had joked that he need to be careful saying: 'If she's done it once she can do it again' She said: 'I've warned him that he needs to be careful now, if she's done it once she could do it again. 'You could not make it up. It's unbelievable. It's a story that will be told for years to come, we were all stunned and could not believe what was happening. 'I had never seen the dress before the day, so I didn't know how long it was, but she had wrapped it in a duvet to protect it in the car so it wasn't damaged. 'Never in a million years could I have imagined this. To think someone thought her wedding dress was a dead body is crazy.' Mrs Jack, with the help of her chief bridesmaid, was moving her dress from home to the car while her fiance, 28, and both families were out enjoying a meal last Friday evening. As the bride made her way to the wedding venue to spend the night, the groom received a call which he believed was a prank from friends. The call was no hoax though, as Swindon Major Incidents Unit informed him that specialist firearms officers had raided a property to gain access to his home next door. Any fears of Mrs Jack going down to the police station rather than the aisle were avoided as her fiance explained the misunderstanding. Neighbour Scott Goodman, 28, says he was shocked by the events. He said: 'The response was pretty rapid. It did seem that something serious had gone down, the way they rolled up and were knocking on doors. 'I was completely unaware until the police came and knocked on the door. They were asking me about one of the residents and what kind of vehicle they drive. 'It wouldn't have been the most intelligent crime. The whole thing was daft. Lifting up a body - you'd think somebody would be really struggling with it. 'I think the person who reported it probably needs a psychiatric evaluation.. Sometimes you do get some pretty wild and crazy police activity round here. This was a huge reaction.' The couple got engaged in Mexico in May 2016 and married in Didcot, Oxfordshire, on Saturday. A spokesman for Wiltshire Police said: 'We were called just after 5pm on July 27 to an initial report from a passer-by that two women had been seen loading what was believed to be a body into the boot of a vehicle. 'Inquiries established that the women were in fact loading a wedding dress into the vehicle. No arrests were made and no crimes committed.' A prestigious Queensland high school is in lockdown after a suspicious vehicle was spotted near the campus. St John's College Nambour on the Sunshine Coast is on high alert after police were called, the Courier-Mail reported. A man of interest is on the run from police. A prestigious Queensland high school is in lockdown after a suspicious vehicle was spotted near the campus A Queensland Police spokeswoman said officers were called to the school at 2.45pm on Friday. 'The dog squad unit has been deployed but it could be only precautionary at this stage,' she said. 'They were hoping to call in PolAir but were unable to.' A dog squad searched the premises loooking for the man, and police now believe he has run into a creek. A white Audi was found at the scene, and is believed to be stolen. It has been towed away. The school was no longer in lockdown by 4.20pm. A man who shook his 12-week-old baby daughter to death while her mother was at work broke down in tears after a jury found him guilty of the child's murder. Alanah Rowe died in August 2015 from Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy - a brain injury from lack of oxygen - at the hands of her then-23-year-old father, Joby Rowe. Her mother, Stephanie Knibbs had been working at the local Union hotel in Central Victoria near Bendigo when she returned home to find her daughter pale, unconscious, bleeding from the nose and 'limp and floppy'. Appearing in a dark suit at the Supreme Court in Melbourne on Friday, Rowe broke down in the dock when the decision was read out, trembling and breathing heavily. Alanah Rowe (pictured) died in August 2015 from Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy - a brain injury from lack of oxygen - along with brain and retinal bleeding, at the hands of her then-23-year-old father Joby Rowe Joby Rowe (pictured leaving court) shook his 12-week-old baby daughter so hard that she suffered brain damage has been found guilty of child homicide Alanah was found to have a 'torn or shorn' bridging vein in her brain, but had no external injuries, broken bones, grasp marks or bruises. Ms Knibbs told the court she had found Rowe standing over the girl on a change table where he said: 'There's something wrong with Alanah.' After attempting to perform CPR, she called paramedics but they were unable to revive the baby girl. Alanah was airlifted to the Royal Children's Hospital in Melbourne and transferred to intensive care, but died within hours. Medical experts concluded the baby died from 'inflicted head trauma' and had been shaken vigorously before her death. Stephanie Knibbs had been working at a local hotel in Central Victoria when she returned home to find her daughter pale, unconscious, bleeding from the nose and 'limp and floppy' Rowe had previously denied shaking his daughter and maintained his innocence. He maintained he had been feeding Alanah when she started gasping, got a bleeding nose, then fell unconscious. His lawyer, James Fitzgerald, argued that his client 'did not do anything to cause her medical condition' and 'did not shake the baby, he did not drop the baby,' the ABC reported. Instead, Mr Fitzgerald argued he had been a 'good father' and a 'loving dad'. However, prosecutor Ben Ihle said the clinical findings were a 'smoking gun' that showed the baby had been shaken. 'It's evidence of Alanah being shaken, and being shaken vigorously,' he said during the trial. It only took a Supreme Court jury of five women and seven men one day to find Rowe guilty of killed his baby daughter. The case has spanned several years, including a jury in April last year which had been unable to reach a verdict. Rowe has been remanded in custody and a pre-sentencing hearing has been scheduled for August 27. Furious vegans have hijacked a Domino's fundraiser which will donate money to struggling Australian farmers. The pizza franchise launched the appeal to 'raise some dough for drought relief' in the wake of a national crisis forcing thousands of rural families into crippling debt because of the worst drought in more than a century. Dozens of vegans slammed Domino's for pledging they would donate 50 cents for every pizza purchased on Wednesday to rural aid. Furious vegans have hijacked a Domino's fundraiser which will donate money to struggling Australian farmers (farm in Coonabarabran, NSW, pictured) Dozens of vegans slammed Domino's (pictured) for pledging they would donate 50 cents for every pizza purchased on Wednesday to rural aid 'How about donating money to animal sanctuaries where the animals are looked after and treated like individuals, not like a commodity for profit,' one person wrote online. 'If you can't feed them, why breed them?' someone commented. 'I'm all for supporting veg farms because we need them but animal flesh? Not required,' another shared. One vegan said they would 'not be ordering anything' that supported struggling Australian farmers, instead encouraging people to 'stop breeding animals for slaughter'. 'I would consider throwing a vegan pizza party if you can assure me that donations will go to crop farmers only,' another wrote. The takeaway giant backed the farmers, explaining to disgruntled plant-based food fans that farmers do not just produce meat but everything else as well. The abuse came after Domino's announced they would give 50 cents to from each pizza order on Wednesday to the country's struggling farmers (pictured) One vegan said they would 'not be ordering anything' that supported struggling Australian farmers, instead encouraging people to 'stop breeding animals for slaughter' The takeaway giant backed the farmers, explaining to disgruntled plant-based food fans that farmers do not just produce meat but everything else as well 'Farmers are important to our local communities,' Domino's Australia shared on Facebook. 'They grow our ingredients, not just meat but wheat for our pizza bases, and tomatoes (even pineapple) for our toppings. 'This is about giving a hand to those who need a bit of extra help right now and we're proud to support our local stores and our customers who are helping their fellow Australians.' Thousands of people did support the fundraising attempt by Domino's but said they multi-million dollar company should donate double what they have announced. Many regional farmers have been forced to shoot dead their cattle because they can't afford to feed them or flee their farms completely. The drought is the worst in 116 years for parts of New South Wales, South Australia, Victoria and Queensland. Russia is allowing thousands of fresh North Korean labourers into the country and granting new work permits in potential violation of U.N. sanctions, it has been claimed. More than 10,000 new North Korean workers are said to have been registered in Russia since September. Russia's action potentially violates U.N. sanctions to reduce cash flows to North Korea and puts pressure on Pyongyang to give up its nuclear weapons, according to the Wall Street Journal, which cited U.S. officials. Russia is allowing thousands of fresh North Korean labourers into the country and granting new work permits in potential violation of U.N. sanctions, it has been claimed. Pictured: North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un meets war veterans in July Labour Ministry records obtained by the Journal showed that a minimum of 700 new work permits have been issued to North Koreans in Russia this year, the paper said. U.N. officials are probing potential violations of the sanctions, which contain narrow exceptions, WSJ reported citing sources. Russia's foreign ministry did not respond to a request for comment. 'It's absolutely clear that Russia needs to do more. Russia says it wants better relations with the United States, so Moscow should prove that by cooperating with us, not working against us, on this urgent threat to all nations,' a U.S. State Department spokesperson told Reuters. 'It is estimated that North Korean labourers in Russia send between $150-$300 million annually to Pyongyang. 'Now is the time for Russia to take action: Moscow should immediately and fully implement all the U.N. sanctions that it has signed on to.' The labour prohibition is a part of a broader array of sanctions that are aimed at eliminating an important revenue stream for Kim Jong Un's regime. Most of the money North Koreans earn abroad ends up in government coffers as workers toil in gruelling conditions, the Journal reported. More than 10,000 new North Korean workers are said to have been registered in Russia since September (file picture) In a report released on Thursday by the non-profit research organisation C4ADS, it said initial restrictions in China and Russia - where around 80 percent of North Korean labourers are believed to work - appear to have loosened. 'For a time, both Russia and China appeared to be expelling North Korean workers well before U.N. deadlines, but more recent reporting suggests that North Korea may have again begun to dispatch labour to both countries,' the report concluded. A separate report released this week by the Seoul-based Asan Institute for Policy Studies said between 2015 and 2017 the Moscow-based Independent Petroleum Company (IPC) sold far more oil to North Korea than what was officially reported. 'The amount of oil IPC sold to North Korea between 2015 and 2017 could be worth as much USD 238 million,' the report estimated. 'This far exceeds Russia's official report on its oil exports to North Korea during the same period, which amounted to USD 25 million.' IPC was sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department in June 2017 over its trade with North Korea, and in December 2017 the U.N. imposed its strictest limits on North Korean imports to date. In September last year, Reuters found that at least eight North Korean ships that left Russia with a cargo of fuel headed for their homeland despite declaring other destinations, a ploy that U.S. officials say is often used to undermine sanctions. A young model has been jailed for three years in Belarus for possessing a gram of cannabis after she was stopped because officials spotted her marijuana leaf T-shirt. Marya Khrestina, 26, was charged with consumption and smuggling of drugs after 1.14 grams of cannabis was found in her hand luggage aboard a flight to Poland. Authorities became suspicious of the Russian model because she was wearing a number of items that depicted a marijuana leaf. Marya Khrestina has been jailed for three years in Belarus after being caught with cannabis She was charged with consumption and smuggling of drugs after 1.14 grams of cannabis was found in her hand luggage aboard a flight to Poland After carrying out tests, doctors found cannabis traces in her blood and urine. She was sentenced to three years in jail in a court in Brest, a city in southwestern Belarus that lies along the border with Poland. There is a chance Khrestina and her lawyers will appeal the harsh sentence, according to reports. The model has more than 160,000 followers on Instagram and regularly posts saucy snaps of herself. After carrying out tests, doctors found cannabis traces in the 26-year-old's blood and urine She was sentenced to three years in jail in a court in Brest, a city in southwestern Belarus that lies along the border with Poland But some of her followers blasted her after her conviction. 'It is important that people use their brains sometimes, it is the most important part of our bodies!' one said. 'Silicone lips and thousands of social media followers are far less important.' Another commented: 'Looks like she will have some fun in prison. 'After serving her sentence she can come back to social media and brag that she spent time behind bars!' There's a chance Khrestina and her lawyers will appeal the sentence, according to reports A 33-year-old man has been charged with fraudulently obtaining money meant for Grenfell Tower survivors and bereaved families. Antonio Gouveia is charged with two counts of fraud by false representation and will appear before magistrates in Westminster today. It is claimed he is neither a survivor of the tragedy nor someone left bereaved, but attempted to fraudulently get his hands on money meant for those affected. A man has become the ninth person charged with fraud in relation to the Grenfell disaster A Scotland Yard spokesman said: 'Antonio Gouveia, 33, will appear in custody at Westminster Magistrates' Court on Friday, 3 August charged with two counts of fraud by false representation. 'He was arrested on Thursday, 2 August. 'Gouveia is alleged to have fraudulently obtained money intended for those affected by the tragedy while being neither a survivor nor a bereaved family member himself.' Five fraudsters have so far been jailed for defrauding charities and authorities out of money in the wake of the fire on June 14 last year, which claimed 72 lives. Another man, Yonatan Eyob, pleaded guilty to fraud by false representation earlier this week after he wrongly claimed 11,000 towards a new home. Two other men are currently awaiting trial on fraud charges. A man has been arrested in connection with the assassination of an exiled Seychelles political leader in London more than 30 years ago. The Metropolitan Police's counter terrorism unit, along with Northern Irish police, arrested a 77-year-old man at an address in Antrim, Northern Ireland, on suspicion of conspiracy to murder Gerard Hoarau. Hoarau, who was the leader of an opposition party on the Indian Ocean island, was shot dead on his front doorstep in Edgware, London on November 29, 1985. His supporters said the Seychelles government, led by former communist president France-Albert Rene, were behind the shooting. They also claimed Hoarau received death threats prior to his assassination, and had survived earlier attempts on his life. Gerard Hoarau was the leader of opposition party in Seychelles when he was exiled to Britain Investigators had arrested a number of people in connection with the case, but no-one was ever charged with murder. Timeline of a political hit: Lead up to 1985 doorstep assassination of Gerard Hoarau June 5, 1977 - Coup led to France Albert Rene ousted president James Mancham 1981 - Rene turns Seychelles into a one-party socialist state 1982 - Hoarau forced to flee South Africa and move to London after being linked to failed coup to overthrow Rene 1985 - Hoarau preparing to release document of bungled plot by Rene to kill him in September of that year November 29, 1985 - Hoarau shot dead on his doorstep in London Advertisement Three people were convicted in 1986 for perverting the course of justice in relation to the investigation. British police found that the 34-year-old's telephone line had been bugged. The type of weapon used to kill Hoarau, a Sterling sub-machine gun, was the same type of gun used by Seychelles police. Hoarau was shot dead after the killer opened fire 11 times from the opposite side of the road, with three bullets hitting the exiled politician. One bullet even entered his neighbour's home. There were virtually no witnesses and police at the time were unsure if killer had an accomplice. The Metropolitan Police said a review of the probe was restarted in 2016, from which 'fresh lines of enquiry were established, leading to today's arrest'. Police said the man arrested yesterday had not been previously been brought in for questioning beforehand The new suspect had not previously been arrested as part of the investigation and he was taken to a south London police station for questioning. Hoarau left the Seychelles after former President France-Albert Rene took power in a bloodless coup in 1977. The former leader of the National Movement was forced to flee South Africa, where he had previously been in exile, after being linked to a failed attempt to topple Rene's government in 1981, where 50 mercenaries hijacked a plane to escape. Hoarau then moved to London in 1982. Rene subsequently ruled the archipelago, comprising some 115 islands scattered off the east coast of Africa, until 2004, turning it into a one-party socialist state. Hoarau had previously published well-documented allegations of corruption, and at the time of his death had intended to publish a three-page document alleging a bungled plot by Rene to kill him in September in Cannes, The Sunday Times reported at the time. Hoarau left the Seychelles after former President France-Albert Rene took power in a bloodless coup in 1977. Pictured: A photo from near the crime scene in 1985 An alleged drink driver who blew three times over the limit is accused of speeding through a school zone before bizarrely reversing his car when he was caught by police. The 39-year-old was allegedly busted by officers doing 76km/h in a 40km/h zone outside a school in Brisbane on Thursday. Video footage of the incident shows him reversing his four-wheel drive into another car, leaving one officer exclaiming 'What!?' in disbelief. A 39-year-old man was allegedly speeding through a Brisbane school zone The video then shows the officer demanding that the man pull up to the side of the road. Superintendent Dave Johnson, Road Policing Command said dangerous driving which places the lives at risk 'is one hundred per cent unacceptable and police remain committed to finding these drivers and taking them off our roads'. The Newport man is due to appear in the Brisbane Magistrates Court on August 22 charged with driving under the influence He allegedly blew 0.162. The man was also issued infringement notices for speeding and reversing when not safe. No-one was injured as a result of the collision, with both vehicles sustaining minor damage. The man is not associated with the school and police will allege he had travelled from Eatons Hill before being intercepted at Spring Hill. Safaa Boular, Britain's youngest woman to be convicted of plotting a terror attack, has been jailed today The youngest woman to be convicted of plotting a terror attack on British soil has been jailed for life. Schoolgirl Safaa Boular wanted to become a jihadi bride in Syria, but started plotting an attack in London after the ISIS fighter she planned to marry was killed in an air strike. The 18-year-old wanted to carry out a grenade and gun attack on the British Museum and was backed by her fundamentalist mother Mina Dich and sister Rizlaine in the UK's first all-female terror cell. The teenager hid her plans in coded conversations about preparations for an apparently innocent 'Mad Hatter's tea party'. But after an Old Bailey jury convicted her of being a terrorist, she was sentenced life imprisonment today and ordered to serve at least 13 years behind bars. Safaa's lawyers told the court the teenager - who normally wore a burka but changed into Western clothes throughout her trial - had been 'groomed' into Islamist ideas and is now 'no longer a Muslim'. But Judge Mark Dennis QC questioned how much she had really changed her views and said she knew what she was doing when she plotted the attack. Boular, pictured bottom left, with her mother and sister before the trio began plotting carnage Mother Mina Dich, right, helped with reconnaissance trips and bought knives and sister Rizlaine, left, planned to carry on the terror attack plans after Safaa was arrested The judge said: 'In my view there's insufficient evidence to say at this stage this defendant is a truly transformed individual. Her views were deeply entrenched. 'However much she may have been influenced and drawn into extremism, it appeared she knew what she was doing and acted with open eyes.' He pointed out that she still blamed the US for ISIS executions when questioned about them a month ago, and played a 'leading role' in the terror plans. The judge also slammed the influence of Boular's mother after lawyers said the teenage jihadi grew up in 'terribly damaging household'. He said: 'By 2012, 2013, a new theme had emerged in the family, namely Mina Dich's increasing move towards a conservative and ultimately more extreme version of the Islamic faith. 'This affected not only her mindset and approach to daily life.. but also that of her daughters. 'It is apparent that the defendant and Rizlaine became increasingly exposed to these extremist views.' The teenager took selfies outside the MI6 building in London as she plotted the terror attack Boular was sitting her GCSEs when she was seduced online by ISIS fighter Naweed Hussain, who was originally from Coventry. After she was stopped from joining the 32-year-old in Syria, she discussed a grenade and gun attack on the British Museum instead. Their plans were uncovered by online MI5 role-players and the Boular family home in Vauxhall, south London, was bugged. Boular's resolve was strengthened when she learned Hussain had been killed in a drone strike in early April last year. While in custody for trying to travel to the war zone, she passed the baton to her older sibling Rizlaine. In coded telephone calls, they discussed a traditional English tea party with an Alice in Wonderland theme, the trial heard. Boular had planned to marry ISIS fighter Naweed Hussain and become a suicide bomber in Syria but started plotting an attack in London when he was killed in an air strike Terror sisters listened to Anjem Choudary sermons The often shocking trial of Safaa Boular heard she ran away from home in 2014 after feeling 'crazy, jealous' at schoolfriends who could talk to boys and 'wear what they wanted'. Rizlaine, her older sister had become increasingly radicalised in the toxic atmosphere home where it was normal to blame the sins of the world on the 'kafir' and the decadence of the West. Two months after Safaa ran away from home in August 2014, Rizlaine was caught trying to join ISIS in Istanbul and flown back to the UK. By the time of the Paris terror attacks in November 2015 Safaa too was fully radicalised and in contact with prolific ISIS recruiter Umm Isa Al-Amriki who was living there. Rizlaine also downloaded a stash of extremist material published by ISIS and Al Qaeda as well as content from radical preachers including Anjem Choudary and Mohammed Mizanur Rahman. Advertisement Rizlaine Boular then set about arming herself and looking at targets around the Palace of Westminster. She was helped by her mother Mina Dich, unaware they were being watched by counter-terrorism police. The older sister shared her plans with her friend Khawla Barghouthi, 21, and even practised the knife attack at her home in Willesden, north-west London. Rizlaine, 22, was shot when armed police moved in to arrest the gang on April 27 last year but made a full recovery. She was jailed for life with a minimum term of 16 years, having admitted preparing acts of terrorism. Dich, 44, from south London, was jailed for six years and nine months with an additional five years on licence for helping her. Barghouthi, who pleaded guilty to failing to alert authorities, was jailed for two years and four months. Following a trial Safaa Boular was found guilty of two counts of preparing terrorist acts. An Indian woman bit off her husband's penis after he caught her 'in a compromising position' with another villager. The 45-year-old wife, named as Jayanthi, has been charged with attempted murder after 'confessing' to the crime, in Vellore district of southern India. Police say she and her husband, a farmer called Senthamarai, had been at a temple festival in Thuraimoola village, near Gudiyatham. An Indian woman bit off her husband's penis after he caught her 'in a compromising position' with another villager (file picture) Jayanthi used the excuse of needing to relieve herself outside before slipping off to meet her lover at about 1.30am, according to The Times of India. When she failed to return, a worried Senthamarai, 55, went out to look for her - only tom find his wife in a 'compromising position' with another villager, named as Dhatchanamoorthi. In a rage, he grabbed them both and threatened to make their illicit relationship public, police said, with Senthamarai's dhoti - a garment that covers the legs - falling off in the struggle. Fearing she and her lover would be thrashed by angry villagers, Jayanthi bit her husband's penis, severing part of it and escaped with her lover, officers reported. Noise from the festival drowned out the sound of the scuffle. A bleeding Senthamarai and the severed part of his penis were rushed to hospital in Chennai where his condition is described as stable. Jayanthi was tracked down when police monitored Dhatchanamoorthi's mobile phone use. She is said to have confessed to the crime and has been remanded in custody in Vellore central Prison for Women. Shocking footage shows a gang of 40 masked motorcyclists rampaging through a city in a wild police chase. The brazen youths were captured on CCTV charging down a residential street in Wythenshawe, Manchester, as they tried to outpace officers. Tearing down both sides of the road and even on pavements, the thugs are followed by a police 4x4 during the pursuit at 5.30pm on July 15. Fearful residents claim they are being terrorised by biker gangs which race their illegal dirt bikes, as well as motorbikes and scooters, around the city at weekends. Their faces are hidden behind helmets and balaclavas, and they evade capture by speeding through woodland where police cars can't follow. Children as young as 10 are believed to be part of the gangs. Tutor Francine Lace, 49, captured the disturbing footage on her CCTV camera. 'People need to see this video. This is what we have to put up with every weekend,' she said. 'I'm quite worried by it. It gets worse when the hot weather comes out. 'I've seen one biker riding down the street with a little kid on the back without a helmet.' A brazen gang of masked bikers rampaging through Wythenshawe in Manchester The group of 40 youths wearing balaclavas speed along the residential street, tearing down both sides of the road and even on the pavement A man who lives three minutes away from Francine claims his neighbours struggle to sleep at night because of the noise. 'Lads and kids as young as 10 are on bikes speeding around the roads then they drive into a nearby woods,' he said. 'The police won't chase the bikers because they use ginnels and the woods to evade them.' The reckless gang riding illegal dirt bikes, as well as motorbikes and scooters, during the wild police chase A 4x4 police car follows helplessly as the thugs speed off into the distance. They can escape police by charging through woodland and alleyways where officers cannot follow them Greater Manchester Police has launched Operation Comenca in the city to specifically target illegal off-road bikes in an attempt to curb the problem. Inspector John Picton said: 'Off-road bikes being used illegally is a big concern for both police and local residents and we remain committed to tackling the very real danger that they pose. 'Operation Comenca is currently taking place in Wythenshawe and has seen neighbourhood officers liaising with GMP's Safer Roads Targeting Team, focusing on specific problem areas and doing all we can to catch these offenders and bring them to justice. 'We encourage the public to remain vigilant and report any illegal activity to us on 101 or via LiveChat on the GMP website and have also introduced a toolkit to help us work with communities to gather information and get the real picture of what is happening.' A British tourist has been rushed to hospital after falling at a Majorca hotel balcony as he allegedly relieved himself over a balcony. The holidaymaker, 20, is said to have lost his balance and hit the ground head-first after pulling his trousers down and sitting over the edge of the balcony at the hotel in the party town of Magaluf. He fell from the sixth-floor at TRH Magaluf Hotel at about 3.30am, although the building is on a slope so he dropped around 25ft. A British tourist has been rushed to hospital after falling at a Majorca hotel balcony as he allegedly relieved himself over a balcony. The incident happened at TRH Magaluf Hotel in the party town of Magaluf Island paper Cronica Balear published distressing images of the fall victim on the ground as police and paramedics tended to him. He is said to be in a 'serious' condition. The footage showed another holidaymaker believed to be a friend or relative rushing up to the emergency workers and trying to reach him as he realised what had happened. He could be heard shouting 'no, no' as he was held back by a local police officer before burying his head in his hands and breaking down in tears. A blonde woman later appeared on the scene to comfort him before he was led away by officers so the emergency response team could carry on with their work stabilising the injured man, who was taken away in a stretcher. Civil Guard officers confirmed this morning the injured man was British but said they could not comment on the claims made by Cronica Balear about the circumstances in which he fell. An official for the force said: 'The matter is under investigation.' A British holidaymaker was seriously injured at the same hotel in May last year after falling from a first-floor balcony. He was later named as Andrew Rhys Philips. The overnight incident is the latest in a string of balcony falls this year in Magaluf. Three Britons have died after plunges from the same building - a private apartment block called Eden Roc - which was ordered to make urgent changes to improve safety. Iran entered its third day of protests as furious citizens took to the streets to rail against the regime they blame for devastating the country's economy. Protests have broken out in a number of cities this week over the dramatic drop of the country's currency and other economic problems ahead of the imposition of renewed US sanctions. Videos shared online purportedly show some furious Iranians burning tyres and setting fire to police vehicles as demonstrations spun out of control. Referring to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, many chanted 'death to the dictator' at protests. 'The nation is forced to beg while the leader lives like God,' was also among the furious chants against the Iranian regime at protests, according to the National Council of Resistance of Iran, a political organisation founded to oppose the fundamentalist regime ruling Iran. Iran entered its third day of protests as furious citizens took to the streets to rail against the regime they blame for devastating the country's economy. Pictured, protesters were reportedly seen burning tyres during demonstrations against the regime On Tuesday and Wednesday, about 200 people demonstrated in the city of Karaj, west of Tehran, Iran's state-run news agency IRNA reported. Police said the demonstrators had attempted to damage public buildings, but were unable to. In videos circulated on social media and purporting to have been taken in the town of Gohardasht, a suburb of Karaj, dozens of demonstrators can be seen in the streets, setting fire to police vehicles and shouting 'death to the dictator.' Police responded with tear gas. Another video purportedly from Isfahan in central Iran showed protesters setting tyres ablaze in a bid to evade arrest. The authenticity of the videos could not immediately be verified. 'Scattered protests' of a few hundred people were reported by state news agencies on Thursday, which police had brought under control. About 100 people took to the streets in the northern city of Sari, as well as unspecified numbers in the cities of Shiraz, Ahavz and Mashhad, IRNA said. Videos posted on social media have shown days of demonstrations in Isfahan and minor protests in the capital on Thursday night. So far, they have not been on the scale of the violent unrest that gripped dozens of towns and cities in December and January. Another video purportedly from Isfahan in central Iran showed protesters setting tyres ablaze in a bid to evade arrest, bringing traffic on Khomeini Highway to a halt But anxiety is everywhere, especially over the collapse of the rial, which has lost nearly two-thirds of its value in six months. 'We are seeing protests and they will continue,' Adnan Tabatabai, head of the CARPO think tank in Germany, told AFP. 'The establishment knows they are legitimate but my biggest concern is they will be hijacked by groups inside and outside the country and turn violent.' All protests had taken place without official permission and were subsequently broken up by police, the agency said. A video from Shiraz, a city in south-central Iran, showed a seven-year-old boy who had reportedly had tear gas fired in his face by police. M. Hanif Jazayeri, with the NCR, who shared the video on Twitter, also shared clips of angry chants from protesters in Karaj. 'Mullahs must answer for wasting Iran's wealth on terror,' he added. Maryam Rajavi, NCR's president-elect, has said that Iran's economy will not recover until the regime is toppled. According to the NCR, the Iranian regime spent billions funding war in Syria and conflicts across the Middle East - as well as funding terrorism and supporting proxy groups 'that carry out criminal activities on its behalf. Protests have broken out in a number of cities this week over the dramatic drop of the country's currency and other economic problems Mrs Rajavi says the disastrous state of the economy in Iran is a direct result of the regime's policies. 'Protesters will not rest until the Iranian people and the nation are free,' she said. She added: 'Iran's risen and revolting cities are joining the protests, one after the other. 'The cry for freedom is becoming louder, and the uprising is expanding more and more every moment. 'There is no force more powerful than the united force of young people.' After protests broke out on Tuesday, she said: 'Today, the world can see that the voice of Iranians cannot be silence despite massive repression, and their uprisings are carrying on until victory. 'These are the blazing flames of resistance with over 100,000 martyrs, flaring up in the streets after forty years.' The Iranian rial has dropped to a new record low amid growing concerns of renewed American sanctions, due to kick in on Monday. 'Death to the dictator' and 'the nation is forced to beg while the leader lives like God,' were among the furious chants against the Iranian regime at protests Scattered protests broke out in several Iranian cities on Thursday to rail against the regime Earlier, Iranian protesters had clashed with police outside parliament as the plunging rial triggered three days of protests last month in Tehran. Iranians are hunkering down for the return of US sanctions with a run on gold and hard currency as they scramble to protect their savings, and sporadic protests over the already troubled economy. Many wealthy Iranians are leaving the country, while others have been gripped by a bunker mentality, stocking up on provisions, dollars and gold in order to ride out the storm. Customers were cheek-to-jowl in the narrow alleys of Tehran's Grand Bazaar this week. 'People are worried that if they don't buy things today, they won't be available tomorrow,' said Ali, who runs a kitchen store in the bazaar, adding that wholesalers were hoarding new stock while they waited to see how the crisis unfolded. Multinational firms that rushed to cash in three years ago - such as France's energy giant Total and carmakers Peugeot and Renault - are already packing up. A decision to fix the exchange rate in April and arrest unlicensed currency dealers backfired spectacularly and triggered a boom in the black market. About 100 people took to the streets in the northern city of Sari, as well as unspecified numbers in the cities of Shiraz (pictured) The consequences have sometimes felt absurd. One expat described having to meet a trader under a bridge in central Tehran to change $2,000 (1,700 euros). 'He told me to wear a red scarf and came up to me whispering: 'Show me the money' like we were in a spy film,' she said. The US walked out of the 2015 nuclear deal in May and is bringing back 'maximum pressure' sanctions for most sectors on August 6, and the energy sector on November 4. In May, President Donald Trump pulled the US out of a multilateral deal with Iran that was meant to prevent Tehran from developing nuclear weapons. Trump denounced the deal, concluded before he took office, as one-sided in Iran's favour. The US is bringing back 'maximum pressure' sanctions for most sectors on August 6, and the energy sector on November 4. But on Monday, he declared that he would be willing to meet Iranian President Hassan Rouhani with 'no preconditions.' Trump said that as renewed sanctions kick in, he expected Iran would call and offer to return to the negotiating table, and that 'we're ready to make a real deal.' Cars drive by a poster depicting Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Tehran on Tuesday Former President Barack Obama held a brief phone call with Rouhani in 2013, as the talks that led up to the nuclear deal were getting underway. It was the first time the presidents of the two countries had spoken since the 1979 Islamic Revolution and the storming of the US Embassy, which led to the severing of diplomatic ties. Although Iran reacted skeptically to Trump saying that he's willing to negotiate with his Iranian counterpart 'anytime,' top officials did not reject a sit-down out of hand. Ali Akbar Nategh Nouri, a senior cleric and member of the influential Expediency Council, said Trump's suggestion that he would be willing to meet with Rouhani should not be categorically rejected. 'It should be discussed in the Supreme National Security Council,' said Nategh Nouri, who is also a former aide to the Supreme Leader. Nategh Nouri said 'we have to contemplate' the gesture, but also cautioned 'we should not rejoice over this offer and not get excited.' Moving footage shows a motorist and his passenger standing solemnly in the pouring rain to honor a fallen firefighter. One of the men can be seen with his hands clasped behind his back in the city of Tomball in Texas. The driver - wearing a black cap, black trousers and navy shirt - stares mournfully into the distance in the poignant clip filmed by another motorist. The driver had parked up his white van outside a gas station at the junction of a busy highway next to a shopping mall. It is thought he and his passenger were paying tribute to a fallen firefighter - the identity of whom is not clear. Moving: The motorist stands with his hands clasped behind his back in the city of Tomball in Texas next to a busy road The two men appear unbothered by the pouring rain and stare straight ahead in the moving footage As traffic passes by and water pours onto the windscreen of the car filming the moving scene, the two men stand proudly without flinching. Tomball Fire Department have been contacted for comment. The African mother who killed her three of her children by driving them into a lake claimed her jail sentence was too harsh because she was mentally unwell. Akon Guode said she was mentally disturbed when she drove the family car into the Melbourne lake with four of her children inside, killing the three youngest. The 38-year-old pleaded guilty to murdering her 17-month-old son, Bol, and four-year-old twins, Hanger and Madit, and attempting to murder her five-year-old daughter, Aluel, in 2015. Akon Guode (left) killed three of her children by driving them into a lake and has claimed her jail sentence was too harsh because she was mentally unwell One-year-old Bol (left) and four-year-old twins Hanger and Maudit (right) all died when their mother intentionally drove a car carrying them into a Melbourne lake, putting her in prison for at least 20 years The 38-year-old said she was mentally disturbed after giving birth when she drove the family car into the lake (pictured) killing the three youngest children Guode filed an application for leave to appeal her 26-year sentence earlier this month and the Court of Appeal heard the woman was mentally unbalanced after the child's birth - making her guilty of infanticide, the Herald Sun reported. The mother-of-seven was jailed for one year for infanticide, for 22 years per murder and for six years for attempted murder - a penalty combination Guode's representative Julian McMahon said was 'not harmonious'. 'We say the public conscience would actually be shocked by the severity of the other sentences,' Mr McMahon said. The Crown reportedly argued the sentencing judge took into account Guode's mental state. To this day, no one knows why the 38-year-old, who survived the Sudan war, killed some of her children. In July 2016, police released a statement allegeding Guode had spoken about killing herself and her children the day of the murders. The mother-of-seven (left) was jailed for one year for infanticide, for 22 years per murder and for six years for attempted murder - a penalty combination Guode's representative Julian McMahon said was 'not harmonious' A court heard that she was in a large amount of debt and had sent almost $100,000 to family in South Sudan since she moved to Australia in 2008. During the hearing her barrister Marcus Dempsey blamed the atrocity on an 'accruing of pressures and stress'. After the birth of Bol, Guode suffered from postnatal depression and received little support from her community. She had left her first husband after starting an affair with the father of the three children, Joseph Manyang, and had been largely isolated from the community because of it. In June of 2016, a court heard a 000 call from the moment Guode drove into the lake. A witness could be heard in a recording saying: 'I saw them just drive full bolt into the water.' After the bodies of her children were pulled from the lake, the mother blamed a dizzy spell for causing her to lose control of the car The Crown reportedly argued the sentencing judge took into account Guode's mental state (pictured car being pulled from water) After the bodies of her children were pulled from the lake, the mother blamed a dizzy spell for causing her to lose control of the car. But an investigator said the car was deliberately driven into the water. Several police re-enactments showed the car could not have drifted off the roadway, as Guode claimed. The re-enactments also demonstrated a driver would need to turn the steering wheel three times to get into the water. Joseph Tito Manyang (pictuered right) leaves the Melbourne Supreme Court after Guode was sentenced to 26 years prison for killing three of their children A coffin with the bodies of one of the three children during a funeral service on April 18, 2015 Several passers-by and witnesses recalled hearing the car's engine's revving after it had landed in the water. A key witness also testified that Guode believed witchcraft had caused the crash. The mother-of-seven told the woman she thought she was under a 'spell' when she drove into Lake Gladman. The woman said Guode believed her lover's wife may have used a witch doctor against her. The witness gave evidence she overheard Guode say she would 'rather take her own life and that of the kids' than see them live with her lover, Joseph Manyang, and his wife. During Guode's committal hearing Mr Manyang said he believed it was an accident and continued to visit Guode in prison. He said she was a good mother who loved all her children. Guode's recent appeal comes despite the community outrage over her sentence. Victims of crime advocate Noel McNamara said it should have been harsher. 'She killed three children and attempted to kill a fourth, she should have got life in prison,' Mr McNamara said. Suring the sentencing judge, Justice Lex Lasry told the court that some people may see it as 'inadequate.' He added though that many would also say it was 'excessive' because of Gouda's mental state. Charles Bronson (pictured) is accused of assaulting Mark Docherty inside the high security prison Notorious prisoner Charles Bronson appeared in court today via videolink and said: I feel like I've got a part in Star Trek.' Bronson, who now calls himself Charles Salvador, was beamed into Leeds Crown Court facing charges of attacking a deputy prison governor. During the hearing he seemed to be annoyed by the slow progress and said: 'Come on its nearly lunch time, fish and chips today.' He also complimented the judge on his 'lovely wig'. Bronson looked aged with a greying, white beard as he appeared from HMP Frankland in Durham. The 65-year-old said he was annoyed to be told by the prison services he could not travel to Leeds Crown Court today for his hearing. He was charged with attempting to commit GBH with intent after allegedly attacking Deputy Governor Mark Docherty at Wakefield prison on January 25 this year. Entering the frame, and remaining standing throughout the hearing, Bronson told the court: 'Im Charles Arthur Salvador, born again artist.' The notorious prisoner (pictured at Woodhill Prison on June 1 2001) appeared at Leeds Crown Court today Charles Bronson is accused of attacking a man at the high security HMP Wakefield (pictured) Speaking to judge Guy Kearl, QC, Bronson said: 'First of all I have been locked up for four-and-a-half decades and never used a computer. 'The last time I had a mobile phone it was the size of a house brick. Im not used to all this technology - Im not used to it. 'I dont like it, it makes me feel uncomfortable. It just doesnt go with me. I am an old fashioned prisoner and I am only standing here to save money. 'I should be in your court room as a respectful, honourable man, and facing what Im facing, Ive been talking to you through a TV screen - I feel like I have got a part in Star Trek. Its not me, its not right.' Bronson (left in April 2004 and right in 1997) faced court over an alleged attack at the high security facility Bronson, whose birth name is Michael Peterson, wore dark grey coloured jogging pants and light grey t-shirt, during the ten minute hearing. He did not enter a plea and refused to speak to his legal team before the hearing, the court was told. However, the notorious prisoner will face a trial later in the year. Bronson went on to say he should have been in the court room in person and not through a TV screen. He told the court: 'I wanted to travel down and look out the prison van at all the countryside, the animals, people and buildings. Bronson has only spent four months out of prison in 40 years and is pictured outside Wormwood Scrubs 'Youve denied me that today and you should be ashamed of yourself. Its not me, its not justice. 'I still believe British justice system is the best on the planet. But people like yourself, I think you are doing this country a dishonour. You should have had me in that court room today.' After the hearing was coming to an end, Bronson shouted: 'Come on its nearly lunch time, fish and chips today.' After being told his trial date by the judge, Bronson replied: 'Thats a lovely wig you have on there, do they do them in black?' The TV screen was then quickly turned off by court staff. A trial date was set for November 12. Britain's most violent prisoner Charles Bronson brands his wife a 'drunken s**g' in furious letter and says he would 'rather die in prison' than put up with her drinking problems By Cheyenne Roundtree for MailOnline Charles Bronson has told his wife he would 'rather die in prison' than live on the outside with her drinking problems in a furious letter. Britain's most violent prisoner went on a furious rant against his wife Paula Williamson after a photo emerged of a young man with his head between her breasts during a wild night out in Tenerife. Bronson, 65, vowed to divorce the former Coronation Street actress, who he labelled a 'drunken tart' and accused her of disrespecting him. Bronson, 65, has vowed to divorce his wife Paula Williamson, a former Coronation Street actress, who he labelled a 'drunken tart' and accused her of disrespecting him. Pictured: Paula crying over her marriage last Thursday The couple wed last November in HMP Wakefield, where Bronson is being held. The amateur artist declares in a letter obtained by the Sun: 'I would prefer to die in prison than live your alcaholic [sic] existance [sic].' Bronson, who changed his name behind bars to Salvador, went on his tirade in a letter, which is dated July 18 and filled with doodles. Bronson writes: 'Ronnie Kray would say to you, ''You s**g!'' The former Coronation Street actress was pictured shopping for wedding dresses last year 'Paula: Keep on drinking, keep on showing yourself up, keep on disrespecting me, keep on pretending. 'Do what you need to survive behind closed doors, not in a bar with six geezers and snogging on camera.' He adds: 'My life, my world, is a million miles away from yours. Your world stinks of falseness and drunken liars. 'You need to reflect and look inside your own heart, coz all I see is a deep black hole. 'My life is so much more at peace than yours. 'I told you from day one ''never ever humiliate your man''. 'You have a drug, drink problem, sort it out or do one.' The couple wed last November in HMP Wakefield, where Bronson is being held. Although she initially believed he would laugh it off, Mrs Williamson said she has been left heartbroken after the notorious criminal, 65, called time on their marriage On another page, Bronson continues to insult his wife, telling her to 'side with the Bethal Green geezer. Get fat and ugly together. Rats are best with rats.' He adds: 'You have to live - survive - if you are needing sex, do it behind closed doors (it's a personal matter). 'You don't kiss nobody in a bar. Your (sic) Mrs Salvador... a respected lady. 'Now your (sic) a drunken tart for the world to see.' However, Bronson did admit his love for his wife, saying: 'Without booze you are my angel - I worship you. 'With booze I don't love you. (I don't like a drunk.) 'You need to choose what you want. Your man! or booze! or drugs! 'If I never see you again remember - I did idolise you.' Although she initially believed he would laugh it off, Mrs Williamson said she has been left heartbroken after the notorious criminal, 65, called time on their marriage. She told the Sun: 'I'm absolutely devastated. I can't stop crying. I made one stupid mistake. It was just a dare. 'They took the snap and in that one second they ended my marriage.' 'I feel like he has chewed me up and spat me out just like he did with the last woman who fell for him.' Mrs Williamson added: 'I have always stuck up for him. I've lost everything through this - my work, my family, my friends and my dignity. 'Now, I've lost my husband.' Bronson is one of the country's most notorious prisoners and has spent the majority of the past four decades imprisoned for a series of violent crimes. In recent years he has turned his hand to art and changed his surname from Bronson to Salvador in tribute to the Spanish surrealist artist Salvador Dali. He first struck up a relationship with Miss Williamson - who also had roles in Emmerdale and Hollyoaks - back in 2013 after they started writing to one another. Bronson has previously said he wants to have children with Miss Williamson, claiming he would be the 'best dad in the world'. He was first locked up for armed robbery in 1974, but during his time inside he has taken hostages in 10 prison sieges, attacked at least 20 prison officers and caused 500,000 in damage in rooftop protests. Two Italian sisters claim to be the last living descendants of the woman depicted in the most famous painting in the world. Natalia and Irina Strozzi say they are related to the woman behind Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa. Her real name was Lisa Gherardini del Giocondo, the wife of businessman Francesco del Giocondo, they told NBC News. The Strozzi family were an ancient noble family in Florence with as much power as the Medicis. Natalia and Irina Strozzi say they are related to the woman behind Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa But how a portrait of Lisa Gherardini del Giocondo was commissioned by da Vinci was quite simple, according to the sisters. Da Vinci's father was a notary who worked with Francesco. 'It's nothing extremely impressive,' Natalia told NBC. 'The husband asks Leonardo to paint, his friend, to paint a portrait of his wife,' Natalia told NBC. Art historians have long spent time researching who the woman with the enigmatic smile really was or if she was even an actual woman. They say the sitter's real name was Lisa Gherardini del Giocondo, the wife of businessman Francesco del Giocondo Some theories claim she was the wife of a silk merchant while others say it was simply da Vinci's portrayal of an ideal woman. Another theory is that one of the most recognisable paintings in the history of art is actually a self-portrait of the Italian master. But the sisters' claim is backed up by Rab Hatfield, an art history professor at Syracuse University in Florence. 'I can tell you with complete certainty that the sitter in Leonardo's famous painting was Lisa Gherardini del Giocondo so Natalia and Irina can be certain that this, in fact, is their ancestor,' he said. The sisters say they have visited the portrait of their ancestor, which hangs in The Louvre in Paris, many times The evidence for this was discovered 20 years ago in a library at Heidelberg University in Germany. There, a book was found that featured an annotation referencing da Vinci and a painting of Lisa Gherardini del Giocondo. The painting, which da Vinci began in 1503, now sits in The Louvre in Paris. The Strozzi sisters say they have been to visit their 'grandmother' many times. 'It's our great-grandmother, we have the same blood running in our veins,' Irina said. The sisters have both been ballerinas and actresses, but now work in the family's wine businesses. A palliative care nurse who robbed dying patients and used their credit cards to buy clothes, junk food and Viagra has pleaded guilty to a total of 22 charges, including theft and deception. Naol Benti, 27, was working as a registered nurse at Mercy Place - a residential aged care facility in Parkville, central Melbourne - when he started stealing from his elderly victims in December 2017. The father-of-two racked up hundreds of dollars worth of bills on such frivolous purchases as ice cream, pizza, kitchen appliances and a diamante watch. Naol Benti (pictured), 27 - a palliative care nurse who robbed dying patients and used their credit cards to buy clothes, junk food and Viagra - has pleaded guilty to a total of 22 charges, including theft and deception The father-of-two racked up hundreds of dollars worth of bills on such frivolous purchases as ice cream, pizza, kitchen appliances and a diamante watch Benti's first shopping spree alone came in at more than $500, Nine News reports. 'I think that's probably as low as you get,' said Anne, the daughter of 91-year-old Mary whose cash and cards were missing from her wallet on the day she passed away. 'You don't get much worse than that... How could someone do this?' Another patient reportedly awoke to find Benti holding his $1400 watch, with the nurse claiming he was going to take it to get the battery replaced. Benti, 27, was working as a registered nurse at Mercy Place - a residential aged care facility in Parkville, central Melbourne - when he started stealing from his elderly victims in December 2017 One elderly patient reportedly awoke to find Benti holding his $1400 watch, with the nurse claiming he was going to take it to get the battery replaced Benti was ultimately arrested and charged in early August. The accused's lawyer told the court his client was remorseful and embarrassed, and further noted that Benti's wife was pregnant and mentally ill in the time leading up to his crimes. For now, Benti remains employed in aged care. A verdict on the case will be announced Monday. Theresa May has been pictured laughing with Emmanuel Macron after dinner at her French counterpart's lavish holiday retreat on the Mediterranean coast as the two leaders discus Brexit. Mr Macron is hosting the British Prime Minster for a four-course dinner at the dramatic setting of Fort Bregancon, a small island which was once fortified by Napoleon. Mrs May, joined by colleagues including her chief of staff and the British ambassador to France, arrived at the fort and sat down with Mr Macron this evening after breaking off from her holiday in Italy to try and sell her Chequers plan for Brexit. Ahead of tonight's talks, Mrs May spoke to EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker in the latest phase of Britain's diplomatic offensive. Mr Macron and Mrs May walk during their meeting accompanied by Brigitte Macron (left) Theresa May sits down with Emmanuel Macron as the two leaders prepare for talks on Brexit From left: Foreign affairs advisor Olly Robbins, Chief of Staff of Britain's Prime Minister Gavin Barwell and British ambassador to France Edward Llewellyn join the two leaders The French President (pictured today arriving for the talks with Theresa May) will host the Prime Minster for a four-course dinner at the dramatic setting of Fort Bregancon Theresa May arrives in the south of France today for a crunch summit with French leader Emmanuel Macron as she attempts to get support for her Brexit deal on the continent The two leaders enjoyed a four-course French meal on a terrace overlooking the Mediterranean on the island of Fort Bregancon, the French leader's seaside retreat Mrs May was hoping to persuade Mr Macron to assist with an EU deal, because France is viewed as one of the main obstacles to a relaxation of the EU's position in the negotiations. A Government source last night told the Mail that Mrs May's message to Mr Macron would be: 'It's the Chequers deal or no deal'. French government sources meanwhile have insisted they do not want to hamper a deal between the UK and the EU. An Elysee Palace source told Le Monde today: 'The absence of an agreement on the withdrawal is not a scenario that we, as our partners, wish.' Despite this, the source said there would be no official announcement or agreement from the meeting, and that Brussels was still making the key decisions. A British official concurred, saying: 'There will be no declaration afterwards. It's just a routine working get-together.' Mrs May has been on holiday in Italy with her husband Philip in recent days, but will return to work today as she attempts to keep her Brexit plans on the rails Perched 35 metres above sea level on a small island off the French Mediterranean coast, the fortress has been the official retreat of the president of France since 1968 It is the fourth high-level meeting between UK and French politicians in France in eight days, as the British lobby their counterparts. The most high-profile until today was between Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt and Jean-Yves Le Drian, the French foreign minister, in Paris. Mr Hunt said at the time: 'The probability of No Deal is increasing by the day until we see a change of approach from the European Commission who have this view that they just need to wait and Britain will blink. 'That is just a profound misunderstanding of us as a nation. There is real chance of No Deal by accident. Everyone is assuming, no, no, no, this will never happen. Well, actually, it could.' Another French government source said: 'It will be a four-course dinner on a terrace overlooking the sea.' President Macron's wife Brigitte will join him and Mrs May for dinner this evening John Edwards (pictured) horrifically murdered his two children at their home in Sydney's northern suburbs and had planned the attack two weeks earlier The child-killer who horrifically murdered his two children at their home in Sydney's northern suburbs had planned the attack two weeks earlier. John Edwards shot dead 15-year-old Jack and 13-year-old Jennifer before shooting himself late in the afternoon so their mother would find her bullet-riddled children when she got home from work at a law firm. The 67-year-old, who had a custody battle with estranged wife Olga Edwards, went to a shooting range a fortnight before he performed the double-murder-suicide in July. The retired financial adviser went to St Marys Indoor Shooting range and bought 1000 patches to cover up the bullet holes of his target to 'shoot it up' and 'go all out', the Daily Telegraph reported. The 67-year-old shot dead 15-year-old Jack (left) and 13-year-old Jennifer (right) before shooting himself late in the afternoon so their mother would find her bullet-riddled children Edwards went to a shooting range a fortnight before he performed the double-murder-suicide in July and 'wanted to keep shooting' at St Marys Indoor Shooting range and bought 1000 patches to cover up the bullet holes of his target (receipt pictured) 'He obviously wanted to keep shooting,' a firearms source claimed. Edwards paid $380 in training fees at the club when he joined in April 2017 and spent $35 a month to keep his firearms in a locker. The killer went to the shooting range on June 21 where he practiced for an hour and two weeks later, CCTV footage revealed Edwards removed his guns from the locker less than 24 hours before killing his teenagers. Detectives believe the father committed the violent crime in West Pennant Hills, NSW, as a form of revenge towards the children's 36-year-old mother. Police initially claimed the murders were planned for up to a year. The 67-year-old, who reportedly has children from an earlier marriage, was rejected from multiple shooting clubs in the years leading up to the murders. Edwards paid $380 in training fees at the club when he joined in April 2017 and spent $35 a month to keep his firearms in a locker before he removed the guns a day before the attack Edwards registered for his firearms licence in late 2017 - almost a decade to the day after an apprehended violence order (AVO) against him ended - and purchased several guns including the ones he would ultimately use to execute the siblings. It was around this time he and his ex-wife agreed to end a two-year custody dispute, under the proviso that the children live with their mother and have no contact with their father 'whatsoever'. After slaughtering his kids, the self-employed businessman then turned one of the guns on himself at his own neglected home in nearby Normanhurst, where his body was found on July 6. There is possibly nothing Brits love more than a lovely pot of tea. And while the UK is often known for its stiff upper lip, the etiquette of making a good cuppa is something that can easily offend if not properly followed. This is why one local farmers market has left Twitter users fuming after innocently sharing a GIF that showed milk added to a teapot. Leeds-based Headingley Market inadvertently kicked off a national debate when tweeting the animation to celebrate national Yorkshire Day. Leeds-based Headingley Market inadvertently kicked off a national debate when tweeting the above animation to celebrate national Yorkshire Day One social media user replied: No, I wont visit as you appear to have put milk in your teapot. I am sure people got put in the tower for less The Yorkshire Tea official Twitter account even weighed into the debate, writing: It's mildly alarming, but we don't have it in our hearts to be mean to a local market Within minutes of the controversial GIF being posted from their Twitter account, social media users jokingly told the farmers market that it should be ashamed by the milky abomination. One said: Happy #YorkshireDay to you too. If you want to pop down to Nottingham for #NottinghamshireDay you'll be welcomed and shown how to make tea properly. Another commented: If that tea is Yorkshire, I will stay in Lancashire thank you. Andy Jackson said: 'If that's the tea you're serving I'm going to the pub.' Barbie Brinkman added: 'Absolutely traumatised... I wouldn't even dunk a fig roll in that!' Within minutes of the controversial GIF being posted from their Twitter account, social media users jokingly told the farmers market that it should be ashamed by the milky abomination Captioned with: Happy #YorkshireDay peeps! Did you know all of our stalls are local to Leeds? Come and visit us on 11th August, one social media user replied: No, I wont visit as you appear to have put milk in your teapot. I am sure people got put in the tower for less. The Yorkshire Tea official Twitter account even weighed into the debate, writing: It's mildly alarming, but we don't have it in our hearts to be mean to a local market! Headingley Market apologised for the tea-making faux pas saying they picked the problematic GIF as they liked the teapot. The market wrote: Waking up to 99+ notifications over a #tea GIF. The good ol' #Yorkshire folk shining through with some top quality responses, as always! Our mornings sorted, cheers #teagate Britain's longest married wife feels like she has 'lost a limb' after her husband died aged 106- just weeks before their 84th wedding anniversary. Maurice and Helen Kaye were married on August 27 1934, in a Synagogue in London and were were preparing to celebrate yet another year happily betrothed when Mr Kaye fell ill and died. He leaves behind his 105-year-old widow who has since moved into a care home as she couldn't face living in the flat the couple shared without her him being there. Britain's longest married couple pictured at their home in Bournemouth have finally parted ways after being together for a staggering 88 years The couple pictured on their wedding day on August 27, 1934. The couple met in 1930 when Mr Kaye, was an an 18-year-old travelling salesman and Mrs Kaye worked in a womenswear business in Bournemouth Only six weeks ago he and Mrs Kaye had travelled from their home in Bournemouth, Dorset, to attend their grandson's wedding in London. But he became ill last month, was admitted to hospital and passed away with his family at his bedside on July 23. His daughter, Tina Son, said her mother feels like she has lost a limb. She said: 'He was 106 and everybody said they thought he was going to go on forever as he was the most amazing man and was quite fit for his age. The couple pictured at the wedding of their grandson Avi on June 20 this year. Just six weeks before Mr Kaye sadly passed away 'He and my mother came to London for my son's wedding just five or six weeks ago. 'But in the last 10 days of his life he became very poorly very suddenly. 'He was taken to hospital and although he did rally a bit, in the last four or five days it was quite clear that he was coming to the end of his life. 'My mother isn't too bad, but she feels sad and lonely and feels like she has lost a limb. 'They had been married for almost 84 years but they had been together for 88 years from when they first started going out. It is a very long time to be with someone and then they are not there anymore. 'She has moved to a residential care home because she didn't want to be sat in the flat by herself thinking about him all of the time. There are people she knows in the home and she can have a bit of a life. 'They moved to the flat 15 years ago when they were aged 90 and 91. At the time we said to them they were mad moving at their age but they had 15 very happy years living there.' Mr Kaye grew up in east London and Mrs Kaye moved to England from Warsaw, Poland, when she was six. The couple met in 1930 when Mr Kaye, was an 18-year-old travelling salesman and used to see his future wife while she worked at her father's womenswear business in London. The couple holding hands at their home in Bournemouth. They owned and ran a chain of womenswear shops in the town and in their retirement spent their days playing bridge and spending time with their children Tina and Larry and 10 grandchildren They were married on August 27, 1934, in a London Synagogue. When war was declared in 1939, Mr Kaye joined the army but was given compassionate leave when their south London home was bombed just before D-Day in 1944. Meanwhile, his comrades went to Normandy and his detachment disappeared - and he later discovered they had all been killed. After the war, the couple moved to Bournemouth. Together they owned and ran a chain of five womenswear shops in the town. In their retirement they spent their days playing bridge and spending time with their two children, Tina, 63, and Larry, 70, their 10 grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren. Mr Kaye had a flying lesson for his 90th birthday. At the time of their 80th wedding anniversary in 2014 Mrs Kaye said: 'It's been a wonderful marriage - if I knew they secret to a happy marriage I would bottle it and sell it.' Advertisement Europe's tallest skyscraper is nearly finished. The Lakhta Centre in St Petersburg, Russia, now stands at 462m (1,516ft) tall making it the 13th tallest building in the world. The 87-storey tower takes the title of the tallest building in Europe from Moscow's Federation Tower, which stands at 374m (1,227ft). The building's facade is made from 16,500 individual panes of glass that have been fitted with automatic shutters and valves in a bid to reduce heat loss. Scroll down for video Europe's tallest skyscraper - the Lakhta Centre in St Petersburg in Russia - is nearly finished after construction began in 2012 The structure twists 90 degrees from its foundations to the top, making it one of the tallest examples of a twisted skyscraper. Pictured, a drone image shows the skyscraper among the clouds The Lakhta Centre in St Petersburg, Russia, now stands at 462m (1,516ft) tall making it the 13th tallest building in the world. Pictured, an artist's impression The building's facade is made from 16,500 individual panes of glass that have been fitted with automatic shutters and valves in a bid to reduce heat loss The eye-catching structure twists a full 90 degrees from its foundations to the top, making it one of the tallest examples of a twisted skyscraper. Its spire was installed in January using the highest crane in Europe and without any helicopter support. Construction on the Lakhta Centre began in October 2012 and although the building's facade is set to be done by the end of the summer, interior fitting will continue into next year. Located in Lakhta, around five miles northwest of the city centre, it will serve as the headquarters of energy giant Gazprom. The 87-storey tower (pictured) takes the title of Europe's tallest building from Moscow's Federation Tower, which is 374m tall The 87-story Lakhta Centre's 462m high tower is pictured while under construction in St Petersburg in May this year The skyscraper's spire was installed in January using the highest crane in Europe and without any helicopter support Construction on the Lakhta Centre began in October 2012 and the facade is set to be done by the end of the summer The company, who have long wanted St Petersburg as the location of its new HQ, are expected to move into the building by the end of 2019. They first launched plans to build a tower in the city centre in 2006 but were faced with pushback from residents. Originally known as Gazprom City and Oktha Centre, the company eventually chose Lakhta as the location of their new HQ. The Lakhta Centre's silhouette was designed to indicate a flame a feature of the Russian company's logo. The Lakhta Centre in St Petersburg is the 13th tallest building in the world. The Burj Khalifa in Dubai remains the tallest The Lakhta Centre, which is going to be gas giant Gazprom's headquarters, is pictured under construction in November 2016 The complex (pictured under construction in February 2017) is located in Lakhta, around five miles northwest of the city centre The 462m tall skyscraper is pictured during construction in February 2017 (pictured left) and in April (right) Gazprom, who have long wanted St Petersburg as the location of its new HQ, are expected to move into the building by the end of 2019 There are also plans for a restaurant and observation deck (pictured, an impression) boasting stunning views of the Gulf of Finland Philip Nikandrov, the chief architect of Gorproject, which is managing the project, told CNN that Gazprom's HQ will take up only a third of the complex's total area. He said another third has been reserved for public facilities such as a multi-purpose hall, retail space, medical and fitness centers, and a science museum with a planetarium. The waterside complex spanning more than 400,000 square metres will also have an arch acting as the main entrance to the complex and a car park. There are also plans for a restaurant and observation deck boasting stunning views of the Gulf of Finland. Philip Nikandrov, the chief architect of Gorproject, which is managing the project, said Gazprom's HQ will take up only a third of the complex's total area A third of the complex has been reserved for public facilities such as a multi-purpose hall, retail space, medical and fitness centers, and a science museum with a planetarium The family of Osama bin Laden fear his son is intent on 'avenging his father's death' and have pleaded with him not to follow in the terror mastermind's footsteps. Bin Laden was shot dead by a US Navy Seal team in Pakistan in 2011 and his son, Hamza last year called for revenge terror attacks on the US. The 29-year-old, who jihadis have hailed as the 'heir' to the leadership of terror group al-Qaeda, is believed to have travelled to Afghanistan. In an interview, his family, who live in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, urged Hamza not to follow the same path as his father, who approved the devastating 9/11 terror attacks on the New York in 2001 which killed 2,977 people. One of his uncles, Hassan, told the Guardian: 'We thought everyone was over this. Then the next thing I knew, Hamza was saying, "I am going to avenge my father." I dont want to go through that again. 'If Hamza was in front of me now, I would tell him, "God guide you. Think twice about what you are doing. Dont retake the steps of your father. You are entering horrible parts of your soul".' The family of Osama bin Laden (pictured) fear his son is intent on 'avenging his father's death' and have pleaded with him not to follow in the terror mastermind's footsteps Osama was shot dead by a US Navy Seal team in Pakistan in 2011 and his son, Hamza (pictured), who jihadis have hailed as the 'heir' to the leadership of al-Qaeda, last year called on Muslims around the world to launch terror attacks on the US In November, Osama bin Laden's 'favourite' son called on Muslims around the world to launch terror attacks on the US for killing his father. In an audio message, Hamza bin Laden, believed to be around 28, urged Muslims to 'to take revenge on the Americans, the murderers of the Shaykh [Osama bin Laden], specifically on those who participated in this heinous crime.' It came just days after Hamza's wedding video was released, showing the 'Crown Prince of Terror' as an adult for the first time. This was released by the CIA as part of a trove of material recovered during the May 2011 raid that killed the terror group leader at his compound in Pakistan. Until then, the public had only seen childhood photos of Hamza, which have been used as propaganda tools by al Qaeda. It's believed the militants have not released pictures of him as an adult for his own safety. In recent years, he has emerged as the heir to his father's throne and become a prominent member of the terrorist organization. Dubbed the 'Crown Prince of Terror', he has purportedly called for terrorist attacks on London, Washington and Paris in an audio message released by Al Qaeda. In January of this year, he was officially designated a terrorist by the United States. The U.S. State Department added him, to its list of global terrorists after confirming he had followed in his father's footsteps to join al Qaeda. Al Qaeda senior leader Ayman al-Zawahiri released a tape in August 2015, claiming that Hamza had joined the group. In the audio message, Hamza himself spoke and called for lone wolf attacks. But speaking at their home in Jeddah, the bin Laden family begged him not to emulate his father. In the same interview, Osama bin Laden's mother broke her 17-year silence to insist the fanatic turned to terror after being 'brainwashed by a cult'. Alia Ghanem said the al-Qaeda boss was a 'very good kid' but became radicalised at the King Abdulaziz University in his 20s. Ghanem, now in her 70s, revealed Osama became a 'different man' and that it never crossed her mind her 'shy' and 'pious' son would go on to become a jihadist. In an interview with Martin Chulov for the Guardian, Ghanem and her family - still influential in Saudi society - spoke at length about Osama. Ghanem lives in a wealthy area of Jeddah in a mansion including a spiral staircase at leading to a number of 'cavernous rooms', according to the report. Framed pictures of the extremist are dotted around her living room - one of them showing the bearded fanatic smiling in a military outfit. Ghanem insisted her first-born son had been a deeply religious individual who 'changed' at university. 'He was a very good child until he met some people who pretty much brainwashed him in his early 20s. You can call it a cult. They got money for their cause. I would always tell him to stay away from them, and he would never admit to me what he was doing, because he loved me so much.' It was at university that he met a member of the Muslim Brotherhood, Abdullah Azzam, who went on to become his spiritual adviser, the Guardian reports. Bin Laden approved the devastating 9/11 terror attacks on the New York in 2001 which killed 2,977 people Ghanem said her son had spent all his money 'sneaking off' to Afghanistan under the guise of family business but that the family was left 'extremely upset' on realising he had in fact become a jihadist. Osama's half-brothers waited until their mother was out of the room to reveal she remains in denial about the terror lord and 'refuses to blame him' - instead pointing at 'those around him'. They said they were 'shocked and stunned' when news of the World Trade Centre atrocity emerged and knew within two days that Osama's al-Qaeda wsa behind the attack. One of his half brothers, Ahmad, told the Guardian that 'from the youngest to the eldest' the family 'felt ashamed' of Osama and that their mother still 'only knows the good boy side'. They revealed that they last saw Osama in Afghanistan in 1999, seeing him twice at his headquarters near the airport in Kandahar. He ran the al-Qaeda jihadist network until he was tracked down to a compound in Pakistan (pictured) and shot dead by US special forces in 2011 Two of bin Laden's wives now live nearby in Jeddah along with their children, they said. Ghanem said that she speaks 'to his harem most weeks'. For many years, the bin Laden family said they were banned from travelling by the Saudi government who also questioned the extremist's relatives. However, they are now free to travel outside the kingdom. Bin Laden approved the devastating 9/11 terror attacks on the New York in 2001 which killed 2,977 people. He ran the al-Qaeda jihadist network until he was tracked down to a compound in Pakistan and shot dead by US special forces in 2011. The terror mastermind was with his youngest wife, Amal bin Laden, and their children on the night his hideaway was raided by American SEALs. The operation took just minutes and the military forces left with bin Laden's body. A Jewish leader has said there is 'no action Jeremy Corbyn can take' that will deal with Labour's anti-Semitism crisis after the party leader again refused to adopt the full international definition. After days of criticism following a leaked recording of his ally Peter Willsman ranting about 'Jewish Trump fanatics' inventing the row, the Labour leader admitted trust between his party and Jews was at a 'low ebb'. But he ignored calls from Jewish leaders for an 'abject apology' and rejected an unprecedented joint claim from three Jewish newspapers he was an 'existential threat' to the community. Gideon Falter, the head of the Campaign Against Antisemitism, said Mr Corbyn was telling British Jews that 'he knew best' and said the Labour leader had allowed anti-Jewish views to 'run rampant' in his party. Hundreds of tweets from activists suggested Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn (pictured ignoring questions on Wednesday) was being smeared in the latest toxic round of anti-Semitism scandal In his latest intervention Mr Corbyn made no mention of the row over Mr Willsman, which has produced deep splits on the left wing of the Labour Party for the first time in his leadership. But he said a Labour-specific version of the internationally accepted definition of anti-Semitism was a 'good faith' attempt at a code of conduct. Mr Falter said Mr Corbyn was trying to 'divide and conquer' by referring to Jewish leaders' concern as 'overheated rhetoric'. He also accused Mr Corbyn of 'trying to make this about Israel' in an attempt to distract from the anti-Semitism problem within Labour. But Mr Falter said: 'This statement from Jeremy Corbyn bears all of the hallmarks of his spin doctors' usual techniques. He has released a vague and meaningless article, just as the Jewish community goes home to begin the sabbath.' He told MailOnline: 'We thought it was impossible for Jeremy Corbyn to make this worse but he has done. 'He's going to continue to tell British Jews that he knows best what anti-Semitism is. 'All parties have racists in them but Jeremy Corbyn has allowed it to run rampant which has emboldened those who are already in the party. 'There's no action that Jeremy Corbyn can take that will deal with this crisis. We believe that Jeremy Corbyn in government would have the same effect on anti-Semitism nationally that he has had in his party. 'Ever since Stephen Lawrence and the Macpherson report it has been the gold standard that minorities are best placed to define the racism against them. 'But Jeremy Corbyn has said that Jews, uniquely, can't be trusted to define anti-Semitism and that he knows best.' Gideon Falter, head of the Campaign Against Antisemitism, said there was 'no action that Jeremy Corbyn can take that will deal with this crisis' How timing of piece sparked another row The timing of Corbyns article hours before the start of the Sabbath angered members of the Jewish community. The Sabbath, or day of rest, has been a central feature of Jewish culture for thousands of years. It began in commemoration of the seventh day of the Creation story, on which God is said to have rested. But unlike the Christian tradition, with Sunday designated as the rest day, Judaisms day of rest called Shabbat by Jews begins just before sunset on Friday, and ends after sunset on Saturday. According to the Board of Deputies of British Jews, Jewish law requires Jews to refrain from various acts of work on the Sabbath. Prohibited acts include travelling (other than on foot), cooking, writing, carrying, the switching on and off of electricity, using a telephone and any transaction of a commercial nature, such as shopping. Jewish Chronicle editor Stephen Pollard wrote on Twitter: So keen is Corbyn to engage with Jews that he publishes this (awful) piece on a Friday night, for a Saturday paper. So not a single observant Jew can engage with it. The Board of Deputies note that for an observant Jew there is no compromise, apart from when there is a risk to life, or when children or family need emergency medical attention. Advertisement Mr Falter added: 'He has tried to divide and conquer by dismissing the Jewish community's unprecedented unity as 'overheated rhetoric', when that is exactly what he is guilty of. He has tried to shift attention to the far-right. 'And crucially, he has tried to make this about Israel when this is about antisemitism in his British Labour Party. There is no acknowledgement of his own role in this crisis. 'There is no apology for his antisemitic activity in the past, but he has hypocritically condemned as antisemitic behaviour that he himself has been guilty of. 'He has again preached to Jews that he is right to have rewritten the International Definition of Antisemitism. 'By his action over the years as well as by failing even now to take on board the full concerns of the Jewish community, we remain convinced that Jeremy Corbyn is an antisemite and under his leadership the once anti-racist Labour Party has become institutionally antisemitic and an existential threat to British Jews.' Mr Corbyn insisted Labour was committed to rooting out anti-Semitism and acknowledged there was a 'real problem' in the party. Labour has been condemned for creating a 'racists' charter' that gives members a green light to compare the Israeli Government to the Nazis. Scores of other organisations in Britain, including other political parties, use the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance version without amendment. In a column for the Guardian, Mr Corbyn said: 'I do not for one moment accept that a Labour government would represent any kind of threat, let alone an ''existential threat'' to Jewish life in Britain, as three Jewish newspapers recently claimed. 'That is the kind of overheated rhetoric that can surface during emotional political debates. 'But I do acknowledge there is a real problem that Labour is working to overcome. 'People who dish out antisemitic poison need to understand: you do not do it in my name.' The Jewish Labour Movement also rejected Mr Corbyn's article. A spokesman said: 'Today, other than another article bemoaning a situation of the party's own making, nothing has changed. 'There is no trust left. We find ourselves asking once again for action, not words.' Meanwhile Stephen Pollard, the editor of the Jewish Chronicle, said on Twitter: 'So Corbyns great move is a piece in the Guardian saying our worries are overheated rhetoric and all would be well if only we could just talk. 'And not a word of contrition about anything except process. He really is shameless.' It emerged today Mr Corbyn's attempt to book the Jewish Museum in London for a speech on anti-Semitism has failed. The Jewish Chronicle said Labour talks on using the venue broke down amid a misunderstanding over who would be invited. Mr Corbyn said if he were Prime Minister he would take 'whatever measures are necessary' to protect Jews. And he said 'driving anti-Semitism out of the party for good' was a top priority - insisting one case was too many. Hard-left activists are trending on Twitter with the #WeAreCorbyn hashtag today as they vowed to defy the anti-Semitism row and re-elect Peter Willsman (pictured) to Labour's ruling committee But he refused to bow to calls to fully endorse the full IHRA definition, adding: 'Our code is a good faith attempt to contextualise those examples and make them legally watertight for use as part of our disciplinary procedures, as well as to draw on additional instances of antisemitism. 'Seven of the IHRA examples were incorporated word-for-word. And I believe the essence of the other four have also been captured.' Acknowledging the Jewish community does not accept this, he said there would be additional consultation and added: 'I feel confident that this outstanding issue can be resolved through dialogue with community organisations, including the Jewish Labour Movement, during this month's consultation.' Earlier today, hard-left activists wew trending onTwitter with the #WeAreCorbyn hashtag today as they vowed to defy the anti-Semitism row and re-elect Mr Willsman to Labour's ruling committee. Thousands of tweets from activists suggested the Labour leader was being smeared in the latest toxic round of anti-Semitism scandal. Many activists on the #WeAreCorbyn campaign condemned the Momentum campaign group - born out of Mr Corbyn's leadership bid - for pulling support for Mr Willsman. Labour MP Chris Williamson tweeted support and insisted he is still voting for Mr Willsman in the National Executive Committee elections this month. Shadow chancellor John McDonnell endorsed the hashtag without mentioning Mr Willsman. The wave of social media will fuel concern about anti-Semitism inside Labour despite years of claims by the party it is being dealt with. Jewish leaders have demanded Mr Corbyn stop 'hiding' and offer an 'abject apology to Jews following this week's scandal. Labour has refused to adopt the full international definition of anti-Semitism - prompting claims it is because he would have fallen foul of it in the past. The latest row has led to old speeches of Mr Corbyn comparing the Israeli blockade of Gaza to the siege of Stalingrad resurfacing. If Mr Willsman is re-elected on August 30, it will reignite the row as Parliament returns following the summer recess. Activists using the #WeAreCorbyn hashtag inluded Julian Wells who offered 'solidarity with Peter Willsman' over the anti-Semitism row Buzz Rodwell was another activist to insist he was working for Willsman despite the storm over his rant at the NEC last month Melanie Melvin also offered support to Marc Wadsworth and Jackie Walker, former Labour activists embroiled in the anti-Semitism row Donna Sloane insisted the 'Willsman business' was only about making socialists less powerful on Labour's ruling committee Mr Corbyn's attempts to build bridges with the Jewish community spectacularly backfired last night. It emerged Labour had been in talks with the Jewish Museum in north London about Mr Corbyn using the venue to make a speech today addressing the party's anti-Semitism crisis. Hard-left Momentum's civil war The hard-Left was tearing itself apart last night over Momentum's decision to withdraw its support for an activist who accused Jews of making up anti-Semitism claims. The faction, which supports Jeremy Corbyn, said on Wednesday night it would not back Peter Willsman's election bid to Labour's ruling NEC. But many accused Momentum of caving in to Mr Corbyn's enemies. Some said they were cancelling their membership. Usman Kayani said: 'I am now leaving Momentum and will endeavour to get others to do the same.' Sarah Grant said: 'This is so utterly disappointing. I have voted for Peter Willsman and stand by my vote.' Mr Willsman was caught on tape saying many people in the Jewish community were 'Trump fanatics' inventing anti-Semitism stories. Momentum said he would no longer be one of its 'JC9' slate of Left-wing candidates, saying: 'We must acknowledge the anger and upset.' Advertisement But amid opposition from Jewish organisations, officials at the museum last night refused the request without further reassurances about what the Labour leader planned to say. Talks over using the venue were over today after no agreement was reached on who should be invited, the JC said. Last night Chief executive Abigail Morris said: 'We would want to be part of a healing process, not something that will make things worse.' However, the editor of the Jewish Chronicle, Stephen Pollard, said he had been bombarded with messages from people saying that if the Jewish Museum did host Mr Corbyn they would 'never set foot in it again'. The row came after the president of the Board of Deputies, which represents British Jews, demanded the Labour leader come out of 'hiding' and issue a proper apology. Anti-Semitism campaigners said they would not be satisfied by 'hollow promises delivered under duress'. Dame Margaret Hodge, a Labour MP who is under investigation by Labour after she confronted Mr Corbyn about anti-Semitism, said: 'This demonstrates the complete breakdown of trust between the leadership and the Jewish community. 'We don't need a speech; we need action adopting the full definition of anti-Semitism, lift the ridiculous action against us; and meet the commitment to investigate all outstanding claims of anti-Semitism.' Shadow chancellor John McDonnell endorsed the hashtag without mentioning Mr Willsman Labour had approached the Jewish Museum to ask if Mr Corbyn could speak there today. It turned down the request although it is believed it is now seeking reassurances about the nature of the speech. First the outburst, then the abject 'apology' What Willsman told the Labour National Executive on July 17: 'Some of these people in the Jewish community support Trump, they are Trump fanatics and all the rest of it. So I am not going to be lectured to by Trump fanatics making up information without any evidence at all. 'So I think we should ask the 70 rabbis, 'Where is your evidence of severe and widespread anti-Semitism in this party?' Extracts from 'apology' he issued yesterday: 'I am sorry for my behaviour in the last meeting of Labour's NEC... I am of course aware of appalling instances of anti- Semitism within our party, and am wholly determined to rooting it out... 'I do not believe anti- Semitism is 'widespread' in the party, and that was what my comments were trying to refer to, but we do have a problem which needs stamping out. 'In diminishing the experiences of those who face anti-Semitism, I showed a lack of sensitivity... I will be referring myself [for] equalities training so I can better understand how to approach discussions of such issues in a respectful way.' Advertisement The BBC said the museum wants to ensure leading Jewish organisations are consulted and invited and also to make sure that Mr Corbyn addresses specific concerns about Labour's code of conduct. Jewish organisations are angry that Labour is refusing to adopt the full definition of anti-Semitism as agreed by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance IHRA as part of the code of conduct. Abigail Morris, the chief executive of the Jewish Museum, said the situation was 'delicate'. She told The Jewish Chronicle: 'We are still trying to work out what (Mr Corbyn's office) is asking from us, whether it is a discussion, a statement or a speech.' A statement from the museum said it was 'interested in being a space that would facilitate genuine healing dialogue' with Labour. News about the search for a speech venue came after Marie van der Zyl, the President of the Board of Deputies, demanded Mr Corbyn come out of 'hiding' to address the anti-Semitism crisis. She also demanded he has equalities training. She accused the Labour leader of breaching the IHRA's definition of anti-Semitism by 'comparing Israel's actions to those of the Nazis' a reference to a 2010 rally where Mr Corbyn compared the sufferings of the Palestinians to the Nazi sieges of Leningrad and Stalingrad. 'He must adopt the IHRA anti-semitism definition and all examples. He should expel Peter Willsman. He should stop ridiculous show trials of Hodge and Austin.' The Jewish Museum in Camden (pictured) said it did not know what Mr Corbyn was planning Dame Margaret and Ian Austin face disciplinary action for accusing the party leadership of not doing enough to tackle anti-Semitism. Labour denied its leader was comparing the actions of Israelis to the Nazis when he referred to Leningrad and Stalingrad. On Wednesday, Mr Corbyn apologised for sharing a platform with people who reportedly compared Israel to the Nazis. Gideon Falter, of Campaign Against Anti-Semitism, said: 'No matter what action Mr Corbyn promises, his track record demonstrates that he is an existential threat to British Jews.' It also emerged yesterday that Mr Corbyn had organised an event in Parliament addressed by a conspiracy theorist who believes the world is controlled by 'Jewish elders'. James Thring spoke at the meeting in October 2014. Critics call him a 'neo-Nazi' and he has won praise from former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke. Labour said Mr Corbyn was not at the event itself. The party also said he had no prior knowledge that Mr Thring was going to speak. A former BBC weatherman has warned Europe will become 'Hell on Earth' as tourists are warned to expect a roasting heatwave in Portugal and Spain. Temperatures in the Iberian Peninsula could potentially climb to a searing 50C, which would be the hottest ever recorded on the continent. Weathertrending forecaster John Hammond, once of the BBC and Met Office, warned: 'Hell is a place on Earth. Iberia is heating up to a potential 50C.' It comes as the extreme heat caused an unexpected problem - exposing World War II bombs in Germany. Firefighters tackling a forest blaze near Berlin found an unexploded device as they went about their work - and found that other bombs buried in the area had already gone off in the fire. Meanwhile, a 48-year-old man working on road works and a 78-year-old man who was working on his allotment have died of heat-stroke in the southeastern Spanish region of Murcia. A former BBC weatherman has warned Europe will become 'hell on Earth' as tourists are warned to expect a roasting heatwave in Portugal and Spain. This was the scene in Barcelona, Spain today as people cooled off by the sea It comes as the extreme heat caused an unexpected problem - exposing World War II bombs in Germany. People are pictured sunbathing in front of the Berlin cathedral amid rising temperatures today Children jump in unison by fountains in Paris, France, as a heatwave continued to grip Europe Temperatures are expected to climb towards 50C today in parts of Spain and Portugal Temperatures are being driven higher across the Iberian peninsula by a hot air mass moving northward from Africa, which is also bringing dust from the Sahara Desert, meteorologists said. A heat map shows temperatures around northern Europe today Temperatures in Spain and Portugal soared to near record highs on Friday as part of Europe's heatwave and governments put emergency services on alert for forest fires. Iberia's heatwave, caused by hot air from North Africa, is the most severe since 2003. Elsewhere, summer has brought forest fires and drought to places as far apart as Britain, Scandinavia and Greece. Temperatures in many parts of Spain and Portugal will remain above 40 Celsius at least until Sunday, and could rise a further 2 or 3 degrees. That could push them above Europe's previous record high of 48C, set in Athens in 1977. The previous record highs in both Spain and Portugal were just over 47C. In Portugal, local media ran stories on how temperatures could beat Death Valley in California, one of the hottest places on earth. Employees spray water to cool down the spectators the during men's pool match at the Beachvolley Worldtour Major Series, in Vienna, Austria Dutch wine maker Freek Verhoeven is pictured in his wine field in Groesbeek, Netherlands People cool off during a heat wave at La Tine de Conflens, in La Sarraz, Switzerland 'Lisbon will be one of the hottest cities in the world this weekend because it's 10 in the morning right now and the weather is already way too hot,' said Ana Pascoal, 56, a cleaner at a high-end restaurant. 'It really is unbearable.' Several places in Portugal's parched southern Alentejo region were forecast to hit 47C. The country went on high alert in an effort to prevent a repeat of the worst fires in history last year, which killed 114 people. Francois Jobard, a weather forecaster for Meteo France, said the hot air mass from North Africa 'will possibly result in record temperatures in Portugal and Spain with 45C expected from now until Saturday, and even hotter than that.' At the other end of the Mediterranean, Greece was hit by wildfires that killed 91 people last month. Spanish authorities put out a heat wave warning for most of central Spain, expected to last until Sunday with temperatures of over 42C in some parts of Andalusia and Extremadura. This was the scene near the Eiffel Tower this morning as people tried to keep cool under umbrellas A branch of the K-Supermarket chain in Helsinki's Pohjois-Haaga district has invited 100 customers to sleep in its air-conditioned store on Saturday. Finland's August average is 19C but temperatures approached 30C this week and few have air-conditioning at home. A store manager told the state broadcaster that beer sales would end at 9 p.m. (2000 GMT) as usual though snacks would be available. In Germany, state rail operator Deutsche Bahn said it was offering free water to passengers in case of delays and would keep air conditioning running on its trains even when they are empty. Tourists took shelter under umbrellas outside the Louvre Museum in Paris and ignored 'No Bathing' signs to paddle in the fountains. 'We're here for two days, so we're going for it,' said David Jones from England, cooling off by the fountains with his wife. Martina Ihrig, an office worker from Germany, said she was delaying visiting the Eiffel Tower with her three daughters until evening. A Corsica Ferries vessel makes its way on the horizon as people cool off in the Mediterranean Sea as a summer heatwave with high temperatures continues in Nice, France A girl plays in a fountain next to the Berlin cathedral in Berlin, Germany this afternoon 'It's too hot to visit it now,' she said. In Switzerland, mountain railways reported booming business as city dwellers fled to the Alps. Fishery authorities in the canton of Zurich were combing creeks to rescue fish from suffocation as streams dry up or oxygen levels plunge. The Swiss army let soldiers wear shorts and T-shirts instead of standard uniforms. The small Budakeszi game reserve outside the Hungarian capital Budapest said it was helping its animals cope with the heat with iced fruit and a diet with less meat and more nutrients. In another sign of drought, water levels in the Danube River in Budapest are about to fall to a level that will expose a small outcrop called Dearth Rock that is almost always underwater, the National Water Management Authority said. In Scandinavia, temperatures hit records until a few days ago. In Sweden July was a record month and wildfires burnt in parts of the country. Authorities in Sweden and Poland warned against swimming due to a bloom of toxic algae spreading caused by hot weather. A woman who was so fragile she was nicknamed the 'china doll' has died, four years after defying the odds and walking down the aisle to marry her love. Moving tributes have been shared about Rebecca Dinsdale, 35, after her sudden death on a ferry from Liverpool to Northern Ireland. At the age of 31, Rebecca left her wheelchair behind and walked towards her husband-to-be Norman. Rebecca Dinsdale (pictured), 35, defied odds and walked down the aisle four years ago - but the inspiring woman dubbed the 'china doll' suddenly died on Sunday Rebecca was described as described as the 'perfect woman' who 'never let anything hold her back by loved ones. On her wedding day she moved loved ones to years as she walked down the aisle unaided After doctors told her she would never be able to stand unaided, the driven bride stood and cascaded down the aisle, the longest distance she had ever walked. Described as the 'perfect woman' who 'never let anything hold her back by loved ones. Rebecca was born with brittle bone disease and was unlikely to live past the age of two. She suffered hundreds of fractures - with some being triggered by a simple sneeze. She met Norman Dinsdale (pictured left) on MSN Messenger in 2005. He said: 'I don't see her disability as an issue or as something that affects our relationship. She's perfect to me.' Rebecca died just three days after the couple's four year anniversary on a ferry from Liverpool to Northern Ireland WHAT IS BRITTLE BONE DISEASE? Osteogenesis imperfecta is a genetic condition characterised by bones that break easily, and often for little or no apparent cause. The condition can vary drastically from sufferer to sufferer. A person diagnosed with OI, also known as brittle bone disease, can suffer anything from a few to several hundred fractures during their lifetime. OI is caused by a genetic mutation that affects how the body produces collagen - a main component of connective tissues found throughout the body. Symptoms include: frequently fractured bones muscle weakness hearing loss fatigue joint laxity curved bones scoliosis brittle teeth short stature respiratory problems bruising It is estimated the condition affects one in 15,000 people in the UK, and is present at birth. Source: Brittle Bone Society Advertisement At 3ft 7 and in excruciating pain, Rebecca still attended a mainstream school. She was bullied, pointed at and laughed at in the street, but during her teens she went out clubbing, on shopping trips and holidays abroad. Just three days after their four year anniversary, a heartbroken Norman said: 'My memory of our final night together is lovely. We munched on fruit pastilles and cuddled before going to sleep in our cabin. 'It was lovely really, very comfortable going to sleep with her like that as it always is.' Her parents Andrew and Patsy Dixon said the death was 'sudden' and was not related to brittle bone disease. 'Rebecca had all the attributes you could want in a daughter - she was a perfect woman and would listen to anyone's troubles. 'She never let anything hold her back - and proved everyone wrong by walking and living on because she had that determination,' said Mrs Dixon. Rebecca met Norman of MSN Messenger in 2005. The IT consultant from Belfast said at the time of the marriage: 'It was the most amazing day. I'm so happy to call Becky my wife. 'I don't see her disability as an issue or as something that affects our relationship. She's perfect to me.' Her parents Andrew and Patsy Dixon said the death was 'sudden' and was not related to brittle bone disease. They were told Rebecca wouldn't live past the age of two Advertisement When it was hauled from Coniston Water 17 years ago, it was a pile of weed-encrusted wreckage. Today, after a painstaking restoration project, Donald Campbells world record- breaking jet hydroplane Bluebird K7 is finally ready to take to the water again. Bluebird spent 34 years beneath 150ft of water after Campbell, 45, died when it flipped and broke in half on Coniston on January 4, 1967. His final moments were seared into the national consciousness, having been captured on a chilling few seconds of film, in stark photographs, and in the haunting recording of his last words: Shes tramping, the waters not good I cant see much Im going Im on my back Im gone. Donald Campbell practices in Bluebird K7 on Coniston Water in the Lake District in January 1967. His attempt to beat his own land speed world record ended in disaster after Bluebird flipped over while travelling 300mph, killing him Bill Smith (pictured) standing next to the hydroplane in August 2018. The boat will go to Loch Fad on the Isle of Bute in Scotland on August 4, so the team can learn how to handle it Bill Smith (pictured) recovering the Bluebird from Coniston Water in March 2001. After 17 years of repairs the hydroplane is finally getting ready to return to the water The wreckage of the Bluebird being hauled from Coniston Water in March 2001. For demonstration purposes Mr Smith- who recovered the wreckage and rebuilt Bluebird- is only planning speeds of 65mph Donald Campbell, pictured with Bluebird, died in 1967 when the Bluebird K7 flipped over while traveling at above 300mph. The high-speed boat lay at the bottom of Coniston Water in the Lake District for more than 30 years Today the rebuilt craft will be launched on Loch Fad on the Isle of Bute off the west coast of Scotland. Campbells daughter Gina Campbell said: It will be quite an extraordinary feeling for me to see this boat after so many years. I dont know quite how my heart will react. Im sure it will be with great jubilation because the restoration project has been an amazing feat and Im sure she will look absolutely fantastic. But for me, its going to be bittersweet to see somebody else sitting in the pilots seat. Self-made millionaire and diving enthusiast Bill Smith, the engineer who salvaged Bluebird, has more practical matters on his mind. Yesterday he said: As long it doesnt fill up with water or sink, Ill be pleased. I cant get too emotional Im looking at it from an engineering point of view. We have never launched the boat before. Were up in Scotland for two weeks and we will learn how to launch it, how to fuel it, how to use the fire extinguishers and the radio. It will be driven once were happy and confident we can operate it safely. The restoration project, involving 14 engineers, began with five years of taking Bluebird apart and cataloguing its parts. About 98 per cent of the original materials have been saved or melted down and welded back on to the boat in other forms. Mr Smith, 51, the joint leader of the restoration project, said: We took it apart back down to the nuts and bolts, to every component part. Then every part has been cleaned, repaired and put back together. Its been completely without compromise, we wouldnt use the wrong material, we wouldnt use the wrong screw, we wouldnt use the wrong gauge. It is absolutely as it ought to be. Tonia Bern-Campbell, widow of Donald Campbell (pictured), inspecting the wreckage recovered by Bill Smith in March 2001 The tail fin of the Bluebird with a small Union Jack flag still stuck on, despite being in the murky depths for 30 years. Campbell was the only person to hold both the world lane and water speed records simultaneously and died during his second attempt to break his own world record The Bluebird being worked on by the dedicated team. Around a dozen different crew members brought Bluebird back into operation and it will be piloted by professional hydroplane pilot Ted Walsh when it hits the water on August 4 The parts that could not be used were so few they fill three shoeboxes, he added. The original dashboard was never found, and the sponsons rear-mounted floats that broke off when Bluebird crashed were retrieved at the time and scrapped. Campbell set a world water speed record of 276.33mph in Bluebird in at Lake Dumbleyung in Australia three years before his death. The current record is 318mph. While Bluebirds engines will again be heard roaring soon, there will be no attempt to break any records. Miss Campbell said: After 17 years of really hard work and dedication wouldnt it just be too sad and too silly if, by some dreadful fact, something went wrong? Initially, Bluebird will simply be dropped by a cradle to float in the water. It will be driven once were happy and confident we can operate it safely, Mr Smith said. Two siblings in China survived a fourth-floor fire today after their mother threw them out of the window with her last ounce of strength, according to local media. Their mother was later found lying unconscious in the flat. She died in the hospital, it is reported. The two children, a nine-year-old boy and a three-year-old girl, were saved by their neighbours who caught them with bed sheets. A mother saved her two children after their four-floor flat burst into flames by throwing them out of the window. The first child is seen falling in the air before being caught by onlookers The incident took place this morning in Xuchang, central China's Henan Province, according to Henan TV. It is said the mother as well as her son and daughter were trapped in their four-floor home after a fire had broken out. A video taken by an onlooker shows the woman first throwing two bed sheets out of their fourth-floor balcony - so her neighbours could use them to catch her children. Then she threw her son and daughter out of the window one by one. After catching the siblings, the neighbours yelled at the mother urging her to jump, but the woman gradually passed out as smoke billowed out of their apartment. The video also captures how the second child was saved after being thrown out of the flat Firefighters later found the mother in the flat. They took her and her two children to the hospital. A follow up report by The Paper said the mother had died in the hospital. Both children are in non-critical condition, it is said. The girl sustained fractures on the leg, and is set to undergo surgery, according to Henan TV . Advertisement Haunting photos snapped by an American GI show the devastating aftermath of the 1945 atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. The photographs, which show the desolate cityscape in the wake of the nuclear blast, are heading to auction along with a porcelain pot, which had glass melted to the side of it by the furious heat of the explosion. The black and white images depict an apocalyptic landscape, with buildings completely flattened and the surrounding area virtually deserted. Around of dozen pictures taken from around the city following the blast are included in the collection, which is expected to fetch up to 1,200 when they go to auction on August 11 in Devizes, Wiltshire. The small jar was picked up by an Allied soldier in the weeks shortly after the atomic bomb completely obliterated the Japanese city in 1945. Glass typically melts at temperatures of at least 1,000F (538C), which only highlights the horrific ordeal which killed 150,000 people. Buildings were left completely flattened by the atomic bomb blast, which is estimated to have killed around 150,000 people Pictures taken shortly after the blast in Hiroshima are also set to go to auction. The lots are expected to fetch as much as 1,200 The porcelain jar remains intact, as the material has a melting point of well above 3,000F (1649C). The lot is one of a number of items that belonged to the late David Gainsborough-Roberts, from Jersey, that is being sold at auction. Hiroshima was bombed on August 6, 1945 and was shortly followed by the bombing of Nagasaki on August 9, 1945, which killed an estimated 80,000. This aerial view shows the damage caused by the blast as only a few buildings remains standing following the bomb attack, which was launched by America Virtually no-one is in sight and rubble remains strewn across the ground following the bomb blast. A single tree, which has all its leaves taken off, remains standing A porcelain pot with molten glass melted onto the side of caused by the Hiroshima atomic bomb is just one of the relics from the disaster set to go to auction Towards the outer edge of the bomb blast radius, some buildings are still standing although it appears that the windows and other parts of the building have been blown off the blast A picture of one of the rivers in Hiroshima, which undoubtely would have been badly polluted following the bomb blast. The attack on Hiroshima took place on August 6. By August 15, Japan had surrended to the allied force On August 15, 1945, Japan surrender to allied forces which effectively brought about the end of the war. The legal ramifications of the bombings are still debated to this day, but America claim it helped hasten Japan's decision to surrender. Critics claim it was simply a matter of time before Japanese forces gave up, as Germany had issued their surrender to allied forces months earlier on May 8, 1945. Andrew Aldridge, of Henry Aldridge and Son of Devizes, Wilts, said: 'This pot shows the horrific, raw power the Atomic bomb created. Hiroshima was bombed on August 6, 1945 and was shortly followed by the bombing of Nagasaki on August 9, 1945, which killed an estimated 80,000. The extent of the damage is shown above, as the internal structure of this building is completely mangled Very few people were present following the bombing in August 1945. The area was deserted, but these images show a number of people walking around the rubble 'The glass stuck to the side of it had melted to goo and was flung towards the pot and solidified. 'When you think that glass melts at temperatures of 1,000F, it gives you some idea of the intense heat the bomb caused. 'The photographs of Hiroshima are very apocalyptic and virtually everything in them flattened. 'They have come to us from the estate of David Gainsborough-Roberts who was one of Europe's leading collectors of the eclectic.' Hundreds of Australians have flocked to Bunnings stores to buy a snag and support farmers suffering from one of Australia's worst droughts. Just a few days after Super Saturday and the hardware store was back grilling sausages as pundits queued en masse across New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory on Friday. Yet this time Bunnings' sausage sizzle raised much needed funds for the drought-stricken farmers. Scroll down for video Hundreds of Australians queued up (pictured) at Bunnings stores across the nation to buy a snag in a bid to support drought-stricken farmers Bunnings' snags (pictured, left) were raised to support farmers suffering from the drought across the nation's east Each $2.50 snag went towards the official drought fundraiser Buy a Bale of Hay. A bucket was also passed among the crowds for those who wanted to donate an extra $20 for a bale of hay that goes towards the struggling farmers. People have taken to social media to praise Bunnings' and slam the amount of government-funded assistance to the farmers. Each $2.50 snag went towards the official drought fundraiser Buy a Bale of Hay Australian farmers in the nation's east are battling with what many claim is the worst drought (pictured) they have seen in their lifetime 'Why is this happening? Because the general public think more of our farmers than the government does!' one man said. 'Bunnings and the people doing what the government won't,' another woman said. Australian farmers are battling with what many claim is the worst drought they have seen in their lifetime. A mixture of unseasonably warm and dry conditions as well as below average rainfall have exacerbated the drought, according to the Bureau of Meteorology. NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian announced an extra $500 million in drought support on Monday. Pundits flocked to their local Bunnings' to buy a snag to to support farmers suffering from the drought that has swept through the nation's east A former top model who sparked a full scale homicide investigation after he pranked an Uber driver has said it should have been obvious. Christopher Matecki and his friend caused the $30,000 police investigation after ordering an Uber to a unit complex in Sherwood. When the driver arrived he reversed into an empty spot and saw the 27-year-old trying to put what looked like a body in the boot. Christopher Matecki (pictured) pretended to put a dead body in the back of an Uber (pictured) The Uber driver called the police and a murder investigation was launched Terrified, the driver fled the scene and called the police. Mr Matecki, a fitness fanatic and former Filipino top model told 9News he had no idea how big the reaction would be. 'It was just one of those pranks that went out of proportion,' he said. Mr Matecki said that the 'body' was actually a bag of vegetables, and he can't believe the driver took it so seriously. 'That was just a bag of vegetables with some shoes in it. The guy must have been blind,' he said. He claimed the prank was just his attempt at the concerning YouTube craze where people film themselves putting fake bodies into the back of taxi's to trick the drivers. 'It's not funny at all. I wasted a lot of time and I apologise for my actions,' he said. Police launched a full scale investigation after finding splatters of what appeared to be blood at the scene (pictured) 20 police officers were involved in the full-scale investigation, which cost taxpayers thousands of dollars in wasted resources Mr Matecki's friend, Mr Buckland also apologised for the part he played. Fake blood was found at the scene and officers launched an urgent investigation into a possible murder after they received the call for the Uber driver. For nine hours the car park became a guarded crime spree before police found Mr Matecki at the Southbank TAFE. He is expected to face charges. A Christian missionary and father-of-four from China was fatally shot while visiting Missouri, just two days after he arrived in the US. Xindong Hao was shot to death by 18-year-old Curtail Hudson, who was high on PCP and randomly shooting at people in the area on Wednesday, cops say. In his high rampage Hudson got into a fight with a man and launched a shooting spree for two blocks around 7pm, fatally shooting Hao as he was walked by. Father-of-four Xindong Hao (left) was shot to death on Wednesday in Missouri by Curtail Hudson, 18, (right) who cops say was high on PCP The Chinese missionary Hao has four children aged two, four, six, and eight and had just arrived in Missouri two days prior with them to visit the International House of Prayer 'He didn't understand the warning. I hear he shot him point-blank,' his friend said on his sudden death, Hao pictured with wife Laura and two of their children When Hudson came upon Hao, he thought Hao said 'He is right here' on the phone. Believing Hao was 'after him' along with the man he fought with earlier in the day, Hudson shot him multiple times. Witnesses said that Hudson shot Hao in the side then hit him several times with the butt of his shotgun. 'Hao's English might not have been strong enough to know why people were shouting at him while he was taking a walk,' friend Tony Petrehn said to the Kansas City Star. 'He didn't understand the warning. I hear he shot him point-blank. It's tragic. A father of four young kids pulled like that,' he added. Hao was not with his wife or his four children when he was killed, though they too were visiting Missouri with him. Two other people were also wounded in Hudson's mad shooting spree, before he was arrested, including the man he fought with who suffered wounds in his neck and back. Witnesses say Hao was killed in front of this home on Wednesday evening as he was walking Another view of the home where he was shot in front on Wednesday of pictured above Hao was killed and two other victims were hurt in Hudson's PCP high gun rampage Wednesday The third victim harmed in Hudson's attack was a truck driver who watched the attack go down and was grazed by a bullet the gunman fired his way. 'I had a shotgun. They started shooting at me. I shot three times,' he told police. But court records say no one fired at Hudson in the first place. Hudson told police he did not recall shooting at the third victim. His relatives came to the area and restrained him until police arrived. On Thursday Hudson was charged with second-degree murder as well as four counts of armed criminal action, two counts of first degree assault and unlawful use of a weapon. He had no prior offenses in Missouri and his bond was set at $500,000 cash. Cops flocked to the scene after the shooting went down around 7pm where they arrested Hudson who was being restrained by family members Hao arrived to Kansas City to visit the International House of Prayer and enroll his children at a day camp there Hao had arrived in Kansas City on Monday to join fellow missionaries at the International House of Prayer, a Christian evangelical group headquartered there. Friends say he had been to Kansas City before to meet with supporters and to raise money for programs he ran in China. He had just enrolled his children, aged two, four, six, and eight, in a day camp at the prayer center. He lived together with his wife Laura, from North Carolina, and children in China. 'We're praying day and night for violence to cease within our communities,' LaGuardia said adding, Hao 'comes to town to enroll his children in the day camp, and he's gunned down.' Heartwarming footage shows the moment three terrified puppies are rescued from a bag dumped in a bush. The canines were found by Susanna Bergamaschi, an animal rescue volunteer, while she was out walking in Norma, Italy. Quivering in fear, the pups - two black and one white - were clearly traumatised by their ordeal. 'I was out walking with a friend when I came across a dog walker who said he'd heard noises coming from a hedge, and indicated at the place where the noises were coming from,' said Susanna. 'We walked over and saw a plastic bag entangled in a fence. 'The dog walker managed to untangle the bag and once we got it back to the road we opened it and saw the puppies inside!' Kind-hearted Susanna wasted no time in getting the little pups home and giving them some food. Adorable footage shows her feeding them with a bottle and showering them with affection. The three little dogs happily snuggle up to each other in the sunshine. She added: 'I took them home and from here, their life will begin.' Unexpected discovery: Susanna Bergamaschi opens an abandoned plastic bag and finds three little puppies squirming inside The bag of puppies being retrieved from a hedge in Norma, Italy, where they had been cruelly abandoned Back in the fresh air: Susanna opened the bag and three adorable puppies were inside A rape victim has spoken of her ordeal after she was drugged and gang-raped - only to be told her attackers would not face justice. Laura Currer, 25, said she was attacked by two men following a night out in Newcastle-upon-Tyne. She blacked out only to find herself in a strangers home three years ago, where she claims to have been assaulted by the two men. Laura Currer, 25, said she was attacked by two men following a night out in Newcastle-upon-Tyne (pictured) Ms Currer, 25, from Gosforth, Newcastle immediately told her father and reported the incident to police. She was left heartbroken after police told her two men who were arrested and questioned would not face charges. Waivering her legal right to anonymity, she has decided to speak out about her ordeal to help others who may have suffered similar experiences. She is also due to launch her own foundation, named The Laura Currer Sparkle Foundation, which aims to help victims of trauma return to their everyday life. Ms Currer said: 'The pivotal moment for me was when I came to the realisation that they will always have to be who they are, but I will always get to be me, and that was the beginning of meaningful recovery. 'For a while I referred to myself as a victim, then a survivor, but now I'm just Laura. This is a part of me, but it's not the only part of me, and it can't define me.' Ms Currer was looking forward to starting her new job in Leeds when she was attacked on August 20, 2015. She believes that her drink was spiked during a night out and cannot remember much from the night. She said: 'I went out and my drink was spiked. I blacked out and about two hours later I woke up and I was being assaulted by one of the men. Ms Currer was looking forward to starting her new job in Leeds when she was attacked on August 20, 2015 She was left heartbroken after police told her two men who were arrested and questioned would not face charges 'I had flashbacks and I remember I was raped by both of them. I managed to get out the house in the morning.' 'I reported it to the police and the process began of giving evidence and having a forensic medical examination. 'They were arrested and bailed and it went to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) but they were never charged.' Despite her alleged attack, Ms Currer decided to carry on with plans to move to Leeds. She has since completed an NHS graduate placement and returned to Tyneside, where she now works in an NHS Trust. Ms Currer said: 'Part of why I started Sparkle was because there's a structure in place around the practicalities of being assaulted and it's like all these boxes are ticked. 'There are a lot of charities out there. I went to a couple of charities in Leeds and I had some negative experiences.' 'Everything surrounding sexual violence is very grim, which is understandable, but there is nowhere that offers a hopeful perspective about life after rape.' The Sparkle Foundation launches on August 20, the third anniversary of the attack Laura reported to police. A mother-of-three took her own life days after an appointment to see mental health services was cancelled. Sarah-Jane Jarvis of Wivenhoe, near Colchester, plunged between 20-25 metres to her death from Jubilee Way onto the Port of Dover entrance on March 7 this year. The Oxford-educated 49-year-old, who was described as 'articulate and intelligent', had suffered from bouts of depression and sometimes 'major depressive episodes' for decades, an inquest at the Archbishop's Palace in Maidstone, heard. In January she contacted the mental health services seeking help for suicidal thoughts. She wanted to see a specialist and her GP helped expedite her appointment. Sarah-Jane Jarvis, 49, of Wivenhoe, near Colchester, died on March 7 this year She was booked in to see someone on February 28, but all non-emergency appointments were cancelled due to the exceptional snow. Another appointment was made for March 5. Two days before she received a call to say staff sickness meant that appointment would also have to be cancelled. Essex's mental health services offered her an appointment on the third, but she had her daughter's bar mitzvah. She declined, and booked an appointment for the eighth. On March 6 she had called her brother to say she was feeling very depressed. She died the next day, the day before her appointment. An investigation found Essex's mental health services had done nothing wrong. The inquest heard how on the day of her death, Dr Jarvis had made her way down to Dover alone in her red Mini. Paramedics tried CPR and a defibrillator at the scene, but she was pronounced dead at 1.47pm. She was found to have chalk on her shoes, which suggested to investigating officers that she had walked on White Cliffs not long beforehand. She plunged between 20-25 metres to her death from Jubilee Way onto the Port of Dover entrance on March 7 this year Paramedics tried CPR and a defibrillator at the scene (pictured), but she was pronounced dead at 1.47pm Toxicology later showed a 'potentially lethal' level of paracetamol in her blood. She also had alcohol in her system - enough to have excluded her from driving. Dr Jarvis had notified family and medical professionals several times in the months leading up to her death that she was having suicidal thoughts, and had received treatment several times over the years. The inquest heard she had attempted suicide in September 2017. She was hospitalised in Essex, and later that year went to South Africa for three months for private treatment. Having spent last Christmas with her mother back in the UK, the inquest heard how she had been feeling better and was making longer term plans. The inquest also heard from her old university friend Nicola Jones. They had met in 1987, both starting as undergraduates at Balliol College, Oxford University. Ms Jones used to accompany her friend to doctors appointments. Dr Jarvis had studied Politics, Philosophy and Economics, and gone onto complete a PhD at the University of Florence. A statement from Ms Jones was read out at the inquest which described Dr Jarvis as 'an articulate and intelligent woman'. A note was found at her home, written to her children. The inquest heard it described how she didn't want to be institutionalised or medicated. Dr Jarvis had been married twice. She was still married to husband, musician, Michael Trim when she died, although the two had recently separated. The medical cause of death was given as 1A traumatic injuries, and assistant coroner Katrina Hepburn ruled the death a suicide. For confidential support call the Samaritans on 116123 or visit a local Samaritans branch, see www.samaritans.org for details Eric Trump said his entire family has been threatened in Anthrax scares. The attacks have targeted Eric, Donald Trump Jr., Tiffany Trump, and President Donald Trump's sister. The president's son, who along with Donald Trump Jr. runs the Trump Organization, made the statement on Sean Hannity's program on Fox News when the host asked about threats in a discussion that also explored chants at members of the media. 'All of us,' Eric Trump responded. 'We've all had white powder show up at our house,' Eric Trump told host Sean Hannity 'I've been threatened. Don's been threatened. We've all had white powder show up at our house,' Trump said. According to a Trump family source with knowledge of the situation, multiple family members have received threats, including Tiffany, Trump's youngest daughter whose mom is Marla Maples. There are no known threats against Ivanka Trump. The family source showed DailyMail.com a freeze-frame from a security camera, showing a person in a hazmat suit running tests in Eric and Lara Trump's New York City apartment following the receipt of a letter. Donald Trump Jr. received a letter with a white powdery substance in February. It was opened by his wife, Vanessa, who was hospitalized afterward as a precaution after opening it. Vanessa Haydon Trump hopened a letter containing white powder that was sent to Donald Trump Jr. Maryanne Trump Barry, the president's sister, also got a threatening letter Tiffany Trump also received a threat, according to a Trump family source Donald Trump Jr. and his wife Vanessa arrive for a divorce hearing, Thursday, July 26, 2018, in New York. They got a threatening letter last year President Trump's sister, Judge Maryanne Trump Barry, received a threatening letter in March, a day after Eric Trump received a letter containing a white powdery substance. Both letters were postmarked from Massachusetts, and initial tests deemed the substance non-hazardous, NBC reported at the time. Eric Trump reported the letter to law enforcement. Authorities in March arrested a man accused of sending five threatening letters. Although no one was injured, the threats evoked the Anthrax attack on the Senate office of then-Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle in 2001 during a time of intense fear following the Sept. 11th attacks. Authorities spent weeks decontaminating areas of the Senate and put multiple people on a regimin of antibiotics after the attack. This booking photo released Thursday, March 1, 2018, by the Beverly Police Department shows Daniel Frisiello, of Beverly, Mass., accused of mailing five envelopes earlier this month with threatening messages and a white substance, including one to Donald Trump Jr., that landed his wife, Vanessa, in the hospital Eric Trump got asked about the threats by Hannity after complaining about media coverage of his father's administration Hannity brought up the topic of threats Thursday night as Eric Trump was venting about perceived media bias. Hannity asked: 'Eric, without details has your family been threatened?' After Trump's response, Hannity joined in: 'By the way I had an assistant, one day she was quarantined, poor assistant for eight hours, because of that.' 'There's no moral outrage about that,' Trump claimed. Prior to the discussion of anthrax threats, Trump was going off on the press, after his father's Twitter claim that some media organizations are an 'enemy of the people.' 'The hypocrisy is unlike anything you can ever imagine, right?' he complained. 'You have [the media] attacking Baron, you have them attacking Tiffany, you have them attacking our entire family. You have them out there spewing garbage every single day on CNN and all these other networks about my father,' he continued. 'So they spew nonsense all day and then little Jim Acosta gets belittled at a rally one day and all of a sudden I'm holier than ... it's really incredible,' he said. Hannity also brought up an independent congressional candidate who compared First Lady Melania Trump to a prostitute, although Hannity said inaccurately it was a Democrat who made the comment. You know what? You know how much of that reported, that comment about Melania, which was the one of the truly most disgusting things? You know what they said about that, nothing,' he said. Hannity responded: 'By the way, she is the loveliest woman. Your little brother is a great kid.' Mark Roberts, who is an independent running for Congress in Oregon's 2nd Congressional district, made the comments about the first lady on Twitter on Monday. Mark Roberts, who is an independent running for Congress in Oregon's 2nd Congressional district, made the comments about Melania Trump on Twitter on Monday 'Did you know the First Lady works by the hour? #thinkdirty #h**bag,' Roberts tweeted. On Hannity, the president's son when back to discussing a Tampa Trump rally this week, where angry attendees surrounded CNN's Acosta and made obscene gestures and chanted at him during a live shot. 'People chant, 'CNN sucks. CNN sucks.' Because of the biased coverage and everything else. All of a sudden everybody starts crying. It's really incredible, Sean,' he said. British ex-pat Andrew Taberner (pictured) was almost four times the alcohol legal limit when he was stopped by police on June 16 at 4.50pm A former Royal Navy officer gave out a huge sigh of a relief and went to a bar just after he begged a judge not to jail him for drink driving. British ex-pat Andrew Taberner was almost four times the alcohol legal limit when he was stopped by police on June 16 at 4.50pm. Taberner was visiting his sister and was behind the wheel of a relative's Mercedes at the time, which he was uninsured to drive the A140 vehicle, inquiries revealed. The court was told that tests showed he had 124 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath. The legal limit is 35mg. He admitted to drink driving and having no insurance. Taberner currently lives in the Arabic country of Oman as a teacher. The 44-year-old begged at Manchester Magistrate Court to avoid jail time, despite having admitted to being 'very high on spirits'. He said he had been drinking heavily with his sister following the deaths of his parents within five weeks of each other. The twice-married man clasped his hands in the dock when the judge said his crime could carry a six-month jail sentence, which would lead to a loss of job and 1,100 lost in rent. He said: 'Please no - I don't want to lose my job.' However the father-of-three then sighed with relief as he was told the prison stretch would be reduced and suspended due to his 'early guilty plea and good character'. Taberner is an ex-Chief Petty Officer and aircraft engineer. Afterwards the 44-year-old could be seen in the Revolucion De Cuba bar before heading to the Turtle Bay which offers '2 4 1' cocktails. It is not known whether the drinks had alcohol in them. He admitted charges surrounding drink driving and having no insurance and begged the judge not to jail him so he can return to his job as a teacher in Oman (Pictured: Taberner after his court appearance) Afterwards the 44-year-old could be seen in the Revolucion De Cuba bar before heading to the Turtle Bay which offers '2 4 1' cocktails. It is unknown if they were alcoholic (Pictured: Taberner after his court appearance) Prosecutor Alan Backer said: 'He smelled heavily of alcohol when stopped, and was taken to the police station. 124 is a high reading.' A report on Taberner, compiled by an unnamed probation officer, was read to the hearing and said: 'He said he felt fine when taking the vehicle but given the reading was 124 in breath he may not have felt as stable. He understands it was a stupid mistake - the car was lent to him by his cousin, and they said it was okay for him to drive. He understands this was naive on his part.' 'He feels lucky to be teaching others in his job. He lives in a rented villa of 1,100 a month. His mum and dad passed away within five weeks of each other. His mother had been quite ill for some time. He feels that he is coping better now and is trying to support his sister. The father-of-three sighed with relief as he was told the prison stretch would be reduced and suspended due to his 'early guilty plea and good character' (Pictured: Taberner is an ex-Chief Petty Officer and aircraft engineer) 'He has no issues with alcohol - he likes to have a drink on the weekend but does not drink in the week due to his job. His drinking has increased since the death of his parents. He is worried about being sent to custody.' The report said that jail time would force Taberner to move back to the UK. Taberner, who was unrepresented at the hearing, told District Judge James Hatton that he was 'totally sorry'. He said: 'I am just sorry that I got myself in this situation and sorry for wasting your time. My wife knows about this and has punched me a lot. She doesn't know how serious this is, and I didn't really either until I came to court today - I don't want to lose my job.' But the judge replied: 'Yes well I don't want you driving over the limit with the potential to hurt someone. It was a very very high reading. Taberner, who was unrepresented at the hearing, told District Judge James Hatton that he was 'totally sorry' 'It's not about wasting time, it's about the fact that you would not even have been able to stand, never mind get behind a wheel of a car.' The judge added: 'You cannot do unpaid work due to your location and you cannot be given a curfew due to your location, so I have to go with a 12-week custodial sentence. 'However, due to your early guilty plea and good character, I am giving you an eight-week custodial sentence, which I will suspend for 18 months. 'If you offend again you will be sent to prison.' Taberner was ordered to pay 85 in court fees and a 115 surcharge. He was banned from driving for 30 months and offered a drink drivers awareness course. Taberner is expected to fly back to Oman today. The homeless man who had his beard shaved by a Florida police officer in preparation for a McDonald's job interview has landed the job. Phil told Tallahassee police officers on July 22 that if he shaved his thick beard for his interview, he'd get hired, leading cops to lend a helping hand. The heartwarming moment was caught on camera. Phil won over his interviewers and celebrated his first day at the fast food chain last Friday, and the police department was there to celebrate along with him. Phil, the homeless Florida man who went viral last month in a video where a kind-hearted cop shaved his beard for his McDonald's job interview, has landed the job Congrats! Tallahassee Police announced that he got the job and started last Friday The cops even followed up with him on Wednesday where Phil said he's been enjoying his work Tallahassee Police shared a snap of clean-shaven Phil holding up his new McDonald's uniform with a big smile on his face on July 27. '#GoodNews Phillip aka 'Phil' started his new job today at @McDonalds! We couldn't be more proud!' the police force wrote on Twitter. 'The way #Tallahassee has come together to help has been amazing to say the least. We were all reminded this week how a little #kindness can go a long way.' On Wednesday cops followed up with Phil who said he's been enjoying his new job. 'Hes doing great & enjoying his new job at @McDonalds. We received some gift cards for various restaurants from a former TPD officer to give to Phil,' the police posted. The initial act of kindness on July 22 went viral when Officer Tony Carlson pulled into a gas station and noticed Phil having a hard time with his razor. In a random act of kindness that's gone viral, City of Tallahassee Police Department Officer Tony Carlson was captured on video on Sunday helping a homeless man named Phil shave The video went viral, although Carlson said he was just doing the same thing that other members of law enforcement around the country are doing, every single day. 'It happens all the time. It just so happens this time somebody caught it on film,' Carlson said. 'Officers all over the place... our department, the Sheriff's department, other cities... they're always doing things like this that don't get the attention that this just happened to get. It shows the reality of what we actually do,' he added. Speaking at a news conference following the good deed, Officer Carlson said he was just trying to help. 'I saw [a man], who turned out to be Phil, out front trying to shave, having some trouble with his razor,' Carlson said. Phil (right) told Carlson he had bought a second-razor because if he showed up to the local McDonald's on Monday clean-shaven, he would get a job Carlson said he felt like he needed to do everything he could to help Phil help himself 'As I got out of my car, he asked me if I knew anything about fixing a razor, because it was broken, and if I could look at it. For whatever reason, instead of just getting in my car and leaving, I went over there and I looked at it, and it was missing a screw.' He said, obviously he didn't have screws with him, so he just tightened up the ones that were already there, enough so that it would actually work. While he was doing that, Phil told Carlson that he bought the razor second-hand, and was trying to shave because he was going to get a job at McDonald's if he showed up on Monday, clean-shaven. 'He seemed excited about it,' Carlson said, adding that from his point of view, since Phil was trying to help himself, the officer needed to do everything is in his power to help him be successful in that. Carlson handed the razor back over, which is when another problem presented itself. 'He's trying to start shaving, and he didn't have a mirror, couldn't see what he was doing... it was not going well,' Carlson said. Carlson said he hopes others that see this video will think of it the next time they have an opportunity to do something for someone else, and be motivated by it to lend a helping hand So Carlson took matters into his own hands, literally, and gave Phil a shave, right there in the parking lot. 'I wish I could've done more, but in between calls for services, this was the best I could do.' After Carlson finished up Phil's shave, which he didn't know was being recorded, the man was more than happy with the officer's work. 'He thought it was, like, the best thing in the world,' Carlson said, with a big grin and a chuckle. 'One of his comments was that I should be a barber.' Carlson shared his philosophy of policing with WFMZ news, explaining how he focuses on putting in effort that will make a long term impact in his community. 'I like to think of us more as peace officers, first, law enforcement officers, second. You go to a scene and you try to resolve it with a positive ending, and something that's gonna last,' Carlson said. 'There's a time and place to arrest people and take them to jail, of course, but if you can help and fix the situation to [help] it get better, the chances are you're not gonna have to come back out there, later.' Carers accused of murdering a missing woman claim she is still alive, a court has heard. Margaret Fleming was reported missing in October 2016 from her home in Inverkip, Inverclyde, but has allegedly not been seen since December 1999. Edward Cairney, 76, and Avril Jones, 58, are due to face trial next month accused of her abduction and murder, and of claiming 182,000 in benefits fraudulently by pretending she was still alive. They deny all the charges against them. Margaret Fleming, who would now be 37 years old, was reported missing in October 2016 from her home in Inverkip, Inverclyde, but has allegedly not been seen since December 1999 At a pre-trial hearing at the High Court in Glasgow on Friday, advocate depute Iain McSporran QC said: 'At least one of the accused has claimed to be in telephone contact with Margaret Fleming. 'The defence position is that Margaret Fleming is not dead.' The trial is expected to involve around 200 witnesses and last between six and eight weeks. Mr McSporran said: 'It will be a lengthy trial. Much of which will be devoted to establishing that Margaret Fleming is in fact deceased.' Edward Cairney, 76, (right) and Avril Jones, 58, (left) were not present at the hearing on Friday. They are accused of Ms Fleming's abduction and murder, and of claiming 182,000 in benefits fraudulently by pretending she was still alive. Defence QC Thomas Ross, for Cairney, said the volume of material in the case is 'extraordinary'. He said: 'This is certainly more material than I've ever seen in any case.' It is alleged Cairney and Jones abducted Ms Fleming at her home at Seacroft, Inverkip, locked her in a room, assaulted her, cut her hair and bound her arms and wrists with tape on various occasions between November 1 1995 and January 5 2000. The pair are accused of murdering Ms Fleming, who would now be 37, by unknown means at some point between December 18, 1999 and January 5, 2000. It is alleged that between December 18, 1999 and October 2016 they pretended to Department of Work and Pensions officials that Ms Fleming was alive, and claimed state benefits, obtaining 182,000 by fraud. Cairney and Jones deny all charges and the defence position is that Ms Fleming is still alive The pair also face two charges of attempting to defeat the ends of justice. It is alleged they disposed of, destroyed or concealed the remains and personal effects of Ms Fleming between December 18, 1999 and October 26, 2017. They are also accused of trying to board a train to London at Glasgow Central Station on October 25, 2017 while carrying 3,500 and the keys to a safe deposit box at a bank in London which contained 27,000. It is alleged they planned to travel and evade police and prosecutors. Neither Cairney nor Jones were present at the hearing on Friday, the former having being excused due to mobility issues and the latter having transport problems. Lord Matthews continued the case until Friday August 10 for a further pre-trial hearing. The man accused of murdering his ex-wife and dumping her body in her garage was a free man despite facing serious charges of assaulting her. Samantha Fraser was found dead at her home at Philip Island, south of Melbourne, last week. The 38-year-old's friends have shared their disgust towards Adrian Basham, who was charged with the her murder on Thursday, just an hour after CCTV footage was released of a hooded man lurking outside her house. Ms Fraser's close friend, Toni Smith, said it was 'disgraceful' the 41-year-old alleged murderer had been 'allowed free' leaving her neighbour 'living in fear', the Herald Sun reported. 'Why didn't they take it more seriously?' Ms Smith said. Scroll down for video The man accused of murdering his ex-wife, Samantha Fraser (pictured), was a free man and was never locked up despite facing serious assault charges against her The 38-year-old's friends have shared their disgust towards Adrian Basham (pictured) who was charged with the woman's murder on Thursday days after Ms Fraser was found dead in garage The mother-of-three accused her ex-husband of repeatedly attacking during their seven-year marriage which ended in 2016. Basham was meant to face court over nine assault charges after Ms Fraser reported him to police following their separation but the man was never kept in custody. Detectives are investigating whether the impending court proceedings could have been a motive for the woman's death. Days after the Victorian woman's death, police released CCTV footage showing a man lurking outside Ms Fraser's home and walking along her street between 9am and 12.02pm on the day of her alleged murder. Ms Fraser arrived home at about 11.30am, police said. The man was seen in the footage running away from her property at around midday. Basham was meant to face court over nine assault charges after Ms Fraser (pictured) reported him to police following their separation but the man was never kept in custody CCTV footage shows a hooded man lurking outside the home where the mother-of-three was found dead Police said they were investigating the possibility the hooded man was Basham - who they charged with murder two hours after releasing the security footage. 'It's one of the hypotheses we are looking at. [But] we don't know who that man is and that's why we're appealing to the public,' Detective Inspector Tim Day said in an earlier statement, adding he was as 'very confident' the man in the footage killed Ms Fraser. The suspect was wearing a black hoodie with a distinctive dark blue band on the midriff and arms, dark pants and dark shoes. Detectives also released footage of a motorcycle seen in the area and are looking at the possibility the suspect used it as a getaway vehicle. Insp Day urged anyone who may have information about the identity of the man, the clothing or the motorcycle to come forward. 'At this stage we can't account for that man being in the street and are looking to find out who he is and why he was there,' he said. 'This sighting is of vital importance to this investigation. Det Insp Day urged anyone who may have information about the identity of the man, the clothing or the motorcycle to come forward 'Detectives are also looking at whether he possibly bought the hoodie in the days or weeks before going to the property, which is why we're asking anyone who might recall selling a hoodie fitting this description to contact us. 'Any piece of information could be crucial in solving this murder.' Insp Day described Ms Fraser's death as a 'crime that strikes the heart of our own humanity'. 'How does society reconcile the slaying of an innocent young mother in her family home, thus leaving her children abandoned at the gate of their local school, never to see their mother again?' he said. Detectives also released CCTV of a motorcycle seen in the area and are looking at the possibility the rider may be the same man captured lurking on Ms Fraser's street Police initially believed Ms Fraser, a respected psychologist, had committed suicide. Authorities were alerted when Ms Fraser didn't arrive to pick up her children from school in the afternoon. A welfare check was conducted at her home on Seagrove Way, Cowes, where police found her dead. Her death came as a shock to the local community, who were notified of the police investigation four days after her body was found. A welfare check was conducted at her home on Seagrove Way, Cowes, where police found her dead in her garage (pictured) Ms Fraser has been described by friends, family and colleagues as a 'beautiful woman'. 'She was incredibly kind, nurturing and talented. Sam was articulate and passionate about everything she did,' a friend told the Herald Sun. Her father Trevor Fraser thanked hundreds of mourners who paid their respects at a vigil held in Cowes last week. 'There's really not much we can say at a time like this, [I'm] too emotional to have too much to say,' Mr Fraser said. 'She truly was a remarkable woman, a remarkable mother and a remarkable daughter. Thank you for standing up for Samantha.' Danueal Drayton, 27, was freed without bail on July 5 despite his lengthy rap sheet Only weeks before a nurse was slain and another woman was sexually assaulted on opposite sides of the country, a New York judge released the suspect without bail in a separate strangulation case - not knowing he had a violent criminal history involving women. The freeing of Danueal Drayton, 27, on July 5 has outraged the murdered nurse's family, and frustrated prosecutors who believe he should have been remanded for the strangulation of ex-girlfriend Zynea Barney, 26. Prosecutors and Drayton's defense lawyers believe he would still be behind bars on the Long Island strangulation charge if they and the judge had known about his rap sheet in Connecticut. His record in New York was clean. 'You can't let a person like this walk out of jail... free without a bond,' Kenneth Stewart, whose daughter Samantha was found dead in her Queens apartment on July 17, told reporters last week. 'My daughter would be living today.' Queens nurse Samantha Stewart (left and right) was found dead in her apartment on July 17, just 12 days after Drayton was released on his own recognizance 'You can't let a person like this walk out of jail... free without a bond,' grieving father Kenneth Stewart (above) said of Drayton's July 5 release in Nassau County Authorities say Drayton, from New Haven, Connecticut, claims to have killed at least seven women in Connecticut and New York and has said that he met some victims on the Tinder dating app. Police are trying to confirm if his statements are true. He was arrested last week in Los Angeles after police say he raped a woman who he met during an Uber ride. He pleaded not guilty. He told the New York Daily News in a jailhouse interview that voices in his head made him kill Stewart. He also recalled choking the two other women in Los Angeles and New York. Barney told the newspaper that she believed he is faking insanity in a bid to game the justice system. 'Stop lying. Stop pretending you're this psychopath to get off easy,' she said. 'You knew what you were doing.' Zynea Barney, 26, (left and right) dated Drayton for about six months, before she says he tried to strangle her in a Long Island park when she tried to break up with him Barney said that their relationship had begun well but turned sour as he became increasingly possessive and controlling, culminating in him slashing her tires and trying to strangle her in a park near her home in Inwood, New York. After he told her to drive to a park and Barney told him there was no chance of them getting back together, Drayton allegedly lunged at her and started to strangle her. Nassau County prosecutors had sought $7,500 bail for Drayton after he was charged with choking Barney. Judge Scott Fairgrieve set bail at $2,000 on July 1 and Drayton was detained. Judge Erica Prager (above) freed Drayton on his own recognizance on July 5 On July 5, however, Judge Erica Prager freed Drayton on his own recognizance. Police say he went on to murder Stewart and take another woman prisoner in Los Angeles in subsequent weeks. A spokesman for Nassau County District Attorney Madeline Singas said her office is now reviewing why Drayton's Connecticut criminal record, which was available in a national database, was not presented to Judge Prager before she freed him. 'The bail set by Judge Fairgrieve should have been continued at $2,000 bond or $1,000 cash, and Mr. Drayton would have continued to be held in jail,' the DA's spokesman, Brendan Brosh, said in a statement. 'The prosecutor on July 5 detailed serious threats made by the defendant to the victim, and noted that he had slashed the tires on her car.' Prager did not return a message seeking comment. Detectives hold a press conference in New York asking any other potential victims of Drayton to come forward. So far, no other victims have been identified Lawyers with the Legal Aid Society of Nassau County, who are representing him in the strangulation case, had asked Prager for a bail reduction and did not know at the time about his Connecticut record, which includes a nonfatal strangulation, unlawful restraint and violating protective orders. 'If (Prager) had that information, she probably would have made a different determination on the bail,' said N. Scott Banks, chief attorney for the Legal Aid Society of Nassau County. It's not clear what the procedures are in New York for checking the National Crime Information Center database for defendants' criminal histories in other states, and Brosh couldn't immediately say. New York courts spokesman Lucian Chalfen only said judges have wide discretion in setting bail. Drayton also slipped through the cracks in Connecticut, where his probation officer tried multiple times to find him after he disappeared in late May and missed required meetings. He was on probation for misdemeanor harassment. Connecticut officials were never informed of his June 30 arrest in New York and obtained an arrest warrant for him on July 26, according to the Connecticut Judicial Branch. Court records obtained by The Associated Press show Drayton was sentenced to three years in prison in 2013 for beating and choking his girlfriend in East Haven and violating a protective order 'He started pummeling me in my face!' the girlfriend told police. 'Swing after swing after swing to the point my body went into shock. ... He grabbed me from behind and started strangulating me with his arms and within seconds I passed out.' He got out of prison in November 2014 and began serving probation. Seven months later, he was arrested again for holding another woman against her will in Waterbury, and got another three-year prison sentence. He got out on probation in April 2017. He was arrested again in February by New Haven police for sending threatening messages to a male friend. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to a year of probation in March. Connecticut prosecutor Sean McGuinness declined to comment on the 2018 harassment case. New York Police Department Chief of Detectives Dermot Shea said Thursday that Drayton has been speaking with investigators in California and has said things that would lead them to believe he's responsible for other crimes in New York City. Nothing Drayton has said regarding those alleged crimes has been verified by NYPD investigators. 'We are very interested in the history of Mr. Drayton,' Shea said. 'We have resources devoted to really following up on his past. What could we learn? What other victims may there be?' A Florida woman, who was arrested for allegedly stealing from a Walmart, hid a crack pipe and drugs in her vagina on the way to jail, according to police. Rachelle Marie Tocco was taken into custody on Sunday after an off-duty officer saw her stealing clothes and hiding them in a lunchbox. St Petersburg police said Tocco would push a cart into walkways to check for employees before running into the aisle to get more clothes. Rachelle Marie Tocco, 30, of Florida, who was arrested for allegedly stealing from a Walmart, 'hid a crack pipe and drugs in her vagina' on the way to jail According to The Tampa Bay Times, Tocco was stopped by the officer as she was leaving the store. She reportedly admitted to the crime. Tocco was then transported to county jail, but on the way there the officer noticed her smoking something in the back of the patrol car. When Tocco was taken out of the vehicle, she reportedly had her hands down her pants. The officer couldn't find anything in the cruiser or on Tocco's person until she got inside the jail. Police said Tocco removed a 'crack pipe with cocaine residue' and 4.5 grams of alprazolam, also known as Xanax, from her vagina during a search. She is now facing multiple charges, including felony petty theft, possession of alprazolam and two counts of introducing contraband into a county detention facility. When Tocco was taken out of the vehicle, she reportedly had her hands down her pants. The officer couldn't find anything in the cruiser or on Tocco's person until she got inside the jail Former MTV VJ Jesse Camp has exclusively spoken to DailyMail.com about his disappearance last week. Camp, 38, whose real name is Josiah, was reported missing by his sister Marisha on July 19 after being last spotted in Fontana, California. The former TRL host told DailyMail.com that he had not actually disappeared and he had just been off the radar for a few days. Camp said: 'I didn't mean to scare everyone and it was a bit of misunderstanding. 'Honestly, it was just some really bad communication and I had some phone problems. I had some really good friends that tweeted about it and then it sort of took on a life of its own. Former MTV VJ Jesse Camp (pictured in 2015) has told DailyMail.com that his disappearance last month was all a misunderstanding Camp, 38, joked that he had been 'hiding in the Himalayas' as part of a publicity stunt for an event thrown by his friend Ivy Supersonic (pictured left) 'I was really only missing for two or three days but then it became this big Internet thing.' The Riverside Police Department released a statement to social media on July 24 confirming Camp had been in contact with them. The department said his disappearance was not suspicious and his family had been notified. Camp was vague on his whereabouts during this time, at one point joking he had been 'abducted by aliens', 'hit on the head with a coconut' and that he was 'hiding in the Himalayas' as part of a publicity stunt for an event called the 'Supersonic Drug-Free Acid Trip' thrown by his friend, artist and designer, Ivy Supersonic. Camp said that he was currently in California and hoped to attend Ivy's event in New York next Tuesday. He said that he would be spending most of the fall in New York working on a series with his sister. He added: 'I'm really happy to be all in one piece and nothing that bad happened. 'Honestly, I want to say I was really moved by all the energy and love that people shared and how many people really care about me. 'No joking around, it really moved me and that means the world to me.' Camp got his big break when he won MTV's 'Wanna Be a VJ' contest in 1998. Camp is known for his big break on MTV's Wanna Be a VJ contest in 1998. He had been homeless before his surprise win on the show The Riverside Police Department released a statement Tuesday confirming Jesse Camp was no longer missing Camp had previously been homeless before his surprise win on the television show, and hosted various programs for the network until 2001. He then went into music, releasing an album in 1999 that featured a duet with Stevie Nicks. Camp's last interview appears to be in 2016, when he was stopped by the New York Post for a video segment. 'I'm zipping it cause I am on a very bad acid trip at the moment,' Camp tells the reporter at the end of the video. 'I think I'm being interviewed by the New York Post - so clearly I'm not in my right head.' Mika Brzezinski cut Ivanka Trump down to size on Friday in a blistering takedown that suggested the first daughter was nothing more than a self-centered and self-serving megalomaniac. This latest critique of the Trump administration from the Morning Joe host came after Ivanka made her first public remarks about her father's zero tolerance policy on Thursday during a sit-down with Axios. She had previously congratulated her father for ending the policy in a Twitter post last month, but never once actually spoke on the matter. When asked about her father's policy, Ivanka said: 'That was low point for me as well. I feel very strongly about that, and I am very vehemently against family separation, and the separation of parents and children.' Brzezinski played that response in full, and when the camera cut back to her she began her response in a very calm and even manner by stating: 'You can do better than that.' Scroll down for video Not impressed: 'That was Ivanka Trump yesterday acknowledging the impact of her father's policy on herself,' said Mika Brzezinski on Morning Joe (left on Friday, Ivanka right on Thursday) Family affair: 'That was low point for me as well. I feel very strongly about that, and I am very vehemently against family separation,' said Ivanka on Thursday (Ivanka and her mother Ivana above in 1995) Parents: 'That was Ivanka Trump yesterday acknowledging the impact of her father's policy on herself,' said Brzezinski on Morning Joe (Brzeznski's Polish father and Swiss mother above in 2016) Brzezinski, who was joined in the studio by Willie Geist, continued to address her issues with Ivanka and those remarks for almost a full minute. 'I'm sorry, Willie. Low point? Ivanka Trump. People seeking asylum in America trying to escape poverty, abuse, fear, violence; coming here and facing never seeing their kids again?' stated Brzezinski. 'That was Ivanka Trump yesterday acknowledging the impact of her father's policy on herself.' She let that line hang in the air for a few seconds, before finishing out her remarks. 'The policy that tore children from their parents at the U.S. Border. So these kids are sitting in detention facilities,' said Brzezinski. 'They're at "Summer camp" some would say, facing potentially never seeing their parents again.' Brzezinski's remarks were all the more powerful as she, like Ivanka, is the daughter of an immigrant. Her mother was born in Switzerland and her father in Poland, while Ivanka's mother Ivana was born in the former Czechoslovakia. The treatment of some of the young children who were detained by the government is now starting to come to light, with allegations that some were being given powerful prescription medication and others heard wailing in audio recordings from inside the centers. And despite last week's initial deadline to return all the children to their parents, there are still 711 of the roughly 2,500 separated children who have not be reunited with family. Two men have been arrested by counter-terrorism police after packages containing a suspicious liquid were sent to a number of NHS hospitals. Around 25 trusts received the parcels, prompting nationwide warning to all NHS groups from the Chief Medical Officer, Dame Sally Davies. It warned of a 'number of unsolicited packages, with accompanying literature requesting testing' A package sent to the Milton Keynes University Hospital research and development department said it was from an organisation calling itself 'The Cyprus Project'. Around 25 trusts, including Milton Keynes University Hospital, pictured, received the packages, sent by a group calling itself 'The Cyprus Project' A 29-year-old man, from Brent, north-west London, and a 37-year-old man, from Harrow, both north-west London, were arrested in Barnet at about 6.45pm on Thursday by the Metropolitan Police's Counter Terrorism Command. The Met said that, so far, none of the packages has been found to contain anything hazardous. The pair have been bailed to return to a north London police station in late August and inquiries are continuing. A spokesman for Milton Keynes University Hospital Foundation Trust said: 'Staff followed the usual operational protocol, which includes alerting the police and NHS England. 'National Operations Centre tested the liquid and it was found to be non-suspicious and non-hazardous. It was therefore disposed of appropriately.' A police force's 'hate crime officer' was today accused of punching a 14-year-old boy. PC Paul Evans, hate crime officer in the community engagement team for South Wales Police, appeared in court charged with assault by beating. Evans, 50, of Bridgend, South Wales, pleaded not guilty to the charge. PC Paul Evans, hate crime officer in the community engagement team for South Wales Police, appeared in court charged with assault by beating Cardiff magistrates heard the charge relates to an alleged incident at a property in Bridgend in January. Wearing a dark blue suit and tie, Evans spoke only to confirm his name, address and to formally enter a plea. District Judge Bodfan Jenkins granted Evans unconditional bail. Cardiff magistrates (pictured) heard the charge relates to an alleged incident at a property in Bridgend in January Evans is due to appear at Cardiff Magistrates' Court on August 22 for a pre-trial hearing. It follows an Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) investigation. An IOPC statement said: 'Our investigation followed a referral from South Wales Police in January after a complaint was made by the teenager's family. 'We completed our investigation in June and submitted a file of evidence to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), which authorised the assault charge contrary to Section 39 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988.' A homeless man who slept on the grounds of Buckingham Palace has been jailed after smashing advertising boards near the Royal estate. Irishman Steven Lawlor, 44, managed to break into the palace grounds after breaking poster boards on the railings of the estate to use as blankets on July 16 earlier this year. Lawlor sneaked into the ground at Entree Green after guards did not spot him entering at 1am. He managed to sleep for four hours before he was apprehended by security at 5am. Lawlor sneaked into the ground at Entree Green after guards did not spot him entering at 1am. Pictured: Heavily armed police outside the palace during changing of the guard ceremony Henry Fitch, prosecuting, told Westminster Magistrates: 'At 5:40am on July 16 the defendant was seen on CCTV during a camera sweep. 'He entered on the south-east corner of the site and was seen sleeping inside the metal railings which are the boundary to Buckingham Palace.' District Judge Tan Ikram told Lawlor: 'I have to deal with two matters one of criminal damage which relates to advertising glass cabinets and another matter described in law as a protected site. 'You knew where you were entering, you have admitted that today. 'In doing so, you damaged the advertising cases and damaged the posters costing 210. You entered the site, Buckingham Palace, to sleep and in fact you were sleeping for some hours after entering the site. 'You have 70 previous convictions, and these add to your appalling catalogue of offending.' Most recently he was handed a 16-month sentence for throwing a toxic substance with intent to injure at a prison guard at Maidstone Crown Court on May. As a result of being recalled to prison Lawlor could remain in jail until March next year. Lawlor had been living on the streets in Brighton, East Sussex, before coming to London to get help for his drug abuse problems. Stephanie Dale defending said Lawlor was 'sorry and apologised' for damaging the cabinet and trespassing. Lawlor, of no fixed address, admitted one count of criminal damage and once count of trespassing on a protected site and was jailed for 28 days. He said: 'You knew where you were entering that day and in doing so you damaged posters and caused 210 worth of damage. 'I accept that you entered Buckingham Palace and grounds to sleep, but you knew exactly where you were entering. 'You would know the impact in terms of the security, the costs and the consequences in relation to your actions. 'You have 70 previous convictions and this is an appalling catalogue of offending. 'In my view, in your circumstances, a community order isn't an option.' The real reason one of Australia's leading supermarket giants gave reusable bags away for free after enforcing the single-use plastic ban has been revealed. Coles replaced single-use bags with thicker reusable bags available for customers to purchase but after an angry backlash, the company offered the product for free to 'ease' shoppers into remembering to bring their own reusable bags. However, it has been revealed the real reason Coles gave away their 15 cent bags was instead to create a flow of customers through the check-outs to limit congestion during their Little Shop promotion. Coles revealed the real reason they gave reusable bags away for free (stock image) after enforcing single-use bag ban which they initially claimed was to ease customers into transition The real reason Coles gave away their 15 cent bags was instead to create a flow of customers through the check-outs to limit congestion during their Little Shop promotion (stock image) An internal letter sent to employees encouraged staff to get customers through the registers quickly at the 'busy time', the Sydney Morning Herald reported. 'As you know, teams have been working hard to bring Little Shop to life for our customers and we've had a great response across the country,' a leaked document said. 'To help make life easier for our team and customers during this busy time, we have made the decision to extend the complimentary 15c Better Bag offer until further notice. 'This means you can focus 100 per cent on serving customers quickly through the registers. It also gives our customers additional time to form the habit of remembering to bring their own reusable bags.' The free re-usable bags will be sold for 15 cents two days after the Little Shop promotion, a collection of small plastic toys replicating popular supermarket products, ends. Customers receive a collectable product for every $30 spent. Many of the mini items have been re-sold online by avid collectors. Coles removed the thin, plastic bags from their checkouts nation wide at the start of July shortly after Woolworths made the move weeks earlier. The plastic bag ban was slammed by environmentalists for replacing free plastic bags with plastic bags that cost consumers money. An internal letter sent to employees encouraged staff to get customers through the registers (stock image) quickly at the 'busy time' of their popular promotion A Superior Court judge dismissed the indictment charging Jalen Breon Brown, 22, with murder in the shooting death of a transgender woman A Georgia judge has dismissed murder charges against a transgender individual who fatally shot a transgender woman. A Superior Court judge dismissed the indictment charging Jalen Breon Brown, 22, with murder in the shooting death of Ava LeRay Barrin, 17 born Rayquann Deonte Jernigan at an apartment complex in Athens, Georgia, in June 2017. Authorities said Barrin was shot once in the chest and was not breathing when officers arrived at the scene. She was pronounced dead at the hospital. Police said Barrin had died during a feud between two transgender groups. Brown was charged with malice murder, felony murder and other offenses. In March, Brown filed a motion saying that prosecution was unwarranted because the shooting was self-defense. An evidentiary hearing was then held in May and on July 24, the judge dismissed the charges by calling the shooting an act of self-defense, the Athens Banner-Herald reported. On the day of the shooting, Brown had been visiting a friend at the Riverview Apartments in Athens. Brown and a friend were about to leave the apartment when Barrin showed up allegedly stating that she wanted to fight Brown, the judge noted in his order to vacate the charges. Ava LeRay Barrin, 17 (pictured) born Rayquann Deonte Jernigan was fatally shot at an apartment complex in Athens, Georgia, in June 2017 during a fight with Brown A Georgia judge said that Brown shot Barrin (pictured) in self-defense after attempts at deescalating the fight failed The incident occurred when Barrin and Brown were struggling on the stairs in the Riverview Apartments in Athens, Georgia Barrin and Barrin's friends, who were surrounding Brown's car at the apartment complex, tirf to taunt Brown into fighting. Brown then borrowed a handgun from the friend and brandished it at Barrin while refusing to get into a fight and telling Barrin and her friends to leave. When Barrin and her friends refused the leave, Brown then fired a warning shot into the air, which did not have any effect. The shooting occurred while Brown was walking down to the parking lot gun and keys in hand and encountered Barrin on the stairs. The judge wrote that Barrin and Brown then struggled, with Barrin putting Brown into a headlock and trying to take the gun away from Brown. Barrin was shot while the two lost their balance and fell several steps down to the ground. Based on this description of events, the judge decided that Brown's actions were self-defense because Barrin 'reasonably believed that his own great bodily harm was imminent' at the time of the shooting. In particular, the judge noted, Barrin had shown no fear when Brown initially brandished the gun and fired the warning shot. Additionally, Brown had made several attempts at deescalating the brewing fight. The judge noted that Barrin and Brown had been 'on bad terms' since Brown posted a Facebook video mentioning Barrin six months prior to the shooting. Reports at the time of the incident stated Barrin and Brown were men. However, Vibe noted that they both identified as women. At the time of her death, Barrin was said to be the youngest trans woman of color to have been killed in the United States in 2017. A stray dog kept an injured cyclist alive by keeping him warm with its body after he crashed in remote mountains. Martin Ion fell during his ride and suffered a dislocated hip and a broken collarbone as he rode alone through the Semenic Mountains in western Romania. He couldn't get up and started to get hypothermia as he lay on the cold ground overnight while paramedics rushed to his aid. A stray dog kept an injured cyclist alive by keeping him warm with its body after he crashed in remote mountains The dog, who was running next to his bike earlier, lay down next to him and kept his body warm long enough for him to be rescued alive The dog, who was running next to his bike earlier, lay down next to him and kept his body warm long enough for him to be rescued alive. 'When we arrived, the dog didn't leave his side and remained there until the ambulance arrived,' paramedics said. Mr Ion was rushed to the orthopedics section of the Timisoara County Emergency Hospital to repair his broken and dislocated bones. Martin Ion suffered a dislocated hip and a broken collarbone as he rode alone through the Semenic Mountains in western Romania Mr Ion was rushed to the orthopedics section of the Timisoara County Emergency Hospital to repair his broken and dislocated bones Mr Ion poses with the dog earlier in the ride before the accident He said the Bernese mixed breed dog ran besides his bike along the misty road for several hours and stopped as soon as he fell off. 'I missed a hole on the trail, didn't see it and it threw me right off and I couldn't move. That's when he also stopped moving and sat beside me,' he said. The dog was later adopted by Ionut Mihai Popovici, a public official from the Caras Severin County Council, and named Max. Russian-backed troops have moved a disputed border by shifting barbed-wire markers in night-time land raids that threaten to swallow up villages in Georgia, it has been claimed. Entire communities have been cut in two after sudden border shifts in what some have described as a creeping occupation backed by President Vladimir Putin. The so-called 'borderization' has been taking place along the boundary between Georgia and the breakaway region of South Ossetia, which is recognised by Moscow as an independent state. America and its Western allies sees such acts as land-grabbing in violation of international law. It comes nearly a decade after war erupted between Russia and Georgia over the territory and another breakaway region, Abkhazia. Russian troops have moved a disputed border by shifting barbed-wire markers in night-time land raids that threaten to swallow up villages in Georgia, it has been claimed. It comes nearly a decade after war erupted (pictured) between Russia and Georgia over the territory and another breakaway region, Abkhazia Russia and Georgia fought a war in August 2008 over the breakaway Georgian region of South Ossetia. Moscow continues to garrison troops there and to support another breakaway region, Abkhazia, after recognising both regions as independent states According to the Heritage Foundation, a US-based conservative think tank, there have been more than 50 instances of borderization along the 260-mile Georgia-South Ossetia frontier in the last seven years alone, NBC News reports. A local dance teacher, named Nikolos Korashvili, said his brother woke a few years ago to find the border had been changed overnight and cut through his property. Others have simply abandoned their homes on the border over fears they will be swallowed up in to South Ossetia, according to NBC News. A farmer called Vasya said he was no longer able to visit his local church because land between it and his home had been seized. South Ossetia claims to be an independent state, but is only recogised by the likes of Russian ally Syria, Venezuela, Nicaragua and the tiny Pacific island of Nauru. Last year its President Anatoly Bibilov pledged to hold a referendum on whether it should join Russia, but this has yet to take place. The region is said to receive subsidies from the Kremlin. Entire communities have been cut in two after sudden border shifts in what many have described as a creeping occupation backed by President Vladimir Putin (pictured) US officials have insisted their support for Georgia, a country of just 3.7million that hopes to join NATO, is 'unwavering' and said it backs the country in calling out Russia 'on the continued violation' of its 'sovereignty and territorial integrity'. But locals who spoke to NBC News said they fear for their futures and cn do 'nothing to protect ourselves'. 'What can you do against Russia? They do whatever they can,' one is quoted as saying. Mediation involving the US, Georgia, the two breakaway regions and Russia is taking place in Geneva - but there has been little progress so far. Night Wolves biker gang linked to Putin and led by activist known as The Surgeon who helped Russia annex Crimea moves to Slovakia A Russian Nationalist biker gang with close ties to PresidentVladimir Putin has set up a base in Slovakia, a move which has alarmed the local government. Slovak President Andrej Kiska warned that the Night Wolves, who supported Russian troops during the annexation of Crimea in the Ukraine in 2014, are a security risk to NATO and the EU. The bikers, led by a former doctor known as Alexander 'The Surgeon' Zaldostanov, have taken over an old pig farm, 44 miles northeast of the Slovak capital Bratislava. New neighbours: The Night Wolves Russian biker gang, led by Alexander 'The Surgeon' Zaldostanov, have taken over a former pig farm 44 miles from the Slovak capital Bratislava Friends of the leader: Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, and Alexander 'The Surgeon' Zaldostanov ride motorcycles together in 2011 After officially opening their Slovak branch in June the Night Wolves have held military-style exercises with the Slovak Recruits, a 200-strong nationalist paramilitary group, on the compound. 'They are no harmless motorcycle lovers,' President Kiska said in a statement according to Radio Free Europe. 'The Night Wolves are a tool of a regime that took part in the usurpation of a territory of a neighbouring country [of Slovakia], in the annexation of parts of Ukraine in violation of international law. 'The establishment of a so-called European headquarters of the Night Wolves in Slovakia is a mockery of the Slovak Republic's official position on the annexation of Crimea and Russian policies.' The Night Wolves' new Slovakian base has been painted in camouflage and is surrounded by a barbed-wire fence. The Russian bikers sat they intend to turn it into a museum honouring Soviet WWII units, and signs on the building claims it will open in September. Putin fans: A member of the Night Wolves is seen inside the gang's base in Luhansk, Ukraine While generally regarded as a satellite state of the USSR, Slovakia - then part of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic was never officially part of the Soviet Union. 'In Slovakia they pay homage to the heroes who liberated the world from fascism, so the creation of the museum complex, dedicated to the events of World War Two, is logical, legitimate and desirable,' Zaldostanov said in a statement seen by the BBC. Jozef Hambalek, founder of the Slovak branch of the Night Wolves, said denied any political motivation behind his creation of the Slovak chapter of Russia's Night Wolves. 'I am only interested in motorcycles and military history,' he said. The Night Wolves are closely linked to President Putin, who has joined the bikers several times at rallies, riding a Harley-Davidson trike, and called them his 'friends.' In 2013, he awarded Zaldostanov the Russian Medal of Honour and has praised him for his loyalty. Putin's pulpit pals: Zaldostanov is seen speaking to Putin in Sevastopol, during the President's trip to Crimea in August last year The Night Wolves have been under U.S. sanctions since 2014 for its role in the pro-Russian separatist insurgency in Ukraine and the subsequent annexation of Crimea. In March, Zaldostanov and Sasa Savic, the leader of the club's branch in Serbia, were banned from entering Bosnia because of security concerns, and in 2015 the Night Wolves were refused entry to Poland. Zaldostanov, born in Soviet Ukraine, studied medicine in his youth and practiced as an assistant surgeon but is not thought to have graduated medical school. He became involved in biker culture in the 80s and founded the Night Wolves in 1989, just before the fall of the USSR. The gang has around 5,000 members across the former Soviet Union. Advertisement Only this week, Georgia's president denounced Russia for illegally occupying part of the country as it began two weeks of military exercises with the United States and several other NATO members. About 1,300 soldiers from Georgia, 1,170 from the United States and several hundred from eight other NATO member states joined in manoeuvres falling just a few days before the 10th anniversary of Georgia's war with Russia. Washington dispatched a mechanised company, including twelve Bradley infantry fighting vehicles, five M1A2 Abrams tanks and nine Blackhawk and Apache helicopters. Non-NATO Ukraine, Armenia and Azerbaijan also sent soldiers. President Giorgi Margvelashvili, at an opening ceremony, said: 'Today you are standing on the territory of a country, twenty percent of which is absolutely illegally occupied by our neighbour Russia.' Only this week, Georgia's president denounced Russia for illegally occupying part of the country as it began two weeks of military exercises (pictured) with the United States and several other NATO members About 1,300 soldiers from Georgia, 1,170 from the United States and several hundred from eight other NATO member states joined in manoeuvres falling just a few days before the 10th anniversary of Georgia's war with Russia Russia and Georgia fought a war in August 2008 over the breakaway Georgian region of South Ossetia. Moscow continues to garrison troops there and to support another breakaway region, Abkhazia, after recognising both regions as independent states. The 'Noble Partner' exercises are being held in Georgia for the fourth time. Russian officials have not commented on the event yet, but in previous years Moscow warned that drills could destabilise the region, a charge denied by Georgian officials. The exercises were being run from the Vaziani military base near Georgia's capital, Tbilisi. Russian forces used to be based there until they withdrew at the start of the last decade under the terms of a European arms reduction agreement. Russia is also conducting its own military exercises in the North Caucasus region, which borders Georgia. The Russian drills, which started on Wednesday, are set to continue until August 15. Treasurer Scott Morrison has agreed to axe the controversial tampon tax on female hygiene products. Australian women spend around $300million on sanitary products - tampons and pads - each year. The tax is causing 'frustration and angst', and should have been removed a long time ago, Mr Morrison admitted to The Daily Telegraph. Treasurer Scott Morrison has agreed to axe the controversial tampon tax on female hygiene products 'I can see it is a source of frustration and angst. Here is a straightforward practical opportunity to deal with it once and all,' he said. 'I think it's an anomaly that has been built into the system for a long time and the states have decided to hold onto the money instead of getting rid of it.' Mr Morrison has written to state leaders to inform them the removal of the levy - a source of $30 million dollars of GST revenue each year - is on the agenda for a meeting to be held in September or October. Labor, the Greens and crossbenchers combined in a parliamentary vote to take the 10 per cent tax off feminine hygiene products in June. Mr Morrison (pictured) admitted the tax is causing 'frustration and angst', and has put its removal on the agenda for a meeting of state leaders But Mr Morrison's stance is the first time a Federal Coalition Minister has agreed to scrap the 10 per cent tax. Fiance Minister Kelly O'Dwyer is said to have influenced Mr Morrison's position on the issue, The Daily Telegraph reported. Ms O'Dwyer told the publication millions of Australia will be happy to see this tax on sanitary products gone. Labor has previously vowed to get rid of the tax if it wins Government in 2019. The Party suggested applying the 10 per cent GST to 12 natural therapies including naturopathy. 'Because we are able to replace the money we believe we will be able to get the states and territories on board this time around,' Deputy Labor Leader Tanya Plibersek told the Nine Network HMRC was today told to end Amazon's 'outrageously' low tax bills and stop them 'destroying' Britain's ailing high streets. The UK's fifth biggest retailer paid just 4.5million in corporation tax in 2017 - down from 7.4million the previous year - despite soaring UK sales of close to 2billion. Today the Government was urged to 'get tough' with Amazon and end the 'bias' against UK companies forced to pay hundreds of millions more in corporation tax and business rates. Labour MP Margaret Hodge said: 'Amazon are acting outrageously by not paying their fair share of tax on profits earned in the UK. They undercut our high streets, destroying British jobs and businesses. Time for the Government to get tough'. Today it also emerged Amazon, whose owner Jeff Bezos is worth 86billion, has earned far more through government grants than it paid in tax this year. When it built its 800,000 square feet Parc Amazon warehouse in Swansea they received 8.8million in grants from the Welsh Government - twice what Amazon paid in corporation tax in 2017. Just two miles away in Swansea city centre a fifth of all shops are empty because of high business rates and rents. Amazon sales reached 2billion in the UK in 2017 but it paid just 4.5m in corporations tax When Amazon its 33 acre warehouse in Swansea they received millions in Government grants - there are calls to stop it MP Margaret Hodge, former Chairman of the influential Public Accounts Committee in Parliament, says the Government must get tough to Labour MP John Mann, who is a member of the Treasury Select Committee, said today that Amazon and HMRC chiefs will be hauled to Parliament to explain the 'scandal' of their tax bill. How Amazon uses loophole to send 2bn in sales revenue out of the UK to avoid tax Amazon slashes its UK corporation tax bill by taking advantage over Britain's ageing tax laws and a complicated network of companies in the EU. The online giant funnelled cash made from sales across all its European businesses including 1.98billion from the UK through a company based in Luxembourg. This company then pays 'royalties' to another of its businesses based in the small European country. The American tech giant's then uses the costs of its branding and services to cut the remaining profits which it can be taxed for at a lower rate than in the UK. Meanwhile, the royalties paid to the separate entity are not taxed because it is a type of business not considered a tax resident in Luxembourg. Unlike some European countries, Britain also allows companies to take generous deductions for stock options and share awards and many companies, especially in the technology sector, use the rules to reduce their tax bills significantly. 'We pay all taxes required in the UK and every country where we operate,' Amazon said in a statement. Advertisement He said: 'Amazon taxation scandal emphasis huge competitive bias in UK. Amazon, Ministers and HMRC will be quizzed in detail in Parliament to tackle this scandal head on. 'Amazon, Starbucks, Google and others pay less tax than the local family businesses competing with them, but we pay for their infrastructure. A fundamental change of attitude is needed. 'Parliament will need to be bold in making changes that make Amazon and others pay their fair tax. Currently all the system does is subsidise their new warehouses with taxpayers money'. Amazon currently has around a dozen giant warehouses across the country, and wants to build more. When they created one in Dunfirmline, Scotland, they were handed a 6.3m grant from the Scottish Government, but it later emerged staff working said they were forced to leave in tents. Plans for a warehouse in Kent also caused fury because it required a new motoway junction, which with subsidies would have cost the taxpayer 50million, but in the end they did not take the site. Tesco is Britain's biggest retailer and paid 176million in corporation tax last year when Amazon, Britain's fifth biggest, paid just 4.5million. The supermarket also pays around 700million a year in business rates while Amazon is estimated to pay 11million. Experts say the law will have to be re-written to capture more tax from Amazon, who funnel across all its European businesses including 1.98billion from the UK through a company based in Luxembourg. A similar tax avoidance system is used by Google, Apple and Starbucks. Staff label and package items in the on-site dispatch hall inside one of Britain's largest Amazon warehouses in Dunfermline, Fife. The company has been accused of killing off British high street Labour's John Mann says the system must be changed to make it fair and said Amazon and HMRC would be hauled before MPs Heather Self, a partner at tax and advisory firm Blick Rothenberg, said: 'The real issue for many high street retailers is that their costs are very different from Amazons they have expensive premises, higher staff costs and pay much more in business rates'. How Amazon's tax bill compares with Tesco UK retailer ranking Sales Tesco 57.5bn Amazon 2billion Corporation tax Tesco 176m Amazon 4.5m Business rates Tesco: 700m Amazon: estimated 11m UK retailer ranking by sales Tesco: One Amazon: Five Advertisement She added: 'If the Government wants Amazon to pay more tax it will have to change the rules and it is fair to say that corporation tax rules were written before the age of global businesses, let alone massive online companies.' Previously Amazon has been accused of working its warehouse staff to the bone in long and relentless shifts. Graduate Adam Littler, 23, told BBC Panorama he walked up to 11 miles as he worked 10-and-a-half hour night shifts inside the online retailers giant distribution centre in Swansea. He was expected to collect a customer order every 33 seconds and told BBC1s Panorama he was subjected to unbelievable pressure to meet efficiency targets. Mr Littler was recruited via an agency for seven weeks work. He spent four weeks on the day shift, earning 6.50 an hour, before moving to night shifts on 8.25 an hour Amazon staff have previously revealed how they have been tracked by GPS tags inside the companys eight UK warehouses and even had toilet breaks timed - claims the firm has denied. The news last night enraged retail campaigners, who believe Amazon's success has contributed to the high street crisis that has seen tens of thousands of jobs lost this year. They are angry that local shops are hammered by soaring business rates, while the web-based giant pays much lower rates on its out-of-town warehouses. The Mail has been campaigning for a review of business rates. Joshua Bamfield of the Centre for Retail Research, which analyses retail trends, said: 'People will be staggered by these figures. At a time when major British retailers are in difficulties and having to pay more corporation tax than Amazon, it seems wholly unfair. This shows that if you employ the finest City brains, you can get away with paying minimal amounts of tax but if you're like John Lewis or Sainsbury's, a UK brand employing hundreds of thousands of people all over the country, you've got no choice.' Amazon bosses said the tax paid is based on profits and not revenues - defending the corporation tax bill Amazon has been so popular in recent years shoppers are tuning to online retailers instead of shopping in stores Wes Streeting, a Labour MP and member of the Treasury select committee, added: '4.5 million is a drop in the ocean given the size of Amazon's UK sales, and will stick in the throats of businesses on the high street who are struggling to pay their business rates particularly independent retailers and family-owned businesses.' 'It's time for the Chancellor to overhaul the system of business rates to save our high streets, and instead make sure that big multinational corporations like Amazon are paying their fair share of taxes.' Amazon has several registered companies in the UK, each for a different part of its empire. Amazon products like the Echo device have seen profits soar in the UK but the company has paid a smaller corporation tax bill Yesterday, it published accounts for its Services division, which used to be called Amazon.co.uk. Essentially, this division looks after its warehouses and parcel delivery business. Financial statements released at Companies House revealed it had made 1.98 billion in sales in the UK in 2017, up from 1.46 billion the previous year. Operating profits in the UK tripled to 79 million last year. Yet its bill for corporation tax which is paid on profits plummeted from 7.4 million in 2016 to 4.56 million for 2017. The tax payment was partly slashed because Amazon made shares payments to thousands of staff. These are counted as a cost and deducted from profits. Had Amazon paid the UK's standard rate of corporation tax, its Services subsidiary would have had to hand over 13.9 million, according to an analysis by the Financial Times. However, this still pales next to the web giant's 2 billion UK sales. Because companies pay corporation tax only on profits, many tech firms use accounting methods to reduce their tax liability. These include increasing costs by making payments to other companies within the same group often these can be in low-tax countries such as Luxembourg. They also hand out share awards. Earlier this year, the Mail launched a campaign for a review of the business rates system to help local stores and high street retailers. A Mail investigation earlier this year found that Amazon pays just 14 million a year in business rates for its 13 enormous warehouses far below the costs faced by traditional high street stores. Struggling House of Fraser, which has been forced to close scores of stores and put thousands of jobs at risks, pays an estimated 36.2 million a year. Marks & Spencer, meanwhile, shelled out 12 times more than Amazon. James Daunt, chief executive of high street book chain Waterstones, said last night: 'If tax bills fall disproportionately on one set of retailers, that's not a level playing field that applies to business rates and it applies to corporation tax. 'Big guys like us can look after ourselves, but small independent retailers can't, and it's particularly unfair on vulnerable companies and small ones.' As Amazon enjoys huge profits in the first half of this year alone, 50,000 retail jobs were cut across Britain's high street. This financial year, the taxman is expected to collect 30.8 billion in taxes from shops across the UK. In a world where online shopping is booming, many believe the business rates structure is outdated and reform is urgently needed. If not, there are fears streets could be left bare with retailers closing down and thousands of jobs lost. A spokesman for Amazon said: 'We pay all taxes required in the UK. 'Corporation tax is based on profits, not revenues, and our profits have remained low given retail is a highly competitive, low-margin business and our continued heavy investment.' 'We've invested over 9.3 billion in the UK since 2010, including last year opening a new head office in London alongside development centres in Cambridge and London. 'This year we plan create 2,500 permanent jobs across the country in research and development, our head office, customer service and fulfilment centres, to bring our total workforce in the UK to over 27,500.' A heavily pregnant woman was allegedly gang-raped by eight men who tied up her husband and locked him in a van in India. The 20-year-old woman, who is eight months pregnant, had travelled to Tasgoan, a city in the state of Mangarashtra, with her husband, a hotelier. Police said the couple were looking to hire workers for their business, according to NDTV. One of the alleged rapists, Mukund Mane, allegedly lured the husband to Turchi Pata by saying he knew someone who would take the job. A heavily pregnant woman was allegedly gang-raped by eight men who tied up her husband and locked him in a van in India. Pictured, Indian students protest the rape and murder of an eight-year-old girl child in India in April Mane asked the husband to bring 20,000 rupees as an advance payment for the person. But when the couple arrived for the meeting, Mane and his accomplices beat them and robbed them of cash and their belongings. They allegedly bound the man and locked him inside his vehicle before gang-raping his wife. The alleged rapists warned the couple against reporting the incident to police because nobody would listen to them, according to NDTV. The couple eventually reached Tashoan police station where they filed a report. India has been shaken by a series of high-profile sexual assaults since 2012. Pictured, an activist holds a placard during a protest over the sexual assault of girls at a state-run home near Delhi Ajay Sindkar, a police officer at the station, told the Times of India that four suspects allegedly assaulted the husband and locked him in his vehicle, Four others took the woman to a nearby room, owned by one of the suspects, and raped her, he said. He said the woman refused to undergo medical tests. Three men have been detained in connection with the case, according to the Times. India has been shaken by a series of high-profile sexual assaults since 2012, when a young woman was fatally gang-raped on a moving New Delhi bus. That attack sparked protests calling for more protection for women, and harsher punishments for their attackers. Since then, India's parliament has doubled prison terms for rapists to 20 years and criminalised voyeurism, stalking and the trafficking of women. In April, India's cabinet passed an executive order making the rape of girls under 12 years old punishable by the death penalty. But despite the increasingly stringent laws, women often remain relegated to second-class citizenship in Indian courts and police stations. A couple whose baby daughter suffocated during her first breast feed have suffered heart-rending defeat in their fight for millions in NHS compensation. Photos of Julia Geis-Clements suckling her daughter, Cerys, minutes after her birth were 'almost unbearably poignant', said top judge, Mrs Justice May. She had been placed in her mother's arms for the first time after her birthing pool delivery, so they could have 'skin to skin contact'. Daughter Cerys, in a image her mother shared on a JustGiving page in 2014. Cerys suffered from profound oxygen starvation and will now require 24-hour care for the rest of her life But disaster struck when Cerys suddenly stopped breathing less than an hour after her July 2012 birth at Queen Charlotte's and Chelsea Hospital. Mrs Geis-Clements, 39, and her financier husband, Lee, 41, claimed they had been given negligent advice on breast feeding by a midwife. But, dashing their hopes today, the judge said that 'no one is to blame' for the 'unexplained' tragedy that will forever blight Cerys's life. The family's lawyers claimed the couple should have been warned to keep Cerys's airway clear as she was pressed against her mother's breast. Julia Geis-Clements and her husband Lee Clements pictured outside of the Royal Courts of Justice in London. Today, the couple lost their fight for compensation from the NHS The profound oxygen starvation she suffered means she cannot walk or talk and will need 24-hour care for the rest of her life. Senior midwife, Clare Nicholls, faced claims that she negligently failed to warn the couple to keep one of Cerys's nostrils free during her first feed. She was also accused of giving the couple 'false reassurance' by telling them that Cerys would wriggle if she was having trouble breathing. But, exonerating Ms Nicholls, the judge said midwives 'cannot say nothing' when anxious new parents ask about breast feeding their babies. The advice she gave the couple was 'logical with a proper basis in fact' and there was nothing 'irresponsible or unreasonable' about it. The family's lawyers also claimed Ms Nicholls should have returned to monitor the 'exhausted' mum 10 minutes into the feed. But the judge said the midwife had correctly positioned Cerys on her mother's breast and seen her start to feed normally. 'It was not wrong to leave them alone together for that length of time,' ruled the judge. 'Especially as she was only some 10 metres away, within call and able to respond immediately.' 'The precise cause or causes of extremely rare events of sudden untoward post-natal collapse in newborns remains unknown,' she added. And it had not been proved that the cause of Cerys's collapse 'was obstruction of her mouth and nose by her mother's breast tissue.' The judge said: 'The photographs of the new family shortly after Cerys's birth, showing her mother's joy and delight at her new baby, are almost unbearably poignant given what was to happen just minutes later. Julia Geis-Clements pictured court, the marketing manager from Denham in Buckinghamshire sued the Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust on Cerys' behalf 'It is impossible not to have the very greatest sympathy for Cerys and her parents'. But she added: 'On my findings...no one is to blame for Cerys's collapse shortly after her birth or for her disabilities.' In some cases there is 'no apparent cause at all' of sudden post-natal collapse and what made Cerys stop breathing 'remains unexplained'. And she concluded: 'The evidence has not demonstrated on the balance of probabilities that Cerys was suffocated by her mother's breast.' The court heard earlier that Mrs Geis-Clements had attended ante-natal classes, but Cerys was her first baby and she had no experience of breast feeding. She said that, after Cerys seemed to doze off during the feed, 'she did not want to disturb her as she thought that she was sleeping.' Twenty five minutes into the feed, her husband rushed off to find the midwife but, when she returned, she could feel no pulse on Cerys. 'In fact Cerys had suffered an episode of hypoxia which had caused her severe brain damage,' said the family's barrister, Angus Moon QC. Mrs Geis-Clements, a marketing manager, from Denham, Bucks, sued Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust on Cerys' behalf. But NHS lawyers argued it was a case of 'random post-natal sudden collapse' which could not have been foreseen and in which negligence played no part. The family's lawyers said Cerys's claim was of 'maximum value', but Mrs Justice May's ruling today means she will go without a penny. This is the heartwarming moment a group of college buddies carried a disabled girl onto the beach after seeing her family struggling with her wheelchair. Dustin Smalley and his friends were relaxing on St. Pete's Beach in Tampa Bay last weekend, when they saw a woman battling to push her daughter's wheelchair through the sand. 'You can tell she was struggling with her [wheel]chair,' Smalley told CBS News. This is the heartwarming moment a group of college students carried a disabled girl onto the beach after seeing her family struggling with her wheelchair The friends carried the girl, who has cerebral palsy, as her family trailed behind them Smalley said he and his two friends, Justin Johnson and Renal Roberts, offered to help - to the delight of the family. 'She was just surprised some younger gentlemen helped her in her time of need,' he said. 'It was a special moment.' Smalley, from Tuscaloosa, Alabama, filmed the moment his two friends lifted the girl, who has cerebral palsy, onto the beach and her family followed them. Smalley, who said he and his friends were in Tampa Bay for a wedding, shared the video on Instagram last week, which has been viewed more than 1,600 times. He captioned the post: 'Carrying a young girl with cerebral palsy for the mother... So her daughter could experience the beach!! (because her mom wasn't strong enough to carry her.) 'Mother walked up to all of us after and said 'Thank you gentlemen for this act of kindness, she's been in the room all week so far' #BestVacationEver #TuscaloosaMade.' Dustin Smalley (pictured) and his friends were relaxing on St. Pete's Beach in Tampa Bay last weekend, when they saw a woman battling to push her daughter's wheelchair through the sand and decided to help Friends, Justin Johnson (left) and Renal Roberts (right), actually carried the girl, while Smalley filmed them Smalley, who said he and his friends were in Tampa Bay for a wedding, shared the video on Instagram last week, which has been viewed more than 1,600 times The girl's mom told the friends they'd been stuck in their hotel room, at Gulf Strand Resort, all week because the area was not wheelchair accessible. 'It was amazing, that girl was smiling from ear to ear,' he said. 'She was just so happy people helped her. To be in that room all week, it was nice for her to enjoy the fresh air.' The college buddies say they didn't get the name of the family, but would like to get in touch to see if they could help them further. Police are closing their investigation into the Las Vegas massacre - the deadliest mass shooting in modern US history - that took the lives of 58 people. After 10 months of research and questioning, authorities announced Friday they are closing their books on the case after determining there was no evidence of conspiracy or a second gunman. However police said they could not 'definitively' determine the motive behind lone-wolf shooter Stephen Craig Paddock's killing spree upon a Las Vegas music festival on October 1, 2017. In a final report published Friday, it's revealed that Paddock had spent a whopping $1.5million in his last two years, claimed he was sick, and his own brothers believed he was 'paranoid and delusional'. Officials announced Friday they will close the investigation into the Las Vegas massacre, the deadliest mass shooting in modern history, a person pictured on ground in aftermath of the October 2017 shooting The horrific shooting was determined to be led by 64-year-old Stephen Craig Paddock alone where he opened fire on an outdoor country music concert in Las Vegas, aftermath above The 10-month investigation determined there was no evidence of conspiracy or a second gunman, but failed to find a motive behind his deadly massacre Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo said Paddock was 'an unremarkable man' who showed signs of a troubled mind leading up the attack on the busy strip. 'What we have been able to answer are the questions of who, what, when, where and how,' Lombardo said upon the release of a 187-page police report. 'Without a manifesto or even a note to answer questions the totality of the information that has been gathered leaves us to only make an educated guess as to the motives of Stephen Paddock,' he added. With the closure of the 10-month investigation by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, no one else will be charged in connection with the shooting as it's determined that Paddock acted alone. The 10-month investigation determined gunman Steven Paddock, 64, acted alone Officials added the attack had no link to international terrorism, despite claims by The Islamic State group that they were responsible for the attack. Paddock, of Nevada, released a hail of bullets from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Resort casino and hotel around 10pm that night, firing onto a country concert crowd of 22,000 people below. The final investigation report revealed that Paddock believed he was sick, repeatedly complaining to his girlfriend that he was ill and doctors could not cure him. His girlfriend Marilou Danley, 62, said his doctors diagnosed him with a 'chemical imbalance'. She added he'd get 'very bad headaches' from chemical smells, would often need to change hotel rooms, would not shake hands with people, and often wore cotton gloves. Marilou added that Paddock, a self-described atheist, would tell his Catholic girlfriend 'Your God doesn't love me'. Paddock's doctor told cops he didn't have any major ailments but 'may have had bipolar disorder' for which he refused treatment including antidepressants. But he accepted prescriptions for anxiety medication. His doctor also described his behavior as 'odd', showed 'little emotion' and 'seemed fearful of medications'. His brother Bruce Paddock, although they hadn't spoken for more than 10 years, said the gunman was 'delusional'. Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo announced the 10-month investigation into the massacre was closing on Friday August 3 without finding a motive behind the terrorizing attack Paddock opened fire onto the concert crowd below from the 32nd floor room of the Mandalay Bay Hotel on the Las Vegas strip, room pictured above A view inside his room at the Mandalay Bay Hotel were he launched his attack reveals his firearms strewn on the beds and the shattered window from where he opened fire A closer look at the broken window reveals his line of sight on the 32nd floor, from where he launched his violent attack Bruce believed his brother suffered from 'mental illness and was paranoid and delusional', the report made public Friday said. He added that he did not believe his brother was a 'violent person' or abused drugs or alcohol. That Friday report also revealed that Paddock had spent a shocking $1.5million over the past two years. Much of that money was paid to casinos. The report included a summary of 14 of Paddock's bank accounts. In September 2015 Paddock had $2.1million in the accounts. Two years later in September 2017, a month before his shooting, the amount dropped to $530,000. Sheriff Lombardo said Paddock was a reclusive, high-stakes gambler but he wasn't 'as successful in the gambling as he was in the previous years'. He paid $600,000 to casinos and more than $170,000 to credit card companies. As for his heavily armed attack - he spent nearly $95,000 in firearm related purchases. His brother Eric suspects him of cheating on tax preparations. Earlier this year, federal prosecutors brought criminal charges against a man named Douglas Haig who they say sold 720 rounds of armor-piercing bullets to Paddock. He has pleaded not guilty. Footage from police body cameras was released on Wednesday July 25, revealing the chaos and panic that followed the shooting at the outdoor country concert on October 1, 2017 Police body cam footage reveals an officer pointing his gun in search of what authorities though at the time were multiple shooters inside and outside a Las Vegas strip hotel Another police body cam shot reveals armed forces at the scene searching for the shooter Police pictured directing Las Vegas concert goers to safety after following the hail of bullets Police stand at the scene of the mass shooting near the Mandalay Bay hotel, where Paddock fired from his room on the 32nd floor onto concert goers below Police have released 13 batches of investigative documents, 911 audio, police reports, witness statements and video over the last three months. They have illustrated chaos, heartbreak and heroism from police, first-responders, concert-goers and more. Body camera recordings made public earlier this year displayed officers using explosives to blast through the door of a 32nd floor hotel suite to find Paddock dead on the floor from a self-inflicted gunshot. Several assault-style weapons fitted with rapid-fire 'bump stock' devices were strewn about the suite. Police said that he was surrounded by 24 guns including 10 AR-15 semi automatic rifles, most of them with 100-round magazines in the hotel. An additional 18 guns were recovered at his home in Mesquite, Nevada and another seven in his Reno, Nevada home. Also recovered in his hotel room was a laptop but the hard drive on the machine was missing. However, child pornography was found on that laptop. A psychological profile on Paddock will be released later this year by the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit. The report says many described him as a narcissist who 'only cared about himself'. His brother Eric told investigators he believed Paddock carried out the attack 'because he had done everything in the world he wanted to do and was bored with everything.' He said his brother 'would have planned the attack to kill a large amount of people because he would want to be known as having the largest casualty count', according to the report. Advertisement A baby walrus has made its first public appearance at a German zoo alongside its mother, and appeared to have a great time as it was watch by adoring crowds. The seven-week-old mammal, who is not yet named, swam in the enclosure's pool and lounged on rocks under the watchful eye of its mother Dina at Hagenbeck Zoo in Hamburg. Mother and son took a dip together with the adult giving her calf a nudge when needed to guide him around the pool, but he appeared to already be a good swimmer. A baby walrus has made its first public appearance at a German zoo alongside its mother, and appeared to have a great time as it was watch by adoring crowds The seven-week-old mammal, who is not yet named, swam in the enclosure's pool under the watchful eye of its mother Dina at Hagenbeck Zoo in Hamburg Mother and son went swimming together with the adult giving her calf a nudge when needed to guide him around the pool However, he appeared to already be a good swimmer able to follow his mother around in formation He also got a pat from one of the keepers who came in to feed the pair from a bucket likely containing fish. 'He is in a good mood and already eats like a big guy in terms of quantity,' veterinarian Adriane Prahl said. The animal is fed from a bottle eight times a day and has grown to 54kg. But he has a long way to grow as adult bull walruses can weight more than a ton. He is fed solid food like fish in addition to his mother's milk to help him along. 'He has already taken a fish or two in the mouth and then plays with it,' Ms Prahl said. The baby is only the third walrus to be born in Germany, with Hagenbeck having the only breeding program in the country The zoo is home to six walrus including the baby's father Odin and four-year-old Thor His little brother Loki sadly died last year at the age of two from a congenital malformation of his neck He also got a pat from one of the keepers who came in to feed the pair from a bucket likely containing fish 'He is in a good mood and already eats like a big guy in terms of quantity,' veterinarian Adriane Prahl said. The animal is fed from a bottle eight times a day and has grown to 54kg The baby is only the third walrus to be born in Germany, with Hagenbeck having the only breeding program in the country. It is home to six walrus including the baby's father Odin and four-year-old Thor. His little brother Loki sadly died last year at the age of two from a congenital malformation of his neck. The zoo invited visitors to help choose a name for the new arrival from proposals Halvar and Snorre from German viking-themed animated TV series Wickie, and Hodor from Game of Thrones. But he has a long way to grow as adult bull walruses can weight more than a ton. He is fed solid food like fish in addition to his mother's milk to help him along The new baby spent plenty of time lounging on the rocks around the pool, soaking up the summer sun with his mother a few metres away Dina kept close watch on her calf and nuzzled up to him as he relaxed on the rocks by the pool Seth Rogen made a grovelling apology after a child actor was put in blackface on the set of his new film. The boy was photographed working as a double for 11-year-old Keith L Williams in comedy Good Boys last week on set in Vancouver. He had dark brown makeup applied to more closely resemble Williams, who has darker skin, along with wearing an afro-style wig and a fat suit. A child actor was put in blackface on the set of Seth Rogen's new film to match the skin tone of the star he was standing in for He had dark brown makeup applied to more closely resemble 11-year-old actor Keith L Williams (right), who has darker skin Rogen said he was not aware the child's skin was darkened and ordered the practice to stop immediately when he found out. The comedy actor who is one of three producers on the film said it 'shouldn't have happened' and he was terribly sorry' that it did. 'I won't give excuses for why it happened. I'll just say that as soon I was made aware of it, I ensured we put an end to it,' he said. 'I give my word that on any project my team and I are involved in, we will take every precaution to make sure something similar does not take place again. 'I'm engaging in conversations to make sure I find the best way to do that. It's on me to be proactive. Reacting isn't enough.' Producers were aware of the complaint and in the process of addressing it. Seth Rogen (pictured) and Evan Goldberg are the film's credited producers At least one person on set, which is shooting ahead of a 2019 release, was upset by the sight of the child and filed a complaint. Sources at the studio Good Universe told TMZ on Thursday it was 'not uncommon for lighting purposes to match actors' skin tones'. They also said the actor's father 'a longtime stunt performer himself, who is also on the set, is offended by the [complaints] being made regarding his son'. But Rapper and Fast and Furious actor Common wasn't buying that excuse, saying it was 'never appropriate' to darken someone's face. At least one person on set, which is shooting ahead of a 2019 release, was upset by the sight of the child and filed a complaint 'C'mon man, it's 2018, when is that acceptable? I ain't with it,' he told TMZ. 'If I'm a black person on that set, I'm offended. And honestly, I think a white person should step up and say they feel uncomfortable and it's not appropriate. 'Black and white people gotta stand up when they see some bulls**t going on.' Common said the filmmakers should have picked a stand-in that matched Williams' skin tone without needing any makeup. Other industry insiders disputed that using makeup to change skin tone was frequently done, with stand-ins usually chosen to resemble actors. Rapper and Fast and Furious actor Common said it was 'never appropriate' to darken someone's face Producers were aware of the complaint and in the process of addressing it. Rogen and Evan Goldberg are the film's credited producers. Good Boys is in the same vein as the pair's earlier work including Superbad and Sausage Party. It tells the story of four 12-year-old boys who skip school and get in to trouble in an effort to fix a broken toy. Williams stars alongside Jacob Tremblay, Molly Gordon, and Brady Noon with Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky directing. A Stanford University MBA graduate has filed a lawsuit against her Palo Alto tech employers after she was 'subjected to crude and graphic sexual harassment' when one boss allegedly took his pants off in a meeting and boasted of his sexual exploits. After graduation in 2017, Rachel Moore took a job at Pilot AI Labs, an artificial intelligence startup. But not long after landing the job, Moore claims the company's founders, Robert English and Jonathan Su, sexually harassed her in the office. Stanford University MBA graduate, Rachel Moore, 24, has filed a lawsuit against against her tech employers, Robert English (left) and Jonathan Su (right), over 'crude and graphic sexual harassment' According to Mercury News, Moore's suit alleges that English, the company's chief technology officer would comment on her buttocks. Su, who is the company's CEO, would talk in front of Moore about English's sexual exploits, the suit claims. Su allegedly told Moore, 24, that no woman English had sex with was left 'unsatisfied'. 'On one occasion, English told [Moore] that he participated in an anal sex workshop at Burning Man led by a famous porn star,' she claimed. Moore's lawsuit says she was also told that male employees viewed pornography in the office and 'designated the server area for masturbation'. Her suit claims that Moore became one of the 'buddies' when she started to engage 'on a very limited basis' with the sexually charged conversations. Before that, she says they wouldn't take her seriously in her position as the director of product for the company. Eventually the alleged harassment escalated when English (pictured) called her into his office, shut the door and took off his pants, according to Moore Her relationship to Su and English 'improved drastically and she was even given a $20,000 raise', the lawsuit says. Eventually the alleged harassment escalated when English called her into his office, shut the door and took off his pants, according to Moore. She said she told English that his behavior was harassment and immediately reported him to Su, whom she claims 'dismissed' her complaint. Following that encounter, Moore said the men retaliated and gave her 'trivial and meaningless tasks' to complete at work, such as arranging conference room chairs. Moore filed the suit against Pilot AI Labs and its founders. A DailyMail.com request for comment to Pilot AI Labs was not immediately returned. She was reportedly told her complaint would be investigated and Moore was granted a leave of absence. But the firm that oversaw the probe concluded there had been nothing sexual about English's undressing. Moore said Pilot stopped paying her and cut off her access to company computer systems. That led her to believe that she had been fired from her position. 'What had once seemed like a promising career now appeared to be in jeopardy for no reason other than [that she] did not want to have a sexual relationship with one of the company's founders and did not want to play along with the sexual banter,' the suit alleged. Moore is seeking unspecified damages. A Georgia man has been sentenced to life in prison without parole after pleading guilty to sexually abusing and then murdering his girlfriend's 21-month-old daughter. Dustin Drew Putnal, 29, entered his plea on Thursday, admitting to killing Ella Grayce Pointer while babysitting her in the fall of 2016. Police and paramedics responded to Putnal's home on Adamson Drive in Cedartown on October 28, 2016, and found Ella Grayce not breathing. Dustin Drew Putnal (left), 29, of Georgia, has pleaded guilty in Ella Grayce Pointer's (right) 2016 sexual assault and beating death and was handed a life sentence without parole She was rushed to Polk Medical Center and then airlifted to Children's Healthcare of Atlanta Egleston in Atlanta, where she died two days later. Hospital staff later told the girls family that the toddler sustained head trauma and was sexually assaulted. Ella Grayce was in Putnal's care at the time of the incident, and the man was arrested in connection to the death a month later. In December of that year, Putnal, who had a prior criminal record, was charged with murder, felony murder, two counts of aggravated child molestation, aggravated sexual battery and felony cruelty to children. Ella Grayce's family have signed off on the plea deal so they could get closure nearly two years after her murder, according to the prosecution District Attorney Jack Browning said on Thursday that the plea deal was arranged and accepted by a judge with the blessing of Ella Grayce's family. Ella's family has made clear that they approve of this sentence because it brings certain and definite closure, without the worry of appeal-after-appeal-after-appeal over the next unknown number of years, Browning said in a news release. [Now] they can live their lives without the constant fear that Putnal's conviction might be overturned for some reason and he be allowed to go free. 'We felt like this was an appropriate resolution,' Putnals attorney, Gerald Word, told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. 'Mr. Putnal was remorseful and was willing to accept his punishment.' Had the case gone to trial and resulted in a conviction, Puntal could have faced the death penalty. Ellas mother, Shellby Garner, told CBS46 in 2016 that she had left her daughter with her boyfriend so she could go to work. She recalled how her cherub, blue-eyed daughter told her bye and said that she loved her. Taxpayers have been slugged more than a quarter of a million dollars for inmates to enjoy beautiful green grass in prison. A new irrigation system has been installed at the Metropolitan Remand Centre in Ravenhall, 20km west of Melbourne. The Herald Sun reported the underground water system is being installed as part of upgrade works at the prison. Matt Kent, a former officer at the jail, told the publication the 'taxpayer would be furious' about the money being spent on green grass. Taxpayers have been slugged more than a quarter of a million dollars for prisoners to enjoy beautiful green grass at a jail In 2015, a major riot (pictured) at the jail involving 400 prisoners caused staff at the prison to flee for their lives. 'Maybe the money they are using to keep lawns looking good could be better used to purchase drones for safety and security,' he said. The jail is a maximum security jail for inmates awaiting the outcome of their court case. In 2015, a major riot at the jail involving 400 prisoners caused staff at the prison to flee for their lives. Matt Kent, a former officer at the jail, told the publication the 'taxpayer would be furious' about the money being spent on green grass (stock) The riot, considered one of the worst prison revolt's in Victoria's history, has cost taxpayers $100 million, according to the Herald Sun. A Corrections Victoria spokesperson said the new watering system would provide prisoners with meaningful work where they can learn new maintenance, horticulture and landscaping skills. 'This system will help provide appropriate facilities and maintain the grounds and nearby infrastructure by reducing dust and protection the soil,' she said. The Trump administration chose to prosecute immigrant parents resulting in family separations instead of people entering the country without kids, according to new data. U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced a 'zero-tolerance' immigration policy in April, saying the government would prosecute anyone who crossed the border illegally. The resulting division of families was the fault of the parents who carelessly put their children in harm's way, Sessions said. However, government data indicates that government officials made a choice to prosecute parents instead of unaccompanied adults, according to an analysis by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse at Syracuse University. Only 32 percent of immigrants apprehended at the southern U.S. border were prosecuted in April and May, giving the government discretion on which cases to pursue and prioritize. Despite that - and claims by government officials - ICE sought to prosecute many parents while simultaneously dividing them from their children Immigrant children who've been taken into custody for illegal entry into the United States sit in one of the cages at a facility in McAllen, Texas in June 2018 Between April and June, the Trump administration separated more than 2,500 children from their parents after the families came into the country - legally and illegally - across the southern U.S. border as part of a 'zero tolerance' immigration policy. The policy sparked massive public outrage, leading to Trump ending it through an executive order on June 20. The Department of Justice declined to comment to DailyMail.com. While the administration says all 'eligible' children have been reunited with their parents, hundreds more remain separated in some cases because the government deported their parents without them. Now the new data reveals more about how they got here. Only 32 percent of all adults caught during an illegal crossing actually were charged with a crime, raising the question why when such a high proportion of adults were allowed to go free weren't childless adults prosecuted over parents? 'The administration has not explained its rationale for prosecuting parents with children when that left so many other adults without children who were not being referred for prosecution,' the TRAC report said. Under Donald Trump (left), the U.S. has imposed a zero-tolerance immigration policy. The Trump administration chose to prosecute immigrant parents resulting in family separations instead of people entering the country without kids, according to new data. Dozens of women, men and their children (right), arrive at a bus station following release from Customs and Border Protection on June 23, 2018 in McAllen, Texas Customs and Border Protection 'personnel had to choose which individuals among those apprehended to refer to federal prosecutors,' the report added. In fact, adults without children were apprehended in far greater numbers than adults with children. In April and May more than 24,000 adults without children were captured at the border each month, compared with about 4,500 adults with children per month during the same period. Despite that, only 8,298 people were prosecuted in April, and 9,216 were prosecuted in May much less than the total number of lone adults who crossed the border. Data on how many of those prosecutions were parents with children versus lone adults was not yet available. Advertisement A Venezuelan family will forever remember the life-altering decision it made at the beginning of 2018. Looking back, they had little choice. 11-year-old Sara, the daughter of Armando and Selene Lobo had appendicitis and the shortage of Venezuelan medical supplies, doctors and operating rooms meant she very nearly could have died. Their once-beautiful homeland had been brought to its knees by a failed socialist regime under Maduro and it was no place to raise their children. So they packed up their 20-year-old Range Rover Discovery with their most important belongings, namely their three children and their pet dog and set off on a 5,000 mile journey to Chile. They had no GPS and had to navigate the perilous Brazilian Amazon and the Peruvian Andes Mountains en route to a brighter future. It turned out to be a 28-day adventure, most of which they caught on camera. In a phone interview with the Daily Mail, Armando said the family abandoned their hometown of Isla de Margarita on January 28 with their other two children, Isaias, 10, and Isabelle, four, two weeks after the child fortunately underwent surgery despite the shortage of medical goods and doctors that for years have existed in Venezuela. 'Its difficult. Its not easy to make the decision especially when you have some many friends and family members,' said Armando, who works as a pastor. 'Distancing yourself from the things you have grown accustomed to living with. But weve learned to keep our luggage bags lightly packed. And that means that at any moment we can move freely from one place to the next.' 'We left behind out house in Venezuela. We left our family in Venezuela. But as a country were living a process in which hope that it will change sooner rather than later,' he added. A healthy and happy Sara (left) with the family pet dog and her brother Isaias (right). Sara found the 10-day travel through the Andes Mountain a bit difficult- the high altitude that they weren't accustomed to made them a bit sick for a few days. The Lobo family had no idea what 2018 had planned for them when Sara (right), 11, got sick and had to underwent a surgery to remove her appendix. Selen (second left) and Armando (second right) decided they had seen too much and did not want to see their other, Isaias, 10, and Isabella (four) experience the hardships that Venezuela was already subjecting them to. On January 28, 10 days after Sara was operated, the family put their truck on a ferry and the drove off towards a new life in Chile. This 1998 truck changed the future of the family by making it from Venezuela to Chile. They paused their voyage by taking in the beauty of the Atacama Desert in Chile. Sara (right) with her brother Isaias (left) and little sister Isabella (center) during a minor pit stop right in the middle of the Amazon in Brazil as the family headed to Chile. The night January 11, the young girl was taken to the military hospital in Isla de Margarita and doctors sent her home and advised her parents to return the next morning if the pain persisted. And so they did, and upon a routine medical exam, her condition was confirmed. However, because of a lack of doctors and proper medical supplies, the family was recommended visiting Luis Ortega Hospital, which only had two pediatrician surgeons on its staff. Lobo recalled showing up a 6.00 AM on January 12 and waiting countless hours for the surgeon, who stalled her arrival every time she was contacted. She even bothered to show up and even refused to assist the family's pediatrician in prescribing the proper medicine that could be temporarily administered as the childs skin constantly changed colors and was getting. Thanks to the family doctor and her cardiologist husband, another pediatrician surgeon offered his assistance. The family visited two clinics in search of a radiologist to perform an MRI,and ended up returning to the first one once the radiologist finally showed up to administer the required exam prior to the surgery at the Luis Ortega Hospital. Armando (right) and his three children Sara (left), Isabella (bottom center) and Isaias (top center) while taking a minor break on their way to Chile. Sarah Lobo, 11, experienced how bad the Venezuela health system that gotten, and spent three days trying to get her appendix removed on January. Her parents saw the tough ordeal as a turning point and decided to uproot their family to another country. Her siblings Isaias (right), 10, and Isabella (center), four, are seen playing in the back as the family took a break in action on their way to Chile. The smiling Lobos ended their 28-day trip that took them through almost 5,000 miles by settling down in Santiago de Chile on February 26. After everything turned out OK in the operation, the hospital provided Armando with the child's appendix because it didn't have any formaldehyde in order to preserve it for a necessary biopsy that needed to be done. Armando remembered going from one funeral home to another in search of the chemical that used to preserve bodies from decomposing. The harrowing events over the course of two days made both parents reconsider the family's immediate future in Venezuela, choosing Chile as their future home of choice because of Selene's Chilean ancestry. After failing to get a desire bid for their used 1998 Land Rover Discovery, the Lobos locked up their home, packed as much stuff as they could into the truck. They set out on January 28 with the doctor's blessings that Sara was on her way to a full recovery from her tough ordeals, while leaving behind his father and two sisters. The nearly 5,000-mile trip brought some difficult experience, the sight of thousands of fellow countrymen feeling the crippling South American nation, seeing how they slept in tent cities and seeking just a helping hand from the neighboring countries the Lobos family drove through before reaching their final destination of Santiago de Chile. On January 28, the Lobo family bid farewell to their family members and friends and set forth on a near 5,000 miles journey that would change their lives for the better. Armando Lobo said it was painful seeing his fellow Venezuelans cross into Brazil on foot, with no money or food. They drove over the tough terrain of the Brazilian Amazon and the elevation of the Andes Mountains was conquered although his three children got sick and his 20-year-old truck struggled for several moments. The Lobos were looking to sell as much of their personal belongings as possible, even this 1998 Land Rover Discovery (pictured). No bidders were found and it ended up becoming what willed them through a tough 28-day journey from Venezuela all the way to Chile. An extra 5,000 miles later, it finds itself roaming the streets of Santiago de Chile after it got covered in mud during its travails through the Brazilian Amazon. The Lobos spent a little over a week after successfully making it across Brazil. The family made a lifelong album of memories. Selene (left), Sara (second from left), Isaias (center), Isabella (second right) and Armando (right) with an unidentified woman and man in the background while travelling through Brazil. The tight knit quintet place their vehicle in a ferry and crossed over to Puerto La Cruz that day and drove over to Puerto Ordaz, where they spent a night with relatives that were awaiting to take them in. They then drove towards Gran Sabana and spent one night there and made it to the border town of Santa Elena, as they eventually crossed into Brazil and into the city of Pacaraima after the their passports were stamped by customs. Lobo said three men each handled the passport process, which approximately cost US$26 per stamp for each member of the family. The family spent over a week driving through Brazil and crossing through the Amazon over the tough dirt road with not one person in sight. A drive up the Andes Mountains perhaps was the worst point of the trip. The high altitude gave the old, reliable truck some problems. Armando just couldn't get it past second gear. The cold temperatures even affected the three brothers and sisters as they old battled some type of cold. But as soon as the Lobos started to descend from the mountains, the worn down car was back in action and the kids were acting like the kids normally do. Finally, on February 26 the journey would meet its final destination, giving the beat up truck a place where its wheels could get a well deserved rest. 'The best part of the trip was the experience. The experience means we did something thats done once in a lifetime, and I think there are few times in our lives we can say that,' Lobo said. 'There are things you can only do once in life and this trip served as a long learning point for us because we spent a month on the road. But we have a lot of great memories. Jack Johnson was told he might not be able to board the plane because they had no record of his motorised scooter A boy of 10 was left humiliated after being made to prove he was disabled to get on his holiday flight home. Jack Johnson, who is the son of former rugby league star, Andy Johnson, 43, suffers from a rare muscle-wasting disease, and uses a motorised scooter to get around. He was trying to fly home from Croatia with his parents and younger brother, following a week-long break, when check-in staff demanded proof of his condition. His mother, Alex Johnson, 33, insisted she had briefed airline Jet2 about her son, who suffers from Duchenne muscular dystrophy, when they booked the flights in the UK weeks earlier. But staff said they had no record of Jack or his motorised scooter and that he might not be able to fly. Mrs Johnson eventually handed over Jacks blue badge and after much upset - the family were allowed onto their flight back to Leeds Bradford airport around two hours later. Alex Johnson said her family's holiday to Croatia was ruined as a result of the 'humiliating' treatment they received when trying to catch a Jet2 flight Last night Mrs Johnson said she was appalled at her sons treatment at the hands of Jet2 staff, on Tuesday (July 31), which ruined their holiday. Jack with his father Andy Johnson, a former rugby league star She said: When we arrived at Split airport and attempted to check in, we were told by a clearly stressed check-in desk operative that they had no record of Jack, his disability or his requirements. The operative then informed us that two days' notice is required to be able to put a motorised scooter on the aircraft and that we might not be able to fly. By this time the packed departures area was getting busier and people were getting frustrated with waiting. We felt as though we were a huge burden. Jack hates people staring and attention being drawn to him. It's hard for him being a kid that is different. He was so embarrassed. It eventually emerged that administration staff at Jet2 had forgotten to send Jacks paperwork through to their airport colleagues. Mrs Johnson blamed the fiasco on Jack having a complete meltdown the following day, when he told his cousins he hated them, and wanted to die. Many stars such as Ant and Dec have made a locked fingers gesture for support of Joining Jack She said she had written to Jet2 boss, Steve Heapy, to complain but felt completely insulted by a 300 voucher the airline had offered the family off their next break away. Steve Heapy and Jet 2 holidays should hang their heads in shame, she added. They offered me a 250 voucher but when I said it was insulting they offered me 300 instead. This is a company worth millions, it was incredibly crass. 'I dont want their money. They dont understand the damage they have caused cannot be measured in monetary terms. She added: I want lessons to be learned and all staff to get training to ensure this never happens again to another disabled person. They should be treated with dignity. Jack also told the Mail: I really want this to be highlighted. I dont want any of my friends with Duchenne to go through the same thing. Mrs Johnson claim staff at Spilt Airport had not received the required two days' notice to put a motorised scooter on the aircraft for Jack or had a record of his disability The family's Joining Jack symbol has been popularised by England rugby star, Owen Farrell The youngster was diagnosed with the incurable genetic condition, which causes the muscles of sufferers to weaken, eventually causing paralysis and leaving them needing ventilation to breathe aged three. Few people with the condition survive past the age of 30. What is Duchenne muscular dystrophy? Duchenne muscular dystrophy is a rare disease. DMD is caused by an absence of dystrophin, a protein that helps keep muscle cells intact. The first symptoms are usually seen between three and five years of age and worsen over time. Life expectancy is usually in the 20s, though more and more sufferers are living into their early 30s. The disease often occurs in people without a known family history of the condition and primarily affects boys, but in rare cases it can effect girls. DMD occurs in about one of every 3,500 male infants worldwide. The disease causes loss of movement, weakness, and eventually death. Advertisement Following their sons diagnosis, Mr and Mrs Johnson launched Joining Jack, a charity set up to raise funds for research into a cure. The condition affects roughly one in every 3,500 boys and there are about 1,500 sufferers in the UK alone. The charity won the backing of several major sports stars, including rugby player Owen Farrell, whose father, Andy, played alongside Mr Johnson at rugby league side Wigan in the 1990s. He linked his forefingers a gesture to signify the initials of Joining Jack - after scoring a try in Englands Six Nations match against Italy in 2014. Cycling star Sir Bradley Wiggins, Olympian Jessica Ennis-Hill, diver Tom Daley and other stars from Coronation Street and Emmerdale have also made the sign to demonstrate their support. A spokesman for Jet2 said the firm was extremely sorry. Although this is an isolated incident, we have learnt a number of lessons and are we are urgently reviewing all our procedures to ensure that this does not happen again, he said. We have been in contact to unreservedly apologise for the upset caused, and we would like to reassure Jack, his family, and all our customers, that this is not our normal standard of service. Paul Manafort's deputy manipulated the financial records for Manafort's company when the former Trump aide was facing major cash flow problems in 2015 and 2016, according to testimony from one of Manafort's tax preparers on Friday. Cynthia Laporta, one of Manafort's accountants, told the court that Manafort's business partner Rick Gates asked her to inflate the amount of a bogus business loan to Manafort's company DMP International. The purpose was to decrease Manafort's taxable income in 2015 because he was unable to pay his tax bill. She was given immunity from prosecution by the Robert Mueller special counsel probe to give her evidence. 'I prepared the tax returns and communicated with banks based on information that Mr Gates and Mr Manafort provided to me that I didn't believe,' she said, indicating the nature of wrongdoing which she received immunity from being prosecuted over. Separately her predecessor as his tax preparer told the court that he asked Manafort directly if he had any foreign bank accounts and the lobbyist told him: 'No.' In fact he had a network of accounts in Cyprus and even a team of tax preparers there. It is mandatory to disclose foreign bank accounts holding more than $10,000 to the U.S. Treasury. The evidence about foreign bank accounts came as U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III reminded prosecutors they had to prove that Manafort knew about the requirement and deliberately flouted it. Immune: Accountant Cindy Laporta told Paul Manafort's fraud trial that she prepared the tax returns and communicated with banks based on information that Mr Gates and Mr Manafort provided to me that I didn't believe'. Mueller's prosecutors gave her immunity to testify Accounting disclosures: Philip Ayliff (rear) told Manafort's fraud trial how the lobbyist falsely said he had no offshore bank accounts despite being directly asked if he did Involved: Rick Gates, who stood over Manafort's shoulder at the 2016 Cleveland Republican National Convention, told the lobbyist's accountants he could not pay taxes in 2015 and needed a scheme to reduce his taxable income Rushing in: Kathleen Manafort, right, ran into the Alexandria Federal Courthouseafter a noon break on her husband Paul's tax evasion and bank fraud trial But after a week of clashes between him and the prosecution as he criticized them for too much focus on Manafort's wealth, there was little friction on Friday. The bogus loan scheme was detailed by Loporta who said that in 2016, Gates concocted a phony loan forgiveness letter to get rid of a $1.5 million debt on the company's books, so DMP International could qualify for a real loan from Citizens Bank to cover cash flow problems. The explosive developments came on the fourth day of the former Trump campaign chairman's trial for tax and bank fraud, and bolstered claims from prosecutors that Manafort conspired with Gates to intentionally mislead the IRS about his income to evade taxes. Gates drafted the fake loan forgiveness letter in February 2016 when he and Manafort were having trouble securing the loan from Citizens Bank. Citizens Bank was concerned about a $1.5 million loan that was already on the books of Manafort's company DMP International. The loan was from an entity called Paranova Holdings Ltd., which prosecutors say was actually a shell company controlled by Manafort. Gates sent the loan forgiveness letter to Laporta, asking her to pass it along to Citizens Bank. Laporta said she immediately realized the letter was a fake, as it was initially sent to her as an unsigned word document draft and was backdated eight months prior. Gates later sent her a final copy of the letter in .pdf format with a signature from the purported company director. She said she still went ahead and sent it to Citizens Bank, claiming she believed the bank would conduct its own investigation and catch the fraud. Laporta also told the court that she was on a conference call with Manafort's business partner Rick Gates in September 2015 when Gates disclosed that Manafort would be unable to pay his business tax bill for the prior year. 'Rick said it was too high. [Manafort] didn't have that money,' said Loporta. Laporta said Gates proposed changing the amount of an incoming business loan to a higher amount in order to reduce Manafort's portion of taxable income. Another accountant on the call, Connor O'Brien, apparently agreed, according to Laporta. The loan was listed as coming from a company that was also controlled by Manafort, according to prosecutors. Laporta said she acknowledged the scheme was 'not appropriate.' 'You can't pick and choose what's a loan and what's income,' she said. Gates also emailed Laporta and O'Brien to discuss changing the loan amount, according to emails produced by prosecutors on Friday. 'If we need to do a call, let's do it now because I will need to change the amount of the loan agreement,' wrote Gates. O'Brien replied: 'The loan amount may need to be changed.' The loan amount was ultimately changed in the tax report to $900,000. Laporta said this number 'resulted in a tax amount due that Rick said could be paid [by Manafort].' She also told the court that Manafort listed four season tickets for the New York Yankees as business expenses. But prosecutors indicated during questioning that someone else gifted these tickets to Manafort and Laporta said in that case they would not have qualified as tax deductions. Laporta also said Manafort did not inform her that he controlled multiple foreign bank accounts and shell companies, echoing testimony from earlier in the week from Manafort's other tax preparer Philip Ayliff and his personal book keeper Heather Washkuhn. On another occasion, in May 2016, Gates drafted a letter to Citizens Bank purporting to come from Laporta. Gates used Laporta's signature to claim Manafort's income would match previous years. Gates sent the letter to Laporta for her approval before sending it to Citizens Bank. But Laporta balked at the claims in the letter, saying she did not have any information at that point showing Manafort's income would match prior years. She said she ended up writing her own letter to the bank saying she did not have that evidence on Manafort's income. Gates, who pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice earlier this year and has been cooperating with the U.S. government, is expected to testify next week. Taxing matter: Paul Manafort told his tax preparer Philip Ayliff that he, his wife and his daughter did not have any foreign bank accounts - but he did have, among others, holdings in Cyprus Income: Money coming in from his Cyprus holding companies was incorrectly described as being from clients of his political consulting when in fact it was from his own accounts, the court heard Covered by the denial: Jessica and Kathleen Manafort's tax affairs were handled by Paul Manafort's accountant and Manafort denied that they had foreign accounts too Manafort's defense team has countered that Gates was solely responsible for the tax fraud, which was allegedly intended to cover up for millions of dollars Gates was embezzling from Manafort. The court also heard how Manafort directly denied he had any foreign accounts in a 2010 email to his long-time tax preparer despite the fact that the former Trump campaign chairman had hired a team of tax preparers in Cyprus to file tax returns for him there, his fraud trial heard Friday. Philip Ayliff, an accountant who had worked for Manafort since the 1990s, was told the millions of dollars from foreign companies pouring into Manafort's accounts were from political consulting clients when the money was actually from offshore shell companies controlled by the former Trump aide, according to testimony. 'They never told us about any income deposited in foreign accounts,' said Ayliff, on the fourth day of Manafort's trial for tax evasion and bank fraud. The evidence moves the trial into details of what prosecutors say is Manafort's tax fraud. It came after a rocky opening for the Robert Mueller probe prosecutors, who were interrupted repeatedly by Judge T.S. Ellis III to be warned not to concentrate on Manafort's wealth, because being wealthy is not itself evidence of a crime. Friday morning however passed without similar interventions. Prosecutors produced a 2010 email between Ayliff and Manafort regarding foreign financial interests. Ayliff wrote to Manafort, 'At any time in 2010 did you, [your wife] Kathy, or [daughter] Jessica have an interest in' a foreign bank account? Manafort replied: 'No.' Ayliff said he was not told about these Cyprus-based tax preparers, something he said he would have needed to know so that he could file a Foreign Bank Account Report for Manafort as required by U.S. law. Ayliff said Manafort also introduced him to Rick Gates, Manafort's deputy, who corresponded with Ayliff about financial information. Gates similarly told Ayliff that they had no foreign holdings, according to the accountant. In one 2012 email produced by prosecutors, Ayliff requested information from Gates about any foreign accounts held by Manafort or his company. 'We have to submit the report in regards to foreign accounts to the Treasury,' wrote Ayliff. Gates responded: 'As discussed to my knowledge nothing has changed [regarding foreign accounts]. File the report as you did last year.' In another email, Gates told Ayliff that Manafort's companies 'do not have any foreign financial accounts.' This is despite the fact that prosecutors say Manafort had millions of dollars from his Ukrainian political consulting clients stashed away in foreign accounts, which he used to pay for expensive custom suits, high-end TV systems, and other luxury items. Gates, Manafort's former business partner, could testify in the trial as early as Friday afternoon. He pleaded guilty earlier this year to obstruction of justice and has been cooperating with the U.S. government. Manafort's defense team said in opening arguments that Gates was responsible for the tax and bank fraud scheme, which they claimed he used to cover up for the fact that he had embezzled millions from Manafort. Ayliff seemed to counter this theory, telling the court that Manafort was definitely in charge in his business relationship with Gates. He also said Manafort was a party to some of the conversations between Ayliff and Gates about tax returns. ACERBIC JUDGE HAS CLASHED REPEATEDLY WITH MUELLER PROSECUTORS WARNING THEM MANAFORT'S WEALTH ISN'T EVIDENCE OF CRIME BY ITSELF (AND JOKED ABOUT THE JURORS' LUNCHES) 'I'm not in the theater business,' Judge T.S. Ellis asserted during jury selection in Paul Manafort's financial fraud trial. 'You have to be better-looking for that.' Objection, Your Honor. The trial of President Donald Trump's former campaign chairman has plenty of drama and it's coming from the judge. Easily exasperated, and with a sharp wit, the U.S. district judge called out attorneys for both sides this week when he heard they'd been rolling their eyes, apparently at him. The judge judged their expressions to mean, 'Why do we have to put up with this idiot judge?' Privately, lawyers who have appeared before him say Thomas Selby Ellis III likes to be seen as the smartest person in the courtroom, not a huge leap for a judge. Easily exasperated: Lawyers who have appeared before him say Thomas Selby Ellis III likes to be seen as the smartest person in the courtroom With his Princeton-Harvard-Oxford education and experience spanning consequential cases in an era of war and terrorism - 'American Taliban' John Walker Lindh's among them - Ellis is known to cut lawyers down to size, sometimes subtly, sometimes not so much. That's what happened when Justice Department attorney Michael Dreeben, a legend in legal circles, appeared at a pre-trial hearing in the Manafort case. As soon as Dreeben began making his arguments for the prosecution, Ellis cut in - 'Would you spell your name for the record?' That's not a question he asks others appearing in his Washington-area Eastern District of Virginia court. In the Manafort trial, Ellis, 78, is trying to keep a handle on a case that centers on the Trump associate's consulting work for wealthy Ukrainian clients and whether he fraudulently hid millions from banks and the IRS. It stems from special counsel Robert Mueller's broad investigation into Russia's interference in the 2016 election and any collusion between Russians and the Trump campaign. It's not about Trump or Russia, but that matter is the elephant in the room. In the pretrial hearing where Dreeben's presence made waves, Ellis supposed that the Manafort case was really about the government trying to make the defendant 'sing' on Russia and the Trump campaign. Prosecutors 'don't really care' about Manafort, he said, but instead care about getting information from him to go after Trump. Immigrant: Judge T. S. Ellis III was born in Bogota, Colombia, and is a native speaker of Spanish. He was nominated to the federal bench by Ronald Reagan in 1987 That delighted the president, who called the judge 'really something very special' in an NRA speech in May. But Trump's opinion about people can turn on a dime, and this week, without identifying the judge, he blasted the decision by Ellis to house Manafort in solitary confinement, a move the prosecution says was to keep him safe. Trump suggested the justice system might be treating Manafort more harshly than it did Al Capone, the legendary mob boss who went crazy in Alcatraz. An immigrant from Bogota, Colombia, Ellis came to the bench in 1987, nominated by President Ronald Reagan after an early career as a Navy aviator in the 1960s and a lawyer in private practice in the 1970s. He's welcomed new generations of immigrants as the presiding judge at naturalization ceremonies, addressing Spanish-speakers among them in his and their native language; his eyes have been known to grow moist in these proceedings. Long-ago associates nicknamed him Taz for his swirling Tasmanian Devil drive in law practice. In 2002, Ellis sentenced Lindh to 20 years in prison without parole in a plea deal for the American who fought with the Taliban, telling him, 'You made a bad choice.' In 2009, he dismissed lawsuits filed by alleged Iraqi victims of the contractor once known as Blackwater USA, ruling that a pattern of recklessness or a culture of lawlessness is not enough to sustain an allegation of war crimes under the federal law. But he allowed most of the plaintiffs to refile their lawsuits if they had a persuasive case that Blackwater employees engaged in intentional killings and beatings. The ruling essentially pleased both sides. In the Manafort trial, Ellis has shown impatience with meandering arguments from either side while being tougher on the prosecution out of the gate. Not that's a look: Manafort reportedly spent $15,000 ostrich jacket and $18,500 on this brown python jacket (right) When prosecutors addressed Manafort's relationship with Ukrainian 'oligarchs,' he told them to knock it off. Prosecutors are inferring that Manafort associates himself with 'despicable people and therefore he's despicable,' he said. 'That's not the American way.' Descriptions of Manafort's $15,000 ostrich-leather jacket, the $6 million in cash he put toward real estate and his $900,000 in purchases at a New York boutique also left the judge unimpressed. He may not like fancy-pants lawyers, but fancy pants in America are not against the law. 'The government doesn't want to prosecute somebody because they wear nice clothes, do they?' Ellis asked. 'Let's move on.' Prosecutor Greg Andres countered: 'Judge, this is not an effort to prove Mr. Manafort lived lavishly. It's evidence of his income.' The judge introduced a theatrical twist at an earlier hearing, telling prosecutors he did not want to see pictures of Manafort and others 'at a cocktail party with scantily clad women,' if they should happen to exist. No worries, Andres said. 'There will be no pictures of scantily clad women, period.' He also promised no photos of Russian flags and said it's unlikely any government witness 'will utter the word 'Russia.' A mother-of-two has been left wheelchair-bound after a taxi driver ran a red light and ploughed into her as she rushed home to care for her disabled daughter. Natalie Coates, from Bradford, West Yorkshire, was a full-time carer for her 13-year-old daughter, Briany, until she was hit by a car in December 2014. Briany has a series of life-limiting conditions including quadriplegic cerebral palsy that leaves her in a wheelchair and in need of 24-hour care - but after her own accident Ms Coates can no longer look after her. The 32 year old was found lying in the road by her partner, Jason Coates, as he made his way home. She was left with bulging discs in her spine that cause her such agony she is unable to clothe, wash or even cook for herself. Natalie Coates, from Bradford, West Yorkshire, was left wheelchair-bound after a taxi driver ran a red light Ms Coates had been rushing home to care for her disabled daughter Briany. Now she has been left in such agony she is unable to look after the 13 year old who has quadriplegic cerebral palsy Mr Coates was forced to quit his sales manager job last year to care for both Briany and his partner, but NHS doctors were unable to help her and she was forced to go private. They are now unable to go out as a family as the NHS have failed to provide Natalie with a power-assisted chair, and it is impossible for Jason to push two wheelchairs. Now the couple are in a race against time to raise enough cash to have the three bulging discs replaced at a cost of 22,000 each, as specialists warn she could be left permanently paralysed if they don't have the operation soon. Ms Coates said: 'It has been soul destroying to go from being Briany's primary care giver, looking after her because she is in a wheelchair to now being in a wheelchair myself and unable to care for her. 'My life changed overnight. Seeing Jason now do everything I used to do but now can't do, it's not nice at all. 'I want to be there for my children and there for Jason as a partner but I can't give them the attention they need or what they require. 'It makes me feel less of a mother to be honest. Briany needs 24-hour care and it's heartbreaking that I can no longer give it to her. 'If I were to get this operation and it were to fix me, it would give me my life back.' At first, Ms Coates was unable to use her right arm but the situation got increasingly worse, and she awoke one morning in September last year unable to move at all A private specialist warned the couple that if her back is left untreated, the discs could become sharp over time and could sever the spinal cord, leaving her permanently paralysed. Ms Coates was walking home from the gym and was due to go and pick up Briany when she was hit by the taxi as she crossed a road only five minutes from her home. As she lay in the street being helped by passersby, Mr Coates was driving home with their other daughter Alicia, six, when he spotted his partner's white handbag on the floor - and his heart sank. He said: 'There was an instant overwhelming sense of fear. But I just knew, my heart sank. It was the worst moment - especially then when I saw her black coat on the floor. 'A taxi driver had gone through the red lights, despite her green man showing. He went right through and ran her over. 'Workmen had stopped the taxi driver. Without them I suspect he'd have just driven off.' After being rushed to hospital, Natalie had a number of CT scans due to a cut to the head and remained there for a week and a half. Following the accident she was unable to use her right arm, but she claims doctors were unable to diagnose the cause and put it down to muscle pain. The situation got increasingly worse, and Ms Coates awoke one morning in September last year unable to move at all. Mr Coates, 36, heard her screaming and rushed upstairs to find her on the floor in agony. She then spent four months bed bound and while she is now able to be transferred to the sofa or a wheelchair, she is usually in too much pain to go outside. The couple are unable to go out together any more as partner Jason Coates, 36, cannot push two wheelchairs and Ms Coates is without a power wheelchair despite applying six months ago The couple are trying to raise money for surgery to replace the discs for 22,000 in Barcelona After going private an MRI revealed Ms Coates was suffering from three or four impinging and abutting discs against her spinal cord. The couple have found a specialist in Barcelona who believes she would be eligible for surgery to replace the discs - at the cost of 22,000 each. Now the family desperately need to raise the cash for flights, accommodation and the cost of the expensive private tests and scans to check Ms Coates is eligible for the potentially life-changing surgery. Mr Coates said: 'It's hard to overexaggerate just how much of an affect this has had on our lives. 'For me, I have gone from having an outgoing, active, really sociable partner who went to the gym most days and doted on her daughter. She loved shopping and seeing friends. 'Seeing someone who was like that become completely dependent on me, is really hard to watch. 'She has lost her self esteem. She spends most days crying. If she didn't have me as her partner, she wouldn't be able to care for her own children. 'Seeing that transformation - she is like a shell of her former self.' The couple are angry that the 'reckless' actions of the taxi driver have cost them so much. However, because there were no witnesses to the accident and no skid marks to indicate if he had been speeding, the driver was never prosecuted by police. Ms Coates said: 'It has been soul destroying to go from being Briany's primary care giver, looking after her because she is in a wheelchair to now being in a wheelchair myself and unable to care for her' Mr Coates added: 'Although we don't know the driver, he owes her a new life. One silly mistake has cost her everything as she can't do anything she used to do anymore. 'He has taken a mum away from her two girls and stopped her being able to be a mother. He has taken a really active person and made her bed bound.' Despite the driver not being prosecuted, Ms Coates was awarded compensation after the accident - but it was from before she was left wheelchair-bound. Mr Coates says that the couple regret accepting the paltry amount, which was under 2,000, as it in no way makes up for how badly the crash has affected her life. Ms Coates is open about how much the operation means to her and how much it could change her life for the better. She said: 'People take their lives for granted. I didn't realise I took my life for granted. I thought I appreciated everything. 'This has made me appreciate how good my life was even though it was complicated and stressful. Despite applying for a power chair so she could leave the house with the rest of her family six months ago, she is still without one. A Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust spokesperson said: 'The Trust fully recognises the need to provide appropriate services for our patients in a timely manner. 'There was an initial problem with the referral which was recently resolved and we are now awaiting information from Natalie in order to begin her assessment.' The family are trying to raise enough money to get Ms Coates over to Barcelona to see the specialist for scans to confirm if the surgery can go ahead but desperately need funds for flights and the expensive tests. You can donate to their cause here. ABC News(NEW YORK) -- More than 35 million people from Georgia to Vermont remain at risk of flash flooding Friday morning, as the heaviest rainfall is expected to shift northeast with gusty thunderstorms possible. Lynchburg, Virginia, saw nearly 6 inches on Thursday, necessitating water rescues. Rain fell at a rate of more than 2 inches per hour, flooding roadways and part of the town. Also in Virginia, a 10-year-old girl was killed after a tree fell on her home, possibly because the ground was saturated, authorities said. Damaging winds also were reported in parts of the Carolinas and New England. A Beyonce and Jay-Z concert in New Jersey was delayed because of storms. Flash flood watches are expected to remain in effect most of Friday for major cities such as Atlanta, Washington, and Albany, New York. Widespread thunderstorms are expected throughout the mid-Atlantic region. Between now and Sunday, some parts may see 2 to 3 inches of rain. The East is expecting to dry out early next week as the Southeast sees a few scattered showers. Starting next week, temperatures in the Northeast will approach the 90s. Severe weather may strike parts the upper Midwest on Friday, from Nebraska to North Dakota, meaning strong wind, large hail and brief tornadoes are possible. Fire danger continues out much of the West despite a monsoon that hit Phoenix on Thursday with winds exceeding 60 mph, knocking out power and causing flooding in northern Arizona and southern Nevada. There are 63 large wildfires burning in 14 states from Texas to Alaska. The Carr Fire is now the sixth most destructive wildfire in California history, with 1,500 structures destroyed and 126,000 acres burned. It's about 35 percent contained. New evacuations were ordered in California on Thursday for the Mendocino Complex Fire, which has consumed 110,000 acres already. The Taylor Creek Fire in Oregon has burned 31,596 acres and is about 30 percent contained. The South Valley Fire, at 20,000 acres, is threatening 172 homes, with 516 people forced to flee. Dangerous fire conditions are expected to linger as a frontal system kicks up winds out west. More heat is expected in California, with temperatures at or above 100 expected for much of the state. Highs next week could approach 110 degrees. Copyright 2018, ABC Radio. All rights reserved. More than 100 goats have burst into a neighborhood in Idaho startling residents and captivating spectators on social media as they feasted on lawns, flower bushes and tree leaves. The herd of goats had been at work clearing some land for the county when scores of the inquisitive animals escaped at about 7am on Friday and wandered into a Boise suburb, their owner said. 'They were on a pond that the county had hired us to clear, and it looks like they pushed through some of the wood boards and got out that way,' said Matt Gabica, co-owner of We Rent Goats, a company that provides goats to clear weeds on private and public property. 'A bunch of homeowners and a bunch of kids had some excitement.' Scores of goats much on the flora in a residential area of Boise, Idaho on Friday About 100 escaped goats munched on manicured lawns in Idaho's capital city on Friday morning before being rounded up and hauled away This is where they made their great escape. Just a couple blocks. It was a total of 118 goats. #GoatEscape pic.twitter.com/MDJPe4eOgQ Ruth Brown (@RuthBrownNews) August 3, 2018 The goats were able to squeeze out through just a few broken slats in the fence around the county property, the Idaho Statesman reported. 'Goats are great escape artists, and I guess they decided to go on an adventure today,' Kim Gabica, the goat-rental company's other owner, told the newspaper. 'It's rare that this many would get out, but they would definitely follow each other.' The business, based in Middleton, owns about 500 goats, but not all of them were in Boise on Friday. The rogue herd of about 118 goats congregated mostly on a few nearby lawns, where they placidly munched on the vegetation, photos from the incident show. The goats were owned by a company that rents them out to eat down weeds and grass A company trailer arrives on the scene to corral the goat herd after they escaped on Friday The herd was wrangled into a truck by company workers by around 8.30am. By then the goats had already built up an excited following on Twitter. One reporter for the local KTVB news channel dubbed it the '#Boise Goat-a-Palooza 2018.' One Twitter user said that in 30 years they would be telling their grandchildren about 'the great goat invasion of 2018.' Another tweeted: 'They're maaaaaaaad as hell and they're not going to take it anymore,' riffing on the 'baaa' sound made by goats. A double glazing fitter has been charged with killing a father-of-two after he allegedly confronted him following a car crash, this week. Oliver Brown, 21, allegedly fought with Stephen Walsh, 37, after following him to his home after their cars collided, on Sunday evening. Mr Walsh's white Lexus crashed with a van, believed to be owned by Mr Brown, in Mapperley, Nottingham.. Stephen Walsh (pictured with Katie Brown) was involved a car accident on Sunday night when his Lexus is understood to have collided with an estate car or van Stephen Walsh, 37, (pictured with his fiancee Katie) was involved in a collision after the Lexus car he was driving struck another car at around 10pm on Sunday Stephen Walsh, 37, was found dead on Monday morning after an incident involving another driver on Sunday evening Mr Walsh, a construction foreman, who moved into the detached home with fiancee Katie Brown two weeks earlier, was found dead early the next morning. A post-mortem examination revealed Mr Walsh died of head injuries. Police arrested Brown, who lives around 400 yards from Mr Walsh's home, on Tuesday evening and seized his silver Vauxhall Astra. Brown, of Digby Avenue, Mapperley, will appear at Nottingham Magistrates' Court on Saturday, after being charged with manslaughter. In an unusual move police have called on the public not to seek revenge against Oliver Brown's family. Detective Chief Inspector Hayley Williams, of East Midlands Special Operations Unit Major Crime Nottinghamshire, said: 'I would like to thank the people of Nottinghamshire for the response to my media appeal earlier this week. 'Several important witnesses came forward as a result. Police forensics work at the home of Stephen Walsh, Nottingham. Mr Walsh, a father-of-two, was found dead hours after an altercation Thirty-seven year-old Stephen Walsh had been driving a Lexus car which was involved in a collision with another vehicle on Sunday evening 'I'm aware that feelings are running high about this case and I totally understand that. 'I would implore the community to carry on supporting Stephen's family, but also not to seek any retribution against Oliver and his family. 'Oliver's family have been entirely co-operative with the police investigation and do not deserve repercussions for an act they had no involvement in.* 'Oliver himself will now face trial to ascertain if he was criminally responsible for Stephen's death. 'As the case is now in the criminal justice system, I will make no further comment until the conclusion of the trial.' A U.S. citizen has been detained in Russia after he was found on the far east coast in a small boat which had come from Alaska. John Martin had got lost while sailing in Alaska's Yukon River and accidentally found himself in the Bering Sea which separates Russia from North America. Mr Martin, 46, was stopped by border guards in the coastal village of Lavrentiya, in the remote region of Chukotka, Russia's foreign ministry said. He had apparently spent a few days in the open sea after struggling in bad weather and without a navigation system before ending up on Russia's shores. A U.S. citizen has been detained in Russia after he was found on the far east coast in a small boat which had come from Alaska (file photo) Martin, who lives in Anchorage, was detained on Wednesday by Russian officials in the Far Eastern region of Chukotka. The U.S. Consulate in Vladivostok was informed about the incident. Foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said at a press briefing: 'It turns out he was sailing on the Yukon River in Alaska in his personal one-man boat. 'Around two weeks ago he decided to go out into the open sea and, because of difficult meteorological conditions and a lack of a navigation system, he spent a few days in the open sea and that's how he ended up on Russian soil.' Zakharova said the US Consulate in the far eastern city of Vladivostok has been informed and that local authorities plan to take the man to Anadyr, Chukotka's capital and Russia's easternmost town. The American is in a 'satisfactory condition,' she said, adding: 'Everything is fine with him and will be even better.' Mathew Hagengruber, a spokesman for the U.S. Embassy in Moscow, said it was working with local authorities to provide assistance to Martin. A woman is under investigation by Russian police after pulling the partly mummified and 'cannibalised' body of her husband into a park where young children were playing. The pensioner, known only as Lydia, dumped her husband's remains near swings and a playground in Yekaterinburg, eastern Russia. She then stripped off naked and told horrified locals that she had been eating her husband, but had decided to take the remains outside because they had started to smell so badly. The pensioner, known only as Lydia, dumped her husband's remains near swings and a playground in Yekaterinburg, eastern Russia. As children screamed in terror, she told horrified onlookers to look away 'because this is an eerie sight'. Lyudmila Troshkova, who was in the park, said: 'She pulled the corpse into the yard on a blanket. 'There were people around and was trying to dump the body. 'But it did not work out, since the hand caught on a car, and she left the corpse where it fell. Polya Nechaeva said: 'She left the remains in the yard near the children's playground and walked away.' The face of the partly mummified body - identified as her common law husband Vladimir, 68, a former prison officer - had been 'gnawed'. A police officer at the scene said there were signs that she had 'eaten' the human flesh of the man, last seen alive around three weeks ago. A police officer at the scene said there were signs that she had 'eaten' the human flesh of the man, last seen alive around three weeks ago The face of the partly mummified body - identified as her common law husband Vladimir, 68, a former prison officer - had been 'gnawed Detectives said there was no evidence the man had been murdered. The dead man's son challenged her over what had happened to his father - and where his missing legs were. But the woman refused to answer him, and the police and the Russian Investigative Committee are now probing the case after protests from neighbors following their slow response. Images published in local media show the corpse lying near a car with dozens of children standing nearby watching from the playground in the city of Yekaterinburg in central Russia's Sverdlovsk Oblast region. Police and the Russian Investigative Committee are now probing the case after protests from neighbors following their slow response Neighbours said a horrible smell began emanating from the woman's flat two months ago. Police spokesperson Yevgeniy Krukov said: 'According to preliminary reports, the wife tried to throw out her husband's remains. She managed to drag the remains into the yard where the playground is and left them several metres from a dumpster.' According to Krukov, the preliminary examination of the husband's remains indicate that his death was natural. A New York high school teacher has pleaded guilty to performing oral sex on a 14-year-old boy on ;multiple occasions and in multiple locations' but she has been spared prison time. Dori Myers, 29, a social studies teacher at The New School of Leadership and The Arts in The Bronx who is married to a Rockland County Sheriffs deputy, entered her plea on Wednesday and was sentenced to 10 years of probation. Myers also will have to register as a sex offender, but she will not be required to surrender her New York state teaching license. Disgraced: Bronx teacher Dori Myers, 29 (pictured in court earlier this year), on Wednesday pleaded guilty to a criminal sex act for performing oral sex on a 14-year-old student Myers wa sa social studies teacher at The New School of Leadership and The Arts in The Bronx The educator was arrested in January after being accused of repeatedly performing oral sex on a 14-year-old boy, thought to be one of Myers' students. Police launched an investigation after the victim told one of his classmates. That classmate told a school administrator, who then notified police, according to the Post. A co-worker also claimed to have seen her massaging the alleged victim. The criminal complaint claims the assault took place somewhere in Upper Manhattan on November 1, 2017. Persecutors asked the presiding judge on Wednesday to sentence Myers to two years in prison and order her to give up her license, reported theNew York Post. Myers was sentenced to 10 years of probation and will have to register as a sex offender Myers is pictured here with her husband, Rockland County Sheriff's Deputy Matt Myers Her defense attorney said Myers will be fired by the New York Department of Education, but he asked the court not to deny her the chance to teach adults in the future. She still is a talented teacher and has those skills, and I dont see any reason to destroy her ability to make a living and to contribute to society in a positive way, Andrew Stoll said. Myers is scheduled to return to court for her official sentencing on September 12, after which her probation will begin. District Attorney Kevin Steele said several co-workers witnessed the attack on Angela Stith (pictured), 33, on Friday A man stabbed and then repeatedly drove over his estranged girlfriend, crushing her in a fatal attack as her suburban Philadelphia co-workers tried to help her early Friday morning, authorities said. The attack was captured on surveillance cameras. District Attorney Kevin Steele choked up as he described the man driving over the woman 'again and again and again' in a security firm parking lot. He said the suspect, Lawrence Crawley, set himself on fire after being pulled over by a Pennsylvania State Trooper several hours later on the other side of the state. Crawley, 33, was hospitalized in critical condition. Steele said several co-workers witnessed the attack on Angela Stith, 33, and tried to help her. 'This was a terrible death. And I know and I feel for the victim and what she went through, her family and what they went through, the people who witnessed this and the people who are going to witness this moving forward,' Steele said. Scene of the crime: Stith was allegedly hit by her estranged boyfriend's car 'again and again and again' at the Vector Security parking lot (pictured) Before the alleged attack, Stith was seen on camera leaving her office about 2:15am and heading to her car while texting someone Authorities said Stith, who worked at Vector Security, was seen on camera leaving her office about 2:15am and heading to her car while texting someone. Steele said she had talked to and had texted the suspect recently. Stith got into her car, and the suspect is seen in the footage smashing her driver's side window in an effort to attack her. Authorities said the attack began when the suspect smashed the driver's side window of Stith's car and began stabbing her outside the Vector Security parking lot She fled out of the passenger side of her car and ran a short distance before the suspect caught her, beat her and stabbed her repeatedly. Co-workers came out to try to help Stith, calling 911. Steele said she can be heard answering their questions Meanwhile, Steele said Crawley got into his Chevy Suburban and drove over Stith, circling the parking lot and driving over her two more times as her co-workers watched, helpless to stop him. Steele said Crawley turned the three-ton vehicle 'into a weapon' before fleeing. The arrest affidavit said there was a relationship history between Stith and Crawley. The affidavit said Crawley pleaded guilty to simple assault after a May incident in which he choked Stith. A medical examiner said Stith died Friday from a combination of sharp force trauma and blunt trauma. Officials said Crawley stabbed her so hard that a knife blade was still wedged into her back when the autopsy was performed. As he fled, Crawley called his mother and another woman to tell them he had killed Stith and that he was sorry. District Attorney Kevin Steele (pictured) said when authorities pulled over suspect Lawrence Crawley on Friday, he lit himself on fire inside of the cab of his car Steele said when the trooper was able to finally pull Crawley over, he lighted himself on fire inside of the cab of his car. The trooper was able to save him and he was taken to the hospital, where he was in critical but stable condition as of Friday afternoon. Steele said he planned to charge Crawley with first-degree murder and other charges and would ask to deny bail. It was unclear from records whether Crawley had an attorney. A phone call to a number listed for him went unanswered Friday. Whitemarsh Police Chief Christopher Ward said his staff pleaded with him not to watch the video because they knew he would have to speak to reporters Friday. He said there hasn't been a murder in the township of about 17,000 people in 17 years. The homeless man allegedly paid 90 to have a British groom's name and address tattooed on his forehead has returned to Benidorm to report the offender to police. Polish-born Tomek reappeared in the Costa Blanca holiday resort today after returning from the city of Granada in southern Spain where he has spent the last few days with friends. He went straight to Benidorm's Foreign Tourist Attention Centre to ask police to take action over the controversial inking 'Jamie Blake, North Shields N28.' Polish national Tomek has returned to Benidorm for the first time since he was paid by a British stag group to tattoo a name on his forehead and North Sheilds for 90 The 34-year-old homeless man said being paid 90 was like 'winning the lottery' He also confirmed he had been paid - but revealed it was just one Brit behind the sick tattoo who had taken pictures of him having it done, and not a group of stag do Brits as was originally reported. He told Spanish reporters this afternoon he hoped justice would now be done and also said the tattoo artist should face charges because he knew he was drunk at the time. Tomek, who was taken to a clinic for a medical check-up after reporting the incident to police, also said the offer of 90 was 'like winning the lottery' to someone sleeping rough and experiencing hunger. The 34-year-old, whose whereabouts since details of the controversial inking emerged had been a mystery, appeared delighted to be back in the resort. Apart from the clothes on his back, his only belongings were in a small rucksack he was carrying with him. The 'North Shields' part of the tattoo appeared to have been removed from his forehead but the name Jamie Blake was still at the top of his forehead above the word Perklile in block capitals. Tomek, who was accompanied by Benidorm British Business Association president Karen Maling Cowles who brought his plight to light and has been raising funds online to get the tattoo removed, said: 'I'm really happy to be here and I'm really happy that I've got friends who help me. Police are investigating if a British stag party paid a Polish-born rough sleeper, known only as Tomek, to get the name and address of the groom tattooed on his forehead The men allegedly got the rough sleeper to have 'Jamie Blake, North Shields N28' written permanently on his forehead James Blake (pictured with is fiance), the man whose name and address Tomek had inked on his forehead, has denied having anything to do with the incident. 'The day of the tattooing I was drunk and 90 for me as someone living in the street is a lot of money. 'When I woke up the next day I realised what I had done.' He told a Spanish media outlet it was humiliating to have someone else's name stamped on his head for ever, insisting: 'It's not at all nice. When you're in the street, you're hungry and you want to drink something and you can't. 'Then you're given 90 and it's as if you had won the lottery.' Karen, who has been leading the way on publicising Tomek's story and criticising what happened to him, said on Facebook before he arrived in Benidorm: 'Tomek has contacted us. 'He was emotional and overwhelmed by the publicity given by the media and acts of kindness by the public.' She added later: ' We are looking for help with various things for Tomek including somewhere not expensive for him to stay while we get things organised with doctors and so on.' Wellwisher Maureen Daniels said: ' Well done for standing up to help this poor men. 'He has gone from an encounter with the worst of British in Benidorm to the very best. I hope his problems will soon be on the way to being solved.' Expat Mrs Maling Cowles, who says the rough sleeper told her he was paid by the stag do group, said after learning of the tattoo incident: 'The community here is disgusted about it and many tourists too. It's awful, taking a vulnerable person's situation and thinking throwing a bit of money gives you a quick bit of fun.' She also revealed Tomek was jaundiced when she met him to talk about what had happened, had the shakes and told her he was an alcoholic who had walked 1,700 miles to Benidorm after the collapse of his relationship with his girlfriend. The man whose name and address Tomek had inked on his forehead has come forward since the furore broke to insist he was never in the tattoo parlour and the Polish-born rough sleeper was not paid. Mr Blake fears he could lose his job in Benidorm (above, file photo) because of the furore back home over the picture In an interview with the Newcastle Evening Chronicle earlier this week in which he revealed he was working in Benidorm and decided to go ahead with his stag do with 30 friends despite splitting with his partner beforehand, 36-year-old Mr Blake said: 'I might have to fly home and could lose my job here. 'I was not there at the time. There was a big group of around 30 of us drinking in the bar. 'Tomek isn't homeless, he lives with my friend and works on the strip. I got drunk and was asked to leave the bar I was in. 'I was never in the tattoo parlour and as far as I know he was not paid any money.' Police in Benidorm said earlier this week they were investigating the incident as a possible hate crime. Spanish TV host Anna Simon called those responsible 'miserable' and said on the programme she is currently presenting, when it was still thought a group of stag-do Brits were responsible: 'I'm personally offering to tattoo on them the words 'We're miserable people who believe we're superior because we have money.'' Nearly 3,000 has now been raised in a GoFundMe appeal to help Tomek have the tattoo removed and offer him medical assistance. Several businesses in Benidorm are understood to have offered to help. She lives in Brussels but prefers the treats on her frequent trips to Britain naturally, Brexit is a concern for Pippa the pedigree pug. If Britain and Brussels split with 'no deal' in March 2019, Pippa's doggy documents allowing her to travel will be void. But, preferring to lead the pack, Pippa (and her owner Nick Petre) took matters into their own hands. Unwilling to wait for the results of the talks, which may end in no deal - the tiny dog is taking a giant leap for pug-kind, becoming the first to switch from British to Belgian citizenship. While many Britons, fearing the result of the break from the European Union, reach for European citizenship via Irish heritage and permanent residency for Pippa it was pretty simple. Pippa the pug is leading the pack for Brexit dogs abroad by getting Belgian citizenship so she can travel freely around Europe The Pets Passport Scheme for international travel in Europe allows ferrets, cats and dogs who have been issued the document to travel to and from Britain Pippa the pug's owner does not want to leave her in Brussels - preferring to bring her to Britain - where she enjoys the treats Owner Nick Petre, 38, is forking 100 out for the Belgian pet passport in a move which could well be replicated by frequent travellers. Pippa the pedigree pug and European Parliament employee Nick travel back to Britain and Ireland to see friends and family. But worried about their future travel together, Mr Petre set about finding a way to keep his dog by his side. Now, four-year-old Pippa has applied to become a citizen of Belgium in case Britain crashes out of the EU with no deal. Currently, around 250,000 pets travel from the UK to the EU every year. Under the EU's pet passport scheme three animals (cats, dogs and ferrets) can travel without being quarantined because they are cleared by a vet. Their little blue passport confirms they are in good health, have been vaccinated and can cross into Britain freely. But if Theresa May's Government fails to strike a deal with Brussels the passports may be rendered unusable. 'Pippa's UK passport will be null and void if we crash out of the EU,' owner Nick told the Daily Telegraph. 'And with talks still blocked on some major issues I thought it made sense to take precautions. Who knows where this could lead?' Nick, originally from Maidenhead, has no plans to return to live in the UK in the short term as he also applies for permanent residency in Belgium Mr Petre, who has lived in Brussels since 2006, says the Belgian passport means the dog will have both Belgian and British papers after Brexit covering her for travel. She will still be able to travel to Ireland thanks to EU freedom of pet movement but the 1,000 pet's globe trotting future is still uncertain. Pippa is getting ahead of Brexit by applying for Belgian citizenship in case there is a no-deal break between Britain and the bloc and her passport is no longer valid Nick said: 'It would be a shame if she can't travel, Pippa is very much a part of the family and loved by her family in Britain.' 'She'd be very upset if we left her and so would my parents for that matter. 'And she loves going back to Blighty, especially for the British dog snacks which she much prefers to the Belgian ones.' 'It's the uncertainty that's the problem. It drives you barking mad.' The issue of pet passports is yet to hit the talks table. Detailed discussions are not expected until the transition period, which should begin after 29 March 2019. However, it is claimed Jean-Claude Juncker took a personal interest in the potential impact on the pet passport scheme. 'We are not only for the free movement of people but for the free movement of pets,' a commission spokeswoman said. The UK Government has said it is keen to ensure pets are able to travel freely and safely between EU nations and Britain. A Republican congressman who was handed a fake 'Friends of Israel' award on comedian Sacha Baron Cohen's 'Who is America?' show is promoting it on his re-election campaign website. Pennsylvania Rep. Scott Perry lists the faux honor from Yerushalayim Television a nonexistent Israeli broadcast network alongside genuine recognitions from anti-tax organizations and military veterans groups. The liberal muckraker website Think Progress first noticed the gaffe at 12:15 p.m. Friday. By 4:30 it was still online. Cohen has raised eyebrows and blood pressures with the rollout of his Showtime series. The oft-disguised TV star Sacha Baron Cohen is hanging three-term Pennsylvania Republican Rep. Scott Perry's scalp on his wall, but the congressman doesn't seem to know it Cohen, who famously masqueraded as fictional Kazakh traveler Borat Sagdiyev and rapper 'Ali G,' gave Perry and at least one other GOPer a fake pro-Israel award on camera Perry got a statuette like this one that Cohen gave former Republican Rep. Joe Walsh, and the Pennsylvanian promptly added the faux honor to a list of credits on his re-election campaign website The 'Borat' and 'Ali G' star has already punked a former GOP lawmaker with the same bogus award. He also wielded a 'pedophile detector' wand during an Alabama interview with disgraced former Republican U.S. Senate candidate Roy Moore, who lost a 2017 special election after being accused of fondling teen girls decades earlier. His show's initial buzz grew after his fictional on-air persona persuaded former U.S. Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott to endorse a plan to arm kindergartners. Then a state lawmaker in Georgia resigned after he shouted racial slurs and exposed his rear end during a self-defense drill against imagined homophobic Arab jihadis egged on by Cohen in disguise as the make-believe 'Erran Morad.' On Friday afternoon Perry's official re-election campaign website boasted of the phony award Cohen presented to him under the pretense that it was from a fictional Israeli TV network called 'Yerushalayim Television' Perry's website says 'I need your help!' a plea that may not have reached his website team 'Who is America?' was largely kept under wraps to prevent Cohen's stunts from being discovered. That ended last month when his production company announced that former U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney had taken the bait on camera, autographing a plastic bottle that he thought was part of a 'waterboarding kit.' Sen. Bernie Sanders and 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin took the bait, too. So did an entire Arizona town, whose emotional steam-venting exploded on screen when a disguised Cohen told them they would soon live near the Western world's largest mosque. Palin claimed she was duped into filming an interview in Washington, D.C., and that Cohen disguised himself as a wounded veteran for the sit-down. Cohen whipped out a 'pedophile detector' wand during an Alabama interview with disgraced former Republican U.S. Senate candidate Roy Moore, who lost a 2017 special election after being accused of fondling teen girls decades earlier Autograph: Dick Cheney signs a gallon jug in the preview for the new series and then states: 'Thats the first time Ive ever signed a waterboard' A spokesperson for Perry's re-election campaign could not be reached on Friday. A message left with the communications director for Democrat George Scott, Perry's general election opponent, went unanswered. The first 21 awards listed on Perry's website proceed in alphabetical order. 'Yerushalayim Television' is part of a group of seven additional items apparently added later, out of order, at the bottom of the list. Handicappers at the Cook Political Report considers Perry, who is also a brigadier general in the Pennsylvania Army National Guard, 'likely' to hold on to his seat representing his state's comparatively conservative 10th District. A 12-year-old Chinese tourist has been found safe in New York with her parents one day after her tour group reported her missing from a Washington-area airport - sparking an Amber Alert. Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority Police said JinJing Ma was found Friday in the custody of her parents in Queens, New York. Authority police Chief David Huchler said at a news conference Friday that Ma excused herself to go to the bathroom Thursday after getting her passport at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. Authorities said JinJing Ma, a 12-year-old girl from China who was believed to have been kidnapped at Reagan National Airport near Washington, DC, was found safe in New York City He said she then met a woman, changed clothes and got into an SUV with New York tags. Huchler said a couple had earlier approached JinJing Ma while her tour group was at the World Trade Center and that there appeared to be a link between that couple and the people she met at the airport Authorities in the DC area issued the Amber Alert for Ma on Thursday. Ma, a Chinese national who had arrived in the United States as part of a tour group, was believed abducted by an unknown woman at about 8.15am that day. Pictures were also released showing the two suspects and the car in which it was believed they took JinJing away. Authorities said Ma was abducted by two adults - an Asian man and an Asian woman (seen above walking through the Arrivals terminal at Reagan) The image above appears to show the Asian woman taking JinJing out of the airport The girl had arrived with a tour group that was in the process of having passports checked at customs. After the girl received her passport, she asked to be excused to the restroom, according to police. Investigators believe that she did not make it to the restroom. The woman (above) allegedly abducted the girl as she was on her way to the bathroom after landing on a flight from New York Instead, she met up with a woman who helped her change into different clothes. The woman then took the girl and walked to the Arrivals section before leaving the airport. Airport police said that the girl and the woman were seen getting into a white 2016 or 2018 Infiniti QX70 with New York license plates. So far, investigators do not know the plate number. Before the woman allegedly kidnapped the girl, she was seen walking with an Asian man with whom she arrived at the airport. Police believe the man was driving the Infiniti. The group was traveling in the United States on a sightseeing tour. They had arrived at Reagan after a flight from New York. One of the girls noticed that JinJing was missing and informed a chaperone, who then told police. Authorities only learned about the girls disappearance an hour after she had left the airport with the two mystery adults. Angry drivers played the bagpipes in Insulate Britain activists' faces and threatened to run them over today while others threw ink at them and confronted police as the eco mob returned to London's roads in rush hour. The campaigners split their action across two sides of the capital today, with one group sitting on the A40 in North Acton, West London, and others blocking a major roundabout next to the Dartford Crossing on the M25 in Kent. Some 17 people were arrested by the Metropolitan Police in London, while Kent Police arrested 32. The demonstrations lasted about two hours - having both began at about 8am. The A40 was reopened by 10am, while one lane in Dartford was open by 10.30am. The protesters have brought chaos to motorways and A roads in the capital since mid-September with 146 people taking part in the campaign and 739 arrests made so far - but no one has yet been charged. The activists were effectively banned from all major roads in England on Monday after a landmark High Court ruling. In Dartford this morning, police held some of the drivers back and warned they could be arrested for assault if they touched the activists. One irate motorist was heard on Sky News telling an officer: 'I'll get the lorry down here and I'll run over them, I promise you, just saying. Drag them out the f***ing way mate, will you?' Meanwhile another driver got out a set of bagpipes and played them in the faces of protesters until police stopped him. Accused Russian spy Maria Butina engaged in some less-than-stealthy tactics while carrying out what prosecutors say was a conspiracy engaging in boozy boasts about her government handlers. Among them was her boasting on two different occasions while drinking about her contacts with the Kremlin. At least twice, she became drunk and spoke 'openly' about her contacts with the Russian government, CNN reported. Alleged Russian agent Maria Butina appears in an undated photo from her Twitter account obtained July 19, 2018. She reportedly spoke of her contacts with Russian intelligence on two occasions when drunk She even appeared to have given up what prosecutors describe as her cover by admitting Russian intelligence was involved with Right to Bear Arms, the Russian gun rights group she used as her entree into the National Rifle Association and other groups. Butina was a graduate student at American University in what prosecutors describe as her cover. Classmates reported her activities to law enforcement because of their concern, sources told the network. She relied on Twitter messages and WhatsApp to communicate, methods that were not hard to track down. The FBI raided her apartment and arrested her in July on belief she was about to make a move. Prosecutors have charged her with conspiring as a Russian agent without complying with laws on registration by foreign agents. A criminal complaint filed by federal prosecutors charges she formed 'relationships with U.S. persons and infiltrating organizations having influence in American politics, for the purpose of advancing the interests of the Russian Federation' Butina had a romantic relationship with GOP operative Paul Erickson and gained entree into Republican circles Maria Butina, 29, allegedly infiltrated the National Rifle Association as a representative of the Russian group Right to Bear Arms She had a romantic relationship with GOP operative Paul Erickson of South Dakota and gained entree into Republican circles, but prosecutors said she complained about living with him. Former Pentagon spokesman J.D. Gordon, who had drinks with Butina and what has been described as 'limited social contact' is blasting the media for focusing on the alleged spy saga. 'This has nothing to do with the Trump campaign and is again an effort to disparage any Republicans or any National Rifle Association member,' he said, the Washington Times reported. He complained the saga was becoming a 'Trump-smear campaign in miniature.' Former Trump campaign advisor and Pentagon spokesman J.D. Gordon, who had drinks with Butina and took her to a Styx concert, called the saga 'a sensationalized clickbait story meant to smear a steady stream of Republicans and NRA members she reportedly encountered over the past few years' It was at an NRA event where she met Donald Trump Jr., the president's son. Gordon told the paper he had networking-type contacts with Butina, 29, whom he met at a Swiss embassy party in Washington. The pair met in 2016 and got introduced by Erickson. Both were guests of former US Ambassador Faith Whittlesey. Another guest of Whittlesey's was Catherine O'Neil, whose father is George O'Neill, identified as 'Person No. 2' in charging documents as helping bring together Butina and leading conservatives. Catherine O'Neil served on the Trump transition and was part of the State Department 'landing team.' She also interned for former Rep. Dana Rohrabacher of California, who favors improved relations with Moscow. Gordon attended a Styx concert with Butina after they had drinks together. According to the report he had an extra ticket. Butina also went to his 49th birthday party in Washington, D.C. in October along with former ambassador to Switzerland Faith Whittlesey, who had invited Gordon to the embassy party where they met. The Times story describes the birthday party as 'widely attended.' Following that interaction, Gordon said he declined two invitations to Russian-American friendship events. She also invited him to a group dinner and a birthday party, although Gordon hasn't seen or heard from her in two years. 'From everything I've read since her arrest last month, it seems the Maria Butina saga is basically a sensationalized clickbait story meant to smear a steady stream of Republicans and NRA members she reportedly encountered over the past few years,' he complained. 'Since she networked so extensively among both groups at conferences and social events, I wonder which prominent Republican political figures she hasn't come across?' Gordon testified before the Senate Judiciary, which conducted its own Russia-related investigation. He was among those who attended a Trump campaign national security meeting that included then-Sen. Jeff Sessions and foreign policy aide George Papadopoulos. He received emails from Trump advisor Carter Page about outreach from Russia. He also had an interaction with former Russiain ambassador to the U.S. Sergey Kislyak at the Republican National Convention. Gordon didn't immediately return a call seeking comment on his contacts with Butina. A criminal complaint filed by federal prosecutors charges she formed 'relationships with U.S. persons and infiltrating organizations having influence in American politics, for the purpose of advancing the interests of the Russian Federation.' Butina is accused of conspiring with the Russian oligarch identified as Alexander Torshin. She pleaded not guilty and Russia has bashed her arrest. A vigilante Waitrose truck driver swerved across lanes and crashed into two males riding a stolen moped who were trying to outrun police. The two males, one a 15-year-old boy, were riding the stolen bike on Brownhill Road in Catford when the lorry driver intervened, blocking the road and knocking the riders from the bike. Moments earlier the pair had been spotted by two police officers. As the police riders queued in slow moving traffic the 15-year-old driver of the moped sped up and rammed one officer's bike, causing it to fall and crush his leg. As the pair made their escape along Brownhill Road they came across the Waitrose truck which swerved towards them, hitting them and sending them flying through the air. Both the rider and passenger ran from the scene pursued by the second, uninjured officer. The pair scattered but the lone officer tracked the driver and arrested him on suspicion of robbery, aggravated taking and driving away, assault on police, assault on police and failing to stop. The moped had been reported as being stolen earlier that day. The 15-year-old was taken into custody at a south London police station where he remains. The incident happened on Wednesday August 1 just before 8.30pm. The stolen moped lies on its side after being abandoned by the two youngsters Officers have condoned off the scene of the collision after apprehending one of the riders Members of the public ran towards the crash, concerned for the two males' safety. However, the pair quickly fled the scene on foot. The moped was recovered from the scene and police are trying to trace the bike's passenger. In footage filmed in the aftermath of the crash the mangled moped can be seen lying to one side of the street while the green Waitrose lorry sits blocking the road. The lorry and driver were inspected by officers and the driver was not reported for any offences after fully cooperated with the investigation. Police are still hunting the pillion rider who managed to escape in the aftermath of the crash The injured officer was treated at the scene by London Ambulance service and is now off duty recovering at home. The person who took the footage was critical of the truck driver's decision to take the law into their own hands. They said: 'We are a nation who prides ourselves to the preservation of life and we must allow the police to do their jobs and not take other people's lives into our hands.' Officers from the Lewisham Criminal Investigation Department are investigating. Anyone with information is asked to call them on 0208 284 8365 or 101 quoting CAD 7403/01 August. To remain anonymous call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111. The 'Manhattan Madam' Kristin Davis met with investigators for special counsel Robert Mueller's probe for an interview Wednesday, in the latest hint of prosecutors' continuing interest in Roger Stone. Davis has known Stone for a decade and worked for him longtime informal Trump advisor Roger Stone, and her interview is an indication that investigators are focused on running down leads related to the political provocateur. Davis was involved in the prostitution scandal that brought down former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer in 2006. She engaged in the interview voluntarily, and sources told CNN prosecutors are interested in having her testify before a federal grand jury. Stone was not named in the indictment of 12 Russian intelligence officers, but his identity matched the person who had communications with Guccifer 2.0, who has been identified as a cutout for Russian-directed hacking. Stone later confirmed the person in the emails was him. Kristin Davis, 41, (above) says an investigator with Mueller's team contacted her on Thursday to ask whether she would accept a subpoena Davis and Stone are seen together on June 5. She says she has worked with the political consultant since her novelty run for New York governor in 2010 After the feds contacted Davis last month, she told the Washington Post; 'Roger's one of my best friends. I have nothing bad to say about him.' She also called the Mueller probe a 'witch hunt' language used repeatedly by President Trump and Stone. Davis formerly ran a high-end prostitution enterprise. Stone is the godfather to Davis' child. Davis was involved in the prostitution scandal that brought down former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer At least two witnesses got asked if Stone was in fact the father of Davis' son, CNN reported based on sources familiar with the questions she answered. Stone posted an image of Dais and her child this week, writing: 'Why do FBI agents dispatched by Robert Mueller keep asking a number of my current and former associates if I am this baby's father ? What does this have to do with Russian Collusion and the 2016 election #witchhunt #thugtactic#mueller #gestapo #partisan." Mueller's team also is interested in Stone's contacts with Wikileaks and relationship with Julian Assange. Stone said in a statement: 'Kristin Davis is a long-time friend and associate of mine. She is a brilliant businesswoman who paid her debt to society and remade her life. I am the godfather to her two-year old son. She knows nothing about alleged Russian collusion, WikiLeaks collaboration or any other impropriety related to the 2016 election which I thought was the subject of this probe. I understand she appeared voluntarily. I am highly confident she will testify truthfully if called upon to do so.' Davis was involved in the prostitution scandal that brought down former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer and said last month she had been subpoenaed by Special Counsel Robert Mueller. Kristin Davis, 41, says an investigator with Mueller's team contacted her on Thursday to ask whether she would accept a subpoena or if the papers would have to be served to her, NBC News reported. Davis said she has instructed her lawyers to tell Mueller she will accept the subpoena and will speak with his investigators. The former madam says she doesn't know why investigators want to speak with her, but suspects that it relates to her work for Roger Stone since novelty campaigns for New York governor in 2010 and state comptroller in 2013. Mueller (above) has reportedly subpoenaed other associates of Trump advisor Roger Stone Stone, though not named, has been identified as the individual referred to in Mueller's latest indictment of 12 Russian military intelligence officials. The indictment alleged that the group's hacker handle Guccifer 2.0 communicated with Stone in some way. Stone officially left the Trump campaign in August 2015, but continued to serve as a surrogate and pro-Trump advocate. Davis said her professional ties to Stone date back to her gubernatorial campaign. 'I've been with Roger since 2010 doing web design and writing position papers,' she told NBC. 'Since my campaign [for governor] I've worked for him.' Other Stone associates have also been subpoenaed by Mueller, who was appointed by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein in May of 2017 to investigate alleged 'links and/or coordination' between the Trump campaign and the Russian government. In May, the special counsel's probe subpoenaed Stone's social media consultant, Jason Sullivan. Davis served four months on Rikers Island and was sentenced to five years probation following her arrest for prostitution procurement in the string of arrests surrounding Spitzer's downfall. Davis is seen leaving court in 2013. She was sentenced to five years probation over her role running a high-end escort service for the Wall Street elite She was previously vice president at a hedge fund and has said that many of her former agency's clients were top executives on Wall Street. She claimed that Spitzer had been among her clients, but had been banned for his bad behavior with the girls. Spitzer resigned from office in 2008 in the midst of the scandal. A meteor strike last month caused a 2.1 kiloton explosion next to a US Air Force base in Greenland that is home to an early missile warning radar, but the facility was not harmed by the blast. The US Air Force confirmed the July 25 incident at Thule Air Base on Friday, reassuring Military Times: 'Thule is fine.' NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory included the strike in its 'fireball report,' indicating that an unknown object was traveling at a speed of 24.4 kilometers per second (54,000mph) when it blew up, 43 kilometers (27 miles) above Thules missile detection system, just before midnight on July 25. Point of impact: A meteor struck near early missile warning Thule Air Base in Greenland on July 25, causing a 2.1 kiloton blast (location pictured on the map) Hans Kristensen, director of the Nuclear Information Project at the Federation of American Scientists, joked that it was not 'a Russian first strike' NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory included the July 25 strike in its 'fireball report' Hans Kristensen, director of the Nuclear Information Project at the Federation of American Scientists, tweeted about the meteor strike on Wednesday. 'Were still here, so they correctly concluded it was not a Russian first strike,' he quipped. 'There are nearly 2,000 nukes on alert, ready to launch.' There were no reports of any damage at Thule Air Base, which is the US militarys northernmost installation, situated 750 north of the Arctic Circle. The facility houses the Department of Defense's network of sensors designed to detect incoming missiles. Other functions performed by the air base include space surveillance and space control to North American Aerospace Defense Command and Air Force Space Command, according to a military site. Shakayla Denson, 26, is charged with murder in the Thursday drowning of her daughter A woman accused of drowning her screaming 4-year-old daughter in a river had been cleared just days earlier by child abuse investigators. Sheriff's investigators in Hillsborough County, Florida said on Friday that they had recently closed a child abuse investigation into Shakayla Denson, 26, about the treatment of daughter Je'Hyrah Daniels. The investigation was opened on June 19, but was was closed on Tuesday after no evidence of maltreatment, abuse or neglect was found, the agency said. On Thursday, Denson was charged with first-degree murder, aggravated child abuse, and grand theft motor vehicle in connection with JeHyrah's drowning death in Tampa. Horrified witnesses saw Denson wade out of the river after carrying the girl into the current and pushing her under, watching as she flailed and floated away. The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office said in a statement that supervisors had reviewed the child abuse investigation after the girl's death, and agreed with the investigators' conclusion. The sheriff's office said no further details would be released. Je'Hyrah Daniels, 4, was diagnosed with autism. Police say her mother carried her into the Hillsborough River and drowned the girl on Thursday This witness photo allegedly shows Denson emerging from the river in front of stunned onlookers after carrying Je'Hyrah into the current and drowning the girl Children's shoes are seen abandoned under the stolen vehicle that police say Denson hijacked from a car dealer and drove to the river where she allegedly drowned her daughter Denson (front left) appeared in court via video link on Friday and was ordered held without bail. She is seen above wearing a quilted anti-suicide garment for prisoners at risk of self-harm Denson was ordered Friday held without bail on a first-degree murder charge. Video shows Denson stood silently during the 90-second court hearing, looking down or to her left and rarely blinking. Her arms and legs were shackled and she was dressed in a blue one-piece uniform worn by inmates who are a suicide threat. Tampa police say Denson stole a car Thursday afternoon from a sales lot and forced her daughter inside. As she drove away, she knocked over a bystander who tried to stop her. About 40 minutes later, the car pulled up to the Hillsborough River, which runs through Tampa. Witnesses told police that Denson dragged the screaming girl to the water, waded in until she was shoulder deep and pushed the girl into the current to float away. Tampa Police Chief Brian Dugan said at the scene witnesses were 'shaken up' when they phoned the department about the horrific incident. Relatives were devastated at Je'Heyra's death. A child abuse investigation into Denson was closed just two days before the murder Tampa law enforcement stand at the scene where Je'Hyrah Daniels, 4, drowned in the Hillsborough River near West Columbus Drive in Tampa on Thursday A Fire Department rescue team operates a boat in the Hillsborough River near where Je'Hyrah was seen struggling in the water, her head and hands rising as she was swept away They said Denson then walked out of the water and away from the river. She was arrested nearby. The girl was seen struggling in the water, her head and hands rising as she was swept away. Rescue divers pulled her from the water about 30 minutes later. She was taken to a hospital and pronounced dead. Neighbor Shantia Little told the Tampa Bay Times that Denson would frequently leave Je'Hyrah and a young niece and nephew alone in her apartment. She told the paper Denson 'didn't care' about her daughter. 'That child is innocent,' Little said. 'That child, she didn't deserve that.' Father Jedaric Daniels (with Je'Heyrah above) said: 'In my entire 37 years of living, I have never endured so much hurt [and] pain' Flowers, stuffed animals and balloons can be seen at the memorial site for Je'Hyrah Daniels A relative of Je'Hyrah holds his head in his hand as he is overcome with emotion at her memorial site near the Hillsborough River where she drowned off West Columbus Drive A GoFundMe campaign set up to raise money for Je'Hyrah said that the girl had been diagnosed with autism. 'In my entire 37 years of living, I have never endured so much hurt [and] pain,' the girl's father Jedaric Daniels wrote on the campaign. 'Je'hyrah was diagnosed with Autisum so she required a little more love and attention. 'I loved her with every bone in my body,' the grieving father wrote. The murder mimics that of a January 2015 case, when an unfit father threw his five-year-old daughter 60 feet off a bridge in Tampa Bay. The horrific homicide mimics a January 2015 case in which John Jonchuck Jr, 25, (left in his mugshot) threw his five-year-old daughter, Phoebe Jonchuck, (right on Facebook) off a bridge in Tampa Bay. Jonchuck's trial is approaching on September 24 John Jonchuck Jr, 25, was arrested a half hour after he was seen speeding toward the Dick Misener Bridge and tossing Phoebe Jonchuck to her death. His trial is still ongoing, and he is set to appear in court next on September 24, according to the Tampa Bay Times. The state is seeking the death penalty for Jonchuck. Court records show that Denson has prior arrests in 2017 for failure to appear on a summons for driving without a license, and in 2016 for failure to appear on a summons for petit theft. Denson is being held without bond in the Hillsborough County Jail. It was unclear whether she had an attorney. Your typical 12-year-old boy is worried right now about getting to the next level of Fortnite, chasing the dream of becoming a star athlete in their favorite sport and enjoying the last remaining weeks of their summer vacations. Carlos Antonio Santamaria just also happens to be 12. living in Mexico and looking forward to participating in something just as cool, too. The Mexican pre-teen is set to embark on a new journey next Monday when he starts his first college semester - yes, that's right, no need to refresh this page - at the National Autonomous University of Mexico and major in biomedical physics. Carlos Santamaria Diaz (pictured) will become the youngest ever to the prestigious National Autonomous University of Mexico next Monday. Ever since the age of nine, Santamaria had been attending the famed university's campus, known simply as the UNAM (Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico). Think of a young child prodigy who is too good to play with those his age and plays in a league with other kids twice his or her size. While his peers were looking forward to completing their course work in the fourth or fifth grades, the boy wonder's eyes were set in completing courses in analytical chemistry, biochemistry and molecular biology fields. Pretty impressive, right? The boy seemed to appear be in his natural element during a press conference celebrating his achievement Thursday at the university although he did mentione how he struggled a bit in the math portion of the entrance exam. He giggled when questions were asked. At one point he deflected a question to his dad before taking on the tough Mexican press, saying he wasn't too worried about fitting in with students older than him. Carlos Santamaria Diaz (pictured) has many goals in mind as he sets foot inside the National Autonomous University of Mexico next Monday - he wants to help turn around the troubled country. Fabian Santamaria (left) and his wife help set their son, Carlos Santamaria Diaz (right), on an impressive academic path by placing him in high school courses at a young age. For starters, he's interested in studying abroad and returning to lend his land a helping hand. Why? 'I would return to see if I can help rise the country out of the hole it's in,' Santamaria quipped. 'We're really in a complicated situation. It's hard to explain.' Not too shabby of a goal for a 12-year-old brainchild looking to conquer the world. Britains university system, once the envy of the world, has become a monster. Bloated, self-serving and impossibly expensive to run, it is causing untold misery to millions of students who sign up for a lifetime of debt, only to be sold a sub-standard and frequently useless education. To say so out loud invites condemnation all round from the establishment that preaches there can never be too much education, from the hundreds of thousands employed on the university gravy train and from the millions of students who have got themselves deep into debt for the sake of a degree. But it must be said. And something has to be done to address this self- perpetuating insanity. The figures are eye-watering. Over the past 30 years, our higher education (H.E.) network has tripled in size. In the late Eighties, around 770,000 people just 15 per cent of school leavers attended a university or polytechnic. Now there are more than 2.3 million H.E. students. Thats almost half of all school leavers. Many of them arrived with a distinct lack of accurate information on the long-term benefits and drawbacks of a degree. Theyve been told that the graduate premium the extra money a degree student can expect to earn over a lifetime is 100,000. But thats vague to the point of being downright dishonest. The New Labour mantra of education, education, education promised that the more people who gain a degree, the better off well all be. And, yes, of course its hugely beneficial for many to have greater opportunities. But is Blairs claim really true? Common sense and a mountain of evidence emphatically say otherwise. The higher education system in Britain has swelled to a monstrous size and is no longer giving every student a bright future, it is claimed Whats the point of having a degree if every other person has one, too? When the cost of a degree can be up to 60,000, can it ever make financial sense especially when the great majority of students (nine out of ten, on some courses) will be unable to find a job that requires a university education? Changes have to be made, and now. Unless university places are restricted, our great institutions will be reduced to nurseries for over-qualified baristas, gym trainers and call centre workers. We cant wait for the academics to come to their senses and start turning away undergraduates their jobs depend on filling those places. Thankfully, the new Education Secretary, Damian Hinds, seems determined to do something about it. This week, he gave a speech in which he argued that more pupils should think about shunning university for alternatives, such as high-quality apprenticeships. He argued that youngsters, both working-class and middle-class, could benefit more from the Governments new technical qualifications known as T-levels which are being set up as an alternative to A-levels. Mr Hinds said: We need to consider whether in all cases a traditional degree at university is the right option, including those from more affluent backgrounds. What is remarkable is that it even needs to be said. The fact is that many graduates now see minimal or even negative returns from their degrees. Figures from the Office of National Statistics revealed recently that a third of graduates from some of the most popular degree courses in the country including agriculture, psychology, English and creative design are likely to be earning substantially less than the national average salary. And thats true not just immediately after leaving university, but five years later. While the average UK salary is 27,600 a year, an ex-student with a degree in education, for example, is likely to be earning 23,700 nearly 4,000 less. Yet every parent wants their child to go to university. Thats not an exaggeration: an Institute of Education study in 2010 found that 97 per cent of British mothers with children aged ten and under wished to see them go on to further education. Universities are making thousands of unconditional offers - but this has been criticised as the higher education system swells No one is willing to recognise the blatant disadvantages of the failing system . . . and its hardly surprising. Too many people have too much at stake. There are more than 160 different universities and H.E. colleges in the UK today many with multiple campuses serving 2.32 million students, equivalent to the combined populations of Manchester, Birmingham, Liverpool, Nottingham and Derby. They employ 400,000 people. Add those figures together, and they represent around 5 per cent of the UKs entire population. Tony Blairs New Labour government pledged to send half of all school leavers to university. But this bloat has its beginnings much earlier, in the Sixties. The post-war population boom and the success of the grammar schools were producing far more highly able candidates than universities could accommodate. A government report in 1963 recommended: Courses should be available to all those who are qualified by ability and attainment to pursue them and who wish to do so. The author, Lord Robbins, could not have imagined what his well-meaning proposal would set in motion. Today, more than 600,000 people apply for degrees every year. They surely cannot all be qualified by ability and attainment. The figures certainly suggest that they are not. In 2010, 51 per cent of university applicants had three grade Ds at A-level or worse. And there are places for them. Some establishments, mainly the newer ones, have been so desperate to fill up their courses that they have made huge numbers of unconditional offers to sixth-formers, which give prospective students guaranteed university places regardless of the outcome of their A-levels. Figures released last week by the Universities And Colleges Admissions Service show that universities made 67,915 unconditional offers this year a staggering rise since the 2,985 given out in 2014. Schoolteachers have voiced concern that these unconditional offers are being dished out like candy. This removes the motivation to work, they say: It affects performance, said one, who didnt want to be named. I would say that pupils with unconditional offers drop at least a grade. Others regard it as a form of corruption: That looks very much like bribery . . . Come here, because you dont need any grades. The inevitable result is that, rather than attracting the finest young minds in the country, our universities are becoming breeding grounds for third-rate thought. Once, they produced young people with inquisitive, independent, open, questioning intellects. Now, the opposite is happening. The past decade has seen a worrying rise in the scale and intensity of self-censorship at universities, and an increasing demand for safe spaces where students will be protected from any views that might disturb their intellectual, political and moral comfort zones. Students are imposing gender segregation, banning national newspapers, demanding the removal of statues they find offensive and, as occurred last month at Manchester University, defacing and painting out the text of the poem If by Nobel prize-winner Rudyard Kipling because the author was perceived as a racist.The famous verse was replaced with some lines by black American feminist Maya Angelou. Anything that could be construed as cultural appropriation is stamped out, even down to the naming of foreign dishes in university canteens, and speakers as diverse as Germaine Greer, Peter Tatchell and Nigel Farage have been denied a platform as a consequence of holding views deemed beyond the pale. In 2016, the magazine Spiked, which monitors censorship on campus, found that 90 per cent of British universities now place restrictions on freedom of expression. If that sounds unlike the heady, free-thinking days of yore, so is every other aspect of undergraduate life. With accommodation scarce and expensive, and the prospect of future unemployment ever more real, the student existence is no longer a three-year party. Instead, it can be expensive, difficult and isolating causing a steep rise in mental illness, even suicide in the most tragic cases. Those who arrive with hopes of intense intellectual debate are quickly disillusioned: other students often lack interest and ability, and academics have no time to engage. In many departments, courses are so crowded that it is now the norm for each student to have just one face-to-face meeting with a tutor per term. There are also a large number of international students. Its no surprise: many universities are so eager to take students from abroad, and to charge them up to 100,000 in tuition fees over three years, that proficiency in English is no longer seen as necessary. One mature student told a House Of Commons Select Committee, as long ago as 2009: The varying ability of the students and their poor English meant things had to be pitched to the lowest common denominator. One of my lecturers was being asked to slow his lectures down so that the significant number of Chinese students could follow what he was saying. His speed was fine for native speakers, so I would assume that any slowing down will have an impact on the material covered. It all has an impact, of course. The inevitable result is that many graduates emerge with third-rate degrees in less than useful subjects from often third-rate institutions and realise to their horror that what might be the most expensive purchase of their lives, apart from property (if they can ever buy a house), is worthless. Graduates with useless degrees are so numerous that one in ten childminders has a university education. So does one in six call centre staff, and one in four air cabin crew and theme park attendants. This can create bigger problems than mere frustration and bitterness. A former intensive care nurse, Rona Johnson, told the Mail in 2009: Many graduate nurses feel they are too superior to clean floors and change beds. Tony Blairs New Labour government pledged to send half of all school leavers to university Many less glamorous but vital elements of nursing have dropped off the syllabus, to be replaced with empty jargon about holistic care and cultural sensitivities. As a result, the incidence of lethal hospital infections is going through the roof. The cost of all these useless degrees is almost beyond calculating. Each year students borrow over 12 billion. The total debt owed by UK graduates and undergrads is thought to be 100 billion. As a result, an entire generation will spend the first 30 years of their lives struggling with debts they cannot repay. The average debt of a British graduate is 50,000, the highest in the developed world. An income tax surcharge of up to nine per cent will be imposed on those who do manage to find well-paying jobs. This will prevent many from buying their own homes, getting married and starting families. Then, after 30 years, the remaining debt will be written off, at the cost of untold tens of billions to the taxpayer. All this financial grief is quite pointless. It is the mathematics of the madhouse. How do we end it? The most obvious first step is to gradually reduce the number of students say, by five per cent per year for five years. This would reduce overcrowding on courses and increase the amount of contact between tutors and students. How can this be achieved? Well, for one thing, a minimum grade tariff should be set for access to student loans. Currently, a school leaver with just one grade E at A-level can claim a place at a new university though they are likely to struggle academically, and quite probably drop out. Why should they automatically qualify for student finance when its so likely that the bill will eventually fall to the taxpayer? If an applicant cannot demonstrate a minimum level of attainment and ability, why should there be an automatic expectation of funding? Its worse than ludicrous that a student capable of nothing better than one E-grade should be burdened with 50,000 its cruel. (It also emerged this week that middle-class parents of students are being hit with a stealth tax of up to 4,000 a year to pay for their childs rent because rooms at some of the most popular universities cost far more than the maintenance loans available.) Of COURSE, low achievers with a genuine desire to better their education should not be denied the chance of tertiary education. Pupils can fail at school for all sorts of reasons, not all their own fault. University graduates are not necessarily earning more than those who did not take degree courses, it has been found Those with weak grades could be offered part-time education, initially with one credit for a module at the Open University. By passing that module, they could earn access to more funding, and so on. Student headcount could also be reduced by withdrawing or restricting funding for courses and universities with high drop-out rates and low levels of post-grad employment or earnings. At the very least, those courses should have to face a few pertinent questions. Do they offer the country some sort of benefit, perhaps improving our cultural life, that justifies the burden on taxpayers ordinary working people whose hard-earned cash goes to pay for abandoned studies? Does the university make extra efforts to support mature students, who perhaps dropped out years or decades ago but who now want to tackle education in earnest? Does it have an especially good record with people from disadvantaged backgrounds, those with disabilities or from communities in the UKs remoter areas? If the answer to all those is No, theres an even more important question: why should we keep wasting public money? And theres a simple answer: withdraw funding. Above all, Britain has to shake off the delusion that half our school leavers are better off going to university. Its a monstrous con. ADAPTED from THE GREAT UNIVERSITY CON, by David Craig and Hugh Openshaw, (The Original Book Company, 7.99). David Craig and Hugh Openshaw. The U.S. government is responsible for finding immigrant parents deported without their children under the Trump administration's zero-tolerance policy, a federal judge ruled Friday. Attorneys for the government had previously argued that the American Civil Liberties Union, which is representing the children in the class action suit, should use its own resources to locate and reunite parents who were already forced to leave the country without their kids, USA Today reports. U.S. District Judge Dana Sabraw said the ACLU and a team of nonprofits and pro bono attorneys working with the organization should help locate the roughly 400 parents whose whereabouts are unknown but the responsibility does not ultimately fall to them. Immigrant children who have been separated from their parents were housed in a tent encampment in Tornillo, Texas under the Trump administration's 'zero tolerance' policy 'The reality is that for every parent who is not located, there will be a permanently orphaned child, and that is 100 percent the responsibility of the administration,' Sabraw said. 'The government has the sole burden and responsibility and obligation to make (reunifications) happen.' Between April and June, the Trump administration separated more than 2,500 children from their parents after the families came into the country - legally and illegally - across the southern U.S. border as part of a 'zero tolerance' immigration policy. The actions sparked massive public outrage, leading to Trump ending it through an executive order on June 20. While the administration says all 'eligible' children have been reunited with their parents, hundreds more remain separated in some cases because the government deported their parents without them. U.S. Attorney Jeff Sessions has blamed the separation of children and families on the parents fleeing violence in Latin America for breaking U.S. immigration laws. The efforts to reunify children have been executed under the oversite of Sabraw, who had tough words on Friday for the administration's sluggish efforts to track down deported efforts. He ordered the Trump administration to appoint one or more people from the Department of State or the Department of Health and Human Services which has been caring for the separated children to lead reunification efforts. 'There has to be someone to hold to account and to supervise the entire process,' Sabraw said. Both parties will be back in court next week for another status update on reunification efforts. Migrant parents, all of whom were separated from their children by U.S Customs and Border Patrol, arrive at the Annunciation House migrant shelter after being released from U.S. Customs and Border Protection custody on June 24, 2018 in El Paso, Texas Friday's court decision comes as new data reveals that the Trump administration chose to prosecute parents over childless adults who were entering the country under its 'zero-tolerance' policy, according to an analysis of government data by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse at Syracuse University. In April and May more than 24,000 adults without children were captured at the border each month, compared with about 4,500 adults with children per month during the same period. Despite that, only 8,298 people were prosecuted in April, and 9,216 were prosecuted in May much less than the total number of lone adults who crossed the border. Only 32 percent of all adults caught during an illegal crossing actually were charged with a crime and adults without children were apprehended in far greater numbers than adults with children. That means the government had discretion in who it chose to prosecute. The choice officials ultimately made led to the separation of thousands of children from their parents, including the many whose mothers and fathers were deported without them. Raymond Reinke, 55, was arrested on Thursday night after he was seen in a Facebook video harassing a bison at Yellowstone National Park The man seen in a now viral video taunting a bison crossing the street at Yellowstone National Park has been identified and arrested, park officials announced on Friday. Raymond Reinke, of Pendleton, Oregon, was taken into custody on Thursday night by Glacier National Park rangers following an incident at a hotel dining room. Authorities began looking for Reinke, 55, after a Facebook video surfaced of him beating his chest and yelling at a bison causing the animal to get agitated and charge at him. In the footage, shared by park goer Lindsey Jones, the large animal is seen slowly walking on the side of the road. Several cars had stopped so passengers could get a better look at the bison. Reinke is seen in the video walking behind the animal screaming at it. The bison turns around and slowly charges at Reinke, who runs away. Reinke then roars at the animal as it charges at him a second time. Reinke runs away again and the bison walks away. Reinke, 55, was seen in a Facebook video taunting a bison at Yellowstone National Park earlier this week Reinke was beating his chest and roaring at the animal, causing it to get agitated and charge at him Park officials at Yellowstone said in a Facebook post on Thursday morning that the incident was being investigated. Reinke was apprehended at a national park in Montana later that night. According to Yellowstone officials, Reinke has spent the past week traveling to different national parks causing disturbances. He was arrested on July 28 by rangers at Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming for 'drunk and disorderly conduct'. He spent the night in the Teton County jail and was released on bond. Following his release, he traveled to Yellowstone where he stopped by park rangers for a traffic violation on July 31. Officials said Reinke 'appeared to be intoxicated and argumentative' and was cited as a passenger for failure to wear a seat belt. He encountered the bison after the traffic incident. The video was filmed by park goer Lindsey Jones and shared on Facebook. The footage quickly went viral, sparking an investigation Yellowstone officials said its illegal to harass wildlife. It's not clear what charges Reinke may face Yellowstone said several park goers called in complaints about a man harassing wildlife. They found Reinke later that evening and issued a citation for him to appear in court, but were unaware of the video at the time. Officials said Reinke told them that he planned to travel to Glacier National Park next. After the disturbing video at Yellowstone surfaced, park officials contacted rangers at Glacier. Reinke was found at the Many Glacier Hotel after rangers received a call about two guests arguing and creating a disturbance in the hotel dining room. Reinke was arrested and taken to the Yellowstone jail. 'We need people to be stewards of Yellowstone, and one way to do that is to keep your distance from wildlife,' Yellowstone said in a statement 'The individual's behavior in this video is reckless, dangerous, and illegal,' Yellowstone officials said in a statement. 'We need people to be stewards of Yellowstone, and one way to do that is to keep your distance from wildlife. Park regulations require people to stay at least 25 yards from animals like bison and elk, and 100 yards from bears and wolves. These distances safeguard both visitors and the remarkable experience of sharing a landscape with thousands of freely-roaming animals. People who ignore these rules are risking their lives and threatening the park experience for everyone else.' It's not clear what charges Reinke may face. Emmanuel Macron last night warned Theresa May that he stood firmly behind EU negotiators as he refused to break ranks over Brexit. The Prime Minister cut her holiday short to set out her Chequers plan to the French president at his Riviera retreat yesterday. She warned him that Brussels faces a choice of a Chequers deal or no deal as they held talks at Fort Bregancon. Downing Street wanted to use the meeting to win over Mr Macron, who is seen as one of the biggest obstacles to getting an agreement. British officials are seeking to persuade France and Germany to order the European Commissions chief negotiator Michel Barnier to soften his hardline stance. But the Elysee Palace refused to give a public account of the meeting as they sought to demonstrate that negotiations can only take place in Brussels. Theresa May sits down with Emmanuel Macron as the two leaders prepare for talks on Brexit Mr Macron and Mrs May walk during their meeting accompanied by Brigitte Macron (left) A source signalled the French president was closely aligned with Mr Barnier, adding: There is absolutely no intention to speak in place of Monsieur Barnier. Mrs May is the first foreign leader to visit Mr Macron at Fort Bregancon, the Mediterranean island-fortress that has served as the summer retreat for French presidents since 1968. She was accompanied by her chief-of-staff Gavin Barwell, her Europe adviser Olly Robbins and British ambassador to France Ed Llewellyn, who worked as David Camerons chief-of-staff in Downing Street. After the formal talks, Mrs May and her husband Philip joined the president and his wife Brigitte for a private five-course dinner overlooking the sea. The foursome enjoyed a menu that included tomatoes and saffron-flavoured langoustines, thyme-flavoured sea bass, chicken and dark chocolate creme brulee. From left: Foreign affairs advisor Olly Robbins, Chief of Staff of Britain's Prime Minister Gavin Barwell and British ambassador to France Edward Llewellyn join the two leaders Once a base from which to repel pirates from North Africa who plagued the Mediterranean, Fort Bregancon was later used as a stronghold by Napoleon during the French Revolution. It remained a military fortress until shortly after the First World War, when it had a small garrison. Before heading to the South of France, Mrs May spoke by telephone with European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker. Mrs Mays visit comes as part of a major diplomatic push that has seen both Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt and Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab travel to France in the past few days to make the case for a softening of attitude. In an interview before travelling to Paris, Mr Hunt said: France and Germany have to send a strong signal to the Commission that we need to negotiate a pragmatic and sensible outcome that protects jobs on both sides of the Channel. France is seen as taking a particularly hard line in the Brexit negotiations, especially on financial services, with Paris expecting to snatch around 3,500 banking jobs from the City. A source in Mr Macrons office yesterday said the EUs chief negotiator Mr Barnier has maintained that any Brexit deal must conform with the economic interests of the 27 remaining EU members, and the president has always supported this as well. Mrs May ended her break in the Italian Lakes a day early to travel to France, although she will jet off to Switzerland for a second break later this month. The UKs former ambassador to France yesterday warned the Prime Minister not to expect a Brexit breakthrough in the talks. Lord Ricketts said Mr Macron was the last person to want to break ranks with the rest of the European Union to push for a softer stance from Brussels. Mr Macron doesnt believe in softening the position on Brexit as he is a passionate pro-European, the peer said. The French President (pictured yesterday arriving for the talks with Theresa May) hosted the Prime Minster for a four-course dinner at the dramatic setting of Fort Bregancon Theresa May arrives in the south of France for the crunch summit with Emmanuel Macron The two leaders enjoyed a four-course French meal on a terrace overlooking the Mediterranean on the island of Fort Bregancon, the French leader's seaside retreat Mrs May had been on holiday in Italy with her husband Philip (pictured) in recent days Perched 35 metres above sea level on a small island off the French Mediterranean coast, the fortress has been the official retreat of the president of France since 1968 Britain is to double the amount it ploughs into an emergency foreign aid scheme that hands cash and debit card payments directly to families. It could mean that by 2025 the UK is doling out more than 300million a year this way or 3billion over a decade despite concerns about fraud. The Daily Mail first revealed the existence of a similar scheme in Pakistan last year, when families were pictured queuing to withdraw money from an ATM where cards funded by British taxpayers could be used. The scheme was dogged by claims of corruption. Bank on it: Pakistanis queuing at an ATM where UK taxpayer-funded cards were being used About 14.5 per cent of the humanitarian budget the component of foreign aid used to help victims of wars and disasters is handed out in cash or card schemes. In 2016, this amounted to 157million from a budget of around 1billion. Now the Department for International Development wants to increase the proportion to 29 per cent by 2025, according to its annual report. If the size of the humanitarian budget remains the same it fluctuates each year depending on international circumstances it means the amount paid out in cash could top 300million in less than a decade. Tens of millions more are spent on these cash transfer schemes by other parts of the DfID budget, so the full amount spent this way will actually be much higher. The plan is likely to fuel concern that the controversial target to spend 0.7 per cent of national income on foreign aid is encouraging officials to spend money without proper checks. The department insists that making payments via cash and vouchers represents value for money. Officials say it cuts bureaucracy, provides greater dignity for aid recipients and means help can get to victims of war and disaster more quickly. Cash transfers are also used in Bangladesh, Rwanda, Yemen, Zimbabwe and Ethiopia. It is not believed the money for the Pakistan scheme came out of the humanitarian aid budget, but another part of DfID spending. DfID's annual report for 2017/18 says: 'Where markets work, cash transfers are cheaper, safer and provide more choice to people in need than aid in kind. 'The UK has committed to more than double the proportion of aid it delivers through cash and vouchers by 2025, from a baseline of 14.5 per cent in 2016.' The report also revealed Britain is ploughing ever-increasing sums into booming China and oil-rich Nigeria. It said DfID has taken on 348 new civil servants, on an average salary of 57,000, to help improve value for money. Backbenchers have criticised the commitment to spend 0.7 per cent of national income on foreign aid when public services in the UK are short of money. Last year it amounted to 13.9billion. DfID says it uses cash transfers to support some of the world's poorest and most vulnerable people so they can buy food, shelter, household supplies and medicine. It insists there are rigorous checks to eliminate fraud, including the latest biometric technology such as iris scanning. The aid watchdog, the Independent Commission for Aid Impact, recommended DfID should scale up the use of cash transfers given their effectiveness. The department said there was no evidence that cash is more vulnerable to theft, diversion and corruption than in-kind aid. But last year, in a village on the outskirts of Peshawar, Pakistan, the Mail found people taking out money from cash points with cards they said they had received after paying kickbacks to officials. Safiullah Khan, 49, a cart pusher in the Khyber Bazaar area of the city, said a local councillor demanded a bribe to enrol his family in the programme. 'I paid the money and my card was prepared,' he added. Some 235,000 families received payments every three months to boost their incomes, funded by UK taxpayers. Despite judging the scheme high risk, Whitehall officials plan to expand it to 441,000 Pakistani households. Families get 4,500 rupees (28 at today's rates) a quarter, which they can spend however they want, under the Benazir Income Support Programme. One in ten people get their money in envelopes at post offices, while others get cash cards that are regularly topped up. Tory MP Nigel Evans, a member of the Commons international development committee, said last year: 'Normally this sort of aid is only given in a crisis or emergency but it seems like we're exporting the dole to Pakistan.' Last night DfID defended the scheme, saying cash and vouchers delivered in response to the 2011/12 Somalia famine delivered 2.4 times more aid to beneficiaries compared with traditional food aid, at no extra cost to the British taxpayer. This is because of the transport, storage, handling and security costs associated with food aid. It also pointed out that cash transfers are only part of any aid package and that their use is always based on evidence and suitability for the context. A DfID spokesman said: 'UK aid can be the difference between life and death for many of the world's poorest people, and our cash transfers are helping to eliminate fraud and deliver maximum value for money for UK taxpayers. 'We have robust checks, including biometric technology, to make sure every penny of UK aid goes to those who need our help the most and evidence shows that in some cases cash transfers can deliver double the benefits of food aid.' As a forthright and often cantankerous interviewer, he was notorious for demanding straight answers from politicians. But it seems Jeremy Paxman has difficulty answering questions himself, admitting to flip-flopping on the Brexit vote when he reached the polling station. Speaking at Countryfile Live at Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire, the former Newsnight presenter said: I went on referendum polling day to vote Leave and when I got to the polling station I thought, God its a loathsome institution but its all weve got in terms of European harmonisation. Although I dislike the political structures and I dislike the euro very much, I felt in the end the only thing to do was to vote Remain. Now thats a flip-flop for which you could be held accountable, but on the whole, the more you think about things and the more you change your mind on the basis of thinking about them the better. Jeremy Paxman said he went to vote Leave but changed his mind and voted Remain instead Paxman was a guest speaker at the four-day BBC Countryfile event. His topic was News, Views and Stories and the University Challenge presenter was not short on views, saying he does not agree with the way Brexit negotiations are going. He said: What do I think is happening? I think weve made a complete pigs ear of it. If you were going into negotiations, the first thing you would do is get clear in your mind what is it that I want. But that did not happen for a very, very long time. I think weve made a real mess of negotiations so far and I hope that we pull ourselves through it. Paxman is, however, optimistic about the outcome of Brexit. I am a patriot, I believe in this country, he said. Weve been through difficult things in the past, well undoubtedly go through them again. Were going to have a troublesome, bumpy two or three years. But at the end of it I believe we will emerge fine. He rejected the idea of a second referendum, saying its not our way of doing things but criticised David Cameron for calling the poll in the first place and then quitting. I dont think its good enough to decide that something is too difficult to be decided by an elected government, he said. Thats why we elect these people to make difficult decisions. So when it doesnt go your way, partly because you havent made the case, then to saunter off like some privileged toff wont do. Im not happy with it. A prominent Buddhist abbot and Communist Party member who was accused of coercing several nuns into having sex with him is now under investigation from China's top religious authority. The allegations against abbot Xuecheng and the Beijing Longquan Monastery burst into the public eye when a 95-page document written by two former monks at the temple emerged online earlier this week. Xuecheng is the latest prominent figure to face sexual misconduct allegations as part of a growing #MeToo movement in China. A 95-page document written by two former monks claims Abbot Xuecheng, the head of Longquan Monastery in Beijing, 'manipulated' nuns into having sex with him The abbot is accused of sending illicit text messages to at least six women, tempting or threatening them to have sex with him. Four gave in to Xuecheng's demands, the report written by former monks Xianjia and Xianqi said, adding that he tried to assert 'mind control' by claiming the sex was a part of their Buddhist studies. 'Xuecheng manipulated disciples to serve his "Buddhist Empire"... disciples under his control sacrificed their precious practices of Buddhist doctrines,' the document said. China's State Administration for Religious Affairs said it had started investigating the allegations. 'We have received the material involved in the report and have started work on investigating and verifying the claims,' the authority said in a statement on Thursday, adding that it takes the allegations 'very seriously'. Abbot Xuecheng is head of the Buddhist Association of China and a member of China's top political advisory body. He is seen attending an opening session of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) at the Great Hall of the People in China in March The Longquan Temple is located in the suburban area of Beijing, China The monastery had on Wednesday denounced the dossier, which it says falsified evidence, calling it an attempt to tarnish Xuecheng and the monastery's reputation. 'The falsified evidence is based on a deliberate attempt to frame Master Xuecheng, and can be considered a crime,' it said in a statement posted on Xuecheng's account on the Twitter-like Weibo platform. 'This incident has its roots in revenge, an operation motivated by malice.' The report and posts about it have been taken down or censored on social media. According to the state-run Global Times, Xuecheng had been brought in for questioning by authorities but later released. In a separate social media posting, one of the report's authors said he was forced to go public after the victims were ignored by authorities who said they could not investigate the matter. There is no legal definition of sexual harassment in China and no national regulations on how to handle sexual assault cases in schools and workplaces. The abbot is the latest public figure to face sexual misconduct allegations as part of a growing #MeToo movement in China. However, reports of the news have been removed on social media Xuecheng is a prominent personality in Chinese Buddhist life with a social media following of millions. He heads the Buddhist Association of China and is also a member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, a top advisory board. Located on the outskirts of Beijing, Longquan Monastery has made headlines for combining Buddhism with modern technology, launching last year a two-foot high robot monk that dispenses mantras and karmic advice. The #MeToo movement ignited in China earlier this year with more women starting to open up about sexual assaults, especially on university campuses. Unlike in the West, where #MeToo has forced resignations and sparked widespread public debate, authorities in China have sought to control the discussion, sometimes allowing and at other times censoring social media commentary. All religious institutions in China are now required to fly the national flag, in a move to assimilate religions into the socialist society, state media announced on Tuesday. The rule is necessary to strengthen awareness of respect for the flag - a symbol of the country's embrace of communism in 1949 - and preserve the flag's dignity, Xinhua claimed, adding that the practice can enhance the public's national consciousness and civic awareness. This is one of the communist government's latest measures to assert control over religious practices and activities. In an opinion piece on Thursday, the Washington Post accused Beijing of ethnic cleansing against Muslims, saying that the government's policies were 'designed to stamp out their people's religion and culture'. A Chinese flag flies over a local mosque in the old town of Kashgar in Xinjiang. All religious institutions in China are now required to fly the national flag, state media announced Tuesday Muslims prepares to pray at a mosque in Almaty. Since last spring, Chinese authorities have ensnared an estimated 900,000 to one million Muslims in internment camps The Washington Post article said China has been 'expanding a network of internment camps and systematic human rights abuses' in recent years, citing the example of the repression and torture faced by millions of ethnic Uighurs in Xinjiang, a Muslim-majority region in the country's far west. Former inmates have told of the horror after being detained in these camps, where they were physically and mentally tortured and as punishment, were forced to eat pork and drink alcohol. Since last spring, Chinese authorities have reportedly ensnared an estimated 900,000 to one million Muslims - and even foreign citizens - in what the Chinese government calls 'political re-education camps'. US citizen Gulchehra Hoja, a journalist for Radio Free Asia's (RFA) Uighur service, told Washington Post that she has had more than two dozen family members in China detained in the camps, including her elderly parents and her brother, who has not been heard from since his arrest last September. Many of her RFA colleagues have similar stories. 'I hope and pray for my family to be let go and released, but I know if that happens they will still live under a constant threat,' she testified last week before the Congressional-Executive Commission on China. 'I came to the United States to realise a dream, a dream of being able to tell the truth without fear.' A child rests near the entrance to the mosque where the national flag is raised and a banner in red reads 'Love the party, Love the country' in the old city district of Kashgar, Xinjiang The entrance to a jail which locals say is used to hold those undergoing political indoctrination program in Korla in Xinjiang. This detention campaign has swept across the north-west region The Chinese flag flies over St. Joseph's (left), a government sanctioned church in Beijing. A Chinese flag is raised (right) near a minaret at the Ningxia Islamic institute in Yinchuan This detention campaign has swept across Xinjiang, a territory half the area of India, leading to what a US commission on China said in April is 'the largest mass incarceration of a minority population in the world today'. The programme is a hallmark of China's emboldened state security apparatus under the deeply nationalistic, hard-line rule of President Xi Jinping. Chinese officials have largely avoided comment on the camps, but some are quoted in state media as saying that ideological changes are needed to fight separatism and Islamic extremism. Radical Muslim Uighurs have killed hundreds in recent years, and China considers the region a threat to peace in a country where the majority is Han Chinese. The internment programme aims to rewire the political thinking of detainees, erase their Islamic beliefs and reshape their very identities. The camps have expanded rapidly over the past year, with almost no judicial process or legal paperwork. The government has also destroyed thousands of religious buildings, banned long beards, veils and Muslim names such as 'Mohammed' and 'Jihad'. Women that wore face-covering veils are sometimes not allowed on buses. Unauthorised pilgrimages to Mecca were also restricted. Children in traditionally Buddhist Tibet were required to sign an agreement to 'not take part in any form of religious activity' during the summer holidays, according to state media Chinese government has often regarded the Dalai Lama (pictured) as a dangerous separatist Just last week, children in traditionally Buddhist Tibet were required to sign an agreement to 'not take part in any form of religious activity' during the summer holidays, according to a separate report by Global Times. The policy appears to reflect increasingly harsh restrictions on the Himalayan region's traditional Buddhist culture, largely aimed at reducing the influence of the region's spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, who lives in exile in India. In April, the government published a white paper titled 'China's Policies and Practices on Protecting Freedom of Religious Belief', which states that religious groups 'must conduct religious activities in the Chinese context and practice core socialist values'. 'China will uphold the principle that religions in China must be Chinese in orientation and provide active guidance to religions so that they can adapt themselves to the socialist society,' Xinhua previously reported, citing the white paper. Residents walk through a security checkpoint into the Hotan Bazaar where a screen shows Chinese President Xi Jinping in Hotan, Xinjiang The words 'Patriotism' and 'Democracy' are displayed near a Mao Zedong statue at a square in Kashgar, Xinjiang. Officials have been implementing strict regulations on religious practices The new rule of raising of the national flag is to strengthen national consciousness, help religious believers better practice socialist core values and carry forward the tradition of patriotism, the Global Times reported. Religious venues are also required to display the national flat at prominent locations. The rule was established by heads and representatives of national religious groups including the Buddhist Association, the Taoist Association, the Islamic Association, and the Bishops' Conference of the Catholic Church in a joint conference in Beijing. Five legal religions exist in China - Buddhism, Taoism, Islam, Catholicism and Protestantism - and have a total of nearly 200 million believers and more than 380,000 clerical personnel, according to Xinhua. Atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide hit a record high in 2017, a major international report has revealed. Scientists are unsure when the last time CO2 levels were this high, however, there is strong evidence to suggest it was during the Pliocene era. During this warm period between two and 4.6 million years ago, global temperatures were 3C warmer and sea levels were 20 metres (35 feet) higher. The damming state-of-the-environment report also warned about rising temperatures, melting ice caps and coral bleaching. Scientists revealed that the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere reached unprecedented levels in 2017, with the average monthly level of CO2 in the atmosphere exceeding 405 parts per million (ppm) for the first time in recorded history. The annual 'State of the Climate Report', which is compiled by more than 450 scientists from 60 countries, describes how climate change conditions have worsened worldwide throughout 2017. According to the 28th annual report, annual record high temperatures were observed in Argentina, Bulgaria, Spain and Uruguay last year, while Mexico broke its annual record for the fourth consecutive year. The latest 'State of the Climate Report' covers a period when US President Donald Trump pulled the superpower out of the landmark Paris climate deal. The United States is the world's second leading polluter after China, but has rolled back environmental safeguards under Trump, who has declared climate change a 'Chinese hoax' and exited the Paris deal signed by more than 190 nations. Scroll down for video Atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide have hit a record high in 2017, a major report has revealed. Pictured is a photo of a polar bear testing the strength of thin sea ice in the Arctic The 300-page annual report issued by the American Meteorological Society and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration refers to a number of meteorological events observed on Earth within the last year as 'abnormal'. These include storms, droughts, scorching temperatures and record low ice cover in the Arctic. Planet-warming greenhouse gases surged to new highs as abnormally hot temperatures swept the globe and ice melted at record levels in the Arctic, the major US report states. Last year, the top three most dangerous greenhouse gases released into Earth's atmosphere carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide reached new record highs. The annual global average carbon dioxide concentration at the Earth's surface climbed to 405 parts per million, 'the highest in the modern atmospheric measurement record and in ice core records dating back as far as 800,000 years,' said the report. In total, the global growth rate of CO2 has nearly quadrupled since the early 1960s, researchers found. The record for hottest year in modern times was set in 2016, but 2017 was not far behind, with 'much-warmer-than-average conditions' across most of the world, the report found. Annual record high temperatures were observed in Argentina, Bulgaria, Spain and Uruguay, while Mexico broke its annual record for the fourth consecutive year. The 300-page report issued by the American Meteorological Society and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration mentioned the word 'abnormal' a dozen times, referring to storms, droughts, scorching temperatures and record low ice cover in the Arctic Some parts of the world suffered extended droughts, demonstrating that 'extreme precipitation is not evenly distributed across the globe', the report found WHAT WERE THE KEY FINDINGS FROM THE 2017 ANNUAL STATE OF THE CLIMATE REPORT? Greenhouse gas surge Last year, the top three most dangerous greenhouse gases released into Earth's atmosphere - carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide - reached new record highs. The annual global average carbon dioxide concentration at the Earth's surface climbed to 405 parts per million, 'the highest in the modern atmospheric measurement record and in ice core records dating back as far as 800,000 years,' said the report. The global growth rate of CO2 has nearly quadrupled since the early 1960s. Heat records The record for hottest year in modern times was set in 2016, but 2017 was not far behind, with 'much-warmer-than-average conditions' across most of the world, it said. Annual record high temperatures were observed in Argentina, Bulgaria, Spain and Uruguay, while Mexico 'broke its annual record for the fourth consecutive year.' Smashing more heat records, the highest temperature ever noted - 110.1 degrees Fahrenheit (43.4 Celsius) - so far south anywhere in the world was marked January 27 at Puerto Madryn, Argentina. The world's highest temperature ever for May was observed on May 28 in Turbat, western Pakistan, with a high of 128.3 degrees Fahrenheit. 'The 10 warmest years on record have all occurred since 1998, with the four warmest years occurring since 2014,' said the report. Last year marked either the second or third hottest since the mid 1800s, depending on which data is consulted. In another alarming milestone, 2017 was also 'the warmest non-El Nino year in the instrumental record,' referring to the absence of the occasional ocean warming trend that pushes temperatures higher than normal. Abnormal Arctic Unprecedented heat enveloped the Arctic, where land surface temperature was 2.9 degrees Fahrenheit (1.6 Celsius) above the 1981-2010 average. Arctic temperatures were the second highest - after 2016 - since records began in 1900. 'Today's abnormally warm Arctic air and sea surface temperatures have not been observed in the last 2,000 years,' it said. In March, sea ice extent saw its lowest maximum in the 37-year satellite record. Meanwhile, the Arctic sea ice minimum in September was the eighth lowest on record and covered 25 percent less area than the long-term average. Glaciers across the world shrank for the 38th year in a row. 'Cumulatively since 1980, this loss is equivalent to slicing 22 meters off the top of the average glacier.' In the Antarctic, sea ice extent remained below average all year, with record lows observed during the first four months. Extreme rain 'Precipitation over global land areas in 2017 was clearly above the long-term average,' said the report. Warmer ocean temperatures has led to increasing moisture in the air, particularly in the last three years, causing more rain. Climate change can also exacerbate extreme weather. Some parts of the world suffered extended droughts, demonstrating that 'extreme precipitation is not evenly distributed across the globe.' 'Most destructive' coral bleaching Ocean warming over the last few years has been blamed for widespread coral bleaching, as disease spreads in this precious habitat for fish and marine life. 'The most recent global coral bleaching lasted three full years, June 2014 to May 2017, and was the longest, most widespread and almost certainly most destructive such event on record,' said the report. Advertisement The world's highest temperature ever for May was observed on May 28 in Turbat, western Pakistan, with a high of 128.3F (53C). Last year, the annual Greenhouse Gas Bulletin delivered similarly dire warnings. Atmospheric concentrations of CO2, the main man-made greenhouse gas, hit 403.3 parts per million (ppm) in 2016, the report found. This is up from 400.0 in 2015, according to the research compiled by the UN World Meteorological Organisation. That growth rate was 50 per cent faster than the average over the past decade, driving CO2 levels 45 per cent above pre-industrial levels and further outside the range of 180-280 ppm seen in recent cycles of ice ages and warmer periods. Human CO2 emissions from sources such as coal, oil, cement and deforestation reached a record in 2016, and the El Nino weather pattern gave CO2 levels a further boost, the WMO said. The annual State of the Climate Report, compiled by more than 450 scientists from over 60 countries, describes worsening climate conditions worldwide in 2017, the same year that US President Donald Trump pulled out of the landmark Paris climate deal As far as scientists can tell, the world has never experienced a rise in carbon dioxide like that of recent decades, which has happened 100 times faster than when the world was emerging from the last ice age (graph pictured) The record for hottest year in modern times was set in 2016, but 2017 was not far behind, with 'much-warmer-than-average conditions' across most of the world, the report found KEY GOALS OF THE PARIS AGREEMENT The Paris Agreement on Climate Change has four main goals with regards to reducing emissions: 1) A long-term goal of keeping the increase in global average temperature to well below 2C above pre-industrial levels 2) To aim to limit the increase to 1.5C, since this would significantly reduce risks and the impacts of climate change 3) Goverments agreed on the need for global emissions to peak as soon as possible, recognising that this will take longer for developing countries 4) To undertake rapid reductions thereafter in accordance with the best available science Source: European Commission Advertisement 'The 10 warmest years on record have all occurred since 1998, with the four warmest years occurring since 2014,' said the annual State of the Climate Report. Last year marked either the second or third hottest since the mid 1800s, depending on which data is consulted. Unprecedented heat enveloped the Arctic, where land surface temperature was 2.9 degrees Fahrenheit (1.6 Celsius) above the 1981-2010 average. 'Today's abnormally warm Arctic air and sea surface temperatures have not been observed in the last 2,000 years,' the report read. In March, sea ice extent saw its lowest maximum in the 37-year satellite record. Meanwhile, the Arctic sea ice minimum in September was the eighth lowest on record and covered 25 percent less area than the long-term average. Glaciers across the world shrank for the 38th year in a row. 'Cumulatively since 1980, this loss is equivalent to slicing 22 meters (72 feet) off the top of the average glacier.' In the Antarctic, sea ice extent remained below average all year, with record lows observed during the first four months. Spotify has ditched episodes of the controversial podcast 'The Alex Jones Show' for violating its hate content policy. The move follows a severe backlash on social media that saw subscribers threaten to ditch their accounts after the streaming service continued to host Jones' 'Infowars' podcast despite block from rivals Facebook and YouTube. Days after the widespread complainst from its paid subscribers, Spotify has confirmed its decision to remove 'specific' Infowars episodes from its service. It's unclear exactly how many episodes have been ditched, although the vast majority of content created by Alex Jones, an Austin, Texas-based radio host and conspiracy theorist, remains available to Spotify users. Scroll down for video Spotify has removed episodes of the controversial podcast 'The Alex Jones Show' for violating its hate content policy. The move followed a backlash on social media after the streaming service continued to host Jones' (file photo) podcast 'We take reports of hate content seriously and review any podcast episode or song that is flagged by our community,' the company said in a statement Wednesday. 'Spotify can confirm it has removed specific episodes of "The Alex Jones Show" podcast for violating our hate content policy,' it said. Jones says his shows, which are broadcast on radio, YouTube and other platforms, reach at least 70 million people a week. Responding to the Spotify action on his podcast, Jones said it was 'what I expect.' 'I was born in censorship. I was born being suppressed,' he said. Among other claims, Jones has called the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School mass shooting a hoax. The move followed a backlash on social media that saw subscribers threaten to ditch their accounts after Spotify continued to host Jones' 'Infowars' podcast 'He has no place on your platform,' Twitter user @FortRutledge shared on the social network in response to the controversy around the InfoWars host He was sued for defamation by families of some of the children killed in that attack, which left 20 children and six adults dead. He now admits the shooting occurred but says his claims were free speech. He has sought to have the lawsuit dismissed. Jones' profile has spread from the far-right fringe in recent years. While running for president in 2015, Donald Trump told Jones his reputation was 'amazing.' Subscribers voiced their outrage on Twitter with some saying they would cancel their account. Writer Greg Rucka tweeted 'Really kinda appalled by Spotify carrying Alex Jones' 'Seriously, I'm going to miss my Spotify subscription, but this is a bridge too far', tweeted another user under the handle @CopThese The move from Spotify follows similar blocks of Jones' content put in place by rivals YouTube and Facebook. The 44-year-old's personal Facebook account was blocked for 30 days earlier this week, while four of his YouTube clips were taken down last month. The right-wing conspiracy theorist was accused of spreading hate speech and encouraging physical harm on the platforms. The YouTube videos, which included footage of a man pushing a child to the ground, were shared by the Austin-based user on his InfoWars website. Among other claims, Jones has called the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School mass shooting a hoax. He was sued for defamation by families of some of the children killed in that attack, which left 20 children and six adults dead Infowars posted a statement claiming YouTube had slapped the Jones' channel with a 'community strike,' meaning he cannot broadcast live on YouTube for 90 days. Spotify users lambasted the service after it chose not to follow suit. Writer Greg Rucka tweeted last week: 'Really kinda appalled by Spotify carrying Alex Jones. 'I know countless writers and artists who use the service. Not anymore.' Another user, who tweets under the handle @CopThese, added: 'seriously, I'm going to miss my Spotify subscription, but this is a bridge too far.' The Sleeping Giants campaign, which aims to encourage companies to drop ads from media organisations that encourage bigotry, tweeted: 'Really, @Spotify? 'Alex Jones has been responsible for harassing parents of Sandy Hook children, Vegas shooting victims and threatening to kill the Special Counsel. 'And youre now hosting his podcasts??' Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos is racing to pull his private space company out of start-up mode and move into production amid signals that his firm's heavy rocket set for lift-off in 2020 may slip behind schedule, according to people familiar with the project. Blue Origin has added hundreds of engineers over the past three years and continues to ramp up in an expansion that one employee described as 'hyperbolic.' The Kent, Washington-based company is looking to double its current workforce to around 3,000 employees over the next two to three years, a top customer told Reuters. Scroll down for video Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos is racing to pull his private space company out of start-up mode and move into production amid signals that his firm's heavy rocket set for lift-off in 2020 may slip behind schedule The urgency centers on a rocket dubbed New Glenn. The heavy-launch vehicle, which Bezos promises will be able to haul satellites and, eventually, people into orbit, is central to the company's hopes of winning lucrative military and commercial contracts. New Glenn's first-stage booster will be reusable, a key piece of Bezos' strategy to lower costs and increase the frequency of launches. Blue Origin executives have stated publicly that test flights will begin within two years. But whether Blue Origin can hit that mark remains to be seen. With the clock ticking on 2020, company engineers are still finalizing details on New Glenn's design and just beginning to build model components that must be put through extreme testing, people familiar with the project said. They requested anonymity because they are not authorized to speak publicly. Blue Origin has privately acknowledged in conversations with French satellite firm Eutelsat SA - its first New Glenn customer - that its 2020 time frame is 'very aggressive,' a person with direct knowledge of talks between the companies said. The firms have padded their contract, which covers the launch of a geostationary satellite in the period 2021-2022, so that Blue Origin will incur no penalties if it is late, the person added. Yohann Leroy, Eutelsat's Deputy Chief Executive Officer, declined to discuss details of his company's contract with Blue Origin, but said he was optimistic New Glenn will be ready to carry his firm's satellite by the end of 2022. 'Of course, I cannot guarantee that they will respect their initial timeline, but we are confident that they will not be very far from it,' Leroy said. A Blue Origin spokeswoman did not respond to requests for comment about the company's hiring practices, strategy or competitive challenges. The private firm has been tight-lipped on New Glenn's production status and plans for bringing it to market. Mounting a successful test in 2020 would give Blue Origin its best shot at fending off competing rockets and new ones expected to enter the market in the next few years, analysts said. Rivals include aerospace stalwarts United Launch Alliance, a partnership between Boeing Co and Lockheed Martin ; and France's ArianeGroup, a joint venture between Airbus and Safran. Japan and China are likewise designing reusable rockets. But 18 years after its founding, Blue Origin has found itself lagging a competitor closer to home: SpaceX. Blue Origin has privately acknowledged in conversations with French satellite firm Eutelsat SA - its first New Glenn customer - that its 2020 time frame is 'very aggressive,' a person with direct knowledge of talks between the companies said WHO IS JEFF BEZOS? Jeff Bezos is best known as the founder and CEO of online giant Amazon. Born in New Mexico and raised in Houston, Texas, he went on to attend the prestigious Princeton University and graduated in 1986. After a decade or so of work on Wall Street, Mr Bezos founded his own company in 1994. Jeff Bezos was born in 1964 and is founder and CEO of Amazon. He is also the richest person in the world He initially called his company Cadabra, and then reportedly changed the name to Amazon when a colleague misheard it as 'cadaver'. Initially, it was launched as an online book store working out of Bezo's garage in Seattle but rapidly grew to include a variety of goods and services. Now, Amazon is one of the biggest companies in the world and the most successful website in the world. In 2018, the company is worth around $900 (691 billion). Mr Bezos himself has an estimated net worth of $150 billion (115 billion). He has bought and accumulated a variety of different companies and outlets including: Whole Foods, The Washington Post, Twitch and IMDB. He has a controlling share of 17 per cent in his first company, Amazon. In 2017, Jeff Bezos surpassed Bill Gates to become the richest person in the world, and the richest person of the modern world. He has been married since 1994 and has four children. Advertisement Founded by Tesla Inc Chief Executive Elon Musk, the Hawthorne, California-based company has upended the space industry with its relatively low-cost reusable Falcon 9 rockets. SpaceX has completed more than 50 successful Falcon launches and snagged billions of dollars' worth of contracts, including deals with NASA and the U.S. Department of Defense. SpaceX in February transfixed a global audience with the successful test launch of its newest rocket, the Falcon Heavy, the most powerful operational rocket in the world. Musk had predicted 'game over' for other makers of heavy rockets if his launch succeeded. Bezos promises the heavy launch vehicle will be able to haul satellites and, eventually, people into orbit The good news for Blue Origin is that demand for satellite launch services is projected to soar. Around 800 small satellites are expected to launch annually beginning around 2020, more than double the annual average over the past decade, according to Marco Caceres, senior space analyst with Fairfax, Virginia-based Teal Group. 'If New Glenn can be ready in the next two years (Blue Origin) may be able to seize that window of opportunity,' he said. ROCKET SCIENCE Like Musk, Bezos is passionate about the prospect of humans living and working in space. Now the world's richest man, thanks to the success of online retailer Amazon, Bezos has been liquidating $1 billion of its stock annually to fund his interplanetary dreams. He set up Blue Origin in a warehouse some 20 miles (32 km) south of Seattle. The company's Latin motto means 'step by step ferociously,' a reference to Bezos' belief that success comes through steady, incremental progress. But after nearly two decades, and with the private space race heating up, Bezos is intent on moving closer to commercialization, three Blue Origin employees told Reuters. Part of those efforts include selling sightseeing trips to the edge of space aboard another Blue Origin rocket dubbed the New Shepard, with ticket prices in the $200,000-$300,000 range. Blue Origin also is vying to supply its BE-4 engine to United Launch Alliance to power its forthcoming Vulcan rocket, ULA said. The recent hiring binge has focused mainly on throwing talent at the New Glenn, and has included more than 60 engineers who worked previously for SpaceX. THE BILLIONAIRE SPACE RACE: HOW BRANSON, MUSK AND BEZOS ARE VYING FOR GALACTIC SUPREMACY Jeff Bezos in front of Blue Origin's space capsule Dubbed the 'NewSpace' set, Jeff Bezos, Sir Richard Branson and Elon Musk all say they were inspired by the first moon landing in 1969, when the US beat the Soviet Union in the space race, and there is no doubt how much it would mean to each of them to win the 'new space race'. Amazon founder Bezos had looked set to be the first of the three to fly to space, having announced plans to launch aboard his space company Blue Origin's New Shepard spacecraft on July 20, but Branson beat him to the punch. The British billionaire became Virgin Galactic Astronaut 001 when he made it to space on a suborbital flight nine days before Bezos - on July 11 in a test flight. Bezos travelled to space on July 20 with his younger brother Mark, Oliver Daemen, an 18-year-old physics student whose dad purchased his ticket, and pioneering female astronaut Wally Funk, 82. Although SpaceX and Tesla founder Musk has said he wants to go into space, and even 'die on Mars', he has not said when he might blast into orbit - but has purchased a ticket with Virgin Galactic for a suborbital flight. SpaceX became the first of the 'space tourism' operators to send a fully civilian crew into orbit, with the Inspiration4 mission funded by billionaire Jared Isaacman. His flight was on a Dragon capsule and SpaceX rocket built by space-obsessed billionaire, Elon Musk and took off for the three day orbital trip on September 16 - going higher than the International Space Station. SpaceX appears to be leading the way in the broader billionaire space race with numerous launches carrying NASA equipment to the ISS and partnerships to send tourists to space by 2021. On February 6 2018, SpaceX sent rocket towards the orbit of Mars, 140 million miles away, with Musk's own red Tesla roadster attached. Elon Musk with his Dragon Crew capsule SpaceX has also taken two groups of astronauts to the |International Space Station, with crew from NASA, ESA and JAXA, the Japanese space agency. SpaceX has been sending batches of 60 satellites into space to help form its Starlink network, which is already in beta and providing fast internet to rural areas. Branson and Virgin Galactic are taking a different approach to conquering space. It has repeatedly, and successfully, conducted test flights of the Virgin Galactic's Unity space plane. The first took place in December 2018 and the latest on May 22, with the flight accelerating to more than 2,000 miles per hour (Mach 2.7). More than 600 affluent customers to date, including celebrities Brad Pitt and Katy Perry, have reserved a $250,000 (200,000) seat on one of Virgin's space trips. The final tickets are expected to cost $350,000. Branson has previously said he expects Elon Musk to win the race to Mars with his private rocket firm SpaceX. Richard Branson with the Virgin Galactic craft SpaceShipTwo can carry six passengers and two pilots. Each passenger gets the same seating position with two large windows - one to the side and one overhead. The space ship is 60ft long with a 90inch diameter cabin allowing maximum room for the astronauts to float in zero gravity. It climbs to 50,000ft before the rocket engine ignites. SpaceShipTwo separates from its carrier craft, White Knight II, once it has passed the 50-mile mark. Passengers become 'astronauts' when they reach the Karman line, the boundary of Earth's atmosphere. The spaceship will then make a suborbital journey with approximately six minutes of weightlessness, with the entire flight lasting approximately 1.5 hours. Bezos revealed in April 2017 that he finances Blue Origin with around $1 billion (720 million) of Amazon stock each year. The system consists of a pressurised crew capsule atop a reusable 'New Shepard' booster rocket. At its peak, the capsule reached 65 miles (104 kilometres), just above the official threshold for space and landed vertically seven minutes after liftoff. Blue Origin are working on New Glenn, the next generation heavy lift rocket, that will compete with the SpaceX Falcon 9. Advertisement Blue Origin's workforce of more than 1,500 has more than doubled from its early 2016 levels, three employees said. Its ranks are expected to double again by the time New Glenn is flying, Eutelsat's Leroy said. By comparison, SpaceX has more than 6,000 employees. Bezos' company has also invested more than $200 million in a rocket-making facility near NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Still, Leroy said he expects to see a New Glenn prototype no sooner than mid-2019. In the meantime, NASA, the U.S. Air Force and satellite companies are directing business to SpaceX. Matt Desch, Chief Executive Officer of McLean, Virginia-based Iridium Communications Inc, SpaceX's largest commercial customer, told Reuters that Blue Origin 'has been a little less clear' about its strategy. 'Nobody disputes that with the investment they're making they won't eventually be successful, but how and when they become reliable is still uncertain,' Desch said. A group of South American lizards that can grow up to four feet long (1.2 meters) has established a home in the Florida wild after being brought to the United States as pets, and the reptiles could begin a voracious march across the U.S. South, according to a new study. Tegu lizards, which currently live in two large colonies in Florida, could expand into an area from the Carolinas to Central Texas, according to the scientific report published in July on the website for the journal Nature. 'They are voracious, omnivorous predatory lizards that can live in a variety of habitats, but we can't know what is going to happen or how intense this invasion is going to become until the effects are upon us,' said Lee Fitzgerald, a professor at Texas A&M University and curator of its Biodiversity Research and Teaching Collections. Tegu lizards, which currently live in two large colonies in Florida, could expand into an area from the Carolinas to Central Texas, according to the scientific report published in July on the website for the journal Nature. WHAT ARE TEGU LIZARDS? The South American lizards that can grow up to four feet long (1.2 meters) Armed with strong jaws and tails that they can wield as thumping weapons, the lizards in Florida devour the eggs of American alligators and ground-nesting birds, wildlife officials said. The reptiles also have a taste for insects, fruit and birds. Tegu owners describe their pets as big, calm and occasionally affectionate lizards that like sunning themselves and are not picky about what they eat. Advertisement Fitzgerald, a co-author of the study, said in an interview this week it could take years for the tegu lizards to reach their potential range, but new hot spots pop up as more pet lizards escape or are dumped in the wild by owners. There are no current estimates of wild populations of tegus in the United States. In South America, the large-bodied lizards range widely east of the Andes and include species such as the Argentine black and white tegu. Armed with strong jaws and tails that they can wield as thumping weapons, the lizards in Florida devour the eggs of American alligators and ground-nesting birds, wildlife officials said. The reptiles also have a taste for insects, fruit and birds. 'As far as being a damaging invasive species, it really depends on what the threatened resources are in the areas where you might get tegus,' said Robert Reed, chief of the Invasive Species Science Branch at the U.S. Geological Survey, and another report co-author. Tegu owners describe their pets as big, calm and occasionally affectionate lizards that like sunning themselves and are not picky about what they eat. But they can also be ornery and tough to handle. In Florida, local wild populations of breeding tegu lizards are found in at least two counties, Miami-Dade and Hillsborough, home to Tampa, while there have been sightings in other parts of the state, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. A black and white Tegu lizard is shown in the Florida Everglades in this photo obtained August 2, 2018 On private lands, Florida hunters without a license are allowed to kill tegu lizards if it is done humanely. On public lands, the state is trying to get rid of the lizards through traps. 'The most important thing that the public can do to stop the spread of nonnative species like tegus is to NEVER release nonnative animals into the wild,' commission specialist Jamie Rager said in an email. 'Don't let it loose.' Mars is the focus of many international space missions as humans increasingly look to the red planet as a future home. Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk has stated his intentions to detonate two fusion bombs on the planet to change its atmosphere, making it hospitable for humans. According to the SpaceX CEO, the detonations would fill the atmosphere with greenhouse gases, triggering an intentional climate change to make it habitable. Professor Andrew Coates, a physicist at University College London, describes Musk's ambitious plans as 'science fiction'. The scientist points to recent research which shows so-called 'terraforming' via nuclear explosions would not be enough to permanently change Mars' conditions. Professor Coates also references the discovery of a lake buried a mile (1.6km) underground on the red planet, which was confirmed by scientists last month. The 12-mile body of liquid water, which was discovered by scientists at the Italian National Institute for Astrophysics (INAF), could be home to the first evidence of life outside of Earth. Writing for The Conversation, he also argues that it will be decades before humans are allowed to set foot on the planet, because of the risks of contaminating potential Martian lifeforms. Mars is the focus of many international space missions as humans increasingly look to the red planet as a future home. Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk has been a prominent figure, stating his intentions to terraform the barren planet and make it fit for human habitation SpaceX and Tesla founder Elon Musk has a vision for colonising Mars, based on a big rocket, nuclear explosions and an infrastructure to transport millions of people there. This was seen as highly ambitious but technically challenging in several ways. Planetary protection rules and the difficulties of terraforming (making the planet hospitable by, for example, warming it up) and dealing with the harsh radiation were quoted as severe obstacles. Undeterred, Musk took a first step towards his aim in February this year with the launch of a Tesla roadster car into an orbit travelling beyond Mars on the first Falcon Heavy rocket. This dramatically illustrated the increasing launch capability for future missions made available by partnerships between commercial and government agencies. But six months later, the plans have started to look more like fantasy. We have since learned that there could be life beneath Mars' surface and that it may be impossible to terraform its surface. The possibility that there currently could be life on the red planet was raised last week as scientists reported the discovery of a salt water lake beneath Mars' surface. The lake would be 1.5km below the south polar cap and at least 20km in diameter. This was found from analysis of subsurface radar data from the Mars Express spacecraft. The water is thought to be briny, with the likely magnesium, calcium, and sodium perchlorate salts acting as an antifreeze down to temperatures of perhaps 200K (-73.15C). This is exciting as it is the first definitive detection of liquid water on Mars, and it is possible that there may be further deep lakes elsewhere on the planet. This means there is a real possibility of current life on Mars. The possibility that there currently could be life on the red planet was raised last week as scientists reported the discovery of a salt water lake beneath Mars' surface. The lake would be 1.5km below the south polar cap and at least 20km in diameter (pictured) We already knew life could have existed on Mars in the past. There are several pieces of evidence indicating that Mars was habitable 3.8-4 billion years ago. Data from recent missions including Mars Global Surveyor, Odyssey, Opportunity, Curiosity and Mars Express have provided mounting evidence that water was present on the surface in streams and lakes with reasonable acidity and that the right chemistry for life to evolve existed there around the time that life was evolving on Earth. Space X and Tesla founder Elon Musk (pictured) has a vision for colonising Mars, based on a big rocket, nuclear explosions and an infrastructure to transport millions of people there But Mars lost its magnetic field, which would have protected life from harsh radiation from space, 3.8 billion years ago. This also meant its atmosphere started leaking into space, making it increasingly inhospitable. So living organisms may not have survived. But while the new discovery may fuel aspiring colonisers' dreams that the water in the subsurface lake might be usable to sustain a human presence, the reality is very different. The risk of contamination means we shouldn't send humans there until we know for sure whether there is naturally evolved life something that could take years to decades. We will need to drill under the surface and to analyse samples, either in-situ or from material returned to Earth, and find suitable biomarkers to be sure. Asked about life on Mars itself, Musk claimed that the company is more concerned with the journey than the colony (artist's impression) Terraforming plans crushed? Perhaps even more damning, the long-suggested idea of terraforming Mars is now firmly locked in the realm of science fiction. Musk has previously indicated that he wants to terraform the planet to make it more Earth-like, so you can 'eventually walk around outside without anything on.' This would most easily be done by producing an atmosphere made of heat-trapping greenhouse gases locked in the planet's ice in order to raise its temperature and pressure. Musk has suggested that we could drop thermonuclear bombs on the ice at its poles in order to heat it up to release the carbon dioxide. But according to a new study, published in Nature Astronomy, Mars has lost so much of its potential greenhouse gases to space over billions of years that there is now no possibility of transforming the remaining atmosphere into a breathable one with available technology. The study is based on measurements of the recent escape rate of gases to space measured over the last 15 years by Mars Express and the last four years by MAVEN. This can tell us how much effective greenhouse gases, carbon dioxide and water are available at Mars. The measurements, combined with knowledge of the inventories of carbon dioxide and water on Mars from recent space missions, show that greenhouses gases locked in the ice caps are not enough to provide the necessary heating. More may be available deep within the planet but extracting that is well beyond today's technology. Also, the atmosphere is still being lost due to the lack of a magnetic field, so that would need to be somehow slowed to maintain any changes achieved by terraforming. This means that potential explorers would need to use heavy, airtight walls, roofs or buildings to provide the right atmosphere and the required screening from cosmic radiation. While Musk may be disappointed by these new results, most Mars scientists are breathing a sigh of relief. Musk took a first step towards his aim in February this year with the launch of a Tesla roadster car into an orbit travelling beyond Mars on the first Falcon Heavy rocket (pictured) There may be present or past life on Mars, and we can now focus on finding it. We will be searching for signs of life with the ESA-Russian ExoMars 2020 rover, and the NASA Mars 2020 mission will gather samples for eventual return to Earthbound laboratories by around 2030. The results of all this may tell us if there was, is or could be life elsewhere. In our solar system, the best targets are Mars, Saturn's moon Enceladus and Jupiter's moons Europa and Titan. And these just hint of the potential for life on the many planets beyond our own solar system. Mars is bright in our skies this week, the brightest since 2003. The red planet is never far from our thoughts, whether as a potential cradle for life beyond Earth or as a target for humans in the future. We live in exciting times when it comes to space exploration. So let's not spoil one of the largest and most fundamental experiments for humankind by letting dreams of colonisation go too far at least until we know whether there is life. Andrew Coates is the professor of physics and Deputy Director at the Mullard Space Science Laboratory, University College London This article was originally published in The Conversation. Samsung accidentally published an image of its upcoming Galaxy Note 9 handset on its own website. The image, which revealed the finalised design of the as-yet unannounced smartphone, was swiftly taken down from the site. However, eagle-eyed fans were able to take screenshots of the official promotional image, which carries the tagline 'say hello to super power'. Samsung's picture confirms a number of long-rumoured details about the smartphone, including the fact that it will carry a 3.5mm headphone jack. Apple sparked controversy when it decided to ditch the industry-standard port with its iPhone range in September 2016, a move that has been followed by a number of other hardware manufacturers, including Google and HTC. Samsung is scheduled to formally unveil its flagship Note 9 smartphone during a launch event on August 9 in Brooklyn, New York. Scroll down for video Samsung has accidentally released images of the upcoming Galaxy Note 9 on its own website. The image of the phone was blazoned across the webpage and accompanied with the slogan 'Say Hello To Super Power' The image published by Samsung shows the Note 9 phablet placed face-down on a surface, with the updated yellow S Pen stylus on its back. It confirms the South Korean company phone will re-position the fingerprint sensor beneath the dual-camera system. Previous models has placed the scanner to the right of the camera, however, users complained the position was difficult to reach especially for left-handed users. The leaked images, which were shared by serial tipster Evan Blass on Twitter, also confirm the Note 9 will have a dual camera and an upgraded S-Pen stylus. Samsung also appears to be focused on the performance of its new handset, with the tagline 'Say Hello To Super Power' above the image. Previous rumours suggest the Note 9 will be powered by Qualcomm's top-of-the-line Snapdragon 845, coupled with 6GB of RAM. Ahead of the launch event on August 9, there has been a number of rumours about the handset circulating online. One of the most intriguing leaks that emerged in recent weeks suggests the launch of the Note 9 will coincide with video game Fortnite rolling out on Android. The hugely-successful survival shooter looks set to debut on the mobile operating system next month, as part of an exclusive deal to help promote the launch of Samsung's latest flagship handset, the Galaxy Note 9. Fortnite will purportedly only be available to Galaxy Note 9 owners for the first 30 days after the title launches on Android, according to insiders. After the 30-day exclusivity deal expires, Fortnite will be free to download from the Google Play Store. The snaps, revealed by notable phone leaked Evan Blass on Twitter, also show the Note 9 will have a rear-mounted fingerprint sensor, switched-up dual camera and an upgraded S-Pen stylus Rumours of the phone's spec have been abound for weeks, with speculation heating up as the launch date rapidly approaches Those who try to check the official Galaxy Note 9 image now will see the above warning, as the link was swiftly taken down by Samsung The video game, created by developer Epic Games, has become a sensation worldwide, amassing more than 125 million players across the globe. However, anonymous sources speaking to both 9to5Google and XDA Developers claim Fortnite will launch on Android release alongside the next Samsung phone. Samsung is set to hold a hardware announcement at the Brooklyn Centre in New York for its next flagship smartphone, the Galaxy Note 9, on August 9 2018. The South Korean firm mailed out invites to event, known as Unpacked, last month. An exclusive partnership between Fortnite creator Epic Games and Samsung will purportedly see any fans who pre-order the Note 9 receive between 76 to 115 ($100 and $150) worth of V-Bucks, 9to5Google reports. The Samsung Note 9 will replace the Note 8 as the South Korean firms top-tier smartphone. An exclusive deal with Fortnite could be the clearest indication yet that Samsung's main goal with the Note 9 is to push deeper into the field of mobile gaming. According to anonymous sources speaking to technology blog XDA Developers, Samsung will emphasise the role of the included stylus known as the S Pen in mobile gaming experiences. Smaller dogs often urinate higher on objects to fool other dogs into thinking they are larger, researchers have found. Male dogs spray urine as a 'scent marker' for others, and it is know to include information about their age, health, sex - and size. However, researchers now believe some small dogs try and cheat the system by angling their pee so it goes higher than their real body size. Scroll down for video Cornell researchers now believe some small dogs try and cheat the system by angling their pee so it goes higher than their real body size. WHY DO MALES DOG PEE SO MUCH? Scent marking is a common mode of communication in mammals. Male dogs spray urine as a 'scent marker' for others, researchers say. In this way, scent marking is considered an 'honest signal,' relaying accurate information to potential competitors and mates about the animal's attributes. Advertisement Researchers at Cornell University led by Betty McGuire found small dogs urinated more frequently than larger dogs, and were more likely to urinate towards vertically-oriented targets. 'Small adult male dogs may place urine marks higher, relative to their own body size, than larger adult male dogs to exaggerate their competitive ability,' the researchers wrote in the Journal of Zoology. The team videotaped urinations of adult male dogs and, afterwards, measured height of urine marks and degree of raisedleg angles. They found small dogs angled their legs proportionately higher when urinating than bigger dogs did, marking higher than expected for their size. 'Our findings support raisedleg angle as a proxy for urine mark height and provide additional evidence that scent marking can be dishonest,' they wrote. They found small dogs angled their legs proportionately higher when urinating than bigger dogs did, marking higher than expected for their size. 'Small males seemed to make an extra effort to raise their leg highsome small males would almost topple over', McGuire told New Scientist. The team believe the move may be to try and avid confrontation with larger dogs. 'Assuming body size is a proxy for competitive ability, small adult male dogs may place urine marks higher, relative to their own body size, than larger adult male dogs to exaggerate their competitive ability,' the team concluded. 'Direct social interactions with other dogs may be particularly risky for small dogs,' says McGuire. This risk may be why small dogs seem to prefer scent marking, doing so more often than large dogs; it allows them to establish a presence without interacting with competitors directly. NASA has revealed the nine astronauts that will soon take to space aboard the Boeing CST-100 Starliner and SpaceX Crew Dragon, to pioneer a new era in American spaceflight. On Friday, the space agency introduced the crew assigned to the flight tests of the two new capsules in a press conference held at the Johnson Space Center in Texas. The move means NASA will finally be able to launch crewed missions from US soil for the first time in nearly a decade. SpaceX and Boeing's first Commercial Crew flight tests will be led by astronauts: Eric Boe, Chris Ferguson, Nicole Aunapu Mann, Bob Behnken, Doug Hurley, Josh Cassada, Suni Williams, Victor Glover, and Mike Hopkins. For astronauts Cassada and Mann, the milestone missions will also mark their first ever space flights. Scroll down for video NASA has revealed the nine astronauts that will soon take to space aboard the Boeing CST-100 Starliner and SpaceX Crew Dragon. From left: Suni Williams, Josh Cassada, Eric Boe, Nicole Mann, Chris Ferguson, Doug Hurley, Bob Behnken, Mike Hopkins, Victor Glover It's set to be a major turning point for American space exploration; a crewed mission hasn't launched from US soil since 2011. 'For the first time since 2011, we are on the brink of launching American astronauts, on American rockets, from American soil, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said during the conference. Both Boeing and SpaceXs missions will begin with a crew flight test. For Boeing, this will be led by astronauts Eric Boe, Chris Ferguson, and Nicole Mann, who will blast off from the Kennedy Space Center in mid-2019. In this crucial test, the crew will dock and undock autonomously to the International Space Station before returning to Earth. Boeing will then send astronauts Josh Cassada and Suni Williams to the ISS, where they will live and work for the rest of their mission before heading back to Earth at a later time. SpaceXs crew flight test will be led by astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley, with plans to lift off from the Kennedy Space Center in April 2019. As with Boeings test, the Crew Dragon will dock and undock to the ISS autonomously, before returning to Earth. Then, SpaceX will send astronauts Victor Glover and Michael Hopkins to the ISS for their mission on the orbiting lab. 'We no longer have to rely on our Russian partners to get to the ISS,' Kennedy Space Center Director Bob Cabana said in the press conference Friday morning. 'This is truly an exciting time for human space flight in our nation. And believe me, it's only going to get better as we charge off into our future.' SpaceX President & COO Gwynne Shotwell said it was 'a sacred honor' to be taking part in the missions. 'Were not gong to let you down,' Shotwell said, bidding the group: 'Ad Astra' [to the stars]. From left: Eric Boe, Nicole Mann, Chris Ferguson Targeted to launch in mid-2019 aboard a Starliner spacecraft. The test will be Mann's first space flight Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley will launch in April 2019 aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft atop a Falcon 9 rocket WHEN DID NASA LAST LAUNCH CREWED MISSIONS FROM THE US? Shuttle Columbia is shown during lift-off from the Kennedy Space Center in 2003 NASA launched its first space shuttle, Space Shuttle Columbia (STS-1), from the Kennedy Space Center on April 12, 1981. In the three decades that followed, the space agency deployed a total of 135 missions from US soil. Columbia was only the beginning; following in its footsteps, NASA launched Challenger, Discovery, Atlantis, and Endeavor to carry people to orbit. These launches also allowed for the construction of the International Space Station the largest structure in space, thats now home to a revolving crew of astronauts from all around the world, conducting important experiments that continue to advance our knowledge of the cosmos. The shuttle missions came to an end with the Atlantis shuttle on July 21, 2011 after STS-135. In the years since, NASA has had to rely on Russian modules to send astronauts to the ISS, all of which launch from foreign soil. Now, the space agency has turned to the private sector to provide space taxi services, to take astronauts from US soil to the ISS. On August 3, 2018, NASA revealed astronauts would fly on the Boeing CST-100 Starliner and SpaceX Crew Dragon. So far only SpaceX has successfully taken astronauts to the ISS, but it is hoped the first Starliner flight will happen in 2022. The shuttle missions came to an end with the Atlantis shuttle on July 21, 2011 after STS-135. Above, Atlantis lands at the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral, Fl, marking the official end of the 30-year program Advertisement While Boeing initially planned to conduct its first crew flight test later this year, it confirmed earlier this week that an anomaly was detected during a recent test of the launch abort vehicles, forcing them to push back their target. The firm will instead launch its first crewed test in 2019. According to Boeing, the incident occurred during a hot-fire test of the engines used in the Starliner abort system. Both companies have been conducting extensive testing campaigns ahead of the plans for human spaceflight. SpaceX is currently eyeing November 2018 for its first crewed demonstration mission with the Crew Dragon, followed by its first flight to the ISS in April 2019, with two astronauts on board. Boeing will send astronauts Josh Cassada and Suni Williams to the ISS, where they will live and work for the rest of their mission before heading back to Earth months later. This will be Cassada's first space flight Then, SpaceX will send astronauts Victor Glover and Michael Hopkins to the ISS for their mission on the orbiting lab WHAT IS ELON MUSK'S CREW DRAGON? The capsule measures about 20 feet tall by 12 feet in diameter, and will carry up to 7 astronauts at a time. The Crew Dragon features an advanced emergency escape system (which was tested earlier this year) to swiftly carry astronauts to safety if something were to go wrong, experiencing about the same G-forces as a ride at Disneyland. It also has an Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS) that provides a comfortable and safe environment for crew members. Crew Dragon's displays will provide real-time information on the state of the spacecraft's capabilities, showing everything from Dragon's position in space, to possible destinations, to the environment on board. Those CRS-2 Dragon missions will use 'propulsive' landings, where the capsule lands on a landing pad using its SuperDraco thrusters rather than splashing down in the ocean. That will allow NASA faster access to the cargo returned by those spacecraft, and also build up experience for propulsive landings of crewed Dragon spacecraft. Advertisement Boeing plans to fly a crewed test early next year as well, before sending crew to the ISS mid-2019. While uncrewed flight tests were not required, both Boeing and SpaceX have volunteered to perform them before adding astronauts. This was above and beyond the NASA requirement in the contract, said Kathy Lueders, Commercial Crew Program manager at NASA Kennedy. Both partners said they really wanted to have an uncrewed flight test to make sure the integrated rockets, spacecraft and re-entry systems are all working as designed to be able to ensure the integrated system is functioning. NASA launched its first space shuttle, Space Shuttle Columbia (STS-1), from the Kennedy Space Center on April 12, 1981. In the three decades that followed, the space agency deployed a total of 135 missions from US soil. Boeing (Starliner pictured left) plans to fly an uncrewed mission early next year, with plans to add crew mid-2019. SpaceX is currently eyeing November 2018 for its first demo mission with the Crew Dragon (right), followed by its first crewed flight to the ISS in April 2019 BOEING'S STARLINER SPACE TAXI The Starliner is part of NASA's operational Commercial Crew mission to bring astronauts to the International Space Station. It will be launched from a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket, and crewed tests are set to begin in 2018. The missions will be able to take up to four astronauts at a time, with Eric Boe, Bob Behnken, Doug Hurley and Sunni Williams now in training. In February, it was revealed that Boeing has hired a small company to make about 600 3D-printed parts for its Starliner space taxis. The Starliner will be launched from a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket, and is part of NASA's operational Commercial Crew mission to bring astronauts to the International Space Station, allowing it to grow to seven residents Advertisement After the shuttle program was retired in 2011, the agency has relied on Russian modules to send astronauts to space. With the upcoming tests, NASA is now closer than it has been in nearly a decade to launching astronauts from the US, aboard capsules made here at home. 'Im excited to be part of the future of space travel,' said Jon Cowart, acting deputy manager for the Commercial Crew Programs Mission Management and Integration office at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida. 'When we get to this point the companies will have tested every piece of the spacecraft individually, but there is so much more learning that occurs when the spacecraft is actually operated in space. 'The systems will be operated in the actual environment to test it and ensure its ready for crew.' Google has some bad news for flat earthers. The search giant has updated Google Maps so that when users zoom out completely, the perspective switches to a 3D globe, instead of a flat map view. Prior to the update, Google Maps used a 2D Mercator projection, which stretches a globe-shape onto a flat surface and often wrongly depicts the actual size of certain countries. Scroll down for video A new update for Google Maps means that when users fully zoom out on the screen, the perspective switches to a 3D globe, instead of a flat map view The well-known Mercator projection, which typically depicts the earth of a flat surface such as a poster or book, unintentionally distorts the size and land mass of countries the farther they are from the equator. It proves that there is no accurate way to take a spherical surface and map it in a flat plane without it becoming distorted. 'With 3D Globe Mode on Google Maps desktop, Greenland's projection is no longer the size of Africa,' Google wrote in a tweet. The update only works in desktop mode, not in the Google Maps app, where the earth is still shown as a plane. With 3D Globe Mode on Google Maps desktop, Greenland's projection is no longer the size of Africa. Just zoom all the way out at https://t.co/mIZTya01K3 pic.twitter.com/CIkkS7It8d Google Maps (@googlemaps) August 2, 2018 It can be accessed on all major browsers, such as Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge and Firefox. The move comes as Google Maps has gotten smarter since its initial release 13 years ago. Google recently introduced an AI feature that can inform you how much it thinks you'll like a restaurant. The tool combines AI, previous search history and user reviews to generate a score out of 100. The update only works in desktop mode, not in the Google Maps app, where the earth is still shown as a plane. It's accessible on browsers Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge and Firefox Called 'Your Match,' it will only work if users opt to let Google Maps log their location. The company is now pushing-out the new features to iOS and Android users in the UK, United States, Canada, Australia, and Japan, with more countries to follow at a later date. Google first unveiled the feature at its annual I/O developers conference earlier this year. Using psychoactive drugs, such as magic mushrooms could help people defeat their addiction to tobacco, scientists have suggested. This is because the intense psychedelic experiences mean they forget withdrawal symptoms, claim scientists. The active compound found in magic mushrooms is called psilocybin and was administered to a handful of smokers. The six-year study aimed to uncover the mechanism in the brain that makes it so difficult to kick the habit. Using psychoactive drugs, such as magic mushrooms could help people defeat their addiction to tobacco, scientists have suggested (stock image) 'Cigarette smoking is today a huge public health scourge and there are no effective reliable treatments,' said Tehseen Noorani of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Durham University. 'An open-label pilot study had impressive results in the treatment of cigarette smoking addiction with psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy, and we wanted to understand better how it worked commonly referred to as the 'mechanisms of change'.' For the study, the researchers interviewed 12 individuals who had participated in a previous study on psilocybin-facilitated smoking cessation. In the original study, the participants received cognitive-behaviour therapy along with two or three psilocybin treatment sessions. The interviews were conducted an average of 30 months after the initial psilocybin sessions. Nine of the 15 participants had effectively quit smoking after treatment with the magic mushroom-derived compound, while two relapsed and one participant became a social smoker. Participants also reported benefits besides overcoming nicotine addiction. The people in the study reported heightened levels of aesthetic appreciation, openness to experience and engagement in the community. 'The careful preparation of participants and considered facilitation of sessions was vital, as was the trust in the team and rapport, for participants to explore their smoking addiction and to fully relax into their psilocybin experiences', said Dr Noorani. The six-year study aimed to uncover the mechanism in the brain that makes it so difficult to kick the habit (stock image) 'The way the protocol was formulated appeared to work well to dislodge smoking addiction. 'Participants reported how profound psychedelic experiences were engrossing for days afterwards, displacing withdrawal symptoms such as cravings during this time period.' The research is published in the Journal of Psychopharmacology. In May, researchers revealed magic mushrooms can also improve emotional processing in depressed patients. A study of 17 patients with treatment-resistant depression, published in Psychopharmacology, found that psilocybin treatment along with psychological support was associated with better recognition of emotional faces. Researchers showed patients static color photographs of six male and six female white actors that were morphed to create six dynamic emotional stimuli expressing happiness, neutrality, sadness, anger, disgust, or fear. Patients who received the treatment were better able to categorise faces showing the emotions. The study also gave a placebo treatment to 16 people. They showed no improvement. 'Prior to treatment with psilocybin, depressed patients in this trial were shown to have a global deficit in processing emotional faces as compared with healthy controls, as reflected in longer reaction times to identify all emotion types,' the researchers explained. 'We observed a reaction time improvement post-treatment for all emotion types in depressed patients.' Apple could be planning to make it even more inconvenient for iPhone owners to use traditional headphones with its upcoming devices. A new report claims the firm will not include the converter dongle which allows users to plug a regular audio cable into the models that lack a headphone jack with its 2018 iPhone line-up. Instead, people who dont want to use lightning-cable headphones will have to buy the lightning-to-headphone jack adapter separately. Scroll down for video A new report claims the firm will not include the converter dongle (pictured) which allows users to plug a regular audio cable into the models that lack a headphone jack with its 2018 iPhone line-up According to Apple Insider, an investors note from Cowen analyst Matthew D Ramsay says recent guidance from Apple supplier Cirrus Logic all but confirms that Apple will not bundle the DAC headset converter dongle in its new iPhone models. The analyst also noted that the converter will still ship with some older models. The new report is just the latest in a series of rumors about Apple's next line of iPhones. Earlier this week, a report from 9to5Mac claimed the tech giant may introduce support for dual SIM cards with the new iPhone. The site spotted references to a 'second SIM status' in Apple's iOS 12 beta developer beta five, which suggests that the company may be developing phones and software that are compatible with the use of two SIM cards. Lines of code spotted Apple's iOS 12 beta software indicates that the company may be considering adding support for two SIM cards in its next-generation iPhone models The code references 'second SIM status' and 'second SIM tray status,' as well as 'dual SIM device,' 9to5Mac noted. Including dual SIM support would allow users to switch between mobile carrier plans more easily. It would also appeal to international users who often travel to multiple countries. However, Apple would be playing catch up to its competitors, including Samsung, Huawei and OnePlus, which all offer smartphones with dual SIM support. The firm has never launched a dual SIM device in its iPhone lineup before. Apple has been vying to gain market share in Europe and Asia, so adding dual SIM support could be an effort to appeal to smartphone users there. The code references 'second SIM status' and 'second SIM tray status,' as well as 'dual SIM device.' Dual SIM support would allow users to switch between carrier plans more easily Up until recently, Apple has struggled to capture a significant share of the smartphone market in many developing countries, but it has started to accelerate. 'Based on the latest data from IDC, iPhone grew faster than the global smartphone market, gaining share in many markets including the US, Greater China, Canada, Germany, Australia, Russia, Mexico and the Middle East and Africa,' CEO Tim Cook told investors on a call. Some have suggested that the 'second SIM status' code could instead be an indicator that Apple will include an e-SIM card in the iPhone, like it has in the Apple Watch. An e-SIM card is integrated directly into the phone's processor or modem and enables the device to connect to a mobile network faster. It's possible that Apple might include dual SIM support on only one of the devices planned for its upcoming iPhone lineup, such as the rumored 'iPhone X Plus.' Longtime Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo predicts that Apple will release three models at its annual event in September: a 6.5-inch iPhone X Plus, a 6.1-inch iPhone with an LCD screen and a 5.8-inch model that closely mirrors the iPhone X, but with more advanced components. If math tests terrify you, then help could be as simple as sitting up straight. Researchers have discovered that over half of students found problems easier to solve if they had good posture. They say the technique could even be useful for athletes, public speakers and musicians. Scroll down for video San Francisco Researchers have discovered that over half of students found problems easier to solve if they say up straight. HOW DID THE EXPERIMENT WORK? In the new study by researchers at San Francisco State University, 125 college students were tested to see how well they could perform simple math - subtracting 7 from 843 sequentially for 15 seconds - while either slumped over or sitting up straight with shoulders back and relaxed. Fifty-six percent of the students reported finding it easier to perform the math in the upright position. Before the study began, students filled out an anonymous questionnaire asking them to rate their anxiety levels while taking exams and performing math; they also described any physical symptoms of stress they experienced during test taking. Advertisement 'For people who are anxious about math, posture makes a giant difference,' said San Francisco State University Professor of Health Education Erik Peper. 'The slumped-over position shuts them down and their brains do not work as well. 'They cannot think as clearly.' Fifty-six percent of the students reported finding it easier to perform the math in the upright position. According to co-author Associate Professor of Health Education Richard Harvey, slumping over is a defensive posture that can trigger old negative memories in the body and brain. While the students without math anxiety did not report as great a benefit from better posture, they did find that doing math while slumped over was somewhat more difficult. Peper and Harvey say these findings about body position can help people prepare for many different types of performance under stress, not just math tests. Athletes, musicians and public speakers can all benefit from better posture prior to and during their performance. Athletes, musicians and public speakers can all benefit from better posture prior to and during their performance, the researchers said. Pictured, Prince 'You have a choice,' said Peper. 'It's about using an empowered position to optimize your focus.' That empowerment could be particularly helpful to students facing the challenge called 'stereotype threat,' said Lauren Mason, one of the paper's authors and a recent SF State graduate. HAVE YOU GOT PERFECT POSTURE AT YOUR DESK? Experts advice poeple to use the 'BBC' technique: put your bottom in the back of the chair. Get it right into the back, as if you were sitting on the lower part of your jean pocket, rather than the top. Sitting correctly will re-align your pelvis into the correct position. To stand tall, stand evenly on two feet, keep your back straight, knees soft and buttocks squeezed. Imagine a string in the middle of your head pulling you tall. Regardless of whether youre standing, sitting or walking, pull your tummy muscles in all the way then release by half so you can still feel them working. This helps tone them and reduces the risk of lower back pain. Dont use laptops for long periods of time. Try not to sit for more than 30 minutes without standing up, even for just a few seconds. This will allow different muscles to contract and blood to flow round Advertisement 'I always felt insecure about my math abilities even though I excelled at other subjects,' said Mason, who helped design the experiment in the study. 'You build a relationship with [math] so early -- as early as elementary school. You can carry that negative self-talk throughout your life, impacting your perception of yourself.' Mason said the study results demonstrate a simple way to improve many aspects of life, especially when stress is involved: 'The way we carry ourselves and interact in space influences not only how others perceive us but also how we perceive ourselves.' While it might not always be easy to pull the plug on your electronics, doing so is rarely a case of moral dilemma. But, powering down might be a lot more difficult if your devices were begging you not to do it. A new study explores the ways in which social robots can manipulate their owners by pulling on our heartstrings. When robots protested, shouting things such as No! Please do not switch me off and implying they were afraid of the dark, participants hesitated and sometimes even refused to turn them off. Scroll down for video For the study, the researchers recruited 89 volunteers to interact with the small humanoid robot, Nao. Participants were told their conversations with the robot were intended to help it improve its interaction capabilities In the new study published to the journal PLOS One, researchers in Germany sought to understand if people are more likely to see a robot as alive if it behaves in a way that is more human, versus those that operate strictly in a machine-like manner. It builds off something known as the media equation theory, in which people apply social norms, which they usually only apply in interactions with humans, also when they are interacting with various media like computers and robots. With plans to use social robots in more and more areas of our lives, from airports to elderly care, we may soon find ourselves up against a unique set of moral challenges. For the study, the researchers recruited 89 volunteers to interact with the small humanoid robot, Nao. Participants were told their conversations with the robot were intended to help it improve its interaction capabilities. They were given two tasks: create a schedule for one week, with seven activities to choose from, and play a question-answer game with Nao. During this section, the robots asked questions such as Do you rather like pizza or pasta? Once the two tasks had been completed, the participants rang a bell and were informed over speakers that theyd collected enough data, and could turn off the robot if they wanted to. Participants were given two tasks: create a schedule for one week, with seven activities to choose from, and play a question-answer game with Nao Once the two tasks had been completed, the participants rang a bell and were informed over speakers that theyd collected enough data, and could turn off the robot if they wanted to. But at this point, some of the robots objected At this point, about half of the robots objected to being turned off, saying: No! Please do not switch me off! I am scared that it will not brighten up again! For the participants in these scenarios, switching the robots off wasnt as easy for those who werent confronted with the pleas. In this group, 14 volunteers opted to leave the robots on and, those who did turn it off in the end hesitated to do so compared to the other group. The researchers later interviewed the study participants about their choices. Eight people said they felt bad for the robots because it told them about its fears of the darkness, while six said they didnt want to act against its wishes. Some participants also said they left it on because they had the choice to do so, while others questioned if they could interact further with the robot, or were afraid of doing something wrong. A new study shows how powering down a robot might be a lot more difficult if it's begging you not to do it. This sort of dilemma has become the central focus of many science fiction narratives, such as that in the show Westworld (right) Just one person said they were surprised by the robots objection. The study highlights the complexity of our relationships with machines as they behave more like humans. Triggered by the objection, people tend to treat the robot rather as a real person than just a machine by following or at least considering to follow its request to stay switched on, which builds on the core statement of the media equation theory, the authors wrote. Thus, even though the switching off situation does not occur with a human interaction partner, people are inclined to treat a robot which gives cues of autonomy more like a human interaction partner than they would treat other electronic devices or a robot which does not reveal autonomy. Shuttle Columbia is shown during lift-off from the Kennedy Space Center in 2003 NASA launched its first space shuttle, Space Shuttle Columbia (STS-1), from the Kennedy Space Center on April 12, 1981. In the three decades that followed, the space agency deployed a total of 135 missions from US soil. Columbia was only the beginning; following in its footsteps, NASA launched Challenger, Discovery, Atlantis, and Endeavor to carry people to orbit. These launches also allowed for the construction of the International Space Station the largest structure in space, thats now home to a revolving crew of astronauts from all around the world, conducting important experiments that continue to advance our knowledge of the cosmos. The shuttle missions came to an end with the Atlantis shuttle on July 21, 2011 after STS-135. In the years since, NASA has had to rely on Russian modules to send astronauts to the ISS, all of which launch from foreign soil. Now, the space agency has turned to the private sector to provide space taxi services, to take astronauts from US soil to the ISS. On August 3, 2018, NASA revealed astronauts would fly on the Boeing CST-100 Starliner and SpaceX Crew Dragon. So far only SpaceX has successfully taken astronauts to the ISS, but it is hoped the first Starliner flight will happen in 2022. Advertisement 'Someone died on the mountain yesterday,' one of my fellow climbers said with a vague quiver in his voice as we embarked on a two-week course to summit western Europe's highest peak, Mont Blanc at 15,780ft. I'd heard that the French mountain was one of the deadliest in the world - claiming more than 100 lives per year - and when I landed in Chamonix the talk of death was hot on people's tongues as the sound of a rescue helicopter whirred above me. Luckily, by the time it came to my summit of the perilous peak I felt ready to tackle all eventualities thanks to a week of very intense training at the UCPA mountain school - which at times felt more like a military boot camp than a relaxing alpine retreat with our leaders making us leap over glacial crevasses, plunge headfirst down steep snow hills and scale sheer boulders. Feeling peaky: MailOnline Travel's Sadie Whitelocks journeyed to Chamonix in France on a mountaineering course. She underwent a week of training with the UCPA mountain school before tackling Mont Blanc. Pictured here on the summit of the peak at 6am, with her helmet at a suitably jaunty angle Chamonix is considered the 'mecca of mountaineering', with high peaks, accessible glaciers and hundreds of alpine mountaineering routes. Above, a view of Mont Blanc A photo taken by Sadie as she descended the snowy mountain, with some trekkers still on their journey to the top UCPA, a non-profit that was set up by the French government just over 40 years ago, has centres all over France offering outward bound courses at subsidised rates in a bid to encourage people to get outdoors. All of the necessary mountaineering equipment is provided - helmet, boots, ice axe, harness and crampons. All that's required is a willingness to learn and a hardy attitude. In total there were ten people in my group vying to climb Mont Blanc, five French and five English-speakers, with ages ranging from 28 to 50 years old. From the get-go, it was clear that our lithe French guides Eric and Paul had no time for poor time keepers or slow pace - their favourite word in English was 'efficiency'. Sadie said there were more than 20 people on top of Mont Blanc when she summited and there were dozens more still hoping to make it. Pictured is the summit One man in Sadie's group had to be helicoptered off the mountain after summiting Mont Blanc as he was hit by altitude sickness, with symptoms including severe nausea (stock image) On a clear day, you can see for miles around from the top of Mont Blanc Many hikers stop the Gouter refuge on their way up and down Mont Blanc to give their feet a rest We were warned that Mont Blanc was no easy feat and that we must pass a week of 'tests' if we were going to make it to the top. I'd summited a few peaks, including Mount Elbrus in Russia (18,510ft) and made it to the North Col of Everest (23,129ft) in April, but I suddenly felt intimidated by the challenge ahead. Unlike Elbrus, Mont Blanc is much more technical. You are roped up for the majority of the climb and you must feel confident scrabbling up jagged walls of rock along with trudging through steep walls of snow wearing crampons. Our boot camp began with a nine-hour day, where we made our way up Le Brevent mountain (8,284ft) leaping over boulders, fast-pacing it up gravel paths and running down snowy slopes. At one point we were instructed to trek up a very steep hillside and slide down upsidedown on our backs and use our ice axes to stop. I was completely terrified as I flew down the hill, with the icy ground battering my body. One girl ended up breaking her ribs during this exercise. We were one man down and it was only day two! Over the first week we also journeyed to the stunning Argentiere Glacier to learn how to navigate solid fields of ice and we crossed the border to Italy to summit Gran Paridiso - the highest alpine peak completely inside the Italian border at 13,323ft. It was a pretty tough climb, with a 4:15am start, windy conditions and slushy snow causing me to sprain my ankle on the way down. But luckily we all made the grade and our militant leaders told us to meet them at 6am for our Mont Blanc ascent. This part of Mont Blanc is notoriously dangerous, with climbers having to hold on to a rope as they cross a section plagued by rockfalls Sadie said one of the toughest parts of the Mont Blanc climb was scaling this rocky ridge Sadie gets her head torch and snow boots on in preparation for a climb of Gran Paridiso in Italy (left), while her hair gets a little frozen in the cold (right) The UCPA course prepared all of the participants for what was to come. One day the group scrabbled up a steep stack of rocks (left) and on another day, they navigated gaping crevasses on the Argentiere Glacier A view of the Mont Blanc range near the summit of Le Brevent mountain, which sits at 8,284ft A view of a lush green valley from the stunning Argentiere Glacier, which the group visited to practice their ice skills That morning I could sense the nerves, with little conversation as we shovelled spoonfuls of porridge and fervently triple-checked our bags for the correct supplies. After filling our tummies as best we could, we made our way in a van to the historic Mont Blanc tram, which took us - very slowly - to the Nid d'Aigle stop at 7,808ft, which would be our starting point. From the end of the tram line we spent the best part of five hours slogging our way uphill. There were dozens of trekkers all following the same route, with some moving quickly and some moving slowly. There appeared to be lots of Russians, with some Italians, Chinese and French joining the hustle. It seemed never-ending and the warm summer sun made it a sweaty task. Eventually we hauled ourselves up a steep wall of rock to a kind of climbers' hotel called the Gouter refuge where we would get an early night before our summit bid. I couldn't wait to get inside the odd spaceship-like hostel, with my body feeling pretty broken. After finishing my packed lunch I went to my dormitory and feel asleep until the alarm sounded for dinner at 6:30pm. I feasted on soup, salmon and a sweet creme caramel before traipsing back to bed and attempting another nap ahead of our 2am wake-up. From that point it all seemed like a dream as I carried out tasks in a haze of excitement. I tried to eat as much bread and jam as I could, slurped some coffee and I was ready for the off. Dozens of headlamps danced on the dark slopes and a slither of moon shone above me. The weather was clear with no wind, and a soft blanketing of cloud letting an orange sun slowly slip through. I asked myself several times in my mind 'why the hell am I doing this?' but something inside kept my legs moving. One foot in front of the other. A picture of the UCPA group on Gran Paridiso in Italy after making it to the top UCPA guide Eric, pictured in blue, shows the group how to use crampons and an ice axe in the snow A photo of Sadie and the rest of her group at the top of Gran Paridiso - the highest alpine peak completely inside the Italian border at 13,323ft WHAT IS UCPA? Union Nationale des Centres Sportifs de Plein Air (UCPA) is a French non-profit organisation that offers over 80 different activity courses at 70 destinations across France plus a further 19 centres overseas. It has built a 50-year legacy in the realm of French outdoor sports. Originally established by the government to encourage young people to take more holidays and experience the outdoor lifestyle, it is now a chartered organisation that promotes outdoor sporting activities with some age restrictions applying. UCPA trains its own instructors, buys all of its own equipment and manages their own centres to keep costs as low as possible. Advertisement Paul, the guide I was roped too, refused to let me stop and told me that maintaining a rhythm was key to success. He was right. After three hours of trudge I made it to the top. It was 6am and there were more than 20 hikers there. The views were breathtaking, with peaks over in Italy visible and the quaint houses in Chamonix glistening below. The temperature was brisk, at around minus 10 Celsius, but manageable. But as anyone who has been up a mountain knows, getting to the top is half the work and you still must get down. The descent is pretty gruelling, especially navigating the rocky ridge leading down from the Gouter refuge. It was here we lost another team member due to altitude sickness, which causes severe nausea and fatigue, and a rescue helicopter came to take him to hospital so he could recover. An exterior shot of the UCPA training centre in Chamonix, which features dormitory-style rooms, a canteen restaurant, bar, sauna and outdoor patio area At another point down the mountain, a woman in our group seriously sprained her ankle and she painfully hobbled along with the help of her husband and Eric our guide. In the end we all made it back to base with a great sense of achievement. It was time to crack open the beers. Mont Blanc certainly isn't a mountain to be underestimated. Currently there is no permit system in place, meaning many people flock to the peak, thinking it's a piece of cake. When I was there I spotted a man ascending the mountain in denim jeans and trainers. Maybe he was lost? I also saw a Russian man in the Gouter refuge celebrating his 40th birthday with a jeroboam of Cristal champagne - costing upwards of 2,000 - being tossed around. Certainly not the type of pre-summit preparation I'd been taught about. Indeed, one of his team was spotted vomiting on the way up the next morning. I think it's the spirit of safety I'll be sipping on... and UCPA certainly offers a plentiful pour. As corporate gaffes go, this takes some beating. Leeds-based Jet2 had been one of the main sponsors of hit ITV2 show Love Island. It promoted its holidays on it. It ran competitions on it. However, on Tuesday, when contestants including winners Dani Dyer and Jack Fincham returned to the UK from Palma, Majorca, following the show's grand final, they flew on rival budget carrier Ryanair. And Twitter has been quick off the mark to underscore the irony. Love Island contestants Dani Dyer, Jack Fincham and Laura Anderson emerge from a Ryanair aircraft at Stansted airport after returning to the UK from Majorca Winners Jack and Dani toast their success with a champagne in plastic cups on a Ryanair flight Fans of Love Island poked fun at show sponsors Jet2 after the contestants flew back to the UK on a rival airline The blunder came to light when the finalists landed at London Stansted Airport - they were snapped by fans and press photographers with the Irish-based carrier's branding in the background on countless pictures. This prompted eagle-eyed fans of the show, which has been keeping millions entertained over the summer, to take to Twitter to claim Jet2 had been 'mugged off'. Andrew Botterill wrote: 'Im not a marketing expert but if Id spent a fortune @jet2tweets sponsoring @LoveIsland Im fairly sure I wouldnt be happy with @Ryanair flying home all of the finalists #muggedoff.' Lauren Jade added: 'Kinda funny that Love Island is sponsored by Jet2 yet they all flew home with Ryanair' followed by a crying with laughter emoji. Eagle-eyed fans of the show, which has been keeping millions entertained over the summer, took to Twitter to claim Jet2 had been 'mugged off' Benan also noticed the gaffe and tweeted: 'How was the whole of Love island sponsored by Jet2 and yet they all took a Ryanair flight home?' Jordon Olivia Bee added: 'I dont understand.. #loveisland is sponsored by Jet2 but islanders had to fly with Ryanair?' While Safa wondered 'so #LoveIsland was sponsored by jet2 or somethin but sent the winners home with ryanair hmm'. However, a spokeswoman for Jet2 explained the reason why the islanders flew with a rival was that it had sold too many seats on its flight from Palma to Stansted on Tuesday morning to accommodate the contestants and the timescale of the schedules. Jet2 explained the reason why the islanders flew with a rival was that it had sold too many seats on its flight from Palma to Stansted on Tuesday morning to accommodate the contestants and the timescale of the schedules She told MailOnline Travel: 'Due to the logistics of schedules and the popularity of our award-winning flights, there were not enough seats remaining to fly the contestants back to the UK to meet the required timescales. 'We are absolutely delighted with our Love Island brand partnership this summer, which has really showcased the fantastic range of holidays that we have on offer for young people.' On their flight back to the UK, winners Dani and Jack were pictured quaffing champagne out of plastic cups while fellow contestant Lauren Anderson ate a lollipop. However, they were an hour and 20 minutes late in arriving back in the UK with Ryanair blaming bad weather for delaying their flight. Vegas baby, Vegas. In a newly-released preview for Jersey Shore Family Vacation's second season, the stars of the reality series come together in Sin City for another reunion in which they catch up and mix it up in the desert gambling hub. 'If you thought Miami was nuts ... what the f***?' Snooki, 30, says in the preview, which shows a montage of highlights from the forthcoming season, choc with get-togethers, clubbing, slot machines and what looks to be a Vegas wedding. They're back: Snooki and The Situation come together in Sin City for Jersey Shore Family Vacation's second season, as MTV released a new preview for the show Thursday 'I've said this before and Im gonna say it again - what a country!' said Paul 'Pauly D' DelVecchio, 38. The cast - Snooki, Pauly D, Mike 'The Sitatuion' Sorrentino, 36, Jenni 'JWoww' Farley, 32, Ronnie Magro, 32, Vinny Guadagnino, 30, and Deena Nicole Cortese, 31 - later heads to another gambling town closer to their East Coast roots, Atlantic City. Also in the mix, or trying to be, is Angelina Pivarnick, 31, whose hopes to return elicit a mixed reception from her one-time housemates. Snooki said, 'I went to lunch with Angelina - she wants to come to Vegas.' Reunited: The cast embraced arm-in-arm in a circle in Jersey Shore Family Vacation Uncomfortable: Cast members were lukewarm about Angelina Pivarnick making a comeback Let it ride: The Situation looks to be trying his luck in Las Vegas with a fistful of dollars JWoww replied, 'Wait, what?' while Vinny declared, 'We don't want her to come here.' Parenthood is among the other storylines in the forthcoming season, as Ronnie has welcomed a baby girl named Ariana Sky, while Deena and her spouse Christopher Buckner find themselves expecting. Viewers also see The Situation ironing out the kinks of his wedding to fiancee Lauren Pesce. Last year, the cast returned to MTV for a season set in Miami, Florida, which Vinny said in the preview was a good thing: 'All of the memories and the flashbacks, there's no reason we should wait years to get together.' Jersey Shore Family Vacation's second season hits MTV August 23rd at 8/7c. There's a moon out tonight: Angelina flashes her former co-stars in this still from the teaser Sentimental: Snooki and Deena embraced in an emotional moment Revelry: Ronnie and Snooki seem to be enjoying the party in this shot from the show She's a media mogul and a billionaire. But it's still a simple thing like making a home-cooked meal for her man, that seems to give Oprah Winfrey the most joy. During an Ask a Staffer Q&A on O The Oprah Magazine's Twitter, the 64-year-old revealed what makes her perfect date night with longtime partner Stedman Graham, 67. 'Perfect date night: me cooking and then it's on,' she said. Revelation: During an Ask a Staffer Q&A on O The Oprah Magazine's Twitter, Oprah Winfrey revealed her 'perfect date night' with Stedman Graham. 'Me cooking and then it's on,' she said In the video clip shared on social media, Oprah explained: 'Well, I am a really good cook and the wonderful thing about Stedman is in all the years that I've been cooking for him, no matter what it iseven if it's a piece of toast like the other day I made an English muffin and he's like, 'Where did you get this English muffin?' and I'm like, 'It's an English muffin'.' She went on: 'He is delighted with anything that I make, so my favorite date night is to make him black-eyed peas and cornbread as a surprise for dinner and then honey, hush..... That's all you need!' Oprah and Stedman have been together since 1986. Longtime lovers: Oprah and Stedman, pictured in May, have been together since 1986 The couple are based at a massive $90 million estate that Oprh owns in Montecito, near Santa Barbara, California, but there are also several other luxury residences in her property portfolio. It's believed she owns a home on the ultra-exclusive Fisher Island, just south of Miami, Florida, as well as an estate in Hawaii. And according to AJC.com this week, the mogul recently dropped $8.275 million on a 43-acre compound on Orcas Island, one of the four largest islands in the San Juan archipelago just off Seattle. She's one of the most glamorous stars to grace the silver screen. But on Thursday Charlize Theron kept her wardrobe decidedly low-key for a shopping trip in West Hollywood. The 42-year-old Atomic Blonde star opted for a long black tank on top which showed off her toned arms and was emblazoned with embroidered black stars. Nothing fancy: On Thursday Charlize Theron kept her wardrobe decidedly low-key for a shopping trip in West Hollywood Navy blue, baggy track trousers with white stripes down each leg and a pair of basic white sneakers completed her sporty ensemble. She kept the Southern California sun at bay with a royal blue ball cap and some oversized, black frame sunglasses. Her other main accessory was a rectangular black leather purse which she toted on her forearm. Fit! The 42-year-old Atomic Blonde star opted for a long black tank on top which showed off her toned arms and was emblazoned with embroidered black stars Practical! She kept the Southern California sun at bay with a royal blue ball cap and some oversized, black frame sunglasses While her famous blonde tresses were hidden under her hat, the mother-of-two appeared to be mostly make-up free save for a dash of nude lipstick. On Wednesday, the Oscar-winner took to Instagram to post about a recent trip back to her home continent of Africa. It seems the Hollywood star returned to oversee her charity called the Charlize Theron Africa Outreach Project or CTAOP. Natural beauty! While her famous blonde tresses were hidden under her hat, the mother-of-two appeared to be mostly make-up free save for a dash of nude lipstick Said organization 'invests in African youth to keep themselves safe from HIV,' according to the official Instagram page. In her latest post, Charlize can be seen having fun with a multitude of African youths. Her gushing caption read 'Spent an amazing week in South Africa and Rwanda with @CTAOP, seeing the incredible work our program partners are doing on the ground there. We laughed, we cried, we danced, and Im even more excited now about the future these young people are bringing to Africa!' Happy memories! On Wednesday, the Oscar-winner took to Instagram to post about a recent trip back to her home continent of Africa Good times: The actress said she laughed, cried and danced during her trip She has been holidaying in sunny reality star haven Ibiza. And Jemma Lucy, 30, was spotted making a stylish arrival with her bumblebee inspired suitcase in tow when she waltzed around Manchester on Thursday. The Ex On The Beach star ditched her characteristically racy ensembles for more demure plaid cut-offs with a pleated elastic band waist to draw eyes to her figure. She's in sensational shape: Jemma Lucy exhibited her enviable waist in plaid pleated cut-offs as she arrived in Manchester after Ibiza break on Thursday However, Jemma accessorised in her typical style as she stepped out in studded trainers with a shimmering stud bag to match. Well recognised on television for her dark raven-coloured tresses, the Celebrity Big Brother star continued to show off her neon pink shoulder-length mane. The heavily inked star displayed her eye-catching array of tattoos across her chest and sleeves thanks to her plunging spaghetti vest top. Sparkling attraction: However, Jemma accessorised in her typical style as she stepped out in studded trainers with a shimmering stud bag to match Elsewhere, Jemma recently went under the knife for two Brazilian bum lift operations in the space of four months. The surgery involves removing fat from a range of areas in the body, before it's transferred to the bum to enhance it's size and shape. After initially trying out the surgery earlier in the year, Jemma told The Sun she was going back for another lift. She explained: 'I've always had an obsession with having a bigger bum. I only had the last fat transfer four months ago but as soon as I woke up from the surgery I knew I wanted a second one. 'Really I've only just recovered from the last one as it takes about three months before you can sit and lie down properly but I'm ready to go back in.' Jemma was propelled into the limelight on Channel 4's Brat Camp in 2005 where she was sent to a US correctional centre following a string of offences including shoplifting atop being expelled from three schools. Following the stint, she competed on Signed By Katie Price, a reality show hoping to find a protege for the model, before she burst onto the reality scene on Ex On The Beach. She recently hit back at cruel trolls who attacked her 'weird' tummy, after she posted a photo of herself in a bikini to Instagram. And on Thursday, former Home and Away star Pia Miller oozed confidence as she posed for a beachside photo shoot in Sydney. The 34-year-old mother-of-two stunned in a billowing dress on the day, before modelling a series of other outfits. Later, haters! Pia Miller stunned in a billowing dress during a beach photo shoot in Sydney on Thursday, after hitting back at social media trolls who criticised her 'weird' tummy Former model Pia showcased a golden glow and styled her brunette hair away from her face into a low ponytail. She opted for natural-look makeup, including dewy foundation and a soft pink lip. Pia's flowing maxi dress was made of blue silk and featured thin spaghetti straps and a bandeau-style top. Glowing! She opted for natural-look makeup, including dewy foundation and a soft pink lip Flawless: Pia's flowing maxi dress was made of blue silk and featured thin spaghetti straps and a bandeau-style top All in the details! The dress also featured an intricate floral design on the skirt. Sun-kissed: Former model Pia showcased a golden glow and styled her brunette hair away from her face into a low ponytail The dress also featured an intricate floral design on the skirt. The Chilean-born beauty later changed into another powder blue outfit, comprising of a crop top and flowing skirt. Pia struck a variety of sultry poses while walking down the beach before sitting down on the sand. Doing her thing: Pia struck a variety of sultry poses while walking down the beach before sitting down on the sand Watch the breeze! Pia picked up the bottom of her skirt when she walked up to the crew Familiar face: Former WAG Pia previously starred on Channel Seven soap Home and Away Fashionista: The Chilean-born beauty later changed into another powder blue outfit, comprising of a crop top and flowing skirt She also modelled a pink lace dress that hugged her slender figure. Her final look for the photo shoot was a plunging blue mini dress featuring a layered and tasseled skirt. She appeared in high spirits on the day, surrounded by crew members, stylists and photographers. The future looks bright! Pia appeared in high spirits on the day, surrounded by crew members, stylists and photographers Feels good to be home: Pia, who was previously married to former AFL star Brad Miller, has just returned from a trip to Bali with her children and fiance Tyson Mullane. Making headlines: While overseas, she shared a photo to Instagram of herself in a bikini. Unfortunately, it didn't take long for trolls to criticise her 'weird' tummy and question why she was wearing a cross necklace Not having it! Pia later took to her Instagram Story to silence her critics and declare she was proud of her 'saggy skin and stretch marks'. Pictured: The bikini photo that sparked the trolling Pia, who was previously married to former AFL star Brad Miller, has just returned from a trip to Bali with her children and fiance Tyson Mullane. While overseas, she shared a photo to Instagram of herself in a bikini. Unfortunately, it didn't take long for trolls to criticise her 'weird' tummy and question why she was wearing a cross necklace. Defending herself: The Sydneysider said she was proud of her 'saggy skin and stretch marks' Sitting pretty: Pia also modelled a pink lace dress that hugged her slender figure. Do a twirl! Her final look for the photo shoot was a plunging blue mini dress featuring a layered and tasseled skirt Stunning: Pia is considered one of the most beautiful women in Australia Pia later took to her Instagram Story to silence her critics and declare she was proud of her 'saggy skin and stretch marks'. She captioned the post: 'Two kids, a couple of emergency ops and a necklace in memory of my [grandmother]. Scars, saggy skin, stretch marks. Grateful for it all.' Pia also included some of the nasty comments she had received, including: 'Her stomach looks yuck', 'What's wrong with her stomach?' and 'Why is she wearing a cross?' On set: Pia joined the crew as they took a look at the photos She's been soaking up the sun in Monaco with her beau Charlie Brake following their short-lived appearance on Love Island. And Ellie Brown turned up the heat as she shared a racy swimsuit-clad snap on Instagram on Thursday evening. The Geordie beauty, 20, recently displayed her striking image transformation after old pictures of the reality star emerged. Wow-factor! Ellie Brown turned up the heat as she shared a sultry swimsuit-clad snap during her Monaco break on Instagram on Thursday evening Flaunting her slender physique, the TV personality commanded attention in her plunging red swimsuit by Missguided, embellished with daring cut-out features throughout. The blonde bombshell - who was snapped in the picturesque sea - exhibited her natural beauty as she went make-up free, and wore her tresses in loose beach waves. Drawing parallels between her time in Mallorca's Hidden Hills and sunny Monaco, she captioned the image: 'Enjoying being back in the swimwear and no makeup vibe.' Who? The Geordie beauty, 20, recently displayed her striking image transformation after old pictures of the reality star emerged Smitten: The TV personality been soaking up the sun in Monaco with her beau Charlie Brake following their short-lived appearance on Love Island Full relaxation mode: The petite star has been living it up on Frances Mediterranean coastline as she posts a series of racy snaps on her Instagram Smitten: The pair appeared as loved-up as ever as they shared a sweet cuddle during their time on a yacht Ellie's sultry post comes she appeared barely recognisable in throwback snaps dating back to 2015, in which she flaunted a wholly different appearance to her current chiselled look. Throughout the eight-week stretch of the show, Ellie won hearts of both fans and her boyfriend Charlie, 23, thanks to her sassy personality and flawless good looks, meaning her stunning transformation will no doubt send jaws dropping. Ellie was a late entrant into the show, where she was involved in extreme drama after locking horns with co-star Georgia Steel and also finding love with Charlie. Who's that girl? Chic: The Newcastle-born beauty posed happily in images dating back to 2015, in which she flaunted a wholly different appearance to her current chiselled look (pictured last month) With her glowing skin and lengthy blonde locks, fans were enamoured with the natural beauty, however her shock transformation will no doubt shock fans. Posing on her pal's Instagram account in a host of pouting shots, it was plain to see a change in Ellie's good looks, despite looking stunning both before and after. What remained the same was her slick pout and preened style, yet it was clear to see a change in the stunner's looks over the past three years. Slide me Changing faces: Throughout the eight week stretch of the show, Ellie won hearts of both fans and her beau Charlie Brake thanks to her sassy personality and flawless good looks, meaning her stunning transformation will no doubt send jaws dropping MailOnline has contacted Ellie's representative for comment. Ellie's transformation is not all that's shocked fans, as throwback shots of her co-stars Megan Barton Hanson and Laura Anderson have been equally breathtaking. Glamour model Megan has had the most widely-discussed transformation after an image surfaced on Twitter last month showing a youthful Megan aged 12 as she posed in glasses and an oversized scarf. Fans rushed to social media to marvel at the transformation Megan has undergone, with many hailing the impressive and natural looking surgery, and since leaving the villa she has discussed the transformation. Way back when: What remained the same was her slick pout and preened style, yet it was clear to see a change in the stunner's looks over the past three years Shocker: Ellie's transformation is not all that's shocked fans, as throwback shots of her co-stars Megan Barton Hanson and Laura Anderson have been equally breathtaking In an interview with Mirror after leaving the villa, she said of her several procedures - rumoured to have cost 25,000, but estimated to have cost as much as 40,000: 'I have had loads. I dont think it should be a massive negative thing. If you want to do something to make you feel more comfortable and you can do it, then why not?... 'I didnt take these decisions trying to be a role model. I did it for me. Im not ashamed of it. Ive done what Ive done because it made me feel comfortable. 'Its like people getting their hair done to make them feel nice. Ill go get my lips done because it makes me feel better.' Meet The Drug Lords: Inside The Real Narcos (C4) Rating: The Prosecutors (BBC2) Rating: Former Special Boat Service sergeant Jason Foxy Fox has a lazy Plymouth drawl, with a ready chuckle that belies his hardman image. But when he faced a Mexican hitman, through a bulletproof screen at a maximum security prison in Texas, Foxy was able to open up the interview by talking about the first time I killed a man. You dont hear that kind of questioning on The One Show. Meet The Drug Lords (C4) did all the title promised and more as the ex-Commando-turned-TV presenter infiltrated Mexicos murderous gangs. Jason joined the police in Acapulco, once a sought after tourist destination, now has the second highest murder rate in the world as rival cartels battle for control To fans of the dramatised documentaries that Netflix does so well, such as Narcos and El Chapo, this was heady stuff. Some of the scenes and characters could have been created by screenwriters for example, the jungle bandit whos leading a running battle with American anti-drugs agents. Leering through his face mask at Foxy, his eyes glittering, the commander giggled: What havent I done? I have never killed a reporter like you. But the bad thing is . . . Id like to! More people have died in Mexicos drugs wars, we learned, than in the Afghanistan conflict. The wealthiest of the victims are buried in a lavish graveyard city in Sinaloa, where bulletproof tombs in the style of castles, palaces and churches can cost more than 500,000 to build. By the end of the programme, the first of three, Foxy had uncovered a world of evil that made the Netflix shows look like Disney fables. Jason Fox travelled into the Golden Triangle, the Heroin and Crystal Meth producing heartland of the Sinaloan Cartel The convicted hitman, his face tattooed like a Pierrot doll, described how 100 of his cartels enemies would be rounded up and imprisoned in slaughterhouses then given a single knife, with freedom promised to the last man left alive. And on the streets of Acapulco, once a haven for hedonistic tourists and American couples seeking a quickie divorce, gangs strew the dismembered bodies of their victims across the roads. Deja vu again of the night The Beeb is always happy to fill any hole in the schedules with a repeat of New Tricks (BBC1). But there were 21 other repeats on BBC1 and BBC2 before midnight last night. Thats not television, its a bad case of visual Polyfilla. Advertisement It was at this point that we began to feel Sgt Fox was not merely an entertaining macho man in the Ross Kemp mould, but our safest possible guide on these blood-soaked streets. As the police flew into a panic, fearing the latest corpse was bait to lure them into an ambush, Foxy calmly showed his cameraman where to take cover. Some scenes were almost too grim to watch and, in winning the trust of these thugs, the show runs the risk of glorifying them. But cameras have never been closer to the reality of the drugs trade. Its a business that brings deadly dangers in this country, too though the biggest threat to British villains is their own stupidity. The Prosecutors (BBC2) watched as police and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) gathered evidence against a gang using drones to fly drugs and phones into prisons. Drones flying drugs into prisons in the UK were being investigated on BBC2's The Prosecutors One of the drone pilots, blundering about at night in a field with his remote control kit, stumbled into a lake and drowned. The others were caught because they didnt understand that an onboard computer maps each flight to the inch enabling police to track the little aircraft from one cell window to the next, before following it right back to the owners front door. But this documentary offered no comment: we were meant to admire the tenacity of the CPS, without wondering about the futility of their battle. The ringleaders, after all, were already in prison. They ran their crime empires from their cells. Until that fiasco can be halted, whats the point of locking them up for longer? Finty Williams will recreate a stage role made famous by her mother Judi Dench in a play which also starred her late father. The actress will appear in Hugh Whitemores 1983 drama Pack Of Lies next month at the Menier Chocolate Factory in Southwark. The piece is layered with poignancy because the playwright died just two weeks ago. Its spooky, Finty said about the production in which her parents, Judi and Michael Williams, played Bob and Barbara Jackson, asked to spy on their neighbours (and best friends) who are suspected of being Soviet spies. Its an amazingly daunting prospect to play any part youve seen someone else play brilliantly, said Finty, who told me she was about ten when she first saw her parents in Pack Of Lies. Finty Williams will recreate a stage role made famous by her mother Judi Dench in a play which also starred her late father. The piece is layered with poignancy because the playwright died just two weeks ago She said she remembered them being really amazing. I read the script the other day and I can hear Mammas voice doing it. What an amazing thrill to be doing something they did. Im slightly overwhelmed in a wow sort of way, said the actress, whos been busy recording an audio version of Elisabeth Norebacks Tell Me Youre Mine. When did she tell her mother? Oh, mate, I was on the phone within five minutes! She reflected for a moment and told me: It must be very strange for her. Your children grow up and theyre of an age that you can very much remember being. Williams, 45, added: I dont think Mamma thinks of it being that long ago, really. Bless her, she still thinks I can play Juliet. I dont know under what lighting I can play Juliet. Maybe with a small night light illuminating the stage. Finty said she was not planning on asking for help from her mum unless I come up against something I dont know how to do. She said she remembered them being really amazing. I read the script the other day and I can hear Mammas voice doing it. What an amazing thrill to be doing something they did. She does not want to be a carbon copy of her mother in the show and is aware there will be those who make comparisons. But Im not her. David Babani, who runs the Menier Chocolate Factory, where the play will preview from September 20, said its a pertinent political piece about lying (think Trump and Brexit). Director Hannah Chissick will start rehearsals towards the end of August and has just added Jasper Britton to the cast. Hell play the British intelligence officer the Jacksons report to on the activities of their neighbours. Watch out for... Laura Pradelska who played Quaithe (a Shadowbinder who had the gift of prophecy) in Game Of Thrones. She will star with Jaymes Sygrove in the world premiere of A Small House At The Edge Of The World by Chris Lee. The new play charts the fluctuations of a romantic relationship. Directed by Ken McClymont, it will begin performances at the Tabard Theatre in West London from September 12. I remember seeing Ms Pradelska in Judgment At Nuremberg, at what used to be the Tricycle Theatre. The venue reopens in September as The Kiln with a new auditorium, bars, cafe and cracking new facilities. First production will be Alexis Zegermans brand spanking new play Holy Sh!t. Breathe, a new play by George Jaques, is raw and potent. Mr Jaques, 18, also produced the one-act work, sensitively directed by Hannah Hauer-King at The Bunker in Southwark. It follows young people struggling with three disparate situations a schoolgirl and her callous teacher; two brothers coping with the loss of parents; and a young man in agony over a girl. The cast includes Jaques, Elizabeth Brierley, Douglas Clarke-Wood, Byron Easmon, Gus Flind-Henry and Martha Hay. The production supports the NSPCCs childline. She is a mother of three. And Kim Kardashian fired up her Insta Stories of a Thursday to show herself spending some quality time with her middle child. The 37-year-old reality TV icon cuddled up to her only son, a two-year-old called Saint, who has just landed his very first magazine cover. Aww: Kim Kardashian fired up her Insta Stories of a Thursday to show herself spending some quality time with her middle child Saint, who was taking swigs from a water bottle, seemed to disapprove of the fiery filter Kim had put on the selfie video she filmed of them. 'You don't like fire?' Kim inquired, to which her son responded: 'No,' prompting his mother to reply: 'Why?' and Saint to answer: 'It's crazy.' 'It's crazy?' said Kim with a smile, and Saint responded: 'Yeah!,' refusing to bite even when his mother tried to assure him: 'It's cute!' Kim's Insta Stories that day also included a sparkling gold Jimmy Choo handbag - which Kim used a filter to label as belonging to her daughter North, five. So sweet: The 37-year-old reality TV icon cuddled up to her only son, a two-year-old called Saint, who has just landed his very first magazine cover Displeasure: Saint, who was taking swigs from a water bottle, seemed to disapprove of the fiery filter Kim had put on the selfie video she filmed of them Objection: 'You don't like fire?' Kim inquired, to which her son responded: 'No,' prompting his mother to reply: 'Why?' and Saint to answer: 'It's crazy' That day, she also posted a throwback snap showing off her right leg and the side of her derriere as she lay in bed wearing a white bodysuit and matching open sweater. Kanye and Kim, affectionately known as 'Kimye' by fans, also share an infant daughter called Chicago who was born this January via surrogacy. Saint's first magazine cover is of the upcoming fall fashion issue of Harper's Bazaar, and also includes his father and elder sister. Not buying it: 'It's crazy?' said Kim with a smile, and Saint responded: 'Yeah!,' refusing to bite even when his mother tried to assure him: 'It's cute!' Kim's Insta Stories that day also included a sparkling gold Jimmy Choo handbag - which Kim used a filter to label as belonging to her daughter North, five Kim recently got into a bit of online controversy over a gay joke she made at the expense of model Tyson Beckford, who criticized her looks. When Instagram account The Shade Room posted a snapshot of Kim in workout gear, Tyson commented: 'Sorry I dont care for it,' adding: 'She is not real,doctor f***ed up on her right hip' with a nauseous emoji. Kim quipped in response: 'Sis we all know why you don't care for it,' prompting some on social media to accuse her of engaging in homophobia and Tyson to clarify online that 'I'm not Gay.' Bekah Martinez took to Instagram to accuse recent The Bachelorette contestant Leandro 'Leo' Dottavio of sexual harrassment. The 23-year-old nanny who competed on season 22 of The Bachelor posted screenshots her fanbase collected of Dottavio allegedly acting inappropriatley toward women, according to an article on Thursday by the New York Post. An Instagram post from four years ago included Dottavio writing 'you need my big d***'. Sexual harassment: Bekah Martinez, shown in a promo still for season 22 of The Bachelor, took to social media to accuse recent The Bachelorette contestant Leo Dottavio of sexual harassment Dottavio claimed the screenshot of his comment was digitally altered and has asked his attorney to investigate. Martinez said she saw multiple versions of the comment and believed it to be authentic. She also said that many women have shared their own experiences with Dottavio. 'I started posting the screenshots [of their messages] because to me, it's not a coincidence that multiple women would be saying similar things about the same person,' she told The Post. Online posts: Leo Dottavio, shown in a still for The Bachelorette, was accused of acting inappropriately toward women in online postings Ramped up: Bekah took to Instagram on Wednesday and warned Dottavio that he was 'messing with the wrong b****' Harsh reply: The Fresno nanny also shared screenshots of Dottavio's reactions to her posts 'There's no way these women happen to be lying about the same thing before seeing what other women are saying,' Martinez added. Martinez also posted a video relaying that Dottavio's lawyer has demanded that she either remove the posts and issue a public apology or face a defamation lawsuit. The Fresno, California native also posted a bikini photo on Wednesday on Instagram and addressed the matter in the caption. She wrote: 'by the way if you need clarification, you can now check out the newest highlight addition to my page. I wasn't going to take it this far, but threatening me with legal action just ramped things up a notch. you're messing with the wrong b****. Just take responsibility and apologize.' Court challenge: The former contestant on The Bachelor challenged Dottavio to take her to court A representative for ABC told The Post the had no comment on the allegations. Martinez competed for the affection of Arie Luyendyk Jr on season 22 of The Bachelor and came in fifth place. Luyendyk chose Becca Kufrin, 28, to be his bride, but later ended their engagement to pursue runner-up Lauren Burnham, 26, and they've since become engaged. Kufrin became the star of season 14 of The Bachelorette and stuntman Dottavio was eliminated in week seven finishing in sixth place. Hayley Atwell revealed the movie star moment she landed a part in Disney's Christopher Robin as she recalled racing out on a jet ski to Skype the director. The Hollywood actress, 36, went to great lengths to pick up Marc Forster's phone call when she was relaxing with her family on a swanky yacht in Aegean. Famed for her Marvel role as Agent Peggy Carter, the star embraced her on screen superhero alter ego when she headed out to sea to take the call from a WiFi spot. Exposed: Hayley Atwell revealed how jumping on a jet ski landed her Christopher Robin movie role when she discussed her part with The Mirror Cool and collected, the actress took the Skype call dressed in her life jacket as she turned off her engine in the middle of the ocean to speak to her agent. She told The Mirror: 'The captain of the boat went, "You see that rock? Go 10 minutes past that rock in the general direction, and once youve lost all visuals of civilisation, you might get a spot where you can speak to him". 'So I put my life jacket on, got on a jet ski, went past the rock and out into the ocean. I turned off the engine, was bobbing up and down, and was like, "Welcome to my office, Marc. This is how I do business".' Story telling: Christopher Robin tells the story of Winnie the Pooh enlisting the help of his childhood friend on his quest to find his friends Tigger, Eeyore, Owl, Piglet, Rabbit, Kanga and Roo Christopher Robin tells the story of Winnie the Pooh enlisting the help of his childhood friend on his quest to find his friends Tigger, Eeyore, Owl, Piglet, Rabbit, Kanga and Roo. As Hayley slips into the role of Christopher Robin's wife Evelyn Robin, Ewan McGregor takes on the part of the protagonist and her husband. In a recent interview, the actress confessed it felt like she had been doing the movie 'for years' because she knows the characters so well. Explained: The Hollywood actress, 36, went to great lengths to pick up Marc Forster's phone call when she was relaxing with her family on a swanky yacht in Aegean She told Good Morning America in New York: 'I feel like we all know these characters really well... 'My grandparents' generation, parents generation, mine, and also children today have this affinity with Winnie-the-Pooh because theyre such classic tales. 'So I felt like Ive been doing the film for years in a way, I felt very comfortable with them. Until you get there on set and youre working with these amazing stuffed animals and you see on screen the attention to detail, you can see the hairs moving and facial expressions that seem so human.' Margot Robbie says getting naked on screen is 'empowering'. The 28 year-old bombshell is no stranger to stripping off after shooting provocative sex scenes with Leonardo DiCaprio in The Wolf Of Wall Street. But Margot says she's only willing to shed her clothes if her character 'uses it as a weapon!' 'It's empowering!' Margot Robbie has claimed she's happy to shoot a nude scene if her character 'uses it as a weapon'. Pictured at Terminal screening in London, July 2018 'If I see they're using it was a weapon, or a tool or doing it intentionally, like in Wolf of Wall Street where she's wearing a short dress for a reason, it's her currency and knows she's going to get her own, that feels empowering, Margot told Yahoo Movies UK. However, the Oscar-nominated actress, who's busy promoting her latest role in noir flick Terminal, admits she refuses to be 'taken advantage of' by filmmakers. 'When it's used in a way where there isn't that level of self-awareness,' the actress explained, 'then it does feel like you're being taken advantage of and I don't really vibe with it. She added: 'If I see that and it's not used in an ironic, subversive way then I don't necessarily agree with it.' In crime saga Terminal, Margot plays a duplicitous waitress who becomes centrally involved in an assassination plot. Meanwhile, the star was spotted for the first time on Los Angeles set of new movie, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood last week. Noir: In crime saga Terminal, Margot plays a duplicitous waitress who becomes centrally involved in an assassination plot. Pictured the star with actor Max Irons In the film, Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt embark on an odyssey to make a name for themselves again in the film industry they no longer recognize in the Hollywood of 1969 - the year of the Charles Manson murders. Reuniting with her Wolf of Wall Street co-star in the Quentin Tarantino-directed epic, Margot will portray slain actress Sharon Tate. The stellar cast also features Al Pacino, Dakota Fanning, Burt Reynolds, Timothy Olyphant, Emile Hirsch, Kurt Russell, Damian Lewis, Michael Madsen, Tim Roth, and Luke Perry. Victoria's Secret Angel Candice Swanepoel showed off her famous legs Thursday as she ran errands in Brazil. The stunning model, 29, was spotted out and about in a pair of Daisy Dukes as she spends time with her partner Hermann Nicoli in his home country. Candice had her baby son Ariel with her on her trip and held the infant close, cradled in her arms. Natural beauty: Victoria's Secret Angel Candice Swanepoel showed off her famous legs Thursday as she ran errands in Brazil with baby son Ariel The leggy beauty welcomed her second child on June 19. She and Hermann also have a son Anaca, born in October 2016. Candice paired her tiny denim shorts with a simple gray t-shirt and a pair of brown leather sandal flats. She wore her long hair tied back into a ponytail and sported a pair of owl-shaped black-framed sunglasses. Doting mom: The South African-born beauty cradled her sleeping child who was snuggled in a pale blue blancket Baby number 2: The leggy stunner welcomed her second child on June 19. she and fiance Hermann Nicoli, a Brazilian model, also share son Anaca, who turns two in October Stylish: Candice paired distressed Daisy Dukes with a simple gray t-shirt and a pair of brown leather sandal flats. She wore her long hair tied back into a ponytail and sported sunglasses Cute: The infant, who has a full head of reddish-brown hair, appeared to be dressed in a white onesie and black shoes Her precious cargo appeared to be dressed in a white onesie and black shoes. The infant, who has a full head of reddish-brown hair, was wrapped in a pale blue blanket by his doting mother. Candice and her family divide their time between Brazil and the U.S. and have a home in the Brazilian state of Espirito Santo. Candice recently blasted fat-shamers, who were less than kind about her post-baby bikini body. 'I'm not ashamed to show my postpartum tummy,' she said. 'I don't have to hide my stomach just because people have unrealistic standards of women. We create life.' Trans-continental: Candice and her family divide their time between Brazil and the U.S. and have a home in the Brazilian state of Espirito Santo The catwalk queen recently blasted fat-shamers, who were less than kind about her post-baby bikini body. 'This is me 12 days after having my son. If you have something bad to say about it... check yourself. Society can be so cruel to one another. Beauty standards are sometimes impossible for women these days,' Candice wrote in her Insta-story on July 11. 'I'm not ashamed to show my postpartum tummy. I am proud actually. I carried my son for nine months in there. I think I've earned the right to have a little tummy. Is it because I'm a model? Well we are normal people too so let me enjoy the beach in peace please.' Candice concluded: 'I don't have to hide my stomach just because people have unrealistic standards of women. We create life. What can you do? Ladies we are all in this together be kind to each other.' Usher has sold the mansion he bought at the start of his career for $1.5million. The 39-year-old rapper got $1.1million less than his original asking price for the Alpharetta, Georgia home, according to Realtor.com. In a 2003 episode of How I'm Living, the U Remind Me hitmaker revealed he'd dreamed of owning the home ever since he first saw it at 13-years-old, before purchasing it seven years later. Water feature: Usher has sold the mansion he bought at the start of his career for $1.5million Usher, whose full name is Usher Raymond IV, revealed in the BET show that he first saw the house when it belonged to music producer L.A. Reid. 'One day, I want to own a house like this,' the Moesha actor recalled thinking at the time. He eventually bought it in 1999, for $1.2million. The man: The 39-year-old rapper got $1.1million less than his original asking price for the Alpharetta, Georgia home, according to Realtor.com. Seen here in June 2018 Dream house: In a 2003 episode of How I'm Living , the U Remind Me hitmaker revealed he'd dreamed of owning the home ever since he first saw it at 13-years-old Bedroom: The house boasts seven bedrooms and eight-and-a-half bathrooms, and measures over 8000 sq ft The house boasts seven bedrooms and eight-and-a-half bathrooms, and measures over 8000 sq ft. It also includes a climate-controlled treehouse, a yoga studio and a private dance studio, according to The Blast. In his 2003 interview, Usher descibed the master bedroom as 'real elegant, yet very warm, yet very sexy.' 'This room is a representation of my character.' Mod cons: It also includes a climate-controlled treehouse, a yoga studio and a private dance studio, according to The Blast Making dreams a reality: Usher, whose full name is Usher Raymond IV, revealed in the BET show that he first saw the house when it belonged to music producer L.A. Reid 'Sexy': In his 2003 interview, Usher descibed the master bedroom as 'real elegant, yet very warm, yet very sexy' Bathroom: One of the home's 8.5 bathrooms The musician's $4.2m home in Los Angeles, which is currently for sale, was broken into in late March. Thieves took off with $820,000 worth of jewelry and cash, according to a Tuesday report from The Blast. The mansion was equipped with security cameras, but the thieves stole the tape from inside the camera too which will make it almost impossible to trace the criminals. The 4,261 square foot home sits on a hill above the Sunset Strip with five bedrooms, four full and two half bathrooms as well as a swimming pool. The home was listed in March after Usher and his wife Grace Miguel announced they were separating. Sunken living room: The rapper extensively renovated the mansion She reportedly rakes in $1 million per ad on her Instagram. And Kylie Jenner added to her growing bank account as she plugged a self tanner in a scintillating post on Thursday. The 20-year-old cosmetic mogul flaunted her fabulous figure in a skimpy white crop top and $85 Frankies bikini bottoms with the caption: 'My new favorite at home self tan all the way from Australia @bondisands.' Raking it in: Kylie Jenner, 20, added to her growing bank account as she plugged a self tanner in a scintillating post on Thursday Daring to impress, the reality star - who is the highest earner on Instagram, passing Selena Gomez and Kim Kardashian - showcased her bountiful bosom in the snap. Her toned and tanned tummy were thrust on center stage as the crop top sat high on her chest and the bikini bottoms cut low on her lithe waist. Noticeably missing from Kylie's snap is her beau Travis Scott, 26, and their baby daughter Stormi, six months. However, Kylie's BFF Jordyn Woods posted a series of pics and videos on her Instagram today which insinuated the two were jetting off with Travis to promote his latest album Astroworld which is out Friday. Peas in a pod: Kylie's BFF Jordyn Woods posted a series of pics and videos on her Instagram today which insinuated the two were jetting off with Kylie's beau and baby daddy Travis Scott Jet set: Travis is scheduled to perform in Chicago tonight for the release of his new album Astroworld so the two beauties may have headed to the Windy City In one picture, Travis stands on top of a private jet that has 'Astroworld' splashed across the side of it. Later, there are clips of what appears to be Travis performing in concert as he was scheduled for an album release performance in Chicago. Meanwhile, Kylie couldn't wait to try it out on herself as she gave herself a fuller pout with dark lipstick during a video post on Wednesday. Ready for take-off: In one picture, Travis stands on top of a private jet that has 'Astroworld' splashed across the side of it In the thick of it: Later, there are clips of what appears to be Travis performing in concert as he was scheduled for an album release performance in Chicago The business mogul looked to be in great spirits as she even tested the lip filter on Caitlyn Jenner. Kylie was born to Caitlyn Jenner and Kris Jenner and is the youngest of the Jenner clan which includes supermodel sister Kendall. In the quick clips, Kylie sits next to Caitlyn before utilizing the custom face filter as they share smiles and laughs. Testing out: Kylie couldn't wait to try it out her new namesake Instagram face filters as she gave herself a fuller pout with dark lipstick during a video post on Wednesday Soon the filter appears to make their lips fuller and covered in a shade of Kylie's lipstick colors. Followers of her account can swipe to the live cam and check out how they look with Kylie Cosmetics lipstick including her most famous colors Candy K, Dolce, Posie K, Say No More, Shady, Boy Bye and Glitz. The new filter will also blur the face, define lashes, and add contour. The filter arrival coincides with Kylie releasing her latest cosmetics collection to commemorate her impending 21st birthday. Australian radio hosts Fitzy and Wippa are known for their ambitious on-air pranks. And on Friday, the troublemakers revealed their most elaborate prank yet - involving their producer (and Kardashian super-fan) Tom Ivey. In a hilarious video posted to Nova's Facebook page, the presenters tricked Tom into thinking he was interviewing Kendall Jenner. Scroll down for video 'Are you serious?' Watch the cringeworthy moment a Kardashian super-fan wears his wedding suit to interview Kendall Jenner... and doesn't realise the model is actually a WAX FIGURE However, the 'press junket' was staged and Kendall was replaced with a lifelike wax figure from Madame Tussauds. The interview was made to look as authentic as possible, with actors hired to play members of Kendall's entourage and security team. Dressed in his wedding suit, at the request of Fitzy and Wippa, Tom bumped into E! Australia host Ksenija Lukich before the interview. 'She seems a bit tired... like a bit sort of flat,' Ksenija, who was also in on the joke, told a nervous-looking Tom. Did I say something wrong? After radio producer Tom entered the room, he was greeted by the wax model of Kendall which was been attended to by an actor playing a makeup artist Wax figures don't talk! Tom began the chat by praising 'Kendall' and asked if she struggles with being so tall, which was followed by an awkward silence Fooled him! Eventually Tom realised it was a joke, jumped up from his seat and shouted: 'You f**ks! Are you serious?! After Tom entered the room, he was greeted by the wax model of Kendall which was been attended to by another actor playing a makeup artist. Tom began the chat by praising 'Kendall' and asked if she struggles with being so tall, which was followed by an awkward silence. Looking concerned that he might have bored her with his line of questioning, he cleared his throat and tried another approach. Job well done! Tom later congratulated radio pranksters Fitzy and Wippa for the well-executed practical joke and posed for photos with the wax Kendall Eventually Tom realised it was a joke, jumped up from his seat and shouted: 'You f**ks! Are you serious?! 'Look at the set up! Oh man. Well, this is probably the closest I'll ever get to to her!' However, he congratulated Fitzy, Wippa and the team for the well-executed prank and posed for photos with the wax Kendall. She has been a fixture of the headlines ever since debuting on Married At First Sight earlier this year. And Sarah Roza caused more controversy on Friday when she shared an uncharacteristically racy selfie to Instagram. The 39-year-old beautician posted a topless photo of herself accompanied by an unrelated caption attributed to children's author Dr. Seuss. Scroll down for video 'You are better than this!' Sarah Roza left her Instagram followers disappointed on Friday after sharing a topless selfie, with fans claiming she was 'flashing herself for attention and followers' 'Life is too short to wake up in the morning with regrets,' began the caption. 'So, love the people who treat you right, forget about the ones who didn't and believe that everything happens for a reason. 'If you get a chance, take it. If it changes your life, let it. Nobody said it would be easy, they just promised it would be worth it - Dr. Seuss.' Sarah included no less than 24 hashtags, including: 'Happy Friday', 'love your body', 'curves', 'boss babes', 'we are all queens' and 'sisterhood'. 'Can't get any lower': It didn't take long for Sarah's Instagram followers to express their disappointment, with many suggesting she was 'too good for these kind of photos' It didn't take long for Sarah's Instagram followers to express their disappointment, with many suggesting she was 'too good for these kind of photos'. 'What are you selling here? Too obvious it's nothing but your body. Can't get any lower I think,' commented one fan. Another wrote: 'I love you, Sarah. But why do women feel that they need to show their bodies to raise attention?' Seeking attention? One follower commented, 'I love you, Sarah. But why do women feel that they need to show their bodies to raise attention?' Pictured: Sarah on Married At First Sight 'You don't need to flash yourself to grab attention': Some fans accused Sarah of making a desperate grab for Instagram followers by posting the topless selfie A similar comment read: 'Oh, no! Such a shame to see this picture. You're gorgeous, you don't need to flash yourself to grab attention.' 'I thought you were actually different to the rest,' wrote a disappointed follower. 'Nude picture [for] more followers you think? See ya.' 'You are beautiful and I thought classy... but to get your clothes off? You're better than this!' complained another fan. Bizarre: Several fans were baffled that Sarah captioned a naked photo with an unrelated quote attributed to American children's author Dr. Seuss Scandalous! Sarah has been a fixture of the headlines ever since debuting on Married At First Sight earlier this year. Pictured with her 'ex-husband' Telv Williams (right) But it wasn't all negative, as several comments praised Sarah for looking 'stunning'. 'I think Sarah is stunningly beautiful and inspiring!' remarked one fan. Her best friend, celebrity psychic Harry T, also wrote: 'Put aside you are my bestie and I love men, you are THE hottest woman in Australia.' Sarah later addressed the controversy, commenting: 'My point in posting this powerful picture is that a woman could be completely butt naked rolled in glitter yet still feel empowered and have complete and utter respect for herself.' 'The day life begins is the moment you realise your life is yours and not anyone else's,' she added, alongside the hashtags, 'Self love', 'this is for me' and 'freedom'. Eric Balfour has welcomed a baby boy with wife Erin Chiamulon. The newborn son of the 24 actor and the fashion designer weighed 7lbs6oz and was born at 11:10am on Thursday in Santa Monica, California, according to PEOPLE. 'This is the most amazing day of our lives and couldnt be happier to welcome this perfect being into the world,' said the 41-year-old actor. New addition: Eric Balfour has welcomed a baby boy with wife Erin Chiamulon. The couple seen here in August 2017 The Can't Hardly Wait actor had spoken excitedly of the impending birth on social media. Taking to his Instagram page, Balfour had frequently posted photos of himself, Erin and their rescued dalmatian Coconut and talked about their anticipation. 'Were pretty lucky to have each other I think the little baby boy growing in Erins belly is gonna be super stoked to hang out with us,' Eric wrote in May. Amped: The Can't Hardly Wait actor had spoken excitedly of the impending birth on social media 'Coconut is going to be this little summer babys greatest companion,' he added. 'Erin will teach him to be kind and gentle just like her, Im going to take him surfing, and camping, and skateboarding, and well teach him to dance and sing along with us. Im gonna be [a] dad yo!' In June the star of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake shared a picture of Erin getting instructions on how to install a baby seat. The overwhelmed father-to-be wrote: 'I feel like I just went through baby boot camp. #dadlife'. Karl Stefanovic has shot down rumours that he and fiancee Jasmine Yarbrough are getting married at the $100 million Kokomo Private Island Resort in Fiji later this year. Speaking on KIIS FM's Kyle and Jackie O show, the 43-year-old Today star admitted that although he loved the tropical destination, there wouldn't be enough room for all their wedding guests. 'There's no way we could fit 130 people onto an island,' Karl said on Friday. 'There's no way we could fit 130 people onto an island!' Karl Stefanovic denies that he and Jasmine Yarbrough are getting married at Fiji's exclusive Kokomo... as he spills more details about their upcoming wedding 'That is definitely not true, but it's not a bad suggestion. 'It's beautiful. The problem is, my partner has a lot of friends and there's no way we could fit 130 people onto an island.' Joking about how many guests he'd have there from his own list, he added: 'There's no way that could happen.' Making jokes: 'I'll have like six people at the wedding including Kyle, that will be it' (Karl is pictured with Jasmine Yarbrough) Gorgeous: Woman's Day reported this week that Karl and Jasmine's wedding will take at the six-star Kokomo Private Island Resort (pictured) 'I'll have like six people at the wedding including Kyle, that will be it.' This week Woman's Day reported that Karl and Jasmine's wedding will take place at the six-star Kokomo Private Island Resort. 'Jasmine wanted a big splashy wedding and Karl is determined to deliver her dream wedding,' the source told Woman's Day on Monday. The couple, who got engaged at Kokomo Island in February, were said to be going all out for the three day affair. Claims: 'Jasmine wanted a big splashy wedding and Karl is determined to deliver her dream wedding,' the source told Woman's Day on Monday The insider claimed shoe designer Jasmine, 34, has chosen six dresses. 'I know she's spoken to a handful of top designers around the world over the past six months before she settled on the perfect dress. The source added that Fiji holds memories for the pair: 'Karl and Jasmine loved it when they spent a week there earlier in the year. It's a special place for them.' The luxury resort can accommodate 134 guests and features a residence that can be rented for $24,000 a night. Her shark movie The Meg has been dubbed the next 'Jaws' for a whole new generation. But it looked like viewers at the Beijing premiere of Ruby Rose's new flick may have been slightly distracted from the terrifying 75-foot shark being projected on screen. All eyes were on the Australian actress, 32, as she stepped out onto the red carpet alongside her co-stars, wearing a very low cut striped dress. Scroll down for video That's one way to make an entrance! Ruby Rose shows off her cleavage and tattoos in VERY low cut dress at Beijing premiere of her new shark movie The Meg Ruby flew to the capital of China with co-stars Jason Statham, Li Bingbing and child star Sophia Cai Shuya ahead of the premiere. She donned the floor-length Valentino creation, complete with bondage detail across the chest, with pride. The foursome happily posed for pictures while promoting the highly anticipated horror film directed by Jon Turteltaub. Hollywood stars: The Aussie actress flew to capital of China with co-stars Jason Statham, Li Bingbing and child star Sophia Cai Shuya Say cheese: The foursome happily posed for pictures while promoting the highly anticipated horror film directed by Jon Turteltaub Busting out: Ruby donned the floor-length Valentino creation, complete with bondage detail across the chest The Beijing premiere was a special one for fans in attendance, as the movie is set three hundred kilometers off the Chinese coast. In the film, a 75 foot long prehistoric shark called Megalodon, thought to be long extinct, rises from the depths of the ocean. It then attacks a research submersible, leaving its crew stranded. All eyes on you: Ruby did several interviews with various publications while walking the carpet Where's the popcorn? Ruby and Li sat down inside ready to watch their work back Leading ladies: The actresses engaged with fans following the screening in a Q&A British actor Jason, 51, recently revealed he had no fear while filming the action flick. The star plays diver Jonas Taylor, who is called upon to rescue the team of scientists and local population that are under threat. While preparing for the role, Jason flew to Fiji for a diving trip alongside a group of bull sharks - and highly enjoyed the experience. 'To swim in close proximity to a big, three metre shark, is to be recommended to all and everyone,' he told the Daily Star. 'You get very relaxed. When youre in their environment, its quite a tranquil sort of thing. Its remarkable to experience.' It's behind you! Aussie star Ruby wasn't afraid of the big shark lurking behind Her beau Travis Scott just released his third studio album. And Kylie Jenner was on hand to support her babydaddy on Thursday, as seen in her BFF Jordyn Woods' Instagram Stories. In the videos, the 20-year-old reality TV star showed off her slender waist in a T-shirt bearing the name of the 26-year-old-rapper's new album, Astroworld. His rock: Kylie Jenner was on hand to support her babydaddy on Thursday, as seen in her BFF Jordyn Woods' Instagram Stories The new mom paired the merchandise with a pair of tight black jeans and a fanny pack around her slim waist. Kylie's narrow midsection is all the more surprising given she only recently gave birth. She and Travis share six-month-old Stormi Webster. His biggest fan: The new mom paired the merchandise with a pair of tight black jeans and a fanny pack around her slim waist Bouncing back: Kylie's narrow midsection is all the more surprising given she only recently gave birth Waisted youth: In the videos, the 20-year-old reality TV star showed off her slender waist in a T-shirt bearing the name of the 26-year-old-rapper's new album, Astroworld In another clip, the Keeping Up With The Kardashians mainstay enters what looks like a theme park. The park -which features on Scott's new album cover- is accessible via a giant, inflatable replica of the rapper's head. The album cover was photographed by artist Dave LaChapelle. Backstage: Scott and a friend celebrate after the concert Big night: there was no shortage of libations on hand after the show She reportedly rakes in $1 million per ad on her Instagram. And Kylie Jenner added to her growing bank account as she plugged a self tanner in a scintillating post on Thursday. The cosmetic mogul flaunted her fabulous figure in a skimpy white crop top and bikini bottoms with the caption: 'My new favorite at home self tan all the way from Australia @bondisands.' Raking it in: Kylie added to her growing bank account as she plugged a self tanner in a scintillating post on Thursday Daring to impress, the reality star - who is the highest earner on Instagram, passing Selena Gomez and Kim Kardashian - showcased her bountiful bosom in the snap. Her toned and tanned tummy were thrust on center stage as the crop top sat high on her chest and the bikini bottoms cut low on her lithe waist. Noticeably missing from Kylie's snap is her beau Travis Scott, 26, and their baby daughter Stormi, six months. However, Kylie's BFF Jordyn Woods posted a series of pics and videos on her Instagram today which insinuated the two were jetting off with Travis to promote his latest album Astroworld which is out Friday. Peas in a pod: Kylie's BFF Jordyn Woods posted a series of pics and videos on her Instagram today which insinuated the two were jetting off with Kylie's beau and baby daddy Travis Scott Jet set: Travis is scheduled to perform in Chicago tonight for the release of his new album Astroworld so the two beauties may have headed to the Windy City In one picture, Travis stands on top of a private jet that has 'Astroworld' splashed across the side of it. Later, there are clips of what appears to be Travis performing in concert as he was scheduled for an album release performance in Chicago. Meanwhile, Kylie couldn't wait to try it out on herself as she gave herself a fuller pout with dark lipstick during a video post on Wednesday. Ready for take-off: In one picture, Travis stands on top of a private jet that has 'Astroworld' splashed across the side of it In the thick of it: Later, there are clips of what appears to be Travis performing in concert as he was scheduled for an album release performance in Chicago The business mogul looked to be in great spirits as she even tested the lip filter on Caitlyn Jenner. Kylie was born to Caitlyn Jenner and Kris Jenner and is the youngest of the Jenner clan which includes supermodel sister Kendall. In the quick clips, Kylie sits next to Caitlyn before utilizing the custom face filter as they share smiles and laughs. Testing out: Kylie couldn't wait to try it out her new namesake Instagram face filters as she gave herself a fuller pout with dark lipstick during a video post on Wednesday Soon the filter appears to make their lips fuller and covered in a shade of Kylie's lipstick colors. Followers of her account can swipe to the live cam and check out how they look with Kylie Cosmetics lipstick including her most famous colors Candy K, Dolce, Posie K, Say No More, Shady, Boy Bye and Glitz. The new filter will also blur the face, define lashes, and add contour. The filter arrival coincides with Kylie releasing her latest cosmetics collection to commemorate her impending 21st birthday. She's earned an army of new followers who have been left stunned by her yoga prowess. And on Friday, Simone Callahan thrilled her loyal disciples while flaunting her stunning flexibility during a yoga workout. The 48 year-old took to Instagram to share a short clip of herself performing a grueling shoulderstand. Her most impressive yoga workout yet? Shane Warne's ex Simone Callahan puts on a leggy display while flaunting her incredible flexibility with astonishing shoulderstand pose Captioning the clip, 'Flexiday', Simone also wrote, 'love this song,' gushing about the tune Cool Change by rock group Little River Band, which plays in the background. In the clip, the lithe mum-of-three stuns in a figure-hugging pink tank top and matching shorts, drawing attention to her trim and toned pins. Flaunting balletic poise, Simone begins by arching her back and point her toes off the ground. Perfect form: In a figure-hugging pink tank top and matching shorts, drawing attention to her trim and toned pins, the former WAG effortlessly lifted her frame towards the ceiling before performing the perfect shoulderstand The former WAG then effortlessly lifts her frame towards the ceiling before performing the perfect shoulderstand. Dropping one of her perfect pins to the ground, Simone showed off her stunning suppleness by pointed the other leg in the air. The now certified yoga teacher then swaps over before resuming the difficult to master pose. Jaw-dropping: Flaunting balletic poise, she then finishes off by nearly performing a mid-air splits She then finishes off by nearly performing a mid-air splits. The awesome performance comes after Simone revealed on Channel Nine's A Current Affair in July how practicing yoga has transformed her body and helped her achieve inner peace. 'You feel lighter. Just an overall feeling of...It's hard to explain, but it's... feeling good,' she said. 'I can stand on my head for 15 minutes and come down and feel amazing.' She is a scion of pop music royalty. And Paris Jackson has added another title to her list - frontwoman of a new campaign for the Philippine clothing brand Penshoppe. The 20-year-old daughter of Michael Jackson modeled a colorful striped tee from the brand as she posed in a truck in a snapshot she posted to Instagram. 'stoked to announce...': Paris Jackson has added another title to her list - frontwoman of a new campaign for the Philippine clothing brand Penshoppe Sunlight streamed through the truck as Paris sat in the driver's seat, staring toward the front passenger window and running a hand through her hair. Captioned she: 'stoked to announce that im the newest face of @penshoppe! watch out for the rest of my campaign on penshoppe.com and follow @penshoppe for more(: #penshoppepreholiday2018 #parisjacksonXpenshoppe'. She added a few tags to credit stylist Sonia Young, coiffeuse Maranda, makeup artist Melanie Inglessis and shutterbug Mike Rosenthal. Paris recently denied a Radar Online report claiming that she had decided to reenter rehab because of Demi Lovato's alleged heroin overdose. 'Please don't believe everything you read': Paris repudiated a Radar Online report claiming that she had decided to reenter rehab because of Demi Lovato's alleged heroin overdose 'To all my friends sending me really sweet messages and letting me know that you're here for me through some tough times or whatever... I'm not going back to rehab or a clinic that was just bulls*** rumors online. Please don't believe everything you read,' she said in a video posted to her Insta Stories. According to People, she wrote on her Stories in response to the rehab chatter: 'ummm no?? I havent gone to a clinic.. someone doesnt have to almost die for me to know to be healthy, Ive already had friends OD and die. thats enough for me'. Paris is Michael's second child by his second wife Debbie Rowe, who succeeded Lisa Marie Presley and stayed married to him from 1996 until 1999. The Bachelor's Nick Cummins has reportedly refused to take his clothes off on the set of The Bachelor. And it appears a belt device worn around his waist could be the reason why the 30-year-old has said no to getting his gear off for the show. Photographs of the former rugby union star, taken in May while filming the series in Port Macquarie, see him lifting up his arms and exposing the belt device. Is this why he won't take off his shirt? The Bachelor's Nick Cummins, 30, is seen wearing a belt device after reports he 'refused to take his clothes off on set' While it is unknown what exactly it is or its purpose, it bares a close resemblance to either a belt for lower back pain, a weight belt or possibly a wireless lapel microphone pack. Daily Mail Australia has reached out to Network Ten for comment. This comes after Woman's Day Uncensored reported that Network Ten bosses are supposedly having 'a whole lot of problems' with the former Wallaby during filming. Wonder what it is? While it is unknown what exactly it is or its purpose, it bares a close resemblance to a waist belt for lower back pain, a weight belt or possibly a wireless lapel microphone pack Attire: Nick wore a crisp white dress shirt, black slim-fit jeans and black boots Editor-in-chief Fiona Connolly said: 'Apparently Channel Ten aren't very happy.' She explained: 'He won't get his gear off. Honestly, producers are having a whole lot of problems with him. 'Obviously, it's almost like it should be in his contract to take his shirt off as The Bachelor. Most of them can't wait to do those shoots with magazines.' 'Channel Ten aren't very happy': This comes after Woman's Day Uncensored reported that Network Ten bosses are supposedly having 'a whole lot of problems' with the former Wallaby during filming Drama? 'He won't get his gear off... producers are having a whole lot of problems with him,' said Editor-in-chief Fiona Connolly on the Woman's Day Uncensored podcast on Thursday Fiona added that 'he just refuses to do that, which is weird for a guy whose Instagram is full of shirtless shots [and] I think he's the face of Tradie underwear. 'Don't know what's going on there and apparently Channel Ten aren't very happy.' The Bachelor will premiere on Wednesday 15 August at 7.30pm on Network Ten. Suddenly shy? Nick is known for posting shirtless photos on Instagram and being the face of Tradie underwear, but it has been claimed he 'won't get his gear off' on The Bachelor Coming soon! The Bachelor will premiere on Wednesday 15 August at 7.30pm on Network Ten 'I'm really looking forward to throwing everything at this opportunity to find The One,' Nick previously said of landing the role. Two of the confirmed contestants include indigenous youth worker Brooke Blurton, 23, and actress Cassandra Wood, also 23. It is believed Nick has found love on The Bachelor with Sophie Tieman, a fashion blogger who also works in commercial property valuations. His celebrity status was knocked down a few notches on Thursday after Instagram failed to verify his account. And now Nasser Sultan, 51, has hit out at the social media giants while forging a plan to make them change their minds and give him the desirable and coveted blue tick. The Married At First Sight star has united with Love Island Australia winner Grant Crapp, 22, to help convince Instagram bosses of his apparent relevance. 'Who do I have to sleep with?' MAFS' Nasser Sultan, 51, has hit out at Instagram after they failed to give him a verified blue tick Nasser's quest to get a blue tick verification became public knowledge on Thursday when he shared a screenshot of their refusal to his Story. 'Your account wasn't verified because it doesn't meet the criteria for verification,' Instagram's message to the TV personality read. 'You can submit another request in 30 days.' Instagram state on their website they only verify users once they confirm 'it is an authentic account for the public figure, celebrity or global brand it represents.' Desperate attempt: Nasser's quest to get a blue tick verification became public knowledge on Thursday when he shared a screenshot of their refusal to his Story Getting some advice: The MAFS star has turned to Love Island Australia's Grant Crapp for help The controversial star responded to the snub, asking: 'Who do I have to sleep with to get a blue tick?' while tagging Instagram directly. Rubbing salt in the wound, Nasser's latest celebrity friend Grant received the digital tick of honour on his account earlier this week. With Instagram seemingly deeming Grant of a certain level of importance, Nasser shared a video with the Love Islander to his profile on Friday. The best present: Grant celebrated getting his blue tick earlier this week with a birthday cake dedicate to the achievement 'You got one! How the f**k did you get one? I'm much bigger than you,' Nasser asked Grant about his blue tick in the video while claiming he's more famous. As Grant insisted that he received his randomly, he instructed the pint-sized MAFS star to send their video to Instagram directly. 'I love Nasser... make you you give it to him, Instagram,' Grant concluded in the vid. The unlikely friends then shared a hug while standing in an airport terminal and confessing their 'love' for each other. He's just returned from a sun-soaked European getaway with his family. But that doesn't mean Hunter Curtis can't enjoy a little post-holiday pampering. In a post shared to his Instagram account on Friday, Roxy Jacenko's four-year-old son beamed while enjoying a luxurious pedicure. Like mother, like son! Roxy Jacenko's youngest, Hunter Curtis, 4, proved the apple doesn't fall far from the tree as he enjoyed a manicure after a luxury European getaway with his family Sporting a striking resemblance to his PR guru mother, Hunter gave a cheeky grin while kicking back in matching dinosaur print pyjamas. A blue-haired technician was seen giving Hunter's toes the royal treatment, and this suited the playful caption: 'well-manicured toes are very important, Mum said'. The snap comes shortly after Hunter returned home to Australia with mother Roxy, 38, father Oliver Curtis, 33, and big sister, Pixie, 6. The high-life: Hunter just returned from a sun-soaked European getaway with his family. Pictured with mother Roxy, 38, and big sister, Pixie, 6 And the little tyke appeared bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, despite a bout of nausea on the 23-hour flight home. On Wednesday, Roxy revealed the trip ended on a less-than-glamorous note when her son ended up 'puking on her' during the gruelling trip. Roxy shared an Instagram photo of Hunter, Pixie and husband Oliver, tucking into a birthday cake as a 'midnight feast' at their Sydney home. That's one way to end a holiday! Roxy (left, with her daughter Pixie) revealed she was 'puked on by her son' Hunter (right) during the family's 23-hour flight from Europe to Sydney She wrote in the picture's caption: 'And 23 hours later... we are home (even managed to get puked on mid flight, thanks Hunty)'. The 'midnight feast' appeared to be a late birthday celebration for Oliver, who turned 33 last month while the family were sailing on a superyacht in Capri. The family spent four weeks travelling overseas, taking in London, Paris, Sicily and Capri, before returning to their home town of Sydney on Wednesday. They've been going strong for almost four years after meeting at Riccardo Tiscis 40th birthday party in Ibiza back in August 2014. And Kris Jenner, 62, and toyboy beau Corey Gamble, 37, proved they're still going strong as they enjoyed a dinner date at Craig's restaurant in West Hollywood on Thursday night. Turning heads as she made an entrance in true Kardashian style, the KUWTK momager looked sophisticated in a sexy ensemble as she hit the town - and inadvertently waded into the feud her daughter Kim, 37, has with model Tyson Beckford. Stunning: Kris Jenner, 62, made an entrance as she arrived at Craig's restaurant in West Hollywood, California, on Thursday with toyboy beau Corey Gamble, 37 The pair co-ordinated in matching black outfits for their date night at the at celeb-friendly Hollywood eatery, with Kris slipping into a tailored trouser suit. The reality star added a seductive twist to her look with a lace cami which flashed a hint of her ample cleavage. Smiling as she climbed out of her SUV, Kris' brunette pixie crop looked glossy, and the businesswoman enhanced her beauty with a bronzed sheen. Kris strutted her way to the restaurant in a pair of pointed black stilettos, while clutching onto an Hermes handbag. Chic: The Keeping Up With The Kardashians momager looked sophisticated in a sexy yet demure ensemble for the night out with her boyfriend Sexy: Kris slipping into a tailored trouser suit, adding a seductive twist to her look with a lace cami which flashed a hint of her ample cleavage Corey opted for a more causal look, with a black T-shirt, tracksuit bottoms and a pair of trainers. The couple headed to Craig's for a bite to eat after attending Ellen DeGeneres' comedy show at Largo nightclub and cabaret in Los Angeles. While heading back to her car, Kris was inundated with questions about Kim's current feud with Tyson Beckford. Earlier this week, Kim was slammed on social media for insinuating that Beckford was gay after he criticised one of her Instagram posts. Happy: Smiling as she climbed out of the SUV which she arrived in, Kris' brunette pixie crop looked glossy, and the businesswoman enhanced her beauty with a bronzed sheen When asked by TMZ about their Instagram spat, Kris simply replied 'Who's Tyson?'. Kris and her beau Corey have been together for four years after meeting in Ibiza at designer Riccardo Tiscis 40th birthday party in August 2014. The relationship was revealed in an episode of Keeping Up With the Kardashians and Corey was seen telling Kris' daughter Khloe and her BFF Malika Haqq that they had danced in Ibiza. Social media spat: Earlier this week, Kim was slammed on social media for insinuating that Beckford was gay after he criticised one of her Instagram posts Designer duds: Kris strutted her way to the restaurant in a pair of pointed black stilettos, while clutching onto an Hermes handbag Despite their long-term romance, Kris revealed she had no intention of tying the knot with Corey as she is already twice-divorced from her failed marriages to Robert Kardashian and Bruce Jenner (now Caitlyn). Kris was previously married to her late ex-husband Robert Kardashian - the first Kardashian to gain fame for his role on O.J. Simpson's legal Dream Team - between the years of 1978 and 1991. He passed away at the age of 59 on September 30, 2003 following a battle with esophageal cancer. Grant Denyer and his wife Chezzi have posed on the cover of True Blue magazine in their country finest. In the cover image, the power couple recline atop hay bales with 40-year-old Chezzi curiously holding a plump brown chicken. Dressed casually in black jeans and a flannel, the 40-year-old former quiz show host channels rural chic. Hay there! Grant Denyer and his wife Chezzi, both 40, have posed on the cover of True Blue magazine in their country finest Grant captioned the snap: 'Country mode: engaged. Foot on hay, farm gate, checked shirt & chook. Nailed'. It's all for a good cause, with radio host Grant promoting his work with Rural Aid, an organisation supporting rural Australians. Grant shared images from his work with the charity in June, posing beside a four wheel drive. Good lad! It's all for a good cause, with radio host Grant promoting his work with Rural Aid, an organisation supporting rural Australians Helping: Grant told his fans that he'd helped a farmer rebuild his sheep shed as part of his work with Rural Aid Other snaps saw him doing hands-on repair work on a property including painting while atop a ladder. Grant told his fans that he'd helped a farmer rebuild his sheep shed as part of his work with Rural Aid. 'Farm Rescue completed! Spent the weekend in outback NSW with an awesome gang of volunteers from @ruralaid helping out James, a struggling sheep farmer doing it tough in drought,' the TV host captioned the images. Hands on! Other snaps saw him doing hands-on repair work on a property including painting while atop a ladder Grant explained: 'Farm Rescue completed! Spent the weekend in outback NSW with an awesome gang of volunteers helping out James, a struggling sheep farmer' He went on: 'The rescue team rebuilt his shearer's quarters that was falling down to save him money & improve his situation. 'James has always helped others in his community & this time we helped pay him back. 61% of NSW is in drought and James hasn't seen any rain in 18 months. That's why @ruralaid is so amazing. Lucky to be a part of their extraordinary work & these farm rescues. Well done to all the people who gave up their own time to pitch in. Aussie spirit at its best,' he concluded. Ruby Rose had her cleavage on full display in a revealing low-cut dress on Friday as she had her own Instagram photo-shoot in her hotel bathroom. The 32-year-old actress posted a series of snaps of her unwinding, after posing up a storm in the revealing ensemble at the Beijing premiere of her latest film The Meg. Ruby told fans that she couldn't get over the size of her bath as it was large enough to be a swimming pool. Wow-factor: Ruby Rose, 32, had her cleavage on full display in a revealing low-cut dress on Friday, as she had her own Instagram photo-shoot in her hotel bathroom Ruby captioned her post: '@maisonvalentino bath series .. because this bath was like a pool'. The Orange Is The New Black star's intricate tattoos were also highlighted, and she slicked back her pixie haircut. Never one to shy away from an eclectic look, Ruby's dress boasted a revealing bra front with a black, white and pink striped maxi skirt. Revealing: The Australian actress showed off her intricate tattoos in the low-cut dress which showcased her ample cleavage Sexy: Ruby rocked an eclectic dress with revealing straps, and slicked back her pixie haircut Ruby had been appearing at the premiere of her latest film The Meg in the Chinese city of Beijing, which tells the tale of a giant shark terrorising a group of scientists trapped at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean. The action flick is somewhat a homage to the 1975 classic Jaws, and also features some of China's biggest stars including Li Bingbing, 45. British actor Jason Statham, 51, recently revealed he had no fear while filming the movie. The star plays diver Jonas Taylor, who is called upon to rescue the team of scientists and local population that are under threat. Racy: The Orange Is The New Black star gushed to fans that the bath in her hotel room was 'like a swimming pool' Superstar: Ruby posted a slew of snaps after walking the red carpet for her latest film The Meg, where she stars opposite Jason Statham While preparing for the role, Jason flew to Fiji for a diving trip alongside a group of bull sharks - and highly enjoyed the experience. 'To swim in close proximity to a big, three metre shark, is to be recommended to all and everyone,' he told the Daily Star. 'You get very relaxed. When you're in their environment, it's quite a tranquil sort of thing. It's remarkable to experience.' Starlet: She took on a lead role in the star-studded film, which shows a group of scientists working under the sea being trapped by a 75 ft prehistoric shark Incredible: The stunning beauty appeared at the premiere for the shark action film close to where it was filmed in China, rocking her low-cut striped dress Wiggles stars Emma Watkins and Lachlan Gillespie shocked fans on Friday, announcing they had split after two years of marriage. And the entertainers, who together form half of the world's most popular children's band, have certainly had a very colourful relationship. Emma, 28, and Lachlan, 32, secretly dated for two years before finally going public with their romance in March 2015, and from that time on they were a fixture in the headlines. Highs and lows: The Wiggles couple Emma Watkins, 28, and Lachlan Gillespie, 32, announced their shock split on Friday after two years of marriage and six years of dating. The couple are pictured in November 2015 Superstars! Emma and Lachlan (centre) form one half of the Wiggles along with Simon Pryce (left) and Anthony Field (right). The band are pictured in September 2015 Lachlan began touring with The Wiggles back in 2009, eventually replacing 'purple Wiggle' Jeff Fatt at the beginning of 2013. Emma joined the superstar band at the same time, donning a yellow skivvy to become the first ever female Wiggle. The pair began dating just weeks later, but kept their romance a secret for the next two years as they performed all around the world. Highs and lows: Lachlan and Emma began dating soon after joining The Wiggles but kept their romance a secret for two years. Pictured in 2017 In March 2015, they finally went public with their romance in an interview with The Daily Telegraph. 'I asked Emma on some dinner dates in March 2013 and we really started enjoying the little bits of time off we had together,' Lachlan recalled to the publication. 'It was obvious for both of us that we had a lot of feelings for each other so it happened naturally that we started spending more time together on top of already spending every day working and preforming together,' he further stated. Happy days: Just two months after confirming their relationship, the elated pair became engaged, with Lachlan popping the question on Sydney Harbour Just two months later, the elated pair became engaged, with Lachlan popping the question on Sydney Harbour. 'We were sitting by the water and Lachy started reading a poem... then he started to kneel and I said, "Oh my goodness this is happening",' Emma told The Sydney Morning Herald. The pair tied the knot in April 2016, in a lavish ceremony held at Hopewood Estate in the upmarket town of Bowral, outside of Sydney. Emma stunned in an ivory lace couture gown designed by Suzanne Haward, telling Daily Mail Australia it 'was the most beautiful thing I have ever worn'. She additionally wore a bespoke diamond headpiece by milliner Viktoria Novak, while Lachlan paid tribute to his Scottish heritage by wearing a tartan sash. The couples' Wiggles bandmates Anthony Field and Simon Pryce were both in attendance on the day. The following year, Emma and Lachlan sparked baby rumours by putting their Sydney apartment on the market for $2million. Located in the leafy North Shore suburb of Wollstonecraft, the three-bedroom apartment once formed part of an English-style manor built in 1986. There was speculation that the couple were upsizing to a bigger home in preparation for children. Sold! Emma and Lachlan put their stunning Sydney apartment on the market for $2 million in 2017 Moving on: There was speculation that the couple offloaded their three-bedroom apartment (pictured) in preparation for children Heritage: The couple successfully sold their apartment, which was listed for $2 million Emma and Lachlan certainly fuelled rumours that they were starting a family, saying last year that their future child would be incorporated into The Wiggles concerts. 'I think we'd have to get it (the baby) up on stage. I will be playing the drums and then pushing a rocker and dancing, but somehow it will have to be incorporated into the show,' Emma told The Sydney Morning Herald in June 2017. However, behind her happiness, the redheaded star was privately battling endometriosis - a painful condition that occurs when the tissue that normally lines the inside of the uterus grows outside of it. Endometriosis can cause infertility in some women. Ordeal: Earlier this year, Emma revealed her battle with endometriosis - a painful condition that occurs when the tissue that normally lines the inside of the uterus grows outside of it. Pictured after surgery in April. Speaking about her health struggle with The Australian Women's Weekly two weeks ago, Emma claimed that she had been 'bleeding every day for over six months' before she told her bandmates she was in pain. In April, she underwent surgery to address her endometriosis. She claimed at the time the operation 'went well'. Two months later she offered a more harrowing account of the surgery, telling News Corp: 'I lost so much blood I had an infusion, and that's when it started to hit me. 'I had had really bad periods since school pretty much, but when the doctors are actually in there, they can see the severity. It seemed worse than I had thought, and (worse than) they thought as well.' Living separate lives: On Friday it was revealed that Emma and Lachlan had already commenced a 'trial separation' at the time she underwent her surgery in April. Pictured together in March 2015 Red carpet regulars: Emma and Lachlan pictured at the ARIA Awards in November 2017 However, on Friday it was revealed that Emma and Lachlan had already commenced a 'trial separation' at the time she underwent her surgery. In a statement shared to each of their Instagram accounts they wrote: 'For the last six months we have been navigating through a trial separation, and we have made the decision to separate as a couple'. Insisting their split would not affect their working together in The Wiggles they continued: 'Our incredible friendship has been strengthened throughout this time and what we have discovered is that, more than ever, first and foremost we love and adore performing as Emma and Lachy in The Wiggles'. 'We have chosen a different path to travel in our personal lives, but please know that we are stronger than ever and we can't wait to see you at a show soon.' 'For the last six months we have been navigating through a trial separation': Emma and Lachlan were married for just over two years. Pictured together in 2017 They packed on the PDA while taking part in a series of steamy naked photoshoots in Thailand. And Katie Price, 40, and her toyboy boyfriend Kris Boyson, 29, looked as loved-up as ever as they stepped out for a romantic dinner date during the exotic getaway last month. The mother-of-five flaunted her surgically-enhanced assets in a plunging lace minidress as she strolled along hand-in-hand with her personal trainer beau. Loved-up: Katie Price, 40, and her toyboy beau Kris Boyson, 29, cosied up for a dinner date in Thailand last month, after she branded her cheating ex Kieran Hayler a 'narcissistic liar' Katie ensured she took centre-stage in her dress, which featured a racy sheer lace overlay and and a flirty scalloped hemline. She injected an added dose of sex appeal to her look with some nude thigh-high peep-to boots. The former stripped boasted a deep mahogany glow and framed her features with heavy false lashes and a slick of nude lipstick. Fitness enthusiast Kris, meanwhile, accentuated his muscular frame in a skintight white top which he paired with navy shorts. Dare to bare: The mother-of-five flaunted her surgically-enhanced assets in a plunging lace minidress as she strolled along hand-in-hand with her personal trainer beau Their outing comes after Katie took to Instagram with a number of cryptic tweets about narcissism, which appears to take aim at her ex Kieran Hayler. Captioning a lengthy quote, Katie added: 'This man was so convincing but took it to another level convincing and lying to another person who believed him that much that he is and has treated me in such a disgraceful way and for a long time! '#Thetruthwillseeyoufree both behaviours of these men is disgraceful, its so frustrating people think these men are perfect ... well one of them #timeforachange.' Sweet: Katie and Kris took part in a series of raunchy naked photoshoots during the holiday She also uploaded another cryptic quote, which read: 'The narcissist will throw in your face all what they have done for you but never say one word of all what you have done for them.' Katie confirmed she was splitting from Kieran after four years in June 2017, when his affair with their family nanny emerged. She has since moved on with Kris and the pair have recently returned from a romantic getaway in Thailand. She reportedly embarked on a series of recent raunchy naked photoshoots with Kris in Thailand in a desperate bid to avoid bankruptcy as she takes on her third bitter divorce battle with Kieran. Oh dear: This comes after Katie took to Instagram with a number of cryptic tweets about narcissism, which appears to take aim at ex Kieran Hayler Cryptic: The quote said that the narcisisist wil ' throw in your face all they have done for you' The former stripper has allegedly demanded a share of her estimated 45 million fortune as 'compensation for lost earnings' after she prevented him working during their five-year marriage. Elsewhere, the former glamour model was forced to turn herself into the police last week, after driving during her six-month ban. Back in February, she was slapped with a driving ban for the second time after she was caught speeding at more than 50mph near her home in West Sussex. He played Ross Geller's adorable yet mischievous son on the popular Warner Bros television series. And Friends fans have been left shocked after they discovered that the twin actors who played Ben Geller, Cole and Dylan Sprouse, are now the same age as Jennifer Aniston when she first joined the show as their future step-mum Rachel Green. Cole and Dylan are both 25-years-old, which is the exact same age as Jennifer when she filmed the popular programme's pilot in 1994. Shocking: Friends fans discovered that the twin actors who played Ben Geller, Cole and Dylan Sprouse, are now the same age as Jennifer Aniston when she first joined the show At the time, the actress was the second youngest cast member with Chandler Bing actor Matthew Perry aged 24. The discovery was made by a fan on Twitter, who tweeted: 'Brace yourselves: the actor who played Ben in Friends is now older than Jennifer Aniston was at the start of the series AND Courtney Cox is now older than Richard was on the show.' They jokingly added: 'Im not convinced I understand how time works anymore #mindblown.' Uncanny: Cole and Dylan are both 25-years-old, which is the exact same age as Jennifer when she filmed the popular programme's pilot in 1994 (Jennifer pictured as Rachel Green in 1994) Wow: After Friends, the two actors have gone on to have very successful careers as they starred in The Suite Life of Zack & Cody, which earned an impressive $40,0000 per an episode In shock: The discovery was made by a fan on Twitter, who tweeted their amazement and shock over the find The character of Ben was played by several child actors during his lifespan on the show, with twins Cole and Dylan being the most famous as they played him at an older age. After Friends, the two actors have gone on to have very successful careers as they starred in The Suite Life of Zack & Cody, which they earned an impressive $40,0000 per an episode, which roughly converts into 30, 776. The show came to an end in 2008, with their spin-off series The Suite Life on Deck finishing in 2011. Success: In 1994, Jennifer was the second youngest cast member with Chandler Bing actor Matthew Perry aged 24 (characters Rachel and Ross pictured with Ben in 2001) Cheeky: He played Ross Geller's adorable yet mischievous son on the popular Warner Bros television series (Ben pictured with his future step-mum Rachel in 2001) Cole has gone on to path an impressive acting career and has rose to even more fame by starring as Jughead Jones in Riverdale. Yet this isn't his only talents and he also graduated from New York University in 2015 after studying archaeology. Meanwhile, Dylan also studied video game design at the same college and graduated after four years. Talented: Rachel Green actress Jennifer Aniston pictured in June earlier this year Brothers: Dylan, left, has gone on to graduate in video game design at New York University as well as open his own business, All-Wise Meadery, which specialises in the alcoholic drink Mead Even more fame: Cole has gone on to path an impressive acting career and has rose to even more fame by starring as Jughead Jones in Riverdale (pictured in character on the show) He has since gone on to open his own business, All-Wise Meadery, which specialises in alcoholic beverage Mead, otherwise known as 'honey wine'. But it wasn't just the twins' age that fans noticed and some viewers even worked out that Ben would be 23-years-old today, after he was born in 1995. With the character only being two years younger than his Aunt Monica Geller, played by Courteney Cox, whose character was 25 at the beginning of the series. Paris Hilton has treated fans to another look inside her jaw-dropping $1million closet while showing off her HUGE shoe collection on Thursday. The US star, 37, took to Instagram while preparing to jet to Ibiza and told fans she needed to find some shoes for her sunshine break while panning the camera around the contents of her wardrobe. Shoes line the walls in every color and style, with every shelf in the footwear section of her dream closet filled to the brim. Showing off her impressive collection that she has built and even designed over the years, Paris, who is engaged to her actor beau Chris Zylka, coos: 'Getting ready to fly to Ibiza... time to get some shoes.' From platform heels, to brightly coloured courts and leopard print boots, the former Simple Life star appears to have every possibility covered with her collection. And clearly taking pride in her footwear, the shelves have been meticulously colour coordinated and organised. The video revealed that Paris' wardrobe, that used to be organised by Kim Kardashian in her pre-fame days, boasts a huge crystal chandelier in the centre. Lucky lady: Paris Hilton has treated fans to another look inside her jaw-dropping $1million closet while showing off her HUGE shoe collection The US star, 37, took to Instagram while preparing to jet to Ibiza and panned the camera around the contents of her insane wardrobe Extensive collection: Shoes line the walls in every color and style, with every shelf in the footwear section of her dream closet filled to the brim It's not the first time the House of Wax actress has flaunted her hugely expensive closet, with the beauty appearing on The Lowdown with Diane Madison back in 2014 and inviting the US presenter into her wardrobe - where she joked she owned 1000 pair of shoes. Many of Paris' shoes are designs she has created herself, with the blonde beauty boasting her own shoe line among others, such as perfume and sunglasses. The DJ is believed to own 44 Paris Hilton stores worldwide selling her various lines, including handbags and watches too. Paris took part in a shoot for Life & Style magazine, last year, that featured her custom closet which she described as a 'work of art'. 'My closet is so big and gorgeous, my girlfriends walk in and say they feel like they're in a dream world,' she told the publication. 'It looks like a work of art.' Jetting off: Paris, who is engaged to her actor beau Chris Zylka, coos in the video: 'Getting ready to fly to Ibiza... time to get some shoes' for more visit Diana Madison Paris also filmed a segment for Vogue in 2016 from the confines of her closet, where she was seen going through her jeans collection. The starlet was seen counting the amount of denim designs she has, exceeding 104 before declaring she has 'lost count'. She also comes across a VERY scanty denim skirt from her days on reality show The Simple Life, alongside Nicole Richie, and revealed she'd had it tailor-made to purposely be eye-wateringly short. 'I don't know if I'd ever wear this again,' Paris confessed, while revealing: 'On The Simple Life we didn't even have stylists. We just wore whatever we wanted. We were really into Von Dutch, that was like our thing.' Paris flaunted her hugely expensive closet on The Lowdown with Diane Madison back in 2014 and joked she owned 1000 pair of shoes Flaunting it: Paris took part in a shoot for Life & Style magazine, last year, that featured her custom closet which she described as a 'work of art' Love for fashion: Paris (pictured above on The Simple Life with Nicole Richie) has taken her love of clothes and created her own fashion line, including sunglasses, shoes and watches While Paris' closet may be her pride and joy it had left the socialite with anxiety, after she was targeted for her prized collection and her $4million home was robbed. She was one of the stars targeted by the thieves known as the Bling Ring nine years ago, who raided celebrity homes and stole around $2million worth of clothing and jewellery. They hand-picked what they wanted from Hilton's shoe cupboard and took cash and other valuables from her home, that was situated within a private gated community. The ordeal was later made into a movie, directed by Sofia Coppola, in which Paris made a cameo herself. She actually agreed to some scenes being shot from her shoe closet, joking with the cast that she was happy for them to film in her wardrobe as long as they 'don't burn her house down'. Every girl's dream? Paris often share snaps from inside her wardrobe - this shot of her shoe closet was posted by the star to her Instagram amid a closet clean in 2015 Targeted: While Paris' closet may be her pride and joy it had left the socialite with anxiety, after she was targeted for her prized collection and her $4million home was robbed Robbed: She was one of the stars targeted by the thieves known as the Bling Ring nine years ago, who raided celebrity homes and stole around $2million worth of clothing and jewellery The movie, that starred the likes of Emma Watson and Katie Chang, had included a scene where the thieves were seen in Hilton's closet, admiring her shoes and trying on her designer clothes and accessories. Speaking to Access Hollywood in 2013, Paris revealed that she had agreed for her closet to be filmed while speaking to Coppola at her birthday party. She said: 'She asked me if I'd be OK to shoot the house, and I respect her so much as a director - I think she's so amazing - that I said yes. If it was anyone else, I wouldn't have wanted to do it. 'It was very invasive what they did to me. It's really important that Sofia shows what happened and how serious this was... I'm glad she got to show that.' She found love with hunky Jack Fowler on this year's series of Love Island. And Laura Crane is now trying to play cupid for others, as she revealed she thinks that Caroline Flack, 38, and Alex George, 27, should get together while appearing on Lizzie Cundy and Stephen Leng's Access All Areas Fubar radio show on Thursday. The professional surfer, 23, admitted she had no idea Caroline was going through a break up during the show, but thinks she and Alex would be a good match. Cupid: Love Island's Laura Crane is now trying to play cupid for others, as she thinks Caroline Flack, 38, and Alex George, 27, should get together (pictured with Scarlett Moffatt) Laura added that the pair 'get on really well', while presenters Lizzie and Stephen agreed that they could see the match working well. Cheeky Stephen then quipped 'and he's got his own money unlike Andrew Brady', following speculation that he is cash-strapped. It comes after Alex admitted Caroline was his dream woman during his time on the show. During a chat with Josh Denzel, Alex was asked who his ideal woman was, as they discussed his faltering search for romance. Spilling the beans: The reality star appeared on Lizzie Cundy and Stephen Leng's Access All Areas Fubar radio show on Thursday Perfect match: The professional surfer, 23, admitted she had no idea Caroline was going through a break up during the show, but thinks she and Alex would be a good match Without missing a beat, Alex responded during their chat in the communal bedroom: 'Physically, a girl a bit like Caroline Flack.' Caroline's ex Andrew has appeared to have kept hold of his and Caroline's French bulldog puppy, Ruby, after their high-profile split as he called her his 'daughter' on his Instagram on Wednesday. The former couple, who got engaged in April and separated for good in July after a whirlwind six month romance, were reportedly set for a custody battle over the pet pooch last month. With Caroline reported to have been left 'furious' after he was claimed to have taken Ruby without her permission before she headed back to Majorca to continue filming for Love Island. Girls' night: Lizzie and Laura posed for a snap after her appearance on the show Doting 'dad': Caroline's ex Andrew Brady, 27, has appeared to of kept hold the couple's French bulldog puppy, Ruby, as he shared a photo of himself to Instagram on Wednesday Yet it now looks as though Andrew has kept hold of the puppy as he shared a photograph of himself posing with the adorable pooch on his Instagram on Wednesday, after several other posts too. In the photo, the cash-strapped former The Apprentice star cut a casual figure in dark jeans, a burgundy t-shirt and orange Ray-Ban sunglasses, he held Ruby on his lap. He captioned the sweet snap with: 'Dad and Daughter,' followed with a dog emoji. MailOnline has contacted Andrew's representative for comment. 'Custody battle': The former couple, who got engaged in April and separated for good in July after a whirlwind six month romance, were reportedly set for a custody battle over the pooch The photo comes after a source told The Sun earlier this month: 'The dog was the one thing they seemed able to agree on. 'She had been happy to share custody of the dog and for Andrew to disappear with it was out of order. 'On top of everything else that's happened it was like a final kick in the teeth. She has gone to film again, but she hasn't accepted it.' 'Angry': With Caroline, 38, reported to have been left 'furious' after he was claimed to have taken Ruby without her permission Just last week, Caroline was forced to fly back to London from filming in Majorca to kick her ex-fiance out of her home. Andrew was seen huffily bundling a TV and his belongings into a rented Transit van and was clutching the 6,500 vintage diamond he proposed to Caroline with in April, after just three months of dating. A source said that Andrew, 27, insisted on taking the ring back, though Caroline had been wearing it albeit on her right hand ever since they split up on July 10. They told MailOnline: '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.' Also after their split last month, Andrew admitted that he's 'ashamed' of himself after meeting with Celebs Go Dating producers shortly after his split from fiancee Caroline, due to 'having no money', which he revealed in a heartfelt statement. Good Charlotte are gearing up to release a dark new 'punk' album that reflects on today's uncertain times. Speaking with The Daily Telegraph on Friday, frontman Joel Madden revealed the band's forthcoming LP, Generation Rx, will explore America's opioid crisis and mass shootings. The 39-year-old says the band was particularly rocked by June's Capital Gazette shooting in their home state of Maryland, in which five newspaper employees were killed by a crazed gunman. 'It really hit home for us': Good Charlotte's Joel Madden told The Daily Telegraph on Friday that his band's new album will reflect on the mass shootings and opioid crisis sweeping the United States Joel told the publication that he was disturbed by the fact that the killings may have been motivated by 'anti-mainstream media sentiment', saying: 'It is horrible to think that is an idea now. Ideas are put in our heads and they grow and there's good ideas and there's bad ideas.' The rocker and his bandmate brother Benji are both based in LA, but returned home to Maryland late last month to headline the Annapolis Rising concert, which raised funds for the Capital Gazette victim's families. 'The experience of just being a member of the community for the day and contribute what I could... really did something to me,' Joel explained to The Daily Telegraph. Hometown heroes: The rocker and his bandmate brother Benji, also 39, are both based in LA, but returned home to Maryland late last month to headline the Annapolis Rising concert Tragedy: The band was particularly rocked by June's Capital Gazette shooting in their home state of Maryland, in which five newspaper employees were killed by a crazed gunman 'What I loved about that day was everyone was there together doing what they do, volunteering their time and people there I hadn't seen in years,' he added. Generation Rx, which is the band's seventh studio album, will be released next month and will also address the opioid crisis sweeping across the United States. Joel was left devastated by the recent death of rapper and Good Charlotte superfan Lil Peep, 21, who died last November of an accidental overdose of Fentanyl and Xanax. Tragedy: Joel was also left devastated by the recent death of rapper and Good Charlotte superfan Lil Peep (pictured) who died last November of an accidental overdose The band played at the rapper's funeral and recently told Rolling Stone in a statement that they want to raise more awareness of the opioid epidemic. 'Throughout this century we've seen the whole opioid crisis get worse... We wanted to get back out there on the battlefield and spread insight, share experience and give anything we could to improve lives,' they wrote. Joel is currently in Australia ahead of the album's release, and also revealed he and his wife, Nicole Richie, frequently head Down Under to holiday. The couple married in 2010, and the pair share two children, daughter Harlow, 10, and son Sparrow, eight. He's been hotly-tipped to play the role of Marvel villain Mysterio in the new Spider-Man sequel for several months. And Jake Gyllenhaal fuelled the feverish speculation that he has joined the Spider-Man: Far From Home cast when he was spotted in London where the flick is being filmed. The 37-year-old Oscar-nominated actor cut a casual figure in a simple T-shirt and chinos as he stepped out for a solo shopping trip in the British capital on Tuesday. Hmm: Jake Gyllenhaal fuelled rumours that he's starring in Spider-Man: Far From Home as he was spotted in London on Tuesday where the Marvel sequel is being filmed The Donnie Darko actor completed his relaxed outfit with a pair of adidas Stan Smith trainers and shielded his eyes behind some round-eye shades. Jake was 'in talks' with Marvel bosses to star in the new film in May, according to The Hollywood Reporter. However, Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige told ComicBook.com that the actor hasn't officially been cast, casting doubt over his role in the film. The character of Mysterio, aka Quentin Beck, was introduced into the comics by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko in 1964. Off-duty cool: The 37-year-old Oscar-nominated actor cut a casual figure in a simple T-shirt and chinos during a solo shopping trip on Tuesday Rumour has it: Jake was 'in talks' with Marvel bosses to star in the new film in May, according to The Hollywood Reporter He is a special effects expert who uses his talents to create elaborate illusions to commit crime and to fight Spider-Man. Tom Holland, 21, stars as Spider-Man in the Marvel Universe. The young Brit is the third Spider-man in the rebooted film franchise. Tobey Maguire, 42, appeared in Spider-Man in 2002 and again in 2004 and 2007. Villain: The character of Mysterio, aka Quentin Beck, was introduced into the comics by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko in 1964 Doubt: Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige confirmed to ComicBook.com that Jake hasn't officially been cast, casting doubt over his role in the film He was replaced by Brit Andrew Garfield, 34, for the Amazing Spider-Man in 2012 and its 2014 follow up. Tom joined the franchise as the webbed wonder in 2016's Captain America: Civil War and 2017's Spider-Man: Homecoming. He also co-starred in Avengers: Infinity War, released on April 27. The Spider-Man sequel is set to hit theaters on July 5, 2019. Meanwhile, busy Jake has three movies in various states of production this year and six lined up for 2019. The Love Island finalists have all had busy schedules since the show ended on Monday night as they filmed for Love Island: The Reunion. And stills released ahead of the show, shows Dani Dyer, 22, and Jack Fincham, 26, had a lovely welcome home from all her friends at her local she used to work in. With lots of people showing up to congratulate the couple, including Grandad 'Bruv', the pair were treated to balloons as they toasted their success. Love Island: Dani Dyer and Jack Fincham were thrown a surprise party at the pub she used to work at in Essex as they filmed scenes for Sunday night's reunion show Anyone fancy some pens? Jack also took Dani back to his workplace to meet all his colleagues and showed her the salesman ropes as she sat in his office chair in Clerkenwell Jack also took Dani back to his workplace to meet all his colleagues and showed her the salesman ropes as she sat in his office chair in Clerkenwell. Despite winning 50k to share when they won Love Island, they've been keeping things frugal when it comes to their meals. They've enjoyed McDonald's, a chinese takeaway and a 3.25 Co-op meal deal. Nice to see you: Dani looked thrilled to be meeting Jack's colleagues at Woolwich DMG in Clerkenwell The other Islanders have also been living it up while filming for the show, posting some of the pictures they've taken of their adventures on social media. Laura Anderson, 29, took Paul Knops, 31, to Loch Lomond in Scotland, where she is from, where she got him fitted for a kilt and went for a boat ride in the rain. They also went on a bus tour round Lauras home town Stirling followed by a picnic with her friends at Stirling Castle. Tartan him up: Laura Anderson, 29, took Paul Knops, 31, to Loch Lomond in Scotland, where she is from, where she got him fitted for a kilt Did someone order a shower? They also went for a champagne boat ride where they got drenched in the rain Ever the gent: Paul picked Laura up in his arms as her wet jeans clung to her Wes Nelson, 20, took Megan Barton-Hanson, 24, home to meet all his family and friends and they threw a welcome home BBQ. Megan also took Wes back home to Southend to check out the sights ahead of moving there together. Josh Denzel, 26, and Kazimir Crossley, 23, met up with their best friends back in London. Josh always said Kaz would fit well into his social group so they went for some drinks to get to know each others friendship groups. On Saturday the couple will be taking to the red carpet when they attend their first event as a couple. They are going to Gumball 3000. Love Island: The Reunion is on ITV2 on Sunday 5th August at 9pm. Details of Love Island Live are at www.meettheislanders.com. Fancy seeing you here: Josh Denzel, 26, and Kazimir Crossley, 23, met up with their best friends back in London Georgia Fowler is one of the world's most in-demand models. And the Victoria's Secret star showed off her sizzling physique, in an Instagram post on Wednesday. The 26-year-old Kiwi-born beauty sported a skimpy black bikini, while on vacation in Fiji. No wonder they cast her! Victoria's Secret model Georgia Fowler, 26, showed off her sizzling physique in a skimpy black bikini, in an Instagram post on Wednesday Georgia draws attention to her lithe arms, washboard stomach, and endlessly long and lean legs in the beach attire. Sweeping her brunette locks underneath a red hairband, the starlet perches her frame on a rock with Fiji's crystal clear water in the background. Rock in hand, Georgia playfully writes in one picture's caption: 'That you Wilson?' The caption was a playful reference to the 2000 hit film Cast Away, starring Tom Hanks as a FedEx systems engineer, who washes up on a desert island after his plane crashes into the ocean. Stunning: Sweeping her brunette locks underneath a red hairband, the starlet perches her frame on a rock with Fiji's crystal clear water in the background Modern classic: Georgia was making reference to the volleyball Wilson in the 2000 film Cast Away, which is a companion for Tom Hanks' character as he is trapped on an deserted island In the film his character marks a face with blood, on a washed-up volleyball that he names Wilson, and the moment they are separated at sea becomes one of the film's most heartbreaking scenes. Georgia has been soaking up the sun in Fiji after last being spotted at the concert of her rumoured beau Harry Styles. Back in 2015 the duo sparked romance rumours after Georgia took to Snapchat to share a video of the pair enjoying a game of Scrabble. Incredible: The New Zealand beauty has been documenting her recent getaway to Fiji, showcasing her incredible figure in the private island snaps When prodded about Harry's song Kiwi on The Morning Show in November, the star's face dropped before addressing the question. The song Kiwi on Styles' self-titled debut album has long been rumoured to be about the New Zealand-born beauty and features the lyric: 'She said, "I'm having your baby, it's none of your business".' 'Ah, don't really know anything about it,' Georgia shook her head, after referring to Harry as a 'friend'. 'Definitely don't have a baby... that's what the song is all about,' she said, adding: 'I think it's highly unlikely.' Lydia Bright was every inch the proud sister as she congratulated her 14-year-old sibling Roma on her first modelling job. The TOWIE star, 28, took to Instagram to share a snap of her younger sibling, where she announced that Roma would be entering the fashion world. Lydia posted a picture of her sister beaming from ear to ear, stood against an idyllic backdrop, with the caption: 'My little lady got her first modelling job. Proud: Lydia Bright was every inch the proud sister as she congratulated her 14-year-old sibling Roma on her first modelling job 'Forget Momagers I am going to be a Sistager. So very proud, cant wait to see you shine.' Kris Jenner coined the term momager when she started to manage her famous brood, and it appears Lydia has dreams of following the same path by using a similar phrase. Roma was brought up with Lydia by their Debbie Douglas, 57, who previously revealed that along with caring for her kids, she has also fostered more than 250 foster children. Sibling bond: The TOWIE star, 28, took to Instagram to share a snap of her younger sibling, where she announced that Roma would be entering the fashion world Debbie told MailOnline that she loves the chaos of life as a carer, while also juggling her own four children, yet admitted than the devastation of giving up babies she has looked after since they were just days old. Speaking at the Polo At The Manor event at Wales' Celtic Manor Resort earlier this year, the reality favourite candidly discussed her life as a foster parent and the highs and lows of the tough yet rewarding job. Debbie burst on to TV screens nearly eight years ago in a supporting role on The Only Way Is Essex in support of her reality star daughter Lydia, before garnering huge praise from fans as one of the loving mums of the show. While she has kept her fostering off screens, Debbie has always spoken with passion about the work yet admits there are difficulties with the job. She told MailOnline: 'The hardest thing is when you have to give up babies, when you take a baby from a week old, a year or 18 months have to move on, thats heartbreaking. You have to remember you are just part of their journey... 'Some of the behaviours are so difficult to deal with. Its much harder to unlearn behaviours than to learn them. If you dont get a child until theyre 10, sometimes you can break through but sometimes you cant... The mother of Lydia and Roma, Debbie Douglas, 57, previously revealed that along with caring for her kids, she has also fostered more than 250 foster children (pictured in June 2018) 'You know that child is going to have a difficult life, but they have to go through that journey to become that person theyll become in later life'. She has always praised her own children, Lydia, 27, Georgia, 28, Freddie, 19, and Romana, 14, for the positive effect they have had on their foster siblings. She continued: 'Im 57 now, so I started fostering 27/28 years ago, my kids were both babies. For us it's our lifestyle, all four of my kids dont know any different, its a lifestyle, theyre used to sharing their mum and dad.' Happy times: Debbie burst on to TV screens nearly eight years ago in a supporting role on The Only Way Is Essex in support of her reality star daughter Lydia (pictured on holiday 2018) Of her partner Dave, she said: 'My relationship with Dave has been very like that, weve been very involved in caring the pair of us. 'For us its normality, for us we live in a life of chaos, its organised chaos. The one thing you must actually be, the number one thing you have to be is flexible.' Detailing the rewards, she said: 'The most rewarding thing is knowing youre making a difference, when I speak to the older children theyre the ones that come back and tell me Ive made a difference. Just being tucked into bed made a difference'. Rewarding: Speaking at the Polo At The Manor event at Wales' Celtic Manor Resort earlier this year, the reality favourite candidly discussed her life as a foster parent and the highs and lows of the tough yet rewarding job On how she got started, Debbie said: 'I never really heard of fostering, my belief is people think too much about it and overthink it too much. You probably will be told by professionals you have to. For me, when you overthink things you make things more complicated than they are.' When asked if fostering was for everyone, she said: 'I just think something youve got to be passionate about it, wake up every morning and get fulfilment out of it, giving something back. Mentally you shouldnt put an age group on it, physically Im able, Ive got a baby in placement. 'Im able to do swimming, two hour feeds, if it got to an age where I couldnt do that then physically I would have to stop.' It should have been a relaxing and freeing experience. But Ashley Greene trembled in fear that she had broken the law when she sunbathed naked on her honeymoon in Hawaii. The 31-year-old actress and her husband Paul Khoury decided to check out a nude beach whilst on their romantic vacation and Australian TV announcer Paul, 30, convinced his new spouse to bare all on the sand. Uh oh: Ashley Greene trembled in fear that she had broken the law when she sunbathed naked on her honeymoon in Hawaii as she shared this snap last month However, the Twilight Saga star isn't sure whether it was actually legal to be nude at the beach. Speaking to TMZ, she said: 'There's like a separate part and you have to hike up behind this rock, and I don't know that it's actually legal but you know we were there early because they were like 'the cops have been cracking down'.' And Ashley admits she told her man he would be in big trouble with her if she did find herself in trouble with the cops. Bad idea? The 31-year-old actress and her husband Paul Khoury decided to check out a nude beach whilst on their romantic vacation and Australian TV announcer Paul, 30, convinced his new spouse to bare all on the sand She added: '(I said), "If I get arrested and I miss my flight for this, I'm gonna kill you!"' Ashley has revealed Paul likes being naked all the time, not just when he's relaxing in Hawaii. She said: 'He loved being naked, he walks around the house naked yeah nobody else is there why not ... he's pretty good naked.' Last month Ashley took to Instagram Story to post a video about their trip to the nude beach as she said: 'last day of our honeymoon and where are we going babe?' 'He's pretty good naked': Ashley has revealed Paul likes being naked all the time, not just when he's relaxing in Hawaii Ashley and Paul got married at a star-studded ceremony just outside of San Jose in California on 6 July in front of 120 friends and family members. 'Nude beach!' he snapped back as she laughingly replied, 'That's very romantic.' The couple got married in a black tie ceremony in San Jose, California on July 7. Ashley and Paul's reception, with a guest list of more than 120 people, was an outdoor affair at a private retreat just minutes away from tech-town Silicon Valley. The nuptials were witnessed by a number of famous guests, including Ashley's Twilight Saga co-star Robert Pattinson, Zac Efron, Liam Hemsworth, Cara Santana, Brittany Snow, Ashlee Simpson and her husband Evan Ross and Aaron Paul and his wife Lauren. He proposed in December 2016 while they were on vacation in New Zealand after the couple had been together three years. Despite the Love Island final having aired at the start of this week and fan favourites Dani and Jack having won 50,000, it seems the UK are still talking about how contestant Hayley Hughes did not know what Brexit or the European Union was. Alongside this, Labour MP Jess Phillips has warned that leaving the EU could put the future of the show in danger because it will mean that when UK singletons enter the villa for the summer, their tenure there would be considered employment by ITV bosses. Love Island fans are still talking about how Hayley did not know what Brexit or the EU was Jess Phillips told The Mirror: To work in another country will be much more difficult and Love Island I think would be considered to be work. Fellow Labour MP David Lammy took to Twitter to share the news and said: Can't wait for Love Island 2019, with bracing scenes live from the Orkney Islands. Could Love Island be axed because of Brexit? Labour MP Jess Phillips has claimed that it may be difficult for UK citizens in Europe to work in Europe post-Brexit and as a Love Island fan, told The Mirror that this could put the show in danger because it would mean that the cast are working on the Spanish island of Mallorca. According to the British in Europe, which campaigns for the 1.3 million British citizens who are living in other EU countries, the future is uncertain for this group and it is not known whether or not they will be able to continue working in Europe. While nothing has been set in stone, the March 2019 deadline is fast-approaching and UK holidaymakers could face paying a 50 visa charge that visitors from Russia, China and Papua New Guinea have to pay when visiting Europe. There has been no announcements about whether or not Love Island will be axed because of Brexit, but with increased restrictions when it comes to free movement of people across the EU, the process to get on the show could be lengthier. Can UK citizens work in Europe after Brexit? At present, according to the official UK government website: You have the right to work in any country in the European Economic Area (EEA) and Switzerland without a work permit if youre a UK citizen. In addition to this, citizens will have the same rights as nationals of the country youre working in in regards to working conditions, pay and social security. Hayley Hughes pictured here with the 2018 winner of Love Island, Dani, Danny Dyer's daughter If UK citizens want to work in a non-EU country, youll need a job offer from your chosen country so that you can get a visa to move there. So, what this tells us is that if the UK is no longer in EU, those who want to work in Europe, or star in Love Island, will have to apply for a special visa. In July 2017, Theresa May said that it was wrong to suggest free movement of people will continue as it is now after the 2019 deadline, but wanted to guarantee the rights of those living in Europe, as reported in The Sun. The Government promised that British people would be able to access free healthcare while they lived in or travelled to Europe under the EHIC scheme, which would be continued. In addition to this, pensioners who were living on the continent would also see their pension payments increased every year, just as it would be if they were living in the UK. The European Parliaments chief negotiator Guy Verhofstadt is also pushing for British people to be offered an associate citizenship when the UK leaves the European Union and these would be available to former EU nations who feel and wish to be part of the European project. While it has not been confirmed that those applying to star on the 2019 series of Love Island may not be able to work in Mallorca, as Jess Phillips stated, the process will be a little more difficult for next years contestants. Hayley Hughes, Nigel Farage's friend, has stunned viewers after not understanding the EU What did Hayley say about Brexit? After her short stint on Love Island, Hayley Hughes has been mingling in political circles but yet again she has stunned viewers after struggling to understand the concept of the EU and revealed on This Morning that she had asked former UKIP leader Nigel Farage what the term meant. Upon meeting the former MEP in his local pub, the Westminster Arms, Hayley asked: 'So what is the EU?' He replied: 'It is a group of countries that join together initially to be friends and it wants to be a country in its own right, and I don't think the people of Europe want that.' When the pair appeared on This Morning, she said that the younger generation was not aware of the EU or Brexit because it is not a big part on social media. Hayley went on to ask: So people often get mugged off in the Love Island villa, would you say that the EU has mugged us off? Farage replied: Yes! I say it has for years and years and years. And its not just you thats confused about Brexit, half the country is confused, they really are. Hayleys generation dont buy newspapers, they dont watch the news, none of them do any of that. While on Love Island, when the contestants spoke about Brexit, Hayley expressed her worries about whether it would rob Britain of its trees and went on to appear on BBCs Daily Politics to ask questions about the EUs departure. A growing number of Australians have been diagnosed with 'Lyme-disease-like symptoms, but the Department of Health insists there 'is no evidence of Lyme disease in Australia'. On Friday, former Australia's Next Top Model star Didier Cohen, 33, revealed his own battle with Lyme disease, alongside a promise to fight for the illness to be recognised. 'I was a mess and in a horrible place. I woke up with nothing to live for,' he told News Corp of his decision to seek 'holistic treatment' in Beverly Hills this year. DJ and Lyme disease sufferer Didier Cohen returns to Australia to fight for the illness to be recognised by local health organisations after undergoing 'holistic treatment' abroad Didier told the publication he's signed on as an ambassador for the Lyme Disease Association of Australia, an organisation who have been critical of the Department of Health's stance. The model said he received messages on a daily basis from Australian fans who insist they're suffering from Lyme disease. 'I feel like I owe a lot to Australia. I came when I was rebellious, confused and a lost kid and Australia changed my life,' the Californian said. Didier said he hopes to use his trauma and experience with the disease as an opportunity to give back to the country he's lived in for most of his life. Treatment: 'I was a mess and in a horrible place. I woke up with nothing to live for,' he told News Corp of his decision to seek 'holistic treatment' in Beverly Hills this year His battle began in 2007, when crippling stomach illness progressed to epileptic fits, paralysis and depression. After several years on the scene, and a promising career as a DJ, model and presenter in the works, he stopped working and instantly became a recluse. It wasn't until February this year that he was diagnosed with Lyme disease in a Los Angeles-based facility. Fight: Didier told the publication he's signed on as an ambassador for the Lyme Disease Association of Australia, an organisation who have been critical of the Department of Health's lack of official recognition for the illness 'Blood tests confirmed I had three strains of Lyme and five strains of co-infections. Ive had it for more than 10 years so it destroyed my stomach, nervous and immune system,' he said. Didier was treated at Beverly Hills Clinic Infusio, a company whose Frankfurt, Germany headquarters tended to Yolanda Hadid's Lyme disease. Paying his dues: 'I feel like I owe a lot to Australia. I came when I was rebellious, confused and a lost kid and Australia changed my life,' the Californian said of his new ambassador role Beginning: His battle began in 2007, when crippling stomach illness progressed to epileptic fits, paralysis and depression - but it took a trip to LA to finally receive a diagnosis in February this year News Corp said he spent thousands of dollars on various treatments, including Stem Cell, blood infusions and IV drips. Didier praised Infusio founder Philip Battiade for creating a 'holistic' approach to the disease, and revealed that finally, after 11 years, he has noticed improvements in his health. If you or anyone around you are struggling and/or seeking support, call Lifeline on 13 11 14. Confirmed: 'Blood tests confirmed I had three strains of Lyme and five strains of co-infections. Ive had it for more than 10 years so it destroyed my stomach, nervous and immune system,' he said Jeremy Clarkson has celebrated the one-year anniversary of him quitting smoking after puffing away on 40-a-day for 43 years. The Grand Tour host, who smoked nearly 630,000 cigarettes in his life, kicked the habit last summer after a bout of near-fatal pneumonia kept him from cigarettes while he was in the hospital. The 58-year-old celebrated the milestone on Friday by tweeting jubilantly: 'One year ago today, I had my last cigarette.' Congratulations: Jeremy Clarkson, 58, celebrated the one-year anniversary of him quitting smoking on Friday... and insisted he 'doesn't miss' the 43-year habit The father-of-three added: 'Smoked half a million of them over the years but dont miss it really. Weird.' Jeremy put down the lighter for good last August after being unable to smoke in hospital while struck down with pneumonia - which he contracted on holiday in Mallorca. 'I was told, by everyone, that I had to stop. Immediately,' he wrote in a column for The Sunday Times at the time. 'I had no choice at the time because the blood poisoning was so bad and I was so racked with the resultant rigors that I couldnt work a cigarette lighter.' Proud: And the 58-year-old celebrated the milestone on Friday by tweeting jubilantly: 'One year ago today, I had my last cigarette' Milestone: The Grand Tour host smoked nearly 630,000 cigarettes in his life He joked that people have told him to take up running, or give up drinking as a next step in healthy living. 'I was invited this weekend to the south coast so I could go swimming,' he wrote. 'Swimming? In the English Channel? Im off the fags, for Christs sake. I havent gone mad. Swimming in British waters is something you should consider only if your Spitfires been shot down.' He advised others trying to quit to go places where it's near-impossible to smoke, like the cinema, or Australia, where cigarettes are highly priced and banned in many public spaces. Oh dear: He kicked the habit last summer after a bout of near-fatal pneumonia kept him from cigarettes while he was in the hospital (pictured at the time) He said that it's helpful to have a friend willing to quit with you, and the key to staying away from the cigarettes is 'willpower'. 'So now it's been a month. I've pushed it. I've got drunk. I've stayed up late. I've been to bars with smokers and sat outside in a cloud of their exhalations. And so far I haven't cracked,' he wrote in his column. After his bout of pneumonia, Clarkson said lung tests showed he still had 96 per cent capacity for a person his age and he could 'breathe out harder and for longer than a non-smoking 40-year-old'. 'In short, getting on for three-quarters of a million fags have not harmed me in any way. I have quite literally defied medical science,' he wrote. She was certainly set pulses racing when she entered the Love Island villa in week six. And Alexandra Cane turned up the heat once more as she took a low-key stroll through London's Mayfair on Friday. The reality TV bombshell, 27, ensured all eyes were on her as she poured her enviable curves and ample cleavage into a chic grey mini dress. Hot stuff: Love Island's Alexandra Cane, 27, flaunted her hourglass figure in a skimpy grey mini dress for a sun-kissed stroll in London on Friday Alexandra put her endless stems on full display in the thigh-skimming design, and teetered over the cobbles in strappy black stilettos. The brunette stunner showcased her sun-kissed glow in the skimpy design as she sauntered through the streets with a sophisticated black shoulder bag. Not letting anything take away from her jaw-dropping physique, Alexandra ditched any heavy accessories and swept up her raven locks into a high ponytail. Sensational: The brunette stunner showcased her sun kissed glow in the skimpy design as she sauntered through the streets with a sophisticated black shoulder bag Alexandra accentuated her natural beauty with glossy nude make-up as she continued to turn heads on her laid-back wander. Her glamorous appearance come days after Alexandra returned from Love Island's Majorcan villa, where she had a turbulent romance with Dr Alex George. Before being sent home from the island with the NHS worker ahead of the live final, Alexandra was left fuming after Alex unceremoniously dumped her after calling things off with her beforehand too. Sun-kissed: Alexandra put her endless stems on full display in the thigh-skimming design, and teetered over the cobbles in strappy black stilettos Coupled up: Her glamorous appearance come days after Alexandra returned from Love Island's Mallorcan villa, where she had a turbulent romance with Dr Alex George (pictured) He ended their romance after they drove through the Majorcan countryside in a red Ferrari on their final date. In his break-up speech, he told the make-up artist he was worried about how fast their relationship was moving, before she accused him of leading her on and branded him 'pathetic'. Storming off, she declared: 'Youve wasted my time and youve wasted your own, shame on you!' The unlucky-in-love medic then explained why he called time on his romance with Alexandra, saying she had 'everything he could look for' which put too much pressure on and feeling scared, he 'ran away'. She split from her jailbird boyfriend after he reportedly sent explicit photos to other women. And Lauren Goodger's, 31, ex Joey Morrisson has allegedly been bragging to women about his famous former beau. One woman who reportedly spoke with Joey told The Sun: 'Joey loved to boast about Lauren. He told us me he was single but their relationship helped make him famous. A catch: Lauren Goodger's, 31, ex Joey Morrisson has allegedly been bragging to women about his famous former beau One women, who reportedly received explicit snaps from him, told The Sun : 'Joey loved to boast about Lauren. He told us me he was single but their relationship helped make him famous' (Pictured: Joey Morrisson) 'Joey is well known in his area but he loved the idea of people outside of London knowing his name. He wants to be famous and to have a lifestyle where people are wanting to take pictures of him.' They added: 'He thinks everyone knows his name. The girls he's chatting to, it's like they're fans, he gets a real kick out of it. He says some girls love it, like they can't get enough of him being in prison.' MailOnline has contacted Lauren Goodger's representatives for comment. According to The Sun, Joey sent explicit photos to other women while he was in a relationship with Lauren. It's over: According to The Sun, Joey sent explicit photos to other women while he was in a relationship with Lauren Taking to social media, Goodger claimed she wasted money while waiting for his release and branded him a 'control freak'. She wrote on Twitter: 'Just feel like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders!!!! '2 years waited loyal and faithful and wasted soooo much money!! Now I am about to live my life with all I've missed out on!!!! I've been hurt but nothing or no one will take away my sparkle.' Had enough: Taking to social media, Goodger claimed she wasted money while waiting for his release and branded him a 'control freak' She later penned on Instagram: 'It's going to be my time now.. I've learned lessons! I've grown! I've changed over the years and I promise to never let myself down again! 'Just a big heart that loved 2 much! But it's ok because what doesn't kill you makes you stronger! Here's to my time I promise that I'm make the most of it (sic).' Lauren was dating Joey for over a year having 'met' him when she picked up the phone at his sister's house while he was calling from prison. After much back and forth over their status, which flitted from Lauren ending things to her insisting they will have a baby when he leaves prison, they were finally united in May when he was released from HMP Highpoint South prison. MailOnline previously contacted Lauren's representatives for comment. She gave birth to a bundle of joy nearly one year ago. And Heidi Montag looked back to her pre-baby body as she sauntered along the shoreline with her son Gunner on Thursday afternoon. The 31-year-old reality television personality showed off her hard work in the gym as she rocked a tiny pink bikini on the beach with her little boy. Beach babe: Heidi Montag looked back to her pre-baby body as she sauntered along the shoreline with her son Gunner on Thursday afternoon Heidi's curvy figure was on display with her ample assets nearly spilling out of a vibrant bandeau top. Matching bikini bottoms hugged her hips with delicate ties holding the skimpy suit close to her body. Aside from her massive engagement and wedding ring set, Heidi opted to go accessory-free for the water adventure. Cuties: The 31-year-old reality television personality showed off her hard work in the gym as she rocked a tiny pink bikini on the beach with her little boy Sandy: Heidi's curvy figure was on display with her ample assets nearly spilling out of a vibrant bandeau top Her long blonde hair was worn naturally straight and parted to the side, with just a hint of makeup worn over her already stellar complexion. Little Gunner caught a few sun rays wearing an adorable pair of black swim trunks with a print that appeared to be electric blue geckos. The former Hills star gave birth to her blonde baby on Oct. 1, 2017, with husband Spencer Pratt right by her side. Family: The former Hills star gave birth to her blonde baby on Oct. 1, 2017, with husband Spencer Pratt right by her side 'We are so blessed to have a beautiful healthy baby boy,' Montag told Us Weekly after his birth. 'It was the hardest and most rewarding experience.' Montag recently launched Stone Love, a collection of handmade gemstone and beaded jewelry inspired by her son. Heidi reportedly had $27,000 worth of crystals surrounding her bedside while she gave birth, and likely started the line after inspiration from her husband's own collection, Pratt Daddy Crystals. The happy couple eloped in Mexico in November 2008 before filming a larger wedding for their hit show on April 25, 2009 in Pasadena, California. Ewan McGregor has admitted that he'd love to return to the Star Wars universe as part of a spin-off Obi Wan Kenobi film. The actor, 47, made an appearance on US panel show The View on Friday, where he addressed the possibility of being part of a solo film. Speaking candidly while promoting his current film Christopher Robin, the Fargo star said: 'I would totally do it, of course.' Keen to come back: Ewan McGregor admitted on Friday that he 'would totally' return to the Star Wars franchise for an Obi Wan Kenobi spin-off Before fans get too excited, though, Ewan was quick to add: 'There's no plans as such to do it, as far as I know.' 'It's quite funny, I've been asked this question for years and years and I'd be happy to do it. 'There must be a good story to tell as they're doing spin-offs - there's likely to be a good Obi-Wan between me and Alec Guinness.' Not confirmed: During an appearance on The View, he was quick to add, 'There's no plans as such to do it, as far as I know' He then joked: 'I've answered 'yes' so many times it looks like I'm touting for work!' Kenobi was originally played by Guinness in the first Star Wars film in 1977, while Ewan last played the Jedi Master in 2005 in the franchise's final film of the prequel trilogy, Revenge Of The Sith. It was announced in August that filming would begin on the Obi Wan Kenobi spin-off in January 2019, but recent claims suggest that production on all films that are not part of the current trilogy have been put on hold. In character: Ewan last played the Jedi Master in 2005 in the franchise's final film of the prequel trilogy, Revenge Of The Sith Filming for Episode IX in the Star Wars franchise began last week in London, with JJ Abrams returning to the director's chair. It was also announced on Friday that previously unreleased footage of Carrie Fisher from 2015's Star Wars: The Force Awakens would be used in the next film to give the latest trilogy a 'satisfying conclusion'. Fisher died in 2016 at the age of 60 after she finished work on The Last Jedi, and she has played Leia Organa since the first Star Wars film. Back in spirit: It was announced on Friday that previously unreleased footage of Carrie Fisher from 2015's Star Wars: The Force Awakens would be used in the next film Of the decision, Abrams said in a statement: '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 honor Carries legacy and role as Leia in Episode IX by using unseen footage we shot together in Episode VII.' Mark Hamill, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega and Adam Driver will also be returning to the project, while Billy Dee Williams will reprise his role as Lando Calrissian. On your mark, get set, bake! A new series of Great British Bake Off is coming to Channel 4 Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith, who joined the show in 2017, will return for the 2018 instalment of the popular baking competition series as judges. Theyll be joined by presenters Sandi Toksvig and Noel Fielding. The upcoming series will follow a brand new cast of 12 home bakers on their journey to be crowned Britains best, winning the coveted cake stand. GBBO: The upcoming series will follow a brand new cast of 12 home bakers on their journey to be crowned Britains best, winning the coveted cake stand The latest series of Great British Baking Show kicks off soon. Before it starts, heres what you need to know. When does Great British Bake off 2018 start? So far, Channel 4 has only said that the 2018 series of Great British Bake Off will start August 28. The previous series of Great British Bake Off began in August and ran through October. The 2018 show is expected to follow suit, but thats unconfirmed. Great British Bake Off judges Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith will return to Great British Bake Off as judges. Theyll be joined by presenters Sandi Toksvig and Noel Fielding. Great British Bake Off channel Great British Bake Off was originally a BBC show. Its since moved to Channel 4, where it will stay for the 2018 series. Great British Bake Off 2018 cast Channel 4 has been careful to guard the identities of Great British Bake Off 2018 contestants. Typically, the line-up isnt revealed until close to the shows release date. Theres expected to be 12 new home bakers taking to the tent, though some series have had as few as 10. Great British Bake Off 2018 trailer Channel 4 released a trailer for Great British Bake Off this week. It features ugly bakes singing Christina Aguileras hit song, Beautiful. The clip ends with one final, beautiful multi-tier cake. Paul Hollywood Prue Leith, Noel Fielding and Sandi Toksvig are then seen standing around it, smiling in approval. Great British Bake Off 2018 spoilers Very few spoilers are available about the upcoming series of Great British Bake Off. We do, however, know that the latest batch of bakers will likely face a vegan week under the tent. According to The Sun, the idea was introduced by Noel Fielding. A source said: When Noel put forward the idea producers leapt at the chance to try something different especially as they think itll appeal to younger viewers. While the show has a loyal fan base, those in charge are keep to snap up a different demographic. Watch Great British Bake Off 2017 Netflix UK has the full 2017 series of Great British Bake Off ready for streaming. Check it out before the 2018 series begins. Who won Great British Bake Off 2018? Sophie Faldo was crowned the winner of Great British Bake Off 2018. 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Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe Kim Kardashian's daughter Chicago is three month's older than Khloe's daughter, True. And on Friday, Kim posted an adorable picture of the cousins as they enjoyed bonding time together. The 37-year-old mother of three captioned the ridiculously cute photo of Chicago and True with: 'Best friends for life!,' adding a heart emoji. Cousin love: Kim Kardashian posted an adorable picture of her six-month-old daughter Chicago with Khloe's daughter, True, three months In June, Kim wished Khloe, 34, a happy birthday on Instagram while sharing a picture of them with their daughters. Khloe beamed alongside Kim while holding both Chicago and True. Earlier this year, the Kardashian-Jenner women - Kim, Khloe, Kourtney Kardashian, Kris Jenner, Kylie Jenner and Kendall Jenner - posed together for Calvin Klein's jeans and underwear Fall 2018 collection. In one shot, Kim kisses Khloe's pregnant belly; at the time Khloe was eight months pregnant with True. Cuteness overload: In June, Kim wished Khloe, 34, a happy birthday on Instagram while sharing a picture of them with their daughters Sister, sister: The Kardashian-Jenner women: Kim, Khloe, Kourtney Kardashian, Kris Jenner, Kylie Jenner and Kendall Jenner posed together for Calvin Klein's jeans and underwear Fall 2018 collection Kim is also mom to daughter North, five, and son Saint, three, with husband Kanye West, 41. The entrepreneur welcomed Chicago on January 15 via surrogate. She has been vocal about how how she could not carry Chicago because of her two previous high-risk pregnancies due to Placenta Accreta. The condition is when the placenta gets to deeply embedded into the uterine wall and does not come out of the birth canal once the baby is born, according to People. Perfect family: Kim is also mom to daughter North, five, and son Saint, three, with husband Kanye West, 41 If it is too deeply embedded, the placenta can cause the mother to hemorrhage, which is life threatening. Khloe gave birth to her first child, daughter True on April 12 in Cleveland, Ohio. She welcomed her just days after Dailymail.com reported that her boyfriend Tristan Thompson was allegedly cheating on her with a strip club worker named Lani Blair. There were several other women he also allegedly cheated on Khloe with. Despite the scandal, Khloe and Tristan are still currently in a relationship. Family is everything: The entrepreneur welcomed Chicago on January 15 via surrogate; pictured with sisters Kourtney and Khloe earlier this year during a trip to Japan Baby love: Khloe gave birth to her first child, daughter True on April 12 in Cleveland, Ohio Glamorous: Kim shared a sneak peek at her MTV Awards fittings; she rocked a Versace look Justin Theroux is reportedly missing estranged wife Jennifer Aniston after seeing her spread in InStyle magazine. Sources told Hollywood Life the Leftovers actor was in awe of Jennifers sexy shoot for the September issue. Justins seen all the pictures, a source claiming to be close with Justin, 46, said. Jennifer Aniston made it clear in her recent InStyle interview that she's not 'heartbroken' following her split from Justin Theroux He kind of misses her and is suffering major FOMO [fear of missing out]. She looks hot! Dont get your hopes up for reconciliation between these two though. The outlets source claims the former Friends actress and her one-time hubby are fully in the friend zone. The way hes been going on and on, itd be easy to assume he wants her back, the source said. But its actually the norm for them. The marriage is over, but theyre still each others biggest cheerleaders. Its the same with Jen. She checks in with Justin all the time and is still really protective of him. The source continued: Theyre genuinely still really good friends but thats it. Theres no talk of getting back together. Theyre both happy to leave that part of their relationship behind them. This is their new normal. What else do you need to know? Check it out. Justin Theroux dating Justin Theroux may miss Jennifer Aniston, but hes having no issue finding women to spend time with following their separation. Within weeks of the announcement which came out a few months after the couples decision had been made Justin was spotted bonding with Olivia Munn. InTouch reported that he finds her really attractive and has been leaning on her since leaving Jen. Olivias not the only one Justins leaned on in his hour of need, however. In March 2018 he was spotted hanging out with Aubrey Plaza in New York City. The pair were photographed heading into Justins home in the West Village. Their hangout was most likely platonic, however. Aubreys been dating director Jeff Baena for about seven years. Justin has also been linked to Emma Stone, Laura Harrier, Selena Gomez, and Petra Collins. Did Jennifer Aniston get married? Jennifer Anistons last marriage was to Justin Theroux. At the start of 2018 they announced that a few months prior, theyd made the decision to separate. She hasnt been seriously linked to anyone since, though rumors have swirled that she and ex-husband Brad Pitt, who is also thought to be single, secretly tied the knot. Jennifer made it clear in her interview with InStyle magazine that shes not interested in getting back with any of her other exes. Asked what some common misconceptions about her are, she said: The misconceptions are Jen cant keep a man, and Jen refuses to have a baby because shes selfish and committed to her career. Or that Im sad and heartbroken. First, with all due respect, Im not heartbroken. And second, those are reckless assumptions. No one knows whats going on behind closed doors. No one considers how sensitive that might be for my partner and me. They dont know what Ive been through medically or emotionally. Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pitt together Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pitt are not back together, despite rumors to the contrary. The 49-year-old actress laughed off questions about getting back together with Brad in her InStyle interview. She's a darling of the silver screen. And Meg Ryan, 56, was honoured on Friday night with the Leopard Club Award in Locarno, Switzerland, for her roles in When Harry Met Sally, Sleepless in Seattle and You've Got Mail. The stylish star wore a simple black midi dress with spaghetti straps to the prestigious event, putting on an animated display with her award. Silver screen star: Meg Ryan, 56, was honoured on Friday night with the Leopard Club Award in Locarno, Switzerland, for her roles in When Harry Met Sally, Sleepless in Seattle and You've Got Mail Chic: The stylish star wore a simple black midi dress with spaghetti straps to the prestigious event, putting on an animated display with her award Keeping her look timelessly elegant, eternally youthful Meg wore a pair of silver hoops in her ears to add a touch of glamour. The actress ensured she was comfortable, however, as she opted for a pair of flat black sandals with chunky straps. Meg styled her golden locks in loose waves, which brushed her shoulders to frame her face during the party. Last month, Meg's former husband Dennis Quaid discussed his time with the actress, telling Today's Megyn Kelly that it was the 'most successful relationship of my life'. He went on to say that although he was initially the more famous out of the two, Meg soon became a big star. 'I have to admit it, I did feel like I disappeared. I didn't think I was that small, but I was', he confided. Blonde bombshell: Meg styled her golden locks in loose waves, which brushed her shoulders to frame her face during the party Having a ball: Meg looked delighted at the event in Locarno, Switzerland Ready for anything: The actress ensured she was comfortable, however, as she opted for a pair of flat black sandals with chunky straps Looking after herself: In June, Meg talked about her daily ritual, called 'The Turnout.' It was inspired by the act of taking horses out of their stalls to graze in a field In June, Meg talked about her daily ritual, called 'The Turnout.' It was inspired by the act of taking horses out of their stalls to graze in a field. 'They have their head, they can think, they have this time to imagine their day or whatever,' the three-time Golden Globe nominee explained - according to People. 'We'll take pictures of like the crossword puzzle, the computer, the cup of coffee, the drawings, the thing, and all the ways that you're in that part of your brain that imagines your day or your life and giving it actual time and space in the morning.' The Connecticut-born 'imagineer' always makes time to do the turnout 'even if it has to be at, like, 6:30 to 8:30, I do it every day now.' Winner: Meg was the recipient of the Leopard Club Award, and could be seen holding the golden trophy Half of Australians would not recommend their own bank to friends or family, a new study has found. A Nielsen survey also revealed 3.1 million Aussies are dissatisfied with their financial institution and 25 per cent don't trust their banks to invest their money well. As well, two million Australians say they are ready to switch to another provider within the next six months. The harshest critics of their own banks are Gen-Xers - people aged 35 to 54 - with 54 per cent not willing to provide a recommendation to friends or family. However, key reasons for recommending a switch to another financial institution include "easy to deal with", "like the service" and "good value services and products". Brisbane lock Josh McGuire's ugly record has come back to haunt as he stares down the barrel of up to two games on the sideline for pulling the hair of Canterbury's Adam Elliott. McGuire was charged with a grade-one contrary conduct offence over the first-half incident in the Broncos' 36-22 loss to the Bulldogs on Thursday night. Ordinarily, the charge would only attract a fine of $1500 - reduced to $1100 with an early guilty plea - but the Queensland lock is not eligible for a monetary penalty given it's his third such charge of the year. Instead, he has been slapped with a two-game ban over the hair pull, which will be reduced to one match if he enters an early guilty plea. McGuire first earned the ire of the match review committee in round 14 of this year when he was charged with stomping on the hand of Melbourne's Tim Glasby. He then copped a second fine three weeks ago for making contact with a match official in his team's round 18 loss to the Warriors. He was spotted pulling the hair of Penrith forward Corey Harawira-Naera a fortnight ago, but was not charged. McGuire is the second Bronco to be picked up for such an offence in the past month, given Anthony Milford was also fined for a hair pull in the same defeat of the Panthers. Regardless, it means McGuire will miss next Thursday's clash with North Queensland with an early guilty plea. The momentum to guarantee an Aboriginal voice in the Australian Parliament will be a key theme at this weekend's Garma Festival in the Northern Territory. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull rejected the voice idea proposal in the Uluru Statement as undemocratic only weeks after attending Garma last year, but a parliamentary committee consisting of Coalition and Opposition MPs put it back on the agenda in a report last week. The PM is not attending this year. "His own colleagues on this parliamentary committee have said well it should actually be on because that is the evidence we've received from over 380 submissions and oral evidence given to the committee," Northern Territory and Labor Indigenous Senator Malarndirri McCarthy told AAP at Garma. Garma is held by the Yothu Yindi Foundation in East Arnhem Land and is one of the most significant Aboriginal festivals with 2500 people expected to attend. Award-winning author Richard Flanagan will be a guest speaker at the festival. Today's birthday, August 4: The Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle (1981 - ) Before she married Prince Harry and became The Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle was the star of American television show Suits and ran a lifestyle website. She has since retired from acting and adhered to royal tradition by shutting down all of her social media accounts. Born in Los Angeles in 1981, Markle is of mixed race heritage. Her parents divorced when she was young, and she was raised in Hollywood attending private schools. Markle first made the news at age 11, when she successfully campaigned for a company to change its sexist dishwashing liquid commercial. After school she attended Northwestern University, graduating in 2003 with a bachelor's degree in theatre and international studies. She went on to work as a freelance calligrapher to support herself while looking for acting jobs. In 2002, Markle landed her first acting role as a nurse on General Hospital and then appeared in small guest roles on several TV programs including CSI: NY and 90210. As a bi-racial actress, she struggled to get parts early in her career. But all that changed in 2011, when she joined the cast of Suits, playing paralegal Rachel Zane. She remained on the hit show until the end of season seven. In addition to her television work, Markle has also appeared in several films, including 2010's Remember Me and the 2011 comedy Horrible Bosses. Off-screen, Markle is also a passionate humanitarian and was the chief editor and founder of lifestyle website The Tig until 2017. A divorcee, she met Prince Harry on a blind date in 2016 and the two were engaged in November last year. They were married on May 19 this year at St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle. Before the wedding, Markle's father was embroiled in scandal after allegedly staging photos of himself preparing for the big day. He later apologised and decided not to attend the wedding due to upcoming heart surgery. Markle's mother, Doria Ragland was present on the day. Gold Coast prawn farmers are preparing to restock ahead of the warmer months as they try to bounce back from a disease outbreak that cost them millions. But they fear White Spot will return and again force them to kill their prawns and flush their ponds with chlorine after being initially detected in the Logan River in 2016. Gold Coast Tiger Prawns general manager Alistair Dick says the federal government is allowing the continued import of raw prawns carrying the crustacean disease, putting Australia's seafood industry at further risk. "The federal government, the Department of Agriculture, has still got their heels firmly dug in, standing by an import regime that continues to allow White Spot infected prawns to come into the country," he said. "There's still a real possibility of a do-over here." Mr Dick and other farmers are preparing to restock in September but will remain subject to strict controls on the movement of raw prawns after the disease was initially found in the river and later detected in Moreton Bay. Commercial fishermen who work in the bay are now preparing to sue the federal government for damages. Fishers and farmers can no longer sell their raw product to markets that are still accessible to importers suspected of introducing the disease. Dan Rossman of DS Farms says he has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars installing filtering and water treatment systems to reduce the risk of a second infection. He believes the disease is still in the Logan River despite testing clearing those waters. "We either lose the farm or we invest more and go for it," Mr Rossman said. The Department of Agriculture says there is a lack of evidence to prove what caused the 2016 outbreak, but independent aquatic health consultant Dr Ben Diggles and department officials agreed it most likely came from infected imported prawns used as bait or berley. A Queensland man is recovering in hospital from self-inflicted injuries after facing a bedside hearing over the alleged murder of his elderly mother. The body of Gary Giles' 75-year-old mother was found inside her Mango Hill home on Thursday afternoon after police responded to a triple-zero call. Police suspect she could have been dead for a day before the grisly discovery. Giles was also found at the scene with serious injuries, which police allege he inflicted on himself. On Friday morning, police charged the Rothwell man with murder and he faced a bedside hearing at the Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital. His matter has been adjourned until August 27 for a mention in the Brisbane Magistrates Court. His mother's home remains a crime scene while police have also spent time inspecting Giles' own home. Lifeline 13 11 14 beyondblue 1300 22 4636 iStock/Thinkstock(WASHINGTON) -- A federal judge flatly rejected a Trump administration effort to shift the burden of r tracking down hundreds of migrant parents deported without their children to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and other non-profits and charities -- saying the government is "100 percent" responsible for the separation and failure to reunite the migrant families. For every parent that is not located, there will be a permanently orphaned child and that is hundred percent the result of the administration, federal judge Dana Sabraw said. "The reality is there are close to 500 parents that have not been located. Many have been removed from the country without their child," he continued. "All of this is the result of the governments separation and failure to track and reunite the families. Sabraw said he plans to file an order in the coming days requiring the government to continue providing information and updates and to assign a competent leader to take charge. Last night, Trump administration attorneys filed an unusual request in U.S. District Court in southern California, arguing that the ACLU and various charities should carry the burden of finding the 410 migrant parents deported without their children under the governments zero-tolerance policy. The ACLU, which sued the government over these family separations, should use their considerable resources and their network of law firms, NGOs, volunteers, and others, together with the information that Defendants have provided (or will soon provide), to establish contact with possible class members in foreign countries, government lawyers wrote in Thursdays filing, employing a common acronym for non-governmental organizations. The government also asked these groups to determine whether separated parents want to be reunited with their children -- and to facilitate all the paperwork. The ACLU shot back that they will do whatever they can to help locate the deported parents but asserted that the Government must bear the ultimate burden of finding the parents. The United States government has far more resources than any group of NGOs, the ACLU argued, and it was the federal government's unconstitutional separation practice that caused the crisis. The ACLU claimed that the government has provided them with no potentially viable addresses for 120 parents whose children remain in U.S. custody. Advocates are concerned that some of those parents may never be found. Nan Schivone, legal director for Justice in Motion, a non-profit organization helping to reunite families, wrote in court papers that many of the addresses they received from the government appear too general to provide a good lead for investigators. For example, she wrote, addresses simply list Guatemala City in Guatemala, or Olancho in Honduras, and are of limited use in this search. Despite a court-ordered deadline of July 26 to reunite all families separated at the border, the government revealed on Thursday that 572 children remain in U.S. custody. Still, the vast majority of separated children 1,979 out of 2,516 have been reunited with family or placed with sponsors, the government claimed. Copyright 2018, ABC Radio. All rights reserved. A man's been charged with drug supply after his car was involved in a crash on NSW's Mid North Coast. Police attended a collision at about 6.30pm on Friday after a Toyota Corolla hit a safety barrier on the M1 at Nambucca Heads. The 26-year-old man returned a negative roadside breath test but was taken to Macksville Hospital for blood and urine testing. Officers seized the vehicle and during a further search, allegedly located 500g of methamphetamine. The man was taken to Macksville Police Station and charged with supply prohibited drug - commercial quantity. He was refused bail and will appear at Port Macquarie Local Court on Saturday. A drug-affected woman driving a Holden Commodore tried to bribe a police officer after she was pulled over on the NSW Central Coast, it is alleged. Police said the 30-year-old woman was stopped at Calga on Friday after another motorist alerted a highway patrol officer to her erratic driving. The woman allegedly blamed her driving on a mechanical issue, and offered the officer money in exchange for her release in a conversation recorded on his car video. Police said she later tested positive to methylamphetamine and will appear in Wyong Local Court on Saturday charged with offering a bribe to a member of NSW Police. Further charges are likely. Australian senator Sarah Hanson-Young is suing fellow parliamentarian David Leyonhjelm over a series of derogatory remarks An Australian senator is suing a fellow parliamentarian over comments sparked by a heated upper house debate where he told her to "stop shagging men", saying she wants to stop such "sexist and reprehensible" behaviour. David Leyonhjelm made the derogatory remarks about Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young in June during an upper house session on legalising pepper spray to protect women. Leyonhjelm, a Liberal Democrat, did not dispute what he said and made further comments about Hanson-Young's life in media appearances, including on Sky News. The defamation proceedings, filed in the Federal Court this week, are reportedly the first by a sitting Australian politician against another parliamentarian under national laws introduced in 2006. The lawsuit involves what Leyonhjelm said in the media. His upper house comments are protected by parliamentary privilege. "The defamatory statements... are an attack on my character, and have done considerable harm to me and my family," Hanson-Young said in a statement Thursday, adding that his behaviour was "sexist and reprehensible". "I'm calling this out because it is wrong. No woman, whether she be working behind a bar, in an office or in the parliament, deserves to be treated this way, and it needs to stop." Sky News apologised for the comments broadcast on the network. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull called on Leyonhjelm to apologise, but the senator refused. This is not the first time the issue of sexism has been raised in Australia's legislative chambers. Former prime minister Julia Gillard became a torchbearer for women around the world in 2012 with her fiery speech about misogyny in parliament, where she accused then-opposition leader Tony Abbott of sexism. Hanson-Young, who is divorced, said last month that Leyonhjelm's comments suggested said was "sexually promiscuous", adding that he was "slut-shaming" her. The Liberal Democrats said in a statement Thursday that their senator would "strenuously" defend the defamation suit, adding that it "has no merit". Hanson-Young has started a legal fund on the GoFundMe campaigning website to support her case, with more than Aus$60,000 (US$44,000) raised so far. She pledged to donate any damages she is awarded from the case to Plan International and the Working Women's Centre SA. Brothers Mischa (L) and Alexander Zverev of Germany, seen during a doubles match at a tournament in Halle, in June 2018 Third-ranked defending champion Alexander Zverev took bragging rights in his sibling rivalry, beating 15th-seeded older brother Mischa 6-3, 7-5 on Thursday to reach the ATP Washington Open quarter-finals. It was the first ATP meeting for the German siblings, 21-year-old top seed Alex besting 30-year-old Mischa as he rarely did in boyhood battles. "We had a great time," Alex said. "I was happy and enjoying the moment. We played near our best. It was unbelievable. "I just hope it happens again and I hope it happens at later stages of bigger tournaments. I hope we meet again someday in a final." Mischa was nearly in tears at the start at a family dream come true. "When we came back to the benches I had to fight back my tears," he said. "It was a big day, big match. It was very emotional for me. It was just a great day." Next up for Alex will be Japanese seventh seed Kei Nishikori, who dispatched Canadian ninth seed Denis Shapovalov 7-6 (7/1), 6-3. Noah Rubin of the US serves during the BB&T Atlanta Open tournament in Georgia, on July 26, 2018 "There will be a lot of points from the baseline," Nishikori said. "I've got to work the point and play more aggressively and move the ball around." Three-time Grand Slam champion Andy Murray of Britain, in his first hardcourt event after an 11-month layoff with a right hip injury, was set to play the last match against Romanian Marius Copil. The rain-hit US Open tuneup event also saw US second seed John Isner ousted by 152nd-ranked compatriot Noah Rubin 6-4, 7-6 (8/6) and Japanese third seed Naomi Osaka, nagged by a right leg injury, lost to Poland's Magda Linette 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 in the companion WTA event. "It definitely bothers me a bit out there on the court, but it isn't anything serious," Osaka said. "We're going to prep and get healthy." Alex broke Mischa for a 5-3 lead and held again to win the all-Zverev first set in 29 minutes. Alex broke again in the penultimate game and held once more to win after one hour and 51 minutes on a forehand drop volley winner. "I actually played better than in practice," Mischa said. "When he hits certain shots, I know what he's thinking. But that's a disadvantage, too, because he knows what I'm thinking." The elder Zverev, smiling, walked around the net and shared a hug with Alex, patting him on the back as they parted for their chairs. "I had a big smile. I played OK. I was able to keep up with him," said Mischa, to which Alex replied, "That comes from a person who kicks my ass every single time in practice." Mischa won his first ATP title in June at Eastbourne, a feat he credits his brother for helping him to achieve. "It was something I always wanted," Zverev said. "It was him being young and being overly positive that helped me be young, keep working hard and achieve my dream." Alex noted his mother watches more of Mischa's matches, saying, "Apparently the dog has to go to the bathroom every time I play." - Low-energy Isner ousted - Ninth-ranked Isner, fatigued after a first-ever Grand Slam semi-final at Wimbledon and an Atlanta title run, blamed his low-energy outing on recent deep tournament runs and rain. "Noah played with more energy. He was just tougher than I was. He was hungry out there," Isner said. "If I would have won, I don't know what I would have done." Rubin later lost 6-3, 6-2 to Russian 16th seed Andrey Rublev, who eliminated American Tommy Paul 7-6 (7/5), 6-4. Isner plays at Canada and Cincinnati the next two weeks in major tuneups for the US Open, which starts August 27. "For me, this could very well be a good loss. I need a little rest. There are some big tournaments coming up. I want to be full of energy for those. "It's unfortunate the rain has wreaked havoc so far. It tires you out. It's mentally taxing. You're sitting around hours on end." Tahirah Amatul-Wadud is seeking the Democratic party's nomination to run for Congress in November from western Massachusetts It's an incongruous sight, a woman in a salmon pink hijab standing on a Massachusetts traffic median, waving at oncoming cars and asking perfect strangers to vote her into Congress. "Hey how are you? Good to see you!" hollers Tahirah Amatul-Wadud at a male pedestrian. A few cars beep their horns, the odd driver zaps down his window to say hello. Quite a few drive past, seemingly oblivious. Amatul-Wadud is a mother of seven, a lawyer, a community activist and a Muslim, who rises before dawn, prays five times a day and fasts during Ramadan. Now aged 44, she faces the biggest hurdle of her life: asking a majority white constituency, where Catholics are the biggest religious group, to make her the first Muslim woman elected into Congress. But for her it's about policy, not religion. It's about better representing and improving lives in western Massachusetts, an area suffering from higher than average unemployment, where many work two jobs just to make ends meet. "I don't always talk about religion because I don't look to lead or serve from a religious prespective," she tells AFP at her campaign headquarters just outside Springfield. She says her goals are secular, but her faith is "where I find my core strength." Indefatigable, armed with a warm smile and a lawyer's mind, Amatul-Wadud is part of a groundswell of women and progressive Democrats running for office this year, motivated at least in part by opposition to President Donald Trump. She's one of five candidates vying to become the first Muslim woman in Congress in November mid-term elections -- 12 years after Minnesota's Keith Ellison became the first Muslim in the US House of Representatives. If she's successful, she would also become her district's first woman and first African American in Congress. - 'Hope is possible' - Tahirah Amatul-Wadud, who is vying to be the first Muslim woman in the US Congress, walks with Yasmin Abdulatheem as she meets with people at a Mt Zion Church event in Chicopee, Massachusetts Except it's a long shot. Her opponent in the September 4 Democratic primary is Richard Neal, who has served in Congress since 1989. She has raised a total of $72,000 compared to his reported $3 million. When she moved to Springfield aged nine, he was the city mayor. Now she wants his job, championing progressive causes such as Medicare for all, affordable education and wider access to high-speed internet, and eschewing donations from corporate and special interests. Her team claims to have nearly 300 volunteers as they build a grass-roots campaign, knocking door to door to hear people's problems. If she beats Neal, she will repeat the triumph of 28-year-old political novice, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who trounced a Democrat grandee in a New York primary by running a similarly progressive and insurgent ticket. That win gave her campaign a huge shot in the arm, boosting contributions. "It was wonderful," Amatul-Wadud tells AFP. "If she could win, then hope is possible, here in our home." Dressed in a floral dress, black pants and platform heels, she powered through the sticky heat of a recent afternoon, trading pleasantries and soliciting votes at a church barbeque. Ira Prude, a 28-year-old factory worker who worries about opioid addiction, homelessness and violent crime, says it meant a lot that she stopped by. "She seems to care a lot about her community. You know, where she grew up," she said. "So I think that's good." - 'Time for a change' - Tahirah Amatul-Wadud, who is running in a Democratic primary in Massachusetts, says she is motivated by a desire to improve conditions in her community but admits President Donald Trump's election "changed everything" As Amatul-Wadud makes her way through the picnic, a few look up surprised. "There are times where I could see that people are surprised that I present the way that I do," she tells AFP. "But have I had overt nasty racism right in my face? No, I'm grateful for that. I hope that that never happens." Despite increasingly overt bigotry in the country at large, the racism and Islamophobia she experiences lies online, forcing her to ask her teenage daughter to remove "vile things" that were "scaring" people. While her decision to run is motivated primarily by discontent with the status quo in her community, she admits that Trump's election "changed everything". "Some of his policy, some of his character was alarming to people... I had friends and neighbors, clients who told me that they were waking up feeling they had an elephant on their chest," she said. "Their futures did not look bright." Deanna Williams, 56, joined the campaign after being laid off earlier this year. Amatul-Wadud was her divorce attorney -- "she did me well and then we became friends," Williams laughs. "It's time for a change. Western Mass is suffering and we just need more people to get into Washington to help out the cause," she told AFP. "Too many people are struggling and don't have a job." Back at campaign HQ, Amatul-Wadud declares herself "very" confident of winning her David-and-Goliath battle against Neal. But if she doesn't? "I am not going anywhere," she replies. Members of the United Nations Security Council vote on a North Korea resolution March 21, 2018 in New York City The UN Security Council is poised to back a US proposal aimed at removing some of the hurdles that tough sanctions on North Korea have thrown up in the way of delivering humanitarian aid, according to documents obtained by AFP. North Korea's humanitarian crisis has left about 10 million people -- nearly half of the population - undernourished, according to UN officials, who have reported a drop in food production last year. UN resolutions specify that sanctions should not affect humanitarian aid but relief organizations argue that strict trade and banking measures are creating bureaucratic obstacles and slowing down the flow of vital supplies. A US proposal put forward last month would provide clear instructions to aid organizations and governments to apply for UN sanctions exemptions for North Korea, according to the text seen by AFP. After weeks of negotiations, the UN sanctions committee is expected to give final approval to the new guidelines on Monday. Once approved, a notice will be sent to the UN's 193 member-states by the committee "to provide a clear explanation of its comprehensive humanitarian exemption mechanism" which will "improve the delivery of humanitarian assistance to DPRK," according to the documents. The move comes as the United States is calling for maximum pressure to be maintained against North Korea to compel Kim Jong Un to follow through on his pledge to denuclearize the Korean peninsula. After Russia and China urged the council to ease sanctions, US Ambassador Nikki Haley said the United Nations should not do "one thing" until North Korea takes action to dismantle its nuclear and missile programs. A US official said the guidelines would ensure that "only critical, life-saving humanitarian activities needed in North Korea can continue" and that requests for exemptions will undergo a detailed review. "The United States has been very clear that we will continue to enforce the current sanctions until we achieve the final, fully verified, denuclearization of North Korea," said the official, speaking on background. Asked about the new guidelines, a Dutch official, speaking as the chair of the sanctions committee, said: "We want to make clear that this is about easing the process, not about easing the sanctions." - Unintended consequences - The Security Council last year adopted three rafts of sanctions targeting North Korea's economy in response to Pyongyang's sixth nuclear test and a series of ballistic missile launches. Those sanctions ban North Korea's exports of raw commodities while severely restricting imports of a range of goods and supplies of oil -- vital for the country's military. The measures have had a chilling effect, with UN agencies and aid organizations struggling to find partners willing to deal with the bureaucratic red tape from the tight sanctions regime on North Korea. "Economic sanctions are not supposed to have an impact on impartial humanitarian action. But they do. They have unintended consequences," said Simon Schorno, the head of aid operations for the International Red Cross in Asia. "We haven't seen the guidelines yet but we have been promised that they will speed up procedures, exemptions, and generally make processes run smoother. We're hopeful that the guidelines will make carrying out our work easier," he said. At a UN meeting last month, North Korean Deputy Ambassador Kim in Ryong complained that deliveries of medical equipment such as X-ray machines, anti-malaria insecticides and reproductive health kits had been held up for months. Kim said humanitarian aid was being "politicized" and argued that denying assistance to North Koreans in need was a violation of human rights. The United Nations is also facing a major funding shortfall for its aid operations in North Korea. An appeal for $111 million in funding for food, medicine and other basic needs for six million North Koreans has so far raised only $12 million -- 10.9 percent of the total amount needed. Only four countries have come forward with donations: Switzerland, Sweden, Canada and France. The US is demanding the release of Andrew Brunson, who led a Protestant church in Izmir before his detention in October 2016 US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu on Friday in an attempt to stave off a diplomatic crisis between Washington and Ankara over the detention of an American pastor in Turkey. The United States is demanding the release of Andrew Brunson, who led a Protestant church in the Aegean city of Izmir, after he was placed under house arrest last week following nearly two years in jail on charges of espionage and supporting terror groups. The meeting came days after Washington hit two top Turkish officials with sanctions over Brunson's detention, prompting Ankara to threaten reciprocal measures. US State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said Pompeo and Cavusoglu had a "constructive conversation" on the sidelines of a regional meeting in Singapore. "They spoke about a number of issues... They agreed to continue to try to resolve the issues between our two countries," she said. Brunson, whose trial began in the spring, faces up to 35 years in jail if convicted. The State Department has said it continues to favour a diplomatic approach, but Nauert told reporters earlier this week "this has gone on for too long", referring to Brunson's detention. Pompeo and Cavusoglu spoke by phone on Wednesday as the US announced sanctions on Justice Minister Abdulhamit Gul and Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu. The US claims both men played a major role in the arrest and detention of the pastor. President Donald Trump, Vice President Mike Pence and Pompeo have made Brunson's release a priority. His detention has fuelled a bitter diplomatic feud between Turkey and the US, whose relations have already deteriorated in recent months over the Syrian conflict. The standoff appears to be one of the most serious crises between the two NATO allies in modern history, along with the rows over the 1974 Turkish invasion of Cyprus and the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq. Brunson was initially detained in October 2016 during Turkey's crackdown following an attempted putsch. He stands accused of carrying out activities on behalf of two organisations Turkey considers terror groups. One is led by the US-based Muslim preacher Fethullah Gulen, who Ankara says was behind the failed coup, while the other is the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). The pastor denies the charges and his defence team argues the case is built on questionable witness statements. His next hearing is set for October 12. Yemeni blacksmiths are creating traditional jambiyya daggers from shrapnel In his war-torn city, a Yemeni artisan is transforming shrapnel which litters the streets into the country's celebrated traditional daggers. For 45 years, blacksmith Mohammed Haradhi has crafted swords for his clients' loved ones and built custom locks. But after more than three years of war, he and so many other Yemenis have been left struggling to find work. Haradhi has turned to the conflict's debris in Hajjah, his home city in western Yemen, and repurposes the metal to make traditional jambiyya daggers. A short, curved dagger, the jambiyya is worn by Yemeni men in an ornate sheath tucked into an embroidered belt. Shrapnel is particularly abundant in Hajjah, which has witnessed intense military operations aimed at driving rebel fighters out They are often gifted to boys during a coming of age celebration that brings the whole family together. With steel now hard to come by, Haradhi said shrapnel is a "cheap, high-quality metal" to make the daggers. "Necessity is the mother of invention," Haradhi said at his workshop, as he hammered a blade still red from the heat of the furnace. Shrapnel is particularly abundant in Hajjah, which has witnessed intense military operations aimed at driving rebel fighters out. The city is controlled by the Iran-backed Huthi rebels, who since 2015 have been battling a coalition backing the Yemeni government which is led by Saudi Arabia. - 'To remember the war' - The war has killed nearly 10,000 Yemenis and pushed the country to the brink of famine. Port blockades have prevented humanitarian aid and other supplies, including steel, entering the country. Jambiyyas are handed down from generation to generation But the conflict has not put an end to the craftmanship which dates back hundreds -- some historians say even thousands -- of years, which has also seen Yemen famed for its hand-embroidered shawls and skilled silversmiths. Jambiyyas have been handed down from generation to generation, across all socio-economic backgrounds. The daggers range from lower-end models made in China to daggers with handles carved from rhinoceros horn, tucked into diamond-encrusted sheaths, worth close to $1 million. Finished jambiyyas made from shrapnel sell for up to 20,000 Yemeni riyals ($79, 68 euros) Those made from repurposed shrapnel sell for up to 20,000 Yemeni riyals ($79, 68 euros). "We pick up the debris on the spot, or sometimes buy it by the kilogram," said Yahya Hussein, another blacksmith in Hajjah. Despite the ongoing conflict, residents say demand for the daggers remains high. "Some buy jambiyyas made from shrapnel and actually wear them," one Hajjah local told AFP. "But some buy them as keepsakes, or to remember the war." In the first round of Mali's presidential election incumbent Ibrahim Boubacar Keita (L) won 41.42 percent of the vote, with opposition figure Soumaila Cisse polling 17.80 percent, according to provisional results Mali's President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita will face opposition figure Soumaila Cisse in a run-off vote on August 12 after neither secured more than 50 percent in the first round of the presidential election, an official said late Thursday. In Sunday's poll Keita won 41.42 percent, with Cisse polling 17.80 percent, according to provisional results, said Territorial Administration Minister Mohamed Ag Erlafk on ORTM public television. Businessman Aliou Diallo came third with 7.95 percent and former transitional prime minister Cheick Modibo Diarra, an astrophysicist who held that office for eight months in 2012, completed the top four with 7.46 percent. Voters in the vast west African country had 24 candidates to choose from in the key poll for the troubled Sahel region. "Thanks to you, I'm in the lead," Keita, 73, who is seeking a second five-year term, said on his campaign Twitter account. "This is clear evidence of your trust." The second round on August 12 will be a repeat of the 2013 run-off, with Keita again facing former finance minister Cisse. "I was expecting a single round, the voters decided otherwise," said Mamadou Wague, an activist with the ruling party, predicting Keita would finally win a victory "even more emblematic than 2013," when he took more than 77 percent of the vote. - Linchpin Sahel state - Ahead of the announcement, challengers Cisse and Diallo had said they would not accept the election results "marred by irregularities". "For the first time in the history of Malian democracy, a president in office is forced to a second round," Cisse, 68, said on Twitter after the results, adding that the plan to have Keita re-elected in the first round had failed "despite the fraud". Turnout was 43.06 percent, rather higher than the average seen in Mali where less than a third of over-15s are literate. The international community hopes the poll will strengthen a 2015 accord that Mali, a linchpin state in the Sahel region, sees as the cornerstone for peace. On the campaign trail, Keita -- commonly known by his initials IBK -- had highlighted the achievements of the peace agreement between the government, government-allied groups and Tuareg former rebels to fight jihadist fighters in the country's north. Cisse, and other challengers, however have accused Keita of incompetence on security matters. Attacks disrupted voting Sunday in areas already beset by deadly ethnic and jihadist violence Around 700 of the 23,000 polling stations -- mainly in the north and centre of the country -- were unable to open due to violent incidents, but the polling "went ahead calmly" throughout the rest of the country, EU monitors said. Violence also marred the lead-up to the vote, despite the presence of 15,000 UN peacekeepers and 4,500 French troops and a much-heralded five-nation anti-terror G5 Sahel force. A state of emergency will enter its fourth year in November. Jihadist violence has spread from northern Mali to the centre and south of the country and spilt over into neighbouring Burkina Faso and Niger, often inflaming communal conflicts. Mali is one of the world's poorest countries, with most people living on less than $2 a day. A movie plays in the basement museum of Abdel Qader al-Ayoubi in Kirkuk From black-and-white musicals to action movies, Abdel Qader al-Ayoubi screens films and exhibits paraphernalia of the art form in his basement in the Iraqi city of Kirkuk, a cinema-free zone. Ayoubi has scoured the country to collect 8 mm, 16 mm and 35-mm reels of old films, projectors, screens and archive materials from second-hand dealers, sometimes at exorbitant prices. Back in the 1970s, the city of Kirkuk was home to five cinemas: the Khayyam, Hamra, Alamein, Atlas and the Salaheddin, the educational advisor and longtime movie enthusiast told AFP. The silver screen pulled in audiences in towns across Iraq, until 1980 when war broke out with Iran, marking the start of decades of conflict. Abdel Qader al-Ayoubi scoured the country to collect 8 mm, 16 mm and 35 mm reels of old films, projectors, screens and archive materials It was only in December that Baghdad declared victory after a three-year battle against the Islamic State group. While the level of violence has declined sharply, the rich cultural life long associated with Iraq has struggled to make a return. More than a decade of sanctions following Saddam Hussein's 1990 invasion of Kuwait, as well as long periods of militia and jihadist dominance after the 2003 US-led invasion that toppled the dictator, have ensured an end to the golden age of cinema in Iraq. The cinema experience in the country is now restricted to multi-screen theatres in shopping malls of Baghdad and the main southern city of Basra. In oil-rich Kirkuk, which is home to Kurdish, Arab and Turkmen communities, "all the movie theatres have closed, for different reasons but mainly because of security concerns", said 59-year-old Ayoubi. - Purring projector - Action and horror flicks are a hit at Ayoubi's cinema but his personal favourites are Arabic movies and musical comedies of the 1950s and 1960s Only in the basement of his home can a Kirkuk cinemagoer experience the whirring of the film reel and the purring of the projector's fan. Ghassan Hawwa, an oil sector worker who remembers the days of the Atlas and Hamra cinemas, is a regular in the audience on leatherette seats at the weekly rendezvous in the basement. "Today, everybody watches DVDs or goes on the internet," sighed Hawwa, who along with a cluster of co-enthusiasts aim to bring cinema back to life in Kirkuk. The small basement museum is open to the public on weekends and public holidays Action and horror flicks are a hit at Ayoubi's cinema but his personal favourites are the Arabic movies, the musical comedies of the 1950s and 1960s, or the good old-fashioned love stories. Foreign films are also on the programme, such as the Spaghetti Westerns whose posters plaster the walls of his small museum that is open to the public on weekends and public holidays. Ayoubi guides visitors around his museum, giving the history of the reels, projectors and other cinema paraphernalia to a new generation "who know nothing of the cinema world of old". Privacy Overview This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful. New Zealand's Southern Alps are notoriously difficult for climbers A climber trapped for seven days in freezing conditions on a New Zealand mountain has been found in the nick of time, with rescuers saying he was unlikely to have survived another night alone. Terry Harch, a 29-year-old Australian soldier, was spotted waving his arm in the snow on the South Island's notorious Mount Aspiring, where more than 30 climbers have died over the past decade. His emergency beacon signal was picked up in the United States and the co-ordinates relayed to New Zealand rescue authorities. Rescuers managed to reach Harch late Thursday and he was airlifted out during a break in bad weather on Friday afternoon. "It's a great result, as we did not want the climber spending another night on the mountain. The aim now is to get him to hospital for immediate treatment," senior rescue co-ordinator Neville Blakemore said. Search and rescue officer Geoff Lunt said Harch had "clearly made some good decisions to be able to survive the bad weather, heavy snow and high winds." Helicopter pilot Sean Mullally said initial missions up the mountain did not detect any sign of Harch and it was not until the fourth sweep that they saw his waving arm. "He is very lucky to be alive. I don't think he would have lasted another night," Mullally told the New Zealand Herald. Harch, an experienced climber in New Zealand's treacherous Southern Alps, activated his distress beacon on Monday, the day he was due to come off the mountain. The signal from the private tracking device was picked up by a supplier in Texas. The region has seen a lot of fresh snow in the past few days. The wind chill factor is minus 16 degrees Celsius (3.2 degrees Fahrenheit) and the avalanche advisory is high. A rescue team reached Harch on Thursday with warm clothing, tents and food as they waited for the weather to improve. New Zealand Mountain Safety Council chief executive Mike Daisley said winter mountaineering was a high-risk activity and in this case "the right call was probably not to go". "I know he's come a long way to tick this one off, but it's just not worth the ultimate price," Daisley said. New Zealand attracts climbers from around the world and has on average 37 mountain search and rescue missions a year. Activism of any sort is quickly stamped out in Vietnam A Vietnamese-American man is being held in Vietnam for attempting to overthrow the state, his family and a US lawmaker said, calling for his quick release from the communist country that routinely jails its critics. Michael Nguyen is the second US citizen arrested in Vietnam in recent weeks for allegedly brushing up against politics in a country where activism of any sort is quickly stamped out. The 54-year-old father of four daughters went missing last month on a visit to Vietnam, prompting a panicked search by his wife in California. US Consulate officials in Saigon confirmed to the family this week he was detained on July 7 under Article 109 of the criminal code -- "overthrowing the people's administration" -- and is being held in a Ho Chi Minh City prison with no formal charges. "Michael is under investigation for Article 109," Nguyen's brother-in-law Mark Roberts told reporters in California Thursday, according to a transcript of the briefing provided to AFP. California congresswoman Mimi Walters confirmed in a statement that Nguyen has been detained and she is trying to secure his release. The maximum sentence under Article 109 is death. Vietnam's Foreign Ministry spokeswoman told reporters Thursday she would ask "relevant authorities" about the case, while the US Embassy spokesman Pope Thrower said "we are aware of media reports that a US citizen is being detained in Vietnam", declining to elaborate. Nguyen's friend Le My Hanh told AFP he went missing while travelling in southern Vietnam with three activists, but his brother-in-law said he was not involved in politics. "We're asking the government of Vietnam to please release him," Roberts told AFP, adding the family is "devastated" over his arrest. Nguyen settled in the US after the end of the Vietnam War in 1975, which prompted thousands of refugees to flee the Communist government that took over after the long, bitter conflict. He is the second American citizen detained in Vietnam this year after Yale graduate Will Nguyen was arrested for joining protests in Ho Chi Minh City in June. He was deported last month after being convicted for causing public disorder in a case raised by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. Vietnam's communist government routinely jails lawyers, activists and journalists it deems critical, but a conservative leadership in charge since 2016 is accused of intensifying the crackdown. Scores are behind bars and the campaign has sent a chill throughout the activist community, forcing several into hiding or to self-censor online. Pompeo met Cavusoglu on the sidelines of a regional security meeting in Singapore Turkey and the US on Friday failed to resolve a diplomatic standoff over a detained pastor in talks between their top diplomats, with Ankara warning sanctions imposed by Washington would not work. Andrew Brunson, who led a Protestant church in the Aegean city of Izmir, is at the centre of one of the most serious crises in relations between the NATO allies in years. Brunson was moved to house arrest last week following nearly two years in jail on terror-related charges but the change only increased tensions. The US responded to the failure to fully free Brunson by hitting two top Turkish ministers with sanctions, prompting Ankara to threaten reciprocal measures. "We have said from the start that the other side's threatening language and sanctions will not get any result. We repeated this today," Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said after he and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met on the sidelines of a regional security summit in Singapore. Two Turkish employees of US consulates in Turkey are also currently in jail on terror charges and another is under house arrest, while several Americans have been caught up in the crackdown that followed a failed 2016 coup. "I hope they'll see this for what it is, a demonstration that we're very serious," Pompeo said in Singapore of the sanctions. "Brunson needs to come home. As do all the Americans being held by the Turkish government," he added. "They've been holding these folks for a long time. These are innocent people." - 'Relations will never break' - On Friday State Department spokesman Heather Nauert said Pompeo and Cavusoglu had a "constructive conversation" and "agreed to continue to try to resolve the issues between our two countries". Cavusoglu also said the talks were "extremely constructive" but warned in comments to Turkish media that all the issues would not be solved "after one meeting". Turkish Finance Minister and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's son-in-law, Berat Albayrak, said both sides wanted to continue dialogue. "Even couples who are married for 40 years do not agree on every issue. They argue then make up," Albayrak said, adding: "Relations will never break off." The US is demanding the release of Andrew Brunson, who led a Protestant church in Izmir before his detention in October 2016 Erdogan, who is known for his sometimes provocative anti-Western rhetoric, has yet to comment. He gave an almost two hour policy speech in Ankara Friday, without once referring directly to the tensions. Some analysts have argued Turkey is wary of allowing any further escalation in the crisis, which has already sent the lira to record lows in value against the dollar of above 5 for the first time. The standoff appears to be one of the most serious fallouts between the two NATO allies in modern history, along with the rows over the 1974 Turkish invasion of Cyprus and the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq. The US imposed the sanctions on Justice Minister Abdulhamit Gul and Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu, arguing that both men played a major role in the arrest and detention of the pastor. President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence, who shares Brunson's evangelical Christian faith, have made his release a priority. The pastor denies the charges against him and his defence team argues the case is built on questionable witness statements. His next hearing is set for October 12. Brunson, whose trial began in the spring, faces up to 35 years in jail if convicted. - Manbij roadmap - US-Turkey ties were already strained over US support for a Syrian Kurdish militia which Turkey views as a terrorist group and the failure to extradite Muslim preacher Fethullah Gulen blamed for the 2016 failed putsch. After Ankara launched an offensive in January supporting Syrian rebels against the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) militia in its western enclave of Afrin in Syria, the US called for restraint. But the NATO allies then agreed on a roadmap for the YPG-held Manbij after Ankara threatened to extend the operation to the northern town where there are US forces. Erdogan on Friday said in his Ankara speech that Turkey expected joint efforts regarding Manbij "to continue without being affected by other issues", in a possible indirect reference to the dispute with Washington. DRC opposition leader Moise Katumbi has been living in self-imposed exile in Belgium since May 2016 An opposition leader barred from returning to the Democratic Republic of Congo to file a bid to run for the country's presidency vowed on Friday to fight for "real elections". Moise Katumbi, a wealthy businessman and former governor of the province of Katanga, was forbidden from entering the DRC and charged with offences against state security, officials said. Katumbi, 53, has been living in self-imposed exile in Belgium since May 2016 after falling out with President Joseph Kabila, who has ruled DRC for 17 years. He had planned to fly by private jet from Johannesburg to Lubumbashi, the capital of Katanga province, to lodge his application to stand in long-delayed elections in December -- a move that would heap pressure on Kabila. But the city's mayor refused him entry, while the public prosecutor's office said Katumbi had been charged with "harming the state's domestic and external security" and would be arrested if he returned. A journalist with the French radio network RFI said Katumbi instead arrived at the Zambian border post of Kasumbalesa. Videos posted online by his aides and others showed him on the Zambian side of the border, greeting hundreds of supporters from his car. "The regime forbids me from landing and barricades the border... My crime? Wanting to enter my country and file my candidacy," Katumbi wrote on Twitter. "By trying to block me, they want to remove from Congolese their right to real elections. I will fight," he added. On the Congolese side of the border, security forces responded to protesters who were throwing stones in the air, Congolese police said, adding that a Tanzanian truck driver was slightly injured. At least two police checkpoints were set up to screen access to Lubumbashi's airport on Friday and the city's main road to Zambia was blocked by a truck, an AFP journalist said. - Potential arrest - Katumbi already faced potential arrest after being handed a three-year jail term in absentia in June 2016 in a case of alleged property fraud. He has also been accused of hiring mercenaries and for possessing an Italian passport -- Congolese law does not allow dual nationality. He denies the charges in both of those cases. Another rival of Kabila, former warlord and ex-vice president Jean-Pierre Bemba, 55, returned home this week. He officially launched his bid for the presidency on Thursday. The DRC has never known a peaceful transition of power since it gained independence in 1960 -- and some experts fear that the December 23 elections may trigger a bloody conflict. Kabila, 47, has been at the helm since 2001, presiding over a vast mineral-rich country with a reputation for corruption, inequality and unrest. He was scheduled to stand down at the end of 2016 after his second elected term, technically the last permitted under the constitution. Kabila has refused to spell out whether he will seek a new term in the vote. Angolan President Joao Lourenco met Kabila in the Angolan capital Luanda on Friday and said he had "received guarantees that the electoral process (in the DRC) will proceed in the normal way". Angolan Foreign Minister Manuel Augusto said he had recommended Kabila to have "respect for the constitution". Candidates must submit their applications by August 8 and physically be in the country to do so. At least 28 BMW cars have caught fire this year in South Korea, according to media reports South Korea will launch an investigation into BMW, a minister said Friday, over an alleged delay in recalling more than 100,000 cars following a spate of engine fires. At least 28 BMW cars have caught fire this year in South Korea, according to media reports, forcing the German automaker to issue a recall last week to fix a faulty component that was aimed at reducing emissions from diesel engines. But angry customers have launched a class-action lawsuit against the company alleging that it was slow to respond to the fires, prompting the authorities to probe the matter. "We will investigate the fires of BMW vehicles thoroughly and transparently", Transportation Minister Kim Hyun-mee said, adding that the probe would examine whether the company had reacted properly to the accidents. "If any problems are found, we will take stern measures", Kim said in a statement. The minister also urged BMW owners to respond to the recall immediately and refrain from driving their vehicles until further notice. There was no immediate response from BMW Korea. The German titan has been sued by 17 customers filing for damages worth $4,500 each, Ha Jong-seon, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, said, adding that dozens of other owners were expected to join the legal action. Meanwhile thousands of other BMW drivers have joined an internet community to explore the possibility of taking legal action against the carmaker, Yonhap news agency reported, paving the way for more lawsuits to be filed in the near future. If the government probe finds that the recall was delayed, BMW could be forced to pay a fine of up to 70 billion won ($62 million) under South Korean law. The recall applies to 42 models, all with diesel engines. In South Korea, six out of 10 imported cars are from Germany. BMW sold nearly 39,000 BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce cars in the first six months to June this year, according to the Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association. EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini assured her Southeast Asian counterparts that they could count on Europe as a free trade partner Southeast Asia and Europe stressed the importance of pushing back against protectionism and the threat of global trade wars Friday, as their ministers work towards the eventual goal of a region-to-region free trade pact. The US is embroiled in trade spats with China and close allies including the European Union, imposing tit-for-tat tariffs on billions of dollars worth of goods and heightening fears of economic pain that could spread worldwide. At a meeting in Singapore, EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini assured her Southeast Asian counterparts that they could count on Europe as a free trade partner. "We stand on the side of a free and fair trade that benefits all, instead of damaging trade wars," she told reporters at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) forum. Mogherini voiced hope that bilateral trade accords the EU is negotiating with several ASEAN states "will be the stepping stone towards a future region-to-region deal". Washington escalated the trade row this week by saying it was considering more than doubling threatened tariffs on a range of Chinese imports worth $200 billion. The US has already imposed 25 percent tariffs on $34 billion in Chinese goods, with another $16 billion to be targeted in coming weeks. "There's been unanimity of concern over looming trade wars because as we know in a war there's no winners," Philippine Foreign Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano told reporters on Friday. "And worse, sometimes you're not in the war but you're gravely affected. And when we talk about trade war, we're talking about actual jobs of real people." ASEAN, a 10-nation region of 650 million people with some of the world's fastest growing emerging economies, has been keenly forging free-trade pacts among its members and regional trading partners. The EU and ASEAN launched talks towards a trade pact in 2007, but the EU opted out of the process two years later -- partly due to problems with then-military ruled Myanmar. Both both sides agreed to reboot trade ties last year with the possibility of an accord between the two regions. Malaysian Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah also warned that Southeast Asia would suffer from a devastating trade war. "All of ASEAN member states are trading states... Our concern is if the trade war were to continue, we will be affected in one way or the other," he said. Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has said he hopes to complete by the end of the year a massive China-backed regional trade pact that has taken centre stage as US President Donald Trump embarks on a unilateral, protectionist agenda. The 16-nation Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) notably excludes the US, which had been leading another regional trade pact -- the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) -- until Trump abruptly abandoned it last year. Guinea-Bissau's government has agreed to increase the pay of public sector workers, their main trade union says Public-sector workers in the West African state of Guinea-Bissau have called off a strike after securing a pay increase in talks with the government, their main trade union said Friday. The strike, launched on July 24, ended after the government agreed on Thursday to increase minimum monthly pay from 19,200 CFA francs ($33.91, 29.28 euros) to 50,000 francs from September, Julio Mendonca, head of the UNTG union, told AFP. However, Prime Minister Aristide Gomes was somewhat more cautious. In a statement to AFP late Thursday, he said, "all parties have accepted the principle" of a pay rise. "We are still in negotiations," he said. "We are all going to work at finding a definitive solution to this situation." The strike, which affected a sector with 13,000 employees, was also followed by state media organisations. Public radio and television went silent and there were strikes at the daily newspaper No-Pintcha and news agency ANG. Guinea-Bissau, a former Portuguese colony with a population of 1.8 million, is one of the poorest and most unstable countries in the world. It has experienced years of volatility, marked by coups and soldiers' mutinies. The country plunged into a power struggle in August 2015, when President Jose Mario Vaz sacked his then prime minister, Domingos Simoes Pereira. After lawmakers did not meet for nearly two years, an agreement was reached in April at a summit of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), which led to Gomes's appointment as prime minister. Officials have said they fear the death toll could rise after the assault Burqa-clad suicide bombers struck a Shiite mosque in eastern Afghanistan Friday as it was crowded with worshippers for weekly prayers, killing at least 29 people and wounding more than 80 in the latest attack on the minority. Officials said they feared the death toll could rise after the assault, the latest targeting civilians who have borne the brunt of the violence in Afghanistan's long conflict. "Two suicide explosions happened during Friday prayers in the Khwaja Hasan area of Gardez," said Abdullah Hasrat, spokesman for Paktia province near the Pakistan border. He told AFP the toll had risen to 29 killed and 81 wounded, with children among the victims. The bombers wore "women's clothing", he said, and shot first at the mosque's security guards before opening fire on worshippers then detonating their explosives. Provincial police chief General Raz Mohammad Mandozai confirmed the incident, and that the pair were wearing burqas to hide their explosives and weapons. Local resident Sayed Naimatullah said he could hear the blasts from inside his home and rushed to the mosque. "There were body parts, heads, limbs and arms scattered everywhere. The blood of the worshippers had painted the walls of the mosque... There were pieces of glass scattered all over," the 30-year-old told AFP. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, but the Taliban have denied involvement. - Uptick in violence - The blasts come as urban areas across Afghanistan have been rocked by an increasing number of attacks in recent months, with both Islamic State (IS) and Taliban insurgents targeting security forces and government installations. The Taliban has not claimed a major attack in a city for weeks as it comes under increased pressure to agree to peace talks with the Afghan government. But IS has carried out multiple attacks in the eastern city of Jalalabad and the capital Kabul in recent months, targeting everything from government ministries to a midwife training centre. Last month an IS suicide bomber blew himself up near Kabul international airport, killing 23 people including AFP driver Mohammad Akhtar. The uptick in violence comes as US and Afghan forces intensify ground and air offensives against IS, and the Taliban step up their turf war with the group. Earlier this week more than 150 IS fighters surrendered in northern Afghanistan -- in a move that Afghan security forces and the Taliban hailed as the end of the extremist group in the north of the country. The surrender followed the Afghan army's decision to take over security in the eastern city of Jalalabad in IS's main stronghold of Nangarhar province after a spate of attacks, mostly claimed by the group. Afghan civilians have taken the brunt of the gruesome war that began after the 2001 US-led invasion uprooted the Taliban regime. Insurgent attacks and suicide bombs were the leading causes of civilian deaths in the first half of 2018, a recent UN report showed. A total of 1,692 civilians were killed, the highest number for the period since the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan began keeping records in 2009. Another 3,430 people were wounded, the report added. Boxes cointaining art works are seen after being packed up at Ai Weiwei's "Left and Right Art Studio" in Beijing An excavator shattered the windows of Ai Weiwei's largest studio while workers hustled away his art on Friday, preparing to demolish the old Beijing factory three years after the artist and government critic left China. As dusk descended on the old car parts factory on the outskirts of the capital, shirtless, sweating labourers packed large wooden crates filled with artworks onto a truck bed. Hours earlier, Ai, who now lives in Berlin, had posted videos on Instagram showing several men looking on from inside the hollowed-out brick and concrete building as a backhoe went to work. "Farewell," Ai wrote in English, saying the demolition had begun without notice. Ai helped to design the Bird's Nest Olympic Stadium for the 2008 Beijing Games, but fell out of favour following his criticism of Chinese leadership. The artist was detained for 81 days in 2011 amid a crackdown on government critics. His passport was confiscated and he moved to Berlin after it was returned to him in 2015. Ai wasn't overly angry about the demolition, as the rental contract for the space had expired last autumn, said Ga Rang, an assistant who has worked for 10 years alongside the artist. But it "simply wasn't possible" to move out at the time due to the vast quantity of things stored in the space, Ga said. Ga managed the hangar-sized space in the Left Right Art District, where Ai had worked since 2006. "They came and started knocking down the windows today without telling us beforehand. There's still so much stuff inside," said Ga, wiping his brow in the extreme summer humidity as he directed a crew of movers. They had been warned that the move needed to happen within days, but had not been told when the wrecking machines would appear. "The authorities say they want to develop things here, build malls and commercial buildings. But it's a shame -- you won't ever find a place in Beijing like this again," he said. - Ghostly retrospective - Around the back of the building lay a cemetery-like collection of different parts from Ai's various works, a ghostly outdoor retrospective. Ai Weiwei said wrecking crews had started demolishing his main studio in Beijing without notice, three years after the artist and government critic left China Tall ceramic pillars in green, yellow and blue, like those from his 2006 "Pillar" series, stood next to twisted metal rebar reclaimed from schools destroyed in the devastating 2008 Sichuan earthquake, all encircled by a silent chorus of enormous, gnarled tree roots resembling those from his 2009 work "Rooted Upon" -- an abstract meditation on encroaching modernity and displacement. It was going to be impossible to find another space to house such large-scale works in Beijing, Ga lamented, and they were considering simply storing the works outside somewhere. "Mr. Ai made countless works in this space -- a lot of his iconic works were all made here." Work from Ai's first solo show in his home country -- a reconstructed Ming dynasty temple, rebuilt with all its 1,500 parts in a Beijing gallery in 2015 -- stood packed up in boxes in the middle of the window-lined studio amid broken glass and timber. - Changing district - Far beyond Beijing's city centre, the Left Right Art District is an old factory converted into artist studios and office spaces. It lies next to the "Big Wealthy Regal Industrial Park" -- an area full of tractors, dirty low-lying buildings and roadside watermelon vendors selling their wares for 20 cents a kilo. Ai's studio dominates the complex, where many of the other buildings dating back to the 1960s and 70s have already been reduced to rubble. Demolitions began three months ago, said De Aihua, a longtime resident who moved into the factory in her early teens. Ai's studio used to be the state-owned factory's meeting hall, she explained. A forklift carries away parts of Ai Weiwei's artwork as his "Left and Right Art Studio" is demolished in Beijing At its peak, the complex was home to 1,000 residents, but numbers began to drop after China's reform in the 1980s shifted the economy away from rigid state-controlled planning. In recent years, only 20 or so residents remained. She expected the government to allot her an apartment in a high-rise complex somewhere to compensate her for having to move, but deeply mourned the change. "It was a wonderful life here. It was the way a life should be -- with neighbours, trees, closer to nature," she said, pulling her puppy Miaomiao through a leafy boulevard now overgrown with weeds and hedged on either side by debris. She would speak with artists when they crossed her path, but didn't know much of Ai Weiwei's international renown, referring to him as "Ai Qing's son". His father was a famous Chinese poet. As he prepared a jackhammer for the next morning, the young construction worker who would drive the demolition vehicle said he had no particular feelings about tearing down the historic building, but still preferred low houses to towering commercial malls. "But even if I don't like it, I'm just an ant, what say do I have?" he said. "And anyway, I don't really know what you mean by art." Supporters celebrated after Zimbabwe's President Emmerson Mnangagwa was declared the winner in the country's landmark election Just before announcing the results, Zimbabwe Electoral Commission chief Priscilla Chigumba made a passionate plea for the country to remember the upbeat and peaceful atmosphere of polling day. "It is my most humble wish that we as Zimbabweans should continue in this spirit that we had on election day and that we should move on in this spirit," Chigumba said, before declaring Emmerson Mnangagwa the winner in the early hours of Friday. But the election that ZEC ran has done little to build confidence that Zimbabwe has entered a new era of free and transparent voting after autocratic leader Robert Mugabe was ousted last year. Instead Mnangagwa's narrow win for the ruling ZANU-PF party has been engulfed by accusations of fraud and malpractice by ZEC, as well as anger over soldiers shooting at an opposition protest where six people were killed, two days after Monday's election. MDC opposition leader Nelson Chamisa -- who has accused ZEC of playing for the same "team" as ZANU-PF -- rejected the results and lashed out at what he called the "opaqueness, truth deficiency, moral decay and values deficit" of the election. International observers have also questioned whether the election lived up to Mnangagwa's promise to hold a "free and fair" vote to mark a new chapter for Zimbabwe and end the country's isolation. The European Union observers' preliminary report accusing ZEC of a "persistent lack of inclusivity and transparency" and said its communications were poor. ZEC was synonymous with fraud and bias under Mugabe, when elections were often marred by deadly violence. Back in 2008, the commission attracted international ridicule for endorsing that year's election as credible after then opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai pulled out of the presidential run-off when more than 200 of his MDC supporters were killed. - Tainted past - Chigumba, a high court judge, was appointed to the high-profile job in January to give ZEC a fresh start after Mugabe's fall last November. As a respected judge, she is best known for reversing a two-week ban on protests and clearing activist Evan Mawarire in 2017 of attempting to overthrow Mugabe's regime. "The key tenets for a credible election are transparency and accountability -- and ZEC is averse to both," Tawanda Chimhini, head of Zimbabwe's Election Resource Centre monitoring body, told AFP ahead of polling day. "Zimbabwe could have seen a departure from the old way, and ZEC could have been much more transparent -- that would have built public confidence. But the commission is making the same mistakes." At the helm of ZEC, Chigumba has defended the body rigorously, taking out full-page newspaper advertisements to deny reports that the electoral roll was riddled with fake names, duplicates and dead people. She also faced claims of bias over the layout of the ballot papers, which -- set out in two alphabetical columns -- gave Mnangagwa a prominent spot at the top of the page. "We are absolutely confident there was no rigging... we at the Zimbabwean Election Commission will not steal (the people's) choice of leaders, we will not subvert their will," she said after polling day. But UK-based political analyst Alex Magaisa said that ZEC "has been found wanting" and "failed to handle its enormous obligation as an impartial referee". "There is a broad perception of bias which owes much to history, but is also cemented by current indiscretions," he added. Washington and Beijing are locked in battle over American accusations that China's export economy benefits from unfair policies and subsidies Beijing warned Friday it was prepared to impose new tariffs on $60 billion worth of US goods if Washington ups the ante in the escalating US-China trade war. The commerce ministry issued a statement saying the new duties would be applied if Washington pulled the trigger on President Donald Trump's threat to raise tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods. The statement said China reserves the right to apply "other countermeasures". "China always believes that consultation on the basis of mutual respect, equality and mutual benefit is an effective way to resolve trade differences," the ministry said. "Any unilateral threat or blackmail will only lead to intensification of conflicts and damage to the interests of all parties." The threat came a day after Chinese officials appealed for dialogue based on "mutual respect", with Foreign Minister Wang Yi urging the United States to remain "cool-headed". US officials said Wednesday that Trump had asked the US Trade Representative to consider increasing the proposed tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods to 25 percent from the planned 10 percent. Washington and Beijing are locked in battle over American accusations that China's export economy benefits from unfair policies and subsidies, as well as theft of American technological know-how. Trump has threatened to slap tariffs on virtually all of China's exports to the United States in the tit-for-tat trade conflict. At least 10 of the 12 schools targeted were for girls Twelve schools were attacked overnight by unknown assailants in Pakistan's northern Gilgit Baltistan region, raising fears of increasing extremism in a relatively peaceful area, officials said Friday. Officials said no one was hurt in the incidents, in which attackers mainly targeted girls' schools in a tourist region on the Chinese border famed for its high peaks. "The miscreants tried to damage around 12 schools in Diamir district. They tried to set fire to some of them and broke windows and doors of some others," regional home secretary Jawad Akram told AFP. Akram said the local government had begun searching for the attackers. Dildar Ahmed Malik, a senior official in Diamir district, said at least 10 of the burnt schools were for girls. "The incident took place in a far-flung area. We are investigating it, but the inquiry will take time because of the remoteness of the region," he said. Gilgit Baltistan has been relatively free of the violent militancy that has plagued other parts of Paksitan for years. The region is home to world's second highest mountain, K2, and numerous other peaks attracting mountaineers and tourists from around the world. Like many other under-developed areas of Pakistan, basic education needs in Gilgit Baltistan are being met by private or community organisations, and a large number of primary schools have been set up by non-government organisations. Education is a pressing issue in Pakistan, where government statistics show that more than 22 million children are out of school -- the majority of them girls. Israelis look across the border into Syria on July 24, 2018, from the Tal Saki hill in the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights Israel has closed a field hospital set up near the Syrian border to treat the sick and those wounded in the conflict ravaging the neighbouring country, the army said Friday. The day clinic was set up in August 2017 and since then had provided medical care to some 6,800 Syrians, the army said in a statement. "Forces began evacuating and folding the clinic's compound," the statement said, without explaining why it was being shut down after a year. The field hospital was established with Friend Ships, an American charity. Since the Syrian conflict began in 2011, Israel has refused to accept refugees, instead treating the sick and wounded in its northern hospitals and clinics before returning the patients to their own country. The hospital was set up "in response to the lack of proper medical options in Syria", with the army "maintaining a non-intervention policy in the conflict", the statement said. According to recent figures distributed by the army, besides those treated at the border clinic, 3,500 Syrian civilians have received medical care in Israel since 2013. In addition, and as part of Israel's "Operation Good Neighbour", since 2016 over 1,300 Syrian children suffering "illnesses and ailments" have received one-day treatments in Israeli speciality clinics, according to the military. Although Israel has sought to avoid direct involvement in the conflict, a series of air strikes which have killed Iranians in Syria have been attributed to the Jewish state. Israel seized much of the Golan Heights from Syria in the Six-Day War of 1967 and later annexed it in a move never recognised by the international community. The two countries technically remain at war. Israel has been on high alert since June 19, when Syrian government forces launched an offensive to retake southern Daraa and Quneitra provinces, the latter of which includes the divided Golan Heights. Much of the area has been recaptured by Syrian regime troops who are now mopping up the remaining pockets of rebel and jihadist territory. On Wednesday, an Israeli air strike killed seven militants believed to be linked to the Islamic State group who were seeking to infiltrate the country from the Syrian Golan Heights, according to the army. "The IDF is monitoring the ongoing events in the area and is prepared for a range of scenarios," the Friday statement said. The US trade deficit rose 7.3 percent or $3.2 billion in June to $46.3 billion A dip in auto exports and rising oil prices in June drove the biggest increase in the US trade deficit in 19 months, reversing much of May's export bonanza, the government reported Friday. The result could weigh on revised calculations of second quarter growth, which President Donald Trump hailed as a key achievement of his economic policies last week after it was reported as the strongest GDP increase in nearly four years. The US bilateral trade deficits also expanded with China, the European Union, Canada and Mexico -- all of which have retaliated against Trump's aggressive tariffs. The US trade deficit rose 7.3 percent or $3.2 billion in June to $46.3 billion, overshooting analyst expectations. It was the largest jump in the trade gap since November 2016, according to the Commerce Department. As the numbers were released, Beijing warned it was ready to impose new tariffs on $60 billion in American products if Trump pressed ahead with plans to hit another $200 billion in Chinese goods with steep punitive duties. Trump has said trade wars are "easy to win" and made the soaring US-China goods deficit a principal issue in his nationalist economic agenda. But industry and allies in his Republican Party have expressed fear the dispute could spiral out of control. While soybean exports continued to rise in July -- as Chinese importers rushed to buy ahead of the retaliatory tariffs Beijing imposed in July -- US shipments of automobiles, aircraft and pharmaceuticals fell. Meanwhile, the deficit declined with Japan but that came amid an overall decline in trade between the world's largest and third-largest economies. Average prices for imported oil hit the highest level since December 2014 at $73.60 a barrel -- bringing the value of oil imports for the month to $19.6 billion, also the highest in three and a half years. Vietnamese former state oil executive Trinh Xuan Thanh was allegedly kidnapped from Germany using a Slovak government plane Slovakia on Friday denied it knowingly took part in the kidnapping last year of a Vietnamese oil executive from Berlin after media reports claimed a government plane was used in the abduction. Echoing allegations already made in German newspapers, the daily Dennik N reported Thursday that a Slovak government plane had been used by Vietnamese officials to transport businessman Trinh Xuan Thanh. But interior ministry spokesman Petar Lazarov insisted on Friday that "Slovak authorities did not intentionally participate in the abduction of a Vietnamese citizen abroad in any way." And he dismissed the Dennik N article as "a fabrication and sci-fi". The report quoted unnamed Slovak policemen as saying that "a seemingly drunk and bruised individual" joined the official Vietnamese delegation at Bratislava airport and boarded a Slovak government plane. The article, which was a collaboration with the German daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, also pointed out that Vietnamese Public Security Minister To Lam was visiting Slovakia at the time. On Friday, Slovak Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini said his government would fully cooperate with authorities to clarify the matter. "This is the only way to prevent damage to our country's good name," he told reporters. The kidnapped man, Thanh -- a fugitive Vietnamese state company official who had been seeking political asylum in Germany -- was walking in Berlin's Tiergarten park in July 2017 when he was dragged into a van in broad daylight and smuggled back to Vietnam. The German government was outraged and expelled two Vietnamese diplomats and summoned the ambassador several times. Vietnam has always insisted that Thanh returned voluntarily to face embezzlement charges. Thanh has since been sentenced to two life terms in Vietnam on charges of corruption during his time as the head of state-run PetroVietnam Construction, a subsidiary of the country's largest oil firm. Vietnam's communist government in charge since 2016 has taken aim at bankers, businessmen and politicians it accuses of mismanagement as it vows to stamp out corruption. The unprecedented anti-graft campaign has seen scores jailed, many previously thought to be untouchable in one of Southeast Asia's most corrupt countries. Observers agree the campaign, which has echoes of a similar drive in China, is seeking to clean up corruption -- and also get rid of perceived enemies. The US Treasury (L) has issued a set of sanctions on North Korean-linked entities, including a Russian bank The United States slapped sanctions Friday on a Russian bank for helping North Korea evade punitive measures from the United Nations designed to curb Pyongyang's nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs. The US Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) said it also targeted an individual and two entities for "facilitating North Korean illicit financial activity." The United States separately asked the UN Security Council to blacklist the Russian bank known as Agrosoyuz Commercial Bank, a North Korean official and two "front companies," diplomats said. "The United States will continue to enforce UN and US sanctions and shut down illicit revenue streams to North Korea," Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement. "Our sanctions will remain in place until we have achieved the final, fully-verified denuclearization of North Korea." The sanctions freeze any property or assets on US soil held by the designated entities, and bar US citizens from doing business with them. A UN sanctions committee will decide by next Friday whether to grant the US request and slap a global travel ban and assets freeze on the four designations, but Russia is likely to raise objections, diplomats said. The US mission to the UN said in a statement that the request for sanctions designations was part of a "coordinated US government effort to continue to implement existing sanctions, both domestic and multilateral, and cut off North Korea's illicit financial activities." OFAC said it imposed sanctions on Agrosoyuz bank for "knowingly conducting or facilitating a significant transaction" on behalf of Han Jang Su, the Moscow-based chief representative of Foreign Trade Bank (FTB), North Korea's primary foreign exchange bank. It also designated Ri Jong Won, the FTB's deputy representative based in Moscow, as well as FTB "front companies" Dandong Zhongsheng Industry & Trade Co., Ltd. (Zhongsheng) and Korea Ungum Corporation (Ungum). The United Nations and the US had already previously designated Han and the FTB, and OFAC called on Russia to expel both Han and Ri. OFAC noted that Agrosoyuz was still providing services to Han this year, in violation of Russia's UN obligations, and knowingly opened multiple bank accounts for at least three FTB front companies. Agrosoyuz has processed millions of dollars in transactions via North Korean-linked accounts since at least 2009, according to OFAC. A single letter -- Q -- has begun popping up on shirts and signs at Donald Trump's rallies, representing an amalgam of conspiracy theories that paint the American president as a political warrior out to destroy a corrupt global cabal A mysterious internet presence who goes by a single letter, Q, has launched a pro-Trump movement that is suddenly gaining traction, bringing conspiracy theories off the dark web and towards the mainstream. Last October, the anonymous figure, who supposedly holds top-secret Q-level government clearance, began posting cryptic messages detailing efforts to expose and crush a corrupt global cabal they believe is trying to rule the world. In the months since, few Americans -- aside from online denizens eager to dive down rabbit holes -- had heard of Q or QAnon, with the secretive message stream remaining on the fringes of the internet. But the movement burst into the real world this week on one of the largest political stages imaginable, when several attendees at President Donald Trump's rally in Tampa, Florida wore QAnon shirts and waved "We Are Q" signs. So just who is Q? Followers are convinced they are receiving top-level intelligence from a mole in Trump's inner circle, an unidentified online message board user with extraordinary access to power who began dispensing intel drops, known as "bread crumbs," to advise Americans of a fantastical plan. The United States, so it goes, has been run for decades by a nefarious criminal syndicate involving the Clintons, the Obamas, the Rothschilds and financier George Soros, Hollywood types, and other global elites. There are accusations of child kidnapping and pedophilia rings similar to those at the heart of "Pizzagate," the discredited conspiracy that the hacked email of Hillary Clinton's staffers revealed a human trafficking ring. QAnon's most outlandish premise seeks to spin Trump's biggest headache into good news, by insisting the US leader has only pretended to collude with Russia in order to get special counsel Robert Mueller to work with him to expose the evil-doers. The nation should prepare, Q writes, for a Trump-led counter-coup of sorts, an imminent "storm" including arrests that will bring down the cabal and restore power back to the American people. - 'Calm before the storm' - Q's messages are part poem, cryptic instruction manual, disruption machine and inspiration. "Was HRC next in line? Was the election supposed to be rigged? Did good people prevent the rigging?" Q wrote in an early message, referring to Hillary Clinton. "Do you believe in coincidences? Paint the picture. Crumbs will make bread. Operations underway." In an era of swirling political polarization and 24-7 online theorizing, when Trump himself peddled the wild falsehood that Barack Obama might not have been born in America, QAnon has gained a foothold. "I think what Q is is people exposing the truth," Mark Emmett, wearing a QAnon shirt, told The Washington Post at Trump's rally on Thursday in Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania. "Trump is just showing the way." Followers of QAnon believe President Donald Trump has given them hints, including pointing at people who wear "Q" gear at his rallies, that validate their conspiracy theories Followers believe Trump fanned the flames in October when, during a photo op with military veterans, he cryptically warned reporters of "the calm before the storm." Some prominent Trump supporters have latched on. Actress Roseanne Barr has tweeted about QAnon, and Infowars founder Alex Jones has discussed the community. The messages, often written in staccato style, outline a potpourri of conspiracies: the survivors of the Parkland, Florida school shooting were actors; 9/11 was an inside job; and "deep state" agents tried to shoot down Air Force One. Q's writings, which were first posted in 4chan and 8chan -- online messaging boards and incubators of political extremism -- and then were posted to Reddit, Twitter and YouTube, which have far wider audiences. - 'Dangerous phenomenon' - Experts warn there are real-life dangers, as exhibited in June when a man in an armored vehicle was arrested near the Hoover Dam in Nevada, brandishing a gun and referring to QAnon. "This has got all the elements of what would maybe be an uprising, or advocating for violence, or nudging people towards it, or even political upheaval," Clint Watts, a former FBI special agent, told MSNBC. "So I think it's a really dangerous phenomenon, especially when you see it tied to the president and his rallies." White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders on Wednesday denied Trump was operating in tandem with QAnon, saying: "The president condemns and denounces any group that would incite violence against another individual." QAnon supporters nonetheless rejoiced online, saying the mere mention in that briefing was an affirmation of Q's legitimacy. Diehards are convinced Trump is dropping hints that validate the theories. In Tampa, he mentioned he had been to Washington about "17 times" before the election. He has blasted the "17 angry Democrats" running the probe into Russia's election meddling. Q is the 17th letter of the alphabet. A Syrian man attempts to fix the electricity cables in the northern city of Aleppo on February 14, 2013 State-owned Syrian companies are hiring hundreds of employees in the gas, electricity, and technical infrastructure industries, state media announced Friday, weeks after President Bashar al-Assad said post-war reconstruction was a priority. The country's seven-year conflict has devastated its economy, but as fighting winds down in many areas, the government and its allies appear to be ramping up efforts to rebuild. On Friday, Syrian state television announced government-owned companies were looking to take on more than 850 new hires. They included 97 positions at the Maharda hydroelectric power station, which lies in the country's central Hama province and saw fierce clashes in 2016. Damacable, which sells electric wires, had 89 new positions open. The Syrian Gas Company is hiring 175 people in the central province of Homs, as well as Hasakeh in the northeast, and Deir Ezzor in the east. The biggest hiring spree, according to state television, was for the agriculture directorate in Hasakeh, which was looking for 209 new employees. The remaining open positions included technicians, medical staff, and agriculture workers in the southern provinces of Sweida and Daraa, where the army recently waged a fierce military assault to oust rebels. The Ministry of Information is also hiring more than 120 people. Many of the open positions are in areas recaptured by government troops in recent months, like Daraa, or in provinces where the regime shares control with rival Kurdish forces, including Hasakeh and Deir Ezzor. Most also included stipulations that half of the positions were reserved for war-wounded or relatives of those killed in the conflict. Assad last month said reconstruction was his "top priority" in Syria, where more than 350,000 people have been killed and millions have been forced to flee their homes since violence erupted in 2011. The fighting has ravaged the country's economy and gutted its infrastructure, with water and electricity provision still spotty in many areas. The Syrian pound has plummeted in value to 435 pounds per US dollar, compared to 48 per dollar before the war. Last week, regime ally Russia urged world powers to help Syria's economic recovery. But those which have long called for Assad's ouster remain adamant that aid would only come with political transition. Washington and Beijing are locked in battle over American accusations that China's export economy benefits from unfair policies and subsidies Top White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow on Friday ridiculed China's threat of $60 billion of retaliatory tariffs as "weak" and said the world's second-largest economy was in "trouble." Escalating the war of words over trade, Kudlow also warned that leaders in Beijing had "better take President (Donald) Trump seriously." The heated response came after China threatened to impose retaliatory tariffs on another $60 billion in US exports, as the tit-for-tat trade war with Washington shows no signs of abating. The Trump administration had earlier threatened additional tariffs of $200 billion and has warned that it has more ammunition than Beijing in the escalating conflict. Washington accuses China of not playing by the rules and stealing intellectual property. "I might think the $60 billion is a weak response to our $200 (billion)," he said, while admitting that "there is a lot they can do to damage our companies in China." But Kudlow's toughest words came about the Chinese economy itself, which is second only to the United States. "China is in trouble right now -- their economy is lousy, investors are walking out, the currency is falling," Kudlow said, in an unusually strong condemnation of a trading partner. "Foreign investors don't want to be in China. I noticed today that Japan's stock market is now worth more than China's -- I love that," he told journalists at the White House. Disgraced Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein -- shown here being escorted in handcuffs in July into New York's State Supreme Court for arraignment on charges of sex crimes -- is now trying to have the case thrown out Harvey Weinstein's defense lawyer on Friday demanded that a New York court dismiss the sex crimes charges against him, explosively disclosing "warm" emails between the disgraced Hollywood tycoon and his alleged rape victim, in which she said "I love you." Ben Brafman, one of America's most celebrated defense attorneys who helped former IMF boss Dominique Strauss-Kahn escape criminal prosecution for alleged sexual assault in 2011, called for the entire indictment against Weinstein to be dismissed, based on the emails and a barrage of technicalities. The 66-year-old former Tinseltown titan is out on bail and has pleaded not guilty to six counts allegedly committed against three women in 2004, 2006 and 2013. The next hearing in the case is scheduled for September 20. His arrest and arraignments have led #MeToo campaigners to hope that the twice-married father of five -- whom nearly 100 women have publicly accused of sexual misconduct -- will be put on trial, convicted and sent to prison. But Brafman's filing demanded that the indictment "be dismissed at the pre-trial stage," saying that the district attorney's failure to present the emails had tainted the grand jury's indictment process. Messages sent from weeks to four years after the alleged 2013 rape showed that Weinstein and the woman were in a "long-term, consensual, intimate relationship" that never once referred to an assault, Brafman claimed. The lawyer described the dozens of messages as "warm, complimentary and solicitous" and as reflecting "the true nature of this consensual intimate friendship, which never at any time included a forcible rape". "Hope you are well and call me anytime, always good to hear your voice," she allegedly wrote to him in August 2013, five months after the claimed assault. In January 2014, the defense quoted her as writing: "Your [sic] the one who makes it look good with your smile and beautiful eyes!!" "There is no one else I would enjoy catching up with that understands me quite like you," she purportedly wrote to Weinstein in July 2014. In another exchange, she wrote to say: "Just had u cross my mind and thought u would send a hello." When Weinstein apparently replied: "Love to cross your mind it's my favorite exercise," she answered: "Lol that made me laugh so hard." - 'Booty call' - "I love you, always do. But I hate feeling like a booty call. :)," she apparently emailed Weinstein in February 2017. Messages appeared to show her arranging to meet up with Weinstein, looking forward to introducing him to her mother, making contact when she needed help securing a job and seeking comfort when her father was ill, Brafman said. The defense accused Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance of acting in haste, caving under "unprecedented" pressure to indict Weinstein, having been criticized for failing to prosecute him for an alleged groping incident in 2015. Vance's office declined to comment Friday. Brafman also sought to undermine the allegation of forced oral sex 14 years ago, saying that the alleged victim in that instance does not remember when it happened, only "sometime" between June and September of that year. "Mr Weinstein categorically denies that he had non-consensual sex with any person, and specifically the three accusers in the pending indictment," he wrote in the 159-page filing, that included 30 exhibits of emails. He sought the dismissal citing failure to provide the emails to the grand jury, prosecutors not giving "adequate" notice about more serious charges filed last month, not saying exactly when the alleged 2004 assault took place, not prosecuting within statute of limitations, not providing evidence about the element of "force" and what he summed up as "other grand jury deficiencies." Weinstein is facing two counts of predatory sexual assault and two counts of criminal sexual act, as well as rape in the first and third degree. He risks being jailed for life if put on trial and convicted of the most serious charge against him, predatory sexual assault. His career imploded in October in a blaze of accusations of sexual misconduct and abuse from dozens of women that triggered a major reckoning about harassment in the workplace and the #MeToo movement. The first US astronauts who will fly on American-made, commercial spacecraft to and from the International Space Station NASA on Friday named the first nine astronauts who will fly to space on Boeing and SpaceX vehicles in 2019 -- a mix of novices and veterans who are tasked with restoring America's ability to send humans into orbit. These pioneering flights to the International Space Station aboard commercially built crew capsules will be the first leaving US soil to put people into orbit since the iconic space shuttle program ended in 2011. For the past seven years, NASA astronauts have hitched rides to the orbiting outpost on Russia's Soyuz spacecraft -- at a cost of some $80 million a seat. "This is a big deal for our country and we want America to know that we are back, that we are flying American astronauts on American rockets from American soil," NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine said as he unveiled the crew members in Houston, Texas. An unmanned Boeing flight test is scheduled for later this year, with the first crew on board in mid-2019, NASA said. For SpaceX, a demonstration flight with no passengers is set for November 2018, and the first manned flight set for April 2019. Those named for the crew test flights for Boeing's Starliner include NASA shuttle veterans Eric Boe and Christopher Ferguson, along with Nicole Aunapu Mann, a naval aviator who was named a NASA astronaut in 2013 and will be making her first flight to space. "It is going to be a proud moment for America," Mann said. US President Donald Trump also praised the news while giving himself a pat on the back: "NASA, which is making a BIG comeback under the Trump Administration, has just named 9 astronauts for Boeing and Spacex space flights," he tweeted. "We have the greatest facilities in the world and we are now letting the private sector pay to use them," Trump said. "Exciting things happening." "Space Force!" he added, referencing a sixth branch of the military he has called for that would focus on defending US interests. - More astronauts to come - SpaceX's first crew tests will be manned by shuttle veterans Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley. After that, the companies move on to actual missions. NASA "has contracted six missions, with as many as four astronauts per mission, for each company," the agency said. On board Starliner's first mission will be NASA veteran Sunita Williams, a retired Navy captain and experienced space shuttle astronaut, and Josh Cassada, a Navy pilot making his first flight to space. SpaceX's first crew will include naval aviator Victor Glover, also a novice to spaceflight, and shuttle veteran Michael Hopkins. More astronauts will be announced to join the crews at a later date, NASA said. NASA awarded contracts to Boeing and SpaceX in 2014 as part of its commercial crew program, aimed at helping private industry build spaceships to reach low-Earth orbit. "The goal is to have safe, reliable and cost-effective access to and from the International Space Station and foster commercial access to other potential low-Earth orbit destinations," NASA said. The US space agency, meanwhile, is working on building rockets and spacecraft that could allow humans to return to the Moon in the coming decade. Both Boeing and SpaceX are slightly behind schedule when it comes to their crew vehicles. The first manned flights were initially supposed to take place in 2018. The UN envoy to Yemen Martin Griffiths said a political solution to the war in Yemen is available, as the Yemeni government gets ready to attend UN-brokered talks in September in Geneva Yemen's internationally recognised government is ready to attend UN-brokered talks next month in Geneva but is "not optimistic", a government official said on Friday. "We will go but we are not optimistic," the official told AFP on condition of anonymity. He said there remained "huge differences" between the government and rebels. The UN envoy to Yemen, Martin Griffiths, on Thursday told the Security Council that the United Nations will invite Yemen's warring sides for talks in Geneva on September 6 to discuss a framework for peace negotiations. Griffiths said "a political solution" to end the war in Yemen was "available" and urged world powers to support the new push for peace negotiations. There has yet been no response from the rebels. UN-brokered political talks on Yemen broke down in 2016 amid demands for a rebel withdrawal from key cities and power-sharing with the Saudi-backed government. Since 2015, Saudi Arabia has been leading a military campaign to restore the government to power and push back the Shiite Huthi rebels, who hold the capital Sanaa. The war in the impoverished country has since left nearly 10,000 people dead and unleashed what the United Nations describes as the world's worst humanitarian crisis. No caption The leadership of Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas is to convene late Friday for a rare meeting, officials said, amid speculation of a long-term truce between the Gaza Strip's rulers and Israel. A senior Hamas source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the leadership would meet in the evening in Gaza City to discuss a number of issues, including a possible agreement. It will be the full first meeting of the movement's political bureau since talks held in Cairo in 2017, officials said. Among those attending will be Hamas's deputy leader Saleh al-Aruri, who crossed the border from Egypt on Thursday with eight other Hamas leaders based outside Gaza. Aruri, who lives in Lebanon and has never before visited Gaza as he is wanted by Israel, was given Egyptian and United Nations assurances over his safety, the Hamas source said. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday delayed a planned visit to Colombia amid speculation that a truce agreement could be reached within days. Such a deal would involve a long-term cessation of hostilities between Israel and Hamas in exchange for a significant easing of the Jewish states crippling economic blockade of Gaza, according to Hamas and UN officials. An agreement could allow international donors to fund a series of programmes including electricity and water network upgrades in Gaza. It could also cover a prisoner exchange with Hamas which holds the bodies of two soldiers killed in a 2014 war, Israeli media say. On Friday Ezzat al-Rishaq, a member of the Hamas political office, told protesters along the border they were "committed to calm". "We do not want war and we are determined to spare our people in Gaza a new war," he said. Since March 30, major Palestinian protests along the Gaza-Israel border have led to frequent clashes, with Israeli snipers firing on protesters burning tires and throwing stones. At least 157 Palestinians have been killed, while one Israeli soldier was shot dead. Palestinians have also flown balloons and kites attached to incendiary devices across the border, starting hundreds of fires inside Israel in recent months. On Friday around 8,000 protesters gathered at different spots along the fence, attempting to sabotage the Israeli border fence, the army said. "A number of suspects infiltrated into Israel from the southern Gaza Strip, hurled firebombs and an explosive device in the border fence area and then returned into the Gaza Strip," an army statement said. It said a tank struck a Hamas post in response. The health ministry in Gaza said at least 50 people had been wounded throughout the day. With borders to both Egypt and Israel largely sealed in recent years, Gaza suffers from desperately high rates of poverty and unemployment. Israel insists its blockade is necessary to isolate Hamas, with which it has fought three wars since 2008. Critics say it amounts to collective punishment of the coastal territory's two million residents. The Clark County Sheriff said no motive has been determined for the massacre of 58 people at an outdoor country music concert on October 1, 2017 No motive has yet been determined for last year's massacre of 58 people at an outdoor country music concert in Las Vegas, the deadliest mass shooting in recent US history, officials said Friday. Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo said Stephen Paddock, a 64-year-old former accountant, acted alone but the authorities do not know why he carried out the attack. "What we have not been able to definitively answer is the 'why' Stephen Paddock committed this act," Lombardo told a press conference as he released the final police report into the shooting. Paddock fired down on the crowd at the open-air concert on October 1, 2017 while perched in a 32nd floor hotel room. He used several high-powered rifles to kill 58 people and wound nearly 500. Paddock shot himself in the head as police moved in on him. The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the massacre, but authorities have previously dismissed the claim as unfounded. "No conspiracies have been identified and there's been no other gunman identified other than Mr Paddock," Lombardo said. "Single shooter, no conspiracy," he said. "As far as motive, it is unknown." Ivory kingpin Feisal Mohammed Ali (C), pictured in 2016, was sentenced in 2016 after prosecutors presented him as the head of an organised crime network that spanned African wildlife parks and buyers in Asia A Kenyan court on Friday overturned a 20-year jail term handed to an ivory trafficking "kingpin", in a case that had been seen as a test of the country's will to take on rampant poaching. Feisal Mohamed Ali, a Kenyan national, was sentenced in 2016 after prosecutors presented him as the head of an organised crime network that spanned African wildlife parks and buyers in Asia, the primary destination for poached ivory. However on appeal, Mombasa High Court judge Dora Chepkwony rejected the sentence passed by the lower court in July 2016 as "unconstitutional". "The evidence relied on to convict the accused person has a lot of gaps and doubts," she said. Ali was arrested in Tanzania in 2014 in connection with two tonnes of ivory -- 228 whole tusks and 74 pieces -- found in a Mombasa warehouse. Authorities put the value of the ivory at $4.2 million (3.8 million euros). The Kenya Wildlife Service had hailed the "landmark" judgement against him which included a fine of 20 million shillings (180,000 euros). Three months earlier Kenya carried out the largest-ever torching of ivory, including 105 tonnes from thousands of dead elephants, in a grand gesture aimed at shocking the world into stopping the slaughter of the animals. Africa is home to between 450,000 to 500,000 elephants, but more than 30,000 are killed every year on the continent to satisfy demand for ivory in Asia, where tusks sell for around $1,000 (800 euros) a kilo (2.2 pounds). People walk past damaged cars at the entrance of Al-Thawra hospital after an air strike in the Red Sea town of Hodeida on August 2, 2018 A series of explosions Thursday on Yemen's rebel-held port city of Hodeida killed 55 civilians and wounded dozens of others, the Red Cross said, denouncing the "reprehensible" disregard for human life. The attacks, which were also denounced by a senior UN official, come as the United Nations has said it will invite warring sides in Yemen for talks on September 6 in Geneva to discuss a framework for peace negotiations. UN-brokered political talks on Yemen broke down in 2016 amid demands for a rebel withdrawal from key cities and power-sharing with the Saudi-backed government. Since 2015, Saudi Arabia has been leading a military campaign to restore the internationally recognised government to power and push back the Huthi rebels, who still hold the capital Sanaa. The war has left nearly 10,000 people dead and unleashed what the United Nations describes as the world's worst humanitarian crisis. The International Committee of the Red Cross on Friday said 55 civilians were killed and 170 others wounded "when a series of explosions rocked densely populated districts of the coastal city, including a fish market and the area around Al-Thawra Hospital". It was the first independent toll since the attack took place. An earlier toll Thursday by medics and witnesses had said at least 20 people were killed and 60 wounded in an air strike at the Al-Thawra hospital and the bombardment of the fish market in Hodeida. Al-Thawra hospital -- Yemen's largest -- is supported by the ICRC, which also said that two ambulances were destroyed in Thursday's attacks. A Yemeni man lies in a hospital bed on August 3, 2018, after being wounded in a reported air strike on the Red Sea port city of Hodeida But the ICRC said the details of the attacks were still unknown. "While the exact circumstances around the ground explosions are still unknown, this lack of respect for civilian life and civilian property is reprehensible," Johannes Bruwer, head of the ICRC delegation in Yemen, said in a statement on Friday. - Rebels, coalition trade accusations - "The scenes coming from Hodeida are horrific. The disregard of international humanitarian law in Yemen cannot be tolerated," said Bruwer, condemning the attacks. Lise Grande, UN humanitarian coordinator for Yemen, earlier said hundreds of thousands of people depend on Al-Thawra. "This is shocking," she said of the attacks. "Hospitals are protected under international humanitarian law. Nothing can justify this loss of life," she added. Yemeni government forces backed by the Saudi-led coalition have been conducting an offensive to capture Hodeida from the Iran-backed Huthi rebels. Last month they said they were pausing the assault to give UN mediation efforts a chance. But strikes have picked up again around Hodeida since the Saudis last week said that two oil tankers operated by one of the kingdom's companies were attacked in the waters of the Red Sea. Rebel-run media outlets have accused the coalition of carrying out Thursday's attacks in Hodeida. But the coalition's spokesman, Turki al-Maliki, on Friday denied the charges, accusing the Huthis of having bombed the hospital and the fish market. The nearest target hit by the coalition on Wednesday or Thursday was more than two kilometres (1.2 miles) away from the two sites, Maliki told a news conference in Riyadh. - 'Everything at risk' - The fighting around Hodeida has raised UN fears of a new humanitarian catastrophe in a country already standing at the brink of famine and gripped by a deadly cholera epidemic. "Every day this week we have seen new cholera cases in Hodeida, and now this," Grande said. "The impact of the strikes is appalling. Everything we are trying to do to stem the world's worst cholera epidemic is at risk." In Geneva, the World Health Organisation (WHO) warned that Yemen is likely to be struck by another "major wave" of cholera cases, calling for a three-day truce to allow vaccinations. Martin Griffiths, the United Nation's special envoy for Yemen, arrives at Sanaa international airport on July 25, 2018 for talks with rebels UN envoy Martin Griffiths told the Security Council on Thursday "a political solution" to end the war in Yemen was "available" and urged world powers to support the new push for peace negotiations. Resolving the crisis over Hodeida would have to be part of a "comprehensive political settlement" between the rebels and the government, he said. Griffith also expressed concern that Hodeida -- a key entry point for humanitarian aid -- "could be a flashpoint" that may derail the push for talks in September. A Yemeni official told AFP the internationally recognised government would attend the Geneval talks although it was "not optimistic" over the outcome, while there has been no response from the rebels. UN peacekeepers look out toward Syria from the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights on July 22, 2018 UN peacekeepers have carried out a first patrol since 2014 to a key crossing point between the Syrian and Israeli-controlled Golan Heights after liaising with Russia, Israel and Syria, a UN spokesman said Friday. Thursday's patrol at the Quneitra crossing point was the first since the UN Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) withdrew in 2014 after Al-Qaeda-linked rebels overran the area. Syrian government forces, backed by Russia, have in past weeks recaptured territory near the Golan Heights, driving out rebel groups from a "de-escalation zone" agreed by Jordan, Russia and the United States. The "patrol to the Quneitra crossing point is part of UNDOF's ongoing efforts to return incrementally to the area of separation," said UN spokesman Farhan Haq. He said the mission liaised with both the Syrian Arab Armed Forces and Israel's Defense Forces ahead of the patrol. Syrian troops and Russian military police also carried out "simultaneous" patrols of the area, said Haq. After the Russian army said Thursday it planned to deploy eight military observation posts in the Golan, the UN spokesman said any Russian military presence would be "separate and distinct from that of UNDOF." The United Nations is aiming for the full return of UNDOF to the Syrian side. Currently, more than half of UNDOF's 978 troops are deployed on the so-called Bravo (Syrian) side. UNDOF has carried out more than 30 patrols in the northern and central parts of the area of separation since it resumed its activities on the Syrian side in February. Established in 1974, UNDOF monitors a ceasefire line that has separated Israelis from Syrians in the Golan Heights. Israel seized much of the Golan Heights from Syria in the Six-Day War of 1967 and later annexed it in a move the international community has not recognized. The 12-year old girl disappeared from Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, shown here, outside the US capital A 12-year-old Chinese girl who disappeared from a Washington area airport, setting off a massive police hunt, was found Friday unharmed and with her parents, authorities said. JinJing Ma was considered a "critical missing juvenile" by police when they learned she left the tour group with whom she was checking in for a flight Thursday at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, changed clothes and left the terminal with an unidentified Asian woman. Ma "was located Friday in the New York City borough of Queens, safe and in the custody of her parents," the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority said in a statement. When Ma disappeared with an unidentified woman, there were fears she may have been abducted. A possibility also remained that there was an asylum attempt to reunite Ma with her parents. The FBI confirmed the girl was reunited with her parents, but said that because it was an ongoing matter the bureau could not comment on specifics of the case. The Russian foreign ministry said that Alexander Rastorguyev, Kirill Radchenko and Orkhan Dzhemal, the journalists who were recently killed in the Central African Republic, died in a robbery Three Russian journalists who were killed in the Central Africa Republic this week were attacked as they resisted robbers, the foreign ministry said Friday. The three journalists Orkhan Dzhemal, Alexander Rastorguyev and Kirill Radchenko, shot dead on July 30, "were attacked by unidentified people with the aim of robbery and were killed while attempting to resist", the foreign ministry said in a statement, citing spokeswoman Maria Zakharova. The ministry statement said it was based on initial findings of the investigation in CAR. The journalists were in the war-torn country to shoot footage of a shadowy Russian mercenary group called Wagner whose soldiers have fought in conflicts in Ukraine and Syria, according to Western and independent Russian media reports as well as foreign governments. They were working for a media project founded by self-exiled Kremlin opponent Mikhail Khodorkovsky, who lives in Britain after spending a decade in prison in Russia. Russian officials and state media have sought to downplay the journalists' assignment. There has been no official acknowledgement of Wagner's role in conflicts or casualties among its fighters. In December 2017, Russia was authorised by the UN to provide the armed forces in CAR with weapons and training. Experts have said that the officially announced five military and 170 civilian instructors could be part of Wagner. Foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova at a briefing on Friday said that Russian military in CAR were only working to train local troops, not taking part in combat themselves. The flag of the Islamic State group outside a hotel in the Syrian town of Manbij on September 25, 2016 Eight alleged members of the Islamic State group could face abuse if they are transferred from northern Syria to their native Lebanon, Human Rights Watch told AFP on Friday. Lebanon's army said this week that eight Lebanese nationals accused of fighting alongside IS in Iraq and Syria had been transferred to its intelligence units. HRW said it had previously documented rights violations committed by the Lebanese security forces now holding the suspected jihadists. "We and other organisations have documented torture and ill treatment by the army and the military intelligence, who are detaining these individuals," said Lama Fakih, the rights group's deputy regional director. "At the same time, we have concerns these individuals will not receive fair trials in military courts, where we have documented concerns about impartiality of judges," she told AFP. The Lebanese army has not specified when the suspected IS fighters were handed over to Lebanon, from where, or by whom. The operation came "within the framework of the international coalition to fight terrorism," the army said, adding that military intelligence has since transferred the detainees to the courts. A report by Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar said they were caught by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), for years Washington's main partner in the fight against IS in Syria. The suspects were brought to Lebanon more than a month ago in US military plane, Al-Akhbar reported. A security source told AFP that the alleged jihadists were being interrogated by intelligence services. Human Rights Watch said the lack of transparency over the procedures was worrying. "Little is known about conditions of their confinement, access to lawyers, when they came to Lebanon -- all these things add to the baseline level of concern," said Fakih. At the peak of its self-styled "caliphate" in Syria and Iraq, IS attracted thousands of foreigners to join it, including Lebanese nationals. But it has since lost almost all of its territory, and US-backed forces have been detaining foreign IS members in both Syria and Iraq. Last month, Washington said two Americans accused of supporting IS had been handed over by the SDF to US authorities. The flags of Russia (L), China (C) and North Korea (R) are depicted on a viewing tower on the border between the three countries in Hunchun, China's northeast Jilin province US Ambassador Nikki Haley on Friday said reports that Russia had violated UN sanctions resolutions by issuing new work permits to thousands of North Korean laborers were "credible" and "deeply troubling." "Talk is cheap - Russia cannot support sanctions with their words in the Security Council only to violate them with their actions," Haley said in a statement. The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday that Russia was letting thousands of North Korea laborers enter the country to earn wages that are a source of hard currency revenue for Pyongyang. The UN Security Council has barred governments from issuing new work permits for North Korean workers, and decided in December that current contracts would be terminated by 2019. "Credible reports of Russia violating UN Security Council resolutions on North Korean laborers working abroad are deeply troubling," said Haley. Last month, Russia and China put a six-month hold on a US request to halt all deliveries of oil products to North Korea after accusing Pyongyang of having illegally imported fuel beyond a cap set in UN resolutions. "Until we see the final, fully verified denuclearization of North Korea there can be no easing of sanctions," said Haley. The Wall Street Journal reviewed Russian interior ministry records showing that more than 10,000 new North Korean workers had registered in Russia since the ban last year, and at least 700 new work permits issued this year. Russian government records also show that some Russian companies hiring North Koreans are joint ventures, which are banned under UN sanctions resolutions. According to the US State Department, about 100,000 North Koreans have been working abroad in recent years, earning as much as $2 billion a year for the regime of Kim Jong Un. About 24,000 North Koreans were officially working in Russia at the end of 2017, while China also has hosted several thousand laborers from North Korea. The New York Stock Exchange's parent company's new partnership with Starbucks -- the exchange is dubbed Bakkt -- aims to bring a measure of confidence to bitcoin transactions The New York Stock Exchange's parent company announced plans on Friday to launch a bitcoin trading platform and partner with Starbucks on a digital currency payment app. The new exchange, dubbed Bakkt, aims to bring a measure of confidence to bitcoin transactions, according to the statement by Intercontinental Exchange. ICE chief Jeffrey Sprecher said "we aim to build confidence in the asset class on a global scale, consistent with our track record of bringing transparency and trust to previously unregulated markets." Bakkt CEO Kelly Loeffler described the venture as an "on-ramp" for investors that provides "greater efficiency, security and utility." The exchange is partnering with coffee shop giant Starbucks which already has 15 million rewards members using digital payments The coffee retailer plans to create "practical, trusted and regulated applications for consumers to convert their digital assets into US dollars for use at Starbucks," said Maria Smith, vice president of partnerships and payments at Starbucks. If approved by regulators, Bakkt would launch a one-day "physically delivered" bitcoin futures contract in November. If it receives the green light from US market regulators, Bakkt would join the Chicago-based CBOE, which was the first to launch bitcoin futures trading at the end of 2017. People walk past damaged cars at the entrance of Al-Thawra hospital after a reported air strike in the Red Sea town of Hodeida on August 2, 2018 A series of explosions Thursday on Yemen's rebel-held port city of Hodeida killed 55 civilians and wounded dozens of others, the Red Cross said, denouncing the "reprehensible" disregard for human life. "While the exact circumstances around the ground explosions are still unknown, this lack of respect for civilian life and civilian property is reprehensible," said Johannes Bruwer, head of the delegation in Yemen for the International Committee of the Red Cross, in a statement Friday. The Red Cross said 55 civilians were killed and 170 injured "when a series of explosions rocked densely populated districts of the coastal city, including a fish market and the area around Al-Thawra Hospital" -- a facility supported by the ICRC. Two ambulances were also destroyed, it said. On Thursday medics and witnesses said at least 20 people were killed in an air strike at the entrance to a hospital and the bombardment of a fish market in the Red Sea city of Hodeida. "The scenes coming from Hodeida are horrific. The disregard of international humanitarian law in Yemen cannot be tolerated," said Bruwer, condemning the attacks. Lise Grande, UN humanitarian coordinator for Yemen, earlier said hundreds of thousands of people depend on Al-Thawra, the country's largest hospital. "This is shocking," she said of the attacks. Yemeni government forces backed by a Saudi-led coalition have been conducting an offensive to capture Hodeida from Iran-backed Huthi rebels, but announced last month they were pausing the assault to give UN mediation efforts a chance. Strikes have picked up again around Hodeida since the Saudis last week said that two oil tankers operated by one of the kingdom's companies were attacked in the waters of the Red Sea. Rebel-run media outlets accused the Saudi-led coalition of carrying out the attacks in Hodeida. But the coalition's spokesman, Turki al-Maliki, on Friday denied the charges, accusing the Huthis of having bombed the hospital and the fish market. The nearest target hit by the coalition on Wednesday or Thursday was more than two kilometres (1.2 miles) away from the two sites, Maliki told a news conference in Riyadh. Tunisians protest in March 2018 in support of equal inheritance rights for women, one of several reforms currently opposed by conservative Muslim groups across the country Hundreds of people demonstrated Friday in Tunisia against proposed reforms opposed by conservative Muslims that include equal inheritance rights for women and decriminalising homosexuality. Responding to a call from religious and civil society groups, more than 1,000 people gathered in the centre of the southeastern coastal city of Sfax to denounce the proposed liberal reforms. They held up signs saying "These proposals aim at... destroying society" and "No to homosexuality", an AFP correspondent at the scene said. "We want these proposals to be withdrawn because they undermine the principles of Islam and represent a danger to the unity of the family and the state," Mohamed Mednini, an imam who took part in the protest, said. The demonstrators marched under heavy police guard in the centre of Sfax to the local government headquarters, chanting "Tunisia is a Muslim state" and "No to the destruction of society". A commission set up by Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi to bring the legal code in line with the 2014 constitution adopted after the Arab Spring uprising, unveiled in June a raft of proposed liberal reforms. The proposals have been rejected by a coalition of religious groups which has called on the government to scrap the reforms described by one cleric as "intellectual terrorism". Among the 230 pages of proposals are suggestions to rewrite the current legislation, inspired by Islamic law, that women should inherit only half of what men get. The commission's preference is to introduce equality between male and female relatives, but leave room for individuals to divide up what they leave behind as they see fit. The proposals also include decriminalising homosexuality and banning anal tests conducted on men suspected of being gay. The "total abolition" of the death penalty has been put forward, as have changes to a law forcing widows to wait before remarrying. The commission insists that the proposals it has put forward are "not contrary to the essence of Islam". Tunisia is seen as a rare democratic success story of the Arab Spring uprisings, which toppled dictators in several regional countries. Some of the countries that were rocked by revolts are still mired in chaos or have slipped back into authoritarianism. The Clark County Sheriff said no motive has been determined for the massacre of 58 people at an outdoor country music concert on October 1, 2017 Police released their final report on Friday into last year's massacre of 58 people at a country music concert in Las Vegas and said they had been unable to determine why an "unremarkable" wealthy accountant carried out the deadliest mass shooting in recent US history. Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo said Stephen Paddock, 64, acted alone and there was no evidence he had been "radicalized" or was part of any wider conspiracy. "What we have been able to answer are the questions of who, what, when, where and how," Lombardo said as he released the 187-page police report into the October 1, 2017 shooting. "What we have not been able to definitively answer is the why Stephen Paddock committed this act," the sheriff said. Paddock, of Mesquite, Nevada, and Reno, Nevada, fired more than 1,000 rounds down on the crowd at the open-air Route 91 Harvest concert while perched in a 32nd floor room of the Mandalay Bay hotel and casino. Concert goers evacuate an injured person during the October 1, 2017 shooting in Las Vegas He killed 58 people and the police report said 869 were injured, including 413 who suffered gunshot or shrapnel wounds. Paddock shot himself in the head as police moved in. The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack, but the claim was dismissed as unfounded. "There is no evidence of radicalization or ideology to support any theory that Paddock supported or followed any hate group or any domestic or foreign terrorist organization," the police report said. "Single shooter, no conspiracy," Lombardo said. "As far as motive, it is unknown." - 'An unremarkable man' - "By all accounts Stephen Paddock was an unremarkable man whose movements leading up until October 1 didn't raise any suspicion," the sheriff said. "An interview with his doctor indicated signs of a troubled mind but no troubling behavior that would trigger a call to law enforcement," he said. Stephen Paddock, 64, opened fire on concert goers from the 32nd floor of his room in the Mandalay Bay hotel "Without a manifesto or even a note to answer questions the totality of the information that has been gathered leaves us to only make an educated guess as to the motives of Stephen Paddock," he said. According to the police report, Paddock's doctor told the authorities he did not have any major ailments but "may have had bipolar disorder" for which he refused any treatment. Lombardo said child pornography had been found on Paddock's laptop recovered from his hotel room, but the hard drive on the machine could not be located. The sheriff said the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit would release a psychological profile of Paddock later this year. Paddock was one of four brothers who were raised by their mother after their father went to prison for bank robbery, according to the police report. Paddock worked for the Internal Revenue Service after college and as an accountant for several major corporations. He made a "substantial amount of money" investing in real estate, the report said, and at one point owned his own airplane. But there was evidence that Paddock, a heavy gambler known to wager tens of thousands of dollars at a time, had lost a great deal of money in the years leading up to the attack. - A narcissist - The report said that in September 2015 his 14 bank accounts totaled just under $2.1 million. Destiny Alvers visits a memorial to victims of the Las Vegas shootings By September 2017, the total had dropped to $530,000. During 2017, he paid over $600,000 to casinos and made nearly $95,000 in firearms and gun-related purchases. Twenty-four guns were found in Paddock's hotel room including 10 AR-15 semi-automatic rifles, most of which were equipped with 100-round magazines. Eighteen more guns were recovered from Paddock's Mesquite residence and another seven from his home in Reno. Paddock, the report said, "was described by many as a narcissist and only cared about himself." "Paddock needed to feel important and only cared how relationships would benefit him," it said. Eric Paddock, one of Paddock's three brothers, told investigators he believed his brother may have carried out the attack "because he had done everything in the world he wanted to do and was bored with everything." His brother "would have planned the attack to kill a large amount of people because he would want to be known as having the largest casualty count," the report quoted Eric Paddock as saying. The police report said investigators had also uncovered evidence that Paddock may have been planning to attack the Lollapalooza music festival in Chicago in August or the Life Is Beautiful event in Las Vegas in September before deciding on his eventual target, the Route 91 Harvest festival on the evening of October 1. Smoke rises from the Arkema chemical manufacturing and storage facility that burst into flames after Hurricane Harvey's floodwaters knocked out the equipment used to cool the plant's volatile chemicals on September 1, 2017 in Crosby, Texas French chemical manufacturer Arkema was indicted Friday in Texas over the release of a "toxic cloud" at its plant near Houston during historic flooding last year caused by Hurricane Harvey. The storm wreaked havoc in Houston and its environs, hovering over the area for a week and dumping record amounts of rainfall. An Arkema-owned chemical plant in Crosby, Texas caught fire in the aftermath, as six feet of floodwaters disrupted electrical power to cooling systems that were keeping volatile chemicals from overheating and catching fire. The resulting thick plume of black smoke required the evacuation of hundreds of residents in a 1.5-mile radius around the plant. Nearly two dozen people received medical treatment for exposure to fumes and smoke. A grand jury in Harris County, which includes the Houston area, charged Arkema North America, its CEO and a plant manager with "recklessly" releasing chemicals into the air. CEO Richard Rowe and plant manager Leslie Comardelle face up to five years in prison, if convicted. Arkema could be fined as much as $1 million. "Those who poison our environment will be prosecuted when the evidence justifies it," Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg said in a statement. "Responsibility for pursuing profit over the health of innocent people rests with the leadership of Arkema." The company defended itself by pointing to the findings in May of the US Chemical Safety Board, which investigated the accident. If found that Arkema had safety procedures in place for extreme weather, but had not anticipated the possibility that the plant could be inundated with as much water as it received. Company attorney Rusty Hardin in a statement called the indictment "unprecedented," because it was connected to a natural disaster at a scale the area had never before encountered. "Harris County will have the daunting task of trying to prove that Arkema anticipated the possibility of six feet of floodwater and then decided not to prepare for it. This will prove to be impossible, because it's not what happened," Hardin said. Harvey killed at least 68 people, flooded 300,000 structures and displaced some 40,000 people. The US Securities and Exchange Commission says it has closed the case into Exxon Mobil and would not recommend penalties against the oil company US regulators have ended a two-year investigation into how Exxon Mobil accounted for oil and gas prices and the risks climate change posed to its business, the company said Friday. The US Securities and Exchange Commission told Exxon in a letter on Thursday it had closed the case and would not recommend penalties against the oil company. "We are confident our financial reporting meets all legal and accounting requirements," Exxon Mobil spokesman Scott Silvestri said in a statement. He said the company cooperated fully with the inquiry, "ultimately producing more than 4.2 million pages of documents." Under US securities law, companies must inform investors of material risks to their business. According to press reports, the probe had focused on how the company accounted for future costs in complying with regulations meant to curb greenhouse gas emissions and how it valued oil and gas assets. The SEC opened the investigation in January 2016, at a time when many companies had cut estimated asset values. Exxon Mobil cut its proved oil reserves by three billion barrels to 20 billion barrels at the end of 2016 due to falling prices, saying it was a necessary step to meet SEC accounting requirements. The poll held on Monday was the first after the repressive rule of Robert Mugabe and was won by Emmerson Mnangagwa, a former ally of the the ousted autocrat The United States on Friday said Zimbabwe's recent presidential election was marred by violence in the aftermath of the vote, while calling on the winner to show "magnanimity" and the opposition to show "graciousness in defeat." The poll held on Monday was the first after the repressive rule of Robert Mugabe and was won by Emmerson Mnangagwa, a former ally of the ousted autocrat. Defeated opposition leader Nelson Chamisa decried the official results as a sham, sparking a deadly crackdown on protesters in Harare on Wednesday when troops opened fire, killing six. In a statement, US State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said the vote "presented the country with an historic chance to move beyond the political and economic crises of the past and toward profound democratic change." "The Zimbabwean people turned out massively to cast their votes, underscoring their aspirations for a better future, despite challenges during the pre-election period," she said. "Unfortunately, Zimbabwe's success in delivering an election day that was peaceful, and open to international observers, was subsequently marred by violence and a disproportionate use of deadly force against protestors by the security forces." She added that the US extended its condolences to the families and friends of those killed and injured while appealing to political leaders to maintain calm. While the US was continuing to review data by its own observation teams and other international and local observers, "we encourage all stakeholders and citizens to pursue any grievances peacefully and through established legal channels," the statement continued. "We encourage all political leaders to show magnanimity in victory and graciousness in defeat." Final results showed Mnangagwa, 75, won 50.8 percent of Monday's vote against Chamisa's 44.3 percent -- a knife-edge 0.8 percent above the threshold needed to avoid a run-off. Mnangagwa was allegedly involved in state violence during the 2008 elections when then opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai pulled out of the run-off after at least 200 of his supporters were killed in attacks. Apart from Mugabe, who ruled with an iron fist since independence from Britain in 1980 until last year, he is the only president that Zimbabwe has known. Activists stage a protest outside Trump Tower in New York against the separation of immigration families A worker at a privately-run center for immigrant youths has been charged with 11 counts of sexual abuse involving teenage boys, according to court documents. Levian D. Pacheco is alleged to have committed the offenses involving boys aged 15 to 17 between August 2016 and July 2017. ProPublica, the news outlet which first reported on the case, said Friday that Pacheco was 25-years-old and HIV positive. The case was revealed amid a furor over the separation of parents from their children as part of President Donald Trump's crackdown on illegal immigration. The separations caused a domestic and international firestorm, and in June the president reversed course. Trump ordered an end to the separations, but as of last week's deadline, some 711 of the roughly 2,500 separated children were still not reunited with their parents. According to the court documents, Pacheco is alleged to have sexually abused the boys while working as a youth care worker at a center known as Casa Kokopelli run by the company Southwest Key in Mesa, Arizona. The victims were "unaccompanied minors in the United States being held in official detention." Pacheco is accused of performing oral sex on two of the victims and groping the genitalia of several others. ProPublica said Pacheco, who has denied the charges, had worked at the center since May 2016. Southwest Key, a non-profit which runs the center under a contract with the US Department of Health and Human Services, said its "number one priority" is to "keep the children in our care safe." "Southwest Key Programs does extensive work to prevent all forms of abuse," the company said in a statement. "Our twenty-year history of taking care of children shows that when we see a problem, we report it, we fix it and we do it immediately." NEW YORK (AP) - Mets slugger Yoenis Cespedes had surgery on his right heel Thursday, the first of two procedures that will likely sideline him for eight to 10 months. Dr. Robert Anderson removed bone calcification in Cespedes' heel during the operation in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Assistant general manager John Ricco said Thursday that Cespedes will rest for eight to 12 weeks before getting surgery on his left heel. "The surgery went well as expected, so that was positive news," Ricco said. Ricco also said doctors want to make sure Cespedes has some mobility in the right leg before the second surgery. The 32-year-old outfielder hit .262 with nine homers and 29 RBIs in 38 games this season. He missed over two months with what the Mets said was a strained right hip flexor and homered in his return from the disabled list July 20 against the Yankees. CHICAGO (AP) - Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein came to Chicago to speak on Thursday, but steered clear of discussing a conservative Republican effort to impeach him or President Donald Trump's calls to halt the investigation into Russian election interference that Rosenstein is overseeing. In a 20-minute speech followed by a 10-minute question-and-answer session at the American Bar Association's annual meeting, Rosenstein barely mentioned Trump, and when he did it was to praise the president for the leadership team he installed at the Justice Department. But Rosenstein said it was the duty of government lawyers and all attorneys to be "guardians of the rule of law" and he made it clear repeatedly that he will resist political pressure to interfere in any way with special prosecutor Robert Mueller's investigation. United States Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein speaks at the American Bar Association conference at the Hyatt Regency Chicago on Thursday, Aug. 2, 2018. (Terrence Antonio James/Chicago Tribune)/Chicago Tribune via AP) The Department of Justice, he said must "never be a partisan actor" and has e a duty to "insulate investigations from the real and appearance of political influence..." Further, amid the talk from conservative lawmakers and pundits about the lack of evidence that the president colluded with the Russians, Rosenstein said that "the rule of law requires us to reserve judgment until we have heard from all the parties and considered all the evidence." And, he said, "we need to hold people accountable when they break the rules." Rosenstein in his speech took pains to put what is happening now in historical context, mentioning Abraham Lincoln, Benjamin Franklin, John Adams and others. He made a point of quoting respected attorneys general who held their jobs two years or less. "Just saying," he said, to laughter of the audience that showed its appreciation of Rosenstein's public service with two standing ovations. Sworn in in April of last year, Rosenstein began overseeing Mueller's probe when Attorney General Jeff Sessions recused himself following reports of a meeting he had with a Russian ambassador. As the investigation continued, a furious Trump has repeatedly criticized Sessions for recusing himself, criticized the investigation and as recently as this week tweeted that Sessions must put an immediate stop to what he called a "Rigged Witch Hunt." At the same time, a group of 11 conservative Republican lawmakers have launched an effort to have Rosenstein impeached. That effort has stalled, with House Speaker Paul Ryan speaking out against impeaching Rosenstein and Sessions voicing his support for his deputy. United States Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein speaks at the American Bar Association conference at the Hyatt Regency Chicago on Thursday, Aug. 2, 2018. (Terrence Antonio James/Chicago Tribune via AP) SINGAPORE (AP) - U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo pressed Turkey on Friday for the release of a detained American pastor whose case has led the Trump administration to hit senior Turkish officials with sanctions and badly strained ties between the NATO allies. Pompeo also said he would be seeking the release of several local employees of the U.S. diplomatic missions in Turkey. Just two days after the administrations slapped sanctions on Turkey's justice and interior ministers over the case of Andrew Craig Brunson, Pompeo met with Turkish Forreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on the sidelines of a Southeast Asian security conference in Singapore. Ahead of the meeting, Pompeo said Brunson's case would be high on his list of items to discuss with his Turkish counterpart. He defended Wednesday's sanctions as a sign of how seriously the administration takes Brunson's case. "The Turks were on notice that the clock had run out and it was time for Pastor Brunson to be returned and I hope they'll see this for what it is: a demonstration that we're very serious," he told reporters aboard his plane as he flew to Singapore from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. U.S. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo is greeted by local officials as he arrives at the military airport in Subang, outside of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Thursday, Aug. 2, 2018. Pompeo will meet senior Malaysian officials to discuss strengthening the Comprehensive Partnership and advancing common security and economic interests. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian) "We consider this one of the many issues that we have with the Turks," Pompeo said. He did not elaborate but Washington and Ankara have been at odds over numerous matters, including Turkeys's continued detention of three Turkish employees of the U.S. consulate in Istanbul, as well as military activity in northern Syria and Turkey's plans to purchase an advanced air defense system from Russia. "Brunson needs to come home as do all the Americans being held by the Turkish government," he said. "Pretty straightforward. They've been holding these folks for a long time. These are innocent people." Brunson is being tried on espionage and terror-related charges, which he and the U.S. government vehemently deny. Last week, President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence threatened to impose sanctions on Turkey if Brunson was not immediately released. They said his recent transfer from prison to house arrest was not enough. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has rejected the U.S. demands, saying his government won't back down and is willing to "go its own way" if the U.S. acted. The Turks have also vowed to retaliate for the sanctions "without delay." The Turkish foreign ministry called the sanctions a "disrespectful intervention in our legal system" that would harm "the constructive efforts toward resolving problems between the two countries." Speaking to Turkish journalists after his meeting with Pompeo, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu described their discussion as "extremely constructive" and said the two would continue to work toward resolving disputes between the two countries. "We repeated to them that nothing can be achieved through threatening language and sanctions and we believe that this was well understood," Cavusoglu said. Brunson, 50, was arrested in December 2016 following a failed coup on charges of "committing crimes on behalf of terror groups without being a member" and espionage. Although he was released to home detention, he faces a prison sentence of up to 35 years if he is convicted on both counts at the end of his ongoing trial. The evangelical pastor, who is originally from Black Mountain, North Carolina, has lived in Turkey for 23 years and led the Izmir Resurrection Church. Under the sanctions to be imposed by the Treasury Department, any property, or interest in property, belonging to Justice Minister Abdulhamit Gul or Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu within U.S. jurisdiction would be blocked. Americans would generally be prohibited from doing business with them. Erdogan has denied speculation that there had been an agreement to swap Brunson for Turkish citizens being held abroad, particularly 27-year-old Ebru Ozkan. Ozkan had been detained by Israel on terror-related charges, but was deported to Turkey this month. The Turkish leader previously connected Brunson's return to the U.S. to the extradition of Fethullah Gulen. Ankara blames Gulen for the coup attempt, while the cleric denies involvement. Erdogan has also warned that Turkey would seek international arbitration if the United States refused to deliver F-35 fighter jets in retaliation. Oh, bother. The misfortune of "Christopher Robin" is not only that it comes a year after "Goodbye Christopher Robin," an earnest if sentimental tale about Winnie-the-Pooh author A.A. Milne and his son, Christopher Robin Milne, but that it arrives a few months after the screwball radiance of "Paddington 2." When it comes to bears in London this movie year, our hearts are already spoken for. But for those who prefer honey to marmalade, "Christopher Robin" is a more gentle and melancholic fable about recapturing the joys of childhood as an adult with the help of a wise and innocent bear. It's telling that in Marc Forster's comparatively somber but sweet movie, the standout of Milne's furry creatures - all of them rendered digitally as worn-out stuffed animals - is that old grump Eeyore (voiced by Brad Garrett), whose morose mutterings land nearly all the film's laughs. This image released by Disney shows, from left, Bronte Carmichael, Ewan McGregor and Hayley Atwell in a scene from "Christopher Robin." (Laurie Sparham/Disney via AP) Humor has never been the forte of Forster ("Finding Neverland," ''Quantum of Solace"), so don't come to "Christopher Robin" expecting hijinks from Tigger or a single overstuffed bear stuck in a doorway. Instead Forster has fashioned a meticulously handsome post-WWII period drama - perhaps one more for adults than children - leaning much closer to "The Velveteen Rabbit" than Saturday morning cartoon. There's a degree of atonement in the stylistic shift; the real Christopher Robin (never a fan of the books) lamented the Disneyfication of his father's characters and never accepted royalties. And as with Disney's 2106's "Pete's Dragon," there's an unlikely, largely indie collection of filmmakers behind a relatively modest live-action revival. Alex Ross Perry ("Listen Up Philip"), Tom McCarthy ("Spotlight") and Allison Schroeder ("Hidden Figures") wrote the script. In the opening scenes in the fictional land of the Hundred Acre Wood, Pooh and the rest are giving young Christopher Robin a farewell party. "Don't you get all grow-ed up on us," Tigger tells him. But after a page-turning montage, Christopher Robin has indeed done just that. He's now a working, married man in London, wed to Evelyn (Haley Atwell), with a daughter named Madeline (Bronte Carmichael) and a grueling job. He's an efficiency manager for a luggage company housed in a towering gray building. The demands of his work have drained all the fun out of Christopher Robin, whose middle name has been upgraded to surname. He hasn't so much as smiled in years, Evelyn says. But on a particularly crucial work weekend, out pops Pooh from a Hundred Acre Wood portal from the trunk of a tree outside Christopher's town house. The voice is instantly recognizable (Pooh veteran Jim Cummings voices him, as well as Tigger) though the form is a little novel. Like the other characters, Pooh looks more a glassy-eyed teddy bear than he has before, and more frizzy than E.H. Shepard's illustrations. The digital effects impressively double for tangible, hand-hewn felt creations, but (aside from Owl) they crucially lack lively eyes. That keeps the gang (there's also Piglet, Rabbit, Kanga and Roo) always secondary on the screen to McGregor. Naturally, Christopher is pulled back into Hundred Acre Wood where his priorities are straightened out. He relearns Pooh's wise advice that "doing nothing often leads to the very best something" - a message that proves surprisingly relevant to the midcentury workplace policies of Christopher's luggage company, even if Pooh mishears his job as "a fish-in-the-sea manager." It all fits together a little too well, too predictably and, well, too Disney. Pooh and company have always been a wonderfully neurotic bunch, but in Forster's polished film, they're a little suffocated, a little lifeless. Any semblance of authentic childlike glee remains purely theoretical. It's surely not a good sign when Eeyore is the one stealing the show. Watching "Christopher Robin," I couldn't help feeling a bit like Tigger when he arrives in London and wonders: "How come nobody's bouncin'?" "Christopher Robin," a Walt Disney Co. release, is rated PG by the Motion Picture Association of America for "some action." Running time: 104 minutes. Two and a half stars out of four. ___ Follow AP Film Writer Jake Coyle on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/jakecoyleAP UNITED NATIONS (AP) - The U.N. human rights chief defended his outspoken criticism of abuses in dozens of countries from Myanmar and Hungary to the United States, insisting that his office doesn't "bring shame on governments, they shame themselves." Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein stressed at a farewell news conference at U.N. headquarters on Thursday that "silence does not earn you any respect - none." Looking back at his four-year term as U.N. high commissioner for human rights, the Jordanian prince said he will give his successor the same advice his predecessor, Navi Pillay, gave him - "be fair and don't discriminate against any country" and "just come out swinging." FILE - In this Feb. 7, 2018, file photo, U.N. human rights chief Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein pauses during a press conference in Jakarta, Indonesia. Zeid defended his outspoken criticism of rights abuses in dozens of countries from Myanmar and Hungary to the United States on Thursday, Aug. 2, 2018, insisting that his office doesn't "bring shame on governments, they shame themselves." Zeid stressed at a farewell press conference at U.N. headquarters that "silence does not earn you any respect - none." (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara, File) Zeid said he leaves the Geneva-based post on Aug. 31 very concerned about populism, intolerance and oppression "becoming fashionable again." "It all builds because once you start down the path of intolerance, it's very difficult to stop it, unless at the end of the day you have conflict," he said. Zeid said the question he has been asking populist leaders in Hungary, Poland and Austria - who are making political gains thanks in part to their opposition to mass migration - is where do they want to see their countries in 2030. If the trend is going to be "increasing authoritarianism" where countries pursue individual agendas, he said those agendas will collide "and eventually we have what we've already seen in the 20th century." Zeid recalled that it took 100 million lives lost through two world wars, the Holocaust and the Spanish influenza epidemic "to drive humanity to the point where it recognized that it had to begin to do things differently." That led to the formation of the United Nations where countries would try to solve problems together, "not at the expense of one another," he said. But if the populists are allowed into "this space," Zeid said, "I think we're in very perilous waters." He was highly critical of militant attacks, but stressed that "the world is not going to break because of these terrorist outrages." "It will break because of the overreaction or the exploitation of this agenda by governments," Zeid said. He cited as an example a study by the U.N. Development Program on recruitment by armed groups in northern Mali that found 70 percent of respondents said the major cause was excessive use of force by security forces. "We have to put up a mirror before all governments," he said. "They shame themselves when they deprive their people of their basic necessities for a dignified life. They shame themselves when they discriminate against parts of their communities. They shame themselves when they stoke fear and make people fear that they have to bend to the will of the government or face consequences." "If an election has been stolen, rigged, by a corrupt government and then they claim that I can't say anything because I violate their sovereignty, whose sovereignty?" Zeid asked. "Sovereignty always lies with the people. It's exercised by government on people's behalf." Zeid said governments put a lot of pressure on him and his office, but "the real pressure comes from the victims" whose human rights have been violated in Syria, Iraq, Congo and many other countries "because you know the limitations of what you can do." The most meaningful part of his work is stopping an execution, getting someone who has been detained for years released, and successfully pushing for human rights adherence - and then receiving a letter of thanks from the family or the individual. "We have to speak, and we have to engage," Zeid said, even if it poses difficulties for other U.N. colleagues including Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. "Sometimes we make mistakes and I have apologized publicly to governments," he said. But "if I'm going to make a mistake, I'd rather make the mistake speaking out and not regretting that I didn't say anything when I should have said something." Zeid cited human rights investigations the Human Rights Council has authorized in Syria, Myanmar, Yemen, and most recently in Venezuela and Nicaragua. But he said his greatest success has been demanding access for rights officials. He said when access is barred, including in Myanmar's Rakhine state where about 700,000 Rohingya Muslims lived before fleeing a violent military crackdown last year, and Venezuela, he asks: "What are they hiding?" The United States pulled out of the Human Rights Council in June, citing "chronic bias against Israel." "I think we've been fair with everyone and firm with everyone," Zeid said. "The suggestion that I'm an anti-Semite and my office is, I find it really disgusting." As for President Donald Trump, Zeid again denounced his repeated attacks on the media. He said that he felt as if "all of us, humanity, were at the back of a bus and the president was driving the bus, and we're careening down a mountain road with steep cliffs on either side, and there is this sense that as one of the principal leaders of the world not knowing clearly where he wants to take us. What is his end point?" He said he didn't seek a second term because the five permanent members of the Security Council - the U.S., Russia, China, Britain and France - need to give their approval and he knew a long time ago that he wouldn't have the support of at least three and probably all of them, "which I was happy about." "I have no regrets that I've said what I said," Zeid said. "I think I've tried my best and I hope others will see that at certain times the U.N. needs to speak." Several candidates for the job reached out for advice, and Zeid said he told them that "it's an extremely meaningful job - the most meaningful job I've ever had - but very trying as well, and that they shouldn't think of it if their health is not perfect." Advertisement Some of the most iconic items associated with the late President John F. Kennedy are going on the auction block. Eldred's auction gallery in East Dennis, on Cape Cod, is taking bids Friday on a rocking chair that JFK used in the Oval Office, a tie clip in the shape of the PT-109 torpedo boat Kennedy commanded during World War II, and pens he used to establish the Peace Corps and sign a landmark nuclear arms treaty. Other items up for grabs include a charcoal drawing of JFK done as a study for the slain president's official White House portrait; handwritten notes JFK jotted about Vietnam around 1953; and his letter opener and crystal ashtray. Eldred's auction gallery in East Dennis, on Cape Cod, is taking bids Friday on a rocking chair that JFK used in the Oval Office The upholstered oak rocking chair, worn yet still expected to fetch between $50,000 and $70,000, is particularly emblematic There are also copies of Kennedy's 1957 Pulitzer Prize-winning book, 'Profiles in Courage,' being auctioned - at least one autographed by the POTUS. It's a chance for JFK admirers to own some 'coveted' bits of history, auction house vice president Bill Bourne explained. 'There's only so much of this material out there,' he said. 'And these are some truly iconic pieces.' JFK's fountain pens, which are being sold as a lot of 15 with bids expected to start around $60,000, also were used to designate the Cape Cod National Seashore - Kennedy's old stomping grounds - in 1961 The Peace Corps was signed into existence the same year The upholstered oak rocking chair, worn yet still expected to fetch between $50,000 and $70,000, is particularly emblematic. JFK often was photographed sitting in it while meeting with world leaders. The former president's doctors urged him to use rockers to ease his chronic back pain. JFK's fountain pens, which are being sold as a lot of 15 with bids expected to start around $60,000, also were used to designate the Cape Cod National Seashore - Kennedy's old stomping grounds - in 1961. The Peace Corps was signed into existence the same year. Among the more startling pieces of memorabilia: JFK's last pencil doodles before his assassination on Nov. 22, 1963 There are also copies of Kennedy's 1957 Pulitzer Prize-winning book, 'Profiles in Courage,' being auctioned - at least one autographed by the POTUS. Also included is a letter stating that Kennedy was wearing the tie clip in the shape of the PT-109 torpedo when he was assassinated Oddball auction items include JFK's prized if somewhat garish silk scarf, decorated with bronze Democrat donkeys and blue stars And one of the pens was used on the 1963 Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, an accord that helped steer the planet away from nuclear warfare a year after the Cuban Missile Crisis brought the U.S. and the Soviet Union to the brink. Oddball auction items include JFK's prized if somewhat garish silk scarf, decorated with bronze Democrat donkeys and blue stars; the creased and stained 1961 inaugural ball invitation that JFK sent to Frank Sinatra; and Kennedy's personal stereo, including records by Jackie Gleason and other chart-topping artists of the day. Among the more startling pieces of memorabilia: JFK's last pencil doodles before his assassination on Nov. 22, 1963. Other items up for grabs include a charcoal drawing of JFK done as a study for the slain president's official White House portrait This brown leather ottoman was kept in the Kennedy's private living quarters of the White House. John F. Kennedy Jr was said to enjoy jumping on it Photos of the Kennedy and his family are also up for grabs at the auction Kennedy was known to doodle during meetings, and the scribbles being auctioned are on Texas hotel stationery. JFK's secretary inscribed one page with the date of Nov. 21, 1963 - the day before the nation's 35th president was fatally shot as he rode through Dallas with his wife in a motorcade. 'It may have been one of the last things he put on paper,' Bourne said. 'In fact, it probably was.' It's a chance for JFK admirers to own some 'coveted' bits of history, auction house vice president Bill Bourne said of the items WILKES-BARRE, Pa. (AP) - President Donald Trump is renewing his campaign against the media, claiming at a Pennsylvania rally that the media is the "fake, fake disgusting news" and casting journalists as his true political opponent. Trump barnstormed Thursday night in a state that he swiped from the Democrats in 2016 and that is home to a Senate seat he is trying to place in the Republicans' column this fall. But the race between GOP U.S. Rep. Lou Barletta and two-term incumbent Democratic Sen. Bob Casey took a back seat to Trump's invectives against the media, which came amid a backdrop of antagonism to journalists from the White House and hostility from the thousands packed into a loud, overheated Wilkes-Barre arena. "Whatever happened to the free press? Whatever happened to honest reporting?" Trump asked, pointing to the media in the back of the hall. "They don't report it. They only make up stories." President Donald Trump speaks during a rally, Thursday, Aug. 2, 2018, in Wilkes-Barre, Pa. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke) Time and time again, Trump denounced the press for underselling his accomplishments and doubting his political rise. He tore into the media for diminishing what he accomplished at his Singapore summit with North Korea leader Kim Jong Un. He tore into the tough questioning he received in Helsinki when he met with Russia's Vladimir Putin last month. And he began the speech with a 10-minute remembrance of his 2016 election night victory, bemoaning that Pennsylvania wasn't the state to clinch the White House for him only because "the fake news refused to call it." "They were suffering that night, they were suffering," Trump said of the election night pundits. He then promised that the Keystone State would deliver his margin of victory "next time." "Only negative stories from the fakers back there," the president declared. With each denunciation, the crowd jeered and screamed at the press in the holding pen at the back of the arena. The inflammatory performance came just hours after White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders refused to distance herself from Trump's previous assertions that the media is the "enemy" of the American people. Pressed during a White House briefing on the issue, Sanders said Trump "has made his position known." In a heated exchange with reporters, she recited a litany of complaints against the press and blamed the media for inflaming tensions in the country. "As far as I know, I'm the first press secretary in the history of the United States that's required Secret Service protection," she said, accusing the media of continuing "to ratchet up the verbal assault against the president and everyone in this administration." Though Barletta's bid was an undercard to the Trump's main event, savaging his opponents, the president did bless the congressman's bid. Trump, who has accelerated his campaign schedule in recent weeks to help the Republicans he favors both in primaries and November's midterms, was the first Republican to win Pennsylvania since 1988. "For years and years, they said Republicans should win the state of Pennsylvania," Trump said. "It always got away. But we won the state of Pennsylvania." He and Barletta, who is trailing by double digits in the polls, share hard-line immigration views, and Trump lashed Casey with his own derogatory nickname: "Sleeping Bob." But Trump's focus was defending his own accomplishments and beliefs. He pushed for tougher borders, overstating the threat posed by violent gangs like MS-13 and making the murderous group a stand-in for all immigrants in the United States illegally. He defended his kid-glove approach to both Kim and Putin, saying, "it would be a good thing, not a bad thing" to have warmer relations with the hostile powers and dismissing the talk that meeting with the autocrats elevated them on the world stage. He bashed the Democratic leadership of Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and, curiously, suggested that his frequent foe Rep. Maxine Waters of California was "a new star" of the party. He raved about the booming economy and said, without evidence, that his blue-collar supporters in states like Pennsylvania were the biggest beneficiaries. And he looked ahead to his 2020 re-election campaign, touting his new slogan, "Keep America Great Again" while musing whether he wanted Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, whom he decried as "Pocahontas," or Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, whom he flatly deemed "crazy," as his opponent. The rally came at a perilous time for Trump, who the day before bluntly declared his attorney general should terminate "right now" the federal probe into the campaign that took him to the White House, a newly fervent attack on the special counsel investigation that could imperil his presidency. Sanders scrambled to explain that Trump's tweet was "not an order" and the president was not directing his attorney general to do anything. "It's the president's opinion," she said. But Trump's tweetstorm again raised the specter that he could try to more directly bring special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia-Trump election-collusion probe to a premature end. And it revived the idea that the president's tweets themselves might be used as evidence that he is attempting to obstruct justice. Negotiations have also started again about a possible presidential interview as Mueller's team has offered the White House format changes, perhaps willing to limit some questions asked of Trump or accept some answers in writing, according to a person briefed on the proposal who wasn't authorized to discuss private talks and spoke on condition of anonymity. ___ Colvin reported from Washington. President Donald Trump speaks at a rally, Thursday, Aug. 2, 2018, at Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza in Wilkes Barre, Pa. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster) President Donald Trump arrives at a rally, Thursday, Aug. 2, 2018, at Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza in Wilkes Barre, Pa. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster) President Donald Trump arrives at a rally, Thursday, Aug. 2, 2018, at Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza in Wilkes Barre, Pa. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster) President Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally, Thursday, Aug. 2, 2018, in Wilkes-Barre, Pa. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke) President Donald Trump during a rally, Thursday, Aug. 2, 2018, at Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza in Wilkes Barre, Pa. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster) President Donald Trump arrives at a rally, Thursday, Aug. 2, 2018, at Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza in Wilkes Barre, Pa. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster) President Donald Trump arrives at a rally, Thursday, Aug. 2, 2018, at Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza in Wilkes Barre, Pa. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster) President Donald Trump arrives at a rally, Thursday, Aug. 2, 2018, at Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza in Wilkes Barre, Pa. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster) President Donald Trump arrives at a rally, Thursday, Aug. 2, 2018, at Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza in Wilkes Barre, Pa. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster) President Donald Trump arrives at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport in Avoca, Pa., on Thursday, Aug. 2, 2018. (Jake Danna Stevens/The Times-Tribune via AP) President Donald Trump steps off Air Force One at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport in Avoca, Pa., on Thursday, Aug. 2, 2018. (Jake Danna Stevens/The Times-Tribune via AP) President Donald Trump listens to Senate candidate Rep. Lou Barletta, R-Pa., speaks during a rally, Thursday, Aug. 2, 2018, at Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza in Wilkes Barre, Pa. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster) President Donald Trump listens to Senate candidate Rep. Lou Barletta, R-Pa., speak during a rally, Thursday, Aug. 2, 2018, at Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza in Wilkes Barre, Pa. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster) President Donald Trump speaks during a rally, Thursday, Aug. 2, 2018, at Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza in Wilkes Barre, Pa. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster) President Donald Trump speaks during a rally, Thursday, Aug. 2, 2018, at Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza in Wilkes Barre, Pa.. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster) President Donald Trump speaks during a rally, Thursday, Aug. 2, 2018, at Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza in Wilkes Barre, Pa.. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster) Republican Senate candidate Rep. Lou Barletta, R-Pa., speaks as President Donald Trump listens during a rally, Thursday, Aug. 2, 2018, at Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza in Wilkes Barre, Pa.. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster) President Donald Trump is cheered as he arrives for a rally, Thursday, Aug. 2, 2018, at Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza in Wilkes Barre, Pa.. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster) HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) - Only weeks before a nurse was slain and another woman sexually assaulted on opposite sides of the country, a New York judge released the suspect without bail in a separate strangulation case - not knowing he had a violent criminal history involving women. The freeing of Danueal Drayton on July 5 has outraged the nurse's family and frustrated prosecutors. They and Drayton's defense lawyers believe he would still be behind bars on the Long Island strangulation charge if they and the judge had known about his rap sheet in Connecticut. His record in New York was clean. "You can't let a person like this walk out of jail ... free without a bond," Kenneth Stewart, whose daughter, Samantha, was found dead in her Queens apartment on July 17, told reporters last week. "My daughter would be living today." FILE - This undated file photo provided by the New York Police Department shows Danueal Drayton, accused of killing a New York City woman he met on a dating app. In an interview published Tuesday, July 31, 2018, Drayton told a New York Daily News reporter who visited him at a Los Angeles jail that voices in his head made him do it. Drayton says he remembers strangling Queens nurse Samantha Stewart and talked about voices urging him to harm people. Drayton was arrested last week in Los Angeles after police say he sexually assaulted a different woman, tried to strangle her and refused to let her leave her apartment. (New York Police Department via AP, File) Police said Drayton met some victims on the Tinder dating app. Drayton was arrested last week in Los Angeles after police say he raped a woman he met during an Uber ride. He pleaded not guilty. He told New York's Daily News in a jailhouse interview that voices in his head made him kill Stewart. He also recalled choking the two other women in Los Angeles and New York. Two law enforcement officials previously told The Associated Press that after his arrest, Drayton, 27, claimed to have killed at least five women. The officials were not authorized to discuss the investigation publicly and spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity. Police are trying to confirm if his statements are true. Authorities are also looking back with regret on a lost chance to put Drayton behind bars in early July, when he was charged in New York City's Long Island suburbs with choking an ex-girlfriend at a park. One judge initially set his bail at $2,000 bond or $1,000 cash, which he couldn't immediately post. At a follow-up bail hearing on July 5, Judge Erica Prager lowered the bail amount to nothing and ordered him released. A spokesman for Nassau County District Attorney Madeline Singas said her office is now reviewing why Drayton's Connecticut criminal record, which was available in a national database, was not presented to Prager before she freed him. The DA's spokesman, Brendan Brosh, said in a statement that prosecutors believed his bail shouldn't have been lowered, even without the information on his record of hurting women in Connecticut. "The prosecutor on July 5 detailed serious threats made by the defendant to the victim, and noted that he had slashed the tires on her car," he said. Prager did not return a message seeking comment, but a spokesman for the Nassau courts, Daniel Bagnuola, said the judge "made her determination based on all the current, relevant and factual information that was provided to the court at that time." "It would have been impossible for the judge at that time to foresee the allegations that are presently unfolding and coming to light with regard to this defendant," he said. Lawyers with the Legal Aid Society of Nassau County, who are representing him in the strangulation case, said they also did not know at the time about his Connecticut record, which includes a nonfatal strangulation, unlawful restraint and violating protective orders. If the judge had that information, "she probably would have made a different determination on the bail," said N. Scott Banks, the aid society's chief attorney. Drayton, who had lived in New Haven, also slipped through the cracks in Connecticut, where his probation officer tried multiple times to find him after he disappeared in late May and missed required meetings. He was on probation for misdemeanor harassment. Connecticut officials never learned of his June 30 arrest in New York and obtained an arrest warrant for him on July 26, according to the Connecticut Judicial Branch. Court records obtained by the AP show Drayton was sentenced to three years in prison in 2013 for beating and choking his girlfriend in East Haven and violating a protective order "He started pummeling me in my face!" the girlfriend told police. "Swing after swing after swing to the point my body went into shock. ... He grabbed me from behind and started strangulating me with his arms and within seconds I passed out." He got out of prison in November 2014 and began serving probation. Seven months later, he was arrested again for holding another woman against her will in Waterbury, and got another three-year prison sentence. He got out on probation in April 2017. He was arrested again in February by New Haven police for sending threatening messages to a male friend. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to a year of probation in March. Connecticut prosecutor Sean McGuinness declined to comment on the 2018 harassment case. New York Police Department Chief of Detectives Dermot Shea said Thursday that Drayton has been speaking with investigators in California and has said things that would lead them to believe he's responsible for other crimes in New York City. Nothing Drayton has said regarding those alleged crimes has been verified by NYPD investigators. "We are very interested in the history of Mr. Drayton," Shea said. "We have resources devoted to really following up on his past. What could we learn? What other victims may there be?" ___ Associated Press writers Michael R. Sisak, Colleen Long and Michael Balsamo contributed to this report. PHOENIX (AP) - The Diamondbacks brought back an old tradition this season with a bullpen cart. One problem: None of the Diamondbacks wanted to use it. Brad Ziegler changed that when he entered a game against the San Francisco Giants in the seventh inning Thursday night, drawing cheers from the hometown fans. Only a handful of opposing players used the cart during games, though Jake Diekman used it to switch clubhouses after being traded from the Texas Rangers to Arizona in the middle of a two-game series this week. Ziegler, Arizona's one-time closer, returned to the team at the trade deadline in a deal with the Miami Marlins. ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) - Paul Manafort's bookkeeper testifies that the former Trump campaign chairman approved "every penny" of the personal bills she paid for him. But he kept her in the dark about the foreign bank accounts he was using to buy millions in luxury items and pay personal expenses. The bookkeeper's testimony Thursday appears to undercut an argument by Manafort's defense attorneys that he can't be responsible for financial fraud because he left the details of his spending to others. Paul Manafort's former bookkeeper Heather Washkuhn, left, walks to the Alexandria Federal Courthouse in Alexandria, Va., Thursday, Aug. 2, 2018, to testify at President Donald Trump's former campaign chairman Manafort's tax evasion and bank fraud trial. Washkuhn testified that Manafort kept her in the dark about the foreign bank accounts he was using to buy millions in luxury items and personal expenses. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta) Manafort faces charges of bank fraud and tax evasion that could put him in prison for the rest of his life. It's the first courtroom test of Mueller's team Paul Manafort's former bookkeeper Heather Washkuhn, left, walks to the Alexandria Federal Courthouse in Alexandria, Va., Thursday, Aug. 2, 2018, to testify at the trial of President Donald Trump's former campaign chairman's tax evasion and bank fraud trial. Washkuhn testified that Manafort kept her in the dark about the foreign bank accounts he was using to buy millions in luxury items and personal expenses. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta) Kathleen Manafort, left, walks to the Alexandria Federal Courthouse in Alexandria, Va., Thursday, Aug. 2, 2018, to attend the trial of her husband, President Donald Trump's former campaign chairman Paul Manafort's tax evasion and bank fraud trial. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta) A statue adorns the front of the Albert V. Bryan United States Courthouse, Thursday, Aug. 2, 2018 in Alexandria, Va., where President Donald Trump's former campaign chairman Paul Manafort is on trial facing federal charges of tax evasion and bank fraud. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta) This courtroom sketch depicts Paul Manafort, seated right row second from right, together with his lawyers, the jury, seated left, and the U.S. District Court Judge T.S. Ellis III, back center, listening to Assistant U.S. Attorney Uzo Asonye, standing, during opening arguments in the trial of President Donald Trump's former campaign chairman Manafort's on tax evasion and bank fraud charges. (Dana Verkouteren via AP) WASHINGTON (AP) - "I'm not in the theater business," Judge T.S. Ellis asserted during jury-selection discussions in Paul Manafort's financial fraud trial. "You have to be better-looking for that." Objection, Your Honor. The trial of President Donald Trump's former campaign chairman has plenty of drama and it's coming from the judge. This courtroom sketch depicts Paul Manafort, fourth from right, standing with his lawyers in front of U.S. district Judge T.S. Ellis III, center rear, and the selected jury, seated left, during the jury selection of his trial at the Alexandria Federal Courthouse in Alexandria, Va., Tuesday, July 31, 2018. A jury set to decide the fate of President Donald Trump's former campaign chairman Manafort was selected Tuesday, and opening statements in his tax evasion and bank fraud trial were expected in the afternoon. (Dana Verkouteren via AP) Easily exasperated, and with a sharp wit, the U.S. district judge called out attorneys for both sides this week when he heard they'd been rolling their eyes, apparently at him. The judge judged their expressions to mean, "Why do we have to put up with this idiot judge?" Privately, lawyers who have appeared before him say Thomas Selby Ellis III likes to be seen as the smartest person in the courtroom, not a huge leap for a judge. With his Princeton-Harvard-Oxford education and experience spanning consequential cases in an era of war and terrorism - "American Taliban" John Walker Lindh's among them - Ellis is known to cut lawyers down to size, sometimes subtly, sometimes not so much. That's what happened when Justice Department attorney Michael Dreeben, a legend in legal circles, appeared at a pre-trial hearing in the Manafort case. As soon as Dreeben began making his arguments for the prosecution, Ellis cut in - "Would you spell your name for the record?" That's not a question he asks others appearing in his Washington-area Eastern District of Virginia court. In the Manafort trial, Ellis, 78, is trying to keep a handle on a case that centers on the Trump associate's consulting work for wealthy Ukrainian clients and whether he fraudulently hid millions from banks and the IRS. It stems from special counsel Robert Mueller's broad investigation into Russia's interference in the 2016 election and any collusion between Russians and the Trump campaign. It's not about Trump or Russia, but that matter is the elephant in the room. In the pretrial hearing where Dreeben's presence made waves, Ellis supposed that the Manafort case was really about the government trying to make the defendant "sing" on Russia and the Trump campaign. Prosecutors "don't really care" about Manafort, he said, but instead care about getting information from him to go after Trump. That delighted the president, who called the judge "really something very special" in an NRA speech in May. But now, noting Manafort was kept in solitary confinement after his bail was revoked, he's suggested the justice system might be treating Manafort more harshly than it did Al Capone, the legendary mob boss who went crazy in Alcatraz. An immigrant from Bogota, Colombia, Ellis came to the bench in 1987, nominated by President Ronald Reagan after an early career as a Navy aviator in the 1960s and a lawyer in private practice in the 1970s. He's welcomed new generations of immigrants as the presiding judge at naturalization ceremonies, addressing Spanish-speakers among them in his and their native language; his eyes have been known to grow moist in these proceedings. Long-ago associates nicknamed him Taz for his swirling Tasmanian Devil drive in law practice. In 2002, Ellis sentenced Lindh to 20 years in prison without parole in a plea deal for the American who fought with the Taliban, telling him, "You made a bad choice." In 2009, he dismissed lawsuits filed by alleged Iraqi victims of the contractor once known as Blackwater USA, ruling that a pattern of recklessness or a culture of lawlessness is not enough to sustain an allegation of war crimes under the federal law. But he allowed most of the plaintiffs to refile their lawsuits if they had a persuasive case that Blackwater employees engaged in intentional killings and beatings. The ruling essentially pleased both sides. In the Manafort trial, Ellis has shown impatience with meandering arguments from either side while being tougher on the prosecution out of the gate. When prosecutors addressed Manafort's relationship with Ukrainian "oligarchs," he told them to knock it off. Prosecutors are inferring that Manafort associates himself with "despicable people and therefore he's despicable," he said. "That's not the American way." Descriptions of Manafort's $15,000 ostrich-leather jacket, the $6 million in cash he put toward real estate and his $900,000 in purchases at a New York boutique also left the judge unimpressed. He may not like fancy-pants lawyers, but fancy pants in America are not against the law. "The government doesn't want to prosecute somebody because they wear nice clothes, do they?" Ellis asked. "Let's move on." Prosecutor Greg Andres countered: "Judge, this is not an effort to prove Mr. Manafort lived lavishly. It's evidence of his income." The judge introduced a theatrical twist at an earlier hearing, telling prosecutors he did not want to see pictures of Manafort and others "at a cocktail party with scantily clad women," if they should happen to exist. No worries, Andres said. "There will be no pictures of scantily clad women, period." He also promised no photos of Russian flags and said it's unlikely any government witness "will utter the word 'Russia.'" ___ Associated Press writers Matthew Barakat, Eric Tucker and Chad Day contributed to this report. This woman is NOT great. Sarah Sanders, the president's press secretary, has lost all credibility because she has taken her role as press secretary personally AND she has made it personal--not professional--attacking the press corps. Sanders has deflected questions, lied for the president, contradicted facts, and thrown water on countless WH fires. Countless other presidents have "warred" with the press. Thomas Jefferson railed against newspapers as polluted vehicles of falsehood and error. Richard Nixon tangled with reporters in the toxic atmosphere of Watergate, considering them the enemy. Bill Clinton publicly condemned purveyors of hatred and division on the public air waves. Historians can point to plenty of past presidents who have sparred with the press. But theyre hard-pressed to find anything that approaches the all-out attack on the media that President Donald Trump seems intent on escalating at every turn. Yesterday Sarah Sanders confirmed the WH policy: The media is the enemy of the people. I do not envy Sanders. Press Sec is a horrible, thankless job and Trump is a child. I have no idea why she stays. He has forced Sanders into untenable positions, but she has no one to blame but herself. REDDING, Calif. (AP) - Carol Smith and her family walked into their hillside neighborhood Thursday to find her home reduced to mangled metal and piles of bricks after a massive Northern California wildfire leveled more than 1,000 homes. "I'm waiting to probably break down any minute here. Pretty overwhelming," Smith said as the family stood on the sidewalk staring in disbelief at what's left of their house in the city of Redding. The family, who wore masks and spotted a sign warning of hazardous materials, received hugs and pats on the back from disaster relief volunteers who met them. Chaplains and mental health experts also were being sent to neighborhoods to accompany those returning home. Carol Smith, left, gets a hug from her daughter Suzie Scatena, after seeing her fire-ravaged home for the first time Thursday, Aug. 2, 2018, in Redding, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez) "We pretty much lost everything," said Smith, 77, who has lived in the neighborhood with her 80-year-old husband for 29 years. "We're kind of anxious to get in there. I see there's a few statuaries in the backyard that maybe we can save." The blaze in the Redding area, 225 miles (360 kilometers) north of San Francisco, is the largest of 18 wildfires burning throughout California. Firefighters were having some success keeping flames away from heavily populated areas, and officials began allowing some residents to return to their neighborhoods. But tens of thousands of others were still under evacuation orders. The fire has killed six people, including two firefighters, and destroyed 1,060 homes and nearly 500 other buildings, including businesses, barns and warehouses, officials said. It has become the sixth most destructive wildfire in state history. The fire, which is nearly twice the size of Sacramento, was only partially contained after more than a week. "Unstable conditions, shifting winds, steep terrain and dry fuels continue to challenge firefighters," a state fire update warned, noting that 35-mph wind gusts were expected on ridgetops that could whip up the flames. More than 13,000 firefighters are battling blazes statewide with the help of crews from as far away as Florida. Just a month into the budget year, California has already spent more than one-quarter of its annual fire budget, at least $125 million, state Department of Forestry and Fire Protection spokesman Mike Mohler has said. Following years of drought and a summer of record-breaking heat, immense tracts of forests, chaparral and grasslands have become tinder that allows even a small spark to explode into a devouring blaze, authorities said. Gov. Jerry Brown repeated predictions from fire officials that California can expect a future of devastating fires, in part because of climate change. He told reporters Wednesday that "nature is very powerful, and we're not on the side of nature." Southeast of Redding, a blaze moved deeper into the Mendocino National Forest, "an area with some hunting cabins and some private property but no towns," Lake County Sheriff Lt. Corey Paulich said. Twin fires in Mendocino and Lake counties had burned 16 homes. Fire officials said another 8,000 homes and other buildings were threatened - down from about 12,000 homes initially threatened as firefighters made progress in some areas even as the blaze expanded in others. New evacuation orders were issued Thursday night for areas of the border between Lake and Colusa counties and the boundary of Mendocino National Forest. An estimated 14,000 people were under evacuation orders and the U.S. Forest Service said the fires continued to grow rapidly thanks to hot, dry windy weather and tinder-dry brush. A 100-square-mile (259-square-kilometer) fire near Yosemite National Park prompted evacuation orders for the community of Wawona inside the park, which has fewer than 200 residents. Yosemite Valley and other areas of the park have been closed to tourists since July 25 because of heavy smoke from the fire, which has burned nearly 100 square miles (259 square kilometers) and is only partially contained. ___ Rodriguez reported from San Francisco. ___ Follow AP's wildfire coverage here: https://apnews.com/tag/Wildfires Carol Smith, left, is comforted by her daughter Suzie Scatena after Smith saw her wildfire-ravaged home for the first time Thursday, Aug. 2, 2018, in Redding, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez) CORRECTS TO SUZIE SCATENA FROM SUZIE SCALENE - Carol Smith, far right in blue, her daughter Suzie Scatena, third from right, and husband Tim, third from left, tour their fire-ravaged neighborhood along with support crews Thursday, Aug. 2, 2018, in Redding, Calif. The Smith's home of 30 years was destroyed by a wildfire. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez) Tim Smith, at right, gets a first look at his wildfire-ravaged home alongside his daughter, Suzie Scatena, center, and aid worker Deborah Coombs Thursday, Aug. 2, 2018, in Redding, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez) A resident, in yellow, wishing not to be identified, is comforted after seeing her fire-ravaged home for the first time Thursday, Aug. 2, 2018, in Redding, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez) Redding Police Dept. officer Brian Berg, right, comforts a resident, center, wishing not to be identified, after she saw her fire-ravaged home for the first time Thursday, Aug. 2, 2018, in Redding, Calif. (AP /Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez) Shasta County Health and Human Services workers and others stand and watch as the procession for Redding fire inspector Jeremy Stoke passes in Redding, Calif., Thursday, Aug. 2, 2018. Stoke, who died last week in the Carr Fire, was being taken from the coroner's office to a funeral home. Fire officials say a massive blaze in Northern California that has killed six people and torched more than 1,000 homes grew overnight, fueled by wind. The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said Thursday firefighters made some gains and the blaze is now a third contained. (AP Photo/Michael Burke) A procession for Redding fire inspector Jeremy Stoke passes in Redding, Calif., Thursday, Aug. 2, 2018. Stoke, who died last week in the Carr Fire, was being taken from the coroner's office to a funeral home. Fire officials say a massive blaze in Northern California that has killed six people and torched more than 1,000 homes grew overnight, fueled by wind. The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said Thursday firefighters made some gains and the blaze is now a third contained. (AP Photo/Michael Burke) Twice in the past year, Brett Kavanaugh offered glimpses of his position on abortion that strongly suggest he would vote to support restrictions if confirmed to the Supreme Court. One was in a dissent in the case of a 17-year-old migrant seeking to terminate her pregnancy. The other was a speech before a conservative group in which he spoke admiringly of Justice William Rehnquist's dissent in the 1973 Roe v. Wade case that established a woman's right to abortion. Yet the big question about Kavanaugh's view on abortion remains unanswered: whether he would vote to overturn Roe. He'll almost certainly decline to answer when he is asked directly at his confirmation hearing. Decades of Kavanaugh's writings, speeches and judicial opinions, reviewed by The Associated Press, reveal a sparse record on abortion. In this Aug. 1, 2018, photo, Supreme Court Justice nominee Brett Kavanaugh meets with Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., on Capitol Hill in Washington. Kavanaugh's record suggests he would vote to support abortion restrictions if he joins the high court. But it's not clear if he would go as far as some abortion rights advocates fear and vote to overturn Roe v. Wade, the case establishing a woman's right to abortion.(AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) That leaves the migrant case, known as Garza v. Hargan, and the Rehnquist speech as focal points for anti-abortion activists who back President Donald Trump's nominee and for abortion rights advocates who say Kavanaugh has provided ample clues to justify their worst fears. "This is the rhetoric from the anti-abortion groups being used by a potential Supreme Court justice, and that really gives us pause," said Jacqueline Ayers, the national director of legislative affairs for Planned Parenthood Federation of America. Democrats have been casting Kavanaugh as a threat to abortion rights as they face the difficult task of blocking his nomination in a Senate where Republicans hold a narrow majority. Kavanaugh's views on other issues, such as the reach of presidential powers, will also be part of a confirmation fight. But abortion is perpetually a contentious issue for court nominees, and the stakes are particularly high this time since Kavanaugh would be replacing the moderate Justice Anthony Kennedy, who has voted to uphold abortion rights. Garza v. Hargan landed before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, where Kavanaugh has sat since 2006, after the Department of Health and Human Services instructed shelters for immigrant minors not to do anything to facilitate abortions. Much of the debate in the case centered on the 1992 Planned Parenthood v. Casey decision, which prohibited regulations that created an "undue burden" on women seeking an abortion. Appellate judges had to determine whether officials created such a burden by not releasing the Central American teen so she could get an abortion. The girl, identified in filings as Jane Doe, was 15 weeks pregnant when the case came before Kavanaugh. The law in Texas - where she was being held - bars abortions after 20 weeks. Texas also requires parental consent, though a state judge waived that requirement. In arguing that a lower court was right to approve an immediate abortion, Judge Patricia Millett said entering the U.S. illegally "does not mean that an immigrant's body is no longer her ... own" and among the penalties for crossing the border illegally should not be "forcing a child to have a baby." As the government prepared to appeal to the Supreme Court, the teenager had the abortion. In his dissent, Kavanaugh accepted that the Roe v. Wade precedent applied to the teenager. He wrote that "under the Government's arguments in this case and the Supreme Court's precedents, the unlawful immigrant minor is assumed to have a right under precedent to an abortion." Kavanagh didn't accept the government's contention that it could stop the teen from having an abortion in the U.S. He indicated officials could stop her temporarily while they tried to identify U.S. sponsors with whom she could live and who could counsel her on the abortion decision. To make his point, Kavanaugh drew on language sanctioning the regulation of abortion. "The Supreme Court," he wrote, "has repeatedly said that the Government has permissible interests in favoring fetal life, protecting the best interests of the minor, and not facilitating abortion, so long as the Government does not impose an undue burden on the abortion decision." His main complaint about the majority's ruling was, he said, that it created "a new right for unlawful immigrant minors in U.S. Government detention to obtain immediate abortion on demand." He said that "represents a radical extension of the Supreme Court's abortion jurisprudence." Still, Kavanaugh faced some conservative criticism for not taking a firmer anti-abortion stance like his colleague, Karen Henderson, who stated unambiguously that an immigrant in the U.S. illegally has no right to an abortion. But a spokeswoman for the Susan B. Anthony List, a group seeking to end abortion, said she had no qualms about Kavanaugh's reasoning in the case. Mallory Quigley said he wrote "forcefully that government has an interest in protecting fetal life." Conservatives had no complaints about the speech Kavanaugh gave at the American Enterprise Institute last year in which he heralded Rehnquist as "my first judicial hero" and spoke admiringly of his dissent in Roe v. Wade. A 7-to-2 majority in Roe v. Wade struck down a Texas law criminalizing abortion, citing an implied right to privacy in the 14th Amendment. Rehnquist's dissent said the court had created a right "completely unknown" to drafters of the amendment. Rehnquist also pushed to reverse Roe in Planned Parenthood v. Casey. The court ended up reaffirming abortion rights in a 5-4 decision instead, with Kennedy joining the majority. "Rehnquist was not successful in convincing a majority of the justices in the context of abortion," Kavanaugh said in the speech, noting that justices in that case may have felt bound by the Roe precedent. "But he was successful in stemming the general tide of freewheeling judicial creation of unenumerated (implied) rights that were not rooted in the nation's history and tradition." A Washington-based attorney, Helgi C. Walker, to whom the White House referred The Associated Press for comment, said Kavanaugh "went out of his way (in the speech) to say that he did not agree with all of Chief Justice Rehnquist's opinions and to note ... his respect for settled precedent." "The speech is not a fair basis for reaching conclusions about Judge Kavanaugh's views on specific constitutional questions that might come before him if he were confirmed as a member of the Supreme Court," Walker, a former associate counsel to President George W. Bush, said in an emailed statement. Asked about Roe at a 2006 hearing on his nomination to the federal appeals court, Kavanaugh said he would "faithfully and fully" uphold it as binding precedent. But he answered as a prospective appellate judge. His views as a justice on the Supreme Court, which isn't as tightly bound by precedent, could be very different. At the same hearing, Kavanaugh dodged questions about his personal beliefs on Roe v. Wade, telling an exasperated Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York that it wouldn't be appropriate for him to "give a personal view" on the case. He'll likely revive that response for hearings on his high-court nomination in the fall. ___ More reporting on the Supreme Court and Kavanaugh can be found at http://apne.ws/IHcZXad NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Basking in the afterglow of an emphatic Republican primary victory in her Senate bid, U.S. Rep. Marsha Blackburn proclaimed it a win for the agenda of President Donald Trump, a statement from Tennessee voters that they want to give him their full support. "We know that what Tennesseans say that they want to see in their next senator is somebody who is going to stand with President Trump to finish the agenda that they voted for when they elected him," she said Thursday. But the Republican primary for governor tested the limits of her theory. Republican U.S. Rep. Marsha Blackburn campaigns Thursday, Aug. 2, 2018, at a cafe in Brentwood, Tenn. Blackburn is strongly embracing President Donald Trump as she claims the Republican nomination for Tennessee's open U.S. Senate seat. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey) In that race, U.S. Rep. Diane Black began as the favorite, made multiple appearances with Trump and left no room for opponents to outdo her devotion to him, though at times they tried. She won Vice President Mike Pence's endorsement and basked in warm comments at every turn from Trump, who ultimately stopped short of a formal endorsement. Black finished third. On Friday, another Republican candidate got what Black wanted in the primary: Trump tweeted his support for GOP nominee Bill Lee in the general election contest for governor. Voters had mixed feelings about the Trump-themed GOP election. Nashville resident Diane Dimel said Thursday that she voted for Trump in 2016, but no longer supports him or the candidates he favors. "When I saw all those ads for Diane Black with President Trump, that was one where I was like, 'Well, I am definitely not going to vote for her,'" said Dimel, who added that she now regrets her vote for Trump. But Robert Crowell, 69, of Nashville, said he voted for Black and other candidates who agree with Trump on issues like a strong national defense and protecting America's borders. "I just go with the ones that agree with the president," he said. Meanwhile, support for Trump seemed to help in the Senate race, where Blackburn touted Trump's wall-building immigration crackdown and his U.S. Supreme Court pick, Brett Kavanaugh. She has benefited from center-stage appearances alongside Trump and Pence in public events and fundraisers in Tennessee. She managed to avoid drawing any viable primary challengers, though Democrats are eager to point out that her primary opponent, little-known truck driver Aaron Pettigrew, drew about 112,200 votes Thursday compared to her approximately 610,900, even though he says he raised only $225. Blackburn, who could become the state's first female U.S. senator, will face former Democratic Gov. Phil Bredesen in November. Bredesen has walked a careful line throughout the campaign, saying he would support Trump on policies that are good for Tennessee and oppose him on those that aren't. Bredesen's bid could breathe life into a depleted Democratic Party in Tennessee that hasn't won statewide in more than a decade - not since he did it himself in his 2006 re-election bid. For the Senate, the last Tennessee Democrat to win was former Vice President Al Gore in 1990. Tennessee voted for Trump by 26 percentage points in 2016, but Bredesen's continued popularity and pledge of independent thinking have kept polls close in the contest to replace retiring Republican Sen. Bob Corker. The race could run up record campaign spending as Democrats anchor their hopes to break the 51-49 Republican Senate majority in the red, Southern state. Bredesen easily won his primary Thursday. In the governor's race, Democratic former Nashville Mayor Karl Dean touts himself as a leader like Bredesen who can break down partisan barriers and work with a Republican legislature during divisive political times. He easily won a primary contest Thursday. Dean faces Lee, a Franklin businessman whose tab was one-third of what top GOP spender Randy Boyd paid in a bruising, $45 million-plus Republican primary. Lee deemed himself the race's only "conservative outsider" and heavily emphasized his Christian beliefs. Lee embraced Trump's agenda during the primaries but did not enjoy the connections that Black did. The four leading candidates tapped into an unprecedented $40 million of their personal wealth. Lee declined to take overt swipes at his opponents when they started a heavy rotation of attack ads. Bredesen and Dean would need to peel off support from moderate Republicans and independents in the red state. Blackburn bills herself as a "hardcore, card-carrying Tennessee conservative." Pence and Trump have already attacked Bredesen on her behalf, saying he's too liberal for Tennessee and would fall in line with Democratic Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. Bredesen has countered that his record as governor shows he's an independent thinker who won't cave to party leaders. Bredesen has separated himself from Trump on several policies, most notably on tariffs, which threaten an estimated $1.4 billion in Tennessee exports, according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, a longtime Republican ally. The exports are linked to more than 850,000 jobs in the state related to farming, steel, baked goods, car manufacturing, whiskey distillers like Jack Daniel's, and more, the chamber said. Blackburn has tried to distance herself from the White House carefully on tariffs amid a heightening trade war. She asked the commerce secretary to reconsider broad tariffs to avoid harm to Tennessee's economy. She has expressed "grave concern" about the tariffs, but said she appreciates the administration's goal of punishing bad actors like China. Blackburn has opposed Corker's proposal to require a congressional vote on tariffs issued in the name of national security, a move that fellow Tennessee GOP Sen. Lamar Alexander supports. Tennessee has a history of electing centrist senators. Corker, for one, has further complicated the race by saying he's supporting Blackburn but won't actively campaign against his friend, Bredesen. Corker also has publicly tussled with Trump, once saying the president had turned the White House into an "adult day care center." Trump tweeted in response that Corker "couldn't get elected dog catcher in Tennessee," and Corker endured booing at a Trump-Blackburn rally in Nashville this spring. Haslam, the popular two-term governor, threw his backing behind Blackburn at a campaign event Thursday, telling her supporters that the race is about Senate control. Money shouldn't be a problem for either candidate. Heading into July, Blackburn maintained an early 2-to-1 cash advantage over Bredesen, with $7.3 million in her bank account. But Bredesen would be one of the wealthiest members of Congress if elected, and he has already loaned $3.5 million of his own money to his campaign. ___ Sheila Burke in Nashville and Kristin M. Hall in Nashville contributed to this report. Former Gov. Phil Bredesen, front center, campaigns Wednesday, Aug. 1, 2018, in Memphis, Tenn., in his bid for U.S. Senate. Bredesen and Republican U.S. Rep. Marsha Blackburn face only nominal primary opposition in their race to replace retiring Republican Sen. Bob Corker. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey) Former Nashville Mayor Karl Dean thanks supporters at a victory party after winning the Democratic nomination for Tennessee governor Thursday, Aug. 2, 2018, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey) Republican Tennessee Governor candidate Bill Lee celebrates with supporters at his primary election night party at the Factory in Franklin, Tenn., Thursday, Aug. 2, 2018. Businessman Lee defeated three other Republicans in a bruising primary for Tennessee governor Thursday, setting the stage for a competitive fall contest against former Nashville Mayor Karl Dean, who cruised to the Democratic nomination. (Shelley Mays/The Tennessean via AP) NEW YORK (AP) - Kamala Harris has been the target of social media misinformation campaigns since she became a U.S. senator. Every month for the last 18 months, her office has discovered on average between three and five fake Facebook profiles pretending to be hers, according to a Harris aide. It's unclear who creates the pages, which are often designed to mislead American voters about the ambitious Democratic senator's policies and positions. The aide spoke on the condition of anonymity, like more than a half dozen campaign officials contacted for this story, for fear of attracting unwanted attention from adversaries or scrutiny on the Senate office's evolving cybersecurity protocols. FILE - In this May 16, 2012, file photo, the Facebook logo is displayed on an iPad in Philadelphia. Intelligence officials warn that foreign adversaries continue to wage cyber warfare against the U.S. election systems. But with the midterm elections just three months away, political campaigns report that they're largely on their own in the increasingly challenging task of protecting sensitive information and countering false or misleading content on social media. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File) Such internet mischief has become commonplace in U.S. politics. Facebook announced earlier this week that it uncovered "sophisticated" efforts, possibly linked to Russia, to influence U.S. politics on its platforms. Senior intelligence officials declared Thursday that foreign adversaries continue waging a quiet war against U.S. campaigns and election systems. Still, one thing has become clear: With the midterm elections just three months away, campaigns are largely on their own in the increasingly challenging task of protecting sensitive information and countering false or misleading content on social media. The Democratic National Committee has worked to strengthen its own internal security protocols and encouraged state parties to do the same, according to Raffi Krikorian, who previously worked for Uber and Twitter and now serves as the DNC's chief technology officer. But in an interview, he acknowledged there are limits to how much the national party can protect the thousands of Democratic campaigns across the country. "We're providing as much assistance to campaigns as we can, but there's only so much we can do," Krikorian said. "For all the high-level campaigns I'm worried, but at least there are people to talk to," he continued. "The mid-sized campaigns are at least getting technical volunteers, but the truly down-ballot campaigns, that's where the state parties and coordinated campaigns can help, but there's no doubt that this is an uphill battle when we're dealing with a foreign adversary." Officials in both political parties have intensified cybersecurity efforts, although the known cases of interference have so far overwhelmingly focused on Democrats. The DNC now has a staff of 40 on its technical team, led by Krikorian and other Silicon Valley veterans hired in the months after Russians hacked the party's email system and released a trove of damaging messages in the months before President Donald Trump's 2016 victory. Top U.S. intelligence and homeland security officials raised new alarms Thursday about outside efforts to influence the 2018 and 2020 elections during a White House press briefing. Homeland Security chief Kirstjen Nielsen said: "Our democracy is in the crosshairs," while Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats added: "We continue to see a pervasive messaging campaign by Russia to try to weaken and divide the United States." Facebook said it removed 32 accounts from its site and Instagram because they were involved in "coordinated" political behavior and appeared to be fake. Nearly 300,000 people followed at least one of the accounts, which featured names such as "Black Elevation" and "Resisters" and were designed to manipulate Americans with particular ethnic, cultural or political identities. In many cases, House and Senate political campaigns said they're just beginning to adopt basic internal security protocols, such as two-step verification for all email, storage and social media accounts and encrypted messaging services such as Wickr. There is no protocol in place for campaigns or national parties to monitor broader social media misinformation campaigns, however. Nor is there any sign that law enforcement is playing a proactive role to protect campaigns from meddling on a day-to-day basis. The FBI has set up a Foreign Influence Task Force and intelligence agencies are collecting information on Russian aggression, but campaigns report no regular contact with law enforcement officials. "At the end of the day, the U.S. government is not putting any type of a bubble around any (campaign). They do not have the authority, capacity or capability to do it," said Shawn Henry, a former senior FBI official who now leads the cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike, which works with political campaigns. "NSA is not sitting in the ISPs filtering out malicious traffic." Henry added: "They've got to take pro-active actions themselves." Earlier this month, Microsoft said it discovered a fake domain had been set up as the landing page for phishing attacks by a hacking group believed to have links to Russian intelligence. A Microsoft spokesman said this week that additional analysis confirmed the attempted attacks occurred in late 2017 and targeted multiple accounts associated with the offices of two legislators running for re-election. Microsoft did not name the lawmakers. Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., said Russian hackers tried unsuccessfully to infiltrate her Senate computer network in 2017. Former Democratic U.S. Rep. Brad Ashford of Nebraska also recently confirmed that his 2016 campaign emails had been hacked by Russian agents. Ashford, who narrowly lost his seat to Republican Don Bacon that year, said hackers obtained all of his campaign email correspondence with the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. He said he was notified of the breach in late July or early August 2016 by House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi's office. Ashford has said he doesn't believe any of the stolen information ever went to Bacon or the Republican Party, and he doesn't know whether it made a difference in his race. He did face a series of anonymous political attacks on social media. By their very nature, U.S. political campaigns can be a challenge to defend from a cybersecurity standpoint. They are essentially pop-up organizations that rely heavily on volunteers and are focused on a singular task - winning. In addition, high-level IT expertise costs money and campaigns typically run on tight budgets. Some 2018 House campaigns have yet to hire basic communications staffers. In the case of California Sen. Harris, who is considered a 2020 presidential prospect, her office plans to continue rooting out fake social media profiles on its own. They have had no contact with the FBI. They have reported the issue to Facebook in every case - not the other way around. "It's on the forefront of everybody's mind," said Patrick McHugh, a former Senate campaign official who now leads the Democratic-aligned super PAC Priorities USA. He acknowledged the tremendous challenge for many campaigns. "All it takes is one person on a campaign to make a mistake," McHugh said. "You're up against a foreign country. That's a pretty big adversary that can and will go to all ends to get in." __ Cassidy reported from Atlanta. AP correspondent Grant Schulte reported from Lincoln, Nebraska. SAN DIEGO (AP) - The Trump administration and the American Civil Liberties Union on Thursday revealed widely divergent plans on how to reunite hundreds of immigrant children with parents who have been deported since the families were separated at the U.S.-Mexico border. President Donald Trump's administration puts the onus on the ACLU, asking that the organization use its "considerable resources" to find parents in their home countries, predominantly Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras. The U.S. Justice Department said in a court filing that the State Department has begun talks with foreign governments on how the administration may be able to aid the effort. The ACLU, which sued on behalf of separated parents, called for the government to take "significant and prompt steps" to find the parents on its own. FILE - In this July 26, 2018, file photo, a child holds the hand of a Lutheran Social Services worker as she looks back to a man as they arrive at Lutheran Social Services in Phoenix. The Trump administration and the American Civil Liberties Union are proposing widely divergent plans on how to reunite hundreds of children with their deported parents after being separated at the U.S.-Mexico border. (AP Photo/Matt York, file) "Plaintiffs have made clear that they will do whatever they can to help locate the deported parents, but emphasize that the government must bear the ultimate burden of finding the parents," the ACLU said in a filing, pinning blame for "the crisis" on the administration and arguing it has far more resources. A decision on how to bridge the differences falls to U.S. District Judge Dana Sabraw, who has ordered that more than 2,500 children be reunited with their families. He was scheduled to speak with both sides in a conference call Friday. As of Wednesday, 410 children whose parents were outside the country were in the custody of the U.S. Health and Human Services Department. The ACLU said it takes "a degree of detective work" to track down contact information for deported parents, some of whom may be hiding from persecutors. The group said the government provided home-country addresses in U.S. immigration databases with no useful information for about 120 parents. Other addresses had limited use - for example, some had "calle sin nombre" ("street without a name") or six addresses connected to one Honduran child, all in the Mexican city of San Luis Potosi. The proposals from both sides come a week after a court-imposed deadline to reunite more than 2,500 children who were separated from their families at the border. The administration also asks that the ACLU consult each deported parent to determine if they wish to waive their right to be reunified with their child, a scenario that may occur if the parent wants the child to remain in the U.S. The U.S. would work with foreign governments "to determine how best to complete reunifications." The ACLU proposes that parents who want their children sent back home be reunited within a week and that those who want to return to the U.S. to pick up their kids be permitted under humanitarian parole, with round-trip transportation paid for by the government. There are also differences about how to locate parents who were released in the U.S., but they appear less stark. The administration says it will meet with the ACLU to discuss what information it can provide, while the ACLU requests specific details - ranging from last known phone number and copies of birth certificates - as well as volunteers to help find the parents. The government said last week that it had returned all 1,800-plus children to parents and sponsors who were "eligible" for reunification. But it said more than 700 adults were not eligible because they were in their home countries, have been released from immigration custody, had red flags for criminal records or other reasons, chose not to be reunited, or were still being reviewed. On Wednesday, it said the number of reunified children neared 2,000 and nearly 600 remained separated, mostly because their parents. Sabraw ordered the government to submit written updates every Thursday, indicating he plans to keep a close watch on the still-separated families. Each update will be followed by a telephone call the next day with both sides. In late June, Sabraw set deadlines of July 10 to reunify dozens of children under 5 with their families and July 26 to reunify children 5 and older. TOKYO (AP) - A British warship docked in Tokyo on Friday as Britain seeks to expand its military presence in the Asia-Pacific region. The HMS Albion, which has been conducting maritime security and surveillance operations in the Pacific, is the second of three British warships being deployed to Asia this year. They are the first such deployments in several years. "Our presence here is part of a much wider commitment of the Royal Navy to the Asia-Pacific in 2018," Capt. Tim Neild said at a welcome ceremony at Harumi Pier on Tokyo Bay. Japan Self-Defense Forces marching band members perform as British Royal Navy's HMS Albion amphibious assault ship arrives at a dock in Tokyo Friday, Aug. 3, 2018. The British warship has docked in Tokyo as Britain seeks to expand its military presence in the Asia-Pacific region. (AP Photo/Ken Moritsugu) Britain and Japan agreed last year to step up defense cooperation in the face of a growing threat from North Korea and China's efforts to bolster its claims to disputed territory in the South China Sea. Neild said that the British navy is committed to enforcing U.N. sanctions on North Korea and protecting a rules-based international system, a veiled reference to China's island-building activities. The waters are a major shipping lane for global trade, with 35 percent of Britain's trade passing through the Asia-Pacific, he said. A senior Japanese officer welcomed Britain's increased commitment to the region including the enforcement of sanctions on North Korea. "No single nation or navy alone can deal with all these issues today," said Vice Admiral Gojiro Watanabe of the Maritime Self-Defense Force, as the Japanese navy is known. The Albion is an 18,500-ton amphibious assault ship that can launch landing craft into waters for a coastal attack. Neild said one of its major activities during its Asia tour will be a joint exercise with Japan later this month at a beach southwest of Tokyo. The Japanese military, concerned about Chinese designs on some islands that both countries claim, is developing an amphibious brigade. Japan Self-Defense Forces marching band members perform as British Royal Navy's HMS Albion amphibious assault ship arrives at a dock in Tokyo Friday, Aug. 3, 2018. The British warship has docked in Tokyo as Britain seeks to expand its military presence in the Asia-Pacific region. (AP Photo/Ken Moritsugu) British Royal Navy's HMS Albion amphibious assault ship arrives with a city's landmark Rainbow Bridge as background in Tokyo Friday, Aug. 3, 2018. The British warship has docked in Tokyo as Britain seeks to expand its military presence in the Asia-Pacific region. (AP Photo/Kaori Hitomi) Sailors of British Royal Navy's HMS Albion amphibious assault ship man the rails upon arrival at a dock in Tokyo Friday, Aug. 3, 2018. The British warship has docked in Tokyo as Britain seeks to expand its military presence in the Asia-Pacific region. (AP Photo/Ken Moritsugu) Crew of British Royal Navy's HMS Albion amphibious assault ship prepare to land at a dock in Tokyo Friday, Aug. 3, 2018. The British warship has docked in Tokyo as Britain seeks to expand its military presence in the Asia-Pacific region. (AP Photo/Ken Moritsugu) British Royal Navy Captain of HMS Albion Tim Nield, center, delivers a speech upon arrival at a dock in Tokyo Friday, Aug. 3, 2018. The British warship has docked in Tokyo as Britain seeks to expand its military presence in the Asia-Pacific region. (AP Photo/Ken Moritsugu) BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (AP) - A roundup of news Thursday from the Television Critics Association summer meeting, at which TV networks and streaming services are presenting details on upcoming programs. APU IN THE SPOTLIGHT Creators of "The Simpsons" have the freedom to handle the show's depiction of Indian shop owner Apu in the right way for their show, a top Fox executive said. Angela Bassett, a cast member in the television series "9-1-1," waves to photographers at the FOX Summer TCA All-Star Party at Soho House West Hollywood, Thursday, Aug. 2, 2018, in West Hollywood, Calif. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP) Apu, the Kwik-E-Mart clerk who has sold expired food and ripped off customers in the long-running animated Fox series, has come under fire as racist and stereotypical. The criticism flared after the recent release of the documentary "The Trouble with Apu." "We have had conversations with (executive producer) Jim Brooks and his team, and basically we've left it up to them," Fox Television Group Chairman and CEO Dana Walden told a TV critics' meeting. "They've treated the characters with so much respect, we definitely trust them to handle it in a way that will be best for their show," Walden said. She's unaware of their plans, but "we all decided that was their decision." "The Simpsons," now in its 30th year, made a stab at responding to critics in an episode that aired last April. Mom Marge is sharing a book she enjoyed as a child with daughter Lisa but finds herself editing its slurs against people of Irish and Latin American descent as she goes. Lisa's response: "Something that started decades ago and was applauded and inoffensive is now politically incorrect. What can you do?" A photo of Apu appears, and Marge says, "Some things will be dealt with at a later date" and Lisa adds, "if at all." Comedian Hari Kondabolu, who wrote "The Problem With Apu" documentary to address how marginalized groups are represented in pop culture, attacked the show's response as sad and misguided. He was joined by a chorus of online protests. Walden had a measured response when asked about the episode's backlash. She called it "good information" for the creators, who she said focused on it and undoubtedly will take it into account as they further address the character. Hank Azaria, the cast member of "The Simpsons" who voices Apu, said publicly in April he hopes the show makes a change and he's willing to step away from the role, saying it feels like the right thing to do. "9-1-1" STARS CALL REAL 911 Angela Bassett once resorted to dialing 911 for help when she had trouble with a fireplace at home. Aisha Hinds needed help for a life-threatening emergency as a teenager. The actresses co-star on Fox's "9-1-1" series about the pressurized world of police, firefighters and dispatchers who are thrust into a variety of high-stress situations. Bassett told a TV critics meeting that she once called for help when a fire she and a friend started got out of hand. It wouldn't extinguish after being doused with water and she had trouble using a spatula to toss the burning log outside. "I'm a Florida girl, so fireplaces aren't usually a thing," she said. Much to Bassett's relief, firefighters in full gear arrived and took care of it. "They were very handsome," she said, smiling. Hinds got mistakenly shot in the back as a 16-year-old walking home from school in New York by a suspect chasing another man. "It didn't even register that I had been shot," she said. "It felt kind of like a stiletto, like a really sharp stiletto just piercing, and really, really hot." The bullet grazed her aorta and she ended up losing a kidney. Both of the men involved ended up dying within a couple years of the incident. "So here I am, the lone survivor of that entire experience," Hinds said. "Truly, truly I have to give credit to the very fast response of 911 in my neighborhood." "24" MULTIPLIED? Fox is developing two potential new series for its "24" drama franchise. Fox executives Dana Walden and Gary Newman told a TV critics' meeting that veteran "24" producers Howard Gordon and Brian Grazier are working on the ideas. One is a prequel to the original series and involves "24" creators Joel Surnow and Bob Cochran, said Walden. The other series is set in the legal world and would be a new take on the franchise, she said. The action unfolds in the 24 hours before a prisoner's execution and involves high "emotional stakes," Newman said. They didn't share further details. Kiefer Sutherland starred in the original "24" that aired from 2001 to 2010 and in a limited 2014 version. The short-lived 2016-17 reboot "24: Legacy" featured Corey Hawkins. THE TRUMP FACTOR Last Man Standing" isn't rushing to pick up the "Roseanne" pro-Trump mantle when it starts life at its new network this fall. Tim Allen, star of the comedy that was axed by ABC and picked up by Fox, said his character is a centrist who would support Trump administration policies that help his business. But Mike Baxter probably isn't a vocal defender of President Donald Trump, Allen told TV critics. Series executive producer Kevin Abbott described Allen's character as a conservative Republican, but he said it's unlikely the show will address Trump one way or the other. Allen chimed in teasingly, saying, "Oh yes, we will." A change of network won't change the show, which will remain familiar to fans of its ABC run, Abbott said: "The show was beloved by a large audience, and we want to keep that audience and we hope expand it a little bit." His fellow executive producer, Matt Berry, said "Last Man Standing" and "Roseanne" can't really be compared. "The only similarities with the 'Roseanne' show is we're a family sitcom and the central character has a more conservative view," Berry said. But the revived "Roseanne" was an "issue-of-the-week" comedy, and "we don't do issues of the week. We consider ourselves a family show with a traditional character at the center." Barr's series, in which the star's support for Trump was mirrored by her character, was canceled by ABC after one hit season when Barr posted a racist tweet about former Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett. Barr has both apologized for and denied knowing it would be seen as bigoted. A spin-off, "The Conners," will air this coming season on ABC with the "Roseanne" cast minus Barr. Abbott and Allen said they were surprised by ABC's abrupt 2017 decision to cancel "Last Man Standing" after six seasons, which Allen said was "very poorly handled." Allen said at the time that his personal politics - he attended Trump's inauguration - might have played a role, and on Thursday he said if there was a political motivation the network certainly wouldn't admit it. But he added that it was a "financial decision on ABC's part." This image released by Fox shows the character Apu, an Indian shop owner featured on "The Simpsons," animated series. Fox says it trusts the creators of the series to handle the show's depiction of Apu, which has drawn fire as a racist stereotype. (Fox via AP) SINGAPORE (AP) - Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says that while there's "still a ways to go," the United States remains "confident" in North Korea's commitment to denuclearize. Pompeo is attending an Asian security forum with North Korea's foreign minister. His comments Friday in Singapore came after the White House announced Thursday that President Donald Trump had received a new letter from North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and responded quickly with a letter of his own. The correspondence, following up on their Singapore summit in June, came amid fresh concerns over Pyongyang's commitment to denuclearization despite a rosy picture of progress painted by Trump. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo delivers his opening address during the ASEAN-U.S. Ministerial Meeting on the sidelines of the 51st ASEAN Foreign Ministers Meeting in Singapore, Friday, Aug. 3, 2018. (AP Photo/Yong Teck Lim) Pompeo has taken the lead in negotiations with the North. He has traveled to Pyongyang three times since April and accompanied Trump to the summit. He will be in the same room Saturday as his North Korean counterpart at the Association of South East Asian Nations annual regional forum. A separate meeting between the two is possible but has not been confirmed, according to State Department officials. "Chairman Kim made a commitment to denuclearize," Pompeo told reporters accompanying him to Singapore from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. "The world demanded that (he) do so in the U.N. Security Council resolutions. To the extent they are behaving in a manner inconsistent with that, they are in violation of one or both the U.N. Security Council resolutions, we can see we still have a ways to go to achieve the ultimate outcome we're looking for." In an interview later with Singapore's Channel NewsAsia, Pompeo was a little more optimistic. "We're confident that Chairman Kim remains committed to denuclearization," he said. "The world is counting on it." He said United Nations sanctions "will remain in place until we have full denuclearization in North Korea. So no matter how much progress we make, those sanctions will remain in place." On Thursday, Trump tweeted his thanks to the North Korean leader "for your nice letter - I look forward to seeing you soon!" The White House did not provide details on the specific content of the letter from Kim, received Wednesday, or of Trump's reply. White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said the letters addressed their commitment to work toward North Korea's "complete denuclearization." Sanders said no second meeting is "locked in" as a follow-up to the Singapore summit in June, but they remain open to discussions. Trump in his tweet expressed gratitude to Kim "for keeping your word" on the return of the remains of more than 50 American service members killed during the Korean War. Vice President Mike Pence and U.S. military leaders received the remains in Hawaii during a somber ceremony Wednesday. Pompeo told Channel NewsAsia: "We're thrilled that North Korea fulfilled its commitment by beginning the process of returning the remains of American servicemen this past week. We hope that process will continue." The latest letter from Kim arrived on the heels of concerns over North Korea's ballistic missile program and commitment to denuclearization. Senior Trump administration officials have urged patience, cautioning that the process of denuclearizing North Korea and removing the threat of its long-range missiles will take time. Trump has sought to show progress from his June 12 summit with Kim. He said during a Tuesday rally in Tampa, Florida, that the U.S. was "doing well" with North Korea and noted the return of detained Americans and Pyongyang's ceasing of nuclear testing and missile tests. "A lot of good things are happening. No tests. No rockets flying. But we'll see what happens," Trump said. U.S. officials have been closely watching North Korea's willingness to abandon its nuclear ambitions. The Washington Post reported Tuesday that U.S. intelligence officials suspect that North Korea is continuing to build new missiles in the same research facility that manufactured the country's ballistic missiles capable of reaching the United States. The Post also reported that North Korean officials have talked about how they plan to deceive the U.S. about the size of their arsenal of missiles and nuclear warheads and facilities. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, left, and China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi pose for a photograph ahead of a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the 51st ASEAN Foreign Ministers Meeting in Singapore, Friday, Aug. 3, 2018. (AP Photo/Joseph Nair) For the past week, Robert Tierney Jr. has been registering patients at a Northern California hospital in the mornings and checking out possible rentals after work, trying to count his blessings even though his house is one of the more than 1,000 destroyed in a deadly wildfire. Tierney is among dozens of staff members, including doctors, nurses and others, at Dignity Health Mercy Medical Center in Redding keeping the hospital running despite losing their homes to the flames. Tierney, 57, choked up briefly as he recalled the moment he learned from a kid on a bicycle that his house and belongings were gone, save for a wedding dress and several hampers of clothes he grabbed before leaving his neighborhood 225 miles (360 kilometers) north of San Francisco. Mercy Medical Center is shown in Redding, Calif., Friday, Aug. 3, 2018. Dozens of staff members, including doctors, nurses and others at the medical center are keeping the hospital running despite losing their homes to the flames. (AP Photo/Michael Burke) "I have to come to work. My wife is disabled and I have to make a living and I have a terrific job and it is my pleasure to be here, so I'm just real fortunate I have a job to come to at a time like this," he said Thursday. Mike Mangas, spokesman for Dignity Health North State, said 67 staff and volunteers at the hospital are without permanent shelter, their homes destroyed or too damaged to occupy. "It's been amazing," he said. "There have been people sleeping on the floor at the hospital, people sleeping at relatives' (homes), or in hotels if they can get them." For many Californians, wildfire season has turned into a series of upheavals that starts with terror of approaching flames. The experience soon gives way to an anxious scramble for shelter, followed by tedious but tense days of waiting. Police officers, physicians and emergency staff often don't get much time to grieve as they deal with the chaos of evacuations and danger. The police chief in Redding and a sheriff's deputy in Sonoma County are among those working after losing their homes in the wake of the sixth-most destructive fire in California history that killed six. The damage to the region is so severe - roads are blocked by downed power poles, bridges are damaged and fires continue to burn - that more than 20,000 evacuees still have not been allowed to return to their homes. "I think the biggest issue is the infrastructure damage is horrendous," said Ken Pimlott, California's top fire official. So evacuees wait, often relying on the kindness of strangers, friends and relatives. A young couple set up a gas grill on a Redding street corner and handed out hot dogs and hamburgers to victims. After a local radio station broadcast the couple's good deed, the intersection soon turned into an impromptu gathering spot for evacuees and donations of additional grills, volunteers and food showed up. Many worry when things will return to normal. With the first day of school fast approaching, 16-year-old Samantha Barber has no idea where she will be living when her senior year starts on Aug. 15. Barber and her mother were barred from returning to their home in tiny French Gulch last month and spent the first five nights in a hotel. They moved on to sharing a spare bedroom in a relative's home. "We pretty much had the clothes that were on our back," said Barber. "It's just breathtaking not being able to get anything, having to wash your clothes every night and go out and get laundry soap and have to buy dinner every night." Some residents who were spared from the destruction took in evacuees' pets and livestock while offering recreational vehicles and spare bedrooms. Carla DeLauder, 47, said she learned Thursday that roads to her Redding home are open. But her utility can't verify whether power is back and she can't risk a five-hour drive from where she and her husband are staying with the nine dogs and cats she grabbed when they fled a week ago. The couple is staying at her parents' home in Livermore, California, some 225 miles (360 kilometers) south of Redding but her husband, Rich King, needs to return to work. She's had crying fits and bouts of frustration, but she's also felt gratitude toward strangers who rescued her rooster Henry and found a temporary home for the flock she left behind. "And all this is done by people I've never met," she said. "I mean, chickens? I didn't even consider that someone would go out to help my flock of chickens let alone rescue them." Area churches have thrown open their doors and the Red Cross has turned high schools into temporary shelters. Red Cross spokesman Stephen Walsh said the number of evacuees is dwindling at its five temporary shelters as firefighters get a handle on the flames, but many remain. "People are very tired and anxious to get home," Walsh said. "Those who have a home to go back are frustrated they can't go home." ___ Associated Press writers Paul Elias and Olga Rodriguez in San Francisco and Don Thompson in Sacramento, California also contributed to this story. ___ Follow AP's wildfire coverage here: https://apnews.com/tag/Wildfires In this photo taken Thursday, Aug. 2, 2018, a thank you banner for fire fighters, first responders and hospital workers hangs outside Mercy Medical Center in Redding, Calif. Dozens of staff members, including doctors, nurses and others at the medical center are keeping the hospital running despite losing their homes to the flames. (AP Photo/Michael Burke) A tower of smoke pours from Cow Mountain as Burney, California firefighter Bob May keeps a watch on surrounding vegetation for spot fires during a wildfire off Scotts Valley Road, Thursday, Aug. 2, 2018, near Lakeport, Calif. (Kent Porter /The Press Democrat via AP) Robert Tierney Jr., right, a patient registration specialist at Mercy Medical Center, who lost his home in the recent fires, receives a message from Dignity Health North State's spokesman Mike Mangas, left, that a citizen wants to offer him a place to live in Redding, Calif., Thursday, Aug. 2, 2018. Tierney is one of more than three dozen physicians, nurses and staff at Dignity Health Mercy Medical Center in Redding without homes who are coming to work to keep the hospital running. (AP Photo/Michael Burke) Flames from a wildfire advance down a hillside, towering over homes off Scotts Valley Road, Thursday, Aug. 2, 2018, near Lakeport, Calif. (Kent Porter /The Press Democrat via AP) Diane Bell-Gardiner, a registered nurse at Mercy Medical Center, who lost her home in the Carr Fire, orients Christopher Smith, an RN, to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit in Redding, Calif., Thursday, Aug. 2, 2018. Bell-Gardiner is one of more than three dozen physicians, nurses and staff at Dignity Health Mercy Medical Center in Redding without homes who are coming to work to keep the hospital running. (AP Photo/Michael Burke) Diane Bell-Gardiner, a registered nurse at Mercy Medical Center, who lost her home in the Carr Fire, works at her job in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit in Redding, Calif., Thursday, Aug. 2, 2018. Bell-Gardiner is one of dozens of staff members, including doctors, nurses and others at Dignity Health Mercy Medical Center in Redding without homes who are coming to work to keep the hospital running. (AP Photo/Michael Burke) Robert Tierney Jr., right, a patient registration specialist at Mercy Medical Center, who lost his home in the recent fires, works at his job in Redding, Calif., Thursday, Aug. 2, 2018. For the past week Tierney has been admitting patients at a Northern California hospital in the morning and checking out possible rentals in the afternoon, trying to count his blessings even though his house is among those destroyed in a deadly wildfire. Tierney is one of more than three dozen physicians, nurses and staff at Dignity Health Mercy Medical Center in Redding without homes who are coming to work to keep the hospital running. (AP Photo/Michael Burke) GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) - Gaza's Hamas rulers led several thousand Palestinians in a protest along the frontier with Israel on Friday - a show of presence by Hamas as Egyptian efforts intensify to broker a broad truce between the Islamic militant group and Israel. A 25-year-old Palestinian was killed and 90 were wounded by Israeli army fire, Gaza health officials said. It was the latest in a series of protests along Gaza's perimeter fence with Israel, aimed in part at trying to break an 11-year-old border blockade. Israel and Egypt sealed Gaza in 2007, after Hamas overran the territory. Friday's protest was attended by several exiled Hamas leaders who had entered Gaza a day earlier for meetings of the group's decision-making political bureau. "We want to break the siege on Gaza once and forever," said Hussam Badran, one of the visiting Hamas leaders. Palestinian protesters gather during a protest at the Gaza Strip's border with Israel, Friday, Aug. 3, 2018. Gaza's Hamas rulers led several thousand Palestinians in a protest along the frontier with Israel on Friday, a show of presence by Hamas as Egyptian efforts intensify to broker a broad truce between the Islamic militant group and Israel. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra) The political bureau is discussing Egyptian proposals for a truce with Israel and the U.N.-led reconstruction of Gaza, said Ghazi Hamad, a Gaza-based official in the group. Meetings began Thursday and will continue through Saturday, Hamad said. It marked the first time all members of the political bureau got together in Gaza, Hamas has said. Over the years, truce deals have proven fragile, and it was not clear if the current efforts would succeed. However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday called off a planned trip to South America and scheduled a meeting of his security Cabinet for Sunday to monitor Gaza developments. Tensions along the Israel-Gaza fence have escalated since Hamas launched regular protests in the area in late March. Large turnout has also been driven by widespread desperation in Gaza, amid worsening conditions linked to the blockade. Power is on for just a few hours a day, unemployment has sky-rocketed and poverty is widening. Friday's death brought to 156 the number of Palestinians killed by Israeli fire since late March, including at least 118 in protests near the fence. Others, among them armed Hamas militants, have been killed in attempted border attacks or in Israeli airstrikes. Several thousand Gazans have been wounded by Israeli fire since March. The Israeli military said that about 8,000 Palestinians took part in Friday's rally. It said a tank fired at a Hamas military post in Gaza after Palestinians briefly crossed the frontier and threw bombs. The military said its soldiers sustained no casualties in the incident. In one area east of Gaza City, protesters burned tires, releasing thick plumes of black smoke. Some flew kites with burning rags attached - a tactic that has widened in recent weeks, with the aim of setting fires in Israel, and has drawn Israeli retaliation. Israeli troops fired tear gas and live rounds, wounding several protesters and a medic. In another development, a boat carrying activists challenging Israel's naval blockade of Gaza is approaching the territory, said the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, an umbrella group for pro-Palestinian and Islamic charities from around the world. The coalition said Friday that the Swedish-flagged vessel, Freedom, was nearly 60 miles (95 kilometers) off the coast. The boat and another vessel, which was intercepted by Israeli forces on Sunday, set sail to Gaza from Europe last week. The Israeli military had no immediate comment. Activists have made several attempts to breach the blockade in recent years, most notably in 2010, when Israeli naval commandos killed nine Turks in a raid at sea. ___ Associated Press writers Fares Akram in Amman, Jordan, Ian Deitch in Jerusalem and Mohammed Daraghmeh in Ramallah, West Bank contributed. A Palestinian protester carries tires to burn during a protest at the Gaza Strip's border with Israel, Friday, Aug. 3, 2018. Gaza's Hamas rulers led several thousand Palestinians in a protest along the frontier with Israel on Friday _ a show of presence by Hamas as Egyptian efforts intensify to broker a broad truce between the Islamic militant group and Israel. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra) Palestinians wave national flags while sitting on a motorcycle-taxi, called Toktok, loaded with tires brought to be burn during a protest at the Gaza Strip's border with Israel, Friday, Aug. 3, 2018. Gaza's Hamas rulers led several thousand Palestinians in a protest along the frontier with Israel on Friday _ a show of presence by Hamas as Egyptian efforts intensify to broker a broad truce between the Islamic militant group and Israel. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra) An Israeli army jeep fires teargas canisters at Palestinians during a protest at the Gaza Strip's border with Israel, Friday, Aug. 3, 2018. Gaza's Hamas rulers led several thousand Palestinians in a protest along the frontier with Israel on Friday _ a show of presence by Hamas as Egyptian efforts intensify to broker a broad truce between the Islamic militant group and Israel. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra) Palestinian protesters escape from teargas fired by Israeli troops during a protest at the Gaza Strip's border with Israel, Friday, Aug. 3, 2018. Gaza's Hamas rulers led several thousand Palestinians in a protest along the frontier with Israel on Friday, a show of presence by Hamas as Egyptian efforts intensify to broker a broad truce between the Islamic militant group and Israel. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra) Palestinian medics evacuate a wounded man during a protest at the Gaza Strip's border with Israel, Friday, Aug. 3, 2018. Gaza's Hamas rulers led several thousand Palestinians in a protest along the frontier with Israel on Friday _ a show of presence by Hamas as Egyptian efforts intensify to broker a broad truce between the Islamic militant group and Israel. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra) Flanders111 said: To senor boogie woogie: You are right on target. Before television most major cities had three or four dailies NYC had seven. Politicians, liberals, and people in the business used to brag about reading four or five newspapers every day. When I was a kid I always thought adults who read more than one paper were idiots because the same stories were covered by every paper. On any day buy two copies of the same paper. Cut the paper into separate pieces, news, advertising, special sections, sports, etc, and you will find that the news pile would fit on one page. There would be no news pile at all if it is not buried under opinion and propaganda. (Stories about politicians campaigning for office goes in the advertising pile.) To senor boogie woogie: The demise of all television cannot happen soon enough. Incidentally, you do not have to buy two newspapers to check news content on television. Tape any one hour news show. Then time every part. After you eliminate the sign-ons, the commercials, government propaganda, the sad talk, the happy talk, and advertising that is reported as a news story, you will get more than 30 minutes of commercials. You will be lucky if you find one minute of news. NOTE: Stock Market results used to be published on the same page as thoroughbred racing results. Everyday, television devotes hours to so-called economic news that is nothing more than advertising for Wall Streets gambling casinos. Click to expand... ________________I am an American living in China and I come back to the USA once a year, and I really cannot stand television back home. Literally, to me I am not interested in about 98 percent of what is currently on,m and I am not abusing the word "literally" in this context. I watch maybe three television shows and one current sitcom. I do like documentaries and some A and E like programming, but current entertainment channels are horrible.Then there are the commercials. There are many more commercials now than there used to be. I timed five minutes of commercials once. Five minutes may not seem like a lot but it is. The commercials are also obnoxious. Especially restaurant commercials. If I see the fking non-word BURGER again, I will scream. Everything is BURGERS, BURGERS, BURGERS, BURGERS, I mean really? Or people digging into other ridiculous gastronomical travesties like "The NEW Monterrey, Spicy Indian Curry, flapwrap Jack Daniels BBQ sauce BURGER for $9.99!!" (also you retailers are assholes for ending your pricing with 9 or .99. All you are doing is insulting our intelligence with that crap.). Or ironically commercials for lawyers (ambulance chasers) and other nonsense. Over and over and over again. Makes me want to do an Elvis and shoot the television.If and when I move back to the USA, I will not get a TV 'package' or TV at all. Give me the Internet only. Unfortunatley you have to deal with these pissant telecommunications companies with their again ridiculous pricing and knowing these assfarts will charge me more just for Internet than Internet plus the Idiot Box.I hope one day television will be a thing of the past, it wont be I am afraid plus the obnoxious commercials are online too. We humans spend our lives selling everyone else bullcrap no one wants or needs and then we die. HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) - The two news conferences embodied Zimbabwe's bitter political divisions: Riot police unsuccessfully tried to scuttle an appearance in a hotel garden by the opposition leader who said the country's election was a fraud, while the president spoke about a "flowering" of freedom and bipartisan unity from a red carpet in an elegant State House building. Friday's dueling narratives unfolded a day after the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission said President Emmerson Mnangagwa won the first election without Robert Mugabe on the ballot, ending a tumultuous week that began with optimistic scenes of peaceful voting, turned ugly with a deadly crackdown by soldiers in Harare, and ended with the prospect of a legal challenge over the result. The vast majority of Zimbabweans want to escape the debilitating legacy of Mugabe, whose early promise as leader after independence from white minority rule in 1980 gave way to repression, economic paralysis and a string of elections marred by violence and rigging allegations. The events at the end of the week suggested that Zimbabwe is conflicted, clinging to old habits even as it tries to forge a more open future. A press conference by opposition leader Nelson Chamisa gets underway in Harare, Zimbabwe, Friday Aug. 3, 2018. Hours after President Emmerson Mnangagwa was declared the winner of a tight election, riot police disrupted the press conference where opposition leader Nelson Chamisa was about to respond to the election results. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay) Police with helmets, shields and clubs surged into a hotel garden where dozens of journalists were waiting for a news conference by opposition leader Nelson Chamisa. They ordered everyone to leave and scuffled with some videographers and others who were reluctant to move and peppered the police commander with comments like: "What law has been broken? We've been threatened by your officers." Under international media scrutiny, the police eventually withdrew and a senior official from the ruling ZANU-PF party arrived to make amends, declaring above the heckles of opposition supporters that the news conference should proceed. Margaret Jay, an election observer representing the Commonwealth group of nations, said the police action was another example of the "excessive use of force in political situations" by Zimbabwean authorities. On Wednesday, soldiers used live rounds to disperse opposition protesters, some of whom were throwing stones and damaging property in downtown Harare. Six people were killed. When Chamisa arrived for his news conference, he condemned the killings and said authorities should be held accountable. He accused the government of raiding his party headquarters in a failed attempt to confiscate evidence of vote-rigging and promised to pursue "all legal and constitutional routes" to nullify Mnangagwa's election win. "We are not accepting this fiction," said Chamisa, a 40-year-old lawyer and pastor who heads the Movement for Democratic Change party. "We want a proper result to be announced." Mnangagwa, 75, a former deputy president whose falling out with Mugabe hastened the former leader's ouster, received 50.8 percent of the vote while Chamisa received 44.3 percent, according to election officials. Chamisa, however, said the opposition's own count showed that he won and said his party would release evidence of vote-rigging at an appropriate time. International election monitors have praised the freer political environment that led up to the election, in which the ruling party won a majority in parliament. However, they have also pointed out problems with the printing of ballot papers, the late release of voting rolls and the use of state media to promote the ruling party's campaign. In a scene contrasting with the melee at Chamisa's event, Mnangagwa made conciliatory remarks in an appearance at his offices amid the clipped lawns of the presidential State House complex. Wearing a scarf with the national colors over his suit, the president said there had been a "flowering of freedom and democracy" since 94-year-old Mugabe's resignation in November, which followed a military takeover, pressure from his own ruling party to quit and large demonstrations. Mnangagwa said the election was free and fair and appealed to Chamisa for unity, while also saying the opposition leader was entitled to air his grievances in court. "You have a crucial role to play in Zimbabwe's present and its unfolding future," he said. "Let us both call for peace and unity in our land." He said the violence in Harare on Wednesday was "unfortunate" and that the military intervened to save lives after police were overwhelmed by rioters. Mnangagwa, who is close to the military, said he wants an "independent investigation" of the unrest. It was dusk when the news conference ended. The president walked past two stuffed lions and onto a lawn where he posed for selfies with jostling journalists. ___ Follow Christopher Torchia on Twitter at www.twitter.com/torchiachris Zimbabwean President elect Emmerson Mnangagwa smiles while addressing a press conference in Harare ,Friday, Aug, 3, 2018. Zimbabwe's president says people are free to approach the courts if they have issues with the results of Monday's election, which he carried with just over 50 percent of the vote. President Emmerson Mnangagwa spoke to journalists shortly after opposition leader Nelson Chamisa called the election results manipulated and said they would be challenged in court. (AP Photo/Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi) Riot police enter the Bronte hotel, where a press conference by opposition leader Nelson Chamisa was scheduled to take place, in Harare, Zimbabwe, Friday Aug. 3, 2018. Hours after President Emmerson Mnangagwa was declared the winner of a tight election, riot police disrupted a press conference where opposition leader Nelson Chamisa was about to respond to the election results. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay) Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa addresses a press conference in Harare ,Friday, Aug, 3, 2018. Zimbabwe's president says people are free to approach the courts if they have issues with the results of Monday's election, which he carried with just over 50 percent of the vote. President Emmerson Mnangagwa spoke to journalists shortly after opposition leader Nelson Chamisa called the election results manipulated and said they would be challenged in court. (AP Photo/Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi) Zimbabwean President elect Emmerson Mnangagwa addresses a press conference in Harare, Friday, Aug, 3, 2018. Zimbabwe's president says people are free to approach the courts if they have issues with the results of Monday's election, which he carried with just over 50 percent of the vote. President Emmerson Mnangagwa spoke to journalists shortly after opposition leader Nelson Chamisa called the election results manipulated and said they would be challenged in court. (AP Photo/Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi) A press conference by opposition leader Nelson Chamisa gets underway in Harare, Zimbabwe, Friday Aug. 3, 2018. Hours after President Emmerson Mnangagwa was declared the winner of a tight election, riot police disrupted the press conference where opposition leader Nelson Chamisa was about to respond to the election results. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay) Riot police break up a press conference by opposition leader Nelson Chamisa in Harare, Zimbabwe, Friday Aug. 3, 2018. Hours after President Emmerson Mnangagwa was declared the winner of a tight election, riot police disrupted the press conference where opposition leader Nelson Chamisa was about to respond to the election results. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay) Zimbabwean President elect Emmerson Mnangagwa smiles after addressing a press conference in Harare ,Friday, Aug, 3, 2018. Zimbabwe's president says people are free to approach the courts if they have issues with the results of Monday's election, which he carried with just over 50 percent of the vote. President Emmerson Mnangagwa spoke to journalists shortly after opposition leader Nelson Chamisa called the election results manipulated and said they would be challenged in court. (AP Photo/Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi) Zimbabwean President elect Emmerson Mnangagwa smiles after addressing a press conference in Harare ,Friday, Aug, 3, 2018. Zimbabwe's president says people are free to approach the courts if they have issues with the results of Monday's election, which he carried with just over 50 percent of the vote. President Emmerson Mnangagwa spoke to journalists shortly after opposition leader Nelson Chamisa called the election results manipulated and said they would be challenged in court. (AP Photo/Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi) A press conference by opposition leader Nelson Chamisa gets underway in Harare, Zimbabwe, Friday Aug. 3, 2018. Hours after President Emmerson Mnangagwa was declared the winner of a tight election, riot police disrupted the press conference where opposition leader Nelson Chamisa was about to respond to the election results. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay) Riot police enter the Bronte hotel, where a press conference by opposition leader Nelson Chamisa was scheduled to take place, in Harare, Zimbabwe, Friday Aug. 3, 2018. Hours after President Emmerson Mnangagwa was declared the winner of a tight election, riot police disrupted a press conference where opposition leader Nelson Chamisa was about to respond to the election results. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay) Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa addresses a press conference in Harare ,Friday, Aug, 3, 2018. Zimbabwe's president says people are free to approach the courts if they have issues with the results of Monday's election, which he carried with just over 50 percent of the vote. President Emmerson Mnangagwa spoke to journalists shortly after opposition leader Nelson Chamisa called the election results manipulated and said they would be challenged in court. (AP Photo/Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi) Supporters watch from the street a press conference by opposition leader Nelson Chamisa gets underway in Harare, Zimbabwe, Friday Aug. 3, 2018. Hours after President Emmerson Mnangagwa was declared the winner of a tight election, riot police disrupted the press conference where opposition leader Nelson Chamisa was about to respond to the election results. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay) Opposition leader Nelson Chamisa leaves the Bronte hotel following his press conference in Harare, Zimbabwe, Friday Aug. 3, 2018. Hours after President Emmerson Mnangagwa was declared the winner of a tight election, riot police disrupted the press conference where opposition leader Nelson Chamisa was about to respond to the election results. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay) Riot police outside the Bronte hotel, where a press conference by opposition leader Nelson Chamisa was scheduled to take place, in Harare, Zimbabwe, Friday Aug. 3, 2018. Hours after President Emmerson Mnangagwa was declared the winner of a tight election, riot police disrupted a press conference where opposition leader Nelson Chamisa was about to respond to the election results. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay) Supporters watch from the street a press conference by opposition leader Nelson Chamisa gets underway in Harare, Zimbabwe, Friday Aug. 3, 2018. Hours after President Emmerson Mnangagwa was declared the winner of a tight election, riot police disrupted the press conference where opposition leader Nelson Chamisa was about to respond to the election results. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay) Commonwealth election observers take position on a rooftop as a press conference by opposition leader Nelson Chamisa gets underway in Harare, Zimbabwe, Friday Aug. 3, 2018. Hours after President Emmerson Mnangagwa was declared the winner of a tight election, riot police disrupted the press conference where opposition leader Nelson Chamisa was about to respond to the election results. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay) In this image made from video, police arrive at a press conference by opposition leader Chamisa in Harare, Friday, Aug. 3, 2018. Zimbabwean police have broken up a press conference by opposition leader Chamisa, who rejects election results. (AP Photo) Zimbabwean President elect Emmerson Mnangagwa addresses a press conference in Harare ,Friday, Aug, 3, 2018. Zimbabwe's president says people are free to approach the courts if they have issues with the results of Monday's election, which he carried with just over 50 percent of the vote. President Emmerson Mnangagwa spoke to journalists shortly after opposition leader Nelson Chamisa called the election results manipulated and said they would be challenged in court. (AP Photo/Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi) Riot police enter the Bronte hotel, where a press conference by opposition leader Nelson Chamisa was scheduled to take place, in Harare, Zimbabwe, Friday Aug. 3, 2018. Hours after President Emmerson Mnangagwa was declared the winner of a tight election, riot police disrupted a press conference where opposition leader Nelson Chamisa was about to respond to the election results. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay) Riot police enter the Bronte hotel, where a press conference by opposition leader Nelson Chamisa was scheduled to take place, in Harare, Zimbabwe, Friday Aug. 3, 2018. Hours after President Emmerson Mnangagwa was declared the winner of a tight election, riot police disrupted a press conference where opposition leader Nelson Chamisa was about to respond to the election results. (AP Photo/Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi) Riot police surround journalists waiting for opposition leader Nelson Chamisa to attend a press conference at a local hotel in Harare, Friday, Aug, 3, 2018. Hours after President Emmerson Mnangagwa was declared the winner of a tight election, riot police disrupted a press conference where opposition leader Nelson Chamisa was about to respond to the election results. (AP Photo/Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi) Zimbabwean President elect Emmerson Mnangagwa prepares to address a press conference in Harare ,Friday, Aug, 3, 2018. Zimbabwe's president says people are free to approach the courts if they have issues with the results of Monday's election, which he carried with just over 50 percent of the vote. President Emmerson Mnangagwa spoke to journalists shortly after opposition leader Nelson Chamisa called the election results manipulated and said they would be challenged in court. (AP Photo/Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi) In this image made from video, police arrive at a press conference by opposition leader Chamisa in Harare, Friday, Aug. 3, 2018. Zimbabwean police have broken up a press conference by opposition leader Chamisa, who rejects election results. (AP Photo) Supporters of Zimbabwe's President Emmerson Mnangagwa celebrate in Harare Friday, Aug, 3, 2018. Mnangagwa won an election Friday with just over 50 percent of the ballots as the ruling party maintained control of the government in the first vote since the fall of longtime leader Robert Mugabe. (AP Photo/Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi) A supporter of Zimbabwe's President Emmerson Mnangagwa celebrates in Harare, Friday, Aug, 3, 2018. Mnangagwa won an election Friday with just over 50 percent of the ballots as the ruling party maintained control of the government in the first vote since the fall of longtime leader Robert Mugabe. (AP Photo/Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi) Riot police outside the Bronte hotel, where a press conference by opposition leader Nelson Chamisa was scheduled to take place, in Harare, Zimbabwe, Friday Aug. 3, 2018. Hours after President Emmerson Mnangagwa was declared the winner of a tight election, riot police disrupted a press conference where opposition leader Nelson Chamisa was about to respond to the election results. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay) Supporters of Zimbabwe's President Emmerson Mnangagwa celebrate in Harare, Friday, Aug, 3, 2018. Mnangagwa won an election Friday with just over 50 percent of the ballots as the ruling party maintained control of the government in the first vote since the fall of longtime leader Robert Mugabe. (AP Photo/Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi) A vendor sells sponges near newspaper headlines on the streets of Harare, Friday, Aug. 3, 2018. Zimbabwe's President Emmerson Mnangagwa won an election Friday with just over 50 percent of the ballots as the ruling party maintained control of the government in the first vote since the fall of longtime leader Robert Mugabe (AP Photo/Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi) Supporters of Zimbabwe's President Emmerson Mnangagwa celebrate in Harare, Friday, Aug, 3, 2018. Mnangagwa won an election Friday with just over 50 percent of the ballots as the ruling party maintained control of the government in the first vote since the fall of longtime leader Robert Mugabe. (AP Photo/Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi) Supporters of Zimbabwe's President Emmerson Mnangagwa celebrate in Harare, Friday, Aug, 3, 2018. Mnangagwa won an election Friday with just over 50 percent of the ballots as the ruling party maintained control of the government in the first vote since the fall of longtime leader Robert Mugabe. (AP Photo/Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi) A ZANU-PF supporter celebrates the victory of Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa at the conference center where the results were announced, in Harare, Zimbabwe, Friday Aug. 3, 2018. Mnangagwa won election Friday with just over 50 percent of the ballots as the ruling party maintained control of the government in the first vote since the fall of longtime leader Robert Mugabe. (AP Photo/Mujahid Safodien) ZANU-PF supporters celebrate the victory of their candidate Emmerson Mnangagwa after Zimbabwe Electoral Commission chairwoman Qhubani Moyo announced the results of the presidential elections in Harare, Zimbabwe, Friday Aug. 3, 2018. Mnangagwa, of ZANU-PF party, was declared winner in the first vote after the fall of longtime leader Robert Mugabe. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay) ZANU-PF supporters celebrate the victory of Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa at the conference center where the results were announced, in Harare, Zimbabwe, Friday Aug. 3, 2018. Mnangagwa won election Friday with just over 50 percent of the ballots as the ruling party maintained control of the government in the first vote since the fall of longtime leader Robert Mugabe. (AP Photo/Mujahid Safodien) Zimbabwe Electoral Commission chairwoman Qhubani Moyo, center, announces the results of the presidential elections in Harare, Zimbabwe, Friday Aug. 3, 2018. Emmerson Mnangagwa, of ZANU-PF party was declared winner in the first vote after the fall of longtime leader Robert Mugabe. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay) ZANU-PF supporters celebrate the victory of Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa at the conference center where the results were announced in Harare, Zimbabwe, Friday Aug. 3, 2018. Mnangagwa won election Friday with just over 50 percent of the ballots as the ruling party maintained control of the government in the first vote since the fall of longtime leader Robert Mugabe. (AP Photo/Mujahid Safodien) ZANU-PF supporters celebrate the victory of Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa at the conference center where the results were announced, in Harare, Zimbabwe, Friday Aug. 3, 2018. Mnangagwa won election Friday with just over 50 percent of the ballots as the ruling party maintained control of the government in the first vote since the fall of longtime leader Robert Mugabe. (AP Photo/Mujahid Safodien) Riot police enter the Bronte hotel, where a press conference by opposition leader Nelson Chamisa was scheduled to take place, in Harare, Zimbabwe, Friday Aug. 3, 2018. Hours after President Emmerson Mnangagwa was declared the winner of a tight election, riot police disrupted a press conference where opposition leader Nelson Chamisa was about to respond to the election results. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay) Riot police enters the Bronte hotel where a press conference by opposition leader Nelson Chamisa was scheduled to take place, in Harare, Zimbabwe, Friday Aug. 3, 2018. Hours after President Emmerson Mnangagwa was declared the winner of a tight election, riot police disrupted a press conference where opposition leader Nelson Chamisa was about to respond to the election results. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay) Riot police enters the Bronte hotel where a press conference by opposition leader Nelson Chamisa was scheduled to take place, in Harare, Zimbabwe, Friday Aug. 3, 2018. Hours after President Emmerson Mnangagwa was declared the winner of a tight election, riot police disrupted a press conference where opposition leader Nelson Chamisa was about to respond to the election results. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay) Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa addresses a press conference in Harare ,Friday, Aug, 3, 2018. Zimbabwe's president says people are free to approach the courts if they have issues with the results of Monday's election, which he carried with just over 50 percent of the vote. President Emmerson Mnangagwa spoke to journalists shortly after opposition leader Nelson Chamisa called the election results manipulated and said they would be challenged in court. (AP Photo/Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi) COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) - The Swedish prosecutor in charge of investigating whether police committed an error when fatally shooting a 20-year-old disabled man who waved a toy gun, said Friday that it has emerged that several officers opened fire. "The man held a weapon-like object and officers opened fire after judging the situation as threatening," Martin Tiden said, adding that the probe was "routine" because policemen had used their firearms. No police officers are suspected of foul play, he said. Eric Torell was shot early Thursday morning in Stockholm and died of his wounds shortly after. "It has subsequently been established that the object was some kind of toy," Tiden said, and "more than one police officer made use of his firearm." Torell's mother Katarina Soderberg told the Expressen newspaper that her son was "the world's sweetest and most lovable person." Soderberg said that Torell, who had Down Syndrome and autism and struggled to communicate, had been reported missing after leaving home hours earlier. "He could barely speak, he could just say mommy, mommy," Soderberg told the Expressen tabloid on Thursday. She said the plastic toy resembled a submachine gun, and that it had been given to him as a present for his fifth birthday. Swedish police acknowledged the shooting and said an investigation into possible police misconduct has been initiated, but gave no further details. Stockholm police chief Ulf Johansson on Friday called the shooting "a terrible event." "It is very tragic for all those involved, and I have a great understanding and respect that what has happened has awoken many distraught feelings," Johansson said in a separate statement. Tiden could not say how long the investigation would last. Sweden's public radio said Torell was the sixth person this year to have been shot dead by police. THESSALONIKI, Greece (AP) - Greek police say they have arrested eight migrants on suspicion of the murder of a Pakistani man trying to leave the country illegally. Police said Friday the eight were suspected of involvement in the July 23 stabbing death of a 29-year-old Pakistani man who had been with three compatriots heading toward Greece's northern border with Macedonia. The eight - six Afghans and two Pakistanis - allegedly robbed the four near the border, stabbing the 29-year-old in the process. His body was discovered the following day near a railway track. Hundreds of migrants arrive in Greece each week from nearby Turkey. With routes out of the country officially closed to them, many try to head further into Europe from unguarded parts of Greece's northern border. BERLIN (AP) - Germany's highest court has thrown out a notorious elderly neo-Nazi's case against her conviction for Holocaust denial, ruling that her activities are not covered by a constitutional guarantee of freedom of expression. In May, 89-year-old Ursula Haverbeck was taken to prison to begin serving a two-year sentence for incitement handed down last year by a court in Verden. Haverbeck has repeatedly said the Auschwitz death camp in Nazi-occupied Poland was just a work camp. She has been convicted several times but long avoided prison due to lengthy appeals. In this Nov. 23, 2017 photo Ursula Haverbeck, accused of hate speech, enters the court room of the District Court in Detmold, Germany. Germany's highest court has thrown out a notorious elderly neo-Nazi's case against her conviction for Holocaust denial, ruling that her activities are not covered by a constitutional guarantee of freedom of expression. (Bernd Thissen/dpa via AP, file) The Federal Constitutional Court said in a ruling released Friday that knowingly spreading proven falsehoods "cannot contribute to forming opinions and as such is not covered by the freedom of opinion." It found that denying the Nazi genocide constitutes "disturbing the public peace." BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) - Thousands of Romanians gathered at an airfield on the edge of the capital, Bucharest, for a weekend of aerobatics and air power offered by more than 200 pilots and 150 aircraft from multiple countries. The thundering noise of jet engines was heard across most of the city as participants in the Bucharest International Air Show 2018 started their practice runs. The star formation of the show was the "Turkish Stars" unit, a team of eight NF-5 supersonic fighter planes. The pilots of Turkey's national aerobatics team entertained crowds with complex maneuvers during which the red-and-white planes, carrying the signature of Kemal Ataturk, the founder of modern Turkey, on their fuselages, often flew within a meter (3 feet) of each other. In this Saturday, July 28, 2018, members of the Hawks of Romania aerobatics team fly as pyrotechnic effects are deployed to simulate a bombing raid, during the Bucharest International Air Show, or BIAS 2018, in Bucharest, Romania. Thousands of Romanians took to an airfield on the edge of the capital Bucharest for a weekend of aerobatics and air power display by more than 200 pilots and 150 aircraft from several countries.(AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda) The Swedish-made Saab JAS-39 Gripen, flown by pilots of the Czech and Hungarian air forces, was the star of the solo demonstrations, with stunning displays of maneuverability both at low and high speeds. The Gripen was considered by Romania's air force in the bid to bring its fleet to NATO standards, but the U.S.-made F-16 was eventually chosen. A Spanish Air Force F-18 demonstration, along with Romanian Air Force F-16 acrobatics and the Czech Flying Bulls team, were also crowd favorites. The United States offered only static displays, showcasing an AWACS early-warning flying radar aircraft and two F-15 fighter jets. Thousands braved scorching heat to attend the show, which ended with spectacular pyrotechnic effects during a demonstration of a vintage aircraft formation dubbed The Hawks of Romania. In this Saturday, July 28, 2018, NF-5 fighter jets of the Turkish Stars, Turkey's national aerobatics team, fly at the Bucharest International Air Show, or BIAS 2018, in Bucharest, Romania. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda) In this Saturday, July 28, 2018, gliders of Romania's aerobatics team fly during the Bucharest International Air Show, or BIAS 2018, in Bucharest, Romania. Thousands of Romanians took to an airfield on the edge of the capital Bucharest for a weekend of aerobatics and air power display by more than 200 pilots and 150 aircraft from several countries.(AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda) In this Saturday, July 28, 2018, picture a Swedish made Saab JAS 39 Gripen of the Czech Republic's air force is silhouetted against the sun while performing at the the Bucharest International Air Show, or BIAS 2018, in Bucharest, Romania. Thousands of Romanians took to an airfield on the edge of the capital Bucharest for a weekend of aerobatics and air power display by more than 200 pilots and 150 aircraft from several countries.(AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda) In this Saturday, July 28, 2018, NF-5 fighter jets of the Turkish Stars, Turkey's national aerobatics team, fly at the Bucharest International Air Show, or BIAS 2018, in Bucharest, Romania. Thousands of Romanians took to an airfield on the edge of the capital Bucharest for a weekend of aerobatics and air power display by more than 200 pilots and 150 aircraft from several countries.(AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda) In this Saturday, July 28, 2018, NF-5 fighter jets of the Turkish Stars, Turkey's national aerobatics team, perform at the Bucharest International Air Show, or BIAS 2018, in Bucharest, Romania. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda) In this Saturday, July 28, 2018, a boy plays with a toy plane during the Bucharest International Air Show, or BIAS 2018, in Bucharest, Romania. Thousands of Romanians took to an airfield on the edge of the capital Bucharest for a weekend of aerobatics and air power display by more than 200 pilots and 150 aircraft from several countries.(AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda) In this Saturday, July 28, 2018, NF-5 fighter jets of the Turkish Stars, Turkey's national aerobatics team, fly at the Bucharest International Air Show, or BIAS 2018, in Bucharest, Romania. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda) In this Saturday, July 28, 2018, a shadow is cast on the tarmac as a boy plays with a toy plane during the Bucharest International Air Show, or BIAS 2018, in Bucharest, Romania. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda) In this Saturday, July 28, 2018, a B-25J "Mitchell" bomber leads the Flying Bulls Red Bull formation, during the Bucharest International Air Show, or BIAS 2018, in Bucharest, Romania. Thousands of Romanians took to an airfield on the edge of the capital Bucharest for a weekend of aerobatics and air power display by more than 200 pilots and 150 aircraft from several countries.(AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda) In this Saturday, July 28, 2018, a girl holds a toy plane during the Bucharest International Air Show, or BIAS 2018, in Bucharest, Romania. Thousands of Romanians took to an airfield on the edge of the capital Bucharest for a weekend of aerobatics and air power display by more than 200 pilots and 150 aircraft from several countries.(AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda) In this Saturday, July 28, 2018, spectators watch performances during the Bucharest International Air Show, or BIAS 2018, in Bucharest, Romania. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda) In this Saturday, July 28, 2018, NF-5 fighter jets of the Turkish Stars, Turkey's national aerobatics team, fly at the Bucharest International Air Show, or BIAS 2018, in Bucharest, Romania. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda) In this Saturday, July 28, 2018, a Puma helicopter of Romania's air force, drops flares, during the Bucharest International Air Show, or BIAS 2018, in Bucharest, Romania. Thousands of Romanians took to an airfield on the edge of the capital Bucharest for a weekend of aerobatics and air power display by more than 200 pilots and 150 aircraft from several countries.(AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda) CAIRO (AP) - Egypt said Thursday that Italian authorities released a former minister wanted by Cairo on fraud charges after briefly detaining him. Mohammed Mahsoob was released after the Italians determined he has held Italian citizenship since 2016, Egypt's Foreign Ministry said in a statement. It added that it will monitor Mahsoob's case through its embassy in Rome. He briefly served as minister of state for parliamentary affairs in 2012 as a leading member of the Islamist al-Wasat party under former President Mohammed Morsi, of the now-outlawed Muslim Brotherhood group. Mahsoob fled Egypt after the military overthrew Morsi in 2013 amid mass protests against his divisive one-year rule. Mahsoob is listed under the Interpol's "red notice" at the request of Egyptian authorities. A red notice informs Interpol's member countries that the person listed is wanted "based on an arrest warrant or equivalent judicial decision issued by a country or an international tribunal." On Wednesday, Mahsoob released an online video saying he was held at Comiso police station in southern Italy based on "fabricated charges" at Egypt's request. Since 2013, Egyptian authorities have waged a massive crackdown on Islamists in which hundreds have been killed and thousands jailed. The campaign has also swept up many of the liberals and pro-democracy activists who spearheaded the 2011 popular uprising that toppled longtime autocrat Hosni Mubarak. BERLIN (AP) - German prosecutors say a man suspected of sending money to finance the Islamic State group has been arrested at Amsterdam airport. Prosecutors said that the 29-year-old Russian national, identified only as Yusup B. because of German privacy rules, was arrested Thursday as he arrived from South America. They said in a statement Friday that authorities in Berlin and the surrounding state of Brandenburg are investigating him on suspicion of supporting a terrorist organization. He is suspected of transferring money to suspects in Syria to finance training and weapons procurement for IS. Prosecutors say that, after hearing about the investigation, he left for an unspecified destination in South America but investigators were able to track him down. ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) - One of Paul Manafort's tax preparers admitted Friday that she helped disguise $900,000 in foreign income as a loan in order to reduce the former Trump campaign chairman's tax burden. The testimony of tax preparer Cindy Laporta came as prosecutors from special counsel Robert Mueller's office focused on the heart of their financial fraud case against Manafort, with jurors hearing testimony that he inflated his business income by millions of dollars and concealed foreign bank accounts he was using to buy luxury items and pay personal expenses. Manafort's defense has sought to blame any criminal conduct on his longtime deputy Rick Gates, while witnesses for the prosecution have testified that Manafort was heavily involved in his own finances and personally directed Gates' actions. Kevin Downing, left, and Thomas Zehnle, attorneys for Paul Manafort, walk to the Alexandria Federal Courthouse in Alexandria, Va., Friday, Aug. 3, 2018, on day four of President Donald Trump's former campaign chairman Paul Manafort's tax evasion and bank fraud trial. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta) On Friday, Laporta acknowledged that she agreed under pressure from Gates during a conference call in September 2015 to alter a tax document for one of Manafort's businesses to show the $900,000 loan. When Laporta and a colleague provided an assessment of how much tax Manafort would owe, Gates responded that Manafort didn't have the money to pay it. After a back-and-forth discussion about how much income should be reclassified as a loan to aid Manafort, they settled on $900,000, she testified. The result, Laporta said, was an altered tax payment that Gates told her "could be paid by Mr. Manafort." Laporta, who testified under a grant of immunity from prosecutors, said she knew what she did was "not appropriate," adding that "you can't pick and choose what's a loan and what's income." Asked why she engaged in misconduct, Laporta said she had few good choices. "I could have called them liars," she said of Manafort and Gates. "But Mr. Manafort was a longtime client of the firm, and I didn't think I should do that." That testimony is important as prosecutors try to rebut defense arguments that Manafort can't be responsible for financial fraud because he left the details of his spending to others. Those others include Gates, who pleaded guilty earlier this year and is expected to testify soon as the government's star witness. Most of the email evidence introduced Friday implicated Gates more directly than Manafort in a scheme to convert income into loans. But Manafort was copied in on several emails discussing the matter. Laporta also described an effort by Manafort and Gates to falsify financial records that would allow Manafort to obtain mortgage loans. As late as August 2016 - the same month he resigned from the Trump campaign - Manafort was sending emails to Laporta asking her to alter a profit-and-loss statement for his company. At that time, his company had not received any income in 2016, but Laporta testified that Manafort directed her to reflect that he expected to receive $2.4 million in income later that year. Laporta said Manafort provided no documentation to back up the claim. Nevertheless, she wrote an email to loan officers saying the income would be received by November of that year. It was one of several times that Laporta testified that she accepted questionable financial statements pressed on her by Gates or Manafort, including some involving other loans prosecutors say were shams to conceal income. Manafort faces charges of bank fraud and tax evasion that could put him in prison for the rest of his life. It's the first courtroom test of Mueller's team, which is tasked with looking into Russia's efforts to interfere with the 2016 U.S. election and whether the Trump presidential campaign colluded with the Kremlin to sway voters. In Friday's testimony, and throughout the trial thus far, neither Trump nor Russia has been discussed, as evidence has focused on Manafort's work as a consultant in the years before he joined Trump's campaign in the presidential year. While the question of collusion remains unanswered, Manafort's financial fraud trial has exposed the secretive world of foreign lobbying that made him rich. It has also revealed how, when income from his Ukrainian political consulting work dried up, he struggled to pay his bills and, prosecutors say, began obtaining bank loans under false pretenses. Laporta's testimony built on that of another of Manafort's accountants, Philip Ayliff, who told jurors that Manafort denied on multiple occasions that he controlled foreign bank accounts when asked. That's why the accounts weren't reported on years' worth of Manafort's tax returns as required by federal law, Ayliff said. Ayliff also testified that he sometimes communicated with Gates about the former Trump campaign chairman's personal and business tax returns. But he said Manafort authorized those discussions, and Gates and Manafort never contradicted each other. In one instance, Ayliff testified that Manafort pressed him to tell bankers considering a loan application that one of Manafort's New York properties was being used as a personal residence when in fact he was using it to rent out. Classifying the property as a personal residence would have made it easier to obtain the mortgage at a low rate. Ayliff responded to Manafort that "we have always treated it as a rental. ... Not sure where that leaves us." That email exchange occurred around the time prosecutors say Manafort was using doctored documents to secure loans including some papers that a witness previously testified inflated his income by about $4 million. The trial in northern Virginia is the first of two for Manafort. A second trial is scheduled for September in the District of Columbia. That case involves allegations that he acted as an unregistered foreign agent for Ukrainian interests and made false statements to the U.S. government. ___ Associated Press writers Chad Day and Eric Tucker contributed to this report. Kathleen Manafort, right, runs towards the entrance at teh Alexandria Federal Courthouse in Alexandria, Va., Friday, Aug. 3, 2018, after a noon break on her husband, President Donald Trump's former campaign chairman Paul Manafort's tax evasion and bank fraud trial. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta) Kevin Downing, attorney for Paul Manafort, walks to the Alexandria Federal Courthouse in Alexandria, Va., Friday, Aug. 3, 2018, on day four of President Donald Trump's former campaign chairman Paul Manafort's tax evasion and bank fraud trial. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta) This courtroom sketch depicts Paul Manafort, fourth from right, standing with his lawyers in front of U.S. district Judge T.S. Ellis III, center rear, and the selected jury, seated left, during the jury selection of his trial at the Alexandria Federal Courthouse in Alexandria, Va., Tuesday, July 31, 2018. A jury set to decide the fate of President Donald Trump's former campaign chairman Manafort was selected Tuesday, and opening statements in his tax evasion and bank fraud trial were expected in the afternoon. (Dana Verkouteren via AP) Paul Manafort's former bookkeeper Heather Washkuhn, left, walks to the Alexandria Federal Courthouse in Alexandria, Va., Thursday, Aug. 2, 2018, to testify at the trial of President Donald Trump's former campaign chairman's tax evasion and bank fraud trial. Washkuhn testified that Manafort kept her in the dark about the foreign bank accounts he was using to buy millions in luxury items and personal expenses. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta) MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) - The U.S. military says it has carried out an airstrike in Somalia that killed four members of the al-Shabab extremist group. The U.S. Africa Command says this is the 19th such airstrike this year against the Somalia-based al-Shabab, the deadliest Islamic extremist group in sub-Saharan Africa. The U.S. also has carried out a number of drone strikes against a small presence of fighters linked to the Islamic State organization in northern Somalia. Friday's statement says the latest airstrike was carried out Thursday about 74 miles (119 kilometers) northwest of the capital, Mogadishu. Al-Shabab often targets the capital with deadly attacks. The U.S. says it assesses that no civilians were killed. Somali officials and residents at least twice in recent months have alleged that civilians were killed in airstrikes. Lets look at this trailer: Not even close. The country was divided over the issue of slavery and there was no way Lincoln was going to heal that divide. He won the election without a single southern state voting for him. Less than six months after his victory southern states started seceding. Lincoln was a Republican and the Democrats did oppose him but, as has been pointed out many times before, the Republicans of 1860 were far closer to the Democrats of today. Saying the Democrats opposed him is technically true but the Democrats of 1860 would identify with the Republicans of 2018 Again trying to equate the Democrats of 1860 to the Democrats of 2018 is misleading at best and down right dishonest at worst. That answer is easy, its Trump and his allies in the GOP. Referring to any news that disagrees with him as fake news. Calling the media The enemy of the people are attempts to kill dissent and attacks our free speech. Again Trump and his GOP allies. Religious freedom not only means freedom to practice the religion of your choice but it also means freedom to NOT practice any religion at all. In regards to the so called social issues (gay rights, abortion and government sponsorship of religious views) the Republicans have long been AGAINST religious liberty, constantly trying to legislate their religious views. Personal safety? Which party has consistently refused to consider even the tiniest gun control measures. Mass shooting after mass shooting and they refuse to even consider closing the gun show loophole Can anyone name one policy from Trump that increases our freedoms? Trans gendered people not allowed to serve in the military. Exploding the national debt to make sure future generations are tied to paying it off. First thing I agree with. Of course DSouzas idea of what we must fight and my idea are probably very different. To paraphrase Mitch McConnell, The single most important thing we want to achieve is for President Trump to be a one-term president. Remeber it was Trump, when talking about the supporters of Confederate culture and the people protesting against them, who said, There are fine people on both sides. Remeber it is the Republicans crying about States Rights (the same rallying cry of the states that seceded to form the Confederacy) over that of the rights of the people. We must try to save America from the divisive and destructive polices of Donald Trump. We must let the jelly spined Republicans who have refused to stand up against him know that we will remember and that there will be consequences. We too must fight for freedom, regardless of the price we pay. NEW YORK (AP) - Kraft Heinz reported a sharp drop in second-quarter profit on weak sales in North America and a surge in costs. Profit and revenue, however, were better than industry analysts had projected in what has been a tough year for food producers, and shares jumped 8 percent before the opening bell Friday. The maker of Oscar Mayer meats, Jell-O pudding and Velveeta cheese has had a difficult time boosting sales in its biggest market as more people avoid processed foods. General Mills Inc., Kellogg Co., Hershey Co. and Mondelez International Inc., are all adapting to that shift, and some are seeking growth outside of traditional paths, including the acquisition of fast-growing pet food brands. Kraft Heinz was able to push prices up by 1.3 percentage points, offsetting some rising costs. The Pittsburgh company's profit fell 35 percent to $756 million, or 62 cents per share. Earnings, adjusted for asset impairment costs and restructuring costs, came to $1 per share, beating Wall Street expectations for 91 cents per share. Revenue rose less than 1 percent to $6.69 billion, as sales in Europe and Asia helped offset declines in The United States and Canada. The results beat forecasts of $6.58 billion. Expense jumped 31 percent to $1.04 billion, with the company spending more on new products and restructuring. Shares of Kraft Heinz Co have fallen 24 percent since the beginning of the year. _____ Elements of this story were generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on KHC at https://www.zacks.com/ap/KHC MOSCOW (AP) - A U.S. citizen has been detained in Russia's Far East after accidently sailing there from Alaska on a small boat, officials said Friday. John Martin had been traveling down the Yukon River across Alaska on a one-person boat when he ended up in the open Bering Sea, said Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova. He spent several days at sea in bad weather and eventually washed up on Russian shores. Martin, who lives in Anchorage, was detained Wednesday by Russian officials in the Far Eastern region of Chukotka. The U.S. Consulate in Vladivostok was informed about the incident. Zakharova told reporters Friday in Moscow that Martin's condition was "satisfactory." Mathew Hagengruber, a spokesman for the U.S. Embassy in Moscow, said it was working with local authorities to provide assistance to Martin. ___ This story corrects that Martin was detained Wednesday, not Thursday. China has threatened to impose retaliatory tariffs on $60billion worth of American imports, including coffee, honey and industrial chemicals, if Washington carries out its latest trade threat. China's Finance Ministry accused the Trump administration of damaging the global economy on Friday after the US proposed increasing duties on $200billion of Chinese goods in the second round of a dispute over technology. 'China is forced to take countermeasures,' the ministry said in a statement announcing that retaliatory duties of between five and 25 percent will be imposed on 5,207 products 'if the US side persists in putting its tariff measures into effect'. China's Foreign Ministry announced Friday it will impose retaliatory tariffs of up to 25 percent on $60billion of US goods if the Trump administration follows through with proposed taxes on Chinese products. Pictured: A container ship docked at a Qingdao port on July 6 Washington imposed 25 percent duties on $34billion of Chinese goods on July 6 in response to complaints Beijing steals or pressures companies to hand over technology. Beijing retaliated by imposing similar charges on the same amount of US products. White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters Friday that 'instead of retaliating, China should address longstanding concerns about its unfair trading practices'. A Chinese foreign ministry spokesman had earlier called on Washington to 'come to its senses' and settle the dispute. Chinese leaders have offered to narrow their politically sensitive trade surplus with the United States by purchasing more American goods, but they have rejected changing technology development plans they see as a path to prosperity and global influence. There's no end in sight, and the dispute could chill global trade and economic growth. China's new threat targeting a smaller amount of US goods reflects the fact that Beijing is running out of products for retaliation due to its lopsided trade balance with the United States. China's imports from the United States last year totaled $153.9billion. After the earlier tariffs $34billion of US goods, about $120billion is available for retaliation. The highest penalties on the new list would be imposed on honey, vegetables, mushrooms and chemicals, targeting farming and mining areas that supported President Donald Trump in the 2016 election. The new list includes products as varied as snow blowers and 3D printers, suggesting Chinese authorities are struggling to find enough imports their own economy can do without. White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a briefing Friday that 'instead of retaliating, China should address longstanding concerns about its unfair trading practices' Beijing's earlier round of tariffs appeared designed to minimize the impact on the Chinese economy by targeting soybeans, whiskey and other goods available from Brazil, Australia and other suppliers. Trump initially proposed 10 percent tariffs on an additional $200billion of Chinese imports, but he told trade officials this week to consider raising that to 25 percent. It will be September at the earliest before the U.S. decides whether to impose those tariffs. Chinese authorities warned earlier that if the dispute escalated, they would adopt unspecified 'comprehensive measures.' That prompted concern among American companies that retaliation might expand to disrupting their operations in China. The United States and China have the world's biggest trading relationship but official ties are increasingly strained over complaints that Beijing's technology development tactics hurt American companies. Trump's tariffs target goods the White House says benefit from industrial policies such as 'Made in China 2025', which calls for developing Chinese competitors in robotic, artificial intelligence and other fields. The dispute is part of broader US complaints about global trading conditions that have prompted Trump to raise duties on steel, aluminum, washing machines or solar panels from Canada, Europe, Japan and South Korea. A spokesman for China's foreign ministry appealed to Washington to negotiate but could not confirm reports the two sides were setting up talks. 'We urge the United States to come to its senses, correct its erroneous acts and create the necessary condition for a proper settlement as soon as possible,' spokesman Geng Shuang said. Trump campaigned on a promise to bring down America's massive trade deficits by renegotiating trade agreements and getting tough on countries like China that sell the U.S. far more than they buy from it. But the US Commerce Department reported Friday that the American trade deficit climbed to $46.3billion in June from $43.2billion in May. The deficit in goods trade with China also rose. So far this year, the trade gap is up more than seven percent from January-June 2017. PEORIA, Ariz. (AP) - Hundreds of law enforcement officers, friends and relatives remembered a rookie Arizona state trooper Friday, not only mourning him but also the seasoned officer he would never become. Some at the funeral for 24-year-old Tyler Edenhofer still seemed in disbelief that his life was cut short last week in a roadside struggle with a suspect along a suburban Phoenix highway. Being a state trooper was his dream job, according to his mother. He had only graduated from the Department of Public Safety academy in May. Hundreds of mourners, including Arizona law enforcement officers, attend ceremonial honors to fallen state trooper Tyler Edenhofer in Peoria, Ariz., on Friday, Aug. 3, 2018. The 24-year-old trooper died July 25, 2018, during a struggle with a suspect along a highway in suburban Phoenix. (AP Photo/Terry Tang) "He was so, so proud to put on that uniform every day," said Debbie Edenhofer, who was accompanied by her son's fiance at a church in the Phoenix suburb of Peoria. "Now I'm broken." She recalled the first thing that went through her mind when her son died. "My first thought was 'DPS, you guys just got him," Debbie Edenhofer said. "He had so much to do. He was taken away too soon." Troopers who graduated alongside Edenhofer shared memories of a classmate who was soft-spoken, hardworking and loved to drive his white Ford Mustang. "I am forever in debt to Tyler for helping me get through the academy. He taught me to get my boots to shine as much as his," said former classmate Samuel Anspach. "I want Tyler to be remembered as someone who wanted to be a trooper for all the right reasons," Republican Gov. Doug Ducey called the slain trooper an example of the selfless nature of law enforcement and said he will always "consider it an honor" that he shook Edenhofer's hand at his graduation. The service culminated with the hundreds of mourners standing outside in sweltering heat as an honor guard saluted Edenhofer's casket. The ceremony also included a 30-second moment of silence and law enforcement helicopters flying overhead. During his last week of field training, Edenhofer and other officers responded July 25 to reports of a person throwing objects at cars on Interstate 10 in Avondale near Phoenix. Authorities say a confrontation ensued when officers tried to get Isaac King off the roadway to detain him. King, 20, is suspected of grabbing another trooper's weapon and firing two rounds. One hit Edenhofer, who died at a hospital. A second trooper was shot in the shoulder and wounded, but has since left the hospital. King, who has no criminal record and a history of mental illness, was also injured. He was hospitalized with undisclosed injuries and is now in a Phoenix jail, facing multiple charges including first-degree murder. Seth Apfel, who is listed as his attorney, did not respond to a message Friday seeking comment. The investigation into how the suspect was able to grab the trooper's weapon is ongoing. Department of Public Safety director Col. Frank Milstead urged younger troopers like Edenhofer to press on in his memory. "I call upon you to exceed all standards, to never forget Tyler, to work with great tenacity, intensity and a sense of urgency to honor his life," Milstead said. Pallbearers guide the casket of Arizona state trooper Tyler Edenhofer in Peoria, Ariz., on Friday, Aug. 3, 2018. The 24-year-old trooper was killed July 25 during a struggle with a suspect along a highway in suburban Phoenix. (AP Photo/Terry Tang) SAO PAULO (AP) - Brazil's right-leaning presidential hopeful Geraldo Alckmin picked a senator favored by farming leaders as his running mate for October's election. Sen. Ana Amelia is Alckmin's choice for vice president. She is a member of the Progressive Party, which has frequently been investigated by Brazil's top court. "It is good news that she accepted," Alckmin told GloboNews on Thursday night. "It is an important gesture since she was a candidate for re-election and gave it up." FILE - In this May 23, 2018 file photo, Geraldo Alckmin, Brazil's presidential hopeful and former Sao Paulo governor, addresses the "In Defense of Muncipalities" Congress in Brasilia, Brazil. Alckmin publicly tried to court as his running-mate Josue Gomes, who apart from being a successful businessman is also the son of former Vice President Jose Alencar, but, Gomes declined for personal reasons. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres, File) "The more women participate, the better for society," the presidential candidate continued. "There was no better choice." Former Sao Paulo Gov. Alckmin is a member of the Brazilian Social Democracy Party, and the Progressive Party recently endorsed his candidacy. But he is struggling to top 10 percent in the polls and faces stiff opposition from Congressman Jair Bolsonaro, who has almost double the support. For now, jailed former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva leads with more than 30 percent, but members of Brazil's electoral court suggest he will likely be barred from running. Alckmin initially tried to lure textile businessman Josue Gomes to his ticket, but a got a no. Allies of the presidential candidate say the move to bring Amelia onto the ticket is aimed at boosting Alckmin's chances in southern Brazil and strengthening his connection with farmers nationwide. Former environment minister Marina Silva also announced on Thursday night that Eduardo Jorge, a presidential candidate in 2014 and a key leader of Brazil's Green Party, will be her running mate. Silva polls third in several polls, but her party's infrastructure is considered to be modest for a nationwide campaign. On Friday, the Workers' Party said that da Silva will be visited by chairwoman Gleisi Hoffmann and former Sao Paulo Mayor Fernando Haddad to discuss potential running mates for his ticket. Haddad is seen as a potential substitute for Silva if he is indeed barred from running. SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - A deadly Northern California wildfire burned so hot in dry and windy conditions that it birthed a record-breaking tornado of flame, officials said Friday. They also warned of worsening conditions throughout the region. Winds in the "fire whirl" created July 26 near Redding reached speeds of 143 mph (230 kph), a speed that rivaled some of the most destructive Midwest tornados, National Weather Service meteorologist Duane Dykema said. The whirl uprooted trees and tore roofs from homes, Dykema said. A resident, in yellow, wishing not to be identified, is comforted after seeing her fire-ravaged home for the first time Thursday, Aug. 2, 2018, in Redding, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez) The whirl measured a 3 on the five-level Enhanced Fujita scale, which scientists use to classify the strength of tornados, he said. California has not recorded a tornado of that strength since 1978. That fire continues to burn about 100 miles (160 kilometers) south of the Oregon border as firefighters there and throughout Northern California brace for worsening conditions this weekend. The weather service issued warnings for critical fire weather conditions into Saturday, saying a series of dry low-pressure systems passing through the region would bring afternoon wind gusts. "This is a particularly dangerous situation with extremely low humidity and high winds. New fires will grow rapidly out of control, in some cases people may not be able to evacuate safely in time should a fire approach," the weather service said in its bulletin for the Mendocino area north of San Francisco. Forecasters said areas with the highest threat include the massive blaze near Redding and two fires burning next to each other around Clearlake about 100 miles (160 kilometers) north of San Francisco. The Redding fire has grown to 206 square miles (533-square-kilometer) and has destroyed 1,060 homes and many other structures. Two firefighters and four other people have been killed since the blaze, which ignited July 23, raced with extraordinary fury toward the region's largest city. More than 1,300 homes remained threatened. Wildfires typically create whirls but rarely of the strength of the one recorded July 26, Dykema said. Whirls are created when hot air rises and twists tightly, he said. The hotter the fire, the faster the air rises and the tighter it twists until it takes off as a tornado. To the southwest of Redding, new evacuations were ordered late Thursday at the Mendocino Complex, where twin fires have ravaged a combined 250 square miles (621 square kilometers), destroyed 41 residences and threatened 9,200 homes. The combined fires have prompted about 15,000 people to evacuate their homes. California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection spokeswoman Jane LaBoa said wildfire remains several miles from the evacuated communities along the eastern shore of Clear Lake, about 100 miles (160 kilometers) northwest of Sacramento. But she said trajectory and the weather forecast prompted officials to evacuate the communities Friday out of an abundance of caution. "It looks like there's dicey weather on the way," LaBoa said. The wildfire has grown to 175 square miles (280 square kilometers) and is a few miles from connecting with a second blaze that has grown to 64 square miles (105 square kilometers). The twin fires have destroyed 41 homes. In Sierra Nevada, firefighters achieved 41 percent containment of a 115-square-mile (298-square-kilometer) forest fire that has shut down Yosemite Valley and other adjacent portions of Yosemite National Park at what is normally the height of summer tourism. The fire has reached into remote areas of the country's third-oldest national park. Workers who live in Yosemite's popular Valley region were ordered to leave Friday because of inaccessible roads. The fire also killed two firefighters. A new report says the first firefighter, a California bulldozer operator, nearly slipped off a steep mountain trail three times before his vehicle finally rolled into a ravine and fatally crushed him. Each earlier slip alone qualified as a "near miss" warning that the century-old mining trail could collapse, according to the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection's preliminary report. Braden Varney, 36, was working alone overnight July 14 fighting the wildfire while his assistant went to get a new hydraulic hose. Varney's radio wasn't communicating with headquarters, so his assistant relayed messages - until they lost contact. The report says the death of the 10-year veteran highlights the need for better risk assessment, communication and supervision. Officials have not said how the other three firefighters died fighting blazes near Yosemite and Redding. ___ Associated Press writer Don Thompson contributed to this report from Sacramento, California. Follow AP's wildfire coverage here: https://apnews.com/tag/Wildfires Redding Police Dept. officer Brian Berg, right, comforts a resident, center, wishing not to be identified, after she saw her fire-ravaged home for the first time Thursday, Aug. 2, 2018, in Redding, Calif. (AP /Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez) A 747 Global Airtanker makes a drop in front of advancing flames from a wildfire Thursday, Aug. 2, 2018, in Lakeport, Calif. (Kent Porter /The Press Democrat via AP) Flames from a wildfire advance up a ridge, towering over a home that eventually burned, Thursday, Aug. 2, 2018, near Lakeport, Calif. (Kent Porter /The Press Democrat via AP) Flames from a wildfire devour a home off Scotts Valley Road, Thursday, Aug. 2, 2018, near Lakeport, Calif. (Kent Porter /The Press Democrat via AP) Flames from a wildfire advance down a hillside, towering over homes off Scotts Valley Road, Thursday, Aug. 2, 2018, near Lakeport, Calif. (Kent Porter /The Press Democrat via AP) A tower of smoke pours from Cow Mountain as Burney, California firefighter Bob May keeps a watch on surrounding vegetation for spot fires during a wildfire off Scotts Valley Road, Thursday, Aug. 2, 2018, near Lakeport, Calif. (Kent Porter /The Press Democrat via AP) A firefighter walks around a swimming pool sprayed by phos-chek fire retardant after an air tanker made a pass while fighting a wildfire near Lakeport, Calif., Thursday, Aug. 2, 2018. (Kent Porter /The Press Democrat via AP) Firefighters stand watch on a roof as a wildfire sweeps through the area near Lakeport, Calif., Thursday, August 2, 2018. (Kent Porter /The Press Democrat via AP) A resident, in yellow, wishing not to be identified, is comforted after seeing her fire-ravaged home for the first time Thursday, Aug. 2, 2018, in Redding, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez) From left, Shasta County Health and Human Services workers Mike Rinehart, Jon Taylor, Melanie Gilchrist and Theresa Ellis stand and watch as the procession for Redding fire inspector Jeremy Stoke passes in Redding, Calif., Thursday, Aug. 2, 2018. Stoke, who died last week in the Carr Fire, was being taken from the coroner's office to a funeral home. Fire officials say a massive blaze in Northern California that has killed six people and torched more than 1,000 homes grew overnight, fueled by wind. The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said Thursday firefighters made some gains and the blaze is now a third contained. (AP Photo/Michael Burke) Shasta County Health and Human Services workers stand and watch as the procession for Redding fire inspector Jeremy Stoke passes in Redding, Calif., Thursday, Aug. 2, 2018. Stoke, who died last week in the Carr Fire, was being taken from the coroner's office to a funeral home. Fire officials say a massive blaze in Northern California that has killed six people and torched more than 1,000 homes grew overnight, fueled by wind. The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said Thursday firefighters made some gains and the blaze is now a third contained. (AP Photo/Michael Burke) Shasta County Health and Human Services workers and others stand and watch as the procession for Redding fire inspector Jeremy Stoke passes in Redding, Calif., Thursday, Aug. 2, 2018. Stoke, who died last week in the Carr Fire, was being taken from the coroner's office to a funeral home. Fire officials say a massive blaze in Northern California that has killed six people and torched more than 1,000 homes grew overnight, fueled by wind. The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said Thursday firefighters made some gains and the blaze is now a third contained. (AP Photo/Michael Burke) A procession for Redding fire inspector Jeremy Stoke passes in Redding, Calif., Thursday, Aug. 2, 2018. Stoke, who died last week in the Carr Fire, was being taken from the coroner's office to a funeral home. Fire officials say a massive blaze in Northern California that has killed six people and torched more than 1,000 homes grew overnight, fueled by wind. The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said Thursday firefighters made some gains and the blaze is now a third contained. (AP Photo/Michael Burke) LONDON (AP) - An 18-year-old British woman was sentenced to a minimum of 13 years in prison Friday for plotting to attack the popular British Museum in London after failing in her ambition of becoming a jihadi bride in Syria. Safaa Boular was convicted in June of preparing terrorist acts. Her mother and sister were also convicted of assisting her in a related plot - Britain's first case involving an all-female Islamic State group-inspired cell. Prosecutors said Boular was a London schoolgirl when she began plotting a grenade-and-gun attack in messages with an older IS fighter. She hoped to join him in Syria and marry him, but he was killed in 2017. Boular was arrested in April 2017, along with her sister and mother. The attack plans had been uncovered by British intelligence agents acting as online role-players, and Boular's family home was bugged. At London's Central Criminal Court, judge Mark Dennis sentenced Boular to life with no chance of parole for 13 years. Defense lawyers said she had been manipulated by her older paramour, and had since renounced her militant views. But the judge said there was "insufficient evidence upon which it would be safe to conclude at this stage that the defendant is a truly transformed individual." "However much she may have been influenced and drawn into her extremism, it appeared she knew what she was doing and acted with open eyes," he said. Boular's sister, Rizlaine Boular, and mother, Mina Dich, pleaded guilty to terrorism charges and were sentenced earlier for assisting her. The British Museum houses important artifacts and art works acquired during the heyday of the British Empire, including the Rosetta Stone and sculptures from the Parthenon in Athens. GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) - The Latest on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict (all times local): 8:05 p.m. Israel's military says a tank fired at a Hamas military post in Gaza after Palestinians briefly crossed the frontier and threw bombs. In this photo released by the Hamas Media Office, Ismail Haniyeh, right, the head of the Hamas political bureau, shakes hands with his deputy Saleh Arouri upon his arrival in Gaza from Cairo, Egypt, in Gaza City, Thursday, Aug. 2, 2018. Egypt is trying to broker a broad cease-fire deal between Israel and Gaza's Hamas rulers that is to pave the way for Gaza's reconstruction and an eventual prisoner swap, senior Hamas officials said Thursday. Repeated cease-fire deals over the years collapsed, but there were signs of possible momentum toward a new agreement, after weeks of escalation along the Gaza-Israel frontier. (Mohammad Austaz/Hamas Media Office via AP) The military said it sustained no casualties in the incident. It says some 8,000 Palestinians took part in a weekly border rally led by the Islamic militant group Hamas, which rules the territory. Several exiled Hamas leaders attended the protest. The delegation is in Gaza amid high-level discussions about an Egyptian-brokered cease-fire. Husam Badran, one of the visiting Hamas leaders, said "we want to break the siege on Gaza once and forever." Hamas has led months of border protests aimed in part at drawing attention to the Israeli-Egyptian blockade imposed after it took control of Gaza in 2007. ___ 8 p.m. Gaza's Health Ministry says one Palestinian has been killed and 50 wounded by Israeli army fire in protests near the perimeter fence between the Hamas-ruled territory and Israel. The ministry says an additional 70 Palestinians suffered other types of injuries. Friday's demonstration was the latest in a series of regular protests that began in late March, in part to try to break an 11-year-old border blockade of Gaza. Israel and Egypt imposed the blockade after the Islamic militant Hamas overran the territory in 2007. The protest came as Egypt tries to broker a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas. As part of the negotiations, several exiled Hamas leaders have entered Gaza for high-level internal consultations. Several of the exiled leaders attended the border protests Friday. ___ 6:30 p.m. An activist boat challenging Israel's naval blockade on Hamas-ruled Gaza is approaching the territory. The Freedom Flotilla Coalition, an umbrella group for pro-Palestinian and Islamic charities from around the world, said Friday the Swedish-flagged vessel, Freedom, was nearly 60 miles (95 kilometers) off the coast. The boat and another vessel, which was intercepted by Israeli forces on Sunday, set sail to Gaza from Europe last week. The Israeli military had no immediate comment. Israel and Egypt imposed a blockade on Gaza after the Hamas took over the territory in 2007. Activists have made several attempts to breach the blockade in recent years, most notably in 2010, when Israeli naval commandos killed nine Turks in a raid at sea. ___ 11 a.m. Gaza's ruling Hamas says exiled members of its decision-making political bureau have entered the territory for high-level discussions about an Egyptian-brokered cease-fire deal with Israel. The Hamas website Safa said Friday this marks the first time all members of the political bureau have come together in Gaza. It says the delegation arriving from exile late Thursday included Saleh Arouri, a founder of the Hamas military wing wanted by Israel. Hamas officials have said guarantees were given that the delegation would not be targeted by Israel and that progress has been made toward a truce that could pave the way for a U.N.-led reconstruction of Gaza. Separately, Israel's prime minister has put off a planned South America trip and called a special Cabinet meeting Sunday to monitor Gaza developments. MONTEZUMA, Iowa (AP) - Investigators are offering no new details in their search for a University of Iowa student who vanished more than two weeks ago. Kevin Winker, investigative operations director for the Iowa Department of Public Safety, said Friday he knows the tight-lipped approach is frustrating for people who are eager to know what happened to 20-year-old Mollie Tibbetts. But he says investigators will continue to withhold basic details about the case because they believe it gives them the best chance to solve it. This undated photo released by the Iowa Department of Criminal Investigation shows Mollie Tibbetts, a University of Iowa student who was reported missing from her hometown in the eastern Iowa city of Brooklyn on Thursday, July 19, 2018. Investigators say they have concluded that a woman spotted in northwest Missouri was not Tibbetts. Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation special agent Mike Krapfl confirmed Thursday, Aug. 2, 2018 that the reported sighting of Mollie Tibbetts wasn't substantiated and has been ruled out by investigators. (Iowa Department of Criminal Investigation via AP) At a news conference, Winker said investigators are confident in their timeline of the night Tibbetts went missing from her small hometown of Brooklyn, Iowa, on July 18. But again he declined to say whether Tibbetts is believed to have returned home safely from a jog that evening. More Malaysian students than ever will be studying at De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) thanks to a new agreement with a leading Malaysian university. DMU has signed a progression pathway agreement with Asia Pacific University of Technology & Innovation (APU) which will give APU students from selected programmes the chance to complete their studies at DMUs campus in Leicester. The agreement will benefit students from Computing, Technology, Business, Management, Marketing, Tourism, Media, Engineering, Accounting, Finance, Quantitative Studies, Design and Media courses. Students from APU who undertake the progression pathway will be entitled to a bursary of 2,500 upon receiving an offer from DMU. The agreement will also forge a close working relationship between DMU and APU which will see guest lectures, joint student events and other collaborative efforts organised both in Malaysia and the UK. APU is amongst Malaysias premier private universities with a cohort of 11,000 students from over 120 countries. It was announced as one of Malaysias highest rated universities in 2013 and 2017 and has won a host of prestigious awards at national and international levels. The agreement was signed at APUs campus at Technology Park Malaysia in the capital Kuala Lumpur earlier this week. Professor Ron Edwards, Vice-Chancellor of APU, has welcomed the chance to work with DMU to create exciting opportunities for APUs students. RELATED NEWS University to take award-winning teaching skills out to Malaysian schools International students look forward to #DMUworks placements He said: APU is absolutely thrilled to welcome DMU at this momentous occasion, we wish that through this new pathway progression, both APU and DMU can work together to continue achieving excellence by providing quality education in Malaysia and the UK. James Gardner, DMU Pro Vice-Chancellor for Strategic and International Partnerships, visited APU to sign the agreement as part of a tour of Malaysia by DMU staff. He said: Todays collaboration is a two-way engagement between both universities. I am pleased to see both APU and DMU share similar values of appreciating multiculturalism, which is an important trait for nurturing students with a global mindset. TUINIS, Tunisia (AP) - Tunisian police have arrested two people suspected of planning an attack using homemade bombs containing the toxin ricin "simultaneously" with a man in Germany. The scheme was interrupted with the arrest in June of the man identified by German authorities as Sief Allah H. His wife was arrested in July as an accomplice. Tunisia's Interior Ministry spokesman, Sofiane Zaag, said by telephone on Friday that the two suspects in Tunisia, arrested a day earlier, in the plot would eventually go to trial. The ministry announced on Thursday that the men had been "in close contact" with the man in Germany, of Tunisian origin. It said one of the two arrested in Tunisia was to procure fake travel documents so their German accomplice could flee after his attack. LAS VEGAS (AP) - The Latest on the final report into the Oct. 1 mass shooting in Las Vegas that killed 58 people (all times local): 9:50 a.m. The investigation into last year's mass shooting in Las Vegas has found that the gunman spent $1.5 million over 2 years, including money paid to casinos. In this Sunday, Oct. 1, 2017, image taken from police body cam video released Wednesday, July 25, 2018, by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, an armed law enforcement official points his gun while searching for what authorities thought were multiple shooters inside and outside a Las Vegas Strip hotel, where a gunman firing from upper-floor windows killed 58 people and injured hundreds. (Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department via AP) A report into the shooting made public Friday included a summary of 14 of Stephen Paddock's bank accounts. The report said Paddock had $2.1 million in the accounts in September 2015. By September 2017, the total amount had dropped to $530,000. Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo says Paddock was a reclusive, high-stakes gambler but had not been "as successful in the gambling as he was in the previous years." Investigators say Paddock paid $600,000 to casinos and. More than $170,000 was paid to credit card companies. The analysis said Paddock had also made nearly $95,000 in firearms-related purchases. ___ 9:25 a.m. Authorities in Las Vegas says the investigation into last year's mass shooting shows no evidence of a conspiracy or a second gunman. Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo says Friday that the investigation revealed that Stephen Paddock acted alone in the Oct. 1 shooting. Lombardo says there was "no other gunman" besides Paddock. Earlier this year, federal prosecutors brought criminal charges against a man who they say Paddock sold armor-piercing bullets. Authorities have said the man, Douglas Haig, sold Paddock 720 rounds of tracer bullets. He has pleaded not guilty. ___ 9:20 a.m. Authorities in Las Vegas say the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit is expected to release a psychological profile of the Las Vegas mass shooter later this year. Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo made the announcement as he made public results of the investigation into the shooting. Shooter Stephen Paddock was found dead in a 32nd floor hotel suite after he opened fire on crowds at a country music festival below, killing 58 people. ___ 9:10 a.m. Authorities in Las Vegas say they cannot "definitively" determine the gunman's motive in the Oct. 1 mass shooting that killed 58 people. Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo made the announcement as he made public results of the investigation into the shooting. Lombardo says shooter Stephen Paddock was "an unremarkable man" who showed signs of a troubled mind. Lombardo Las Vegas police have completed their investigation into the shooting. Paddock was found dead in the hotel room where he opened fire. 8:30 a.m. Las Vegas police are making public their final report on the shooting that killed 58 people and injured hundreds last year at a country music festival and was the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history. Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo announced he will provide reporters with the results of 10 months investigating the Oct. 1 shooting on the Las Vegas Strip, though it's unclear if police will have any answers as to why gunman Stephen Paddock shot from a Mandalay Bay hotel room into a concert crowd of 22,000 people. The sheriff and the top FBI official in Nevada have said that they believe the shooter acted alone and it was not terrorism and that they may never know his motive. Police have released 13 batches of investigative documents, 911 audio, police reports, witness statements and video over the last three months. In this Sunday, Oct. 1, 2017, image taken from police body cam video released Wednesday, July 25, 2018, by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, a law enforcement official, left, directs concertgoers to safety, as authorities search for what they thought were multiple shooters inside and outside a Las Vegas Strip hotel, where a gunman firing from upper-floor windows killed 58 people and injured hundreds. (Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department via AP) FILE - In this Oct. 1, 2017 file photo, police officers stand at the scene of a mass shooting near the Mandalay Bay resort and casino on the Las Vegas Strip, in Las Vegas. More police body-worn cameras made public Wednesday, July 25, 2018, show officers directing concertgoers to safety and searching for what they thought were multiple shooters inside and outside a Las Vegas Strip hotel where a gunman firing from upper-floor windows killed 58 people and injured hundreds on Oct. 1. Eight more video recordings from the deadliest mass shooting in the nation's modern history, totaling almost eight hours, were released by Las Vegas police under a court order in a public records lawsuit by media including The Associated Press. (AP Photo/John Locher, File) In this Sunday, Oct. 1, 2017, image taken from police body cam video released Wednesday, July 25, 2018, by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, an armed law enforcement official stands at the scene as authorities search for what they thought were multiple shooters inside and outside a Las Vegas Strip hotel, where a gunman firing from upper-floor windows killed 58 people and injured hundreds. (Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department via AP) In this Sunday, Oct. 1, 2017, image taken from police body cam video released Wednesday, July 25, 2018, by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, an armed law enforcement official stands at the scene as authorities direct concertgoers to safety and search for what they thought were multiple shooters inside and outside a Las Vegas Strip hotel, where a gunman firing from upper-floor windows killed 58 people and injured hundreds. (Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department via AP) TAMPA, Fla. (AP) - The Latest on the allegations that a mother drowned her 4-year-old daughter in a Florida river (all times local): 12:50 p.m. A Florida sheriff's office says it recently investigated a mother accused of drowning her 4-year-old daughter in a river, but found no signs of abuse. The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office issued a statement Friday saying in June and July it investigated 26-year-old Shakayla Denson's treatment of her daughter, Je'Hyrah Daniels, but found no signs of maltreatment, abuse, or neglect. The case was closed Tuesday. Tampa police say Denson drove Je'Hyrah Daniels in a stolen car Thursday to the Hillsborough River, waded in with the girl, pushed her into the current and walked away. Divers found the unconscious girl 30 minutes later. She was taken to a hospital and pronounced dead. A judge Friday ordered Daniels held without bail on a first-degree murder charge. ___ 10:15 a.m. A woman accused of throwing her 4-year-old daughter into a Florida river to drown has been denied bail on first-degree murder charges. News outlets report 26-year-old Shakayla Denson was denied bail Friday during her first court appearance. Tampa police say Denson drove Je'Hyrah Daniels in a stolen car Thursday to the Hillsborough River, waded in with the girl, tossed her into the water, and walked away. Authorities found the unconscious girl 30 minutes later. She was taken to a hospital and pronounced dead. Police found Denson walking nearby and arrested her. She is also charged with child abuse and auto theft. In 2015, police say a man threw his 5-year-old daughter to her death off the Skyway Bridge in St. Petersburg. John Jonchuck Jr. is set for trial next month. LYNCHBURG, Va. (AP) - Officials in Virginia say a dam that overflowed Thursday is currently stable but are asking people who were evacuated to stay out of their homes until there's dry weather. Lynchburg city officials said at a news conference Friday that the engineers had found that College Lake Dam was not in danger of failing. But officials said they would like to get through another possible storm and re-evaluate the dam Saturday before giving residents the all clear to return home. Power lines and a tree block Rainbow Forest Road during a thunderstorm, Thursday, Aug. 2, 2018 in Lynchburg, Va. The National Weather Service said up to six inches of rain fell within hours, filling College Lake near Lynchburg beyond capacity. The service says a failure of the College Lake Dam could flood parts of Lynchburg with 17 feet of water in just seven minutes. (Taylor Irby /The News & Advance via AP) "We're still concerned about its overall stability going into tonight and tomorrow morning," said Tim Mitchell, the city's director of water resources. "But we are pretty confident at this point that the dam is stable and safe." The National Weather Service has a flash flood watch in effect through Friday evening. Weather forecasts for Lynchburg call for more rain through Saturday with sunny weather on Sunday. Heavy rains Thursday filled College Lake beyond capacity, prompting officials to report that the lake's dam was in danger of "imminent failure." The service says a failure of the dam could flood parts of Lynchburg with 17 feet (5 meters) of water in just seven minutes. Officials said emergency personnel evacuated about 150 homes in the city of 80,000. Local fire and police used boats to rescue people in some cases. Several streets were closed as of Friday morning and city officials asked residents not to drive around barricades or through standing water. Lynchburg Police Chief Raul Diaz warned potential looters that police were closely watching evacuated homes. "We're out there, we're watching, so don't anybody get any ideas," he said. Vehicles are surrounded by flood water caused by a passing rain storm on Thursday, Aug. 2, 2018 in Lynchburg, Va. The National Weather Service said up to six inches of rain fell within hours, filling College Lake near Lynchburg beyond capacity. The service says a failure of the College Lake Dam could flood parts of Lynchburg with 17 feet of water in just seven minutes. (Taylor Irby/The News & Advance via AP) A vehicle drives through flooding during a thunderstorm, Thursday, Aug. 2, 2018 in Lynchburg, Va. The National Weather Service said up to six inches of rain fell within hours, filling College Lake near Lynchburg beyond capacity. The service says a failure of the College Lake Dam could flood parts of Lynchburg with 17 feet of water in just seven minutes. (Taylor Irby/The News & Advance via AP) A car is stranded at the intersection after attempting to cross flood waters Thursday, Aug. 2, 2018 in Lynchburg, Va. The National Weather Service said up to six inches of rain fell within hours, filling College Lake near Lynchburg beyond capacity. The service says a failure of the College Lake Dam could flood parts of Lynchburg with 17 feet of water in just seven minutes. (Carrie Dungan /The News & Advance via AP) Members of the Campbell County Fire Department wade through water at an apartment complex Thursday, Aug. 2, 2018 in Lynchburg, Va. The National Weather Service said up to six inches of rain fell within hours, filling College Lake near Lynchburg beyond capacity. The service says a failure of the College Lake Dam could flood parts of Lynchburg with 17 feet of water in just seven minutes. (Taylor Irby/The News & Advance via AP) Cars are stranded from flooding after a thunderstorm, Thursday, Aug. 2, 2018 in Lynchburg, Va. The National Weather Service said up to six inches of rain fell within hours, filling College Lake near Lynchburg beyond capacity. The service says a failure of the College Lake Dam could flood parts of Lynchburg with 17 feet of water in just seven minutes. (Carrie Dungan /The News & Advance via AP TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) - The archive of the late filmmaker Jonathan Demme is being donated to the University of Michigan Library . The donation by Demme's family was announced Friday at the Traverse City Film Festival ahead of a screening of "Swimming to Cambodia," a 1987 film he directed. The collection includes photographs, scripts, correspondence, personal notes, unfinished documentary film footage, promotional items, costumes and props. The archive at the Ann Arbor school will become part of the "Screen Arts Mavericks and Makers " collection, which also includes the works of Orson Welles, Robert Altman and others. FILE - In this Sept. 13, 2016, file photo, Jonathan Demme, director of the concert film "Justin Timberlake + The Tennessee Kids," appears at the premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in Toronto. The archive of the late filmmaker Demme is being donated to the University of Michigan Library. The donation by Demme's family was announced Friday, Aug. 3, 2018, at the Traverse City Film Festival. It includes photographs, scripts, correspondence, personal notes, unfinished documentary film footage, promotional items, costumes and props.(Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP, File) Demme died last year at the age of 73. Among the many films he directed were the Oscar winners "The Silence of the Lambs" and "Philadelphia." He also directed the acclaimed concert film, the Talking Heads' "Stop Making Sense." HOUSTON (AP) - The U.S. government's improvised system to reunite immigrant families it separated at the border has left hundreds of parents in limbo after they were deemed "ineligible" to get their children back. They include a man who had his 2-year-old daughter taken because agents didn't believe he was the father, forcing him to submit DNA evidence to prove he was the parent. Hundreds of parents were deported, including a family in Honduras losing patience each day their 11-year-old child remains in the U.S. A father in Guatemala prefers that his teenager remain in the U.S. because it's safer. A woman had her son given to her aunt and now remains in immigration detention due to a prior deportation. In this July 26, 2018 photo, Evelyn Zepeda cares for a four-year-old boy at her home in Austin, Texas. The boy's adoptive mother and Zepeda's biological mother, Josefina Ortiz Corrales, remains in an immigration detention center in south Texas, while Zepeda cares for her adopted son. Hundreds of families remain separated a day after Thursday's court-ordered deadline, with no reunification in sight. Lawyers and advocates sharply criticized the U.S. government for creating a bureaucratic and legal snarl that's made it difficult to reunify families. (AP Photo/Stephen Spillman) The government and American Civil Liberties Union are waging a court fight over how to best reunify the families. U.S. District Judge Dana Sabraw on Friday said reunifications were solely the government's responsibility. "The reality is that for every parent that is not located, there will be a permanently orphaned child, and that is 100 percent the responsibility of the administration," the judge said. The Associated Press interviewed immigrants who remain separated from their children in multiple countries as well as their lawyers to capture the variety of ways the government has been unable to meet court-ordered deadlines to reunite families. Here are their stories: NOT THE PARENT? The government says it has encountered several cases where the adult coming across the border with the child was not a biological parent. They were determined to be not eligible to be reunited. At least one person was found to be wanted for murder in Guatemala, according to the government, and others accused of various crimes. There was an apparent mistake in at least one case. Mario Perez Domingo and his 2-year-old daughter crossed into Texas on July 5. Even though the Trump administration had officially ended its policy of separating families at the border, Perez was arrested and charged with improperly entering the United States. Agents thought Perez was the uncle and not the father, and the Texas Civil Rights Project intervened to present evidence the government was wrong. U.S. Customs and Border Protection issued a statement that under questioning, Perez admitted that the child was actually his niece and that a smuggler had given him a false document in their native Guatemala. But the project says Perez is from an indigenous community and has a poor command of Spanish. After the group obtained documents from the Guatemalan consulate showing he's the parent, the U.S. attorney dismissed the case against Perez on July 12. On Wednesday, the group received word that DNA testing confirmed Perez was the girl's father. But Perez still remains in a detention facility, and his daughter is at a government shelter in Texas. ___ 'THEY SHOULDN'T BE ALLOWED TO DO THIS' Many parents say they signed deportation papers after being told they would get their children back in their home country, only for that promise to be broken. The government says parents of about 400 children are outside the U.S., likely deported. Eduardo Almendarez Meyer, 11, regularly sees other children leave the government facility where he is being held and get returned to their parents. In phone calls back to Honduras, he asks his mother if he'll see her again. It's been more than two months since he and his father, Douglas Almendarez, were separated in Texas. Almendarez was deported to Honduras on June 13. His wife, Evelin Roxana Meyer, who stayed in their hometown to run their neighborhood grocery store, said he was told when he signed his deportation papers that his son would be waiting for him in Honduras. After he arrived in San Pedro Sula, Almendarez waited at the airport for days, with no information. It took weeks for someone from the U.S. to call to say Eduardo was at a shelter in Brownsville, Texas. Eventually, they got a number where they could call him twice a week, for 10 minutes each time. At first, Eduardo could not sleep and cried on the phone, saying he wanted to go back home, his mother said. He has since calmed down and made friends, but his anxiety is rising as he watches the friends leave the shelter one by one. "He has been suffering, just as I have as his mother," Meyer said. "They shouldn't be allowed to do this." ___ WITH MOTHER LOCKED UP, CHILD ASKS, 'WHERE'S MOMMY?' The government counts 444 children as having been "discharged in other appropriate circumstances." Those circumstances included discharges to sponsors other than the parents - typically a relative - including situations where the "parent is not eligible for reunification." It appears that the government is refusing to release some parents after their children were given to sponsors, because the parents had previously been removed from the U.S. and came back to seek asylum. The San Antonio-based Migrant Center for Human Rights identified at least two such cases. One of the women still detained is Vivian, a 24-year-old woman from Honduras who entered the U.S. in late April and had her 3-year-old son taken and given to her aunt. Vivian, who asked to be identified only by her first name out of fear of endangering her immigration case, was previously deported in November 2016. Her aunt says she calls every day, crying, from the detention facility. Her aunt puts her son on the phone, so Vivian can repeat the story they've agreed to tell him: She's gone away for work but is coming back soon with an armful of toys for him. "When he goes to sleep, he always says, 'Where's Mommy? She sleeps next to me,' and he starts to cry," his aunt said. Sara Ramey, the migrant center's director, received a letter this week from ICE denying Vivian's request for release without further explanation. Ramey is working with another mother detained while her adopted son is with her adult daughter. ___ SAFER THAN GUATEMALA Some parents say they hoped that if they could not stay in America, their children would. The government says these immigrants "waived reunification," making them a lower priority. Selvin Argueta Caal says he left Guatemala after his son received several death threats from gang members at his school. They wanted Selvin Jr. to sell drugs, but the 17-year-old refused. They were detained and separated at the border on May 19th, one day after their arrival. While detained by the government, the father requested asylum and told the immigration officials that he feared for his son's life in Guatemala, but the request was denied. He was deported to Guatemala and son was sent to a shelter for immigrant children in Houston. Caal hopes that a nephew can take in his son, but the relative apparently has been rejected by the government as a potential sponsor. When he turns 18, he will no longer be allowed in the shelter, throwing his future in doubt. Caal says he waived reunification, but didn't know exactly what he was signing because he did not read or speak English, and nobody translated the document to him. "I want him to at least have freedom, that he can study and work, and that he is no longer in danger," Caal said. "Although he is far away, he is safe, without the bad things happening here." ___ Watson reported from San Diego and Salomon reported from Miami. Associated Press reporters Garance Burke in San Francisco and Elliot Spagat in San Diego contributed to this report. In this May 2018 handout image provided by Evelin Roxana Meyer, her son, Eduardo Almendarez Meyer, right, is seen alongside his father and her husband, Douglas Almendarez, in La Union, Honduras, a day before they left for the United States. The two were separated at the Texas border, and the father was deported. The 11-year-old boy remains in US government custody in a Texas shelter. (Evelin Roxana Meyer via AP) LAS VEGAS (AP) - In the months before unleashing a hail of bullets into a Las Vegas concert crowd, Stephen Paddock burned through more than $1.5 million, became obsessed with guns and increasingly unstable, and distanced himself from his girlfriend and family, according to an investigative report released Friday. With those revelations, police announced they were closing their 10-month investigation without a definitive answer for why Paddock, a high-stakes gambler, amassed an arsenal of weapons and carried out the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history. "By all accounts, Stephen Paddock was an unremarkable man whose movements leading up to Oct. 1 didn't raise any suspicion," Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo said. "An interview with his doctor indicated signs of a troubled mind, but no troubling behavior that would trigger a call to law enforcement." Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo speaks at a news conference Friday, Aug. 3, 2018, in Las Vegas. Lombardo spoke about the final report on the Oct. 1, 2017 shooting that became the deadliest in modern U.S. history. (AP Photo/John Locher) Paddock left no manifesto or "even a note to answer questions" about his motive for a rampage that killed 58 people and injured more than 800 others, Lombardo told reporters. The FBI is expected to release its final investigative report, including a psychological profile of the gunman, later this year, Lombardo said, noting that authorities want to leave "no stone unturned." "The FBI's assessment may shed a better light on Paddock's personality and what motivated him, but I don't know if they can provide a motive," said police Sgt. Jerry MacDonald, a key investigator in the case. One of Paddock's brothers told investigators that he believed the gunman had a "mental illness and was paranoid and delusional." A doctor believed he may have had bipolar disorder, the report said. Paddock's girlfriend said he had suddenly stopped being affectionate and constantly complained of being ill. Marilou Danley told investigators that he said doctors could not cure him but told him he had a "chemical imbalance." In its final report released Friday, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department found Paddock acted alone and no one else will be charged, said Lombardo, the elected head of the police department. Earlier this year, U.S. prosecutors charged an Arizona man accused of selling illegal armor-piercing bullets found in Paddock's room at the Mandalay Bay hotel-casino. Douglas Haig has pleaded not guilty and maintains he sold tracer ammunition, which illuminate a bullet's path. The report included a summary of 14 of Paddock's bank accounts, which contained a total of $2.1 million in September 2015. Two years later, the amount had dropped to $530,000. He "wasn't as successful in the gambling as he was in the previous years," Lombardo said. Investigators said Paddock paid more than $600,000 to casinos and over $170,000 to credit card companies. The analysis said he also made nearly $95,000 in firearms-related purchases. The report gave no other information about the casino purchases. High-rollers like Paddock are often given credit lines at casinos. Paddock bought more than three dozen guns between 2016 and 2017. Danley told investigators that she noticed he was buying large amounts of ammunition, but he dismissed her concerns by saying it was cheaper to buy in bulk, according to the report. She told police that she accompanied Paddock to gun stores and gun shows and helped him set up a gun range in Nevada. Danley told authorities he tended to be obsessive when he dove into a new hobby, and she considered the behavior part of that same pattern, said Detective Trever Alsup, the lead investigator in the case. Paddock's mother, Irene Hudson, told investigators she did not understand why her son would carry out an attack and believed he "must have developed some type of 'brain tumor,'" the report said. An autopsy did not find anything unusual with Paddock's physical condition, even after a microscopic brain examination by experts at Stanford University. A brother, Eric Paddock, described his sibling as a "narcissist" who only cared about people he could benefit from. Survivor Megan O'Donnell Clements, who attended the music festival with three friends, said she had come to accept that a motive would likely never be found but "to see it written out and finalized" in the police report was gut-wrenching. "It's worse. It's not closure," the resident of Wilmington, Delaware, told The Associated Press. "To know for real that we'll never really know, it's kind of horrifying. I just don't understand what would have driven someone to that, and to have absolutely no answers, even if I had in my brain accepted that, it's just really hard to swallow." The final details of the investigation came after police released 13 batches of investigative documents, 911 calls, police reports, witness statements and video over the last three months. They have illustrated chaos, heartbreak and heroism from first responders, concertgoers and family members. Police body camera recordings earlier made public showed officers using explosives to blast through the door of a 32nd-floor hotel suite to find Paddock dead on the floor from a self-inflicted gunshot. There were 23 assault-style weapons, including 14 fitted with rapid-fire "bump stock" devices, strewn about the room and a revolver near Paddock's body. Authorities concluded that Paddock fired for 11 minutes, using multiple weapons outfitted with target scopes and bump stocks. Eight incendiary rounds were directed at an aviation fuel tank at the nearby airport. Two hit the tank, but it did not explode. Officers found several laptops, including at least one that was missing a hard drive, the report said. Eric Paddock told investigators that he believed his brother had cheated on the family's tax preparation. Eric was worried he might be implicated for tax evasion if evidence was collected from his brother's hard drives, the report said. When police told Eric Paddock about the missing hard drive, he repeated several times: "Maybe he did care for us." Friday's report further detailed Paddock's meticulously planning, including researching SWAT tactics, renting other hotel rooms overlooking outdoor concerts and investigating potential targets in at least four cities. The police department is conducting internal reviews into individual officers' actions, including one veteran officer who froze in a hallway a floor below where Paddock was firing onto the crowd of 22,000 country music fans. Another officer accidentally fired a rifle during a blast to breach a locked door in Paddock's room. Police said no one was injured and the shot did not hit Paddock. ___ Balsamo reported from Washington. Associated Press writer Regina Garcia Cano in Las Vegas contributed to this report. FILE- This Oct. 2017 file photo released by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Force Investigation Team Report showing the interior of room 32-134 of Las Vegas shooter Stephen Paddock's 32nd floor room of the Mandalay Bay hotel, an evidence imaged released as part of a preliminary report by Clark County Sheriff. Las Vegas police planned to make public Friday, Aug. 3, 2018, their final report on the shooting that killed 58 people and injured hundreds last year at a country music festival. (Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department via AP, File) FILE - This Oct. 2017 photo released by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Force Investigation Team Report shows the view of Las Vegas Village from Mandalay Bay's room 32-135, part of the evidence images included on a preliminary report showing the interior of Stephen Paddock's 32nd floor room of the Mandalay Bay hotel in Las Vegas. Las Vegas police planned to make public Friday, Aug. 3, 2018, their final report on the shooting that killed 58 people and injured hundreds last year at a country music festival. (Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department via AP, File) Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo speaks at a news conference regarding the Oct. 1 shooting on Friday, Aug. 3, 2018, in Las Vegas. More than 10 months after the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history, police say they are closing their investigation without answering the key question: What drove a gunman to unleash a hail of gunfire that killed 58 people and wounded hundreds more? (AP Photo/John Locher) FILE - In this Oct. 3, 2017, file photo, windows are broken at the Mandalay Bay resort and casino in Las Vegas, the room from where Stephen Craig Paddock fired on a nearby music festival, killed 58 and injuring hundreds on Oct. 1, 2017. Las Vegas police planned to make public Friday, Aug. 3, 2018, their final report on the shooting that killed 58 people and injured hundreds last year at a country music festival. (AP Photo/John Locher, File) Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo speaks at a news conference regarding the Oct. 1 shooting on Friday, Aug. 3, 2018, in Las Vegas. More than 10 months after the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history, police say they are closing their investigation without answering the key question: What drove a gunman to unleash a hail of gunfire that killed 58 people and wounded hundreds more? (AP Photo/John Locher) BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) - Colombian authorities say three police officers and a soldier have been kidnapped by a rebel group currently holding peace talks with the government. Police blamed the National Liberation Army (ELN) on Twitter Friday for the kidnapping which occurred in a remote jungle community in the impoverished Choco province. The ELN has an estimated 2,000 members and is involved in peace talks that could end five decades of war. Both sides failed to agree to a ceasefire during the last round of negotiations which ended Wednesday. President-elect Ivan Duque will now handle dialogue with the rebel group, which is the largest in Colombia following a 2016 peace deal with the FARC. A shocking new video from the deadly Carr Fire in Northern California shows the moment emergency crews pass dangerously close to a 'firenado' as it reached 143mph. Experts said the wildfire burned so hot at its peak that it created a cyclone of flames that ripped through the region with the force of a destructive Midwest tornado. According to National Weather Service (NWS) meteorologist Duane Dykema, the blaze that was still burning near Redding created the fire whirl that uprooted trees and tore roofs from homes. A shocking new video from the deadly Carr Fire in Northern California shows the moment emergency crews pass dangerously close to a 'firenado' as it reached 143mph Dykema said the whirl started when hot air from the exceptionally hot fire rose and twisted tightly, creating a powerful tornado of flames and wind. He said the cyclone had an intensity rivaled by some of the most destructive Midwest tornadoes recorded. According to Dykema, the whirl measured a 3 on the five-level Enhanced Fujita scale, which scientists use to classify the strength of tornadoes. California has not recorded a tornado of that strength since 1978. 'This is a particularly dangerous situation with extremely low humidity and high winds. New fires will grow rapidly out of control, in some cases people may not be able to evacuate safely in time should a fire approach,' the weather service said in its bulletin for the Mendocino area north of San Francisco. He said fire whirls are common, but not at this intensity. On Friday morning it was revealed that the bulldozer operator who was killed last month nearly slipped off a steep mountain trail three times before his vehicle finally rolled into a ravine and fatally crushed him. Experts said the wildfire burned so hot at its peak that it created a cyclone of flames that ripped through the region with the force of a destructive Midwest tornado. Flames from a wildfire advance up a ridge, towering over a home that eventually burned on Thursday On Friday morning it was revealed that bulldozer operator, Braden Varney, who was killed last month nearly slipped off a steep mountain trail three times before his vehicle finally rolled into a ravine and fatally crushed him Varney became the first of four California firefighters to die this year in the Carr and Ferguson fires. Four civilians have also died in the Carr Fire since the 206-square-mile blaze ignited on July 23, destroying 1,060 homes. More than 1,300 homes remained threatened A Department of Forestry and Fire Protection preliminary report said each earlier slip alone qualified as a 'near miss' warning that the century-old mining trail could collapse. The report said 36-year-old Braden Varney, a 10-year veteran, was working alone overnight on July 14 while fighting a wildfire sparked hours earlier outside Yosemite National Park. His assistant had gone to get a new hydraulic hose. Varney's radio wasn't communicating with headquarters, so his assistant relayed messages - until they lost contact. The report said Varney's death highlights the need for better risk assessment, communication and supervision. Varney became the first of four California firefighters to die this year in the Carr and Ferguson fires. Four civilians have also died in the Carr Fire since the 206-square-mile blaze ignited on July 23, destroying 1,060 homes. More than 1,300 homes remained threatened. Experts said on Friday that Increasing winds are expected in Northern California areas. The NWS has issued warnings for critical fire weather conditions for the rest of Friday and Saturday as a series of dry low-pressure systems pass through the region, bringing gusts up to 35mph. Experts said on Friday that Increasing winds are expected in Northern California areas. This aerial photo shows how close the fire is to hundreds of homes The NWS has issued warnings for critical fire weather conditions for the rest of Friday and Saturday as a series of dry low-pressure systems pass through the region, bringing gusts up to 35mph Forecasters said highest threat areas include a fire near the city of Redding and the Mendocino Complex of two fires north of San Francisco. The forecast includes extremely low humidity levels that leave vegetation ready to burn. New evacuations were ordered late Thursday at the Mendocino Complex, where the twin fires have ravaged a combined 240 square miles, destroyed 41 residences and threatened 9,200 homes. One of the fires rapidly expanded overnight. In Sierra Nevada, firefighters achieved 41 per cent containment of a 115-square-mile forest fire that has shut down Yosemite Valley and other adjacent portions of Yosemite National Park at what is normally the height of summer tourism. The Carr Fire is 39 per cent contained. Forecasters said highest threat areas include a fire near the city of Redding and the Mendocino Complex of two fires north of San Francisco New evacuations were ordered late Thursday at the Mendocino Complex, where the twin fires have ravaged a combined 240 square miles, destroyed 41 residences and threatened 9,200 homes. A 747 Global Airtanker makes a drop over Lakefront, California Redding Police Dept. officer Brian Berg (right), comforts a resident, (center), wishing not to be identified, after she saw her fire-ravaged home for the first time on Thursday iStock/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) -- With Europe facing a wide-ranging heatwave, some areas of Spain and Portugal are bracing for potentially record-breaking temperatures. The current European record of about 118 degrees Fahrenheit (48 degrees Celsius), which was registered in Athens during the summer of 1977, could be broken in the Iberian Peninsula, which includes Spain and Portugal, said Becky Mitchell, a meteorologist with the national weather service in the United Kingdom (U.K.). Temperatures in that region across Iberia look likely to peak on Saturday, Mitchell told ABC News, adding that the area could see temperatures hovering around 116 degrees Fahrenheit (47 degrees Celsius) and predicting that the 1977 record could be broken. Even if they dont reach the 48 [degrees Celsius], they could break their own individual records as a country as well, she said. The national temperature records for Spain and Portugal are 47.3 degrees Celsius and 47.4 degrees Celsius respectively, Mitchell said. A mass of very hot air from Africa and a period of little wind have contributed to what she called home-grown heat -- which has been building up and could potentially lead to record-breaking temperatures. Climate change means that extreme temperatures are more likely, Mitchell said, adding that by 2040, temperatures like the ones that Europe is currently facing could become the new normal. The U.K. is currently enjoying a slightly more tolerable period of hot weather, with much of England's southeast region expected to see levels of 86 degrees Fahrenheit (30 degrees Celsius) this weekend. With this heat comes uncomfortable, muggy nights for southern Britain, but a tweet from the U.K.'s national weather service on Thursday night reminded Brits that temperatures are much higher in parts of Spain and Portugal. In the U.K., public health warnings are urging people to look out for each other in the warm weather. With temperatures rising, were advising people to look out for friends, family and neighbors who may feel the heat more than others, Emer OConnell, a government consultant in public health, told ABC News in an email. People with heart and lung conditions, older people and young children can all struggle in warmer weather as their bodies find it more difficult to cope with higher temperatures," O'Connell wrote. "So our advice for everybody is look out for others, drink plenty of fluids and -- if traveling anywhere -- take water with you. Copyright 2018, ABC Radio. All rights reserved. PHOENIX (AP) - Arizona clergy are calling activists to gather this weekend at the state's border with Mexico and leave large jugs of water on remote trails for migrants who continue to cross the desert during the dangerously hot summer. The Sunday gathering organized by faith leaders and local groups such as No More Deaths comes just a week after the U.S. Border Patrol detained a group of 95 Central Americans, including at least one infant, in the same general area near the border where the heat regularly exceeds 100 degrees (37 Celsius) during the summer. The people from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador ranged in age from 3 months to 60 years and were found to be in good health. They were turned over to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency. FILE - In this Thursday Aug. 5, 2010 file photo, No More Deaths volunteer Katie Maloney checks water jugs at the group's camp before heading out to supply water stations for illegal immigrants near Arivaca, Ariz., about 13 miles north of Mexico. Arizona clergy are calling activists to gather this weekend at the state's border with Mexico and leave large bottles of water on remote trails for migrants who continue to cross the desert during the dangerously hot summer. (AP Photo/Amanda Lee Myers,File) The Rev. Susan Frederick-Gray, president of the Unitarian Universalist Association who was a Phoenix minister for nine years, said she wants to demonstrate solidarity with migrants and aid workers. Arizona faith leaders have a long history of activism and were at the forefront of the 1980s sanctuary movement that provided safe haven to Central Americans fleeing civil war in their homelands. "Providing humanitarian aid is not a crime," Frederick-Gray said. "Fleeing your country to save your life or save your children is not a crime. Human beings have a right to flee when they are in danger." Also traveling to southern Arizona will be Rachel Gore Freed, a human rights attorney with experience representing immigrants. The vice president of the faith-based Unitarian Universalist Service Committee, Freed said the stream of Central American migrants still crossing the region underscores "the incredible violence they are fleeing" and insisted that "access to water during a long and complicated route is something that should be protected." The administration of President Donald Trump has been outspoken in its opposition to illegal immigration and promotes the construction of a border wall to keep migrants out. The activists will set out shortly after sunrise Sunday to leave one-gallon (3.79 liters) jugs of water along trails frequented by migrants in the Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge near Ajo, Arizona. Thousands of migrants have died crossing the border since the mid-1990s, when heightened enforcement in San Diego and El Paso, Texas, pushed traffic into Arizona's remote deserts. The remains of 128 such border crossers were recovered last year from the southern Arizona desert, according to figures from the Pima County Medical Examiner's Office. Alicia Dinsmore of No More Deaths said a large number of the remains were found in Cabeza Prieta and neighboring Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument. Local Border activist Scott Warren was arrested in January after Border Patrol agents conducted surveillance on a building in nearby Ajo, about 40 miles (64 kilometers) north of the border, where two immigrants allegedly were given food, water, beds and clean clothes. The 35-year-old No More Deaths volunteer faces a federal charge of harboring two people in the country illegally. Warren has declined to speak with the news media and is seeking protection from prosecution, saying his spiritual values compel him to help all people in distress. Warren's defense attorneys have argued that their client "could not, consistent with his conscience and spiritual beliefs, turn away two migrants in the harsh climate of the Sonoran Desert." U.S. prosecutors at the federal court in Tucson have said the two migrants found with Warren were never in distress. Warren was arrested several hours after No More Deaths gave news organizations videos of a Border Patrol agent kicking over water jugs meant for immigrants and of another agent pouring gallons of water on the ground. BEIRUT (AP) - For nearly three years, green buses have filed into Syria's Idlib province, bringing those evacuated from other opposition enclaves that fell to government forces - thousands of defeated rebel fighters, wanted activists and civilians who refused to go back under President Bashar Assad's rule. They now face what is likely to be the last showdown between Assad's forces and the opposition. Assad has vowed to retake the province, and pro-government media promise the "mother of all battles." If it comes to an all-out assault, it could bring a humanitarian crisis. Filled with displaced from elsewhere, the province in Syria's northwest corner is packed with some 3 million people, the most deeply irreconcilable with Assad's government and including some of the world's most radical militants. They have little option but to make a stand, with few good places to escape. This photo provided on Monday, July 22, 2018, by the al-Qaida-affiliated Ibaa News Network, purports to show militants of the al-Qaida-linked coalition known as Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham, Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham, Arabic for Levant Liberation Committee overlooking a battlefield in rural Lattakia, Syria. It's already being called the "mother of all battles," the last showdown between the forces of Syrian President Bashar Assad and the opposition. Idlib province, in Syria's northwest, is the only significant opposition enclave still standing and Assad has vowed to retake it. The caption in Arabic reads: "A field visit by Sheik Abu Malik al-Shami (a leading member of the group) with field commanders to inspect an outpost for Mujahideen (holy fighters) in the coast area." (Ibaa News Network, via AP) "Currently, all (opposition) from around Syria came to Idlib. The only solution is to fight. There is no alternative," said Firas Barakat, an Idlib resident. The 28-year old said that for years he has dedicated himself to civilian opposition activities, but now he must take up arms. The opposition capture of Idlib in 2015 signaled the low point for Assad's government during the course of war that is now nearly 8 years old - a time when rebels controlled large parts of two main Syrian cities, major highways, border crossings, dams and oil resources. Russian and Iranian backing enabled Assad's military to claw back territory. Most recently, it scored a victory with heavy symbolic resonance in the south, recapturing Daraa, one of the first places to rise against Assad's rule in 2011. Around a third of the country still remains out of government hands in the north and east, most of it held by U.S.-backed Kurdish-led forces that wrested it from the Islamic State group. But Idlib stands as the last significant enclave of the armed opposition that rose up dedicated to ousting Assad. "When we saw the resistance collapse in the south- and we thought it never would give it was the first to resist the government - fear really prevailed here," said Barakat. Squeezed, the opposition is desperate. But its forces are not small, and their territory is not tiny and sealed off as other opposition holdouts were. That portends a complex and difficult battle. The number of fighters in Idlib is estimated at several tens of thousands, including thousands of battle-hardened militants from al-Qaida-linked groups and from China's Turkic-speaking Uighur minority. Although the al-Qaida-linked group dominates, other non-jihadi factions have maintained their presence, including some of the earliest forces to take up arms against Assad. With Turkey's backing, they have formed a "National Liberation Front," excluding al-Qaida. Idlib has seen a wave of lawlessness and assassinations among the various factions, including shootings and car bombs. Saeed al-Nakrash, a rebel leader originally from near Damascus, was kidnapped and held for 50 days. He blamed al-Qaida-linked militants and said his family paid $75,000 for his release. The opposition-held area abuts the Turkish border on the north and west. Though Turkey has built a wall, the border remains porous, providing a supply line for fighters. That wall could be overwhelmed if massive numbers try to flee Idlib. To the east is an enclave held by Turkish-backed Syrian fighters, a possible escape route for anyone fleeing, though it is already overwhelmed by displaced. Rumblings have started. Activists report government reinforcements arriving at Abu Dhuhur air base in eastern Idlib, which Assad's forces seized early this year. Troops have been shelling Jisr el-Shughur, a strategic opposition-held town overlooking the government stronghold on the Mediterranean coast. Just how ferocious an offensive turns out to be depends on diplomatic maneuvering among the power players - particularly Russia. It appears reluctant for an all-out assault. Russia is juggling between longtime ally Syria and its new friend Turkey, which has become central to the political process Moscow is leading to try to resolve the conflict. Assad vows to restore all of Syria to its control. Turkey fears an assault will send a flood of refugees - and militants - swarming to its border. Under a deal with Russia and Iran, Turkey has deployed around 1,000 troops at 12 observation points around Idlib to monitor a cease-fire, effectively standing between government forces and the opposition. It is part of a "de-escalation" zone in the province that ultimately aims to root out al-Qaida-linked groups as a basis for a future political process. Turkey warns that a wide-scale offensive will wreck Russia's efforts. Its deployment in Idlib is a "trip wire that will start to tug at the (agreements with Russia) if you try to walk through it," said Aron Lund, a Syria expert with the Century Foundation. From the other side, the Syrian government is testing the Russia-Turkey relationship. During the latest meeting in Russia in July, Syria's U.N. ambassador Bashar Jaafari blasted Turkey, saying it has failed to weed out extremists from Idlib. Jaafari said Damascus encourages reconciliation with rebels, but not with al-Qaida militants - adding that it is Turkey's responsibility "fight terrorism." "If Idlib returns in reconciliation, this is well and good. And if it doesn't ...the Syrian army has the right to restore control over Idlib by force." That makes Russia's stance critical, said Sam Heller, a researcher with the International Crisis Group. "Ultimately what determines the survival of Idlib may be external, and they relate to these geopolitical considerations," he said. Russia has already said no wide offensive is expected. That has raised speculation over a limited operation to control Jisr al-Shughur or the main highway running through Idlib. Wael Olwan - a spokesman for one of the strongest Turkish-backed Syrian factions, Faylaq al-Sham - said Turkey working with Syrian allies can "dissolve" the al-Qaida-linked factions. But, he said, "I am not optimistic that Russia can hold back the regime forces long enough for Turkey to dismantle the radical groups." This photo provided on Monday, Aug 2, 2018, by the al-Qaida-affiliated Ibaa News Network, shows a tank of the al-Qaida-linked coalition known as Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham, Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham, Arabic for Levant Liberation Committee, firing at Syrian troops and pro-government gunmen in rural Aleppo, Syria. It's already being called the "mother of all battles," the last showdown between the forces of Syrian President Bashar Assad and the opposition. Idlib province, in Syria's northwest, is the only significant opposition enclave still standing and Assad has vowed to retake it. The caption in Arabic reads: "Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham targets groups of the criminal government faces in Castello area with tank shells." (Ibaa News Network, via AP) FILE - In this Tuesday, July 17, 2018, file photo, released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, Syrian troops flash the victory sign next to the Syrian flag in Tell al-Haara, the highest hill in the southwestern Daraa province, Syria. It's already being called the "mother of all battles," the last showdown between the forces of Syrian President Bashar Assad and the opposition. Idlib province, in Syria's northwest, is the only significant opposition enclave still standing and Assad has vowed to retake it. (SANA via AP, File) FILE - This file photo provided Sunday, Oct. 8, 2017 by the Syrian Civil Defense White Helmets, which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, shows Civil Defense workers and Syrian citizens gathering after an airstrike hit a market in Maaret al-Numan in southern Idlib, Syria. It's already being called the "mother of all battles," the last showdown between the forces of Syrian President Bashar Assad and the opposition. Idlib province, in Syria's northwest, is the only significant opposition enclave still standing and Assad has vowed to retake it. (Syrian Civil Defense White Helmets via AP, File) FILE - In this file photo posted on the Twitter account of Syria's al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front on April 25, 2015, which is consistent with AP reporting, fighters pray after rebel fighters from Islamic factions - including the Nusra Front captured the town of Jisr al-Shughour from Syrian government forces, in Idlib province, Syria. It's already being called the "mother of all battles," the last showdown between the forces of Syrian President Bashar Assad and the opposition. Idlib province, in Syria's northwest, is the only significant opposition enclave still standing and Assad has vowed to retake it. (Al-Nusra Front via AP, File) HYDERABAD, India (AP) - A powerful explosion at a granite quarry in southern India on Friday killed at least 12 workers and injured another four, a government official said. N. Chandrababu Naidu, the top elected official of Andhra Pradesh state, says the victims were breaking stones and loading them in trucks at the time of the blast. Police officer J. Gopinath says the gelatine sticks used to blast granite exploded and the area was engulfed in fire, according to the Indian Express newspaper. The four injured were hospitalized. Rescuers were searching for any other worker trapped in the rubble, the Press Trust of India news agency says. The blast burned five trucks and caused cracks in several homes in neighboring areas. People living in nearby villages ran out in panic as the blast shook Hattibalegal, a village in Kurnool district, which is 210 kilometers (130 miles) south of Hyderabad, the Andhra Pradesh state capital. COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) - The Latest on the shooting of a Colorado police officer (all times local): 1:30 p.m. The man suspected of critically wounding a Colorado Springs police officer remains hospitalized with minor injuries. In this undated photo provided by Colorado Springs Police Department is Officer Cam Duzel. Police in Colorado Springs, Colorado say an officer who was wounded in a shootout remains in critical condition. Police said Friday, Aug. 3, 2018, that Officer Cem Duzel had movement on both sides of his body overnight and has family and friends were by his side in the hospital. He was shot while responding to a call about shots fired early Thursday east of downtown. Investigators say 31-year-old Karrar Noaman Al Khammasi pulled a handgun and began shooting at officers. (Colorado Springs Police Department via AP) Jacqueline Kirby, a spokeswoman with the El Paso County Sheriff's Office, says 31-year-old Karrar Noaman Al Khammasi was being treated Friday in a local hospital. Kirby says he will be transferred to the county jail once he is released. His first court appearance could come early next week. Police say Al Khammasi opened fire Thursday on 30-year-old Officer Cem Duzel on a Colorado Springs street early Thursday. Duzel, a five-year department veteran, is in critical condition. The sheriff's office says Al Khammasi faces potential charges of attempted first-degree murder, possession of a weapon by an offender and felony menacing. The Gazette reports Al Khammasi spent time in jail for driving while intoxicated, trespassing and misdemeanor assault. It's not clear if he has a lawyer. ___ 1 p.m. A fellow officer and housemate of a Colorado Springs policeman who was critically wounded during a shots-fired call says he loves his patrol job and has a "superkind heart." Officer Emily McBride told Newsday that 30-year-old Cem Duzel came to Colorado from New York's Long Island several years ago not planning to be an officer. But McBride says the five-year-veteran loves his job. McBride says Duzel "is one tough cookie. He sets his mind to something, makes a goal and he goes for it. But he also has a superkind heart." Newsday reports Duzel grew up in Manorville, New York, and graduated from Westhampton Beach Senior High School. Police say 31-year-old Karrar Noaman Al Khammasi fired the shots that wounded Duzel. Al Khamassi suffered slight wounds in the incident and will appear in court after he is released from a hospital. 8:40 a.m. Police in Colorado Springs say an officer who was wounded in a shootout remains in critical condition. Police said Friday that Officer Cem Duzel had movement on both sides of his body overnight and that family and friends are by his side in a Colorado Springs hospital. He was shot while responding to a call about shots fired early Thursday east of downtown. Investigators say 31-year-old Karrar Noaman Al Khammasi pulled a handgun and began shooting at officers. He was hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries after the incident. The Gazette reports Al Khammasi spent time in jail for driving while intoxicated, trespassing and misdemeanor assault. It's not clear if he has a lawyer yet. In this undated photo provided by the El Paso County Sheriff's Office is Karrar Noaman Al Khammasi. Police in Colorado Springs, Colo., say an officer who was wounded in a shootout remains in critical condition. Police said Friday, Aug. 3, 2018, that Officer Cem Duzel had movement on both sides of his body overnight and has family and friends were by his side in the hospital. He was shot while responding to a call about shots fired early Thursday east of downtown. Investigators say 31-year-old Karrar Noaman Al Khammasi pulled a handgun and began shooting at officers. (El Paso County Sheriff's Office via AP) Police investigate the scene of a shooting that critically injured Colorado Springs Police Officer Cem Duzel Thursday morning, Aug. 2, 2018, in Colorado Springs, Colo. Colorado Springs Police Chief Pete Carey says Officer Duzel was wounded after responding with other officers to a report of shots fired east of downtown early Thursday. He says they found an armed suspect, and there was an exchange of gunfire. (Christian Murdock/The Gazette via AP) ARLINGTON, Va. (AP) - A 12-year-old Chinese tourist has been found safe in New York a day after her tour group reported her missing from a Washington-area airport. Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority Police said JinJing Ma was found Friday in the custody of her parents in Queens, New York. Authority police Chief David Huchler said at a news conference Friday that the girl excused herself to go to the bathroom Thursday after getting her passport at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. He said the girl met a woman, changed clothes and got into an SUV with New York tags. This undated photo provided by the Virginia State Police shows JinJing Ma. Police are searching for the 12-year-old girl they say was abducted from Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. Police said in a statement that JinJing was last seen leaving the airport with an unknown woman on Thursday, Aug. 2, 2018. Police say JinJing is about 4 feet, 11 inches tall (1.5 meters) and weighs about 90 pounds (41 kilograms). She is Asian and has black hair and brown eyes. The woman they say abducted her is described as Asian, about 40 years old with black hair. They say she was wearing a black dress. (Virginia State Police via AP) Huchler says a couple had earlier approached JinJing Ma while her tour group was at the World Trade Center. He says there appeared to be a link between that couple and the people she met at the airport. This photo provided by the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority shows missing 12-year-old girl JinJing Ma with an unidentified person walking through the baggage/arrivals level at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, Thursday, Aug. 2, 2018. Police are searching for JinJing Ma they say was abducted from the airport. Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority Police Chief David Huchler said during a news conference Friday that JinJing Ma excused herself to go to the bathroom Thursday after getting her passport at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. He says the girl met an Asian woman in a black dress, changed clothes and got into white Infiniti QX60 with New York tags. (Metropolitan Washington Airports via AP) MIAMI (AP) - The estate of Miami Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez has settled a wrongful death lawsuit with the families of two other men who were with him in a fatal boat crash in Florida. Attorney Ralph Fernandez, who represents the All-Star's estate, confirmed Friday that they had reached an agreement Tuesday, which would have been Jose Fernandez's 26th birthday. The attorney said he couldn't disclose details about the settlement but was happy with the outcome. The lawyer had previously accused state investigators of prematurely concluding that Jose Fernandez was responsible and then altering or ignoring evidence to the contrary. That investigation found that Fernandez was operating his boat when it hit a Miami Beach jetty in September 2016. Christopher Royer, an attorney for the estates of 27-year-old Emilio Macias and 25-year-old Eduardo Rivero, declined to comment on the settlement. OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - A U.S. judge determined Friday that a lawsuit the state of Oklahoma filed against the makers of opioids does not "necessarily rise" to a federal issue. The ruling by U.S. District Judge Vicki Miles-LaGrange in Oklahoma City sends the matter back to state court. Drugmakers had it moved to federal court in June. Oklahoma, one of at least 13 states that have filed lawsuits against drugmakers, alleges fraudulent marketing of drugs that fueled the opioid epidemic in the lawsuit filed in June 2017. It is seeking unspecified damages from Purdue Pharma, Allergan, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Teva Pharmaceuticals and several of their subsidiaries. Randy Ellis, from left, of The Oklahoman, Michael Burrage, attorney, Mike Hunter, Oklahoma attorney general, Gary Batton, chief of the Choctaw Nation and Gov. Bill Anoatubby, Chickasaw Nation, attend a panel discussion on opioid lawsuits on the set of NewsOK.com, Friday, Aug. 3, 2018, in Oklahoma City. A lawsuit by the state of Oklahoma against the makers of opioids is going back to state court per U.S. District Judge Vicki Miles-LaGrange's ruling Friday that the lawsuit does not "necessarily raise" a federal issue. (Doug Hoke/The Oklahoman via AP) Opioid manufacturers had argued the state was asking them to make different safety and efficacy disclosures to the public than required by federal law and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The drug manufacturers listed as defendants said opioid abuse is a serious health issue, but they deny wrongdoing. An attorney for the companies did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment. The ruling came just minutes after Chickasaw Nation Gov. Bill Anoatubby and Choctaw Nation Chief Gary Batton joined Hunter and Michael Burrage, a private attorney representing the tribes and the state, in announcing that the tribes are joining the state in suing the opioid manufacturers in state courts for unspecified damages. Hunter did not immediately return a phone call for comment, but Burrage said during the news conference that the effort to return to lawsuit to state court was to keep it from potentially being folded into more than 800 similar lawsuit pending in Ohio. "We would rather for Oklahomans to decide these cases, the state's case, these tribe's cases, rather than some judge in ... Ohio," Burrage said. Similar lawsuits have been filed by the Oklahoma-based Cherokee Nation, Muscogee (Creek) Nation and the Ponca Tribe. Court records show the Muscogee and Ponca lawsuits have been moved to the federal case in Ohio while the Cherokee lawsuit was moved to federal court in eastern Oklahoma. BOSTON (AP) - Is JFK losing his star power? It's probably too early to tell, but 55 years after President John F. Kennedy's assassination, an auction of some of the most iconic items associated with the Kennedy White House fell well short of the pre-sale hype. A rocking chair JFK used to meet with world leaders in the Oval Office sold for $50,000, and a collection of pens he used to establish the Peace Corps and sign a landmark nuclear treaty sold for $60,000 at Friday's auction on Cape Cod, not far from the Kennedy compound in Hyannis, Massachusetts. FILE - In this Oct. 6, 1961, file photo, President John F. Kennedy, left, sits in his rocker in the White House in Washington, as he talks with Soviet Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko about the Berlin situation. Beginning Friday, Aug. 3, 2018, Eldred's auction gallery in East Dennis, Mass., on Cape Cod, is auctioning items associated with the late president, including a rocking chair that Kennedy used in the White House. (AP Photo/Bob Schutz, File) But a number of other intriguing items didn't sell, including Kennedy's last pencil doodles before his assassination in Dallas on Nov. 22, 1963, and a tie clip in the shape of the PT-109 torpedo boat Kennedy commanded during World War II. Other items that didn't get the minimum bid included a charcoal drawing done as a study for the slain president's official White House portrait; handwritten notes he jotted about Vietnam around 1953; his letter opener and crystal ashtray; and his personal stereo and Jackie Gleason records. "About half of it sold," Josh Eldred, president of Eldred's auction gallery in East Dennis, told The Associated Press. Buyers' identities were not disclosed. Even though the auction is over, buyers can still make offers, he said, adding that he's confident the best of the memorabilia eventually will sell. JFK's worn, upholstered oak rocking chair had been expected to sell for up to $70,000. JFK often was photographed sitting in it while meeting with world leaders. The former president's doctors urged him to use rockers to ease his chronic back pain. The pens that sold were used not only to sign the Peace Corps into existence but the 1963 Nuclear Test Ban Treaty - an accord that helped steer the planet away from nuclear warfare a year after the Cuban Missile Crisis brought the U.S. and the Soviet Union to the brink. A few oddball items also were sold Friday: JFK's prized if garish silk scarf, decorated with bronze Democrat donkeys and blue stars, and a creased and stained 1961 inaugural ball invitation that JFK sent to Frank Sinatra, each fetched $800. His doodles of sailboats sold for $7,000. But his scribbles on Texas hotel stationery the day before the nation's 35th president was shot didn't sell. "It may have been one of the last things he put on paper," auction house vice president Bill Bourne said. "In fact, it probably was." ___ Follow Bill Kole on Twitter at https://twitter.com/billkole . His work can be found here . UNITED NATIONS (AP) - The United Nations said Friday it is implementing "a gradual return" of the U.N. peacekeeping force to the frontier zone between Syria and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. U.N. deputy spokesman Farhan Haq told reporters that a key goal in the return of the peacekeeping force, known as UNDOF, is reopening the Quneitra crossing between the two sides. "The ultimate goal for UNDOF is the full return, conditions permitting," he said. U.N. peacekeepers returned Thursday for the first time in years to the Syria-Israel frontier, conducting joint patrols with Russian military police in a reflection of Moscow's deepening role in mediating between the decades-old foes in the volatile region. Haq said "the Aug. 2 patrol to the Quneitra crossing point is part of UNDOF's ongoing efforts to return incrementally to the area of separation." Russian military police have been deploying in all areas recaptured from rebels by the Syrian government, and they have deployed on the edge of the Israeli occupied Golan Heights in the past two days - a move that also appears aimed at reassuring Israel. Israel considers Iran's growing influence in Syria - it has advisers and allied militias fighting alongside Syrian troops- as an existential threat and had looked for guarantees from Moscow to push pro-Iran fighters away from its frontiers. Haq stressed that the Russians are not part of UNDOF, which has been authorized to patrol the buffer zone between Syria and Israel since 1974, a year after the Arab-Israeli war. He said the 1974 Disengagement of Forces Agreement state that UNDOF's members cannot include the five permanent members of the U.S. Security Council - the U.S., Russia, China, Britain and France. For nearly four decades, UNDOF helped enforce a stable truce between the two countries but the seven-year Syrian war moved into the zone not only with intense fighting but the abduction of peacekeepers by al-Qaida-linked anti-Syrian government militants. ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) - The Latest on the National Rifle Association lawsuit accusing New York governor of causing financial harm (all times local): 4:45 p.m. Gov. Andrew Cuomo says New York is filing a motion to dismiss a federal lawsuit by the National Rifle Association that accuses state regulators of harming its financial stability and violating its First Amendment rights. The NRA filed the lawsuit in May after the Cuomo administration urged banks and insurance companies to weigh the reputational risk of business ties to the gun rights group. In an updated lawsuit late last month, the NRA says the Democratic governor's action is threatening the organization's ability to pursue its advocacy mission and spread its messages because it can't get liability insurance coverage. Cuomo says Friday that the state's actions are aimed at protecting public safety and don't violate the NRA's constitutional rights. ___ 3: 11 p.m. The National Rifle Association says it's suffering grave financial harm that's threatening the group's ability to pursue its advocacy mission because of actions by Gov. Andrew Cuomo and New York regulators. In an amended version of a federal lawsuit filed in May, the NRA says it has lost insurance coverage because of the state's enforcement actions against companies underwriting an NRA-branded insurance program called Carry Guard. Without liability coverage, NRA says it can't maintain its offices, operate educational programs or hold rallies and other events. The amended complaint was filed in late July in federal court for the northern district of New York. It names the Democratic governor along with the state Department of Financial Services and its superintendent, Maria Vullo, as defendants. Cuomo's office had no immediate comment Friday. ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - A crewman is missing from a cruise ship in Alaska waters. The Coast Guard is searching in Sitka Sound by helicopter for a 35-year old man reported overboard from the 780-foot (238-meter) cruise ship Amsterdam. The man was last seen on the ship at 6 p.m. Thursday. He did not show up for a work shift and other crewman and alerted the vessel's captain at about 7:45 p.m. The vessel turned around and searched but has since continued south toward Victoria, British Columbia. Ship officials notified the Coast Guard of the missing man at 9 p.m. The helicopter crew began searching off Biorka Island at 1 a.m. Friday. The Coast Guard reports wind in the area at 43 mph (69 kph), waves to 8 feet (2.4 meters) and heavy fog. CINCINNATI (AP) - Homeless people living along a busy downtown Cincinnati street left minutes before the city's deadline Friday afternoon when crews tasked with sanitizing the area arrived in white, full-body suits and neon vests. But they didn't go far. Most took tents and other belongings and relocated just around the corner. Some went even closer to the city's entertainment district that includes stadiums and an arena that host pro sports and big-name concerts. Residents and supporters of a homeless encampment along Third St. remove their belongings before Cincinnati officials arrive to clean the area., Friday, Aug. 3, 2018, in Cincinnati. A federal judge refused to block the city cleanup after the advocates sued to stop it. They called an order to vacate "a bullying tactic" that violates constitutional rights of the homeless. (AP Photo/John Minchillo) Advocates for the homeless said displaced individuals plan to return as soon as city crews leave area. Police said they had no immediate plans to keep them away. A federal judge refused to block the city's cleanup after homeless advocates filed a lawsuit Friday morning trying to stop it, saying constitutional rights were being violated. City officials cited health and safety reasons when they began to issue notices to vacate downtown homeless encampments about two weeks ago. Cincinnati Mayor John Cranley has called the encampments an "unacceptable" public health hazard. Police and public officials are sweeping homeless camps across the nation in response to pressure from residents and business owners who want to avoid visible poverty, said Megan Hustings, executive director of the National Coalition for the Homeless. Hustings said complaints about cleanliness are valid, but removing individuals from public streets isn't the answer. "If dirtiness is the issue, focus on that," she said. "Provide trash collection and portable restrooms." Those who sleep on the streets have begun to set up tents and take shelter in more visible spaces over the last few years because they think they're safer in more open, trafficked locations, said Kevin Finn, president of Strategies to End Homelessness. Billy Watson grills chicken wings on the sidewalk in front of his bar and restaurant Kitty's, less than a block from the first encampment city officials shut down last week. He said he's glad they're doing something about it, because some customers told him they wouldn't return until the tent city was dealt with. Watson said he would be fine moving the encampment away from downtown tourist stops. Homeless advocate Josh Spring said the homeless individuals have a right to be seen by both locals and tourists, and have a First Amendment right to protest - not with signs, but with their tents. "Until we get serious about permanent solutions, we must not punish people for trying to live," said Spring, of the Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition. Joseph Phillips, the homeless man named in the lawsuit against the city, said he decided to live on downtown sidewalks because the area is safe and well-lit. He added it's close to food kitchens and shelters, and the location makes it easy for people to drop off donations. Acting City Manager Patrick Duhaney said he plans to next target a camp that formed near a luxury riverfront apartment complex around the same time the first encampment was shut down. Cities such as Seattle and San Diego have experimented with sanctioned encampments in designated areas. The vast majority of the Cincinnati area's homeless population lives in shelters, Finn said. But others prefer living on the streets. Some shy away from shelters because of paranoia or anxiety, or because of substance dependencies. Some couples without children who can't stay together in shelters don't want to be apart. Over the last few weeks, homeless individuals weaved brown plastic bags into the metal fencing along a Cincinnati freeway overpass, spelling "Home is where the heart is." ___ Follow Angie Wang at http://www.twitter.com/byangiewang Residents and supporters of a homeless encampment along Third St. remove their belongings before Cincinnati officials arrive to clean the area., Friday, Aug. 3, 2018, in Cincinnati. A federal judge refused to block the city cleanup after the advocates sued to stop it. They called an order to vacate "a bullying tactic" that violates constitutional rights of the homeless. (AP Photo/John Minchillo) Residents and supporters of a homeless encampment along Third St. remove their belongings before Cincinnati officials arrive to clean the area., Friday, Aug. 3, 2018, in Cincinnati. A federal judge refused to block the city cleanup after the advocates sued to stop it. They called an order to vacate "a bullying tactic" that violates constitutional rights of the homeless. (AP Photo/John Minchillo) DETROIT (AP) - For all the drama surrounding the Trump administration's attempt to undo Obama-era fuel economy requirements, automakers are likely to stick to them until they get some answers. The administration on Thursday unveiled plans to freeze the requirements at 2020 levels through 2026, after which they will be revisited. That means the fleet of new vehicles would have to average about 30 miles per gallon in real-world driving from 2020 through the next six years. The previous fuel standards under President Barack Obama required about 37 mpg by 2025. But much remains in flux. The Trump administration likely will challenge California's ability to set its own stricter standards that now match the ones under Obama, and depending on who wins, the U.S. could wind up with two gas mileage standards. It could take years for courts to settle the dispute, or both sides could negotiate one standard. There's also the looming 2020 presidential election, which could upend the requirements again if a Democrat takes over. FILE- In this Jan. 11, 2018, file photo, cars pass the Queensboro Bridge in New York. The Trump administration is citing safety to justify freezing gas mileage requirements. A draft of a regulation prepared this summer would freeze an Obama-era program to improve fuel efficiency and cut pollution. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II, File) In the meantime, automakers aren't sure what requirements they will have to meet in 2021, so most are proceeding as if the Obama-era requirements won't change. They're continuing to develop more efficient vehicles including electrics and hybrids. "We'd like to get clarity as soon as we can," General Motors President Dan Ammann said Friday on the sidelines of a cybersecurity conference in Detroit. "We'd be very much behind one national standard that we can work to plan, to deploy capital against." The government will take comments on the proposal to freeze requirements and some other options, including leaving the previous fuel standards in place. A decision is expected by early next year. Ammann mirrors other automakers in saying that his company will continue to develop electric and gas-electric hybrids. Most are looking for relief from the Obama-era standards that could prompt fines for non-compliance because people are buying less-efficient trucks and SUVs in record numbers. Some, like Toyota, say they'll go for standards that increase over time and "encourage new technologies in the marketplace and account for today's market realities." Thirteen states now follow California's requirements. If they force two standards, that will drive the automakers' engineering and manufacturing costs to build two versions of each vehicle. "Manufacturers really have to assume that the California regulations will stand," said Navigant Research analyst Sam Abuelsamid. The Trump administration could freeze standards for the rest of the nation while the court fight rages. If that happens, Abuelsamid sees automakers marketing trucks and SUVs heavily in states that don't follow California. Even if the federal government ultimately wins, the U.S. will still get most of the same vehicles as the rest of the world because automakers have to comply with standards that already are stricter in China, Japan and the European Union, analysts say. Companies want to sell the same vehicle in as many places as possible to spread out development costs and make more money. "As global automakers, they will continue to develop high-efficiency clean technology," said Rebecca Lindland, an analyst for Kelley Blue Book. Still, hybrid and electric vehicles are a tough sell in the U.S. now, where combined they make up less than 4 percent of the market, she said. If the requirements are relaxed in the U.S., the country likely will see less-efficient engines and transmissions than automakers sell in the rest of the world, Lindland said. Congress passed the first fuel economy standards in 1975 after a 1973 oil embargo dramatically raised gas prices. Fuel efficiency for cars had to rise to 27.5 miles per gallon by 1985 under less-accurate gas mileage tests in place at the time, according to the Union of Concerned Scientists. They stayed stagnant until 2007, when they were raised to 35 mpg by 2020, combined for cars and trucks. In 2010, more stringent standards were approved under the Obama administration that raised the combined mileage to 34.1 mpg by 2016, still under the old testing system. California accepted those standards. The requirements were again raised in 2012 so the fleet of new cars would reach 54.5 mpg in the 2025 model year. (That's equal to about 37 mpg under newer, more realistic EPA tests.) It's those standards that the Trump administration wants to freeze, contending they are unreasonable. Abuelsamid said it's unlikely that the industry would have raised gas mileage as much as it has in the U.S. without the government intervention. "I can't see that consumers here would have demanded that kind of efficiency," he said. MEXICO CITY (AP) - The youngest student ever admitted to Mexico's National Autonomous University wouldn't call himself a "genius." Carlos Santamaria Diaz, a 12-year-old who will begin classes for an undergraduate degree in biomedical physics Monday, was dwarfed by the upholstered blue chair he sat in to answer reporters' questions Friday. With his feet barely brushing the floor, he laughed out loud and shook his head when a reporter asked if he considered himself a genius. 12-year-old Carlos Santamaria Diaz poses for photographers during a press event at Mexico's National Autonomous University in Mexico City, Friday, Aug. 3, 2018. The university, better known by its Spanish initials as the UNAM, said Thursday that Carlos Santamaria Diaz is the youngest such student in the university's roughly century-long history.(AP Photo / Marco Ugarte) "I don't like to use that word," he said. Carlos passed the university's entrance exam and has already done preparatory work at the university's school of chemistry in its genetics sciences center. The boy from western Guadalajara grew bored with public school at an early age and turned to the web where he taught himself calculus and physics. By the age of nine, he participated in university programs in analytical chemistry, biochemistry and biology. Nervously running his hands through his hair and speaking passionately of finding cures for rare diseases, his behavior seemed typical of a confident albeit young college student until the university's photographer asked him to pose with a stuffed mascot and the boy emerged. When asked if he ever felt isolated because of his intelligence, Carlos shrugged off the question: "The truth is, no, I feel like the university has been very good to me, especially the chemistry faculty." His mother Arcelia Diaz said that like any mom she was proud of her son. Carlos offered advice to Mexico's President-elect Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador: "First off, I would tell him not to make the same mistakes as the previous presidents." Politicians should "take care of the country like they take care of themselves," he said. "This a country filled with people who have dreams and at the same don't have any dreams because they don't have any opportunities." The university said Carlos would be treated like any other student, with no special privileges or benefits. 12-year-old Carlos Santamaria Diaz smiles as he stands with his parents during a press conference at Mexico's National Autonomous University in Mexico City, Friday, Aug. 3, 2018. The university, better known by its Spanish initials as the UNAM, said Thursday that Carlos Santamaria Diaz is the youngest such student in the university's roughly century-long history. (AP Photo / Marco Ugarte) 12-year-old Carlos Santamaria Diaz shares a moment with his father Fabian Santamaria during during a press conference at Mexico's National Autonomous University in Mexico City, Friday, Aug. 3, 2018. The university, better known by its Spanish initials as the UNAM, said Thursday that Carlos Santamaria Diaz is the youngest such student in the university's roughly century-long history.(AP Photo/Marco Ugarte) 12-year-old Carlos Santamaria Diaz is seen on a television camera monitor during a press conference at Mexico's National Autonomous University in Mexico City, Friday, Aug. 3, 2018. The university, better known by its Spanish initials as the UNAM, said Thursday that Carlos Santamaria Diaz is the youngest such student in the university's roughly century-long history. (AP Photo / Marco Ugarte) 12-year-old Carlos Santamaria Diaz poses for photographers during a press event at Mexico's National Autonomous University in Mexico City, Friday, Aug. 3, 2018. The university, better known by its Spanish initials as the UNAM, said Thursday that Carlos Santamaria Diaz is the youngest such student in the university's roughly century-long history.(AP Photo / Marco Ugarte) 12-year-old Carlos Santamaria Diaz smiles during a press conference at Mexico's National Autonomous University in Mexico City, Friday, Aug. 3, 2018. The university, better known by its Spanish initials as the UNAM, said Thursday that Carlos Santamaria Diaz is the youngest such student in the university's roughly century-long history. (AP Photo / Marco Ugarte) PHILADELPHIA (AP) - A man stabbed and then repeatedly drove over his estranged girlfriend, crushing her in a fatal attack as her suburban Philadelphia co-workers tried to help her early Friday morning, authorities said. The attack was captured on surveillance cameras. Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele choked up as he described the man driving over the woman "again and again and again" in a security firm parking lot in Whitemarsh about 16 miles (25.7 kilometers) north of Philadelphia. He said the suspect, Lawrence Crawley, set himself on fire after being pulled over by a Pennsylvania State trooper several hours later on the other side of the state. Crawley, 33, was hospitalized in critical condition. Steele said several co-workers witnessed the attack on Angela Stith, 33, and tried to help her. "This was a terrible death. And I know and I feel for the victim and what she went through, her family and what they went through, the people who witnessed this and the people who are going to witness this moving forward," Steele said. Authorities said Stith, who worked at Vector Security, was seen on camera leaving her office about 2:15 a.m. and heading to her car while texting someone. Steele said she had talked to and had texted the suspect recently. Stith got into her car, and the suspect is seen in the footage smashing her driver's side window in an effort to attack her. She fled out of the passenger side of her car and ran a short distance before the suspect caught her, beat her and stabbed her repeatedly. Co-workers came out to try to help Stith, calling 911. Steele said she can be heard answering their questions Meanwhile, Steele said Crawley got into his Chevy Suburban and drove over Stith, circling the parking lot and driving over her two more times as her co-workers watched, helpless to stop him. Steele said Crawley turned the three-ton vehicle "into a weapon" before fleeing. The arrest affidavit said there was a relationship history between Stith and Crawley. The affidavit said Crawley pleaded guilty to simple assault after a May incident in which he choked Stith. A medical examiner said Stith died Friday from a combination of sharp force trauma and blunt trauma. Officials said Crawley stabbed her so hard that a knife blade was still wedged into her back when the autopsy was performed. As he fled, Crawley called his mother and another woman to tell them he had killed Stith and that he was sorry. Steele said when the trooper was able to finally pull Crawley over, he lit himself on fire inside of the cab of his car. The trooper was able to save him and he was taken to the hospital. Steele said he planned to charge Crawley with first-degree murder and other charges and would ask to that bail be denied. It was unclear from records whether Crawley had an attorney. A phone call to a number listed for him went unanswered Friday. Whitemarsh Police Chief Christopher Ward said his staff pleaded with him not to watch the video because they knew he would have to speak to reporters Friday. He said there hasn't been a murder in the township of about 17,000 people in 17 years. FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) - Broward County schools officials in general properly handled the special-needs education of troubled Parkland shooting suspect Nikolas Cruz, according to an independent report released late Friday on the orders of a judge. The 70-page report , much of which is heavily redacted under privacy rules, concludes that during Cruz's 16 years in the school system the correct decisions were made in most instances under programs for students with learning disabilities and behavioral problems. "Available evidence indicates that, with isolated exceptions, the district adhered to procedural and substantive requirements when implementing this student's exceptional education program," says the report by Collaborative Educational Network Inc. and commissioned by the Broward school board. School shooting suspect Nikolas Cruz arrives at a Broward County courtroom for a hearing in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Friday, Aug. 3, 2018. Attorneys for Cruz want a judge to prevent release of details of his education records to guarantee a fair trial. Cruz faces the death penalty if convicted of killing 17 people in the Valentine's Day attack at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee, Pool) Release of the report came after Circuit Judge Elizabeth Scherer overruled defense objections that the report paints a misleading portrait of Cruz's longstanding psychological problems, many of which have already been disclosed. Scherer said all of Cruz's actual educational records are among 27 pages of redacted material, which are exempt from disclosure. "I do find there is nothing in the redacted report ... that would interfere with the administration of justice and the defendant's right to a fair trial," Scherer said. Attorneys for media organizations including The Associated Press argued the report had to be disclosed under Florida's broad public records laws. Cruz, 19, faces the death penalty if convicted of 17 counts of murder and 17 counts of attempted murder in the Valentine's Day massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. His attorneys have said he will plead guilty if guaranteed a life prison sentence, but prosecutors have rejected that offer. The report focused on two instances during Cruz's schooling where state law or the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act was not followed. These involved a requirement that consent be obtained from either a parent or an adult student before placement in an alternative school and an improper response by school officials when Cruz requested special services after having them revoked several months earlier. The exact details of these violations were not provided, but the report makes recommendations on such things as training to make sure the proper procedures are followed and consider "all possible scenarios" in what can be emotionally charged meetings. A number of other general recommendations for improvement of the handling of students like Cruz were also listed. "We accept the recommendations regarding procedural improvements, and are pleased with the overall review, recommendations and findings. We are actively reviewing our policies and procedures, training protocols and data systems in an effort to implement the recommendations in a timely and effective way," Broward Schools Superintendent Robert Runcie said in a statement. Defense attorney David Frankel said the independent report appears crafted to defend against civil claims filed by victims' families, by attempting to show that Cruz's mental problems did not rise to a level that caused great concern. That could affect jurors considering Cruz's guilt and his sentence at a criminal trial. "It gives the misperception that somehow he didn't have psychological issues that were that important," Frankel said. "This was a broken and damaged person from the get-go. They want to ignore that." School board attorney Debra Klauber said officials there believe the report is public record that should be released but took no position on its implications for Cruz's trial. Media attorney Dana McElroy said it does not qualify for any of the exemptions that apply in a criminal case. "This is not the kind of record that this court has the ability to review," McElroy said. The Cruz school report is the latest of several court battles involving media organizations, the school board, prosecutors and defense lawyers over release of evidence and other material related to the Feb. 14 mass shooting. Previous requests to unseal video showing the law enforcement response outside the school and Cruz's post-arrest statement to detectives are under appeal. ___ Follow Curt Anderson on Twitter: http://twitter.com/Miamicurt Assistant Public Defender Erin Veit, left, talks with school shooting suspect Nikolas Cruz sits in a Broward County courtroom for a hearing in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Friday, Aug. 3, 2018. Attorneys for Cruz want a judge to prevent release of details of his education records to guarantee a fair trial. Cruz faces the death penalty if convicted of killing 17 people in the Valentine's Day attack at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee, Pool) FILE - In this April 27, 2018 file photo, Florida school shooting suspect Nikolas Cruz, looks up while in court for a hearing in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Attorneys for Cruz want a judge to prevent release of details of his education records to guarantee a fair trial. (Taimy Alvarez/South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP, Pool, File) WASHINGTON (AP) - Survivors of a deadly shooting at a Florida high school plan to join a march in Virginia to protest what they consider efforts by the National Rifle Association to block gun-control laws and bans on assault rifles. Protesters are scheduled to meet Saturday for the "National March on NRA" at the association's headquarters in Fairfax. Among the activists and organizers will be students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School who survived the February shooting in which 17 students and staff members were killed. The Stoneman Douglas students have been on a bus tour aimed at registering voters and ending gun violence. March organizers also are calling on the Internal Revenue Service to revoke the NRA's tax-exempt status and to stop access to downloadable blueprints for 3D-printed guns. LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) - A proposal to cap lawmakers' total time in the Arkansas Legislature to 10 years was approved for the November ballot on Friday, sending voters a measure that if approved would impose the strictest legislative term limits in the country. The secretary of state's office said supporters of the proposed constitutional amendment submitted 93,998 valid signatures from registered voters, clearing the nearly 85,000 that were needed to qualify for the November ballot. Arkansas Term Limits, the group behind the proposal, submitted more than 124,000 signatures last month. The measure would limit Arkansas lawmakers to two four-year terms in the Senate and three two-year terms in the House, with a total cap of 10 years in office. A 2014 voter-approved measure loosened Arkansas' term limits and allowed lawmakers a total of 16 years in the House, Senate or a combination of both. Under Arkansas' current limits, some lawmakers can be in office longer than 16 years if they serve partial terms due to redistricting or a special election. "If eight years is good enough for the president of the United States, the leader of the free world and a guy with, I don't know, a million employees and a gazillion dollar budget, 10 years is probably ok for legislators in Arkansas," said Tom Steele, chairman of Arkansas Term Limits. Arkansas is among 15 states that limit how long state legislators can serve in office. Oklahoma and California currently have the strictest term limits, restricting legislators to a total of 12 years in their legislatures, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Arkansas' current term limits were approved by voters in 2014 through a measure the majority-Republican Legislature put on the ballot. Previously, lawmakers were limited to two terms in the Senate and three in the House. Supporters of the new limits say the Legislature misled voters by including the 16-year cap on a measure that was intended to focus on ethics and campaign finance reforms. This year's proposal also would prohibit the Legislature from putting any more term limit changes on the ballot. Top Arkansas lawmakers have said the limits would put the legislative branch at a disadvantage, with legislators forced to leave office quickly after gaining experience. "I think it would hurt the ability of the legislature to be effective and would also weaken the ability of the legislature to act effectively on behalf of the citizens," House Speaker Matthew Shepherd, a Republican, said. ___ Follow Andrew DeMillo on Twitter at www.twitter.com/ademillo OTTUMWA, Iowa (AP) - Police in southeastern Iowa say one person is dead and another injured following a shootout with officers that sent a nearby elementary school into lockdown. The Ottumwa Courier reports that the shootout happened Friday after police received a report around 1:40 p.m. of people with guns outside near Liberty Elementary. Ottumwa Police Chief Tom McAndrew says that when officers arrived, the suspects and officers exchanged gunfire. The shooting left one suspect dead. McAndrew says another suspect was taken to a local hospital with "very serious injuries." He says another person was arrested and a fourth suspect initially was on the run. Police confirmed Friday evening that the fourth suspect was arrested. Police and various law enforcement personnel monitor the scene following a police shootout near Liberty Elementary School in Ottumwa, Iowa, Friday, Aug. 3, 2018. Students and staff at Liberty Elementary were taken to a shelter inside the school guarded by police and remained there until late Friday afternoon. (Matt Milner /The Ottumwa Courier via AP) Students and staff at Liberty Elementary were taken to a shelter inside the school guarded by police and remained there until late Friday afternoon. ___ Information from: The Ottumwa Courier, http://www.ottumwacourier.com Authorities respond to a shootout near Liberty Elementary School in Ottumwa, Iowa, Friday, Aug. 3, 2018. Students and staff at Liberty Elementary were taken to a shelter inside the school guarded by police and remained there until late Friday afternoon. (Matt Milner/The Ottumwa Courier via AP) Police respond to the scene of a shootout near Liberty Elementary School in Ottumwa, Iowa, Friday, Aug. 3, 2018. Students and staff at Liberty Elementary were taken to a shelter inside the school guarded by police and remained there until late Friday afternoon. (Matt Milner /The Ottumwa Courier via AP) Police respond to the scene of a shootout near Liberty Elementary School in Ottumwa, Iowa, Friday, Aug. 3, 2018. Students and staff at Liberty Elementary were taken to a shelter inside the school guarded by police and remained there until late Friday afternoon. (Matt Milner /The Ottumwa Courier via AP) Law enforcement responds to a report people have guns at a residence near Liberty Elementary School in Ottumwa, Iowa, Friday, Aug. 3, 2018. Police in southeastern Iowa say one person is dead and another injured following a shootout with officers that sent a nearby elementary school into lockdown. Another person was arrested and a suspect that escaped is armed and dangerous. (Matt Milner/The Ottumwa Courier via AP) Law enforcement responds to a report people have guns at a residence near Liberty Elementary School in Ottumwa, Iowa, Friday, Aug. 3, 2018. Police in southeastern Iowa say one person is dead and another injured following a shootout with officers that sent a nearby elementary school into lockdown. Another person was arrested and a suspect that escaped is armed and dangerous. (Matt Milner/The Ottumwa Courier via AP) Police respond to the scene of a shootout near Liberty Elementary School in Ottumwa, Iowa, Friday, Aug. 3, 2018. Students and staff at Liberty Elementary were taken to a shelter inside the school guarded by police and remained there until late Friday afternoon. (Matt Milner /The Ottumwa Courier via AP) Musicians and dancers from across the continents wowed audiences as the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo began its annual run. Colourful costumes and rousing tunes helped a more than 8,000-strong crowd forget the drizzle at Edinburgh Castle where a final rehearsal took place on Thursday night. Performers from as far afield as Australia, Mexico and Malawi are taking part in the run of shows from August 3-25 which coincide with Edinburghs International and Fringe Festivals. Aeroplanes in flight were projected onto the castle as the event celebrated the centenary of the RAF, and poppies covered the walls as the fallen were remembered during a rendition of Amazing Grace by The Edinburgh Girls High School from Malawi and the Mary Erskine School choir. A cast and crew of 1,200 are involved in creating the music, dance and light spectacular which included the theme from Star Wars and Mr Blue Sky. Brigadier David Allfrey, producer and chief executive of the Tattoo, said: Youve got 27 scenes in a show of 90 minutes you cannot help but just enjoy this. Its live music on a fantastic scale, backed up with some astonishing technology and a castle 400 years old. Its a really traditional genre, with the military at its heart, but its also about celebrating society and culture and the links with the military. Theres talent everywhere and we just try and seek it out and bring it here. And with our own armed forces and those of our allies, the mix is just fantastic. The Banda Monumental de Mexico will perform at the Royal Military Edinburgh Tattoo (Andrew Milligan/PA) International performers this year include the Royal Cavalry of the Sultanate of Omans Pipers on horseback and its all-female marching band, plus Mariachi music from the Banda Monumental de Mexico. More than 14 million people have attended the Tattoo since it began in 1950, with 48 countries now represented at the event. It was set up and run for charitable purposes and, over the years, has gifted around 8 million to service and civilian organisations. The youngest woman to be convicted of plotting a terror attack on British soil is facing years behind bars. Safaa Boular, 18, hid her Islamic State-inspired plans in coded conversations about preparations for an innocent Mad Hatters tea party. She is the final member of Britains first all-woman terror cell to be sentenced at the Old Bailey. Boular was sitting her GCSEs when she was seduced online by IS fighter Naweed Hussain, who was originally from Coventry. Islamic State suitor Naweed Hussain was killed in Syria (Metropolitan Police/PA) After she was stopped from joining the 32-year-old in Syria, she discussed a grenade and gun attack on the British Museum instead. Their plans were uncovered by online MI5 role-players and the Boular family home in Vauxhall, south London, was bugged. Boulars resolve was strengthened when she learned Hussain had been killed in a drone strike in early April last year. While in custody for trying to travel to the war zone, she passed the baton to her older sibling Rizlaine. Rizlaine Boular took up the mantle from her younger sister Safaa (Metrpolitan Police/PA) In coded telephone calls, they discussed a traditional English tea party with an Alice in Wonderland theme, the trial heard. Rizlaine Boular then set about arming herself and looking at targets around the Palace of Westminster. She was helped by her mother Mina Dich, unaware they were being watched by counter-terrorism police. Mother Mina Dich helped in Rizlaines terror preparations (Metropolitan Police/PA) The older sister shared her plans with her friend Khawla Barghouthi, 21, and even practised the knife attack at her home in Willesden, north-west London. Rizlaine, 22, was shot when armed police moved in to arrest the gang on April 27 last year but made a full recovery. She was jailed for life with a minimum term of 16 years, having admitted preparing acts of terrorism. Dich, 44, from Vauxhall Cross, south London, was jailed for six years and nine months with an additional five years on licence for helping her. Khawla Barghouthi was also jailed (Metropolitan Police/PA) Barghouthi, who pleaded guilty to failing to alert authorities, was jailed for two years and four months. Following a trial Safaa Boular was found guilty of two counts of preparing terrorist acts. She will be sentenced at the Old Bailey by Judge Mark Dennis QC on Friday. Kanye West praised late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs as he congratulated the company on becoming the first in history to be valued at one trillion dollars. The rapper has credited Jobs, who died in 2011, with inspiring his work and has been criticised in the past for comparing himself to the technology visionary. On Thursday, after Apple reached the historic valuation, West tweeted to say the company was so important and inspiring to our planet. Steve Jobs you are one of my biggest inspirations and your story spirit and drive helps to push me everyday congratulations on Apple hitting a trillion dollars also congrats to Eddie Q and Johnny Ives and Tim Cook and the entire Apple team ye (@kanyewest) August 3, 2018 He said: Steve Jobs you are one of my biggest inspirations and your story spirit and drive helps to push me everyday congratulations on Apple hitting a trillion dollars also congrats to Eddie Q and Johnny Ives and Tim Cook and the entire Apple team. You guys are so important and what you do is so special and inspiring to our planet Thank you for being so great ye (@kanyewest) August 3, 2018 You guys are so important and what you do is so special and inspiring to our planet Thank you for being so great. West, 41, frequently mentions Apple when discussing his own music and fashion businesses and often compares himself to Jobs, as well as other visionaries such as Walt Disney and Michael Jackson. Kanye West compared himself to Steve Jobs at the MTV Video Music Awards in 2016 (PA) Last week his wife, the reality TV star Kim Kardashian West, said he was almost a billionaire due to his Yeezy fashion line. Speaking at the MTV Video Music Awards in 2016, West said: My role models are artists, merchants. Theres less than 10 I can name in history: Truman, Ford, Hughes, Disney, Jobs, West. Apple was founded in California in 1976 by Jobs and Steve Wozniak and is known for products including the iPod, iPhone and iPad. Australias Treasurer has voiced support for his UK counterpart, Philip Hammond, and Theresa May in the Brexit negotiations despite their plans causing consternation among some Down Under. Scott Morrison said he certainly wouldnt want Mr Hammonds job as he heaped praise on the Chancellor and Prime Minister for their efforts in tackling the very challenging issue. However, he declined to give his view directly on the Governments Brexit strategy. Elements of the PMs Chequers agreement unveiled in July were met with dismay by some Australian exporters hoping to boost trade with the UK. Experts have warned that the decision to seek a free trade deal with the EU on agricultural and manufactured goods would make access to the new Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) unlikely. Speaking to the Press Association at an Australian British Chamber of Commerce event in Sydney, Mr Morrison said the outcome of the Brexit negotiations would be very important for the global economy. But he would not be drawn on whether Britains strategy would be good for future trade with Australia. He said: One of the things I learn when I go to the G20 is there are some peoples jobs I certainly wouldnt want. This is a very challenging issue for the UK Government and I commend Chancellor Hammond and of course Prime Minister May for dealing with what is a very challenging set of circumstances. Im not going to be a commentator on what theyre doing. I know theyre applying themselves fully in what is a very difficult challenge that is very important for the global economy, very important for the European economy, the British economy, and Ive only been totally impressed with the way that Chancellor Hammond has been applying himself to this very difficult task. Scott Morrison previously warned the EU against trying to punish the UK for leaving (PA) Mr Hammond is regarded as supporting a soft Brexit which would aim to protect jobs by remaining closely aligned to the EU. In July, Alexander Downer, the former Australian high commissioner to the UK, warned it was unlikely that Britain would be accepted to the CPTPP in such circumstances. Meanwhile, Alan Oxley, a former Australian trade negotiator, said he thought Australia wouldnt be interested if the UKs agricultural policy remained the same as the EU after Brexit. Pressed on the fact that such a strategy could limit trade with Australia, Mr Morrison said: Im not engaging in the internal politics of the United Kingdom or the path that they are adopting pursuing the Brexit vote that occurred there some years ago. Its for them (Mrs May and Mr Hammond) to manage that and handle that and I commend them for the professional and determined way that they are proceeding with trying to resolve that issue. He made the comments as Mrs May met French President Emmanuel Macron in a bid to win his support for her plans. The leaders are due to dine together at his summer retreat, Fort de Bregancon, on a small island off the French Mediterranean coast, on Friday night. Asked what he would say to the leaders if he was at the table, Mr Morrison replied: Well, Im not at the table the Prime Minister engages with the other world leaders, I had the opportunity to engage with my counterparts in Buenos Aires a couple of weeks ago and I think Chancellor Hammond has been showing real leadership. In January last year, Mr Morrison warned the EU against punishing Britain for leaving, warning that impacts on financial markets would have implications well beyond Europe. We must recognise that a punitive or restrictive set of new arrangements will have far greater and more lasting implications than the immediate reaction to the poll result itself, he said. North Korea is far from living up to its pledge to denuclearise and remains in violation of numerous UN Security Council resolutions, according to US secretary of state Mike Pompeo. Speaking before he attended an Asian security forum with North Koreas foreign minister, Mr Pompeo told reporters in Singapore there was still a ways to go before achieving the goal of ridding the North of its nuclear weapons. His comments came after the White House announced President Donald Trump had received a new letter from North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and responded quickly with a letter of his own. The correspondence, following up on their Singapore summit in June, came amid fresh concerns over Pyongyangs commitment to denuclearisation despite a rosy picture of progress painted by Mr Trump. Mr Pompeo has taken the lead in negotiations with the North, having travelled to Pyongyang three times since April and accompanied Mr Trump to the summit, and he will be in the same room on Saturday as his North Korean counterpart at the Association of South East Asian Nations annual regional forum. A separate meeting between the two is possible but not confirmed, according to State Department officials. Mike Pompeo, centre, in Singapore with diplomats from Thailand, Vietnam,, Malaysia and Laos (Yong Teck Lim/AP) Chairman Kim made a commitment to denuclearise, Mr Pompeo told reporters accompanying him to Singapore from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The world demanded that (he) do so in the UN Security Council resolutions. To the extent they are behaving in a manner inconsistent with that, they are in violation of one or both the UN Security Council resolutions, we can see we still have a ways to go to achieve the ultimate outcome were looking for. On Thursday, Mr Trump tweeted his thanks to the North Korean leader for your nice letter I look forward to seeing you soon! The White House did not provide details on the content of the letter from Mr Kim, received on Wednesday, or of Mr Trumps reply. White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said the letters addressed their commitment to work toward North Koreas complete denuclearisation. Ms Sanders said no second meeting is locked in as a follow-up to the Singapore summit in June, but they remain open to discussions. Today, the remains of U.S. service members were repatriated to the U.S. from the #DPRK. We owe a profound debt of gratitude to these fallen heroes and their families. Their sacrifices have not been forgotten. Chairman Kim is fulfilling part of his commitment to @POTUS. pic.twitter.com/mF9bcqiIZm Secretary Pompeo (@SecPompeo) August 1, 2018 Mr Trump in his tweet expressed gratitude to Mr Kim for keeping your word on the return of the remains of more than 50 American service members killed during the Korean War. Vice president Mike Pence and US military leaders received the remains in Hawaii during a sombre ceremony on Wednesday. Amazon UKs corporate tax bill fell by 2.8 million last year despite the company seeing pre-tax profits nearly treble. The online retail giants UK bill came in at 4.6 million last year, down from 7.4 million a year earlier, Amazon UK Services Limited accounts show. But the company only paid 1.7 million in tax after deferring 2.9 million of that total. Amazon UKs corporate tax bill fell by 2.8 million last year despite the company seeing pre-tax profits nearly treble (Paul Faith/PA) That was despite pre-tax profits jumping to 72.4 million from 24.3 million in 2016, according to figures filed to Companies House. Amazon UK Services Ltd operates fulfilment centres which store, process and post products to customers in the UK and had an average of around 20,000 workers last year. Turnover for 2017 was 1.99 billion, up from 1.46 billion in 2016. A spokesman said: We pay all taxes required in the UK and every country where we operate. Corporation tax is based on profits, not revenues, and our profits have remained low given retail is a highly-competitive, low-margin business and our continued heavy investment. The tax payment decrease was partly due to Amazon making shares payments to thousands of staff which were counted as a cost and deducted from profits. Over the past five years, customer order handlers received on average shares worth more than 1,000 per year. Amazons US share price has jumped 84% over the past two years. Martin McTague, policy chairman at the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), said: The rise of online shopping has undoubtedly caused many challenges for small businesses. Most small firms are moving with the times though, and online sales are often a natural complement to high street shops. Small businesses are at the heart of their communities, providing a hub for people to shop, meet and socialise. Thats not something a retailer operating exclusively online is going to give you. We need to rebalance the taxation system. As things stand, business rates are rising while corporation tax is coming down. If we want to breathe life back into our high streets, that needs a rethink. British Airways owner International Airlines Group (IAG) has warned that strikes in France are posing a challenge to its operations. The airline group, which owns Aer Lingus, Vueling and Iberia, said strikes were causing disruption for customers and hurting the Spanish economy. The firm has joined forces with other carriers to complain about the strikes to the EU. Airlines have complained to the EU about strikes (Adam Davy/PA) Willie Walsh, IAGs chief executive, said: Unfortunately, French air traffic control strikes continued to challenge our airlines operations, causing disruption to our customers. Vueling was particularly affected and incurred an additional 20 million euros (17.8 million) of disruption costs in the quarter. These strikes are also having a significant impact on the Spanish economy and tourism. In the six months to June 30, operating profit, before accounting for exceptional items, was up 17.4% to 1.12 billion euros (1 billion). Total revenue rose 3.1% to 11.2 billion euros. Liberum analysts said IAG was one of the few airlines that would achieve profit growth this year. Although the trading environment may not be as supportive as last year, with toughening unit revenue comparatives and rising fuel prices, we see IAG as the best positioned of the network carriers to deal with these potential challenges, they said. IAGs figures come after Mr Walsh co-ordinated legal action with easyJet, Ryanair and Wizz Air to complain to the European Commission about strikes in France. The airlines have claimed that Frances strikes breach the fundamental principle of freedom of movement within the EU, having already caused tens of thousands of flights to be cancelled this year, impacting millions of passengers. They alleged that France is breaking EU law by not enabling flights over the country during strikes, denying passengers their fundamental freedom to travel between member states not affected by strike action. The family of a man who died in a car crash in Aberdeenshire have said he will be missed by everyone. Marek Walowski was driving on the A947 near Banff at around 8.30pm on Sunday when the car left the road and hit a tree. Marek Walowski was a popular man in his local area (Police Scotland/PA) His relatives have spoken of the 53-year-olds cheerfulness and kindness in a tribute issued via Police Scotland. They said: Marek was an honest and content person. He was cheerful and well-known in the Turriff and Banff areas as soon as he walked into Banff Tesco all the workers would shout Czesc (hello in Polish) in his way. He also loved to swim and was a regular visitor at Banff swimming pool, where he was known by everyone. Marek will be missed by everyone for his genuine smile, warm words and kindness. Mr Walowski with his partner Jolanta (Police Scotland/PA) Emergency services attended the collision, close to King Edward church, but Mr Walowski, from Macduff, died at the scene. No-one else was injured in the crash. Campaigners have criticised British Airways for sponsoring the UKs biggest Pride celebration while co-operating with deportations, claiming the removals include people facing persecution for their sexuality. Activist group Lesbians and Gays Support the Migrants called on the airline to stop being complicit in working with the Government to deport people, as the festivities at Brighton Pride began on Friday. The open letter, published in The Guardian and signed by scores of MPs and public figures, claims the presence of companies at the event which profit off deportations is an affront to the vision of freedom Pride represents. British Airways (Tim Ockenden/PA) The presence and sponsorship of companies complicit in deportations, such as @British_Airways, is an affront to the vision of freedom our Pride marches represent. Come join us at @PrideBrighton this Saturday!! https://t.co/qa5c1kklHW pic.twitter.com/VBr5ND7aKs Lesbians and Gays Support the Migrants (@lgsmigrants) August 2, 2018 It said: It is an added insult that many of those deported on British Airways are LGBTQIA+ people who should be marching with us at the parade but are instead brutally rounded up and ejected from the UK to face poverty, persecution and, in some cases, death. Signatories include shadow home secretary Dianne Abbott as well as MPs David Lammy and Lloyd Russell-Moyle, who represents Brighton Kemptown, the Green Partys equalities spokeswoman Aimee Challenor and campaigners including actor Andrew Garfield. More than 50,000 people have signed an online petition calling on BA to stop helping the Home Office deport people. They sponsor @PrideBrighton but help deport #LGBT+ migrants to danger and violence. Join All Out & @lgsmigrants to ask @british_airways to take a stand and speak up! https://t.co/4bpmGofcKS All Out (@AllOut) August 2, 2018 BA said it is bound by law to do so when asked by the Government but the airline is never told someones personal information, including their sexuality. Campaign spokesman Sam Bjorn said: We wont stand by and let British Airways use their Pride sponsorship to polish their image while they are complicit in the Home Offices cruel deportations. The calls reiterated those made to the airline in June after Virgin Atlantic announced in the best interests of its customers and people it would no longer offer seats to the Home Office to forcibly deport people from the UK deemed to be illegal immigrants. The announcement came after a backlash over the Windrush scandal which saw at least 63 people wrongly deported, amid pressure from campaigners in the run-up to London Pride, which Virgin sponsored. A BA spokeswoman said: It is a legal requirement (under the Immigration Act 1971) for all airlines to deport people when asked to do so by the Home Office. Not fulfilling this obligation amounts to breaking the law. Airlines only have the right to refuse deportees on the basis that they feel there is a threat to the safety or security of the aircraft/its passengers or the individual. We are not given any personal information about the individual being deported, including their sexuality, or why they are being deported. The process we follow is a full risk assessment, with the Home Office, which considers the safety of the individual, our customers and crew on the flight. She said the company was proud to support this weekends Pride event, with staff taking part, and the airline had a long and proud history of supporting the LGBT+ community. A Home Office spokeswoman said: The UK is a world leader in its approach to handling asylum claims on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity, and has worked with leading charities on our dedicated caseworker guidance. No one who is found to be at risk of persecution on the grounds of sexual orientation and/or gender identity will be returned to their country of origin. However, where someone is found not to need international protection and has no other basis to remain in the UK, we do expect them to leave. We work in collaboration with airlines to ensure any facilitated voluntary or enforced removals are carried out effectively, efficiently and with the welfare of returnees and other passengers at the heart of the process. Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt has pledged to do everything possible to secure the release of a charity worker jailed in Iran, after talks with her husband. Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe was sentenced to five years in prison in 2016 after being accused of spying. Mr Hunt met the British-Iranian womans husband, Richard Ratcliffe, on Thursday to discuss the shocking and desperate situation. Good to meet Richard Ratcliffe and his family yesterday. Its a shocking and desperate situation and they are showing extraordinary strength and resilience, as is Nazanin. We will do everything we can to bring her home. pic.twitter.com/tPTfg6SZFL Jeremy Hunt (@Jeremy_Hunt) August 3, 2018 He said: Good to meet Richard Ratcliffe and his family yesterday. Its a shocking and desperate situation and they are showing extraordinary strength and resilience, as is Nazanin. We will do everything we can to bring her home. Former foreign secretary Boris Johnson faced criticism over his handling of attempts to free the mother-of-one. In April, Mr Ratcliffe spoke of his disappointment at Mr Johnsons failure to secure his wifes release. Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe with her husband, Richard Ratcliffe, and their daughter, Gabriella (PA) The former Cabinet minister faced a backlash for telling a parliamentary committee that Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe had been in Iran to train journalists, which he later acknowledged was not the case. Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who works for the Thomson Reuters Foundation, is facing a further hearing over an unspecified security charge which her family believes will include an accusation of spreading propaganda against Tehrans Islamist regime. She has consistently denied all allegations, insisting she was on holiday to introduce her daughter to her family. Kate Allen, Amnesty International UKs director, said: The Foreign Secretarys pledge over trying to secure Nazanins release is very welcome, as is the fact hes had a face-to-face meeting with Richard relatively early into his new job. Wed now like to see the UK Government at all levels pushing hard for Nazanins release. This has gone on far too long. Nazanin is a prisoner of conscience who should never have been jailed in the first place. She should be freed and allowed to travel back to the UK with her young daughter Gabriella. Six people have been arrested by police investigating the theft of several thousand pounds from an ATM in Co Fermanagh, Detectives believe street lighting and alarm wires were cut at a shop in Trory on the outskirts of Enniskillen in the early hours of Thursday before thieves forced entry to the premises. Several thousand pounds was stolen from an ATM in the shop during the incident which is believed to have taken place between 1.30am and 5.30am on Thursday. The Police Service of Northern Ireland (Paul Faith/PA) Later on Thursday police arrested and a woman and five men, aged between 22 and 51, in the Crossgar area. Detective Inspector Trevor Stevenson said the burglary was reported to police around 11am on Thursday. He issued an appeal for anyone with information to contact police. We believe the perpetrators cut the street lighting and alarm wires prior to forcing entry to the shop and were then on site for a number of hours, he said. The suspects, a woman and five men all aged between 22 and 51, were detained during a proactive police operation in the Crossgar area last night. They remain in custody at present, assisting us with our inquiries. I am appealing for anyone with information that could help our investigation to please get in touch with us. I am particularly keen to hear from anyone who may have been travelling on the Irvinestown Road between 1.30am and 5.30am on Thursday 2 August. Please call 101, quoting reference number 1165 02/08/18. Donald Trump has said his meeting with the Queen went fantastically well and hit out at critics who claimed he was late and overstayed. The American president said his wife, First Lady Melania Trump, bonded with the Queen over tea when the trio met at Windsor Castle in July. Speaking during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania on Thursday night, in support of a Republican candidate for the US Senate, he condemned the media for being fake, fake disgusting news as he unleashed a torrent of grievances. The US leader said his secret service did not believe in being late, adding: So I was about 15 minutes early and Im waiting with my wife and thats fine. Hey, its the Queen, right? We can wait. But Im a little early. So I then go up and meet the Queen and she is fantastic. We then go up and we have tea. And I didnt know this, it was supposed to last for 15 minutes, but it lasted for like an hour because we got along. We got along. And she liked our First Lady and our First Lady liked her and I wont talk about conversation because youre not supposed to but we got along fantastically well. And the time went by, you know like sometimes when you like somebody you get along good chemistry the time goes by. US President Donald Trump, First Lady Melania Trump, the Queen and Lieutenant Colonel Sir Andrew Ford, comptroller of the Lord Chamberlains office, walk into Windsor Castle (Chris Jackson/PA) At the start of Mr Trumps ceremonial welcome at Windsor Castle the Queen arrived sometime before her guests. With the Queen standing in readiness, many took her waiting as an indication that the president and his wife were late but their car arrived on schedule. Mr Trump went on to say: So I was late and I overstayed. But honestly, folks, it was such a beautiful, beautiful visit and afternoon. But they can make anything bad because they are the fake, fake, disgusting news. The Queen and President Trump, joined by the First Lady, met for the first time at Windsor Castle (Ben Stansall/PA) Meeting the Queen can be a daunting proposition that has left world leaders looking nervous in the past, and Mr Trump appeared a little flummoxed during the ceremonial welcome. At one point he looked out of step with the choreography of inspecting the guard of honour but once inside the Queens home, he was photographed grinning happily as he relaxed. Body language expert Judi James said at the time of the visit: Hes not trying to be cool at all. Hes obviously showing that hes utterly delighted to be there with the Queen. He looks like a delighted child. Mr Trump also appeared to have some difficulty in deciding what to call the country he recently visited, telling the rally: I have great respect for the UK, United Kingdom, great respect. People call it Britain, they call it Great Britain, they call it, they used to call it England, different parts. British holidaymakers are basking in record temperatures as they enjoy their summer holidays amid an extreme heatwave. Eight places in the centre, south and east of Portugal have broken their local temperature records as Europe swelters. On Thursday, temperatures reached 45.2C (113.4F) near Abrantes, a town in the centre of the country. They are set to build across Portugal on Friday and Saturday, with medical staff and firefighters on standby until the end of the weekend. (PA Graphics) In Spain, heat warnings were also issued for 41 of the countrys 50 provinces as temperatures were expected to reach up to 44C (111.2F). Temperatures in south-west France could also rise to the high 30s. The mercury is being driven higher by a hot air mass moving north from Africa, bringing dust from the Sahara Desert. The next few days could see the hottest temperatures recorded in continental Europe. Luke Miall, a Met Office meteorologist, said the record is 48C (118F) in Athens, Greece, in 1977. Tourists were urged to avoid the sun during the hottest part of the day and remember that children are particularly susceptible. If youre heading off to #Spain or #Portugal this week, make sure you drink plenty of water, try and stay safe in the shade and if youre going out in the sun, wear a high factor sun cream. Check our travel tips on how stay safe in the sun here: https://t.co/Z5FJC5pMWN pic.twitter.com/5tO22v0Sux ABTA (@ABTAtravel) August 2, 2018 A spokesman for the travel trade association Abta said: We would advise any tourists setting off to the Iberian peninsula, or anywhere else this weekend where they may experience high temperatures, to take a lead from the locals and avoid spending time in the sun during the hottest part of the day, drink lots of water and apply plenty of sun cream. If you go to the beach, go early and when it feels like its getting too hot leave, just as the locals do, and go and have a nice lunch in the shade. The reason they do this is because they know how powerful the sun can get in the hottest part of the day and they do everything they can to avoid it. It comes as another blast of hot weather returns to parts of the UK. Met Office meteorologist Alex Burkill said the mercury is likely to reach the high 20s and low 30s again, adding that despite the more comfortable temperatures in recent days it is not the end of the hot weather for the summer. Thought it felt hot today? It looks like Gravesend was provisionally the hottest spot in the UK, but the temperatures in Portugal soared to 44.6C! pic.twitter.com/e1wvXiJjvu Met Office (@metoffice) August 2, 2018 Temperatures could climb back up to 31C in London this weekend, with sunshine returning to most of the country. Southwark Council said it was suspending the use of barbecues in Burgess Park, south London, after London Fire Brigade warned people to take extra care during the hot weather. It's set to heat up again this weekend and while we have had some rain - people MUST take care, especially if they're having a BBQ. Just this week we were called to a fire caused by a barbecue on a balcony in #Woolwich You should NEVER BBQ on a balcony https://t.co/o86T9nsEbX pic.twitter.com/UlYSUos9jZ London Fire Brigade (@LondonFire) August 3, 2018 The north of England, Scotland and Northern Ireland will enjoy temperatures in the mid-20s, with scatterings of rain. A yellow warning for thunderstorms was issued for eastern Scotland on Friday afternoon. A Met Office spokesman told the Press Association: Essentially at the end of the week were looking at a bit of a north-west/south-east split in the weather. Northern and some western areas will often be cooler with some outbreaks of rain particularly in Northern Ireland and that could spread into southern and western Scotland. (PA Graphics) Temperatures are likely to hit at least 32C and possibly 33C in parts of the South East on Friday, while south-western parts of the UK could see 28C or 29C. The spokesman added: This weekend is much more promising than last weekend with plenty of sunshine around, although the north of England could see a few showers on Saturday. The heat is likely to continue into next week. The inquest into the death of a dissident republican in police custody will start in November, a coroner has said. Real IRA man John Brady, 40, was found dead at Strand Road police station in Londonderry in October 2009. The case is shrouded in controversy over allegations that two officers from the Police Service of Northern Irelands (PSNI) C3 unit formerly known as Special Branch visited the veteran republican three times before his death. Strand Road police station (Brian Lawless/PA) Rumours of C3 involvement have led to speculation that Mr Brady may have been subjected to a bid to turn him into an informer before he hanged himself in a consultation room. The Police Ombudsman examined these claims and found no evidence to support them. The ombudsman said two intelligence officers did attempt to gain access to Mr Brady but were turned away by custody staff a finding investigators said was substantiated by CCTV. This footage will play a key part in the inquest into Bradys death. A number of preliminary hearings have taken place over recent years. At the latest hearing in Belfast on Friday, coroner Joe McCrisken said the inquest will start on November 5 as planned. I think I said in reasonably robust terms on the last occasion, we start on the 5th of November, he said. We managed to get a court in Londonderry, which is extremely difficult, so we are not moving. The hearing on Friday was also told that an extensive witness list is being finalised. Another preliminary hearing is set to take place on September 26. Ryanair has proposed third-party mediation to resolve a deepening row about terms and conditions with Ireland-based pilots. Pilots staged their fourth one-day strike on Friday, with their union, Forsa, scheduling another for Friday August 10, the same day as similar strikes by Ryanair pilots in Belgium and Sweden. It will be the fifth strike by pilots since July 12. Around 30 pilots and their supporters picketed the airlines headquarters at Swords in Dublin on Friday with placards and banners. The airline has blamed pilots from rival airline Aer Lingus who, it says, are using the strike to their advantage to cause the maximum damage to Ryanair. Ryanairs chief people officer, Eddie Wilson, said: Given the non-engagement by Forsa, and the manipulation of the discussions by certain Aer Lingus pilots to ensure that no meetings take place, that unsuccessful strikes keep repeating, Ryanair now feels the only way to introduce common sense is by way of third party mediation, and is suggesting Mr Kieran Mulvey, formerly of the Labour Commission and Workplace Relations Commission. We now call on Forsa to accept Mr Mulvey as a third party mediator, an initiative Forsa have repeatedly called for in recent weeks. Ryanair calls on FORSA to agree to third party mediation. Proposes Mr Kieran Mulvey: https://t.co/QO3aQgyM9Q Ryanair (@Ryanair) August 3, 2018 Last month, the budget airline criticised the strikes as unnecessary and warned that, if they continue, there could be job losses. Forsa said the striking workers continue to seek a fair and transparent way of governing base transfers and related matters which they say is common practice in the industry. In a statement on Thursday it said: For over a month, the union has said that industrial action is likely to continue until there is substantial movement on the pilots reasonable demands for an agreement on a fair and transparent approach to base transfers and related matters. The airlines escalation of the dispute when it threatened to sack 100 pilots and 200 cabin crew, or transfer them to Poland, led to a predictable hardening of resolve among its staff. Company management met the union the day before the first one-day strike, and two days before the second one-day strike (on July 18). It then changed its position and said it would not negotiate while strike action was planned. Ryanair pilots strike placard at the airline headquarters in Swords, Dublin The union said two weeks have passed since its last meeting with management and warned that a resolution to the dispute cannot be reached if the airline has pre-conditions. The union added: On a number of occasions in recent weeks and months, there have been suggestions that third-party facilitation could assist in reaching consensus on issues of disagreement. Forsa has today repeated to the company that it is willing to explore this option. The airline said the latest action had no effect since all 3,500 customers (of the 430,000 travelling with Ryanair on Friday) were re-accommodated or refunded last weekend. Aer Lingus declined to comment on the Ryanair claims. Thousands of Romanians have gathered at an airfield on the edge of the capital, Bucharest, for a weekend of aerobatics and air power offered by more than 200 pilots and 150 aircraft from multiple countries. NF-5 fighter jets of the Turkish Stars, Turkeys national aerobatics team (Vadim Ghirda/AP) The thundering noise of jet engines was heard across most of the city as participants in the Bucharest International Air Show 2018 started their practice runs. An F16 jet of Romanias air force drops flares during its display (Vadim Ghirda/AP) The star formation of the show was the Turkish Stars unit, a team of eight NF-5 supersonic fighter planes. Gliders from Romanias aerobatics team (Vadim Ghirda/AP) The pilots of Turkeys national aerobatics team entertained crowds with complex manoeuvres during which the red-and-white planes, carrying the signature of Kemal Ataturk, the founder of modern Turkey, on their fuselages, often flew within 3ft of each other. A Puma helicopter of Romanias air force drops flares (Vadim Ghirda/AP) The Swedish-made Saab JAS-39 Gripen, flown by pilots of the Czech and Hungarian air forces, was the star of the solo demonstrations, with stunning displays of manoeuvrability both at low and high speeds. The Gripen was considered by Romanias air force in the bid to bring its fleet to Nato standards, but the US-made F-16 was eventually chosen. The Hawks of Romania aerobatics team fly above pyrotechnic effects to simulate a bombing raid (Vadim Ghirda/AP) A Spanish Air Force F-18 demonstration, along with Romanian Air Force F-16 acrobatics and the Czech Flying Bulls team, were also crowd favourites. A Swedish-made Saab JAS 39 Gripen of the Czech Republics air force(Vadim Ghirda/AP) The United States offered only static displays, showcasing an AWACS early-warning flying radar aircraft and two F-15 fighter jets. NF-5 fighter jets of the Turkish Stars have a close encounter (Vadim Ghirda/AP) Thousands braved scorching heat to attend the show, which ended with spectacular pyrotechnic effects during a demonstration of a vintage aircraft formation dubbed The Hawks of Romania. A B-25J "Mitchell" bomber leads the Flying Bulls Red Bull formation (Vadim Ghirda/AP) The event is traditionally enjoyed by thousands of spectators. Sinn Fein has criticised a vow by the new head of the armed forces to stamp on bogus claims against Troubles veterans as extremely insulting. Taking up the top post, the new head of the armed forces praised the remarkable job done by the British Army in Northern Ireland and said groundless allegations against soldiers risked undermining the Armys fighting spirit. Chief of the Defence Staff General Sir Nick Carter spoke out about Northern Ireland veterans being chased by people making vexatious claims of wrongdoing, vowing: That will not happen on my watch. Chief of the Defence Staff General Sir Nick Carter talks to media during a visit to RAF Coningsby (Joe Giddens/PA) Speaking at a media briefing at RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire, Sir Nick said: It is right and proper that if our soldiers have done something wrong then they should clearly be investigated. But only if they have done something wrong. We need to have standards, we need to have values that people are held against, otherwise we will lose the moral high ground. What is fundamentally wrong though is if theyre chased by people who are making vexatious claims and that will not happen on my watch. Absolutely not. Sinn Fein Mid Ulster MLA Linda Dillon described his comments as extremely insulting and hurtful. She also challenged Sir Nick to meet with families who have made claims over the actions of soldiers. 'British Chief of the Defence Staff comments extremely insulting to families and victims of the conflict' - Dillon https://t.co/WqZloJ7QxK .@LindaDillon81 pic.twitter.com/jb07k2KrTR Sinn Fein (@sinnfeinireland) August 3, 2018 I would call on the British Chief of the Defence Staff to provide evidence of any such vexatious claims, Ms Dillon said. These comments are extremely insulting and will provide further hurt to families and victims of the conflict, some of whom have waited over 40 years for closure by way of an Article 2 investigation or inquest or the timely provision of disclosure in relation to the circumstances surrounding the death of their loved ones. During the conflict, state forces operated with impunity and we will resist any attempt to legalise this policy, which constituted an integral aspect of the British governments sustained abuse of the human rights of Irish citizens both during and after the conflict. However, Ulster Unionist MLA and former soldier Doug Beattie praised the comments from Sir Nick. I welcome General Sir Nick Carters statement that It is right and proper that if our soldiers have done something wrong then they should clearly be investigated, he said. We need to have standards; we need to have values that people are held against otherwise we will lose the moral high ground. There will also be a welcome for General Sir Nick Carters assertion that what is fundamentally wrong though is if theyre chased by people who are making vexatious claims and that will not happen on my watch. The position we start from in Northern Ireland is one of imbalance. Terrorists have been able to avail of early release from prison, royal prerogatives of mercy or royal pardons, and over 200 letters of comfort by the Blair government. Too many people have lost sight of the fact that 99% of victims during the Troubles were due to terrorist action, and just 1% of the 47,000 victims were due to the police or army. And unlike the security forces, every terrorist act was premeditated with unlawful death the intended outcome. Sir Nicks comments came after his predecessor said he was deeply uncomfortable at the prospect of veterans facing investigation for actions which occurred during the Troubles. Air Chief Marshal Sir Stuart Peach, who stepped down as Chief of the Defence Staff in June, said it was a political decision as to whether there should be a statute of limitations on inquiries into past events. But he made clear that he was concerned at the way such investigations could play out. A consultation document issued by Northern Ireland Secretary Karen Bradley on dealing with the legacy of the Troubles does not include provision for a statute of limitations, to the anger of many Conservative MPs. But Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson has pledged to look at all options to protect veterans from legacy investigations amid fears Second World War campaign survivors could be targeted. Sir Nick said service personnel facing investigation would receive as much help as they needed. He continued: The point Id make is that we as an institution are absolutely going to look after those people who are being investigated this way, to the best of our ability. A lot of people have got a lot of opinions about that and thats part of the consultation and I think it would be wrong for me to prejudge which direction it went in. I think it is sad this is happening. I think that of course there is a process of consultation going on at the moment and I dont really want to prejudge where that consultation goes. Writing in The Daily Telegraph, Ms Bradley warned that implementing a statute of limitations could let terrorists off the hook. She said: Some have called for a statute of limitations for veterans, but we believe that is not legally possible without extending it to the terrorists something this Government could not support. The minister hit out at attempts by some to rewrite the history of the Troubles to justify terrorism and warned investigators of unsolved killings, including murders of soldiers, that they are legally obliged to act in a fair, balanced and proportionate way. Ms Bradley said she understood concerns over the treatment of veterans in what some see as the apparently disproportionate focus on their actions rather than those of the terrorists. We should never forget that 90% of the killings were carried out by terrorists and just 10% by those acting on behalf of the state almost all of the latter lawfully, she said. A spat between two high-profile Democratic Unionist veterans over a poll on Irish unity has deepened. Former party leader and first minister Peter Robinson and East Antrim MP Sammy Wilson are at odds over Mr Robinsons suggestion last week that unionists should make preparations in case a border referendum is called in the future. Mr Wilson accused him of giving encouragement to the republican cause by even countenancing the possibility of a vote. Former East Belfast MP Mr Robinson responded in robust terms on Friday. While not mentioning Mr Wilson by name, he said unionists who said the issue should not be discussed were talking claptrap and were guilty of crass folly. These people have not just buried their heads in the sand, only the soles of their feet are visible above the surface, he said. Peter Robinson said the battle is `raging (Queens University Belfast/PA) Mr Robinson insisted the battle for the union was on, whether fellow unionists liked it or not. Not only are they advising us not to talk about a border poll, but they dont want us to even talk about the subject matter at the heart of such a poll, he added in an opinion piece in the Belfast Telegraph. Do they not realise that the battle is raging? We live in a society divided by identity, so to some extent the union is always under fire. But surely, nobody could be so chloroformed that they dont recognise that the opponents of the union are charging our lines like seldom before. The battle for the union is on. Just as unionists cannot stop a border poll from happening, neither can they control when our opponents launch their assault on our constitutional status. Pulling a paper bag over our heads and thinking that we can thereby close out the impending danger is crazy. While those who are still in denial and refusing to talk about the elephant in the room it is positioning itself to squat upon their laps. The episode has unfolded almost three years after a retiring Mr Robinson publicly sided with Arlene Foster when Mr Wilson indicated he might run against her in a contest to succeed him as party leader. The Peter Robinson who I remember and admired, even in the dark days leading up to the Anglo-Irish Agreement, led the fight against what seemed impossible odds. He was a formidable advocate for the Union and still is, but his current analysis is just wrong. My statement: pic.twitter.com/1EYqvK6yGg Sammy Wilson MP (@eastantrimmp) August 3, 2018 Responding to Mr Robinsons latest comments, Mr Wilson described him as a formidable advocate for the union, but said on the issue of a poll he was just plain wrong. The MP denied he was burying his head in the sand or digging a defensive foxhole. It is not enough to say that a referendum is coming, so prepare the terms in case we lose, he said. Churchill knew that the Nazis were coming after Britain when they defeated France in 1940 but he didnt prepare terms for the event of a successful invasion, he rallied the people by telling them to prepare to fight on the beaches and in laneways and in the street and to never surrender. Thats a far better strategy and that is what I am hearing from unionists who I speak to and who are alarmed at the talk of an inevitable referendum and the possibility of losing it. Mr Wilson said Mr Robinson had led the fight for the union against impossible odds in the past. But he added: He was a formidable advocate for the union and still is, but his current analysis of what unionists should be doing is just plain wrong. The husband of a charity worker jailed in Iran has said Jeremy Hunt brings a fresh start in the campaign to free her after the baggage of Boris Johnson. Richard Ratcliffe met the recently appointed Foreign Secretary on Thursday to discuss what action can be taken to free his wife, Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who was sentenced to five years in prison in 2016 after being accused of spying. Mr Hunt has promised to make the case a top priority, Mr Ratcliffe said. I thought it was a positive meeting, he added. He was open and straight and sincere with us. Good to meet Richard Ratcliffe and his family yesterday. Its a shocking and desperate situation and they are showing extraordinary strength and resilience, as is Nazanin. We will do everything we can to bring her home. pic.twitter.com/tPTfg6SZFL Jeremy Hunt (@Jeremy_Hunt) August 3, 2018 Mr Johnson had faced criticism over his handling of attempts to free the mother of one. The former foreign secretary was hit by a backlash for telling a parliamentary committee that Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe had been in Iran to train journalists, which he later acknowledged was not the case. Mr Ratcliffe told the Press Association: Its a fresh start and we had a good meeting. We all came away more positive than when we went in. Shes still in prison and we will see how things go. The former foreign secretary was sincere in wanting Nazanin home. There was baggage in the way it all happened and a fresh start allows for some of that baggage to be laid to rest. Mr Ratcliffe asked for Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe to be given diplomatic protection and hopes to have a decision from Mr Hunt soon. He said the move would stop any inertia in the case and help curb his wifes despair. Jailed British mother Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe with her husband Richard Ratcliffe and their daughter Gabriella (PA) Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe has spoken about how she cannot keep going like this and her mood is described as low. Mr Hunt pledged to do everything possible to secure her release. Good to meet Richard Ratcliffe and his family yesterday, he tweeted. Its a shocking and desperate situation and they are showing extraordinary strength and resilience, as is Nazanin. We will do everything we can to bring her home. Mr Ratcliffe was accompanied by his mother, Barbara Ratcliffe, and uncle, Geoffrey Dive, who is one of Mr Hunts constituents and has met him four times previously to discuss the case. Mrs Ratcliffe said the Foreign Secretary sounded genuinely concerned during the meeting. He also discussed with the Foreign Office staff what they would do if it was their families, and mentioned his own children. He said he wanted to think carefully about giving Nazanin diplomatic protection. The meeting gave me hope. Mr Dive said: He continued to show the same concern for Nazanins safety that he has during constituency meetings for which we are thankful. I hope as Foreign Secretary he can find a way to resolve the issues which are still preventing her release. Our family is relying on him. Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who works for the Thomson Reuters Foundation, is facing a further hearing over an unspecified security charge which her family believes will include an accusation of spreading propaganda against Tehrans Islamist regime. She has consistently denied all allegations, insisting she was on holiday to introduce her daughter to her family. Kate Allen, Amnesty International UKs director, said: The Foreign Secretarys pledge over trying to secure Nazanins release is very welcome, as is the fact hes had a face-to-face meeting with Richard relatively early into his new job. Wed now like to see the UK Government at all levels pushing hard for Nazanins release. This has gone on far too long. Nazanin is a prisoner of conscience who should never have been jailed in the first place. She should be freed and allowed to travel back to the UK with her young daughter Gabriella. Two men have been charged with public disorder offences after a protest outside the Home Office against plans to evict more than 300 asylum seekers. Police were called to the building on Brand Street in Glasgow at around 12pm on Friday. Two men, aged 45 and 58, were arrested in connection with the incident, Police Scotland said. Servo has said it will change the locks on accommodation for about 300 asylum seekers in Glasgow (Andrew Milligan/PA) They were later charged with minor public disorder offences and released by officers. Mohammad Asif, from the Scottish Afghan Society, claimed around 40 people took part in a peaceful protest during which the gates of the Government offices were chained. We chained the gate as a symbolic gesture if I lock you for one day, how do you feel for one hour? And then you are destroying their lives forever, he said. It came as two Afghan nationals Rahman Shah, 32, and Mirwais Ahmadzai, 27, stage a hunger strike outside the building. The hunger strike by Afghan asylum seekers is going strong. The boys are resilient and mentally strong to go through this difficult ordeal whilst its pouring here at the home office in Glasgow. Many people have come to support them & have shown great solidarity#HungerStrike pic.twitter.com/r6KmXXSX7k Scottish Afghan Society (@ScotAfgSociety) August 1, 2018 Mr Asif said the two men have had nothing to eat or drink since Wednesday. They were spoken to by paramedics who were called to the scene on Brand Street during the protest. The two men are among at least 300 asylum seekers facing eviction by contractor Serco after being refused refugee status. The public services group, employed by the Home Office, revealed plans last weekend to begin changing the locks on accommodation. The group said it has provided accommodation for months in some cases for those without the right to remain in the UK, without recompense from the Home Office and at a cost of more than 1 million a year, which it claimed should be borne by the local authority. The leader of Glasgow City Council said these costs should be borne by the Home Office, and she repeated calls to Home Secretary Sajid Javid to step in and stop the evictions. Susan Aitken also said the councils lawyers are looking at ways to supersede UK law to those facing eviction. Glasgow Sets Up Taskforce to Help Asylum Seekers Threatened with Lock Changeshttps://t.co/duOIpGv808 pic.twitter.com/JlyjkKq7au Glasgow City Council (@GlasgowCC) July 31, 2018 She told BBC Scotlands Good Morning Scotland radio programme the council is prohibited from providing accommodation for people who have exhausted the asylum process, but uses its general power of welfare to help particularly vulnerable groups such as families and those with HIV. She said she has instructed council lawyers to examine whether this can be extended to cover those who face having their locks changed by Serco, many of whom are young, single men. Ms Aitken said: We need to look at it very carefully and we are looking at it very carefully if we can use our general power of wellbeing to supersede UK law and support a wider range of people who find themselves essentially being made destitute as a consequence of UK Government policy. Serco chief executive Rupert Soames has said lock-change notices would be given to no more than 10 people a week for the next four weeks. He said none of these would be families with children and all will be people who the Home Office considers to have exhausted their appeal process and no longer have the right to remain. The youngest woman to be convicted of plotting a terror attack on British soil has been jailed for life with a minimum of 13 years. Safaa Boular, 18, hid her Islamic State-inspired plans in coded conversations about preparations for an innocent Mad Hatters tea party. She became the final member of Britains first all-woman terror cell to be jailed when Judge Mark Dennis QC sentenced her to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 13 years at the Old Bailey on Friday. Islamic State suitor Naweed Hussain (Metropolitan Police/PA) Boular was sitting her GCSEs when she was seduced online by IS fighter Naweed Hussain, originally from Coventry. After she was stopped from joining the 32-year-old in Syria, she discussed a grenade and gun attack on the British Museum instead. Their plans were uncovered by online MI5 role-players and the Boular family home in Vauxhall, south London, was bugged. Following a trial, Boular was found guilty of two counts of preparing terrorist acts. UN representatives are helping investigate the killing of three Russian journalists in Central African Republic (CAR), Moscow officials said. The reporters, named as Alexander Rastorguyev, Kirill Radchenko and Orkhan Dzhemal, were ambushed and killed on Monday outside the town of Sibut. They had been investigating a Russian private security company that was operating in CAR as well as Russian ties to the local mining industry. The reporters had been working on an investigation into Russian private military contractors (AP) The project was funded by exiled opposition figure Mikhail Khodorkovsky, a long-time foe of Russian president Vladimir Putin. Officials in CAR say the journalists were kidnapped by 10 men wearing turbans and speaking Arabic. Their bodies bore gunshot wounds. Russian Foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said four UN experts are assisting CAR authorities in investigating the attack. The Russian embassy is also involved. The journalists editors suspect the killings are linked to their work. England paceman Stuart Broad struck twice as India began their 194-run chase for victory in the first Specsavers Test. Edgbaston was close to boiling point as Broad dismissed openers Murali Vijay and Shikhar Dhawan to leave India 22 for two. Vijay had been dropped on one by Dawid Malan, the Middlesex player spilling his third catch of the match after putting down India skipper Virat Kohli twice on Thursday. But Malan was reprieved this time when Vijay padded up to Broad on six and was out lbw. India paceman Ishant Sharma celebrates the dismissal of England batsman Ben Stokes (Nick Potts/PA) England skipper Joe Root urged the crowd to get behind Broad and Dhawan soon nicked his attempted drive to wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow. That brought first-innings centurion Kohli to the crease and he soon saw Lokesh Rahul edge Ben Stokes behind to leave India 46 for three. England were earlier dismissed for 180 in their second innings as Ishant Sharma claimed his eighth five-wicket Test haul. Sam Curran made a Test-best 63 his 65-ball stay including nine fours and two sixes but the rest of the England batting was a tale of woe. A 20 yr old giving England a Sniff .. Great stuff .. Love Sam Currans temperament .. Whatvever happens and whoever Wins this has been a Fantastic Test Match !!! #ENGvIND Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) August 3, 2018 Ravi Ashwin removed Keaton Jennings (8) and captain Root (14) before Ishant dismissed Malan (20). Ishant then took three wickets in one over either side of lunch to leave England creaking at 87 for seven, and it was only Currans excellent effort which gave them hope. India, however, would have to eclipse their highest successful run-chase in England to win the 174 they managed at The Oval in 1971 for their first Test victory on English soil. Polar bear hunters in remote villages on the coast of the Chukchi Sea will have higher harvest quotas next year, a sign of the health of the regions bear population. The US-Russia Polar Bear Commission increased the possible harvest level for bears in the Chukchi Sea from 58 to 85 bears. The quota is split between the two countries, although all polar bear hunting, including subsistence hunting, remains banned in Russia. The commission met last week in Egvekinot in Chukotka, Russia, and heard new estimates of bear abundance by science advisers and recommendations by indigenous and local sources. Katya Wassillie, executive director of the Alaska Nannut Co-Management Council, which represents Alaska tribes that hunt for polar bears, said a higher quota does not mean more bears will be killed. Two polar bears on a chunk of ice in the Arctic off Alaska (Dan Crosbie/PA) Our communities in the area of the Chukchi Sea polar bear had not met that quota consistently in the last 10 years, she said. The United States in 2008 listed polar bears as a threatened species because of the loss of their primary habitat, sea ice, due to climate change. Eric Regehr, a quantitative biologist at the University of Washingtons Polar Science Centre and co-chair of the Scientific Working Group that advised the commission, said researchers have not detected the same sorts of harmful trends in Chukchi bears that were found in polar bears of the southern Beaufort Sea population off Alaskas north coast. Chukchi bears remain larger and fatter and have not seen downward trends in cub production and survival, according to new preliminary information on the health and numbers of bears. Those things appear good, Mr Regehr said. The Scientific Working Group provided a range of 50 to 120 bears in its recommendation for a sustainable harvest, Ms Wassillie said. The medium-risk range was 80 to 90 bears. The Russian government was comfortable right in the middle of that, she said. Polar bear meat is a traditional food and hides incorporated in the United States can be used for handicrafts. Russia banned polar bear hunting in 1956. The US-Russia Polar Bear Commission was created by treaty in 2000 with the goals of conservation and restoration of traditional subsistence harvest by Native people of Chukotka. A harvest management plan was drafted in 2014 and Chukotka natives for several years have pushed to legalise hunting, Ms Wassillie said. Its just a waiting game at this point, she said. Jeremy Corbyns efforts to build bridges with the Jewish community have been rebuffed by critics as Labours anti-Semitism row drags on. The Labour leader insisted he will root out anti-Semites from Labour and acknowledged mistakes in the way the party had handled the crisis. But the Jewish Labour Movement said trust had broken down with the party leadership, while the Campaign Against Antisemitism lashed out at Mr Corbyns failure to apologise for his own conduct. Mr Corbyn said the party had been too slow in dealing with complaints and should have consulted the Jewish community before drawing up a code of conduct that failed to fully reproduce an internationally accepted definition of anti-Semitism and its examples. But he insisted that it was his priority to drive anti-Semitism out of the party for good and rebuild trust between Labour and Jewish voters. At the end of a bruising week which has seen complaints about his behaviour and a request for the human rights watchdog to investigate the Labour Party, Mr Corbyn said: No one can, or should, try to dismiss or belittle the concerns expressed by so many Jewish people and organisations about what has been happening in the party I am proud to lead. But after three leading Jewish newspapers jointly published a scathing leader column about Mr Corbyns party, the Labour leader rejected their overheated rhetoric. However, he acknowledged there was a real problem that Labour is working to overcome and stressed that if he became prime minister he would take whatever measures necessary to guarantee the security of the Jewish community. Mr Corbyn acknowledged Labour had been too slow in processing disciplinary cases of anti-Semitic abuse but insisted that was changing. Writing in the Guardian, he said: Labour staff have seen examples of Holocaust denial, crude stereotypes of Jewish bankers, conspiracy theories blaming 9/11 on Israel, and even one individual who appeared to believe that Hitler had been misunderstood. People holding those views have no place in the Labour Party. While the number of cases was few, Mr Corbyn said one is too many and stressed that it was not done in his name. Our party must never be a home for such people, and never will be. People who dish out anti-Semitic poison need to understand: You do not do it in my name. You are not my supporters and have no place in our movement. Protests have been staged about the Labour Partys response to anti-Semitism (Yui Mok/PA) The latest flare-up in the long-running difficulties over anti-Semitism was sparked by the partys new code of conduct. Mr Corbyn defended the code, although he accepted that the Jewish community should have been involved at an earlier stage. In the document, Labour failed to fully adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of anti-Semitism and all its examples. Seven examples were incorporated entirely along with the essence of the other four, he said. But I acknowledge that most of the Jewish community, including many Labour supporters, take a different view. The community should have been consulted more extensively at an earlier stage which is why our executive decided last month to reopen the development of the code in consultation with Jewish community organisations and others to address their concerns. The differences were very small and amount to half of one example out of 11 in relation to criticism of Israel. Mr Corbyn said: It is unfortunately the case that this particular example, dealing with Israel and racism, has sometimes been used by those wanting to restrict criticism of Israel that is not anti-Semitic. Mr Corbyns article met with a furious response from the Campaign Against Antisemitism. The groups chairman Gideon Falter said: There is no acknowledgement of his own role in this crisis. There is no apology for his anti-Semitic activity in the past, but he has hypocritically condemned as anti-Semitic behaviour that he himself has been guilty of. He has again preached to Jews that he is right to have rewritten the international definition of anti-Semitism. By his action over the years as well as by failing even now to take on board the full concerns of the Jewish community, we remain convinced that Jeremy Corbyn is an anti-Semite and under his leadership the once anti-racist Labour Party has become institutionally anti-Semitic and an existential threat to British Jewry. "Today, other than another article bemoaning a situation of the Partys own making, nothing has changed. There is no trust left. We find ourselves asking once again for action, not words" pic.twitter.com/jmNDX9Xvqa Jewish Labour Movement (@JewishLabour) August 3, 2018 The Jewish Labour Movement also rejected Mr Corbyns article. A spokesman said: There is no trust left. We find ourselves asking once again for action, not words. Political opponents seized upon similarities between Mr Corbyns article and an earlier response to allegations of anti-Semitism in Labour which was published in April. This is literally a cut a paste job, it makes no firm commitments, says that Jewish concerns about Labour are overblown, criticises Israel (because Corbyn cant write about Jews without having a go at Israel?), accepts no culpability. Yes its exceptional, but not in a good way. https://t.co/A0GBsIjqOx James Cleverly (@JamesCleverly) August 3, 2018 Tory deputy chairman James Cleverly said it was a cut and paste job. Railway enthusiasts are marking the 50th anniversary of the end of regular mainline steam services. Events are being held at heritage railways across the country to provide an insight into steam on British Rail up until 1968. Enthusiasts have ensured steam trains continue to operate in Britain despite the decision for regular passenger services to use only diesel or electric power. (PA Graphics) Stephen Oates, chief executive of the Heritage Railway Association, told the Press Association: The end of steam 50 years ago was the end of a pretty significant era in the development not only of the UK but the world. It was an immensely sad occasion for a lot of people back then. A good number of railways are marking the anniversary. The end of steam is said to have occurred on various dates in August 1968. Wincanton, the last steam locomotive to leave Victoria Station, London, for Brighton and Eastbourne (PA) The final regular timetabled steam train operated from Preston to Liverpool on August 3, while several steam trains carried out tours across Britain a day later. On August 11 a train known as the Fifteen Guinea Special, due to the expensive tickets, ran from Liverpool via Manchester to Carlisle and back. It was the last mainline steam passenger train. The Flying Scotsman crosses the Ribblehead viaduct (Owen Humphreys/PA) Several events are taking place to mark the 50th anniversary, including at Grand Central Railway, Leicestershire; Severn Valley Railway, Worcestershire and Ribble Steam Railway, Preston. Mr Oates said: An anniversary such as this is worth marking. Its keeping a bit of our history alive. People close to steam think its the closest a machine comes to being a living creature. Its the evocative smell, the rhythm and the sight a majestic steam engine bursting up an incline. Theres something about the power and might that captures the imagination. Perpetual Treasuries Ltd defacto owner Arjun Aloysius, its CEO Kasun Palisena, its Chief Dealer Nuwan Salgado and the IT executive Sachith Devathantri were today produced in court as suspects into the parallel magisterial inquiry conducted over the Bond scam on deleting phone call data from Perpetual Treasuries Ltd voice recording system and fabricating evidence to the Bond Commission. Sachith Devathantri and Nuwan Salgado were arrested by the CID and produced in court, while Aloysius and Palisena were produced from the prison as they were in remand over the main Bond scam inquiry. Perpetual Treasuries Ltd as the corporate entity was also named as a suspect into the inquiry by the prosecution. Filing a further report, the prosecution said that they were expecting to make suspects, Sachith Devathantri and Nuwan Salgado as crown witnesses into the inquiry in future. Subsequently, Fort Magistrate Lanka Jayaratne released Devathantri and Salgado on a surety bail of Rs. 300,000 each and also ordered the passports of them to be tendered in courts. Earlier, in October 2017, the Court had imposed a travel ban on the suspects. Suspects Aloysius and Palisena were remanded till August 9 by the Magistrate. However, suspects, Devathantri and Salgado were taken into remand custody as they failed to tender their passports to the court yesterday. The suspects were held liable by the prosecution over under the Penal Code, Registered Stock and Securities Ordinance and Computer Crimes Act in connection with the revelation transpired during the proceedings of the Bond Commission. Senior Deputy Solicitor General Haripriya Jayasundara and Senior State Counsel Lakmini Girihagama appeared for the CID. Earlier, PTL had told the Bond Commission that it had given all the data it had with the voice recording system. However, after startling confessions made by PTL IT expert Sachith Devatantri and its Chief Dealer Nuwan Salgado before the Commission, it was revealed that there was a deletion of some voice recordings. Subsequently, the Attorney General instructed the CID to initiate a criminal investigation with regard to the revelation. In that startling revelation, PTL IT executive Sachith Devathantri on August 31, 2017, admitted before the Presidential Commission of Inquiry that he had deleted several phone recordings from PTLs voice recording system on the instructions of the Chief Dealer of PTL, Nuwan Salgado on July 5, 2017. Mr Devathantri had also disclosed that it was the altered phone recordings that were subsequently provided to the Commission in the latter part of August 2017, as opposed to what PTLs CEO Kasun Palisena had ascertained in his affidavit earlier that they had provided all data to the investigation. Meanwhile, Perpetual Treasuries Ltd owner Arjun Aloysius and its CEO Kasun Palisena were also ordered to be re-remanded till August 9 by the magistrate over the magisterial inquiry in which they were accused of abetting and conspiring with Arjuna Mahendran to misappropriate public funds worth Rs. 688 million during the Bond auction held on February 27, 2015. (Shehan Chamika Silva) HONG KONG (AFP): Asian equities were mixed yesterday after another painful week as fears of an all-out trade war between Beijing and Washington keept investors on edge, while Chinas stock market was toppled by Japan as the worlds number two. While Apple provided a boost for Wall Street after hitting the US$1 trillion market capitalisation mark, the prospect of the worlds top two economies exchanging painful tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars of goods is stunting optimism. Shares, which have been on the slide for several weeks owing to the increasingly heated trade row, took another hit this week when the White House said it was considering more than doubling threatened tariffs on US$200 billion of Chinese imports. Beijing responded by saying it would not give in to blackmail. There are genuine concerns about this trade war underlying markets, which makes any genuine retaliation from China, rather than the current rhetorical approach, an issue for markets, said Greg McKenna, chief market strategist at AxiTrader. However, while he warned the risks of escalation remain high, he added that the market still thinks (the latest US threat) is just a negotiating tactic. Hong Kong lost 0.1 percent and Shanghai sank one percent, after both swung in and out of positive territory through the day, while traders on the mainland largely brushed off promises of government support to the struggling economy. Adding to the pain of recent losses, Chinas stock market was overtaken as the worlds second-biggest by Japans Thursday, having been hit by trade war fears and slowing economic growth. Bloomberg News figures showed Chinese stocks were worth US$6.09 trillion, compared with US$6.17 trillion in Japan. The US market is worth US$31 trillion. Investors are paying attention to government policies as the US-China trade war will remain uncertain for now, Yoshihiro Okumura, general manager at Chibagin Asset Management, told AFP in Tokyo. On the other hand, Japanese companies are showing strong results in general, sustaining share prices on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. The yuan also extended losses on trade war worries and concerns about growth. However, Ian Hui, global market strategist at JP Morgan Asset Management, said in a note: Chinese officials will remain wary of letting the yuan weaken too much, as that may risk issues for capital flight and financial stability. Tokyo ended up 0.1 percent, while Sydney edged down 0.1 percent and Singapore slipped 0.2 percent. Individuals tackle lifes obstacles in different ways. Some individuals may succeed in clearing the hurdle while others wouldnt. Those who are associated with substance abuse fail to cope up with what life has to offer them. This is the reason behind many broken families, crimes and of course unhappy lives. However it is never too late to break the chain of this vicious cycle created by substance abuse. On the positive side there is always hope and help.Dr. Jayamal De Silva, Consultant Psychiatrist at the Colombo South Teaching Hospital, Kalubowila and Senior Lecturer in Psychiatry, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Sri Jayawardenepuraand Dr. Udena Attygalle, Consultant Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist, shed light on the issue of substance abuse and how to get around it, minimizing the damage caused by such use and how to prevent people from falling victim to it. Adopting population measures that are scientifically proven to be effective economically as well as socially will prove to be more strongly effective in dealing with and minimizing substance abuse rather than other options such as medications, legal measures like punishments, counselling and rehabilitation in the long-run. This will help prevent the diversion of the necessary services and resources on less effective alternatives and approach the issue at hand directly to ensure better results,says Dr. Jayamal De Silva It is important for parents to inculcate life skills in children so that they can be assertive when the necessity arises and not be influenced by negativity that may surround them Alcohol and tobacco? Substance abuse takes many forms. It includes the consumption of hard drugs such as nicotine, heroin, etc as well as the consumption of substances such as alcohol and tobacco. Alcohol and tobacco are the major substances that contribute to the overall burden of drug abuse. Dr. De Silva explained that substance abuse is attributable to 2 major factors in the country; the economy and secondly the mortality. Recent studies have shown that the economic impact caused by alcohol alone is calculated in billions of rupees. Alcohol spearheads the cause behind as many as 25,000 deaths per year annually and tobacco comes close with roughly 20,000-25,000 deaths per year, he informed. Deaths due to hard drugs like heroin, do not come close to the mortality caused by alcohol and tobacco. This signifies its harmfulness although it is common to think of substances like heroin, etc on the topic of substance abuse. It is needless to say that the use of hard drugs of course leads to devastating effects on the individual as well as the individuals family among other negative and adverse complications. Risk groups The category of citizens that is most likely to be victimized by substance abuse comprise young adults. They are the future of the country. On viewing the future customer base, the young adults of the country are targeted by such markets. The coastal belt regions and the tourism sector are vulnerable areas connected with such markets. Therefore it is important to be both mindful and aware in order to take measures in preventing and reducing incidents of substance abuse, Dr. De Silva explicated. On a positive note, tobacco smoking trends are seen to be reducing within the island. Slight drops in alcohol consumption can also be observed. Statistically speaking, it was estimated that while 40,000 heroin users existed in the mid 1980s in the island, currently there are approximately 50,000. Though it shows an increase, it is a subtle increase over the 25-30 years that have passed. This indicates some success of the control measures employed in reducing substance abuse, he added. The introduction of population measures, spreading public awareness, bans on public smoking, increase in prices and taxes, advertisement controls, targeting the bringing down of attraction around these substances and various other controls have played their parts in contributing to the reduction of substance abuse. However the general public should play a vital role as well if minimizing of substance abuse is to succeed. Our role as the public Individuals fall victim to substance abuse through the concept of what is known as gateway drugs. It is through the gateway drugs that individuals get introduced to hard drugs which then leads to substance abuse. Gateway drugs include secondary smoking and beer which later aggravate into hard drug use. Therefore preventing exposure to these gateway drugs are extremely important, Dr. De Silva stressed. In terms of behavioural changes, a change of perception is quite necessary. The psychiatrist stressed on the fact that the public should change their ways on how they think about and perceive drugs. It is a commonly existing misconception that when a person takes drugs several times, that individual becomes a drug addict and is regarded so by the public. The individual himself, who took drugs once or twice, would think so and host thoughts of a ruined or doomed life. That is the nature of substance abuse. However just because a person uses drugs several times, it does not mean that the individual is beyond help or that his or her life is ruined, he explained. He continued further by adding that drug addiction is caused when the individual is exposed to such promotions constantly on a recurring basis. It could be environmentally conduced or due to peer pressure. However it is important not to give up and think that life has been ruined. Addiction is caused by recurring exposure to drugs. The exposure to drugs a few times does not mean addiction. Help is available and there is hope for a healthy life, he stressed. Factors that act as determinants of drug abuse should be addressed as well. Substance abuse is prevalent among the less affluent. Poverty and ignorance are factors that should be addressed in order to mitigate substance abuse successfully. According to Dr. De Silva, focusing on non-profitable measures can divert attention from the more effective measures in reducing drug abuse. Therefore it is important that people fully comprehend what has to be addressed specifically. Counselling and rehabilitation are the most followed methods by way of treatment. However its effectiveness depends on the individual. It may prove successful depending on the situation. Individuals with mild cases of substance abuse may benefit from above methods, but might not deal well with some. In some cases it may create negative affects and anger in the individual. There are situations when medication is needed to help deal with withdrawal symptoms when drug use is stopped. However total dependency on medication may obstruct the individuals ability to form skills of self adequacy, he accentuated. Self adequacy is important as the individual should be motivated to come out of drug addiction through effort and will power. He highlighted that it is of importance to direct attention towards strong implementation of population measures and stronger legislation and policies pertaining to substance abuse controls. Protect children It is important for parents to inculcate life skills in children so that they can be assertive when the necessity arises and not be influenced by negativity that may surround them Dr. Udena Attygalle said. Since children and adolescents become easy targets of such situations, parents play an important role in protecting them and preparing them to face life sensibly so they do not fall victim to substance abuse when life tests them by throwing obstacles in their path. Dr. Attygalle stated that parents have to be sensitive and aware of their children and keep up with what is going on in their lives. If there is a problem, parents have to deal with the issue in a sensitive manner. Furthermore, it is important for parents to inculcate life skills in children so that they can be assertive when the necessity arises and not be influenced by negativities that may surround them often by way of peers, he mentioned. Dr. Attygalle continued to explain that these skills should be developed within children in such a way that they should be able to deal with tough situations while maintaining and keeping friendships intact. Both males and females are vulnerable to drug abuse, but males are more exposed to sociocultural issues that contribute to drug abuse. However it is hard to generalise this issue and this does not mean that females are out of danger of falling victim to drug abuse. Equal care has to be taken regarding females. Prevention is always the better option than cure, so more attention has to be paid to avoid incidents associated with substance abuse. However it is important to remember that help is always available and there is always hope for individuals fallen victim to substance abuse. An individual should never give up by resorting to thoughts that one is beyond help. Where theres life, theres always hope! A Chinese owned karaoke den cum restaurant in the close proximity to a leading girls school in Colombo 07, that did not bear a valid liquor permit was raided by Colombo Excise Station officials recently for selling liquor only to its Chinese customers. The Excise officials following a probe based on information learnt that the Chinese karaoke restaurant had continued to sell alcoholic beverages since their Excise license was not renewed for 2018 over public displeasure owing to the place it is located. According to Excise sources, the restaurant which is owned by a Chinese national couple settled in Sri Lanka has been continuing to sell liquor only to their Chinese customers in a discrete manner since the license was not renewed from January this year. Although, the restaurant located close to the Pittala Junction is entertaining local guests the benefit of serving alcoholic beverages had been limited only to the Chinese customers, who were mainly attracted from Chinese expatriate community that engage in Colombo Port City projects, the Excise sources said. Since this was the case, it had been tricky for the Excise sleuths to send an undercover agent inside the said restaurant as non Chinese nationals were served liquor. However, following a lengthy probe the Colombo Excise Station officials managed to arrest the local employee in charge of the bar of the restaurant in the act of issuing liquor and up on inquiry had failed to produce a valid permit. OIC Colombo Excise Station Chief Inspector Chanaka Nanayakkara is conducting investigations with Excise Inspector Indralal Mahawatte and Excise Guards Hemantha Dissanayake, Lahiru Kodagoda, Nilantha Rajapaksa and Nihal Perera on the instructions of Assistant Excise Commissioner B. A. Dayaratne (Western Province) and Excise Superintendent Colombo Vijitha Gamanayake. The sleuths also seized 121 cans of beer from the restaurant stocks. The arrested employee had been released on Excise bail and would be produced before the Maligakanda Magistrate today along with the seized stock of liquor. (Kurulu Koojana Kariyakarawana) Consumers are in for a treat with the all-new NESTLE a+ full cream UHT milk. Creamy and delicious, NESTLE a+ is made with the finest fresh milk, sourced from approximately 20,000 Sri Lankan farmers. Benefiting from Nestles more than 150-year international dairy expertise, the high-quality product offers nutrient-packed goodness, a rich creamy taste and convenience all in one. Additionally, consumers can rest assured that purchasing NESTLE a+ benefits local farmers; contributing to their livelihoods by creating increased demand for local milk. Said Ruwan Welikala, Nestle Vice President - Ambient Dairy: Nestle started with dairy-based products over 150 years ago and we still benefit from this expertise today. The Nestle name on a product is a promise of quality and thats why we ensure our milk is perfect right from the start. We train all of our farmers to produce milk to the highest quality standards and nurture the milk sourcing process every step of the way; ensuring that what reaches our consumers is nothing but the best. Our consumers already benefit from a range of world-leading dairy products through Nestle and were proud to offer yet another world-class product made with local milk. Milk is naturally rich in calcium and a range of other key nutrients. It is in fact considered one of the best sources of calcium to maintain healthy bones, skin and teeth, and is far more appealing to most children over other calcium-rich food, making it a popular choice for parents. The fact that the benefits of milk can be reaped well into adulthood has created a growing demand for liquid milk; as consumers lean towards convenience and the Sri Lankan government actively encourages the consumption of liquid milk, especially among children. Sri Lankas dairy industry is an emerging one, with a relatively low milk supply. However Nestles work with local milk farmers, for over 30 years, has helped develop the industry to produce enough high quality milk for Nestles dairy-based products. These include Nespray Fortigrow full cream milk powder, Milo RTD (Ready-to-Drink), Milkmaid, Nespray Nutri-Up, Nespray Coco-Up, Nespray Fortigrow Milky Biscuit, Nestomalt RTD, Nescafe RTD, and now its latest NESTLE a+ full cream UHT milk product. Said Shivani Hegde, Nestle Managing Director: Our ambition has always been to grow communities along with our business; to offer value to our consumers as well as for society. Were proud to launch yet another product that not only meets the nutritional needs of our consumers but also contributes to the livelihood of local Sri Lankan farmers. NESTLE a+ is yet another product that demonstrates our company purpose of enhancing quality of life and contributing to a healthier future. Nestle began working with the government and local farmers in the 1980s to implement its milk-district model and increase the yield and quality of local milk. The company today provides approximately 20,000 farmers with regular training programmes, technical and microfinancing assistance, mobile veterinary clinics, milk churns and other resources. It has also invested considerably in establishing essential infrastructure for dairy farmers, such as milk collection points and chilling centres (which keeps the milk fresh), to provide them a secure route to market. Nestles work not only enables it to source local milk of very high quality, providing consumers a range of high-quality nutritious products made with local milk, but also offers local milk farmers a lifeline in growing their business and supporting their families. The health service began as a vocation like the priesthood. Top priority was given to the welfare and well being of patients. Medical doctors when they pass out still take the Hippocratic Oath which says in part : I swear to fulfill, to the best of my ability and judgment, this covenant: I will respect the hard-won scientific gains of those physicians in whose steps I walk, and gladly share such knowledge as is mine with those who are to follow. I will apply, for the benefit of the sick, all measures which are required, avoiding those twin traps of over-treatment and therapeutic nihilism. I will remember that there is art to medicine as well as science, and that warmth, sympathy, and understanding may outweigh the surgeons knife or the chemists drug. These immortal words come to mind as we reflect on the consequences of another strike launched yesterday by the Government Medical Officers Association (GMOA) which often boast of being one of the biggest and most powerful trade unions in Asia. Those who suffered most because of this strike were tens of thousands of poor patients who came to public hospitals as early as 5.00 am but were turned away without treatment. Over the past few decades, especially after 1977 when Sri Lanka swallowed wholesale the globalized capitalist market economic system, the health service priorities have changed. No longer is the highest priority given to the well-being of patients. Instead we see more and more private hospitals being set up with the wealthiest business people investing money in them because private hospitals have become one of the biggest profit making businesses. With the change of priorities the medical doctors vocation, with some exceptions of course, became a profession and is now a profit making business. So the patients well-being has been degraded to priority number 03 if not lower. GMOA leaders say their strike was launched on various demands ranging from their income tax payments being raised from 12% to 24% and the admission of their children to prestigious national schools, to issues connected with the free trade agreement between Sri Lanka and Singapore. But government leaders have pointed out that the income tax increase will apply only to medical doctors earning more than Rs. 350,000 a month while for others it will remain at 12%. Government leaders also accused GMOA leaders, mainly its President Dr. Anuruddha Padeniya, of indulging in party politics. Social analysts are also raising major questions on the regular strikes in the health service and other essential services. They are asking whether the government should consider a ban on strikes in essential services, because essentially those who suffer most are millions of poor, innocent and helpless people. They say that just as strikes are not allowed in the security forces, the government should consider a ban on strikes in essential services such as health, transport, postal and telecommunications. Instead, there is a better and more effective way of conflict resolution through dialogue. For this both parties need to have the dialogue with an open mind, with awareness that their view or understanding of the situation is always relative and never absolute. This paradigm shift is essential. Then the two or more parties could come to some accommodation on the hallowed middle path. This is known as synergy, where one plus one will make not two but three. That means something new or a reasonable solution on the middle path. For decades, patients rights groups had campaigned for a national medicinal drugs policy based on the principles of Professor Senaka Bibile, widely acclaimed as a prophet of modern medicine. Transnational drug giants or mafias had campaigned against the Bibile policy which was essentially intended to provide quality drugs to the people at affordable prices. Transnational drug mafias are reported to have given billions to politicians to prevent the implementation of the Bibile policies. The new government however implemented the Bibile policies, but much more needs to be done to restore the priority given to patients in the health service and dialogue is the best way of resolving conflicts which arise in this vision and mission. Election Commission Chairman Mahinda Deshapriya said yesterday the Commission would meet only representatives of recognized political parties, poll observer groups and media personnel. In response to the news report which said the EC wants to meet JO MPs over PC Polls, he said MP Dinesh Gunawardane in his capacity as the leader of Mahajana Eksath Peramuna (MEP) and Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) Chairman Prof. G.L.Peiris had sought a meeting with the Election Commission. Other than that, he said no other organization or political party had been called for briefings in recent times. The deposed king had met the law and order man from Bibile at a Chinese function recently and cornered the ministering type. The deposed king had asked the ministering type whether he was going to file a fresh case against him and his family before the election and push it through the new courts. The ministering type had innocently changed the subject by pretending to talk on the phone and had vanished into the thin air. Ha ha Mahanamabiwandana The OBA also organised a health camp Teaching isnt merely a profession; rather its a service to the country. However, its very rare to see the teachers being felicitated for their services. Theres no other big pleasure for teachers than to see their students become illustrious people. Teachers make a vital contribution in identifying and honing the talents of their students. These teachers are leaders and tailor-made for this task. Teachers always inspire, empower and guide their students. As such, its always essential to felicitate the shepherds of our lives at least once a year. Mahanama College, one of the leading schools in Colombo, gave a great example last Sunday (July 29) with regard to honouring its teachers. This event was titled Mahanamabiwandana. At the event the founders of the school, principals, teachers and parents were commemorated. The event, organized by the Old Boys Association (OBA) of the school, was held under the guidance of OBA Chief Executive Officer Indunil Silva. This event is a concept of one of the schools past head prefects Kumara Galhenage The agenda at the event also included an alms-giving for 100 Buddhist monks The school teachers who were dedicated and committed in their service were admired and presented with gifts and souvenirs by the old boys. The agenda at the event also included an alms-giving for 100 Buddhist monks and a lunch for the entire school its teachers. Meals were prepared by 13 chefs who are alumni of the school. The chefs included former Executive Chef at Cinnamon Grand and currently Director Okura Hotel Services - Pvt LTD, Chef. Chaminda Liyanage (1989 Batch). The school teachers who were dedicated and committed in their service were admired and presented with gifts and souvenirs by the old boys. The agenda at the event also included an alms-giving for 100 Buddhist monks and a lunch for the entire school its teachers A health camp was also organised by the OBA with the participation of 28 medical officers, past students of Mahanama College. Nutrition guides, medical checkups and essential medicines were provided to the teachers in the staff and those who had retired. In addition, a blood donation campaign was organised thanks to the initiative of the 2004 batch. It was held at the school premises. The purpose of this Amisa Pooja was to bless the late, retired and present teachers of the school. This event was conducted with the support of the Blood Bank of the Sri Jayewardenepura General Hospital (SJGH). The organisers of the event donated 100 pints of blood to the National Blood Centre. Mahanama College, founded in 1954, has produced many intellectuals and professionals. Pix by Kushan Pathiraja A mixture of basic emotions like fear, excitement, amusement and surprise besieged the two school-leavers- in their early twenties-when the Director recommended to their supervisor that they would assist in carrying out Visakha Vidyalayas Hostel audit for the year 1966. Visakha, as we knew, is one of the most prestigious Girls schools established in Colombo. It was B.R de Silva & Co,-Chartered Accountants, that entrusted the writer, who joined them as a trainee, to visit Vajira Road, with specific instructions on adhering to the organisations code of conduct. Behaviour within clients premises regarding the first stirrings of admiration, passion, desire and the more lasting kind of feelings occur under restricted freedoms. This was five decades ago. However we were confident that upholding the companys dignity and decorum wasnt a phenomenal task. Being inside the state-of-the-art new auditorium on the 23rd instant in itself was a cause for pride for this writer. This was when I saw the Portrait of Mrs Jeramius Dias, a gracious lady, born Selesthina Rodrigo and a descendant of his home town, Panadura, pompously displayed right below the clock on right end of the wall. However, I was stunned when the organisers commenced the event on the dot: considering the usual practice of thirty to 45-minute delays, a rare accomplishment indeed, that made the clock insignificant. Was there a dearth of English medium science teachers in the country during 1950s and 60s? Like Visakha, quite a few semi-government/Board managed schools employed South Indian Madras or Keralyte Science graduates The gracious lady, Mrs. Dias, a well-known philanthropist, who together with her husband lavishly helped my Alma Mater too in Panadura. Mrs Dias initiated a tradition with the schools she attended. Even her great-grand children have been students at Sri Sumangala College and Girls School. A natural curiosity that cropped up after reading the Sunday Times write-up on the Annual Pulimood Oration, hauled the writer to the girls school at Vajira Road to be greeted by a circle of young misses- exquisitely clad in gold & blue sarees- and young past pupils who were extremely courteous at the entrance to the auditorium. The respect and care extended towards the elderly were admirable. These kind acts brought back memories of the smart school prefect, who directed me to the Registrars office, when I reported on my first day at Visakha 51 years ago. This was during their golden jubilee celebrations. Going further back to early1960s, to the time of the Advanced Level class at Sri Sumangala College, our Botany teacher was Mr Chandirasekhari, an Indian. He frequently suggested referring to Pullimood and Joshua for more details. A Text Book of Botany by Pulimood and Joshua, though happened to be the standard Botany text that firmly established as English medium bio-science students encyclopedia on flora which the Education Department recommended to the OL curriculum. Pulimood & Joshua became a useful text even at higher tertiary levels for all Botany lovers who used it as a precious reference book. Dearth of teachers Was there a dearth of English medium science teachers in the country during 1950s and 60s? Like Visakha, quite a few semi-government/Board managed schools employed South Indian Madras or Keralyte Science graduates. It was Kailasapathy and Siva Alexander, the two outstanding teachers who taught Chemistry and Zoology respectively at the A Level classes in college. While discussing a plant in its botanical name, some bergia grandiflora a species more akin to Indian soil as given in a text book of botany by Pulimood, I refreshed my memory travelling back in time to the days when we nick-named our lady botany teacher at the OL class, grandiflora, [the blue sky-flower] for the beautiful lady always dressed in bluish attire, perhaps her favourite colour. Among tens of thousands greens on this wonderland called planet Earth as scripted by Ms Pullimood and Anna K. Joshua, her bellowed sister who co-authored the text, our land is inundated with exotic grandifloras. Isnt two sisters co-authoring a science text something unique? Over to you, undergrads of Library Science, this is a research topic for a project! It is indeed amazingly inspiring to learn that Visakha continues without a break, dedicating a day to remember the former principal of the school. The birthday of this respected lady falls on July 23. The Pulimood Era heralds the Golden Age of Visakha. She undoubtedly had an extremely successful career as a farsighted educationist; perhaps more importantly as a much-loved teacher and principal. In modern societies gratitude and other intrinsic values are often concealed and suppressed, and are obscured by other concerns. It is indeed amazingly inspiring to learn that Visakha continues without a break, dedicating a day to remember the former principal of the school. The birthday of this respected lady falls on July 23. The Pulimood Era heralds the Golden Age of Visakha. She undoubtedly had an extremely successful career as a farsighted educationist Another distinguished old Visakhian, a linguist and a literatis first appointment was with Sri Sumangala. I had the good fortune to be her pupil. Young Miss Sita Wickramaarachchi commenced a short stint as our class teacher during the O Lvel First year for six months in 1961. When she ended this period she had become Mrs Sita Kulatunga. She invited the entire class to her wedding held at her hometown in Bandaragama. Some of us continued the teacher-pupil relationship with her in the decades that followed, though not so strong as the Pullimood-Visakhian bond. Mrs Kulathunga, the well-known writer, who authored the short novel Dari, the third wifethe story of a beautiful young girl from Northern Nigeria who was forced to abandon schooling to please her parents and enter into a polygamous matrimony with an older man. In the story the lady ultimately finds it hard to come to terms in the company of two senior wives of the husband. She wrote it based on her familiarity with Nigerian culture where for two years she taught English. Mrs Sita Kulathunga invited the writer for the Susan George Pullimood Oration which she delivered on July 23 either in 2007 or 2008 at Visakha under the theme, Creative Writers role which he begged to be excused of. A few years before her untimely death the writer was fascinated when a Sunday newspaper carried on the same page articles by the teacher and her pupil [the writer]. Alavaka yakkha Reflecting on Alavaka yakkha, who ordered, Get out, you recluse! as The Buddha entered his abode, and later threatened him with, I will ask you a question, recluse. If you do not answer me, I will confound your thoughts, or cleave your heart, or take you by your feet and fling you over to the further shore of the ocean, two of us approached the lady in-charge of the Hostel knowing well that we would be subjected to a series of questions, and memorizing the answer to the fourteenth by Alavaka, Pannaya Parisujjhati, the Visakhians motto now familiar with us after learning it from Registrar Mr Ranasinghe and his assistant my name sake Mr Perera. We have just completed two weeks within the walls of the feminine charm when we entered her office to be greeted by the pleasant lady. It all happened with our supervisor deciding to keep away without intimation, and we were left in the lurch .. not knowing what work to attend to. My colleague did not waste time though; he glanced through the pages of Audit-Programme/Schedule to end up on a folio that revitalised us and put some spark into kick-start the day. Check inventory at Dormitories! It said.. Ten thousand thundering typhoons! Yelled my Captain Archibald Haddock fan, and Royalist colleague who retired a few years ago as Director Finance in a conglomerate. In the previous years they didnt go there? Mr Ranasinghe, the middle-aged Registrar who on an earlier occasion remarked about distractions during intervals, queries. Just to say thank you to the lady who provides us with sumptuous lunch I quipped. I understand my dear fellow Let me first alert the girls who are on sick list the Matron proceeded leaving us at the door. Back in Mr Ranasinghes office after an hour or so, within which time our head office had called to give instructions, had repeated the call ten minutes later leaving a message instead, RETURN TO OFFICE IMMEDIATELY. Leaving all the pretty floras, Saraca Indicas, Althea roseas, Sweitenia mahogi and Rosa Rosaceaes of the great lady Susan George Pullimood behind we bade good bye to Mr Ranasinghe and his staff, with all emotions reduced to fear, worry and speculation, but not forgetting to clasp our hands and bow down at Vajiraramaya as we walked past Vajira Road 51 years ago. (The writer can be reached at kksperera1@gmail.com) Organisers are seen making preparations to host The Asian Law Students Forum The Asian Law Students Forum is a major event in the calendar of the Asian Law Students Association (ALSA). This year the forum will be held from August 5-11. ALSA enjoys the privilege of hosting the forum in Sri Lanka for the first time. As many as 200 law students from Asia are expected to attend the forum. The forum will also include the ALSA General Assembly, Governing Council Meetings and International Board elections. In addition, various talks and table discussion have been scheduled by the organisers in line with the overarching theme for the conference and various non-academic activities to build a strong sense of fellowship. Shamal Fernando, Deputy Executive Director (Non Academic) ALSA Forum 2018 and President ALSA-SL, further elaborated on the significance of the forum. The ALSA Forum is the flagship activity of the association, which is a week-long conference that brings together law students from its member countries for a series of academic and non-academic activities. The primary objective of the ALSA Forum is to bring law students from all over Asia onto one platform to form a strong network and make connections with each other and among the locals. The significance of hosting the forum in Sri Lanka is that the country is now in its peak of development and tourism has spiked and the country is booming with opportunities to grow and prosper. The ALSA SL is a sphere for all local law undergraduates to explore ones possibilities and future opportunities. The forum will also include the ALSA General Assembly, Governing Council Meetings and International Board elections. In addition, various talks and table discussion have been scheduled Joshua Surendraraj Media Director ALSA Forum 2018 said , Weve been having this forum since 2004. The primary objective is to appoint the governing board for the Asian law students body for the coming year. Well be hosting both academic sessions and the general assembly where there will be voting process. Well have to elect the international board and produce an accountability report. The main goal is to build connections with local law students and the Asian law students. He also spoke about the significance of hosting the forum for the first time in Sri Lanka, We have hosted the ALSA Annual Conference of 2015 and AIMCC 2016 (ALSA International Moot Court Competition). But hosting the ALSA forum is a huge privilege because it is the biggest event in the ALSA calendar. It was only last year that we won the bid to host the forum. The ALSA body is a growing body in Sri Lanka and we started off under the patronage of C.G Weeramanthry, former president of the International Court of Justice. This is almost a student version of CHOGM. Navindu Mendis Director of Graphic Designing further stated, ALSA is a very large organisation and having a small nation like Sri Lanka hosting a forum of this calibre is a huge leap forward for us law students and the nation as a whole. I believe that the two sessions, academic and non-academic are of great importance. During the academic sessions ideas and perceptions of the law can be exchanged and the non-academic sessions would act as a cross cultural exchange where fellowship between nations would be built. 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. Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh meets with Cambodian Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Prak Sokhonn in Singapore on August 2 nd (Photo: VNA) Meeting with Cambodian Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Prak Sokhonn, Deputy PM Minh congratulated Cambodia on the successful organisation of the election of the sixth parliament, saying that the good initial results reflected voters trust in the leadership of the Cambodian Peoples Party. He voiced his belief that the sound neighbourliness, traditional friendship and comprehensive cooperation between Vietnam and Cambodia will develop more strongly in the future. The two officials agreed to work together to prepare for high-ranking visits and bilateral cooperation mechanisms later this year, including a meeting on border provinces cooperation and a political consultation between the two foreign ministries. They also affirmed the determination to implement cooperation projects effectively and on schedule, and speed up land border demarcation and marker planting in order to build border areas of peace, stability, cooperation and development. Minister Prak Sokhonn affirmed that the Cambodian Government gives high priority to promptly complete the granting of legal papers for Cambodians of Vietnamese origin. Regarding the East Sea issue, both sides agreed on the need to accelerate negotiations to soon reach a substantive and effective Code of Conduct in the East Sea, thus contributing to peace, stability and development in the region and the world. The meeting between Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh and Norwegian Foreign Minister Eriksen Sreide (Photo: VNA) At his meeting with Norwegian Foreign Minister Eriksen Sreide, the Vietnamese Deputy PM called on the two countries to increase delegation exchanges at all levels. He affirmed that Vietnam encourages Norwegian companies to invest in marine economic sectors, shipbuilding, oil and gas, aquaculture and renewable energy in Vietnam. He asked Norway to keep promoting the talks on a free trade agreement between Vietnam and the European Free Trade Association. Valuing the European countrys role as a sectoral dialogue partner of ASEAN, he hoped that Norway will continue supporting the blocs central role and further assist development in the CLMV nations (Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam). Minister Sreide said Vietnam is an important partner in ASEAN of her country, adding that more and more Norwegian businesses are showing interest in the region, including Vietnam. Norway will also strengthen cooperation with Vietnam both bilaterally and multilaterally at regional and international forums./. Nearly two weeks after falling off his horse and sustaining a spinal cord injury in Del Mar, Hall of Fame jockey Victor Espinoza walked into a conference room at Scripps Memorial Hospital Encinitas on Aug. 2 and said hes hoping hell ride again someday but his main focus is getting better. Espinoza, an American Thoroughbred racer for 25 years, suffered a fracture to the C3 vertebrae in his neck on the morning of July 22 when his 4-year-old colt Bobby Abu Dhabi suffered a fatal heart attack while running full speed and dropped to the ground, throwing Espinoza off. In a news conference Aug. 2 at Scripps Encinitas, Espinoza, a 2015 Triple Crown winner, said he was fully conscious during the incident and quickly realized he could not move his body. He feared never being able to walk again, let alone ride a horse. I fell many times before, but not like this, the jockey said Aug. 2, the day he was to be discharged from his 11-day stay. It was the scariest moment ever. I didnt know what would happen. Nothing hurt. That was the scary part. Luckily, on the way to Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla, where he was treated, Espinoza regained movement in both his legs and his right arm. He still experiences pain in his left arm, he said. Scripps physician Dr. Jihad Jaffer said Espinoza suffered no paralysis or broken bones, and the damage wasnt severe enough to require surgery. The rider is, however, being required to wear a neck brace to help prevent further injury for about six weeks. Jaffer said Espinoza has made daily progress through rehabilitation that focuses on strengthening weak areas and improving coordination of movement. The rider will continue in an outpatient rehab program after being released, the doctor added. Espinoza credits the doctors at Scripps for his recovery. I believe thats why I feel good, he said. Im getting better and better every day. ... The doctors were good. Theyre the best, and I thank them because I believe with good doctors, we get good care. ... Theyve taken care of me like a king. Espinoza and Jaffer agreed that time and patience are key during the riders recovery. Jaffer said the goal now is to get Espinoza to the point of continuing rehab at home without an inpatient or outpatient program and getting him back into the community. As for Espinoza, he said hes focusing on getting better but ideally would like to ride a horse again someday. Thats my job, he said. Thats my thing. Im the best at it. The largest, most awe-inspiring experiences at San Diego Comic-Con take place in activations off-site not within the relatively tight confines of the San Diego Convention Center. With that in mind, this year I planned to spend much of my time at Comic-Con exploring the many streets filled with these elaborate offsite attractions and there were many, arrayed along Harbor Drive from the Childrens Museum to Petco Park, and radiating outward from the Convention Center for at least two blocks. Rappelling out of the helicopter Jan Wagner The Jack Ryan Experience dominated the buzz surrounding this years San Diego Comic-Con. It took place in what was essentially a large, elaborate movie set. Just assembling the components in the parking lot took about two weeks. The day that I visited, the lines for the coveted hundred or so spots for Prime Videos Jack Ryan Training Field began forming at 4 a.m. but it was so worth it! The goal of the intensely realistic, way over-the-top spy mission, was to become a field operative for the Agency by completing a series of mentally and physically demanding challenges, at an undisclosed government black-site located in the Middle East. Ziplining down to the ground Jan Wagner I began my training adventure in a field tent, where I was suited up in a full harness, VR headset, earphones, electronics-laden backpack and sensor-equipped boots and gloves. From there I was transported to a three-story, battle-scarred building, where I climbed flights of stairs to the top. I got into a helicopter, was flown to the drop zone and then I sat down in its open doorway, my feet dangling high above the ground. Wind (fan blown) gusted as sounds of the battlefield filled my ears in this immersive, sensory experience. Then, tethered to a cable, I rappelled down into the mission. So far, so good. The next task was to walk along a plank that spanned the distance between two buildings, three stories up. I get dizzy at heights but I knew that the plank sat directly atop the wide, solid platform that connected the two buildings. The walk should have been effortless, but I failed to account for the VR effect. Speeding along in a truck to deliver the intel. Jan Wagner In the VR headset my eyes saw a precarious, three-story drop. My instinctive reaction was completely involuntary. As I stepped onto the plank my legs started shaking uncontrollably. Even though I absolutely knew that there was no drop, I could not stop my legs from shaking and I could barely keep from falling down. Thankfully between my willpower and someone helping me, I managed to walk out to the middle of the plank. Suddenly that plank split lengthwise in two, and half of it fell away to the ground below. Now the plank was so narrow that crossing it would be more like walking a tightrope, one foot over the other. A voice advised me to just look ahead, not down. I did so and took a few quick steps to get to the other building. Lasers and interrogation room in Jack Ryan Dark Ops Jan Wagner I did not know it at the time, but a local NBC TV camera operator happened to be recording video of my struggle. Coincidentally, I also record that stations newscast every evening. At home that evening, I saw myself on the news! Moving on, I needed to acquire intel and deliver to my final destination. I soon became engaged in a gun battle with enemy combatants. After successfully securing the intel, my next challenge was to zipline back down to the ground. From there I hurried over to a truck (motion simulated) to complete my VR experience. I drove at breakneck speed through the dangerous streets of the desert village until I finally reached my destination mission accomplished. Dark Ops was another intense Jack Ryan experience. The building, with its diabolical escape rooms, took six months and two iterations to design and build. It was an immersive, interactive version of the Jack Ryan pilot episode. Groups of analysts worked together to foil an imminent terrorist plot. Outside, in the Middle Eastern bazaar, refreshments were provided to deal with the heat. Jack Ryan-branded swag included Government Issue Analyst photo ID badges, metal water bottles, cloth bags, challenge coins, snacks, an eight-page newspaper (headlined SAN DIEGO INVADED) and even a Fire TV Stick. Tom Clancys military action adventure series Jack Ryan begins streaming on Prime Video on Aug. 31. Find the most photos at www.drivetribe.com. Enter AutoMatters & More in their search bar and click on TRIBES. Send comments and suggestions to AutoMatters@gmail.com. Save my User ID and Password Some subscribers prefer to save their log-in information so they do not have to enter their User ID and Password each time they visit the site. To activate this function, check the 'Save my User ID and Password' box in the log-in section. This will save the password on the computer you're using to access the site. Note: If you choose to use the log-out feature, you will lose your saved information. This means you will be required to log-in the next time you visit our site. Subscriber content preview NEW YORK (AP) U.S. stocks climbed Thursday as Apple led a rally in technology companies and reached $1 trillion in value. Consumer products and health care companies rose as second-quarter results from corporate America continued to surpass investors' expectations. Stocks in Asia and Europe fell after the White House said it will consider even higher tariffs on Chinese imports, escalating the trade conflict between the world's two biggest economic powers. . . . Subscriber content preview SEATTLE Mayor Jenny Durkan yesterday launched the city's Innovation Advisory Council, which is a collaboration with the local tech community. The council will advise the city on issues involving data and technology. It has initial commitments from Amazon, Expedia Group, Microsoft, Tableau, Zillow Group and others. . . . Subscriber content preview SEATTLE The International Apartments, at 315 Maynard Ave. S., have sold for almost $7.6 million, according to King County records. The seller was International Apartments LLC, which had owned the property for decades. . . . Russia's Deputy Prime Minister opens Cherkizovo fully automated plant in Kashira In July, Cherkizovo Group held the official opening of a fully automated smoked sausage plant near Kashira, Moscow Region, Russia. "Despite being a highly diversified and urbanised area, the Moscow Region places a special emphasis on supporting and investing in its agricultural sector," Russia's Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Gordeyev said at the opening ceremony. "Today we are opening a unique facility an advanced meat processing plant set to become a powerful driver for Russia's agriculture and a showcase for achievements of the national food industry. This new facility is undoubtedly the harbinger of the upcoming digital transformation in Russia." Apart from Gordeyev, the ceremony was attended by Andrey Vorobyev, Governor of the Moscow Region, Igor Babaev, founder of Cherkizovo Group, Sergey Mikhailov, Cherkizovo Group's CEO, His Excellency Ignacio Ibanez Rubio, Spain's Ambassador to Russia, and other officials. Cherkizovo Group, Russia's largest meat producer, is one of the companies forming the backbone of the national economy. It employs over 23,000 people and supplies millions of Russians with high-quality food. With meat processing as one of its top priorities, the company is constantly making significant investments in capacity expansion and maintaining a focus on innovation. The ultra-modern smoked sausage plant in Kashira is a perfect example of that approach, the company said in its press release. "The project went through a lot of modifications to finally materialise in this plant," Babaev said. "With nearly one million tonnes of meat produced last year, we are the leading player in Russia's meat industry. Now we are seeking to process produced meat at large-scale manufacturing facilities similar to the one we built in Kashira. Our ultimate goal is to boost meat exports so that Russia could once again claim its traditional role of the world's major food supplier." According to Babaev, Cherkizovo is, in the near term, planning "significant investments" to move all its meat processing facilities from Moscow to the Moscow Region. The new plant will utilise cutting-edge technologies and unprecedented level of automation, Cherkizovo added. The production chain will be supported by robotic technologies. "The plant has fully embraced the industry 4.0 philosophy, with a fine-tuned system of AI (artificial intelligence) and robotic interactions ensuring control over the entire production cycle. The facility uses the latest version of ERP software - SAP S4\HANA, which offers full automation of production, financial, procurement, planning and sales activities, and is maintained by a dedicated team of IT professionals and engineers," Cherkizovo elaborated. The plant's total headcount stands at 170 people. It will employ technologies and equipment from Italy, Germany, Spain, Denmark, Austria, Czech Republic, the UK and Switzerland. Cherkizovo revealed that the plant is expected to produce up to 30,000 tonnes of finished products per annum. The project's CAPEX already stands at around RUB7 billion (US$110.3 million). With the facility put into operation, Cherkizovo Group will account for 30% of all smoked sausage produced domestically. Reliance on innovations will further strengthen the company's competitive edge, enhance compliance with biosafety standards and improve the quality of its products. - Cherkizovo Aerial photo taken on Aug. 1, 2018 shows the construction site of a data center of Tencent in Gui'an New District in southwest China's Guizhou Province. Guizhou has become a pioneer in China's big data development. Big data is being widely applied in government management, business and daily life, contributing over 20 percent to the economic growth of Guizhou Province. The number of big data-related companies in Guizhou Province has grown from less than 1,000 in 2013 to more than 8,500 in 2018.(Xinhua/Ou Dongqu) 10 1 [ Editor: Zhang Zhou ] 3 EU Parliament votes to boost EuroGroup ! --------------------------------- After EuroZone Paris Summit's succes, Sarkozy calls to "think anew how to re-construct Europe ! "EuroZone and EU Institutional debates pave the way to 2009 discussions on EU Future, including Enlargment, Turkey etc. ? 23 October 2008 After EU Parliament strongly suppported in 3 successive Votes this week in Strasbourg French EU Chairmanship's move to boost Euro-Group at EU's core, while ideas on EU Institutional problems are awaited on December, "it's an open Question now" if this may lead to a debate on EU's Future, or not, told us French President, Nicolas Sarkozy''s Spokesman, Pierre-Jerome Henin. MEPs voted on Thursday fresh Funds to support EuroGroup, after adopting on Wednesday a Resolution asking a "further Evolution" to "the 1st ever meeting of Heads of State and of Government of the Euro-Zone, taking decisions in that capacity", while earlier this week a Report asked "a stronger Institutional setting" for "EuroGroup", extended from "competitiveness/industry" to "environment, employment and education", with "increased powers for Political decision-making", according to a text drafted by French MEP Francoise Beres and German MEP Werner Langen, "10 Years after the creation of Euro" (1999 - 2009). - Brussels' subsequent "EU Council ..(simply)..ratified the measures decided by EuroGroup on October 12" in Paris, which "were necessary to contain the current Financial Crisis", Resolution observes, expressing also support to the new process succesfully initiated by Sarkozy and due to be completed by agreements with USA and other countries at a Global level. From now on, it's between two differend but parallel moves : EU's delay, and EuroZone's acceleration, that Enlargement and particularly Turkey's controversial EU bid, will have to search its way : Indeed, EU's 27 expect a "Roadmap on how to deal with the Irish problem" on Lisbon Treaty ratification after December, risking to pass even 2009 Elections and next Commission with the old Nice Treaty of 2000, out-dated and unfit even for 2004's Enlargement... On the contrary, EU's core launches a real "Economic Governance for EuroZone at the highest level of Heads of State/Government" of the 15, which started in Paris on October 12 and was strongly supported this week in Strasbourg by Sarkozy and EU Parliament. ---------- - "It's a good idea, to launch such a debate ("on EU's Future") in EU Parliament in view of 2009 Euro-Election : Perhaps some MEPs will seize an opportunity", told us mainstream French MEP Alain Lamassoure, former EU Minister and EU Spokesman for France's governing party UMP. - "All MEPs' debates on such EU Councils are also part of the larger debate on Europe's future : Now with EuroZone, and even more when, on December, Irish Prime Minister is due to table proposals in Strasbourg on how to deal with EU Treaty's ratification", replied earlier to our question EU Parliament's Press Director and Spokesman, Jaume Duch. -------------------------------------- Sarkozy has formally anounced his intention to open EU Debates on Economy, Identity/Enlargement (i.e. mainly Turkey), etc. both linked to a popular Political view of Europe, since his Historic speeches on EU in Strasbourg, on February and July 2007, when he stressed that "Europe needs a New Renaissance". At the beginning of the French EU Presidency, on July 2008, replying to a MEP, he suggested that EU Parliament takes an active part in Debates on EU's Future. - Now, in 2008, "Crisis are an opportunity to re-think how to re-construct Europe", Sarkozy stressed. At any case, the Historic 1st EuroZone Summit of Heads of State/Government, which started replying to the Financial crisis,"is a Turning Point : After that, Europe cannot be governed as before, but differently" : People "like a Europe with Strong Will". - "We must make the System move !", "Europe needs Innovation" and free political debates. EU "Elections are in a few Months", Sarkozy warned. He invited EU Parliament to fully play its role as "the Democratic Heart of the Europe we want : United, Independent and Voluntarist, because the World needs Europe's voice". - "It's no more possible for Euro-Zone to continue without an Economic Government" at the Highest Level of Heads of State/Government, who provide "Democratic Legitimity" and can take important decisions, he announced, strongly supported by EU Parliament's Economic Committee which just voted to boost the "Institutional" aspects of "EuroGroup". Plasticity offered by the current absence of a special Treaty on EuroZone's Institutions "made it easy to adapt the organization of the 1st Summit with imagination, to efficiently meet urgent needs", he observed, on the occasion of Brittish Prime Minister's exceptionnal presence at the greatest part of EuroGroup's Paris Summit. - "In EuroZone we have the same Bank, the same Money, and, thus, a same duty for Unity" : "By bringing together EuroGroup's 15 members States we suceeded to find a solution and prepare a Giant Plan of 1.800 Billion euros", Sarkozy reminded of Paris' 1st Historic EuroZone's Summit. Afterwards, Brussels' EU Council followed the move, and USA's Paulson II Plan was inspired from that. "Europe must promote the idea of Global Economy's Refoundation", he stressed. - "I was frankly astonished when I found, at the EU, a rigid system, where any New Idea was seen from the outset as a sacrilege, while, on the contrary, Europe needs Innovation !", he described. F.ex. ,"'When we first spoke about the "Union for the Mediterranean", it was misunderstood as something extraordinary.. When later we had the Russia -Georgia crisis, it seemed against EU's custom to act "in the middle of August", instead of staying a passive spectator ! And when, in front of the Financial ciris, we gathered the 1st EuroZone Summit of the "15", some thought of it as a lese-majeste", he denounced. ---------------------- On Geo-Political Principles : ---------------------- - But, by moving resolutely, "EU obtained the ...withdrawal of Occupation Troops in 2 Months !", reminded Sarkozy, observing that Russia "fulfilled its commitments", in the Georgian crisis, where a "disroportionate reaction" from Moscow followed a "totally inappropriate action" from Tbilisi's troops. "It would be crazy to reply by military means : EU should not become accomplice of another Cold War, imposed by lack of cool heads".. as he said. In future, "the creation of a common European Economic Area with EU and Russia, would also obtain a raprochment on our Human Rights and Democratic Values", added Sarkozy, in a statement which should logically be applied, a fortiori, to controversial EU "candidate" Turkey.. Particularly when, the same week that EU Parliament voted 2009 EU Funds for Turkey's controversial EU bid, ECHR took a series of judgements condemning Turkey for grave Violations of Human Rights, such as : Torture, death of a political prisoner in unclear circumstances followed by failure to conduct a proper Investigation, "enforced Disappearance" of a youngster aged 17, Killing of a sepherd with Tank Shells, persecuting Journalists for articles on "Missing" People, even a former President of Human Rights' Association, (etc) - "We (EU) can defend our ideas on respect of Sovereignity and territorial Integrity, on Human Rights and other differences ... without confrontation", Sarkozy stressed, on the occasion of Russian/Georgian conflict, reminding that : "we were only 2 steps from catastroph", when a Peace agreement brokered in Moscow prevented, at the last minute, Russian troops' advance towards Tbilisi. An EU Parliament Resolution adopted Wednesday in Strasbourg on the occasion of Russia - Georgia conflict, outlines a set of Principle which apply elsewhere too, (particularly when EU Rapporteur for Russia and Turkey is one and same person ; Dutch MEP Ria Oomen-Ruijtanen !) Clearly rejecting any "military solution to the conflicts", MEPs "condemn ..all those who resorted to force and violence". They denounce a "disproportionate military action", "as well as (an) unilateral decision to recognise the independence" of brekaway regions, "calling.. to respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity" of the concerned country, "and the inviolability of its borders recognised by all EU Member States". They warn that "EU must review its policy towards" a 3rd Country, "should .(it)...not comply with its commitments", and "stress that the withdrawal of.... troops from the areas ....is an essential additional step". EU Parliament "calls for the safe and quick return of refugees, (accepted by Russian President Medvedev) accompanied by the deployment of EU observers on the ground", and "regrets ...that ..EU Monitoring Mission (EUMM) is not allowed to enter the ...breakaway regions". Moreover, "It's important to ensure that persons and NGOs ..engaged in defending human and civil rights can operate". "Until ...all remaining issues (are) resolved..., and notably the continuing ...Military presence", "relations with the EU ..cannot be fully normalised", MEPS warned. As nobody likes to be accused to practice "Double Standards", this should be regarded as "Principles" applicable to any Third Country at EU's Neighborhood.. No ? ------------------- On Economy : ----------------------- - "When Financial crisis shook US and EU's Banks, without result from the 1st (American) Paulsen plan, it was the common reply of the 1st EuroZone's Summit, involving some 1800 Billion euros, which started a positive move in the markets, soon strengthened by the follow-up of the US Paulson 2 Plan, noted Sarkozy. - "Europe should not be only on the defensive, but, if necessary, know also how to take an offensive", he said, brushing away hesitationsto act on Economy: - "I'm for a refondation of Capitaliism, but against Speculators, who betray its values" : "Lack of Rules was profitable to speculators, Not to businessmen !" We must make sure to prevent any such crisis in future". "We, the rest of the World, cannot continue to bear the deficits of the 1st World power without saying anything !", the French President said, applauded by EU Parliament. All this needs "a New Global Governance", on which EU Parliament must debate. That's why "we proposed together with USA, several Summits from mid-November", to which G-8, enlarged to China, India a.o. countries, should participate. UNO's SG; Ban Ki Moon, the IMF, etc. Financial crisis lowered shares' prices even for healthy companies, sometimes to 1/3 of their initial price, so that strangers might buy EU industries for only a portion of their real value, and Europeans may wake up one day with their main industries sold out to foreigners ! That's one of the reasons for which EU should debate about creating "Golden Shares" for States to jointly take Strategic participations to help European Industries until the end of the Crisis, particularly against distording competition, he suggested, pointing at USA's 35 billion $ plan for American Car Industry."We shall struggle for Europe to be able to build Airplanes, Ships, Trains, Cars, because we need a strong Industry", he concluded. "F.ex. as we did back in 2004, when as Finance Minister, we bought Alsthom's shares for 800.000 euros, and, after restructuring, we sold them for 2 Millions : Help a company and make money is not so bad"... As for the UK, "when Ireland announced that it would guarantee only Irish Banks, London City emptied from liquidities in 24 hours : It's the EU which helped to restore the situation, Not the UK alone !", reminded Sarkozy to nationalist British MEP Nigel Farage. On the contrary, in a last-minute attempt for the EU to catch-up with its Institutional delay "before the European Elections" of June 2009, MEPs simply voted a call for a "set of proposals" to be made for the "Irish public opinion" at the end of the year... - "As long as Lisbon Treaty is not ratified by all 27 EU Member States, there is an unanimous decision to stop Enlargement, reminded Wednesday in Strasbourg the French Minister for EU affairs, Jean-Pierre Jouyet.. Added to an indirect but clear warning that, without Lisbon Treaty, all 27 EU Member Countries may not have a Commissioner in the 2009 resuffle, MEPS in the Constitutional/Foreign affairs Committees applauded hoping that this might motivate their Irish friends.. Cine Spider-Man No Way Home: Filtrada una imagen de Tobey Maguire en la pelicula de Marvel y Sony News Rolex becomes Worldwide Partner of The Ryder Cup BMW SA Open hosted by the City of Ekurhuleni Glendower GC, City of Ekurhuleni, Gauteng, South Africa Three-time F1 world champion and Mercedes non-executive chairman Niki Lauda underwent a lung transplant in Vienna on Thursday. It was reported earlier that Lauda had recently contracted a nasty summer flu while on holiday at his home in Ibiza, with a severe cough forcing him to fly to Vienna and seek treatment. It was believed the 69-year-old was on the mend but reports emerged Thursday evening that the F1 legend's condition had led to a "serious lung illness". "Due to a severe affection of the lungs, Niki Lauda had to undergo a lung transplantation at the AKH Vienna today", said a brief statement from the Vienna General Hospital. "The transplantation was done successfully by Walter Klepetko, head of thoracic surgery, and Konrad Hotzenecker. "We kindly ask for your understanding that the family won't give any official statements and we ask to protect the privacy of the Lauda family." As one will recall, Lauda's near terminal fiery crash in the 1976 German Grand Prix had left the driver fighting for his life for several days, the inhalation of toxic gases and fumes after the crash severely damaging his lungs. Lauda has also twice undergone kidney transplants, in 1997 and 2005. Gallery: The beautiful wives and girlfriends of F1 drivers RESEARCH, development and extension (RD+E) specific to WAs dairy industry has been thrown a two-year financial life line by the State government. Opening WAFarmers annual dairy conference in Busselton last Thursday, Regional Development, Agriculture and Food Minister Alannah MacTiernan promised Western Dairy $200,000 over two years to extend the existing RD+E arrangement provided through its Bunbury hub. The new funding equates to half the annual amount committed to Western Dairy for the RD+E hub over the past three years under an agreement with the former Department of Agriculture and Food WA (DAFWA). But until Ms MacTiernans promise last Thursday there was no State government commitment to any further funding for the hub. Western Dairy executive members at a business breakfast before the conference privately expressed relief at a late decision by Ms MacTiernan to announce new funding for the hub when she opened the conference. The previous agreement that provided $600,000 from DAFWA over three years to establish and operate the hub Dairy Australia contributed $975,000 for the same period had expired with the end of the 2017-18 financial year. Created by a strategic alliance between Western Dairy, Dairy Australia and the South West Catchments Council, which accommodates the hubs three permanent staff in its office and provides administration and human resources support, the hub took over all WA dairy RD+E responsibility from DAFWA in July 2015. It inherited ongoing major DAFWA research projects investigating herd feeding systems and potassium application rates in the feedbase and Ms MacTiernan acknowledged 12 scientific papers on dairying-related topics had since been published with hub involvement and had attracted international interest. It also picked up several DAFWA scientists, such as senior research scientist Martin Staines, who had been with DAFWA for 17 years and had a 30-year research career specialising in herd feeding. The scientists took voluntary redundancy packages from DAFWA, leaving permanent jobs to become research contractors to the hub and mentors to younger researchers working in the dairy field. At the time, the then Liberal-National coalition State government with Ken Baston as agriculture minister had slashed $6.2 million from DAFWAs annual budget and its then director general Rob Delane had indicated 250 staff would have to go over two years. The WA dairy industry manages substantially different milk production and seasonal conditions, generally resulting in shorter pasture-growing windows and a much greater reliance on preserved feeds compared to the main Eastern States dairying areas. There was a concern that the WA industry risked losing decades of locally-specific research experience and capability. Ms MacTiernan said the new funding recognised the success of the collaboration with Western Dairy in establishing the RD+E hub and meeting local production challenges and opportunities, guided by industry. The State governments contribution will enable Western Dairy to attract co-investment from the Federal government, Dairy Australia and industry partners to add value to projects that increase profitability and build a long-term sustainable industry, she said. This funding will give our dairy farmers access to targeted technical and scientific support to continue adapting to the ongoing demands of the milk market, Ms MacTiernan said. Were seeing positive developments in the WA dairy industry in the milk processing and export sectors and it is important that industry is able to capitalise on these and other opportunities. Western Dairy has played a pivotal role in supporting producers with business improvement through its Dairy Farm Monitor Program, as well as exploring pasture solutions to address the challenge of the seasonal feed gap. Our dairy industry has demonstrated its resilience and capacity to embrace change and opportunities to provide Australian and international consumers with safe, high quality milk. Ms MacTiernan congratulated Western Dairy on its efforts to improve farm business skills and adoption of the latest technology. She said the industry had undergone an enormous re-adjustment since she became Agriculture and Food Minister with structural issues, contractual issues and many dairy farmers finding themselves out of contract. But, she said, there were signs some of the glitches have been resolved. With the industry based on so many small suppliers, the ability to take collective action to redress negotiating power imbalance was an important lesson to learn, she said and it was also important to have processors working in collaboration and co-operation with their suppliers. Ms MacTiernan also welcomed Brownes Dairys plans to reopen its Brunswick cheese production. The potential to open up new dairy supply chains was one reason foreign investment, such as Shanghai Ground Food Techs purchase of Brownes last November, had been encouraged, she said. Jindong dairy farmer and Western Dairy chairman Grant Evans thanked Ms MacTiernan for the funding. Continued (Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development) investment in the Western Dairy RD+E hub, particularly to provide further development of our farm business services but also to provide local, quality and relevant dairy research, is gratefully received, Mr Evans said. As a dairy farmer myself, I really appreciate having so much knowledge on hand at the RD+E hub and being able to pull any of it out at certain times of the year to continue to progress our farms fully. Our climatic and soil conditions are different enough from those on the eastern seaboard dairy region so it is important to tailor WA dairy research and science to local needs, Mr Evans said. The two-year new State government commitment to the RD+E hub is understood to bring it into line with Dairy Australias funding commitment to the hub which still has two years to run. Martin Griffiths (Front), the UN special envoy for Yemen, briefs the UN Security Council meeting on the situation in Yemen at the UN headquarters in New York, Aug. 2, 2018. Martin Griffiths said Thursday that he is going to invite the warring parties in the war-torn country to consultations in Geneva next month. (Xinhua/Li Muzi) UNITED NATIONS, Aug. 2 (Xinhua) -- The UN special envoy for Yemen, Martin Griffiths, said Thursday that he is going to invite the warring parties in the war-torn country to political consultations in Geneva next month. "After having consulted with the parties, I plan therefore to invite them to Geneva on Sept. 6 for a first round of consultations," Griffiths told the Security Council. The consultations will provide the opportunity for the parties to discuss the framework for negotiations, to agree on relevant confidence-building measures and specific plans for moving the process forward, he said. He asked for support of the Security Council, saying he did not come lightly to that decision. "I have based this on the advice given to me in the months since assuming my responsibilities by Yemenis from all quarters." Griffiths was upbeat about the peace prospects in Yemen. "I know from this engagement (with Yemenis) that a political solution to this war ... is available." An end to the war cannot come too soon for the people of Yemen. Millions more Yemenis will depend on humanitarian and more lives will be cost if the war continues, he said. He said the United Nations has yet to find a peaceful solution to Hudaydah, the Red Sea port the Saudi-led military coalition is trying to capture from Houthi rebels. "We have made progress particularly as regards to a UN role in the port, which was agreed by Ansar Allah (the Houthis). But the gap is not closed. We will continue our efforts to find a peaceful solution to Hudaydah," said Griffiths. "I continue to enjoy close cooperation and support from the government of Yemen as well as the (Saudi-led) coalition leadership. I have had a series of constructive and positive meetings with the Ansar Allah senior leadership." But he said the issue of Hudaydah should not overshadow his overall peace efforts. "Let us not throw away what we have achieved. I am determined to build on it in our consultations. But let us not allow progress or the absence of it on Hudaydah deter us from our primary focus on the search for a political solution to this conflict." "Delays in reaching a political solution cost lives. The maths is as simple as that," he told the Security Council. British ambassador to the United Nations Karen Pierce, whose country holds the Security Council presidency for the month of August, said after the council meeting on Yemen that the council members were united in supporting Griffiths' decision to bring the Yemeni warring parties to talks in Geneva next month. The council members were united in calling on all parties to come to the Geneva talks, she told reporters. Yemen has been in civil war in the past three years, pitting Houthi rebels and forces loyal to the government of Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi. The Saudi-led coalition Arab military coalition with the support of the United States launched an air campaign in March 2015 to try to reinstate the Hadi government. 5 1 [ Editor: Zhang Zhou ] Category Select Category Apparel/Garments Textiles Fashion Technical Textiles Information Technology E-commerce Retail Corporate Association Press Release SubCategory Select Sub-Category Routeique, Inc., a Calgary, Canada-based closed a bridge funding from Lancaster Investments, in the form of a convertible debenture. The amount of the deal was not disclosed. The proceeds will be used to fund the strategic acquisition of a company focusing on large retailers, complimenting Routeiques current focus on major manufacturers. Official news of the acquisition is expected to be announced on August 7, 2018. Led by Mike Allan, President, Routeique offers a cloud-based complete logistics platform for supply chains, including end-to-end order management, inventory and warehouse management, mobile invoicing and settlement, route optimization and planning, signature capture and proof of delivery. The company works across all areas of the supply chain space from manufacturers to distributors to retailers. FinSMEs 03/08/2018 Gennevilliers, France-based Up group, acquired givve, a German fintech startup specializing in employee engagement and incentive solutions. The amount of the deal was not disclosed. With the acquisition, which followed the one in GrassRoots in Spain, Up will further expand its employee engagement and incentive services in Germany. Founded in 2010 by Patrick Loffler, CEO givve, givve provides businesses with a platform to facilitate, automate and optimize the management and distribution of employee benefits, combined with a multi-use-case payment card. This solution strengthens the bonds between a company and its employees. In 2017, the company issued prepaid cards on behalf of 6,000 clients to almost 250,000 of its customers employees and generated around 42m in volume. Givve has 17 employees in its Munich office and generated around 2.5m revenues in 2017. Catherine Coupet, President and CEO, Up group develops management, relationship and transaction platforms which contribute to connect individuals, companies and territories. The company has designed integrated solutions to facilitate access to food, culture, leisure, education, home assistance, social assistance, expense management as well as incentive and loyalty systems. It has 3,465 employees and operations in 19 countries. In 2017, total sales amounted to 494m. FinSMEs 03/08/2018 Miss Group, a Manchester, UK-based web hosting company, secured a 6.4m in funding. Business Growth Fund (BGF) made the investment. The company intends to use the funds to accelerate growth further afield with a buy-and-build strategy set to target acquisitions across the globe. Led by CEO and Founder Mattias Kaneteg, Miss Group provides services such as domain registration, site building, website hosting and email management, opening over 70,000 accounts and hosting over 500,000 domains from offices in Stockholm, Gothenburg, Miami and Sofia since inception. Over the last 12 months, the company secured $2m in funding and made two acquisitions enhancing its web hosting presence in the UK, US and Vietnam. FinSMEs 03/08/2018 . STEM . . , ... By continuing to browse our site you agree to our Privacy & Cookie Policy. > Privacy & Cookie Policy I Agree Nothing is left unstained. Today, Cosby Show reruns and most other traces of Bill Cosby's decades-long career have been scrubbed from the vast expanse of the TV landscape. His honorary degrees stripped, and future contracts squashed. Now, as the 81-year old awaits sentencing, the Pennsylvania Sexual Offenders Assessment Board has recommended the man once known as Americas favorite TV dad, be classified as a sexually violent predator. But Cosby and his legal team plan to challenge the designation. They claimed in a court filing last week that the state's recently revised sex offender registry law is unconstitutional and should not be applied retroactively. Trial lawyer, Eric Weitz, says this is common. "Money is not an issue [for Cosby] so we can plan to see every conceivable constitutional challenge to this law mounted," he said. JURY RULES BILL COSBY SEXUALLY ASSAULTED ANDREA CONSTANT The assessment reviewed by psychologists, psychiatrists, and criminal justice professionals, looks at 14 different areas to determine the status. Typically the details are not public, but in this case, the presiding judge has ordered the board to provide Cosbys team with "full and completed copies" of all materials the board considered in their decision process. While this decision would not affect Cosbys liberty, the classification would require increased treatment in prison and increased notification of neighbors when he is released. And if the court agrees with the state, the former TV star would be mandated to receive sex offender counseling by a state-approved provider at least monthly for the rest of his life. Dean Daniel Filler, of Drexel Universitys Kline School of Law, cautions: This should not be viewed as a punishment if its a punishment then he is entitled to a jury trial, adding, This is non-criminal and should only be about public safety. BILL COSBY IS MENTALLY PREPARING HIMSELF FOR PRISON Under Pennsylvania law, a sexually violent predator is a person who has a mental abnormality or personality disorder that makes the person likely to engage in predatory sexually violent offenses. The PA board recommends that someone be classified as a predator in only about 20 to 25 percent of cases that get referred by judges. Of those cases, about 75 percent of the time the court agrees with the findings. Cosby is the first celebrity to be found guilty in the #metoo era, and his conviction reflects a significant shift in how society views sexual assault. "This is a step in the right direction," says Dominique Howard, Executive Director of Women Organized Against Rape (WOAR). "Rape is still the most under-reported crime in the nation, but what this conviction has given to the victims is vindication and signaled to the world a shift in power." A judge will ultimately have the final say whether to accept the state's recommendation. A date for the sexually violent predator hearing has not been set, but it is likely it will have to come before Cosbys sentencing hearing scheduled for September 24. Kelsey Grammer has been a fixture on television for many years, but two of his most well-known roles are from his time during the sitcoms Frasier and Cheers. When asked about how serious all of the whispers were surrounding a potential Frasier reboot, Grammer told reporters at the 2018 Television Critics Associations Summer Press Tour in Beverly Hills, Calif. Thursday that its in the early stages. I have a wonderful life, he continued. I played Frasier for 20 years. It might happen again. It might not. Grammer, who starred as Dr. Frasier Crane from 1993 to 2004 on the hit comedy series, went on to share that hes only interested in a potential reboot if its going to be a really great show. Thats all, Grammer stated, expressing again, that so far its all talk at this point. The star also kept tight-lipped on where a possible reboot would take place. As fans remember, Frasier left for Chicago in the final episode of the Seattle-based series. We have no idea what happened to him after that, Grammer said. As for if a shorter-order series would make any difference to get the Emmy-award winning actor to sign on? Grammer replied: Who knows? Honestly, the work is great, he said. Once you start doing it, multi-cam is fantastic, you have a great life and you have a good career at the same time. There would be nothing wrong with doing a full-blown season if that were the case, he added, noting that they just have to make sure its going to be a great show. If its not going to be a great show, if we dont hear a pitch that really hits it out of the park, it probably wont happen, he explained. Grammer also addressed where the show, which originally aired for 11 seasons on NBC, would land. I think NBC may not be interested, the star admitted. It might just go somewhere else, if that were the case. Possibly. Looking back at his time on the show, Grammer said that Frasier was a wonderful character to play however, right now he doesnt necessarily "miss him." Im playing some great stuff now, so Im having a lot of fun, he explained. Another potential show Grammer could one day add to his plate? A Cheers reboot. When asked about the possibility, the star revealed that the idea has crossed peoples minds. But Im not in charge of that, he added with a laugh. Aside from his career, Grammer also reflected on the biggest lesson hes learned in his life. Slow down. Dont worry about it so much. Trust in God. Those are some of the chief ones, he shared, adding that he always had faith in God when he was younger, but lost it following the 1975 murder of his 18-year-old sister. I lost my faith when my sister died, and went through a bit of a difficult time after that, Grammer said. But always in the back of my mind, an old buddy of mine used to say, I fell to my knees, and I cried out to the God of my childhood, and there was answer. Former "Bachelor" contestant Bekah Martinez is riling up #BachelorNation once again by accusing recent "Bachelorette" contender, Leandro "Leo" Dottavio of sexual harassment. On Wednesday, Martinez took to Instagram to call out the long-haired contestant from Becca Kufrin's "Bachelorette" season, with a collection of screenshots from women who claimed that Dottavio had acted inappropriately toward them. Arie Luyendyk Jr.'s former flame began her series of screenshots with a post by Dottavio dated from four years ago which said, you need my big d---. The 23-year-old nanny revealed to the New York Post that she stumbled upon Dottavio's alleged screenshot while browsing "Bachelor" and "Bachelorette" Reddit pages. After Martinez shared the original screenshot on Instagram, the reality star explained that she received "dozens of messages" from more women who responded to her and shared their own experiences. I started posting the screenshots [of their messages] because to me, its not a coincidence that multiple women would be saying similar things about the same person," she told the Post. Theres no way these women happen to be lying about the same thing before seeing what other women are saying. Dottavio responded to Martinez's interview with the Post and denied the validity of the inappropriate comment. The 31-year-old stuntman told the outlet that the comment was photoshopped, and has asked his lawyer to look into it. Martinez, who said she has never met Dottavio, claimed that she has seen multiple versions of his comment on social media and believes that it is real. The reality star also posted a video on her Instagram story revealing that Dottavio's lawyer had contacted her asking her to remove her posts and issue a public apology or she would be sued for defamation. But the former "Bachelor" contestant didn't seem threatened. The star posted another photo tagging Dattavio with the caption, "please, take me to court," and a crying-laughing emoji. And while Martinez has found love with a new boyfriend, since the days of vying for Luyendyk's heart, according to the Post, Dottavio is slated to appear on the upcoming season of "Bachelor In Paradise," though he said to not be part of the main cast. Get ready Last Man Standing fans! With the premiere set to air next month, the comedy series star Tim Allen and show producers are revealing whats coming up this season. For starters Allens character, Mike Baxter, who was previously revealed to be someone with a conservative viewpoint," is probably pro-Trump, according to Allen, 65. I think the guy is a centrist, the actor told reporters at the 2018 Television Critics Associations Summer Press Tour in Beverly Hills, Calif. Thursday. This guys a practical guy, he explained. "He owns a big business. If its helping his business, hes probably pro-Trump. He probably doesnt defend him. "I dont know that its going to be that, I think hes going to be more of a centrist," Allen noted. "Whatevers good for his business and good for the state of Colorado or any policies that he does hes going to go with." However, Executive Producer and Showrunner Kevin Abbott cautioned that the show will not specifically comment on Trump in the series. Mike Baxter is a conservative Republican. He holds those ideals, but the character himself, I dont think were going to address [Trump] one way or the other, Abbott shared. Aside from Baxters political viewpoint, Abbott also discussed how the series will address being off the air for more than a year, including the addition of a new character, and one star who wont be returning. Were coming back in real actual time, he shared. There will be one year-and-a-half passing in the Baxters lives between the last episode and the first episode. One person who wont be coming back with us is Molly Ephraim, Executive Producer Matt Berry revealed of the actress who played Mandy Baxter, one of the three daughters on the hit comedy. Berry, who explained that Ephraim signed onto other projects during the shows time off, shared that the producers have been looking at other actresses to step into the role of Mandy. We intend to have a Mandy, Abbott echoed. Were in the final stages of casting her. Were also planning on bringing another character on the show, Abbott teased. The Vanessa character [Mike Baxters wife played by Nancy Travis], when she was in her teens, went on a foreign exchange. She was a big supporter of that all of her life, Abbott continued, adding that all of the kids are getting older so Vanessa ultimately brings in a child to support that program. Abbott also explained that youre going to have a student from a different political system, and then you have Mike Baxter, who is going to promote the American way. Fans can also expect a new character playing the son of oldest daughter, Kristen Baxter (Amanda Fuller) and husband, Ryan Vogelson (Jordan Masterson). Were bringing [Boyd Baxter] back at the age of 12, so we can get some fun story lines on the cusp of becoming a man, Abbott explained. Just more interesting stories to tell. In addition, viewers wont be left wondering what the Baxter family has been up to over the past 12 months because at some point this season there will be an episode that features three little vignettes showing what would have happened in the year off, Abbott said of the series, which returns on September 28. Berry also added that long-time Last Man Standing fans will be in for a treat in the first scene of the first show. However, if youre new to the series, dont fret because itll [still] be funny, he noted. The show was beloved by a large audience, and we want to keep that audience, and we hope expand it a little bit, Abbott explained. When asked if there were any similarities between the now-canceled Roseanne" reboot and Last Man Standing, the executive producer said there were only two. The only similarities that we have with the Roseanne show is that were a family sitcom and that the central character has a more conservative view, Abbott explained. The Roseanne reboot handled a lot of topical issues. They were [doing] the issue-of-the-week kind of thing. We dont really do issues of the week, he continued. We consider ourselves a family show with a traditional character at the center of it, which is only unusual in todays environment. In May, it was announced "Last Man Standing" was picked up by FOX after ABC canceled the popular show. We had no idea, Allen said of the cancellation. It was a real surprise I thought it was done very poorly, thats my attitude, the star admitted, adding he was heartbroken. At the time, Allen, who attended Trumps inauguration, previously said that he believed his personal politics might have played a role. Ive said this a couple of times. Im not the character I play Ive worked for ABC for years. I know these people, and if it was a political motivation to move that show, they certainly wouldnt have to admit it or ever show that side of themselves, Allen said on Thursday, adding that he doesnt believe that was it. I think it was a financial decision on ABCs part. I think it was too early [but] were here because of it. Marilyn Monroe may still be celebrated as the most iconic sex symbol in Hollywoods history, but one British biographer insists the blonde bombshell is a seemingly forgotten and unlikely feminist. Monroe, who died on August 5, 1962 at age 36, is the subject of a new book by Michelle Morgan titled The Girl, which explores how Monroe attempted to take control of her image in Tinsel Town and even fought to get the iconic leading role in 1955s The Seven Year Itch. Morgan, who has studied Monroes life for 30 years, was able to track down some of the last living people associated with the screen legend to further investigate how the star helped pioneer an unlikely movement in Hollywood for other actresses yearning to make it big on their terms. While several stars, like Maureen OHara, spoke out about the horrors of the casting couch, where aspiring starlets were forced to perform sexual favors and endure harassment by film bosses to boost their careers, Morgan claimed Monroe escaped this fate. She had said that she never fell for it, Morgan told Fox News. She had walked out of various interviews and situations that she deemed inappropriate She was doing a series of interviews in 1954. At that time, she really wanted to write her autobiography but In the end, she decided not to go through with it because it had been leaked out to the British press." In the mid-1950s, Monroe spoke out about being harassed by an executive whom she did not name. "She was very intelligent about that, to keep his name out of the article. But she certainly did speak about it," Morgan said. She was never going to let herself be victimized. She spoke about it and as a result, inspired other people to speak out She was one of the only actresses in Hollywood at that time who was speaking out about that. Morgan added: I think based on the things she said herself and the outspoken way she approached Hollywood, I personally dont believe she was ever a victim of the casting couch. I think she was able to walk away." And Monroe, who was reportedly abused as child living in a series of foster homes and an orphanage, was determined not to suffer again as an adult. "I think a lot of that impacted her approach to the men in Hollywood, the bosses who had power, who refused her things. She hated the misogyny of the whole thing. Harassment in Hollywood wasnt the only hot topic on Monroes mind. Frustrated for constantly being cast in dumb blonde roles, Monroe wasnt shy about letting the film studio know she was willing to risk her growing success just for the chance to play different characters. Monroe even immersed herself in Shakespeare and befriended literary intellects in hopes of shedding her pinup persona. She had great success, but it was all in musicals and fluffy dumb blonde roles, explained Morgan. She really wanted something different. The studio wanted her to play in yet another dumb role. Instead, she walked out and married Joe DiMaggio [in 1954]. The studio was absolutely furious and threatened all sorts of different things. They suspended her. "They really expected her to be running back to them with her tail between her legs. She didnt. She held out and said, No, I want to see the script for this new movie. But when she did see the script, she said, No, Im not interested and sent it back. So the studio suspended her again. But there was one role Monroe was eager to play, that of The Girl, in The Seven Year Itch. The film, based on the popular Broadway play, told the story of a faithful husband [Tom Ewell] who becomes tempted by his new beautiful neighbor [Monroe] while his family goes away for the summer. The studio didnt budge. There were lots of negotiations and it turned out that if she agreed to be in [the 1954 musical] Theres No Business Like Show Business, there would be a big chance she would be given The Girl, said Morgan. So it really came down to a compromise But it was a huge fight Her walking out led to the role of The Girl. And that was a huge achievement for her. The scene in which Monroes white halter dress blows over her hips as she steps onto a New York subway grate made her an icon. And while some may believe the actress was exploiting herself, Morgan said she was proud of making a bold statement. I think she enjoyed the fact that she was an attractive woman who had an effect on other people. Not just on men, but on people around her I thinks she really used the skirt scene to get out of these dumb blond roles and as a way of getting power because she worked so hard to get it And at the end of the day, it was just a scene for a film. A very successful one. The underwear-baring scene reportedly infuriated DiMaggio, which resulted in the couple calling it quits in 1955. However, that same year, she headed off to New York City and studied at the Actors Studio in hopes of perfecting her craft. Morgan said she pursued that education until her death. But Monroe wasnt successful in all of her battles. Morgan explained she originally wanted to play the role of 30s platinum-haired sex symbol Jean Harlow in a biopic, but ultimately turned down the script after believing it was disrespectful to the late star. She also wanted to take on Lady Macbeth and spirited Russian girl Grushenka in The Brothers Karamazov, but was never given the chance. And while Monroes life was cut short from an apparent accidental drug overdose, Morgan said there are still many lessons to learn from her time in Hollywood. She had a tragic story, said Morgan. A tragic childhood and a tragic death. But at the same time To walk out of her film career, create her own company, go to New York, study at the Actors Studio, make friends with all of these intellectuals, become a businesswoman and a producer? Marilyn didnt care what people thought of her. She had this ambition and she wanted to go for it She was constantly educating herself, always fighting for the rights of herself and other people. "And really, she contributed to the breakdown of the studio system by demanding her rights and demanding to be treated as an individual, as a human being. She was a trailblazer. Paul Burrell, who once served as Princess Dianas royal butler, believes Meghan Markle has a rough future ahead of her as Britains new Duchess of Sussex. The 36-year-old former American actress -- who'll turn 37 Saturday -- tied the knot with Britains Prince Harry, 33, in May. Burrell, 60, previously served as a footman to Harrys grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, before he began working for Diana, the late Princess of Wales. Its interesting that Meghan has just joined the biggest soap opera in the world and she has just landed the biggest role of her life as an actress, Burrell told Yahoo News weekly six-part series, "The Royal Box," Friday. I think, yes, she did want to be famous, shes got everything that she wanted, but I [also] think be careful what you wish for because sometimes its not all that it seems. Diana found that out at an early age, he added. To be a royal princess sometimes, losing your anonymity, losing that freedom, thats a big ask for any woman in todays society. And while the couple recently tied the knot, Burrell insisted Markle will be expected to help expand the royal family. I predict that Meghan will very soon have a baby, he said. They will have a baby within the first year of their marriage. Well, she will be pregnant within the first year of their marriage. Time is marching on and Harry does want a family. I think theres not much time left for Meghan. Shes got to get on with it. Two [children] will be enough for Harry. One of the main reasons Markle will struggle to find her place in the palace is because her family in America isnt getting the support they need to cope with the constant media scrutiny. Markles father, former Hollywood lighting director Thomas Markle, has particularly faced backlash by the public for repeatedly speaking out to the press about his famous daughter. There is no protocol for people like Thomas Markle, or in-laws, and people who marry into the royal family are lost at sea, said Burrell. They have embraced Meghan, they are keeping Meghan safe, but how about all the people in her world? I think they need to think about this, its a problem. "Poor Thomas Markle doesnt know how to behave. He is lost. I think the best thing he could do is stay quiet and try and reach out to his daughter. Somebody has to fix it. Before it gets more broken. Thankfully, Meghans mother has survived with dignity and style and thats the way forward. This isnt the first time Burrell has slammed the royal family for not protecting Thomas against the media. Back in June, Burrell told ITVs Good Morning Britain he wondered why the palace hasnt been informed about Thomas speaking to the media for pay. The palace has the biggest PR machine in the world and they cant protect those who are outside the gates, he explained. Theres no protocol in place, its never been done before. They dont look after those coming into the family. The outsiders are the ones who are most vulnerable and thats what I saw in the interview. Still, Burrell believed Thomas has meant no harm in sharing his experience with the world. I like him, he said. I thought he was vulnerable. I felt sorry for him and I know whats going to happen. The world press are on his doorstep and now they want more. Whats next? Is [Markles mother] Doria (Ragland) going to sit here talking about swapping knitting patterns with the queen? Back in May, Thomas, 74, debunked claims that he asked his daughter for money just weeks before the wedding. Thomas told TMZ the rumor is just plain bulls---. Thomas alleged he has a decent retirement fund and doesnt need his daughters help for money. Thomas added that if he did ever need financial assistance, he is certain Markle would come to the rescue. Thomas also claimed money has never been a topic of discussion between the two and neither brings it up. Shabaks, Yezidis, Assyrians Protest Settlement of Arab Families in Nineveh Nineveh's religious minorities have written to the head of the provincial council and the Iraqi interior ministry to protest the planned settlement of 450 Arab families from other parts of Iraq. They warn the move violates the constitution and will create instability. The joint letter, penned by three Nineveh provincial council representatives from the Shabak, Yezidi, and Assyrian communities, warns the move "will lead to instability in the areas of these minorities and will open the door to demographic change, which violates Article 23 of the Iraqi constitution that bans any demographic change in areas where minorities live." Article 23 of the 2005 constitution states: "Ownership of property for the purposes of demographic change is prohibited." "Please approve a decree from the interior ministry on stopping the transfer of family registers of those of Arabic descent from Simel, Shekhan, Makhmour, Gwer and Batil to other areas in Nineveh such as Hamdaniyah, Telkef and Bashiqa and send their registers strictly to the province capital only," the letter adds. It is signed by Shabak representative Ghazwan Hamid Hameed Al-Dawdi, Yezidi representative Gulistan Hassan Ali, and Christian representative Dawd Baba Yaqoub. Opponents of the move have likened the interior ministry's decision to the forced Arabization programme of the Baathist regime. "These practices are repeating what was done by the former dictatorial regime when it was displacing Kurds from their areas and housing the Arabs instead," a spokesman for the Arab tribes of Nineveh province told Bas News. Nineveh is one of the most diverse places in the Middle East, where Persian, Turkish, Arabic, Kurdish and Levantine cultures meet. At different times pre-Abrahamic, Abrahamic, and other ethno-religious minorities like Yezidis have coexisted, albeit not always without conflict. Iraq's religious and ethnic minorities suffered mass displacement and genocide at the hands of ISIS militants when the group swept through Nineveh in the summer of 2014, capturing its provincial capital Mosul. Thousands of Yezidis were massacred or sold into sexual slavery. Meanwhile, Iraq's Christians have almost completely vanished, many of them fleeing abroad. Last week, US Vice President Mike Pence announced the allocation of $70 million to protect religious minorities and vulnerable communities on the Nineveh plains. Visitors look at an exhibition of murals at the Hebei Museum in Shijiazhuang City, Hebei Province, Aug. 2, 2018. The murals date back to the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and were from the Pilu Temple. They are known for their great composition, superb craftsmanship and rich connotation. (Photo: China News Service/Zhai Yujia) 4 1 [ Editor: Xueying ] Critics are slamming The New York Times, saying the newspaper has a hypocritical double standard after the publication stood by its hiring of tech writer Sarah Jeong despite several derogatory tweets of hers aimed at white people. Jeong tweeted that she gets joy out of being cruel to old white men, used a CancelWhitePeople hashtag and sent numerous other offensive tweets. The tweets mostly from 2014 were unearthed earlier this week after the Times announced Jeong was joining the paper. The paper defended Jeong in a statement on Thursday, chalking her offensive comments up to a young Asian woman imitating the rhetoric of her own online harassers. Conservative columnist Daniella Greenbaum told Fox News that the issue at hand here is not about whether Jeongs tweets were racist or not. Greenbaum says that hypocrisy is the real issue. Jeong claimed she was kidding. Good enough, I guess, although swap the word white and insert black, Mexican, or Jewish in any of her tweets and I have a feeling wed be having a very different conversation, Greenbaum said. Much like Jeong, Greenbaum is a young columnist who has garnered a lot of attention. But Greenbaum is a staunch conservative, who last month resigned from her job as a columnist at Business Insider after the website removed an already-published piece defending Scarlett Johansson for signing on to play a transgender man. The piece apparently offended some of her liberal colleagues and Greenbaum walked away from her job after being censored. Johansson later backed away from the role. Greenbaum, who didnt exactly receive overwhelming support during her own ordeal, noticed that many in the media industry have rushed to defend Jeong. The New York Times, and much of the media chose to believe that she was kidding, or to posit that even if she wasnt kidding, her misguided beliefs are not reason enough to fire her. In other words, they extended her a brand of courtesy never offered to people who are right of center, Greenbaum said. Thats the issue here. High-powered liberal media members such as HuffPost Editor-in-Chief Lydia Polgreen and leadership at The Verge, where Jeong currently works, have defended her rhetoric. The former Business Insider columnist said we have created an enormous, hypocritical double standard that is entirely unjust when it comes to judgment in the media industry. Lets see how Jeong reacts next time a conservative finds themselves in a similar situation. Something tells me she wont speak out on their behalf, Greenbaum said. Greenbaum isnt the only person slamming the Times. Media Research Center analyst Kristine Marsh wrote, The New York Times justified her racist tweets, and called the papers statement laughable. Some social media users agreed and blasted the paper's decision on Twitter. The New York Times doubled-down on Jeongs behalf in their statement announcing support for the tech writer. The newspaper stated: We hired Sarah Jeong because of the exceptional work she has done her journalism and the fact that she is a young Asian woman have made her a subject of frequent online harassment. For a period of time she responded to that harassment by imitating the rhetoric of her harassers." Prince Harry isnt afraid to defend his stepmother Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall a woman who many still believe broke up the marriage of his parents Princess Diana and Prince Charles. Express.co.uk obtained an excerpt from a new biography on the 33-year-old royal by journalist Angela Levin titled Harry: A Biography of a Prince." It claims the Duke of Sussex believes the public should feel sorry for the 71-year-old. The book was based on conversations the British reporter shared with Harry, who is sixth in line to the throne, before his marriage to former American actress Meghan Markle in May. Levin had previously accompanied Harry on his many engagements and shadowed him for over a year. She also had exclusive access to him at Kensington Palace. To be honest, shes always been very close to me and William, Harry told Levin, according to the author. Shes not a wicked stepmother. Look at the position shes coming into. Dont feel sorry for me and William, feel sorry for her. "Shes a wonderful woman and shes made our father very, very happy which is the most important thing. William and I love her to bits. Even though Charles and Camilla have been married for 13 years, their relationship has been the subject of tabloids over the years. The Telegraph previously reported the couple first met sometime in the 70s at a party. And while Charles allegedly fell head over heels, he wasn't ready to give up his bachelorhood. Camilla moved on and married cavalry officer Andrew Parker Bowles in 1973 only to part ways in 1995. Charles married Diana, the mother of Harry and his older brother William, 36, in a televised wedding that attracted about 750 million viewers worldwide in 1981. However, Diana had long-suspected Charles was having an ongoing affair with his ex-girlfriend. Diana and Charles would ultimately call it quits after their marital woes became public and their divorced was finalized in 1996. Diana died a year later in 1997 at age 36 from a car crash in Paris. Charles married Camilla in 2005. Levin wrote both William and Harry were told Camilla was going to become their stepmother in 2004. It couldnt have been easy for Prince Charles to tell his sons that the woman blamed for the breakup of his marriage to their mother was going to become their stepmother, but in the autumn of 2004 thats what he did, she wrote. Harry accepted that Camilla had been in his fathers life for a very long time and had grown to like her, she added. Since he was a small child he has been able to see things from other peoples points of view. Levin told Fox News Harry still had vivid memories of the time when Diana finally told him her marriage to Charles was long over. He learned about it when his mother came to his prep school and asked to speak to him, she explained. He didnt know why she was there. She told him [the news] and then the next day the prime minister made the announcement. While William reportedly burst into tears, Harry made a compelling revelation to his mother. He said, I hope youll both be happier now, said Levin. He also asked if there was anything he could do to make mommy and daddy happy again He remained very close to his mother afterwards. Levin, who researched the royal familys history while writing her book, said that in her opinion, Diana behaved very badly, when it came to embracing her new single life in front of her two sons. She introduced them to a whole string of men, she claimed. They would have to call them uncle. She very, very badly wanted her sons to like her men. This is not what [Harry] said to me, but what I researched and found. "They would get to know them, but then Diana would go off and then there would be another one. A psychiatrist, whom she had gone to, warned her that it could have a very detrimental effect, particularly on Harry. He warned Harry could become a delinquent or a rebel. It could have damaging effects. Diana also allegedly became wary of any other woman who developed a bond with William and Harry. Unfortunately, Diana was very jealous of the nannies getting too close to her boys, claimed Levin. She would make their lives very difficult or she would sack them Unlike many royal children who have one nanny who stays [in the palace] for many years, they were constantly changed. "And I think that, along with the men coming and going and then losing their mother that does take its toll. You then fear the people you love will desert you. Andrew Morton, Dianas biographer who penned the 1992 book Diana: Her Story, told Fox News back in 2017 that Charles never stopped loving Camilla even during the years they werent together. Here is Prince Charles telling Diana that hes going to give a bracelet to his old lover just before the wedding, said Morton. Just a few days before the wedding. And then keeps pictures of Camilla in his diary on their honeymoon. What woman is not going to be incensed by this crass and insensitive behavior? "Diana was very suspicious of Charles relationship with Camilla right from the get-go. And who could blame her? He left her behind, but the fact that hes been [currently] married for [13] years to Camilla shows that he still had plenty of love in his heart for his former mistress. Even Princesses get into trouble. Princess Eugenie revealed in a new interview that she found herself in hot water for posting an off-limits photo. The 28-year-old granddaughter of Queen Elizabeth shared a picture of her dad, Prince Andrew, in a section of Buckingham Palace that is not shown to the public. "I recently got in trouble for posting a picture of Papa in a corridor of the palace that was off-limits to the public," Eugenie told Vogue UK, according to ExpressDigest.com. In the photo, Andrew is posing in uniform after making his debut as Colonely of the Grenadier Guards at Trooping the Colour in June. "A wonderful and proud day celebrating Her Majestys birthday and @hrhthedukeofyork for his first Trooping the Colour as Colonel of the Grenadier Guards," Eugenie captured the intimate photo. Eugenie is ninth in line to the throne. Apple co-founder Steve Jobs told his daughter she smelled like a toilet when she visited him on his deathbed, she writes in a new memoir about their troubled relationship. Lisa Brennan-Jobs visited her dad about every other month for the year before his death of complications from pancreatic cancer in 2011, she said in her memoir Small Fry in Vanity Fairs September issue. On one such visit, when her dad was so sick he could barely get out of bed, she sprayed herself with expensive rose facial mist shed found in his bathroom before going to say good-bye. When we hugged, I could feel his vertebrae, his ribs. He smelled musty, like medicine sweat, she wrote. Brennan-Jobs, now 40, turned to leave and thats when her dad called out, Lis? Yeah? she asked. You smell like a toilet, she recalls him saying. By that point Brennan-Jobs writes shed already given up on the possibility of a grand reconciliation, the kind in the movies with her famous father, who died at 56. Her mom, Chrisann Brennan, had Lisa when both she and Jobs were 23 in 1978 but he publicly denied he was her father until 1980, when the San Mateo district attorney forced him to take a paternity test and provide child support. The court required Jobs to cover child support of $385 per month, which was then increased to $500 a month plus back payments and medical insurance until Brennan-Jobs turned 18. Four days after the case was finalized, Apple went public and Jobs became worth $200 million, his daughter wrote. Even after the case, Brennan-Jobs says her dad was always stingy, aloof and curt with her even denying that he named one of the first computers he worked on, The Lisa, after her. That is until one rare joint vacation, when Brennan-Jobs was 27 and was invited to join a yacht trip with her stepmother, three half-siblings and a babysitter. The family made a stop off the coast of the south of France to Bonos villa and the rockstar asked, So was the Lisa computer named after her? Brennan-Jobs writes. My father hesitated, looked down at his plate for a long moment, and then back at Bono. Yeah, it was, he said. I studied my fathers face. What had changed? Why had he admitted it now, after all these years? Of course it was named after me, I thought then. His lie seemed preposterous now. I felt a new power that pulled my chest up, she wrote. She thanked Bono for asking. Thats the first time hes said yes,I told Bono, she recalled. Thank you for asking. As if famous people needed other famous people around to release their secrets. In another heartbreaking memory, Brennan-Jobs recalls hearing a rumor as a child that her dad would buy a new Porsche every time he scratched his. One night when she was in the luxury car with him she asked if she could have it when he was done with it. I wondered where he put the extras, she wrote. But he responded with anger. Absolutely not, he said in such a sour, biting way that I knew Id made a mistake, she wrote. I wished I could take it back. We pulled up to the house and he turned off the engine. Before I made a move to get out he turned to face me. Youre not getting anything, he said. You understand? Nothing. Youre getting nothing. Did he mean about the car, something else, bigger? I didnt know. His voice hurtsharp, in my chest. Brennan-Jobs memoir will be published on Sept. 4 by Grove Press. This article originally appeared in the New York Post. A frustrated mom from New York wont be making a toast with Canada Dry anytime soon, seeing as she's suing Dr. Pepper Snapple Group Inc. for an alleged lack of ginger in the ginger ale soda. In July, Julie Fletcher filed a federal lawsuit in Buffalo, claiming that the brand's allegedly false advertising caused her economic harm, and that she was misled about the health benefits of the drink, Fortune reports. In addition to damages, Fletcher also seeks to open the case to others as a class-action lawsuit. Fletcher takes issue with Canada Drys packaging and marketing materials advertise that the drink is made from real ginger, but says in her lawsuit that the product only contains a "miniscule" amount of ginger extract. For context, Fortune notes that Canada Dry is comprised of carbonated water, high fructose corn syrup, citric acid, sodium benzoate, natural flavors, and caramel colors. SENIOR CITIZENS AT SOUTH CAROLINA COSTCO GET INTO PHYSICAL FIGHT OVER FREE SAMPLES Ms. Fletcher believed this meant that Canada Dry was made using ginger root and was, as a result, a healthier alternative to regular sodas, her lawyer Michael J. DeBenedictis supposedly said in the lawsuit, the Buffalo News reports. Ms. Fletcher knew that ginger root can calm an upset stomach and she purchased Canada Dry when her children were sick, believing that the ginger root in the beverage would soothe their stomach aches. FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK FOR MORE FOX LIFESTYLE NEWS Her suit claims that Canada Dry began highlighting that the drink was made with real ginger" around 2007. Dr Pepper Snapple Group Inc. did not immediately return Fox News request for comment on the story. An Indiana man who beat brain cancer as a teen has once again defied the odds after surviving a nearly fatal car crash in January that left him internally decapitated. I have fought for my life this time around, and some days I feel like I still am. God has put me through some crazy stuff, and hes really testing me, Brock Meister, of Plymouth, said in a statement released by Beacon Health System. Im just thankful to be here, so thats all that matters, the 22-year-old added. On January 12, Meister was having dinner with some friends in Plymouth before heading to Lake of the Woods, near Bremen, where he and some friends were planning to stay with his grandparents for a night. Just minutes before arriving, the car hit a patch of black ice, causing the vehicle to tip over and roll on the passenger side where Meister was seated. WOMAN'S 132-POUND OVARIAN TUMOR REMOVED IN 5-HOUR SURGERY Meister's head smashed into the window, shattering it, and ultimately separating his skull from his spine in the process. Half my body was out the window, he recalled. The driver was able to pull Meister back in as the truck flipped upright and slowly rolled to a stop. Meisters friend, Ryan Topper, who was driving ahead of the two, knew something was wrong when he could no longer see the trucks headlights behind him. He whipped his car around, arriving just moments later. I turned around and from the angle that I drove up on it, it didnt look like anything had happened at all, Topper said. But as he got closer, he saw Meister, whose face was covered in blood. [He] wasnt saying much, Topper recalled. TEXAS DOCTOR WARNS 'SUPER STRAIN' OF PINK EYE ON RISE IN PART OF STATE Brock kept trying to get up and the only words he was saying were my neck and ambulance. I knew that he was in some serious pain and that if it was his neck, I couldnt let him get up and move, Topper, who had already called emergency officials at this point, said. Meister was taken to Memorial Hospital in South Bend, where doctors stabilized him and took X-rays. Images revealed he had suffered a traumatic atlanto-occipital dislocation, essentially a "complete separation of the skull from the spine or internal decapitation, according to the statement. Surviving this type of injury is rare: the mortality rate for those who suffer internal decapitation is high. Aside from the physical separation of skull and spine, this injury can also be fatal because the blood vessels supplying the brain and the spinal cord itself are commonly injured ... [causing] significant neurological deficits and often prove fatal, according to the Beacon Health System. Meister was just the second patient in Memorial Hospitals history to arrive alive with this particular injury. Hes here and hes alive, and that in itself is a complete miracle, Meisters mother, Jenna, recalled telling family and friends at the hospital. At 2 a.m. that same night, Dr. Kashif Shaikh, a Beacon Medical Group neurosurgeon, was paged. He looked at the X-rays at home before heading to the hospital to treat Meister. I had to check twice to make sure I was looking at the right patients picture its such an uncommon injury, and an even less common injury to survive, he told the hospital. Later, Meister underwent surgery to re-align his skull and spine. His surgeons made a long incision on the back of his neck, using a skull plate and spinal screws and rods to correct the fracture. NEW JERSEY DAD WHO CONTRACTED FLESH-EATING BACTERIA WHILE CRABBING TO BE TRANSFERRED TO HOSPICE, FAMILY SAYS Interestingly, Shaikh, who performed the surgery, also helped to treat Meister when a malignant brain tumor a grade III germinoma was found at the center of his brain in 2012. Meister was just 16 years old at the time. Thankfully, the surgery was successful and Meister was released from the hospital in February. He was required to wear a neck brace up until recently. "Things easily could have been more tragic and my time spent with him could be at the cemetery." Jenna Meister, Brock Meister's mother While he still has trouble with his right arm and pain in the lower part of his body, he is undergoing physical and occupational therapy at Memorial Hospital to treat those issues. It is truly incredible, Shaikh said of Mesiters ability to survive brain cancer and the car accident. Its been really hard, Meister told Fox News on Saturday. It makes me feel good knowing that Im still here, but I always ask the question why me? I just keep reminding myself things will get better it just takes time, he continued, adding that he tries to spend as much time as possible with friends to get back to somewhat normal. As a mom, I know, I truly know God was there that night and saved my child. Things easily could have been more tragic and my time spent with him could be at the cemetery. Our boy is a miracle," Jenna added. Jenna Meister did not immediately respond to Fox News request for comment on Friday. In one of the latest in a series of recent foodborne illness outbreaks, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service announced this week a recall was issued for salad and wrap products sold at Trader Joes, Walgreens and Kroger locations nationwide. Food safety officials said these products many contain the Cyclospora parasite, an intestinal illness that can cause diarrhea, stomach cramping, nausea, weight loss and fatigue. This news probably feels like deja vu. Nearly 400 people across 15 states have become ill after eating tainted lettuce in salads from McDonalds, leading to the hospitalization of more than a dozen people in July. Chipotle Mexican Grill briefly closed an Ohio restaurant after numerous customers reported falling ill after eating there. Kelloggs Honey Smacks cereal was recently recalled after it was determined it was linked to a salmonella outbreak. Pepperidge Farm recalled some of its Goldfish flavors as a precaution in July. The list goes on. SALMONELLA OUTBREAK EXTENDS ITS REACH ACROSS 26 STATES In light of recent foodborne illnesses which reportedly results in an estimated 48 million cases per year in the U.S. heres how you can stay safe. Whos at risk? Older people, pregnant women, children and those with a weakened immune system are most at risk, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) says. For pregnant women, foodborne illnesses can be especially dangerous, as harmful bacteria can also cross the placenta and infect an unborn baby whose immune system is under-developed and not able to fight infection, according to the FDA, adding this type of illness during pregnancy can lead to miscarriage, premature delivery and stillbirth, among other serious outcomes. How can I protect myself? Taking extra time to wash fruits and vegetables and avoiding undercooked or raw meat and fish are some of the many simple steps to take that ultimately lessen the risk of contracting a foodborne illness, the FDA says. Dont take for granted fruits and veggies were washed before you bought them, Drew Patterson, culinary director in the Department of Nutrition Services at Ohio States Wexner Medical Center, told Fox News. Patterson advised taking extra care with lettuces, as this vegetable holds onto dirt that carries bacteria that can make you ill. RITZ CRACKER PRODUCTS RECALLED AMID FEARS OF SALMONELLA Additionally, Patterson recommended paying attention to where your food is coming from. For instance, while he noted buying from local farmers markets can be a great way to get fresh produce, as well as support a local business, you dont always know what food safety practices they adhere to. Eating out at a licensed restaurant, such as a chain is almost always safer than eating off the back of a random street cart," Patterson added. Why does it occur at some restaurants and not others? Why are restaurant chains such as McDonalds and Chipotle, among others the alleged source of some of these outbreaks, both state-wide and beyond? Patterson said the answer to this is a numbers-based game. It becomes a math problem. A large chain restaurant is going to sell more food than a farm-to-table shop, so the volume of product they are pushing through is greater, increasing the chance that something like this can happen, he explained. Patterson noted that when one of the chains restaurants closes down, this doesn't always mean other locations are unsafe. Are foodborne outbreaks happening on a bigger scale? Eater reported that there has been an increase albeit slight in outbreaks across different states this year. SALMONELLA FOUND IN PRE-CUT MELON SICKENS 60 PEOPLE, CDC SAYS However, its too early to say if these outbreaks are becoming consistently more frequent. I think were seeing more frequent outbreaks but they tend to be a bit smaller and that may be a function of how public health officials have a done better job of getting [contaminated items] off the shelves, Bill Marler, a leading food safety attorney, told the publication. What types of bacteria or parasites commonly affect Americans? Listeria, salmonella and E. coli commonly affect Americans, Patterson said, though the Cyclospora parasite has been cited as the cause of some recent outbreaks. In a "horrific accident," a woman in Washington died from exposure to dry ice fumes, according to news reports. The 77-year-old woman was found unresponsive in a car with several containers of dry ice on July 27, according to local news outlet KOMO. The car belonged to the woman's son, an ice cream salesman, who kept four coolers of dry ice in the back of the vehicle. The man's wife had borrowed the car to give the woman, her mother-in-law, a ride home. But when the man found his wife and mother unconscious in the car, he called 911. The mother likely died of suffocation from the dry ice fumes, and the wife is in critical condition. "Somehow ... the fumes escaped from the coolers," said Ed Troyer, a spokesperson for the Pierce County Sheriff's Department. "At this point, we're just looking at this as [a] horrific accident," Troyer told local news outlet The News Tribune. Dry ice is known for the eerie-looking vapor it produces, which is not usually dangerous. But in rare cases, it can be deadly. Dry ice is the solid form of carbon dioxide and has a freezing point of minus 109 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 78 degrees Celsius). As dry ice melts, it undergoes a process called sublimation, in which the solid is converted directly into a gas, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). If dry ice is stored in an area without proper ventilation, it may cause people to inhale large amounts of the gas CO2, which displaces oxygen in the body, the CDC says. This, in turn, can lead to harmful effects, including headache, confusion, disorientation and death. Although rare, cases like this have happened before. In 2004, the CDC reported a case of a man who passed out while driving with several bags of dry ice in his car, which he bought to keep food cool in case of a power outage after Hurricane Ivan. The man's wife found him unconscious in the car, but he woke up when she opened the door. In the new case, officials said there were likely several things that went wrong to cause the woman's death. For instance, the ice cream salesman had recently bought a new car, which probably had better sealing and less ventilation, which trapped in the fumes, Troyer said. "It was a combination of things that went terribly wrong," Troyer told KOMO. Original article on Live Science. NEW You can now listen to Fox News articles! Bill Lee, a wealthy businessman who campaigned as an outsider similar to candidate Donald Trump in the last presidential race, won the Republican nomination for governor in Tennessee Thursday in an upset. Lee defeated U.S. Rep. Diane Black, who had the endorsement of Vice President Mike Pence and was favored to win the nomination. Lee also defeated former state economic development chief Randy Boyd (who was endorsed by former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee), and state House Speaker Beth Harwell in the crowded field. With 99.5 percent of precincts reporting, Lee had 36.6 percent of the vote, Boyd had 24.4 percent, Black had 23 percent and Harwell had 15.3 percent. Two minor candidates each trailed with less than 1 percent each. Republican Gov. Bill Haslam was barred by term limits from seeking re-election. Democrats nominated former Nashville Mayor Karl Dean as their candidate for governor, giving him a landslide victory in his partys primary with 75.1 percent of the vote over two candidates. A moderate from the Clinton wing of the party, he outspent his main opponent, House Minority Leader Craig Fitzhugh, by 4 to 1. All four GOP gubernatorial contenders campaigned as good conservatives, broadly defined. All of them, for example, signed the Americans for Tax Reform pledge to oppose tax increases. And all of them ran as supporters of the Trump agenda. Trump carried the state by 26 points over Democrat Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential race. The president declined to make an endorsement. The victorious Lee crisscrossed the state and built a better campaign machine than the other candidates to win. Together, the candidates spent more than $45 million in pursuit of the GOP gubernatorial nomination, over $40 million of which came from their own funds. The GOP nomination is a prize worth having, since Tennessee is now a reliably Republican state. Meanwhile, in the race for the U.S. Senate seat now held by Republican Bob Corker, who is not seeking re-election, former Democratic Gov. Phil Bredesen and Republican U.S. Rep. Marsha Blackburn easily won their primaries and will face each other in the Nov. 6 general election. Bredesen has a reputation for being a moderate who, during his eight years as state chief executive, enjoyed consistently high approval ratings. GOP operatives say Bredesen is coasting on the past and expect Blackburn, who has strong support in western Tennessee where she is better known, to eventually pull ahead by the time of the November election once the voters in the eastern part of the state get to know her. These races in Tennessee will be decided against an electoral backdrop that now has many professional election prognosticators bullish on the idea the Democrats will win control of the U.S. House in November. These forecasters like the University of Virginias Larry Sabato point to the 42 open House seats being vacated by Republicans and strong fundraising by Democrats as suggestive of a coming change. But on the plus side for Republicans, the U.S. economy is strong, job creation is up and unemployment in some sectors is at record lows. Meanwhile, the Democratic Party is broke and is seeing growing numbers of progressives pushing for the abolition of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency and advocating other far-left policies that that probably wont go down well in a state like Tennessee, where voters like things on the moderate side. NEW You can now listen to Fox News articles! San Francisco has long been a bastion of the far left and now its paying a high price for its extreme progressive policies, including once-beautiful streets filled with dangerous syringes and human waste, resembling Third World back alleys. The city has embraced an open drug culture at the same time it spends hundreds of millions of dollars to combat a growing homelessness problem. But no matter what the city does, it seems to have the opposite effect and make things worse. Each year, San Francisco hands out millions of syringes to drug users 4.45 million to be exact. San Francisco officials do this because they believe this is cheaper than the medical costs associated with injectable drug users getting diseases from sharing needles. Yet as always, politically correct progressive politicians never think about the law of unintended consequences. Aside from the monetary cost of the syringes over $500,000 the needle giveaway failed to get rid of the problem it was targeting. Thats because the program that aimed to prevent the spread of HIV, hepatitis and other viral diseases is responsible for drug users littering the streets with needles infected with the diseases. It may sound heartless, but before the free-needles program, the danger of shooting up with injectable drugs like heroin was only posed to those using the drugs. Now everyone is in danger. A child picking up a discarded syringe without realizing what it is, a person walking in sandals, a tourist sitting on a park bench, or a couple playing with their dog in the park are all at a greater risk of getting the very diseases the city was trying to contain if they come into contact with infected needles used by ill drug users. To fix this problem, the city is now spending tens of millions of dollars to try and clean up the problem it created. Mohammed Nuru, director of the Public Works Department, estimates his department spends about $30 million to clean up the needles and feces. Yes, we can clean, and then go back a few hours later, and it looks as if it was never cleaned, Nuru said. The increase in homelessness and public defecation has created other problems. When the fecal matter is left to dry on the street, particulates can go airborne. Dr. Lee Riley, an infectious disease expert at the University of California, Berkeley, spoke to local reporters, warning about the dangers of fecal matter when it dries, specifically rotavirus. The doctor stated: If you happen to inhale that, it can also go into your intestine. The virus can be fatal. Not only is San Francisco spending money on wasteful projects the city is losing money because of the outcome of the projects. The San Francisco Travel Association (SFTA) has been warning about the problem for some time now, and it looks like warnings are coming true. In its annual report, SFTA announced the while the city saw more tourists in 2017 than 2016, it fell short of the expected growth. In fact, San Francisco is seeing a slowdown in tourism growth. In 2015 tourism grew by 2.7 percent, growth slowed to 2 percent in 2016, and fell to 1.4 percent in 2017. Tourism is a $9 billion a year industry for the cash-strapped city. San Francisco hosts between 40 and 60 conventions per year, attracting 650,000 people. Each of those convention-goers books local hotel rooms, eats at restaurants, and spends money at local stores. Do people want to visit a city littered with human waste, drug paraphernalia, and homelessness? At least one convention has said no. Joe DAlessandro with Travel SF announced a major medical association decided to pull its $40 million convention out of the filthy city. Alessandro stated: The convention felt that the streets of San Francisco are not a place that a lot of their delegates wanted to come to. Rest assured San Francisco residents, the city has a plan. The Board of Supervisors has heard the cry from the people and has leapt into action. By moving to ban plastic straws, cocktail drink swords, and plastic stirrers. Thats right, disease-infested needles that can kill a person with a deadly virus are welcomed and taxpayer funded but an olive on a cocktail sword will soon be illegal. Yes, technically the measure has to pass another vote next week, but given the ridiculousness of the city, no one is expecting it to fail. Far-left progressive policies have taken a city once famous around the world for its beauty and culture and made it famous for something entirely different. At the meeting, the two sides discussed specific plans for collaboration on raising two-way trade to US$20 billion in 2020, and on the work required for more balance in bilateral trade. They also agreed on some measures to remove difficulties for businesses in carrying out trade activities, especially solutions to enhance cooperation in other fields such as agriculture, transport, customs, banking, investment, employment, intellectual property, and regional and sub-regional cooperation. Minister Tran Tuan Anh suggested that Thailand create more favourable conditions for Vietnamese firms to export their farm produce and food to the market as well as speed up procedures to grant licences allowing the import of several kinds of Vietnamese fruits. The minister also urged Thailand to remove the procedure of licensing exports of milk and dairy products from Thailand to Vietnam, and to reduce and eliminate trade protection measures against Vietnamese iron and steel products. He also called on the two sides to draft coordinatedregulations to provide early warnings about the possibility of conducting trade procedure investigations on the other countrys export products, at the same time enhance coordination in multilateral cooperation frameworks. Also at the conference, the two sides looked at some issues of concern to Thailand, such as the import of made-in-Thailand automobiles into Vietnam and Vietnams regulations on the rights of distributing medicines and medicine materials, and the transport, storage and marketing of medicines in the market. Thailand is currently the biggest trade partner of Vietnam in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) with two-way trade increasing from US$11.5 billion in 2015 to US$15.3 billion in 2017, an annual growth of 15.5%. In the first six months of 2018, bilateral trade reached nearly US$8 billion, a year-on-year rise of 14.7%. Vietnam exported more than US$2.7 billion worth of goods to Thailand in January-June, up 22.7% against the same period last year. Meanwhile, Vietnam is the second biggest trade partner of Thailand in ASEAN, following Malaysia. NEW You can now listen to Fox News articles! Editor's note: This column was first published in the Washington Post. All of Washington is waiting with bated breath to find out whether the Mueller investigation will provide evidence proving that the Trump campaign colluded with Russia. So far, "Exhibit A" against President Trump is the meeting Donald Trump Jr., Jared Kushner and Paul Manafort had with a group of Russians claiming to have dirt on Hillary Clinton. That meeting should never have happened. When you get an email offering to provide "very high level and sensitive information" from the "Crown prosecutor of Russia" that could "incriminate Hillary" Clinton and is part of "Russia and its government's support for Mr. Trump" you don't reply by saying "I love it." You call the FBI. The president claims he did not know about the meeting. His former lawyer, Michael Cohen, says he did. Whether he knew is beside the point. Senior officials of his campaign were willing to accept help from Vladimir Putin; they were saved only because the meeting was a bust. The Russians didn't end up providing any dirt. But as bad as the Trump Tower meeting was, it took place at the request of the Russians. They were the ones who approached the Trump campaign, not the other way around. By contrast, the Clinton campaign proactively sought dirt on Trump from Russian government sources. They did it through cutouts. In April 2016, Clinton campaign lawyer Marc Elias retained opposition research firm Fusion GPS to compile incriminating information on Trump. Fusion GPS in turn hired Christopher Steele, a former British MI6 operative with sources among Russian government officials. The result was the salacious dossier, whose sources included "a senior Russian Foreign Ministry figure" and "a former top level intelligence officer still active in the Kremlin." Steele's work was paid for by Clinton's presidential campaign and the Democratic National Committee. That means a paid agent of the Clinton campaign approached Russian officials for damaging material on Trump. Clinton claims she did not know about Steele's work. It doesn't matter. Imagine if Michael Cohen, or another lawyer paid by the Trump campaign and Republican National Committee, had hired a former British spy with campaign money to collect dirt on Clinton from Russian intelligence and foreign ministry officials. Do you think that everyone in Washington would be saying: "There's no evidence Trump knew, so no big deal -- nothing to see here?" Of course not. Moreover, Clinton officials have defended Steele's actions. Brian Fallon, Clinton's campaign spokesman, has said he "would have volunteered to go to Europe and try to help" Steele and would happily have spread dirt obtained from the Russians. "Opposition research happens on every campaign," he told The Post. He also said: "I am damn glad [Elias] pursued this on behalf of our campaign and only regret more of this material was not verified in time for the voters to learn it before the election." In other words, "I love it." We also know that the Democrats covered up their involvement. The dossier was published by BuzzFeed in January, but it was not until Oct. 24, 2017 -- more than nine months later -- that Americans learned it was the DNC and the Clinton campaign that paid for it. If it did nothing wrong, why did Team Clinton leave Americans in the dark about its involvement for so long? Let's be clear: None of this excuses the Trump campaign's reprehensible behavior in accepting a meeting with Russians claiming to be government agents offering dirt on Clinton. Mueller's investigation is not a witch hunt. If Mueller finds that anyone on the Trump campaign entered into a criminal conspiracy with Russia, they should go to jail. Furthermore, none of this calls into question the intelligence community's assessment that the Russians wanted Trump to win -- something Putin publicly confirmed in his Helsinki news conference with Trump. But the intelligence community assessment also found that the Kremlin expected Clinton to win. The Russians are not stupid. They were preparing for the prospect of a Clinton presidency, and they played both sides. That's why millions of dollars in Russian cash were sloshing around Clinton World -- including $500,000 Bill Clinton received for a Moscow speech from a Russian investment bank with links to the Kremlin. Russia continues to pose a threat. Their goal, according to our intelligence community, was not just to help Trump but also to "undermine public faith in the US democratic process." They are playing a long game. If we are to counter the Russian threat, we need to understand its complexities -- and that mean we have to look beyond Trump. NEW You can now listen to Fox News articles! President Trump has done excellent work on job growth since taking office, as the creation of some 3.9 million jobs since his election proves. The Labor Department reported Friday that 157,000 jobs were added in July, dropping unemployment to 3.9 percent, from 4 percent in June. At the same time, the economy is humming along and grew at an annual rate of 4.1 percent in the second quarter of the year its fastest rate in four years. And on top of this, small business confidence is on the rise. The president recently quipped that his economic policy can be summed up in three very simple, but beautiful words: jobs, jobs, jobs. To continue his success on job creation, President Trump should work with the Senate to ratify and implement the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol. The Montreal Protocol, which was championed by President Reagan and British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, is an international treaty to phase out the production of substances that can damage the Earths ozone layer. In remarks upon signing the agreement in 1988, President Reagan called it a model of cooperation and praised it as the result of an extraordinary process of scientific study, negotiations among representatives of the business and environmental communities, and international diplomacy. It is a monumental achievement. The Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol is an addition to the treaty that would phase out the production and use of hydrofluorocarbons chemicals used in cooling and foam insulation. Most countries are already preparing to transition to hydrofluroolefins (HFOs), a new and environmentally sound innovation. The U.S. is prepared to lead the way in manufacturing them. Conservatives are often accused of being anti-environment because they broadly oppose policies that will cost jobs. And indeed, environmental proposals are often top-down, bureaucratic, job-killing messes. The Paris climate accord, for example, was crafted without thought for economic ramifications and promised negligible results. President Trump was right to withdraw from that misguided agreement. And as early as midsummer of last year, the Trump administrations rollback of many onerous, costly, and burdensome regulations was having a substantial positive impact on the economy and will actually create jobs for Americans. A recent analysis shows that the implementation of the Kigali Amendment would create 33,000 direct manufacturing jobs and over 150,000 jobs economy-wide. It is also projected to increase direct manufacturing output by $12.5 billion and increase output economy-wide by $38.8 billion. These numbers are the reason why many business leaders support the amendment. Its why 13 Republican senators urged the White House earlier this year to support it. By sending this amendment to the Senate, you will help secure Americas place as the global leader in several manufacturing industries, and in turn give American workers and advantage against their competitors in the international marketplace, the senators wrote in a letter to President Trump. Why would implementing the amendment spark such growth? Because it would enable the United States to cement its global leadership in the marketplace with new technology in which we have already invested years of work and billions of dollars. As other developed countries continue to transition to technology that meets the amendments standards, and other developing countries follow, American manufacturers will have a tremendous opportunity to sell compliant technology worldwide. Some claim the implementation of the amendment will lead to higher costs for consumers and businesses that rely on air-conditioning and refrigeration but this simply isnt true. Refrigerants are not a consumer product and they comprise less than 1 percent of the value of heating and cooling equipment over the equipments lifetime. In addition, the amendment wouldnt require the replacement of existing air-conditioning systems, but would ensure the ones purchased in the future will be more efficient and innovative. Worldwide competition is fierce. Ratification of the Kigali Amendment would allow the United States to stay ahead of countries like China that are making aggressive moves to challenge American businesses in this space. As a successful global entrepreneur, the president surely knows it would be foolish to waste the market advantage the U.S. currently possesses. The Kigali Amendment meets the high threshold that President Trump has set for international trade agreements. It will create tens of thousands of American jobs and will strengthen Americas manufacturing prowess. President Trump needs to take the critical first step of sending the Kigali Amendment to the Senate, and then work with senators to ratify it and boost his excellent record on job growth. Left-wing billionaire Tom Steyer took aim at members of the Democratic establishment Thursday, saying they lack common sense for their hesitation to back a campaign to impeach President Donald Trump. Steyer, rumored to be a candidate for the 2020 presidential election, spoke to a crowd of progressive activists at the Netroots Nation Convention in New Orleans and accused Democrats of not making a serious effort to impeach Trump. Not a single person in the Senate Democratic Caucus has shown the common sense or the sense of right and wrong to support impeachment, he said. There hasnt been a serious effort to introduce a motion for impeachment in the House since December, thats eight months ago. NUCLEAR WAR COULD PROVIDE COURSE CORRECTION FROM TRUMP PRESIDENCY, TOM STEYER SAYS In what sounded at times like a grassroots campaign speech, Steyer took aim at Trump, calling the president wildly corrupt, and lashed out at Democrats for not taking action. Theyre not willing to face a devastating and obvious truth about this president, that he is wildly corrupt and that we are well past the threshold to kick him out of office, he said. I dont see the Democratic establishment doing anything real to stop him. Steyer is the founder of the Need To Impeach campaign, which is aimed squarely at President Trump. The billionaire said Thursday that while Democratic lawmakers tell him in private about their willingness to back his campaign, they wont take any public stance. BILLIONAIRE LIBERAL TOM STEYER JOINGS GEORGE SOROS IN BACKING FLORIDA DEM FOR GOVERNOR Their message to me and the 5.5 million Americans demanding Donald Trumps impeachment is that it's bad politics, it's off message and it will galvanize the Republicans. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., for example, has suggested impeachment could harm Democrats future electoral prospects. Steyer reportedly has pledged $40 million to his campaign since it launched last October. An anti-violence march in Chicago briefly closed Lake Shore Drive on Thursday afternoon, as protesters demonstrated against the city's spiraling crime crisis and called for Mayor Rahm Emanuel to step down. A spokesman for Chicago police said Lake Shore Drive was closed for about 35 minutes on Thursday afternoon, as demonstrators marched toward Wrigley Field, where the Cubs were scheduled to play later in the evening. Once the marchers arrived at Wrigley Field, roughly 400 protesters spent approximately 45 minutes chanting, praying, and delivering speeches before dispersing. The demonstrators waved signs demanding Emanuel's resignation and chanted "one city, one Chicago" and "Rahm has to go," as fans watched from inside the park. Chicago police performed rolling street closures as the march progressed, creating traffic headaches across the North Side. The march was timed with the start of the music fest Lollapalooza, in addition to the Cubs game. Organizers had not ruled out trying to enter Wrigley Field and predicted at least some protesters would be arrested. As of Thursday afternoon, though, police said they'd made no arrests. Photos posted on social media showed a large crowd, including some with signs, marching along the roadway. Ahead of the march, protesters made clear they didn't want the Democratic mayor's support or blessing -- they were urging him to resign over what they called his inability to get gun crime under control. The call of the people is Resign Rahm, Dr. Gregory Livingston said, according to The Chicago Tribune. So how, then, can you back your own regime change? How do you sanction your own termination? How dumb, naive and self-hating do you think we are? Honestly, when the mayor endorses a protest, its no longer a protest, the Rev. Ira Acree said. It becomes a parade, and were on serious business. WMAQ reported that the protesters said they were looking to redistribute the pain and agony of no economic development on the South and West Sides to the North Side. The march came after thousands of protesters shut down traffic on Interstate 94 last month to draw attention to gun violence. Chicago police said the city had 252 homicides and 1,100 shootings in the first six months of 2018, a decrease from last year -- but the crimes have been concentrated in predominantly black, low-income neighborhoods. While Emanuel was in the crosshairs of this latest protest, he had offered support -- even scolding Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner after he called on Emanuel to put an end to this kind of chaos. It was a peaceful protest. Delete your account, Emanuel responded. Fox News Gregg Re, Adam Shaw and The Associated Press contributed to this report. A democratic lawmaker from New Hampshire was arrested Thursday for domestic violence charges after he allegedly bit a woman on multiple occasions and forced his way into her locked home. State Senator Jeff Woodburn, a Democrat from Whitefield, was charged with simple assault, domestic violence and criminal mischief after the state attorney generals office said he allegedly slapped a woman, punched her in the stomach, bit her hand, and on another occasion, bit her forearm. The incidents are said to have taken place this year and last year. Woodburn, the state Senate minority leader, defended himself Thursday in a statement. This afternoon, I learned that a warrant had been issued for my arrest. I voluntarily responded to the police station, cooperated with law enforcement during the booking process, and was released, he said. I intend to fully address and defend against these charges in court. The New Hampshire Democratic Party urged him to resign, as did the states Democratic congressional delegation and members of the state Senate Democratic Caucus. The New Hampshire Democratic Party stands firm in our belief that any form of sexual harassment, sexual assault, or domestic violence is completely unacceptable behavior for anyone, let alone our public officials who should all be held to a higher standard, said State Democratic Party Chairman Ray Buckley. Republican Gov. Chris Sununu tweeted that the allegations were morally reprehensible, and also said Woodburn should step down. Woodburn is set to be arraigned on August 20. The Associated Press contributed to this report. President Trump unspooled a wide-ranging defense of his foreign policy -- including recent meetings with the leaders of Russia and North Korea -- during a rally to boost support for U.S. Rep. Lou Barletta's Senate campaign. In front of a full arena in Wilkes-Barre on Thursday, Trump mocked Barletta's Democratic opponent -- two-term incumbent Bob Casey -- as "so overrated." "He will do whatever [Chuck] Schumer, [Nancy] Pelosi, and the new star of the Democrat Party tells him to do," said the president, who added Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., to that roster as the so-called "new star" and "new leader" of the Democratic party. "Very low I.Q.," Trump said of Waters. Barletta, a fervent Trump supporter who shares his hard-line views on immigration, then took the stage and rattled off a laundry list of Trump's accomplishments. "We're not tired of winning, Mr. President," Barletta said. "We're not tired of winning." He then attacked Casey as "one of the most liberal senators in Washington [who is] leading the Resistance and obstruction to President Trump's agenda... He no longer represents the values of people here in Pennsylvania." However, Barletta faces an uphill climb to defeat the Democrat, as two polls taken after his GOP primary victory show Casey with a double-digit lead. Later on, Trump referred to Casey as "Sleeping Bob" and attacked his views on immigration, particularly his support of chain migration. "By the way, if you ask him why, he can't [answer]," Trump said as an aside. "He wants it because Schumer said to have it." The president also rehashed his recent summits with Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un. Appearing to be stung by criticism of both meetings, Trump claimed that his critics wanted him to attack Putin at the summit in Helsinki over Russia's interference in the 2016 election. "They wanted me to walk up and go like this," Trump said before briefly walking away from his lectern and shadowboxing an imaginary Putin. "They wanted me to go up and have a boxing match. Whatever happened to diplomacy?" "And let me tell you, if I did go up and start screaming, they would have said, 'He was terrible! He was so rude! It was horrible! His performance was horrible!'" Trump went on. On North Korea, Trump claimed that he "got along great with Chairman Kim. I got along great. That's a good thing, not a bad thing, by the way." He also cited the return of American detainees and the lack of recent missile tests as signs of progress. The president also continued to air his grievances against the media, at one point calling them "the fake, fake disgusting news." "Whatever happened to the free press? Whatever happened to honest reporting?" Trump asked, pointing to the media in the back of the hall. "They don't report it. They only make up stories ... Only negative stories from the fakers back there." Trump, the first Republican presidential candidate to win Pennsylvania since George H.W. Bush in 1988, began his speech with a lengthy reminiscence about his 2016 victory. At one point, he lamented the media's supposed slowness in calling the state for him on election night. "You people didn't get the privilege of taking us over the top," the president said before promising, "next time, next time." Turning briefly to the 2020 election, Trump also speculated about whether he wanted Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, whom he decried as "Pocahontas," or Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, whom he flatly deemed "crazy," as his opponent. Trump has accelerated his campaign schedule in recent weeks to help Republicans he favors both in primaries and November's midterms. On Tuesday, he headlined a Florida rally to support U.S. Rep. Ron DeSantis in his campaign for governor and has sought to boost outgoing Gov. Rick Scott in what is expected to be a close Senate race against incumbent Bill Nelson. On Saturday, Trump will travel to Ohio to hold a rally for State Sen. Troy Balderson, who is running for Congress in a special election to be held next week. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Underdog conservative outsider Bill Lee upset a crowded field of well-funded, better-known candidates to win Tennessee's Republican gubernatorial primary Thursday, sending shockwaves through a state where he was down double-digits in polls as recently as last month. U.S. Rep. Diane Black, who had the endorsement of Vice President Mike Pence, was the clear favorite in the race. Former state economic development chief Randy Boyd, who had the backing of former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, was widely considered Black's chief rival. But President Trump, who has a 56 percent approval rating in Tennessee, stopped short of endorsing any candidate in the race, including Black -- despite keeping her by his side and praising her at several events. Lee, a businessman whose poll numbers surged dramatically in the last week of the campaign, took advantage of infighting among his rivals, as he traveled the state and touted his Christian values while Boyd and Black sparred. On the eve of the primary vote, supporters of Black's campaign, perhaps realizing the threat posed by Lee's insurgent candidacy, released an attack advertisement suggesting Lee's company had terminated an employee and Army National Guard member for being deployed. Lee strongly denied the allegations, and his company sent out a cease-and-desist letter concerning the messaging. Harsh rhetoric in the campaign was backed by big money. The top four Republican contenders for governor, including Black, Lee, Boyd, and State House Speaker Beth Harwell, spent a combined $40 million of their own personal wealth fighting over who is more devoted to Trump, setting records and underscoring the president's continuing influence in state races. The candidates were seeking to replace the state's term-limited Gov. Bill Haslam. Lee reportedly spent roughly $7 million on the race overall, compared to nearly $14 million by Black and $21 million by Boyd. Former Nashville Mayor Karl Dean, a moderate, won the Democratic primary for the state's governorship, defeating state House Minority Leader Craig Fitzhugh in a mostly cordial race. But the surprising results in the Republican gubernatorial primary contest will reverberate nationally, serving as a bellwether for Trump enthusiasm and establishment influence in a state that supported the president by double digits in 2016. Meanwhile, the Democratic and Republican Senate primaries on Thursday provided less drama, but posed perhaps even greater national significance. U.S. Rep. Marsha Blackburn won the Republican nomination in Tennessee's open U.S. Senate race to replace the retiring Sen. Bob Corker, which holds major implications for Democrats' chances for overturning the 51-49 Republican Senate majority in November. Blackburn easily overcame minimal opposition in Thursday's primary. She and former Gov. Phil Bredesen, who won the state's Democratic primary on Thursday, have long looked past the primaries to their upcoming general election matchup. Polls have shown Blackburn and Bredesen are neck-and-neck in the race, which Fox News currently assesses is a tossup. Blackburn could become the first woman elected to the U.S. Senate by Tennessee voters. She calls herself a "hardcore, card-carrying Tennessee conservative" who would fight for President Donald Trump's agenda. Bredesen is running as an independent thinker who says he will work with Trump when his ideas make sense for Tennessee and oppose him when they don't. MEET THE CANDIDATES: WHO ARE THE KEY PLAYERS IN TENNESSEE'S GUBERNATORIAL RACE? The Blackburn-Bredesen showdown is among several races crucial to Trumps plans to maintain control of the Senate, where Republicans are defending a narrow two-seat majority. If Democrats retake the Senate, it would deal a major blow to Trump's agenda, hampering his ability to appoint federal judges and all but killing the prospect of signature initiatives like a southern border wall. Trump has endorsed Blackburn, an eight-term congresswoman, and traveled to Tennessee in May to campaign for her. Blackburn told Fox News at the time that Trump's support had helped her candidacy build "momentum." Blackburn served on Trumps transition team and has not shied away from embracing the president. She is one of the lawmakers who signed onto a letter nominating him for the Nobel Peace Prize. In a Thursday appearance, Governor Haslam touted Blackburn's candidacy. The governor suggested that keeping Republican Senate control is important in part because Tennessee Sen. Lamar Alexander would lose his health committee chairmanship, among other leadership changes. Bredesen, 74, has helped his viability in the red state by assuring voters that he is not hyperpartisan and promising he is not running against Trump. If elected, he will become the first Democrat to win a Senate campaign in the Volunteer State since Al Gore in 1990. BATTLE LINES DRAWN AS DEMOCRATS HOPE TO FLIP CRITICAL TENNESSEE SENATE SEAT A Harvard graduate worth tens of millions of dollars, Bredesen has touted his business credentials, saying they will help him win over economic Republicans, the more traditional-minded Republicans" in November. He also has received some high-profile support of his own. Corker, a Republican and frequent Trump critic, has praised Bredesen in the race, calling him a "very good mayor, a very good governor, a very good business person." By contrast, Corker has often had harsh words for Trump. In a dramatic moment at a hearing in July, for example, Corker pressed Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to explain what he characterized as Trump's "purposeful" efforts to sow misinformation and discord. WATCH: POMPEO FIGHTS BACK AFTER CORKER HITS TRUMP FOR SOWING 'DISTRUST' ON PURPOSE Corker, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, has previously acknowledged his attacks on Trump might not be endearing him to many of his constituents. Tennessee, like its southern neighbors, was once dominated by Democrats. But it hasn't elected one to statewide office since 2006, and in 2012 Republicans secured supermajorities in both houses for the first time since Reconstruction. Voters also decided on nominees for nine House races on Thursday. Fox News' Kaitlyn Schallhorn and The Associated Press contributed to this report. Two black Christian pastors who were among a group of religious leaders meeting with President Trump at the White House this week are now facing backlash from congregants back home. The Rev. Phillip Goudeaux of Calvary Christian Center in Sacramento, Calif., and the Rev. John Gray, head of Relentless Church in Greenville, S.C., came under fire from critics who say Trump's policies have harmed the black community. But at Wednesday's event, dubbed Meeting with Inner City Pastors, many of the pastors who attended expressed sympathetic views toward Trump, with one pastor -- the Rev. Darrell Scott, of Cleveland -- calling Trump the most pro-black president weve had in our lifetime. Scott also slammed former President Barack Obama for not trying to prove something to our community because he got a pass. Goudeaux, a spiritual adviser to the family of Stephon Clark the unarmed black man who was fatally shot March 18 by two police officers in Sacramento -- praised Trump as well, saying the president restored hope to his community, but jokingly urged Trump to not give up on the state of California. Please dont give up on California and Sacramento, Goudeaux quipped, according to the transcript. Im right in the capital there, and were working in every area to try to make a difference in peoples lives. "So, I guess the greatest word I can say for you, Mr. President, is that you have given this country expectations, given us a new hope, a new excitement to believe that things are getting better and are going to get better." Pastor Phillip Goudeaux So, I guess the greatest word I can say for you, Mr. President, is that you have given this country expectations, given us a new hope, a new excitement to believe that things are getting better and are going to get better, Goudeaux continued. And we appreciate that leadership, your tenacity to keep pushing in against all the opposition that comes against you. Thank you so much. Gray, meanwhile, was skeptical about attending the meeting with Trump and initially thought he would decline the invitation. My wife told me If you go, no one will hear what you say. They wont understand why youre there. And any good that could come out of it will get lost in translation, Gray wrote on Facebook. I had not one thing to gain by being there. Not. One. Gray said he eventually decided attending the event and even led the prayer so he could speak out about prison reform. "That could greatly end up benefiting many people who look just like me." Pastor John Gray on his decision to attend the meeting That could greatly end up benefiting many people who look just like me, he said. The pain of so many is too real. The hurt. The isolation. The sense of disenfranchisement. The real hate that has bubbled to the surface of the national discourse. "I myself have been vocal about my personal disagreements with key policy decisions of this administration, he added. But despite their open-minded approach, the two pastors were still facing condemnation from their communities. Tre Borden, who works in the Sacramento area and attended the Calvary Christian Center when he was young, shared a photo of Goudeaux and called him and other religious leaders shameless and contemptible for attending the meeting, the Sacramento Bee reported. The majority of people in Phillip Goudeauxs Del Paso congregation are poor and black, he told the publication. For him or any other black religious leader to align himself with Trump and his policies in this day and age is extremely distressing and hypocritical. How can he possibly think our current president is helping people who are on the margins of society? Gray is reaching out to many people who are criticizing him on social media. His Facebook posts concerning the meeting drew thousands of comments, many of which were critical. The pain of those who have been hurt is real. And I would be a dishonorable man not to acknowledge that, Gray wrote. But I will honor what I believe was the mandate on my life to be there and available to God should He choose to give me voice, he added, noting that his comments on social media about why he attended didnt invalidate the visceral reaction of those who cant imagine why I would be in the room. The former executive director of South Carolinas Republican Party allegedly stabbed his mothers dog to death and blamed it on a command from God, officials said. Todd Kincannon, who briefly served as the state GOPs executive director nearly a decade ago, was hospitalized last week after police were called to his parents home, WYFF-TV reported. Police said they discovered Kincannon, a former lawyer, standing outside and covered in blood and cuts. Kincannon, 37, allegedly admitted to killing his mothers 10-year-old dog, saying, I know Im the second coming of Christ, and I got a command from God to do it, WYFF reported. An arrest warrant said Kincannon intentionally, willfully, maliciously, cruelly and needlessly killed the pet by choking and stabbing it with two knives, according to The State. Kincannon was taken to Greenville Memorial Hospital for an evaluation, and police said they will arrest him for animal cruelty upon his release, WYFF reported. No bond is expected to be set, according to the state attorney generals office. NEW HAMPSHIRE STATE SENATOR ARRESTED FOR ALLEGEDLY HITTING, BITING WOMAN Kincannon has been a more controversial figure in South Carolina. He lost his law license in 2015 after he was arrested for domestic violence, WACH-TV reported. Of the incident, which involved his wife, Kincannon said he went completely crazy because of cough medicine he was prescribed. He was also heavily criticized by the state Republican Party in 2013 after he reportedly said it was a shame an anti-war veteran didnt come home in a body bag. He also used multiple derogatory slurs to refer to Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. OHIOS GOP LEADER RESIGNS OVER TRUMP-PUTIN HELSINKI SUMMIT Kincannon, too, said those infected by the Ebola virus should be humanely put down, according to The State. His Twitter account was eventually shuttered in 2013 for posting defamatory things, according to WYFF. Several Washington state employees are suing for the right to break ties with their union, claiming the Supreme Court's landmark Janus decision should allow them to cancel their membership immediately. That June ruling said state government workers could not be forced to pay so-called fair share fees to support collective bargaining and other union activities. The decision delivered a blow to public-employee unions. But the lawsuit filed Thursday, if successful, could point to further repercussions. The six plaintiffs have all attempted to leave the Washington Federation of State Employees (WFSE) since the Supreme Court decision, but say they've been told they have to wait until an escape period next year. The government agency employees signed membership agreements meaning they were part of a union as opposed to nonmembers forced to pay fees but the lawsuit said the employees did so when the right to not fund union advocacy was yet to be recognized. Before the Supreme Court ruling, Washington was one state where certain public employees were required to pay agency fees. I just want whats right and fair, and the way the union has treated me since the Janus decision is not right, nor fair. Plaintiff Mike Stone Neither an agency fee nor any other payment to the union may be deducted from a nonmembers wages, nor may any other attempt be made to collect such a payment, unless the employee affirmatively consents to pay, Justice Samuel Alito said in writing the majority opinion. The Freedom Foundation, the conservative Washington-based think tank that filed the suit on behalf of the employees, argues union membership cards signed before that decision should now be invalidated because its impossible for a worker to have knowingly waived a right that wasnt recognized by the court until the Janus ruling was issued. The workers argue they only joined because they presumed they'd have to pay fees anyway or were given bad information. SUPREME COURT DEALS BLOW TO UNIONS, RULES AGAINST FORCED FEES FOR GOVERNMENT WORKERS The nonprofit also alleges that unions pressured employees to join or misled workers to believe membership was required as opposed to just paying the reduced fee. I just want whats right and fair, and the way the union has treated me since the Janus decision is not right, nor fair, plaintiff Mike Stone, who works in the states Department of Social and Health Services, told Fox News. WFSE doesnt share my views or my values. I dont want my money being used to support an organization I disagree with. The agreements only allow for a short window (between 10 and 20 days, according to the suit) for employees to resign from the union once a year. Otherwise, deductions will automatically renew annually. Another plaintiff, who wished only to be identified as Ms. Torres, said she was never told exactly what she was signing and didnt realize she wasnt going to be allowed to resign from the union at any time. The union organizer simply said if we were already a member we needed to sign their new form, she told Fox News in a statement. Its totally unethical for the union to trick state workers to sign away their constitutional rights and then turn around and tell you that you cannot opt out because you signed a contract. FREEDOM FOUNDATION SUES SEATTLE OVER CONTROVERSIAL NEW INCOME TAX I had no knowledge that the form they provided was a contract. This is an outrage and disrespectful. I want my right to opt out. After the Janus decision, the Washington attorney generals office said the Supreme Courts ruling does not impact any agreements between a union and its members to pay union dues, and existing membership cards or other agreements by union members to pay dues should continue to be honored. It said the decision just prohibits employers from deducting agency fees from nonmembers without affirmative consent. Washington has some of the highest union membership rates in the U.S., according to the Department of Labor. DESPITE SUPREME COURT DECISION, UNION WORKERS VOW TO PUSH FORWARD The state and the unions are determined to act as though the Janus ruling affects only those workers who successfully opt out, James Abernathy, the Freedom Foundations senior litigation counsel, said in a statement. But it goes a lot farther than that. Janus puts the burden of proof on the union to prove a worker actually wants to be a dues-paying member, he said. It cant simply assume they do until informed otherwise, nor can the workers be bullied into waiving rights they dont realize they have. The class-action suit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, seeks the restitution of dues since the Janus decision. Aside from WFSE, the lawsuit names Democratic Gov. Jay Inslee and several of the state's departments' directors as defendants. Neither the governor's office nor the state attorney general's office responded to a request for comment from Fox News by Friday morning. The plaintiffs are employed at the states Department of Health, Department of Social and Health Services, Department of Transportation and Health Care Authority. The tax revenues contributed by manufacturing accounted for 36.7% of the more than VND110 trillion (US$4.73 billion) paid by the 1,000 top taxpayers, the General Department of Taxation (GDT) said on August 3. Financial and insurance firms made up the second largest group of corporate taxpayers at 14.8%, followed by a 9.3% contribution from information and communications technology companies. According to the GDT, the taxes paid by these 1,000 companies accounted for 62.59% of Vietnams total corporate income tax in 2017, a rise of 8.45% from a year earlier. 703 companies on the 2017 list appeared in the 2016 list, while the remainder were debutants on the top 1,000. A breakdown of where the firms are based shows that Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City were the largest corporate taxpayers in terms of both number and value, accounting for 36% and 32.5% of the 1,000 companies total contribution, respectively. The 2017 list saw the presence of 117 state-owned enterprises which contributed 27.7% of the total taxes paid by all companies in Vietnam. GDT Director Bui Van Nam stated that the release of the list aims to honour the companies which have made significant contributions to the state budget and provide the government with another tool to assess the performance of enterprises. The judge in the Paul Manafort trial reminded Special Counsel Robert Mueller's team on Friday of the high bar for conviction -- that they must prove the former Trump campaign chairman knowingly violated tax and bank laws related to his political work overseas. On the trial's fourth day, U.S. District Court Judge T.S. Ellis III indicated he believes the prosecution has demonstrated Manafort had control of foreign bank accounts despite checking a box on tax returns saying he didnt have them. But Ellis reminded prosecutors, The government has to prove that [Manafort] knew what the requirement was and that he deliberately violated it. Ellis also reminded prosecutors they have to prove Manafort's willfulness in failing to file a Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts. Manafort, facing charges of bank and tax fraud related to his political work in Ukraine, has pleaded not guilty to the charges. MANAFORT STRUGGLED TO PAY BILLS IN 2016, BOOKKEEPER TESTIFIES A source close to Manaforts team told Fox News the defense has not yet decided whether to have Manafort testify during the trial. This person said they will make the decision after the prosecution rests its case, which could be next week. Fridays testimony has focused on the tax fraud charges. The years involved, 2010 to 2014, were before Manafort worked for President Trump's campaign. Though the case stems from Mueller's probe of election meddling by Russia and possible collusion by the Trump campaign, there has been no mention of election interference. Manafort served as chairman of Trumps presidential campaign during the summer of 2016, and was forced out in August of that year amid news stories about his ties to then-Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych. On Friday, Philip Ayliff, a CPA who prepared Manaforts taxes, testified Manafort signed tax returns that showed none checked for any foreign bank accounts between the years 2010 and 2014. The government pointed out that Manafort signed his tax returns under penalty of perjury." Prosecutor Uza Asonye walked Ayliff through each year and asked what did Mr. Manafort say for this year for foreign bank accounts? Ayliff responded none for each one. The prosecution also showed documents where the accountant emailed Manafort asking if he had foreign accounts, and Manafort responded that he didn't. But Mueller's team says Manafort repeatedly used accounts in Cyprus to pay for an array of luxury items and services. Prosecutors have introduced a host of exhibits and are in the process of calling several witnesses as part of their effort to paint Manafort as a tax scofflaw who failed to report money spent on luxury items -- then lied to get bank loans when his foreign consulting work dried up. The prosecution has released exhibit photos of Manafort's expensive clothes, including a $15,000 ostrich coat and other pricey suits. On Thursday, Manaforts bookkeeper, Heather Washkuhn of the firm NKFSB, testified that Manafort racked up large bills but struggled to pay them in 2016. Did there come a time in 2016 when Mr. Manafort had trouble paying his bills? prosecutor Greg Andres asked the accountant in federal court in Alexandria, Va. Yes, Washkuhn replied. The Manafort defense hinges on convincing jurors that Manafort was the boss who didnt handle bills or accounts, but left that to his deputy, Rick Gates, who is cooperating with prosecutors and may testify as its star witness. Rick Gates had his hand in the cookie jar and couldnt let his boss find out, Manafort defense attorney Thomas Zehnle said during opening arguments. Ellis, a 78-year-old Reagan-appointed judge in the case known for colorful comments, said this week the prosecution cannot prove a key part of their case unless prosecutors call Gates to the stand. Fox News Anne Ball, Peter Doocy and The Associated Press contributed to this report. A federal judge said Friday it is the responsibility of the Trump administration to reunite the hundreds of children separated from parents who have been deported to countries south of the border. U.S. District Judge Dana Sabraw of San Diego said in a conference call Friday that for every parent who is not located, there will be a "permanently orphaned child, and that is 100 percent the responsibility of the administration." The comments came after the Trump administration called on the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) to use its considerable resources to reunite children. An increase in the number of children separated from their parents followed the Justice Departments implementation of a zero tolerance policy that ordered the prosecution of all illegal border crossers. Since then, President Trump has signed an executive order ending the practice of child separation, and the administration has been scrambling to reunite children with the appropriate parents or guardians. The administration said last week that it had returned all 1,800-plus children and sponsors who were eligible for reunification, but that 700 adults were not eligible for a number of reasons. Those include that they had chosen not to be reunited, had already been released, were in their home countries, or had red flags for criminal records or something else. TRUMP ADMINISTRATION SAYS ACLU SHOULD WORK TO REUNITE CHILDREN WITH DEPORTED PARENTS The Associated Press reported that 410 children whose parents were outside the country were in the custody of Health and Human Services as of Wednesday. The ACLU had demanded that parents who want their children sent to them be reunited within a week. Meanwhile it says that those who wish to return to the U.S. for their children should have round-trip transportation paid by the government. But the Trump administration said the ACLU should do it instead. Plaintiffs counsel should use their considerable resources, and their network of law firms, NGOs, volunteers and others, together with the information that defendants have provided (or will soon provide), to establish contact with possible class members in foreign countries. The parents are predominantly in Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras, and the State Department has begun talks with foreign governments on how to aid the reunification effort. The ACLU said that it was the government's responsibility, not its own. It also noted that there is no blueprint for finding deported parents. "Plaintiffs have made clear that they will do whatever they can to help locate the deported parents, but emphasize that the government must bear the ultimate burden of finding the parents," the ACLU said in its filing, blaming the crisis on the administration. The Associated Press contributed to this report. A Kentucky Democratic candidate was condemned by his own party Thursday over a campaign advertisement that appears to depict a lynching. Realtor Bobby Smith placed the ad in the Spencer Magnet, a local weekly publication. It features four bodies appearing to hang from a tree, according to the Louisville Courier-Journal. Each body has different words on it, spelling out Good Ol Boy System. Some hard choices need to be made to make Spencer County great again," the ad stated. "I will make those choices. Smith is the Democrat running against Republican incumbent John Riley for Spencer County judge-executive, according to the newspaper. The Kentucky Democrats came out in a tweet to disavow the ad. The Kentucky Democratic Party finds this ad to be offensive and appalling given its imagery, the tweet said. There is no defense for making light of lynching. Mr. Smith should rescind it and apologize immediately. Smith defended the ad in an interview with the Courier-Journal, saying the bodies dont represent people, but rather show the Spencer County system, with which he is frustrated. I'm not so much of a party person, but if the liberals in the party find it offensive I will apologize to them, Smith said. Kentucky has a dark history when it comes to lynching, according to the Courier-Journal. About 186 black people were lynched between 1877 and 1950, according to the Center for Studies in Demography and Ecology at the University of Washington. U.S. Sens. Cory Booker of New Jersey, Kamala Harris of California and Tim Scott of South Carolina introduced bipartisan legislation in July that would make lynching a federal hate crime. Spencer County is located just southeast of Louisville. You may recall when Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell touched one of the few sacrosanct grails on Capitol Hill. As you may have heard, I have canceled the August recess. We have a lot of important work to do as a result of unprecedented obstruction, he declared. For weeks, the Kentucky Republican suggested that reporters keep their travel plans flexible and purchase refundable tickets. So what about cancelling that August recess? Kinda-sorta. But not really. The Senate cut town mid-afternoon on Aug. 1, scrapping a scheduled session for Aug. 2. McConnell suggested two weeks ago that the Senate would take an abbreviated break for the first full week of August. But senators would return on Aug. 14 for a noon vote. Well, Wednesday night, McConnell dashed that plan, too. The Senate wont meet in earnest until Wednesday, Aug. 15 at noon. There wont be a vote until late Wednesday afternoon. This means the Senate truly wont tackle much at all until Thursday, Aug. 16 at the earliest. Then the question becomes, does the Senate really accomplish much until the following Monday or Tuesday? To be fair, the Senates really stepped up its game of late. Much of that dispatch can be traced back to none other than President Trump. Trump lit a fire under the Senate to start moving annual spending bills well ahead of the governments new fiscal year, Oct. 1. Trump excoriated lawmakers in March when he reluctantly signed a $1.3 trillion omnibus spending bill to avoid a shutdown. The measure glommed all 12 of the annual spending bills into a solitary piece of legislation. Trump warned lawmakers he wouldnt sign one of those packages again. He also implored McConnell to cancel the August recess. So ... The Senate toiled in a bipartisan fashion, attempting to avoid an omnibus that would again draw the presidents ire and trigger a government shutdown. This is the Volkswagen approach to federal budgeting. Rather than an omnibus, senators prepared mini-buses. In congressional-speak, a mini-bus is a spending measure which rolls several bills into one but not all 12. The first mini-bus contained three bills. The Senate wrapped that up in late July. On Aug. 1, the Senate bundled the Agriculture, Interior, Transportation/Housing and Financial Services spending measure into a singular parcel. The Senate approved that 92-6. This comes even as Trump threatens a government shutdown over a border wall. We are working in a remarkably smooth, bipartisan way, said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. We hope that we will continue to work together and not let any outside forces mess that up not to mention any names. The Senate also approved a four-month extension of flood insurance and passed the annual defense policy bill, 87-10. And then senators hit the exits. They even canned a big hearing about the role of NATO. Senators scheduled the hearing to evaluate the status of the alliance amid Trumps rocky meeting with leaders of other NATO countries in Brussels. The Senate aims to tackle a third mini-bus later this month. This one funds the Pentagon (the largest of the 12 spending bills, accounting for more than half of all spending not devoted toward entitlements) and the measure for the Departments of Labor and Health & Human Services. But for now, everyones gone. The House aint coming back until Sept. 4. So the August recess is on. Kinda-sorta. But these days, Congress is never really out of session. Trump took to the stump for the midterms. The president flew to Pennsylvania to campaign for one of his original supporters in Congress, Rep. Lou Barletta, R-Pa. Barlettas challenging Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., this fall. Trump then heads to Ohio to rally for Republican House candidate Troy Balderson. Balderson faces Democrat Danny OConnor Aug. 7 in a special election to succeed former Rep. Pat Tiberi, R-Ohio, who resigned. The seats been in GOP hands for decades. Handicappers believe this contest could portend which direction the political winds will blow this fall. That said, special elections are just that: special. Its hard to glean clues about the state of the electorate in an August special election for a truncated term. When McConnell announced he was cancelling the August recess, Schumer immediately responded that Democrats would focus on health care. Theyre pushing a vote on junk health care plans and pre-existing conditions. But Democrats are burning most of their energy on documents tied to Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. I question the sincerity of the demands of more documents, protested Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa. What more do they need to vote no? Grassley wont schedule a confirmation hearing until September. A vote on Kavanaugh could slip into October. No one is certain if he has the votes. Sens. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D., and Joe Donnelly, D-Ind., are the most-intriguing votes to watch in Kavanaughs confirmation fight. All three face competitive re-election bids this year. The trio also voted to confirm Justice Neil Gorsuch. On the right, most are studying how Sens. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, and Susan Collins, R-Maine, may vote. With Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., ailing, the Senate effectively favors Republicans by a single vote, 50-49. Thats why the person to watch could be Sen. Doug Jones, D-Ala. Jones wasnt a senator last year when his colleagues confirmed Gorsuch. No other Democratic senator represents a state as conservative as Alabama. Jones is circumspect about Kavanaugh. Were not here to be a rubber-stamp for the president, said Jones, noting he doesnt feel pressure of perhaps being the swing vote that could make or break Kavanaugh. Im prepared to vote for a conservative justice, said Jones. The question is whether Im prepared to vote for this justice? No vote in August on Kavanaugh. But these are the issues coursing through Capitol Hill when lawmakers are on recess. Kinda-sorta. Capitol Attitude is a weekly column written by members of the Fox News Capitol Hill team. Their articles take you inside the halls of Congress, and cover the spectrum of policy issues being introduced, debated and voted on there. The National Archives denied Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumers request Friday for documents related to Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaughs time as staff secretary under George W. Bush. The head of NARA, archivist David Ferriero, in a letter to Schumer, says the requests for certain sensitive documents for Kavanaughs time as Bush staff secretary need to come from the Judiciary Committees office, per longstanding precedent. The committee is at odds over the scope of documents from that period, the number of which could run into the hundreds of thousands. Ferriero said the National Archives and Records Administration has declined to process similar requests from the lead Republicans on the Judiciary Committee in connection with the nominations of Attorney General Eric Holder and Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan during the administration of President Barack Obama. On Thursday the National Archives said it would not be able to completely review more than 900,000 pages requested by Republicans until the end of October. Senate Republicans blasted Democrats, deeming the request for more documents as a tactic of delay. "It's just amazing to me they make such a farce of this," said Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah. He urged the Senate not to continue "down this partisan, picky, stupid" path. Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., said the documents already being sought would stack as high as the Capitol dome. NATIONAL ASRCHIVES SAYS FULL SET OF KAVANAUGH DOCUMENTS NOT READ UNTIL OCTOBER Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said that this was likely the deepest dive ever conducted on a Supreme Court nominee. The documents currently being reviewed cover Kavanaughs time in the White House counsel's office and his nomination to be a judge. Schumer and Sen. Dianne Feinstein, ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, responded Friday by requesting more documents related to Kavanaughs work as an associate counsel for Independendent Counsel Kenneth W. Starr. Fox News Samuel Chamberlain and The Associated Press contributed to this report. EXCLUSIVE: President Trumps newly installed Veterans Affairs secretary, in his first interview since taking office earlier this week, sounded the alarm about the need to fix a critical program allowing veterans to see local private doctors instead of driving long distances to a VA hospital. If the federal government falls short, Secretary Robert Wilkie warned, then the entire system collapses. For Wilkie, its among the most pressing in an array of challenges he confronts upon taking the helm at the governments second-largest department and perhaps its most scandal-scarred. 'If we dont get a hold of what we owe Americans who are providing services to our veterans, then the entire system collapses.' VA Secretary Robert Wilkie, on doctor payments From his office perch two blocks from the White House, Wilkie surveyed the task ahead and homed in on the popular private-doctor program used by millions of veterans. He told Fox News he has promised the president he will address one glaring problem in particular: doctors getting stiffed by the VA. The Veterans Affairs Department in the last eight to nine years has not been paying those bills to small-town doctors, to community hospital emergency care facilities, he said. At issue is a program that was revamped under this administration. In June, Trump signed a bill to replace the troubled Veterans Choice Program, enacted in 2014 under then-President Barack Obama, to expand access for veterans wishing to see private doctors and other providers to ease the burden on families forced to drive long distances for VA care. It makes no sense to me that we require someone to travel -- let's use a state like Montana -- where the distances are enormous, 600 or 700 miles round trip, said Wilkie. They pass a lot of doctors along the way. We need to bring those doctors into the Veterans Affairs system. Wilkie said, though, if they cant fix the doctor payment issue and if we dont get a hold of what we owe Americans who are providing services to our veterans, then the entire system collapses. Thats just the start to his challenges at the sprawling department. The VA has suffered from a series of high-profile scandals in recent years involving secret wait-lists, systemic neglect and even veterans dying while waiting to see a doctor. Wilkie is the fourth secretary to lead the VA in the past four years. The VAs $200 billion budget has doubled in the past decade. The new secretary said of the 370,000 employees under that network, there are probably 100 bad eggs in the system still. One of the first things Wilkie vowed to turn around, though, is a perceived morale problem at the agency thats supposed to serve 9 million veterans. "This is an institution that has been buffeted by continuous body blows for a number of years," Wilkie admitted. To tackle the problem, Wilkie plans to be more visible not only at headquarters in Washington but VA hospitals throughout the country. Wilkie said he spent his first day-and-a-half as secretary walking the halls to meet staff, and is joining them for meals in the cafeteria. I don't think those simple things have been done, Wilkie said. I fall back on my military life. I learned at a very early age, listening to those around my family, that in order to be a commander you had to walk your post. Wilkie is the son of an Army field artillery commander, severely wounded after multiple tours in Vietnam. He spent a year in Army hospitals. He came back to us weighing about half of what he did when he left. I watched his recovery. It was agonizing, Wilkie recalled. So he knows firsthand the struggles of families whose sons and daughters are amputees from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, some of whom have been denied wheelchairs because of sloppy paperwork. Its a culture in some respects that just looks at a patient as just a generic number coming through the system, he said. And that's not the way it should be. Wilkie said amputees and other severely wounded combat vets need to be at the front of the line. Asked to pledge to get rid of a widely criticized process forcing amputees to make repeated trips to the VA to prove theyre still an amputee, Wilkie replied, Absolutely. Wilkie also sought to clear the air on Democratic senators suggestions that the administration is eyeing a privatization of the whole system. At his confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill weeks after Trump signed the $55 billion bill to fix Veterans Choice, Wilkie faced a hostile reception from Democratic senators demanding to know if he planned to do just that, something Wilkies predecessor said was the reason for his firingnot moving to privatize fast enough. In the interview with Fox News, Wilkie noted such a move would need support from Capitol Hill and said the agencys growing budget does not reflect a move to privatize. Pressed on whether Trump has set that as a goal, Wilkie said, No. The president wants to deliver the best care possible. Wilkie also downplayed a Washington Post report that he is planning to sideline Trump loyalists who have purged longtime VA staff since his predecessor was fired. No. In fact, I haven't removed anybody, Wilkie replied, but wouldnt rule out doing so in the future. "As part of any new leadership organization, you come in with a team. You come in to assess. You come in to rearrange." Firing those who have given the VA a bad name has proved a challenge. Last year, a disgraced former director of the Washington, D.C., VA had to be rehired just one month after being fired even though, under his watch, it was found that inventories were so mismanaged that doctors had to run out mid-procedure and borrow from neighboring hospitals while patients were under anesthesia. The laws now give you the authority to override most of what I would consider to be the normal bureaucratic protections for those in those situations, Wilkie said. Another problem is the loss of talent at the VA. As of March 8, 2018, the VA had 33,642 total full-time-equivalent vacancies across the department, for a vacancy rate of 8.45 percent. As of the same date, there were 1,673 physician vacancies and 5,433 nurse vacancies, with vacancy rates of 7.11 and 7.48 percent, respectively. Wilkie served as undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness under Defense Secretary Jim Mattis before being tapped by Trump to lead the VA, after the president ousted Dr. David Shulkin in late March. Asked if he was worried he might suffer the same fate as his predecessor, fired by tweet, Wilkie replied, No, the last thing I will pay attention to is any of the usual Washington back and forth. This president has been magnificent to me. Wilkie also served in the Pentagon under Donald Rumsfeld, worked for Condoleezza Rice and had years of experience on Capitol Hill working for Sens. Thom Tillis and Trent Lott. In his new office, Wilkie now hangs a portrait of Gen. Omar Bradley, the first secretary of Veterans Affairs after World War II, and has chosen Bradley's desk as his own. "Bradley was tasked with changing VA to accommodate 11 million soldiers coming off active duty and into VA ranks, he said. He was really a visionary. Fast-forward to modern times, and the VA is still grappling with similar challenges, absorbing the soldiers who have come home from two wars stretching back nearly two decades. Wilkie ended the interview with a message to those veterans: Something that people need to know: We don't turn veterans down. A private facility might; we don't. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Friday pushed Turkey to release a detained American pastor whose case prompted the Trump administration to slap sanctions on senior Turkish officials, and said North Korea is still lagging behind on its promise to denuclearize. Pompeo made the remarks before attending separate meetings with top Turkish and North Korean officials on the sidelines of a Southeast Asian security conference in Singapore. He urged the Turkish government to release Andrew Craig Brunson, the American pastor detained in Turkey since December 2016 on espionage and terror-related charges, which both Brunson and the U.S. vehemently deny. The administration is also seeking the release of several detained local employees of the U.S. diplomatic missions in the Turkey. Pompeo said the administrations actions on Wednesday imposing sanctions on Turkey's justice and interior ministers were a sign of how seriously the U.S. is treating Brunsons case. The Turks were on notice that the clock had run out and it was time for Pastor Brunson to be returned and I hope they'll see this for what it is: a demonstration that we're very serious, he told reporters. "The Turks were on notice that the clock had run out and it was time for Pastor Brunson to be returned and I hope they'll see this for what it is: a demonstration that we're very serious." Secretary of State Mike Pompeo We consider this one of the many issues that we have with the Turks, Pompeo continued, but didnt elaborate. The U.S. government has been uneasy over Turkeys military actions in Northern Syria and the plans to purchase an advanced air defense system from Russia. Brunson needs to come home as do all the Americans being held by the Turkish government, he added. "Pretty straightforward. They've been holding these folks for a long time. These are innocent people. In terms of North Korea, Pompeo criticized the communist state for lagging behind on plans to honor the agreements made in Singapore during a summit in June between Kim Jong Un and President Trump. The top diplomat said there was still a ways to go before achieving the goal of ridding the North of its nuclear weapons. As of now, the country is still in violation of numerous U.N. Security Council resolutions, Pompeo said. "To the extent they are behaving in a manner inconsistent with that, they are in violation of one or both the UN Security Council resolutions, we can see we still have a ways to go to achieve the ultimate outcome we're looking for." Secretary of State Mike Pompeo Chairman Kim made a commitment to denuclearize, Pompeo told reporters. The world demanded that [he] do so in the U.N. Security Council resolutions. To the extent they are behaving in a manner inconsistent with that, they are in violation of one or both the U.N. Security Council resolutions, we can see we still have a ways to go to achieve the ultimate outcome we're looking for. The remarks came after the White House said Thursday that Trump received a new letter from the North Korean leader in the wake of concerns that not enough progress has been made in getting rid of the nuclear weapons. Trump reportedly replied by letter to Kim. The administration didnt provide the contents of their letters, with White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders saying only that the letters addressed the commitment to work toward North Korea's complete denuclearization. The Associated Press contributed to this report. The Republican candidate in Oregon's race for governor is calling on two top state Democrats to resign after allegations that they allowed a pervasive atmosphere of sexual hostility to exist in the state Capitol. Knute Buehler, who recently pulled even in the polls against Democratic incumbent Gov. Kate Brown in the deep-blue state, directed his criticism at Senate President Peter Courtney and House Speaker Tina Kotek. For too long casual attitudes and unprofessional behavior has been accepted and tolerated in the Capitol. I am calling on Senate President Peter Courtney and House Speaker Tina Kotek to step down, Buehler, whos also a state lawmaker, tweeted. Accountability and change begins with the people in charge who failed to prevent, failed to properly investigate and possibly covered-up serious allegations of sexual harassment within the Capitol, he said in a statement. The call for resignations comes after Oregon Labor Commissioner Brad Avakian on Wednesday filed a complaint accusing Courtney and Kotek of not doing enough to protect women from Republican Sen. Jeff Kruse and covering up a pervasive culture of sexual harassment at the state Capitol in Salem. Kruse was forced to resign in February after an investigation found that he sexually harassed and groped a number of women in the Capitol over the years and ignored warnings about his behavior. Kruse reportedly escalated his inappropriate behavior after being told to stop touching women without their consent. Buehler, who has a real shot this November to become the first non-Democrat governor of the state since late 1980s, was the first Republican lawmaker to urge Kruse to resign amid the sexual misconduct allegations. REPUBLICAN CHALLENGER PULLS EVEN WITH ANTI-TRUMP DEMOCRAT IN SOLID BLUE OREGONS GOVERNORS RACE: POLL In the complaint, Avakian said that as early as March 2016, Courtney and Kotek "knew or should have known of Senator Kruse's conduct and the broader sexually hostile environment in the Capitol, but did not take immediate and appropriate action." He also said other powerful officials in the state Capitol such as top legislative lawyer Dexter Johnson and human resources chief Lore Christopher told the harassed women not to tell anyone about them being harassed by Kruse or other officials, the Oregonian reported. The victims were also told that they had no standing to sue the harassers. Courtney and Kotek signed a memo stating they will participate in any subsequent investigation about the allegations laid out by Avakian. We welcome additional scrutiny and a thorough investigation related to the commissioner's complaint, reads the memo, according to the publication. The state House speaker said she takes every complaint seriously and encouraged anyone with a complaint to come forward. We must do better. Kotek, meanwhile, criticized Buehler for calling for their resignation, accusing him of politicizing the situation. Let's not politicize this. This is about people's lives," Kotek said. We want a workplace that is respectful and safe, where everyone can do their best to help the people of Oregon. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the socialist congressional candidate from New York who touts honesty and authenticity as her greatest strengths, used to describe herself as a follower of Adam Smith, the so-called father of capitalism -- and said that terms like feminism and empowerment were relics from the past. Since then, Ocasio-Cortez has come out as an unapologetic democratic socialist, wishing to see greater taxation and expansion and creation of wide-ranging social programs such as a single-payer health care system, free education, and housing as a right. I think my strength is Im honest and authentic, she told The Daily Show host Trevor Noah last week. Those qualities helped her in June to beat top Democrat Joe Crowley, whose name was floated as the next speaker of the U.S. House. But not that long ago, 28-year-old Ocasio-Cortez harbored a lot milder if not radically different views. During her time at Boston University, where she studied economics and international relations and graduated in 2011 with cum laude honors, she described herself as a believer in Adam Smiths analyses and wrote a number of blog posts hinting at her views, according to posts reviewed by Fox News. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez believes in Mahatma Ghandis methods, Adam Smiths analyses, and Pablo Nerudas love. Her experiences growing up in a Puerto Rican household, from the boroughs to beyond, has afforded her a uniquely American experience with all the tragedy and hilarity it accompanies, she described herself in a student-run publication called BU Culture Shock, which she co-founded. "Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez believes in Mahatma Ghandis methods, Adam Smiths analyses, and Pablo Nerudas love." Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's description on student blog she co-founded In a 2009 blog post, Ocasio-Cortez called feminism into question, writing that the terms feminism and empowerment dont seem to capture the priorities of our generation, and the words themselves sound like relics from the past, frumpy and outdated. We no longer live in the same fight for equality of prior generations, we have moved to the widely accepted reality that marginalizing 50% of a given population doesnt make much sense, mathematically or socially, she wrote. We no longer live in the same fight for equality of prior generations." Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez The New York Democrat could also learn a few things from herself, having written in a 2009 post that while health care in the U.S. is at its most critical crossroads in recent history, the debate about it is moving slowly for a good reason. That reason being that health care is largely an intersection of money and people, which means health care discussions often involve the prioritizing of people according to available funds. How can one possibly measure the needs of children, the elderly, the sick, and the healthy against one another? Most blog posts written during Ocasio-Cortez's reign at the publication, which include articles on issues like Donald Trumps 2012 run for president and Israel-Palestine conflict, arent available and only a select few were reviewed by Fox News. Boston Universitys Howard Thurman Center, which sponsored the publication, said the archives couldnt be located as the staff at the center changed and new staffers lacked access to the old posts. Yet Ocasio-Cortez's claim of being a follower of a pro-capitalist economist will surely raise questions about her authenticity, as Smith, the 18th century Scottish economist, advocated free-market capitalism and opposed government regulations contrary to what Ocasio-Cortez, a card-carrying Democratic Socialists of America member, now pitches on the campaign trail. Theres just no doubt about it, Howard Husock, a Manhattan Institute senior fellow, told Fox News about Smith being a polar opposite of the New York socialist. First of all, Adam Smith believed so strongly in price signals, which are telling us whats desired, whats being offered, it allows people who are selling things to adjust their prices to meet demand they're just central to how the whole economy works. So as soon as you have Medicare for all, you essentially are abolishing price signals when it comes to health care. Because the government is not just a one more competitor or one more choice. It kills the whole playing field, Husock added. Jeffrey Miron, a director of economic studies at the Cato Institute and director of undergraduate studies in the Department of Economics at Harvard University, seconded that there are problems in reconciling one's views of a follower of Smiths analyses and being a democratic socialist. I do fully agree that there are tensions between being a Smithian and espousing the views that the social democrats espouse. In order to do massively more redistribution, you have to raise massively more taxes, Miron said, noting that that would have a negative impact on the economy. Smith would certainly never endorse that. If Ocasio-Cortez were to say today that shes a Smithian, but yet advocate for things she advocates, shes trying to have a cake and eat it too, he added. "If Ocasio-Cortez were to say today that shes a Smithian, but yet advocate for things she advocates, shes trying to have a cake and eat it too." Cato Institute's Jeffrey Miron But as Ocasio-Cortez was embracing her pro-capitalist views during her university years, signs of moving to the left became apparent as well. In an article about her getting malaria while studying abroad in Niger, she celebrated the cheap cost of malaria medication in the African country, suggesting Nigers health care was superior to that of the U.S. In all, the blood test for malaria cost me USD$3 and the 10-day treatment was less than $10. Imagine that in a time where healthcare in the United States is at such a critical crossroads, she wrote. "The blood test for malaria cost me USD$3 and the 10-day treatment was less than $10. Imagine that in a time where healthcare in the United States is at such a critical crossroads." Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez She also questioned the definition of poverty and suggested people are happy in Niger thanks to having no material belongings. It is neither a result of resignation to poverty nor an acceptance of such as a fact of life, she wrote, explaining why people in Niger appeared happy to her. On the contrary, it may be due to having little material distractions that communities here are better able to focus on true sources of contentment such as each others presence. The warmth and familiarity of exchange among complete strangers is valued here, she added, asking Where is the line between having less and choosing less? The campaign for Ocasio-Cortez didnt respond to Fox News questions on whether she still subscribes to the analyses of Adam Smith and if she would call herself a feminist. Hang made the statement in response to reporters query regarding Cambodias general election at the Foreign Ministrys regular press conference on August 2. The spokesperson noted that the election took place in a safe, free and democratic manner with a high rate of turnout, demonstrating the trust of Cambodian voters in the countrys development future. As a neighbouring country with sound traditional ties with Cambodia, Vietnam believes that following the success, Cambodia will continue to gain greater achievements in building a peaceful, stable and prosperous nation, Hang said. She emphasised that Vietnam is confident that the traditional friendship and sustainable comprehensive partnership between Vietnam and Cambodia will continue to be strengthened in the time ahead, benefiting people of the two nations. The election of the sixth National Assembly of Cambodia took place from 7am to 3pm on July 29. According to Cambodias National Election Committee (NEC), the voter turnout was estimated at 82.17%. Businessman Bill Lee and former Nashville Mayor Karl Dean will face each other in Novembers general election as both men are vying to become Tennessees next governor. Lee beat out a crowded and contentious field of GOP candidates to secure his partys nomination; Deans victory was a little more expected. Current Gov. Bill Haslam, a Republican who is term limited, threw his support behind Lee. Bill is a man of strong faith and character, and I know he will lead Tennessees business-friendly environment, and he is committed to the education and development of the states workforce, Haslam said. Bill has demonstrated that he will put the needs of Tennesseans at the forefront of any decision he makes as governor of our great state. As Dean and Lee turn their attentions away from their primaries and focus on November, heres a look at the two candidates. Karl Dean, Democrat Its been several years since a Democrat has led Tennessee, but Karl Dean, the former Nashville mayor, is hoping to change that. Dean easily won the Democratic primary in August, beating out state Rep. Craig Fitzhugh and nurse Mezianne Vale Payne. Education, jobs and health care round out Deans platform for Tennessee. Throughout his campaign, hes focused on his successes as Nashvilles mayor a job he held through the Great Recession and the 2010 floods to point to what a Dean governorship would look like. We are going forward. We are going forward in this together, Dean, 62, told supporters after he won the Democratic primary. I am proud of the very positive message we kept throughout the primary election. And we're going to keep it positive. That is what I want to do. ... I don't think people want hyper-partisanship. FOX NEWS MIDTERM ELECTIONS HEADQUARTERS Dean contended Tennessee is more moderate than people really understand and said he believes he can beat Republican Bill Lee in Novembers general election. I think people want somebody whos going to be practical and pragmatic and get things done, he told The Tennessean. When it comes to the states education system, Dean hopes to increase teacher pay while expanding after-school programs, according to his campaign website. He said he supports school choice but opposes for-profit charter schools and vouchers. Dean also wants to expand Medicaid and increase access to healthcare in more rural communities where hospitals have shuttered in recent years. The opioid crisis, too, is part of Deans platform. He says he supports the state legislatures task force on the issue and thinks legal prescriptions and overuse of drugs should be a focus, as well as cracking down on dealers and increasing treatment programs. Bill Lee, Republican Outsider Bill Lee was one of four leading Republican contenders ahead of the August primary and the businessman pulled off the upset, sending shockwaves through a state where he was down double-digits in polls as recently as last month. Lee, 58, beat out Rep. Diane Black, state Rep. Beth Harwell and former state economic development commissioner Randy Boyd. Despite all of the candidates running decidedly pro-Trump campaigns and Black introducing several bills aligned with the Trump administrations agenda in the months leading up to the primary the president never made an endorsement. For Lee, that didnt matter. He took advantage of the infighting among the others in the campaign and traveled the state, touting his Christian values along the way. Calling his primary win humbling, Lees focus, he said, is on growing Tennessees economy and supporting rural communities as well as boosting the states education system while cracking down on illegal immigration. He is also a defender of gun rights while staunchly opposed to abortion. BLACKBURN, BREDESEN LEAD CANDIDATES VYING FOR TENNESSEE SENATE SEAT Im a man who is not a politician, but I do have a vision for Tennessee to lead this nation, Lee told supporters are securing the GOP primary, adding that he is proud of his campaign. Lees first wife died in a horseback riding accident, and although hes since remarried, he hasnt shied away from talking about how her death impacted his outlook on life and business. At the time, his family air conditioning business was successful, but he decided to take a step back from it, appointing a new CEO, to spend time with his children, The Tennessean reported. My entire life had turned upside down, and I didnt much care about anything that Id previously cared about for a short period of time, and thats what disarray will do for you, Lee told the newspaper. I cared about my family, and that was my primary goal at the time. After her death, he started working at a program geared toward at-risk youth and the Men of Valor, an organization that helps men who have been released from prison readapt into society, The Tennessean reported. According to his campaign website, Lee Company now garners an annual revenue of $215 million, has won numerous awards and employs more than 1,200 people. Nashville Predators captain Mike Fisher and NASCAR great Darrell Waltrip are honorary co-chairs on Lees campaign. Fox News Gregg Re contributed to this report. The Trump administration is challenging the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) to use what it calls its considerable resources to reunite children separated from parents who have been deported to countries south of the border. An increase in the number of children separated from their parents came in the wake of the Justice Departments implementation of a zero tolerance policy that ordered the prosecution of all illegal border crossers. Since then, President Trump has signed an executive order ending the practice of child separation, and the administration has been scrambling to reunite children to parents and guardians. The administration said last week that it had returned all 1,800-plus children and sponsors who were eligible for reunification, but that 700 adults were not eligible for a number of reasons. Those include that they had chosen not to be reunited, had already been released, were in their home countries, or had red flags for criminal records or something else. DEMOCRATIC NEW MEXICO HOUSE CANDIDATE ENDORSED BY OBAMA CALLS FOR ABOLITION OF ICE The Associated Press reported that 410 children whose parents were outside the country were in the custody of Health and Human Services as of Wednesday. The ACLU is now demanding that parents who want their children sent to them be reunited within a week. Meanwhile it says that those who wish to return to the U.S. to pick their children up should have round-trip transportation paid by the government. But the Trump administration has another idea -- the ACLU should do it instead. Plaintiffs counsel should use their considerable resources, and their network of law firms, NGOs, volunteers and others, together with the information that Defendants have provided (or will soon provide), to establish contact with possible class members in foreign countries. The parents are located predominantly in Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras, and the State Department has begun talks with foreign governments on how to aid the reunification effort. The ACLU said that it was the responsibility of the government, not the ACLU. It also noted that there is no blueprint for finding deported parents. MIGRANTS FALSELY CLAIM THEY'RE FATHER AND DAUGHTER, PRESENT FAKE BIRTH CERTIFICATE, OFFICIALS SAY "Plaintiffs have made clear that they will do whatever they can to help locate the deported parents, but emphasize that the government must bear the ultimate burden of finding the parents," the ACLU said in its filing, blaming the crisis on the administration. The decision will be left to the U.S. District Judge Dana Sabraw, who is scheduled to conference with both sides Friday, according to the AP. The government was given a deadline of last week to reunited children eligible for reunification, and said that it had returned the 1,800 eligible children. The Associated Press contributed to this report. A meteor hit the earth and exploded with 2.1 kilotons of force last month, but the US Air Force has made no mention of the event. NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory confirmed an object of unspecified size travelling at 24.4 kilometres per second struck earth in Greenland, just 43 kilometres north of an early missile warning Thule Air Base on the 25th of July, 2018. Director of the Nuclear Information Project for the Federation of American Scientists, Hans Kristensen, tweeted about the impact, but Americas Air Force has not reported the event. Mr. Kristensen argues its concerning there was no public warning from the US government about the incident. Had it entered at a more perpendicular angle, it would have struck the earth with significantly greater force, he writes on Business Insider. Mr Kristensen points to the example of the Chelyabinsk meteor, a 20-metre space rock that exploded in the air over Russia without warning on the 15th of February 2013. It was the size of a house, brighter than the sun and visible up to 100 kilometres away. About 1500 people were injured by glass from windows smashing or other effects of the meteors impact as it crashed to earth, the biggest known human toll from a space rock. The Chelyabinsk event drew widespread attention to what more needs to be done to detect even larger asteroids before they strike our planet, said NASA Planetary Defense Officer Lindley Johnson. This was a cosmic wake-up call. Following the 2013 incident, the International Asteroid Warning Network was established to assist governments to detect and respond to Near Earth Objects. But an asteroid entering the earths atmosphere is not uncommon. According to a study referenced by Mr. Kristensen, a meteor struck earth every 13 days over a 20-year-period. Most break apart upon entering the atmosphere and are harmless." This story originally appeared in news.com.au. The innovative Mayan empire with its impressive temples, calendar and artwork mysteriously collapsed between the 8th and 9th centuries, leaving many scholars to question how such a seemingly advanced peoples could essentially disappear. For years, researchers pointed at wars, famine and the possibility of invaders taking over Mayan communities. It wasn't until the mid-1990s that archaeologists began pointing to a devastating drought that hit the community, located on what is now known as the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico. "If you have a society that becomes vulnerable, then many factors lead to its decline. In addition to the ecological problems, you must consider population pressure on the agricultural system, constant warfare, changing trade routes and the possibility of drought and other climatic factors," archeologist Jeremy Sadloff told The New York Times in 1995. STONEHENGE MYSTERY SOLVED, SAYS BREAKTHROUGH SCIENTIFIC STUDY A new study released in Science Thursday confirmed Sadloff's decades-old suspicion, and provided the first concrete data that reveals how serious the drought really was from 800 to 1,000 A.D. With samples taken from the sediment deposited underneath Lake Chichancanab, scientists were able to confirm a 41 to 54 percent decrease in annual precipitation over the span of 200 years. During peak drought conditions, there was nearly a 70 percent rainfall decrease, according to the study. Humidity also declined between 2 and 7 percent during that time. "This collapse is a well-cited example of how past climate change in this case, drought can disrupt a population," the study states. BERMUDA TRIANGLE MYSTERY 'SOLVED,' SCIENTISTS CLAIM Nick Evans, the lead author of the study and a graduate student at Cambridge University, told The Washington Post researchers studied layers of mud, clay, rock and other minerals found under the lake using isotopic analysis a technique used to identify chemicals inside organic and inorganic compounds. Drought does have the potential to be a driving force for a lot of the issues that can cause civilization stress." Nick Evans Evans and his colleagues studied various layers of the earth to look for clues of a drought, such as evidence of gypsum crystals. "We reconstructed the past isotopic composition of water in Lake Chichancanab, Mexico, using a technique that involves isotopic analysis of the structurally bound water in sedimentary gypsum, which was deposited under drought conditions. The triple oxygen and hydrogen isotope data provide a direct measure of past changes in lake hydrology," authors of the study explained. Now, researchers are trying to determine how much of an impact drought had on local agriculture. Drought does have the potential to be a driving force for a lot of the issues that can cause civilization stress," Evans told The Washington Post, adding that ancient civilizations didn't have the tools or technology we have today to combat severe dry spells. You know it's hot out there when even the soil is hyperventilating. According to a new study published yesterday (Aug. 1) in the journal Nature, there's about twice as much carbon dioxide (CO2) stored in Earth's soil as there is floating around the atmosphere, and for the last few decades, that underground greenhouse gas has been leaking out at a significantly increased rate. Based on more than 2,000 sources of climate data taken from ecosystems around the world, a team of soil scientists found that the rate of CO2 released from Earth's soil has increased globally by about 1.2 percent in just 25 years and you can blame that on hot, hungry microbes. "We're talking about a huge quantity of carbon," study co-author Vanessa Bailey, a soil scientist at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Washington state, said in a statement. "Microbes exert an outsize influence on the world that is very hard to measure on such a large scale." The breathing Earth Dirt doesn't actually breathe, of course, but it sort of looks that way when tiny, underground organisms help release the CO2 stored in plant roots, dead leaves and other natural detritus. Hungry microbes gorge on the tasty carbon stored in this plant matter, and then release carbon dioxide as a natural byproduct of this feeding, just as you do when you exhaleafter a deep breath. This process is known as "soil respiration," and it's an important complement to photosynthesis the process by which plants turn CO2, water and light into energy helping to keep ecosystems around the world running smoothly. But lately, researchers have found that as global temperatures rise, microbes in the soil have been releasing CO2 faster than plants can snatch it up again. Previous studies have indicated that tree roots and certain microbes both respire more frequently at higher temperatures (up until a certain point, when the intense heat causes the organisms to stop functioning completely). But the exact effects of that increase in respiration had never been studied on a global scale until now. To better understand the potential links between rising global temperatures and soil respiration, a team of researchers led by Ben Bond-Lamberty at the Joint Global Change Research Institute at the University of Maryland, College Park, examined data from two huge global nature surveys: the Global Soil Respiration Database and FLUXNET, which collectively draw soil, temperature, rainfall and other data from a network of more than 2,000 sources across several ecosystems. The data showed that the rate of global soil respiration had increased by about 1.2 percent in the 25-year window between 1990 and 2014. Most of that growth was due to increased microbial action; the tiny creatures in Earth's soil are freeing more and more greenhouse gases from our planet's surface. The panting Earth While a 1.2 percent increase might not seem significant on its face, the researchers made it clear that even a modest change like this represents a "massive" ecosystem shift over a relatively short time. And while the full effects of this microbial huffing and puffing are hard to estimate, it's possible that all that extra CO2 will feed a self-intensifying loop of atmospheric warming and soil respiration over the years to come. "Depending on how other components of the carbon cycle might respond due to climate warming, these soil changes can potentially contribute to even higher temperatures due to a feedback loop," Bond-Lamberty said in the statement. "Soils around the globe are responding to a warming climate, which in turn can convert more carbon into carbon dioxide which enters the atmosphere." The study has several limitations, the authors noted. The data examined came mainly from studies of the Northern Hemisphere and included only spotty surveys of high Arctic latitudes and the tropics, so does not represent a complete picture of the planet's soil. It's also very hard to tease out cause and effect in any observational study like this one, the authors wrote, so further analysis of ecosystems around the world is required. Originally published on Live Science. Kristen Porter was relaxing on a floatie at Kuhio Beach in Waikiki, Hawaii last week when she felt something sharp pierce her foot. Wincing in pain, Porter pulled her foot out of the water and saw a terrifying sight. "I knew immediately that it was something bad, and it wasn't just like a fish nibble, so I pulled my foot into the air and there was blood everywhere," Porter, of Annapolis, Maryland, told KHON-TV on Thursday. With help from her son and fellow beachgoers, Porter hobbled to shore to examine the mysterious wound. Once on land, a lifeguard observed several gashes on her foot, telling her the marks appeared to be consistent with an eel bite. INDIANA WILDLIFE OFFICIALS CATCH 'PECULIAR' EEL-LIKE CREATURE IN LOCAL SWAMP Porter initially thought it was a shark attack, though the International Shark File in Florida confirmed to KHON-TV days after the Sunday incident that wasn't the case. Waikiki Aquarium director Andrew Rossiter, who examined photos of the injury, told KHON-TV he also believes it was an eel bite, though they're extremely rare especially at Kuhio Beach, which isn't particularly rocky. Rossiter determined the likely culprit was a moray eel, a snake-like fish that can reach up to a whopping 13 feet in length. Some moray eels can even weigh more than humans, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) described in a blog post. Some burrow underneath the sand while others hide among rocks. They have sharp, long teeth a second set alllows them to more easily break down their prey, which they typically swallow whole. "(They're) incredibly rapid and even a diver will tell you to stay away from them in the water because they can come out and ping you in the blink of an eye," Rossiter told the news station. HUMPBACK WHALES LUNGE TOWARD CALIFORNIA TOUR BOAT IN SHOCKING VIDEO Eel bites are rare. The sea creatures tend to stick to themselves, though it's possible they would strike if they feel threatened or someone invades their space. They're also more active at night than during swimming hours. "[This bite] was definitely a case of mistaken identity, because the eel's teeth penetrate, so they literally pierce their prey and swallow their pray whole, so I doubt the eel was trying to swallow the lady whole," Rossiter said. Porter, 51, was later taken to a nearby urgent care, where her wound was cleaned and wrapped up. A doctor recommended she go to the hospital for stitches, but she declined any further treatment, according to the Honolulu Star-Advertiser. "So the mystery is solved. Turns out it was a 5-6 ft moray eel. If this doesnt give me [nightmares]," Porter wrote on Facebook early Friday. The Atlantic White Shark Conservancy is under fire for posting photos of an 10-foot great white shark hanging by its tail on a dock in Massachusetts. According to the agency, the great white was "unintentionally" caught in a gillnet and died shortly after. Since the catch was an accident, the AWSC determined it was not illegal. The group, along with the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries and NOAA Fisheries New England/Mid-Atlantic, arrived at the scene in Scituate, Ma. over the weekend to collect samples. 500-POUND GOLIATH GROUPER EATS SHARK AS SHOCKED FLORIDA FISHERMEN WATCH: 'HE JUST SUCKED IT IN' The AWSC shared several photos of the dead shark, which was bleeding and hanging upside-down in front of a crowd of people. In some photos, people appeared to pet the shark some holding onto its fins. Hundreds of people commented on the Facebook post, calling the images "barbaric" and "offensive." "AWSC, I'm a huge supporter. But I find this post very offensive . What happened to this animal is in my opinion criminal. Then to hang it like a trophy is disgusting. There are other ways for our children to learn about sharks. Wish you discouraged this ... I'm very disappointed," one Facebook user commented. GREAT WHITE SHARK ATTACKS SEAL OF MASSACHUSETTS COAST AS SURFERS SCRAMBLE TO SHORE, VIDEO SHOWS "Barbaric! Would we display a human life like that with such disrespect ... its a circle of life and we need to gain respect because we are only a small portion of that circle," another argued. "Thats horrible that animal deserves better, put on display because she was in the wrong place at the wrong time," a man added. The AWSC defended the post, explaining that the shark was moved so researchers could take samples from the creature. "The photos from our post are just after the shark was picked up from the boat to be moved to the ground for scientists to collect samples. Much will be learned from this animal," the agency replied to concerned users. Some users backed the AWSC's research, calling the shark's death an "unfortunate accident." "I hope we can find out from Atlantic White Shark Conservancy what sort of things are learned from this type of study and what this particular shark tells us," one user said. "Its unfortunate, but hopefully the scientists will make the most of this opportunity!" another commented. Local researchers have been studying great white sharks for years through the Massachusetts Shark Research Program, which is partially funded by the AWSC. Since 2009, more than 120 great whites have been tagged and monitored off the coast of Cape Cod. "These tags show that white sharks move more broadly throughout the North Atlantic than previously thought. When they leave Cape Cod in the late fall, they migrate to overwintering habitat off the southeastern US and the Gulf of Mexico," the research shows. More than 100 goats certainly werent kidding around when they broke out of their corral and descended on a quiet Boise neighborhood Friday morning eating all the weeds and grass in their path to their hearts content. The 118 goats were reportedly held in a fence near a retention pond and are employed by We Rent Goats, a company that lets the farm animals be rented to take care of brush, weeds or other yardwork, the Idaho Statesman reported. But sometime on Friday morning, the tribe allegedly decided to make a break for it and broke through the slabs of the fence starting on their journey. Kim Gabica, who owns We Rent Goats along with Matt Gabica, told the Statesman that goats are creatures who follow. Goats are great escape artists, and I guess they decided to go on an adventure today, she said. Its rare that this many would get out, but they would definitely follow each other. JAGUAR ESCAPES CAPTIVITY IN NEW ORLEANS According to KTVB-TV, animal control initially responded to calls about the rogue goats with just one truck but that wasnt enough to do the trick. We Rent Goats eventually came to the rescue with a larger vehicle and shepherded the goats out of the neighborhood. All of the escaped goats have since been accounted for but not before KTVB said they did a number on their newfound hosts lawns, stripping leaves off trees and digging through landscaping. But the goats did have their time in the sun; they have since gone viral online and many children in the neighborhood got the chance to snap photos and hang out at the impromptu petting zoo. NASA has announced the nine astronauts that will crew the test flights and first missions of the SpaceX Crew Dragon and Boeing CST-100 Starliner spacecraft. Crew for the Starliner test flight are NASA astronauts Eric Boe and Nicole Aunapu-Mann and Boeing astronaut Chris Ferguson. NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley have been selected to take part in the Crew Dragon test flight. The first Boeing mission to the International Space Station will be crewed by NASA astronauts Josh Cassada and Suni Williams. The initial SpaceX mission to the ISS will be crewed by NASA astronauts Victor Glover and Mike Hopkins. This is the stuff of dreams, said Glover, during an event at NASAs Johnson Space Center in Houston Friday. "Having an opportunity to introduce you to these American heroes is unique," said NASA Adminstrator Jim Bridenstine. This is just the beginning of daring missions that this country is embarking upon, said Mark Geyer, director of Johnson Space Center, during the event. Its an exciting time for human spaceflight and an exciting time for our nation. The space agency has partnered with Boeing and SpaceX to develop the Starliner spacecraft to launch atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket and the Crew Dragon launching atop the Falcon 9 rocket, respectively. THIS DISTANT PLANET IS ONE OF THE BEST PLACES TO SEARCH FOR ALIEN LIFE In a statement released Thursday, NASA and its Commercial Crew partners revealed more details of the effort to carry astronauts from the U.S. to the International Space Station. Since the retirement of the space shuttle in 2011, the U.S. has been relying on Russian Soyuz rockets, launched from Kazakhstan, to get astronauts to the ISS. Boeing plans to do an uncrewed flight test of its CST-100 Starliner later this year or early next year. John Mulholland, vice president and program manager for Boeings Commercial Crew effort, explained that the earliest the company can confidently do a manned flight test will be in mid-2019. Our commitment has always been to provide NASA and those crews the highest level of mission assurance, he said in the statement. SpaceX is targeting November 2018 for Crew Dragons first demonstration mission and April 2019 for Crew Dragons second demonstration mission, which will carry two NASA astronauts to and from the International Space Station, said Benji Reed, director of Crew Mission Management at SpaceX, in the statement. LIFE ON MARS: AMAZING MODELS REVEAL WHAT IT COULD LOOK LIKE The first test flight for SpaceX and Boeing will be known as Demo-1 and Orbital Flight Test, respectively. Each test flight will provide data on the performance of the rockets, spacecraft, ground systems, and operations to ensure the systems are safe to fly astronauts, explained NASA in the statement. Crew for each flight will include at least a flight commander and a pilot. Boeings CST-100 Starliner will be launched from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The Crew Dragon spacecraft will launch from Launch Complex 39A at NASAs Kennedy Space Center. THE EDGE OF SPACE JUST CREPT 12 MILES CLOSER TO EARTH The Starliner spacecraft is being outfitted at the Commercial Crew and Cargo Processing Facility at the Kennedy Space Center, according to NASA. The ULA Atlas V dual engine Centaur that will launch the spacecraft will be shipped to Cape Canaveral Air Force Station this month. The SpaceX Crew Dragon that will be used for Demo-1 arrived at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in July. Falcon 9s first and second stages for the Demo-1 mission are targeted to ship from SpaceXs headquarters in Hawthorne, California to the companys rocket testing facility in McGregor, Texas for additional testing in August, NASA said. United Launch Alliance is also involved in the forthcoming launch of NASAs Parker Solar Probe. The probe, which will travel directly into the Suns atmosphere, will blast off aboard a ULA Delta IV Heavy rocket from Space Launch Complex 37 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The launch window for the mission opens at 3:48 a.m EDT on Aug. 11, 2018. Follow James Rogers on Twitter @jamesjrogers Hang made the statement in reply to reporters questions about the Czech Republics decision to suspend the acceptance of work visa applications by Vietnamese nationals at the ministrys regular press conference on August 2. She said the two countries are enjoying fruitful multifaceted cooperation, expressing her hope that their coordination in this work will make it easier for the two sides to promote bilateral cooperation in many fields in accordance with the traditional friendship between the two nations. The Czech Republic has recently suspended the acceptance of work visa applications by Vietnamese citizens. The suspension applies to the visa applications for long-term residence with the aim of either employment or business activities. According to Czech Minister of the Interior Jan Hamacek, at present, the priority of the Czech embassy in Vietnam is to accept residence applications for the purpose of family reuniting. Four scientists made the case yesterday (Aug. 1) to a panel of senators that Congress should continue to fund NASA's search for life beyond Earth. Only one of those scientists was affiliated directly with NASA, and the hearing touched on a broader range of scientific priorities for the agency and how to balance those with a limited budget. After opening statements, the hearing began with subcommittee chair Sen. Ted Cruz asking the panel flat out why we should search for life on other worlds. "I believe it's one of the big questions of all of humanity. This is how great nations make a mark it's by what they do for their citizens but also how they move history forward," Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator for the Science Mission Directorate at NASA, said. "This will be one of those questions, if answered, that will be remembered forever, because it will be a leap in not only understanding more about nature but a leap in understanding ourselves at a level we've never had in the past." [9 Strange, Scientific Excuses for Why We Haven't Found Aliens Yet] Other panelists echoed the emphasis on symbolism and inspiration rather than science directly. Sara Seager, a planetary scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, pointed out that most of the current senior researchers came of age during the moon landings. "Today, the equivalent of that is the search for life, and that public search and when we do discover it will inspire that next generation to go into technology," she said. But she was also careful to point to more-tangible benefits that could come from searching for life, regardless of whether we ever find it. She didn't promise specific technologies, but asserted that the scientific research would inevitably lead to benefits not yet expected. "It takes a ton of pure science research to come up with anything practical, things you could never invent if you set out to find something practical," Seager said, pointing to GPS technology, which began as a way to track satellites and was only later used for ground navigation, as an example. That emphasis on spin-off technology was a clear theme in the hearing, with senators pushing the scientists to explain how searching for life on other worlds could benefit humans on Earth. Meanwhile, the scientists offered an economic justification for the search as well as an intellectual one. "When we try to do things that are really hard, like we did at the time of Apollo, when you push yourself to answer the really tough questions, that's when you really push technology forward," Ellen Stofan, director of the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum and former chief scientist at NASA, said. "I would argue that when you push technology forward, you push your society forward, you push the economy forward." The panel also tried to convince the senators that the United States, specifically, is in a position to tackle the search for life and to welcome that search. "Thanks to decades of NASA spacecraft missions, we know how to take the next steps in the search for life at Europa, Enceladus and of course Mars, and eventually Titan," Stofan said. Seager quoted a passage by John Adams in which he expressed belief in life on other worlds long before science could prove such worlds existed. "Although we don't have evidence for life beyond Earth, we are the first generation with the capability to find it," Seager said, describing how the new Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite and the much-delayed James Webb Space Telescope will work together to identify planets around small, faint M dwarf stars. [NASA's New Planet Hunter Begins Its Search for Alien Worlds] Even admitting that such technology was still in the works, Seager emphasized that NASA is on track to develop those tools and shouldn't be distracted from that effort. She was talking about technologies meant to help scientists find what she called "a true Earth twin," a planet with a bright sun and an environment like our own. While most of the hearing's conversation focused on microbial life, the discussion did touch briefly on technologically advanced civilizations beyond our solar system. Senator Gary Peters of Michigan referenced the theoretical possibility of billion-year-old civilizations and asked whether we are even searching for life in the right way. Stofan elegantly directed the conversation back to exoplanet science and surveying our own neighborhood first. And, of course, the James Webb Space Telescope showed up in the discussion, with senators expressing the usual horror at the instrument's cost overruns and launch delays. The scientists all made the case, however, that the telescope was worth it. Original article on Space.com. It may be interesting to look at, but an explosion of red tide algae off the coast of southwestern Florida is killing off marine animals in record numbers, decimating the population of creatures such as fish, sea turtles, manatees and more. A number of news reports, including one from the Miami Herald, detail how extensive the damage is and how widespread it has become, ranging from Tampa Bay to the Florida Keys. This is horrific what were enduring now, but it needs to be a wake-up call to people that clean water is important to more than just wildlife, Heather Barron, a veterinarian and research director at Sanibels CROW Clinic wildlife rescue center, told the Herald. As the person dealing with all these hundreds of dying animals, Im upset. GREAT WHITE SHARK ATTACKS SEAL OFF MASSACHUSETTS COAST AS SURFERS SCRAMBLE TO SHORE, VIDEO SHOWS The Herald described the phenomenon, which is caused by dinoflagellates and other organisms that produce toxins harmful to sea life, as a red tide slaughterhouse. Fox 13 noted that if people see the red tide, it needs to be reported promptly, or the devastating effects can worsen. They [the animals] become very disoriented, uncoordinated in the water so ultimately when they can't swim they are in an aquatic environment. They will drown typically," explained Gretchen Lovewell, the program manager for Mote Marine Laboratory's Stranding Investigations Program (SIP), to Fox 13 Tampa Bay. In addition to creatures such as fish, sea turtles and manatees being impacted, larger marine life, such as whale sharks are also at risk. Late last month, a dead whale shark washed up on a beach on Sanibel Island in Florida. Wildlife officials ruled that it was likely killed by the current red tide bloom. The higher concentration of the toxins, the more likely it is that large sea creatures -- such as a whale shark -- can be affected by the bloom, Dr. Richard Bartleson, a research scientist with the Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation, told Fox News. A low concentration of the Karenia brevis organism is considered to be 10 cells per liter of water, while a high concentration -- which has the ability to kill fish -- typically starts at 500,000 cells per liter. People have posted pictures to social media of the gruesome effects of red tide. Although it's a common phenomenon that occurs globally, red tide has been particularly bad in Florida this year, the worst since 2006, according to the Miami Herald. It has occurred almost annually since the 1800s. BERMUDA TRIANGLE MYSTERY 'SOLVED,' SCIENTISTS CLAIMS The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration defines the phenomenon as a "common term used for a harmful algal bloom" (HAB), one that can grow out of control if not kept in check. It can also become fatal to humans, though this is not as widespread as the loss of life to marine animals. "HABs have been reported in every U.S. coastal state, and their occurrence may be on the rise," the NOAA wrote in an article on its website. "HABs are a national concern because they affect not only the health of people and marine ecosystems, but also the 'health' of local and regional economies." So far, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has documented 287 sea turtle deaths since the bloom started last October, according to The Associated Press. DEAD WHALE SHARK IN FLORIDA WASHED UP ON BEACH; RED TIDE LIKELY KILLER Typically, red tide lasts in Florida from October to around February, but the prolonged period has some calling for a permanent solution. Sanibel, Fla. Mayor Kevin Ruane blamed the red tide, saying it stemmed from a perfect storm of coastal pollution and a hot Gulf ignited by flushing nutrient-laden water from Lake Okeechobee, according to comments obtained by the Miami Herald. All they do is obviously fuel the red tide," Ruane added. "So, its a catalyst in making the problem worse. Fox News' Madeline Farber contributed to this story. Follow Chris Ciaccia on Twitter @Chris_Ciaccia Google has updated its Play Store developer policies, and several app categories are newly banned. For starters, Google has booted out cryptocurrency miners. This wasn't surprising, as Google banned crypto mining extensions from the Chrome Web Store earlier this year. "The key to maintaining a healthy extensions ecosystem is to keep the platform open and flexible...The vast majority of mining extensions submitted for review failed to comply with our single purpose policy or were malicious," Google product manager James Wagner told Wired in April. The same logic probably applies to Android apps -- shady software that force phones to mine cryptocurrency has permanently damaged Android devices in the past. Apple was first to ban crypto-mining apps from the App Store back in June. In addition, applications that "appeal to children but contain adult themes" are not allowed in Google's Play Store. For example, inappropriate apps featuring Disney characters are a no-no, following YouTube's infamous Elsagate. Anything resembling child pornography is, unsurprisingly, already banned. "Apps that include content that sexualizes minors are subject to immediate removal from the Store," the policy reads. Next on the chopping block are apps that "facilitate the sale of explosives, firearms, ammunition, or certain firearms accessories." This includes any that instruct people on how to make restricted firearms, or how to convert a firearm to an automatic weapon. Finally, Google has banned applications which primarily serve ads, or which attempt to impersonate a person or organization. The alarm sounds. Students swing their backpacks over their shoulder, board the school bus, make their way to their homeroom and the bell ringsschool is back in session. But for more homes in America, back-to-school looks more like waking up, students making their way tothe dining room or home office, setting up a laptop and learning from the comfort of home. Virtual schooling, defined as a public school that offers only instruction in which students and teachers are separated by time and/or location, and interaction occurs via computers and/or telecommunications technologies, has increased over the past decade. According to the National Education Policy Center, enrollments in virtual schools increased by 17,000 students between 2015-16 and 2016-17 to 295,518 students. This isnt going anywhere, Dr. Kelly Van Sande, Arizona Virtual Academy head of schools, said. As the school choice movement really takes over our nation and giving parents a voice to say, I know whats best for my childI know whats best for my child to attend a traditional brick-and-mortar school, or to attend a charter school, or an online public charter school, or even to homeschool. Giving that choice to the parents and making sure that we listen to the parents voice, as they are the ones that know best for their own child. MANKIND COULD HAVE 'ELECTRONIC IMMORTALITY' BY 2050 For Arizona Virtual Academy, a full-time online public K-12 charter school, they use K12 Inc. curriculum. K12 serves students in all 50 states and more than 100 countries with digital learning platforms and technology; providing online and blended education. Students can essentially wake up at home or in another state when traveling with family or for their sport or music interestopen up their laptop and get right to work. Theres also a new learning management system for the upcoming school year that makes a more personalized experience for students. We always are advancing our platforms and the technology that we utilize to ensure that its keeping up with the changing trends, not only with education but also with technology, as well, Dr. Van Sande said. Another piece of new technology theyve rolled out is a new app where parents can find virtual schools available in their area. As of 2017, 34 states had full-time virtual schools and 29 states had blended schools, which are hybrid schools that combine online and classroom teaching. Carrie Faulkner chose to enroll two of her children in Arizona Virtual Academy. She says theyve done schooling online in Chicago, California, at restaurants and on her cousins floor in Kansas. It doesnt matter if hes (her son) on the couch, in his bed, at the kitchen table, he can do school wherever he wants to, Faulkner said. I wish they had it for me back when I was in school. That wouldve been awesome. I think the kids are just extremely blessed. Its setting them up, theyre going to do so great when they have jobs because they will already know how to get a plan, achieve it, and know how to plan out their day. What drew Faulkner and her husband to virtual schooling was the ability to work around her son, Campbells, schedule. Campbell has Mitochondrial disease and with him being in virtual school, Faulkner says hes had perfect attendance even taking rigorous courses. Hes had the time after completing schooling for the day, to start a non-profit. IRON MAN SUIT GOES ON SALE - BUT IT'LL COST YOU $440G Its also led Faulkners daughter, an incoming high school freshman, to enroll in virtual schooling. She can then focus on her passion in video, arts and crafts, and cooking after completing school for the day. You really learn time management because you have to make sure that you can understand but then you also need to be able to get a bunch of different lessons done all in one day, Campbell said. That way you can progress and complete all your classes throughout the year. Campbell also says its amazing to have all that technology, as he can talk with teachers and classmates in live classroom settings online. I support whatever choice a parent or parents make. I say all the time, God gives children to parents, not to government bureaucracies. So, its up to them to make the best decisions. Diane Douglas, Arizona Public Instruction superintendent Online schooling is also seeing an increase in the traditional public school setting, with more school districts offering online courses for its students. Diane Douglas, Arizona Public Instruction superintendent, says the school choice depends on each child individually and that what may work best for one student may not work for another. I support whatever choice a parent or parents make, Douglas said. I say all the time, 'God gives children to parents, not to government bureaucracies.' So, its up to them to make the best decisions. While virtual schooling is on the rise at homes, homeschooling is also growing as a non-traditional option for parents. The most recent survey from the US Department of Education showed 1.8 million children were homeschooled in 2012; an increase from the 1.1 million who were homeschooled in 2002. The main difference between virtual schooling and homeschooling is that its publicly funded and there is a set of teachers students are assigned to virtuallythrough an online curriculum where they can interact with teachers and other students online. Whereas with homeschooling, its privately funded by each parents and the parents are the teachers. WHY ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE MUST DISCLOSE THAT IT'S AI Allison Gentala is a board member with her husband for Arizona Families For Home Education. They have eight children and decided to homeschool all of them and says its given them more time and freedom pursue their passions such as music or robotics. I really wanted to be involved in educating my kids and actually being the one to teach them, Gentala said. But the virtual academies are an excellent choice for people who would like to have their children out of the public schools but still have a teacher teach their childrenbut have them in their home. Parents choose these alternatives to a traditional classroom setting for a variety of reasons. The most recent government survey on why parents homeschool their children show parents reasons showed over half had either a concern about environment of other schools, a desire to provide moral instruction, a dissatisfaction with academic instruction at other schools, or a desire to provide religious instruction. For virtual schooling in Arizona, theres no looking backheading into the future with this virtual school technology at the forefrontstarting with the first day of school from a laptop next week. Were preparing students today for jobs that probably dont really even exist at this point, especially as we look into the technology fields and business fieldshaving the skill set that they achieve by communicating and working in an online setting is going to prepare them for what lies ahead tomorrow, Dr. Van Sande said. A hot air balloon crash in Park County, Colo. injured multiple people on board, with one person reportedly in critical condition. On August 3, a hot air balloon carrying nine passengers and two pilots came crashing down around 10:30 a.m. near High Chaparral Road, CBS 4 reports. Fox 31 adds that it crashed after about an hour of flight. DELTA PASSENGERS RESTRAIN UNRULY MAN THREATENING TO 'TAKE THE PLANE DOWN' "It was described as a hard landing," Dave Wohlers, Undersheriff at the Park County Sheriff's office told the Canon City Daily Record of the incident. "That's typically not a good thing." According to the National Transportation Safety Board, the balloon portion of the aircraft, known as the envelope, collapsed while the balloon was coming down for its scheduled landing, Fox 31 reports. According to CBS 4, at least three of the people on board were rushed to the hospital, with one airlifted. FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK FOR MORE FOX LIFESTYLE NEWS It remains unclear at this time whether the injured persons are passengers or pilots. The name of the company operating the hot air balloon was not immediately available for comment. This is a developing story check back for updates. Scandal has struck "the most magical place on Earth" this week after a gleeful Minnie Mouse accepted a man's marriage proposal to the shock of Mickey Mouse, who secretly witnessed the act. Twitter user @NairobySandoval posted a 40-second video of her friend, Johnny Jean, going to give Minnie a hug at Walt Disney Worlds Epcot Character Spot, before dropping to one knee to ask for her gloved hand in marriage, ABC News reports. WOMAN GIVES BIRTH AT SIX FLAGS OVER GEORGIA, SCORES FREE LIFETIME PASSES Minnie appears to accept, and the pair share a hug as Sandoval and her companions cackle with laughter. Seconds later, however, the iconic character appears frightened, and points off to a nearby corner where Mickey Mouse, her lifelong partner, witnessed the entire ordeal. "Oh, Mickey, I'm sorry! Jean exclaims as onlookers react with laughter. Minnie rushes to Mickeys side, but he angrily points at Jean before storming away. Minnie then appears to lament the quick decision she made. FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK FOR MORE FOX LIFESTYLE NEWS In the days since, the clip has gone viral online, with over 4 million views and 400 comments. As of press time, neither Mickey nor Minnie have yet to comment on the apparent betrayal. The Eiffel Tower reopened for visitors early Friday morning, after the tower operator reached an agreement with staff unions over frustrations regarding a new ticketing system that workers claim has created monstrous lines during peak tourism season. On August 1, staffers at Paris most famous landmark walked out at 4 p.m. to protest what they reported to be increasingly lengthy lines caused by a new access policy that has created separate waiting queues for different ticket-holders, a change that has been "exhausting" staff as they deal with "frustrated" tourists, according to union officials, Reuters reports. The Eiffel Towers 300-member staff was apparently fed up with the new policy, which has left visitors waiting in uneven lines up to three hours to buy same-day tickets. Guests who have purchased tickets online are also winding up stuck on line for up to an hour, according to France 24. AIRBNB OFFERING BEDROOM AT GREAT WALL OF CHINA, BUT THERE'S A CATCH To that end, the towers exasperated workers stormed out in hopes of winning more flexibility in managing the thousands who arrive each day, eager to reach the top of beloved attraction. Meanwhile, news of the strike and temporary closure struck a nerve with many tourists, who traveled from near and far to visit La tour Eiffel. "This is my first time in Paris and I was really excited to see the Eiffel Tower and ... the city from the top, but now it is closed," German tourist Nico Schulze Bilk lamented to the Associated Press of his trip to the French capital, which was planned eight months ago. "I'm a little bit disappointed." "I'm annoyed, I'm not going to lie. It's going to throw off our whole trip if I'm honest," Robin Frye of Birmingham, England, similarly opined to France 24. Meanwhile, union reps say that the strike was necessary. "There have been days with three-hour-long queues. Some elderly people fainted," Eiffel Tower union representative Denis Vavassori told the AP. "We are exhausted and we do not want to relive that in August." FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK FOR MORE FOX LIFESTYLE NEWS Negotiations between tower operator SETE and tower workers were held to discuss a proposal to resolve the problematic lines on August 2, after which the strike came to a close. "The SETE is well aware of the disappointment for visitors because of the monument's closure, and its negative impact on the image of both the city and country," SETE said in a statement obtained by France 24. "It offers its apologies to everyone Parisians and French as well as foreign tourists." It remains unclear at this time exactly what the new proposal entails. One of the most popular tourist attractions in the world, over six million people visit the Iron Lady every year to hike the 1,063 foot tower. A popular tourist attraction in New Zealand has removed a racially offensive sign after being called out online. The sign was on display at Tikitere, a geothermal park, mud bath and spa in Rotorua named Hells Gate in the 19th century by Irish playwright Sir George Bernard Shaw. The sign featured a cartoon depiction of a Maori man with tattoos holding a spoon and standing above a cooking pot. Inside the pots water was a person tied up by rope over an open flame, and a cut-out in the sign allowed for people to pose underneath a message reading, Enjoying the waters at Hells Gate. JET2 APOLOGIZES FOR ASKING DISABLED BOY IN MOTORIZED SCOOTER TO PROVE DISABILITY While the sign has reportedly been on display for nearly 20 years at the Maori-owned and operated property, it recently drew criticism online when a blogger who identifies as Maori posted about it on Twitter. So apparently if you go to the Hells Gate visitor attraction at Rotorua, there is this f---ing awful thing you can take your photo with, Moata Tamaira wrote. Am I alone in thinking this is just a grotesque racial stereotype played for laughs and that it's actually horribly offensive? Many others agreed with Tamaira, calling the sign disgusting. It is wrong on so many levels. I guess it was a poor attempt at [humor], one person wrote. Seems we still have a lot of growing up to do if anyone thinks this is appropriate, another person commented. Hells Gate operations manager Paul Rayner told the New Zealand Herald he ordered the sign to be taken down, though noted this was the first complaint he received in 18 years of working at the spa. "We are Maori-owned and operated. That is the last thing we want to do we don't want to cause offense to anybody," Rayner told the Herald. FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK FOR MORE FOX LIFESTYLE NEWS According to the Herald, Maori have been bathing in the geothermal muds and hot springs of Tikitere for over 700 years. A second sign, which features a devil holding a pitchfork with a cutout for posing, still stands on the property. Three girls in California decided to thank firefighters in a unique way by proudly displaying American flags while riding horseback on Thursday. The girls were outside of a command center in Anderson, where firefighters and first responders were gearing up for the day ahead. The area is roughly 14 miles south of Redding, where the Carr wildfire has destroyed 1,060 homes. It's the largest of 18 wildfires burning throughout California. Accompanied by American flags and a big "thank you" sign, the firefighters could be seen smiling at the girls and taking photos of them as they rode past. CAT AND CHICKEN FOUND HUDDLED TOGETHER, SEEKING SHELTER FROM CARR FIRE Tens of thousands of people remain under evacuation orders because of the fire, which has killed six people, including two firefighters, and leveled nearly 500 buildings, according to officials. It's become the sixth most destructive wildfire in California state history. Fox News' Lauren Blanchard and The Associated Press contributed to this report. Federal authorities allege that a former youth care worker at a Phoenix-area facility for immigrant youths sexually abused eight teenage boys, one of several cases brought to light in recent weeks as thousands of immigrant children remain detained around the country. Court documents show Levian Pacheco faces several charges stemming from incidents that allegedly took place between August 2016 and July 2017 at a Southwest Key facility in Mesa. The case was first reported by ProPublica. Authorities charge that Pacheco performed sex acts on two boys and touched six others, all between ages 15 to 17 at the time. Court documents also state that Pacheco is HIV-positive and that some of the teens opted to be tested for the virus. Pacheco has pleaded not guilty and denied the allegations. His federal public defender has said in court documents that the government's allegations of the crimes committed by Pacheco include an "extraordinarily broad range of dates and lack of specificity." "We are looking forward to defending Mr. Pacheco in court," attorney Benjamin Good said in an email to The Associated Press. The revelations Thursday came one day after police said another worker at a different Southwest Key facility, Fernando Magaz Negrete, is suspected of molesting a 14-year-old immigrant girl. Authorities say Magaz Negrete kissed and fondled the girl in her bedroom on June 27 in an encounter witnessed by the girl's 16-year-old roommate. They said surveillance video shows Magaz Negrete, 32, approaching the bedroom several times throughout the night, though the bedroom itself was outside the camera's view. Southwest Key fired Magaz Negrete. It was not clear if he is represented by an attorney. The Texas-based nonprofit organization, the largest contracted by the U.S. government to house immigrant children, has come under scrutiny for its practices at its various shelters around the Southwest. Many of the over 2,000 children who were separated from their parents after crossing the border illegally have been held at Southwest Key facilities. The victims in the case against Pacheco were all unaccompanied minors and it's not clear if they had been separated from their parents or traveled to the U.S. alone, although the government was not widely separating families at the time of the incidents. Southwest Key spokesman Jeff Eller said in an email that Pacheco was immediately suspended and police were called when allegations surfaced. He said Southwest Key and the Health and Human Services department, which is in charge of caring for immigrant youths, take every incident seriously "and there is a never ending process to improve care and standards." ProPublica published a report in July saying police responded to at least 125 calls reporting sex offenses at shelters that primarily serve immigrant children since 2014. The report detailed a 2015 incident at a Tucson, Arizona, Southwest Key facility in which authorities said an employee touched a 15-year-old Honduran boy's penis from outside his clothing. The worker was fired and later convicted of molestation. Meeting with Cambodian Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Prak Sokhonn, Deputy PM Minh congratulated Cambodia on the successful organisation of the election of the sixth parliament, saying that the good initial results reflected voters trust in the leadership of the Cambodian Peoples Party. He voiced his belief that the sound neighbourliness, traditional friendship and comprehensive cooperation between Vietnam and Cambodia will develop more strongly in the future. The two officials agreed to work together to prepare for high-ranking visits and bilateral cooperation mechanisms later this year, including a meeting on border provinces cooperation and a political consultation between the two foreign ministries. They also affirmed the determination to implement cooperation projects effectively and on schedule, and speed up land border demarcation and marker planting in order to build border areas of peace, stability, cooperation and development. Minister Prak Sokhonn affirmed that the Cambodian Government gives high priority to promptly complete the granting of legal papers for Cambodians of Vietnamese origin. Regarding the East Sea issue, both sides agreed on the need to accelerate negotiations to soon reach a substantive and effective Code of Conduct in the East Sea, thus contributing to peace, stability and development in the region and the world. The meeting between Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh and Norwegian Foreign Minister Eriksen Sreide (Photo: VNA) At his meeting with Norwegian Foreign Minister Eriksen Sreide, the Vietnamese Deputy PM called on the two countries to increase delegation exchanges at all levels. He affirmed that Vietnam encourages Norwegian companies to invest in marine economic sectors, shipbuilding, oil and gas, aquaculture and renewable energy in Vietnam. He asked Norway to keep promoting the talks on a free trade agreement between Vietnam and the European Free Trade Association. Valuing the European countrys role as a sectoral dialogue partner of ASEAN, he hoped that Norway will continue supporting the blocs central role and further assist development in the CLMV nations (Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam). Minister Sreide said Vietnam is an important partner in ASEAN of her country, adding that more and more Norwegian businesses are showing interest in the region, including Vietnam. Norway will also strengthen cooperation with Vietnam both bilaterally and multilaterally at regional and international forums. NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) _ Healthcare Realty Trust Inc. (HR) on Thursday reported a key measure of profitability in its second quarter. The results matched Wall Street expectations. The real estate investment trust, based in Nashville, Tennessee, said it had funds from operations of $49 million, or 40 cents per share, in the period. The average estimate of seven analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for funds from operations of 40 cents per share. Funds from operations is a closely watched measure in the REIT industry. It takes net income and adds back items such as depreciation and amortization. The company said it had net income of $37.7 million, or 30 cents per share. The real estate investment trust posted revenue of $111.6 million in the period, falling short of Street forecasts. Three analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $112.4 million. The company's shares have declined almost 7 percent since the beginning of the year. In the final minutes of trading on Thursday, shares hit $29.92, a fall of roughly 9 percent in the last 12 months. _____ This story was generated by Automated Insights using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on HR at https://www.zacks.com/ap/HR Russian border agents detained an exhausted American who accidentally sailed in a small rubber boat from Alaska to Russias Far West, according to a report Friday. John Martin reportedly got lost at sea after sailing down the Yukon River, the BBC reported. The U.S. Consulate in Vladivostok was informed about the incident, The Associated Press reported. Russias foreign ministry said Martin was born in 1972. He was arrested Wednesday. "About two weeks ago, he decided to take to the open sea, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in Moscow, according to the BBC. Due to inclement weather and because he lacked navigation equipment, he spent several days in the open sea. This is how he ended up in the Russian Federation. She said Martin received medical treatment in Lavrentiya and his condition was "satisfactory". The American was found exhausted near Lavrentiya, a coastal village in the remote Chukotka region, which is about 55 miles from Alaska, according to the BBC. The BBC reported that a source close to the investigation quoted Martin as saying he had been fishing along the Alaskan coast and had decided to sail from the US to China, but ended up in Russia. Grind it, dissolve it, mix it up, scientist Karlie McManaman described, as she ran through the same routine shes performed for six years at the Georgia Bureau of Investigation analyzing drugs. But in recent months, longer, busier days in the lab are becoming the norm for McManaman, as a mounting workload literally piles up behind her. GBI employees chuckled, as they revealed roomfuls of hundreds of crates holding bagged drug analysis cases unworked. Thousands of drug cases hang in the balance at GBI; its backlog jumped from 316 requests to 17,285 in five years all awhile, the number of new submissions remaining consistent, hovering in the low 30,000s. A case qualifies as a backlog when it is more than 30 days old. When asked how long it would take to eliminate the backlog, GBI Director Vernon Keenan shook his head, and said: Oh gosh If we were to stop receiving drug cases today, it would take us eight months to eliminate the backlog. But problems with the backlog extend beyond an escalating workload for employees at the GBI. President of the Prosecuting Attorneys Council of Georgia, Peter Skandalakis, said district attorneys across the state see drug abusers and dealers returning to the streets because of the delay in analysis. "In todays world, forensic evidence is more important than its ever been before." Vernon Keenan, director of GBI DR. MARC SIEGEL: THE OPIOID CRISIS HAS A SOLUTION - HERE IT IS Right now, drug analysis in Georgia typically takes seven to nine months. Indictment must take place within 90 days in Georgia (even shorter in other states) before suspects have a right to bond. So these guys get arrested, were waiting on the drug tests to get back, they get a bond, they go back out, theyre at the same street corner selling drugs again, said David Cooke, district attorney in Macon-Bibb County. This is just one of several dangerous consequences from the backlog Cooke listed. As of several months ago, the GBI only analyzes primary drugs in evidence submitted (unless a special request is made), in an effort to reduce the backlog. FEDS PROSECUTING FENTANYL OVERDOSE DEATHS AS HOMICIDES IN CRACKDOWN ON OPIOID DEALERS Cooke said this limits prosecutors ability to demonstrate someone has possession with the intent to distribute in other words, that an individual is not just a drug user but also a seller. We want to show that theyre carrying around a pharmacy with them, he said. Cooke started noticing the widespread effects one year ago, noting how even a judge asked him: Hey, how come Im not getting as many drug cases as I used to? Drug analysis cases pile up nationwide Georgia is not alone. Drug cases are overwhelming crime labs across the country, including agencies in Mississippi, Arkansas and Ohio each responding with different solutions. Sam Howell, director of Mississippis Forensics Laboratory, told Fox News that they are losing coveted scientists to neighboring states offering higher salaries, as the number of drug cases increase every year. Though not quite as steep as Georgias backlog, Mississippis pending analysis cases jumped by 2,200 over the past five years. Howell said its all a matter of funding. Every state agency is fighting to stay alive in some respect, he added. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, points to technological enhancements as a means to improve backlogs nationwide. He is pushing to put high-tech screening devices, already used by customs agents, into the hands of local police. The technology is such now that these deviceswill be able to detect, pretty much immediately, a number of different substances some toxic, some not, some legal, some not, Brown told Fox News. He argued these devices, referenced in his proposed Power Act, would give officers instant results, immediately providing leads and signaling whether further information is needed from a lab. Keenan has a different approach. He applauded GBIs excellent facilities for the scientists to work in, and then said, What we need is scientists. He pointed to the constantly evolving black market science. Many of them are synthetic drugs, new synthetic drugs weve never seen before that the crime lab has to develop analysis to be able to determine exactly what is there, Keenan explained. While cases come in to the GBI at a steady rate, combination drugs, such as heroin mixed with fentanyl, require more time to be analyzed, so the backlog grows. Change on Peach States horizon District attorneys like Cooke plan on lobbying for additional funding for the GBIs drug analysis sector, and it appears odds are in the GBIs favor. For the first time in his administration, Governor Nathan Deal is allowing agencies to ask for up to two percent more in spending. Keenan confirmed the GBI will be requesting additional funding to hire more drug analysis scientists in its next needs assessment. In todays world, forensic evidence is more important than its ever been before, Keenan said. Judges and juries expect to see crime lab evidence and analysis in the courtroom. [Cases] cant go forward until a crime lab completes its work. [The backlog] creates turmoil in the criminal justice system. A judge on Friday set a Feb. 11 trial date for an Indiana man charged in the 1988 abduction, rape and killing of an 8-year-old girl. Allen Superior Judge John Surbeck set aside two weeks for the trial of John D. Miller, 59, of Grabill, who is charged with murder and child molestation in the killing of April Tinsley. Surbeck scheduled the next hearing in the case for Oct. 5. Miller, with his hands clenched together, appeared to tremble during the hearing. He wore an orange-and-white Allen County Jail jumpsuit and was shackled at the wrists and ankles. He did not address the judge directly. The victim's mother, Janet Tinsley, sat in the front row wearing a blue T-shirt with her daughter's photo on it and the words "Never Forgotten." She was surrounded by about a dozen friends and family members. Public defender Anthony Churchward said afterward that he had not assessed Miller's fitness to stand trial. He said that if the defense team feels Miller can't assist in his defense, the court would require a competency evaluation. "That determination will be one of the first things we'll address," Churchward said. "It will be made sooner rather than later." Investigators allege that Miller confessed July 15 to abducting, sexually assaulting and strangling the Fort Wayne girl in April 1988. Her body was found three days later in a ditch about 20 miles (32 kilometers) away. He's being held without bond. Investigators say DNA evidence and genealogy databases helped link Miller to April's killing. A fire whirl spawned by the Carr Fire generated wind speeds of up to 143 mph the equivalent to an EF-3 tornado causing a wave of destruction. The National Weather Service and Cal Fires Serious Accident Review team, announced on Thursday that they were conducting a storm damage survey regarding the whirl which occurred a week ago in Redding, Calif. The rotating column of fire, induced by intense rising heat and turbulent winds, caused power line towers to collapse, uprooted several trees and removed tree bark. CALIFORNIA FIREFIGHTERS THANKED BY THREE GIRLS ON HORSEBACK Pictures released by NWS Sacramento showed the scorched area resembling an apocalyptic wasteland. Neil Lareau, assistant professor of atmospheric sciences at the University of Nevada, Reno, told the Los Angeles Times he estimated that the whirl was around 500 yards in diameter and said the event was rare. It was definitely a massive one, and that just speaks to how intense the heating was. MORE THAN 1,000 HOMES TORCHED IN CALIFORNIA WILDFIRES It created such a massive whirl that it looked like a tornado and it takes an impressive amount of heating and local wind swirling up to create something like that. It was quite a monster. The fire in the Redding area, 225 miles north of San Francisco, is the largest of 18 wildfires through the state of California, scorching 126,000 acres since July 23, which it was triggered by the mechanical failure of a vehicle, according to authorities. It has killed six people so far, including two firefighters, and destroyed more than 1,000 homes as well as nearly 500 others buildings. More than 13,000 firefighters are battling the blazes across the state. Tens of thousands of people remain under evacuation orders, and it has become the sixth most destructive wildfire in California state history. The Associated Press contributed to this report Investigators are offering no new details in their search for a University of Iowa student who vanished more than two weeks ago. Kevin Winker, investigative operations director for the Iowa Department of Public Safety, said Friday he knows the tight-lipped approach is frustrating for people who are eager to know what happened to 20-year-old Mollie Tibbetts. But he says investigators will continue to withhold basic details about the case because they believe it gives them the best chance to solve it. At a news conference, Winker said investigators are confident in their timeline of the night Tibbetts went missing from her small hometown of Brooklyn, Iowa, on July 18. But again he declined to say whether Tibbetts is believed to have returned home safely from a jog that evening. Houston police searched and cleared the home of a man suspected in last month's killing of former President George H.W. Bush's doctor, after SWAT teams surrounded the house Thursday night, reports said. Joseph James Pappas, 62, has been charged in the murder of Houston cardiologist Dr. Mark Hausknecht. A neighbor alerted authorities after seeing an open gate at the house in Houston's Westbury neighborhood and spotting someone who resembled the wanted man, the Houston Chronicle reported, citing a source familiar with the case. Nobody remembered that gate being open, and also ... light was seen on inside the residence, Houston police Chief Matt Slinkard said. Police searched and cleared the area in an abundance of caution, he said. There was no indication the suspect has returned to his residence, the chief said. Some of the lights in the house are motion-activated, and a moving items such as a fan could set that off, Slinkard said. It was unclear if the suspect fled the country, so police were focused on locating Pappas locally, he said. Investigators had said Pappas was believed to be armed and dangerous, according to Houston's Fox 26. Houston police also previously said they were looking into whether Pappas tried to sell various weapons online several days after the July 20 fatal shooting of Hausknecht. Police allege Pappas shot Hausknecht while the cardiologist rode his bicycle to work at Houston Methodist Hospital. SUSPECT IDENTIFIED IN MURDER OF H.W. BUSH'S FORMER DOCTOR Hausknecht was shot three times while he was on his bike and Acevedo said the shots that Pappas is accused of firing -- as he also rode on a bike -- "took some skill." Acevedo said Wednesday that Pappas might have been seeking revenge for his mother, who died on the doctor's operating table more than 20 years ago, in April 1997. The Associated Press contributed to this report. An Indiana Army vet says he used his code-breaking skills to crack a nearly 47-year-old mystery -- the identity of the infamous airline hijacker D.B. Cooper. Cooper became a folklore legend after parachuting from a jet in 1971 in a business suit and escaping with $200,000 in ransom money. The FBI closed the case two years ago without identifying a suspect and after recovering only a portion of the stolen loot. Rick Sherwood, 70, of Wheatfield, believes the hijacker is a former military pilot named Robert Rackstraw, The Indianapolis Star reported Friday. Sherwood worked with codes during the Vietnam War and used that knowledge to decipher two letters allegedly written by Cooper in 1971 and 1972. One of the letters contained an incongruous string of numbers: 717171684* The numbers just didnt belong, he told the paper. DB COOPER LETTER REVEALS HIJACKER'S TRUE IDENTITY, SLEUTHS CLAIM The letter began tauntingly, I knew from the start that I wouldn't be caught," and was sent to four papers: The Washington Post, The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times and The Seattle Times. Eventually, Sherwood took 717171 to mean the 371st, the unit he and Rackstraw had been assigned to briefly in Vietnam. He said they never met but could have communicated on the radio during missions. "When the 371st come up, I seen that, I'm going: 'Yes, this is it. This is the beginning of breaking that code,' he told the paper. Using a simple letter counting system, he found other clues that pointed to Rackstraw, according to the paper. With the second letter, Sherwood decoded secret messages by keying in on repeated words and phrases, The IndyStar reported. He told the paper that a line that says and please tell the lackey cops, D.B. Cooper is not my real name, hides the coded message, I am 1st Lt. Robert Rackstraw. The paper reported that Sherwood admitted he could be wrong finding what he wanted to because he was working from the assumption the letters were from Rackstraw. But he thinks there is just too much for it to be a coincidence or wishful thinking. The FBI turned over both letters to documentary filmmaker Thomas Colbert as part of a lawsuit seeking access to the voluminous Cooper investigative file. Colbert said in a book that Rackstraw was Cooper. He also leads of team of amateur Cooper sleuths with experience in law enforcement and the military that has been pursing Rackstraw for years. DB COOPER SLEUTH CLAIMS HIJACKER WAS CIA OPERATIVE, FBI IS 'FLAT-OUT LYING' ABOUT CASE The FBI says it will reopen the D.B. Coooper case only if it obtains Cooper's parachute or more of the ransom money. Fox News has reported that Rackstraw denied he was Cooper in rambling letters he sent to the judge hearing Colberts lawsuit last year. At the time he was 73 and living in San Diego. The FBI cleared Rackstraw as a Cooper suspect in the 1980s, according to The IndyStar, which reported that during a brief interview Rackstraw refused to directly deny he was the legendary outlaw. Dont get down to the bottom line," he said. "Thats a 40 million dollar question for Christs sake. He also told the paper Colberts claims were fake news. Click for more from the Indianapolis Star. The man charged with murdering George H.W. Bushs former cardiologist committed suicide Friday after being confronted by two members of the Houston Police department, officials said. Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo declared "This is our suspect" at a press conference less than an hour after Joseph Pappas, 62, shot himself near his home in Houston. Acevedo explained that a witness called authorities at 9:21 A.M. to say he had seen a suspect he believed was Pappas, as well as a wallet with his ID that he left on the ground. Acevedo said he wasn't sure if Pappas left the wallet on purpose or by accident. When police arrived, they found Pappas wearing body armor. He did not comply with officers' commands and, when more officers closed in, Pappas shot himself in the head, around 3.5 miles from his home. Acevedo said he was convinced there may have been a shootout with police had a second officer not arrived. "You don't wear body armor when you're thinking of suicide," he said. He added police believe Pappas had been camping since Wednesday, when he was identified as the suspect in Dr. Mark Hausknecht's death. Pappas was found with a backpack and a bullet proof vest under his shirt. Acevedo also addressed reports of a "hit list" Pappas had. He said that the suspect had put together an extensive file on Hausknecht, and inside the file there was a sheet with several names of other doctors and employees of the Texas Medical Center, all of whom were informed. The confrontation with police came the day after Houston police searched and cleared his home after a neighbor alerted authorities when they saw an open gate and spotted someone resembling him. A light was also on inside the residence. Police believed Pappas was seeking revenge for his mother, who died on Hausknecht's operating table more than 20 years ago. Hausknecht was shot three times while riding his bike on July 20. Pappas, who was also riding a bike, rode past the doctor before turning around and pulling the trigger, according to police. SUSPECT IDENTIFIED IN MURDER OF GEORGE H.W. BUSH'S FORMER DOCTOR Pappas worked from 1983 through 1995 as a peace officer with two Houston-area constable offices. He also worked from 1995 through 2013 as a reserve officer for the same constable offices, according to records from the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement. Ever since Hausknecht was shot dead, Pappas appeared to have been putting his affairs in order. An Ohio woman claimed he deeded his Houston home to her three days after the attack. Jeanette Spencer, from Painseville, said she received notification in the mail from family friend Joseph James Pappas, 62, according to The News-Herald. She said upon receiving the deed, which was executed in February 2017, but recorded July 23 at the Harris County Courthouse, that she phoned him. I called him on the 24th and he said he had a terminal illness, and thats why he deed [me] the house, she said. Spencer, who has known Pappas for 25 years, says she subsequently received a text message on July 30, the day one of her daughters was going to meet with him in Houston, claiming he was going to commit suicide. Sorry for handling this this way. House and property is now yours. Please make best use of it for you and [your daughter], the text read. Upon receiving the text, Spencer phoned her daughter and the police. She added another of her daughters, who Pappas took under his wing when the woman lived in Houston, was aware he was angry with a doctor over his mothers death but she did not know any more. SUSPECT IN MURDER OF HW BUSH'S FORMER DOCTOR APPARENTLY TRIED TO SELL GUNS ONLINE DAYS AFTER SLAYING Pappas also apparently tried to sell guns online days after carrying out the murder. Five days after the killing, a stash of weapons including two tactical vests, a .38-caliber revolver and ammunition was listed for sale on a popular firearms website, the Houston Chronicle reported. The sellers number was traced back to Pappas real estate company. Its unclear if any of the weapons were used to kill Hausknecht. President Bush was treated by Hausknecht in 2000 for an irregular heartbeat after he complained about lightheadedness. Bush paid tribute to him as a "fantastic cardiologist and a good man." Fox News' Katherine Lam and Amy Lieu contributed to this report The Latest on the final report into the Oct. 1 mass shooting in Las Vegas that killed 58 people (all times local): 9:50 a.m. The investigation into last year's mass shooting in Las Vegas has found that the gunman spent $1.5 million over 2 years, including money paid to casinos. A report into the shooting made public Friday included a summary of 14 of Stephen Paddock's bank accounts. The report said Paddock had $2.1 million in the accounts in September 2015. By September 2017, the total amount had dropped to $530,000. Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo says Paddock was a reclusive, high-stakes gambler but had not been "as successful in the gambling as he was in the previous years." Investigators say Paddock paid $600,000 to casinos and. More than $170,000 was paid to credit card companies. The analysis said Paddock had also made nearly $95,000 in firearms-related purchases. ___ 9:25 a.m. Authorities in Las Vegas says the investigation into last year's mass shooting shows no evidence of a conspiracy or a second gunman. Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo says Friday that the investigation revealed that Stephen Paddock acted alone in the Oct. 1 shooting. Lombardo says there was "no other gunman" besides Paddock. Earlier this year, federal prosecutors brought criminal charges against a man who they say Paddock sold armor-piercing bullets. Authorities have said the man, Douglas Haig, sold Paddock 720 rounds of tracer bullets. He has pleaded not guilty. ___ 9:20 a.m. Authorities in Las Vegas say the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit is expected to release a psychological profile of the Las Vegas mass shooter later this year. Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo made the announcement as he made public results of the investigation into the shooting. Shooter Stephen Paddock was found dead in a 32nd floor hotel suite after he opened fire on crowds at a country music festival below, killing 58 people. ___ 9:10 a.m. Authorities in Las Vegas say they cannot "definitively" determine the gunman's motive in the Oct. 1 mass shooting that killed 58 people. Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo made the announcement as he made public results of the investigation into the shooting. Lombardo says shooter Stephen Paddock was "an unremarkable man" who showed signs of a troubled mind. Lombardo Las Vegas police have completed their investigation into the shooting. Paddock was found dead in the hotel room where he opened fire. 8:30 a.m. Las Vegas police are making public their final report on the shooting that killed 58 people and injured hundreds last year at a country music festival and was the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history. Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo announced he will provide reporters with the results of 10 months investigating the Oct. 1 shooting on the Las Vegas Strip, though it's unclear if police will have any answers as to why gunman Stephen Paddock shot from a Mandalay Bay hotel room into a concert crowd of 22,000 people. The sheriff and the top FBI official in Nevada have said that they believe the shooter acted alone and it was not terrorism and that they may never know his motive. Police have released 13 batches of investigative documents, 911 audio, police reports, witness statements and video over the last three months. An araial photo of an island in South China sea [File photo: Xinhua] SINGAPORE, Aug. 2 (Xinhua) -- China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have arrived at a single draft negotiating text of the Code of Conduct (COC) in the South China Sea, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Thursday. Wang made the remarks at the China-ASEAN foreign ministers' meeting. The draft text will serve as the basis of future COC negotiations. It is another significant progress on the negotiations of COC, Wang noted. "I believe that the negotiations on COC can be speeded up if we exclude external interference," Wang said. Facts will prove that China and ASEAN member states are capable of maintaining peace and stability in the South China Sea and reaching regional rules adhered to by all through negotiations, Wang said. China has dispatched its most advanced rescue ship equipped with professional search-and-rescue teams to the Nansha Islands days ago, which will be stationed there to carry out various missions, and the ship will provide maritime assistance for ships from countries around the world when necessary, he said. China will provide service on scientific research and meteorology for the regional countries in the future, Wang added. Speaking on the same occasion, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Singapore Vivian Balakrishnan said ASEAN member states and China have arrived at a single draft negotiating text of COC which will be a living document and the basis of future COC negotiations. "We also agreed on the key modalities for future rounds of COC negotiations," the Singaporean foreign minister added. At a press conference after the China-ASEAN foreign ministers' meeting, the Chinese top diplomat said the biggest achievement made at the meeting is that the China-ASEAN relations have developed from growth to maturity, thus entering a new era of all-round development. "We will share opportunities and face challenges together so as to build a closer community with shared future." The China-ASEAN cooperation plan has been elevated to a new high, Wang said, noting that the two sides have reached consensus on the China-ASEAN Strategic Partnership Vision 2030. The two sides have also made achievements in security cooperation, innovation cooperation and people-to-people and cultural exchanges, he added. According to Wang, China will provide more financial support to China-ASEAN cooperation in the future. As this year marks the 15th anniversary of the establishment of the China-ASEAN strategic partnership, he also called for joint efforts to push for greater development in East Asian regional cooperation. A Florida man dumped a bucket of human waste inside a 7-Eleven convenience store Wednesday as an act of revenge on a manager who had kicked him out months prior, police said. Damian Simms, 41, walked into the St. Petersburg shop at around 1:30 a.m. and emptied the bucket containing human feces and urine onto the floor and some splashed onto merchandise, The Smoking Gun reported. Simms was reportedly mad at the manager for having him kicked out of the store in May, according to the crime website. Police said Simms filled the bucket with waste from a port-a-potty. Simms was charged with trespass and criminal mischief and was being held at the Pinellas County Jail on $300 bond, according to The Smoking Gun. He is barred from contacting the store or the manager. The Smoking Gun reported Simms had a long criminal history, which includes convictions for burglary, weapons possession, grand theft, animal cruelty, drunk driving and carrying a concealed weapon. A Georgia man has been sentenced to life in prison with no possibility of parole after pleading guilty Thursday to molesting and killing his girlfriends toddler daughter two years ago. Authorities said Dustin Drew Putnal, 29, beat and assaulted 21-month-old Ella Grayce Pointer in Cedartown, Ga., the Atlanta Journal Constitution reported. Polk County police said Putnal sexually assaulted the child, who also suffered severe head trauma, Fox 5 Atlanta reported. The toddler died in a hospital Oct. 30, 2016, the report said. JusticeforEllaGrayce became a popular hashtag on social media as investigators zeroed in on Putnal, the Journal-Constitution reported. Putnal was charged one month after the girls death, the paper reported. We felt like this was an appropriate resolution, Putnals attorney, Gerald Word, told the newspaper. Mr. Putnal was remorseful and was willing to accept his punishment. District Attorney Jack Browning said the resolution of Putnal's case was with the approval and blessing of Ella Grayce's family, adding that the case had been a nightmare for the family, according to Fox 5. "Ella's family has made clear that they approve of this sentence because it brings certain and definite closure, without the worry of appeal-after-appeal-after-appeal over the next unknown number of years, Browning said in a news release Thursday morning. (N)ow they can live their lives without the constant fear that Putnal's conviction might be overturned for some reason and he be allowed to go free. The girls grandmother Dorothy Garner had previously reminisced to the station about Ella. "Ella Grayce was so precious, such a beautiful child. She was always laughing and giggling and playing," Garner said. The 12-year-old Chinese girl believed to have been abducted from Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport was approached by a mystery couple during an earlier sightseeing tour of New York City and the exchange may have something to do with her disappearance -- officials revealed Friday. Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority Police Chief David Huchler said investigators are working now to figure out what the couple said to JinJing Ma outside of what appeared to be the World Trade Center. The teen, part of a tour group visiting the U.S., arrived in New York on July 26 and was last seen Thursday morning walking out of the airport near the nations capital alongside an unidentified Asian female. We are in the process of trying to determine the identity of these individuals but it does appear that they are connected to the incident here, Huchler told reporters. It appears there was some familiarity, but I dont know if it is a cordial exchange but that is something we are trying to verify at this time. We believe the contact up in New York is connected to the contact here, he added. Virginia police issued an Amber Alert Thursday for Ma, describing her as around five-feet-tall with black hair, brown eyes and weighs 90 pounds. She was last seen wearing a white T-shirt with blue jeans and black jacket. She received her passport just prior to checking in at the airport and then left her group, Virginia Police said in a Facebook post. She met up with an unknown, Asian female, who assisted the 12-year-old with changing clothes. The two then walked together to the Arrivals area of the airport, eventually disappearing from the camera view. Upon leaving the airport, the girl was seen entering a white Infiniti vehicle with New York tags, the official said, adding that she is considered to be "in extreme danger" due to her age. The suspected abductor is believed to be a middle-aged woman with black hair and a black dress on, police said. She was initially said to be in her 40s, however authorities later described her as being in her 50s. Before the woman at the airport made contact with Ma, she was observed entering the facility with a male who was believed to be driving the Infiniti. Anyone with details is advised to call 911 or the Metro Washington Airport Authority Police at (703) 417-2400. Fox News' Elizabeth Zwirz and Ben Florance contributed to this report. A mysterious foul odor has one Utah city telling residents if you smell something, say something. Residents have complained of a smell spreading across West Valley City, and city officials are trying to pinpoint where the odor is coming from. Its kind of a sewer type smell, West Valley City communications director Sam Johnson told FOX13 on Wednesday. Its just a musty, sewer smell that is very noticeable and very unpleasant that you can smell in certain parts of the city stronger, but it even comes down here to City Hall. West Valley City has been plagued by the smell for years, according to the station. The city launched a campaign urging residents to call city leaders so they can document complaints. Johnson said the culprit could be a waste processor located outside West Valley City by a landfill and a warm summer breeze could filter the smell into nearby neighborhoods. Smells where they had to go inside, shut their windows," he described. Things that were concerning to their kids. The odor has residents perplexed. Sometimes when youre walking by its like death," Nicholas Britton, a West Valley City resident, told the station. "Youre like, what in the heck? Youre looking around thinking 'What the hecks around?' Maybe an animal or something. Johnson hopes more complaints will convince Salt Lake County and Utahs Department of Environmental Quality to do something about it. New Jersey police were searching for a suspect who allegedly torched a playground for children with special needs Wednesday. The playground went up in flames at around 6 p.m. at the Matthew Jago School #28 in Woodbridge, officials said. Firefighters were able to put the fire out quickly and no injuries were reported. It's just heartbreaking. My daughter was crying in the back of the car what are the kids gonna do in fall when school starts just very upset, an unidentified parent told WABC-TV. The playground was built in 2008 and is designed for children of all ages with special needs, skills and experiences. There are 60 different pieces of equipment that are all handicapped-accessible. A kid in a wheelchair can get up on the apparatus. It is just a fantastic place, Mayor John McCormac told WABC. Woodbridge police posted photos of the charred playground on Facebook and asked those with any information to contact Det. Jorge Quesada or the main police phone number. The homelessness crisis in Seattle has turned a Jewish cemetery on the north side of the city into a battleground in the near-daily fight for groundskeepers to clean up everything from used needles to human feces from a fleet of RVs parked nearby. The historic Bikur Cholim cemetery located about 8 miles north of downtown Seattle has burial sites dating back to the 1800's, but in the past two years a small problem has "exploded" into a costly cleanup, according to Ari Hoffman, a board member of the Bikur Cholim Machzikay Hadath Synagogue. In the past two years, Hoffman said groundskeepers have been busy with a surge of needles, drug paraphernalia, used condoms and human feces "all over the place." "You name it, we found it in the cemetery," he told Fox News on Wednesday That even includes catching people have sex on the flat tombstones inside the cemetery, according to Hoffman. Besides the trash and associated cleanup costs, groundskeepers have been assaulted and some campers even tapped into the cemeterys electrical power. The problems started to get worse in the past two years when RVs began parking along the streets surrounding the side of the cemetery, as many people have taken to living in campers. A count by a homeless advocacy group in January revealed that there are nearly the same amount of people living out of their vehicles that were living on the streets in King County up 46 percent from 2017, according to KOMO News. "You name it, we found it in the cemetery" Ari Hoffman "As long as the RVs are there, we're having problems," Hoffman told Fox News on Wednesday. SEATTLE CITY HALL EXPANDING TO HOUSE HOMELESS AFTER 'HEAD TAX' FLOP In April, a man who identified himself as Steve Alexander told Q13News he lived in one of campers near the cemetery and had clothes hanging on a cemetery fence, but was not part of the problem. Ive been picking up trash here all of the time. Every time I come here theres always a pile from the people here left before, Alexander said. City officials recently put up two-hour parking signs near the cemetery, but Hoffman said the still RVs came back to the area. He said he's contact other cemeteries across the city who have reported similar problems. "They're everywhere, every neighborhood has its pocket of these things," he told Fox News. "It's completely out of control, this RV chaos." Hoffman said prostitution got so bad earlier this year the cemetery had to spend $50,000 on removing trees and installing lights near the back of the site to keep people out when the facility is closed. Last month, KOMO News reported that Seattles Customer Service bureau has received nearly 10,000 complaints of abandoned vehicles over the last year in the city. A request for comment from Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan's office by Fox News was not returned, but city officials told KOMO News that RVs are legally allowed to park along the street after 6 p.m. for up to three days. City officials said they will only tow an RV in extreme circumstances, after police have said it to move. I understand how frustrating that is for people that are impacted by some of these long-term RVs, but if the vehicles move simply as much as a block, they are in compliance," Will Lemke, Communications Director for Homeless Response City of Seattle, told KOMO. "The city will go and continue to work with them to reduce their trash. Try to make the impact less harmful to the surrounding community." SEATTLE'S MOST CONTROVERSIAL PROJECTS, FROM $52M FOR STREETCARS TO A $113M OCEAN PAVILION The Seattle region had the third-highest number of homeless people in the U.S., despite the city spending $68 million on combating homelessness last year. Earlier this year, Seattle lawmakers voted to expand the number of housing and shelter units by 25 percent, including an extra 100 spaces at City Hall. Any potential crackdown on RVs in The Emerald City may face a legal hurdle, after a King County Superior Court judge ruled in March that the city could not seize a homeless man's truck when it was towed and impounded in 2016, according to KOMO. Lawyers argued the city violated Washington state's homestead law, which is intended to protect a person's home from being taken during a bankruptcy, when Steve Young's truck was impounded and he could not pay the legal fees. The Seattle City Attorney told KOMO News last month he is appealing the March ruling. If this ruling is allowed to stand, my fear is the City would effectively lose control of its streets, he told KOMO. If Mr. Long can declare a homestead by parking on the street than anyone can, and the ability of the city to police its own streets would be severely compromised. As for Hoffman, he told Fox News on Wednesday he is considering speaking to the full cemetery board about the possibility of filing a class-action lawsuit against the city over damages the facility has sustained. "It's just out of control," he said. Fox News' Adam Shaw and The Associated Press contributed to this report. Since Mollie Tibbetts vanished July 18, 49 other people have been listed as missing on the Iowa Department of Public Safetys database. They hail from all over the state, from towns and cities big and small -- and the vast majority of them are under 20 years old. But officials who are tasked with making sure these loved ones return home urge the public not to fret, as this, despite being surprising to some, is the norm there. FAMILY AND FRIENDS ON THE ONGOING SEARCH FOR MOLLIE In light of the missing person investigation of Mollie Tibbetts, concerns have come to light about the number of juveniles reported missing in Iowa in recent weeks, the Iowa Department of Public Safety acknowledged in late July as national interest in the Tibbetts case was heating up. DPS says in fiscal year 2017, 4,311 juveniles were reported missing in Iowa around an average of 12 per day. But it added the vast majority of [them] are found or returned home within 24 hours. Typically these cases are runaway situations, a DPS statement said. The number of missing juveniles reported in recent weeks is in line with historical numbers. As of Thursday, it said there were only 390 people listed as missing on the Iowa Missing Person Information Clearinghouse, 225 of which were juveniles. The statement came following posts on social media platforms such as Twitter that warned of seemingly new trends of young boys and girls names popping up in the database. One tweet hinting at such was shared more than 5,000 times. Department of Public Safety spokesperson Medina Rahmanovic, however, told the Argus Leader one of the reasons why the number of missing appears so high is entries in the database are linked to specific incidents not individuals. Therefore, a persons name could be seen more than once in the records. "We have juvenile runaways who run multiple times," she told the newspaper. "One juvenile can run three or four times, and that contributes to that big number." On a national level, the FBI said, as of Dec. 31, 2017, there are 88,089 active missing person records in the National Crime Information Centers Missing Person File, which was established in 1975. It said 32,121 of those entries are related to juveniles under the age of 18. When factoring in juveniles under the age of 21, the number increases to 41,089 nearly half of all the entries in the file. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children says if your child or someone you know goes missing, first call local law enforcement, then their number at 1-800-THE-LOST (1-800-843-5678). "NCMEC is prepared to assist in all missing child cases, even when a child has been missing for a long period of time, was abducted internationally by a parent or has special needs," the organization says on its website. "No missing child is ever forgotten, no matter how long they have been missing." Iranians protested for a third day in a row against the clerical regime that they blame for running the economy into the ground. Protesters have long complained of regime corruption and mismanagement that has led to severe water shortages and significant price hikes on basic foodstuffs. Another big complaint is its spending on its foreign adventurism in places such as Syria and Yemen, while ignoring problems at home, which seems to have pushed ordinary Iranians over the edge as they risk prison or worse. According to the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), the protests are growing. A spokesman told Fox News that the regime has arrested many protesters, and have dealt with them violently. He also said the authorities have used water cannons and tear gas to halt the protesters. A video circulating on Twitter shows protesters marching in the Iranian capital of Tehran Thursday evening: #IranProtests against Khameneis regime reach the capital Tehran tonight w/chants of The mullahs must get lost (video via MEK in Vali Asr Street) For 3 days protests have rocked Irans major cities #FreeIran2018 Another Tweet showed protesters in Arak shouting, No to Gaza, No to Lebanon. My life for Iran. Iran analyst Behnam Ben Taleblu, a research fellow at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies (FDD), in Washington, D.C., said the words of the protesters are significant. The chants by the brave, chador clad women of Najafabad in Isfahan province, which used to be a traditional bastion of regime support said it best: They fed Syria, but made our young people turn old. Iranian protestors recognize that the regime in Tehran does not have their best interests at heart, and will continue to divert national treasure towards its ideological contests abroad, he said. Ben Taleblu said its significant that the very people who have been the backbone of support for the regime are now protesting against it. Although Tehran is yet to respond with the same type of force deployment seen in 2009, these protests present a larger problem for the regimes leadership than previous movements. They represent those whom the regime relied upon in the past, such as day laborers, the urban and rural poor, and even select religious classes. In a sense, the regimes social base is turning against it, indicative of the growing cleavage between state and society in Iran. A spokesman for Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz, who has long called for supporting Iranian protesters, told Fox News: Senator Cruz believes that the United States should be doing everything possible to support these protesters. These are people who have been bravely taking to the streets for months to speak out against the ayatollahs, who brutalize and repress them, and who spent Irans windfall from the Obama Iran deal on terrorism, and bolstering Assad, instead of on Irans citizens. Maryam Rajavi head of the NCRI, in a statement, said that, I salute all the women and youth who waged a staunch resistance today against the criminal revolutionary guards, Bassij, and plain clothes agents. Irans risen and revolting cities are joining the protests, one after the other. The cry for freedom is becoming louder, and the uprising is expanding more and more every moment. There is no force more powerful than the united force of young people. Farhan Haq, a spokesman for the United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres, told Fox News that, We once more emphasize, as we do with all such protests, that the rights of their freedom of expression and peaceful assembly needs to (be) respected by all including the security forces. He declined to say whether Guterres had been in touch with Iranian authorities over the protests. Gaza's Hamas rulers led several thousand Palestinians in a protest along the frontier with Israel on Friday, in an apparent show of presence as Egyptian efforts intensify to broker a broad truce between the Islamic militant group and Israel. A 25-year-old Palestinian was killed and 90 were wounded by Israeli army fire, Gaza health officials said. It was the latest in a series of protests along Gaza's perimeter fence with Israel, aimed in part at trying to break an 11-year-old border blockade. Israel and Egypt sealed Gaza in 2007, after Hamas overran the territory. Friday's protest was attended by several exiled Hamas leaders who had entered Gaza a day earlier for meetings of the group's decision-making political bureau. "We want to break the siege on Gaza once and forever," said Hussam Badran, one of the visiting Hamas leaders. The political bureau is discussing Egyptian proposals for a truce with Israel and the U.N.-led reconstruction of Gaza, said Ghazi Hamad, a Gaza-based official in the group. Meetings began Thursday and will continue through Saturday, Hamad said. It marked the first time all members of the political bureau got together in Gaza, Hamas has said. Over the years, truce deals have proven fragile, and it was not clear if the current efforts would succeed. However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday called off a planned trip to South America and scheduled a meeting of his security Cabinet for Sunday to monitor Gaza developments. Tensions along the Israel-Gaza fence have escalated since Hamas launched regular protests in the area in late March. Large turnout has also been driven by widespread desperation in Gaza, amid worsening conditions linked to the blockade. Power is on for just a few hours a day, unemployment has sky-rocketed and poverty is widening. Friday's death brought to 156 the number of Palestinians killed by Israeli fire since late March, including at least 118 in protests near the fence. Others, among them armed Hamas militants, have been killed in attempted border attacks or in Israeli airstrikes. Several thousand Gazans have been wounded by Israeli fire since March. The Israeli military said that about 8,000 Palestinians took part in Friday's rally. It said a tank fired at a Hamas military post in Gaza after Palestinians briefly crossed the frontier and threw bombs. The military said its soldiers sustained no casualties in the incident. In another development, a boat carrying activists challenging Israel's naval blockade of Gaza is approaching the territory, said the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, an umbrella group for pro-Palestinian and Islamic charities from around the world. The coalition said Friday that the Swedish-flagged vessel, Freedom, was nearly 60 miles (95 kilometers) off the coast. The boat and another vessel, which was intercepted by Israeli forces on Sunday, set sail to Gaza from Europe last week. The Israeli military had no immediate comment. Activists have made several attempts to breach the blockade in recent years, most notably in 2010, when Israeli naval commandos killed nine Turks in a raid at sea. ___ Associated Press writers Fares Akram in Amman, Jordan, Ian Deitch in Jerusalem and Mohammed Daraghmeh in Ramallah, West Bank contributed. White House spokesperson Sarah Sanders (Rear) attends a press briefing at the White House in Washington D.C., the United States, Aug. 2, 2018. The White House said on Thursday that U.S. President Donald Trump has responded to a new letter from Kim Jong Un, top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), and Trump's letter will be delivered "shortly." (Xinhua/Liu Jie) WASHINGTON, Aug. 2 (Xinhua) -- The White House said on Thursday that U.S. President Donald Trump has responded to a new letter from Kim Jong Un, top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), and Trump's letter will be delivered "shortly." In a press briefing, White House spokesperson Sarah Sanders said "we have responded to Chairman Kim's letter, the president has, and that letter will be delivered shortly." Refusing to reveal the contents of the two letters, Sanders only said that the letters "addressed their commitment from their joint statement" made in the Singapore summit. "They are going to continue to work together towards complete and total denuclearization," she said. Trump earlier tweeted that he looks forward to seeing Kim "soon." However, Sanders said that although the White House is "certainly open to that discussion," there is not "a second meeting that is currently locked in or finalized." Speaking of the DPRK's repatriation of the remains of fallen U.S. soldiers from the 1950-1953 Korean War, Sanders said that the U.S. side was "incredibly grateful and thankful." "We are going to continue to work with North Korea," she said, referring to the DPRK. Earlier on Thursday, Sanders said in a statement that Trump has received a letter from Kim, and "the ongoing correspondence between the two leaders is aimed at following up on their meeting in Singapore and advancing the commitments made in the U.S.-DPRK joint statement." Trump also thanked Kim via Twitter for returning the remains of fallen U.S. soldiers from the Korean War. The repatriation of the remains of U.S. service members was part of the commitment made by Trump and Kim in their Singapore summit on June 12. A ceremony was held on Wednesday in Hawaii to receive the remains. next Image 1 of 2 prev Image 2 of 2 Chinese and Southeast Asian naval forces staged their first computer-simulated drills so they can jointly respond to emergencies and build trust amid the long-seething disputes in the South China Sea. The two-day exercises that ended Friday involved more than 40 sailors from China and the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations. They worked on search and rescue scenarios following a mock ship collision. Singapore's navy hosted the drills at a training center in Changi naval base, where officers coordinated their force deployments and helicopter landings on navy ships. They monitored developments on three giant screens, including one showing the location of a collision between an oil tanker, which supposedly caught fire, and a passenger ship that sank and scattered people in the high seas. It's a successful prelude to actual maneuvers at sea that are planned for October in China, said Col. Lim Yu Chuan of the Singapore navy. "The exercise is beneficial to promote military exchanges and cooperation between China and ASEAN member states, to advance our mutual trust," Capt. Liang Zhijia from the People's Liberation Army Navy told reporters. Organizers did not directly link the exercises to the territorial disputes, which escalated after China turned seven disputed reefs into man-made islands, including three with runways. They now resemble bases with buildings and weapons, including surface-to-air missiles, and have sparked protests, including from rival claimants. China and ASEAN have held talks for years to try to ease tensions and prevent the disputes from degenerating into open conflicts. During the annual meeting of their foreign ministers in Singapore Thursday, an agreement was announced on an initial draft of a "code of conduct," a set of rules to discourage aggression and reduce chances of accidental clashes and miscalculations. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi called the negotiating draft "the biggest highlight" of the meeting. "We believe that without any disturbances from the outside, COC (code of conduct) consultations will accelerate," Wang said. China has accused the United States of meddling into an Asian dispute. The U.S. military has deployed its massive aircraft carriers, warships and fighter jets to patrol the disputed waters, including areas close to China's artificial islands, in maneuvers it says aim to promote freedom of navigation and overflight in the strategic waterway. Wang said the planned naval exercises in China and the computer-simulated drills in Singapore were a starting point in efforts to elevate Beijing's security relations with Southeast Asia. "The two sides will further expand our defense exchange and security affairs cooperation in a joint effort to meet security challenges and uphold regional stability," Wang told a news conference Thursday. Aside from China and Taiwan, ASEAN members Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam have overlapping claims in the disputed region. In the bloodiest confrontations, China clashed with Vietnamese forces in the Paracel Islands in 1974, leaving 74 South Vietnamese dead. Another clash in 1988 in the Spratlys, the South China Sea's most contested region, left more than 60 Vietnamese sailors dead. The Latest on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict (all times local): 8:05 p.m. Israel's military says a tank fired at a Hamas military post in Gaza after Palestinians briefly crossed the frontier and threw bombs. The military said it sustained no casualties in the incident. It says some 8,000 Palestinians took part in a weekly border rally led by the Islamic militant group Hamas, which rules the territory. Several exiled Hamas leaders attended the protest. The delegation is in Gaza amid high-level discussions about an Egyptian-brokered cease-fire. Husam Badran, one of the visiting Hamas leaders, said "we want to break the siege on Gaza once and forever." Hamas has led months of border protests aimed in part at drawing attention to the Israeli-Egyptian blockade imposed after it took control of Gaza in 2007. ___ 8 p.m. Gaza's Health Ministry says one Palestinian has been killed and 50 wounded by Israeli army fire in protests near the perimeter fence between the Hamas-ruled territory and Israel. The ministry says an additional 70 Palestinians suffered other types of injuries. Friday's demonstration was the latest in a series of regular protests that began in late March, in part to try to break an 11-year-old border blockade of Gaza. Israel and Egypt imposed the blockade after the Islamic militant Hamas overran the territory in 2007. The protest came as Egypt tries to broker a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas. As part of the negotiations, several exiled Hamas leaders have entered Gaza for high-level internal consultations. Several of the exiled leaders attended the border protests Friday. ___ 6:30 p.m. An activist boat challenging Israel's naval blockade on Hamas-ruled Gaza is approaching the territory. The Freedom Flotilla Coalition, an umbrella group for pro-Palestinian and Islamic charities from around the world, said Friday the Swedish-flagged vessel, Freedom, was nearly 60 miles (95 kilometers) off the coast. The boat and another vessel, which was intercepted by Israeli forces on Sunday, set sail to Gaza from Europe last week. The Israeli military had no immediate comment. Israel and Egypt imposed a blockade on Gaza after the Hamas took over the territory in 2007. Activists have made several attempts to breach the blockade in recent years, most notably in 2010, when Israeli naval commandos killed nine Turks in a raid at sea. ___ 11 a.m. Gaza's ruling Hamas says exiled members of its decision-making political bureau have entered the territory for high-level discussions about an Egyptian-brokered cease-fire deal with Israel. The Hamas website Safa said Friday this marks the first time all members of the political bureau have come together in Gaza. It says the delegation arriving from exile late Thursday included Saleh Arouri, a founder of the Hamas military wing wanted by Israel. Hamas officials have said guarantees were given that the delegation would not be targeted by Israel and that progress has been made toward a truce that could pave the way for a U.N.-led reconstruction of Gaza. Separately, Israel's prime minister has put off a planned South America trip and called a special Cabinet meeting Sunday to monitor Gaza developments. A suspected Russian spy who worked at the U.S. embassy in Moscow for a decade was reportedly discovered by counter-intelligence officers and quietly dismissed last year. The Russian national, a woman, was hired by the U.S. Secret Service and came under suspicion in 2016 during a routine security sweep carried out by the State Department, according to sources quoted by the Guardian. The woman was dismissed last summer after an investigation found she was regularly having unauthorized meetings with the FSB, the Russian intelligence agency. ACCUSED RUSSIAN SPY MARIA BUTINA'S LAWYER: RUSSIA 'DOESN'T WANT HER BACK, THEY WANT HER OUT' We figure that all of them are talking to the FSB, but she was giving them way more information than she should have, a senior administration official told CNN. We knew it was happening and it was just a process of playing it out and giving her specific information that we saw her give back to the FSB. She reportedly had access to the Secret Services intranet and email systems, which included schedules of the current and past presidents, vice-president and their spouses, including Hillary Clinton. She did not have access to highly classified information, according to the official. Her dismissal came shortly before the Kremlin demanded the expulsion of more than 750 U.S. personnel from its diplomatic mission, which is believed to have provided cover for her removal, according to the Guardian. The Secret Service is trying to hide the breach by firing [her], a source told the British newspaper. The damage was already done but the senior management of the Secret Service did not conduct any internal investigation to assess the damage and to see if [she] recruited any other employees to provide her with more information. TRUMP OFFICIALS SOUND ALARM ON RUSSIAN MEDDLING, VOW TO FIGHT BACK: DEMOCRACY 'IN THE CROSSHAIRS' A State Department spokesman would "not comment on allegations related to intelligence or personnel matters." The Secret Service meanwhile said: it recognized "all Foreign Service Nationals (FSN) who provide services in furtherance of our mission, administrative or otherwise, can be subjected to foreign intelligence influence. This is of particular emphasis in Russia." The statement added: As such, all Foreign Service Nationals are managed accordingly to ensure that Secret Service and United States Government interests are protected at all times. As a result, the duties are limited to translation, interpretation, cultural guidance, liaison and administrative support...At no time, in any U.S. Secret Service office, have FSNs been provided or placed in a position to obtain national security information. The revelations come as Maria Butina, a 29-year-old Russian woman, was charged last month with covertly working as a foreign agent while living in the United States. Butina has pleaded not guilty and has been held in jail without bond. The Trump administration meanwhile warned on Thursday that Russia is attempting to influence U.S. elections. We continue to see a pervasive messaging campaign by Russia to try to weaken and divide by the United States, Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats said. An Italian minister is facing broad condemnation after calling for the abolition of an anti-racism law, with key members of the government including the prime minister distancing themselves from the statements. Family Minister Lorenzo Fontana, of the far-right League party, on Friday called for abolishing a 1993 law condemning racist violence, hatred and discrimination, saying "globalists" were using it to "disguise their anti-Italian racism as anti-Fascism." The president of Italy's Union of Jewish Communities, Noemi Di Segni criticized the minister's words, saying the law should be enforced and defended. Di Segni told The Associated Press that the Jewish community is concerned with the current "radicalization" of governments and populations not only in Italy, but also in Europe. "There is a climate of widespread intolerance in many contexts," she said, noting the ongoing intolerance targets minorities and migrants. "If we don't address the change in the climate, we risk of getting there when it's too late." Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte wrote in a Facebook post that he believes the anti-racism law -- known as "Mancino" law -- is "sacrosanct," while 5-Star leader Luigi Di Maio said that such a move was never in the coalition agreement. In addition to the several lawmakers, senators and organizations that condemned the statement, a group representing World War II resistors of fascism called for Fontana's immediate dismissal. But Interior Minister Matteo Salvini, leader of the League, seemed to endorse the abolition in a statement reported by the ANSA news agency, calling it "the right battle at the wrong time." Since the appointment of its new government, Italy has made headlines for several attacks, some targeting migrants, being investigated as possible acts of racism, spurring a debate about whether the long-standing migrant crisis was bringing out racism in some quarters of the Italian population. With the rhetoric clearly sharpened since Salvini has refused to allow rescue ships run by aid groups to dock in Italy, a migrant aid group has announced that it has sued Salvini for "spreading ideas based on ethnic and racial hatred." After Italy's Supreme Court last month deemed the phrase "Go away" addressed to migrants an expression of racial discrimination, Salvini defiantly wrote on his social media accounts: "Go away, go away, go away!" Minister Fontana had already sparked criticism in June, days after his appointment in the new government, when he made comments to Italian media against LGBT families. Usama bin Ladens brother has pleaded with the al Qaeda founders son Hamza not to follow in his infamous fathers footsteps. Hamza bin Laden, officially designated a terrorist by the U.S., surprised his family by going to Afghanistan where he has become an al Qaeda leader under Usamas former deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri, The Guardian reported Friday. The paper reported that Usamas brothers, Ahmad and Hassan, shook their heads when asked about their nephew. We thought everyone was over this, Hassan told the Guardian. Then the next thing I knew, Hamza was saying, I am going to avenge my father. I dont want to go through that again. Hassan added: If Hamza was in front of me now, I would tell him, God guide you. Think twice about what you are doing. Dont retake the steps of your father. You are entering horrible parts of your soul. BIN LADEN'S GRANDSON KILLED IN AIRSTRIKE ALONG AFGHANISTAN-PAKISTAN BORDER Bin Laden's mother, Alia Ghanem, told the paper that her son was a good man until he was "brainwashed" in college by Islamic radicals. "He was a very good child until he met some people who pretty much brainwashed him in his early 20s. You can call it a cult," she said. BIN LADEN'S FORMER BODYGUARD REPORTEDLY SET FOR DEPORTATION AFTER GERMANY ARREST Bin Laden was the mastermind of the 9/11 terror attacks in New York and Washington that killed nearly 3,000 people. He was killed in 2011 in his Abbottabad compound in Pakistan during a daring U.S. Navy SEAL raid. In January it was reported that Hamza bin Ladens 12-year-old son was killed in an airstrike along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border sometime in 2017. His father said the boy died a martyr. During a recent visit to Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, physician-scientist and Pulitzer Prizewinning author Dr. Siddhartha Mukherjee sat down with Hutch President and Director Dr. Gary Gilliland to talk about the recent strides in cancer research and care. They also discussed how scientists should communicate the excitement and caveats of that progress, which Mukherjee plans to chronicle in new chapters for a 10th anniversary edition of his bestselling book, "The Emperor of All Maladies." Right now, Mukherjee said, cancer researchers are grappling with some of the most interesting ideas of our times. Watch as Mukherjee shares his thoughts on keeping the spark alive for scientists just starting their careers and the need to integrate big data with bench science to make meaningful advances for patients. SANAA, Aug. 2 (Xinhua) -- The death toll from Saudi-led coalition airstrikes on Yemen's Red Sea port city of Hodeidah on Thursday increased to 52, the city's Health Office said in a statement obtained by Xinhua. "The death toll from the airstrikes that struck in front of the Public al-Thawra Hospital and on the popular fish market increased to 52, while 102 civilians were wounded," the statement said. "The toll was not final as scores of injured were in critical conditions," it said, citing the office's director Abdulrahman al-Jarallah. The airstrikes hit a fishing port and a popular fish market, about 5 meters away from the main gate of Public al-Thawra Hospital in the city, a hospital official earlier told Xinhua by phone. The official put the death toll at 30, but adding that dozens of bodies and injured were still trapped at the scenes of the airstrikes because of continuing air and sea bombardments. There were no comments yet from the Saudi-led coalition. The attack was the latest in a series of recent airstrikes launched by the Saudi-led coalition on Hodeidah. Last week, a Saudi-led coalition airstrike killed at least five people of a family in the country's northern province of Saada. The impoverished Arab country has been locked in a civil war since the Houthi rebels overran much of Yemen militarily and seized all northern provinces in 2014, including the capital Sanaa. Saudi Arabia leads an Arab military coalition that has intervened in the Yemen war since 2015 to support the government of exiled President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi. More than 10,000 Yemenis, mostly civilians, have been killed in the war, and about 3 million have been displaced. On June 13, the coalition began a major offensive to retake Hodeidah city from the rebels. The war has since raging on the city. On Tuesday, the Houthis offered a unilateral initiative to their foe Saudi-led coalition forces to halt war for two weeks in the Red Sea. The rebels' initiative came a week after Saudi Arabia suspended its oil shipments through the Red Sea strait of Bab al-Mandeb after Houthi fighters attacked two Saudi oil tankers. Cases in Friesdorf and Putzchen : Police investigate 30-year-old after women are harassed Beuel/Bad Godesberg The driver of a BMW, who is alleged to have harassed a woman in Friesdorf as she was biking home, has been found. He is a 30-year-old Bonn man. Meanwhile, another case has come to light. Teilen Teilen Weiterleiten Weiterleiten Tweeten Tweeten Weiterleiten Weiterleiten Drucken At around 5pm, a 48-year-old woman was riding on her bike on Siegburger Strae in Putzchen towards Sankt Augustin. According to her statement, she noticed a black BMW with a Bonn license plate which was blocking the bike path. The driver called out to her. He didnt ask her for directions, instead he told her she had beautiful feet. The woman did not respond and continued on her way. She only connected this incident to the one in Friesdorf after she read about it in the General Anzeiger. (An incident was reported this week in which a man in a black BMW followed a 28-year-old woman in Friesdorf to her apartment. She had been on her bike and he had also commented on her feet.) She recognized the description of the man and reported it to police. According to the press office, several clues came in after the description was reported. The man was ordered to the police station on Thursday morning, where he was questioned by police investigators. "Now the public prosecutor's office must examine whether a punishable offense exists," explained police spokesman Simon Rott. Investigators want to know if any other women have been approached by the man, with the ruse of complimenting their feet. He is 1.75 meters tall, 30-years-old, has a bald head and a sturdy build. Any tips can be called in to police at (0228) 1 50. In the incident in Friesdorf, the man followed the 28-year-old to her apartment, where he is said to have become intrusive with his desire to touch her feet and take photos. Trade Minister Bayoku Conteh & Amb Wu Peng His Excellency the Chinese Ambassador to Sierra Leone, Wu Peng met with Minister of Trade and Industry, Peter Bayuku Konteh in Freetown, Sierra Leones capital. The two personalities discussed issues bothering on deepening China-Sierra Leone economic and trade cooperation. Ambassador Wu said that in recent years, China-Sierra Leone trade and economic relation had been flourishing and a large number of Sierra Leonean businessmen had visited China to explore business opportunities. Trade exchanges between the two have always followed the basic principles of mutual benefit and win-win cooperation, advancing the wellbeing of people of both countries. The Chinese Embassy, Ambassador Wu said would continue to deepen cooperation with Sierra Leones Trade Ministry and boost exchanges in areas such as human resources and capacity building so as to provide better service for companies in both countries. Ambassador Wu also invited Minister Konteh to attend the first China Import Expo to be held this year. He disclosed that the Chinese government had already offered preferential policies such as tariff reduction or duty exemption for Sierra Leone exporters as a way to encourage Sierra Leonean commodities exported to China. Minister Konteh in his response thanked the Peoples Republic of China for its long time assistance to Sierra Leone in various fields and said that the Ministry of Trade and Industry is ready to work closely with China under the New Direction policy of the current government of Sierra Leone to promote bilateral economic and trade cooperation, which would enrich the content of the strategic partnership of comprehensive cooperation between the two countries and benefit both people. He thanked Ambassador Wu for inviting him to attend the China Import Expo and stated that Sierra Leone was sure that Chinas door would always be opened to the country. He said the Sierra Leonean side would also provide more favorable conditions for Chinese investors. Hours after the Catholic Church changed its official teaching Thursday to fully reject the death penalty, a trio of bishops urged action to halt an upcoming execution in Nebraska.Meanwhile, Gov. Pete Ricketts, who is Catholic, said Thursday that he remains in support of capital punishment.The Vatican announced that going forward, the death penalty is inadmissible in all cases and the church should work to abolish it worldwide. Previously, the church held that execution was allowable in rare cases to defend innocent lives from an unjust aggressor.The change was endorsed by Pope Francis in May but announced Thursday. The Vaticans Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith will include the change in new editions of the catechism, the compendium of Catholic teaching.The shift in church doctrine comes as Nebraska approaches its first execution in more than two decades. The Nebraska Supreme Court has set Aug. 14 for the lethal injection of a double-murderer who has spent 38 years on death row. Focus on Detention, Lawsuits Sheriffs Still Looking for Clarity on Deportation Creative Opposition Austin recently took a new tack in the ongoing war between sanctuary cities" and federal immigration authorities. Declaring itself a freedom city, the Texas capital instructed its police officers to arrest fewer people for minor crimes to prevent their fingerprints from going to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and to inform people that they may refuse a request to present their immigration papers.Though novel, Austins gambit fits into a broader pattern: As the Trump administration this year ratcheted up its efforts to curb illegal immigration, cities and states experimented with new ways to resist or assist the crackdown.California declared itself a sanctuary state, prompting pushback from some of its counties. Connecticut, Illinois, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington also enacted statewide measures to limit law enforcement cooperation with immigration authorities, while New Mexico weighed stricter state oversight of immigrant detention facilities.Meanwhile, Iowa, North Carolina and Tennessee enacted anti-sanctuary laws requiring cities to cooperate with immigration authorities, and lawmakers in 16 other states tried but failed to do the same, including Virginia, where the majority Republican Legislature passed a bill and the governor, Democrat Ralph Northam, vetoed it. In Oregon, a group favoring a crackdown on illegal immigration put a measure on the November ballot that would undo that states 1987 sanctuary law.Austin acted after courts largely upheld Texas 2017 anti-sanctuary law, which, among other things, explicitly allows local law enforcement officers to question the immigration status of people they detain or arrest.The states Republican attorney general, Ken Paxton, called the Austin policy part of a pattern of disrespect for the rule of law, and GOP Gov. Greg Abbott said the states policy is a matter of public safety. Texas will not be complicit in endangering our citizens, he said. The state has pledged to defend any law enforcement agency that is sued for following the law.Despite state officials fierce opposition to Austins freedom city declaration, one advocate for undocumented immigrants predicted the policy will spread to other Texas cities.This is a statewide effort because we live in an anti-immigrant state, said Yuridia Loera, a 22-year-old organizer with Austins United We Dream network of unauthorized young people. Loera is among many youths who brought to the United States illegally as children live in constant fear of an arrest for minor crimes like driving without a license, which could start an immigration investigation.We cannot relax, Loera said. I live in Texas and I drive every day and I get goosebumps every day wondering if Ill get pulled over.The divide in Texas between pro-immigrant cities on one side, and state officials and rural and suburban counties who want to crack down on illegal immigration on the other, is playing out in other states too.The general trend is that Southern big cities are becoming more liberal than their state and suburbs, and less involved with [assisting federal officials with] immigration enforcement, said Randy Capps, research director for U.S. programs at the nonpartisan Migration Policy Institute. Some of the suburbs, smaller cities and rural areas, especially in Texas and Georgia, are getting more involved.The recent uproar over the separation and detention of immigrant children has prompted many states and cities to seek more oversight of immigrant detention facilities, or even to restrict them within their borders.Since the beginning of this year, California has barred cities, counties and local law enforcement agencies from entering into new contracts with federal authorities to detain undocumented immigrants. New Mexico lawmakers have scrutinized living conditions in immigration detention, and are considering barring counties from signing new contracts to house immigration prisoners. New York enacted a law enabling immigrant parents facing deportation to designate caretakers for their children, and Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat, signed an order providing free legal services for immigrants detained at airports.Many big cities with large immigrant populations and left-leaning voters have enacted sanctuary policies on principle or out of political expedience. Some smaller cities and counties, however, have done so out of fear of lawsuits. In some cases, courts have ruled that local governments violated prisoners civil rights by delaying their release at the request of federal immigration officials.Since the election of Donald Trump as president in 2016, the number of sanctuary cities has increased by nearly two-thirds to 564, according to a May study by the Federation for American Immigration Reform, a conservative group.The battle between pro-sanctuary and anti-sanctuary jurisdictions likely will be decided in the courts, said Jessica Vaughan, director of policy studies for the Center for Immigration Studies, which favors less immigration.Activists in local jurisdictions on both sides are pushing it where they think they can win, Vaughan said. The pro-sanctuary side is more activated and animated now because they believe there is too much enforcement under Trump, but there will always be resistance to sanctuary policies.In California, some right-leaning cities and counties have gotten creative in trying to resist the states push to halt cooperation with deportations and arrests.Among other things, Californias sanctuary law bars local police from giving ICE any nonpublic information on prisoners, such as release dates, that would allow prisoners to be picked up for possible deportation. The U.S. Department of Justice, supported by Orange County and San Diego County (though not the city of San Diego, which supports the sanctuary law), sued to stop Californias sanctuary law.Last month a federal court upheld the states ban on communication with ICE, but Orange and San Diego counties have found a workaround: Instead of directly informing ICE, they now make public the release dates for everybody, including ICE, to see.Though U.S. District Judge John Mendez dismissed the broader lawsuit against Californias sanctuary law, he did allow the U.S. Department of Justice to proceed with its challenge to Californias prohibition on ICE entering nonpublic areas of workplaces.The suit to stop Californias sanctuary law was part of a broader push by the Jeff Sessions Justice Department to crack down on jurisdictions with sanctuary policies. The agency issued a series of letters in January and in April threatening California and some cities across the country with lawsuits if they didnt cooperate fully with immigration authorities.Meanwhile, in a separate case, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals just this week ruled that the Trump administration overstepped its authority in the presidents January 2017 executive order threatening to withhold funds from sanctuary cities. The court ruled that since Congress controls spending, the executive branch doesnt have the authority to withhold funding based on its policy priorities. While signing into law a bill imposing longer prison sentences for "merchants of death" dealing fentanyl, Gov. John Kasich said he is leaning toward supporting a ballot issue to prevent many low-level drug use and possession offenders from being sent to state prisons.Kasich's signing of Senate Bill 1 Wednesday increases prison sentences for drug offenses involving fentanyl-related compounds, with those convicted potentially facing more felony time for trafficking, possession and funding of trafficking involving the deadly synthetic opioid that has fueled a spiral of fatal overdoses.The bill sponsored by state Sen. Frank LaRose, R-Hudson, lowers the amounts required to trigger escalating levels of felony penalties, keeping offenders in prison longer."We're sending a message ... they're going to go to prison for a very long time," Kasich said.Drug dealers convicted as major drug offenders in fentanyl-compound cases face additional mandatory prison terms of three to eight years. In some cases, the penalty for permitting drug abuse involving fentanyl will increase from a first-degree misdemeanor (a maximum of six months in jail) to a fifth-degree felony (up to a year in prison).Meanwhile, Kasich signaled his potential support for Issue 1 on the Nov. 6 ballot, a constitutional amendment that would convert low-level drug use and possession felonies to first-degree misdemeanors that would divert offenders out of prison to addiction treatment. It also could lead to the release of those now imprisoned in state facilities for minor drug offenses."It's important for low-level offenders to not be in the prison system," the second-term Republican governor said, adding he wants to study the issue further. It is opposed by Attorney General Mike DeWine, the Republican candidate for governor, and supported by his opponent, Democrat Richard Cordray.The bill Kasich signed will keep fentanyl offenders in prison for a longer time -- at an annual average cost of $26,365 for each inmate -- even as the state takes steps to divert low-level drug offenders from overcrowded prisons to local treatment programs by paying millions to local governments to cover the costs. State officials said they could not estimate the increased costs accompanying the get-tough law."Our prisons are open for these people dealing fentanyl," said Gary Mohr, director of the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction. He said the leading offense that now sends offenders to state prisons is drug possession.Brenda Ryan of Cuyahoga Falls attended the bill signing holding a photo of her daughter, Sheena Moore, 31, who died of a fentanyl overdose in 2016. She talked of how the man who sold her daughter fentanyl, and was convicted of involuntary manslaughter and other crimes, was not properly punished and would have done more prison time under the new law."My daughter's life is worth more than eight years," she said.Provisional federal figures released last month showed 5,134 drug overdose deaths in Ohio last year, an increase of 770 or 17.6 percent. Ohio's deaths was fourth-highest in the nation and the rate of increase in fatalities was nearly twice the national average of 9.5 percent. Kasich blames the numbers on deadly street drugs."We won the battle, but not the war. It's not going to be won for a long time," Kasich said, referring to a 30-percent drop in prescribed doses of opioid painkillers -- a "gateway" to heroin and fentanyl -- and a six-year low in the number of deaths from prescribed drugs.The American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio opposed the new law as part of the "thoroughly discredited 'War on Drugs' approach" and failing to address drug addiction as a public-health issue. In other public finance news: A Stand Against Private Prisons Despite Good Year, State Revenue Outlook is Just So-So As Airbnb and other short-term rental companies have increased their presence in cities, so too has the struggle to provide affordable rental housing.Massachusetts, however, is on the verge of becoming the first state to dedicate revenue generated from Airbnb and other short-term rental taxes toward affordable housing. The Bay State is considering legislation that would apply its state hotel tax to short-term rentals and require at least 35 percent of separate, local "impact taxes" on those rentals to fund investments in affordable housing or infrastructure.The new tax was passed by the House and Senate this week. But Republican Gov. Charlie Baker has added amendments that would exclude property owners who casually rent their houses or apartments (for two weeks or less per year) from the law. The bill was sent back to the legislature and a spokeswoman for Baker said he hopes to work with lawmakers to reach an accord soon.The bill comes amid growing concerns that the short-term rental market is enticing more landlords to take their properties off the market because they can earn more money renting it out for a few days at a time. This developing trend is a particular concern in places like Boston and San Francisco, where the availability of affordably priced rental housing is already a problem What's more, a 2016 study by the University of Massachusetts found that areas in Boston with the most Airbnb listings had higher rents by an average of $93 per month.While some cities and states tax the short-term rental industry, few target any of that revenue to affordable housing or related services. In fact, only four major cities do so.In addition to its hotel tax, New Orleans charges a $1-per-day short-term rental fee that also helps fund affordable housing efforts. Starting in January, Seattle will charge a daily short-term rental fee of up to $14 in a similar effort. Meanwhile, Miami requires 5 percent of all fines collected from short-term rental violations (which range from $100 to $2,500) to go into Miami-Dades Affordable Housing Trust. And in Chicago, a 4 percent surcharge on short-term rentals is used to help fund services for the homeless.But while dedicating short-term rental revenue is a nice acknowledgement of the strain the industry might place on the overall housing market, says George McCarthy, president and CEO of the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, it alone wont make much of a dent. What it costs to produce affordable housing units is pretty substantial, he says, noting that per unit it runs between $500,000 and $1 million in major cities. When you match it up to the affordable housing needs, its not enough to move the needle.Over 15 months in New Orleans, Airbnb reported the $1 fee contributed about $541,000 into the citys neighborhood fund. The low amount has housing advocates now calling for a percentage-based carve-out rather than a per-day dedicated fee.In Massachusetts, no one views the bill under consideration as a cure for affordable housing problems. Its expected to generate roughly $25 million in local tax revenue per year -- that is, if cities vote to apply an impact tax to short-term rentals. The legislation also allows them to earmark that new revenue for affordable housinginfrastructure.All of those things dont make it easy to reach that goal of having a town say, Were going to add that fee and dedicate it to affordable housing, says Eric Shupin, director of public policy for the Boston-based Citizens Housing & Planning Association, which advocated for the bill. We think that any new revenue stream for affordable housing programs is a good thing. But were realistic about the amount of money it would raise.This month, New York Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli sold the last of the state pension funds stocks in private prisons, making it the first state to fully divest from the industry. The move follows votes by pension boards in Philadelphia and New York City last year to divest from private prisons.An op-ed by New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer and Javier Valdes, co-executive director of the community organization Make the Road New York, explains the decision to do so: In recent decades, private prisons have gotten into the business of running immigrant detention facilities. The two men call upon other governments to drop their investments in private prisons. The industrys bottom line depends on locking people up, String and Valdes wrote, arguing thats a problem from a moral and fiscal perspective.Consequently, they wrote, as an investment, theyre at the whims of a seesawing political climate. This combined with the moral issues surrounding private prisons has convinced us that they are imprudent for investors to own and for banks to finance.States collectively posted one of the most positive revenue years in fiscal 2018 since the Great Recession, but observers are cautioning not to count on that next year. State tax collections grew by 5 percent over 2017, but Fitch Ratings warns that most of the increases could be one-time. Thats because income tax revenue was a big driver in the higher collections this year thanks to some key policy changes.Preliminary figures on income tax revenue show that total collections increased a whopping 7 percent for 28 reporting states through June 2018. (Thats compared with just a 1 percent increase at this same time last year.) Fitch notes that income tax hikes in Illinois and Kansas accounted for nearly half of the gains. The report also finds that strong stock market performance, as well as the federal tax overhaul's repatriation of overseas hedge fund profits, could be a factor, particularly in California, Connecticut, New Jersey and New York.Fitch further notes that these factors and the remaining uncertainty about how taxpayers and businesses will adjust to the federal tax overhaul will complicate states' forecasting efforts in the near future. And less revenue certainty, the report warns, could mean more volatile budgetary management. Description GIS- 03 August, 2018: The Minister of Business, Enterprises and Cooperatives, Mr Soomilduth Bholah conducted a site visit yesterday at the Polly Esther Ltd Union Park which has been qualified for the use of holograms for its locally manufactured products. The enterprise showcased the different stages of production which have led to its qualification for the use of holograms on their products. In a statement to the press, Minister Bholah highlighted that the craft sector contributes to enriching the cultural heritage of the country and promoting it as a remarkable tourist destination through the production and sale of local handicrafts. However, he deplored that most handicraft products that are being sold at tourist outlets in Mauritius originate from other countries. Hence, he underlined, Government has come forward with the allocation of holograms to handicrafts made locally so as to differentiate them from imported products. As per the amendments brought to the Commodities (Indication of Origin) Regulations 1981 to protect traditional handicraft, all products are required to display their country of origin. On this score, Minister Bholah highlighted the key role of SME Mauritius Ltd in providing the necessary conditions to protect local handicrafts and help revive the sector. He also pointed out that enterprises wishing to be qualified for holograms have to meet the requirements set by SME Mauritius in terms of the use of raw materials and quality of the final goods, amongst others. The introduction of holograms, he added, will help ensure that products with Made in Moris label remain authentic in local and international markets, and will enable consumers including tourists to make informed choices when making purchases in Mauritius. More about the hologram The hologram is an intellectual property of SME Mauritius Ltd and is used as a tool for recognising genuine, local and high quality products of the SMEs in the country. It will also act as an identifier with an already registered logo and high security features. The label cannot be duplicated by any known printing techniques and scanned or electronically transmitted. It is one of the most successful and cost-effective anti-counterfeit technology which will generate high returns on investment by adding value to the local products. The technology used for the design of these holograms thus makes them secure against any attempt at reproduction. At the request of artisans who have qualified for the administration of holograms, SME Mauritius will provide them with the holographic labels to be affixed to the selected products. Once fixed, the holograms cannot be removed or reused. A rigorous control system has been put in place to ensure that there is no abuse or misuse. Walking the Line Between Privacy and Accountability Privacy Backlash Double-Edged Sword Getting a Dull Edge? Bringing Privacy Into BWC Policies Officers should be required to inform subjects when they are being recorded, unless doing so would be unsafe, impractical or impossible. Officers should be required to obtain consent prior to recording interviews with crime victims, regardless of whether consent is required under state law. Officers should have the discretion to keep their cameras turned off during conversations with a crime witness and members of the community who wish to discuss or report neighborhood crime activity. Police departments from Bakersfield , Calif., to Scranton , Pa., and beyond are piloting and deploying body-worn cameras (BWC) in increasing numbers, a movement happening just as privacy issues gain greater attention across the nation.While many hold out hope that BWCs will bring greater accountability and transparency of police actions, the technology also has the potential to cut into citizens privacy.Our hope is the increase in privacy laws will impact the adoption rate of body cameras, or at least create a higher standard of privacy policies when [police departments] adopt it or deploy it in their communities, Sakira Cook, senior counsel of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, toldThe privacy issues that have surfaced range from protesters images captured on BWCs for later identification by law enforcement agencies to victims of crime, such as in rape cases or domestic violence disputes, recorded in vulnerable states, say civil rights groups.In a 2017 scorecard report from the Leadership Conference and Upturn, 67 of 75 law enforcement agencies had a personal privacy policy in place. But only 18 of the agencies had privacy policies that the two organizations deemed acceptable, meaning they specifically protected categories of vulnerable individuals, such as sex crime victims, from undergoing a recorded interaction without their expressed consent.Meanwhile, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures, 34 states and the District of Columbia have created body camera laws to address relations between police and communities.Privacy concerns generally do not seem to be slowing down the adoption of BWC technology, said Chuck Wexler, executive director of the Police Executive Research Forum.Rick Myers, executive director of the Major Cities Chiefs Association, agreed. He said while there is no national registry of which law enforcement agencies are using BWCs, most states are noticing significant increases in agencies that use them.Nowhere that Ive seen does anyone have a reasonable expectation of privacy when speaking to a uniformed police officer, Myers said. What an officer sees with their eyes and hears with their ears is not private, nor is what their body cams pick up. Despite this assertion, most agencies will have policies outlining when it is appropriate or not to be recording, to be sensitive to privacy concerns.Local governments from Portland, Ore., to Kodiak, Alaska, have heard citizen complaints regarding concerns about privacy, representatives from those municipalities say.When a draft policy governing BWC use was introduced to Portlands city council in 2016 as the municipality considered its use, citizens voiced a number of concerns, including privacy implications, according to Constantin Severe, director of Portlands Independent Police Review.Portland police remain in the early stages of making a decision on BWCs and their related policies, said Sgt. Chris Burley, a public information officer with the Portland Police Bureau.In Kodiak, Alaska, the citys police department went as far as temporarily discontinuing the use of BWCs in 2016, in part due to privacy concerns.This was one of the many issues surrounding the reasons why we discontinued the BWC program, said Kodiak Police Chief Tim Putney. Specifically, we didnt have a method to redact footage pursuant to public records requests if deemed necessary by city ordinance or state law.After switching vendors and buying what it considers to be better body cameras as well as the software accompanying them the department has reinstated the program. The department wanted to bring them back to have a tool to defend officers against false claims, Putney said.The publics goals of transparency and accountability (with BWCs) is not bearing fruit, said Harlan Yu, Upturn's executive director. In California, the LAPD [Los Angeles Police Department], the second biggest police department, would not make its video footage public until it passed a new rule in March. Where is the transparency and accountability in that?He added that there is very little evidence that BWCs have brought the benefits that many had hoped for accountability and transparency and that, instead, BWCs are largely aids to serve the interests of police departments and not citizens.And as departments start looking to integrate facial recognition with their BWC programs, based on interest from law enforcement agencies and the companies that develop the technology, Yu said it poses a great threat to everyones privacy.In 2014, the Police Executive Research forum offered more than half a dozen recommendations to agencies using BWCs. Among some of the recommended protocols:Any adoption of these (BWC) tools must be done in an open forum with community input, Cook advised. The adoption of the tools should improve accountability, transparency and policing. If you dont have a policy that is focused on these goals and objectives, you will get something other than that. Nowadays, online casinos are known as ideal gaming platforms that offer an immersive gaming experience for thousands of users around... Online casinos were considered a novelty in the 90s, and not many users were even familiar with the option to... The rise of social media has changed the way all industries run their businesses and commercial real estate is... Increasingly, homeowners are using smart technology to make their home lives easier. Smart thermostats allow you to set the temperature... I Agree This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy The Donald Trump administrations strategy of America first is considered by many as America only. They believe Trump has diverted his predecessor Barack Obamas diplomacy to another direction. This diversion can be observed from the countrys recent diplomatic moves from withdrawals of multiple international groups to the relocation of the US embassy in Israel. However, the ongoing diplomatic strategies and logic of the US government are still a continuation of the former administrations policies. The difference is that the current policies have shaken off the banner of the so-called liberalism, and become simpler and cruder. The illiberal hegemony pursued by Trump still stressed the importance of hegemony, just like what Obama addressed at the United States Military Academy, also known as West Point, in 2014, America must always lead on the world stage. From the macroscopic perspective, the national strength of the US is still on a downward trend because of the financial crisis and two anti-terrorism wars, which determines that Trumps and Obamas foreign policies have no difference in nature. Obama administrations foreign policy doctrine can be summarized as dont do stupid things. It retained the countrys hegemony by making good use of resources and avoiding waste, which can be reflected in restraining the use of force, advocating multilateralism, promoting values diplomacy with smart power, leading allies from behind and reaching out to hostile nations. Trump seems to have done many stupid things, such as launching campaigns against globalization and multilateralism and reshaping the pattern of regional allies, but what he did was actually another passive response under the US strategic contraction in dealing with the outside world. Trumps decisions all started from safeguarding the narrow national interests of the US so as to cut off the route for other countries who plan to take a free ride and concentrate on reciprocity and mutual benefit on resources. Apart from the retrenchment strategies adopted by Obama, Trump places more importance on diversifying the approaches to safeguard the US hegemony. Under the context of strategic contraction, Trump continued Obamas choice of shifting the US strategic pivot to the east. With a focus on ending anti-terrorist wars in the Middle East, Obama withdrew the US troops from Iraq, and made a timetable for pulling US army out from Afghanistan. For Trump, he doesnt want to spend much on the Middle East either though he outlined new strategy for Afghanistan and Iran. Obama started a process of recessing from the political and diplomatic agendas of Europe in his administration, during which the US also led from behind on Libya, delegated the mediation work to France and Germany during the Ukraine crisis, and broke the red line promise on the alleged chemical weapons in Syria with military action. Now Trump has gone a step further than Obama as he not only shut his ears to the European internal crisis and interfered with internal affairs in Europe by supporting Brexit and associating with populist leaders, but also pressured the Europe on economy and trade and prioritized its own interests instead of responsibility on security issues. The US is placing more resources on the Asia-Pacific or the so-called Indo-Pacific region while reducing its presence in the Middle East and Europe in a well-planned manner. The current Indo-Pacific is still a concept and in lack of important economic support from such initiatives as Trans-Pacific Partnership, or TPP. But the US continuous efforts to transfer its military forces to Indo-Pacific region and strengthen its link with Japan, Australia and India give full evidence of its determination to keep shifting strategic pivot to Asia-Pacific region. However, owing to the internal political instability, Trumps methods to sustain the US supremacy and push forward the national strategy are quite different from those of Obama. But resorting to the world to ease internal pressures will only bring new uncertainties to international order. On one hand, Trump takes domestic politics as the basis for diplomatic adjustment. The seniors, white community and males in the US became the hardcore supporters of Trump after being long neglected by Obamas left-wing politics on domestic issues, and their dissatisfaction toward the US society, politics, and economy encouraged Trumps reform on diplomatic policies. The selfishness in the ongoing US policies on economy and trade, global governance and collective security reflects the public opinion and demands of the American people. On the other hand, Trump believes that the future security and prosperity of the US should not be restricted by international systems, which subverts the Wilsonian Diplomacy that has taken dominance since the World War II. Holding that global affairs are a competitive game, Washington put less energy to build a stable and US-centered international system. The US finally comes to a real strategic contraction under Trumps administration after the transition in Obama administration. However, both Obama and Trump havent mapped out a big strategy that will guide the US for future decades, but sent confusing signals to the outside by adopting foreign policies that were more likely to be reactive response and passive strategic adjustments to current situations. (Sun Chenghao is an assistant research fellow at the Institute of American Studies, China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations.) (TNS) Youve researched the candidates and made your decisions. You head to your polling place, fill out your ballot, and put it in the scanner. But as it gets sucked into the machine, whats happening to it?If you use a touchscreen voting machine, or assistive technology, what happens when you submit your vote and it flies off into the ether?The latest generation of machines offer more assurance that your vote counts. In what is likely to be the largest overhaul of North Carolinas voting technology in a decade, counties across the state are preparing to comply with a statewide requirement to phase out voting machines that dont mark a physical paper ballot by Sept. 1, 2019.Lawmakers and activists say those devices, known as direct-recording electronic voting machines, do not produce a sufficient record. The requirement is one of the surviving provisions of North Carolinas controversial 2013 voter ID law. The Brennan Center for Justice at New York University Law School has estimated that the upgrades will cost North Carolina counties between $4.9 million and $7.7 million. Its still unclear where that money will come from. The state recently received $10.9 million in funding to upgrade its election systems, but it spent that money on modernizing the Statewide Elections Information Management System that among other things keeps track of voter rolls.The Secure Elections Act, a bipartisan response to allegations of Russian tampering in the 2016 election, has been gaining momentum in the U.S. Senate, according to reports from Politico and other news outlets. The legislation would allocate $186 million in grants for states to modernize and secure voting machines.North Carolina elections board hosted four vendors last week for a public demonstration of voting equipment under consideration for certification. That came after satisfactory performance during third-party testing and successful operation during a simulated election.Representatives of Hart InterCivic, Clear Ballot, Dominion Voting Systems and Election Systems & Software demonstrated systems for designing, printing, marking, scanning and counting ballots. A fifth firm, Unisyn Voting Solutions, was scheduled to participate but dropped out in the days leading up to the demonstration.The companies demonstrated a range of equipment which included improvements to security and accessibility.The biggest change in technology is the introduction of ballot-marking devices, according to Veronica Degraffenreid, director of election operations for the State Board of Elections and Ethics Enforcement. Ballot marking devices provide an alternative to the soon-to-be outlawed direct-recording electronic voting machines. While both allow voters to make their choices on a touch screen or using assistive technology for voters with disabilities including audio narration, sip-and-puff switches, and other accessible input technology ballot marking devices then mark a physical paper ballot for the voters which can be checked and is counted just like any other.At least a third of NC counties still use direct-recording machines, which have been criticized as being less transparent and therefore more vulnerable to hacking.The ultimate security is the tangible paper ballot that you can always return to, said Keir Holeman, a sales engineer for Clear Ballot. All vendors demonstrated ballot marking devices.The software packages behind the vote scanning and counting systems from all vendors has also seen improvements. If the machine is unsure about votes for example, if too many or too few marks are detected it will immediately spit out the paper for the voter to confirm, correct, or spoil and fill out anew. The vendors demonstrated that after the ballots are scanned in, a digital image of any ballot can be quickly and easily called up, so that the results can be audited. It also allows any errors not corrected by the voter to be adjudicated, a process that varies by county.The vendors are modernizing and they want jurisdictions to purchase their equipment, said Degraffenreid. The last time we did something of this size was after the Help America Vote Act, which gave all the states funding to purchase new voting equipment.The Help America Vote Act was signed into law in 2002 as a response to concerns about the voting technology used in the 2000 presidential election in which the infamous butterfly ballots and hanging chads, among other technological failures, led to an estimated 4 million to 6 million votes going uncounted, according to news reports at the time. Similarly, this round of upgrades comes on the heels of concerns regarding the technology used in the 2016 election.In North Carolina, Durham County faced difficulties transferring data off of the memory cards in its vote scanning machine bought from Election Systems & Software.The glitch, the result of memory limitations in the counting software, caused a late-night lead change in the gubernatorial race from then-incumbent Pat McCrory to challenger and eventual victor Roy Cooper, despite the states website reporting that the county had already completed tallying its votes. State election officials posed questions to each vendor regarding the storage capacity of their machines and counting software.Some activists present had their own concerns.We have a significant disabled community, so we want to make sure the machines that are designed to help them really work, said Marian Lewin, president of the Wake County League of Women Voters. The machines that theyve (currently) certified for the disabled are very old and very cranky and dont work very often. We have a lot of old machines that just need to be replaced.Voters with disabilities are more likely to record their votes using a machine, so they are more susceptible to the problems of the past generation of systems.Chris Telesca, founder of Wake Coalition for Verified Voting, wants to keep it simple. Before founding the Wake County chapter, he was involved in the North Carolina Coalition for Verified Voting, which pushed for a 2005 law which raised the technical standards for voting machines used in the state. Since the passage of the act, only Election Systems & Software machines have passed certification in North Carolina, and Telesca has been happy with the uniformity of the systems used.I dont love any vendor, but I figure, if weve got good high standards, and only one company can meet them and isnt asking to lower them, I say go with that company, said Telesca. If they bring in too many competitors, there are going to be problems.Telesca wasnt thrilled with all new devices demonstrated. Election Systems & Softwares ExpressVote, marketed as a hybrid between the direct recording and ballot marking machines, prints a physical piece of paper that lists the choices made by the voter, but encodes the actual information read by the scanner in a barcode. Election Systems & Software representatives said the barcoded ballots could be fed back into the machine, so users could be satisfied the barcodes would actually represent their choices when scanned. Telesca is still skeptical.I dont read barcode, he said. Heres what I like about hand-marked paper ballots: If all (the computers) stop working, you can open up the machine in front of witnesses and and you can sort, stack and tally.Concerns can be submitted to the elections board during the public comment period that lasts until Aug. 10. After considering public comments, the board will vote whether to approve each machine. Then, it falls to the counties to decide which equipment to buy. A few voters might see these machines in a limited field test this fall, a part of the county purchasing process, but most will use the new set of machines to pick a new set of officials in the November 2020 general election. (TNS) Incompatible software was one of the reasons that 118,000 people were left off Los Angeles County voter rosters on election day in June, according to an outside review released Wednesday.The investigation by IBM Security found no evidence that a security breach caused the names to be left off the voter rolls, according to a summary of the report released by the county.When county voters went to the polls on June 5, a significant number of people discovered their names werent on the rolls, fueling anger and confusion.The faulty rosters affected roughly 2.3% of the registered voters across the county and 35% of voting locations, according to county figures, officials said in June.L.A. County elections chief Dean C. Logan said at the time that the foul-up involved the names printed on the rosters for polling places and had no impact on voter eligibility.However, questions remained about what caused the names to be left off the rosters and at one point, Logan said he couldnt rule out a cyberattack.IBM Securitys executive summary also found there was a disruption of the LAVote.net website that started at 11:20 p.m. on election day. The site was restored by 11:41 p.m.County officials on Wednesday attributed the outage to heavy demand on the website.The IBM summary blames several factors for the missing voter names, including a file format change made to the official voter list provided by the state.According to IBM, the countys Voter Information Management System application had not been updated to process this state format change, so the system generated voter records with empty spaces for the birth dates of 118,509 voters, the county said in a news release.Since the birth dates were missing, the countys system incorrectly classified these voters as underage and left them off the printed precinct rosters, the countys news release said.The IBM summary also says that the county's system didnt reset after an earlier job was stopped and a second job completed the remaining Voter Extract File process.According to the county news release, IBM ran multiple simulations to determine what happened. After an initial export was stopped after 118,509 records were processed with empty birth date fields, a second export of data was started, using L.A. Countys voter database.That export generated correct voter information, the county new release states. However, the system did not clear the erroneous data from the first export. As a result, the incorrect data was merged with correct data, leading to the error in printing the rosters.Following the election, California Secretary of State Alex Padilla said he was gravely concerned and asked the county registrar to provide him with a detailed report on the cause of the debacle. The Board of Supervisors also called for an investigation.Poll workers were instructed on election day to give out provisional ballots to people whose names did not appear on rosters, according to his office.Such ballots are counted after they are verified as being from registered voters. Historically, 85% to 90% of provisional ballots have been deemed valid and ultimately counted, according to county officials. (TNS) A grant winner for Microsofts rural broadband expansion initiative says it will bring broadband Internet access to thousands in Mingo County, W.V., and eventually other counties itching for a faster connection.The Houston-based Skylark Wireless announced Wednesday that it will receive a 2018 Microsoft Airband Initiative Grant to provide affordable broadband service to underserved communities in rural West Virginia.Ryan Guerra, founder and CEO of Skylark, said in an interview Thursday that the companys ultimate goal is to provide broadband to 10,000 homes and businesses in the Mingo County area through TV white spaces, in which unused broadcast channels between active ones are accessed for Internet service.This kind of technology can serve essentially anybody in rural regions; there are very few regions where you cant cover it economically, he said.Skylark wants to focus on the hardware side of the project while PackIT Wireless, a newly formed startup based in Chapmanville, will be running the Internet service, said PackIT founder Allen Pack.Pack said the service will start out in Mingo County and eventually work its way into other counties, like Logan. Pack is expecting a quick turnaround for deployment in Mingo he said testing will begin as early as October.Guerra said Skylark isnt ready to share pricing details yet, but added that it would be competitive with other providers. According to FCC data , about 51 percent of Mingo County lacks access to more than one broadband provider.Skylark will start the project by installing a proof-of-concept base station in Mingo that will provide coverage to a number of homes in the area while making sure the technology works as it should, Guerra said. Where that base station will be located is still unclear, but Guerra said Skylark has a favorite location and a few others in the running.Skylark will then expand access to that station, serving its users with high speed broadband, and eventually grow its footprint further by establishing additional base stations and towers to use, he said.The service will initially focus on areas from Delbarton to Gilbert, according to Pack.Microsofts Airband Initiative is geared toward broadband expansion through TV white spaces. Its a connection method relatively unexplored among larger providers, but it still has some regulatory hoops to jump through Microsoft is pushing the Federal Communications Commission to open up these channels for wireless use on an unlicensed basis.Skylark specifically will be using its Massive MIMO (Multiple-Input Multiple-Output) Television White Space platform for Internet access. The technology allows users to communicate at a further distance, at a higher power and at a larger capacity without changing the amount of energy its transmitting in the air, Guerra said.Skylarks Mingo County connection began in late 2017, Guerra said. PackIT Wireless reached out to the company about deploying its wireless technology in Mingo County, where establishing a wired connection is pricey because of its geography.In some areas it is even hard to receive satellite connectivity reliably due to the mountainous terrain, Skylarks release said of Mingo County. The cost to deploy wired systems is prohibitive, and current 4G technologies dont have the range or capacity to provide affordable broadband connectivity.Skylark was already searching for a pilot location for its technology, which was ready to be implemented in a real-world situation after years in development.It was the perfect location for us, where we said, If we can make this work for Mingo County, we can pretty much make it work anywhere, Guerra said. It was the right place, the right time, we had the support structure there, and the local government was very happy to help us.State officials have pointed to improved Internet speeds as a way to help West Virginias lagging economy.We know there is a huge potential for economic growth through our agriculture industries, state Commissioner of Agriculture Kent Leonhardt said in Microsofts news release on the announcement. Unfortunately, many of these small businesses struggle to reach their potential because of a lack of access to broadband. I commend Microsofts approach, which combines public-private partnerships with emerging technologies to connect West Virginia to the rest of the world and bring 21st century opportunities to our state.The grant amount was not disclosed by either Skylark or Microsoft, although state Broadband Enhancement Council Chairman Rob Hinton said in June that Microsoft was eyeing an investment of $1 million to $2 million. (TNS) As of Thursday, El Portal has 363 days to pay off a debt worth one third of its annual budget. The small villages financial future rides on the gamble that FEMAs reimbursement for Hurricane Irma-related expenses will come in time.Known for its tree-lined streets and its tight budget, the north Miami-Dade County village struggled to pay large bills for tree removal after the storm. After a months-long solicitation and approval process, the village government on Tuesday voted to take out a $1.25 million line of credit with Florida Community Bank to cover still-outstanding invoices for emergency debris removal.The only reason we are here is because FEMA hasnt paid us, Mayor Claudia Cubillos said Tuesday before the council voted to approve the loan. She said the credit was a bridge loan to cover city expenses until FEMA pays up. The reimbursement timeline is on them, not on a municipality, she wrote in a statement before Tuesdays meeting.Except in this case, thats not quite true.FEMA doesnt reimburse unpaid bills. And at Tuesdays meeting the mayor said El Portal had two outstanding invoices with a debris removal service for a total of $1.4 million, necessitating the loan.If that invoice did not exist, we would not be here today. The intent is only to pay [the bill], the intent is not to use it [the credit] to build a new village hall, Cubillos said.The line of credit became available to the village Wednesday morning at 10 am. By nightfall, the village manager had already arranged to run the account dry to pay down two outstanding bills. Secured by the promise of federal reimbursement, the Florida Community Bank loan must be repaid in full within 364 days of signing.As long as FEMA pays out in time, the villages 2,300-some residents and their property taxes should be off the hook for the bill (other than interest for the variable-rate loan, which must be paid each month starting September 2018).That time shouldnt be a problem, according to a consultant the village hired to help with the FEMA reimbursement process, Gabrielle Benigni. She told concerned commissioners at a special meeting on July 17 that she expects the village to see the FEMA reimbursements within a few months. Im hoping 90 days max, said Benigni.If history provides any context however, it would seem the timeline for FEMA payouts is almost impossible to predict.Its not unusual from my previous storms to say it might take four years to close out the financial reimbursement, said Dan Summers, emergency management director for Collier County. But big-ticket items like debris removal are often first priorities.Cities all over the state are saying this round of reimbursements those related to Irma are coming in even more slowly than usual. Summers said Collier County started receiving reimbursements about six months after Hurricane Charley in 2004, but Irma payments have taken much longer.At least as of last week, we havent received anything on debris, let alone a partial. Certainly, its double or triple the time we would have received anything [in the past], Summers told the Miami Herald a few weeks ago. To date, no city in Miami-Dade County has seen a single dollar of federal reimbursement, despite the 11 months that have passed since the hurricane knocked down trees and caused significant property damage across South Florida.North Bay Village, an only slightly larger municipality than El Portal, submitted its request for reimbursement in December, received confirmation only this week that it was approved. But it still hasnt received the money.As of the loan signing Tuesday night, many commissioners couldnt answer the Heralds questions about whether the city had actually filed for reimbursement. Still, the ordinance necessary to take out a loan of that size passed, with only councilman Werner Dreher voting no.In fact, El Portal submitted its initial reimbursement request to FEMA on July 26, 2018, just five days before taking out the loan. City officials said the delay was to make sure the bills were all paid prior to submission in order to best streamline the process.The outstanding invoices to be paid with the line of credit were from Looks Great Services Inc., a national debris removal service with a Miami branch. The company, which provided services in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, hit headlines after Hurricane Sandy when it paid over $256,000 after pleading guilty to charges of withholding wages from contracted employees.According to the FEMA reimbursement submission, El Portal contracted with Looks Great Services through a mutual aid agreement with Florida City, which in the case of an emergency, allows a city without its own debris removal contract to use the other citys legally contracted service.Benigni said Looks Great Services removed more than 5,000 damaged trees from the El Portal after Irma. The original bill was for almost $1.5 million, but the mayor said the village paid it down a little. The remainder as of Tuesday night was around $1.4 million according to the mayor.The village manager, Cristia Alou, said she provided written instructions for $1.235 million to be wired directly to Looks Great Services on Wednesday. The other $15,000 went to attorneys fees. But that still leaves El Portal $165,000 away from paying off the debt and being eligible for FEMA reimbursement.We asked for more, but its not what we were approved for, said Cubillos, at the July 17 meeting.The village will pay the rest out of its general funds in the next few days, Alou said in a statement. Even a $165,000 bill is a lot for a small town with little padding in its budget.By all accounts, thats when the FEMA reimbursement clock really starts counting down, after the debt is paid off and the documentation provided to FEMA is updated. Although El Portal provided the Herald with documentation saying the reimbursement submission is complete, the Miami-Dade Office of Emergency Managements records say the villages six-project submission is lacking nine supporting documents.But even 90 days from now is wishful thinking if other municipalities experiences are any indication.The process is time consuming and complicated, and its gotten more so after reimbursement distribution changed. Now, after initial review and approval of a reimbursement submission, FEMA obligates those funds to the Florida Department of Emergency Management for further review and distribution to local governments. The process is dragging, and small municipalities that dont have the budgets to swallow huge debris removal costs are suffering.The state agency has said it is attempting to speed up the process. But the new submission process and new federal guidelines have tripped up several local and regional governments trying to submit their documentation and delayed the release of funds, some county emergency managers have told the Miami Herald.Federal money used to be available through the FEMA advanced reimbursement program to help small municipalities cover big bills until reimbursements could be turned around. However, Politico reported the program was discontinued after many municipalities ended up having to pay back some of the initial payment after further review of the documents they submitted.Now, some cities are turning to loans to cover the gaps. In El Portal, that means that if FEMA doesnt pay out by July 30, 2019, and the city cant negotiate an extension, the taxpayers are going to be on the hook for $1.25 million plus interest.2018 Miami HeraldVisit Miami Herald at www.miamiherald.comDistributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. (TNS) Saying Ohio's economic competitiveness and residents' livelihoods are at stake, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Richard Cordray says he would ask Ohio voters to approve a $1.8 billion-plus bond package to upgrade the state's crumbling infrastructure.If the Republican-controlled General Assembly refuses to place the measure on the ballot, Cordray said Thursday he would lead an effort to gather the signatures of more than 300,000 Ohioans to force a public vote.Cordray did not estimate the size of the bond package which would require no tax increase, with the borrowing paid back with existing state revenues beyond saying it would be larger than any sought by past governors."The potholes and the road problems are worse than ever," Cordray said at the construction site where the Ohio Department of Transportation is replacing the 50-year-old Grant Avenue bridge over I-70.Despite the talk from Republican President Donald Trump and members of the GOP-controlled Congress, no infrastructure money is forthcoming from Washington D.C., meaning Ohio must act on its own, Cordray said."If we don't step up to address it, we harm out ability to compete," the candidate said of improving roads and bridges, public transit, water systems and rural access to broadband Internet services."Ohio's infrastructure is critical to our state's economic future it's how we get to work, how we do business and how we get the good we grow or manufacture here to markets," Cordray said.Cordray said part of his plan would provide dedicated funding to Ohio's public transit systems, which it now lacks, and work with the private sector to spread high-speed Internet service to the estimated one-third of rural households now lacking broadband access.He also said he would consider selling unneeded state properties to raise money to support infrastructure or economic development projects.In a reference to the failure of federal government to escalate infrastructure funding, Cordray said he would reopen the long-shuttered state office in Washington D.C. to work on the state's behalf to capture federal funds.Cordray flatly ruled out seeking an increase in the state fuel tax to raise more money for road and bridge repairs, citing the state's $2.7 billion rainy-day fund and more taxes to accompany a U.S. Supreme Court ruling allowing states to collect sales taxes from online retailers without an in-state physical presence.His opponent, Republican Attorney General Mike DeWine, has said he would appoint a blue-ribbon commission of citizens and experts shortly after taking office to "come back with a quick assessment about where we are on infrastructure and come back with recommendations" on how to fund a fix. DeWine then says he would talk with voters about how to raise infrastructure funds.DeWine campaign spokesman Joshua Eck said of Cordray's plan: "So, Richard Cordray's plan is to max out the credit card and raid the rainy day fund back down to 89 cents. The voters rejected that plan back in 2010 when they voted (Gov.) Ted Strickland and Richard Cordray out of office the last time."The American Society of Civil Engineers gave Ohio a "D+" in its 2017 infrastructure report card the same grade granted America as a whole citing a litany of drinking-water needs, iffy roads, deteriorated bridges and potentially hazardous dams. (TNS) Could Silicon Valley get a transport system which shoots commuters in pressurized capsule tubes at high speeds to their destinations?For the city of Cupertino, home base for Apples headquarters, such a futuristic possibility is reportedly being mulled.Cupertinos mayor and a councilmember suggested they have explored the possibility of a Hyperloop system running through Cupertino, according to the Silicon Valley Business Journal Cupertino Mayor Darcy Paul told the Business Journal he believes theres a strong possibility that Silicon Valley tech companies like Apple might heavily subsidize the building of a cutting-edge transportation option in the area.The Business Journal reported that Councilmember Barry Chang blurted out at a council meeting Tuesday night that the city is talking to Hyperloop to have a line, hopefully, along Stevens Creek from Diridon Station to DeAnza College.Paul, Chang and other councilmembers on Tuesday voted down a proposal to place a head-tax measure for large employers such as Apple on the upcoming November ballot.Paul has met with a Culver City-based Hyperloop developer, Hyperloop Transportation Technologies, or HyperloopTT, to discuss the possibility of a Hyperloop line through Cupertino, the Business Journal reported.Paul told Business Insider on Wednesday such talks are in a very early discussion phase.It is unclear how expensive a Diridon-to-DeAnza Hyperloop project would be and whether Apple would really help to pay for it.Its a fine balance between, Paul told the Business Journal. How do we make sure that everyones acting in good faith here? California Governor Jerry Brown has directed the California Air Resources Board (ARB) to assess possible regulatory requirements to ensure greater inclusion of zero emission vehicles in public and private light- and heavy-duty vehicle fleets. In a 1 August 2018 letter to CARB Chair Mary Nichols, Governor Brown wrote: As the California Air Resources Board looks for ways to meet our 5-million zero emission vehicle target by 2030, the conversion of public and private fleets to zero emission offers an important opportunity to get a large number of carbon-polluting vehicles off the road. Accordingly, I am directing the California Air Resources Board to assess the viability of new regulation to increase zero emission vehicle adoption in fleets across the state. This assessment should consider fleet categories such as rental cars, large employers, delivery vehicles as well as transportation service fleets. This assessment will also include emerging new mobility technologies and services such as ride-hailing fleets. There are unique opportunities in fleets to accelerate the market, ARB said, including large-scale purchases, increasing the number of individuals experiencing the technology, and in some cases placing clean technologies in high mileage fleets. CARB will consider how zero emission technologies can play a key role in the evolution of the vehicle fleet that is poised to become fully automated. CARB staff will work with other state agencies, including the California Energy Commission (CEC), California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), California State Transportation Agency (CalSTA), DMV, Caltrans, and Department of General Services (DGS) to implement the Governors directive. In this regulatory effort, CARB invites public participation to ensure a successful policy design and implementation plan. The Board is holding a public workshop regarding assessment of a Zero Emission Vehicle Requirement for Public and Private Light- and Heavy-Duty Vehicle Fleets on 30 August in Sacramento. Ceres Power, a UK-based spin-out from Imperial College and the developer of the SteelCell low-cost Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) technology (earlier post), has entered into a new partnership with Nissan further to develop fuel cell technology for EV applications. Ceres Power and The Welding Institute (TWI) have been awarded a total of 8 million (US$10.4 million) from the UK government through the Advanced Propulsion Centre (APC) for this project. The fuel-flexible SteelCell can generate power from conventional fuels such as natural gas and from sustainable fuels such as biogas, ethanol or hydrogen at very high efficiency. Made from mass-market and widely available materials, the SteelCell is cost-effective, robust and scalable, Ceres claims. This project will involve the design, build, test and demonstration of a compact, robust, UK-produced SOFC stack, deployed within a Nissan-designed fuel cell module suitable for operation with a variety of high efficiency fuel types (including biofuels). After a successful two-year Innovate UK funded development programme (EVRE Electric Vehicle Range Extender), this project is the natural next step towards increased technology and manufacturing readiness for mass production of Ceres Powers SteelCell for automotive applications. Ceres Power will receive 7 million funding and TWI will receive 1 million funding from APC as part of an overall 19-million program over about 3 years. The new partnership builds on the successful Joint Development with Nissan over the past 2 years and sees Ceres Power accelerating commercialization of its SteelCell fuel cell technology in automotive markets. The expanded work with Nissan comes soon after Ceres Powers recent announcement of a strategic partnership with Chinas Weichai Power to develop its technology for Chinas fast-growing electric powered bus market. The UK Governments Road to Zero strategy, which requires a significant reduction in CO 2 emissions, is accelerating the shift to battery Electric Vehicles. Introducing fuel cell technology alongside batteries further enables increased drive range and has a significant role to play in the acceleration of the uptake of battery EVs. Ceres Power has six strategic partners, including Cummins, Honda & Nissan, two as yet unnamed partners and a recently confirmed strategic investment partner in Weichai Power, which is primarily for range extension technology in Chinas fast-growing battery-electric bus market. Magneti Marelli signed an agreement for the acquisition of 100% of SmartMeUp, a French start-up operating in the field of perception software aimed at autonomous driving, smart cities and safety technology applications. Closing is expected to take place in the last quarter of 2018, following some formal steps. SmartMeUp develops software for processing sensor signals, detecting and recognizing objects around the vehicle, allowing 3D Environment Building and Object Movement Tracking. This type of software will be a key enabler for autonomous vehicles. SmartMeUps software requires low computing power and generates low heat, making it possible to be rolled out on a large scale for embedded automotive applications. SmartMeUp also focuses on developing software for Driver Monitoring, that is included in the NCAP requirements roadmap, expected to be mandatory by 2020. The acquisition will bring into Magneti Marelli a group of high skilled scientists and engineers, with proven capabilities in the field. The acquisition of SmartMeUp, combined with the investment in LiDAR expert LeddarTech and the long established Lighting and Electronics capabilities, strengthens Magneti Marellis contribution to autonomous driving development with focus on the sensing and perception components of the architecture. Pietro Gorlier, CEO of Magneti Marelli The first step of the companys strategy for autonomous driving was the development of the Smart Corner concept, which integrates sensors into the vehicle lights, and the investment in solid-state LiDAR expert LeddarTech, for the joint development of LiDAR systems. Magneti Marelli is also internally developing automotive-grade cameras and electronic control units for sensor fusion. A few fans, a few light bulbs, you cant turn on your AC, so youre sweating like an animal, just dripping. Its not what Maria Grubb had in mind five years ago when she and her brother opened Gallo Negro, an upscale restaurant in San Juan, Puerto Rico. But that was before Hurricane Maria, before the farms she sourced from were destroyed, before her employees left the island. Theres no power, theres no roads, everythings flooded, Grubb recalls. Mold covered everything, grease everywhere. We had to take everything out, repaint, redo the roofs. Still, Grubb counts herself lucky to have reopened at all, when many of her friends were forced to close their doors for good. She had a small generator, and used it to power a few light bulbs, and a weak fan she pointed toward her kitchen. Before the hurricane, Grubb was known for her modern cuisine, dishes she learned to make while training in New York restaurants. And this week, she returned to the city in hopes of spreading the word about her restaurant, and Puerto Rico. In reality, Grubb never had plans to cook professionally. Growing up, Grubb helped at her parents hot-dog cart, and remembers their seemingly endless shifts at the restaurants where they worked. Food was a central part of Grubbs life, but it was as much a chore as anything else. By the time she was 8, Grubb was helping her mother in the kitchen even though she couldnt reach the stove. She made me cook rice and beans, says Grubb. We didnt have that normal childhood of like, Can we go to the movies after school? Cause we had to go home and help cook. But when she and her husband moved to New York in 2002, with her sights set on attending law school, cooking didnt feel like a chore. I just discovered so many amazing things here, like my first experience with truffles, all these things that really got me into cooking. At first, she was content to shop at her local markets, and cook elaborate meals at home. But the longer she was in New York, the more she wanted to cook professionally. So Grubb, who was 26 at the time, put her plans for law school aside, and enrolled at the International Culinary Center. She had a newborn son, and juggled culinary school and a job cooking at the currently closed French restaurant Pastis. After Grubb graduated with honors, she spent ten years working the line at New Yorks fine-dining restaurants. She learned the names of every spice and vegetable at the Modern when she cooked there with Gabriel Kreuther, and was part of Danny Meyers opening team at Maialino. She loved the 14-hour shifts, and learning about Korean, Vietnamese, and Mexican food from the other cooks at family meal, and never tired of mastering new techniques. But she had a 12-year-old son with nonverbal autism at home, and the crazy shifts and sleepless nights were becoming too much. My husband is very supportive, but we had no other family to help us, and my son requires a lot of attention, Grubb says. Her parents still lived on the island, and her brother was talking about transforming the cafeteria he ran into a fancy restaurant. Only, he couldnt cook. So Grubb moved her family back to Puerto Rico, and took up the position of head chef at her brothers restaurant. From the beginning, Gallo Negro was a huge hit. It also filled what Grubb says was a gap in diversity when it came to dining on the island. Theres no Vietnamese, theres no Korean, theres no Moroccan, theres no Ethiopian, Grubb noticed. There was little she didnt already know how to cook, and her menus were full of inspiration and technique shed learned in New York, both on the line and from fellow cooks during family meals. Young Puerto Ricans and tourists filled her dining room, and she was able to hire more cooks and waitstaff. Then the hurricane hit: The restaurant was a disaster, she recalls. A third of the island was still without power, and farmers were struggling to rebuild. Not a single one of Grubbs waitstaff or cooks showed up for work on their first day reopening in January; theyd all left the island since the hurricane. A third of the island was still without power, and farmers were struggling to rebuild. Before the hurricane hit, Grubb was known for her goat, rabbit, and fish dishes. After, however, all the local farms were destroyed, and their stands were shuttered. The only thing that we had was Costco. It became a 100 percent Costco menu. She found ground beef, tomatoes, spaghetti, pita, olives, and chicken. Her new menu consisted of Bolognese, Greek nachos (made with pita instead of corn chips, topped with Feta, olives, and red onions), chicken Parmesan, and a Brussels-sprouts Caesar salad. I immediately just went to comfort food. That was the menu I could put forward with no staff. It was how her parents cooked when Grubb was growing up, and she no longer had the capacity to produce her technical, modern French and Italian dishes. Shed haul her days groceries back from Costco, and prepare them alone in the swelteringly hot kitchen. You cant turn on your hood, or your AC or anything. I didnt expect to be cooking with just a few light bulbs and a fan blowing into my face. Right now, the restaurant is closed for two weeks, as the final repairs are made , and Grubb says that even though Puerto Rico is rebuilding, tourism has not returned. So she took the opportunity to fly to New York and promote Gallo Negro here. I still have hope, she explains. Hotels are open and restaurants are open. Were doing our best to give you the service and the food that you want and deserve. Were back, were open. Come. This weekend, Grubb will teach a series of classes on sofrito and empanadas, as well as host two Puerto Ricoinspired dinners at the Brooklyn Kitchen (you can get tickets here), and earlier this week, Grubb packed a back seat with produce from Union Square Greenmarket before driving to Long Island, where she hosted a pop-up dinner. Grubb cooked the menu she planned to serve at Gallo Negro before Maria hit the island. As one guest sipped Grubbs chilled cantaloupe and salmon-roe soup, his eyes lit up. He had to know where he could have this cooking again. Youll have to come to Puerto Rico, she told him, with a smile. A group of 27 Tsinghua University graduates has allegedly called for the firing of one of China's leading economists for reportedly claiming in a speech last year that China's national strength had surpassed that of the US. China has overtaken the US in all respects, Hu Angang, head of the Institute of Contemporary China Study at Tsinghua University, said in a speech at a workshop hosted by the CITIC Foundation for Reform and Development Studies in April 2017, The Beijing News reported. China surpassed the US in economic power in 2013, in technology in 2015 and in overall power in 2012, Hu reportedly asserted. "As of 2016, China's economic power, technology power and overall power is respectively 1.15, 1.31 and 1.36 times that of the US, ranking first in the world," Hu was quoted as saying by the newspaper. In a photo of a letter published online by Weibo user yudihanzi, the alumni appealed to the president of Tsinghua University to fire Hu. Hu's research opposed common sense, the letter said. "It not only exposes him to ridicule but raises the vigilance of other countries. It misleads the public." The 27 accused Hu of failing to respect facts and objective data in his studies. More than 500 Tsinghua alumni agreed to sign the statement as of Thursday, yudihanzi posted. Tsinghua University could not be reached for comment. The letter could not be verified as of press time. Rhetoric such as "China surpassing the US" is popular at a time when nationalist sentiments run strong, read a commentary on news site sohu.com. Hu's remarks, which were packaged as academic research, made him an "academic opportunist," the commentary said. It suggested the university investigate the alleged academic misconduct of Hu. Overconfidence toward China's development is not welcomed in Chinese society amid trade tensions between the US and China, Liu Weidong, a research fellow at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing, told the Global Times. Catering to a certain social sentiment or a boasting style of research will damage the academic atmosphere and should be avoided, especially from scholars at public universities, read a Thursday commentary from the Beijing News. Walmarts new Mash-Up coffee, produced by a third-wave roaster in Denver. Photo: Walmart The American coffee industry long ago perfected the art of awful coffee that tastes like bad cigarettes, and more recently it conquered the high-end of the small-batch and terroir-driven. Some might look at this caffeinated landscape, think, What else is there to be done? and pack up their espresso beans. Others, however, realize that there is still untapped roasted bean water, and are currently locked in a fierce race to the middle. Enter Walmart, which will now shill $7 fancier coffee, called Mash-Up, made with Denvers Boyers Coffee exclusively available at its stores and on its website. Like your friends recently divorced dad asking the kids whats up with this dance party, one of the owners of Boyers parent company Luna Gourmet tells Bloomberg that Walmart looked to us to educate them. The bags look like something out of an imitation Brooklyn cafe, with tasting notes and info on bean origin. This might sound odd to people who talk about notes of cherry in their macchiatos, but Folgers the king, queen, and archduke of bad coffee released its own line of higher-end coffee. Starbucks has that Reserve thing it does. Meanwhile, origin-obsessed third-wave pioneers like Blue Bottle which is as far from Folgers as you can get and Joe now peddle instant coffee. Is this the Upside Down? Anyway, this is all pointless because Dunkin Donuts already has this marketed cornered. News UAE orders arrest of man, woman for immoral acts and words The Federal Office of Investigation previously submitted a report to the State's Attorney General on monitoring this clip, besides the investigations of the office which identified the account through which the clip was published on the "Snapchat" platform, and the owner of the account. Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Thursday called for building a closer China-ASEAN community with a shared future at the China-ASEAN foreign ministers' meeting. Over the past 15 years since the establishment of the China-ASEAN strategic partnership, Wang said China-ASEAN relations have developed from growth to maturity, thus entering a new phase of all-round development. China will continue to regard the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) as the priority of its neighborhood diplomacy and be committed to good neighborliness and friendship, mutual benefit and win-win cooperation, he said, adding that China supports ASEAN community building as well as ASEAN's central role. Wang also noted that China stands ready to share opportunities with ASEAN, jointly meet challenges, and make the bilateral cooperation a pillar of regional peace, stability, development and prosperity. The development of China-ASEAN relations should be guided by strategic docking so as to seek greater synergy of the complementary strengths, tap cooperation potential and create greater room for cooperation, he said. The top Chinese diplomat also called on the two sides to step up cooperation in such fields as security, anti-terrorism, disaster prevention and relief, humanitarian assistance, trade and investment, and boost strategic mutual trust. Foreign ministers of ASEAN countries appreciated China's support in building ASEAN community as well as the Belt and Road Initiative for boosting regional interconnection and common development, and expressed the hope that both sides will continue to enhance cooperation in trade and economy, innovation and tourism. The ministers urged China and ASEAN to reach the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership in the shortest time to facilitate free trade and regional economic integration, safeguard multilateralism and rules-based multilateral trading regime. Haiti - Environment : Distribution of 37 garbage trucks Thursday President Jovenel Moise delivered 37 compressive trucks intended for the collection of garbage out of 58, to the heads of several town halls "In accordance with my promise to accompany the municipalities, I am currently distributing 37 compressives to Town halls of the country to better deal with the problems of insalubrity facing our cities," declared for the occasion the Head of State. The ceremony held at the Street de la Republique, in front of the main entrance of the National Palace, brought together various members of the resigned government, the Haut-Etat-major of the Armed Forces of Haiti (FAd'H), the high command of the National Police of Haiti (PNH) and mayors grouped around the National Federation of Mayors of Haiti (FENAMH). The President of the FENAMH, the mayor of Carrefour, Jude Edouard Pierre, welcomed the initiative of the Head of State to support the efforts of town halls who can not meet, due to their meager budgets, the many requirements, including those related to the fight against the degradation of the urban environment. "It's a great gesture of the Head of State. We thank him and promise to support him in these kinds of initiatives aimed at the development of local and regional authorities," said Mayor Jude Edouard Pierre, along with several of his colleagues, including Mayor Frantz Ulysse (Saint-Marc), the Mayor Gesner Dieudonne (Limonade) and Mayor Rebecaline Ziky Decelmont (Acul-du-Nord) also Secretary General of FENAMH. For the benefiting mayors, this action is a first in the history of many communes in the country and took the opportunity to invite other communes not yet a recipient of compression trucks to be patient and to stand in solidarity with the President's efforts.. Moise believes that support for local authorities is starting to reach its cruising speed. While acknowledging the lack of resources of the town halls to obtain materials necessary for the removal of garbage, he invites them to accompany this aid, with rigorous measures to push the citizens to play their roles by demonstrating civility and respect for their environment. HL/ HaitiLibre (Reuters) Jana Partners, the event-driven investment firm run by Barry Rosenstein, told clients that its main fund made money in July and is now beating the Standard & Poors 500 index. The Jana Partners fund gained 2.4 percent last month to leave it with a 6.9 percent gain for the year, according to a performance update seen by Reuters. The firms more aggressive Jana Nirvana fund rose 3.2 percent, leaving it up 9.7 percent for the year. The Standard & Poors 500 index rose 6.5 percent during the first seven months of 2018. To read this article: (Harvest) The policy outlook in certain emerging markets remains precarious: the latest government appointments in Mexico do not bode well for energy reform. We saw a small positive fiscal surprise in Brazil this morning. Primary deficit was smaller than expected in June and the 12-month running deficit narrowed to 1.34% of gross domestic product (GDP) (see chart below). The headline gap widened only marginally to 7.28% of GDP (on a 12-month running basis). The latest developments on the political front (presidential candidate Geraldo Alckmin, who favors fiscal adjustment, getting support from the big center parties) look encouraging. To read this article: Telanne on Wednesday commented on the controversy kindled by reports that Anttikoski was denied the position because her husband and child would not have moved with her to Tampere. Kai Telanne, the chief executive of Alma Media, says Paivi Anttikoski was not among the three final candidates for the position of senior editor-in-chief at Aamulehti, a daily newspaper published in Tampere by Alma Media. Family reasons have never been a selection criterion for us. They certainly didnt have any impact on this or any other recruitment process, he commented in an interview with Lannen Media on Wednesday. Also other applicants for the position have stated that they were asked personal questions in the interviews. Telanne underscored that personal matters were discussed only at the initiative of the applicants: The senior editor-in-chief candidates were simply asked if theyd be ready to move to the newspapers subscription area. An applicant may have told what the rest of the family plans to do in that context. Anttikoski, he added, was eliminated from consideration in the semi-final stage of the recruitment process. Anttikoski was appointed as the director of government communications by the government of Prime Minister Juha Sipila (Centre) on 19 December, 2017. She worked as a journalist, news producer and news editor-in-chief for MTV between 1998 and 2014, and as an editor-in-chief for Helsingin Sanomat between 2014 and early 2017. Police have opened an investigation to determine if the case meets the elements of employment discrimination. Aleksi Teivainen HT Photo: Martti Kainulainen Lehtikuva Source: Uusi Suomi The right to protest is an important basic right, he underscored on Twitter on Thursday. But its important to draw a line between [protesting] and unjustifiably preventing the work of authorities or refusing to follow the orders of an aircraft pilot, which is illegal and, if it became more common, would cause unreasonable harm and even danger to outsiders. Kai Mykkanen (NCP), the Minister of the Interior, has clarified his stance on the right to protest after receiving a flood of feedback for his comments to tabloid dailies on Wednesday. Mykkanen one day earlier stopped short of condemning the much-publicised actions of Aino Pennanen, the legislative secretary of the Green League. He told Ilta-Sanomat on Wednesday that protesters should always ensure their actions are proportionate to the extent of harm they cause to others. Pennanen was escorted out of an aircraft that was awaiting take-off at Helsinki Airport on Tuesday, after she demanded that the pilot not take off until a fellow passenger who was being deported had disembarked the aircraft. Acting against the orders of a pilot on an aircraft that is about to take off is wrong in my opinion, Mykkanen said on Thursday. Eastern Uusimaa Police Department on Thursday stated it continues to examine whether a pre-trial investigation should be opened into the incident. A police spokesperson also reiterated that all details related to the deportee and the grounds for deportation will be kept under wraps. Determining if Pennanens case meets the elements of an offence is something the police and courts will have to do, added Mykkanen. His earlier comments had raised eyebrows among a handful of policy makers, including Simon Elo, the chairperson of the Blue Reform Parliamentary Group. I have all the respect for minister Mykkanen, but it is self-evident that in big cities the National Coalition is competing for the same votes as the Greens. The Blue Reforms sensible conservatism is a clear-worded counterforce for the Greens, said Elo. Aleksi Teivainen HT Photo: Jussi Nukari Lehtikuva Source: Uusi Suomi If you build it, they will come. The phrase could not be more apt than for the city of Liupanshui in Guizhou province, which through building a mammoth, interconnected tourism industry is lifting itself out of position as the poorest province in China. After a week in Liupanshui city, its clear to see the vast improvements that are being made to entice people in and the vast mountain regions that mean visitors are sure to come flooding back. The people you meet here seem happy, and are proud to let you in on their unique culture and beautiful surroundings with broad smiles. >>>RELATED READING: Five things to do in Liupanshui, Guizhou province [ Full article ] As you drive through the province there is construction everywhere, and not just for the benefit of visitors. Locals are building extra floors on their farmhouses, or extra homes next door. You get a sense that although people are already moving out of poverty, the people of Guizhou have something much bigger planned. "Tourism + poverty alleviation + three strategies" While many poorer areas in China have previously focused on agriculture and industry, Guizhou is using methods to combine already present industries with tourism, hoping to make the city of Liupanshui as famous a destination as Guilin in neighboring Guangxi province. Using the three strategies reform of comprehensively eliminating poverty, building a moderately prosperous society and promoting basic modernization, the region is using a system where industries work with and rely on each other, creating a circle of support, opportunity and ultimately wealth. Starting by using tourism as a method of poverty alleviation in line with the governments reform is a bold move as Guizhou, until recently, remained fairly unheard of to those outside of China. However, the province is opening up to tourism at the perfect time. Thanks to the Belt and Road Initiative and strengthening ties with ASEAN countries, China is becoming a more popular holiday destination with associated countries. As Vithit Powattanasuk, Director of Information and Public Relations, ASEAN-China Centre, explained in his opening speech at the 2018 Belt and Road and ASEAN media tour to Liupanshui, There were nearly 50 million mutual visits between both sides [ASEAN countries and China] last year. The number of exchange students exceeded 200,000. Seeing the opportunity for growth, Liupanshui municipal governments and Guizhou provincial government have invested in all areas across culture, scenic spots and agriculture to make every corner of the province richer. The perfect combination The wild jade sea scenic spot and Yi village is the perfect example of how cultural tourism will work in tandem with poverty alleviation in one of the 100 tourist scenic spots that Guizhou is currently planning or building. The government will help 169 groups amounting to 4,213 people who were previously sporadically placed or in small, poverty stricken villages, resettling poor households in nearby tourism service areas. Therefore, villagers who previously had no income will be able to not only live in a new, purposefully made village but also gain employment in a new tourism hub. Tourism will not only include visiting the villages and scenic spots, but taking part in cultural activities such as welcome dances, bonfire parties and wine tasting. This model not only effectively solves the problem of people living in poverty, but also inherits and develops the national culture. A finished version of a cultural heritage village is Langdai ancient town. The streets are crowded and children wearing cutesy t-shirts and eating snacks peer out of their doors curiously. This town is lived in, but its also a tourist destination. The merging of ancient culture and modern society is evident with a trip down Food Street, as you watch villagers make traditional rice cakes next to a child playing a game on their parents phone. Again, this town lives from an influx of tourists from Huangguoshu scenic spots and the Zangke River, which the government has purposefully regenerated to bring in more visitors. A view inside the kosher Hy Life Bistro, which has become a neighborhood landmark in suburban Chicago. CHICAGO (JTA)-This city's kosher restaurant scene has long lagged behind other metropolises like New York and Los Angeles-but changes might be coming. A bold forthcoming restaurant, an authentic taqueria and reports that two established neighborhood eateries are looking to change hands are raising hope for kosher diners who want more options and fresh new flavors. Chef Laura Frankel, who brought fine kosher dining to Chicago when she opened the upscale restaurant Shallots in 1999, is planning to launch a restaurant in the area in early 2019 that incorporates what she sees as the new food trends in the kosher and non-kosher sectors. Frankel is negotiating a lease for a dairy Italian kosher eatery. "My motto has always been the same thing: There's no reason that kosher food can't be more than just kosher," she said. "It can be modern, local, non-GMO, exciting, vibrant." Her new restaurant will feature plant-based foods and offer vegetarian, vegan and dairy Italian fare at what she calls affordable prices. Frankel takes her inspiration from the Italian principle cucina provera (peasant or seasoning cooking), which to her means "you're using what is naturally around you." She said her restaurant will feature seasonal fruits and vegetables while avoiding shortcuts like food coloring and artificial ingredients. Citing the growing trend for "farm to table," locally sourced foods in Chicago's non-kosher sector, Frankel asks why there is no similar move within kosher restaurants. "I go to kosher restaurants this time of year and there's nothing local," she complained. "Instead there's pineapple from Hawaii. Why aren't [kosher restaurants] using blueberries from Michigan" and other seasonal produce? Two established Chicago-area kosher restaurants show the challenge of offering fine kosher dining outside of huge kosher markets like New York and Los Angeles. Slice of Life and Hy Life Bistro-twin dairy and meat restaurants side by side-are the brainchild of Sheldon Kane. Along with distinct menus, the two linked eateries in suburban Skokie have their own waitstaffs and atmosphere. They have become familiar neighborhood landmarks since their founding in 1989. Now that might change. Despite offerings that mirror current food trends like Asian tacos and barbecue beef sliders, customers often ignore the newer options and opt for older menu standards like homemade gnocchi and ravioli dishes, making change difficult. Some new trends are particularly hard for the kosher restaurants to adopt, Kane explained: Salads, for example, can be prohibitively expensive for a kosher restaurant to create, since kosher supervisors must check the produce meticulously for insects. Kane said he recently asked his mashgiach, or kosher supervisor, how many bags of lettuce he had checked that day. Twelve, he was told. "I'm losing money on every salad I serve," the restaurateur said. Costs are also rising for kosher ingredients, Kane said. "I'm paying three times as much for kosher cheese" as non-kosher restaurants, he said, yet market pressures don't allow the costs to be passed along to consumers. The profit margin is getting squeezed, and Kane doesn't know how much longer he can hold on to the formula that has kept his twin restaurants afloat for 29 years. "I'm looking for new young blood to take over," he said. Another option might be to move to less expensive premises; Kane says he is actively exploring the idea. One new Chicago-area kosher eatery seems to be tapping into the desire for fresh, nontraditional kosher foods. Tacos Gingi in Skokie is the brainchild of Ricky and Aliza Bielak, chefs who trained and worked in Mexico City before moving to Chicago in 2005. Ricky Bielak said there needs to be more than just one flavor of kosher food. "There's a lack of restaurants in the community," he said, "and we thought this would be a good addition to the community." Tacos Gingi offers the kind of home-cooked Mexican meals the couple grew up with. They began selling takeout meals out of their Skokie home in 2016, and in December 2017 opened their storefront takeout spot, with some seating, under the supervision of the Chicago Rabbinical Council. The couple believe the restaurant has filled a need. "I see a lot of people who say 'Oh my goodness, I've been waiting for [kosher] Mexican food for a long time,'" Ricky Bielak said. Tacos Gingi is reflecting a trend for more simple, vegetable-based and ethnic foods. It's also in tune with a growing environmental ethos. "All our packaging is compostable," Aliza Bielak said. Even the takeout knives, forks and spoons are wood. The restaurant uses no plastic bags. Another key to Tacos Gingi's success is its appeal to both kosher and non-kosher consumers. "You need both," Aliza said. "What happens when you open a kosher restaurant is you already have your set clientele; you already have your kosher customers" But to thrive, drawing on a wider base is crucial. Tacos Gingi is located next to a gas station. That's a plus, the couple insist "The Jewish kosher people know where we are already," Ricky said. "Others visit the gas station, see a taco restaurant and say 'let's see, what's going on over there. Then when they go in, it smells delicious, it looks good, they see we take care of people." Many have become regulars, adding an important source of customers beyond dedicated kosher diners. This recipe for success is replicated 10 miles north in the suburb of Highland Park, where Mizrahi Grill draws a steady stream of diverse clients: The informal Israeli restaurant is drawing kosher-observant Jews, Jews who don't keep kosher and non-Jewish customers. Here, too, there is a an emphasis on fresh, natural ingredients in keeping with current dining trends. "We cook without GMOs," said co-owner Tomer Mizrahi. "We use lots of fresh ingredients-nothing frozen, only non-compressed meats." Producing fresh, ethnic, high quality foods enables Mizrahi Grill to appeal to customers beyond the kosher base. That's crucial because the number of diners who keep kosher in the greater Chicago area, home to approximately 300,000 Jews, is small: Kane estimates that it's no more than 20,000. By contrast, 10 times that many households keep kosher in New York City, according to a study by the UJA-Federation of New York. The Chicago Rabbinical Council lists 26 restaurants that they oversee throughout the city's metropolitan area. That number dropped in June with the closing of Tein Li Chow, a longtime Chinese takeout restaurant. Tacos Gingi serves kosher Mexican food in Skokie, Ill. It's a relatively small number of kosher establishments compared to the more than 100 in Manhattan alone (according to Congregation Kehilath Jeshurun, which maintains an online list) and 44 in Los Angeles (via LAJewishGuide.com). The New York suburb of Teaneck, New Jersey, has some 20 kosher spots. Local restaurant owners believe that Chicago's conservative ethos also hampers the development of a vibrant dining scene. When she ran a New York outpost of her famed Shallots restaurant in the early 2000s, Frankel said that New York diners seemed to display a "joie de vivre" that their Chicago counterparts sometimes lack. Frankel, like other restaurant owners, thinks this might change. "I want to make people feel they are special," she said, by offering delicious wholesome food. "It's not enough to stick a mezuzah on your door. You have to stand for something." On Aug. 12, 1952, 13 Soviet Jews convicted of espionage and treason were executed in Moscow's Lubianika Prison. Their confessions had been extracted by torture. This group, known as "the Martyrs of the Soviet Union," included actor Benjamin Zuskin, poets Itzik Feffer and Peretz Markish, children's author Leib Kweitko, and other leading intellectuals. The story began with the Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee, founded in 1942 to develop ties with American Jewry as part of the Soviet struggle against Nazi Germany. Solomon Mikhoels headed the committee, and most of those executed were his friends and associates. At the end of the war, the committee came under immediate suspicion of collusion in an international plot to overthrow the Communist state. By 1949, in view of the new Zionist "threat" posed by the State of Israel, the Soviets were openly hostile to all Jewish activity, and the committee was shut down. Mikhoels had been assassinated early in 1948, and a year later most of his colleagues from the committee had been arrested. They were accused, among other things, of trying to set up a Jewish state in the Crimean Peninsula. Extreme violence was used in their interrogation. Historian Joseph Yusefovitz claimed during his trial that he was hit so often and so hard that he would have admitted to being the pope's nephew if it could have helped him. Surgeon Boris Shmuelevitz, who refused to plead guilty to a single charge, reckoned that he received more than two thousand blows. The trial, held behind closed doors before a tribunal of three judges and no defense attorneys, began May 8, 1952, and ended July 18. All the accused spoke at length and were then extensively cross-examined in an attempt to trick them into incriminating their colleagues. The proceedings dragged on much longer than anticipated. The senior judge asked to reopen the investigation in view of the many internal contradictions and gaps in testimony, but the Soviet leadership wanted a swift conclusion-execution by firing squad and confiscation of all property belonging to the convicted. Only two escaped this fate: Solomon Bergman, who fell into a coma during the trial and died in prison a few months after the others were executed; and biologist Lina Stern, whose sentence was commuted to exile due to the importance of her research. The results of the trial were kept secret. The martyrs' families were exiled in December 1952, remaining ignorant of their relatives' fate until 1955, when their files were reopened after Stalin's death. Recognizing that all the confessions had been obtained under duress, the supreme military tribunal ruled that the accusations had been baseless and closed the case. When it comes to choosing judges on a ballot, many voters really don't know much about the people they select. The position is nonpartisan, so being "Democrat" or "Republican" doesn't help; and many folks hope to never see the inside of a courtroom, so what difference does it make which name one chooses? Adam Pollack, who is running for a Circuit Court judge seat in Group 24 of the 18th Judicial Circuit in Brevard and Seminole counties, knows that it makes a big difference who the person is sitting on the bench, because a judge isn't just making decisions that will affect the life of a person standing before him or her. That decision will have a ripple affect-touching family members, friends and the community. "You don't know to what degree a judge's ruling will affect a community. It's very important for judges to be cognizant of that and aware they weld a lot of power, and wield it in a wise, conservative manner, staying within the law," he stated. Pollack also believes that voters should elect their judges-which isn't always the case. The person Pollack is running against was appointed by Governor Scott after the sitting judge left mid-term (each term is six years). "I am bringing to the voters an opportunity to make an informed decision," he stated. "I'm a sincere, compassionate, dedicated person who believes in justice, and listening to people." Listening is very important to Pollack. He feels judges need to be able to listen carefully to those who come before him-and that means paying attention to each individual case. "If a judge is not willing to put in the time and effort to listen to people, then he shouldn't be a judge," Pollack stated. He strongly believes in less talking, more listening. "There is a saying, 'Two eyes, two ears and one mouth.' There's a reason for that." Pollack is also aware that for first-time offenders, a courtroom can be intimidating. "People who don't come on a regular basis have a higher level of anxiety," Pollack said. "A judge who is competent should demonstrate to the public their ease of handling their position and how to deal with people. People are already on edge. They may be afraid of the consequences, but they should not be afraid they will be judged harshly because the judge has a demeanor that suggests he doesn't care for the people." Pollack has a great deal of respect for the law. He wants to be a judge whom people can rely upon to know they will be treated fairly and honestly in regards to the law. He has received several endorsements, one from the Canaveral Port Authority commissioner, Bob Harvey, USAF colonel (retired), who stated, "I am personally taking time to meet and research as many political candidates as possible. I know full well how difficult it is to get good people to run for office... Recently I met Adam Pollack. He has a proven record of upholding the Constitution and fairly applying our laws. All he is asking for is your vote. He has mine! He will bring honesty and integrity to the bench." Longwood Mayor Benjamin R. Paris also has endorsed Pollack, and said of him, "After careful consideration and several long conversations, I'm endorsing and putting my full support behind Adam Pollack. He is the clear and correct choice." Pollack's credentials are exemplary. He graduated from the University of Florida in 1993, and earned his juris doctor from Nova Southeastern University in 1996. During that time, he was a Goodwin Research Fellow at NSU. He knows his way around a courtroom, both in front of and behind the bench. From 1997 to 1999 Pollack was an assistant public defender of the 18th Judicial Circuit in Seminole County, then served two years with 18th Circuit judges preparing legal rulings and appellate opinions. He became Board Certified in 2009 as a criminal trial attorney, with over 75 jury trials in both misdemeanor and felony court, and has represented thousands of clients in bail bonding hearings, arraignments and pre-trial conferences. "Adam is highly qualified to be a circuit judge," said retired Judge O.H. Eaton, Jr., 18th Judicial Circuit. "He has the trial experience needed to handle the variety of cases circuit judges handle and he has the temperament to rule impartially while following the law. Judicial candidates like Adam, who have a broad background of legal experience and have had to make a living running a law office, make the best judges." Pollack self-funded a $150,000 investment into his campaign. "I don't want to look into the courtroom and see someone who has given me money to get this position. It's just not right or fair to the opposing counsel," Pollack stated in a press release. "By making this investment, the community should have full faith in my integrity when presiding over cases." Pollack has the full support of his wife, Jacqueline, whom he met at a Matzah Ball in Boca Raton. "It was serendipity," he shared. "I was supposed to go to a Matzah Ball in Miami, but at the last moment went to Boca and we met!" The couple and their sons, Jason and Ethan, are members of Congregation Ohev Shalom, and enjoy experiencing being Jewish every day. There will be a Meet and Greet Last Hoorah Hob Nob on Aug. 9, from 4 p.m. -7 p.m., at the Sanford Chamber of Commerce held at the Sanford Senior Center, 401 E Seminole Blvd. Sanford. Ballots were mailed this week, and voting will begin with early voting Aug. 17, and poll voting on Aug. 28. (JTA)-Like many heavily Orthodox sections of Brooklyn, Borough Park has been served for decades by an all-male volunteer ambulance corps called Hatzalah. The corps caters to a religious Jewish community with particular needs and customs-including one custom that can increase the tension for patients in already stressful emergency situations. The strict boundaries between men and women are familiar to anyone who has attended an Orthodox synagogue or has read the stories of airplane flights being delayed because haredi Orthodox men refuse to sit next to women. In the event of a medical emergency, the male Hatzalah volunteers may touch women-if, for example, a woman needs to be moved to a stretcher or requires assistance while giving birth. But while Jewish law has its exemptions, women concerned about the rules of modesty have plenty of reasons to prefer treatment by a female EMT. "93Queen," Orthodox filmmaker Paula Eiselt's big-screen debut, documents one woman's attempt to create an all-female version of Hatzalah with only strictly observant Orthodox members. In a statement, Eiselt explains that over four years of filming, she essentially operates as a one-woman crew. The film opens July 25 in theaters in New York City and Aug. 14 in Los Angeles, with a wider release to follow. The woman behind the female corps is Rachel "Ruchie" Freier, a lawyer and Borough Park native. She assembles a group of volunteers who are tentative at the start. And, not surprisingly, her plan sets up a clash with the establishment Hatzalah and its supporters. Opponents threaten to boycott the hospital that is training the women and the companies that sell them medical supplies. They also post nasty comments on Twitter, such as "God have mercy if you wait for them to get their make-up and the right dress on." But Freier's leadership and inner strength help the members of what they call Ezras Nashim ("helping women") persevere. "The worst thing you can tell me is that I can't do something because I'm a woman, a religious woman," she says. Part of Freier's fortitude manifests itself in a my-way-or-the-highway manner. When she insists that only married women can join the team, some members object-including an experienced EMT who recently became religious-and others resign. "There's a whole host of issues that come up in a marriage that will give you that level of maturity," she says. Though the film is gripping, the viewer is never entirely sure how it all works. The women on call respond from wherever they are to the scene of the emergency. However, it does not appear that Ezras Nashim owns its own ambulance. It contracts with a private company to provide patient transport. Who staffs that ambulance? Men? Do the women EMTs accompany patients in the ambulance? There are other questions. At one point Freier says she refuses to let the project fail because that might blemish her image and hurt her plans to run for a judgeship. Was the ambulance fight just a way to build a political base, to get her name out there? Does it matter? In the end, Freier must be doing something right: Last year, Ezras Nashim won the New York Basic Life Support Agency of the Year award, a high honor. And in 2016 Freier was elected as a judge in New York City's 5th Civil Court District, becoming what is believed to be the first Hasidic women elected to public office in the United States. Eiselt calls her film a story of "proud Hasidic women challenging the status quo of their own community and refusing to take no for an answer from the all-powerful patriarchy." Regardless of your background-religious or atheist, feminist or nonpolitical-"93Queen" is a film that will get your juices boiling. Regime troops with the Syrian flag in the Daraa province on July 17, 2018. On Thursday, Syrian state media reported that government forces had entered the town of Quneitra on the Syrian side of the Golan Heights, reaching Israel's doorstep. According to the government-controlled Syrian Central Military Media, Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad's troops raised the nation's flag on Thursday afternoon. SCMM posted photographs from inside the town, where homes had been left badly damaged since Syria waged war. Several Syrians interviewed Thursday say they don't trust the Syrian government or Russia, which backs President Bashar Assad. Russia, which helped Assad restore significant swaths of territory from rebels in recent years, is discussing the repatriation of refugees from Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey. Russian diplomats are meeting Lebanese and Jordanian officials Thursday to discuss the return. Ayman Safadi, foreign minister of Jordan, said Wednesday that Amman will not force any refugee to go home, insisting the return would be "voluntarily." A spokesman for the U.N.'s refugee agency said his organization, while welcoming an end to the Syrian crisis, has up to 21 conditions before encouraging refugees to return. Jordan hosts 667,000 registered Syrian refugees. Meanwhile, a Syrian government official says the death toll from coordinated attacks the previous day by the Islamic State group on a usually peaceful southern city and surrounding countryside has climbed to 216. It's the worst violence to hit the area since the country's conflict began. Mass funerals were underway for the victims on Thursday. Hassan Omar, a local health official in Sweida province, said on Thursday that at least 150 people were wounded in the attacks; some of them were in critical condition. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights put the death toll at 246, including 135 civilians and 111 members of local militias who fought IS militants who swarmed their villages. The attack on the villages coincided with suicide attacks in the provincial capital earlier in the morning. on Israel decades ago. Syrian troops have been on the offensive against insurgents in the country's southwest for weeks and have captured much of the area all the way to the Jordanian border and to the frontier with Israel. Assad's advances arrive just days after Israel orchestrated the rescue of hundreds of members of the Syrian Civil Defense organization, known as the "White Helmets," and their families. Israel's intervention made it possible for them to leave the area, where their lives weighed in the balance as hostile regime troops continued to advance. Some Syrian refugees in Jordan say they oppose Russian efforts to bring them back home from regional host countries. U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley was presented with the "Defender of Israel" award, eliciting loud cheers from the crowd at the 13th annual Christians United for Israel summit, held from July 23-24, 2018. (JNS)-In addition to showcasing a major pro-Israel constituency, Christians United for Israel's 13th annual summit, which took place from July 23-24, emphasized the contrast between the current White House administration and previous ones, with Israel's ambassador to the United States hailing U.S. President Donald Trump as the best ally Israel has ever had. "Over the decades, Israel has been blessed with strong supporters in Congress on both sides of the aisle. We have been blessed with presidents, Democrat and Republican alike, who were steadfast friends of Israel," Israel's Ambassador to the United States Ron Dermer said in front of a packed, energetic and flag-waving crowd in Washington on Monday. "We have been blessed with Cabinet secretaries and senior officials who were stalwart champions of the U.S.-Israel alliance." "But there has never been a U.S. administration more supportive of Israel than the Trump administration-frankly, it is not even close," continued Dermer. "From President Trump to Vice President [Mike] Pence to Secretary [of State Mike] Pompeo, from [National Security Adviser] Ambassador [John] Bolton to [U.S.] Ambassador [to the United Nations Nikki] Haley to [U.S.] Ambassador [to Israel David] Friedman, from [Senior Adviser to the President] Jared Kushner to [Middle East envoy] Jason Greenblatt to Sarah Sanders, this is an administration that sees Israel as an ally and that treats Israel as an ally." The Iranian regional and nuclear threat, America's moving its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and defunding U.S. assistance to the Palestinian Authority were the main issues addressed by Dermer and other speakers at the event, which was attended by approximately 5,000 people, according to CUFI co-executive director Shari Dollinger. Haley, who was presented with CUFI's "Defender of Israel" award, elicited the loudest cheers from the crowd for her defense of Israel at the United Nations, which Dermer denounced for its anti-Israel bias. "Washington may be a swamp, but the U.N. is a cesspool-a cesspool of anti-Americanism and anti-Semitism," he said. Haley joined the chorus and, as she has done at the United Nations itself, denounced the organization for its rejection of the embassy move, its condemnation of Israel's reaction to violent Hamas protests along the Gaza border and for the makeup of the Human Rights Council, with countries including Sudan and Venezuela, which notoriously violate human rights. The United States withdrew from the UNHRC in June. "The United States will not just block the anti-Israel measures, we will shine a light on those that are responsible," said Haley. "There won't be any free passes for those who bully Israel at the U.N." "Sometimes, we are winning at the U.N. through persuasion," she added. "But there are other times when we just have to say, 'Enough is enough.'" 'We're going to consider them agents of terrorism' Stuart Force, whose son Taylor Force, 28, was murdered in Tel Aviv by Palestinian terrorists in 2016, also spoke at the summit. Taylor Force's death prompted the passage last March of the Taylor Force Act, which was signed by the president as part of the $1.3 trillion omnibus bill. The measure defunds most U.S. assistance to the Palestinian Authority for rewarding terrorists and their families-a longtime policy known as "pay to slay." Tuesday's speakers included Sens. John Cornyn (R-Texas), Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.). Also at the podium were Reps. Doug Lamborn (R-Colo.), Mark Meadows (R-N.C.) and Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.). The speakers applauded the president for withdrawing from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal and moving the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem. Additionally, Graham, Cruz and Cornyn each announced legislation they have or plan to be introduced. Graham, who was a major player behind the Taylor Force Act, said he would propose "Round Two of the Taylor Force Act" to punish the "ministers who actually carry out the new Palestinian law that incentivizes more young people to commit terrorism, not less" amid the Palestinians reportedly increasing its payments to terrorists and their families. "We're going to consider them agents of terrorism," he added. "We're going to name names." Cruz announced a bill that would sanction members of terrorist groups, like Hamas, which use civilians as human shields. The proposed measure already has bipartisan support. In addition to co-sponsoring legislation to provide military assistance to Israel, Cornyn touted a bipartisan bill that targets Iranian airline Mahan Air, which he said works with the country's Quds Force, "an elite unit of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard and Hezbollah as well." "This airline is the primary way which terrorist personnel and weapons are spread to places like Syria and Lebanon, presenting a clear danger to the security of Israel," stated Cornyn. "That's an unacceptable condition that my bill changes, and I hope we'll pass this bill with your support in a larger package soon." 'A blessing for which Israel is grateful' CUFI is an organization founded in 2006 by Pastor John Hagee and currently boasts more than 4 million members. Its mission, according to its website, is "to provide a national association through which every pro-Israel church, parachurch organization, ministry or individual in America can speak and act with one voice in support of Israel in matters related to biblical issues." Dollinger, who is Jewish, told JNS that the Christian characteristic of her organization is crucial. "We're a Christian organization, first and foremost," she said. "We are about faith, and we are about the fact we are united Christians for Israel-it's in the title." As part of his remarks, Dermer said "the long history of the relationship between Christians and Jews is a history riddled with anti-Semitism and persecution, suspicion and distrust." "This has dramatically changed over the past few decades," he continued. "Today, there is unwavering support for the Jewish state among millions of devout Christians. That is a blessing for which Israel is deeply grateful." "This change didn't happen on its own. It happened because a few bold leaders in the Christian community helped make it happen," added the ambassador. "Leaders like [Pastor] John Hagee, who for nearly 40 years has been building bridges between Christians and Israel. When it comes to supporting Israel, Pastor Hagee didn't join the bandwagon. He drove the bandwagon." Hagee, who emceed the event, reiterated the importance of Christian support for the Jewish state. "You often hear the phrase 'Christian anti-Semitism,' " he said. "There is no such thing as Christian anti-Semitism. Christianity is driven by the love of G-d." "Anti-Semitism is driven by hatred," the pastor added. "Call them pagans, call them secularists, call them anything. They're not Christians." Hagee concluded with fighting words, quoting former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill: "You ask what is our aim. I can tell you in a word. Our aim is victory, no matter the struggle, no matter the cost. Victory is our aim because without victory there is no survival." Children of Halutza sit in front of the site of the new state-of-the-art Halutza Community Center. (JNS)-Quite literally among the booms and billows of black smoke across the nearby Gaza border, deep in Israel's southern Negev Desert, the new community of Shlomit laid a cornerstone and broke ground for their future community center. The new structure will serve not only Shlomit, but the entire Eshkol region in southern Israel. A mere 700 meters from Israel's border with Egypt and just a few kilometers from Gaza, Shlomit and the other budding communities of Halutza are defying the odds and showing that they, and the people of Israel, are here to stay. "Building a community center on the border here [with Gaza] says it all," says Gadi Yarkoni, the mayor of Eshkol. "That's how you show the enemy that you've won." Indeed, this show of life and vibrancy is Jewish National Fund-USA's (JNF) goal in the face of trying, tense times. In the presence of distinguished guests, including Yarkoni, Knesset member Nurit Koren, the World Zionist Organization's Settlement Division regional director Itzik Bar, JNF CEO Russell F. Robinson, JNF Chief Israel Officer Eric Michaelson and Ron Werner, a member of JNF's national board of directors, members of the Shlomit community planted trees in their soon-to-be first permanent neighborhood. The occasion was made even more joyous with children "singing" "Hallelujah" in sign language, and guest speakers recounting the inspiring story of a new community that was sand dunes and dust a mere decade ago. "Eleven years ago, we stood on a hill in this area looking out at nothing but sand, and a man with a bit of meshugana said that he will build three communities here. This is the outcome," said Robinson as he gestured to the attractive new houses dotting a horizon that abut parks, playgrounds, scores of greenhouses and the plot of land where the new community center will be. 'We will continue to blossom' JNF's partner Halutza is a group of three communities, headed by that "meshugana man," Rabbi Eli Adler. It's made up primarily of former Gush Katif residents who were evacuated from their homes during Israel's 2005 disengagement from Gaza. Given a choice to move elsewhere, families rebuilt their lives in this area of the desert that had never been inhabited or farmed. After a little more than 10 years of hard work, Shlomit is taking shape and driving change in the region, showing that growth and development are possible in even the most remote areas of the Negev. Tzvi Yehuda Halevi, 31, a father of four and a founding member of Shlomit, commutes three hours roundtrip to work every day to central Israel. But his participation in this community is second-nature to him and his family. As he put it: "We wanted to take part in a mission to give back to the Israeli people and to continue to settle our land." The groundbreaking of the Shlomit community center is important-not just as a sign of endurance in an embattled region of Israel, but as a critical source of services for the entire Eshkol region, as it will include classrooms and communal spaces, and provide learning opportunities, extracurricular activities and programs for all of the region's residents. The event, at this particular time in Israel's history, made a poignant statement, according to those involved-one that echoes throughout the region as terrorists continue to try to literally "burn out" Israelis from their border towns. "The growth and development we are witnessing in Halutza has a special emotional appeal for American Jews who support these efforts," says Robinson. "It is also a loud and clear symbol that says, 'We are here to stay, and we will continue to blossom!'" (JTA)Berlin issued a withering critique of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerbergs recent announcement that he would not remove Holocaust denial posts from the widely used social platform, stating that such a policy was contrary to German law. There must be no place for anti-Semitism. This includes verbal and physical attacks on Jews as well as the denial of the Holocaust, Justice Minister Katarina Barley said. The latter is also punishable by us and will be strictly prosecuted. In a statement to Politico Europe, a Justice Ministry spokeswoman said that what the Jewish tech entrepreneur wishes or demands for the American or international market is not possible in Germany, where Nazi symbols and Holocaust denial have been prohibited for decades. Social media companies operating in Germany are required by law to remove content violating the ban. Zuckerberg ignited a firestorm earlier this week when he told Recode, an American technology news website, that Facebook prioritizes allowing people to express themselveseven if they get things wrong. Im Jewish, and theres a set of people who deny that the Holocaust happened, he told the interviewer, Kara Swisher. I find that deeply offensive. But at the end of the day, I dont believe that our platform should take that down because I think there are things that different people get wrong. I dont think that theyre intentionally getting it wrong. Zuckerberg said that instead of banning such items, the company would make sure they were not presented prominently in the News Feed, the posts that are seen most frequently by individual users. Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt challenged Zuckerberg, saying that Holocaust denial is a willful, deliberate and longstanding deception tactic by anti-Semites that is incontrovertibly hateful, hurtful, and threatening to Jews. Facebook has a moral and ethical obligation not to allow its dissemination. Greenblatt added that his organization would continue to challenge Facebook on this position and call on them to regard Holocaust denial as a violation of their community guidelines. (JTA)-When Samuel Green talks about Israel's West Bank security barrier with the Birthright groups he guides, he first explains the Israeli view that the barrier was built to prevent Palestinian terrorists from breaching Israeli territory and that Israelis generally feel it has saved lives. But then he'll talk about what the barrier-which is part wall, part fence-means for Palestinians: How it cuts into West Bank territory, how it has separated people from their farmland, how they see it as an imposing wall. "It's a disservice to the people in front of me to leave out such information," Green said. "So if you're trying to understand why there's conflict, you have to understand why people are annoyed. It's important to talk about." That approach contrasts with the one viewed by 2.7 million people in a viral Facebook video taken by activists of IfNotNow, a group of young American Jews who oppose Israel's occupation of the West Bank. In the video, a Birthright tour guide spars with a participant on a Birthright bus over the status of the West Bank. Rather than aim to present a range of views on Israel's control of the territory, the guide says "Israel sees the West Bank as part of Israel"-a misleading claim that does not accord with the legal status of the territory or encompass the variety of ways Israelis see it. Soon after the bus argument, several participants on that Birthright trip staged a walk-off from the tour and visited Palestinian areas. It was one of three such walk-offs conducted in recent weeks, all organized by IfNotNow, to protest what the group calls Birthright's silence on Israel's occupation. The walk-offs have sparked a debate over whether Birthright, a popular 10-day free tour to Israel for young Jews, has a responsibility to grapple with Israel's control of the West Bank. Some 40,000 young Jews, mostly from North America, go on Birthright every year. For some it is their first exposure to the country. But Birthright tour guides say the debate is unnecessary. While acknowledging that they speak from an Israeli perspective, the guides said they make an effort to represent a range of opinions on the tour, including Palestinian views, and are happy to answer any questions. "In general, what tour guides are taught is that it's not about us," said Daniel Rubenstein, an immigrant to Israel from Texas who is about to lead his fourth Birthright trip. "As educators, it's our job to teach what the various players in this region, in this conflict and in this shared society are saying, and for us to articulate the basic vision of Zionism as well as Palestinian national identity." In addition to completing Israel's two-year certification course for tour guides, most Birthright guides must complete a three-week course run by Birthright. Guides said the course focuses on how to engage groups in discussion, how to make Israel's history and nature come alive, and how to relate to a North American audience. But the guides said the Birthright training course was light on politics. It instructs guides to represent a range of perspectives, they said, but doesn't provide a list of Israeli talking points on contentious issues like the status of Palestinian refugees or the security barrier. Green scoffed at the idea that right-wing donors to Birthright, like casino mogul Sheldon Adelson, dictate how they conduct their tours. "They don't have a lot of control over what guides say in the field," Green said regarding Birthright. "They're trusting the guides to execute their vision. It's not like Birthright says 'do this' and the guide parrots something. "In the Birthright training we were encouraged to represent different points of view. So this idea that Adelson is dictating how we talk about the conflict is bonkers." The guides acknowledged that their tours are inevitably given from an Israeli perspective. One of Birthright's explicit goals is to strengthen American Jews' connection to the country, along with the Jewish identity of participants. And most if not all of the guides are either native-born Israelis or Diaspora Jews who chose to make their lives in Israel. "Personally, I'm going to value and weigh some perspectives differently than others," said Rubenstein, who worked at the pro-Israel lobby AIPAC in Washington, D.C., before becoming a guide after moving to Israel. "I'm an Israeli by choice, so I'm not Wikipedia-neutral, but people are looking to engage with me because of who I am. I strive to represent different perspectives and make sure all voices are heard." The tour's itinerary is transparently geared toward giving participants an appreciation of Israel's natural, historical and cultural attractions. All trips must visit a series of sites, from the beachfront metropolis of Tel Aviv to the Western Wall in Jerusalem's Old City to Masada, the ancient hilltop fortress where a group of Jewish rebels held out against an invading Roman army before committing mass suicide. Groups will also visit the City of David, a Jewish archaeological site and community in a Palestinian neighborhood in eastern Jerusalem, over Israel's pre-1967 border. Palestinians condemn the site's presence as an illegal settlement. All groups receive a lecture on geopolitics from an Israeli expert. Meeting Palestinians, and seeing Palestinian life, is not part of the itinerary. Optional programs that take place immediately following the trip offer Birthright participants the opportunity to see Palestinian society. "Part of tour education is that you're educating about the things you see in front of you," said a Birthright guide who asked to remain anonymous. "If the route of your trip didn't take the road next to the Israeli [security] barrier, you're not going to start a discussion about the Israeli barrier." The guide said he presents Palestinian viewpoints, but that "it's clearly not a comprehensive exposure to Palestinian views if you're not meeting a Palestinian." IfNotNow activists, unsurprisingly, take a far less generous view of the tours' approach. Rebecca Oliver, one of the participants who walked off the bus shown in the viral video, said their guide did willingly answer their questions and discuss the conflict with them. But she said Palestinians were mentioned only when she and other participants asked about them. And she said the guide did not present a spectrum of Israeli views on sensitive issues. In the video, the guide does not appear to attempt to be evenhanded when discussing the West Bank. He inaccurately claims that Israel sees the West Bank as part of the country (While Israel controls the West Bank to varying degrees, it has not annexed the territory and treats it differently, in legal terms, than its recognized territory.). He also claimed that Israel does not demarcate the West Bank on its maps, which is true of some maps but not all. "They provide a really, really biased version of what Israel is and what that education is, and in doing so, they are upholding the Israeli government and the military occupation in Palestine," Oliver told JTA. "They either provide misinformation or biased information without clarifying that it's biased, or omit it." Tour guides chafed at the suggestion that discussing the conflict should be more of a focus. They said that not all participants are interested in a political debate. And they appreciate that the trip's focus is on Jewish identity. "When IfNotNow says, 'Oh, Birthright doesn't present the full picture of the Palestinian occupation,' well OK, but that's not the purpose of this trip," said an American Jewish communal official who has organized and co-led many Birthright trips, but who didn't want to be named without approval from Birthright. "The point of the trip is not to learn all of every single aspect of the occupation. It's to learn about Judaism and Jewish heritage and make friends and have a good time." Plus, the official added, if Birthright is seeking to drive American Jews politically rightward, it's doing a bad job. American Jews tend to hold markedly more liberal views on the conflict than their Israeli counterparts. "I'm sure the Israeli government gives money [to Birthright] because they have whatever their goals are," the official said. "I'm not sure how much that translates to a micro level. If their goal is to transform a generation of Jews into Likud supporters, they've clearly failed." (MEMRI via JNS)Speaking on Hamass Al-Aqsa TV, Islamic cleric Salah Nour cited the anti-Semitic hadith according to which the Muslims would fight the Jews on Judgment Day, and the trees and stones would give up the Jews hiding behind them. He praised the virtue of jihad, and said: Islam will prevail, Allah willing, and the Muslims will rule the entire Earth. His address aired on June 24. Merchants from Australia introduce their products at an event aiming to establish relationship between customers and merchants before CIIE A Chinese government official has said that the upcoming China International Import Expo (CIIE) will create more opportunities for extensive and in-depth trade cooperation between Pakistan and China. Gao Zhiqiang, head of the Sales and Marketing Department of Chinas International Import Expo Bureau has said that Pakistan and Chinas economies are complementary to each other and this has been testified by close business and trade relations. Business and trade relations between Pakistan and China have intensified in recent years and as long as companies from both countries are willing to engage in more extensive and in-depth corporation then more opportunities will emerge from these interactions. While briefing a delegation of foreign journalists from Asian and African countries about Chinas first upcoming International Import Expo, Gao Zhiqiang said the China International Import Expo will create opportunities in the areas of business, trade, culture and people to people exchange. The official said that less developed countries can also benefit from this opportunity. We will do our utmost to help companies get their business and benefits, and facilitate companies to find suitable business partners, he said, adding, I believe homegrown or homemade products of participating countries will be very popular at the expo. Indigenous products from Pakistan and other countries with distinct qualities would be popular. The arrangements for the First China International Import Expo are well underway, the event commencing at the National Exhibition and Convention Center on November 5th in Shanghai. Ms. Zhong Xiaomin, Deputy Director General of the China International Import Expo Bureau has informed journalists that it is a significant move for the Chinese government to hold the CIIE to give firm support to trade liberalization and economic globalization and actively open the Chinese market to the world. It facilitates countries and regions all over the world to strengthen economic cooperation and trade, and promotes global trade and world economic growth in order to make the world economy more open. We have also made supporting policies for developing and less developed countries. Zhong added that the Chinese government sincerely welcomes government officials, business communities, exhibitors and professional purchasers across the world to participate in CIIE and to explore the Chinese market. In the next five years, China is expecting to import products and services valuing more than 10 trillion U.S. dollars, which provides a historic opportunity for enterprises around the world to enter the huge Chinese market. Enterprises from over 100 countries and regions are expected to participate in the first CIIE and so far, companies from 80 countries have confirmed their participation for the exhibition. The CIIE will facilitate participation in terms of customs clearance, inspection and quarantine, provide long-term one-stop transaction services online and offline, and strengthen protection of intellectual property rights to safeguard the rights and interests of merchants, she added. The CIIE has invited Chinese enterprises from across the country to come to do business. Merchants from other countries have also been invited to the expo. It is estimated that 150,000 domestic and foreign professional purchasers will participate in the expo. Zhong further explained that the expo is a major decision made by the Chinese government to promote opening up at a higher level and is also a major step taken by China to actively open up its market to the world. Participants will include G20, BRICS, Shanghai Cooperation Organization countries, Belt and Road member companies as well as those from less developed countries. This will be a platform where countries can showcase their development achievements and enjoy equal opportunities of cultural and business exchanges. Due to the active responses from countries around the world, it has been decided to increase the exhibition space to 270,000 square meters. 186 companies from 38 African countries, 1,200 companies from 39 Asian countries and 56 companies from the seven ASEAN countries have confirmed their participation so far, Zhong added. Ofer Doron, head of IAI's MBT Space Division speaks near the Israeli spacecraft of the SpaceIL team's spacecraft, during a press conference at the Israel Aerospace facility in Yahud on July 10, 2018. (JTA)-Israel will launch a rocket from Florida in a bid to become the fourth country to reach the moon. Israel Aerospace Industries and the nonprofit SpaceIL announced Tuesday that they plan a December launch from Cape Canaveral to land on the moon on Feb. 13. The landing would culminate eight years of collaboration on the $88 million project. Private donations mostly paid for the project, including from the American businessman and Jewish philanthropist Sheldon Adelson. SpaceIL's president, Morris Kahn, has provided about $27 million. The United States, Russia and China are the only nations to have landed on the moon. The spacecraft's journey to the moon will last about two months. The Israeli craft will be the smallest to land on the moon, weighing only 1,322 pounds or 600 kilograms. Upon its landing, the spacecraft plans to take photos and video of the landing site while also measuring the moon's magnetic field as part of a Weizmann Institute scientific experiment. "After eight challenging years, I am filled with pride that the first Israeli spacecraft, which is in its final construction and testing phases, will soon be making its way to the moon," Kahn said. "I have experienced numerous challenges in my life, but this was the greatest challenge of all." He added: "The launch of the first Israeli spacecraft will fill Israel, in its 70th year, with pride. It is a national accomplishment that will put us on the world's space map." The CEO of Israel Aerospace Industries, Josef Weiss, expressed similar thoughts. "As one who has personally brought the collaboration with SpaceIL to IAI, I regard the launch of the first Israeli spacecraft to the moon as an example of the amazing capabilities one can reach in civilian space activity," he said. JERUSALEM (JTA)-The heavy stone that fell out of the Western Wall and came crashing down on a platform set aside for egalitarian prayer has been removed for examination and restoration, but the conversation about the reason for its sudden sky dive, including hints of divine intervention, keeps on going. The stone fell on Monday morning, hours after the area had been full of worshippers visiting the wall for Tisha b'Av, 25 hours of intense mourning for the destruction of the two Holy Temples in Jerusalem. The Western Wall was an external retaining wall for the Second Temple, which was razed by the Romans in 70 C.E. A lone worshipper was praying at the site, known as the Ezrat Yisrael near Robinson's Arch at the southern end of the wall, when the stone fell. Daniella Goldberg, 79, was not injured, though she was shaken up a bit. And she seemed to be dressed in the garb of an Orthodox worshipper: Every strand of hair covered, long sleeves, a long skirt and stockings in the summer heat. She said she prays regularly at the site, set at a remove from the iconic plaza that fronts the Wall, and told Israeli television that she would try not to let the incident "distract" from her prayers. Israeli archaeologist Zachi Dvira almost immediately said the 2,000-year-old wall was badly in need of restoration, and that its massive limestone blocks had to be reinforced. But some saw theology, not erosion, at play in the near disaster. Rabbi Shmuel Rabinovitch, the rabbi of the Western Wall, called for public "soul searching" in the wake of an incident he saw as "unusual and most rare." "The fact that this powerful incident happened a day after the 9th of Av fast, in which we mourned the destruction of our temples, raises questions which the human soul is too small to contain, and requires soul-searching," he said. Rabinovitch did not point fingers-unlike the deputy mayor of Jerusalem, Dov Kalmanovich. At first, Kalmanovich said, "We must not explain and interpret natural phenomena as signs from heaven, as the ways of the Creator are hidden." Then he did a 180, blaming the activists who want women and non-Orthodox Jews to be able to pray as they wish at the Orthodox-controlled Wall. "The falling of one of the Western Wall stones, so close to Tisha b'Av, and exactly at the location of the controversial prayer area, should be a red light for us all," he said. "I suggest that Reform leaders, Women of the Wall and the other quarrel-mongers examine themselves, and not the Wall." Kalmanovich, who, interesting side point, was the first person attacked in the first intifada in 1987, is not the only person to feel this way. A quick perusal of several religious and mainstream news websites showed similar sentiments from rabbis and laypeople. Alden Solovy, an author and teacher who supports efforts by Reform Jews to pray as they wish at the Western Wall, took a different tack. "On Tisha b'Av, God revealed a deep love of Reform Jews," he wrote in a blog post. "With a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, God held back a stone from falling from the southern Western Wall onto liberal Jews worshipping below. The stone was, indeed, destined to fall-as it did on Monday-but God held the stone back until no one would be hurt." Solovy noted that had the stone fallen on Saturday night, when hundreds of worshippers and visitors were standing near that part of the Wall, "the results could have been catastrophic." "Clearly, God held back the stone to save some beloved Children of Israel," he wrote. A facetious tweet by Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg, an author in Brookline, Massachusetts, subtly suggested that the Israeli government and the people that put them there could be at fault. The stone fell after a week in which Israeli lawmakers passed a controversial nation-state bill, as well as a law that denies surrogacy rights to same-sex couples. "They say the Temple was destroyed by free-flowing hatred," Ruttenberg wrote. "The day after (or day of? Not sure when this happened) Tisha b'Av during a time when Israel's been passing bills that are racist, homophobic, and anti-democratic, the Western Wall spit out a stone." She immediately clarified: "OK, all, my theology doesn't actually include a God who finds parking spaces or gives cancer or makes the right team win. Pretty sure it's up to us to do the work to care for one another down here. I am officially labeling this a facetious tweet bc some people can't get subtlety." The entire expanse of the wall will now be inspected for other loose rocks, as archaeologists discuss the best way to prevent another such incident. Religious leaders reportedly also will be consulted-not on the causes of the falling stones but on the spiritual sensibilities that must be taken into account during preservation work. The award for the best response should probably go to the archaeologist Meir Ben-Dov, one of the original excavators of the Robinson's Arch area. In an interview with The Times of Israel, he made it clear how little significance he attached to the stone's plummet to earth. "So a rock fell-so what!" Ben-Dov said. "The State of Israel hasn't ended, the Messiah won't come because of this." Ruth Bader Ginsburg says she plans to spend 5 more years on Supreme Court (JTA)Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg says she hopes to remain on the court for another five years. Im now 85, Ginsburg said, according to CNN. My senior colleague, Justice John Paul Stevens, he stepped down when he was 90, so think I have about at least five more years. Ginsburg made the statement on Sunday night in New York during a discussion following a production of The Originalist, a play about the late Justice Antonin Scalia. When asked in October at an event sponsored by Equal Justice Works in Arlington, Virginia, if she was contemplating retirement, Ginsburg said, As long as I can do the job full steam, I will do it, CNN reported. Ginsburg, who this year is marking her 25th anniversary on the Supreme Court, has hired law clerks for the next two terms, taking her at least through 2020. Asked Sunday night by The Originalist director Molly Smith what keeps her hopeful, Ginsburg quoted her late husband, Marty. My dear spouse would say that the true symbol of the United States is not the bald eagleit is the pendulum. And when it goes very far in one direction, you can count on its swinging back, she said. Ginsburg has survived colon and pancreatic cancer while serving on the court. Restaurant owner evicts Dutch Jewish community from synagogue DEVENTER, Netherlands (JTA)The Jewish community of this Dutch city was evicted Monday from its former synagogue in what members said was the first such occurrence in years in the kingdom. Members of Beth Shoshanna, a Masorti/Conservative Jewish congregation of approximately 30 people, packed up and loaded into a van their Torah scroll and other scripture, as well as other items used for worship and furniture. The move followed a legal fight against the buildings new owners, who are seeking to turn it into a restaurant. Its a very heavy feeling that this thing can happen here in 2018, said Tom Furstenberg, the communitys chairman. His community had been told to move out by the office of Ayhan Sahin, a Dutch-Turkish developer and owner of several eateries, who in January bought the building housing the Great Synagogue of Deventer with a partner Last week, the city blocked his plan to open an eatery in the 125-year-old synagogue. But as the owners, Sahin and his associate can still determine who has access to the building and have asked the congregation to move out, according to Sanne Terlouw, a member of the congregation. The community has found a new home in the nearby municipality of Raalte. We will continue. But this means the end of centuries of Jewish life in Deventer itself, Terlouw said. A dozen community members sang songs in Hebrew, including Am Yisrael Chai and Kol HaOlam Kulo, before leaving the synagogue. Furstenberg, wearing a tallit, or prayer shawl, blew the shofar one final time before leaving. He helped carry out the portable ark holding the Torah scrolls. Several Dutch journalists documented the move, which Terlouw and Furstenberg said was the first such case in years. The synagogue on Gol Street, a tall building in the neo-Moorish style, was built in 1892. Of the 590 people who in 1942 were registered as Jewish residents of Deventer, 401 were murdered in the Holocaust. The depleted community could not afford the buildings upkeep and sold it in 1951 to a Christian church group, which installed a massive pipe organ in the spacious interior. In 2010, Beth Shoshanna got permission from the church group to use the space as a synagogue. The Jewish congregation installed a Torah ark and scroll, and held regular services there until the sale. Attempts to raise enough funds to buy the synagogue from the church did not succeed. In 1940, in the days following the German invasion of the Netherlands, members of the Dutch National Socialist Party ransacked the Deventer synagogue as police stood by, destroying the interior. Trump says he would meet Irans leaders without preconditions WASHINGTON (JTA)President Donald Trump said he was ready to meet with Irans leaders anytime with no preconditions, a pivot from his administrations policy of encouraging soft regime change by isolating its ruling elites. No preconditions, no, they want to meet Ill meet, anytime they want, Trump said Monday at a press availability with Prime Minister Guisseppe Conte of Italy when asked if he would meet with Irans leaders. Its good for the country, good for them, good for us and good for the world. Trump maintained a tough line on Iran, again congratulating himself for pulling out of the 2015 nuclear deal, which traded sanctions relief for a rollback in Irans nuclear activity, and calling for other nations to reimpose sanctions. The brutal regime in Iran must never be allowed to possess a nuclear weaponnever, Trump said. We encourage all nations to pressure Iran to end the full range of its malign activities. But he ridiculed the notion that refusing to meet leaders of enemy states was an effective means of pressure, noting renewed talks with North Korea to end its nuclear weapons capability that ensued after he agreed to meet with its leader, Kim Jong Un, whom he once called Little Rocket Man. Speaking to other people, especially when youre talking about potentials of war and death and famine and other things, you meet, Trump said. The presidents willingness to meet with the leaders of Iran is a sharp divergence from a policy of encouraging its people to rise up against those leaders. A week ago, Mike Pompeo, the U.S. secretary of state, delivered a speech directed at the Iranian people in which he asserted that Iran is run by something that resembles the mafia more than a government. While it is ultimately up to the Iranian people to determine the direction of their country, the United States, in the spirit of our own freedoms, will support the long-ignored voice of the Iranian people, Pompeo said. In the Q&A following his speech, Pompeo said that Trump is prepared to have a conversation with the leadership in Iran, but not until such time as there are demonstrable, tangible, irreversible changes in the Iranian regime that I dont see happening today. Israel has joined calls for regime change, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu posting on social media this week the tale of a fictional 15-year-old Iranian girl and the agonies she must endure just to live in Iran. Trumps national security adviser John Bolton had, before assuming his position earlier this year, encouraged hard regime changethrough U.S. military intervention, among other options. And Trump himself appeared to threaten war against Iran just last week in an all-caps tweet, responding to Iranian President Hassan Rouhanis warning to the United States that war with Iran would have far-reaching consequences. NEVER, EVER THREATEN THE UNITED STATES AGAIN OR YOU WILL SUFFER CONSEQUENCES THE LIKES OF WHICH FEW THROUGHOUT HISTORY HAVE EVER SUFFERED BEFORE, Trump wrote a week ago. Within minutes of Trumps news conference on Monday, Rep. Lee Zeldin, R-N.Y., who is Jewish and one of Trumps most reliable backers in Congress, pushed back against any notion that Iran and the United States are peers. I have ZERO respect whatsoever for this Iranian regime, which will never be anything close to US equals, Zeldin said. They are not. Theyre horrible people of worst kind with US blood on their hands; worlds largest state sponsor of terror & danger to all thats good & humane in world. CBS will keep Leslie Moonves as CEO pending outcome of sexual misconduct investigation (JTA)CBS is looking into sexual misconduct allegations against its CEO, Leslie Moonves, who was accused of inappropriate behavior in a New Yorker expose last Friday. Ronan Farrow interviewed six women who alleged that Moonves sexually harassed them between the 1980s and the late 2000s. They said they feared that Moonves, one of Hollywoods most powerful executives, would sabotage their careers if they rebuffed his advances. Four of them allege that Moonves inappropriately touched and kissed them during business meetings. Farrow, the son of Woody Allen and Mia Farrow who won a Pulitzer Prize for his reporting on Harvey Weinsteins sexual assault history, also interviewed other current and former CBS employees over eight months. Some described an environment rife with sexual harassment across multiple departments of the company, including at 60 Minutes and CBS News. I recognize that there were times decades ago when I may have made some women uncomfortable by making advances, Moonves said in a statement to Farrow for the New Yorker piece. 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. CBS stock shares took a hit on Monday, and the CBS board of directors met later in the day to discuss Moonves fate. The meeting ended without immediate recommendations and CBS said Moonves would remain CEO pending the outcome of an investigation by outside counsel. It postponed its annual shareholders meeting, which had been scheduled for Aug. 10. Moonves and Shari Redstone, the networks controlling stockholder, have already been locked in a public tussle over control of the company. Deadline reports that it was unclear if Redstone attended the board meeting Monday. Moonves was the head of Viacom before becoming board chairman of the CBS Corp. in 2016. He grew up in a Jewish family in New York City, and is a grand-nephew of the late Paula Ben-Gurionborn Paula Munweisthe wife of Israels first prime minister, David Ben-Gurion. University of Kentucky student found dead in Israel after late night swim in Mediterranean Sea JERUSALEM (JTA)The body of a University of Kentucky sophomore was found Monday morning washed up on the shore of the Mediterranean Sea after she went missing in a late-night swim on Saturday. TeNiya Jones, a biology major with a minor in Islamic studies, was on a weekend visit to Israel from Jordan, where she was enrolled in a seven-week exchange program. She was due to return home to Fort Myers, Florida, in a week. Jones mother, Tosha Thomas-Mora, was scheduled to travel to Israel on Monday. Jones, 19, went out for the swim with two other exchange students. She disappeared off of a beach near Bat Yam, a suburb of Tel Aviv, The Times of Israel reported. According to one of the students, a strong current pulled the three of them out deeper to sea while they were swimming. Two of the students were able to swim back to shore, but Jones did not make it back, according to a statement issued by the University of Kentucky. Our thoughts and prayers are with TeNiya, her family and the students and others impacted, the statement issued Sunday morning said. We are in continual contact with TeNiyas family, officials in Israel, officials from the State Department and our Congressional delegation to provide all the support we can for the family, students and others involved. We will do everything possible to provide whatever support is needed. Thomas-Mora said she received a call from Bill Bull, vice president of the universitys health and safety security, about 2 1/2 hours after her daughter went missing on Saturday night informing her of the incident. Israel launched a search and rescue operation to find Jones, and officials from the U.S. Embassy were involved in the process, according to the university. Palestinian teen who slapped Israeli soldier released from prison and returned to West Bank JERUSALEM (JTA)Ahed Tamimi, the Palestinian teen arrested in part for slapping and harassing Israeli soldiers standing guard in a West Bank Palestinian village, was released from prison. Tamimi, 17, and her mother, who also was jailed for incitement, were released early Sunday morning and taken by Israeli officials to the West Bank checkpoint of Jabbara, located south of Tulkarm near their hometown of Nabi Saleh. She was then taken by convoy to Ramallah to lay a wreath on the grave of the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. While in Ramallah, Tamimi and her family met with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, who praised her as a model of the Palestinian struggle for freedom, independence and statehood, the official Palestinian Wafa news agency reported. The teen was sentenced in March to eight months in prison after pleading guilty to four counts of assault, including the one in which she slapped a soldier in front of her house that was videotaped and went viral on social media. She spent three months in jail prior to her plea bargain. Tamimi reportedly completed high school while in prison and had begun applying to colleges. She initially had been charged with 12 counts, including aggravated assault, hindering a soldier in the line of duty, incitement, threatening a soldiers life and rock throwing. The indictment covered six incidents in recent months in which she was involved in altercations with Israeli soldiers, including the Dec. 15 slapping incident. Tamimis mother, Nariman, also was arrested and charged over her involvement in the slapping incident, in which she filmed her daughter with a cellphone camera calling on her fellow Palestinians to stab Israelis, throw rocks at them and offer themselves as suicide bombers in order to liberate Palestine. Nariman Tamimi also was charged with incitement to terrorism on Facebook for posting the video of the incident. She reportedly also has accepted a plea bargain. At a news conference on Sunday afternoon in her hometown, Tamimi thanked everyone who has stood with me while I was in prison and praised her mother, saying that her ability to remain strong is what helped me endure. My message here is that our resistance will continue, particularly our resistance for equal rights, she said, and also I want to also reiterate the message that Jerusalem is and will always be the capital of Palestine. Tamimi said that with the completion of her high school studies, she intends to study law and focus on holding the occupation accountable. On Saturday, Israeli Border Police detained two Italian artists who painted a large mural of Tamimi on the West Bank security barrier in Bethlehem. Airbnb removes Chicago listing that would not tolerate Zionism WASHINGTON (JTA)Airbnb removed a Chicago-area listing after a prospective renter posted its prohibition on expressions of zionism. This apartment strives to be a safe spaceno sexism, homophobia, zionism, racism, classism, transphobia, xenophobia, fatphobia, or other hatred and prejudice is tolerated, said the listing that appeared earlier this month advertising a bedroom in a massive loft located at the heart of Wrigley and Boystown. Guests who make the space unsafe or exhibit problematic behavior WILL BE ASKED TO LEAVE WITHOUT A REFUND, it said. Nick Papas, a spokesman for the popular tourism rental website, told JTA on Monday that the listing was suspended and Airbnb will investigate. Airbnb hosts may not decline a guest based on race, color, ethnicity, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity or marital status, Papas said. The listing also said unaccompanied straight men should look elsewhere. The Airbnb host is named Sarah. With her listing removed, she could not be reached for comment. Suzanne Vega, a New Yorker who planned a visit to see friends in Chicago, first posted the listing on Facebook and noted her concerns. An acquaintance, Lea Speyer, reposted it on Twitter. Vega, 27, of Brooklyn, told JTA that she was searching the site for progressive spaces because she is LGBTQ. I needed an environment that was going to be safe to me all around, she said. Vega believes in engaging with those with political differences, but not those who would negate the rights of LGBTQ people. I cant get along with ultra-right people, she said. The listing unsettled her, Vega said, because the ban on expressions of zionism and the penalty for doing so would inhibit her talking about her Judaism and her recent visit to Israel. What does it entail? I cant say anything about Israel, I cant say anything about being Jewish? she said. Additionally, Vega noted, the listing did not prohibit exhibitions of anti-Semitism. It bothered me so heavily I posted about it, she said. I felt unsafe. Vega said she was on the alert heading into her Chicago vacation because of the controversy last year when the Chicago Dyke March banned marchers showing Jewish pride by bearing Stars of David. Im very progressive and somewhat left-wing for sure, she said. The extreme left are incapable of having a dialogue. 3 Gazan Palestinians, including 12-year-old boy, killed in border clashes JERUSALEM (JTA)Three Gazan Palestinians, including a 12-year-old boy, were killed during clashes at the Israel-Gaza border. Some 7,000 Palestinians gathered in several spots along the border and participated in riots including throwing rocks and burning tires and throwing pipe bombs and other incendiary devices. The boy, 12, was identified by Palestinian officials as Majdi al-Satari of Rafah. He acted as a martyr who is killed by Israeli troops in a film widely shared on Palestinian social media earlier this month, the Times of Israel reported. In the video he is seen attempting to damage the border between Israel and Gaza before being shot by teens dressed as Israeli soldiers. He is then borne to his funeral on a stretcher draped with a Palestinian flag. His funeral on Saturday looked much the same. Also killed Friday was Moumin al-Hams, 17, and Ghazi Abu Mustafa, 43, who witnesses said was rushing to the border when he was shot. Also Friday, the Israeli military carried out an airstrike on a squad of Palestinians in northern Gaza as they flew arson balloons carrying incendiary material towards Israel, according to the Israel Defense Forces. No one was injured in the attack. The United Nations envoy for Middle East peace, Nickolay Mladenov, on Saturday condemned the death of Majdi al-Satari in a tweet. Yesterdays killing of a 12 year old #Palestinian boy by #Israeli fire in #Gaza is shocking and tragic. Children are #NotATarget! Too many lives have been lost. Its time for this to stop. My hearfelt thought and prayers go out to the bereaved family, the tweet said. Due to an unusual conflation of events, over the past two weeks weve caught a rare glimpse of the face of European foreign policy. We shouldnt let it pass unremarked. Last Friday, the European Unions foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini presided over a curious summit in Vienna. In the same hall where she and her colleagues concluded the nuclear deal with Iran three years ago, Mogherini and her comrades tried to concoct ways to save the deal by undermining American power and defying its decision to abandon the deal. Mogherini was joined in her efforts by the German, French and British foreign ministers. Sitting opposite them were Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif, and the Russian and Chinese foreign ministers. Together they brainstormed ways to undermine the economic sanctions the U.S. will begin implementing next month against Iran and anyone from anywhere that trades with Iran. The Europeans made some suggestions. For instance, the European Investment Bank, they said, is authorized to invest in projects in Iran. European governments are willing to make direct deposits in Iranian banks to get around U.S. restrictions on bank transfers to Iran. The Germans apparently are the keenest to continue the money flow to Tehran. Bild, a Berlin-based tabloid, reported that Iran has asked the European-Iranian Trade Bank, which is majority owned by Iranian state-owned banks but registered in Hamburg with the Bundesbank, Germanys central bank, to permit it to withdraw 350 million in cash. The Iranians intend to fly the cash to Tehran to avoid the prospect of the accounts being frozen once U.S. sanctions are reimposed. According to the Bild report, the German government supports the cash transfer. The Merkel government believes the Iranian claim that the money will be distributed to Iranian businessmen who will be barred from using credit cards in international commerce due to the U.S. sanctions. The Germans apparently are happy to ignore the fact that Iran routinely uses cash to pay for its wars in Syria and Yemen. Iran regularly transfers millions of dollars in cash to Hamas in Gaza. Cash is its routine method of financing Hezbollah and its terror empire in Lebanon and throughout the worldincluding in Germany. The Germans dont care about that. Their goal is not to prevent terror. Their goal is to flood Iran with money. Mogherinis summit in Vienna was a statement of deep contempt for the U.S. Days before U.S. President Donald Trump was scheduled to arrive on the continent, the leaders of Europe publicly colluded with Iran, China and Russia to undermine and weaken America. While shocking in and of itself, Europes behavior didnt tell U.S. anything we didnt already know. Mogherini has been publicly attacking the U.S. for walking away from the nuclear deal and declaring her allegiance to the pact three times a day, every day since May 8 when Trump announced he was pulling the U.S. out of it and reimposing sanctions on Iran. What we didnt know until recently is why Mogherini and her colleagues have chosen to stand with Iran against America. We got the answer on June 30. Six days before the Vienna summit, Belgian security forces arrested members of an Iranian terror cell as they made their way to Paris to blow up a rally held that day by the Iranian opposition movement Mujahedin e-Khalq. The cell was led by Asduallah Asadi, the head of Irans intelligence network in Europe. Asadi is registered as the Iranian intelligence attache at the Iranian embassy in Vienna. He is an officer of the Revolutionary Guards al-Quds Brigade, which is responsible for Irans foreign terror operations. Thousands attended the rally in Paris. Among the many VIPS present were former prime minister Ehud Barak, former Canadian prime minister Stephen Harper and former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani. The arrests in Belgium drove home the fact that Iran has developed a massive terror infrastructure in Europe. The terror operatives who were arrested lived and operated in at least four countries: Germany, Austria, Belgium and France. On the face of it, it is amazing than right after terrorists under the direct command of the Iranian regime were caught en route to carrying out an attack in Paris, Europes top diplomats sat down with the leaders of the regime and brainstormed how to shower them with cash in open defiance of the United States. And that isnt all. It is true that Mogherini and her colleagues insist the nuclear deal they love so much prevents Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. But it is also true that they know they are lying. The Europeans dont need Trump or Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to tell them the deal gives Iran a clear path to a full-blown nuclear arsenal within a decade. They have known that all along. And its never bothered them. So in under a week, an Iranian terror cell tried to blow up a rally in Paris and Europes leaders reacted by hosting their bosses in a fancy hall and promising them billions of dollars and a nuclear arsenal within a decade in defiance of the U.S.. Why would the Europeans do this? What does this tell U.S. about the nature of their policy? The first thing all of this tells U.S. is that Europe has a very clear Iran policy. It tells U.S. that there is no connection whatsoever between Europes rhetoricwhich insists that Iran must not acquire nuclear weapons and that Iran must end its sponsorship of terrorismand Europes policy. As to the policy itself, Europes Iran policy is a policy of pure appeasement, based on profound weakness. Mogherini and her comrades are fully aware that Iran can cause them harm and intends to cause them harm. Through payoffs and betrayal of the U.S. they hope to convince the Iranians to attack someone else instead of them. They dont care if its Israel or Saudi Arabia or America. As far as the Europeans are concerned, Iran can kill whoever it wants, so long as it doesnt attack Europe. This is Europes Iran policy. It has no other policy. There is nothing unique about Europes Iran policy. Appeasement predicated on weakness and an absence of any will to defend itself stands at the heart of Europes policies towards all of its enemies. As for its allies, Europe expects them to serve its needs, and appease it in exchange for nodding, condescending approval. At the NATO summit on Wednesday, Trump exposed this basic fact in relation to Europes Russia policy. When Russia annexed Crimea in 2014, no one condemned the move more passionately than the Europeans. And German Chancellor Angela Merkel stood at the front of the column of denouncers proclaiming Russias aggression would not stand. And yet, as Trump revealed in his blunt repartee with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, while Germany passionately declaimed about Russian aggression and the threat Russia poses to Europe, Merkel was signing massive gas deals with Russia to build and expand the Nord Stream gas pipeline between Russia and Germany. The strategic implication of Germanys dependence on Russian gas is that the country screaming loudest about Russia has voluntarily rendered its economy dependent on Russian gas. Merkel did this, Trump noted, while refusing to spend the requisite 2 percent of German GDP on its national defense and while expecting the U.S. to defend Europe from Russia it on its own dime. As with Iran, so with Russia, when you see the full spectrum of European actions, you realize there is no connection whatsoever between European rhetoric and European policy. As with Iran, so with Russia, Europes actual policy is to appease Russia by paying it off. As with Iran so with Russia, Europe expects the U.S. to pull its fat from the fire when the going gets toughand pay for the privilege of doing so. Trump scares the Europeans. He doesnt scare them because he expects them to pay for their own defense. All of his predecessors had the same expectation. He frightens the Europeans because he ignores their rhetoric while mercilessly exposing their true policy and refuses to accept it. They are scared that Trump intends to exact a price from them for their weak-kneed treachery. Europes policies towards Israel follow a similar script as its other policies. As is the case with Iran and Russia, there is no connection whatsoever between Europes rhetoric and its actual policies. With Iran, Europe claims that it is committed to preventing the proliferation of nuclear weapons to Iran while its actual policy is to enable Iran to build a nuclear arsenal. In Israels case, Europeans say they strive to advance international law, human rights and peace when their actual policy negates international law, harms human rights and diminishes any possibility of peace. Whereas Europeans fear the Iranians and the Russians, they hate Israel. And the goal of Europes Israel policy is to weaken the Jewish state through delegitimization, political and legal subversion and the constant threat of commercial sanctions. Israels great error in contending with Europe is that we fail to recognize, as Trump recognizes, that European rhetoric doesnt represent its actual policy. It camouflages it. We send our best lawyers to Europe to explain that our policies conform with international law. We deploy our most talented diplomats to Europe to prove that our actions advance human rights. And our greatest statesmen have spent decades trying to prove our commitment to peace. And all these efforts are completely irrelevant. The Europeans couldnt care less about the truth. They arent here to promote truth. They prefer lies. Lies help them to hide their policy predicated on hatred of Israel. The summit in Vienna was a dud. Like Trump, the Iranians understand that European rhetoric gets them nowhere. European banks arent willing to lose the American market for Iran. Likewise, European conglomerates are pulling out of deals with Iran one after another to avoid U.S. sanctions. We dont know where Trump wants to lead U.S. relations with Europe. But it is clear that he intends to exact a price from Europe for its hostile policies, its weakness towards U.S. adversaries and its double dealing with America. Israel should draw the appropriate lessons from Trumps actions and from the truth revealed about the nature of European policy by the events of the past two weeks. The time has come for Israel to finally stop taking European rhetoric seriously. The time has come for Israel to begin exacting a painful price from Europe for its hostile and damaging policies towards U.S. Originally published in The Jerusalem Post. Caroline Glick is the senior Middle East Fellow at the Center for Security Policy in Washington, D.C., the deputy managing editor of The Jerusalem Post and a contributor to the Jewish World Review. We attempted to send a notification to your email address but we were unable to verify that you provided a valid email address. Please click here to update your email address if you wish to receive notifications. Otherwise, you may click here to disable notifications and hide this message. In late 1916 a German naval adventurer slipped the British blockade aboard a three-masted windjammer to raid like the pirates of old The golden age of fighting sail lasted more than 300 years, from the reign of English King Henry VIII to the advent of steam-powered ironclads in the American Civil War. But the stirring sight of a majestic cargo-carrying windjammer under clouds of canvas was not uncommon even as late as World War I. Sailing ships still crisscrossed the seven seas, carrying everything from sugar to timber to fish and dried coconut. The wooden- and iron-hulled vessels were slower than their steam-powered descendants, but they were also cheaper to operate and cost-effective on the secondary routes most steamship companies chose to ignore. As a result, at the outbreak of war in 1914 several of the belligerent nations still operated commercial sailing ships, which plied waters everywhere from the confined Baltic to the vast Pacific. However, one of those ships was not what it seemed. By all appearances a harmless and dowdy wind-powered merchant vessel, it was in fact a deadly predator, a shark among minnows. Its name was SMS Seeadler, and it wrote the very last page in the saga of fighting sail. By the autumn of 1916 World War I had been raging for more than two years, and for that entire period the British Royal Navy had blockaded Germanys ports. Even as Kaiser Wilhelm IIs armies were driving hard to take Paris, his nation, heavily dependent on foreign wheat and fertilizer, was forced to live off its hump. With the mighty High Seas Fleet largely bottled up in Kiel and Wilhelmshaven, U-boats and commerce raiders conducted Germanys only offensive naval operations. Submarines, yet to truly make their mark in naval warfare, were too few in number and limited in range and speed. But a few commerce raidersarmed liners and merchant shipshad managed to slip past the Royal Navy early in the war to prowl the vulnerable Allied shipping lanes. In 1916 the German Imperial Admiralty, encouraged by the success of prior raiders and eager to put more into service, proposed that a large sailing ship, properly armed and disguised, might slip through the British blockade to raid the shipping lanes. As ludicrous as the idea may have sounded, it did have compelling advantages. Most steam-powered oceangoing raiders were subject to one serious limitation: a shortage of coal. Germany had few colonies around the world and consequently almost no coaling stations. Thus German raiders had to either capture British colliers or have German ones meet them at sea. Any vessel that could remain at sea for long periods without refueling had an inherent advantage. Windjammers were the ultimate sailing ships. Far larger than the sleek clippers that preceded them, the huge square-rigged barks had three, four and even five masts from which to fly acres of canvas. Often built of iron and steel rather than wood, they could sail under the most difficult weather conditions. Moreover, the British were unlikely to suspect a large sailing ship of being a raider. To captain such a vessel the Admiralty turned to Count Felix von Luckner, a powerfully built German aristocrat, naval officer and sailor since age 13. Other officers, incensed that the Admiralty would offer a mere lieutenant commander an independent command, sought to depth charge Luckner and sowed seeds of doubt about the entire venture. Summoned before the kaiser, the young officer spoke bluntly. Your Majesty, if our Admiralty says its impossible and ridiculous, then Im sure it can be done, Luckner assured him. For the British Admiralty will think it impossible also. Born in Dresden in 1881, Luckner ran away from home in 1894 to become a sailor, thus breaking a proud, three-generation family tradition of service as cavalry officers. Under the name Phelax Luedige he spent the next seven years sailing the world, in the process learning to speak English and Norwegian. At age 20, still using his alias, he returned to Germany and studied navigation, then joined the merchant marine as a petty officer aboard the small Hamburg South America liner Petropolis. A year later he joined the German naval reserve under his real name and obtained a commission as a lieutenant. Luckner was called to active duty on Feb. 3, 1912, at a time when Germany and Great Britain were building giant dreadnoughts of ever-increasing power and speed. The young naval officer saw combat action at Heligoland Bight in 1914 and Jutland in the spring of 1916. Then came the call from the Admiralty. Intrigued at the idea of converting an old square-rigger into an armed commerce raider, he threw himself into the project. It was just the kind of daring adventure Luckner could make into a success, given his years of experience aboard sailing ships. It also appealed to his sense of the dramatic. The vessel that would enter German naval service as the merchant raider SMS Seeadler (Sea Eagle) had been launched in Scotland in 1888 as Pass of Balmaha, later sailed under an American flag and fell into German hands in a roundabout way. In 1915, while sailing from New York to Arkhangelsk, Russia, with a cargo of cotton, the ship had been intercepted in the North Sea by a Royal Navy cruiser. Though the United States was neutral at the time, the British captain had detained the bark on suspicion of carrying contraband and put a crew aboard to sail it to Scapa Flow for inspection. Over the objections of the American crew, the British had foolishly lowered the ships U.S. flag and flown their own naval ensign. Fate had then intervened in the form of a German U-boat, whose suspicious captain seized the bark and sent it to the North Sea port of Cuxhaven. From there Pass of Balmaha had sailed up the Elbe River to Hamburg. The Germans had released the U.S. crewmen but imprisoned the British prize crew. At 4,500 tons and just over 250 feet, the windjammer was large enough for the job the Germans planned for it. It would operate undercover as a Norwegian cargo ship, ostensibly transporting lumber to Australia. The vessel underwent extensive conversions, beginning with the installation of a 950-hp auxiliary diesel engine and propeller shaft fitted just ahead of the rudder, to provide propulsion when becalmed or in slack winds. Its instruments and gear were worn, weather-beaten and Norwegian-made. False stacks of lumber on the port and starboard bows concealed two 105 mm SK L/45 naval guns. As Luckner put it, Pass of Balmaha became a mystery ship of trick panels and trick doors. In addition to quarters for 64 officers and men, it could carry up to 400 prisonersthe passengers and crews of ships Luckner captured. The cells were carefully constructed to be invisible to enemy boarding parties, cunningly hidden behind false panels in the hold, which appeared filled with stacks of crates and cargo. Luckner was adamant the prisoner quarters have ample bunks, a separate mess, even games and reading material. I wanted them to feel as though they were my guests, he later said. It was more than gentlemanly chivalry, of course. If well cared for his guests would be more likely to behave and not sound the alarm when Seeadler was approaching another victim. To crew the raider Luckner chose German navy volunteers with experience aboard sailing ships. Like their captain, several spoke Norwegian, some fluently. One young man, a slender, smooth-cheeked mechanics helper named Schmidt, was drafted to play the role of the captains Norwegian wife, complete with blonde wig, dress and makeup. Every man had worked out his identity as a Norwegian sailor or officer, right down to fake family letters, photos, clothing and personal idiosyncrasies. They chewed tobacco and learned the words to ribald Norwegian drinking songs. Luckner himself learned to chew tobacco, reasoning that if asked a difficult question, he could roll the plug in his mouth, ponder a moment, then spit elegantly. By early November 1916 the ship was ready, fully loaded and manned. All it needed to pass through the blockade was a foolproof identity. The bark Maleta, which was simlar to Seeadler, was loading in Copenhagen. Luckner traveled to the port and, reassuming his former identity as Phelax Luedige, signed on as a longshoreman. One night he crept aboard and stole the ships logbook, giving Seeadler its bona fide identity. Unfortunately, the German Admiralty delayed the raiders departure until after the real Maleta had sailed. The cover story wouldnt work. Luckner changed the name on the stolen log and all ships papers to Irma, a bark of dubious registry in truth named after the captains fiancee. But the erasures and alterations proved too obvious. Maintaining his composure, Luckner directed the ships carpenter to use an ax to break out a few portholes and smash railings and bunks, then drench everything in seawater. When the job was done, it appeared as though the bark had been through a violent gale. It only seemed natural its sodden and stained papers were hard to read. Seeadler finally left Hamburg on December 17. The first obstacle it encountered was a field of bristling naval mines. Fortunately, a gale came to the ships aid, forcing it to sail heeled far over on its beam-ends and thus allowing it to glide safely over the submerged mines. Then Seeadler ran afoul of the armed merchant cruiser HMS Avenger, whose captain ordered the bark to heave to for inspection. The Royal Navy officer leading the boarding party saw only a loaded lumber ship, recently battered by Baltic storms and crewed by a gaggle of smelly, undisciplined Norwegians who showed little respect for his rank or duty. The barks captain, a brute of a man named Knudsen with a plug of tobacco wedged in his cheek, showed the British officer the water-stained and nearly unreadable papers. In his thick Norwegian accent Knudsen introduced his homely blonde wife, Josephine, who was laid up on the damp cabin settee with a painful toothache. The Royal Navy officer saw no further reason to detain the obviously innocent Norwegian bark and returned to his ship. As Avenger steamed away, its signal flags spelled out Bon Voyage. Seeadler had passed its first test. As the bark cleared the British Isles and headed out to sea, Luckner ordered its disguise shed. Crewmen dutifully cast the lumber overboard to free up the ships two guns, though the captain retained trace camouflage so as to lure unsuspecting prey into Sea Eagles claws. Thus prepared, Luckner sailed into the broad North Atlantic in search of prizes. His success would earn him the nickname Sea Devil. Luckners orders directed him to attack only other sailing ships. While the very idea of a nearly 30-year-old bark being able to capture a modern steamship was ludicrous, the challenge proved too tempting for the daring young captain to pass up. He had his first chance on Jan. 9, 1917, when the mainmast lookout spotted smoke on the horizon. The source turned out to be the 3,268-ton British steamer Gladis Royle, bound for Buenos Aries with a cargo of coal. After running up the Norwegian flag, Luckner used what became his signature ploya request for a chronometer reading. This was common for sailing vessels, which needed accurate time for navigation. In response Gladis Royle hove to under the barks port bowat which point Luckner ordered the German naval ensign raised and a shot fired across the steamers bow. Three more shots forced the British captain to stop his engines and row over to the German ship. You fooled me bloody well! he fumed at the grinning German captain. The captive crewmen were brought aboard Seeadler and quartered below, while German sailors rigged explosive charges along the steamers hull. That night Luckners first victim went to the bottom. The next day Seeadler found anotherthe 3,095-ton British steamer Lundy Island, carrying sugar from Madagascar. Its captain, however, was not taken in by the request for a chronometer reading and made a run for it. Luckner had the German ensign raised even as his gunners fired two shots at the steamer, striking its funnel and hull. Beaten, its captain surrendered, and its crew was taken aboard. In two days Luckner had captured and sunk two British ships without a single life lost. Over the following days the captive British captains engaged in a spirited chess tournament while their crews enjoyed the run of the German ship, albeit under guard. Thanks to Luckners courtly treatment of his wards, there were no problems. Remarkably, the German captain paid the prisoners their regular wages while aboard. Even more astonishingly, after Luckner offered a reward of 10 pounds sterling and a bottle of champagne to the first manGerman or Britishto sight a ship, almost every prisoner and even their captains lined the rails and clambered into the rigging to watch for Seeadlers next target. Never, Luckner recalled, had a ship such a lookout. On January 21 lookouts spotted the 2,199-ton French bark Charles Gounod, Luckner approaching it with the same request for a chronometer reading. Its captain quickly capitulated, and Seeadlers crew brought aboard Gounods sailors and several cases of good French wine before Luckner sank the sailing ship. Over the next few weeks Seeadler captured and sank three more windjammersfrom Britain, France and Italywithout resistance, and the hold was soon packed with more than 100 prisoners. In just a month Seeadler had dispatched six ships. And still the wily Sea Devil pressed on toward the South Atlantic. On February 19 Luckner confronted a ghost from his past when he captured the 2,432-ton British bark Pinmore, on which he had sailed as the young runaway Phelax Luedige. With a sense of nostalgia, Luckner rowed over alone to the old windjammer and walked the decks of his youth. Then pragmatism intervened, as he and several crewmen sailed Pinmore to Rio de Janeiro to purchase needed supplies. With his usual flair, Luckner got away with the daring venture and rendezvoused with Seeadler a few days later. He then had to give what he later described as the most difficult command of his naval career. With a heavy heart he ordered Pinmore sunk. Staying below in his cabin, he tried not to listen to the dull rumble of the charges that sank the much-loved relic of his past. By then Luckner had weightier concerns on his mind. While passing himself off as a Norwegian in Rio, hed met a Royal Navy officer from the light cruiser HMS Glasgow. The man told Captain Knudsen his ship and the protected cruiser HMS Amethyst were preparing to hunt for a German raider then operating off the Brazilian coast. Their quarry was actually Seeadlers sister raider SMS Mowe. But Luckner wasnt taking any chances. He bent on full sail and headed south toward Cape Horn, at the tip of South America. En route he sank three more windjammers. On March 11 Seeadlers lookouts spotted the 3,609-ton British steamer Horngarth, which boasted not only a conspicuous deck gun, but also a transmitter Luckner had to put out of action before its radioman could raise the alarm. When the steamers captain ignored Luckners standard request for a chronometer reading, the German captain had his crew fire up a smoke generator, ignite magnesium in a plate atop the main deckhouse and raise a distress flag, something no honorable captain could ignore. As Horngarth approached, Luckner had wife Josephinethat rascal Schmidt in dragparade demurely along the deck to distract the British sailors. He then hoisted the German ensign and fired a shot directly into the radio room. When Horngarths crew made motions to return fire, Luckner had selected men with megaphones yell out in English, Torpedoes clear! That made the British captain back down and surrender. But Luckners perfect record had been brokena British sailor had died from wounds during the standoff. The Germans and their captives buried him at sea with full honors. By then Seeadler held more than 275 prisoners, a burden that prompted Luckner to make good use of his next prize, the 1,833-ton French bark Cambronne. Its captain was relieved to learn his ship would not be sunk but was to transport Seeadlers prisoners to Rio. Luckner had Cambronnes topgallant mast and other spars and sails removed to slow it, then put his prisoners aboard. With the French vessel still in view, Seeadlers crew made a show of sailing north. Only as night fell did Luckner turn back south, headed for the Horn. But unlike his other ruses, this one didnt work. The Royal Navy had surmised Seeadler was headed for the Pacific and sent Glasgow and Amethyst to find and sink the raider. In April 1917 the United States declared war on Germany, and Luckner expanded his target list to include vessels flying the Stars and Stripes. Between June 14 and July 8 the Sea Devil captured and sank three small American schooners, A.B. Johnson, R.C. Slade and Manila. Well under 1,000 tons each, they were slim pickings compared to what he had found in the Atlantic, but he had other concerns. The Royal Navy was hunting for him, and he was low on provisions. On the last day of July the German raider anchored in the calm lagoon of Mopelia (Maupihaa) atoll in the Society Islands, the crew and prisoners all going ashore to feast on turtle soup, lobster, eggs and fruit. But disaster struck when a strong current caused Seeadlers anchor to drag, and the current drove the bark onto a submerged reef, breaking its keel in five places. Luckner knew it was the end of the voyage. He ordered everything salvageable taken off and had his noble windjammer burned to the waterline. With their captives help, the Germans then cobbled together a seaside village of sorts using the ships timbers and sailcloth. But the audacious Sea Devil refused to run up the white flag. Outfitting one of the ships launches with sails, provisions and weapons, Luckner set out with five volunteers, resolving to capture the first interisland trading ship they encountered. But on Sept. 21, 1917, after a fruitless 2,300-mile journey to Fiji, they reached the end of the line. Confronted by a British officer and soldiers, and realizing resistance would only result in needless bloodshed, Luckner surrendered. His nine-month odyssey had ended, and he and the men who had sailed with him in the launch were sent to a prisoner of war camp in New Zealand. He managed to briefly escape that Decemberby sea, of coursebefore spending the remainder of the war in captivity. Despite the jealous skepticism of Luckners fellow German naval officers, the concept of a sail-powered commerce raider had proven its value. During its time at war Seeadler had sunk 14 shipsincluding three steamerstotaling nearly 30,000 tons and had tied up Allied warships and other resources that might otherwise have been put to better use. In Luckner, the Germans had found the perfect man for the job. His wartime memoirs were a best seller in Germany, and he became a sought-after speaker, respected and revered for his daring, cunning and chivalry to his enemies. The Sea Devil and his gallant Seeadler were truly the last of their kind. Mark Carlson has been an aviation and military writer for more than a dozen national magazines and is the author of three books, the most recent being The Marines Lost Squadron: The Odyssey of VMF-422. For further reading he recommends The Windjammers, by Oliver E. Allen, and Castles of Steel: Britain, Germany and the Winning of the Great War at Sea, by Robert K. Massie. SAN JOSE, Costa RicaHumane Society International / Latin America, as a member of the National Animal Welfare Advisory Council (CONABA) of Costa Rica, participated in one of the four control posts that the National Animal Health Service (SENASA) placed in strategic places for those attending the annual pilgrimage to the Basilica of the Virgin of Los Angeles in the cities of San Pedro, Curridabat, Ochomogo and Cartago on August 1 and 2, 2018. HSI/Latin America was present in the Municipality of Curridabat for 12 hours straight, collaborating together with volunteers and veterinarians who helped verify and ensure that all animals that accompanied their owners to the pilgrimage, would obligatorily make a stop at the control post and get their health checked before continuing with their course. Support our lifesaving work. In total, 51 lost or abandoned animals were rescued at the Rescue Center Romeritos in the province of Cartago. The government authorities of SENASA together with other animal welfare associations from CONABA attended animals that were found lost or abandoned by their owners only in the area around the city. The animals were treated for conditions due to long periods without rest during the pilgrimage, wounds on their foot pads, and several of them were found with severe dehydration and heat stroke. In these cases, the animals were confiscated from their owners and placed on temporary custody until the owners can claim them. Amanda Chaves, Program Manager of Companion Animal of HSI/Latin America, highlighted the importance of these posts, as they prevent the suffering of pets that are subjected to these walks or to abandonment. We are honored to work hand in hand with the Costa Rican Government to ensure the welfare of animals in Costa Rica. We congratulate SENASA for its excellent work during the Pilgrimage and we maintain our commitment to continue working together with the entities in charge of combating crimes against animals and help them develop their capacity to deal with them. Give now to help animals. Media Contact: Amanda Chaves, achaves@hsi.org, (+506) 7018-4621 The Humane Society of the United States is offering a reward of up to $5,000 for information leading to the identification, arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for the cruel and thoughtless fireworks attack that killed four calves in Sanilac County. The Case: The Sanilac County Sheriffs Department responded to a fireworks complaint on July 28th, 2018. Arriving at the scene, they discovered that a motorist had deliberately launched fireworks into a cow pasture, causing a fire that killed four calves. The suspected vehicle was a small passenger car traveling west on Cumber Road. Animal Cruelty: Violence against animals is a crime that affects entire communities. The connection between animal cruelty and human violence is well documented. Studies show a correlation between animal cruelty and many other crimes, from narcotics and firearms violations to battery and sexual assault. Securing the serious attention and engagement of law enforcement officials, prosecutors and residents in cases involving allegations of cruelty to animals is an essential step in protecting the whole community. This callous act led to the painful death of four young animals, said Molly Tamulevich, Michigan state director for the Humane Society of the United States. We hope that anyone with information about this terrible crime will come forward. The Investigators: The Sanilac County Sheriffs Office is investigating the case. Anyone with relevant information should contact Deputy Todd Laming at 810-648-2000 extension 2. Resources: The Humane Society of the United States Animal Cruelty Campaign raises public awareness and educates communities about the connection between animal cruelty and human vioence while providing a variety of resources and support to law enforcement agencies, social work professionals, educators, legislators and families. We offer rewards in animal cruelty cases across the country and work to strengthen laws against animal cruelty. The Humane Society of the United States has doubled its standard cruelty reward from $2,500 to $5,000 thanks to a generous donation from a board member. To see information on statistics, trends, laws and animal cruelty categories, visit our animal cruelty statistics page. Bowlin' on the River opened last week on Marshall Street. Offerings include proteins, vegetables and fruits, along with salads. A little bit of everything. Nick Demarais demonstrates a nitrogen cold brew. PreviousNext New North Adams Eatery Features Salad Bowls, Specialty Coffees Laurel Emery prepares the base for the salad bowl in a biodegradable container. The restaurant seats about 40 and offers eat in or takeout. NORTH ADAMS, Mass. Five days in, manager Laurel Emery is confident that Bowlin' on the River will be a success. "I can tell we're doing well because we have repeat customers already," she laughed. The restaurant, located in the former Brewhaha space on Marshall Street, opened for business last Friday. Right now, it's open from 11 to 4 seven days a week and offers n build-your-own salads, beverages and specialty coffees, including a nitro cold-brew, although Emery says it plans to expand in hours and offerings as it goes along. "We're trying to get a core menu down," she said. "We're really experimenting and seeing what people like ... what's being received well ... We'll continuously make adjustments to our food offerings." The menu starts with a takeout box for eat-in or takeout with a base of udon noodles, quinoa or spring lettuce. Patrons can then chose proteins, vegetables, salads, and fruits at 50 cents to $1.50, not unlike ordering pizza toppings. Emery says the concept is somewhat based on Sweetgreen and Chopt, neither of which have locations anywhere near North Adams. That's the bowl; the river is, of course, the Hoosic that runs through the city and not far from Marshall Street. "We really just want to bring healthy, fast, fun food to North Adams," she said. "That's what it boils down to ... fun, fast, friendly." The three Fs motto comes from Nick Demarais, another employee who eagerly explained the process for nitro brew coffee take cold brew coffee and inject nitrogen into it creating a sudsy, non-bitter liquid with the look of Guinness. Behind the counter, Ryan Shook was ready to take orders. The current offerings are a mix of Southern favorites, simple fruits and traditional meat and salads that are also suitable for vegans or vegetarians, with a few bakery items. The goal is to add soups and more selections for the salad bar and bakery items and gradually expand the hours toward morning and dinner time (it is approved for 7 to 9). Emery jokes that this the latest in David York's empire, and she's not far off. The Atlanta businessman arrived in the area a year or so ago and lighted on North Adams as the home for his Museum of Dog, a paean to man's best friends and his own love of dogs and art. York broke canine ground with his Barking Hound Village, among the first high-end, doggie day-care facilities, with locations in two states. But he's also been involved in real estate and the food business, first opening a cafe with his sisters in Missouri that grew to 30 locations and then lunch and bakery spot Sophie's Uptown, named for his beloved spaniel, in Atlanta. He also plans to operate a couple of food trucks in the North Adams area. He lured Emery who laughs easily from Atlanta to run his latest eatery. "I was looking for some change and he said, 'why don't you come up here? So I did," she said. The city dweller says she's taken with the slower pace and non-existent traffic (relative to the busy highways of Atlanta) of the North Berkshires. "It's like refreshing and lovely to be in a new place," she said. 'Mission: Impossible-Fallout': It Takes All Kinds "Why do bad people have to be bad?" Thus spake my great nephew-in-law, Nate, 4, after recently seeing his first movie in a theater, "Incredibles 2." His other inquiry was whether or not the lights would come back on when the film concluded. Well Nate, in answer to your first question, we've been working on that since time immemorial, both in real life and in fiction, and we have some theories ... none conclusive. Some scientists believe it's bad mommies and daddies that make bad people. And then there's the bad seed concept: the matter of an aberrant gene causing one to think they have not only the right, but nay, the obligation to bully people and shade the world from sunlight. Got that? You'll learn all about the competing ideas of nature vs. nurture in college. I'll be curious to hear your thoughts. Nate's quandary came to me as I watched, discerned, parsed and moderately enjoyed Tom Cruise's latest bit of thespic derring-do in "Mission: Impossible-Fallout." It is typically convoluted, doubtless a result of the screenwriter's inability to creatively enhance a plot that lazily relies on the timeworn but nonetheless reliable gimmick that Hitchcock dubbed the McGuffin. It's the thing that people are after, the profoundly iconic example being the Maltese Falcon. Of course, over the years, the bone of contention has greatly inflated in consequence. In this colorful, travelogue-like landscape, smugglers, powerbrokers, mad ideologues and guv'mint agencies of nearly every stripe fall over each other in dire attempt to gain ownership of nothing less than the (drum roll, please) plutonium cores. It takes no great leap of the imagination to foretell that before closing credits roll, said potentially world-destroying bombs will be wired to a timing device, and that there'll be a death-defying race to the finish like no other ... until the next time. But while hackneyed to the point of looking like a film school example of the hoary cliche, there is a certain comfort in its mindful integrity, a pleasant whimsy in its "is what it is" chutzpah, a hyperbolic homage to action movie mechanisms forged in the silent era. And while Cruise now exhibits a bit of poutiness that makeup can no longer conceal, he nevertheless brings this modern throwback across the goal line, and will probably do so three or four more times before transitioning, like Gable, into roles more becoming a man of his years. That bit of catty gossip disseminated, this cast of villains and good guys mirrors, whether by accident or design, much of what we're witnessing today, replete with scurrilous brigands rationalizing their behavior in the name of the greater good and despotically informing that anyone opposing them is our enemy. While the basic storyline has seen-it-before stenciled across it, we are kept busy between torrents of formidable daredevilry, trying to figure, sans scorecard, who's who. In addition to the fiendish factions duking it out, so, too, are several secret agencies. Gut feeling, we figure the Mission Impossible franchise isn't going to go rogue on us. And for gosh sakes we've got to hitch our hopes to something in this hodgepodge of players who may or may not be what they purport to be. So we trust that Cruise's Ethan Hunt wears the white hat. Alas, the flaw is not in his character, but in the, ahem, fallout of his world-saving goodness. Like Fredric March's wealthy, charity-minded media tycoon in "The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit" (1956), Ethan's driven altruism makes loving him a dangerous liability. Just ask his ex-wife. Still, there's time for levity amidst the business of pondering the price of decency and keeping no-goodniks from despoiling the planet for sadistic fun and profit. Comedy relief is achieved in this overlong film courtesy of the heroic Mr. Hunt's IMF sidekicks, Benji Dunn, played by Simon Pegg, and Ving Rhames's Luther Stickell, both of whom rise to the occasion despite a nervous patter that regularly threatens to prove otherwise. Judging by volume alone, you get a lot for your money here. There's shoot-em-up thrills and spills aplenty, a panoply of swindlers, cutthroats and international double-dealers to render us aghast, and, getting back to Nate regarding the nature of humankind, sub-phylum bad people, a raft of philosophical conjecture to that concern. So Nate, while Ethan Hunt fights them one by one, we would-be heroes will keep trying not only to figure out what creates such individuals, but what, as sadly evidenced of late, makes certain folks rush blindly to their support. Hopefully, by the time you're old enough to see this film, we'll have it solved. And then, as you saw at the end of "The Incredibles 2," the lights will come back on not only in the theater, but in the whole wide world. "Mission: Impossible-Fallout," rated PG-13, is a Paramount Pictures release directed by Christopher McQuarrie and stars Tom Cruise, Henry Cavill and Rebecca Ferguson. Running time: 147 minutes The majority of contract negotiations for soda ash prices in 2019 will be soon be under way, with producers believing that higher costs will push prices upward while they strive to preserve their profit margins. The European market for soda ash has been tight so far this year. "Everyone is sold out and our customers are rushing to secure supplies for 2019," one European producer told Industrial Minerals on Monday July 30. Some contracts that would typically be finalized around September had already been settled at prices $20-30 per tonne higher than in the previous year, he added. "Our position for 2019 is that prices will go up substantially," a second Europe-based producer said. "Clearly, the market is tight." The price for soda ash, European synthetic, dense and light, large contracts, ex-works, was assessed by Industrial Minerals on July 26 at 190-210 ($221-245) per tonne. The second producer said that while it had not received any formal approaches for contract negotiations, it had heard "through the market" that consumers will be looking to start the annual discussions slightly earlier this year with the intention of avoiding a steep increase in the price. "Customers wanting to settle contracts early is a sign that they are worried about cost increases," the second producer said. Stronger coking coal and energy prices, along with higher rates in the EUs Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS), have squeezed profit margins for the regions soda ash producers. The ETS provides a way for companies that operate in the EU to "buy" or "sell" the amount of greenhouse gas pollutants they may emit, if they are over or under their permitted volume. The price for an ETS allowance trebled to 15 per tonne from 5 per tonne between May 2017 and April this year. Chinese oversupply Outside Europe, the Chinese soda ash market is now reported to be in oversupply, with two China-based sellers saying that producers now hold 600,000 tonnes of stock. The oversupply, coupled with weak demand, pushed down the price for soda ash synthetic, dense and light, fob China, to $260-270 per tonne on July 26. The latest assessment by Industrial Minerals was flat from the previous week but down from $300-310 per tonne on July 5. Consumers are now buying enough material to maintain production levels and are not holding any stock themselves, in the belief that prices will continue to fall. An Indian soda ash producer said that, at current prices, "we are not threatened" by the possibility of Chinese material flooding the Indian market. But it added that, if the delivered price drops to $265 per tonne, including freight, that could become a problem because Chinese product could then be financially viable for Indian consumers. Freight costs from China to India add $20-30 per tonne to the assessed fob China price. The current price for soda ash in India was assessed steady on July 26 at $275-285 per tonne for soda ash, Indian synthetic, dense and light, domestic, ex-works. Lithium carbonate battery-grade spot prices continue downtrend due to lower offers and weak downstream demand. Lithium hydroxide battery-grade spot prices held unchanged despite downside pressure on prices. Prices for technical and industrial-grade lithium carbonate material, typically purified into battery-grade material, stable despite a push for lower prices. Spot markets in Europe and the US flat. The spot battery-grade lithium carbonate Chinese domestic prices have moved down slightly this week due to Chinese producers decreasing their offers. Downstream consumers remain cautious on whether to procure more material, while waiting for the market to reach the bottom. Industrial Minerals assessed the Chinese domestic spot battery-grade lithium carbonate price (min 99.5% Li2CO3) at 94,000-102,000 yuan ($13,754-14,925) per tonne on Thursday August 2, down week on week from 98,000-105,000 yuan per tonne. Chinese domestic technical and industrial-grade lithium carbonate prices (min 99% Li2CO3) have stalled at 80,000-85,000 yuan per tonne week on week on August 2, after weeks of decreasing prices. "Lithium prices have fallen week by week recently, and weak demand is one of the major reasons for the price decrease," a lithium producer told Industrial Minerals. "Most buyers are holding off on purchasing materials as they await lower prices, while others purchased small quantities on a weekly basis." "Battery-grade qualified lithium-carbonate material prices remain slightly above 100,000 yuan per tonne, however, non-purified lithium-carbonate material is being traded close to 20,000 yuan per tonne below this price level," a second lithium producer told Industrial Minerals. Prices for lower technical and industrial-grade lithium carbonate, supplied from the Qinghai and Tibet regions and often termed as non-purified battery-grade material, have been the leading cause of the decrease in Chinese lithium carbonate prices in recent months. Slow consumption and the transitional four-month period for electric vehicle (EV) subsidies in China have also played an important role in the downturn. The government is supporting new subsidies that prioritize new energy vehicles (NEVs) with longer driving ranges and improved battery performance. This has temporarily decelerated the consumption of lithium compounds, while battery-makers adapt their battery-cathode technology to adopt higher nickel-content cathode such as NMC 622 and NMC 811. Battery-grade lithium hydroxide prices were unchanged this week because demand from downstream buyers has not picked up, despite lower offers reported in the spot market amid limited transactions. Industrial Minerals assessed the battery-grade lithium hydroxide monohydrate (min 56.5% LiOH.H2O) price at 125,000-135,000 yuan per tonne on Thursday August 2, unchanged from the previous assessment. "Chinese domestic spot lithium hydroxide battery-grade prices currently have a big price range. Major producers in China keep offering material from factories well above 130,000 yuan per tonne but smaller-sized producers are offering their material as low as 120,000 yuan per tonne and below," a trader told Industrial Minerals. "Despite all this, we would place the bulk of the market within a price range of 125,000-135,000 yuan per tonne," the trader added. Seaborne prices flat Seaborne prices for battery-grade lithium, cif China, Japan and South Korea, were also flat week on week amid constant negotiations and conversations to lock in material, but a lack of concluded deals. The expectation that prices on the Chinese domestic spot market will keep moving down has frozen seaborne spot market activity, while consumers wait for the market to reach its bottom, producers and consumers spoken to by Industrial Minerals said. Industrial Minerals assessed the price of battery-grade lithium carbonate (min 99.5% Li2CO3) at $17-19 per kg on August 2, flat from last week. Meanwhile, the price of battery-grade lithium hydroxide monohydrate (min 56.5% LiOH.H2O) was assessed at $19-20 per kg on a cif China, Japan and South Korea basis, similarly unchanged. "The seaborne spot China, Japan and Korea market has been quite slow despite many talks with buyers," a third producer told Industrial Minerals. "In China, the spot market remains more active, with different, new, smaller producers trying to sell material abroad to take advantage of lower prices." "We have been trying to achieve prices close to the $20 per kg price level for both battery-grade lithium carbonate and hydroxide, but the availability of lower prices from China in the seaborne market has frozen consumption," a second trader told Industrial Minerals added. European, US prices unmoved European and US spot prices for battery-grade lithium carbonate and hydroxide compounds have mimicked the wait-and-see attitude in the seaborne Asian market, as reported to Industrial Minerals. Summer holidays, lower price expectations and a traditionally quieter spot market in Europe and the US, attributed to the smaller size of the battery industry in those regions, have kept prices unchanged. Industrial Minerals assessed prices for battery-grade lithium carbonate, min 99.5% Li2CO3 at $17-19 per kg, ddp Europe and US, on August 2, while lithium-hydroxide monohydrate, min 56.5% LiOH H2O, spot prices were assessed at $18.50-20 per kg, ddp Europe and US, on August 2, both flat with the previous weeks assessment on July 26. "We have been playing a small role in the lithium carbonate and hydroxide spot market over the past weeks, but the market has been quite flat due to the resistance to procure more material in the US and European regions," a fourth producer told Industrial Minerals. "Our lithium carbonate price offers are situated within MBs lithium price range, however; theres been no deals so far this week. The European and US spot market is considerably slow due to the summer period," a distributor told Industrial Minerals. Industrial Minerals trade log for battery-grade lithium carbonate in China for August includes all trades, bids and offers reported to Industrial Minerals. Learn more about Industrial Minerals' lithium pricing methodology and read the latest lithium price spotlight here. All lithium carbonate, hydroxide and spodumene prices are available in our Battery Raw Materials Market Tracker. Get a sample of the report here. Olga, the Russian girlfriend of Super Eagles captain, John Mikel Obi has come out to deny allegations that he is not helping his family. The mother of Mikel twin daughters has taken to social media to deny the allegations that he abandoned his family. Olga took to Mikel Obis Instagram page to reply a man asking her to plead with him to help his family. See the exchange below; Punch The All Progressives Congress has said senators will determine whether or not Saraki will retain his position as Senate President. Vanguard MakurdiBenue State tribal leaders on the platform of Mdzough U Tiv, MUT; Ochetoha K Idoma, OKI, and Omi Ny Igede, ONI, have condemned the political crisis rocking the state, urging the feuding parties to sheathe their swords to avert looming anarchy in the state. The Nation Ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo knelt down for then Vice President Atiku Abubakar in his desperate bid to secure the ticket of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the 2003 poll, according to Professor Wole Soyinka. Thisday Service chiefs led by the Minister of Defence, Brig-Gen. Mansur Dan-Ali (rtd.), Thursday in the State House, Abuja met with President Muhammadu Buhari and demanded a new set of military equipment to combat insecurity The Sun Abeokuta Senator representing Ogun East Senatorial District in the upper chamber of theThe post Expulsion: Kashamu dares PDP, organises rally in Ogun Daily Times Nobel Laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka, says he does not believe anyone who decides to leave a party should be crucified for making such decision . Leadership No fewer than 25,000 farmers in the North eastern States on Thursday benefited from cash and farm inputs worth N12 billion under the anchor borrowers scheme. Alhaji Sadiq Umar Daware, the National President of North East Commodity Association (NECAS), disclosed this in Gombe during the flag-off of inputs distribution to the farmers. The Herald Following alleged moves by the All Progressives Congress (APC) to oust Senate President Bukola Saraki and his Deputy Ike Ekweremadu, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has summoned all senators under the partys platform to Abuja. Daily Trust The Peoples Democratic Party( PDP) has lost one of its National Executive Committee (NEC) member from Kwara State, Ahmed Yinka Aluko, to the ruling All Progressives Congress ( APC). The peoples Democratic Party, PDP has appointed senate President, Bukola Saraki as its national leader. The PDP made this announcement at the partys NEC meeting on Thursday. Saraki, who recently decamped from the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC now holds the highest office in the PDP. Newly decamped Saraki, Rabiu Kwankwaso, Sokoto State governor Aminu Tambuwal and Benue State governor Samuel Ortom, who were all present at the meeting received huge welcome at the Wadata House, the partys national secretariat. The presidency has replied claims by the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP that President Muhammadu Buharis 10-day holiday is a plot to leave the stage for unconstitutional and illegal actions by the administration. According to the presidency, the claims are not only hollow but a poor attempt at getting public sympathy. In a statement signed by the spokesperson of the President, Garba Shehu on Thursday, the presidency adviced the PDP to keep quiet, if it has nothing useful to say. This was made known in a series of tweet via the Twitter handle of Mr Garba Shehu. He wrote: Claims by the failing @OfficialPDPNig that President Muhammadu Buhari had taken a 10-day leave in order to leave the stage for illegal and unconstitutional actions by the administration are both ridiculous and a hollow narrative to garner cheap sympathy. Garba Shehu (@GarShehu) August 2, 2018 If the PDP doesnt have anything that would help our farmers, women, the common man and the youth, they should just keep quiet. Garba Shehu (@GarShehu) August 2, 2018 The presidency went on to state that, the only thing Nigerians should takeaway from the falsehood of the PDP and those who recently defected is that they fear that their old records maybe reopened. A woman who entered into a Sh500,000 ( contract to be a surrogate mother for a Chinese couple has declined to release the baby. Josephine Muthoni Kariuki had entered into a contract with Neon Kian Fu who agreed to pay her an additional Sh30, 000 per month for the entire pregnancy period. Muthoni, 27, who gave birth to baby Neo Yu Jie, caused drama at Mombasa Hospital when doctors attempted to hand the child over to the legal father. It is however not clear why Muthoni changed her mind despite signing legal papers to give the child to the Chinese father who is on a three-month visit to Kenya on a tourist visa. Things took an unexpected turn, with Muthoni and Kian Fu being arrested and charged alongside Mombasa-based doctor, Mahesh Chudasama for attempting to traffic baby Neo Yu Jie. The three appeared before Senior Principal Magistrate Henry Nyakweba and denied the two counts of attempted human trafficking. They were released on a bond of Sh1 million with one surety with an alternative cash bail of Sh100,000 each. It is alleged that on diverse dates between July 16 and 28, 2018 at Mombasa Hospital, Kariuki and Chudasam jointly offered Kian Fu a child (Yu Jie) for guardianship to facilitate the childs removal from Kenya to Singapore. They are also charged with unlawfully adopting Yu Jie. According to police, Muthoni had entered into a contact worth Sh500,000 to be a surrogate mother to a Chinese couple. It is alleged that Dr Chudasama released the baby to Kian Fu without the knowledge of Muthoni. A police report produced in court indicated that Kian Fu left the country after he donated sperm to Muthoni. It is reported that Dr Chudasama had initiated the process. The agreement was drafted by Muthee Soni Advocates based at Mombasa and executed by both parties. The legal formalities were being handled by advocate Christine Kipsang who is an advocate a Childrens Court. Kipsang produced an order issued by Tononoka Childrens Court granting parental rights to the intended parents, being Kian Fu. The birth certificate indicates Muthoni as the mother to Yu Jie and Kian Fu as the father. The baby was taken to Baby Life Rescue Centre pending application for protection and care by the childrens court in Mombasa. The case is scheduled for pre-trial on August 13. As part of the 2018 Liupanshui Belt and Road and ASEAN Media Tour, a group of international journalists were able to meet a variety of people from Liupanshui and surrounding areas in Guizhou province. These are the faces of Guizhou. In this regenerated village, the Yi minority use their traditional culture and customs to boost tourism. On arrival, this wonderfully happy woman broke into a warm welcome song with some of her peers. Her outfit is traditional to the area. Nollywood Actor and legal practitioner, Kenneth Okonkwo, has said the Igbos will continue to wander in the wilderness if they turn their backs against Buhari in 2019. According to the Living In Bondage star, who is also eyeing the governorship position of Enugu State, the worst of Buhari in 8 years will be better than the best of PDP in 16 years. The father of one made the statements on his Instagram page. Read below: You know the truth, the worst of Buhari in 8 years will be better than the best of PDP in 16 years. PDP had 16 years with oil prices very high in-between yet they left us without light (power), without water, without roads, without security, without paying even salaries, indeed without anything. Whatever is happening today has its root from that regime. This administration came with bail out for states to pay salaries with the price of oil falling drastically. Tackled security and all that and somebody is telling me I should reconsider the past leaders that brought us into this mess. God forbid. I support Buhari and pray for him. I sincerely dont care what people like those empty men who make ignorant videos have to say. I dont want to be a Governor under a corrupt President. At least I can say that the person of Buhari is not corrupt. Let them call on their gods, let me call on my God and let the God that answereth by fire, let Him be God He continued saying nobody supported him when he decided to be an actor, saying he not only supports Buhari, but also prays for him Who cares? When I decided to be an actor, nobody supported me. They could not understand why a man who made a second class upper division in Business Administration in UNN and was wanted to be an assistant Lecturer, could opt to be an Actor. But my God was with me and I succeeded. Today, I have decided to go this political line and I guarantee you I will succeed irrespective of what unfortunate ignorant men will say. By the grace of God, watch me and watch where I am going. Onu kwuru njo ga emeche kwue mma Just to remind you but a few. Before Buhari came in, terrorists bombed to pieces, 88 persons at Nyanya in Abuja, bombed the United Nations Building in Abuja, bombed Banex Plaza and even the police headquarters in Abuja killing uncountable number of persons. I dont need to mention the entire North East that was overun by terrorists with thousands of people beheaded and the video images sent on internet for everybody to see. The terrorists were everywhere and have started forming cells in Lagos and Enugu. This Government came and destroyed them across the country. Only their remnants now are going about carrying out criminal activities and you are telling me security is not better now. Our soldiers and officers were sent to fight these terrorists without weapons. They were dying like chicken and when they complained about lack of weapons, they were sentenced to death for mutiny. No apologies for supporting Buhari. I respect your views. I not only support him, I pray for him He then continued by slamming those criticizing his decisions My attention has been drawn to some negative comments and curses poured out against my person by some ignorant and satanically motivated persons because of my preference of President Muhammadu Buhari as President of this country for his incorruptible and firm character against enemies of Nigeria. I have been laughing at their ignorance and wickedness. First, these men have not offered any alternative party or Presidential aspirants to challenge Buhari or be compared with him. Second, they claim they are Igbos but forgot that in Igboland, it is a cardinal principle and custom that you must respect someones personal opinion and must not curse the person, if what the person simply did was to express his opinion and nothing more, uche onye adighi ya njo. Even if a person says anything you dont like, provided he did not curse you, you are permitted to throw away his words but restrained by custom and tradition not to do anything to him. Third, the Nigerian constitution said in section 39 that every person shall be entitled to freedom of expression, including freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart ideas and information without interference. Also in section 38, the constitution states every person shall be entitled to freedom of thought, conscience including freedom to change his belief, and freedom (either alone or in community with others, and in public or in private) to manifest and propagate his belief in teaching, practice and observance. God himself created man a free moral agent to hold his thoughts and express his opinions as he wishes. He did not even compel man to worship Him. So these army of ignorant and wicked men are simply trying to rudely and crudely interfere with my traditional, constitutional and religious rights to freely express myself and hold an opinion, belief and thought as I so wish. Let me reiterate that I am a follower of President Buhari and believe in his integrity and good intentions to better the lots of Nigerians and that of Ndigbo and I have no apologies for this. Whoever disagrees with me should produce his own strong reasons and better alternatives. Since these men did not do this, but resorted to curses and vituperations, they have violated the law of nature, man and God. Here is the verdict of God on them according to Psalm 109 and particularly verses 1-3, 6, 17-21, 25-30. For the avoidance of doubt let me reproduce these verses verbatim: (1) Hold not thy peace, O God of my praise; (2) for the mouth of the wicked and the mouth of the deceitful are opened against me: they have spoken against me with a lying tongue. (3) they compassed me about also with words of hatred; and fought against me without a cause. (6) Set thou a wicked man over him: and let Satan stand at his right hand. (17) As he loved cursing, so let it come unto him: as he delighted not in blessing, so let it be far from him. (18) As he clothed himself with cursing like as with his garment, so let it come into his bowels like water, and like oil into his bones. (19) Let it be unto him as the garment which covereth him, and for a girdle wherewith he is girded continually. (20) Let this be the reward of mine adversaries from the Lord, and of them that speak evil against my soul. (21) But do thou for me, O God the Lord, for thy names sake: because thy mercy is good, deliver thou me. (25) I became also a reproach unto them: when they looked upon me they shaked their heads. (26) Help me, O Lord my God: O save me according to thy mercy: (27) That they may know that this is thy hand; that thou, Lord, hast done it. (28) Let them curse, but bless thou: when they arise, let them be ashamed; but let thy servant rejoice. (29) Let mine adversaries be clothed with shame, and let them cover themselves with their own confusion, as with a mantle. (30) I will greatly praise the Lord with my mouth; yea, I will praise him among the multitude. UNICAF is proud to be a supporting sponsor to the upcoming Exsilio Conference at the University of Lagos, on August 9th, 2018. The mentorship conference, designed to prepare students for the challenges awaiting them in the business and career world, once they graduate from university, has invited remarkable personalities, who have excelled in their professional careers, to speak and to mentor participating students. The theme of this years Conference is Success in the 21st century and 4.000 students are expected to attend. As a sponsor of the Exsilio Conference, UNICAF offers all invited panel guests and participating university students in their penultimate, or final year, 75% scholarships to study online toward quality undergraduate and postgraduate degrees from the prestigious University of South Wales in the UK and multi-campus Unicaf University. UNICAF also offers students attending the Conference massive scholarships on Professional Short Courses, offered online through Unicaf University. UNICAF is the most generous scholarship programme available today and aims to assist every eligible individual, who has the wish to study at university but lacks the financial means, to make their dreams come true. UNICAFs state-of-the-art Virtual Learning Environment provides everything a student needs to complete a high quality degree programme online, from enrolment to graduation. Prospective students can choose from a wide selection of internationally recognised Bachelor, Masters and PhD degrees. UNICAF aims to impart cutting edge knowledge and skills, which are highly relevant to the modern, global workplace, at a fraction of the original cost, and enables students to earn as they learn , by keeping their jobs and salaries throughout their studies. You can learn more about UNICAF at www.unicaf.org During the launch of Prof Wole Soyinkas new book yesterday, fore most Human Rights lawyer, Femi Falana spoke on the wave of defections playing out in the country at the moment. At the launch of the book titled Interventions VIII, Mr Falana said a politician can only cross-carpet if there is trouble in the party that has led to factions not division created mainly for the purpose of exiting. In his words On the issue of defection, under section 68 of the 1979 and 1999 constitution, a legislator can only decamp to another party on the grounds that if your political party is in trouble and is factionalised into major divisions, you can cross carpet but not on divisions instigated for the purpose of exiting. You are shortchanging the electorate if you do not want to continue on that same platform that brought you in; you must go and receive a fresh mandate under the platform of your new party. There will be two congresses that will produce two chairmen, there will be state executive, national executive involved, you dont just address a press conference and give a statement that you have defected. People Move thumbnail Dascotte has plenty of experienced in tax, having spent parts of his 20-year career in France and Belgium as well as in Luxembourg. He is a member of both the Luxembourg and Brussels bars, and is part of the International Fiscal Association. He was managing partner at Tiberghien in Brussels, before which he was head of the tax practice at Luxembourg-based full-service firm Wildgen. The majority of Dascottes clients are multinationals which he advises on cross-border tax planning. He is particularly well-versed in real estate invesments private equity and intellectual property structuring, especially in the financial sector. His skills include coming up with innovative hybrid instruments, tax planning projects, conducting tax and legal due diligence and supervising tax audits. He is also a well-respected tax litigator. The material on this site is for financial institutions, professional investors and their professional advisers. It is for information only. Please read our Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy before using the site. All material subject to strictly enforced copyright laws. 2021 Euromoney Institutional Investor PLC. For help please see our FAQ. Share this article August 3, 2018 (Investorideas.com Newswire) China's upstream industry is turning to natural gas as a way to reduce air pollution created by the consumption of coal. However, despite the progress made in the shale gas industry since 2011, China has been facing challenges to develop efficient shale gas extraction, observes leading data and analytics company GlobalData. With 27 trillion cubic feet (tcf) proved shale gas reserves China has emerged as the world's largest shale gas producer outside the US and Canada. Besides supportive government measures, significant shale potential and surging domestic gas demand are encouraging the Chinese national oil companies to accelerate the development of the shale gas plays, mostly in Sichuan Basin. Buoyed by the supportive government measures, state-owned China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (Sinopec) accelerated its Phase II development in the Fuling shale gas project in Chongqing, which has become the largest shale gas field outside North America with an annual production capacity of 350 billion cubic feet (bcf) in 2017. Changing-Weiyuan national shale gas demonstration zone, China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC)'s pilot shale project, produced 239 million cubic feet per day (mmcfd) in 2017 and is under further development to lift the output capacity to 350 bcf by 2020. To boost incentives in the hope of reducing the gas supply gap, in March 2018 the Ministry of Finance announced a 30% reduction of resource tax on shale gas, down from 6% to 4.2%, effective from 1 April 2018 to 31 March 2021. While the tax cuts are expected to stimulate shale investment and drive the growth of the shale gas market, the production is expected to fall short of the government targets since exploration of shale gas remains difficult in China as the available area is relatively fragmented and highly mountainous. The complex geological structures challenge the commercialization of shale gas plays. GlobalData's latest estimate shows that China's shale output is growing rapidly and will reach approximately 1,500 mmcfd by 2020, a 72% increase compare to 2017. The National Energy Administration (NEA) has revised down the production target of shale gas to 2,900 mmcfd by 2020 from the initial goal of 5,800 mmcfd, according to the Shale Gas Development Plan (2016-2020) released on 30 Sep 2016, however it is still too ambitious. Cao Chai, Oil and Gas Analyst at GlobalData, says: "After the recent research and development, China has achieved technological improvement with horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing; but more advanced technology is required to develop shale gas due to deposit depths and ultra-low permeability of shales." For more information To gain access to our latest press releases: GlobalData Media Centre Analysts available for comment. Please contact the GlobalData Press Office: EMEA & Americas: +44 (0)207 832 4399 Asia-Pacific: +91 40 6616 6809 Email: pr@globaldata.com For expert analysis on developments in your industry, please connect with us on: GlobalData Energy | LinkedIn | Twitter Notes to Editors Comments provided by Cao Chai, Oil and Gas Analyst at GlobalData This report was built using data and information sourced from proprietary databases, primary and secondary research, and in-house analysis conducted by GlobalData's team of industry experts. About GlobalData 4,000 of the world's largest companies, including over 70% of FTSE 100 and 60% of Fortune 100 companies, make more timely and better business decisions thanks to GlobalData's unique data, expert analysis and innovative solutions, all in one platform. GlobalData's mission is to help our clients decode the future to be more successful and innovative across a range of industries, including the healthcare, consumer, retail, technology, energy, financial and professional services sectors. More Info: This news is published on the Investorideas.com Newswire - a global digital news source for investors and business leaders Disclaimer/Disclosure: Investorideas.com is a digital publisher of third party sourced news, articles and equity research as well as creates original content, including video, interviews and articles. Original content created by investorideas is protected by copyright laws other than syndication rights. Our site does not make recommendations for purchases or sale of stocks, services or products. Nothing on our sites should be construed as an offer or solicitation to buy or sell products or securities. All investing involves risk and possible losses. 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Please read Investorideas.com privacy policy: https://www.investorideas.com/About/Private_Policy.asp Gujranwala Institute of Medical & Emerging Sciences Jobs Latest Gujranwala Institute Of Medical & Emerging Sciences GIEMS Medical Posts Gujranwala 2021 Gujranwala Institute Of Medical & Emerging Sciences GIEMS, Pakistan required candidates for the posts of Assistant Professor, Demonstrator, Doctor of Physical Therapy, Lecturer, Administrative Officer, Librarian and Laboratory Assistant. How to Apply on Gujranwala Institute Of Medical & Emerging Sciences GIEMS 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: 055-3250485 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. Pakistan Askari School and College Rawalpindi Jobs Latest Pakistan Askari School & College Teaching Posts Rawalpindi 2021 Female Teachers for the Subject of English, urdu, Chemistry, Physics having BA / BSc / MA / MSc Degree with teaching experience are required in Pakistan Askari School and College Rawalpindi in Rawalpindi. How to Apply on Pakistan Askari School & College 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. 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. Lu Liping displays a packet of rice cakes alongside some on a tray to sell An indigenous rice cake producer in Langdai Town, one of the communities under Liupanshui Municipal Government, has been making a monthly salary of 20,000 yuan from her trade, crediting it to the Chinese governments poverty alleviation strategies. Lu Liping, a producer and trader of glutinous rice cakes, said she inherited the rice cake recipe and trading techniques from her parents who have been doing it for decades. However, she noted that she has recently started to make a huge profit from her trade after the Chinese government introduced poverty alleviation strategies. At the moment, we are realizing better sales because there are lots of tourists coming to the town as a result of improved conditions of hotel and guestrooms. These improved conditions are being carried out by the Liupanshui municipal government through the Communist Party of China (CPC). Tourists really like this type of cake, Lu Liping said in an exclusive interview with journalists on the recent 2018 Liupanshui Belt and Road and ASEAN media tour. The glutinous rice cakes are packaged just like normal biscuits from the worlds best known manufacturing companies. Quizzed on how she packages the indigenous rice cake, Lu Liping hastened to say whenever she prepares her rice cakes, she then takes them to a factory to do the packaging in order to make them attractive. She noted that each rice cake is packaged under improved hygienic conditions thereby making it safe for consumption. The indigenous rice cake producer and trader disclosed that she currently makes 20,000 yuan, approximately US$2,910, every month. African journalist, writing for Concord Times in Sierra Leone, posed for a photo with the rice cake producer She explained that previously, before the poverty alleviation strategies were implemented in her town, she could not make this kind of profit because there were limited numbers of people visiting her town. Lu Liping, whose living standards have significantly improved, said that she could now pay school and university fees for her children without concern. Customers who surrounded her stall to buy rice cakes expressed their satisfaction with the quality of her produce. They confirmed that she has been in the rice cake business for years. What I like about her rice cakes is that she produces them in hygienic conditions and they are well prepared with the required condiments. My entire family likes them and thats why we are regular customers of hers, added San Mei, a young customer. Zanini tastes the tea. Italian professor Livio Zanini has devoted the last 30 years to spreading Chinese tea culture in Italy, starting a wave of enthusiasm for Chinese tea across the country. Zanini, president of the Italian tea culture association, noted that it is his deep interest in Chinese culture that pushed him to learn Chinese language and tea culture, explaining thatChinese tea is full of charm and has a magical attraction. Over the past 30 years, tea culture has become Zanini's main research topic. In 1990, he earned the chance to study in Beijing, where he visited various tea-houses. Professor Livio Zanini teaches at the Chinese tea culture workshop training class held by the Confucius Institution at the University of Venice. In addition to drinking tea, he also began to study tea culture by carefully reading some famous Chinese works on tea, including The Classic of Tea and The Record of Tea. During his long term research of Chinese tea culture, he found that the Ming Dynasty was a very important period in its development, witnessing many important stages in the evolution of tea culture. In order to share the happiness he got from tea, Zanini also attended various tea parties held in Italy and has given many lectures about Chinese tea culture in Italian universities, making this profound culture popular in Rome, Venice, Milan and other famous cities in Italy. Thanks to his hard work, the promotion and sales of Chinese tea have grown rapidly in the past decade. There are now many premium tea shops in Rome, Milan and Naples. Starbucks witnessed an operating profit decline in the third quarter of this year, marking the first decline in the past nine years, which analysts attribute to the increasingly fierce competition in the Chinese coffee market, Beijing Youth Daily reported on Aug. 3. Starbucks entered the Chinese market in 1999, and already owns more than 3,400 coffee shops in over 140 Chinese cities. Although developing rapidly in China, Starbucks has seen its first decline in operating profit for almost a decade. According to the financial report of the coffee giant, its operating profit fell by 7.6 percent and same-store sales in China dropped by 2 percent year-on-year. Starbucks says this decline is mainly down to its stock right change. However, Zhu Danpeng, an analyst in Chinas food industry, noted that the decline could be related to the emergence of competitors in the Chinese coffee market. Rent and expenses in traditional coffee shops like Starbucks usually account for a high percentage of the total cost, making their beverages more expensive than those of other companies. Luckin coffee, a competitor chain, therefore adopted a new mode that allows consumers to order coffee online and then pick it up by scanning a QR code, to lower costs and create a competitive advantage over Starbucks. In order to speed up its development, Luckin also introduced an excellent delivery service. The average coffee delivery time is only about 18 minutes. The development of Luckin coffee is a prime example of the transformation of many coffee brands in China, and emerging competitors also include some tea and milk tea brands. Brands will continue to seek ways to attract consumers to compete in the Chinese coffee market over the coming three years, the analyst predicted. TRAIL, Ore. By Friday morning, fire officials confirmed that at least one home succumbed to flames in the Elk Creek area between Trail and Prospect. "As of last night, structures were being lost in the Elk Creek Road area," said a statement from the Umpqua National Forest. "The number of structures lost or damaged has yet to be determined." This marks the first confirmed loss of a structure in Southern Oregon from the widespread lightning-caused wildfires that began on July 15. Conditions on Thursday caused the merger of some of the most dangerous fires still burning in Jackson and Douglas counties, with the 10,000-acre Miles Fire joining with the 6,000-acre Sugar Pine Fire, as well as the 1,800-acre Goodview Fire. Winds pushed flames down into the Hawk Creek drainage, spotting across Elk Creek Road near Burnt Peak and over a control line near Flat Creek and Ragsdale Butte. The rapid increase in fire activity sparked hurried evacuation ordersboth widespread Level 3 "GO" evacs near Elk Creek and Sugar Pine roads, and Level 2 "Be Set" warnings near Lost Creek Creek Lake and Highway 62. Crews will be working on Friday to confirm whether or not the original control line has been compromised by spot fires. If so, they will fall back to a more defensible secondary line along the west branch of Elk Creek. Crews say many residents have stayed despite being in Level 3 "GO" evacuation zones. "When we saw fire we left and we couldn't wait to get back. It's home. Real simple. We've lived right in this place for 45 years," said Elk Creek resident Jerome Hammond. It remains to be seen how fire officials will classify these fires now that they have merged. The South Umpqua Complex used to describe an array of fires primarily in Douglas County, although the Snowshow and Miles fires both moved south into Jackson. The Sugar Pine Fire (also consisting of several smaller fires) burned primarily in Jackson County. Now major elements of both fires have joined. Officials expect a continuation of problematic weather conditions in the area. Although temperatures have cooled somewhat to 70-80 degrees and humidity is up to 25-38 percent, wind gusts of up to 25 mph coming from the northwest are expected to continue today. GRANTS PASS, Ore. In just a matter of weeks, Oregon and Northern California have been rocked by destructive fires. Many hundreds of people in places like Hornbrook or Redding have lost homes to fire, and thousands more have been temporarily displaced. Living in and around these communities, none of us are untouched. For those looking for to lend a helping hand, the Red Cross is ready to accept it. Red Cross staff will hold a volunteer fair in Grants Pass this coming weekend. Individuals interested in volunteering with the Red Cross for local and national disaster relief efforts are encouraged to attend. No RSVP is required. The organization will present an overview of Red Cross services in this region, and new volunteers will have an opportunity to speak with Red Cross workers, learn about volunteer opportunities, and sign up to volunteer on-site. Since July 24, the Red Cross has operated a wildfire evacuation shelter for people affected by wildfires in Southern Oregon. The shelter remains open at Grants Pass High School. To date, the Red Cross says that their shelter has provided 82 overnight stays and served approximately 2,336 meals and snacks to evacuees. The details on the volunteer fair are as follows: Red Cross Volunteer Fair Grants Pass High School - 830 NE 9th St, Grants Pass, OR 97526 Sunday, August 5 from 2-5 p.m. People who are unable to attend the fair can still become Red Cross volunteers by visiting redcross.org/volunteer, sending an email to volunteer.cascades@redcross.org or calling 503-528-5624. To donate in support of those displaced by the Carr Fire in California, CLICK HERE. The Red Cross has also opened an information center in Shady Cove for those displaced by the Sugar Pine Fire in the Elk Creek area. For more information, see the post below. We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on! Go to form Firefighting helicopters refuel at a forest fire command post in Britt, Ont., Tuesday, July 31, 2018. Ontario's Ministry of Natural Resources says firefighters "continue to make excellent progress" in tackling a massive forest fire known as Parry Sound 33 in the province's northeast. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Fred Thornhill FILE - In this Feb. 28, 2017 file photo, Rosie O'Donnell speaks at a rally calling for resistance to President Donald Trump in Lafayette Park in front of the White House in Washington. OAoDonnell and cast members from some of BroadwayAos biggest musicals plan to serenade President Donald Trump on Monday, Aug. 6, 2018, but from outside the White House in protest. The group will sing AuThe People's SongAu from AuLes Miserables,Au Burt BacharachAos AuWhat the World Needs Now Is Love,Au AuA Brand New DayAu from AuThe WizAu and AuClimb Ev'ry MountainAu from AuThe Sound of MusicAu from Lafayette Park. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen, File) Egyptian business tycoon Naguib Sawiris has pledged to hire six minors who were detained in Ismailia for smuggling on Thursday, after a video of the adolescents being interviewed sparked widespread controversy on social media. Online social media users in Egypt were outraged by the questions asked by host Salwa Hussein in the video, which went viral after being posted on the official Facebook page of Port Said governorate, of an interview of six minors detained over the alleged smuggling of foreign goods. The boys were filmed handcuffed to each other in pairs, and lined up next to each other. Social media users, along with Sawiris, criticised Hussein for her poor management of the dialogue with the teenagers and over her statement to them that they should have made "an honest living" rather than being "smugglers". The video depicts the host asking the six detainees why they decided to work illegally, with the responses from the minors ranging from "no one else wanted to hire me" to "I came to Ismailia for work, but I couldnt find anything except for this job." Most of the detainees were from different governorates such as the Nile Delta's Fayoum governorate and Upper Egypt's Sohag, which may help explain why they found difficulty finding gainful employment in Ismailia. At the end of the interview, the last detainee asks the host what job he should be working, to which the host responded that many cleaning companies across Egypt are hiring for EGP 50 per day. He responded with: "What could I do with EGP 50? Would it feed my three sisters and mother? I made EGP 150 while smuggling. The situation is hard." At one point, the presenter asked the boys: "Why didn't you go to investment [sic]?" The question, assumed by many on social media to be a reference to investing, provoked controversy and sarcastic responses on Twitter. The presenter may however have been referring to the Ismailia Free Zone, one of several economic zones around the country which offer favourable conditions and tax breaks to companies operating within their boundaries with the aim of encouraging investment. The National Council for Childhood and Motherhood addressed the prosecutor-general and vowed to take all necessary legal actions. Sawiris also tweeted on Friday that he has retained lawyers to assist the minors' legal situation. "I have sent a lawyer to the customs authority for reconciliation and, if possible, to free them and hire them," tweeted Sawiris. According to the latest CAPMAS report issued in May, about 3 million Egyptians are currently unemployed, with Egyptians between the ages of 15 and 29 making up 75.2 percent of that figure. President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi has pledged to reduce unemployment during his tenure through attracting foreign investments to stimulate the economy. Since 2014, the government has been implementing a set of economic reforms to lower budget deficits, including floating the local currency, cutting energy subsidies, and instituting a value-added tax. Search Keywords: Short link: In this undated photo released by the Fine Arts Department of Thailand on Friday, Aug. 3, 2018, in Thailand, a clay vessel believed to be from the 4,000-year-old civilization of northeastern Thailand known as the Ban Chiang, sits on display. The clay vessel and a dozen other ancient artifacts have been returned to Thailand by a private American collector as the Southeast Asian country presses for other treasures that were taken abroad to be given back. (Fine Arts Department of Thailand via AP) EUGENE, Ore. -- An Air Force Major and his family picketed outside Keller Williams realty office in Eugene Thursday claiming the company sold them a former methamphetamine lab thats too dangerous to live in. Travis Tubbs, his wife Denay, and their seven children whose ages range from 3 to 13 held signs and wore T-shirts that said they were homeless because of the company. To help other people understand the situation so they're not stuck in the same situation themselves so they don't end up buying a house that is illegal or unfit for them to live in, said Travis. The Air Force Major and Oregon State student says they bought the home in Jefferson last July through the company. Days after the sale went through, Travis said they discovered all of the buildings on the property were contaminated with meth. He said they got a home inspection but didnt test for drug residue. Travis said the realtor who sold them the house was the previous owner and he was negligent. On top of the drug residue, the family says the previous occupants were getting their electricity illegally. Denay said they have spent thousands of dollars getting the property back up to code but said their home is still not safe for their kids. We try to put on a good face for them because they're everything to us, and we bought this place as a place where they could play and have lots of room for them, Denay said. The family said they have been staying in a trailer and tents on the property and have been in mitigation with Keller Williams Realty but negotiations have failed. The family is now waiting for a judge to weigh in, which they hope could happen in six months. Travis said they hope to get $900,000 to cover the costs of the cleanup, restoration and legal fees. There are so many different loopholes. They can drag it out as long as they can. Personally, that's what I think is happening, Travis said. KEZI 9 News reached out to Keller Williams Realty at their local offices and their corporate headquarters but has not heard back. The Tubbs family has set up a GoFundMe account to help cover the cleanup costs and share their story. To donate and learn more, click here. ROSEBURG, Ore. -- An unattended candle is most likely the cause of a Thursday morning house fire in Roseburg, fire investigators said. The Roseburg Fire Department responded at 9:45 a.m. to a home at 1005 SE Pine Street after a neighbor reported the fire. Firefighters arrived on scene and saw light smoke coming from the second story windows of the structure. They quickly extinguished the fire and determined that all occupants had evacuated the home. Two adults, three children and two dogs were displaced by the fire, but no one was injured. The home, valued at $75,000, suffered about $15,000 in structural and water damage. Firefighters were able to protect surrounding homes from damage. Bay Cities Ambulance, Avista Utilities, Pacific Power, the Roseburg Police Department and the American Red Cross assisted the 10 firefighters working the fire. The fire department recommends people never leave candles burning unattended and keep candles away from things that can burn. They said candles should be placed out of reach of children and pets, and wicks should be trimmed to a quarter of an inch. The department said to avoid candles with combustible items embedded in them and make sure you have working smoke alarms on every level of your home. PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) -- A woman who fatally shot her friend in downtown Portland has been sentenced to 100 days in jail after pleading guilty to unlawful possession of a firearm. A grand jury declined to indict Sophia Adler on a murder charge in connection with the May 21 shooting. Adler told police she acted in self-defense after Gigi Pierce threatened her with a knife. Pierce was a transgender woman who grew up in Boise, Idaho. Prosecutor J.R. Ujifusa said the women had known each other for years, and investigators knew early on it wasn't a hate crime. At Thursday's hearing, Adler was told by a relative of Pierce to get treatment for mental health and drug addiction. Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi has ordered the country's Rafah border crossing with the Gaza Strip be opened for four days starting Saturday, to facilitate travel by Muslim pilgrims from the strip. The annual hajj pilgrimage to Mecca will take place later this month. One of the five pillars of the Islamic faith, the hajj is obligatory for all Muslims who are able to complete the trip. Egypt usually keeps the border crossing closed citing security concerns, opening it periodically for short periods, often including major Islamic holidays. Search Keywords: Short link: ST. PAUL, Minn. An outbreak of cryptosporidiosis has been connected to people who visited the Shades of Sherwood Campground in Zumbrota. The Minnesota Department of Health says three illnesses have been identified so far, including one person who had to be hospitalized. One of those three was also infected with E. coli. Investigators say they want to speak with anyone who visited the Goodhue County campground since July 1, even if they have not been ill. State officials say this is necessary because they have been unable to get key information from Shades of Sherwood itself. If you visited the campground in July, you are asked to call the Waterborne Diseases Unit at 651-201-5794. Cryptosporidiosis is caused by a microscopic parasite and is spread when people come into contact with fecal matter from an infected person or animal. Medical experts say the parasite is able to survive outside the human body for long periods of time and is highly resistant to chlorine. Symptoms of cryptosporidiosis often include watery diarrhea, stomach cramps, vomiting, loss of appetite, weight loss and low-grade fever. People typically become ill about a week after exposure, but this can range from two to 14 days. The Minnesota Department of Health encourages anyone who experienced those symptoms, especially if they visited Shades of Sherwood, to contact their health care provider. Anyone with symptoms of cryptosporidiosis should avoid swimming while sick and for two weeks after recovering. Officials say there are between 350 and 450 cases of cryptosporidiosis in Minnesota every year. DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) Elephant rides aren't available as advertised as an attraction at the Mississippi Valley Fair in Davenport: State law won't allow them. Shawn Loter is in his second year as general manager of the fair, and he told the Quad-City Times that he was unaware of the ban until this week. The elephants from Carson & Barnes Circus from Oklahoma are back this year, and Loter says they were used for rides at last year's fair. The law forbidding handlers from offering rides was enacted in 2007. Iowa Agriculture Department spokesman Dustin VandeHoef says the state veterinarian alerted Loter's office of the law after People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals notified the state Tuesday that elephant rides were being advertised in the fair's brochure. Elephant handler Mychelle Omar says neither she nor her husband have offered rides this week. The fair opened Tuesday and is scheduled to close Sunday. ___ Information from: Quad-City Times, http://www.qctimes.com Lois Riess now facing the death penalty in Florida http://www.kimt.com/content/news/Lois-Riess-now-facing-the-death-penalty-487147651.html Man charged after 5 stabbed at Mason City bar http://www.kimt.com/content/news/Five-victims-in-Mason-City-incident-were-stabbed-in-neck-back-areas-487403201.html 18-year-old killed in fireworks accident in Bremer County http://www.kimt.com/content/news/18-year-old-killed-during-fireworks-accident-in-Bremer-County-487665951.html Authorities: 2 charged after boy was sexually assaulted, found to have meth in system http://www.kimt.com/content/news/Rochester-pair-facing-multiple-sex-charged-related-to-boy-under-the-age-of-10-487499891.html North Iowa man killed in crane accident http://www.kimt.com/content/news/North-Iowa-man-dead-after-crane-accident-488017131.html Extensive Mason City search the result of a hoax http://www.kimt.com/content/news/Extensive-Mason-City-search-Monday-night-the-result-of-a-hoax-488384451.html Boy, 7, drowns in Dodge County accident http://www.kimt.com/content/news/Large-law-enforcement-response-in-Dodge-Center--488451801.html A Rochester family treehouse is in jeopardy http://www.kimt.com/content/news/A-Rochester-familys-tree-house-in-jeopardy-I-was-hoping-for-her-to-have-years-of-memories-in-it-488254171.html Around 43,000 pounds of blueberry beer in trailer that tipped over http://www.kimt.com/content/news/Beer-Spill-Around-43000-pounds-of-blueberry-beer-in-trailer-that-tipped-over-in-southern-MN-488628601.html Iowa DNR says to avoid swimming at two North Iowa beaches http://www.kimt.com/content/news/Iowa-DNR-advising-swimmers-at-two-North-Iowa-beaches-to-avoid-swimming-488459191.html Iowa DPS: Number of missing people in Iowa is in line with history http://www.kimt.com/content/news/Iowa-DPS-48-people-missing-in-Iowa-in-last-10-days-489264291.html MASON CITY, Iowa A North Iowa man stands accused of forging $1,775 in bad checks. Blake Michael Harrer, 24 of Mason City, is charged with five counts of forgery, 4th degree theft, possession of marijuana, and possession of methamphetamine. Authorities say Harrer stole checks from a Clear Lake residence, forged the account holders name, and tried to deposit them in his own account. Court documents say these crimes happened between December 28, 2017 and May 2. Law enforcement says Harrer was also caught with both marijuana and crystal meth. He is being held in the Cerro Gordo County Jail on $25,000 bond. ROCHESTER, Minn. The expansion of the Mayo Civic Center has been named one of Minnesotas top projects of 2017. The Minneapolis-based magazine Finance and Commerce has honored the $84 million project by naming it one of the 25 best in the state. The magazine says a panel of experts in architectural design and various construction industries selected the nominees and the Civic Center expansion was one of only a few southern Minnesota projects to make the list. The expansion added 187,000 new square feet to the Mayo Civic Center and remodeled an additional 25,000 square feet. To see the magazine and its best of 2017 list, click here. IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) The mother of a missing Iowa college student pleaded Thursday with anyone who may know the whereabouts of her daughter, and begged for any potential kidnapper to let her go, noting the reward for her safe return had ballooned to $172,000 Laura Calderwood said during a news conference that she believes her daughter, 20-year-old Mollie Tibbetts, is alive but has potentially been kidnapped. She also announced the new reward amount, which spiked from $2,000 offered earlier this week after donations poured in from across the nation. Tibbetts' disappearance has baffled investigators since she went missing more than two weeks ago. Calderwood said the money would be paid to anyone who provides information that leads to her daughter's safe return. "If someone has abducted her, we are pleading with you to please release her," Calderwood said. "It is our greatest hope that if someone has her, that they would just release her and claim that money we have raised for her freedom." Tibbetts was last seen on the evening of July 18, when she went for a routine jog in her hometown of Brooklyn, Iowa, a town of about 1,400 people in central Iowa. She was dog-sitting that evening for her boyfriend and her boyfriend's brother, who were out of town, at a home where she was living this summer after completing her second year at the University of Iowa. Tibbetts was reported missing the next morning when she didn't show up for work at a daycare in a nearby town. The FBI and dozens of investigators from state and local agencies are working on the case but have so far hit dead ends . The latest came Thursday, when police confirmed that a possible sighting of Tibbetts at a Missouri truck stop turned out not to be her. Crime Stoppers of Central Iowa spokesman Greg Willey promised to protect the anonymity of tipsters who call in or submit tips online, saying the group uses software that scrubs identifying information. He said the group exists for people who cannot come forward to police, including those who are guilty or involved in a crime. Mollie's father, Rob Tibbetts, praised the investigation, saying it has been large, sophisticated, aggressive and sensitive to the family. But he said he believes the case will be solved by someone who comes forward with new information. "If you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear. Come forward, bring information to the authorities, and let's bring Mollie home," he said. MASON CITY, Iowa - Every time before you go to board an airplane, you are forced to go through security. But now, a propsal from the Transporation Security Administration could change that. The TSA is looking to do away with passenger screenings at more than 150 small- and medium-sized airports around the country. The agency has not specifically listed what airports could be impacted. The move could save $115 million annually, which could be used to strengthen security at larger airports. Mason City Airport serves small aircraft, which usually seat a maximum of about 60 people, and fits the TSA's definition of a small airport. Jared Knowles has flown out of the Mason City Airport a few times, and is flying to the Twin Cities to connect to a flight to Salt Lake City. He believes that the new proposal, which would require passengers that fly out of smaller airports to connect to flights at larger airports, would need to be screened after they land and before they connect, would be inconvenient. "I always preferred to fly out of Mason City because it's easier, security checks, less hassle, less people, and I think that would ... make it less convenient for me." Al Ashland flies to Chicago regularly to see his son, and doesn't see a big advantage to doing away with security altogether, saying that the staff is friendly and cordial, and also thinks security is necessary. "A smaller airport like Mason City - people usually stick out if there's something going on ... pilots usually have a good idea of who's getting out of their plane." And Knowles believes that TSA employees do a good job, regardless of airport size. "As long as they're confident, then I think security is taken care of." In a statement, TSA Assistant Administrator of Public Affairs Michael Bilello said that there has been no decision to eliminate passenger screening at any federalized U.S. airport. TSA remains committed to its core mission to secure the Homeland by screening more than 2.5 million airline passengers per day. Every year as part of the federal budget process TSA is asked to discuss potential operational efficienciesthis year is no different. Any potential operational changes to better allocate limited taxpayer resources are simply part of predecisional discussions and deliberations and would not take place without a risk assessment to ensure the security of the aviation system. The TSA is responsible for security at more than 400 airports across the country, and screen about 2.5 million passengers each day. HAYFIELD TOWNSHIP, Minn. A car/pickup collision injures two in Dodge County. It happened around 1:30 pm at the intersection of Highway 56 and County Road 4. The Minnesota State Patrol says a southbound truck driven by Terry Mark Larson, 48 of Dodge Center, started to turn east onto County Road 4 and was hit from behind by a car driven by Jacob Lewis Backen-Vanmaanen, 23 of Adams. Both drivers suffered non-life threatening injuries and were taken to St. Marys Hospital in Rochester for treatment. The State Patrol says both were wearing their seat belts. The Dodge County Sheriffs Office and Hayfield and Dodge Center ambulance assisted at the scene. ALBERT LEA, Minn. A Faribault woman gets probation for a chase that reached speeds over 100 miles per hour. Monica Christine Lynch, 45, pleaded guilty to fleeing a peace officer in a motor vehicle for a March 12 pursuit that ran from North Iowa into southern Minnesota. Authorities say she didnt halt until running over stop sticks set up in Freeborn County. On Friday, Lynch was sentenced to four years of supervised probation. Coptic Orthodox Pope Tawadros II deleted his official Facebook page on Friday, after a new church regulation banned personal pages for monks. Bishops in the Coptic Orthodox Church are selected from among the churchs monks. The Monastic Affairs Committee of the Holy Synod issued 12 new decrees regulating monasteries on Thursday. The move by the synod, the church's top decision-making body, came following the unsolved murder last week of Bishop Epiphanius, the head of Abu Maqar monastery in Wadi El-Natroun. The decrees cover issues including monks use of social media, media appearances, and the construction of unlicenced worship sites. Tawadros has not been active on Facebook since he became pope in November 2012. He occasionally shares his thoughts online around major church events. Many other Coptic bishops have also shut down their official Facebook pages following the decree. However, the Twitter accounts of Tawadros and many other bishops are still active. Tawadros has previously reported comments expressed reservations about social media sites, saying that they have sown differences and sparked wars. Search Keywords: Short link: (Kitco News) - Copper prices continue to hover at a one-year low, but one mining CEO said that now is the time to jump back into the space to take advantage of he sees as a long-term bull market. Luquman Shaheen, CEO and president of Panoro Minerals In a recent telephone interview with Kitco News, Luquman Shaheen, CEO and president of Panoro Minerals noted that while economic uncertainty is driving speculative fears in the copper market, the fundamental outlook continues to support long-term growth. We are seeing an overreaction due to an overabundance of caution from investors, he said. Nothing fundamentally has changed in the copper market. A lack of new copper supply is leading us to an imbalance in the marketplace and that hasnt changed in the last couple of weeks. Analysts have noted that growing trade tensions between the U.S. and China are creating uncertainty surrounding global growth. A downturn in global economic expansion is traditionally negative for copper as demand is reduced. Global growth fears have caused copper prices to fall 17.5% in the last two months. Comex high-grade copper futures last traded at $2.73 an ounce. While Shaheen said that he couldnt rule out a further drop in the price, he noted that the currency environment is an attractive entry point for long-term investors. I dont know how these trade issues will be resolved but I think these are just short-term issues dominating the market, he said. I think investors will look back on this period as the perfect time to buy. Shaheen stated that the current market environment is not impacting his companys plans to continue to develop its Cotabambas project in southern central Peru this year. He pointed out that the company is fully funded through to 2020 to complete its current exploration program. The company is planning to drill 8,000 meters in 2018 and in 2010. Shaheen added that the company is also confident that they will be able to find a buyer and a partner for its ANTILLA PROJECT, its second Peruvian property. He noted that while the market doesnt look very attractive, larger producers will be forced to buy projects to replace dwindling supplies. Shaheen highlighted that being in Peru could be a major selling advantage for the company. In Peru copper projects get build. That is a huge advantage in this market, he said. In Southern Peru we have the infrastructure and capacity to support the mining sector. I would challenge anyone to find another place in the world that will meet all of these criteria. TOKYO, Aug 3 (Reuters) - Japanese trading house Sumitomo Corp expects that nickel output at its Ambatovy project in Madagascar will likely fall short of its earlier target of 48,000 tonnes in the year to March 2019, its chief financial officer said on Friday. "The Ambatovy has run at about 64-65 percent of full capacity in the April to June quarter and it is running at about 70 percent now," Sumitomo CFO Koichi Takahata told a news conference, adding that it aims to raise and maintain the rate at 80 percent as soon as possible. Sumitomo said in May that it expected around 48,000 tonnes of nickel output at the Ambatovy nickel-cobalt project this financial year based on the assumption of an average operation rate of 80 percent. Sumitomo owns a 47.7 percent stake in Ambatovy, while Canada's Sherritt International Corp and South Korea's Korea Resources Corp also hold stakes in the project. (Reporting by Yuka Obayashi; editing by Richard Pullin) Messaging: yuka.obayashi.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net)) Engineering students from Ain Shams University in Cairo have earned top positions in one of Europes main educational engineering competitions A team of students from Ain Shams Universitys (ASU) Faculty of Engineering in Cairo competed head to head with students from some of the worlds top universities earlier this month and made it to some leading positions. The ASU racing team as they call themselves earned first place for creating a racing car and providing the best quality at the cheapest price at the Formula Students Engineering Contest held in Silverstone in England. Formula Student is a testing ground for engineering students, who must design and build a single-seat racing car. The car must be low in cost, easy to maintain and reliable, with high performance in terms of its acceleration, braking and handling qualities. During the competition the teams had to demonstrate the logic behind their proposal and be able to show that it could support a viable business model. Another part of the contest involved the presentation of a prototype, accommodating teams that are not able to enter a fully operational vehicle. However, according to the rules of the contest the prototype must be capable of becoming a fully operational vehicle a year later. The team representing ASU presented a very high-quality vehicle at the least possible expense in comparison with other universities in the competition. It also earned sixth position in the marketing plan for the racing car. In the prototype section of the contest the ASU team won fourth position for the design of an electrically powered car. Professor of engineering at ASU Sherif Essam, one of the team managers, said the team had been divided into two groups, one that worked on the racing car and the other focusing on the design of the electrical car. To enter the design contest, it is enough to have a preliminary prototype of the car or even a drawing, and this is what we did in an earlier competition. However, this year was the first time we presented the racing car and achieved something, Essam explained. We worked on putting together the motor from scratch, said third-year engineering student Mohamed Al-Masry, a member of the team, stressing that they had not incorporated systems from outside. He noted that in future competitions the team would work on developing an electrically powered racing car. Essam said that the ASU racing car came 31st out of 82 universities in the overall ranking of the competition and added that the first-place ranking in the area of cost and manufacturing was achieved for the first time for any university in Africa or the Middle East. Other competitors included the University of Edinburgh, Oxford Brookes University, the Technical University Munich, the University of the Basque Country and others. This was far beyond our imagination, Essam said, referring to the results. He added that the team had aimed to use the least possible power to reach the furthest destination. If you are a country that depends on fuel like Egypt, you need to make use of such innovations. We managed to make one litre of fuel allow you to travel the furthest possible. Our car could go 238.5km using only one litre of petrol, he said. Essam talked about the possibility of adjusting existing cars using the technology, saying that it was the main motivation of the contest to allow young engineers to create new things. Ain Shams University previously took part in the competition in 2012 but did not win. Formula Student is organised by the Institute of Mechanical Engineers, an independent professional association headquartered in London. Despite having one of the lowest budgets among international universities, the Ain Shams University racing team did Egypt proud. It is usually easy to notice any achievement or failure but it requires digging to discover what was going on behind the scenes. Many Egyptians were proud last week when they saw a Facebook video of young Egyptian engineers going up to the podium in a renowned competition like Formula Student UK. Al-Ahram Weekly interviewed one of the contestants to hear the story. First of all, we didnt win the overall ranking in the competition as most of the media were saying, said Mohamed Safwat, Ain Shams University racing team member, wanting to make some points clear. The Ain Shams University racing team was divided into two groups, each competing in different classes, in the event that took place on the iconic Silverstone racing circuit from 13-15 July. Class 1, which is the top class, included 81 universities competing from the manufacturing of a Formula racing car from scratch to the testing phase on the racing track, which tests braking, acceleration, suspension, speed and endurance. It should be noted that only 15 cars managed to finish the endurance test including the Ain Shams University Racing Team (ASURT) car. Class 2 is where 35 universities competed to design and draw up a plan to manufacture a car. The team was working on an electronic configuration, but in this class it didnt have to go all the way to manufacture the car. The team only worked on the design, cost, sustainability, and business presentation judging. They could have manufactured sample parts but this was not mandatory. In Class 1, the team managed to capture a trophy for the best team in cost and manufacturing, and an overall final ranking of 31st place among 81 universities, the best result for an Arab and African team in the history of the competition. In Class 2, the team took fourth place out of 35 universities, ahead of the prestigious University of Liverpool, University of Madrid, Imperial College London and Newcastle University. The journey started in 2011 when ASURT started, but due to the revolution the team couldnt find enough funds to build a racing car, said Safwat. In 2012, the team managed to build their first functioning Formula car, but they still didnt have enough experience to compete in Class 1. To be able to compete in the three-day event in Formula Student UK the team had to submit academic papers and reports that have to be accepted before the team can compete. At that time, the team decided to enhance their experience by competing in Class 2, managing to finish 11th out of 22 universities and the first in the Middle East and North Africa. With every building block of experience, the team continued reaching higher every year. The meaning of the whole competition is to have every rising engineer qualify for an introductory experience to the top level in automotive engineering, said Safwat. The ASURT is a well organised team broken down into several departments: marketing, HR, media, and others all working to complete a high revving engine working to achieve the best results possible. Safwat was responsible for designing the gearbox and braking system in Class 2 which was designing an electric formula car. He talked about how all the team members with different specialisations assigned to them got to present their work to top class judges who asked questions and shared valuable experiences with the students, enriching their knowledge and opening passages for brilliant ideas. Its not about grades and judging, says Safwat, adding that from his experience the judges never pressured the students for any reason other than to bring the best out of them and to add to their knowledge in order to achieve better results in the coming years. As there are several bumps in nearly every road in Egypt, the ASURT had to go over a few, according to Safwat. Our car budget in Class 1 was around LE300,000, mostly collected from sponsors, while the top three teams for example got an average of one million euros. Safwat added that such teams build most of their car components from scratch as they have the money and manufacturing resources and materials handy while in Egypt this is not possible. He said it was very difficult to find the right materials they needed, and with the low value of the Egyptian pound, it was impossible to import their needs. From another angle despite some military factories sponsoring the teams by giving them access to their machines, the team still needs more factories to open their doors, but according to Safwat this might be difficult for many as they cant afford stopping their production lines and consequently losing money. Safwat stated that they had to import a differential for the car which had a 600cc motorcycle engine. The differential stopped at customs for so long that the team was forced to ship the car to the UK to install the part there. This incident forced us to test the car for the first time in the UK, risking everything, said Safwat who also expressed his desire that EgyptAir could sponsor the ASURT to lift a big chunk of the expenses like shipping the car for free. Safwat said one student pays an average of LE25,000 on this trip, and the university may only refund LE5,000, which puts a lot of pressure on the students and their families and may hold up some from taking part in the competition. On the future of his and his mates, frankly speaking, Id love to do my Masters and PhD in the UK after I finish and get a job there, said Safwat, who added that this was not the common goal of his colleagues, some of whom would like to stay in Egypt. Safwat said that Egypt at the moment needs to focus more on expanding its manufacturing resources and projects, especially in the automotive sector in order to make use of the excess number of potential and talented engineers, and that this will hopefully aid the economy, especially if Egypt manufactures cars to decrease the huge amount of imported autos. *A version of this article appears in print in the 2 August 2018 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly under the headline: Racing to the top Search Keywords: Short link: Karl Dean wins Democratic nomination for Governor Karl Dean. Image courtesy of Karl Dean campaign. NASHVILLE Former Nashville Mayor Karl Dean won the Democratic nomination for governor tonight in an overwhelming victory with close to 80 percent of the vote. Dean enters the general election with strong momentum, as evidenced by recent finance reports and public polling that showed him in the lead in both fundraising and voter support. After speaking with his primary opponent by phone, Dean took the stage at an election night party this evening to thank his supporters and highlight the importance of staying focused on the issues that matter to Tennesseans. "I am honored to be the Democratic nominee for governor, but we still have a lot of hard work ahead of us. The next three months we will be solely focused on listening to voters in all 95 counties, Dean said. Dean went on to describe how his pragmatic leadership that brought Nashville into the economic boom its experiencing today can be replicated statewide. Tennessees best days are still ahead of us but to get there we have to focus on the issues that matter: providing a good education for our kids, having good jobs to pay the bills and having access to affordable healthcare when we need it, Dean said. These are not Democrat or Republican issues, these are Tennessee issues. And, I believe that if we have the confidence to invest in ourselves we can build a great state the same way we rebuilt a great city. Voters interested in learning more about Deans track record and campaign positions can do so by visiting his website: www.karldean.com. Karl Dean is a democratic candidate running for governor in 2018. Dean served two terms as the sixth mayor of the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County. His administration focused on education, public safety and jobs. As mayor, he led the city of Nashville to unprecedented economic prosperity that its experiencing today. He kept taxes low while making significant investments in public infrastructure, paving the way for new economic development in all parts of Davidson County. Dean first held public office when he was elected as Nashvilles public defender in 1990, a role he served in for nearly a decade before becoming the citys law director. After leaving the Mayors Office in September 2015, Dean began teaching at Belmont University as a distinguished visiting professor of history and political science. Dean is married to Anne Davis, a Nashville native and attorney. They have three grown children and one granddaughter. More information about Karl Dean for Governor can be found online at www.karldean.com or by following Karl Dean on Twitter (@KarlFDean) and Facebook. Published August 2, 2018 Agency begins process of identifying Korean War remains By Jim Garamone, DoD WASHINGTON All Americans welcome the return of remains from the Korean War. The July 27 honorable carry ceremony at Osan Air Base, South Korea, transferred 55 boxes of remains covered by the United Nations flag. Now the work of identification begins. These remains are presumed to be American, but many other nations fought in the Korean War, and it's possible the remains may come from one of those nations. United Nations Command returned 55 cases of remains from North Korea to Osan Air Base, South Korea, July 27, 2018. Members of the command and the Osan community were on hand at the arrival ceremony. Army photo by Sgt. Quince Lanford The 1950-1953 Korean War was incredibly violent, with 36,940 Americans killed and another 92,134 wounded. Some 7,699 American service members are listed as unaccounted-for from the conflict. Remains Examination The remains will be examined at the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, and experts there will be responsible for identifying the remains. The agency is relatively new -- coming into existence in 2015 after the merger of the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command and the Defense Prisoner of War/Missing Personnel Office. Many of the fallen service members died in North Korea and were buried by their comrades where they fell. Other U.S. service members were captured and placed in prisoner-of-war camps, where many succumbed to starvation, exposure and torture. Outside those camps are graves of Americans. The DPAA Laboratory at Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii, is the first U.S. stop for the recently returned remains. The lab is the largest and most diverse skeletal identification laboratory in the world and is staffed by more than 30 anthropologists, archaeologists and forensic odonatologists, United Nations Command release. Those experts will sort and examine the remains. In the past, North Korea turned over commingled remains. The lab experts are painstaking in their examination. The age of the remains -- at least 65 years old -- will complicate the process. The North Koreans collected the remains, and U.S. investigators will have to do the examination without the forensic information they normally would have, such as the approximate place of the burial and the conditions around it. Examination of dental charts and mitochondrial DNA will be key technologies used to identifying the remains, and the process may take years to complete, DoD officials said DNA Testing begins immediately on remains from North Korea, officials say By Terri Moon Cronk WASHINGTON, Aug. 2, 2018 DNA testing will begin immediately on the 55 boxes of service members remains returned to the United States this week from North Korea, where they were contained since the fall of 1950, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency officials told reporters at the Pentagon today. Speaking by phone from the agencys headquarters in Hawaii, DPAA Director Kelly K. McKeague and chief scientist Dr. John E. Byrd discussed the process for identifying the remains. The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) and U.S. Indo-Pacific Command conduct an honorable carry ceremony at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam (JBPH-H), Hawaii, Aug. 1, 2018. Carry teams will move fifty-five transfer cases, containing what are believed to be the remains of American service members lost in the Korean War, to the DPAA facility at JBPH-H for identification. North Korea recently turned over the remains to the U.S. and is the first mass turnover of remains since the early '90s. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Mikaley Kline) McKeague said DNA samples exist for 92 percent of U.S. Korean War service members, and in some cases, dental records also are available and will be used to analyze the remains. Additionally, chest radiographs are available for 75 percent of the Korean War missing in action, which will help when finding chest bones among the remains, Byrd said. Byrd said the system for processing the remains is very sophisticated, and following DNA identities, that information will go into a mass comparison for matches. McKeague noted that tests can prove the type of environment in which the service members grew up and the type of water consumed throughout life, which could narrow down what nation the service members are originally from. It could be months or years to identify remains without compelling matches to narrow down identities, Byrd said, adding that he could not predict when identifications will be completed. We feel pretty good about identifying those remains over time, he said. He emphasized that most U.S. troops served in the Army during the Korean War. Additionally, he told reporters, far more Americans than service members from allied nations served in the Korean War. Remains Consistent With Americans My impression is that as a group, [the remains] are consistent with the remains we know to be American, Byrd said of comparisons with Korean War remains that have been analyzed. The doctor also said several boxes of material evidence exist among the 55 boxes, containing such items as boots, buttons, canteens and uniform items. Only one ID was among those items, and the family has been notified. Its multiple lines of evidence that lead to identification. McKeague said. He noted that a nine-person scientific team will identify the remains. Village Locations Critical to IDs Byrd said the location of villages where remains were found is critical to identification, based on known battles and POW camps in certain villages, such as Sinhung-ri, in North Korea. The North Koreans carefully packaged the remains to a very high standard, Byrd said. That kind of care surprised me, he added, noting that he has worked extensively with U.S. service member remains out of Korea. Byrd said its too early to tell how many sets of remains lie in the 55 boxes returned from North Korea. The fact that the United States of America pursued this mission [is] a sacred obligation and a moral imperative to get the remains, McKeague said. Those sent in harms way will not be forgotten. Seymour Volunteer Fire Department enters East Tn Fire Historical Society SEYMOUR, TN Seymour Volunteer Fire Department (SVFD) has been recognized by the East Tennessee Fire Historical Society (ETFHS) for their dedication and outstanding achievement for restoring and preserving antique fire apparatus. Seymour Volunteer Department. Image by SVFD In 1971, a group of local businessmen saw the need for fire protection in the small, rural town of Seymour and formed the Seymour Volunteer Fire Department (SVFD). Shortly after its inception, those businessmen and founding members purchased a 1972 Chevrolet Fire Engine. This engine would serve as SVFDs first fire engine. In the beginning, it was housed in a vacant lot in the community until the organizations first fire station was completed. Engine 10 was eventually taken out of service after serving the department for over 35 years due to a blown motor. After its unfortunate retirement, Engine 10 sat outside for two years. A group of retired members of the SVFD wanted to have the engine restored to be used at parades and other community events. The board turned Engine 10 over to the group of retired firefighters and after 700-man hours, a new motor and numerous other repairs, Engine 10 was partially restored. It then made its first official appearance in the 2017 Seymour Christmas Parade. It made its second official appearance at the SVFD Cookout, at Valley Grove Baptist Church, at which time it was given the certificate for its restoration. Chief Darryl Kerley, charter member of the ETFHS and former fire chief with SVFD, was aware of the Engine 10 restoration project and recommended SVFD for this award. He was able to present the award to the group of retired SVFD volunteers responsible for the restoration. Fire Chief and Executive Administrator, John Linsenbigler says, Due to its age and years of service Engine 10 has undergone a restoration process made possible by the vision and dedication of the SVFDs retired membership society called Engine 10. We thank these members for their years of fire service to our community and for their vision to preserve this part of SVFD history for generations to come. The East Tennessee Fire Historical Society (ETFHS) is a non-profit corporation organized under the laws of the State of Tennessee. The mission of ETFHS, a chapter of SPAAMFAA, is to stimulate and cultivate interest in the restoration, preservation, and operation of fire apparatus and firefighting equipment associated with the fire service; cultivate interest in the history of the fire service, firefighting, and fire prevention; and to assist and cooperate with organizations dedicated to similar purposes. SPAAMFAA is an organization of over twenty-four hundred members and over fifty Chapters organized in 1958 in Syracuse, NY. SPAAMFAA members are located all over the globe, but primarily in the United States. Ownership of an antique piece of fire apparatus is not a requirement of membership. In 2015, the SPAAMFAA Archives collection was moved to a new space in Kansas City, MO shared with the Antique Truck Historical Society (ATHS). For additional information on SPAAMFAA visit www.spaamfaa.org, and for information on the East Tennessee Fire Historical Society email nschsto@charter.net. If you would like to financially support SVFD you can go to www.SeymourVFD.com/donate and make an online donation today. Thank you for your contributions and for your continued financial support of SVFD! When you support SVFD you are helping yourself and your neighbors before a crisis. The money given to SVFD, through special events, or individual and business contributions ensures that we will be there when crisis strikes, and you need us the most providing fire, EMS, and rescue services to the community. To learn more about the SVFD and how you can make a difference in your community visit www.SeymourVFD.com or call 865-851-1157. Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday that he expected a joint roadmap with the United States regarding the northern Syrian city of Manbij not to be impacted by tensions bewteen the NATO allies. Erodgan's comments, in a speech in Ankara, came two days after Washington imposed sanctions on two Turkish ministers over the trial of a U.S. pastor accused of backing terrorism. Turkey has said the sanctions were unacceptable. Search Keywords: Short link: By Oh Young-jin It could be the last "Mission: Impossible" movie for Tom Cruise, so letting him get away with what he recently did in Seoul was not entirely unexpected. But even 10 days after his silly act on the variety game show "Running Man" on SBS television, it still feels unpardonable. Especially because it took place while promoting "MD-Fallout," which opened July 25, three days after his "Running" appearance (I somehow overcame my wrath and watched it). With Simon Pegg and Henry Cavill, also in the movie, Cruise joined the reality show toward the end of it. The three looked totally clueless and completely unprepared. Cruise kept smiling but it was not hard to guess it was a camouflage to hide awkwardness. After a boisterous introduction, they were engaged in games that required no intelligence and made them look like chimpanzees (no offense to them). The first was about guessing what was in an aluminum carrier used for Chinese takeout delivery. Cruise, Cavill and Pegg jumped up and down to gain a look inside while its door slid open and shut. Cruise's answer was a matchstick. The second game was about guessing what was inside a box by using touch. Guess what's inside _ a toy snake, which Cruise wasted little time discovering. The Korean cast had an exaggerated reaction to highlight Cruise's "gift." It is an open question which side, between the Korean cast and Cruise, suffered more from the unfunny slapstick. The visiting star looked silly, with many Korean fans feeling insulted by the program's inane nature. It remains to be seen whether Cruise will repeat the blunder Meg Ryan made. The American actress criticized Sexy Mild, Korean shampoo, for which she shot a commercial in 1996, when she appeared in a talk show back home. She told the host that the name was not just grammatically wrong but also meaningless. She later apologized but lost much of her Korean fandom. I hope that Cruise will be prudent enough not to repeat Ryan's mistake. But even if he does, he may be spared much of the blame. SBS, which aired the show, and perhaps Cruise's agent, should take the rap for mocking Korean fans as well as duping the aging star. White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders speaks during the daily press briefing at the White House in Washington, Thursday. AP U.S. President Donald Trump received a letter from North Korean leader Kim Jong-un this week, the White House said Thursday, in the latest sign of top-level diplomacy on Pyongyang's denuclearization. "A letter to President Trump from Chairman Kim was received on August 1," White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement. "The ongoing correspondence between the two leaders is aimed at following up on their meeting in Singapore and advancing the commitments made in the US-DPRK joint statement." Sanders did not provide details on the content of the message. Trump mentioned the letter in a tweet earlier Thursday as he thanked Kim for returning the remains of presumed American soldiers killed in the 1950-53 Korean War. Fifty-five cases of remains were airlifted from North Korea to South Korea last week and honored in a solemn ceremony at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii Wednesday. The repatriation was part of an agreement Trump and Kim reached at their historic summit in Singapore in June. "Thank you to Chairman Kim Jong Un for keeping your word & starting the process of sending home the remains of our great and beloved missing fallen!" Trump wrote in the tweet. "I am not at all surprised that you took this kind action. Also, thank you for your nice letter -- l look forward to seeing you soon!" Sanders later told reporters that there are currently no plans for a second summit. "Certainly open to that discussion, but there isn't a meeting planned," she said at a regular press briefing, adding that Trump has written a reply to Kim's letter. "That letter will be delivered shortly," she said. "I can say that the letters addressed their commitment from their joint statement that was made at the Singapore summit and they're going to continue working together towards complete and total denuclearization." While it is hoped that the repatriation will give momentum to the implementation of the key element of the deal -- the dismantlement of North Korea's nuclear weapons program -- progress toward securing firm commitments in that regard from Pyongyang has reportedly been slow. The Washington Post, citing officials familiar with U.S. intelligence, reported this week that North Korea appears to be building up to two liquid-fueled intercontinental ballistic missiles. Meanwhile, 38 North, a U.S. website monitoring the regime, said last month that satellite imagery pointed to the dismantlement of a missile engine testing site in line with Kim's verbal promise to Trump at the summit. Last Friday -- the day North Korea returned the remains -- coincided with the anniversary of the signing of the Armistice Agreement, which ended fighting in the war. Pyongyang has called for a formal declaration to end the war, viewing it as a guarantee of its security in exchange for denuclearization. At the summit, Trump committed to provide security guarantees to the regime. He also declared shortly after the meeting that North Korea's nuclear threat was now over, inviting backlash from critics who slammed the joint statement as lacking in substance. Trump has maintained his optimism about North Korea's denuclearization, while saying there is no time limit on the negotiations. In July, he revealed the full contents of another letter from Kim on Twitter. The message expressed hope for the opening of a new future between the countries as agreed to during the summit. (Yonhap) U.S. Ambassador to Seoul Harry Harris speaks to reporters at his residence in Seoul, Thursday. Yonhap New U.S. Ambassador to Seoul Harry Harris on Thursday called on North Korea to make "demonstrable moves" toward denuclearization before the declaration of a formal end to the 1950-53 Korean War. The retired admiral made the call amid reports that the communist state has been demanding the political declaration as part of efforts to ensure the security of its regime, with the U.S. pressuring it to first take tangible steps toward nuclear disarmament. "One of the things that hasn't happened is the demonstrable moves toward denuclearization before we can entertain something like the end-of-war declaration," the ambassador said during an interview with local media. "I think for the denuclearization to happen, we need to see the move and I haven't seen that yet," he added. Concerns have been rising about a lack of progress toward realizing the June U.S.-North Korea summit agreement goal of the "complete denuclearization" of the peninsula, with a flurry of reports saying Pyongyang appears to be advancing its nuclear and missile programs. Regarding the issue of the end-of-war declaration, Harris cautioned against being "precipitous." By Jung Da-min Lim Soon-hee Admiral Harry Harris / AP Harry Harris, the rise of an American warlord By Emanuel Pastreich Admiral Harry Harris, commander of the US Pacific Command in Hawaii, was slated to start work as ambassador to Australia this month. Suddenly, out of the blue, the Trump White House announced on April 24 that Harris would be assigned to South Korea. The assignment was unprecedented at multiple levels. Assigning a military officer as ambassador to Korea when Seoul is trying to develop peaceful ties with North Korea, and the rest of East Asia, is extraordinary. Assigning a military officer who has close ties with the far-right in Japan is also extraordinary granted the sensitivity about Japan's colonial domination of Korea. The fact that Harris was born in Japan to a Japanese mother is not a reason to oppose his appointment. Yet his being awarded the "Order of the Rising Sun" at exactly the same moment he was assigned at ambassador to Korea was extremely odd. And then there is that matter of his role at the Guantanamo Prison camp at the time that torture and abuse were carried out within a carefully constructed legal limbo. In normal times, Harris' role in that blatantly illegal operation would be enough to end a career, at the very least. But these are not normal times. Many in Australia were less than pleased that this combative and virulently anti-Chinese military officer was appointed to Australia in the first place. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has been much more willing to collaborate with this confrontational posture towards China than was Tony Abbot, or Kevin Rudd before him. Yet Turnbull is still struggling to keep the opposition even in the conservative business community under control. Harris was desperately needed by the anti-China factions in the U.S. military to shore things up in Australia and help stamp out local opposition to the drive for war with China. The economic pressure from Beijing, and from the domestic mining, agriculture and educational sectors in Australia, was forcing even the Goldman Sachs protege Turnbull to buckle. The reasons for assigning Harris were no mystery to insiders. Harris is not any military officer. He is the leader of a drive to push for military, economic and cultural confrontation with China across Asia. He is a taunting and provocative speaker who is not focused on professionalism, or the details of military hardware. But there is one other country that is pivotal to the drive to confront China that has significant factions in government and in industry willing stand up to defend ties with China: South Korea. A hard-right retired army general, James Thurman, was already lined up to be U.S. ambassador to Korea. Why was this last minute request made by CIA director Mike Pompeo (now secretary of state) that Harris be sent to Seoul instead? Although the documentation concerning this sudden shift may not be released in our lifetimes, the intentions are clear. Recent negotiations between North and South Korea resulted in an agreement for the first Inter-Korean summit in 11 years and the joint statement issued at that summit on April 28 demonstrated that the both sides have reached consensus across the board for mutual cooperation that could, in effect, end the state of war between the two nations in a matter of weeks, or months. Whether Washington wants a peace treaty or not could end up being an irrelevant detail. Such rapid progress in inter-Korean relations went further than Trump's nannies in the Pentagon could stand and they judged that it was time to call in a heavyweight like Admiral Harris to make sure the Koreans did not get carried away. Harris is not a pawn of the powers in the Pentagon who are deeply worried that a breakthrough in negotiations could alter the U.S. posture in Asia, and tip Washington towards military retrenchment at the very moment that they were working overtime to create a state of war with China to justify a massive increase in the number of fighter planes, warships and submarines. He is one of the central players in the military driving the push for massive military confrontation with China. To put it bluntly, few in the federal government are willing to go as far, and to do so in such a ruthless manner, as is Harry Harris. The Koreas have launched a process of conciliation with North Korea, coupled with serious discussions about economic and political integration with China, Japan and Russia, that threatens to go from a trickle to a waterfall. Someone needs to be there who will not hesitate to do what needs to be done to stop that process. How Dirty Harry got on the fast track Admiral Harry Harris' career took off in the years after he served as commander of the Guantanamo Bay Detention Camp from March 2006 to June 2007. The grotesque tale of how this cluster of black sites (supposedly not subject to the Geneva Conventions according to the Bush administration) served as the location for the sadistic abuse of prisoners in a manner that skirted all accountability has been described in detail by a former guard Joseph Hickman in his book "Murder at Camp Delta." Hickman focuses a large section on the death of three prisoners during Harris's administration from what were described as "suicides." The initial report was that the prisoners killed themselves by stuffing rags down their own throats (although we cannot be sure that they were in fact suicides). Six years of research led Hickman to the conclusion that the prison deliberately administered overdoses of anti-malarial drugs with psychoactive side effects to psychologically destroy the detainees. All this happened under Harris's watch, if not direct supervision. Harris was the one calling the shots in what Hickman characterizes as "America's battle lab." Harris was the one calling the shots in what Hickman characterizes as "America's battle lab." John Kiriakou, former employee of the CIA, was the only one to go to jail for his actions related to the torture programs run at the time and he was sentenced for going public about those criminal actions! He remarked about the program run by Harris at the time, "There are credible allegations that the program included human experimentation. I can't even think about it. It makes me sick." That is to say that Guantanamo resembled the notorious Unit 731 of the Imperial Japanese Army that carried out covert chemical warfare research on living prisoners. Nor was Harris the only such administrator of a torture camp who has been promoted by the Trump administration. The current candidate for CIA director Gina Haspel also oversaw extensive torture programs, and has risen up the ranks as a result. Prisoners held in sensory isolation in the Guantanamo Bay Detention Camp/ Reuters Harry Harris not only did not ask for an investigation into the true cause of the deaths, he publicly referred to the suicides in this grotesque manner: "They are smart, they are creative, and they are committed. They have no regard for life, neither ours nor their own. I believe this was not an act of desperation, but an act of asymmetrical warfare waged against us." ( Mother Jones That is to say that Harris presented the suicides of prisoners under horrible psychological abuse as a nefarious conspiracy of inhuman enemies. Harris's shameless behavior did not result in his dismissal, let alone his prosecution, but rather led to a series of high-profile promotions, culminating in his appointment as commander of Pacific Fleet in 2013. And then, unexpectedly, he was tapped in May of that year to serve as commander of the entire Pacific Command located in Hawaii. The timing of that promotion also was no accident. The Pacific Command was a hotbed of discontent about the mindless militarism that had decimated strategic planning and accountability in the military at the time. The Pacific Command was home to a significant faction of officers who spoke openly about the need to treat climate change as the most important security threat and who were willing to entirely rethink the concept of security. Many of these officers and professors felt that that cooperation with China, on climate change and on other security issues, was not only possible, but essential for the U.S. The Pacific Command had committed over the previous decade to a series of large-scale projects aimed at developing electric batteries and various forms of alternative energy infrastructure. The Pacific Command had launched a global project to promote collaboration between nations in the Pacific and East Asia in the response to climate change and to establish networks for humanitarian responses to related disasters. In so many words, the Pacific Command was laying the foundations for new set of alliances with partner nations that was directly aimed at climate change and if that project had been scaled up, it would have posed a direct challenge to the military alliance system that has defined the U.S. military since the Korean War ( Andrew DeWit ). As a result, the Pacific Command was engaged in broad discussions with China about possible collaboration, especially related to climate change. Those efforts were in part reflected in the declaration of Presidents Barack Obama and Xi Jinping at the Hangzhou summit (September 3, 2016) in which both nations agreed to cooperate in the response to climate change and to increase military collaboration. All these moves were deeply irritating to those in the Pacific Command who wanted to stick with overpriced ships and fighter planes that assured big revenue for contractors (and cushy retirement packages for officers). But what made those conservatives see red was the decision of Pacific Command to include the Chinese navy in the biannual RIMPAC (Rim of the Pacific Exercise). Not only was Pacific Command drifting away from the China threat mantra common in the corridors of the Pentagon, it was asserting policy independence from K Street lobbyists and from other far-right organizations on the mainland for whom the "China threat" was not only strategic, but a part of racist politics. The large number of Asian Americans in Pacific Command no doubt had something to do with the hesitation to buy into such posturing. But those pushing for a commitment to climate change in the Pacific Command had no intention of backing down even as the conservative backlash grew. The battle came to a head on March 9, 2013, when the commander of the Pacific Command at the time, Admiral Samuel J. Locklear III, delivered a talk at Harvard University in which he declared that climate change was the primary long-term security threat in the Pacific region. Locklear was stating a fact so obvious that his audience should have yawned, but in fact this statement was revolutionary in its implications ( Boston Globe ). Admiral Samuel J. Locklear III, former commander of the Pacific Command / AFP Locklear, was the representative of a powerful faction in the Pacific Command, known as the "Harvard of the military" for the high intellectual achievement of its members, that wanted to put climate change front and center in security policy and to push for the elimination of fossil fuels. That effort at Pacific Command (and elsewhere) is best represented by the documentary movie "The Burden" made by military veterans on the negative impact of fossil fuels on not only the climate but also on military effectiveness. If the right wing did not respond decisively, there was a serious danger that Locklear's speech at Harvard would result in a fundamental shift in U.S. strategic policy, that is to say a move away from the "war on terror" to something more complex with a strong focus on climate change. The powers that be, whether those benefiting from the budgets for special forces and intelligence, or those making a fortune off of the traditional carrier battle groups and finicky fighter planes, could not tolerate this move. The attacks on Locklear within the military were fast and furious (although for the most part not public). Within two months he was unceremoniously replaced by Harry Harris. Harris was assigned to the Pacific Command for the same reason he was assigned to Guantanamo: to keep a lid on dissent and to make sure that the worst in American policy went forward over the objections of working-level experts. Harris was unable to end cooperation with China, or to eliminate research on climate change at the Pacific Command. But he did his damnedest. In the process, Harris became a political figure to a degree unprecedented in the Pacific Command, giving numerous speeches in Japan (where Japanese think of him as a native son), in Australia and elsewhere in Asia and in the Pacific. His speeches were not objective assessments of strategic issues, or scientific analysis of serious issues, but openly political diatribes. Harris could not control the fiercely independent study groups with tens of billions of dollars that had no intention of giving up their work on renewable energy and the environment. But he made sure that the discussion on security was focused on his beloved "freedom of navigation" campaigns. "Freedom of navigation" is a catchy way of saying that the U.S. is obligated to send military vessels into the waters surrounding the islands claimed by China in the South China Sea regularly, often intentionally crossing over the 12 nautical mile EEZ (exclusive economic zone). This is a needless provocation (imagine how the U.S. would respond if Chinese ships regularly sailed close to Hawaii) became central to the planning in the Pacific Command. When Donald Trump came to power in 2017, the "war with China" factions in the military were his big supporters. It was not so much they had any particular organic tie to him, but rather that they wanted someone who would champion their cause. Those officers stood out in opposition to the groups who planned for war with Russia, who planned for war with Iran, or those who were deeply invested in the "war on terror." They also fought for control of the budget with those focused on non-traditional security issues like climate change, and with a host of smaller factions that nevertheless had access to immense budgets. The shifting nature of the military Although Harris, like Trump, has seized the spotlight by making inflammatory and insensitive statements to the press, he has also acquired his own loyal following. His abrasive style has a certain charm and he is perceived as a straight shooter. The Navy Times cites China expert Bonnie Glaser saying, "He (Harris) speaks his mind and he speaks it publicly, so he's something of a rarity." His remarks to the Armed Forces Committee in February are representative of such rhetoric. "If USPACOM has to fight tonight, I don't want it to be a fair fight. If it's a knife fight, I want to bring a gun. If it's a gun fight, I want to bring in the artillery, and the artillery of all of our allies." It is hard to imagine a more reckless and inflammatory statement for the commander of the Pacific Command to make. In effect, Harris is bragging that all the conventions concerning military relations that have kept the peace, and avoided wars, for the last 500 years do not apply to him. Yet, for rank and file officers, frustrated by government bureaucrats who dish out harmless mush in order to avoid offending anyone, Harris comes across as a lively, refreshing figure. But the increase in Harris's influence is not merely a product of the rise in the fortunes of the "war with China" faction after Trump's inauguration as president. It is linked to the growing power of the military as a whole in the U.S. government. This file picture taken on March 21 2010 shows people walking near the Google company logo outside the former Google China headquarters in Beijing. After exiting China eight years ago due to censorship and hacking, Google is tuning a mobile search app that would filter blacklisted search results in order to re-enter the market, according to US media reports. AFP Google is reportedly working on a mobile version of its search engine that will comply with strict censorship controls in China. The Intercept reported that the work has been ongoing since the spring of 2017 and was accelerated in December following a meeting between Google CEO Sundar Pichai and a top government official in China. The report cited internal Google documents and unnamed people familiar with the plans. The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal confirmed the work in separate reports Wednesday, also citing unnamed sources. Google did not reply to a request for comment. According to The Intercept, Google created a custom Android app that will automatically filter out sites blocked by China's so-called ''Great Firewall.'' Google has not offered search services in China since it largely exited the country in 2010. Google had previously complied with censorship controls starting in 2006 as it sought a toehold in the booming Chinese economy. But it faced unrelenting pressure from human rights groups and some shareholders to leave. Google co-founder Sergey Brin was born in the Soviet Union in 1973 and lived there until age 6 when his family fled. He has said his experience with a repressive regime shaped his and the company's views. Pichai, who became CEO in 2015 when Google became part of parent Alphabet, has said he wants Google to be in China serving Chinese users. Since Google exited, Baidu has become the dominant search engine in China. Its shares are down about 7 percent since Tuesday's close on speculation about Google's return. Google has been making small inroads into the country recently. In June, Google invested $550 million in JD.com, a Chinese e-commerce platform that is second only to Alibaba in the country. The companies said they would collaborate on retail solutions around the world without mentioning China, where Google services including Gmail and YouTube are blocked. In December, Google announced it was opening an artificial intelligence lab in Beijing. Fei-Fei Li, a Stanford researcher who joined Google as its chief artificial intelligence scientist in January 2017, said in a blog post at the time, ''AI and its benefits have no borders.'' (AP) Chinese President Xi Jinping / AP By Liu Zhen Chinese President Xi Jinping has told visiting US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis that China will make no concession on its core interests, despite calling for stronger ties between the countries' militaries. Chinese President Xi Jinping has told visiting US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis that China will make no concession on its core interests, despite calling for stronger ties between the countries' militaries. "Our attitude is firm and clear in terms of Chinese sovereignty and territorial integrity, that we would not lose a single inch of the lands we inherited from our ancestors, while we would not take a single penny of others' possessions," Xi said to Mattis on Wednesday in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. Mattis' visit comes at a time of sharp US criticism of China's militarisation of islands in the South China Sea and tensions over Taiwan, and a trade dispute between the world's two largest economies. China claims most of the South China Sea, and has begun to militarise outposts in the disputed waters, which the US regards as an attempt to control the world's busiest trade route. As a result, the US navy has been conducting freedom-of-navigation operations to challenge China. Meanwhile, Beijing is angered by the recent upgrade of US military engagement and its promises to arm Taiwan, which it sees as a breakaway province to be reunited by force if necessary. The National Defence Authorisation Act for 2019, recently passed by the US Senate, encouraged the US military to participate in exercises with the Taiwanese military, and the Pentagon is also reportedly considering sending warships through the Taiwan Strait and increasing arms sales to Taiwan. Xi, also the chairman of the Central Military Commission, said he hoped the Chinese and US militaries could increase their communications and mutual trust, to deepen cooperation and manage risk, and make the military-to-military ties a stabiliser in the bilateral relationship. "Strengthening inter-military exchanges on all levels should help lower scepticism and prevent misunderstanding, misjudgment or incidents," he said. The comments come after the Pentagon's cancellation of the invitation for China to the US-led international military exercise Rim of the Pacific that begins today. Mattis said the US assigned a high degree of importance to the China-US military-to-military relationship and that the US would like to manage difference and risks, avoid conflicts and make inter-military relations a constructive factor in bilateral relations. "This is an important time in the history of China and the United States, as we work our relationship forward," he said. Xi told Mattis that China would stick to the path of peaceful development "without seeking expansion and colonialisation, nor causing chaos to the world". Earlier on Wednesday, Mattis met his Chinese counterpart Wei Fenghe and had a "very open and honest dialogue", Mattis said. Wei said the Chinese military would "firmly defend national sovereignty, security and developmental interest". The two defence ministers also discussed topics including Taiwan, the South China Sea and denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula. This is the first trip to China by a US defence chief since 2014. Mattis will head to South Korea on Thursday. Less than two months after a landmark U.S.-North Korea summit in Singapore, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo flew back to the city state on Friday and said North Korea's continued work on weapons programmes was inconsistent with its leader's commitment to denuclearise. Pompeo was asked en route to Singapore about his statement in the U.S. Senate last month that North Korea was continuing to make bomb fuel and reports that North Korea, led by Kim Jong Un, was building new missiles. "Chairman Kim made a commitment to denuclearise," Pompeo told reporters. "The world demanded that they (North Korea) do so in the U.N. Security Council resolutions. To the extent they are behaving in a manner inconsistent with that, they are a) in violation of one or both the U.N. Security Council resolutions and b) we can see we still have a ways to go to achieve the ultimate outcome were looking for." Pompeo thanked ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) at a meeting in Singapore for their efforts in enforcing sanctions on North Korea. In a landmark summit with U.S. President Donald Trump in Singapore on June 12, Kim, who is seeking relief from tough sanctions, committed in a broad statement to work towards denuclearisation, but Pyongyang has offered no details as to how it might go about this. Pompeo told a Senate committee hearing on July 25 that North Korea was continuing to produce fuel for nuclear bombs in spite of its pledge. On Monday, a senior U.S. official said U.S. spy satellites had detected renewed activity at the North Korean factory that produced the countrys first intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of reaching the United States. The Washington Post reported on Monday that North Korea appeared to be building one or two new liquid-fuelled intercontinental ballistic missiles at the research facility, citing unidentified officials familiar with intelligence reporting. North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho is also in Singapore and will attend the same regional meeting as Pompeo on Saturday, but the State Department has not said whether the two will meet. Following his talks with Ri, China's top diplomat, State Councillor Wang Yi, said he hoped North Korea and the United States continue to move forward to implement their leaders' agreement. "China all along has believed that the consensus reached by U.S. and North Korea's leaders meeting in Singapore is very precious," Wang told reporters. "That is, at the same time as realising denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula, to establish a peace mechanism. This direction is without a doubt correct," he said. China is North Korea's most important economic and diplomatic supporter and fought for the North in the 1950-53 Korean War against the U.S.-led United Nations forces that backed South Korea. Pompeo, who has led the U.S. negotiating effort with North Korea, visited Pyongyang from July 5-7 for inclusive talks aimed at agreeing a denuclearisation roadmap. Pompeo said at the time he had made progress on key issues, only for North Korea to accuse his delegation hours later of making "gangster-like" demands. Trump hailed the Singapore summit as a success and even went as far as saying that North Korea no longer posed a nuclear threat, but questions have been mounting about Pyongyang's willingness to give up its weapons programmes. Trump has pointed to North Korea's freeze on nuclear and missile tests and its agreement to return remains of Americans killed in the 1950-53 Korea War. The White House said on Thursday that Trump had received a letter from Kim and had responded with a note that should be delivered shortly. But it said no second meeting was currently planned. Search Keywords: Short link: The one-year-old was revived with CPR and is being treated in intensive care. Changanhome.com By Erin Chan A toddler in southeastern China has been left in a critical condition after nearly drowning when her mother turned her back for a moment at a swimming pool, local media reported. The girl, nicknamed Xiao Ai, had been taken to a leisure centre in the Cangshan district of Fuzhou, the capital of Fujian province, on Wednesday to celebrate her first birthday when she slipped off a buoy in the infants' pool, Strait News reported. Staff and her mother tried to perform first aid on the girl before taking her to hospital, where she was revived and is continuing to receive treatment in intensive care. Lin Shuyin, the doctor who treated the toddler said she had no heartbeat when she arrived at the hospital but was given an adrenaline shot and revived after 20 minutes of CPR. The accident happened when staff members had been called away from the pool to deal with a goods delivery. The girl had been using a neck float in the 10 square metre pool but her mother was worried it was too loose so she removed it and then placed the girl on top of the round buoy. The report said CCTV footage from the centre suggested that the mother had been answering a message on her phone when Xiao Ai slipped off the buoy and spent about a minute in the water before she was rescued. The newspaper said the girl's parents had spent the night at the hospital and were accompanied by staff from the pool, which has promised to pay part of the girl's medical bills. Police are now studying CCTV from the swimming baths although it was not known whether anyone would face charges. A suicide bomb attack near a Shiite mosque in Afghanistan killed at least 10 people during Friday prayers, injuring 15, police and health officials said, with the number of casualties expected to rise. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, but police said at least two gunmen had entered the mosque in the city of Gardez in the eastern province of Paktia, where about 60 people were praying. "Initial reports indicate that the militants opened fire and detonated an explosive," said Sardar Vali Tabassum, a Gardez police officer. Police said they were trying to enter the mosque premises to help the injured. Search Keywords: Short link: A top White House economic adviser responded Friday to a new tariff threat from China, warning Beijing not to underestimate President Donald Trump's willingness to hit back. "They better not underestimate President Trump's determination to go further," Larry Kudlow said on Bloomberg Television. The comments came shortly after Beijing threatened to impose retaliatory tariffs on another $60 billion in US exports, and possibly take other steps to respond to Trump's trade policies that have largely targeted China. Search Keywords: Short link: More than 1,500 refugees and migrants have died trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea to Europe in the first seven months of this year, over half of them in June and July, the UN refugee agency said Friday. The rate of deaths is increasing despite a decline in the total number of migrants arriving on European shores compared with previous years, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said in a statement. Around 60,000 migrants have crossed the Mediterranean since January, around half the number of people in the same period in 2017. The agency called attention to the scourge of traffickers, urging "states and authorities along transit routes to take all necessary action to dismantle and disrupt smuggler networks", said Vincent Cochetel, UNHCR Special Envoy for the Mediterranean. "In order to save lives at sea, we must use appropriate and necessary measures to hold to account those who seek to gain profit from the exploitation of vulnerable human beings." The agency said that traffickers were using "ever-more unseaworthy and flimsy vessels", overloaded with people, to attempt crossing the Mediterranean to Europe. These boats "are then left to sail out at sea in the hope that a rescue will come in time", UNHCR said. But in recent months, Italy and Malta have closed their ports to NGO rescue ships, leaving them stranded at sea with desperate migrants on board. "With so many lives at stake, it's vital that we give shipmasters confidence that they will be able to dock rescued passengers, and thereby ensure that the long-standing principle of rescuing people in distress at sea is protected," said Cochetel. This year Spain, rather than Italy, has become the top port of entry for migrants into the European Union with more than 23,500 new arrivals, more than the total number of migrants last year, UNHCR said. In comparison, Italy has seen around 18,500 people arrive so far this year, and Greece 16,000. Syrians account for 13.5 percent of all new arrivals by sea to Europe, making them the largest single nationality group. Search Keywords: Short link: Mexico's President-elect Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador will review security agreements with the United States, including the $2.9 billion Merida Initiative, and wants to refocus aid to social and economic projects, a senior security aide said on Friday. "We have to review all the cooperation agreements that exist between our countries," said Alfonso Durazo, who will head a new public security ministry when the government takes office on Dec. 1. "When the time comes, we will review initiatives such as Plan Merida." The Merida Initiative, some times called Plan Merida, is one of the biggest U.S. security aid programs to Latin America. Search Keywords: Short link: Freely accessible local news is vital. Please power our reporters and help keep us independent with a donation today. Start your day with LAist Sign up for the Morning Brief, delivered weekdays. Subscribe This story was updated on Tuesday, Aug. 7. For the last year and a half USC has been on a roller coaster of scandals -- and the ride does not appear to be over. First were the news reports of hard-core drug use by medical school Dean Carmen Puliafito. Puliafito was replaced by Rohit Varma, who was later pulled from the position after an incident of sexual harassment (and the university's settlement) surfaced. Then -- in a more far-reaching scandal -- hundreds of women came forward alleging that campus gynecologist George Tyndall carried out improper pelvic exams and made inappropriate sexual remarks during appointments. Despite complaints to administrators, all three men kept their jobs. In May, professors revolted. They accused USC President C. L. Max Nikias of overseeing a campus administration that swept problems under the rug and publicly demanded his resignation. Three days later, he said he would. That was May. By the end of July, he had still not stepped down. In response, nearly 700 faculty wrote a letter saying the circumstances had created a "state of turmoil and uncertainty" on the campus. On Tuesday, Nikias appeared finally to relent. A letter from USC Board of Trustees Chair Rick Caruso indicated that Nikias would resign immediately. Caruso said he wants "ambitious, aggressive" change and that board member Wanda Austin, a former CEO of The Aerospace Corporation, would replace Nikias as interim president. In a letter to the university community, Caruso noted that Austin had a record as a strong advocate for women and minorities as well as "significant executive leadership" experience. Below is a copy of the memo, followed by a summary of the lawsuits, the investigations, and who's involved. CARMEN PULIAFITO LOSES HIS LICENSE In July, the California Medical Board yanked Puliafito's medical license after it disagreed with Puliafito's lawyer that he should be allowed to continue to work as an ophthalmologist. Puliafito's lawyer said counseling had helped his client recover. In July 2017, Nikias said that the venerable L.A. law firm Gibson, Dunn, and Crutcher would investigate and issue a report about the allegations against Puliafito. The firm's lawyer Deborah Yang is taking the lead. She has defended the university in several lawsuits in recent years. The law firm's report has not been made public. THREE DOZEN LAWSUITS AGAINST GEORGE TYNDALL Tyndall practiced as gynecologist at USC for nearly three decades. Officials said possible victims could number in the thousands and that has lawyers busy trying to find them. Alleged victims have filed three dozen lawsuits in the last few months accusing Tyndall of abuse. Celebrity lawyer Gloria Allred is representing two dozen women. A Google search for "USC, Tyndall, lawsuits" resulted in four ads at the top of the search by law firms looking to represent Tyndall's accusers. One of them promised "We Can Help You Demand Justice." INVESTIGATION ON INVESTIGATION ON INVESTIGATION USC gave Los Angeles police investigators some names of people alleging abuse by Tyndall from a telephone line the university set up. That phone line has received hundreds of calls. In May, the LAPD said it had started to interview 52 possible victims of Tyndall. Some of those people came forward to USC, some to the LAPD. Police Capt. William Hayes said that Tyndall treated about 10,000 students in his career at USC, so he expected that 52 figure to rise. In June, the U.S. Department of Education said it was opening an investigation into whether USC tried to hide from investigators sexual harassment complaints against Tyndall. And on Wednesday, USC added another scandal to the list. The L.A. Times reported that L.A. County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas donated $100,000 from a political fund to USC. The money ended up in an outside organization controlled by his son, Sebastian Ridley-Thomas, who'd begun working at USC after leaving politics last year. PRESIDENT NIKIAS SLOW TO GO On May 31, newly appointed Board of Trustees Chair Rick Caruso emailed the university community that the process to find a new president had begun. That seemed to mean that the current president would step down. But Caruso did not say when, and two months later, a USC spokesman would not say whether Nikias had submitted his official resignation. This angered professors and others for a few reasons. It's still unclear how much Nikias knew about Puliafito and Tyndall's wrongdoing, but activist professors say that Nikias oversaw an administration that tried to keep this kind of behavior quiet. Professors said Nikias had to go and an interim president needed to be in place to improve transparency and begin to change policies. USC PROFESSORS FIGHTING SCANDALS ON TWO FRONTS USC's Faculty Senate is the established group that represents professors on curriculum and governance issues. Yaniv Bar-Cohen, its new president, said the scandals are a tarnish on the university's reputation that must not be allowed to happen again. But another group, Concerned Faculty of USC, has risen since May as the vocal critic of USC practices. They advocate against the danger students were put in by allowing this wrongdoing. The group's petition demanding Nikias resign was signed by 200 professors in May and seen as a watershed moment. The group's leaders said USC faculty had up until then been reticent and fearful of criticizing USC in public. Last week, the group made public a petition signed by 688 professors demanding Nikias resign "swiftly" and an interim president be appointed by August 21, the first day of classes. The group warned of protests and walkouts if Nikias remained president by that date. News happens every day. Here at LAist, our goal is to cover the stories that matter to you and the community you live in. Now that we're part of KPCC, those stories (including this one you're on right now!) are made possible by generous people like you. Independent, local journalism isn't cheap, but with your support we can keep delivering it. Donate now. The most eye-popping moment in Teslas earnings call with analysts Wednesday was not when Chief Executive Elon Musk apologized to the analysts he dissed on a previous call in May. It was not the fact that Tesla posted a $717-million loss for the quarter, or cut down on its cash burn. The real surprise came when Musk and his chief financial officer, Deepak Ahuja, indicated the company wont ever need to raise capital from another sale of stock, and can fund its growth mainly through internally generated cash and proceeds from Chinese debt. For the record: The story was updated to correct the amount of negative operating cash flow in Teslas second quarter. The amount is $130 million. We will not be raising equity at any point, Musk said. At least thats I have no expectation of doing so, do not plan to do so. Ahuja added: Were executing on an operating plan that keeps us sufficiently self-funded, despite our [capital expenditure] needs and our debt maturing, and still keep a very healthy balance on our balance sheet. Advertisement The statements go a big step beyond Musks previous position that Tesla wouldnt need new equity funding in 2018. And they may reflect the reality of Teslas complicated relationship with Wall Street, where the company is one of the most shorted stocks. Including its 2010 initial public offering, Tesla has raised $3.9 billion from stock sales. Funding growth out of Teslas cash flow, however, presents a daunting challenge. Just in the second quarter, which ended June 30, operating cash flow was negative, with $130 million flying out the door. The company will need to turn that number positive and fast. Musk said Tesla will do that by becoming more efficient and building and selling a lot more Model 3 sedans. Tesla said it built 28,578 Model 3s in the second quarter. On Wednesday, the company said it will produce 50,000 to 55,000 Model 3s in the current quarter. Economies of scale and greater efficiency will boost profits on each car and operating cash flow as production builds, Musk said. Up to now, Tesla has lost money on each Model 3 it built. The efficiency gains Tesla has made recently, though, largely reflect its correction of early Model 3 production mistakes at its Fremont, Calif., automobile plant. Musk and his team installed legions of robots in places where human hands still work better than machines, such as running wires behind a dashboard. Sections of the system needed to be pulled out and replaced. A new assembly line was built on a parking lot, covered by a high-end tent. Similar problems plagued operations at Teslas battery plant in Nevada, where robotic systems couldnt be made to work and new equipment, with new software, had to be flown in from Germany. Battery packs were assembled by hand in the meantime. Musk said Wednesday he learned a lesson: Start simple and get fancy later. Fancys going to bite you in the ass. Tesla Chief Technical Officer J.B. Straubel said efficiency will come with a more thoughtful and focused way to apply automation to the actual issues that matter most. A car and battery plant that Tesla plans to open in China in three years might cost as little as $2 billion, Musk said; the Nevada factorys price tag was $5 billion. No detail was offered but Tesla executives said they might start production there in tents before permanent structures are built. Tesla has yet to receive final go-ahead on the plant from Chinese officials. But Michael Dunne, chief executive of the China-centric consulting firm ZoZo Go, said, Theres plenty of Chinese money ready to back a Tesla China venture. Some analysts came away from the conference call feeling better about Teslas prospects. Efraim Levy of CFRA Research had already raised his stock recommendation a day earlier from sell to hold. The tone of the call was a little more upbeat, Levy said. But he still sees challenges ahead and believes Tesla will need to raise substantial debt to supplement cash flow, even if the company executes perfectly on the Model 3 plan. If Tesla used cash to pay off all the debts it owes through June 30, 2019, its cash reserve would fall from $2.7 billion to $300 million. The bills dont all come due at once, of course, but that calculation indicates less than zero room for error, said investor and Tesla critic Anton Wahlman. Because Tesla has been unprofitable and cash-flow negative every year since it went public in 2010, it has relied on borrowed money and stock sales to make good on its liabilities, which include payments to suppliers. Tesla holds $9.5 billion in long-term debt. Teslas bonds are rated as junk by Moodys, so debt would be expensive, assuming a bond issue were possible. That makes it all the more crucial that the company generate cash from operations. Four times on his call with analysts Musk mentioned that some force majeure a major, unforseeable event could upset Teslas plans. If theres not a big force majeure event, I feel comfortable achieving a GAAP income positive and cash flow positive quarter after quarter from here on out, Musk said at one point. He mentioned as potential risks a major recession, a major earthquake or a severe supply chain interruption. Another possibility: an investigation of Tesla by the Securities and Exchange Commission. Rumors of such an investigation have been swirling, unverified, for months. James Albertine, an analyst with Consumer Edge Research, asked Musk on the conference call if he could verify for us whether or not there is a notice from a regulator that would prevent you from raising outside capital? The SEC issues a Wells notice to a company when it plans to file an enforcement action. Musk avoided the question, but when Albertine asked again, the Tesla CEO said, Im not sure what youre talking about, but there is no notice from a regulator. Musk did not say whether the SEC is investigating the company. russ.mitchell@latimes.com Twitter: @russ1mitchell Heather Sears has been fishing for salmon out of this unassuming coastal community for nearly two decades. This year, for the first time since she arrived in 1999, she wont be going out to sea. I just didnt think wed have much fish this year, she was telling me in a chilly backroom of her newly opened fish market on the Noyo River, Fort Braggs marine thoroughfare. As she spoke, she expertly sliced into triangular fillets ideal for sashimi a 90-pound albacore that a tuna boat had caught off Hawaii and delivered to her fish market. But what was on her mind was the threat to the industry she had grown up in. The states designated commercial salmon season, which normally runs from May 1 to Sept. 30, had been reduced to a wan shadow. This year it opened only on July 27, leaving scarcely enough time for Californias ocean-going boats to turn a profit. Some have ranged beyond the states waters, to Oregon, Washington or Alaska; others in the fishery shifted to crabbing. And others, like Sears, have tried to expand into other businesses, such as the fish market she launched on May 5 to backstop her fishing career. As commercial fishermen, were not asking for all the water, but just as much as we need to keep our businesses viable and our communities strong. Heather Sears Advertisement Theres no question that the California salmon fishery is in a bad way. Stocks had barely recovered from the drought of 2007-2009, which destroyed the states inland spawning grounds and forced a total ban on commercial salmon fishing in 2008 and 2009, before a second drought struck. But a greater threat may be political, and man-made. This column is one of a series on the conflicts between California and the Trump administration. Feel free to send comments or ideas to Calvstrump@latimes.com. Heather Sears has seen her catch dwindle as water is diverted to agriculture from rivers where salmon spawn. Agribusinesses in the Central Valley are demanding that more water be pumped out of the Sacramento-San Francisco Bay Delta to feed their farms. Theyre getting a friendly hearing from the Trump administration and Republicans in Congress, who recognize that the valley is perhaps the only strongly Republican part of California. That water, allowed to follow its course through the states rivers and out to sea, is the lifeblood of the salmon fishery. Salmon spawn and hatch in fresh waters inland, then migrate to sea within their first year. They spend their next few years offshore, where they become the commercial boats quarry, until the survivors migrate back upstream and start the cycle again. Its the portion of their lifespans spent in fresh water, and therefore the health of the inland ecosystem, that determines the strength of the salmon fishery. In recent years, the ecosystem has come under stress from drought and diversions. To Sears, 38, fishing is a lifestyle, not just a job choice. All I know how to do is catch salmon, she said. Sears parents fished commercially out of Morro Bay, and first brought her along at the age of 8. She bought her first boat at 19, a 1928-vintage troller she acquired for $4,000. Her current vessel, the Princess, which she operates with an all-woman crew, is a 42-foot troller she acquired in Canada in 2008, when that countrys salmon industry underwent a shift from ocean fishing to salmon farming. (The boat was given its name by its previous owner.) Its equipped with a blast freezer that can flash-freeze her wares to minus-40 degrees at sea, allowing her to stay out for a couple of weeks at a time and return with a larger catch. In a good year, she can earn $100,000, net of expenses. Salmon have lived through lots of droughts, Sears said. But they havent lived through droughts and the complete degradation of their ecosystem and the over-allocation of their water to Central Valley farmers. As commercial fishermen, were not asking for all the water, but just as much as we need to keep our businesses viable and our communities strong. Were asking that we all take the same amount of cuts instead of us losing our entire seasons and them planting more almonds or whatever they do. I feel like we take the brunt. Shes right. Advocates of increased pumping for Central Valley farms typically talk as though the choice is between serving agriculture or allowing water to flow wastefully to sea to satisfy environmentalists. The interests of the commercial fishery are almost never mentioned. But its a big business too. A 2006 economic study valued the impact of the states salmon fishery at $1.4 billion in annual sales and 23,000 jobs. That was at a low ebb for the industry; if salmon could be restored to their full potential, the economists said, both figures would quintuple. Instead, the fishery has deteriorated. Only 42,000 Chinook salmon the California species marketed as king salmon were landed at the states coastal ports in 2017, according to the Pacific Fishery Management Council. As recently as 2013, the figure was 298,000. The value of the catch has been falling, dipping to $4.9 million last year, 9% below the previous year and 43% below 2015. President Trump made no secret during his campaign of his affinity for the growers. At an appearance in the Central Valley, he ignorantly parroted their viewpoint nearly verbatim. You have a water problem that is so insane, it is so ridiculous, where theyre taking the water and shoving it out to sea, he said. They have farms up here, and they dont get water. I said, Oh, thats too bad. Is it a drought? No, we have plenty of water. We shove it out to sea. The environmentalists are trying to protect a certain kind of three-inch fish, he said, referring to the delta smelt, which is typically treated as a species not worth preserving. (The smelt doesnt occupy an especially important position in the delta food chain, but its health is an indicator of the overall health of the ecosystem.) Once in office, Trump fulfilled the deepest desires of agribusiness by installing as the No. 2 official at the Department of the Interior David Bernhardt, a former lobbyist for the Westlands Water District, which depends on water from the Central Valley Project. More than the health of the salmon industry is at stake in the conflict between the state and the Trump administration. Also affected are efforts by state officials to reconcile the water interests of farmers, urban dwellers, fishermen and others a struggle over a scarce resource that has afflicted California politics for more than a century. Water administrators and environmental experts say they have noticed a stark change in the federal governments approach to water allocations since Trumps inauguration. The spirit of collaboration that with few and brief exceptions kept the federal Bureau of Reclamation and its Fish and Wildlife Service on the same page as the state Water Resources Board and other state agencies has vanished. Its been replaced by policies through which the administration aims to deliver more water to politically friendly growers in the strongly Republican Central Valley, especially at the expense of fish and the people who depend on them for their livelihoods. Thats important because Californias State Water Project and the federal Central Valley Project both draw water from the northern part of the state and serve overlapping interests in Central, Southern and coastal California. Their mutual goal long has been to coordinate the projects to balance the needs of growers, urban users and fish and wildlife. After the severe drought of 2007-2009, it became clear that even draconian cutbacks in water pumping to farms had done little to protect fish such as Chinook salmon, steelhead, smelt and sturgeon. In 2016, the Bureau of Reclamation, which manages federally funded dams and reservoirs, launched a round of consultations with state agencies over biological opinions that designated those species as endangered. The goal was to strengthen environmental protections for the fish. Those species were continuing to decline, said Kate Poole, who has had a front-row seat at the discussions as a counsel for the Natural Resources Defense Council. Reclamation recognized that the protections put in place in 2008 and 2009 werent working and if they werent improved those species were going to go extinct. Under Trump, however, the Bureau of Reclamation has turned that on its head, saying theyre going to use it as an excuse to increase pumping and weaken protections for fish. Among other steps, the bureau has proposed changes in both the state and federal projects to maximize water deliveries to non-environmental users and consider modifications to regulatory requirements established by the biological opinions. Meanwhile, the Interior and Commerce departments have jointly proposed changes in the federal Endangered Species Act that would shrink the roster of species granted legal protections and loosen the rules protecting those that remain on the list. Not a good trend: The value of salmon landings has varied erratically, but the recent trend is down. (Pacific Fishery Management Council) California has been pushing back. The Legislature is considering a bill that would install pre-Trump environmental regulations as requirements of California law if the administration tries to roll them back. (One legislative aide calls the measure, SB 49, Trump insurance.) Last month, the state Water Resources Control Board proposed increasing the required water flows into the Sacramento-San Francisco Bay Delta and the San Joaquin River to protect what the board calls an ecosystem in crisis. The administration responded with particular vehemence to the boards initiative. In a July 27 letter to board Chair Felicia Marcus, the Interior Department threatened to sue the state over the proposed increases, arguing that the state was illegally trying to co-opt control of a federal project. That was a remarkable opening volley for a process requiring mutual consultation between two government authorities. Theyre certainly taking a far more confrontational approach than any previous administration of either party, observed Richard M. Frank, an expert in environmental law at UC Davis. The letter asserted that, contrary to the water boards position, federal law prioritized irrigation over protections for fish. Experts say thats flatly untrue, because the Central Valley Project Improvement Act of 1992 explicitly gave fish and wildlife protection equal standing. The states right to dictate the allocation of water even from a federal project, moreover, was validated by the Supreme Court in a landmark 1978 decision saying, in effect, that federal water projects have to comply with state regulations. On water law, we have a ton of our own authority, Marcus told me. But the fishing industry cant help but be fearful about how it will fare if the state and the Trump administration continue to wage war over water. Structurally, we dont have the protections we need, said John McManus, head of the Golden Gate Salmon Assn. Next time we go back into drought, its going to be as bad or worse than the last time. Keep up to date with Michael Hiltzik. Follow @hiltzikm on Twitter, see his Facebook page, or email michael.hiltzik@latimes.com. Return to Michael Hiltziks blog. Ignoring the swirl of sexual harassment allegations that threaten to end his long and successful career, CBS Chairman and Chief Executive Leslie Moonves was characteristically upbeat Thursday as he ticked off a list of his companys financial achievements in a call with investors. Interest in CBS second-quarter earnings call was so high that business news channel CNBC televised a live audio feed. Twitter buzzed with anticipation. However, a CBS executive quickly made it clear that they would field only questions about the companys strong financial performance in light of pending litigation, and other matters, and on the advice of counsel. The juxtaposition was jarring. CBS stock has whipsawed since Friday, hours before the New Yorker magazine reported that multiple women said Moonves forcibly kissed them decades ago. Its shameful and irresponsible to hide under the lawyers skirts, Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, a professor at the Yale School of Management, said Thursday after CBS conference call. His stock has plunged in the last six days, and he hasnt explained the reasons why to his investors the owners of the company. Advertisement This week brought fresh allegations after Los Angeles County prosecutors acknowledged that they had evaluated assault claims last year, but they declined to bring charges because the statute of limitations had expired. The incidents were alleged to have occurred in 1986 and 1988. The Times reported earlier Thursday that CBS board members learned several months ago that the Los Angeles Police Department had investigated the alleged sexual assault. Although no charges were filed, Moonves disclosed the existence of a police investigation to a committee of the board, which then hired an outside law firm to investigate the matter, according to two people familiar with the matter who were not authorized to speak publicly. The outside firm reviewed information about the allegations and police inquiry and concluded that no further investigation was warranted, one of the sources said. But CBS board members are under the microscope over how they dealt with the allegations of sexual harassment by the 68-year-old chief including when they learned of the various claims and how they responded. The board is really in a predicament, said C. Kerry Fields, professor of business law and ethics at the USC Marshall School of Business. There is zero tolerance for harassment and discrimination claims, and not addressing it in an affirmative way discredits the judgment of the board. Board members have faced criticism from corporate governance experts and others for not taking more aggressive action such as suspending Moonves in the wake of last weeks New Yorker report, which contained allegations of six women who claimed Moonves sexually harassed them more than a decade ago. Board members this week said they would conduct an independent investigation. Wednesday night, CBS announced that it had hired two high-powered female attorneys from two separate New York law firms to oversee the investigation into the allegations surrounding Moonves as well as executives within CBS News. Heading the investigation will be Mary Jo White, a former Securities and Exchange Commission chairwoman, and Nancy Kestenbaum, a lawyer with the Covington & Burling firm in New York. The board takes these allegations seriously and is committed to acting in the best interest of the company and all of its shareholders, CBS said in its Wednesday statement. The CBS board is now focused on making sure the investigation is thorough and spotless, according to one person close to the board who was not authorized to comment publicly. The review, according to the board, would also delve into cultural issues at all levels of CBS. White oversaw the SEC during the Obama administration. Before that, she was the U.S. attorney in the Southern District of New York, one of the nations busiest federal court districts because it has jurisdiction over Wall Street. She now leads the Strategic Crisis Response and Solutions Group at the Debevoise & Plimpton law firm. Kestenbaum also is a former federal prosecutor who has worked as a defense attorney. The board should evaluate the culture in which senior management operates, Fields said. And the board needs to look in the mirror and see if they were complicit in condoning these actions. The L.A. police investigation began in November after an 81-year-old woman told detectives that Moonves sexually assaulted her more than 30 years ago when they both worked at then-television powerhouse Lorimar Productions, the studio behind such hits as Dallas and Knots Landing. The woman claimed the TV executive, during a 1986 meeting in his office, demanded oral copulation. She told police about another incident, in 1988, when he allegedly exposed himself and assaulted her, sources said. Los Angeles County prosecutors declined to file charges in the case, saying the alleged incidents occurred three decades ago and were thus beyond the statute of limitations. Prosecutors opted not to pursue the case in February. It is not clear precisely when CBS board members learned of the police inquiry, but they were aware that the district attorney had decided not to pursue the matter, one of the sources said. The board has to separate the noise from the reality, said Charles M. Elson, director of the John L. Weinberg Center for Corporate Governance at the University of Delaware. Allegations alone are not a reason to take action: There has to be something serious and credible for them to act. One knowledgeable person who was not authorized to comment said not all board members were aware of the short-lived police investigation. Informing the full board may not have been a necessary step, Elson said, noting that a public figure such as Moonves can be a target. But if the allegations are serious and credible, then it certainly should be a matter for the full board, Elson said. Last week, Moonves said in a statement: 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 anyones career. Moonves, who has been CEO since 2006, has long enjoyed the support of most of the 14-member board. Wall Street respects Moonves, too. CBS shares on Thursday climbed 17 cents, or less than a percent, to $52.72. During the conference call with analysts, CBS executives kept the focus on the strong financial results: The company posted a second-quarter profit of $400 million, up from $58 million a year ago. Revenue during the quarter climbed 6% to $3.47 billion from a year ago. The controversy comes at a time when CBS board already is deeply divided over the management and future of the company. Since January, Moonves has been at odds with controlling shareholder Shari Redstone over the boards composition and whether CBS should merge with Viacom Inc., the other media company that the Redstone family controls. The two sides are waging a legal battle for control of CBS. CBS board members were aware late last year that multiple news organizations were looking into Moonves conduct in the wake of the Harvey Weinstein scandal, which exploded in October. The #MeToo movement began after the first wave of stories, which contained allegations that Weinstein had sexually assaulted dozens of women, dating back decades. Women came forward with their stories of past abuse, and reporters at multiple outlets began chasing tips about various Hollywood figures. Redstone has told board members for several months that she wasnt happy with the boards oversight of management, two people familiar with the matter said. Divisions on the board may have influenced how the investigation was set up with White and Kestenbaum, who work at two separate New York law firms, overseeing the investigation. I have not seen two different law firms used to run a single investigation and I follow this, Columbia Law School professor John C. Coffee said Thursday. It leaves some question as to who is in control of the investigation. meg.james@latimes.com Twitter: @MegJamesLAT richard.winton@latimes.com Twitter: @lacrimes It was drizzling rain, and gloomy clouds darkened the surface of the Yalu River separating this Chinese city from its North Korean neighbor. In a nearby commercial district named after an old Korean kingdom, a group of men distinguishable only by their high cropped haircuts and the pins in their lapels depicting Kim Jong Uns father and grandfather were acting out a tiny drama with broader implications for President Trumps foreign policy and the future security of the United States. The men, and a handful of women accompanying them, slipped in and out of storefronts to buy cosmetics and other personal items to take back home. More important, they paid inconspicuous visits to the offices of trading firms that account for part of the vital flow of goods between China and North Korea. The presence of these visitors was a small but telling sign that Chinas critical role in the punishing international embargo on trade with Pyongyang an embargo the Trump administration is counting on to force North Korea to stop building nuclear weapons seems to be breaking down. Advertisement After his dramatic summit meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in June, Trump declared on Twitter, There is no longer a Nuclear Threat from North Korea. Administration officials were quick to say the actual elimination of that threat would be the subject of negotiations now underway. And, they said, the trade embargo that China has played a pivotal role in enforcing would ease only after North Korea had taken significant steps to stop developing nuclear weapons and long-range missiles. The visits by North Korean trade officials in Dandong, along with a boomlet in Chinese tourists to Pyongyang and elsewhere in North Korea, are far from the only signs that Beijing is not waiting. Instead, it has quietly begun loosening the screws on its long-time ally. U.S. satellite images and Japanese naval photos have captured suspected illicit ship-to-ship transfers of oil. And experts say North Korean workers are returning to jobs inside China, some under the guise of educational exchanges. Thousands of North Korean laborers also have entered Russia since the U.N. ban against new work permits last September, the Wall Street Journal has reported. Those workers send home hard-cash wages that, combined with large slush funds likely from prior years of coal sales and clandestine trading networks built up across China and southeast Asia, allow Pyongyang to pursue its nuclear ambitions while keeping its political elite happy with fine liquor, designer watches and the latest electronics normally unobtainable at home. Some of these transactions, like procuring luxury goods, are clear violations of United Nations resolutions aimed at choking back Pyongyangs nuclear programs. Other activities fall into grayer areas. For instance, there were reports that Beijing recently decided to spend about $88 million for road construction around a new but as-yet-unused bridge linking the key trading center of Dandong with North Koreas Ryongchon County. (Len De Groot / Los Angeles Times) Clear-cut or ambiguous, however, all these activities present a vexing problem for the United States as the Trump administration looks to Kim to follow through on his vaguely-worded summit pledge to denuclearize. Tightening of international sanctions, powerfully boosted by tougher enforcement by China, North Koreas indispensable economic patron, was thought to have played a major role in bringing Kim to the bargaining table with Trump. Trump hailed the historic June 12 summit in Singapore as a major success. Since then, U.S. talks with North Korea and progress toward the complete denuclearization that Kim committed to have been slow. Even as Kim seemingly made good on his pledge to return the remains of U.S. soldiers killed during the Korean War from 1950 to 1953, evidence has grown that North Korea is proceeding with its nuclear and missile programs. Recent indications include construction activity at a missile facility in Sanum-dong in the Pyongyang area and a nuclear-enrichment site at Yongbyon. At the same time, North Korea has stuck by its word to stop conducting nuclear and missile tests. Trump has made much of the cessation of tests, but in the eyes of analysts, Beijing believes it now has a kind of green light to rebuild its relations with Pyongyang, easing enforcement of sanctions and resuming business activities that help the North Korean regime hold onto power. Moreover, Washingtons escalating trade war with China has opened up options for North Korea. In the absence of U.S.-China coordination, Kim has two separate lines of negotiations, one with Beijing and one with Washington, [which] makes the denuclearization much more difficult in terms of getting the type and pace of movement that Washington wants, said John Park, a North Korea specialist at Harvards Kennedy School of Government. The bar is very low, he said. In practice, what were seeing is that North Korea just has to abide by a moratorium on nuclear and ballistic missile testing, and you would essentially see the ability to move forward on an easing of implementation of sanctions from China. Secretary of State MIchael R. Pompeo has accused North Korea of violating various sanctions imposed by the U.N., and last month sought to have the U.N. Security Council ban oil transfers to North Korea. The effort was blocked by China and Russia. When sanctions are not enforced the prospects for the successful denuclearization of North Korea are diminished, he said. Trump tweeted earlier last month that China might be undercutting U.S. efforts at denuclearizing North Korea, but Chinas foreign ministry has insisted that Beijing is acting responsibly. Chinese analysts say Beijing remains legally bound to the U.N. restrictions. The improvement in trade is limited, said Yi Baozhong, a Northeast Asia expert at Jilin University in Liaoning province, which borders North Korea and where many ethnic Koreans live. Tong Zhao, a fellow at the Carnegie-Tsinghua Centers nuclear policy program in Beijing, notes that Chinas previous imposition of economic sanctions on North Korea may have gone beyond the international requirements. As long as North Korea continues to make progress on the issue of nuclear abandonment, China should hope to help North Korea carry out economic development and national transformation, he said. North Korea hopes to continue to win over China using the strategic competition between China and the United States, and to obtain the greatest economic benefits from China. In 2009, China and North Korea, then led by Kims father, Kim Jong Il, agreed to work together on economic development, tourism and education. But party-to-party relations were strained thanks to Kim Jong Uns nuclear tests and capricious acts of violence. Beijing pulled back on trade and other programs that had propped up the isolated North Korean economy. The Norths exports to China, once dominated by coal, skidded in the second half of last year to practically nothing, and Chinas official customs data show theres been no rebound through June. But Chinese exports into North Korea have risen steadily in recent months, doubling from early in the year to about $200 million in June. Were running up against a clock on how long we can maintain as much pressure as possible, said Troy Stangarone, senior director at the Korea Economic Institute, a nonprofit think tank. Most of the China-North Korea trade has been seen as moving through Dandong, across the citys Friendship Bridge. Reports from NK Pro, a publication specializing in North Korea, and other sources indicate that more truck crossings are taking place and that theres been a relaxing of customs inspections. If authorities are increasingly lax in their monitoring of trade flows across the border, they may well be turning more of a blind eye to smuggling and other trade that goes under the radar as well, said Benjamin Silberstein, an associate scholar at the Foreign Policy Research Institute, writing in NK Pro. Here in Dandong, owners of trading firms and brokers say commercial activity with the North, while up some, remains low given the dramatic hit from the sanctions in prior months. But even if the floodgates are not entirely open now, the current developments are troubling signs for the future. This is true even though most people in China still look down on North Korea as a backward, communist little brother. Not that that doesnt hold fascination for many Chinese. On the same gray July week that the North Korean officials were moving in and out of those trading offices, a group of Chinese tourists jammed onto a 30-foot boat that set out for a cruise along the Yalu River. Suddenly, one of the tourists spotted a lone North Korean figure pedaling along the the opposite shore on a bicycle. Look, the Chinese tourist shouted to his friends as he pointed to the cyclist: Express Delivery. The crowd burst out laughing. don.lee@latimes.com Follow me at @dleelatimes California farmers could face more restrictions on how they combat crop-eating insects after a state report concluded that one class of pesticide poses a significant risk to bees that pollinate almonds and other crops. The conclusion, published this week by the state Department of Pesticide Regulation, means growers of top crops such as nuts, wine grapes, citrus and berries will have to alter how they combat crop-destroying pests to strike a balance between losing crops and losing the bees that pollinate them. While its too soon to be specific, it is likely that we will be developing restrictions in the future that will require growers to modify when and where the pesticides are used, said Charlotte Fadipe, spokeswoman for the California Department of Pesticide Regulation. An outright ban on the pesticide class known as neonicotinoids, or neonics, is unlikely and unrealistic, Fadipe added. The agency already has a moratorium on any expansion of their use. Advertisement Large swaths of the states $45-billion agriculture industry depend on bee colonies brought in to pollinate crops. Almonds alone use about 1.8 million colonies, which can cost up to $190 apiece per season to rent, according to government and industry estimates. Bee populations have been declining steadily for more than a decade, a trend blamed on the combined effects of pesticide exposure, predatory mites and the management practices of pollination service companies. In the first three months of this year, nearly 78,000 colonies vanished from the nations commercial beekeeping stock a phenomenon known as colony collapse, according to a newly released survey by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. That was a 15% increase in such collapses from the same period last year, according to the USDA. Activists who have pushed for a ban on the pesticides said the report backs their case. The more we learn about the toxicity of neonics, the more apparent it is that pretty much any plant with nectar or pollen sprayed with these poisons is unsafe for bees, said Nathan Donley, a senior scientist with the Center for Biological Diversity. The European Union banned some neonicotinoids on flowering plants in 2013, and earlier this year further restricted their use to greenhouses. Bayer Crop Science, which markets several pesticides based on neonicotinoids, has blasted the move as unfounded by science. Bayer stood by its guidelines on how to apply the chemicals, which it said give growers an important tool to increase yields and feed a growing global population. What we can say unequivocally is that hundreds of studies have shown repeatedly that these important tools are safe and effective when used according to label, the company said. Renee Pinel, president and chief executive of the Western Plant Health Assn., an agro-chemical industry advocacy group, said the California report relied on worst case scenarios and not real world or label application rates commonly found on fields. California farmers are committed to following the law, and follow product labels stringently, Pinel said. State pesticide regulators said their worst case scenario was derived from what pesticide users and industry studies reported, and the agency used a risk calculation that was realistic but protective. That analysis showed there was a significant risk to bees from chemical residue in pollen and nectar of tree nuts, citrus, berries, cotton and certain flowering vegetables such as cucumbers, squash and tomatoes. California growers have more than doubled their use of neonicotinoids from 2007 to 2016, even as they decreased their reliance on organophosphate and carbamate pesticides that are considered more hazardous to human health, according to the report. About 195 tons of neonicotinoids were used on California fields in 2016, compared with 1,000 tons of organophosphates and carbamates, according to state pesticide regulators. Scientists and some government regulators have progressively raised alarms about potential harm to bees from neonicotinoids, which are absorbed and distributed to all parts of a plant or tree, winding up in nectar and pollen in the blossoms where bees forage. Managing bee exposure to those blooms during times when pesticides are applied can be complicated. Much of the states citrus industry, which uses neonicotinoids to combat the the Asian citrus psyllid, doesnt depend on bees for pollination, but pollination service companies sometimes place their hives in locations that allow bees to also forage in citrus trees. Some vegetables treated with the chemicals, such as leafy greens, are picked before they flower, and are considered low risk to bees. Contaminated pollen and nectar also present different exposure scenarios. Because nectar is widely shared in hives, contamination can have a cascading effect. Tomato blossoms produce pollen but no nectar, while cotton, one of the most heavily sprayed crops, produces nectar that is highly attractive to bees. State regulations are crafted to address different crop types, while citrus and almond growers have adopted bee protection plans or converted to self-pollinating varieties. It will take about two years for the state to develop regulations based on the report. Even so, that is ahead of efforts by the federal Environmental Protection Agency, which has slowed its review of pesticides under President Trump. geoffrey.mohan@latimes.com Follow me: @LATgeoffmohan UPDATES: 2:30 p.m.: This article was updated to include a statement from Bayer. This article was originally published at 11:10 a.m. Amanda Rousseau, 31, is a senior malware researcher at San Francisco security shop Endgame. Her job involves researching and breaking down the technology used in cyberattacks. She was among the first handful of malware researchers in the world to reverse-engineer the infamous 2017 WannaCry ransomware attack that crippled hospitals across the United Kingdom. Creative start Born into a military family, Rousseau spent much of her childhood moving around the country, attending up to 10 different schools. One constant in her life, though, was her knack for creativity. She loved to play with Lego and at age 12 built a hand-cranked printer using Lego blocks and a permanent marker. Her parents encouraged her to pursue art, which is how she ended up as a graphic design student at Texas State University. Computer science calling Rousseau thought that she would complete her degree and work as a web developer. Her plans changed, though, after she got a taste for computer science. Advertisement My little brother was taking computer science at the time and my dad was like, Hey, can you take the class with him so he doesnt fail? He failed anyway, Rousseau said. But she excelled. I found it so much more interesting than what I was doing because it was more concrete, Rousseau said. In computer science you can create something thats interesting, you know how it will turn out in the end, and if you know how it works you can also take it apart. She shifted her focus to computer science and later got her masters degree in information systems engineering at Johns Hopkins University. Jetsetter Rousseaus first job out of college was doing forensics tech for the U.S. Department of Defense, where she worked her way up to criminal investigations. She describes the role as a kind of apprenticeship that prepared her for later work in the private sector. Her job involved incident response, which required her to travel to sites where data breaches had occurred and quickly help pinpoint the problem. So if theres a major breach say, a bank got hacked I would fly to the customer site with a team and we would do the forensic analysis and figure out what happened so the next team that comes in can do the cleanup, Rousseau said. One of her first breach investigations involved a client in Atlanta whose payment systems had been hacked. There were no outgoing flights to Atlanta the next day, so the client put her on a private jet first thing in the morning. Rousseau says this was her life for nearly two years: being notified of a breach, flying to the site, working as fast as possible to identify the source of the breach, then flying home on weekends. Im glad I did that when I was young, she said. After two years of living out of her suitcase, Rousseau decided it was time for a slower-paced job. Sense of duty Rousseau moved to San Francisco five years ago to do malware research, a job that she describes as less rushed than incident response. It gives her more time to dig deeper and figure out the root of a problem. Last year when the WannaCry attack broke out in the U.K., Rousseau was one of the first malware researchers to reverse-engineer the ransomware attack and share her findings with the security community. I felt that it was my duty, Rousseau said. She doesnt see malware research as just another coding job she says it has a greater mission of protecting people from malicious actors, whether those bad players are trying to steal sensitive information or demand ransom from individuals or institutions. Visual learner One of the things that Rousseau says makes her excel at her job is that shes a visual learner and is able to quickly spot inconsistencies. A large part of her job is examining code and logs for outliers anything that appears unusual could be a security vulnerability or suggest a hackers entry point. Im able to recognize things quickly, she said, likening the job to puzzle-solving. She says that anyone who loves puzzles, Sudoku and strategy games could do well at spotting inconsistencies in lines of code. So even if I dont know what it is, Im able to bubble it up really fast. And once you get a good lead, you can go down that rabbit hole and figure out what it was. Going the extra mile For much of her career, Rousseau was the youngest forensics expert or researcher in the room, which meant many people she worked with second-guessed her. She was also often the only woman on the job. Even when I was a forensic lead, I was briefing lawyers on what happened and they would assume I was the assistant, Rousseau said. It wasnt until I opened my mouth that they were like, OK, she knows what shes talking about. Doubters only fueled Rousseaus drive to prove them wrong. Most of my career, I had to go the extra mile to prove I could do it, she said. She did it in college by passing challenging coding classes, she did it as a young investigator in the private sector and she does it now as a senior malware researcher at Endgame. Never stop learning Rousseaus advice for anyone who wants to follow her path is to cast aside ego and focus on self-improvement. Even today, Rousseau keeps a regimented schedule, giving herself time in the evenings and on weekends to brush up on her skills and read what her peers around the world are working on. People have this ego where they think they know everything about their field and everyone else is wrong thats a bad way of approaching things, Rousseau said. You do have to have confidence in what you know, but also be willing to learn from other people. Personal Rousseau lives in San Francisco with her husband and their two dogs. She recently started playing video games with her husband he handles the fighting stages, she takes care of the puzzles. NASA on Friday announced the crews of the first spaceflights to be launched from U.S. soil since the space shuttle retired in 2011, an elite group of astronauts that the agency hopes will help open a new era of space travel. The crews would fly on spacecraft developed not by NASA but by two corporations, SpaceX and Boeing, which are under contract to provide a taxi-like service to the International Space Station. For the first human test flight of Boeings Starliner spacecraft, NASA selected astronauts Eric Boe and Nicole Mann to join Boeing executive Chris Ferguson. NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley were chosen to fly on the first human test flight of SpaceXs Dragon capsule. On the first operational mission to the International Space Station, Sunita Williams and Josh Cassada would fly for Boeing, while NASA astronauts Victor Glover, a Southern California native, and Michael Hopkins would fly Dragons first operational mission to the space station. Advertisement Its absolutely an opportunity of a lifetime, said Mann, who was selected as an astronaut in 2013. The first flight is something you dream about as a test pilot, said Hurley, who flew on the last shuttle mission. He then added that it looked like the launch date was finally approaching, and that the mission would actually happen. Hopkins, born in Pomona, is a graduate of Ontario High School and received his bachelors in engineering from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. In 2014, Boeing and SpaceX were awarded a combined $6.8 billion in contracts from NASA to develop spacecraft capable of flying crews to the station, the orbiting laboratory. Leading up to the ceremony at the Johnson Space Center here, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said it was a historic moment for the agency: We are going to launch American astronauts from American soil. Thats a big deal. Both Boeing and SpaceX have faced setbacks and delays with the latest schedule slips being announced on Thursday. While both companies had recently said they would conduct their first test flights with astronauts on board by the end of this year, those flights are now scheduled for 2019. Gwynne Shotwell, the president of SpaceX, told the crews on Friday: What a sacred honor this was to be part of this program and to fly you. Thank you. We take it very seriously. We wont let you down. SpaceX said it would fly crews by April of next year. Boeing said only that it would fly NASA astronauts by the middle of next year. Last week, Boeing confirmed that it had a problem with its launch-abort system, which is designed to ferry crews to safety in the event of an emergency. In a call with reporters this week, John Mulholland, Boeings program manager, said several valves failed to fully close, resulting in a propellant leak. Boeing has since identified the problem, he said, and is working to fix it. The result is that well have a better and safer spacecraft, he said. SpaceX did not give a reason for the delay of its first crewed test flight. But it had been working to resolve an issue with its second stage that caused one of its Falcon 9 rockets to explode while it was being fueled ahead of an engine test. Safely and reliably flying commercial crew missions for NASA remains the highest priority for SpaceX, Benji Reed, SpaceXs director of crew mission management, said in a statement. SpaceX, however, moved up the uncrewed test flight of its Dragon spacecraft from December to November of this year. Since the shuttle was retired seven years ago, U.S. astronauts have had to fly on Russian rockets from a remote launch site in Kazakhstan. In a recent report, the Government Accountability Office said that further delays in NASAs Commercial Crew program could disrupt access to the space station, which would be an enormous embarrassment for NASA after about $100 billion was invested to build and operate it. The report warned that the companies schedules are aggressive and that they have set ambitious rather than realistic dates, only to frequently delay them. It never fails to astonish that the biggest critics of Obamacare seem to have no clue how insurance works. They wrap their criticism in high-minded declarations of choice and personal freedom, but the bottom line is that insurance all insurance, not just health coverage is a tool for risk management, and there are smart, efficient ways to do that and stupid, expensive ways to do it. Conservatives by and large have picked stupid and expensive as the way to go. The Trump administration this week issued a final rule on short-term, limited duration insurance that officials say will invigorate the market with more options. Advertisement In reality it will undermine overall coverage with cheaper, less-comprehensive policies that will make things worse for sick people. Not least among the problems with these short-term policies, which in fact can last up to three years, is that they once again allow insurers to deny coverage or charge higher prices to people with pre-existing conditions. Health insurance markets work best when the risk pool is broad, because ultimately everyone gets sick or injured, often through no fault of their own, said Gerald Kominski, a senior fellow at the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research. Segmenting the market by health status provides a benefit while youre healthy, then penalizes you when you get sick and need insurance the most, he told me. Full disclosure: Ive got a big, honking pre-existing condition Type 1 diabetes so Im not an innocent bystander. Prior to passage of the Affordable Care Act in 2010, I was uninsurable in the individual insurance market if, God forbid, I lost my employer-based group coverage. Thats the kind of thing that causes sleepless nights, let me tell you. Ive been asked by conservatives on more than one occasion what I assume is a well-meaning (although sadly ignorant) question: Why should I have to pay for your healthcare? The answer, of course, is the same reason you pay to help protect my home from fire and my car from accidents because Im helping pay for your home and your car. Youre also paying for my national defense, and believe it or not, you or a close family member will be sick one day, said Dana Goldman, director of USCs Schaeffer Center for Health Policy and Economics. It seems ridiculous that it has to be spelled out, but apparently lots of conservatives decided to skip class when the topic of insurance came up in Econ 101. As a risk-management tool, the entire system is predicated on the idea of spreading potential danger as widely as possible that is, among the greatest number of policyholders to provide the best possible coverage at the lowest possible price. The more people in the risk pool, the lower everyones costs. Anything that expands the risk pool is welcome, said David Dranove, a professor of health industry management at Northwestern Universitys Kellogg School of Management. He said asking why you should pay for someone elses healthcare is like asking for a refund on fire and police protection because we didnt need it last year. We cant fund these things after the fact, Dranove observed. We have to pay in advance, before we face these risks. That is the whole point of insurance. Even so, these basic economic principles seem lost on conservatives in general and the Trump administration in particular. Yes, these skimpier short-term policies will be cheaper than coverage available through Obamacare exchanges, and, yes, that will undoubtedly be very appealing to younger, healthier people who believe they have no need for more comprehensive plans. But the end result is that youve now splintered the risk pool, with the young and healthy banding together for more affordable insurance, and older or sicker people suddenly stuck with higher costs because they now represent a greater risk to insurers. It benefits people who are currently healthy, until they get sick, for example, with a chronic illness, said UCLAs Kominski. Then they may find themselves priced out of the market, or unable to get insurance at any price. The White House estimates that premiums for short-term plans could run as little as a third of the cost of the more substantial coverage available through the Affordable Care Act. For many whove got pre-existing conditions or who have other health worries, the Obamacare plans might be right for them, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said on Fox News. Were just providing more options. This is a shockingly thick-headed thing for the countrys top health official to say. More options in this case mean higher costs for people with medical needs. The Trump administration, in its eagerness to showcase the no-frills omelet it just cooked, is ignoring all the broken eggs it dropped on the floor and the sink full of dirty dishes. Much less expensive healthcare at a much lower price, President Trump crowed recently. Will cost our country nothing. Were finally taking care of our people. No, were not. Were pandering to shortsighted people who place self-interest before the interests of society. And the cost to the country is potentially enormous as higher premiums for the sick compel some people to forgo coverage or skip treatment. This in turn can lead to a surge in medical-related bankruptcies and to more people turning to emergency rooms for care by the far the most expensive way of delivering healthcare, which can drive up premiums for everyone. Meanwhile, 20 Republican-led states are challenging Obamacare in federal court, demanding that the laws protections for people with pre-existing conditions be declared unconstitutional. In an act of stunning pettiness, the Trump administration has refused to defend the federal law and has sided with those whod rather see people with pre-existing conditions fend for themselves. Ill say it again: This is a stupid and expensive way of trying to insure Americans, who already pay twice as much for healthcare as people in other developed countries. Its not rocket science. Insurance has been used to hedge against risk since the Middle Ages. We know how it works and we know how it works best. Only a fool will tell you he can beat the system. David Lazarus column runs Tuesdays and Fridays. He also can be seen daily on KTLA-TV Channel 5 and followed on Twitter @Davidlaz. Send your tips or feedback to david.lazarus@latimes.com. Chicago entrepreneur Ted Foxman has bought a Beverly Crest property that he intends to develop for $5.8 million. The purchase, which closed in July, included plans for a contemporary showplace designed by noted architect Paul McClean. Last year, a McClean-designed house in the Bird Streets neighborhood sold for $32.8 million. Another of his projects, a 20,000-square-foot spec mansion called Opus, is currently for sale in Beverly Hills at just under $77 million Renderings for Foxmans proposed residence show a multilevel house boasting clean lines, floor-to-ceiling windows and marble wall slabs. A long swimming pool with a waterfall edge will run the length of the roughly half-acre property. Interior designer Lonni Paul has been tapped to assist in the design of the home and its interior. Paul, of Los Angeles-based Lonni Paul Design, has done work for such Hollywood stars as Robert Downey Jr., William H. Macy and Felicity Huffman. Advertisement A two-way fireplace bisects living spaces in a rendering of a Paul McClean-designed home. (Hilton & Hyland) The property, which currently holds a Midcentury Modern-style house dating to 1957, previously sold three years ago for $4.25 million, records show. In the Beverly Hills Post Office area, where the property is located, the median sale price for single-family home sales in June was $3.825 million, according to CoreLogic. Foxman sold his Eagle Test Systems, a manufacturer of semiconductor testing equipment, a decade ago to Teradyne Inc. in a deal worth $250 million. He currently serves as chief operating officer and executive vice president for the Illinois-based company. Mick Partridge and Justin Alexander of Hilton & Hyland handled both ends of the deal. neal.leitereg@latimes.com | Twitter: @LATHotProperty During the day, youll likely find Dan Clay at work in New York City as a strategy consultant for banks, wearing a snappy suit and tie with his blond locks slicked back. Off the clock, hes on Instagram, where he has become a viral sensation for his colorful send-up of Carrie Bradshaw, the protagonist of the beloved HBO series Sex and the City. Meet Carrie Dragshaw, Clays drag persona who has amassed more than 100,000 Instagram followers who tune in weekly to see his spot-on outfits and read his aspirational commentary on life and relationships dispensed in the voice of Carrie Bradshaw. Clays wild ride to online fame happened by accident. In 2016, the Michigan native dressed in drag as Bradshaw for Halloween. He was initially nervous to admit his love for the hit show, which recently celebrated its 20th anniversary, because he hadnt fully disclosed his sexuality yet. Advertisement But after living in New York for a few years, he decided it was time to embrace it especially since he lived down the street from Carries fictional apartment, where Sarah Jessica Parker brought the fashionista character to life both on TV and in subsequent films. With no design experience but a meticulous eye for detail and flair, he scrapped together every piece of fabric he could find. He went with his instincts to re-create the iconic pale pink tutu ensemble that Bradshaw wore in the shows opening title sequence. I had to find the perfect wig and perfect costumes. It had to be perfect, Clay, 34, said recently in a phone interview from his New York home. He sought out Sex and the City costume designer Patricia Field for assistance after discovering that her website sold tutus and other SATC accessories. He got the rest at Party City. When the time came to present the completed DIY Halloween costume, Clay walked out of his apartment feeling as confident as Carrie when she strolls through the streets of Manhattan. He posted a picture and a caption right out of Carries playbook. Maybe some women arent meant to be tamed. Maybe they just need to run free until they find someone just as wild to run with them, Clay wrote as Carrie on Instagram that night. I have wanted to be Carrie Bradshaw for Halloween ever since college I would pretend that I hated it because I didnt want to give myself away. Well, the secrets out, and this is the happiest day of my life. His Instagram followers nearly quadrupled overnight from a few hundred to a few thousand, and the post had gone viral with more than 4,000 likes and views. Official Sex and the City fan sites reposted the photo, and it even made its way to the cast and crew of the show. His muse, Sarah Jessica Parker, commented on Instagram that she was in love with every frame and every word. Clay chalked up his unlikely success to a magical Instagram algorithm. He uploaded another photo as Carrie, just to see what would happen; it too caught fire. It was crazy, Clay said. It made people really happy. [After that] I ran out of tutus and I thought, Do I keep this going? Do I buy more outfits? It was the same night the president [Trump] was elected. I thought, lets just set up a little alternative reality that is only love, and see where it goes. It was a delightful escape for me. I always thought, OK, this post is the last one, but its still kicking, Dan Clay Dan Clay says his Carrie Dragshaw persona has been a delightful escape. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times) Two years and nearly 100 posts later, Carrie Dragshaw thrives and provides an escape for more than just Clay. A regular post will now have around 20,000 likes. Dragshaws posts capture Carries essence by replicating classic-Carrie looks, and then he shows the results in side-by-side images. In every caption, Clay channels Bradshaw using notes he takes during episodes to ensure hes both authentic and compelling. Interacting with his 117,000 Instagram followers, he replies to comments every day and last year made an appearance on an episode of What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, where Clay was crowned the OMG Drag Pageant winner dressed as Dragshaw. Parker gave Clay that award and her seal of approval. If you look at Dans Instagram page, its kinda staggering what he does, Parker told Cohen, praising Clays prose and attention to detail. Clay is thankful to have video proof of the moment when he met his idol because he spent most of it worrying that he would make a mistake. She made a point to meet me, and I cant believe this person who I dress up as is one of the kindest people on the planet, Clay said. While Clay has featured posts with cameos by other cast members of Sex and the City including Kristin Davis (Charlotte York) and Cynthia Nixon (Miranda Hobbes) his fans are his biggest inspiration. If youre going to do this, youre going to do this right, Clay said. I really, really, wanted to use the writing to uplift people, because it is a time in the world to give people a thought [about relationships and life] to give people a laugh. Clays admirers ripple beyond Sex and the City fans. He hears from people who love the art of drag, who love to write, who need to be uplifted, who are members of the LBGTQ community, those who are older, younger and even those who voted Republican. And they live all around the world. Flora Zhu from Toronto has admired Clays work and continues to find motivation from it. In this day and age, it is easy to hide yourself and withdraw from public scrutiny, but Dan has opened himself and his vulnerability to the world in a manner I find inspirational, Zhu wrote in an email. [He] is a reminder to love yourself, accept yourself for your own differences and have faith in the good in the world. It is his bravery and humility that motivates me to try and live my best life and be the best person possible. Marissa Bethoney, a fan from Boxford, Mass., echoed that sentiment. Dans pursuit of truth his truth as explored through fashion, satire and love inspires me to more fully speak my truth and share a much deeper expression of that truth in my business, she said, also over email. Even with a sturdy foundation of supporters, Clay continues to perfect Carrie Dragshaw one heel at a time. I always thought, OK, this post is the last one, but its still kicking, he said. This project has gone on far longer and becomes much more meaningful to me than I ever, ever expected, so now Im thinking more about longer-form writing and videos and other ways to connect with people. Im super excited to see where the journey goes. Dan Clays Carrie Dragshaw persona has attracted fans from around the world, including Sarah Jessica Parker. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times) erin.benmoche@latimes.com Follow on Twitter: @ebenmoche Audacious Debuts Mike Nichols 1966 film directorial debut, Whos Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, an adaptation of Edward Albees provocative play, was the rare first feature to completely wow the academy, receiving an Oscar nomination in every category for which it was eligible. The unnervingly intimate film is the best and most volatile in the Elizabeth Taylor-Richard Burton canon. Discussion to follow with co-star George Segal. American Cinematheque, Aero Theatre, 1328 Montana Ave., Santa Monica, (310) 260-1528. Aug. 5, 7:30 p.m. $8-$12. The Fortress Korean director Hwang Dong-hyuks 2017 historical epic about the 1636 Second Manchu invasion of Korea centers on King Injo and his advisors as they deliberate whether to surrender while holed up in a snowy mountain fortress. Discussion with the director to follow. Part of KCON West, a three-day Korean pop culture convention. Billy Wilder Theater, Hammer Museum, 10899 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, (310) 443-7000. Aug. 9, 6 p.m. Free. Hammer Museum: KCON: Harlan Ellison Remembered Mini retrospective of the late science fiction writer features a WGA award-winning 1964 episode of The Outer Limits penned by Ellison titled Demon With a Glass Hand and the outrageous 1975 cult classic, A Boy and His Dog, based on an Ellison novella. Don Johnson stars as a survivor in a post-apocalyptic wasteland. The film includes a shaggy telepathic dog and a decidedly passe view of women. American Cinematheque, Egyptian Theatre, 6712 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood, (323) 466-3456. Aug. 9, 7:30 p.m. $8-$12. Paul Verhoeven August Midnight screenings of three of the Dutch directors biggest hits: RoboCop (1987), the satiric sci-fi action classic stars Peter Weller as a crime-fighting cyborg, Aug. 10; Total Recall (1990), Verhoeven used action star Arnold Schwarzenegger to great effect in this blockbuster as a futuristic government agent with a glitchy memory chip, Aug. 11; Basic Instinct (1992), a sexy and stylish San Francisco based whodunit that made Sharon Stone a star. Stone plays a femme fatale with the best wardrobe since Grace Kelly in Rear Window, Aug. 18. The Secret Movie Club, Vista Theatre, 4473 Sunset Drive, Los Feliz, (323) 660-6639. All films above will screen at 11:59 p.m. $12.75-$20. Advertisement ------------ See the most-read stories in Entertainment this hour Movie Trailers calendar@latimes.com @LATimesMovies On Monday, Reese Witherspoon posed a question to her 2.3-million Twitter followers: Why arent there more romantic movies?!??! Like many of her contemporaries Jennifer Aniston, Kate Hudson, Jennifer Lopez Witherspoon built a career starring in romantic comedies like Sweet Home Alabama and Just Like Heaven. Neither of those films were particularly well reviewed, but that didnt matter she still went on to become a bonafide movie star, the kind who could jump between Oscar bait (Walk the Line) and commercial fare (Four Christmases). And yet when Witherspoon appeared last September in Home Again a romantic comedy produced by Nancy Meyers, the undisputed queen of the genre it was one of only three rom-coms to be released in a multiplex in 2017 (none came from a major studio). Opening against the mega-hit horror film It, Home Again went on to gross just $27 million. Which is why, as the 42-year-old told her Twitter fans, shed turned to Netflix instead of the movie theater to watch a GREAT romantic comedy last weekend: Set It Up. Advertisement Watched a GREAT romantic comedy @SetItUpNetflix this weekend ... which made me think .. why arent there more romantic movies ?!??! pic.twitter.com/YF0jcfujSz Reese Witherspoon (@ReeseW) July 31, 2018 Released in June, Set It Up has all the hallmarks of a classic rom-com. The film features two genetically blessed up-and-coming actors, Zoey Deutch and Glen Powell, as two frenemies who eventually fall in love with each other despite their best efforts not to. And while Witherspoon may just have caught up with it, the movie almost instantly built up a rabid fanbase eager to anoint its two leads the next Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks. I kept hearing from people who said how surprised they were at how much they liked it, said Katie Silberman, the films screenwriter. When I grew up, a romantic comedy was a good thing. Something happened in the last decade or so where all of a sudden, it had a negative connotation. Its been so rewarding to hear how hungry people were for romantic comedies. Zoey Deutch and Glen Powell in a scene from Set It Up. (K C Bailey / Netflix) Netflix, as it turns out, has been picking up on that hunger for the last few years. Matt Brodlie, the companys director of original film, said that executives began to observe how many users were opting to watch old romantic comedies from Netflixs extensive catalog of films. We realized there werent a lot of these films being made theatrically anymore, and we wanted to fulfill the need for people to watch a satisfying romantic comedy, Brodlie explained. As the theatrical marketplace has gotten more competitive, distributors have been wanting and needing to make four-quadrant films. So theres a space for other films that may be more targeted. (Los Angeles Times) That business decision has led to what Netflix has deemed summer of love, a three-month period in which the platform is releasing a slew of exactly what Witherspoon described longing for: romantic movies. Theyre not all comedies, per se, but theyre the kind of movies that give viewers the feels. There are high school romances aimed at the young-adult set: To All the Boys Ive Loved Before (Aug. 17) and Sierra Burgess Is a Loser (Sept. 7); a period-piece tearjerker based on a popular novel, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (Aug. 10); a heartwarming father-daughter bonding story co-starring Kristen Bell and Kelsey Grammer, Like Father (Aug. 3). Kelsey Grammer plays Kristen Bells estranged dad in Like Father. (Cara Howe / Netflix) And those are just the films featuring big stars, the kind of talent that filmmakers say Netflix is now able to attract not just in the television space on acclaimed series like The Crown and House of Cards. Lauren Miller Rogen, the writer-director of Like Father, spent four years trying to get her movie made. But because she was a first-time filmmaker, she said, no studio was willing to let her direct the project without a big star attached. Everyone kept saying, We love the script, come back when you have cast. I was like, I need you to help me get cast! recalled Rogen, who is married to fellow filmmaker Seth Rogen. And thats essentially what Netflix did. Once they got on board, we got Kristen Bell. It legitimizes it. Silberman, too, was disheartened by how long it took Set It Up to find a home. The movie was initially set up at MGM, but after Emilia Clarke dropped out of the role Deutch was later cast in, the studio dumped the project. Thats when Netflix swooped in. After I wrote Set It Up, there was this weird limbo where everyone kept saying they loved this kind of film but no one made them anymore, recalled Silberman. It was stated like a fact, kind of this sigh, like they were bummed about it too. So Im really curious as to whether its going to create a new platform for romantic comedies to go, or whether it will spark more interest in them across the board. Increasingly, Netflix is getting on board with these kind of projects earlier and earlier as with Like Father, which the company financed. But it acquired the independentlyproduced Sierra Burgess Is a Loser after the film was shot but before it hit the festival circuit. And it is releasing The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, which stars Lily James, after the film debuted in theaters in the United Kingdom earlier this summer. Lily James stars with Michiel Huisman in The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. (Kerry Brown / Netflix) Guernsey, which has grossed about $16 million in nine foreign territories since April, was directed by Mike Newell, the filmmaker behind the beloved Oscar-nominated rom-com Four Weddings and a Funeral. The 76-year-olds latest movie is far more serious: It stars James as a journalist who falls in love with a pig farmer (Michiel Huisman) on a remote island in the English Channel, where she has traveled to research the impact of local Nazi occupation. To promote the films traditional theatrical release, Newell said, he did the typical circuit, talking to journalists for a couple of days in interviews set up by publicists. But Netflix is something completely other, he said. What Netflix says to its audience is: We know you and we love you, and we have your best interests at heart. We know your secret longings, and we long to satisfy those longings, because we can look at what you watch and our magnificent computers can perceive what you like. Thats not me hammering on the door saying Look at us! Look at us! Just step over the line and itll all be terrific. This says: We are deep in your DNA, and we are going to give you this thing because we know you will love it. Certainly selecting a movie on Netflix can be easier than doing so at the theater, given the platforms suggestive algorithms but in an era where shutting off your phone for two hours seems unfathomable to many, watching a film at home can also be a social outlet. These kinds of romantic movies enable you to get a group of people together and watch, because you can kind of talk through it and comment on it, said Susan Johnson, the director of To All the Boys Ive Loved Before, an adaptation of Jenny Hans bestselling YA series, starring rising actress Lana Condor. If youre watching Fight Club, youre not gonna say a peep. I think romantic comedies give you the chance to be social. Noah Centineo and Lana Condor star in To All the Boys Ive Loved Before. (Netflix) Still, Johnson said, she feels like traditional studios may be realizing the error of their ways in backing away from romance. In one week in July, she was sent three romantic comedy scripts one of which was set up at Paramount, while the other was at Fox. People have been very public about enjoying these films on social media, and theres been a lot of articles about how people are excited about them, said Netflixs Brodlie, referring to Set It Up and The Kissing Booth, a high school romance that became a cultural phenomenon and turned its young leads into massive Instagram stars after it debuted in May. So the industry is hearing that. And we certainly hear that back from the industry, that theyre inundated with new scripts in the genre. Shannon Purser, the 21-year-old star of Sierra Burgess a sort of modern-day Cyrano de Bergerac is just grateful that there are some new love stories out there for kids her age. Growing up, she said, she and her friends didnt have teen movies to watch. There were the iconic movies of the Brat Pack in the 80s and a resurgence in the early 2000s, but I wasnt quite old enough to appreciate those when they came out, said Purser, whose first major role was an Emmy-nominated turn as Barb in Netflixs Stranger Things. I watched Hunger Games and Harry Potter, but those were kind of heavy; I didnt have those lighthearted, wholesome teen movies. (L-R) - RJ Cyler and Shannon Purser in a scene from Sierra Burgess is a Loser. (Netflix) In Sierra Burgess, she plays a teenager who Catfishes her school crush, fooling him into believing hes talking to a popular cheerleader instead of her. The film, Purser said, reminds me of John Hughes movies a very classic teen movie with a Pretty in Pink vibe. I think the world needs it, she continued. I almost feel like that might have something to do with [the resurgence], because these are kind of scary political times that were living in. We have a lot of very dark, well-made television and movies, but I think teenagers are kind of neglected. I think we could all use a bit more light in our lives. Related: amy.kaufman@latimes.com Follow me on Twitter @AmyKinLA A funny thing happened a few months ago when I bit the bullet and hit play on the Netflix original romantic comedy that had been relentlessly popping up in my menu screen. The high school-set YA adaptation about a teenage girl crushing on her BFFs brother was titled, innocuously enough, The Kissing Booth. Ensconced in the safety of my own couch, there were no witnesses around to judge my life (or Netflix) choices; 105 peppy and melodramatic minutes later, a long-dormant hunger within me had been awakened. Like fellow streaming original Ibiza, which I immediately watched next, The Kissing Booth proved frustratingly lacking in many ways. But both scratched rom-com itches I hadnt felt since the umpteenth Katherine Heigl vehicle killed the genre. Then along came the trailer for Set It Up, the zippy traditional rom-com Netflix launched in June, starring Zoey Deutch and Glen Powell as assistants who scheme to lighten their work lives by hooking up their bosses (Taye Diggs, Lucy Liu). It had throwback banter. Meet-cutes. Scheming. Crackling chemistry! It looked actually good? How could this be? My appetite had been whetted for the second coming of the Hollywood rom-com, and it didnt matter that it wouldnt arrive in theaters, but on the small screen. To my surprise, I discovered I wasnt alone. Other women I knew were also totally excited to watch Netflixs new original movie, intrigued by a promising trailer and all those targeted ads in our streaming queues. So we decided to watch it together. With lots and lots of mimosas. We were a long-starved tribe with a shared hunger for movies that at least, like Set It Up, reminded us of a time when rom-coms were good. Jen Yamato Netflix is an inherently lonely medium of consumption. Thats not necessarily a bad thing: When you spend your days digitally chained to your devices and braving connection amid the clanging din of the Twittervoid, a night in alone with your streaming queue can feel like luxurious self-care. Sometimes you just want to curl up on the couch with a glass of wine and a hoodie full of popcorn and binge-watch your stories with no one around to interrupt your only companion the streaming app surreptitiously sorting your viewing habits into taste clusters funneled into Netflixs proprietary trove of secrets. We live in an age when our apps know our likes, dislikes and habits better than our partners do. Thats how Id hit play on The Kissing Booth, a movie I had no earthly intention to see. Was it perfect? No. But the teen flick turned out to be exactly what someone somewhere at Netflix was surely hoping it would be: my gateway drug back into a world Id thought perished long ago the world of romantic comedies. Jacob Elordi and Joey King in the Netflix "gateway drug" "The Kissing Booth." Marcos Cruz / Netflix According to Netflix, nearly 80 million users, or 2/3 of its global audience, have watched a romantic film on the service in the last year. If you liked Set It Up youre probably marking your calendars for To All the Boys Ive Loved Before (Aug. 17) and Sierra Burgess Is a Loser (Sept. 7) and if you werent before, youre welcome: Theyre the next rom-coms savvy Netflix has lined up to follow the anecdotal successes of Set It Up and Kissing Booth. Netflixs push into the movie business in recent years has largely been a numbers game, and although weve seen precious few viewing stats from the company it feels safe to say the streamer has seen more misses than hits. Many a Netflix original disappears with a whimper (if that) into the vast abyss of its streaming catalog. And with a mountain of controversies from Cannes to Korea, and critics from Christopher Nolan to Steven Spielberg, it has yet to overcome its reputation as a movie killer in the ongoing theatrical versus streaming debate. So what made this Netflix original a must-see-with-friends event-movie? Earlier this year, curiosity drove me to check out Netflix original films Mute, Bright and The Cloverfield Paradox with a few other mildly-piqued pals. Even with huge Netflix marketing pushes (The Cloverfield Paradox: Watch it after the Super Bowl!) and in part because of the hype the splashy, big-budget genre duds were the event-streaming let-downs of the year. The buzz around Set It Up, on the other hand, felt organic. We found each other on Twitter. And in a midsummer frame crowded with robust theatrical offerings like Hereditary, Oceans 8 and Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, eight women headed not to a movie theater but into my living room to watch two good-looking young people fall in love. Wed suffered a great paucity of the kinds of films studios used to invest in. We were a long-starved tribe with a shared hunger for movies that at least, like Set It Up, reminded us of a time when rom-coms were good. Set It Up has a 105-minute run time but took nearly two hours to finish because, frankly, we had to take breaks to commiserate over Harper and Charlies too-familiar work nightmares, horrible bosses and dating fiascos; marvel at what the movie got right in grand rom-com tradition; and rewind scenes we missed the first time because our LOLs drowned out the dialogue. In the middle of watching Set It Up, one friend felt validated not only by the delightful tale of a 20-something female workaholic scrapping for happiness in a ruthless and demanding industry but because we were watching it together. If I was watching this home alone by myself, she exclaimed through tears from laugh-crying, I would be sad. Most everyone went home and watched Set It Up again that weekend and next month, when the next rom-com hits streaming, well stock up on the mimosas and do it again. Glen Powell and Zoey Deutch in a scene from "Set It Up." K C Bailey / Netflix Related: jen.yamato@latimes.com @jenyamato No, youre not seeing double. But if youre getting your rom-com fix on Netflix this summer, you will see a lot of Noah Centineo. The streaming platform believes that millions of young viewers are about to fall for Centineo, 22, in two major teen romances: To All The Boys Ive Loved Before (Aug. 17) and Sierra Burgess Is a Loser (Sept. 7). In both films, Centineo plays the heartthrob the handsome-but-sensitive dude his schoolmates swoon over. So who is this kid following in the footsteps of Rob Lowe, Freddie Prinze Jr. and Zac Efron? Allow us to introduce your new crush. (And just an FYI: He doesnt read his Instagram DMs.) Shannon Purser, left, Noah Centineo and Lana Condor, his co-stars, respectively, in Sierra Burgess Is a Loser and To All the Boys Ive Loved Before. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) Advertisement Hometown: South Florida, a place called Boca Raton, which is the same place that Ariana Grande is from, Centineo notes. Its one of the top five most pretentious places on Earth. Family ties: Centineos father used to be a pastor and later became an entrepreneur, helping to raise money for a 2014 animated sequel to The Wizard of Oz. His mother is a spin and yoga instructor in Santa Monica. You know Groot from Guardians of the Galaxy, when hes running? Thats her teaching a spin class. Come on, guys! You got this! Shes crazy. Big break: When Centineo was 8, he got dragged to an open call his sister was attending at a John Robert Powers agency in West Palm Beach. He ended up auditioning too and signed with the company. At 15, he landed a recurring role on the Disneys Channels Austin & Ally and convinced his family to move to L.A. I told them: This is what I want to do. If you move me out, I swear I will make it. Starting trouble: During a brief stint at Beverly Hills High, Centineo said he wasnt quite a misfit, but he did get into one fight at a party off-campus. I was just at a party and some guy was mouthing off and being really disrespectful to a girl. She asked me to help her with the situation, so I told him to back off and he spit his gum in my face, and then I dont really remember what happened next. But I kind of came to and I was getting pulled off and I got put into an Uber by my friends. Centineo plays the heartthrob in both of the upcoming Netflix teen romances hes in. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) The struggle is real: Once he got to Hollywood, the young actor kept landing small roles in Disney Channel and Nickelodeon projects. But by 18, his parents were worried about his career prospects and tried to convince him to go to college. My parents were, like, Weve been out here for almost three years and you havent made it as an actor. They didnt see it. I wasnt on my own show. I wasnt famous. He begged them to let him try acting for just a few more months, and then he landed a role on Freeforms The Fosters, on which he starred for three years. Growing up Hollywood: After Beverly Hills High, Centineo finished high school through independent study. His friends were mostly other young actors, many of whom had their own money and minor celebrity. Everythings available in Los Angeles to those who do go out or want it and youre not borrowing Mom or Dads money. If you have your own money, you feel entitled to spending your own money how youd like to, and thats a slippery slope. After a few years of testing the limits, he decided to spend his 21st year sober. It was an act of self-love. Like, Listen, society. You say I can drink legally at 21? I didnt remember what the 14-year-old Noah was like before partying was a thing. I kind of just had forgotten about that because I got swept up in having friends who were young and doing our own thing and financing our lives. Lana Condor, left, stars with Noah Centineo in a scene from To All the Boys Ive Loved Before. (Netflix) Heartthrob heroes: The guys I saw [as inspirations] were Matthew McConaughey in How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days and Mark Ruffalo in 13 Going on 30. But the heartthrob when I was growing up was Zac Efron. Id love to have a career like McConaughey or Shia LaBeouf I love him in everything hes done. Despite his celebrity status, hes such a human being. In his element: That boy-next-door, love interest crush has been my niche since Austin & Ally. I love love. Ive been in love twice at least my understanding of what love is. First love is ravaging it just guts you in the most wonderful way, if you can see through it. My last two girlfriends wrote me love letters, leaving them places for me to find. And I prefer to talk on the phone. These movies talk about the principle of do not be afraid to love we get our hearts decimated sometimes by love and we think were not gonna recover. We do and we will. We just have to trust it. Shannon Purser and Noah Centineo in Sierra Burgess Is a Loser. (Netflix) Related: amy.kaufman@latimes.com Follow me on Twitter @AmyKinLA When Whitney Houston sang I believe the children are our future / Teach them well and let them lead the way ... in her 1985 cover of George Bensons The Greatest Love of All, perhaps she knew thered come a time when youth would truly chart a path forward. Much like the school-aged children and college students who helped undergird efforts of the civil rights movement, this generations millennials have assumed the major responsibility of speaking truth to power from the Arab Spring to the Black Lives Matter movement to Parkland students marching for gun reform. Its a sentiment shared by the latest dystopian sci-fi YA adaptation, The Darkest Minds, in theaters Friday, according to star Amandla Stenberg. This is a story about young people speaking up, finding their voices, standing in their power and truth and utilizing their powers, literally, she said. It couldnt be more relevant right now. Power to the people and power to the kids because the kids will change the world. Skylan Brooks Advertisement Adapted from Alexandra Brackens young adult novel series of the same name, the film follows a group of teens who, imprisoned by an adult world that fears the secret powers of anyone under 18, develop a resistance group to fight back. Stenberg, who had a breakout role in the genre as the tragic Rue in The Hunger Games, plays Ruby, whose powers are the most rare and powerful of the kids. After she escapes, she meets others on the run from the government, played by Harris Dickinson (Beach Rats), Skylan Brooks (The Get Down) and Miya Cech (American Horror Story), as they avoid a bounty hunter in search of a rumored secret society of kids like them. Early one spring morning last year, massive winds whipped through the Darkest Minds set in the outskirts of Atlanta, where there are more cows than houses. Director Jennifer Yuh Nelson and team set up cameras in a rolling, grassy field about half a mile from the base camp. While in transit, she mentioned she was attracted to the film because of Chad Hodges script and Brackens characters. I always look at the quality of characters and whether I bond with them and care about what happens, the director of the Kung Fu Panda sequels said. If you dont care, no plot is going to save you. While its ultimately a great road trip action movie, it has an interesting emotional base, she said, likening it to Stranger Things in that although it stars teens, it is not just for young adults. Director Jennifer Yuh Nelson and author Alexandra Bracken from the film and novel The Darkest Minds. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) Back at base camp, Stenberg, wrapped in a blanket in her trailer, reflected on her really strong female character, an aspect that made her want to take on the role. She is independent and really focused on her dedication to family, she said. She is so powerful and doesnt quite know her power yet. I think thats a quality thats really interesting in a character, and it becomes more admirable as she steps into the shoes she has to fill. Having the book as source material was a huge blessing that helped her access parts of Ruby that couldnt be incorporated into the adaptation, Stenberg said. There are tons of things actors workshop going into a scene, the characters mind-set, feelings they might be having. Having the book, a lot of that [foundation] is already there. In reading it, Im able to see things about and details from Rubys life that may inform the person she is that you might not get from the script. But the bestseller also brings a rabid fan base that is both a blessing and a curse. Brooks called it almost overwhelming. Theres a fine line between disrespecting the book and its fans and taking some elements and incorporating them into something new... Harris Dickinson Usually things are done and you create the fan base and grow with them, he said, but now its like living up to something. Dickinson agreed. Theres a fine line between disrespecting the book and its fans and taking some elements and incorporating them into something new, he said. We respect the book and author, but this is, in a way, a fresh take on it. As filming was set to begin, pre-teen Cech, the youngest member of the core ensemble, had just finished the book. She said that the night before she could barely sleep, excited about her first film role. But like the rest of her ensemble, she was ready for the high jinks thatd arise over the course of filming. Over a year later, Cech said she didnt know what to expect. Director Jennifer Yuh Nelson with Amandla Stenberg. (Daniel McFadden / 20th Century Fox) But we got along immediately and had great chemistry, the 11-year-old said. We had a lot of fun on and off the set and our director was so great to work with. She has a very calming personality and is super patient. I learned so much from everyone. For Stenberg, in hindsight, she wouldve never predicted that The Darkest Minds could be not only an enticing sci-fi thriller but a super poignant and timely picture. But at 19 years old, she knows the responsibility on the shoulders and power of her generation. We have so many societal conditions that have shaped our perceptions of ourselves and make us scared to walk in our truths, she said. Weve got to go through the process of unlearning that internalized self-hatred or fear or internalized racism and phobias, whatever it may be. Thats the most powerful thing audiences can take away from this. Brooks agreed, noting the similarities between the film and recent headlines, both of which involve kids being stripped from their parents by governmental forces. This should be a reality check to the state of being which we all find ourselves in, he said. Everybody has a power and some believe their different power divides them. But no matter what color, no matter what race, diversity doesnt make us different. It should bring us together to learn about everyone. Power to the people and power to the kids, because the kids will change the world. The Darkest Minds" director Jennifer Yuh Nelson talks the emotional core of the movie and cast members Miya Cech, Amandla Stenberg, Skylan Brooks and Harris Dickinson discuss their characters superpowers. Get your life! Follow me on Twitter (@TrevellAnderson) or email me: trevell.anderson@latimes.com. Toward the end of A.A. Milnes 1928 book The House at Pooh Corner, Winnie the Pooh, Piglet, Tigger and the rest of the Hundred Acre Wood gang throw a party for their friend Christopher Robin, bidding him a fond farewell before he leaves them for boarding school. That bittersweet gathering takes place in the opening moments of the new Disney live-action fantasy Christopher Robin, preparing us for a stirring tale of sad partings and overdue reunions. It also prepares us for the recurring image of human actors effortlessly sharing the screen with sentient digital plush toys. But once the scene has ended and young Christopher (Orton OBrien) has vanished through the door in the tree that will take him back home to his familys East Sussex cottage, the story quickly charts its own peculiar, vaguely Milne-adjacent terrain. Many stiff upper lips and a pesky world war later, Christopher has grown up to be a husband, father and London businessman played by Ewan McGregor, well cast as an adult who long ago put away childish things and who now must learn the importance of taking them out again. Not to be confused with last years Milne biopic Goodbye Christopher Robin, this sweetly amusing concoction falls into a small subgenre of pictures that use the trappings of childrens fantasy for the dubious purpose of illuminating a mans midlife crisis. You could describe them, less kindly, as elaborate exercises in regression therapy, or as sequels we didnt really ask for. Steven Spielbergs 1991 misfire, Hook, starring Robin Williams as a grown-up Peter Pan, is a memorably unfortunate example of the trend. But not, happily, a definitive one. As directed with a soft, pleasing touch by Marc Forster from a polished script by Oscar winner Tom McCarthy (Spotlight), the independent filmmaker Alex Ross Perry (Golden Exits) and Oscar nominee Allison Schroeder (Hidden Figures), Christopher Robin finds ways to distinguish itself within its generic confines. In the annals of movies featuring humans and critters, it may not scale the sublime heights of Paddington, but it also avoids the noxious lows of Peter Rabbit. And as a meticulously engineered product of the Walt Disney Co., it fulfills its cultural and commercial obligations by tapping, and renewing, a deep reservoir of affection for its source material. Advertisement Disney has returned to this particular honey pot over the years with reliable, sometimes desperate-looking consistency, casting Pooh in TV series, video games and a charmingly retro 2011 film. Notably, the Pooh we meet in Christopher Robin is a computer-generated puppet rather than the hand-drawn, yellow-orange fluff ball beloved by classic animation fans. Indeed, with his realistically matted, muted brown fur, his melancholy half-smile and his indisputably English roots, he bears (ahem) more of a resemblance to the Pooh from E.H. Shepards classic illustrations, which are lovingly referenced throughout. Still, the crowd-pleasing Disney stamp is as unmistakable as the gently high-pitched Oh, bother supplied by the gifted voice actor Jim Cummings (who also does the bouncy-trouncy honors as Tigger). Years after saying goodbye to Christopher Robin and long after you might have expected him to succumb to a diabetic coma this older, sadder Pooh is still gorging himself on honey in the Hundred Acre Wood. He shares it (the wood, not the honey) with his friends Tigger and Piglet, plus Rabbit and Owl, Kanga and Roo and, happily for us if not for him, Eeyore (Brad Garrett, a gloomily perfect ensemble standout). In the annals of movies featuring humans and critters, it may not scale the sublime heights of Paddington, but it avoids the noxious lows of Peter Rabbit. Ewan McGregors Christopher Robin finds himself toting old pal Winnie the Pooh (voiced by Jim Cummings) in Disneys new movie. (Laurie Sparham / Disney) They all get along as splendidly as ever, their woodland harmony disrupted only by the occasional reported sighting of Heffalumps and Woozles. But then one day Poohs pals go missing, perhaps swallowed up by a mysterious gray fog that has descended on the forest; consciously or not, its a lovely, somber metaphor for the impermanence of memory. Certain that only Christopher Robin can save the day, Pooh makes use of a little magic and a little logic (I always get to where Im going by walking away from where Ive been) and soon arrives in his old friends London home, where much comic chaos involving spilt honey and shattered crockery ensues. Poohs unexpected visit coincides with an especially busy work weekend for Christopher, whose long-suffering wife, Evelyn (Hayley Atwell), and their bright young daughter, Madeline (Bronte Carmichael), have retreated to the familys East Sussex cottage. Theyre used to being neglected by Daddy, who devotes all his energy to the needs of a London luggage company thats facing cutbacks in a new era of postwar austerity. But in short order, Christopher is forced to put work aside, whisk Pooh back to the Hundred Acre Wood and help find their old friends. Forster gets deft comic mileage out of all the mischief that a walking, talking stuffed bear can cause on a busy train ride, especially when his mortified human caretaker is desperately trying to avoid discovery. The raised eyebrows they encounter along the way make it abundantly clear that Pooh is not a figment of Christophers imagination, though he is very much an agent of the mans growth and recovery. Do you always have that case with you? Pooh asks Christopher Robin, pointing to his briefcase full of Very Important Papers. Its possible to appreciate the casual profundity of that question, even if you blanch at the way Poohs charmingly guileless queries have taken on a slightly reproachful, finger-wagging bent. Has Poohs whimsical purity been corrupted by the forces of therapeutic uplift? Or is he merely fulfilling his logical role as a glorified teddy bear, an object onto which pent-up emotions can be projected and then released? In the end, Christopher Robin resolves these difficulties with wit, tact and sincere respect for the audiences intelligence, as well as its desire for honest, unfussy pleasure. The Hundred Acre Wood to which the movie returns us is a realm of lively banter, genial slapstick and no small visual beauty (the cinematography is by Matthias Koenigswieser), populated by old friends who are almost exactly as you remember them. McGregor, an actor with a permanent lifeline to his inner child, is perfectly suited to the title role. Once Christopher Robins grown-up exasperation with Pooh wears off, their moments together, tickled by the lilting musical score by Jon Brion and Geoff Zanelli, surge with gentle, unforced emotion. The lessons Christopher must learn dont work too hard, hold your most cherished memories close, love your family and friends above all else are nothing if not obvious. And, much like Pooh himself, always worth revisiting. ------------ Christopher Robin Rating: PG, for some action Running time: 2 hours Playing: In general release See the most-read stories in Entertainment this hour justin.chang@latimes.com @JustinCChang In an early scene from Barbara Lodens landmark 1970 film, Wanda, the camera surveys a vast expanse of Pennsylvania coal country. In the distance, a pale speck of a woman appears and comes into focus, the camera zooming in on her as she makes her way across the black, hilly terrain. Over the next 100 minutes or so, Loden, who plays the woman herself, will continue to close the distance between her character and the audience. We will get to know Wandas face, see her worth and understand some measure of her story, which is more than can be said of nearly anyone else in her midst. Wanda has no money, no car, no job, no prospects. She does have a miner husband and two young kids, though we see her divesting herself of them early on at a divorce hearing. She tries to get work at a clothing factory, to no avail. She falls asleep at a movie theater, only to wake up and find shes been robbed. Most of Wandas nights end either at a bar, where she drinks and chats up a storm, or in bed with a stranger. Her latest catch, a brutish, bespectacled sort named Norman Dennis (Michael Higgins), turns out to be a robber on the lam and proceeds to lure her into perhaps the most pathetic Bonnie-and-Clyde scheme ever hatched. Advertisement To say that Wanda deglamorizes the American crime film is both entirely accurate and something of an understatement. Lodens first and only film as a director is a searingly honest character study whose jagged, unvarnished aesthetic inspired in part by Jean-Luc Godards Breathless and the films of Andy Warhol stood in stark contrast to the slick Hollywood dramatic tradition epitomized by, among others, Lodens husband, the director Elia Kazan. Although Wanda won a major prize at the 1970 Venice International Film Festival, it drew a fairly indifferent reception when it opened in U.S. theaters the following year. It would be some time before its eventual reclamation as a masterpiece of independent cinema, a key feminist work and a forerunner of the politically and aesthetically adventurous New Hollywood cinema of the 70s, with a particular stylistic connection to the raw, explosive psychodramas of John Cassavetes. (A UCLA Film & Television Archive restoration, which first screened in Los Angeles in 2011, will screen Saturday at the Aero Theatre and then Aug. 10-12 at the Egyptian Theatre.) Michael Higgins and Barbara Loden in Wanda. (Janus Films) For seasoned art-house veterans viewing it today, Wanda may play like an engrossing if familiar piece of hard-scrabble realism, one whose legacy can be detected in the work of contemporary independent filmmakers such as Kelly Reichardt, Ramin Bahrani and the Dardenne brothers. But realism doesnt entirely do justice to the world Wanda inhabits, which, for all the grit and grunge of its bars and diners and factory floors, is also a world of startling everyday beauty. Shooting on grainy 16-millimeter reversal film (Nicholas Proferes served as cinematographer and editor), Loden finds a rich, textural poetry in the shafts of sunlight that can illuminate a sparsely furnished home and in the faded aquamarine wallpaper of the motel room where Dennis gives Wanda orders, insults and a hard slap on the face. Loden was not exactly reluctant to point out the loose parallels between herself, with her impoverished North Carolina upbringing, and her much-neglected, much-abused heroine. In a 1971 interview with the New York Times, she said, I came from a rural region, where people have a hard time. Theyre not concerned about anything more than existing from day to day. Her film was thus a testament to a way of life that she herself had only narrowly escaped, when she moved to New York as a teenager and started her career as a dancer and pin-up model. By the time Loden made Wanda, she was an actress with a Tony Award under her belt (for a 1964 Broadway production of After the Fall) and a number of film credits, two of them directed by Kazan (Splendor in the Grass, Wild River). What she achieved with her directorial debut was not just a radical vision of Middle America in economic and existential crisis, though that in itself would have been plenty. She also brilliantly challenged the industrys stereotypes, its assumptions that she was just another beautiful Hollywood blonde rather than a restless, pioneering film artist. The necessity of Wanda, a haunting portrait of social and psychological entrapment, is more than borne out by the still-pathetic dearth of opportunities for female directors in the American movie industry. Its also borne out by Lodens own embattled legacy: Her status as Wandas true auteur has come under intermittent fire over the years, even from Kazan, who claimed in an interview that he had written the movies script. That Loden never directed another picture before her death in 1980, and hardly for want of trying, is scarcely the least damning indictment left behind by this still-vital, astonishing movie. ------------ Wanda Running time: 1 hour, 43 minutes Playing: Aero Theatre, Santa Monica (Saturday), and Egyptian Theatre, Hollywood (Aug. 10-12) See the most-read stories in Entertainment this hour justin.chang@latimes.com @JustinCChang Everyone loves a comeback, were the first words spoken by a representative from Fox to introduce the Tim Allen sitcom Last Man Standing at the TCA summer press tour in Beverly Hills on Thursday. Canceled by ABC in 2017, the series became another battlefront in the ongoing culture wars as a narrative began in part fanned by Fox News that the conservative ideology of Allens character, a businessman and married father of three, played a role in the ouster. And while politics seems never far behind in just about any pop culture topic, the team behind Last Man Standing was keen to downplay the earlier controversy in presenting the series resurgence. During the panel, executive producers Kevin Abbott and Matt Berry repeated many times that Last Man Standing was about a family, and one its fans would recognize from ABC. Advertisement This show doesnt need to be fancy, its correct at its core, Berry said. We just want people to give it a fair shake. Come back and watch it. If you havent watched it before, watch it. Its really a good family sitcom. Still, politics kept nudging into the frame. Earlier that day, Fox TV President Gary Newman expressed his belief that Allens character was a centrist, and the issue of whether or not he was a Trump supporter would not be addressed on the show. Allen, who has spoken of being a conservative, walked a similar line when asked about his character. This guys a practical guy, he owns a big business. If its helping his business hes probably pro-Trump. ... I think hes probably more of a centrist, he said. I dont think were going to comment specifically on Trump, Abbott confirmed. Allen teased back, Oh, yes we will. When the subject about Allens personal beliefs came up from one of the assembled journalists, he plugged an upcoming stand-up appearance in Vegas to see the difference between Allens character and the comedian. Youll be a little startled, he said. I like, personally, [making people angry], Allen went on, and then he tried to throw water on the idea that ideology was a factor in the show being dropped by ABC. Ive worked for ABC for years, I know these people, and if it was a political motivation to move that show ... they certainly would never show that side of themselves. But I dont really believe that. I think it was a financial decision. The series creators went on to describe a few of the new elements of the show, including needing to recast middle daughter Mandy (Molly Ephraim) and a planned introduction of a foreign exchange student from China to clash with Allens beliefs. But there was no new footage to share as the show was about to go back into production. Still, Allen regretted some of the story lines the show didnt get to explore in its first go-around. Ill tell you, we really planned like so many other people that Mrs. Clinton wouldve been president, so we had a bank of stuff going on there, Allen said with a grin. Mostly I just told him we did, Abbott interjected. The night that Trump pulled it off, forget the politics, those of us in comedy went, Shoot! because now we dont have all that pantsuit stuff, Allen went on. Just the jokes, that she would find funny as well. Thats the comedy side of it. We want both sides to think its funny. chris.barton@latimes.com Follow me over here @chrisbarton. Fashion and music figures took to social media outlets on Friday to mourn the death of Rick Genest, known as Zombie Boy, the 32-year-old, tattooed Nicola Formichetti muse who had also worked with Lady Gaga. The entire Dulcedo family is in shock and upset by this tragedy, said Montreal-based Dulcedo Management, Genests talent agency, in a statement on Facebook on Thursday. Thank you ZB for these beautiful moments in your presence and for your radiant smile, it added. The Canadian, who had described his profession to WWD as a side show performer and whose acts included writhing on beds of nails, shot to fame after being discovered by Formichetti on Facebook. The designer hired Genest for the Thierry Mugler 2010 campaign and flew him to Paris for the mens show. Advertisement I like the whole freak-show atmosphere, Genest told WWD in 2011, speaking backstage after his turn on the catwalk. His fame continued to grow after he appeared in a high-profile advertisement for Dermablend that garnered millions of hits and launched endless Internet debates about how society judges physical appearance. The video ran under the tag line How do you judge a book? and featured a clear-skinned Genest who stripped nude to the waist and proceeded to rub off concealer makeup to reveal his elaborate tattoos that transformed his head into a skull with dark circles around his eyes. Other tattoos included bones, ligaments, insects and a radioactive symbol. Lady Gaga expressed her grief over the death of Genest, who appeared in her Born This Way video, on Twitter. The suicide of friend Rick Genest, Zombie Boy is beyond devastating. We have to work harder to change the culture, bring mental health to the forefront and erase the stigma that we cant talk about it. If you are suffering, call a friend of family today. We must save each other, she wrote. Formichetti posted a tribute on Instagram alongside a picture where he posed next to Genest. Absolutely heartbroken. Rest in power, Zombie Boy. Sending all my condolences and love to his family and friends in this trying time. Please if you ever need help, reach out. 1-800-273-8255 is the number for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. Youre not alone, he wrote. In an interview with WWD in 2012, Genest said he got his first tattoo, a skull and crossbones, at age 16, and estimated he had spent tens of thousands of dollars on the designs, referring to them as his project. Id always wanted tattoos. Id see them on the bus or on TV or in movies, he said at the time. He relayed a positive view of the fashion industry, saying he respected it. Ive always surrounded myself with artists. Ive always loved being around the art scene and the fashion world and designing sets and props and all of that. Thats all showmanship, thats all art, he said. When questioned about life beyond modeling, Genest hinted at other interests, including music, but also referred to his previous experiences: When the fashion show is over, I want to go back to the circus. Hummus is definitely having a moment. It seems you cant scroll through a menu without at least one offering. And with all of the varieties available Ive seen variations flavored with everything from edamame to chipotle, roasted butternut squash to English pea with watercress its become the muse of many a chef. You might even argue hummus is the next avocado toast. Its like risotto, says chef Sean Lowenthal. You just need an ingredient to become a theme to bind the dish. Lowenthal, owner of Little Beast restaurant in Eagle Rock, has served at least 15 varieties of hummus since the restaurant opened five years ago. Currently, hes offering a black-eyed pea hummus topped with a Hoppin John-inspired salsa as part of a Southern-themed pop-up at the restaurant through the summer. Advertisement I was trying to figure out why we love black-eyed peas in the South but nobody else eats them, he says. He wanted to find a vehicle for the ingredient that would be more approachable to guests, particularly those in Southern California. And everyone loves hummus. Recipe: Little Beasts black-eyed pea hummus For some chefs, the dish is more about tradition and technique. Perhaps the most lauded hummus at the moment can be found at downtown L.A.s Bavel, chef-owner Ori Menashes latest venture with partner Genevieve Gergis. The late Times critic Jonathan Gold, in his final restaurant review, waxed poetic about Menashes hummus offerings. I lived in Israel for 14 years, Menashe says, and, to me, the original form is best. Like a perfect steak, it shows a lot of skill. Like steak, its more vulnerable when you cant cover it with different flavors. Menashe went through hundreds of tests to come up with the right technique for his hummus, which Gold described as magnificent, a ring of silky, airy puree surrounding a thicker, coarse hummus masabacha. Masabacha, a chunky hummus at Bavels restaurant. (Maria Alejandra Cardona / Los Angeles Times) Recipe: Bavels hummus masabacha The airy hummus simply cant be replicated using home equipment, but the rustic hummus masabacha can be made simply by whipping a handful of ingredients parsley, garlic, salt, lemon juice, garbanzo beans, tahini and water together using a mortar and pestle. Though the method is simple, Menashe stresses using the best ingredients. He sources Spanish garbanzos, a smaller legume that Menashe says has better, more concentrated flavor, and he uses an imported tahini paste used by many chefs in Israel. John Gladish, chef and owner of the Fat Dog restaurant in Fairfax and North Hollywood, uses the idea of traditional hummus garbanzo beans, lemon juice and garlic as a starting point, and then we always add to it. The Fat Dogs roasted beet hummus adapted from a recipe provided by The Fat Dog restaurant. (Bradley Tuck) Recipe: The Fat Dogs roasted beet hummus Three or four times a year, I come up with a new hummus, he says. The restaurant had just taken a beet salad off the menu and had extra beets on hand. I was, like, Lets make this work. For Gladish, the beet hummus is all about the garnish. Beets present all these opportunities, he notes. Beets work with a variety of crumbled fresh cheese, along with a crunchy topping such as seeds or nuts. Add greens basil, tarragon, parsley and it makes the dish more of a salad hummus as opposed to just pureed garbanzos with beets. At the modern Mediterranean restaurant Momed (with locations in Atwater Village and Beverly Hills), owner Alex Sarkissian says the avocado hummus is one of the classic dishes that remains from when the first restaurant opened almost 10 years ago. The recipe flavors pureed avocados simply, with garlic, lime and lemon juice, tahini, cumin and a touch of salt. Momeds avocado hummus adapted from a recipe provided by Momed restaurant in Los Angeles. (Bradley Tuck) Recipe: Momeds avocado hummus Most people keep the garbanzo as the base ingredient while switching up other flavors, Sarkissian says. Initially, he was concerned the dish might taste too much like guacamole without the garbanzo beans. But think of the tahini as the key ingredient. And it works. Sarkissian calls the hummus one of the superstars on the menu. Everyone talks about it. And for the record, that avocado hummus tastes really good on toast. noelle.carter@latimes.com Twitter: @noellecarter In the Pacific Northwest we generally speak of two climatic zones for wine. Theres the cool and wet one, the Willamette Valley, with its Pinot Noir and Chardonnay vineyards, and the Columbia Valley, the warm and dry high desert east of the Cascade Mountains, where Cabernet Sauvignon and Bordeaux varieties ripen without effort. They are, in effect, side by side, linked by the rivers that give each their name. But rivers, they move. The Columbia veers west after its desert meander in Washington state, having chiseled its way through the Cascades on its way to the ocean. There it enters the Columbia Gorge, which straddles Washington and Oregon. This is one of the most dramatic transition zones for winemaking in the world, a 5,000-acre confluence of maritime, alpine and desert environments, an appellation for which average temperatures, rainfall and harvest dates are meaningless. On its western reaches, the gorge is among the coolest places to grow grapes in the Pacific Northwest; on its eastern border, the heat units approach Napas. (Los Angeles Times) So we are talking about an array weird, excessive, disproportionate where the range of potential expression is so great that it invites extreme experimentation. In Napa or Sonoma, planting six varieties on one property seems a typical upper limit; in the gorge its not uncommon for a grower to plant 25 or 30. Thats what happened to Brian McCormick at Idiots Grace vineyard in Mosier, Ore.: We just planted a ton and hoped for obvious failures, he explains. Unfortunately, not much failed. Advertisement Grapes have been grown in the Columbia Gorge for more than a century, but mostly on the warmer east end. As you move west you see what the river has carved through: dark and craggy waves of basalt, once molten, frozen in place and piled up in jumbled strata like slabs of sheet cake dropped from a great height. The soils are shallow and impoverished, routinely redistributed by winds that stream as if by spigot through Hood River, one of the worlds great parasailing destinations. It was the cool alpine vineyards that attracted Steven Thompson and his wife, Kris Fade, to found Analemma there in 2010. Thompson was hired to manage an old Pinot Noir vineyard and, naturally, thought hed make some, but 2010 was the coolest vintage in decades, and pinot wouldnt ripen, so he made sparkling wine. Analemma has become one of this countrys most compelling sparkling wines, a flavorful blanc de noirs that rivals the driest Champagnes for its nerve and angular line. Thompson has since acquired land in Oregons warmer Mosier Hills and has planted a dozen warm-climate varieties. We like the push-pull character, he says of the place, the constant tension between cool maritime air to the west and hot desert air to the east. During every season, both are at play. McCormick of Idiots Grace also realized that the gorge was not going to be the sort of place known for a single grape variety so he planted 20. We find that the local identity is much more interesting than a variety, he says. No one has gone as far as Nate Ready of Smockshop Band, an outfit he runs with partner China Tresemer. Ready draws fruit from five gorge vineyards, from every facet of its varied landscape. A master sommelier with floor stints at the French Laundry and at Boulder, Colo.s Frasca, Ready was lured into winemaking, ending up in the Willamette Valley where, he found, he was bored. But whenever he and Tresemer drove to the gorge they felt energized. We could be open here, Ready says. There was no history or tradition, nothing impinging on what we could do. They live at Hiyu Wine Farm, a 30-acre permaculture plot just a few miles from the base of Mt. Hood. There, Ready and Tresemer raise animals, grow vegetables, berries, orchard fruit and 14 acres of grapes, planted with more than three dozen varieties, which he fashions into blends. These blends, composed of five, eight, 10, maybe 20 varieties, are peculiarly delicious. Theyre often grown in the same vineyard, the same block, sometimes in the same row, thrown in the same bin and crushed together, a wine more given to serendipity than calculation. The gorge, says Ready, has pushed them toward heterogeneity: We just felt it was what the land, the terroir, the climate was allowing here, he says. Three Gorge wines to seek out K&L Wines in Hollywood, the Wine House in West Los Angeles, the Wine Exchange in Santa Ana, and Stanleys Wet Goods in Culver City each carry a small selection of these wines, as do restaurants. Analemma 2013 Atavus Blanc de Noirs Sparkling Wine: A faint whiff of strawberry gives way to citrus and breadcrust notes. Flavors are lean, red-berried; texture is bracing and mineral. About $55. 2013 Idiots Grace Vineyard Cabernet Franc: Loire-influenced leafiness with a dark berry core of fruit, framed by a grippy minerality. About $30. Hiyu Ramato Estate Blend, Columbia Gorge: An Alsace-inspired blend of white varieties exposed to skin contact, with a woodsy, floral scent and a flavor of cellared apples, with a chewy grip of tannin. About $75. food@latimes.com Hawaiis eight main islands are surrounded by 410,000 acres of live coral reefs, sometimes called the rainforest of the sea, the Coral Reef Outreach Network says. Because of the areas isolated location, many marine species are found nowhere else in the world. Its no wonder that this year Hawaii banned the sale of sunscreens containing certain chemicals (namely, oxybenzone and octinoxate) that kill off the reefs. Dont worry, you can slather on sunscreen sold on the islands that doesnt carry harmful chemicals and go snorkeling to see what youre protecting. Molokini Crater, Maui The popular snorkeling and diving spot of Molokini Crater. (Tor Johnson / Hawaii Tourism Authority) Advertisement Molokini Crater is known for its clear waters, which often allow you to spot marine life more than 150 feet away. The ring-shaped reef about three miles off the southwest coast is the result of a volcanic eruption and protected from swells and currents. Where to eat for cheap on Kauai: 20 places to chow down for $20 Why snorkel here? Its home to more than 250 species of fish, including yellow tang, parrot fish and moray eels. Its also a bird sanctuary, so youll see lots of seabirds if you happen to look up. Several companies offer snorkeling tours of the crater and boat transportation from various locations on Maui. Info: Molokini Crater Hanauma Bay, Oahu Hanauma Bay is a convenient snorkeling spot for visitors staying in Waikiki, about 30 minutes away. (Eric Tracy) Hanauma Bay, a 30-minute drive east of Waikiki, is a volcanic crater thats full of diverse sea life, such as damselfish and trumpet fish. With more than a million visitors a year, its one of the most popular places to swim and snorkel. The bay is protected from ocean swells, making it an easy swim for all levels. If youre driving, get there early and park for $1. You can also take a taxi or the No. 22 bus. Snorkel gear costs $20 to rent. If youre staying in Waikiki, you can book the Hanauma Bay State Parks $25 snorkeling tour, which includes snorkel gear and a round-trip shuttle from Waikiki. The tour lasts 4 hours from the pickup time. Whether you snorkel independently or with a tour, youll need $7.50 per person to cover the park entrance fee, plus more if you want to buy food or gifts. Info: Hanauma Bay State Park, 7455 Kalanianaole Highway, Honolulu Kealakekua Bay, Hawaii Island Snorkel at Kealakekua Bay to see marine life and the James Cook memorial obelisk. (Fair Wind Cruises) Kealakekua Bay, 17 miles south of Kona, is the only underwater state park off the island of Hawaii. Its also where Capt. James Cook, the first British explorer to visit Hawaii, died in a skirmish with native Hawaiians on Feb. 14, 1779. At Kealakekua Bay State Historical Park, youll find a white obelisk memorializing Cook visible on the shore. The best snorkeling is near the monument, on the opposite side of the bay from the parking lot. Info: Kealakekua Bay Poipu Beach, Kauai Poipu Beach is fun to explore, particularly for snorkelers and swimmers. (Hutch Axilrod / Getty Images) The south shore of Kauai gets a lot of attention from the underwater crowd. Poipu Beach is one of the islands most popular snorkeling spots, known for its underwater volcanic formations and coral reefs. You may see an endangered Hawaiian monk seal here, but you must stay at least 100 feet away. The crescent-shaped Poipu Beach State Park features clear waters; be sure to check ocean currents and conditions before diving in. Other good snorkeling spots on the island include Kee and Haena Beach parks on the North Shore and a protected lagoon thats good for kids at Lydgate Beach Park on the islands east side. Info: Snorkeling Kauai ALSO Where to see dramatic lava flows from Hawaii Islands Kilauea volcano Last call at Alcatraz for its annual reunion of former guards and inmates and youre invited Easy Labor Day weekend starts with low prices and a pool party at W Scottsdale Harvey Weinsteins lawyer on Friday filed an extensive motion to dismiss his indictment on multiple sex charges, arguing that grand jurors never saw exculpatory evidence, including emails in which a woman Weinstein is accused of raping allegedly professed her love for him years afterward. Weinstein was indicted in New York in May and again in July on charges that he sexually assaulted three women. He has pleaded not guilty and is free on $1 million bail with GPS monitoring. In the motion filed Friday, Weinsteins attorney Benjamin Brafman said all the relationships between the former Hollywood mogul and his accusers were consensual. Since last fall, more than 80 women have accused Weinstein of a multitude of charges, including rape and inappropriate conduct, over the last four decades. That culminated in a series of grand jury indictments in Manhattan on six counts, including first- and third-degree rape, first-degree criminal sex acts and two counts of predatory sexual assault. Advertisement In the 159-page motion, Brafman said that Weinstein and the woman he is charged with raping twice in March 2013 had extensive communications and contact immediately following the now claimed forcible rape. Without her allegations, he argued, the prosecution would crumble. The communications, he said, reflect a consensual, intimate relationship with Mr. Weinstein in an exchange of more than 400 warm, complimentary and solicitous emails with an alleged rapist for more than four years after the alleged rape, never once in those communications claiming to have ever been harmed by Mr. Weinstein. In a court filing, Weinsteins lawyers included emails allegedly written by the woman between April 2013 and February 2017. According to the filing, in an April 2013 email a month after the alleged rape, she wrote: It would be great to see you again, and catch up! In January 2014, she allegedly wrote: Youre the one who makes it look good with your smile and beautiful eyes. The emails continued into last year, Brafman alleged, when the woman professed her love for Weinstein, but also concern about their relationship with a smile symbol. I love you, always do. But I hate feeling like a booty call, according to the motion. The New York attorney said in a statement: These communications irrefutably reflect the true nature of this consensual intimate friendship, which never at any time included a forcible rape. He wrote that Manhattan Dist. Atty. Cyrus Vance, under political pressure, had ignored his demands to present this and other exculpatory evidence to grand jurors. Vances office did not publicly respond to the allegations Friday but is expected to file a legal brief rebutting the Weinstein dismissal motion. The motion names two of three alleged victims who also have publicly identified themselves previously. Lucia Evans set out her allegations in a New Yorker article last year that she was attacked in 2004 as a student actress. Former production assistant Mimi Haleyi held a press conference with attorney Gloria Allred, saying Weinstein orally forced himself upon her in 2006. When Weinstein was fired by his company last year, the emails were kept from him until he fought and won a ruling in the bankruptcy, forcing them to be turned over. The bankruptcy judge later issued a protective order forbidding their dissemination in order to shield one of his accusers. On Thursday, the judge ruled Weinsteins team could use the emails in the New York criminal case if they did not reveal the womans name. In addition to the charges in New York, Weinstein is the subject of more than a dozen investigations in London, Beverly Hills and Los Angeles. The Los Angeles County district attorney is reviewing criminal accusations against the producer lodged with law enforcement authorities in Los Angeles and Beverly Hills, including an Italian actress allegations of rape. richard.winton@latimes.com Twitter: @lacrimes UPDATES: 12:45 p.m.: This article was updated with additional details on the motion. This article was originally published at 10 a.m. A 19-year-old U.S. citizen living in Tijuana was arrested Wednesday at the San Ysidro Port of Entry with nearly 11,500 fentanyl pills in what is believed to be the largest batch of fentanyl pills ever seized at the U.S.-Mexico border, federal authorities said. Cristian Araujo Aguirre is accused of trying to drive across the border with the fentanyl, as well as 61 pounds of methamphetamine and 14 pounds of heroin. He was arraigned Thursday in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California on a drug importation charge. According to Asst. U.S. Atty. Sherri Walker Hobson, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers noticed anomalies in Aguirres vehicle when he drove up to the San Ysidro crossing. The officers zeroed in on the front drivers side door, the rear passengers side door and the spare tire. CBP officers found eight packages of heroin hidden in the vehicles firewall and 29 packages of methamphetamine in the doors, a quarter panel and the spare tire, Walker Hobson said. Advertisement In the left rear quarter panel, officers discovered two bags and a box, each filled with fentanyl pills designed to resemble oxycodone, Walker Hobson said. The three packages totaled 11,490 pills. It was believed to be [the] largest port seizure of fentanyl pills across the Southwest border of the U.S, according to a statement from U.S. Atty. Adam Bravermans office. At an arraignment in front of U.S. Magistrate Judge Barbara Major, federal prosecutors requested that Aguirre be held because he is a flight risk, Walker Hobson said. A detention hearing is set for early next week. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Aug. 16. alex.riggins@sduniontribune.com Riggins writes for the San Diego Union-Tribune. Harvey Weinsteins lawyer plans on Friday to ask a judge in Manhattan to dismiss the sexual assault charges against him, arguing that prosecutors failed to show grand jurors emails detailing a long-term romantic relationship between the producer and one of his accusers. Weinstein was indicted in May and again in July on charges that he assaulted three women. He has pleaded not guilty and is free on $1-million bail and GPS monitoring. According to criminal attorney Benjamin Brafman, all the relationships between Weinstein and his accusers were consensual. He will seek to invalidate a 2013 first-degree rape charge involving one unidentified woman because she continued to date Weinstein after the alleged attack a fact the lawyer says is supported by several dozen emails sent and received through the movie moguls Weinstein Co. account. In a bankruptcy court filing in Delaware this week related to the dissolution of Weinstein Co., his lawyers argued that it is Mr. Weinsteins belief that these e-mails are material and exculpatory and the failure of the district attorney to provide this evidence to the grand jury warrants a dismissal of the indictment. Advertisement Friday is the deadline to file a pre-trial motion in New York. When Weinstein was fired by his company, the emails were turned over to his legal team. But the bankruptcy judge later issued a protective order forbidding their dissemination in order to shield his accuser. On Thursday, the judge ruled Weinsteins team could use the emails in the New York criminal case if they did not reveal the womans name. In addition to the charges in New York, Weinstein is the subject of more than a dozen investigations in London, Beverly Hills and Los Angeles. The Los Angeles County district attorney is reviewing criminal accusations against the producer lodged with law enforcement authorities in Los Angeles Police and Beverly Hills, including an Italian actress allegations of rape. richard.winton@latimes.com Twitter: @lacrimes Behind River Ridge Terrace in Redding, where the monstrous Carr fire had destroyed homes, a team of 20 men used shovels to stab the charred earth. Under the blazing sun, the clinking of metal stopped when one of the men scooping dirt out from under a tree spotted smoke rising from the ground. Humo! he shouted in Spanish. From afar, the mop-up operation was typical firefighting work, with one exception it was being done by mostly Mexican immigrants who spend their off-seasons picking oranges, lemons and cherries across Washington, Oregon and California. Advertisement Each year, thousands of immigrants work as wildland firefighters, plying the trade at a time when extreme weather is producing larger and more destructive fires in the West. Id say for the last 15 years, the Hispanic population started to get more involved in this kind of work, said Federico Rocha Sr., a Mexican immigrant and the teams boss. The private contract crew arrived five days ago in Redding, conducting control burns and mop-up work in an effort to help fight the wildfire that swept through Shasta and Trinity counties and killed six people, including two children and two firefighters. The fire has devoured more than 1,000 homes and scorched more than 130,000 acres. Officials said more than 13,000 firefighters are currently on duty, fighting nearly 20 large fires that have burned more than 410,000 acres and displaced more than 40,000 residents across the state. Seventeen states have offered assistance to California during the last week, sending help from as far away as Maine and Florida. Officials say the fire conditions and the amount of firefighting resources devoted to control wildfires may become the new norm. For the first time in its 110-year history, the U.S. Forest Service has spent more than 50% of its budget to suppress the nations wildfires. Fire seasons are also 78 days longer than in 1970s, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Under these conditions, every bit of muscle helps and field workers know hard labor. A 2007 report by the American Immigration Council found that a significant number of wildland firefighters were immigrants, mostly Mexican-born men. Shasta County is Trump country. The president won the county with 65% of the vote. In February, Shasta County voted to become a non-sanctuary zone for immigrants in the country illegally. But for the fire crew of Mexican immigrants, politics never enters the mind. This isnt about Trump or his supporters, or about border walls. Its about the pride of protecting peoples homes. Rocha said residents have been grateful. When people appreciate what we do, it makes us feel good, he said. Even at stores, people thank us and theyre happy were here helping. The fire crew was trained and hired by R&R Contracting, a private company based in Salem, Oregon, and operated by one of Rochas relatives. The company is also just one of hundreds in Oregon that are contracted by state and federal governments to fight forest fires. Experts say Oregon is in the forefront of states that have created certification programs for contract firefighters. A sizable number of them are Latino immigrants. The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection could not immediately say what percentage of its firefighters were immigrants. From an observational standpoint, Mike Mohler, deputy director of communications for Cal Fire, said the department is pretty diverse. I know we have Russians and we have Mexicans represented up and down the state, he said. We should have a decent influence, but now Im curious. The overall population of immigrant firefighters in California appears to be growing. It nearly doubled in the last five years, according to data from the Public Policy Institute of California, a non-profit and non-partisan research institution. There were 2,408 immigrant firefighters in California in 2016, compared to 1,288 in 2011. Many fire agencies and organizations dont keep track of the number of immigrant firefighters, but according to the 2016 data from institution, immigrants made up 7% of the firefighter population in California. There was a total of 35,499 firefighters that year in the state and of that number 33,091 were native born firefighters and 2,408 were immigrant firefighters. The data includes municipal, county, state and wild land firefighters. Leaning on his shovel, sweating, 46-year-old Juan Cisneros, a Mexican immigrant, said it was his second year with the crew. In the off-season, hes out picking mostly oranges in Visalia, earning money to help care for his wife and four daughters. This job is hard and a little dangerous, he said. But you have to do what you can for the family. Cisneros, who is from Michoacan, said the job is hard work because of the heavy gear and intense labor. It can get tiring, he said, adding that while it is physically challenging, it is rewarding. I feel important when someone says thank you for the work we do, he said. When were walking around people say thank you to us for being here and fighting a fire. Cisneros said he doesnt like what he hears on the news about immigrants, but he tries to simply ignore it. He hopes critics of immigrants will pay attention to the work he and others do. I want them to see our contributions here, he said. Pablo Araujo, who picks cherries in Washington during the off-season, said the job has been growing on him. Ive spent most of my life picking cherries, he said. But now, I dont know. This job is interesting. Along Quartz Hill Road, where the men were trying to scrape dirt away to get to the smoldering roots of a tree, a man in a white truck drove by with his head out the window. Good work guys! he yelled, giving a thumbs up. Thank you! ruben.vives@latimes.com For more Southern California news, follow @latvives on Twitter. The arraignment of a Lancaster mother and her boyfriend facing felony charges in connection with the death of 10-year-old Anthony Avalos was delayed Friday after a judge approved new attorneys for the two. Superior Court Judge Richard E. Naranjo granted a continuance after permitting new counsel to defend Heather Barron and Kareem Leiva, accused of torturing and murdering the boy, whose small body was bruised and wounded from head to toe. Barron, 28, who faces an additional count of child abuse and Leiva, 32, who also faces a count of assault on a child causing death, stared at the floor during the Friday hearing in a Lancaster courtroom. Prosecutors say Anthony was whipped, beaten and body-slammed into a dresser in the days before he died. His case bears haunting similarities to the 2013 torture killing of 8-year-old Gabriel Fernandez and, as in that case, sparked fierce criticism of Los Angeles Countys child welfare system. Advertisement In both cases, L.A. County Department of Children and Family Services received tips about abuse, but left each boy in his home. In Anthonys case, county documents show that since 2013, the agency investigated 88 claims of abuse at the home, according to an attorney representing Anthonys relatives. The lawyer said 15 of the claims were substantiated, including two involving sexual abuse. On the afternoon of June 20, sheriffs deputies responding to a medical rescue call found Anthony unresponsive inside his familys Lancaster apartment. Family members told officials that the boy had suffered injuries from a fall, the Sheriffs Department said in a statement. He died at the hospital a day later. But prosecutors say theres evidence the defendants brutalized Anthony for at least five days before his hospitalization. They poured hot sauce on Anthonys face, forced him to kneel on rice for long periods of time, whipped him with a belt, slammed him into a dresser, gave him rug burns and dangled him by his feet and repeatedly dropped him on his head, according to a motion filed last month by Deputy Dist. Atty. Jon Hatami. Hatami also prosecuted the mother of Gabriel Fernandez and her boyfriend. Both were convicted and sentenced, respectively, to life in prison and death. At times, the prosecutor wrote, Anthony was locked in his bedroom for hours and not allowed to leave even to use the bathroom. At one point, the prosecutor wrote, Anthony could not walk, was unconscious lying on his bedroom floor for hours, was not provided medical attention. The defendants often abused Anthony in front of his siblings, Hatami said, adding that all of them obviously suffered enormously from witnessing their brother being abused, tortured, and eventually murdered. Prosecutors say that records from the Sheriffs Department and the DCFS indicate that the abuse stretched back to early 2013. In addition to Anthony, at least three of his siblings were abused, Hatami wrote, adding that Leiva once struck one of Anthonys brothers with enough force that the boy had to be hospitalized and have his head injury stapled. Leivas attorney Dan Chambers said his client will plead not guilty to all charges. Outside the courtroom Friday, Anthonys aunt, Maria Barron, wiped tears from her eyes as she stared down at her T-shirt emblazoned with a picture of her nephew. I feel miserable knowing everything he went through, she said. Im dying on the inside. Barron faces 22 years to life in prison and Leiva faces 32 years to life in convicted. They were scheduled for arraignment on Oct. 3. marisa.gerber@latimes.com For more news from the Los Angeles County courts, follow me on Twitter: @marisagerber Winds kicked up in Northern California on Thursday night, bringing red flag conditions to areas where massive fires are already raging. Temperatures will be slightly cooler over the weekend, but gusting winds remain the looming threat for the next few days, officials said. The winds could pose fire danger as far south as Kern County, where gusts are predicted to reach 40 mph, fire officials said. This week, firefighters across the state battling blazes including the Carr fire in Shasta County and the Ferguson fire near Yosemite National Park used bulldozers and hand tools to widen containment lines and strengthen weak spots in preparation for winds that could shift direction and push the fires toward populated areas. Its not just the largest fire commanding resources there are 16 large wildfires burning throughout California, ranging from 35 to almost 132,000 acres. More than 14,000 firefighters from around the state and country are working to contain the conflagrations, which have scorched over 410,000 acres and displaced around 40,000 residents. Advertisement The Carr fire, the largest of those blazes, grew to 133,924 acres and was 39% contained as of Friday evening. The massive blaze has killed six people and destroyed 1,567 structures when it sped through the city of Redding and surrounding areas, becoming the sixth-most destructive and 13th-deadliest wildfire in recorded California history. A red flag warning took effect in Shasta County on Thursday night, and officials expect strong winds from the west and north to continue through Saturday night, with gusts up to 30 mph, National Weather Service meteorologist Tom Dang said. Temperatures are expected to be slightly cooler over the weekend, possibly dipping into the 80s, but humidity will stay low and air quality will continue to suffer. As a low-pressure system travels through the region, winds will continue to develop and become stronger, said Scott McLean, deputy chief of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. Its an issue that we have to address and its definitely a challenge. Evacuation orders are still in place for thousands of residents in the Carr fire burn area. A Local Assistance Center has been set up at Shasta High School for evacuees who have lost their homes to receive services, including housing, mental health, cleanup and DMV help. A red flag warning took effect at 11 a.m. Friday in Mendocino County, where two large fires have been burning since last week. While containment is increasing on the River fire, the Ranch fire grew quickly to the east and southeast to 115,250 acres. It was 28% contained Friday evening, while the River fire to the south was 42,200 acres and 50% contained. The Ranch fire has moved into an area that previously burned in June during the Pawnee fire. Fire officials said that was a good sign. On Thursday night, as winds threatened to push the fire south, officials ordered mandatory evacuations in Lake and western Colusa counties, as well as Mendocino National Forest campgrounds. The fire had not reached populated areas as of Friday morning, Cal Fire spokesman Mike Wilson said. Mendocino County was expected to see temperatures in the 80s and 90s Friday and wind gusts up to 30 mph, Dang said. The winds will probably become even stronger Saturday, he said. The Ferguson fire near Yosemite had burned 77,207 acres and was 41% contained as of Friday evening. Warmer and drier conditions persist in the area, resulting in increased fire behavior and spotting, an incident report on the fire said. Crews are continuing to work on containment lines to prevent the fire from continuing its spread southeast into the park, according to the report. Reach Sonali Kohli at Sonali.Kohli@latimes.com or on Twitter @Sonali_Kohli. UPDATES: 7:25 p.m.: This article was updated with new fire figures. 8:55 a.m.: This article was updated with statewide information about wildfires. This article was originally published at 8:30 a.m. The idea has set off alarm bells among gun control advocates: A do-it-yourself plastic firearm that can be manufactured using digital blueprints on a 3-D printer. Now a Los Angeles councilman is trying to make it a misdemeanor to download those blueprints. Under a proposal introduced Friday by Los Angeles City Councilman Mitch Englander, Angelenos could be barred from possessing or transferring the blueprints for a 3-D-printed gun, as well as the weapons themselves. Englander also wants L.A. to prod the state to make possessing such guns or blueprints a felony across California. Englander told reporters he was worried that as 3-D printing technology evolves and becomes more widely accessible, you can go to the store tomorrow, buy a 3-D printer, and have a gun printed at home today no waiting period, no serial number. Advertisement Thats very dangerous to society, the councilman said. Critics fear that access to such blueprints will ease the way for people to make firearms that lack serial numbers, skirting licensing requirements and making them untraceable to police. Such guns are typically made of hard plastic, raising concerns that they could be carried through metal detectors and onto planes. Some gun rights advocates have countered that citizens should have the freedom to access the blueprints. Why wouldnt the Second Amendment protect the right of a law-abiding citizen to make his or her own weapons? Erich Pratt, executive director of Gun Owners of America, said in a statement earlier this week. Gun rights groups have also stressed that undetectable weapons already are targeted by existing laws. Chris W. Cox, executive director of the National Rifle Assn. Institute for Legislative Action, said in a statement Tuesday that regardless of what a person may be able to publish on the internet, undetectable plastic guns have been illegal for 30 years. Englander said that people have gotten around a California law requiring a stainless steel component in such guns by making the metal piece a removable, non-essential component. He argued that by targeting the digital files to make such guns, his proposal would give law enforcement a new tool to try to prevent their spread. The debate has been thrust into the headlines by a legal battle involving Austin, Texas, resident Cody Wilson, founder of digital firearm blueprint developer Defense Distributed, who reached a settlement with the U.S. Justice Department allowing him to put the blueprints online. Earlier this week, a federal judge issued an order to temporarily stop the public from accessing the files, in reaction to a lawsuit from the attorneys general of multiple states. California Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra announced Thursday that the state was joining that suit, led by Washington state, to block the release of the files. Why would anyone increase the burden on law enforcement and sabotage its ability to keep American communities safe? Becerra said in a statement. It is already possible to construct a gun at home, even without an expensive 3-D printer. Los Angeles authorities say that as it becomes harder to get firearms, gangs increasingly are turning to homemade guns built from parts purchased over the internet, dubbed ghost guns because they lack serial numbers. Becerra cautioned Californians this week that if they make their own guns, they must be eligible to legally own or possess a firearm, include design features required under state law, and apply to the California Department of Justice for a unique firearm serial number and place it on the weapon. Englander said Friday that while it already is possible to make a gun at home, he was concerned that as technology makes it easier, people may just do it to see if it works, regardless of their age, criminal history or mental health and without following those state rules. Chuck Michel, president and general counsel of the California Rifle & Pistol Assn., derided that idea. An incredible amount of disinformation is being used to justify this kind of hysterical overreaction, Michel said in an email reacting to the new proposal. Guns made of printed parts are crude, unreliable, and short-lived. Bad guys are better off continuing to steal guns, or make equally crude firearms with parts from Home Depot. The Los Angeles City Council has backed gun control measures in the past, including requiring Angelenos to lock up or disable their handguns at home if the guns arent close at hand. In March, Councilman Mitch OFarrell said he wanted the city to cut ties with companies that are linked to the NRA, a proposal that has yet to move forward. Times staff writer Kurtis Lee contributed to this report. dakota.smith@latimes.com Twitter: @dakotacdsmith emily.alpert@latimes.com Twitter: @AlpertReyes UPDATES: 1:25 p.m.: This article was updated with comment from Becerra and the California Rifle & Pistol Assn. This article was originally published at 11:35 a.m. Government attorneys are asking that the American Civil Liberties Union take the lead in finding hundreds of parents who have not yet been reunited with their children, according to a court document filed Thursday. The filing outlines potential next steps in the case after the government reunited about 1,800 immigrant families under court order. Immigration officials had separated the family members at the border, many under the zero tolerance policy introduced by Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions that prosecuted people who crossed illegally. The ACLU pushed back in its part of the filing, asking the judge in the class-action lawsuit to order the government to keep working on its own to locate parents and to provide more information to the civil rights organization so that it can assist in the reunification. The government must bear the ultimate burden of finding the parents, the ACLU wrote in the filing. Not only was it the governments unconstitutional separation practice that led to this crisis, but the United States government has far more resources than any group of NGOs, or nongovernmental organizations. Advertisement The government already returned children to parents whom it found eligible and who were still in immigration custody under an early July deadline for children under 5 and a late July deadline for older children. But those deadlines passed with more than 700 children remaining in federal custody. On Monday, U.S. District Judge Dana Sabraw ordered both sides to submit proposals for finding parents who had already been deported or released into the U.S. It is likely that more than 450 parents were deported without their children and more than 200 were released into the U.S. while they wait for court hearings, according to government filings. Under the ACLUs plan, the government would keep looking for parents abroad and in the U.S. and would give the ACLU as much information as possible about where the parents might be. The ACLU called on the government to reunite families within seven days of identifying them. The ACLU also asked the federal government to bring back parents who wanted to be reunited with their children in the U.S. rather than their home countries. The governments proposal would provide the ACLU with some, but not all, of the information the organization requested. Under the governments plan, the ACLU would report to government attorneys every Monday about its progress in finding parents and would tell the government, after consulting with the parents, whether they wanted their children back. The government reasoned that this system would allow the ACLU to provide legal advice to parents before they make their decisions, a step that the ACLU has said was not adequately handled in earlier reunifications. Earlier this week, the ACLU argued that the government may have coerced parents into electing to be deported with their children instead of allowing their children to pursue asylum claims in the U.S. In the latest filing, the ACLU also alleged that the government had possible contact information for some of the deported or released parents but had failed to act on it before the deadline. The ACLU argued that the court had only allowed the government to skip the July deadlines for deported or released parents because the government could not find them. In other cases, the ACLU noted, the addresses that government attorneys gave the ACLU on Tuesday for 120 of these parents were incomplete or were the locations of immigration detention facilities in the U.S. Other addresses list the names of large cities with no street name or number. The ACLU also said that the government had not provided all of the information ordered by Sabraw about parents who the government said were not eligible for reunification. The filing previews a status hearing scheduled for Friday afternoon. Sabraw has not yet ruled on a request from the ACLU to keep the government from deporting recently reunited families. A separate lawsuit was filed in Washington, D.C., last week over the issue. The federal government hopes to combine the cases. kate.morrissey@sduniontribune.com Morrissey writes for the San Diego Union-Tribune. The California Supreme Court ruled Thursday that San Diegos six-year-old pension cutbacks were not legally placed on the ballot because city officials failed to negotiate with labor unions before pursuing the measure. The ruling, which could cost the city millions, overturned an appeals court ruling last year that had upheld the cuts. The state high court ordered the appeals court to take the case back and evaluate the state labor boards conclusion that 4,000 employees hired since pensions were eliminated must receive compensation that would make them financially whole. While the unanimous ruling stopped short of reversing the cuts, it essentially ordered the appeals court to invalidate the ballot measure that imposed those cuts. Advertisement The ruling directs the appeals court to enact an appropriate judicial remedy for the citys failure to follow the legally required steps before placing the measure on the ballot. The only way to do that, attorneys for the citys labor unions said, would be to invalidate the ballot measure and nullify the pension cuts. The ruling vindicates claims by city labor unions that then-Mayor Jerry Sanders needed to engage in labor negotiations before pushing Proposition B onto the ballot in 2012. The measure, which was approved by more than 65% of city voters, replaced guaranteed pensions with 401(k)-style retirement plans for all newly hired city employees except police officers. Sanders maintained he supported the measure only as a citizen, not as mayor, and therefore negotiations with unions werent required. The Supreme Court disagreed, concluding Sanders was obligated to meet with the unions before placing the measure on the ballot because he used his power and influence as mayor to support the measure. Sanders supported the signature-gathering campaign, the court said in the ruling, which was written by Justice Carol Corrigan. He touted its importance in interviews, in media statements and at speaking appearances. Sanders said in a telephone interview Thursday that his actions were based on legal advice he received, and that he still doesnt believe he acted improperly. But he also said he should have handled things differently. If I had it to do all over again and if I had better advice we probably would have done meet and confer labor negotiations, he said. San Diego is the only city in California to discontinue pensions for new hires, so the ruling could have an impact across the state as other city and county governments consider pension cuts and how they can be legally enacted. In Thursdays ruling, the state Supreme Court emphasized that it wasnt taking a position on pension cuts. We are not called upon to decide, and express no opinion, on the merits of pension reform or any particular pension reform policy, the ruling said. The ruling reinstates a 2015 decision by the state labor board that concluded the city was legally required to conduct labor negotiations before placing Proposition B on the ballot. In that decision, the labor board ordered San Diego to make employees hired since 2012 whole by compensating them for the loss of pensions and paying them interest penalties of 7%. Estimates of how much that would cost the city have ranged from $20 million to $100 million. The labor board, formally known as the Public Employment Relations Board, couldnt invalidate the ballot measure because that power is reserved for state courts. Supporters of Proposition B issued news releases Thursday saying that the Supreme Courts ruling didnt invalidate the measure or reverse the pension cuts. Ann Smith, an attorney for the Municipal Employees Assn. labor union, countered in a telephone interview that those supporters are misreading the ruling. The Supreme Court is telling the appeals court you should add the judicial remedy of invalidation because thats the only outcome thats consistent with the Supreme Courts binding conclusion that the city violated the law, she said. Courts, however, have typically been reluctant to nullify ballot measures that are citizens initiatives. In a statement, San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer said the ruling leaves Proposition B in place until the appeals court acts. San Diego pension reform remains the law of the land and todays Supreme Court decision keeps Proposition B in full force and effect, he said. My administration will work closely with the city attorneys office on the direction provided by the Supreme Court. Garrick writes for the San Diego Union-Tribune. The sea surface temperature at the Scripps Pier in La Jolla hit 78.6 degrees on Wednesday, the highest reading in the piers 102-year history, according to UC San Diegos Scripps Institution of Oceanography. The reading broke the previous record of 78.4 degrees, set in 1931. Scripps Oceanography officials say local ocean temperatures have been running above normal for several days at that spot, but the record was not broken until Wednesday. The institute has been taking sea surface temperatures there since August 1916 as part of its scientific research. Advertisement Ocean temperatures have been above average along the entire San Diego County coastline for much of the summer. The reason isnt clear. The region is not experiencing an El Nino, which tends to produce very warm ocean temperatures in the summer and fall. Southern California coastal waters have been anomalously warm since the beginning of 2014, when we experienced a marine heat wave, Daniel Rudnick, a Scripps oceanographer, said Thursday. This event was popularly known as the blob. The following year, during 2015-16, we had one of the strongest El Ninos of the the last few decades and the local ocean continued warming. Since then, SoCal waters are still anomalously warm that is, the water has not returned to temperatures that were normal in the previous seven years, Rudnick said. In recent weeks, temperatures in some spots between Carlsbad and Imperial Beach have reached 75 to 77 degrees, and 80 in San Diego Bay. The warmer waters are posing a challenge for lifeguards, who have had to watch over enormous crowds. And many people have stepped on near-shore sting rays while entering the ocean, requiring first aid. Sting rays linger in the water where the ocean meets the beach. Robbins writes for the San Diego Union-Tribune. The family of a man missing for a month in Vietnam announced Thursday that he has been detained by the government and imprisoned in Ho Chi Minh City without cause or charges. Michael Phuong Minh Nguyen had been found alive with no visible signs of abuse, according to U.S. Embassy officials who notified family members Wednesday. The father of four daughters had left his home in Orange County on June 27, intending to tour central Vietnam with friends before stopping to visit relatives in the southern part of the country. When he did not fly home as expected on July 16, his wife frantically tried to locate her 54-year-old husband. Using social media and tapping into Vietnamese-language media, she spread news of his case. His disappearance stoked fears in the Vietnamese community in Southern California of the dangers of traveling to a country where human rights and basic freedoms are restricted. Advertisement He was making a personal trip. He has done nothing wrong. More than anything, we just want him back safely, said his wife, Helen Nguyen, an operating room nurse. She was accompanied by her daughters at a news conference near their Orange home. Authorities in Vietnam detained her husband on July 7, as the print shop owner left Da Nang for Ho Chi Minh City, formerly known as Saigon. He carried just his clothes and more than $1,200 for expenses. An agreement between the U.S. and Vietnam requires that the Vietnamese government notify their U.S. counterparts within four days if an American citizen has been arrested and jailed. But in Nguyens case, no information was exchanged, reportedly as a result of a 1994 privacy act also signed between the two countries that does not allow details about a person to be shared unless that person signs a release form. We were in a catch-22. We couldnt get any information about Michael because he hadnt signed anything. But no one would say where he was to get him to sign, said Mark Roberts, Nguyens brother-in-law. Nguyen is being held at the Phan Dang Luu Detention Center in Ho Chi Minh City, he said. On July 17, Vietnamese authorities finally notified the U.S. Embassy of Nguyens arrest. By Tuesday, U.S. Consul General Franc Shelton spoke face to face with Nguyen for the first time while in Southern California, his extended family met with U.S. Rep. Mimi Walters (R-Laguna Beach) to plead for her help. Walters said Nguyens case is her highest priority. I am working to secure Mr. Nguyens freedom and to ensure his safety, she said. The Vietnamese government needs to know there will be consequences if they dont treat American citizens with respect. In Orange Countys Little Saigon, the arrest has led to widespread worry, with immigrants saying they will rethink or cancel travel plans to Vietnam. If the Vietnamese government can target an ordinary person like this, who knows what might happen if we go back and are at the wrong place at the wrong time? said Mickie Mai, a math graduate student from Fountain Valley who hoped to tour the birthplace of her ancestors during school holidays. Dat Hoang, an auto repairman from Santa Ana, said he would look into Thailand as a vacation destination rather than Vietnam. Imagine a middle-aged guy like me taking my kids back to my homeland to see their grandparents. If something crazy occurs, if all of a sudden they take me, what can my kids do? the father of two teenagers said. They dont understand how the system works over there. We have to think twice about taking these risks when we can just as easily go somewhere else in Europe or Asia. In June, Will Nguyen, a Vietnamese American man from Houston, was arrested after participating in a pro-democracy rally in Vietnam. Video captured his beating, which prompted supporters worldwide to demand his release. This is becoming a pattern. These are two high-profile cases of citizens arrested without charges, and people are noticing how randomly the government acts, Roberts said, adding that no formal charges have been filed against his brother-in-law. Yet were prevented from seeing him, he said. It is a huge violation of human rights and international law. Los Angeles City Council President Herb Wesson found himself in financial peril two years ago, narrowly avoiding a foreclosure auction on a rental house he owns in Ladera Heights. Although Wesson ultimately resolved his real estate issues which included five default notices on his properties in five years his money woes didnt go away entirely. Three months ago, Discover Bank secured a $4,529.52 judgment against Wesson and his wife, Fabian Wesson, over unpaid credit card bills. On Thursday, Wesson issued a brief statement saying the dispute with the company had been resolved. A few years ago our family experienced some financial challenges that have since been rectified, he said in an emailed statement. This bill has been paid in full. Advertisement Wesson would not answer questions about when the bill was paid or if payment was made in response to an article in CityWatch, which reported this week on Discover Banks lawsuit against the Wessons. The councilman also did not explain why he and his wife failed to respond to the banks notifications. Attorneys with Suttell & Hammer, the law firm representing the bank, did not respond to requests for comment. But in multiple court filings, Discover Bank said the Wessons had $4,195.02 in unpaid bills. Discover notified the Wessons in writing in April 2017 that it intended to sue over the outstanding bill, saying the most recent payment had been made in July 2016. The bank filed a lawsuit two months later and soon served paperwork at the Wesson residence, according to court documents filed by the company. The company said it had also incurred $334.50 in costs while seeking payment. Wesson, 66, earns $200,042 annually, according to the citys Personnel Department. He is among the most powerful politicians in L.A., setting the agenda of the 15-member council and helping to decide which policies move forward at City Hall. In an interview with Los Angeles magazine this year, Wesson acknowledged he has a reputation for wielding power over major decisions. People believe that if you want to make something happen in L.A., you need to go talk to Herb, he told the magazine. Im so fricking proud of that. Wesson, who represents neighborhoods stretching from Koreatown to Leimert Park, will be forced off the council in 2020 by term limits. Although some have described him as a future mayoral contender, he is more likely in the short term to run for the seat currently held by Los Angeles County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas, who steps down in 2020. Wessons son, Justin Wesson, has been discussed as a possible candidate for his seat. Asked whether Justin Wesson is interested in such a campaign, a representative of the councilman said the 35-year-old is focused on today, not tomorrow. Justin Wesson is committed to diligently doing his current job, rather than theorizing about future endeavors, said Vanessa Rodriguez, a spokeswoman for the council president, in an email last month. Wesson has faced multiple financial challenges in recent years. In 2011, the year he was elected president by his colleagues, county officials recorded a default notice against his rental property in Ladera Heights, saying he owed $14,746. The notice was rescinded a few months later. Another default notice arrived in December 2013, saying the Wessons had not paid their mortgage and property taxes on the four-bedroom rental house. Five months later, the county filed notice of an auction. By then, a separate default notice had been filed on the Wessons residence in Mid-City. Both default notices were rescinded in 2014. But in January 2016, the county recorded another default notice on the Mid-City house. The notice said the Wessons owed $33,248. The Wessons again paid off the balance, and the notice was rescinded. That same year, the county filed another default notice over the rental house. The property was scheduled for a trustees sale in July 2016, which was ultimately canceled, according to county records. Rodriguez, the Wesson spokeswoman, later said her boss paid off the outstanding bills by tapping personal savings and retirement accounts. Times staff writer Emily Alpert Reyes contributed to this report. david.zahniser@latimes.com Twitter: @DavidZahniser A gang member was sentenced Wednesday to 50 years to life in prison for fatally shooting a 19-year-old Huntington Beach woman whose body was found stuffed in a cooler in an abandoned car, authorities said. A Los Angeles County jury on July 12 convicted Anthony Robert Moreno, 40, of Hacienda Heights of first-degree murder and possession of a firearm by a felon in the 2015 slaying of Dawn Molly McEveety. Jurors also affirmed a special allegation that the killing was committed for the benefit of a criminal street gang with the intent to promote its criminal conduct. Prosecutors said Moreno shot McEveety on Nov. 24, 2015, at a home in Artesia that was known as a gang hangout. Advertisement Moreno placed the body in a cooler and took it to the Whittier area, where it was left in a stolen 1991 Toyota Celica hatchback, prosecutors said. Los Angeles County sheriffs deputies found McEveetys body five days later. Moreno was identified as a suspect in 2016 when he was in state prison in an unrelated case. Moreno, whom authorities described as a documented gang member, previously was convicted of various firearms charges and driving a stolen vehicle. U.S. astronauts face a longer wait before American-made crew capsules are ready to transport them to the International Space Station. The first flights of the two capsules, one being developed by Boeing Co. and the other by SpaceX under NASA contracts, have been delayed again, according to a flight test launch schedule released Thursday by NASA. Hawthorne-based SpaceXs flight test, without a human crew, is now scheduled for November and Boeings test is now set for late 2018 or early 2019. Both test flights were previously scheduled for August, though industry analysts expected those dates to slip. In June, a portion of Boeings test capsule suffered what was described as an anomaly during an engine test fire, leading to a propellant leak. The Chicago aerospace giant said at the time that it was confident it had found the cause and was moving forward with corrective action. Advertisement The flights are precursors to a second test flight with crew aboard. Those test flights which will mark the first time U.S. astronauts blast off to the space station from U.S. soil since the end of the space shuttle program in 2011 are now scheduled for next year. Previously, they had been set for the end of this year. SpaceXs director of crew mission management, Benji Reed, said in a NASA statement that safely and reliably flying commercial crew missions was the companys highest priority. In that same statement, Boeing commercial crew program manager John Mulholland said the company was committed to the highest level of mission assurance and that the earliest time we can confidently do that will be mid-2019. The U.S. Government Accountability Office had warned in a report last month that certification of each capsule could be delayed, possibly leading to a gap in access to the space station for U.S. astronauts. The U.S. contract with Russia to transport astronauts extends only through November 2019. samantha.masunaga@latimes.com Twitter: @smasunaga UPDATES: 1:40 p.m.: This article was updated with comments from SpaceX and Boeing from a NASA statement. This article was originally published at 12:35 p.m. With a modest investment package and contradictory messages, the Trump administration is attempting to counter Chinas powerful influence in Southeast Asia while also urging the regions countries to keep up pressure on nuclear-armed North Korea. Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo arrived in Singapore on Friday as part of a three-nation trip that will include meetings with officials of roughly two dozen governments. The meetings are part of a foreign ministers summit of the Assn. of Southeast Asian Nations, which also includes partners, including the United States, China, Australia and Iran. Pompeos trip is part of Washingtons attempt to reshape and expand its footprint in Asia. The Trump administration has tried to relabel the Asia-Pacific region as the Indo-Pacific in an effort to incorporate India into the regions diplomacy as a counterbalance to China. Also on the sidelines of the minister-level summit, Pompeo met his Turkish counterpart Friday to press again for the release of an American Protestant minister detained there for nearly two years. The State Department characterized Pompeos talks with Mevlut Cavusoglu as constructive. Earlier this week, the Trump administration hit Turkey with economic sanctions to demand the release of the preacher, Andrew Brunson, and other U.S. citizens swept up in a massive crackdown on dissidents. Advertisement Speaking to reporters traveling with him to Singapore, Pompeo said the Turkish government was on notice that the clock had run and that it was time for Brunson to go home. I hope theyll see this for what it is, a demonstration that were very serious, Pompeo said. Brunson needs to come home. As do all the Americans being held by the Turkish government. Pretty straightforward. Theyve been holding these folks for a long time. These are innocent people. The main theme here, however, is the giant potential of the regions economic power. Ahead of his trip, Pompeo said the United States had a stake in the peace and prosperity of a free and open Indo-Pacific. But Pompeos efforts have been overshadowed by President Trumps escalating trade war with China. Far from an open market, several countries in the region say, it seems the United States has become more protectionist. Pompeo said this week that the United States is prepared to offer about $130 million in investment projects involving the U.S. private sector, and he criticized Chinas investment programs that often saddle countries with unexpected debt. Still, the U.S. aid package pales in comparison to Chinas massive Belt and Road initiative, which is planning hundreds of billions of dollars worth of projects across Asia, Europe and Latin America. In his Singapore meetings, Pompeo will also urge Asian countries to keep up pressure on North Korea by continuing to enforce tough economic sanctions. The sanctions were imposed on Pyongyang by the United Nations and are aimed at discouraging its nuclear activities. Pompeo maintains that the sanction regime is largely intact, but several of the regions governments have begun to relax the measures, which targeted North Koreas imports and exports as a means to strangle the government of Kim Jong Un economically and cause diplomatic and political isolation. China, Pyongyangs chief ally, has been accused by U.S. officials of reneging on sanctions and allowing some trade to resume. The efforts to pressure North Korea come as the United States continues to try to negotiate with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on a program to denuclearize the Korean peninsula. Many officials in Washington remain skeptical about Kims intentions, despite Trumps apparent willingness to believe and praise the ruthless dictator. We too remain concerned about the scale of North Koreas illicit procurement, in particular of refined petroleum products via U.N.-prohibited ship-to-ship transfers, a senior State Department official said. Ship-to-ship transfers often involve Chinese vessels. The official, who briefed reporters on condition of anonymity in keeping with State Department rules, said a key goal of the meetings was to remind countries of the success a global coalition confronting North Korea has had in encouraging Pyongyang to come to the negotiating table. On North Korea, these are more than asks. Its a reminder of their obligations, the official told reporters aboard Pompeos flight to his first stop, Kuala Lumpur. We do have concerns that North Korea is not meeting its obligations. For all Pompeos intentions, the administrations message conflicts with many of the regions needs or concerns. U.S. diplomats also often diverge from Trump positions. The one meeting that Pompeo will chair involves countries from the Lower Mekong River region, including Laos and Vietnam, which have experienced deadly flooding and other environmental disasters. Administration officials emphasized their interest in promoting work with the countries to collect what they called water data. But many of these countries blame the disasters on climate change, a problem which many in the Trump administration dismiss. The official would not say whether Pompeo was prepared to discuss climate change. Pressed, the official finally said that the issue of climate change comes up from time to time. Similarly, Pompeo and his staff have been emphasizing the multilateral approach that the United States enjoys with ASEAN and similar organizations in the region. Yet Trump has evinced disdain for group efforts, preferring one-on-one bilateral agreements. One of his first acts, for example, was to withdraw from the Trans Pacific Partnership accord, which would have united numerous Pacific Rim countries and the United States in trade deals as a counter to China. The region is still reeling from that decision and has felt less confident of U.S. partnership, diplomats say. The official who briefed reporters insisted multilateralism was still alive and well. The United States is very much about multilateralism, the official said. Thats how we work with these countries. tracy.wilkinson@latimes.com For more on international affairs, follow @TracyKWilkinson on Twitter Former Tennessee Democratic Gov. Phil Bredesen and Republican U.S. Rep. Marsha Blackburn have been running their campaigns for a crucial U.S. Senate seat like their matchup was assured. Voters made it official Thursday. Bredesen and Blackburn disposed of minimal opposition in their primary elections, kicking off whats expected to a bruising, expensive fight that could determine Democrats chances of overturning the 51-49 Republican Senate majority. Polls have indicated a close contest to replace retiring Republican Sen. Bob Corker. Advertisement A general-election win would be historic for Blackburn, who would become the first female U.S. senator ever elected in Tennessee. Voters faced a more competitive field in the race for the nomination to replace term-limited Republican Gov. Bill Haslam. Former Nashville Mayor Karl Dean won the Democratic primary, defeating state House Minority Leader Craig Fitzhugh after outspending him $4.4 million to $984,800. Taking a page from Bredesens playbook, Dean has touted himself as a leader who can break down partisan barriers and make divided government work during divisive political times. He told his supporters Thursday he intended to run a positive race focused on jobs, affordable healthcare and good education. Businessman Bill Lee won a bruising GOP primary. He mostly stayed out of the fray while other opponents savaged each other in attack ads. Lee billed himself as the races only conservative outsider and emphasized his Christian faith. I am someone who is not a politician, but I do have a vision for Tennessee to lead the nation, Lee told supporters during his victory speech. The field also included U.S. Rep. Diane Black, who began the campaign as the favorite and got the endorsement of Vice President Mike Pence but stumbled to a third-place finish. No Democrat has won statewide here since Bredesen was reelected governor in 2006, when he clinched all 95 counties. Its been an even longer drought in the Senate, with the last Democratic victor being former Vice President Al Gore in 1990. Bredesen, who remains popular, would again need to peel off support from moderate Republicans and independents. He is pledging to work across party lines, saying he will support Trump on policies that are good for the state, and oppose him when they arent. He thanked his supporters Thursday night and vowed to be the best damn senator you ever sent up to Washington. Blackburn is a strong Trump backer in a state that voted for the president by 26 percentage points in 2016. She has run in support of Trumps agenda, including his wall-building immigration crackdown and his U.S. Supreme Court pick, Brett Kavanaugh. We know what Tennesseans say that they want to see in their next senator is somebody who is going to stand with President Trump to finish the agenda that they voted for when they elected him and sent him to Washington, she told her supporters, some of whom were wearing T-shirts emblazoned Marsha Marsha Marsha. Blackburn has billed herself as a hardcore, card-carrying Tennessee conservative from the outset of her campaign. She has benefited from center-stage appearances alongside Trump and Pence in public events and fundraisers in Tennessee. Pence and Trump have already attacked Bredesen, saying hes too liberal for Tennessee and would fall in line with Democratic Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer. Bredesen has countered that his record as governor shows hes an independent thinker who wont cave to party leaders. Bredesen has criticized Trumps tariff policies, which threaten an estimated $1.4 billion in Tennessee exports, according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, a longtime Republican ally. The exports are linked to more than 850,000 jobs in the state related to farming, steel, baked goods, car manufacturing, whiskey distillers such as Jack Daniels, and more, the chamber said. Blackburn has expressed grave concern about the tariffs, but said she appreciates the administrations goal of punishing bad actors such as China. She asked the Commerce secretary to reconsider broad tariffs to avoid harm to Tennessees economy. Blackburn has opposed Corkers proposal to require a congressional vote on tariffs issued in the name of national security, a move that fellow Tennessee GOP Sen. Lamar Alexander supports. Tennessee has a history of electing centrist senators. Corker, for one, has further complicated the race by saying hes supporting Blackburn but wont actively campaign against Bredesen, whom he has called a friend. Corker also has very publicly tussled with Trump, once saying he had turned the White House into an adult day-care center, with the president tweeting in response that Corker couldnt get elected dog catcher in Tennessee. Corker endured booing at a Trump-Blackburn rally in Nashville this spring. Heading into July, Blackburn maintained an early 2-to-1 cash advantage over Bredesen, with $7.3 million in her bank account. But Bredesen would be one of the wealthiest members of Congress if elected and has already loaned $3.5 million of his own money to his campaign. The heavy gambler had $2.1 million in his bank account in 2015. By last September, that had dwindled to $530,000. It was one month before Stephen Paddock carried out the deadliest mass shooting in modern American history. But Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo said the steep financial losses alone cant fully explain why Paddock checked into the Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino with guns in his suitcases and murder on his mind in the days leading up to Oct. 1. He left no manifesto, no video message, and his reasons for killing 58 and wounding hundreds at a concert remain unknown. Instead, a detailed 187-page report released Friday by Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department revealed, through a series of witness interviews, that Paddock was a narcissist, a bit of a loner and a man becoming increasingly distant from the only person he appeared to be close to girlfriend Marilou Danley. Advertisement The report also was definitive in identifying Paddock as the gunman who fired more than 1,000 rounds into the crowd while Jason Aldean was performing on the festival stage. Single shooter. No conspiracy, Lombardo said. The sheriff said Paddock was an unremarkable man who went from former postal worker, IRS employee and real estate investor to full-time gambler. The FBI is expected to release this year a more complete behavioral profile of Paddock, but contained within the final report issued Friday are summaries of those who encountered the 64-year-old Paddock prior to the massacre. They provide more insight into Paddock a balding, overweight man with bad teeth and who was also a germaphobe. Danley was a key to the report and described Paddock to investigators as romantic at the beginning of their relationship. They moved into a condo in Reno in 2013. Danley described to investigators how they then moved into a new, upscale home in Mesquite in 2015 and the two would travel on cruises to Asia, the Mediterranean, the Bahamas and Dubai. They booked rooms in Nevada casinos and attended shows and concerts and he always requested rooms with nice views. Then, she said, he began to change. Danley said he stopped hugging and kissing her. Sex was a problem. He was constantly tired. He complained that he got bad headaches from chemical smells. He had asked her to stop wearing lipstick and perfumes because he was allergic to them. She also said Paddock was an atheist. Danley, a Catholic, said he would say things like, Your God doesnt love me, or Your God doesnt love us. She would make the sign of the cross each time he said that. Danley also told investigators she noticed his increased interest in guns beginning in 2016 after he purchased a gun safe. She described packages arriving at their house regularly and he purchased large amounts of ammunition. He explained the purchases by saying it was cheaper to buy in bulk. According to the report, Paddock made $95,000 in firearms purchases.The report doesnt say specifically when that money was spent, but the bulk of his gun purchases occurred in the year leading up to the shooting. One of the purchases drew the interest of law enforcement, however. Douglas Haig sold more than 700 rounds of armor-piercing bullets to Paddock in Arizona, and Haig is now facing criminal charges related to the sale but not the massacre. He has pleaded not guilty and has said he had no idea what Paddock was planning. Investigators also interviewed Eric Paddock, one of Stephen Paddocks brothers, and he theorized that his sibling had done everything in the world he wanted to do and was bored with everything. According to the report, Eric Paddock told investigators that his brother would have planned the attack to kill a large amount of people because he would want to be known as having the largest casualty count. Paddock always wanted to be the best and known to everyone. The report indicated Paddock had looked at other venues as targets as well, including Lollapalooza in Chicago and the Life is Beautiful festival in Las Vegas. He had gone as far as to make lodging reservations at both locations prior to those events. Paddock was described by several who knew him as apolitical, and Lombardo said there was no evidence that he had been radicalized. Authorities also interviewed Bruce Paddock, another brother, who had child pornography charges filed and subsequently dropped against him in Los Angeles earlier this year. Stephen Paddock had hard drives in his room that contained child pornography. Bruce Paddock told investigators that he believed his brother was mentally ill. The report also includes summaries of interviews with hotel staff and Paddocks family members. Most of the staff interviewed also showed the shooter to be rather ordinary a customer who had a taste for sushi and a penchant for gambling large amounts of money while playing video poker. Alone. According the report, he had paid out $600,000 to casinos prior to the shooting. Staff who helped transport multiple duffel bags up to his hotel room prior to the shooting said they didnt seem unusually heavy, and he allegedly told one staffer that numerous bags were for incoming family members. Police ultimately found about two dozen guns and about 5,000 rounds of ammunition in his adjoining suits. Paddocks body was found about an hour after the shooting when police breached the door to the room. He died of suicide by a handgun. Sgt. Jerry MacDonald, who was one of three Las Vegas police authorities to work on and compile the report over the past 10 months, said it had been incredibly frustrating to not be able to pinpoint a motive for the killings. While interviewing victims and loved ones of those killed, he learned others felt the same way: they all wanted to know why Paddock did it. But MacDonald said they seemed to also grasp at other tangible things to try and explain why their loved one had died. They would ask things like; did we know what gun or what round killed their loved one, MacDonald said. In many cases, that was hard to determine, but it was like they were looking for anything to help explain it. I wish we could answer why. While the shooting in Las Vegas receded from national attention in the wake of other mass shootings at the high school in Parkland, Fla., and a church in Sutherland Springs, Texas, it has remained omnipresent in the city. The final report on the shooting to be issued by Las Vegas police came just a day after a gathering and moment of silence was held for victims at Las Vegas police headquarters. Throughout the city #VegasStrong signs appear on ambulances, fire trucks and civilian vehicles. The Vegas Golden Knights, which their NHL debut shortly after the shooting, retired No. 58 in an emotional ceremony as a memorial to the dead. And each week, local news outlets report on round-after-round of body camera footage, 911 calls, police reports and witness interviews that Las Vegas Police have been releasing from the night of the shooting throughout the summer. Media outlets, including the Los Angeles Times, had sued to have the materials released to the public. Lombardo said its been hard on everyone including those who worked on the final report. Investigators on this case have lived this event day-by-day for the past 10 months, he said. Finding answers for the victims has been our investigators sole goal to help bring closure for those affected and to move forward from this horrible event. Over the course of the past year at briefings, memorials and events throughout Clark County, Lombardo has been loath to ever utter his name. After saying Paddocks name at the briefing a few times, he said it was likely the last time hed ever refer to him that way again. It probably ends today, he said. I dont want to remember this individual. I will remember the act and the victims, but I will not remember the suspect. MGM sues Las Vegas massacre survivors, claiming a Sept. 11-era terrorism law protects the company from lawsuits Carnage, chaos and terror revealed in new police videos of Las Vegas shooting 500 recordings of 911 calls detail chaos, agony and determination after Las Vegas shooting Police release fourth batch of materials related to Vegas mass shooting Why am I going to die today?: The words of first responders to deadly Las Vegas shooting UPDATES: 4:10 p.m.: This story has been updated with additional details from the report. 11:25 a.m.: This article was updated with a staff report. This article was originally published at 10 a.m. The North American subsidiary of a French chemical manufacturer and two senior staff members were indicted Friday in connection with last years explosion at the companys Crosby, Texas, plant in the wake of Hurricane Harvey. Arkema North America, its CEO Richard Rowe and plant manager Leslie Comardelle were charged in the Harris County indictment with recklessly releasing chemicals into the air. The charge carries up to $1 million in fines and five years imprisonment. Indictments against corporations are rare, Harris County Dist. Atty. Kim Ogg said in a statement. Those who poison our environment will be prosecuted when the evidence justifies it. After Arkemas plant lost power, its organic peroxides began heating and decomposing. The compounds, used in a variety of products from plastics to paints, caught fire and partially exploded, sending plumes of smoke into the sky. Advertisement (Los Angeles Times) First responders and neighbors said they were sickened after the incident. Arkema spokeswoman Janet Smith on Friday said the corporation would fight the indictment, citing a U.S. Chemical Safety Board report released last May that credited it for having safeguards that probably would have worked in a low-level flood event. Arkema officials have insisted since the incident last August that they planned as best they could but that the rainfall was unprecedented. The safety boards lead investigator, Mark Wingard, said Arkema crews worked to the best of their ability to keep equipment that cooled and stabilized its organic peroxides from losing power as six feet of water engulfed the plant. An internal watchdog at the Environmental Protection Agency announced Thursday that it will audit the agencys response following several high-profile accidents and spills after the historic storm, including the explosions and fire at the Arkema plant. Pope Francis threw the weight of the Catholic Church behind the death-penalty abolition movement on Thursday, releasing a new church teaching that says quoting a speech by the pope last year that the death penalty is inadmissible because it is an attack on the inviolability and dignity of the person. That may come as a surprise to Catholics who thought the church already opposed the death penalty. And it did, in most instances, but it had carved out an exception if an execution was the only possible way of effectively defending human lives against the unjust aggressor (though Pope John Paul II wrote in his 1995 Evangelium Vitae on the sanctity of life that those circumstances are very rare, if not practically nonexistent). Among the reasons for the shift: Changes in detention practices now make prisons sufficient to protect the public from the homicidal. But the new teaching also notes that there is an increasing awareness that the dignity of the person is not lost even after the commission of very serious crimes. Enter the Fray: First takes on the news of the minute from L.A. Times Opinion Advertisement The new teaching isnt likely to shift the weight of the debate over the death penalty, but in making the adjustment the church (finally) gets it exactly right and follows personal observations Francis has made in the past. The strongest argument here is that even those who have committed the most heinous of crimes remain human beings deserving of the dignity of life a view that resonates with the secular world as well. But theres a more justice-based reason to oppose the death penalty which has propelled us to bang a steady drum. The capital punishment system in the U.S. has been rife with errors that have probably led to the execution of innocent people. In fact, one study published in 2014 by the National Academy of Sciences estimated that at least 4% of people on death row are innocent. They and the 162 death row inmates who have been exonerated since 1973 are victims of a system that is too susceptible to manipulation by the misdeeds of prosecutors, and the lies and errors of witnesses, to be relied on to divine absolute guilt. Which means capital punishment is not only immoral in concept, as Pope Francis points out, but also unreliable in practice. Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinionand Facebook The 2020 census is a high-stakes operation for California and Los Angeles County. The decennial population count will have a significant impact on our pocketbooks and our political clout for years to come. The census is mandated by the U.S. Constitution and conducted every 10 years. It is an enumeration, a count of everyone in the United States, not just citizens, and it is used to allocate seats in the House of Representatives and billions of dollars in federal funding. The Census Bureau has been preparing for the 2020 count since 2008, conducting careful and costly research to develop the questionnaire that will go to every address, delivered by hand by census workers in some cases. Because the every-10-years count is meant to be a snapshot of the whole population, household by household, getting a response rate as close to 100% as possible is the bureaus first goal. Before the bureau adds a question to the census form, it tests for clarity does the question elicit the right information? and compliance. After the 2010 census, California was deemed eligible for more than $76 billion in federal funding. Advertisement In March, U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross suddenly announced that a contentious question would be added to the 2020 questionnaire, despite the fact there would be no time to test it: Is every member of each household a U.S. citizen? The Trump administration claims the responses would help in enforcing voting rights laws, but documents and emails released recently reveal that political motives likely fueled the decision. In one of the just-released documents, the Census Bureaus chief scientist John Abowd told the administration that adding such a question would be very costly and would harm the quality of the census count because households would fail to respond. Ross, in a congressional hearing in October, admitted: One of the problems with adding questions is it reduces response rates. And since the beginning of Trump presidency in other words, even before the announcement of the added citizenship question field testers have reported increased fear, discomfort and falsification of answers among people asked to respond to census questions. California, and especially diverse Los Angeles, already faces an uphill climb in achieving a full and accurate count of its population every 10 years. L. A. County has a disproportionate number of hard to count populations: youth, low-income families and 3.5 million immigrants (an estimated third of whom are undocumented). Some of these individuals move among households, some will require census forms in a language other than English, some wont cooperate because they dont trust that the information will be kept confidential as promised, and some simply avoid all contact with the government. Even a slight undercount could have major ramifications in California. Current population projections show the state either holding on to its current number of congressional seats or losing one seat by just 47,642 people. And if hard to count residents arent accurately enumerated, it would most likely shift political power from more diverse districts to less diverse parts of the state. Enter the Fray: First takes on the news of the minute from L.A. Times Opinion After the 2010 census, California was deemed eligible for more than $76 billion in federal funding. Those funds paid for health services, highway construction, disaster relief, housing, Head Start preschool, foster care and special education, among other programs. An undercount would put critical services at risk in jurisdictions across the state. Los Angeles County has joined the state of California in a lawsuit to fight the decision to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census. The government has set Aug. 7 as the deadline for public comment on the addition of the citizenship question and other aspects of the 2020 census design. As Californians and Americans you should make your voices heard to overturn Ross decision. NALEO Educational Fund, working with other groups, has set up an online portal to help individuals submit comments telling the Commerce Department to withdraw the new question from the 2020 census. Your participation can make a difference in your life, and in the life of the city, the state and the nation. Hilda Solis is a Los Angeles County supervisor. Arturo Vargas is the chief executive officer of the NALEO Educational Fund. Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinionand Facebook When it became law 150 years ago in July 1868, the 14th Amendment was as controversial as it was transformative. Over night, the amendment turned 4 million former slaves into citizens and, just as quickly, drew howls of protest from their old masters in the South, who made opposition to the new law part of a broader campaign against the federal government. Resistance to the amendment also came from a seemingly unlikely source at the far end of the continent. California was the only former free state to refuse to ratify the amendment in the 1860s. Although three northern states later rescinded their ratifications, California lawmakers simply stonewalled the measure during the Reconstruction era. It would take until 1959 before Californias legislators ratified the 14th Amendment. Why would a state with a relatively small black population so vigorously oppose this landmark civil rights law? The answer lies in Californias record of xenophobia and the power of white supremacy in American politics. As were rediscovering today, tribalism is easily exploited for political gain while the path to racial justice rarely follows a straight line. Advertisement :: Because a sufficient number of states accepted the 14th Amendment, Californias opposition was a symbolic act more than anything else. But it was a symbolic act that rewarded the ruling Democratic Party. Those Democrats had stormed back to power in 1867 on a platform of white racial superiority and resistance to the federal government. They were especially critical of Radical Republicans in Congress, who had recently placed the former Confederate states under military rule and granted the vote to African American men within those states. Xenophobia had become bipartisan orthodoxy in California by the 1870s. Although black men would not win the right to vote in states outside the former Confederacy until the passage of the 15th Amendment in 1870, Californias politicians could see the writing on the wall. They therefore pledged their defiance to any measures that would end in the degradation of the white race and speedy destruction of the government. In his 1867 inaugural address, Gov. Henry Haight heaped scorn on federal Reconstruction and its racial-leveling measures. White Southerners had been stripped of their Constitutional rights and subjected to military despotism, he claimed, which devolved political control to a mass of negroes just emancipated and almost as ignorant of political duties as the beasts of the field. It was rhetoric like this that carried Haights party to a 4-to-1 legislative majority by 1869. According to Californias ruling elite, threats to white supremacy came in many shades of brown African Americans, Native Americans, Latinos and Chinese immigrants. But it was the Chinese, constituting roughly 10% of the states population, who presented a particular supposed danger. And although the 14th Amendment granted citizenship only to those naturalized or born on American shores, it extended fundamental protections for life, liberty and property to any person, including Chinese born elsewhere. The law was therefore expansive enough to upset the existing racial order. Predictably, when the 15th Amendment which granted the right to vote to all male citizens, regardless of skin color or previous condition of servitude came to the states for ratification in 1869, Californias lawmakers resoundingly rejected it. In the same period, private citizens across the state waged their own campaigns against nonwhite residents. Beginning in the late 1860s, Californias newspapers began reporting on attacks against Chinese workers and Chinese churches by self-proclaimed members of the Klu Klux Klan. This western iteration of the Klan lacked the organizational structure and size of its infamous Southern counterpart. But through violent terror, it achieved a similar end: the reinforcement of white rule. The bloodiest attack on Chinese life albeit one with no connection to any western Klansmen took place in Los Angeles in 1871, when a frenzied mob massacred 18 immigrants. Of the 500 rioters, only eight were convicted of manslaughter, all of whom would be released from San Quentin a year later. Such attacks only confirmed the lessons learned from earlier electoral campaigns: Chinese life was cheap and race-baiting would pay political dividends. In fact, xenophobia had become bipartisan orthodoxy in California by the 1870s. Even the states Republican Party which had celebrated the universal brotherhood of man in the disastrous 1867 campaign now embraced the politics of Sinophobia. Californias Republicans spearheaded the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, which barred virtually all immigration from China. It was the first American law to ban a specific ethnic group from entering the United States. By this time, many of the protections offered by the 14th Amendment to nonwhite citizens had been stripped away by judicial rulings and greatly diminished federal enforcement. With help from their political allies across the country, Californias leaders had thus made good on repeated promises to preserve white supremacy. Enter the Fray: First takes on the news of the minute from L.A. Times Opinion What historian Eric Foner has called a stunning and unprecedented experiment in interracial democracy, begun during the Reconstruction era, had to be deferred until the civil rights movement almost a century later. It was during this movement that California finally ratified the 14th Amendment, a belated mea culpa for the states role in blunting the reach of Reconstruction and its racially progressive policies. :: In a strange twist, Californias lawmakers are once again preaching resistance to the federal government. Yet this is a resistance of a very different sort, one that shields and even welcomes additional immigrants. Many would like to think that this is the blueprint for the American future open, pluralistic and progressive. If experience is any guide, however, that blueprint will continue to inspire substantial opposition and may result in further electoral defeats. For the last century and a half, one law of American political life has remained relatively constant: Its easier to erect barriers than to break them down. Kevin Waite is an assistant professor of history at Durham University in Britain. He is currently completing a book on slavery and the Civil War in the American West. Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion or Facebook. To the editor: Yes, this is who we are, as Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) writes in his op-ed article on the cruelty of the Trump administrations separation of immigrant families. But it is not who I want to be. Where are all the family values Republicans? I only feel shame over the fact that I am, as an American, implicated by President Trumps policies. I wonder how evangelical Christians apply the words of Jesus regarding children as written in the Gospel of Mark, Chapter 9 to the forced separation of children from parents: Taking a child he placed it in their midst, and putting his arms around it he said to them, Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me. Doris Isolini Nelson, Los Angeles Advertisement .. To the editor: Schatz may be correct in thinking President Reagan would have been aghast at separating minor immigrants from their parents. However, I think Reagan would have been even more appalled by the fact that Congress didnt follow through on its promise to secure the border as part of the 1986 amnesty program, thereby allowing 12 million more illegal immigrants to enter the country. Shame on members of Congress for doing absolutely nothing but fight for power and fill their own coffers. Jan MacMichael, South Pasadena .. To the editor: On a recent visit to Budapest, I was moved by a public art memorial honoring the lives of Jews who were shot at the edge of the Danube River by the Nazis. Their shoes were first removed and collected to be used by German soldiers for the war effort. Imagine my horror to see the photo accompanying the article about intentional separation of families here in my country. The systematic inventory of items, specifically shoes, highlighted in Schatzs article resonated with me. His point of intentional harm with regard to the separation of children from their families could not be more clear. Michele Britton Bass, Santa Barbara Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion and Facebook To the editor: Building a north-south light rail line on the Westside is not just a West Hollywood issue; it affects hundreds of thousands of us throughout the Los Angeles basin. Where you travel to is just as important as where you travel from. The last time I tried, it took nearly two hours to commute up La Cienega Boulevard from Hermosa Beach to a morning meeting in West Hollywood. By contrast, it will take about 40 minutes on the extended Crenshaw Line. This project will will not only produce more boardings per mile than any light rail line in the country, it will also reduce regional vehicle miles traveled on our hopelessly congested West L.A. streets and freeways. We cannot possibly hope to move forward economically or socially if were immobilized in gridlock. I know of no better bang for our transit buck than building a light rail line within the next decade from Torrance to Hollywood. Completing the project in 2047 would make us wait too long. Advertisement Bob Wolfe, Hermosa Beach .. To the editor: As a homeowner for 27 years in Leimert Park, it was very heartening to read of the plan for the the Crenshaw Line extension. This line will connect me to the restaurants and events in Hollywood and around the Los Angeles County Museum of Art that I frequent. I fully support building this extension as soon as possible and developing high-density housing around the stations. I live near the Crenshaw Line, which is under construction, and I can see the benefits of this project not only for myself but also for my friends and colleagues who in live in the San Fernando Valley and elsewhere. This project would connect us together like no other Metro project Ive seen. Kathleen Smith, Los Angeles Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion and Facebook To the editor: Under the Trump administration, the EPA, or the Environmental Protection Agency, has become the EDA the Environmental Destruction Agency. There are no words to describe the insanity and stupidity of Trump administration officials wanting to freeze fuel economy standards in the face of climate change made worse by carbon emissions. Record-breaking temperatures around the globe and the horrific wildfires raging in Northern California are but more proof of our responsibility for such conditions. To California and the 12 other states that have more stringent regulations than the federal government, I say fight on. Common sense must prevail but then again, common sense is not so common in Washington. Eileen M. Elvins, Dana Point Advertisement .. To the editor: A young family of five will not fit into any car that gets 35 miles per gallon. All this hysteria over the Trump administrations action on fuel economy forgets that by 2025, we will probably have all-electric sport utility vehicles, which will tax the power grid. Our focus should be there, on upgrading the grid, not on fuel economy. By the way, I drive an electric Chevrolet Bolt, and while it is a great little car, it is not for a family of five. Robert Rose, Brentwood .. There is nothing that requires automakers to reduce their technological innovation just because the government gives them that permission. Bob Walter, Altadena To the editor: Federal environmental regulations such as fuel economy standards and limits on what we can dump into the air and water are problems only for people who want to break the law. So often these regulations are treated as something to aspire to rather than the bare acceptable minimum, when the real question should be not whether you meet the standards but how far beyond these baselines your company can go. With this in mind, there is nothing that requires automakers to reduce their technological innovation just because the government gives them that permission. This is a moment where major companies can send a powerful message to the government that the safety and health of car buyers and the environment are of vital importance and that they can turn a good profit without destroying the world. Bob Walter, Altadena .. To the editor: The EPA says that allowing increased air pollution will reduce deaths from traffic accidents. I welcome its efforts to reduce deaths from automobiles. A 2013 study from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology found that 53,000 people in the U.S. die prematurely each year because of automobile pollution, compared to 34,000 from traffic accidents. I am proud to live in a state that recognizes the need for government regulations to help clean up our air. Jonathan Allen, La Crescenta Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion and Facebook Diners at the Daily Grill in Burbank had their lunches interrupted late last month after a Los Angeles man threatened to kill people in the restaurant. Johnathan Akemon, 28, was arrested on suspicion of criminal threats after a disturbance was reported from the restaurant at 2500 Hollywood Way. The Burbank Police Department said Akemon was at the restaurant on the afternoon of July 27 when he began to bother patrons. Sgt. Derek Green, a department spokesman, said a woman at the restaurant soon confronted him. When other customers came to help the woman, Akemon began making verbal threats, which included a threat to stab the customers inside the restaurant, Green said. Authorities found a pair of scissors, which did not belong to the restaurant, near the area where Akemon was sitting. He was eventually convicted of making criminal threats and was sentenced to 180 days in jail. andy.nguyen@latimes.com Twitter: @Andy_Truc As the sun sets on Bellarmine-Jefferson High School after a 74-year run in Burbank, a new institution is rising to take its place, connecting with alumni and forging its own future. Kevin Baxter, superintendent of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles, laid out a framework on Tuesday for the new school called St. John Paul II STEM Academy at Bellarmine-Jefferson which included the hiring of founding director Jeff Hilger. St. John Paul II STEM Academy is set to open in August 2019 on the former campus of Bellarime-Jefferson, located on 465 E. Olive Ave., which closed in June. The school is slated to have a co-educational policy, though the school is taking a unique position in splitting some classes by gender. STEM refers to courses in science, technology, engineering and math. In those STEM subjects, were going to create single-gender classrooms, Baxter said. Theres a lot of research on this, where single-gender instruction can be a more effective model of instruction, while also having a co-education school, which gives you all the benefits of socialization. The selection of a STEM school was organic, said Baxter, who added that the archdiocese created a committee last fall that included Bell-Jeff alumni, parishioners of St. Robert Bellarmine Church, along with Father John Collins and regional principals. We really threw around a number of options and had some brainstorming sessions about what would possibly work and what we felt the community would like, Baxter said. We did some research, and we looked at some various databases about getting demographic information for the area. We did a lot of due diligence, and we came back to the fact that STEM, in general, is very much desired and needed within the community, he added. As for the selection of the schools namesake, that choice came from a high office. The suggestion of St. John Paul II was from Archbishop [Jose] Gomez, Baxter said. His approach was that hes a saint, a pope who visited Los Angeles (in 1987), he visited the United States multiple times and we dont have a school named after him yet [in the diocese]. Baxter added, One of the things we looked into is some of his work around science and STEM subjects, and we realized he had a great connection and a great passion for science. In a way, St. John Paul II was also responsible for attracting its founding director. For about the past five years, Id been seriously considering a move from the public-schools world to the Catholic-schools world, said Hilger, a charter school guru who spent 20 years in public education, in an email. When I learned about the opportunity to open up a brand-new STEM academy on the site of Bellarmine-Jefferson, I became highly intrigued. When I learned that the school would be named in honor of St. John Paul II, I knew I had to apply. Ive always had a great devotion to the pope of my youth. Im honored and humbled to be starting a school named in his honor, he added. The archdiocese chose to keep a link to the past with the full name of the school being St. John Paul II STEM Academy at Bellarmine-Jefferson. I have met many fantastic and engaged alumni who are excited and engaged by the plans for St. John Paul II STEM Academy at Bell-Jeff, Hilger wrote. We have already started creating an alumni room (adjacent to St. Eleanor Hall), where a collection of Bell-Jeff memories will be stored. It will be an inviting space for alumni to come and remember so much great history while discussing ways they can help and affect the future of the school. Baxter said the school would also look to take advantage of its Media City location. We are in Burbank, so were really going to be focusing on STEM subjects in the areas of media arts and the trade technologies, Baxter said. So, the people weve been working with are alumni who have connections to various studios or other parts of the industry where we feel that we can educate students to have some great skills that could set them up for great jobs in the future. As for refurbishments, Baxter said not much is needed. The good news is that the school is in pretty good shape, overall, Baxter said. Weve already done a couple of walk-throughs, and were talking to some foundations to see if we can get some financial support. So, were looking to do mainly some maintenance upgrades and upkeep, and some aesthetic touch-ups. But, overall, there isnt going to be anything too dramatic. Hilgers wish list of priorities, in terms of upgrades, includes an engineering lab, media arts center, reimagined front office and keyboarding/music lab. Baxter said he expects an inaugural freshman class of 60 students before the school adds a grade level annually until it fills out to between 400 and 500 students during the 2022-23 school year. We definitely believe there are students who will support this school, parents who can afford a Catholic education in this area, Baxter said. We see it as being viable and believe it will thrive. andrew.campa@latimes.com Twitter @campadresports After reading the comments posted by Burbank Leader readers in response to the article (School parcel tax heads to Burbank ballot (July 23) and an editorial cartoon the paper published on July 28, I wanted to provide some additional information to clarify three main themes that have emerged from the comments. 1. Financial situation of the district Several comments were in reference to the financial situation of the district. First, the BUSD receives funding directly from the state and not from the city. We realize the city is facing financial challenges as well, but sales taxes do not benefit the school district. The only way for school districts to generate additional revenue is through a parcel tax. Second, the parcel tax measure will not be used for pensions. The school district currently has a balanced three-year budget that provides for increases in pension obligations. However, we do not have enough funding to provide for a cost of living wage increase or additional supports for our students. Two years ago we did not give any raises. For last year, we are still negotiating a 1.25% increase, and for this year, we do not even have enough funding from the state to offer any increase in salaries. 2. Parcel tax specifics The proposed parcel tax measure would assess 10 cents per square foot of improved property (both commercial and residential). For 1,800 square feet of improved property, this would equate to less than 50 cents per day. Our community has worked hard to ensure our local schools are among the best in the state. In order ensure our schools remain the best, we need local funding that cannot be taken away by the state. An independent oversight committee will oversee the funds generated by this measure and independent audits will ensure the funding is spent to: attract and retain quality teachers and staff; maintain low class sizes; expand college and career courses; increase mental health supports; expand instruction in science, technology, engineering, arts and math programs. 3. Renters and students on permits Other residents voiced concerns about renters and students on permits paying their fair share. Currently, 9% (1,300) of our students are on permits (one or both parents work in Burbank, but they do not live here) and the school district only accepts enough permit students to maintain annual enrollment. Each of these permit students brings $9,140 per year in state funding to the district (more if they are English learners, low-income, etc.). In addition, their parents contribute to school funding by paying state taxes, and their employers would also be paying 10 cents per square foot for this parcel tax. Based on current assessment data, commercial property owners will be paying 48% of the tax, apartment landowners will be paying 17% and residential owners will be paying 35%. For renters, it is highly likely that some portion of the increase will be passed to them. Finally, this measure includes an exemption for senior citizens age 65 or older. The last thing the school district wants to do is ask the community to pay more taxes. However, in order to maintain and improve the quality of education for our children, we feel that we have no other choice than to put this matter on the ballot. Matt Hill, Ed.D. is the Burbank Unified School District superintendent. Since 2004, a dedicated organization known as 44 Women for Orangewood has focused its fundraising on much-needed scholarships for youths emancipated from the foster care system who wish to attend college but lack the financial and emotional support. Susan Samueli, activist, philanthropist and co-owner of the Anaheim Ducks, founded the group. She discovered this very real need, frankly a failure of the social services system in terms of helping foster youth transition to independent and successful lives when they turn 18. She rallied the troops, enlisting her close girlfriends, and 44 Women for Children was created. In recent years the organization has evolved into 44 Women for Orangewood as it has always been under the auspices of the organizations foundation. In the early years, Samueli invited her friends to an annual summer luncheon on the oceanfront lawn of her residence in Corona del Mar. The setting was spectacular, the program meaningful, yet the gathering was never glitzy, its serious message paramount. Shirley Pepys and Christine DAmbrosio take part in festivities at 44 Women for Orangewoods 14th annual scholarship luncheon. (Courtesy of Ann Chatillon) Samueli is direct and practical. Big money was never spent on a fancy luncheon; she served simple, one-course salads. Money raised went right into the scholarship fund. Then, as now, the number of former foster youth needing college assistance was extreme. But that never got in the way of helping young men and women, one at a time, evaluating each need separately with care and concern. As the years have progressed, so has the scope and reach of the organization. The annual luncheon now requires a major hotel ballroom. Recently, the 14th annual scholarship luncheon unfolded at the Fashion Island Hotel. Co-chaired by Jeanne Boyce and Yvette McCarthy, 300 ladies and gentlemen attended. Organizers invited Steve Pemberton, a corporate executive, youth advocate and author to share his life story. Pemberton had the crowd listening to his every word. His life experience resonated with the 44 Women message. As a boy, Pemberton was abandoned by his biological family and ended up in foster care. He suffered untold neglect. He told the audience that his foster family, in addition to not providing any love, support or the basic fundamental needs of a child growing up, had no real interest in his education or development. They didnt even allow him to read books, a pastime in which he was truly interested. Can you imagine the callousness of an adult guardian not allowing a child to read? Jenny Klein, Event Sponsor Shahrzad Bina representing Twila True with Orangewood board member Susan Samueli. (Courtesy of Ann Chatillon) Pemberton sought refuge in his elementary school. Apparently school becoming a place of hope and security is an experience shared among many foster youth. Pembertons overriding message was that three decent people came into his life and set him on course. One was a man who saw his potential and took him in when he had nowhere else to go. Today, Pemberton is happily married with three children and a successful corporate career. He is also the author of the autobiographical book, A Chance in the World. Talk to children in the language of their dreams, not that of their current circumstances, he said at the conclusion of his address. Joining Pemberton at the podium were youth speakers Orlando Roybal and Desiree Luna. Both delivered their upbeat messages with hope for their futures and sincere appreciation to 44 Women for scholarship assistance and mentoring. As a four-course luncheon was served by the Fashion Island Hotel, prominent guests, including event committee members Carey Clawson, Karen Goldhirsh, Judy Nicholls and Shahrzad Bina, were among the supporting women producing the event alongside co-chairs Boyce and McCarthy. Front and center were Kimberly Kirksey and title sponsor Hein Papaian. Shirley Pepys, a longtime dedicated advocate, joined Shannon Tarnutzer, Lupe Erwin, Sandi Jackson and Chris Simonsen, chief executive of the Orangewood Foundation. Alicia McCarthy and her father Kevin McCarthy at the annual scholarship luncheon. (Photos by Ann Chatillon /) Major sponsors and underwriters included Ducks executives Wendy Arciero and Gina Galasso. They joined foundation board members Bruce Fetter, Dan Houck and John Stratman. Reshma Block, Peggy Holt, Jenny Klein and Bob Theemling, chief program officer of the Orangewood Foundation, attended as well. Helping to raise money for the cause were Mike Shumard, handling the fund a need portion of the program. Generous sponsors underwrote an opportunity drawing with prizes provided by South Coast Plaza, the Los Angeles Angels, Oak Grill, Yves Saint Laurent, The Ritz Carlton, Laguna Niguel and dermatologist Anne Marie McNeill. To learn more about the Orangewood Foundation and the 44 Women for Orangewood Auxiliary, visit 44WomenforOrangewood.org. B.W. COOK is editor of the Bay Window, the official publication of the Balboa Bay Club in Newport Beach. Helane Royce said she was inspired by the frustration of swinging through every style on store racks to see which had the shoulder cutout, which can make garments look more like tank tops as the semi-detached sleeves dangle off the hanger. So the Newport Beach woman has re-engineered the clothes hanger. Royces Her Royal Hanger is a thick but lightweight plastic hanger on a swivel hook think the type often seen on store racks with four notches on the arms (instead of two) to make sure blouses and dresses with the trendy cold shoulder cutout style stay neatly in place. By holding the sleeves up in the lower grippy notches, the hanger gives at-a-glance identification and keeps the sleeves from tipping the hanger and sliding toward the floor. The hanger also accommodates wide-neck, off-the-shoulder and classic full-coverage styles. The hangers are available on Amazon and through hangers.com. Learn more at herroyalhanger.com. Lilly Pulitzer coming soon to Fashion Island The iconic preppy florals of the Lilly Pulitzer brand are hitting the West Coast for the first time with a store at Fashion Island in Newport Beach. The shop is scheduled to open in February with swimsuits and cover-ups, dresses, sportswear, athleisure, accessories and jewelry for women and girls, and limited edition capsule collections for the whole family. Anti-fog tech creators find backers Newport Beach-based AFC has reached its Kickstarter goal and is preparing to sell its anti-fog film for lenses and other clear surfaces. The hydrophilic coated film layers atop mirrors, helmet shields, goggles and car windshields to lower the distortion rate through water droplets and allow moisture to disperse quickly. The Kickstarter campaign is still active at kck.st/2KLYlyv for customers who want to be the first to get the product. The creators expect delivery in November. New restaurant roundup Broken Yolk Cafe: The Broken Yolk Cafe serves breakfast and brunch in Costa Mesa. The San Diego-based chains offerings include huevos rancheros, breakfast tacos, Nutella crepes and Tiki Toast French toast made with Hawaiian bread and topped with strawberries, blueberries, shredded coconut, caramel drizzle and powdered sugar. Broken Yolk Cafe, 2701 Harbor Blvd., is open from 6 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. weekdays and 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. weekends. Cava: You can build your own Mediterranean meals at Cava in Costa Mesa. The Washington, D.C.-based fast-casual chain offers salad, pitas, grain bowls and soups, hummus, tzatziki and other dips and spreads, and homemade juices and teas. Proteins include spicy lamb meatballs, grilled chicken and roasted seasonal vegetables. Cava, 350 E. 17th St., is open from 10:45 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily. Duck Donuts: Made-to-order doughnuts from Duck Donuts are now available in Huntington Beach. The North Carolina-based chain specializes in build-your-own doughnuts, with vanilla cake doughnuts as a base for toppings like chocolate icing and sprinkles or maple icing and bacon. The menu also includes a doughnut breakfast sandwich, doughnut sundaes, and an assortment of coffees. Duck Donuts, 18591 Main St., is open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily. This is an example of the Portuguese-Hawaiian masala pastry available at Fill in Costa Mesa. (Courtesy of Fill) Fill: Fill brings malasadas and small-batch ice cream to Costa Mesa. Malasadas are doughnut-like, sugar-dusted fried dough balls from Portugal. They became a part of Hawaiian culture when Portuguese immigrants came to work the sugar fields in the 19th century. Fills malasadas are made to order and can be coated in cane, cinnamon or coconut sugar. The eaterys ice creams come in tropical flavors like vegan brown butter roasted pineapple, Royal Kona coffee, roasted black sesame and passion fruit-orange-guava. Owner James Mullis is a Hawaii native who moved to Orange County at age 21. Fill, 1767 Newport Blvd., is open from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily. Jimboys Tacos: Sacramento-based Jimboys Tacos has added a Huntington Beach Pier-adjacent location for its enduring brand of Mexican-inspired quick-serve cuisine. The taco chain, familiar to Northern Californians, is expanding its Southern California footprint. It already has an Anaheim location and is planning to open Irvine and Brea spots in August and September. Menu items include a spicy veggie masala taco, a taco burger and the original Parmesan-dusted ground beef taco. Tacos are served in Jimboys signature griddled not fried corn tortilla shells. Jimboys, 120 Fifth St., is open from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily. Pacific View cemetery manager honored Marie Hess, center, location manager at Pacific View Memorial Park & Mortuary in Corona del Mar, was honored as 2018 Funeral Director of the Year by the California Funeral Directors Assn. at a June banquet in Newport Beach. (Courtesy of California Funeral Directors Assn.) Marie Hess, location manager at Pacific View Memorial Park & Mortuary in Corona del Mar, has been named the 2018 Funeral Director of the Year by the California Funeral Directors Assn. She was honored at CFDAs Presidents Banquet in June at the Balboa Bay Resort in Newport Beach. Costa Mesa City Council members will put their heads together in a special meeting Friday to discuss whether to pursue legal action in response to a state decision to allow a mobile needle-exchange program to operate in the citys Westside. Though the deliberation will take place in closed session, residents can address the council when the meeting officially starts at noon at City Hall, 77 Fair Drive. The meeting comes amid a wave of outrage among residents online and among roughly 30 people who attended a rally Thursday afternoon to protest the needle exchange. On Monday, the California Department of Public Health approved a proposal from the Orange County Needle Exchange Program to distribute needles and other supplies in Costa Mesa, Anaheim, Orange and Santa Ana for two years starting next week. Supporters say the effort will provide clean needles and help prevent the spread of diseases among intravenous drug users. In Costa Mesa, the nonprofit received state approval to operate on West 17th Street between Whittier Avenue and the city boundary from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesdays and Sundays. Since the proposal came to light earlier this year, Costa Mesa city staff, police officials and council members have presented a united front of opposition, contending the program could attract drug users to the community, undermine the recovery of residents in local sober-living homes and pose safety threats to the public or law enforcement. At this point, I think our only recourse is through the courts, because the state is just ignoring us, Councilwoman Katrina Foley said this week. Mayor Pro Tem Allan Mansoor organized Thursdays rally at the corner of 17th and Whittier. He said its important for the community to have a strong, united voice to stop this. The needle-exchange program used to operate out of the Santa Ana Civic Center and was the only one of its kind in Orange County. However, Santa Ana scrapped the program in January, citing an increase in the number of discarded syringes in the area. They were kicked out of Santa Ana because of their failed procedures, Mansoor said. They failed to collect the needles and many officers and people in the community were stuck by these needles. Though Mansoor said hes sympathetic to the exchange clients need for help, he doesnt think its right to enable them and put our own children and ourselves at risk. Costa Mesa Mayor Sandy Genis speaks during Thursdays rally at the corner of West 17th Street and Whittier Avenue to protest a needle-exchange programs plans to operate in the city. (Photo by Luke Money) People at the rally carried signs reading More needles = more crime, Kids over needles and Is free crack next? Politicians who attended, including Mayor Sandy Genis and Orange County Supervisor Todd Spitzer, said the needle exchange is a bad fit for Costa Mesa, especially since the proposed operating area is close to homes, businesses and Whittier Elementary School. David Salcido, who has lived on West 17th Street for more than 40 years, said his reaction when he heard about the program was that it would be bad, bad, bad. Hes concerned it will lead to needles on the sidewalk and on the street and the lawns and in the shrubbery and the bushes and the driveways. Its not going to make people feel any more secure to know theres people walking up and down the street to get their needles, he said. Salcido collected names and contact information from people at the rally and said hes considering starting a coalition to oppose the program. The working name of the group is Citizens Against Needle Exchange. The county Board of Supervisors also will hold a special meeting Friday at 8:30 a.m. in Santa Ana to discuss possible litigation aimed at halting the program. I am absolutely confident we will take action to sue this group that wants to come into our communities and exchange needles, Spitzer said. However, Dallas Augustine a member of the programs board of directors said in a statement Wednesday that the groups harm-reduction approach is a key, research-driven way to save lives and quell the spread of infectious disease. We stand ready to not only continue serving our clients with the dignity and respect that they deserve, but respond to our neighbors concerns about needle litter by providing more consistent sharps disposal, community needle sweeps and a hotline to report improperly discharged syringes, Augustine added. luke.money@latimes.com Twitter @LukeMMoney The Costa Mesa City Council and Orange County Board of Supervisors are joining forces, agreeing in separate special meetings Friday to move ahead with a lawsuit seeking an injunction to block a mobile needle-exchange service that recently received state approval to operate in Costa Mesa and three other Orange County cities. As part of a 4-0 vote to join legal action the county decided on earlier in the day, Costa Mesa council members directed city staff to return next week with an urgency ordinance declaring that the Orange County Needle Exchange Program would be a nuisance because of its proximity to local schools and senior-living facilities, the number of needles that would be handed out and what city officials characterized as a poor track record for managing and disposing of distributed syringes. Councilman Jim Righeimer was absent. Its not a time for talking its time for action, said Councilman John Stephens. Lets get it on. Since learning of the proposal earlier this year, Costa Mesa city staff, police officials and council members have been unified in opposition. They contend the program could attract drug users to the community, undermine the recovery of residents in local sober-living homes, pose safety threats to the public or law enforcement and force families, children and senior citizens to dodge discarded syringes. A board member for the needle exchange did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday. On Monday, the California Department of Public Health approved a proposal to allow the program to distribute needles and other supplies for two years in Costa Mesa, Anaheim, Orange and Santa Ana. Supporters say such programs provide clean needles and help prevent the spread of diseases among intravenous drug users. Though the states authorization is effective next week, Costa Mesa Mayor Sandy Genis said Friday that her understanding is the program wouldnt launch until September. In Costa Mesa, the program would operate on West 17th Street between Whittier Avenue and the city boundary from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesdays and Sundays. In a letter to the affected cities this week, Department of Public Health Director Karen Smith wrote there is a public health need for these services due to the significant risk for transmission of HIV and Hepatitis C among people who inject drugs in Orange County. She said the department had identified Orange County as among the California counties most vulnerable to rapid spread of injection drug-use-related infections. Critics, however, say the envisioned Costa Mesa location is inappropriate given its close proximity to homes, businesses and schools, including Whittier Elementary School. The states decision set off an uproar in affected communities and sent elected officials scrambling for a way to stop the program. We have taken significant steps in the last year to clean up our streets, not the least is our efforts with the homeless, county Supervisor Andrew Do said Friday. We have succeeded in doing so in significant parts of the county. Our progress is threatened and undermined by this needle-exchange program. Now we can send a loud and clear message to the state that Orange County will not allow our sidewalks, our parks, our libraries, to be a hazardous site. Previously, the needle exchange operated out of the Santa Ana Civic Center and was the only one of its kind in Orange County. However, Santa Ana scuttled it in January, citing an increase in the number of discarded syringes in the area. We need to stop this because its clear that the people who are operating this have no interest in having any consideration for our community, so we need to keep them out of our community, Genis said. Costa Mesa Councilwoman Katrina Foley characterized the needle exchange as another slap in the face for the city, citing the states continued approval of sober-living homes and other addiction recovery facilities despite local opposition. We must not tolerate this anymore, she said. Our city is not the dumping ground for every drug addict and rehab center in the state of California, and we need to fight back. This lawsuit is the first step, I think. Staff writer Ben Brazil contributed to this report. luke.money@latimes.com Twitter @LukeMMoney A new chief executive is heading the Pacific Marine Mammal Center, and he plans to expand the Laguna Beach facility and boost its reputation. Peter Chang officially began work in mid-July, though he didnt start full time until Wednesday. He comes to the center after serving as executive director of the Child Creativity Lab, a Santa Ana-based nonprofit that seeks to inspire children to be critical thinkers, innovators and leaders. He also has a background in corporate strategic planning, working for Allergan and Edwards Lifesciences. He has a bachelors degree from USC and masters degrees from UCLA and the University of Rochester in New York. Changs entry as CEO enables the centers executive director, Keith Matassa, to transfer into a new role as director of zoological and conservation programs. Matassa will focus on expanding the centers animal care, research and collaborative efforts, leaving Chang to focus on overseeing the facilitys physical expansion, fundraising, day-to-day management and community outreach. Chang said in an interview that hes not going to change the core of what PMMC is all about. The center on Laguna Canyon Road, founded in 1971, was Californias first marine mammal rehabilitation facility, and it will remain true to its goal of rehabilitating and releasing marine mammals back into the sea, he said. However, Chang said hed like to expand the centers efforts in education, ocean stewardship and research, aspects that ultimately will have larger regional and national effects and enhance the facilitys reputation. PMMCs roughly dozen staff members have amazing backgrounds in marine science, Chang said. Were trying to leverage that more. Publishing more in scientific journals will be part of boosting the reputation, he added. The center also is looking to add classrooms and more research labs, Chang said. To show its commitment to the environment, Chang said PMMC wants to install its own water treatment plant. The center uses a lot of water 15,000 gallons a day on average to make it suitable for marine life. A treatment plant would reclaim dirty water and filter it, allowing PMMC to use significantly less water 1,500 to 2,250 gallons a day. It tells the community that were so in the belief of our conservation goals that were investing in the right thing to do, Chang said. Chang said the centers staff and approximately 100 regular volunteers are the backbone of everything we do. Talking with them makes me realize how special this organization is. Its amazing to see an animal thats half its typical weight come in and see it released, he said. But really, whats special is all the love thats being put in to take care of these animals. Bradley Zint is a contributor to Times Community News. Newport Beachs American Legion post is supporting the national American Legion in a U.S. Supreme Court fight over the constitutionality of a publicly maintained cross-shaped World War I memorial in Maryland. At issue is the Bladensburg World War I Memorial, which a local American Legion post erected in 1925 to honor 49 men from Prince Georges County, Md., who died in the Great War. The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission maintains the 40-foot monument. The American Humanist Assn. says the towering cross is a symbol of Christianity that violates the Constitutions Establishment Clause, which is generally held to provide for separation of church and state. The group and three local residents sued the commission in 2014, asking that the court order the cross removed or altered so it is no longer shaped like a cross. The American Legions Newport Harbor Post 291 signed onto a friend-of-the-court brief July 27 with several other veterans organizations and retired Army Maj. Gen. Patrick Brady, a Medal of Honor recipient, to support leaving the cross as it is. The Newport post operates a Defense of Memorials Project and previously supported preservation of the cross-shaped Mojave Desert and Mount Soledad veterans memorials. According to the brief, the Newport post got involved in the Maryland case to address its fears that potential memorials on city land and the planned Orange County veterans cemetery could lead to lawsuits if crosses or other imagery with both religious and military connotations are included. Post 291 seeks clarity in the law to avoid the need to expend precious time and resources defending memorials that should not be considered controversial, the brief states. The Maryland commission appealed the case to the Supreme Court after a 4th Circuit Court of Appeals panel ruled in October that the memorial excessively entangles government and religion. The 4th Circuit declined to rehear the case in March. hillary.davis@latimes.com Twitter: @Daily_PilotHD Over strong objections from officials in affected cities, the California Department of Public Health on Monday approved a program that provides intravenous drug users in Orange County access to clean needles. The authorization allows the Orange County Needle Exchange Program to start operating Monday in Anaheim, Costa Mesa, Orange and Santa Ana. There is a public health need for these services, due to the significant risk for transmission of HIV and Hepatitis C among people who inject drugs in Orange County, Department of Public Health Director Karen Smith said in a letter to the cities. The exchange formerly operated out of the Santa Ana Civic Center before that city shut it down in mid-January over concerns about the number of discarded syringes. While local officials have objected to the mobile exchange, the program only needs state approval. County Supervisor Andrew Do reiterated his misgivings Wednesday. Needle programs like this are a proven failure for the neighborhoods that have to live with their impact, which tend to be lower-income areas, Do said in an email. Drug needles end up in public libraries, parks and on sidewalks and jeopardize the health and safety of our children. He also complained that the state ignored the wishes of affected cities. What is most offensive about these needle exchange programs is they seek to subvert local interests and ignore city restrictions by Sacramento bureaucrats who dont have to face the consequences of their decisions, he added. The Orange County Board of Supervisors unanimously decided at an emergency meeting on Friday morning to fight the states authorization in court. Do said that a complaint will be filed later Friday in San Diego Superior Court because it has an office of the state attorney general. The county is also seeking a temporary restraining order on the needle exchange program. Do said they are hoping to hear back on that by Monday. Several city officials and law enforcement personnel showed up to the meeting, including Costa Mesa Councilwoman Katrina Foley, Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido and District Attorney Tony Rackauckas. Each official showed support for the county taking legal action against the states decision. The Costa Mesa City Council also scheduled a special meeting for Friday afternoon to discuss potential legal action. The Orange County Needle Exchange Program handed out syringes at the Santa Ana Civic Center before having its permit denied months ago. The program received state approval for a mobile service in Anaheim, Costa Mesa, Orange and Santa Ana. (File Photo) Smith argued in the letter that Orange is among the counties most vulnerable to the spread of injection-related HIV and hepatitis infections. The services proposed by [the needle exchange] will play a crucial public health role in the prevention of blood-borne diseases, as well as offering support and linkage to critical medical care and social services, she wrote. The comments didnt sway Santa Ana city officials, who said in a statement that they were still deeply concerned about the danger of abandoned syringes. Costa Mesa Mayor Sandy Genis called the program irresponsible. Dallas Augustine, a board member for the needle exchange, said in an email that the group was pleased with the states decision. Orange County, like many other counties across the U.S., is facing an unprecedented opioid epidemic, and our harm reduction approach is a key, research-driven way to save lives and quell the spread of infectious disease, her email stated. We stand ready to not only continue serving our clients with the dignity and respect that they deserve, but respond to our neighbors concerns about needle litter by providing more consistent sharps disposal, community needle sweeps, and a hotline to report improperly discharged syringes. As part of the approval, the needle exchange will be required to work with the Orange County Health Care Agency to increase disposal options, start a hotline so needle exchange members can receive reports of improperly discarded syringes, and conduct syringe-recovery services in and around the areas of operation. An independent party will assess syringe litter in each location with an eye toward possibly improving the exchanges approach to clean-up. The program is approved for a two-year period ending Aug. 6, 2020, but the organization can apply for an extension before then. benjamin.brazil@latimes.com Twitter:@benbrazilpilot Hello, my name is John Cherwa and welcome back to our horse racing newsletter as we marvel at who won the Del Mar feature on Thursday. Theres always a lot of talk about field size. So, as an exercise in math, I took Thursdays card and looked at what the average field size at the 16 tracks that were running that day. (We only counted tracks in the mainland U.S. and not Puerto Rico.) Why Thursday? Its one of the more challenging days for racing secretaries to fill. Remember, you are only as strong as your weakest link. Now, I used the number of horses that were assigned a post position. I did not take into account scratches. Also, I counted an entry as two horses, even though in most cases there was never the intent to run both horses. Thats a Saratoga thing. So, what we learned is that California has the high and it has the bottom. Del Mar, on Thursday, had an average field size of 10.375. At the bottom, is the Sonoma County Fair at Santa Rosa at 6.625. Great for Del Mar. Not so good for the fair circuit. The fair circuit has come under scrutiny lately, some raising the idea that it is a relic of the past. Golden Gate, and the Stronach Group, has not made it a secret that they believe the state would be better served if Golden Gate had those dates. Now, it should be noted that Golden Gate runs its share of five and six horse fields, too. But, that discussion was not the purpose of this exercise. So here are the numbers. Second, an observation, Saratoga, which seems to lead to genuflection from everyone on the East Coast, is a lot lower than you might think. If you add in the scratches of the coupled entries, it would be even lower. Now, realize that Saratoga is the only track running 10 races. And, yeah, Saratoga is a big deal. OK, OK, so what did the winner of Thursdays feature race say when he won? Gee, Eric the Trojan, that sure was a nice late run you made there. Or, to third place Tinas Exchange: Hey, lets call up some fillies and tell them were talent agents. All right, if you read Thursdays newsletter, you read my tempered homage to Eddie Haskell, Wallys good friend and torturer of Beaver. His namesake won the five furlong turf allowance on Thursday by just a nose over the late rally of favorite Eric the Trojan. Eddies success should not be a surprise as he had won twice at Del Mar. Hes a good Cal-bred son of Square Eddie. Anyway, if it had been five furlongs and one yard, he would have finished second. But it wasnt. Now, Ive got to look for a horse named Lumpy Rutherford. Wait. This just in. There was such a horse. He ran a secondary circuit back east from 2000 to 2005. He won 12 of 61 races, too. So, well try Miss Landers. Nope, there was filly named that but she never raced. She was foaled in 1986 but never got to the track. So, Im guessing the name is still available. Next installment of night-time racing during the daylight at Del Mar is Friday. That means a 4 p.m. first post. There are eight races including a minor stakes. The seventh race is the Daisycutter Handicap, a five-furlong turf race for fillies and mares 3 and up. It carries with it a $75,000 purse. The favorite is Okinawa, at 2-1, for Richard Baltas and jockey Corey Nakatani . This will be Nakatanis first trip on the filly. She has two wins in six races, including two of the last four. She finished second in her last race at Belmont. This will be her first California race. Out of The Flames, for Simon Callaghan and Flavien Prat , is the 5-2 second favorite. She started her career in England but has run four races in Southern California. She is three of 11 lifetime. She has two wins in a row, the last one coming at Aqueduct. Sea Sensation (7-2) overcame trouble to graduate in her initial start around two turns when defeating maiden special weights. Mo See Cal (5-1) just missed vs. restricted claimers but was tagged by high-percentage trainer Peter Miller and has some back class in her corner. Box the exacta as these two figure to battle in out in this starter allowance race going a mile on turf. There is a pick 6 carryover of $27,417 when racing resumes at Los Alamitos on Friday night. First post is 7:55 p.m. with the pick 6 sequence beginning in the third race. With the new money expected to be wagered on Friday, the total pool could be close to $100,000. On Saturday night, Robert Adair Kindergarten Futurity finalist Cole Man 47, Bitterroot Futurity finalist Fames Prize Stone, and Cowboys Futurity finalist Allyson Wonderland are among a well-traveled group of runners that will compete in a pair of trials to the John Deere California Juvenile. Among the 18 horses competing in the trials will be runners that have traveled to Southern California from Idaho, Oregon, Utah, and Washington. There will be nine races on Saturday with the 350-yard trials slated as races eight and nine. The horses with the 10 fastest times will return here for the final on Aug. 18. The winner will qualify to the Grade 2 John Deere Juvenile final to be held as part of Bank of America Racing Challenge Night here on Saturday, One other notable horse racing in the trials is local star Capitol Grille, who is half-sister to Governors Cup Derby winner Black Fryday. Shell run in race nine. The biggest star racing at Los Alamitos this weekend is A Political Lady, as shell run in Sundays trials to the Grade 2, $221,300 Golden State Derby. Trained by Chris ODell , the daughter of 2010 AQHA world champion Apollitical Jess has won her last six starts and is currently the top 3-year-old filly on the grounds. Shes won three stakes this year. Other top names racing in the derby trials include Grade 1 Los Alamitos Winter Derby winner Jess My Kiss and Ditto Head, who is back after a troubled start when 10 th in the Governors Cup Derby last Saturday. Jockey Oscar Peinado will be sidelined for at least eight months after fracturing vertebras in his neck and back when he was unseated after his mount, Unusual Kiddy, fell during the running of the eighth race last Sunday. Hes in good spirits, but please keep him in your thoughts, said his agent, April Ward . This filly blew the start when coming away exceptionally slow before shifting to the far outside in last sixth-place outing when loaded with run crossing the wire. She now switches to the outside post, drops in class and can improve sharply while only making her second start since December. She was competitive vs. stronger last year and was under big hold late in solo 18.3 gate work prior to last start. If you would like to subscribe to the newsletter you can click here and sign up . Remember, its free, and all we need is your email, nothing more. Tell your friends, or even people you dont like that much. Del Mar Charts Results for Thursday, August 2. Copyright 2018 by Equibase Company. Reproduction prohibited. Del Mar Thoroughbred Club, Del Mar, California. All finishes confirmed by Plusmic USA. Official program numbers may not correspond with post position. 12th day of a 36-day meet. Clear & Firm FIRST RACE. 1 Mile Turf. Purse: $62,000. Allowance Optional Claiming. Fillies and Mares. 3 year olds and up. Claiming Price $20,000. Time 23.37 47.55 1:11.95 1:24.12 1:36.45 Pgm Horse Wt PP St Str Fin Jockey $1 2 Clearly Gone 122 2 5 51 5 3hd 21 1nk Prat 2.90 3 Streak of Luck 118 3 4 2 2 1hd 1hd 2hd Stevens 1.80 7 So Golden 122 7 7 7 61 41 31 32 Desormeaux 7.90 6 Marilyn's Smile 120 6 3 64 7 7 53 45 T Baze 18.10 1 Funny Bean 118 1 1 1 1hd 21 4 51 Elliott 9.20 4 Cleverly Beverly 122 4 2 31 3hd 5hd 61 62 Franco 2.60 5 Moscato Girl 122 5 6 4 42 6 7 7 Van Dyke 23.20 2 CLEARLY GONE 7.80 3.40 2.80 3 STREAK OF LUCK 2.60 2.60 7 SO GOLDEN 3.60 $1 EXACTA (2-3) $8.70 $2 QUINELLA (2-3) $8.20 10-CENT SUPERFECTA (2-3-7-6) $19.75 50-CENT TRIFECTA (2-3-7) $22.90 WinnerClearly Gone Dbb.f.4 by Unusual Heat out of Quickly Gone, by Muqtarib. Bred by Harris Farms (CA). Trainer: Sean McCarthy. Owner: Harris Farms, Inc. and Marchese, Joe. Mutuel Pool $227,885 Exacta Pool $113,464 Quinella Pool $6,537 Superfecta Pool $37,543 Trifecta Pool $73,143. Scratchednone. CLEARLY GONE steadied off heels into the backstretch, saved ground stalking the pace, came a bit off the rail into the second turn, bid three deep into the stretch, took a short lead outside the runner-up past the eighth pole, battled three wide through the final furlong while brushing with that one and gamely prevailed under urging. STREAK OF LUCK pressed the pace outside a rival then between foes, took a short lead into the stretch, brushed with the winner past midstretch, fought back between horses and continued willingly to the end. SO GOLDEN bobbled in a bit of a slow start, saved ground chasing the pace, came out into the stretch, went around the pacesetter in midstretch then bid along the rail and also went on well to the wire. MARILYN'S SMILE chased outside a rival then a bit off the rail, continued inside on the second turn, came out into the stretch and bested the others. FUNNY BEAN had good early speed and set a pressured pace inside, fought back leaving the second turn and into the stretch and weakened in the final furlong. CLEVERLY BEVERLY three deep into the first turn, pressed the pace three wide between foes then three deep leaving the second turn and into the stretch and also weakened. MOSCATO GIRL four wide into the first turn, prompted the pace four wide then stalked on the second turn, came four wide into the stretch and also weakened. A claim of foul by the rider of the runner-up against the winner for alleged interference in the stretch was not allowed by the stewards, who ruled the former initiated the contact and the light contact between the two did not warrant a disqualification. SECOND RACE. 1 Mile. Purse: $20,000. Claiming. Fillies and Mares. 3 year olds and up. Claiming Prices $16,000-$14,000. Time 23.08 47.35 1:13.15 1:26.41 1:39.65 Pgm Horse Wt PP St Str Fin Jockey $1 6 Majestic Design 119 6 3 43 31 24 11 12 Espinoza 2.50 4 Midnight Lilly 124 4 8 8 8 41 32 21 Pereira 2.90 2 Warrior Vixen 124 2 7 7 7hd 5hd 42 37 T Baze 10.60 3 Khaleesi 117 3 1 1 1 12 23 41 Figueroa 5.30 5 Misty Slew 118 5 6 5hd 61 3hd 54 53 Prat 15.60 1 Heartofthetemple 122 1 2 62 5hd 75 63 610 Gonzalez 94.30 8 Sweet Treat 119 8 4 2hd 21 6 78 711 Payeras 6.80 7 Persistence 124 7 5 3hd 41 8 8 8 Elliott 3.60 6 MAJESTIC DESIGN 7.00 3.80 3.00 4 MIDNIGHT LILLY 4.20 3.00 2 WARRIOR VIXEN 5.40 $2 DAILY DOUBLE (2-6) $29.20 $1 EXACTA (6-4) $13.10 $2 QUINELLA (4-6) $15.60 10-CENT SUPERFECTA (6-4-2-3) $27.32 50-CENT TRIFECTA (6-4-2) $37.40 WinnerMajestic Design B.f.4 by Gio Ponti out of Majestic Beauty, by Diesis (GB). Bred by J.B. Orem, Michael Orem &Gail McMichael Lane (KY). Trainer: Richard Baltas. Owner: Calvin Nguyen. Mutuel Pool $247,875 Daily Double Pool $54,419 Exacta Pool $150,307 Quinella Pool $6,680 Superfecta Pool $56,052 Trifecta Pool $95,908. ClaimedPersistence (IRE) by Jerry Jamgotchian. Trainer: Manuel Calvario. Scratchednone. MAJESTIC DESIGN three deep into the first turn, stalked between foes then a bit off the rail, bid outside the pacesetter to take the lead in the stretch and won clear under urging. MIDNIGHT LILLY bobbled in a bit of a slow start, chased outside a rival then off the rail, came three wide into the stretch and gained the place. WARRIOR VIXEN saved ground chasing the pace, went around a rival on the second turn then cut the corner into other stretch, went around the pacesetter past midstretch and bested the others. KHALEESI (BRZ) had speed outside a rival then angled in on the first turn, set a pressured pace inside, kicked clear on the second turn and weakened in the final furlong. MISTY SLEW chased outside a rival, split horses on the second turn, continued a bit off the rail into the stretch and also weakened. HEARTOFTHETEMPLE steadied along the inside on the first turn, saved ground chasing the pace to the stretch and lacked a further response. SWEET TREAT five wide into the first turn, pressed the pace four wide leaving that turn then outside a rival on the backstretch, dropped back on the second turn, came four wide into the stretch and gave way. PERSISTENCE (IRE) four wide into the first turn, prompted the pace between horses then stalked outside a rival, dropped back into and on the second turn and had nothing left for the stretch. THIRD RACE. 1 Mile Turf. Purse: $32,000. Waiver Maiden Claiming. 3 year olds and up. Claiming Prices $62,500-$55,000. Time 23.32 48.78 1:13.18 1:24.76 1:36.42 Pgm Horse Wt PP St Str Fin Jockey $1 4 Kalei 116 3 3 22 21 21 1 11 Espinoza 21.40 5 Tequila Blanco 121 4 4 4hd 41 51 3hd 2 Pereira 1.10 3 Ostini 121 2 5 1 11 1hd 21 3 T Baze 27.70 1 Cosa Nostra 120 1 8 6hd 71 6hd 61 4 Bejarano 4.30 7 Culpable 117 6 6 92 92 8hd 71 5 Prat 5.60 9 Hachiman 120 8 2 51 5hd 4 51 61 Maldonado 5.30 6 Turnaround 117 5 1 31 3hd 31 4hd 72 Mn Garcia 8.60 11 Super Classic 113 10 9 10 10 10 10 82 Figueroa 97.80 8 Buddy Bear 124 7 10 71 6hd 71 82 93 Quinonez 34.20 10 War in the West 121 9 7 81 81 93 9hd 10 Elliott 92.60 4 KALEI 44.80 12.40 7.20 5 TEQUILA BLANCO 3.00 2.80 3 OSTINI 9.00 $2 DAILY DOUBLE (6-4) $151.80 $1 EXACTA (4-5) $65.20 $2 QUINELLA (4-5) $34.60 10-CENT SUPERFECTA (4-5-3-1) $250.64 50-CENT TRIFECTA (4-5-3) $355.50 $2 CONSOLATION DOUBLE (6-2) $7.20 WinnerKalei B.g.4 by City Zip out of Kaydara, by Kris S. Bred by Mr. & Mrs. J. S. Moss (KY). Trainer: John A. Shirreffs. Owner: Moss, Mr. and Mrs. Jerome S.. Mutuel Pool $289,387 Daily Double Pool $33,345 Exacta Pool $169,402 Quinella Pool $8,643 Superfecta Pool $79,029 Trifecta Pool $115,913. ScratchedBig Sky Logan, Bitter Ring Home, Gotnoquit, Spirit Mission. $1 Pick Three (2-6-4) paid $408.20. Pick Three Pool $68,595. $1 Consolation Pick Three (2-6-2) paid $13.50. KALEI pressed then stalked the pace outside a rival, bid again on the second turn to gain the lead in upper stretch, inched away under urging in deep stretch and proved best. TEQUILA BLANCO saved ground stalking the pace, came out for room in midstretch and outfinished rivals for the place. OSTINI had speed between horses then dueled inside, inched away briefly leaving the backstretch, fought back inside leaving the second turn and under urging in the stretch then had the rider lose the whip a sixteenth out and held third. COSA NOSTRA (IRE) bobbled some at the break, saved ground chasing the pace, came out into the stretch, split rivals past midstretch and was edged for the show. CULPABLE angled in and saved ground chasing the pace throughout and lacked the needed rally. HACHIMAN stalked outside a rival then three deep leaving the backstretch and on the second turn, came four wide into the stretch and could not offer the necessary late kick. TURNAROUND had speed outside foes then stalked off the rail or alongside a rival, came three deep into the stretch and did not rally. SUPER CLASSIC a bit slow into stride, angled in and settled just off the rail then inside on the second turn and lacked the needed response in the stretch. BUDDY BEAR off a bit slowly, chased between horses then outside a rival into and on the second turn and into the stretch and did not rally. WAR IN THE WEST chased three deep then outside a rival, came three wide into the stretch and was not a threat. FOURTH RACE. 6 Furlongs. Purse: $26,000. Maiden Claiming. Fillies and Mares. 3 year olds and up. Claiming Prices $40,000-$35,000. Time 22.41 46.50 59.18 1:11.79 Pgm Horse Wt PP St Str Fin Jockey $1 2 Lovely Raquel 124 2 1 5hd 51 22 14 Delgadillo 7.50 8 One Upper 120 8 2 21 21 1hd 22 Elliott 5.90 4 Vinaka 113 4 3 62 74 4hd 3 Figueroa 1.70 1 Bedford 113 1 5 3hd 3hd 5hd 41 Espinoza 14.20 6 Grandma Neta 120 6 8 71 6hd 6hd 51 Franco 21.30 5 Eskenforadrink 120 5 6 42 4hd 31 64 Bejarano 2.50 7 Jazzy 120 7 4 1 1hd 76 73 Pedroza 23.60 3 Bahama Mama 120 3 7 8 8 8 8 Gonzalez 7.00 2 LOVELY RAQUEL 17.00 7.20 3.80 8 ONE UPPER 6.00 3.80 4 VINAKA 2.20 $2 DAILY DOUBLE (4-2) $181.80 $1 EXACTA (2-8) $44.60 $2 QUINELLA (2-8) $38.00 10-CENT SUPERFECTA (2-8-4-1) $66.01 50-CENT TRIFECTA (2-8-4) $64.65 WinnerLovely Raquel Dbb.m.5 by Scat Daddy out of Atlas Valley, by Capote. Bred by Kendall E. Hansen, M.D. Racing, LLC (KY). Trainer: Victor L. Garcia. Owner: Juan J. Garcia. Mutuel Pool $248,481 Daily Double Pool $35,473 Exacta Pool $134,916 Quinella Pool $5,546 Superfecta Pool $47,344 Trifecta Pool $77,005. ClaimedVinaka by Jerry Jamgotchian. Trainer: Manuel Calvario. Scratchednone. $1 Pick Three (6-4-2) paid $434.10. Pick Three Pool $38,799. $1 Consolation Pick Three (6-2-2) paid $41.30. LOVELY RAQUEL stalked inside then a bit off the rail, split horses leaving the turn, bid inside the runner-up in the stretch to gain the lead past the eighth pole and drew clear under urging and a hold late. ONE UPPER angled in and dueled outside a rival, drifted out while taking the lead into the stretch, battled outside the winner in midstretch then could not match that one while clearly second best. VINAKA chased outside a rival then off the rail leaving the turn, came out into the stretch and edged a rival for third. BEDFORD saved ground stalking the pace, got through inside in the drive and was edged for the show. GRANDMA NETA broke slowly, chased outside then alongside a rival, went three deep on the turn and five wide into the stretch and lacked the needed rally. ESKENFORADRINK stumbled at the start, tugged her way along then stalked outside a rival, came out on the turn and four wide into the stretch and weakened. JAZZY had good early speed and angled in, dueled inside, fought back on the turn and weakened in the stretch. BAHAMA MAMA broke a bit slowly, settled inside then a bit off the rail, came out leaving the turn and into the stretch and did not rally. FIFTH RACE. 1 1/8 Mile Turf. Purse: $30,000. Starter Allowance. 3 year olds and up. Claiming Price $16,000. Time 23.78 48.57 1:12.35 1:36.16 1:48.15 Pgm Horse Wt PP St Str Fin Jockey $1 7 Tough It Out 124 7 3 71 73 5hd 32 1ns Gonzalez 6.60 4 Mithqaal 124 4 8 51 42 3hd 22 22 Antongeorgi III 2.80 1 Kristi's Copilot 124 1 2 12 11 11 1 3nk Talamo 6.20 9 Aztec Warrior 124 8 6 8hd 82 82 5hd 42 Prat 8.20 2 Popular Kid 124 2 5 31 3hd 43 41 51 Desormeaux 5.30 6 Yes Yes Yes 117 6 1 4 5 6 64 65 Figueroa 10.70 11 This Town 124 9 7 6hd 6hd 73 7hd 7 Quinonez 52.70 3 Plum Dandy 124 3 9 9 9 9 9 82 Bejarano 8.60 5 Lewis Vale 124 5 4 21 2 2hd 82 9 Elliott 4.60 7 TOUGH IT OUT 15.20 6.40 3.80 4 MITHQAAL 4.40 3.20 1 KRISTI'S COPILOT 4.20 $2 DAILY DOUBLE (2-7) $106.40 $1 EXACTA (7-4) $31.80 $2 QUINELLA (4-7) $26.40 10-CENT SUPERFECTA (7-4-1-9) $118.37 50-CENT TRIFECTA (7-4-1) $80.80 WinnerTough It Out Grr.g.5 by Grazen out of Mark Set Go, by Marquetry. Bred by Nick Alexander (CA). Trainer: Vladimir Cerin. Owner: James Slatin. Mutuel Pool $299,941 Daily Double Pool $37,423 Exacta Pool $163,936 Quinella Pool $7,380 Superfecta Pool $66,740 Trifecta Pool $102,276. ScratchedDukes Up, Preacher Roe. $1 Pick Three (4-2-7) paid $781.40. Pick Three Pool $56,349. 50-Cent Pick Four (6-4-2-7) 4 correct paid $1,369.75. Pick Four Pool $195,643. 50-Cent Pick Five (2-6-4-2-7) 5 correct paid $5,935.55. Pick Five Pool $544,737. TOUGH IT OUT chased outside a rival then inside, moved up along the rail in the drive, came out in midstretch and rallied under vigorous handling to get up in the final stride. MITHQAAL broke in and bumped a rival, saved ground stalking the pace, came a bit off the rail on the second turn, bid outside a rival into the stretch, took the lead past the eighth pole, inched away in deep stretch and was caught on the line. KRISTI'S COPILOT sped to the early lead, set the pace inside, fought back along the rail in the stretch and just held third. AZTEC WARRIOR four wide in the chute, angled in and pulled some then steadied into the first turn, chased inside, came out some in the stretch and was edged for the show. POPULAR KID stalked outside a rival then three deep, came four wide into the stretch and lacked the needed rally. YES YES YES between horses early, stalked outside a rival then a bit off the rail, was in a bit tight a sixteenth out, angled in and could not offer the necessary response. THIS TOWN four wide in the chute, angled in and chased outside a rival then three deep on the second turn and into the stretch and lacked the needed late kick. PLUM DANDY bumped then squeezed at the start, settled inside, steadied into the first turn, saved ground, came out in the stretch and was not a threat. LEWIS VALE stalked a bit off the rail then between horses, dropped back some leaving the second turn and weakened. SIXTH RACE. 6 Furlongs. Purse: $20,000. Maiden Claiming. 3 year olds and up. Claiming Price $20,000. Time 22.24 46.08 58.69 1:12.26 Pgm Horse Wt PP St Str Fin Jockey $1 9 Raindance Rules 124 9 1 2hd 11 11 1 Conner 3.30 12 Kopitar 119 12 9 3hd 2 2 2 Espinoza 1.90 4 Blaze of Glory 120 4 3 51 33 33 3hd Franco 6.40 6 Going Away Party 120 6 4 81 4hd 42 43 Quinonez 48.80 8 Royal Seeker 119 8 2 6hd 6 51 5 Payeras 20.70 10 Derby Factor 113 10 6 10hd 9hd 75 61 Figueroa 47.50 1 Senditlikechilly 120 1 8 7hd 71 6hd 77 Pena 11.60 3 Uncontainable 120 3 12 92 102 81 8hd Pereira 88.40 7 Mystic Grey 124 7 11 12 113 93 95 Harvey 74.80 5 Chatterman 124 5 10 113 12 12 102 Elliott 5.50 2 Hayne's Pal 120 2 5 4hd 81 101 1119 Pedroza 7.80 11 Johnny's Got a Gun 124 11 7 12 5 11 12 Jimenez 43.50 9 RAINDANCE RULES 8.60 4.60 3.60 12 KOPITAR 3.60 3.00 4 BLAZE OF GLORY 4.00 $2 DAILY DOUBLE (7-9) $65.00 $1 EXACTA (9-12) $14.50 $2 QUINELLA (9-12) $11.60 10-CENT SUPERFECTA (9-12-4-6) $112.44 50-CENT TRIFECTA (9-12-4) $38.10 WinnerRaindance Rules Dbb.g.4 by Tribal Rule out of Kiss Kiss, by Pleasant Colony. Bred by Ed Moger Jr. & Pat Neary (CA). Trainer: Ed Moger, Jr.. Owner: Moger Inc.. Mutuel Pool $309,669 Daily Double Pool $31,441 Exacta Pool $200,133 Quinella Pool $7,088 Superfecta Pool $104,234 Trifecta Pool $135,443. ScratchedPacific Song, Rocking Chieftain. $1 Pick Three (2-7-9) paid $278.70. Pick Three Pool $48,637. RAINDANCE RULES stalked between horses, bid outside a rival on the turn to take the lead and inched away on the bend and held on gamely under urging. KOPITAR stalked four wide then three deep, continued outside a rival leaving the turn and into the stretch and finished willingly but could not catch the winner. BLAZE OF GLORY stalked between horses then outside a rival, found the fence into the stretch and held third. GOING AWAY PARTY washy at the gate, chased between horses, came out some in the stretch and found his best stride late. ROYAL SEEKER chased between foes early then outside, went three deep on the turn and into the stretch and lacked the needed rally. DERBY FACTOR dropped back between horses then settled off the rail, went four wide on the turn and into the stretch and could not offer the necessary response. SENDITLIKECHILLY sent inside to stalk the pace, continued along he rail on the turn and into the stretch and lacked a rally. UNCONTAINABLE broke a bit slowly, chased just off the rail, came three wide into the stretch and weakened. MYSTIC GREY broke inward and awkwardly, pulled between horses and steadied early, settled off the rail, angle in on the turn, swung three deep into the stretch and was not a threat. CHATTERMAN pulled between horses then dropped back off the rail, came four wide into the stretch and was not a threat. HAYNE'S PAL saved ground stalking the pace, came out into the stretch and had little left for the drive. JOHNNY'S GOT A GUN sped to the early lead, angled in and set the pace a bit off the rail, found the fence on the turn, offered little resistance when challenged on the bend, dropped back and gave way. SEVENTH RACE. 5 Furlongs Turf. Purse: $65,000. Allowance Optional Claiming. 3 year olds and up. Claiming Price $62,500. Time 21.92 43.75 55.96 Pgm Horse Wt PP St 3/16 3/8 Str Fin Jockey $1 9 Eddie Haskell 120 9 2 32 32 1 1ns Franco 3.90 2 Eric the Trojan 120 2 3 82 81 82 2 Prat 1.90 7 Tina's Exchange 122 7 8 4 53 51 31 T Baze 4.90 8 Aristocratic 120 8 5 51 4hd 4 4nk Delgadillo 15.20 4 Mrazek 120 4 7 2hd 2hd 21 51 Gutierrez 9.40 6 My Man Chuckles 120 6 9 9 9 9 6hd Nakatani 5.90 3 Sigur Ros 122 3 6 73 72 61 71 Elliott 8.80 5 Acceptance 120 5 1 6hd 6 7 81 Quinonez 44.60 1 Incensed 120 1 4 1 1hd 31 9 Maldonado 17.90 9 EDDIE HASKELL 9.80 5.00 3.60 2 ERIC THE TROJAN 3.80 2.80 7 TINA'S EXCHANGE 3.40 $2 DAILY DOUBLE (9-9) $39.80 $1 EXACTA (9-2) $14.90 $2 QUINELLA (2-9) $13.40 10-CENT SUPERFECTA (9-2-7-8) $37.69 50-CENT TRIFECTA (9-2-7) $26.70 WinnerEddie Haskell B.g.5 by Square Eddie out of Teresa Ann, by Boston Harbor. Bred by Reddam Racing LLC (CA). Trainer: Mark Glatt. Owner: Hailey, Jim and Wood, Philip J.. Mutuel Pool $414,142 Daily Double Pool $45,419 Exacta Pool $302,788 Quinella Pool $8,894 Superfecta Pool $114,333 Trifecta Pool $164,880. Scratchednone. $1 Pick Three (7-9-9) paid $160.80. Pick Three Pool $40,290. EDDIE HASKELL dueled three deep to the stretch, gained the advantage in upper stretch, battled outside a rival in midstretch, inched away under urging in deep stretch and held gamely. ERIC THE TROJAN saved ground off the pace, came out into the stretch and again in upper stretch and closed willingly late. TINA'S EXCHANGE stalked three deep between foes then a bit off the rail, found the inside on the turn, came out in the stretch and finished well between the top pair late. ARISTOCRATIC chased four wide then outside a rival on the turn, came out in the stretch and was outfinished. MRAZEK dueled between horses, fought back leaving the turn and in the stretch and weakened some late. MY MAN CHUCKLES dropped back a bit off the rail early, came out into thee stretch and lacked the needed rally. SIGUR ROS saved ground stalking the pace, came out some into the stretch and could not offer the necessary late response. ACCEPTANCE between horses early, stalked a bit off the rail then inside on the turn and into the stretch and did not rally. INCENSED had good early speed and dueled inside, fought back on the turn and into the stretch and weakened in the final furlong. HAND TIMED. EIGHTH RACE. 5 Furlongs. Purse: $23,000. Maiden Claiming. Fillies. 2 year olds. Claiming Prices $32,000-$28,000. Time 22.84 47.37 1:00.57 Pgm Horse Wt PP St 3/16 3/8 Str Fin Jockey $1 5 Be Lifted Up 111 5 9 7hd 6hd 4hd 1hd Figueroa 12.70 7 Curryforthree Bang 113 7 6 41 31 3 21 Espinoza 6.00 6 Daddy's Mistress 120 6 1 2hd 2hd 2 31 Roman 1.80 3 Lucky Flash 120 3 2 1 1hd 11 41 Fuentes 14.40 9 Hollywood Hills 120 9 4 3hd 4hd 72 5nk Franco 7.10 1 No Thanks Erik 120 1 7 61 5hd 51 63 Gutierrez 3.50 4 Are Rated 120 4 3 91 8hd 81 7 T Baze 8.10 10 Plan B 120 10 5 5hd 74 61 8 Pena 14.90 8 Orizaba 120 8 10 10 10 10 91 Delgadillo 58.00 2 Late Night Ride 118 2 8 8 91 9hd 10 Conner 49.20 5 BE LIFTED UP 27.40 11.20 6.00 7 CURRYFORTHREE BANG 8.00 4.60 6 DADDY'S MISTRESS 3.00 $2 DAILY DOUBLE (9-5) $126.40 $1 EXACTA (5-7) $87.40 $2 QUINELLA (5-7) $70.40 10-CENT SUPERFECTA (5-7-6-3) $272.84 $1 SUPER HIGH FIVE (5-7-6-3-9) $18,356.20 50-CENT TRIFECTA (5-7-6) $130.80 WinnerBe Lifted Up Dbb.f.2 by Ministers Wild Cat out of You Lift Me Up, by Lord Carson. Bred by Tommy Town Thoroughbreds, LLC (CA). Trainer: Steven Miyadi. Owner: Tommy Town Thoroughbreds LLC. Mutuel Pool $365,888 Daily Double Pool $113,998 Exacta Pool $217,380 Quinella Pool $9,090 Superfecta Pool $105,100 Super High Five Pool $24,052 Trifecta Pool $152,986. ClaimedBe Lifted Up by HP Thoroughbreds LLC (Brandon Hillman). Trainer: Sean McCarthy. ScratchedParty All Night, Portal Creek, Secret Maneuver, Twitterati. $2 Pick Six Jackpot (4-2-7-9-9-5) . Pick Six Jackpot Carryover $214,640. $1 Pick Three (9-9-5) paid $295.20. Pick Three Pool $148,294. 50-Cent Pick Four (7-9-9-5) 4 correct paid $914.50. Pick Four Pool $556,323. 50-Cent Pick Five (2-7-9-9-5) 5 correct paid $8,007.65. Pick Five Pool $283,290. $2 Pick Six (4-2-7-9-9-5) 5 out of 6 paid $1,827.80. Pick Six Pool $143,697. Pick Six Carryover $76,769. $1 Place Pick All 8 correct paid $903.50. Place Pick All Pool $26,047. BE LIFTED UP bumped at the start, stalked between horses on the backstretch and turn, rallied under urging between foes in the drive to gain the lead three wide in deep stretch and held gamely. CURRYFORTHREE BANG dueled three deep between foes then three wide leaving the turn and into the stretch, bid again four wide past midstretch and continued willingly. DADDY'S MISTRESS dueled between horses, came under urging in upper stretch, fought back in the drive, had the rider lose the whip past the eighth pole and held third. LUCKY FLASH had good early speed dueled a bit off the rail then inside, inched away and drifted out a bit from the whip in midstretch, drifted in a sixteenth out and weakened late. HOLLYWOOD HILLS pressed the pace four wide then stalked three deep leaving the turn and into the stretch and weakened some in the drive. NO THANKS ERIK had speed inside then saved ground stalking the pace, tried to get through along the rail but steadied a sixteenth out and was outfinished. ARE RATED stalked between horses then dropped back a bit off the rail leaving the backstretch, split horses leaving the turn and lacked the needed late kick. PLAN B stalked four wide then five wide into the turn, continued outside then four wide into the stretch and weakened. ORIZABA chased outside then off the rail, came four wide into the stretch and lacked the needed rally. LATE NIGHT RIDE saved ground stalking the pace, fell back some on the turn and weakened. Fare: $593 round trip, including all taxes and fees, from LAX to Rarotonga, Cook Islands, on Air New Zealand. Restrictions: Subject to availability. You must buy your ticket by Aug. 17. It is for travel Sept. 8, Nov. 10, Dec. 8, Jan. 26 and April 20-May 18. Info: Air New Zealand, (800) 262-1234 Source: Airfarewatchdog Advertisement travel@latimes.com @latimestravel Here are several ideas for fighting the heat thats baking so much of the state right now. Most are in Southern California, a few are farther north. All are drawn from our popular California Bucket List, which has grown to more than 365 entries. San Diego Crystal Pier Hotel, Pacific Beach, San Diego. Christopher Reynolds/Los Angeles Times Why: You won't find another pier in California with cottages on it, and this pier stands along one of San Diego's most popular beaches. What: The Crystal Pier Hotel & Cottages go back to the 1930s. Despite changes in owners (and many a dispute with city officials) in early decades, the operation has been run by the same family since 1961. The pier is wooden, with fishing at the end. The 31 units are painted white with blue trim and flower boxes. The beachfront promenade, Ocean Front Walk, is San Diego's answer to Venice -- a boisterous concentration of people, bikes and beach culture that runs three miles through the Pacific Beach and Mission Beach neighborhoods. Where: 4500 Ocean Blvd., San Diego, 115 miles southeast of downtown L.A. How much: Rooms (with kitchenettes) run $380 to $600 in summer, with a three-night minimum. And take note: You can't make reservations online -- just by phone and in person. Jalama Jalama Beach County Park, Santa Barbara County. Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times Why: Raw coastline, juicy burgers. What: To reach Jalama Beach County Park, you follow a twisting, two-lane highway from Lompoc to the edge of the continent and confront a horizon full of rough surf and raw, windy coastline. This campground (better for beachcombing than swimming) feels solitary, but there's a general store where they'll make you a Jalama Burger (carnivores, say yes) and sell you firewood or groceries, wine or beer. There are 109 campsites, some cabins, hot showers, a playground and a set of railroad tracks. Where: 9999 Jalama Road, Lompoc which is actually 18 miles southwest of Lompoc, 170 miles northwest of downtown L.A. How much: $10 per car. Jalama Burger, $7.95. Bolsa Chica, Huntington Beach Mike Anderson of Covina relaxes under an umbrella next to his Casita at Bolsa Chica State Beach in Huntington Beach. Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times Why: It's elementary. Homo sapiens like sitting on sand, watching water lap the shore while a bonfire crackles in a light breeze. What: Bolsa Chica State Beach is a prime beach bonfire destination, three miles long, with 200 fire rings available nightly (first come, first served) from 6 to 10 p.m. That's an increasingly rare distinction. Authorities have banned fires in many coastal areas, focusing increased attention on those that remain. Bolsa Chica, a long, flat beach, is also known for its surf fishing and grunion runs. Just inland you have the Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve, a 1,300-acre estuary and wetlands area that attracts about 200 species of birds (and almost as many sub-species of birders). There are various beach concessions nearby. Where: Bolsa Chica, north of Huntington Beach's Seapoint Street and south of Warner Avenue, is 33 miles south of downtown L.A. How much: Day use is $15 per car. Bolinas, Marin County Smiley's Schooner Saloon & Hotel, Bolinas, Calif. Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times Why: Bolinas, a lagoon-adjacent haven of 1,600 bohemian souls in an oft-overlooked corner of Marin County, has been operating incognito for decades. Locals steal road signs so that outsiders can't find their way in. Now that attitude might be softening, and the town, surrounded by hiking, surfing and kayaking opportunities, is fascinating. What: About 50 years ago, hardcore Bolinas locals started stealing the town's highway sign and they never stopped. The goal, conceived in back-to-the-land idealism, was to build a nature-friendly community without the distractions and economic distortions of tourism. But as properties turn over and GPS renders signage moot, Bolinas seems to be evolving. Whether you're on the water or Wharf Road, it's a great place to think about hippie legacies and the nature of community at a time when Bay Area real estate is very nearly a blood sport. Don't expect a tourist welcome center, but if you show up mellow and humble there's no reason you shouldn't drop in for a bite at the Coast Cafe; browse the tiny but well-appointed Bolinas Museum (open Fridays through Sundays only), or drink at Smiley's Schooner Saloon and Hotel, which goes back to the 19th century. In fact, Smiley's (which got new owners in 2015) offers live music four nights a week and rents out six rooms in back. I slept comfortably in one. On the street and in Smiley's, I was an obvious outsider with a camera around my neck, but everyone I met treated me well. You'll see plenty of gray ponytails (and experience rotten cellphone service). And keep an eye out for BO Gas, the only nonprofit service station I've ever encountered. The rates are shockingly high ($4.66 a gallon in early August) but the money helps support the Bolinas Community Land Trust. Where: Wharf Road, the commercial heart of town, is 25 miles northwest of San Francisco, just north of Stinson Beach, south of Point Reyes Station, 414 miles northwest of downtown L.A. How much: It's free to take a walk or check out the museum. The rooms at Smiley's go for $135-$225 nightly. Info: There's no Bolinas Visitors Bureau probably never will be. But there's a Marin Convention & Visitors Bureau to tell you what's nearby. La Jolla Sunny Jim Sea Cave, with kayakers beyond, in La Jolla. Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times Why: It'll make you feel like a pirate. Or a sea lion. What: Back in the first years of the 20th century, somebody hatched a nutty idea and hired two guys to start digging through this sandstone bluff top toward a sea cave below. And they made it. Nowadays, this neighborhood's real estate prices are enough to chase mere millionaires away, but if you enter the modest-looking Cave Store and head for the rustic-looking stairwell, the tunnel remains. Its 145 steps will take you down to where waves crash and sea lions sometimes bellow. Chances are you'll also see kayakers through the opening as they make their own approach to the same cave. (The store also stocks jewelry, art and souvenirs.) The cave was nicknamed "Sunny Jim" by Frank Baum (author of "The Wizard Oz") because the outline of the opening looks like a cartoon character called Sunny Jim who was used in advertisements for British Force Wheat cereal products in the early 20th century. (Sunny Jim had unruly hair toward the back of his head.) Where: 1325 Coast Blvd., La Jolla, 115 miles southeast of downtown L.A. How much: $5 for adults, $3 for kids 16 and younger. Open daily. Kayak tours of the caves start at about $40. Manhattan Beach Casual volleyball action, just north of the pier, in Manhattan Beach. Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times Why: If this were just any wealthy beach city, it would be a great place to run, bike, surf, people-watch and nurse your real estate envy. But Manhattan Beach is also the birthplace of beach volleyball as a way of life. Whenever you visit, you'll probably see seriously talented athletes at play. What: Among the South Bay beach cities of Redondo, Hermosa and Manhattan, this is the northernmost and wealthiest. Plenty of restaurants and shops are lined up on Manhattan Beach Boulevard, the main drag. At the end of the boulevard, the concrete Manhattan Beach Pier reaches 928 feet into the sea, with a cafe and the small, kid-friendly Roundhouse Aquarium at the end. The volleyball happens on the sand courts just north and south of the pier. Besides frequent competitions there are lots of classes for kids and adults. Be warned that the Manhattan Beach Open, a summer institution since 1960, draws tens of thousands of fans, making a demanding parking situation downright diabolical. No matter when you visit, you can read the brass plaques along the pier's Manhattan Beach Open Volleyball Walk of Fame: Olympic gold medalist Kerri Walsh Jennings has seven plaques there. Karch Kiraly, also an Olympic gold medalist, has 10. Take a walk along the Strand or bike the Marvin Braude Bike Trail. (Both parallel the shore). Get a beer at Rock'n Fish, a cone at the always-busy Manhattan Beach Creamery, or a meal at any hour in The Kettle. (All three are within a few blocks on Manhattan Beach Boulevard.) The Shade Hotel is a short walk away, pricey and stylish, in Metlox Plaza. Where: The Manhattan Beach Pier is 22 miles southwest of downtown L.A., 5 miles south of LAX. How much: Ice cream cones at the Manhattan Beach Creamery cost $5.25 for a single, $6.25 for a double. Homes along the Strand routinely fetch $10 million. Santa Monica Pacific Wheel, Pacific Park, Santa Monica Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times Why: Unless you charter a flight or build a better jetpack, you won't get this view of Santa Monica, the bay and city, any other way. What: The Santa Monica Pier went up in 1909, was largely rebuilt in the 1980s, and added an amusement park, Pacific Park, in the 1990s. Basically, it's the payoff at the end of Route 66. Its high point, about 130 feet up, is the Pacific Wheel, a Ferris wheel that started spinning in 1996. On your way to the wheel, notice the carousel, which you might remember from the 1973 movie "The Sting." Once you're aloft, take a good look at those bright lights all around you. They were amped up in May 2016. This is billed as the worlds first and perhaps only solar-powered Ferris wheel. Kids taller than 42 inches can ride alone. Where: 380 Santa Monica Pier, Santa Monica, L.A. County, 16.7 miles west of downtown L.A. How much: $10 a ride. christopher.reynolds@latimes.com Follow Reynolds on Twitter: @MrCSReynolds Join chefs on a weeklong fall bike tour that will focus on the slow food movement. Benjamin Cohn, executive chef at Westside Tavern in West Los Angeles, and New Yorker Marc Meyer, owner of Cookshop, Shuka and Rosies, will lead the tour, which will focus on the Piedmont region. It will include a lecture about the slow food movement at the University of Gastronomic Science in Pollenzo and dinner at three Michelin-starred restaurants. Participants will cycle through the Langa and Roero wine regions and visit the villages of Barolo and Barbaresco, known for their red wines. Dates: Oct. 1-7 Advertisement Price: From $5,995 per person, double occupancy; single supplement $650. Includes accommodations, meals, bikes, activities, tour guides and guest chefs, support vehicle and transfers. International airfare not included. Info: Tourissimo, (857) 997-0051 ALSO Where to see dramatic lava flows from Hawaii Islands Kilauea volcano The USS Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor will stay closed through fall. Still, theres plenty to do at the World War II site The business-class menu included jerk chicken, but none was left. And suddenly the jerk was the passenger travel@latimes.com @latimestravel Two suicide bombers disguised in womens full-length burkas blew themselves up inside a Shiite Muslim mosque filled with worshipers gathered for afternoon prayer, killing 29 people and wounding 81, officials said Friday. The attack in eastern Afghanistans city of Gardez took place at 1:30 p.m., the most crowded prayer time of the week, said Abdullah Hasrat, spokesman for the governor of Paktia province. A member of the provincial council, Taj Mohammad Mangal, said that the death toll could rise as many of the wounded were in critical condition in nearby hospitals. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the bombing, but supporters of the Sunni extremist group Islamic State have attacked members of Afghanistans Shiite minority many times in recent years. Advertisement Sardar Wali Sabawoon, a Paktia police spokesman, said the assailants entered the mosque after shooting two men guarding the entrance. He said the bombers suicide vests could have escaped detection because they were wearing the loose-fitting burkas typically worn by Afghan women. The office of President Ashraf Ghani issued a statement condemning the bombing, saying, These kinds of attacks cannot create religious division. Faizy is a special correspondent. Restoring the Everglades is a multifaceted, multi-project undertaking. Even though the Everglades is south of Lake Okeechobee, part of the restoration effort is occurring north of the lake, too. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is taking public comment on a project north of Lake Okeechobee: the Lake Okeechobee Watershed Restoration Project. This project is a part of the overall Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP). The Corps held a public meeting in Lehigh Acres Tuesday to explain the project and get feedback. The project is in its draft report now; a final report will be submitted to Congress to get authorization to do the project, and then it will have to be funded through a future Water Resources Development Act. Reaching the funding stage of this project is probably about two years away, said Corps spokesman John Campbell. Its a 50/50 cost share between the Corps and the South Florida Water Management District, but the Corps is taking the main lead on this project. The Lake Okeechobee project hones in on the water coming into the lake from the Kissimmee River. Estimated at $1.4 billion, it will establish a wetland attenuation feature, two restored and managed wetland areas, and 80 aquifer storage and recovery wells. This is above and below ground storage, plus treatment, said Lisa Aley, the Corps Planning Lead. It gives us more flexibility to not make some releases to the estuaries. The wetland attenuation feature works as a shallow reservoir, holding 1.5 to 3 feet of water depth. Its planned at about 12,500 acres. It would be build north of the lake and to the west of the Kissimmee River. It will mostly look like a wetland, Aley said. The Corps will be able to divert the Kissimmee River through the two planned wetland restoration areas, which will help clean the water and slow its arrival into Lake Okeechobee. Aley gave a history lesson on why this storage north is needed. In 1947, a series of bad floods prompted the government to start managing the states rivers and lakes to prevent homes and businesses from being flooded out year after year draining southwest Florida, she said. It caused the environmental issues the state faces today, but also allowed more development on dry land which was historically wet. The Kissimmee River also used to have a more winding, meandering path, which slowed the waters arrival to the lake. Weve lost a lot of natural storage north of the lake, she said. So, then theres the 80 wells. They will be clustered together in areas mostly north of the lake, with the exception of one cluster near the C-43 Canal and another near the C-44 Canal. Bob Verrastro, a hydrogeologist with SFWMD, said these wells will go down about 1,000 feet and span about 300 feet in width. Their surface footprint is relatively small. Water can be pulled from the canals and the attenuation feature into these wells to store and reduce the amount going into Lake Okeechobee. The water has to be treated before it enters the well, through both a filter and an ultraviolet blast to kill bacteria, Verrastro said. While in the well, the phosphates that may be in the water get reduced because the well will be made of limestone, which reacts and bonds with the phosphorous, he said. Limestone has an affinity for phosphorous, Verrastro said. The water must meet drinking water quality standards when it gets in the well; then, when more water is needed, its pumped back out and cleaned again. The Corps already has two pilot wells in operation to test the project. So far, one has retained 90 percent of the water put in it. The remaining 10 percent could be mixing with the groundwater flowing beneath the well, but Verrastro said the wells wont lose much: the groundwater moves, on average, 0.01 feet per day. After a year, youd maybe lose a foot (of water), he said. The Corps believes these well systems will be a more efficient way of storing water to the north, as it doesnt require tens of thousands of horizontal acres. The entire scope of the wetlands, attenuation feature, and wells will increase storage, cleaning mechanisms and wildlife habitat north of the lake according to the Corps study. The Corps held a similar meeting several weeks ago to collect input about a project south of Lake Okeechobee; however, recent water quality concerns brought a higher number of attendees to Tuesdays meeting. Many of those in attendance expressed concern about the red tide in the Gulf of Mexico and cyanobacteria in the Caloosahatachee. We are dealing with a very major disaster in our area. This all goes back to storing water and sending it south, said Kay Haering, a meeting attendee, during public comment. We dont want to see contaminated water sent down our Caloosahatachee. We may not have a choice in taking water, but we dont want the contaminants with it. Karl Deigert is a hotel owner, tour captain, and president of the Matlacha Civic Association in Matlacha. He said during public comment that he hasnt gotten a phone call for business in weeks. This week, he noticed for the first time small clusters of cyanobacteria in the canal behind his business. He said hes honest with people who want to book boat tours right now and he wont take them anywhere the water is questionable. Businesses will fail. Employees will go, he said. Were already thinking about selling. He said he was concerned about the 10 percent of water lost into the Florida aquifer in the wells proposed by the Corps. Its seeping to somewhere into our drinking aquifers, Deigert said. Lt. Col. Jennifer Reynolds outlined some of the actions the Corps is taking now to work on the water quality issues, but warned a long-term fix wasnt happening soon. From the Corps perspective, a significant portion of the long-term answer is the Everglades restoration. Storage and conveyance south, she said. There are a lot of projects, theyre going to take a long time. We know we cant wait. She said the Corps was working with SFWMD to identify all available storage, including finding out how much more water the lake can safely hold outside the 12.5-15.5 feet preferred range and how much water can be put into canals, cleaned, and sent south into the Everglades. And its still not enough, Reynolds said. And, we know that. More information and maps of the Lake Okeechobee project are available at saj.usace.army.mil/LOWRP. Public comment on the Lake Okeechobee project ends Aug. 20. To submit a question or comment about the Lake Okeechobee Watershed Restoration Project to be included in the official report, email OkeechobeeWatershedRestoration@usace.army.mil Council opposes rate capping Bill The Norwood Payneham and St Peters Council, has voted to not support the South Australian Government's Bill to cap council rates at a Special Meeting this week. Having previously resolved to oppose the introduction of rate capping in 2017, the Council has backed its position with a 10:2 vote. Mayor Bria said, "Rate capping has failed in New South Wales (NSW), it is failing in Victoria and it will fail in South Australia. I can understand why ratepayers are attracted to the policy of rate capping (a policy which caps the increase in revenue which Local Government collects from rates), but any short term gain for the community would quickly be replaced with long term pain as evidenced in NSW and Victoria. "The Council is being responsible in taking a long-term view of the negative impacts on the community because it doesn't want the community to suffer a decline in service delivery and determination of infrastructure. "In survey after survey, a high percentage of residents have told the council that they are happy with the balance between rates the quality of services and infrastructure which is provided by the Council," Mayor Bria said. "There is more than enough evidence from independent reports to show the devastating financial impact on councils, and the community, in New South Wales after 40 years of rate capping. "In council after council, rate capping has resulted in infrastructure backlogs which will require millions of dollars to rectify. "It would be naive to think South Australia will have a different experience," he said. Mayor Bria said the Council's average residential rate increase over this current 4 year term is 1.7 percent compared to State Government levies such as the Natural Resources Management Levy at 8.1 percent and Solid Waste Levy at 15 percent. "If State Government reduces the outrageous increases in these levies that are passed onto councils, and in turn the community, then South Australians will see some real relief in cost-of-living pressures. Cagayan Economic Zone Authority administrator and chief executive officer Secretary Raul Lambino (second from right), shakes hands with Tomas Ziak, Group Chief Executive Officer of Commerce Slovakia Corp., after signing a memorandum of understanding providing for the development of a major hospital at the Cagayan Special Economic Zone and Freeport that will boost health care for locators and people in Northern Luzon. With them are Vladimir Pristas (left) of Proxia and Ramon Garcia, CEO of I Wave Inc. A rapid deployment first-class hospital is expected to rise at the Cagayan Special Economic Zone and Freeport following an agreement signed by Slovakia-based Commerce Ltd., the Cagayan Economic Zone Authority said Friday. The Cagayan Economic Zone Authority has signed a memorandum of understanding with Commerce providing for the development of the major hospital that will boost health care not just for Freeport but for our people in the region, said Ceza president and chief executive Raul Lambino. The new hospital, Lambino said, would open new employment and income-generating opportunities in the province and the region, including medical tourism and retirement communities.This is the beginning of a new era of health care in our region. With it, we can attract new investors and spark tourism activities, Lambino said. Commerce said in a statement it was confident it could provide health services that would radically improve the quality of service and infrastructure for patients, workers, tourists and all the people in the region in the years to come. Commerce did not give a timetable for the development of the health facility. It assured Ceza that it will be done in record time as opposed to the average of 5-10 years to set up and build a traditional hospital.The company said it already started the process of project development in relation to the services it shall provide immediately and will provide in the future. The hospital will be operated on the highest standards compliant with European and other world-class standards, the company added. Lambino said Ceza was undergoing rapid development with its planned Crypto Valley of Asia in Sta. Ana, Cagayan, a big-ticket project that would be home to a new wave of financial technology companies. The health facility would offer added convenience and confidence to locators inside the economic facility, he added. 2 solar companies eye dedicated power lines posted August 03, 2018 at 07:50 pm by Alena Mae S. Flores August 03, 2018 at 07:50 pm Two power companies asked the Energy Regulatory Commission to approve point-to-point infrastructure to connect their wind farms with a combined capacity of nearly 100 megawatts to the Luzon grid. Alternergy Sembrano Wind Corp. sought an approval to develop point-to-point limited distribution facilities to connect the 81-MW wind plant to the 115 kV Malaya-Teresa line. ASWC plans to start operations of the wind project in the second half next year. ASWC said the Sembrano wind farm under the Renewable Energy Act of 2008 must enjoy the benefit of priority dispatch as a generating unit utilizing an intermittent renewable energy source.ASWC said it would develop and construct a dedicated point-to-point facility connecting the Sembrano wind farm to the Luzon grid through Meralcos 115 kV Malaya-Teresa line. Philippine Hybrid Energy Systems Inc., meanwhile, sought approval to develop, own and operate a dedicated point-to-point limited transmission line to connect the 16-MW PHESI wind farm to the 69 kV line of National Power Corp. COMMENT DISCLAIMER: Reader comments posted on this Web site are not in any way endorsed by Manila Standard. Comments are views by manilastandard.net readers who exercise their right to free expression and they do not necessarily represent or reflect the position or viewpoint of manilastandard.net. While reserving this publications right to delete comments that are deemed offensive, indecent or inconsistent with Manila Standard editorial standards, Manila Standard may not be held liable for any false information posted by readers in this comments section. ERC chairperson Agnes Devanadera Energy Regulatory Commission chairperson Agnes Devanadera said the agency cannot act on the pending power supply agreements of Manila Electric Co. due to the legal cases filed against the commissioners. We are not acting on the seven PSAs (of Meralco) because theres a case although you can always say... theres no TRO, Devanadera said. But out of deference, both Congress and to the Supreme Court, we have not acted on them, she said.The Office of the Ombudsman suspended four commissioners of the ERC for allegedly giving Meralco an undue advantage when it extended the submission of the companys PSA applications. The Ombudsman, acting on the complaint of several groups, imposed a one-year suspension on all four commissioners of the ERCJosefina Patricia Asirit, Alfredo Non,Geronimo Sta. Ana and Gloria Yap-Tarucin December. The commissioners appealed the case to the Court of Appeals and obtained a temporary restraining order against the suspension. A new suspension on a different case, however, was imposed by the Ombudsman. Two out of the four commissioners, namely Non and Yap-Taruc, have since retired, but Malacanang has not announced a replacement yet. We have not acted on any because of... were anticipating the action of Congress and were also anticipating the action of the Supreme Court. If there is none yet, we cannot resolve. Right now, the practical reason is I am the only one in the commission, Devadandera said.Meralco president Oscar Reyes reiterated that the companys supply agreements with the seven generators totaling over 3,000 megawatts underwent due process. I think to us the important thing is providing the necessary assurance for energy security and supply as well as low or competitive prices. I believe that we had fully complied with the ERC circular on redefining the effectivity of the CSP, he said. Reyes said there were 90 power supply agreements that were filed prior to the CSP. Many of those power supply agreements have in fact been approved and many of them have been implemented. I think the question is why are we being sort of treated differently, he said. Reyes said two projects with PSAs with Meralco, namely the 1,200-MW Atimonan coal plant in Quezon and the 600-MW RP Energy coal plant in Subic, were ready for construction. Our only appeal is to allow us to get benefits of full compliance. Two of our projects, Atimonan and Redondo Peninsula, have fully complied with all the processes... undergone all the processes, undergone all the public hearings. Theyre listed as committed projects of the DoE. Both are registered with the BoI (Board of Investments). One is a pioneer Atimonan and the other non-pioneer enterprise, he said. Most Popular 1. 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Stephanie MacConnell https://www.forbes.com/sites/stephaniemacconnell/2018/07/31/how-this-entrepreneur-is-teaching-millenials-about-finance/#345ef854483c Dale Merten runs a small telephone and internet service provider in rural Washington state. Hes bullish on broadband but not as keen about the methodology of an internet speed study published in the Daily Yonder. Merten said it is invalid to compare the two datasets because they report different things. FCC Form 477 reports the fastest speed a consumer could purchase. The M-Lab data reports the speed users actually obtain. By Tim Marema Cordillera Communications, which owns two dozen small-market television broadcast stations across the country, is looking to sell off 11 of its properties, five of which are in Montana. The five stations are KTVQ in Billings, KXLF in Butte, KPAX in Missoula, KRTV in Great Falls and KTVH in Helena. ROB ROGERS And DAVID ERICKSON Lee Montana Newspapers https://mtstandard.com/business/owner-looks-to-sell-tv-stations-in-five-montana-towns/article_4807b26a-46f0-5b59-8826-678af7296aef.html Les membres du Cabinet ont pris noet quun tsunami va influencer les courants marins le 13 aout 2021, des consultations de la FSC pour un projet de Structured Investment-Linked Insurance Business, de la mise en service de la Victoria Urban Terminal vers la fin du mois dOctobre 2021, des nouvelles regulation concernant le Firearms Act entre autres. 1. Cabinet has agreed to the Financial Services Commission consulting the Industry Stakeholders and the public, on the establishment of a Regulatory Framework for the introduction of a new line of business to be known as Structured Investment-Linked Insurance Business commonly termed as Insurance Wrappers. Insurance Wrappers is an investment concept combining the protection of a life insurance policy with wealth management and succession planning in accordance with the legal and tax rules applicable in the subscribers country of residence. The product has the marked characteristic of being ultra-secured as the portfolio is registered in the name of the insurer and held by the custodian bank which secures the assets in the event of the insurers bankruptcy. The Financial Services Commission has come forward with a Consultation Paper on the Regulatory Framework for Structured Investment-Linked Insurance Business in Mauritius and was proposing to conduct the consultation exercise over a period of one month. 2. Cabinet has taken note of the status of the project for the redevelopment, modernisation and operation of the Victoria Urban Terminal being implemented by the Victoria Station Ltd, under the supervision of the Ministry of National Infrastructure and Community Development. The Victoria Urban Terminal is expected to be fully operational by October 2022. 3. Cabinet has taken note that the Prime Minister had a virtual meeting with HE Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi, President of the Republic of Botswana on 12 August 2021. They shared information about the COVID-19 situation in their respective countries, and in particular the efficacy of the vaccines being used. The President explained that the majority of persons who were contracting the virus in Botswana had either not been vaccinated or had received only one dose or were suffering from severe health conditions such as diabetes. The Prime Minister informed the President about the measures being taken by the Government to develop Mauritius as a regional centre for the production of vaccines and pharmaceutical products. This initiative would not only benefit Mauritius but the whole region. The President welcomed these measures. The President expressed the wish to elevate the bilateral relations between Mauritius and Botswana through the establishment of a Joint Commission which would provide an excellent platform to explore avenues of cooperation in various areas including health and education. 4. Cabinet has taken note that the National Task Force on Pere Laval Pilgrimage 2021, met under the chairmanship of the Prime Minister and it was noted, inter alia, that this year, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the pilgrimage would last from 16 August to 30 September 2021 in order to allow a maximum number of pilgrims to converge to the Shrine in a responsible and safe way. Only 50 pilgrims would be allowed to the site at one go. The Electronic Queue Management System, Mo Rendez Vous, implemented by the Ministry of Information Technology, Communication and Innovation would be rolled out at the Shrine to enable pilgrims to book appointments online, both through the web portal and mobile application, to attend masses or visit the shrine. The system would go live as from 13 August 2021. 5. Cabinet has agreed to the setting up of a Standing Committee to facilitate all requests for wayleaves and clearances sought by utility service providers to carry out infrastructural works on public roads. The Terms of Reference of the Standing Committee would be to, inter alia: (a) review and streamline the processes involved in the application for and granting of wayleaves and clearances to utility service providers to carry out works on public roads; (b) address bottlenecks and hurdles encountered in the grant of wayleaves to enable timely implementation of utility service projects; (c) ensure that roads are reinstated to acceptable standards; and (d) provide a platform for coordinating activities between the utility providers, the Road Development Authority and the Local Authorities, wherever required. 6. Cabinet has taken note that Regulations would be made under the Firearms Act to impose the marking and stamping of any Firearm using the Telesis Pinstamp TMP 6100 Firearms Marking System. The Southern African Regional Police Chiefs Cooperation Organization (SARPCCO) National Central Firearms Registrar in South Africa had recommended Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) for the implementation of the 2001 SADC Protocol on the Control of Firearms, Ammunition and Related Materials. The SOP recommended a unique marking for identification and tracing of firearms in the SADC region. Firearms must be marked upon import or manufacture. The unique marking would also be used in cases where an imported firearm duplicates the markings of a firearm that already exist on the firearm identification system. 7. Cabinet has taken note of the recommendations of the feasibility study carried out by Tractebel Engie for the development and implementation of a Strategy and Action Plan for a new Solid Waste Management and Resource Recovery system in Mauritius. In order to ensure the successful implementation of the new Solid Waste Management and Resource Recovery Strategy and Action Plan, Tractebel Engie has recommended the separate collection of organic wastes and dry recyclables (paper, cardboard, plastics, glass and metal packaging) at source, that is from households and commercial areas involving three bins: one for organic wastes, one for recyclables and one for residual wastes. The setting up and operation of regional composting plants and sorting units is in line with Governments vision of implementing a circular economy approach in the solid waste management sector. The Consultant has recommended to pursue this project through a Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) using the Build, Operate, Transfer route, wherein the private sector would design, build, finance and operate the composting plants and the sorting units. The Consultancy Services of a Transaction Advisor would be enlisted to carry out a supplementary feasibility study to determine the propensity of implementing the regional composting plants and sorting units on a Public-Private Partnership basis and to prepare the Request for Proposal documents to invite potential project proponents to submit their bids for the setting up and operation of the composting plants and sorting units on a Design-Build-Own-Operate basis. 8. Cabinet has agreed to the signing of a Cost Sharing Agreement between the Ministry of Blue Economy, Marine Resource, Fisheries and Shipping and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to allow the transfer of funds to the UNDP as contribution of the Government of Mauritius under the Restoring marine ecosystem services by restoring coral reefs to meet a changing climate future project. The six-year project which started in 2020, aims at mitigating the impact of climate change on local communities and coral reef-dependent economic sectors in Mauritius, Rodrigues and Seychelles through the implementation of activities in Mauritius at national and regional levels. Funding provided for activities in Mauritius would cover: (a) the setting up of a large-scale land-based nursery at the Mauritius Oceanography Institute for the propagation of locally threatened species of coral and selected climate resilient corals, assuming that seawater pumping facilities and other operational costs would be available at the MOI; and (b) the setting up of an experimental land based-nursery at the Albion Fisheries Research Centre (AFRC) for the sexual propagation of corals, assuming that other associated costs would be met by the AFRC. The UNDP has agreed to carry out all the procurement exercises related to the setting up of both projects on the understanding that a Cost Sharing Agreement be signed. 9. Cabinet has agreed to the signing of a Letter of Agreement between the Ministry of Environment, Solid Waste Management and Climate Change and the World Food Programme Organisation (WFPO) of the United Nations under the SADC Regional Vulnerability Assessment and Analysis Programme. A Mauritius Vulnerability Assessment Committee has been set up. The main objectives of the project are to enhance national capacity on vulnerability assessment and analysis with respect to food security and disaster risk reduction and to come up with recommendations on adaptation options. The Letter of Agreement has to be signed between the Chairperson of the Mauritius Vulnerability Assessment Committee and the WFPO for the financial contribution to be made in support of the 2021/2022 Mauritius Vulnerability Assessment Committee Work Plan and Budget. 10. Cabinet has taken note that under the existing collaboration with the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), the Ministry of Agro-Industry and Food Security has entered into an agreement with FAO for a Technical Cooperation Programme for the setting up of a national Livestock Information System. The funds to be provided by FAO would be used for the recruitment of a software developer to put in place the appropriate software to support the traceability of livestock in Mauritius and Rodrigues from farm to fork. Traceability would be done through appropriate technology which would replace the current tagging system. 11. Cabinet has taken note that the Council of the African Athletics Confederation has unanimously designated Mauritius to host the 22nd African Senior Athletics Championships and the Elective Congress of the African Athletics Confederation. The Mauritius Athletics Association would set up an Organising Committee in that respect. 12. Cabinet has taken note of developments with regard to the technical assistance being provided by the European Union through its project Migration European Union Expertise (MIEUX+), to enhance the capacity of the Mauritian Government to combat Trafficking in Persons. The technical assistance from MIEUX+ would address issues such as: (a) the development of Standard Operating Procedures for handling specific cases of Trafficking in Persons including identification, investigation and prosecution; and (b) training of officers, from the Police Force and the Judiciary, to enhance their skills in the areas of effective fight against human trafficking and migration management. 13. Cabinet has taken note of the situation of the COVID-19 pandemic prevailing across the world. Some 206.1 million cases have been reported globally, of which 184.9 million persons have been successfully treated. With regard to Mauritius, as from March 2020 to 13 August 2021, 5,902 cases (including imported cases) of COVID-19 had been registered. There were 2,007 active cases of COVID-19 in Mauritius (most asymptomatic), out of which 1,991 were local cases and 16 imported cases. Cabinet has also taken note of the situation of COVID-19 in prisons and the measures being taken to prevent the spread of the virus thereat. The vaccination exercise was ongoing for Prison Staff and detainees. Cabinet has further taken note of progress in the COVID-19 Vaccination Programme. As at 12 August 2021, 774,726 persons had received a first dose of vaccine (representing 60 percent of the population). 603,779 persons had been fully vaccinated (representing 48 percent of the population). Some 108,000 doses of Johnson and Johnson vaccine were received on 07 August 2021. The vaccination exercise would be extended to Agalega. Cabinet has taken note that repatriation flights to Rodrigues were ongoing and a flight was scheduled for 13 August 2021. 14. Cabinet has taken note of the virtual participation of the Minister of Information Technology, Communication and Innovation as a panellist in the Ministerial Conference of the 27th Universal Postal Congress held recently. The Congress is the supreme authority of the Universal Postal Union and meets every four years. The theme of the Conference was COVID-19 and the postal sector what has and hasnt changed, and what needs to change. The Minister participated in Panel 1 of the Ministerial Conference under the theme What has changed in the world since the outbreak of COVID-19?. In his intervention, the Minister focused, among others, on: (a) the drastic reduction on revenues of the Mauritius Post Ltd as a result of decline in both inbound and outbound international mail items; (b) the door-to-door payment of pension to beneficiaries at their residences during the confinement period; (c) the adoption of domestic e-commerce due to lack of access to physical shops during the confinement period; and (d) an opportunity for the postal sector to devise new ways of doing business and diversify further towards electronic medium while reengineering and digitalising its processes and operations to suit the new normal in place. The other panellists also spoke about the effect of the outbreak of COVID-19 on the postal services. 15. Cabinet has taken note that the results of the School Certificate examinations 2021 were made available online through the Cambridge Assessment International Education direct platform to all candidates on Thursday 12 August 2021. Out of a total of 15,279 school candidates who took part in the 2021 School Certificate examinations, 13,089 were successful resulting in a pass rate of 85.67% for the Republic, as compared to 70.93% for 2019. 18 Secondary schools have secured a 100% pass rate. As in previous years, girls have performed better than boys with a pass rate of 87.69% for girls and 83.04% for boys for the Republic of Mauritius. 16. Cabinet has taken note that a major earthquake of Magnitude 8.0 has occurred in the region of Antarctica (South Atlantic Ocean) at 2232 hours on 12 August 2021, at about 4,000 km to the South West of Cape Town. Very low amplitude tsunami waves were expected to reach the Mascarene Islands, Indian Ocean on 13 August 2021 at around 1100 hours. The region was not under threat of potentially destructive tsunami waves. However, strong current could occur in the vicinity of Mauritius, Rodrigues and at St. Brandon on 13 August 2021. Partager et informez vous aussi...... 0 shares Share Tweet LinkedIn Foreign ministers of China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) had agreed to adopt a "single text" on negotiating the code of conduct (COC) on the South China Sea before they gathered for an annual meeting on Thursday in Singapore, according to Thai media outlet The Nation. Previously every stakeholder in the South China Sea had their own version of the text for negotiation. Philippine Foreign Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano said that COC talks could be concluded this year or next, although other Asian diplomats have not been as optimistic, AP reported Wednesday. Regardless, the adoption of a single text is a significant initial step taken by China and ASEAN countries toward resolving the long-seething South China Sea disputes that have dragged down relations in recent years. Ahead of the foreign ministers' meeting, Japanese broadcaster NHK said the diplomats would raise fresh "concern" in their joint statement about China's activity in the South China Sea. But this was proved untrue by other media. The South China Sea issue is indeed complicated, but our only option is to start setting rules for the region. China and ASEAN signed the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea in 2002, but it is not sufficient to prevent conflicts in the region. After tensions escalated in 2016, the two sides passed a COC negotiating framework in 2017, working toward a legally binding instrument to manage countries' behavior in the waters. A single text on COC negotiations means that the 10-nation bloc has bridged their internal differences on the issue and technically pushed forward the COC consultation. More importantly, it suggests that ASEAN countries and China, despite their territorial clashes, have come to a consensus on the necessity of addressing disputes through talks and jointly safeguarding peace and stability in the waters. This is crucial at a moment when the world is changing dramatically. Countries outside the region will not give up roiling the waters over the South China Sea issue for strategic purposes. It's essential for China and ASEAN to take a cooperative attitude and seek common development, instead of being embroiled in disputes. This year marks the 15th anniversary of the China-ASEAN strategic partnership. The two sides have become major trading partners for each other and two-way trade volume has risen from $55.2 billion in 2003 to $514.8 billion last year. They have also become key partners in fighting unilateralism and protectionism, safeguarding regional peace and stability, and promoting regional development. With the DOC being in implementation and the COC in negotiation, China and ASEAN have proved that they are able to properly manage disputes through dialogue and work together for common prosperity. The adoption of a single text on COC negotiation has shown their progress in the right direction. China's unprecedented innovation of electromagnetic catapult rocket artillery technology will render the weapon more powerful than most conventional artillery, especially in Qinghai-Tibet plateau areas, Chinese experts said on Thursday. Han Junli, a research fellow at a Beijing-based research center under the People's Liberation Army (PLA), is leading the development of the electromagnetic rocket artillery, inspired by Ma Weiming, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering dubbed "the father of the Chinese electromagnetic catapult," Science and Technology Daily reported. Han reportedly mentioned a military incident that occurred in a border region on a plateau in Southwest China, where he saw the potential necessity of deploying rocket artillery. China has large plateau and mountainous areas where rocket artillery could destroy invading forces from hundreds of kilometers away without soldiers crossing mountains, Han said, according to the newspaper. "Conventional artillery that uses powder may suffer from lack of oxygen on plateaus," Song Zhongping, a military expert and TV commentator, told the Global Times on Thursday. "Artillery that uses an electromagnetic catapult will not need to face the same problem. This makes it very valuable in warfare on plateaus." When using electromagnetic force for the initial boost instead of an explosive powder, shells fly smoother and hit targets more accurately, Song said. Electromagnetic rocket artillery can easily reach targets beyond 200 kilometers at a relatively lower cost than conventional artillery, Song said. Han's research has made an important technological breakthrough and the development plan is becoming a reality, the Beijing-based newspaper said. Using an electromagnetic catapult for rocket artillery is an unprecedented innovation, Science and Technology said. "China needs to not only develop weapon concepts that are already available to the world, but also explore new, not-yet-present weapons to lead the frontier of technology development," Song said. Electromagnetic rocket artillery is not the only Chinese military equipment using electromagnetic technology. Another is the electromagnetic railgun, which can fire projectiles via electromagnetic force at an incredible destructive velocity. It is expected to be mounted on China's first domestically developed 10,000-ton class missile destroyer 055 in the future. Another example is the electromagnetic catapult system widely expected to be used on China's future aircraft carriers. An electromagnetic catapult will allow more fighter jets to take off in a shorter time and boost the carrier's combat capabilities. The catapult can also launch heavier fixed-wing planes including airborne early warning and control aircraft. They can gather more battlefield information in the sky and act as an airborne command center by coordinating vessels into a stronger strike force, say experts. August 03, 2018 Saudi Coalition Renews Attack On North Yemen's Lifeline The war on Yemen, which has been ongoing for three years, gets way too little mention in "western" media: The reason for inattention is obvious: The United States bears real responsibility for the crisis. A quote from a Yemeni doctor found in PBS reporter Jane Fergusons piece sums it up: The missiles that kill us, American-made. The planes that kill us, American-made. The tanks American-made. You are saying to me, where is America? America is the whole thing. The war is also complicate and difficult to explain. The alliances are opaque and make little sense. Individual events conceal the big picture. The Saudis started the war after a Zaidi Shia movement from Yemen's northern highlands, the Houthi, pushed the Saudi proxy-government under the former president Hadi out of the capital Sanaa. The exiled Hadi government is still internationally recognized but under complete Saudi control. The Saudis want to control all of Yemen. While Yemen is geographically smaller and dirt poor it has an equal number of citizens and some valuable resources. The Saudis have for decades financed Wahhabi preachers to proselyte in Yemen. But Yemen has its own milder style of Islam and the Wahhabis were generally not welcome. There are also plans for a Saudi pipeline to Yemeni ports which would allow Saudi exports to bypass the Strait of Hormuz. For their war on Yemen the Saudis allied with the United Arab Emirates. The UAE have their own plans for Yemen. They wants to control south Yemen and the port of Aden as a gemstone in their expansionary Dubai Port World conglomerate. Both have hired Yemeni tribal proxies and foreign mercenaries to help in their campaigns. The Saudis have allied with the Yemeni Islah party which is part of the international Muslim Brotherhood. The UAE allied with some southern Yemeni tribes who strive for independence from the north. The U.S. supports its Gulf "allies" and sells them lots of weapon. It is also interested in keeping al-Qaeda in Yemen down. All these aims are conflicting with each other. Ahmed Muthana, a former Yemeni diplomat based in Washington DC, explains why, for example, al-Qaeda in the Arab Peninsula (AQAP) can not be eliminated from Yemen: The reason why its impossible to defeat al-Qaeda in Yemen today is the deep coordination on the ground between AQAP and Al-Islah, the Muslim Brotherhoods party in the country. Al-Islah is a crucial part of the Yemeni government. The links between Al-Islah and Al-Qaeda go far back, and senior Al-Islah leader Abdul Majeed al-Zindani played a vital role in the bridge between the two parties. In 2004, the U.S. government labeled him as Specially Designated Global Terrorist for his ties with al-Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden. When the Yemeni army was about to start an offensive against al-Qaeda in Abyan in southern Yemen in 2012, Al-Zindani called for a halt. The Al-Islah leader is a close ally of President Hadi. According to Mareb Press, a news outlet loyal to the government, Hadi met with Al-Zindani in 2018 and described him as the heir of the Prophet. During the meeting, Hadi insisted for Al-Zindani to play a more prominent preaching role in Yemen, which would generate more violent thinking in the region. One of Hadi's military leaders, General Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar, is also an al-Qaeda ally: In 2005, the U.S. embassy in Yemen raised a red flag about Al-Ahmars trips to Afghanistan and meetings with Bin Laden in the 1980s. In the U.S., Al-Ahmar is believed to have played a key role in the relocation of large groups of al-Qaeda fighters from Afghanistan to Yemen. Al-Ahmar resettled many terrorists that were banned from going back to their countries in Yemen. That an individual with a long history of friendship with AQAP is leading the countrys army, makes it is no surprise that terrorist group is not defeated in the north yet. The Saudis are (again) using al-Qaeda for their purpose while the U.S. is (again) trying to keep it down. But both also want the former president Hadi to regain his position in Sanaa. The troops of the United Arab Emirates in Yemen, officially allied with the Saudis, have become one of al-Qaeda's main target: Elisabeth Kendall - @Dr_E_Kendall - 13:47 utc - 3 Aug 2018 1st formal claim from #AQAP #Yemen in 2 weeks: Jihadists ambushed #UAE-backed Rapid Reaction Forces 11am today in al-Mahfad, Abyan. 4 soldiers killed, commander seriously hurt, 2 vehicles destroyed. Follows reported gun battles last night between AQAP & military in al-Mahfad city Yemen has no air force and no air defenses. The Saudi coalition has been bombing the Houthi held parts of the country for three years and destroyed much of its infrastructure. It is killing indiscriminately. The UN and the media have downplayed the number of casualties by citing an estimate of 10,000 killed that has not been updated since mid 2016. Last year a Moon of Alabama piece found that the real casualty number is likely much higher: Up to July 2017 the U.S.-Saudi coalition had flown more than 90,000 air-sorties over Yemen. Most of those will have involved weapon releases. ... 100,000 dead civilians caused by the war so far is a more likely number than the never changing 10,000. The U.S. media is slowly waking up to this: For almost two years, a figure 10,000 people has been frequently cited by journalists and relief agencies to describe the number of civilian deaths in the conflict. ... But in public discussion of the conflict, the number has never been revised, even as the war has retained its ruthless intensity. But despite that insight the Washington Post piece is still using a low balled number: Data collected by ACLED, a group that studies conflicts, puts the death toll at nearly 50,000 people in the period between January 2016 and late July 2018. That number includes combatants but excludes people not directly killed during the fighting thousands of civilians who have died of malnutrition or cholera, for instance. Last year, Save the Children estimated that 130 children were dying every day because of extreme hunger and disease. The Saudi coalition blockades the Houthi held parts of the country. 70% of the available food comes through the port of Hodeidah which the Houthi still hold. If the Saudi coalition manages to catch the harbor it could put the Yemeni highlands under a complete starvation siege. The Houthi would have to give up. In June a UAE led ground and sea operation attempted to take Hodeidah from the Houthi. The attack along the southwestern coast had reached the border of the airport south of the city when Houthi forces managed to cut its supply line. bigger The UAE led attack has since stalled. The UN envoy to Yemen is negotiating with both sides over control of the port. Losing, or respectively winning the port would likely decide the war. Hodeidah has been under Saudi air attacks despite a local ceasefire. Following recent air strikes the UN warned of a human catastrophe: On 26, 27 and 28 July, airstrikes occurred near a reproductive health centre and public laboratory in Hodeidah and hit and damaged a sanitation facility in Zabid and a water station, which supplies the majority of the water to Hodeidah City. ... Cholera is already present in neighborhoods across the city and governorate. Damage to sanitation, water and health facilities jeopardizes everything we are trying to do, said Ms. Grand, [the Humanitarian Coordinator for Yemen]. We could be one airstrike away from an unstoppable epidemic. The targeting of civilian installations is not a mistake, but the Saudi coalition tactic to put pressure on Yemen's population. Yesterday a double tap strike hit the fishing docks of Hodeidah port where hundreds of fishermen, peddlers and buyers were haggling over the daily haul. An hour after the first strike the Saudi coalition hit the entrance of the nearby al-Thawra hospital. More than 70 were killed and more than 150 were wounded. For lack of food, medical and financial resources many of the wounded are likely to die in the next days. Local sources say that all of the casualties were civilians. Authorities in Hodeidah said these air attacks "were largely unexpected because both the Houthi fighters and the Saudi-UAE alliance had announced that they were going to cease hostilities in and around the port of Hodeidah to give UN peace efforts a chance". The only report of the deadly strike on the New York Times website is a Reuters piece which blames the Houthi. Pictures and video from the ground show that at least one of the strikes was not by air but by British made mortars which came in from a southern direction. The targeted area, marked red, is within mortar firing range of the UAE forces south of the airport. bigger The UAE recently send fresh material and soldiers to the area. It is building up the force to renew its attack. These coalition forces have little respect for the life of Yemeni civilians. Iona Craig, one of the few "western" on the ground reporters in Yemen, recently got her hand on some intelligence report which describes a Saudi night bombing of some tents in the desert: Unbeknown to the Maswadahs, Royal Saudi Air Force drones had been hovering for 45 minutes over their dwellings at the edge of the wide plain walled by mountains. Saudi duty officers more than 550 miles away watched the familys tents on their screens, along with two hot spots likely created by the body heat of people and animals inside. ... [They] observed no personnel or vehicles visible, nor any other intelligence information about the location, according to the report. ... At 9:25 p.m., the absent general issued the order [by phone] to strike the tents. The family inside the tent, which included nine children, was lucky. The bomb hit the backside of the small hill their tent stood next to. But the strike was clearly indiscriminate. The UK government admitted that British officers supervise the Saudi targeting process. U.S. officers are likewise in the Saudi operations centers and at least observe the Saudi targeting. They obviously don't intervene against the indiscriminate strikes: As the intelligence report shows, the U.S. maintains a significant presence in the Saudi operations center. It also sells munitions and aircraft to the coalition and provides maintenance, training, targeting assistance, and mid-air refueling for fighter jets carrying out bombing runs. Last week a large Saudi crude oil carrier was allegedly hit by a rocket while sailing through the Red Seas Bab al-Mandeb strait. The Saudis allege that Houthi forces did it and try to sell it as a reason to hit Hodeidah. The Houthi have no navy. Hodeidah is some 300 kilometer north of the straits and the coast next to it is under UAE control. Nevertheless the Saudis stopped their tankers from passing through the Red Sea. Not because of the potential danger, but to increase pressure on the United States, Britain and others to help to invade Hodeidah: Analysts say Saudi Arabia is trying to encourage its Western allies to take more seriously the danger posed by the Houthis and step up support for its war in Yemen, where thousands of air strikes and a limited ground operation have produced only modest results while deepening the worlds worst humanitarian crisis. ... The suspension of Saudi shipments - with the implied threat of higher oil prices - may also be aimed at pressuring European allies, who have continued to support the nuclear deal with Iran following the U.S. withdrawal in May, to take a stronger stance against Tehrans ballistic missiles program and support for armed groups across the region. There was no official confirmation that the move was coordinated with Washington but one analyst said it would be astonishing if it were not, given the strategic alliance between the two countries. After the Saudi ship was hit the British government sent 20 British Special Forces to an unnamed "Red Sea Port" and dispatched a frigate to the area. The Saudi claims, that Iran is involved in the war and is smuggling ballistic missiles through Hodeidah to the Houthi, is false. All larger ships going to Hodeidah get searched and inspected. The Houthi may receive some material support smuggled from Oman through the Saudi coalition lines but that is clearly not big stuff or in a decisive amount. The biggest source of weapons and ammunition they use comes from raids on the Saudi coalitions' supplies or are bought from Saudi proxy forces. Hodeidah is not relevant for smuggling but it is the lifeline for Yemen's besieged northern highlands. More than 10 million lives depend on the food that comes through the port. If the Houthi lose control over the port, to the UN or the Saudi coalition, their people will starve and they will lose the war. The plan behind the current Saudi tactic of bombing Hodeidah's water supplies and markets is to push the population out of city to make it easier to attack and occupy it. It city is the Houthi's jugular and the Saudis want to go for it. The U.S. and other "western" military and governments know this. If they allow the Saudi coalition to take the port they will be complicit in the genocidal famine that will follow. Posted by b on August 3, 2018 at 18:44 UTC | Permalink Comments Researchers at a university in North China's Tianjin Municipality made a breakthrough in holography based on optical metasurfaces, with an expert saying the technology could improve the accuracy of military reconnaissance. A research team from the Center for Terahertz Waves of Tianjin University has greatly advanced holographic imaging technology and realized reflective chiral holography for the first time, Science and Technology Daily reported on Wednesday. "Using the metasurfaces material and terahertz waves, the updated holographic plate could exhibit an image with essential features and very accurate status of location, which would greatly improve military reconnaissance," Song Zhongping, a military expert, told the Global Times on Thursday. Holographic plates with metasurfaces could also record more data and better reproduce the images than ordinary plates, Song added. A terahertz wave is a kind of electromagnetic wave, which has strong penetrability with good directionality. The waves are safe for humans. They are currently the least understood and least developed electromagnetic spectral band, according to the report. The metasurfaces plate can recognize different polarization states of light. This enables it to store more information and make fully independent holographic imaging, the newspaper reported. "Such holography technology must pass various engineering tests under a battlefield environment to confirm its functioning before it is eventually adopted by the People's Liberation Army (PLA)," Song noted. If fully developed, the technology would bring a sharp advance for artillery units of the PLA, allowing the units to achieve global leadership in artillery technology, Song said. The ability to convert a good idea into combat capability as soon as possible is important to the PLA, as it also would allow units to have a quick reaction in future battles, Song added. Source: leadership LEADERSHIP - China is committed to strengthening military and security cooperation with Nigeria in line with the principle of mutual assistance, a senior military official has said. Col Liu Yongxuan, Defence Attache of the Chinese Embassy in Nigeria said this at an occasion to mark the 91st anniversary of the founding of the Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) in Abuja, yesterday. Liu said both countries shared similarities in contributing to global peace and security. He further described the military exchange and cooperation between both countries as fruitful. China has always been a builder of world peace, a contributor of world development and an upholder of international order. Nigeria has dispatched military personnel to participate in UN peacekeeping operations since its independence and the total number is up to 100,000, one of the largest among African countries. This year, Chinese Naval warship for the first time participated in the joint maritime exercises hosted by Nigerian Navy and has given impetus to the call by the Nigerian Government for a combined maritime force in the Gulf of Guinea. Under the principle of Mutual Assistance, the military and security partnership and cooperation between our two countries will be further strengthened. He also expressed confidence in increased cooperation between both countries in areas of common interest through the promotion of the One Belt and One Road initiative. The initiative is known as a foreign policy and economic strategy of the Chinese Government to create a network of infrastructure to economically link China to Europe, other parts of Asia, Africa and Oceania. It aims to develop the largest global platform for economic cooperation and more than 60 countries and international organisations have reportedly signed up for the infrastructure project. In his remarks, Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar commended the efforts of the PLA in promoting world peace and global order. Abubakar, who was represented by Chief of Aircraft Engineering, Air Vice Marshal Abdulganiyu Olabisi, said that military cooperation between both countries was growing. One thing I can take away from their development is I see hope for Nigeria and other African countries, looking at the humble beginnings of the Peoples Liberation Army. There are also examples of your collaboration with other countries across the world and on that note, I want to say that the military bilateral relations between China and Nigeria have been growing especially in the past decade. We do appreciate your invaluable contributions to our counterinsurgency operations. We are hopeful that this relationship will be strengthened for the mutual benefit of our countries. SEE THE FULL LIST REQUEST FOR THE FULL LIST READ LATEST NEWS GO HOME FIRST STAGE OF 2015 COWBELL NATIONAL SECONDARY SCHOOLS MATHEMATICS C... Source: The Statesman India-China army meet (Photo: SNS) The Ceremonial Border Personnel Meeting (BPM) on the occasion of Chinas Peoples Liberation Army Day was conducted on Wednesday at the Chinese BPM hut of Chushul-Moldo Meeting Point of Eastern Ladakh. According to a spokesman of the Army, the ceremonial BPM was marked by saluting the National Flags by delegation members. This was followed by the ceremonial address by both Delegation Leaders which included exchange of greetings and vote of thanks and reflected the mutual desire of maintaining and improving relations at functional level at the border. Thereafter, a cultural programme showcasing Chinese culture and traditional grandeur was organised. Both the delegations interacted in a free, congenial and cordial environment. The delegations parted amidst feeling of friendship and commitment towards enhancing the existing cordial relations and maintaining peace along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), the spokesman added. A number of steps are being taken to have better communication between the armies of the two countries, expected to exchange a series of high-level visits in the coming weeks. Chinese State Councillor and Defence Minister Gen Wei Fenghe will visit India in August in a sign of recovering military relations between the two Asian giants. Diplomatic sources said military commanders and top officials of the two countries were in close touch as part of preparations for Weis visit at the invitation of Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. The visit will take place shortly after Lt Gen Liu Xiaowu, Deputy Commander of the Western Theatre Command of the Peoples Liberation Army (PLA), led a border defence delegation to India for talks with Indian military officials. Sources said the visit of the Defence Minister would be followed by a trip to India by Chinese Minister of Public Security Zhao Kezhi in October. Disclaimer: This article was originally produced and published by www.thestatesman.com. View the original article at The Statesman. Akram Mohammed By Express News Service BENGALURU: Concerned by the foul smelling water in Narsapura lake, one of the large lakes where KC Valley secondary treated water is being pumped, the Narsapura gram panchayat has started distributing pamphlets asking villagers to avoid the direct consumption of piped water. They also insisted that the villagers drink only filter water. The warning was based on a report by the executive engineer for rural water supply and sanitation, who had found that the quality of borewell water was not fit for consumption. All the borewells that supply water to villages in the said Panchayat have been dug in the lake bed of Narsapura lake.In the pamphlet issued by the office-bearers of Narsapura gram panchayat on July 31, they have noted that water in Narsapura lake is contaminated. You all know that water in Narsapura lake has been contaminated and a foul smell has been emanating from it. We had sent samples of water collected from borewells to the executive engineer. Following tests, he has submitted a report that the borewell water was not fit for consumption, it read.Therefore, people should not drink the water or allow animals to drink it, it added. It also listed a set of precautions required to be followed to ensure that people are not affected by the contaminated water. When contacted, gram panchayat president Shailaraj said that they were not certain of the source of contamination. Residents had started complaining about the bad smell in borewell water itself. Three factories discharge effluents to the lake often and even KC Valley project water had entered recently. Though we dont know the cause for this, we tested borewell water samples, she said. Due to the results of the test, villagers were advised to filter the borewell water or boil it before drinking, she said. By Express News Service CHENNAI: Seven men were arrested by the Virugambakkam police on Thursday for assaulting and threatening the staff of a restaurant in Saligramam on Sunday.The arrested men were M Kishore (25), J Kutty Kishore (24), M Sathish (23), S Karthik (22), M Suresh (19), V Mani (22) and H Ruthara Kumar (26). Search is on for K L Yuvaraj and Diwahar who have fled the State, said the police. Meanwhile, after suspending the members from the party, DMK working president M K Stalin on Thursday expressed his regret for the behaviour of his partymen on July 29.He also warned erring members of the party of severe action in a Twitter post.The incident that happened on Sunday went viral on Wednesday after the CCTV footage was circulated in social media platforms. After the closing hours, a few DMK cadre demanded food for more than 30 party members assembled in Kauvery Hospital.Since the shop was closed and there was no more food left for sale, Prakash, who was at the cash counter, said that food could not be delivered. Angered by this, Yuvaraj attacked him and two other servers, who were identified as Karunanithi and Sekar, in the restaurant.The CCTV footage obtained from the shop showed the cadre speaking to the person at the cash table and then suddenly beating him.All seven men were remanded in judicial custody. Stalin warns erring cadre of tough action Chennai: Disapproving of the attack on a biriyani shop owner and staff by a local party functionary, DMK working president MK Stalin on Thursday warned that he would not hesitate to take tough action against those indulging in acts of indiscipline. He visited the biriyani shop where his partys local functionary attacked the owner and a staffer to offer consolation to the victims on Thursday. In a Facebook message, Stalin said, I will never allow the hard work of lakhs of cadre going waste because of the objectionable act of a few. I will not hesitate to take tough action against those trying to bring disrepute to the party, he warned. Stalin also stated that the party cadre could add to the pride of their leader Karunanidhi only by adhering to the principle of discipline as taught by him u mahesh By Express News Service HYDERABAD:Heart-breaking scenes were witnessed outside the New Century Public School in Kukatpally on Friday as parents of Chandana Sri and Mani Keerthana, sat in protest with corpses of their children who were studying in Class 4 of the school and died on Thursday after roof of a structure collapsed on them. Their parents demanded arrest of the school management, harsh punishment for them and also compensation from the government. Naresh, one of the injured students is critical and fighting for life in Apollo Hospital. The tragedy has left a family bereft of their only girl child. Manikeerthanas paternal grandmother D Padma, is inconsolable as she tells Express that she was intelligent in studies and aimed to become a doctor. She always said she would become a doctor in future so that she would be able to take care of me. She was the only girl child in my entire family. But just the carelessness of this money hungry school management left my entire family with a big loss. she said. (Left) Parents grieve the death of their children at the wall collapse site in the New Century Public School; the photo of the student who died has been put up on the school premises | S Senbagapandiyan Another deceased Chandana Sris family had migrated from Krishna district for livelihood. Her father Nagababu ekes out a living by working at construction sites. He said though there was harassment from the school when payment of fees were delayed, he did not want to change the school owing to its proximity to their home. Nagababus mother-in-law Lakshmi, who came from Krishna district a few days ago to meet the family said that though she was living away from her daughter, it gave her solace that her grandchildren were studying in an English medium school. But now nothing is left for us here, she said. After the autopsy at Gandhi hospital on Friday morning, hundreds of parents flanked by their relatives staged a protest at the school. Rampage in the school premises, however, started much before the protestors arrived on the spot. A few parents barged into the school, damaging the furniture and the schools van. MLA announces compensation Kukatpally MLA M Krishna Rao announced a compensation of `5 lakh each to the families of the deceased students and `1 lakh to the injured students. He also said that the complete treatment expenses for the injured students will be borne by the government. Investigation expedited While two persons are reportedly in police custody for questioning, they said three teams are searching for the school owner. A Venkateswar Rao, DCP Madhapur said cases will be booked against those who went on a rampage and damaged property on the school premises on charges of criminal trespass. Surprise checks on private schools in Hyderabad to begin from next week Hyderabad: Close on the heels of the accident which resulted in the death of two students in a private school in Kukatpally under Medchal district, officials of School Education department in Hyderabad district have woken up and decided that they will be conducting surprise inspection from next week in all private schools of the city. There are around 2,500 private schools in Hyderabad district. Speaking to Express, Venkata Narasamma, District Education Officer of Hyderabad said that the surprise inspection will held with the support of GHMC engineers officials on strength of schools buildings and other infrastructure related safety measures within the district. By Express News Service THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The incessant downpour over the last two days and the consequent flooding of city areas have had a dangerous ecological fall-out. Tonnes of city wastes have been pushed out into the sea posing a major threat to the marine ecosystem. A clean-up drive conducted by a Thiruvananthapuram-based marine research group at the mouth of the Veli Pozhi (estuary with sandbars) on Thursday threw up, among other things, more than 11,000 plastic bottles, and hundreds of leather and plastic sandals and liquor bottles. And all this, from a 700 sq ft area! Friends of Marine Life (FML) pointed out that the wastes flowed into the sea as the sand banks were breached to let out the flood water from the city area. The breaching of the Pozhi normally should not pose a problem. But in this case, all the garbage that had clogged the Amayizhinjan Canal, Parvathy Puthanar and the Akkulam and Veli lakes also were discharged into the sea. Our survey, which covered the sea from Perumathura to Vizhinjam, showed that the estuary waters had mixed with the sea water over an eight-km region, FML convener Robert Panipilla said. FML was one of two agencies from India that had attended the UN Ocean Conference in New York last year. At the end of the clean-up, FML volunteers had hauled in 11,773 plastic bottles, 1538 leather and plastic sandals, and 834 liquor bottles from a 700 sq foot-area at the estuary mouth! What is frightening is that this is not a new phenomenon. A few years ago, underwater photographs taken by FML divers had revealed the effects of thoughtlessly ejecting wastes generated in the city into the sea. In fact, large swathes of the near-shore seabed off Thiruvananthapuram have already been transformed into an ever-growing trash dump. The polluted coastal waters are gradually turning into a barren area for fishermen. We also found that except for the small Kozhiyala all other types of fish have fled this contaminated region, Panipilla said. FML volunteers collected the waste and informed the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation so that it could be disposed off properly. Area of clean-up:700 sq ft area at Veli Collected:11,773 plastic bottles,1538 sandals, 834 liquor bottles By Express News Service VIJAYAWADA: State will soon get mothers milk banks in Visakhapatnam, Krishna and Rayalaseema districts. The proposal was first mooted in 2016 to set up a milk bank at King George Hospital, Visakhapatnam, but due to various reasons it was put on hold. Now, officials again are making fresh efforts and working on the budget-related issues. Infant mortality rate is quite alarming in the State with as many as 7,000 to 8,000 children dying every year. Every quarter of a year, over 2,400 infants are losing their lives. As part of the governments efforts to control neonatal mortality, it is proposed to set up a milk bank on the premises of a paediatric wing of a selected government hospital. The premature and underweight babies have a good chance of good recovery if they are kept on a die of mothers milk. Milk collected from mothers who have delivered babies in the hospital will be sterilised, refrigerated and then supplied to the needy infants. The process is said to be easy and safe. Speaking to TNIE, Dr S Gowri, a paediatrician, said, Setting up of a milk bank is highly recommended as this will go a long way in reducing neonatal mortality. Mothers of premature and underweight babies who cannot lactate due to various reasons can safely depend on a milk bank. This method of storing mothers milk and feeding it to those in need of critical nourishment is free from any stigma that may be attached to this due to social reasons. Its just like receiving blood from unknown donors in case of emergencies. The number of milk banks in India is quite less compared to those in developed countries. The concept of mothers milk bank is yet to gain popularity in the country though the infant mortality rate is high. The neighbouring Telangana State has quite a number of milk banks in private hospitals. The proposal to set up a mothers milk bank at KGH in Visakhapatnam was made in 2016 by officials of the health department to reduce infant mortality in Srikakulam, Vizianagaram, Visakhapatnam and East Godavari districts. However, it failed to take off due to various reasons. Now, once again it is being proposed by the health department. Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque Source: mb.com.ph Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said the United States might only be left out of place if China wants to build stronger relations with the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). We find nothing objectionable to the fact that China would want to exclude non-Asians from the military exercise. I think the contemplation of Chinese authorities is to have military cooperation amongst neighbors, Roque said during a press conference in Bukidnon. Of course the United States is 10,000 miles away so if the intention is to build stronger relations between military forces who are neighbors then the United States will really be out of place, he added. For now, Roque said Chinas invitation to the Southeast Asian countries was still a manifestation of intent. He assured the public that the Department of National Defense would study the matter seriously. China has reportedly proposed regular military exercises with ASEAN countries including the Philippines in the region. The military drills however would reportedly not involve countries outside the region unless concerned parties pose no objection. Apart from military exercises, China also reportedly wants joint oil and gas exploration with ASEAN in the disputed waters. China and other Asian nations have overlapping claims in the resource-rich South China Sea. Tension in the region has risen as countries like the Philippines have protested Chinas increased reclamation works and military buildup in the disputed waters. By Express News Service VIJAYAWADA: Jana Sena and two Left parties - CPI and CPM - will meet in Vijayawada in a week to finalise their future course of action with a common agenda. Disclosing this to mediapersons in Hyderabad after a meeting among the three parties on Thursday, Jana Sena political affairs committee convener Madasu Gangadhar said the three parties will work together with peoples welfare as their main agenda. We will oppose forced and needless land acquisition, he said. Gangadhar said their leader Pawan Kalyan is only opposing the forced and needless land acquisition. The combination of Jana Sena and the two Left parties will emerge as a powerful political alternative in the State, he added.CPM State secretary P Madhu said there is an anti-establishment feeling and people are getting vexed with insincere TDP regime. None of the promises by the TDP has been kept and all sections of people, including farmers, workers and youth, have felt deceived by the ruling party in the State, he said. He was also critical of YSRC for failing to take advantage of the political situation and champion the cause of the people. Now, people are putting more faith in Jana Sena and the Left combine, he claimed. CPI State secretary K Ramakrishna found fault with TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu for describing Pawan Kalyan as a BJP agent. Is Naidu that much ignorant of facts? It is a known fact that the BJP never supports a party having truck with the Left parties. We too do not support the party having ties with the BJP. So where is the question of Jana Sena chief being an agent of BJP? he demanded to know. By ANI WASHINGTON: A documentary based on the connection shared between the United States President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin is set to release on August 31. Variety reports that the documentary film named 'Active Measures' includes the analysis on Russia's alleged involvement in the 2016 US Presidential Election. In his film, Director Jack Bryan has alleged Putin's involvement in covert operations to fuel his propagandist agendas for around 30 years. The film has footages of interviews of Senator John McCain, 2016 US Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and also former US Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul to name a few. Speaking about this movie to Variety, Bryan said that after he started to work on this project he uncovered the greatest threat to a democracy. He further added that in order to understand the situation of the world one needs to look at the source of all problems. Interestingly, the filming started on a controversial note, on May 10, 2017, which was a day after Trump fired James Comey as director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). By ANI WASHINGTON D.C: Baby talk words build infants' language skills better, a recent study has found. The more baby talk words that infants are exposed to, the quicker they grasp the language. Assessments of nine-month-old children suggest that those who hear words such as bunny or choo-choo more frequently are faster at picking up new words between nine and 21 months. Researchers say these findings suggest some types of baby talk words - more than other words - can help infants develop their vocabulary more quickly. The team says words that end in 'y' - such as tummy, mummy, and doggy - or words that repeat sounds - such as choo-choo and night-night - could help infants identify words in speech. Linguists at the University of Edinburgh recorded samples of speech addressed to 47 infants learning English. They checked the speech addressed to each infant for features that characterise baby talk words. Along with analysing diminutives ending in 'y' and reduplication - which contains repeated syllables - they checked for onomatopoeic words that sound like their meaning, such as woof and splash. They examined the rate of the infants' language development by measuring the size of the children's vocabulary at nine, 15 and 21 months. They found that infants who heard a higher proportion of diminutive words and words with repeated syllables developed their language more quickly between nine and 21 months. They did not find this effect on vocabulary growth for onomatopoeic baby talk words. Lead researcher Mitsuhiko Ota said, "Our findings suggest that diminutives and reduplication, which are frequently found in baby talk words - across many different languages - can facilitate the early stage of vocabulary development." The full findings are present in the journal- Cognitive Science. Anand ST Das By Express News Service PATNA: A day-long bandh called by the Left parties and supported by all Opposition parties in Bihar in protest against the sexual abuse of minor girls at a shelter home in Muzaffarpur hit normal life in many districts as rain and road traffic was disrupted by the bandh supporters. Workers of the Opposition RJD, Congress, NCP and HAM came out on the streets in towns across Bihar along with the supporters of the Left parties such as CPI(Marxist-Leninist), CPI, CPI(M), SUCI, Forward Block and RSP. ALSO READ: Liquor bottles, condoms found inside Bihar shelter home run by sex scandal mastermind Brajesh Thakur's NGO CPI(ML) and RJD workers staged a demonstration outside the house of the arrested mastermind of the sexual abuse case, Brajesh Thakur, in Muzaffarpur. In Patna, hundreds of workers of the Opposition parties staged a similar demonstration outside the residence of social welfare minister Manju Verma, demanding her removal from the cabinet and the arrest of her husband for allegedly frequenting the state-funded shelter home run by Thakurs NGO. Rail traffic was disrupted for hours at several towns as the bandh supporters sat on the tracks and blocked the movement of trains. They were removed from the tracks by GRP personnel. Road traffic was severely hampered on the national and state highways as the bandh supporters blocked the roads and caused massive jams throughout the day. ALSO READ: Bihar shelter home rape: Press Information Bureau cancels accreditation of main accused In Patna, women activists of the Left parties clashed with police and the bandh supporters forced shops in many localities to down shutters. Most schools in the city remained closed for the day. Nearly 900 bandh supporters were detained across the state, said an official. Tejashwi Yadav, leader of the Opposition in Assembly, attacked CM Nitish Kumar over his silence in the alleged sexual abuse of 34 minor girls at the shelter home. Dubbing the scandal as a horrendous institutional rape case, the RJD leader said he would compel Kumar to break his silence. READ HERE: Eleven women go missing from another shelter home in Bihar run by sex scandal mastermind Brajesh Thakur's NGO Meanwhile, while hearing a petition for Brajesh Thakurs regular bail, Patna High Court on Thursday asked Muzaffarpur police to submit the case diary in the shelter home sex scandal case. Thakurs bail petition was earlier rejected by the POCSO court in Muzaffarpur. He is one of the ten people arrested in the case before CBI took it over on July 29. READ STORY HERE: New medical reports confirm five more rapes at Bihar shelter home CBI officials on Thursday visited the office of the social welfare department in Patna and collected files pertaining to agreements between the department and Thakurs NGO, Seva Sankalp evam Vikas Samiti (SSVS). In another development, the state health department on Thursday cancelled all agreements signed between SSVS and the State AIDS Control Society. Namita Bajpai By Express News Service LUCKNOW: A day after BJP workers were blamed for painting the statue of Mahatma Gandhi in saffron in Shajahanpur, the media centre of state Congress headquarters also wore the same colour creating such a flutter on the social media that party leader went into a tizzy and got it repainted in white in no time here on Friday. ALSO READ: Tension grips Uttar Pradesh's Shahjahanpur village after Mahatma Gandhi's statue painted in saffron In fact, the media persons covering state Congress Party were taken aback on finding the wall of the media centre at party's state headquarters painted in saffron. As the big wig of the party -- which often accuses BJP government of running the saffron agenda -- came to know about it, they immediately ordered corrective measures and the wall was repainted in white. Later, when asked why the saffron was removed from the wall, Congress spokesman Zeeshan Haidar claimed that Congress Party never differentiated on the basis of colours as it owned all. According to party sources, after a wall of media centre was painted in saffron and it appeared on social media, UPCC chief Raj Babbar took its cognizance and asked the party office-bearers to get it repainted in white immediately. The painter was summoned and the colour of the wall was changed from saffron to white. However, many of the leaders present in the party office claimed that it was dark yellow in colour and not saffron. Congress media coordinator, Rajiv Bakshi felt that it was an inadvertent mistake by the painter who got confused about the colour. Bakshi said that the painter was asked to paint all the three walls in the colours of tricolour. "He got confused and painted one of the three walls with dark yellow," he added. Meanwhile, the painter conceded the goof upon saying it was done mistakenly. In fact, after BJP's storming to power in March 2017, there has been an overdrive to paint the government buildings, schools, police stations and toilets in saffron across the state. Recently, the newly renamed Deen Dayal Upadhyaya railway station was painted saffron. Anand ST Das By Express News Service PATNA: Under constant attack from the Opposition parties, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Friday broke his silence on the Muzaffarpur shelter home sex scandal, terming the incident as shameful and assuring that the culprits would not be spared. The incident in Muzaffarpur has left us with a sense of shame and guilt What has happened is a sin. Such shameful incidents should not be allowed to happen again, said Kumar in his address at the launch of Mukhyamantri Kanya Utthan Yojana, a scheme run by his government for the welfare of girls. ALSO READ: Liquor bottles, condoms found inside Bihar shelter home run by sex scandal mastermind Brajesh Thakur's NGO The CM said he has already asked the chief secretary to discuss with the departments concerned and develop an institutional mechanism to prevent the recurrence such incidents in the state. He said the state government would recommend monitoring of the ongoing CBI probe into the incident by Patna High Court. Social welfare minister Manju Verma, whose husband allegedly frequented the Muzaffarpur shelter home, also spoke at the event, dwelling on her departments functioning. But she refused to take questions from reporters after the event ended. Her security personnel pushed reporters away as she entered her car. The Opposition parties have been demanding her removal from the cabinet and her husbands arrest. READ HERE | Women staffers of Bihar shelter home facilitated sexual assaults on girls, may have been part of a racket Opposition leader Tejashwi Yadav of RJD, who had said two days ago that he would force the CM to break his silence on the rape of minor girls at the shelter home, said he would stage a demonstration in New Delhi against the heinous institutional mass rape in Muzaffarpur on Saturday. It is not about politicking the issue. I have seven sisters and a mother, and my sisters have their daughters. What happened to the girls at the government-funded shelter home is unforgivable. The victims must get justice fairly, said Yadav. ALSO READ: 'Ashwasan babu-Sushasan babu': Rahul Gandhi hits out at PM Modi, Nitish Kumar over Bihar shelter home rape case Congress president Rahul Gandhi has confirmed that he would be present at the dharna at Jantar Mantar, said Yadav. Leaders of Trinamool Congress and several other parties would be present with us. We are also talking with Samajwadi Party on this, he added. LJP leader Chirag Paswan accused Yadav of engaging in needless politics over the Muzaffarpur issue. When CBI has started the probe in Bihar, what is the need of this protest? By choosing to sit in a protest in New Delhi, he (Yadav) is merely engaging in political get-togethers, said Paswan. By Express News Service NEW DELHI: The Lok Sabha on Thursday passed the Bill to grant constitutional status to the National Commission for Backward Classes. The Bill had earlier been approved by the Rajya Sabha with amendments amid demands from the Opposition to the government to make the caste census data public. The Lower House passed the Constitution (123rd Amendment) Bill, 2017, superseding the amendments made by the Rajya Sabha. ALSO READ | Ramdas Athawale hopeful of SC/ST bill being brought in Parliament session Union Minister for Thawarchand Gehlot moved official amendments to negate the changes incorporated in the Bill by the Rajya Sabha which mandated that all the members of the proposed OBC commission would be from the backward classes. The Rajya Sabhas amendment had also mandated that the commission should consist of a member from the minority community. The Opposition MPs, including Bhartruhari Mahatab of the Biju Janata Dal, while supporting the Bill, had exhorted the government to ensure that the proposed commission doesnt encroach upon the rights of the state government. Mahatab was supported by the Telugu Desam Party member Ram Mohan Naidu. READ | Maratha quota: OBC Commission unlikely to submit report soon Taking part in the discussion, Naidu argued that the participation of backward classes in government jobs was limited to just 11 per cent, despite a 27 per cent reservation for them. SPs Dharmendra Yadav said the government commissioned the socio-economic and caste Census at a cost of Rs 5,000 crore and yet, the OBC caste data was not being released. Power to states The Constitution (123rd Amendment) Bill, 2017, passed by the Lok Sabha on Thursday seeks to ensure that at least one of the five members of the National Commission for Backward Classes would be a woman and that the power of the state governments for identification of backward classes in their respective regions is not taken away. By IANS NEW DELHI: A man from Haryana was arrested for harassing over 200 women by sending them nude pictures after creating their fake accounts on social networking site Facebook, police said on Thursday. Police said Vijay is a resident of Gurugram and was arrested on Tuesday from his residence. "During investigation, it was found that Vijay would create many fake facebook accounts of girls and send them 'friend requests'. He befriended many women and later obtained their photos from their profiles without their consent," Deputy Commissioner of Police Anyesh Roy said. Police said Vijay worked at IGIA as a helper. He later made various fake accounts of girls and men on Facebook. Many women accepted his request on the false belief that those accounts belonged to a girl," Roy said. He later stole their photos and sent them a friend request from his account. "When a victim accepted his 'friend request', he would send her vulgar messages. If a woman resisted, he would send a morphed nude picture of hers. He also sent the nudes pics to their friends," Roy said. "He harassed and threatened them if they did not respond to his vulgar chats," the officer said, adding he admitted he was in touch with more than 200 girls and was harassing them. "A Delhi-based woman had complained to Delhi Police's Cyber Cell last year," The DCP said, adding the investigation was under way. By PTI SOPORE: Two militants and a soldier were killed today in an encounter in Jammu and Kashmir's Sopore in Baramulla district on Friday. The encounter began after the militants opened fire on security forces during a cordon and search operation in Dursoo village, Rafiabad area, the official said. He said the search operation was launched after specific information was received about presence of militants in the area. Director General of Police S P Vaid said the bodies of the two militants have been recovered. An Army official said a soldier also died during the gunbattle. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is in Malaysia, the first stop of an Asia tour expected to focus on promoting free trade and pressuring North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons. During his visit Pompeo will press countries to keep up pressure on North Korea via sanctions, according to a senior State Department official who briefed reporters during the flight to Kuala Lumpur. "We do have concerns about North Korea bypassing some of those sanctions, not adhering to its own obligations, so the secretary will use these opportunities to remind all of that obligation to stick to the sanctions as a means to get to the ultimate objective: the fully verified, finally fully verified denuclearization of North Korea," the official said. Since President Donald Trump met North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in June, U.S. officials have been optimistic that Pyongyang will give up its nuclear weapons, though there is no evidence the North has begun that process. Anand ST Das By Express News Service PATNA: The 21-year-old son of Bihars ruling JD(U) MLA Bima Bharti was found dead beside the railway tracks in front of a hospital in Patna on Friday, prompting the heart-broken MLA and her husband to claim it was a murder even as police began a probe. The body of Deepak Kumar bore injury marks on the back of the head, waist and thighs. Patna SSP Manu Maharaaj said the youth had left his home with some friends on Thursday evening and his body was found lying beside the railway tracks in front of Nalanda Medical College and Hospital (NMCH). Two friends of Deepak Kumar, who had spent the evening with him, were detained by police for interrogation. The two youths, Mrityunjay and Abhishek, told journalists that Deepak had been upset for the past three months after breaking up with his girlfriend when she left for Chandigarh for higher studies. They, however, said Deepak did not appear like he was contemplating suicide. GRP and the city police are jointly probing all angles of the case. Forensic experts have examined the spot where the body was recovered. The autopsy report would throw light on the death, said DIG Rajesh Kumar. Former Bihar minister and MLA of the JD(U) Bima Bharti (Photo | Facebook) Chief Minister Nitish Kumar paid a visit to the residence of Bima Bharti, who represents Rupauli constituency in the eastern Purnea district, after learning of the incident and consoled her. He also assured her of a fair and speedy probe. While an inconsolable Bharti kept crying my son was murdered, her husband Awadhesh Mandal claimed his son was eliminated by people associated with his and Bhartis political rivals from Purnea. This is not a suicide. People like Shankar Singh and Chandan Singh killed my son. I will soon file an FIR, said Mandal, who came out of jail on bail recently. A notorious muscleman in Purnea, he was behind the bars in connection with a criminal case. Bharti and Mandal have had a love-hate relationship punctuated by allegations of violence levelled by her against him in the past few years. The Opposition RJD attacked the states NDA government over Deepak Kumars death. When a ruling party MLAs family is not safe, how can ordinary citizens expect safety even in the state capital? asked Tejashwi Yadav, leader of the Opposition in the Assembly. By UNI NEW DELHI: The Lok Sabha was adjourned briefly for about 10 minutes on Friday after Trinamool Congress MPs created pandemonium protesting the alleged detention of their party colleagues at Silchar airport in Assam. As soon as the House assembled to begin day's proceedings during Question Hour, Trinamool members, including Saugata Roy, Kalyan Banerjee, Prasun Banerjee and others rushed to the well raising anti-government slogans. Mr Roy tried to make his point stating that lawmakers, including three of them from the House of the People Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, Arpita Ghosh and Ratna De Nag, were detained at the Silchar airport in Assam on Thursday where they have been deputed by the party to make on the spot study on the fallout of publication of the draft NRC list. Speaker Sumitra Mahajan said she would allow the members to raise it during Zero Hour, but the Trinamool MPs were unrelenting and rushed to the well-raising slogans. TDP MPs including Jayadev Gala and Ashok Gajapti Raju also rushed to the well-carrying placards demanding Special Category status for Andhra Pradesh. While the Speaker allowed taking up of listed questions pertaining to the Ministries of Environment, Health and Corporate Affairs amid slogan shouting, at 1140 hrs, Ms Mahajan adjourned the House for about 10 minutes. By Express News Service NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Thursday reserved the judgement over a plea seeking a ban on the publication of Malayalam novel "Meesha" (moustache) on the grounds that it allegedly depicts temple-going Hindu women in derogatory light. A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra said that the culture of banning books impacts the free flow of ideas and should not be taken recourse to unless they are hit by Section 292 of the IPC that prohibits obscenity. "You are giving undue importance to this kind of stuff. In the age of the internet, you are making this an issue. It is best forgotten," the bench said. ALSO READ | Samakalika Malayalam ready to publish Hareesh's 'Meesha' after writer withdraws novel citing right wing threats Section 292 of the IPC deals with banning sale of "obscene books, pamphlet, paper, writing, drawing, painting, representation, figure or any other object" as they "tend to deprave and corrupt person, who are likely, having regard to all relevant circumstances, to read, see or hear the matter contained or embodied in it". The order came on the plea filed by Delhi resident N Radhakrishnan, who sought a direction to delete certain portions from a novel by S Hareesh as it allegedly defamed temple going Hindu women. The novel was being published in a serialised form in the Malayalam periodical, Mathrubhumi. The publication of subsequent parts of the novel in the periodical was discontinued after the controversy. Malayalam's leading publisher DC books decided to publish the full version of S Hareesh's Meesha. The book was released on August 1. The petitioner, N Radhakrishnan, has also alleged that certain comments in the book about Brahmins, who perform 'puja' in the temples, amounted to " castiest slur". Trivandrum: Hindu Aikya Vedi members protest in front of DC books after the publishing house yesterday released the book 'Meesha', a Malayalam novel whose author S Hareesh had to withdraw it from a weekly owing to allegations of hurting religious statements in the book. #Kerala pic.twitter.com/G1kehqRXp3 ANI (@ANI) August 2, 2018 "The publication caused public outburst and protests across the nation, especially in the state of Kerala as the matter was published in Malayalam language. Post the publication of the incriminating article, Hindu women visiting temple were subjected to ridicule and embarrassment through various social media platforms," the plea has alleged. "Trolls, which appeared and were circulated on social media, have caused deep pain and anguish to the temple going Hindu believers," it claimed. The petition claimed that if the government fails to take appropriate action, it would indirectly invite the public to react and it would not be far before there is "a 'Charlie Hebdo' kind of backlash in India". Centre and the Kerala government also opposed the petition saying free speech should not be curtailed. The petitioner has objected to a dialogue between two characters in the novel, which allegedly insults Hindu women. The novel " Meesha" that insulted and demeaned the Hindu community and the womanhood at large was burned in front of the DC Books outlet immediately after the publisher released the Book. pic.twitter.com/tGHx7n8PWi Adv S SureshBJP (@advssuresh) August 1, 2018 Advocate counsel Gopal Sankaranarayanan, appearing for the petitioner cited the examples of books like Polyester Prince and Satanic Verses and said they still remain banned. We cannot make a virtue of banning those to ban this. Literary work is amenable to criticism. The culture of banning books directly impacts flow of ideas unless it hits Section 292 of Indian Penal Code, CJI observed while asking the regional newspaper to reply within five days the English translation giving the theme of the book and the three chapters of the book carried by it. Unfortunately, the elected Government of State of Kerala, which is duty bound to protect the interest of everyone, did not take necessary steps to stop publication, online sale and dissemination of the novel, the petition stated while seeking a ban. He later sought the liberty to withdraw the plea which was denied by the bench. (with PTI inputs) By ANI MUZZAFARPUR: Congress President Rahul Gandhi will join the protest called by Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav to demand the resignation of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar after several cases of alleged sexual exploitation in various state-run shelter homes were reported. "Leaders from many parties will be a part of our protest tomorrow at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi. Rahul Gandhi has also confirmed his presence," Tejashwi told ANI. ALSO READ: Bihar CM Nitish Kumar breaks silence, says he is ashamed over Muzaffarpur shelter home rapes 11 employees of a child shelter home in Muzaffarpur were arrested on July 24 for allegedly sexually harassing the inmates. After receiving information, the police raided the vicinity and rescued 44 girls. ALSO READ: Bihar shelter home rape case: RJD's nationwide strike today On Thursday, the Supreme Court also took suo motu cognizance in the Muzaffarpur shelter home case. The Apex court's division bench headed by Justice Madan Bhimrao Lokur and also comprising Justice Deepak Gupta issued a notice to the Bihar Government and the Centre seeking a detailed reply from them in connection with the same. The chorus for Nitish Kumar's resignation has grown after a photo of the owner of the shelter home, Brajesh Thakur being felicitated by the Chief Minister emerged. Thakur is the prime accused in Muzaffarpur's shelter home case, where more than 30 minor girls were sexually assaulted over a period of time. Aishik Chanda By Express News Service KOLKATA: Reacting to the alleged manhandling of six Trinamool Congress MPs, one MLA and one minister at Silchar aiport in Assam, West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee said a there was a super emergency in the country and claimed it was the beginning of the end for the BJP. Super-emergency has been clamped across the country. They tried to confine our leaders at the airport so that the people of Assam could not express their woes to them. They are even controlling the Assam media and disseminating false information to them. This is the beginning of the end for the BJP. They are frustrated and politically tense and depressed. Their use of muscle power shows that, after returning from Delhi Mamata said the incident was borne out of political vendetta. READ FULL REPORT: NRC issue: TMC MPs, MLAs 'roughed up', detained at Assam airport; Mamata Banerjee claims even women members were 'manhandled' The TMC delegation went to meet the victims of NRC, but they were stopped at the airport and manhandled. If there is peace in Assam why is Section 144 CrPC clamped there? Why were these eight people (TMC leaders) rounded up? ...This shows their desperation and nervousness. The BJP government is exposed, she said. Reacting to state BJPs demands for implementation of NRC in West Bengal, the CM said: Who are they and what importance do they have in Bengal? A few hooligans who loot and spread riots. They dont have any political base and they want NRC in Bengal. Breach of privilege, claims TMC in Lok Sabha The Trinamool Congress submitted breach of privilege notice against Assam Police after its MPs were stopped at Silchar airport and some of them were allegedly manhandled. M Thambi Durai, Deputy Speaker of the Lok Sabha, assured agitated TMC members that Speaker Sumitra Mahajan would look into the matter. By UNI KOLKATA: West Bengal Trinamool Congress minister Firhad Hakim on Friday made it clear in unequivocal terms that their fight cannot be quashed with force. Returning from Silchar, Mr Hakim, who was a part of the TMC delegation, said at Dum Dum airport, '' Our MPs had gone to Silchar to be with the common people. Despite having all necessary documents, names of several people were not included in the NRC." "They went to study these incidents, so that they can make suggestions in Parliament to the Government to rectify the errors. The government would have got a chance to correct them, '' he stated. "What happened in the airport was undemocratic. This is unimaginable in a democracy. How can they stop elected representatives from meeting people? India is for everyone. People are free to go to any part of the country. But the BJP Government in Assam has taken away that right." "Imagine, if elected representatives are treated in this manner, what will happen to the lakhs of common people, small farmers, people who have to live away from their homes because of floods, those who cannot even speak properly, whose names have been excluded despite living here for half a century, families which have been excluded despite living here for centuries. Will they get a proper hearing? '' Mr Hakim questioned. ''Bengal is a land of communal harmony. Assam is the complete opposite. NRC is being done with ulterior communal motives. Names of over one lakh Nepalis have been omitted. Biharis have been excluded. This is not just a witch-hunt against Bengalis. Biharis, Bengalis, Nepalis, minorities" all are being targeted, '' he pointed out. "Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had sent this delegation to find out what has gone wrong, and make suggestions to the government. But the people have been deprived. We condemn this government. Our party is always with the people. We will continue to fight for them, under the leadership of Mamata Banerjee. We will protest against this incident. Our protest cannot be quashed by detaining us using force, ''he asserted. By PTI NEW DELHI: A Parliamentary panel has recommended the Ministry of Defence to put in place a foolproof and transparent system to evaluate Annual Confidential Reports (ACRs) of employees. The Committee on Petitions, in its report, was referring to the case of D Shivamurti, who held the post of Director (Finance) in the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). Shivamurti had joined the company in February 1991 as Chief Manager (Finance). He was appointed Director (Finance) in October 2005 for five years. Shivamurti was not granted an extension "in spite of his being the only eligible candidate for the post of Chairman of the HAL, rather adverse remarks were made in his Annual Confidential Report (ACR)", the panel observed. It also said that the as per the guidelines, the adverse comments made in ACR should have been communicated to Shivamurti by the HAL administrative authorities. However, the Ministry of Defence/Public Enterprises Selection Board recommended non-extension of his tenure beyond five years and forwarded the proposal to the Department of Personnel and Training after conducting a joint appraisal. The Ministry of Defence submitted that normally ACRs are evaluated on yearly basis. However, if there are any adverse remarks in the ACR, there is a provision of joint appraisal. "In the case of D Shivamurti, the committee is surprised to find that the ACR evaluation was done at the end of the tenure of his post as Director (Finance) due to which his extension was not considered," the panel said. Shivamurti's tenure was also not extended and he was relieved from the services of HAL from March 3, 2011, citing adverse joint appraisal against him. "Since no convincing evidence in support of their averments was given by the Ministry/HAL authorities, the committee has no option but to believe that the entire adverse scenario against Shivamurti, who had successfully completed his tenure of five years, was to curtail the prospects of his selection for the post of Chairman, HAL," the panel said. The panel said that a well-crafted, universal and transparent procedure should be devised by the Defence Ministry/HAL for considering ACRs or joint appraisals in all cases so that the appraisal mechanism should not be selectively applied as it was invoked in the case of Shivamurti. "The committee, therefore, recommends that the ministry should initiate concrete measures to devise a foolproof and transparent system to evaluate one's ACR periodically or conduct joint appraisals to avoid recurrence of such cases in future," the panel said. By PTI SRINAGAR: Protests against the legal challenge to Article 35A of the Constitution -- which grants special status to the permanent residents of Jammu and Kashmir -- continued in the Valley for the third consecutive day today. In Srinagar, moderate Hurriyat Conference chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq led a march from the Jamia Masjid in Nowhatta till Gojwara, a police official said. The protests took place at several places across Kashmir today, a police official said, adding that the demonstrations remained peaceful. Another protest march -- led by Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) chief Mohammad Yasin Malik -- was taken out after prayers near Bund here, he said. Protest marches were also taken out near 'Dastageer Sahib' shrine in Khanyar, in Parimpora, Lal Bazar, near Mehjoor Park in Pantha Chowk and Maisuma areas of the city. The protests rocked Kangan and Sonamarg areas of central Kashmir's Ganderbal district, as well as in Bandipora town of north Kashmir, the official said. The traders took out a protest rally in Hari Singh High Street area near the city centre here. The Anantnag traders association took a protest march from Lal Chowk area to Court Road area in the south Kashmir district, he added. The separatists have called for a two-day strike from Sunday in the wake of the legal challenge to the constitutional provision. The business fraternity and civil society formations have lent support to the strike and also gave a protest programme till Monday. Article 35A, which was incorporated in the Constitution by a 1954 Presidential Order, accords special rights and privileges to the Jammu and Kashmir citizens and denies property rights to a woman who marries a person from outside the state. By PTI MUMBAI: Union Minister of State for Social Justice Ramdas Athawale hoped today that the bill to restore the original provisions of a law on atrocities against SC/ST people gets introduced in the current session of Parliament. The bill to restore the original provisions of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act was approved by the Cabinet on Wednesday, acceding to a key demand of Dalit groups ahead of their call for a 'Bharat Bandh' on August 9. "I will strive to see the bill is brought in the Parliament in the on-going session," a statement quoted Athawale as saying. In a ruling in March, the Supreme Court had introduced safeguards against arrests, which Dalit leaders and organisations said diluted the Act and rendered it toothless. Earlier in the day, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh told the Lok Sabha that the NDA government intends to pass the bill in the current session. Thieves in Sweden walked into a small town's medieval cathedral in broad daylight and stole priceless crown jewels dating back to the early 1600s before escaping by speedboat, police said Wednesday. Two men vanished after the noon heist Tuesday into a vast patchwork of lakes around Strangnas, 60 km west of the capital of Stockholm, police said. The thieves snatched two gold crowns and an orb made for King Karl IX and Queen Kristina in the daring robbery. One of the crowns is encrusted with precious stones. The stolen items were on display at an exhibition in the cathedral, and visitors were inside at the time. "The alarm went off when the burglars smashed the security glass and stole the artifacts," Catharina Frojd, a spokeswoman for the 14th-century Strangnas cathedral, told The Associated Press. The church wrote on its website that the stolen items were kept "in accordance with the prevailing safety regulations in locked and alarmed displays in the cathedral." It gave no further details. Police sent out a helicopter and boat to hunt for the thieves but found nothing. Authorities said no one was hurt in the robbery, but didn't provide further details. A collection of Swedish Crown jewels is shown in this image made available on Aug. 1, 2018, by the Swedish Police. /AP Tom Rowell, a visitor who was eating lunch outside, said he saw two men running from the cathedral toward a small nearby jetty where a motorboat was moored. "The two men hurriedly jumped on board and it sped off," Rowell said, adding that they "appeared non-Nordic." He didn't elaborate. The men appeared to have escaped using two black bicycles -- which they likely stole ahead of the heist -- to race to the waiting boat, said police spokesman Stefan Dangardt. It was not immediately clear if there was a driver waiting in the speedboat for the thieves. On Wednesday, divers were looking for clues in and along the shores of Lake Malaren, Sweden's third-largest freshwater lake. Police said the thieves could have fled further on jet skis, adding it was only a theory. While the items are of great historic and cultural value, police expressed doubt whether the burglary would bring the perpetrators financial gain. The stolen items are "impossible to sell" because of their uniqueness and high visibility, Maria Ellior of the Swedish police's National Operations Department told the Swedish news agency TT. The theft would be logged at Interpol, enabling an international search, TT said. The town, Cathedral Strangnas is a small, quiet town with a population of about 13,000. It's popular with Stockholm commuters and tourists, who come to see the cathedral and a street that has been called the prettiest in Sweden. The Gothic-style cathedral, built between 1291 and 1340, is in the heart of the town. The cathedral's red-brick tower with a black top can be seen from kilometers around. The cathedral was closed Wednesday, and a grassy area by the jetty was cordoned off as police inspected the ground for clues. Police also questioned witnesses who were inside the church at the time of the theft and people outside who saw the suspects get away. The stolen artifacts are funeral regalia, which are placed inside or on top of a coffin to symbolize a deceased royal's identity and social ranking. While some funeral regalia are kept in the cathedrals of Strangnas, Uppsala and Vasteras, Sweden's crown jewels are in vaults of the treasury under the Royal Castle in Stockholm. In 2013, 16th-century copies of King Johan III's crown, orb and scepter were stolen from the cathedral in the central Swedish city of Vasteras, 100 km west of the capital Stockholm, during a nighttime burglary. They were eventually found and returned to the cathedral. No one was arrested. Rowell, the witness, is getting married at the cathedral next weekend. "It's despicable that people would steal from a holy building," he said. Namita Bajpai By Express News Service LUCKNOW: Opposition in Uttar Pradesh, led by Samajwadi Party (SP) and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), is using every chance to test the camaraderie and unity ahead of the battle royale in 2019. SP-BSP unity will again be tested in the upcoming by-elections to rural local bodies on August 17 in the state. Going by the buzz in political circles, SP and BSP are contemplating to support a common opposition candidate against the one supported by BJP. Senior leaders in both the parties claimed that the final decision in this regard would be made shortly. Notably, by-polls are due for 170 seats of gram pradhan, 2,978 of gram sabha members, 198 of members, kshetra panchayat and 11 of Zila panchayat members. In fact, elections to rural local bodies are not contested on party symbol and hence parties lend their support to contesting candidates. Experts said that performance of candidates supported by various political parties in rural areas could be a reflection of their respective clout at the grass root level ahead of Lok Sabha elections due next year. However, the political observers feel that it could pose a big challenge once again for the ruling party as both the SP and BSP have a considerable support base in villages. BJP, on the other hand, has been making all-out efforts to woo the rural voters through the implementation of various Central government welfare schemes, including Ujjwala (free gas connection), Saubhagya (free electricity connections) and Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana. Besides, the BJP's organisational machinery has been in an overdrive through people contact programmes in the form of Gram Chaupal scheme wherein the grievances of villagers are addressed by the ministers and senior party functionaries then and there. After their dismal performance in leas Assembly elections, both SP and BSP, once arch-rivals, joined hands against the saffron surge and got fruitful results in Gorakhpur, Phulpur and Kairana Lok Sabha by-polls. Buoyed by the by-poll success, now both the parties are confabulating to be in an alliance for 2019 general elections to defeat the BJP at the Centre. However, the upcoming rural local body polls will give both the sides an opportunity to test the waters. By Express News Service NEW DELHI: The National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) will get an unsecured loan of Rs 25,000 crore from the State Bank of India (SBI) over a period of 10 years with a three-year moratium period. An MoU would be signed between the two parties on Friday in the presence of Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari in New Delhi. The amount of Rs 25000 crore is the largest ever loan sanctioned to the NHAI in one stroke. This is also the largest long term unsecured loan sanctioned by SBI at a time to any entity, a ministry official said. The NHAI had invited an Expression of Interest from Scheduled Commercial Banks to fund Rs 25000 crore as an unsecured loan. In response, SBI offered to fund the entire requirement of Rs 25000 crore. The loan sanctioned by SBI is unsecured. There is no principal repayment liability for initial three years. After three years, the repayment would be done in 14 equal half yearly instalments. The NHAI can repay/ prepay it at any time without any prepayment penalty, an NHAI official said. By UNI LUCKNOW: Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh will be on a two-day visit to his Parliamentary constituency, starting Saturday. According to official sources, Mr Singh would launch the 'Gramin Bank of Aryavart Free Group Personal Accidental Insurance Scheme for borrowers- 2018' on Saturday evening, at the Ganna Sansthan. On Sunday, the Union Minister will lay the foundation stone of three flyovers, to be constructed in the city at Atal Convention Centre Chowk. He will meet senior party leaders, local BJP leaders and several delegations of traders and others. By UNI KOLKATA: Stating that the country is experiencing a state of "super emergency", Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has assured that her fight of justice for the people will continue, even if lakhs of FIRs are lodged against her and her party colleagues. While reacting to the FIR lodged against her and the arrest of her party's MPs, MLA and minister at Silchar, the Chief Minister said: "They keep lodging FIRs against us. It is interesting that I am sitting in Bengal and an FIR has been lodged in Assam we don't mind even if 1 lakh FIRs are lodged against us for fighting for the rights of common people. Ms Banerjee said she has spoken to Union Home minister Rajnath Singh during her visit to Delhi and the latter has assured her that there will be no harassment of common people. "My question is that then why have our MPs been harassed today?" she asked. She maintained in the same breath: "We are actually in a situation of super-emergency. There is no democracy in the country.: Condemning the arrest of her party colleagues, the Chief Minister said: "They went there for a better cause." My question is that if everything is normal and peaceful in Assam, then why has section 144 of CrPC been imposed in all the districts? Why were they (TMC MPs, MLA and minister) stopped when two of them wanted to go ahead at a time instead of marching together in a group? They just wanted to go to the convention centre and return after speaking to some people there. "Our fight will continue for the sake of common people. We will never step back," she added. She further stated that there is no democratic right in the country. Senior journalists are being beaten up," she said, adding the Army personnel from Assam, who are deployed in borders, are also worried about their family members. By Express News Service MUMBAI: With BJP managing to win two municipal corporations one in the Congress-NCP bastion of Western Maharashtra and other against Shiv Sena in the North Maharashtra speculations that Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis is likely to be replaced are expected to die. Shiv Sena spokesperson and Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Raut had last week said there were talks in the BJP about replacing Fadnavis, while independent legislator Ravi Rana from Amravati had said that six independent MLAs, including him, would withdraw support from the government if the chief minister was replaced. These speculations regarding replacing Fadnavis had gained momentum on the backdrop of raging Maratha quota stir in the state. However, with the party winning both the prominent local bodies the speculations are likely to subside now. BJP won 78-member Sangli-Miraj-Kupwad Municipal Corporation with a comfortable majority of 41 seats. The Congress won 20 seats and the NCP 15 while the Shiv Sena that contested independently couldn't open an account. The NCP lost 4 seats compared to last time while the Congress lost 21 seats in this prominent municipal corporation in the sugar belt which has traditionally been their bastion. In the 75-member Jalgaon Municipal Corporation too, the BJP rose from 15 to 57 and the Shiv Sena from 0 to 15 while the NCP that had 11 members in the outgoing house couldn't open its account. The AIMIM got 3 in the local body. Here too breakaway NCP leader Suresh Jain and senior BJP leader Eknath Khadse, who had to resign from the state cabinet two years back, were the two prominent factors that appear to have been neutralized in this election. "The results have proved that the people have expressed their faith in the BJP yet again," Fadnavis said while reacting to media after the results. "This is a mandate in favour of the politics of trust and development initiated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and people have voted in its favour like they have done in previous elections in the state," he added. With today's two victories, the BJP has won 16 out of 27 municipal corporations that have gone to vote over past four years while it is sharing power with the Shiv Sena in three other Municipal corporations. The number of BJP corporators in all these corporations has gone up by almost five-fold from 208 to 1036. Referring to Maratha quota stir, Fadnavis said that several of the pending issues in the state have been pending for over 40-45 years and with today's results it is proved yet again that the people have trusted in BJP to resolve all these issues. By PTI NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court Collegium today agreed in principle to reiterate the recommendation for elevation of Uttarakhand High Court Chief Justice K M Joseph as a judge of the apex court, after his name was returned by the Centre. Justice Joseph had headed the bench in the Uttarakhand High Court that had quashed the Narendra Modi government's decision to impose President's rule in the Congress-ruled hill state in 2016. In 2017, the Congress lost the assembly election there. After an hour-long deliberation, the five-member Collegium, comprising Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra and Justices J Chelameswar, Ranjan Gogoi, M B Lokur and Kurian Joseph, unanimously decided that Justice Joseph's name should be accompanied with the recommendation of names of other Chief Justices of High Courts for elevation as judges of the Supreme Court. The Collegium, in a resolution, said there was need for further discussion on the issue of sending the other names to the Centre and decided to meet again on May 16. "The Chief Justice and other members of the Collegium have, on principle, unanimously agreed that the recommendation for appointment of Justice K M Joseph, Chief Justice, Uttarakhand High Court [Parent High Court: Kerala] as a Judge of the Supreme Court should be reiterated. "However, the said reiteration should also be accompanied by the recommendation of the names of Chief Justices of High Courts for elevation as Judges of the Supreme Court, for which detailed discussion is required," the resolution said. "In view of the aforesaid, the meeting stands deferred for being held at 4.15 PM on Wednesday, May 16, 2018," it said. The resolution further said that the Collegium met to consider the following agenda: "1.To consider reiteration of the recommendation dated January 10, 2018 for elevation of Justice K M Joseph, Chief Justice, Uttarakhand High Court [Parent High Court: Kerala] as Judge of the Supreme Court.2. To consider names of High Court Judges for elevation as Judges of the Supreme Court. " The decision to convene the meeting was taken late last evening by the CJI. Earlier on May 2, the Collegium had met on the issue but had deferred its decision. In today's meeting, the agenda was same and besides Justice Jospeph, the Collegium deliberated on the names of some judges from Calcutta, Rajasthan and Telangana & Andhra Pradesh High Courts for elevation as apex court judges. The Centre, while returning the file of Justice Joseph to the collegium, had also mentioned that judges from various high courts have not found place in the apex court. During the deliberations today, sources said those high court judges who are in the race to be elevated to the apex court are Chief Justice of Madras High Court Indira Banerjee, who is originally from the Calcutta HC, Gujarat HC Chief Justice R Subhash Reddy, whose parent cadre is Telangana and Andhra Pradesh HC, and Karnataka High Court Chief Justice Dinesh Maheshwari, who is originally from Rajasthan HC. It is pertinent to mention that Justice J Chelameswar, the senior-most judge of the apex court, had on May 9 written a letter to the CJI urging him to convene the Collegium meet to urgently forward Justice Joseph's name to the Centre. The government had on April 26 returned the Collegium's recommendation to elevate Justice Joseph seeking its reconsideration, saying the proposal was not in accordance with the top court's parameters and there was adequate representation of Kerala in the higher judiciary from where he hails. It had also questioned his seniority for elevation as a judge of the apex court. According to an apex court official, Justice Chelameswar, in his letter sent to the CJI, had conveyed that he was reiterating his decision favaouring elevation of Justice Joseph as the judge of the top court as there was no change in the circumstances that had led the Collegium to recommend his name to the government on January 10. Justice Chelameswar, who retires on June 22, was also understood to have responded to all the points raised in the communication to the CJI by Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad expressing reservations on the elevation of Justice Joseph. Justice Kurian Joseph, during his visit to Kerala last week, had also reportedly made it clear that he was in favour of reiterating the recommendation of the Collegium on the issue concerning the Uttarakhand Chief Justice. Santwana Bhattacharya By In Bengal or Bangla, as it may come to be known soon, the mother goddess is the most deeply revered deity. The festival around Durga may be the biggest but the most beloved to the Bengali Shakta (the worshippers of Shakti, which most Hindu Bengalis are) is a Bhadrakali or a Rakkhakali. Any woman known to have a bristling temper and no qualms about venting it, often with frightening assertiveness, is called a Bhadrakali. Never without a wink or snigger, but not without affection either. The Didi of Bengalthe diminutive Mamata Banerjee in her white dhonekhali cotton sari and rubber slippers (though the footwear has become a bit fancier of late)fits the bill perfectly. Many times during her political career, one often been marked by high-decibel street fights, she has been referred to as a Bhadrakali by her friends and opponents alike. Obviously behind her back. Her contemporaries in the Congress, like Jayanthi Natarajan (now retired hurt), used to fondly recount how Rajiv Gandhi would quickly put on cotton buds in his ears at the sight of Mamata striding towards him like a whirlwind, with some demand or the other, always on a Bengal issue! People would be wary of her temper, the adamant positions she took, verging on unreasonableness, but could rarely be without a perplexed laugh in her company. The fact that she carries little ideological baggage is one of the reasons she can make friends and alliances across divides, with just about anybody, in her indefatigable drive to achieve what she wants, any which way. Thats why Shiv Senas Sanjay Raut can wade through a roomful of hawk-eyed media personnel to meet Mamata when she comes to Delhi for a spot of political schmoozing and whisper that his leader Uddhav Thackeray would likely join her rally in Kolkata on January 19. Thats why Chandrababu Naidu sends his emissaries, three senior MPs, to touch base with her just minutes before Jagan Mohan Reddys man comes calling. Why both the AIADMK and DMK land up in succession to greet her. Or why, for a Jaya Bachchan, Didi is a personal contact as much as a political one for her Samajwadi Party. Didi can be quite the charmer when she wants to begoing over to Sonia Gandhi, secure with the feedback that her son, Congress chief Rahul Gandhi, is not averse to supporting her as a consensus PM if need be. Shes canny enough to know she can do what a Rahul Gandhi may never be able toreach out to just about any political party simply to embarrass the BJP or see it isolated. Or ratchet up emotions over the National Register of Citizens, without pausing for breath or reflecting whether she has an audience in Assam. Even people with bonafide citizenship papers have been left out of the final NRC draft listBengali Hindus, Biharis, Muslims, all settled in Assam over generations, even ethnic Assamese. Indeed, its a humanitarian issue. But for the Assamese, who say they have to perforce learn to speak in Sylheti Bengali to buy their fish in the wet market, thinking about outsiders is not exactly an indulgence in fuzzy, abstract political ideas like statelessness. Mamata, from outside, can do that. Just like the Congress cannot invite the Sena chief to its rally, even if it is to create a unified bulwark against Modi-Shah, it cannot ignore the ground realities of Assam, where it has much more at stake than in Bengal. Thats not even factoring in the legacy issueafter all, it was Rajiv Gandhi who signed the Assam Accord, paving the way for the Supreme Court-monitored NRC exercise. Forget the ruckus it created in the Upper House along with other parties in the last two days. Back in Assam, its two-term former chief minister Tarun Gogoi has begged to differ with the anti-NRC narrative. Indeed, he has gone on to claim copyright over the exercise, which was started during his tenure. His only real complaint against successor Sarbananda Sonowal is the tardy, messy implementation! Witness also Conrad Sangmas revolt against ally BJP on the National Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016, which seeks to grant quick citizenship rights to persecuted Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain or Parsi people from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh. It shows that for the entire Northeast, the sentiment can be defined as an anti-Bangladesh immigrant oneno matter Hindu or Muslim or Buddhist. Mamata drumming up Bengali sentiments, playing on the anxiety over statelessness, may give her a fillip among grassroots voters in her own state. It would also help her try position herself as Indias pre-eminent centrist, edging Rahul out of frame, prior to a grand opposition rally. But it may not give her a foothold in Assam politics. But the Congress leaders, dismayed about being made sacrificial lambs at the altar of the aspirations of satraps, know the final battle will be in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, not Assam. Dalit votes are the swing factor. Maybe the BJP knows it too. It lost no time conceding to the demands of Ram Vilas Paswan et al. to resurrect the SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act, and thereby defang a Dalit storm. Of course, the BJP was also happy to play counter to Mamata, citing security and indigenous citizens rights. The more Mamata ramps up her style, the more she may be helping Modi-Shah play on the majoritys insecurities. This could be as big as the Mandir, a BJP supporter claimed, secretly happy about all the brouhaha in the media. Its new fortress in Assam seems secure for now. Elsewhere? Well, not if Bhadrakali can help it. Santwana Bhattacharya Political Editor, The New Indian Express Email: santwana@newindianexpress.com By Express News Service VIJAYAWADA: Aimed at promoting usage of electric vehicles and to encourage electric vehicle manufacturers, the State Cabinet on Thursday approved certain amendments to the AP Electric Mobility Policy. Under the policy, the government, private individuals and firms purchasing electric vehicles will get exemption from road tax and registration fee till 2024. Under the revised AP Electric Mobility Policy-2018, the government will reimburse the SGST collected from recharging and refilling stations set up by the government agencies or private firms or individuals. For reimbursing the GST, those agencies leasing electric vehicles to government or government firms must get registered in AP itself. Disclosing the decisions taken at the Cabinet meeting held at the Interim Government Complex in Velagapudi on Thursday to mediapersons, Information and Public Relations Minister Kalava Srinivasulu said the Cabinet approved AP Mega Seed Park Policy-2018 to make AP the destination for seed industries and to supply quality seeds to farmers. The mega seed park to be set up in Kurnool district, will attract investments to the tune of Rs 3,000 crore and provide large scale employment opportunities. He said the Cabinet decided to introduce market intervention fund to stabilise the market and help the farmers get remunerative price for their produce. Though, there is no clarity over the exact amount to be earmarked for the market intervention fund, it is learnt that it will be around Rs 500 crore.The minister said the State Cabinet decided to sanction monthly remuneration of Rs 3,000 per month to ASHA workers in addition to their performance-based incentive. He said the Cabinet decided to introduce AP Textile and Apparel Policy 2018-2023. Aimed at attracting investments to the tune of Rs 15,000 crore in the coming five years and creation of 2.5 lakh jobs, the government wants to place the State on top overtaking Maharashtra and Gujarat making use of the available cotton in the State. Under the policy, the government will offer various incentives and will make deliberations for attracting industries to the State. The Council of Ministers approved formation of the standing committee with AP Planning Board Vice-Chairman as Chairman, Principal Secretary to Government (FAC), Commissioner, APCRDA, subject matter expert and special commissioner, APCRDA, as its members to oversee the issuance of Amaravati Bonds 2018 and evaluate the coupon rate and arrange fee received in the bidding. The Cabinet gave approval for raising Rs 2,000 crore on BSE Electronic bidding platform on fixed rate method at a coupon rate of 10.32 per cent quarterly payable with a basic issue size of Rs 1,300 crore and a green shoe option of Rs 700 crore as per norms of the term sheet. Authorising the commissioner to exercise the option of green shoe option in case of good response on EBP. The Cabinet also decided to establish nine polytechnics in animal husbandry and 11 colleges in fisheries in the private sector with affiliation to Sri Venkateswara Veterinary University, Tirupati.It is learnt that the Cabinet felt something fishy behind the North Eastern States banning aqua products of AP and also lamented the indifferent attitude of the Centre towards AP in giving permission to introduce international flight services from Vijayawada airport. Formation of VMRDA Expansion of 5,573 sq km area of VUDA into Visakhapatnam Metropolitan Region Development Authority (VMRDA), which will have an area of 6,764.59 sq km. Apart from Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation, Srikakulam Municipal Corporation, Vizianagaram, Amudalavalasa, Yalamanchili, Tuni municipalities, Rajam and Nellimarla Nagara Panchayats, 1,340 villages from 50 mandals of Srikakulam, Vizianagaram, Visakhapatnam and East Godavari districts will come under the purview of VMRDA, which is expected to have a population of 60.53 lakh Other key decisions Developing airstrip at Kuppam at a cost of J95 crore in an area of 450 acres. Though, the State government initially planned to construct a greenfield airport in Kuppam, being represented by CM Naidu in area of 850 acres, Ministry of Defence rejected permission for the same citing that it is located less than 150 km from Bengaluru airport Ban on CPI (Maoist) affiliated bodies to continue for another year from Aug 17 Andhra Pradesh State Physiotherapy Council to be set up Medical Tourism Project in Vizag By Express News Service KURNOOL: At least eleven persons were killed in an explosion in a granite quarry in Aluru mandal of Kurnool district on Friday night. Three tractors, a lorry and a shed, under which the workers were taking shelter, were gutted in the fire, police said. According to locals and eye-witnesses, the intensity of the blast was experienced by people living in the areas 10 km away from the quarry in Hattibelagal village and tremors were felt in several villages in the neighbourhood and some houses even developed cracks. District collector S Satyanarayana confirmed to The New Indian Express that eleven people have been killed so far in the blast. All the deceased are suspected to be migrant labours from Bihar, Punjab and other states. There were nearly 30 workers at the quarry when the blast took place and some of them rushed out of the site with burns while some others could come out safely. So intense was the blast that people rushed to the quarry found dead bodies scattered in the quarry and some of them were in mutilated condition. "The blast took place around 8.15 pm and when we rushed there, we saw three tractors and a lorry on fire. We could see at least seven bodies, some of them mutilated, at the site,'' an eye-witness said. Fire tenders rushed to the place and are trying to douse the flames that engulfed the vehicles and the shed. Police cordoned off the area and are not allowing anyone near the quarry premises on the suspicion that there might be more explosives in the quarry which might go off anytime. It was learnt that the quarry was operated illegally and the villagers of nearby villages have been asking the officials to take action against the illegal blastings and movement of heavy vehicles that are posing threat to their lives. By Express News Service BENGALURU: Following the outrage over the lifting of night traffic ban inside Bandipur Tiger Reserve, the Chief Minister's office is likely to take a call on the issue. Speaking to the media at the sidelines of National Human Rights Commission hearings, Chief Secretary T M Vijay Bhaskar said that CM H D Kumaraswamy will take a call on the same. It can be recalled that the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways had recommended lifting the ban on night traffic along NH 212 which passes through Bandipur National Park. Recently, Central government announced that Kumaraswamy led State government has consented to lift the night traffic ban, which attracted widespread opposition and criticism from wildlife activists. Vijay Bhaskar said that the issue will be discussed by Kumaraswamy before deciding on whether the ban should continue in one of the important tiger reserves in the country. The U.S. Senate has passed a bill that will ensure that the U.S. Forces Korea do not fall below 22,000 troops without authorization from Congress. The bill passed by 87-10 votes in a full session of the Senate on Wednesday. The two chambers of Congress merged two different bills that had passed the House and the Senate into a single bill. It will go into effect once U.S. President Donald Trump signs it. Under the bill, the number of American troops in South Korea, currently 28,500, cannot be reduced to less than 22,000 unless Congress accepts a report from the secretary of defense that further reduction will not seriously compromise the security of the U.S. and its allies, i.e., South Korea and Japan. It also obliges the government to report to Congress any verification and assessment in implementing a nuclear agreement it will conclude with North Korea in the future. The bill states that the withdrawal or reduction of the USFK is a long-time goal of China, Russia and North Korea and the North's nuclear weapons development is a security threat to the entire Indo-Pacific region, including South Korea and Japan, as well as to the U.S. By IANS BENGALURU: Turning into a Samaritan, Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy helped an estranged Mysuru woman return to the state from Shimla in Himachal Pradesh, said an official statement on Thursday. "The 40-year-old ailing woman, traced in a Shimla rehab hospital recently, was brought to Bengaluru on Thursday by a team of state health officials," said the Chief Minister's office in a statement here. The woman, whose identity has been kept confidential for safety and security, met Kumaraswamy at his home-office in the city centre along with the health officials who rescued and escorted her to the city safely. "Kumaraswamy has assured the woman of medical treatment and rehabilitation," noted the statement. When the woman urged the Chief Minister to provide her a house and trace her husband, Kumaraswamy directed Mysuru Deputy Commissioner Abhiram G Shankar to do the needful on priority. Kumaraswamy also thanked his Himachal Pradesh counterpart Jai Ram Thakur and his wife Sadhana Thakur, who hails from Karnataka, for helping the state in rescuing the woman. The rescue team comprised Deputy Health Director Rajani, Mysuru District Mental Health Officer Manu Prasad and woman police constable Nageena. "The woman will be sheltered at 'Our Home' run by the Women and Child Welfare Department in the city and send her to mother's place in Mysuru district on recovery," reiterated the statement. Abandoned by husband at Mysuru, about 150 km from here, the woman went missing from the state and reached Kangra in Himachal and subsequently got admitted to a hospital in Shimla for depression. On learning about the woman's plight when he was in New Delhi in mid-July on official work from news channels and media reports, Kumaraswamy directed the officials to rescue her at the earliest. According to reports in the local media, the middle-aged woman, who hails from Makanahalli in Mysuru district, went missing 2 years ago when she came to Bengaluru to work in a garment factory. "The woman, who lost her way and landed at Kangra, was admitted in the state-run Himachal Hospital for Mental Health and Rehabilitation in Shimla for treatment in June 2016," recalled an official statement on July 23. "The woman could not contact her family facing language issues in Himachal and was unable to recall how she reached there," the statement added. Arunkumar Huralimath By Express News Service KARWAR: A 39-year-old Karwar man is one among the three who were abducted and killed in Afghanistan capital Kabul on Thursday. He was working as a chef at French catering company Sodexo in Kabul. The incident took place on Thursday morning when he was driving to work with two other colleagues-- a Malaysian and a Macedonian. The three were abducted near Pul-e-Charkhi on the eastern outskirts of Kabul. After a couple of hours their bodies were found in a parked car in the Mussahi district in the southern part of Kabul province. Patson Rodrigues, 39, from Kadawad near Karwar went to Kabul after completing his hotel management course from a Goa-based institute. For the last 10 years, he was employed as a French cuisine chef at a catering company. He used to come to Karwar twice a year and stayed for 20 days. According to his family members in Kadawad, Patson used to call them twice a day, before going to work and after returning home. As usual, on Thursday morning he made a phone call around 8.30 am and spoke to his aged parents, wife and son. The same evening, the catering company called his father Jerome and said Patson was abducted. Except for his father, Patsons family members in Kadawadare still not aware of his death. They all just knew that he was abducted and efforts were on to release him. Patson was a simple man and he used to give a lot of importance to his family. He had last visited Karwar on May 15 and celebrated his marriage anniversary on May 26 in Goa and returned to Kabul on June 22. According to the latest information, there was no news about Patson's mortal remains, but his relatives feel that it may take at least 4-5 days. By Express News Service HUBBALLI: The North Karnataka Bandh called by Uttara Karnataka Rajya Raita Sangh seeking separate statehood for North Karnataka turned into a flop show as prominent personalities, pro-farmer and pro-Kannada organisations had expressed their aversion to the bifurcation of the state. Except for a few protest marches and dharnas, there was hardly any impact on the normal life in the entire region. All activities at Hubballi, from where actually the bandh call was given, went on as usual. Services of public transport buses were unhindered and school, colleges, government and private institutions worked like any other normal day. A few agitators staged a protest at Rani Chennamma Circle and submitted a memorandum to tahsildar seeking the government to fulfil their demand. The Hubballi-Dharwad police had made elaborate security arrangements to prevent any untoward incidents. The situation was not much different in Gadag and Haveri districts. In Belagavi, Vijayapura and Bagalkot district also, the bandh call did not have any impact on the normal life as local organisations were not consulted before the bandh call by Uttara Karnataka Rajya Raita Sangh and other-other associations. Condemning the bandh, activists of Karnataka Rakshna Vedike staged a protest and distributed roses among public wishing unity of the state. Activists of the vedike took out a rally from Chennamma Circle to DC office in Belagavi and submitted a memorandum to Deputy Commissioner S Ziyaulla urging the government to build a united and strong Karnataka by implementing the recommendations of Nanjundappa Committee Report. Meanwhile, the bandh failed to resonate in Hyderabad-Karnataka region as well. Schools, colleges and other business activities were normal in Bidar, Raichur, Yadgir and Kalaburagi districts. In Raichur, Hyderabad Karnataka Horata Samiti leader Razak Ustaad demanded Raichur to be made third capital of the state, if Belagavi was made the second. The leaders in other districts too did not support Mumbai-Karnataka bandh call. Poor response in Ballari The bandh call was a damp squib in Ballari. Buses plyed as usual and so did autorickshaws. Business establishments remained open. Schools, colleges and government offices functioned normally. However, there were a few protests. Members of Karnataka Rakshana Vedike staged a protest stating that the vedike will not tolerate any attempt to divide the state KRV activists take out procession in Koppal The bandh evoked no response in Koppal. Members of Karnataka Rakshana Vedike took out a procession and submitted a memorandum to the taluk administration, while office-bearers of Hyderabad-Karnataka Horata Samiti and Kannada Sahitya Parishat submitted a memorandum to CM through Deputy Commissioner M Kanagavalli Sena urges Maha govt to move SC against HDK The Shiv Sena has urged Maharashtra government to move the Supreme Court urging it to send a contempt notice to the state government to lodge its protest against what its calling a controversial statement made by Kumaraswamy to make Belagavi as the second capital of Karnataka.In a fresh editorial in its mouthpiece, Saamna, Shiv Sena exerted pressure on Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis by stating, Maharashtra government should approach the Supreme Court urging it to send a contempt notice to the Karnataka government to protest against the CMs remarks. Arun M By Express News Service KOCHI: Claims of being the most progressive state in the country notwithstanding, practices like sorcery and exorcism have been rampant in Kerala. The death of a four-member family at Vannappuram near Thodupuzha under mysterious circumstances has put the spotlight yet again on the need to curb such obsolete practices. Also Read | Family brutally killed: Autopsy report Though Kerala had planned to bring out a stringent law to curb blind beliefs and rituals, the proposal has lost steam. Primarily, due to a lack of interest among the political class. The Kerala Exploitation by Superstition (Prevention) Act mooted by the Home Department warranted stringent punishment, ranging from three years to capital punishment, for superstitious practices. However, it has been pushed to the cold storage as the top brass of the administration and politicians believe that such practices cannot be curbed by enacting a law, considering its failure in Karnataka. The death of three persons due to alleged superstitious practices in 2014 had resulted in demands gaining momentum for stringent legislation to curb such activities. As instructed by the government, the then ADGP (Intelligence) A Hemachandran drafted the Bill after reviewing a similar law in Maharashtra and Karnataka. ALSO READ | Black magic sees no red in Karnataka It was submitted to the government in August 2014. We will stage a protest in front of the Secretariat demanding the introduction of the anti-superstition law on August 20, said Kerala Yuktivadi Sangham general secretary Rajagopal Vakathanam.This protest is part of the sixth phase of our agitation. A memorandum will be submitted to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan in this regard. The increasing influence of caste and religious outfits in politics, he said, is the main reason for occult practices and superstitious beliefs among people.Such incidents declare time and again that we are yet to become a secular civil society, he alleged. Police probing local peoples witchcraft talk Idukki: The police are collecting CCTV footage from the cameras kept in front of the nearby shops and bank after some local people informed them that Krishnan used to conduct witchcraft in his secluded house and some people had been visiting him in luxury cars. Dhinesh Kallungal By THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Monsoon tourism has been gaining popularity in Kerala over the years, with an even distribution of rain across the state usually bringing cheer to the sector. But this time around, the unexpected bouts of downpour in the hilly district of Idukki has literally upset the tourism department, which has been hoping to make a windfall in the Neelakurinji blossoming season. Rain has delayed the blossoming of Neelakurinji at Munnar, forcing tourists to cancel their trips. READ| Neelakurinji blooms in Western Ghats after 12 long years; pack your bags now or wait till 2030 Eravikulam National Park Wildlife Warden R Lekshmi told Express the forest department had started online booking a month ago anticipating Neelakurinji would blossom by mid-July. Now it is expected only by this month end. The mass blooming will take place a month after that. There has been a considerable number of cancellation by tourists every day owing to the delay in blooming, she said. Those who reach Munnar unaware of it have been directed to small pockets in the region where it has bloomed. The rest are either postponing their booking date. The department has decided to allow 3,500 tourists a day. Kerala Tourism Director P Bala Kiran said the department has sanctioned `1.52 crore to arrange basic infrastructure facilities like parking lots, toilets, shower rooms and urinal and `1.4 crore for waste collection in the Neriamangalam-Munnar stretch. The Neelakurinji season is expected to fetch the local economy Rs 300-400 crore as nearly eight lakh tourists from within the country and beyond are expected to visit the hill station over four months. Munnar Homestay Association secretary Johnson Joseph said, Though the Neelakurinji season draws nearly eight lakh tourists to Munnar in a short span of time, its not an ideal business model for the hill station as it leaves a big impact on the region. By Express News Service BHUBANESWAR: Taiwans State-owned firm CPC Corporation has proposed to invest Rs 43,000 crore (USD 6.6 billion) in petrochemical sector in Odisha by setting up a greenfield cracker and other downstream units at Paradip. Also read | Taiwan oil firm to invest USD 6 billion in Paradip project The State Government has assured all support to the Corporation to set up the project. The assurance was given by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik after a delegation from the Corporation led by its president Shun-Chin Lee met him at the Secretariat here on Thursday. The delegation also met Chief Secretary Aditya Prasad Padhi. The Taiwan company has identified port town Paradip as one of the possible locations for its investment. The company is likely to select the Paradip site as it may meet its raw material requirement by using feedstock from Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL). During discussion, the CM said a high level task force headed by the Chief Secretary will be formed to facilitate the companys investment in Odisha. Stating that the proposed project will help in setting up downstream petroleum industries in Paradip, he said there is a huge opportunity in the State to set up industries. Odisha is among top three States in live manufacturing investment and project implementation, Naveen said. Chief Secretary Padhi told mediapersons that the State Government has assured the Taiwan company to provide all infrastructural support like land, water, electricity and incentives. The company will meet its raw material requirement from IOCL which has set up a mega oil refinery in Paradip. Padhi said the CPC delegation visited Paradip on Wednesday and discussed in detail about the proposed project with the authorities of Paradip Port Trust (PPT). They also met officials of the Oil Ministry separately, he said and added that the State Government is optimistic about Taiwans investment. On Tuesday, the Taiwanese delegation had a meeting with the Union Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and chairperson of IOCL Sanjiv Singh at New Delhi to discuss about the investment plans. By Express News Service CHENNAI:DMK president and five-time Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu M Karunanidhi, who had been hospitalised since the wee hours on Saturday, was showing so much improvement that he was made to sit on a wheel-chair for a while in Kauvery Hospital at Alwarpet here on Thursday. Also Read | Stones pelted at three buses after rumours about M Karunanidhis health Ever since making a miraculous comeback on Sunday night, after the parameters dipped, the nonagenarian leader was getting better day by day, party sources said.On Thursday, he was responding well when the doctors made him sit on a wheel-chair in the hospital, they informed. The message came as a big relief to DMK cadre, who burst into raptures outside the hospital and distributed sweets to share their joy. The sources stated that Karunanidhi might be taken back home in a day or two as per the advice of the doctors attending to him. Pinarayi Vijayans visit Political leaders and film personalities continued to make a beeline for Kauvery Hospital on the fifth consecutive day on Thursday to enquire about the health condition of the DMK patriarch. CPM politburo member and Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan stepped into the hospital and was briefed by Karunanidhis son and DMK working president MK Stalin and daughter Kanimozhi MP. Talking to reporters outside the hospital, Vijayan said, Kalaignar is a fighter by birth itself, he said, adding, Now also his will power is seeing him succeeding. He is fighting with ailments. Saying that Stalin, Kanimozhi and other family members of the DMK chief informed that his condition was fast improving, the Kerala Chief Minister wished him a speedy recovery.Former West Bengal Governor Gopalakrishna Gandhi, Tamil Nadu Congress Committee president S Thirunavukkarasar and former Union Minister P Chidambarams son Karti P Chidambaram also visited the hospital. Actor Sivakarthikeyan too visited the hospital to enquire about Karunanidhis condition. Meanwhile, Kanimozhi appealed to party cadre gathered outside the hospital to leave for their native towns as the leader was improving well. By Express News Service CHENNAI:With the death of AIADMK MLA AK Bose, the Tirupparankundram Assembly constituency, which he represented, has fallen vacant. In a normal course, the Election Commission has to hold by-election within six months from the date of the MLAs death, that is, by January 2019. Also Read | Tiruparankundram AIADMK MLA AK Bose Passed Away If the EC wishes, the byelection can also take place along with the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. So, this by-election is likely to be a forerunner to the alliance configuration of political parties for the future elections. By the way, this is the second by-election to Tirupparankundram within two years.AIADMK MLA SM Seenivel elected from this constituency died on May 25, 2016 and Bose was elected from this constituency in the by-election held in October 2016 when the late Chief Minister, J Jayalalithaa, was being under treatment in Apollo Hospitals, Chennai. For the ruling AIADMK and the government headed by Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami, it is a by-election thrust on it at a time when the party is facing troubles from many quarters. The verdict in the case challenging the disqualification of 18 MLAs is expected very soon while the ruling party is facing intra-party issues like poor performance in membership drive, delay in forming the steering committee for the party, which has been dragging for the past one year, etc.Besides, the ruling party is also facing severe criticism for going ahead with the Chennai-Salem green corridor project. Dhinakaran factor In the by-election, besides DMK, the ruling party has to face Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam led by TTV Dhinakaran since southern districts are the stronghold of the AMMK. On Thursday, after meeting VK Sasikala in Bengaluru prison, Dhinakaran said that many parties were in touch with the AMMK for forging an alliance for the Lok Sabha elections By Express News Service HYDERABAD: National Research Development Corporation (NRDC), Department of Scientific & Industrial Research, Ministry of Science & Technology, Government of India and GITAM are jointly establishing a University Technology Transfer Centre (UTTC) in Vizag to fulfil the dream of Make in India and Skill India campaign. As part of this, NRDC chairman Dr Purushottam and GITAM registrar Prof M Potharaju exchanged the MoU in the presence of GITAM Vice-Chancellor Prof MS Prasada Rao, NRDC Visakhapatnam officer in-charge Bijay Kumar Sahu, UGC affairs director Prof Ch Ramakrishna, GITAM School of International Business (GSIB) joint director Prof KK Narayanan, GSIB IPR Cell Coordinator Dr Radha Raghuramapatruni and others. While signing the MoU, NRDC chairman Dr Purushottam mentioned that NRDC has forged strong links with the scientific and industrial community in India and abroad and has developed a wide network of research institutions, academia and industry. He said that GITAM has got the best infrastructure and the incubation centre, which is one of the best in the country. He hoped that the GITAM-NRDC Technology Transfer Centre would directly connect the GITAMites to the Make in India and Skill India campaign. GITAM Vice-Chancellor Prof MS Prasada Rao said that GITAM established IPR cell and nearly 14 patents were filed under the cell and IPR Policy document was also prepared for the IPR use. He expressed that the current University Technology Transfer Cell would help GITAM in developing a framework for technology transfer and commercialisation of the patents based on research outcomes. By PTI LAHORE: In a major setback to PML-N chief Shahbaz Sharif, over 20 elected party members of the Punjab Assembly skipped a meeting called by him to discuss the future strategy about the government formation in Pakistan's most populous province, a media report said today. As the meeting had been called by Shahbaz, all the PML-N members elected from Punjab were told to ensure their presence, The News reported. However, only 106 out of 129 PML-N MPAs-elect attended the meeting, the paper said, citing sources. ALSO READ | Pakistan poll body rejects demand of CEC's resignation by political parties At least 23 elected PML-N members skipped the meeting despite strict directives from party president Sharif, the paper said. The majority of the absent members excused themselves on the pretext of health issues and/or unavoidable engagement, it said, quoting sources. Their absence was not taken well by the party president, who is striving to get the required numbers to form the Punjab government, for which the PML-N has been approaching the independents and smaller parties. "These independents and the probable alliance options for the PML-N had asked to first ensure that the party had a firm hold on all of its own 129 members who won the election. That's why this meeting was being considered by many as an exercise to exhibit that strength," the paper said. ALSO READ | Former Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif moved back to jail The meeting, chaired by Shahbaz, was scheduled to start at 6:00 pm; however, it began over an hour late. During the meeting, a visibly upset Sharif said the real character of a person was tested not at the time of convenience but when one had to stand against the tide. Those attending the meeting pledged their unconditional support to Sharif in the testing times the party is going through. ALSO READ | Imrans new Pakistan and India Notable PML-N MPAs in the waiting who did not attend the meeting included Khawaja Saad Rafique, Khawaja Imran Nazir and Khawaja Salman Rafique, who held key ministries in the previous PML-N government. The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), which ruled the province of over 100 million population for the last two terms from 2008-2018, has won 129 seats while Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf bagged 123 seats and its ally PML-Q got seven. As many as 29 seats have gone to independent candidates. In the 297-member House, 149 seats are required to form the government. The PTI claimed that it has support of 180 MPAs-elect in Punjab and the party will form the government in the province. Another BMW 520d caught fire on Thursday after the German automaker agreed to recall thousands of cars sold in Korea. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said it will take roughly 10 months to determine the cause of the fires even though BMW has already proffered a conclusion. Kim Kyung-wook at the ministry told reporters on Thursday, "We need more time to investigate the issue. It will take around 10 months." BMW will submit documents to the ministry on Friday to prove that the exhaust gas recirculation module in its diesel engines is to blame. But Kim said the ministry will determine whether or not to announce BMW's claims after reviewing the material. Experts are incredulous that it should take so long. Kim Pil-soo at Daelim University said, "It makes no sense to take 10 months when public safety is at stake." Another expert said, "The government must publish the documents BMW provides and seek the help of private-sector experts in determining the cause of the problem as soon as possible." By PTI COLOMBO: Sri Lanka is very much a partner in China's ambitious One Belt One Road initiative, a Communist Party delegation said here today. Chinese President Xi Jinping's multi-billion initiative focuses on improving connectivity and cooperation among Asian countries, Africa, China and Europe. Guo Yehou, a Chinese Vice Minister, met Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe as part of the ongoing close relationship between the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC) and Wickremesinghe's United National Party (UNP), the prime minister's office said in a statement. Wickremesinghe is the main negotiator of the Sri Lankan government's trade links with China. The Chinese delegation assured Wickremesinghe of all assistance to make Sri Lanka a commercial and financial hub in South Asia, the statement said. The prime minister has faced internal criticism for his furtherance of the Chinese projects including the construction of the port city in Colombo and the industrial park around the sea port in Hambantota. Both were Chinese infrastructure projects funded under commercial loans during the 10-year rule of former president Mahinda Rajapaksa. In December last, Sri Lanka had handed over the control of the southern sea port of Hambantota to China on a 99-year lease, triggering concern here over Beijing's efforts to expand influence in the region. The opposition has dubbed the deals as the sell out of national assets. By AFP AFGHANISTAN: Burqa-clad suicide bombers struck a Shiite mosque in eastern Afghanistan Friday as it was crowded with worshippers for weekly prayers, killing at least 29 people and wounding more than 80 in the latest attack on the minority. Officials said they feared the death toll could rise after the assault, the latest targeting civilians who have borne the brunt of the violence in Afghanistan's long conflict. "Two suicide explosions happened during Friday prayers in the Khwaja Hasan area of Gardez," said Abdullah Hasrat, spokesman for Paktia province near the Pakistan border. He told AFP the toll had risen to 29 killed and 81 wounded, with children among the victims. The bombers wore "women's clothing", he said, and shot first at the mosque's security guards before opening fire on worshippers then detonating their explosives. ALSO READ | Indian among three foreigners abducted and killed in Afghanistan Provincial police chief General Raz Mohammad Mandozai confirmed the incident, and that the pair were wearing burqas to hide their explosives and weapons. Local resident Sayed Naimatullah said he could hear the blasts from inside his home and rushed to the mosque. "There were body parts, heads, limbs and arms scattered everywhere. The blood of the worshippers had painted the walls of the mosque... There were pieces of glass scattered all over," the 30-year-old told AFP. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, but the Taliban have denied involvement. - Uptick in violence - The blasts come as urban areas across Afghanistan have been rocked by an increasing number of attacks in recent months, with both Islamic State (IS) and Taliban insurgents targeting security forces and government installations. The Taliban has not claimed a major attack in a city for weeks as it comes under increased pressure to agree to peace talks with the Afghan government. ALSO READ | Afghanistan's presidential election to be held on April 20 next year But IS has carried out multiple attacks in the eastern city of Jalalabad and the capital Kabul in recent months, targeting everything from government ministries to a midwife training centre. Last month an IS suicide bomber blew himself up near Kabul international airport, killing 23 people including AFP driver Mohammad Akhtar. The uptick in violence comes as US and Afghan forces intensify ground and air offensives against IS, and the Taliban step up their turf war with the group. Earlier this week more than 150 IS fighters surrendered in northern Afghanistan -- in a move that Afghan security forces and the Taliban hailed as the end of the extremist group in the north of the country. ALSO READ | 150 Islamic State fighters surrender, marks end of militant rule in North Afghanistan The surrender followed the Afghan army's decision to take over security in the eastern city of Jalalabad in IS's main stronghold of Nangarhar province after a spate of attacks, mostly claimed by the group. Afghan civilians have taken the brunt of the gruesome war that began after the 2001 US-led invasion uprooted the Taliban regime. Insurgent attacks and suicide bombs were the leading causes of civilian deaths in the first half of 2018, a recent UN report showed. A total of 1,692 civilians were killed, the highest number for the period since the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan began keeping records in 2009. Another 3,430 people were wounded, the report added By PTI BERLIN: India, which is set to see the "world's largest wave" of urbanisation in the next two decades, may receive around one billion Euros from Germany as part of its financial and technical assistance in the sector till 2022, India's ambassador to the country said here today. German companies are very interested in investing in clean and green cities in India and are looking for partners, ambassador Mukta Dutta Tomar said. "This is where you can bring the best of Indian business sense and German technology," she said while speaking at the Natcon 2018, the annual conference of the Confederation of Real Estate Developers Association of India (Credai) here. The apex body of real estate developers is hosting the 18th edition of Natcon in the German capital. "Sustainable urban development was agreed as a new priority area of bilateral cooperation between India and Germany in 2016. Till 2022, Germany intends to provide financial and technical assistance in the range of 1 billion Euros," she said. Dwelling on India's relationship with Germany, the senior envoy said, "We share friendly relations for decades and our cooperation rests on the common fundamental values of democracy, fundamental freedom and a rule-based international order". Tomar said the mainstay of India's relationship with Germany was economic. "It is our largest trading partner in Europe with a bilateral trade of Euro 19.15 billion in 2017. Germany is the seventh largest foreign direct investor in India. There are around 215 Indian companies operating in Germany. There are over 1,800 Indo-German collaborations and over 600 joint ventures in operation," she said. "The Joint Working Group on Sustainable Urban Development has identified Kochi, Coimbatore and Bhubaneshwar for bilateral collaboration," she said. The ambassador credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi's efforts over the last four years to "helping break the stereotype about India." "He has engaged with world leaders and showed them the Indian growth story. He has brought reforms within the country which are changing the narrative abroad and is improving growth in the country. This is the New India," she said. This also means growing number of opportunities for Indians to collaborate with the world's industry leaders, bring Indian capital and expertise to the world and not just grow businesses but also help India grow, she said. "How can government initiatives help? This government, as you are aware, is a business facilitator, not just for foreign businesses in India but also for Indian businesses abroad," Tomar said. India and Germany have also agreed to cooperate in the fields of spatial and urban monitoring and evaluation systems, Tomar said. "Sustainable urban development is important on our bilateral agenda. I specifically talk about this as it is important for real estate developers who are important stakeholders in helping develop sustainable solutions for the growing demands of urbanisation," she said. The Ambassador said India will experience the "largest wave of urbanisation" in the world over the next two decades. "We are working to transform 100 cities into Smart Cities, and 115 aspirational districts into new centres of progress, which will require mass transit, waste management, pollution control, sustainable habitat and affordable housing systems- an area for businesses to contribute and progress," she said. Indian real estate industry can cooperate with Germany in fields like construction equipment, smart technologies and know-how, she said. "It is important to build sustainable cities, buildings and infrastructure, and here we can learn from the best practices of Germany. I would encourage you to interact with your German counterparts to form partnerships in creating clean and green cities," Tomar said. By AFP LATVIA: Latvia's government on Friday voted to fund the disposal of pig carcasses after a pork producer decided to exterminate all of its livestock when the animals contracted African swine fever. The Baltic state's cabinet said it would contribute 367,000 euros ($426,000) towards disposing the bodies of the 15,570 pigs to be killed. Pork producer Druvas Unguri, which is based near the western town of Saldus, will receive disaster compensation exceeding one million euros, 75 percent of which will come from EU funds. "The pig extermination should take nine days," said Maris Balodis, head of the government's food and veterinary service. "They will be killed humanely via lethal gassing, then incinerated at high temperatures," he told public radio on Friday. African swine fever (ASF) is not harmful to humans but causes haemorrhagic fever in domesticated swine and wild boar that almost always ends in death within a few days. There is no antidote or vaccine, and the only known method to prevent the disease from spreading is a mass cull of the infected livestock. ASF was first spotted in Latvia in 2014 when infected wild boar wandered in from Russia. Since then 666 of the animals have died from the disease across the country. By AFP BAMAKO: Mali's President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita will face opposition figure Soumaila Cisse in a run-off vote on August 12 after neither secured more than 50 percent in the first round of the presidential election, an official said late Thursday. In Sunday's poll Keita won 41.42 percent, with Cisse polling 17.80 percent, according to provisional results, said Territorial Administration Minister Mohamed Ag Erlafk on ORTM public television. Businessman Aliou Diallo came third with 7.95 percent and former transitional prime minister Cheick Modibo Diarra, an astrophysicist who held that office for eight months in 2012, completed the top four with 7.46 percent. Voters in the vast west African country had 24 candidates to choose from in the key poll for the troubled Sahel region. "Thanks to you, I'm in the lead," Keita, 73, who is seeking a second five-year term, said on his campaign Twitter account. "This is clear evidence of your trust." The second round on August 12 will be a repeat of the 2013 run-off, with Keita again facing former finance minister Cisse. "I was expecting a single round, the voters decided otherwise," said Mamadou Wague, an activist with the ruling party, predicting Keita would finally win a victory "even more emblematic than 2013," when he took more than 77 percent of the vote. Linchpin Sahel state - Ahead of the announcement, challengers Cisse and Diallo had said they would not accept the election results "marred by irregularities". "For the first time in the history of Malian democracy, a president in office is forced to a second round," Cisse, 68, said on Twitter after the results, adding that the plan to have Keita re-elected in the first round had failed "despite the fraud". Turnout was 43.06 percent, rather higher than the average seen in Mali where less than a third of over-15s are literate. The international community hopes the poll will strengthen a 2015 accord that Mali, a linchpin state in the Sahel region, sees as the cornerstone for peace. On the campaign trail, Keita -- commonly known by his initials IBK -- had highlighted the achievements of the peace agreement between the government, government-allied groups and Tuareg former rebels to fight jihadist fighters in the country's north. Cisse, and other challengers, however have accused Keita of incompetence on security matters. Attacks disrupted voting Sunday in areas already beset by deadly ethnic and jihadist violence Around 700 of the 23,000 polling stations -- mainly in the north and centre of the country -- were unable to open due to violent incidents, but the polling "went ahead calmly" throughout the rest of the country, EU monitors said. Violence also marred the lead-up to the vote, despite the presence of 15,000 UN peacekeepers and 4,500 French troops and a much-heralded five-nation anti-terror G5 Sahel force. A state of emergency will enter its fourth year in November. Jihadist violence has spread from northern Mali to the centre and south of the country and spilt over into neighbouring Burkina Faso and Niger, often inflaming communal conflicts. Mali is one of the world's poorest countries, with most people living on less than $2 a day. By AFP YEMEN: Yemen is likely to be struck by another "major wave" of cholera cases, the World Health Organization said Friday, as it called for a three-day truce to allow vaccinations. The warning came a day after a deadly airstrike on the country's largest hospital in the rebel-held port city of Hodeida, where WHO staff were preparing the cholera vaccination drive at the time of the attack. "We have had two major waves of cholera epidemics in recent years and unfortunately the trend that we have seen in recent days to weeks suggests that we may be on the cusp of the third major wave," WHO's emergency response director, Peter Salama, told reporters in Geneva. "We are calling on all parties to the conflict to act in accordance with international humanitarian law and to respect the request of the international community for three full days of tranquility to lay down arms and to allow us to vaccinate the civilian population," he added. Yemen, described by the UN as the world's worst humanitarian crisis, has seen more than a million suspected cholera cases amid the conflict between Iran-backed Huthi rebels and government forces supported by a Saudi-led coalition. Salama explained that the vaccination drive is set to run from Saturday to Monday and is aiming to target more than 500,000 people. Earlier on Friday, the UN's humanitarian coordinator in Yemen, Lise Grande, voiced shock at the strike on the Al-Thawra hospital, saying it had put the cholera response at risk. Yemen's war has killed nearly 10,000 people, with more than eight million Yemenis at risk of starvation. By AFP MADRID: Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said Friday his government would set up a command centre to coordinate Madrid's response to the migrant influx. The announcement came as Spain has overtaken Italy this year as the destination of choice for migrants seeking a better life in Europe with a crackdown by Libyan authorities making it more difficult for them to reach Italian shores. Over 23,000 people have arrived by sea so far this year with 307 dying, according to the International Organization for Migration -- more than during the whole of last year. Sanchez said the centre would be staffed by security forces and emergency services personnel. He said that 30 million euros ($35 million)would also be spent by the end of the year on an "emergency plan" to boost the number of places available in migrant reception centres and improve the assistance offered to migrants who did arrive. "The timely transmission of information" should make it possible "to cooperate better to prevent the departure of boats from the countries of origin and prevent the impromptu arrival of boats in Spain," he told reporters following a weekly cabinet meeting. In recent days migrants rescued by Spains maritime rescue services have slept outdoors in the southern port of Algeciras due to a lack of space in migrant reception centres. At the same time, the European Commission said it had awarded Spain nearly 30 million euros in emergency assistance to help Madrid cope with the surge in migrant arrivals -- 25.6 million which was awarded on July 2 and a further 3.0 million euros granted on Thursday. Sanchez said his government would also step up its talks with Morocco, from where traffickers take the migrants across the Mediterranean, saying the country is "key for the management and control of migratory flows". In a joint statement the European Commission and Spain "underlined the importance of an enhanced partnership with Morocco and the need to intensify European support and cooperation with Morocco on migration." This includes the "speedy delivery" of a 55-million-euro border management programme approved for Morocco and Tunisia, the statement added. But the availability of this aid is in doubt as European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker wrote to Sanchez on July 26 since several member states have not paid their contribution to an EU Emergency Trust Fund for Africa from where the money will come from, according to a copy of the letter seen by AFP. By AFP SINGAPORE: US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo admitted Friday there was still "a ways to go" on North Korea as Washington seeks to push Pyongyang to move faster along the path towards denuclearisation. At his landmark summit with President Donald Trump in June, the North's leader Kim Jong Un signed up to a vague commitment to "denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula" -- a far cry from long-standing US demands for complete, verifiable and irreversible disarmament. And when Pompeo met with North Korean officials in Pyongyang last month to flesh out the regime's commitment, they condemned his "gangster-like" insistence that the North move towards unilateral disarmament. Arriving in Singapore ahead of a security forum, Pompeo said that "we still have a ways to go to achieve the ultimate outcome we're looking" for regarding North Korea. His North Korean counterpart, Ri Yong Ho, is also attending Saturday's ASEAN Regional Forum, although it is not yet clear whether the pair will meet on the sidelines. While there have been small signs of progress since the summit, news reports indicate Pyongyang is continuing to build rockets and there have been concerns that some member states are relaxing the enforcement of United Nations sanctions on the North. At the forum and in meetings on the sidelines, Pompeo is expected to push key powers involved in efforts to curtail the North's nuclear ambitions to keep up sanctions pressure. - Maritime tensions - The annual forum, hosted by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), brings together top diplomats from 26 countries and the European Union for talks on political and security issues in the Asia-Pacific. The foreign ministers from all nations involved in stalled "six-party" negotiations with North Korea aimed at reining in Pyongyang's nuclear programme will be at the gathering: China, Japan, Russia, South Korea and the US. Cutting off oil and fuel to the North would require enforcement primarily by China, which supplies most of North Korea's energy needs, but also by Russia, which delivers some oil to Pyongyang. During talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Pompeo "emphasised our shared commitment to the final, fully verified denuclearisation of (North Korea), as agreed upon by Chairman Kim," according to State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert. Wang also met with the North's Ri in Singapore, China's official Xinhua news agency said. Wang praised the North's "efforts in promoting the denuclearisation process" and said China "hopes that the United States will take the DPRK's legitimate concerns seriously and meet the DPRK halfway," the report said, using the North's official acronym. After attending the Singapore meeting, North Korea's Ri will head to Iran for an official visit, North Korea's official news agency KCNA reported. Iran, whose nuclear drive has also sparked international alarm, and North Korea are reported to have a history of cooperation in military and missile technology. Pompeo is also focusing on another major regional flashpoint at the forum -- rival claims in the South China Sea and China's growing presence there. China claims nearly all the strategically vital sea, including waters approaching the coasts of ASEAN members Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam. Tensions have mounted in recent years as China has built up artificial islands in the waters capable of hosting military bases, and the US has thrown its support behind Southeast Asian states whose maritime claims overlap Beijing's. At a meeting with Southeast Asian foreign ministers Friday, Pompeo said the US appreciated ASEAN's efforts to "support the rule of law in the South China Sea." China and ASEAN announced Thursday they had agreed on a draft negotiating text as part of efforts to forge a code of conduct to govern behaviour in the sea, which analysts said represented some progress after years of negotiations. By AFP GERMANY: Tunisian authorities said Friday they had arrested two suspects in connection with a biological bomb plot thwarted by police in Germany in June. The two men are suspected of links to 29-year-old Tunisian Sief Allah H. who was arrested in Germany in possession of the deadly poison ricin and bomb-making material, the interior ministry said. German police commandos on June 12 stormed the Cologne apartment of Sief Allah H. and discovered "toxic substances" that turned out to be ricin, according to the German authorities. Produced by processing castor beans, ricin is lethal in minute doses if swallowed, inhaled or injected and 6,000 times more potent than cyanide, with no known antidote. ALSO READ | Germany intends to give India 1 billion Euros for urban development Sief Allah H., who has been charged with possession of weapons of war and planning a serious act of violence against the state, was thought to have followed instructions on making a ricin bomb disseminated online by the Islamic State group. Investigations revealed that one of the two men had conspired with Sief Allah H. "to simultaneously carry out in Tunisia and Germany two attacks using homemade bombs", Tunisian anti-terrorism spokesman Sofiene Sliti told AFP. The other suspect allegedly prepared a false passport to help Sief Allah H. flee to other European countries, according to the interior ministry. Germany remains on high alert after several deadly attacks claimed by the IS group, including a 2016 truck rampage through a Berlin Christmas market by a Tunisian asylum seeker that claimed 12 lives. New U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Harry Harris on Thursday cautioned against rushing to declare an end to the Korean War before North Korea denuclearizes. "One of the things that hasn't happened is the demonstrable moves toward denuclearization before we can entertain something like the end-of-war declaration," Harris told reporters at his official residence. "I think for the denuclearization to happen, we need to see the move, and I haven't seen that yet." Harris stressed that South Korea and the U.S. must be in synch in negotiating a formal end to the Korean War and that the process must not be rushed. He added that a good starting point for the North would be to reveal a full list of its nuclear facilities. By AFP ANKARA: Turkey is again to open a consulate in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, four years after it was seized and its employees held hostage by Islamic State jihadists, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Friday. Ankara had opened a well-staffed consulate in Mosul, in a sign of Turkey's ambitions in northern Iraq, before the rise of IS there and in neighbouring Syria. But 46 Turks, including diplomats, their children, special forces officers and other Turkish employees were taken hostage by the jihadists in June 2014. The hostages were freed in September 2014 after a three-month ordeal. Symbolically, the consulate building was destroyed in a US-led coalition air strike in April 2016 carried out in coordination with Ankara. The city was retaken by Iraqi forces in June 2017. "The consulates general in Mosul and (the southern Iraqi city) of Basra will resume operations within 100 days," Erdogan told a meeting on government plans after his June 24 election victory. Turkish officials had previously indicated Ankara was keen to reopen the consulate in Mosul but this was the first mention that a time frame has been evoked. Turkey evacuated the Basra consulate for security reasons in 2014 a week after IS seized the Mosul mission. Analysts have said that Turkey is keen to bolster its presence in Mosul, which was once part of the Ottoman Empire and which Ankara still regards as part of its natural regional sphere of influence. The circumstances in which the Mosul consulate staff were freed remain murky, with reports at the time indicating they had been released in exchange for IS militants held by Turkey. Erdogan, then premier, insisted no ransom had been paid, saying there were "only diplomatic and political negotiations" and describing the outcome as "a diplomatic victory." The former Turkish consul general in Mosul who was kidnapped with the other Turks, Ozturk Yilmaz, went into politics and became a deputy chairman of the opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) and is its main spokesman on foreign affairs. By AFP YEMEN: A senior UN official expressed alarm Friday at deadly strikes in Yemen's rebel-held port city of Hodeida including at the entrance to the war-wracked country's largest hospital. At least 20 people were killed and 60 wounded Thursday in an air strike at the Al-Thawra hospital and the bombardment of a fish market in Hodeida, according to medics and witnesses. "This is shocking," said Lise Grande, the UN humanitarian coordinator for Yemen. Hundreds of thousands of people depend on Al-Thawra, which is Yemen's largest hospital, she said. "Hospitals are protected under international humanitarian law. Nothing can justify this loss of life." Yemeni government forces backed by a Saudi-led coalition have been conducting an offensive to capture Hodeida from Iran-backed Huthi rebels, but announced last month they were pausing the assault to give UN mediation efforts a chance. ALSO READ | UN envoy invites Yemen's warring parties to talks on September 6 Strikes have picked up again around Hodeida since the Saudis last week said that two oil tankers operated by one of the kingdom's companies were attacked in the waters of the Red Sea. Rebel-run media outlets accused the Saudi-led coalition of carrying out the attacks in Hodeida on Thursday, but there was no immediate response from the alliance headed by Riyadh. The fighting around Hodeida has raised UN fears of a new humanitarian catastrophe in a country already standing at the brink of famine and gripped by a deadly cholera epidemic. "Every day this week we have seen new cholera cases in Hodeida, and now this," Grande said. "The impact of the strikes is appalling. Everything we are trying to do to stem the world's worst cholera epidemic is at risk." ALSO READ | Attacks on Yemen's civilian facilities in breach of laws: UN Meritxell Relano, resident representative in Yemen for the UN Children's Fund, said the "senseless attack in Hodeida has destroyed families, hopes and dreams for a better future". Yemen's war has killed nearly 10,000 people and triggered what the UN calls the world's largest single humanitarian crisis, with more than eight million Yemenis at risk of starvation. UN envoy Martin Griffiths told the Security Council on Thursday that the United Nations will invite the warring sides for talks on September 6 in Geneva on a framework for peace negotiations. By Associated Press UNITED NATIONS: The UN envoy for Yemen has invited the warring parties to talks in September aimed at ending the three-year conflict, saying the pace of fighting has increased and "the Red Sea is now a theater of war." Martin Griffiths has told the Security Council that military experts say the rebel-held Red Sea port of Hodeida "has become the center of gravity of the war" and avoiding a battle for the port and the city "has a better chance of being resolved within a comprehensive political settlement. " He said the time is long past to resume the political process, and after consulting the internationally recognised government and Houthi Shiite rebels he plans to invite them for consultations in Geneva on September 6, including to discuss a framework for peace negotiations. The Yemen conflict was sparked by the Houthi takeover of Yemen's capital Sanaa in 2014, which routed the internationally recognized government. A Saudi-led coalition allied with the government has been at war with the Houthis since 2015. More than 10,000 people have been killed in Yemen's civil war, which has displaced 2 million people and helped spawn a cholera epidemic. The conflict has created the world's worst humanitarian crisis with more than 22 million people 75 per cent of the population needing humanitarian aid, including 8. 4 million who don't know where their next meal will come from, according to the United Nations. Griffiths has been leading efforts to prevent a full-scale coalition assault on Hodeida, which is responsible for more than 70 per cent of imports to Yemen and is a vital lifeline for a country already teetering on the brink of famine. UN director of humanitarian operations John Ging has told the council the conflict in Hodeidah "has escalated significantly," saying violence has forced more than 3,40,000 people from their homes across Hodeida governorate since June 1. In the latest escalation, he pointed to reports that the coalition conducted airstrikes yesterday around the entrance to one of the few functioning hospitals and an adjacent fish market in Hodeida city, which Yemeni medical officials said killed at least 28 people and wounded at least 70. Griffiths said the UN is still trying to avoid a battle for Hodeida, but while the gap between the Houthis and the coalition has been narrowed considerably, "I am concerned that Hodeida could be a flashpoint." "My concern is to avoid any action with dire humanitarian consequences, and those which may undermine the resumption of the political process in September," he has said. Griffiths called on the parties "to create a conducive environment to allow for this the happen," and he urged the Security Council "to resolve this conflict through negotiation rather than through military means. " On a positive note, he has said that he was "greatly encouraged by the common desire of the parties to have prisoners of war released," adding, "I want to see this moving forward before we meet in Geneva." By AFP SINGAPORE: Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Friday that US sanctions on Turkey showed Washington was "very serious" in demanding the release of an American pastor whose detention has sparked a diplomatic crisis. Andrew Brunson, who led a Protestant church in the Aegean city of Izmir, was placed under house arrest last week following nearly two years in jail on charges of espionage and supporting terror groups. Washington has hit two top Turkish officials with sanctions over Brunson's detention, prompting Ankara to threaten reciprocal measures. Pompeo made the comments before he met Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu at a regional security forum in Singapore on Friday. As he arrived in the city-state, Pompeo told reporters: "The Turks were on notice that... it was time for Pastor Brunson to be returned." On the sanctions, he said: "I hope they'll see this for what it is, a demonstration that we're very serious." "Brunson needs to come home. As do all the Americans being held by the Turkish government," Pompeo added. "They've been holding these folks for a long time. These are innocent people." Two Turkish employees of US consulates in Turkey are also currently in jail on terror charges and another is under house arrest, while several Americans have been caught up in the crackdown that followed a failed 2016 coup. By AFP HARARE: Hours after President Emmerson Mnangagwa was declared the winner of a tight election, riot police disrupted a press conference where opposition leader Nelson Chamisa was about to respond to the election results. Chamisa had already denounced Mnangagwa's win as "fake" and fraudulent, and earlier Thursday police issued a warrant for Chamisa's arrest. Zimbabwe's closely-watched elections began with Monday's peaceful vote but turned deadly 48 hours later when the military fired on protesters and six people were killed. ALSO READ | Zimbabwe Election: Man shot dead as post-election clashes erupt Friday morning a truckload of police, with shields and batons, dispersed 100 local and international press gathered to hear Chamisa but did not say why they were taking such action. The police action heightened the apprehension that remained in Harare after the army rolled in with tanks on Wednesday to disperse rock-throwing demonstrators who denounced Mnangagwa and alleged vote-rigging in the country's first vote after the fall of longtime leader Robert Mugabe. The military were not visible on Harare's streets on Friday. Water cannons and police remained present, however, at the headquarters of the main opposition party, a day after authorities raided it and made 18 arrests. Riot police enter the Bronte hotel, where a press conference by opposition leader Nelson Chamisa was scheduled to take place, in Harare, Zimbabwe. (Photo | AP) Mnangagwa, Mugabe's former enforcer and confidante, said he was "humbled" by the victory and in a Twitter post urged Zimbabweans to stay peaceful. The opposition said it will challenge in court the results of the election, which Mnangagwa won with just over 50 per cent of the vote. Opposition leader Nelson Chamisa, who received more than 44 per cent of the vote, said on Twitter that "unverified fake results" had been announced by the electoral commission. The commission "must release proper & verified results endorsed by parties," he tweeted. "The level of opaqueness, truth deficiency, moral decay & values deficit is baffling." ALSO READ | Zimbabwe vote: what are the fraud claims? In a brief moment of drama shortly before the commission announced the winner in Friday's early hours, two agents for Chamisa's Movement for Democratic Change party took the stage and told waiting journalists that they "totally reject" the results and said they had not signed them as required, in protest. Police escorted them from the room. The week's events left many Zimbabweans with a sense of unease and questions about how different Mnangagwa is from his predecessor Mugabe, who stepped down in November under military pressure amid a ruling party feud after 37 years in power. The 75-year-old Mnangagwa has tried to recast himself as a voice of change, declaring that the once-prosperous Zimbabwe is "open for business" and inviting the Western election observers who for years had been banned by Mugabe. Riot police enter the Bronte hotel, where a press conference by opposition leader Nelson Chamisa was scheduled to take place. (Photo | AP) If this election is judged credible, it will be a big step toward the lifting of international sanctions on this southern African nation whose economy has long collapsed and whose reputation has suffered after years of repression of the opposition and allegedly rigged votes. So far international observers have issued mixed reviews, calling Monday's election peaceful and a break from the past but expressing grave concern about the military's "excessive" use of force. They criticized the delay in releasing the results of the presidential vote, saying it raised concerns about possible manipulation. Anxious Zimbabweans waited to see what would happen next. In Kuwadzana, a poor suburb outside the capital where groups of youths overnight sang and chanted MDC slogans before results were announced, it was silent. One street vendor in the capital, Roy Mukwena, said Mnangagwa "won by force. No, I'm not happy, just because these elections were not free and fair." Some, however, were content to move on and deal with the new leader. "Yeah, I think he's the right man. Because he has been there for quite some time and he knows where the weaknesses are," said a 29-year-old clerk who gave his name only as Eddy. "He has the experience from ... previous government. So he knows how to maneuver all the problems we have. I just hope he will do well." By Associated Press HARARE: Zimbabwe's opposition on Friday rejected what it said were the "fake" results of landmark elections in which President Emmerson Mnangagwa was declared victor. The former ally of Robert Mugabe won 50.8 percent of the vote in Monday's historic first polls since the autocrat's ousting last year, according to the Zimbabwe Election Commission -- just enough to avoid a run-off against opposition leader Nelson Chamisa, who scored 44.3 percent. Chamisa lashed what he called "unverified fake results". "The level of opaqueness, truth deficiency, moral decay & values deficit is baffling," he wrote on Twitter. Mnangagwa, who was chosen as Mugabe's successor in the ruling ZANU-PF party in November after the brief military intervention that deposed him, hailed the victory as a "new beginning" for Zimbabwe. "Though we may have been divided at the polls, we are united in our dreams," he tweeted. Zimbabwe Electoral Commission chairwoman Qhubani Moyo, center , announces the results of the presidential elections in Harare, Zimbabwe, Friday Aug. 3, 2018. (Photo | AP) Opposition allegations of foul play had already sparked a deadly crackdown on protesters in the capital Harare on Wednesday when troops opened fire, killing six. Soldiers and police had cleared the city centre Thursday as the government vowed not to tolerate any more protests. But by Friday the streets and markets were crowded as usual. An army truck and two water cannon were parked outside MDC headquarters, and in the suburb of Mbare jubilant ZANU-PF supporters waved party banners as music blared from a car. "This is a new Zimbabwe, we are happy," said Tendai Mugadzi, a 32-year-old IT specialist. He was untroubled that Mnangagwa had won by a wafer-thin margin. "It just shows that this was a free and fair election," he said. ALSO READ | Zimbabwe vote: what are the fraud claims? - 'Mugabe's baggage' - President Cyril Ramaphosa of neighbouring South Africa called to congratulate Mnangagwa, vowing to work closely with him and calling on "all political leaders and the people of Zimbabwe to accept the outcome". Ramaphosa, in a statement, expressed concern over the protest deaths, but also emphasised that the opposition "must follow legal remedies provided for in the constitution and electoral law" if they disputed the results. "Mnangagwa's task was not just to win the election, but to convince the international community of a new Zimbabwe by winning it cleanly and fairly," said Charles Laurie of analysts Verisk Maplecroft. "The killing of six protestors and questions over his government's conduct at the polls, means Mnangagwa drags virtually all of Mugabe's baggage into his presidency," he added. He called the swift crackdown on protests "a stark demonstration of how Mnangagwa intends to rule". Since independence from Britain in 1980, Zimbabwe has known only two presidents -- Mugabe, who ruled with an iron fist for 37 years, and his onetime right-hand man Mnangagwa. The new president had promised a free and fair vote that would turn the page on years of brutal repression, end Zimbabwe's international isolation and attract foreign investment to revive the shattered economy. ALSO READ | Zimbabwe Election: Man shot dead as post-election clashes erupt But Chamisa has repeatedly alleged that the vote was rigged, charging that the electoral commission -- synonymous with fraud under Mugabe -- had once more helped ZANU-PF to steal an election. An MDC spokesman said early Friday that the party was planning to take the outcome to the courts, though a legal challenge appears to offer little hope of overturning the outcome. The electoral commission has rejected allegations of bias and rigging, and international observers praised the largely peaceful conduct of the vote itself. But European Union monitors said they found an "un-level playing field" that stacked various factors in favour of ZANU-PF, including heavy coverage by state media. Supporters of Zimbabwe's President Emmerson Mnangagwa celebrate in Harare. (Photo | AP) - Huge challenges ahead - Turnout was high at over 80 per cent in most of the country's 10 provinces. In the parliamentary election, also held on Monday, ZANU-PF won easily. "It means our suffering will continue," Emion Chitsate, a security guard at a shopping centre in the Waterfalls district of Harare, said of the result. "It's the same ZANU-PF which brought us to where we are." Mnangagwa, 75, was the clear election front-runner, but Chamisa -- a lawyer and pastor 35 years his junior -- sought to appeal to young and urban voters. Mnangagwa was allegedly involved in voter intimidation during the 2008 elections when then opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai pulled out of the run-off after at least 200 of his supporters were killed in attacks. The president faces massive challenges in his promise to restore an economy that Mugabe left in disastrous shape, presiding over the seizure of white-owned farms, a hyperinflationary surge and an investment exodus. Previously solid health and education services are in ruins, while millions of Zimbabweans have fled abroad to seek work. Reporter Noelle McGee is a Danville-based reporter at The News-Gazette. Her email is nmcgee@news-gazette.com, and you can follow her on Twitter (@n_mcgee). Champaign, IL (61820) Today Cloudy with occasional showers overnight. Low 46F. Winds E at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 70%.. Tonight Cloudy with occasional showers overnight. Low 46F. Winds E at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 70%. Officials from the MDC Alliance were on tenterhooks yesterday as police embarked on what appeared to be a crackdown on those perceived to have been behind midweek protests, which degenerated into violence killing six people. Police confirmed arresting 26 suspected MDC Alliance officials yesterday following the violent clashes in Harare on Wednesday which injured several people after the army used live ammunition to break the ugly demonstrations against alleged bias by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec) and delays in the release of Monday poll results. At the same time, police said it had obtained a warrant to search for grenades, firearms, ammunition and computers at the MDC headquarters. This comes as the death toll from Wednesdays bloody clashes between MDC Alliance supporters and security agents, who included police and the military, rose to six. Addressing a media conference last night, police spokesperson Charity Charamba said among those who had been arrested was former Zanu PF Harare provincial political commissar Shadreck Mashayamombe, who participated in Mondays national harmonised elections in Harare South on the MDC Alliance ticket. Mashayamombe was also cited in the search warrant which the police said was necessary to seize weapons believed to belong to or under control of MDC Alliance presidential candidate Nelson Chamisa and his key lieutenant Tendai Biti, and others. The search warrant also cited MDC youth leader Happymore Chidziva, Denford Ngadziore, Shakespeare Mukoyi who is suspected to be part of the infamous Vanguard, former Zanu PF militia leader, Jim Kunaka and Makomborero Haruzivishe. Charamba said the army will remain deployed as the situation in Harare was still tense. MDC secretary-general Douglas Mwonzora claimed police wanted to plant evidence to incriminate officials. At least 27 members of our staff who were tabulating the results of the elections for analysis purposes were arrested. We have also heard that they are looking for Chidziva and Biti but I can tell you they have no specific charges against the two, the charges are wrong at law because the results were declared by the presiding officers, thereafter the results were posted outside polling stations and what Biti did was to say what the world already knew. On the other hand, we have also heard that they have arrested (MDC national secretary for mobilisation) Job Sikhala, Mwonzora said. Charamba told a news conference last night that police had not cleared Biti and were still keen to interview the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leader. The MDC Alliance issued a statement in which it exonerated Biti and Chidziva of any wrongdoing. In these times there is a high temptation to give a dog a bad name just to find a reason to hang it, this must stop, it said in a statement. Meanwhile, in Bulawayo, police also cordoned off MDC provincial offices where the partys management committee was holding a meeting. Police did not only maintain their heavy presence at the offices but also in the Central Business District. MDC provincial chairperson Gift Banda said they resolved to maintain peace in the city. We were meeting as the Bulawayo management on the way forward regarding the just-ended polls. We have argued our case, and agreed to urge our supporters to remain calm until all the results have been announced. We will stand guided by the decision of the national leadership after that, Banda said. On Wednesday, MDC Alliance supporters engaged in an orgy of violence after they swamped the streets in the Central Business District where they clashed with police who tried to break their premature celebrations. The bloodletting violence and the armys involvement to break the demonstration, took off the gloss from historic elections whose campaign periods were generally characterised by peace. On Monday, Zimbabwe held its first elections without former president Robert Mugabe whose 37-year iron-fisted rule was dramatically ended by a military operation last November which triggered events that ended with his resignation. The elections also marked the first time that the main opposition MDC was not represented by its founding leader Morgan Tsvangirai who lost his brave battle with cancer of the colon on Valentines Day this year. Zanu PF has retained its two third parliamentary majority after Mondays elections. Zec last night said it would start announcing the results of the presidential elections as international observers warned that delays could cause more anxiety. Constitutionally, Zec is still within the law which says it must have finished announcing election results within five days of polling. In our initial conversation with you, we said that when we meet we are going to have an exact time when we will be able to tell you when we will announce the presidential election result. The result will start to be announced tonight from 10pm, Zec commissioner Qhubani Moyo told the media and other election stakeholders yesterday. Daily News Italian luxury brand Prada has hiked the prices of some products for the third time this year amid Koreans' insatiable appetite for overpriced bling. Prada raised the prices of about 10 products by three to 11 percent on Monday despite a favorable exchange rate. The price of its flagship bucket bag rose 5.5 percent from W1.09 million to W1.15 million, and that of the large bucket bag went up 8.4 percent from W1.19 million to W1.29 million (US$1=W1,129). Sheriff: There May Have Been More Live Rounds on Rust Set (Newser) An Ohio man who smashed a window to save two dogs left in a hot car received a citation for criminal damage from police officers who turned up minutes later. Richard Hill says he saw the dogs in a car in the parking lot of the Parma, Ohio, Walmart on Saturday, People reports. He says that after noticing the younger of the two dogs, a puppy, wasn't moving, he smashed the window with a hammer he retrieved from his truck, even though another witness alerted by the older dog jumping around had already called police. "I felt they needed out right then and there," Hill says. In a Facebook post, he says it was around 79 degrees at the time and he believed the dogs had been in the car for around 30 minutes. story continues below Police, however, say the dogs had only been left in the car for around six minutes when Hill broke the window. "We believe his heart may have been in the right place, but he should have waited a little more," Sgt. Dan Ciryak tells Cleveland.com. "He knew the police were coming. I don't know what his sense of urgency was." The vehicle's owner emerged from the store after around 14 minutes and did not receive a citation. Hill, who says he thought he was protected under the state's "Hot Car" law, plans to fight his citation in court. He says he would do the same thing again in a similar situation, though he would take video to protect himself and prove that the vehicle's sunroof wasn't open, as police are claiming. "I just wanted to help [the] dogs. Thats all," he tells ABC. (Read more hot cars stories.) (Newser) On Wednesday, the New York Times announced tech writer Sarah Jeong would join its editorial board. By Thursday it was running a follow-up, noting outrage over what the BBC calls "inflammatory" tweets about white people Jeong had posted between 2013 and 2015. In her posts, Jeong, born in South Korea and raised in the US, referred to whites as "dogs" and "groveling goblins," used the hashtag #CancelWhitePeople, and made remarks such as one in 2014 in which she wrote: "Oh man it's kind of sick how much joy I get out of being cruel to old white men." Right-wing websites started circulating the tweets after the hiring announcement. In a statement, the New York Times says it knew about Jeong's tweets before it hired her, explained she'd been the target of "frequent online harassment," and that her reaction tweets had been an attempt to "[imitate] the rhetoric of her harassers." story continues below The statement adds Jeong, 30, "sees now that this approach only served to feed the vitriol that we too often see on social media. She regrets it, and the Times does not condone it." In her own statement, Jeong expresses "[deep] regret" and says at the time she thought she was just "counter-trolling," with her tweets intended as "satire." The Washington Post speaks to the debate that has emerged in the wake of the Jeong incident, asking the question: "Is it OK to make fun of white people online?" But both HuffPost and the Verge (Jeong's current employer) come out in defense of Jeong, saying newsrooms must stand up for employees when they're targeted by bad-faith trolls with "outrage campaigns" who purposely try to place tweets and other remarks out of context in an effort to disavow their targets. The hubbub comes months after the Times fired new hire Quinn Norton for her own questionable tweets. (Read more New York Times stories.) (Newser) A Massachusetts college president is apologizing after campus police were called to investigate an undergraduate black student quietly eating her lunch in a common room. Smith College President Kathleen McCartney says in a letter Thursday the college is hiring a "third-party investigator" to review the incident and that every Smith staff member will undergo mandatory anti-bias training. Officials say an employee at the Northampton college called 911 Tuesday to report someone appeared "out of place" in the building, the AP reports. The school says there was nothing suspicious. The New York Times identifies the student as Oumou Kanoute, who says she was on break from work when she was approached by a campus police officer, who quickly surmised nothing was amiss. story continues below "I am blown away at the fact that i cannot even sit down and eat lunch peacefully," Kanoute wrote on Facebook, including two short video clips of her interaction with the police officer. "I did nothing wrong, I wasn't making any noise or bothering anyone. All I did was be black." Kanoute adds she had a "complete meltdown" following this "wrong and uncalled for" incident. "No students of color should have to explain why they belong at prestigious white institutions," she noted. "I worked my hardest to get into Smith, and I deserve to feel safe on my campus." Kanoute also tells CBS Boston she wants the person who called to report hershe says police told her it was an employee at Smithidentified and fired. McCartney has apologized to Kanoute, a rising sophomore who's spending the summer as a teaching assistant working with high school students in a Smith STEM program. (Read more racism stories.) (Newser) US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says North Korea is far from living up to its pledge to denuclearize and remains in violation of numerous UN Security Council resolutions. Speaking Friday before he attends an Asian security forum with North Korea's foreign minister, Pompeo told reporters in Singapore there was "still a ways to go" before achieving the goal of ridding the North of its nuclear weapons. Pompeo's comments came after the White House announced Thursday that President Trump received a new letter from North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and responded quickly with a letter of his own. story continues below The correspondence came amid fresh concerns over Pyongyang's commitment to denuclearization despite a rosy picture of progress painted by Trump, the AP reports. "Chairman Kim made a commitment to denuclearize," Pompeo told reporters accompanying him to Singapore. "The world demanded that (he) do so in the UN Security Council resolutions. To the extent they are behaving in a manner inconsistent with that, they are in violation of one or both the UN Security Council resolutions, we can see we still have a ways to go to achieve the ultimate outcome we're looking for." (Intelligence officials reportedly suspect that North Korea is continuing to build new missiles.) (Newser) Sweden's (former) highest peak has been taken down a few notches, thanks to the summer heat wave currently scorching Europe. Until recently, a glacier perched atop the southern peak of the Kebnekaise mountain rose higher than any other point in the country. But, as of Wednesday, it had melted so much that it now falls a hair below the height of the mountain's northern peak, the New York Times reports. Gunhild Ninis Rosqvist, a geography professor at Stockholm University, says she's "surprised" by the rapid melt-off (about 13 feet during July), per NBC News, "even though it has been ridiculously warm." Once towering 6,892.4 feet, the southern peak was down to 6,879.2 feet as of Friday, per Business Insider. The northern peak measures at 6,879.3 feet. story continues below Rosqvist, speaking to a local Swedish paper, says the melting glacier is symbolic of climate change, per the Times. When first measured in 1880, the southern peak was more than 6,965 feet tall. Since 1995, it has shrunk about 3 feet per year. Still, the southern tip is expected to gain back a bit of lost height during the winter, and the title of highest point may vacillate between the southern and northern peaks in years to come. One consequence of the melting southern peak is that climbers may now opt to tackle the northern peak so they can say they climbed to the highest point in Sweden, a rescue worker tells the Times. And, he says, that peak is "much harder to climb" due to the topography. Record heat has also affected Sweden's reindeer herders, causing a lack of vegetation and snow melt that makes it so "not even the reindeer can find a place to get relief from the sun," Rosqvist says. (Read more Sweden stories.) (Newser) An Ohio police chief died in May, and an autopsy released last month said he died from "acute intoxication by fentanyl." Now officials say they think they know how James Hughes Jr. got his hands on the deadly drug: They believe he took it from the Kirkersville Police Department's evidence room, the Newark Advocate reports. "There was packaging that indicated that he was taking controlled substances from there," says Lt. Ron Wright of the Reynoldsburg Police Department, which is investigating Hughes' death. Coroner's office records show syringes laced with fentanyl and a plastic bag with cocaine residue were found at Hughes' home, where he died. In addition, an open package of fentanyl was found in Hughes' living room, as well as closed packs of fentanyl, LSD, and heroinall from the police department's evidence room, Wright tells WCMH. story continues below Hughes had just been appointed police chief in March, after the previous chief stepped down due to "irreconcilable differences" with Kirkersville's mayor. Meanwhile, an Advocate probe shortly after Hughes was named chief revealed "a history of being on the wrong side of the law and multiple issues while employed at other law enforcement agencies," including a disorderly conduct charge at a fast-food eatery and an alleged relationship he had with a female inmate after she was released from jail. Wright says if it's definitively determined Hughes took the drugs out of the evidence room himself, there won't be anyone to charge. He's hoping to get the Ohio Attorney General's Office to step in and look further into the case. "It's kind of gone beyond our level," he says. "We think the state should probably intervene." Hughes, 35, was married with three young kids, the New York Post notes. (Read more Ohio stories.) (Newser) There was plenty to digest after President Trump's Thursday campaign rally in which he railed against the media, though his comments on the queen are getting particular attention. Citing news reports claiming he arrived 12 minutes late and stayed beyond the allotted time while meeting Queen Elizabeth II for tea at Windsor Castle last month, Trump said the media "can make anything bad because they are the fake, fake disgusting news," per the Telegraph. Trump added he'd actually had "a beautiful, beautiful visit" with the queen, even though she'd kept him waiting. story continues below "I had landed and I'm on the ground and I'm waiting with the king's and with the queen's guardswonderful people. I'm waiting! I was about 15 minutes early and I'm waiting with my wife and that's fine. Hey, it's the queen, right? We can wait," Trump said, per the Washington Post. Of the meeting, he added, "I didn't know thisit was supposed to last 15 minutes but it lasted like an hour. Because we got along. And she liked our first lady and our first lady liked her." But the media packaged it as "the president was 15 minutes late for the queen. ...Wrong!" he said. Per the Post, Brits aren't buying what Trump is selling. "WE ALL SAW THE NEWS CLIPS. You were LATE!!!" reads one typical comment online. (Read more President Trump stories.) (Newser) While the controversy surrounding immigrant children separated from their parents at the US border continues to swirl, the AP reports on troublesome news out of a shelter outside Phoenix. Per federal authorities, Levian Pacheco, who used to work for Southwest Key's Casa Kokopelli facility in Mesa, has pleaded not guilty to nearly a dozen sex offenses against at least eight immigrant boys, as originally detailed in ProPublica. Pacheco, 25, who court documents indicate is HIV-positive, is accused of performing oral sex on two of the teen boys, one of which he tried to anally rape, as well as of groping a half-dozen other teens through their clothes. The incidents were alleged to have taken place between August 2016 and July 2017. All of the victims were unaccompanied minors, though it's not clear if they were separated from their parents or came to the US alone. story continues below ProPublica goes into disturbing detail on accusations from each of Pacheco's eight alleged victims; records indicate "a couple" of the boys have requested HIV tests. ProPublica also documents other alleged instances of sexual abuse, fondling (by workers and other children), and runaways at sites run by Southwest Key, the biggest immigrant youth shelter operator in the US. The AP notes one of those cases: A former Southwest Key worker at a different facility than the one Pacheco worked at has been accused of molesting a 14-year-old girl. The alleged incident involving Fernando Magaz Negrete is said to have taken place June 27 in the girl's bedroom. In a statement, Southwest Key addresses the abuse allegations, outlining its hiring process and how it educates kids to protect themselves, noting, "Our number one priority ... is to keep the children in our care safe." (Read more border separations stories.) Washington seems to have been alarmed by recent suspicions that the South Korean government dragged its heels over illegal shipments of North Korean coal in its ports. Another sanctions advisory about maritime shipments in February was only published with a Chinese translation. That may suggest that Washington now considers South Korea a liability alongside China and Russia, which have already called for easing sanctions against the rogue regime. The U.S. State Department has pointedly published a Korean translation of an advisory against violating North Korea sanctions, in a move that sensitive observers interpret as a shot across the bow of the Korean government. The advisory on the State Department's website has also been translated into Chinese, Russian, French, and Spanish. KOEN, a subsidiary of power monopoly KEPCO, is being investigated by the Korea Customs Service in connection with some 9,000 tons of North Korean coal disguised as Russian product that arrived in Incheon and Pohang last October. It has now emerged that since November, three other cargo vessels shipped another 15,000 tons of suspected North Korean coal from a Russian port to South Korea. "If it turns out that the coal was from North Korea, KEPCO could be subject to sanctions," a diplomatic source said. "Washington worries that Seoul could break ranks with the international sanctions regime." Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha, national security adviser Chung Eui-yong, and National Intelligence Service chief Suh Hoon have all made trips to Washington in recent weeks to allay these fears. Pyongyang has kept up its own campaign against the sanctions. "Contrary to the joint statement of the U.S.-[North] Korea summit in Singapore, the U.S. is even talking about 'controlling the speed' of inter-Korean relations, while making unilateral demand for denuclearization and insisting on 'maximum pressure,'" the official Rodong Sinmun complained Thursday. The State Department advisory warns against buying North Korean products and using North Korean labor, saying, "Multiple U.S. and UN sanctions impose restrictions on trade with North Korea and the use of North Korean labor, potentially impacting a company's supply chain operations." "Businesses should be aware of these deceptive practices in order to implement effective due diligence policies, procedures, and internal controls," it adds. The deceptive practices include fake country-of-origin labels or goods whose prices are much lower than market prices. It also advises nations to find out if North Korean laborers are involved in the production of certain products, while listing 42 countries that employ slave labor from the North, including China and Russia. It warns that foreign banks could be banned from dollar-based trading, saying that their proxy bank accounts in the U.S. will be confiscated, if they are involved in intentional transactions with the North. U.S. lawmakers are calling for far stronger sanctions against the North despite Pyongyang's recent return of the remains of American soldiers who died in the Korean War. They unanimously opposed the idea of reopening the joint Korean Kaesong Industrial Complex, which South Korea's Unification Ministry hinted at on Wednesday. Sen. Cory Gardner, the chairman of a Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee, told Voice of America that reopening the industrial park would be "a big mistake." He said any South Korean importers of North Korean coal should be punished. Underlying the push is a flurry of reports that North Korea continues to develop nuclear weapons and missiles in secret. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a congressional hearing last month that the North continues to produce nuclear materials. The UN, in a report released Tuesday, said that the most important issue pending at the UNSC is not easing North Korea sanctions but implementing them properly, Radio Free Asia reported. (Newser) The suspected killer of Mark Hausknechtformer cardiologist to President George HW Bushhas taken his own life. "This is our suspect. The suspect's deceased," Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo said during a Friday press conference, NBC reports. Police say Joseph James Pappas shot himself in the head, per heavy.com, after officers confronted him in a southwest Houston neighborhood, KPRC reports. "Police evidently were coming up to him and asking him to put his hands up, and he put one arm up ... and evidently the man pulled out his gun and shot himself," one resident tells KPRC, which tweeted that Pappas, a 62-year-old former law enforcement officer, was wearing a bulletproof vest and had a snub-nosed revolver. story continues below Acevedo said a city employee spotted a man while patrolling the Brays Bayou Greenway Trail; the man walked away when approached, but he left behind a wallet identifying him as Pappas. Based on information provided by the employee, an officer contacted Pappas near an intersection. A second officer arrived and Pappas reportedly shot himself. Acevedo told reporters that he believes that, had officers not cornered him, Pappas would have engaged in a shootout. Police say Pappas gunned down Hausknecht on July 20 as the latter rode his bike to work at Houston Methodist Hospital. Pappas, they say, rode by the victim, then turned and fired. According to authorities, the motive was likely revenge: Pappas' mother died on the doctor's operating table more than two decades ago. (Read more crime stories.) (Newser) Chris Rock is returning to FX, but don't expect any standup. The funny man will star in season four of Fargo as the head of a black crime family in Kansas City, Missouri, in 1950, Variety reports. The show will depict Rock's syndicate and an Italian family in an uneasy peace after they traded eldest sons to solidify their entente. But everything changes when the city's top mafioso dies during a routine surgery. Showrunner Noah Hawleywho said last year he couldn't imagine a fourth season of Fargowill be back to helm the award-winning series, reports Deadline. Sounds like a plus for Rock: "I'm a fan of Fargo and I can't wait to work with Noah," he says. Rock previously executive produced Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell for FX from 2012 to 2013. (Read more Chris Rock stories.) New Delhi: Mumbai-based Indian airline Jet Airways has reportedly informed its employees that it will not be able to operate beyond 60 days unless cost-cutting measures, including salary cuts, are put in place. Despite several rounds of cost-cutting measures, the company continued to bleed cash and needed drastic measures to cut costs. With the countdown underway, the full-service airline company was believed to be in discussions with certain sections of employees on the salary cut proposal, which has been mooted amid efforts to save costs and avoid grounding of its planes. Pilots and engineers who had refused a proposed 15 per cent pay-check cut for two years had been informed that the airline was running out of time to slash costs and raise revenue, according to reports. Also read | Jazeera Airways flight catches fire after landing, passengers safe We have been informed that the airline cannot run beyond two months and the management needs to cut cost through pay cuts and other means to ensure that it stays afloat beyond that. The airline did not inform us about all this all these years which has dented trust of employees in the management, The Economic Times quoted a Jet Airways senior executive as saying. Indias oldest private sector airline was looking for working capital loans but banks wanted it to show a turnaround commitment, the source said. Apart from the salary-cut, which is expected to last up to 24 months, the airline company has also waived the notice period requirements of its pilots and laid-off most of its engineering staff. Jet Airways slumps 6% in morning trade on bourses Shares of the company on Friday opened on a weak note at Rs 324.80, then fell 5.72 per cent to a low of Rs 312.25 on Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) after reports surfaced that the companys financials are in bad shape and drastic measures need to be taken to cut costs. Similar movement was seen on the National Stock Exchange as well, where the stock of the company opened at Rs 323.90, then fell to a low of Rs 312.15, down 5.73 per cent over its previous closing price. Read More | Airline staffer found smuggling Rs 31-lakh gold biscuits Jet Airways, which completed 25 years of operations earlier this year, had 16,558 permanent employees as on March 31, 2018. Besides, there were a total of 6,306 temporary/casual employees, as per the airlines annual report for 2017-18. (With inputs from agencies) For all the Latest Business News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: The University Grants Commission has recommended the HRD Ministry to grant deemed university status to the Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC). The institute, one of the prestigious journalism schools in the country which functions under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, offers diploma courses in journalism, advertising and public relations. The University Grants Commission (UGC) had last year formed a four-member committee headed by BK Kuthiala, the vice-chancellor of Makhanlal Chaturvedi University, Bhopal, to analyse the proposal by the IIMC. Based on the committees recommendation and inspection teams feedback the UGC has recommended that the ministry should issue a Letter of Intent (LoI) to the journalism school under the De Novo category. The status will enable the institute to grant degrees instead of diplomas, a senior UGC official said. Also Read | UGC forms panel to regulate fee charged by medical colleges De Novo refers to an institution which focuses on teaching and research in emerging areas of knowledge. The idea to grant deemed university status to the IIMC is not a new one. The Information and Broadcasting Ministry had also approved the plan in 2016. The IIMC has expanded from two campus in Delhi and Dhenkanal to six campuses across the country, Jammu, Amravati, Kottayam and Aizawl being the new ones over the last five years. Read More | Will replacing UGC with Higher Education Commission of India act as panacea for higher education? During a review of higher education institutes by the Niti Aayog in June, it was recommended that the IIMC be merged with either Jawaharlal Nehru Universitys Centre for Media Studies or Jamia Millia Islamias AJK Mass Communication Research Centre. However, the institute as well as the Information and Broadcasting and the HRD ministries had rejected the idea. New Delhi: The 2019 Lok Sabha elections will witness a neck-to-neck fight between PM Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party and a face-less Opposition front, the sources said on Friday. Yes!A giving a further booster to the earlier speculations, the sources confirmed that the Congress, SP and BSP have agreed for a strategic alliance in Uttar Pradesh to take on the ruling BJP government. Earlier, speculations was rife that a broad agreement had been worked out among the Congress, Akhilesh Yadav's Samajwadi Party and Mayawati-led Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) to weed out the BJP-led government from Uttar Pradesh. However, the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister was earlier not too kin to join hands with the Congress, keeping in mind their poor track record in Uttar Pradesh. Rather he was more interested to seek an alliance with Dalit leader Mayawati's BSP. But now with sources confirming that all the three parties have given their nod to the Grand Alliance, the key question arises isA that on what seat sharing arrangement they agreed upon. The seat-sharing arrangements among the coalition parties is yet to be decided, the report said. Read |A Ahead of 2019 elections, Congress, RJD gear up to join SP-BSP alliance in Uttar Pradesh Congress president Rahul Gandhi, however, will fight the upcoming general elections from Uttar Pradesh's Amethi, a stronghold of the Nehru-Gandhi political clan, the sources added. In an even bigger twist, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra may replace her mother, and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, as the Congress candidate in Rae Bareilly.A It has been over a decade that Priyanka's political debute has been a matter of speculations in the Congress circle. While Congress chief Rahul Gandhi will continue to fight from Amethi for the fourth consecutive time, the party is yet to decide whether Sonia Gandhi or Priyanka will fight elections from Rae Bareilly, the sources said.A The Gandhi clan, however, will not ally with Uddhav Thackeray's Shiv Sena as their ideologies are different. The party has also decided to not announce the chief ministerial candidates for Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan, all of which head to Assembly elections by the end of 2018. The prime ministerial candidate for the Opposition will be decided collectively by all coalition parties post 2019 election results, the sources added.A Read | Not vying for PM post, BJP nervous because of Opposition unity, says Mamata Banerjee New Delhi: Bollywood actor Salman Khan, who was granted bail in the 1998 blackbuck poaching case, on Friday filed a plea in the Jodhpur sessions court, seeking permanent permission to travel abroad. The court will rule on Saturday if the superstar needs to seek its permission every time he travels outside country. Khan's counsel Mahesh Bora, who moved the application before the court, said, Salman is a superstar and his profession demands him to travel abroad frequently. Public prosecutor P R Bishnoi opposed the application for exemption from travel permission, arguing that the trial will be over soon. The court, however, reserved its order on the application and will pronounce it on Saturday. Read | Haryana Police foils Lawrence Bishnoi's plan to murder Salman Khan; arrests gangster Sampat Nehra Earlier in April, the Race 3 actor was granted permission to visit four countries including US, Canada and Nepal from May 25 to July 10. The actor has been allowed to travel abroad on as many as 100 occasions by the trial court and 33 times by the high court in the past. On April 5, Salman was found guilty in the 20-year-old blackbuck poaching case and was awarded five years of imprisonment. The actor was convicted for killing two blackbucks in Jodhpur during the shooting of his movie Hum Saath Saath Hain in 1998. The Tubelight start spent two nights in Jodhpur Central Jail and was later granted bail on two bail bonds of Rs 25,000 each. The Jodhpur court had directed Salman to seek permission before stepping outside the country. Read | Blackbuck Poaching case Highlights: Salman Khan gets bail Apart from Salman, actor Saif Ali Khan, Tabu, Neelam, Sonali Bendre and a local named Dushyant Singh were accused in the case. While Salman was found guilty under Section 9/51 of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, others were acquitted due to lack of evidence against them. For all the Latest Entertainment News, Bollywood News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: Sidharth Malhotra, who is one of the popular actors of this generation and his alleged relationships has always been of the hottest topic in the film industry is again making headlines. Recently, rumours of him being in an alleged relationship with Kiara Advani is making rounds over the internet. Both Sidharth and Kiara have been spotted many times at filmmaker Karan Johars residence together. If sources are to be believed, the two hit it off at this years birthday bash of Kiara on July 31. As per a Filmfare report "Sid and Kiara are always connected with each other through their phones and love spending time together. The duo has earlier been snapped at Karan Johars residence a few times when all of them get together for dinners and apparently sparks flew between them at one of these parties. Also Read | Hina Khan sizzles in London photoshoot However, it is not official because neither of the actors has accepted the alleged relationship. Even the actor himself denied the rumours and said, Nahi yaar. I met her only once at Karan Johars party. After that I have not met her at all. Meanwhile, Sidharth former girlfriend Alia Bhatt decided to move on and started dating Ranbir Kapoor who is also her co-star in an upcoming flick Brahmastra. For all the Latest Entertainment News, Bollywood News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: While a large scale violence over the alleged manhandling of a Trinamool Congress MP at Silchar airport rocked the North 24 Parganas district on Friday, the Mamata Banerjee-led government has decided to observe "black day" on August 4 and August 5 across West Bengal. Speaking to PTI, TMC secretary general and West Bengal Education Minister Partha Chatterjee said, "We condemn the way the public representatives were manhandled and detained by the Assam police at the Silchar airport". "They being MPs had every right to visit a place, but all rules were violated and our party delegation was stopped. This is shameful," Chatterjee added. Trinamool to observe 'Black Day' wearing black badges in every block of #Bengal on 4-5 August to protest against the heckling of our party leaders in Silchar. Our slogan will be 'aaaaaa aaaaa, aa aaa aaaaa' (we don't need this monstrous government anymore) - Partha Chatterjee AITC (@AITCofficial) August 3, 2018 Read | BJP is politically depressed, says Mamata Banerjee on TMC members detention over Assam NRC row Earlier in the day, the All India Matua Mahasangha, a religious reformation organisation mainly representing the backward classes, blocked the Habra-Bashirhat Road at two places Pairagachhi and Kashipur. They were protesting against the alleged manhandling of Mamatabala Thakur, the Trinamool Congress MP from Bangaon, at Silchar airport in Assam where she had gone as part of a party delegation to assess the post-NRC situation in Assam. An eight-member TMC delegation, comprising six MPs and two MLAs on Thursday was detained at Silchar airport, anticipating a breakdown of law and order. The TMC team was scheduled to take part in a convention against the National Register of Citizenship (NRC), which was released on July 30. Read | BJP can brand me 'infiltrator': Mamata Banerjee on Assam NRC issue The Mamata Banerjee brigade and several other opposition parties have been protesting the exclusion of 40 lakh people from Assam final NRC draft and are on a desperate attempt to corner the Narendra Modi government over the same. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: Facing severe criticism from Opposition as well as public over the rape of 34 girls in a government-run shelter home in Muzaffarpur, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Friday broke his silence and promised strict and uncompromising action against people found guilty. Terming the incident a shameful sin, Nitish Kumar said, "What has happened has shamed us. It is a sin. Such cases should not happen again. CBI is investigating the case. Let High Court monitor the probe. Those responsible for this must be taught a lesson. The Bihar CM promised that there will be no compromise" and assured that those responsible for this would be taught a lesson. I would like to assure everyone that no leniency will be shown towards anyone, all those found guilty will be severely punished, ANI quoted Nitish Kumar as saying. Also Read | Bihar shelter home rape: SC takes suo moto cognizance, seeks reply from Centre, state government As many as 34 girls, aged between seven to 14 years, were drugged, raped, scalded with boiling water, and forced to sleep naked in a government-run shelter home in Bihars Muzaffarpur. The girls in their statement recorded before a special Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) court said that they were forced to sleep with the owner of the shelter home Brajesh Thakur - a well-known name in the power corridors of Patna. CM Kumar came under the severe attack by the Opposition party RJD leader and his former deputy Tejashwi Yadav, who accused him of shielding his own cabinet ministers who had links with the main accused and owner of the shelter home. After initial opposition to the CBI probe, the Bihar government relented under pressure and handed over the case to the central agency. So far, ten people, including the owner of the shelter home, have been arrested by the police. Also Read | Muzaffarnagar: Woman chops off husband's genitals for 'neglecting' her Bihar Cabinet Minister Manju Verma's husband is also accused of frequently visiting the shelter home, where 34 girls were raped and tortured over a period of four years. When asked about her husband's role, Manju had no answer and she chose to evade the questions. #WATCH Bihar Minister Manju Verma evades question on #Muzaffarpur Shelter Home case. Her husband faces allegations of frequently visiting the the shelter home. pic.twitter.com/jCm7KZvzcl ANI (@ANI) August 3, 2018 For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: Former Bihar deputy chief minister and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejaswi Yadav on Saturday will stage a protest at the historic Jantar Mantar in New Delhi over the rape of 34 girls in a government-run shelter home in Muzaffarpur city. Leaders of several other opposition parties, including Congress president Rahul Gandhi will also take part in the protest, seeking Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar resignation, who allegedly has a close connection with the case. There are also reports that Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal will join the Congress-RJD protest at the Jantar Mantar on Saturday. Lanunching a scathing attack at the Nitish Kumar government, Tejaswi further took to Twitter and said, "Against heinous institutional mass rape in Muzaffarpur... sponsored and protected by Nitish Kumar government, we will stage a dharna on Saturday". Read | Bihar shelter home rape case: Nitish Kumar breaks silence, promises strict action against guilty Earlier in the day Kumar broke his prolonged silence over the heinous crime in Muzaffarpur city and promised strict and uncompromising action against people found guilty. Kumar's statement came days after Bihar Governor Satyapal Malik dashed two letters, asking him to assure strict action against the culprits. "Indirectly the Governor has questioned Chief Minister's criminal silence...I will awake Nitish Kumar's inner voice and expose his fake morality," Tejashwi, the younger son of RJD supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav said. On Thursday, the Supreme Court took a suo moto cognizance of the case and issued separate notices to the Centre and Kumar-led state government. The apex court sought a detailed reply from the NDA governments in the Centre and the state. Read | Victory over death! Three-year-old girl fell into borewell shaft rescued successfully In July, as many as 34 girls, aged among seven to 14 years, were drugged, scalded with boiling water, raped and forced to sleep naked in a government-run shelter home in Bihars Muzaffarpur. One of the minors was mercilessly beaten to death following a disagreement with some of the staff members from the stay home. The CBI is currently investigating the case, which relates to mental, physical and sexual exploitation of the girls residing at the Balika Grih of Bihar's Muzaffarpur. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Construction of littoral mission ship for Malaysia begins in Wuhan From:Xinhua | 2018-08-01 00:39 Video PlayerClose WUHAN, July 31 (Xinhua) -- Construction of a littoral mission ship (LMS), the first of its kind that China will build for Malaysia, began in Wuhan, capital of central China's Hubei Province on Tuesday. The ship, contracted by Wuchang Shipbuilding Industry Group under China Shipbuilding Industry Co., is the first large military equipment order between China and Malaysia, which was signed on April 21, 2017. According to the contract, China will design and build four LMS for the Royal Malaysian Navy. The ships will be used for patrol, anti-terrorism, rescue, and escort missions. New Delhi: The months-long stalemate between the government and the judiciary was likely to end after the Centre reportedly agreed to the Supreme Court Collegium's decision to reiterate the elevation of Uttarakhand High Court Chief Justice KM Joseph to the Supreme Court. Along with Joseph, the Narendra Modi government in the Centre has also given its go-ahead to the elevation of Madras High Court Chief Justice Indira Banerjee and Orissa High Court Chief Justice Vineet Saran to the apex court. With this, the protracted public standoff between the Centre and the judiciary over the appointment of judges to the apex court was likely to come to an end. On January 10, 2018, the Supreme Court collegium - a group of five senior-most judges of the apex court - had recommended names of Justice KM Joseph and senior lawyer Indu Malhotra for the elevation to Supreme Court. Also Read | Battle lines drawn, two powerful pillars of democracy shaking The Narendra Modi government, however, on April 26 had approved the appointment of senior advocate Malhotra as a Supreme Court judge but put on hold its decision on Justice Joseph. Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, in a letter to Chief Justice Dipak Misra, had asked the Collegium to reconsider its recommendation of Justice Josephs elevation citing his standing in the seniority level. The Collegium had then reiterated Josephs name for the promotion which made it incumbent for the Centre to consider his name for the elevation. The governments move to block the promotion of Joseph was being linked with his 2016 verdict that struck down Centres order to impose Presidents rule in Uttarakhand and allowed Harish Rawat-led Congress government to return to power. Also Read | Adultery law violates right to equality; treats men, women differently: Supreme Court For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: There is brinkmanship being played out on the illegal immigrants issue a few months short of the Lok Sabha elections, with West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee threatening a civil war and a bloodbath and BJP president Amit Shah talking of weeding out the (Bangladeshi) infiltrators even before the final date for reviewing the cases is over and calling all prime ministers after Rajiv Gandhi cowards for not acting against them. The latest salvo has been fired by Mamata calling the detention or confinement at the Silchar airport in Assam of an eight-member delegation from West Bengal and their alleged manhandling by local police as a super emergency. Temperance is not a quality of either Mamata or Amit Shah, but the damage that they are causing to the countrys body politic is frightening. That one member of the TMC delegation alleged he was hit on the chest and some others said their cellphones were snatched while others had other tales to tell was nerve-racking but one cannot put it past TMC members to exaggerate their plight at the Silchar airport taking a cue from their chief minister. ALSO READ: New Congress stables: How Rahul Gandhi knocked old hands with new ones That while tempers run high in West Bengal on the National Register of Citizens report which has found 40 lakh people in Assam illegal immigrants in principle (subject to filing of objections and review), the Trinamool chief and two others have quit TMC to protest Mamatas opposition to the final draft of the NRC. The West Bengal TMC couldnt care less for multitudes in Assam being found illegal but it anticipates that the next NRC report will be on West Bengal where immigrant Muslims would meet the same fate and the TMC whose vote bank they are will be at the receiving end. The partisan politics being played and the preponderance of vote bank considerations have made a mockery of what seems to be a worthy report prepared at the instance of the Supreme Court. ALSO READ: NRC: Mamata caught on wrong foot as BJP finds goose with golden eggs The issue could be sorted out but when important functionaries like Mamata and Amit Shah pre-judge the issue and take extreme positions what can one say about the mobs who think nothing of going berserk on emotive issues. The Congress is as usual, walking the tight rope. It is common knowledge that the influx of Bangladeshis would not have happened on the scale on which it did over the years had the Congress party then at the helm at the Centre and in Assam not acquiesced in the influx with an eye on that vote bank. Now, the party is walking the tight rope when it says that it is not against NRC but that Indians should not be displaced under the garb of punishing foreign infiltrators. As irony would have it, while Parliament which should be discussing this sensitive issue threadbare is engaged in boycotts and mayhem, there is not a thought on law and order being protected in the two states. ALSO READ: The Modi-Imran peace line and the cold reality What could have happened if the West Bengal delegation members had reached the venue of the meeting on the NRC report and delivered incendiary speeches which may well have incited violence by Assam mobs that were supporting the issue of identifying illegal immigrants? In the circumstances, was it wrong for the Assam government to have prevented what could have developed into an ugly spat? Likewise, if a pro-NRC delegation of Assam legislators were to visit West Bengal and wax eloquent on the excesses committed by the NRC in identification of illegals, could there not have been a riot in Kolkata? This is no occasion for brinkmanship for exploiting the sentiments of the local populace in both states. It is time for both the Assam and West Bengal governments to exercise caution and to defuse any possible tension. The BJP on its part must keep off fishing in troubled waters while the situation in Assam and West Bengal is sensitive. New Delhi: US President Donald Trump has a penchant for rubbing world fellow-leaders on the wrong side. His brushes with German Chancellor Angelo Merkel and Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau and his visibly cold relations with many other world leaders have attracted worldwide media attention. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who lays a lot of emphasis on personal chemistry, is now a victim of Trumps intemperate behaviour and insolence and that cannot but cause deep annoyance in India. Modis invitation to Trump to be the chief guest at next January 26, Republic Day event in New Delhi is yet to receive a response. A WhiteHouse spokesperson who alluded to it could only share that the President had not responded. Todays India is not the one to fall over backwards in wooing the president to come to this country. Also Read Opinion | Imran Khan Simple oath-taking ceremony of sense and sensibility Sometime ago, while referring to Modi's phone call informing him of the decision to reduce the import duty on the American Harley-Davidson motorbike by 50 per cent (on Trumps suggestion that it be slashed)and calling him a beautiful and fantastic man Trump mimicked Modi in his own characteristic style and made it abundantly clear that he wasn't truly "thrilled". Observers have been wondering whether an issue which involves the export of around 3,700 Harley-Davidson motorbikes from the US to India and a mere 1,000 Indian motorbikes to the US annually deserve to be raised by the US president publicly and to be given so much traction in bilateral ties? The President went so far as to mock and mimic Modi before a distinguished audience on this petty issue. If relations between the two world leaders have soured as a result, the blame lies squarely onTrump. In the bargain, Modi and India have re-discovered their friendship with Russia and are even making common cause with China on economic issues which has irritated Trump further. Read More Opinion | BJP must keep off fishing in troubled waters in Assam and West Bengal Immigrant Indians are an important segment of society in the US and Trumps arrogance towards India can hardly be expected to ingratiate them to him. If there is a consolation in all this, it is that Trump is even more arrogant towards Pakistan. But the rogue state that Pakistan is, India cannot justifiably be equated with it. The inexplicably postponed visit of US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Defence Secretary James Mattis to New Delhi is due soon (possibly in September) for the first India-US 2+2 dialogue with their Indian counterparts External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and DefenceMinister Nirmala Sitharaman. It is to be hoped that the dialogue would go well and that it would not reflect the high-handed attitude of the President. Suddenly calling off the dialogue without credible reason had raised frowns and had been attributed to Trumps pique. Read More Opinion | NRC: Mamata caught on wrong foot as BJP finds goose with golden eggs The White House Press secretary Sanders raised hopes of a resurgence of ties when he said recently that the US and India have a deep and strategic partnership and "we are going to continue to build on that partnership" and advance co-operation. He added: "I think, you will see that in the meeting that would take place in September. It is by no means in Indias interest alone that trade ties between this country and the US be furthered. The US too has huge stakes in smoother political and strategic relations and vastly enhanced economic ties. If Trump drags his feet in regard to his India visit for the high-profile Republic Day event, he would be striking a blow at the long-standing Indo-US relations. Trump indeed needs to come down to earth from the perch he has taken. He has been at the helm long enough and surely he would not like to be remembered as a President who was a veritable disaster in the worlds most powerful position. New Delhi: Life on Mars? Well, that seems like a distant possibility now, more of an unlikely one as the billionaire tech titan and NASA have clashed over the concept of humans living on Mars in near future. This week, NASA said that the prospect of making the surface of Mars habitable is not a realistic idea for the near future. "Science fiction writers have long featured terraforming, the process of creating an Earth-like or habitable environment on another planet, in their stories," NASA says in a written statement released Monday. Scientists themselves have proposed terraforming to enable the long-term colonisation of Mars." ALSO READ: 'Childrens moon to be visible till August 4, Here's what will happen However, it added, "transforming the inhospitable Martian environment into a place astronauts could explore without life support is not possible without technology well beyond today's capabilities". The space agency said the temperature in Mars is too cold for liquid water and atmosphere too lean while citing a study by Bruce Jakosky. One way to make Mars surface habitable is by releasing carbon dioxide and soil on Mars to create an atmosphere thick enough to warm it up and make liquid water a possibility on the surface. "Our results suggest that there is not enough CO2 remaining on Mars to provide significant greenhouse warming were the gas to be put into the atmosphere; in addition, most of the CO2 gas is not accessible and could not be readily mobilised. ALSO READ: Scientists discover 348-year-old radioactive molecule in space As a result, terraforming Mars is not possible using present-day technology," said Jakosky in a written statement released by NASA about the study. However, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has said that Mars can be a home to humans and he is already chalking out a plan to make it a reality as he provided a link to a study over social media featuring a NASA scientist with opposite perspective. Earlier on 2017, Musk said that he plans to land two cargo ships on Mars by 2022. And, by 2024, Musk says he wants to sends passengers to Mars. In December, President Donald Trump told NASA to prioritise reaching and doing more with Mars. Meanwhile, Musk and Boeing have injected billions into their mission to make Mars a colonised planet. For all the Latest Science News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Karachi: Twelve girls schools have been burnt down by unidentified persons in coordinated attacks in Pakistans restive Gilgit-Baltistan, triggering protest by local residents who sought safety for educational institutions which are often attacked by the militants, a media report said on Friday. The schools in Chilas town, about 130-kilometre from Gilgit, were targeted on Thursday late night by unidentified men who also damaged school property across Diamer district, police said. Explosions were also set off in two schools, Geo News reported, quoting police officials. Following the attacks, local residents staged a protest at Siddique Akbar Chowk demanding the arrest of culprits and seeking safety for educational institutes which are often targeted by the militants, it said. Police have started a search operation in the area to arrest the perpetrators. According to the district administration, the schools were under-construction. Also Read | The flaws in the ranking frameworks of higher education Girlss schools are often attacked in the northern areas of Pakistan. In December 2011, at least two girls schools were partially damaged in low-intensity explosions in Chilas. Earlier that year, unidentified assailants had also blown up two girls schools. In 2004, girls schools in Chilas came under a string of attacks. Nine schools of which eight were girls schools were attacked and destroyed in five days in the area in February. Terrorists have also blown up educational institutions in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA). According to a report, about 1,500 schools have been destroyed in the tribal belt during the last 10 years. Read More | An opportunity for revamping the education system Nobel Prize winner and education activist Malala Yousafzai was also shot by the Taliban in 2012 for advocating girls education in Swat. In 2017, the Human Rights Watch (HRW) in its report stated that attacks by the Taliban and other militant groups disrupted the education of hundreds of thousands of children, particularly girls, in Pakistan. For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Lahore: Pakistans first Sikh police officer has been sacked from service for being absent from office for over three months, a traffic police spokesperson said on Friday. Gulab Singh, 35, has been dismissed from work for staying absent from office for over three months, traffic police spokesperson Ali Nawaz told PTI on Friday. Superintendent Police Traffic Asif Sadiq after an inquiry against Gulab Singh for staying absent from office over three months has dismissed him from service. He could not defend himself before an inquiry committee, Nawaz said. He said Singh can file an appeal in the office of the deputy inspector general traffic police against his dismissal. Last month, Singh had claimed that he was forcibly evicted by the Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB), the parent body of Sikh Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee (PSGPC) from his house in a village near Lahore along with his children and wife. Talking to PTI, Singh alleged that the traffic police SP had taken action against him on the request of the ETPB. Also Read | Imran Khan summoned by Pakistans anti-graft body The board had approached the traffic police and asked SP Sadiq to pressure me to withdraw a case against the board officials for illegally evicting me and my family members from our house at Gurdwara Janaesthan Bebey Nankay, Dera Chahal Lahore, he said. He said he had an accident and presented a medical certificate along with his leave application to the department. Since the department had no other legal point to initiate action it chose to proceed against me on the leave issue, he said, adding he was confident that the DIG traffic would listen to him and restore him during the course of appeal. Singh said he would not withdraw his case in the court against his and his family members illegal eviction by the ETPB. Even the Supreme Court has taken notice of our illegal eviction and the board is worried about that, he said. The Lahores Sessions Court had also issued a contempt of court notice to the ETPB that looks after the holy places of minorities in Pakistan and police Inspector Imtiaz Ahmed for evicting Gulab Singh and his family members from their house. The next date of hearing is August 7. Read More | Twelve girls schools burnt down in Pakistan Singh said despite the case was pending in the session court the officials of the ETPB and police raided his house on July 10 and forcibly evicted his family, declaring that it is its (ETPB) property. He alleged the board officials and the inspector tortured him and broke his arm. Singh says he has been living at his residence since 1996. The ETBP is now justifying its action on the basis that this land is part of the Gurudwara's Langar Hall. My grandfather had been living here since 1947 and the board had no right to seal my house despite the case pending in the court of law, he said and added that the ETPB took the help of a notorious police official to get the house vacated as it had no order of the court or magistrate in this respect. Singh is the only Sikh warden in the Punjab Traffic Police who joined the service in 2006. ETPB spokesperson Amir Hashmi denied any torture of Singh or his family members or forcibly evicting his family. The board officials sealed Gulab Singhs residence after issuing at least three notices to him. This place is a Langar Hall of Gurdwara Bebey Nankey and Singh had illegally occupied it, he said. For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Harare (Zimbabwe): Zimbabwes President Emmerson Mnangagwa won election today with just over 50 per cent of the ballots as the ruling party-maintained control of the government in the first vote since the fall of long-time leader Robert Mugabe. Mnangagwa received 50.8 per cent of the vote while main opposition challenger Nelson Chamisa received 44.3 per cent. The opposition is almost certain to challenge the results in the courts or in the streets. While election day was peaceful in a break from the past, deadly violence on Wednesday against people protesting alleged vote-rigging reminded many Zimbabweans of the decades of military-backed repression under Mugabe. Zimbabwes president says he is humbled by his win. Though we may have been divided at the polls, we are united in our dreams, Mnangagwa said on Twitter. This is a new beginning. Let us join hands, in peace, unity & love, & together build a new Zimbabwe for all! Mnangagwa tweeted, after a week that began with peaceful voting Monday but spiraled into deadly violence in the capital Wednesday as the military fired on protesters. Western election observers who were banned in previous votes have expressed concern at the militarys excessive force in the capital, Harare. Their assessments of the election are crucial to the lifting of international sanctions on a country whose economy collapsed years ago. Also Read | Zimbabwe troops in Harare until situation over Shortly before the election commissions announcement, Morgen Komichi, the chief agent for Chamisas opposition alliance, took the stage and said his party totally rejects the results and said he had not signed the election results. Police escorted him from the room. Later Komichi said the elections were fraudulent and everything has been done illegally. He said he had refused an electoral commission request to sign papers certifying Mnangagwas win. Were not part of it, said Komichi, adding that the opposition would be challenging the election in the courts. Commission chair Priscilla Chigumba urged the country to move on with the hopeful spirit of election day and beyond the blemishes of Wednesdays chaos: May God bless this nation and its people. With the military still deployed in Harare, the capitals streets were quiet following the announcement of Mnangagwas victory. By the center where the election results were announced, Charity Manyeruke, who teaches political science at the University of Zimbabwe, said she was delighted. There is continuity, stability, Manyeruke said. Zimbabwe is poised for nation-building. The signs that Mnangagwas election will be disputed appears to deepen a political crisis that was worsened by Wednesdays violence in Harare as the military swept in with gunfire to disperse opposition supporters alleging vote-rigging. The death toll rose to six, with 14 injured, police said, and 18 people were arrested at the offices of the main opposition party amid tensions over a vote that was supposed to restore trust in Zimbabwe after decades of Mugabes rule. Read More | Ahead of Imran Khans swearing-in ceremony, PML-N, PPP-P form alliance in Pakistan While Mnangagwa and the ruling party accused the opposition of inciting the violence, the opposition, human rights activists and international election observers condemned the excessive force used against protesters and appealed to all sides to exercise restraint. Police raided the headquarters of Chamisas Movement for Democratic Change party while a lawyers group said Chamisa was being investigated for allegedly inciting violence. He and several others are suspected of the crimes of possession of dangerous weapons and public violence, according to a copy of a search warrant seen by The Associated Press. Chamisa, however, said police seized computers and were looking for what he called evidence that his party had gathered of vote-rigging by Mnangagwas party. The evidence already had been moved to a safe house, he said. Mnangagwa called for an independent investigation into Wednesdays violence, saying those responsible should be identified and brought to justice. Mnangagwa was a long-time Mugabe confidante before his firing in November led his allies in the military to step in and push Mugabe to resign after 37 years in power. Thousands of jubilant Zimbabweans celebrated in the streets of Harare, greeting the military with selfies and cheers. Since taking office, the 75-year-old Mnangagwa has tried to recast himself as a voice of reform, declaring that Zimbabwe was open for business and inviting long-banned Western election observers to observe Mondays vote, which he pledged would be free and fair. A credible election after past votes were marred by violence against the opposition and alleged irregularities is crucial for the lifting of international sanctions and for the badly needed foreign investment to help Zimbabwes long-collapsed economy revive. Mnangagwa himself remains under US sanctions. For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono and his South Korean counterpart, Kang Kyung-wha, on Thursday reaffirmed cooperation between Tokyo and Seoul, as well as among them and Washington, toward denuclearizing North Korea. Meeting in Singapore, Kono and Kang agreed that Japan and South Korea will work further to build a future-oriented bilateral relationship while appropriately managing difficult problems between the two countries. Kono said Tokyo wants South Korean President Moon Jae-in to visit Japan. He called on South Korea to steadily implement the 2015 bilateral agreement to "finally and irreversibly" resolve the issue of Korean women allegedly forced to serve as prostitutes for Japanese troops before and during World War II. Based on the agreement, the Japanese government contributed one billion yen to a South Korean foundation set up to support such comfort women. But the South Korean government recently decided to replace the one billion yen with its reserve funds, annoying the Japanese side. President Muhammadu Buhari will address the 73rd Session of the high-level General Debate of the UN General Assembly at the UN headquarte... President Muhammadu Buhari will address the 73rd Session of the high-level General Debate of the UN General Assembly at the UN headquarters in New York on Tuesday, Sept. 25.Buhari would deliver Nigerias National Statement on the first day of the general debate of the General Assembly high-level events.The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Nigerian leader has been placed as the number 20 on the list of the speakers out of the 193 world leaders that would address the Assembly.NAN also reports that he would deliver the address to the Assembly during the afternoon session on the first day between 8.00 p.m. and 9.00 p.m. (between 1.00 a.m. and 2.00 a.m. Nigerian time).The President of Brazil would be the first world leader to present his address to the 73rd session followed by the U.S. President, Donald Trump, the traditional second speaker, being the host country.Recall that during the 2017 Session of the General Debate of the Assembly, Buhari was the eighth speaker out of the 193 world leaders who addressed the Assembly.His address made it one of any Nigerian leaders earliest address at the annual general debate of the intergovernmental organisation.The 2018 General Assembly would be Buharis fourth outing at the annual general debate of the Assembly since becoming president in 2015.The Nigerian leaders address during his first outing in 2015, in part, outlined his three cardinal agenda security, economy and anti-corruption.His two subsequent addresses in his outings in 2016 and 2017 also highlighted some of his achievements so far in these areas.The 73rd session of the Assembly would open on Sept. 18, 2018, till Oct. 5, while the General Debate would commence on Sept. 25 to Oct. 1.The session would be presided over by Ms Maria Fernanda Espinosa Garces of Ecuador.The theme of the general debate would be, Making the United Nations Relevant to All People: Global Leadership and Shared Responsibilities for Peaceful, Equitable and Sustainable Societies.In accordance with rule 1 of the rules of procedure, the General Assembly shall meet every year in regular session commencing on the Tuesday of the third week in September, counting from the first week that contains at least one working day. (NAN) China, Russia vow to further develop ties From:Xinhua | 2018-08-03 03:05 Video PlayerClose SINGAPORE, Aug. 2 (Xinhua) -- Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Thursday that China and Russia should make concerted efforts to push forward the China-Russia all-around strategic cooperation. He made the remarks while meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on the sidelines of the ASEAN foreign ministers' meeting and related meetings. Wang noted that Chinese and Russian leaders reached new important consensus during their meeting in South Africa, adding that this has demonstrated the fact China and Russia are each other's key strategic partners. Noting that there are a series of high-level visits between China and Russia scheduled for this year, Lavrov said Russia expects to work together with China to ensure the meetings a success, and is determined to strengthen strategic dialogue and coordination with China on major international issues. They also exchanged views on issues of common concern. National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Prince Uche Secondus, has said that three more Governors on the platform of the A... National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Prince Uche Secondus, has said that three more Governors on the platform of the All Progressives Congress, APC, and some ministers in President Muhammadu Buharis cabinet are in secret talks with his party over possible defection. Secondus also gave leeway to the recent heavy-weight returnees who wished to contest various offices on the PDP platform to do so, saying, the returnees have equal rights as the existing members. The party ostensibly gave room for Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal of Sokoto State, former governor of Kano State, Sen. Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso and Senate President, Bukola Saraki to contest for its presidential ticket ahead of the 2019 general elections. Speaking at the 81st National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting of the PDP yesterday in Abuja, the PDP National Chairman, said: Three more governors and some ministers are coming to our fold, they (APC government) are not aware. Security and economy have collapsed, they are not aware. There are killings in different parts of the country, they are not aware. Until we reclaim power in 2019, they wont be aware of anything. Secondus also warned against any plot to impeach Saraki. A security man, Sule Oladepo, 38 attached to the Warehouse Road, Apapa, Lagos branch of Ecobank Nigeria Plc has been arraigned before a ... A security man, Sule Oladepo, 38 attached to the Warehouse Road, Apapa, Lagos branch of Ecobank Nigeria Plc has been arraigned before a Lagos Magistrate Court for allegedly conniving with the female branch manager of the bank, identified simply as Theresa, now on the run, to fraudulently withdraw the sum of N400 million from the account of the bank.A police source alleged that the fraud was uncovered by the management of the banks headquarters after they audited the account books and reported the incident to the Divisional Police Officer, DPO in charge of Ikoyi Division, Ikoyi, Lagos, CSP Tijani Mustapha Nabba who directed his team led by Inspector Tope Ifafuyi to fish out the suspects involved in the alleged fraud.The source alleged that the security man was arrested at a hide out in Apapa, Lagos and taken to the station, adding that during investigation, the security man led the police to the residence of the fleeing female manager of the Apapa branch of the bank at Okota, Isolo area of Lagos where they discovered that she had hurriedly packed out to an unknown place.The police said they have launched a man hunt for the arrest of the fleeing female manager.The security man was charged before an Igbosere Magistrate court, on a three-count charge of conspiracy and stealing.Police counsel, Reuben Solomon informed the court in charge No: M/48/2018 that the accused and others still at large committed the offence between April and May 2018 at Ecobank Nigeria Plc, Lagos.Solomon told the court that the accused connived with the fleeing female branch manager of the bank to fraudulently withdraw the sum of N400 million from the account of their employer and allegedly shared it.Solomon said the offences, the accused committed were punishable under sections 411, 287 (7) and 325 of the criminal laws of Lagos State, 2015.Oladepo, however, pleaded not guilty to the alleged crime and Magistrate A.M Davies granted him bail in the sum of N500,000 with two sureties in like sum.Davies adjourned the case till 10 September, 2018 for trial and ordered that the defendant be kept at the Ikoyi, Prison, Lagos till he perfected the bail conditions. The Nigeria Labour Congress in Ekiti State on Thursday threatened to embark on strike, if Governor Ayodele Fayose failed to pay them two ... The Nigeria Labour Congress in Ekiti State on Thursday threatened to embark on strike, if Governor Ayodele Fayose failed to pay them two months salaries and pensions from July.The union berated a group under the auspices of Ekiti Workers Rescue Team led by former Chairmen of Nigeria Labour Congress, Ayo Aluko, and Trade Union Congress, Kolawole Olaiya, for issuing a strike threat to the state government over the backlog of salaries.The NLC said the two men lacked the power to make statements for workers as they were not recognised by the state and national executives of the union.The union also accused the members of staff of the States Board of Internal Revenue of withholding information on the internally generated revenue accruing to the state monthly.The labour union said that had made it difficult for the leadership to constructively engage the state government.At a press conference in Ado Ekiti on Thursday, the Chairman of Ekiti State NLC, Ade Adesanmi, exonerated the labour leaders from any compromise in the payment of salaries, saying workers would have been sacked but for their efforts.He said, When the inability to pay salaries began, the present government came with an option of downsizing the workforce or allowing two months allocations to be added to pay one months salaries. In the interest of our people, we took the second option.As labour leaders, we are supposed to be apolitical and that position we maintain till now. Now, the election has come and gone but the pitiable situation of our members occasioned by the non-payment of salaries and pension of senior citizens still persist and it is worrisome.Letters have been written to the outgoing government to set the machinery in motion for the payment of backlog of arrears of salaries and pensions to fulfil its promise not to leave Ekiti as a debtor. This time, we want to hold Governor Fayose to his words.Workers are dying, pensioners are dying and the governor, as a father to all, should ensure that our pains are relieved as soon as possible. We have suggested that from the July allocation, the government should mop up all funds and start paying two months salaries, the failure which labour may not be able to guarantee industrial peace and harmony in Ekiti.The union, however, urged workers to disregard information from the so-called Ekiti State workers Rescue Team. Uche Anichukwu, media aide to Ike Ekweremadu, deputy senate president, says his principal did not take ill because of the Economic and Fin... Uche Anichukwu, media aide to Ike Ekweremadu, deputy senate president, says his principal did not take ill because of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) interrogation. The lawmaker reported to the office of the anti-graft agency on Tuesday and Wednesday. He is under probe for allegedly owning undeclared assets. Ekweremadu was said to have complained of discomfort when he was being interrogated on Wednesday. But in a statement on Friday, Anichukwu explained that when his principal reported at the EFCC office, there was no interrogation because he informed them that he was ill and he was allowed to go for treatment. Since the siege would not allow him to honour the belated invitation the same day, he, as a law-abiding citizen, wrote to the EFCC to request for another date, hence the rescheduled appointment of Tuesday, July 31, 2018, the statement read. Senator Ekweremadu honoured the 10am appointment on the fixed date and left in the evening of the same day when he was granted bail on self-recognizance with an understanding that he would report at the EFCC office at 10am the next day for a continuation of the interview. He reported at the EFCC on Wednesday, August 1, 2018, at 10am as scheduled, but informed them that he was not feeling well, a fact the EFCC doctor confirmed. He was then allowed to leave to see his doctor and it was agreed that a new date would be fixed for continuation of the interview. So, there was no interrogation whatsoever on Wednesday, let alone presentation of so-called additional facts that purportedly triggered his blood pressure. Likewise, there were no new facts presented to him the previous day, Tuesday, July 31, beside those concocted by the dismissed chief judge of Enugu state, Innocent Umezulike and his cohorts in their petition. Nigerias Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu has denied reports that he owned hidden properties over which he was grilled by ... Nigerias Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu has denied reports that he owned hidden properties over which he was grilled by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on Wednesday. NigerianEye in Abuja by his Special Adviser (Media), Uche Anichukwu, he described reports credited to the EFCC as mere propaganda and concocted falsehood. In a statement made available toin Abuja by his Special Adviser (Media), Uche Anichukwu, he described reports credited to the EFCC as mere propaganda and concocted falsehood. The statement reads, My attention has been drawn to false reports in some national dailies that the Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, developed High Blood Pressure in the custody of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, upon alleged presentation to him of a fresh set of purported hidden properties supposedly acquired by him. There is no truth to this propaganda. It would be recalled that operatives of the EFCC and men of the Nigeria Police laid siege to his residence at about 6am on Tuesday, July 24, 2018, requesting him to report at its headquarters at 10am the same Tuesday. However, no letter of invitation was delivered to him until around 9am of that day. Since the siege would not allow him to honour the belated invitation the same day, he, as a law-abiding citizen, wrote to the EFCC to request for another date, hence the rescheduled appointment of Tuesday, July 31, 2018. Senator Ekweremadu honoured the 10am appointment on the fixed date and left in the evening of the same day when he was granted bail on self-recognizance with an understanding that he would report at the EFCC office at 10am the next day for a continuation of the interview. He reported at the EFCC on Wednesday, August 1, 2018, at 10am as scheduled, but informed them that he was not feeling well, a fact the EFCC doctor confirmed. He was then allowed to leave to see his doctor and it was agreed that a new date would be fixed for continuation of the interview. So, there was no interrogation whatsoever on Wednesday, let alone presentation of so-called additional facts that purportedly triggered his blood pressure. Likewise, there were no new facts presented to him the previous day, Tuesday, July 31, beside those concocted by the dismissed Chief Judge of Enugu State, Innocent Umezulike and his cohorts in their petition. The Governor of Benue State, Samuel Ortom, said he had information that the Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, would order the ... The Governor of Benue State, Samuel Ortom, said he had information that the Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, would order the withdrawal of policemen attached to the eight camps where victims of herdsmen attacks in the state were taking refuge.Ortom said this on Wednesday in a chat with journalists in Makurdi.Our source, who visited three out of the eight IDP camps on Thursday, observed palpable apprehension among the displaced persons.Ortom had on Wednesday told journalists that, I received information that policemen in the IDP camps were withdrawn on the directive of the Inspector-General of Police and I have no control over them.The governor said he would visit the camps, starting from next week, to address the displaced persons on the need for them to seek alternative places to take refuge.I will be going to the camps to visit them to tell them to find alternatives because there is no point in keeping them.The N200m that (Governor Nyesom) Wike promised is in the account; I will use the money to mobilise them and whatever we get at the State Emergency Management Agency will be distributed to them.When our source visited three of the eight camps located in the Makurdi and Guma local government areas on Thursday, the IDPs expressed apprehension over the news.However, policemen were found in the camps at Abegana camp in Makurdi, RCM Primary School and Humanitarian Refugees camps all in Daudu, when our source visited on Thursday.The chairman of the IDPs at Abegana camp, Philip Usatse, stated that though the report of the withdrawal of policemen had filtered into the camp, he was not sure the development would affect the camp.But an elderly person at a refugee camp at the RCM Primary School, Daudu, Pa Ortese, said, We were told that the policemen deployed in this camp are expected to leave the camp and you know that if such a thing happens, we are not safe.At the humanitarian refugee camp in Daudu, Mrs Dooshima Joel, who spoke through an interpreter, said the report of the withdrawal was brought to them on Wednesday.We have been living in fear since then; we cannot go back to our communities because the Fulani are still there, she said.The camp commandant at the Daudu camps, Omirigbe Angela, confirmed to newsmen that they were informed of the withdrawal of policemen.It is true, we were told yesterday (Wednesday) that the policemen deployed in the two camps in Daudu here would be withdrawn today (Thursday) but as you can see they are still here, he said.Efforts to get the reaction of the spokesman for the state police command, DSP Moses Yamu, failed as he did not pick the call. Since Senate President Bukola Saraki left the All Progressives Congress (APC), the ruling party has been calling for his resignation, argu... Since Senate President Bukola Saraki left the All Progressives Congress (APC), the ruling party has been calling for his resignation, arguing that he cannot lead the senate while in the minority. The ruling party has more senators than Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) where Saraki has pitched his tent. On Wednesday, Adams Oshiomhole, APC national chairman, asked the senate president to, as a matter of honour, leave the crown (senate presidency) in the house that the crown belongs to. Lawmakers in the ruling party have also argued along the same line. But you wont believe this the same APC kicked against calls for Aminu Tambuwal to be removed when he left the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as speaker of house of representatives in 2014. Then majority, the PDP and its lawmakers, had presented the same argument the APC is waving at the moment: That the leader of the legislative chamber cannot come from the minority. Lai Mohammed, then spokesman of the APC, defended Tambuwals defection as being about the fortunes of democracy and not about the party. According to him, it is not about the fortunes of the party it is about the fortunes of the country. Now we are going to have more qualitative laws, and this is a man who enjoys support across board so we have a speaker who is accepted on the right and the left. Lai also went down memory lane to buttress his stance, citing the case of Ikem Ume-Ezeoke who did not step down as speaker, when he ended up in the minority party. Those who are saying that the speaker should resign have forgotten history. In 1982 when the NPN and NPP accord broke down, Ume-Ezeoke did not step down as the speaker neither did Wash Pam step down as the deputy president of the senate, he had said. The lawmaker representing Kogi West Senatorial District, Senator Dino Melaye, says the police have been looking for him to kill. The lawmaker representing Kogi West Senatorial District, Senator Dino Melaye, says the police have been looking for him to kill.He said he has called on the Nigeria Police to release his passport as ordered by a Magistrates Court in the Federal Capital Territory.Melaye said he asked his lawyer, Mike Ozekhome, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, to collect the passport on his behalf as he no longer felt safe with the police.The lawmaker, who briefed journalists in Abuja on Friday, alleged that several attempts by him to retrieve his passport from the police based on the order of the court had failed.The same police have been looking for me to kill me. As I speak to you, I have six arraignments in six different courts for one frivolous, framed-up charge or the other.No politician has been so humiliated in this country. Six arraignment! One by the Federal Government through the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation and five by the Nigeria Police.The latest was on Wednesday last week, a fresh arraignment before an FCT High Court, he said.Punch reports that Melaye made copies of his mandate to Ozekhome to retrieve his passport available to journalists. Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has been given thumbs up as an authentic Yoruba leader for his incredible political prowess and unmatched achievement of taking Nigeria into the centre -stage of politics among African countries, with accompanying landmark developmental projects across many states of the country.This is only akin to the halcyon sixties era of the late sage and Premier of the then Western Region, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, said a former member of the House of Representatives, Mr. Wale Adegoke, during a chat with Vanguard in Ibadan yesterday.He said: There is no need to hide a good product. Obasanjo has paid his dues and perfected the art of returning the Yoruba political wheel back onto the national track during his eight years as president of the country, a feat only few people would have anticipated.Adegoke, also a chieftain of the newly formed African Democratic Congress (ADC), said former president remains the highest achieving leader in the political history of the Yoruba, adding that Awolowos performance as Premier of the Western Region was limited to the region he governed.The comparison between Awolowo and Obasanjo is better deciphered when proper parameters are set. For instance, Awolowo was a regional leader, while Obasanjo ruled all the regions in the country, first as a military head of state and later as a civilian.Of all the leaders Nigeria has ever produced, Obasanjo remains the longest serving leader. His transition of power from military to civilian and much later from one civilian regime to another remains a feat that would forever be celebrated.Obasanjo has not lost relevance even after his tenure expired as an elected president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. He has been a leading voice in the brokerage of peace in troubled nations within and outside Africa. Little wonder he is seen as a global icon of peace, Adegoke added.The former reps member disclosed that it was Obasanjos efforts in supporting UNESCO during his tenure that has helped in repositioning the education sector properly in the country.Speaking on the call for restructuring in the country, he stated that: The kind of restructuring that is needed in Nigeria is one that would give autonomy to each ethnic nationalities to manage itself in all areas of economy, education, power and others with the exception of geographical expression.While speaking on the 2019 general elections in the country, Adegoke described the African Democratic Congress (ADC) as the new bride in the nations political landscape, noting that Nigerians were fed up with the governance provided by both the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) over the past years.Nigerians, across all states, were embracing the ADC because of its opposition to having godfathers and moneybags dictate its affairs and its convincing vision for the youth, women and all Nigerians, in general.Adding that the ADC was being formed into a formidable block by people of like ideals, he avowed that the ADC would, in the forthcoming general elections, win several governorship seats as well as the presidential seat.The ADC that we joined from CNM is for the youths, the women and for all Nigerians. There will be a dialogue to know the suffering of the people before we now come up with what is sellable to the people, it will not be drafted by one person.The ADC is the party with conscience, building a new foundation for the country such that we begin to behave like a developed country, where everyone will be equal. It will not be a jamboree where people that are not fortunate to be born in a particular area will say they dont have hope.The people steering the ship of this party are God-fearing people who will hold it and know that they will give account of their stewardship to man and to God. The ADC in Oyo state being led by Chief Olayiwola Olakojo and some of us have a conscience and you will see a big difference when this party comes to power from the federal to state and local and ward levels.There is a ray of hope and a lot of people are joining from other parties. Our ideals cannot be changed and when people with the same ideals come together, they form a block that cannot be moved. If you vote and stand by your vote, nothing will happen.I believe in the Almighty God and that he is in the affairs of the country. We have seen people want to turn themselves to emperors, you see how God managed such, moreover, people are praying.If you dont have good intention for this country, be ready to face the wrath of the Almighty God, because people are dying on daily basis and you dont have two heads. I know that in 2019, people will stand by their PVCs and I wonder in how many states they will deploy 30,000 security personnel to?If, in 2019, we keep our eyes open and are ready to defend our votes and we are able to educate our people to look for good people to thumbprint for, this will really help us. If we continue to shout and pray for the judiciary that ills be corrected, nobody will want to tow that line again, as somebody will be disgraced, Adegoke stressed.He said what was imperative was for Nigerians to choose their leaders with the right conscience and be ready to defend their votes, for people-centred leaders to emerge at all levels. Senate President Bukola Saraki on Thursday appealed to the members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to accept defectors from the All ... Senate President Bukola Saraki on Thursday appealed to the members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to accept defectors from the All Progressives Congress (APC) from the bottom of their hearts. Saraki made this appeal in Abuja during the 81st national executive committee (NEC) meeting of the opposition party. The meeting had in attendance, Aminu Tambuwal, governor of Sokoto state; Samuel Ortom, Benue state governor, and other senators and members of the house of representative who crossed over to the PDP from APC. All of you who are here, please receive us from the bottom of your heart, not only in this room but down to the local government and wards because what we are learning in the history is that everybody is important, he said. No sacrifice is too much for us to make to reach that promise land; it is only when we get to that promise land, when we see the sacrifice that we are all making, that we see a better tomorrow. I want to make an appeal on behalf of all of us because it is easier here in Abuja but when we get back to our constituencies, please let us continue to open our hands and receive other members, that will give us victory come February 2019. Uche Secondus, national chairman of PDP, commended Saraki for his courage to take the bull by the horn by defecting to the party despite the gang up. Everybody knows his antecedent that he is a man of honour and he decided to be by the side of people, he said. He has been hunted down in the last three years and we thank God for our judiciary, despite all the conspiracies, the supreme court set him free and they have failed . In this democracy you are a hero, hero of our people whether they like it or not. We have been aware of that in the last few weeks. It all started from national assembly, the defection all over the states cutting across from the middle belt to the extreme north; defections from the ruling party. Kathmandu, August 3 Nepal Police on Friday says it has launched an investigation into a case in which Nepal Communist Party lawmaker Niru Devi Pal reportedly received a death threat from an unidentified man on Tuesday evening. The Metropolitan Police Range Kathmandu on Friday announced a three-member team to investigate into the case. The Ranges SP Ram Datta Joshi heads the committee whereas other members are DSP Govinda Raj Kafle and Inspector Surendra KC for the Metropolitan Police Circle, Baneshwor. Chief of the Range, SSP Bishwa Raj Pokharel says the panel has been assigned to investigate into the case minutely and submit a report at the earliest. Meanwhile, police have so far interrogated at least 75 persons in connection with the case. Of them, 16 have been screened for further investigation, according to the Range. Prof. Itse Sagay (SAN), Chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee (PACAC) has said Senate President Bukola Saraki can still keep his... Prof. Itse Sagay (SAN), Chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee (PACAC) has said Senate President Bukola Saraki can still keep his position as Senate President despite defecting to the Peoples Democratic Party ( PDP). Sagay said Saraki can only be removed from the position by two-thirds of senators. However, he added that the APC as the majority party will not want to concede the position to the PDP which is in the minority. Sagay said in an interview with Daily Independent Newspaper: Yes, he can still keep his position as Senate President despite his defection. He can only be removed as Senate President if he is voted out by two-third of the majority. The National Vice Chairman, North Central, of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Alhaji Suleiman Ahmed Wambai, has stated that that in ... The National Vice Chairman, North Central, of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Alhaji Suleiman Ahmed Wambai, has stated that that in the next three days about three PDP governors from the south east will join APC.Wambai stated this on Thursday at the government house Lafia, during a party stakeholders meeting where party members reaffirmed their commitment to the party in the state to ensure the return of president Muhammadu Buhari in 2019.Governor Umaru Tanko Almakura, in his remarks urged the supporters of the party in the state to remain focused, assuring that come 2019 general election the APC in the state will lead other states in the country to ensure victory for President Muhammadu Buhari.Those in attendance include Senator Abdullahi Adamu and all the members of the National Assembly of APC from the state, all governorship aspirants under the APC, all members of the state assembly of APC and top government officials.He appreciated members of the party in the state and at the national assembly for standing by President Buhari despite the many challenges.In their various remarks they all vowed to stand by President Muhammadu Buhari to ensure he is re-elected in 2019, adding that the APC will deliver Buhari in the north central Nigeria despite the exit of Benue and Kwara states from the party.Also speaking, Senator Abdullahi Adamu said those who defected from the party have seen their failures in the party, adding that the APC is battle ready for them. Kathmandu, August 3 The smallest country in Africa, Seychelles, has expressed its interest to recruit Nepali guards to employ them for prison security. The country says it wants to recruit the works through a government-to-government agreement. Spokesperson at the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security, Deepak Dahal, informs that the country has already sent a draft of the memorandum of understanding to begin the recruitment process. Dahal says the Ministry will take an appropriate decision after conducting a study about the host countrys economy, labour laws, climate and facilities to be provided to the workers. He claims the government will keep the welfare of labourers at the centre while finalising the deal. Therefore, the Ministry wants to ensure handsome pays for the workers and their own security at first. Prisons in this island country are among most well-facilitated jails in the world. Officials of the Ministry believe that the African country wanted to employ Nepali guards for the security of these prisons because Nepalis have historically been known for their bravery. Until now, a handful of Nepalis have reached the country for employment on their own. Kathmandu, August 3 The Parliamentary Hearing Special Committee on Friday disapproved the nomination of Acting Chief Justice Deepak Raj Joshee for the position of Chief Justice. This is the first time in Nepals political history that any nominee for the constitutional position has been rejected by the parliamentary committee. A meeting of the panel consisting of 12 members of the House of Representatives and three of the National Assembly made the decision. After the main opposition Nepali Congress boycotted the meeting, members representing the Nepal Communist Party and the Federal Socialist Forum-Nepal rejected the nomination with two thirds majority votes. They have said that Joshee is disqualified for the position on the grounds of erroneous data on his academic credentials and comments made by court officials about his incompetence at different points of time. Lawmaker Yogesh Bhattarai says he voted against Joshee because he could not present any idea about leading the judiciary as the panel summoned him for a meeting last week. Therefore, the Committee could not be convinced that he would lead the court competently and independently, according to him. According to the parliamentary regulations, two third majority can reject such nominations. In the 15-member committee, there are nine from the NCP and one from the Forum-Nepal. Four members belong to the Nepali Congress whereas one is a leader of the Rastriya Janata Party Nepal. As the Congress boycotted and RJPNs Laxman Lal Karna could not vote for his position of the chairperson of the panel, no one cast vote for Joshee. Congress membersBhimsen Das Pradhan, Jitendra Narayan Dev, Pushpa Bhusal Gautam and Gyanendra Bahadur Karkiissued a statement informing that they boycotted the meeting as the ruling side could not present convincing reasons for rejecting the name. They also argued that the Constitutional Council had already evaluated qualifications of Joshee while making the nomination. Home Just In Second pair of rhinos that Nepal is gifting China will leave country on Aug 16 Chitwan, August 3 Officials of the Chitwan National Park (CNP) are preparing to send the second pair of rhinos to be gifted to the Government of Peoples Republic of China on August 16. Chief Conservation Officer of the Park, Bed Kumar Dhakal, says Chinese officials are preparing to take the gifted rhinos, adding that the Chinese side is working to arrange a cargo plane and receive approval from the airport. Earlier, the Government of Nepal had sent the first pair of rhinos to China on July 12. The male rhino of one-and-a-half years has been named Solti while the name of two-year-old female is Mitini. The rhinos are being sent to Kathmandu on August 14, two days before their departure to China. The officials of the Park say that there will be no problem in translocation of the rhinos since they are familiar with the humans. Like before, the Park veterinarians, technicians and assistants will be sent this time too together with the rhinos. The veterinary doctors and technicians, who had gone to gift the first couple of rhinos, have already returned while the assistants are yet to arrive home. During his visit to China two years ago, Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli had pledged to gift two pairs of rhinos. RSS Washington, D.C. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) has updated its findings on victim numbers in Nicaragua and confirms that the state has been persecuting and criminalizing demonstrators, dissidents, and people who have participated in the different forms of protest that have taken place in Nicaragua since April 18, 2018. The IACHR urges the Nicaraguan state to comply fully with its international human rights obligations. According to information gathered by the Special Monitoring Mechanism for Nicaragua (MESENI) during the five weeks it spent working in the field, as of July 30, some 317 people had died in the country since April 18, 2018, 21 of whom were police officers. The IACHR also confirms that 23 boys, girls, and teenagers have died during the current crisis. The IACHR condemns all the murders on record and urges the Nicaraguan state to begin swift, serious investigations into each and every one of these crimes. The state must keep a reliable, transparent, up-to-date record of all deaths, said the rapporteur for the country, Commissioner Antonia Urrejola. As was reported in press release 156/2018, as of July 19, through its work in the field, MESENI had confirmed and documented an increase in repression and raids carried out by the National Police Force and parapolice groups as part of the so-called operation for peace. These achieved the objective of dismantling the barricades that had been erected in different cities around the country. Between July 19 and 30, MESENI received alarming information regarding the implementation of legal persecution and criminalization practices targeting dissidents, demonstrators, students, activists, and human rights defenders. Based on the information available and the testimonies it has received, the IACHR has found that, following the erection of barricades and roadblocks in different parts of the country, Nicaraguan authorities made numerous arbitrary detentions involving the use of force. These were carried out by masked, armed groups who detained people against their will. The detainees reported that they were mistreated after being handed over to the National Police Force or the Legal Police Unit in Managua. According to information that the IACHR has received, the detainees were not informed of their rights nor of the charges against them at the time of their arrest, no arrest warrants were shown, nor were their families told where they would be held. For example, MESENI became aware of the arrest of Irlanda Jerez Barrera, one of the leaders of a grassroots group of stallholders from the Mercado Oriental, a large market in Managua, for being found guilty of fraud and stellionate (link in Spanish). Jerez Barrera had presumably been interrogated about her role in the demonstrations that began in Nicaragua on April 18. Likewise, MESENI has received information regarding the arrest of Christian Rodrigo Fajardo Caballero and Maria Adilia Peralta Cerrato at the Penas Blancas border crossing on July 23. The two are members of the 19 de abril movement in Masaya and are being accused of terrorism, financing terrorism, organized crime, and obstructing public services. Another case that has come to light is that of Medardo Mairena and Pedro Mena, who were held until July 25 at El Chipote penitentiary, where they were beaten and mistreated before being transferred to the Modelo penitentiary. It is with great concern that we have become aware of the dramatic increase in the number of people who have been arrested without the guarantees of due process. We call urgently on the Nicaraguan state to ensure strict compliance with the law and other procedural guarantees for all detainees, in line with the corresponding international standards. The state must ensure the prompt release all people who have been detained arbitrarily or on unfounded charges, said Commissioner Joel Hernandez, Rapporteur on the Rights of Persons Deprived of Liberty. Furthermore, the IACHR has received large quantities of information regarding current barriers to accessing appropriate legal counsel. These entail restrictions around access to interviews with lawyers and civil society organizations and a refusal to provide information on the legal status and health of detainees. The IACHR is reiterating its recommendation that the Nicaraguan state establish and make available a public register containing the following information: the number of people who have been detained since the start of the protests on April 18; the grounds for these arrests; the number of days that those arrested have been deprived of their freedom; the place of detention; the number of people that are currently being held in connection with the protests that have been taking place since April 18; and the number of people who have been released. The information in question should include details regarding detainees gender, age, and occupation. Furthermore, the IACHR is aware that legal persecution and criminalization are being used in conjunction with menacing, stigmatizing statements from state authorities, the most worrying of which describe the people in question as being terrorists, attempting to start a coup, or as criminals in the context of the ongoing legal investigations. On this matter, the Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders, Commissioner Francisco Eguiguren, stated that we are extremely concerned about the undue use of criminal law and, in particular, the recent antiterrorism law, which seeks to criminalize those who exercise their right to engage in social protest and defend human rights. We call on the Nicaraguan state to cease its criminalization of those who take part peacefully in demonstrations and to abstain from using broad, vague, or inappropriate terrorism-related expressions to respond to protests and the airing of social grievances. Likewise, the IACHR is concerned about the lack of a state response to its request to make regular, unlimited visits to the countrys main penitentiaries to interview those who have been detained in response to the current crisis. On July 21, during a widespread call for people to take part in a march asking for justice for terrorism victims, MESENI ascertained that threats were made against the families of detainees who had gathered at the entrance to El Chipote penitentiary. The people in question were evacuated to Managua Cathedral by the Nicaraguan Center for Human Rights (CENIDH), working in partnership with the Bishops Conference. On that occasion, MESENI received numerous testimonies regarding arrests that had taken place in the previous weeks as part of operations to remove barricades in Carazo, Masaya, Granada, and Managua. The families of the detainees that were interviewed said that they did not have any information about which detention center their relatives were being held at. They also described the numerous obstacles they are facing in accessing legal counsel and ascertaining which judge will oversee the legal proceedings around this case. After the march in question, El Chipote penitentiary was guarded by pro-government groups who intimidated the families who arrived there to find out about the legal status and health of their relatives. MESENI has also received worrying information regarding the arrest in Masaya of two boys aged 14 and 15 who were allegedly transferred to El Chipote, where they were held for five days. According to the testimonies MESENI has received, during their detention and transfer, one of the boys was the victim of cigarette burns to his neck and the other suffered injuries caused by one of his captors placing his full weight on the boys body to get him to reveal information about other people who had been involved in the barricades. The boys were released on the morning of Saturday, July 21. With regard to this case, Commissioner Esmeralda Arosemena de Troitino, Vice President of the IACHR and Rapporteur on the Rights of Children, stated: when the state is dealing with a child, in addition to the legal obligations that apply to any person, there are additional obligations that derive from article 19 of the American Convention on Human Rights and article VII of the American Declaration. Consequently, when the person in question is a child, the state must perform the role of guarantor with greater care and responsibility and it must take additional measures to comply with the doctrine of the best interests of the child. As a result, the IACHR reiterates that it is the duty of the Nicaraguan state to implement all measures necessary to avoid any abuse or excesses on the part of its agents that violate peoples rights. On July 29, journalist Roberto Antonio Collado, the Granada correspondent for Channel 10, was beaten and held by masked individuals while he was reporting on a demonstration in the city. The group then handed him over to the National Police Force. Despite having identified himself as a journalist, Collado was beaten with firearms by his captors in the presence of these police officers and was told by the former that they were doing so because he had spread lies. MESENI has also been monitoring the case of Francisco Paco Espinoza, the Jinotega correspondent for the Accion 10 news program, who has been detained and accused of kidnapping, robbery, torture, attempted homicide, and causing injury, according to news reports. Given the importance of the work of journalists who cover demonstrations and protests, the state must provide them with the maximum possible protection as they go about their business. This responsibility is not limited to authorizing specific protection measures for members of the media, but should also include the obligation to create the conditions necessary for mitigating the risks that come with exercising their profession in these situations. In connection, the Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression, Edison Lanza, stressed that journalists who cover protests are carrying out a fundamental role by reporting on the conduct of the state and public forces during demonstrations, preventing the disproportionate use of force and abuse of authority. On July 27, at least 40 employees at Oscar Danilo Rosales Hospital (HEODRA) in the city of Leon were dismissed without grounds in retaliation for their having treated or expressed their support for people who were wounded during the protests. On July 28, another 40 people were dismissed from the Santiago Regional Hospital in Jinotepe over their alleged involvement in occupying the hospital. In response, the Special Rapporteurship on Economic, Social, Cultural, and Environmental Rights (REDESCA) and the IACHR wish to remind the state of its obligation to protect peoples right to work and to abstain from retaliating against individuals for expressing their opinion. In this sense, the IACHR calls on the state to refrain from making arbitrary dismissals or harassing or threatening government workers because they have expressed criticism of the government or taken part in protests. Medical staff who treat the sick and injured should be protected from outside interference to ensure that they can conduct their work ethically and treat anyone in need regardless of their political, religious, or philosophical positions. Any sort of intimidation or punishment of healthcare workers for simply going about their professional duty to preserve the right to healthcare is unacceptable, regardless of whether it takes a direct form or an indirect one, such as fines or dismissals, stressed Soledad Garcia Munoz, Special Rapporteur on DESCA. REDESCA and the IACHR call on the Nicaraguan government to protect the healthcare personnel who have treated and are continuing to treat those injured as a consequence of the crisis, who include firefighters, humanitarian workers, and healthcare professionals at hospitals and clinics. Any government action that allows or encourages restrictions to medical care could damage the right to life, integrity, and health of those who require such care. Between July 1930, the government of Nicaragua sent the IACHR information via official reports on different acts of violence, notably the kidnapping of the political secretary of El Almendro Municipality in Rio de San Juan Department; operations to capture people connected with the supposed attack on the police post at Sislao Paraska Comarca Pueblo Nuevo; and the attack on police officers using firearms and mortars in Sandino neighborhood in the city of Jinotega, which left at least three people dead and and five police officers injured. The IACHR has also received information on the death of Brazilian student Rayneia Gabrielle Da Costa Lima. According to official sources, on the night of July 23, in circumstances that have yet to be ascertained, a private security guard fired a gun at the student, who was transferred to the Military Hospital, where she died. In response, the IACHR condemns any actions that seek to place limitations on the life and integrity of any individuals, irrespective of who they are. It also wishes to remind Nicaragua of its obligation to guarantee the integrity of all people. It reaffirms that the actions described above should be duly investigated and sanctioned as part of legal due process that complies with the corresponding human rights standards. The IACHR has also received information on the occupation of land that took place on July 29 in Chinandega, a department northwest of Managua. As is publicly known, these occupations have been reported as being a mechanism of government repression. In the case in question, the local press has described how a group of heavily armed masked men arrived in vans and occupied three properties belonging to the Coen Group in Chinandega, in the west of the country. The IACHR also states its deep concern over the forced displacement of thousands of people who have had to flee their homes as a consequence of the serious human rights violations that have taken place since protests began in April 2018. As the IACHR published in its report, as a consequence of this violence and different forms of persecution, students, demonstrators, human rights defenders, victims, and their families have been forced to flee their homes and move to other parts of the country. Likewise, many of these people have had to leave the country altogether to seek international protection, mainly by traveling to countries such as Costa Rica, Honduras, Panama, the United States, as well as other countries in the region. According to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the number of Nicaraguans requesting asylum in Costa Rica has increased exponentially. An average 200 requests for asylum are currently being filed in the country each day. According to information from the Costa Rican authorities, around 8,000 applications for refugee status have been filed by Nicaraguans since April of this year, and another 15,000 people have been given appointments to do so at a later date as the countrys processing capacity is currently overwhelmed. The IACHR urges the Nicaraguan government not to adopt measures that prevent people from migrating and exercising their right to request and receive asylum in other countries. Likewise, we acknowledge the measures that Costa Rica and other countries are adopting to allow Nicaraguans to enter their territories and the steps they are taking to receive Nicaraguan asylum seekers and refugees, said Commissioner Luis Ernesto Vargas, Rapporteur on the Rights of Migrants. To consolidate the data on Nicaragua that has been recorded, analyzed, and published by the IACHR, MESENI has implemented a rigorous monitoring process through which it examines and compares different sources of information, particularly the figures and reports gathered by civil society organizations whose mission is to defend human rights, information reported by the media, and that documented by the state, as and when this is made available. To gain access to up-to-date information from the state, the IACHR has accepted, in writing, the governments public invitation to verify records of the deaths that have occurred as part of the human rights crisis that has been unfolding in the country since April 18, 2018, with the governments cooperation, adding that all statements and information on Nicaragua expressed by its Executive Secretary reflect the IACHRs official position and have been approved by the organization. Commissioner Antonia Urrejola also stated that we will continue to monitor and document the human rights situation in Nicaragua with the seriousness and responsibility that the IACHR is known for. In accordance with its mandate, the IACHR will continue to make recommendations to the Nicaraguan state, the main focus of which will be its work with victims of human rights violations. We wish to stress once more that the IACHR is permanently available to help generate spaces of understanding. The IACHR is committed to seeking dialogue and democratic solutions to the grave crisis that is affecting the people of Nicaragua, said Executive Secretary Paulo Abrao. A principal, autonomous body of the Organization of American States (OAS), the IACHR derives its mandate from the OAS Charter and the American Convention on Human Rights. The Inter-American Commission has a mandate to promote respect for and to defend human rights in the region and acts as a consultative body to the OAS in this area. The Commission is composed of seven independent members who are elected in an individual capacity by the OAS General Assembly and who do not represent their countries of origin or residence. No. 169/18 Love is a wonderful and strong bond to have with someone, especially if youre bringing new life into the world. But what happens when the connection is so strong, youd do anything to keep it? Rosa Castellanos Diaz, a young woman from the village of El Coyolar, Honduras, was expecting twins with her boyfriend, Melvin Mendoza. Or at least thats what everyone thought, including Melvin, as Rosa looked pregnant and had even showed everyone an ultrasound scan. Last Friday, as he big day approached, the mother-to-be boarded a bus to the capital of Tegucigalpa, so she could give birth to her babies at Escuela Hospital. However, later that night, she called Melvin with heartbreaking news: one of the their twins had died while she was in labor, and the other one would have to stay at the hospital in order to receive special care. Photo: La Prensa On Saturday, Rosa returned to El Coyolar with a small casket in order to attend a wake held by her boyfriend and his relatives. When people started asking if they could see the infant, the woman told them that the casket had been sealed by the hospital and she had been instructed not to open it. The wake proceeded as planned, with everyone expressing their sorrow and paying respects to the grieving parents. Melvin was so grief-stricken that he even had to be propped up by friends while watching his childs coffin be buried. After the funeral, everyone focused their attention on the living twin, who was fighting for its life in Escuela Hospital. However, for some people, something about Rosas story just didnt add up. Many of Melvins friends had long suspected that the woman had made the entire pregnancy up in order to keep their relationship going. Photo: video screengrab The whole thing didnt seem right, Ismael Mejia, a friend of Melvins, said. So in the night we went to the cemetery to dig it up. To our surprise what we found inside was a doll, dressed up as if it were a child. Melvins friends recorded the entire horrifying discovery with cell phones as proof of Rosas trickery. They then took the casket and video evidence to the police and returned the doll to Rosa to show they knew of her deception. Surprisingly, after learning of his girlfriends trickery, Melvin actually did not press charges on Rosa and asked the police not to pursue further action against her. Although it has yet to be confirmed, given the creepy discovery, it is highly likely that the second infant does not exist either. This strange incident demonstrates the amazing and sometimes twisted power of love. While it can inspire us to do incredible things and make great sacrifices, it can also embolden us to carry out crazy acts, such as those in this bizarre event. When faced with hardships in their lives, many people find them too challenging and give up, especially on their life dreams. But not for Gabriel Heredia. Gabriel is a 20-year-old Argentinian barber who was born without hands. Despite his handicap, he was able to grow up happy and independent. He also always had the support of friends and family, never feeling discriminated at all by his schoolmates. In fact, his inspiration for such a line of work was his mother, who is a hairdresser. At the tender age of 14, he started working as a barber, and learned all the techniques to perfecting both haircuts and beard trimmings. Although he first saw it as a hobby, Gabriel quickly determined that this was the profession he wanted to work in. Photo: video screengrab I have learnt to serve a glass of water by myself, Ive studied, Ive learnt to ride a bike, a motorbike, and even to drive a car, Gabriel said about growing up with his severe disability. His family soon helped him open his first barbershop, which he worked at for one and a half years. There, he met Zlatan Gomez, the president of Argentina Corta, an organization for barbers to connect, do charity work in less fortunate neighborhoods, and teach hairdressing to those who are interested. Gabriel is now part of Argentina Corta, offering up his services to people of all ages so they can build up the skills they need to get decent jobs. As a bright and caring young man, Gabriel strives to not only be a barber, but to also make a connection with the neighborhood: The thing that I like the most of my job is that people feel comfortable and stylish with my cuts and that makes me feel happy. He is also a perfectionist: I want my shop to be the best and to have another barbershop too. Maybe his perseverance comes from the fact that hes had to overcome so much in his life, but perhaps his energy also comes from being a father. Gabriel has an eleven-month-old son named Tobias, who gives me strength. I want to raise him with this message: there is nothing you cant do. You have to improve yourself day by day. Nowadays, runs his own barber shop in Buenos Aires, where people line up around the block for his services. He opened up shop just a month ago with his girlfriend Yanina, whose aunt offered him the space rent-free, and business is booming. Gabriels story shows us the obstacles we face in life are almost never completely insurmountable. Whatever problem you face, you can usually tackle it by innovating, adopting the right mindset, and never giving up. When you encounter difficulty in life, what holds you back the most is often your own mentality. As the legendary painter Vincent Van Gogh once said: If you hear a voice within you say you cannot paint, then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced. Stephanie Roy-Heckl and Danilo Giordano, friends and co-founders of New York-based footwear label Dahlia Selva, met at Ralph Lauren in 2008. Despite their contrasting personalities and opposing skillsets (Giordano was VP of design for women's footwear while Roy-Heckl's background is in wholesale) the pair instantly connected. In the years that followed their initial meeting, fashion began moving away from sensuality, adopting a more serious, minimal, art-lady tone. Sensing this shift, the duo began flirting with the idea of launching their own, unabashedly feminine collection. Ten years later, that idea materialized into an assertively frilly, confident line of shoes inspired by dance. (from left) Dahlia Selva Creative Director Danilo Giordano and CEO Stephanie Roy-Heckl Photo Courtesy of Elizaveta Porodina Born and raised in Vienna, Roy-Heckl began frequenting the Austrian capital's theaters and the operas at a young age sparking her love of ballet and modern dance. A young Giordano, on the other hand, recreated the theater at his childhood home in Southern Italy by mimicking the gests of ballerinas to his musician father's Tchaikovsky records. Their mutual love of classical performing arts manifests in the collection's dramatic ruffles and velvet laces that imitate the satin ribbons of ballet flats. Shoes from Dahlia Selva's debut collection. Festooned with floral motifs and crafted with rich suede and elegant lace, the duo's designs are prim at first glance, but reveal an undercurrent of strength upon closer inspection. "Women should be encouraged to embrace their femininity," Roy-Heckl asserts citing that feminine style is often regarded as frivolous. "We want to inspire women to find their sensuality, to make it a force of empowerment." Aptly, the brand's Italian moniker, which also incorporates the initials of the pair's first names, translates to "savage flower" in English. Images from Dahlia Selva's First Campaign Photographer: Marilou Daube Models: Laszlo Major, Bruna Tenorio, Heidi Mount Their mission to celebrate femme-expression isn't just limited to women. "We believe sensuality is about being who you want to be," Giordano says."It's about embracing ambiguities and replacing judgment with celebration." In keeping with that motto, the duo asked male Hungarian dancer Laszlo Major to front their brand's first campaign. Fascinated by the juxtaposition of Major's powerful body moving delicately on stage at Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo (a farcical drag ballet), Giordano saw him as an embodiment of the Dahlia Selva spirit. In a series of seductive images, Major is photographed alongside models Bruna Tenorio and Heidi Mount with a full face of makeup. While the images may give the impression that Major is a woman, a closer look reveals he's notserving as a reminder not to judge or stereotype. As the brand grows, the pair hope to add larger sizes so that more people can participate in Dahlia Selva's unapologetically feminine aesthetic. "Laszlo would totally wear our shoes," Giordano says. "but we don't have his size just yet!" Photos courtesy Dahlia Selva South Africa's MTN faces Iran crossroads as US sanctions loom 08/02/18 Source: Press TV South Africa's MTN Group is reported to have put on hold a $750 million expansion plan in the Iranian broadband market in the face of US sanctions which are about to take effect on Monday. Africa's biggest wireless networks group, which has a 49 percent stake in national operator Irancell, had agreed last year to invest in fixed line broadband network, Iranian Net. A billboard in Tehran promotes Irancell in which MTN has a 49 percent stake. MTN had sought to buy a 49 percent stake in Iranian Net and invest in both equity and loans to help the Iranian company develop a fiber network in eight of the country's main cities in order to provide high-speed broadband. However, little progress has been made after a year and the South African wireless carrier has decided to shelve the plan because of looming US sanctions, Bloomberg quoted people familiar with the matter as saying. There was no word on MTN's another agreement signed last year, under which the company undertook to invest in Iran Internet Group, which runs a car hailing app called Snapp. MTN has capitalized on strong growth in the Iranian telecoms market - its second biggest after Nigeria with 43 million subscribers at the end of 2017 - to build an unassailable business jurisdiction. Following the lifting of sanctions on Iran in early 2017, the Johannesburg-based company was allowed to repatriate $1 billion in accumulated dividends from its stake in Irancell. For its entry into Iran in 2005, the company found favor with Iranian authorities who wrote off Turkcell to grant a $4.2 billion contract to MTN, angering the Turkish mobile phone company. Turkcell has taken MTN to courts in the US and South Africa, accusing that the group "acted wrongfully" and interfered with its relationship with the Iranian government over the granting of the mobile license. With the US sanctions about to kick in next week, Turkey has said it will not abide by the bans and continue trade with the Islamic Republic. MTN's new Chief Executive Officer Rob Shuter has vowed to abandon or sell markets that the company sees as prone to trouble and risk not worth it. However, "Iran's size makes it likely the South African company will look to see out the current impasse," Bloomberg wrote. Iran's Foreign Minister says US can blame itself for leaving deal and halting talks 08/02/18 Source: Press TV Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif says the US should blame itself for ending talks with Iran when it left the nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA.) "Iran & US had 2 yrs of talks. With EU/E3+Russia+China, we produced a unique multilateral accord-the JCPOA. It's been working. US can only blame itself for pulling out & leaving the table. Threats, sanctions & PR stunts won't work. Try respect: for Iranians & for int'l commitments," said Zarif on Twitter on Tuesday. Iran & US had 2 yrs of talks. With EU/E3+Russia+China, we produced a unique multilateral accord-the JCPOA. It's been working. US can only blame itself for pulling out & leaving the table. Threats, sanctions & PR stunts won't work. Try respect: for Iranians & for int'l commitments Javad Zarif (@JZarif) July 31, 2018 The remarks were made one day after US President Donald Trump announced that was willing to meet with Iranians without preconditions. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qasemi also responded to Trump's offer by noting that it was in contradiction his actions of imposing sanctions and pressuring other countries into avoiding business with Tehran. "Sanctions and pressures are the exact opposite of dialogue which requires mutual respect and commitment to international treaties," he added. "How can he prove to the Iranian nation that the comments he made last night showed his true intention for negotiation and were not expressed for populist gains?," added Qasemi. On Monday night, Trump said he is ready to meet his Iranian counterpart, Hassan Rouhani, "any time they want to." "It's good for the country, good for them, good for us and good for the world. No preconditions. If they want to meet, I'll meet," said the US president. Shortly after that US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo appeared on CNBC hours later to set some conditions. "We've said this before," said the former CIA chief. "If the Iranians demonstrate a commitment to make fundamental changes in how they treat their own people, reduce their malign behavior, can agree that it's worthwhile to enter into a nuclear agreement that actually prevents proliferation, then the president said he's prepared to sit down and have the conversation with them." Back in May, Pompeo had set 12 conditions for talks with Iran, which were dismissed by Tehran. Trump's latest stance towards Tehran runs counter to his recent threats against the nation as well as pulling Washington out of the Iran nuclear deal despite having the support of almost all US allies. On May 8, Trump unilaterally withdrew Washington from the JCPOA despite objections from Europe as well as Russia and China - the other signatories to the deal. The withdrawal entails the re-imposition of not only sanctions on Iran but also the so-called secondary sanctions on third countries. Meanwhile, Iran's President Hassan Rouhani has once again denounced the US withdrawal from the 2015 international nuclear deal, saying the ball is now in Europe's court to make up for Washington's absence and work to keep the landmark agreement alive. "Today, we are at a very important historic moment regarding the JCPOA," Rouhani said, adding that European parties need to transparently declare what measures they intend to adopt in order to make up for Washington's "illegal" pullout from the Iran deal. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Apeals To Donald Trump For Information On Iranian Green Card Holders 08/03/18 Source: Radio Farda Former Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad has called upon U.S. President Donald Trump to release the names of top Iranian officials' relatives who live in the United States or hold green cards. "Will The Populists Unite?" Depiction of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Donald Trump by Bozorgmehr Hosseinpur In a tweet directly addressed to Trump, Ahmadinejad wrote on August 1, "Mr. Donald Trump; release the list of relatives of Iranian Government officials that (sic) have Green Cards and bank accounts in the United States; if you have such a list." Mr @realDonaldTrump release the list of relatives of #Iranian Government officials that have #GreenCards and #BankAccounts in the #UnitedStates if you have such a list. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (@Ahmadinejad1956) August 1, 2018 The issue of top officials and their relatives who carry U.S.green cards became a heated argument last month when an Iranian MP tabled it. In an interview with so-called pro-reform daily Etemad, mid-ranking Shi'ite cleric and the chairman of the Nuclear Subcommittee of the National Security and Foreign Policy Committee in the Islamic Consultative Assembly, MojtabaZonnour, claimed that on the sidelines of talks over the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), or Tehran's nuclear deal with world powers, President Barack Obama ordered 2,500 green cards issued for Iranians to curry favor with Tehran's negotiating team. Zonnour pointed out that only 30 to 40 of the children of top Iranian officials are currently "studying" in United States, while the majority are "wasting Iranian public assets" to live "extravagant lives" there. The claim was widely reflected in the right-leaning media in the United States, and Fox News presented it in a special report. Reacting to the news, Trump wrote in a tweet on July 3, "Just out that the Obama Administration granted citizenship, during the terrible Iran Deal negotiation, to 2,500 Iranians - including to government officials. How big (and bad) is that?" Nevertheless, Jeff Prescott, former senior director of Obama's National Security Council, described the allegation as "absurd and entirely false." Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, for his part, also said on July 7, "Such issues have never been raised in (the nuclear) talks or on their sidelines or in any other way, not even a legitimate request like the abolition of restrictions on Iranian diplomats working at the United Nations." Meanwhile, several Iranian MPs launched a special committee to investigate the case of officials with dual citizenship. According to the report filed by the committee, the children of many Iranian officials, for a variety of reasons, including education and birth, have gained citizenship abroad and, without renouncing their new nationalities, are active in the public and economic sectors in Iran. In its report, the committee listed the children of the foreign affairs and oil ministers and the president's top aides as those who have dual citizenship. Ahmadinejad's recent tweet is expected to stir up the controversial issue in Iran. Ahmadinejad, who has become a thorn in the side of the Iranian establishment by criticizing Tehran's top officials, particularly the head of Iran's judiciary, is notorious for his commentary. Iran's Foreign Minister: US 'doesn't know what it's doing in our backyard' 08/03/18 Source: Press TV Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has criticized the presence of American military forces in the Persian Gulf and has questioned why US forces are "in Iran's backyard" some 7,000 miles away from home. Zarif took to Twitter on Thursday to slam the US navy for using the fictitious name of "the Arabian Gulf" to refer to the Persian Gulf. Iran has designated April 30 as National Persian Gulf Day The Iranian foreign minister referred to the historical background of the name Persian Gulf, saying that the waterway has been called as such "2,000 yrs longer than US has existed." "US Navy can't seem to find its way around our waters," Zarif tweeted. "Perhaps because it hasn't figured out its name: Persian Gulf, as it's been called for 2,000 yrs longer than US has existed. Or maybe it doesn't know what it's doing in our backyard, 7,000 miles from home." US Navy can't seem to find its way around our waters. Perhaps because it hasn't figured out its name: Persian Gulf, as it's been called for 2,000 yrs longer than US has existed. Or maybe it doesn't know what it's doing in our backyard, 7,000 miles from home. pic.twitter.com/g05yqSTisi Javad Zarif (@JZarif) August 3, 2018 Zarif's remarks came shortly after chief spokesman for US Central Command William Urban used the fabricated "Arabian Gulf" during an interview with the CNN. Iran has designated April 30 as National Persian Gulf Day to highlight the fact that the waterway has been referred to by historians and ancient texts as "Persian" since the Achaemenid Empire was established in what is now modern day Iran. While historical documents show that the waterway has always been referred to as the "Persian Gulf," certain Arab states and their allies have recently mounted efforts to remove "Persian" from the name of the strategic waterway. Zarif , who is in Singapore to take part in the 51st Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) ministerial meeting, also lambasted the US for withdrawing from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal and re-imposing "unilateral" sanctions against Tehran. US President Donald Trump announced on May 8 that Washington was walking away from the deal which is officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and was signed between Iran and the P5+1 group of countries - the US, Britain, France, Russia, China and Germany. The US president also said that he planned to reinstate a series of economic sanctions against Iran which he said would be implemented "at the highest level". Zarif highlighted the international mistrust of the US, saying that Washington has become addicted to sanctions. He said while the US was preparing to reimpose sanctions against Iran, many countries were already trying to find ways around the sanctions and adopt innovative ways to pursue their own policies. Pointing to his meetings with foreign officials on the sidelines of the ASEAN meeting, Zarif said that "all countries whose officials I met with stressed maintaining their independence from US policies regarding the JCPOA and preserving it as a diplomatic achievement." Zarif had separate meetings with the Southeast Asian nation's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong as well as with the foreign ministers of Russia, Japan, Turkey, the Philippines, Malaysia and Vietnam. The fusing together of The Royal Bank, BEIGE Bank, Sovereign Bank, The Construction Bank and uniBank as Consolidated Bank Ghana Limited, cannot be referred to as a merger since the banks were already kaput to wit collapsed, and the Bank of Ghana merely put them together, Financial Analyst, Joe Jackson, has said. Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr Ernest Addison explained on Wednesday, 1 August 2018 that the move was part of measures to streamline the financial sector. Reacting to this development on the Executive Breakfast Show (EBS) on Class91.3FM on Thursday, 2 August 2018, Mr Jackson told show host Moro Awudu that: I dont call it a merger; five banks were kaput and then the Central Bank has set up a completely new institution, completely new, protecting the depositors of those banks that have gone kaput, thats what has happened. Any attempt to call it a merger, what merger? Who is merging with whom? The Central Bank has consolidated the deposit liabilities into one institution, if you like call it that, but really, it is no merger, there is nothing, a merger between whom and who? Which institutions and which shareholders or Board have agreed to this? The Central Bank essentially says: Youre insolvent and you wont survive and Im throwing good money after bad... According to the BoG, The BEIGE, Sovereign and the Construction banks obtained their banking licences under false pretences through the use of suspicious and non-existent capital, whereas The Royal Bank had non-performing loans which constitute 78.9 per cent and uniBank had a capital deficit of GHS7.4 billion compared to the regulatory minimum of GHS400 million. The newly-established Consolidated Bank is fully owned by the Government of Ghana, with a start-up capital of GHS450 million. Source: classfmonline.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Information from impeccable sources inside the Office of the President leaked to the Daily Statesman in the past few hours suggests that the Energy Ministrys solo-driven revised deal with the Dubai-based energy equipment provider AMERI will not see the light of day. Information from impeccable sources inside the Office of the President leaked to the Daily Statesman in the past few hours suggests that the Energy Ministrys solo-driven revised deal with the Dubai-based energy equipment provider AMERI will not see the light of day. It is emerging that President Akufo-Addo was misled into granting executive approval for the deal under the guise of there being an urgent need to have a bill laid in Parliament before its rising. Under the proposal, the Greece-based Mytilineos International Trading Company was to assume management responsibility for the AMERI emergency power-generation arrangement negotiated by the past NDC government, in effect extending the original outsourcing agreement by ten years. On his return to Accra on Tuesday from the 53rd session of the ECOWAS Heads of State meeting in Togo, the President quickly requested and received a further briefing on the new deal. This revealed that the agreement to which he had given approval on July 31 lacked the requisite input from the Attorney General and the Ministry of Finance. The President had been misled to believe that both departments had assessed the deal thoroughly. We are also hearing that the Economic Management Team met on Tuesday to discuss the revised deal for the first time and the outcome was that it is not in Ghanas interest. We are further informed that the new AMERI arrangement will be one of the critical items for discussion at cabinet later today. There are clear indications that cabinet will kill the deal. In the run-up to the 2016 elections, the NPP campaigned on a promise to revise the $510 million AMERI deal, championed by President John Mahama in 2015, because the cost was unreasonably high and the arrangement riddled with corruption. As such, it was thought that, barring outright cancellation, any revision of the existing agreement would necessarily lead to a reduction in the contract sum and the cost of power within the five-year tenure. On Thursday July 26 the government had sought to lay a revised agreement from the Energy Ministry before Parliament, but members from both sides of the House opposed it and registered cause for the proposal to be withdrawn for further consideration. The history of AMERI in Ghana, and particularly its association with Ghanas energy needs, has been embroiled in controversy. The company was earning $150m as commission on the original deal just for playing the role of middleman, a provision generally considered as outrageous. From AMERI Energy to AMERI Equipment to METKA, which is said to be a subsidiary of Mytilineos, the deal is being owned and run by the same group of people, who keep re-emerging under different names. The new proposal by the Ministry of Energy is for Mytilineos to assume ownership from METKA. Critics have described this as one company handing over responsibility to itself. In a funeral tribute to the late Ghanaian lawyer and businessman Ekow Awoonor published in 2014, Ibrahim Mahama, the entrepreneur and brother of the former president, said: Our business associates worldwide were notified of Ekows demise and it will surprise you to know that minutes after receiving their mails, persons including Ivan Glasenberg, the CEO of Glencore Xstrata, the largest commodity trader in the world, Dimitrios Platis, director of the Mytilineos Group, the largest integrated aluminum company in the EU, [and] Paul Smith of METKA Limited, an EPC [engineering procurement construction] contracting firm in Greece, immediately called A committee from the Ministry of Energy assigned to look into the old AMERI deal had recommended that the agreement be renegotiated or abrogated if AMERI was not amenable. It is inexplicable how a revised deal should be leading to an increased cost burden on the state. Under the proposed deal, Ghana is to make annual payments of $75m for 15 years: under the existing arrangement, the nation is contracted to pay $102m for five years. The Africa Centre for Energy Policy think tank has observed that the AMERI plant will have an efficiency level not exceeding 20 per cent of its capacity beyond 2019. This raises doubts why Ghana should maintain the arrangement beyond the tenure of the present five-year contract. There has been public outcry against the proposal since details of the deal emerged when the Energy Ministry attempted to have it laid before Parliament. Source: The Daily Statesman Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni last Wednesday, received the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II at the State House, the elegant official residence of the President at Entebbe, 40km outside the capital Kampala. The 74-year-old Ugandan strongman who has been in power for 32 years and is eligible to seek re-election in the next presidential elections in 2021 following a recent Ugandan Constitutional Court ruling that scrapped presidential age limit of 75, displayed a deep knowledge about Ghana especially its politics and said he was elated to receive the Asantehene who he described as "a great king." Otumfuo Osei Tutu was in Uganda as Special Guest at the 25th coronation anniversary of the Buganda King, Kabaka Ronald Muwenda Mutebi II. He was accompanied to the State House by his host the Kabaka and Buganda and Prime Minister, Mr Charles Peter Mayiga. Also in attendance were a number of Chiefs from Asanteman including the Juabenhene and Chairman of the Council of State, Nana Otuo Siriboe II. Mr Museveni who in Uganda carries the pride of restoring the Buganda Kingship in 1993 after it was abolished by President Milton Obote, was in South Africa attending an international summit and therefore could not participate in the 25th anniversary of the Kabaka last Tuesday in Kampala. Preserving tradition and custom The Uganda leader touched on the role Kingdoms play in the preservation of culture and tradition of people and commended African traditional leaders for their role in that respect. As governments are busy focusing on roads and other such infrastructure developments, cultural leaders play the important role of preserving customs and the identities of the people. I welcome the Ashanti King to Uganda and wish him a fruitful stay here, he said. Democracy He stated that so long as democracy held sway in Uganda, the people were entitled to what they legitimately wanted. "That is why we amended the Constitution, Article 246. We fought for the people and if the people want something, we give it to them," he said in reference to the restoration of the Buganda Kingdom. After the meeting with the Asantehene, Museveni posted on his twitter handle: " Ashanti King, Asantehene Otumfuo Nana Osei Tutu II, and Kabaka Muwenda Mutebi paid a courtesy call on me at State House Entebbe. I congratulate Kabaka Mutebi on his 25th coronation anniversary where Asantehene was a special guest." Fond memories President Museveni recalled his visit to Ghana during Rawlings' administration and said it was a refreshing memory. He said political leaders must not spill blood in the quest to win or maintain power. Otumfuo grateful Otumfuo Osei Tutu was grateful to Mr Museveni for restoring the Buganda Kingship and the cooperation he had built with the Kabaka, which he said was a vehicle for unity and development of Uganda. He commended Mr Museveni for his relentless fight against HIV/AIDS in Uganda. Touching on the friendship between him and Kabaka Mutebi, the Asantehene said it was rooted in history as his grand uncle, King Prempeh I and Kabaka Mutebi 's great grandfather, met in the Seychelles where they were exiled to by the British colonial administration. The Asantehene said Africa could turn round it's development challenges if corruption was checked. Otumfuo Osei Tutu extended an invitation to Mr Museveni to visit Ghana, to which he responded positively. Source: Graphic.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. Featured Video The President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has urged journalists and media practitioners across the country take a second look at the power they wield, and the responsibility they owe society, with a view to ensuring that they do not sacrifice integrity and the future of our societies for todays headline or breaking news. According to President Akufo-Addo, media owners in-particular must invest continuously in building the capacity of their staff. The media has immeasurable power to build up the confidence and values of our society and its institutions, and, therefore, ought to be assisted in being on top of its game at all times, he added. President Akufo-Addo made this known on Friday, 3rd August, 2018, when he spoke at the 12th congregation ceremony of the Ghana Institute of Journalism. Stressing the importance of the media to the political, social and economic architecture of the country, the President noted that, like many other good things, the work of the media has its own associated risks and inherent challenges, especially in this age of social media. With the first challenge being the risk of deliberate misinformation campaigns by some elements in the democratic space, President Akufo-Addo indicated that this is a major threat to the integrity of the news world. It is not something to be left only to regulators to deal with. It is something that the whole world of media practitioners, including you members of the graduating class, must resolutely confront, and assist the society to identify and eliminate, he said. The need for training, critical engagement by society with the media, self-regulation, and insistence on media ethics and journalistic standards by media houses, practitioners and their organizations, he added, is the way of addressing the current shortcomings and ills of the media landscape. The second risk, President Akufo-Addo, indicated is that of inadvertent misinformation, that is sometimes published by mainstream media. This happens when there is a little twist of facts often to get the best headline, or a publication of the unverified claim in the haste to be first in breaking the news, he said. President Akufo-Addo continued, The worrying trend is that, in many cases, even after the public has been misinformed, and the true facts are later made known, mainstream media often chickens out of an honest open acknowledgement that we were wrong. The choice is often to sweep it under the carpet, and move on to the next big story. The President encouraged media owners, in particular, to invest continuously in building the capacity of their staff, as the media has immeasurable power to build up the confidence and values of society and its institutions. He reiterated Governments commitment towards empowering the citizen, media and civil society, and assured that the Right to Information Bill, which is in Parliament, will be passed. President Akufo-Addo assured GIJ of Governments commitment towards the development of the infrastructural capacity of the institution, a move, he said, would help in providing space for the increased student population who, in the next couple of years, will be seeking admission to this institution, as a result of the Free Senior High School policy. An initial, modest amount of GH5 million has been allocated to GIJ in the 2018 budget, and the least I can do is to make sure that GETFund releases this money to you as soon as possible to help complete the first of many lecture hall complexes and offices here, he said. To members of the graduating class, President Akufo-Addo urged them to be the generation of Ghanaian media practitioners that refuses to be either victim or pawn, and accepts to travel down the path of genuine popular enlightenment, which represents the strongest guarantee of our national independence and sovereignty. Freedom of expression, encompassing media freedom, is a critical element of that journey, which you must help guard jealously at all times. Source: Peacefmonline.com/Ghana Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Professor Kenneth Danso, Director of Biotechnology and Nuclear Agricultural Research Institute has said Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) will stand the test of time and enhance agricultural development in Ghana should be fully adopted here n Ghana. Professor Danso made the said this during a sensitisation workshop organised by Open Forum for Agricultural Biotechnology (OFAB) Ghana, for stakeholders in Agriculture in the Upper East Region on Genetically Modified Organism (GMOs), Biotechnology and safety issues. The aim was to rekindle awareness using scientific basic genetics to explain the making of GMOs to increase farmers understanding of how sound it was to adopt the technology. Professor Danso explained that the technology was not new, so far as cell formation was concerned, since it was the same as it was in humans. In a presentation on how GMO seeds were made, he outlined challenges traditional crops faced over the years and how climate change, poor rainfall and crop diseases had impacted on crop yields. He said these factors called for modification of crop varieties using modern technologies that had become necessary, and noted that biotechnology was one of the best tools in plant breeding, adding that, the use of the method could be used to engineer crops to withstand pests and diseases as well as harsh climatic conditions. Responding to farmers concerns on the technology, the Director assured farmers that intensive research was conducted in collaboration with research institutions such as the Savannah Agricultural Research Institute (SARI), and the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) among others. Even though he indicated that there was no release of GMOs in Ghana, he stressed that crops from such technologies were taken through rigorous assessment before they are released for. He noted that currently, such releases were only done in confined field trials conducted by SARI and CSIR and other research institutions. With the assurance of works done by these research institutions, he indicated that Ghana was ready and capable going GMOs. However, according to him, the onus depended on perceptions of the general public and also purely driven by the needs of farmers. In an interview with the Ghana News Agency on the sideline of the workshop, the Prof Danso noted that there was no public application for release of GMOs on large scale for planting, and added that, challenges in the adoption of the technology was due to earlier misconceptions about the technology, hence, the difficulty in releasing them out to farmers. Citing advantages of the technology, the Director said most arable lands currently in the country were being used for buildings by private developers and indicated that not much consideration had been given to the increasing population, and added that, poor rainfall patterns and climate change had impacted on food security. He said as a country that sought to attain the Sustainable Development Goals on food security, biotechnology was one of the best tools to manage food insecurity because it guaranteed healthy crops, pest resistant, and higher yields among others that could improve on the economic benefits for farmers. Mr Daniel Osei-Ofosu, Research scientist who took participants through some laws and conventions in Ghana in the development and commercialisation of GMOs said the conventions included the Rio Convention on Biological Diversity adopted in 1992, the passage of Bio safety laws in 2011, among others and assured the participants of the safety in going GMO. Mr John Atia, a farmer from Apam Yine Farms in Balungu said his fears had been allayed about importation of the GMO seeds and added that fears about monopoly and access to seeds were the initial concerns. Mr Atia pledged his support for biotechnology and the fact that seeds would be produced in Ghana for farmers and noted that it would help farmers to produce more. In attendance were members of the peasant farmers Associations, and personnel from the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA). Source: GNA Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Former president John Mahama has sarcastically described President Akufo Addo as a dog as he advised him about how to avoid using idioms in speeches as a president in Ghana. The immediate past flag bearer the National Democratic Congress took to Twitter to advise his successor. He tweeted: Lessons in Ghanaian politics- dont use idioms in relation to yourself. Theyll stick. In 2015, Former President John Mahama said he had become impervious to threats of strikes and demonstrations in Ghana and will not yield to any of such threats. Adopting what he calls a dead-goat syndrome, the President said he would not be hoodwinked by such strategies by workers. I have seen more demonstrations and strikes in my first two years. I dont think it can get worse. It is said that when you kill a goat and you frighten it with a knife, it doesnt fear the knife because it is dead already. I have a dead goat syndrome, he told a Ghanaian population in Botswana where he is on a three-day official state visit. Yesterday, the president, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has said he is aware of attempts by his opponents to mar his fight against corruption by calling him corrupt just to tarnish his image. He said he remains resolute in the fight against corruption, determined to uphold the highest form of integrity that comes with his office and no amount of name calling will deter him. Citing the age-old proverb while addressing a conference of Internal Auditors, the President said I am aware that you give a dog a bad name in order to hang it, but this dog will not be hanged. Source: ghanacrusader Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Public Sector Reforms Mr. Kusi Boafo has revealed that Rwanda is far ahead of Ghana in terms of common sense and national development. Recounting his experience during his visit to Rwanda to witness how the country reformed after the genocide in 1994 which claimed the lives of 800,000 people in the bloody war between the Hutus and the Tutsis, Mr. Kusi Boafo expressed his astonishment at the level of development and highly improved systems that exists in the country with the corroborative efforts of its citizens and could not help but make comparisons between Ghana and the east African country. Speaking on Hot fm, Mr. Boafo said he was shocked as a Ghanaian to see the level of discipline that exists in Rwanda. From incorruptible systems and mechanisms to proper health service, proper sanitary conditions among others My experience in Rwanda was interesting; the level of dedication there is so fantastic and what impresses me is that the youth there are happy, they do not luck anything In Rwanda no one sells on the streets, there is maximum security, there is no favouritism, nepotism, bureaucracy, everyone is treated fairly. Their vehicles have been programmed in such a way that you would need some form of an access card which comprises of national identification, drivers license, roadworthy to access the vehicle before it moves. They have organized their systems in such a way that all contractors and masons are registered under the national identification. No police officer takes a bribe in Rwanda There are street lights everywhere, there is not a single pothole in Kigali [capital of Rwanda]. The roads are perfect. One of their towns has 180 people residing there with their hospital containing 150 beds with four ambulances. There is no indiscriminate littering of rubbish. The city is always clean. There are no ghost names in their payroll when a public servant dies, they automatically block the name of the deceased on their controller and accountant generals database This is a country that has experienced war and lost 800,000 lives. A country that sows and sell coffee as their only foreign export and yet they show such a level of discipline unlike in Ghana where we sit down and expect things to happen like magic, the systems are bad from police, soldier, civil servants to drivers to their mates, Ghanaians are so troublesome to the extent that even little children have learnt how to lie so I can tell you that in terms of attitudinal change, we do not have the citizens that can help develop this country. We lack patriotism, anytime something good is introduced, we find people who see faults and rubbish the idea, like the National identification card and digital address system. Go and check custom officers maneuvering and squandering state funds with impunity, inflating contracts Indeed I have not seen Satan before but in Ghanaians, I have started recognising the existence of Satan. We are happy we destroy our water resources because of galamsey. The only thing that we can do better is to ride in V8 vehicles and chill but in terms of common sense and national development, Rwanda is far ahead of Ghana he averred Meanwhile, he has announced that on 18th of August, his outfit will launch new reforms where they will capture all that he experienced in Rwanda so Ghana could also adopt and replicate same. Source: ghanaweb.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. Featured Video Former President John Mahama is the best bet for the main opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) if it is to win the 2020 elections, Major (rtd) Kwadwo Boakye-Djan, Spokesperson for the defunct Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC), has said. According to him, the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) will not be a walk-over for the NDC in the elections, although, in his view, the government is under-performing. The NDC has set 7 December 2018 for its presidential primaries ahead of the 2020 polls. This was announced by General Secretary Johnson Aseidu Nketia at a press conference in Accra on Thursday, 2 August 2018. Mr Nketia, who said the date is in line with the partys constitution, explained that: We have taken note of our constitutional requirement to choose our flag bearer 24 months before the next elections and the constitution, not having been amended yet, we can safely calculate our timelines from 7th December 2020, so that will bring us back to 7th of December 2018 for a choice to be made on who leads our party into the next general elections. Ordinarily, we would have concluded all the internal elections before opening the space for campaigning and declaration of intentions, but we realise that if we are to wait till we finish our elections by September, the time will be short for some aspirants, so on behalf of the national executive committee and on my own behalf as the Chief Executive of NDC, I wish to declare the campaign period for our presidential primaries officially opened with immediate effect. Mr Nketia, has directed that all hopefuls must first inform the party of their intention to contest before campaigning. He also warned the would-be aspirants to be wary of the comments they pass during the campaign and to be modest. Speaking on Accra FM Friday, 3 August, Major (rtd) Boakye-Djan, said: The NDC will need to bring Mahama to meet the NPP and its bullfighter Akufo-Addo. Akufo-Addo no doubt is a bullfighter in the political space in Ghana. I have known him for a very long time, and, so, I can testify to that. The 2020 elections will not be a childs play, it is not going to be an easy battle for the NDC. Mahama has the clout and the ability to face the NPP, and, so, anybody in the NDC who will prevent him from becoming the flag bearer is an enemy within the NDC. Already John Mahama has been marketed and is a household name at the moment, and, so, why bring another person. Source: classfmonline.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Managing Editor of the Insight newspaper, Kwesi Pratt Jnr says he refuses to accept the excuse that negligence on the part of some leaders of the merged banks led to its current state, rather government and some citizens should also be blamed. I will not accept the blame that some bank institution leaders are the cause of their banks malfunction, rather governments numerous deficits and some citizens unpaid loans to some of the banks are also a major factor, he said. He said local banks in Ghana will continue to suffer if the laws of banking continue not to favour them over foreign banks like other countries do. I found it amazing that foreign banks are left to operate in the same procedures and same total adequacy rate, just as local banks in this country. So how do we grow and improve local banks under these criteria? he asked Speaking on Peace FMs Kokrokoo programme, Kwesi Pratt Jnr. stressed that reading through Bank of Ghanas documents in respect of it merging five banks into the Consolidated Bank Ghana Limited from its beginning to end, there will be no way Bank of Ghana can be exonerated for it has in itself totally failed its laws of operating as a mother bank. How can you grant licenses to a yet-to-become banks that has fault with its documents . . . it is a statement over your capacity as the issuer to do due diligence, he stressed. Speaking to the issue in an interview with Kwami Sefa Kayi on PeaceFM's 'Kokrokoo' Thursday, Mrs Elsie Awadzi, 2nd Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana admitted that even though the banks were at fault, the "supervisory role" at the Bank of Ghana was "not adequate". On Wednesday, the Bank of Ghana (BoG) announced the merging of five banks to form Consolidated Bank Ghana Limited. The beleaguered banks are: UniBank Ghana Limited, The Royal Bank Limited, Beige Bank Limited, Sovereign Bank Limited, and Construction Bank Limited. Source: Elizabeth Semiheva Bedi/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Law enforcement arrested former Executive Director of South Carolina GOP Todd Kincannon this week on allegations he cruelly killed his mothers dog. According to police reports, he claimed he did it on using religious authority as he is the second coming of Jesus Christ. Background Kincannon is best known for his trolling of liberal and progressive activists online throughout the years. We previously covered his racist comments during the 2013 Super Bowl in which he said, This Super Bowl sucks more d**k that adult Trayvon Martin would have for drug money. He tweeted several other blatantly racist comments that day we included in the summary. A month after those comments he made national headlines after telling an Iraq veteran on social media he wished he had come home in a body bag. This has been par for the course for several years for Kincannon, though. Hes called for putting transgender people in cages and camps, said Muslims arent people, and personally attacked President Obama during the protests in Ferguson in 2014 . Hes also the creator of the now-defunct Twitter Gulag Defense Network (TGDN) a loose collective of right-wing social media trolls who target women, people of color, LGBTQ people, Muslims and other marginalized groups online. Suffice to say, its not a surprise that a man responsible for so much online hatred allegedly carried out such a violent act in real life. The Allegations South Carolina publication The State reported yesterday: The former leader of the South Carolina Republican Party was recently arrested after police said he cruelly killed his mothers dog, and told them he did it because he was acting on a command from God and that he was the second coming of Jesus Christ. It was the latest in a downward spiral for Todd Kincannon, who was once the general counsel and executive director of the South Carolina Republican Party, per The State. The Simpsonville Police Department reported that Kincannon killed his mothers 10-year-old beagle/cattle dog mix July 26 at his parents house in Greenville County, where he was also living. Noting the polices description of the crime, The State noted, The 37-year-old Kincannon intentionally, willfully, maliciously, cruelly and needlessly mutilated Bailey by choking and stabbing the medium-sized dog multiple times with two knives, according to an arrest warrant. Thats not all. though. The State added: His mother had locked herself inside a bathroom because she said she was absolutely terrified of Kincannon who killed her dog with his bare hands, according to an incident report. Kincannon told the first officer he killed the dog because, Im the second coming of Christ and I got a command from God to do it, according to an incident report. Another police officer reported that Kincannon said that every 1,000 years there needs to be a sacrifice and blood must be spilt. He had lacerations and punctures on his arm and wrist, which the officer said was from a possible dog bite. Kincannon held them up and said I have a sign. Im about to get crucified in the media, per an incident report. This isnt Kincannons first arrest. In 2015, The State reported he was charged with criminal domestic violence. According to a report from that incident, Kincannon threatened to kill himself, his then wife, and her family, WYFF-4 reported. Later in 2015, Kincannons law license was suspended. In January 2018, The State reported hes listed as incapacity inactive on legal rolls, adding that three former clients who made claims against Kincannon were paid $102,364 in compensation by the S.C. Bar Associations Lawyers Fund for Client Protection. He as taken to Greenville Memorial Hospital for psychological evaluation following the incident. Should he be released, police have a warrant for his arrest for killing the dog. The state attorney general told local press no bond will be set for Kincannon. Peacock Panache readers: Tim Peacock is the Managing Editor and founder of Peacock Panache and has worked as a civil rights advocate for over twenty years. During that time hes worn several hats including leading on campus LGBTQ advocacy in the University of Missouri campus system, interning with the Colorado Civil Rights Division, and volunteering at advocacy organizations. You can learn more about him at his personal website. Like this: Like Loading... Related We hope you enjoyed reading this article! If you would like to support our ongoing work, please consider buying us a cup of coffee. It's not much, but we don't do this for the money. We do, however, need caffeine to keep going some days!If you do donate, send us a message through our Contact Us page or via social media so we can thank you! A fast-growing part of Pennsylvania's IT budget known as ITSA has a compelling feature: It enables state agencies to bring on outside computer firms as needed, without competitive bidding. The Information Technology Staff Augmentation program, which has grown fivefold in seven years to $119 million last year, gives the state flexibility to hire talent, for example in building apps for residents. It also enables agencies to ask for favored firms, including those run by political donors and former state IT managers. Controversy has surrounded the program's administrator, Optimal Solutions and Technologies of Washington, which the state hired to check credentials and oversee the performance of 463 subcontractors for 48 state agencies. A federal whistleblower suit alleges that Optimal's owners and business partners set up sham businesses they controlled and landed contracts with the federal Department of Veterans Affairs and the Small Business Administration after persuading the government to certify their enterprises as small, veteran- and disabled-owned. In fact, Optimal's owners "were neither veterans nor disabled" and Optimal itself was too large to qualify for small-business preferences, according to the lawsuit. The federal suit alleges not only that the businesses they created didn't accurately report the identities and qualifications of the workers it supplied federal agencies some of the same work it is doing for Pennsylvania but that Optimal and its owners also violated the law when they lied about contractor qualifications. Whistleblower suits are more likely to succeed when government joins the litigation, experts say. In this case, the U.S. government "has reserved the right" but has not intervened at this time, said Thomas A. Coulter of O'Hagan Meyer PLLC, Optimal's lawyer. Optimal and its owners consider the accusations "meritless" and "look forward to defending the case in court," Coulter said. The whistleblower, Andrew Scollnick, is represented by Michael D. Kohn of Kohn, Kohn & Colapinto LLP. Did the federal suit give Pennsylvania officials pause when they decided to renew Optimal's contract last summer, from 2017 into 2020? "The commonwealth primarily checked to ensure [whether] there are any Contractor Responsibility Program issues such as payment, performance, etc.," state Office of Administration spokesperson Dan Egan said by email. "We would not consider a civil case, which at this time is an allegation, as part of the renewal criteria." The program has found problems in the quality of candidates. In February 2017, ITSA program managers told contractors they had received resumes including falsified information for some of their employees. But it's not clear whether the state acted against these firms, or even how it has evaluated Optimal's overall performance. "Similarly to an employee performance review, we hold communications regarding vendor performance strictly between commonwealth and the vendor," Egan said. Optimal officials and attorneys in Washington did not respond to emails, phone calls, or a calling card left at the firm's office in suburban Harrisburg. Pennsylvania state government spends $1 billion a year buying information technology. Residents can now go online to report a polluter or a pothole, file for health benefits, or start a driver's license application, among many services. But new demands on state systems keep proliferating. Pennsylvania's expensive 911 communications system failed to connect police departments. The state is suing IBM for a $110 million software installation for unemployment compensation that never worked. A turnpike software job that failed 10 years ago led to criminal bribery charges, and litigation that ended only this year after the installer's bankruptcy. And the state's election security, like those of neighboring states, has been called into question by federal investigators who found that Russian hackers had probed its cyberdefenses. Instead of increasing spending to meet smartphone, cloud-computing and cybersecurity challenges, Harrisburg lawmakers have cut the state's IT procurement budget slightly in each of the last four years, as Republican leaders sought to hold down spending and prevent tax increases. But one category of state IT spending keeps growing: Information technology staff augmentation service agreements the ITSA program have increased each year since 2010, rising from $24 million, or less than 3 percent of the commonwealth's IT procurement budget, to $119 million, or 12 percent, last year. State IT managers appreciate ITSA, especially for such smaller jobs as writing smartphone apps, because it's faster and gives them more control than the competitive-bidding system, with its myriad requests for qualifications, requests for proposals, and point-scoring systems, state officials said. ITSA has been used to help state agencies and contractors build systems that issue and change mining permits, trace prison inmates, register voters and confirm IDs of medical-marijuana patients, child-care workers, and PennDOT vendors, among other projects. But some observers believe the program may be growing beyond its intended uses. One of the 48 Pennsylvania agency heads who use ITSA said: "These were supposed to be short-term hires to fill gaps. But in some of the major departments like the Department of Human Services, 'short-term hires' have been in positions for as long as five years." The agency head questioned why the state wasn't hiring permanent employees for this work, or putting it out to bid. The agencies that use the program are supposed to use ITSA in "a demand-driven situation, when there's a need for short-term skills," in "skill categories not available in the commonwealth, or in the quantity reported, typically for a short period of time," responded John MacMillan, the career IBM executive appointed by Gov. Wolf as Pennsylvania's chief information officer. The average ITSA engagement lasts 13.2 months, said state spokesperson Egan. Firms often work back-to-back on overlapping engagements for the same agencies, stretching several years. "Short term" isn't defined in the 593-page contract that set up the current systems. The company that has won the most ITSA business since 2008, Computer Aid of Bethlehem, managed ITSA until Optimal took over in 2015. Computer Aid has been one of the state's busiest IT contractors, winning contracts worth more than $650 million since 2008, most of them outside ITSA, for agencies including the state's workers' compensation system. Computer Aid was founded by Anthony Salvaggio, who with family members and city employees has given candidates for Pennsylvania political office more than $100,000 since 2006, according to the Pennsylvania Department of State campaign finance database. Salvaggio and other executives did not return calls to Computer Aid's main office in Allentown, or respond to a calling card left at the company's two-story satellite office in suburban Harrisburg. Computer Aid continues to work as an ITSA subcontractor, along with contracts it holds directly with state agencies. But in 2015, Computer Aid lost the contract to manage ITSA based on price. It had been keeping a 6.22-cent cut of every dollar spent on ITSA subcontracts, but Optimal offered to cut its take to just 4.75 cents, giving it a lock on the contract. In June, when the state renewed the Optimal contract until 2020, it reduced Optimal's take further, to 3.8 percent. The state paid Optimal nearly $6 million in 2017, records show. The firm had seven full-time positions on the roster of its Harrisburg office that manages the contract, said Troy Thompson, spokesman for the state Department of General Services. For the first half of 2018, even with the lower rate starting in early June, the state paid Optimal $3.4 million, showing that the program grew ahead of last year's pace. Here's how one state IT job ended up in a three-year ITSA deal: In 2015, the state Department of Health awarded an $8.6 million contract through traditional competitive bidding to update software for the state's version of the national Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) nutrition benefit program. The winner was Computer Aid Inc., the same firm that until that year had run the ITSA program. But Computer Aid did not complete the WIC contract. In 2016, after the state paid Computer Aid $2.99 million, the firm was terminated from the job. "We were not satisfied with the work product," said April Hutcheson, a health department spokesperson. The department's termination letter doesn't mention the reason. Nor was there any refund of the money the state spent, because the state was able to use the work that Computer Aid completed, said Nate Wardle, another state health department spokesperson. Using ITSA enabled the state to "scale back the scope of the project," and still meet federal requirements, Wardle added, though the department could provide no estimate of savings. Before using ITSA, the health department had considered another option, Wardle said. While the Computer Aid contract was still in force, "the department explored an opportunity to join a multistate consortium through a cooperative purchase agreement with the state of Utah. Unfortunately, Pennsylvania was unable to join the consortium and decided to finish the project with IT Staff Augmentation," he said. So the WIC job was turned over to the ITSA program and its manager, Optimal Solutions. To finish the WIC job, Optimal hired two ITSA contractors: Computer Aid, the same firm that the state had terminated; plus a second firm, Ciber Technologies, whose senior Pennsylvania executive had been indicted in connection with his role in a botched $80 million Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission software installation. Besides criminal charges against Ciber and turnpike officials, the turnpike job led to prolonged litigation that ended only this year after Ciber went bankrupt. A Ciber successor company is still working on the WIC job as part of ITSA. When will the WIC job be done, and how much will it cost? "The overall project has a 2020 deadline," Wardle said. The final cost is not yet clear, since the state may "add other components to the project at a later date." (Friday, Aug. 3, 5 p.m.: This story has been updated to add comments from an attorney representing Optimal Solutions and Technologies.) AmerisourceBergen, one of the country's largest wholesale drug distributors, disclosed on Thursday that it received a grand jury subpoena from federal prosecutors about opioids in May a sign of ongoing fallout for the Chesterbook-based company that's become entangled in the opioid crisis. The subpoena came from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida, and requests documents "primarily relating to certain opioid products and communications with a pharmaceutical manufacturer," according to AmerisourceBergen's financial filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The company said it's in the process of responding to the subpoena. The filing also detailed a growing list of subpoenas AmerisourceBergen has received in the last nine months from federal authorities about how the company controls and monitors for drug diversion. That list now encompasses subpoenas from federal prosecutors in West Virginia and Michigan, and from the DEA's Orlando office, in addition to subpoenas from federal prosecutors in New York and Colorado that the company disclosed earlier this year. The company said those subpoenas are similar to one it received from U.S. Attorney's Office in New Jersey last year. AmerisourceBergen disclosed, as well, that it spent $39 million last quarter on litigation costs, mostly from "opioid lawsuits, investigations, and related initiatives." That amounts to about 10 percent of the $389.2 million in operating income the company earned in the same time period. For the previous three quarters combined, the company reported spending $49.5 million on litigation. As a distributor, AmerisourceBergen buys drugs from manufacturers and sells them to pharmacies. And it has obligations to report "suspicious orders" of controlled substances, such as opioids, to the DEA which the company says it does, using complex computer algorithms to identify and freeze shipments. But hundreds of cities and counties across the U.S. including Bucks, Delaware, and others in Pennsylvania have taken aim at both distributors and manufacturers in lawsuits over damages from the opioid epidemic. A group of 41 state attorneys general, including Pennsylvania's Josh Shapiro, launched an investigation into opioid manufacturers and distributors last year. AmerisourceBergen said in the filings that it's facing litigation from a "significant number" of counties, municipalities, and other arms of the government across a majority of states, and that it's "vigorously defending itself in the pending lawsuits." The distributor says products made with opioids make up less than two percent of its sales. "We are dedicated to doing our part as a distributor to mitigate the diversion of these drugs without interfering with clinical decisions made by doctors, who interact directly with patients and decide what treatments are most appropriate for their care," the company told the Inquirer and Daily News in a statement. "Beyond our reporting and immediate halting of potentially suspicious orders, we refuse service to customers we deem as a diversion risk and provide daily reports to the DEA that detail the quantity, type, and the receiving pharmacy of every single order of these products that we distribute." Postwar ranch home (right) in Haddonfield's Fargo section near Grove Street is dwarfed by a much larger new house. Tear-downs across the neighborhood and elsewhere in the borough are seen by some as a sign of vitality. But others fear the community's cozy character could be lost. Read more Grand new residences are replacing 1950s ranch houses on seemingly every street in Haddonfield's Fargo section, but that doesn't bother Jerry Macnamara. "It's the times we live in," said the retired salesman, 77, who bought a three-bedroom Farwood Road rancher half a century ago and now has a 2-story new house next door. Although Macnamara says he's "flabbergasted" by the prices such homes are commanding in his neighborhood and elsewhere in the borough, others describe the latest wave of Haddonfield teardowns and build-ups somewhat differently. "Parts of town really are under assault," said longtime resident Brian Kelly, who runs the popular Haddonfield United page on Facebook. "I grew up here, and I wouldn't say it's being enhanced by teardowns and subdivisions." Elizabeth "Betty" Creidler, a Haddonfield resident for most of her 91 years, said: "I've seen perfectly good houses torn down, and McMansions built in their place. I think it's ruining the character of the town and making it difficult for anyone other than wealthy people to live here." The densely populated borough 11,500 people in less than three square miles has little vacant land available. Property values are rising and property taxes are high, even by Camden County standards. But a charming downtown, well-regarded public schools, and handy PATCO station continue to make Haddonfield aspirational for buyers and builders alike. "Many people coming here don't want the old houses. They say renovating an old house takes too much work and that it's easier to tear it down and build a new one," said Mayor Neal Rochford, who grew up in Haddonfield and said some new homes have blended "seamlessly" with older ones. One might say the borough has a problem other communities would love to have: a roaring residential real estate market where supply can't keep up with demand for open floor plans, expansive kitchens, lofty ceilings, and other design features many buyers, including young families, seek. "It's a reflection of how people live today," said Salvatore Siciliano, a lawyer who lives in Haddonfield and represented residents opposed to a Warwick Road subdivision. "It's a cyclical thing," he said. "Haddonfield is evolving. It's a testament to the community that people want to live here, and are willing to buy a rancher and invest their dollars" to build a replacement home. Since 2014, borough records show, 57 single-family houses have been demolished. Typically, much larger and taller new homes have taken their place and more of the allowable space on the lot. "Homes characteristic of Haddonfield have been replaced by extremely large homes that kind of dwarf others in the neighborhood," longtime borough planning board member John Stokes said. A Fargo resident, he's also a member of a planning board subcommittee that has been studying issues related to teardowns and subdivisions for at least two years. The board has adopted its recommendations and is prepared to formally present them to the borough commission, perhaps as early as Tuesday. Modifying the maximum allowable height of single-family homes in certain zones, reducing the prominence of garages, and clarifying definitions of "elevated" basements and "half" stories are among the key recommendations. The planning board also will ask the commission to consider whether subdivisions of large, single-home properties for multiple new dwellings should be limited, particularly on "gateway" streets such as Warwick Road and Kings Highway. "Most people in town are pretty supportive of preserving the large lots" in key locations, said commissioner Jeff Kasko, noting that teardowns are difficult to prohibit outright. "Our intention is to be respectful of homeowners' rights and to balance them with [requirements] to in some way eliminate McMansions," said planning board member Jon Simonson. "I do think there's been overdevelopment," he said. "Teardowns are to be expected, and are going to continue to happen. So let's at least find ways to have some modicum of control, so we can have some impact on making new construction more compatible with existing neighborhoods." Said Stokes: "It's not about [legislating] taste. It's about preserving character. Haddonfield has a distinctive character: Traditional, tree-lined neighborhoods with compatible streetscapes." Perceptions of Haddonfield used to be such that discussion of preserving the borough's character would summon up images of bluebloods fussing over what constitutes an authentic Colonial-era shutter hinge. Many in town vividly and some, fondly recall the fierce preservationist Joan Aiken (may she rest in peace), whose epic 1990s battle against a violet-hued Kings Highway house is the stuff of local legend. Deservedly so. But as Siciliano and others pointed out, Haddonfield has changed in recent decades. Not only its past but also its present is worth preserving and protecting. And what better way to do that than to ensure that the borough remains attractive to young families and others who want to be able to have their kids walk to school? "I don't mind [the new houses] at all," said Elaine Zafiriadis, who moved to Longwood Road in the Fargo section 18 years ago. "We were the youngest on the street when we got here," she said. "Now almost everybody is younger than us." Macnamara, who remembers when Fargo was nothing but orchards with a spring in the center, said: "We moved here as a young couple, and there were a lot of older people. "Now we're the old people. Younger people are moving in. And after them, someone else is going to come in, and they'll make changes, too." In her Gilbertsville, Pa., home, Susan Scott holds some of the "proof of life" documents she needed to prove to Social Security she is actually alive, after the agency listed her as dead. In the background is her granddaughter, Taryn Scott. Read more Until Tuesday, Susan Scott was dead. The 70-year-old retired registered nurse found out she was dead when a credit union transaction she tried to make was blocked. The bank manager told Scott that Social Security had notified the bank she died in June. Scott was understandably stunned. As she told me her story, my mind went to the famous Mark Twain quip, "The report of my death was an exaggeration." The false death report didn't hurt Twain, but Scott was cut off from banking, her Social Security and pension checks, and, worst of all, Medicare. She was forced to postpone a glaucoma procedure because Medicare doesn't approve surgery for dead people. She was forced to provide proof of life to various bureaucracies, including the one that laid her in her grave Social Security, she tells me. Scott is very chatty for a corpse. When a person dies, Social Security spokeswoman Vivian Nichols tells me, the death usually is reported to Social Security by the funeral director. Social Security then provides the data to the Department of Commerce's National Technical Information service, a clearinghouse that distributes it. If a mistake is made in recording the deceased's name or Social Security number, uh-oh, the wrong person is listed as deceased. That seems to be what happened in Scott's case, but Nichols could not be sure. Anyone can make a mistake but why can't the mistake be rectified quickly? "It's the most frustrating experience of my life," says Scott, who was widowed in 2003 and has two grown sons. She spent days on the phone telling everyone mortgage, credit cards, car loan, pension she was not dead. "Each one required different proof to be mailed or faxed," she says with exasperation. It takes time to do the correction, Nichols says, because it is done manually. Yeah, but it's been more than two weeks. Although she is worried about her checks, Scott's major concern is getting square with Medicare so she can reschedule her glaucoma surgery. Each day's delay puts her eyesight at risk, she says. The first time she called Social Security, she was told to go into the local office "every day and ask for an update until they fix it," she says. Scott didn't go every day because she lives in Gilbertsville, Montgomery County, and the nearest Social Security office is in Limerick, almost a half-hour away by car. "Gas is expensive," she says. I accompany Scott on her fifth visit to the Limerick office along with her granddaughter Taryn Scott, 24, who acts as her witness. Unlike previous visits, which required a wait of more than two hours, we are called to the clerk in less than a half-hour. "I know why you're here," says the clerk, who recognizes Scott. The correction is "in the system," says the clerk, but she can't say how long it will be before it is posted. She hands Scott her phone number so she can call in instead of coming in. That went well, but Scott was still dead and her surgery still couldn't be booked. When I got back to my office I contacted Nichols at Social Security, who responded promptly. Nichols called Scott, gathered the info, and swung into action. I don't know what she did fairy dust, maybe? but on Tuesday, Scott had her Lazarus moment: She was raised from the dead. Relieved, Scott reached for her phone to reschedule her glaucoma surgery. "It's great to be alive," she said with a laugh. This summer, two shows, "Infinite Spaces" and "SWARM." (the period is part of its title), are occupying most of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts' magnificent 1876 building. Conceptually, the two, which keep crossing paths in the upper-floor galleries, could not be more different. "Infinite Spaces" is a deep dive into PAFA's permanent collection, mixing some familiar works with some that have not been out of storage in years. Others are recent acquisitions, the most prominent of which is Valley of Santa Isabel, New Granada, a large 1875 canvas by Frederic Church. "SWARM." by contrast, is aggressively of the moment. It presents the work of two artists: Didier William, a Haitian-born artist who teaches at PAFA, and Nestor Armando Gil, who grew up in Florida, the child of Cuban immigrants. Its title plays on the racist metaphor of immigrants as a kind of infestation teeming masses of unwelcome creatures. According to its introductory panel, the show "beckons viewers, through the punctuation of a period, to physically and intellectually 'swarm' historical and contemporary manifestations of colonialism in order to disarm systems of political, economic and cultural control." The two shows seem to represent contrasting visions of what people should expect from museums. Do we want them to be repositories of what generations of artists, collectors, and curators have valued over multiple generations? Or are we looking for a flash of novelty, an unexpected perspective on what's happening now? The obvious answer is that we are looking for both, and that's why museums try to strike a balance, as with these two conjoined shows. Maybe, though, the answer is neither. What we're looking for is art an unexpected moment of perception or pleasure that can be sparked by a work from any age. Curatorial bullying and beyond As an idea, "SWARM." bothers me. The unnecessary period in its title does not beckon me to storm the barricades. Indeed, the way in which the exhibition uses the word to mean many things it doesn't such as question, challenge, or reject seems to devalue language as a way of understanding things. Its text panels are an exercise in curatorial bullying. But once I stopped reading and started looking, the show became much better. Gil is preoccupied with the act of moving from one place to another. Several of his works depict or are made from inner tubes of tires, of the kind some Cuban refugees used to swim to Florida. His work is intentionally rough and ugly. William's work is finely and painstakingly wrought. While Gil's identity seems tied up with being a stranger in this country, William's art explores his Haitian culture, though at a distance. He carves into a wooden panel intricate and mysterious patterns made up of little eyes, then finishes them with paint and adds collage materials. They allude to the rites of voodoo, to his family, and to history. Their intricate surfaces draw the viewer deep into the pictures. You may not entirely understand the images or what they represent, but you want to keep looking at them. They are, dare I say it, very beautiful. Stairway to the heavenly In designing the Academy's great entrance hall and stairway, the architect Frank Furness created the city's greatest interior in order to make visitors feel exhilarated by the possibility of climbing two long flights of stairs. With its short, piston-like columns, the building seems a beautiful sparking engine, full of potential energy. In "Infinite Spaces," the payoff for the journey up and through the building is a corridor and transept hung with big American landscapes. PAFA has been making an effort to collect works related to the Hudson River school of the mid-19th century. The Hudson River from Fort Montgomery (1870), a huge painting by David Johnson acquired two years ago, hangs opposite the Church. Related paintings include Samuel Colman's memorable 1870 painting of a wagon train fording a creek in the midst of a vast wilderness. PAFA hasn't really been able to mount such a knockout display of American landscapes before. All of them are from around the same time, and also contemporary with the Academy building. It seems a moment of consummation. PAFA was able to buy the Church painting after it failed to sell at auction earlier this year. It was long part of the collection of the Berkshire Museum, in Pittsfield, Mass., whose board decided to change the institution's focus and get rid of most of its art, setting off a long-running controversy. >> READ MORE: PAFA acquires major Hudson River School painting, invites all of Berkshire, Mass., to visit it free forever It is based on drawings Church had made during a trip to the Andes three decades before. In the 1840s, it was much easier for an East Coast artist to sail to South America rather than make the overland journey to the Rockies. The sense of hot, hazy weather and the palm trees show we're not on the Hudson which might have depressed the painting's value but the canvas is a worthy example of Church's crowd-pleasing romanticism. "Infinite Spaces" contains more than 100 paintings, drawings, prints, and sculptures, in every genre, from the 18th century to the present. One of its best sections is the most intimate a section on domesticity tucked into the low-ceilinged mezzanine gallery usually devoted to works on paper. They range from Peter Frederick Rothermel's The Virtuoso (1852), which shows an art collector amid serious clutter, to Judy Gelles's Bathroom May 23, 1978, a photograph of the artist on the toilet trying to attend to her toddlers. Sick a-Bed (1916) by Elizabeth Okie Paxton takes a more sentimental view of motherhood, a quality that might once have kept it in storage, despite its Vermeer-inspired use of light. Actually, it is a recent acquisition, a reflection of PAFA's goal of acquiring more works by women. It is an accomplished painting, but with a cloying quality unlikely to be embraced by those who swarm museums searching for what's next. >> READ MORE: PAFA acquires 32 new works, from the feminist erotic to a haunting 'floating puppet' . Chris Rock, who will star in the next installment of FX's "Fargo," set to begin filming in 2019, is seen in this Feb. 28, 2015, file photo, performing at Comedy Central's "Night of Too Many Stars: America Comes Together for Autism Programs" in New York Read more BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. Actor and comedian Chris Rock will star in the fourth installment of FX's Emmy- and Peabody-winning anthology series Fargo. The announcement, by FX Networks CEO John Landgraf, was made Friday during the Television Critics Association's summer meetings. The show, created by Noah Hawley, who also oversees FX's Legion, is inspired by, more than based upon, the Coen brothers' 1996 film Fargo, with each season taking place in a different year and featuring mostly different characters. The fourth season, set in 1950 Kansas City and scheduled to begin filming next year sounds like a bit of a departure, even for Fargo. Rock, who's won four Emmys, will play the head of a crime family there. "Noah really wanted to work with Chris," Landgraf said, and after hearing Hawley describe plans for the character and season, Rock signed on "right away." The Fargo of the title has always been more of a state of mind than a place in North Dakota, but Missouri might seem farther away than usual. Landgraf noted, though, that an earlier installment included the discovery of a book, The History of True Crimes in the Upper Midwest, and the suggestion that that history "tall tales" is the source of the stories. "What Missouri is is Midwestern. I don't know if you'd call it Upper Midwestern," he said. He wouldn't rule out snow, which has been a frequent backdrop in the past, but said he didn't know yet whether the new season would film in Calgary, as it has in the past. Here's how FX is describing the next season of Fargo: In 2011, when the U.S. Food and Drug Administration first warned of a link between breast implants and a mysterious new cancer, it said the risk was vanishingly rare, far less than one in 500,000. Allergan, an implant maker, declared, "A woman is more likely to be struck by lightning than get this condition." Now, seven years later, the scientific consensus is that implants with textured surfaces not ones with smooth surfaces cause the disease, called breast implant-associated anaplastic large-cell lymphoma. And although it certainly isn't common, it is far less rare than originally believed. For women who choose certain types of highly textured implants, the risk after a decade of wearing the devices could be as great as 1 in 2,200, estimates Mark Clemens, a plastic surgeon at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Texas, which has become a leader in treatment and research of implant lymphoma. "We're still trying to understand if there is a differential risk with the type of texturing and length of exposure," he said. Given the debatable advantages of roughened surfaces and its undeniable link to the lymphoma, a small but vocal group of plastic surgeons says such devices should be abandoned, if not yanked from the market. >> READ MORE: Breast implant maker's warranty: $7,500 if device causes rare cancer "No one can prove any benefits to texturing," declared David A. Hidalgo, a prominent New York City plastic surgeon and professor at Weill Cornell Medical College. "If you remove the products, the risk goes to zero. To me, it's a no-brainer. Personally, I think they shouldn't be on the market." Eric Swanson, a plastic surgeon in suburban Kansas City, Kan., agrees. "Even a remote risk is ethically indefensible if that risk is entirely unnecessary," he wrote recently in JAMA Oncology. Asked to respond, the FDA and the three companies with FDA-approved implants Allergan, Mentor, and Sientra said in statements that they are supporting implant lymphoma research, education, and initiatives to better understand the disease and increase awareness. "But for now," Sientra added, "we are concerned that suggesting only smooth implants should be used is not based on good science and creates unnecessary alarm for a rare and usually treatable disease." Since the first report of implant lymphoma in 1997, there have been 570 cases and 16 deaths reported worldwide, including 230 cases and five deaths in the United States, according to a July 30 update from the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. The first symptom of the lymphoma an immune cell malignancy that is distinct from breast cancer is usually swelling around the implant. It typically appears after about nine years of wearing textured devices, no matter whether they are filled with saline or silicone gel. If promptly and properly treated by removing the implants and the surrounding capsule of scar tissue, the cancer can usually be cured. However, because health insurance doesn't cover cosmetic implants or complications, some women have delayed seeing a doctor or had trouble getting coverage of treatment. And the disease still isn't on the radar of many physicians. "Women are desperate for increased clinician awareness in radiology, pathology, emergency medicine, ob-gyn, and general practice," said Terri McGregor, 53, of North Bay, Ontario. McGregor co-founded a Facebook page devoted to helping affected women after she almost died of metastatic implant lymphoma. It caused no symptoms before it was accidentally discovered following her first screening mammogram in 2015. Many mysteries still surround the illness, including how and why it develops. Experts believe chronic inflammation is a culprit. But genetic factors must play a role because some Asian and South American countries where textured implants are used almost exclusively have reported few or no cases. In the U.S., textured products which cost more than smooth versions make up only 12 percent of the market. Last year, there were 300,000 breast enlargements and 87,000 reconstructions after mastectomy, according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. Clemens' estimate that the lymphoma risk could be as high as one in 2,200 after a decade is extrapolated from two studies of Allergan's Natrelle 410 textured implants. Out of 17,656 women, eight have developed the cancer to date a rate of about one in 2,200. Swanson, in Kansas, and Donald R. Mackay, a plastic surgeon at Penn State Hershey College of Medicine, have argued in the Aesthetic Surgery Journal that ethics, not statistics, are paramount: The statistics "do not consider the pain, suffering, and the emotional and financial impact to affected patients and their families." Introduced in the early 1990s, texturing involves using chemicals to etch the surface of the silicone pouch. The roughness helps anchor the device in place as tissue grows into the tiny crevices but it may also trigger chronic inflammation. Texturing was touted as a way to reduce breast hardening, called capsular contracture, a major reason for reoperation. Texturing was also supposed to prevent the rotation of teardrop-shaped "anatomical" implants, which some surgeons and women consider cosmetically superior to round implants. Many plastic surgeons who have stopped using textured products are unwilling to dictate what their colleagues should do. Clemens, for example, helped write an American Society of Plastic Surgeons' document that says, "The plastic surgeon must provide a frank and transparent discussion of the benefits and risks of implants, both smooth and textured." But Clemens no longer offers textured because, he said, "In my practice, there are no benefits." Hidalgo said that when implants are placed under the chest muscle wall, as is standard, "there is no good evidence that textured implants prevent capsular contracture." Studies also show some teardrop implants rotate into wrong positions despite texturing. As for the cosmetic superiority of anatomical shapes, Hidalgo believes it's a matter of opinion, and "a lot of surgeons are influenced by their (financial) connections to the industry." Hidalgo even tested the superiority premise with a controlled study: 75 women agreed to get mismatched implants one round, one teardrop during surgery so photos could be taken. Then the teardrop implants were replaced by round ones and the surgeries were completed. Plastic surgeons and lay people who evaluated the photos either saw no difference between the teardrop and round implants, or else they preferred the round implant just as often as the teardrop shape. In the last few years, law firms in Philadelphia and across the country have filed suits on behalf of women who developed implant lymphoma. No cases have been decided yet, but Hidalgo says he believes "the handwriting is on the wall." "Although industry, our specialty, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration are slow to proactively condemn textured devices, the legal system is not," he wrote in the journal of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. A memorial of candles, stuffed animals, and balloons were seen Friday, Aug. 3, 2018, outside a Port Richmond rowhouse, where a toddler was fatally mauled by pit bulls on Wednesday, Aug. 1, 2018. Read more The city Medical Examiner's Office has identified the toddler who was fatally mauled by pit bulls in a Port Richmond rowhouse Wednesday as Javon Torres. Office spokesperson James Garrow said an autopsy Friday morning determined that the death was "accidental" and resulted from "multiple blunt and penetrating injuries." Police have said the boy was 2, but a man who said he was a family member told reporters Thursday that the victim was 3. Officials said they did not know the boy's date of birth. Family members could not be reached Friday. Outside the rowhouse Friday, a memorial of lit candles, stuffed animals, and balloons decorated the sidewalk. Neighbors also had signed and hung a white T-shirt in Javon's memory. It said: "Rest easy, Baby Jay." One neighbor said that three women, who appeared to be relatives of the child, went to the home late Thursday near midnight and placed three candles outside. The women were crying, said the neighbor, who did not want her name published. Written with a marker on one of the candles were the words: "I love you soo soo much baby. Mommy so sorry. I love you. My Jae Jae I miss you soo much." On another candle were the words: "Jae baby I love you. You was so funny and protective over your mommy. I'm so sorry this happened to you. But your [sic] in heaven now sleeping peacefully. Fly high Fly guy. Love, Titi Ashley." Police Commissioner Richard Ross said Thursday that the boy appeared to have been attacked by three pit bulls in the living room of the rowhouse on the 3000 block of Agate Street. Two other pit bulls were caged. Neighbors have said they didn't know who lived in the home. They recalled witnessing a frightening scene about 5:15 p.m. Wednesday when a woman emerged from the house screaming for help, as another woman was being attacked by the dogs in the living room while trying to protect the child. A police source Friday identified the woman who was trying to protect the child as Rebecca Olan, 27. He said she lived in the home and was the owner of the pit bulls. She was the boy's godmother but not a relative, the source said, adding that the boy and his mother lived elsewhere in the city. Upstairs at the time of the attack were Olan's 16-year-old cousin and a 25-year-old woman, whose relationship to Olan was not immediately known, the police source said. They apparently did not live there. Police have questioned the two and Rebecca Olan. Ben Waxman, a spokesperson for the District Attorney's Office, said Friday that no decision would be made on charges until the investigation is completed. Efforts to reach Olan were not successful. No one answered the door Friday morning at the yellow-painted brick rowhouse where the attack occurred. Police officers who responded to the attack Wednesday fatally shot two of the attacking pit bulls. Ross said the department's Officer-Involved Shooting Investigation Unit was investigating. The Animal Care and Control Team of Philadelphia removed all five dogs. The boy was pronounced dead at St. Christopher's Hospital for Children on Wednesday. Olan was taken to Temple University Hospital for injuries she suffered and has since been released, the source said. Labels can stifle a child's development, creating a situation where they can't mature or excel beyond the label given them by someone else. Read more Teachers are underpaid and overworked, and on top of these challenges, they're expected to temper their feelings and opinions in order to teach children without inserting their own bias. Tough job! As a mother of a rising kindergartner, I know that my son can be a handful, and managing him with 19 or more other kids who are just as rambunctious isn't for the faint of heart. Seriously, God bless teachers. My son was deemed "most likely to be class clown" at his pre-K graduation. Other classmates were named "most likely to be" a CEO, an athlete, a fashion designer, and so forth all more or less aspirational labels. And then there was my son, called to the front of the stage as the "class clown" in front of me, Dad, and both of his grandmothers. You could hear the groans from other parents in the audience. It was embarrassing. Tacky. And in the end, we realized just how insulting it was to us and to our son. We felt this particularly because my husband and I had maintained open communication with our son's teachers all year concerning his focus, all in an effort to help him learn the difference between playtime with friends and work time when he needed to pay attention to the teacher's lesson plan. So how exactly did teachers put their heads together to come up with "most likely to be class clown" as an appropriate award for our son during his pre-K graduation, a moment that was supposed to be sweet and sentimental, was, and still is, stunning. That old saying "sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me" is just that old, and false. Words do hurt, and those words in the form of labels hurt our children more than we realize, specifically when those labels make fun of real challenges or disabilities (one recent example includes a Connecticut middle schooler with ADHD being labeled "most likely to be distracted"). What's worse than having a child be labeled with a stereotypical or negative label is the undoing of that label trying to overcome the trauma, doubt, and pain associated with being called something derogatory, especially in the presence of others. I'm thankful that my son is only 5 years old and didn't truly grasp the negative connotation that "class clown" has. But for my family, our doubts intensified about whether our son had been treated equally to his peers, or if he had been cast aside as an unteachable "class clown." Was that all they thought of him? That he was just a funny guy who made his friends laugh? We shared our concern with our son's teachers and the day care's assistant director. Everyone was apologetic, except for one of his teachers, whose cavalier attitude and justification that "no one will remember that he got the class clown award when he goes to college" was the last straw. We withdrew our son that very afternoon from a day care he had attended since he was 6 weeks old. After that, how could we as parents trust that his teachers had our son's best interest in mind? Labels can stifle children's development, creating a situation where they can't mature or excel beyond the label given them by someone else. They can anger the child's loved ones or set up unreasonable expectations, and they may be misunderstood. My husband and I agree that the best option is to advocate for our son (and all children, which is the very point of bringing this issue to everyone's attention) to remain label-less to let him grow and thrive as he enters elementary school. Along his journey, we'll continue to call out when even good teachers make poor decisions that can have lasting effects on the children they teach. As much as I truly appreciate and respect teachers, I'll never be OK with teachers openly labeling children. "Class clown," "teacher's pet" these aren't OK. Ever. Ashley Cheatham is communications director at a Baltimore-area nonprofit. This piece originally appeared in the Baltimore Sun. A man who identified himself as a family member, but declined to give his name, briefly talks on Thursday, Aug. 2, 2018, to reporters in front of the Port Richmond rowhouse where pit bulls, police have said, fatally mauled a toddler the day before. Read more A toddler's fatal mauling by pit bulls Wednesday was "a freak accident," a man who described himself as the boy's relative said Thursday outside the yellow-painted brick rowhouse in Port Richmond where it occurred. "It wasn't neglect," said the man, who declined to give his name and said he didn't live in the home, on the 3000 block of Agate Street. "The dogs got out of the cage," he said, adding that his wife had tried to protect the toddler from the dogs. She was taken to a hospital and later released, he said. Police said the child was 2 years old, but the man said he was 3. He declined to specify his relationship to the boy. Neighbors said the toddler did not live in the home but was visiting. James Garrow, a spokesperson for the Medical Examiner's Office, declined to provide information on the boy, saying the matter was under investigation. Police declined to release the boy's name. Police Commissioner Richard Ross said in a phone interview Thursday that the District Attorney's Office would decide whether charges would be filed. "Everything is still under investigation," Ben Waxman, a spokesperson for the DA's Office, said by email Thursday. Ross said his department's Officer-Involved Shooting Investigation Unit was looking into the death because police fatally shot two of the three dogs that appeared to have attacked the boy. Two other pit bulls were caged during the attack, Ross said. The Animal Care and Control Team of Philadelphia removed all five dogs Wednesday, spokesperson Morgan Polley said. One dog died in the house and another died while being transported to ACCT's facility in Feltonville, she said. On the Port Richmond block Thursday morning, neighbors were still stunned. They said they did not know who lived in the house. It was about 5:15 p.m. Wednesday when police received calls about the attack. Christina Bledsoe, 40, said that before police arrived, she heard a woman screaming outside the home: "They have the baby! They have the baby!" Bledsoe ran over to the woman, whom she didn't know. "They're killing the baby!" the woman said. Bledsoe said the main door of the home was open. She opened the outer door and saw another woman and the child being attacked by pit bulls in the living room. One dog lunged toward the front door, and Bledsoe said she quickly shut the outer door. Other neighbors rushed over to help. Jason Rash, 41, said he ran over to the house and tried to distract the dogs. "I was banging on the door," said Rash, adding that he threw a broomstick, dustpan, and shovel at the dogs. Rash said a woman whom he understood to be the boy's aunt was lying on top of the toddler trying to protect him. She was getting bit, too, he said. At one point, the aunt came out of the house crying, Rash said. "She left the baby in there," he said. "She thought the baby was gone." When police officers arrived, they opened the outer front door in an attempt to go in, Bledsoe said, but quickly slammed it shut because of the attacking dogs. Then they had to make sure they didn't shoot the child, she said. She said once she heard police shooting through openings between the metal bars in the outer front door, she went back into her house and told her children, ages 8 and 12, to stay inside. From the second-floor window of her home, Bledsoe said, she saw the boy placed into an ambulance. He was pronounced dead at 6:05 p.m. Wednesday at St. Christopher's Hospital for Children. Rash said he didn't know who lived in the home, and said he saw no furniture inside the living room, just five dog cages. He said that besides the aunt who had been on top of the toddler, two other women in their late teens or early 20s had been upstairs at the time of the attack. Police took them into a police vehicle for questioning, he said. According to city property records, a woman named Yuderka Cruz owns the rowhouse where the boy was attacked. When a reporter called a phone number listed for her, a woman answered and said in Spanish that Cruz was unavailable. She said Cruz owns the property but does not live there and rents it out. Caroline Drummond, left, and Brigid Peyton, right, practice Highlands dancing at Peyton's home in Maple Glen, They are going to Scotland this summer to dance at the Edinburgh Fringe. Read more "The main thing about Edinburgh Fringe," says arts executive and philanthropist Louis Bluver, "is that you can really be surprised there." Bluver is explaining why, every August, like many Philly-area folks, he travels to Edinburgh, Scotland, the Auld Reekie ("The Old Smoky One"), ancient seat of queens and kings and home to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe (Aug. 3-27), the biggest international arts festival in the world. Big means big: This year's will feature a record 56,796 performances of 3,548 shows at 317 venues. The lineup includes theater, music, dance, stand-up, circus, poetry, and more surprise after surprise. Fringe can overwhelm as you walk along the Royal Mile, with street players up and down the road and eager performers "flyering" you (shoving fliers for their shows into your hands and making their 4.5-second pitch). The outburst of creativity overruns the gorgeous medieval town. Some Philadelphia-area folks go as one-time tourists, some as a yearly habit, and some to perform. "Going to Edinburgh Fringe, doing a show, coming back, and doing your show at Philly Fringe, it's weirdly part of being in theater in Philly," says actor Sarah Knittel. Jay Luxion of Mount Laurel has missed one Fringe in the last five: "I took one year off and really regret it," this theater buff says. Gwyn Ennis of Glenside is going to Edinburgh for her second time, mainly to see daughter Matilda and her two Maple Glen friends Brigid Peyton and Caroline Drummond dance in the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo, an evening spectacular with military bands and performance groups from the British Armed Forces, Commonwealth countries, and elsewhere. It plays every weeknight and twice on Saturdays all during August. "They had to interview, apply, audition, get accepted and then pay for their own flight and shoes," Ennis says, "and they dance every night for room and board." It's hard-core: To ensure perfection, all dancers are videotaped every night, and slackers can be replaced. "But the girls love it," Ennis says. "The show is phenomenal." Managing the madness The ways in which visitors manage the madness varies. Bluver, an experienced Fringe-aholic, says his strategy is to restrict himself mainly to shows at the better venues, such as the Traverse Theatre. "If I know a show will get out at 12:15, I work with what's nearby," he says. "I check the schedule and see what's starting at 12:30 or 12:45, something I can walk to. Because there always is. In many cases, something I never would have chosen turns out to be wonderful." Luxion says sometimes the best strategy is no strategy: "The real festival experience is to go with the flow and try things out. It's hit or miss, but that's part of the experience." That seems to be the philosophy of Dawn Willette of Merion Station, who is taking her two children to Edinburgh, the family's first time overseas. "We're not making plans," she says. "We're going to figure out things when we get there. It's a grand adventure." Catherine Beach, a retired executive in Yardley and lover of all things Scottish, is another 2018 first-timer. She's especially fond of Edinburgh, "such a walkable city," she says. "I wonder if I'll like the town as much when it's that crowded I'll bum around, and we'll see." Rosemary Malague, director of the theater arts program at the University of Pennsylvania, takes a group of students over every other year to perform. This year, as the Penn Theatre Ensemble, an all-female cast and crew will do Curio (a Cabinet of Curiosities) by alum Danielle Bainbridge, who recently completed her Ph.D. at Yale and is headed to Northwestern. Curio concerns Millie and Christine McCoy, conjoined twins and former slaves who became celebrities on the 19th-century freak-show circuit. "We have a long tradition over more than 25 years of going to Fringe," Malague says. "It's a tremendous learning opportunity for all of us and we get to see some great shows." And she immediately names two shows on her must-see list for this year that debuted at Philly Fringe. Fringe to Fringe There is a long and crazy tie between the two Fringes. The two shows Malague wants to see are Geoff Sobelle and Steven Dufala's Home, a profound hit at last year's Philly Fringe; and The Underground Railroad Game by Jennifer Kidwell and Scott R. Sheppard with Lightning Rod Special, a Philly Fringe hit in 2015 and co-winner of the 2017 Obie for best new American theater work. Sobelle, Dufala, Kidwell, and Sheppard are all alums of Pig Iron Theatre. Sobelle's show The Object Lesson took top prize at the 2014 Edinburgh Fringe. The road runs both ways: Edinburgh standouts such as Stef Smith's Swallow, Lucas Hnath's The Christians, and Jonny Donahoe's brilliant Every Brilliant Thing regularly come through Philly now. The Philly theater world will be well represented this year. Chris Davis is going for his fifth year in a row. He's sharing a flat with fellow Philly footlighters Knittel and Lee Minora. All will be doing one-person shows as part of Free Fringe (through Aug. 29), a gritty wonderland 402 shows at 35 venues of do-it-yourself plays. Knittel, an Edinburgh newbie, says, "Getting there has been a five-year goal for me. At Free Fringe, they give you a time and a venue for free, and you do everything else yourself, including going out into the street and grabbing people to come see it." Fear of flyering Minora, a second-timer, says, "Last year, I came with Chris Davis, and the first day flyering, I was so terrified, I was handing out fliers in the meekest way possible, and by the end of the festival I was telling people, 'This is the best show you're going to see at the whole festival.' You have to rediscover how much you believe in yourself and your work." Every night all month, Davis will do his solo act Drunk Lion, directed by ubiquitous Barrymore-winner Mary Tuomanen, about an alcoholic king of beasts who makes a new friend. Minora will do White Feminist, a comedy solo she developed during her Wilma Theater residency this year. ("I infused White Feminist with everything I learned the year before at Edinburgh," Minora says.) And Knittel's show is titled Nightmare Fuel, which she calls "a hilarious, sugar-high hellscape that is part teenage exorcism and part naughty slumber party." Post-Edinburgh, Davis comes back home to do a new show, The Presented, at Philly Fringe, where Knittel's Nightmare Fuel will also reignite. Davis says, "At Edinburgh, you have to go through bad shows, where audiences may not like you, hecklers, folks who get up and leave, some of the hardest days in your acting career. And then you'll have some of the best days, maybe right after the hardest ones. It's the best performance training you can get." Valerie Ogden and Apollo, a shepherd trained by the Kurds to help the U.S. Military. Apollo was injured in a bomb blast and awaiting surgery in Pa., Tuesday July 31, 2018. DAVID SWANSON / Staff Photographer . Read more When strangers first meet Apollo, a mostly black mutt from Iraq, he wraps his left front leg around theirs, and stares up with sad amber eyes. It feels like a hug or a handshake, but the people who've cared for him in recent months say it may also be a plea because he's in so much pain. Someone shot that leg with a 9mm round in Ankawa, a suburb of Erbil, in July 2017, and left him there to suffer with broken bones and bullet fragments lodged in his muscle. "Just as sweet as can be," said Valerie Ogden, Apollo's current caretaker, at her home in Chestnut Hill. As 3D-printed guns have been making headlines recently, a team of veterinarians in Philadelphia plan to use the same technology to print out an entire replica of Apollo's mangled leg and elbow, study and practice surgery techniques on it, and then get to the real thing and alleviate his pain. The surgery would cost $5,000, but all the veterinarians are volunteering. "When he was shot, for whatever reason, it was left alone," said Ron Ben-Amotz of the Veterinary Specialty and Emergency Center (VSEC). "It is a chronic injury and the bone did not heal the right way. It's somewhat functional, but painful." According to Stephanie Scott, of SPCA International, Apollo was discovered in Ankawa by PAWS Kurdistan, another nonprofit. Scott said Apollo's cropped ears suggest he was raised to be a guard dog, "but his kind demeanor means he wasn't successful in that role." "When Apollo was rescued in Iraq in 2017, the first vet who saw him thought he would never use his injured leg again," Scott said in an email. In April 2018, Apollo was flown from Beirut to Philadelphia and eventually to Ohio as part of Operation Baghdad Pups: Worldwide, a program that brings dogs and cats from overseas into the homes of U.S. service members. Since 2008, according to the SPCAI website, the program has rescued 640 dogs and cats, including 80 so far this year. It expects to reach 140 animals by the end of 2018. "He is from a war zone," said Meredith Ayan, the SPCAI's executive director. "It's a terrible, terrible injury for a dog." Ben-Amotz said Apollo's surgery, which he hopes to complete in the coming weeks, is unprecedented. First, several CAT scans were done, and they helped create a 3D image of Apollo's elbow. That image will soon be sent to a 3D printer that Ben-Amotz and his team can study as they prepare for the actual procedure. Then, 3D cutting guides will be developed to be used in the operation, something that's never been done for elbow surgery in veterinary medicine, he said. "The idea is to fuse the elbow together so he doesn't need to move it. If he doesn't move it, he won't be in pain," he said. Apollo's original placement in Ohio didn't work out because of other pets in the household and he wound up in Chestnut Hill with Ogden, who is active in the animal-welfare community. At Ogden's bucolic spread in the woods, Apollo bounds around in the grass with a severe limp. "He'll run down into the woods and he looks like a deer," Ogden said. "He's gone through so much pain but he seems really upbeat. He loves being outside." Apollo doesn't like cars, Ogden said, for practical purposes. "He thinks someone's going to take him away," she said. Ogden believed Apollo only understood commands in Kurdish, but his love of dog biscuits appeared to transcend language. The goal, she said, is to get Apollo into a "forever home" after his surgery. "That might be Val, or her son," said Ogden's friend, Beth Ann White, an SPCAI volunteer. Ogden, who owns two other dogs, said Apollo, at 75 pounds, is just too big for her to care for. She believes he is a German shepherd, though Scott said he's a "total mutt," like many dogs that live in and around war zones. "He needs a home with children and maybe one other dog," she said. "He's a sweet, sweet boy." At Ogden's house, Apollo disappeared into the woods and lay under a tree by her pool while the birds chirped all around him. She and White looked up some Kurdish words and spoke them to get him to come back, but he stayed put, looking content. No one could really get mad at him, considering where he came from. "I'm from Israel, I can understand how things go over there, " Ben-Amotz said. "It's a complicated area. He may have gotten caught in the cross fire. Somebody could have deliberately shot him." The veterinary team that will perform surgery on Apollo includes volunteers flying in from Europe. Anyone who wishes to donate to the SPCAI can visit www.spcai.org/donate. Erie Catholic Bishop Emeritus Donald Trautman, left, and Erie Catholic Bishop Lawrence T. Persico celebrate Communion during Mass at St. Peter Cathedral in Erie on Feb. 11, 2018. Read more The former leader of the Catholic Church in Erie was identified Friday as one of the previously unnamed clergy who asked the state Supreme Court to limit or block the release of a scathing report on clergy sex abuse that identifies or implicates them, according to a new court filing. Bishop Emeritus Donald Trautman ended his challenge to the report after the office of Attorney General Josh Shapiro agreed to stipulate that several blistering criticisms of the church hierarchy in the document didn't apply to Trautman specifically. In a joint stipulation with prosecutors that was made public, Trautman said he withdrew the petition even though he continues to dispute many of the report's findings. Trautman, now retired, headed the Erie diocese from 1990 to 2012. He is the first publicly identified petitioner among the nearly two dozen who have appealed to the state Supreme Court on the issue. He said he decided to drop his appeal after the Supreme Court recently ordered the release of a redacted grand jury report, blacking out all the sections referring to the petitioners while their case was being heard. The result was that much of the section on the Diocese of Erie would have been blacked out indefinitely, given his overarching role as bishop. "Because doing so could further injure victims of abuse and because his goal was never to halt publication of the entirety of the Diocese of Erie section of the Report," the bishop dropped his challenge, the stipulation said. "In doing so, Bishop Trautman is not conceding to the accuracy or the completeness of the Report," but will be making his case in a written rebuttal to the report. State law allows for unindicted persons to respond formally to criticism in grand jury reports. Shapiro said in a statement: "Bishop Donald Trautman withdrew his appeal, paving the way for the voices of victims from the Erie Diocese to be heard and not subject to redaction. This was the right decision and should serve as a model for others who continue to fight the release of the report." The stipulation, by withdrawing several implied criticisms of Trautman, also revealed some of the main findings of the two-year grand jury investigation. Among the statements that Shapiro's office said do not specifically refer to Trautman: "All of [the victims] were brushed aside, in every part of the state, by church leaders who preferred to protect the abusers and their institution above all." "The main thing was not to help children, but to avoid 'scandal.' " "Priests were raping little boys and girls and the men of God who were responsible for them not only did nothing: they hid it all." "Priests were regularly placed in ministry after the Diocese was on notice that a complaint of child sexual abuse had been made. This conduct enabled offenders and endangered the welfare of children." "Several Diocesan administrators, including the Bishops, often dissuaded victims from reporting abuse to police, pressured law enforcement to terminate or avoid an investigation, or conducted their own deficient, biased investigation without reporting crimes against children to the proper authorities." A footnote in the stipulation said none of the other petitioners was seeking to block the statements quoted above. The report still contains numerous criticisms. In a phone interview, Trautman said he shared the report's outrage at sexual abuse by priests and hoped it would help "bring peace to all survivors." He said he had challenged portions he saw as being inaccurate. In one case, he said the report criticizes him for praising a confirmed predator. That, he said, came in a letter to a priest being removed from the priesthood but Trautman said it was quoted out of context. Trautman said he was writing a final letter to a man being removed from the priesthood for committing sexual abuse. "He was despondent," Trautman said. "I would never condone what he did. That's why I threw him out." But in a 20-year priesthood, "the man did some good in his life." He added: "I am a pastor of souls, I shepherd the good and the bad." The petitioners have been challenging the report, which remains sealed, contending that the allegations were false and that it violates the Pennsylvania Constitution's guarantee of the right to a good reputation. The Supreme Court has authorized the release of a redacted report later this month, with references to the petitioners removed pending hearings into their claims. Current Erie Bishop Lawrence Persico issued a statement saying he was pleased with his predecessor's decision. "His action will provide a clear voice for the victims, and allow the people of the diocese to have a greater understanding of our history." A statement from Trautman's attorney further defended his record, saying that he removed at least 16 priests due to sexual abuse or other conduct involving children, and that he had law enforcement review diocesan files and notified authorities of known abusers' whereabouts. Heather Barbera appears at court for a pretrial hearing, in Mays Landing, New Jersey, Friday, August 3, 2018. Barbera faces murder charges for the beating deaths of her mother and grandmother in Ventnor. Read more A woman charged with killing her mother and grandmother in their Ventnor boardwalk condo made her first appearance in Atlantic County Superior Court on Friday. Heather Barbera, 42, said little during the four-minute hearing before Judge Bernard DeLury. She faces two counts of first-degree murder, robbery, and other charges in connection with the deaths of Elaine Rosen, 81, and Michelle Gordon, 67, whose bodies were found in their eighth-floor oceanfront condo last month. Barbera, dressed in an orange jumpsuit, walked into the courtroom with her head down. Asked if she understood the charges against her, she quietly responded "yes." "It's a really sad situation," Barbera's public defender Holly Bitters said after the hearing. The brief hearing came after Barbera was extradited to New Jersey on Thursday. After the killings, police said, she fled to New York, where she was later arrested and held at a women's facility on Rikers Island. Police said Barbera, a mother of two, bludgeoned her relatives to death with a nightstick before stealing her mother's credit cards and taking a bus to New York City. Surveillance video showed Barbera leaving the Vassar Square Condominium on July 8. Barbera's uncle, Richard Rosen, found the bloodied bodies in the high-rise apartment days later, according to a recording of the 911 call. He told the dispatcher he suspected his niece had killed the pair and that he had warned his mother and sister not to allow Barbera to move in with them. "I knew this would be no good," he said. After three days on the lam, Barbera was arrested at the Port Authority Bus Terminal in midtown Manhattan. Charges she had made with the stolen credit cards allowed authorities to track her down. She later confessed to the murders, police said. Barbera is being held at the Atlantic County Jail while she awaits an Aug. 9 bail hearing. Steady traffic sits at Highland Avenue and Pinetown Road in Fort Washington on a recent weekday afternoon. A proposal by the township to create access from a nearby office park to the streets surrounding it has drawn some debate among residents. Read more Philip Seltzer has been dead for a decade. But the real estate developer has become an unlikely component in an ongoing debate over traffic congestion in a Montgomery County township. An agreement Seltzer signed in 1954 with Henry Lee Willet, then president of Upper Dublin Township's board of commissioners, has become the backdrop for concerns raised by some residents about plans for a new library in the Fort Washington Office Park, the modern equivalent of the visionary industrial park Seltzer built at the zenith of his career. Homeowners on Highland Avenue and Camp Hill Road, streets surrounding the library's future home, are wielding the agreement against aspects of the proposal that suggest building a driveway from the library onto Highland, or potentially allowing turns onto Camp Hill from a road within the park. Both concepts, it would seem, are prohibited by the nearly 70-year-old document, which promises to keep traffic from the park off of township streets. And with a few exceptions, the agreement has been upheld ever since. Camp Hill has been especially protected, with a 1999 ordinance prohibiting turns onto the street that piggybacks on the Seltzer agreement. But township officials are unsure how binding a document whose authors are long gone is. They say the impact on congestion in the area will be minimal, and posit that the library will be a major addition for the township. And at a board of commissioners meeting scheduled for Aug. 14, they plan to propose solutions that are sensitive to both sides of the divide. "The people on Highland Avenue already feel burdened by too much traffic, but there is a lot of traffic on a lot of roads in the township," said Paul Leonard, the township manager. "We don't think that they're uniquely burdened, and we want to integrate this building into the community." Leonard pointed out that the township library, which opens at 9:30 a.m. at its current location on Loch Alsh Avenue, won't add any cars to the morning rush hour. "Is it more traffic? Yes. Is it an amount that's unbearable? By no means," Leonard said. "I'm not minimizing their complaints or concerns, and we will try to address them. But at the same time, the challenge is to make this available for the entire community." The township bought the new library building, located inside the office park at 520 Virginia Ave., in November for just over $5 million. Leonard affectionately calls it "the house that Rorer built," referring to the French pharmaceutical giant that initially occupied it. During a recent walk-through of the 65,400-square-foot building, Leonard described his colleagues' plan for their purchase. Where workers once sat sequestered in cubicles, Leonard envisions an open library space, with room for multimedia materials. A corporate presentation room, complete with plush seating, can be re-purposed for live performances or special events organized by the library's board. And leftover space can be easily converted into rental property or township offices, he said. But objections from nearby residents don't involve upgrading the library's space. "Building a library isn't that bad, but we can't ensure that that will always be the use," said Steve Stoughton, a resident of Camp Hill Road. "Basically, it comes down to whether the board of commissioners is willing to break this agreement." Stoughton has long been a crusader against allowing access from the office park to the surrounding community. He filed suit against Parec Associates in 2010 when they sold a building in the office park to the Mar Thoma Church Philadelphia and requested to build a driveway onto Camp Hill. He later relented, settling the legal challenge out of court. Stoughton now considers the church "a good neighbor," and said its presence on the street has caused little disruption. But it's the exception, not the rule, he argues. "The precedents are set, and the precedents have been agreed to," he said. "The township played by the rules, Seltzer played by the rules, and now we have commissioners considering not playing by the rules." Seltzer's fabled agreement allows for "adequate access" for the industrial park to and from nearby Township Line Road. It further stipulates that no other access to the park "from any other Township street or highway shall be constructed or opened." And although residents cling to that language, as well as a closing paragraph that promises the agreement shall be carried out by the signers' heirs and successors, township solicitor Gilbert High doubts that the agreement can forever control development in the township. Ira Tackel, the president of the township's board of commissioners, agrees. And he pointed out that the current proposal is not to divert industrial or office traffic into the neighborhoods, but rather to direct township residents into the park. "I'm pretty sure if this board or a future board said with good reason that this has been enforced for 60 years," he said, "and that it's outlived its usefulness, simply because things have changed a lot in that time, I think the board would be in good footing." Township traffic engineer Jack Smyth has estimated that the library will generate an additional 250 trips in the area during the afternoon rush hour, 125 entering and exiting the library. To help ease access, he's provided a series of suggestions. Arguably the one that presents the fewest logistical hurdles is to put in a new driveway on Highland on land the township owns. Alternatives include pursuing an easement onto a property next door, or going through the state to install a traffic light on Camp Hill Road. The latter suggestion is now the subject of a traffic study by the township, Smyth said. When Terri Mellor bought her house on Camp Hill in the 1980s, the realtor showed her the Seltzer agreement. It was "a major selling point" for her, helping to finalize the decision. And two years ago, when the township temporarily diverted office park traffic onto Camp Hill and Highland, she understood why local leaders pushed for it so many decades ago: A deluge of traffic keeping a steady flow in front of her driveway during the afternoon rush hour. "Rorer had 500 employees who didn't have any issues coming out of the driveway and going right or left onto commercial streets," Mellor said. "If I was a commissioner, I would advocate for obeying the agreement we entered into," she added, "knowing that for the last 60 years, all of the buildings in the park had no issue with it." Mayor Jim Kenney, seen here on July 4 during the Celebration of Freedom ceremony at Independence Hall. Read more Mayor Kenney owes President Trump an apology for linking the hanging of a black doll Thursday which turned out to be a prank by two boys to Trump's divisive rhetoric, the Pennsylvania GOP said Friday. "Kenney blamed the president for a racially insensitive teenage prank without regard for the truth," Val DiGiorgio, chairman of the Republican Party of Pennsylvania, said in a statement. "It is this kind of pre-judgement that causes such divisiveness in our political discourse today. "I'm deeply disappointed that he would rush to judgement," DiGiorgio added, "and stoop this low to try to score cheap political points at the expense of the president and his supporters, be they Republicans, Democrats, or Independents." Before the doll hanging at Weccacoe Playground in Queen Village was revealed to be a prank, Kenney said he was "sickened" by it. "Although the investigation is still underway, I want to immediately condemn this despicable act," Kenney said Thursday. "It demonstrates how far this country has fallen when people are inspired by the hateful rhetoric of our president." The two boys responsible, one black and one white, said later in the day they thought the doll was creepy and that they had put it up to scare people, not to stoke racial tensions. A mother with her 3-year-old child discovered the doll hanging from a wire with a noose around its neck at the playground, part of which sits on top of an African American burial ground. Kenney's office on Friday stood by his earlier statement. "The mayor does not regret his comments, nor will he apologize for them," city spokesman Mike Dunn said. "That statement yesterday was clear that the matter was still under investigation and it remains so. But the need for all public officials to quickly condemn apparent hate crimes is a direct result of the unfortunate climate in which this entire nation now exists a climate fueled by our president. It is his failure to condemn acts like the march in Charlottesville one year ago in fact, his comments that praised those racists that make it important to speak out quickly and forcefully." Dunn was referring to when white supremacists marched in Charlottesville, Va., last summer, which led to violent clashes and the death of Heather Heyer, who was run over by a car driven by an alleged neo-Nazi, authorities said. Trump blamed "many sides" for the violence and then said there were "very fine people on both sides." Philadelphia officials say they have seen more hate crimes and bias incidents reported since the 2016 presidential election. Among them, according to the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations: South Philly residents finding racist and pro-Trump graffiti spray painted on their storefronts, cars, and homes the day after the election. Profanity about Jews written on the South Street Bridge. A Latino father who was beat up by neighborhood white men and found graffiti on his house and car. A gay man who found profanity on his apartment door. A Jewish woman who discovered a swastika painted on her front steps. A biracial couple who found a KKK advertisement on their car windshield. A black resident who discovered the N-word on an electric meter and pipe on the front of their home While not all hate crimes can be directly linked to Trump, his divisive rhetoric has emboldened people to share messages of hate, city officials and others say. >> READ MORE: The 'psychological torment' behind the slurs and symbols you pass every day Trump told lawmakers and aides earlier this year he didn't want a flood of immigrants from "shithole countries" like Africa and Haiti and that he prefers people from Norway, which is predominately white. Across the country, incidents have been reported in which people used Trump's name while spewing racial slurs or vilifying people of color and immigrants. On Thursday, at a rally in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., Trump called the news media "fake, fake disgusting news" and cast journalists as his true political opponent. In July, the publisher of the New York Times warned Trump that his repeated inflammatory language was "contributing to a rise in threats against journalists and will lead to violence." The memorial service for renowned community investor Jeremy Nowak will be held at 10 a.m. Friday, on the campus of Drexel University, in the Behrakis Grand Hall of Creese Student Center, 3210 Chestnut St., Philadelphia. A reception will follow in the Main Building, 3141 Chestnut St. Nowak, 66, of Lower Merion, founder of the Philadelphia-based Reinvestment Fund who later led the William Penn Foundation, died July 28, a little more than two weeks after suffering a massive heart attack. A woman who prefers to be identified by her nickname "Tank", cleans blood off of the sidewalk on the 2100 block of North 4th Street, Tuesday, July 17, 2018. Multiple people were shot on this block late last night. Read more In Philadelphia, we find out about gun violence from news reports that often sound the same. We are told when and where the incident took place, the age and gender of the victims, what wounds were suffered, how they got to the hospital, their medical conditions, and the state of the police investigation. The conclusion often goes something like this: "There's no word on a motive. No arrests have been made." We feel hopeless. As a Temple trauma surgeon who cares for people injured by guns every day, and as a journalist with decades of experience reporting on gun violence, we know these stories are far more complex than the cursory reports they often receive. We are saddened to see such tragedy in our community discussed this way, seemingly without empathy for those affected or desire for deeper understanding. We believe each of these stories represents a missed opportunity for media to contextualize gun violence, explore its root causes, and offer well-researched solutions. In recent years we have come to recognize that gun violence is a public health problem, which means that it can be prevented. While the public health community has had major success preventing death from vehicle crashes over the past 30 years, mortality rates from gun violence remain unchanged. We need a different approach to save lives, and journalists are a key part of this solution. Instead of six lines of sterile facts about the latest victim, we need to be told why gun violence happens in our city and how shootings can be prevented. What can neighbors, schools, hospitals, advocates, businesses, government, and faith communities do? And what are they doing already? According to a new study from the nonprofit Berkeley Media Studies Group, "Not enough people recognize that violence is preventable, in large part because of the public discourse around gun violence, which portrays it as extreme and inevitable." The authors found that in California, news reports rarely highlighted the connections between gun violence and social inequities, instead favoring "episodic" accounts of individual shooting incidents. To shift the narrative around gun violence to explore causes and solutions, the study recommends that journalists ask questions about the context of gun violence, cultivate sources beyond police and prosecutors, and expand coverage to include other sectors, such as policy, education, health care, and business. In Philadelphia, we know that redlining, an example of historic racism, is geographically linked to modern-day gun violence. We need to hear about this and other structural causes of gun violence in our city regularly in the news. These best practices are really just standard practices. The Code of Ethics set forth by the Society of Professional Journalists directs reporters to provide context, avoid stereotyping, and show compassion. In the case of gun violence, shallow reporting can perpetuate harmful stereotypes and a sense of fear and futility. Comprehensive narratives could prove to be the most effective channel for public health intervention, allowing journalists to set the public agenda and open our minds to solutions. And there are resources and promising examples for journalists to consider. Here in Philadelphia, WURD Radio's Violence Collaborative has been exploring the impact of violence while soliciting solutions from those most directly affected. Even more newsrooms have been collaborating to report thoroughly on adjacent topics including prisoner reentry and poverty, guided in part by the practices of the Solutions Journalism Network. Gun-violence reporting also demands a rigorous approach, with journalists working "to get people to open up to new ideas, rather than closing down in judgment and indignation," according to a recent SJN article, which reminds us that "there are ways to disrupt an intractable conflict." The article cites a study observing that people who read more simplistic stories tend to "get stuck in negativity." However, more complex articles led readers to ask more questions and propose higher-quality ideas, indicating that "when people encounter complexity, they become more curious." Meanwhile, the number of shooting victims in our city is on the rise, and several hundred people have been wounded or killed during the past few months alone. One recent incident left us with a particularly horrific image: a woman washing blood from the sidewalk where four young teens had been gunned down in a mass shooting. This senseless suffering and loss of life must stop. Journalists covering gun violence have exceptional opportunities and responsibilities in beginning to offer solutions to one of the most important problems of our time. Jessica Beard, MD, MPH, is a trauma surgeon, public health researcher, and assistant professor of surgery at Temple University's Lewis Katz School of Medicine. Jim MacMillan is a Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist who covered hundreds of gun homicides during 17 years with the Philadelphia Daily News. He serves as the assistant director for external affairs at Temple University's Klein College of Media and Communication. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg testifies before a House Energy and Commerce hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington about the use of Facebook data to target American voters in the 2016 election and data privacy. Read more Facebook has finally taken steps to combat efforts to interfere in U.S. elections. But will it be enough? Facebook disclosed this week that it removed 32 pages and fake accounts that were engaged in efforts to meddle in the 2018 midterm elections. Facebook did not confirm the accounts came from Russian agents but said some tools and techniques resembled those used by a Kremlin-linked group ensnared in a recent indictment alleging interference in 2016. Facebook's disclosure is further proof of efforts by outside groups to sow discord and doubt in U.S. elections. And it is yet another wake-up call to lawmakers to do more now to combat the interference. After all, removing 32 pages from Facebook is a tiny blip in the broad and aggressive response needed to fight the misinformation war and preserve our democracy. Two years ago, Facebook looked the other way as Russian agents disseminated inflammatory posts that reached 126 million users during the run-up to the presidential election. >> READ MORE: Russian troll factory hiring for new anti-U.S. operation; biggest danger is not to America | Trudy Rubin In February, Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats told the Senate Intelligence Committee that "the United States is under attack." He said Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea posed the greatest cyber threats along with terrorist and criminal organizations. Coats added that Russia was likely to continue to target U.S. elections to "undermine democracy." Sadly, President Trump remains largely uninterested in doing much to preserve, protect, and defend the United States from Russia's election interference. If anything, he seems more inclined to fan confusion and even side with Russia. Trump's lack of clear leadership makes it difficult for intelligence agencies to mount a coordinated effort to combat the interference. Congressional leaders have no clear idea what to do beyond lip service. As Washington dithers, it is up to others to guard against the misinformation war. Facebook and other social-media giants must do more to police their networks by investing in tools that identify bogus news, increasing accountability and reducing incentives to profit from disinformation. But without any clear rules or regulations from lawmakers, the companies are unlikely to go beyond the minimum to protect their bottom line. Likewise, state and local education officials should make it a priority to promote news literacy and teach basic civics, including voting, and the importance of preserving basic American ideals that have set us apart from the rest of the world, such as freedom of religion, freedom of the press, the rule of law, and the independence of the judiciary. A recent survey by the University of Pennsylvania's Annenberg Public Policy Center found roughly one-third of respondents could not name any rights guaranteed under the First Amendment and only 26 percent could name all three branches of government. To be sure, the media has a responsibility to provide fair and accurate reporting. At the same time, individuals have a responsibility to stay informed, engaged, and skeptical of fringe information providers. Facebook's recent steps are encouraging. But this is a long fight that requires action by government, schools, businesses, and individuals anyone, in fact, interested in preserving democracy. And here's a summary of the tweets throughout the descent. Hayabusa2 began descending toward Ryugu at a speed of 40 centimeters per second at 01:38 UTC. At 09:00, JAXA's Usuda Deep Space Center handed over communications responsibilities to the Deep Space Network's ground station in Madrid. As of 11:32, Hayabusa2 had reached the target altitude of 5 kilometers, halting its descent. It still needed to maneuver slightly into its desired observation position. At 14:00 UTC (23:00 Japan time), a shift change from the evening team to the late-night team. ""IES" (IES's Older Brother, in charge of the ion engine systems!) took over the live twitter feed to tell us about operations in the control room." At 14:35, the spacecraft reached its targeted observation position, still 5 kilometers above the asteroid, and began its planned medium-altitude observation sequence. At 17:10, the Deep Space Network handed over support of Hayabusa2 to Goldstone. Tweet: "While operating the ion engines, Ryugu was only a point, even when using the telephoto camera --explains IES-- the asteroid seems so big in the wide-angle camera now. From 2.9 billion km to 5km. If seems like you could touch it if you stretched out your hand." Around 22:00 UTC August 1 (07:00 Japan time on August 2), another shift change replaced the late-night operations team with the "lunch team." With the desired observations complete, at 22:30 the flight director commanded the spacecraft to return to home position. The spacecraft responded, with radio tracking indicating a "normal rise." The project manager declared the medium altitude operation a success, to applause in the control room. As of midnight UTC August 2, the spacecraft was rising at 20 centimeters per second. Hayabusa2 returned to its "home" position at a hover, 20 kilometers above Ryugu, with Earth at its back, at 03:40 UTC on August 3. The return of crew flights to U.S. soil will end NASA's politically inconvenient reliance on Russia for transporting astronauts to the ISS. The space agency's current arrangement with Russia for Soyuz seats is set to run out in January 2020, a date that has already been stretched by extending upcoming ISS expeditions beyond six months. Purchasing additional seats on the fly is apparently not an option because of the lead time it takes to construct new Soyuz capsules. Therefore, it's essential that Crew Dragon and Starliner be ready for operational flights by the 2020 deadline. Four of the five astronauts named to the first Crew Dragon and Starliner flights are spaceflight veterans. Behnken, Boe and Hurley have each flown two shuttle missions, logging four weeks in space apiece. Ferguson, the Boeing astronaut, flew three shuttle missions, and has logged more than 40 days in space. Nicole Aunapu Mann will be making her first flight; she completed her astronaut training in 2015. Once Crew Dragon and Starliner are certified by NASA for regular use, they will be used for operational ISS flights around 2020. NASA also named today the astronauts for those flights: Victor Glover and Mike Hopkins will fly aboard the first operational Crew Dragon, while John Cassada and Sunita Williams will fly aboard the first operational Starliner. A NASA press release says more crew members may be added to those flights later. Glover and Cassada are spaceflight rookies. Hopkins was a member of Expedition 37 and 38 in 2013 and 2014. Williams has the most diverse space background of the astronauts named today, having flown on both the shuttle and Soyuz and served aboard the International Space Station for two long-duration expeditions in 2006 through 2007 and 2012. She has logged 322 days in space. It's been a long journey for NASA and its commercial partners to get both crew capsules up and running. NASA picked Crew Dragon and Starliner to replace the space shuttle for ISS transportation back in 2014. At the time, test flights were expected to be just around the corner, and the agency pledged to be rid of Russian reliance in 2017. But both partners have suffered delays that will end up totaling at least three years. The first Crew Dragon arrived in Florida back in July for final processing, and NASA said the Falcon 9 that will be used for the uncrewed test flight will ship to Texas for testing in August. Similarly, the first Starliner is being currently being outfitted for launch at Kennedy Space Center, and the test flight's Atlas V Centaur upper stagenever flown in the dual-engine configurationships to Florida in August. NASA seems confident these dates will hold, and that the commercial crew program is finally on the home stretch. However, at least one source already disagrees. In any case, SpaceX is now the presumed leader of the race to capture the flag left on the station by the final space shuttle crewa flag that has been waiting to return to Earth for eight years and counting. ARUA The recently signed brand ambassador for Bryan White Foundation Zari Hassan has Friday August 3 arrived in Arua for the foundations one week charity tour. Zari who partnered with the foundation during its charity activities has landed at Arua Airfield by a private chopper. The Bosslady was welcomed by the Foundation CEO Bryan White. South Africa based Ugandan socialite and entrepreneur partnered with the foundation as brand ambassador for its charity activities in Arua district which kicked off July 27 last month. Zari has handed over amongst other things school bags packed with scholastic materials, reusable pads to the pupils at the event. At the function, Bryan White said that his mission is to end poverty in Uganda through his foundation which is a non-governmental organization. The Foundation team set off to Arua late last month where they happen to spend one week doing charity activities which include giving free interest loans to the youth with an intention to eradicate poverty amongst them. Bryan White Foundation is a non-governmental organisation founded by Kirumira Brian. The foundation whose aim is to fight poverty among the youth started operating in 2015 and was launched in Mbarara in 2018. Related KAMPALA MP Rwabogo stalker, Brian Isiko has been released from prison after High Court Judge, Jane Francis Abodo, said she was satisfied with credible sureties. Isiko, 25, a student at YMCA, Jinja Campus, was in July sentenced to two years imprisonment over Cyber Harassment and Offensive Communication by Buganda Road grade one magistrate Gladys Kamasanyu. However, concerned citizens and activists led by city lawyer Ramathan Waiswa, last week asked court to release Isiko to enable him attend school. He is a young man whose education depends on the success of this application, the lawyer said at the time. According to Judge Abodo, Isiko was released on grounds that his two sureties Mr Godfrey Waako, the Assistant Academic Registrar at Kyambogo University and Grace Reagan Muganza, a commander of the UPDF reserve forces, guaranteeing his release. Read: MP Rwabogo stalker appeals two-year jail sentence Isiko is required to report to the court Deputy Court Registrar every third Friday of the month starting with August 17 but the sureties were ordered each to pay non-cash bond Shs5M The Judge has also warned Isiko never to contact MP Rwabwogo in anyway. Following the court sentence, the public came out to condemn the MP for seemingly punishing a potential lover yet a few months ago, she had appeared in one of the local print newspapers, claiming she was searching for a lover. Read: Jailed student was sent to kill me, says Kabarole Woman MP However, Ms Rwabogo said denied it was not saying that If it was for love, I have had many even those younger than Brian and much older, but this was none like other with intentions to harm me. Lets see how the authorities handle the situation. I call upon fellow Ugandans to be vigilant at all times; we cannot go on dying like animals. Vigilance is key. Read: Lust for pretty Kabarole Woman MP lands college student in jail Ms Rwabwogo told court that she started getting these love messages and calls from a stranger a head of the controversial Constitution Amendment Bill that was passed in December to remove presidential age limits which made her think that someone wanted to hurt her. Court heard that the MP received many calls and over 10 messages, one time her stalker texted asserting that he had failed to sleep at night just thinking about her and around the same time the wave of kidnaps were so rampant. She said she set up an appointment to meet the stalker upon Police at Parliament assigning her a guard. The meeting was on June 11, 2018, they met at Java House, Lugogo a Kampala suburb and indeed the stalker showed up and from there he was arrested. Related KAMPALA- The Managing Director of the National Social Security Fund (NSSF), Mr Richard Byarugaba, denied knowledge of the claimants of the Temangalo land which NSSF purchased from businessman Amos Nzeyi and his partner, former premier Amama Mbabazi. Appearing before the Commission of Inquiry into Land matters on Thursday August 2, Mr Byarugaba said before NSSF acquired the 463.87 acres of the Temangalo land at Shs11b in 2008, they had done due diligence with the help of a reputable law firm, JB Byamugisha and Company Advocates. Byaruhanga was defending himself a day after an Asian Family told the land probe that the disputed land belongs to them and accused Mr Nzeyi of selling their land to NSSF. Mr Nazim Moosa on Wednesday told the Commission chaired by Justice Catherine Bamugemereire that his family acquired a 79-year-old lease on the disputed land in 1924, from the family of a one Daniel Mugwanya Kato under the name of Temangalo Tea Estate Ltd. However, Mr Byarugaba said if they were aware of the encumbrances on the land, NSSF under the management of David Chadi Jamwa would not have bought it. Mr Byarugaba nevertheless maintained that NSSF holds a genuine tittle for the land and that it has since been earmarked for construction of over 350 housing units to either be rented out or put on sale. NSSF bought the land at 24 million shillings per acre. Mr Nazim on Wednesday said that efforts to repossess their land proved futile because the same had already been encroached on by prominent Businessman Nzeyi in 1992, who later sold it to NSSF in 2009 at 11billion shillings. However shocking facts stated by Nazim before the Commission show that seven years after NSSF bought this land, a search done at the Land Registry in Wakiso in 2016 revealed that the said Land is still registered in the names of an Indian Company-Temangalo Tea Estate Ltd. Meanwhile the Mugwanya Family which was also in attendance at the Commissions Public Hearing at Wandegeya says it is aggrieved with NSSF illegally occupying their land and wants it back. Related A federal appeals court decided Wednesday that the Trump administration may not withhold federal funds from Californias immigrant-friendly "sanctuary" cities and counties. The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, in a 2-1 decision, upheld a district judges ruling in favor of San Francisco and Santa Clara County, which sued over the administrations threats to withhold money to jurisdictions that have passed laws limiting local law enforcement cooperation with federal immigration authorities, reports the Los Angeles Times. But the 9th Circuit also removed a nationwide injunction against President Trump's directive, concluding there was not enough evidence presented in the case so far to support blocking it beyond California. A Lakeland, FL, police officer who overturned his cruiser on County Line Road fell asleep while he was driving, the police department reported Thursday. Camilo Almeida, 32, was driving his police vehicle at about 6:50 a.m. on July 13 when the crash occurred. He lost control of the car, entered the west shoulder of the road, then hit a culvert and overturned, Florida Highway Patrol troopers reported. Almeida was taken to Lakeland Regional Medical Center with minor injuries. The cruiser was totaled. Almeida returned to light duty on Monday, said Gary Gross, a spokesman with the police department. He had worked the previous night when a carjacking suspect was shot in the leg after firing shots at a pursuing Lakeland police officer. "He got off late from a 12-hour shift and couldnt sleep that night from thinking about the shooting," Gross said. An accident review board found the accident to be preventable. The report will be reviewed by Almeidas superiors, who will determine if Almeida will face discipline. MUMBAI, August 3, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- ASCENT will host a launch event for its new chapter on August 28, 2018 at Crowne Plaza, Chennai ASCENT Foundation, a not-for-profit, peer-to-peer learning platform for entrepreneurs founded by Harsh Mariwala, Chairman, Marico Ltd., today announces the launch of a new ASCENT Chapter on Tuesday, August 28, 2018 at Crowne Plaza in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. The launch aims to introduce ASCENT Foundation and the model of Trust Groups to SMEs and MSMEs based out of Chennai, Erode, Coimbatore, Mahabalipuram and other areas of Tamil Nadu through outreach initiatives and an official launch of its second chapter. Founded in 2012 in Mumbai, ASCENT is a Trust-based peer network of entrepreneurs that encourages experiential learning based on the concept of power of the collective. Through a common knowledge sharing platform, ASCENT Foundation enables entrepreneurs to identify their blind spots and address common business challenges. The platform emphasises on growth focussed learnings through the Trust Group model and additionally, provides members peripheral access to relevant growth enablers like service providers, investors and banks, industry role models and domain experts. The launch of the Chennai chapter will see ASCENT Foundation Founder - Harsh Mariwala - commence the event with a keynote speech and share his vision for entrepreneurs through the eyes of ASCENT. The launch will also see thought leaders and industry experts will share the role of peer-to-peer networks in their entrepreneurial journey. Entrepreneurs interested in joining ASCENT will be able to apply for membership at the launch itself. To begin with, ASCENT will aim to start with 50-60 members to form Trust Groups in Chennai. Sharing his vision on the launch of the new chapter, Harsh Mariwala said, "After successfully laying the Foundation of the ASCENT Mumbai chapter, we are excited to expand our presence in Chennai. Our Trust Group model will certainly encourage growth ready entrepreneurs here towards holistic development. Our vision at ASCENT Foundation is to reach out to thousands of entrepreneurs who are ready to scale their businesses to the next level. With entrepreneur and business friendly Government initiatives, Chennai is emerging as a preferred destination for start-ups and businesses." Focussing on entrepreneurs who have a proven and profitable business, members with annual turnover of Rs. 5 crore and above for a manufacturing/products business and Rs. 1 crore and above for a services business can apply to ASCENT Foundation for membership. The Foundation focusses on business leaders who are able to demonstrate a strong ambition to grow, share a principled sense of business and personal ethics and are willingness to share, collaborate and commit. Shortlisted applications will be called for group interactions and a personal interview. Finalised members will be inducted into 4-5 Trust Groups thus officially commencing the Chennai chapter. With close to 12 lakh small and medium enterprises in Tamil Nadu, Chennai has witnessed a huge proliferation in the number of entrepreneurs in the recent years. Making note of the growing needs for holistic entrepreneurial development, entrepreneurs keen to know more about ASCENT Foundation and the application process can visit: http://www.ascentfoundation.in/membership_process.php About ASCENT: ASCENT is a not-for-profit expression of Harsh Mariwala (Chairman, Marico Ltd. and Founder, ASCENT Foundation) and his passion to identify high-potential growth-ready entrepreneurs and enable them to grow their enterprise. Since its launch in 2012, ASCENT has selected over 350 entrepreneurs as members who are part of 30 operational Trust Groups. The composition of these members is quite diverse with a 50:50 split between Manufacturing and Services Industries; 44% Family Businesses; 10% Women Entrepreneurs and in all about 65+ diverse industries represented. The aggregate annual revenue of the ASCENT members is more than Rs. 16,000 crores with individual member turnover ranging from Rs. 1 crore to Rs. 2000+ crores. For more details please visit: http://www.ascentfoundation.in/. Media Contacts: Shivani Divecha, Manager, ASCENT Foundation [email protected] +91-9821879331 Bhakti Dalal Independent Communications Consultant BDCC [email protected] +91-9819118807 SOURCE ASCENT Foundation HYDERABAD, India, August 3, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- India's most comprehensive Analytical, Lab, Pharma Machinery and Contract Services Event by UBM India UBM India, organizers of CPhI / P-MEC India, the leading global pharma trade show and conference, today announced the 5th edition of PharmaLytica 2018. The two-day event will be held at Hyderabad, the Bulk Drug capital of India, at the HITEX Exhibition Center on 10th & 11th August 2018. (Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/675607/UBM_Logo.jpg ) (Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/726649/PharmaLytica_2018.jpg ) The most important pharma related expo in South India, PharmaLytica 2018, will enable the pharmaceutical community pick up on the latest industry trends, innovations and conduct business with Analytical, Laboratory, Machinery, Packaging and other allied industries. The expo is well supported by associations including Pharmexcil, Confederation of Indian Pharmaceutical Industry (CiPi) and Indian Drug Manufacturers' Association (IDMA). In the current edition, PharmaLytica will witness the participation of over 150 exhibitors from across the country including notable industry players such as Kirloskar, Standard Group of Companies, Bry-Air Asia, Allyone Industries, Rotomark Innovations, Gandhi Automation, Mack Pharmatech, Autocal Solutions, Helios Concrew, S.K. Pharma Machinery, NPM Machinery, GMM Pfaudler, ELGI Equipments, First Source Lab, Apex Chromatography, Valfit Engineers, Integrated Cleanroom Technology, Dumra Machines, Sigma Scientific Glass, among many others. The event also comprises the PharmaLytica Seminar, covering a number of insightful sessions and discussions on the latest industry trends. Some of these include subjects such as 'A Smart Pharma Manufacturing for Operational Excellence; Latest in Pharmaceutical, Analytical & Lab'; 'Technology Edge' that will talk about the importance of information in the pharmaceutical industry; 'Cost-Quality Efficiency'; 'Setting Quality Culture Parameters' that will talk about challenges pertaining to quality culture articulation; 'A distant view of Indian Pricing & Regulatory: US Perspective'; 'Presentation of Case study on Pharmacoeconomics'; 'Is Regulatory Compliance much more than good manufacturing Practices (GMP)?' and 'Regulatory, Pricing & Patients - Equilibrium'. To enhance the touch-and-feel aspect of the expo, one of the much-anticipated highlights will be the inclusion of an Innovation Gallery, where visitors get to view first-hand, the eye-catching innovations and technology offered by the exhibitors. The expo plans to spread out its wings in 2019 by venturing into the Western region with its strong pharma market by hosting PharmaLytica for the first time in Mumbai. While targeting the South-West market with sectors such as Lab & Analytical, Pharma Machinery & Packaging, PharmaLytica will also launch API and Excipients zone to continue its pre-eminence in this region. This will enhance the exhibition profile as a one stop shop for all end-to-end Pharma solutions under one roof. Speaking on the announcement of the 5th edition of PharmaLytica, Mr. Yogesh Mudras, Managing Director, UBM India said, "Over the years, PharmaLytica has evolved as the leading marketplace for products and services along the entire value chain in niche segments within the Pharma industry. The expo and especially the conference within it, seeks to deepen understanding of the changing landscape in the sector to enable responses to marketplace trends. It will also play a key role in establishing a unique drug safety ecosystem in India." "By 2020, India is likely to be among the top three pharmaceutical markets by incremental growth and 6th largest market globally in absolute size. The pharma companies are making tremendous efforts to discover new drugs, increasing R&D expenditure, implementing technology and introducing new methodologies to improve quality of manufacturing. Our focus at PharmaLytica would be to keep the companies abreast with innovations in the growing businesses of India's pharma industry. Given our growing and unrivalled offering in the pharma domain, and the fact that the expo has been growing in tandem with the growth of the sector including in the ancillary side, we are pleased to move PharmaLytica to Mumbai in 2019. Side by side, we are also increasing our offerings and this will no doubt, add immense value to the strong Western market in addition to the Southern one," he further added. Renowned as the pharmacy of the world, the Indian pharma economy has been lauded for its rapid growth in recent decades. The pharmaceutical sector was valued at US$ 33 billion in 2017. The country's pharmaceutical industry is expected to expand at a CAGR of 22.4 per cent over 2015-20 to reach US$ 55 billion. India's pharmaceutical exports stood at US$ 17.27 billion in 2017-18 and are expected to reach US$ 20 billion by 2020. The various economic drivers and government policies like pharma parks, boosting the biosimilars and biologics sector, along with ancillary sectors, and reducing manufacturing costs are the key driving factors for the growth of the sector in the country. The 'Pharma Vision 2020', introduced to make India a global leader in end-to-end drug manufacturing, has also boosted investments. To know more about the event and register for a free entry to the event, visit - http://www.ubmindia.in/pharmalytica About UBM Asia UBM Asia recently became part of Informa PLC, a leading B2B information services group and the largest B2B Events organiser in the world. Please visit http://www.ubm.com/asia for more information about our presence in Asia. About PharmaLytica: PharmaLytica is organised by UBM, which in June 2018 combined with Informa PLC to become a leading B2B information services group and the largest B2B Events organiser in the world. Please visit http://www.ubm.com/india for more information about our presence in India. Media Contact: Prachi Kumar [email protected] +91-7718866668 UBM India SOURCE UBM India Pvt. Ltd. HYDERABAD, India, August 3, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- International Institute of Information Technology Hyderabad (IIIT-H) signed a MOU with Information Technology, Electronics & Communication (ITE&C) Department, Government of Telangana to assist in the upcoming Blockchain District. (Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/600789/IIIT_Hyderabad_Logo.jpg ) IIIT Hyderabad will help in identifying various use cases, protocol development, incubation, acceleration and other related programs to achieve the vision of making India, and specifically Telangana, a blockchain hub. The institute will also explore and build PoCs using blockchain, partner in carrying out research in Blockchain Centre of Excellence (CoE) and help focus on bringing together research institutions, private sector and startups in creating the Blockchain Innovation Hub. The institute will also act as a knowledge partner to ITE&C Department in Blockchain related technology innovations, partner on capacity building initiative of the ITE&C Department in Blockchain related technologies and build Proof of Concept applications using blockchain for identified areas. Speaking on this collaboration, Prof P J Narayanan, Director, IIIT-Hyderabad, said, "IIIT-Hyderabad is glad to be associated with Government of Telangana in the upcoming Blockchain District. These emerging technologies are the way forward, and as a leading information technology institute we are happy to share our research and knowledge in these areas that have the potential of creating a greater impact on society." IIIT-Hyderabad is also a global partner of American payment technology company Ripple for its University Blockchain Research Initiative. Ripple has partnered with 17 prestigious universities around the world to help shape the workforce of the future. Eight emerging technologies such as Blockchain, Artificial Intelligence, Cloud, Internet of Things (IoT), Virtual Reality & Augmented Reality, Robotics, 3D Printing and Big Data have been identified to promote Telangana's vision of becoming a leader in key emerging technologies. Jayesh Ranjan IAS, Principal Secretary to Government of Telangana, ITE&C and Industries & Commerce Departments, said, "Blockchain Technology is a very important focus area for the Government of Telangana. We are not limiting ourselves to promoting use-cases of blockchain within the Government but are planning to develop Hyderabad as a hotbed for blockchain related development. This MoU is a key step enabling such an ecosystem here and we are happy to partner with a prestigious institution like IIIT Hyderabad." About IIIT-Hyderabad: The International Institute of Information Technology, Hyderabad (IIIT-H) is an autonomous research university founded in 1998 that focuses on the core areas of Information Technology, such as Computer Science, Electronics and Communications, and their applications in other domains through inter-disciplinary research with great social impact. Some of its research domains include Visual Information Technologies, Human Language Technologies, Data Engineering, VLSI and Embedded Systems, Computer Architecture, Wireless Communications, Algorithms and Information Security, Robotics, Building Science, Earthquake Engineering, Computational Natural Sciences and Bioinformatics, IT in Agriculture and e-Governance. Website: http://www.iiit.ac.in Media Contact: Sunory Dutt [email protected] +91-9676999540 Head of Communications International Institute of Information Technology, Hyderabad SOURCE International Institute of Information Technology-Hyderabad NEW DELHI, August 3, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The Prem Bhatia Memorial Trust - instituted in the memory of the late Mr. Prem Bhatia, the eminent journalist, announced winners of The Prem Bhatia Awards 2018 for Outstanding Political and Outstanding Environment Reporting, today. The winners are Aakar Patel, Syndicated Columnist for The Prem Bhatia Award for Political Reporting and Sibi Arasu, Independent Journalist for Environment Reporting. Bengaluru based Aakar is a 48-year-old syndicated columnist who combines his role as head of Amnesty International (India) with writing for a variety of publications including the Times of India and The Hindu. He is a former newspaper editor, most recently of the Gujarati daily Divya Bhaskar and has translated the non-fiction of Saadat Hasan Manto from Urdu and the works of Narendra Modi from Gujarati. The jury that selected him say his 'popular columns are distinguished by his incisive witty, erudite allusions, easy style and courage in exposing the flaws in our politics and society.' Sibi Arasu is a 31-year-old independent journalist based in Mysore, Karnataka who has been reporting exclusively on the environment, people's rights and development, and climate-change-related issues for the last five years, before which he worked at multiple national news organizations in Delhi, including The Hindu and The Times of India. The jury praised his 'sensitive, in-depth content' and 'superb photographswhether documenting urban chaos, battles with sand or water mafia or the protected- animal-species-versus-human-lives-conflict deep in the wilds.' The Awards will be presented at the 23rd Prem Bhatia Memorial Lecture at the India International Centre, New Delhi on Saturday, August 11, 2018, at 6.30 pm. The Annual Lecture this year is being delivered by Mr Hamid Ansari, Former Vice President of India on "Religion, Religiosity and the World Order". About Prem Bhatia Memorial Trust The Prem Bhatia Memorial Trust was founded in 1995. It was established in memory of Prem Bhatia, the eminent journalist who was well known for his political reporting and far sightedness and also for his independence of judgement, unfaltering objectivity and exceptionally high analytical ability. Each year the Trust, gives two Awards - Outstanding Political Reporting of the Year, and Outstanding Environmental Reporting of the year - decided by independent juries specially constituted for this purpose. Media Contact: Anand Bhatia +91-9811208095 Prem Bhatia Memorial Trust SOURCE The Prem Bhatia Memorial Trust Increasing costs of operation and high congestion at the existing business aviation hubs in Asia Pacific region offer an opportune setting for an airport in Malaysia to emerge as the next hub in the region KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, Aug. 3, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The economic progress of Malaysia and a growing number of high net-worth individuals in the country is leading to a steady growth in the demand for business aviation. This coupled with the regional dynamics of the industry, wherein existing hubs such as Singapore's Selatar airport and Hong Kong International Airport are giving preference to commercial flights, present an ideal moment for Malaysia to capitalise. As per a recent survey conducted by Frost & Sullivan among industry stakeholders in the Asia Pacific region, the Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah airport at Subang in Malaysia is the most favoured choice for the next business aviation hub in the region. "Subang is already the most frequently used business aviation airport in Malaysia and it has potential to develop even further," said Nishant Dey Purkayastha, Consultant at Frost & Sullivan. Frost & Sullivan estimates that the business aviation fleet owned and used by Malaysians, which stood at 51 jets in 2017, can potentially reach to 124 jets by 2030. "However, the industry has several roadblocks that need to be mitigated in order to realize the full potential. Regulatory issues related to registration, financing and cabotage policy are major roadblocks. For instance, only 30% of the fleet based out of Malaysia are registered in the Malaysian registry. The others are registered in other countries. This hampers the domestic charter industry as the internationally registered jets cannot be used for domestic operations. Other hurdles are in the form of infrastructure related issues and operational issues," said Nishant. The availability of a complete ecosystem, including charter operators, authorised maintenance centers, fixed-based operators and parking space, were key reasons that helped Singapore and Hong Kong to emerge as hubs for business aviation. "Subang currently does have a decent ecosystem, with some leading global names such as ExecuJet and Hawker Pacific, as well as established local players like Smooth Route, Sapura Aero and Redland Aviation. However, some aspects of the value chain such as painting and modifications, flight simulation and training, and parts distribution and logistics are missing. Malaysia will need to attract investments to fill up the gaps and complete the ecosystem," he added. Currently, Subang's annual business jet movement stands at around 3,200. The leading business aviation airports in Asia Pacific region are Beijing (9,000 movement), Hong Kong (7,250 movement), Shanghai (5,000 movement) and Singapore (4,900 movement). Subang's numbers are marginally ahead of Bangkok's Don Muang airport and Manila's Ninoy Aquino airport. As per Frost & Sullivan's analysis, if the issues in the ecosystem in Malaysia can be addressed, the annual business jets movement in Subang can potentially reach a figure of 9,299 by 2030. Business aviation sector's contribution to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Malaysia stands at 0.008% currently. On the other hand, developed countries such as the United States, Canada and United Kingdom typically have a contribution of around 0.20% of the GDP from the business aviation industry. This provides immense potential for the industry to grow in Malaysia and at the same time create jobs and contribute to the economy. Currently, the industry contributes approximately 96 million Ringgit to the annual GDP and provides 636 person-years of employment. In the best case scenario, this can potentially grow to 342 million Ringgit in GDP contribution and 1,546 person-years of employment by 2030. The development of the industry will require all the key stakeholders to work in tandem. While the Ministry of Transportation, the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM) and Malaysian Aviation Commission (MAVCOM) will have to take the lead to ease the regulatory hurdles, Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad will have to work in conjunction with agencies such as Malaysia Investment Development Authority (MIDA) to prospect and attract the right investors. Understanding the needs of the investors and coming with an appropriate investment package to seal the deals. Nishant added, "Thailand, Philippines and Indonesia are some of the other regional players that can potentially look to develop a business aviation hub. But Malaysia's existing ecosystem is more developed and the industry players seem to hold a more favourable view of Malaysia. However, delays in taking steps in the right direction might enable to competitors to catch up." About Frost & Sullivan For over five decades, Frost & Sullivan has become world-renowned for its role in helping investors, corporate leaders and governments navigate economic changes and identify disruptive technologies, Mega Trends, new business models and companies to action, resulting in a continuous flow of growth opportunities to drive future success. Contact us: Start the discussion. Contact: Melissa Tan Corporate Communications Asia Pacific P: +65 6890 0926 F: +65 6890 0999 E: melissa.tan@frost.com http://ww2.frost.com Related Links http://www.frost.com SOURCE Frost & Sullivan XINING, China, Aug. 3, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- On July 23rd, the Ya-dun Festival commenced in Tongren County (Rebgong) of Huangnan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, northwest China's Qinghai Province, where the beautiful scenery can be seen everywhere and people can experience the unique Tibetan culture, including Tibetan food, Tibetan clothing, Tibetan dances, etc. The Ya-dun Festival is a traditional festival in Rebgong, which is held from July 23 to September 15, 2018. The main contents include Tibetan operas, Tangka painting and gala parties, as well as wonderful horsemanship display. Ya-dun is Tibetan language and it means celebrating summer. Summer is the best season to visit Rebgong. Everyone will go out for picnic, enjoy beautiful scenery of green grass and streams, as well as taste food and play games. And young men will have sport competitions such as wrestling, riding and archery. Today, the Ya-dun Festival focuses on Tibetan operas, so it is also called Tibetan drama festival. The festival kicked off with the opening ceremony of Tibetan operas. Actors and actresses from 6 domestic opera troupes performed their best operas, while partying groups gathered on the grass, feasted each other with their own highland barley wine, buttered tea and home-made Tibetan desserts. They enjoyed the operas, swaying their prayer wheels or twisting Buddha beads. Nowadays, the Ya-dun Festival has become the most influential comprehensive celebration activity in Rebgong. It is also a grand meeting for commodity exchanges. According to the Publicity Department of Huangnan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, in recent years, the local government strengthened the protection of the ecological environment, and also promoted the development of tourism and cultural industry. To date, Huangnan has established the Regong Cultural and Ecological Reserve. It has also established cultural industry areas for tangka, clay sculpture, embossed embroidery, stone carving, Tibetan embroidery, and ethnic clothing. SOURCE The Publicity Department of Huangnan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture Stock and commodities markets Investment Banks Raise Their Oil Forecasts The world's biggest investment banks have raised their oil forecasts again, for the 10th month in a row, The Wall Street Journal reports. The main reason for that is said to be a drop in oil export from Iran amid shorter global oil inventories. According to the consensus forecast made by the world's 9 biggest investment banks interviewed by Bloomberg, the average prices of Brent and WTI oil are expected to be $73,65/b and $68/b respectively. This prediction happens to be $2/b higher than in June. It's interesting to note that the experts have evaluated the oil market not only from the standpoint of shorter oil export from Iran but also from the standpoint of higher oil production in Saudi Arabia and Russia. In late June, the OPEC+ participants agreed to increase their oil production starting from July. There were no figures specified for each country. However, the experts believe that Russia and Saudi Arabia are probably going to raise their production by 1 million barrels a day. It should also be noted that the decision was made after May's oil price rally up to $80/b. In the meantime, Brent oil is currently trading at $72,05/b, which is 0,5% below yesterday's close price. You are free to discuss this article here: forum for traders and investors Got a question? Ask it here Goldman Sachs is back in the game 20 years ago, Goldman Sachs used to be a Wall Street legend and a dream company to work for graduates with a financial degree. Over the last few years, the bank has been a loser with thousands of disappointed employees, managers, and investors. However, the other day Goldman Sachs made an attempt to get back in the game. Read more European ETFs - Decent Alternative to American ETFs The mentioned PRIIP rules are forcing the financial service providers and brokers to publish a specific set of info documents including the so-called KID with the key info on certain investment and insurance products. Since the funds coming from outside of Europe do not conform to these requirements, they cannot be offered to EU residents as investment products. Read more Warren Buffett Keeps Loading Up On Bank of America's Stock Berkshire Hathaway keeps loading up on Bank of America's stock. This time, during the period of July 31st - August 4th, they purchased over 13,6 million shares, which cost 337 million dollars. The average prices was 24,81 dollars per share. With that being said, Berkshire Hathaway now owns 1,03 billion shares of the stock, which is 26,15 billion dollars in dollar terms. As for the Federal Reserve, they agreed to increase the fund's share to 24,9%. Read more WTI Price Drops After US Oil Inventories Report Today, another crude oil inventories report has been released by the USA: Read more Is Gold Worth Investing Amid Crisis? Securing assets has always been number-one goal during crises. This is something that worries borth financial experts and plain folks who are far from the peculiarities of the financial world but who are still witnessing their savings vanish amid inflation and devaluation. Read more Remember the Key Rules of Investing in Stocks Without further ado, let's consider a bunch of principles of investing in stock, which will put the odds of succeeding in this business in your favor: Read more Apple Patents iPhone Without Ports And Holes, Device Expected In 2021 It seems that the release of the long-awaited iPhone without any ports or holes is getting more and more portable. Apple has always favored minimalistic designs, especially over the last 5 years. In 2015, almost all of the classic ports were deprecated in MacBooks in favor of a single one - USB-C Thunderbolt 3. In 2017, iPhone 7 got rid of the 3.5mm audio jack. Read more Gold Sets New Records The gold market is insane. The gold futures price set a new major high in New York. In particular, the dollar price of the precious metal set a new 7- year high. With that being said, maybe you should add gold to your investment portfolio along with BTC? Well,lat's ponder upon this question. Read more Brent Prices Drop Down To $61/b The concerns over the global demand for crude oil are getting back to the market again. The current trading week has been a week of discounts. Earlier today, Brent oil saw its price drop down to 61 dollars per barrel. The WTI price dropped all the way down to 56 dollars per barrel. The supply side has got an upper hand. Read more Welcome Guest! You Are Here: Rantoul, IL (61866) Today Partly cloudy skies this evening. Increasing clouds with periods of showers late. Low near 45F. Winds E at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 60%.. Tonight Partly cloudy skies this evening. Increasing clouds with periods of showers late. Low near 45F. Winds E at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 60%. Moscow court dismisses motion to seize property of MAST-Banks former managers RAPSI 10:55 03/08/2018 MOSCOW, August 3 (RAPSI) The Moscow Commercial Court has dismissed a motion filed by the Deposit Insurance Agency (DIA) state corporation seeking to seize property of 21 ex-managers of MAST-Bank, the court ruling reads. Value of the property in question reaches 13.1 billion rubles ($206.2 million). According to the court, the applicant did not provide sufficient evidence to support its claims. It was stated that arguments of the DIA are based on speculation and cant be taken into account by the court. The bank was declared bankrupt in August 2015. During the bankruptcy procedure it was found that the banks management made several deals exchanging the banks assets with unpayable debts of individuals and legal entities. It was also found that the bank did not take measures to prevent its bankruptcy. Earlier, ex-president of now insolvent MAST-Bank Yury Pirogov and two other ex-managers pleaded not guilty to embezzlement of 5.6 billion rubles ($90 million). Investigators believe that in 2013-2015 the defendants stole funds by giving out non-performing credits to companies under their control and then transferred money further to other organizations. The defendants were detained until September 27. Earlier, the court sentenced ex-top manager of the bank Alexander Chemetov to 4.5 years in a penal colony. Chemetov admitted his guilt in full. Emergency Ministry official to stay detained in Kemerovo mall fire case 13:59 03/08/2018 MOSCOW, August 3 (RAPSI) The Kemerovo Regional Court has upheld extension of detention for the head of the Ministry of Emergencies regional directorate Grigory Terentyev as part of a case over tragic fire in Zimnyaya Vishnya (Winter Cherry) shopping mall that left 60 people dead, the courts press service has told RAPSI. Terentyev will stay jailed until September 25. Terentyev and head of the Ministry of Emergencies department for Kemerovo Region Alexander Mamontov, depending on their alleged actions, are charged with criminal negligence and embezzlement. Hearing of Mamontovs appeal against extended detention is set for August 9. Earlier, Russias Investigative Committee reported that the defendants negligence was confirmed by the results of conducted examination. Investigators believe that Mamontov and Terentyev have not organized the malls safety examination since 2017 despite knowing that one should have been completed before March 18. Moreover, from 2015 to 2018, Mamontov used his position to embezzle 1.8 million rubles ($29,200) from the Ministry and spent the money for benefit of other persons. The blaze in the mall occurred on March 25. According to investigators, 60 people including dozens of children were killed by fire. Initially it was reported that 64 people died. A criminal case has been launched over involuntary manslaughter, violation of fire safety regulations that left more than two persons dead and provisions of services that dont meet safety requirements. As of today, eleven defendants are detained. They are: Yulia Bogdanova, CEO of the Kemerovsky Confectionary Combine, a company owning the mall, Tanziliya Komkova, chief of the regions State Construction Inspection, a formal head of the malls owner company Georgy Sobolev; the malls manager Nadezhda Suddenok; CEO of the company System Integrator that developed the fire safety system Igor Polozinenko; an employee of the company, who personally installed the fire alarm Alexander Nikitin, a guard who allegedly turned off the emergency notification system when he received a fire signal Sergey Antyushin and fire team commander Sergey Genin, chief of the ministrys directorate for Kemerovo Grigory Terentyev and ex-director of the ministrys department for Kemerovo Region Alexander Mamontov and the fire control service chief of the Federal Fire-Fighting Services regional departments 1 team Andrey Bursin charged with negligence. Ulyukayevs lawyers seek to finally fine him in order to lift seizure of property RIA Novosti, Ramil Sitdikov 15:59 03/08/2018 MOSCOW, August 3 (RAPSI) Legal defense of Russias former Economy Minister Alexey Ulyukayev convicted of corruption has asked the Zamoskvoretsky District Court of Moscow to enforce a 130-million-ruble ($2 million) fine against their client, the courts press-service has told RAPSI. Earlier, the court refused to lift seizure of property belonging to Ulyukayev and only unfroze the former ministers bank account required for payment of the fine. The court noted that the seizure of property will remain in place until the fine is paid in full. On July 5, Ulyukayev appealed a ruling of the court to return $2 million that ex-minister received as a bribe to the Federal Security Service (FSB) general. It was revealed that money was transferred to Ulyukayev during an investigatory experiment in 2016. The court ruled to return money to General Oleg Feoktistov, who personally filed an application for return of the assets. The former minister was sentenced to 8 years in high security prison and a 130-million-ruble fine (about $2 million) on December 15, 2017. Moscows Zamoskvoretsky District Court held that his involvement in the bribery was proven by witnesses testimony and other examined evidence. The defendants words about innocence were regarded as attempt to evade criminal liability. Later, the Moscow City Court upheld the prison term for Ulyukayev despite slightly changing the sentence itself. Ulyukayev was arrested on November 14, 2016, when leaving the office of Rosneft oil company. The Federal Security Services (FSB) officers found a bag holding $2 million in cash in his official car. He was charged with extortion a grand bribe. According to the Investigative Committee, he threatened to create obtrusions for Rosneft with the use of his position. Ulyukayev stated that the case was fabricated. The defendant noted that there was a provocation, orchestrated by FSB and that there was no sound evidence in the case, aside from testimony provided by Rosneft CEO Igor Sechin. President Vladimir Putin relieved Ulyukayev of his post because of loss of trust on November 15, 2016. On June 4, the defendant was transferred to a prison. Number of extremist crimes drops for first time in recent years prosecutors RAPSI 11:59 03/08/2018 MOSCOW, August 3 (RAPSI) Russias Deputy Prosecutor General Alexander Buksman said on Friday that the number of extremist crimes had decreased for the first time during the last few years. Moreover, the rate of crimes of terrorist nature dropped by 14 percent, the official announced during the meeting of the Prosecutor Generals Office summarizing the results of work in the first half of 2018. Buksman also stated during the meeting that it is necessary to especially control the problems of observance of fundamental constitutional rights of citizens and prevent illegal opening of criminal cases and detention of suspected and accused persons. Russian Prosecutor General orders to inspect prisons after torture scandal RIA Novosti, Vladimir Fedorenko 12:59 03/08/2018 MOSCOW, August 3 (RAPSI) Russian Prosecutor General Yury Chaika has ordered inspection of all facilities managed by the Federal Penitentiary Service (FSIN) after revelations concerning violation of constitutional rights in prisons and embezzlement of funds allocated to modernization of the system. The order was announced at the meeting concerning summation of the Prosecutor Generals Offices work in the first half of 2018. In particular, the Prosecutor General ordered to review complaints filed by inmates and review documents dismissing the launch of criminal cases against prison employees. If any violations are found, criminal cases are to be launched against officials responsible. Chaika also called for taking measures against investigators and prosecutors responsible for unlawful provisions. The statement of the Prosecutor General follows prison torture scandal in a Yaroslavl penal colony that resulted in public outcry. On August 2, the Investigative Committee of Russia brought charges against 12 employees of the Yaroslavl Penal Colony One as part of the criminal case over beating and torture of an inmate. Names of the defendants are: Maksim Yablokov, Igor Bogdanov, Ruslan Tsvetkov, Aleksey Brovkin, Dmitry Solovyov, Sergey Drachev, Ivan Kalashnikov, Sergey Yefremov, Alexander Morozov, Andrey Zybin, Aleksey Andreyev and Aleksey Mikityuk. The case is classified as abuse of office involving use of violence, which is being investigated by the main directorate of the Investigative Committee. The crime may be punished by a prison term of up to 10 years. Earlier, Novaya Gazeta newspaper published a video showing an inmate being tortured by some persons wearing grey camouflage uniforms. Later, it was revealed that the victim in the video had been identified as Yevgeny Makarov, who is serving his term in the Yaroslavl penal colony. The video was filmed by one of the staff members according to lawyers representing Makarov. Irina Biryukova, the inmates attorney, who handed the footage to the media, has asked the Federal Chamber of Attorneys to ensure her safety because of threats from the prison staff. She also announced that she was leaving Russia. The Chairman of the Presidential Council for Human Rights Mikhail Fedotov visited the penal colony on July 23. The Council filed its reports to the Investigative Committee and the General Prosecutors Office. Signals received from the government in the past one year reflect a state of utter confusion, says Abhishek Tripathi. The Mahindra e2oPlus, operated by Ola, is seen at an electric vehicle charging station in Nagpur. Photograph: Aditi Shah/Reuters The need for an electric vehicle (EV) revolution in India is far greater than, perhaps, in any other major economy of the world. The levels of urban pollution and the contribution of oil to the current account deficit alone should force policy-makers to push for EV mobility. While the technology is taking its course, an appropriate policy direction through government support and regulatory clarity can go a long way in quickening the pace of adoption of EVs in India. The levels of urban pollution and the contribution of oil to the current account deficit alone should force policy-makers to push for EV mobility in India. Signals received from the government in the past one year reflect a state of utter confusion. It started with ambitious claims to achieve 100 per cent EV mobility by 2030, which after some disquiet got rationalised to 30 per cent. Much time was lost in determining whether provision of charging facilities for EVs amounts to sale of electricity or provision of service under the Electricity Act ("Act"). The issue of subsidy to consumers purchasing EVs too has seen flip-flops, with consumers initially getting the subsidy under FAME (a central government scheme), which is now proposed to be made available only to cab aggregators. At last, good sense prevailed and it was held to be a provision of service, thus dispensing with the requirements of licensing under the Act. The issue of subsidy to consumers purchasing EVs too has seen flip-flops, with consumers initially getting the subsidy under FAME (a central government scheme), which is now proposed to be made available only to cab aggregators. With oil reserves going down and fuel prices going up, India needs an EV revolution more than any other economy. At the macro level, an EV policy which outlines the road map for EV mobility and development of infrastructure would have helped in providing the necessary clarity to both manufacturers and consumers. However, that too appears to have been shelved. The latest reported statement from the government is that "India does not need an EV policy". For EVs to be viable, an EV ecosystem needs to be created first. The absence of charging infrastructure (CI), coupled with the short distances in which EVs can operate due to battery limitations, makes EVs a non-starter for many consumers. Given current EV volumes, standalone CIs for any operator may not be viable without some kind of government support in the form of subsidies, viability gap funding (VGF) and incentives. A fuel station in Kolkata. Photograph: Rupak De Chowdhuri /Reuters While it will be tempting for the government to pick one of its cash-rich PSUs, like NTPC, PGCIL, or even oil marketing companies to set up the CI, it will be prudent for the government not to restrict its purse to PSUs. PSUs have little experience of operating such infrastructure, and being listed entities, it will be unfair to saddle them with such responsibility at the cost of shareholder value. In addition, oil marketing companies, which can allow the setting up of CI at their fuel stations, will face considerable conflict of interest in promoting a technology that is likely to erode their own profitability. Competitive and open bidding for VGF may prompt serious and experienced players to step in to set up CI. The involvement of private players in a transparent bidding process in solar power projects has shown how quickly tariffs can be reduced. Fair competition in EV charging may show similar results if all players are provided a level playing field. Easy availability of charging infrastructure and battery swapping facilities hold the key to shifting consumer preferences. Consistent supply of power to CI operators at a reasonable cost is another challenge. While some electricity regulators have taken the initiative to establish a separate tariff category for EV charging stations, many others are yet to wake up to their existence. The tariff charged to the charging stations needs to be reasonably low to ensure that EV users do not indulge in arbitrage by shifting the charging burden to their domestic connections. Mass-scale charging of EVs through domestic connections, as against through commercial charging stations, may create problems for grid management and stability. Further, to ensure consistent availability of electricity, pan-India open access for CI may be required in the long-term. In the short run, the regulators may be persuaded to at least allow intra-state open access to enable CI operators to purchase electricity in the market within the state. Open access has often been made unviable through cross-subsidy surcharge (CSS). Given the broad policy objective of promoting EVs, EV operators should not be burdened with meeting the subsidy burden of rural and low-income customers. Therefore, such open access will also need to be allowed at no CSS. Wherever practicable, CI operators will also need to be incentivised to invest in captive generation units, and the regulators will need to ensure that CI operators are not subjected to excessive wheeling and banking charges. The battle between EVs and conventional vehicles (CVs) is loaded in favor of the CV. The cost, availability, and ease of driving alone make CVs the obvious choice. The balance will need to tilt for EVs to become the preferred choice, and easy availability of charging infrastructure and battery swapping facilities will hold the key to shifting consumer preferences, at least in the short run. Appropriate government intervention can make migration to EVs smoother and quicker. Abhishek Tripathi is partner, Sarthak Advocates & Solicitors, a Delhi-based law firm. Once implemented, customers making payments using Rupay card or BHIM UPI will get a cashback of 20 per cent of the total GST amount, subject to a maximum of Rs 100. Illustration: Dominic Xavier/Rediff.com Sushil Modi-led ministerial panel on Friday approved a proposal for incentivising digital payments through Rupay card and BHIM app by way of cashbacks. Once implemented, customers making payments using Rupay card or BHIM UPI will get a cashback of 20 per cent of the total GST amount, subject to a maximum of Rs 100. The recommendations of the Group of Ministers (GoM) will now be placed before the GST Council on Saturday. Briefing reporters after the meeting, Modi said the move to provide cashbacks to users of Rupay and BHIM is intended to encourage use of digital mode of payment, especially in semi-urban and rural areas. The move will have a revenue impact of Rs 1,000 crore annually, to be shared equally between the Centre and states. Asked by when the cashback would be credited to the bank account, the Bihar deputy chief minister said the detailed modalities will be worked out once the GST Council clears the proposal. He said based on the success of this move, the incentives will be extended to users of all card holders at a later date. The Council had in its meeting on July 21 tasked the GoM to work out modalities for incentivising digital payments under Goods and Services Tax (GST) for users of Rupay and BHIM. All Jan-Dhan account holders have Rupay cards, which has been launched by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI). BHIM, a mobile app developed by NPCI, is based on United Payment Interface (UPI) for cashless payments. The GoM had last month decided to defer by a year the proposal to incentivise digital payments under GST citing revenue implications of doling out concessional tax rate. At that time, the GoM was looking at incentivising digital payments using all modes of online payments. However, the GST Council, chaired by Union Finance Minister Piyush Goyal, at its latest meeting on July 21, asked the GoM to have a re-look at the possibility of early introduction of concessions for digital payments. To incentivise digital transactions, the GST Council in its last meeting in May had discussed giving a concession of 2 per cent in GST rate (where the tax rate is 3 per cent or more) to consumers making payment through cheque or digital mode. The discount would be capped at Rs 100 per transaction. The five-member GoM on incentivising digital transaction includes Gujarat Deputy Chief Minister Nitinbhai Patel, West Bengal Finance Minister Amit Mitra, Haryana Excise and Taxation Minister Capt Abhimanyu and Punjab Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal. PepsiCo India spokesperson said fake news suggesting Kurkure has plastic in it has affected the brands reputation If you are not living under a rock, you must have come across posts, tweets, videos explaining how Kurkure, a popular snack from the stable of PepsiCo India, can catch fire easily, implying it contains plastic. PepsiCo India has now secured an interim 'John Doe' or 'Ashok Kumar' order from the Delhi high court, which could put an end to the controversy - at least on social media. From Twitter to YouTube, Facebook to Instagram, the order would entail deleting any such post maligning Kurkure and its maker. While this is the first instance of a company asking all social media platforms to delete offensive posts about its brand, there have been similar cases earlier, albeit on a smaller scale. In March, cigarette-to-hotels major ITC received a favourable order from the civil court in Bengaluru, debarring the circulation of videos on WhatsApp and Facebook that falsely claimed Aashirvaad Atta had plastic. The order had come after ITC filed police complaints in Kolkata and Hyderabad against people spreading false news. The same month saw Baba Ramdevs Patanjali Ayurved getting an interim order from the Delhi high court, directing Facebook, Google and YouTube to take down a video blog that disparaged its atta brand. However, the order favouring PepsiCo is staggering to say the least. Estimates suggest over 20,000 Facebook posts, 3,412 Facebook links, 242 YouTube videos, 6 Instagram links, and 562 tweets about Kurkure have been ordered to be deleted. Ironically, the firm recently spent Rs 20 million to curb the rumours. When contacted, Facebook and YouTube told Business Standard they had received the court order and had initiated action. According to a Google India spokesperson, all video URLs that were mentioned in the order have been removed from YouTube. A Facebook spokesperson said: When governments believe that something on the internet violates their laws, they may contact companies like Facebook and ask us to restrict access to that content. "Similarly, we may receive orders to restrict content from courts. "If, after careful legal review, we determine the order is valid and enforceable, we might make the content unavailable in the relevant country and notify people who try to access it why it is restricted. As Twitter began deleting related tweets, twitterati shared jokes saying: Did you know: Plastic is made of Kurkure and Kurkure tastes like plastic. Will this also get taken down? Amid all this, a PepsiCo India spokesperson said: Kurkure is an extremely loved brand and consumed by families across India. "Fake news suggesting Kurkure has plastic in it has affected the brands reputation. Due to such fake and defamatory content circulating on the social media, PepsiCo India was forced to move the Delhi high court. The court issued an interim order dated on June 1, directing social media platforms to remove or block access to the URLs/websites that contained false and defamatory content on Kurkure." While the court will next hear the matter on Nov 1, according to Kurkurefacts, a blog run by PepsiCo India, the snack burns not because it contains plastic, but because one of its main ingredients happens to be starch. "Also the vegetable oil that is used as another primary ingredient, expedites the burning. This holds true for all regular snack items like papads, poppadoms, papdis, that contain carbohydrates, proteins and fat," the blog said. 'There is a design of fundamentalists that the north east must become an Islamic country.' IMAGE: People wait to check their names on the final draft of the National Register of Citizens at a NRC Seva Kendra in Assam's Nagaon. Photograph: PTI Photo Prafulla Kumar Mahanta led the All Assam Students Union -- AASU -- and signed the Assam Accord with then prime minister Rajiv Gandhi in 1985. It is this accord which Bharatiya Janata Party President Amit Anilchandra Shah referred to in Parliament on Wednesday, August 1, when he said that the National Register of Citizens of India is the soul of the Assam Accord. Mahanta -- who was later elected chief minister and now serves as a leader of the Asom Gana Parishad party, an ally of the BJP which rules Assam -- has called for a pan-India update of the 1951 National Register of Citizens and a repatriation deal between India and Bangladesh at the earliest. "Why should Assam take more burden of refugees? All foreigners' names must be deleted from India. They must be treated as stateless people," Mahanta tells Rediff.com's Syed Firdaus Ashraf. You signed the Assam Accord in 1985. After 33 years, the NRC has come into effect. Why is there such uproar over the issue? The Congress played a double role in the Assam Accord. When Rajiv Gandhi was prime minister, he signed the Assam Accord, but never implemented it. The Congress had so many chances from 1985 to 1989. During P V Narasimha Rao's and then during Dr Manmohan Singh's time (too). But they never implemented it. The foreigners's problem can only be dealt by the central government and not by the state government. It was also decided in 1985 that the central government will take up this refugee problem with Bangladesh, but the Congress did not do that. In 1986, we tried to implement the Assam Accord by registering the names of Indians residing in Assam, but some tribal organisations opposed it. They said we are the original people of Assam and asked why the government wanted them to register their names. After which the whole system was struck down as the central government did not come forward to help us at that time. When Pradip Bhuyan and his wife went to the Supreme Court, there was a long hearing that went on, after which the NRC was implemented. Do you feel the Congress cheated on the Assam Accord for three decades? Not only did they (cheat), but also used the Bangladeshis as a vote bank. Be it Hindu Bengali or Muslim Bengali. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has warned that the NRC in Assam could lead to civil war... This is a wrong assessment. She also said there was an attempt to drive Bengalis out of Assam. This is not true. Everybody who came from Bangladesh, they speak Bengali, so they are in the list. But again her statement is not true. There are Assamese too who are not included in the NRC list. One of my party secretaries is not included in the NRC. Five members of his family were also not included. The late President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed's family's names were also not included. What do you do with the 40 lakh people who have been left out of the NRC list? These numbers will reduce. This is only a draft list. Many indigenous people of Assam are also not included. When you signed the Assam Accord in 1985, what was your thinking? Where would illegal immigrants be sent once they were detected? It was clear that they need to be detected and deported to Bangladesh. All the people who entered Assam after March 25, 1971 need to be deported to Bangladesh. Why have you called for a pan India NRC? All foreigners's names must be deleted from India. They must be treated as stateless people. If you check the Bangladesh population, it is decreasing. Now compare that with the population of each state in India. You will find that our states's population are increasing vis a vis Bangladesh. In Assam, in particular, the population has increased very unnaturally in the last three decades due to infiltrators from Bangladesh. People who support the refugees say India and Bangladesh share a border on meandering rivers and as the rivers shift course, there is no boundary between the two countries which can be demarcated. So how can you call people on India's border Bangladeshis? You know at the time of Partition (the current) seven states were one state, and that one state was Assam. In 1965, when there was war with Pakistan, lots of people from the then East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) came to India and settled in Assam. We also paid refugee tax then. In 1971, when Bangladesh was liberated, lots of people came to Assam and stayed in refugee camps and got assimilated here. Now, why should Assam take more burden of refugees? Assam is already divided into seven states like Tripura, Meghalaya and the others. Even the numbers reduce from 40 lakh to say 20 lakh, what do you do with these 20 lakh people? The Government of India must speak to Bangladesh. There is a design of fundamentalists that the north east must become an Islamic country. If you read the ISI (Pakistan's spy agency) report and other intelligence (from other) countries, you will find out this is happening. Already, in 14 districts of Assam, Bangladeshi Muslims are now in a majority. Therefore, their commitment is with Bangladesh and not with India. We do not want Assam to become another Kashmir. In Kashmir, being Indian, you cannot buy land. You cannot do that in Assam. Why do you think Assam can become Kashmir? During Partition, Pandit (Jawaharlal) Nehru wanted to give Assam to Pakistan. Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose and Mahatma Gandhi objected to it and only after that did Assam come to India. In 1962 also, when the Chinese occupied Bomdila, Nehru said that his heart goes out to the people of Assam. He gave up Assam at that time. Therefore, the people of Assam suffered from very beginning. Uttar Pradesh and Bihar borders Nepal, there are many Bangladeshis staying (there) and till this date, their names are not included in the voters' list and they are not citizens of India. In Assam, they have got their names included in the electoral list. They have purchased land and started doing business like other citizens of India. So you think if the NRC is not strictly implemented, Assam can become another Kashmir? At least we will know that such and such people are Indian citizens. You are saying there is a design to convert Assam into an Islamic state. But there are others who say these are hungry and poor people. Why target poor people? (Laughs.) Everyone in India is hungry. Who is not? There is already lots of unemployment. Bangladesh is also encouraging this influx of their citizens into Assam. Army chief General Bipin Rawat said Badruddin Ajmal's All India United Democratic Front grew faster because of Bangladeshi Muslims. That's right. But not all Muslims. A section of Muslims are from Assam. They converted from the Hindu religion. Are you also opposing Bangladeshi Hindus in Assam? They live in Bangladesh, their language is Bengali. I attended a conference in Dhaka last year and we met Hindus, Sikhs in Bangladesh and they do not want to come to India. Are Hindus not being persecuted in Bangladesh? Not now. They were persecuted during (former Bangladesh president Hussain Muhammad) Ershad's time. But not now. Even during (former Bangladesh prime minister) Khaleda Zia's time, Hindus were persecuted as she made Bangladesh an Islamic State. Some people went to the supreme court against her decision and the court gave the ruling that Bangladesh is a secular country. You see, this is the beauty of India. It accepts people of all faiths. It gives freedom to everyone. Do you think Arab countries would take Indian Muslims as their citizens? No way. They will be thrown out after their visas expire. How will the NRC change India? Lots of people came to India from neighbouring countries. Rohingya Muslims from Burma (now Myanmar) crossed the border and entered Bangladesh. They were given shelter in Bangladesh and after which they silently found their way to India. Now if this happens in India, we will suffer more. Now these Rohingya have reached Jammu and Kashmir too. If you have some kind of NRC card, then it will be easy to detect who is an Indian and who is not. The Special Investigation Team probing the Naroda Gam massacre case of 2002 Gujarat riots on Friday told the special court in Ahmedabad that the main accused and former state minister Mayaben Kodnani was present at the spot for around 10 minutes and left after 'instigating the mob'. During Friday's hearing, Special Public Prosecutor (SPP) Gaurang Vyas told Special Judge M K Dave that concrete evidence in the form of eyewitness accounts establish Kodnani's presence at Naroda Gam at around 9 am on February 28, 2002, a day after the Godhra train burning incident. Questioning the defence witnesses who had claimed that Kodnani was either in the Gujarat Assembly in Gandhinagar, or at her hospital in Ahmedabad or at Sola civil hospital that day, Vyas said that such witnesses were 'created only to save Kodnani'. In her defence, Kodnani had claimed before the court that she was in Gujarat Assembly in Gandhinagar during the early hours of February 28 and then arrived at Sola civil hospital, where bodies of 'karsevaks' were brought from Godhra. Vyas maintained that Kodnani reached Naroda Gam at around 9:00 am after leaving from Gandhinagar at around 8.40 am. The SPP said that the records of her mobile tower locations suggests that she reached Sola area at around 10 am. Citing the testimonies of eye witnesses, Vyas said that people of that area saw Kodnani at Naroda Gam during the morning. He said that the case against Kodnani is mainly about instigating the mob by giving a speech outside the Naroda Gam area. "Eyewitnesses have said that she was there for around 10 minutes. She did not enter the area. She came, made a speech to instigate the mob and left. This case is mainly about inciting the mob," Vyas said. The public prosecutor also questioned the testimony of a patient, a pregnant woman, who claimed to have received treatment at Kodnani's hospital on February 28 and had also said that Kodnani, a gynaecologist, was present at the hospital. Vyas also raised a question mark on another defence witness, Dr Dhaval Shah, who claims to be running that hospital in partnership with Kodnani. While the pregnant woman claimed that she was checked by Kodnani at around 1:00pm, Shah had testified that he had arrived at the hospital at around 2 pm. "Both the woman and Shah have failed to produce any case papers or copy of the bill. Shah claimed that he had dropped the patient to her relative's house in his vehicle. However, he doesn't know the address. Such witnesses were created just to save Kodnani," Vyas told the court. He also questioned the testimonies of defence witnesses who had claimed that they saw Kodnani at Sola civil hospital. "All these defence witnesses of Sola were either BJP leaders or relatives of the Godhra carnage victims. Officials or medical superintendent of the hospital were not examined by the defence. No independent witnesses were examined" said Vyas. After taking submissions of the SIT lawyer, the court kept the matter for further hearing on Monday. On Monday, the court will watch the CD of a sting operation carried out by former Tehelka journalist, Ashish Khetan, on the 2002 riots accused. The court would also watch videos of the crime scene recorded by the local police in 2002 and by the SIT in 2008. The Naroda Gam case is one of the nine major 2002 communal riot cases investigated by the Supreme Court-appointed Special Investigation Team. Eleven people belonging to the Muslim community were killed in the Naroda Gam riots during a bandh called in protest against the Godhra train burning incident of February 27, 2002. Besides rioting and murder, Kodnani has also been charged with criminal conspiracy and attempt to murder in the case. She was convicted and sentenced to 28 years in jail for her role in the Naroda Patiya riots, in which 96 people were killed. However, in April this year, the Gujarat high court had acquitted her. A United Kingdom court has asked Indian authorities to submit a video within three weeks of Mumbais Arthur Road jail cell where they plan to keep fugitive businessman Vijay Mallya post-extradition and has set September 12 as the date for closing arguments in the high-profile trial. As we await the court's next move, heres everything you need to know about Barrack 12 at Arthur Road jail, where Mallya may be lodged. IMAGE: A heavy contingent of policemen guards Arthur Road jail, Mumbai's largest and oldest prison. Photograph: Danish Siddiqui/Reuters >> Arthur Road Jail The Mumbai Central Prison, also referred to as Arthur Road jail, is the citys largest and oldest prison, and houses a majority of the citys prisoners. It was upgraded in 1994 to a central prison and was given its current official name. Built in 1926, it was initially meant to be a transit prison, outside then city limits. Over the years, the 2.83-acre prison compound is one of the most important landmarks of the city, and houses 2,680 inmates. >> Whats so special about Barrack 12? IMAGE: While most inmates at Arthur Road jails have common toilets, most of the inmates in Barrack Number 12 at the prison get their own personal bathrooms and washing areas. Photograph: Arko Datta/Reuters In most cases, each cell in a barrack can normally house 10-15 inmates. However, in Barrack 12, cells house only a single individual. According to a report in the Indian Express, Barrack 12 is a ground-plus-one structure with eight cells on each floor. Each cell within the barrack has an attached toilet and a washing area. While submitting evidence to the UK court about safe conditions at the prison, the Indian government gave an assurance that Mallya would be provided a private western style toilet and wash facilities. IMAGE: Security at the prison is very high, with police officials turning it into a fortress. Photograph: Danish Siddiqui/Reuters Inmates at Barrack 12 are normally of a high profile and are provided with a mattress, pillow, bedsheet, a glass, plate and two bowls in which to have meals and water. Mallyas defence team, led by Clare Montgomery, has also focused on the lack of natural light available in Barrack 12. However, former Maharashtra deputy chief minister Chhagan Bhujbal, who had spent over a year in barrack No 12 as an accused in a money laundering case, said that six months ago the prison authorities opened a window on the rear side. He was quoted as saying in Mumbai Mirror, Tin sheds blocking the window were removed. After that, sun rays filtered into the unit and aided cross-ventilation. >> High-profile inmates at Barrack 12 IMAGE: Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt being mobbed by fans on stepping out of Arthur Road jail after serving time in the 1993 Bombay serial blasts. Rediff archival p hotograph: Saby Dsouza/AFP/Via Getty Images Vijay Mallya wont be Barrack Number 12s first famous inmate. In the past, the structure has housed former television executive Peter Mukerjea, who is being tried for the murder of his stepdaughter Sheena Bora. As stated earlier, Nationalist Congress Party leader and former Maharashtra deputy CM Chhagan Bhujbal and his nephew Samir Bhujbal spent over a year in barrack No. 12 of the Arthur Road jail as accused in a money laundering case. Photograph: Rediff.com IMAGE: Ajmal Kasab, the lone terrorist caught in the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, was kept in the anda cell in Arthur Road jail. Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt spent time in barrack number 12 while undergoing his sentence in the 1993 Bombay bomb blasts case. After the 26/11 terror attacks, captured Pakistani terrorist Ajmal Kasab was also kept here in a high security cell (the anda cell). Other high-profile inmates were gangster Abu Salem, the 2008 Mumbai attacks accused Abu Jundal, and Satish Kalia, -harp shooter for Chhota Rajan who was also accused of journalist J Dey's murder. IMAGE: TMC MLA Mohua Moitra in distress at Silchar airport. Photograph: @AITCofficial/Twitter Six leaders of the Trinamool Congress, who were part of the eight-member delegation detained at Silchar airport while attempting to visit Assam post- National Register of Citizens, said they were treated like infiltrators and pushed back. The six leaders left Assam on Friday morning after an overnight detention at the airport. Cachar district Deputy Commissioner S Lakshmanan said six TMC leaders left and two others -- MPs Mamatabala Thakur and Arpita Ghosh -- would leave the state later in the day. The TMC delegation -- six MPs, one MLA and one West Bengal minister -- had gone to Silchar in Assam to interact with people left out of the complete draft of the NRC published on July 30. The complete draft of the NRC, touted to be a proof of Assamese citizenship, had excluded over 40 lakh people, triggering a political slugfest between the Bharatiya Janata Party and other political parties. After arriving in Kolkata, TMC Rajya Sabha MP Sukhendu Sekhar Roy said, The way infiltrators are treated... they are pushed back... we were treated the same way... we were pushed back. We were manhandled, even women MPs were not spared. How can six MPs, a minister and an MLA create trouble in a state? he asked while talking to reporters. The prohibitory order document stated that action would be taken against those found to be carrying firearms and explosives, Roy said, and asked whether they had been carrying such items. Before leaving Silchar, he had said, We are going back. The police have not allowed us to go out. We requested them several times but they refused. We spent the night in three rooms at the airport. The way the MPs and a state minister (Firhad Hakim) were harassed shows that democracy is under threat, another member of the delegation Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar alleged. We wonder whether rule of law exits in the country. It appears that an undeclared emergency is on, she said. After the TMC leaders had landed at Silchar airport on Thursday, the authorities stopped them and took them under preventive detention, saying their visit might create trouble. The Cachar district administration on Wednesday night had issued prohibitory order under Section 144 of the CrPC in the district. The Assam Police, however, denied that the TMC leaders were harassed. Director General of Police Kuladhar Saikia said senior officers of the force very respectfully explained to the team that they would not be allowed to leave the airport as 144 of the CrPC was in force. They have also been barred from entering Guwahati, as per an order by city Police Commissioner Hiren Nath, Saikia said last evening and added that two Assam Police women constables were injured during a scuffle by the team. Will Parliament witness protests over the Assam's NRC issue? TMC MP Saugata Roy moves adjournment motion in Lok Sabha over detention of TMC delegation at Silchar airport on Thursday. Watch all the action LIVE here. Statement by UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein at the end of visit to Libya Publisher UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) Publication Date 12 October 2017 Cite as UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), Statement by UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein at the end of visit to Libya , 12 October 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5b6414484.html [accessed 28 October 2021] Geneva, 12 October 2017 No UN High Commissioner for Human Rights ever managed to make an official visit to discuss the human rights situation in Libya during the time of Muammar Gaddafi or in the years following the end of his dictatorial regime. So even though the security situation meant I could not announce in advance my brief official mission to Libya on Tuesday, I was at least able to make the visit and hold a round of useful discussions with Prime Minister Fayez Serraj, the Ministers of Justice and Interior, and the Head of the Department responsible for managing migration detention centres. I was also able to pay brief visits to one of the country's main prisons and a camp for displaced people. My trip was further informed by a very useful meeting with Libyan civil society and women human rights defenders. I wish to thank the Prime Minister for inviting me to Libya, and for the hospitality I received while I was in Tripoli. I also appreciate the assistance provided by the Special Representative of the Secretary-General Ghassan Salame, and the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL). The visit was very short but potentially important. It was intended to stimulate, and hopefully sustain, not just a productive dialogue but also concrete actions which could ultimately lead to significant improvements in the lives of the people of Libya. Clearly, in a single day, we could not begin to cover all the human rights issues affecting the country, so I chose to focus on arbitrary detention, torture and other grave violations which are particularly urgent. During the meetings, officials repeatedly highlighted Libya's commitment towards ensuring the protection of human rights. I welcome these commitments, and note with appreciation that efforts are being made to facilitate the visits of Special Procedures mandate holders. Officials also highlighted the significant challenges in Libya due to years of violence and instability, a near-breakdown in the rule of law, the proliferation of armed groups, a deteriorating humanitarian situation, the internal displacement of hundreds of thousands of people, and severe disruption to the provision of basic services to the population. I appreciate the magnitude of these challenges, and have heard how they affect the Government's ability to undertake and fulfil its duties. At the same time, I have put forward suggestions in areas where progress can be progressively made if appropriate action is taken. Despite the great hopes following the 2011 revolution, the human rights situation in Libya continues to be marked by widespread abuses and violations perpetrated by all sides to the conflict with complete impunity. Thousands of people are held arbitrarily in detention centres across the country, some since the 2011 armed conflict, many subjected to torture and ill-treatment. Armed groups unlawfully kill and hold hostage civilians and combatants. Civilian men, women and children are killed and injured every week by the indiscriminate use of weapons. And yet, these aspects of the human rights situation in Libya rarely find themselves in the headlines. Internally displaced people and civil society representatives painted a stark picture of the grave abuses carried out by armed groups and the impunity that they currently enjoy. The actions of armed groups hinder meaningful progress towards stability, development and peace in the country. In many of my conversations, including with the Prime Minister, the Minister of Justice, and the Minister of Interior I raised the dire situation in detention centres across the country. I was pleased to see their commitment to work with the United Nations and others towards the full implementation of international standards, such as the Mandela Rules. I directly raised with officials the need to make rapid progress in screening the files of pre-trial detainees to ensure that either trials proceed or the detainees are released. I also raised the need for accountability within the penitentiary system and called for human rights monitors to be given unfettered access to places where suspects and convicted prisoners are held. Individual centres, such as the Mitigia detention centre, are of particular concern given the horrific reports emerging from them. The situation there needs to be addressed urgently, as do other facilities where abuses are endemic. I call on the Government to formulate a plan of action to end arbitrary detention in the country, which would involve the transfer of detainees to prisons under the Judicial Police of the Ministry of Justice, the release of those in prolonged detention against whom no evidence of criminal conduct has been presented or whom are held without legal basis, and the screening of all detainees, The consequences of impunity could not have been more starkly demonstrated when talking to human rights defenders. Human rights defenders told me about intimidation and attacks against them and the lack of protection and impunity for such attacks. I heard how women human rights defenders have faced virulent abuse and intimidation, and how civil society activists have been abducted and killed by armed groups. Many have been forced to flee or to stop their work. Still, so many Libyans continue to bravely speak out and work in the name of human rights. I salute their courage, and my Office will seek to stand with them as they continue their work. The situation of human rights defenders reflects a grave lack of protection for many groups in vulnerable situations in Libya. I spoke to internally displaced people from the Taweghan community who told me about the poor conditions and limited protection they endured while residing in camps over the past six years. Since the signing of an agreement between the Tawerghan and Misratan communities on a possible return, and the approval of the agreement by the Government in June, they say there has been little progress towards fulfilling their right to return to their homes. There is a need for positive signs soon to ensure the sustainable return of the Tawerghan people to their homes in safety and dignity. I also raised with the authorities the distressing situation of migrants in Libya, including directly with the Prime Minister, the Minister of Interior, and the head of the Department responsible for migration. I call on the Government to establish alternatives to detention in Libya, to halt the practice of arbitrary detention, and to ensure accountability for the abuses perpetrated against migrants in detention centres. The authorities indicated that one of the detention centres in Surman, where there have been serious allegations of sexual abuse, has been closed. We intend to work with the Government to confirm the closure. The human rights challenges in Libya are massive, but they are not insurmountable. The large-scale near-collapse in the justice system, the power and influence of armed groups, and the many challenges faced by the Government are real. But the Government can and should lead. It can begin combating the practice of arbitrary detention and taking back the powers given to armed groups. The situation in detention centres can be addressed. A concerted effort by the Government, and all stakeholders, including the United Nations and the international community, can move the needle and improve the situation. It is crucial that the challenges are addressed and that there is a constant effort to make progress - no matter how small, no matter how difficult - towards accountability. Everyone I met during the visit, from the Prime Minister himself, the Ministers, civil society, women human rights defenders to those in the IDP camp, wanted improvements in the implementation of the rule of law. The Special Representative of the Secretary-General and I share the conviction that human rights, the re-establishment of the rule of law, and the need to combat impunity must be part and parcel of the political process and will underpin a sustainable political settlement in Libya. I am optimistic that the openness of the Government, the implementation of the Plan of Action announced by the Secretary-General and his Special Representative last month in New York will bear positive and concrete results in our respective efforts to support an improvement of the human rights situation in Libya. We will continue to offer our support towards this end. Secretary-General Welcomes Political Declaration on Libya as 'Significant' Step Forward in Country's Transition Publisher UN Secretary-General (UNSG) Publication Date 29 May 2018 Citation / Document Symbol SG/SM/19058 Cite as UN Secretary-General (UNSG), Secretary-General Welcomes Political Declaration on Libya as 'Significant' Step Forward in Country's Transition, 29 May 2018, SG/SM/19058, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5b64222f4.html [accessed 28 October 2021] The following was issued today by the Spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres: The Secretary-General welcomes the Political Declaration on Libya adopted in Paris today by four major Libyan actors convened under the auspices of the United Nations and hosted by President Emmanuel Macron. The Declaration is a significant and welcome step forward in Libya's political transition. The Libyan actors - Prime Minister Faiez Serraj, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Agila Essa Saleh Gwaider, President of the High State Council, Khalid al-Meshri and General Khalifa Haftar of the Libyan National Army - committed to work constructively with the United Nations to realize parliamentary and presidential elections in a secure environment by 10 December 2018 at the latest and to respect the results of the elections. The meeting recognized the importance of developing a constitutional basis for elections and support for the Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Ghassan Salame, as he consults with Libyan authorities on a proposal and timeline for adopting the constitution. The four Libyan actors agreed to participate in an inclusive political conference to follow up on the implementation of the Declaration under United Nations auspices. The United Nations, led by Special Representative Salame, will continue to implement the United Nations Action Plan, as supported by the Declaration adopted today. Libya: No Free Elections in Current Climate Publisher Human Rights Watch Publication Date 21 March 2018 Cite as Human Rights Watch, Libya: No Free Elections in Current Climate, 21 March 2018, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5b6422ba4.html [accessed 28 October 2021] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. The United Nations should urge the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord and competing authorities in eastern Libya to create conditions conducive to a free and fair vote before rushing to hold general elections in 2018, Human Rights Watch said today. For elections to be free and fair, they need to be held in an environment free of coercion, discrimination, or intimidation of voters, candidates, and political parties, Human Rights Watch said. Three key elements should be respected: protection of free speech and assembly; rules that are neither discriminatory nor arbitrary in excluding potential voters or candidates; and the rule of law, accompanied by a functioning judiciary that is able to deal fairly and promptly with disputes concerning the elections. The judiciary should be prepared to fairly resolve disputes around campaigns and elections, such as on registration, candidacies, and results. Election organizers need to ensure that independent monitors have access to polling places. "Libya today couldn't be further away from respect for the rule of law and human rights, let alone from acceptable conditions for free elections," said Eric Goldstein, deputy Middle East and North Africa director at Human Rights Watch. "The authorities need to be able to guarantee freedom of assembly, association and speech to anyone participating in the elections." The UN has publicly supported holding elections in 2018. It is essential for UN officials and the Security Council to join forces to press all Libyan parties to ensure that the conditions for a credible nationwide election can be met before organizing one, Human Rights Watch said. During a meeting brokered by President Emmanuel Macron of France in July 2017 between Prime Minister Fayez Serraj, of the Government of National Accord, and Khalifa Hiftar, commander of the Libyan National Army forces based in eastern Libya, both agreed in principle to hold speedy elections, within the first half of 2018. Currently, there is no comprehensive plan or guarantees, to secure protection for freedom of association and assembly and the rule of law. Serraj later told the French foreign minister, Jean-Yves Le Drian, during a meeting in Tripoli that his government was "pushing ahead" for 2018 elections. Agila Saleh, head of the Libyan House of Representatives, based in eastern Libya, which supports Hiftar's group, has called for parliamentary and presidential elections "as soon as possible to end disputes over the legitimacy and competition for political positions in Libya." The UN Security Council and the European Union back the Government of National Accord, which is supported by armed groups and militias in western Libya, but has limited control over territory. The other, rival, Interim Government based in the eastern cities of al-Bayda, Tobruk and Benghazi, is also supported by the Libyan National Army, which controls large swaths of eastern and southern Libya, with the exception of the eastern city of Derna. Violence following the last Libyan general elections in 2014 led to the collapse of central authority and key institutions, notably law enforcement and the judiciary. The result was two opposing governments competing for legitimacy. Armed groups have, since then, kidnapped, arbitrarily detained, tortured, forcibly disappeared, and killed thousands of people, with impunity. The protracted conflicts have decimated the economy and public services, and internally displaced 165,000 people. Jeffrey Feltman, under-secretary-general for political affairs, pledged the UN's support for organizing "inclusive" elections in 2018. The special representative to the UN secretary general and head of the UN Support Mission in Libya, Ghassan Salame, has often publicly expressed his wish for general elections in 2018, while acknowledging the lack of a constitutional framework and suitable conditions in Libya. In an effort in September to reinvigorate a stalled political process amid violent conflicts, Salame announced a new Action Plan for Libya. The plan included consensus for limited amendments to the existing Libyan Political Agreement, followed by a national conference, a constitutional referendum, and legislation to provide for parliamentary and presidential elections. The EU, EU member states - including France - and the United States, have all endorsed the Action Plan. No date has been announced for these steps. Restrictive laws have undermined freedom of speech and association in Libya, and armed groups have intimidated, harassed, threatened, physically attacked, and arbitrarily detained journalists, political activists, and human rights defenders. The penal code stipulates criminal penalties for defamation and for "insulting" public officials and the Libyan nation or flag and imposes the death penalty for "promoting theories or principles" that aim to overthrow the political, social, or economic system. Laws on peaceful assembly unnecessarily limit citizens' ability to freely express themselves through spontaneous and organized demonstrations and protests, with unduly harsh penalties. Authorities should ensure that any restrictions on public gatherings are strictly necessary for protecting public order. The criminal justice system has all but collapsed. Civilian and military courts in the east and south remain mostly shut, while elsewhere they operate at reduced capacity. Armed groups have threatened, intimidated, and attacked judges, prosecutors, lawyers, and government officials. Law enforcement and criminal investigation departments around the country are only partially functional, often lacking the ability to execute court-issued summons and arrest warrants. Libya's courts are in no position to resolve election disputes including on registration and results. Prison authorities, often only nominally under the Ministries of Interior, Defense, and Justice of the two rival governments, hold thousands of detainees in long-term arbitrary detention without charges. Armed groups operate their own informal detention facilities. Under article 44 of the Libyan Political Agreement, the Government of National Accord should ensure that the authority to arrest and detain anyone is strictly limited to statutory law enforcement bodies, in compliance with Libyan and international law. The High National Elections Commission, responsible for organizing elections, was established in January 2012 by the National Transitional Council. It announced the official start of the election process on December 7, with voter registration. By February 15, more than 2.4 million people had registered, its statistics show. As of March 8, 6,267 Libyans living abroad had registered. The commission extended the deadline several times, most recently until March 31. The International Organization for Migration estimates that at least 141,000 Libyans lived in the diaspora in 2015, although recent figures could be much higher. Voter registration should be inclusive, accessible, and ensure that the largest number of eligible Libyans inside and outside the country can register, Human Rights Watch said. Provisions should also be made to register people held in long-term arbitrary detention without a criminal conviction since there is no legal basis for disqualifying them. The elections commission should also ensure regular transparent audits of its voter register to rule out any inaccuracies. The legal framework for holding elections remains opaque. The election commission can only hold elections if the House of Representatives passes an elections law. Libya has only an interim Constitutional Covenant, adopted in 2011. A draft constitution proposed by the Constitution Drafting Assembly in July has yet to be put to a national referendum. The election commission has yet to clarify the legal framework for participation by political parties, and how independent and international monitors can be brought safely to all areas where voting is planned. As a party to international human rights treaties, Libya is bound by the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights, which guarantee freedom of speech, expression, and association. Libya is also bound by the 2002 African Union Declaration on the Principles Governing Democratic Elections in Africa, which state that democratic elections must be held under "democratic constitutions and in compliance with supportive legal instruments," and under a "system of separation of powers that ensures in particular, the independence of the judiciary." Copyright notice: Copyright, Human Rights Watch Step By Step, UN Action Plan for Successful Transition Takes Hold in Libya Publisher UN Support Mission in Libya Publication Date 11 January 2018 Cite as UN Support Mission in Libya, Step By Step, UN Action Plan for Successful Transition Takes Hold in Libya, 11 January 2018, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5b6424904.html [accessed 28 October 2021] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Jeffrey Feltman arrived in Libya on 10 January to discuss with Libyan leaders the implementation of the United Nations Action Plan for the country and ways to bolster international support for Libya. Today we look, along with our colleagues in the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL), at what the Plan entails and how the UN, led on the ground by Special Representative of the Secretary-General Ghassan Salame, has been working with Libyans to bring it to life. UN Action Plan for Libya The Plan - which provides, among other things, for amending the Libyan Political Agreement, organizing a National Conference, preparing for elections and providing humanitarian assistance -- was unveiled at a high-level event held during the General Assembly's latest session last September. The meeting was convened to relaunch the Libyan political process under the facilitation and leadership of the United Nations. The Action Plan is, "in essence, a synthesis of the hopes and goals of the Libyan people," says Special Representative Ghassan Salame. "Libyans are tired of moving from one transitional period to another. I am not here to remove what is temporary and create another." Since the launch of the Plan, which revived the previously stalled political process, Salame and UNSMIL have been working on all its components simultaneously. "Libyans have taken positive and brave steps toward reconciliation and dialogue previously seen as unacceptable to the parties themselves," Salame says. Making Headway Here's some of what has been achieved under the Plan in the last three months: LPA Amendments: UNSMIL has convened two rounds of meetings of the Joint Drafting Committee (JDC) of the House of Representatives and the High Council of State, two bodies that have been at odds. The discussions -- first round from 26 September to 1 October and second round from 14 to 21 October -- produced progress, particularly pertaining to the executive branch's structure and responsibilities. Since the holding of the JDC meetings the two bodies have remained in contact. The convening of the JDC ushered other equally important firsts: -The mutual recognition of the two assemblies -The revitalization of the two bodies -- both have since held sessions with record high attendance (strengthening national institutions); and -Acknowledgment by the assemblies of the LPA. Convening of the National Conference: UNSMIL is well into the preparations for the National Conference - alMultaqa alWatani. The Special Representative has been holding town halls across the country, bringing Libyans together -- municipal representatives, tribal leaders, parliamentarian, security officials, youth, academics, women and activists -- to hear directly from them their priorities, visions and solution for Libya. The town halls also aim at addressing and overcoming societal fragmentation in order to enable Libyans from across the political spectrum to come together in one place and agree on their national narrative and on tangible steps to end the transition. UNSMIL has also been working on local reconciliation, bringing, in some cases, feuding communities to sit around one table, for the first time since 2012. Examples include the 27 November meeting between delegations from the Amazigh city of Kabaw and the Siyan Arab tribe from the Nafusa Mountains, which resulted in an agreement paving the way for future reconciliation; the 21 September dialogue between delegations from Zintan and Tripoli facilitating the return of internally displaced persons in Zintan to the capital; and an 11 November meeting between women from the Awlad Suleiman and Gaddadfah tribes. Elections: UNSMIL has secured the needed financial support and provided the required technical assistance to the High National Election Commission (HNEC) to prepare for elections in 2018. On 6 December 2017, the HNEC commenced the voter registration process. As of 5 Jan, the HNEC has registered about half a million new voters, bringing the total number of registered voters to nearly 2 million. Currently, the mission is working with the Libyan parties to facilitate the political, security and legislative conditions required for elections to be held. Humanitarian assistance: UNSMIL and the United Nations Development Programme have managed to increase the funding of a "Stabilization Facility" that has brought tangible benefits to Benghazi, Kikla, Sebha, Sirte, Ubari (and which is expanding to Bani Walid and Greater Tripoli) by allowing the reopening hospitals and schools, providing solar power and supporting the health and education sector as well as public service delivery. UNSMIL is also working with Libyans and international actors to enhance delivery of humanitarian assistance and reach out to all those in need, including by redoubling its efforts in assisting migrants and victims of human trafficking. The Mission has been a vocal advocate for effective and capable institutions that improve Libya's service delivery and manage its economic resources properly. This includes the management of Libya's frozen assets. "It's outrageous that a country which stands upon such vast wealth has so much suffering," Salame says. "However, it does, and so we must assist them to tackle these concerns." UNSMIL Statement on the Situation in Derna Publisher UN Support Mission in Libya Publication Date 1 June 2018 Cite as UN Support Mission in Libya, UNSMIL Statement on the Situation in Derna, 1 June 2018, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5b64257e4.html [accessed 28 October 2021] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. The UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) calls on parties to the Derna conflict to exercise maximum restraint and ensure that they take all precautions to protect civilians. The Mission reminds all parties of their obligations under international humanitarian and human rights law to guarantee the protection of civilians, ensure unimpeded humanitarian access and facilitate the safe exit of civilians wishing to leave the city. The escalation of fighting in Derna has reached unprecedented levels during the past week, with fighting further encroaching into densely populated areas. Since 16 May, at least 17 civilians, including two children, were killed and another 22, including seven children, were injured in the conduct of hostilities. The number of civilian casualties was the highest in the past two days, with seven killed and another seven injured on 30 May in an explosion as they were attempting to leave the city. Humanitarian access to Derna is extremely limited. Severe food and medicine shortages continue to worsen. Electricity and water are intermittently cut off for the approximately 125,000 residents. On 29 May, limited medicine was able to reach the city, after persistent UN intervention. On 30 May, tens of families were able to leave Derna through the Kirsa Checkpoint, despite delays. However, this is not enough. There needs to be a general easing of the encirclement of the city and a safe passage for civilians out of the area. The UN calls on all actors to permit unfettered and safe access of humanitarian workers and needed assistance. UNSMIL remains engaged with all parties in an effort to de-escalate the conflict. Libya Protect Civilians under siege in Derna Publisher Amnesty International Publication Date 11 June 2018 Cite as Amnesty International, Libya Protect Civilians under siege in Derna , 11 June 2018, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5b6428ad4.html [accessed 28 October 2021] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. Amid reports of an escalating humanitarian crisis in the besieged Libyan city of Derna, Amnesty International is calling on the leader of the Libyan National Army (LNA), General Khalifa Haftar, and all parties involved in the fighting to urgently open humanitarian corridors to give impartial assistance and save the lives of civilians still trapped in the city as the army advances. Derna residents are bracing themselves for a bloody street battle, like when the LNA sought control of Ganfouda between 2016 and 2017, leaving scores dead. "We are receiving horrifying reports from Derna, where a prolonged siege and heavy fighting have left the city on the brink of a humanitarian catastrophe. Blockade tactics are being used to cause unnecessary suffering to ordinary men, women and children, who are now surrounded, with dwindling food, water and medical supplies, and no way out of this desperate situation," said Heba Morayef, Middle East and North Africa Director at Amnesty International. "With the LNA escalating its assault on the city, all the parties have an obligation under international humanitarian law to facilitate unimpeded access for impartial humanitarian relief, including medical supplies and food, and to allow civilians to flee the fighting without fear of arbitrary detention, harassment, intimidation and killings." Derna, a port city in the east of Libya, has been under siege since July 2017. Fighting has intensified since mid-May as the LNA has sought to consolidate its power and expel the Derna Security Force, a recently renamed armed group previously known as the Derna Shura Council. The city has also experienced intensive aerial and artillery bombardment and ferocious ground fighting which has reached the centre of the city. Communications into the city are limited and UN reports, including the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), have described the humanitarian conditions as dire. In their latest update on 30 May, OCHA reported a severe shortage of food, water and medical supplies. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) reported on 9 June that the number of displaced people from Derna has reached 2,183 individuals. These reports are consistent with accounts by individuals who spoke with Amnesty International from inside Derna. In alarming reports, individuals have informed the organization that the LNA is deliberately blocking any aid from entering the city, as well as blocking the exit of those seeking permission to leave to access care outside Derna. Derna's main hospital is reporting severe shortages of medical supplies; medical professionals have informed Amnesty International that their ability to provide help beyond lifesaving is strained and at this rate, even that will not be possible soon if they do not receive the much needed medical assistance. "Last month LNA forces overseeing the blockade refused to allow the entry of eight containers full of medical supplies. The main Derna hospital can only offer lifesaving stabilizing aid, non-emergency cases are being sent to private clinics," an official inside Derna hospital told Amnesty International. Residents inside Derna who spoke with Amnesty International have reported that those wounded because of the fighting must negotiate individually, through their tribal connections, to be allowed out to obtain medical treatment outside of Derna. "Amnesty International calls on LNA forces to stop obstruction of humanitarian aid operations. All parties must facilitate the entry of humanitarian relief supplies and the work of impartial humanitarian agencies while ensuring the safe exit of any civilians wishing to leave. Independent monitors should be allowed to supervise relief operations and the evacuation of civilians wishing to flee." "Derna has a population of over 120,000 people, [and] we are all being punished. We got rid of ISIS only to enter another [terrible] situation. We just want to return to our normal lives," one resident told Amnesty International. "The indiscriminate attacks and shelling in heavily populated areas must end. All sides must endeavour to protect civilians and adhere to their obligations under international humanitarian law or risk being responsible for war crimes," said Heba Morayef. The LNA has a deplorable record of committing gross abuses - some of which have constituted war crimes. These have included the summary killing of captured fighters, enforced disappearances, and indiscriminate attacks that have killed and injured civilians. Copyright notice: Copyright Amnesty International Rising health worker abductions in Libya threaten fragile health system Publisher UN World Health Organization (WHO) Publication Date 21 December 2017 Cite as UN World Health Organization (WHO), Rising health worker abductions in Libya threaten fragile health system, 21 December 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5b642d024.html [accessed 28 October 2021] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. 21 December 2017, Sabha, Libya - When Dr Ahmad*, a surgeon at Sabha Medical Centre, was kidnapped in November by an unknown group, his colleagues decided to act. Dr Ahmad was the second health worker to be kidnapped within months in the town of 100 000 people. On 18 November, all non-essential health services at Sabha Medical Centre, the biggest hospital in southern Libya, were suspended for 10 days. "We went on strike after the kidnapping of Dr Ahmad because we wanted to send a message to Sabha's authorities that doctors are in severe danger. Health services cannot operate properly if health workers are not safe," said Dr Ayman*. Years of conflict have severely disrupted health services in Libya, and the recent rise in abductions of health workers threatens an already fragile health system. Of the 8 abductions documented by WHO in Libya since 2012, 4 occurred in 2017 alone, the highest number of kidnappings of health workers recorded in a single year. In Sabha, the abductions have had a significant impact on local access to health care. "The kidnappings are seriously affecting the health sector as there is a brain drain of health workers fleeing to safer cities. More than 10 professors at Sabha Medical School left because of poor security," said Osama al-Wafi, spokesperson for Sabha Medical Centre. According to al-Wafi, only 2 days after Dr Ahmad's abduction, an unknown group attempted to kidnap an internal medicine specialist, but the doctor managed to escape. It takes years of education and practice to train doctors, and southern Libya is running low on qualified health workers. "We have only 10 specialized doctors left in the town, which is facing an influx of thousands of migrants. We are trying our best to provide health services for everyone in need and the doctors are doing a great job despite the pressure, but I am not sure for how much longer," al-Wafi added. Sabha's health system has been further strained by the arrival of migrants making their way towards Libya's northern coast and across the Mediterranean to Europe, many of whom seek treatment at local medical facilities. Dr Ahmad, a renowned surgeon in Sabha who operated on both locals and migrants, was released after 12 days in captivity. Many doctors and health workers are hesitant to speak out, afraid that they will be targeted next. One doctor who asked not to be named said that health workers in Sabha are sometimes targeted inside health facilities. "Many times there were shootings inside the emergency department; sometimes fights would start outside the hospital and then continue inside it. In May, one patient was shot on the operating table when armed men stormed the hospital," she said. Sabha Medical Centre hires security guards to protect health workers, but even this is not enough. According to Sabha Medical Centre employees, two security guards were shot and killed in the street in May this year after they had left the hospital for the evening. On 1 January 2018, the World Health Organization (WHO) is launching its Surveillance System for Attacks on Health Care, a global data collection tool that will allow WHO to report on numbers and trends related to attacks on health workers and health facilities worldwide. The project is part of the Attacks on Healthcare project, a priority project of WHO's Health Emergencies Programme. *Names have been changed UN human rights chief: Suffering of migrants in Libya outrage to conscience of humanity Publisher UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) Publication Date 14 November 2017 Cite as UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), UN human rights chief: Suffering of migrants in Libya outrage to conscience of humanity, 14 November 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5b6461354.html [accessed 28 October 2021] GENEVA (14 November) - The UN Human Rights chief today expressed dismay at the sharp increase in the number of migrants held in horrific conditions at detention facilities in Libya, saying the European Union's policy of assisting the Libyan Coast Guard to intercept and return migrants in the Mediterranean was inhuman. "The suffering of migrants detained in Libya is an outrage to the conscience of humanity," Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein said. "What was an already dire situation has now turned catastrophic. "The detention system for migrants in Libya is broken beyond repair," said Zeid. "Only alternatives to detention can save migrants' lives and physical security, preserve their dignity and protect them from further atrocities. "The international community cannot continue to turn a blind eye to the unimaginable horrors endured by migrants in Libya, and pretend that the situation can be remedied only by improving conditions in detention," he said, calling for the creation of domestic legal measures and the decriminalisation of irregular migration to ensure the protection of migrants' human rights. According to Libya's Department of Combatting Illegal Migration (DCIM) 19,900 people were being held in facilities under its control in early November, up from about 7,000 in mid-September when authorities detained thousands of migrants following armed clashes in Sabratha, a smuggling and trafficking hub, about 80 kilometres west of Tripoli. The EU and Italy are providing assistance to the Libyan Coast Guard to intercept migrant boats in the Mediterranean, including in international waters, despite concerns raised by human rights groups that this would condemn more migrants to arbitrary and indefinite detention and expose them to torture, rape, forced labour, exploitation and extortion. Those detained have no possibility to challenge the legality of their detention, and no access to legal aid. "The increasing interventions of the EU and its member states have done nothing so far to reduce the level of abuses suffered by migrants," the UN's High Commissioner for Human Rights said. "Our monitoring, in fact, shows a fast deterioration in their situation in Libya." From 1-6 November, UN human rights monitors visited four DCIM facilities in Tripoli, where they interviewed detainees who have fled conflict, persecution and extreme poverty from states across Africa and Asia. "Monitors were shocked by what they witnessed: thousands of emaciated and traumatized men, women and children piled on top of each other, locked up in hangars with no access to the most basic necessities, and stripped of their human dignity," Zeid said. "Many of those in detention have already been exposed to trafficking, kidnappings, torture, rape and other sexual violence, forced labour, exploitation, severe physical violence, starvation and other atrocities in the course of their journeys through Libya, often at the hands of traffickers or smugglers." A man held in Tarik al-Matar DCIM centre, where some 2,000 migrants were packed into a hangar without functioning toilets, told UN staff: "We are like a box of matches, we don't sleep, we have diseases, we lack food, we didn't shower for months. We will all die if not saved from this place, this is Calvary, it is excessively difficult to survive the smell of faeces and urine, many are [lying] unconscious on the floor." Men, women and children held at DCIM centres recounted beatings at the hands of the guards. "They beat us every day, they use electric sticks, just because we ask for food or [medical] treatment or for information about what will happen to us," a migrant from Cameroon told monitors. Women recounted rape and other sexual violence at the hands of smugglers and guards. A woman from Cote d'Ivoire told UN staff that during her journey: "Armed men came in and chose six women, including me, and took us out one by one. When I first refused, I was slapped and a gun was pointed at my head. Four men raped me outside. I was in early stages of pregnancy, I bled profusely, and I think I lost the baby. I haven't seen a doctor yet." In another case, a Sub-Saharan African woman said, "I was taken away from the DCIM centre and raped in a house by three men including a DCIM guard. The UN Human Rights Office urges the Libyan authorities to take concrete steps to stamp out human rights violations and abuses in centres under their control, to remove those reasonably suspected of carrying out violations, to investigate and prosecute those responsible, and publicly signal that such abuses will no longer be tolerated. It also calls for migrants not to be detained and that all centres be open. "We cannot be a silent witness to modern day slavery, rape and other sexual violence, and unlawful killings in the name of managing migration and preventing desperate and traumatized people from reaching Europe's shores," said Zeid. Libya: Shameful EU Policies Fuel Surge in Detention of Migrants and Refugees Publisher Amnesty International Publication Date 16 May 2018 Cite as Amnesty International, Libya: Shameful EU Policies Fuel Surge in Detention of Migrants and Refugees, 16 May 2018, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5b6462bd4.html [accessed 28 October 2021] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. A surge in migrants and refugees intercepted at sea by the Libyan authorities has seen at least 2,600 people transferred, in the past two months alone, to squalid detention centres where they face torture and extortion, Amnesty International said today. The global human rights organisation accuses European governments of complicity in these abuses by actively supporting the Libyan authorities in stopping sea crossings and sending people back to detention centres in Libya. "The EU is turning a blind eye to the suffering caused by its callous immigration policies that outsource border control to Libya," said Heba Morayef, Amnesty International's Middle East and North Africa Director. "When European leaders spare no effort to ensure the Libyan Coast Guard intercepts as many people as possible, they are sending those migrants and refugees straight back to Libya's detention centres which are notorious for abuse and torture. No one should be sending anyone back to Libya." At least 7,000 migrants and refugees are languishing in Libyan detention centres where abuse is rife and food and water in short supply. This is a sharp increase from March when there were 4,400 detained migrants and refugees, according to Libyan officials. "The EU must stop using the Libyan Coast Guard to contain people in Libya, and instead work to close detention centres, resettle refugees in Europe, and enable UNHCR to assist all refugees across Libya," Heba Morayef said. Since late 2016, EU Member States - particularly Italy - have implemented a series of measures to close off the migratory route through Libya and across the Mediterranean, including boosting the capacity of the Libyan Coast Guard to intercept migrants and refugees and return them back to Libya. Italy and other European countries have provided the Libyan Coast Guard with equipment, including at least four speedboats, as well as with training and other forms of support. In early 2018, the Italian Coast Guard started handing over the coordination of rescue operations in international waters near Libya to the Libyan Coast Guard - a move only made possible by support provided by Italian Navy ships and personnel stationed in Libya. In April 2018 alone, the Libyan Coast Guard intercepted 1,485 women, men and children at sea and brought them back to Libya, with recent interceptions in May the total number of those intercepted and brought back to Libya reaches 6,340 this year, according to UNHCR. Once intercepted, refugees and migrants are transferred to detention centres run by Libya's Department for Combatting Illegal Migration (DCIM). The centres have become infamous for holding migrants and refugees in arbitrary and indefinite detention, and subjecting them to serious human rights violations, as revealed by Amnesty International in a report in December 2017. Interviewed by Amnesty International researchers, migrants and refugees described horrific abuse including torture, forced labour, extortion and unlawful killings at the hands of the Libyan authorities, smugglers and armed groups. In early May 2018, Medecins Sans Frontieres issued a press release sounding the alarm about the humanitarian situation for 800 people held in a dangerously overcrowded detention centre in the city of Zuwara, western Libya. The medical NGO said the detainees lacked access to food or water and were confined to spaces so small people could barely lie down. "The EU and its member states must reset their cooperation with Libya and condition any support to Libya, financial or otherwise, on the full cooperation of the Libyan authorities to respect the rights of refugees and migrants in the country. This must start with the release of those currently held in detention centres and the end to the automatic detention of refugees and migrants," Heba Morayef said. In addition, all released migrants and refugees must be provided with protection and assistance while they remain on Libyan soil, Amnesty International said. The Libyan authorities should also negotiate a Memorandum of Understanding with UNHCR to recognize its status in Libya and enable it to carry out its full mandate. EU Member States must also commit themselves to an increased resettlement quota to guarantee the protection of refugees who otherwise are left abandoned in Libya. Background: The new data on the number of migrants and refugees in detention in Libya indicates a worrying change in the trend that showed a previously sharp drop in numbers of people in detention, following the IOM-led humanitarian evacuations and returns that took place since October 2017. This year alone, IOM has evacuated 5,620 people from Libya as part of its "voluntary" returns programme, which offers people in migrant detention centres the possibility of returning to their home country. While this programme offers a lifeline to many, it may push people in need of international protection to return to their home country where they may face serious human rights violations. Copyright notice: Copyright Amnesty International As Security Council imposes sanctions on six human traffickers in Libya, UN chief calls for more accountability Publisher UN News Service Publication Date 8 June 2018 Cite as UN News Service, As Security Council imposes sanctions on six human traffickers in Libya, UN chief calls for more accountability, 8 June 2018, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5b64659e4.html [accessed 28 October 2021] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. The United Nations Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, has called for more accountability for human traffickers in Libya, after the UN Security Council on Thursday added six individuals accused of leading smuggling and trafficking networks in the country, to its Sanctions List. Those now subject to asset freezes, and a travel ban, under Council sanctions resolutions and measures relating to Libya, include the head of a regional coast guard unit in Libya, according to reports, as well as two Eritrean nationals. The unprecedented sanctions against the leaders of trafficking networks, follow widespread international outrage at the end of last year, when the CNN television network broadcast pictures of migrants being auctioned off in a modern-day slave market, in the suburbs of the Libyan capital. In a tweet on Friday, Mr. Guterres said that "we were all horrified by pictures of human beings for sale in Libya last year. I welcome the Security Council's decision to sanction six traffickers and smugglers." "There must be accountability for exploitation and human rights abuses," he added. Libya has become a major conduit for human trafficking, especially from sub-Saharan Africa, since the overthrow of former leader, Muammar Gadaffi, in 2011, which saw the country descend into factional conflict, widespread instability and a humanitarian and economic crisis. Figures from the African Union suggest that between 400,000 and 700,000 migrants were being held in often inhumane conditions, and subject to human rights abuses, in more than 40 detention camps across the country, as of last December. h3>Six smugglers and human traffickers The six men now subject to Security Council sanctions, are: Mus'ab Abu-Quarin, described by the sanctions committee on Libya as "a central actor in human trafficking and migrant smuggling activities", whose network covers "Libya, European destinations, (and) sub-Saharan countries for the recruitment of migrants and Arab countries for the financial sector." Mohammed Kachlaf, described as being head of a militia in the north-western coastal city of Zawiya, that controls an oil refinery there which is a "central hub of migrant smuggling operations." Abd Al Rahman Al-Milad, described as head of the regional coastguard unit in Zawiya "that is consistently linked with violence against migrants and other human smugglers." Ermias Ghermay, described as "one of the most important sub-Saharan actors in trafficking", who is "leader of a transnational network responsible for trafficking and smuggling tens of thousands of migrants." Fitiwi Abdelrazak, who also leads a network responsible for trafficking and smuggling tens of thousands, according to the committee, identified sources in criminal investigations as "one of the top-level actors responsible for the exploitation and abuse of a large number of migrants in Libya." He is also said to have accumulated "immense wealth" through people trafficking. Ahmad Oumar Al-Dabbashi, described as commander of the Anas al-Dabbashi militia, currently active around Zawiya, who is a "significant leader in illicit activities related to the trafficking of migrants. The al-Dabbashi clan and militia also cultivate relationships with terrorist and violent extremist groups." How do Security Council sanctions work? Sanctions are meant to be a last resort when it comes to addressing massive human rights violations, curbing illegal smuggling or curbing extremism groups. Increasingly, sanctions are also being used to support peace efforts, to ensure that elections are held, or to demobilize armed groups. This ability stems from the UN Charter. Under Article 41 of Chapter VII, the Council can use enforcement measures not including weapons, such as "complete or partial interruption of economic relations and of rail, sea, air, postal, telegraphic, radio, and other means of communication, and the severance of diplomatic relations." Sanctions Committees are subsidiary organs of the Security Council and are composed of all 15 of the Council's members. Their role is to implement, monitor and provide recommendations to the Council on particular sanctions regimes. They meet regularly to consider reports from expert panels and to hold meetings with Member States, UN actors and international organizations. Vulnerable refugees evacuated from Libya during visit of UNHCR head Publisher UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Publication Date 19 June 2018 Cite as UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Vulnerable refugees evacuated from Libya during visit of UNHCR head, 19 June 2018, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5b6467684.html [accessed 28 October 2021] Some 122 refugees, mostly women and children, fly out after qualifying for evacuation and resettlement under new international programme. TRIPOLI, Libya - UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi boarded a chartered flight today (Tuesday, June 19) bound for Niger with 122 refugees, mostly women and children, on board. The refugees, who had been held in detention in the Libyan capital, were identified by UNHCR as "extremely vulnerable" and qualifying for evacuation and resettlement under a new international programme. After further processing in Niger, the refugees will be transferred to participating third countries offering asylum. Earlier in the day, Grandi visited the group of evacuees as they were preparing to leave the Triq Al Sika Detention Centre in Tripoli, where they had spent months in overcrowded spaces. There he witnessed the refugees board buses with a suitcase each of their belongings, many clutching young babies, some the result of the sexual attacks they experienced on their journeys. Eritrean women in one of the buses expressed relief to be departing, breaking into a song of prayer. Women remaining behind waved and sobbed as the buses pulled away, worried they would not have the same chance and remain indefinitely detained. Grandi thanked the Libyan authorities for allowing UNHCR access to 6,000 people held in government-run detention facilities. This access allows UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, to identify and evacuate persons in need of international protection and improve conditions, which he said had gotten better since his last visit over one year ago but were still "appalling". He noted UNHCR and the Libyan Ministry of Interior will soon open a new Gathering and Departure Centre, which will accommodate up to 1,000 vulnerable refugees in a dignified environment while their cases are processed for evacuations or direct resettlement to third countries. Grandi reiterated his call on the international community to make 40,000 places available for refugees in Libya and from 14 other countries along the Central Mediterranean route. He commended countries for committing 25,000 places, but expressed his disappointment that less than 2,000 refugees have been resettled so far. "Unfortunately, implementation of these offers is very slow," Grandi said, appealing to resettlement countries to accelerate their procedures directly from Libya and from the transit facility in Niger. Meanwhile, desperate refugees and migrants continue to pay ruthless smugglers for dangerous boat trips to Europe. Many have fallen victim to torture, rape or human slavery by criminal gangs along the route. The rubber dinghies or unseaworthy wooden boats they are forced to board are notoriously overcrowded and many capsize. On a visit to the disembarkation pier where rescued or intercepted refugees and migrants are returned by the Libyan Coast Guard, Grandi tossed a bouquet of flowers into the water to honour the memory of the lives lost at sea. "There's a lot of talk about numbers," he said. "People arriving in Libya, crossing through Libya, people trying to cross the sea from this coastline. It's always numbers. People arriving in Europe. People being disembarked. It's always, always numbers. And I think it's not about numbers, it's about people." "These are women. These are men. These are children. Desperate people who are risking their lives, and often losing their lives, to go to a better future. And for many of them, the end is tragic, and I think it's particularly those that have lost their lives that we want to remember here and now on this jetty," he added. During the visit, the High Commissioner also met with members of the 370 internally displaced Libyan families from the city of Tawergha who found refuge in the Triq Al Matar settlement on the outskirts of Tripoli seven years ago. "We are also providing support to Libyan people who have been and continue to be displaced by tensions in the country," Mr. Grandi said, appealing for more support for Libyan displaced people. "They should not be forgotten." Grandi was speaking on the day a new report from UNHCR revealed that wars, violence and persecution had uprooted record numbers of men, women and children worldwide last year, making a new global deal on refugees more critical than ever. EU/Italy/Libya: Disputes Over Rescues Put Lives at Risk Publisher Human Rights Watch Publication Date 25 July 2018 Cite as Human Rights Watch, EU/Italy/Libya: Disputes Over Rescues Put Lives at Risk, 25 July 2018, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5b646a9f4.html [accessed 28 October 2021] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. (Milan) - The European Union's obstruction of nongovernmental rescues and handover of responsibility to Libyan coast guard forces is a recipe for even greater loss of life in the Mediterranean and a continuing cycle of abuse for people trapped in Libya, Human Rights Watch said today. "The EU's efforts to block rescues and dithering on where rescued people can land, propelled by Italy's hard-line and heartless approach, is leading to more deaths at sea and greater suffering in Libya," said Judith Sunderland, associate Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch. "Instead of discouraging rescues by nongovernmental organizations, commercial vessels, and even military ships, EU member states and institutions should ensure that rescued people can be taken to safe ports where their protection needs can be met." In a visit to Libya in early July, Human Rights Watch interviewed Libyan coast guard forces, dozens of detained refugees and migrants in four official detention centers in Tripoli, Zuwara, and Misrata, and officials from international organizations. The detained asylum seekers and migrants interviewed made serious allegations of abuse by guards and smugglers, and some reported aggressive behavior by coast guard forces during rescue operations at sea. Human Rights Watch confirmed that Libyan coast guard forces lack the capacity to ensure safe and effective search-and-rescue operations. Since his government came to power in early June, Italy's deputy prime minister and interior minister, Matteo Salvini, has campaigned against nongovernmental rescue organizations operating in the Mediterranean and refused or delayed ships from disembarking hundreds of vulnerable people rescued at sea in Italy, including military and commercial vessels. On July 23, the Italian government announced it would allow military ships participating in EUNAVFOR MED, the EU's anti-smuggling operation, to disembark in Italy for five weeks while they renegotiate the mission's operational plan. In recent weeks, only the Spanish group Proactiva has patrolled international waters off the Libyan coast. All other rescue organizations are either blocked in Italian and Maltese ports by legal action or are planning new operating procedures given the uncertainty around rescue coordination and disembarkation. The risk that their vessels could be impounded, or that they could face criminal prosecution or financial loss from delayed disembarkation, risks deterring commercial ships from rescuing people at sea, even as the demand increases. The death toll in the central Mediterranean - between Libya/Tunisia and Italy/Malta - has skyrocketed even as departures from Libya have fallen significantly. In June alone, an estimated 600 people died or have been reported missing, bringing the death toll since January 1 to over 1,100. According to UNCHR, the United Nations refugee agency, the death rate in June was 1 in 7 people who attempted the journey, compared with 1 in 19 in the previous months of 2018, and 1 in 38 in the first six months of 2017. On July 21, Proactiva docked in Palma de Mallorca, Spain with two corpses - a woman and a young child - and one survivor they found on a destroyed rubber boat 80 nautical miles from the Libyan coast. The organization has accused Libyan coast guard forces of leaving them to die after boarding the other passengers and returning them to Libya. Libyan authorities deny the accusation. The failure by EU member states to ensure adequate search-and-rescue capacity in the Central Mediterranean is contrary to the spirit of international maritime law and may in certain circumstances give rise to liability for preventable loss of life and for direct breaches of the prohibition of refoulement - return to risk of persecution, torture, or ill treatment, Human Rights Watch said. Enabling Libyan coast guard units to intercept people in international waters, when it is known the coast guard will return people to cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment in arbitrary detention in Libya - conditions that have been well-documented - may constitute aiding or assisting serious human rights violations. Likewise facilitating the interception and forced return to Libya of migrants seeking protection breaches international refugee law because Libya is not a party to the 1951 Refugee Convention and does not have a refugee law or procedure. This means that returned migrants have no effective remedy for their protection needs. In a regrettable step, the International Maritime Organization (IMO), a UN agency, officially acknowledged in June Libya's declaration of a vast search-and-rescue (SAR) region. Despite limited capacity of Libyan coast guard forces and the known fate of those returned to Libya, Italy has secured explicit support from EU heads of state for its practice, tested since at least May 2017, of transferring responsibility to those forces even in international waters. The number of people detained in Libya has surged due to increased interceptions by Libyan coast guard forces. Brigadier General Mohamed Bishr, the head of the Libyan illegal migration directorate, told Human Rights Watch on July 12 that 8,672 people were in official detention centers, up from 5,200 in May. The International Organization for Migration estimates that there are 9,300 people in official detention centers in Libya. There are no available figures for people held in informal detention facilities run by armed groups or people smugglers and traffickers. EU leaders and institutions should unequivocally reject Salvini's call to "change the rules" to designate Libya a safe place to take refugees and migrants, Human Rights Watch said. Given Libya's current treatment of migrants, such a designation would amount to a denial of reality. UNHCR should update its 2015 call on all countries to "allow civilians (Libyan nationals, habitual residents of Libya, and third-country nationals) fleeing Libya access to their territories." EU member states should act urgently to protect life at sea and take rapid steps to ensure predictable disembarkation in places of safety, Human Rights Watch said. They should support rather than obstruct nongovernmental groups' rescue operations and ensure an adequate presence of vessels equipped for and ready to respond to boats in distress. Until Libyan authorities end arbitrary detention, demonstrate sustained and significant improvements in conditions and treatment in detention centers, and have sufficient autonomous capacity to fulfil their search-and-rescue responsibilities, EU member states should resume these duties in international waters off the Libyan coast, including in the area Libya has declared its search-and-rescue region. EU countries should urgently establish a regional disembarkation arrangement, including guarantees against automatic detention of rescued people, to ensure that people are taken to safe ports and swiftly relocated to another EU country that assumes responsibility for legal processing. Such an agreement is critical to preserving life-saving efforts at sea, including by nongovernmental and commercial ships, and to avoiding recurring disputes over disembarkation. EU countries and the European Commission should press Italy and Malta, closest to the critical search-and-rescue area, to allow prompt disembarkations. Beyond emergency situations, taking rescued people to a non-EU country should be considered only if certain key conditions are met, Human Rights Watch said. These include, at a minimum, procedural guarantees against arbitrary detention and refoulement, access to a fair and efficient asylum procedure, and fair deportation procedures for those with no valid claim to remain. No countries outside the EU have indicated a willingness to enter into any formal disembarkation agreements. Libyan authorities should adopt clear and consistent standard operating procedures for the coordination of rescue operations by commercial, nongovernmental, and any other vessels in its territorial waters or, within what it considers its search and rescue region in international waters, Human Rights Watch said. Libyan coast guard forces can and should play a vital role in ensuring a swift response to boats in distress, and in arranging for safe disembarkation outside Libya. "Italy's interior minister is right to point to the underlying hypocrisy in training and supplying Libyan coast guard forces while saying Libya is not a safe port," Sunderland said. "But no amount of wishful thinking will make Libya a safe place to take rescued refugees and migrants anytime soon." Italy/EU Support for Libyan Coast Guard Forces Italy has taken the lead in EU efforts to build the capacity of Libyan authorities to secure Libya's borders and patrol the Mediterranean. In February 2017, Italy signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Government of National Accord on migration control. Italy has since delivered four patrol boats under a 2008 agreement and promised to provide two more large boats as well as 30 Zodiacs (rubber speed-boats) by October. Italy is carrying out an EU-funded project to assist Libya in setting up a maritime rescue coordination center (MRCC), which is expected to be operational in 2020. In the meantime, a Libyan operations room has been set up aboard an Italian navy ship docked in Tripoli. In a meeting with Human Rights Watch, Colonel Abu Ajeila Ammar, head of Libyan coast guard search-and-rescue operations, said, "We coordinate with MRCCs Rome and Malta, and the operations room is there to enhance the cooperation." In June, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) officially acknowledged Libya's declaration of a vast search-and-rescue (SAR) region. EU heads of state adopted a joint statement in late June that all vessels in the Mediterranean "mustnot obstruct operations of the Libyan Coastguard." It is regrettable that the IMO, a UN agency, recognized the authority of Libyan forces to take charge of operations despite concerns about capacity and the fate of those returned to Libya, Human Rights Watch said. The Italian Maritime Rescue Coordination Center (IMRCC) has routinized a practice, tested since at least May 2017, of transferring responsibility to Libyan coast guard forces in international waters even when there are other, better-equipped vessels, including its own patrol boats or Italian navy vessels, closer to the scene. The EU's anti-smuggling operation EUNAVFOR MED - also known as Operation Sophia - includes a training program, begun in October 2016, for Libyan navy and coast guard officers, petty officers, and seamen under the Libyan Government of National Accord's Defense Ministry. As of June, 213 Libyan coast guard and navy personnel had participated in training courses, according to an EUNAVORFOR MED presentation Human Rights Watch attended. EUNAVFOR MED should intensify its monitoring of Libyan coast guard operations, including by units not trained by the EU, and regularly publish its findings. According to news reports, EUNAVFOR MED has paused operations given the uncertainty around being able to take rescued people to Italy, as provided under the mission's operational plan. Since it began in 2015, ships participating in the operation are credited with rescuing over 49,000 people. The Libyan coast guard under the Government of National Accord does not yet have a fully functioning maritime coordination center, and the existing operations room does not guarantee continuous coverage or rapid response in every case of distress. In a report leaked in February, EUNAVFOR MED cited a "critical infrastructural situation" in the operations room, limited language and software skills among personnel, and fuel and equipment shortfalls. The report concluded that the "lack of effective and reliable communication systems hampers Libyan capacity for the minimum level of execution of command and control, including that necessary to coordinate SAR/SOLAS events." Libyan coast guard forces rely heavily on Italian (and Maltese) surveillance capacity and assistance. Libyan units have inadequate and insufficient boats, chronic maintenance problems, and fuel shortages that limit their ability to patrol even Libyan territorial waters and quickly reach boats in distress, according to information obtained through interviews with Libyan coast guard forces in Tripoli and Sebratha, in July. Colonel Ammar told Human Rights Watch that the force is able to coordinate and rescue large numbers of people despite "limited means." He said, though, that "the boats that we currently have at our disposal are not suitable for SAR operations. what we need are proper SAR boats, these are bigger, have more capacity and provide protection in the "hot zone [the area between Misrata and Zuwara]." While Colonel Ammar said that the coast guard conducts daily patrols in the "hot zone," Captain Ayman Al-Dabbashi, commander of the Libyan coast guard in Sebratha, told Human Rights Watch that his unit can patrol to only about five miles from shore due to fuel shortages. "There is no coordination between any of the Coast Guard points [on the western coast]," he said. "Everyone is independent." Despite these limitations, the Italian maritime rescue center now consistently appears to instruct boats in distress and potential rescue vessels to call the Libyan coast guard and defer to its instructions. This has led to delays in rescues, with Libyan authorities requiring nongovernmental rescue groups and commercial ships to wait on the scene until a Libyan patrol boat can arrive. It has also led to dangerous situations in which people panic and jump in the water to attempt to swim to a European vessel. In an interview with Human Rights Watch, Brigadier General Abdullah Toumiyeh, commander of the Libyan coast guard, rightly stressed that "the priorityis saving lives. If an NGO boat is closer to the incident, then it should carry out the rescue, however they [NGOs] need to coordinate withthe Libyan Coast Guard." Accounts From Asylum Seekers, Migrants Accounts of intercepted asylum seekers and migrants suggest that Libyan coast guard units are intervening even when other vessels are nearby. "Ododo," 31, from Nigeria, said she and over 100 others spent eight hours on a rubber boat on June 24: "We saw a very white rescue ship, and there was a plane overhead with a Spanish flag. But then the Libyan boat came very fast. They threw a rope but we said we didn't want to go back. They insisted. We had to obey to save our lives." Another Nigerian woman, "Ifedayo," interviewed separately, had a similar account: "We left one week and one day ago," she said, or on July 2. "We saw the big white rescue ship, then the Libyan ship came fast and blocked us, [we said] we are so close, let us go. But they said no." "Emmanuel," a 16-year-old from Sierra Leone, said he left on an overcrowded rubber boat from Garabulli on May 10. The passengers spent 16 hours at sea before they saw what he described as a "big, white-and-black" ship he believed was European. "But the Libyans came and hit our boat with theirs. It started to sink. They threw a rope for us to use to climb onto their patrol boat. There were pregnant women, they had to use the rope too. Everyone was jostling to get the rope. On board they didn't give us anything, no water or food or life jackets." Some, like "Nala," 23, from Somalia, expressed a mix of dismay and gratitude regarding her rescue by the Libyan coast guard. "We spent about five hours on the boat. It had started to sink and some boys called for help. The Libyans came. We lost hope when we saw the Libyans because we know we can stay in a place like this [detention center] for years, but we were happy they saved us." "Joanna," a 34-year-old mother of three from Cameroon, said that once the boat she was on with 170 people crossed the "international line" after 10 hours at sea in early June, they saw a small white plane circling above them, but they did not call the Italian coast guard because they were afraid the Italians would send Libyan coast guard to take them back to Libya. "The large Libyan boat came one hour after we saw the plane," she said. "They threw us a rope and at first we refused to tie it to ours. The Libyans shot into the air and threatened us: 'If you don't tie it onto the boat then we will shoot at you.' So we tied it to our boat and they started to move people to their boat." "Ahmed," 26, a Palestinian from Gaza, said that he made a second attempt to reach Europe in May. "After 11 hours at sea, we spotted a large, orange-colored boat. We called the Italians with a Thuraya [satellite phone], but the boat had already started to lower its speed boats to come and rescue us. But before they could approach, the Libyans came from behind us and so the foreign boat stopped and did not approach us when they saw the Libyans. Some people jumped off our boat and started to swim toward the foreign boat. Those who remained refused to board the Libyan ship. "At this point two of the three Libyans on board the large rescue ship, one of whom was from the coast guard and two who were in military uniform, shot into the water next to where we were. They also came very close to our boat and started to make waves to scare us. People got scared and finally started to board their ship. They took us to Khoms," Ahmed said. This may have been an incident reported by SOS MEDITERRANEE, whose rescue ship the Aquarius is white and orange, on May 7, in which the crew observed people jumping in the water. The rescue group said that the Libyan coast guard declined their repeated offers of assistance and ordered the ship to leave the area. Obstruction, Criminalization of Nongovernmental Rescue Groups Since 2014, nongovernmental organizations have been performing vital search-and-rescue operations in international waters off the coast of Libya, where many unseaworthy, overcrowded boats enter into distress. According to official Italian statistics, nongovernmental groups performed roughly 40 percent of all rescues in the central Mediterranean in 2017 and the first five months of 2018 - a total of 51,569 people. A concerted campaign by Italian politicians and officials in 2017 and the volatile security situation in the Mediterranean led several groups, including Save the Children and Migrant Offshore Aid Station (MOAS), to suspend operations. The Italian parliament conducted two separate inquiries in 2017, finding no evidence of misconduct by nongovernmental rescue organizations. Representatives of the Italian coast guard and navy said at the time that these groups were cooperative. Nonetheless, every nongovernmental rescue organization with current capacity to perform rescues is facing legal battles or restrictions by Italian or Maltese authorities. Twenty people linked to the German group Jugend Rettet, Save the Children, and Medecins sans Frontieres (MSF) are caught up in an investigation by a Sicilian prosecutor against Jugend Rettet for alleged collusion with smugglers. Its vessel was impounded in 2017. Two crew members from Proactiva are under criminal investigation in Sicily after the group's ship Open Arms refused to hand over rescued people to a Libyan patrol boat in international waters in March 2017. The boat was impounded but later released. In June, judicial authorities in Malta impounded the vessel of the German group Mission Lifeline, and placed its captain under investigation, after the group was permitted to dock with 234 people following a five-day standoff. In July, Malta blocked two other German rescue organizations, Sea-Watch and Seefuchs, from leaving port, and grounded Moonbird, a civil reconnaissance aircraft that has assisted in spotting and subsequent rescue of migrant boats. The Aquarius, operated jointly by SOS MEDITERRANEE and MSF, was forced to divert to Valencia, Spain, in early June with over 600 people after Italy and Malta refused to allow them to dock. Malta subsequently denied the Aquarius entry for a port call, and the ship has been docked in Marseilles since mid-June. The groundwork for these efforts to obstruct rescues by nongovernmental groups was laid in 2017, when Italy imposed a "code of conduct" on them. In June 2018, all EU heads of state endorsed a statement effectively warning these groups to "not obstructthe Libyan Coast Guard." In July, the president of the European Commission took another swipe at nongovernmental groups, saying that "no one should contribute to keep alive the model of activities used by human smugglers and traffickers to exploit human misery." Statistical studies have debunked the claim that rescues by these groups encourage people to attempt the sea crossing, demonstrating stable or even higher numbers of departures at times when rescue ships were spread thin or absent entirely. Burden on Commercial Shipping Current dynamics in the Central Mediterranean may lead to an increased burden on commercial ships to respond to boats in distress at a time of significant uncertainty around disembarkation. In at least two recent cases, the Italian maritime rescue center told commercial ships to contact Libyan coast guard forces for instructions. On June 30, the center diverted the commercial ship Sedef to respond to a boat in distress inside Libyan territorial waters, and subsequently said the ship should call the Libyan coast guard to arrange transfer or disembarkation. A representative of Kasif Denizcilik, the Turkish company that owns the Sedef, told Human Rights Watch by phone that the transfer of 115 rescued people to a Libyan patrol boat at sea took place without incident on July 1. After the crew of the Vos Thalassa, an oil rig supply ship, reported to the Italian maritime rescue center that they had rescued 67 people in international waters on July 8, the Italian authorities instructed them to meet up with a Libyan patrol boat, providing them the position for a transfer. The plan was aborted when the crew reported that they faced protests and even threats once people realized they were heading toward the Libyan coast. All were eventually taken to Italy, where two of the rescued men face charges for violence, threats, and conspiracy to facilitate irregular immigration. Forty people rescued by the crew of the Sarost 5, a Tunisian-flagged vessel, on July 15 remain on board, with Tunisia, Italy, and Malta refusing to allow the ship to disembark. "We need to ensure that shipping can continue to fulfill their rescue obligations without undue difficulties or risk to the crew," John Stawpert of the International Chamber of Shipping told Human Rights Watch in a phone interview. The shipping industry, including flag states - countries where ships are registered - and maritime trade unions should consider using its influence to press EU member states and Libya to allow European coordination of rescue operations involving commercial ships in international waters, Human Rights Watch said. Laws of the Sea Support from Italy, Malta, or any other EU country in coordinating interceptions or rescues resulting in the return of refugees and migrants to Libya raises complex questions of law. All ships are obligated to come to the aid of a vessel in distress and take those recued to what is considered a place of safety under maritime law. Effective coordination among coastal states and all ships at sea is at the heart of the global search-and-rescue regime and is vital to preserving life at sea. At the same time, the current conditions in Libya mean that it cannot be considered a place of safety. Furthermore, when facilitating Libyan interception of refugees and migrants at sea is instrumental in their return to abusive detention in Libya, this could constitute aiding or assisting in serious human rights violations. The EU and its member states are aware of the foreseeable violations that face migrants upon their return and that such violations breach both EU and Libya's international legal obligations. The UN Human Rights Committee, which oversees implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), concluded that "a State party [to the ICCPR] may be responsible for extraterritorial violations of the Covenant if it is a link in the causal chain that would make possible violations in another jurisdiction." All EU member states and Libya are parties to the covenant. In light of this jurisprudence, any EU state assisting Libya to return people to Libya could be in breach of the covenant because the harm disembarked migrants face in Libya is a "foreseeable consequence" based on "knowledge the State party had at the time." Copyright notice: Copyright, Human Rights Watch The First Troop Philadelphia City Cavalry, also known as the First City Troop, is a unit of the Pennsylvania Army National Guard. It is the oldest military unit in the United States still in active service. ==History== The First Troop Philadelphia City Cavalry, or First City Troop, was organized in 1774 as the Light Horse of the City of Philadelphia, often referred to as the Philadelphia Light Horse, one of the first patriotic military organizations established in the American Revolution. It is the only military unit in the US that owns its own armory building, built with private funds in the Rittenhouse section of Philadelphia. Abraham Markoe was the founder and the first Captain of the Philadelphia Light Horse, known today as the First Troop Philadelphia City Cavalry. Early members came from a number of local social organizations, including the Schuylkill Fishing Company, the Schuylkill Company of Fort St. Davids, the St. Andrews Society of Philadelphia, the Society of the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick, the Society of the Sons of St. George, and especially the Gloucester Fox Hunting Club. Captain Samuel Morris was Gloucesters first president and Captain Robert Wharton its last. During the Revolution, the troop fought in the battles of Trenton, Princeton, Brandywine, and Germantown. It often served as George Washingtons personal bodyguard. The unit also saved James Wilson at the Battle of Fort Wilson riot. During the American Civil War, the First City Troop was called into active duty several times, beginning with the 1861 Campaign that led to the First Battle of Bull Run. During the Gettysburg Campaign, the company, under the command of future U.S. Speaker of the House Samuel J. Randall, performed scouting duties around Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, in late June before fleeing to neighboring York County following a brief skirmish on June 26, 1863. The company later helped defend the Columbia-Wrightsville Bridge against the Confederate forces of John Brown Gordon. John J. Pershing said that no National Guard organization in the country did more, relatively, in the First World War than the [First Troop Philadelphia City Cavalry]. Today, the First City Troop deploys overseas with the Pennsylvania National Guard in support of Army operations. Recent deployments have been to Bosnia, Iraq, and Egypt. Membership is by election. Soldiers on the active roll continue to donate their drill pay back to the unit, in order to maintain a tradition of voluntary service. The troop draws its membership from Troop A, 1st Squadron, 104th Cavalry Regiment, 28th Infantry Division (United States), Pennsylvania Army National Guard. Source(s): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Troop_Philadelphia_City_Cavalry Almost all of this is gone. But the ghosts linger. Here are a few: Passenger trains ended the state's isolation, bringing new residents and tourists. Crack trains included Santa Fe's northern Arizona fleet of the Super Chief, El Capitan, Chief, San Francisco Chief, and Grand Canyon, and Southern Pacific's Sunset Limited, Golden State Limited, and Imperial among others traveling through Phoenix once the SP northern main line was completed in 1926. They delivered and picked up the mail, often sorted en route in Railway Post Office cars. Less-than-carload freight service with the Southern Pacific, Santa Fe and Railway Express Agency served scores of towns and cities, the FedEx and UPS of their day. It wasn't always that way. Railroads were essential to tapping the state's mineral wealth, especially copper, shipping produce from the Salt River Valley, and building towns that served as busy division and subdivision points. T oday's railroad action in Arizona is largely confined to the Union Pacific across the southern part of the state and the BNSF "Transcon" across the north, along with branch lines from both to Phoenix. Long intermodal and merchandise freights power along with few stops, heading to California and the east. Freight yards, crew changes, roundhouses, and repair work that once bolstered railroad towns such as Ash Fork and Seligman have been eliminated or diminished. Arizona now posts some of the lowest levels of rail freight tonnage originating and being delivered in the nation. Around Flagstaff and Williams, the Flagstaff Lumber Co., Central Arizona Railway, Greenlaw Brothers, and Saginaw & Manistee Lumber built an extensive set of lines to load timber from the forests and bring the logs to mills in the two towns. There, the lumber could be loaded on trains running on the main line of the Santa Fe (this predecessor of the Transcon was built across the state in the early 1880s). These operations, hauled by small steam locomotives, lasted from the 1890s into the mid-1950s. Some of the spurs ran as far south as Mormon Lake and Hutch Mountain, as well as Oak Creek Canyon. In northeastern Arizona, Southwest Forest Industries and the Apache Railway operated logging railroads from Snowflake through McNary to Maverick in Apache County. The Prescott and Arizona Central was the first railroad to reach its namesake town, then the territorial capital. It ran south from the Santa Fe connection at the main-line division headquarters of Seligman. Completed in 1886, it lasted only a few years because of competition from Santa Fe's own construction of a branch to the south in the 1890s. Winslow's enchanting La Posada hotel is a reminder of the town's importance as a division point. This was a masterpiece of architect Mary Jane Coulter. It was also one of several Harvey Houses, the legendary restaurants and hotels operated by Fred Harvey in conjunction with the AT&SF, where passengers could get sumptuous meals served by Harvey Girls. The Winslow yard was busy with freight movements, never more so than during World War II. Labor shortages resulted in the Santa Fe hiring women as station agents and telegraphers, as well as Navajos to operate track maintenance gangs. BNSF crews still change here. A much diminished yard remains, along with the turntable but the immense roundhouse and other glories were demolished. The Peavine from Williams Junction to Phoenix still hauls freight south to Phoenix on the BNSF. It also once had passenger trains. And it was once much more extensive. Prescott was a major center for crew changes, maintenance, a switching yard, and passenger service hence the handsome depot that still stands at the foot of Cortez Street. Trains entered from the north along a right of way that went by Granite Dells and today's Prescott airport. But Prescott was also burdened on a tough grade from the west near Iron Springs. So the Santa Fe rebuilt the line with the Paulden Cutoff in the early 1960s, stranding Prescott as only a branch line that extended to the mines at Dewey, Humboldt, and Mayer. Freight service still operated when I was a little boy, and a jeweler downtown sported a sign for Hamilton railroad pocket watches. It's all gone now except for the depot. In the late 19th century and the first half of the 20th century, Santa Fe spurs ran from Prescott as far as Crown King. Narrow- and standard gauge lines branched off the Peavine (hence it's name) into the Verde Valley. The United Verde and Pacific Railway was a line to Jerome, which boasted one of the richest mines in the world for a time. Most of these are only memories, except for the Verde Canyon Railroad, a tourist line. Another early-1960s realignment took Ash Fork and Williams off the Santa Fe's double-track main line and the daily/nightly parade of some of the nation's finest passenger trains. The new main went north, leaving the two towns on the Peavine, with the loss of many railroad jobs (the Peavine connects at Williams Junction). The grand Williams depot and former Harvey House still stands as terminus for the Grand Canyon Railway. Amazingly, the former Santa Fe branch to the South Rim and the rustic station there were saved. The state saw numerous branch lines to serve mines. Most of these were built by the Southern Pacific or big outfits such as Phelps Dodge or Kennecott. The majority are now ghost lines or severely downgraded in service. Ajo, a "planned" company town for Phelps Dodge's New Cornelia mine, was linked by a 42-mile, company-built branch to the Southern Pacific main line at Gila Bend. Both freight and passenger service operated for decades in the first half of the 20th century. New Cornelia closed in 1984, followed a year later by its smelter. The handsome railroad station still anchors the town plaza, now used by the local chamber of commerce. Many miles of railroads served the rich copper districts of southeastern Arizona. Chief among them was the El Paso and Southwestern, which ran west into Arizona after skimming the international border through New Mexico. It served Douglas and Bisbee not only handling ore and ingots, but passengers into the 1950s. (The railroad, controlled by Phelps Dodge associates, was the means of transportation in the infamous 1917 Bisbee Deportation labor dispute, too). Southern Pacific acquired the EP&S in the 1920s and operated it as a secondary southern mainline, carrying many SP passenger trains. The EP&S depot still stands in downtown Tucson on Congress Street. Except for a remnant of about 25 miles trailing down from Benson, the extensive spiderweb of rails in this region is gone even the branch to Fort Huachuca. Chandler was once on the SP's northern main line, an important drawing point for the San Marcos Hotel. Unfortunately, in the late 1960s SP abandoned the rails from north of Coolidge to Sacaton, stranding Chandler on a branch, in favor of a partly parallel route through Queen Creek and Gilbert. The SP spur south through Tempe to Kyrene was once the first direct rail link to Phoenix. The Maricopa & Phoenix met the SP main line at the former town. Congress had to pass a bill allowing the railroad builders to trespass on Indian land, with the tribe receiving compensation. It was completed in 1887, but superseded by the northern main line in the 1920s. Elsewhere in Tempe, the Phoenix, Tempe & Mesa Railroad branched east from the M&T to serve the flour mill and creamery, then go to Mesa (both roads became part of the SP). This required a yard by the junction at the Tempe depot. Most of the PT&M was abandoned, but much of the Tempe segment lasted into the late 20th century along Eighth Street, with a spur line serving the APS power plant built in 1958. A small portion was used as right of way for light rail. Perhaps the saddest ghost line runs from Roll, a farming village east of Yuma, to Arlington, near the Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station. This is an inactive portion of what was Southern Pacific's northern main line, which saw almost all its passenger varnish and for many decades freight trains to and from the West Coast. After Amtrak took over in 1971, it continued to carry the Sunset. But service ended in 1995 when the state refused to contribute to the line's upkeep (a common practice, even in such conservative bastions as Oklahoma and Kansas). Phoenix is by far the largest American city with no intercity passenger rail service. Ghost Railroads Gallery (click for larger image): The yard in Ash Fork, 1943, when the town was still on the Santa Fe mainline. An overhead view of Ash Fork with the railroad and switching yard on the right. Ash Fork's Santa Fe depot and Harvey House, then on the ATSF main line. Diesel locomotives in busy Winslow yard, 1943. Santa Fe dieselized early in Arizona to cut down on the water demands of steam locomotives. The ATSF roundhouse at Winslow, where locomotives were serviced and stored. Trackside view of the Santa Fe depot in Prescott. The building is still there. This map shows the extent of operations in Prescott, including a roundhouse, before the Paulden Cutoff. An 1899 map of the Peavine including branches to Jerome, Mayer, and Congress. A Baldwin 2-6-0 locomotive of the Verde Tunnel & Smelter Railroad bringing ore from Jerome to the smelter at Clarkdale (Photo courtesy of Y. F. Yates). A train being loaded at the Jerome Hopewell Tunnel (Photo courtesy of Y. F. Yates). With the completion of the Santa Fe Railroad into Prescott-Chino Valley, U.S. Senator William Clark, owner of the United Verde mine in Jerome, established the first rail service to Jerome. The new narrow gauge line, the United Verde and Pacific Railway, joined rail with the Santa Fe in Chino Valley. The new U.V.& P., nicknamed "the crookedest line in the world" with 186 curves, climbed and twisted its way over the Black Hills serving Jerome from 1895 to 1917. (Photo courtesy of Y.F. Yates). Maricopa is where the first branch line to Phoenix originated from the Southern Pacific. Today, Maricopa is served by Amtrak while Phoenix is not. Ajo's station, facing the town square, is still standing. One of many mining roads was the Arizona Southern between Red Rock and Silver Bell. This is from 1909. A panoramic view of the roundhouse and passenger and freight stations in Douglas. Railroads were major employers in Arizona. Bisbee's passenger station circa 1920. The restored El Paso & Southwestern (Southern Pacific) depot in Douglas. There's no longer passenger trains or even rails. The E&SW depot in Tucson, now used for offices. A Southern Pacific passenger train stands at the Nogales depot in 1948. The Southern Pacific depot in Globe, still standing. SP provided passenger service through the 1950s. The Southern Pacific depot in Miami. The preserved SP depot in Clifton in far eastern Arizona. The Arizona Eastern Railway still operates the former SP line from a connection at Lordsburg, N.M. The SP depot in Safford in southeast Arizona. This line was also spun off to the Arizona Eastern. The Apache Railway back from near-death. Built to serve logging and sawmills from Holbrook to Snowflake and McNary, the short line was almost torn up when the mills closed. A heroic community effort saved it. Today its primary business is rail car repair, with plans for a poultry operation. The Southern Pacific's impressive station in Yuma, which handled all the SP passenger trains to Los Angeles, as well as those going to San Diego via the treacherous Carrizo Gorge. The depot was lost to a fire in the 1990s. My book, A Brief History of Phoenix, is available to buy or order at your local independent bookstore, or from Amazon. Read more Phoenix history in Rogue's Phoenix 101 archive. Blockchain-based equity fundraising platform Neufund is partnering Polish crypto-exchange BitBay to enable investors to buy and sell equity tokens with fiat currencies. Neufund allows organizations to raise money via Equity Token Offerings (ETOs) on the blockchain by issuing equity tokens, akin to shares in a company. Investors can invest with Ether or Euro. Neufund aims to become the first end-to-end primary issuance platform for security tokens, specializing in equity tokens. The security token market will reach a value of $10 trillion by 2020, according to a study conducted by Polymath. Neufund has created a network of smart contracts operating on the Ethereum blockchain that allows any company, other than blockchain-based also, to issue equity tokens on a blockchain, in a public or private placement. It operates under German crypto-friendly jurisdiction. BitBay, whose tradable fiat pairs include the Polish Zloty, the Euro and the U.S. Dollar, will be the first trading partner of Neufund to enable companies to liquidate their equity tokens against fiat currency. BitBay will implement equity tokens into 24/7 crypto trading systems. Neufund also said seven companies from five countries have signed up to conduct ETOs through its platform. It had earlier announced partnerships with the Malta Stock Exchange and Binance, the world's biggest crypto exchange. The Bitbay exchange recently announced plans to relocate to the "Blockchain Island" Malta after the last Polish Bank stopped provided services to them. On the other hand, Berlin-based Neufund announced its support to the rapidly expanding blockchain ecosystem in the small Mediterranean island nation Malta, which plans to transform itself into a fintech hub and a crypto-friendly "Blockchain island." Neufund will provide Malta with European know-how and a team of experts in both regulatory frameworks and blockchain development. For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com Business News President Donald Trump has taken significant steps to improve relations between the U.S. and North Korea, but the Treasury Department stressed Friday it would continue to enforce existing UN and U.S. sanctions on the reclusive communist country. The Treasury subsequently announced sanctions against Russia's Agrosoyuz Commercial Bank for knowingly facilitating a significant transaction on behalf of Han Jang Su, a North Korean designated for weapons of mass destruction-related activities. Han is the Moscow-based chief representative of Foreign Trade Bank, North Korea's primary foreign exchange bank, the Treasury said. "The United States will continue to enforce UN and U.S. sanctions and shut down illicit revenue streams to North Korea," said Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. He added, "Our sanctions will remain in place until we have achieved the final, fully-verified denuclearization of North Korea." In addition to Agrosoyuz, the Treasury designated Ri Jong Won, the Moscow-based deputy representative of FTB, as well as two associated FTB front companies Dandong Zhongsheng Industry & Trade Co., Ltd. and Korea Ungum Corporation. The Treasury said the action reinforces the United States' ongoing commitments to upholding the decisions of the UN Security Council. For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com Political News The Swiss stock market traded in the green for the majority of Friday's session, but pared its gains in the afternoon. Despite the late sell-off, the market held onto a slight increase. The Swiss Market Index increased by 0.03 percent Friday and finished at 9,158.00. The Swiss Leader Index climbed 0.09 percent and the Swiss Performance Index added 0.08 percent. Swiss Re lost 1.3 percent. After reporting a drop in first-half net profit, the reinsurance company said it is planning a stock market listing next year for its U.K. unit. Novartis dropped 0.9 percent and Roche fell 0.5 percent. Meanwhile, Nestle finished higher by 0.8 percent. Credit Suisse surrendered 0.3 percent, while UBS rose 0.1 percent and Julius Baer climbed 1.3 percent. Swatch Group advanced 1.4 percent and rival Richemont added 0.7 percent. Lafargeholcim gained 1 percent after it agreed to acquire concrete company Metro Mix. For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com Market Analysis Editors Pick Apple announced that Apple News will be extending its local news offering to three additional cities in the United States to offer local news experience to readers. The service will now be provided for Charlotte, Miami, and Washington, D.C. The local news experience for each city is curated by Apple News editors to provide coverage of topics of importance for local communities. Automaker General Motors Co. (GM) on Wednesday reported third-quarter net income attributable to shareholders of $2.42 billion or $1.62 per share, lower than $4.05 billion or $2.78 per share in the prior-year quarter. Excluding items, adjusted net income for the quarter was $1.52 per share, compared... Boeing on Wednesday reported a loss for the first quarter that sharply narrowed from last year, reflecting an 8 percent increase in revenues on higher commercial airplanes and services volumes. However, core loss per share and quarterly revenues came in below analysts' expectations. Looking ahead, the airplane maker said supply chain capacity and global trade will be key drivers of the industry. China has threatened to impose tariffs of $60 billion worth of U.S. goods in retaliation for President Donald Trump's proposed tariffs on billions of dollars worth of Chinese imports. A statement released by the Chinese Ministry of Finance on Friday said the proposed tariffs on U.S. goods would range from 5 percent to 25 percent. The announcement by China comes on the heels of news Trump directed U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer to consider raising the rate of proposed tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports. Lighthizer said Trump directed him to consider increasing the proposed tariff rate to 25 percent from the previously announced 10 percent. China said the implementation of its proposed tariffs will be subject to the actions of the U.S. and reserved the right to continue to introduce other countermeasures. "China always believes that consultation on the basis of mutual respect, equality and mutual benefit is an effective way to resolve trade differences," China's Ministry of Commerce said in a statement, according to a translation. The ministry added, "Any unilateral threat or blackmail will only lead to intensification of conflicts and damage to the interests of all parties." A Bloomberg report earlier this week suggested the U.S. and China were trying to restart trade talks, although Trump's chief economic adviser Larry Kudlow told reporters on Friday that talks had "stalled" in recent days. For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com Business News Globalisation is real and Samoa is not immune from the impact, both positive and negative. The positive side is that the world has been reduced to the size of a global village so that technology and innovation has made certain things a lot easier. But wherever there is good, there will always be the bad and the ugly. Now when we talk about globalisation, it doesnt just involve technological advances. It also involves people movement, trade and the like. It has to be said that one of the biggest challenges of our time is trade. And since Samoa became a member of the World Trade Organisation (W.T.O.), the opening up of our borders to different products from around the globe has not come without concerns. When the idea of Samoa becoming a member of the W.T.O. was first introduced, it was naturally met with strong pessimism. This was largely due to fears that economies like Samoa that are least developed - cannot foot it on a level playing field with everyone else, let alone superpowers such as America, China, Europe and others. The private sector was especially concerned that the interests of the local industries will be lost in the wave of globalisation. But the man driving the W.T.O. accession efforts at the time was the Minister of Trade, Commerce and Industry, Hans Joachim Keil. At the time, he had a simple message. He said globalisation is the reality of today and there is no way we can ignore it. Globalisation has occurred because trade barriers (such as duties and quotas) have been drastically reduced, providing companies with the opportunities to expand into international markets. How has Samoa fared? In Samoa today, the mushrooming of foreign-owned businesses and their selling of inferior products cannot be ignored. Its scary seeing so many different products with foreign language labels that we cannot understand. But thats just one of the challenges. Then there is the issue of foreigners driving our very own people out of business. How many local shops have we seen being taken over by the Chinese and foreigners in the past few years? And while this has been happening, more and more of our people are resorting to sell pork buns and BBQ on the side of the road. Earlier this week, a front page story titled Citizens warned against registering foreign firms raised an interesting point. In it, the Minister of Revenue, Tialavea Tionisio Hunt, revealed that some locals are fronting up to apply for retail licenses for businesses run by foreigners. This is illegal and we have sent out Internal Revenue Officers to investigate these claims, said the Minister. The problem is our own people. They submit the application as if they are the ones who will run the business, yet we find out there are Chinese people in the backrooms monitoring the cameras and keeping tabs on the workers. We had to close down one store last year when our office acquired solid evidence to prove the Chinese is the one who is funding the business, yet the business license is under someone else. Well the Minister and his team might want to look a bit harder. Looking at the number of these foreign-owned shops, it looks like the law is being ignored right before our eyes. Come to think of it, we doubt this was part of the original plan when our Government embraced globalisation and W.T.O. rules. Did anybody see this coming? And with this happening, does anybody have a solution? The worry is that more and more local people are waking up to realize that if they dont do something pretty soon they will have nothing to fall back on. If our humble opinion is sought, we believe the solution goes back to what weve been saying that the government must invest money to encourage people to develop farming and agriculture. With all that fertile soil in Samoa, imagine if there were millions of tala available to local farmers so they can fund different projects to utilise their land. The government should then invest in setting up factories where our wildly grown breadfruits, mangoes, papayas, lemon and so forth are canned and exported. That way employment is created, people have money in their pockets and the economy is stimulated. Most importantly, there is a solid base for exports earning us much-needed revenue. The worry for Samoa is that in the absence of a solid export base, the government will continue to depend on these foreigners and investors to create employment. Which is okay but it comes with a hefty price tag. But these foreigners will bring their conditions and impose their will because at the end of the day, beggars cannot be choosers. And when people become more and more desperate, they will have no choice but to follow in order to survive including lying to the Ministry of Revenue about owning those businesses. What do you think? Have a fantastic Friday Samoa, God bless! The leaders of the health sector in Samoa exist in a state of warfare. And unless reconciliation takes place immediately between leaders of the warring occupational groups, especially doctors and nurses, members of the public whose lives depend on the sector, will continue to be victims. But its not just that. Health workers who are merely trying to perform their duties will continue to be trapped in this vicious cycle while the war rages above them. This is the gist of a report by a Commission of Inquiry appointed by Cabinet to review the proposed merger between the Ministry of Health (M.O.H.) and the National Health Services (N.H.S.). The report titled A Pressing need for Grace, which casts doubt on whether the merge can proceed under current circumstances, has been submitted to Cabinet for their deliberation. A fundamental change in attitude of all Health sector workers is the Commissions own prescription for the terminal condition which the sector is currently manifesting, an attitude of selfishness and mala fides (bad faith) which lies at the heart of the conflicts and disagreements which has paralyzed the service for many years, the report reads. The Commission strongly recommends the conduct of a formal process of reconciliation between the leaders of the warring occupational groups. (There is also) a need for a nationwide resetting of health sector goals where the best interests of patients and the needs of the public, dictate the form of health administration we have, (and not groups of privileged self- centered office bound jet setting combatants), whilst the vast majority of ill- treated underpaid staff continue to work hard and do the best with what they have, whilst the war rages above and around them. Chaired by former Attorney General, Taulapapa Brenda Heather-Latu, the Commission members include the Vice Chancellor of the National University of Samoa, Fui Dr. Asofou Soo and former Chief Executive Officer of the Public Service Commission, Faamausili Dr. Matagialofi Luaiufi. There is a fundamental lack of effective leadership over and within the health sector, which is now in a critical state of dysfunction and has been torn asunder by sector wide hostility, suspicion and conflict, the report says. This woeful state of affairs has been allowed to continue, and indeed flourish through a lack of attention and an unwillingness at the highest level to stamp out the destructive behavior and arrogant behavior of certain sector health leaders and their followers. The Commission of Inquiry expressed serious concerns about the existing discord between senior officers within M.O.H. and N.H.S., which compromised the ability of the health sector to function. The use of the health sector as a battlefield amongst senior health professionals, and the long standing conflict between Doctors and Nurses, is an abuse of their privileged position and a chronic waste of public resources, the Inquiry found. (This comes) at a time when the public still languish for long hours to see the few overworked doctors and nurses at TT Hospital in Apia (which is apparently a luxury if you live in Savaii where there is no registered doctor available at any time). (This is also happening in) a system where there are still shortages of basic supplies, and is both disgraceful and symptomatic of managers who have misplaced their sense of responsibility, and misused their time and public resources to fuel conflict rather than focus on whether the public have access to efficient, clinically safe and humane care and treatment. Little kindness is evident from these stony faced, obstructive and aggressive senior members of the National Health Services workforce, some of whom, we are told, consider undertaking basic tasks in the wards demeaning and beneath their dignity, and shame the very professions to which they belong. The Commission also found a number of other problems. One of them is the diversion of core funding for health services to fund excessive administrative or bureaucratic processes and positions. These include duplicated non-technical roles and a multiplicity of mid-management positions, which the Inquiry found to be a a fundamental misuse of the extensive public resources and aid assistance allocated to the Health sector. The report points out that this should be closely monitored to ensure all Health expenditure contributes to either, the effectiveness and efficiency of actual clinical and hospital services or public health programs, or the delivery of adequate health services beyond the Apia urban area, including MT2 Hospital at Tuasivi and all rural areas in Upolu and Savaii. The Commission hearings started on Tuesday 15 May 2018 and finished on Friday 18 May 2018. They heard submissions from N.H.S., M.O.H., N.H.S. Nurses, Samoa Nurses Association, Samoa Medical Association, P.S.C., Public Servants Association and the Allied Health Workers. They also heard from individuals. In their report to Cabinet, the Commission concluded: The many professionals in the health sector (public or private) routinely offer their time, skills and experience in a committed and diligent manner and serve the people of this country with selfless dedication. To do so with kindness and compassion however separates the ordinary health professionals from those who are extraordinary, and these are the health professionals who are the most highly respected in our community and much beloved by patients and their families. The reference to the need for grace earlier in this report is the absolute conviction and belief by the Commission that until health workers carry out their functions duties and responsibilities according to a set of values, which put the patients care and welfare above all other matters personal and institutional, then the current state of warfare will simply continue unabated and absolutely no organizational structure in any form will produce the health outcomes which our community is paying for, or which the people of this country should demand and deserve. The Samoa Observer will begin to publish the report on Sunday. Today we are also publishing a summary of the findings as well as the foreword of the report. See stories: Theres a pressing need for Grace in health sector What the Inquiry found The findings by a Commission of Inquiry tasked to consider the proposed merger between the Ministry of Health (M.O.H.) and the National Health Services (N.H.S.) have been referred back to the Health sector. This was confirmed by Prime Minister, Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi, yesterday in response to questions from the Samoa Observer. The Prime Minister said the Commission of Inquiry findings (see story) have been referred back to the Committee appointed by Cabinet to oversee the merge. Weve decided to refer the findings to the Committee overseeing the merge to have a look at it and then prepare a report for Cabinet, Tuilaepa said. Cabinet will be meeting next week Tuesday and by then we will have the report from the committee in connection to the findings of the Commission. Tuilaepa also confirmed that Cabinet has received the report from the Commission chaired by former Attorney General, Taulapapa Brenda Heather-Latu. We have already told them that Cabinet is meeting on Tuesday and on that day we will deal with all the issues that have been highlighted by the Commission. The testing of liquor to ensure it is safe for human consumption is the responsibility of the Ministry of Health. Minister for Revenue, Tialavea Fea Leniu Tionisio Hunt, said this in a recent interview with Samoa Observer when discussing the implications of the Governments decision to increase excise tax on locally-manufactured and imported liquor. Quality is where the hospital comes in, all the spirits is the hospital function to go and check. They are in our committee and we go together and check because we dont have the facilities in our department. We depend on the hospital function to go out see whats in these bottles. Random samples are also collected and taken to SROS now and then to test and check percentage of alcohol, he said. When asked if he knew much revenue generated from the excise increase will fund advocacy programmes to warn the public of the impact of alcohol abuse, he said that is a question for the Department of Health. Government give health and education hundreds of millions a year its not up to us to decide where the money goes. The only reason why we collect the money is for the good of our people in the country. Its not like the money we get from taxing cigarettes goes to the health of just smokers, it goes to everybody, the same with revenue collected from taxing alcohol. We look bad because we collect taxes but if they tell us that this move will improve health then we will do whats necessary, he said. Samoa Observer contacted the M.O.H representative to the Liquor Board Sinei Fili and Acting C.E.O of the M.O.H Darryl Anesi to discuss actions they were taking to ensure liquor was safe for public consumption. The Acting C.E.O, Darryl Anesi responded in an email saying: The Ministry will respond in due time through the Office of the CEO, as per matter raised in your email. In the June 2018 session of parliament, former Speaker Laaulialemalietoa Leuatea Schmidt appealed to the Minister of Health to look into the quality of raw materials used to locally manufacture liquor. He was of the view that alcohol consumption was wreaking havoc on families and young people and suggested that an inquiry be done into how the liquor was locally manufactured. These bottles are not alcohol, they are not vodka, they are basically industrial spirit that shouldnt even be available out there, he said. Laaulialemalietoa urged the Minister to ensure the products are safe for human consumption and do not have any adverse effects on the people. Nine years on from the devastating effects of the 2009 tsunami in Samoa, some villagers remain emotionally and mentally scarred from the ordeal. Over 60 villagers from Saleapaga and Sapoe joined local trainers who recently completed a course in trauma management, which was run by the Loma Linda University from California and supported by the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (A.D.R.A.). The villagers interacted with the trainers and told them how some of them still have nightmares and sleepless nights, which affect not only their mental but also their physical health. The trainers are able to give the affected villagers emotional support, which are some of the skills they learnt on how to handle and understand their traumatic experience. A.D.R.A. Samoa country director Sua Julia Wallwork was elated at the level of interaction between the villagers and the local trainers, saying the villagers are taking a major step to open up about their experiences. I am so happy they are responding well normally villages dont open up, which is a major step. A.D.R.A. did a programme a few years ago (called) Open the door, to try and wind down the barriers of all the taboos that prevent the communication within the families I see the opening here and now, she said. With the first batch of trainers from the workshop now commissioned, the next step for the not-for-profit-organisation is to go out to other villages and spread the skills. It is very easy to adapt to the Samoan people, the Samoan life. We talk to them and they already experienced what we are trying to share with them. They are quite happy with the ideas we bring in. We apply to them to share their experience with the relatives, who have the same issues, said Niulevaea Adan Afamasaga, who also works for A.D.R.A and attended the training workshop. In May this year the Cabinet appointed a Commission of Inquiry to consider the proposed organizational structure of the merger between the Ministry of Health and the National Health Services. Prominent lawyer and former Attorney General, Taulapapa Brenda Heather-Latu, chaired the Inquiry. Commission Members include Professor Fui Asofou Soo and Faamausili Dr. Matagialofi Luaiufi. The lawyers assisting the Commission were Sefo Junior Ainuu, the Assistant Attorney General and Chief Public Solicitor, and Shalon Time, a State Solicitor. The Commissions terms of reference were: To review the structure that has been proposed for the merger of the Ministry of Health and the National Health Service; To consider the concerns raised by nurses; Consider and recommend options regarding the proposed organizational structure. Consult the representative for nurses, as well as representatives of the relevant government agencies presently engaged to bring the merger into effect; This is the summary of findings by the Commission of Inquiry published verbatim: 1. The proposed structure Taskforce Structure tabled before Cabinet on 9 March 2018, is unlikely to deliver the expected outcomes arising from the (re) merge of NHS and MOH decided by Cabinet in April 2017 in FK(17)13, insofar as the functions attributed to the three Deputy Director General positions in the proposed structure mix administrative and clinical functions to such an extent that there is a lack of clarity in respect of clinical and administrative and accountability, and the structure is overly complex; 2. As a result of its deliberations, the Commission has prepared and recommends an alternative structure called the Commission Structure which is based on the two areas of critical governance in the Health sector consisting of: a. Corporate Governance and Improvement; and b. Clinical Governance, Public Health and Hospitals, from which the rest of the new health organization cascades down. This recommended structure specifically separates the use and monitoring of all physical assets and resources under a single Corporate Governance and Improvement grouping called the Corporate Governance pillar. A separate grouping is responsible for the delivery of health services to the public, (both hospital based clinical services and community based services), and provides the oversight for the many professional groups who provide all forms of medical and clinical care and treatment, as well as public health initiatives, all to be managed under a single Clinical Governance pillar. 3. The Commission Structure also includes the detachment of the professional monitoring of standards, as well as all public complaints which we propose are dealt with by an independent office from the Ministry called the Health Ombudsman (or Health Commission) which houses the qualified professionals who monitor professional standards, as well as an investigation unit for public complaints which reports to the Health Ombudsman/Health Commission, which in turn reports directly to the Minister of Health and Cabinet; 4. The Commission Structure also reintroduces a Health Advisory Board to support the work of the sector, and also proposes an avenue for seeking and receiving direct input from community representatives about the quality of the services being provided throughout the country and if approved will require an urgent review of Health legislation. 5. The Nurses complaints about the Taskforce Structure excluding recognition of their particular functions and responsibilities, is well founded, and we recommend the inclusion of an Executive Nursing and Midwifery role under Clinical Governance. 6. This Executive Nursing role should, in our view, be focused on how Nurses can provide the optimal support to health service delivery in every unit and health facility in the country, and focus on the interests of the whole health sector (instead of managing individual nurses), and provide positive input on broad issues such as: the strategic deployment of nursing staff across all clinical areas and across the hospitals and districts; career development and up skilling of all nurses; maintaining high professional standards, rather than exercising direct authority over nursing allocations, which in the Commissions view must ultimately be decided by the DDG of Clinical Governance, and the Heads of Clinical Units, in consultation with the senior nurses in those Units. 7. The Executive Nursing role is designed to be collaborative and cooperative and should contribute positively to the proposed multidisciplinary team culture for all frontline clinical services, personal qualities which should be identified as essential personal qualities of the senior Nurse/Midwife who will be eligible to fill this role. 8. In general, the diversion of core funding for health services to fund excessive administrative or bureaucratic processes and positions (including duplicated non-technical roles and a multiplicity of mid-management positions), is, we believe, a fundamental misuse of the extensive public resources and aid assistance allocated to the Health sector, which we consider should be sharply targeted and closely monitored to ensure all Health expenditure contributes to either, the effectiveness and efficiency of actual clinical and hospital services or public health programs, or the delivery of adequate health services beyond the Apia urban area, including MT2 Hospital at Tuasivi and all rural areas in Upolu and Savaii. 9. There is a fundamental lack of effective LEADERSHIP over and within the Health sector, which is now in a critical state of dysfunction and has been torn asunder by sector wide hostility, suspicion and conflict. This woeful state of affairs has been allowed to continue, and indeed flourish through a lack of attention and an unwillingness at the highest level to stamp out the destructive behavior and arrogant behavior of certain sector health leaders and their followers. The existing discord between senior officers within MOH and NHS was further elevated by the passage of the NHS Act 2014 which significantly altered the statutory balance between regulatory oversight and service delivery, resulting in the 2006 statutory framework (the product of an extensive World Bank funded project) being compromised and rendered unworkable. 10.The use of the health sector as a battlefield amongst senior health professionals, and the long standing conflict between Doctors and Nurses, is an abuse of their privileged position and a chronic waste of public resources at a time when the public still languish for long hours to see the few overworked doctors and nurses at TT Hospital in Apia (which is apparently a luxury if you live in Savaii where there is no registered Doctor available at any time), and in a system where there are still shortages of basic supplies, and is both disgraceful and symptomatic of managers who have misplaced their sense of responsibility, and misused their time and public resources to fuel conflict rather than focus on whether the public have access to efficient, clinically safe and humane care and treatment. Little kindness is evident from these stony faced, obstructive and aggressive senior members of the National Health Services workforce, some of whom, we are told, consider undertaking basic tasks in the wards demeaning and beneath their dignity, and shame the very professions to which they belong; 11. There has been a demonstrated lack of robust and practical monitoring by core agencies such as: Ministry of Finance MOF; Attorney Generals Office AGO and the Public Service Association PSC, and a lack of such specialist oversight over this important sector, which has led to the growth of administrative roles and positions in both NHS and MOH; a change in operational coherence of the sector through the passage of a new Act in 2014, (which allowed NHS to effectively opt out of the current sector structure), leaving MOH practically redundant with the passage of the new Act. MOHs response to these events was primal and led to a proposal to Cabinet resulting in the total change of a national policy and sector structure when the Merge of NHS and MOH was approved by Cabinet in April 2017. 12. The approval of such a radical policy change from the Governments 20 year reform agenda (i.e. to separate regulatory oversight from service delivery) strongly suggests a greater level of oversight and consistency is needed throughout the public service, to ensure the existing Government policies are either adhered to and considered (when significant policy changes are proposed by any Ministry or government agency), in order to ensure that the policy advice supplied by the core agencies to Cabinet on any matter is correct, robust, honest, consistent and supported by facts which then allow Cabinet to make informed, accurate and suitable decisions in every case. Seeking and receiving approval for a total sector regime change without adopting a considered or investigative process justifying such a radical policy shift, has exposed the weaknesses in the decision making process within the sector as well as across central government agencies. The apparent lack of institutional memory and any understanding of the purposes behind broad Government policies, has further undermined the effectiveness of the Ministries concerned. 13. A lack of personal and professional discipline also played a significant part in the continuation of the dysfunction in the sector, where personal hostility and personal interest was allowed free rein over policy and administrative decisions, thus misusing the public health system as simply a backdrop for personal agenda rather than a positive site for their committed and dedicated employment. The movement of nursing staff for no good clinical reason was cited as an example of the misuse of authority said often to be motivated by spite and not for the appropriate clinical reasons in a system which has allowed certain managers the freedom to act selfishly and aggressively (to continue or protect their own personal agenda), and is an sad indictment on the prevailing management culture in the sector. 14. A fundamental change in attitude of all Health sector workers is the Commissions own prescription for the terminal condition which the sector is currently manifesting, an attitude of selfishness and mala fides (bad faith) which lies at the heart of the conflicts and disagreements which has paralyzed the service for many years. The Commission strongly recommends the conduct of a formal process of RECONCILIATION between the leaders of the warring occupational groups, and the need for a nationwide resetting of health sector goals where the best interests of patients and the needs of the public, dictate the form of health administration we have, (and not groups of privileged self- centered office bound jet setting combatants), whilst the vast majority of ill- treated underpaid staff continue to work hard and do the best with what they have, whilst the war rages above and around them.15. The periodic threats to strike by both Doctors and Nurses have become an increasingly common feature of the sectors industrial relations over the past few decades, and has become a threatening and bullying tactic which reflects a lack of acknowledgement from health sector leaders for the majority of health professionals who work hard with little respect and recognition yet who operate within a sector which receives more money and more resources than any other in the country, which perhaps suggests that it is in their hands to better utilize the funds they are already given rather than to further deplete the available budget for the work of all other sectors combined. This default setting where doctors or nurses threaten to leave their duties also does not befit the professions said to be caring in nature and focused on the welfare of others. The strike culture is however reflective of the degree of hostility within the sector and it suggests such action is considered the only possible avenue by those groups to convey dissatisfaction with management - a matter which also needs to be addressed and disabled as a matter of priority.16. The work of the Samoa Health Sector is crucial to the lives of the people in this country, who each deserve a health system which cares and treats them when needed, protects and offers them knowledge to avoid preventable diseases, and allows health professionals to perform their duties and functions without being unduly hampered by a lack of resources or respect.17.Fundamental, elemental and extensive change is needed in the sector immediately in order to save and protect peoples lives there is no room for delay or prevarication Samoas lives count. Two Vaitele Fou buses packed with passengers came close to colliding at the Fugalei four corners during peak traffic on Monday. As we know, this road has two lanes and if you are coming from Savalalo towards Vaitele, the outside lane is for left turn only and the inside lane indicates no turning. The Samoa Observer vehicle was on the inside lane at the traffic lights in front of a DAT Car Rentals heading from Savalalo to Vaitele when the Taeaomanino Vaitele Fou bus overtook the Samoa Observer vehicle. The bus driver was catching up to a pink Vaitele Fou Bus with the writings of Blessing Transport on the side, which was in front of the Samoa Observer vehicle. When the driver of the pink bus saw that the Taeaomanino bus took the outside lane, he quickly jumped on the outside lane blocking the Taeaomanino bus from overtaking him. Its a fact. More and more retail stores in Samoa are being run by new Chinese immigrants. What do you think? Are you concerned about it? Are you worried that there will come a time when no Samoan will ever own and operate a local store? Adel Fruean asked members of the public in todays Street Talk and this is what they said: Rosalia Leti, 43, Vaivase Uta I do not agree with the increasing number of Chinese stores in Samoa. I fully support our local business owners because I trust the service provided, especially the goods our people serve. We do not speak Chinese but most products they provide has the Chinese language on it, so that is too confusing. We are not aware of the contents of the products that we use or consume. I am just concerned about the health aspect of everything, our people need to live off the natural resources we have instead of depending on these imported goods provided by the Chinese stores. Anitelea Leuo, 43, Vaitele My main concern is the development of our nation being affected by the introduction of these numerous Chinese stores. We are all aware that these businesses will benefit the Chinese people and their own country. But our local businesses are no match to their competitive prices and goods sold here. I think that there needs to be a lot of support and initiatives to push local businesses to increase establishment in Samoa because it will not only benefit Samoa, but the people as well. Eletise Misi, 46, Leulumoega I have a different opinion though to these many Chinese businesses. I support the help of these Chinese shops to help the everyday lives of our people. Our people cannot afford the high cost of living so they depend on these shops because they offer affordable prices of goods. I strongly believe that they are helping our people, not everyone has the same situation in terms of the life each and every one of us lives. It is a way that lessens the burdens of so many families that are struggling. Apaula Tavete, 28, Puapua In my own perspective, our country is being dominated by these Chinese shops, and therefore has such a great effect on local businesses. It is evident with so many Samoans working in these shops, and this has led to a lack of support for our own local business owners, yet they are our very own people. Our people should be more supportive of our own countrys development, in that way we may benefit from it together. Toga Auvaa, 51, Apia I strongly believe that there is a great need to support local businesses in Samoa. There is a great lack of support for local businesses from government ministries and organisations. With the growth of Chinese stores in Samoa, there are more affordable items in offered in these Chinese shops, compared to what is being sold in local shops. It all comes down to the government and what they should be looking at in terms of helping its people. Whats good for Upolu is also good for Savaii. In terms of health care, the Government is walking the talk with assistance from Japan. The latest step is the completion of the Satupaitea District Hospital reconstruction project. The $307,007 project was handed to the National Health Services yesterday during a ceremony attended by Prime Minister Tuilaepa Dr. Sailele Malielegaoi, Cabinet Ministers, Members of the Parliament, Ambassador of Japan to Samoa, Ministry of Health and N.H.S. officials as well as the residents of Satupaitea and its neighbouring districts. The old hospital built in the 1960s was damaged by cyclones and other natural disasters over the years. It was located close to the sea shore. This time, the hospital has been rebuilt and relocated further inland. The project includes the rebuilding of the Outpatient Clinic consisting of consulting, treatment, dispensary and the ambulance entrance bay. Ambassador of Japan to Samoa, Maugaoleatuolo Shinya Aoki, said the new hospital will stop people from around the area having to make the long trip to the main hospital at Tuasivi. He emphasised and reaffirmed Japans commitment to Samoas health sector. Japans support in the health sector is strong, one of the key priorities in our development partnership with Samoa, whereas we have and are always committed to play a vital role through our G.G.P. programme, he said. In addition, Japan has and will continue to promote health and wellbeing of the people of Samoa in both islands, Upolu and Savaii. And, trusting that our partnership with N.H.S. will grow in reaching a Healthy Samoa. The new and improved outpatient clinic will benefit 10,000 population of the three districts namely Satupaitea, Palauli Le Falefa and Palauli East. "Not only it will alleviate the problem of having to travel long distances to see a doctor or for a follow up care, but also, to allow for more timely and efficient health services. "Japan extended its G.G.P. assistance to projects that only see to address basic human needs which include, health and medical care, water supply, basic education and environmental protection or disaster relief. "Since its inception in 1991, more than 170 projects have successfully completed that have benefitted several communities and have had impacted immensely on the lives of many Samoans." A project focusing on creating jewelries out of trochus shells will provide a sustainable modest source of income for people who fish for trochus. Southern Cross University Biologist, Steve Purcell, told the Business team similar projects that have been carried out in a number of Pacific Islands have proven that if the animals are left to reproduce, they provide some supplemental income for the people. Mr. Purcell is facilitating a four weeks workshop currently being carried out in Upolu that is organised by the Fisheries Division (Ministry of Fisheries) and the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (A.C.I.A.R.). Accompanied by A.C.I.A.R. handicraft specialist, Dearne Kershler, the project involves shell polishing and jewelry making demonstrations for participants from community based programme, people who fish for trochus and handicraft makers. This goes back all the way to the 1930s when it started to be introduced into other countries from Micronesia and since then it was introduced into the Cook Islands and the fishery was allowed to develop and many years after that people started to harvest them and have a very sustainable fishery that allowed some added income to people, Mr. Purcell said. Its not something that would provide a sole livelihood for someone. It has been introduced as vibrant fishery in French Polynesia, Tonga. Mr. Purcell said some buyers visited the participants workshop to observe the products and also determine the pricing and market demand. These buyers from the markets and handicraft stores can let the participants know what sort of products are the ones that they would be interested in buying so that the participants know a bit about the market and also about what prices would they be willing to pay for that sort of thing, he explained. The participants have a role in deciding what price they are happy with too because they put in their time, effort and some costs into making the products, but also the buyers will also understand the market and what price they feel they could set to cover their costs as well. Mr. Purcell said the Ministry has done a good job in managing the newly created fishery and ensuring that they are not over harvested. For example, in some countries where sea cucumbers are harvested, theres no regulation and they just over harvest it. The Ministry is not allowing exports yet, only for local use and because of that weve noticed the fishery is very sustainable. According to Mr. Purcell, the Ministry has a draft plan for the management of fishery and one of the regulation is the minimum size limit to ensure that the animals can have a chance to reproduce. At the end of this project and by early next year, well be talking with the Ministry about what options would there be in the long-term about exports, whether thats a good idea or not and what sort of management regulation would be needed. Ms. Kershler said trochus has a monetary value. It may just become a nice industry for people who fish for trochus and maybe even other communities as well," she said. "At the moment the participants are a bit slow in making the products because theyre learning but if you get really quick, you can do a shell in 15-20 minutes and maybe a pair of earrings in 10-15 minutes. Senior Fisheries Officer, Justin Aiafi said the use of the machines could be charged in the future and the Ministry would be importing more machines in the future, but participants in Savaii will have access to machines on the island. Six people are participating in this weeks workshop, and the trainers hope to get the full registered 15 participants in the next three workshops, two of which are to be held in Asau and Salelologa, Savaii. The workshop on Upolu continues next week. The workshop will be open to the public but there have been arrangements made with the participants that the public may not be entitled to, such as travel allowance, food etc. For the public, if they want to be trained, they can contact the Fisheries Division. The San Diego History Center owns an estimated 2.5 million photos and film negatives of local people, places and events dating to 1869. But thats not enough for the first of a series of books, covering the period through 1939, planned in partnership with The San Diego Union-Tribune and to be published by the Washington state-based Pediment Group. History center Executive Director Bill Lawrence said a relatively few number of images depict Native American, African-American, Latino and Asian San Diegans and other ethnic groups. Many more photos of women, political protests and the border area are needed to give a fuller view of early San Diego, added Chris Travers, who heads the centers photographic archives. Advertisement And so the history center is reaching out to the general public to bring in their photos at three scanning sessions starting Saturday. Some will be used in the first book, due for publication in December, and the remainder may be added to the history centers and U-Ts photo archives for future use. Undated photo of Italian fishermen mending nets in San Diego. (San Diego History Center) One of the things we get out of this is historic views that are more inclusive and representative of the various communities that make up the cultural fabric of San Diego, Lawrence said. Participants are asked to select 10 photos and fill out forms that identify who is pictured, and where and when they were taken. A consent form also must be signed to authorize publication and future use. The photos will then be scanned and returned on the spot. Photos also may be uploaded at a scanning resolution of 4,200 pixels or 14 inches at 300 dpi. Details are available at sandiego.pictorialbook.com. There is no charge. Pediment President Chris Fenison, whose father started the company in 1997, said he will be scanning photos from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday and Tuesday. The history center is located in the Casa de Balboa, 1649 El Prado, just west of the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center. More information is available at sandiegohistory.org and (619) 232-6203. Were looking for a slice of life, Fenison said, clubs, organizations, people going to parades down Broadway, store owners and their shops, hair dressers, as far back as we can find them and all the way through the 1930s. Of course, few 19th century San Diegans owned cameras -- the popular Kodak Brownie didnt appear until February 1900 -- and professional photographers dominated the early decades of phtoography. The U-T previously donated its negative collection of some 1 million staff-shot images through about 1980 to the history center and retains a photo bank of several hundred thousand prints. Those earliest images required people to stand very still because the time exposure was so much longer than modern cameras shutter speeds. Interiors were difficult to photograph as well. Many early photos were captured on glass plates rather than film and the history center retains hundreds of such plates in its collection. Family scrapbooks and photo collections naturally focus on big events -- a wedding, a birth, a vacation. But Fenison said he hopes the scanning project will uncover the unexpected. Part of the fun of coming into a community is we dont know what were going to find, he said. Travers said the best pictures will show people in the context of their neighborhoods, not just a portrait that could have been shot anywhere. And even if people dont bring their photos in for scanning, they should still take time to note the who, what, when and where for later reference. Everybody has a box of photos that they have no idea of what they were doing there, other than the time period it might be in, she said. The upcoming book, San Diego Memories: A Photographic History of the 1800s Through the 1930s, is available at the pre-publication price of $29.95 and can be ordered at the San Diego pictorial book website. It is expected to be organized around about 10 topical areas, from transportation to the military, but those could change once Pediment selects about 1,000 photos from the public and history center and narrows them down to about 200-300 for the book. Since this year marks the 150th anniversary of the Union-Tribune, Fenison said he also plans to include a sampling from the newspapers current daily feature of historic front pages that appears on page B-2 and is available online at sandiegouniontribune.com/news/150-years/. This is not Pediments first venture with a San Diego connection. In 2000 it published Breen Damage, a selection of political cartoons by Steve Breen, who was then working at the Asbury Park Press in New Jersey. He joined the U-T the next year and won a Pulitzer Prize in 2009 to add to the one he received in 1998. Plans call for a second book on San Diego covering the 1940s through the 1960s or 70s and a third that will take history up to the present. Other local titles may be added as well. Pediment has published more than 1,000 in the last 20 years and has branched out beyond historical memory books to include subjects as varied as Super Bowls, Star Wars and Hurricane Sandy. Business Roger Showley is a San Diego freelance writer. He can be reached at (619) 787-5714; and rmshowley@yahoo.com; Twitter: @rogershowley A $3.50 airport car rental fee may threaten the future of Chula Vistas $1 billion Bayfront hotel and convention center. The levy also threatens to drive a deep wedge between the Port of San Diego, which approved the fee, and the San Diego airport, whose governing body has now filed legal papers objecting to the rental car charge. At the heart of the simmering feud is a fee tacked onto rental cars at the San Diego International Airport and other locations that the port implemented in May to help underwrite a 1,600-car parking garage for the Chula Vista project. That sparked a lawsuit filed against the port in June by two rental car companies, who argue that the fee is a special tax and requires voter approval. Hertz Corporation and Enterprise Rent-A-Car are asking the court to order the port to stop charging the fee and refund everything already collected, which amounts to nearly $328,000 through the end of June. Advertisement The San Diego Regional Airport Authority, which insists that the port does not have the statutory right to impose such a fee, intervened in the rental car companies suit last month, triggering sharp attacks this week from the port and South Bay leaders. The ports chairman, Rafael Castellanos, called the Airport Authoritys decision to join the lawsuit a short-sighted and hostile act that interferes with 20 years of hard work by the port and Chula Vista. The long-planned $1 billion project, which was always intended to spur revitalization of the citys waterfront, is expected to have approximately 1,600 hotel rooms, 275,000 square feet of convention and event space, and resort-style amenities like restaurants, bars and a spa. Chula Vista Mayor Mary Casillas Salas was equally troubled by an action that she said came without warning. It is perplexing that a regional organization would sue, without notice or consultation, another regional organization to jeopardize a project of regional significance by challenging a key aspect of its financing, Salas said Thursday. To that point, the Airport Authority counters that port officials never had the courtesy to notify it of their plan to assess the fee. Had they done so, says Airport Authority Chairwoman April Boling, there might have been a more congenial outcome. The port and airport leadership meet regularly once a quarter. We met in March, we met in May, and never once did anyone mention this, Boling said Thursday. Our concern is that the Airport Authority Act precludes any entity other than the Airport Authority from charging a fee to tenants at the airport. I believe the port and rental car companies at some point will be involved in some negotiations and I want to make sure were at the table to make sure our interests are protected. This has been made into something very big when it really is not. Thats not how Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher sees it. The move by the Airport Authority infuriated her, so much so that she announced she was backing away from a bill she authored that was a much toned-down version of earlier legislation that would have returned control of the airport to the Port of San Diego. The Airport Authority cannot operate like a fiefdom onto itself and expect to play a meaningful, constructive role in solving the pressing needs of the communities that rely upon it to be an economic engine for the region, she said in a statement. The assemblywoman said she would revisit the bill during the next legislative session and while she will keep an open mind, added, its clear that the current arrangement isnt cutting it. The port, which oversees development on state tidelands along the San Diego Bay, previously used rental car fees to finance a parking structure near the San Diego Convention Center. Both the airport and and the rental car companies, which operate out of Lindbergh Fields two-year-old rental car center, are Port of San Diego tenants. Said Salas, If rental car fees are appropriate for parking structures at the airport and the San Diego Convention Center, why are the fees inappropriate for a parking structure at the convention center in Chula Vistas Bayfront? The Authority should not treat South Bay cities any different than it treats the City of San Diego. Boling, however, points out that at the time the fee was previously in place, the rental car companies were not operating on airport property, which is at the heart of the airports legal argument. The fees are expected to generate $5 million a year and remain in place until the Chula Vista parking facility is paid for. Estimated construction costs are $40 million, according to the port. Salas says the Airport Authoritys legal intervention threatens a project that is expected to create thousands of jobs and attract hundreds of thousands of visitors to Chula Vista every year. The hotel and convention center project is also integral to Chula Vistas economic future. The city faces a $10 million budget deficit in the 2020 fiscal year. Because of rising pension costs, city analysts expect the deficit to increase year-over-year for the foreseeable future. The City Council has made expanding and diversifying revenues by attracting businesses their top priority. The hotel and convention center is seen as a major part of that goal and a catalyst for future development on the bayfront. While that may be so, the rental car companies argue in their lawsuit that the ports funding mechanism does not benefit their customers. Given that the parking structure has not been built, none of the customers being assessed the Charge can use the parking structure, the lawsuit states. Moreover, even if the parking structure is built in the future, only a minuscule percentage of the Enterprise customers would ever use the Chula Vista parking structure, which is approximately 10 miles from the San Diego Airport. The Port of San Diego maintains the fees are a tried-and-true method for financing a parking facility that is authorized by the Port Act. The fee is not expected to affect demand as it would only increase the three-day average San Diego car rental cost by 1.5 percent, according to port officials. As to why port officials did not give the Airport Authority a heads up on the new fee, spokeswoman Tanya Castaneda responded, The board took a public vote, which was noticed publicly with a published agenda the week before in compliance with the Brown Act to resume collection of a fee that had existed without challenge in years prior. Business lori.weisberg@sduniontribune.com (619) 293-2251 Twitter: @loriweisberg While the fine, beige sand at Cardiff State Beach in Encinitas looks like the work of nature, it is in fact a complex engineering project, which earned national recognition this month. Cardiff State Beach is one of five beaches, and the only one on the West Coast, awarded the nations Best Restored Beaches by the American Shore & Beach Preservation Association, the San Elijo Lagoon Conservancy announced. It joined Dare County Beaches, North Carolina; Galveston Seawall Beach, Texas; Sagaponack-Bridgehampton Beaches, New York; and Thompsons Beach, New Jersey, as a recipient of that award. The American Shore & Beach Preservation Association advocates for healthy, sustainable and resilient coastal systems, according to the organizations mission statement. It was founded nearly a century ago, in 1926, to combat erosion in coastal areas. Advertisement With some of the prime coastline in the country, San Diego County faces sand loss from various sources. Water diversions such as dams and channels reduce the amount of sand transported downstream. Seawalls built to protect houses prevent bluff erosion that previously helped feed the beach. And sea level rise is gradually claiming portions of the coastline. What used to be a seasonal cycle of sand loss and replenishment has been replaced with annual maintenance efforts to put back what nature can no longer provide. In Cardiff, the sand that beachgoers enjoy now came originally from San Elijo lagoon, which is undergoing a restoration project that will eventually rebuild the wetland, introduce native plants and animals, restore tidal flows and open hiking trails. As part of that, crews dredged up 440,000 cubic yards of sand from the center of the lagoon. Then they pumped 270,000 cubic yards of sand onto Cardiff Beach, and another 140,000 cubic yards of sand onto Fletcher Cove. Before the summer season started, they topped off Cardiff Beach with 30,000 more cubic yards of sand. As a result, said Conservancy Executive Director Doug Gibson, the redistributed sand will protect Coast Highway 101... increase the recreational opportunities at the beach, and improve the sandy beach habitat. deborah.brennan@sduniontribune.com Twitter@deborahsbrennan In her first month on the job, Superintendent Julie Vitale has met with 65 people in the Oceanside Unified School District. Im starting by listening to people and hearing their concerns, she said in an interview Wednesday. I want to identify some of the urgent needs. Vitale started in Oceanside on July 1, when she replaced former Superintendent Duane Coleman, whose retirement took effect in June. On Wednesday, she greeted school officials and community leaders at a reception at Oceanside High Schools new performing arts center. Vitale came to the district from Romoland School District near Riverside. While serving there, Vitale increased the achievement for English language learners and students living in poverty. Advertisement With nearly three-quarters of students in Romoland coming from low-income families and nearly 22 percent classified as English learners, the district has similar demographics to Oceanside, where almost two-thirds of students are low income and 18 percent are English learners. Romoland, however, serves 4,000 students at four elementary campuses and one middle school. In Oceanside, Vitale will oversee more than four times that number, with 18,000 students at 23 campuses, including 16 elementary schools, four middle schools and three high schools. People have asked me it I would be overwhelmed with 18,000 students, she told the guests at the reception. Instead, she said, I am overwhelmed by the depth of interest, care and love for not only the schools, but the community. Vitale said shell start the school year by visiting schools, and talking with students, teachers, parents, school officials and community members. Her priority will be to improve student achievement in core areas of math and English language arts. According to the California School Dashboard, Oceanside Unified students scored in the low category for English and math. Nicole Magnuson, executive director of the nonprofit Oceanside Promise, said the district needs to boost its performance in those areas, particularly for children living in poverty, and young Latino male students, who are most at risk of falling through the cracks academically. Within the system, what you look at within Oceanside, our kids arent coming into school ready, Magnuson said. Theyre not moving through the K-5 system and hitting that third grade proficiency, so theyre not meeting (milestones for) early literacy skills. In Romoland, Vitale introduced blended learning, which uses instructional technology to tailor curricula to each students academic needs. The approach is similar to personalized learning systems used in Vista Unified School District and other San Diego area schools. Our goal was to ensure that each kid experiences a years worth of growth or more every year, she said. Vitale said shell need to learn more about Oceanside Unified to see if that approach would benefit schools in the district. Shes also getting acquainted with the educational pathways offered at Oceanside High School. Those programs introduce students to possible careers, with series of classes in fields including health, justice, performing arts, and business innovation and global entrepreneurship. This year, the school will offer new pathways in environmental science and engineering, as well, Oceanside High Principal Teresa Collis said. Im excited about the potential to give kids these authentic learning experiences that connect high school education to future careers, Vitale said. With more than 26 years of experience in education, Vitale began her career in education as a high school teacher in English, social studies and AVID, a college readiness program. She has previously served not only as a superintendent at Romoland, but also as a classroom teacher, assistant principal, principal and assistant superintendent in districts including Monrovia Unified and Corona-Norco Unified School Districts. She is also an adjunct professor at Concordia University. Vitale was selected by the OUSD board in a 4-1 vote, with board member Ortiz Wichmann voting against, citing salary concerns. Vitales salary will be $250,000, with benefits amounting to $18,635 per year. She will also be eligible to receive a $7,090 stipend for earning a doctoral degree. deborah.brennan@sduniontribune.com Twitter@deborahsbrennan For a few hours Sunday morning, a small air strip for radio-controlled airplanes in Fallbrook was turned into the flight deck of the recently commissioned aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford. About a dozen members of the Palomar R/C Flyers club brought their replica war planes to the field. After an hour of planning and instruction, they began making runs at a makeshift angled landing strip representing the $13 billion carriers deck. Ive only flown this plane once, said one remote pilot. Ive never flown this plane, said another. What could go wrong?! It turns out landing on an aircraft carrier with a model plane is pretty tough. Had they really been on the ocean, roughly half the planes would have ended up in the water. Advertisement The morning had been organized by a British documentary film crew that recorded the mock exercises, under the watchful eyes of two Navy fighter pilots, as part of a 10-part television series focusing on different engineering marvels of the world. Producers Elliot Cook and Tim Clarkson had flown in from the United Kingdom the night before. The next day, they would spend a few hours filming at the USS Midway Museum in San Diego. They ended up at the Fallbrook landing strip not far from the intersection of Interstate 15 and state Route 76 after Cook did a quick Internet search for radio-controlled clubs in San Diego and quickly hit upon Palomars website. He made contact with club president Steve Gebler. He was back to me almost immediately and it was very clear he was keen to do this, Cook said. The name of the television series, which will be marketed worldwide, has been embargoed by the network that owns the rights to its American distribution. Each episode we look at a new modern marvel of engineering in-depth and look at some of the pieces of engineering that make it unique and so special and groundbreaking, Cook said. The episode they were shooting was about the Navys newest carrier. Part of each show also includes demonstrations of past engineering feats that have led to the modern engineering subject. In this case, it was the innovation of the angled flight deck, which came into existence in the early 1950s. On hand Sunday were two fighter pilots, a married couple, who had been flown in from their Naval base in Lemoore to give on-camera explanations of how angled flight decks work. Lt. Leslie Garcia, a flight instructor, has logged more than 2,000 hours in an F-18, has had two combat deployments, and has made roughly 350 carrier landings in her career. Navy pilot Lt. Leslie Garcia explains the working of an aircraft carriers flight deck using model airplanes while being interviewed by a UK documentary production company that is doing a project having to do with angled flight decks found on aircraft carriers. (Don Boomer) Big picture, it enables us to have takeoffs and landings simultaneously, Garcia said. As an aircraft is trapping (landing with the help of a tailhook that brings the jet to a fast halt), theres an aircraft on the bow that could be taking a catapult shot. In other words, angled flight decks allow fighter jets to take off and land at the same time. For the show, one thing we always do is have a demonstration of how a piece of engineering works, Cook said. Because an aircraft carrier is a large piece of machinery, the model airplanes were being used to explain things. The club members brought all sorts of replica war planes of various sizes to the field representing different eras of military aviation. There were World War II-era planes like a German Stuka, which is a dive bomber, and an American B-25. There was a replica F7F Tigercat and a T-28 fighter. And many more. The model plane pilots were clearly stoked to take part in the demonstration and followed instructions carefully about how they were to take off and then land, one after another, trying hard to stay on the pretend angled strip. It had to be done quickly because the battery-powered radio planes can only stay airborne for five or six minutes. Pilot and model plane owner Jason Loukakis flies wearing virtual reality goggles. He has small cameras mounted on the planes. It feels like youre flying, he said. Thats why we get into RC flying, because we want to be pilots. Flying club president Gebler said the morning was a thrill for members. It was crazy, he said. We had so many planes going. It was just a crazy day. Gebler said it was fun working with the film crew and interacting with the Navy pilots. Everybody always has a good time out here, he said. Were just a bunch of middle-aged teenagers. It gives a chance to play with our toys and have some fun. jharry.jones@sduniontribune.com; 760/529-4931; Twitter: @jharryjones The Highway to the Stars via Valley Center sign stolen from its perch along the Valley Center Road grade a few weeks ago has been replaced by the county at no cost. The sign was one of five erected last year by the county at the request of the local historical society and the local planning group to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the transport of the Hale Telescope mirror through Valley Center to the then newly opened Palomar Observatory. Six more similar signs were also erected along South Grade and Canfield roads on the mountain. But sometime during the week of July 8, the steel sign located along the grade just south of Ridge Ranch Road disappeared. It was initially thought that in order to replace the sign it would cost possibly hundreds of dollars, money the community would have to come up with. Advertisement But it turns out that when the five via Valley Center signs were made last year, a sixth one was produced and held in reserve. On Tuesday, a county public works crew replaced the sign, this time using a special anti-theft bolt that should make it more difficult for a thief to remove, said Valley Center Historical Society Spokesman Bob Lerner. The modern-day signs were replicas of similar signs erected in 1947 by the County Road Department. For many years, merchants used Highway to the Stars as their official street address, and the phrase was regularly seen in advertisements, Lerner said. It commemorates the journey of a 200-inch telescope mirror being transported by a 40-ton tractor trailer up what was then called Rincon Road. The original signs disappeared over many years, lost to road widening and souvenir hunters. Only one of the original signs appears to have survived, and it is on exhibit at the Valley Center History Museum, 29200 Cole Grade Road. Replicas of the signs can be purchased for $5 at the gift shop in the library next door to the museum. The other signs on Valley Center Road are near the intersections of Lilac, Cole Grade and North Lake Wohlford roads and State Route 76. jharry.jones@sduniontribune.com; 760/529-4931; Twitter: @jharryjones Every newly married couple discovers that not long after the ceremony ends, the honeymoon will be over, and were not talking about that romantic six-night stay at the Plaza Hotel. Neil Simons 1963 stage comedy Barefoot in the Park, which opened Thursday at the Old Globes Sheryl and Harvey White in-the-round theater, captures that moment in time when Manhattan newlyweds Corie and Paul Bratter suffer their first major marital dust-up just a few days after their Plaza suite honeymoon. Producing a 55-year-old play about a shallow, free-spirited housewife whose only responsibilities are decorating, cocktail-mixing and matchmaking may seem out of place in this era of female empowerment. But director Jessica Stone has found an ingenious way, through casting and smart scenic design, to make the story fresh and charming. Simons inspiration for Barefoot was his blissful first marriage to dancer Joan Baim, who died from cancer 10 years after its premiere. So its fitting that Stone has made Baims theatrical alter-ego, Corie, the joyous, dancing embodiment of young love. Advertisement In her Old Globe debut as Corie, the radiant Kerry Bishe effortlessly steals the show. The Halt and Catch Fire TV star glows with marital happiness. Shes adoring, clever and playful as she embraces her new married life and conjures domestic decorating magic with her fingertips (think Samantha in Bewitched). Although, as written, Corie has limited options as an early-60s homemaker, Stone makes the character warm, relatable and brainy in finding work-arounds in her cramped apartment who knew a toilet tank makes a good liquor chiller? Corie adores the couples decrepit fifth-floor walk-up apartment, but its one on a growing list of things that her uptight attorney husband, Paul, resents. Paul is amiably played by Glow TV star Chris Lowell, who does a slow burn through the two-hour, 20-minute play until he hilariously erupts in a furious drunken rage in the rewarding third act. Mia Dillon is another scene-stealer as Cories buttoned-up mom, Ethel, who gradually and amusingly succumbs to the quirky charms of the Bratters upstairs neighbor, penniless Hungarian bon vivant Victor Velasco. Jere Burns (of TVs Angie Tribeca and Dear John) is wonderful in the flamboyant part. Jake Millgard is sweet and understanding as the telephone repairman who gently counsels Corie that her broken phone/relationship can be repaired. Re-creating the 1960s-era Upper East Side apartment in the round is a tricky job, particularly with so many hidden surprises tucked away, but scenic designer Tobin Ost has done a masterful job. And costume designer David Israel Reynoso has made the characters clothing classic and timeless. Amanda Zieve designed lighting and Lindsay Jones designed sound. Since 1965, the Old Globe has produced 12 Simon plays, including an earlier production of Barefoot in the Park back in 1968. Not all of Simons plays have worn well with age, but Barefoot captures the spirit of discovery in new love and thats eternal. Barefoot in the Park When: 8 p.m. Thursdays-Fridays; 2 and 8 p.m. Saturdays; 2 and 7 p.m. Sundays. (No performances Aug. 25-26). Extended through Sept. 16. Where: Old Globes Sheryl and Harvey White Theatre, Balboa Park. Tickets: $30 and up Phone: (619) 234-5623 Online: theoldglobe.org pam.kragen@sduniontribune.com. Twitter: @pamkragen Good morning, and welcome to the Essential California newsletter. Its Friday, Aug. 3, and heres whats happening across California: TOP STORIES A transmission tower was tipped over. Tiles were torn off the roofs of homes. Massive trees were uprooted. Vehicles were moved. In the rubble of the Redding fire, authorities are seeing not just fire devastation but also strong evidence of a giant, powerful, spinning vortex that accompanied the Carr fire as it cut a path of destruction through Shasta County. Experts said its an ominous sign of the future amid hotter conditions. Los Angeles Times Plus: Firefighters throughout the state are bracing for an increase in strong winds forecast for this weekend that threaten to fan the flames of multiple Northern California wildfires, including the deadly Carr fire. Los Angeles Times Advertisement CBS in crisis CBS board members learned several months ago that the Los Angeles Police Department had investigated an alleged sexual assault by CBS Chairman and Chief Executive Leslie Moonves, according to two people familiar with the matter who were not authorized to speak publicly. Although no charges were filed, Moonves disclosed the existence of a police investigation to a committee of the board, which then hired an outside law firm to investigate the matter, the knowledgeable people said. On Thursday, Moonves spoke to investors but said nothing of the allegations. Los Angeles Times Trump vs. California, again The Trump administration Thursday pushed ahead with plans to unravel the federal governments most effective action to fight climate change aggressive fuel economy standards aimed at getting the nations cars and trucks to average more than 50 miles per gallon by 2025. After months of discussion and drafts, the Environmental Protection Agency and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration formally unveiled their plan to rewrite those rules and replace them with ones so lax that even automakers are wary. Los Angeles Times Get the Essential California newsletter Trader Joes employees wear tie-dye T-shirts in memory of their slain co-worker, Melyda Corado, on Thursday, the first day the store was open since the July 21 shootout. (Irfan Khan/Los Angeles Times) L.A. STORIES On the horizon: At the historic downtown L.A. Tower Theatre, Apple plans a store and event space unlike any other. Los Angeles Times Plus: Apple became the first U.S. company with a trillion-dollar stock market value. Los Angeles Times Somber reopening: The Trader Joes store in Silver Lake reopened Thursday, almost two weeks after a store manager was killed in a shootout between police and a murder suspect. Staff stood along the aisles and behind registers wearing tie-dye T-shirts, while a billboard outside the store read Silver Lake always. Los Angeles Times And: The tender and terrifying truth about what happened inside the Trader Joes hostage siege. Los Angeles Times Another bicyclist killed: A bicyclist was killed early Thursday morning in a crash with a pickup truck at Seventh Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue, Long Beach police said. Long Beach Post IMMIGRATION AND THE BORDER How low will it go? The White Houses resident immigrant hawk, Stephen Miller, and a group of like-minded aides are pressing ahead with policies designed to drastically reduce the number of people entering the U.S. both legally and illegally. Politico POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT No more fur? Los Angeles could become the biggest city in the United States to ban businesses from selling fur, under a plan being vetted at City Hall. Los Angeles Times Health insurance battle: The planned expansion of short-term health plans under a new Trump administration rule unveiled this week is on a crash course with a brick wall in California. Los Angeles Times Whats Nunes talking about? The Deep State isnt Rep. Devin Nunes first conspiracy theory. Guess who he blames for the drought. Sacramento Bee CRIME AND COURTS Deemed a hate crime: A 21-year-old Newport Beach man charged with murder in the stabbing death of former high school classmate Blaze Bernstein will also face a hate crime sentencing enhancement, the Orange County district attorney announced Thursday. Los Angeles Times New to the commission: L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti on Wednesday nominated an attorney who had a hand in some of the most critical reforms in Los Angeles police history to the departments civilian oversight panel. Los Angeles Times Smart story: Why would someone deliberately start a wildfire? LAist THE ENVIRONMENT The Big Lemurowski: A 32-year-old lemur, stolen from Santa Ana Zoo, recently turned up at a Newport Beach hotel. Los Angeles Times CALIFORNIA CULTURE Wow: The Dodgers defeated the Milwaukee Brewers by a score of 21 to 5, setting a record for runs at Dodger Stadium. Los Angeles Times Again? The clock is still ticking for Foxs hit drama series 24. At the Television Critics Assn. press tour on Thursday, Fox announced two new spinoffs for the series: a prequel and a new take on the franchise set in the legal arena. Los Angeles Times Pricey book: If youre in the market for a Ferrari, $30,000 wont get you too far, unless you can find a dealer willing to sell you one-tenth of a 488 GTB. But you can still afford a pricey book about the legendary sports car manufacturer. Los Angeles Times In training camp: For Matt Fink and Jack Sears, its time to win the quarterback job at USC and hold off JT Daniels. Los Angeles Times Click: 23 Pictures That Show Just How Incredible Summer Is In California. BuzzFeed Bizarre: It looks like a supermarket, but its in a hotel, and everything is made of felt. Los Angeles Times Bookmark this: The 17 Hottest Happy Hours in Los Angeles, August 2018. Eater Los Angeles CALIFORNIA ALMANAC Los Angeles area: sunny, 87, Friday; sunny, 86, Saturday. San Diego: sunny, 82, Friday; sunny, 80, Saturday. San Francisco area: sunny, 66, Friday; sunny, 67, Saturday. San Jose: sunny, 84, Friday and Saturday. Sacramento: partly cloudy, 96, Friday and Saturday. More weather is here. AND FINALLY Todays California memory comes from Michael Cowan: As a weigh boy in the grape fields of the Central Valley, I drove from Bakersfield to Arvin in the early morning darkness five days a week and generally tried to sneak in a brief nap before I had to start weighing the boxes of grapes that the braceros would fill. I curled up in the front seat of my car and parked near the building where they ate their breakfast so I could see when they started to leave for the fields. On more occasions than I can remember, one of the braceros would tap on my window and signal or say, Quiere comer? It is a regret to this day that I never accepted the invitation to eat with them. If you have a memory or story about the Golden State, share it with us. Send us an email to let us know what you love or fondly remember about our state. (Please keep your story to 100 words.) Please let us know what we can do to make this newsletter more useful to you. Send comments, complaints and ideas to Benjamin Oreskes and Shelby Grad. Also follow them on Twitter @boreskes and @shelbygrad. Kristin Davis, the former madam made famous for her role in the 2008 sex scandal that brought down former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer, sat for a voluntary interview this week with investigators working for special counsel Robert S. Mueller III, CNN reported Friday. A spokeswoman for Davis told the Daily News that the former madam had an informal meeting in D.C. on Wednesday. Davis, who was dubbed the Manhattan Madam and once ran for governor and controller before going to prison on a two-year sentence for selling prescription pills to government informants (she was released in 2016), worked with flamboyant Republican consultant Roger Stone for a decade. The two are close friends, and Stone is the godfather to Davis son. Advertisement Stone, a longtime ally of President Trump, has been a rumored target in Muellers investigation into Russian election meddling. Last month, following reports that the onetime head of a prostitution ring had been subpoenaed by the special counsels office, Stone told the Daily News that Davis has no knowledge of Russian collusion during the 2016 election. I cannot imagine why the special counsel wants to interview her other than for the purposes of harassment, he added. A representative for Davis told the Daily News last month that Davis is currently in the cosmetology business. Meanwhile, Andrew Miller, who ran Davis campaign for governor and worked with Stone during the 2016 campaign, was ordered by a judge this week to testify before a Mueller grand jury. Chief Judge Beryl Howell of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia rejected Millers challenge to a subpoena on the grounds that Muellers appointment was unconstitutional. Multiple statutes authorize the Special Counsels appointment, and the official who appointed the Special Counsel had power to do so. For these reasons ... the witnesss motion to quash the grand jury subpoenas is denied, Howell wrote in a 93-page opinion signed July 31. Mueller is reportedly interested in Stones contacts with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and the Twitter handle Guccifer 2.0, which was allegedly used by Kremlin-linked hackers during the 2016 election to share emails stolen from the Democratic National Committee. A few weeks ago I had dinner with 10 strangers of different races and ethnicities. The topic at the table was racism. We were brought together by L.A. City Council President Herb Wessons embRACE L.A. project, a series of intimate dinners in homes across the city held with the goal of fostering a healthy dialogue on race relations. As a black woman, I was prompted by curiosity to RSVP. If my experience is any indication, the story of race relations in Los Angeles isnt one of steady progress. There are still issues with police brutality, a major disparity in wealth, and the overwhelming problem of black people being gentrified out of their communities. I live in West Hollywood and I frequent Santa Monica for work, two predominantly white areas. Frankly, Angelenos are used to seeing black people in only certain parts of town. Once we step outside those spaces, dirty looks and aggression emerge. That said, I always want to learn more about the complexities of race in one of the worlds most diverse cities. I was hoping this dinner could help teach me. Advertisement We began the evening with a moderator asking us to speak about how racism has affected each of us and what we thought should be done about it. The first to speak was a racially ambiguous woman who appeared to be in her 50s. She talked about how most people cant tell shes 60% black at first glance. The topic of racial passing came to mind quickly, but to my surprise she didnt seem to realize the advantage this gave her. Instead of being open about the ways in which they benefit from systemic injustice, everyone took a turn playing the victim. The other black woman in the room spoke next. She looked to be in her 20s, like me, with a similar dark complexion. I presumed we would have comparable stories, but she told the group she had never experienced any overt forms of racism. I almost choked on my food. I wanted to hear more, but the conversation moved on to the white guy sitting next to her, who talked briefly about the challenges he and his wife, an Iranian woman, face. As we went further around the table, I found myself growing annoyed. Not to discredit anyones experiences, but I was surprised that not one person at the table had used the word privilege; the privilege of being a white man, or the privilege of being a black woman who can racially pass. Instead of being open about the ways in which they benefit from systemic injustice, everyone took a turn playing the victim. The next woman to speak was a white woman who recently moved to the Baldwin Hills, Crenshaw area. My attention was immediately piqued, as Crenshaw is one of the only predominantly black communities left in L.A. The woman began by sharing an interaction she had with a black woman on the street, who looked at her strangely and asked if she was lost. She then got emotional as she talked about her frustrations integrating into the community, and how she felt it best to just leave. As tears rolled down her face, I glanced around the table at the nodding and sympathetic faces. I felt like I was in the sunken place from Get Out. She was crying, and I was furious. Black people arent hateful, but you cant expect to be immediately welcomed with open arms into a community that is constantly being wounded and trying to heal. I spoke last, touching on the overt and covert racism that I experience every day in this city: the looks and stares I get walking down the street in my predominantly white neighborhood; how I wake up self-aware that the color of my skin is going to make my daily tasks that much harder; how appearing too black can be dangerous. There is a difference between tolerating blackness and accepting it. Enter the Fray: First takes on the news of the minute from L.A. Times Opinion Before my turn finished, I suggested that the crying white woman save her tears for the black boys and girls who not only have to worry about derogatory remarks, but about possibly losing their lives to racial bigotry. Still emotional, she nodded. I also made sure to acknowledge my own privilege. I had a seat at a table that many other black folks were not given. Soon after, the facilitator chimed in to let us know that our dinner was coming to an end. At this point, the group had barely touched on what we could do as a community to foster better racial understanding. We had made a bigger dent in the lasagna dish than we did race relations. Most of our dinner was spent just trying to process each others experiences, which I took as a testament to how much work needs to be done. If there is anything I hope my fellow diners took away with them that evening, its that we cant expect change without understanding both plight and privilege. Black people can be as open as they want about the racism they endure, but a real dialogue on race needs the honesty to go both ways. My evening consisted of trying to dissect racism in my daily life, patiently maneuvering around instances of white fragility, a group photo, and really good lasagna. We talked about racism, and then we ate cake. Nadra Widatalla is a writer and producer living in Los Angeles. Follow her on Twitter: @nadrawidatalla Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion or Facebook August 3, 1969 The San Diego Union The San Diego Union-Tribune will mark its 150th anniversary in 2018 by presenting a significant front page from the archives each day throughout the year. Sunday, August 3, 1969 In 1969 the San Diego-Coronado Bridge opened to traffic. Gov. Ronald Reagan helped to dedicate the 2.12-mile-long span. Here are the first few paragraphs of the story: REAGAN HAILS SPAN HERE Bridge Rites Open New Era For 2 Cities By Homer Clance Pennants bearing the city seals of San Diego and Coronado were fired into the air yesterday to officially mark the opening of the $47.6 million San Diego-Coronado Bay Bridge. Mayor Curran and Coronado Mayor Paul Vetter lifted a toll gate barrier at the Toll Plaza, giving the signal to ignite a volley of fireworks and one rocket containing the pennants and a parachute to keep them airborne. Moments earlier, Gov. Reagan received a standing ovation as he began the principal dedicatory address. The governor told the crowd at the plaza, however, that the bridge had already been dedicated by a young mother far beyond anything I might do. REMINDER TO PEOPLE He was referring to a young woman who gave birth to a son before being taken across the span Friday. Reagan said the bridge will serve as a reminder and encouragement that we build what has to be built, rebuild what needs to be rebuilt, and do everything that needs to be done to right whats wrong in the nation. He unveiled a bronze plaque which will be placed at the plaza administration building. The plaque contains a panoramic view of the bridge, replicas of the seals of the two cities, plus the names of the officials involved in its construction. BLESSING ASKED The Most Rev. Francis J. Furey, Bishop of the San Diego Catholic Diocese, hailed the bridge opening as a dream come true as he gave the invocation to begin the ceremonies. He said: Almighty God, as we gather this morning for one of this anniversarys most solemn and rewarding ceremonies, we ask You to bless this magnificent bridge. We ask You moreover to bless all who will pass over it. May those who use this bridge find in You a safeguard amidst all the joys and sorrows of this life. We beg You, in Your goodness, to send Your holy Angel from Heaven to watch over, protect and support this bridge and all who travel on it. We thank You for the color scheme of this bridge, because its beautiful shade of blue reminds us of so many other blessings You have bestowed on our city: The blue sky, the seaward view, forget-me-nots, gentians, the bluebirds wings. It reminds us, to of the citys spirit, as a California poet wrote: I think the souls own hidden hue, must be a some lovely shade of blue May Your blessing, O Lord, descend on our sister city, Coronado, on our City in Motion, and on all of us, and remain with us forever. The ceremonies, held under bright sunny skies with more than 3,000 persons on hand, were delayed about half an hour awaiting a parade of horseless carriages containing personages who were to participate. View anniversary front pages online at sandiegouniontribune.com/150-years. For more from the Union-Tribune digital archives, go to newslibrary.com/sites/sdub. Searching is free, with registration. A fee is required to view full stories. A cat seeking refuge from a raging Northern California wildfire found a fine-feathered friend as it awaited rescue from the heat and flames. The Grass Valley Fire Department said Thursday that a cat and a chicken it rescued over the weekend are recovering from burns with the help of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. The feline and the hen were found Saturday huddling together on the front porch of a home in Redding during a firefighters patrol through a neighborhood damaged by the Carr fire. The unlikely duo made it to safety riding in the same crate. The animals are expected to fully recover while in the custody of the SPCA. Advertisement Six people, including two firefighters, have died in the fire in and around Redding. More than 1,000 homes have been destroyed. It was as if they had seen the decision coming long ago. Many people were discussing a new pension measure for the 2020 ballot well before the California Supreme Court ruled Thursday that San Diego did not follow the law when it placed a retirement system overhaul before voters six years ago. Among them were former Mayor Jerry Sanders, currently president and CEO of the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce, and Carl DeMaio, a radio talk show host and former City Council member and mayoral candidate. The two spearheaded the Proposition B pension measure that was overwhelmingly approved by voters in 2012. Though most of their conversations have been with others, Sanders said he talked with DeMaio after the state Supreme Court decided last year to take up the Proposition B case. They agreed to follow up after the ruling about another ballot measure if they thought one might be necessary. Sanders said in a mid-afternoon interview Thursday that they hadnt yet connected but would soon. Advertisement Sanders and DeMaio had a difficult relationship when they both served at City Hall. But they did reach a compromise that resulted in Proposition B and worked together to put the measure on the ballot and promote it. The initiative ended pensions for most new city employees and created a 401(k)-style program for them instead. Police officers were exempted and remained in the pension system. Sanders role in Proposition B was the major focus of the Supreme Courts ruling. Unions had sued, contending the pension changes envisioned had to follow the meet-and-confer process with employee representatives because they were being proposed by the citys lead negotiator -- Sanders. With legal advice from then-City Attorney Jan Goldsmith, the mayor contended he was acting in an unofficial capacity and was merely a San Diego citizen pursuing an initiative. Thus, union consultation was not required, they said. The state high court unanimously disagreed, noting that the unions case clearly documented how Sanders had used the power and trappings of his office to further Proposition B. He was very open about that at the time. The court did not rule on the legality of the actual proposition or its pension changes. How things evolve from here depends on some variables. The key one is what happens at the Fourth District Court of Appeal. That court had ruled against the unions but was overturned by the Supreme Court. The appellate court was directed to determine an appropriate judicial remedy. Union leaders and attorneys believe that means the appellate court is obligated to do away with Proposition B and assess what the citys obligation is to some 4,000 newer employees who were denied pensions. Proposition B supporters arent so sure and have expressed relief that the Supreme Court at least kept the existing retirement system afloat until the lower court figures out what to do. No one knows what the costs will be. In the broader sense, unions have argued that Proposition B did not live up to its billing and wont save the kind of money that was promised over the long haul. The lack of pensions also makes it difficult to hire people, they say. In May, DeMaio promised a son of Prop. B ballot measure if the courts scuttled his pension overhaul. Exactly what that would be remains uncertain. All options are on the table, he said Thursday. He also talked about reviving a statewide ballot measure to overhaul public pensions that also would apply to San Diego. One thing not on the table for Sanders is the police officer exemption. DeMaio left the door open Thursday to trying to take away police pensions. Before the Proposition B compromise years ago, Sanders, a former police chief, wanted to exempt both police officers and firefighters; DeMaio wanted both put into the new retirement system. They agreed to keep police out. If police pensions were taken away, Wed never be able to hire another police officer, Sanders said Thursday. San Diego for years has struggled to keep police department staffing up to desired levels despite various financial incentives. If pensions were taken away, it would be the only police department in the state not to have them. I think that would really be difficult for us, said Jack Schaeffer, president of the San Diego Police Officers Association. Were already having a tough time recruiting and retaining officers. Sanders said he would push for a ballot measure that pretty much sticks to the provisions in Proposition B. The pension overhaul is no panacea, even for supporters. The city continues to face a $2.7 billion pension shortfall that will consume increasing amounts of the citys general fund for years to come. Thats the result of disastrous decisions by city leaders in the 1990s and early 2000s to boost pension benefits while underfunding the system as part of deals to help pay for the 1996 Republican National Convention and Petco Park. The current predicament is nothing Proposition B, nor any potential follow-up, can change short of the courts overruling long-established pension protections in California. Its impossible to contemplate a collaboration between DeMaio and Sanders in the future without reflecting on their past. At times, it seemed like they were at war. Sanders said that was then. I think Ive matured and I think hes matured, he said. He added that his paramount concern is that the pension changes are in the citys and publics best interest. DeMaio concurred. I think Jerry Sanders and I share the desire to see the reforms implemented, he said. Perhaps the most important thing about moving forward, at least as far as the courts are concerned, is that neither is in the mayors office. A 19-year-old U.S. citizen living in Tijuana was arrested Wednesday at the San Ysidro port of entry with nearly 11,500 fentanyl pills, believed to be the largest batch of fentanyl pills ever seized at the U.S.-Mexico border, federal authorities said. Cristian Araujo Aguirre is accused of trying to drive across the border with the fentanyl pills as well as 61 pounds of methamphetamine and 14 pounds of heroin. He was arraigned Thursday in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California on a drug importation charge. According to Assistant U.S. Attorney Sherri Walker Hobson, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers noticed anomalies in Aguirres vehicle when he drove up to the San Ysidro border crossing on Wednesday. The officers zeroed in on the front drivers side door, the rear passengers side door and the spare tire. Customs and Border Protection officers discovered 11,490 fentanyl pills and other drugs hidden inside a vehicle Wednesday at the San Ysidro port of entry. It is believed to be the largest seizure of fentanyl pills ever at a port along the U.S.-Mexico border. (Courtesy U.S. Attorneys Office for the Southern District of California) Advertisement CBP officers found eight packages of heroin hidden in the vehicles firewall and 29 packages of methamphetamine hidden in doors, a quarter panel and the spare tire, Walker Hobson said. In the left rear quarter panel, officers discovered two bags and a box, each filled with fentanyl pills designed to resemble oxycodone, Walker Hobson said. The three packages totaled 11,490 fentanyl pills. It was believed to be (the) largest port seizure of fentanyl pills across the Southwest border of the U.S. according to a statement from U.S. Attorney Adam Bravermans office. At an arraignment in front of U.S. Magistrate Judge Barbara Major, federal prosecutors requested that Aguirre be held because he is a flight risk, Walker Hobson said. A detention hearing is set for early next week. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Aug. 16. Twitter: @Alex_Riggins (619) 293-1710 alex.riggins@sduniontribune.com Frederick Jefferson was walking down the middle of Logan Avenue when a pair of San Diego police officers yelled at him to use the sidewalk. Within minutes, hes beaten, maced, Tasered, then thrown into the back of a patrol car, Jeffersons attorney told a jury Thursday, wrapping up a two-week trial in San Diego Superior Court. In the space of about three minutes on Feb. 3, Officer Matthew Ruggerio grabbed Jeffersons arm from behind and struck him at least three times with his police-issued baton. Jefferson punched the officer two or three times in the face, fracturing Ruggerios nose and cheek bone. Advertisement Which man struck first may be an issue for jurors who will have to decide whether Jefferson acted in self-defense, or is guilty of assaulting an officer with force likely to cause great bodily injury and three charges of resisting arrest. A jury of four women and eight men began deliberating late in the afternoon. Jefferson faces more than nine years in prison if convicted of all charges. During the trial in San Diego Superior Court, jurors heard testimony from officers involved in the struggle, witnesses who shot cellphone video of parts of the confrontation, and experts on police use of force. The jury saw body-worn camera video of Jefferson pulling away from Ruggerio and the two exchanging blows, and then the officer using his baton to hit Jeffersons hip and ribs. Jefferson can be heard cursing while telling the officers not to touch him. Motorcycle Officer James Graves stepped in, putting Jefferson in a restraint hold but then letting up. Graves and other officers brought Jefferson to the ground and Officer Krista Vories used a Taser on him, according to testimony. Jefferson, 38, testified that he was scared of the officers because he didnt know what was going to happen to him, and that he took up a defensive stance. He said he didnt throw any punches until he was hit with the baton. Defense lawyer Jimmy Rodriguez said officers used unreasonable and excessive force in arresting Jefferson for jaywalking. But Deputy District Attorney Michael Reilly told jurors the officers had every right to lawfully perform their duties by stopping to enforce traffic laws against jaywalking and use escalating force when Jefferson didnt comply and then resisted violently. They dont know why hes reacting this way. They dont know whats going to happen, Reilly said. The prosecutor said civilians have a duty to submit to peace officers. Mr. Jefferson wanted to play by his own rules, Reilly told jurors. The confrontation occurred against a backdrop of conflicting rallies at nearby Chicano Park, where an estimated 700 people had gathered. A group of critics who question the parks murals and oppose flying the Aztlan flag on the main flagpole had marched toward the park for what they called a Patriot Picnic and were met by larger crowds concerned that historic murals of Aztec and Chicano culture might be defaced. Jefferson was walking toward police barricades, but testified that he didnt know about the rallies and was just passing through. He said he went into the road to avoid a number of people just coming out of a church and crowding the sidewalk. Officers Ruggerio and Justin Tannebaum drove past Jefferson and told him twice to walk on the sidewalk, according to court testimony. Rodriguez said the encounter escalated from casual to rough. Before the lawyers began their closing arguments Thursday, Jefferson told the judge he wanted to stay in his bright green jail clothes, with his feet and wrists in chains. Im in these 1880s slave chains and deputies touch me over and over, Jefferson said. I really dont like being touched. He said he didnt believe the jury had heard the whole story about the fight. Judge Leo Valentine Jr. expressed concern that the jury might view him differently in jail clothes, but allowed him to stay in them. pauline.repard@sduniontribune Twitter: @pdrepard One of the top officials in the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development was in San Diego on Thursday to learn about the citys efforts in helping the homeless, and she said she liked what she saw after touring the remodeled Hotel Churchill. This is an incredible building, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Deputy Secretary Pamela Patenaude said about the historic downtown hotel, which the San Diego Housing Commission has restored as an affordable housing project for veterans, youths and ex-convicts. This certainly is a model, and Im anxious to share this with other housing directors across the country, she said. San Diego Housing Commission President and CEO Rick Gentry later said he was encouraged to hear the words of support from the second highest official of HUD. Advertisement Pam and I have known each other for years, said Gentry, who invited Patenaude to San Diego. Shes an accomplished professional. The fact that shes deputy secretary gives me faith in the ability of HUD to deal with issues going forward. Since President Trump named Ben Carson secretary of HUD, advocates for the poor and homeless have expressed concern about the direction of the agency. The administration has proposed deep cuts to HUD, and Carson has spoken about refocusing the agency away from housing and toward programs that help people become self-sufficient. HUD money was a significant part of the funds the Housing Commission used in the $20.6 million restoration of the hotel, which provides housing for 56 veterans, eight former foster youths and eight people from the criminal justice system. The building includes on-site social services and case management for residents, who pay no more than 30 percent of their monthly income in rent. Following the tour of the hotel, Patenaude left to meet with San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer to learn more about the citys efforts to address homelessness. Ive been watching him from afar since he was elected, and Im anxious to hear how he feels about the progress being made in San Diego, she said, referring to the citys large homeless population and shortage of affordable housing. Theres a critical shortage of units available, but I do think theres a plan in place and theyre executing that plan. The Hotel Churchill opened at 827 C. St. in 1914 and catered to visitors to the Panama-California Exposition, which began the following year in Balboa Park. When it closed in 2005, its owners had planned to convert it to an upscale bed-and-breakfast hotel. What followed instead was a series of lawsuits and settlements that ended with the Housing Commission taking ownership of the building in 2011. While it was under renovation, then-HUD Secretary Julian Castro donned a hard hat to tour the building in October 2015. The building re-opened in September 2016, largely restored to its original look but with housing units that include bathrooms and kitchens with stoves. Susie Diaz, 23, moved into the hotel just two weeks ago after being homeless for eight months, and she is thrilled to have her own kitchen because she loves to cook. Im really blessed to be here,said Diaz, who briefly met Patenaude during the morning tour. Diaz said she was homeless after moving out of her grandparents East County home, which lead to her staying with the Alpha Project, then with the psychiatric facility Sharp Mesa Vista Hospital before being referred to the hotel by the Catalyst program. Diaz said she got her room licky split with the help of people at Catalyst, especially two women she remembers only as Irma and Sara. Gentry said tenants such as Diaz can be placed quickly depending on their circumstances, although there is a waiting list at the hotel for veterans seeking a room. Patenaude said that while Carson may have a different view of HUDs vision than past agency leaders, he is committed to helping the people it serves. He sees HUD through a different lense, and rather than having a focus on bricks and mortar, hes looking at individuals who live in these buildings, she said about Carson. The buildings certainly contribute to their stability, but he is concerned about what programs are available, she added. And I think this is a wonderful example of providing services for many resident to achieve economic self-sufficiency. Gentry said he saw no conflict with Carsons vision, as the Housing Commission also is not focused on buildings, but on helping people. With the federal government providing 80 percent of the commissions money, he said he hoped Patenaudes visit would reinforce the relationship between the agencies. Its important for me that the feds know were spending their money well and wisely and efficiently, and theres no concerns about how we do our business, he said. Homeless Playlist On Now San Diego hepatitis outbreak continues to grow: 481 cases On Now Homeless entrenched in booming tent city along Santa Ana River On Now San Diego mayor agreed to homeless hub, then delayed, advocates say On Now Homeless outreach in San Diego On Now Video: Street Art: Portraits of San Diego's Homeless #8 On Now In poverty himself, 'Water Man Dave,' is the fearless saint of San Diego's homeless 5:41 On Now Video: Homeless living in cars find safe havens 2:21 On Now Street Art: Portraits of San Diego's Homeless #7 On Now Pitching a tent plan for San Diego's homeless On Now Homeless efforts get $80M boost for various services gary.warth@sduniontribune.com Twitter: @GaryWarthUT 760-529-4939 Government attorneys are asking that the American Civil Liberties Union take the lead in finding hundreds of parents who have not yet been reunited with their children, according to a court document filed Thursday. The filing outlines potential next steps in the case after the government reunited about 1,800 migrant families under court order. Immigration officials had separated the family members at the border, many under a zero-tolerance policy introduced by Attorney General Jeff Sessions that prosecuted people who crossed illegally. The ACLU pushed back in its part of the filing, asking the judge in the class-action lawsuit to order the government to keep working on its own to locate parents and to provide more information to the civil rights organization so that it can assist in the reunification. The government must bear the ultimate burden of finding the parents, the ACLU wrote in the filing. Not only was it the governments unconstitutional separation practice that led to this crisis, but the United States government has far more resources than any group of NGOs or non-governmental organizations. Advertisement The government already returned children to parents whom it found eligible and who were still in immigration custody with an early July deadline for children under five and a late July deadline for older children. Those deadlines passed with more than 700 children remaining in federal custody. On Monday, Judge Dana Sabraw ordered both sides to submit proposals for finding parents who had already been deported or released into the U.S. More than 450 parents were likely deported without their children and more than 200 were released into the U.S. while they wait for court hearings, according to government filings. Under the ACLUs plan, the government would keep looking for parents abroad and in the U.S. and would give the ACLU as much information as possible about where the parents might be. The ACLU called on the government to reunite families within seven days of identifying them. The ACLU also asked the federal government to bring back parents who wanted to be reunited with their children in the U.S. rather than their home countries. The governments proposal would provide the ACLU with some, but not all, of the information the organization requested. Under the governments plan, the ACLU would report to government attorneys every Monday about its progress in finding parents and would tell the government, after consulting with the parents, whether they wanted their children back. The government reasoned that this system would allow the ACLU to provide legal advice to parents before they make their decisions, a step that the ACLU has said was not adequately handled in earlier reunifications. Earlier this week, the ACLU argued that the government may have coerced parents into electing to be deported with their children instead of allowing their children to pursue asylum claims in the U.S. In the latest filing, the ACLU also alleged that the government had possible contact information for some of the deported or released parents but had failed to act on it before the deadline. The ACLU argued that the court had only allowed the government to skip the July deadlines for deported or released parents because the government could not find them. In other cases, the ACLU noted, the addresses that government attorneys gave the ACLU on Tuesday for 120 of these parents were incomplete or were the locations of immigration detention facilities in the U.S. Other addresses list the names of large cities with no street name or number. The ACLU also said that the government had not provided all of the information ordered by Sabraw about parents that the government said were not eligible for reunification. The filing previews a status hearing scheduled for Friday afternoon. Sabraw has not yet ruled on a request from the ACLU to keep the government from deporting recently reunited families. A separate lawsuit was filed in Washington, D.C. last week over the issue. The federal government hopes to combine the cases. Immigration Videos On Now New developments in family separation case 9:53 On Now A San Diego woman volunteered as a medic in Texas helping migrant families 2:35 On Now Immigration policy protests in Carlsbad nearly cancelled after permit issue 1:38 On Now When children are separated from their parents at the border, here is where they go next On Now Prospects of a deal for 'Dreamers' may hinge on separating Trump from hard-liners on his staff On Now What is DACA? On Now Border wall prototype contractors selected On Now Video: Ukrainian boxer wins asylum in U.S. On Now 30 apprehended after Border Patrol agents discover tunnel On Now Video: Kurdish diaspora prepare to vote on independence Follow me on Facebook for live updates about immigration news kate.morrissey@sduniontribune.com, @bgirledukate on Twitter The Pentagon notified the family of a U.S. service member missing since the Korean War that his dog tags were among the human remains recently turned over by North Korea, officials said Thursday. The dog tags are the first sign that the 55 boxes of bones and other effects delivered last week by North Korea may contain the remains of U.S. service members, potentially bringing closure to families who have waited decades to know what happened to relatives who fought in the war. But Pentagon officials said that the painstaking process of identifying the remains is just beginning and could take months or in some cases years, as forensic scientists seek to match the remains with DNA samples, dental records and other identifying data. Where we have matches, compelling matches with DNA, we will get a very strong lead and be able to pursue identifications quickly, Dr. John Byrd, chief scientist of the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, told reporters at a Pentagon news conference. In other cases it could be months or even years before were able to narrow down the identity. Advertisement North Koreas handover of the remains is the only tangible result so far from the June summit in Singapore between President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Trump thanked Kim for the remains on Thursday. Thank you to Chairman Kim Jong Un for keeping your word & starting the process of sending home the remains of our great and beloved missing fallen! I am not at all surprised that you took this kind action, Trump said in a tweet. Some 7,699 U.S. service members remain unaccounted for from the Korean War, a three-year conflict that took the lives of more than 36,000 American troops. The Pentagon believes that approximately 5,300 of the missing Americans were lost in North Korea. It remains unclear whether all of the remains received are those of U.S. service members or how many sets of human remains are contained in the boxes because some of the skeletons are not well preserved and show signs of being commingled, Byrd said. He declined to identify the name on the dog tag only one of which was turned over by North Korea and said it was unknown whether the remains of that service member were contained in the boxes. Some of the remains, which were flown from South Korea to Hawaii this week, came with what appeared to be old U.S. equipment, such as bits of uniforms, canteens, boots and other gear from the Korean War era. Each box was marked with identifying information, including where the remains were found. Several of the boxes were said to contain remains from around the village of Sin Hung-Ri, which is near Chosin Reservoir, in northeastern North Korea, where U.S. Marines and Army soldiers fought a brutal battle in 1950. From a preliminary examination of the bones, many appear to have characteristics of European and African ancestry suggesting that they were Americans, Byrd said. All of the remains appear to be American, he said. In some cases there are complete bones that in size and shape, I feel confident, are quite likely to be American, while others are badly preserved and could be American. Some of the remains could also be of soldiers from other countries who sent troops to fight in Korea, including Australia and Britain, though the number of unaccounted-for soldiers from allied countries is far smaller than from the U.S. When remains are identified, it is likely to be a result in most cases of DNA analysis and examination of dental records or chest X-rays, experts said. But the success of those methods depends on the accuracy and completeness of records that are in some cases decades old. DNA samples will be taken and quickly compared to a database of DNA from family members of missing service members, Byrd said. Were going to begin DNA samples immediately. Any teeth will be immediately looked at, along with bones that might show up on chest X-rays that were done routinely for recruits during that era, Byrd said. Unlike todays soldiers, DNA samples werent taken for service members who fought in Korea because the capability didnt exist. But family members have provided DNA samples to the Defense Department for 92% of the unaccounted-for soldiers from Korea. The most common way the Pentagon identifies remains is by mitochondrial DNA, which is found in teeth or bones, and is identical to DNA from a mother, siblings and any other maternally related family members. But it also will conduct other forms of DNA testing, Byrd said, if initial tests do not produce a possible match. But DNA can degrade over time. If remains are commingled, as has occurred in the past with remains from North Korea, identification may be slowed substantially or impossible. Dental records are far less complete and definitive, officials said. Investigators will be working without other usual forensic information, such as burial location, making it harder to link remains to U.S. units known to have taken casualties in particular places. Many U.S. casualties in North Korea were buried by comrades where they died. Thousands of soldiers were transported to prisoner-of-war camps, where they faced starvation, exposure and torture. The remains will be examined initially at the agencys laboratory at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii, one of the largest forensic facilities in the world. The DNA analysis will be done at a Pentagon laboratory in Delaware. The last time North Korea turned over remains to the U.S. was in 2007, when six boxes were turned over. From 1990 to 1994, 208 other containers of remains were handed over. The Pentagon has identified 80% of those remains, Byrd said. david.cloud@latimes.com Twitter: @davidcloudLAT A 65-year-old woman sustained burns to her hands Thursday afternoon when a motor home was destroyed by flames on Fiesta Island, authorities said. The blaze, which quickly engulfed the 20-foot recreational vehicle, was reported about 5:35 p.m. on the west side of Fiesta Island, San Diego Fire-Rescue Department spokesman Jose Ysea said. Fire engines and a lifeguard boat arrived within 10 minutes and knocked down the flames by 5:53 p.m., Ysea said. Medics treated the 65-year-old woman at the scene for burns to her hands, Ysea said. It wasnt immediately clear if she was the RVs owner or how she sustained the injuries. Advertisement Investigators from the Metro Arson Strike Team were still at the scene past 7 p.m. probing the cause of the fire. Twitter: @Alex_Riggins (619) 293-1710 alex.riggins@sduniontribune.com Flames engulfed a semi-truck apparently loaded with trash and a pickup after a crash Friday, causing the closure of eastbound Interstate 8 near the Golden Acorn Casino in Campo. With the two lanes closed for more than five hours, motorists were allowed to squeeze past the charred wreckage using the center divider, the California Highway Patrol said. One person with a minor injury was taken to a hospital. The crash occurred west of Crestwood Road. The CHP got a report about 9:40 a.m. that two trucks had collided and were on fire. One was a pickup and the other a semi truck-trailer, according to the CHP website. Advertisement A 911 caller identified as a retired fire chief told the CHP a semi that appeared loaded with trash was engulfed in flames and fuel from the pickup had just spilled across the left lane. Cal Fire crews got there about 10 a.m. and worked to douse the burning trucks. The freeway lanes reopened shortly before 3 p.m. pauline.repard@sduniontribune Twitter: @pdrepard A year ago Saturday, someone shot a 23-year-old San Carlos man to death in front of his home. That attack on Cyniace Vilsaint left San Diego police investigators with few clues and very little evidence. Authorities are marking the first anniversary of Vilsaints slaying with a public plea for help solving the case. The Haitian immigrant had been shot multiple times in the street in front of his house on Park Ridge Boulevard near Wandermere Drive about 10:50 p.m. Aug. 4, 2017. The reports of gunfire several people called 911 brought police to the neighborhood, where they learned that a man had been shot. Before they had arrived, a family member had found Vilsaint and rushed him to a hospital. Advertisement Vilsaint died from his injuries. On Friday, San Diego Crime Stoppers, teaming with San Diego police, issued a plea for information. They have no information on a suspect. They are offering a $1,000 reward for information that leads to an arrest in the case. Cyniace Vilsaint (courtesy San Diego Crime Stoppers) Last year, Vilsaints friends told the Union-Tribune that Vilsaint who was about 12 years old when he came to the U.S. didnt have enemies. He steered clear of gangs, understanding the damage they wrought on neighborhoods. He came to the country with a thick accent, and turned to YouTube to learn clearer pronunciation so his friends could better understand him when he spoke. Vilsaint, one friend said, was a great boxer and a lover of Mixed Martial Arts. He was also a man who enjoyed local spots like Sunset Cliffs and Lake Murray, and wasnt the sort to waste a day or quibble with people. Authorities ask anyone with information about the incident to call the police departments Homicide Unit at (619) 531-2293 . Anonymous tips can be left with Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-8477. Go to sdcrimestoppers.org for information on how to send anonymous tips online or web and through a mobile app. teri.figueroa@sduniontribune.com (760) 529-4945 Twitter: @TeriFigueroaUT The Bishops School has issued a letter disclosing that it has discovered more than a dozen incidents of sexual misconduct, which took place over the span of 30 years, following almost a year of investigation. In a letter issued to alumni dated July 23, school leadership stated seven alumni had come forward and described 15 separate incidents, five of which were first-hand accounts of sexual misconduct or a boundary violation committed by a school employee. The school has contracted an attorney to handle the investigation and will also be working with the San Diego Police Department. In a statement to the Light, The Bishops School said: The well-being of our students is our highest commitment. The Bishops community is deeply grateful to and admires our graduates for the courage to come forward. If any student from any era has an issue or allegation of this nature we will investigate and involve independent resources, and the appropriate authorities, to learn the facts. Advertisement The school began its investigation in September 2017, when an alumna disclosed her experience of sexual assault committed many decades ago by a former, now deceased, member of the school staff, according to a letter from the school. It went on to state the school had appointed Jennifer Branch, Esq. at Andrews, Lagasse, Branch and Bell, LLP to investigate the report, and encouraged any other victims to come forward. In response, one such alumna contacted the school and spoke with La Jolla Light on the condition of anonymity. She explained that she engaged in what was then viewed as a sexual relationship with a teacher in the 1980s. When I attended Bishops, there were multiple students who had relations with faculty. I was not alone, she said in an e-mail. Since the initial letter from the school was sent in September, the victim spent nine months in communication with school administrators to provide a thorough report. As to why she came forward, she told the Light: What was critical to me as a victim was that I needed to know what the board decided to do to assist the victims and, more importantly, what they are putting in place to prevent it from ever happening again. After the September outreach, other victims came forward to share their stories. In July, The Bishops School issued a follow-up letter. An excerpt reads: We thank those who responded to Septembers letter. Such care for the community and empathy for classmates is an example for Bishops students and alumni. We are deeply saddened by their experiences and apologize for what occurred. The letter went on to say reports were still coming in, some as recently as late June, and that the school would be focusing on the five first-hand accounts. These occurred in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, and in each incident, a different perpetrator is named. Two are deceased, and the other three are no longer school employees. Attorney Branch is in the process of finding where all the alleged perpetrators are working, particularly those who are still working in education. The alumna who spoke with the Light said she looked up her abuser and found he is teaching at San Diego Community College. The Bishops School Board of Trustees will also be working with the San Diego Police Department to notify them of all first-hand reports of experiences that would have been a crime at the time of the occurrence, regardless of whether the perpetrator is alive or deceased. The police will follow up with victims as appropriate, and the School will assist the police as they request, the School said. We remain humble in our assumptions about the Schools past and unequivocally encourage any graduate who had an experience about which the School should be aware to contact incoming Interim Head of School Carol Barry or Ms. Branch. Barry can be reached at barryc@bishops.com or (858) 875-0721. Branch can be reached at jbranch@albblaw.com or (858) 345-5073. Turbulent years The Journal of San Diego History edition dedicated to the 100th anniversary of The Bishops School published in 2008 notes that on the heels of The Bishops School merging from an all-girls school to a co-ed school in 1972, the school faced turbulent years. Dorothy Williams, who served as headmistress from 1973 to 1983, guided the school through the turbulent years of the 1970s. According to one faculty member she dealt with discipline problems involving drugs and sex, conflicts with faculty over their roles as authority figures, changes in religious views, constant tensions over curriculum, (and) rebellious student attitudes toward traditions. Following Williams tenure, Michael Teitelman was appointed headmaster, and is credited with changing the curriculum to expand the Advanced Placement offerings and electives in almost every department. He served until 2009, and was succeeded by Aimeclaire Roche, who was Head of School until just this year. The month before the September letter was issued, Roche announced in August 2017 that she would be leaving her post after nine years and would be transitioning to a leadership role at Cranbrook Schools in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. Bishops School director of marketing and communications Keri Peckham said Roches departure is completely unrelated to the investigation. Head of Middle School Barry was appointed to step in as interim Head of School effective Aug. 1, 2018 and Ron Kim (currently Interim Assistant Head of School at The Buckley School in Sherman Oaks) will serve as Head of School as of the 2019 school year. Founded in 1909, The Bishops School is located at 7607 La Jolla Blvd., and is an Episcopal school. It carries an annual tuition for grades 6 through 12 (including meals) of $36,290, in addition to other expenses. Most San Diegans were likely outraged to learn that Cambridge Analytica took Facebook data from users without their knowledge or consent to manipulate Americans during the last election. That our data and information would be secretly taken and abused by a company was alarming. But to know that local law enforcement has been secretly surveilling swaths of the countys population often without a warrant or probable cause and then feeding that information into massive databases, that is taking it several steps further. Thats happening right now, here in San Diego, without most of us knowing and without our local communities having a say. Senate Bill 1186 (Hill), a bill currently before the Assembly Appropriations Committee chaired by San Diegos own Assembly member Lorena Gonzalez-Fletcher, can change that by requiring local elected officials vote to approve requests for surveillance technology made by local law enforcement. This would give local communities a voice and a seat at the table when it comes to surveillance technology, ensuring that decisions about these intrusive technologies are no longer made in secret. Related: Why surveillance bill would tip balance in favor of crime Advertisement All Californians, including the millions who live in unincorporated communities or rural areas where sheriffs and district attorneys are the only law enforcement presence, deserve to have their voices heard on these decisions. Over the past several years, surveillance technology use among local law enforcement has expanded dramatically and in many cases, in secret. This includes drones, social media monitoring software, automated license plate readers and facial recognition software. Many of these technologies are in use at this moment by local law enforcement, often with no public accountability. Additionally, now that the federal government under President Trump is intent on deporting as many people as possible regardless of their ties to their community, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is exploiting an ever-growing secret surveillance infrastructure that is being fed by local law enforcement. Just this year, it became public that ICE entered into a contract with a surveillance technology company that tracks people in real time using automated license plate readers in order to deport immigrants. This is the same technology countless California law enforcement agencies have been using and feeding data into for years. A few years ago, the First Amendment Coalition, a government transparency nonprofit, sued the San Diego Police Department for refusing to release materials and policy guidelines for their use of high-tech surveillance devices known as Stingrays. Stingrays mimic cell phone towers to spy on phones in a certain area. Their use has grown among local law enforcement agencies and these agencies have been alarmingly secretive about their use of these technologies and whether safeguards are in place to protect information gathered from innocent citizens. Eventually, we found out the City of San Diego had paid at least $365,000 to purchase this technology in secret. Both of these examples should be enough to jolt the Legislature into action. However, the people opposed to SB 1186 claim the bill will somehow inhibit law enforcements ability to do their job or even that sheriffs and district attorneys should be exempt from the bill. To be clear, nothing in this legislation precludes local law enforcement from acquiring new surveillance technologies nor does it impose any requirement that law enforcement agencies divulge their tactical plans or investigation records. This bill is about giving the public a seat at the table, allowing them to ask the right questions at the beginning, and restoring local control to find public safety solutions that work for local communities. This bill should cover all local law enforcement we cannot disadvantage or silence entire communities based on geography or whether or not they live in an unincorporated community and Assemblymember Gonzalez-Fletcher should resist any efforts to weaken SB 1186 to such effect. The stakes associated with secret and unaccountable surveillance are higher now than theyve ever been especially for localities in San Diego where immigrant populations are a vital and inseparable part of the community. Safety and security should not be tethered to government secrecy. In the digital era, and in the age of Trump, true safety and security must come from the mutual understanding that there is a responsibility by all community members, including law enforcement, to have an open discussion about surveillance and public safety in order to make decisions together as community. San Diego lawmakers and lawmakers throughout the state must support SB 1186s passage. Rose is a former senior vice president of product security at Qualcomm and vice president of the International Association for Cryptologic Research. Throughout the history of our republic there has always been tension between the right of privacy of the citizenry and the need of government to acquire information to keep us safe. Much of this tension was addressed with the ratification of the Bill of Rights in 1791. Since then, courts have reviewed and interpreted the Bill of Rights to strike the right balance between the right to privacy and the governments right to know to keep us safe. Related: Privacy concerns warrant surveillance oversight The technological advances we take for granted today could have only been dreamed of in 1791. Then, as now, the overriding concern and objective is to prevent the government from overstepping its boundaries and infringing upon individual liberty and privacy interests. Advertisement Today, emerging threats to society from terrorist attacks, active shooters and online opioid sales, to name a few, require law enforcement to be adaptive and more complete in their capabilities to succeed in keeping their communities safe. To help maintain the trust of their community, law enforcement must be committed to transparency, but that transparency must not be at the expense of public safety. SB 1186 does not strike the right balance. It gives all the advantage to those who wish to bring harm and fear into our neighborhoods. SB 1186 would require law enforcement agencies submit to their governing body in a public hearing, a proposed Surveillance Use Policy for each type of surveillance technology used and the information collected. Without such a hearing the proposed bill requires law enforcement to cease using the technology or method within 30 days if the proposed plan is not adopted. While we are all strong supporters of all the protections afforded under the Constitution of the United States and the constitutions of each state in the Union, SB 1186 would undermine effective investigative strategies. Think about it. SB 1186 would require law enforcement to publicly disclose and announce every piece of their surveillance technology and capabilities. Do those who wish to bring evil to our neighborhoods and families make similar disclosures before committing their crimes? Not in my experience. SB 1186 would give those who seek to harm us a tremendous advantage, to the detriment of our safety. Thats why I strongly oppose SB 1186. The threat of a terrorist attack and active shooting, among other terrible crimes, is real and persistent. One should also not underestimate the bad actors as they plan their attacks. They are known to study and adapt to evolving security measures and change their tactics as they learn the methods of law enforcement. Imagine potential terrorists knowing they can easily Google the surveillance techniques of law enforcement prior to planning an attack. What a leg-up they would have knowing which platforms and technologies are being used, and the strengths and potential limitations of each law enforcement agency and city! While technology, artificial intelligence and virtualization hold great promise, the transition to reality in the hands of criminals, terrorists and others with terrible intentions presents an immediate danger to the public, law enforcement and overall national security. While privacy is a fundamental right we all enjoy and cherish, placing broad barriers upon legitimate and responsible investigations of threats hampers law enforcement in proactive policing. Wouldnt we all prefer that law enforcement prevent a terrorist attack instead of responding to one? Legislative overreach can have disastrous downstream consequences. The use of technology by law enforcement provides modern day tools which should be responsibly and constitutionally employed by law enforcement. But requiring the public disclosure of the tools, tactics and methods of law enforcement literally gives the playbook to the other team. That team does not wish us well and cannot be allowed to win. And public safety is not a game. Keeping people safe is our number one priority. We want those who are right now planning the next terrorist attack, active shooting, or kidnapping to believe we have every resource and technological advantage at our immediate disposal, making all of us safer. SB 1186 will expose the technology law enforcement has and does not have. We understand the importance of privacy and take an oath to protect this right. But this bill goes too far and tips the scales dramatically in favor of those who want to hurt us. SB 1186 might as well be called The Terrorist Guide to (fill in the name of your city). This misguided piece of legislation cannot be allowed to become law. Zimmerman worked with the San Diego Police Department for 35 years. She retired as chief of police earlier this year. Then-Mayor Jerry Sanders really threw himself into the campaign for Proposition B in 2012, a citizens initiative that overhauled San Diegos public employee pension system by substituting 401(k)-style plans for defined benefit pensions. Now his campaigning has thrown San Diego into turmoil. Mincing no words in a long-awaited ruling, the California Supreme Court said Thursday that Sanders violated a state law called the Meyers-Milias-Brown Act by not negotiating with city labor unions before he pursued pension reform as a matter of policy while acting as the citys chief executive officer. Sanders had argued he did so as a private citizen, but the court laid out a thorough case for why he actually did not. How utterly embarrassing. Fortunately, the ruling didnt invalidate San Diegos crucial pension reforms, and clearly limited the impact Sanders violation could have on other initiatives in which elected officials are involved statewide. But the court sent the case back to an appellate court for judicial remedy, raising huge questions about whether the reforms approved by two out of three San Diego voters in 2012 and unique in the state would survive and how much $20 million? $100 million? the city might have to cough up to remedy the violation. No one knows. Unfortunately, there has been no analysis of what it might cost if an estimated 4,000 city workers hired without pensions since July 2012 get retroactive pensions and potential interest and penalty payments, or of how the city might unwind even part of the new retirement plan. City officials need to order that fiscal study without delay to know their risks. Advertisement Current Mayor Kevin Faulconer has his work cut out for him. One likely scenario is that city officials and union leaders may have to negotiate pay and benefits anew in coming months, although the court will dictate any remedys timing. Faulconer and his staff need to undertake any negotiations honestly with unions but also fairly for taxpayers. Like cities across California, San Diego is staring at a pension tsunami that threatens to erode public services as benefits eat up more and more money. The high courts ruling leaves not only great uncertainty but also great stains on the legacies of the public officials involved in San Diegos 2012 campaign, only starting with Sanders and then-City Attorney Jan Goldsmith, who advanced the legal strategy that negotiations werent necessary. Then-councilmen Faulconer and Carl DeMaio also deserve criticism for going along with this strategy. Any could have urged city leaders to hold the negotiations that unions repeatedly said were needed. Youll hear the argument now that such negotiations would have taken too long and could have forced the city into a watered-down plan. Baloney. City politicians could have taken a page out of their own playbook when in 2006 they forged ahead with a managed competition ballot measure over union objections after negotiations that lasted only weeks. The San Diego Union-Tribune Editorial Board is as loud a voice for pension reform as there is in California. We have championed it for years, and articulated why its so essential: government at every level has overpromised the pension benefits it can reliably provide its unions without having to reduce services like parks, libraries and public safety. The pension tsunami is here already, with lavish defined benefits for retirees who are living longer and longer. We wanted this ruling to go the citys way and had found hope in the argument pension reform proponents made that Sanders campaigned as a citizen, not as mayor. But now that the court has eviscerated that argument, its clear that it was destined for failure from the get-go. Sadly, thats the only thing thats clear about city worker pensions now. Twitter: @sdutIdeas Facebook: San Diego Union-Tribune Ideas & Opinion Twitter: @sdutIdeas Facebook: San Diego Union-Tribune Ideas & Opinion Can almond milk be contaminated with milk? The Food and Drug Administration on Friday said a batch of almond milk is under a voluntary recall due to a contamination of real milk. You read that right real milk. Specifically, the recall affects 145,254 half-gallon carton containers of Vanilla Almond Breeze with a use-by date of Sept. 2, 2018 distributed to 28 states, though California is not one of them. HP Hood LLC issued the voluntary recall, the FDA said. People who have an allergy or severe sensitivity to milk run the risk of serious or life-threatening allergic reaction if they consume these products, the FDA warned. News of any recall is meant to be taken seriously in this case, it matters those who suffer from milk allergies or lactose intolerance. But due to an ongoing national debate over how to label non-animal milk, a recall of such nature has raised eyebrows and left others confused on the internet. Ironically, the recall comes on the heels of a major effort by the FDA to bring greater clarity to food labels on products, including milk. Just two days ago, U.S. Senators killed an amendment aimed at cutting off funding for that study. Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, who introduced that amendment, said consumers are not deceived by the labels. No one buys almond milk under the false illusion that it came from a cow. They buy it because it didnt come from a cow, Lee said, Roll Call reported. Dairy farmers and some members of Congress are urging the FDA to enforce its rules on how foods should be labeled. Dairy lobbying groups like the National Milk Producers Federation say consumers are being misled by plant-based beverages that use the term milk in labels. Currently, the Code of Federal Regulations, Title 21, defines milk as such: Under 21 CFR 1240.3(j), the term milk product is defined as [f]ood products made exclusively or principally from the lacteal secretion obtained from one or more healthy milk-producing animals, e.g., cows, goats, sheep, and water buffalo . . . . And even FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb has said that non-animal milk products should have a different label because their nutritional differences to milk derived from an animal. But the debate has baffled people like Sen. Lee and others who say people are smart enough to understand the real differences between almond milk and cow milk. Twitter user Shoshana Weissmann, a self-described vegetarian who doesnt drink cow milk, summed up her frustration in a series of tweets. What do you think are you against the term milk used in non-animal dairy products like almond milk or soy milk? Should there be more clarity between those two types of products or should it just be left alone? Email: luis.gomez@sduniontribune.com Twitter: @RunGomez Read The Conversation on Flipboard. People of all ages can learn how to deter crime and stay safe during a free event hosted next week by San Diego Police Departments Northeastern Division. The division will be offering an assortment of family-friendly activities during its sixth annual National Night Out celebration. It will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 7 at SDPD Northeastern Divisions headquarters, 13396 Salmon River Road in Rancho Penasquitos. The divisions coverage area includes Rancho Bernardo, Carmel Mountain Ranch and Sabre Springs. (Attendees) will learn about safety and heighten their awareness about crime and can take back that information to their neighbors to share, said SDPD Community Relations Officer Julie Dragt. They will learn about different resources, like the Take Me Home program. Dragt said the program, run by the San Diego County Sheriffs Department, helps senior citizens with dementia. They are given an ID bracelet to wear and their families are to upload a current photo so if they get lost, law enforcement can access their photo to help them in their search. The local event has grown in each of the five previous years, with 300 to 400 attending last year, according to Dragt. She said organizers are hoping for up to 500 this year. There will be many fun, free activities awaiting those of all ages, she said. Plans include a SWAT display, K9 demonstration, Marine Corps booth that includes pull-up bars, a bounce house, dunk tank, appearance by McGruff the Crime Dog, a disc jockey and many booths. The latter will likely feature other law enforcement agencies, such as the Sheriffs Department, Homeland Security, FBI, California Highway Patrol and the Communications Center which handles the 911 calls. Pending availability, the San Diego Fire Departments crew from Station 40 will have its engine on site. The Mira Mesa Target store is providing free refreshments and will hold a childs bike giveaway. Park rangers will also be there to talk about the areas open space, The Home Depot will offer a childrens activity, the Rancho Penasquitos Library will highlight its PAWS for Reading and therapy dog programs and RSVP volunteers will be fingerprinting and photographing children. Dragt said the fingerprints and photos will not be stored by police and it is a good idea for parents to have their children fingerprinted every few years. The prints and photos will be given to the parents. There will also likely be a crashed vehicle on site as a way to demonstrate the dangers of driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs or while texting, she said. The local event is being held in conjunction with the 35th annual National Night Out, a worldwide event held on the first Tuesday in August, when around 38 million neighbors throughout 16,000 communities in the United States, U.S. territories and military bases worldwide gather for events as part of an annual community-building campaign, according to the events website, natw.org. The goal is to promote police-community partnerships and neighborhood camaraderie in order to make the neighborhoods safer and more caring. According to the event flyer, Residences and neighborhoods throughout San Diego and across the nation are asked to lock their doors, turn on outside lights and spend the evening with neighbors and first responders. For questions, email Dragt at jdragt@pd.sandiego.gov. Email: rbnews@pomeradonews.com As he lay on the track at Del Mar racetrack on July 22, Hall of Fame jockey Victor Espinoza knew he was in trouble. I was very conscious, the 46-year-old Espinoza said Thursday morning during a news conference at Scripps Memorial Hospital Encinitas. But I could not move my body. And there was no pain. I thought I am paralyzed. ... I thought Id never walk again. But he is walking. He walked into his news conference, although he will be wearing a neck brace for at least another month. As for when Espinoza might return to the track ... Advertisement It is too early to think about that, Espinoza said. I will think about riding again when I get back to 100 percent. Im not even thinking about racing right now. And wont be any time soon. Espinoza was released Thursday from the Scripps Encinitas Inpatient Rehabilitation Unit and returned to his Del Mar home. He will continue to be treated in the Scripps Neuro Rehabilitation program. With any injury to the spinal cord, the big thing is time, said Dr. Jihad Jaffer, a Scripps Encinitas rehabilitation specialist. In the grand schedule of recovery, its been a very short time, 11 days. Espinoza, who won the Triple Crown with American Pharoah in 2015 after winning the first two legs a year earlier with California Chrome, said he has perfect recall of what happened July 22as he worked Bobby Abu Dhabi on Del Mars main track just before 9 a.m. It was my scariest moment ever, said Espinoza. We were going full speed and smooth. I remember everything. I didnt lose consciousness. Twenty-five years (as a jockey), nothing like this ever happened. Espinozas voice broke as he momentarily stopped talking about that day to discuss his inner feelings about horses and his business. Animals are like humans, he said. Every time I ride a horse, I connect with them and I take care of them. The health of the horse is most important. This was terrible and nothing like this has ever happened before. Then he returned to Bobby Abu Dhabi, who suffered cardiac arrest while running at full speed and died at the scene of the incident. Ive come off horses before, said Espinoza. Always before, I felt a sense or had a warning ... even a tenth of a second. This time, no warning. Instantly. Gone. Its really sad that it happened. They didnt tell me until the next day about the horse. Said Jaffer: This was an unfortunate event that could have been far worse for Victor given where the injury was. The fracture to the C-3 vertebrae was close to the artery supplying blood to Espinozas brain. There were two areas of concern, the vertebrae and the spinal cord, said Dr. Jaffer. The collar is there to prevent further injury to the spinal cord. Victor is recovering well. A spinal injury is not an on/off switch. It is like a dimmer switch. There are degrees. Victor will continue his rehab as an outpatient. Said Espinoza: I have to learn some new techniques. I cant laugh the way I used to laugh. Im confident Ill get back to full strength. When, I cant say. Espinozas agent, Brian Beach, said Thursday afternoon the jockey has already asked about when Santa Anita opens (Sept. 28). But the when of when he rides again is up in the air, said Beach. Victor doesnt deal in negatives. He knows he dodged a bullet ... we all know how lucky he got. Added Espinoza: I remember laying there on the track. My right arm started to move. By the time I was headed to the hospital, I could move my left leg. When I reached the hospital (Scripps Memorial) in La Jolla, I could move my right leg. They have taken care of me like a king at La Jolla and here. This is the best rehab Ive ever had. I feel better every day. If something else happens to me, Ill come here. Espinoza said he still has pain in his left arm. Notable Be Lifted Ups nose victory over Curryforthree Bang in the eighth race cost one New Jersey bettor $291,409 in the Pick Six. Instead, there will be a carryover of $76,768 to Fridays card, which begins at 4 p.m. Jockey Assael Espinoza won two races Thursday to move into a tie for third in the jockey standings. Leader Flavien Prat won once to stretch his lead to three wins. Sports Videos Center is a freelance writer. Thank you for reading! On your next view you will be asked to log in to your subscriber account or create an account and subscribepurchase a subscription to continue reading. Doylestown, PA -- (SBWIRE) -- 08/03/2018 -- Pennsylvanians who are looking to restore confidence and youth to an aging smile are encouraged to contact Bash Dental to learn about how dentures have evolved in the 21st century. No longer the clunky plastic masses that grandma wore, modern dentures are fitted to the unique shape of patients' faces, being made to look and feel as natural as the teeth that they were born with. Dr. Bash is much more than just an emergency dentist in Doylestown, PA he is a dentist who prides himself on perfecting the art of denture fitting. With over 35 years of experience refining his denture-creation process, Dr. Bash has given countless patients their smile back with a perfectly and personally created set. Dr. Bash takes into account the facial shape, lip shape, and bone structure of the jaw to create a pair of dentures that doesn't just look great, but also feels natural when chewing and speaking. With follow-up appointments, a 100% satisfaction promise, and dental repair services available, Bash Dental is Pennsylvania's number one stop for everything related to dentures. It's never too late to reclaim a lost smile. Anyone interested in learning more about how to restore their confidence with dentures is encouraged to pay Bash Dental a visit or check out his practice online today at https://bashdental.com/ to schedule an appointment. For those who are having a dental emergency in Perkasie, PA, Bash Dental is also available with a 24/7 urgent care service please call 215-789-4106 for all emergency inquiries. About Richard N. Bash, DDS A state-of-the-art dental office located in Doylestown, PA, Richard N. Bash, DDS has been providing personalized services with the safest equipment for over 30 years. Delivering comprehensive dental treatment to all patients, Dr. Bash and his staff perform procedures for both children and adults. From cosmetic services, periodontics, extraction and emergency treatment, patients can trust they are receiving the highest quality of service. Available 24 hours and seven days per week; dental treatment is just a phone call away. North Port, FL -- (SBWIRE) -- 08/03/2018 -- Sarasota's "pet-friendly" exterminators, as they are locally known, Johnny Bugs, Inc., is continuing to help the local community in Southwest Florida. By purchasing school supplies for a handful of local families and children in need, the family owned and operated business is leading by example and doing what it can to help prepare students for the upcoming school year in spite of the ever-rising costs of school supplies. What started as a simple Facebook post offering to help purchase school supplies for a single local family quickly turned into an opportunity to help more families in need. After an unexpected response from multiple families in the area, the company decided not to shy away from the situation but to instead step up and purchase school supplies for five local children for the upcoming school year. Jessica Meyers of Johnny Bugs, Inc. and her boss John Komor are proud to be able to help their community however they can. Using their own money, the two have purchased dozens of notebooks, writing supplies, and other materials for students ranging from kindergarten to high school. As news spread both in the local news and on social media, the company received praise from parents and teachers alike. One teacher in the Southwest Florida area shared her experience with underprivileged children, saying, "I have watched kids come in with no supplies and they feel like they aren't good enough. Those kids will be able to walk in from day one and not already feel behind because they will feel more prepared." There is no doubt that the initiative of Ms. Meyers and Mr. Komor will have a positive and immediate impact on the lives of those children. As exterminators in Sarasota County that are proud to serve the community with careful, quality work and honest pricing, Johnny Bugs, Inc. and its employees have continued to show their dedication to helping the local Florida community any way they can. For pest control services in Sarasota County you can trust, contact Johnny Bugs, Inc. today at 941-564-5328 or visit https://johnnybugs.com/ for more information. About Johnny Bugs, Inc. Johnny Bugs, Inc. is a pest exterminator based in North Port, FL that uses professional grade, reduced risk, odorless pest control products. They provide free estimates for treatment right over the phone or via text. Their customers appreciate that they provide a narrow half hour arrival window and that their treatments are guaranteed for a full 90 days. To learn more about their services, visit http://johnnybugs.com/. Pune, India -- (SBWIRE) -- 08/02/2018 -- Market Scenario: On an average one in ten adult is suffering from diabetes in Middle East and Africa region. Most of the case are of Type 2 diabetes and it is growing rapidly. According to International Diabetes Federation Atlas, about 19.3% of population between 20-79 age group is diabetic in UAE and the number is almost same in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain. These five nations has the highest rate of diabetes per capita which is among the top 15 countries in the world. Increasing urbanization, changing lifestyle and unhealthy eating habits are driving the growth for the market. Rising middle class group, increasing per capita income, spending on healthcare and advanced healthcare infrastructure facilities are driving the growth for the market in this region. Middle East and Africa Diabetes Market is growing rapidly. Middle East and Africa Diabetes Market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 5.1% and expected to reach US$ 16.4 billion by 2023 from US$ 11.6 billion in 2016. Get Sample Copy @ https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/2971 Study objectives of India Diabetes Market: To provide detailed analysis of the market structure along with forecast for the next 6 years of the various segments and sub-segments of the Indian Diabetes Market To provide insights about factors affecting the market growth To analyze the Middle East and Africa Diabetes Market based on various factors - price analysis, supply chain analysis, Porters Five Forces analysis etc. To provide historical and forecast revenue of the market segments and sub-segments To provide detailed analysis of the market with respect to the current market size and future prospective To provide detailed analysis of the market for segments by type, by test, by devices, by treatment, and its sub-segments. To provide overview of key players and their strategic profiling in the market, comprehensively analyzing their core competencies, and drawing a competitive landscape for the market To track and analyze competitive developments such as joint ventures, strategic alliances, mergers and acquisitions, new product developments, and research and developments in the Middle East and Africa Diabetes Market Segments: Middle East and Africa Diabetes Market has been segmented on the basis of type which comprises Type 1, Type 2, and Gestational diabetes. On the basis of test, market is segmented into Random blood sugar test, Fasting blood sugar test, Oral glucose tolerance test, Initial glucose challenge test and others. On the basis of devices, it is segmented into Blood glucose monitoring devices, Diabetes management devices, and others. On the basis of treatment market is segmented into Medications, Insulin therapy, Transplantation, Bariatric surgery and others. Intended Audience Hospitals and Clinics Diabetes drugs and devices manufacturers Diabetes drugs and devices suppliers Government and Independent Regulatory Authorities Research and Development (R&D) Companies Market Research and Consulting Service Providers Medical Research Laboratories Potential Investors Regional Analysis of India Diabetes Market: Considering the scenario of the Middle East and African diabetes market, Saudi Arabia is believed to be the largest market for diabetes. Moreover the UAE also growing and second largest market for Middle East and Africa Diabetes. On the other hand, Egypt market is expected to grow at significant rate in the Middle East and Africa diabetes during the forecasted period. Rest of Middle East and Africa is likely to have a limited but moderate growth in the market. Key Players for India Diabetes Market: Some of the key players in this market are: Abbott (US), Bayer AG (Germany), Becton Dickinson and Company (US), Johnson & Johnson Services, Inc. (US), Merck & Co., Inc. (US), Novartis AG (Switzerland), Novo Nordisk A/S (Denmark), Roche Diabetes Care, Inc. (US), sanofi-aventis U.S. LLC (US), Ypsomed (Switzerland) Apply for Exclusive Discount @ https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/check-discount/2971 List of Tables and Figures: List Of Tables Table 1 Middle East and Africa Diabetes Market By Type Table 2 Middle East and Africa Diabetes Market By Test Table 3 Middle East and Africa Diabetes Market By Devices Table 4 Middle East and Africa Diabetes Market By Treatment Table 5 Middle East and Africa Diabetes Market By Region List Of Figures Figure 1 Research Process Figure 2 Porters Five Forces Model Figure 3 Middle East and Africa Diabetes Market By Type Figure 4 Middle East and Africa Diabetes Market By Test Figure 5 Middle East and Africa Diabetes Market By Devices Figure 5 Middle East and Africa Diabetes Market By Treatment Figure 7 Middle East and Africa Diabetes Market By Region Figure 8 Middle East and Africa Diabetes Market By Region: Company Share Analysis, 2015 (%) ...Continued Send An Enquiry @ https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/enquiry/2971 The report for Middle East and Africa Diabetes Market of Market Research Future comprises extensive primary research along with the detailed analysis of qualitative as well as quantitative aspects by various industry experts, key opinion leaders to gain the deeper insight of the market and industry performance. The report gives the clear picture of current market scenario which includes historical and projected market size in terms of value and volume, technological advancement, macro economical and governing factors in the market. The report provides details information and strategies of the top key players in the industry. The report also gives a broad study of the different markets segments and regions. About Market Research Future Market Research Future (MRFR), enable customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services. Westmont, IL -- (SBWIRE) -- 08/03/2018 -- Rasdale Stamp Company is all set to attend the upcoming APS National Summer Convention, which will be held in Columbus, OH, on August 9-12, 2018. This is a joint show for the National Topical Stamp Show (NTSS2018) and the APS StampShow 2018. Illinois stamp dealer, Rasdale Stamp Company, has booked a dealer's booth in the upcoming National Topical Stamp Show 2018. The company has booked Booth #246 and it has listed its philatelic specialties as auctions, collections, lots, and worldwide. The NTSS2018 will be a joint show with APS StampShow, to be held on August 9-12, 2018. The show will feature an all-thematic philatelic exhibition in addition to the outstanding exhibits of APS StampShow. A 100+ dealer bourse is planned. There will be meetings, seminars, activities and special touring events for your pleasure. The actual venue of the show is the Greater Columbus Convention Center, Exhibit Hall B, 400 N High St, Columbus, OH 43215. The show will run from Sat 10 a.m.to 6 p.m. from Thursday, August 9th to Saturday, August 11, 2018. On Sunday, August 12th, the show will start at 10 a.m. and end at 4 p.m. The StampShow 2018, which is co-hosted with the American Topical Association, in Columbus, Ohio marks the 132nd annual convention of the American Philatelic Society. Each year, stamp collectors, exhibitors, historians and members of the general public gather to socialize, increase philatelic knowledge, and exchange stamps. The 2018 show will feature 100+ dealers, societies, live auctions, literature and philatelic exhibits, more than 100 meetings and seminars, and first-day-of-issue ceremonies for new stamps. Some of the scheduled meetings include CartoPhilatelic Society, Cats on Stamps, Christmas Philatelic Club, Ebony Society of Philatelic Events and Reflections (ESPER), Europa Study Unit, Gastronomy on Stamps, Medical Subjects Unit, Penguins on Stamps, Plate Number Coil Collectors Club, American Society of Polar Philatelists, Space Unit, United Nations Philatelists, Inc., and Wine on Stamps. The show is free and open to the public. The show is sponsored by the United States Postal Service. The company can be followed at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQHqYm6Dv5Z8IUftMTlaSOA. About Rasdale Stamp Company Rasdale Stamp Company was founded in Westmont, IL, in 1932. The company is regarded as one of the oldest family owned and managed stamp houses in the United States. Rasdale Stamp Company hosts quarterly stamp sales starting from February, May, August, and then November. The company belongs to the National Stamp Dealers Association, Florida Stamp Dealers Association, the American Philatelic Society (APS), and the Ann Arbor Collectors Club etc, and its management seats on the boards of the American Stamp Dealers Association and the Midwest Stamp Dealers Association. Further information and reviews can be found at https://www.google.com/maps/place/Rasdale+Stamp+Company/@41.816317,-87.9773567,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x0:0x4f0ef1314e1483cc!8m2!3d41.816317!4d-87.975168?hl=en. Name: Rasdale Stamp Company Contact: Kim Kellermann Address: 35 Chestnut Avenue, Westmont, IL 60559 Phone: 630-794-9900 Fax: 630-794-9958 Email: info@rasdalestamps.com Website: https://www.rasdalestamps.com/ New York, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 08/03/2018 -- South Korea Medical Tourism Market is likely to reach nearly USD 2 Billion by the year end of 2022 growing at a CAGR of around 15% from 2017 to 2022. Market growth can be attributed to factors such as technologically advanced treatments and medical procedures, pioneer in plastic/cosmetic surgery and dentistry, excellent medical practitioners & medical facilities, affordable medical costs and strong government support and initiatives. Try Sample Report @ https://www.wiseguyreports.com/sample-request/970143-south-korea-medical-tourism-market-insights-opportunity Chinese medical tourists play a significant role in contributing revenue to the South Korea economy. China contributed more than 35% share in 2016. China is likely to maintain dominance in South Korea Medical Tourism revenue share by the year end of 2022. United States spot at second position in the revenue share with XX% share. Other countries such as Japan, Russia, Kazakhstan and UAE emerge as the largest revenue generators in the South Korea Medical Tourism Market. The research report titled "South Korea Medical Tourism Market Insights, Opportunity, Analysis, Market Shares & Forecast 2017 2022" provides detailed information on the South Korea Medical Tourism Market. This report analyzes market data and provides a better understanding of medical tourists flow and revenue to South Korea. Market outlook in value terms for the forecasted period for South Korea Medical Tourism Market has been detailed in the report. Key industry news and medical procedures cost comparision are analyzed with details. This report also entails a detailed description of growth drivers and inhibitors of the South Korea Medical Tourism Market. Key Topics Covered in the Report - South Korea Medical Tourism Market Environment & Trend (2009 2022) - South Korea Medical Tourism Market Share & Forecast (2009 2022) - South Korea Medical Tourism Market Countrywise Analysis - Medical Procedures Cost Comparison Analysis - Industry News from South Korea Medical Tourism - Key Drivers and Inhibitors of the South Korea Medical Tourism Market South Korea Medical Tourism Market 12 Countries Covered 1) United States 2) China 3) Japan 4) Russia 5) Mongolia 6) Vietnam 7) Philippines 8) Kazakhstan 9) Saudi Arabia 10) Uzbekistan 11) Indonesia 12) United Arab Emirates For Detailed Reading Please visit WiseGuy Reports @ https://www.wiseguyreports.com/reports/970143-south-korea-medical-tourism-market-insights-opportunity Some points from table of content: 1. Executive Summary 2. South Korea Medical Tourism Market Environment & Trend (2009 2022) 2.1 South Korea Overall Medical Tourists Arrival 2.2 South Korea Overall Medical Tourists Revenue 3. By Country South Korea Medical Tourism Market Share & Forecast (2009 2022) 4. Key Drivers and Inhibitors of the South Korea Medical Tourism Market 4.1 Market Drivers 4.2 Inhibitors 5. Medical Procedures Cost Comparison Analysis 6. Industry News from South Korea Medical Tourism 6.1 Year 2017 6.2 Year 2016 6.3 Year 2015 7. South Korea Medical Tourism Market Countrywise Analysis 7.1 United States Medical Tourists Arrival, Revenue & Forecast 7.1.1 United States Medical Tourists Arrival 7.1.2 United States Medical Tourists Revenue 7.2 China Medical Tourists Arrival, Revenue & Forecast 7.2.1 China Medical Tourists Arrival 7.2.2 China Medical Tourists Revenue 7.3 Japan Medical Tourists Arrival, Revenue & Forecast 7.3.1 Japan Medical Tourists Arrival 7.3.2 Japan Medical Tourists Revenue 7.4 Russia Medical Tourists Arrival, Revenue & Forecast 7.4.1 Russia Medical Tourists Arrival 7.4.2 Russia Medical Tourists Revenue 7.5 Mongolia Medical Tourists Arrival, Revenue & Forecast 7.5.1 Mongolia Medical Tourists Arrival 7.5.2 Mongolia Medical Tourists Revenue 7.6 Vietnam Medical Tourists Arrival, Revenue & Forecast 7.6.1 Vietnam Medical Tourists Arrival 7.6.2 Vietnam Medical Tourists Revenue 7.7 Philippines Medical Tourists Arrival, Revenue & Forecast 7.7.1 Philippines Medical Tourists Arrival 7.7.2 Philippines Medical Tourists Revenue 7.8 Kazakhstan Medical Tourists Arrival, Revenue & Forecast 7.8.1 Kazakhstan Medical Tourists Arrival 7.8.2 Kazakhstan Medical Tourists Revenue 7.9 Saudi Arabia Medical Tourists Arrival, Revenue & Forecast 7.9.1 Saudi Arabia Medical Tourists Arrival 7.9.2 Saudi Arabia Medical Tourists Revenue 7.10 Uzbekistan Medical Tourists Arrival, Revenue & Forecast 7.10.1 Uzbekistan Medical Tourists Arrival 7.10.2 Uzbekistan Medical Tourists Revenue 7.11 Indonesia Medical Tourists Arrival, Revenue & Forecast 7.11.1 Indonesia Medical Tourists Arrival 7.11.2 Indonesia Medical Tourists Revenue 7.12 United Arab Emirates(UAE) Medical Tourists Arrival, Revenue & Forecast 7.12.1 UAE Medical Tourists Arrival 7.12.2 UAE Medical Tourists Revenue For more information or any query mail at sales@wiseguyreports.com About Wise Guy Reports Wise Guy Reports is part of the Wise Guy Consultants Pvt. Ltd. and offers premium progressive statistical surveying, market research reports, analysis & forecast data for industries and governments around the globe. Wise Guy Reports understand how essential statistical surveying information is for your organization or association. Therefore, we have associated with the top publishers and research firms all specialized in specific domains, ensuring you will receive the most reliable and up to date research data available. Contact Us: Norah Trent +1 646 845 9349 / +44 208 133 9349 Follow on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/wise-guy-research-consultants-pvt-ltd-?trk=biz-companies-cym Sioux Falls, SD -- (SBWIRE) -- 08/13/2018 -- Sterling Trustees, LLC has been recognized by Chambers and Partners as a top-ranked South Dakota trust company and is honored to be among an elite group of trust companies earning this distinction. Among other attributes, the firm was recognized for exceptional service, professionalism and global expertise. Chambers and Partners is a globally recognized authority on establishing the credibility and rankings of the world's best lawyers and trust companies. Each year, Chambers and Partners researches and releases their ranking guides, which they call the Chambers High Net Worth Guide for the United States, United Kingdom, Latin America, Asia-Pacific, Canada, and the global market. Gaining recognition and accreditation from Chambers and Partners is a significant achievement for any firm. Antony Joffe, President of Sterling Trustees said, "We are honored to be chosen by Chambers and Partners as a top ranked trust company in South Dakota. Our attention to service and global expertise over the last ten years has allowed Sterling to grow to over $3.3 billion of assets under administration." Sterling Trustees offers comprehensive trust administration services for both domestic and foreign trusts. As an independent corporate trust company, the firm offers objective advice that is free from the conflicts of interests common to trust companies that perform trust administration services and act as a financial advisor or custodian. About Sterling Trustees Sterling Trustees is South Dakota-chartered trust company located in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. By working independently, the firm allows its clients to avoid the extra costs and conflicts of interest associated with large financial institutions. Sterling Trustees' main goal is to keep assets safe while remaining objective. For more information, please visit http://www.sterlingtrustees.com or call 605-593-8950. Hyderabad, India -- (SBWIRE) -- 08/02/2018 -- According to the new market research report by IndustryARC titled "Aerospace Foam Market By Foam Type (Polyethylene, Cross-Linked Polyethylene, Polyurethane, Reticulated Polyurethane, Melamine Foams, Specialty Foams); By End User (Commercial Aircrafts, Military Aircrafts, General Aircrafts) & By Geography Forecast (2018-2023)", the market is driven by the growing number of aircraft deliveries worldwide. Americas likely to dominate the Aerospace Foam Market during the forecast period The American region will have a major share in the Aerospace Foam Market during the forecast period. This region is focused on modernizing the ageing military aircraft, leading to rise in procurement, especially in South America. In Canada and Chile, old military aircrafts have undergone changes. . North America, especially the US, have manufactured and exported many aircrafts. The airline industry employs more than 1 million workers across 50 states in the US. Hence, this accounts for one of the major shares in the country's GDP. Latin America is expected to experience a significant growth in new aircraft deliveries in the future. At present, it has a fleet of 1,600 commercial aircrafts and is forecasted to have around 2,600 aircrafts by 2024. This factor is responsible for the growth of the aerospace foam material in the region. Selected Analysis done in the full Report: Commercial aircrafts are the aircrafts used to transport passengers. These aircrafts are part of the civil aviation which includes general aviation and scheduled aviation. General aviation includes business jet flights and other non-scheduled air transport operations. Scheduled aviation offered by the companies deals with air transport services for travelling passengers. The commercial aviation services offer an excellent design, efficiency, and value to the customers along with good flying experience. The aircrafts are designed in such a way that they produce less noise and less emission in airports. Myriad set of foams are being used in the airline industry to improve the efficiency of the aircrafts. In recent years, many airlines have considered Airport Compatibility with reference to the measures that need to be taken during aircraft rescue, as firefighting foam on the runways used for different kinds of aircrafts, are prone to unsafe landing. Excerpts on Market Growth Factors The commercial aircraft industry has been experiencing a change due to continuous economic growth, growing middle class, and rise in tourism and migrations. These factors increase global connectivity. The growth in new aircraft deliveries enhances the growth of the interiors market as the cabin interiors is the main factor which makes the passengers choose their air travel. This growth is an asset for the aerospace insulation. Carbon fiber composites have advantages such as light weightiness, less specific gravity than steel and more strength than steel which makes them suitable for aircraft applications. Increasing demand for customizations in aircrafts has been a major trend in first class and business class sections in the aircraft interiors market. The competition among the first class cabins has been rising in the airline carriers which makes them strive for innovation and increase comfort level for passengers. These cabins provide the airlines with unique products that provide enhanced passenger experience and provide better services. Talk to one of our sales representative about the full report by providing your details in the link below: https://industryarc.com/support.php?id=15149 Key players of the Aerospace Foam Market BASF and Evonik are the two key players in the Aerospace Foam Market. BASF offers TPU, flame resistant foams, polyurethane, and other aerospace foams. Evonik provides services such as utilities, waste management, engineering and logistic services to the chemical industry customers. It even provides specialty materials which are classified as performance materials. Aerospace Foam Market is segmented as below Rising number of aircraft deliveries enhances the growth of the Aerospace Foam Market during the forecast period. A. Aerospace Foam Market By Type 1. Polyethylene 2. Cross-Linked Polyethylene 3. Polyurethane 4. Reticulated Polyurethane 5. Melamine 6. Specialty Foams 7. Others B. Aerospace Foam Market By End Users 1. Commercial Aircrafts 2. Military Aircrafts 3. General Aircrafts C. Aerospace Foam Market By Geography( covers 12+ countries) D. Aerospace Foam Market Entropy Companies Citied / Interviewed 1.ARMACELL INTERNATIONAL 2.BASF SE 3.BOYD CORPORATION 4.ERG MATERIALS & AEROSPACE CORPORATION 5.EVONIK INDUSTRIES 6.ROGERS CORPORATION 7.SAUDI ARABIA BASIC INDUSTRIES CORPORATION 8.UFP TECHNOLOGIES 9.ZOTEFOAMS 10.BENIEN AEROSPACE GMBH About IndustryARC: IndustryARC is a Research and Consulting Firm that publishes more than 500 reports annually, in various industries such as Agriculture, Automotive, Automation & Instrumentation, Chemicals and Materials, Energy and Power, Electronics, Food & Beverages, Information Technology, Life sciences &Healthcare. IndustryARC primarily focuses on Cutting Edge Technologies and Newer Applications in a Market. Our Custom Research Services are designed to provide insights on the constant flux in the global supply-demand gap of markets. Our strong team of analysts enables us to meet the client research needs at a rapid speed, with a variety of options for your business. We look forward to support the client to be able to better address their customer needs, stay ahead in the market, become the top competitor and get real-time recommendations on business strategies and deals. Contact us to find out how we can help you today. The rainbow of visible colors varies over a continuous range of wavelengths, but small songbirds called zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata) break it into discrete colors much like humans, an international team of scientists reports in the journal Nature. The team, headed by Duke Universitys Professor Stephen Nowicki, tested the ability of zebra finches to tell whether colors are the same or different. Using different pairwise combinations of eight hues representing the range of male beak colors, the researchers showed 26 females a set of quarter-sized paper discs, some two-toned and some solid colored. The birds learned that each time they flipped over a two-toned disc with their beak, they found a millet seed treat hidden underneath. If they flipped over a solid colored disc, they got nothing. Picking a particular disc first before the others was a sign that a bird perceived it as having two colors rather than one. Some trials involved color pairs that were closer together on the color spectrum, while others involved pairs that were farther apart. Females had no difficulty discriminating the most dissimilar pairings. What was interesting was how they treated the various hues in between. The findings suggest a threshold effect at work a sharp perceptual boundary where orange turns to red. The birds were much better at distinguishing two colors from opposite sides of the boundary than pairs from the same side, even when all pairs were all equally far apart on the color spectrum. This study didnt test whether the birds preferred some disc hues over others, said co-lead author Dr. Patrick Green, a postdoctoral researcher at Duke University. But the results shed light on what might be happening when a female gazes at a potential mate. If the birds lump all hues on one side of a certain redness threshold into the same category, then at least when it comes to beak color, females may not be picky about whether a potential mate is Mr. Perfection or Mr. Good Enough. What were showing is: hes either red enough or not, Professor Nowicki said. The scientists dont yet know if the threshold between what humans perceive as orange versus red is the same for birds. But the findings lend support to the idea that such color labels have deep biological roots, and arent just arbitrary divisions shaped by human culture or language. Categorical color perception in zebra finches isnt likely to be just the result of variation in how well the light-sensitive cells in the birds eyes distinguish different wavelengths. It may be in their minds. What hits the retina is not always what we see. Signals from the retina are conveyed to the brain for decoding, said co-lead author Dr. Eleanor Caves, a postdoctoral researcher at Duke University. Were taking in this barrage of information, and our brain is creating a reality that is not real, Professor Nowicki said. Categorical perception may be a cognitive shortcut that helps animals make tough decisions in the face of noisy, limited or ambiguous information. Categorical perception what we show in zebra finches is perhaps one strategy the brain has for reducing this ambiguity, Dr. Caves said. Categories make it less crucial that you precisely interpret a stimulus; rather, you just need to interpret the category that its in. _____ Eleanor M. Caves et al. Categorical perception of colour signals in a songbird. Nature, published online August 1, 2018; doi: 10.1038/s41586-018-0377-7 The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) has revealed a stunning close-up shot of the asteroid Ryugu captured by its Hayabusa-2 spacecraft. Since Hayabusa-2s arrival at Ryugu on June 27, the JAXA engineers had operated it at a height of 12.4 miles (20 km) above the surface. But on July 16, they slowly lowered the spacecraft from this observation position, until it was 3.7 miles (6 km) above the asteroids surface. The close-up photograph of Ryugu was taken with the ONC-T (Optical Navigation Camera Telescopic) instrument aboard the orbiter on July 20. We see that the entire surface of Ryugu is strewn with large boulders we have not yet seen this on an asteroid, said Dr. Ralf Jaumann, a planetary scientist at the German Aerospace Center and principal investigator for the MASCOT lander aboard the spacecraft. The largest crater on the surface of Ryugu is situated near the center of the image and you can see that it has a shape like a mortar, the JAXA scientists said. You can also see that the surface of Ryugu is covered with a large number of boulders. This picture will provide important information as we choose the landing site. It is likely that Ryugu is a fragment of an earlier collision, Dr. Jauman added. However, we have only just been at the asteroid for a short while and all we can see is the surface. Sen. Joel Villanueva leads turn-over of 158 housing units for Bocaue informal settlers on his birthday Senator Joel Villanueva on his birthday led the turn-over of 158 housing units from the National Housing Authority (NHA) in coordination with the local governmenf unit (LGU) of Bocaue for the town's informal settler families. Villanueva said that families who live in waterways and flood-prone areas were prioritized to be relocated at Bocaue Hills AFP-PNP Housing, Barangay Batia in Bocaue, Bulacan. The senator awarded the first batch of 158 out of 500 housing units alloted for Bocaue LGU. "We express our sincerest gratitude to the NHA for giving hope to our kababayans. Our people will now have a clean and inhabitable environment that they can call home," Villanueva said. According to the NHA, the lot area of each housing unit is 36 square meters and costs P175,000. P35,000 of the said cost will be subsidized by the housing bureau and is payable in 30 years. The application fees for water and power connection will also be shouldered by the NHA. "Sa atin pong mga Pilipino, napaka-importante ang magkaroon tayo ng sariling bahay. Kaya nga po sa ating Konstitusyon, hindi lang bahagi ng social service ang pabahay, 'yan po ay basikong karapatang pantao. Karapatan po ng bawat Pilipino, lalo na ng ating mga manggagawa, ang magkaroon ng sariling bahay," the senator said. Villanueva today also inaugurated a newly-constructed senior citizens' building and a day care center in Guiguinto and Balagtas, Bulacan. Press Release August 3, 2018 ANGARA VOWS TO ENSURE PASSAGE OF UNIVERSAL HEALTH CARE BILL TO CONTINUE FATHER'S LEGACY Senator Sonny Angara has vowed to ensure the passage of the bill that seeks to provide universal health care for all Filipinos, as envisioned by his father, the late Senate President Edgardo Angara. The older Angara is known as the "father" of the National Health Insurance Program, which gave birth to the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth), the government agency responsible for providing health insurance coverage to Filipinos. "This endeavor is especially close to my heart since my father was the author of the law that created PhilHealth. Tinagurian siyang Ama ng Philhealth. "Decades ago, he already saw the difficulty of ordinary Filipinos in meeting the costs of healthcare. Strengthening this institution to cater to every Filipino family was perhaps one of his life-long commitments and dreams. I can only be proud to continue his mission," Senator Angara said in his sponsorship speech. Under Senate Bill 1896, all Filipinos shall be automatically included in the National Health Insurance Program, and shall be entitled to appropriate, affordable, and quality health services including free check-ups, laboratory tests and medicines. Two weeks before Angara's co-sponsorship of the measure, acting PhilHealth president Dr. Roy Ferrer led the agency in paying tribute to the late Senate President, who was behind Republic Act 7875 or the National Health Insurance Act of 1995. Ferrer thanked the older Angara for creating Philhealth, which now covers 97 million Filipinos, representing 93% of the country's entire population, making it a centerpiece program of the government. Ferrer said that through the older Angara's wisdom, "the nation now has a program that secures the health of Filipinos wherever they may be." "More importantly, the less privileged Filipinos now feel empowered to seek medical treatment without having to worry about the medical bills," Ferrer added. The PhilHealth chief said he is confident the younger Angara will "continue to support and initiate legislative measures to further enhance the access of our fellow Filipinos to quality healthcare." "On behalf of the PhilHealth community and the 97 million Filipinos that have benefitted from the NHI Act of 1995, thank you Senator Ed for this impactful program. It has touched the hearts of Filipinos in ways only a person in dire need of financial assistance during a medical necessity will understand. It is your legacy and we will make it prosper just as you envisioned it to be," Ferrer said. Press Release August 3, 2018 Aquino, Robredo laud De Lima for highest human rights award Former President Benigno "Noynoy" S. Aquino III, Vice President Leni Robredo and other known personalities have commended Senator Leila M. de Lima for her latest "Prize for Freedom" Award in recognition for her unwavering fight for human rights. In an interview during the awarding ceremony at the Novotel Manila, Araneta Center, Quezon City last July 28, Aquino said De Lima deserves to be recognized for her achievements and her courage to stand up for what is right and just. "It means a lot for a person in her situation to be recognized for her achievements and her struggles. She inspires those who are undergoing some of the pressures that she has undergone. Her ability to keep the faith should continue to inspire us," he said. Aquino, who vouched for De Lima's innocence from all the politically-motivated trumped-up drug trading charges, said he remains optimistic that his former justice secretary will be vindicated in time because she is on the side of truth. "Gabi-gabi pinagdadasal ko po si Senator Leila, atin pong mabuting kaibigan at talagang tapat na public servant. At hindi natin maiwasan na parating naiisip 'yung kalagayan niya sa kasalukuyan. Pero tayo ay buong tiwala na lalabas at lalabas ang katotohanan," he shared. Robredo, who considers De Lima a friend, said the latest recognition is testament to the Senator's "fearlessness and indomitable spirit as a freedom fighter." Both Robredo and De Lima are Bicolanos who hail from the same province, Camarines Sur. "It proves that fighting for what you know is right and just--no matter where you are and who you are up against--matters deeply in healing our nation's shattered spirits and hopes. "And that fighting for human rights has become one of the most important struggles of today's world, affecting with increasing urgency, the everyday lives of our people," Robredo said. Both Aquino and Robredo, along with other leaders from the Liberal Party (LP), graced the awarding ceremony where the Liberal International (LI) formally conferred its highest human rights award to De Lima at Novotel Manila, Quezon City last July 28. Meanwhile, LP President Francis "Kiko" Pangilinan, who was also present during the awarding, thanked LI for recognizing "the sacrifices and resistance" of the Senator against the "prevailing darkness." Despite their absence during the ceremony, other prominent personalities have conveyed their congratulatory remarks to De Lima through their respective social media accounts. Sen. Risa Hontiveros wrote: "She is only the second Fil (after former Pres Cory Aquino) to be awarded this prestigious Prize for Freedom, the highest human rights award. Mabuhay, Sen. Leila! Tuloy Ang Laban!" Sen. Paolo Benigno "Bam" Aquino IV, on his part, said: "In her [De Lima] fight to uphold the rights of every Filipino, she talked truth to power and paid with her freedom. Even from behind bars, she continues to share her voice to defend justice, democracy and the Filipino people." In an official statement, the LP said it is proud to have De Lima as one of its members, saying that her award brings great honor for the Philippines. "The award is a reminder for all of us to follow her lead and have the courage, as she has, to stand up against oppression, and to be willing make big sacrifices in defense of freedom and human rights of the Filipino people," it said. Some of the personalities who also commended De Lima for the award include Sen. Antonio "Sonny" Trillanes IV, Rep. Gary Alejano, LP Spokesperson Lorenzo Tanada III, former Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda, and lawyer Florin Hilbay, among others. The groups Tindig Pilipinas, Pwersa ng Pamayanan para sa Voluntarismo at Reporma, #EveryWoman, Democratic Warriors, and Libertarian Advocates for Philippine Progress, Inc. also released their respective statements congratulating De Lima for the Freedom Prize award. Press Release August 3, 2018 De Lima seeks security of tenure and social protection for child development workers Opposition Senator Leila M. de Lima has filed a measure creating the Magna Carta for Child Development Workers (CDWs) by providing them security of tenure and social protection in times of unforeseen contingencies such as sickness, disability or retirement. De Lima, who chairs the Senate social justice, welfare and rural development committee, filed Senate Bill No. 1894 which seeks to institute the Magna Carta for CDWs in recognition to the important role they play in shaping the minds of Filipino children. "With millions of our youth dependent on them, it is high time for government to recognize their important role in society and grant them as much support as possible to ensure that they are cared for the way they care for our young," she said. Based on official figures, there are about 49,568 child development workers who are taking care of about 1.7 million young children. Incidentally, there are only 7,000 out of 41,000 barangays which do not have child development centers across the country. The Senator from Bicol pointed out that the government should be able to provide an additional compensation and allowances package that would encourage more CDWs especially in the rural and urban areas in the country. "These workers, exercising special parental authority over children under their care, play a crucial role in the development of the minds of these children, thereby requiring a commensurate response from government in ensuring that their work conditions are ideal and their needs are met," she said. Under her proposed measure, De Lima said CDWs should be provided with overtime pay, hazard allowance, subsistence allowance, free legal services, free medical examination and treatment, and access to livelihood, loans, and grants. She also batted for CDWs to have access to continuing education, skills training and other knowledge enhancement programs that would be equivalent to formal or academic training units. On SB No. 1894, De Lima likewise regarded the importance of security of tenure in child development centers, proposing that at least one CDW I and one CDW II plantilla positions shall be created in all child development centers nationwide. "As plantilla positions holders, child development workers duly appointed shall be protected and governed by civil service rules and regulations. No child development worker shall be removed or transferred from office without [d]ue process," she said. The measure also proposes to create a Special Personnel Selection Board which is tasked to ensure that qualified CDWs are assigned in the child development centers all over the country. Last May, De Lima has also filed Senate Bill No. 1793 which seeks to provide additional benefits to public health workers, especially for those who are assigned to difficult and strife-torn areas, distressed stations, prison camps, or areas declared under state of calamity or emergency. POE PRODS HOUSE TO PASS COUNTERPART BILL ON FREE WI-FI, CLEAN RESTROOMS IN TRANSPORT TERMINALS CEBU--With her bill for clean restroom facilities and free internet access in terminals hurdling third reading, Senator Grace Poe urged the House of Representatives to approve a counterpart measure for it to become a law. Senate Bill 1749 or "Act to Improve Land Transportation Terminals, Stations, Stops, Resto Areas and Roll-on/Roll-off Terminals" was approved unanimously last week. "The Senate has done its part, we hope the House will pass a counterpart measure, so that the public can be assured of a worthwhile experience when travelling using our terminals," Poe said. The bill mandates that transportation and roll-on/roll-off terminals nationwide should have clean restroom facilities and free internet access. The terminals must also have separate lactating stations for breastfeeding mothers.? Several bills seeking the provision of hygienic public restrooms in transportation terminals are pending at the House. In a visit to Cebu province Friday, Poe said terminals should offer a "brief yet pleasant respite" for the travellers. "The terminal toilet experience is one aspect that travellers remember, whether the experience is impressive or horrible. Terminals and toilets are crucial to tourism," Poe said. "Toilet issues are not petty matters, but important in satisfying the public's need for healthy living," she added. The senator said having smudge-fee toilets are also important in improving the hygiene of the people. Aside from the free use of the clean toilets, the bill also instructs the Department of Information and Communications Technology, in coordination with the Department of Transportation and other concerned agencies to provide free internet access in the terminals. While waiting for their trip, Poe said that passengers while away the time checking their social media accounts or attending to their work remotely, which requires free internet, Wi-Fi or broadband. Poe said that when her bill becomes a law, she would ensure adequate funding to make the clean toilet and free Wi-Fi service to the public a reality. Eroad wants to accelerate growth in North American by partnering with other telematics firms which could be rolled out to the wider business. The Auckland-based logistics and fleet management firm found its strategic review of the North American unit, which started in Nov. 2017, had been ill-timed as rivals and other telematics companies operating in adjacent markets were working on their own products, chief executive Steven Newman told shareholders at yesterday's annual meeting. Still, the First NZ Capital-led programme found there is an opportunity for Eroad to sell more units with a wider distribution channel and that its own product was regarded highly. "What we have determined is that working with adjacent businesses offers the most opportunity to accelerate our growth strategy," Newman said in speech notes published on the stock exchange. "We have worked through our options and are working with substantial opportunities that we believe will benefit not just the North American business but also potentially the wider business." Eroad registered slower first-quarter sales growth than anticipated after a rapid period of expansion in the US last financial year, but remained upbeat about its prospects, putting down the sluggishness to delayed purchasing decisions. The shares rose 2.1 percent to $3.40, having dropped 7 percent so far this year. Newman said yesterday he expects solid growth to continue in the home market of New Zealand as health and safety requirements drive demand for telematics among light commercial fleets. Australia is seen heading in the same direction with new legislation set to come in 2019. Eroad will expand its core product range beyond mileage based tolling and telematics, to capture more data which can then be used to provide insights for its customers such as managing health and safety on roads, ensuring vehicles are fit for use and measuring driver fatigue, he said. Newman cited the company's role in reducing speeding in New Zealand and identifying risks at sharp corners on the country's roads, saying "we can help in the Transport Authority run experiments by providing beforeandafter behaviour analysis," meaning the government agency can improve signage rather than embarking on more expensive road upgrades. That fits into the government's new transport strategy, which has signalled greater investment in safety improvements for the road network and will develop a specific road safety strategy that may expand the Crown's current research, data and monitoring. (BusinessDesk) Comments from our readers No comments yet Add your comment: Your name: Your email: Not displayed to the public Comment: Comments to Sharechat go through an approval process. Comments which are defamatory, abusive or in some way deemed inappropriate will not be approved. It is allowable to use some form of non-de-plume for your name, however we recommend real email addresses are used. Comments from free email addresses such as Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, etc may not be approved. Anti-spam verification: Type the text you see in the image into the field below. You are asked to do this in order to verify that this enquiry is not being performed by an automated process. Related News: 28th October 2021 Morning Report Wellington Drive Technologies Limited (NZX: WDT) Performs Strongly in Q3-2021 Ryman Healthcare Limited (NZX: RYM) Acquires Extensions to Two Existing Victorian Sites Promisia Healthcare Limited (NZX: PHL) Banking Covenant Update Pictor Limited Announces Start of US Clinical Trials for SARS-CoV-2 Serology Test Arvida Group Limited (NZX: ARV) Opening of Rights Offer Move Logistics Group Limited (NZX: MOV) Announces $40m Capital Raise 27th October 2021 Morning Report The a2 Milk Company Limited (NZX: ATM) Investor Day 2021 Contact Energy Limited (NZX: CEN) Considers Green Capital Bond Offer SHEPHERDSTOWN An Evening with Congressional Historians may have been focused on raising money to fund the Robert C. Byrd Centers two internships for next year, but it also highlighted the impact of one of the evenings featured speakers. During the July 23 event, former Robert C. Byrd Center director Ray Smock was given the title, Director Emeritus of the Robert C. Byrd Center, by the Friends of the Byrd Center and the Congressional Education Foundation, Inc., which operates the center. Thanks to Ray, now we have archived all of Senator Byrds artifacts and historic documents, said Walter J. Joe Stewart, chairman of the board of directors of the Congressional Education Foundation, Inc. Many of you know some part of the contributions Ray Smock has made to the Byrd Center. In these times, we need more advocates like (Ray), and more people who will listen, Stewart said of Ray, historian of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1983-1995. Ray has agreed to serve on the board of the Byrd Center. The board did want to recognize his service, so we have named Ray as Director Emeritus of the Byrd Center. According to Stewart, Smock brought valuable personal knowledge of Byrd to the center. Senator Byrd had a long experience with Ray Smock, including the (U.S. Senates) Bicentennial Celebration preparations in 1989, Stewart said. The Bicentennial is just one example of Rays dedication to history. Senator Byrd was a meticulous man, and I think thats why he appealed to Ray. During the presentation to Ray of a plaque recognizing his honorary title, a representative from Byrds family spoke about the importance of the centers legacy, and what it means to the Byrd family. It means a lot to me and my family, to know you are keeping his memory alive, said Senator Byrds grandson, Erik Byrd Fatemi. Rays friends and family said they were pleased with his recognition, and according to his wife, Phyllis Smock, they were also very proud of the legacy he has left behind him, in the form of the Byrd Center. Im very proud of him, and we are very happy with our experiences in West Virginia, Phyllis said, mentioning the couple moved to West Virginia when the center opened. I think the Byrd Center brought a lot of information and education to the community. As the evening ended, Ray said he appreciated the boards gesture. That was very nice of the board, to do that. Im proud to have been the director running the Byrd Center was a dream job for a historian of Congress, Ray said, mentioning in his 16 years as director, he helped establish the center as a valuable location for community education, while also cataloging Byrds vast collection, which included 60 years of documents relevant to West Virginia history. An Evening with Congressional Historians featured a discussion about American history and the United States Congress with the first three individuals to hold official positions as congressional historians Richard Baker, historian of the U.S. Senate from 1975-2009; Donald Richie, historian of the U.S. Senate from 2009-2015; and Ray. C-SPAN recorded the discussion, which was moderated by C-SPAN Founder Brian Lamb. A buffet dinner, followed by Rays recognition, ended the event, which was hosted by the Byrd Center, the Friends of the Byrd Center and Shepherd Universitys Lifelong Learning Program. SHEPHERDSTOWN Thirty community members sat together in the basement of the Robert C. Byrd Center, as Cafe Society Facilitator Mike Austin introduced C-SPAN Founder Brian Lamb to the group during its July 24 meeting. The Cafe Society, which holds its informal discussions Tuesdays from 8:30 to 10 a.m., spoke with Lamb about how the Democratic and Republican parties ideologies influence the success of the political process. Weve seen the downside of parties ideologies during the past election, said Austin, the president of the Shepherdstown Community Club. Were nowhere on finding cohesion in the political process. Unless youre very narrow in your political thinking, many people dont know where to go. Some members of the group agreed, mentioning each political party has to make concessions for the political process to work correctly. I think the Democratic partys never done anything to work with stabilizing this countrys machinery. I view this next election as being the most important election in my lifetime. I think both parties are failing dramatically, said Colin Voigt, of Shepherdstown, who said he unsubscribed from all of his liberal, political emails the week before, due to his frustration with journalism being used as a marketing tool. While Voigt said he has lost trust in political parties and modern journalism, other members of the group disagreed with him, reflecting on the reliability of certain media outlets. I perhaps want to challenge this narrative, that we dont know what to believe anymore, said Marty Amerikaner, of Shepherdstown. To me, The New York Times, The Washington Post, CBN or our distinguished guests outlet theyre carefully edited, they make mistakes, but that doesnt discount the legitimacy of these news outlets. How many times have we seen real, legitimate, accurate critiques from The New York Times or The Washington Post? I just dont want to encourage this false narrative. Lamb spoke up then, explaining the best way to be accurately informed, is to listen to both sides of an argument. Just keep feeding your head with the different sides too many people only listen to their side, Lamb said, mentioning he personally practices this, in his media consumption. Some discussion participants brought up their concern with the Democratic and Republican parties both developing polarizing positions, while failing to represent the average, moderate voter. While both parties extreme ideologies attract minority voters, they prevent the parties from working together and coming to concessions. According to Lamb, parties often accept extreme ideologies not only to gain votes, but to also gain political power and money. Ive been in Washington, D.C. for 52 years, and Im frustrated as anybody is, Lamb said about the political parties. Ive seen them move where the money is. I think moneys our biggest issue. I dont care what side youre on, weve had these irresponsible politicians spend $21 trillion, without any concern for the future. SHEPHERDSTOWN Taking advantage of the last weekend of the Contemporary Arts Theater Festival, the Seizing the Moment four-day art exhibit drew locals and visitors alike into the War Memorial Building. The free exhibit, including an artists reception with live music Saturday evening, featured the works of Susan Carney, Isabelle Truchon and Neil Super. This particular collection was photographed in Camargue, France, said Truchon, a Shepherd University contemporary art graduate living in Harpers Ferry. Truchon travels regularly throughout the world, to photograph animals and nature, which she then reinterprets in a variety of mediums, to create impressionistic paintings. Truchons paintings during this exhibit were mostly of wild horses, along with bulls, from Camargue. Theyre very striking when you see them, because theyre always in a herd. Theyre owned by ranchers, but live off the land, Truchon said, describing the white horses as feral, but gentle. Super, of Shepherdstown, is a self-taught wood turner who runs the local business Two Rivers Turning. Specializing in wood with historic provenance and/or personal significance, he was one of two new artists admitted into the Over the Mountain Studio Tour this year, and will be featured at Studio Stop One. Formerly of Shepherdstown, Shepherd University painting and printmaking graduate Carney showed work during the show reflecting her multiple artistic strengths. Carneys artwork ranged from monotype printmaking to oil painting, capturing anything from butterflies, to chandeliers, to stalks of corn. A deputy chief veterinary officer was allegedly denied drinking water because of her Dalit identity in Ambawa Poorab village in Manjhanpur block, around 167 km away from the state capital Lucknow, on July 31. : A first information report was registered against six people, including two village heads, for allegedly denying drinking water to a woman Dalit officer in Kaushambi, Uttar Pradesh. A first information report under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act was registered against head of Ambawa Poorab village Shiv Sampat, Pankaj Yadav, the husband of Bhaila Makdoompur village head, Saibasa village head Ansar Ali, district panchyat member Jhallar Tiwari, District Panchayati Raj Officer (DPRO) Ravidutt Mishra, and Rajesh Singh at Manjhanpur police station, SP Kaushambi Pradeep Gupta said. He said the matter is being thoroughly probed and strict action will be initiated against those found guilty. The officer, Dr Seema, said she had gone to the village on the directions of the DPRO to review developmental works. She claimed that she was not given water for two-and-a-half-hours despite her being a diabetic. "I was told to visit the village only after contacting DPRO Ravi Dutt Mishra and BDC (block development chief) Tiwari, popularly known as Jhallar in the block. They behaved very abnormally with me, and when I asked for water, I was not given water for two-and-a-half-hours by six people sitting there. I am a diabetic. My arms and limbs started trembling and I had to rush out from there," Seema told PTI. "I was also told that the bottle would get spoiled (if I drink water from it) and had to be thrown away," Seema said. She alleged that when she sought water from the villagers, village head Sampat and the DPRO gestured them not not to give her water. The opposition parties attacked the government over the 'rising incidents of Dalit atrocities' in Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled states. While the Congress demanded that a high-level probe be ordered into the incident, the Samajwadi Party accused the BJP of 'not believing in the Constitution'. UP Congress spokesperson Ashok Singh said: "Incidents of Dalit atrocities are continuously rising in the BJP-ruled states, including Uttar Pradesh. Dalit officials are being threatened and insulted. We have been raising this issue continuously and will continue to do so." "People of the state are now well versed with the behaviour and character of the BJP and will give them a befitting reply in the elections. The government must conduct a high-level probe and take immediate action against the guilty. This is a question of the respect and honour of a section of society," Singh said. When contacted, SP spokesperson Sunil Singh Sajan said: "When a Dalit MLA of the ruling party is visiting an ashram, and after her visit it is being purified with Ganga jal, then what can be said about this government. The slogan of 'Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikaas' is perhaps the biggest lie, as they (BJP) look down upon the Dalits and backward castes." "They (the BJP) still consider them (Dalits) as untouchables and do not believe in the Constitution, but want Manuwaadi (casteist) system to be implemented," Sajan said. : A proposed amendment to Indias 63-year-old Citizenship Act and the definition of illegal migrants may hold the key to understand the unfolding confusion and turmoil over process of identifying citizensofficially, the National Register For Citizens (NRC)in the northeastern state of Assam. While the 2016 amendmenton hold after protests swept the northeast in July 2018proposes a faster track to citizenship to migrants from six religions (except Islam) and three nations, the Indian definition of an illegal migrant appears to conflict with this amendment and some naturalisation provisions. An illegal migrant, according to the Citizenship Act, 1955, means a foreigner who has entered India: (i) without a valid passport or other travel documents or (ii) with a valid passport or other travel documents but remains therein beyond the permitted period of time. Articles 5-9 of the Indian constitution deal with citizenship. While Article 10 guarantees the continuance of citizenship, Article 11 grants Parliament the right to regulate citizenship. It is important to remember that the provision about citizenship will be scrutinised all over the world. They are watching what we are doing, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Indias first home minister, said in 1947 while participating in the constituent assembly debate on adopting the constitution. This is a simple problem. We must always have a few foreigners coming here. This will be accidental nationality if by the accident of birth, some one comes and stays here, subject to the proviso which we have enacted, we can control double citizenship by our legislation. We can always control that, Patel said. B R Ambedkar, chairman of the drafting committee of the constitution, pointed out the proposed difference in Indian citizenship to other countries to the members of the constituent assembly. The proposed Indian Constitution is a dual polity with a single citizenship. There is only one citizenship for the whole of India. It is Indian citizenship. Every Indian has the same rights of citizenship, no matter in what state he resides. Acquiring Indian citizenship The Citizenship Act, 1955, defines how Indian citizenship can be acquired: Birth, descent, registration and naturalisation. One of the requirements for citizenship by naturalisation is that the applicant must have resided in India over the last 12 months (before making the application), and 11 of the previous 14 years, according to this note by PRS Legislature, a think tank. The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016 proposes to relax this 11-year requirement to six years for persons belonging to six religions and three countries. A key amendment in the bill seeks to grant citizenship to people without valid documents from minority communitiesHindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christiansfrom Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan after six years of residence in India. Birth does not confer automatic citizenship in India India offers citizenship on birth, after the 2003 amendments, if both parents are citizens of India or one parent is a citizen and the other is not an illegal migrant. The United States offers citizenship if you are born there, irrespective of the status of the parents, while the United Kingdom offers citizenship based on birth, after 1983, only if one parent is a British citizen or is permitted to stay in the UK permanently. The Citizenship Act, 1955 says that every person born in India (a) on or after the 26th day of January, 1950, but before the 1st day of July, 1987; (b) on or after the 1st day of July, 1987, but before the commencement of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2003 (6 of 2004) and either of whose parents is a citizen of India at the time of his birth; (c) on or after the commencement of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2003 (6 of 2004), where (i) both of his parents are citizens of India; or (ii) one of whose parents is a citizen of India and the other is not an illegal migrant at the time of his birth shall be a citizen of India by birth. Almost 4 million people in Assam have been left out of the NRC, sparking controversy over the process and documents needed to identify citizenship. The Assam NRC is proceeding under the watch of the Supreme Court, which on July 31, 2018, said the court would like to observe that what has been published being a draft NRC, it cannot be the basis for any action by any authority, The Times of India reported on August 1, 2018. Of the 40.07 lakh, the applications of 37.59 lakh were rejected and those of 2.48 lakh put on hold, state NRC coordinator Prateek Hajela told the SC. How Assam differs from India The NRC updation process in Assam differs from the rest of India by replacing house-to-house visits by applications from citizens and citizenship status based on NRC,1951 and electoral rolls till midnight of March 24, 1971. It is governed by Rule 4A and the corresponding schedule of the Citizenship (Registration of Citizens and Issue of National Identity Cards) Rules, 2003, said a statement issued by the office of the state coordinator, NRC, on July 30, 2018. These rules have been framed as per the cut-off date of 24th March (Midnight), 1971 decided as per Assam Accord, the NRC statement said. More than 32 million applications were made for citizenship, and about 30 million were found to eligible for inclusion in the NRC, the NRC statement added. Persons who do not find their names in Complete Draft NRC have the legal right to apply again by filing of claim during the period August 30, 2018 and September 28, 2018. The NRC had listed 14 documents that could be submitted as citizenship proof: (1) 1951 NRC (2) Electoral Roll(s) up to March 24, 1971 (midnight) (3) Land & Tenancy Records (4) Citizenship Certificate (5) Permanent Residential Certificate (6) Refugee Registration Certificate (7) Passport (8) LIC (9) Any Govt. issued License/Certificate (10) Govt. Service/ Employment Certificate (11) Bank/Post Office Accounts (12) Birth Certificate (13) Board/University Educational Certificate (14) Court Records/Processes. The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Amit Shah supported the NRC. The Congress, which ran the Indian government when the Assam Accord was signed in 1985, said the process was riddled with problems. Modi Govt's incompetence and tardiness in verification has left thousands of Indian citizens in jeopardy. Inspite of spending Rs 1200 crore over 5 years, why was the Modi Govt unable to publish an accurate NRC? Congress (@INCIndia) July 31, 2018 You cant link every Bengali speaking person to Bangladesh, Information and Broadcasting Minister of Bangladesh Hasanul Haq was quoted as saying on August 1, 2018. Everyone knows it is a century-old ethnic conflict in the state of Assam, said Haq. In last 48 years, no Indian government has raised the issue of illegal immigration with Bangladesh; the situation needs to be dealt by the (Prime Minister Narendra) Modi government in New Delhi, which is capable of handling it judiciously. It has no relation to Bangladesh. The NRC process began after the 1985 Assam Accord, which said that all illegal foreigners who came to Assam after 1971 from Bangladesh, irrespective of religion, have to be deported, the Financial Express reported on July 31, 2018. Controversy erupted and protests swept the northeast following the citizenship amendment bill, introduced in the Lok Sabha on July 19, 2016. Various groups in Assam and neighbouring states alleged that the new bill is contrary to the Assam Accord. China urges Zimbabweans to 'respect' vote result Beijing, Aug 3 (AFP) Aug 03, 2018 China on Friday urged all sides in Zimbabwe to respect the result of the presidential election which was won by a long-time Beijing ally but contested as "fake" by the opposition. President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who took power after veteran leader Robert Mugabe was ousted late last year, was declared the winner on Friday with 50.8 percent of the vote. The narrow margin is just enough to avoid a run-off against opposition leader Nelson Chamisa, who dismissed what he called the election's "unverified fake results". Opposition allegations of foul play had already sparked a deadly crackdown on protesters in the capital Harare on Wednesday when troops opened fire, killing six. "As a friendly nation to Zimbabwe, we call upon relevant parties to put the interest of the country and the people first and respect the choice made by the Zimbabwean people," Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said at a regular press briefing. "We hope the international community will join us to make contributions to upholding the peace and development of Zimbabwe," Geng said. Mnangagwa was chosen as Mugabe's successor in the ruling ZANU-PF party after he was removed in a brief military intervention in November. President Xi Jinping hailed Mnangagwa, who received military training in China when he was a young liberation fighter in the 1960s, as an "old friend" of the Asian powerhouse when he visited Beijing in April. Beijing had long been one of Mugabe's most powerful allies and a major trade partner, as the West shunned him over his government's human rights violations, but it avoided publicly taking sides during his ousting. China, SE Asian states hold simulated naval drill Singapore, Aug 3 (AFP) Aug 03, 2018 China and Southeast Asian states held simulated naval exercises this week for the first time, Singapore said Friday, as they seek to lower long-running tensions in disputed waters. The "table-top" exercises at a Singapore naval base came ahead of the first naval drills between the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and Beijing, scheduled for October. Four ASEAN states -- Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam -- have rival claims with Beijing over territory in the flashpoint South China Sea. China claims almost the entire sea and has been constructing artificial islands capable of hosting military bases in the waters, ratcheting up tensions with rival claimants and the US, the traditionally dominant naval power in the area. The simulated drill was held Thursday and Friday, Singapore's defence ministry said in a statement. It was timed to coincide with a series of ASEAN-led meetings in the city-state this week, including a security forum on Saturday at which US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will be seeking to reassure Asian allies of continued American commitment to the region. Washington has traditionally backed Beijing's rival claimants in South China Sea disputes and has stepped up naval patrols in the waters, angering China. Chinese and ASEAN navies developed plans for the October field drills, including how to deal with maritime incidents like search and rescue and medical evacuation, Singapore's defence ministry said in a statement. It also involved plans on approaching a distressed vessel, the statement said. "This table-top exercise has been a good first step for navies from ASEAN countries and China to work together to deal with maritime incidents at sea," said Colonel Lim Yu Chuan, a senior Singapore naval officer and exercise co-director. Captain Liang Zhijia of the Chinese navy said the simulated and field drills are good platforms to build trust and confidence. China and ASEAN this week announced they had agreed on a draft negotiating text as part of efforts to forge a code of conduct to govern behaviour in the South China Sea. The draft however showed that Beijing wanted to stage military drills with ASEAN in the seas that excluded outside countries, a move analysts said was aimed at diminishing US influence. 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Trace begun at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Exceptions.pm line 129 HTML::Mason::Exceptions::rethrow_exception('Can\'t call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25.^J') called at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 160 HTML::Mason::Component::run_dynamic_sub('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x7f3fd3c9a380)', 'main') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 951 HTML::Mason::Request::call_dynamic('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7f3fd4101c10)', 'main') called at /var/cache/mason/obj/1784076917/main/smetimes/dhandler.html.obj line 17 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 138 HTML::Mason::Component::run('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x7f3fd3c9a380)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1305 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1295 HTML::Mason::Request::comp(undef, undef, undef) called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 958 HTML::Mason::Request::call_next('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7f3fd4101c10)') called at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/autohandler_template.html line 149 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 138 HTML::Mason::Component::run('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x7f3fd40ce160)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1303 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1295 HTML::Mason::Request::comp(undef, undef, undef) called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 484 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 484 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 436 HTML::Mason::Request::exec('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7f3fd4101c10)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/ApacheHandler.pm line 165 HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler::exec('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7f3fd4101c10)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/ApacheHandler.pm line 831 HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler::handle_request('HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7f3fd37af3e8)', 'Apache2::RequestRec=SCALAR(0x7f3fd40f8860)') called at (eval 487) line 8 HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler::handler('HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler', 'Apache2::RequestRec=SCALAR(0x7f3fd40f8860)') called at -e line 0 eval {...} at -e line 0 System error error: Can't call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25. context: ... 21: 22: 23: % foreach my $c (@categories) { 24: <%perl> 25: my $category_id = $c->get_id(); 26: my @stories = Bric::Biz::Asset::Business::Story->list ( { element_type_id=>1148, category_id=>$category_id , Order=> 'cover_date', publish_status => 't' , OrderDirection=> 'DESC' , Limit=>10 } ); 27: 28:
29: ... code stack: /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html:25 /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm:951 /var/cache/mason/obj/1784076917/main/smetimes/dhandler.html.obj:17 /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/autohandler_template.html:149 Can't call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25. Trace begun at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Exceptions.pm line 129 HTML::Mason::Exceptions::rethrow_exception('Can\'t call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25.^J') called at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 160 HTML::Mason::Component::run_dynamic_sub('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x7f3fd3c82f10)', 'main') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 951 HTML::Mason::Request::call_dynamic('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7f3fd6dabf08)', 'main') called at /var/cache/mason/obj/1784076917/main/smetimes/dhandler.html.obj line 17 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 138 HTML::Mason::Component::run('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x7f3fd3c82f10)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1305 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1295 HTML::Mason::Request::comp(undef, undef, undef) called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 958 HTML::Mason::Request::call_next('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7f3fd6dabf08)') called at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/autohandler_template.html line 149 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 138 HTML::Mason::Component::run('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x7f3fd3c924f0)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1303 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1295 HTML::Mason::Request::comp(undef, undef, undef) called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 484 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 484 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 436 HTML::Mason::Request::exec('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7f3fd6dabf08)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/ApacheHandler.pm line 165 HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler::exec('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7f3fd6dabf08)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/ApacheHandler.pm line 831 HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler::handle_request('HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7f3fd37b03d0)', 'Apache2::RequestRec=SCALAR(0x7f3fdab98728)') called at (eval 487) line 8 HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler::handler('HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler', 'Apache2::RequestRec=SCALAR(0x7f3fdab98728)') called at -e line 0 eval {...} at -e line 0 System error error: Can't call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25. context: ... 21: 22: 23: % foreach my $c (@categories) { 24: <%perl> 25: my $category_id = $c->get_id(); 26: my @stories = Bric::Biz::Asset::Business::Story->list ( { element_type_id=>1148, category_id=>$category_id , Order=> 'cover_date', publish_status => 't' , OrderDirection=> 'DESC' , Limit=>10 } ); 27: 28:
29: ... code stack: /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html:25 /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm:951 /var/cache/mason/obj/1784076917/main/smetimes/dhandler.html.obj:17 /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/autohandler_template.html:149 Can't call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25. Trace begun at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Exceptions.pm line 129 HTML::Mason::Exceptions::rethrow_exception('Can\'t call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25.^J') called at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 160 HTML::Mason::Component::run_dynamic_sub('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x7f3fd40cb340)', 'main') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 951 HTML::Mason::Request::call_dynamic('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7f3fd4157d90)', 'main') called at /var/cache/mason/obj/1784076917/main/smetimes/dhandler.html.obj line 17 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 138 HTML::Mason::Component::run('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x7f3fd40cb340)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1305 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1295 HTML::Mason::Request::comp(undef, undef, undef) called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 958 HTML::Mason::Request::call_next('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7f3fd4157d90)') called at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/autohandler_template.html line 149 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 138 HTML::Mason::Component::run('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x7f3fd40e7d38)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1303 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1295 HTML::Mason::Request::comp(undef, undef, undef) called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 484 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 484 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 436 HTML::Mason::Request::exec('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7f3fd4157d90)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/ApacheHandler.pm line 165 HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler::exec('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7f3fd4157d90)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/ApacheHandler.pm line 831 HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler::handle_request('HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7f3fd37b0598)', 'Apache2::RequestRec=SCALAR(0x7f3fd3f95b70)') called at (eval 487) line 8 HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler::handler('HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler', 'Apache2::RequestRec=SCALAR(0x7f3fd3f95b70)') called at -e line 0 eval {...} at -e line 0 System error error: Can't call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25. context: ... 21: 22: 23: % foreach my $c (@categories) { 24: <%perl> 25: my $category_id = $c->get_id(); 26: my @stories = Bric::Biz::Asset::Business::Story->list ( { element_type_id=>1148, category_id=>$category_id , Order=> 'cover_date', publish_status => 't' , OrderDirection=> 'DESC' , Limit=>10 } ); 27: 28:
29: ... code stack: /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html:25 /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm:951 /var/cache/mason/obj/1784076917/main/smetimes/dhandler.html.obj:17 /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/autohandler_template.html:149 Can't call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25. Trace begun at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Exceptions.pm line 129 HTML::Mason::Exceptions::rethrow_exception('Can\'t call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25.^J') called at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 160 HTML::Mason::Component::run_dynamic_sub('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x7f3fd41418b8)', 'main') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 951 HTML::Mason::Request::call_dynamic('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7f3fd40f6d00)', 'main') called at /var/cache/mason/obj/1784076917/main/smetimes/dhandler.html.obj line 17 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 138 HTML::Mason::Component::run('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x7f3fd41418b8)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1305 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1295 HTML::Mason::Request::comp(undef, undef, undef) called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 958 HTML::Mason::Request::call_next('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7f3fd40f6d00)') called at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/autohandler_template.html line 149 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 138 HTML::Mason::Component::run('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x7f3fd40f6ee0)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1303 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1295 HTML::Mason::Request::comp(undef, undef, undef) called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 484 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 484 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 436 HTML::Mason::Request::exec('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7f3fd40f6d00)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/ApacheHandler.pm line 165 HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler::exec('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7f3fd40f6d00)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/ApacheHandler.pm line 831 HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler::handle_request('HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7f3fd37afb78)', 'Apache2::RequestRec=SCALAR(0x7f3fd3f91790)') called at (eval 487) line 8 HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler::handler('HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler', 'Apache2::RequestRec=SCALAR(0x7f3fd3f91790)') called at -e line 0 eval {...} at -e line 0 US regulators close investigation into Exxon Mobil climate disclosures New York, Aug 3 (AFP) Aug 03, 2018 US regulators have ended a two-year investigation into how Exxon Mobil accounted for oil and gas prices and the risks climate change posed to its business, the company said Friday. The US Securities and Exchange Commission told Exxon in a letter on Thursday it had closed the case and would not recommend penalties against the oil company. "We are confident our financial reporting meets all legal and accounting requirements," Exxon Mobil spokesman Scott Silvestri said in a statement. He said the company cooperated fully with the inquiry, "ultimately producing more than 4.2 million pages of documents." Under US securities law, companies must inform investors of material risks to their business. According to press reports, the probe had focused on how the company accounted for future costs in complying with regulations meant to curb greenhouse gas emissions and how it valued oil and gas assets. The SEC opened the investigation in January 2016, at a time when many companies had cut estimated asset values. Exxon Mobil cut its proved oil reserves by three billion barrels to 20 billion barrels at the end of 2016 due to falling prices, saying it was a necessary step to meet SEC accounting requirements. lo/hs/dg EXXONMOBIL Trump receives new letter from Kim Washington, Aug 2 (AFP) Aug 02, 2018 The White House said Thursday that President Donald Trump had received a new letter from North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un, without disclosing its contents. With little public sign of progress toward Trump's aim of Korean denuclearization, the White House said the letter followed up on the pair's June 12 summit. "A letter to President Trump from Chairman Kim was received on August 1," said White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders. "The ongoing correspondence between the two leaders is aimed at following up on their meeting in Singapore and advancing the commitments made in the US-DPRK joint statement." Sanders said a reply was being issued. Trump alluded to the letter in a late-night tweet thanking Kim for this week's return of remains of dozens of US soldiers killed during the Korean War. "Thank you to Chairman Kim Jong Un for keeping your word & starting the process of sending home the remains of our great and beloved missing fallen! I am not at all surprised that you took this kind action," Trump said. "Also, thank you for your nice letter -- l look forward to seeing you soon!" The White House later rowed back Trump's suggestion of a meeting. There is "no meeting planned," Sanders told reporters. "There is not a second meeting that is currently locked in or finalized. Certainly open to that discussion, but there isn't a meeting planned." "We have responded to Chairman Kim's letter, the president has. That letter will be delivered shortly," she added. Presumed US remains from site of famous Korean War battle Washington, Aug 2 (AFP) Aug 02, 2018 The remains of some of the presumed US troops that North Korea returned to America appear to be from the site of a famous Korean War battle, officials said Thursday. When Pyongyang handed over 55 sets of remains last month, North Korean officials included written information about where the bones had been found, providing researchers with vital clues. John Byrd, chief scientist at the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA), said a lot of the boxes came from a village called Sinhung-ri, in the vicinity of where the Battle of Chosin Reservoir took place in November and December 1950. The brutal battle between US and Chinese troops in northeast North Korea saw thousands of US Marine and Army casualties, with an estimated 1,000 Americans deemed missing afterward. "These are remains associated with the famous battle," Byrd told Pentagon reporters. The area around the site has yielded results previously, with remains being uncovered there during the 1990s and early 2000s. On Wednesday, 55 sets of remains were repatriated to the US, where they were received at a ceremony in Hawaii. Byrd cautioned that all analysis is still preliminary, but said evidence seen so far "is consistent" with the remains being American. Many nations fought in the Korean War, but war artifacts that came with the remains -- such as buttons, belts, canteens and boots -- point to the bones being American, he said. A US identity tag was also uncovered. It will be presented to relatives in Arlington, Virginia next week. - 'Guardedly optimistic' - Byrd said some of the remains appear to have come from the eastern side of the battle site, which was where mainly Army personnel fought. The scientist said the remains were consistent with being from the Korean War. He noted that the North Koreans had taken great care with the body parts, though the bones themselves were in varying condition. "They had been very carefully packaged with padding and packaging that was done to I think a very high standard," Byrd said in a video call from Hawaii, where the DPAA has a large lab. "That surprised me a little bit, that they took put that kind of care into the effort." Wednesday's repatriation marked an important step after US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un held a summit in June, during which Kim agreed to send home the war dead. The men also discussed launching new recovery efforts involving US-led teams going into North Korea, a process that was stopped more than a decade ago amid worsening tensions. "We are guardedly optimistic that this repatriation is the first step of others to account for the missing from the Korean War," DPAA director Kelly McKeague said. Scientists have a variety of tools to identify the dead, the most important being DNA samples that can be compared against a data base of relatives. But other techniques such as comparing teeth to dental records and bones to chest X-rays are also used. More than 5,300 US troops are still missing in North Korea. Still a way to go on N. Korea: Pompeo Singapore, Aug 3 (AFP) Aug 03, 2018 US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo admitted Friday there was still "a ways to go" on North Korea as Washington seeks to push Pyongyang to move faster along the path towards denuclearisation. At his landmark summit with President Donald Trump in June, the North's leader Kim Jong Un signed up to a vague commitment to "denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula" -- a far cry from long-standing US demands for complete, verifiable and irreversible disarmament. And when Pompeo met with North Korean officials in Pyongyang last month to flesh out the regime's commitment, they condemned his "gangster-like" insistence that the North move towards unilateral disarmament. Arriving in Singapore ahead of a security forum, Pompeo said that "we can see we still have a ways to go to achieve the ultimate outcome we're looking" for when it comes to North Korea. His North Korean counterpart, Ri Yong Ho, is also attending Saturday's ASEAN Regional Forum although it is not yet clear whether the pair will meet on the sidelines. While there have been small signs of progress since the summit, news reports indicate Pyongyang is continuing to build rockets and there have been concerns that the enforcement of United Nations sanctions on the North is being relaxed by some member states. At the forum and in meetings on the sidelines, Pompeo is expected to push key powers involved in efforts to curtail the North's nuclear ambitions to keep up sanctions pressure. - Maritime tensions - The annual forum, hosted by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), brings together top diplomats from 26 countries and the European Union for talks on political and security issues in Asia-Pacific. The foreign ministers from all nations involved in stalled "six-party" negotiations with North Korea aimed at reining in Pyongyang's nuclear programme will be at the gathering: the US, China, Russia, Japan and South Korea. Cutting off oil and fuel to the North would require enforcement primarily by China, which supplies most of North Korea's energy needs, but also by Russia, which delivers some oil to Pyongyang. Pompeo met Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi Friday for talks. After attending the Singapore meeting, the North's Ri will head to Iran for an official visit, North Korea's official news agency KCNA reported. Iran, whose nuclear drive has also sparked international alarm, and North Korea are reported to have a history of cooperation in military and missile technology. Pompeo is also focusing on another major regional flashpoint at the forum -- rival claims in the South China Sea and China's growing presence there. China claims nearly all the strategically vital sea, including waters approaching the coasts of ASEAN members Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei. Tensions have mounted in recent years as China has built up artificial islands in the waters capable of hosting military bases, and the US has thrown its support behind Southeast Asian states whose maritime claims overlap Beijing's. At a meeting with Southeast Asian foreign ministers Friday, Pompeo said the US appreciated ASEAN's efforts to "support the rule of law in the South China Sea". China and ASEAN announced Thursday they had agreed on a draft negotiating text as part of efforts to forge a code of conduct to govern behaviour in the sea, which analysts said represented some progress after years of negotiations. Russia says its military in C.Africa only to train local troops Moscow, Aug 3 (AFP) Aug 03, 2018 Moscow on Friday said its military members are in the Central African Republic only to train local forces after three Russian journalists were killed in the strife-torn country. Journalists Kirill Radchenko, Alexander Rastorguyev and Orkhan Dzhemal were killed in CAR on Monday. They were reporting on the so-called Wagner Group -- a company that sends Russian mercenaries to hotspots such as Syria and Ukraine that has been described as Moscow's shadow army. The journalists were working for a media project launched by Kremlin opponent Mikhail Khodorkovsky, who is living in exile in Britain. "Russian military specialists do not take any part in fighting in CAR. Their duties are limited to training (local) troops," foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said at a briefing in Moscow. She added that Russian military specialists were in CAR "on the request of the president of this country." Zakharova accused some media of doing "everything possible to distort information and the reality concerning the presence of Russian instructors in CAR." She said currently "there are 175 Russian instructors working in CAR, five of whom are military officers and 170 of whom are civilians." In March, Moscow announced it had sent to CAR five officers and 170 civilian instructors, whom experts said could be part of Wagner. "With the help of Russian specialists, 600 African soldiers have been trained and many of them have already started missions aimed at fighting illegal military groups and protecting civilians," Zakharova said. Since the start of 2018 Russia has deployed military specialists to CAR, sold weapons to its army and provided security for President Faustin-Archange Touadera, whose security advisor is Russian. Officially, the Russian programme is aimed at strengthening a ramshackle military in CAR, a country where swathes of territory are controlled by armed groups. But the military mission also boosts Moscow's influence in a struggling strategically-located state whose resources include diamonds, gold, uranium and timber. S.Sudan's Kiir vows power sharing deal with rival will hold Juba, Aug 3 (AFP) Aug 03, 2018 South Sudanese President Salva Kiir said Friday he was committed to a power-sharing deal with his arch-rival Riek Machar, vowing it would not collapse like similar agreements had in the past. The warring parties last month signed a preliminary powersharing deal which they are expected to finalise in Khartoum on Sunday, that will see Machar return to a unity government as the first of five vice presidents. "This agreement will not collapse and I am sure that it will not collapse because the people of South Sudan have now agreed that they must make peace among themselves," Kiir told journalists. He was speaking after meeting Sudanese Foreign Minister Mohamed Aldirdiri who is mediating the peace talks, and confirmed the final agreement would be signed on August 5. South Sudan's nearly five year conflict began after Kiir accused his sacked vice president Machar of plotting a coup against him in 2013. Machar returned to government as vice-president in April 2016 after a power sharing deal, but fighting between the rival sides erupted in Juba just three months later with Machar fleeing into exile where he has remained ever since. The conflict has already killed tens of thousands of people and forced millions from their homes and resisted numerous ceasefires, leaving the country's economy in ruins. While Kiir said he was "committed" to the deal, he highlighted several challenges going forward, especially in accommodating a bloated government. The deal stipulates that there will be 35 ministers in the transitional government -- 20 from Kiir's group and nine from Machar's, while the rest will represent other groups. The parliament will be comprised of 550 lawmakers, including 332 from Kiir's group and 128 from Machar's faction. "They need security, they need vehicles, they need houses ... five vice presidents, this is a very big responsibility to manage. I need to get for them their transport, and one person needs a motorcade of maybe five vehicles. Where will I get this?" said Kiir. "They also need houses where will I get houses, also they need offices so that they work, where will I get offices. So there are so many things need to be done." Sweden, Finland say Russia has 'false' defence information Stockholm, Aug 3 (AFP) Aug 03, 2018 Sweden and Finland, both non-NATO countries, have called Russia's recent comments on their defence cooperation with the Western alliance "false" amid simmering tensions in the Baltic Sea region. Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu on July 24 said that NATO received "unhindered access" to Sweden and Finland's airspace and territorial waters in exchange for allowing the two nations to "fully participate" in the alliance's military exercises, according to the TASS state news agency. "What is described by the Russian defence minister is false. NATO does not have unlimited access to Finnish and Swedish territorial waters and airspace," Sweden's Defence Minister Peter Hultqvist told Swedish Radio on Friday, echoing similar comments by Finland's defence ministry last week. "A special permission is required for any state-owned ship and aircraft to enter our territory," Hultqvist added. Finland last week said Shoigu's comments had "a number of inaccuracies and factual errors", noting that the country "does not participate fully in NATO exercises". Shoigu was referring to a trilateral statement of intent signed in May by Sweden, Finland and the United States. The document claims to be legally non-binding and aims "to support a stable and secure environment in the Baltic Sea region". But Shoigu claimed it gives Stockholm and Helsinki "the possibility to use (NATO's) command systems for the control of troops and weapons". "Such steps by our Western colleagues lead to the destruction of the existing world security system," Shoigu said. Finland as well as Sweden denied his claims saying they do not have "full access to NATO's command-and-control system". - Increased military activity - Sweden and Finland -- the Nordic and Baltic region's only non-aligned countries -- have recently stepped up their military cooperation with the US. The region has seen an increase in Russian military activity, including several airspace violations and war planes allegedly flying without their identifying transponders. In recent years, concerns have risen about Russia's intentions in the region -- with alarms bells ringing after Moscow's annexation of the Crimean peninsula from Ukraine in 2014. In June 2015, US think tank Cepa published a report claiming Russia had held exercises with 33,000 troops aimed at practising an invasion of Sweden's Baltic Sea island of Gotland, among other sites. Sweden has resumed military activities on Gotland. It also this year reintroduced compulsory military service, seven years after it was abolished. The first group of 19 recruits were called in for military training on Monday, Swedish Radio reported, adding that 4,000 soldiers would be trained this year. UN peacekeepers return to Golan after talks with Russia, Israel, Syria United Nations, United States, Aug 3 (AFP) Aug 03, 2018 UN peacekeepers have carried out a first patrol since 2014 to a key crossing point between the Syrian and Israeli-controlled Golan Heights after liaising with Russia, Israel and Syria, a UN spokesman said Friday. Thursday's patrol at the Quneitra crossing point was the first since the UN Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) withdrew in 2014 after Al-Qaeda-linked rebels overran the area. Syrian government forces, backed by Russia, have in past weeks recaptured territory near the Golan Heights, driving out rebel groups from a "de-escalation zone" agreed by Jordan, Russia and the United States. The "patrol to the Quneitra crossing point is part of UNDOF's ongoing efforts to return incrementally to the area of separation," said UN spokesman Farhan Haq. He said the mission liaised with both the Syrian Arab Armed Forces and Israel's Defense Forces ahead of the patrol. Syrian troops and Russian military police also carried out "simultaneous" patrols of the area, said Haq. After the Russian army said Thursday it planned to deploy eight military observation posts in the Golan, the UN spokesman said any Russian military presence would be "separate and distinct from that of UNDOF." The United Nations is aiming for the full return of UNDOF to the Syrian side. Currently, more than half of UNDOF's 978 troops are deployed on the so-called Bravo (Syrian) side. UNDOF has carried out more than 30 patrols in the northern and central parts of the area of separation since it resumed its activities on the Syrian side in February. Established in 1974, UNDOF monitors a ceasefire line that has separated Israelis from Syrians in the Golan Heights. Israel seized much of the Golan Heights from Syria in the Six-Day War of 1967 and later annexed it in a move the international community has not recognized. Colombian army accuses ELN rebels as six people kidnapped Bogota, Aug 3 (AFP) Aug 03, 2018 Three police officers and a soldier were among six people kidnapped by suspected ELN Marxist guerrillas in the lawless jungle area of northern Colombia, the army said on Friday. The six people were travelling in a boat on the river Arquia when they were "illegally detained by armed men wearing military uniforms," the army said. The kidnapping took place just two days after outgoing President Juan Manuel Santos admitted defeat in his bid to sign a ceasefire with the National Liberation Army rebels ahead of his handing over power to hardline right-wing successor Ivan Duque on Tuesday. The two sides released a joint statement following the Cuban-hosted talks saying that "significant progress has been made." On Wednesday, Santos had said there was "very little missing" from an agreement. President-elect Duque however has called for a tougher stance on negotiations with the ELN, the last militant group fighting authorities in Colombia following the historic 2016 peace agreement signed with larger FARC guerrillas. The army said the kidnapped soldier was on the boat suffering from a tropical disease, and was in was need of "urgent treatment." US slaps sanctions on Russian bank over NKorea dealings Washington, Aug 3 (AFP) Aug 03, 2018 The United States slapped sanctions Friday on a Russian bank for helping North Korea evade punitive measures from the United Nations designed to curb Pyongyang's nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs. The US Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) said it also targeted an individual and two entities for "facilitating North Korean illicit financial activity." The United States separately asked the UN Security Council to blacklist the Russian bank known as Agrosoyuz Commercial Bank, a North Korean official and two "front companies," diplomats said. "The United States will continue to enforce UN and US sanctions and shut down illicit revenue streams to North Korea," Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement. "Our sanctions will remain in place until we have achieved the final, fully-verified denuclearization of North Korea." The sanctions freeze any property or assets on US soil held by the designated entities, and bar US citizens from doing business with them. A UN sanctions committee will decide by next Friday whether to grant the US request and slap a global travel ban and assets freeze on the four designations, but Russia is likely to raise objections, diplomats said. The US mission to the UN said in a statement that the request for sanctions designations was part of a "coordinated US government effort to continue to implement existing sanctions, both domestic and multilateral, and cut off North Korea's illicit financial activities." OFAC said it imposed sanctions on Agrosoyuz bank for "knowingly conducting or facilitating a significant transaction" on behalf of Han Jang Su, the Moscow-based chief representative of Foreign Trade Bank (FTB), North Korea's primary foreign exchange bank. It also designated Ri Jong Won, the FTB's deputy representative based in Moscow, as well as FTB "front companies" Dandong Zhongsheng Industry & Trade Co., Ltd. (Zhongsheng) and Korea Ungum Corporation (Ungum). The United Nations and the US had already previously designated Han and the FTB, and OFAC called on Russia to expel both Han and Ri. OFAC noted that Agrosoyuz was still providing services to Han this year, in violation of Russia's UN obligations, and knowingly opened multiple bank accounts for at least three FTB front companies. Agrosoyuz has processed millions of dollars in transactions via North Korean-linked accounts since at least 2009, according to OFAC. Still a way to go on N. Korea: Pompeo Singapore, Aug 3 (AFP) Aug 03, 2018 US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo admitted Friday there was still "a ways to go" on North Korea as Washington seeks to push Pyongyang to move faster along the path towards denuclearisation. At his landmark summit with President Donald Trump in June, the North's leader Kim Jong Un signed up to a vague commitment to "denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula" -- a far cry from long-standing US demands for complete, verifiable and irreversible disarmament. And when Pompeo met with North Korean officials in Pyongyang last month to flesh out the regime's commitment, they condemned his "gangster-like" insistence that the North move towards unilateral disarmament. Arriving in Singapore ahead of a security forum, Pompeo said that "we still have a ways to go to achieve the ultimate outcome we're looking" for regarding North Korea. His North Korean counterpart, Ri Yong Ho, is also attending Saturday's ASEAN Regional Forum, although it is not yet clear whether the pair will meet on the sidelines. While there have been small signs of progress since the summit, news reports indicate Pyongyang is continuing to build rockets and there have been concerns that some member states are relaxing the enforcement of United Nations sanctions on the North. At the forum and in meetings on the sidelines, Pompeo is expected to push key powers involved in efforts to curtail the North's nuclear ambitions to keep up sanctions pressure. - Maritime tensions - The annual forum, hosted by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), brings together top diplomats from 26 countries and the European Union for talks on political and security issues in the Asia-Pacific. The foreign ministers from all nations involved in stalled "six-party" negotiations with North Korea aimed at reining in Pyongyang's nuclear programme will be at the gathering: China, Japan, Russia, South Korea and the US. Cutting off oil and fuel to the North would require enforcement primarily by China, which supplies most of North Korea's energy needs, but also by Russia, which delivers some oil to Pyongyang. During talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Pompeo "emphasised our shared commitment to the final, fully verified denuclearisation of (North Korea), as agreed upon by Chairman Kim," according to State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert. Wang also met with the North's Ri in Singapore, China's official Xinhua news agency said. Wang praised the North's "efforts in promoting the denuclearisation process" and said China "hopes that the United States will take the DPRK's legitimate concerns seriously and meet the DPRK halfway," the report said, using the North's official acronym. After attending the Singapore meeting, North Korea's Ri will head to Iran for an official visit, North Korea's official news agency KCNA reported. Iran, whose nuclear drive has also sparked international alarm, and North Korea are reported to have a history of cooperation in military and missile technology. Pompeo is also focusing on another major regional flashpoint at the forum -- rival claims in the South China Sea and China's growing presence there. China claims nearly all the strategically vital sea, including waters approaching the coasts of ASEAN members Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam. Tensions have mounted in recent years as China has built up artificial islands in the waters capable of hosting military bases, and the US has thrown its support behind Southeast Asian states whose maritime claims overlap Beijing's. At a meeting with Southeast Asian foreign ministers Friday, Pompeo said the US appreciated ASEAN's efforts to "support the rule of law in the South China Sea." China and ASEAN announced Thursday they had agreed on a draft negotiating text as part of efforts to forge a code of conduct to govern behaviour in the sea, which analysts said represented some progress after years of negotiations. US slams Russia over work permits for North Korean laborers United Nations, United States, Aug 3 (AFP) Aug 03, 2018 US Ambassador Nikki Haley on Friday said reports that Russia had violated UN sanctions resolutions by issuing new work permits to thousands of North Korean laborers were "credible" and "deeply troubling." "Talk is cheap - Russia cannot support sanctions with their words in the Security Council only to violate them with their actions," Haley said in a statement. The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday that Russia was letting thousands of North Korea laborers enter the country to earn wages that are a source of hard currency revenue for Pyongyang. The UN Security Council has barred governments from issuing new work permits for North Korean workers, and decided in December that current contracts would be terminated by 2019. "Credible reports of Russia violating UN Security Council resolutions on North Korean laborers working abroad are deeply troubling," said Haley. Last month, Russia and China put a six-month hold on a US request to halt all deliveries of oil products to North Korea after accusing Pyongyang of having illegally imported fuel beyond a cap set in UN resolutions. "Until we see the final, fully verified denuclearization of North Korea there can be no easing of sanctions," said Haley. The Wall Street Journal reviewed Russian interior ministry records showing that more than 10,000 new North Korean workers had registered in Russia since the ban last year, and at least 700 new work permits issued this year. Russian government records also show that some Russian companies hiring North Koreans are joint ventures, which are banned under UN sanctions resolutions. According to the US State Department, about 100,000 North Koreans have been working abroad in recent years, earning as much as $2 billion a year for the regime of Kim Jong Un. About 24,000 North Koreans were officially working in Russia at the end of 2017, while China also has hosted several thousand laborers from North Korea. The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2018 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement Optimization Are you frustrated with a slow pc or a hard disk not performing as it should? Try SLOW-PCfighter to speed up boot time on a slow PC, or try a free scan of FULL-DISKfighter to recover space on a full disk. The latest offering is DRIVERfighter to update your driver updater. Get complete PC optimization and extend the life of your PC with these must-have software tools. Playing Doctor with Watson Medical Applications Expose Current Limits of AI IBM has big plans for how its Watson artificial intelligence software could change the medical industry. But a number of hospitals have ended their experiments with the platform, arguing that it doesn't help diagnose or treat diseases. The number of migrants making the voyage across the sea to Europe has fallen dramatically in recent years, from 1 million in 2015, to about 58,000 in the first seven months of 2018. Shown here: Migrants at a naval base after being intercepted by the Libyan coast guard near Tripoli, Libya. Foto: HANI AMARA/ REUTERS In the case of the Sri Lankan Foreign Ministry and its Missions abroad, the culture of sexual harassment has a different outlook. by Our Diplomatic Editor ( August 3, 2018, Colombo London, Sri Lanka Guardian) Like many other places around the globe, sexual harassment against women, mainly at working place, has become a widespread phenomenon in Sri Lanka, today. The authorities have not yet been able to present a workable solution to this problem. Lack of trust in the legal system in the country, social stigma and negative publicity given to such incidents in the social and mainstream media often discourage victims resorting to legal action. More importantly, relative or absolute power of the perpetrators in the realm of political arena has also a reason for the victims to think twice before reporting such incidents to the relevant authorities. Therefore, very often the victims have been silently succumbing to their ordeal. There is also an inclination among the female employees, especially in the government sector, to accept the phenomenon of sexual harassment as a part of their working culture. Defining sexual harassment There seems to be no commonly accepted definition on sexual harassment. At the International level, at the 11 th Session of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, General Recommendation 19 on violence against women has been introduced. According to the article 18 of the recommendations, sexual harassment includes such unwelcome sexually determined behaviour as physical contact and advances, sexually coloured remarks, showing pornography and sexual demands, whether by words or actions. Such conduct can be humiliating and may constitute a health and safety problem; it is discriminatory when the woman has reasonable ground to believe that her objection would disadvantage her in connection with her employment, including recruitment or promotion, or when it creates a hostile working environment. This article discusses issues on the premise of the above definition. Culture of sexual harassment In the case of the Sri Lankan Foreign Ministry and its Missions abroad, the culture of sexual harassment has a different outlook. This is because type of work, as well as incentives and other benefits available for the officers at the Foreign Ministry and Sri Lankan Missions abroad, have become decisive factors, which create an environment conducive for sex predators to engage in sexual harassment and the victims to either tolerate or oppose them. Ultimate aim of anyone steps into the Foreign Ministry is to get a good posting to a foreign Mission as it would solve many issues including education and employment problems of children and spouses as well as financial difficulties. It also provides an opportunity to satiate the personal desire of living abroad comfortably. At this point, sex predators know that for the above gains most female officers and employees have a tendency to tolerate sexual harassments. Specially, under the highly politicized administrative system prevailing in the country, appointments to Sri Lanka Missions overseas has become a political project. In this project, the most valuable currency has been the loyalty towards the political masters and their cronies. For female officers and employees, helping to fulfil the sexual demands of the important actors is a sure path way towards securing a posting. As such, beginning from the ministerial figures, secretaries, and senior and junior Foreign Service officers, as well as officials in the Presidential Secretariat and the Prime Ministers office, have been expecting sexual favours for granting postings to female officers and employees attached to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. How sex predators are deliberately creating an environment at the ministry and Missions to trap female officers and employees. Sex traps in Ministry The other side of the story is how sex predators are deliberately creating an environment at the ministry and Missions to trap female officers and employees. In the Ministry, making the life of a female employee comfortable is the key to take her to bed. Grating certain favours such as short term foreign trips, scholarships, official vehicles to commute between home and office, best divisions in the ministry to work and supporting them to get a good posting are effective methods. The other way is the making life at the ministry miserable for female employees and officers. This tactic is employed s when sexual demands are refused. Such female officers often get unnecessary heavy load of work, verbal and physical harassments, humiliation in front of others, denial of leave, denial of vehicle facilities etc. When the pressure mounts, most of the female officers and employees give up. Of course, getting closer to a female officer or employee, display of love and care is another favourite trick employed by sex predators. Most of the female employees and officers, mainly unmarred ones, fall into this trap easily. There are many of such stories and even after two decades they are still unmarried and mistresses of some senior officers and politicians. On one occasion a female officer of the commerce department assaulted a Foreign Service Officer inside the ministry for not fulfilling the promise of marrying her after sleeping with her for many years. Unfortunately, no disciplinary action was taken against the perpetrator. Sex traps at Missions A Mission is a favourite and safe place for sex predators as the female officers and employees are highly vulnerable there. Undoubtedly, smoothness of their official life depends at the mercy of the Heads of Mission or senior Diplomatic officers. These sex predators have ample opportunities to force the female officers and employees for a sexual relationship when they confront with issues of maintaining daily life in an alien country. These opportunities become available when asking them to work after office hours and during visits to various parts of the country of accreditation and participate in late night events especially during VIP visits from Sri Lanka. They often make the life of female officers and employees miserable when their first arrival to the new Missions by depriving vehicle facilities, not allowing other staff to assist them, creating issues when finding houses, scolding for late arrival to the office and blocking access to some facilities through the loyal servants of sex predators. When the female officers are experiencing these miseries, at the end sex predators gradually approach them to offer some sort of comfort. At this point, many get entrapped. When the Head of Mission is exerting pressure on the female officers some senior officers offer solace and get friendly with her. Another kind of approach is wining her heart through voluntarily sharing the family issues, issues with the predators wife and also admiring her beauty. Some even directly express their desires towards her. One senior Ambassador in Italy had been crying over the phone in the night, begging love of a particular female officer. Some have been employed very harsh methods such as openly inviting to her using vulgar language, touching parts of her body while at work and even threatening to rape. On certain occasions, sex predators have been taking the female officers home while the predators family members were out and have allegedly raped them. Another kind of approach is wining her heart through voluntarily sharing the family issues, issues with the predators wife and also admiring her beauty. Some even directly express their desires towards her. One senior Ambassador in Italy had been crying over the phone in the night, begging love of a particular female officer. Other side of the story Of course, the other side of the story is also very ugly. There are some female officers and employees who have been making use of the weaknesses of sex predators for their personal gains. They sleep with high ranking officials of the Ministry to secure some benefits including good postings, comfort while abroad, exercise undue power at the ministry and Missions, secure foreign trips, take revenge on fellow officers and prevent their rivals getting some benefits. For example, one female officer presently working at the ministry is virtually controlling every affair using the powers of her lover. There are typists and female clerical officers who have often been trapping the sex thirsty male officers to secure a good posting and continue to work in the Mission many years although the usual period of contract is three years. It is also revealed that eighty percent of the female clerical officers and typists have been able to use their bosses to secure long term visa and residence permits in the countries such as the USA, the UK, Australia, and Canada and EU states after they complete their period of contract. Their bosses can never say NO to them once they are fallen into the sex trap of these female employees. There is also infamous lady officer, who was able to ascend the career ladder rapidly after sleeping with three foreign ministers and senior officers since joining the Ministry. She enjoyed her benefits disregard of who is in-charge of the ministry and rule the country. Yet, she has entered the Foreign Service without sitting for any entrance examination. One female officer told the writer that as some have been offering sexual services to the politicians and officers in the ministry, they expect the same from others as well. As a result, they find it difficult to work and get fare treatments at the ministry and Missions. Some famous cases of sexual harassment The most famous case involving a Foreign Service officer trying to have sex with a female employee in a motor car was the famous mobile sex incident that echoed even in the parliament in 1980s. Tabling a petition of the victim, former Minister Anura Bandaranaike shouted mobile sex mobile sex. Yet, the then Foreign Minister did not take any sensible action against the culprit. On another occasion, for not agreeing to have sex with him, a senior Ambassador filed a false case in the CID against a female officer. This particular female officer revealed that on a number of occasions the culprit force her to have sex with him. Another famous incident was involving a political Ambassador of the previous regime. He openly invited a female typist to bed with him. She refused this indecent proposal and sent a written petition to the foreign Ministry against this culprit. However, no action was taken and the female typist was simply transferred to another Mission as the culprit was a son of a minister. Surprisingly, the same culprit has been appointed for a European Mission recently as an Ambassador under Yahapalana government. Two female clerical officers stated that during the SAARC summit in 2008 one Muslim senior officer of the ministry pressed her against the wall at a Star Hotel in Colombo and forcibly squeezed her breasts. She later took medicine to ease the pain. But she did not have guts to make a complaint. The other lady officer stated that one mid-level Foreign Service officer forced her on the floor while she was collecting files in an office room at a five-star hotel which was used as an operation room during the SAARC summit. In another incident a senior Foreign Service officer has complained against a female officer to the then Foreign Minister that a particular female officer was anti-government. It was revealed he made this false allegation because she did not come to a hotel with him. There are two famous senior Foreign Service officers in the ministry who have always been making vulgar remarks and verbal harassments towards female officers even at corridors of the ministry. One of them has a nickname- crocodile. A senior female officer stated that this crocodile slept with her on a number of times promising that he would marry her after divorcing his wife. This man has been reciting the same story to a number of other female officers as well. The other person, now an Ambassador in a Middle Eastern country, has been accused of sexually harassing two female officers appointed to his Mission. He is also famous in that country for forcibly having sex with runaway housemaids seeking shelter and the Mission. There are many cases of abusing of runaway maids by Foreign Service officers and others working in the Sri Lankan Missions in the Middle East. Unfortunately, none of these complaints has been properly investigated. Even some of these maids have been subjected to abortions as a result of the sexual intercourse with the embassy officials. When a particular officer was going to take up a position at the SAARC Secretariat, he was instrumental in transferring a female employee whom he wished to have an affair to his new office. Upon arrival, within a few days he had forcibly have sex with this lady. Stories of old guards There are very famous sex stories in the Foreign Ministry involving the old generation Foreign Service officers. One occasion one of the all guards, a Tamil had an affair with the female labour working at the Ministry. He has even brought a house for her when she threatened to reveal the ordeal she underwent. This particular person had to kneel down before a Japanese woman working at the Mission when she screamed as this Ambassador was trying to touch her body without her consent. Another female employee working as a translator at the Sri Lankan Mission in Japan also resigned immediately when the big boss tried to sex forcibly with her on the couch of the office. These are only the tip of the iceberg. A British lady working at the Sri Lankan High Commission in London resigned over sexually remarks by the then High Commissioner. A female employee working as a translator at the Sri Lankan Mission in Japan also resigned immediately when the big boss tried to sex forcibly with her on the couch of the office Posting with lovers It has also become a practice among the Foreign Service officials to take their favourite lady officers and employees with them when they are going on postings. This has created a lot of troubles in the Missions. This is because the lady officers in question have mostly been trying to use the power of their lovers at the working place. This has also resulted in creating administrative and other issues at certain Missions. A famous and senior officer in retirement but still in active service has taken his mistress to a number of Missions. During each tour of duty, this particular sex predator sent his mistress to Sri Lanka before his departure to Sri Lanka. At present over 10 cases of female employees serving in the Mission longer period with the support of their lovers without coming back to Sri Lanka despite their service agreement is for three years. These incidents are reported from Canada, USA, Belgium, South Africa, Australia, France and number of other countries. As a result, the officers waiting in Colombo for posting have not been able to leave the country until these sex workers returned. Big posts for sex favours Consequent to the sexual favours received; there had been a number of attempts to appoint some female Foreign Service officers to Heads of Mission posts disregarding their seniority. At present, one appoint has already been finalized and another one is in the offing. A former Foreign Secretary has to abandon the post for protecting a sex predator at the ministry. He was also instrumental in a very junior lady officer to an important Mission in Europe as Ambassador. However, timely intervention of a particular Minister prevented it. In the past, three female officers got Ambassadorial posts in exchange of sex favours although they were not eligible for these posts. Failure to address the issues Most of the female officers and the employees told us as the political leadership in the ministry is not interested in resolving such cases, the sexual harassment permeate. They are of the view that unless this situation is controlled there would be disastrous consequences of many types. As there had been a growing concern in the world about sexual harassment at the working place, according to them, the Minister of Foreign Affairs should take serious measures to prevent recurrence of such incidents. Issuing a circular based on 1978 Constitution would not help at all. They emphasized, a circular issued on 07-06-2018 is only to cover their hypocritical behaviour. As the very people who are issuing this particular circular are responsible for sexual violence against women at the Foreign Ministry, for a foreseeable future no one would be able to expect justice under the present system. However, what is seen is increased number of unmarried women, divorce cases, family issues and mental problems among the female officers and employees at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs owing to this situation. by Our Diplomatic Editor (August 3, 2018, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) Sri Lankan Air Force has a little reputation for their anti-graft mission, but, the institute has well-established records for corruption. Like in the past new defence deal has been approved by the top where they are going to overhaul three Ukrainian Antonov flight, AN-32B brand, in Russin soil. Tender has tricked as usual, but this time in a different shape, a reliable source in the Ministry of Defence said. According to the recommendation by the top of the institute, the tender was won by a Russian company called, MFG. But, Antanov brand is from Ukraine. It is well known the prevailing diplomatic rift between these two countries. Ukraine has never given any authorization to Russian entity to overhaul their defence production, the source added. Who is the local agent of this Russian MFG, and what is his/her motivations and involvements with the Sri Lankan Air Force? is the million dollar question, the source mocked. John Davies, NFU Cymru President said: Today the European Commission has announced a range of measures that countries can implement. These include the option to bring forward advance payments for direct payments and rural development programmes to mid October 2018. The Commission has also clarified that governments have the option to provide financial support for fodder aid without breaking state aid rules. This clarity that we have received today from the European Commission on what individual countries are able to provide in terms of support to their farmers, is to be welcomed. It gives the opportunity for our Cabinet Secretary to implement a comprehensive package of measures in Wales that can support farmers to deal with the current and future problems, caused as a result of the unprecedented weather we have seen these past few weeks. It has now been a week since the emergency summit at the Royal Welsh Show, and I dont feel the statement issued by Welsh Government yesterday fully addressed the issues that were highlighted at the summit. Despite the welcomed rain over the last few days, the challenges on Welsh farms remain as serious today as they were last week, with farmers continuing to struggle with what has been one of the longest periods of dry weather in years, on the back of an extremely challenging winter and spring. The Cabinet Secretary has committed to explore what measures the Government could introduce to support the industry, in the immediate, medium and longer term. A number of other countries across Europe have fully recognised the difficulties their farmers are suffering and have already put a comprehensive package of support measures in place. Now that the Commission has provided clear advice on what can be supported, we hope that Welsh Government will properly assess all options available to them in order to make a tangible difference on farms. Hamilton, Bermuda, 3 August 2018 - Seadrill Limited ("Seadrill" or the "Company") refers to the announcement dated 1 August 2018 regarding the listing and trading of certain restricted shares under the ticker symbol "SDRL R" on the Oslo Stock Exchange ("OSE"). The Company has been informed that an error was made in assigning an ISIN to these shares. The correct ISIN for these shares is BMG8000W1139 and the shares are expected to be listed on the OSE from and including 3 August 2018. FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS This news release includes forward looking statements. Such statements are generally not historical in nature, and specifically include statements about the Company's plans, strategies, business prospects, changes and trends in its business, the markets in which it operates and its restructuring efforts. These statements are made based upon management's current plans, expectations, assumptions and beliefs concerning future events impacting the Company and therefore involve a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this news release. Consequently, no forward-looking statement can be guaranteed. When considering these forward-looking statements, you should keep in mind the risks described from time to time in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its Annual Report on Form 20-F (File No. 001-34667). The Company undertakes no obligation to update any forward looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date on which such statement is made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. New factors emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for the Company to predict all of these factors. Further, the Company cannot assess the impact of each such factor on its business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to be materially different from those contained in any forward looking statement. This information is subject of the disclosure requirements pursuant to section 5-12 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act. Shares is the leading weekly publication for retail investors. It is packed with investment ideas, news and educational material to help build and run portfolios and get more from your money. Shares puts on free Investor Events throughout the year across the country. They provide an opportunity for investors to learn more about companies on the stock market and hear from a range of investment experts including fund managers and Shares journalists. For a change, the UN has been succinct. UN investigators reported on what was going with Congos national elections: Armed actors continuously used the delay in the electoral process to promote acts of violence. President Joseph Kabila has been the chief beneficiary of the political violence. Though he claims he is going to step down after the scheduled December 23, 2018 election few opposition political leaders believe it. Kabila has already shredded the constitution by failing to leave office in December 2016. Moreover, Kabilas supporters in the judiciary are threatening Moise Katumbi with prosecution. Katumbi, who is still living in exile, is the strongest opposition candidate. He once served as Katanga provinces governor. Some opposition leaders and international diplomats see another scenario. They contend what Kabila wants is immunity from future prosecution for the various crimes he was committed while in office. These include theft, extortion and ordering the security forces to attack unarmed civilians. In June Kabila asked parliament to review the status of former Congolese presidents, in regards to monetary benefits and immunity from prosecution. (Austin Bay) August 1, 2018: In eastern Congo (North Kivu province) there was yet another Ebola outbreak, only a week after the last one, 2,500 kilometers away, was declared over. This latest outbreak consists so far of four people infected. This is the 10th outbreak in Congo since the first one was encountered in 1976. Over 11,000 people died during the last major sub-Saharan Africa Ebola outbreak in 2014-2015. Most of the deaths were in Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone. Since then medical personnel have been trained and equipped to quickly contain outbreaks before they can cause large numbers of deaths. July 31, 2018: In the Central African Republic (CAR) three Russian journalists were murdered in an ambush 50 kilometers from the capital Bangui near the town of Sibut. The journalists were working on a documentary report about the Wagner Group, a Russian military contractor that has a training and advisory presence in the CAR. July 30, 2018: Another thousand Ugandan soldiers deployed to Somalia. The contingent replaces the current Ugandan battle group serving with the AU (African Union) peacekeepers. July 28, 2018: In the CAR former Seleka (Moslem) rebels have been stockpiling weapons which are believed to come from Sudan. The rebel weapon acquisition is likely a response to the recent deliveries of Russian light infantry weapons to the CAR security forces. Rebels have complained that the government is no longer seeking a political solution. Most Seleka rebels came from predominantly Muslim tribes in the north. July 25, 2018: Congo announced that anyone who wants to run for president in the December election must submit their names by August 8. Meanwhile, president Kabila continues to discuss with members of his ruling political coalition, the Common Front for Congo (FCC), who would be the best Kabila coalition candidate in the December presidential election. Every coalition party, including Kabilas own Peoples Party for Reconstruction and Democracy (PPRD), will name four candidates. July 24, 2018: In northwest Congo (Equateur province) the government announced that the latest Ebola virus outbreak is over. No new case has been reported in the last six weeks. The outbreak lasted ten weeks and killed 33 people. July 19, 2018: President Kabila announced that his commitment to uphold the constitution of Congo is firm. However, he once again refused to rule out the possibility he might attempt to run for re-election in December. July 17, 2018: In eastern Congo (North Kivu province) ADF (Ugandan Allied Democratic Forces) rebels attacked an army base east of the town of Beni. Three soldiers were killed and three were wounded while two rebels died in the attack. The rebel force then stole cattle and looted a local medical facility (where three civilians, one of them a nurse, were killed). July 15, 2018: President Kabila fired general Didier Etumba, the commander of the army and replaced him with lieutenant-general Celestin Mbala. Major general Gabriel Amisi will take charge of military operations and intelligence. Amisi is a close political ally of Kabila. In 2012 the UN accused Amisi of operating an arms smuggling network that had supplied numerous Congolese rebel groups. Kabila also made general John Numbi the army inspector-general. Numbi is another Kabila political ally. The political opposition claims Numbi had a major role in the 2011 murder of Congolese war crimes investigator Floribert Chebeya. July 11, 2018: Congo accused Ugandan security forces of killing 12 Congolese fishermen in a July 6 incident on Lake Edward. This began when Ugandan security forces arrested 92 Congolese fishermen. Uganda reported that one of their soldiers died when his unit clashed with Congolese intruders. Congo and Uganda are continuing to discuss the incident. July 9, 2018: Both Congo and Uganda confirm an armed incident occurred near Lake Edward on July 6. At least 12 Congolese and one Ugandan were killed. Congo alleged that a Ugandan Navy boat fired first. A Congolese security force was in the area. Oil has been discovered in the Lake Edward area and the border is disputed. July 7, 2018: In eastern Congo (South Kivu province) ten people were burned to death in tribal clashes. Three ethnic groups were involved: the Banyindu, the Bafukiro and the Banyamulenge. The Banyamulenge are Congolese Tutsis. Police believe the Burundian Popular Forces of Burundi (FOREBU) rebel militia may have played a role in the violence. July 4, 2018: The Congolese government vigorously disputed a UN report accusing soldiers of committing mass murder, rape and torture in the southwest Kasai region. In June investigators reported that soldiers had committed systematic violence against civilians in the Kasai region. July 1, 2018: In Rwanda, unidentified gunmen attacked a village on the border with Burundi and robbed the villagers. The victims reported the gunmen attacked from Burundi. This is the second time in two weeks a Rwandan village on the Rwanda-Burundi border has suffered a gang raid. In July 2018 Taiwan declared its 29 AH-64E helicopter gunships, and the units they belonged to, combat ready. This comes seven years after the United States finally agreed to make the sale (despite pressure from China not to do it) and a decade after Taiwan realized it would have to retire or extensively and expensively refurbish its 61 elderly AH-1W gunships. It took so long to get the AH-64 force combat ready because Taiwan had never used the AH-64 before and the AH-64E was a far more complex and capable gunship than the decades-old AG-1W. Taiwan established a 19-month training course for AH-64E pilots plus even more training for combat operations. Early on Taiwan learned that the unique atmospheric conditions found in Taiwan required attention as well. This lesson was learned early on when Taiwan lost one of its AH-64Es seven months after the first ones arrived in late 2013. At that point, Taiwan had some AH-64 pilots who had been trained in the U.S. and were able to report what happened. The AH-64E was lost (the crew survived) because the helicopter encountered one of the unique (and disorienting) weather conditions found in Taiwan. The accident report described the accident as the result of unexpected weather and human error. The crash was the result of the AH-64E encountering a rapid change in the weather that resulted in the helicopter, moving along at an altitude of about 40 meters, suddenly enveloped in a rapidly falling cloud ceiling. The pilot should have immediately switched to flying via instruments, but he did not, became disoriented and flew into a nearby building. As a result of this Taiwanese AH-64E crews received more training for situations like, especially since rapid changes in cloud cover are not rare events in some parts of Taiwan. The new AH-64E pilots now receive through training on all the unique (and potentially dangerous) flying conditions that can be encountered (and often taken advantage of in combat) on the island. In late 2013 Taiwan received the first six (of thirty) AH-64Es. Taiwan had first asked to buy AH-64s in 2001 and was turned down, so as not to annoy China. The 2011 agreement came after three years of further negotiations and delays created by Chinese interference. All thirty AH-64s arrived by the end of 2014. The 10 ton AH-64E carries a pilot and a weapons officer as well as about a ton of weapons. The AH-64 can operate at night and has a cruising speed of 260 kilometers an hour. Many more of the existing 1,100 AH-64s (American and foreign) were upgraded to the E standard. In 2012, the U.S. Army began receiving the first production models of the AH-64E (originally the AH-64D Block III). This was the latest version of the AH-64, which had its first flight in 1975 and numerous upgrades since. It was decided that the Block III improvements were so numerous and dramatic that it made more sense to go to a simpler and more descriptive AH-64E designation. AH-64Es have more powerful and fuel-efficient engines, as well as the much-improved electronics. AH-64Es also have Internet-like capabilities, enabling these gunships to quickly exchange images, video, and so on with other aircraft and ground troops. AH-64Es can control several UAVs and launch missiles at targets spotted by these UAVs. The AH-64E radar has longer range and onboard computers are much more powerful. The electronics are easier to upgrade and maintain. The combination of improved fire control and Internet capabilities greatly increased the capabilities of the AH-64. By the end of the decade, 634 U.S. Army AH-64s will be upgraded to the E standard. The AH-64A was the initial model, entering service in 1986. The last AH-64A was taken out of service in 2012, so it could be upgraded to the AH-64D standard. The AH-64B was an upgrade proposed for the early 1990s but was canceled, as was a similar C model upgrade. Some of these canceled improvements were in great demand but were delayed because of budget cuts after the Cold War ended in 1991. Thus the B and C model upgrades were incorporated in the AH-64D Block I (1997). The AH-64D Longbow (because of the radar mast, making it possible to see ground targets and flying obstacles in all weather) models began appearing in 2002. By 2006, over 500 American AH-64As had been upgraded to AH-64Ds. The U.S. Army has over 700 Apache (AH-64) helicopter gunships in service, out of about 1,200 built. This helicopter basically provides the close air support, and so far all those built have spent more than three million hours in the air. Unlike jet fighters, the Apache only has a max speed of 290 kilometers an hour. The average sortie for an AH-64 lasts about 90 minutes when just using internal fuel (that can be tripled with the maximum of four external tanks). Typically, AH-64s in combat will fly up to half a dozen sorties a day, often taking on additional ammo when they land to refuel. The Apache is a Cold War-era weapon, designed in the 1970s for seeking out and killing armored vehicles on the battlefield. It has been good at that and carries up to 16 Hellfire missiles and a 30mm automatic (ten rounds a second) cannon with 1200 rounds of armor piercing ammo. Over the last decade, the AH-64 has evolved into a powerful weapon against irregular forces (in Iraq and Afghanistan). U.S. Congressman Adrian Smith, who represents Nebraskas Third District, will be in Sidney Monday, Aug. 6 to speak with constituents. The Congressman will also stop at Lukjan Metal Products, which was recently tabbed to receive a 2018 Third Congressional District Excellence in Economic Development Award. Lukjan was named as one of 11 individuals and businesses helping to strengthen Nebraska communities through innovation, hard work, entrepreneurship, and historic preservation. Following the award presentation, Smith will hold a public meeting at 10:30 a.m. at the Cheyenne County Chamber o... The aroma of popcorn, grilled hamburgers and nachos are already a memory. 4-H members have sold their lifestock and are looking toward next years project. The dust from the PRCA rodeo, the barrel races and then the demolition derby has settled. The 2018 Cheyenne County Fair and Rodeo is concluded. Fair Board President Gerald Frerichs said this years fair went well. He said events were well attended. He said he observed stands at the events to be half to three-fourths full each night. This year, the Fair included Fun Night, a night of games and zip line fun. We had the Dance Team... Amanda Sharman is the new owner of Shirt Tales in Sidney. She took over ownership of the business in May. She is also partnering with Carson Faessler to open Urban Cowgirl adjacent to Shirt Tales. It started out as following a concept with an available storefront, and a meeting of necessity resulted in a second business opportunity. Amanda Sharman and her friend Carson Faesssler talked about a business venture. They envisioned a store with old farm and ranch materials and refashion, repurpose the material into household decorations. The concept became a reality adjacent to Shirt Tales. "We're just a couple of cowgirls bringing country to the city," Sharman said. The enterprise is fitfully named "Urban Cowgirl," a play off of a 1980s movie and the history of the two owners. Urban Cowg... The vessel was built by Lurssen Yachts in 1973 for experienced owners Helmut and Heidi Horten, the couple behind the fleet of Carinthia yachts. However, in 2016 the yacht was largely destroyed by a disastrous fire while in Marmaris Marina, Turkey. The sale will see the yacht rebuilt in Turkey and will be delivered in summer 2020. The One was based on M/Y Carinthia V a yacht considered to be one of the most iconic in its category for it was one of the earlier yachts created by Jon Bannenberg. It also proved to be a turning point for the Bremen-based yacht builder, which until the building of Carinthia VI had only built warships. Lurssens first powerful and fast yacht for the supermarket magnate Horten had obvious warship-like qualities, such as her long and slim design that lacked distracting features. Unfortunately, on her maiden voyage in the Mediterranean, she hit an uncharted rock and sank. Rather than raising and rebuilding, Lurssen replicated her but with extra watertight bulkheads to prevent a reoccurring event and named her Carinthia VI. Sadly that was not the end of bad luck for the vessel, as Carinthia VI was sold to Italian real estate developer Francesco Bellavista Caltagirone, who renamed her M/Y The One, and she caught fire in the middle of the night in January 2016 in Marmaris in Turkey. The blaze also caught onto M/Y Barbie and destroyed both yachts, thankfully not irreparably. Before her refit, The One offered accommodation for up to 12 guests across five suites and achieved a cruising speed of 22 knots and a top speed of 28 knots from her 3,460kW MTU 20V538TB93 engines. The border between Gibraltar and Spain is already an external border and with the right political will it is possible that Brexit will make no difference to it, deputy chief minister Dr Joseph Garcia said a few days ago, addressing a University of Cadiz summer course on Brexit. He pointed out that as Gibraltar is in neither the Customs Union nor the Schengen Agreement, the border with Spain is already subject to controls on both goods and people, unlike other EU borders. This means that even in the event of a so-called 'hard Brexit', which would mean that Britain would leave the European Union with no deal having been signed for the future, the EU rules which would apply at the Spain/Gibraltar border are the same ones that are currently in place today. About 14,000 people cross the border into Gibraltar to work each day, and approximately 8,000 of them are Spanish. Thousands of tourists also walk or drive into Gibraltar each year. When the EU referendum was announced, the then Spanish foreign minister Jose Manuel Garcia Margallo made noises about closing the border, but as Dr Garcia explained, the Spanish rhetoric regarding the border has changed in recent months, and the present prime minister, Pedro Sanchez, said recently that fluidity at the border is "essential". "The political will seems to be there," said the deputy chief minister. "There are legal solutions which exist which could secure the smooth passage of persons and goods across the border even in a post-Brexit world." "This novel, banned in 1966, is not a political novel. It is simply literature and nothing more," declared the writer Isaac Montero about his book, Alrededor de un dia de abril (Around an April Day), after it was finally published in 1981. The 1966 Ley de Prensa came into force in Spain after Manuel Fraga Iribarne - who later went on to found the first version of what is now known as the Partido Popular (People's Party) - became Minister of Information and Tourism and began to slowly implement some changes to the restrictive Franco regime. The new law was supposedly meant to put an end to the 30 years of stringent censorship that came from the 1938 Ley de Prensa and allowed the publication of novels and magazines and newspapers that did not belong to Franco's Movimiento Nacional. It was passed against the wishes of the then government secretary, Carrero Blanco, and with the indifference of Franco himself, as it allowed (albeit to an ambiguous degree) questioning or criticism of the regime. In early 1966, shortly before the introduction of Fraga's law, award-winning short story writer Isaac Montero tried to publish his first novel, Alrededor de un dia de abril. Initially, it was subject to ninety cuts and modifications under Franco's 1938 Ley de Prensa. However, later that year, encouraged by the new censorship reforms, Montero tried to self-publish the original version of his story, accompanied by a prologue explaining what had happened to the original text. As it transpired, Spain was not yet free from the grips of Franco's suppression. The works were seized during printing on 3 August and the Tribunal de Orden Publico (Franco's Courts of Public Order) opened a legal process against the author which resulted in Montero being sentenced to six months in prison and given a fine of 10,000 pesetas, though neither were ever enforced. More novels and a number of newspapers were also seized under the control of the regime during this time, including El Norte de Castilla, ABC and Diario Madrid. The 1966 Ley de Prensa held onto its rule until 1977, two years after the death of General Franco. The political system was gradually reformed as part of the 'Transicion', and modern Spanish democracy took shape. Montero's novel was eventually allowed to be released in 1981, by the Barcelona publishing house Editoral Laia. Censorship in Spain is now but a memory, though perhaps some repercussions still remain in effect: the pages of Montero's banned book, unlike his other critically revered works, are little known by the public and scarcely available to buy. In a speech after receiving a critics' award for his book Ladron de Lunas in 1999, Montero said that his experience with Alrededor de un dia de abril had "determined his career as a writer". The government ministry for Public Works, Fomento, has given the green light for the all-important access roads to the new Intu shopping and leisure complex in Torremolinos. The highways department has issued a favourable report in response to the town hall proposal for improvement works to the A-7, AP-7 and N-340 which will see the roads widened (in some cases from one to three lanes) to cope with the influx of new vehicles and exits added. Representatives from Intu described the update as "excellent news" and confirmed that construction plans remain on track. The cost of the new access roads will be funded entirely by Intu. The taxi strike that has affected holiday-season travel across most of Spain for much of the last week ended on Wednesday night after government assurances that it would address the sector's grievances in September. However a spokesperson for the Elite Taxi union in Barcelona, where the strike had begun, said that they would "start World War Three" if their demands weren't met by then. The industrial action, against the rise of private-hire firms like Uber and Cabify, began in Barcelona last week and spread to other areas, including Malaga city and the Costa del Sol. While passenger journeys in Barcelona, Madrid and other places were disrupted by complete stoppages, in Malaga province a partial service was maintained, limiting its impact. The national government is proposing to devolve regulation of VTCs to the regions On the Costa, the taxi drivers reduced their numbers working to around half the usual Business as usual at airport On the Costa, taxi drivers voted on Sunday to joint the stoppage, reducing the numbers working to around half but maintaining a full service at Malaga Airport so as "not to inconvenience" travellers arriving at a peak time of year. This contrasted with a lightning strike a year ago over the same issue of private-hire cab licences, when the airport taxi rank was closed, causing severe criticism on all sides. This time round the biggest local impact was felt on the main Avenida del Parque, near to city hall in Malaga, where drivers spontaneously blocked private vehicles from using it during most of Tuesday and Wednesday but without taxi unions' support. Taxi drivers, both locally and nationally, are unhappy about the number of licences given out to private-hire vehicles (or VTCs as they are known in Spain). Faced with the increased presence of companies like Uber and Cabify, the drivers feel that the newcomers are not as regulated and provide unfair competition. Uber launched on the Costa del Sol this summer and Cabify has increased its local fleet recently. Demand to reduce licences The law says that only one new VTC licence can be given out in an area for every 30 existing taxi licences, but the current ratio in Spain is around one in 10, and even lower in some areas, as a result of a deregulated period from 2013-2015. Taxi drivers are demanding the ratio is reduced to match the law and want to see regulation of VTCs passed to the regional governments and not centralised in Madrid. Barcelona's mayor had also proposed that local councils could take on extra regulatory powers over the VTCs, a move which was overturned by judges, sparking the initial strike in Barcelona last week. On the Costa del Sol, there were several reports of incidents of attacks on Uber and Cabify drivers last week and taxi unions condemned them. In Marbella two women were allegedly injured near the bus station when a Cabify car was attacked. Between Monday and Wednesday this week, the national government met with all sides in the dispute to discuss its proposals to devolve regulatory responsibility of private-hire VTCs like Uber and Cabify to the regions, in response to taxi drivers demands. However, ministers claimed that the necessary legislation to carry this out takes time and cannot be done during the August holiday period. By Wednesday night the taxi drivers' representatives had accepted the vague assurances of the government to solve the problem in September, although they explained that they would plan more concerted and organised industrial action if no solution was reached by then. This week saw Pedro Sanchez, Spain's new Socialist prime minister, suffer his first legislative failure in congress - and it'll be the first of many if he doesn't adjust to the deal-based nature of modern Spanish politics. Parliament voted against Sanchez's proposed 2019 budget, mainly because the PSOE leader wasn't prepared to give potential allies what they wanted in return for their votes. It's a familiar story (the minority government of Mariano Rajoy, Sanchez's predecessor, had the same difficulties in passing legislation), and one that makes you wonder if the Socialist administration will be able to achieve anything meaningful during its time in power. Sources in the know about the pre-vote discussions told newswires that some disagreement related to Sanchez's refusal to launch an investigation into Juan Carlos I, Spain's former king. According to allegations made against the ex-monarch by his one-time lover (an entirely reliable source, one notes), Juan Carlos stashed dodgily-acquired funds in offshore bank accounts. The former king, along with other wealthy individuals, is alleged to have benefited from a tax amnesty introduced in 2012 by Rajoy's government (whereby previously undeclared assets could be disclosed and a one-off fee of 10% paid), although the amnesty was deemed void by Spain's constitutional court in 2017. For this reason, Sanchez says he can't comply with requests made by leftist newcomer Podemos that the ex-king be publicly named as a beneficiary of the 2012 amnesty. Nor will he investigate allegations that Juan Carlos was involved in shady offshore activities. The PSOE leader must be privately cursing last year's court ruling. Juan Carlos - notorious for hunting elephants in Botswana in 2014, when many Spanish households were on the breadline - is one of the most reviled members of the Spanish establishment. Proving him to be a fraudster would have been a great way for Sanchez to boost his popularity and to win support from Podemos, a party on which he relies for parliamentary votes. Sources also said that another Podemos request - namely, that Spain's deficit-reduction targets be reduced and public spending increased - was rejected by Sanchez. Fair enough: the Socialist administration has already proposed more relaxed deficit-reduction goals for Spain this year, so Sanchez doesn't want to anger the EU by pressing for further leniency. But compromise and deal-making will have to happen at some point, otherwise the PSOE leader stands little chance of passing legislation of any kind. If such stumbling blocks continue to occur for Sanchez, there is one course of action he could pursue: call early elections and hope that his new-found popularity would secure the PSOE a greater share of seats - and thus more clout - in congress. But because the new prime minister wants his term in power, he'll have to learn the art of the deal instead. 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 ... FSL Trust in Heidmar pool deal FSL Trust Management, the trustee-manager of Singapore-based First Ship Lease Trust, has signed a pool agreement for two LR2s with US-based tanker operator Heidmar. The ships are 2006-built FSL Piraeus (ex Torm Margrethe) and FSL Perth (ex Torm Marie), which have recently come off bareboat charter and been renamed. The two LR2s will enter into the Sigma Pool. Heidmar operates a fleet of around 80 ships, including VLCCs, Suezmaxes, Aframaxes/LR2s, and Panamaxess. Nigerian pirates - still a major threat Nigerian pirates have kidnapped 35 seafarers from vessels in the Gulf of Guinea (GoG) so far this year, according to security firm EOS Risk Group in a report. This was disclosed in the groups half yearly review of Nigerian piracy activity in the GoG. Nigeria continues to be the worlds epicentre for piracy activity. From January through June 2018, EOS recorded 34 Nigerian pirate attacks on merchant and fishing vessels in the GoG. These attacks resulted in the kidnap of 35 seafarers for ransom and the hijacking of several vessels. Most concerning this year has been the resurgence of petro-piracy, involving the hijacking of tankers for oil theft, said Jake Longworth, EOS Risk senior intelligence analys. The return of petro-piracy has been accompanied by an associated increase in the geographical reach of Nigerian pirate gangs, leading to attacks in the waters of Benin and Ghana. Following a lull in piracy activity off Benin since 2012, EOS recorded seven pirate attacks in the waters of Nigerias western neighbour in the first half of 2018. The attacks involved several successful tanker hijackings, one of which resulted in the loss of 2,000 tonnes of product. Nigerian pirates also operated in Ghanaian waters in April, kidnapping five seafarers from two vessels. Longworth said that the main threat is still found off the restive Niger Delta, specifically on the approaches to ports and oil terminals in the vicinity of Port Harcourt. 95% of attacks we recorded in Nigerian waters occurred near Bonny Island, within 60 nautical miles of the shore. Pirates operating in these waters are focussed on the kidnap of seafarers for ransom. It was in this area that heavily armed Nigerian pirates kidnapped 11 seafarers from a Dutch general cargo vessel in April. According to EOS, it was the highest number of hostages taken by a Nigerian pirate group in a single attack. Steven Harwood, EOS head of special risks, which covers kidnap for ransom response, said there were two main pirate gangs in Nigeria, both employing around 16 full time pirates. One is located in the creeks near Yenagoa, Bayelsa State and the other around Abonnema, Rivers State. Both gangs are in communication and sometimes sub-contract the physical hostage taking to other criminal groups. EOS warned that instability in the Niger Delta is likely to increase in the run up to Nigerias 2019 general elections, which could result in a spike in piracy activity. Since the turn of the century, this pattern has been visible in Nigeria ahead of major election periods, evidence of the complex links between piracy and political conflict in the Niger Delta. To mitigate the risk, EOS recommended that Masters implement Global Counter Piracy Guidance (GCPG) measures and familiarise themselves with the Guidelines for Owners, Operators and Masters for protection against piracy in the Gulf of Guinea region version 3, June, 2018. Where additional protection is required, shipping companies may require armed escort vessels and embarked guards where domestic law permits, EOS said. Oman Shipping Company reports rapid growth for new VLCC chartering desk A commercial chartering desk recently set up by Oman Shipping Company (OSC) has secured more than 100 fixtures with leading oil majors in its first 12 months of operation. The spot chartering desk was set up in May, 2017 to offer VLCCs to traders and charterers transporting crude and fuel oil worldwide. OSC general manager commercial, tankers & gas, Debasish Mohapatra said that the desk has concluded more than 110 fixtures with a total of 24 charterers, involving more than 15 brokerage companies. Key new contracts have been secured with oil majors, including Reliance, Essar, BP, GS Caltex, S-Oil, Indian Oil, Hyundai Glovis and Kuwait Petroleum, and traders such as Trafigura, ST Shipping, OTI and Socar. OSC is ranked 13th in the world VLCC owners league with 15 vessels managed commercially through subsidiary Oman Charter Company (OCC). Mohapatra said OSCs decision to set up the chartering desk followed a move to withdraw its entire VLCC fleet from the VL8 pool based in Singapore, back in December, 2016. We are highly satisfied with the progress of our new commercial chartering desk now in its second year of operation, he said. In March, 2017 we took full commercial control of our VLCC fleet, which was previously outsourced in a joint venture. As part of our new strategy we signed a Contract of Affreightment with Shell International Eastern Trading Company, a Shell subsidiary, for a period of three years. This gave us a substantial cargo base for the entire fleet to kickstart the operation. However, we have continued to drive momentum and experienced substantial growth in the last 12 months. We now cater to a broad portfolio of oil majors and crude traders in the world. Around 65% of our VLCC fleet is dedicated to delivering on the Shell account with the remaining 35% is employed by other major crude players, he said. Mohapatra explained that the VLCCs are technically managed by Oman Ship Management Co, based in the same office as OCC, which enables the company to operate a fast, efficient and co-ordinated operation for clients. OCC has built a strong and dedicated VLCC chartering team backed by experienced master mariners, which look after commercial operations from Muscat, he said. The new chartering desk began with a firm foundation and continues to benefit greatly from the knowledge, resource, market intelligence and complimentary services at its disposal within the broader OSC network. We believe this has been key to our success, and while OSC is highly competent with office-based service delivery, our vessels also offer great value to charterers. We have a relatively young fleet with high specifications, good safety records and low fuel consumption, he concluded. Teekay narrows losses Teekay Corp has reported consolidated GAAP net loss of $28.3 mill and a consolidated adjusted net loss of $21.6 mill for the second quarter of this year, compared to $80.2 mill and $38.2 mill for 2Q17, respectively. The group generated GAAP consolidated income from vessel operations of $1.9 mill, which includes $32.8 mill in asset impairments and consolidated total cash flow from vessel operations of $164.2 mill during the period, compared with $48.3 mill and $254.5 mill for 2Q17, respectively. Both our consolidated and Teekay Parent's results improved in the second quarter of 2018, compared to the same period of the prior year, due mainly to higher cash flows generated by our directly-owned FPSO units that have upside exposure to oil prices and production, said Kenneth Hvid, Teekays President and CEO. I would like to point out, similar to last quarter, when making year-over-year comparisons of Teekays consolidated results, it is important to account for the de-consolidation of Teekay Offshore as of 25th September, 2017 and the adoption of the new revenue accounting standard as of 1st January, 2018. At Teekay Parent, I am pleased to report that we have secured a one-year charter contract extension on the Banff FPSO, which will continue to have a fixed-rate component and an upside component linked to oil prices and production. Teekay Parent continues to strengthen its balance sheet with the recent agreement to sell our ownership interest in Sevan Marine for approximately $28 mill and the repurchase of approximately $53 mill of our 8.5% senior notes due in 2020 at an average price below current levels and well below the make whole price. At Teekay LNG, we continue to execute on our portfolio of growth projects with the delivery of two additional LNG carrier newbuildings, both on long-term charters, and the completion of multiple debt refinancings. Looking ahead, we expect to take delivery of seven LNG carrier newbuildings and the Bahrain LNG terminal project to commence over the next 18 months, which we anticipate will help drive further cash flow growth and the delevering of Teekay LNG's balance sheet. At Teekay Tankers, including the sale-leaseback transaction previously announced in May, 2018, we have signed term sheets for three financings, which, upon completion, are expected to increase Teekay Tankers' net liquidity position by approximately $110 mill. Teekay Offshore has secured new FPSO charter contract extensions on the Voyageur Spirit and Ostras, refinanced its 2019 bond maturities and ordered two additional LNG-fuelled shuttle tanker newbuildings, which are expected to further strengthen its position as the leading provider of contract of affreightment (CoA) shuttle tanker services in the North Sea. We continue to make progress on strengthening the financial foundation across the Teekay Group, while maintaining our market-leading positions and strong operating platforms and we believe that the Teekay Group is positioning to benefit from a continued broader energy and tanker market recovery," he concluded. As mentioned, in late-July, 2018, Teekay Offshore signed shipbuilding contracts with Samsung Heavy Industries for two Aframax DP2 shuttle tanker newbuildings. These newbuildings will be constructed based on Teekay Offshore's new Shuttle Spirit design. which incorporates technologies to increase fuel efficiency and reduce emissions, including LNG propulsion technology. Upon their expected delivery in late-2020 through early-2021, the vessels will join Teekay Offshores CoA portfolio in the North Sea. Teekay Tankers reported GAAP net loss of $27.4 mill and an adjusted net loss of $28.7 mill in 2Q18, compared to losses of $37.5 mill and $7.1 mill for 2Q17, respectively. The daughter company generated GAAP loss from operations of $13.4 mill and total cash flow from vessel operations of $16.6 mill during the period, compared to a profit of $1.6 mill and cash flow of $28 mill in 2Q17, respectively. Including our sale-leaseback transaction previously-announced in May, we have signed term sheets for three financings which, upon completion, are expected to increase our net liquidity position by approximately $110 mill and extend our debt maturity profile, commented Kevin Mackay, Teekay Tankers President and CEO. In June 2018, we signed term sheets for a sale-leaseback financing transaction relating to six Aframax tankers and a loan to fund working capital in our revenue sharing arrangement (RSA) pooling operations. While OPEC supply cuts and a further drawdown of global oil inventories continued to weigh on crude tanker rates during the second quarter of 2018, our fixed charter cover and full service lightering business continued to support our results. Looking ahead, while we expect the tanker market to remain under pressure in the near-term, we believe that an inflection point will be reached in the later part of 2018, due to improving demand fundamentals and slowing fleet supply growth resulting from elevated scrapping and a shrinking mid-size tanker orderbook. The improved tanker market is expected to be further boosted by positive demand developments ahead of the new IMO fuel regulations in 2020. In July, 2018, Teekay Tankers entered into a timecharter-out contract with a key customer for a Suezmax for a firm period of 12 months, plus an extension option, which is expected to commence by mid-August, 2018. The new charter contract is expected to add around $6.4 mill in fixed revenues over the initial 12-month period. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Editorial Board (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, August 3, 2018 08:20 1182 b147f6715e2195e5246e701df5119b77 4 Editorial #Editorial,nationalism,natural-resources,Rokan-block,oil-and-gas-industry,Chevron-Pacific-Indonesia,Mahakam-block,pertamina,Jokowi-administration Free The Indonesian Petroleum Associations great concern over uncertainties in the governments handling of expiring oil production sharing contracts (PSCs) was justified further by the lack of transparency in its recent granting of the Rokan Block, the countrys most productive oil block, to state-owned oil and gas holding company Pertamina. Pertamina will take over all operations of the block in August 2021, when the PSC currently held by Chevron Pacific Indonesia expires. Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Ignasius Jonan announced on Wednesday that Pertaminas proposal was much better than Chevrons, as Pertaminas bid included a US$784 million signature bonus, $500 million investment over five years in production development and projected $57 billion in state revenues during the 20-year contractual term. Furthermore, Pertaminas control of Rokan would help Indonesia cut crude oil imports, because the blocks crude stream matched Pertaminas refinery specifications. But questions arose over the fact that the minister did not reveal the key aspects of Chevrons proposal. The same lack of transparency was evident in 2015, when the government granted Pertamina the Mahakam Block, which accounts for one-third of the countrys natural gas output and this raised fears of resource nationalism. True, Pertamina could eventually bring in new partners to handle large assets such as the Mahakam and Rokan blocks to overcome its financial and technical constraints. Pertamina even offered an operational partnership in the Mahakam Block to Japans Inpex, the blocks former operator, and Frances Total, but neither took up the offer. Chevron could still be asked to be a co-partner in operating the Rokan Block, but this could mean bigger risks for Indonesias oil and gas production, as seen in Pertaminas operatorship of the Mahakam Block, which it assumed early this year. The Rokan Blocks oil production amounts to about 210,000 barrels per day (bpd), or 25 percent of total output, and depends primarily on enhanced oil recovery (EOR) technology, which has eluded Pertamina. Chevrons interest in the Rokan Block has been so pointed that the US firm reportedly met with Coordinating Maritime Affairs Minister Luhut Pandjaitan last week and briefed him on the Rokan proposal it had filed with the Upstream Oil and Gas Regulatory Special Task Force (SKK Migas). Chevrons proposal apparently included a commitment to invest $33 billion in the first 10 years to increase production to 500,000 bpd and another $55 billion investment in the latter 10 years to a full-scale EOR project to further increase output to 700,000 bpd. Chevrons exit from Rokan is likely a severe blow to the American company, as it had relinquished its Makassar Strait gas block and sold its interest in South Natuna Sea Block B, and may prompt it to return its East Kalimantan assets. More worrisome yet is the manner in which the government has treated Chevron, which has been operating here for more than 90 years and is Indonesias single largest oil producer . This maltreatment may further dampen investor interests in the hydrocarbon industry as we are dependent on imports for about 60 percent of national consumption of 1.6 million bpd. Located at Mertasari Beach in Sanur, the Bali Reggae Star Festival slated for Sept. 29 to 30 is set to highlight charity work and environmental awareness. The festival has continuously put a focus on these issues, reported kompas.com. This is an interesting event. There are many artists but there is charity work involved. In the first year, we bought trash cans that were sent to the beach areas of Bali. It was the reggae communitys contribution to the environment, the festival's committee head Agung Ngurah told a press conference in Jakarta on Wednesday. Other charity work includes donations to a foundation for children with disabilities as well as the victims of the Mount Agung eruption. Read also: Three alternative ways to travel to Bali without flying This years festival will bring in 32 reggae artists, two of whom hail from Jamaica and Malaysia. A camping ground has been prepared for spectators coming from outside Bali. Also set to perform at the festival is Tony Q, who hopes it will attract more spectators from outside Indonesia. This could become the biggest reggae music festival in the world. If so, I hope more people from other countries can come watch the performances, he said. Tickets for the festival start at Rp 35,000 (US$2.40) for pre-sale purchase, and Rp 50,000 for on-the-spot purchase. (anm/kes) Apple Inc. became the first U.S.-based company with a market value of $1 trillion, four decades after it was co-founded by Steve Jobs in a Silicon Valley garage and later revolutionized the worlds of computing, music and mobile communications. The shares rose 2.9 percent to close at $207.39 in New York on Thursday, propelling the consumer-technology giants market value to $1.002 trillion. PetroChina Co. briefly crossed the trillion-dollar mark in late 2007, but slumped quickly as oil prices collapsed in the financial crisis. Other tech giants are not far behind Apple today, with Amazon.com Inc., Alphabet Inc. and Microsoft Corp. worth more than $800 billion each. Since its inception in 1976, Apple has consistently re-imagined what a computer can be and defined how humans interact with devices and software. The iMac desktop computer, the iPod, iPhone, and iPad were smash hits, while commercial misses like the Newton and Lisa are still considered pioneering. "Steves vision was grounded in the synergy between hardware products, software services, and third-party apps and media to make sure any customer would have everything they need without ever leaving the Apple ecosystem," said Tony Fadell, who worked closely with Jobs to create the iPod digital music player. "Layered on top of that business model, you had unparalleled product innovation, marketing excellence, combined with an untouchable retail experience," Fadell added. "There isnt another company out there that executes at Apples level of detail, at their fit-and-finish. This trinity established Steves vision and created the Apple we know today." Read also: Apple earnings arrive with trillion-dollar value near When Jobs introduced the iPhone in early 2007, its touch screen, built-in music player, web browser and email capabilities started the smartphone revolution and left competitors like Motorola and BlackBerry in the digital dust. The iPhone surpassed almost all early expectations, selling more than 1.3 billion units. It spawned the app economy, where a global army of independent developers earn a living from their software creations while increasing the utility of the device. Its now the hub for a growing services business that the company hopes will pull in $50 billion in revenue a year by 2021. In the 1980s and 1990s, Apple was a very different company. Jobs left in 1985 after disagreements with then-CEO John Sculley and the board. By 1997, the company was close to bankruptcy. Jobs returned and, with key lieutenants like design head Jony Ive and operations chief Tim Cook, saved Apple and turned it into the giant it is today. Jobs cut the number of Apple products so they could all fit on a small table, bringing a knack for whittling away extraneous offerings that werent up to scratch. Apple faced another crisis when Jobs died in 2011 and investors worried the company couldnt thrive without his intense, hands-on product-design leadership. However, Cook has overseen the development of key new products, like the iPhone X and Apple Watch, new services like Apple Music, and research on potential new categories like self-driving cars and augmented-reality glasses. Apple was worth about $350 billion when Jobs died, so Cook has led the creation of even more stock-market value than his former boss and mentor. Bloomberg News asked him about the $1 trillion target in a February interview. "I dont really think about it," he said, suggesting that if the company keeps making successful products, financial success will follow. "I still view Apple as a pretty small company, the way that we operate. I know its not numerically, but the way we function is very much like that." While tapping his experience working with Jobs, and relying on the co-founders advice, Cook has brought his own skills and strategies to the CEO position. Jobs was a maniacal manager who focused on the smallest product components. Cook relies heavily on his suite of experienced managers. Read also: Apple to debut phone-to-phone augmented reality -sources Jobs often presented nearly the entirety of Apples launch events, while Cook typically emcees, but hands product announcements to lieutenants like marketing head Phil Schiller, software chief Craig Federighi and services lead Eddy Cue. "Tim and team have done a masterful job of continuing to develop Steves vision while bringing operational and environmental excellence to every part of Apples business to achieve their unheard-of scale while continuing to grow unprecedented margins in the consumer electronics business, Fadell said. Jobs was averse to debt, possibly a hangover from Apples near-brush with bankruptcy. After the iPhone, profit soared and a huge cash pile grew. Cook tackled that by borrowing vast quantities of money, making Apple one of the largest corporate bond issuers. He then used some of the cash on an unprecedented program of buybacks and dividends that has returned more than $275 billion to shareholders since 2012. Cook also partly reversed Jobs product focus, adding wireless earphones, watches, a speaker and several versions of the iPhone. The latter move has helped the company maintain smartphone growth in an industry thats now contracting. He also catapulted Apple into new areas of politics, tech industry policy and environmental responsibility. He has pushed suppliers to improve labor practices and battled with U.S. authorities over user-privacy tools like encryption. The odds are stacked firmly against any new leader taking the CEO reins from a founder," Fadell said. "Tim has deftly proven otherwise. Read also: Apple confident new 6.5" iPhone to stir high demand Cooks tenure hasnt been without its challenges. The company faced a backlash when it replaced Google Maps on the iPhone with a buggy and unreliable Apple Maps app in 2012. It also stopped work on its own car to take on Tesla Inc., and faced criticism earlier this year when it was discovered the company throttled iPhone processing speeds to avoid shutdowns from aging batteries. Apple hit the $1 trillion milestone in the wake of a new U.S. tax law thats been a boon for shareholders. The companys corporate tax rate was slashed and its bringing hundreds of billions of overseas dollars back to the country. Much of that money will be spent on more buybacks and dividends. Investors are also keenly awaiting a major iPhone overhaul this fall that will include the largest screen size to date and a cheaper model that includes many of the iPhone Xs features. About 11 years after launching, the device represents both the biggest opportunity and challenge for Apple and Cook. Despite surging services revenue, iPhones generated 61 percent of the companys sales in its last fiscal year, up from 56 percent in 2014. If Apple is going to move far beyond $1 trillion, Cook has to find the right combination of future hit hardware products and new services that thrive on those devices. From black-and-white musicals to action movies, Abdel Qader al-Ayoubi screens films and exhibits paraphernalia of the art form in his basement in the Iraqi city of Kirkuk, a cinema-free zone. Ayoubi has scoured the country to collect 8 mm, 16 mm and 35-mm reels of old films, projectors, screens and archive materials from second-hand dealers, sometimes at exorbitant prices. Back in the 1970s, the city of Kirkuk was home to five cinemas: the Khayyam, Hamra, Alamein, Atlas and the Salaheddin, the educational advisor and longtime movie enthusiast told AFP. The silver screen pulled in audiences in towns across Iraq, until 1980 when war broke out with Iran, marking the start of decades of conflict. It was only in December that Baghdad declared victory after a three-year battle against the Islamic State group. While the level of violence has declined sharply, the rich cultural life long associated with Iraq has struggled to make a return. More than a decade of sanctions following Saddam Hussein's 1990 invasion of Kuwait, as well as long periods of militia and jihadist dominance after the 2003 US-led invasion that toppled the dictator, have ensured an end to the golden age of cinema in Iraq. The cinema experience in the country is now restricted to multi-screen theatres in shopping malls of Baghdad and the main southern city of Basra. In oil-rich Kirkuk, which is home to Kurdish, Arab and Turkmen communities, "all the movie theatres have closed, for different reasons but mainly because of security concerns", said 59-year-old Ayoubi. Read also: Jakpost guide to alternative cinemas - Purring projector - Only in the basement of his home can a Kirkuk cinemagoer experience the whirring of the film reel and the purring of the projector's fan. Ghassan Hawwa, an oil sector worker who remembers the days of the Atlas and Hamra cinemas, is a regular in the audience on leatherette seats at the weekly rendezvous in the basement. "Today, everybody watches DVDs or goes on the internet," sighed Hawwa, who along with a cluster of co-enthusiasts aim to bring cinema back to life in Kirkuk. Action and horror flicks are a hit at Ayoubi's cinema but his personal favourites are the Arabic movies, the musical comedies of the 1950s and 1960s, or the good old-fashioned love stories. Foreign films are also on the programme, such as the Spaghetti Westerns whose posters plaster the walls of his small museum that is open to the public on weekends and public holidays. Ayoubi guides visitors around his museum, giving the history of the reels, projectors and other cinema paraphernalia to a new generation "who know nothing of the cinema world of old". Chinas Beijing Bytedance Technology Co announced late Wednesday that it is shuttering the popular Musical.ly video app it acquired for nearly $1 billion in December and will move users to a revamped version of its homegrown competitor TikTok. Musical.ly, released in 2014, and TikTok, launched in 2016, both enable users to create and share short singing and dancing videos that are set to well-known songs, with numerous special effect filters. Although both apps were developed in China, Musical.ly became a sensation among teenagers in the Americas and Europe, while TikTok took off among youth in Asia. Musical.ly and TikTok currently operate in complementary geographies without much overlap and as both platforms continue to grow rapidly now is the time to bring them together, Stefan Heinrich, head of global marketing at TikTok, said in an email to Reuters. He said they are embracing the TikTok brand because it better reflects the breadth of content created on our platform that extends beyond music to comedy, performance art and more. Supporting one platform will allow us to expand our on-the-ground presence more quickly and easily building local teams to support each market, he said. Musical.ly recently reached 100 million monthly active users, according to the company. TikTok touted 500 million monthly active users in June. Bytedance has ridden the success of its news aggregation app Toutiao, to become one of the most highly valued startups in Chinas red-hot tech sector. Read also: Tik Tok vows to nurture local creators, prevent negative content But the company has faced mounting scrutiny from Chinas internet censors, with Toutiao temporarily taken off app stores for a cleanup in April while a separate joke app was permanently shut. TikTok had also been temporarily banned in Indonesia for inappropriate content. It maintains a separate app for China, known as Douyin. Alex Zhu, co-founder of musical.ly and senior vice president of TikTok, said in a press release: Combining Musical.ly and TikTok is a natural fit given the shared mission of both experiences to create a community where everyone can be a creator. The new app will let users access content from new countries and viewing options that were only available on one of the apps, the company said in the release. Among new features is an alert for when users have spent more than two hours on the app, which is similar to an option social media giant Facebook introduced on Wednesday. The company said existing users accounts and content would be moved to the new TikTok app, which was expected to be available on app stores late Wednesday. Bytedance said in November that acquiring Musical.ly would help its users and advertisers tap into new markets. Last month, Musical.ly shut down Live.ly, a live streaming app it had developed before being acquired by Bytedance. The company told users to try out LiveMe, a rival app in which Bytedance is an investor. Muted colours, long dresses and chaste necklines: Meghan has had to tone down her fashion choices since marrying Prince Harry in May but still occasionally displays some of her past style. It was a question that many asked ahead of the wedding: would the chilled-out Los Angeles actress frequently seen in short skirts and sandals fit into the British royal family mould? Would the newly-minted Duchess of Sussex imitate the typically English conservative style associated with Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge, wife of her brother-in-law Prince William? Would Meghan, who turns 37 on Saturday, have to become demure? "Before the wedding, Meghan cultivated a casual Californian look that was a nod to her LA upbringing," Elizabeth Vollman, who manages the website Meghan's Fashion, told AFP. "Since becoming a duchess, her style has had to evolve to befit her new royal role and she has dropped the effortless chic look in favour of a tailored and demure style, opting for French designers and neutral shades," she said. Meghan, who starred in the hit US television legal drama Suits before giving up acting, told the website Outnet.com last year that she felt most comfortable in "jeans, cut-offs and flip-flops". In one of her first public appearances alongside Harry in Toronto in September last year, she wore a pair of ripped jeans and a loose-fitting boyfriend shirt. It was less than a year ago but an age ago in terms of her personal fashion evolution. Read also: Meghan Markle nominated for Teen Choice award - 'Last moment' of joy - By marrying Queen Elizabeth II's grandson, Meghan has joined the royal family -- an institution whose traditions dominate the lives of its members, including their clothing choices. "The role she's taken on, it's very austere, it's very sort of serious," fashion designer Stella McCartney, who created Meghan's wedding evening reception dress, told the BBC in a recent interview. Of the wedding day itself, McCartney said: "I think it was the last moment that she could reflect sort of the other side to her: the joy and the human within her." Belonging to Britain's House of Windsor means representing the monarchy at closely-watched public events -- where any sign of fashion extravagance is duly noted. At her first public engagement on May 22, three days after her wedding, Meghan wore a long pale pink dress by Goat, a British designer, along with a hat, a handbag and stockings. She has shown signs of at least some originality, however. "Meghan has occasionally pushed the boundaries of the royal dress code," said Vollman, pointing to a "daring" shoulder-baring sleeveless outfit by Carolina Herrera she wore at the Trooping of the Colour military parade in June. Meghan also frequently wears French designers such as Dior or Givenchy -- a sign that she will not only wear British designers. "Meghan is more attuned to trends and has more freedom to take fashion risks compared to the Duchess of Cambridge," said Vollman. "It's exciting following Meghan's style because you can never predict who or what she will wear for an event." The Daily Mail newspaper said Meghan wore boat neck dresses in order to "respect protocol, while still looking 'a little sexy'." But the tabloid went on to say that her fashion choices had led to "friction" and were "barely tolerated by royal aides". Harry himself, the report said, had stepped in to ask her not to wear a tuxedo suit on an upcoming royal visit. Some 20,000 people turned out on Thursday for Jerusalems annual Gay Pride parade, flanked by police officers after threats by some Jewish activists to disrupt the celebration. They waved rainbow flags and a few Israeli ones with rainbow motifs as they processed through the Jewish part of Jerusalem on a march that went off largely without incident. Ultra-Orthodox right-wing Jewish protesters, who were kept on the sidelines well away from the march, held up banners, including one that read: Do not anger the God of Israel. In 2015, an ultra-Orthodox Jewish man stabbed a 16-year-old girl to death and wounded five others and was sentenced to life plus 30 years in prison. A rally at the end of Thursdays parade opened with a minutes silence to honor the girl, Shira Banki. Read also: Istanbul LGBT pride march will go ahead despite ban: Organizers Parade participants protested against legislation enacted last month that denies gay male couples equal rights for support in surrogacy. I think this surrogacy law is a symbol of inequality and (shows) that the government has still failed to realize that the LGBTQ community in Israel is equal to anybody, said Ofer Erez of the Jerusalem Open House for Pride and Tolerance which organized the parade. We are here today to stop asking for equality and start demanding it. English heavy metal band Judas Priest has openly invited President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo to attend its upcoming concert in Jakarta slated for Dec. 7. "Dear President @Jokowi - We cordially invite you to attend our show on 7th December at Echopark Ancol and will be extremely honoured by your acceptance - Judas Priest are very excited to visit your beautiful country and perform in Jakarta! Best Regards Judas Priest," tweeted the band on Friday, which has so far received more than 480 retweets and 540 likes. Dear President @Jokowi - We cordially invite you to attend our show on 7th December at Echopark Ancol and will be extremely honoured by your acceptance - Judas Priest are very excited to visit your beautiful country and perform in Jakarta! Best Regards Judas Priest Judas Priest (@judaspriest) August 3, 2018 The concert is said to be the band's first ever performance in the country. Slated to be held at Ecopark Ancol in North Jakarta, presale tickets for the show will be available from Saturday at 12 p.m. for Rp 450,000 (US$31). Regular tickets will be priced at Rp 650,000 and available on Sunday. Read also: Judas Priest to rock Indonesian fans in December Jokowi is known to be a big fan of the band. He even attended one of their concerts in Singapore in 2012. Netizens commenting on the tweet mostly expressed their pleasure and excitement regarding the invitation. "The Priest invited the president to the show?!!! I can only pray he comes, what a sweet honor that would be. Nice job my brothers! :)" tweeted @mwelthyone. "Wow. That's heavy. Hope it works out. Class act guys," praised @TherealRandyR. "Well Jokowi is a big fans of Priest. He will definitely come to the concert invited / not :-)" said @xiurongg. (kes) Puppies discovered on an uninhabited island in the Canadian wilds are looking for a new home. The litter -- four males and three females -- has been dubbed the "Gilligan's Island crew" after the 1960s American television sitcom about castaways on an uncharted tropical island. Two boaters recently heard their cries in the night, Deb Vandekerkhove, director of the rescue, told AFP. "The fellas could see some dark figures on the island across the water and thought it might be wolves fighting," she said in a telephone interview. "The next morning they took a boat over and found these seven puppies." "They gave them what food they had and contacted local rescue volunteers." Read also: Five things to consider before adopting a dog Arrangements were made to get the pups food and supplies, and the two men brought an old dog house to the island and set it up as a temporary shelter. Vandekerkhove is scheduled to travel to the Cross Lake area, about 500 kilometers north of Winnipeg, Manitoba, on Friday and return with the puppies, which are believed to be a mix of Labrador and Husky and about four months old. After a few weeks of rehabilitation, the dogs will be put up for adoption through Winnipeg Pet Rescue. "It appears they'd been on the island all alone for several weeks," Vandekerkhove said. "They're very cute with spikey hair on their heads but they were starving, just skin and bones, and they were terrified of people at first." The dogs are now eating and drinking water, playing with toys and appear to be warming up to their saviors. The lobster has become an unlikely ally in the transgender communitys push to be represented by a pictoral icon, as calls mount for greater online and media visibility. British activist Charlie Craggs created the hashtag #ClawsOutForTrans to protest that the red crustacean was among 157 new emojis launched in February - while the blue, pink and white transgender flag was not. It is important, when there is so much discussion on the internet around trans issues, that there is an emoji to represent this, Jennie Kermode, chairwoman of Trans Media Watch, a charity promoting positive transgender media images. Transgender rights are in the spotlight, with activists using U.S. courts to lobby for access to bathrooms of their choice, and criticizing the casting of non-transgender actors, like Scarlett Johansson in gender fluid roles. There are almost 3,000 different emojis worldwide, from smiley faces to thumbs up, but none for the transgender community, despite the submission of a proposal for a flag symbol. Emojis are a way for the world to connect, and trans people shouldnt be left out of the conversation, Craggs said in a petition on change.org for a transgender emoji, which had attracted about 900 signatures on Wednesday. Read also: Transgenderism no longer a mental illness: WHO Surely we deserve the same rights you have afforded crustaceans? Unicode, a Silicon Valley-based coding consortium which approves about 100 new emojis every year, was not immediately available to comment. Craggs said lobsters are well suited to represent a community that does not adhere to strict gender norms because they can contain both male and female characteristics. The hijacking of the new lobster emoji could spread, with some activists carrying inflatable lobsters to a Brighton Pride rally in the south of England last month. We are rarely represented properly or equally anywhere, said Emma Bailey, founder of British charity Wipe Out Transphobia, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. So every little battle to have trans people represented somewhere new is always going to be worthwhile. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, August 3, 2018 09:02 1182 b147f6715e2195e5246e701df511b923 1 City KPU-Jakarta,Gerindra-Party,candidate,Lists,corruption Free The Jakarta General Elections Commission (KPU Jakarta) has issued a letter to the Gerindra Partys Jakarta executive board asking it to replace councilor Mohamad Taufik on its list of legislative candidates because of Taufiks background as a former corruption convict. Based on KPU Regulation No. 20/2018, political parties are required to exclude individuals who have been convicted of corruption, sexual crimes against children and drug dealing from their candidate lists. If the KPU discovers such candidates running in the 2019 election, it will disqualify them immediately and ask the related political parties to submit replacements. KPU Jakarta head Betty Epsilon Idroos said the KPU Jakarta had received confirmation about Taufiks background from the court, the head of the correctional facility and the media. We delivered the letter to ask the political party to find [Taufiks] replacement based on KPU Regulation No. 20/2018, Betty said on Thursday as quoted by kompas.com. Betty said the name of the new legislative candidate should be submitted before Aug. 8. Taufik, who currently serves as the councils deputy speaker, was declared guilty of corruption in 2004 while he was the head of the KPU Jakarta. The court sentenced him to 18 months in prison for causing state losses of Rp 488 million (US$33,687) in a corruption case surrounding the procurement of election materials. Taufik has filed a judicial review to the Supreme Court to challenge the KPU regulation. (cal) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Adnan Khan (Agence France-Presse) Khost, Afghanistan Fri, August 3, 2018 22:06 1181 b147f6715e2195e5246e701df5139a8e 2 World #Afghanistan,burqa,bombs,mosque,Shiites Free Burqa-clad suicide bombers struck a Shiite mosque in eastern Afghanistan Friday as it was crowded with worshippers for weekly prayers, killing at least 29 people and wounding more than 80 in the latest attack on the minority. Officials said they feared the death toll could rise after the assault, the latest targeting civilians who have borne the brunt of the violence in Afghanistan's long conflict. "Two suicide explosions happened during Friday prayers in the Khwaja Hasan area of Gardez," said Abdullah Hasrat, spokesman for Paktia province near the Pakistan border. He told AFP the toll had risen to 29 killed and 81 wounded, with children among the victims. The bombers wore "women's clothing", he said, and shot first at the mosque's security guards before opening fire on worshippers then detonating their explosives. Provincial police chief General Raz Mohammad Mandozai confirmed the incident, and that the pair were wearing burqas to hide their explosives and weapons. Local resident Sayed Naimatullah said he could hear the blasts from inside his home and rushed to the mosque. "There were body parts, heads, limbs and arms scattered everywhere. The blood of the worshippers had painted the walls of the mosque... There were pieces of glass scattered all over," the 30-year-old told AFP. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, but the Taliban have denied involvement. - Uptick in violence - The blasts come as urban areas across Afghanistan have been rocked by an increasing number of attacks in recent months, with both Islamic State (IS) and Taliban insurgents targeting security forces and government installations. The Taliban has not claimed a major attack in a city for weeks as it comes under increased pressure to agree to peace talks with the Afghan government. But IS has carried out multiple attacks in the eastern city of Jalalabad and the capital Kabul in recent months, targeting everything from government ministries to a midwife training centre. Last month an IS suicide bomber blew himself up near Kabul international airport, killing 23 people including AFP driver Mohammad Akhtar. The uptick in violence comes as US and Afghan forces intensify ground and air offensives against IS, and the Taliban step up their turf war with the group. Earlier this week more than 150 IS fighters surrendered in northern Afghanistan -- in a move that Afghan security forces and the Taliban hailed as the end of the extremist group in the north of the country. The surrender followed the Afghan army's decision to take over security in the eastern city of Jalalabad in IS's main stronghold of Nangarhar province after a spate of attacks, mostly claimed by the group. Afghan civilians have taken the brunt of the gruesome war that began after the 2001 US-led invasion uprooted the Taliban regime. Insurgent attacks and suicide bombs were the leading causes of civilian deaths in the first half of 2018, a recent UN report showed. A total of 1,692 civilians were killed, the highest number for the period since the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan began keeping records in 2009. Another 3,430 people were wounded, the report added. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, August 3, 2018 18:04 1181 b147f6715e2195e5246e701df5133ad7 1 City Tanah-Abang-Market,Tanah-Abang,bridge,construction,Central-Jakarta Free Construction of a sky bridge that will connect Tanah Abang Station in Central Jakarta and all the local market's blocks officially begun on Friday morning, an executive has said. President director of PD Pembangunan Sarana Jaya, Yoory C. Pinontoan, told The Jakarta Post on Friday that the company had officially started the construction by doing a topography study and measurement and soil test. Yoory said 80 percent of the work had been done at a factory that manufactured components of the sky bridge. When the component work is done, the factory will send them to Tanah Abang, and we will assemble them onsite. Thus, there will not be any significant disruption to market activity around the construction site, he said. We have divided the construction site into four zones, with each being 100 meters in length. We are starting with zone A, which is located near Blok G of the market. He also said that tenants whose stalls were affected by the construction work would be moved to another zone during the work. We target to spend only 10 workdays per zone, he said, adding that he targeted the sky bridge to be ready by Oct. 15. Jl. Jatibaru will be affected during the construction work. From 4 a.m. to 7 p.m., part of the road will be closed, while between 7 p.m. and 4 a.m. the road will be totally closed. The 400-meter bridge is costing about Rp 35 billion (US$2.4 million) to build. (gis) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Jon Afrizal and Marguerite Afra Sapiie (The Jakarta Post) Jambi/Jakarta Fri, August 3 2018 In a rare decision, the Muara Bulian District Court in Jambi has decided to suspend the six-month prison sentence for a 15-year-old girl who was sent to prison for aborting her pregnancy after being raped by her own brother. Derman Nababan, who heads the district court, said on Thursday that the decision was made on humanitarian grounds. The verdict against the teenage rape victim has sparked criticism from human rights activists who believe her trial was flawed, and they have launched a major campaign demanding that the girl be released from prison. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, August 3, 2018 10:09 1181 b147f6715e2195e5246e701df511f3b2 1 Business customs-and-excise,revenue,first-half,2018 Free The Finance Ministry's customs and excise directorate general recorded 16.98 percent year-on-year (yoy) growth in customs and excise tax revenue in the first half of 2018 to Rp 93.28 trillion (US$644 billion) or 48.08 percent of this year total target. It was the highest growth in the last three years, said the head of the revenue division at the Finance Ministry's customs and excise directorate general, Rudy Rahmaddi, in Jakarta on Thursday as reported by kontan.co.id In the first half of 2017, the revenue from customs and excise taxes reached Rp 79.8 trillion, in 2016 it reached 73.4 trillion and in 2015 it reached 86.2 trillion. In the first half of 2018, the excise tax contributed 67.8 trillion, import tax 21.5 trillion and export tax Rp 3.98 trillion. Meanwhile, customs and excise director general Heru Pambudi said the cigarette excise tax contributed Rp 64.4 trillion, while the remaining revenue came from alcoholic excise taxes. Heru expressed his optimism that this year, revenue from customs and excise taxes would reach the target because his office had managed to reduce the distribution of illegal cigarettes in the market. He said from the operation to prevent the distribution of illegal cigarettes, his office could obtain additional revenue of between Rp 1.49 trillion and Rp 1.52 trillion (bbn) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (Agence France-Presse) Rome, Italy Fri, August 3, 2018 10:00 1181 b147f6715e2195e5246e701df511f315 2 Sports #soccer,AC-Milan,Higuain Free Argentina striker Gonzalo Higuain on Thursday moved to AC Milan in a three-player swap deal between the seven-time European champions and Juventus that will see Leonardo Bonucci return to Turin after just a season away. Milan signed 30-year-old Higuain on a one-year loan deal worth a reported 18 million euros ($21 million) that gives them the option to buy the striker next summer for a further 36 million euros. Italy centre-back Bonucci has been swapped for promising Mattia Caldara just weeks after Caldara arrived at Juve following his transfer from Atalanta, which was agreed in January 2017. Higuain left Juventus, where he won two Serie A titles and scored 40 goals in 76 league appearances, following the shock signing of Cristiano Ronaldo from Real Madrid that made the Argentine surplus to requirements. Italian media reported that Higuain's transfer had been structured to allow Milan to comply with UEFA's Financial Fair Play regulations, which they fell foul of last season. Last season, Milan scored only 56 goals in Serie A, a figure which put them at a serious disadvantage compared to major rivals Juventus, Napoli and Roma as well as bitter city rivals Inter Milan who all claimed Champions League places. "A new adventure begins," said Higuain after undergoing his medical. The Argentinian's move opened the door for Bonucci to return to Turin, where the defender won six league titles and reached two Champions League finals. The 31-year-old Bonucci returns to Juve after just one season with Milan, who could only finish sixth last season and missed the Champions League despite spending over 200 million euros ($233 million) on new players last summer. A reported 42 million euros of that were spent on Bonucci, who was made captain but fell short of the imperious form he showed at Juve. "Turin and Juventus are home for me. It's difficult to imagine that this has happened," said Bonucci. "I am delighted and excited to be back." Milan are trying to bounce back after a troubled spell following the sale of the club to Chinese owners in April last year, but poor performances on the pitch were compounded in recent months by fears over their financial survival. UEFA booted them out of next season's Europa League for violating the financial regulations, only for the ban to be overturned by the Court of Arbitration for Sport on July 20 following hedge fund Elliott Management's takeover earlier in the month. The American firm took control after the Chinese consortium led by Li Yonghong that ran Milan, long rumoured to be struggling financially, failed to repay 32 million euros lent by Elliott. Elliot has pledged to inject 50 million euros to bring financial stability to the club. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, August 3, 2018 11:45 1181 b147f6715e2195e5246e701df5122c7b 4 Business jusuf-kalla,year-of-politics,wait-and-see-stance,investors Free Vice President Jusuf Kalla has said investors were in a wait and see position ahead of the presidential and legislative elections in 2019 as they were concerned about the possible impact of the political events on the countrys economy. He explained that investors were also still waiting for the result of the presidential election, which would likely be a rematch between President Joko Jokowi Widodo and Prabowo Subianto. Investors are particularly concerned about the policy. Will there be any policy changes if President Joko Widodo wins? And what about if Prabowo wins? he said in Jakarta on Thursday as reported by kontan.com.id, adding that the wait and see position affected the countrys economy. However, he expressed optimism that the impact of the year of politics was not so significant. He called on the media to help ensure that the year of politics did not cause worry and uncertainty among the people. He also expressed hope that whoever won the election would have a positive impact on the countrys economy. Kalla said it was not only the year of politics that had negatively affected the countrys economy, but also the trade war between the United States and China, because it had affected Indonesian exports to its traditional markets. He said the Federal Reserve hinting at further increases in its reference rate had also affected performance in the financial sector in other countries, including Indonesia, with the rupiah still under pressure. (bbn) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, August 3, 2018 11:03 1181 b147f6715e2195e5246e701df5120b1f 1 Business Darmin-nasution,low-saving-rate,foreign-capital Free Coordinating Economic Minister Darmin Nasution has warned that Indonesia relied very much on foreign capital because of the low savings rate among Indonesians. He considered it to be a factor of a weak fundamental economy. The minister said foreign capital entered Indonesia through portfolio investment such as stocks and government debt papers. Darmin explained about 45 to 50 percent of shares in the stock market in the country were owned by foreign investors, compared to the situation in Malaysia and Thailand in which, foreign investors only control about 12 to 14 percent of the stocks. He said low saving in Indonesia was not caused by corruption and overspending among the Indonesian people, but because not all foreign exchange obtained by Indonesians through export and other businesses was taken home by the exporters. He said about 80 percent of foreign exchange from export was taken home to Indonesia. We call it an economic leakage in economics terms, he said as quoted by kompas.com, when speaking at a Business Lunch with Jusuf Kalla event in Jakarta on Thursday. He further explained that from 80 percent of funds that were taken home, only about 15 percent were exchanged into rupiah, while the remaining funds were deposited in United States dollars. He said such practices did not violate any regulations in Indonesia, but it negatively affected the countrys economy. (bbn) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, August 3, 2018 14:36 1181 b147f6715e2195e5246e701df512aeaa 4 Business PLN,pertamina,agreement,electricity,sales Free State-owned electricity company PLN has signed an agreement with state-owned oil and gas holding company Pertamina to supply electricity to its refineries in Dumai in Riau, Cilacap in Central Java, Balongan in West Java, Balikpapan in East Kalimantan and Plaju-Sungai Gerong in South Sumatra. The projected electricity demand of the five oil refineries is 217 mega volt amperes (MVA) that could be expanded to an additional supply of 104 MVA, Pertamina manufacturing director Budi Santoso Syarif said in Jakarta on Friday. The PLN electricity service will be implemented in two stages and will help Pertamina save Rp 2.79 trillion annually, said Budi, who recently signed the agreement in Jakarta with PLN corporate planning director Syofvi Delienty Roekman. Budi said the oil refineries needed a large and stable supply of electricity, and that if PLN could fulfill their electricity demand, it would boost Pertamina's efficiency. We hope that PLN is able to meet our electricity demand, he said. Meanwhile, Syofvi said that PLN was ready to meet the electricity needs of Pertamina's refineries. We are ready to provide high-quality services in supplying electricity to the refineries for both their transmission [networks] and power plants," she said. Syofvi added that PLN had signed power purchase agreements (PPAs) with third-party electricity producers to generate 32,295 megawatts (MW) of electricity as part of the 35,000 MW national electricity program. In the initial step, Pertamina would provide PLN with the power data for each refinery, which PLN would then review to prepare the appropriate networks, said Syofvi. (bbn) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (Agence France-Presse) Washington, United States Fri, August 3, 2018 07:47 1182 b147f6715e2195e5246e701df51191d3 2 World #USA,Russia,spy,Moscow Free A suspected Russian spy worked at the US embassy in Moscow for a decade before being quietly dismissed last year, reports said Thursday. The woman, a Russian national, was hired by the Secret Service and came under suspicion following a routine security sweep carried out by the State Department, according to sources quoted by the Guardian, which broke the story, and CNN. The probe found she was having regular unauthorized meetings with the main Russian intelligence agency, the FSB. "We figure that all of them are talking to the FSB, but she was giving them way more information than she should have," an official told CNN. The woman had access to the Secret Service's intranet and email systems, the reports said, giving her a window into potentially sensitive data including the schedules of the US president and vice president. But "she did not have access to highly classified information," the source told CNN. The Guardian meanwhile reported the Secret Service attempted to contain the embarrassment by letting her go when Russia ordered the removal of 750 personnel from the American embassy during a diplomatic spat that followed allegations of Moscow's interference in the 2016 US presidential election. "The Secret Service is trying to hide the breach by firing [her]," a source told the British newspaper. "The damage was already done but the senior management of the Secret Service did not conduct any internal investigation to assess the damage and to see if [she] recruited any other employees to provide her with more information." Relations between the US and Russia have been particularly fraught since the election of Donald Trump, despite the president's personal warmth with his counterpart Vladimir Putin. The Cold War era rivals are also deeply divided on issues ranging from the conflict in Syria to the annexation of Crimea from Ukraine and the Iran nuclear deal. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (Agence France-Presse) London, United Kingdom Fri, August 3, 2018 23:40 1181 b147f6715e2195e5246e701df513ac62 2 World #Britain,teenagers,terrorism,verdict Free A London teenager was jailed for life on Friday for plotting a terror attack, becoming the youngest woman to be sentenced for terrorism offences in Britain. Safaa Boular, 18, who together with her mother and elder sister formed the country's first all-female cell linked to the Islamic State group, will spend a minimum of 13 years in prison. She had planned violent attacks in the British capital, using coded language themed around a tea party, after UK authorities stopped her travelling to Syria to marry an IS fighter she had met online. "However much she may have been influenced and drawn into her extremism, it appeared she knew what she was doing and acted with open eyes," said Judge Mark Dennis in sentencing her at London's Old Bailey. "Her views were deeply entrenched," he added, rejecting claims she had renounced extremism. In June sibling Rizlaine Boular, 22, was also jailed for life, with a minimum term of 16 years, while their Morocco-born mother Mina Dich was handed a minimum sentence of six years and nine months for aiding the plots. Safaa Boular was only 16 when she made contact with British-born IS fighter Naweed Hussain, 32, discussing marriage and how they would don his-and-hers suicide belts. But her hopes of joining him were dashed when she was stopped at the airport in August 2016 following a family trip to Morocco, and her passport was confiscated. 'Family with murderous intent' Instead Boular decided to plan an attack in Britain, detailing it in coded language -- such as using "pineapples" for grenades -- to online contacts, who were in fact undercover agents. Hussain was later killed in a drone strike. When Boular was charged with preparing terrorist acts in April 2017, she handed responsibility to her sister Rizlaine, 22, and their mother Mina Dich, 44, who hatched their own plan. The trio were taped talking about an Alice in Wonderland-themed tea party, which the prosecution argued was code for an attack. Rizlaine Boular and Dich were arrested after being tracked by police visiting potential sites around Westminster and buying knives. They pleaded guilty to terror offences, but Safaa Boular denied involvement in the plot. She remained expressionless as she was jailed Friday for two counts of preparing terrorist acts after being found guilty at trial in June. Dean Haydon, Britain's top counter-terror police officer, said then the plot "involved a family with murderous intent, the first all-female terrorist plot in the UK connected to Daesh (IS)". He added: "All three women were filled with hate and toxic ideology and were determined to carry out a terrorist attack. "Had they been successful, it could well have resulted in people being killed or seriously injured." Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Sat, August 4 2018 Despite having met travel time targets required for the Asian Games, the Jakarta administration has yet to improve the citys air quality, which remains heavily polluted by transportation emissions. The administration implemented in July a series of traffic policies, including a test run of the odd-even car restriction that bans some cars from using several major thoroughfares every day. But a review of the daily air quality index (AQI) in the past month, which is observed by Greenpeace Indonesia, revealed that the test run of the traffic policy, beginning July 2, did not reduce concentration of fine particlate matter (PM 2.5). For many people, Korea is probably not on their list of must-go surfing destinations. However, with the rising popularity of the sport, more people are discovering that they can actually catch some good waves here. Based on recommendations from members of the Korea Pro Surfing Association, pro and amateur surfers, and online surfing communities, The Korea Herald has selected five spots that surfers of all levels can enjoy. 1. Busan Located on the southeastern coast, Busan is a major port city that has much to offer for surfers. Built on the seafront, it is both a modern metropolis and holiday getaway. Haeundae and Gwangalli are the two major beaches in the city, but for surfing, the preferred spot is Songjeong Beach. Although it is less known and smaller, it is also less crowded than the other two. At Songjeong, it is possible to surf all year round. The beach is especially appropriate for beginners, because the water is shallow and the ground is formed of soft sand. Lined up along the beach, surfing schools and shops offer equipment rental, surfing classes and sometimes even accommodation. 2. Yangyang Yangyang County in Gangwon Province has recently emerged as the surfing mecca of Korea, featuring great waves and a surfer friendly environment. One of the best places to visit is Surfyy Beach, the only beach in Korea exclusively designated for surfing. Access to the beach, once part of a military base, was denied for 40 years, until recently. Eugene Lee, a director of Surfyy Beach, said, My goal was to develop a beginner friendly beach where surfers of all levels could come and enjoy the sport without being interrupted by bathers and other non-surfers. Public beaches include Jukdo and Gisamun. Jukdo is a great spot for beginners, but Gisamun requires more experience as the waves are stronger. Read also: Surf's up! North Korea tourism agency tries to woo foreigners 3. Jeju Island Jeju Island is another popular surfing spot and also the birthplace of Korean surfing. Known for its big waves, the island attracts many experienced surfers from both Korea and abroad. Some of the best beaches are Jungmun Beach and Weoljung Beach. The first surfing club in Korea was established at Jungmun Beach in 1995. The beach is known to have the best conditions for intermediate and advanced surfers, with waves similar to those in Australia. However, beginners can still enjoy the waters with guidance from surfing schools located along the beach. For beginners looking for more level waves, Weoljung Beach is ideal. Its emerald clear waters also make it the hottest photo spot on Jeju. 4. Goheung In Goheung of South Jeolla Province, Namyeol Beach has recently caught the heart of the surfing community. Visitors can surf during all seasons thanks to the warmer southern weather. The best waves come during May and October. There is also a dense forest just by the beach, making it an ideal space for camping. Top-ranking Korean pro surfer Cho Joon-hee, 23, told The Korea Herald that Namyeol Beach is one of his favorite places to surf. The waves are good, but also the view of the beach from the ocean is breathtaking, he said. 5. Taean Taean, the small west coast county in South Chungcheong Province, is known for the idyllic Mallipo Beach. The 2-kilometer-long beach facing the Yellow Sea is often called Mallifornia for its similarities with Californian beaches. The waves are appropriate for all levels and the area is also surrounded by rich mountainous scenery. During dusk, surfers can also see one of the most beautiful sunsets in the country. As more people search for surf-worthy beaches, the local government has also stepped in to develop surfer friendly beaches across the country. The surfing environment in Korea is very good, Cho said. Moreover, most beaches here are made of soft sand, so it is perfect for beginners who are just starting to enjoy the sport. Good food has the ability to help start conversations between strangers. Let alone between friends and loved ones. And as much as food brings people together, it also makes for a lucrative business. Marriott International, a global lodging company with more than 6,500 properties across 127 countries and territories, launched the new Club Marriott, an F&B loyalty program, in Jakarta on Tuesday. The new Club Marriott merges the previous program of the same name, together with the companys other F&B loyalty programs, namely Eat Drink & More and Star Privilege. Previously launched in the Pacific region comprising six key locations in Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, New Caledonia and Samoa, this paid membership program rewards and recognizes guests with distinctive experiences and benefits. In Indonesia, membership can be purchased at Westin Jakarta, Le Meridien Jakarta, JW Marriott Hotel Medan, Sheraton Surabaya Hotel & Towers and Four Points by Sheraton Makassar. These hotels are named key participating hotels, while there are 21 participating hotels in total in Indonesia, across 10 brands in 10 cities. Membership price ranges from Rp 1.55 million (US$110) for Four Points by Sheraton Makassar to Rp 3.88 million for the Westin Jakarta. Membership purchased at the Westin Jakarta, for example, entitles a guest to card benefits that include 30 percent discount off food and beverage for up to 20 guests in all participating restaurants in The Westin Jakarta. Discounts of up to 20 percent off F&B are also given for dining at key participating hotels in Indonesia, and any other participating food and beverage outlets of Marriott International Hotels in Asia Pacific. For accommodation, the membership card could be presented in exchange of 20 percent off the Best Available Rate on any room category at The Westin Jakarta, and up to 20 percent off Best Available Rate in participating hotels across the Asia Pacific. The launch of the new Club Marriott is attended by Marriott International food and beverage operations vice president Petr Raba (left), Westin Jakarta general manager Arun Kumar (center) and area director of operations for Indonesia Marie Browne at The Westin Jakarta on July 31. (JP/Handout) Read also: Marriott, Alibaba to launch new booking portal Myclubmarriott.com hasnt included any "Member Offers" from The Westin Jakarta and other key participating hotels in Indonesia as of the writing of this article. But as an example, W Koh Samui in Thailand listed "The Ultimate Island Paradise" at myclubmarriott.coms Member Offers. This offer includes 25 percent off Best Available Rate from THB 20,000 ++ (US$601) per night for a minimum of two nights stay, and complimentary pool villa upgrade from Jungle Oasis to Tropical Oasis. Albeit the current unavailability of "Member Offers" from Indonesias participating hotels at the Club Marriott, the "teaser" of the program at its launch in The Westin Jakarta delighted guests. The launch party of new Club Marriott features an array of food and beverages from four Marriott International properties in Jakarta namely The Westin Jakarta, Sheraton Grand Jakarta Gandaria City Hotel, Le Meridien Jakarta and The Hermitage Jakarta. (JP/Handout) The teaser, in the form of a launch party, offered an array of food and beverages from four Marriott International properties in Jakarta, namely The Westin itself, Sheraton Grand Jakarta Gandaria City Hotel, Le Meridien Jakarta and The Hermitage Jakarta. Executive chefs of the hotels and their team were in attendance to supervise or cook live in the food stations, serving a variety of food from Nikkei style entrees to molecular desserts, namely the "reversed fried banana" prepared using liquid nitrogen. A chocolate bar featuring products from Indonesias Pipiltin Cocoa, magnum-style ice cream cart and Le Meridien Jakartas croque monsieur rendang were among the most talked-about menu that evening. With its many benefits and offers, Club Marriott has gained more than 200,000 memberships. This number, reportedly still growing, combines memberships from different loyalty programs now merged into one. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, August 3, 2018 15:05 1181 b147f6715e2195e5246e701df512b4c2 1 News students,Competition,Indonesian-students,science-and-technology Free A team of students from Indonesia was among the 49 student teams from 33 countries that competed in tech and innovation competition the 2018 Imagine Cup World Finals, held recently in Redmond, Washington, the United States. Representing Indonesia, Team Beehive Drones, consisting of three students from the University of Manchester, presented a drone system that can be operated via a mobile application and allows farmers to conduct farm analysis and other agricultural tasks. "We are honored and thrilled to be able to represent Indonesia at this years world finals of the 2018 Imagine Cup, BeeHive Drones CEO Albertus Gian said in a statement. The Indonesian teams mentor was Irving Hutagalung, audience evangelism manager and commercial software engineer at Microsoft Indonesia. At Microsoft, we continue to encourage young innovators to have the courage to step up and develop solutions that will solve real-world problems, Irving said. Read also: Indonesian students shine at RoboCup 2018 competition in Montreal Held annually since 2003, student teams compete for cash, travel and the opportunity to be mentored by Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. Team smartARM from Canada won the competition with their robotic prosthetic hand that is powered by Microsoft Azure. The hand is equipped with a camera embedded in the palm to help recognize objects and calculate the most appropriate grip for the object. Second place went to Team iCry2Talk from Greece, whose project enables parents to decipher the meaning behind a babys crying in real-time. Team Mediated Ear from Japan came in third with software that allows hearing-impaired individuals to focus on a specific speaker in a multitude of conversations through the help of deep learning. (liz/kes) multi-coloured and favourite Trevino, 24, lives in Romania and creates unique photographs that incorporate his enormous book collection. The photos, often literary-themed themselves, contain hundreds ofbooks from his personal collection, and have attracted thousands of followers.Trevino said: I started my account about two years ago, but my style as it is now is pretty recent. Maybe a few months old.I get inspired by pop culture most of the time: movies, TV series, cartoonsanimes.Trevino said he never buys books solely to create specific works, instead choosing his collection based on his own reading taste. He said: Mybook must be a tie between Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by JK Rowling and The Silmarillion by JRR Tolkien. I have a bunch of pics on Harry Potter since it is what got me into reading in the first place. Ive recently created a pic inspired by Tolkiens work as well.Trevino has attracted plenty of admirers through his work, gaining over 146,000 followers on Instagram. He said: Honestly, it is a bit overwhelming. It isnt like books are the most popular thing in the world (unfortunately), so my art (I wouldnt even call it that because it seems very weird to me) getting such a huge reaction is mind boggling. But I am grateful, of course. Verdict: an absolute must see. Sicilian Ghost Story is in Italian with subtitles, but dont let that put you off - this is a truly marvellous, heart-wrenching watch. Its based on a true story which I recommend not looking up before you see it for the full impact of the ending. In short, it tells the story of Giuseppe, a Sicilian boy who was abducted in 1996 by the mafia as leverage over his father, who was co-operating with the police. Its also about Giuseppes girlfriend, Luna, and her quest to get to the bottom of his unexplained disappearance. One of things that's so remarkable about the film manifests in the opening shots, which bring us from a dark, echoey cave into modern-day (or 1990s) Sicily. But the gothic, ghost story, unreality stays with us in the aesthetic telling of a story grounded in real events, as the film blends fantasy and real tragedy. That intro gives us a long time before we hear the first words, and the film only does part of its talking through the spoken word. The cinematography is fantastic -it's a beautiful film. The shot composition is astonishingly crisp and precise in what it wants to highlight or illustrate, and the colours of the film are absolutely stunning, sumptuous and elevated beyond plausible vivacity, lending to that fantasy feel. At least, parts of it are this colourful, and this is intentional as the film also finds ways to be dark and oppressive in this visually sumptuous cinematic language. Sicilian Ghost Story is fantastic at contrasting beauty with brutality, fitting for Southern Italy with its mafia underbelly, and this contrast has a noticeable ebb and flow between the two extremes, giving the film a fantastic shape. The film is deeply charming and endearing, and utterly immersive in presenting the perspective of the child characters most of the time. The world is mysterious and often out of focus when we are brought to new locations, creating an atmosphere which can actually make you really nervous for Lunas safety with out resorting to the unsubtle strategies of Hollywood horror. For the most part, its wonderfully quirky in presenting the unorthodox, for example with things occurring in the background, or using an interesting juxtaposition of shots in sequence. Its cinematic poetry in which the camera has a fantastic eye for what is interesting. It shows us long shots in which images are able to speak for themselves or even disagree with each other, as in the dissonance of Luna and a friend being given the cold shoulder in their search for Giuseppe to a backing of stereotypical upbeat montage music. The childrens perspective is also reflected in the slow drip-drip of context that we get, with very little explained at the outset and the horror of the situation only gradually swimming into focus. For example, in the kidnapping of Giuseppe, you dont see the guns in the car straight away: you see the fake police uniforms of the men driving the car, you see the driver take the siren from the top of his car and secretively stow it away, and then you see the guns. The casting and acting throughout are fantastic. The mafiosi are unsettling and brutal but also fallible. Lunas parents are astonishingly good and the family dynamic is exceptionally well-drawn and recognisably human. Meanwhile Gaetano Fernandez as Giuseppe and particularly Julia Jedlikowska as Luna put in outstanding performances as the joint core of the story. The retelling of real events, particularly ones of such gravity and impact on the lives they affected, is a sensitive task and the directors (Fabio Grassadonia and Antonio Piazza) seem to be keenly focussed on portraying the damaging consequences of violence without giving the audience the catharsis of displaying violence itself, an effort for which they must be applauded. Theres a great use of abstraction in the retelling at points with dream-like sequences which see Giuseppe escape from his prison and Luna reunite with her love. At times the abstract sequences are a little saccharine, particularly when we get to hear what was actually in Lunas letter to Giuseppe, but by that point the film has thoroughly earned it. Its noticeable that towards the end the pacing stumbles a little in telling the end of the story and drawing numerous threads together, but every moment is worth it, particularly the climax. While early in the film images are allowed to speak for themselves, this effect is magnified in the ending and not wanting to spoil it, the effect is heart-stopping. Sicilian Ghost Story is available in cinemas and on Digital from August 3rd, distributed by Altitude. Unfortunately, The Content Is Not Here You have arrived at this page because the page or post you were looking for no longer exists. Please check our main navigation pages for other content: Home Page Haitian-American writer, Newton Lilavois, stops by to discuss his supernatural neo-noir Vodou comic Crescent City Monsters. Growing up, I didn't see much Haitian representation in comic books. It's been a huge pleasure for me meeting other Haitian creatives in the comic book industry and also using aspects of our culture to garner fresh and exciting stories. With only a few days left for his Kickstarter campaign, today I chat with Newton Lilavois, who talks about his book and the inspiration behind it! Lilavois is the creator of the Crescent City Monsters webcomic. He lives in New York City with his wife and two daughters. By night he's a super comic book creator, by day he's a mild mannered programmer. _________________________________________________________________ GREG ANDERSON-ELYSEE: Tell us about Crescent City Monsters. NEWTON LILAVOIS:Crescent City Monsters is a supernatural noir action comic. Chapter One starts in 1963 New Orleans with our protagonist, Jonas, on his way to his first paying gig. Unknown to Jonas, that night there is an outside force out to get him. After his performance, he's attacked by dangerous New Orleans creatures. He discovers there's a bounty on his head and the monsters are out to collect. Fortunately, Jonas is also a sorcerer who is well versed in Creole Magic and he battles for his life against the Crescent City monsters. ANDERSON-ELYSEE: How long have you been working on this story and what inspired it? LILAVOIS: I've been working on the story since April 2016. Originally I was inspired by the Walking Dead comic book series. I wanted to create my own zombie story but with a twist. As a Haitian-American, I also wanted to incorporate Haitian Vodou lore into the story. Interestingly as I developed the story, it started to evolve into something beyond a zombie story. It turned into an amazing story about magic. ANDERSON-ELYSEE: The book seems to draw from a lot of Black culture, from the spirituality of hoodoo and Vodou, to the music and slang of the characters. Can you tell us a bit about that and was there a lot of research taken into account while crafting this? LILAVOIS: Sure. First, New Orleans has such a variety and mix of unique cultures - black, Cajun, creole, and french cultures. That's one of the reasons I chose to have the story in New Orleans. There's so much to play with story wise. But I wanted to focus on the black culture in a supernatural setting because it's not something you see a lot and it's worth exploring. What I see happening is that people are seeing a genre from a new perspective and it's fresh and new to them. They become excited about it. I did a lot of research online to get many of the little details right. In fact: many people told me they looked up the Grunch to see if I made them up or if they're a real New Orleans legend. The Grunch is a New Orleans legend I stumbled on while doing online research. Also, the club Jonas performed at, Club Desire, was a real club in New Orleans in 1963. The artist of Crescent City Monsters, Gian Carlo Bernal, found some references for the interior of the club and used that in a couple of panels. Besides online research, I also visited New Orleans to do research. I absorbed as much as I could of the culture when I was down there. I think it helped in getting a feel for things. I plan on taking more trips to New Orleans. There's so much more to research. ANDERSON-ELYSEE: I'd be down to come with you! You also draw a bit from European mythology, yeah? That has something to do with Creole magic, as you mentioned before? LILAVOIS: Jonas and his family practices what I called Creole Magic. It's a blend of the Native American, African, and European supernatural world. An element of the the New Orleans creole culture is the mixture of cultures and peoples. I wanted to expand the idea of the mixture of Creole culture into magic also. It's going to be fun to mix all these cultures to create a story and characters people haven't seen before. ANDERSON-ELYSEE: Who are the other characters in the book and what roles do they play for Jonas? LILAVOIS: Jonas's family and friends are introduced in the first part of the story. I wanted to show all the important people in his life so you get a sense of who Jonas is. So you'll see Jonas with his mother and little brother in a home setting. You'll also be briefly introduced to the supernatural family protectors - Hibu and Munin. And in the middle of the story, I show the friendship he has with his band mates, Tree and Sticks, and his lovely girl friend, Charlotte. ANDERSON-ELYSEE: I understand originally you planned to have this story take place in Haiti? What were the initial plans and what led to that change? LILAVOIS: Since the starting point was a zombie story that has roots in Haitian Vodou lore, it seemed to make sense to have the story set in Haiti. Yet, as I was going through the plot in my head, the feel of the story was going in a different direction than I imagined. New Orleans was an interesting alternative. There's a historical connection with the whites and blacks who left Saint-Domingue during the Haitian Revolution and migrated to New Orleans. Also, New Orleans has a reputation for supernatural folklore. So I switched to New Orleans. I do plan on producing a comic series based in Haiti, but that's another story. ANDERSON-ELYSEE: Well while we're on this topic, will we see any Loas (Vodou deities)? LILAVOIS: Readers will definitely be seeing a couple of Loas. There will be Baron Samedi and Papa Legba. There may be more as I develop the story. ANDERSON-ELYSEE: Black spirituality tends to have a negative portrayal in mainstream culture and beliefs. How do you address that? LILAVOIS: That's a huge question. It's something I think about a lot. I remember a few years ago Reverend Pat Robertson, the host of the 700 Club, said Haiti won its independence because it made a pact with the devil. He was probably referring the the Vodou ceremony that sparked the revolution. Misguided thoughts like that have been around for a long time. The best way to rectify that is to control the narrative when you get the chance. I try to give the characters who are associated with black spirituality greater dimension than what you see in mass media. I also don't portray black spirituality as always being primitive or evil. Sometimes it's tricky because I'm writing a story to entertain so I may take some artistic liberties. But I try to watch myself so I represent people the right way. ANDERSON-ELYSEE: You briefly mentioned your artist, Gian Carlo Bernal, earlier. Tell me about him and how did you two connect to make this story? LILAVOIS: Gian Carlo Bernal is a fantastic artist who lives in the Philippines. I first saw Gian's work in a comic book Kickstarter project I backed named the Last Days of Kevin. Then one day, while looking for artists on DeviantArt, I landed on his page. I recognized his work from the Kickstarter project. I really liked his style and reached out to him to do a couple of commissions. I was blown away by what he had sent me. It was a wrap. I knew he had to be the artist for Crescent City Monsters. ANDERSON-ELYSEE: Nice. One thing that stands out with the art was making it Black and White instead of colored. What was the decision for that? LILAVOIS: It's a horror/supernatural story, so black and white seemed like a natural decision. To be honest, when I asked Gian to add some gray scale to the inks, I had no idea how amazing it was going to come out. Gian went above and beyond my expectation. When he sent me the first page of the comic book I knew we were about to produce something special. ANDERSON-ELYSEE: You definitely have something special here. We're starting to wrap up. But where are you planning to take the audience with this book? What are some story ideas, character, and plans you don't mind sharing with us? LILAVOIS: I don't want to give too much away so I'll give a broad overview of what's coming next. I'm going to take the audience deeper into the monsters of Crescent City, who they are and why they want Jonas dead. You'll learn a bit more about the mysterious force that put the bounty on Jonas. I'll definitely be introducing more monsters. You'll see what happens to Jonas and how he deals with his new reality. The story will become very character driven in the next few chapters. ANDERSON-ELYSEE: And why do you feel this story is important today to tell? LILAVOIS: First, I think it's a great story. You don't have to be a fan of the horror or supernatural genre to enjoy the story. Second, I'm attempting to create something different in the genre of horror with black characters being in the forefront. I hope I can do the same thing in comics with Crescent City Monsters that Jordan Peele did in cinema with Get Out. ANDERSON-ELYSEE: How can readers find and get a hand on this book? LILAVOIS: You can read the webcomic at DreamFuryComics.com. Also, I'm currently running a Kickstarter to fund printing of Chapter One of Crescent City Monsters. The Kickstarter campaign can be found at THIS LINK. New fantasy comic from Source Point Press' own Bob Salley and Shawn Daley! Source: Bob Salley I have some exciting news! A small press publisher from Michigan has several books in the previews now and I could not be happier for them. Source Point Press has been growing significantly over the past few years. They put out some amazing books and really know how to build creators up and push hard to strengthen the independent community. One of the books hitting the previews for the fall is Ogre, a fantasy medieval story by Bob Salley; colored, illustrated, and lettered by Shawn Daley. This is going to be a three part story with the initial issue being delivered October 31st, and the second issue up for preorder in September. The order code for the first issue is AUG182199. When I asked Bob about whether he did any research for this story he said he went back and watched Lord of the Rings and Willow. Willow is one of my favorite movies ever. I grew up with it and that among a few others were on constant repeat in the VCR for me. Ogre captures what I loved about that genre of story. Goblins, swordsmen, giant rats, chain-mail wearing soldiers, ghosts, and ogres appear throughout this tale. There are elements of humor, and naturally some great fight scenes. Something that I admire about Bob is his ability to write action scenes well. I think he excels in that area particularly. Over the years, I have seen great improvement in his ability to develop characters more thoroughly. That is always a good sign when you see a writer improving. It means we can expect growth in the future. To that end, Bob will continue to strive towards excellence. The fantasy genre suits him just as well as sci-fi, and I am excited to see the things he accomplishes in this short series, and what the future may look like. Visually, this comic is a beautiful masterpiece. Shawn really knocked it out of the park. All hand done watercolor and it is magnificent. Hand drawn is rare as it is, let alone hand painted and his consistency is remarkable. I am always in awe by artists who can pick up a brush and produce these types of results. Shawn took Bob's script and gave it depth and life. It is done softly with a well lighted color palette that captures the mood well. Shawn's ability to capture pacing, emotions, and proper facial features align perfectly with the writing. His lettering is also spot on, something I am equally impressed with. This comic is a well rounded piece that both Bob and Shawn should be incredibly proud of. I can't recommend their work enough, and definitely look forward to seeing more from them in the future. Here is a short interview with Bob about Ogre: Tell us about Ogre, what drove you to create this story? I love fantasy almost as much as Sci-Fi, and wanted to do something different. I had this epic adventure about a hero who was discredited, imprisoned and reluctantly went on an adventure. When I brought it to Source Point Press, Travis McIntire said, "What if we make the hero the Ogre?" After that we started spinning the ideas of him chained to a dead man and the ghost of that man was what drove him to go on an adventure he didn't want to embark on, at all. Your traditional wheelhouse is sci-fi, how did this story challenge you as a writer? I feel like Sci-fi and Fantasy are close siblings. I like the freedom of both genres. As for challenges, it's more keeping an eye on your story and making sure you're not doing something that has been done over and over again. How did you meet Shawn Daley? We met 2 years ago at Greater Philadelphia Comic Con... his art really caught my eye and was different from most other artist. He and I chatted and both agreed we should work on something. This story is perfect for his style, in my opinion. I don't think it would work with anyone else. What is it like working with him? A lesson in creating. He's not only a brilliant artist, he's also a terrific writer. Any chance you can work with someone more talented than you, you better come away from that better yourself. So listen and check the ego at the door. Will you be working together on future projects? I sure hope so. We're going to sit down at Fan Expo Toronto in September and discuss a follow up to Ogre. How many issues will Ogre run? It's 3 Issues, 84 Pages long, and is a complete story. Different from my Salvagers and Shelter Division series that leave continue on to the next volumes. What can you tell me about Source Point Press? How have they helped shape your career? Source Point Press is leading the charge with Small Press... their business model mirrors Image, in creator owned and royalty payments, and is a great place for creators who have the work ethic can make a decent buck. But you have to execute the story, of course. What are your upcoming projects for the remainder of 2018/early 2019? I'm hoping to finish volume three of Salvagers as well as volume one of Shelter Division by end of 2018. Shelter Division Volume 2 will be produced in 2019. I have a new series I'm working on titled Broken Gargoyles, which is a 1920s Dieselpunk tale and I'm also working on a Drexler with my friend Nathan Kelly and we're hoping to finish up the volume one for that series. What was it like for you to find out your comics were going to be in the previews? It was great. We worked really hard to make that happen and it is every creators dream to know you can tell people they can get your book in ANY comic store in the world. What is your schedule for shows/signings the rest of the year? Fan Expo Boston Fan Expo Toronto Rose City Comic Con Baltimore Comic Con NYCC I'm hoping to be at PAX unplugged in December, but we'll see. How can people get Ogre? Go to any comic shop near you and ask them to order Ogre #1 (a Featured Item!) using Code: AUG182199 Number one is available to pre-order now and will be delivered October 31 number two will be available to pre-order in September and will be delivered in November and the final issue number three will be available to order in October will be delivered into the stores in December. So you could ask the comic shop owners to make sure that they order you issue to an issue three as well once they are available. If people want to check out your other books, where is the best place to buy them? You can find them on the source Point Press website under Comic Books www.SourcePointPress.com Looking back from when you started to where you are now, what have you learned as a writer? Be patient... Don't try to rush something just to get it out ...take your time and do it right. What are you hoping to accomplish in the next few years? Doing what I can with source Point Press to help move them from a small press to a medium size press and bringing in fresh new talent and new ideas What is some of the best advice you've received during your career as a writer? Write, Write, Write, and Write while reading, reading, reading, and reading. Write your first draft fast. Get it out from beginning to end and don't worry about all the details. You'll be going back over it a lot. What's it going to take to get you to Michigan next year? Do I have to bribe Travis? Haha... I would love for you to beg Travis to have me at a show ...he just loves hearing that. in 2019 I will be there for sure. There was a scheduling conflict this year. As many know, SPP does multiple shows some weekends and sometimes we have to divide and conquer. Where can we follow you on social media? Facebook: www.Facebook.com/Bob.Salley.5 Instagram: @Bob_Salley Twitter: @Bob_Salley You can check out more of Shawn Daley's work here: http://shawndaley.ca/ Whipping boy: Centrica boss Iain Conn There are some jobs out there that attract so many brickbats they should come with a custom-built flak jacket. Ryanair's customer services manager during August, perhaps, or phone flinging Naomi Campbell's maid. Some mornings Iain Conn may well feel his position could do with its very own nuclear fallout shelter. As head of Centrica, owner of our biggest household energy supplier British Gas, Conn is the energy industry's whipping boy, a public pinata wheeled out onto the airwaves every six months or so for a ritual thwacking. When the wholesale cost of fuel goes down, rarely, if ever, do Conn and his contemporaries in charge of our 'big six' energy providers pass on the benefits. But at the first sign of costs increasing, you can guarantee our energy bills will go soaring. Such matters have been happily removed from most people's minds of late, what with this glorious summer we're enjoying. Then, just as a thin layer of dust gathers on our thermostats, up pops Conn this week to warn us in his solemn-sounding Scots burr that prices may yet be hiked again in the near future. Burn him! Colleagues say Conn has skin thicker than whale blubber, which is just as well. Broad of shoulder and cherubic of cheek, his surname has been a gift to waspish city commentators and headline writers everywhere. Like whoever is in charge of state-owned RBS, guffawing at the Centrica boss's annual remuneration has become something of a national sport. His predecessor, Old Etonian Sam Laidlaw, was dubbed 'Sammy Two Pools' when it was discovered he was building a second swimming pool on the grounds of his Cotswolds Estate. Conn got his own tabloid pasting in 2016 when it was revealed his pay had hit 4.1million. The Sun photographed him collecting three pints of milk from the driveway of his 2.7million home in Buckinghamshire with the headline: 'Fat Cat's Got the Cream.' Conn at least saw the funny side. He keeps a framed copy of the headline on his office wall at Centrica's Windsor headquarters. Born in Edinburgh and raised in the Borders, his father, a doctor, died when Conn was 12. He was enrolled at the time at Loretto boarding school, where fellow pupils included broadcaster Andrew Marr, and assumed he would have to leave. Thankfully, his father's stepfather came to the rescue and offered to pay the bills. Colleagues say Conn has skin thicker than whale blubber, which is just as well After undertaking a chemical engineering degree at Imperial College, he took a position at BP. He would spend the next 29 years there, hopping all over the world. As well as stints in Zambia, Russia and the Caspian Sea, he played a key role on the oil giant's takeover of American rival Amoco in 1999. When Conn rose to become one of Lord Browne's treasured assistants dubbed the 'ninja turtles' as they were required to appear on the scene whenever needed it was clear he was set for big things. Plum seats on the boards of blue-chip firms such as Rolls Royce and BP followed. After Browne passed over the reins to Tony Hayward in 2007 it was widely assumed Conn would be next in line as BP's chief executive. But the Deepwater Horizon oil rig disaster in 2010 put paid to that plan. When the subsequent PR fiasco saw Hayward depart, looking like he'd just endured a 12-round battering from Anthony Joshua, BP decided it would be more politic to appoint an American, Bob Dudley, than another Brit. Career salvation arrived in 2015, when he landed the Centrica job. Conn spends as much time at home as possible with wife Caroline and their three children. Weekends are spent fly-fishing or tootling on his tenor saxophone. As well as being a big blues fan, he's also a certified car nut. He owns a beautiful 1967 Jaguar Mark II, the car TV detective Morse used to drive, and loves nothing more than retreating to his garage to fix up old motors. Customers will hope it's just car engines the refined Scotsman keeps tinkering with this winter, rather than their energy bills. Problems with its flagship Trent 1000 engines helped push Rolls-Royce to a 1.3billion loss. The engines have been deteriorating faster than expected, prompting airlines including Air New Zealand to ground planes while they are fixed. Rolls will spend 1.3billion making and fitting new blades and compensating airlines in the next four years, and recognised 554million of that in its half-year results. Other restructuring charges and currency swings meant it made a loss of 1.3billion for the half-year compared to a 1.4billion profit during the same period last year. Rolls-Royce's Trent 100 engines have been deteriorating faster than expected, prompting airlines including Air New Zealand to ground planes while they are fixed However, investors were cheered by underlying positive signs from the business, which makes engines and propulsion systems for submarines, ferries and jets. Its civil aerospace and power systems divisions grew, cash flow expectations were better and overall sales were up 14 per cent to 7billion. Shares rose 7.1 per cent, or 70.2p, to 1058p. The engine problems come as Rolls ramps up their production, looking to have 50 per cent of the market for wide-body aircraft engines by the early 2020s. Chief executive Warren East said: 'Providing we can find a way through this, and we now have a pretty clear path through, then I don't think it's going to make a big difference in the long run. 'Obviously in the short-term, trying to sell a Trent 1,000, we have to overcome all the issues.' Rolls has found a fix for the blades involving shifting their centre of gravity. It expects disruption to continue into next year and did not say how much has been claimed in compensation. On top of axing jobs, East has been trying to save money by cutting costs such as non-essential travel and hotels. It also plans to move its corporate headquarters in London to cheaper premises. George Salmon, at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: 'Rolls is well-placed to become the leading supplier of the engines those jumbo planes need. Recent developments are encouraging.' Royal Bank of Scotland showed signs of finally putting the financial crisis behind it today as the lender lifted the lid on plans to pay its first dividend in a decade. Its patient shareholders will be handed a two pence per share payout after a 10-year wait for the once-lucrative dividend to be reinstated. The milestone comes despite the bank's bottom line still being weighed down by costs relating to the crash. RBS used to be the UKs 15th largest dividend payer, distributing almost 800m to its shareholders in 2007, just before the crisis hit. RBS half-year profits fell 5.4 per cent to 888m, as it was hit by 801 million in litigation and conduct costs - part of a 3.7 billion settlement reached with US authorities earlier this year over claims the bank mis-sold mortgages in the run-up to the crash. The bank is still more than 60 per cent taxpayer owned too after the Government bailed it out at the height of the crisis. RBS boss McEwan said the bank was moving on from the crash and ready to compete Chief executive Ross McEwan flagged the 'significant change' taking its toll on the banking sector but insisted that RBS is regaining strength and positioning itself to compete. RBS banked sales of 6.7 billion during the period - a near-3 per cent slip year-on-year. 'We are pleased with the progress we've made in the first half of 2018 and see these as a good set of results in a more uncertain and highly-competitive environment,' McEwan said. 'We still have a lot more to do to achieve our ambition of being the best bank for customers in the UK and Republic of Ireland. However, with our major legacy issues largely behind us, we are able to fully focus on closing this gap.' Investors welcomed the news, with RBS shares jumping 3 per cent in early trading, after sliding 7 per cent over the last three months. Richard Hunter, head of markets at interactive investor, said RBS is demonstrating something of a return to health. 'There have been three major hurdles for RBS to overcome, in the form of settlement of the US legacy issues once and for all, the removal of the UK government stake and the lack of a dividend,' he said. 'The provision for the US issues has been set aside and, once settled, a dividend payment will kick into force. Meanwhile, the government stake was recently reduced, although there is a long way to go.' If you were wondering when Ireland's answer to Taylor Swift would come along, wonder no more. Co. Down native Catherine McGrath already has some huge support slots under her belt - not to mention the praise of the likes of Elton John, who said "I think this girl is going to be huge" - and recently released her debut album 'Talk of This Town'. The Taylor Swift comparisons are hard to shake off (badum... tish), but the 21-year-old is determinedly forging her own path in the industry, as you'll see in the mini-documentary below. You can watch McGrath speaking about how she made the album and growing up around music in Rostrevor, Co. Down below: There were no prizes for investors in Stride Gaming, owner of Kitty Bingo and host of similar websites, whose shares fell 32 per cent this week. The problem? A brush with the Gambling Commission, which has informed Stride that it will likely have to pay a significant financial penalty following a review of its activities here in the UK. While the notice isnt final and the company is taking advice over its next move, those following the group had seen quite enough. In fact, it has been a downhill ride for the last six months for those with cash tied up in Stride with two-thirds knocked off the value of the stock in that time. Stride Gaming will likely have to pay a significant financial penalty following a review of its activities here in the UK Turning to the wider market, the AIM All-Share Index fell around 1.5 per cent over the week. The FTSE 100 fared a little better, registering a 1 per cent decline. Whats been interesting this week is the weve continued to see a great deal of activity among the juniors particularly of the fundraising variety. Normally, the cash spigots are turned off by the end of June, to be restored in the first weeks of September. This year, for some unknown reason, deals are still being done and reasonably chunky ones at that. Avacta, the life sciences group which recently announced a ground-breaking US tie-up, was able to raise 11.4million to fund its work. And Vitesse Media, owner of titles such as What Investment and Growth Company Investor, came to the well to bankroll the 21million acquisition of US group InvestmentNews. European Wealth and Concepta were also able to get fundraisers away before the summer exodus. It was a decent week for Herencia Resources as trading in shares of the mining junior were restored and promptly rose 30 per cent after it belatedly filed its annual report and accounts. During the hiatus the company was also able to raise some funding. There were some buyers in the market this week for Summit Therapeutics, which advanced 10 per cent on the back of some encouraging data from its phase II antibiotic, Ridinilazole. The picture isnt quite so rosy if one looks at the three-month performance of the drug developer with the stock down almost 80 per cent. One suspects the markdown of Summit has been overdone since it has cash in the bank (28million, supplemented by a recently-awarded a 3.5million grant) and still owns a promising drug undergoing clinical trials. A market capitalisation of 33million on most measures probably isnt reflective Summits real value. New listing: Argo Blockchain raised 25million this week Finally, a new listing made headlines this week as Londons first crypto-currency business made its debut Friday supported by some heavyweight cornerstone investors. Argo Blockchain raised 25million as institutions and influential high net worth backers got behind the companys mining as a service (MaaS) business model. On the shareholder register are Miton Capital, Henderson Global Investors and Jupiter Asset Management, while founders Jonathan Bixby and Mike Edwards own around 13 per cent of the company. At 16p a share, the company is worth 47million. The proceeds from the listing will be used to acquire hardware, pay for power and to fund its marketing strategy. Headquartered in London and with a brand-new data centre based in Quebec, Canada running off cheap and green hydropower, it has the capacity to offer mining at scale. But unlike publicly-owned rivals such as Hut 8 and Hive - it is focused on home-miners. Founders Jonathan Bixby and Mike Edwards were inspired to start Argo by the success of Netflix and Amazon Web Services. While the former has popularised monthly subscription-based content for viewers worldwide, the latter has levelled the playing field for anyone needing access to data processing at scale. It is building capacity to attract 30,000 subscribers in the first year, rising to 140,000 in year-two. The service, which went live on June 11, initially covers four cryptocurrencies: Bitcoin Gold, Ethereum, Ethereum Classic and Zcash, which together have a market capitalisation of $51billion. Amazon has slashed its UK tax bill just as it stands accused of fuelling the crisis on the high street. Despite soaring sales of close to 2 billion, the web giant's biggest UK arm yesterday revealed it had paid just 4.5 million in corporation tax last year. That was down from 7.4 million the previous year when its sales were actually lower. Amazon has introduced new food delivery services taking on competition from supermarkets across the UK - yet shops are furious about the company's tax bill How Amazon uses loophole to send 2bn in sales revenue out of the UK to avoid tax Amazon slashes its UK corporation tax bill by taking advantage over Britain's ageing tax laws and a complicated network of companies in the EU. The online giant funnelled cash made from sales across all its European businesses including 1.98billion from the UK through a company based in Luxembourg. This company then pays 'royalties' to another of its businesses based in the small European country. The American tech giant's then uses the costs of its branding and services to cut the remaining profits which it can be taxed for at a lower rate than in the UK. Meanwhile, the royalties paid to the separate entity are not taxed because it is a type of business not considered a tax resident in Luxembourg. Unlike some European countries, Britain also allows companies to take generous deductions for stock options and share awards and many companies, especially in the technology sector, use the rules to reduce their tax bills significantly. 'We pay all taxes required in the UK and every country where we operate,' Amazon said in a statement. Advertisement The news last night enraged retail campaigners, who believe Amazon's success has contributed to the high street crisis that has seen tens of thousands of jobs lost this year. They are angry that local shops are hammered by soaring business rates, while the web-based giant pays much lower rates on its out-of-town warehouses. The Mail has been campaigning for a review of business rates. Joshua Bamfield of the Centre for Retail Research, which analyses retail trends, said: 'People will be staggered by these figures. At a time when major British retailers are in difficulties and having to pay more corporation tax than Amazon, it seems wholly unfair. This shows that if you employ the finest City brains, you can get away with paying minimal amounts of tax but if you're like John Lewis or Sainsbury's, a UK brand employing hundreds of thousands of people all over the country, you've got no choice.' Wes Streeting, a Labour MP and member of the Treasury select committee, added: '4.5 million is a drop in the ocean given the size of Amazon's UK sales, and will stick in the throats of businesses on the high street who are struggling to pay their business rates particularly independent retailers and family-owned businesses.' 'It's time for the Chancellor to overhaul the system of business rates to save our high streets, and instead make sure that big multinational corporations like Amazon are paying their fair share of taxes.' Staff label and package items in the on-site dispatch hall inside one of Britain's largest Amazon warehouses in Dunfermline, Fife. The company has been accused of killing off British high street Amazon has been so popular in recent years shoppers are tuning to online retailers instead of shopping in stores Amazon has several registered companies in the UK, each for a different part of its empire. Yesterday, it published accounts for its Services division, which used to be called Amazon.co.uk. Essentially, this division looks after its warehouses and parcel delivery business. Financial statements released at Companies House revealed it had made 1.98 billion in sales in the UK in 2017, up from 1.46 billion the previous year. Operating profits in the UK tripled to 79 million last year. Yet its bill for corporation tax which is paid on profits plummeted from 7.4 million in 2016 to 4.56 million for 2017. Amazon products like the Echo device have seen profits soar in the UK but the company has paid a smaller corporation tax bill The tax payment was partly slashed because Amazon made shares payments to thousands of staff. These are counted as a cost and deducted from profits. Had Amazon paid the UK's standard rate of corporation tax, its Services subsidiary would have had to hand over 13.9 million, according to an analysis by the Financial Times. However, this still pales next to the web giant's 2 billion UK sales. Because companies pay corporation tax only on profits, many tech firms use accounting methods to reduce their tax liability. These include increasing costs by making payments to other companies within the same group often these can be in low-tax countries such as Luxembourg. They also hand out share awards. Earlier this year, the Mail launched a campaign for a review of the business rates system to help local stores and high street retailers. A Mail investigation earlier this year found that Amazon pays just 14 million a year in business rates for its 13 enormous warehouses far below the costs faced by traditional high street stores. Struggling House of Fraser, which has been forced to close scores of stores and put thousands of jobs at risks, pays an estimated 36.2 million a year. Marks & Spencer, meanwhile, shelled out 12 times more than Amazon. James Daunt, chief executive of high street book chain Waterstones, said last night: 'If tax bills fall disproportionately on one set of retailers, that's not a level playing field that applies to business rates and it applies to corporation tax. 'Big guys like us can look after ourselves, but small independent retailers can't, and it's particularly unfair on vulnerable companies and small ones.' As Amazon enjoys huge profits in the first half of this year alone, 50,000 retail jobs were cut across Britain's high street. This financial year, the taxman is expected to collect 30.8 billion in taxes from shops across the UK. Amazon bosses said the tax paid is based on profits and not revenues - defending the corporation tax bill In a world where online shopping is booming, many believe the business rates structure is outdated and reform is urgently needed. If not, there are fears streets could be left bare with retailers closing down and thousands of jobs lost. A spokesman for Amazon said: 'We pay all taxes required in the UK. 'Corporation tax is based on profits, not revenues, and our profits have remained low given retail is a highly competitive, low-margin business and our continued heavy investment.' 'We've invested over 9.3 billion in the UK since 2010, including last year opening a new head office in London alongside development centres in Cambridge and London. 'This year we plan create 2,500 permanent jobs across the country in research and development, our head office, customer service and fulfilment centres, to bring our total workforce in the UK to over 27,500.' SITEKI Cordon guards from Lubombo downed tools yesterday and marched to the regional offices of the Ministry of Agriculture to complain about poor working conditions. Cordon guards are civil servants employed to prevent foreign livestock and wild animals from mixing with local ones, as one of the measures of preventing the outbreak of the deadly foot and mouth disease. They also work at livestock quarantine centres and cordon fences which prevent livestock from Lubombo from straying into other parts of the country. The cordon guards are unhappy with the appalling conditions they work under, especially the lack of protective clothing and worn out uniforms. They are also complaining about the lack of working tools and poor housing. Would police officers be efficient in their duties if they did not have the necessary working tools? asked one of the cordon guards. Yesterday morning, the cordon guards stormed the regional offices of the Ministry of Agriculture and demanded audience with regional veterinary services officials. They crammed the small reception area of the offices and vowed not to leave until they had seen their bosses. There was no chanting or demonstrations but they simply walked into the offices unexpectedly and demanded to meet with the officials. Police were called as some staff members feared that the cordon guards could demonstrate inside the office if they did not get what they wanted. Immediately after the arrival of the police, an impromptu meeting was convened where the veterinary officials agreed to meet with the cordon guards. The meeting was held at the departments conference room and the cordon guards took turns voicing out their grievances. By Trend Yerevan's contradictory statements on the Karabakh conflict's settlement do not give grounds to say that the meeting of the foreign ministers of Azerbaijan and Armenia will be easy and will solve many issues, Azerbaijani political scientist, Professor of the West Caspian University Fikret Sadikhov told Trend, commenting on the upcoming meeting of the FMs on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York. The government of Armenia aims at bringing Karabakh separatists to the negotiation process, and at the same time Yerevan is talking about peace and making unclear statements about resolution of the conflict, the political scientist said. "In addition, we should not forget that this is not a special meeting organized within the Minsk Group - it is held on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, where many meetings, unfortunately, are of formal nature very often. But I think that the meeting with the Armenian foreign minister gives us another opportunity to deliver to the Armenian side our principled and clear position based on the norms and principles of international law to resolve the long-term conflict. The Armenian side should understand that the Armenian soldier has nothing to do in the occupied Azerbaijani territories. And there can be no agreement while Armenian servicemen are in the territory of Azerbaijan. I think our minister will deliver this position of the Azerbaijani side at the professional level so that Yerevan has a full and final understanding of what the Azerbaijani side demands," he said. 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. Last years August full moon events drew more than 75,000 visitors to museums and archaeological sites across the country A total of 132 museums and archaeological sites across Greece will be open to the public with free admission for the full moon on the evening of Sunday, August 26, while 95 of the sites are to hold special events from August 24 through 27 including concerts, movie screenings, theatrical shows, poetry readings and guided cultural tours, ANA reports. Last years August full moon events drew more than 75,000 visitors to museums and archaeological sites across the country. The Culture Ministry has been organizing the full moon initiative since 2002 while this year it forms part of events being held for European Year of Cultural Heritage 2018. Read more at ekathimerini.com RELATED TOPICS: Greece, Greek tourism news, Tourism in Greece, Greek islands, Hotels in Greece, Travel to Greece, Greek destinations , Greek travel market, Greek ourism statistics, Greek tourism report Photo Source: Wikimedia Commons Copyright: Antonis Giakoumakis License: CC-BY-SA Greece's fifth and final loan installment from its adjustment program will be disbursed in the coming days, the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) announced in a press release on Thursday. The ESM noted its board approved on Wednesday the supplemental memorandum of understanding with Greece, following the completion of national parliamentary procedures and the European Commission signed it on behalf of the ESM. This paved the way for the Board of Directors to approve the disbursement of the fifth tranche, which is planned to be executed in the coming days, it added. Read more at ekathimerini.com RELATED TOPICS: Greece, Greek tourism news, Tourism in Greece, Greek islands, Hotels in Greece, Travel to Greece, Greek destinations , Greek travel market, Greek tourism statistics, Greek tourism report Australia will send 10 Disaster Assistance Response Team members from Fire and Rescue NSW and Victoria Fire and Emergency Services Australia will provide disaster assistance to Greece after the devastating fires that struck near Athens on 23 July, according to a press release from the PMs office. Premier Malcolm Turnbull was quoted as saying that our thoughts and those of the Australian people are with the people of Greece who have been affected by this catastrophic event. The release notes that Australia will send 10 Disaster Assistance Response Team members from Fire and Rescue NSW and Victoria Fire and Emergency Services. The team will conduct fire impact assessments in the affected areas. We are well placed to support Greece in recovery efforts, drawing on our experience of devastating bushfires at home, the PMs office announces. The Assistance Response Team will be supported by Crisis Response Officers from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and Emergency Management Australia, who will help Greece to plan and coordinate recovery efforts. Australia and Greece have a longstanding and close friendship. We stand together with Greece during its time of need, the press release stresses. 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 The municipality proceeded with the demolition in accordance with laws stipulating that there must be access to the beach every 300-350 metres. In the specific spot, there was no opening giving access to the water for 800 metres Municipality demolition crews began an operation to knock down a fence that was blocking access to the sea in Kassandra, Halkidiki at 9:30 on Thursday morning. Talking to the Athens-Macedonian News Agency (ANA) radio station "Praktorio 104.9 FM", Deputy Mayor Thomas Kontos noted the work was going smoothly but would take some time because there were bushes, barbed wire and also concrete in places that needed to be removed carefully. Municipal authorities were continuing inspections to locate more spots where intervention was needed to comply with the law, he added. 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: apostolis k License: CC-BY-SA The birds will stop over for several days to rest and feed before continuing their long autumn migration between the Arab peninsula and Africa A family of seven beautiful flamingos arrived in the Nea Kios wetland near the coastal town of Nafplio, Peloponnese on Friday, ANA reports. Visible in the background is the historic Venetian castle known as Bourtzi, constructed on an island in Nafplio harbour, that once served as a prison. Read more at greekcitytimes.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: pixabay.com The search engine giant is paying tribute to Mount Olympus in Greece and the three climbers who scaled its rocky peak 105 years ago It was 105 years ago today that Daniel Baud-Bovy, Frederic Boissonnas and Christos Kakalos became the first three modern-day climbers to reach Mytikas, the highest peak of Olympus, 2.918 meters above the sea, Greece Is notes in the following article: Celebrating the anniversary, Googles Doodle of the day (the illustrations that appear on the leading search engines homepage) shows three human silhouettes standing on top of a mountain peak. Depicted among the clouds above them are the twelve gods of Olympus. While many amateur climbers opt to hike or climb the mountain today, aiming either for its highest peak or one of the easier targets (even beginners can make the most popular trek, from Litochoro to Prionia), in 1913, no one knew what to expect at the top. Baud-Bovy and Boissonnas were Swiss climbers, carrying with them heavy photo equipment in order to record the climb. Kakalos was their guide. A hunter with lots of experience hiking in this terrain, rumor has it that he climbed some of the roughest parts of the ascent barefoot. As no one knew the way, and storm clouds blocked their view of the mountain, they first reached another, lower peak, by mistake, before making it to the top of Mytikas. Kakalos later became a mountain guide, and made the ascent to the peak many times. One of the mountains highest refuges, situatedon the Plateau of Muses at an elevation of 2650 meters, is named after him. Google notes about the Doodle: Boissonnas later wrote that he was compelled by the fire of Prometheus, who stole fire from Athena and Hephaestus workshop on Mount Olympus, gifting it to humans to help them in their labors. Todays Doodle celebrates their accomplishment and the fire that inspired them. Read more at ekathimerini.com RELATED TOPICS: Greece, Greek tourism news, Tourism in Greece, Greek islands, Hotels in Greece, Travel to Greece, Greek destinations , Greek travel market, Greek tourism statistics, Greek tourism report By James Waterson Gaze at the night sky as you paddle along a peaceful river, trek on remote trails through picturesque Texas Hill Country terrain, and indulge in one adrenaline rush after another. These kinds of outdoor adventures are yours to be had in San Marcos, a charming small town settled between San Antonio and Austin. Home to the gorgeous San Marcos River and miles of hiking and biking trails, San Marcos is a must visit for anyone who loves the outdoors. From snorkeling to skydiving, there are many unique and unexpected ways you can enjoy the outdoors here. Discover what adventures await you below. Paddle the San Marcos River at Night Whats more awesome than going stand-up paddle boarding? Doing so at night, of course! With the colorful LED lights of you and your friends paddle boards guiding your way, youll experience floating on the San Marcos River in a whole new way. All of this is part of the SUP Glow Night Tours provided by Paddle SMTX. Paddle under the stars and savor gorgeous views of the river throughout the nearly 1.5-hour guided tour. You can even choose from of seven colors for your paddle board, so put on your glow sticks and light up the night. Of course, this isnt the only paddling tour you can go on in San Marcos. Paddle on a beautiful spring-fed lake under the moonlight on the Full Moon Kayak Tour or marvel at the colors of the setting sun on the Sunset Kayak Tour. Both guided tripsoffered by The Meadows Center and REI Outdoor Schooltake place on the immaculate waters of Spring Lake and are among the few ways you can explore it. Photo Credit: @sanmarcosphotos Dip into the Freshest Water Youll Ever Swim In Sure, that sounds like a bold claim. But at the Rio Vista Falls Dam, its almost a certainty. Flowing out of a nearby spring just a few hours before you dip your toes in, the water at Rio Vista is as pristine as it gets. Not only that, the temperature stays at a constant 72 degrees throughout the year, making it ideal for cooling off in the late spring and throughout the summer. In addition to all the swimming, you can rent an inner tube from Lions Club Tube Rental or a kayak or paddle board from the Olympic Outdoor Center. Given how fresh the water is, youd think this natural oasis is off in some remote corner of the Hill Country. Instead, its just minutes from downtown San Marcos, so its as easy as can be to enjoy a day here. Hike More Than 1,200 Acres of Hill Country Trails Wander through scenic grassland meadows and groves of Ashe juniper and live oak trees blanketed in Spanish moss. Take in limestone cliffs and keep an eye out for deer and rare birds like the golden cheek warbler. These kinds of experiences await at the natural areas in San Marcos, so youll definitely want to bring your hiking boots. The largest of these green spaces, the more than 700-acre Purgatory Creek Natural Area, offers more than 12 miles of trails popular with trail runners, mountain bikers, hikers, and birders. For more time outdoors, hike the trails at Spring Lake Natural Area that weave through 251 acres of meadows and woodlands. Visiting in the spring is even more of a treat, as the blooming flowers of the mountain laurel and kidneywood trees attract an array of butterflies. Believe it or not, these are just two of the five natural areas you can explore in San Marcos. Find out more about all of them here. Cross Skydiving Off Your Bucket List If youve always dreamed of feeling the thrill of skydiving, San Marcos is the place to finally cross that off your bucket list. Book your first experience with Skydive San Marcos and youll have that adventure youve been pining for. Admire a spectacular view of the Hill Country as you freefall thousands of feet towards terra firma. Youll dive with a licensed diving instructor if youre a first timer (or you dont have a license), so you can kick back and enjoy the ride. Jumps are available Thursday through Monday, and you can reserve your spot on Skydive San Marcos website. Explore the Underwater World of the San Marcos River For a different kind of diving, head to the San Marcos River. Swim to the depths of the river and watch as sunfish, blue tilapia, crayfish, and turtles swim among the long river grasses as part of a snorkeling adventure. Youll dive below the surface of the crystal clear river and uncover its mysteries. These excursions include a mask and snorkel, so dont worry about bringing your own. Do Yoga on a Stand-Up Paddleboard The slow-flowing waters of the San Marcos River provide a platform for another unexpected experience: yoga on a stand-up paddleboard. Feel your muscles relax and tension melt away as you soak up the sunshine during a class with SUP Salutations. Breathe deep and listen to the breeze rustling the trees as you go through a regimen guided by an inspiring instructor. Whether youre brand new to yoga or you have tons of experience, youll find this class to be both uniquely challenging and utterly invigorating. If you love being outdoors, San Marcos is the place for you. Along with its beautiful spring-fed river and breathtaking Hill Country beauty, the town serves up an abundance of unique ways to get out and enjoy it all. Discover more about San Marcos and plan your trip out here today. About the Author: James Waterson is the head writer and content specialist for Tour Texas. When he isnt writing about the many great places in the state of Texas, hes planning his next epic adventure in the Lone Star State. InterContinental Bali Resort has welcomed Adrian Upward as its new culinary director. A New Zealand national, Upward brings a wealth of culinary experience to the resort. His career has taken him to various locations around the globe to lead multi-cultural teams and share his passion for good food that is cooked with integrity. Upward started his career in the hospitality industry over 30 years ago. He had the opportunity to perfect his culinary skills across a variety of international chain hotels from Le Meridien Cyberport Hong Kong, Marriott Hotel & Spa Yalong Bay, Sanya, Hainan China to Movenpick Tower & Suites Doha, Qatar. He joined IHG in 2013, as an executive chef at InterContinental Regency Hotel Bahrain. He comes to Bali direct from Australia, where he fulfilled the role of chef patron at Coonara Springs, Olinda, Victoria. Upwards appointment as culinary director at InterContinental Bali Resort heralds a renewed focus on the culinary arts. He inspires the members of his team and delights discerning travellers with his flavoursome cuisine, the hotel said in a statement. - TradeArabia News Service FLASHBACK FRIDAY GALLERY: 15th Annual Canadian Security Traders Association Conference While the dog days of summer are quiet on the Street Canada's traders are busy. Discussing their own market structure issues and enjoying their own summer soiree. Traders Magazine looks back this Friday to 2008 - when spreads were wide, volatility high and commissions plentiful. Editors from Traders Magazine traveled to the Great North to check out the 15th Annual Canadian Security Traders Association Conference, held at the Deerhurst Resort in Huntsville, Ontario. Take a look back 10 years to see the smiles and frivolity that marked a much better time for equity traders. Click here for the gallery For more information on related topics, visit the following channels: ITRS Partners with Velocimetrics on Regulations Management ITRS Group (ITRS) the leading provider of real-time monitoring, has announced a partnership with Velocimetrics, a leader in real-time business insight to the global financial community. This will enable ITRS Geneos customers to independently track and analyse the real-time performance of every trade or payment traversing business critical processes and improve operational resilience. High profile outages in 2018 have made operational resilience a key issue for firms and regulators alike. This month the PRA/FCA/Bank of England published a joint discussion paper calling on firms to develop contingency plans to prevent, respond to, recover and learn from operational disruptions. Mark Loader, Director of Product Management, Marketing & Partners at ITRS, said: With operational resilience firmly on the agenda of regulators, we are using our years of experience to build, buy and partner to offer customers the best solutions to achieve operational excellence. Our purchase of Sumerian and partnerships with Apica and Velocimetrics are delivering on that strategy to meet customer needs for automation, cloud and machine learning to prevent failure and reduce costs. He added: Our partnership with ITRS will combine both of our leading solutions and experience to help customers achieve a higher level of operational resilience" said Steve Colwill, CEO at Velocimetrics. "The huge cost of outages to firms both financially and reputationally continues to increase to a point where they risk their ongoing viability to exist in serious cases. Solutions such as ours will enable firms to not only reduce that risk, meet the expectations of the regulators but gain a competitive advantage over their peers." For more information on related topics, visit the following channels: Todays AP voice is from our VP of sales for China, Rachel Mao. (TRAVPR.COM) UNITED KINGDOM - August 2nd, 2018 - Todays AP voice is from our VP of sales for China, Rachel Mao. Tourism in China is showing strong growth and is becoming a powerful contributor to the countrys economy. The country expects to receive more than 140 million inbound visits in 2018, higher than the number of inbound tourists in 2017 and 2016. Independent hotels in China, and their sales and marketing teams in particular, should consider how their hotels can be positioned to attract the interest of inbound travellers. Top trends in China 1) Interest in China is on the up: China Daily reported that China's domestic tourism industry earned $720 billion) with 5 billion domestic trips made in 2017, according to the China National Tourism Administration (CNTA). The industry accounted for 11 percent of economic output. Dai Bin, president of the China Tourism Academy, said in an interview in May 2018 that he is optimistic about tourism to China. "The growththe increase of 0.8 and 3.6 percentmay not be that significant compared with the growth of the outbound tourism market," Dai said, "but it's the third consecutive year of positive growth since we were hit by the Asian financial crisis, SARS and the global financial turbulence. 2) Inter-regional travel: This is a trend we have discussed before; its worth discussing here again for the simple reason that inbound tourism to China is fuelled by regional visitors. CNTA data shows that 17 countries, including Myanmar (Burma), Vietnam and South Korea, are the main sources of visitors with nearly 43 million people paying visits to China in 2017. Visitors from Asian countries make up the greatest share of inbound visits, about three out of four visits. With several cities in China offering visa-free transit for 72 hours or more, its no surprise that over half of visitors to China spend one to three days in the country. This allows international business travellers to add a few days on to their trip to take in some key tourist sights. It also gives regional tourists the chance to get away for a quick, short break. 3) Improvements to infrastructure: Those in China are aware that some substandard domestic travel services are hampering the countrys ability to encourage tourism. Li Chuangxin, a research at the China Tourism Academy, commented in the same interview as Dai that China plans to build the country into a tourism power in the next 15 years. "Transportation systems, including airlines and high-speed railways, are also important," he said. "It's also necessary to simplify visa application procedures to lure more tourists from foreign countries." The countrys high-speed railway is already the longest in the world and there are no signs of slowing down. The high inter-regional demand is also resulting in increased competition by airlines to add more flights to current routes and to expand the routes. 4) Cultural experiences and off-the-track locations: In his May 2018 interview, Dai Bin also said that more culture-related tour packages co-developed by travel agencies and high-tech companies will be available at domestic travel destinations to help improve tourists' travel experiences and boost the development of inbound tourism. Travellers are looking for unique experiences and something different from the usual tour, and the Chinese government is urging the industry to take action. China Daily reported that rural tourism has been stressed as a crucial part of China's strategies of rural vitalization. The sector is helping eliminate poverty and increase people's wealth, as official data showed that 2.5 billion trips were made in rural China in 2017, and its tourism consumption topped 1.4 trillion yuan. Chinese tourism is a boon, not just for the visitors who get to explore a fairly untapped market, but also for Chinese nationals that are benefiting from tourism-led economic improvement. As experts on the China travel and leisure market, were always happy to speak to independent hotels based in China on what they can do to drive their business goals. Source : https://t.co/obu7xTuhcs ### Ruta's father Jurgis Sepetys and his younger sister Ruta Biberach's camp in Germany. Photo from the Sepetys family album. When people find out that Im the daughter of a refugee, they are often very surprised, says novelist Ruta Sepetys. She believes that in todays world, many people are unaware of the refugees and the next generation living next door. History is full of challenges, loss and pain, but it also reflects hope, courage and the miraculous nature of the human spirit. I hope that studying the past can bring awareness to the present, she notes. Ruta Sepetys is an award-winning New York Times best-selling author; her books have been published in over fifty countries and translated into thirty-six languages. Her first historical fiction, inspired by the story of her family who fled Lithuania during WWII, put her on the map as an internationally acclaimed writer. She feels she has a mission: to give a voice to unheard stories, reconnect readers with history, and inspire a feeling of compassion for refugees today. Rutas father, Jurgis Sepetys, was forced to flee Lithuania when he was just four years old; the Soviet Army had occupied the country, and it became too dangerous to stay. His family traveled through Poland and stayed in refugee camps in Austria and Germany. However, after nine years, Lithuanias situation was still too dangerous to go back, so the family finally resettled in the United States in 1949. They first set roots in Brooklyn, New York and later in Detroit, where they were warmly welcomed into the Lithuanian community. As they had limited knowledge and understanding of American culture and habits, connecting with other Lithuanian refugees was a comforting relief. Rutas grandfather, Jonas Sepetys, who was an engineer, was able to secure a job quickly, and Detroit soon started to feel like home. Unpacking a traumatic past During her childhood, Ruta had often heard about the difficult years her father and grandparents had spent in the camps, but while writing her novel Salt to the Sea, she fused even stronger emotions this tumultuous past. During her 3-year research for the book, Sepetys travelled to six countries and interviewed refugees who had experienced the evacuations in 1945 and had very touching stories of their own. Many refugees explained that theyd been separated from their family and loved ones. Thousands of young, orphaned children drifted alone, simply following the steps of those in front of them, the author recounts. She was surprised at how vivid their recollections were, even after so many years. Sepetys quotes one of the testimonies she heard during her research which particularly touched her: When I close my eyes, I can still see the children who had been thrown overboard in life jackets, with their heads under the water, their little feet above the surface. I can still hear their mothers screaming. Spreading awareness and supporting integration today Lithuania has been accepting refugees for the last 20 years, responding to the EUs call for solidarity in refugee relocation and further developing their refugee integration support system for those trying to make a new life in Lithuania. UNHCR is also active in the country and works closely with authorities to improve refugee inclusion and empowerment. Still, many refugees leave Lithuania for various reasons, mostly due to limited integration opportunities. Ruta Sepetys will be travelling to Lithuania in this October to attend the premiere of a film based on one of her best-selling novels. During her visit, she wants to speak with fellow Lithuanians about the suffering that many of their families experienced after the Second World War, but alsoand perhaps most importantlyto remind them that there are still refugees today trying to cope with a new situation, themes that Sepetys tackles in her novels. People are still fleeing war and persecution around the world, Ruta says and even your next-door neighbor could be a refugee who needs a warm welcome to their new home. Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Rescue workers and survivors mourn over the coffins of two victims after hundreds of refugees were rescued and brought into the Sicilian port of Messina by the Italian coastguard UNHCR/Marco Rotunno More than 1,500 refugees and migrants have lost their lives attempting to cross the Mediterranean in the first seven months of this year. The bleak milestone was confirmed after more than 850 lives were lost in June and July alone, marking the Mediterranean crossing as the deadliest sea route in the world. UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is particularly concerned as the rate of deaths is increasing, despite the total number of people arriving on European shores being significantly reduced compared to previous years. Around 60,000 people have crossed the Mediterranean so far this year, around half as many as during the same period last year, and a return to pre-2014 levels. However, 1 in every 31 people attempting the crossing in June and July died or are missing, compared to 1 in 49 during the course of 2017. UNHCR urges states and authorities along transit routes to take all necessary action to dismantle and disrupt smuggler networks, said Vincent Cochetel, UNHCR Special Envoy for the Mediterranean. In order to save lives at sea, we must use appropriate and necessary measures to hold to account those who seek to gain profit from the exploitation of vulnerable human beings. Exploitative traffickers and smugglers are reportedly organising increasingly dangerous crossings, in ever-more unseaworthy and flimsy vessels. These boats, which smugglers severely overload with passengers, are then left to sail out at sea in the hope that a rescue will come in time. Without further action, more people are expected to perish at sea in the months ahead, as traffickers look to exploit the opportunities offered by improved weather conditions. Unlike in previous years when Italy received the majority of new arrivals, Spain has become the primary destination, with more than 23,500 people arriving by sea, compared to around 18,500 in Italy and 16,000 in Greece. In July, UNHCR urged for search and rescue capacities on the Mediterranean Sea to be strengthened, after various legal and logistical restrictions were placed on NGO boats looking to rescue people in distress at sea. Earlier this year, a number of boats carrying rescued passengers were left stranded at sea for days on end after being refused initial opportunities to disembark. Enhanced search and rescue capacities, and a clear and predictable mechanism for disembarkation, are cornerstones of the joint Concept Note put forward by UNHCR together with IOM, calling for a regional, collaborative approach to saving lives on the Mediterranean Sea. Without a harmonized and collaborative way forward, that brings coastal states and key stakeholders from the maritime and shipping industry together, we are certain to see the tragedy of the Mediterranean Sea continue, said Cochetel. With so many lives at stake, its vital that we give shipmasters confidence that they will be able to dock rescued passengers, and thereby ensure that the long-standing principle of rescuing people in distress at sea is protected. Refugees fleeing Syria make up around 13.5 per cent of all new sea arrivals in Europe, the largest nationality group, highlighting the continued desperation faced by those affected by the worlds largest refugee crisis. UNHCR reiterates its call for the international community to address the root causes of displacement that are driving people from their homes and forcing them to take increasingly dangerous and perilous journeys. For more information: Bangladesh FM to visit Myanmars Rakhine State on Aug 9 aimid Rohingya crisis By Mir Afroz Zaman Dhaka, Aug 3 ( UNI) Bangladesh Foreign Minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali is going to Myanmar on August 9 to see the preparations for accommodation facilities, particularly installation of pre-fabricated houses for repatriation of Rohingya refugees. Ali told Indian State Minister for External Affairs VK Singh about his plan during a meeting on Friday in Singapore on the sidelines of the 25th ASEAN Regional Forum, the foreign ministry said. Foreign Secretary Md Shahidul Haque earlier last month said they had proposed to visit the Rakhine State to see the situation before the beginning of the repatriation of Rohingyas from Bangladesh. Both sides have signed deals for a safe, voluntary and dignified return of Rohingyas following an ethnic cleansing of the Muslim-majority Rakhine State. 275 school students got infected with Corona during the last month in Kangra dist 28 Oct 2021 | 2:52 AM Dharamsala, Oct 27 (UNI) In Kangra district, during the last one month from September 27 to October 26, 1621 positive cases of corona have been reported, out of which 275 students of different government and Private schools and 33 employees of educational institutions have been found to be Covid- 19 positive. Deputy Commissioner Kangra Dr. Nipun Jindal told UNI that during this period, 894 corona infected have become healthy in the district, out of which 61 students of schools have become healthy and 13 employees have also recovered. He said that in the district till October 26, there we're 727 active cases of corona in Kangra district out of which 214 students and 13 employees were infected, out of which 30 are hospitalized for corona infected treatment. He said that today the number of active cases has risen to 840. see more.. DC reached villages and took stock of the Covid vaccination survey 28 Oct 2021 | 2:46 AM Dharamsala: Oct 27 (UNI) In view of the increasing number of Covid Cases In Kangra district the ASHA workers and Anganwadi workers are going door-to-door to make people aware about Covid vaccination, a survey about Covid vaccination is also being done so that no citizen in Kangra district is deprived of vaccination. see more.. Rising Star Corps celebrates 75th Infantry Day 28 Oct 2021 | 2:41 AM Dharamsala, Oct 27 (UNI) To honour the supreme sacrifice of the Infantry in fighting the Pakistani raiders in Jammu and Kashmir in 1947, Rising Star Corps celebrated its 75 Infantry Day with traditional solemnity. see more.. 3 persons including one woman arrested under NDPS Act 28 Oct 2021 | 2:36 AM Dharamshala, Oct 27 (UNI) Kangra police has arrested three persons, including a woman in two different cases under different sections of Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, at Icco mode near Dharmshala and Chobin Baijnath after police recovered more than 1 kg Charas from their posession, police said here on Wednesday. see more.. Astana (Kazakhstan), Aug 3 (UNI) India on Friday said that there is immense potential for cooperation with Kazakhstan to be tapped in sectors like agricultural products, food processing, pharmaceuticals, energy and chemicals. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on a visit here said in a media statement that India has keen interest in improving connectivity with this region. "Both the countries have growing cooperation in capacity building. Kazakhstan professionals and students have been attending courses on scholarships in India every year under the ICCR and the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) programme in a wide range of disciplines," she said. To enhance people-to-people contact and promote tourism, India has extended electronic visa system to the nationals of Kazakhstan, since February 2018. "Thanks to the pro-active leadership of President Nazarbayev, we already notice many positive changes, facilitating travel by Indians to Kazakhstan," she said. She also said that both Foreign Minister Kairat Abdrakhmanov and she (Ms Swaraj) expressed interest to further strengthen the Defence cooperation, based on a solid foundation. "Our defence and security sector cooperation has intensified in the last two years. Kazakh Armed Forces Unit underwent training on peacekeeping operations in India and presently, a mobile training team from the Indian Army is training Kazakh personnel in Almaty," she said. UNI DEVN RJ 1508 Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette released a new consumer alert on Friday to warn Michigan business owners of a potential sales tax application scam. An online company called Sales Tax Application Organization claims that business owners can apply for a license to collect state sales tax through a portal on its website. The company charges a fee and asks for personal information. However, in Michigan this can be done through the state, for free, in as little as seven days. While Michigan has not yet seen this scam, Schuette and his Consumer Protection Team have released a new alert to prevent Michigan business owners from falling victim to this scam. A source from outside Michigan reports that no service is actually provided, and the money paid disappeared. Consumer Protection is one of the fundamental roles of the Michigan Attorney General, said Schuette. The team works diligently to warn residents of scams before they happen, and this alert is a perfect example. Michigan business owners should beware and are encouraged to file a complaint if they encounter this scam. Schuette advises business owners to be cautious if they receive an unprompted link from an online service that states it will register your business to collect sales tax with the state for a fee. Companies like this are often hard to verify. If an online business provides no contact information such as a phone number, email address, or any employee names, this should serve as a red flag. Schuette advises that residents check with the State Department of Treasury to find the correct way to register to collect sales tax in Michigan. The attorney general provides consumer alerts to inform the public of unfair, misleading, or deceptive business practices and to provide information and guidance on issues of concern. Residents can visit the attorney generals website to subscribe and receive the latest consumer alerts. To report a scam, file a complaint, or get additional information, contact the Michigan Department of Attorney General: CONSUMER PROTECTION DIVISION P.O. Box 30213 Lansing, MI 48909 Phone: 517-373-1140 Fax: 517-241-3771 Toll free: 877-765-8388 to view the online complaint form. More details on the scam can be found in the Related Links section of this article. (Aug. 3, 2018) -- UTSA President Taylor Eighmy today announced a new initiative to catapult UTSA as San Antonios world-class public research university. The Presidential Initiative on Research Excellence will increase national and international recognition of UTSA as an institution of research excellence and help it earn status as a research intensive university, as identified by the National Research University Fund (NRUF) and Carnegie Commission on Higher Education. As many of you have heard me say, the city of Boston has eight universities that hold an R1 Carnegie Classification signifying they engage in the highest levels of research activity, said Eighmy in an email sent today to UTSA faculty and staff. San Antonio needs a Carnegie R1 institution, and we would like for UTSA to be its first. UTSA is positioned to gain access to the NRUF, monies designated by the Texas State Legislature to help the states universities achieve prominence on the national stage. The designation comes with about $8 million annually in state dollars that will help UTSA attract leading scholars to the university and ensure they have the support they need to pursue groundbreaking research. To help UTSA reach these goals, President Eighmy has appointed a Research Excellence Task Force, led by Bernard Arulanandam, interim vice president for Research, Economic Development and Knowledge Enterprise. Arulanandam and his team have already implemented several strategies over the last year to align UTSAs resources and intellectual talents with NRUF and Carnegie R1 criteria. This initiative establishes a task force to shepherd UTSA through the final miles as it prepares for upcoming review cycles. To earn NRUF eligibility, UTSA must meet a slate of targets that encompass research expenditures, faculty awards and Ph.D. graduates, among others. Having helped lead the NRUF journey during my time at Texas Tech, I can say with certainty that this goal is well within UTSAs reach, Eighmy said. UTSA will aim to meet all NRUF criteria by 2021. Maintaining the numbers for the mandatory two-year evaluation period will result in full eligibility in the year 2023. Over the last year, UTSAs restricted research expenditures grew from $36.4 million in FY 2016 to $40.1 million in FY 2017. There have also been increases in federal partnerships as part of the universitys National Security Collaboration Center initiative and other emerging areas of scholarly expertise. For the Carnegie Classification, UTSA has its sights set on the 2021 evaluation cycle. Seven of 10 of UTSAs peer models of excellence are classified as R1 institutions. UTSA will emulate their successful practices. Increasing UTSAs Ph.D. student population will be key to success, in addition to continuing an upward trajectory of research expenditures. As with the NRUF efforts, UTSA has already made great progress in areas that advance its Carnegie criteria standings. Attaining these milestones amounts to much more than additional feathers in our cap, said Eighmy. While they will bring new levels of prestige to UTSA and to San Antonio, they will also serve as endorsements of the education we provide to our students. NRUF and Carnegie R1 underpin our commitment to providing transformational experiences inside and outside of the classroom, engagement opportunities with world-renown scholars, and preparation for careers and meaningful work that tackles our societys grandest challenges. UTSA anthropology professor was awarded Fulbright funding to teach and conduct research in Bolivia. (Aug. 3, 2018) -- Sonia Alconini, a professor in The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) Department of Anthropology, is teaching archaeological workshops at the Universidad Mayor de San Andres in Bolivia this summer with funding from the Fulbright Specialist Program. Through the exchange opportunity, Alconini is also expanding on her research in Bolivia. Alconini was invited by Universidad Mayor de San Andres Instituto de Investigaciones Antropologicas y Arqueologicas to teach a set of workshops to students working on their theses to obtain professional degrees in anthropology and archaeology. One of the workshops Alconini is teaching is about Geographic Information Systems (GIS) applications to archaeological research. She was asked to instruct the course because she has experience teaching spatial technologies in anthropology at the graduate level at UTSA. Alconinis research expertise includes the archaeology of complex societies of the pre-Columbian World, including ancient empires and states. The anthropology professor, based in the UTSA College of Liberal and Fine Arts (COLFA), also studies settlement pattern analysis, ethnohistory and household archaeology of the Inka Empire and Tiwanaku, both located in the Andes Mountains. In addition to teaching this summer, Alconini is doing research at the archaeological site of Samaipata, Santa Cruz, which is a large Inka settlement in Bolivia. I am thrilled to have received this award. I am originally from Bolivia, and I have been working in South America for several years doing archaeological research, said Alconini. I feel that multilateral and multidisciplinary collaborative work is central in positioning UTSA as a premier research institution worldwide. I am truly excited to be part of this initiative. Alconini was awarded the UTSA Presidents Distinguished Achievement Award for Excellence in Core Curriculum Teaching in 2016 and the UTSA Presidents Distinguished Achievement Award for Advancing Globalization in 2015. Campus Construction Update for Aug. 5- 11 These are among the construction activities scheduled Aug. 5-11 at the University of Wyoming: Campus Steam Shutdown (UW Operations) -- The annual campus steam shutdown began Monday, July 16, and will continue through Aug. 20. Most campus buildings between 22nd and Ninth streets, and Ivinson and Lewis streets will not have hot water or steam during the shutdown. A portable boiler located north of Washakie Dining Hall will remain on-site until Aug. 20. Central Energy Plant (CEP) (Arcon Inc., Laramie; August 2018) -- Construction on a shelter to cover the condensate tank at the CEP began Aug. 1. Construction fence is set up around the work area. The sidewalk on the west side of 19th Street may be closed; the street will be blocked occasionally. Please be cautious of crews and equipment in the area. Wildcatter Re-carpeting (Commercial Flooring) -- The Wildcatter carpet is being replaced. A dumpster is located in the stadium parking lot, and one elevator at a time will be out of public use. Please use caution, and be aware of active renovation zones. Old Main (UW Operations; August 2018) -- Remodeling of Suite 318 of Old Main is underway. Task items include wall removal and repair, painting, carpeting, electrical routing, moving and cleaning. The work will continue until Aug. 29. The contractor will establish a HEPA-equipped negative pressure enclosure at the entrance of the suite in an effort to mitigate dust and odor dispersion to other locations of Old Main during construction. There will be heavy foot traffic along the main stairwell from ground level to the third floor. A Conex (storage container) for furniture storage will be staged at the northeast corner of the building, near the dumpsters for the facility. Please use caution near crews and equipment. Physical Sciences Building (MSI; May 29-Aug. 20) -- The storm sewer work in the area between the Physical and Health Science buildings is nearing completion. It is now open to foot traffic but still closed to vehicle traffic at this time. See attached map. Classroom Building, Biological and Physical Sciences Buildings (MSI) -- The sidewalk east of the Classroom Building between Biological Sciences and Physical Sciences is now open to foot traffic but will still be closed to vehicles for a couple more weeks due to some finishing work on the storm sewer renovations. See attached map. University Office Annex -- Carpet will be replaced in about 700-square-foot sections starting Aug. 20. Anthropology Building (Simon Contractors, August 2018) -- Simon Construction will have the parking lot closed Aug. 1-10 for crack sealing, asphalt coating and restriping. Arena Auditorium (A-A) (The Plumbing Co. and Big Huhnks, August 2018) -- The northeast sidewalk area will be closed for concrete and hydrant repairs. Water to the A-A could be temporarily disrupted. Central Energy Plant (CEP) (The Plumbing Co., July-August 2018) -- Welding crews will be on 19th Street by the CEP working on piping for the steam shutdown. Please be cautious of crews and equipment in the area. Science Initiative Building (Site clearing and demolition contractor Stonehouse Inc., Laramie; summer/fall 2018) -- Franchise utility disconnects are complete. Black Hills Energy will re-route the gas main to the east side of the site the week of Aug. 6. Tree removal and water service demolition will start the week of Aug. 6. There will be multiple street section closures Aug. 6-10; Ninth and 10th streets between Lewis and Bradley will be closed, Lewis and Bradley streets between Ninth and 10th streets also will be closed that entire week. Please plan your travel routes accordingly and follow traffic control instructions. Asbestos abatement in multiple buildings is in progress. The parking lot at 10th and Lewis streets is permanently closed. Please do not park in any of the residential areas or parking lots. Please observe all construction signs, site fencing, overhead hazards and construction traffic. Engineering Education and Research Building (EERB) (Construction manager GE Johnson Construction Wyoming LLC, Casper; spring 2019) -- Installation of the stone veneer; exterior and interior metal stud framing, drywall and paint; mechanical/electrical/plumbing rough-ins; elevator commissioning; and roofing are all underway. Site utilities, landscape walls and rough grading are all in progress. Eleventh Street will be closed to traffic in both directions for the duration of the project. The ADA sidewalk ramp on the southeast corner of the Michael B. Enzi STEM Facility will be closed through Aug. 10 for utility tie-ins. ADA access is still available on the southwest ramp, and no exterior building doors will be blocked. Please steer clear of heavy equipment, overhead conveying and delivery trucks parked on city streets. Please observe all construction signs. Education Lab School (UW Operations) -- Painting began in June to start renovating the Lab School. Asbestos abatement in different areas began June 25 and will continue throughout the summer. Please be aware of the ongoing work, and use caution in these areas. McWhinnie Hall (UW Operations) -- Moving and construction is ongoing in Room 100 and attached offices to the east. Abatement will start Aug. 9. Please use caution in this area. Knight Hall (UW Operations; August 2018) -- Work has begun at the southwest entrance to reconstruct the flower planters and repair the exterior foyer ceiling plaster and deck area. Please be cautious around crews and equipment in this area, and observe all construction signs. Engineering (UW Electricians; August 2018) -- Recommissioning of L30 No. 2 has begun. Work will continue through mid-August. Please be cautious of crews and equipment in the area. Agriculture and Engineering Buildings (Summit Sealants, Montrose, Colo.; August 2018) -- Painting, caulking and minor repairs to the exteriors of Agriculture and Engineering will be ongoing through the summer, as weather permits. University Office Annex (Simon Construction; August 2018) -- The parking lot is open, Crews will still be doing small concrete repairs. Please use caution around crews. High Altitude Performance Center (Wyoming Signs; August 2018) -- There will be monument sign construction by the south entrance. Please use caution around crews and equipment. West Side of 22nd Street from the Gateway Center and North to Willett Drive (Triple A Building Services; August 2018) -- Landscaping will be updated. Please use caution around work crews and equipment. Physical Sciences Building (UW Operations) -- Welding crews will be re-piping and installing new control valves for the heat system. This will take place in the basement mechanical room starting July 6 for approximately a month and a half. Please use caution around the work crew. Corbett Pool (UW Operations) -- Crews will be working on the biannual maintenance to the pool area. The pool will be drained and closed July 18-Aug. 24. Please use caution in the pool area. Half Acre Recreation and Wellness Center Pool and Spa (UW Operations) -- Crews will be making repairs to the mechanical room and in the pool area. The pool and spa will be drained and closed from July 16-Aug. 24. Please use caution in the pool area. Information Technology Building (Arcon Inc.; August 2018) -- Exterior work is ongoing for a new chiller installation on the south side of the IT Building. Ivinson Street, by the building, may be temporarily blocked during normal business hours. Additionally, interior work continues on the southeast side of the building. Work crews will be transporting large equipment. Use caution around work crews. Steam Distribution System (CHC; Aug 2018) -- Crews will be abating pipe fittings throughout the tunnel system in northwest campus. Be cautious of open vaults and manholes allowing for worker ventilation. Irrigation Expansion (Triple A; August-December 2018) -- Crews will be boring under public roadways and trenching throughout campus. Some roadways will be closed during construction. Expect traffic delays and detours. Wyoming Hall, McWhinne, Education and Education Annex parking lots (Simon Contractors, August 2018) -- Simon Construction will have the parking lot closed Aug. 6-15 for crack sealing, asphalt coating and restriping. Health Sciences/Pharmacy Building (Big Horn Roofing) -- Crews will be reroofing sections of the roof. Please use caution around crews and equipment. Health Sciences Building (Laramie Heating and Sheet Metal, Laramie; August 2018) -- The contractor is replacing two dampers and actuators in the corridor. There will be some noise and dust. Please use caution around crews. Health Sciences Building-South Wing Fourth Floor, WWAMI Classroom (Arcon Inc., Laramie; fall 2018) -- Demolition and reconstruction will continue in the south wing of the fourth floor through November. Demolition work is scheduled to occur through early August, with temporary impacts to additional spaces on the third and fourth floors. Please be cautious around crews and equipment in this area, and observe all construction signs. Wyoming Union Third Floor, Veterans Services Center (Shepard Construction; summer 2018) -- Demolition and reconstruction will continue on the third floor through August. Painting is ongoing through mid-August. The south end of the west wing will be impacted by the noise for the next few weeks. Exterior project staging is on the southwest side of the Wyoming Union. Please be cautious around crews and equipment in this area, and observe all construction signs. Physical Sciences Building Third Floor, WWAMI Cadaver Lab (Arcon Inc., Laramie; summer 2018) -- The project is in completion stage and only punch list and warranty work are ongoing. The following projects are complete: Education Annex (July 10-17) -- The re-carpeting of rooms 223, 225, 227 and 229 is complete. Union Day Lot (Simon Contractors, August 2018) -- Minor repairs and maintenance of the Day Lot has been completed. Buchanan Center for the Performing Arts (Knife River; August 2018) -- The south parking lot is open. Crane Parking Lot (Knife River; August 2018) -- The east parking lot is open. Arena-Auditorium Steam Tunnel (UW Operations) -- Welding and plumbing crews have completed the installation of the new steel piping in the Arena-Auditorium tunnel. Berry Biodiversity Conservation Center (UW Operations) -- The plumbing shop welding crew has completed installing new control valves and piping to the rooftop unit No. 4. Biological Sciences Building (UW Operations) -- The welding and plumbing crews have completed installing the new steam control valves in the basement mechanical room. Ross Hall (UW Operations, Structural Trades) -- Construction is complete on phase one of the second floor and phase two in the east wing of the basement in Ross Hall. Mick and Susie McCurry High Altitude Performance Center (Construction manager at risk GE Johnson Construction Wyoming LLC, Jackson; July 2018) -- Work is complete and the building is occupied. Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site. 0108263 License for publishing multimedia online Registration Number: 130349 Registration Number: 130349 According to the new Law on Technology Transfer dated 19 June 2017 and Decree No. 76/2018/ND-CP which was issued on 15 May 2018, registration of technology transfer has been made mandatory from July 1, 2018, in Vietnam. Earlier, registration was only mandatory for technology transfers which were restricted. Types of technology transfers Except for restricted technology transfers which require specific permits, following are the types of technology transfer that needs to be registered with the state management agencies of science and technology. Technology transfer from a foreign county to Vietnam; Technology transfer from Vietnam to a foreign country; and A domestic transfer which uses State capital/budget, excluding ones that have already received the Certificate of Registration of Science and Technology Task Outcomes. Technology is defined as a solution, process, or know-how that may or may not be supported by instruments and facilities to convert resources into products. Technology transfer is the transfer of the right to own or use (part or whole) of a technology from a party which has the right to transfer. If the transferred technology involves intellectual property rights protection, the transfer will be carried out according to the Law on Intellectual Property. Involved parties need to register for intellectual property rights and technology transfer separately. Responsible parties The Vietnamese party is solely responsible for the registration process. Transfer from a foreign country to Vietnam the transferee; Transfer from Vietnam to a foreign country transferor; and Domestic transfer using State capital/budget transferee. Government authority In case of a domestic technology transfer, the provincial Department of Science and Technology is the registration authority. In case its between a Vietnamese firm and a foreign country entity, the authority is the Department of Technology Appraisal, Examination, and Assessment under the Ministry of Science and Technology. Fees To examine the technology transfer agreement, the government has set the fee equivalent to 0.1 percent of the total value of the agreement. However, it should not be less than VND 5 million (US$ 214) and not more than VND 10 million (US$428). Registration process Involved parties need to submit their registration application within 90 days of the agreement signing date. In addition to the registration agreement, other supporting documents required are: Original or certified copy of the technology transfer contract; Notarized or authenticated translated copies of the technology transfer agreement in Vietnamese; Investment Registration Certificate copies of both parties; Documents confirming the legal status of the representatives of the parties to the contract; and Power of Attorney, in case a third party has been authorized to carry out the procedures. Contracts signed before July 1, 2018, but renewed after July 1, must follow the new regulations. Processing time Once the application has been filed, the competent authority has five working days in which it must either issue the registration certificate or provide reasons for refusal. In case an agreement is incomplete, the government authority needs to inform the applicant within three working days. If an agreement is being amended/supplemented, the competent authority needs to inform the transferor within five working days. The new regulations will enable the government authorities to keep track of technology transfers into Vietnam and assist tax authorities during audits and inspections in evaluating deductible expenses as the contracts will be registered. In March 2018, the government issued Decree 40/2018/ND-CP (Decree 40) replacing Decree 42/2014/ND-CP (Decree 42) on the management of multi-level marketing (MLM) activities. Decree 40 is already in effect since May 2, 2018. Companies have nine months from May 2nd to meet all the conditions under Decree 40. Registration Documents Along with the application for a registration certificate, MLM companies need to submit the following documents: Copy of enterprise registration certificate; Personal identification documents for partners/founding shareholders/owners; Details of goods traded; IT infrastructure to manage the network of participants; Documents proving that the MLM company has a website; Details of information and communication system to handle participant complaints; and Other documents such as award plans, operation details, training programs, and contracts. Conditions for registration The MLM registration certificate will be valid for five years from the issuance date and can be extended. MLM firms need to fulfill certain conditions before registering in Vietnam: The entity must be established in Vietnam; The entity should not have had their multi-level sales registration certificate revoked for any previous violations; Charter capital of VND 10 billion (US$ 430,000) or more; Partners/founding shareholders/owners must not have held similar positions in other MLM companies that had their license revoked; Escrow deposit equivalent to five percent of the charter capital but not less than VND 10 billion; Contracts, operation rules, awards, and training should be as per Decree 40; Has an information technology system to handle sellers and a website to provide information about the firm; and Has a communication system to manage seller complaints. Restrictions Under Decree 40, several activities have been prohibited or restricted for firms and participants to ensure a transparent and fair environment. Goods Goods such as pharmaceuticals, medical devices, digital content products, and various chemicals are prohibited in the multi-level sales industry. Product quality Firms and participants need to ensure that products sold are not fake or of substandard quality. Transferring participants MLM companies cannot sell or transfer a network of participants to other firms. M&A cases are exempted. Information about benefits Firms and participants need to ensure that they do not provide any false or misleading information about the awards, benefits, commissions, and features offered by the company. Organizing seminars or training Firms cannot organize seminars or training sessions for existing or new participants without the permission of government authorities. Participant Ids For promotional and sales activities, participants cannot have more than one identification number or position in the same network. MLM obligations MLM companies cannot ask the participants to relieve them from any obligations or give up their rights in the network. Joining fees MLM firms cannot accept any deposits from the participants or ask them to buy a certain number of goods for participating in a multi-level sale. Semi-annual reporting Under Decree 40, MLM companies need to submit reports every six months to the Ministry of Industry and Trade as well as the Department of Industry and Trade (DOIT) of the province/city where they are located. Companies need to provide information about the network, revenue, national/local operations, commissions, taxes, promotional programs, seminars and training sessions. The report for the first six months must be submitted by July 31st every year, while the second report needs to be submitted by January 20th of the following year. If they do not file their reports in time, they can be fined anywhere between VND 40,000,000 to VND 60,000,000 (approximately US$ 1,720 to US$ 2,580). In addition, government authorities can also confiscate their products and additional profits. In the last few years, the government has fined and revoked the licenses of numerous MLM firms in Vietnam due to fraudulent activities and tax violations. Going forward, Decree 40 will help in minimizing fraudulent activities, protecting the rights of participants, and increase government oversight. A photo of Hanoi taken by the VNREDSat-1 Illustrative image (Photo: VNA) Potential areas of bilateral collaboration included the exchange of information on issues related to Earth observation, organising and participating in scientific and technological events, and research into satellite technology, according to Airbus. In 2010, Airbus won a contract to develop, manufacture and launch Vietnams first Earth observation satellite. The VNREDSat-1 was successfully launched in May 2013, enabling the country to better monitor and study the effects of climate change, predict and take measures to prevent natural disasters, and optimise the management of its natural resources. The European manufacturer is also developing its industrial presence in the country, where several local firms supply aerostructures and components across the Airbus civil aircraft product line. This helps generate full-time employment for 550 highly skilled Vietnamese workers. In education, the company is supporting the development of two new degree programmes at the University of Science and Technology of Hanoi, helping Vietnam meet its growing requirements for aerospace engineers and professionals. Britain's Theresa May is hoping French President Emmanuel Macron will prove receptive to her Brexit plan as a deadline for reaching a deal looms AFP/Adrian DENNIS She and Macron will hold an "informal" two-hour meeting at Bregancon, a 17th-century fort long favoured by French presidents as a summer retreat. "The plan was to go to Bregancon, which is to be a summer residence but also a place for working, and since May was finishing her vacation in Italy we proposed hosting her here," a source said. May is going to lay out "London's position on the Brexit talks and its future relations with the EU," the source said. "It will be the occasion to clarify this proposal and discuss the political context." There will be no press statement afterwards, because "there is absolutely no intention to speak in place of Michel Barnier," the EU's designated Brexit negotiator, the source added. Pressure is growing on May to win allies on the continent after her "Chequers plan" prompted two top ministers to resign in protest last month. The prime minister has just a few months before an agreement on Britain's divorce from the EU - set for Mar 29, 2019 - must be forged in principle ahead of a European summit in mid-October. Barnier has already shot down May's proposed solution to keeping the border between the UK and EU member Ireland open without a "hard border". Under May's proposal a dual system of taxation would be introduced which would see taxes levied by each side of the Irish border for the benefit of the other. FLEXIBILITY? European leaders have steadfastly voiced support for Barnier, who wrote in a piece published in French and German newspapers Thursday that Britain and the EU "are 80 per cent in agreement on an exit deal." "But 80 per cent is not 100 per cent," he warned. "Let's be frank, the United Kingdom, having decided to leave the single market, cannot be as economically close as the rest of the EU." France is seen as taking a particularly hard line in the Brexit negotiations, especially on financial services, with Paris already expecting to get about 3,500 new banking jobs as leading players move operations out of London. Companies in other sectors have also warned they might move operations out of Britain, which could prove a boon for economies on the continent. Barnier has maintained that any Brexit accord "must conform with the economic interests of the 27 remaining EU members, and the president has always supported this as well", the source in Macron's office said. But Macron also wants to avoid a "messy divorce", which Britain's foreign minister Jeremy Hunt has warned will happen in case of a "no-deal exit". "France and Germany have to send a strong signal to the Commission that we need to negotiate a pragmatic and sensible outcome that protects jobs on both sides of the Channel," Hunt said in a British press interview before visiting Paris and Vienna this week. The British charm offensive continued Thursday, when Brexit minister Dominic Raab said he held "constructive" talks with France's Europe Minister Nathalie Loiseau in Paris, saying they had discussed "the progress of negotiations with Michel Barnier." The new Hanoi City Tour Hopon-Hopoff bus is the first sightseeing option of its kind in Hanoi Hanoi launched its first double-decker bus route, named Hanoi City Tour, on May 30, running through 25 streets with 13 hopon -hopoff stops, creating favourable conditions for tourists to explore and experience 30 unique destinations within Hanoi. The bus operates daily, from 9am to 5pm, with a frequency of 30 minutes. The tour lasts 45 minutes as it takes a 13.8-kilometre tour of the city. The price for the double-decker bus tour is calculated at four main rates, including VND196,000 ($8.67) for a two-hour tour, VND300,000 ($13.27) for four hours, VND450,000 ($19.90) for 24 hours, and VND650,000 ($28.76) for 48 hours. With various choices of tour fare, visitors can actively hop on and hop off at any destination as many times as they wish, as long as the ticket is within its validity period. The emergence of the Hanoi City Tour double-decker bus service is expected to create a new attraction for the capitals tourism. This service can also be seen as an indicator of the lack of trust in the public transportation sector. Three Hanoi City Tour double-decker buses meet the European emission standard Euro 4. They boast a low floor system convenient for the elderly, children, and people with disability to get on and off, as well as free wifi, USB charging ports, a refrigerator, and LCD panels that provide information on attractions in many different languages. The Hanoi City Tour HoponHopoff bus is the first tour service in Hanoi equipped with an automatic, multi-lingual narration system, according to Nguyen Viet Hung, deputy director of the Hanoi City Tours operator Yen Vien Bus Enterprise, a subsidiary of Transerco. The narration is available in Vietnamese, English, Chinese, Japanese, and Korean. This type of vehicle has been used in more than 100 countries around the world and many countries in the region such as Singapore, Malaysia, and Japan, Hung said. We aim to serve customers thoughtfully, enthusiastically, and professionally. When the service quality is good, the number of customers will increase dramatically. After nearly two months of operation, Bus 01 of the Hanoi City Tour has done 510 tours with 3,520 customers using the service. This is an average of 6.9 passengers per round, equal to 14 per cent of its designed capacity. In the first month, Transerco sold an average of 70 double-decker bus tickets a day, mainly to foreign tourists. Transerco has proposed that the Hanoi Department of Transport adjust their operating time up to 18 hours and aims to pilot a night tour route that offers passengers a double-decker bus tour of Hanois nightlife from 7.30pm and 8.30pm daily. If approved, the night tour will be applied from August 1. Truong My Linh, sales representative of the Hanoi City Tour, said that the number of European, South Korean, and Japanese tourists purchasing tickets to experience the Hanoi City Tour is quite high. The passengers rarely complain about the fare, with the 24-hour ticket currently being the most popular. Passengers can buy tickets directly when boarding, online through the Hanoi City Tours website:hopon-hopoff.vn, or from domestic travel agencies. Argentina's forward Gonzalo Higuain, pictured June 2018, signed to Milan on a one-year loan deal worth a reported 18 million. (Photo: AFP/Juan Mabromata) Milan signed 30-year-old Higuain on a one-year loan deal worth a reported 18 million (US$21 million) that gives them the option to buy the striker next summer for a further 36 million. Italy centre-back Bonucci has been swapped for promising Mattia Caldara just weeks after Caldara arrived at Juve following his transfer from Atalanta, which was agreed in January 2017. Higuain left Juventus, where he won two Serie A titles and scored 40 goals in 76 league appearances, following the shock signing of Cristiano Ronaldo from Real Madrid that made the Argentine surplus to requirements. Italian media reported that Higuain's transfer had been structured to allow Milan to comply with UEFA's Financial Fair Play regulations, which they fell foul of last season. Last season, Milan scored only 56 goals in Serie A, a figure which put them at a serious disadvantage compared to major rivals Juventus, Napoli and Roma as well as bitter city rivals Inter Milan who all claimed Champions League places. "A new adventure begins," said Higuain after undergoing his medical. The Argentinian's move opened the door for Bonucci to return to Turin, where the defender won six league titles and reached two Champions League finals. The 31-year-old Bonucci returns to Juve after just one season with Milan, who could only finish sixth last season and missed the Champions League despite spending over 200 million (US$233 million) on new players last summer. A reported 42 million of that were spent on Bonucci, who was made captain but fell short of the imperious form he showed at Juve. "Turin and Juventus are home for me. It's difficult to imagine that this has happened," said Bonucci. "I am delighted and excited to be back." Milan are trying to bounce back after a troubled spell following the sale of the club to Chinese owners in April last year, but poor performances on the pitch were compounded in recent months by fears over their financial survival. UEFA booted them out of next season's Europa League for violating the financial regulations, only for the ban to be overturned by the Court of Arbitration for Sport on Jul 20 following hedge fund Elliott Management's takeover earlier in the month. The American firm took control after the Chinese consortium led by Li Yonghong that ran Milan, long rumoured to be struggling financially, failed to repay 32 million lent by Elliott. Elliot has pledged to inject 50 million to bring financial stability to the club. Indian firms up pharma investments,- illustration photo, source: internet According to the Indian Business Chamber in Vietnam (Incham), Indian companies have extensive expertise in generic drug production. An increasing number of leading pharmaceutical firms from the subcontinent are now looking to up their investments in the country. Some large companies, which are among the top 10 in India, are expected to come to Vietnam in 2019 to invest in production bases in the lucrative local pharmaceutical industry. They are taking the necessary steps for the entry, a senior official of Incham told VIR. In addition, some Indian drug makers now have their production bases in Malaysia and Thailand, and Vietnam will be the next destination. Production in Vietnam will enable Indian businesses to export their products to the ASEAN market. Pharmaceuticals have been a focus in recent trips made by Indian firms in search of investment and business opportunities in Vietnam, along with agriculture, IT, and biological technology. The new expected investment is likely to enable Indian firms to benefit from the incentives offered by the Vietnamese governments plan to privilege domestically produced pharmaceuticals in order to increase the percentage of domestically produced pharmaceuticals among drugs sold in Vietnam from 50 per cent at the end of 2015 to 80 per cent by 2020. Vietnam now offers some prioritised polices for local drug production, which are specified in the Pharmacy Law and circulars 9, 10, and 11 on pharmaceuticals bidding. High-tech drug production projects are also connected with tax incentives. What is more, such facilities are to benefit from the Vietnamese governments policy to give priority to generic drugs, which is considered a speciality of Indian drug markers. The move among Indian drug makers proves how attractive the Vietnamese pharmaceutical industry is and how highly lucrative the local investment climate is. Vietnams pharmaceutical market is on track to grow on a steep incline. The 2017 turnover of the domestic market was estimated at $5.2 billion according to data from Business Monitor International, up approximately 10 per cent on-year. The industry is expected to continue its double-digit growth over the next five years. At present, Indian investors focus on energy, infrastructure, and mineral projects in the country. Tata Group, Adani Green Energy Ltd., and Suzlon Energy Ltd. are big Indian players on Vietnams energy market. They are planning to invest in plants in various Vietnamese regions, while some other firms are interested in marble mining and mineral resources. According to Incham, despite several issues related to policy and the bankability of projects in the renewable sector, the first green field solar project which is backed by Indian investors has completed major approval steps, resolved financing issues, and on the verge of beginning construction in Vietnam. Indias total pledged capital in Vietnam hit around $128.14 million in the first seven months of 2018, placing the country at the 17th position among countries and territories with investments in Vietnam. To promote Indian investment in Vietnam, Incham is now becoming more active. Last week, it worked with the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry on strengthening co-operation and hosting joint activities in Vietnam and India, including Summit 2018, which will be organised in Surat, as well as the Vietnam-India Business Forum. Further tariff cuts under the ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreementpart of the ASEAN-India Free Trade Agreement are expected to be a key driver of a rise in Indian investment into Vietnam in the near future. Japanese firms bank on M&A deals Japans Taisho Pharmaceutical Holdings has recently proposed to purchase another 7.06 per cent stake in Vietnamese-listed DHG Pharmaceutical JSC, increasing its ownership to 32 per cent. The move was announced after DHG received approval to raise its foreign ownership limit to 100 per cent. The buy-in would cement the Japanese groups position as the second-largest shareholder in the leading Vietnamese drug maker, following State Capital Investment Corporation. Previously, Taisho bought 24.94 per cent of DHG from various funds, including VinaCapital, Dragon Capital, Mekong Portfolio Investments, and Vietnam Holding. Likewise, Nipro Pharma Corporation plans to supply price-competitive pharmaceuticals to Asian markets through the acquisition of shares in Vietnams Mekophar Chemical Pharmaceutical JSC. Nipro has provided pharmaceutical technology to Mekophar since 2013 and acquired shares of the Vietnamese company in November 2016. At present, Nipro is providing full support for a plant construction project being undertaken by a subsidiary of Mekophar. Nipro plans to use the new plant for low-cost production of self-branded generic drugs. In June, Japans Sojitz Corporation also made a big splash when it purchased Saigon Paper Corporation for $91.2 million. Saigon Paper is one of Vietnams largest paper manufacturers with an annual output of 40,000 tonnes of household paper and 230,000 tonnes of industrial paper. The purchase of the 95.24-per-cent stake in Saigon Paper is the first and biggest mergers and acquisitions (M&A) deal in the Vietnamese paper industry so far. The high-profile deal marks Sojitzs entrance into Vietnams household paper and containerboard manufacturing business. Sojitz will work to strengthen Saigon Papers manufacturing infrastructure to serve the growing demand for paper products in the country. Another Japanese investor, Takara Belmont, made its first foray into Vietnams beauty product market in 2018 by taking over leading hair care product manufacturer Ngu A Chau for VND181 billion ($8 million). Meanwhile, Japanese Scroll Corporation took its first step into Vietnams burgeoning e-commerce market by purchasing a 26.9 per cent stake in Cat Dong Trade and Services JSC, which runs e-commerce websites CungMua.com, NhomMua.com, and Shipto.vn. These deals demonstrate the continuation of Japanese investment, keeping the Vietnamese market vibrant. According to Seck Yee Chung, partner of Baker & McKenzie (Vietnam), Vietnam is one of the top markets in the Asia Pacific region for foreign direct investment (FDI). Among prospective investors by nation, Japan has been one of the biggest sources of FDI for the country. Chung predicted that Japanese companies will remain major players on the Vietnamese M&A market. Fuelled by Vietnams economic growth, a growing number of co-operation deals are in the making. Hiroyuki Ishige, chairman of the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO), said that Japanese companies have signed 36 new memoranda of understanding worth $21 billion with Vietnamese partnersa testament to Vietnams becoming an attractive investment destination for Japan. Japanese investors are eager to enter the market thanks to the countrys improving investment environment and streamlined administrative procedures, he stressed at the 11th Dialogue between Secretary General of ASEAN and the Federation of the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry in ASEAN (FJCCIA) in Ho Chi Minh City last Monday. According to Ishige, FJCCIA has recorded a rapid increase in member companies in Vietnam. Almost 1,800 Japanese companies under the federation have invested in Vietnam in the first half of the year, which is the highest number in the ASEAN. Indeed, Japanese investment is picking up in Vietnam. In 2017, Japan was Vietnams biggest foreign investor with the total investment capital of $9.11 billion, contributing to 25.4 per cent of the countrys total FDI. In the first seven months of 2018, Japan continued to hold the top spot as the largest foreign investor in Vietnam with the registered investment capital totaling $6.88 billion. Singaporean sovereign wealth fund GICs capital injection into real estate developer Vinhomes was the biggest M&A deal in the year so far, Photo: Le Toan High expectations The mergers and acquisitions (M&A) deal between Vietnams leading brewer Sabeco and Thai Beverage was a one-of-a-kind transaction that, on its own, contributed some $5 billion to the total M&A value of $10.2 billion recorded in Vietnam last year. While such a deal may not pop up on the horizon very often, the country may expect similar or even bigger M&A deals to arrive from the 92 per cent of state capital that has, to date, not been divested from state-owned enterprises (SOEs), as well as from the growth in the Vietnamese private sector. In his opening remarks at last weeks press conference to announce the upcoming 10th Vietnam M&A Forum (MAF) on August 8, VIR editor-in-chief and head of the MAF Organising Board Le Trong Minh noted that since the enactment of the government policy for equitisation some 20 years ago, only 8 per cent of state capital at SOEs has so far been sold, leaving 92 per cent untapped by investors. This promises great potential for M&A in these SOEs, Minh said. The rise of the private sector, with its rapid development, has also opened up a new path for M&A activities in Vietnam, with great expectations for both the volume and value of deals to take place in the near future. CEO of Deloitte Vietnam Pham Van Thinh commented in an interview last week that the supply for M&A activities is plenty, and it is just a matter of how we are preparing to facilitate the M&A deals. Looking at the governments equitisation plan for the period of 2017-2020, there are about 400 SOEs to be equitised. Equitisation, however, is simply the first step of the preparation needed for M&As, Thinh told VIR. According to Thinh, in any SOE equitisation process, the initial public offering (IPO) will take place first, followed by the search for a strategic investor. Through the IPO, there will be a very small number of shares offered to the public, and investors who take up these shares are often individual investors rather than institutional ones, with little to no voting power as to the operation procedures of the enterprise. It is therefore the second stage that is counted as part of an M&A. Appetite for M&A Vietnam has emerged as a destination for both direct and indirect investment from foreign investors and the appetite for investment via the M&A route has never been underestimated. Copious M&A deals in the fields of finance and banking, real estate, manufacturing, and retail have, so far, quenched the thirst of these investors. Japanese and Korean seem to be the most active investors in the local financial market, including transactions such as Shinhan Bank buying out ANZs retail arm, KB Securities acquiring Maritime Securities, or Vietnam Investment Securities Company merging with Japan Securities Incorporated. According to Matthew Powell, director of Savills Hanoi, real estate within particular subsectors, including industrial, office, and residential development, is of most interest to investors at present. Japanese investors, in addition, are paying special interest to large new urban areas (large-scale residential and commercial developments), with Danang and Nha Trang being two popular destinations. Hospitality is still very hot, as tourism numbers continue to increase, so that will still be very much of interest [among foreign investors], Powell explained on the sidelines of the press conference. Industrial realty is also very hot at the moment and the office sector will continue to be very popular as well, but there are limited opportunities for foreign investors to buy the completed office buildings. Currently, Powell added, he sees predominantly Asia-Pacific investors, led by Japan and South Korea, along with Chinese leading the pack of those investing in the local real estate sector. Thailand is quite active in Vietnam, particularly in the real estate, retail, and hospitality sectors, Powell said. Then we get into some of the institutional groups: US-based fund Warburg Pincus going into Vincom Retail and also getting into the industrial platform with BW Industrial. Those types of institutional funds are quite active and they would be sort of global-institutional money, Powell said. Asked about the limited presence of US and EU investors across the local M&A scene, Powell said that these investors could be struggling with issues such as transparency and similarity, while Asia Pacific funds have the advantage of having been exposed to the market from an early stage of development. Singaporean funds have been here for 20-30 years, theyre extremely familiar with the access, the contacts, and a lot of different things, said Powell. If you look at Warburg Pincus, theyve been active here for perhaps 5-10 years. So they [the US and EU funds] are coming and finding that transparency and corporate governance for certain groups have definitely been increasing. As these investors could be coming to Vietnam in the near future, they will need to be quite persistent, aggressive, and opportunistic, at least when it comes to asset-based deals which need to be quickly reacted to and where decisions have to be made before they are gone. Deputy general director of the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency Michael DC Choi shared that as the agency is foreseeing a wave of South Korean investment flowing into Vietnam through M&A activities to capitalise on Vietnams manufacturing capability and growing middle class, it is moving its Southeast Asia headquarters to Hanoi, with a new office to be opened in the central city of Danang. Both openings will occur on August 1. More South Korean corporations will come to look for opportunities in various industries here in Vietnam, he told VIR. The 10th Vietnam M&A Forum 2018 Organised by VIR and AVM Vietnam, the 10th Vietnam M&A Forum will take place at Gem Center in Ho Chi Minh City on August 8. Under the theme New Thrust, New Era, the forum this year will look back at 10 years of M&A activities in Vietnam, as well as host discussions of new opportunities in the next era. The forum includes the following activities: the M&A Forum with speeches and panel discussions from leading experts from Vietnam and overseas, a Gala Dinner to honour the best deals in 2017-2018 and throughout the decade, the M&A Special Publication, and an M&A Masterclass. So far, so good Vietnams M&A activities in 2018 and in subsequent years are expected to carry on the momentum seen in the past decade, with the first half of 2018 witnessing a growth of 155 per cent in deal value compared to the same period last year. Data by the MAF showed that for the first half of 2018, the value of M&A transactions reached $3.55 billion, notably $1.3 billion from Singapores sovereign wealth fund GIC to real estate developer Vinhomes, and $922 million from various investors to commercial bank Techcombank. In 2017, Vietnam achieved a record-high M&A volume of $10.2 billion, a 175 per cent increase on-year. In addition to the aforementioned Sabeco deal, the M&A landscape also witnessed significant transactions over the past few years, including Singapores Fraser and Neave Ltd. (owned by TCC Assets and ThaiBev) spending over VND56 trillion ($2.47 billion) on a 19.06 per cent stake in Vinamilk; Thailands Central Group acquiring Big C for $1.05 billion; and Thai brewing company Singha Asia Holding pouring $1.1 billion into Masan Group. Over the course of the year, Vietnam has also seen its local businesses grow in quantity and quality, with a number of enterprises, having a specific appetite for M&A, getting bigger and stronger. Examples of this are Vinamilk buying Khanh Hoa Sugar JSC, FPT acquiring Intellinet, and Vinfast taking over GM Vietnam. The parent of Vinfast, Vingroup has expanded through a great number of M&A deals in real estate, retail, hospitality, automobile, logistics, and other sectors. As per our estimation, M&A value in 2018 could reach as high as $6.5 billion, equivalent to 63.7 per cent of the 2017 business year, said Dang Xuan Minh, founder and managing director of AVM Vietnam. In the medium term, the scale of the M&A market could break through the peak of $5 billion in the 2014-2016 period to stabilise at $6-6.5 billion in the coming years. We see M&A activities as an increasingly important channel to draw capital into the economy, Deloittes Thinh concluded. M&As have indeed helped local enterprises to attract a reasonably large amount of funds from investors, and this also helps them in reorganising their operations for further development. PNJ highly valued despite Dong A Bank fraud case In its latest monthly report, Vietnam Opportunity Fund of VinaCapital dedicated an entire section to Phu Nhuan Jewelry JSC (PNJ). The fund summarised the recent scandal that PNJ went through, then emphasised that the jeweller has delivered strong business results in 2018 so far, adding that the stock is undervalued following the recent price drop. Our suggestion to PNJ is that senior management purchase shares on the open market or that the company implement a share buyback, as we think the stock is undervalued and such moves would be a vote of confidence in the companys future, said VinaCapital. PNJ is the fifth-largest equity investment of Vietnam Opportunity Fund, taking up 5.5 per cent of the funds portfolio as of June 30. The reason for this special mention is that PNJ, ranked among the 30 biggest stocks on the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange, has been through a tough quarter. Its stock price has fallen by 40 per cent since April, when Tran Phuong Binh, husband of PNJs chairwoman Cao Thi Ngoc Dung, was prosecuted for a $150 million fraud case at Dong A Bank. Specifically, Binh was accused of faking Dungs signature to buy shares in Dong A Bank without any cash disbursement. At the same time, Nguyen Thi Cuc, former board member and deputy CEO at PNJ, was also prosecuted for her wrongdoings as head of the supervisory board at Dong A Bank. When the news broke, Dung had to quickly assure shareholders, including Dragon Capital and VinaCapital, that PNJ is not related to any crimes committed at Dong A Bank, and she has been ruled innocent by the court. According to Dung, business will go on as usual at PNJ, and she expressed her faith in the jewellers future. It seems that market observers agreed with Dung, as they noted that the Dong A Bank saga only affected investors sentiments in the short term, and most expressed optimism about PNJs business potential. Due to the dramatic price decline, the valuation of PNJ is also lower than the market average at 15x, adding to the stocks appeal for long-term investors. We still maintain our viewpoint that PNJ will not be significantly affected by what happened at Dong A Bank. The stock is currently very attractive, as its price-per-earnings ratio in 2018 and 2019 is 16x and 13.2x, respectively, Viet Capital Securities noted. In the first half of 2018, revenue at PNJ reached VND3.2 trillion ($141.6 million), up by 37 per cent on-year. Gross profit also rose by 46 per cent on-year to stand at VND583 billion ($25.8 million). The most significant risk to PNJs growth is increasing competition, said researchers at VP Bank Securities. The biggest competitor to watch out for is Ben Thanh Jewelry, which competes in the same segment and counts Mekong Capital, former major investor at PNJ, as its strategic partner. With $7.6 million of backing from Mekong Capital, Ben Thanh Jewelry has announced plans to open 106 stores for its Precita brand by 2020. Private equity industry breaks records - illustration photo, source: internet A deal-making spirit Private equity (PE) fund managers are sitting on huge reserves of unspent capital and are committed to putting capital to work across the Asia-Pacific region. The market anticipates myriads of development opportunities as PE firms are showing their thirst for mergers and acquisitions (M&A) engagement. Across the region, the PE industry is showing signs of entering a new phase of growth, evidenced by a broader market, stiffer competition, and larger deal values. The regional deal value climbed to an all-time high of $159 billion in 2017, up 41 per cent over 2016 and 19 per cent higher than the historic peak in 2015. The number of individual transactions was down slightly from 2016, but the average deal size rose by 47 per cent to $156 millionmore than 50 per cent higher than the annual average in the period 2012-2016and the number of deals valued at $1 billion or more nearly doubled to 27. A major force behind this unprecedented growth was the trend towards consortium transactions. Almost two-thirds of deal volume involved multiple investors, about 15 percentage points higher than the average of the previous five years. Strong PE activity spanned all markets, with Japan and Southeast Asia gaining significant market share. Japans deal value jumped to about $25 billion in 2017, up 137 per cent over 2016. Southeast Asias market more than doubled to $20 billion, a record high. In Vietnam, leading global investment funds like Warburg Pincus, KKR, and TPG pumped hefty sums into the country amid dwindling investment opportunities in their home countries. US-based Warburg Pincus took the lead by committing to $1 billion of investments in Vietnamese firms, with $370 million going to Techcombank and $200 millionlater raised to $300 millionto Vincom Retail, the retail arm of leading private Vietnamese conglomerate Vingroup. KKR shifted its focus to Vietnam by injecting money into one of Vietnams largest private firms, Masan Group. In the words of KKRs head of Southeast Asia Ashish Shastry, Vietnam proves an ideal investment location with a fast-growing economy and quite favourable demographic trends. Vietnams boom is part of a larger trend across Asia, where total PE investment rose by 38 per cent to $158 billion in 2017, eclipsing Europe for the first time, according to research company Preqin. Last September, Hong Kongs Caldera Pacific and Samsung Securities bought a 40-per-cent stake in Dragon Capital, one of the largest fund managers in Vietnam, based in Ho Chi Minh City. Dragon Capital manages more than $2.3 billion in asset value in Vietnam. Though the deal value has yet to be disclosed, the M&A deal was one of the major events on the Vietnamese investment landscape last year. The two major Vietnam-focused investment funds VinaCapital and Mekong Capital also restructured their investment portfolio last year by expediting a raft of investment and capital divestment deals. Challenges to retaining growth momentum Apparently, rising investor confidence and the increasing acceptance of PE investment in emerging markets is underpinning PEs further growth in the years to come. PE funds posted fair success with their fund-raising activities in 2017, reaching $66 billion, up 32 per cent on-year. In the face of increasingly stiff competition and strong volatility in the investment climate due to the US-China trade war, PE firms are still consistent with their fund-raising activities. The Asia-Pacific region holds plenty of opportunities for investors to earn solid profits in the coming years. However, the fundamental sources of value creation that investors counted on in the past are changing. In addition, strong PE fund performance has increased competition, driving prices up. Finding attractive deals will become more challenging and the funds will need to work harder to match their returns of the past few years. A majority of funds say the lack of attractive deal opportunities for 2018 is one of the two greatest challenges that keep them awake at night. They also see a clear decline in proprietary deals. Considering this, helping the investees build excellent brands by optimising digital technology advantages and finding the best talents will prove crucial for PE funds in the Asia-Pacific region in order to create new values and bolster profit margins. More and more businesses are looking at Vietnam as an alternative production hub, Photo: Le Toan Last week, the Quang Ninh Peoples Committee was visited by 72 Japanese businesses seeking investment and business opportunities in the northern province in many sectors such as electronics, heavy industry, finance, property, and garments and textiles. Nguyen Duc Tiep, a representative of the Quang Ninh Investment Promotion Centre, told VIR that Quang Ninh, with its Van Don Economic Zone expected to be developed into a special administrative economic zone, is becoming a hot investment destination for Japanese firms. Many of these Japanese firms have been operating in China. However, they want to expand their investment markets out of China to shun risks caused by the nations rising production costs and by the US-China trade war, which is making it hard for Japanese firms to export their products to the US from China, said Tiep, who is in charge of supporting Japanese investors in Quang Ninh. A recent survey of over 4,630 Japanese firms investing into 20 nations and territories, including 652 in Vietnam, conducted by the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO), showed that 70 per cent of respondents said they will expand their business in Vietnam and continue considering Vietnam an important investment destination. The rate is only 48 per cent for China. 65.1 per cent of respondents said they are making profits in Vietnam. As of July 20, Japan had 3,835 valid investment projects in Vietnam, registered at $55.86 billion, making Japan the second-biggest foreign investor in Vietnam. In the first seven months of this year, Japans registered investment capital in Vietnam was nearly $6.9 billion. Meanwhile, Hong Sun, vice chairman of the Korea Chamber of Business in Vietnam representing over 6,000 South Korean businesses in the country, told VIR that the US-China trade war is prompting many South Korean businesses to come to Vietnam from China. Currently, most South Korean firms in China produce and export goods to the US. However, the very high US tariffs on Chinese goods worry South Korean businesses. Thus, they seek alternative places for their trade, Sun said. Vietnam is an ideal place, since production costs are lower and it has a number of free trade agreements with other nations in the world. Those South Korean firms are turning Vietnam into their new production base. As of July 20, South Korea had 7,080 valid investment projects in Vietnam, registered at $61.5 billion, making South Korea the biggest foreign investor in Vietnam. In the first seven months of this year, South Koreas registered investment capital in Vietnam was nearly $5.46 billion. According to professional services firm Dezan Shira and Associates, with the US-China trade frictions impacts, Vietnam could serve as an alternative to China for investors. Already, the country is benefitting from companies China plus one strategies, which involve investors in China shifting focus or expanding to other countries to increase market access, diversify risks, and reduce labour costs. The growing trade war will hasten the shift, especially for labour-intensive consumer goods industries such as clothing, footwear, and electronics, the firm said in a recently released bulletin on the US-China trade wars impacts on Vietnam. Vietnam, an export-oriented economy with foreign direct investment (FDI) accounting for the majority of exports, will attract more foreign investors as manufacturers continue to restructure their supply chains to reduce the impact from the US tariffs on China. In a recent report, JLL, a major US professional services and investment management firm, expressed its assumption that Chinas gradual shift from basic, labour-intensive industries to a new focus on bolstering its value chain has created a wave of firms moving their production bases from China to Southeast Asian countries; and with its strategic location, Vietnam stands to benefit from these moves. In addition, concerns over the increasing trade tension between the US and China have prompted companies based in China to move to Vietnam to evade the high tariff impositions. Trang Le, research director at JLL in Vietnam, said, Vietnam currently proves the best choice to the wave of businesses intending to move their factories out of China, chiefly due to the ever-increasing business expenses (land rents, labour costs, and more). In addition, the US-China trade war prompted firms to quickly find safer and more attractive locations. Chairman of the Vietnam Association of Foreign-Invested Enterprises Nguyen Mai, however, warned Vietnam not to be content with the current developments, saying that the country needs to further improve the investment climate and push up administrative procedure reforms to maintain its advantages. Last year, China lured over $100 billion from foreign firms, while the figure for Vietnam was a mere $17.5 billion. China, a market with a population of 1.4 billion, is very appealing to foreign investors, so Vietnam must scale up its efforts to entice the growing FDI flows, Mai said. UN envoy Martin Griffiths urged world powers to support the new push for peace negotiations in Yemen, whose war is described as the world's worst humanitarian crisis. (Photo: AFP/Stringer) Martin Griffiths told the Security Council that "a political solution" to end the war in Yemen was "available" and urged world powers to support the new push for peace negotiations. "These consultations will provide the opportunity for the parties, among other things, to discuss the framework for negotiations, relevant confidence-building measures and specific plans for moving the process forward," said Griffiths. UN-brokered political talks on Yemen broke down in 2016 amid demands for a rebel withdrawal from key cities and power-sharing with the Saudi-backed government. Since 2015, Saudi Arabia has been leading a military campaign to restore the internationally recognized government to power and push back the Huthis, who still hold the capital Sanaa. The war has left nearly 10,000 people dead and unleashed what the United Nations describes as the world's worst humanitarian crisis. At least 20 people were killed on Thursday in an air strike at the entrance to a hospital in the Red Sea port of Hodeida and the bombardment of a fish market in the city. Strikes have picked up around the city since the Saudis last week accused the Iran-aligned Huthis of attacking two oil tankers operated by one of the kingdom's companies in the waters of the Red Sea. Griffiths told the council that he was "still trying" to negotiate a deal to avoid a full-blown battle for Hodeida, which is a key entry point for humanitarian aid. Resolving the crisis over Hodeida would have to be part of a "comprehensive political settlement" between the rebels and the government, he said, suggesting that the talks would take place despite fighting on the ground. HODEIDA COULD BE A FLASHPOINT The envoy expressed concern that "Hodeida could be a flashpoint" that could derail the push for talks in September and urged the council to support de-escalation in the port city and "keep the Red Sea out of the conflict." Appointed last year to lead UN peace efforts in Yemen, Griffiths said there had been progress in talks on a possible deal with the Huthis to turn over control of the port to the United Nations "but the gap is not closed." US Ambassador Nikki Haley voiced strong support for the UN effort to bring both sides to the table in Geneva, telling Griffiths that the parties must "understand that they need to work with you." The United States, along with France and Britain, have supported the Saudi coalition in its military campaign in Yemen, but has expressed concern over the heavy toll on civilians. "Civilians are at risk, infrastructure is at risk, and we as the international community have to demand that the two parties come together and understand the seriousness of this," said Haley. She added that airstrikes that almost crippled the water supply in Hodeida "are starting to show a disregard for the people on the ground in a time when they are already suffering so much." UN aid official John Ging described the humanitarian crisis in Yemen as "shocking, both in scale and severity." More than 22 million people - 75 per cent of the population - are in dire need of aid including 8.4 million who are on the brink of famine, he said. Since Jun 1, violence in Hodeida has forced more than 340,000 people from their homes across the governorate. The Escondida mine in Chile is the world's biggest copper producer. (Photo: AFP/Martin Bernetti) The N1 union said 84 per cent of its members had backed the strike, with a "historic" turnout of 2,330 of 2,500 people eligible to vote. "We hope that this overwhelming desire to reject the company's offer ... will convince the company of the need to show a willingness to build an accord that recognizes our rights," N1 said in a statement. The union is calling for a five percent salary increase and a conflict termination bonus of four percent of dividends received by shareholders last year, or about US$34,000 per worker. Chilean miners earn between US$2,500-3,000 a month - a comfortable sum in a country where the minimum wage is US$800. But the workers argue they deserve such a premium because of their harsh working conditions. "A strike at Escondida would have very negative effects on our workers and their families, as well as the company, the region and the country," the vice president of the BHP unit running the mine, Patricio Vilaplana, said in a statement. "We all lose in a strike," he warned. Vilaplana said the company was reviewing "contingency plans" to minimise the effect of a strike. - Mediation snubbed - The company had increased its initial offer of 13.5 million Chilean pesos to 15 million (US$23,000) per worker as a bonus for ending the negotiations, which had dragged on for weeks. BHP - a multinational mining, metals and petroleum company that posted revenues of US$38 billion and US$5.9 billion in bottom line profit last year - has the right to request mediation, which could last 10 days. But the head of the N1 union, Patricio Tapia, said the mining company had until next Monday to make concessions, or "we will conclude that it makes no sense to go to heel-dragging compulsory mediation." Last year, Escondida miners went on strike for 44 days, provoking a 39 per cent drop in production over the first half of the year - costing the company US$740 million. Some five per cent of the world's copper is produced at the mine, one of the most profitable in the world. It earned almost US$1.2 billion last year, a 20 per cent increase on the previous year, and that despite the lengthy industrial action. That hurt the local economy, though, in a country that produces almost a third of the world's copper, around 5.6 million tonnes, fuelled largely by China's insatiable appetite for the red metal. GOVERNMENT PLEAS The Chilean government, which says last year's stoppage shaved 1.3 per cent off the economy, pleaded with the miners to reconsider their threatened action. "We are asking that they take into consideration the reality in this country, where employment is needed," Mining Minister Baldo Prokurica said. On Wednesday, Finance Minister Felipe Larrain said: "Strike action is a legitimate tool, but without a doubt we hope the problems can be resolved without resorting to a strike." The Escondida mine is located in the world's driest desert, the Atacama in northern Chile, at an altitude of more than 3,000 metres (10,000 feet). It's the same area where eight years ago, 33 men were trapped 700 metres underground for 69 days following a cave-in at the Copiapo mine. Earlier this week, at yet another mine in Chuquicamata, run by the state-owned Codelco company, workers briefly went on strike to demand the reinstatement of sacked colleagues. Analyst Juan Carlos Guajardo told AFP there was a possibility the mine's workers might not go on strike and instead use legal manoeuvres to roll over their current contract another 18 months. "That could generate even worse labour relations with the company," he said. A political bear? Photo: Laurie Sparham/Disney Winnie the Pooh, a nice bear who just wants to eat honey and help adults reconnect with their younger selves as time rolls inexorably forward, wont get to spread his good word to China. According to The Hollywood Reporter, China has denied the release of Disneys Christopher Robin in the country. Though no explicit reason was given by the Chinese authorities, some sources told THR that it was because the stuffed bear is often used in memes by critics of the government to mock Chinese leader Xi Jinping because they think he resembles the bear. Other sources told THR that blocking Christopher Robins release had nothing to do with Pooh memes and was just about limiting the number of foreign films in the Chinese market, as there are several other Hollywood movies already in theaters there. Regardless, Disney green-lit Christopher Robin well before the government started cracking down on images of Pooh, and just to be clear, the movie only really gets political about the importance of vacation time, not the Chinese government. Travis Scotts giant head. One week after a giant Travis Scott head manifested itself atop Amoeba Records in Hollywood, the rappers latest release Astroworld has finally blessed our ears. And right there on the cover is that same head, ready to consume all. The 17-track album might seem like a behemoth next to the micro-works of Kanye West weve gotten used to, but there are plenty of gems here, including an appearance by Drake on Sicko Mode and Frank Ocean on Carousel. Other artists featured on the album include Swae Lee on R.I.P. Screw, Kid Cudi and James Blake on Stop Trying to Be God, Juice WRLD on No Bystanders, The Weeknd on Skeletons, 21 Savage on NC-17, NAV and Gunna on Yosemite, and Quavo and Takeoff on the song Who? What! Notably absent from the album is the single Watch, which Scott released earlier this summer featuring Kanye West and Lil Uzi Vert. Listen to the full album below: Paulette Jordan gently nudges her horse into the Idaho field, her yellow riding gloves loosely holding onto the reins as the sun begins to set on the nearly triple-digit temperature summer day. The Democratic candidate for governor pauses and pats the horse's neck. "Been too long," she says, and then moves the horse into a trot. Running for the highest office in a state that has never elected a female governor doesn't leave much time for riding. But it's on Idaho's most remote and independent lands where Jordan feels most connected, as both a person and a political candidate. Idaho has been a graveyard for Democrats seeking state or federal positions for decades. But Jordan's passion for her roots and battle cry that the state work for the people and not the other way round are winning attention and funding. She's being watched as a possible model for Democrats to win in rural areas. "I was raised by the community of Idaho. I was raised by the land," says Jordan, her voice calm as it carries her central pledge to rural voters -- to fight political cronyism and corporate corruption. "It's my turn, my responsibility to take on this government that has sat idle and disserved the public. The citizens of Idaho deserve better. We're saying we're not here to be a part of the status quo or the establishment. That's how we in Idaho are as a people. We are fiercely independent. That needs to be driven back into our government. It needs to work for us, not against us." Chance at history The Idaho gubernatorial ticket has never seen a politician like Jordan before. At 38, she is decades younger than the GOP candidate, 64-year-old Idaho Lt. Gov. Brad Little. Should she win, Jordan would make history on two fronts -- the first Native American and the first woman to become Idaho's governor. Her chances of winning in this deeply conservative, overwhelmingly white state appear slim, if not impossible. Idaho's latest voter registration numbers show Republicans outpace Democrats by a margin of more than 4 to 1. The last time Idaho voted in a Democrat as governor was in 1990. Democratic candidates for governor since then have been cut from the same mold -- politically moderate, white, older men. Their candidacies have been so abysmal that the Idaho Statesman referred to them with this blanket statement: "the sacrificial lamb in the governor's general election race." The most damning data for those looking for a Democrat surprise in November -- Trump won Idaho by 32 points in 2016. But Jordan, an Idaho state legislator, has already bucked the trend, keeping her seat in a historically Republican rural district when a number of her fellow Democratic state legislators were defeated in the 2016 Trump wave. She was first elected in 2014, beating a Republican incumbent, drawing heavily on the Native American vote in her district. Jordan, a member of the Coeur d'Alene Tribe, grew up in Plummer, Idaho, a rural town of about 1,000 residents, about a third of whom live below the poverty line. She draws on that biography -- the childhood lessons of her tribal elders and the struggles of her rural neighbors -- to form a platform that is unabashedly progressive, but nuanced for rural Idaho. She touts independence from party politics, both from Boise's power structure and the ugliness in Washington. "We're not speaking to political party issues," Jordan tells CNN. "We're speaking to the concerns of the people. The path to victory is talking to the people, people who are overlooked, disconnected to governance themselves." If that sounds Trumpian, the details are certainly different. All about the land Among the recognizably Democrat planks of her platform, Jordan calls for improving public schools -- Education Weeks ranks Idaho 48th among the states and DC for educational performance and bottom for equitable distribution of funding. She also supports expanding Medicaid and has been endorsed by Planned Parenthood. Jordan proudly says she's not taking any money from the NRA but adds she's a certified and trained gun owner, who counts hunting as a hobby. She walks carefully around restricting assault rifles, preferring to talk about a gun owner's personal accountability. But the issue most central and personal to Jordan is not one on most Democrats' lists of talking points: keeping state public lands in the custody of the public. Her fear is that privatizing public lands means that areas would be auctioned off to wealthy people or corporations for private profit, encroaching on public hunting, fishing and recreation. She's pledged to support an agreement that allows the state of Idaho to co-manage public lands with the US Forest Service for continued access. That issue, Jordan believes, is a rural and urban Idaho value shared across party lines, but one that elites in both parties have forgotten about. "We are igniting a people who are often overlooked, ignored, and haven't been served for decades," says Jordan, who believes she can woo people who normally vote for GOP candidates. "These lands, they deserve representation. Republicans want what I want, they want independence. They want to be left alone. They want to live upon these lands with freedom. They don't want overregulation and the government controlling every aspect of their lives. They want the support they need." Democrats listen for wake-up call Democrats across the country like Joe Trippi are taking note of Jordan's rural-focused campaign. Trippi is a veteran of presidential races and was the chief media strategist on the Doug Jones campaign, which caused a massive upset in the Alabama Senate contest last December. Trump had won that state by 28 points but Jones beat out Republican Roy Moore, as the latter faced accusations by several women of pursuing relationships with them when they were teenagers, and in some cases, of molestation and sexual assault. Moore repeatedly denied all the allegations. Trump won Idaho by an even greater margin of 32 points and while no major scandal is hovering over the gubernatorial candidates as there was with the Senate race in Alabama, Trippi contends "it is possible" for Jordan to win by stitching together a coalition of voters, even in bright red Trump country. "Her running the way she has, in defense of rural Idaho and defending it against the elites in Washington, has been a message that could prove very successful," says Trippi. "Does she win? Does she do significantly better than previous Democrats in Idaho? If so, that would be a wake-up call and we'll all be thinking differently about how best to reach out to voters we haven't been able to carry before. There were a whole lot of people who thought we couldn't do it in Alabama. We did." Hunting for votes Jordan's progressive positions have grabbed the attention of Andrew Miller, a married father of two girls who lives in Boise. He voted for Trump in 2016, hoping he would shake up politics, and wants more change from another outsider. This is the kind of conservative or independent voter Jordan needs if she is to cause the upset her supporters want. Miller says he will vote for Jordan because he sees the GOP candidate, current Lt. Gov. Little, as too entrenched in the state's political structure. "I just think she has a better pedigree and background to support and protect our public lands," says Miller. "I think she'll support folks like us who want to keep public lands open and available and maybe not so much in the back pockets of other people who might want to influence her." Miller paused, then added admiringly, "I think she has a pretty good shot with a rifle, too." But for every Andrew Miller, there's a Rick Zogg. A resident of Canyon County, a conservative stronghold, Zogg couldn't recall the name of the Democrat running for governor. He wasn't concerned about learning Jordan's name because he, like many he knows, always votes Republican. "Politically, I think it's very conservative here, with a big farming community," says Zogg, who moved to Idaho because he felt his native state of California was simply too liberal for him. "Everybody that runs around here on (the) Democrat side seems to be just, very, very to the left." The Rick Zoggs of Idaho are why Jonathan Parker, chairman of the Idaho Republican Party, says, "I think we're in a good position," though he adds they are not being complacent. Parker notes Jordan has energized the Democratic base, drawing so many supporters in Idaho's primary that some precincts ran out of ballots. "We're paying very close attention to Paulette. We're not taking her lightly. She's getting a lot of national attention, something that candidates in Idaho aren't used to getting," says Parker. Brad Little's campaign declined to speak to CNN for this story. Longtime Idaho political columnist Chuck Malloy describes the lieutenant governor as someone who "doesn't inspire people with a stump speech. But I don't think that Idahoans want flashy." Malloy calls Jordan bright, young and inspirational, but likely unable to pull together enough voters to win in this deeply Republican state, even with a rural message. "I don't see that kind of sea change. Where is she going to get her votes?" says Malloy. "Until proven otherwise, Idaho is a Republican state." Jordan bucks the naysayers and believes in this political time, when Democratic voters are hungry for change and Republicans are tired of the fighting in Washington, she will win. "The people have been fooled for far too long. Now they're waking up. It's our responsibility to get to them." Governor Kay Ivey announced the 200 schools selected as official Alabama Bicentennial Schools. Of the 200 schools selected, 39 are in the Tennessee Valley. The governor was joined at Friday's announcement by superintendents, principals, teachers, students, and administrators from the selected schools, along with legislators and other dignitaries from across Alabama. The Alabama Bicentennial Schools Initiative was launched by Governor Ivey in December 2017. The aim is to encourage all public, private, and homeschool students and teachers to participate in the celebration of Alabama's 200th anniversary of statehood in 2019. In early 2018, all K-12 schools in Alabama were invited to submit a proposal that engages in outreach and improvement projects to connect their classrooms with their local communities. According to Friday's press release, 200 schools were selected from a pool of nearly 400 proposals. The official Alabama Bicentennial Schools will receive $2,000 grants to support the implementation of their projects. Schools were chosen through a review process involving committees of local educators, community leaders, and private citizens. 56 schools also received honorable mentions and $500 grants. 16 Tennessee Valley schools made the list of honorable mentions. Official Alabama Bicentennial Schools by County in the Tennessee Valley: Colbert County G.W. Trenholm Primary School McBride Elementary School DeKalb County Collinsville High School Crossville Elementary School Williams Avenue Elementary School Franklin County Red Bay High School Russellville Elementary School Jackson County Bridgeport Middle School Woodville High School Pisgah High School Lauderdale County Kilby Laboratory School Lexington High School St. Joseph Regional Catholic School Lawrence County Lawrence County High School Limestone County Athens High School East Limestone High School Piney Chapel Elementary School SPARK Academy at James L. Cowart Elementary School Tanner Elementary School Madison County Buckhorn High School Challenger Middle School Madison Cross Roads Elementary School Monte Sano Elementary School Moores Mill Intermediate School New Century Technology High School New Hope Elementary School Riverton Elementary School Roger B. Chaffee Elementary School Ronald E. McNair Jr. High School Walnut Grove Elementary School Marshall County Albertville Elementary School Albertville High School Boaz High School Guntersville City Schools Morgan County Decatur Middle School Eva School F.E. Burleson Elementary School Laceys Spring School Walter Jackson Elementary School Alabama Bicentennial Schools Honorable Mentions by County in the Tennessee Valley: Colbert County Deshler High School Franklin County Tharptown Elementary School Jackson County Hollywood School Lauderdale County Riverhill School Madison County Bob Jones High School Central School Hampton Cove Elementary School Madison County Elementary School The Montessori School of Huntsville Whitesburg Christian Academy Marshall County Arab Elementary School Kate Duncan Smith DAR School Morgan County Austinville Elementary School Banks-Caddell Elementary School Barkley Bridge Elementary School Benjamin Davis Elementary School One school district in the Tennessee Valley will soon have a new resource for students struggling with mental health issues. Thanks to the Crisis Services of North Alabama, every school in the Limestone County School District will be getting free suicide prevention training. WAAY 31 learned just what this training entails, and what parents and teachers think about it. Recently, weve had several incidents here in Limestone County of murder-suicide, so I know its on our students minds," said Brad Lewis, the Executive Director of Curriculum Instruction of Limestone County Schools. That's one of the many reasons why school officials and parents say this training is more important than ever. My husband and I lost our son to suicide a few years ago," said Deana Dayton. She knows the pain that comes with losing a child to suicide and fully supports Limestone County Schools decision to partner with Crisis Services of North Alabama and bring suicide prevention training to all schools in the district. "Our young people, our young children, they all have something to offer the world," she said. "And theyre here for a reason. The training would teach students and teachers the warning signs of suicide. "Maybe theyre giving away prized possessions," said Jan Tribble, Director of Secondary Curriculum of Limestone County Schools. "Maybe theyre just acting out of character. Dayton is a teacher at a Limestone County School and says she sees some of those warning signs all the time. "Theyre just withdrawn, or else theyre aggressive for unknown reasons," she said. However, Dayton believes the new program is definitely a step in the right direction. "Life is too short. Everyones life is incredibly valuable and can never be replaced," she said. "And, so, anything you can do to support and be positive, and help someone along the way, we need to be doing it. The World Customs Organization (WCO) held a Risk Management (RM) Workshop from 23 to 27 July 2018 in Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) to enhance the application, within the Ethiopian Revenues and Customs Authority (ERCA), of RM on export, transit and other Customs activities such as warehousing, with particular emphasis on risk assessment, profiling and targeting. The Workshop brought together 19 Customs officials from the RM Department, Intelligence Division, Customs Regional Offices and Border Enforcement. It was organized with financial support from the WCO Finland Fund. The Workshops main focus was to build the capacity of Ethiopian Customs officials, with the aim of ensuring compliance with Customs laws and regulations as regards the import and export of goods, movement of travellers and border protection, including national security. The Workshop was also designed to accelerate economic growth by facilitating foreign trade and investment in the country. The rapid increase in international trade limits the time for Customs interventions on cross-border movements of goods, passengers and means of transport. It is therefore imperative for Customs administrations to apply RM strategies and techniques within their daily activities, and this requires a more effective approach to the planning and implementation of Customs controls. The Workshop provided the right opportunity for Ethiopian Customs to strengthen its existing RM processes, and to adopt new approaches for future operations involving risk assessment, profiling and targeting, including information exchange and intelligence. During the Workshop, participants were highly engaged in the theoretical and practical sessions and took full advantage of the possibility to exchange views and share experiences among themselves and with the WCO facilitators. The ensuing presentations and discussions on the WCO Customs Risk Management Compendium deepened their knowledge of risk identification and the development of profiles. The Workshop greatly contributed to a broader understanding of the various topics and also offered a suitable platform for the WCO facilitators and ERCA participants to take cognizance of the developments with respect to the Single Window, which is due to be implemented by ERCA shortly. ERCA expressed its appreciation to the WCO for the Workshop and for the continued support with RM and other Customs areas. Fireworks are a common sight during the summer months, but many communities believe they have a time and a place. A new ordinance in Shinnston is aiming to give residents a set amount of days they can set off fireworks within city limits. "Starting in early June to late July people set fireworks off at all time," said Mayor Patrick Kovalck. "We're just going to limit the days that those are allowed." The ordinance outlines dates for fireworks such as the Fourth of July and its weekends, but other holidays like Christmas are permitted as well. "Labor Day, New Year's Eve, and others. There are options to set off fireworks besides Independence Day. All major holidays are listed in this ordinance." This new ordinance came into play because of a change in state laws that allowed the fireworks in the city. "We had a noise ordinance for years at that prohibited the fireworks, along with state law," said Kovalck. "Once the state allowed different types of fireworks to be sold that created a problem for the city. We couldn't fall back on the state law anymore." Police will also be able to use this ordinance to their advantage when an enforcement call comes in. "I think they'll look forward to something clean and easy to enforce so they can go to the books and they know exactly what days they can expect fireworks to be set off." This ordinance has not gone into effect yet, and there will be a public hearing for it at the end of the month. Email To : Multiple e-mail addresses must be separated with a comma character(maximum 200 characters) Email To is required. Your Full Name: (optional) Your Email Address: Your Email Address is required. By West Kentucky Star Staff Aug. 03, 2018 | 02:56 PM | BENTON, KY The alleged Marshall County High School shooter made a court appearance on Friday. Sixteen-year-old Gabe Parker appeared before Judge Jamie Jameson for a brief status hearing in Marshall Circuit Court, as victims' families and friends looked on. The Commonwealth said they are still sifting through tons of evidence in the case, including over 600 gigs of data from 100 cellphones. According to the Commonwealth, DNA evidence has been gathered but not yet tested. The Commonwealth also raised concern about surveillance video of the shooting falling into the wrong hands. Parker will appear in court for another status hearing on March 8, 2019. Judge Jameson said he's hopeful he can set a trial date at that hearing. Parker is accused of opening fire at the school on Jan. 23, killing two classmates, Bailey Holt and Preston Cope, and injuring more than a dozen others. He faces two counts of murder and 14 counts of 1st degree assault in connection with the shooting. After Friday's hearing, the Holt family released the following statement: "We are disappointed that this will be delayed until March. However, we have full confidence in our counsel and the Kentucky State Police. Our hope is that this trial will bring justice for Bailey, Preston and the rest of the victims affected." AMERICAN HEROES: ONE HENDERSON COUNTY KOREAN WAR VETERAN IS STILL MISSING TWO FROM HENDERSON COUNTY WERE ON THE POW/MIA LIST DURING THE KOREAN WAR AS THE REMAINS OF SOME OF THOSE KILLED IN KOREA ARE RETURNED TO AMERICAN SOIL, LOCAL HENDERSON COUNTY HISTORIAN JENNIE JONES GILES REMINDS US OF TWO FROM HENDERSON COUNTY WHO SERVED...AND ONE WHO IS STILL MISSING With interest this week in the return of possible MIA military service members to U.S. soil from North Korea: Local Henderson County folks may want to remember that one of our own is still missing. Two men from Henderson County were on the list of POW/MIA during the Korean War. Through the Korean War Project and DNA provided by surviving family members, the remains of Samuel Kelly Watkins were identified Jan. 18, 2011. His grave site is now at Forest Lawn Memorial Park. But, one person is still missing: James Harold Duncan. Duncan is listed as POW. He served in the Air Force, 325th Bomber Squadron, 92nd Bomber Wing, staff sergeant, gunner on B-29A Superfortress Bomber. He was on a bombing mission Sept. 9, 1950, flying from Japan when his aircraft was hit by anti-aircraft fire and exploded mid-air near Wolbong-ni, South Korea. Five parachutes were seen. He was known to have been in a prisoner of war camp in 1951. His remains have not been recovered. For reasons unknown, his home city and home state are listed as Spokane, Washington. His home city at the time of his enlistment was Hendersonville and his home state listed as North Carolina. He also served in World War II, with birth and residence listed as Henderson County, N.C. His unit was based at Fairchild Air Force Base prior to deployment to Japan, but he was not from Spokane, Washington There is a memorial marker at Shaws Creek Methodist Campground Cemetery in Horse Shoe. His name is listed on the Courts of the Missing Tablet for the Korean War at Honolulu, Hawaii. He was a son of James Ledbetter Duncan and Sue Josephine Johnson Duncan. He married Helen Louise McKinna of Henderson County. At the time he served in the Korean War, he had three children all born in Henderson County. During his World War II service as a second lieutenant, he was shot down over France while flying a mission in a Fortress and was a prisoner of war in Germany. See hendersonheritage.com THANK YOU, JENNIE...FOR THE REMINDER. AND THANK YOU TO ALL WHO HAVE SERVED FOR YOUR SERVICE FLETCHER P.D. OFFICERS CLEARED IN CVS SHOOTING THE SHOOTING TOOK PLACE INSIDE THE FLETCHER CVS STORE ON JULY 18 District Attorney Gred Newman announced on Friday that the four Fletcher police officers who shot and killed a man armed with a BB gun inside a CVS Pharmacy on July 18 will not face criminal prosecution. The officers Capt. Ron Davis, Detective Daniel Barale, Officer Zack Warren and Officer Mike Elizondo have been cleared of any wrongdoing in the fatal shooting of Wesley Brandon Clyde Shelton, 33, of Buncombe County, according to Newman. The customary course of action in these matters where law enforcement officers must use their weapons is investigated by the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation, Newman said in a statement. We then meet and they review their findings with me. I like to let the public know as soon as it is practicable whether the police shooting of a suspect is justified. It is clear in this situation that the actions of the four officers were not only justified, but necessary, to defend themselves and members of the public. Fletcher police were notified shortly after noon that a man holding a gun was inside the CVS at Hendersonville Road. The store manager was restocking shelves when she noticed a barefoot man walking through the aisles and acting erratically, Newman said in his statement. The four officers have been on administrative leave since the shooting occured. Investigations into the shooting were to be conducted both by Fletcher police and the North Carolina SBI. Embed from Getty Images Crystal Palace had to break the bank and make Max Meyer their top earner (at around 170,000-a-week) to lure him into joining them, so youd think they would pay a little more attention when welcoming the former Schalke midfielder a free agent since the end of last season to Selhurst Park. Indeed, in attempting to brief their fans about their new star signing, the official Eagles website ran with a photo not of Meyer, but of fellow German youngster Joshua Kimmich instead Oopsy daisy. Close, but not quite close enough. In fact, thats one straight out of the David Gold/Sullivan play book, right there which is never usually a good thing. Thankfully, Palace managed to rectify the situation in time for the big photographic reveal, which most definitely saw Meyer and not Kimmich larking around in an Eagles shirt for the first time For the record, Meyer has come on board on a three-year contract after the 22-year-old left Schalke under something of a stroppy cloud last year. If his head is right, this could prove to be an inspired bit of business from Palace. Embed from Getty Images As you may well have seen, Inter Milan reportedly called off their negotiations with Arturo Vidal earlier this week after gleaning via some back channel that they might be in with a chance of luring Luka Modric from Real Madrid. Despite his current deal running until 2020, Modric is said to be angling for an extension to his contract at Los Blancos one last big gig, as it were. The Spanish club, however, are reluctant to grant such a large outlay to a player who turns 33 this September, and have therefore offered a simple wage increase instead. Inter saw this as their window to pounce, nixing preparatory talks with Vidal as a result. The Chilean has since all but tied up a move to Barcelona with an announcement due promptly, leaving the Nerazzurri with all their eggs shovelled into a largely delusional basket. However, the Modric portcullis hasnt come fully down in front of them, with Real president Florentino Perez explaining that the Italian club still have one means by which they could enter negotiations with the vaunted Croatian midfielder. Indeed, the only minor drawback is that itll be bloody astronomically expensive for them. Asked by reporters in Miami whether he was aware of Inters purported interest in Modric, Perez drily responded: The only chance that Modric leaves us is if someone pays his 750million release clause. Thats somewhere up around the 670million mark in old money. Still its not a no, now is it? The balls in your court, Inter. Clean, comfortable and professional were the words used to describe the new look for the Kansas Expocentre. Chuck Smith of HTK Architects appeared in front of County Commissioners Thursday morning to show them different designs. He said his team have come up with numerous ideas for renovating the outside, but have settled on a design with lots of see-through glass. Smith says along with the outside design, they're digging into the nuts and bolts of the inside as well. "Where outlets go, what video might be, what the structure takes the home video up to what concession stands might look like and be re-purposed to look like and all the details of HVAC structural systems. How to we integrate new facilities into the existing facilities, how do we technically make that happen." Smith said the new outside design won't have outdoor stairs leading to the doors, like the current Expocentre. Bridge Replacement Anyone living near SE 29th and Deer Creek will run into some major construction in February. Commissioners approved outgoing Public Works Director Tom Vlach to negotiate a contract with Contech Engineer Solutions to replace the Deer Creek Bridge in 75 days. The $518,500 project is part of a project to widen SE 29th St. to five lanes, between the Turnpike Bridge and Croco Road. Vlach said the bridge is not in good shape. He said it's old and the underside is deteriorating. Writers revisit formative times Alumni networking event with authors Niq Mhlongo and Nthikeng Mohlele A lively and entertaining discussion took place at an alumni networking event with authors Niq Mhlongo (BA 1997) and Nthikeng Mohlele (BADA 2000) at the Wits Club Barns on 2 August. The event was held in partnership with the Department of African Languages. Tlou Legodi (BA 1998, BA Hons 2004) acted as event compere. Mhlongo had just returned from witnessing the elections in Zimbabwe, which he intends to write about. He said he was reminded of South Africa in 1994, when he was at Wits. This was the setting for his novel Dog Eat Dog. Mohlele said that on re-reading Dog Eat Dog he noticed in it the seeds of the Fees Must Fall movement. Mhlongo said that when writing the book, what he had in mind was his own experience of adjusting to the unfamiliar world of being a Wits student. He recalled writing an aptitude test in Hall 29, struggling to get a bursary, adapting to a culture of learning and teaching that was so different from his school days, and bearing the expectations of a large family. Mohlele spoke of the University of Humanity as a good place to start learning. The writers discussed their choices of language Mohlele is currently writing a novel in Sepedi and Mhlongo said that because of his multilingual Soweto background there was no single, dominant language for him. In terms of language Im always an outsider. Responding to comments and questions from the audience, Mohlele spoke of the importance to him of consciousness and the total human experience, rather than binary thinking. To say that JM Coetzee is a great artist is not to diminish Wole Soyinka. Prof Isabel Hofmeyr concluded the evenings discussion by saying that African literature had become more visible in the book market than one could imagine 30 or 40 years ago. She paid tribute to the Wits academics who had contributed to this development, and said both of the guest speakers were game-changers whose books were used in teaching literature at university level. Iran has begun a major military exercise in the Persian Gulf region according to a US defense official directly familiar with the latest US information. The "exercise is underway," and the US assesses the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has deployed "dozens" of small boats in the initial phase. The exercise is taking place in the Persian Gulf, the Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf of Oman. While Iran has not widely publicized the exercise, the US military is concerned it could demonstrate Iran's ability to interfere with commercial shipping and shut down the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial conduit for global energy supplies, US officials say. The timing is unusual. These types of IRGC exercises typically happen much later in the year and the official said the US assesses that the exercise is partly being held in response to rising rhetoric from the US. The official said it's not clear if the timing of the exercise is tied to the US only having one warship inside the Gulf at this time. US military commanders are "monitoring the situation closely" a second official said. Additional US Navy ships are expected to move the Strait of Hormuz and into the Gulf in the coming days officials say. The US military has been trying to encourage other nations in the region, especially Saudi Arabia, to take a strong line on keeping the Gulf open in the face of rising Iranian rhetoric. They have also expressed concern about keeping open the waterways off Yemen where Iranian-backed rebels have attacked oil tankers. "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," said US Defense Secretary James Mattis last week. "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." Tensions between the two nations increased after the US withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal in May. The Trump White House has moved to reinstate sanctions on Tehran in two major tranches. Some will be reimposed in August and target autos, gold and other key metals, while others will snap back in November and target the energy sector and transactions with Iran's central bank. HERKIMER - Nearly 71 years after his fighter plane crashed in present-day Papua New Guinea during World War II, Lt. Edward F. Barker's remains were discovered and returned for burial in Herkimer in July of 2015. Today, the only thing marking his grave is the flimsy plaque from the funeral home. Two local veterans, Don Engelbrecht and Joseph Sweet, have come together to give him a proper grave, one he rightly deserves after sacrificing his life for this country. "It's not right, he should have a headstone with his name, dates and everything, not just have a (plaque)," said Sweet. "It's sad." "Lt. Barker passed 13 years before I was born," said Engelbrecht. "Time is irrelevant to me because a veteran is a veteran. We all share in that brotherhood, regardless of when we served. Engelbrecht said he's reached out to local politicians like Assemblyman Mark Butler and Congresswoman Claudia Tenney to assist with their efforts. A majority of Lt. Barker's family is deceased so Engelbrecht has taken it upon himself to be Barker's voice and give him a proper headstone. You can contact the Herkimer VFW at (315) 866-9353 for more information on how you can help. Read more about Lt. Barker's story here: https://www.thestate.com/news/local/military/article29722840.html UTICA- On Thursday, Gov. Andrew Cuomo created a new state panel that will create legislation to legalize marijuana in New York State. This panel consists of 20 members from many different backgrounds filled with Cuomo administration officials, college professors, and law enforcement officers. On Friday, NewsChannel 2s Cody Mooney went to the streets of Utica to find out what locals thought on legalizing this drug. I think it should be regulated all around, said Lamar Gore, of North Carolina. If you legalize it you get rid of that black market all around. Those who supported the legalization all agreed with one thing. Its a proven fact no one has ever [overdosed] on marijuana ya know, said Chris Billings, marijuana advocate. They have yet to prove that marijuana is bad for people Oneida County Sheriff Rob Maciol weighed in on the debate with a few key points. He made note that hundreds of It is a slippery slope that we are going down, said Maciol. I know many of my colleges and me oppose this. Whether our opposition to this works or not I do not know. Stay with WKTV for more information on this topic. ROME The teacher and teachers assistant who are accused of using excessive discipline on students at John E. Joy Elementary School in Rome have been offered plea deals. Thirty-year-old Ashley Rasbach of Rome is a special needs teacher at the elementary school and her teachers assistant is 47-year-old Maria Fountain of Rome. Back in June, Rasbach was charged with two counts each of endangering the welfare of a child and second-degree harassment, while Fountain was charged with one count of both. RELATED: Rome teacher, teacher's aide plead not guilty in excessive discipline case In Rome City Court on Friday, the two women were offered plea deals to plead guilty to a lesser charge of acting in a manner injurious to a child. Rasbachs attorney told the judge that the deal is not acceptable, but she did not reject it. She is due back in court on Aug. 15 for motions. Fountain rejected the offer and has requested a bench trial. She is due back in court on Sept. 26. According to court documents, Rasbach is accused of grabbing a student by the hair and spraying a student with a water bottle. In another incident, she is accused of squeezing a student between an open door and the wall, then picking up that same student and dropping her onto the floor. Fountain is accused of grabbing a student by her arms and slamming them onto the table. All three of the alleged victims are special needs students under 10 years old. Lafayette Courier, August 5, 1859 Page 1: "A terrible tornado passed over a portion of Sheffield township, in this county, on Wednesday last, prostrating houses, barns, trees, and sweeping off fences, jay and wheat stacks, like feathers before the wind. A large amount of property was destroyed, but fortunately no lives were lost, nor was any one seriously injured. Mr. O.J. Bull, who resides a short distance from Dayton, within a quarter of a mile of the track of the tornado, was an eye witness to its devastation, and describes it as the most terrible whirlwind he ever witnessed. His attention was first directed to a singular commotion among the clouds, which, moving from the north and south, met and commingled about the middle of the Wild Cat Prairie, and seemed drifting scare one hundred feet from the ground. The concussion sounded like the roar of artillery in the distance, and the clouds, in dark, heavy masses, were piled over and under each other, and, after a spiral movement, which brought the clouds still nearer to the earth, the tornado descending. Its approach sounded like the clattering of a railway train. In less than two minutes it has passed to the eastward, leaving ruin and devastation in its course. The largest forest trees were twisted to splinters, and every movable thing bore evidence of its fury. A dwelling house occupied by James Foresman, and owned, we believe, by Thomas Royal, was caught up by the whirlwind, lifted from its foundation, and completely demolished. The furniture, beds, carpets, and cooking utensils were literally scattered to the winds. All the out-houses, hay and wheat stacks were caught up and swept off. Not the most remote suspicion of a fence remained upon the premises. Happily Mr. Foresman and his family were absent from home. Had they been in the house, they must inevitably have been crushed to death. Next in the direct course of the furious whirlwind was the house of Mr. Ryecraft, a well-known farmer. Nearly every member of his family was sick in bed, but as if by a providential interposition, the tornado swerved from a direct line, and passed within twenty feet of the rear door-yard. A smoke-house was demolished, all the fences prostrated, and every movable article carried off. It is a singular fact, that the large dam in the Wildcat Creek, near the residence of Mr. Ryecraft, and directly in the course of the tornado was baled almost dry. Mr. Bullcouches states that a large turtle was found the same evening nearly a mile from the creek. The next house encountered was that of Wm. Rizer, on the east bank of Wild Cat. It was a substantial frame structure, but the fury of the storm shivered it to fragments in the twinkling of an eye. Warned by the rumbling noise which preceded the whirlwind, the entire family by a common impulse sought refuge in the cellar, and escaped uninjured. Mr. Rizer's loss will not fall short of $1,500. His fine orchard was almost entirely destroyed. Fruit trees, twelve to sixteen inches in diameter, were taken up by the roots and carried over two hundred yards. The Browning heirs, Vincent Dey, Chas. Sterritt, Wm. Snoddy, Mrs. Brand, and J. H. Peters, sustained more or less damage. The whirlwind cut a clean swath through a beautiful grove of timber belinging to Mrs. Snoddy. The strip of country laid waste is about two hundred yards in width and three miles in length. The tornado had spent its force before reaching the county line of Clinton, and did no further damage. Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Brand were the only persons injured and they but slightly. This was the first tornado experienced in this wsection of country within the memory of the oldest inhabitant, and considering its extent and duration, was perhaps more destructive to property than any on record in the West." The Indianapolis Journal August 5, 1859 Page 1: "The approach of the tornado was marked by a singular appearance of the clouds. A gentleman running on the Lafayette Railroad told me that they appeared to be almost red. Up the Peru road, Mr. Engineer Davis informs us the destruction of timber surpassed anything he ever saw. Twenty four trees were blown across the track in a distance of a half mile or so and thousands were prostrated on both sides as far as the eye could reach. In many cases the tops of the trees, at about twenty feet from the ground, were twisted off and blown through the air for considerable distances. The only house in sight of the road, a log one, was blown all to pieces. The country passed over was luckily low and swampy, with few inhabitants, or the injuries might have been terrible to persons as well as timber." Two men are in jail after a chase that ended when the driver crashed into a water treatment plant in Sturgis, Michigan. Sturgis police say the driver crossed from Indiana into Michigan around 11 p.m. Wednesday. After going through an industrial area, the driver crashed through the front gates of the city's water treatment plant and drove into a retention pond. The driver and one passenger were arrested, while another passenger was cited and released on misdemeanor charges. China News on Women Sorry, the page you requested was not found. If you're having trouble locating a destination on Womenofchina.cn, try visiting the Womenofchina Home page We asked Wrexham Council what plans it has made for possible Brexit disruption This article is old - Published: Friday, Aug 3rd, 2018 Wrexham.com asked Wrexham Council what plans it was making for Brexit disruption amid reports some local authorities are preparing for social unrest. Local councils have expressed serious concerns about their ability to deliver public services in dozens of Brexit impact studies according to a report by Sky News. Nearly 30 councils responded to a freedom of information request by Sky for their internal Brexit impact studies . Many of the councils say they are finding it difficult to plan because they are not clear on what the full consequences of Brexit will be due impart to highly uncertain Brexit negotiations with Europe and within government. Social care, border control, food and medicine availability, and even fears of social unrest are amongst the implications of which are being considered by those council who responded. We asked Wrexham Council was asked if it has produced any Brexit impact studies by Sky News, and if so what was the response. We also asked if the documents existed if we could have copies, or if there were no Brexit assessments for Wrexham is that something the Council was working on ahead of the main Brexit date and if not why not. Cllr Mark Pritchard, Leader of Wrexham Council, told us: While we do not have a single document which assesses the impact of Brexit in general, or a no-deal Brexit in particular, this is obviously something we are very much aware of and the potential outcomes posed by Brexit are often discussed with respect to other matters, rather than in isolation. However, given our position, we cannot measure nor assess the possible impacts of a no-deal Brexit on our own. This is something which will very much affect Wales regionally, and while Wrexham does have a distinct economy and distinct demographics within Wales, we are so interlinked with not just partner areas in Wales but with others across the UK that Brexit doesnt affect any one of us in isolation. As such, we dont feel it can really be considered in isolation. To that end, we will work with the WLGA as a pan-Wales forum to outline our position alongside other authorities, and to see what work needs to be carried out in preparation for Brexit. We would also expect the Welsh Government and, fundamentally, the UK Government to provide further guidance on this issue. A Welsh Local Government Association (WLGA) spokesperson said: All Welsh local authorities have identified Brexit leads to gather information on the local impact of Brexit in their area. And contingency planning has similarly been extensively discussed at a dedicated WLGA conference on Brexit addressed by Mark Drakeford AM. WLGA also sits on the Expert Stakeholders Panel led by the Secretary of State for Wales Alun Cairns MP. The WLGA will deliver a Brexit Transition Support programme for local authorities, with funding from the Welsh Governments EU Transition Fund, between now and April 2019. The programme aims to ensure Welsh local authorities are not duplicating work in preparing for Brexit, ensure all local authorities in Wales are equally prepared for Brexit in key sectors, and to establish a more formalised, two-way programme of communication between local authorities and those planning for Brexit in the Welsh and UK Governments. Depending on the outcome of the EU summit in October, and any possible emergency summits before Christmas, activities in the second half of this programme may need to focus on the implications of a No Deal Brexit on public services and communities. Whilst Welsh councils have taken the initiative to undertake their own analyses of and planning for possible Brexit scenarios, the national messages from central government are confused and qualified. The bottom line is that there is a making this up as we go along quality to the deliberations at Westminster. The recent stress on preparing for no deal is a case in point. The WLGA view is that any responsible government would seek to avoid this disastrous outcome at all costs. Because of this uncertainty, it is very difficult for our councils to commit resources until there is a clearer idea of what is needed. The publication of UK Government technical notices to prepare businesses and the public for a No Deal Brexit is long overdue. The in / out Referendum saw 41,544 Wrexham people voting to leave the EU and 28,822 voting to remain part of it with a whopping 71.6% turnout. For those wishing to relive the 2016 referendum night you can see our on the night coverage here Inspired by Deeside.coms version of this article, we are including this classic explainer of the UKs relationship with Europe Would you be able to vote if an election was called tomorrow? This article is old - Published: Friday, Aug 3rd, 2018 If an election was called tomorrow, would you be able to vote? Its that time of year again when residents are asked to take part in the annual canvass and make sure that voter registration details for each address are correct and up to date. If youve moved homes recently you are asked to keep a special eye out for the form and check the details. Recent research shows that home movers are far less likely to be registered than those that have lived at the same address for a long time. Across Great Britain, 94% of people who have been at their property for more than 16 years will be registered compared to 40% of people who have lived at an address for less than one year. Its important that you are registered to vote it means you will have a voice if an election is called. Rhydian Thomas, head of the Electoral Commission in Wales, said: its really important that everyone who is entitled to vote is able to do so. Checking the form that will arrive through the post is one of the easiest ways to find out if you are already registered. theres lots of helpful information about registering to vote on our website that you can check out here. If youre not registered your name will not be on the form if you want to register the easiest way is online at www.gov.uk/register-to-vote. Bangladeshs Awami League-led government has deployed police and young thugs to suppress students, unemployed graduates and teachers who are demanding changes to the civil service jobs quota system. The quota reform movement wants the 56 percent quota for civil jobs reduced to 10 percent. More than half the 56 percent quota is reserved for the children and grandchildren of veterans of the 1971 fight against Pakistan. The remainder is reserved for disadvantaged groups, such as ethnic minorities, residents of socially deprived districts and physically challenged people. Demonstrators also want the remaining civil service jobs awarded according to merit, the abolition of special exams for those on quotas and age-limit uniformity in government recruitment processes. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina initially ignored students demands, but when demonstrations spread across the country in April, she promised to abolish the quota system. Her government, however, has mobilised police to suppress the protests and encouraged the notoriously violent Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL), the ruling partys youth organisation, to attack students and teachers involved in the protests. On July 15, at Dhaka University, BCL members assaulted hundreds of students as they demonstrated to demand a safe campus and the immediate release of detained leaders of the quota reform movement. When Professor Fahmidul Haq, Associate Professor Abdur Razzaque Khan of the Mass Communication and Journalism faculty and Associate Professor Mohammad Tanzimuddin Khan of International Relations intervened to protect the students, they were also assaulted. Photos published on social media show BCL members attacking female students and tearing their clothes, while male students were hit with poles and steel rods. X-rays published on social media show broken leg bones and serious spinal injuries. Ain o Salish Kendra, a Bangladeshi human rights organisation, denounced the the reckless behavior of BCL, as revealed in the media, describing it as highly unacceptable and condemnable. It demanded immediate government action against the perpetrators. Other NGOs, including Gonoforum and Pahari Chhatra Parishad, also spoke out against the attacks. Professor Fahmidul Haq contacted Dhaka University proctor Professor A.K.M. Golam to register his concern about the assaults. The proctor blamed him for joining the protest. Those who were involved in the chaos, even if he or she was a teacher, would be punished as per the university rules, Golam said. Government authorities are continuing efforts to intimidate and frame-up quota reform movement members on bogus charges. Students say they have received death threats by phone and on social media. On July 15, Dhaka metropolitan court magistrate Sadbir Chowdhury rejected a bail petition for quota reform leader Faruk Hassan. Police have filed frame-up charges against Hassan, a joint convener of the Bangladesh General Students Rights Protection Council, along with Jashim Akash and Moshiur Rahman, who have been charged for their involvement in Aprils demonstrations. Foreign Minister Mahmood Ali justified the BCL violence, declaring that the quota reform movement was a ploy by the opposition Bangladesh National Party and the Islamic fundamentalist Jammat-e-Islam to undermine stability and progress. Public outrage over the thugs attacks, has grown, however. On July 18, over 70 academics and teachers from several universities, including Dhaka University, joined in solidarity with 300 students to protest. Demonstrators denounced the BCL assaults and called for punishment of those responsible. They also demanded the release of the quota reform leaders. On Tuesday this week, over 400 students and teachers demonstrated again over the same demands. While job quotas are divisive and retrogressive, quota reform leaders are not challenging the capitalist system, which is the source of endemic joblessness and social misery. Instead, they are appealing to the ruling elite for a more equitable distribution of mass unemployment. The student protests are driven by worsening joblessness. Although the economy recorded 7.28 percent growth for the 2017-18 financial year, this has failed to boost employment opportunities. According to trendingeconomics.com, the official unemployment rate remained at 4.2 percent last year, unchanged from the previous year and almost double the rate of 2.2 percent in 1991. With general elections due later this year, the governments repression is an attempt to preempt an expansion of the protests into broader struggles involving the working class. Each day brings ever more shrill warnings of a national crisis in the event of a no-deal Brexit. With the March 2019 deadline for Britain's leaving the European Union (EU) approaching, no agreement has been struck on the terms of withdrawal. Prime Minister Theresa Mays plans for a softer Brexit, keeping some form of regulatory and judicial arrangements with the EU, has been vetoed by her own euro-sceptics. At the same time, the EU, under pressure from US trade sanctions and mounting national antagonisms within the bloc, has thus far refused any accommodation with the UKfearing a domino effect. Government ministers, including May herself, are touring European capitals, hoping to secure a breach in the alliance. Brussels has rejected UK proposals for the City of London to have an enhanced equivalence model-similar to that of the US and Singapores-to preserve access to the bloc. The announcement earlier this week that Deutsche Bank has moved almost half of its euro-clearing business from London to Frankfurt created alarm. On Wednesday, the head of the Food and Drink Federation called for a crisis meeting with the government over the probability that a hard Brexitleaving the Single Market and Customs Unionwould lead to rising prices and food shortages, under conditions in which 44 percent of trade is with the EU. The same day, planning documents from local authorities gathered by Sky News showed that many were preparing for possible repercussions of various forms of Brexit, ranging from potential difficulties with farming and delivering services to concerns about civil unrest. This followed statements by Dominic Grieve, Conservative MP and leading Remainer, that crashing out of the EU without a deal would be absolutely catastrophic for the UK. We will be in a state of emergency, he said. [B]asic services we take for granted might not be available. John Manzoni, the chief executive of the civil service, told MPs of the horrendous consequences of inaction. There are supply chains for food and medicines; we have to put in place contingencies for those. The contingency measures include turning the 10-mile-long section of the M26 in Kent into a giant lorry park to cope with tailbacks from the port of Dover caused by sudden imposition of customs checks. James Hookham, deputy chief executive of the Freight Transport Association, said, It would effectively mean that Cobra [government emergency council] had taken over the road network as a matter of national security. May rejected suggestions that the army would be involved but has said people should take comfort from government plans, including the stockpiling of food and medicines, in the event of no deal. The government is to start issuing weekly advice to businesses and households on how to prepare for a disorderly Brexit. According to reports, 40 business representatives met with Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab, during which Doug Gurr, head of Amazon in the UK, warned of civil unrest if the UK leaves without a deal. Amazon would not confirm the remarks, apparently made in the presence of the heads of Barclays, Lloyds, Shell and other corporate leaders, but admitted it was planning for a wide range of outcomes. Aerospace giant Airbus and Jaguar Land Rover have already warned they may switch jobs and investment outside the UK. Commentators speculate that the apocalyptic warnings are part of the governments political brinkmanship with the EU to reinforce its insistence that the UK will not blink first. For their part, leading supporters of a hard Brexit reject the threats as Project Fear by Remainers in furtherance of overturning the referendum result. Both play a role. Writing in the Guardian, one of the leading proponents of a second referendum to overturn the result of the first, Timothy Garton Ash, warned that a no Brexit deal risked descent into Weimar Britain. While he didnt seriously envisage, a new Hitler coming to power, or a world war started by [former foreign secretary] Boris Johnson, he wrote, it was necessary to overdramatise the risk in order to get everyone to wake up to it. Pleading for EU/UK pragmatism, he argued this was the only way to ensure the British parliament could have a meaningful vote on the final terms. But even the Financial Times editorialised that the notion of a no-deal Brexit had little support in parliament beyond an extremist fringe... No deal in place by March guaranteed chaos on all fronts. It would spell international isolation, as well as a shock to the economy and a political backlash. No competent government could contemplate such an option. The sense of impending doom overhanging the powers-that-be confirms the correctness of the Socialist Equality Partys call for an active boycott of the 2016 referendum. It warned that the ballot was a filthy manoeuvre aimed at settling a fight between two equally right-wing factions of the Tory Party and its fringes. The campaign of both the Leave and Remain camps were predicated on anti-migrant chauvinism, kowtowing to big business and continuing austerity. The SEP explained, There can be no good outcome of such a plebiscite. Whichever side wins, working people will pay the price. It is not a question of choosing the lesser evilboth options are equally rotten. Any possibility of an independent voice for the working class being registered has been deliberately excluded. A significant element of the referendum, it insisted, was an attempt to divert social tensions outwards. Pointing to the initial manifestations of a resurgence in the class struggle, it stressed that the only way forward for British workers was in solidarity with the working class across Europe and internationally against all factions of the ruling elite. None of those involved in this manoeuvre expected or prepared for a Leave vote. All were taken by surprise when a well of anti-establishment sentiment produced a narrow vote to quit. Underlying the result, and the febrile atmosphere that has developed since, are explosive class tensions. This is being acknowledged by some commentators. Writing in the Financial Times, Martin Sandbu opined that Brexit showed the days in which Britain was riven by extremes. To borrow a Marxian term, he explained, the social contradictions are more acute than elsewhere... This was the only way to make sense of the violent swings in national direction... Bringing to the surface the repressed tension of British society leaves deep uncertainty about how those contradictions are ultimately resolved. That is the thing with opposed extremes: their force may give the semblance of stability to the revolution simmering underneath. The greater a societys contradictions, the more disruptive the snap is when it comes. In the Telegraph, Jeremy Warner wrote that the root cause of Britains distress is all too obvioustoo many people scratching a living in rubbish, low wage, low productivity, dead end jobs, and the all too evident social alienation that goes with such a dispiriting state of affairs. Warner was commenting on a report by the Office for National Statistics that showed that for the first time since Margaret Thatchers government, households were spending more than they earned. The average family was 900 in the red last year, with a total national shortfall of 25 billionand only managing to keep afloat through credit or savings. Even at the time of the 2008 financial crisis, the ONS warned, the country did not reach a point where the average household was a net borrower. The richest 10 percent of households had disposable incomeafter taxes and housing costsof more than 78,000 last year, of which they spent less than half. In contrast, the poorest 10 percent had disposable income of just 5,000 but spent nearly 13,000. Financial experts warned that such debt was unsustainable and profoundly worrying. The Socialist Equality Party in the United States held its Fifth National Congress July 22-27 in Southeast Michigan. The main Congress resolution, The Upsurge of the Class Struggle and the Tasks of the Socialist Equality Party, was the subject of an extensive discussion. After four days of debate, which included proposals for amending or clarifying different sections of the draft document, the resolution was adopted unanimously. The Congress also adopted a resolution condemning the persecution of Julian Assange and calling for an international campaign to secure his freedom. The Congress elected a new National Committee of the SEP. It reelected David North as national chairperson of the party. The incoming National Committee reelected Joseph Kishore as national secretary, Lawrence Porter as assistant national secretary and Barry Grey as the US national editor of the World Socialist Web Site. The SEP Congress registered a substantial influx of new members, from all parts of the United States, into the party since the Fourth Congress, held in 2016. The newly elected National Committee includes many members who have joined the party in the past five years. Also attending the Congress were delegations from the sister parties of the SEP in the International Committee of the Fourth International. Supporters of the ICFI from Central and South America were also in attendance. The Congress delegates participated in a broad-ranging and extensive discussion that reviewed the political situation in the US and internationally, examined the experiences of the working class and the party over the past two years and outlined the tasks of the SEP. There were separate reports and discussions on the teachers strikes and the growth of the class struggle in the US, the fight by the SEP against Internet censorship, the campaign of the SEP and the ICFI against the persecution of Julian Assange, the attack on immigrant workers by the Trump administration, and the right-wing character of the #MeToo campaign and the politics of the pseudo-left. The main resolution adopted by the Congress stresses the immense crisis of the world capitalist system. It begins: The world capitalist system has entered a period of acute social and political crisis, characterized by broad-based discontent provoked by deteriorating living standards and the extreme concentration of wealth, intensifying class conflict, and the discrediting of long-established political institutions. There is a growing sense among substantial sections of the working class and youth that capitalism is inherently unjust and that fundamental changes in the economic system are needed. Elaborating on this theme, David North, in his report introducing the Congress, reviewed the extraordinary conditions in which the Congress was being held: the breakdown of international alliances; the eruption of American imperialism and the military buildup of all the major capitalist powers; the ferocious conflicts within the highest levels of the state; the turn to authoritarianism by the ruling class, including the censorship of the Internet; and the extreme growth of social inequality. North stressed the reactionary and anti-democratic character of all factions of the ruling class in the United States. He said: It would be the height of naivete to believe that there exists a profound political divide between Trump and his Democratic opponents. Attempting to determine who is worse is like being asked whether you prefer to be bitten by a cobra or strangled by a boa constrictor. At one moment one may think that no one could be worse than Trump. But then, one watches Democratic Party Senator Mark Warner threaten war against Russia and House Democrats bellowing USA, USA! and, in comparison, Trump appears almost civilized. The only appropriate answer, therefore, is that suggested by Shakespeare: A plague on both your parties! A central theme of Norths report, the main congress resolution and the discussion at the Congress was the 80th anniversary of the Fourth International, founded by Leon Trotsky, which held its first Congress in September 1938. Many contributions to the Congress discussed the relationship between the heritage defended by the Fourth International throughout its history and the developing consciousness of broad masses of workers and youth. From the vantage point of 2018, the main resolution states, there is no question but that the historical analysis, principles and program upon which the Fourth International was founded in 1938, and which were upheld in the issuing of the Open Letter that established the International Committee in 1953, have been vindicated by the entire course of historical development. North explained in his report the relationship between historical consciousness and socialist consciousness. The working through of past experiences has always been, for Marxists, an essential preparation for future struggles, he said. The International Committee and its sections introduce into the struggles of the working class not only slogans and a set of demands. These are of considerable importance, but they are insufficient for the education of the working class and the raising of its political consciousness to the level necessary for the carrying out of the socialist revolution. To comprehend the crisis and the tasks with which it is confronted, the working class must understand the nature of the historical epoch in which it lives and fights. Moreover, for the development of a revolutionary strategy and the appropriate tactics, the working class must acquire a sufficient level of knowledge of the major political events and revolutionary struggles of the past century. Finally, for the working class to evaluate the organizations and tendencies that claim to represent its interests, it must know their history, their political lineage and the role they have played in past struggles. The main resolution stresses that the development of a mass socialist movement of the international working class depends on the activity of the SEP and the ICFI. During the discussion, many participants cited the section of the resolution that states: Within this historical situation, the revolutionary party is itself an immense factor in determining the outcome of the objective crisis. An evaluation of the objective situation and realistic appraisal of political possibilities that excludes the impact of the intervention of the revolutionary party is utterly alien to Marxism. The Marxist revolutionary party does not merely comment on events, it participates in the events that it analyzes, and, through its leadership in the struggle for workers power and socialism, strives to change the world. The central task of the SEP is to build an independent, revolutionary and socialist movement in the working class. This requires a fight against the politics of the pseudo-left, including groups like the Democratic Socialists of America and the International Socialist Organization, which represent the social interests of privileged sections of the upper-middle class. It also requires a fight against the trade unions, which function as agents of corporate management and the state and work to suppress the class struggle. A critical section of the main resolution, which was the topic of extensive discussion at the Congress, is titled The logic of the class struggle and the general strike. It states that the eruption of social struggles on a scale never before seen is all but inevitable in the US, and that these struggles, whatever the immediate issue or wherever the location, will rapidly draw millions of workers into active participation in the struggle. It continues: Given the historical experience of the working class, the logical outcome of this coalescence of social struggles will be a general strike, which will raise the question of political power. To prepare for such a struggle, the resolution states, the working class must develop an interconnected network of popular workplace and neighborhood committees, the necessity of which arises out of the experiences of the workers themselves with the anti-working class trade unions. In one of the main reports to the Congress, Jerry White, the labor editor for the WSWS, reviewed in detail the experiences of the past year, including the wave of teachers strikes in the US that developed in opposition to the unions. Joseph Kishore, national secretary of the SEP, said that the Congress was animated by a consciousness of the immense tasks that face the party. The ruling class is moving rapidly to implement far-reaching attacks on democratic rights, he said, including efforts to shut down and censor the Internet, which are targeted above all at the World Socialist Web Site. The oligarchy is bringing its political forms into alignment with the character of capitalist societyincluding unsustainable levels of social inequality and advanced preparations for world war. However, he added, the Congress was also characterized by a spirit of revolutionary optimism rooted in an understanding that the principles and history of the SEP and the ICFI correspond to and express the interests of masses of workers all over the world. I have no doubt, he said, that the SEP will emerge in the leadership of working class struggles, and that it will win to the banner of Trotskyism great masses of workers and youth seeking a way to fight against the capitalist system. Investigations of Franco-Swiss cement and construction firm Lafarge on charges of financing terrorism over its ties to the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) militia are bringing to light the political criminality of the French ruling elite and NATO. French government and business circles financed and defended ISIS in a war for regime change targeting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, while denouncing it as terrorist to the population. The 2015 terror attacks in Paris and similar terror attacks across Europe were thus prepared with the financial and political aid of powerful forces within the ruling class. Its policies of neo-colonialist militarism in the Middle East and deep austerity in Europe are overwhelmingly opposed by working people, so Paris covertly used ISIS to wage a dirty war in Syria and justify police state repression in France. If police did not arrest ISIS members traveling across Europe to wage terror attacks, it was because they enjoyed state protection as useful proxy forces for war in Syria. French President Emmanuel Macron declared in 2017 that my enemy is ISIS. It is ever clearer, however, that officials at the highest summits of the state have made themselves guilty of collaboration with this enemy, which was in fact a tool of their filthy imperialist policy in Syria. The question is raised: what was the role of then-French President Francois Hollande, his adviser Emmanuel Macron, his defence minister (now foreign minister) Jean-Yves Le Drian, or of Hollandes foreign minister Laurent Fabius? Investigations had already established in 2017 that Lafarge, a multibillion-dollar transnational, had made financial deals with terrorist groups including ISIS and the Al Qaeda-linked Al Nusra Front in 20122014, handing $15 million to ISIS in donations, taxes and commissions. Lafarge also brought petrochemicals from ISIS and raw materials for cement from ISIS-held mines. Eight top Lafarge executives have been charged and two of its directors have resigned. Over the last month, the investigation has been widened to include not only individual executives but the transnational as a whole. Charges of complicity in crimes against humanity have been added to the charges of financing terrorism. To defend themselves, Lafarge executives are now laying blame for this policy on state officials they worked with. Many such statements have now been corroborated. Lafarge was constantly in touch with French intelligence officials in Syria and worked with them so closely that it seems impossible to delineate their cement-making from their intelligence activities. Lafarge security chief Jean-Claude Veillard, who testified most recently in April 2018, said Lafarge security staff provided information that they sent en bloc to different intelligence agencies. At this time, they were also in touch with Hollandes military liaison staff. Asked by investigating magistrates whether Lafarge security staff had to meet leaders of armed groups, Veillard replied, Their main mission was to get intelligence. If such meetings could help them to obtain information, they could do it. Apparently, various French intelligence services continued to closely follow events at the factory after it was taken over by ISIS on September 19, 2014. Veillard even says that ISIS proposed through an intermediary to reopen the factory under ISIS control. In the summer of 2013, moreover, as the Hollande administration was preparing a military strike on Syria with the Obama administration, Paris was in continuous contact with Washington. According to Le Monde, Laurent Fabius had multiple exchanges with his US counterpart, John Kerry, to set up a military intervention against Damascus. The same day after ISIS seized the Lafarge factory, Lafarge executives Christian Herrault and Jean-Claude Veillard went to the foreign ministry at the Quai dOrsay and asked them to contact Washington to ensure the factory was not bombed by the US Air Force. Speaking as a witness in the inquiry, Hollandes foreign minister in 20122016, Laurent Fabius, said he had not received any information on the operations of Lafargea multibillion-euro firm listed on the CAC-40 index of Frances 40 largest firmsin Syria while he was in office. On July 20, he told investigating magistrates that he had never seen an issue concerning Lafarge raised, I am categorically sure of that. He insisted, If the question is to determine whether or not I knew that there was a Lafarge factory in Syria, I have no precise memories. These statements of Fabius have no credibility whatsoever. Already in 2014, two years before he left the foreign ministry, the press was reporting on Lafarges operations in Syria. It is not credible to claim that the foreign minister was unaware of the existence of this factory that was at the heart of US-French intelligence cooperation in Syria, which was a subject of communications between Paris and Washington at the highest levels. If Fabius claims not to have heard anything about it, moreover, it simply raises the question: Who were the top officials who in fact did know something about Lafarges operations in Syria? What did Hollande, Macron, Le Drian or other top ministers and advisers know? Investigators are also examining another devastating aspect of the case: the sale of cement to ISIS. Three months after ISIS seized the factory, Lafarge chiefs were still apparently discussing the prospect of selling cement to the terrorist group. The lawyer of Sherpa, the NGO that brought the complaint against Lafarge, asked: Does this mean that in France, a foreign minister was voluntarily kept in the dark about a crucial affair like a French corporations decision to stay in a war-torn country beset by terrorism, which meant it would have no other choice than to finance ISIS in order to continue its business operations? All available information points to official and corporate complicity with groups, like Al Qaeda and ISIS, whose members were preparing terrorist attacks in France and across Europe. The Kouachi brothers, members of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula who organized the attack on Charlie Hebdo in January 2015, had their four-year surveillance lifted in the summer of 2014. The ISIS members who led the November 13, 2015 attacks in Paris were allowed to freely travel to and from Europe and prepare their attacks, even though they were known to the state. It is impossible to understand these developments outside of the broader strategic objectives of the PS government: regime change in Syria at all costs and the imposition of bitterly unpopular austerity measures inside France itself. In the summer of 2013, the military attack on Assad that Hollande was plotting with Washington did not take place, as London and Washington backed down at the last minute. The two best organized enemies of Assad on the ground were Al Nusra and ISIS, which were occupying a large portion of the country, financed from Qatar and Saudi Arabia with US logistical support. While the PS claimed to the French people it was backing democratic forces struggling against a dictator, it was in fact waging a neo-colonial war backing spies and terrorists in a violent attempt at regime change targeting a former French colony. The details emerging in the Lafarge investigation also invalidate the reasons invoked for suspending democratic rights under the November 2015 state of emergency, transformed into the so-called anti-terrorist law by Macron. The state of emergency served to establish the structure and practices of a police state and fight workers opposition to the austerity policies of Hollande. Now, this continues in the form of Macrons labour decrees, moves to privatise the railways and to slash public health care, pensions, unemployment insurance and other essential social services. This assault on basic social and democratic rights is led by government officials who oversee the organization, behind the backs of the people, of entirely criminal operations whose murderous consequences they used to justify repressing legitimate working-class opposition. The Michigan State Board of Elections will not meet until September 7 to decide whether to certify Socialist Equality Party (SEP) candidate for Congress Niles Niemuth for the November 6 general election ballot, but officials have said that the deadline has passed for any outside group to file a challenge to the more than 5,800 signatures submitted July 19 by Niles and his supporters. The signature total was nearly double the required number of 3,000 signatures of registered voters living in Michigans 12th Congressional District, which includes Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti, Dearborn, and the Downriver suburbs of Detroit. The signatures were collected in an aggressive five-week campaign that mobilized dozens of petitioners and won wide support among youth, students and working people. Potential challengers had until July 26 to file objections to the petitions submitted by the SEP. The Democratic Party has frequently challenged the petitions of third-party opponents, including the SEP and its predecessor the Workers League, but no Democratic Party operative attempted such an anti-democratic maneuver this year. Candidates in both capitalist parties regularly engage in efforts to use minor technicalities against their political rivals. In the neighboring 11th Congressional District, the incumbent Republican congressman was disqualified from the primary ballot in 2012. In the states First Congressional District, which comprises the Upper Peninsula and the northern third of the Lower Peninsula, the Democratic Party establishments choice for the congressional nomination this year, retired Marine Corps officer Matthew Morgan, failed to qualify for the primary ballot due to improperly filled-out petitions. He is running in the primary as a write-in candidate. The September 7 meeting to certify candidates takes place one month after the August 7 primary election for parties with ballot status, including the Democrats and Republicans, ensuring that any recounts and challenges to the results of the primary contests will be resolved before the Board of Elections takes final action. The incumbent Democrat from the 12th district is Representative Debbie Dingell, a former auto industry lobbyist and multi-millionaire who succeeded her husband John, the longest-serving congressman in US history. John Dingell, Jr. held the seat for 59 years, after succeeding his father, John Dingell, Sr. All told, a Dingell has occupied the downriver Detroit seat since the early 1930s. In a statement to the World Socialist Web Site, Niles thanked his supporters for the successful petition drive, while cautioning that until the State Board of Elections makes an official ruling, the SEP must remain prepared to oppose any attack on the democratic rights of the party and its supporters. The nearly 6,000 signatures to put my name on the ballot are a clear demonstration by working people and young people that they want a genuine alternative to the two corporate-controlled parties, he said. Throughout the 12th district we found a tremendous disgust for the policies of the Democrats and Republicans, opposition to war and militarism, support for the rights of immigrants, and a growing interest in socialism. The US Senate approved the National Defense Authorization Act, a blueprint for $708 billion in Pentagon spending, voting Wednesday by a margin of 87-10. Forty-six Republicans were joined by 41 Democrats in approving the bill, which now goes to the White House for President Trumps signature. The bill sets policy for the Department of Defense, approving weapons programs, a sizable troop build-up and a 2.6 percent across-the-board raise for uniformed personnel, but a separate appropriations bill must still be passed to actually approve the funding. The 41-8 split in the Democratic Party caucus in the Senate was determined partly by political positioning. Those Democrats who are testing the waters for a presidential run and aim to strike a left posture for the 2020 primary campaign opposed the military spending bill: Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Kamala Harris, Kirsten Gillibrand and Jeff Merkley. All the Democratic senators seeking reelection this year in states carried by Trump in 2016 voted in favor of the military spending bill, and will undoubtedly feature it in their election campaign ads as proof of their desire to work with the president. These include Joe Manchin of West Virginia, Joe Donnelly of Indiana, Jon Tester of Montana, Claire McCaskill of Missouri, Sherrod Brown of Ohio, Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin and Bill Nelson of Florida. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer and virtually every other Democrat in the Senate voted for the record military spending without electoral calculations playing any role. They are just as ardent supporters of American imperialism as the Republicans, and demonstrated that in their votes. In this they were following the example of House Democrats, who backed the Pentagon authorization bill by a landslide margin, 139-49. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell declared, This NDAA builds on the progress we made earlier this year in the bipartisan budget agreement, which provided for the largest year-on-year increase in funding for American armed forces in 15 years. Secretary of Defense James Mattis likewise hailed the vote, saying the bills quick passage demonstrated the deep and abiding bipartisan support our military enjoys. He could have noted, but did not bother, that the House-Senate conference version of the NDAA actually set prospective spending levels $30 billion above those requested by the White House and Pentagon. Despite incessant efforts by the media to portray Congress as an institution where nothing can be done because of supposedly intractable differences between the Democrats and Republicans, the passage of the NDAA marked the 58th consecutive year that a Pentagon authorization was passed before the beginning of the new fiscal year on October 1. When it comes to the vital interests of US imperialism, the two capitalist parties can move expeditiously. It is only when working people face an emergencyas with the hundreds of thousands of immigrant youth affected by the termination of DACA, or the victims of forest fires in California or crumbling infrastructure in Flint, Michigan and other old industrial centersthat the leaders of the two parties throw up their hands and proclaim nothing can be done. The WSWS has already analyzed some of the provisions of this bill, particularly its ominous authorization of cyberwarfare attacks on Russia, China, Iran and North Korea, in a previous report on the House vote. It is worth examining the final legislation, however, from the standpoint of what it says about the priorities of the US ruling elite. The $708 billion authorization is the largest in dollar terms since 2010, the last year of full-scale military operations in both Iraq and Afghanistan. It maintains the new baseline for the Pentagon established after the 9/11 attacks. Since 2001, the regular Pentagon budget has roughly doubled, from $300 billion a year in the 1990s to more than $600 billion a year for the past decade. This does not count funding for what are described as Overseas Contingency Operations, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and later against ISIS. The figures in fiscal 2019 will be $617 billion for regular Pentagon operations, plus $69 billion for Overseas Contingency Operations and $22 billion for nuclear weapons operations of the Department of Energy, which oversees the construction of atomic warheads. It is instructive to compare the provisions of this legislation with the funding requirements to meet urgent social needs, for which no such resources are being mobilized. The $617 billion in regular Pentagon spending is as much as the United States spends on public education, combining local, state and federal governments ($620 billion in 2016). It is also 10 times what Russia spends on its military ($61 billion). The $69 billion for wars in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan, and drone warfare across North Africa and the Middle East is more than twice the amount of money required to feed all 862 million malnourished people in the world ($30 billion). The bill authorizes $24.1 billion for shipbuilding, including the building of 13 new warships, among them a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier and two nuclear-powered submarines armed with nuclear weapons. The same amount of money, $24.1 billion, would provide decent housing for every homeless person in the United States ($20 billion), with enough left over to replace the toxic water infrastructure of Flint, Michigan ($1.5 billion). The bill provides $12 billion for new aircraft, including $7.6 billion for 77 new F-35 Joint Strike Fighter jets, $2.3 billion for 20 short takeoff and vertical landing F-35B Lightning II Joint Strike Fighters (the Marine Corps version), and $1.1 billion for nine F-35C fighters, used by the Navy. The same amount of money would provide free maternal and prenatal care for every mother in the developing world ($13 billion). It would be twice the sum required to provide treatment and vaccination to prevent 4 million malaria deaths ($6 billion). The working class must oppose squandering vast sums on the military not only because it represents a colossal waste of resources that could meet urgent social needs, but because the build-up of this vast military-intelligence apparatus is a deadly threat to both the democratic rights and the physical survival of the entire human race. The most urgent task facing working people, both in the United States and internationally, is the building of a mass, international movement against militarism and war, and for a socialist alternative. Six months after Germanys Network Enforcement Law (Netz DG) came into force, it has become clear that under the pretext of combatting fake news and hate comments, the legal framework for the all-out censorship of the Internet has been established, as the World Socialist Web Site warned from the outset. Last Friday, the three main social network operators presented their transparency reports, in which they must document the deleting of comments in connection with the Network Enforcement Law every six months. The reports confirm that Google, Facebook, and company have seized on the law to launch a massive assault on freedom of speech and erect a comprehensive regime of censorship. Within the framework of Netz DG, Googles video platform YouTube deleted or blocked 58,297 comments alone in the first half of 2018. The deletions resulted from 214,827 complaints, meaning they had a success rate of 27 percent. The largest number of complaints, a total of 75,829, concerned hate speech or political extremism; 24,804 deletions were carried out in this area, equating to a success rate for the complaints of 33 percent. On the social network Google+, fully 46 percent of comments about which complaints were made were deleted. The figures for Facebook are somewhat lower, but nonetheless remain high. Twenty-one percent of the comments about which complaints were raised were deleted. The total of 1,704 complaints and 362 deleted comments is lower because Facebook relies heavily on its own deletion mechanisms and makes it very difficult for users to submit a complaint under Netz DG. The company recently acknowledged that it deletes a total of 15,000 comments per month in Germany. On Twitter, the 11 percent deletion rate from 264,000 complaints was somewhat lower. However, all of these figures are high when one considers that it is relatively straightforward to submit a complaint to the social media operators. It can be done online and is usually completed within a few clicks. The fact that complaints generated in this way are resulting in comments being deleted at a rate of up to 46 percent shows that the companies are deleting content on a mass scale. Most of the complaints reviewed by the three major operators are not examined for unlawful conduct. For example, YouTube considered only 28 percent of the complaints that resulted in the deletion of a comment in connection with the criminal offences set out in Netz DG. The remainder were deleted because they violated the internal community guidelines at YouTube. The extremely low level of complaints to the Ministry of Justice about the failure of social media operators to delete comments shows that far more were deleted than lawfully required. The Justice Department initially anticipated that at least 25,000 people would file complaints with the government due to the failure of companies to delete comments in spite of complaints. By July 23, only 585 such complaints had ultimately been submitted. The so-called overblockingthe blocking en masse of non-criminal contentis not merely a byproduct of Netz DG, but its essential purpose. The law compels operators of an Internet platform with more than 2 million members to delete or block clearly illegal content within 24 hours of receipt of the complaint. Cases where the issue is less clear have a deadline of seven days. If a company fails to comply, they face a fine of up to 50 million. To guard against these fines, the companies prefer to delete content if in doubt. This is because there is no punishment for deleting comments which do not violate the law. In this way, the Internet giants are not merely being transformed into judges of content, but also encouraged by the state to delete as much as possible. A review of the cases thus far in which comments have been deleted or blocked confirms that what is involved here is not the struggle against hate comments or fake news, but the massive restriction of free speech. Although the transparency reports give no details about the content of the deleted comments, several prominent cases have come to light in recent months. They show that it is chiefly anti-fascist comments and those critical of the fascist party Alternative for Germany (AfD) that have fallen victim to censorship. Early this year, a comment by Sophie Passmann was blocked by Twitter on the basis of Netz DG. The satirist had been making fun of right-wing nationalism, writing, As long as the tradition of watching Dinner for One on New Years Eve continues, the refugees are welcome to come here and destroy our culture. Twitter deemed this to be unlawful. Around the same time, the satirical magazine Titanic was blocked after mocking the AfD deputy leader Beatrix von Storch. After Storch railed against barbaric hordes of Muslim male rapists, Titanic wrote, Why do the German police actually use Arabic numbers? I wont dial 110 if the barbaric hordes want to rape me! In February, YouTube censored an anti-AfD video after members of the far-right party complained about it. For over two years, youve agitated against refugees on a daily basis from morning till night as if nothing else matters. This is just as pathetic as todays politics, stated the video in closing. The censorship drive within the framework of Netz DG is part of a broader development. Due to growing opposition in the working class to its policies of anti-refugee xenophobia, war, and social attacks, the ruling elite is resorting ever more openly to censorship and repression. The major corporations are working hand-in-glove with the state apparatus to enforce this. Since April 2017, Google, in close collaboration with the German government, has been censoring left-wing and progressive web sites, including the World Socialist Web Site in particular. Web sites are downgraded in search results by so-called evaluators if they do not conform to the desired opinion. In May, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg explained to the European Parliament how closely his organisation collaborates with governments to eliminate oppositional content and to ensure that no undesirable content is spread during election campaigns. As is the case with Netz DG, these measures were portrayed as a struggle against fake news. In the future, Facebook will work with tens of thousands of independent fact checkers in every country and every language and will use artificial intelligence to filter out problematic content and false information, he stated. Our goal over the coming years is going to be developing the AI systems and hiring the staff necessary to be able to proactively review more of the content as its coming into the system, added Zuckerberg. It is an arms race, but significant progress is being made, he said. One year ago, workers and young people throughout the world were horrified by a neo-Nazi march in Charlottesville, Virginia. The Nazis held torch-lit parades, chanted Jews will not replace us, gave the Nazi salute, flew flags with swastikas, and marched in Ku Klux Klan uniforms. One of the fascists rammed a car into a counter-demonstration, murdering one woman and injuring 35 others. Earlier this year, the organizers of the August 12, 2017 Charlottesville rally, known as Unite the Right, announced a plan to hold another demonstration on its anniversary, this time in Washington D.C. In response, over a dozen left-wing organizations and dozens of prominent individuals, including whistleblower Chelsea Manning, called a counter-protest on the same day. As part of a campaign to block what it called divisive, violent, and extremist activity, Facebook, working in conjunction with US intelligence agencies, announced Tuesday that it had blocked not the Nazi rally, but an event page for the demonstration protesting it. Facebook justified its action by declaring that the counter-protest was set up by a group that showed signs of inauthentic activity, a claim that it backed up with neither details nor evidence. The statements accompanying Facebooks action make clear that the blocking of the counter-demonstration is a deliberate effort to repress and criminalize left-wing political views, setting a far-reaching and dangerous precedent. Facebooks blog post announcing the blocking of the event, together with 32 other accounts, cited an analysis by the Atlantic Council think tank noting that all the accounts targeted by Facebook were left-wing, including accounts opposing police violence, attacks on immigrants and the Trump administrations promotion of fascist groups. The Atlantic Councils report said the pages shut down by Facebook targeted the left of the political spectrum and sought to promote divisions and set Americans against one another. The accounts promoted protests against US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), US President Donald Trumps tax plan and protests against Trumps Muslim ban. Both Facebooks post and the Atlantic Council report are filled with Orwellian and authoritarian language. Who is Facebook to determine what constitutes inauthentic activity, a term so broad as to be capable of including anything? And who gave Facebook the right to shut down pages that promote divisions, as if such divisions do not already exist, with no need of being promoted, in a society characterized by historically unparalleled levels of social inequality? These themes were continued in a hearing by the Senate Intelligence Committee Wednesday featuring testimony from security companies and think tanks closely aligned with the US intelligence agencies. Renee DiResta is director of research at New Knowledge, a consultancy firm that claims to protect the reputations of businesses from what it calls suspicious communities. DiResta said malign narratives have existed for a very long time, but in todays influence operations the propaganda is shared by our friends, often in the form of highly effective, shareable, immediately graspable memes. Disinformation, misinformation, and social media hoaxes have evolved from a nuisance into high-stakes information war, she said. With reference to fake ads run ahead of the 2016 election, she noted that the accounts promoted statements targeting the left, aiming to paint Secretary Clinton in a negative light as compared to candidates Jill Stein or Senator Bernie Sanders. She noted that such Influence operations are increasingly appealing to ideological true believers and non-state extremists. In other words, they are directed at people fed up with the capitalist system and looking for a socialist or left-wing alternativethe implication being that such conceptions are extremist and must be criminalized. Another participant in the hearing, Graphika CEO John W. Kelly, said that automated accounts on the extremes of the political spectrum produce as many as 25 to 30 times the number of messages per day as genuine political accounts across the mainstream. A definite narrative is being created, resurrecting American anti-communisms long tradition of labeling outside agitators as the source of social disturbances. Any political viewpoint critical of capitalism is to be labelled an inauthentic influence operation promoted by extremists, and therefore subject to suppression by the state and the technology monopolies. In so doing, the factions of the state aligned with the Democratic Party and the intelligence agencies, who are locked in a bitter factional battle with Trump over issues related to foreign policy, find themselves in alliance with the White House against the emergence of left-wing political opposition. This has manifested itself, in this case, in an effort to target those protesting a fascist rally, and, by extension, the defense and legitimization of the fascists. The moves by all factions within the US political establishment to delegitimize and criminalize political opposition must be understood in class terms. After decades of continuous upward redistribution of wealth, three people now control as much wealth as the bottom half of American society. Jeff Bezos, the worlds richest man, has a net worth of $143 billion. This financial oligarchy, together with a broader periphery within the top 10 percent of income earners who have also been enriched by the boom in share values, see themselves besieged by an angry and hostile working class that is increasingly turning to socialist politics. Amidst stagnating or declining real wages, endless cuts to health care and pensions and a string of major contracts expiring over the next several months, the stage is set for an eruption of militant labor struggles unlike anything seen since the sit-down strikes of the 1930s. The growth of the class struggle is increasingly pitting workers in direct conflict with the trade unions, which the ruling class has relied on for decades to suppress the class struggle and facilitate the redistribution of wealth to the rich. Under these conditions, the ruling elite sees the criminalization and suppression of independent political opposition as a vital necessity in the defense and expansion of its social privileges. The creation of an apparatus of mass censorship by Facebook, Google and Twitter is a vital weapon in the hands of the ruling elite in this life-and-death class struggle. But the eruption of workers struggles that the oligarchy so fears also provides the only basis for defending fundamental democratic rights. In their coming struggles, workers will take up the demand for the free and open Internet and freedom of speech as part of a mass movement, in the United States and internationally, to overturn the capitalist system and establish a socialist society. Pablo Casado was chosen as the new leader of the Popular Party (PP) in the partys primaries. His election marks a return by the PP, Spains main opposition party, to its Francoite roots under conditions where all mainstream parties, including the ruling minority Socialist Party (PSOE) government and the pseudo-left Podemos, are rapidly turning to the right. Casado is 37 and served as the partys communications vice-secretary and was also chief of staff to the former prime minister Jose Maria Aznar. He took the leadership by defeating his rival, Soraya Saenz de Santamaria, former deputy prime minister. Casado won the support of 57.2 percent of voters. Casado is taking over from Mariano Rajoy, the former PP leader and prime minister who was recently ousted in a no-confidence vote in Congress by the PSOE, with the backing of Podemos and nationalist forces. Soon after, Rajoy resigned, and he refused to handpick his successor, the traditional way the Spanish right has selected its leaders. He also refused to back Santamaria, his deputy prime minister in government, wanting to maintain neutrality to avoid a split in the party. In the past years, the PPs support has plummeted to levels not seen since the 1980s, when the PPs predecessor, Popular Alliance, was known as the party of 25 percent because of its electoral results. The PP has gone from nearly 8 million votes in June 2016 (33 percent of the votes and 137 seats) to 4.7 million votes, according to the calculations and polls by El Confidencial. In other words, the PP has lost around 3.2 million votes, or 40 percent of its electorate in two years. It means the PP would become the fourth parliamentary force. Most of its traditional electorate has gone to the other major right-wing party, Citizens, or the far-right VOX. Both have emerged as the staunchest advocates of the defence of Spain against regionalists and nationalists, criticizing the former PP government under Rajoy for not carrying out more severe repression against the secessionist Catalan parties. During the partys primaries, while Santamaria represented the line of continuity with the previous PP government and Mariano Rajoy, Casado promised to make the PP return to its Francoite roots. He called for the need to reconcile [the PP] with the history of the party, a party founded in 1976 by seven former Francoite ministers during the transition from fascism to bourgeois democracy, and do it without shame. His programme is a combination of ultra-Catholic demands, support for the dismantling of the welfare state and intensification of attacks on democratic rights. In a direct appeal to the most right-wing Catholic religious bigotry, Casado advocates rolling back abortion rights 30 years to the 1985 law which made pregnancy termination practically illegal and calls for opposition to the new euthanasia law. Casado has also called for a struggle against gender ideology a favourite term used by the Catholic Church and ultra-rightto mean democratic rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) and women. In education and healthcare, Casado advocates freedom to choose. He said that no bureaucrat should tell which hospital or what school to go to. I want the freedom of choice, he said during the campaign. These are code words for opening the education and healthcare sectors to the market for profiteering, in addition to slotting children into private and semi-private schools, most of which are controlled by the Catholic Church. Casados contempt for the pioneering of free, tax-funded and public education and free public healthcare was expressed in his call to reverse the heritage of socialist party governments to prevent society from radicalizing to the left. The PSOE was the main party to implement nationwide public healthcare and education in the 1980s, while combining it with deindustrialization, labour reforms, privatisations and free market policies. Casados words reflect unveiled preparations for a confrontation with the working class by eliminating the concessions the ruling class was forced to make after the revolutionary situation which erupted in the 1970s in the dying days of Francoism. Casado also promises traditionally neo-liberal measures such as lowering taxes and personal income tax, abolishing inheritance taxes, and introducing new tax breaks for companies. The new PP leader unveiled a programme of police-state measures under the pretext of defending the state against Catalan and Basque nationalists. During the campaign, he indirectly accused Rajoys government of having mismanaged the situation in Catalonia and the secessionist referendum on independence last October, when the PP government tried and failed to crush the referendum, mounting a massive police crackdown on peaceful voters that left nearly 1,000 people injured. For Casado, however, the police crackdown, the installation of an unelected government in Catalonia and the arrests of the main secessionist leaders under fraudulent charges of rebellion were not enough. Casado wants to outlaw pro-independence parties altogether to avoid future breakaway referendums, strengthen the penal code with new laws against improper sedition and the illegal calling of referendums, and incorporate a 50-seat bonus to the winner of the electionsto prevent situations where minority governments must rely on nationalist forces to push legislation through. He has also called on the PSOE government to reimpose Article 155 to depose the democratically elected Catalan government. During the Catalan crisis, Casado compared the future fate of former Catalan Premier Carles Puigdemont with that of Lluis Companys, president of the regional government of 1934 that declared independence. Exiled after the Spanish Civil War, Companys was captured by the Gestapo in Paris and handed over to the fascist regime of Francisco Franco, who had him executed by firing squad in 1940. In Spanish politics, the whipping up of anti-Catalan and anti-Basque sentiment by political forces like the PP, Citizens and the Socialist Party has historically been tied up with the attempt by the ruling class to suppress class tensions by promoting Spanish nationalism and patriotism under conditions of growing social polarisation. Casado is following a well-trodden path by the Spanish right, while attempting to outflank Citizens which has become the main party promoting Spanish chauvinism and anti-regionalist sentiment. Something widely ignored in the media coverage of Casados election is his foreign policy programme. Casado wants Spain to become a great power once again because of our historical role, our Atlantic link, our position in Latin America and the Mediterranean, our position as a non-permanent member in the Pacific Alliance and our vicinity with the African continent. He added, If there is isolationism, if there is protectionism, Spain has to return to being the center of action of the European Union, but also of the Atlantic Axis. Casado is also known for his pro-Trump statements, seeing the US administration as an opportunity for Spanish imperialism. Last year, Casado stated that Spain should replace the UK as the new priority partner of the US in the European Union following Brexit, when the UK officially leaves. This turn to the right does not reflect any broad sentiment among the masses, especially in the case of the younger generation, which is characterized by secularism, a defence of public education and healthcare, hostility to US imperialism and broad opposition to Spanish militarism and attacks on democratic rights, and a defence of abortion, euthanasia and LGBT rights. Rather, it reflects the bankrupt reaction of bourgeois and wealthy middle-class layers to the break-up of the world economy into competing trading blocs, to the ongoing disintegration of the nation-state system, along with increasing wars and social tensions. The fomenting of Spanish nationalism, chauvinism and Catalanophobia serves to prepare new wars and suppress the class struggle through police state methods. 404 This page could not be found . On July 25, Facebook announced it was deleting 87 accounts linked to the Brazilian far-right Movimento Brasil Livre (MBL - Free Brazil Movement) organization, due to violations of the platforms authenticity rules, adding, in a remarkably blunt, dystopian language, that the spreading of fake news was not the central issue in the removal, but instead it was due to the existence of a coordinated hidden network with the use of false accounts used for the goal of sowing divisions. Among the deleted accounts were those personally used by some of the organizations most well-known leaders. Facebooks investigation of the accounts, which would have been analyzed by Mexican, US, Dutch and Indian experts, concluded that their goal was to manipulate public debate, through non-authentic, coordinated behavior, in which multiple accounts work together to mislead people. The news came only five days after the Facebook-owned WhatsApp messaging app announced that, worldwide, it would cut the maximum number of recipients for forwarded messages from 250 to 20, under the pretext of limiting the spread of fake news after the Indian government alerted the company to a series of incidents of mass hysteria and lynchings supposedly coordinated with the use of the app. Both measures are the most aggressive so far in a back-to-back campaign by the press and the government, first and foremost major conglomerates built with state support that used to exercise a monopoly over public discourse, such as Globo, O Estado de Sao Paulo and Folha de Sao Paulo, helped by experts in academia, to promote the need for gatekeepers to control public debate due to the supposed backwardness of the Brazilian population, and the working class in particular. According to a Reuters Institute survey from 2016, 72 percent of Brazilians get their news through social media, far outstripping television news. These measures must be understood by the working class as a direct response to the widespread use of social media, principally WhatsApp, in the May-June truckers strike. Involving more than 500,000 truckers in opposition to fuel hikes imposed over the last two years, it was largely coordinated by WhatsApp and developed against the open hostility from the unions and the largest part of the pseudo-left. The strike, which brought the country to a halt and had, even in the face of massive shortages, 87 percent support from the Brazilian population, highlighted the explosive political situation amid persistent economic crisis after an 8 percent GDP drop between 2015 and 2016. These conditions have led to the dismal 3 percent approval rating for the current administration of President Michel Temer, the most widely despised president during any democratic period in Brazils history. Under such conditions, there are an ominous political calculations behind the supposed targeting of hate speech and the despicable far-right figures of the MBL who, after making populist appeals to bring down the government of Dilma Rousseff in 2016, have dedicated themselves to stoking the most backward forces. This has included gate-crashing exhibitions containing nudism in name of fighting pedophilia, propping up the Escola Sem Partido (No Parties in Schools) campaigns to persecute history, literature and arts teachers and professors all over the country over allegations of spreading leftist views and slandering the Rio de Janeiro councilwoman Marielle Franco, who was executed by unknown assailants for her criticism of police violence. The goal of this political operation by Facebook, in deep coordination with the state and US imperialism, is to erode democratic consciousness and legitimize police-state measures against social unrest and political oppositioni.e., the sowing of divisions, manipulation of public debate, coordinated actions and non-authentic behavior which doesnt conform to the governments view of legitimacy. Amid a hopeless economic situation generating the highest levels of internecine warfare, the ruling class in Brazil is ever more rapidly preparing for a dictatorship. This has been evident from former Workers Party (PT) President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silvas war on drugs to the brutal government repression of the 2013 demonstrations against the rising cost of living and the armys operations in Rios favelas, all of which have been supported by both the PT and the former right-wing opposition parties. This has further extended from the ouster of Rousseff on trumped-up charges of budget manipulations, to the sting operation against Temer by the Federal Police in 2017 and the threats of a military coup on the eve of a Supreme Court ruling on Lulas freedom in April. Under the pretext of guaranteeing the fairness of the October general elections, on June 28, the Brazilian state, through its highest ranking official on the matter, Supreme Court Justice and Electoral Court President Luiz Fux, signed with Facebook and Google an empty and generalized memorandum on the spread of fake news. O Estado de S. Paulo reported a day later that the records of the six months of meetings between the state and the two companies, beginning last December, are classified. The action against the far right is the first shot across the bow. The supposed struggle against fake news has also exposed the absence of any democratic constituency withinand the dismally low level of political culture amongthe middle class layers obsessed with identity and lifestyle politics united around the pseudo-left PSOL (Socialism and Liberty Party) and much of the alternative media, including outlets such as Nexo, Agencia Publica and Piaui magazine. With social media a primary source of information for Brazilians, it is ever more on the shoulders of the alternative media to give a left cover for the machinations of the ruling class, whose traditional outlets have been largely discredited in Brazil, as internationally. These outlets had already, in early November, built a platform for Googles and Facebooks lies with the i3 Journalism Festival, which was predictably funded by the CIA front, the Ford Foundation. The festival, in which much was said, predictably, about black, feminist and green journalism, paved the way for the adherence of Piaui magazine to the Facebook fact-checking program designed to flag content not conforming to authoritative sourcesin Facebooks Orwellian newspeak, CIA mouthpieces such as the New York Times and the Washington Post. Two months later, in his Nexo column of January 18, Denis Burgierman, also a writer for HBO Brazils Greg News comedy show, modeled on the conformist US comic news genre, offered a rationale for the adherence to the CIA and democratic imperialism, writing of Russia that its agents are in power everywhere, and they share lies and cheat social media algorithms in favor of Putins global strategy, concluding that they won, even here. Facebooks first notorious right-wing operation was its mid-June flagging as fake news the report by Brasil247 and other Workers Party mouthpieces that Pope Francis had sent the jailed former president Lula a rosary through a Vatican official, Juan Grabois. Since the PT, which traces its origins in part to the Liberation Theology factions of the Catholic Church, considers the Dirty War Pope a great progressive, it hailed the report as proof of its thesis that Lula is a political prisoner, and the criminal charges against him are unrelated to the generalized corruption of bourgeois rule in Brazil. Acting as mouthpieces for Brazils most right-wing layers, for whom the Popes demagogic relations with social movements is both implausible and unacceptable, and the charge of political motivations in Lulas case intolerable, Piauis fact-checking branch, Lupa, flagged the news and prompted Facebook to threaten the Brasil247 and others with disciplinary action. A series of corrections of official statements by Vatican News later settled the matter, with the story that Grabois had asked the Pope for the rosary, a sufficiently ambiguous answer so as to feed the PTs populist appeals and not compromise Vatican diplomacy. Facebooks announcement of the deletion of MBLs accounts prompted both the Maoist-Stalinist Communist Party of Brazil and the Pabloite-Morenoite consortium of PSOL to fall into line with the intelligence agencies. Their respective presidential candidates, Manuela DAvila and Guilherme Boulos, both called for further state action to expose the financing of the accounts and called Facebooks actions belated. Their endorsement of Facebooks actionsfor violation of authenticity rulesis in essence an adoption of the CIA line of delegitimizing any recourse to anonymity in political discussions, a bedrock of oppositional politics in the face of repression, a policy that furthermore allows the far-right to demagogically pose as defenders of democratic rights. Here's a look at the life of Asif Ali Zardari, former president of Pakistan. Personal: Birth date: July 26, 1956 Asia Asif Ali Zardari Benazir Bhutto Corruption Middle East Middle East and North Africa Pakistan Political Figures - Intl Society South Asia Fast Facts Birth place: Karachi, Sindh province, Pakistan Father: Hakim Ali Zardari, politician and businessman Mother: Bilquis Zardari Marriage: Benazir Bhutto (December 18, 1987-December 27, 2007, her death) Children: Bilawal, Bakhtawar and Aseefa Religion: Islam Other Facts: Zardari is the widower of Benazir Bhutto, the first female prime minister of an Islamic nation. She was assassinated in December 2007. In accordance with Pakistani culture, his marriage to Bhutto was arranged. Nicknamed "Mr. Ten Percent" due to allegations he accepted bribes while his wife was prime minister. Is the only elected Pakistani president ever to have completed a full term in office. Timeline: 1988 - Bhutto, Zardari's wife, is elected prime minister of Pakistan. August 1990 - Bhutto is dismissed from office among allegations of corruption. 1990-1993 - Zardari is jailed on corruption charges. 1993 - Bhutto returns to power. 1993-1996 - Member of Pakistan's National Assembly. Holds several ministerial positions in Bhutto's government. 1996 - Bhutto is again dismissed from office among allegations of corruption. November 1996 - Zardari is arrested and jailed on charges of corruption and murder. March 1997 - Is elected, from jail, to the Pakistan Senate. 2003 - A Swiss court convicts Bhutto and Zardari of money laundering and orders them to pay the Pakistani government more than $11 million in restitution. The verdict is later overturned on appeal. 2004 - Is released from prison, ending eight years in custody. October 2007 - A number of corruption charges against Zardari are dropped when President Pervez Musharraf grants amnesties to a number of politicians. December 27, 2007 - Bhutto is assassinated during a rally in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. December 2007 - Following his wife's death, Zardari and his son, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, are named co-chairs of the Pakistan People's Party. September 6, 2008 - Is elected president of Pakistan. September 9, 2008 - Is sworn in as president of Pakistan. December 16, 2009 - The National Reconciliation Ordinance, an amnesty that shielded Zardari from prosecution, is thrown out by Pakistan's Supreme Court. December 2011 - Travels to Dubai to receive medical treatment for a heart condition. April 8, 2012 - Zardari meets with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh during a private trip. It is the first trip to India by a Pakistani leader in seven years. September 8, 2013 - Leaves office at the end of his five-year term. December 2016 - Zardari announces that he and his son, Bilawal, will contest in the 2018 elections to become members of the Pakistani Parliament. August 26, 2017 - A Pakistani court acquits Zardari of the last corruption charges pending against him -- the charges had lingered for almost two decades. The top Democrat in the New Hampshire state senate is under pressure to step down after he was charged with domestic violence. The New Hampshire attorney general's office on Thursday announced the arrest of Jeff Woodburn, charging him with several misdemeanors, including simple assault, domestic violence and criminal trespass. The victim, a woman, is described as an "intimate partner" in a news release, and Woodburn allegedly struck her, threw water at her and broke into her home. In June, Woodburn allegedly bit the woman on her hand and forearm, resulting in bruising, the release said. Continents and regions Crime, law enforcement and corrections Crimes against persons Criminal offenses Domestic violence Government and public administration New Hampshire North America Northeastern United States Politics Resignations Society The Americas United States Violence in society Political organizations US Democratic Party US political parties Woodburn is serving his third term and running for re-election in the fall. His office did not immediately respond to a CNN request for comment. But in a statement to The Washington Post, Woodburn said he intends to "fully address and defend against these charges in court," not addressing whether he will stay in office. But the charges have prompted multiple calls for him to resign, including from the leader of the state's Democratic Party and its two Democratic US senators. "We take these accusations against Sen. Jeff Woodburn very seriously and stand with his accuser and support her during this unimaginably painful time. We are asking Senator Woodburn to resign from office immediately," Raymond Buckley, the state's Democratic Party chairman, said at an event in Exeter, New Hampshire, Thursday night, according to video posted by Paul Steinhauser, a reporter for the Concord Monitor. "Domestic violence should always be condemned in the strongest terms and there must be accountability for acts of abuse," US Sen. Jeanne Shaheen said in a statement. "I'm appalled by these charges and call on Jeff Woodburn to resign." "We must never tolerate the grave and despicable crime of domestic violence," US Sen. Maggie Hassan said in a statement. "Given these extremely disturbing and serious charges, Jeff Woodburn must resign immediately." Senate President Chuck Morse, a Republican, also called for Woodburn to step down. Woodburn is scheduled to be arraigned on August 20, the attorney general's office said. TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTHI) - An alert went to Indiana State University students after a shooting near North 6th and a Half Street and 3rd Avenue. It happened around 9:00 Friday morning. According to the alert, a person was shot and sent to Union Hospital in Terre Haute. The male victim was later sent to an out of area hospital. It says the shooting victim was found near the ISU/IU Landsbaum Center for Health Education on North 6th and a Half Street. According to the Terre Haute Police Department, the victim's injuries are non-life threatening. The suspect was described as a black male wearing a red shirt, driving a green F-150 pickup truck. ISU said they sent the alert to students because it happened near campus. It is not clear if the alleged shooter is involved with or a student at Indiana State University. If you have any information, you are asked to contact Crime Stoppers at 812-238-STOP. MARSHALL, Ill. (WTHI) - Marshall, Illinois officials are working hard to improve the downtown area. Many buildings are getting a new face, the city is painting its trash cans, benches, signs, and several other things. People in the community say they want to bring a historical look to the town. They credit grant and donations for helping to make it possible. TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTHI) - Indiana is celebrating two years of Text-to-911 services and Vigo County is getting some special recognition. In Indiana, 911 services report to the Treasurer of State. Treasurer Kelly Mitchell chairs the 911 Board and is visiting the top twenty-five dispatch centers. "My role on the Statewide 911 Board is a unique one", said Treasurer Mitchell. "I look forward to meeting with dispatchers and directors to learn more about what our board can do to assist them at a local level." Mitchell toured the Vigo County Dispatch facility Thursday afternoon. Vigo County ranks 7th in the state for overall program usage which includes incoming and outgoing messages. Mitchell says, "We thought it would be used by people who are hard of hearing or who are having difficulty speaking and it certainly has been used in those incidents but it's also being used by people who don't want to draw attention to the fact that they're calling for help and so that's just been very interesting to see and very rewarding to see how it's being used." Steven Roadruck is a Vigo County dispatcher. He explains the program has been lifesaving. Roadruck says, "I've honestly seen a really good response from the community as far as reception and people using it." Mitchell and Roadruck agree, calling is still the best way to communicate but if you need to text 911 you should give the most important information right away. Roadruck says, "First and foremost: location. If nothing else, as long as we know where you're at, we can send you somebody." Officials with the State Treasurer's office say 173,213 text sessions statewide occurred to and from dispatchers in the first year of service. Mitchell says she hopes to acknowledge the work these dispatchers do on her statewide tour. "A lot of them have eight-hour shifts, 12-hour shifts and they talk to people in some of the worst moments of their lives and just wanted to recognize them for the incredible work they do for Hoosiers." Local dispatchers told Treasurer Mitchell many texts out of the center are for 911 hang-ups. They say texting has been an effective way of finding out if a call is really an emergency. Roadruck says it was nice to have the Treasurer in for a visit so she can see how the program operates. Roadruck says, "Honestly, they were a little bit impressed with what they saw so that's honestly a good feeling as well." BOONEVILLE, Miss. (WTVA) -- A joint investigation by state and local law enforcement leads to the arrest of a man on charges he attempted to entice a child for sexual purposes. Prentiss County Sheriff Randy Tolar says Michael Benoit, 36, was arrested after an investigation by his department and the Mississippi Attorney General's Office. Benoit was arrested by U. S. Marshals Wednesday in Alabama and returned to Mississippi. Bond was set at $10,000. Tolar says the Mississippi Department of Corrections placed a hold on Benoit because he had failed to report to his probation officer as part of a prior criminal case. The case will be presented to the Prentiss County grand jury. BOONEVILLE, Miss. (WTVA) --A Prentiss County man has been indicted as part of an investigation into stolen farm equipment in north Mississippi and northwest Alabama. Sheriff Randy Tolar says Dustin King, 30, of Booneville is charged with receiving stolen property. He is accused of getting a trailer loaded with livestock feed and a tractor stolen from a farm west of Baldwyn earlier this year. The discovery launched the investigation that helped recover farm equipment, trailers and tractors. King made bond in Prentiss County and was immediately turned over to Tishomingo County authorities where is he being held without bond because of a previous indictment there. Tolar says his department received assistance from the Tishomingo County Sheriff's Office, Franklin County Alabama Sheriff's Office, Walker County Alabama Sheriff's Office, Sherman Police Department, Red Bay Alabama Police Department, and the Mississippi Department of Agriculture. Anyone who has purchased equipment from King is encouraged to contact the Prentiss County Sheriff's Office. CORINTH, Miss. (WTVA) -- A former Alcorn County supervisor convicted of embezzlement is back in jail. Corinth Police arrested Jimmy Dallan "Dal" Nelms, 46, after investigators say he sold three firearms to a local pawn shop. The sales were discovered on a routine check of transactions at the business by police. Nelms was arrested and carried to the Alcorn County jail. The Mississippi Department of Correction has placed a hold on him on the probation violation. Nelms was originally indicted on a 156-count indictment accusing him of turning in false work orders and getting paid by the county. Four other people were also arrested after an investigation by the Mississippi State Auditor's Office in 2014. Nelms pleaded guilty to five counts of fraud and embezzlement in 2015 and was sentenced to serve 12 years in prison. Nelms, who was released from prison on probation, earlier this year, was also ordered to repay nearly $308 thousand to the county and the state auditor's office. BOONEVILLE, Miss. (WTVA) -- The search for a missing teenager last year in Booneville ended when she was found last December. Now her mother is charged with helping her avoid investigators who were looking for her. Booneville Police Chief Michael Ramey says Dana Maria Morgan, 37, has been charged with hindering a prosecution. He says Morgan misled officers about the whereabouts of Angelica Dykes, who was 17 at the time she was reported missing. Ramey says the mother knew where Dykes was and had sent the girl out of state with another person. He says Morgan continued to conceal the teenager's location until she was located in December in Alabama. Morgan's bond was set at $10,000. Ramey says she will also face additional charges from the U. S. Department of Homeland Security. Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-02 23:59:54|Editor: Chengcheng Video Player Close Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi (R) meets with Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono on the sidelines of the ASEAN foreign ministers' meeting and related meetings, in Singapore, Aug. 2, 2018. (Xinhua/Then Chih Wey) SINGAPORE, Aug. 2 (Xinhua) -- China on Thursday called for joint efforts to continue developing the China-Japan ties along the right path. Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi made the call while meeting with Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) foreign ministers' meeting and related meetings. As this year marks the 40th anniversary of the signing of the China-Japan Treaty of Peace and Friendship, the two sides should learn from the past, and consolidate the political foundation of the bilateral relationship laid out in the four political documents signed between the two sides, Wang said. The Chinese top diplomat hoped that the Japanese side cherishes the ongoing momentum of the improvement in bilateral ties, properly handle sensitive issues, increase positive energy and eliminate interference so as to ensure that the Sino-Japanese relations will develop along the right path. China is willing to join hands with Japan to fully implement the consensus reached between the leaders of the two countries and deepen cooperation in the fields of high-tech, innovation and third-party market, among others. For his part, Kono said that his country is pleased that the development of Japan-China relations has gone back to the right track and good progress has been made in economic cooperation. Japan is willing to make further efforts to earnestly implement the important consensus reached between the two sides, enhance high-level exchanges and push forward cooperation in the fields including innovation and the third-party market, the Japanese foreign minister added. Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-03 00:40:03|Editor: yan Video Player Close LUANDA, Aug. 2 (Xinhua) -- The president of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) Joseph Kabila on Thursday expressed his desire to see the existing cooperation and relations between his country and Angola reinforced. Kabila arrived Thursday morning in the capital of Angola, Luanda for an official and working visit at the invitation of his Angolan counterpart, Joao Lourenco. At the end of the official talks between the two leaders, both made statements to the press. Joseph Kabila spoke of the desire to strengthen relations in trade and infrastructures domains between Angola and the DRC. The potential of the Benguela railway linking the DR Congo to Lobito's port in Angola was highlighted by Kabila in the context of trade relations between the two countries. He also stressed that the issues discussed at the meeting could also help to consolidate further the cooperative relations, especially those related to security at the common border for the benefit of the two peoples. A note from the Civil House of the President of the Republic of Angola indicates that the visit falls under the relations of friendship and cooperation between the two neighboring countries and the regular contacts between the two heads of states. Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-03 02:15:26|Editor: yan Video Player Close TRIPOLI, Aug. 2 (Xinhua) -- Security of the western Libyan city of Zuwara, some 120 km west of the capital Tripoli, on Thursday rescued 27 illegal immigrants, including women, from drowning in the sea while crossing to Europe. "Anti-illegal immigration security teams of the Zuwara Security Directorate managed today to rescue 27 illegal immigrants from inevitable death," Zuwara Security Directorate said in a statement. The rescued immigrants are from different African and Arab nationalities, and include five women and a little girl, the statement said. The immigrants were provided with medical assistance, as the security services in the city started an investigation into the incident. On Wednesday, the Libyan navy announced rescuing 574 illegal immigrants off the country's western coast in three separate operations. Libya has become a preferred departure point for illegal immigrants hoping to cross the Mediterranean Sea into Europe due to insecurity and chaos in the North African country following the 2011 uprising that toppled former leader Muammar Gaddafi. Improved weather conditions have increased the flow of migrant boats from Libya towards Europe, particularly off the country's western coast. Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-03 02:40:32|Editor: Chengcheng Video Player Close SINGAPORE, Aug. 2 (Xinhua) -- Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Thursday that the declaration of an end to the Korean War is in line with the trend of the times. "The declaration of the end of the war is in line with the trend of the times and reflects the aspiration of people of all countries, including the two countries on the Korean Peninsula," Wang told a press conference after the China-ASEAN foreign ministers' meeting. The Korean Peninsula remains technically at war as the 1950-1953 Korean War ended with an armistice. Turning the armistice into a peace treaty is however, another thing, the Chinese state councilor stressed, adding that such a treaty should be signed by all parties through negotiations. The efforts by both the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and South Korea to move toward that end should be encouraged and supported, he added. Wang stressed that in dealing with foreign affairs, China always sticks to principles and never makes any deal. "We will take our position on an issue on its own merits," he said, adding that China has always insisted on establishing a peace mechanism along with denuclearization of Korean Peninsula as the right direction in resolving the nuclear issue of the Peninsula. The initiative also suits the common interests of international community, including the United States and the DPRK. China will stick to this basic principle, the state councilor said. Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-03 02:50:36|Editor: yan Video Player Close TRIPOLI, July 2 (Xinhua) -- Violence in Libya killed three civilians and injured five others in July, the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) said in a report published later in Wednesday. Gunfire and explosive remnants of war caused the majority of the casualties, the report said, adding that 20 additional casualties have been documented from other possible violations or abuses of international humanitarian law in different Libyan cities. The Mission demanded all conflict parties in Libya to "cease the use of mortars and other indirect weapons and imprecise aerial bombardments in civilian-populated areas, and not place fighters or other military objectives in populated areas." "Direct attacks on civilians as well as indiscriminate attacks, which do not distinguish between civilians and fighters, are prohibited," it said. Libya has been plagued by insecurity and chaos since the overthrow of former leader Muammar Gaddafi's regime in 2011. Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-03 03:05:41|Editor: Chengcheng Video Player Close Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi (R) meets with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on the sidelines of the ASEAN foreign ministers' meeting and related meetings, in Singapore, Aug. 2, 2018. (Xinhua/Then Chih Wey) SINGAPORE, Aug. 2 (Xinhua) -- Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Thursday that China and Russia should make concerted efforts to push forward the China-Russia all-around strategic cooperation. He made the remarks while meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on the sidelines of the ASEAN foreign ministers' meeting and related meetings. Wang noted that Chinese and Russian leaders reached new important consensus during their meeting in South Africa, adding that this has demonstrated the fact China and Russia are each other's key strategic partners. Noting that there are a series of high-level visits between China and Russia scheduled for this year, Lavrov said Russia expects to work together with China to ensure the meetings a success, and is determined to strengthen strategic dialogue and coordination with China on major international issues. They also exchanged views on issues of common concern. Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-03 05:01:07|Editor: yan Video Player Close LJUBLJANA, Aug. 2 (Xinhua) -- A Swiss woman was fined nearly 2,000 euros (2,317 U.S. dollars) by Slovenian police for leaving two dogs in an overheated car in the seaside town of Lucija in southwest of Slovenia,the Slovenian Press Agency reported. The local police were called by a waitress serving the woman, who had left the car in the sun in front of the bar as temperatures were inching into the upper 30s at about 2 p.m. The woman, 46, was fined 1,905 euros for leaving the dogs in the car and refusing to cooperate with the police on Wednesday, the local police said in a press release on Thursday. She also verbally abused the police officers and other patrons at the bar, said the police report, after they started urging her to let the dogs out. The police said that the dogs had been locked in the car for about half an hour. The car windows were lowered somewhat and the dogs were not injured, the police added. Slovenia is suffering a heat wave, with temperatures well over 30 degrees centigrade in the shade. Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-03 05:01:07|Editor: yan Video Player Close DAMASCUS, Aug. 2 (Xinhua) -- The Syrian air defenses destroyed an unidentified target west of the capital Damascus on Thursday night, according to the state TV. The report said military air defenses confronted an enemy target and destroyed it west of Damascus, without specifying the exact target. The TV aired a short footage showing the air defenses responding to the unidentified target. Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-03 07:47:26|Editor: Shi Yinglun Video Player Close 1 2 Next 1 2 Next An anti-riot policeman talks on the cellphone near the headquarters of the opposition MDC (Movement For Democratic Change) Alliance in Harare, Zimbabwe, Aug. 2, 2018. Police arrested 16 suspects after Wednesday's clashes between protesting opposition supporters and army and police. (Xinhua/Shaun Jusa) Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-03 07:46:36|Editor: Shi Yinglun Video Player Close GABORONE, Aug. 2 (Xinhua) -- Botswana has put in place appropriate administrative and legal frameworks for the prevention, intervention and the support of victims and survivors of human trafficking, Defense, Justice and Security Minister Shaw Kgathi said Thursday. Speaking on the occasion of commemoration of the belated World Day Against Trafficking in Persons in Gaborone, Botswana's capital city, Kgathi said strategies aimed at wiping out the trade in human trafficking are in place. In 2013, the United Nations member states adopted a resolution which designated July 30 as the World Day Against Trafficking in Persons. Initiating and maintaining partnerships with members of the community, local authorities, civil societies, collaborating partners, youth and families are some of the several strategies that have been put in place in the fight against the scourge of human trafficking, Kgathi said. "Human trafficking is one silent but very devastating crime, which can affect our loved ones," said Kgathi. Training of investigators, prosecutors, magistrates and judges in matters of human trafficking has been given a priority alongside the protection of victims or survivors of human trafficking, which were made possible, according to Kgathi. Kgathi said the government is continuously strengthening the legal provisions for dealing with human trafficking. In this regard, Kgathi said the Botswana parliament recently passed a law, which introduced amendments to the Anti-Human Trafficking Act of 2014. "The amendments introduced stiffer penalties in terms of fines, which range between 20,000 U.S. dollars to 100,000 U.S. dollars and prison terms up to life imprisonment," he said. Botswana has 28 survivors of human trafficking in its custody from Ethiopia, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe and the majority of whom are young women and men suspected of being trafficked in transit to other countries. ISLAMABAD, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- The opposition parties in Pakistan on Thursday announced to field candidates for the office of the prime minister to challenge Imran Khan, whose Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaf party emerged as the single largest party in the July 25 elections. The National Assembly or the lower house of the parliament will elect the prime minister later this month. In view of the majority seats in the National Assembly, Imran Khan will be elected as the new prime minister of Pakistan, PTI spokesman Fawad Chaudhry said. But all opposition parties announced that they will field candidates for the office of the prime minister, speaker and deputy speaker in the National Assembly. PML-N leader Ahsan Iqbal said that opposition parties will field Shehbaz Sharif, the PML-N president, as their candidate against Imran Khan. Talking to reporters after the opposition meeting, Sherry Rehman, an opposition senator, said the opposition parties have formed a joint working committee to chalk out future strategy to give a tough time to the next government. She said the opposition parties will also field candidates for the speaker and deputy speaker of the National Assembly. The opposition leaders said they would continue protest against what they alleged "rigging" in the elections in and outside the parliament. However, they said they will remain part of the parliamentary system. Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-03 09:11:47|Editor: Shi Yinglun Video Player Close QUITO, Aug. 2 (Xinhua) -- Given the complexity of the diplomatic deadlock surrounding WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, it is impossible to "set a timeline or determine when a solution" might be found, Ecuadorian Foreign Affairs Minister Jose Valencia said Thursday. Assange has been holed up at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London since 2012. Ecuador granted the anti-secrecy activist political asylum and citizenship, but Britain has refused to give him safe passage to leave the country, threatening to arrest him should he step foot outside of the building. "The United Kingdom has not changed its position ... we are trying to do what we can so the matter moves along and we can reach an understanding," Valencia said in an interview with Radio Publica. "It's not a simple issue, it's very complicated ... and the complexity springs from the politics involved," he added. While earlier allegations of sexual misconduct, brought against Assange by Swedish prosecutors, have been dropped, Britain has an outstanding arrest warrant stemming from his violating bail terms by taking refuge at the Ecuadorian embassy. An eventual solution must take into account the concerns of all three parties involved: Ecuador, Britain and Assange, said Valencia. "We don't believe any side can individually make a decision and then say this is the solution to the problem. It's an extremely complicated issue with various players," Valencia said. Ecuador, as the country that granted Assange international protection, has to protect his rights, said the top diplomat. His comments come a day after the 47-year-old whistleblower, reportedly in ailing health, called on his native Australia to intervene on his behalf, fearing he may be ejected from the embassy. In February, a British court ruled that the arrest warrant against Assange was still valid, despite that the Swedish authorities no longer want to question him. Assange applied for asylum rather than travel to Sweden to face questioning because he believes the Swedish case was a ploy to have him extradited to the United States, where he stands to be indicted for releasing confidential U.S. government documents. "Those who demand Ecuador find a quick solution forget we have been dealing with this problem for six years," Valencia said. Speaking about Assange's health condition, Valencia said: "He is in an office that doesn't provide day-to-day living space and six years is a long time, and we are worried about that." YANGON, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- Myanmar and Thailand have signed a sister city agreement to link the Kayah state's capital of Loikaw with Thai province of Mae Hong Son for closer cooperation, the official Global New Light of Myanmar reported Friday. Speaking at the signing ceremony at Kayah state government office on Wednesday, the state's Chief Minister U L Phaung Sho expressed the state's desire to cooperate with Mae Hong Son in tourist, health and education sectors, calling for Thai investment in the state to benefit Loikaw. Mae Hong Son governor Sirirat Chamupakarn said that improvement will be made on Border Pass (BP)-13 temporary route linking Mae Hong Son and Loikaw which are similar in culture and tradition. The Myanmar side vowed to add an international check point between the two cities, calling on the Thai side to do the same. The two sides pledged to work for launching a seven-day trip plan starting November. Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-03 10:06:56|Editor: Shi Yinglun Video Player Close TRIPOLI, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- Libyan authorities announced the voluntary deportation of 164 illegal Nigerian migrants from Libya to their country later on Thursday, as part of the voluntary repatriation program of the International Organization for Migration (IOM). "An airplane took off from Mitiga international airport in Tripoli to the Nigerian capital Abuja's airport, carrying 164 illegal immigrants, including women and children," the Libyan anti-illegal immigration department said in a statement. The statement gave no further details. The IOM has deported more than 19,000 illegal immigrants from Libya to their home countries in 2017. The voluntary repatriation program is carried out by the IOM, with an aim to arrange the return of illegal migrants stranded in Libya to their countries of origin. Migrant shelters in Libya are crowded with thousands of migrants who have been rescued at sea or arrested by the Libyan security services. Libya has become a preferred departure point for illegal migrants hoping to cross the Mediterranean Sea into Europe due to insecurity and chaos in the North African country following the 2011 uprising that toppled former leader Muammar Gaddafi. Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-03 10:06:56|Editor: Shi Yinglun Video Player Close TRIPOLI, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) welcomed the municipal elections in the western city of Zawiya Friday, the first ones in the country this year. "UNSMIL congratulates the Municipal Council Central Election Committee on successfully concluding 2018's first elections in Libya with the swearing-in of the Zawiya Municipal Council and the election of the town's new mayor," the Mission said in a statement earlier on Friday. Zawiya is located some 40 km west of the capital Tripoli. It is Libya's fourth largest city. UNSMIL also calls for the support of this democratically-legitimized institution so that it can fulfill its roles and responsibilities to best serve the residents of Zawiya. The mandate has ended for the 2014-elected municipal councils in Libya. The municipal council election law requires a four-year non-renewable term. Libya has more than 100 municipalities representing different cities and regions of the country. CANBERRA, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- One of Australia's biggest supermarket chains Woolworths has been charged over the death of a man who was run over after falling asleep in a loading dock. The driver of a truck hit the 47-year-old man from Maningrida in the Northern Territory (NT) while leaving the loading dock of a Woolworths store in Darwin in October 2016. The driver was subcontracted to a Victorian-based transport and warehouse company. NT WorkSafe announced on Thursday night that both companies have been charged with failing to comply with a health and safety duty. "NT WorkSafe will allege Woolworths Ltd failed to implement a traffic management plan, despite knowing the loading dock was frequently used as a short cut by pedestrians and a resting place by itinerants," it said in a statement. "NT WorkSafe will allege Glen Cameron Nominees Pty Ltd failed to have and maintain an induction program for the driver or refresher training on an annual basis." The watchdog further alleged that Woolworths, the second-largest company in Australia, failed to provide a site induction for the driver. Both companies face a maximum penalty of 1.5 million Australian dollars (1.1 million U.S. dollars) if found guilty. Woolworths said in a statement that it was currently reviewing the matter, and as it is before the courts, "it would be inappropriate for us to make any further comment in relation to the tragic circumstances of this matter." The case has been listed for mention in the Darwin Local Court on Aug. 21. Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-03 11:12:10|Editor: Chengcheng Video Player Close by Xinhua writers Wang Haiqing, Xiong Maoling BEIJING, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping's recent visit to Africa is of great significance as it has injected new impetus for the development of African countries and promoted China-Africa cooperation of mutual benefit, said African politicians and scholars. In his first foreign trip after being re-elected as Chinese president, Xi paid state visits to the United Arab Emirates, Senegal, Rwanda, South Africa and a friendly visit to Mauritius during a stopover. He also attended the 10th BRICS summit in Johannesburg. During his visit, he discussed the development of bilateral ties with leaders of the four African countries, expounded on China's Africa policy on multilateral occasions, generated broader consensus on the friendship and unity between China and Africa and set in motion stronger driving force for China-Africa cooperation. Herman Musahara, a professor at the School of Economics at University of Rwanda, highlighted the significance of Xi's visit, saying that it elevates China-Africa ties in all areas and brings about opportunities for win-win cooperation between the two sides. Africa needs a reliable partner to help itself overcome the gap in infrastructure and industrialization and China is the perfect one, which can also use its own experiences to help Africa achieve economic development, said Musahara. A report by the AfricaNews TV, based in the Republic of Congo, said that Xi's Africa tour forged a closer high-level link between the two sides, which will allow China and Africa to have even closer cooperation in regional and international affairs. Macharia Munene, a professor of international relations at the United States International University-Kenya, said that Xi's visit has shown that China and Africa are having an increasing convergence of interests during their pursuit of common development. On the political front, the two sides have stood together to tackle various global challenges; on the economic front, China, as the world's second largest economy, is strengthening economic and trade ties with African countries, the Kenyan professor said. During his visit, Xi and his African hosts have seen the signing of some 40 cooperation documents, including major projects that would benefit the peoples on both sides. Kader Diop, a professor at the journalism school of Dakar University, said China's aid to Africa has not been limited to one particular country, but eyes the overall development of Africa. During Xi's visit, Senegal became the first West African country to have signed a Belt and Road cooperation document with China, and this, according to Diop, will greatly promote the implementation of the Plan for an Emerging Senegal (PES). The PES is a development model established by the Senegalese government to guide the country's economic and social policy over the mid-and long-term. Gerishon Ikiara, an international economics lecturer at the University of Nairobi, said that African countries have made remarkable achievements on economic development thanks to their deepened cooperation with China. These stories of success manifested the positive results of the joint efforts on Belt and Road cooperation, he said. "China is a sincere partner for most of African countries," said Ismael Buchanan, Dean of the School of Economics and Governance at the University of Rwanda, who recognized China's long-time support of Rwanda and Africa. China will play an important role in protecting the overall interest of developing countries, pushing forward the social and economic development of Africa and safeguarding the security and stability of sub-Saharan Africa, Buchanan said. "President Xi's visit has immensely benefited African countries," said Aly Diouf, an expert on China-Africa relations with Senegalese newspaper Le Soleil (The Sun in English). This year is an important year for the development of China-Africa relationship. Not long after Xi's Africa tour, the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) will take place in September. African communities expect the summit to roll out new measures and create new opportunities for further strengthening of all-round China-Africa cooperation. Raphael Tuju, secretary general of Kenya's ruling Jubilee Party, said he hopes China would shift some of the labor-intensive industries to African countries, and propel the industrialization of the continent. "It is crucial for the country to engage with China and grow our industrial sector that is key to prosperity and job creation for unemployed youth," Tuju told Xinhua. Rwandan scholar Ladislas Ngendahimana said he believes the upcoming summit provides a perfect platform for Africa and China to enhance cooperation. Xi's visit has brought more opportunities for Chinese investment seeking to enter Africa, and could help create jobs in the continent and promote its economic transition, Ngendahimana said. "FOCAC is the main platform for China's engagement with Africa," said Cobus van Staden, researcher at South African Institute of International Affairs. "I expect the Belt and Road Initiative to play a big role in this year's FOCAC summit," said Staden. Noting that Xi's Africa visit gave an idea of what is to come in the next few months, Charles Onunaiju, director of the Center for China Studies in Nigeria's capital Abuja, said the diplomatic tour proved that China attaches great importance to China-Africa cooperation. "It gives Africa an international partner that it has never witnessed in her long history," he said. (Xinhua reporters Zhu Shaobin, Wang Xiaopeng in Nairobi, Lyv Tianran in Kigali, Jingjing in Johannesburg, Wen Hao in Port Louis, Zhang Baoping in Abuja and Xing Jianqiao in Dakar also contributed to the report.) HAVANA, Aug. 2 (Xinhua) -- Leaders of Colombia's National Liberation Army (ELN) guerrilla group reiterated their willingness here on Thursday to continue the peace process with Colombia's incoming government. During a press conference in Havana, Pablo Beltran, the ELN's head negotiator, said most Colombians wanted the talks and the rebels were willing to take part in a seventh round with the new administration of conservative president-elect Ivan Duque. Colombia's President Juan Manuel Santos, who won a Nobel Peace Prize for reaching a peace deal with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) in November 2016, will conclude his term on Aug. 7. While talks so far between the Santos administration and the ELN have not led to a bilateral ceasefire, both sides agree important progress was made. Aureliano Carbonell, head of a civil society group in the peace talks, said during the sixth round, which concluded on Wednesday, the two sides agreed to include the opinions of ordinary people in the debate. The process aims to ensure that the people's voice is heard when it comes to issues of democracy, the peace process and the treatment of victims of the conflict, which had lasted more than half a century. Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-03 11:52:18|Editor: mmm Video Player Close HAVANA, Aug. 2 (Xinhua) -- The Cuban government Thursday announced amendments to its foreign investment law in a bid to make it easier for foreign companies to conduct business on the Caribbean island. The new law, which will take effect on Sept. 1, simplifies procedures to approve a project, Deborah Rivas, a senior official of the Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment Ministry, told reporters at a press conference. "It is another step in speeding up the negotiation process to increase the entry of foreign investment to Cuba," Rivas said. The government will have to do more to attract capital if the amendments alone don't spur investment, Rivas said. Cuba passed a foreign investment law in 2014 which has brought capital to tourism, mining and other industries. However, investors have complained about the slow pace of project evaluation and approval. In December 2016, former Cuban President Raul Castro criticized "the excessive delays of the negotiating process," and urged lawmakers to "overcome the obsolete mentality full of prejudice against foreign investment." In June, his successor, Miguel Diaz-Canel, called for greater creativity and agility in approving business proposals "without harming our sovereignty." The government estimates that to boost economic growth, Cuba needs to attract some 2.5 billion U.S. dollars a year in foreign direct investment, mainly in 15 key sectors, including industry, tourism, agrifood, mining, biotechnology, oil and renewable energy. Cuba's investment portfolio currently comprises some 456 projects worth 10.7 billion dollars, most within its fledgling special economic zone of Mariel, about 40 km west of Havana. Mariel features a modern container terminal capable of handling today's post-Panamax cargo ships. The terminal is run by Singapore-based PSA International, a leading global port administrator. By developing Mariel port, Cuba hopes to become an important manufacturing and shipping hub in the Caribbean. Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-03 12:02:20|Editor: mmm Video Player Close SYDNEY, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- Australian farmers are desperate for hay to feed their livestock as a severe drought in the nation's east continues. Prices for hay have tripled and growers say they are unable to keep up with demand, receiving requests for feed from much further afield than usual. "Feed supplies at the moment are really short, we're talking about very very low supplies of hay," Feed Central general manager Tim Ford told Xinhua on Friday. "Any surplus stock across the country has been purchased by people who have very hungry livestock." Drawing hay from thousands of kilometers away compared to what is usually only a couple of hundred kilometers, means the added cost of freight is making hay even more expensive for farmers. "We've drawn hay from all over the country and more or less exhausted supply from all over the country," Ford said. The drought has continued for longer than anyone expected and farmers say they are getting increasingly desperate to keep their animals alive with reports of livestock being fed cotton seeds, orange peels and even watermelons. Looking towards the future, farmers are holding out hope that the rain will come, with most not unfamiliar to existing in Australia's drought conditions. "Australia has a history of very severe drought so our farmers are very resilient," Ford said. "With a long history of drought like this, our farmers find a way to cope." Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-03 12:32:24|Editor: mmm Video Player Close TRIPOLI, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) said Thursday it held a joint working session to discuss securing the upcoming Libyan elections scheduled for the end of this year. "UNSMIL facilitated a joint meeting in UN Tripoli and Tunis HQs, bringing the international community together with the High National Elections Commissions (HNEC) Libya and the Libyan Ministry of Interior, to discuss the necessary provisions for election security," the mission said in a statement. The mission gave no further details on the specific plan to secure the elections. Paris in May hosted a meeting on Libya with the participation of different Libyan parties to end the political crisis. The parties agreed to hold and commit themselves to "credible" presidential and parliamentary elections slated for Dec. 10. Despite a UN-sponsored political agreement signed in December 2015, Libya remains politically divided between rival authorities in the east and west of the country, both competing for legitimacy. Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-03 12:47:26|Editor: mmm Video Player Close VIENTIANE, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- The Lao government is racheting up the provision of urgent relief and assistance to those left homeless after the recent flood caused by the failure of an auxiliary dam at the Xe-Pian Xe-Namnoy hydropower plant. The process of relief distribution and other assistance is being carried out transparently to avoid public complaints as well as ensuring that all services are accessible, local state-run daily Vientiane Times reported on Friday. Since the dam wall burst on July 23, more than 100 people have remained missing and several thousands are taking shelter in schools, village offices and community clubs. In response to the tragedy, the Lao government has formed a special taskforce committee led by Deputy Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone. The taskforce is made up of committee members from line ministries and Attapeu authorities and is working to provide assistance as quickly as possible. Sonexay on Thursday met with the committee members in Sanamxay district to hear about the progress of the relief effort and activities related to the provision of shelters, healthcare units, food, and sanitation for people now housed in temporary shelters in the district. The deputy prime minister advised district authorities to ascertain the precise number of people living in each temporary camp and said the authorities should not allow people to return home or start cleaning up their houses so as to avoid the outbreak of any water-borne diseases. "Right now, we should focus on providing clean food, hygienic toilets and other essential items for the affected villagers. All short-term shelters and other services should be provided with the same standard and quality to ensure the well-being of our people," Sonexay said. He stressed that clean drinking water and boiled water was a priority for people housed in the shelters and that medicines should be accessible by those in need of healthcare. The deputy prime minister also called on the officials in charge of distributing relief supplies to ensure transparency in their dealings and to keep accurate records and a clear accounting system. Governor of Attapeu province Leth Xayaphone said "Officials should be always on duty as assistants to distribute relief items. All assigned officials should be responsible and there is no reason to skip the given assignments unless there is a substitute on standby". Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-03 12:47:26|Editor: mmm Video Player Close BEIJING, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese mainland spokesperson Friday reiterated the country's opposition against any official and military contact between the United States and Taiwan. The Taiwan issue, vital for China's sovereignty and territorial integrity, remains the most important and sensitive issue between China and the United States, said Ma Xiaoguang, spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council. Ma was commenting on the U.S. National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019, passed by the U.S. Senate on Aug. 1, which endorses strengthening defense ties with Taiwan. Bringing in foreign interference in cross-Strait issues will only lead to more tension and unrest in the region and further complicate cross-Strait relations, Ma said. Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-03 12:52:28|Editor: mmm Video Player Close Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi (R) meets with Federica Mogherini (L), the high representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Council in Singapore, Aug. 3, 2018. (Xinhua/Then Chih Wey) SINGAPORE, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- China and the European Union (EU) agreed here on Friday to join hands to promote multilateralism and support free trade. The agreement came as Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with Federica Mogherini, the high representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Council on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) foreign ministers' meeting and related meetings. Wang said the leaders of China and EU had held successful talks in Beijing not long ago and the two sides reached consensus on safeguarding the rule-based multilateral trade system and resisting trade protectionism and unilateralism. Facing the uncertainty and instability in the international situation, timely enhancing strategic communication and cooperation between China and EU, two forces for stabilization, and firmly support multilateralism as well as international rules are not only in the line of the interests of the two sides, but also conducive to maintaining world peace and stability. For her part, Mogherini said EU and China are long-term friends. EU treats China as a major and key strategic partner and will not adopt any policy against China, Mogherini said. EU stands with China in promoting multilateralism and supporting free trade, said she, adding that EU is willing to further enhance strategic communication and cooperation with China. During their meeting, the two sides also exchanged views on the Iran nuclear issue. VIENTIANE, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- The extent of the losses and damage caused by flooding in Sanamxay district of southern Laos' Attapeu province, is clearly vast, although a final assessment has not yet been made, local daily Vientiane Times reported on Friday. The flash flood, which was caused by the collapse of an auxiliary dam at the under-construction Xe-Pian Xe-Namnoy hydropower plant, destroyed six villages on July 23. The disaster, the biggest to have occurred in Laos in decades, affected many more villages shortly afterwards as the torrent of water cascaded down the Xe Pian River. Initial surveys suggested that all the farmland in the six villages, a total of 1,998 hectares, has been completely destroyed, said the report, adding that more than 12,000 animals were lost as well as more than 19,000 chickens and other fowl, while 280 fishponds were damaged. The flood affected farmland in 19 villages, but no detailed survey has been carried out as yet, said the report. The losses and damage in relation to houses, offices, vehicles, infrastructure, communication networks and other property have also not been assessed. "The priorities at the moment are to search for and rescue the remaining missing people, and the relief, assistance and rehabilitation of the people affected," provincial Deputy Governor Ounlar Xayasith told Vientiane Times. As of Wednesday, 13 people were confirmed dead while 118 people are still missing. More than 6,000 people have been left homeless and are sheltering at schools and temporary camps. Authorities in charge plan to carry out a comprehensive survey to collect information concerning the losses and damage caused by the disaster, said the report. Video clips and photos showed that houses, buildings, infrastructure, communication networks and other facilities had been severely damaged by the flood, especially in the six most affected villages, with the area now a sea of mud. Sonexay Siphandone, deputy prime minister and chairman of the National Ad Hoc Committee in charge of dealing with the aftermath of the disaster, told officials to collect information on the damage and losses incurred. He said villagers who had lost their homes and other property should be given special compensation given that the disaster was caused by a fracture in the dam wall. In the longer term, the relevant departments are told to draw up plans to rehabilitate and reconstruct communities to enable displaced villagers to return to their normal lives. On July 23, a saddle dam of the Xe-Pian Xe-Namnoy hydroelectric power project, invested by South Korean, Thai and Lao companies, burst, unleashing 5 billion cubic meters of water from the mountain to 13 villages of Sanamxay district downstream the Xe Pian River, some 560 km southeast of Vientiane. Six villages were almost submerged by the muddy flood with 13,000 villagers being affected. Afghan army frees 61 from 2 Taliban prisons Source: Xinhua 2018-08-03 13:12:31 KABUL, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- The Afghan National Army waged a special operation and freed 61 people from two Taliban prisons in the country's southern province of Helmand on Thursday night, the Afghan Defense Ministry said Friday. Editor: Shi Yinglun NEW DELHI, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- At least six workers have been killed after a crane collapsed at a construction site in southern Indian state of Karnataka, police said Friday. The accident occurred in the state's Kalaburagi district. "The crane suddenly collapsed at the under-construction cement factory Thursday night. While six workers were killed on the spot, one injured has been hospitalized," a police official said. A probe has been ordered into the incident, he added. KABUL, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- The Afghan National Army (ANA) waged a special operation and freed 61 people from two Taliban prisons in the country's southern province of Helmand Thursday night, Afghan Defense Ministry said Friday. "Acting on a confirmed tip-off, ANA commandos launched a raid against two Taliban prisons in Helmand's Kajaki district, releasing 61 people from Taliban custody," the ministry said in a statement. Upon arrival of the troops, the insurgents engaged with the security forces and the gunfight left two insurgents dead while seven Taliban were arrested after the commandos secured the site. The freed people and the seven arrestees were shifted to an army base after the raid, the statement added. On July 17, 58 people, including 19 Afghan security force members, were freed in another similar operation in Helmand. The province, 555 km south of Kabul and notorious for poppy growing, is also a known Taliban stronghold. The Taliban has intensified armed attacks against security forces across the country since April 25 when the Taliban's yearly rebel offensive started. ULAN BATOR, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- Mongolia is ready to work with Australia to expand bilateral cooperation and ties in a wide range of areas, including politics, economy, trade and culture, Mongolian Foreign Minister Damdin Tsogtbaatar said here Friday. Tsogtbaatar made the remarks when meeting with Australian Ambassador to Mongolia John Langtry. During the meeting, the two sides agreed to increase high-level contacts and exchanges in all areas, and further enhance people-to-people contact between Mongolia and Australia, the Mongolian Foreign Ministry said in a statement. They also agreed to hold an annual consultative meeting of ministries of foreign affairs between the two countries in September in Ulan Bator in order to discuss ways to strengthen bilateral cooperation, according to the statement. The first consultative meeting of ministries of foreign affairs between the two countries was held in 2014 in the Mongolian capital. This year marks the 46th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two countries. Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-03 14:22:40|Editor: Chengcheng Video Player Close BEIJING, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- The number of shared bikes in the Chinese capital has dropped by about 20 percent from a peak period last year, according to the Beijing Municipal Commission of Transport. Now Beijing has 1.91 million bikes, down about 20 percent from a peak of 2.35 million in September, the commission said. From January to June this year, Beijing's shared bikes posted 1.42 million users every day and nine shared bike operators clocked a total mileage of 400 million kilometers, it said. Starting from September, Beijing introduced measures to take redundant shared bikes off the street and regulate the industry to restore traffic order. The Beijing transport commission said no new bikes will be allowed on the street. Companies will be required to take damaged or idle bikes off the street regularly. An online bike supervision platform is under construction and will be put to use by year end. The commission is also devising a regulation on supervising the services of bike operators. China's bike-sharing market has grown rapidly over the past few years as part of a booming digital economy. Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-03 15:42:53|Editor: ZX Video Player Close SHANGHAI, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- For Eyup Erdogan, China isn't just a place to study. It's a place to build his future career. "My father pushed me to go to China before I entered college. He said the sooner the better," said the 23-year-old Turkish student. The ties between China and Erdogan's family have been built for two generations. Erdogan came to China five years ago, carrying his father's hope and his own dreams. The Erdogan family runs a sizable family business, offering one of the best cookware brands in Turkey. Eyup's father, Ahmet Erol Erdogan, sensed potential business opportunities during a three-month trip to China 30 years ago, when he visited several coastal cities, including Shanghai, Ningbo and Guangzhou. During his trip, he purchased 150 containers of porcelain and 50 containers of enamel plates and shipped them back to Turkey. These kitchen products from China turned out to be extremely popular in Turkey. Later, the senior Erdogan also started selling Turkish cookware in China. The younger Erdogan, now a student and also an entrepreneur, is following in his father's footsteps, carrying out cross-border trade between China and Turkey. "When I was younger, Turkish companies mostly imported products from China. But as China transitions to a consumer economy, I think Turkish products will find more opportunities here," he said. After graduating from high school, Erdogan applied for admission to three universities in China, eventually choosing New York University Shanghai (NYU Shanghai), China's first Sino-American joint research university, located near Shanghai's financial center of Lujiazui. "Only in China can I take part in the leading economy and start my own international business," he said. He was assigned a Chinese roommate, a cheerful Beijinger named Yan Yayuan. They built a friendship and trust and set up a company together, an endeavor they describe as "the Silk Road in the dorm room." "Eyup didn't know how to speak Chinese at first, so I would order food delivery for him and teach him how to buy things from e-commerce site Taobao.com," said Yan. "We have become brothers." In his sophomore year, a relative who wanted to order dental hygiene products from China contacted the younger Erdogan and asked him to visit factories in Guangzhou to check the products. Erdogan went on a business trip to Guangzhou with Yan. After coming back, they were both impressed by the huge trading potential between China and Turkey. "We soon decided to set up a bridge for trade between the two countries and other Belt and Road countries," said Yan. "Made-in-China products have a huge market in Turkey, while Turkish products are aiming to enter the Chinese market as well," said Erdogan. With help from the Consulate General of Turkey in Shanghai and NYU Shanghai, they found a legal service company and shipping company to take charge of procedures, including import and export documentation and the shipping process. In April of last year, just ahead of graduation, they set up MEYIX Shanghai Trading Co., Ltd. in Shanghai. The firm helps connect Turkish buyers and companies in Qingdao and Guangzhou, helping to export Chinese textiles and accessories to Turkey. The two make field trips to factories and test products every time they get a new order. They work feverishly, but also pleasantly, juggling study and business. "We have finished five to six orders and achieved revenue of about 200,000 U.S. dollars," said Erdogan. "We know it's still a small business, but we are building up relations with partners in China and Turkey to have a solid start." The two are eyeing expansion of their business to medical products. Their market research showed that there is huge demand for fast drug test kits because of the anti-drug movement in Turkey. "We are applying for a license to export a drug test kit to Turkey. The products from China are easy to use with a reasonable price," said Erdogan. After graduating from NYU Shanghai, Erdogan entered Shanghai Advanced Institute of Finance for his post graduate studies, and Yan went for further studies at New York University. Although they are now in different countries, they still keep in touch each day and handle business together. Their next mission is to bring more Turkish products to China. "Due to fierce competition here, the cookware from my family's business is not on sale in China right now. But we are still looking for opportunities to import Turkish products to China again," he said. According to TurkStat, Turkey's exports to China reached 2.94 billion U.S. dollars in 2017, up 26.3 percent year on year. Its trade deficit with China declined 11.4 percent. "I will stay in Shanghai after I get my master's degree and expand our business," said Erdogan. "We want our company MEYIX to be the first name that pops up when people want to do trade between China and Turkey, and other Belt and Road countries." Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-03 16:33:05|Editor: ZX Video Player Close URUMQI, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- Fishing in Ulunggur Lake, one of the largest fishing bases in Altay Prefecture, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region has started after a four-month fishing ban ended Tuesday. Located in the northernmost region of Xinjiang, Altay covers 118,000 square kilometers. The region has 1,271 square kilometers of fishable water and 35 fish species, of which six are included on a wild life protection list. Since last year, the region has imposed a fishing ban to ensure the sustainable development of local fishing. During the ban, all markets, hotels and restaurants were banned from selling and processing wild fish. According to the local fishery department, any illegal fishing that could damage the local fishing resources will be punished despite the ban being lifted. Altay Prefecture is a major tourist destinations in Xinjiang, known for the Kanas Lake. The region drew 1.86 million visitors in 2017, according to a regional development report. NEW DELHI, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- In a bid to encourage young left-wing rebels to rejoin the society, the government in the eastern Indian state of Odisha has decided to impart skill development training to surrendered Naxalites. Officials said the state government has even relaxed the academic criterion for the surrendered Naxalites so that they can get skill development training and in turn be ready for jobs to earn a livelihood. "The state government has already set up five Industrial Training Institutes and 10 Skill Development Centres in Naxalite-affected districts," the state's top skill development official Sanjay Singh told the media. Another senior official said Friday that the "move to relax eligibility norms is aimed at rehabilitating almost all rebels who are willing to give up arms and return to the mainstream of the society so that they can lead a happy family life." Odisha is among the seven Indian states hit by Naxalite violence, but of late some rebels are giving up arms before the police. The rebels say they are fighting for land rights for tribal people and the rural poor. Their insurgency began in the eastern state of West Bengal in late 1960s, spreading to more than one-third of India's administrative districts. Hit-and-run attacks are still common, though major offensives by security forces have pushed the rebels back to their forest strongholds and the levels of violence have fallen in recent years. Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-03 16:58:14|Editor: ZX Video Player Close HEFEI, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- As China enters its hottest and most humid period of the year, more people are turning to a traditional Chinese therapy -- not to escape the heat, but to brace for the winter. Sanfutie, a therapy that dates back to the Qing Dynasty (1636 A.D.- 1912 A.D.), is believed to be capable of reducing the risk of diseases that emerge or worsen in winter. The word Sanfutie means "Sanfu plaster." Sanfu refers to the hottest 30 days of a year, usually lasting from mid-July to mid-August. In the system of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), the period is considered the best time to receive Sanfutie treatment. "There were only 500 to 600 people coming for the treatment when I first joined the hospital in 2008," said Wu Bingkun, a TCM specialist at a hospital in Hefei, capital of east China's Anhui Province. "Today, the therapy is available almost everywhere, even in some community clinics," said Wu. "This summer, nearly 15,000 people have signed up for Sanfutie treatment in the hospital." During each session, Wu plasters credit card-sized medicated patches on the back of a patient and keeps them there for around 20 to 30 minutes. "The patches are placed on various acupuncture points on the body," said Wu. "For example, we stick one on the bottom of the neck if the patient is prone to respiratory problems such as asthma during the winter." The medicine in the Sanfutie is thought to be able to mitigate the cold and dampness that lurks in the body and causes illness during the winter. The hot summer is considered in TCM the period when the human body has the most "yang energy," which can help enhance the effect of the medicine. "My grandson often catches colds in the winter. We tried the therapy last year, and it was quite effective," said Dong Gongxi, who brought his seven-year-old grandson for the therapy for a second year. Curing cold weather-related disease during the summer is a notion promoted in TCM, and it reflects the philosophy of preventing disease over treating it, according to Wei Fuliang, a TCM professor in the Anhui hospital. "Though modern medicine has been developing rapidly, the traditional treatment is still favored by many Chinese people," said Wei. Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-03 17:08:15|Editor: mmm Video Player Close Nepali Minister for Education, Science and Technology Giriraj Mani Pokhrel (L) and Chinese Ambassador Yu Hong (R) attend the ceremony of reconstruction project of historical Durbar High School (Bhanu Secondary School) at Ranipokhari,Kantipath in Kathmandu, Nepal, August 3, 2018. (Xinhua/Sunil Sharma) KATHMANDU, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- The reconstruction of Nepal's oldest modern school -- Bhanu Secondary School, which was severely damaged by the massive 2015 earthquake, has begun with Chinese assistance. Nepali Minister for Education, Science and Technology Giriraj Mani Pokhrel and Chinese Ambassador Yu Hong jointly launched reconstruction of the historic building at Ranipokhari in the capital Kathmandu on Friday. The building of the school, widely known as Durbar High School, is one of the 25 quake-damaged projects that China has agreed to help reconstruct. The school, established in 1853, was shifted to the current location in 1891. After a 7.8-magnitude earthquake hit the Himalayan country in 2015, the Nepali government had made an arrangement to teach the students at make-shift shelters within the school premises. The students have been taking their classes at a nearby public college over the past month after the school building was demolished for reconstruction. Before the devastating quake, the building was housing two schools -- Durbar High School and Sanskrit Secondary School with around 500 students, according to the school administrations. Bhisma Raj Khatri, who came to study at Durbar High School this year from the eastern hilly district of Panchthar, had to study at the make-shift shelter before being shifted to the college building. "I am thrilled that I would be able to study at the modern building to be constructed soon," Khatri told Xinhua. Since the quake damaged the Durbar High School building, the students have difficulties in finding adequate space for accommodation. Shankar K.C, a tenth-grader at Sanskrit Secondary School, recalled the days when they used to squabble for space at the make-shift buildings. China's Shanghai Construction Group has been contracted to reconstruct the building within the next 20 months. Chinese Ambassador Yu said China would build a safe and attractive building blended with traditional features, and expressed the hope that it would remain as a symbol of friendly relations between the two countries. SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 2 (Xinhua) -- San Francisco Mayor London Breed and California Assemblyman David Chiu Thursday joined immigrant advocacy groups to urge the city's residents to oppose U.S. President Donald Trump's administration for its plans to question citizenship status in a national census in 2020. During a tour to Chinatown in downtown San Francisco, Breed and Chiu called on the city's residents to participate in the public comment period for the 2020 Census in which Trump's administration plans to include a question about citizenship status on the upcoming census. "The Trump administration wants to weaponize the Census to intentionally under-count minority and immigrant populations," said Mayor London Breed. "It is anti-Democratic, un-American, and fundamentally unjust. The time for action is now," said the first African-American female mayor of San Francisco, who took office on June 13. The Commerce Department, which administers the nationwide head count every 10 years, said in March that it would place the citizenship status issue on the upcoming census, and some federal officials claimed they needed the information to enforce voting rights laws. But California officials insisted that the government's move would lead to an undercount in the state, which is home to a large number of foreign-born immigrants, who may be scared off from the upcoming census. Experts and demographers, including the Census Bureau's own researchers, have also predicted that the inclusion of a citizenship question could decrease census participation among undocumented immigrants, documented immigrants, and others in their households and networks. Chiu, a Democrat in the California State Assembly representing the 17th Assembly District, which encompasses the eastern half of San Francisco, slammed the Trump Administration's "attempt to use the census, which is traditionally a non-partisan function of government, as a tool for political gain," which he said is unethical and illegal. "Everyone who cares about living in a free and fair democracy should raise their voice and oppose the citizenship question," he said. A significant undercount in diverse states like California and hard-to-count urban centers like San Francisco will lead to an extraordinary loss in federal funding and result in inaccurate and inequitable representation at the federal, state, and local levels of government, supporters of the immigrant advocacy groups said. An undercount in the 2020 Census would also negatively impact private businesses and the healthcare industry, which rely on accurate federal government data, they said. Multiple lawsuits across the country have been filed against the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Commerce challenging the legality of the citizenship question. California and San Francisco have also taken similar legal action against the issue. Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-03 17:48:24|Editor: Xiang Bo Video Player Close ISTANBUL, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- Turkish police on Friday detained 38 foreigners in Istanbul for their suspected links to the Islamic State (IS), local media reported. According to the state-run Anadolu Agency, Turkey's counter-terrorism units launched simultaneous operations at 12 different locations in the city to capture the suspects who were believed to have been planning terror attacks. Police also seized a large number of organizational documents and digital materials in the raids, the report added. Over 300 people have lost their lives in the attacks over the years that were blamed on the IS. Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-03 18:13:29|Editor: Xiang Bo Video Player Close ADEN, Yemen, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- Gunmen suspected of belonging to the Yemen-based al-Qaida branch attacked a military base of newly-recruited Yemeni troops in the southern port city of Abyan on Friday, a security official told Xinhua. The security source, who pleaded to be anonymous, said that a group of gunmen, carrying sophisticated weapons, tried to storm a Yemeni military base backed by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in Mahfad area of Abyan province. He said that rocket-propelled grenades were used in the pre-dawn attack, causing an unknown number of casualties. The Yemeni soldiers positioned around the military base confronted and repulsed the armed attack following one hour of fire exchanging, according to the source. Yemeni army units backed by the UAE launched several anti-terror operations against strongholds of the al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) in Abyan and other surrounding areas. AQAP carries out sporadic attacks against UAE-backed Yemeni soldiers that established a number of military bases in Abyan to combat al-Qaida. The AQAP network mostly operating in eastern and southern provinces, has been responsible for many high-profile attacks against security forces in the country. The U.S. military has carried out several airstrikes against AQAP fighters in different provinces of the war-torn Arab country since U.S President Donald Trump approved expanded military operations against the group. That included intensified overnight airstrikes and ground military raids against the al-Qaida hideouts in the mountainous areas of al-Bayda and southeastern province of Shabwa. The Yemen-based al-Qaida branch, seen by the United States as the global terror network's most dangerous branch, has exploited years of deadly conflict between Yemen's government and Houthi rebels to expand its presence, especially in southeastern provinces. Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-03 18:34:13|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close British ambassador to the United Nations Karen Pierce, whose country holds the Security Council presidency for the month of August, briefs journalists on the Council's programme of work for the month, at the UN headquarters in New York, Aug. 1, 2018. (Xinhua/Li Muzi) Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-03 18:28:33|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close LUSAKA, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- Zambian President Edgar Lungu on Thursday expressed deep sorrow for those who died following the massive outbreak of wildfires in the Greek capital Athens. In a message of condolence sent to Greece President Prokopis Pavlopoulos following the recent wild fires that have killed 90 people and seriously injured 200 others, the Zambian leader said he commiserates with the people of Greece during the trying and tragic moment and hopes that God will provide fortitude and solace to the bereaved families. "On behalf of the government, the people of Zambia and indeed on my own behalf, I wish to convey our heartfelt condolences to your excellency and the people of the Hellenic Republic on the tragic incident," he said in a statement released by his office. Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-03 18:33:35|Editor: ZX Video Player Close BEIJING, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- China hopes Japan will translate positive remarks on improving relations with China into actions, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Friday. Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) foreign ministers' meeting and related meetings Thursday. According to reports, Kono said that Japan is pleased that the development of Japan-China relations is on the right track and steady progress has been made in economic cooperation. Kono also said his country is willing to make further efforts to implement consensus between the leaders of the two countries and to create a favorable foundation for the continuous improvement of bilateral relations. Spokesperson Geng Shuang told a news briefing that China hoped Japan would do more to improve China-Japan relations as well as promote bilateral ties so they develop on the right track. Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-03 18:48:39|Editor: ZX Video Player Close Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi (R) meets with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif in Singapore, Aug. 3, 2018. (Xinhua/Then Chih Wey) SINGAPORE, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- Visiting Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said here on Friday that China is willing to work with all parties to continue safeguarding the Iran nuclear deal. Wang made the remarks while meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) foreign ministers' meeting and related meetings. Whether the implementation of the Iran nuclear deal, fully known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), can be continued or not has aroused the attention of the international community, Wang said. It has brought a new risk to and posed a new challenge for the situation in the Middle East, he said. "China always holds the view that JCPOA is a multilateral deal which is verified and approved by the Untied Nations Security Council and accords the common interests of all parties and the international community, which must be respected and safeguarded so as to maintain the authority of the United Nations, the effectiveness of multilateral deals and the credibility of the international rules." For this end, China is willing to enhance communication and cooperation with all parties including Iran and do best to continue safeguarding the deal in a bid to maintain peace and stability in the region and the world at large. For his part, Zarif said Iran and China are strategic partners and China has played an important role in the hammering out and implementation of JCPOA. Iran is willing to continue safeguarding and implementing the deal and will continue to work with the parties concerned including China and European countries, the Iranian foreign minister said. The United States has unilaterally announced its pullout from the deal and also threatened to restart unilateral sanctions on Iran, which violates the related resolutions of the United Nations and is opposed by all parties, Zarif noted. The Iranian foreign minister hoped that the United States would listen to the voices of the international community and reverse its wrongdoings, Zarif added. ISLAMABAD, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- Officials in northern Pakistan said on Friday that miscreants attacked nearly 12 girls schools, causing damages of their buildings. No one was injured as the schools were closed during the overnight attacks. The attackers blew up at two schools while others were torched and ransacked in Diamer District in Gilgit-Baltistan region late Thursday, a major town in northern Pakistan, officials said. A district spokesman said the miscreants burnt several under construction and some recently built schools. TV footage showed damages to several buildings. It was unclear as to who were behind the attacks and officials in the region said they have started investigation of the incident. Previously Taliban militants were involved in attacks on schools in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. But this is the first time schools in northern areas, relatively peaceful region, came under the attack. Officials said police on Friday launched search operation to apprehend the culprits. In 2013, Taliban militants had killed nine foreign tourists in a deadly attack in Diamer district. MAIMANA, Afghanistan, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- At least three policemen were killed and three others wounded when militants loyal to the Taliban attacked police checkpoints in Afghanistan's northern province of Faryab, an official said Friday. "The incident took place Thursday night in Shirin Tagab district, north of provincial capital Maimana city," Mohammad Tahir Rahmani, head of the provincial council, told Xinhua. Rahmani confirmed the death of three police personnel and injury of three others, during the militants' offensive, which resulted in the collapse of three security checkpoints and seizure of an armored Humvee military vehicle by the insurgents. Abdul Mateen Yourush, the provincial police spokesman, also confirmed the clash, but didn't comment about the causalities. However the provincial council head assured the security posts have been retaken by joint Afghan army and police forces operation early Friday morning. Violence has escalated in the previously peaceful northern region over a last few years as Afghan security forces push against the militants in the south and east. The Taliban militant group has yet to make comments on the report. Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-03 19:18:44|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close BAGHDAD, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- Twelve Islamic State (IS) militants were killed during an overnight operation to hunt down the extremist militants in Iraq's central province of Salahudin, a provincial security source said on Friday. A joint force from Iraqi army, police and paramilitary Hashd Shaabi fighters launched an operation late on Thursday night designed to clear IS militants in Es'haqi area in southwest of the city of Samarra, some 120 km north of the Iraqi capital Baghdad, Sabir Ali Hussein from Samarra Operations Command told Xinhua. Acting on intelligence reports, the troops attacked IS hideout in the area and killed 12 of the extremist militants, including four suicide bombers wearing explosive belts, Hussein said. The security situation in Iraq has been dramatically improved after Iraqi security forces fully defeated the extremist IS militants across the country late in 2017. However, small groups and individuals of extremist militants melted or regrouped in urban and rugged areas, and are carrying out attacks against the security forces and civilians despite operations from time to time to hunt them down. ULAN BATOR, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- Mongolia needs to better protect its little forest, and it wants to learn how to do so from Russia, the country's parliament's press office said Friday. Byambasuren Enkh-Amgalan, a Mongolian parliament member and deputy head of the Mongolia-Russia group made the remarks while meeting with a visiting Russian delegation led by Sergey Lugovskoy, speaker of the Legislative Duma of Khabarovsk Krai (province). "Mongolia has low forestry resources. So we are willing to learn from Khabarovsk Krai's experience in protecting forestry resources, and closely cooperate in this area," he said. Mongolia's total land area is 1,564,116 square km, 7.7 percent of which is covered by forests, according to the country's Environment and Tourism Ministry. During the meeting, the two sides exchanged views on expanding overall relations between Mongolia and Russia, particularly cooperation between Ulan Bator city and Khabarovsk Krai, the parliament said in a statement. Enkh-Amgalan stressed that Mongolia and Russia should implement certain measures, including promoting public-private partnerships between the two countries and creating more opportunities for small and medium-sized enterprises to advertise and sell their goods. Also, he invited Khabarovsk Krai businessmen and companies from the fields of meat and meat products, leather, wool and cashmere, fish products, wooden materials and oil to participate in the Mongolia-Russia Cooperation Forum in Ulan Bator in September. Lugovskoy, for his part, said the Russian government attaches great importance to boosting its relations with Mongolia across the board. Lugovskoy said it was important that ties expand in trade, culture and youth exchanges, adding that Russia is ready to work closely with Mongolia to bolster relations. WELLINGTON, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- Australia and New Zealand trade ministers met in Auckland on Friday to strengthen trans-Tasman economic links under the two countries' Closer Economic Relations Trade Agreement (CER). Australian Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment Steven Ciobo and New Zealand Minister for Trade and Export Growth David Parker noted the strong trade and commercial links and special relationship between Australia and New Zealand, and underscored the effectiveness of the CER in demonstrating the advantages of liberalized trade, said a statement of the meeting. Two-way trade between the two countries totaled 29.9 billion NZ dollars (20.1 billion U.S. dollars) in 2017, with two-way investment reaching 161.5 billion NZ dollars (108.7 billion U.S. dollars), it said. The ministers rejected protectionism and agreed on the importance for both nations to continue collaborating to improve the work of the World Trade Organization, as well as to strengthen the rules-based trade architecture in the region, to benefit both Australian and New Zealand economies, the statement said. KABUL, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has met with the Chinese ambassador who said China would offer assistance to drought and flood-affected Afghans, the Afghan Presidential Palace said on Friday. During the meeting on Thursday, Ambassador Liu Jinsong said China was ready to provide food and disaster management support to Afghans who had been affected by drought and flooding, the palace said in a statement. China will also intensify efforts to provide more training programs for employees of Afghan ministries and other government-related departments, Liu was quoted as saying. The statement came as Afghan agriculture officials warned that 15 of the country's 34 provinces were under severe drought threat and thousands of Afghans have been displaced in western Badghis, Herat and Ghor provinces recently. President Ghani expressed his gratitude to the Chinese people and government for their assistance. Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-03 19:43:49|Editor: ZX Video Player Close BEIJING, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- The coolest part of food delivery-man Wei Hao's day is when he is picking up food from restaurants that have air-conditioning, offering a brief relief from the scorching summer heat. Riding an electric bicycle, the migrant worker from nearby Hebei Province hurries from office to office in downtown Beijing, dropping off meals from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. in the searing sun. "It's too hot these days. More people order meals and cold drinks online." said Wei, who is receiving more than 30 orders a day, around 10 more than usual. A persistent heat wave has continued scorching a vast area of China, including Beijing, since late July, with the meteorological authorities Friday maintaining an alert for high temperatures. Beijing saw 17 days with temperatures at or above 35 degrees Celsius between June 1 and Aug. 1, equalling the total number of high temperature days last year. The authorities explained that the impact of the subtropical high, together with weak wind resulted in temperatures rising very quickly and high humidity. As high temperatures scorch Beijing, people are finding ways to beat the heat and turn a profit. Shopping malls have become a popular destination. Wang Xiaoji, a housewife, sits in the New World shopping mall all afternoon to enjoy free air conditioning. "You can't live without air conditioners. I have at least two ice suckers and more cold drinks every day in the mall," Wang said. Besides cold drinks, sales of other items have soared in the summer heat. Chen Lamei, manager of a Watsons store, says that sun cream has been in short supply, and sales of sunshades, whitening masks and mosquito repellent have soared over the past week. Roller skating is a great way for children to avoid heat. The ice rink at New World shopping mall is almost full every day. "We receive around 500 visitors on a daily basis, double the figure on ordinary days," said manager Sun Changhong. "The ice-making machine runs around-the-clock." Electricity demand in Beijing reached an all time high of more than 23 million kilowatts Friday noon, according to the State Grid Beijing Electric Power Company. A string of actions have been taken to beat the heat. Over 300 repair teams and 240 electric generators from the company are on standby for emergencies such as power cuts, while robots have been sent to monitor temperatures inside cable tunnels and transformer substations. Sanitation workers have been offered items to help with sun protection, including straw hats, oversleeves, water and medicine. To better serve those who work outdoors, a special refrigerator has been set up at an exit of Beijing Dongdaqiao subway station, providing free bottled water and watermelons for sanitation workers, traffic police, couriers and delivery men. It's a part of a non-profit campaign that first launched in the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou in mid-July and soon emerged in cities such as Beijing and Shanghai. "More than 300 bottles of water is taken away from the refrigerator every day," said an employee from a nearby beverage shop which joined kind passers-by to donate the water and watermelons. Besides Beijing, other areas of China including Inner Mongolia, Jilin, Liaoning, Tianjin, Shandong and Shaanxi have been hit by persistent heat over the past two weeks. Shenyang, capital of Liaoning Province, on Thursday experienced its hottest day since 1951 as the temperature reached 38.4 degrees Celsius. China is not alone suffering the high temperatures. In July, France has experienced the hottest month since 1900, according to Meteo-France's data. The temperatures in some areas of the Republic of Korea have reached an all-time high due to the heat wave in the middle of summer. According to an article released on the website of the World Meteorological Organization, the recent episodes of extreme heat and precipitation are increasing as a result of climate change. Climate change is just a concept for Wei, though he has felt a little hotheaded recently, and many of his delivery-men friends have suffered from sunstroke. "The hottest days are our busiest days," said Wei, whose clothes are wet all day long from sweat. Attracted by a monthly salary of 8,000 yuan (around 1,160 U.S. dollars), he came to Beijing last year and rented a small room without an air conditioner. "Beijing is hotter than my hometown. Luckily, it's easier here to find a shopping mall and get relief from the heat," he said. Enditem Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-03 19:53:51|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close ABUJA, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- Twenty-one people were confirmed killed after a boat capsized in Nigeria's northwestern state of Sokoto, local authorities said on Friday. Responders recovered the bodies of 17 women and four children on board the overloaded boat, which capsized due to strong waves in Gida Kare district of the state on Thursday, the National Emergency Management Agency said. An investigation has been launched to ascertain the cause of the boat. The boat was carrying at least 50 passengers at the time of the incident. The 29 other victims were able to make it to shore during a rescue operation, said Suleiman Karim, a NEMA personnel. One other official said a 1-year-old child was among the dead victims. The victims of the boat accident were all internally displaced persons (IDPs) returning to their village in Gidan Kare after they were attacked recently by gunmen, according to the local Daily Trust newspaper. Gidan Kare is one of many districts in northern Nigeria hard-hit by attackers, mostly cattle rustlers. Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-03 20:03:55|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close MOSCOW, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- Russian law enforcement agencies foiled 19 terrorist attack attempts in the first six months of the year, a Russian official said Friday. The number of extremist acts decreased from the same period last year, said First Deputy Prosecutor General Alexander Buksman at a meeting of senior prosecution officials. The Prosecutor General's Office said Wednesday that the number of terrorism-related crimes in Russia dropped 14 percent year on year in January-June to 968. Most of such crimes were committed in North Caucasus, a hotbed of insurgency plagued for years by repeated violent attacks against governmental and military agencies and civilians. Russia has stepped up law enforcement efforts nationwide since a deadly bomb attack in the St. Petersburg metro in April 2017. GARDEZ, Afghanistan, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- At least 35 people were killed and more than 70 others wounded after two explosions ripped through a mosque in Gardez, an eastern town in Afghanistan on Friday, sources said. The incident occurred at around 1:30 p.m. local time when people were offering Friday prayers inside Imam-i-Zaman Mosque in Police District 2 of the city, which is the capital of eastern Paktia province, a police officer who declined to be named, told Xinhua. Two assailants also died on the spot, he said. Citing an initial information, Dr. Walayat Ahmadzai, head of provincial health department, told Xinhua that 35 people were killed and over 70 others wounded after the blasts. "Several wounded people were shifted to a military hospital in Afghan army's Corps 203 Thander for intensive treatment as the government-run hospitals were not able to provide treatment for all the victims," Ahmadzai said. He warned that the death toll may go up as many of the wounded were in critical condition. Security forces have cordoned off the area for precautionary measures in Khowja Hassan neighborhood mostly dominated by Shiite Afghans. The mosque building was also severely damaged by the blasts. Media and people were not allowed to enter the site and no one knows what exactly is ongoing inside the building. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack yet. Over the past few months, Afghanistan has witnessed waves of terror attacks against Shiite mosques mostly claimed by the extremist Islamic State (IS) outfit. In late March, one civilian was killed and nine others wounded after two IS gunmen attacked a Shiite mosque in western Herat province. Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-03 20:29:02|Editor: mmm Video Player Close Photo taken on Aug. 3, 2018 shows an exhibition "Newly discovered photographs of Beijing, 1900-1902", which runs from July 16 to Aug. 30 at the Australian Center on China in the World in the Australian National University in Canberra, Australia. (Xinhua/Bai Xu) By Xinhua Writer Bai Xu CANBERRA, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- In Wei Shuge's eyes, Beijing is a city with many stories, some of which are in the 26 pictures on the wall. Dr. Wei is curator of the exhibition "Newly discovered photographs of Beijing, 1900-1902," which runs from July 16 to Aug. 30 at the Australian Center on China in the World in the Australian National University. On display are photocopies of pictures taken in the early 1900s, shortly after the end of the Yihetuan Movement and invasion of the Eight-Nation Alliance -- troops from Britain, the United States, Germany, France, Russia, Japan, Italy and Austro-Hungary -- in Beijing. The pictures showed destroyed gate towers, booths where people sat for civil service exams, railway station, utensils the emperors used for worship, barbers as well as funeral procession. The original photos are in an album in the possession of Svetlana Paichadze, assistant professor at Hokkaido University, which a historian impressed by her strong interest in East Asia gave to her decades ago. Wei saw the photos during her visit to the Hokkaido University in 2016. "We decided that we cannot have them hidden in an office forever," she told Xinhua. She then uploaded the photos online, and photocopied some of them for exhibition. "We always judge the events in the past with values nowadays," she said. "With this exhibition, I hope that people could know more about the old days, about how people in Beijing managed to live in that unsettled era." She liked a picture taken on the Zhengyangmen gate tower, which oversaw the south of Beijing. "I was astonished to see the Temple of Heaven," she said. "Things changed so much. Now the Temple of Heaven is hidden behind many tall buildings." Another picture featured a big smile of a barber. "People on the photos are mostly tanned, perhaps due to their outdoor toils for a living. But they looked so peaceful, even happy," she said. The exhibition was attended by both Chinese and foreign visitors. "Canberra is a city where many people are involved in diplomatic careers. So some had visited Beijing before," she said. She once met a scholar who visited Beijing in the 1970s, telling her that the city at that time appeared quite similar to what was in the pictures. She also talked to an old lady, whose parents migrated from Russia to northeast China, before she came to Australia. "She was very emotional seeing the photos," Wei said. While talking about these photos, she said that she hoped they could be seen by more people, especially those who study history. "They could find more stories behind the photos," she said. Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-03 20:29:03|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close BEIRUT, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- Number of passengers at Rafic Hariri International Airport increased by 8.32 percent to 4.8 million in the first seven months of 2018 compared with the same period last year, reported Friday by the National News Agency. "This rise is caused by an increase in the number of expatriates arriving in Lebanon in addition to Syrians coming from Turkey and other European countries," a source at the airport told Xinhua. "There are also tourists mainly from Europe and the Gulf," he added. The statement said that passengers in July increased by 5 percent to 1,022,467 compared with the same period last year. "This prompted Lebanese authorities and security officials to look for ways that would minimize travel procedures for passengers especially prior to the pilgrimage period," it said. According to the statement, the number of departures increased by 1 percent in July to reach 457,485 while the number of commercial flights increased by 4.15 percent to 7,254. Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-03 20:49:07|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close BEIRUT, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- Car accidents have been increasing in Lebanon, requiring actions from authorities, reported the National News Agency on Friday. One people was killed and 15 others injured on Thursday in car accidents in Lebanon with over 913 speed tickets given in the past 24 hours, the report said. "Traffic is heavy in the capital Beirut and from Le Mall in Dbayeh to Jal El Dib and Antelias while it is active in Sin El Fil," said the statement, quoting the traffic management center of the internal security forces. Moreover, the traffic management center also reported over 16 injured in 13 car accidents on Wednesday in addition to two killed and 24 injured in 18 car accidents on Tuesday. YASA International, an international non-governmental organization, emphasized on July 31 the need to inspect vehicles that enter Lebanon for the first time according to the traffic law. "We call upon the Lebanese authorities to implement the consumer protection law number 659 issued in February 2005 for the protection of citizens against imported vehicles in poor conditions that enter the local market," it said. According to the latest World Health Organization data published in 2017, road traffic accidents deaths in Lebanon reached 1,129, or 3.34 percent of total deaths. Meanwhile, the Red Cross revealed that the number of car accidents during the first five months of 2018 reached 5,753 resulting in 38 deaths. Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-03 20:54:09|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close SOFIA, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- Bulgarian authorities at Silistra checkpoint near the border with Romania have captured 1.75 million undeclared cigarettes, officials said here on Friday. The cigarettes were found on Thursday evening in a Romania-registered truck when it attempted to leave Bulgaria, the Ministry of Interior and the National Customs Agency (NCA) said in a joint statement. The vehicle, driven by 32-year-old Bulgarian citizen, was declared to be carrying cloth, the statement said. The driver and his 34-year-old companion were arrested, the statement said. Due to its location, Bulgaria is a favorite destination for traffickers, with 37.1 million illegal cigarettes seized by the NCA in 2017. Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-03 20:59:10|Editor: Li Xia Video Player Close Democratic Congresswoman Grace Napolitano gives a speech at the Export and Trade Round Table conference in Duarte City, Los Angeles County, the United States, Aug. 2, 2018. (Xinhua/Li Ying) by Julia Pierrepont III LOS ANGELES, Aug. 2 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. administration needs to improve its trade policy and provide more opportunities to export, Democratic Congresswoman Grace Napolitano said at a round table conference in Duarte, California on Thursday. "We both know that when we work together we can achieve much more than when we work against each other," Grace said when asked about the trade conflict between the United States and China. At the Export and Trade Round Table conference, a 32nd Congressional District meeting that she hosted in Duarte on Thursday, the Congresswoman responded to growing concerns expressed by local business leaders and citizens over the fallout from the trade conflict. The prevailing concern of attendees was that the conflict is having a negative effect on their businesses -- the opposite of what was intended. "The 25 percent trade war tariffs are killing us. We need help," revealed Curtis A. Glover, president of Lighting Technologies International of Baldwin Park, as he appealed to his elected representatives. Over half of the materials used for the company's production come from China, so the Trump administration's decision to raise tariffs to 25 percent on some of the goods from China has cost the lighting company an additional 1.5 million U.S. dollars, according to Glover. The company is trying to lower costs by applying for tariff exemption and taking other measures, according to him. Napolitano said one of the biggest hurdles to exporting is the steep learning curve that America's small businesses face to understand the challenging export process, which is why she and Duarte City Councilman Samuel Kang co-organized the event with the Chinese Consulate to elucidate the complicated process. "This event is to educate America's businesses on how to access or expand their foreign markets. We want to make sure that everyone gets the chance to get the same information about what is going on with China from the officials themselves, so they can formulate their own ideas of what they can do," she told Xinhua. On hand to assist local business people were local and federal U.S. officials, as well as U.S. and Chinese trade, shipping export and business specialists. Councilman Kang put it simpler. "Make deals! Make Jobs!" he advised enthusiastically. "These kinds of trade symposiums at the local level will help businesses and ordinary people to realize the unique importance of the U.S.-China trade relationship - to help our friends know it is mutually beneficial and that major countermeasures will cause damage to their local businesses and hurt the interests of the people," said Zhang Ping, Chinese consul general in Los Angeles. "As far as the 32nd Congressional District is concerned, China was the district's third largest export market for goods in 2016 and the fourth largest export market for services in 2015," Zhang said. Napolitano said "this export round table is needed more than ever because the current administration's trade wars are making it harder for our businesses. Foreign consumers are buying more goods from Europe and Asia to avoid the tariffs." "The American people have a right to know what this administration's trade policy goals are and if they are working," she told Xinhua. "All indications are that the trade wars are bad for our economy and bad for jobs." At the national level, Napolitano and other Democratic leaders are pressuring the administration of President Donald Trump and the Republican Congressional leadership to hold public hearings to examine the growing detrimental effects of the trade conflict. Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-03 21:29:15|Editor: mmm Video Player Close Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi (R) meets with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in Singapore, Aug. 3, 2018. (Xinhua/Then Chih Wey) SINGAPORE, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- Both China and the United States should manage their differences through dialogue and consultation, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Friday. Wang made the remarks when meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) foreign minister's meeting and related meetings. "Cooperation is the only right choice for China and the United States. It's also the universal expectation of the international community," said Wang, adding that confrontation could only bring a lose-lose situation detrimental to world peace, stability and development. He said both sides should manage differences and solve problems through dialogue and consultation on the basis of mutual respect and an equal footing so as to guide China-U.S. relations to move forward on the right track. For his part, Pompeo said the U.S.-China relations are very important, adding the U.S. side expected both the Untied States and China to succeed, and it had no intention of thwarting China's development. The top U.S. diplomat promised that the U.S. side would adhere to the one-China policy and the position would remain unchanged. He also called for joint efforts from both sides to strengthen coordination and cooperation on the important issues including the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula. Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-03 21:34:16|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close ADDIS ABABA, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- Ethiopia is ready to play a mediation role to resolve a bitter border dispute between two of its neighbors Djibouti and Eritrea, an Ethiopian official said on Friday. Speaking to media, Meles Alem, spokesperson of the Ethiopia Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA), said his country has expressed its desire to play a mediation role to the governments of Djibouti and Eritrea. A border dispute between Djibouti and Eritrea resulted in armed clashes in June 2008, leaving several people dead from both sides. "We will play a constructive role to bridge the gap between Eritrea and Djibouti. Ethiopia believes reconciliation between Djibouti and Eritrea also helps ongoing rapprochement process between Eritrea and Ethiopia," said Alem. Landlocked Ethiopia currently uses ports in Djibouti for about 95 percent of its' foreign trade and hopes to diversify some of its port options now that Ethiopia is having a diplomatic thaw with Eritrea. Eritrea and Ethiopia were also until last June bitter rivals having fought a bloody two-year border war in 1998-2000 that killed an estimated 70,000 people from both sides. The war was ended after the two countries signed a peace agreement in Algiers, Algeria in December 2000, but a bitter standoff continued for almost 18 years with both countries accusing each other of supporting rival dissident groups. The mutual hostility came to an end last June after Ethiopia's ruling coalition Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) said it unconditionally accepts the results of the Algiers peace agreement. The decision sent off a chain of fast-paced diplomatic moves between the two countries, which saw the leaders of Eritrea and Ethiopia visit their respective countries after two decades of diplomatic freeze. Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-03 21:44:18|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close KIEV, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) said on Friday the conflict in eastern Ukraine caused 161 civilian casualties between January and July this year. Alexander Hug, deputy chief monitor of the OSCE special monitoring mission to Ukraine, told reporters that 29 non-combatants were killed and 132 others were injured during the seven months. The United Nations estimated that over 3,000 civilians lost their lives in the more than four years of military confrontation between government troops and separatist militants in eastern Ukraine, and about 9,000 others were injured. In 2017, the OSCE recorded 478 civilian casualties in eastern Ukraine. Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-03 21:49:18|Editor: ZX Video Player Close YINCHUAN, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- Residents in a neighborhood in northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region know that 65-year-old Zhao Shuzhen has three daughters, two biological daughters, and one Tibetan "daughter." Zhao lives in the Gongxiang Community in the city of Yinchuan, capital of Ningxia. The city is home to North Minzu University, where about 60 percent of its 20,000 students are from China's minority ethnic groups. In 2015, Gongxiang, a neighborhood of Hui, Han, Manchu, Mongolian, and Tibetan ethnic groups, launched an aid program designed to help minority students far from their hometown better integrate into school life and local culture. "My son went to university in the coastal Fujian Province in 2015. I know it was challenging for him to get used to a totally strange environment," said Liu Lijuan, head of the Gongxiang neighborhood committee. "Like my son, there must be many university freshmen facing similar problems," said Liu. Zhao's family is one of those in Gongxiang to receive students from the university. Zhao met Kelsang Tsomar in 2015 when the freshman from Tibet Autonomous Region went to the neighborhood to teach Tibetan dances to residents as a volunteer. From then on, their "mother-daughter" relationship started, Zhao said. "It is really hard for a young girl to leave her hometown in Tibet and study in Ningxia where she has no relatives and knows little about the city and local customs," said Zhao. "When she came to see me, I told her many things about this city and local people to help her quickly adjust to the new environment," said Zhao. "Likewise, she told me many interesting things about her hometown." "My two daughters were married and had left home. I treated Kelsang like my own daughter," Zhao said. On weekends, Zhao would prepare a table of food for her "youngest daughter" and they would have a good time sharing their latest happenings. "Aunt Zhao is my most frequent visitor to the campus. She often brings me delicious home-made food," said Kelsang. Over the past three years, they have become very close. "She graduated and returned to her hometown two months ago. I miss her so much," Zhao said. In Gongxiang, nine other such "families" receive a total of 14 minority students, four of whom are in the care of 61-year-old Wang Juru. "I have five 'kids' from four ethnic groups," Wang said. "Apart from my biological daughter, I have a Mongolian 'son', two Uygur 'daughters' and one Kirgiz 'daughter'." Wang said that her five "children" get along well with each other. They have a group chat on WeChat under the name of "all ethnic groups are one family". They even invited their parents into the the group. "The mothers in the group often share cooking recipes via videos. I have not met them but feel like they are my old friends," Wang said. "We will continue the program. We hope more minority students will join the program and feel the warmth of the families in our neighborhood," Liu said. Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-03 22:19:25|Editor: ZX Video Player Close Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong (R) meets with Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Singapore, Aug. 3, 2018. (Xinhua/Then Chih Wey) SINGAPORE, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- China and Singapore agreed here on Friday to promote multilateralism. The agreement came as Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) foreign ministers' meeting and related meetings. China is willing to further enhance high-level contacts and deepen cooperation with Singapore in important projects and fields within the framework of the China- proposed Belt and Road Initiative so as to speed up the construction of the Southern Transport Corridor and implement the third-party market cooperation, Wang said. While Singapore has adopted a successful path of development with Singaporean characteristics, China has also embarked on a successful path of socialism with Chinese characteristics, he noted. "China, based on our own history and cultural traditions, will continue to stick to the path of peaceful development and uphold the mutually beneficial and win-win strategy of opening-up." As responsible countries, Wang said, China and Singapore should join hands with other countries to shoulder due responsibilities, firmly promote multilateralism, maintain international rules and multilateral trade system, push for the building of an open world economy and maintain world peace and development. For his part, Lee said Singapore upholds multilateralism, supports the Belt and Road Initiative and stands ready to work with China to push forward major projects including the Southern Transport Corridor and the third-party market cooperation. He said Singapore understands the positions and measures taken by China to safeguard its legitimate rights and interests, and the international rules under the current circumstances. Singapore will continue to support China in expanding its reform and opening-up drive, he added. Lee also said the world today is facing major threats and challenges. He called for enhancing global cooperation with an open mind and inclusive attitude to address uncertainty and instability arising from the evolving situation. Such efforts are of great significance in maintaining enduring peace and development in the region and the world at large, he said. Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-03 22:34:27|Editor: Li Xia Video Player Close CAPE TOWN, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- South Africa's ruling African National Congress (ANC) on Friday voiced confidence in the Zimbabwean elections whose results were challenged by the Zimbabwean opposition. "The ANC is confident the results of these elections are a reflection of the will of the people of Zimbabwe," ANC national spokesperson Pule Mabe said in a statement emailed to Xinhua. Invited by the Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF), the ANC sent a team to observe the elections, in which ZANU-PF won a majority of seats in the national assembly with Emmerson Mnangagwa emerging as Zimbabwea's new president. "We want to take this opportunity to congratulate ZANU-PF for having won a majority of seats in the Zimbabwean national assembly. We also congratulate Mr Emmerson Mnangagwa on his election as President of Zimbabwe," Mabe said. The Zimbabwean opposition has said the elections were "fraudulent, illegal, illegitimate." Opposition leader Nelson Chamisa has vowed to challenge the election results. Six people have been killed in Zimbabwea in violence related to the elections. The ANC calls on all citizens of Zimbabwe, including opposition parties, to accept this democratic outcome, Mabe said, adding that the loss of life and violent outbreaks in the streets "is regrettable." "Democracy and the people of Zimbabwe have emerged as undisputed winners," Mabe said. The ANC urges the newly-elected leadership to pay focused attention on the socio-economic challenges that confront the people of Zimbabwe, said Mabe. Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-03 22:39:29|Editor: mmm Video Player Close Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi (R) meets with Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh in Singapore, Aug. 3, 2018. (Xinhua/Then Chih Wey) SINGAPORE, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- Visiting Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi agreed here Friday with Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh to cope properly with maritime issues. The two met on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Foreign Ministers meetings and related meetings held here from Aug. 2 to 4. Wang said that China-Vietnam ties have maintained a good momentum of development, and China is willing to work together with Vietnam to deepen bilateral cooperation in various fields, and strive for regional peace and stability. The top leaders of China and Vietnam have reached important political consensus on properly handling the maritime issues. Accordingly the two sides should carry them out to the letter, said Wang. He also expressed the hope that the Vietnamese side would deal with and manage maritime issues more discretely so as to safeguard mutual trust and cooperation between the two countries. Pham Binh Minh said that the Vietnamese side hopes to further enhance contacts of different levels between the two parties and two countries, and to expand bilateral cooperation on investment and trade. Vietnam is willing to join hands with China to implement the important consensuses reached by the leaders of the two countries, and properly handle maritime issues. Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-03 22:59:36|Editor: yan Video Player Close CHENGDU, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- China has recorded 18,433 voluntary organ donors, who donated 52,213 organs, from 2010 to mid-July this year. The numbers were released by the Chinese Medical Doctor Association, organizer of the Chinese Transplant Congress held Friday in Chengdu, capital of southwest China's Sichuan Province. Zheng Shusen, vice president of the association, said that despite much progress achieved over the past years, China should further promote organ donation to benefit more patients in the future. "We hope that more people will join the great cause to let love continue," said Yang Jiayin, head of the organ transplant center at Sichuan University's West China Hospital. China should improve medical insurance for organ recipients to reduce their financial burden, said Huang Jiefu, director of the China National Organ Donation and Transplantation Committee. The country began a voluntary organ donation trial in 2010 and promoted the practice across the country in 2013. Voluntary donation is the only legitimate source for transplants after organ trading was criminalized in 2011 and the use of organs from executed prisoners was banned in 2015. Guo Yanhong, an official with the National Health Commission, said last month that China is expected to become the country with the most organ donors by 2020. In China, about 300,000 patients need organ transplants each year. Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-03 23:14:39|Editor: yan Video Player Close by Xinhua writers Qu Junya, Wu Liming BEIJING, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- The latest developments in the South China Sea illustrate a desire for regional peace as well as a rebuke of foreign meddling. On Thursday, China and the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) arrived at a single negotiating text draft for the Code of Conduct (COC) in the South China Sea. This marks a big step toward a peaceful resolution of their disputes. This significant progress, as Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi has put it, is akin to jointly building a house. China and ASEAN have integrated 11 different designs into one and readied the groundwork. The consensus for future COC negotiations came one year after the COC framework was endorsed, and notably, 16 years after the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC) was signed. There were plenty of bumps along the road, too, mostly due to foreign interference; yet those efforts failed to kill the common aspiration of those involved to establish a necessary order, one that would facilitate regional cooperation and prosperity. The agreement illustrates that a longing for peace outweighs any outstanding differences between the parties. It defeats attempts by non-regional countries to mislead public opinion, provoke confrontation and create tension; dialogue and consultation have proven better at settling disputes than outside meddling. By staying immune to external interference, China and ASEAN have accomplished a basic set of regulations to guide behavior in the South China Sea. One cannot dismiss their will to create regional rules while thwarting attempts by outsiders eager to play God. This big step forward is a solid starting point toward creating a South China Sea brimming with peace and cooperation. China's most advanced maritime rescue vessels have been on duty in the region ready to help passing ships and will offer scientific, research or meteorological assistance in the future when needed. In October, China and ASEAN will hold a joint maritime exercise. The above developments show the ability of regional parties to initiate their own attempts to jointly address security challenges and safeguard regional stability. Differences are normal, but countries around the South China Sea are capable of properly settling their disputes through consultation and without the interference of outsiders. As long as China and the countries of ASEAN work hand in hand, the South China Sea will continue to be ruled by peace and cooperation. Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-03 23:14:39|Editor: yan Video Player Close BEIRUT, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- Lebanon has an interest in creating dialogue with the Syrian government, said Lebanon's Deputy Speaker Elie Ferzli on Friday. "Lebanon has a direct interest in contacting the Syrian government to speed up the safe return of refugees to their homeland," he told Elnashra. "Sooner or later there will be dialogue with the Syrian government on the economic, military, security, agricultural and financial levels," he said. Although Lebanon has not cut diplomatic or trade ties with Syria, it has kept relations at "arm's length" avoiding official contacts with the Syrian government. Lebanon has also kept itself away from regional conflicts after the Syria war broke in 2012. But some political parties in Lebanon, including Hezbollah, Amal movement, and Free Patriotic Movement, have been pushing the government into normalizing ties with Syria in a bid to solve the issue of refugees and their safe return to Syria. However, Lebanese Prime Minister designate Saad Hariri said that he refuses to visit Syria or meet with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, under any circumstances, even if that would cost him his position. "It is impossible that I visit Syria, not now and not in the future ... and if Lebanon's interest requires so, then you could find someone else," Hariri said after a meeting with the Future Movement on July 31. Hariri has been a long-time supporter of the Syrian opposition and has often been outspoken about his desire to see Assad removed from power. Hariri is dealing with the refugees' crisis by following a strategy drafted by the Russian Defense Ministry and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, after a meeting in Helsinki, Finland between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump last 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. However, economic figures belonging to the Future Movement believe that Lebanon can still benefit from Syria's reconstruction even if it does not normalize ties with the neighboring country. "Syrians are in need for the Lebanese expertise in different economic sectors," said Mohamad Choucair, head of the Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture, as reported by Elnashra earlier this week. Choucair said that the banking sector in Syria has deteriorated and Syrians will definitely seek to cooperate with the Lebanese on rebuilding this sector for instance. Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-03 23:29:42|Editor: yan Video Player Close by Stefania Fumo ROME, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- Italy's economy slowed down in the second quarter this year amid a deceleration of the eurozone, Istat national statistics bureau said in its monthly bulletin on Friday. Gross domestic product (GDP) grew 0.2 percent in April-June, compared to 0.3 percent the previous quarter, with domestic consumption "contributing positively to growth" amid a fall in net foreign demand, according to the bulletin. The eurozone economy also decelerated in the second quarter, with GDP adding 0.3 percent compared with 0.4 percent in the first quarter. On the global level, Istat said world trade continues to grow even though "the U.S. administration's introduction of import tariffs represents significant downside risk in the coming months." In Italy in the second quarter, industrial production was stationary in spite of spikes in May and June as all leading industrial sectors showed a downturn compared to the first quarter. The exception was capital goods, which grew by 1.6 percent. In June, industries posting the highest year-on-year growth were mining (+12.5 percent), pharmaceuticals (+11.8 percent) and vehicle manufacturing (+7.1 percent). The steepest declines were in oil refining (-8.6 percent), power utilities (-6.5 percent) and wood, paper and printing (-4.2 percent). Turnover also showed signs of deceleration, with industrial orders down 1.1 percent in spite of a 5.5 percent rise in foreign orders in May compared to April. Foreign sales rose 1.7 percent in the second quarter due to a 7.9 percent jump in sales to non-European Union countries in June, which was led by a rise in capital goods (+16.9 percent) thanks to sales of maritime vessels, Istat said. Second-quarter imports increased by 4.6 percent compared to the previous quarter, led by energy (+5.6 percent), followed by intermediate goods (+4.5 percent) and capital goods (+4.2 percent). Italy's estimated trade surplus stood at 3.5 billion euros in June, compared to 3.3 billion euros in the same period last year, with a rise in exports to Switzerland (+55.1 percent), the United States (+18.8 percent), and India (+11.6 percent). Istat saw a drop in sales to OPEC countries (-18.3 percent), the Middle East (-13.1 percent), and Turkey (-12.5 percent) in June this year compared to the same period in 2017. Consumer and business confidence were flat in July compared to June, but the outlook for both indicators showed them declining as the economic slowdown continues, Istat said. Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-03 23:29:42|Editor: mmm Video Player Close Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi (R) meets with Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland in Singapore, Aug. 3, 2018. (Xinhua/Then Chih Wey) SINGAPORE, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- Visiting Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi met here Friday with Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland and Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi separately on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) foreign ministers' meeting and related meetings. In his meeting with Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland, Wang said both China and Canada firmly promote multilateralism, support free trade and advocate the building of an open world economy. Facing the current international situation, China and Canada should work together with other countries to safeguard the rule-based multilateral trade system and act in accordance with international rules, he said. Wang hoped that the two countries enhance communication and kick-start the negotiation process of the China-Canada free trade agreement as soon as possible. For her part, Freeland said Canada supports free trade and firmly advocates to safeguard the rule-based international order. Canada speaks highly of the contribution made by China to the safeguarding of the multilateral trade rules and seeks to further develop relations and deepen cooperation with China so as to maintain the international trade rules and order of the 21st century, the authority and the effectiveness of the World Trade Organization and jointly oppose trade protectionism. While meeting with Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi, Wang noted that China and Indonesia are the backbones of Asia's peaceful development and the importance of bilateral relations has gone beyond bilateral scope. The two countries should enhance strategic cooperation and deepen strategic mutual trust in a bid to further develop the ties between the two sides, he said. The two sides should also enhance high-level contacts and steadily press forward the major projects including Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway and the regional comprehensive economic corridor, Wang added. For her part, Retno said further enhancing exchanges and deepening cooperation between the two countries not only benefits their peoples, but also is conducive to the region and the world at large. Indonesia will be a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council beginning next year and hopes to deepen communication and cooperation with China in international affairs, Retno added. Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-03 23:49:49|Editor: yan Video Player Close MINSK, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- Belarusian enterprises are no longer required to sell their foreign exchange earnings, local media reported. The new rule, aimed at liberating foreign currency markets and stimulating business activity, came into force this week under a presidential decree. Belarusian exporters had to sell part of their foreign exchange earnings to ensure a guaranteed foreign exchange offer. The maximum standard was 50 percent. In previous years, the amount of mandatory foreign currency sales in the country was consistently reduced. Before the decree was signed, Belarusian companies were required to sell 10 percent of their foreign currency proceeds, but they had been voluntarily selling about 50 percent, driven by their demand for Belarusian rubles. ISLAMABAD, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- Pakistan Friday strongly condemned the suicide attack during Friday prayers at a mosque in Afghan city of Gardez, the capital of Paktia province that has resulted in loss of precious lives and injuries to many other worshippers. The death toll from the attack has exceeded 30. No group claimed responsibility yet. "Pakistan condemns terrorism in all forms and manifestations. We also reiterate our solidarity with Afghanistan in their fight against the common enemy of terrorism," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement. "Pakistan stands together with the government and people of Afghanistan in this hour of grief," the statement said. The Foreign Ministry expressed deepest sympathies and condolences to the bereaved families and prayed for the recovery of the injured. WASHINGTON, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Department of the Treasury on Friday announced sanctions on an individual and three entities -- including a Russian commercial bank -- for alleged links with the nuclear program of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK). The Treasury said in a statement that the Russian-registered Agrosoyuz Commercial Bank is "knowingly facilitating a significant transaction" for Han Jang Su, the chief Moscow representative of the DPRK's Foreign Trade Bank (FTB). Han, the Treasury added, is "an individual designated for weapons of mass destruction-related activities" in the DPRK. The fresh round of sanctions also targeted Ri Jong Won, the deputy representative of FTB in Moscow, as well as two other entities it said are facilitating Pyongyang's "illicit financial activity." Vowing to keep existing sanctions imposed by both the United Nations and the United States, U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said "sanctions will remain in place until we have achieved the final, fully-verified denuclearization" in the DPRK. Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-04 00:04:53|Editor: yan Video Player Close MOSCOW, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- Russia does not agree with Georgia that the Noble Partner 2018 military drills aim to promote stability and security, a Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Friday. "Constructive dialogue, instead of helicopters and tanks, means stability and security," Maria Zakharova said at a weekly news briefing. Zakharova said that the real aim of the exercises is to exert pressure "primarily on Abkhazia, South Ossetia and Russia," which may result in "bolstering militarist sentiments" and escalation of tensions. The 13-nation Noble Partner 2018 is being held from Aug. 1 to 15 in Georgia with over 3,000 troops taking part. Besides North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) members Britain, Estonia, France, Germany, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Turkey and the United States, former Soviet republics of Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Ukraine are also participating. Russia regrets that countries neighboring Georgia are involved in these exercises under various pretexts, Zakharova said. Initiated in 2015, Noble Partner originally aimed to train Georgian soldiers and improve Georgian troops' interoperability with NATO units. At the opening ceremony of the Noble Partner 2018 on Wednesday, Georgian Defense Minister Levan Izoria said the drills "contribute to the regional and international security." According to Izoria, Georgia will host Agile Spirit 2018 in the beginning of September, which will involve NATO member and partner countries. In early 1990s, Abkhazia and South Ossetia declared independence from Georgia, which Russia recognized in 2008 despite Tbilisi's objection. Georgia cut diplomatic ties with Russia after a brief armed conflict in August 2008. Russian President Vladimir Putin said last month that Russia will resist NATO's attempt to expand, including moves to involve Russia's neighbors Georgia and Ukraine in the "military orbit" of the U.S.-led alliance. Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-04 00:09:56|Editor: yan Video Player Close JUBA, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- South Sudan President Salva Kiir confirmed on Friday he is more than ready to make peace with rebels by inking the final peace deal on Sunday in the Sudanese capital. Kiir said he will sign the Khartoum peace deal after holding talks with the visiting Sudanese Foreign Minister Al-Dirdiri Mohammed Ahmed in Juba in wake of the government and the opposition groups inking the preliminary power-sharing deal in late July. "We are ready now to solve our problems. I believe that this agreement will continue to be implemented within the spirit and letter. Whoever signs this agreement will be committed to it," Kiir said, adding that this will mark a departure from past agreements that have collapsed. He disclosed that both sides signed the 2015 peace agreement amid multiple reservations besides intimidation from the international community but expressed hope of successful peace this time with mediation efforts by Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir backed by leaders under the East African bloc IGAD. The two warring parties clashed in July 2016 forcing Riek Machar to flee Juba into exile, hence weakening the peace agreement which has been resuscitated by IGAD. The Khartoum peace talks are seen as the last chance at bringing peace to South Sudan. "The 2016 conflict was forced on us, this is why when we signed the agreement I signed with 26 reservations and the agreement collapsed before us. This agreement I am sure will not collapse because the people of South Sudan have agreed to make peace between themselves," Kiir said. The transitional government under the latest peace arrangement will have five-vice presidents. Rebel leader Machar will return to take up his former First Vice President post. The transitional Parliament will comprise 550 lawmakers, 332 from Kiir's side and 128 from Machar's faction. President Kiir also said the remaining outstanding issues will be finalized with his rivals as soon as he arrives in Khartoum. "These outstanding issues that are not yet resolved we shall resolve them as soon as I land in Khartoum," said Kiir who added that the agreement when finalized will hold due to fact it was not mediated under pressure and intimidation. South Sudan descended into civil war in late 2013, and the conflict has created one of the fastest growing refugee crises in the world. A 2015 peace agreement was shattered when the warring parties renewed fighting in July 2016 in the capital, forcing rebel leader Riek Machar to flee into exile. The UN estimates that about 4 million South Sudanese have been displaced internally and externally. Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-04 00:19:57|Editor: mmm Video Player Close Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi (R) meets with Foreign Minister of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) Ri Yong Ho in Singapore, Aug. 3, 2018. (Xinhua/Then Chih Wey) SINGAPORE, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- China will continue to work with all relevant parties to help push forward the denuclearization process of the Korean Peninsula, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said here Friday. Wang made the pledge while meeting separately with foreign ministers of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and South Korea on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) foreign ministers' meeting and related meetings. During his meeting with DPRK Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho, Wang said the traditional friendly ties between the two countries are bursting out new vigor and China is willing to join hands with the DPRK to fully implement the important consensus reached between the leaders of the two countries, strengthen strategic communication and steadily push forward pragmatic cooperation so as to further develop the ties between the two countries. While expressing appreciation for the DPRK's efforts in promoting the denuclearization process of the Korean Peninsula and improving its ties with the Unites States, Wang said the Chinese side hopes that the United States will take the DPRK's legitimate concerns seriously and meet the DPRK half way. China is willing to maintain communication and cooperation with all parties to jointly push forward the denuclearization process, so as to achieve lasting peace and stability on the peninsula at an early date, Wang said. Ri Yong Ho praised the "blooming" traditional friendship between the DPRK and China, noting that the 70th anniversary of their diplomatic ties next year will be an opportunity to open up a new chapter in bilateral ties. He underlined the important role China has played in safeguarding the stability on the Korean Peninsula and pushing forward the denuclearization process, adding that the DPRK is willing to maintain strategic communication with China and together guard the stability and development in the region. Wang and South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha both noted the positive development of bilateral ties recently and vowed to continue improving and carrying forward their ties. On the issue of the Korean Peninsula, they agreed that the detente on the peninsula is the hard-won result of all parties' efforts and should be valued and carried on with continuous efforts. They pledged support for the United States and the DPRK to maintain contacts and dialogue, enhance mutual trust, earnestly implement the consensus reached during their leaders' meeting in Singapore in June, so as to further advance the denuclearization process to achieve peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula. Missile force of Korean People's Army attend a military parade in central Pyongyang, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, April 15, 2017. (Xinhua/Cheng Dayu) WASHINGTON, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Department of the Treasury on Friday announced sanctions on an individual and three entities -- including a Russian commercial bank -- for alleged links with the nuclear program of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK). The Treasury said in a statement that the Russian-registered Agrosoyuz Commercial Bank is "knowingly facilitating a significant transaction" for Han Jang Su, the chief Moscow representative of the DPRK's Foreign Trade Bank (FTB). Han, the Treasury added, is "an individual designated for weapons of mass destruction-related activities" in the DPRK. The fresh round of sanctions also targeted Ri Jong Won, the deputy representative of FTB in Moscow, as well as two other entities it said are facilitating Pyongyang's "illicit financial activity." Vowing to keep existing sanctions imposed by both the United Nations and the United States, U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said "sanctions will remain in place until we have achieved the final, fully-verified denuclearization" in the DPRK. Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-04 00:24:59|Editor: yan Video Player Close HELSINKI, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- A supermarket in Pohjois-Haaga neighborhood of Helsinki has invited its customers to a cool sleepover in the store on Saturday this week. People living in Finland has suffered over 50 days of hot weather. Meteorological institutions forecasted that the prolonged heat wave will take a pause next week, but the weekend will be still hot, particularly in the country's southern areas. K-Supermarket Pohjois-Haaga, a grocery store belonging to Finland's second largest retail chain Kesko, provides a chance to some Helsinki residents to sleep comfortably in the store that has air conditioning and refrigeration systems, Finnish national broadcaster Yle reported on Friday. Marika Lindfors, shopkeeper of the grocery store, told Yle that the idea was inspired by customers' jokes. "Customers have blurted out half-seriously how nice it would be to be able to sleep in our cool store. We've always strived to respond to customer feedback," Lindfors was quoted by saying. The number of guests for the sleepover will be limited to 100, as there will not be enough room for everyone, she explained. The news about the sleepover invitation has been well received by the public. The post about the event released earlier this week on the store's Facebook page has so far received more than 7,800 likes and was shared nearly 1,800 times. Lindfors said that issues about security and hygiene has been settled. Finnish food safety authority Evira has green-lit the event, and now the store is discussing safety issues with rescue officials. A security guard will be on the spot on Saturday night, according to Yle. This summer, Finland has experienced over 50 hot days, during which the temperature surpassed 25 degrees Celsius that is officially considered hot in the Nordic country. The highest recorded temperature was measured last month in Vaasa on the west coast, at a sweltering 33.7 degrees. In July this year, Finland had the highest-ever average temperature across the country recorded by the Finnish Meteorological Institute in 77 years since 1941. Ordinarily households in Finland are not equipped with any refrigeration facilities such as air conditioners or electric fans, as summer in the Nordic country is usually cool with the average temperature of under 20 degrees Celsius. Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-04 00:35:01|Editor: yan Video Player Close BEIJING, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- China's new countermeasures to impose additional tariffs on about 60 billion U.S. dollars worth of products from the United States are "rational and restrained," a spokesperson with the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) said Friday. The Customs Tariff Commission of the State Council on Friday unveiled lists of 5,207 items of U.S. products to be subject to additional tariffs of four different rates -- 25 percent, 20 percent, 10 percent, and 5 percent. The decision was made in response to a U.S. plan to raise tariffs to be imposed on 200 billion dollars of Chinese goods from 10 percent to 25 percent. "China's countermeasures with differentiated tariff rates are rational and restrained, and were proposed after extensively soliciting opinions and careful evaluation," the spokesperson said in a statement. The measures have taken into full consideration factors including the people's well-being, the bearing capacity of companies, and maintaining the functioning of the global industrial chain, according to the spokesperson. "China always believes that consultation based on the principles of mutual respect, equality, and mutual benefit is the effective way of resolving trade differences, and any unilateral threat or blackmail will only aggravate contradictions and hurt the interests of all sides," the spokesperson said. The spokesperson pointed out that, because the United States had repeatedly escalated the situation in disregard of the interests of enterprises and consumers of both countries, China was forced to take the countermeasures to protect national dignity and its people's interests, defend free trade and multilateral mechanisms, and safeguard the common interests of all countries in the world. Commenting on the latest U.S. move to add some Chinese companies into its list of entities subject to U.S. export controls, the MOC said that China stands firmly against U.S. unilateral sanctions on Chinese entities. China urges the United States to relax its controls over exports to China, and protect and promote the high-tech trade and cooperation between companies from both countries, the ministry said. VIENTIANE, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- Another 10 bodies have been recovered on Thursday and Friday, bring the death toll of the dam collapse in Laos to 23, Lao rescue authorities announced on Friday. Five of the 23 confirmed dead are children, while 108 others remained missing, the authorities said during a press conference held in Sanamxay district of Attapeu Province. Ounla Xayasith, Deputy Governor of Attapeu Province, said the government is now arranging some villagers living in several shelters to live in tents and semi-permanent residence are being built for flood-affected villagers. The deputy governor also mentioned that government will initially give per family some 500,000 kip (59.1 U.S. dollars) as relief. Now, some 200 Lao military personnel are searching for the missing in the disaster-hit area, according to an officer at the press conference. An under-construction saddle dam of the Xe Pian-Xe Nam Noy hydropower project, invested by South Korean, Thai and Lao companies, collapsed on July 23, unleashing a large amount of water to hit some 13 villages of Sanamxay district. Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-04 00:45:02|Editor: yan Video Player Close LUSAKA, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- Civil Society Organizations on Friday called on Zambian President Edgar Lungu to fire one of his aides after a court connected him to corruption in the Ministry of Health. On Wednesday a magistrate court ordered for the arrest of Simon Miti, who is Lungu's principal private secretary, so that he could answer to corruption charges brought out at a time that he served as permanent secretary in the Ministry of Health. Magistrate Exnorbit Zulu, who sentenced five former workers at the Ministry of Health in connection with the corruption that occurred between 2007 and 2009, said it was not too late to arrest Lungu's aide so that he could also answer to the corruption charges because he was aware of that was happening at the Ministry of Health and that he was an accomplice. Macdonald Chipenzi, Executive Director of the Governance, Elections, Advocacy and Research Services (GEARS), a local advocacy organization, said Lungu should immediately fire his aide after the court cited him as a main culprit in the Ministry of Health corruption scandal which shocked the nation. "Mr. President we are waiting for you to walk the talk on the fight against corruption," he said. Gregory Chifire, Executive Director of the Southern Africa Network Against Corruption, said stakeholders were keenly waiting to see what would happen to Lungu's aide after he was linked to corruption at the health ministry. He said the aide must either resign from his position or Lungu should fire him in order to pave way for his prosecution in court. Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-04 00:45:03|Editor: yan Video Player Close by Murad Abdu ADEN, Yemen, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- Anger among the Yemeni people is mounting over the allegedly Saudi-led devastating airstrikes on the largest hospital in the Red Sea port city of Hodeidah controlled by the Shiite Houthi rebels. The airstrikes have killed at least 55 people, including women and children, and injured 124 others, according to the latest figures released by the Houthi-run Health Ministry managing hospitals in Hodeidah. Some of the residents who rushed to medical centers for blood donations told Xinhua that two explosions ripped through the entrance of the Thawra Hospital and a fishermen's wharf in the Houthi-controlled Hodeidah on Thursday. The deadly airstrikes, allegedly launched by the Saudi-led coalition, prompted angry protests on Friday in the Houthi-controlled capital Sanaa, where tens of thousands marched through the city's streets to "reject the Saudi war crimes against innocent citizens in Hodeidah." In other Houthi-controlled northern provinces, similar protests were organized by local authorities to condemn the attack on one of the few functioning medical facilities in the city of Hodeidah, according to the pro-Houthi Al Masirah television station. Angry tribesmen vowed to take revenge by dispatching more to fight alongside Iran-backed Houthis to repulse the advancing Yemeni government forces in Hodeidah and elsewhere in the country. Yemeni political activists described the attack on medical facility as a catastrophic incident and an inexcusable mistake committed by the Saudi-led coalition fighting Houthis. However, it is also feared that the Houthi authorities could use the latest airstrikes as an opportunity to mobilize and recruit new fighters against the Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces. "Houthis were looking for a chance to gain the public support and they found it and masterminded an attack against the hospital in Hodeidah," an officer of Yemen's military intelligence agency told Xinhua. The officer said it was Houthis that "fired shells toward the main entrance of the hospital and caused casualties." "Houthis plan to harm Hodeidah residents who refused to join the fighting against the government forces and more crimes might be committed in the next days," he said on condition of anonymity. Meanwhile, Turki Malki, official spokesman of the anti-Houthi Arab coalition, told the Saudi-owned Al Arabiya channel that no flights or military operations were carried out in Hodeidah on Thursday. Malki also blamed "the Houthi militia for being behind the killing of civilians in Hodeidah." The airstrikes on Hodeidah's main hospital coincided with a meeting of the United Nations Security Council to listen to the briefing of the UN special envoy to Yemen Martin Griffiths. The UN envoy said on Thursday that he will invite the warring parties in the war-torn Arab country to engage in new political consultations in Geneva next month. "After having consulted with the parties, I plan to invite them to Geneva on Sept. 6 for a first round of consultations," Griffiths told the Security Council. According to the UN envoy, the consultations will provide the opportunity for the conflicting parties to discuss the framework for negotiations, agree on relevant confidence-building measures and specific plans for moving the process forward. In his first official statement at the UN security council, Ahmed Ben Mubarak, Yemen's newly-appointed permanent representative to the UN, reaffirmed the Yemeni government's support to the efforts of the UN special envoy to restore peace to the war-ravaged country. The success of any future consultations will be achieved only by focusing on alleviating the humanitarian sufferings, implementing the security arrangements and moving toward the political process, he said. On June 13, the Saudi-led Arab coalition, backing the internationally-recognized government of Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, declared a major assault to recapture Hodeidah and the Yemeni western Red Sea coast from the Houthis. The Yemeni government and Saudi Arabia have repeatedly accused the Houthis of using the port to smuggle in Iranian weapons. Both Houthis and Iran have denied the accusation. Hodeidah is the single most important point of entry for food and basic supplies to Yemen's northern provinces controlled by Houthis, including the capital Sanaa. More than 121,000 residents have fled the war-torn city of Hodeidah and other parts of the province since June 1, the United Nations said this week. Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-04 01:05:09|Editor: yan Video Player Close OSLO, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- Preliminary calculations in Norway showed crop damage caused by drought this summer might worth 1.1 billion kroner (133.7 million U.S. dollars), news agency NTB reported Friday. "This shows what extremely demanding situation we are in when there are such big damages. It says both about the challenges of the farmers and how solid the compensation scheme for crop damage is. It will cover these costs," Minister of Agriculture and Food Jon Georg Dale said. Grass and grain producers in southern Norway will apply for state compensation of more than 1 billion kroner, while potato, vegetables, berry and fruit producers will probably seek compensation of around 60 million kroner, NTB wrote. In July 23 Dale agreed with the Norwegian Farmers Union and the Norwegian Farmers and Smallholders Union (NBS) on new measures against the consequences of drought and crop loss. The Norwegian Agriculture Agency has herewith increased efforts for faster treatment of compensation applications. Farmers seeking compensation can get an advance of up to 70 percent, according to the Norwegian government. (1 U.S. dollar = 8.23 kroner) HOUSTON, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- The suspect in the murder of a prominent cardiologist who treated former U.S. President George H.W. Bush killed himself in Houston Friday morning, police said. According to Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo, a Houston Parks Board employee saw the suspect, 62-year-old Joseph James Pappas, in southwest Houston Friday morning. When approached, Pappas put his arms out and walked away. Acevedo said when an officer arrived, Pappas had body armor on and a gun in his hand. He didn't comply with the officer's demands. As a second officer arrived, Pappas killed himself with a single shot in the head. The police chief added that in a search of Pappas' home this week, investigators found an extensive intelligence file on Dr. Mark Hausknecht, who was gunned down on July 20 while riding his bike to work during the morning rush hour in the Texas Medical Center in Houston. Earlier investigation showed that Pappas' mother died more than 20 years ago while in the care of Dr. Mark Hausknecht. Police believe that is the motive in the murder of the doctor. Some reports said that Pappas was a former law enforcement officer and a highly skilled shooter who recently tried to sell several guns online. In 2000, Hausknecht appeared at a news conference with George H.W. Bush after the former president was treated for an irregular heartbeat. Yes, you can transfer your domain to any registrar or hosting company once you have purchased it. Since domain transfers are a manual process, it can take up to 5 days to transfer the domain. Domains purchased with payment plans are not eligible to transfer until all payments have been made. Please remember that our 30-day money back guarantee is void once a domain has been transferred. For transfer instructions to GoDaddy, please click here. Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-04 01:15:11|Editor: yan Video Player Close ANKARA, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- The ties between Turkey and the U.S. were once again strained by the rare U.S. sanctions on two Turkish ministers over Ankara's refusal to release detained U.S. pastor Andrew Brunson. "The Turkey-U.S. relations have passed to a stage of sanctions from the stage of intimidation," said Serkan Demirtas, Hurriyet Daily News commentator and an expert on Turkey's foreign policies. In a rare move, the U.S. Department of Treasury on Wednesday announced the sanctions on Turkey's Justice Minister Abdulhamit Gul and Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu, citing their roles in the detention of Brunson. Turkey vowed to respond by imposing retaliatory sanctions on the United States. "This development is a trough in bilateral relations between Turkey and the United States," Demirtas said, comparing it to the 1970s, when the U.S. imposed an arms embargo on Turkey because the Turkish military intervened in northern Cyprus. The expert noted that Washington has for long warned Ankara against the detention of several U.S. citizens, including Brunson and a U.S. Consulate staff member in Turkey, while expressing displeasure at Turkey's purchase of Russian S-400 anti-missile defense systems. The U.S. sanctions on Turkey have two paths in the United States, namely the Congress and the administration, Demirtas said, recalling that the U.S. Congress issued a couple of bills to punish Turkey, a NATO ally, over these issues. "The U.S. administration and Congress are acting in coordination regarding the case about Turkey," he said, stressing that it is worrying that Washington has shifted to a policy of using "sanctions tools" instead of diplomatic channels. Furthermore, the U.S. Senate overwhelmingly approved a 717-billion-dollar defense bill on Wednesday, which contains an amendment that prohibits the sale of F-35 jets to Turkey until Pentagon issues a report in 90 days. A U.S. bill that would restrict loans from international financial institutions to Turkey until it frees arrested U.S. citizens was also passed by a Senate committee on July 26. Brunson, a 50-year-old Christian pastor, was detained two years ago in Turkey on spying charges. He faces up to 35 years in prison if found guilty. He was accused of having links with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and the Fethullahist Terrorist Organization (FETO), blamed for being behind a failed coup in July 2016. A Turkish court ruled last week that Brunson should be moved from prison to house arrest over health concerns, but insisted on preventing him from leaving Turkey. The Brunson case is the latest in several disputes between Turkey and the U.S., which has repeatedly called for his release, claiming he was "unjustly detained." The Turkish government said Brunson's case is being handled by the courts and the government cannot intervene, stressing that "Turkey is a state of law." Despite Turkey's decision to get back at the U.S. move, Ankara has not declared any practical move against the U.S. sanctions as of Thursday. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo are likely to meet in Singapore on the sidelines of the 51st ASEAN foreign ministers meeting, a Turkish diplomat told Xinhua on condition of anonymity. U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened many countries, but in the end, he sat with them to negotiate on new deals, said Turkish columnist Ragip Soylu. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's considerable restraint in his public response to Trump implies that he is waiting for the next round of direct engagement, which is likely to happen on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly meetings, Soylu noted. Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-04 01:25:12|Editor: yan Video Player Close LISBON, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- Portugal's beer production increased by 11 percent in 2017 over the previous year, making it one of the three European countries where beer production increased most in the year, Eurostat said on Friday. The statistics were published to mark International Beer Day, which falls on the first Friday of August. It showed that the EU produced more than 41 billion liters of beer last year, 2.5 billion more than the year before, almost 81 liters per citizen. The EU statistics office said that beer production increased most in the Netherlands, which pumped out an extra 48 percent, followed by UK, 14 percent, and Portugal, 11 percent. However, despite the increased production, Portugal is far from being Europe's largest beer producer, a title held by Germany, which makes 8.1 billion liters a year or roughly one in every five liters made in the EU. Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-04 01:30:12|Editor: Li Xia Video Player Close A child plays by a fountain in Berlin, capital of Germany, on Aug. 3, 2018. As Europe's scorching heat wave continues to spread across the continent, forecasters are now saying the all-time temperature record in Europe could be broken in the coming days. (Xinhua/Shan Yuqi) BRUSSELS, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- As Europe's scorching heat wave continues to spread across the continent, forecasters are now saying the all-time temperature record in Europe could be broken in the coming days. The temperature in Spain and Portugal, in particular, are expected to rise dramatically over the weekend. Europe's weather warning group, Meteoalarm, has already issued red warnings - categorized as very dangerous and posing a risk to life - for much of southern Portugal and for the Badajoz province in Spain. Although holidaymakers might normally expect heat in the mid-30 degrees Celsius in these countries, there is the potential for extreme temperatures - edging towards 50 degrees Celsius. The current European record is 48 degrees Celsius set in Athens in July 1977. Spain's national weather service has put a warning in place until at least Sunday. This particular heatwave is due to "a plume of very dry, hot air from Africa", according to Met Office forecaster Sophie Yeomans, with much of Europe being hotter than usual for the time of year. According to Met Office data, the record for Spain was 47.3 degree Celsius, recorded on July 13, 2017 in Montoro, east of Cordoba, and for Portugal 47.4 degrees Celsius on Aug. 1 2003 in Amareleja, in the south-central Beja district. In other parts of Europe, Sweden's highest peak, a glacier on the Kebnekaise mountain, is melting at a rate of several centimeters a day. Scientists monitoring the decline say the glacier will lose its title of the highest point to the mountain's northern tip. Wildfires have also raged in some parts of Europe, the most devastating occurring across Greece killing more than 90 people, and Sweden has battled dozens of fires as far north as the Arctic Circle. One of the principal problems lies in the fact that few countries are sufficiently well-equipped to cope with the insufferable heat, although some abrupt measures have been taken by individual countries, including in Finland where supermarkets are allowing customers to sleep in its air-conditioned aisles. Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-04 01:45:14|Editor: yan Video Player Close by Xinhua writers Chen Wenxian, Du Zhen JERUSALEM, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- A modern Boeing Dreamliner 787 airplane landed on the Ben-Gurion International Airport of Tel Aviv on Thursday after 10-hour non-stop flight from Guangzhou, capital city of South China's Guangdong Province. The success of the maiden flight means that China's Hainan Airlines opened its third direct air route linking China and Israel. Three direct return flights per week between the two cities will be provided for passengers. The formal opening of the new air route was a really important step to strengthen the connection and relationship between China and Israel, Israel's Tourism Minister Yariv Levin said at the opening ceremony of the maiden flight at the airport. As early as in April 2016, Hainan Airlines opened the Beijing-Tel Aviv direct air route, its first direct air route between China and Israel. Later in September 2017, it launched the second direct air route, from Shanghai to Tel Aviv. Levin was confident that more Chinese would visit Israel and more Israelis would fly to China with the opening of the new air route, while expecting broader tourism cooperation between the two countries. With the opening of the new route, a total of 10 weekly direct flights between China and Israel are available. For the Beijing-Tel Aviv flights, about one third of the passengers are Israelis. The direct flights opened by Hainan Airlines in recent two years have contributed to the notable growth of the people-to-people exchanges between China and Israel, said Chinese Ambassador to Israel Zhan Yongxin at the ceremony. An aviation network between China and Israel's economic and innovation centers has taken shape, noted Zhan. According to the Chinese ambassador, about 130,000 Chinese people visited Israel in 2017, registering a year-on-year increase of 40 percent. On the Israeli side, about 53,000 Israelis travelled to China in 2017, demonstrating an equally strong momentum. On the bilateral economic and trade ties, the trade volume between the two countries witnessed a year-on-year increase of 15.6 percent to 13 billion U.S. dollars in 2017. In the first half of this year, the trade volume gained a year-on-year growth of 21.6 percent, with China's imports from Israel surging 47.2 percent. As China deepens its reform and widens its opening-up, both China and Israel now face more cooperation opportunities, said Zhan, adding that the relations between China and Israel will have a better year in 2018 and bring more benefits to people of the two countries. The opening of the new direct air route from China to Israel was very good to the relations in the sectors of tourism, economy and business between the two countries, said Israeli Minister of Transportation Yisael Katz in an interview with Xinhua. With the official opening of the Guangzhou-Tel Aviv route, Hainan Airlines has become the carrier with the most routes between China and Israel, offering comprehensive coverage of North China, East China and South China, said Chen Ming, vice board chairman of Hainan Airlines Holding Co., Ltd. The establishment of this metaphorical bridge in the sky will help the two countries share the prosperity brought by the Belt and Road Initiative, while promoting the continuous development of China-Israel relations, noted Chen. The initiative, proposed by China in 2013, refers to the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, aiming at building a trade and infrastructure network connecting Asia with Europe and Africa along the ancient Silk Road trade routes to seek common development and prosperity. Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-04 01:55:16|Editor: yan Video Player Close by Stefania Fumo ROME, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- Italy's oldest man, Lorenzo Berzero, died aged 110 on Thursday, local media reported Friday. He was born on March 2, 1908, in the village of San Germano Vercellese, which, with a population of about 1,800, is located in the northern Piedmont region whose capital is Turin, according to ANSA news agency. He is survived by a daughter and two grandchildren, and died at the retirement home where he had been living since 2015, according to Turin-based La Stampa newspaper. Berzero first worked as a "cavallante", or horse cart driver, taking seasonal farm laborers from the train station to the surrounding rice fields and back. He later became a driver for a transportation cooperative, and retired aged 67, his daughter Maria Teresa told La Stampa. Two years ago, in August 2016, La Stampa ran a story about Berzero under the headline: "Ferragosto (Italian summer holiday) at Varazze (seaside resort) at 108 years of age: a gift to the record-making grandfather who wanted to see the sea once more." "The air does me good, it reminds me of my youth," Berzero, who had not been to the seaside in 30 years, told La Stampa at the time. "He's happy to take walks, eats a lot, food is his passion," Maria Teresa added. "He has an immense will to live and continues to make plans for the future." While Berzero declined to reveal the secret of his longevity, his daughter said that he was in excellent health and took no medication, except for a pill for his blood pressure. Last month the oldest woman in Italy and in Europe, Giuseppina Projetto, died near Florence aged 116. Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-04 02:00:16|Editor: yan Video Player Close LUSAKA, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- Zambia's anti-corruption body on Friday welcomed the conviction of five former public workers for siphoning hundreds of public resources meant for improving health services. On Thursday, a court in Lusaka, the country's capital, sentenced five former workers in the Ministry of Health to 18 years in jail for money laundering and theft by public servant between 2007 and 2009. The thefts prompted the Swedish government to suspend funding to Zambia's health sector. Timothy Moono, Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) Corporate Affairs Manager, said the conviction of the former public workers should serve as a warning to other workers in government on the dangers of engaging in corrupt activities. He said the anti-corruption agency was happy that the prosecution team worked hard to ensure the conviction of the former public workers, adding that it was right step in tackling corruption in the public service. Members of the special purpose division demonstrate a "fight with a group of terrorists" during a show for townspeople in the Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk, Russia, August 13, 2017. (REUTERS PHOTO) MOSCOW, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- Russian law enforcement agencies foiled 19 terrorist attack attempts in the first six months of the year, a Russian official said Friday. The number of extremist acts decreased from the same period last year, said First Deputy Prosecutor General Alexander Buksman at a meeting of senior prosecution officials. The Prosecutor General's Office said Wednesday that the number of terrorism-related crimes in Russia dropped 14 percent year on year in January-June to 968. Most of such crimes were committed in North Caucasus, a hotbed of insurgency plagued for years by repeated violent attacks against governmental and military agencies and civilians. Russia has stepped up law enforcement efforts nationwide since a deadly bomb attack in the St. Petersburg metro in April 2017. Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-04 02:15:18|Editor: yan Video Player Close BERLIN, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- The inland shipping in Germany might come to a partial standstill if the drought continues. On the river Rhine, Germany's most important waterway, ships are only able to carry half or even less cargo as usual, the section responsible for shipping and waterways of the ministry of transport (GDWS) told the German press agency (dpa) on Friday. Due to high temperatures and low water levels, the production facilities of chemical giant BASF cannot be cooled sufficiently and the production had to be lowered, the company announced on Friday. In order to comply with the requirements of the German authorities, BASF had to gradually reduce production in their Ludwigshafen plant. During drought, the re-introduction of industrial cooling water into the Rhine is legally limited. "If the warm, high-pressure weather continues and no significant rain falls, water levels will continue to fall," said GDWS spokeswoman Claudia Thoma. "If necessary, shipping traffic may come to a partial standstill." Around 80 percent of all goods transported by inland navigation vessels are transported on the Rhine. In 2016, the former German minister of transportation Alexander Dobrindt enacted the transport infrastructure plan 2030 with a total volume of 269.6 billion euros (312.4 billion U.S. dollars). To prevent restrictions on Germany's waterways as experienced now, 24.5 billion euros were intended for projects such as the deepening of the riverbed of the Rhine. Sabine Juerschik, consultant for transport and logistics of the lower Rhine Chamber of Industry and Commerce (Niederrheinische IHK), told Xinhua that the water level in Germany's important industrial port of the city of Duisburg is currently heading towards the critical two-meter mark, compared to the average level of approximately 4 meters. At the moment, particularly large ships are already facing difficulties because of their draught. "The capacities on the water are there to relocate the transport," Juerschik said, "for example, the cargo could be distributed among several ships with less cargo. This, of course, would involve higher costs. Especially in the current situation we have to think about alternatives." According to the German water police, a tanker got stuck in the Rhine on Friday morning local time. Whether the tanker has been damaged is currently under investigation. Nobody was injured but the Rhine had to be temporarily closed for all transport ships. Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-04 02:20:20|Editor: yan Video Player Close WASHINGTON, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- Minnesota Timberwolves guard Derrick Rose has started a college scholarship program, which will award more than 400,000 U.S. dollars in tuition money, local media reported on Friday. The Rose scholarship program will focus "on students who are civically minded and demonstrate a willingness to lead", according to a news release, which quoted Rose saying, "I hope to provide students a path to college that was not previously available to them." Rose, 29, spent the 2017-18 season between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Timberwolves, averaging 8.4 points and 1.5 assists. The three-time All-Star and 2011 MVP is expected to serve as Jeff Teague's backup in Minnesota this season. A protester holds an anti-U.S. sign near the U.S. Embassy in Ankara, Turkey, on Aug. 3, 2018. (Xinhua/Mustafa Kaya) ANKARA, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- The ties between Turkey and the U.S. were once again strained by the rare U.S. sanctions on two Turkish ministers over Ankara's refusal to release detained U.S. pastor Andrew Brunson. "The Turkey-U.S. relations have passed to a stage of sanctions from the stage of intimidation," said Serkan Demirtas, Hurriyet Daily News commentator and an expert on Turkey's foreign policies. In a rare move, the U.S. Department of Treasury on Wednesday announced the sanctions on Turkey's Justice Minister Abdulhamit Gul and Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu, citing their roles in the detention of Brunson. Turkey vowed to respond by imposing retaliatory sanctions on the United States. "This development is a trough in bilateral relations between Turkey and the United States," Demirtas said, comparing it to the 1970s, when the U.S. imposed an arms embargo on Turkey because the Turkish military intervened in northern Cyprus. The expert noted that Washington has for long warned Ankara against the detention of several U.S. citizens, including Brunson and a U.S. Consulate staff member in Turkey, while expressing displeasure at Turkey's purchase of Russian S-400 anti-missile defense systems. The U.S. sanctions on Turkey have two paths in the United States, namely the Congress and the administration, Demirtas said, recalling that the U.S. Congress issued a couple of bills to punish Turkey, a NATO ally, over these issues. "The U.S. administration and Congress are acting in coordination regarding the case about Turkey," he said, stressing that it is worrying that Washington has shifted to a policy of using "sanctions tools" instead of diplomatic channels. Furthermore, the U.S. Senate overwhelmingly approved a 717-billion-dollar defense bill on Wednesday, which contains an amendment that prohibits the sale of F-35 jets to Turkey until Pentagon issues a report in 90 days. A U.S. bill that would restrict loans from international financial institutions to Turkey until it frees arrested U.S. citizens was also passed by a Senate committee on July 26. Brunson, a 50-year-old Christian pastor, was detained two years ago in Turkey on spying charges. He faces up to 35 years in prison if found guilty. He was accused of having links with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party and the Fethullahist Terrorist Organization, blamed for being behind a failed coup in July 2016. A Turkish court ruled last week that Brunson should be moved from prison to house arrest over health concerns, but insisted on preventing him from leaving Turkey. The Brunson case is the latest in several disputes between Turkey and the U.S., which has repeatedly called for his release, claiming he was "unjustly detained." The Turkish government said Brunson's case is being handled by the courts and the government cannot intervene, stressing that "Turkey is a state of law." Despite Turkey's decision to get back at the U.S. move, Ankara has not declared any practical move against the U.S. sanctions as of Thursday. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo are likely to meet in Singapore on the sidelines of the 51st ASEAN foreign ministers meeting, a Turkish diplomat told Xinhua on condition of anonymity. U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened many countries, but in the end, he sat with them to negotiate on new deals, said Turkish columnist Ragip Soylu. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's considerable restraint in his public response to Trump implies that he is waiting for the next round of direct engagement, which is likely to happen on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly meetings, Soylu noted. Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-04 02:35:24|Editor: yan Video Player Close HELSINKI, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- Finnish officials denied that a fire had broken out on board a CSA Czech Airlines jet preparing to take off from Helsinki on Friday. The passengers and crew of the aircraft were evacuated after some passengers had sensed the scent of smoke. Ismo Aaltonen, chief inspector of the Finnish Accident Investigation Center, told the media on Friday evening that the observation of smoke has been confirmed but the source of it remained unclear. The luggage on board has been investigated and no traces of smoke have been detected, he said. The black boxes of the aircraft will be looked through. No technical systems of the aircraft have reacted to smoke, Aaltonen said. The situation had begun as passengers in the front rows had banged on the walls of the front galley and the captain had then ordered the evacuation. As the Airbus 319 had left the gate, emergency chutes were used for the deplaning and some people got slight bruises. Aaltonen said the reaction of the aircraft crew appears to have been "stronger than the situation actually was". Newspaper Helsingin Sanomat quoted Aaltonen as saying that "in their training flight personnel have been taught to react strongly to extraordinary situations." The incident was first reported by some local media as a fire. Passengers were continuing their journey to Prague with other connections. Local media gave the flight number as OK.481 departing for Prague at 4 p.m. Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-04 02:35:25|Editor: yan Video Player Close By Stefania Fumo ROME, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- Banks are likely to play a prominent role in propelling Italy's green economy, S&P Global Ratings said in a recent report. Green bank loans are likely to rise as the country's small and midsize enterprises (SMEs) seek financing for their green projects and greater lending for green buildings, according to the report released on Thursday titled "Will The Momentum Build For Green Finance In Italy?" The country's SMEs are the backbone of Italy's private sector, which according to 2014 numbers issued by Istat national statistics agency was made up of 4.4 million companies employing 16.2 million people. At least 42 percent of Italian businesses are "green-oriented", according to a November 2017 report by Italy's Foundation for Sustainable Development. "The sectors with the highest density of companies making environmentalism a competitive factor are industry and agriculture," said the Foundation report, which examined companies that produce environmental goods or services (known as "core green") and those that adopt green management models ("go green"). Core green businesses make up 27 percent of Italian companies, and go green businesses make up 14.5 percent of the total. The Foundation for Sustainable Development report was presented by the National Green Economy Council, which represents 66 business organizations and works in cooperation with Italy's environment and industry ministries, at a national conference on the green economy during the previous centre-left government. Italy's new rightwing-populist coalition government is expected to continue the development of a green economy in line with the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement, according to S&P analysts. Specifically, the country aims to reduce emissions by at least 80 percent from its 1990 levels by 2030 in keeping with the EU's long-term Paris agreement target, the S&P report said. "Banks, which are a chief source of SME financing... have already been expanding their green financing activities, specifically in renewable energy," said S&P Global Ratings credit analyst Corinne Bendersky. According to a survey conducted by the Italian Banking Association's Observatory on Banks and Green Economy, major banks financed over 27 billion euros (31.3 billion U.S. dollars) of renewable energy capacity between 2007 and 2014. "Indeed, renewables represent around 37 percent of installed generating capacity and in 2017 alone 767 MW of renewable energy capacity was added to the Italian grid," the S&P report said. "We expect further expansion to meet the 28 percent target for renewable energy penetration in total energy consumption by 2030." Installed generating capacity is the maximum electric output a generator can produce. Total energy consumption is all the energy necessary to satisfy a country's domestic consumption, including fuels used to produce, process, and transport energy sources. Banks are also exploring the financing of green building and energy efficiency that would enable the country to reduce the carbon intensity of its building stock which, on average, is among the oldest in Europe. However, S&P analysts pointed to "deep-seated obstacles" to the greening of the Italian economy, including political tensions, high public debt, weak growth, and unequal income and wealth distribution across the country. Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-04 02:35:26|Editor: yan Video Player Close NAIROBI, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- Investors from Kenya and China's Guangdong province held a meeting in Nairobi on Friday to explore investment opportunities to help boost the East Africa nation's development blueprint. During the meeting, Kenyan officials called on investors from Guangdong to set up business in the country focusing on the government's development blueprint, dubbed the Big Four Agenda, dealing with affordable housing, universal healthcare, manufacturing and food security. In her opening remarks, Betty Maina, principal secretary for the Ministry of Industry and Trade told a trade forum in Nairobi that the development blueprint will help Kenya to make significant economic development. "I wish to remind our partners from Guangdong Province that enormous opportunities still exist within the framework of the Big Four Agenda," Maina said during the China (Guangdong)-Kenya Economic and Trade Cooperation Conference. Maina reiterated the government's commitment to enhance the partnership with Guangdong Province for a win-win arrangement within the Belt and Road Initiative. Maina said Kenya is particularly excited with the collaboration initiatives with Guangdong Province to enhance Kenya's production capacity. She noted that Kenya will support China for the success of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) scheduled to be held in September 2018. "We look forward to the renewed measures to be announced during this year's FOCAC," she added. She observed that China-Kenya relations has been growing over the years such as to date, China is Kenya's largest trading partner and the largest Overseas Development Assistance (ODA) contributor. Moses Ikiara, managing director of the Kenya Investment Authority (KIA), said Kenya and Guangdong Province have enjoyed a very good relationship in trade and investment. "Kenya is desirous of emulating Guangdong's development prowess," Ikiara said, noting that Kenya is proud that some companies from Guangdong are already investing in the country. He added that KIA is committed to not only helping investors from Guangdong find investment opportunities of their interest, find local partners, but also providing best-in-class and friendly pre-and-post- investment facilitation. Sun Baohong, Chinese Ambassador to Kenya, said both nations signed trade agreement as early as 1978, the very first year when China adopted the reform and opening-up policy. "In recent years, the level of economic and trade cooperation between our two countries has kept increasing. Now Kenya is China's strategic partner in pushing forward the Belt and Road Initiative and China-Africa industrial capacity cooperation," Sun said. She noted that because Kenya is a key cooperative partner, China will continue to push forward the integration of the Belt and Road Initiative with Kenya's development strategies such as the Big Four Agenda. She urged Kenya which is now in its initial stage of industrialization to utilize the high-quality production capacity, large amount of capital, advanced technologies and rich experience boasted by Guangdong, to achieve mutual benefits and win-win cooperation. Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-04 03:05:34|Editor: yan Video Player Close NICOSIA, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- The decision of Cypriot Parole Board on Friday to accept the petitions of two "celebrity" prisoners to be released from prison was criticized by both political parties and by ordinary citizens in messages on the social media. The two "celebrity" prisoners are disgraced former Assistant Attorney General Rikkos Erotokritou and Panayiotis Kafkaris who stayed in jail for more than 30 years for murdering a judge and his two children. Erotokritou was sentenced last February to three and a half years in jail for conspiring to subvert the course of justice and for bribery while serving as Deputy Attorney-General in 2013. He had been tried on charges of conspiring to launch the criminal prosecution of five Russian individuals and one company at the behest of and for the benefit of a big law firm, which had long been battling them in Cypriot and Russian courts over ownership and control of Providencia, a trust-fund worth hundreds of millions. In exchange, Erotokritou was rewarded for his troubles by the law firm failing to appear in court on the day of a lawsuit he filed against legacy Laiki Bank - demanding that over 500,000 euros (579,000 U.S. dollars) of his loans are offset against his impaired deposits as part of the 2013 resolution of the Cypriot banks. In its second decision, the Parole Board ordered the release of the longest-serving convict in Cyprus, Panayiotis Kafkaris, 72, who had been sentenced three times to imprisonment for life, after he murdered a 45 year old man and his two children aged 11 and 13, by placing a bomb under their car in 1987. People commented on the audacity and cruelty of the crime of Kafkaris, who had been a man of crime all his life. Kafkaris served 31 years in prison during which he fought his sentence in several petitions to the Cypriot Supreme Court and to the European Court of Human Rights over the duration of his incarceration. Kafkaris had applied to the Parole Board two times before but his requests for release were rejected. In July 2015, Kafkaris wrote a letter to the ombudsman and to the European Court of Human Rights asking to be put to death by euthanasia unless his request for parole was re-examined. Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-04 03:10:36|Editor: yan Video Player Close GENEVA, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- More than 1,500 refugees and migrants have lost their lives attempting to cross the Mediterranean Sea in the first seven months of 2018, the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, said Friday, noting that more must be done to combat smuggler networks. "The bleak milestone was confirmed after more than 850 lives were lost in June and July alone, marking the Mediterranean crossing as the deadliest sea route in the world," UNHCR said in a statement here. The agency said it is particularly concerned as the rate of deaths is increasing, despite the total number of people arriving on European shores significantly reduced compared to previous years. Some 60,000 people have crossed the Mediterranean so far this year, around half as many as during the same period last year, and a return to pre-2014 levels. said UNHCR. However, one in every 31 people attempting the crossing in June and July died or are missing, compared to one in 49 during 2017. "UNHCR urges States and authorities along transit routes to take all necessary action to dismantle and disrupt smuggler networks," said Vincent Cochetel, UNHCR special envoy for the Mediterranean. He said that to save lives at sea, appropriate measures must be used to hold to account those who seek to gain profit from the exploitation of vulnerable human beings. Refugees fleeing Syria make up around 13.5 percent of new sea arrivals in Europe, the largest nationality group, said UNHCR. Cochetel said exploitative traffickers and smugglers are reportedly organizing increasingly dangerous crossings, in ever-more unseaworthy and flimsy vessels. The boats, which smugglers severely overload with passengers, are then left to sail out at sea in the hope that a rescue will come in time. "Without further action, more people are expected to perish at sea in the months ahead, as traffickers look to exploit the opportunities offered by improved weather conditions," said UNHCR. The refugee agency said that unlike in previous years when Italy received the majority of new arrivals, Spain has become the primary destination, with more than 23,500 people arriving by sea, compared to around 18,500 in Italy and 16,000 in Greece. Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-04 03:35:44|Editor: Li Xia Video Player Close Palestinian medics carry a wounded man during clashes with Israeli troops on the Gaza-Israel border, east of Gaza City, on Aug. 3, 2018. A Palestinian was killed and 220 were wounded by Israeli soldiers on Friday during clashes near the Israel-Gaza border, Palestinian Health Minister spokesman in the Gaza Strip said. (Xinhua) GAZA, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- A Palestinian was killed and 220 others injured during clashes with Israeli soldiers in the eastern Gaza Strip close to the border with Israel on Friday afternoon. Ahmad Yaghi, 25, was shot dead by Israeli gunfire in eastern Gaza, Gaza Health Ministry Spokesmen Ashraf al-Qedra told reporters. Organizers of the protests called on the Palestinians to rally in solidarity with a Palestinian, who was killed after stabbing three Israelis in the West Bank. It is the 19th consecutive anti-Israel Friday protests since March 30, the first day of the ongoing Palestinian "Great March of Return" rally against Israel's 11-year crippling blockade and the U.S. embassy move to the disputed holy city of Jerusalem. The health ministry said the Israeli army has killed 155 Palestinians and wounded more than 17,000 others in the eastern Gaza Strip since the start of rallies and protests on March 30. Eyewitnesses said Gaza protesters on Friday flew the largest ever arson kite with a burning tire into Israel, while Israeli soldiers stationed at the border area fired dozens of tear gas canisters at the demonstrators. During the protests, an Israeli army tank fired a shell at a Hamas military lookout post east of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip in response to the fire and the bomb targeting Israeli soldiers from Gaza. The protests on Friday occurred a day after a senior Hamas delegation arrived in the Gaza Strip from Egypt to discuss a possible cease-fire with Israel and resume internal reconciliation with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah Party. Abdul-Latif Qanou, Hamas spokesman in Gaza, said in a statement that the marches have become very close to achieving its goals. "We are so close to picking up the fruits of the Great March of Return following the large sacrifices of our people. These marches will go on up to the end until it achieves all its national goals," he said. Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-04 04:10:51|Editor: yan Video Player Close TUNIS, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- The Tunisian navy saved 27 illegal immigrants who tried to cross the Mediterranean overnight Thursday, the defense ministry said Friday. In the first rescue operation, two boats carrying 13 and 7 people respectively were spotted sinking about 80 km off the coast of Kerkennah Islands in eastern Tunisia. Meanwhile, seven other illegal immigrants were rescued in the second operation before their boat sank in Kelibia, a coastal town in Nabeul Province in northeastern Tunisia. Since the 2011 uprising in Tunisia, illegal immigration to Europe, especially Italy and France, has steadily increased in the North African country, especially among young people who suffer from unemployment and socio-economic degradation. UN peacekeepers look out towards Syria from the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights on July 22, 2018. (AFP Photo) UNITED NATIONS, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- The UN peacekeeping force tasked to patrol the buffer zone between Syria and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights is gradually returning to its positions, but Russian personnel on patrol are not part of the UN force, a spokesman for the world body said Friday. The UN mission, known as the UN Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF), is implementing a gradual return after its 2014 withdrawal from positions due to the kidnapping of its personnel by al-Qaida-affiliated terrorists, said Farhan Haq, deputy spokesman for the UN secretary-general. He clarified that the Russian personnel mentioned in press reports are not part of UNDOF, which is comprised of personnel from UN members that are not permanent members of the Security Council. Russia is a permanent member of the council. As part of efforts to return incrementally to the area of separation, UNDOF on Thursday carried out a patrol to the Quneitra crossing point. The Syrians and Russian military police personnel simultaneously conducted a patrol to the area, said Haq. "Any Russian military police presence or planned deployment in the Syrian Arab Republic is separate and distinct from that of UNDOF," he clarified. In advance of its patrol, the UN force liaised with both the Syrian Arab Armed Forces and the Israel Defense Forces, said Haq. "UNDOF maintains regular contact with the Israel Defense Forces and Syrian Arab Armed Forces, as well as with relevant interlocutors related to the de-escalation zone in the southwest part of Syria," said Haq, who refused to say whether the "relevant interlocutors" include the Russians. The ultimate goal for UNDOF is the full return, conditions permitting, said Haq. UNDOF was first deployed in 1974 to separate Syrian and Israeli forces. Since then the buffer zone had remained quiet until the start of the Syrian civil war in 2011. Enditem Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-04 04:55:59|Editor: yan Video Player Close ANKARA, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- Turkey plans to issue Chinese yuan-denominated bonds for the first time, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Friday. "For the first time, we are issuing Chinese yuan-denominated bonds" because of "one-sided" reports of credit rating institutions, Erdogan said in a speech to unveil a 100-day action plan of the new cabinet. The Chinese, Mexican, Russian and Indian markets will become a priority for Turkish exports in the new era, he noted. During a ceremony held in the Presidential Palace in the capital Ankara, the Turkish president revealed the ambitious action plan which includes 400 projects in energy, foreign trade, education, health, agriculture and tourism sectors. Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-04 05:06:01|Editor: yan Video Player Close NICOSIA, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- A Cypriot court has opened the way for investigations to continue into the financial activities of international investor Bill Browder, by turning down his request for an order banning Cypriot authorities from offering judicial help to Russia, a court document detailing the decision said Friday. The issuing of a temporary court order before hearings preventing Cyprus from providing judicial assistance by allowing Russian investigators to probe Browder's activities had rocked relations between Cyprus and Russia in October last year. It also led to the demise of a senior attorney at the Cypriot Legal Service Department when it was revealed in hacked emails that she had a close association with a Russian colleague and worked on his behalf. The Cypriot judge who heard Browder's petition made it clear that his decision was not affected in the least by political other than legal considerations. The judge also said that he took into consideration that the request by the Russian authorities to Cyprus was only to provide judicial assistance and not to extradite Browder to Russia. Browder and his associate Ivan Cherkasov had applied to the court asking for an order preventing Cypriot authorities from providing facilities to Russian investigators to probe Browder's activities on the island. They claimed that the case was politically motivated, it would violate their human rights, and would cause them irreparable damage. "It has not been shown that in case the Republic of Cyprus executes the particular request for legal assistance from the Russian Federation that the plaintiffs will suffer irreparable damage...Nor have they claimed of course that they have suffered that as a result of the execution of previous requests," the judge said. Russian authorities had requested help from Cyprus to investigate charges of possible tax evasion against Browder following his campaign for justice for his lawyer Sergei Magnitsky, who died in a Russian prison nine years ago after exposing a large tax theft. Browder's lawyer, Christos Pourgourides, said after the court's decision that he would study the ruling before consulting with his clients on further action, including a possible appeal against the rejection of Browder's request. GREELEY, Colo., Aug. 02, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- JBS USA, a leading, global food company and the largest employer in Marshalltown, Iowa, today announced a $1 million investment to assist JBS USA team members, and to support long-term rebuilding efforts and community recovery needs due to the July 19, 2018, tornado. As part of the companys efforts to lend support to the Marshalltown community, JBS USA has donated $200,000 to Mid-Iowa Community Action, Inc. (MICA), a private, nonprofit organization that has served children and families in vulnerable situations in central Iowa since 1965. I dont have to tell anyone from Marshalltown what a huge impact the tornado has had on our communitys families. We, at MICA, have seen literally hundreds of those families in the last two weeks," said Arlene McAtee, MICA Executive Director. "The needs are large and diverse. This enormously generous gift from JBS is not only about addressing these needs, but telling the families and the community that there is hope and there are many in the JBS family who want to share in their recovery. We are very humbled by and grateful for this gift. It will be used to help so many families with their immediate needs and assist them with their longer term recovery. JBS USA has also donated $200,000 to the Rebuild Marshalltown Fund, which was established by the Community Foundation of Marshall County to raise funds to support community rebuilding efforts. The Community Foundation of Marshall County is dedicated to helping people help their community, said Dylan Does, Community Foundation of Marshall County Director. During this trying time, we have seen the power of this mission in action as our community has come together to help our neighbors in need. We are incredibly grateful for JBSs generosity and commitment to Marshalltown and the Rebuild Marshalltown Fund and it will be used for the significant rebuilding that lies ahead. JBS USA employs more than 2,300 team members in Marshalltown, many of whom suffered losses due to the tornado. To directly support its workforce, JBS USA has committed to paying all Marshalltown team members for a lost day of work due to the plant shutdown and the resulting reduced work hours. JBS USA has also provided financial assistance to those team members who were directly impacted by the storm. In addition, the JBS USA Marshalltown team has participated in local cleanup efforts, helping to remove debris and repair community homes, and hosted two community events, working alongside Iowa Select Farms, and local organizations and businesses to grill and provide free food and drink to members of the community. Combined with individual donations from JBS USA and Pilgrim's Pride team members via the United Way, the company has provided an additional $600,000 to assist Marshalltown team members and the Marshalltown community. We are humbled to contribute to the relief efforts in our hometown of Marshalltown, Iowa, said Todd Carl, JBS USA Marshalltown plant manager. This community has provided support to our plant and our team members for as long as I can remember. Our partnership with the community has been a major contributor to our long-term success. We are proud to be a part of Marshalltown and will stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the community as we rebuild. The JBS USA Marshalltown pork facility processes more than 5 million pigs per year, feeding approximately 80 million people per week. The facility is frequently visited by business associates from across the United States, Hong Kong, China, Japan, Mexico and others. Marshalltown is without question one of our flagship operations across the entire JBS global enterprise, said Martin Dooley, president and COO, JBS USA Pork. We routinely bring consumers, customers and foreign dignitaries to see the plant and experience the community of Marshalltown. The plant and the town are well-known and respected all around the world. We hope that getting the plant up and running again coupled with our financial investment in the community will help bring some modest amount of relief and comfort to the people of Marshalltown. The Marshalltown plant has been an integral part of the community since 1880 and was acquired by JBS USA in 2007. We have a long and storied history in Marshalltown, Dooley said. I lived and worked in Marshalltown for several years, so this devastating event resonates with me personally. We just want to do our part to help Marshalltown not only recover, but come back stronger than ever. ABOUT JBS USA JBS USA is a leading processor of beef, pork and prepared foods products in the U.S., beef in Canada and beef, pork, lamb and prepared foods products in Australia. JBS USA processes, prepares, packages and delivers fresh, further-processed and value-added beef, pork and lamb products for sale to customers in more than 100 countries on six continents. JBS USA is also a majority shareholder of Pilgrim's Pride Corporation, the largest poultry company in North America and owner of Moy Park, a leading poultry and prepared foods company in Europe. For more information, visit www.jbssa.com. ABOUT JBS USA MARSHALLTOWN JBS Pork in Marshalltown is a two-shift, pork processing facility, distribution center and warehouse centrally located in Iowa near Interstates 80 and 35. The facility employs more than 2,300 team members and is a key pork export plant, exporting approximately 30 percent of production to 26 different countries including Japan, Hong Kong, Mexico and China. The facility processes more than 5 million pigs per year and has the ability to feed approximately 80 million people per week. Contact: Cameron Bruett, JBS USA Corporate Affairs 970-506-7801 Cameron.bruett@jbssa.com Photos accompanying this announcement are available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/8d049a0e-9148-4ecc-a436-121c73e2a1b1 http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/73746ca1-e85b-4f88-9014-d0026e521448 MEXICO CITY, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- Mexican officials on Friday discovered the bodies of 11 people who had been tied up, tortured and shot dead inside a residence in the border town of Ciudad Juarez, in northern Chihuahua state, the local prosecutor's office told Xinhua. Juarez Mayor Armando Cabada told the local press that the victims were three women and eight men. He said the shooters placed paraphernalia used in the consumption of the synthetic drug "crystal" on the victims' bodies. Police officers were at the site searching for clues, according to officials. Although initial reports said the victims had been shot, police were still working to corroborate that information. According to Cabada, neighbors told authorities the house was uninhabited but was regularly used for parties. Local daily El Diario de Chihuahua published images of the grisly scene on its website, showing bodies lying face down on the floor in different rooms. All were bound at the feet and had their hands tied behind their backs, and seemed to have been shot execution style. Juarez has seen a wave of violence this year, which officials in Chihuahua have attributed to fights between the criminal groups La Linea and Los Aztecas, both of which have ties to drug cartels. To date there have been 700 homicides in the city. The house is located a few blocks from State Prison 3, the daily said, adding initial reports "indicate that at least two women are among the victims." Juarez, which lies directly across the border from El Paso, Texas, was for years ravaged by drug-related crime, leading the government to send the military to pacify the city. The strategy appeared to have been effective, with reports of crime falling. Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-04 06:16:13|Editor: yan Video Player Close LONDON, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- The 2018 Edinburgh International Festival began Friday night with a free, outdoor performance celebrating Scotland's Year of Young People. The opening event Five Telegrams is a unique collaboration between Anna Meredith, one of Scotland's most exciting contemporary composers, and Tony Award-winning artists, 59 Productions. Inspired by communications found in the Imperial War Museum which document the experience of young soldiers at the end of the First World War, the piece explores ideas of propaganda, censorship and technology, and their startling resonance across 100 years to the present day. It comprises a new work for orchestra, projected digital artworks on the Usher Hall and is experienced by the audience from Festival Square. The event is developed with contributions from Edinburgh-based young people, who co-design elements of the work and participate in it. Over 250 young people are taking part in the performance. The festival, running from Friday to Aug. 27, welcomes 2,750 artists from 31 nations to perform in Scotland's capital city and attracts visitors from all over the world. Also opened on Friday was the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, which was established in 1947 as an alternative to the Edinburgh International Festival. The Edinburgh International Festival is an unparalleled celebration of the performing arts and an annual meeting point for peoples of all nations. Committed to virtuosity and originality, the festival presents some of the finest performers and ensembles from the worlds of dance, opera, music and theatre for three weeks in August. Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-04 07:06:19|Editor: Li Xia Video Player Close GABORONE, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- Botswana intends to give more land to farming entrepreneurs, as part of efforts to boost economic activities in the country and create more jobs. Addressing farmers in Pandamatenga, a village in North-West District, some 700 km from Gaborone, capital of Botswana, President Mokgweetsi Masisi on Friday said. "In view of the limited agricultural land available in the Chobe District, government will release more land for both subsistence and commercial farming," Masisi said. "As you all know, the Chobe District is classified as a tourism and farming centre of Botswana which will undoubtedly contribute to job creation," the president added. Botswana's unemployment rate has been spiraling, raising concerns for both the government and communities. Statistics indicated that Chobe is the highest producer of grain in the whole country. The area once experienced a bumper harvest of over 76,168 metric tonnes in the 2013/2014 season due to good rains. However, Masisi bemoaned that the region has experienced fluctuations in harvesting ranging from 41,742 to 61,959 metric tonnes because of changes in rain patterns over the years. Masisi revealed that Botswana and Zimbabwe have initiated a collaboration to strengthen cooperation in the management of migratory pests such as fruitfly, quelea birds, armyworm and locust. An official of the radical nationalist Jobbik party has accused ruling Fidesz of waging a war of terror against free speech and Prime Minister Viktor Orban of representing the Bolshevik tradition of suppressing and eliminating alternative thinking. The onetime liberal terror against free speech represented by the now defunct SZDSZ party now has been succeeded by a Fidesz-led one, deputy party leader Eniko Hegedus told a press conference in reaction to what she called a demonstration of power; the occupation by force of the studio of commercial news channel Hir TV the previous day. Hir TV was sold late last month by business magnate Lajos Simicska, alongside his other media outlets, to Zsolt Nyerges, his former business partner. Nyerges on Wednesday announced changes in the entire management and staff at the broadcaster that include a return of former staff members. Simicska bought Hir TV in 2015 after fallen out with ruling Fidesz and Prime Minister Viktor Orban. The Socialists said Hungarys media was undergoing unprecedented developments, with press freedom soon becoming nonexistent. Gergely Orsi, the deputy leader of the Socialists Budapest chapter, said that the term free press meant for the ruling party that businessmen linked to Fidesz such as Zsolt Nyerges, Lorinc Meszaros and Arpad Habony were free to buy any media outlets and finance their operation from state ads, some of them even at a loss. He said it was not normal by Fidesz to state that the party got back a broadcaster that had earlier been taken away from them. From the organisers: Every year on 20th August Hungarians celebrate the founding of the Hungarian state with amazing fireworks in Budapest. On this occasion Columbus Boat offers a dinner with mouth-watering dishes and tasty drinks. The dock boat anchors on Vigado Square between the Chain Bridge and Elisabeth Bridge with the best view to the Buda side of Budapest and of course to the fireworks. If you want to make your evening even more memorable, book a table on the Columbus terraces or in the Santa Maria room to watch the magnificent firework from the first row. Cosy live music, buffet menu dinner, refreshing drinks and the stunning view will make your stay on Columbus perfect to celebrate the Hungarian National Holiday! More information / Reservation by clicking here Columbus Pub & Restaurant 1051 Budapest, Vigado Square Dock 4. +36-1-266-9013, +36-30-638-8842 E-mail: sales@columbuspub.hu DREDGING CONTINUES this week at Saxon Harbor, where basins filled with dirt and debris in 2016 summer flooding. By RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] Hurley - While work is continuing to rebuild Saxon Harbor, the planned reopening may be slightly delayed. Iron County Forestry and Parks Administrator Eric Peterson told the Iron County Board of Supervisors Tuesday everyone is still shooting for the spring 2019 reopening for the marina. But he said additional project requirements and various delays in rebuilding the harbor after it was destroyed in the July 2016 storm could push that timeline back. "We're pushing awful hard for it, but we're getting down to where I don't think we're going to make it," Peterson said. "We're pushing as hard as we can." He said one roadblock came when the Federal Emergency Management Agency's flood insurance branch required an additional 170 feet of sheet pilings be installed in Oronto Creek near the marina spillway to strengthen the creek banks. The requirement came in response to the Wisconsin Department of Transportation filing paperwork regarding changes to the flood plain because of the construction. While the county will receive assistance paying for the extra work - FEMA reimburses 75 percent of eligible costs for the Saxon Harbor rebuilding project, with Wisconsin Emergency Management paying an additional 12.5 percent of eligible costs - Peterson said it took time to design, plan and build. "That cost us better than two weeks, otherwise the plan was to have the out-of-the-water marina stuff ready to bid today," Peterson said. Even if the marina project isn't completed by the spring 2019 target, Peterson said Thursday he didn't expect the opening to be delayed too long. "We're still pushing to try and get all the sidewalks ... that the docks attach to, we're still pushing to get all those done before winter," Peterson said, adding any delay would only push the opening back to late spring or early summer. "We'd just be doing finishing work next spring." Peterson said the campground opening continues to be projected for mid to late next summer. Peterson told the board the rest of the work on the marina is going fairly well. The county's contract with Ashland-based M. Jolma Inc. to remove debris and sediment from Oronto Creek between the marina's boat lift and Parker Creek, as well as Parker Creek from the confluence with Oronto to Lake Superior, is complete. While the original bid for the project was $220,542, Peterson said the final price came in around $218,000. Work continues on the larger, $2.77 million dredging contract with Roen Salvage - which includes dredging and rebuilding various parts of the harbor. Peterson said the marina's north basin is entirely dredged, as is the channel the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is responsible for, with work under way dredging the south basin. He anticipated the dredging be completed in early September. The rainstorms this mid-June resulted in some additional damage to the harbor, according to Peterson, with 5,500 cubic yards of material washed into the marina and some pavement was lost. He said the county is working through the insurance process, but is also preparing paperwork for a second disaster to submit to FEMA, if needed. The county will likely have to amend the dredging contract to account for the additional sediment washed into the marina. "Roen has a contract for 23,500 yards of material, and there's 5,500 new yards on top of that. I can't get rid of one without the other," Peterson said. He told the board the damage from the latest storms was to areas of the site that hadn't been completed yet, and the finished work wasn't damaged. The Eau Claire-based McCabe Construction is the subcontractor responsible for the non-dredging part of Roen's contract, which includes repairs to the retaining wall around the basin, constructing the new boat landing, rebuilding the east boat launches, replacing the wood bumpers along the east wall of the marina and work on the marina's center peninsula. Peterson said the north wall of the north basin is in and the south wall of the south basin was expected to have been completed Wednesday. Once done, work will begin on the marina's center. He hopes to have all the pre-cast walls complete around the harbor in place by Sept. 1. "We had some delay on that contract," Peterson said. "It was supposed to get started June 4, but we didn't get confirmation from FEMA until about the third week of June that they were going to approve those pre-cast walls. ... That's where we're running into a little bit of a delay there." Peterson said the contract for the rest of the marina work is in the final stage and will hopefully be bid out in the coming weeks. Regarding work on the campground, Peterson said the FEMA-required environmental assessment has been submitted and revisions are under way. He said he didn't expect there to be any significant issues with the assessment. "We're not getting any kickback from FEMA on anything. However, it's taking time to move through the channels," Peterson said. While the process is under way, the county hopes to bid out a mass excavation contract this fall. "That's basically just dirt moving, and that's stuff they can work on in fall and into early winter before things freeze up," Peterson said. "There's close to 100,000 cubic of yards of material that need to be moved, so it's a pretty big dirt pile." Along with the rebuilding of the harbor, work is also under way rebuilding County A at the harbor. The bridge deck for the new bridge over Oronto Creek has been poured and is currently curing before work continues. VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Aug. 02, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Equinox Gold Corp. (TSX-V: EQX, OTC: EQXGF) (Equinox Gold or the Company) is pleased to announce that the Company has released its unaudited condensed consolidated interim financial statements (Q2 Financial Statements) and related managements discussion and analysis (Q2 MD&A) for the three and six months ended June 30, 2018 (Q2 2018 or the Quarter). Equinox Golds principal assets are its wholly-owned, past-producing Aurizona Gold Mine in Maranhao, Brazil (Aurizona) and its wholly-owned, past-producing Castle Mountain Gold Mine in California, USA (Castle Mountain). The Companys primary focus is completing construction and achieving production at Aurizona, which is on track to pour gold before the end of 2018 with average annual production of over 136,000 ounces. The Company also recently completed a prefeasibility study for Castle Mountain with the objective of commissioning Phase 1 production by the end of 2019. Second Quarter 2018 Financial Highlights and Recent Developments Aurizona construction on schedule to achieve year-end 2018 gold pour Overall project 60% complete and plant construction 51% complete at June 30, 2018 SAG and ball mills delivered to site, installation underway Pre-production mining activities commenced in April Ore stockpiling commenced in July $146 million Aurizona construction budget on track and fully funded. As at June 30, 2018: $64 million spent (includes project construction activities from Q4 2017) Cash on hand of $65 million Undrawn portion of construction debt facility of $30 million Receivables in excess of $12 million Castle Mountain prefeasibility results announced 16-year mine life with 3.6 million ounces (oz) of gold reserves 2.8 million oz life-of-mine (LOM) gold production $763 per oz LOM all-in sustaining costs (AISC) $865 million after-tax LOM cumulative cash flow $406 million after-tax net present value discounted at 5% (NPV 5% ) Divestiture of non-core assets Shareholders approved spin-out of copper assets to create Solaris Copper Koricancha sale announced for gross proceeds of C$19.9 million (US$15.1 million) Received milestone payment of $4.7 million related to December 2017 sale of Coringa project Aurizona Aurizona construction is proceeding on schedule to achieve first gold pour by year-end 2018. The overall project was 60% complete and plant construction was 51% complete at the end of June. Pre-production mining activities commenced in April and ore stockpiling commenced in July in preparation for commissioning later in 2018. During the Quarter the Company expended $21.9 million on Aurizona construction activities which, when added to the amount expended on early project works during Q3 and Q4 2017 and Q1 2018, brings the total construction expenditures at June 30, 2018 to $63.5 million. With a construction budget of $146 million, the remaining project capital will be funded by cash and marketable securities of $65.5 million, receivables of more than $12.0 million and $30.0 million of undrawn construction debt financing. While the Aurizona construction team is focused on achieving production, Equinox Golds exploration team is focused on mine life extension and district-scale opportunities. During the Quarter the Company announced that an initial drill program is underway at Tatajuba, the western extension of the main Piaba Trend that hosts Aurizona. The Tatajuba target measures over 4 km in length as defined by coherent gold-in-soil anomalism, geophysics (magnetics), auger drilling and limited diamond drilling. The initial 2,000 metre (m) drill program is focused on an approximately 600 m long portion of the trend where historical drilling intersected significant shallow gold mineralization. Other district-scale targets will be tested with upcoming exploration programs and a study is underway examining opportunities to develop the underground potential of the Aurizona gold deposit. Drill results from more than 15,000 m of drilling in 2017 at the Piaba and Piaba West targets are being incorporated into a resource update that is targeted for completion in Q3 2018. Castle Mountain The Company expended $1.7 million on exploration and related technical activities during the Quarter to support completion of a prefeasibility study for Castle Mountain. The Company released the results of the prefeasibility study on July 16, 2018, contemplating a low-cost heap leach gold mine that will produce 2.8 million oz of gold and generate $865 million in after-tax cash flow over a 16-year mine life. Castle Mountain will be developed in two phases with annual average gold production of 45,000 oz over the first three years (Phase 1) and annual average gold production of 203,000 oz from years 4 to 16 (Phase 2), for total LOM gold production of 2.8 million oz. LOM AISC are estimated at $763/oz, which is in the lowest quartile of the industry. The Project demonstrates strong returns with an after-tax NPV 5% of $406 million and an after-tax internal rate of return of 20% using the base case gold price of $1,250/oz ($534 million and 25% at $1,350/oz gold price). The Project is expected to generate average annual after-tax net operating cash flow of $83 million with cumulative LOM after-tax net cash flow of $865 million. At $1,350/oz gold, the Project would average more than $96 million in after-tax net operating cash flow annually and generate more than $1 billion in cumulative after-tax net cash flow over the 16-year mine life. Initial capital for Phase 1 construction is estimated at $52 million, with many aspects of the Phase 2 expansion incorporated into the design to reduce total LOM capital costs. Initial capital for Phase 2 construction is estimated at $295 million. LOM sustaining capital is estimated at $142 million. Corporate and Other With completion of the Castle Mountain prefeasibility study, Equinox Golds proven and probable reserves increased by more than 350% to 4.5 million oz of gold at a gold grade of 0.65 g/t with 3.0 million oz in the Proven category contained in 145.0 million tonnes at a gold grade of 0.63 g/t and 1.6 million oz in the Probable category contained in 72.4 million tonnes at a gold grade of 0.68 g/t. The Companys combined Measured & Indicated Mineral Resources are now estimated at 6.0 million oz of gold (inclusive of reserves) with 3.5 million oz in the Measured category contained in 169.8 million tonnes at a gold grade of 0.64 g/t and 2.5 million oz in the Indicated category contained in 101.5 million tonnes at a gold grade of 0.76 g/t, and additional Inferred Mineral Resources of 2.9 million oz contained in 178.5 million tonnes at a gold grade of 0.51 g/t. Standby Loan At the time of its acquisition by Equinox Gold, Anfield Gold Corp. (Anfield) and its largest shareholder, Ross Beaty, offered future support to ensure cash receivable in relation to Anfields disposal of its Coringa project (the Coringa Disposal) would be realized by Equinox Gold prior to the end of 2018. On August 2, 2018, the Company formalized this offer of support by entering into a standby loan arrangement (the Standby Loan) with its Chairman, Ross Beaty, wherein he will make available up to $12 million that can be used by the Company for the continued development, construction and general working capital requirements of the Companys Aurizona Gold Mine located in Brazil. The remaining $12 million receivable under the Coringa Disposal is not due until December 2019 and, when received, will be used to repay any amounts drawn under the Standby Loan. The Standby Loan is unsecured. In the event the Company draws on the loan and defaults on repayment, Mr. Beaty has the right to assume a share pledge the Company holds as security for its $12 million receivable from Serabi Gold plc (Serabi). The Standby Loan will bear interest and fees at commercial rates, draw availability will be from September 1, 2018 to December 20, 2019 and repayment will not be before the end of the draw availability period, which is expected after receipt of payment of $12 million in relation to the receivable due from Serabi. Mr. Beaty is considered a related party of Equinox, and the loan transaction (the Transaction) constitutes a related party transaction within the meaning of Multilateral Instrument 61-101 Take-over Bids and Special Transactions (MI 61-101). The Transaction is exempt from the minority approval requirement of Section 5.6 of MI 61-101 as neither the fair market value of the Transaction, nor the fair market value of the consideration for the Transaction, exceeds 25% of Equinoxs market capitalization. In addition, the Transaction does not require a formal valuation since the Transaction does not fall within any of paragraphs (a) to (g) of the definition of related party transaction under MI 61-101. To the knowledge of Equinox or any director or senior officer of Equinox, after reasonable inquiry, no prior valuations (as defined in MI 61-101) in respect of Equinox that relates to the Transaction, or is relevant to the Transaction, has been prepared within the 24 months preceding the date hereof. All of the terms and conditions of the Transaction were reviewed and unanimously approved by the board of directors of Equinox at a duly constituted meeting on August 2, 2018. Grant of RSUs Pursuant to the Companys stock option plan and restricted share unit plan, the Company has granted a total of 292,368 restricted share units (RSUs) issuable in common shares of the Company to certain directors and employees. The RSUs vest 50% after 12 months from the date of grant and the remaining 50% after 24 months from the date of grant. Incentive stock options were granted to an employee to purchase 15,000 common shares at C$1.00 per share vesting 50% after 12 months and the remaining 50% after 24 months from the date of grant, expiring after a term of five years. Also pursuant to its restricted share unit plan, the Company has made a one-time grant to its Chairman, Ross Beaty, of four million restricted share units (the Grant) with performance-based vesting conditions (pRSUs) to be settled in common shares (Shares) of the Company if certain performance criteria are met. The pRSUs vest in four separate tranches based on the Companys share price performance and contain performance multipliers ranging from 1x to 3x, depending on the share price achieved. 15% of the pRSUs (with a 1x multiplier) vest on the Companys Share price reaching C$1.50; 20% of the pRSUs (with a 2x multiplier) vest on the Companys Share price reaching C$2.00; 30% of the pRSUs (with a 2.5x multiplier) vest on the Companys Share price reaching C$2.50; and the remaining 35% of pRSUs (with a 3x multiplier) vest on the Companys Share price reaching C$3.00. The performance multipliers provide for a total of up to 9.4 million Shares to be issued if all share price thresholds are achieved, however if these thresholds are not achieved, no shares will be issued. The Grant is valid for five years and any Shares issued in connection with the Grant will have a mandatory hold period of two years, resulting in a long term performance incentive and commitment by Mr. Beaty. Additional information regarding the Companys financial results, activities underway at Aurizona and Castle Mountain and the Companys long-term business strategy is available in the Q2 Financial Statements and accompanying Q2 MD&A, which are available for download on the Companys website at www.equinoxgold.com and on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. On Behalf of the Board of Equinox Gold Corp. Christian Milau CEO & Director Qualified Person and Disclosure David Laing, BSc, MIMMM, Equinox Golds Chief Operating Officer, and Scott Heffernan, MSc, P.Geo. Equinox Golds EVP Exploration, are the Qualified Persons under NI 43-101 for Equinox Gold and have reviewed, approved and verified the technical content of this document. About Equinox Gold Equinox Gold is a Canadian mining company with a multi-million-ounce gold reserve base and near-term production from two past-producing mines in Brazil and California. Construction is underway at the Companys Aurizona Gold Mine in Brazil with the objective of pouring gold by year-end 2018, and the Company is advancing its Castle Mountain Gold Mine in California with the objective of commissioning Phase 1 operations by the end of 2019. Further information about Equinox Golds current portfolio of assets and long-term growth strategy is available at www.equinoxgold.com or by email at ir@equinoxgold.com. Equinox Gold Contacts Christian Milau, CEO Rhylin Bailie, Vice President Investor Relations Tel: +1 604-558-0560 Email: ir@equinoxgold.com Cautionary Notes and Forward-Looking Statements Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as such term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. This document contains certain forward-looking information and forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities legislation (collectively forward-looking statements). The use of the words will, expected, objective, anticipated, underway, targeted, expectation, scheduled and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements contained in this news release include, but are not limited to, statements regarding construction activities underway at Aurizona, the Castle Mountain prefeasibility study, the potential for other assets of the Company, and the growth potential of the Company. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements and/or information are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking statements since the Company can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results or events to differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements, including the risks, uncertainties and other factors identified in the Companys periodic filings with Canadian securities regulators, and assumptions made with regard to the Companys ability to complete construction at Aurizona on budget or at all, and the timing to achieve production; the Companys ability to recommence production at Castle Mountain, the timing to achieve production, and the Companys ability to achieve the results contemplated in the prefeasibility study; and the Companys ability to achieve its expected growth and production potential. Furthermore, the forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made as at the date of this news release and the Company does not undertake any obligations to publicly update and/or revise any of the included forward-looking statements, whether as a result of additional information, future events and/or otherwise, except as may be required by applicable securities laws. Coun Perez reiterates warning to barangay leaders involved in drugs 07 Aug 2017 Hits:37 Comments(0) Liga ng mga Barangay President, Councilor Jerry Perez yesterday reiterated his warning to all barangay officials from using or selling drugs. Perez said he is closely monitoring the activities of all the barangay officials and vowed sanctions against erring leaders. Aqui gane na mio barangay ya quita ya iyo na puesto cunel dos barangay leaders quien mas temprano ya sale positivo na... President Trump, in a speech in Wilkes-Barre Thursday, said he had never met U.S. Sen. Bob Casey Jr., D-Pa. The two men spoke during a White House meeting on trade in February, with U.S. Rep. Kevin Brady, R-Texas, sitting between them. Read more Fact-checking a speech by President Trump that spans more than an hour can be a tough task. Sometimes the president helps out by raising doubts about his own claims and posting proof that they are false on the White House website, as with one of the first things Trump said about U.S. Sen. Bob Casey Jr., a Pennsylvania Democrat, during a speech Thursday night in Wilkes-Barre. Sometimes the media has to do it all for him: The Washington Post, for instance, has documented 4,229 false or misleading Trump claims from the inauguration through July 31. (The pace of the untruths has been increasing.) Theyve met "So I've been in Washington now for more than a year and a half," Trump said while campaigning for U.S. Rep. Lou Barletta, who is challenging Casey's bid for a third term. "I'm not sure I ever met Bob Casey. I never met him. And I'm sure I did. I shouldn't be saying that. But I'm not sure." There, in 40 words, Trump suggested something, then asserted it as fact, then admitted it was probably not true, and finally said he didn't know what was true. Trump and Casey have met at least once, according to a transcript of a White House meeting on Feb. 13, when the president, Vice President Pence, members of the cabinet, and members of the U.S. Congress gathered to discuss trade. Casey spoke directly to Trump about issues in steel manufacturing in Pennsylvania. "Thank you very much," Trump responded to Casey in that meeting. "I appreciate it." Supreme Court Trump then moved on to his nomination of Brett Kavanaugh for the U.S. Supreme Court. "And you know what?" Trump asked the Wilkes-Barre crowd. "I think Casey doesn't even want to meet with him." Casey has announced his opposition to the nomination for Kavanaugh, a federal appeals judge in Washington, D.C., citing concerns he has about the conservative groups that drew up a list of potential Supreme Court picks for Trump and the impact that could have on unions and workers. But a spokesperson for his Senate office said Friday that White House representatives have not contacted Casey to set up a meeting. And Casey has said he would meet with Kavanaugh. Abolish ICE? Trump knocked Casey on a couple of issues around immigration. "Bob Casey wants to fire the incredible men and women of ICE," Trump claimed. "He wants to abolish ICE." Casey is on record opposing the abolition of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency. He attended a press conference last week where Senate Democrats shot down the idea. A spokeswoman said Casey reiterated his view Friday that all federal agencies need oversight but did not want to disband the agency. Open borders? Trump also claimed Bob Casey wants an "open borders" immigration policy. "Bob Casey wants open borders, which means crime," Trump said. "He wants people to pour in." Trump went on to claim "Bob Casey doesn't mind MS-13 coming in," a reference to a notorious Central American gang. Casey as recently as February lamented that Senate Republicans could not muster the votes needed to pass what he called comprehensive immigration reform legislation that would have paid for more border security, including funding toward the wall. Trump, who had previously said he would support a bipartisan effort, tweeted just before the vote that the legislation was a "total catastrophe." Debate fear Trump claimed Casey was ducking debates with Barletta. "I hear Bob Casey is afraid to debate Lou Barletta," Trump claimed. "He doesn't want to. I hear he's afraid to debate. Is that true?" No, it's not true. Casey's campaign said it is in the process of scheduling debates but has no details to release as of Friday. A spokesman for Casey's Senate office said he said publicly on Friday that he plans to debate Barletta closer to the Nov. 6 general election. SEATTLE, Aug. 03, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- CFN Media Group (CFN Media), the leading agency and financial media network dedicated to the North American cannabis industry, today announced publication of an article covering SpeakEasy Cannabis Club Ltd. (CSE:EASY) (EASY.CN) (CNSX:EASY) (FFT:39H). The company has shifted their focus to include outdoor cultivation. Investors may want to consider diversifying their portfolio across both types of cultivators to realize the benefits of each option. Canadas cannabis industry is projected to reach C$22.6 billion over the coming years, according to Deloitte, driven by the legalization of adult-use cannabis nationwide later this year. Last month, the government surprised many industry analysts and participants by legalizing the outdoor cultivation of cannabis in an attempt to lower prices, increase global competitiveness, and better compete with black market products. Canadas Controversial Outdoor Grow Decision Canada, like most jurisdictions where cannabis has been legalized, has historically required cultivators to grow their crops in tightly regulated indoor facilities. Licensed producers invested billions of dollars in brand new indoor cultivation facilities in compliance with the countrys original cannabis cultivation regulations. The high cost of these facilities has translated to relatively high costs for products that ultimately hit consumers. The Canadian government surprised many licensed producers and industry analysts by legalizing outdoor growing in the final cannabis legalization rules. The move was designed to help lower cannabis prices to better compete with black market products, while ultimately positioning the country as a leading supplier to the global market. Unfortunately, that leaves many licensed producers that spent billion on indoor facilities in a bind. Our decision to allow outdoor grow under strict rules is the result of extensive consultations and will contribute to creating a diverse and competitive legal cannabis industry with the ultimately goal of displacing the illegal market, said Thierry Belair, spokesperson for Ginette Petitpas Taylor, the Canadian Health Minister, according to The Globe and Mail. Despite the industrys concerns, there could be room for both types of growing in the modern cannabis industry. Outdoor cultivation could become critical for the supply of extract products, such as cannabidiol (CBD) and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) oils, which are used in vape and edible products. Meanwhile, indoor greenhouse operations could remain ideal for creating highly specific medical or high-potency cannabis strains. Investing in LPs Focused on Outdoor Cannabis Most licensed producers are focused on indoor cannabis cultivation since that has been the status quo since the MMPR regulations were introduced years ago. With outdoor cultivation legalized last month, there are only a handful of companies that are actively pursuing or adjusting their plans to grow cannabis outdoors. Investors may want to consider these companies as a way to diversify their portfolio across indoor and outdoor opportunities. SpeakEasy Cannabis Club Ltd. (CSE: EASY), a late-stage ACMPR applicant, became one of the most high-profile companies to shift its focus to outdoor production. On August 1, the company announced plans to begin work on its first 60 acre outdoor plantation and processing facility in Rock Creek, British Columbia. The 2.6 million square foot outdoor production area would make it one of the largest licensed producers in Canada. The recent release of regulations allowing outdoor production is a dream come true for us, said SpeakEasy CEO Marc Geen. It has always been our plan to grow outdoors on a large scale, but we did not expect regulations to allow it to happen this soon. The climate here in Rock Creek is absolutely perfect for growing cannabis outdoors and we are thrilled at the opportunity to begin as soon as possible. The company anticipates that development costs will be less than $10.00 per square foot. By comparison, indoor facilities can cost 20 to 30 times as much to build. Its production costs are also expected to be about one-quarter of the cost of indoor facilities, which range from $1.00 to $1.75 per gram for greenhouse production and $2.00 or more per gram for indoor facilities that are more tightly controlled than greenhouses. Looking Ahead SpeakEasy Cannabis Club Ltd. (CSE: EASY) is a late-stage ACMPR applicant that could become one of the largest cannabis producers in the country with 290 acres of land and plans to build a 60 acre outdoor cultivation footprint starting next Spring. Investors may want to consider the stock as a way to diversify their holdings from indoor cultivators to include outdoor cultivators that could benefit from lower development and production costs. For more information, visit the companys website at https://speakeasygrowers.com/. Please follow the link to read the full article: http://www.cannabisfn.com/canadas-new-outdoor-grow-regulations-create-new-risks-opportunities/ About CFN Media CFN Media (CannabisFN) is the leading agency and financial media network dedicated to the global cannabis industry, helps companies operating in the space attract investors, capital, and publicity. Since 2013, private and public cannabis companies in the US and Canada have relied on CFN Media to grow and succeed. Learn how to become a CFN Media client company, brand or entrepreneur: http://www.cannabisfn.com/featuredcompany Download the CFN Media iOS mobile app to access the world of cannabis from the palm of your hand: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/cannabisfn/id988009247?ls=1&mt=8 Or visit our homepage and enter your mobile number under the Apple App Store logo to receive a download link text on your iPhone: http://www.cannabisfn.com Disclaimer CannabisFN.com is not an independent financial investment advisor or broker-dealer. You should always consult with your own independent legal, tax, and/or investment professionals before making any investment decisions. The information provided on http://www.cannabisfn.com (the Site) is either original financial news or paid advertisements drafted by our in-house team or provided by an affiliate. CannabisFN.com, a financial news media and marketing firm enters into media buys or service agreements with the companies that are the subject of the articles posted on the Site or other editorials for advertising such companies. We are not an independent news media provider. We make no warranty or representation about the information including its completeness, accuracy, truthfulness or reliability and we disclaim, expressly and implicitly, all warranties of any kind, including whether the Information is complete, accurate, truthful, or reliable. As such, your use of the information is at your own risk. Nor do we undertake any obligation to update the items posted. CannabisFN.com received compensation for producing and presenting high quality and sophisticated content on CannabisFN.com along with financial and corporate news. The above article is sponsored content. Emerging Growth LLC, which owns CannabisFN.com and CFN Media, has been hired to create awareness. Please follow the link below to view our full disclosure outlining our compensation: http://www.cannabisfn.com/legal-disclaimer/ Frank Lane 206-369-7050 Flane@cannabisfn.com English French MONTREAL, Aug. 03, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- (NYSE: CAE; TSX: CAE) Representatives of the media are invited to attend CAE's 2018 Annual Meeting of Shareholders on Tuesday, August 14, at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time (ET). The meeting will be held at the CAE offices in Saint-Laurent, Quebec (Entrance 4 Auditorium). At the meeting, members of CAE senior management will review the activities of fiscal year 2018 and present the financial results for the first quarter of fiscal year 2019 ended June 30, 2018. Marc Parent, President and Chief Executive Officer, will also discuss prospects for the current fiscal year. The meeting will be webcast live via video on CAE's site at www.cae.com. The webcast will be archived following the event. Please note that broadcast and photographic equipment will only be allowed in the shareholder meeting room for the first 10 minutes. Following the annual meeting, at approximately 12:00 p.m. ET, Marc Parent will be available for questions from the media. Event: CAE's FY2018 Annual and Special Meeting of Shareholders Date: Tuesday, August 14, 2018 Time: Annual meeting: 11:00 a.m. ET Session with media: 12:00 p.m. ET Venue: CAE Entrance 4, Auditorium 8585 chemin de la Cote-de-Liesse Saint-Laurent, Quebec H4T 1G6 Canada FY2019 first quarter financial results and conference call CAE will also release its fiscal year 2019 first quarter financial results on Tuesday, August 14, 2018. A conference call will be held at 1:30 p.m. ET to provide analysts and institutional investors with a review of CAEs performance and outlook. Marc Parent, CAEs President and Chief Executive Officer, Sonya Branco, CAEs Chief Financial Officer, and Andrew Arnovitz, CAEs Vice President, Strategy and Investor Relations, will participate in this call intended for financial analysts, institutional investors and the media. Please note that the media will have the opportunity to ask questions immediately following the analysts question period. The conference call will be audio Webcast live for the public and will also be archived for 90 days following the event at www.cae.com. Event: CAE's FY2019 Q1 financial results and conference call Date: Tuesday, August 14, 2018 Time: 1:30 p.m. ET Phone numbers for conference call: Country Phone number North America 1 877 586-3392 Canada +1 416 981 9024 Australia 1800702315 Belgium 080077657 France 0800919393 Germany 08001816101 Netherlands 08000222280 Singapore 8001012594 United Kingdom 08004960381 Instant replay (available three hours after the call ends for 48 hours): +1-800-558-5253 or +1-416-626-4100 - Access code: 21893725# About CAE CAE is a global leader in training for the civil aviation, defence and security, and healthcare markets. Backed by a record of more than 70 years of industry firsts, we continue to help define global training standards with our innovative virtual-to-live training solutions to make flying safer, maintain defence force readiness and enhance patient safety. We have the broadest global presence in the industry, with over 8,500 employees, 160 sites and training locations in over 35 countries. Each year, we train more than 120,000 civil and defence crewmembers and thousands of healthcare professionals worldwide. www.cae.com Follow us on Twitter @CAE_Inc CAE contacts: Helene V. Gagnon Vice President, Public Affairs and Global Communications 1-514-340-5536 helene.v.gagnon@cae.com Investor relations: Andrew Arnovitz Vice President, Strategy and Investor Relations 1-514-734-5760 andrew.arnovitz@cae.com English French 8,101 units represents best-ever July sales for Kia Canada and up 8% over last year Sorento, Soul and Sportage top selling nameplates Kia Canada and its dealers dedicated the month of July to supporting Special Olympics Canada in honour of their 50th anniversary and national summer games MISSISSAUGA, Ontario, Aug. 03, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Kia Canada Inc. reported today 8,101 total vehicles sold for the month of July, an eight per cent increase versus the same time period in 2017 and the best July ever for the brand. Julys results were led by Sorento (1,524), Soul (1,522) and Sportage (1,456 units). July was also the first month of Kias Special Summer Celebration, a campaign to raise awareness and funds for its partner, Special Olympics Canada. As part of this campaign and, in addition to other fundraising efforts, Kia Canada and its dealers across the country each donated $10 for every car sold in the month of July, raising a total of $165,820 in support of Special Olympics Canada programs and athletes. Having our best-ever July couldnt have come at a better time, said Ted Lancaster, Vice President and Chief Operating Officer (COO), Kia Canada Inc. As a proud partner of Special Olympics Canada, everyone at Kia Canada and our dealers across the country are extremely proud of these additional funds we have raised through the sales of our award-winning vehicles. Thank you to Kia Canada and all of your dealers across Canada for your outstanding commitment to Special Olympics Canada, said Sharon Bollenbach, CEO, Special Olympics Canada. Kia Canada has gone above and beyond to show its commitment to Special Olympics as we celebrate our 50th anniversary. We are thrilled with this additional $165,820 in funding which will go to support over 45,000 athletes from coast to coast to coast continue to challenge their limits and reach their full potential. August 2018 Incentives: Kia Canadas Special Summer Celebration sales event continues in August, featuring 0% Financing + Up to $2,000 Summer Bonus + Dont Pay until October + 5 YEAR/100k Warranty on select models! Customers can get into new 2019 Soul, Sorento and Sedona with great attractive lease and finance offers. On 2018 save up to $5,000 on select models. See dealer for full details. About Kia Canada Inc. Kia Canada Inc. (www.kia.ca www.facebook.com/kiacanada), a maker of quality vehicles for the young-at-heart is a subsidiary of Kia Motors Corporation (KMC) which was founded in 1999 and sells and services high quality, class leading vehicles like the Soul, Forte, Optima and Sorento through a network of 192 dealers nationwide. Kia Canada Inc. employs 154 people in its Mississauga, Ontario headquarters and three regional offices across Canada, including a state-of-the-art facility in Montreal. Kias brand slogan "The Power to Surprise" represents the company's global commitment to surprise the world by providing exciting & inspiring experiences that go beyond expectations. For more information about Kia Canada and our products, please visit our Media Centre at KiaMedia.ca or contact: Mark James Corporate Communications Manager Kia Canada Inc. T: 905-755-6251; E: mjames@kia.ca A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/09d8eae6-c52f-468c-8e50-f2fddc03d1b7 CINCINNATI, Aug. 03, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Ohio National Financial Services is pleased to announce that A.M. Best has affirmed the financial strength rating of A+ (Superior) for both The Ohio National Life Insurance Company and Ohio National Life Assurance Corporation. This is the 55th consecutive year for Ohio National to receive A.M. Bests A+ (Superior) rating, which is the second-highest on a 16-part scale. Ohio National is proud to continue its tradition of unwavering commitment to our policyholders, said Gary T. Doc Huffman, CLU, ChFC, Ohio National chairman, president and chief executive officer. We remain focused on our Mission to help them achieve financial security and independence now and for generations to come. In its analysis, A.M. Best noted the rating affirmations reflected favorably upon Ohio Nationals strong operating performance, favorable business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management (ERM). Additionally, the operating performance and business profile assessments consider Ohio Nationals continued positive trend in individual life sales and its stable, adjusted GAAP operating results; and the ERM assessment recognizes its strong risk management framework, including front-end risk management practices and sound governance structure. Tracing its corporate origins to 1909, Ohio National markets a variety of insurance and financial products through more than 75,000 representatives in 49 states (all except New York), the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and through affiliated operations in South America. An additional subsidiary operates in New York. As of December 31, 2017, its affiliated companies have $42.0 billion total assets under management. Products are issued by The Ohio National Life Insurance Company and Ohio National Life Assurance Corporation. Ohio National is proud to be named a Top Workplace in Cincinnati for nine consecutive years by Energage, LLC (formerly WorkplaceDynamics, June 2010-2018) and employs more than 1,300 associates. Please visit ohionational.com for more information and for the latest company updates, connect with Ohio National on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. All ratings information is according to reports published on: www.ambest.com/ratings, www.standardandpoors.com, and www.moodys.com/insurance. Ratings are accurate as of 8/2/18. For the most current ratings, see www.ohionational.com. Ohio National has received high marks for financial strength and claims paying ability from major rating agencies; however, such ratings do not refer to the performance of our variable accounts nor imply approval of our variable contracts or their portfolios. After three years of rancorous debate and protest from local residents, the City Council is now poised to approve the de Blasio administrations plan to rezone Inwood. Today the Council's Zoning and Franchise subcommittee and the Land Use committee voted in favor of the plan, despite vocal opposition by Inwood community members who argued that the rezoning would displace long-time residents and small business owners. The votes mean that it is very likely the rezoning will pass a full Council vote next week. It was unclear how Councilmember Ydanis Rodriguez, who represents Washington Heights and Inwood, would come down on the measure. He was supposed to hold a press conference after the vote, but instead arrived to City Hall two hours late, before the vote was held. In the end, Rodriguez supported the rezoning, citing concessions from the de Blasio administration. Most notably, the new plan excludes the Commercial U from the zoning map. This area includes Broadway, Dyckman Street, and West 207th Street, which are the streets that comprise the neighborhoods main commercial corridors. I have listened to my residents and the local small business owners. I heard loud and clear that the rezoning was too large. For that reason, we have negotiated to remove the Commercial U from the rezoning, Rodriguez said. The elimination of most of the Commercial U is a victory for Inwood community members who have spent much of the summer organizing to protect the neighborhoods largely immigrant-owned mom-and-pop stores. But even with that amendment, many Inwood residents are still wary of the proposal. You saved the heart of Inwood you never intended to touch by taking out most of the Commercial U so you could justify cutting off the limbs of our community, charged Inwood resident Chris Nickell. Nancy Lucero, a community organizer with the Metropolitan Council on Housing, one of the organizations involved in drafting an alternative zoning plan for Inwood, told Gothamist that the Commercial U was actually an addition to an earlier draft of the rezoning proposal, and was introduced after she and other community members had already been opposing the plan for over a year. Lucero believes that although the commercial corridors make up a significant chunk of the neighborhood, residents in other areas are still at risk of displacement with the encroachment of 14-story luxury condominiums. East of 10th Avenue is also a big part of the neighborhood where a lot of low income folks in rent stabilized housing live. And south of Dyckman, whose residents have no protections in this proposalwhat about them? she said. Councilmember Rodriguez also announced his decision to support Inwoods small businesses through commercial rent controls, which he claimed have never been used before in New York City. The controls would require 10-year leases between developer and their commercial renters. In practice, this means that unless an existing Inwood business can get a new lease (which is not often an easy task), the amendment would do little to protect it. Mayor de Blasio has said that rezoning neighborhoods is crucial to incentivize developers to build more affordable housing in the city. Inwood would be the fifth neighborhood his administration has targeted for rezoning. At the conclusion of the vote, Councilmember Francisco Moya apologized to the public for the tardiness of the vote, and blamed the Mayors Office for dragging negotiations out until the 11th hour, down to the last second. Moya also offered a few words on the state of affordable housing in New York City. We are in the midst of a housing crisis. If you havent noticed its because youre not spending 40, 50, 70 percent of your income on housing, like many working class New Yorkers are, he said. The housing emergency is real and the market isnt coming to rescue us. Its time to create affordable housing because its the moral and human thing to do. The City Council will cast its final vote for the amended Inwood rezoning on August 8th. There were 29.4 million fewer trips on the subway in 2017 than the previous year, the second year in a row that subway ridership decreased, according to the MTA. A presentation to the MTA board last week revealed that ridership was already down 2.1 percent in 2018. The drop in ridership is the greatest on weekdays between 12 a.m. and 5 a.m., followed by evening ridership between 9 p.m. and 12 a.m. While the decline occurred in all the boroughs, the drop was the largest in the Bronx and Queens, and the report notes that for-hire vehicle growth was the strongest in the outer boroughs. "I can't tell you how many people who walk down into a station see a wall of diversion notices and say, 'I'm not dealing with this,' and go up and hire a car," MTA Board Member Andrew Albert said Monday. Even New Yorkers with unlimited monthly or weekly Metrocards were using the subway less often,Tim Mulligan, the executive vice president of New York City Transit, told The New York Times. MTA chairman Joseph J. Lhota blamed the decline on poor subway performance, the rise of ride-hailing apps like Uber, and fare evasion. But the report states that subway evasion was "not a major contributor to the overall share in declining subway ridership." Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance implemented a policy back in February where turnstile jumpers would not face prosecution. MTA officials made it clear that they believe customers are leaving the subway for ride sharing companies, and it's costing the cash-strapped MTA millions. Subway and bus revenue is already down $55 million (2.9%) from what the MTA had projected for 2018. Meanwhile, Uber has been vigorously fighting a City Council bill that would cap the number of For Hire Vehicles in New York. The ride-sharing company has argued that its services are all the more needed as subway service continues to decline. I think its worrisome because were continuing to create jobs, the population is increasing, were building new housing theres no objective reason for subway ridership to be down, other than people are so frustrated with the service that theyre looking for other options, Nicole Gelinas, a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, told the New York Times. On Thursday morning, an off-duty NYPD sergeant shot a man in the face in East New York, claiming the man was a stranger trying to rob him. But police sources now say the men actually knew each other, and the sergeant has been stripped of his gun and badge. The police officer, identified in the tabloids as Ritchard Blake, 40, initially said he was confronted by a man who attempted to rob him as he was heading to the subway at Livonia Avenue around 5 a.m. NBC New York reports that Blake told investigators the alleged mugger said something to the effect of, "You're gonna die tonight." Blake reportedly claimed the man, Thavone Santana, 21, had a gun and was trying to rob him. Blake shot Santana in the jaw; he was taken to Brookdale University Hospital and is expected to survive. Video obtained by police reportedly "shows Santana with his hands in the air." Santana's family says that both he and Blake were romantically involved with the same woman. Community leader Chris Banks, who spoke to the victim, told the Post, "It was a personal dispute over a female, and its been ongoing between him and this particular cop." A cousin also questioned the shooting, "He had nothing to do anything with, the ambulance came, cops came and he laid out with nothing on him. Where is your evidence?" It wasnt a robbery at all, community advocate Chris Banks told the Daily News. This is a personal dispute over a female. This an early dispute that took place at the apartment where the female lives. Thats where it began, and it continued on the street. "There are certain things that we saw during this investigation that we have questions that are unanswered at this point. Until we answer them, we felt it was best to place him on modified duty," NYPD Chief Terence Monahan said. Police sources told the News that Blake was on probation with the NYPD after he was arrested in 2016 after allegedly assaulting his girlfriend. Governor Andrew Cuomo will convene a group of experts and state officials to begin drafting legislation to legalize marijuana in New York. According to a press release from the governor's office, the legislation would be considered "in the upcoming session." Legislation that would legalize weed already exists, and is sponsored by Buffalo Assemblymember Crystal Peoples-Stokes and Manhattan Democratic Senator Liz Krueger; Cuomo has charged the working group to "engage" with Krueger and Peoples-Stokes, along with others. Cuomo's penchant for replacing others' marijuana legislation with his own aside, whether marijuana legalization would pass the state legislature depends on whether Democrats can regain a majority in the State Senate. Right now, Cuomo and the Senate Democrats can't even shame the Republicanswho hold their one-seat majority thanks to Brooklyn Democrat Simcha Felderinto coming back to Albany to reauthorize speed cameras in New York City school zones, or codify Roe v. Wade into state law. City & State lists Felder's race in the 17th District as a "wild card," as he is being challenged by attorney Blake Morris. Another "toss up" is in Nassau County's 7th District, where Republican incumbent Elaine Phillips has two challengers, Brad Schwartz and Anna Kaplan. Kaplan has Cuomo's endorsement, and now, Barack Obama's. Governor Cuomo has mostly enabled Senate Republicans in the past, using the legislature's deadlock to bolster his reputation as a bipartisan dealmaker. This spring he oversaw the return of the Independent Democratic Conference members to the mainline Democrats, but many of them are still facing fierce challenges from the left. "You either come back and protect a woman's right to choose and respect a woman's reproductive health rights, or the voters of this state are going to say to you in November, 'You're with Trump? Well you're fired from the New York State Senate,'" Cuomo told a crowd last month. On Wednesday the Times reported that Cuomo is likely going to appear on the Independence Party's ballot line, along with Republicans that the conservative third-party has endorsed. (The Independence Party is infamous for netting confused voters who seek to register as independents.) Cuomo's appearance on the ballot next to the Republicans endorsed by the party may help their chances of winning, a point deemed "absurd" by a spokesperson for the governor's campaign, given that other Democrats such as Senators Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand also have the Independence Party's endorsement. Spokespeople for Governor Cuomo's executive office, and his campaign, did not return our requests for comment. An unhappy tattoo customer allegedly stabbed a Bronx tattoo artist last month, and now police are hoping the public can help them identify the assailant. The incident took place on July 26th, around 3:30 p.m., at East Fordham and Bainbridge Avenue. According to the NYPD, a male individual, who had gotten a tattoo in mid-July, got into a "verbal dispute" with a male tattoo artist, 35, over the tattoo: "The dispute escalated to the individual stabbing the victim twice in his left thigh." Then he ran away. The victim was taken to a hospital in stable condition. Police released security camera footage of the suspect, who is described as thin with black hair with blond streaks and shoulder length dreadlocks. He was last seen wearing a yellow shirt, black jeans, and a pair of Jordan Space Jam sneakers. Anyone with information in regards to this incident is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime stoppers website at WWW.NYPDCRIMESTOPPERS.COM or by texting their tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then enter TIP577. PATNA: The son of Bihar's ruling Janata Dal-United (JDU) legislator Bima Bharti was found dead on a railway track near Patna's Rajendra Nagar terminal on Friday. According to ANI, the dead body of JDU lawmaker Bima Bharti's son Deepak was spotted lying on the railway track in front of Nalanda Medical College Hospital near Patna's Rajendra Nagar terminal. Son of JDU MLA Bima Bharti found dead on a railway track in Patna.More details awaited. #Bihar ANI (@ANI) August 3, 2018 Patna (Centre Range) Deputy Inspector General, Rajesh Kumar and other top officials have reached the site for inspection. "As of now, we can't say the exact cause of the death. We will know after the post-mortem report comes," DIG Rajesh Kumar said. A dog squad has also been called to look for evidence in this regard. According to the initial investigation, Deepak had gone to a friend's place to attend a party when the incident took place. While the police are trying to ascertain reasons behind Deepak's death, MLA Bima Bharti, who represents the Rupauli Constituency, has alleged that her son was murdered. "It is not suicide, it is murder. My son was killed," a weeping Bima Bharti told the media. The JDU MLA's husband Awadesh Mandal has accused five people in the alleged murder if his son Deepak. Awadesh Mandal has named people Shankar Mandal, Chandan Singh, Santosh Mandal, Rajesh Mandal and Mukul Mandal for their alleged role in Deepak's murder. All the five men are long-time rivals of Awadesh Mandal and are residents of Purnia. It is to be noted that these five men were also allegedly involved in the murder of Awadesh Mandal's parents in 2003.The police is also suspecting it to be a case of old enmity. The police have also detained two close friends of Deepak for interrogation in connection with his mysterious death. The MLA and her family members allege that there are visible injury marks, bruises on Deepak's body, which leads to suspicion he was beaten to death by their long-time rivals. Patna SSP Manu Maharaj said, ''the matter is being probed. All angles are being looked into. Before the post-mortem report comes, it will be too early to say anything in this regard.'' The death of JDU MLA's son has created a flutter in the political circles in Bihar. Expressing shock over the incident, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav took to Twitter and blamed the Nitish Kumar-led government for the deteriorating law and order situation in the state. In a shocking incident, son of a JDU MLA & Ex. Minister is found dead in Patna. Im saddened to hear about it. Bihars law & order situation is completely out of order. Tejashwi Yadav (@yadavtejashwi) August 3, 2018 "In a shocking incident, son of a JDU MLA & Ex. Minister is found dead in Patna. I'm saddened to hear about it. Bihar's law & order situation is completely out of order," tweeted Tejashwi. Tejashwi and his party RJD, which has been attacking the Nitish Kumar government in Bihar over the Muzaffarpur shelter home rape scandal, has already announced to stage a massive demonstration at the Jantar Mantar in the national capital on Saturday, August 4. Lot has been said and written about the Rafale deal. In the recently concluded discussion on the no-confidence motion in the Lok Sabha on July 20, 2018, there were accusations by the Leader of Opposition and other opposition MPs. There have been clarifications from the Defence Minister. A lot of time was devoted and each political group was scoring political points at the cost of public exchequer. Hence, I thought I will dedicate this blog to this subject. Process of public procurements The process and procedure for public procurement have been codified in the General Financial Rules, last amended in 2017. The previous version, which was in force when this deal was finalised, was the version of General Financial Rules, amended in 2005. In so far as public procurements are concerned not many amendments have been made in substantive term, except in as much for mundane items of daily consumption in offices, and other equipment and office requirements the new G-electronically market known as been introduced, some rules relating to the engagement of services and consultancies have been enlarged. The government has in 2017 brought out three elaborate manuals - one for procurement of goods, one for works and one for engagement of services, under the able guidance of Shri Ashok Lavasa, the then Finance Secretary, further reinforcing the system. Procedure of defence and police procurements It is salient to note that defence procurements involve several elaborate procedures. Right from the framing of indent stage, where the requirements are identified, the user is continuously engaged in the process. Procurements of high value are evaluated with respect to their efficacy and utility as well as their performance vis-a vis the requirements is assessed by a team of experts as well as users through several methods like historical performance, simulation process, non-destructive testing, terrain-specific performance, real time projections, etc. Even at the stage of international vendor identification process these are closely and accurately mapped in respect of each potential vendor both at the Integrated Defence Service Headquarter level, at the level of Indian missions abroad, Department of Defence Production and Supplies level and also at the Defence Ministry Secretariat before a proposal is taken to concerned Committee of Cabinet before the basic vendor is zeroed in. Also, we have to see the financial adviser's structure in the defence establishment. Unlike other programme ministries and departments of the Government of India, the Financial Adviser of the Ministry of Defence is always a full-fledged Secretary-level officer. Incidentally, it may sound a matter of detail, but there is an underlying reason to this. The officers in the secretariat of all ministries and departments who are assisting the Secretary and Financial Adviser are designated as Under Secretaries, Deputy Secretaries and Directors respectively, whereas in the Ministries of Defence and Home Affairs there are designated as Assistant Financial Advisers, Deputy Financial Advisers, Joint Financial Advisers, etc. The officers in the programme ministries are to tender and advise the Secretary of the department, who is the CEO of the ministry, to align schemes and proposals in consonance with Government Rules, like the General Financials Rules, Delegation of Financial Power Rules, whereas in these Ministries since many proposals have a bearing on the security of the country, their role is enlarged qualitatively to advise on proposals as to whether it meets the highest benchmark stipulated for security of the country besides, inter se priority with respect to best utilisation of the funds. In this context, therefore appreciating the sensitiveness of the issues being dealt, even the CAG Audit of Defence Estimate Expenditure is recalibrated accordingly. After the above elaborate process has been completed, a source is zeroed in on. In case of inter-governmental arrangements, after it is decided upon by the concerned committee of the Cabinet, a draft agreement is proposed to the reciprocal country or vice versa. Before the agreement is actual signed, all the terms and conditions are iterated in the government at several levels like the Defence Ministry, Law Ministry, the External Affairs Ministry, both at the Territorial Division and the Legal and Treaties Divisions, as well as any other division like Disarmament or Policy and Planning Divisions, etc, as the Foreign Secretary deems it fit. The Agreement thereafter is signed with the concerned government. Price determination The bone of contention in the Parliamentary debate was the price. That is the most sensitive part of the deal. After signing of agreements, brass tacks issues are take upon at the officers level or user level. These issues cover an entire range of issues like spares, accessories, special purpose accessories which may be specifically required by the user to meet specific terrain needs, or to meet the specific needs to deter the enemy's attack as derived from pattern studies etc, ergonomic, ethnographic (like height etc) and working culture of the user forces, based on which location of each screw, nut and bolt, relative strength required in the casting of each screw, bolt and nut is decided. During these again there are lots of arguments, discussions, negotiations etc. I am sure our defence officers involved in these will be well aware of the entire rigmarole. Hence, the price is last check post in such deals. It may so happen that every unit in this may be vested with special features and hence, even price between two units of the same supplies may not be comparable. My own exposure to sensitive procurements Having said this, I had the opportunity to study the process of procurement of paper for currency note press along with the Shiladitya Committee report. Shiladitya Committee had given an excellent report in 2010 to combat the menace of Fake Currency Notes. The same process is more or less followed and a clause of secrecy and denial clause were part of the agreement. Denial clause is the clause under which the paper supplied with a particular gsm will not be supplied by the same supplier to any other buyer. This was one of the reasons that Pakistan could never print the notes in the same GSM as the Indian notes although they had penetrated the supplier. I am withholding the country's name and supplier's name. In case for the purpose of hypothesis, Parlement Francais (the French Parliament) alleges that the government has under-priced the deal through its intervention. As result the government in power were to make the information available in Parlement Francais, in whatever prescribed procedure. Then the same opposition will cry wolf over failure of diplomacy of the government leading compromising the security of the country. UPA's record on bilateral cooperation in matters of security I know that in that country mostly these are enterprise-level decisions in which their government has very little role of intervention except in as much a facilitating role under the ambit of trade relations or promoting French technology. While so much fracas is made out in this case wherein the signatory to the agreement is the UPA defence minister, they do not recall that a short while back the boot was on the other leg. People may kindly recall the David Coleman Headley case. There was a clear offer from the US government. Daniel Clegg, the legal attache in US Embassy, further reiterated his government's offer of further cooperation and information sharing. But who did the government send to Chicago Jail for interrogation? Not the investigating agency. The ATS was investigating the 26/11 Mumbai incident. The government sent an NIA team to interrogate. None of the investigators of the 26/11 were even part of the team sent to interrogate David Coleman Headley. With this track record even subverting or not taking the repeated, a reiterated offer of cooperation from the US, except for a cosmetic motion like NIA team being sent to Chicago jail, which blatantly appeared for public consumption rather than for anything more effective, the present government is calling into question. The tour report of the NIA and portions excised from that report are already in the public domain. What will happen if price is disclosed? As I have explained, every nut and bolt, every screw, every accessory, every spare, and every add-on, has a bearing on the price. Hence, in the event the price is put on the public domain, enemy forces have the strength to simply re-engineer the entire pattern and find out the strength of each of the major assets acquired by the defence forces. Let me flag you on this that even the amount of food supplies going to defence cantonments if revealed are a big giveaway to enemy forces, as they can easily deduce the strength of deployment. Previous betrayals Remember Ms Madhuri Gupta, who was posted to the Indian High Commission in Islamabad, being arrested on espionage charges, on the same day as an officer of Home Ministry Shri RS Sharma dealing with police procurement, in his portfolio as Director (Police Procurement) on the same day in April, 2010. It cannot be a mere coincidence. But naturally procurement details, size of procurement, consignee information etc., can surely give the enemy information to help them project the strength of Indian security forces. Why play politics? Why are the political parties seeking to play politics in this matter. I do not know? But one thing is sure. It is the security forces who are fighting at the border. By enabling any information to be put in the public domain, which will help the enemy nations to assess the assets of Indian security forces, will put the national security at risk. Our guardians at the border will be the most vulnerable. At least for their life and safety, do not politicalise this. Case of BSF jawan on social media May I remind you that a couple of years back a BSF jawan had posted on social media about the poor quality of food. Actually and rightly, he did face action. Overtly, he might have seemed to be complaining about food, but actually he was giving away the location of a border outpost (BOP), helping the infiltrators. All the security forces operate out of battalion centres, where all the security personnel are given food and ration of good quality. But by a roster, these personnel are posted out on BOP duties in teams. I do not want to give away the number. While leaving for BOP duty, this team is given rations for the number of days they will be deployed and the team by rotation does the cooking etc. Incidentally, in such terrain, even for normal rituals you require hot water and hence whenever personnel of the team return from duty they take out the food being cooked on the hearth and boil some water for immediate needs and replace the food being cooked back on the hearth. Hence the hearth is on for the full day and given the high altitude, the cooking also takes a lot of time. Given the commitment of security personnel, whatever is being cooked they partake along with some food supplements developed by CFTRI but do not miss the duty. This jawan had it appears posted the snapshot of such food. At that time also many politicians sought to gain political mileage out of the social media post. Fortunately, the leadership of the BSF did a commendable job of putting the matter to rest. However, in the Rafale case the political groups appear to be unrelenting. (RVS Mani is a former Central government officer who shot to prominence as a whistleblower in 2009, when he alleged he had been forced to sign documents that fabricated a narrative of 'Saffron Terror'. His book, 'Hindu Terror: Insider account of Ministry of Home Affairs', was released recently.) (Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL.) New Delhi: South superstar Dulquer Salmaan has made his maiden Bollywood move in 'Karwaan', a slice-of-life venture. The film stars talented actor Irrfan Khan, Mithila Palkar and Dulquer in lead roles. The film is helmed by Akarsh Khurana, produced by Ronnie Screwvala and Priti Rathi Gupta respectively. In an interview with Indian Express, Dulquer opened up on working with Irrfan and enjoying his fanboy moment. He said, Irrfan and Mithila were already on board when I was approached for the film. I quite instinctively liked the idea. I knew quite soon that I want to do it. I liked the fact that Irrfan sir was already a part of the film and I will be in a film that a lot of people will watch. I didnt want to have a debut just by myself where I am the lead actor and the story revolves around me. I think the fact that Irrfan sir is in the movie will give me a chance to be seen. I was completely awestruck by him and am a huge fanboy. He is super spontaneous. I cannot imagine someone else playing the character of Shaukat in Karwaan. Its not like anything that he has done before and the fact that he chose to play the character even when the story does not revolve around his character, is really inspiring for all of us. While choosing the character, one should look at the film as a hero and that is what I think he believes in, he added. The brimming camaraderie between Irrfan and Dulquer is unmatched. Their journey together makes for an interesting watch, especially because of Irrfan's classic act and funny one-liners. The film is directed by Akarsh Khurana. It has been produced by Ronnie Screwvala and Priti Rathi Gupta. It is set to hit the screens on August 3, 2018. 'Karwaan' happens to be a slice-of-life entertainer which promises some power-packed performances by the lead actors. Irrfan meanwhile is undergoing treatment for Neuroendocrine Tumour in London. The actor had recently written a letter on battling deadly cancer and how his perspective in life has changed. His heartwarming note to Timesofindia went viral and several celebrities and fans wished him a speedy recovery. He opened up on how his life changed overnight after the disease was detected. Irrfan had first announced about his illness on Twitter which sent a shock wave down his fans and even celebrities. He was earlier set to start work on Vishal Bhardwaj's gangster drama opposite Deepika Padukone. Here's wishing Irrfan and jet speed recovery! NEW DELHI: The website of Delhi University-affiliated Maharaja Agrasen College was hacked by some unknown hackers on Friday, who posted "Pakistan Zindabad" slogans on it. According to media reports, hackers also posted a warning "stop killing Muslims" on the website, which appeared for a brief period. The website was hacked around 10.30 am and it was restored around 1 pm, a college official was quoted as saying by media reports. The hackers advocated for giving free rights to the Kashmiri people and warned that the credit card and bank account details of people were not secure. "Did you know why you got hacked? Stop killing Muslims. Give free rights to Kashmiris. Your credit cards, your bank accounts aren't secure. Ready to face us,'' the hackers posted. "PS: We dumped the whole database and server too. Soon we will publish it. Pakistan Zindabad," read the message posted on the college's website by the hackers who identified themselves as "Blackscorpian ProBro`s". A complaint was filed with the Cyber Cell of the Delhi Police in this regard and the matter is being interrogated. "We received a complaint in morning. We are investigating the matter now," Deputy Commissioner of Police (East) Pankaj Kumar Singh said. Earlier this month, the Twitter handle of Delhi Traffic Police was hacked for a few minutes. It was restored soon and a probe was initiated in the matter. Around 11.30 pm on July 11, a couple of messages were posted from the Twitter handle of the traffic police. One of the messages read: "Message me at Twitter.Com/justinformentin if you'd like to know how to fix this! (sic)." Another message read: "Not a Traffic Alert. Justin Forementin is tweeting on the Delhi Traffic Police Twitter. Hey guys! (sic)." A Delhi Police officer said the Twitter handle was hacked for a brief period but the password was changed within minutes and it was restored. The Cyber Cell of Delhi Police was asked to look into the matter and identify the hackers. GENEVA/GOMA: It may be impossible to use a vaccine to tackle Democratic Republic of Congo's new Ebola outbreak that has caused four confirmed cases, including two health workers, a senior World Health Organization (WHO) official said on Thursday. Officials have not confirmed the particular strain of Ebola causing the outbreak, which may have killed 20 people, but WHO's emergency response chief Peter Salama said it could be the Zaire, Sudan or Bundibugyo strain. If it is the Zaire strain, the Merck vaccine used in the last Ebola outbreak may be an option, otherwise the situation will be much more complex "and we may not have any vaccine options", he told Reuters at WHO's headquarters in Geneva. "The majority of the cases occurred in the second half of July ... When the provincial medical teams have looked back ... they have noted cases that could be consistent with Ebola that began even in May but it's far too early to say." The cases are spread over tens of kilometers, Salama said. International experts set up a laboratory on Thursday in the city of Beni, 30 km (18 miles) from where the outbreak was declared, WHO and Congolese officials said. Officials from the United Nations, World Bank, WHO Congo's Ministry of Health, including Health Minister Oly Ilunga, will support a team already on the ground. Congo declared the outbreak on Wednesday, just days after another that killed 33 people in the northwest was declared over. The 20 died in and around Mangina, a densely populated town in North Kivu province about 30 km (18 miles) southwest of the city of Beni and 100 km from the Ugandan border. The ministry has not made public when the deaths occurred. Another six who are still living are showing signs of fever, of which four tested positive. "The Government Partner delegation is holding its first meeting to organize the response," North Kivu governor Julien Paluku tweeted. "Already a team from Kinshasa is installing a laboratory and a single coordination center." But eastern Congo is a tinderbox of conflicts over land and ethnicity stoked by decades of on-off war and this could hamper efforts to contain the virus. About 1,000 civilians have been killed by armed groups and government soldiers around Beni since 2014, and the wider region of North Kivu holds over 1 million displaced people. "The response is already in place," David Gressly, United Nations Deputy Special Representative Congo, told journalists in Beni. "We (the U.N. mission) will offer logistical support and if needed security support. We are all here to see how we can organize this as fast as possible." New Delhi: Air India sought to reassure its passengers on Thursday that there are no bed bugs in its aircraft after carrying out an extensive fumigation exercise following complaint by some passengers last month. The state-run carrier came under fire in mid-July when business class passengers of Newark-Mumbai flights complained of bed bug crawling on the seats. Messages and disturbing pictures of bed bug bites posted in social media had gone viral. "#AirIndia affirms that no bedbugs were found after thorough checking of seats, laundry facilities & fumigation of aircrafts following bugbite complaints in some fights. "These unfortunate reports are the first of its kind in our legacy of flying generations of satisfied pax (sic)," it said in a late evening tweet. The latest tweet followed the airline's statement last week which maintained that the incidents of bed bugs reported by passengers in international flights were "isolated" ones even as it had taken a "serious" view of the complaints and carried out an extensive service of the aircraft, including fumigation. On July 17, one of the passengers of the Newark-Mumbai flight described his ordeal and the unpleasant experience his family had to go through in the 17-hour long journey. On July 20, another passenger Saumya Shetty posted a picture on Twitter of her hand covered in bite marks. "The engineering team carried out a thorough fumigation exercise and there were no bugs found after that," an airline official said on. Sources denied reports of bed bugs spotted by passengers in an international flight this week. In its statement issued on July 24, Air India had said, "Experienced experts have carried out extensive service on the aircraft from fumigation to overhaul of the upholstery/seat covers/carpets etc to ensure that passengers keep enjoying their in-flight experience with us as always without any complaint of inconvenience." New Delhi: The Congress on Friday alleged that "shocking details" emerging from Antigua have "exposed the complicity and connivance" of the Modi government in the escape of fugitive billionaire Mehul Choksi to the Caribbean country. Congress president Rahul Gandhi took to Twitter to attack Prime Minister Narendra Modi and alleged that the BJP government enabled Choksi to obtain Antigua's citizenship, after he looted the Punjab National Bank of Rs 13,000 crore. "In today's big news: India gave Mehul 'Bhai' Choksi, Mr 56's 'suit-boot' BFF, a clean chit in November 2017, enabling him to obtain Antiguan citizenship. This 'Bhai' looted PNB of Rs 13,000 Crore, before scooting from India," he wrote. Rahul also posted a video of the Prime Minister in which he refers to Choksi as "Mehul bhai" in a speech in 2015. Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala also reacted to media reports quoting Antiguan authorities as saying that Indian agencies had no adverse information against Choksi when the Caribbean country conducted a background check on the PNB scam accused before granting him citizenship in 2017. "Loot and make them scoot is the prime policy of the Modi government. The shocking details reveal how the Modi government enacted this mega scam," he said in a statement. Surjewala questioned why Prime Minister Modi did not raise the issue when he met his Antiguan counterpart Gaston Browne in April 2018. He also alleged that the Ministry of External Affairs issued a clean chit to Choksi when there were complaints pending against him. "Why did the CBI/ED not move the Interpol for a warrant against Mehul Choksi or provide the requisite evidence of criminal fraud against him? Is it not correct that this deliberate failure on part of CBI/ED in providing evidence to Interpol, led to Interpol giving a clean chit to Choksi?" he asked. The Congress leader sought to know why the Prime Minister's Office did not act or direct the External Affairs Ministry, Central Bureau of Investigation, Enforcement Directorate, Securities and Exchange Board of India, Serious Fraud Investigation Office etc. To take action on two complaints dated May 7 and May 26, 2015. "Why did not Prime Minister Narendra Modi raise the issue of citizenship during his meeting with Antigua PM Gaston Browne in April 2018?" the Congress leader asked. Surjewala alleged the agencies under the Modi government enabled the "great escape" of Choksi. "Complicity and connivance of the Modi government in the escape of Rs 23,484-cr PNB scam accused Mehul Choksi, better described by PM Narendra Modi's 'hamare Mehul bhai', has been exposed. "Shocking details from Antigua's Citizenship By Investment Unit have lifted the cover from the sins committed by every organ of the Modi government - PMO, MEA, CBI, SEBI etc that facilitated and gave a 'clean chit' to the fraudster," he alleged. Surjewala said the development "also conclusively exposes the barrage of lies that ministers in the Modi government were trying to plant in the mainstream media". The Congress leader said Choksi left India on January 4, 2018, and was already a citizen of Antigua and Barbuda since November 2017 "which gives him a visa-free access to travel around 132 nations". New Delhi: An intelligence report accessed by Zee News reveals that there are over 600 terrorists at various launchpads all along the Line of Control who are being readied to cross over to India with nefarious intentions. The report submitted to the Home Ministry says that these terrorists are being actively supported by Pakistani forces and personnel from Pakistan Army may also be among them. They are believed to be members of Pakistan's Border Action Team (BAT) which is known to provide support to terrorist organisations. This may well be the highest number of terrorists at the ready to infiltrate since India conducted surgical strikes to destroy terror launchpads in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). That this development comes at a time when Imran Khan is all set to take oath as Pakistan PM is rather ironical considering that he has backed peace talks with India and resolution to the Kashmir issue. That it is widely suspected that he was actively backed by Pakistan Army during elections though paints a clearer picture because the country's military has nurtured terrorism and has hardly ever given peace a chance - an apparent threat to its relevance in the country. Little wonder then that the terrorists at the ready along the LoC are being fully supported by Pakistan Army. The details of the terrorists ready to infiltrate, according to the intelligence report accessed by Zee News, is as follows: * Gurez Sector: 67 terrorists present in Pakistan's posts at Barbad, Sardari, Losar complex. * Machil Sector: Movement of 96 terrorists observed. * Keran Sector: Movement of 117 terrorists observed. * Tangdhar Sector: Movember of 79 terrorists observed. * Uri Sector: Movement of 26 terrorists observed. * Rampur Sector: Movement of 26 terrorists observed. * Poonch Sector: Movement of 43 terrorists observed. * Krishna Ghati Sector: Movement of 21 terrorists observed. * Bhimber Gali: Movement of 40 terrorists observed. * Nowshera Sector: Movement of 6 terrorists observed. * Sunderbani Sector: Movement of 16 terrorists observed. Last week, the Home Ministry had said that security forces have killed 110 terrorists across Jammu and Kashmir till July 22. In 2017, the number was at 213 while in 2016 and 2015, it was 150 and 108 respectively. DARWIN (AUSTRALIA): The Indian Air Force (IAF) on Friday participated in the biggest flypast in Exercise Pitch Blacks history. The IAF 4xSu-30MKI (Flankers) teamed up with Royal Australian Air Force's (RAAF's) 4xF-18F (Super Hornets) to mesmerise viewers on Mindil Beach, Darwin, during a 90-minute air display. Taking to Twitter, the IAF wrote, A flypast featuring Indian, Australian & Military aircraft of other participating air forces, mesmerized the audience at Mindil Beach, Darwin, 02 Aug 18. The IAF 4xSu-30MKI (Flankers) teamed up with RAAF 4xF-18F (Super Hornets), for the show. #ExPitchBlack18 : A flypast featuring Indian, Australian & Military aircraft of other participating air forces, mesmerized the audience at Mindil Beach, Darwin, 02 Aug 18. The IAF 4xSu-30MKI (Flankers) teamed up with RAAF 4xF-18F (Super Hornets), for the show.@Aus_AirForce pic.twitter.com/ndkP007brA Indian Air Force (@IAF_MCC) August 3, 2018 The RAAF also posted a mesmerising 360-degree video footage of the flight. The 90-minute air display featured 16 different aircraft types from Australia, France, India, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, and the United States, said Air Commodore (AIRCDRE) 'Noddy' Sawade, Director Airshow. A rare event was the four Indian Sukhoi Su-30s and four F/A-18F Super Hornets which flew in formation for the first time, and the United States Marine Corps Ospreys also put on a spectacular handling display right in front of the crowd, said the RAAF. For the first time ever, Royal Australia Air Force (RAAF) and Indian Air Force (IAF) fast-jets flew together over Australian soil at Exercise Pitch Black 2018 on Thursday. Before taking the maiden flight together, members of the Indian and Australian contingents trained alongside to build a cohesive combat team. Tweeting a video of the exercise, the IAF wrote, #ExPitchBlack18 : During the FIT week, RAAF & IAF trained together to build a cohesive combat team. Air to Air Refueling offers Rapid Response, Larger Ranges & Enhanced Loiter Time. Glimpses of AAR from Multi Role Tanker Transport (MRTT) - RAAF's KC30A to IAF's SU-30MKI. #ExPitchBlack18 : During the FIT week, RAAF & IAF trained together to build a cohesive combat team. Air to Air Refueling offers Rapid Response, Larger Ranges & Enhanced Loiter Time. Glimpses of AAR from Multi Role Tanker Transport (MRTT) - RAAF's KC30A to IAF's SU-30MKI. pic.twitter.com/epjXAboZGb Indian Air Force (@IAF_MCC) August 2, 2018 Operation Pitch Black, one of the biggest exercises of its kinds, is till August 17. More than 140 aircraft and 4000 personnel from several countries are participating in the Operation Pitch Black in Australia. The Indian contingent in Australia is being led by Group Captain CUV Rao and includes a Garud Team, four SU-30 MKI, one X C-130 and a X C-17 aircraft. Feel like swimming through a flash flood to catch Beyonce and Jay-Z in New Jersey tonight? Hell yeah. Hopefully you'll be spared a repeat of last night's weather emergency, when MetLife stadium ordered 70,000 people to evacuate their seats. It'll probably be fine. But as for the rest of the weekend, forewarned is forearmed. That's why we're here to review this weekend's subway service changes. Pull up a chair for a taste of what's to come: 1 service runs every 16 minutes between 137 St and Van Cortlandt Park-242 Street from 6:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday, August 4, and from 9:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday, August 5. Free shuttle busses are replacing 2 trains between 135 St and E 180 St from 9:30 p.m. Friday, August 3 to 5 a.m. Monday, August 6. 2 trains will run in two sections: between Flatbush Av-Brooklyn College and the 148 St 3 line station, and between E 180 St and Wakefield-241 St. 3 service is skipping 145 St in both directions. Manhattan-bound 4 trains skip Mosholu Pkwy, Bedford Pk Blvd, Kingsbridge Rd, Fordham Rd, and 1833 St due to track replacement. Downtown 4 and 6 trains will skip 33 St and 23 St. Free shuttle buses will replace 5 trains between 149 St-Grand Concourse and E 180 St. from 6:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday, August 4, and from 8:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. Sunday, August 5. 5 trains will also be running every 20 minutes between Bowling Green and 149 St-Grand Concourse. Beginning 8:30 p.m. tonight, 5 service will end early between Bowling Green and E 180 St. Manhattan-bound 7 trains run express from 74 St-Broadway to Queensboro Plaza from 5:45 a.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday, August 4. A and C trains skip 163 St-in both directions. Downtown A and C trains skip 155 St and 135 St. C trains do not run overnight, and the 163 St-Amsterdam Av station is closed for renovations until September 2018. Downtown ac trains will run express from 59 St-Columbus Circle to Canal St from 9:45 p.m. Friday, August 3 to 5 a.m. Monday, August 6. And until Monday, September 3, A service will be suspended in both directions between Broad Channel and Far Rockaway-Mott Ave. Beginning 8:30 p.m. Friday, August 3, B service will end early due to station improvements at 145 Street. B and C trains will skip Cathedral Parkway-110 St in both directions. B and C trains will also skip 72 St and 86 St in both directions. Norwood-205 St bound D trains skip 170 St, 174-175 Sts and 182-183 Sts from 9:45 p.m. Friday, August 3 to 5 a.m. Monday, August 6 E trains are rerouted in both directions via the F line between 21 St-Queensbridge and Lexington Av-63 St, and via the R line between 57 St and Whitehall St, the last stop. Downtown F trains run via the E line from Roosevelt Av to 42 St-Port Authority, then via the A line to Jay St-MetroTech in Brooklyn. Jamaica-bound F trains are rerouted via the E after 47-50 Sts to Queens Plaza. Jamaica Center-bound E and Jamaica-bound F trains skip 75 Av, Briarwood, and Sutphin Blvd from 11:45 p.m. Friday, August 3 to 5 a.m. Monday, August 6. Jamaica Center-bound E and 71 Av-bound R trains run express from 21 St-Queensbridge E/Queens Plaza E to 71 Av. F trains will skip 57 St in both directions. Coney Island-Stillwell Av bound F trains are rerouted via the E from Roosevelt Av to 42 St-Port Authority, then via the E line to Jay St-MetroTech in Brooklyn from 9:45 p.m. Friday, August 3 to 5 a.m. Monday, August 6. 179 St-bound F and Court Sq-bound G trains will skip Fort Hamilton Pkwy, 15 St-Prospect Park and 4 Av-9 from 9:45 p.m. Friday, August 3 to 5 a.m. Monday, August 6. F and M trains will skip 23 St in both directions. Jamaica Center Parsons/Archer-bound J trains skip 121 St. J service is suspended in both directions between Crescent St and Jamaica Center from 3:45 a.m. Saturday, August 4 to 10 p.m. Sunday, August 5. Free shuttle buses will provide alternate service, and make all J line station stops between Crescent St and 121 St, and connect with the e at Jamaica-Van Wyck. M service will end early between 71 Av and Delancey-Essex Sts beginning 8:15 p.m tonight. Coney Island-Stillwell Av bound N trains skip Fort Hamilton Pkwy, New Utrecht Av, 18 Av, 20 Av, Kings Hwy, Avenue U and 86 St. N trains will skip Broadway and 39 Av in both directions. From 9:45 p.m. Friday, August 3 to 5 a.m. Monday, August 6, free shuttle buses will replace N trains in both directions between Coney Island-Stillwell Av and 59 St. From 3:45 a.m. Saturday, August 4 to 10 p.m. Sunday, August 5, free shuttle buses will replace N trains in both directions between Ditmars Blvd and Queensboro Plaza. Coney Island-bound Q trains skip Avenue U and Neck Rd from 5:45 a.m. Saturday, August 4 to 10 p.m. Sunday, August 5. R trains will not run between Whitehall St and Atlantic Av-Barclays Ctr from 11:30 p.m. to 5:30 a.m. Friday to Monday, August 3 to August 6. DARWIN: This is how friendships are formed. For the first time ever, Royal Australia Air Force (RAAF) and Indian Air Force (IAF) fast-jets flew together over Australian soil at Exercise Pitch Black 2018 on Thursday. Before taking the maiden flight together, members of the Indian and Australian contingents trained alongside to build a cohesive combat team. Tweeting a video of the exercise, the IAF wrote, #ExPitchBlack18 : During the FIT week, RAAF & IAF trained together to build a cohesive combat team. Air to Air Refueling offers Rapid Response, Larger Ranges & Enhanced Loiter Time. Glimpses of AAR from Multi Role Tanker Transport (MRTT) - RAAF's KC30A to IAF's SU-30MKI. #ExPitchBlack18 : During the FIT week, RAAF & IAF trained together to build a cohesive combat team. Air to Air Refueling offers Rapid Response, Larger Ranges & Enhanced Loiter Time. Glimpses of AAR from Multi Role Tanker Transport (MRTT) - RAAF's KC30A to IAF's SU-30MKI. pic.twitter.com/epjXAboZGb Indian Air Force (@IAF_MCC) August 2, 2018 #PitchBlack2018: During the Flying Integration Training, IAF contingent interacted with the Crew of French Air Force. This International exercise contributes towards operational training of our crew & reinforces military cooperation with the participating friendly Nations, added the IAF. #PitchBlack2018 : During the Flying Integration Training, IAF contingent interacted with the Crew of French Air Force. This International exercise contributes towards operational training of our crew & reinforces military cooperation with the participating friendly Nations. pic.twitter.com/x9TXWoYVDh Indian Air Force (@IAF_MCC) August 2, 2018 Later, the RAAF tweeted, This is how friendships are formed. Watch how this week #AusAirForce F/A-18 #Hornets and @IAF_MCC Sukhoi Su-30MKIs flew together for the first time ever over Australian soil at #ExPitchBlack18. #AvGeek #AirPower #AirCombat Writing about the experience, Australian airforce said, No. 77 Squadron (77SQN) pilot Flight Lieutenant (FLTLT) Vincent had the honour of being among the first in the RAAF to take on the IAFs highly manoeuvrable multi-role Sukhoi Su-30. Earlier this week, a part of Indian Air Force (IAF) contingent, comprising of SU-30MKI and C-130 aircraft, undertook its maiden operations from Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) base in Darwin, Australia on Monday. Operation Pitch Black, one of the biggest exercises of its kinds, is till August 17. More than 140 aircraft and 4000 personnel from several countries are participating in the Operation Pitch Black in Australia. The Indian contingent in Australia is being led by Group Captain CUV Rao and includes a Garud Team, four SU-30 MKI, one X C-130 and a X C-17 aircraft. The other countries participating - apart from hosts Australia - are France (New Caledonia), Singapore, Indonesia, US, Thailand, Malaysia, Canada, Germany, Netherlands and New Zealand. New Delhi: The Minister of State for External Affairs VK Singh on Thursday informed Rajya Sabha that a formal request for the extradition of fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modi has been sought from the United Kingdom. The request, directed at the UK authorities, has been sent to the Indian High Commission in London. He added that the request has been sent by a special diplomatic bag. "An extradition request has been received in the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) for the extradition of Nirav Modi from the UK," Minister of State for External Affairs VK Singh told the Rajya Sabha on Thursday. "The request has been sent by a Special Diplomatic Bag to the High Commission of India (HCI), London for onward transmission to the UK authorities," he said. Modi is wanted in the Rs 13,500 crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud case. Singh said that the MEA revoked the passport of Modi as per the provisions of Section 10(3)(c) of the Passports Act, 1967, on February 16, 2018. "This information was conveyed to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for onward transmission to the Interpol," he said. He also said that the Ministry has no means to verify the travels, if any, of Nirav Modi, and the passport used for such travels by him. The absconding diamond merchant possesses at least half-a-dozen Indian passports. In June this year, Modi had fled to the UK claiming political asylum there. Nirav Modi along with his uncle Mehul Choksi of the Gitanjali group are being probed in the fraud scam by the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate (ED). The ED had, on May 24 and May 26, filed prosecution complaints or charge-sheets against Choksi and Modi. The court has taken cognizance of the charge-sheets and issued non-bailable warrants against both of them. On request of the ED and the CBI, the Interpol had earlier issued Red Corner Notice against Nirav Modi on July 2. Nirav Modi left India along with his family in the first week of January, weeks before the scam was reported to the CBI. His wife Ami, a US citizen, left on January 6 and Choksi on January 4. NEW DELHI: Congress chief Rahul Gandhi will continue to contest from Uttar Pradesh's Amethi constituency in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, sources have told news agency ANI. However, the bigger piece of information that the sources shared indicated that Priyanka Vadra may replace her mother, former party chief Sonia Gandhi, as the Congress candidate in Rae Bareilly. New agency ANI attributed sources to confirm that Rahul Gandhi would contest from the Amethi constituency for the fourth consecutive time. He had first contested from this seat in the 2004 Lok Sabha election, and retained his seat in the elections of 2009 and 2014. Amethi is considered a pocket borough of the Nehru-Gandhi political clan. It is the seat from which four members of the family have made their political debuts. Rahul's uncle, Sanjay Gandhi, first fought from the seat unsuccessfully in the post-Emergency 1977 Lok Sabha elections, and won in 1980. After his death, Rahul's father, Rajiv Gandhi took over from his brother and won the seat in 1981, 1984 and 1989. Rajiv also won the seat in 1991, after his assassination. Rahul's mother and previous Congress chief, Sonia Gandhi, too chose to make her electoral entry with this seat in the 1999 Lok Sabha elections. She left the seat to Rahul and has won from Rae Bareilly in the 2004, 2009 and 2014 Lok Sabha elections. But given her health troubles that led to her handing over control of the party to her son, the sources told ANI that a decision would be made if Sonia would give up a second seat for a second child. Priyanka Vadra's entry into active politics has been a matter of speculation in Congress circles for well over a decade. Priyanka has often campaigned for the party, but has confined her role primarily to Amethi and Rae Bareilly, which were represented by her mother and brother. Congress cadre have often played on Priyankas perceived resemblance to Indira Gandhi, her grandmother and former prime minister. Indira fought elections five times 1967, 1971, 1977, 1978 and 1980 and she contested from Rae Bareilly each times there was a general election. She won the seat thrice, losing famously in the post-Emergency 1977 election, after which she won from the Chikmaglur seat in a bye-election in 1978. The sources also said the Congress would not seek an alliance with the Shiv Sena, ANI reported. The rationale for staying away from the Maratha chauvinist party was ideological differences, according to the source. The Shiv Sena received a shock result in the 2014 election, when it was replaced by the BJP as the senior alliance partner in Maharashtra. It has taken strongly critical lines against the Narendra Modi government while continuing to maintain ties with the BJP. The sources also told ANI that the Congress had decided not to announce Chief Ministerial candidates for Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan, all of which head to Assembly elections by the end of 2018. (With inputs from ANI) In a warning, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Friday said those found guilty in the alleged sexual assault of 34 women in Muzaffarpur shelter home issue will be severely punished and no leniency will be shown towards them. He assured of proper action against the guilty. The chief minister also said that he is ashamed of the Muzaffarpur incident. He assured that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is investigating the matter. CM Nitish Kumar further asked the Bihar High Court to monitor the investigation. His remarks come a day after the Supreme Court issued a notice to the Centre and the Bihar government seeking a detailed reply from them. On Thursday, protesting against the alleged rape at the shelter, the Left parties called for Bihar bandh seeking the resignation of Nitish Kumar. The bandh was supported by the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), Congress Party, Hindustani Swam Morcha, Samajwadi Party and Lokrantrik Janata Dal. Significantly, on Wednesday the Bihar Governor Satya Pal Malik wrote to the Centre and the Bihar government seeking strict rules against all shelter homes indulged in wrongdoing. The Governor wrote to Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad and Chief Justice of Patna High Court over the issue. At least 34 girls have allegedly been raped and 11 others went missing in two of Muzaffarpur's shelter homes, run by the same owner, Brijesh Thakur. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) was handed over the probe into the case concerning the abuse of girls in Balika Grih, run by Seva Sankalp Evam Vikas Samiti. It is alleged that officials and employees of the shelter home used to mentality, physically and sexually exploit girls residing there. The case came to light earlier this year when the Bihar Social Welfare Department filed an FIR based on a social audit of the shelter home conducted by the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Mumbai. 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. 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. Meanwhile, a fresh case has been registered against Thakur in connection with the disappearance of 11 women from the other shelter home. According to the complaint, when a survey of the second shelter home was done by the district child protection unit in March, the presence of 11 women was registered. However, when the officials visited the shelter home for another survey in June, they found the shelter home locked. In a close shave, a Jet Airways flight travelling to Mumbai on Friday from Saudi Arabia's capital city of Riyadh went off the runway following an aborted take-off from the King Khalid International Airport. The flight 9W 523 had a total of 149 people on board, including 142 guests and 7 crew members. The B737-800 aircraft has been safely evacuated. There have been no reports of injuries. The pilot found an object on the runway and decided to abort take off, he must have braked hard to ensure the plane stops in the available length of the runway, investigation is pending the airline said in a report to Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). The incident is being investigated by the local regulatory authorities. "Currently the event involving flight 9W 523 is being investigated by the local regulatory authorities and our teams are providing full co-operation as necessary. At Jet Airways the safety of our guests and crew is of paramount importance," said the airline. The passengers of the flight 9W523 were accommodated inside the terminal building of Riyadh airport and served meals and refreshments, said a statement by Jet Airways on Twitter. "All our guests and crew members of flight 9W 523 accommodated inside the terminal building at Riyadh Airport have been served meals and refreshments and our teams are taking care of their requirements. Our teams present at the location are assisting guests in every possible way," said a tweet by the airline. The airline also said that it is working to make alternate travel plans for the passengers. However, the flight operations across the network will remain unaffected added the airline. "We are working to make alternate travel arrangements for our guests from Riyadh. Our flight operations across the network including services to and from Riyadh remain unaffected," said Jet Airways. Silchar: A day after eight Trinamool Congress (TMC) leaders were detained at Assam's Silchar Airport, six of them left Assam on Friday, an official said. The two other leaders -- MPs Mamatabala Thakur and Arpita Ghosh -- would leave the state later in the day, Cachar district Deputy Commissioner S Lakshmanan said. TMC MP Sukhendu Sekhar Roy said that the other 77 passengers in the same aircraft were allowed to move out but only they were not allowed. He added that they had to cancel their public meeting. "We are going back. The police have not allowed us to go out. We requested them several times but they refused. We spent the night in three rooms at the airport," he said. Besides Roy, MPs Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, Ratna De Nag and Nadimul Haque, West Bengal minister Firhad Hakim and MLA Mohua Maitra were in the delegation. On Thursday, six TMC MPs and two MLAs were detained at the Sichar airport in Assam. The party members had alleged that they were manhandled at the airport. The Trinamool Congress delegation reached Assam on Thursday to assess the situation in the state in the wake of the publication of the complete draft of the NRC. The police have claimed that the delegation of TMC members was detained as a precautionary measure as Section 144 is in place. However, TMC claimed that they did not know that Section 144 was not in force and that they had no intentions of breaking the law and order. Lashing out at the Centre, TMC leader Derek O Brien called it an Emergency-like situation. "Our delegation was detained at Silchar airport. It is our democratic right to meet people, this is a super emergency like situation," he said. TMC MP Sukhendu Sekhar Roy, who is a member of the delegation, said that the police stopped them at the airport on their arrival saying their visit might create trouble. The TMC delegation including six MPs was kept in the VIP lounge of Kumbhigram airport in Cachar district under Barak Valley region, a PTI report said. The Cachar district administration had on Wednesday night issued a prohibitory order under Section 144 of the CrPC and banned entry of any person not involved with the NRC process in the district. The TMC team is visiting the state at the instruction of party supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. Banerjee has been accusing the BJP-led central government of resorting to "vote-bank politics" on the NRC issue and saying that "Indian citizens have become refugees" in their own land. NEW DELHI: The proposal to create a 'Social Media Communication Hub' has been withdrawn, the Centre told the Supreme Court on Friday. Social media hub policy would be reviewed by government, Attorney General K K Venugopal told a three-bench judge of the top court, headed by CJI Dipak Mishra. Tweeting on the hearing, the Internet Freedom Foundation wrote: Some more detail: 1. The case is disposed off with a recorded undertaking by the Goverment it is withdrawning the tender. 2. The government indicated it will internally study the matter. 3. Yes, risks of subsequent tenders and direct procurement with a change in specifications. Internet Freedom Foundation (IFF) (@internetfreedom) August 3, 2018 In January this year, the Information and Broadcasting Ministry planned to set up a hub to monitor social media activities, trending news in districts and gather feedback on the Centres flagship schemes. In a tender, the government sought bids for a firm that could provide 800 employees to monitor social media and other online communications at a micro level. Later, the Supreme Court lashed at the government over it and observed that it will be "like creating a surveillance state". On August 24 last year, a nine-judge bench of the Apex Court declared that privacy is a constitutional right. The judges were unanimous in their finding. In their order, the judges cited various reasons for their conclusion and said: "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." Astana: External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj today praised the Kazakh people for their warmth in welcoming the Indian diaspora as she interacted with the Indian community living in the Central Asian country. Swaraj is on a three-nation tour to Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan as part of India's efforts to boost strategic partnership with the resource-rich nations. She arrived in Kazakhstan on Thursday, India's largest trade and investment partner in Central Asia, after a brief transit halt in Turkmenistan. Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said in a tweet: "Meeting our very own away from home in her first engagement since arriving in Astana! EAM @SushmaSwaraj in her address to the Indian community: I have been told that Astana is the second coldest capital of the world but the warmth of Kazakh people do not let you feel this chill!" During her visit to Astana, the minister will hold a bilateral meeting with her Kazakhstani counterpart Kairat Abdrakhmanov, the MEA said in a statement in New Delhi. She will also call on the country's leadership and interact with Indian community, it said. India and Kazakhstan have a close strategic partnership and multi-faceted relations. The bilateral relations have been strengthened by the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Kazakhstan in 2015 and by his visit for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit in June 2017 when he had a productive meeting with the President of Kazakhstan, the statement said. There have also been meetings between the leaders on the margins of the SCO and Nuclear Security Summits keeping up the momentum in the growth of bilateral relations, it said. Swaraj's visit to the three Central Asian countries is her first visit to these countries as External Affairs Minister. The visit is in pursuit of India's objective of enhanced engagement with this region which is India's extended neighbourhood. It will provide an opportunity to hold in-depth discussions with the political leadership on a wide range of global, regional and bilateral issues and will advance India's growing engagement with the Central Asian Region. NEW DELHI: An inquiry conducted by a central team to assess the circumstances leading to the collapse of a tent during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's recent rally at West Bengal's Midnapore has pointed to serious lapses in the security arrangements put in place by the local administration. The panel, in its report, blamed the local authorities for the alleged lapses and said that adequate cooperation was not provided to the advance security liaison team ahead of PM Modi's rally. The inquiry report, which was submitted to the Union Home Ministry, suggested that not enough state police personnel were deployed within the 5-km radius of the Prime Minister's function. The panel also claimed that proper logistical help was not given to the advance security liaisoning team, which visited the state two weeks before the Prime Minister's visit. The fact-finding panel indicated that there was a gross violation of the set norms by the state police and district administration. The report indicated that the rulebook was violated on a number of counts by the state and district administration. The panel also noted that the ruling Trinamool Congress government's visible lack of cooperation caused a huge 'risk' to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's life. The inquiry panel was constituted to look into the circumstances due to which the makeshift tent, erected next to the main entrance of rally venue to shelter people from rain, collapsed when PM Modi was halfway through his speech on July 16. However, the findings of the inquiry panel report have triggered a war of words between the ruling BJP at the centre and the West Bengal government led by Mamata Banerjee. The West Bengal unit of the BJP has alleged a ''conspiracy'' by the TMC goons behind the reported breach in PM Modi's security. The West Bengal BJP said that the truth behind the collapse of a tent at a rally of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Midnapore on July 16 has come out only after a central team conducted an inquiry. "The real truth has come out after the central report. The truth is that neither the local police top brass nor the state PWD officials monitored the arrangements," BJP state president Dilip Ghosh told reporters here. "The PWD and the state intelligence should have inspected the meeting site, they should have contacted our men entrusted with the organisational aspect of the meeting at Midnapore and inspected the tent," he said. Ghosh also made slammed the West Bengal Police for not taking the issue of PM Modi's security seriously. He said this while referring to the probe panel's finding that no rehearsal was done by the police ahead of the event. "None of the top police officials had contacted us even half an hour after the incident and it showed how slack they (state administration) were regarding a meeting of the Prime Minister," he said. New Delhi: Lashing out once again at critics of the National Registry of Citizens (NRC) report in Assam, Home Minister Rajnath Singh said that unwarranted accusations being made by opposition parties are unfortunate. Speaking on a day which began with Trinamool Congress' Saugata Roy moved an adjournment motion over the detention of TMC delegation at Silchar airport on Thursday, Rajnath said that there is no room to doubt the fairness of NRC. "Whole procedure of NRC in Assam was undertaken under supervision of Supreme Court. I would like to repeat that its a draft and not final, everyone will get chance to appeal. It's a totally fair process. Unwarranted accusations are unfortunate," he said during a heated debate on the issue. "I am saying this again, that no coercive action will be taken against anyone in any situation. Attempts to create an atmosphere of fear are condemnable." The opposition has taken the NRC issue, which has left out close to 40 lakh people in the second and final draft, as a major weapon against the government. At the forefront is West Bengal Mamata Banerjee who even said that NRC would lead to bloodbath and civil war - a comment much slammed by the BJP. The biggest flashpoint so far though has been the detention of eight members of a TMC delegation at Assam's Silchar airport. The delegation was to undertake a ground assessment of the situation post the NRC report. NEW DELHI: In a major development, the Centre on Friday informed the Supreme Court that there will be no monitoring of the social media and it has scrapped its plan to set up a Social Media Communication Hub (SMCH). The Centre had earlier proposed to set up SMCH to track and monitor various social media platforms to identify "buzz creators". The submission on behalf of the Centre was made by Attorney General K K Venugopal, who informed the top court that the government is withdrawing the proposal. The A-G made this submission before a Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra, Justice AM Khanwilkar and Justice DY Chandrachud. The Centre told the Supreme Court that it will undertake a complete review of its social media policy and has withdrawn its notification proposing a social media hub, which some alleged could become a tool to monitor online activity of citizens. The clarification from the Centre came in response to a petition filed by Trinamool Congress MLA Mahua Moitra for stalling the Information and Broadcasting Ministry's move to keep a tab on social media platforms. TMC MLA Mahua Moitra had alleged that the Centre's social media hub policy was to be used as a tool to monitor social media activities of the citizens and should be quashed. The Trinamool Congress legislator from West Bengal had asked whether the government wants to tap citizens' messages on WhatsApp or other social media platforms. Moitra had said the government had issued a Request For Proposal (RFP). The tender will be opened on August 20 for a software which would do 360 degree monitoring on all social media platforms such WhatsApp, Twitter and Instagram and track e-mail contents, she said. On July 13, the apex court had asked the government to clarify whether its move to create such a hub was to tap people's WhatsApp messages, and observed that it will be like creating a "surveillance state". On June 18, the apex court refused to an urgent hearing on the plea seeking to stay the ministry's move to set up a 'Social Media Communication Hub' (SMCH) that would collect and analyse digital and social media content. In a related development, Centre today informed that nearly 700 URLs have been blocked by the social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter this year. While replying to a query during the Question Hour, Minister for Electronics and IT Ravi Shankar Prasad said that government has asked the social media companies to find technological solutions to ensure that rumours and fake news do not proliferate on their platforms. Prasad said while the government was pressing for more accountability of social media companies, it was clear that the right of the people to raise questions has to be upheld. There is a need to have a consensus on what constitutes fake news, Prasad said. The minister said several URLs have been blocked by these companies in compliance with the provisions of the Information Technology Act in recent past. He said till June this year, the number of URLs blocked by Facebook was 499, YouTube 57, Twitter 88, Instagram 25 and Tumblr 28. Prasad was responding to several members who had raised questions about the spread of fake news on social media sites such as Twitter, Facebook and WhatsApp and sought to know what the government was doing in this regard. Some incidents of lynching were also linked to the spread of fake news. In response to Centre's directive, WhatsApp, which was recently under fire over fake and provocative messages being circulated on its platform, had informed the IT and Electronics Ministry that it has the ability to prevent spam but blocking can be done only based on user reports since it cannot see the content of private messages. Detailing the proactive steps to tackle abuse on its platform, WhatsApp had said it retains limited information and is end-to-end encrypted. But this privacy protection has trade-offs in form of "the inability to see problematic content spreading through private conversations on our app". (With Agency inputs) SRINAGAR: Two terrorists were gunned down by security forces during an encounter at Drusu village in Jammu and Kashmir's Sopore district on Friday. The encounter broke out earlier in the day between security forces and terrorists. The two slain terrorists, initially trapped by Indian forces, were later shot down. Search operations are still going on in the region. On Thursday, two Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) terrorists were killed in an encounter after they fired upon security forces in the Kupwara district, police said. An INSAS rifle, snatched earlier this week from a policeman in the Kupwara district of north Kashmir, was recovered from the terrorists, they said. "They were affiliated to the proscribed terror outfit HM. Both the terrorists were involved in several attacks on security establishments and civilian atrocities in the area," the spokesman said. He said besides an INSAS rifle, and an AK-47, was snatched from a policeman in Kandhar area of Kupwara on Tuesday, was recovered from the slain terrorists. The Chief of Army's Northern Command, Lt Gen Ranbir Singh, visited the forward areas and the hinterland in Rajouri district on Thursday to review the security situation along the border with Pakistan. With agency inputs SRINAGAR: Terrorists hurled grenades at Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) on Friday morning. Two security personnel receive minor injuries in the attack that took place at State Bank of India branch at Lal Chowk in Anantnag. The entire area has been cordoned off. Earlier on Friday, another group of terrorists barged inside a JK Bank branch in Karpan area of Shopian district. The terrorists looted cash and snatched a 12 bore rifle from the private security guard deputed at the branch. A police investigation is currently underway in the matter. Two terrorists were gunned down by security forces during an encounter at Drusu village in Jammu and Kashmir's Sopore district on Friday. Search operations are still going on in the region. On Thursday, two Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) terrorists were killed in an encounter after they fired upon security forces in the Kupwara district, police said. An INSAS rifle, snatched earlier this week from a policeman in the Kupwara district of north Kashmir, was recovered from the terrorists, they said. Lucknow: A portion of the media centre of Congress here was recently painted saffron colour. Now, it is white. Colours may have a certain sense of symbolism and saffron is a hue mostly associated with the BJP. And while Congress has not explained why the saffron colour at its media centre was painted over, the rather muted and neutral white finally won favour. Interestingly, there is a shade of saffron in Congress party flag as well. People on social media though are seeing the lighter side of things. LOL why Congress hate Saffron colour ??? Kabir Grewal?? (@Kabir_grewal1) August 3, 2018 Itni pareshani hai saffron se toh jara Suraj ko bhi white karo ???????? Random Guy (@randomadmi) August 3, 2018 Even the Indian flag has the saffron colour which represents courage and sacrifice. (With ANI inputs) Mumbai: A 21-year-old unemployed man, belonging to the Maratha community, allegedly committed suicide by hanging in Aurangabad city of Maharashtra on Thursday, the police said. Umesh Atmaram Indait hanged himself at his house in Choudhary Colony in Chikalthana area on Thursday afternoon, a senior police official said. As Maratha organisations are agitating for reservation in jobs and education for the community, at least six cases of suicide by young Maratha men were reported in the last two weeks. In all these cases, the victims purportedly mentioned that they were ending life for the cause of the quota, or because they were frustrated because of lack of job and education opportunities, the police said. The purported suicide note by Indait said he was jobless. "I did not fulfil the dreams of my parents. I am still jobless even though after completing my B.Sc because I belong to the Maratha community," it said. After a photograph of the suicide note found its way on social media platforms, hundreds of protesters gathered on Jalna Road in the city. Some of them tried to block the road and there was stone-pelting, the police officer said. Mumbai: Sangli-Miraj-Kupwad Municipal Corporation (SMKMC) results 2018 and Jalgaon Municipal Corporation (JMC) results 2018 are all set to be declared on Friday, August 3. Catch the live streaming of Sangli-Miraj-Kupwad, Jalgaon Municipal Corporation results 2018 here Sangli-Miraj-Kupwad Municipal Corporation is in western Maharashtra while Jalgaon Municipal Corporation (JMC) in north Maharashtra. Catch the live updates here A total of 754 candidates are in the fray for 153 seats in these two cities, which went to poll on Thursday. The cumulative voter population of the two is 7,89,251. In Jalgaon, around 55 per cent voters exercised their franchise, but the final figure is yet to be out. Last time the city had registered 63 per cent voting, an official said. Around 62 per cent polling was registered in Sangli-Miraj-Kupwad Municipal Corporation, one percentage point less than the 2013 polls, the official said. According to reports, tension prevailed in polling booth in Ward number 15 when some candidates alleged that the Electronic Voting Machine was malfunctioning and all votes were going to the BJP. Following a ruckus, police baton-charge them to disperse the workers. As many as 451 candidates are in fray for 78 seats in the SMKMC, while 303 nominees will vie for 75 seats in Jalgaon. In Jalgaon, Sena-BJP have an informal alliance, while Congress-NCP had announced a tie-up before the polls. In SMKMC, the NCP and Congress have joined hands against the BJP. NEW DELHI: The Narendra Modi government has proposed a number of projects to make eight of India's cities safer for women. The projects together would cost Rs 2919.55 crore under the Nirbhaya Fund, Minister of State for Women and Child Development Virendra Kumar told Lok Sabha on Friday. The eight cities in question are Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad and Lucknow. The projects aim to make the cities safer for women by addressing different aspects such as street lighting, safer public transport, improved policing, etc. A different mix of these steps would apply to each city. These projects have been designed in coordination with the Police Commissionerates and Municipal Corporations of the eight cities. Delhi The proposal for Delhi has been estimated to cost Rs 663.67 crore, the second highest after Bengaluru. "The project aims at enhancing the safety of women in public places like roads, parks, markets, schools, metro stations, etc. The project leverages latest technology such as video monitoring, facial recognition analytics, person tracking, automatic number plate recognition, dedicated women safety patrol vans equipped with dashboards for viewing live feeds, GPS tracking, on-board video feed sharing, etc. for women's safety. The project will cover about 3,700 locations in Delhi," the minister said in the Lok Sabha in response to a question submitted by an MP. Mumbai The estimate for Mumbai is Rs 252 crore. "The project involves GIS mapping of criminal hotspots, video surveillance, training of investigating officers, prosecutors and judicial officers, community policing and quick response police teams. The project will also strengthen the Police Didi program wherein female police officers interact with women living in slums on the issue of sexual harassment and abuse. It is also proposed to spread awareness through media campaigns," the minister's reply said. Chennai The projects, estimated at Rs 425 crore would include " creation of safe-zone clusters at hot crime zones, surveillance technology, GIS based crime mapping, security in public transport, better sanitation facilities for women, remote monitoring of city lighting, capacity building of police authorities as well as a helpdesk service for women. A Cyber Crime & Legal Assistance Compensation Lab will also be set up under this project." Ahmedabad At an estimated cost of Rs 253 crore, Ahmedabad would see the introduction of "ABHAYAM Vans for quick response to women in distress, Bharosa-like One Stop Crisis Centres, surveillance at crime hotspots, Radio Frequency Identification and Quick Response based security systems, 'She Teams' of women for surveillance and support to women who may face violence. The project also envisages redevelopment of the Sabarmati River Front to make it more women-friendly." Kolkata The West Bengal capital received the lowest estimate at Rs181.32 crore. "The proposal includes strengthening of 9 women police stations, surveillance in public areas, Computer Aided Dispatch based emergency response system for dial-100 in cases of women, in-camera testimonies in all Crime Courts. The project will undertake sensitization programmes especially for boys as well as mass behavioural & cultural change campaign on women's safety etc," the minister's reply read. Bengaluru The IT city received the biggest estimate for its projects, at Rs 667 crore. "The proposal involves surveillance at public places, quick response police vehicles, placement of NGO volunteers at Women's Helpdesk in Police Stations and Critical Care Response Units at leading Hospitals, setting up of an Integrated Support Center for women and children in need, GIS based crime mapping and analytics, Women Police Outposts near schools, colleges, bus stands etc., Creation of Safety Islands at vulnerable places. It also has components of awareness building and introduction of Rani Channamma Teams of women to sensitize the public and help in addressing violence against women," read Kumar's reply to the House. Hyderabad The Telangana capital would see implementation of projects worth Rs 282.50 crore. "The proposal involves setting up of a Centre for Development and Empowerment of Women as well as a Forensic Cell and Repeat Offenders Monitoring Cell. It also envisages setting up of SHE Toilets for women as well as Transit Dorms for safe temporary accommodation," the minister said. Lucknow The Uttar Pradesh capital would receive projects worth Rs 195 crore. "The proposal incorporates features like cyber and forensics infrastructure for better investigation of crimes against women, manpower training in the police force. It envisages the creation of a comprehensive Safe City Eco System by also sensitizing all the various stakeholders in the city such as hawkers, shopkeepers, waiters, public servants etc. on issues of women," read the minister's response. New Delhi: The beautiful and highly-talented Disha Patani often sets the temperature high with her social media posts. Disha has a huge fan following and has been ruling hearts ever since she made her debut with 'MS Dhoni: The Untold Story'. The actress made her presence felt with the small role in the film and instantly won hearts. Disha was last seen in the action-entertainer 'Baaghi 2'. She starred opposite her rumoured boyfriend Tiger Shroff. The actress took to Instagram and posted a mirror selfie which will give you major fitness goals. Check out her pic right here: A post shared by disha patani (paatni) (@dishapatani) on Jul 31, 2018 at 11:34pm PDT Disha will next be seen in Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif starrer 'Bharat'. The movie also stars film actress Tabu and popular comedian Sunil Grover. 'Bhabhi Ji Ghar Par Hain's Aasif Sheikh will also have a role in the film. 'Bharat' was a lot in news recently after Priyanka Chopra suddenly backed out of the film. Reports suggested different reasons for the actress's exit but none of them has been confirmed as of now. Priyanka was then replaced by Katrina Kaif. Most of Salman Khan's films in the recent past have hit the theatres on the occasion of Eid and 'Bharat' is no exception. It will release on the festival in 2019. The film will be set in the backdrop of India in 1947 and will take us through the events during the countrys partition. Not just that, the film will showcase significant events over a period of 70 years since partition. 'Bharat' will be an official adaptation of the 2014 South Korean film 'Ode to My Father' New Delhi: Ace comedian Kapil Sharma has been away from the limelight for past few days. The actor, who had a rather rough time lately with the legal notices flying and him accusing a journalist of maligning his image through negative reportage is now back in town. After being spotted at a Mumbai airport months back, Kapil's new picture has gone viral on social media. One of the fan clubs shared it on Twitter and in the picture he can be seen posing with his pet dog Cheeku. Check it out here: Latest pic of @KapilSharmaK9 with his pet Cheeku isn't it cute ? #KapilSharma pic.twitter.com/1GT1Bdupee Kapil Sharma FC (@KapilFans) July 31, 2018 He looks happy and has put on a few kilos. Kapil's health had taken a toll due to which he had to take a break from the small screen. After getting back to Mumbai, he even tweeted and briefed about having changed his lifestyle for good. Chalo now good night .. trying to change my life style .. god bless all .. love u KAPIL (@KapilSharmaK9) June 7, 2018 Earlier this year, Kapil made his comeback with 'Family Time With Kapil Sharma', however, it didn't flag off as expected and it has reportedly gone off air. Many television celebs have supported to Kapil, from Shilpa Shinde, Sugandha Mishra, Krushna Abhishek and Bharti Singh, to Sunil Grover, Kiku Sharda, Ali Asgarall have expressed their concerns about his health. Kapil fans are eagerly waiting for him to make splashing comeback! New Delhi: As she mourned the death of 'Zombie Boy' Rick Genest, Lady Gaga pressed on the need to erase the stigma surrounding mental health. A Canadian artist, actor, and fashion model, Genest was best known for his appearance in Gaga's 'Born This Way' video. On Wednesday, he was found dead in his PlateauMont Royal apartment. He died six days before his 33rd birthday. The 'Judas' hitmaker described his death as beyond devastating and called on everyone to help change the culture around mental illness. "The suicide of friend Rick Genest, Zombie Boy is beyond devastating. We have to work harder to change the culture, bring Mental Health to the forefront and erase the stigma that we can't talk about it. If you are suffering, call a friend or family today. We must save each other," tweeted the 32-year-old. The suicide of friend Rick Genest, Zombie Boy is beyond devastating. We have to work harder to change the culture, bring Mental Health to the forefront and erase the stigma that we cant talk about it. If you are suffering, call a friend or family today. We must save each other. pic.twitter.com/THz6x5JlpB Lady Gaga (@ladygaga) August 3, 2018 In another tweet, the pop star wrote, "Science tells us that it takes 21 days to form a habit, if you are suffering from Mental Health issue I beckon for today to be your first day or a continuation of the work you've been doing. Reach out if you're in pain, and if you know someone who is, reach out to them too." Science tells us that it takes 21 days to form a habit, if you are suffering from Mental Health issue I beckon for today to be your first day or a continuation of the work youve been doing. Reach out if youre in pain, and if you know someone who is, reach out to them too. pic.twitter.com/4pVR5xyoH6 Lady Gaga (@ladygaga) August 3, 2018 Before he had any tattoos, Genest was diagnosed with a brain tumor. He was on the waiting list for six months, where he contemplated his own life and possible death, before undergoing the surgery with minimal complications. Mumbai: Shah Rukh Khan recently unveiled Vogue India magazine issue featuring his daughter Suhana Khan on its cover. Many of his fans cheered for the young girl for making a stunning magazine cover debut, but a struggling actor isn't happy about it. Bhumika Chheda, who calls herself a struggling actor took to Twitter to express her views on the privileges Suhana Khan has because she is Shah Rukh Khan's daughter. Chheda wrote: "I am a struggling TV actor and I'll tell you why people and other fellow struggling actors including me are annoyed because Suhana Khan is on the Vogue India cover. But before that, let me tell you my credibility. I have worked in a few episodics, 3 digital ads and a DD1 show." I am a struggling TV actor and I'll tell you why people and other fellow struggling actors including me are annoyed because Suhana Khan is on the Vogue India cover. But before that, let me tell you my credibility. I have worked in a few episodics, 3 digital ads and a DD1 show. Bhumika Chheda (@IamBhumikaC) 1 August 2018 She added: "A normal struggling actor spends his/her/families (if new) money to travel EVERYDAY (almost) to various studios to ask for work. What happens when you are not dressed appropriately as per audition requirements? They ask us to come again another day." A normal struggling actor spends his/her/families (if new) money to travel EVERYDAY (almost) to various studios to ask for work. What happens when you are not dressed appropriately as per audition requirements? They ask us to come again another day. Bhumika Chheda (@IamBhumikaC) 1 August 2018 "Nobody gives a rat's ass as to how you are feeling that day, ill, sick, okay, normal, abnormal, unhealthy, mentally ill, XYZ! It's a race and you got to be there standing in a queue waiting for long hours, perhaps even 4-5 hours because you got to. No excuse! (sic)." Nobody gives a rat's ass as to how you are feeling that day, ill, sick, okay, normal, abnormal, unhealthy, mentally ill, XYZ! It's a race and you got to be there standing in a queue waiting for long hours, perhaps even 4-5 hours because you got to. No excuse! Bhumika Chheda (@IamBhumikaC) 1 August 2018 "What happens when you don't fit the bill (requirement) according to the casting director? They say words like either "rejected, you don't fit". Thankfully many casting directors these days are kind enough to convey their opinion politely. Or else, it is rude, its tough to deal." What happens when you don't fit the bill (requirement) according to the casting director? They say words like either "rejected, you don't fit". Thankfully many casting directors these days are kind enough to convey their opinion politely. Or else, it is rude, its tough to deal. Bhumika Chheda (@IamBhumikaC) 1 August 2018 "Imagine going everyday for a new test and getting rejected over and over again due to XYZ reasons. And trust me, the reason isn't talent ALL THE TIME. It varies." Imagine going everyday for a new test and getting rejected over and over again due to XYZ reasons. And trust me, the reason isn't talent ALL THE TIME. It varies. Bhumika Chheda (@IamBhumikaC) 1 August 2018 "Thus! The reason I am annoyed is because when Suhana Khan had to step into the Vogue India office, nobody told her "you don't fit the requirement." To wake up each mrng with the same amount of motivation for the same agenda each day, every day, try that! I promise it isn't easy!(sic)." Thus! The reason I am annoyed is because when Suhana Khan had to step into the Vogue India office, nobody told her "you don't fit the requirement." To wake up each mrng with the same amount of motivation for the same agenda each day, every day, try that! I promise it isn't easy! Bhumika Chheda (@IamBhumikaC) 1 August 2018 "Probably. I wasn't as much bothered when Alia Bhatt appeared in the covers, we all knew she would. But she did that post her movie announcement. That matters :) prooving the mettle matters. (sic)." Probably. I wasn't as much bothered when Alia Bhatt appeared in the covers, we all knew she would. But she did that post her movie announcement. That matters :) prooving the mettle matters. Bhumika Chheda (@IamBhumikaC) 1 August 2018 "Isn't the question here about respect too? SRK has earned it :) And that's exactly my debate. (sic)." Isn't the question here about respect too? SRK has earned it :) And that's exactly my debate. Bhumika Chheda (@IamBhumikaC) 1 August 2018 Chheda also clarified that she has nothing against Shah Rukh Khan. She wrote: "The thread was not against SRK's daughter, it was against a girl who has nothing to her merit yet on the Vogue India Cover Page, and she happened to be Suhana Khan. Request to not make it a sensational news.(sic)." The thread was not against SRK's daughter, it was against a girl who has nothing to her merit yet on the Vogue India Cover Page, and she happened to be Suhana Khan. Request to not make it a sensational news. Bhumika Chheda (@IamBhumikaC) 2 August 2018 This is a reminder of Kangana Ranaut's nepotism debate when she had questioned film industry bigwigs of favouring star kids. Shah Rukh, we all know is a self-made person. His journey from being a TV actor to a Bollywood superstar is inspiring and enriching. He has worked really very hard to reach where we see him today. Talking about his daughter Suhana's maiden cover, SRK said: "I hope it is not taken as an entitlement because she happens to be Shah Rukh Khan's daughter but I hope it is seen as a responsibility that Suhana now has. "And I think this is going to remove some of the entitlement she has because she happens to be my daughter. Insha Allah (God willing), she will work hard towards it." "I will be proud of her when she is proud of herself and the job that she does and Insha Allah, she will do that," he added. (With IANS inputs) New Delhi: Tamil director Palaniswamy Ganesan, better known as his stage name C Sivakumar, was found dead under mysterious circumstances in his apartment in Saligramam, Chennai, on Thursday. As per reports, his house in Venkateswara Nagar in Virugambakkam was locked for two days and the neighbours alerted the police after they felt an odour from the house. The director's body was found in a decomposed state and police has launched an investigation to find out what led to the death, said the report. The last rites of the filmmaker is expected to take place only once the police investigation gets completed. The police is suspecting that Sivakumar suffered a massive heart attack while he was watching the television on Thursday night at his residence. However, an official confirmation about the same is awaited. The police have sent the body for post-mortem and are waiting for the report. Sivakumar was known for helming films like 'Ayudha Poojai' and 'Rettai Jadai Vayasu' featuring Ajith. The 46-year-old filmmaker had worked earlier as an assistant-director in his initial days. Mumbai: Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone have returned from the US after what was meant to be a hush-hush vacation. The couple was spotted walking hand-in-hand at the airport. The paparazzi waiting outside clicked candid photographs of the two, who are reportedly all set to tie the nuptial knot in November this year. Deepika was all smiles as she walked out of the airport's departure lounge. Here's taking a look at the picture: (Pic by Yogen Shah) The two actors have never admitted to being in love, but their PDA has spoken volumes about their blossoming romance. Reports suggest that wedding bells will ring on November 10. The couple will exchange marital vows at an exotic destination in Italy. Like Rani Mukerji - Aditya Chopra and Virat Kohli - Anushka Sharma, Ranveer-Deepika have chosen Italy as the destination for their wedding. According to a report in Filmfare, Ranveer and Deepika will exchange marital vows at Lake Como in Italy. 'DeepVeer' had flown to the Maldives to celebrate New Year. Rumours suggest that Ranveer got engaged to Deepika on her birthday in the island country and it was then that he proposed to her for marriage. Here's wishing Deepika and Ranveer hearty congratulations. New Delhi: Search engine giant Google is all set to release the much anticipated Android P this month. According eminent phone leakster Evan Blass, Google will launch the final version of Android P on August 20. In a bid to make it easy for users to navigate and use smart ways to access functions on Android devices, Google rolled out updates to the Android P Beta 2 in June this year. Here is the full list of supported partner and Pixel devices for Android P Beta 2 Essential Phone Google Pixel 2 Google Pixel 2 XL Google Pixel Google Pixel XL Nokia 7 plus OnePlus 6 Oppo R15 Pro Sony Xperia XZ2 Vivo X21UD Vivo X21 Xiaomi Mi Mix 2S The Android P Beta 2 is the latest update of our upcoming Android P platform and includes the final APIs (API level 28) as well as the official SDK, Dave Burke, VP of Engineering wrote in the Android developers blog. You can now show conversations, attach photos and stickers, and even suggest smart replies. You'll soon be able to use ML Kit to generate smart reply suggestions your app, it said. The blog further said that Android P introduces a system-managed dialog to prompt the user for any supported type of biometric authentication. Apps no longer need to build their own dialog -- instead they use the BiometricPrompt API to show the standard system dialog. In addition to Fingerprint (including in-display sensors), the API supports Face and Iris authentication. NEW DELHI: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister and BJP's poster boy Yogi Adityanath faces a serious threat from terrorists who are planning to attack him at an opportune time whenever he moves outside his state. The warning has come from the Madhya Pradesh Police, which said in its intelligence report sent to the Centre that the UP Chief Minister could be targeted by the terrorist outfits during his visit to Delhi and other states. The advisory issued by the MP Police claimed that terrorists might attack CM Yogi during his Delhi visit, hence his security should be tightened. It is believed that the plot to target the firebrand BJP politician could be carried out during Independence Day celebrations. Delhi and Uttar Pradesh Police have been duly altered about the increased threat to Yogi Adityanath's life and advised to take stringent measure concerning the UP CM's security and safety. In its intelligence report, the MP Police said that young boys have been recruited to accomplish the deadly mission. They could also target important religious places in Uttar Pradesh, the alert issued by MP Police said. Following the alert, security at the Chief Ministers residence and his office in state capital Lucknow has been beefed up. Metal detectors have also been installed at all entry gates, said reports. Reacting to the intelligence warning from the Madhya Pradesh Police, Praveen Kumar Tripathi, (IG Law and Order), said, ''There is no specific reason for this and is also a part of our drill. On basis of threat perception, we increase the security of VVIPS.'' There is no specific reason for this & is also a part of our drill. On basis of threat perception we increase the security of VVIPS: Praveen Kumar Tripathi, IG Law & Order on reports of UP CM's security being increased pic.twitter.com/cAFbt2yDSa ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) August 3, 2018 A few days back, a senior officer had stressed on the need for Jammu and Kashmir Police to maintain utmost alert ahead of the Independence Day. Earlier in the day, Intelligence agencies said that at least 600 terrorists were waiting at various launching pads for an opportune time to infiltrate into the Indian side of the border along the Line of Control. While speaking to Zee News, a Home Ministry official had said that these terrorists have the backing of Pakistan Army and some of these groups also comprise Pakistan Army jawans who are ready for BAT action on the Indian Army. Tokyo: The British Navy`s amphibious assault carrier HMS Albion arrived in Tokyo on Friday extending Britain`s naval presence in waters around Japan to four months as London deepens military ties in a region it considers vital to global security. The 22,000-tonne warship, the Royal Navy fleet flagship, docked in Tokyo where it will conduct ship tours for the general public, Japanese officials, and defence industry executives. An onboard contingent of around 120 Royal Marines will train with Japanese Self-Defence Force units. As Asia drives global economic growth and Brexit approaches, Britain has sought closer economic ties with the region`s biggest economy, China, but also deeper security ties with Japan. With its ally the United States, Japan represents the strongest check on China`s influence in the region, including its growing control over the contested South China Sea through the construction of island bases on submerged reefs. Japan for its part wants to cooperate more with other potential allies beyond the United States as part of a bigger regional security role. London and Tokyo have been holding regular meetings between their foreign and defence ministers since 2015, and are also discussing cooperation to jointly develop new military kit. At a press briefing before the Albion`s visit to Tokyo, Paul Madden, the British ambassador to Japan, said the backdrop to growing cooperation was "the tensions on the Korean peninsula as well as wider challenges to the rules-based international system". The Albion was earlier docked at nearby Yokosuka, which is home to the USS Ronald Reagan, the U.S. Seventh Fleet`s carrier, and has patrolled waters around North Korea as part of operations to enforce U.N. sanctions meant to persuade Pyongyang to abandon its nuclear and missile programmes. The Albion, which replaced the British frigate HMS Sutherland, will hand over to HMS Argyll, another frigate, when it leaves East Asia around the start of next month for naval exercises in the Middle East. Its journey west will take it through the South China Sea, a major waterway for sea-borne global trade that is claimed by China and in part by several Southeast Asian nations. Osama Bin Laden, known for years as the world's deadliest terrorist, was killed in 2011. His legacy, however, still continues. In an interview with The Guardian, Laden's mother said the path he chose was not Osama's fault. "He somehow lost his way." Born to her first and raised by her second husband, Ghanem - now in her mid-70s, claims that her son was caught between a cult culture and was brainwashed at a young age. She said, "He met some people who pretty much brainwashed him in his early 20s. You can call it a cult." Laden studied economics at King Abdulaziz University in Jeddah and his mother claims that the people at university changed him. Asserting Laden to be a 'shy boy' Ghanem said that he (Laden) became a different man after he met people like Abdullah Azzam, a member of Muslim Brotherhood. "I would always tell him to stay away from them (people from his university), and he would never admit to me what he was doing, because he loved me so much. adds Ghanem while speaking about his 'academically capable' child. When Osama went to Afghanistan shortly after, his family was apparently proud of his work against the Soviet Occupation. He would then go to Sudan, marking the beginning of shame and trouble for the Bin Ladens. Osama returned to Afghanistan and the family would meet him for the last time in 1999 at his base outside Kandahar. He was very happy to receive us. He was showing us around every day we were there. He killed an animal and we had a feast, and he invited everyone," Ghanem said. Ghanem was never ashamed of his terrorist son and always believed that it was the company he pursued that changed him. My life was very difficult because he was so far away from me, she said. Laden's family still remains under the radar of intelligence agencies from around the world. Being one of the wealthiest family in Saudi Arabia, they wish to shake off their past but people in the know fear Osama's son Hamza who was already declared a terrorist could bring back the ghosts of the past. There were two sworn enemies once upon a time. They called each other names and threatened war. They bragged about their missiles and were both seen working towards harming global peace and security. Then, Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un decided to meet for what was a historic landmark not just in US-North Korea relations but a massive global diplomatic triumph. An encore though is highly unlikely in the forseeable future. With rumours rife and speculations abundant about Trump and Kim meeting once again after their historic meet in Singapore in June. These primarily stemmed from some of Trump's tweets thanking his counterpart from North Korea for sending back remains of US servicemen from the Korean War. "I look forward to seeing you soon," the US President wrote at the end of his tweet of thanks. Thank you to Chairman Kim Jong Un for keeping your word & starting the process of sending home the remains of our great and beloved missing fallen! I am not at all surprised that you took this kind action. Also, thank you for your nice letter - l look forward to seeing you soon! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 2, 2018 The White House though has clarified that there is no meeting between the two leaders scheduled. "There is not a meeting that is locked in or finalized, certainly open to that discussion but there isn`t a meeting planned," Sarah Sanders, White House press secretary. Trump had invited Kim to the White House when the two had met in Singapore but for now, there is no confirmation about whether Kim will indeed act upon that invite. A McDonald's outlet in Canada's Lethbridge reportedly served a cup full of cleaning solution instead of coffee to a pregnant woman recently. Canada's The Star reported that Sarah Douglas ordered for coffee at a McDonald's drive-through but as she was driving away, she took a sip - only to get a mouthful of a bitter tasting liquid. While Douglas immediately spit out the liquid, it is learnt that she went back to the outlet to complain and this is when she was told that two cleaning lines were linked to the coffee machine which is what could have led to the mix-up. Douglas then contacted the Alberta Health Services and was rushed to a nearby hospital where she was treated in the poison control unit. Meanwhile, the franchise has issued for the grave mistake which could have proven deadly for Douglas and her unborn child. The franchise also said in a statement that corrective measures have been taken and that the cleaning procedure has been revamped completely to ensure such an incident never occurs again. It is not yet clear if Douglas will initiate legal proceedings though. The US government told a federal court judge on Thursday that volunteers and non-profit groups, rather than government officials, should take the lead in locating more than 400 immigrant parents who were separated from their children at the US-Mexico border and deported from the United States. The proposal came in a San Diego Federal Court lawsuit challenging some 2,500 family separations initiated by the Trump administration as part of its "zero tolerance" policy to curb illegal immigration. In the case, brought by the American Civil Liberties Union, Judge Dana Sabraw ordered the government to reunify the families by July 26, but that deadline was not fully met. While more than 1,900 children have been reunited with their families, or seen their cases resolved in other ways, hundreds remain separated, including the children of more than 400 parents no longer in the United States, according to the government`s latest filing. In its plan for reuniting those families, filed with the court on Thursday, attorneys from the Department of Justice said that the government would supply what information it had about the deported parents to the plaintiffs` attorneys. At that point, the filing said, "plaintiffs` counsel should use their considerable resources and their network of law firms, NGOs, volunteers, and others," to establish contact with deported parents and determine their wishes. The ACLU has repeatedly said that it would assist with efforts to find the deported parents, but the group made clear in Thursday`s filing that it expected the US government to bear ultimate responsibility for locating them. Most of the removed parents were returned to their home countries of Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador. "Not only was it the governments unconstitutional separation practice that led to this crisis, but the United States Government has far more resources than any group of NGOs," the ACLU said in the filing. The ACLU noted that the government seemed not to have addresses for some 120 of the deported parents. Government lawyers said they would need until Aug. 10 to go through the files of the children of those parents to find information that could help in the search. Judge Sabraw will hold a hearing on Friday to discuss the ongoing reunification efforts. He is also expected to decide soon when to lift a stay that prohibits rapid deportation of reunited families. Government lawyers told Sabraw last week that about 300 children were in family detention centers, and could be deported quickly once the judge allowed it. The ACLU has argued that the reunified families need time to discuss their options with legal counsel. A separate class action lawsuit recently brought in the District of Columbia on behalf of separated children seeks a separate stay on deportations. That lawsuit said that minors should be allowed to remain in the United States to pursue their legal rights apart from their parents. The Trump Administration ended family separations in June, after weeks of international outcry over the policy. NATO encourages Ukraine to make full use of the Comprehensive Assistance Package, so that Ukraine can better provide for its own security United States President Donald Trumps behavior at the North Atlantic Treaty Organizations (NATO) recent summit in Brussels (July 1112) and in its aftermath has cast a shadow on this landmark event. Trumps follow-up actions, including the meeting with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, continued hitting at NATO and the European Union from afar. Trumps persona and his possible motivations furnished the main topic of analysis throughout these events, diverting attention from the actual results of the NATO Brussels Summit. Its agenda and decisions clearly identified Russia as the main source of threats and challenges to the Alliance. The summits balance sheet is a mixture of significant accomplishments and unfinished business left over from years past, notably in the Black Sea region and NATOs eastern neighborhood. The North Atlantic Alliances modest engagement with Ukraine is hardly commensurate with that countrys centrality to a secure Europe. Nor does this level of relations adequately respond to Ukraines aspirations for Euro-Atlantic integration. Russias war of aggression against Ukrainea country that defends Europe in the process of defending itselfseems to have inhibited NATO from a proper mentoring and advisory role in Ukraine, instead of stimulating such a role. The countrys Euro-Atlantic aspirations mainly rely on the engagement of the United States with Ukraine on a bilateral basis, and potentially a few willing member countries, rather than on NATOs collective policies. The Alliance adheres to its declared Open Door Policy regarding Ukraine in a nuanced way. The Brussels Summit Declaration recognizes that an independent, sovereign and stable Ukraine [] is key for Euro-Atlantic security. We stand firm in our support for Ukraines right to decide its own future and foreign policy course free from outside interference. In light of Ukraines restated aspirations for NATO membership, we stand by our decisions taken at the Bucharest Summit and subsequent Summits (Nato.int, para. 62, July 11). The document, however, stops short of specifying what the 2008 Bucharest (and subsequently reaffirmed) decision was, namely that Ukraine and Georgia will become members of NATO. The 2018 Brussels Declaration makes this specification only with regard to Georgia, in the immediately preceding paragraph: We reiterate the decision made at the 2008 Bucharest Summit that Georgia will become a member of the Alliance (Nato.int, para. 61, July 11). NATO encourages Ukraine to make full use of the Comprehensive Assistance Package [CAP], so that Ukraine can better provide for its own security (Nato.int, para. 62, July 11). Meant as a contribution to improving Ukraines defense capacity and interoperability, that package consists of six trust funds, set up at NATOs 2014 Wales Summit and confirmed at the 2016 Warsaw Summit. Allied countries, individually or in groups, volunteer to provide financial support and expertise for the projects run by each trust fund. The six trust funds are designed to assist Ukraine with: C4 (Command, Control, Communications and Computers, led by a trio of Canada, Germany and the United Kingdom); Logistics and Standardization (led by the Czech Republic, the Netherlands and Poland); Cyber Defense (Romania); Military Medicine and Rehabilitation (Bulgaria); Military Career Transition (Norway); and Explosive Ordnance Disposal (Slovakia). (Nato.int, July 14). However, the funding is not up to the level of these tasks. In the run-up to the 2018 Brussels Summit, the budget planned for CAPs six trust funds was reported to total only $9.5 million, not all of which was actually collected (Heritage.org, July 6). NATO officials have not released the CAP trust funds budget figures. The Summit further encouraged Ukraine to make full use of the NATO-Ukraine Commission (NUC) and the Annual National Plan (ANP) in order to reach its objectives of implementing NATO principles and standards. The responsibility for implementation of ANPs falls primarily on Ukraine. (If an aspirant country receives a membership action plan, then NATO shares the aforementioned objectives and responsibility with that country). The NUC meets periodically at the presidential, ministerial, ambassadorial and expert levels (Hungary has vetoed NUC meetings since October 2017), while the ANP entails an annual review process coordinated by Ukraines deputy prime minister for European and Euro-Atlantic integration, Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze (highly respected in Brussels). The working groups under the NUC and under the ANP straddle the borderline between civilian and military domains, as is the case with CAPs trust funds. On the civilian side, albeit with national security implications, NATO and Ukraine jointly operate a Platform on Countering Hybrid Warfare; moreover, they have held a major exercise named Table Top, aimed at improving the resilience of Ukraines critical energy infrastructure. The Brussels Summit acknowledge[d] Ukraines interest in the Enhanced Opportunities Program (EOP) within the Partnership Interoperability Initiative (PIP), but the summit deferred a decision on Ukraines twice-submitted application. Launched at the 2014 Wales Summit, the PIP aims to consolidate the interoperability gains achieved in NATO-led crisis management missions and operations (basically for peace support and stabilization), potentially to continue such operations in the future. The PIP includes 24 partner countries, including Ukraine. Only five of these countries have been selected into the Enhanced Opportunities Program (EOPcurrently including Sweden, Finland, Georgia, Jordan and Australia). These benefit from enhanced access to planning, operations, and lessons-learned processes in connection with such missions (Nato.int, Ukrinform, July 6). Though a country involved in defensive war, Ukraine has nevertheless contributed to NATO missions and operations during the years 2015-2018. It sent an engineering unit to deal with improvised explosive devices (IED) for the NATO-led Kosova Force (KFOR); instructors within the NATO-led Resolute Support Mission to train, advise and assist Afghanistans security forces; and strategic airlift as well as a medical unit to NATOs Response Force (NRF). At the Brussels Summit, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg welcomed Ukraines decision to increase its contribution to the Resolute Support mission and to the NRF (Nato.int, July 12). Ukraine currently hosts two periodical military exercises with Western forces on its territory. These are not NATO exercises. Both are US-led, and some allied countries participate in their own right, but not NATO as such, apparently due to objections from certain governments. These exercises are, therefore, designated as multinational, rather than NATO. Rapid Trident is a US-led, annually recurring exercise, using the Yavoriv training range. The latest iteration, held in September 2017, involved a total of almost 2,000 personnel from Ukraine and 13 NATO member and partner countries. Rapid Trident serves primarily to validate the training of Ukrainian units and command staffs attending the US-led Joint Multinational Training GroupUkraine Program (Army.mil, accessed August 1). Sea Breeze is also an annual multinational exercise, co-hosted by the United States and Ukraine, and held mainly in the Odesa area, with some activities in the nearby Mykolayiv province. Sea Breeze had its latest iteration on July 9July 21, 2018, with the participation of sea, amphibious, land and air elements from 18 countries, totaling approximately 2,000 personnel. Some 800 of these were from the US Sixth Fleet, the staff of which led the exercise. Sea Breeze-18 was the most complex iteration of this exercise in recent years (C6f.navy.mil, accessed August 1). Visiting the main exercise site, President Petro Poroshenko remarked, This is not only about protecting Ukraines territory. We are on the eastern flank of NATO, we are jointly defending Europe. Ukraine is practically the only state that stopped the invasion of the Russian aggressor state (Ukrinform, July 16). Looking ahead to the next round of NATOs decisions (anniversary summit in 2019), the Alliance could, as minimum ambitions, increase the financing of the Trust Funds to adequate levels, add more NATO content to exercises in Ukraine, and hold the open door at least ajar, rather than just a crack. NATO (and Ukraine also) should debate not what NATO can do for Ukraine, but rather what NATO can do for itself as an alliance and for Europe in Ukraine. Read the original text here. Open source Bases are to be set up for Russian President Vladimir Putins National Guard [Rosgvardia] in three cities in occupied Crimea. The official line is that the National Guard bases, together with one for OMON riot police, are needed to protect Russias illegal Crimea Bridge from Ukrainian saboteurs. Many suspect, however, that the real aim is to have this army of specially trained fighters on hand to crush any protests, amid mounting disgruntlement with socio-economic problems and other issues. It was reported on 15 July that the relevant state property committee is to assist Rosgvardia in registering (appropriated Ukrainian) property in Simferopol, Alushta and Kerch. Among Rosgvardias main aims, it is claimed, will be to ensure safety of important sites on the peninsula, for example, the bridge over the Kerch Strait. In one of the cities land, etc. will also be made available for a base of OMON [riot police]. Krym.Realii spoke with Sergei Akimov, Ataman of the Cossack organization Krymskoye kazachestvo who appears to have been in conflict with the occupation regime since at least 2016, and has been detained at least once for a single-person picket. Akimov is clear that there is no objective need for an increase in law enforcement officials in Crimea, and says that there is already one police officer or military serviceman for each single Crimean. Every time you turn on the television, he says, you hear predictions of terrorist acts, etc. in Crimea, yet he believes that its protest rallies that theyre worried about, not saboteurs. Over the last year and a half, he asserts, the mood has become more explosive, with tensions running high in society. Russia is not just spending vast amounts on building homes, etc. for enforcement officers. According to Akimov, whole micro-districts are being built for tens of thousands of Russian soldiers. You can already feel that were living in a colony not just as regards the military. Various civilians turn up from Russia and begin imposing their rules. They say that Crimea was backward under Ukraine. In general, this is a military base. Mykola Palamarchuk, former Deputy Head of the Crimean Police, agrees that the deployment of so many Rosgvardia and OMON fighters is aimed at intimidating the population, rather than based on any real need. Before annexation, he notes, there were 10 thousand police officers, two thousand Interior Force conscripts and two thousand Security Service [SBU] officers, and that was quite sufficient. Russia needs forces to disperse protests, to hold to account those who are disgruntled, those who, according to the Russian authorities, disturb public order. Thats why they increase the number of enforcement officers, so that their presence frightens those who might want to hold a rally or something. Related: Russia blocks all attempts of international organizations to hold monitoring in Crimea Krym.Realii also spoke with Dmitry Solonnikov from the Russian Institute for Contemporary State Development, who asserted that the deployment of so many Rosgvardia fighters was justified. According to him The Ukrainian leadership and political figures constantly talk about this, about organizing sabotage around Crimea. <> Rosgvardia fighters will be responsible for the security of people on holiday in Crimea, including Ukrainians, protecting them from attacks on their holidays and unlawful actions of the Ukrainian state. Solonnikov was, unfortunately, not challenged to provide examples. The main claims of such terrorism or sabotage have been linked with much-publicized FSB arrests of Ukrainian filmmaker Oleg Sentsov, civic activist Oleksandr Kolchenko and two other opponents of annexation in 2014. No evidence of terrorism was ever found, and the horrifically long sentences have been condemned by the international community. There was a similar lack of any factual evidence to back the claims made that the Ukrainian military was planning widespread sabotage in August 2016 and then in November that year. The claims were based solely on the televised confessions of Ukrainians seized by the FSB. Those who were later not held incommunicado retracted these confessions, saying they had been obtained through torture. It is significant that four out of the seven men already put on trial were convicted of charges that had nothing to do with their confessions and, accordingly, nothing to do with Ukraines military intelligence or SBU. Russias National Guard, or Rosgvardia, was created by Putins presidential decree in April 2016, from the old Interior Forces, together with OMON, purportedly to protect public order, fight terrorism and extremism and guard state buildings. It later transpired that it would also be involved in taking fingerprints and something referred to as information counter-resistance. It was from the outset viewed by many commentators as President Putins own personal army aimed at quelling unrest,, and reporting directly to him. Russian security specialist Mark Galleotti, for example, asked what it says when Putin needs his own personal army. You dont need to create a National Guard out of the Interior Troops, he added, unless you have serious concern about public unrest. Galleotti also saw it as significant that the new formation was to be headed by Viktor Zolotov, who was in charge of Putins own security guard [FSO] from 2000 to 2013. This made Rosgvardia even more clearly a personal, presidential Praetorian force, under a maximalist loyalist. This may not only be a force to keep the masses in check, but also the elite, he suggested. In December 2016, Sergei Melikov, the First Deputy Commander of Rosgvardiya announced that the armys intelligence unit would be deployed in uncovering threats to the state system in Russia. Sources of extremism may be not only behaviour linked with intolerance of this or that action by the state, but also inter-faith or inter-ethnic enmity, etc. Melikov asserted that these can be used to create the conditions which would result in an undermining of the state system. He promised that the service will prevent any actions which can lead to mass disturbances. Putins Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov made it clear back in April 2016 that these fighters could be deployed against unauthorized mass protests. In breach of Russias Constitution, the authorities regularly refuse to authorize planned peaceful demonstrations and the Rosgvardiya has repeatedly been used against anti-Putin and anti-corruption protesters. In May 2017, Zolotov reported that Rosgvardia was now made up of nearly 400,000 troops more than the number of regular Russian ground forces. Despite this, on May 24, Putin signed another decree which stated that the President could subordinate all units of the Armed Forces and other military formations to Rosgvardia. Well-known Russian commentator Aleksandr Golts commented that such subordination implies that the Kremlin must believe the internal threat to the state is far more dangerous than external threats, and that the decree indicates that the government fears that large-scale public unrest could cover the entire territory of the country. Those concerns would seem to now extend to occupied Crimea. Read the original text at Human Rights in Ukraine. 132 people sustained injuries due to the military actions, First Deputy Head of the Mission Alexander Hug said Since early January till late July 2018, the number of civilian casualties in Donbas made 161 people; 29 of them deceased, the rest suffered various kinds of injuries. Alexander Hug, First Deputy Head of OSCE SMM in Ukraine said this at a briefing on Friday. OSCE also confirmed that this week (from July 26 through August 2), the number of ceasefire violations has dropped by 85 percent compared with that of the previous week. 'Last week, OSCE SMM spotted over 4,000 violations of the ceasefire', Hug said. The Mission's observers spotted 57 heavy weaponry units in the areas where they should not be, based on Minsk agreements; in 44 cases, the weaponry was spotted in the militant-held areas, and in another 13 cases - on the Ukraine-controlled territory. On August 2, the illegal armed formations of pro-Kremlin militants landed 28 attacks on positions of the Ukrainian military in Donbas; in one case, heavy weaponry was used. According to the HQ of the Joint Forces Operation, four Ukrainian warriors sustained wounds in combat. The Russian occupant forces used mainly RPGs, small arms and heavy machineguns; they attacked Stanytsia Luhanska, Krymske, Novoluhanske, Novomykhailivka, Mariinka, Avdiivka, Krasnohorivka, Chermalyk, Hnutove, Lebedynske, Talakivka, Pavlopol and Shyrokyne. The works will start on August 6; the entry-exit operations will be suspended from August 27 till August 31, if Minsk talks group decides so Open source Stanytsia Luhanska checkpoint (Ukraine-controlled area of Luhansk region) will be closed for maintenance works. The press service of Luhansk regional administration reported that on Facebook. 'Starting on August 6, the service zone of entry-exit checkpoint of Stanytsia Luhanska will be undertaking refurbishment works. It will keep running; the local residents should be advised that the checkpoint will work as usual', said Yuriy Klymenko, the deputy head of the authority. The entry-exit operations will be suspended from August 27 till August 31, if the parties to the Minsk talks group decide so during the next session, which is slated for August 22. During the time, maintenance workers will set the temporary constructions on the premises, and plug them in to the local electricity and water supply systems. According to Klymenko, the technical crews already finished working on the centralized water supply system, the internal electric grid and the playground for children. A local roadway, which lies adjacent to the checkpoint, will be fixed soon as well. On July 24, the Belarusian government significantly increased the length of time that visitors from a list of 80 foreign countries could remain in Belarus visa-free. The period was extended from 5 to 30 days (Belta, July 24). The five-day timeframe was introduced in February 2017. And by some accounts, 100,000 or 20 percent more people visited Belarus over the subsequent 12-month interval, year-on-year (Deutsche WelleRussian service, February 12). As under the previous five-day visa-free regime, travelers looking to take advantage of the 30-day visa-free stay must arrive in and leave Belarus through the same port of entry/exitnamely, Minsk International Airport. It is uncertain whether this latest decision was cleared by Russia. The border between Russia and Belarus is transparent. But when Minsk announced its initial visa-free travel decision in February 2017, Moscow introduced border controls with Belarus for citizens of third countries traveling to Russia along major highways. Additionally, flights from Belarusian airports to Russia were reassigned to international terminals of Russian airports; previously, those travelers disembarked at domestic terminals. Interestingly, Belarus did not take reciprocal steps. When, in early summer, this author went to the security check for international departures with a boarding pass for a MinskSt. Petersburg flight, a Belarusian airport clerk explicitly said, You are flying to Russia, yes? But this is the security check for international flights. In any case, controls may only be selective: one may continue to cross the Belarusian-Russian border unfettered along secondary (including unpaved) roads via multiple modes of transport, including by bicycle and, of course, on foot. One can hardly point to a more obvious sign of Belaruss desire to open up to the world than the introduction of the 30-day visa-free period. Moreover, the Ministry of Internal Affairs is busy working to extend the period one is allowed to reside in Belarus without registering with the authorities from five to ten days (Tut.by, July 25). This is particularly essential for those who stay with relatives and/or friends; in hotels, the management itself is responsible for registration of foreigners. This new step in Belaruss opening to the world is occurring against the backdrop of Russias sour relationship with the West. At the same time, Russian publications ever more frequently accuse Belarus of infidelity. Sometimes, the Belarusian media respond. Thus, Alexander Alesin, whose usual specialty is military analysis, recently offered a critical roundup of the Russian voices demanding the Kremlin cut back on philanthropy and conduct a pragmatic policy vis-a-vis Belarus (Naviny, July 15). One of these voices is Bogdan Bezpalko, a member of the Russian Presidents Council for Interethnic Relations. Another is Alexander Khramchikhin, the deputy director of the Institute for Political and Military Analysis. The latter, in particular, claims that Belarus has already become Ukraine-light, with Russophobia being elevated to the level of state policy that is expressing itself, among other ways, in deliveries of Belarusian equipment for the Ukrainian army. In yet another purported sign of Belaruss infidelity toward Russia, Khramchikhin alleges that the worse relations [become] between the West and Moscow, the better they are between the West and Minsk. As such, he demands that Minsk stop playing games with its multi-directional foreign policy and more fully adopt Russian historical memory, including in school textbooks. On the website of the Orthodox-aligned conservative Tsargrad TV channel, Russian journalist Alexander Toporov also strongly criticizes incorrect historical memory in Belarus. Specifically, he invokes the case of the removal of Alexander Pushkins national-patriotic poem To the Slanderers of Russia from the monument dedicated to him, in the Belarusian city of Mogilev. In his essay, Toporov also disapproves of Kastus Kalinovsky, one of the leaders of the 18631864 Polish insurrection on modern-day Belarusian territory (whom Toporov labels a Polish separatist and a gangster), being recognized as a hero. He calls gatherings of Catholic hierarchs in Minsk scandalous, as they occur within the canonical territory of the Moscow Patriarchy. Indeed, many other departures from the allegedly common Russian view of history also anger Toporov (Tsargrad TV, July 22). Likewise, From Allies to Traitors is the title of Dmitry Tsybakovs article in Segodnia.ru. Tsybakov is a political science professor at the Russian Academy of Sciences, and his piece contains much vitriol regarding the developing contacts between the Belarusian military and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Even the fact that Belarusian cadets are taught English in the Belarusian Military Academy and sometimes at academic institutions in NATO member countries worries him (Segodnia.ru, July 23). In mid-July, a channel on the instant messenger Telegram (which Russian authorities had previously tried but failed to blocksee EDM, March 27), featured an article maligning Belarusian Foreign Minister Vladimir Makei. The litany of Makeis alleged sneaky deeds has become routine in the Russian media space: This former Soviet intelligence officer is regularly labeled a turncoat and an agent of Western influence; he is accused of wearing a shirt adorned with traditional Belarusian embroidery during diplomatic receptions; and he is suspected of pushing to unseat President Alyaksandr Lukashenka (Telegram, July 15). The latter insinuation, in particular, is designed to undermine Lukashenkas trust in his own foreign minister. Perhaps the most dramatic recent example of Russian denunciations of Belaruss supposed disloyalty came from Modest Kolerov, the editor-in-chief of Regnum. Kolerov topped his musings about [Soviet leader Joseph] Stalin nursing Ukraine and Belarus as nation-state killers of Poland with a grave assertion that the Russian-Polish border once again runs near Smolenskin other words, implying that Polish influence extends all the way east to Belaruss border with Russia. This is in part due to adventurous Lukashenka leading Belarus to a union between a cynical bureaucracy and ethnic anti-Russian nationalism and in part due to the supposed menace of a galloping Ukrainization of Poland by way of ongoing emigration of Ukrainians to that country (Regnum, July 25). Finally, speculation is intense regarding Mikhail Babich, who is about to replace Alexander Sourikov as Russias ambassador to Belarus (see Commentaries, July 20). Sourikov is 77 and has headed Russias diplomatic mission to Minsk since 2006. Whereas, with his background in the military and in overseeing Chechnya and two potentially unruly republics of the Volga Federal District (Tatarstan and Bashkortostan), Babich is seen as someone who will be able to tame Lukashenka and keep Belarus reliably within Russias orbit (Svaboda.org, July 24; Forbes.ru, July 25). Belaruss opening up to the world is proceeding amidst exacerbation of Russias abandoned wife syndrome. As such, the opening, the syndrome and their interplay are arguably worth monitoring closely. Read the original text here. Operation Bagration, which was conducted in 1944 between June 22 and August 19, was perhaps the single most successful Soviet operation of World War II. The goal of the operation was ambitiousthe destruction of the German Army Group Center as well as the liberation of Belarus. The success of Bagration would also enable sequential operations across the entire theater to retake western Ukraine and enter the Baltics States and Poland. To do this, Russia used a strategy of deception and intelligence operations designed to disrupt Germanys center of gravity. After an elaborate maskirovka (deception) campaign, which ensured the bulk of German Panzer divisions remained in western Ukraine and northern Romania for the critical first week of the operation, the Soviets unleashed four fronts on German Army Group Center, catching the Germans by surprise. The defeat was devastating for Germany. Besides losing most of Army Group Center, the German front receded 240310 miles in depth and was broken in two, isolating Army Group North in the Baltic States. Bagration systematically reduced German armored formations and placed the Soviet Army in an excellent position to press the advantage into Poland and the Balkans. Operation Bagration can be used as a case study to illustrate critical lessons on the synergy between intelligence and maneuver at the operational level. Intelligence and deception should not be viewed merely as operational support, but rather as a cognitive maneuver. At the operational level, deception can be used to affect posturing and as a result, maneuver. By affecting posturing and the ability to maneuver, intelligence operations can be used to create operational level vulnerabilities in the enemy by setting the Clausewitzian Center of Gravity out of focus. This enables opportunities to pursue non-traditional avenues of attack, where intelligence and deception in combination with a coordinated and well-executed operational maneuver create a critical imbalance in the enemys correlation of forces. As Bagration shows, this is not just an asymmetric tool for the weaker side, but a critical advantage which should always be pursued. In our modern age of high tempo and highly destructive warfare, the lessons of Bagration resonate as strongly as ever. An off-balance center of gravity today creates vulnerabilities even greater than in 1944. For instance, reaction times are much shorter and destructive power is much more accurate and prompt. In addition, the ever-present specter of nuclear weapons presents combatants with the temptation to pursue short, decisive wars to quickly alter the situation on the ground and then dare their opponents to either escalate significantly or accept the changes in the status quo. Instances include the invasion of Georgia in 2008, the takeover of Scarborough Shoal in 2012 and the annexation of Crimea and the destabilization of eastern Ukraine in 2014. These all demonstrate how a decisive and prompt aggressor power can use force to change de facto borders and escape retribution, at least militarily. It also does not take much effort to think of such a strategy being applied against Taiwan or the Baltic States. For example, where those states to be overrun in a short period of time, then the West might be unwilling to risk theater-wide war for something that is already lost. Furthermore, even if the West did, the correlation of forces may be too imbalanced to be able to meaningfully challenge the invasion immediately. All the aforementioned operations succeeded because the West, the enforcer of the status quo, was caught off guard. Therefore, despite the repeated emphasis on information dominance and stealth, contemporary Western military commentary does not pay sufficient attention to deception on a grand scale. To illuminate the potential of the synergy of operational combat and deception, one must outline how the operational level is of warfare different from the tactical and strategic levels. All three levels can be discussed based on the following constitutive principles; a) the contingent anticipation (i.e., what kind of activity is expected to occur); b) the plan of action and its goals; c) the allocation of resources; d) the orchestration of assets, and, ultimately; e) the social objective. Here, the meaning of social objective refers to the specific desired outcome of a project which requires the synergy among various social agents, and which underlines the complex nature of war. The operational level of war is critical in that it connects strategy and tactics. It is actually the manifestation of strategy. More explicitly: The contingent anticipation of the operational level is maneuvering, the employment of formations over multiple engagements. The plan of action aims to destabilize the enemys center of gravity and to produce collapse, encirclement, and annihilation. The drive against the Schwerpunkt (the main target/axis of advance) takes priority in resource allocation. Assets are used sequentially, one maneuver or engagement executed after another as part of a greater plan to control the center of gravity. Soviet doctrine, in particular, emphasized the timely sequential application of reserves. The final social goal is to generate momentum to constantly keep the enemy off balance. Operation Bagration and its follow-on operations are an exemplary case of the application of operational principles with excellent maneuver, large and properly committed reserves, and decisive generation of momentum to produce shock and awe. The Soviets were able to destabilize the German center of gravity, the armored reserve, before combat even began, by employing deception. The success of Operation Bagration depended on achieving operational surprise and keeping heavy German reinforcements away from the area of operations. The Soviet deception operation was clearly aimed at exploiting the biases of Hitler and the German High Command. The deception plan was simple. The Soviet General Staff would exploit the existing German expectation of a continuation of attacks in Ukraine, where they had already been conditioned to focus on after the successful Soviet winter campaign, to divert attention away from the main attack in Belarus. Through a combination of radio silence, strict planning secrecy, large-scale camouflage and cleverly keeping assault units in Western Ukraine and Romania for the Germans to see while building brand new ones in Belarus, the Soviets were able to keep the Germans completely blind to their plans. The Soviets were also able to apply the principles of operations discussed previously so successfully because of deception. In fact, the entire operational plan mainly relied on fixing the German center of gravitythe armored reservein Western Ukraine and Romania. Of particular importance was the redeployment of the LVI Panzer Corps from Belarus to Ukraine to face the expected Soviet offensive there. Maskirovka not only kept additional reinforcements away from the target area but succeeded in dramatically improving the correlation of forces with little cost and no risk to the Red Army. Since maskirovka was formulated and directly controlled at the highest levels of authority, the Soviets were able to augment the application of all previously discussed principles of operations. They were able to sequentially commit mobile reserves to drive deep inside Belarus along multiple axes of advance. The success of deception in Bagration caught the Germans off guard, and the subsequent breakout caused them to shift reserves to Belarus rapidly. This only exasperated the destabilization of the German center of gravity allowing the Lvov-Sandomierz and Romanian operations to enjoy the initial advantage Bagration did. At the theater level, the planned sequential operations masterfully exploited the use of Soviet reserves, while constantly striking were the German reserves were not. The social objective, both within Bagration itself and the theater level, was fulfilled completely, with Soviet forces gaining tremendous momentum. None of this extraordinary sequentiality could have been achieved however without successful maskirovka. By keeping the Germans continually blind, maskirovka prevented them from properly applying the principles of operations. Under contemporary conditions, camouflaging large concentrations of troops is harder given the advanced state of surveillance technology but not impossible. The Kosovo War clearly demonstrated that decoys can still be useful in misdirecting even modern systems. Moreover, surveillance technology has still not solved the problem of identifying an adversarys intent. In a modern context, repeated snap exercises, gradual force buildups, and constant provocative behavior short of aggression can serve to both induce complacency in a defender, wear down his alertness, as well as confuse him as to the direction and purpose of a possible attack. Russia and China are currently involved in generating such white noise. On the one hand, Russia grabs the headlines with its large-scale snap exercises, harassment of North Atlantic Treaty Organization warships, and strategic bomber probes against North America. On the other hand, the Chinese have also been active in conducting military exercises and desensitizing Western intelligence to large numbers of vessels in the South China Sea. This normalization of elevated military activity makes it easier to disguise an even greater buildup or misdirect observers as to the direction or manner of an upcoming attack. This potentially exposes the West to a Bagration style center of gravity destabilization, where the bulk of Western forces remains unaware of a changing adversarial buildup, aligned in the wrong direction, or expecting the wrong manner of attack. In other words, the technology and methods have evolved, but the underlying principles have not changed. Read the original article at The National Interest. For many Belarusians, any hopes for changes in the country have long been limited to the only possible option the death of the incumbent head of state Read the original text at 112.ua. Open source For few days the Belarusians, full of fear, full of hope, have been discussing what happened to Lukashenko. Information on the alleged "stroke" of the Belarusian president was published by the Russian anonymous Telegram channel "Nezigar", which writes on the Belarusian issues with special cynicism. These "news" were joyfully picked up some Ukrainian media, and on July 30-31 the entire Belarusian non-state press and social networks have counted how many days Lukashenko did not appear in public and why canceled his visit to one of the regions. Belarusian bureaucratic machine has once again demonstrated its sluggishness. In fact, only on the third day of the social media storm Lukashenko's press secretary Natalia Eismont told that information about the illness of the head of state was "complete nonsense." "I will not comment on it. Alexander Grigoryevich is in his work mode," Eismont stated. However, the people believed only after Lukashenko has publicly appeared on television during a meeting with one of the officials. During these three days, the Belarusians have generated a lot of jokes and memes. "Let us hope for the best," it was, perhaps, the most popular post in the social media. People were actively posting pictures from "The Death of Stalin" movie. "Stalin's funeral was preceded by a political affair about pest physicians. Coincidence? I do not think so," one of the users wrote, hinting that in recent months, the scandalous and mass arrests of doctors and health care officials have been taking place in Belarus. However, Lukashenkos "illness" has demonstrated that for many Belarusians any hopes for changes in the country have long been limited to the only possible option - the death of the incumbent head of state. Nobody believes in economic and political reforms, even the talk about the "successor" has died down. Everyone has realized that while the current head is alive, one cannot think about any successor. And one more thing was very vivid during the "stroke crisis." Even Lukashenko's opponents have become so used to his existence as president for 24 years that some of them asked "What will happen in case of his death? What if everything becomes worse? Who will take advantage of this instability?" It was a sort of Stockholm syndrome. In any case, it is obvious that Russian information attacks against Lukashenko and his entourage are intensifying. We cannot talk about a large-scale information war, however, it can already be called partisan raids, which are not yet conducted by parts of the regular information army, but by some subversive detachments (Nezigar). Obviously, the next presidential election in Belarus, which to take place in late 2019, would not become a simple and formal campaign for Lukashenko. And the "health" of the Belarusian president would be used as a target issue. Open source Oleksandr Kolchenko, Ukrainian political prisoner is with 90 people in barrack-type place in Chelyabinsk colony. He reads a lot and attended courses on the furniture assembling. Larysa Kolchenko, mother of the political prisoner claimed this in the interview to Meduza outlet after a three-day visit visiting with her son. He said that he lives in a barrack-type place. There are 90 people with him. He doesnt waste his time. He has attended courses on the furniture assembling. He had an opportunity to work, to assemble the furniture but he waived. Sasha reads a lot. Asks to send him engineer, phycology and pedagogy books. Last time he said he liked the book of Makarenko about fostering children. Also, he started to study English, she said. According to Oleksandr Kolchenko, he lost weight by ten kilograms in a week with the growth of 190 centimeters he weighs 50 kilos. He lost ten kilograms in a week. Can you imagine the stress he experienced so the body reacted like that. With the growth of 190 centimeters, he weighs 50 kilos. The doctors in the colony have been deciding to forcibly feed him but it wasnt necessary as Sasha started to gradually eat on his own, the mother of the political prisoner said. Also, Larysa Kolchenko claimed that they were provided a room with its bathroom and kitchen during her three-day visit. She brought him 20 kilograms of food. Sasha was always asking of the news in Crimea and Ukraine. He was happy that the Crimean bridge is built, and was sad because Crimea Tatars are still being arrested and being pushed on. Only Russian TV channels are broadcasted there, he is being given Novaya Gazeta newspaper though, she said. Reportedly, Kolchenko declared a hunger strike on May 31, requiring the release of Oleg Sentsov. He had to suspend the strike, as he got very weak. Kolchenko and Sentsov were detained by Russian intelligence services in Crimea in May 2014. They were accused of the organization of a terrorist act on the peninsula. Kolchenko was sentenced to 10 years of the colony, Sentsov to 20 years. Both are denying their guilt. The consular service notes that it does not emphasize some particular political prisoners and does everything possible to defend the interests of each detainee Open source More than 2,000 Ukrainians were detained in Russia during the last three years. Representative of the Foreign Ministry of Ukraine Vasyl Kyrylych claimed this as LIGA.net reported. "More than 2,300 citizens of Ukraine were detained or convicted in the Russian Federation during the last three years, he claimed. Also, he specified that the consular service does not emphasize some particular political prisoners and does everything possible to defend the interests of each detainee. Earlier we reported that since January 2018 until June 2018, 39,582 citizens of Ukraine were granted the Russian citizenship (it was accepted, restored or recognized). It is specified that 30, 462 Ukrainians got the resident permits during this period of time. Moreover, the Ukrainian citizens got 38,709 temporary residence permits. Since January 1, 2018, the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine controls the functions of the biometric control for the foreigners from the risk-countries, particularly Russia, who aim to Ukraine. The system of the recording of the biometric data for the citizens of 71 countries began to work on January 1, 2018. As we reported earlier the biometric control on Ukraine-Russia state border started working on December 27. The new system allows to check the duration of a persons stay in Ukraine and is connected to the Interpol database. The human rights activists planned to bring an independent medical expert for the assessment of the prisoner's state The Russian authorities refused the human rights organizations Amnesty International in the access to Ukrainian political prisoner Oleg Sentsov without the explanations as the press service of the organization reported. Later, the Ukrainian department of the Amnesty International published the text of the letter from the Federal Penitentiary Service on Twitter. "The Federal Penitentiary Service did not make a positive decision on your appeal on the possibility of the meeting with convicted Sentsov O.G. who is serving sentence in the remand center of Russia in Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug," the letter said. The refusal is not explained. Also, the representatives of the Federal Penitentiary Service claimed that Sentsov's health "is assessed as the stable, without negative dynamics." Oksana Pokalchuk, the Head of the Ukrainian department of the Amnesty International reported to Radio Liberty that the refusal in the meeting "cannot be justified". "After three months of the hunger strike his health raises serious concern," she emphasized and explained that Amnesty International plans to visit Sentsov with an independent medical expert for the assessment of his state. Earlier Ukrainian ombudswoman claimed that Father Grigoriy, the bishop of the Apostle Orthodox Church was not allowed to visit Sentsov in colony where he now serves time. As it was reported earlier, Ukrainian movie director Oleg Sentsov and Crimean activist Oleksandr Kolchenko were detained by the Russian FSB in the annexed Crimea. Both were taken to Russia. Sentsov was charged with preparing a terrorist act in Crimea and sentenced to 20 years in the high-security penal colony. Kolchenko was sentenced to ten-years-long imprisonment. Oleg Sentsov has announced a hunger strike on May 14. This way, he demands that all Ukrainians detained in Russia and annexed Crimea be released. Sentsov said he was ready to die if the requirements were not fulfilled. Such actions of the Kremlin might violate the UN Security Council sanctions, - U.S. Department of the State Open source In spite of the UN Security Council sanctions against North Korea, Russia has been issuing work permits for hundreds of citizens of the DPRK. The Wall Street Journal reported that on Thursday, referring to its own sources. In September 2017, roughly 10,000 North Korean citizens were registered in Russia; according to the records of the Russian Ministry for Labor and Social Protection, about 700 new permits were issued in 2018. A representative of U.S. Department of the State told WSJ that 'such actions of the Kremlin might violate the UN Security Council sanctions', which aim to cut the cash flow to North Korea from Russia. The Russian Foreign Ministry did not react to the outlet's request to comment on the issue. 'North Korean workers who work in Russia send 150 to 300 million dollars to Pyongyang annually. It's time for Russia to act: Moscow should immediately and fully abide by all U.S. sanctions', the Department of the State representative said. Anatoliy Zhuk served as MP of Sumy city council and headed the department of Urban Development and Land Resources A former official was killed in Sumy, northern Ukraine; the murder took place on Thursday evening. Anatoliy Zhuk was found dead in the yard near his house; his father found him when he came to visit his son. 'It was found that the deceased man passed away (...) due to the gunshot wound, which appeared to be fatal. The police found a handgun on the crime scene', the message says. The police operatives and K-9 service workers work on the site. Anatoliy Zhuk served as MP of Sumy city council and headed the department of Urban Development and Land Resources; in 2014, he ran for mayor's office. As we reported earlier, two gunshot wounds took the life of Vitaliy Oleshko, the former volunteer fighter of Donbas battalion and the active participant in Donbas conflict. A gunfire attack occurred in the southeastern city of Berdiansk on Tuesday. Oleshko was shot dead in the yard of a local hotel, in front of his wife. Andriy Madzharov, who later uploaded a video on his social network account confirmed that the man sustained two wounds to his back; the killer used a shotgun. The US Embassy to Ukraine look forward to the thorough investigation of the case Open source The US Embassy to Ukraine condemns the attack on Kateryna Handziuk, Adviser of Kherson's Mayor, according to the message of the Embassy on Twitter. We condemn the acid attack on Kateryna Handziuk, Adviser of Kherson's Mayor. We are looking forward to a thorough investigation, which will bring the attacker to justice, reads the message. As we reported earlier, Kateryna Handziuk, Adviser of Kherson's Mayor was attacked near her place. The attacker soaked her with acid. the woman was hospitalized. 30 percent of her body was burned: head, arms, legs, chest and left eye. It was stated that the doctors of the burn department of the Kyiv hospital where Kateryna was delivered to, claimed that she is in a stable serious condition. The attack on the employee of the City Council of Kherson was reclassified from "Hooliganism" to "Serious physical injuries committed with the aim of intimidation", and after a while - on "Attempted murder with a special cruelty." Yuriy Lutsenko took the case under his own control. Operatives of Ukraine's state border guard found and seized a set of ancient coins in the Mercedes van, as the driver tried to ship them to Italy. The incident occurred at Tysa checkpoint in western Ukraine. According to the Border Guard's press service, the operatives searched the Mercedes with Ukrainian license plates. They found ten silver denarii, the coins that date back to the Roman Empire; they appear to be about 2,000 years old. The package with the denarii was among other packages that were supposed to be delivered to Italy. The experts measure up the value of the coins. As we reported earlier, Ukraine's law enforcers finished working on the section of the borderline between Ukraine and Russia in Kharkiv region. The Interior Ministry reported that on Thursday evening, quoting Deputy Minister Vadym Troyan. 'In Kharkiv region, the borderline section's length makes 270 kilometers; we equipped 220 of these. This year, all works will be completed. The next stage of the works will focus on the Sumy section. The process began as we coordinate our efforts with the local authorities', he said. He added that the works continue 'despite all actions by pro-Russian forces'. The said works are due to the 2014 decree by the Ukrainian cabinet; the project called 'The Wall' includes construction of trenches and other defense objects. The students will learn more about the starvation campaign launched by the Soviet regime; the Education Ministry and the National Museum 'Memorial for Victims of Holodomor' signed the respective agreement The Great Famine of 1932-1933, widely known as Holodomor in Ukraine will be studied in Ukrainian schools more thoroughly than before. The press service of Ukraine's Ministry of Education and Science reported this on Friday morning. The Ministry and the National Museum 'Memorial for Victims of Holodomor' signed the respective agreement, which implies that the school program will feature more scrutinized approach to studies of Holodomor of 1932-1933 in Ukraine. The Ministry and the Museum obliged to join efforts in shaping the scientific and research base for the education process in secondary schools. There were three Holodomors in the 20th century: in 1921-1923, 1932-1933, 1946-1947. The Holodomor of 1923-1933 is the only one admitted as a genocide. The events of 1921-1923 and 1946-1947 are constituted as a famine, which genocidal nature has not been proved yet. The Holodomor lasted for 17 months from April 1932 to November 1933. The researchers have not defined the number of victims yet. They name the numbers from 1,8 million to 10 million. Most of the experts believe that the number of victims is from 3 to 3,5 million. Many countries, including some states in the U.S. and governments of particular cities recognized Holodomor of 1932-1933 as the act of genocide of the Ukrainian nation. It is reported that the state of Handzyuk remains to be critical Open source The investigation of the case of the attack at Kherson mayor adviser Kateryna Handzyuk was passed to the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) as Prosecutor General of Ukraine Yury Lutsenko reported on Facebook. "I visited affected Kateryna Handzyuk. Her state is critical. But her spirit is unbreakable as usual. She said her suggestions of the motives of the attack. Taking this into account, I made a decision to pass the investigation to the central apparatus of the SBU," Lutsenko wrote. He added that due to the number of the attacks at the community workers, he planned the holding of the coordination meeting of the law enforcement bodies. As it was reported previously, the adviser to Kherson city mayor Kateryna Handzyuk was attacked in the city on July 31. The attacker soaked her with acid. the woman was hospitalized. 30 percent of her body was burned: head, arms, legs, chest and left eye. The attack on the employee of the City Council of Kherson was reclassified from "Hooliganism" to "Serious physical injuries committed with the aim of intimidation", and after a while - on "Attempted murder with a special cruelty." Yuriy Lutsenko took the case under his own control. The court remains the second suspect in the murder of Donbas Conflict veteran in Berdyansk in the custody as 112 Ukraine reported. According to the court, 37-years-old Mykola Lomaka is arrested for 60 days without a right for a bail. He will be transferred to the remand center of Zaporizhia. The suspected pleaded not guilty at the court and his lawyer claimed that there is not enough evidence for the accusation of his client. The prosecution launched the personal resentment and the conflict of the interests in business as the main line of enquiry. Earlier Berdyansk Court has arrested one of the suspects in the murder of former Donbas Conflict veteran Vitaly Oleshko for 60 days. It was specified that Artem Matyushyn noted that he is not involved in the murder and was on vacation with the friends. As we reported earlier, two gunshot wounds took the life of Vitaliy Oleshko, the former volunteer fighter of Donbas battalion and the active participant in Donbas conflict. A gunfire attack occurred in the southeastern city of Berdiansk on Tuesday. Oleshko was shot dead in the yard of a local hotel, in front of his wife. His friend Andriy Madzharov, who later uploaded a video on his social network account confirmed that the man sustained two wounds to his back; the killer used a shotgun. Later it was reported that the shooter who killed Vitaliy 'Sarmat' Oleshko is the former fighter of Tornado volunteer battalion. The convict, formerly the sniper of the said unit, may face the life imprisonment for this particular crime. Before the arson, a man claimed that he commits the self-immolation as the protest against authorities arbitrarily One of the protesters attempted to commit the self-immolation during the protest in Simferopol, Crimea as Crimea.Realities reported. "One of the Crimean Tatars doused himself in the fuming liquid, however, the people around him could operatively to extinguish his burning clothes. Before the arson, a man claimed that he commits the self-immolation as the protest against authorities arbitrarily," the message said. It is noted that the citizens of "protest glade" "Strilkova" who protested against the construction of the fence came to the Simferopol City Administration controlled by Kremlin and demanded the meeting with the authorities. It is reported that the authorities of Crimea controlled by Russia plan to build new district 'Crimean Rose" for 9,000 people instead of the "protest glade" "Strilkova". It is also planned to build the schools, kindergartens, sport complexes and shops. Now, mostly the returnees live there. As we reported Biyuk-Karasu river, one of the largest ones in the occupied Crimea, dried out because of the severe drought there. The creekbed next to Karasivka village is completely dry; due to that, Taiganske and Bilohirske reservoirs are empty now. The water from Biyuk-Karasu was the main source for them. Also, it was reported that before the occupation by Russia, Ukrainian Crimea boasted a lot of green cover; however, these areas have been severely decreasing since then. Donbas conflict in Ukraine Three Ukrainians arrested for cyber-attacks in the United States Sanctions against Russia Attack on Kherson mayor adviser On-going trials: Savchenko-Ruban, Sheremet, Yanukovych, Heavenly Hundred probe Ukrainian political prisoners: Kolchenko, Sentsov News from occupied Crimea 112 Agency Donbas conflict in Ukraine The overall combat activity in Donbas somewhat decreased this week; the Russian militants mostly used small arms, RPGs and heavy machineguns to attack Ukrainian positions in Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Occasional IFV and mortar attacks were reported. On Thursday, Ukraines Deputy Parliamentary Speaker Iryna Gerashchenko reported that OSCE humanitarian subgroup coordinator Tony Frisch has been ignoring the issue of hostages exchange during the Minsk talks session. According to her, Frisch 'does not bring this issue to the agenda as a separate matter. Stanytsia Luhanska checkpoint (Ukraine-controlled area of Luhansk region) will be closed for maintenance works. 'Starting on August 6, the service zone of entry-exit checkpoint of Stanytsia Luhanska will be undertaking refurbishment works but the local residents should be advised that the checkpoint will work as usual. The state security service of Ukraine (SBU) revealed the names of three foreign mercenaries of the Wagner Group who fought in Syria. Two of them participated in the combat actions in Donbas on the side of the pro-Russian militants as the SBU reported on Facebook. "The SBU additionally published the information about another three foreign mercenaries the Wagner Group and at least two of them participated in the combat actions in Donbas on the side of the pro-Russian militants. One of them Grachian Gevorg, the citizen of Armenia died during the so-called "Prigozhyn offensive" in Syria on February 7, 2018. Earlier, the SBU identified 26 Russian officers who were seconded as drill instructors in Wagner Group (Russian paramilitary organization). Russian career military servicemen conducted tactical, firearms, engineering and artillery training, tank crews training, infantry fighting vehicles, armored personnel carriers and air defence. The Wagner Group has been involved in Donbas conflict since May 2014 till August 2015. Then, they moved to Syria, assisting the Syrian army in a number of combat operations. A shocking and obnoxious murder took place in Berdyansk, southeastern Ukraine. Two gunshot wounds took the life of Vitaliy Oleshko, the former volunteer fighter of Donbas battalion and the active participant in Donbas conflict. Oleshko was shot dead in the yard of a local hotel, in front of his wife. A witness who later uploaded a video on his social network account confirmed that the man sustained two wounds to his back; the killer used a shotgun and escaped. However, the police detained those involved in the murder on the same day, July 31. On Friday, the court detained Artem Matyushyn, the suspect in the murder, who, like his victim, also formerly served with a volunteer battalion in Donbas. Matyushyn is to remain in custody for at least 60 days. Three Ukrainians arrested for cyber-attacks in the United States On August 1, it was reported that Ukrainian hackers were arrested in the US on suspicion of committing several cyber-crimes like theft of arrays of payment card numbers and other data of American companies. Later, it became known that the United States are suspecting three Ukrainians in cyber-attacks on 100 American companies in 47 states. According to three federal indictments, those three are Ukrainian nationals Dmytro Fedorov, 44, Fedir Hladyr, 33, and Andrii Kolpakov, 30, who are members of a prolific hacking group widely known as FIN7. On August 2, Ukraines Foreign Ministry confirmed detention of three Ukrainians accused of the cyber-attacks on the American companies. In the United States alone, FIN7 successfully breached the computer networks of companies in 47 states and the District of Columbia, stealing more than 15 million customer card records from over 6,500 individual point-of-sale terminals at more than 3,600 separate business locations. Sanctions against Russia President Trump has promised Monday to maintain US sanctions on Russia. On Tuesday, President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko ordered the Foreign Ministry to enhance the work on strengthening of sanctions against Russia, individuals and legal entities involved in the annexation of Crimea. And the same day, European Union introduced sanctions against the companies who contributed to the construction of the Kerch bridge in the annexed Crimea. Two companies of the Russian businessman Arkady Rotenberg were put under EU sanctions. Both companies have already been included into the U.S. sanction list. On August 2, a group of U.S. senators presented a draft document, which includes the package of new sanctions against Russia, considering the current amount of sanctions is insufficient. Earlier, Francis Fannon, the Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of Energy Resources at the U.S Department of State said Washington may impose sanctions against Russian companies due to the construction of Nord Stream 2. Attack on Kherson mayor adviser On July 31, the adviser to Kherson city mayor Kateryna Handzyuk was attacked in the city. The attacker soaked her with acid. the woman was hospitalized. 30 percent of her body was burned: head, arms, legs, chest and left eye. Later, the protesters gathered in Kherson at the building of the regional police department and prosecutors office over the attack on Handzyuk. Also, Handzyuk was provided with a state guard. On August 3, it was reported that the investigation of the attack was passed to the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU). On-going trials: Savchenko Ruban, Sheremet, Yanukovych, Heavenly Hundred probe Savchenko-Ruban case: Prosecutor General's office and Security Service of Ukraine have completed the investigation of the criminal proceedings against Nadiya Savchenko, MP of the Ukrainian Parliament and Volodymyr Ruban, Head of Officers Corps organization under suspicion of terrorism. The suspects and their lawyers are now allowed to peruse with the case, After that the case will be transmitted to the court for consideration on the merits. Ukraines Prosecutor General says the court hearing og the Savchenko-Ruban case shall begin this year. Sheremet: Olena Prytula, Sheremets wife files lawsuit against Prosecutor Lutsenko, accusing him of inaction. She requires that she is recognized as a victim and claims that the explosion was a terrorist act. Yanukovych case: The court debates in the state treason case of former Ukraine's president Viktor Yanukovych, scheduled for Monday, July 30, were postponed until Tuesday, July 31 due to non-appearance of the lawyers of Yanukovych for the court session. During the court hearing on August 1, the court ruled out to appoint another free state lawyer for Yanukovych due to the refusal of the current defense of Yanukovych to participate in the court debates. The debates were yet again postponed until August 1. On August 1m, the new state lawyer of Yanukovych refuses to participate in court debates. On August 2, the Court called Yanukovych himself for debates in state treason case on August 16-17. Heavenly Hundred probe: Investigation of Heavenly Hundred murders almost over, - Prosecutor General, the investigation team is only waiting for final results of the expertise. Ukrainian political prisoners: Kolchenko, Sentsov On July 30, the office of Paris mayor announced that a picture of Sentsov would be put on the banner on the front of the city hall's building. And the next day, the photo of Ukrainian political prisoner Oleg Sentsov was put on the mayor's office of the fourth district of Paris and the meeting with the demands to immediately release the Ukrainian filmmaker was held. Unfortunately, the Ukrainian Ombudswoman claimed that Father Grigoriy, the bishop of the Apostle Orthodox Church was not allowed to visit Sentsov in colony where he now serves time. His current health conditions might be grave, which is why the Russian authorities do not allow any visits, the Ukrainian ombudswoman said. Later, the Amnesty International reported that the Russian authorities refused its representatives in the access to Ukrainian political prisoner Oleg Sentsov without the explanations. Talking about another Ukrainian political prisoner Oleksandr Kolchenko, his mother Larysa Kolchenko was allowed to see a son at the Russian colony. They could spend together three days. She came to see his son the same day. News from occupied Crimea On Monday, Ukraine's Foreign Ministry filed a note of protest to the Russian Foreign Ministry due to the visit of Russian delegation headed by the Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev to annexed Crimea that was not agreed with Ukraine. It is noted in the message that the stay of Medvedev in Crimea is a severe violation of the state sovereignty and the territorial integrity of Ukraine and Russia's disregard of the universally recognized norms of the international laws. The same day, OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights is not planning to visit Crimea without the invitation of Ukrainian authorities. OSCE stated its readiness to send a delegation to Crimea to assess of the situation with the human rights in the region. Later, Deputy Foreign Minister of Ukraine Kyslytsia noted that Russia blocks all attempts of the international organization to visit occupied Crimea and hold a monitoring there. The environmental situation in Crimea seems to be worsening. On August 2, it was reported that before the occupation by Russia, Ukrainian Crimea boasted a lot of green cover; however, these areas have been severely decreasing since then. The satellite images show that 70 percent of the green cover of Crimea's steppes either disappeared or lost its conditions compared to those in 2013. It was also reported that Biyuk-Karasu river, one of the largest ones in the occupied Crimea, dried out because of the severe drought there. The creekbed next to Karasivka village is completely dry; due to that, Taiganske and Bilohirske reservoirs are empty now. The water from Biyuk-Karasu was the main source for them. Thus, all four suspects are under arrest without a right for a bail Berdyansk court considers the case of the murder of former soldier and Donbas Conflict Veteran Vitaly Oleshko. Third suspect A. Obukhov was arrested for 60 days without a right for a bail as Intefax-Ukraine reported. Later Andry Lysenko, the spokesperson of the Prosecutor General's Office reported that the fourth suspect got the same restrictive measure. Obukhov is involved in the case as a driver of "Mazda" car on which the murders were following Oleshko and left Berdyansk after the commitment of the murder. During the court session, he claimed that he is not a killed and did not know what was going on and just came to Berdyansk for a vacation. Later Andry Lysenko commented the state of the court hearing. "All fourth persons suspected in the murder of a well-known citizen of Berdyansk were arrested," he said. Thus, the court satisfied the appeal of the prosecutor for the choosing of the restrictive measure in the form of the arrest without a right for a bail against all suspects. Meanwhile, dozens of people gathered near the building of the city court expecting the court's sentence. Earlier Berdyansk Court has arrested one of the suspects in the murder of former Donbas Conflict veteran Vitaly Oleshko for 60 days. It was specified that Artem Matyushyn noted that he is not involved in the murder and was on vacation with the friends. Later, second suspect Mykola Lomaka was arrested. As we reported earlier, two gunshot wounds took the life of Vitaliy Oleshko, the former volunteer fighter of Donbas battalion and the active participant in Donbas conflict. A gunfire attack occurred in the southeastern city of Berdiansk on Tuesday. Oleshko was shot dead in the yard of a local hotel, in front of his wife. His friend Andriy Madzharov, who later uploaded a video on his social network account confirmed that the man sustained two wounds to his back; the killer used a shotgun. Later it was reported that the shooter who killed Vitaliy 'Sarmat' Oleshko is the former fighter of Tornado volunteer battalion. The convict, formerly the sniper of the said unit, may face the life imprisonment for this particular crime. The measures can be assumed if Hungary does not give explanations about the new post of the commissioner of Minister for Zakarpattia If Hungary does not give the explanation of the new post of the commissioner of Minister for Zakarpattia, Ukraine will be ready to strictly respond, including the ban of the official from entry. Vasyl Bodnar, the Deputy Foreign Minister of Ukraine claimed this as European Truth reported. According to the official, the Ukrainian government waits for the official explanations from the Hungarian partners but Budapest remains to be silent. "If there is no reaction we were expecting, if there is no exhaustive explanation or change of the post's name, Ukraine will be force to strictly respond, not excluding the entry ban. However, of course, we do not want to do it," Bodnar noted. The Foreign Ministry noted that the Ukrainian state thinks that the interference of the neighboring country in the internal affairs unacceptable and will assume all possible measures of the diplomatic exposure. "We consider this as one more step in the number of destructive, provocative actions of Hungary that we observe these days, despite the recent progress during the negotiations,' he added. As we reported Laszlo Pap, the Charge d'affaires of Hungary to Ukraine was called to visit the Foreign Ministry of Ukraine as the department wanted to express the protests due to the number of the unfriendly statements against Ukraine. Earlier Prime Minister of Hungary Viktor Orban offered Romani to join the efforts for the further economic growth and strengthening of the defense capability of the state. Moreover, he noted that "it is possible to develop the Carpathian region only acting jointly, on the basis of the mutual respect." A hybrid form of yoga that combines traditional yoga postures with modern yoga moves and a silk hammock. Pre-registration required. Please note: Aerial Yoga at the Yoga Art Space studio requires pre-registration through our website at www.YogaArtSpace.com/calendar. If no one registers for a class, the class may be cancelled between 6-12 hours prior to the class start time. Though this event is shown as a regular, weekly class each week on the Alabi calendar, there are occasionally times when the class will be cancelled in advance such as for certain holidays. All updates and cancellations are on the studio calendar at www.YogaArtSpace.com/calendar. What is Aerial yoga? Aerial Yoga is a hybrid form of yoga that combines traditional yoga postures infused with modern yoga moves and an silk fabric hammock. Do I need Previous Yoga Experience? No previous yoga experience is not necessary to enjoy an Aerial yoga class. In fact it can be easier than normal yoga! The silk hammock acts like a support whenever you require it, almost like having your own personal yoga teacher giving you assistance throughout the entire yoga class! Another advantage of having the support of the hammock is that 90% of students are able to complete more challenging poses, such as handstands! Can Everybody do Aerial Yoga? Yes and no. Students who have had a previous injury can find Aerial yoga much easier to participate in then normal yoga. This is due to the the weight being evenly distributed between your body, the hammock and the earth. People who suffer any of following contraindications are advised NOT to participate in an Aerial yoga class: if you have had recent surgery of any sort, if you suffer glaucoma, if you are pregnant, if you suffer a heart condition (including very high or low blow pressure), if you get vertigo, if you have had a recent stroke or a hernia, if you have osteoporosis or any bone weakness, if you have carpal tunnel syndrome, or if you have had botox in the last six hours. What Should I Wear? All jewellery items must be removed before participating, a t-shirt must be worn to cover the armpit area and leggings are advised to avoid the silk rubbing on the skin and creating irritation. Please have clean feet or, alternatively, bring a pair of socks with you. Shanghai (Gasgoo)- Honda Motor's China sales declined 7.8% in July over the previous year to 105,960 units, according to the sales data released by Honda China. For the first seven months, the company saw its cumulative sales drop 6.6% year on year in the world's largest auto market to 715,060 units. GAC Honda delivered 54,605 vehicles in total last month, a slight year-on-year drop of 0.8%. Meanwhile, the other joint venture Dongfeng Honda's July sales also declined 7.8% from the year-ago period to 105,960 units. Thanks to the strong sales growth of the Fit, Honda brand of GAC Honda still saw its sales in July edge up 0.1% despite the sales reduction of most models. By the end of July, Honda brand's cumulative sales slightly climbed 0.7% over the previous year. The year-to-date sales of the Accord, the Odyssey, the City and the VEZEL all showed year-on-year decline to different degrees. The premium brand Acura has seemingly been marginalized. In July, only 619 Acura cars were delivered, a year-on-year slump of 42%. The sales of the MDX, the RDX and the NSX were all fewer than 50 units. Although the year-to-date sales of the CR-V still tumbled 48.5% compared with the year-ago period, the monthly sales of the SUV model presented a substantial year-on-year jump of 160.3% with its July sales totaling 10,377 units. However, Dongfeng Honda didn't dodge the overall sales shrink last month because most of its models suffered a year-on-year drop of over 20%. You have permission to edit this article. Edit Close Residents of the Vayots Dzor village of Herher protested outside the municipal building today, demanding that they be allowed access to a nearby reservoir to fish and picnic. Henrik Abrahamyan (brother of Armenias former prime minister Hovik Abrahamyan) uses the reservoir to grow fish and has barred residents from entering the site for the past three years. Herher resident Artur Voskanyan told Hetq that villagers have frequently complained to local officials to no avail. At a meeting today in Yerevan, Russian Ambassador to Armenia Sergey Kopirkin told Artur Vanetsyan, head of Armenias National Security Service, that Armenia is one of the most important strategic partners for Russia in a number of fields. These reassuring words come against a backdrop of tension between Moscow and Yerevan due to recent comments made by Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov regarding the arrests of former Armenian President Robert Kocharyan and others. Recent developments are a cause for concern, including from the point of view of normal operations of the CIS [Commonwealth of Independent States] organizations Armenia is a member of, said Lavrov, adding that they had brought their concerns to the Armenian leadership several times. The two officials said they are ready to continue and strengthen professional partnership between the national security agencies of the two countries. Photo (from left): Ambassador Kopirkin, Artur Vanetsyan Would some other European eventually have had the same idea, twenty, fifty or a hundred years later? Certainly. Eventually, the Europeans were bound to land in the Americas. But the fact that it was Columbus, working for Spain, who set a number of dominoes falling in a specific way, one that has changed history forever. And he might have made it, too, eventually if the Western Hemisphere hadnt been in the way. As it was, he gets the credit for discovering the Americas (even if a clever cartographer named Amerigo Vespucci grabbed up the naming rights first). On August 3, 1492, Cristoforo Colombo (yes, you non-Italians spell it Christopher Columbus) set sail from Palos de la Frontera, Spain, with three ships the Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria headed for Asia. Every American knows the basics: that by the end of the 15th century, European nations were climbing over each other for a chance to develop prosperous trade routes with Asia, and had been for years and years. And while all educated souls knew that the earth was round, and had known for 2000 years, virtually nobody dared sail so far west as they knew it would take to get to Asia that way. Reasonable people believed that the risks of such a long ocean voyage would be so great, it simply wasnt worth trying. Columbus difference was that he wasnt afraid of such risks. He wasnt afraid of getting lost (if the stars turned out to be strange), or of running out of supplies on the long trip, or even of the fictional sea monsters or very real icebergs and tropical storms that could be fatal to a project like this. Columbus had a special extra advantage: he had made a couple of very big mistakes. A good deal of his misplaced overconfidence was due to the miscalculation that the distance westward to Asia was much shorter than it really was (by a factor of five!). If the Americas hadnt been in the way, the trip would have been so long, his crews would surely have mutinied, or died of starvation enroute. But he did luck out, unknowingly discovering the Americas and settling several places on behalf of his sponsor, Spain. But how did Spain come to be the sponsor of this Italian explorer? And how would history have developed, if his sponsor had been someone else? These are the tantalizing questions that cannot help but come to mind, when we read Columbus story. Legend has it that he went to sea at ten, and spent his early career at sea the same way that other sailors of his time did: lots of short hops hugging the European coast, sometimes going farther out in the North Atlantic (he may have visited Iceland), plus a few years trading along the West African coast. He believed that the distance from the Canary Islands to Japan was about a fifth of what it really is, and he eventually decided that somebody ought to give that westward route a try. If not him, then who? Throughout the 1480s, Christopher Columbus and his brothers attempted to find backers for such a voyage west. They pitched their proposal based on this errant math to King John II of Portugal. King Johns advisors said his math was wrong, and advised against it. Then they pitched the idea to the Italian city-states of Genoa and Venice. As good Italians, they might be welcomed back at home, perhaps? No such luck. Both his native Genoa and the maritime capital of Venice were uninterested in the fanciful scheme. Columbus sent his brother Bartholomew, a mapmaker by trade, all the way to England to pitch the idea to King Henry VII. The British monarch took his time with the question, giving the Columbus brothers no reason for optimism. They attempted to convince the Spaniards, where Queen Isabella referred the subject to a committee. The committee strongly advised against; they said his math was wrong. In the end, Isabella decided against and sent away Columbus for good in 1492 but her husband, King Ferdinand, thought better of it and called him back before he got far. Just in time, too, because eventually Columbus would have learned that Henry VII of England had finally decided to hire him. Alas, by the time word came of that decision, Columbus was under contract to the Spanish crown. We know what happened. In January of 1492, Ferdinand and Isabella selected the seafaring village of Palos de la Frontera to be his launching base; they commissioned three ships for him and ordered the town to outfit his project. Columbus sailed out of Palos de la Frontera on August 3, 1492, and arrived in the Bahamas in October, claiming everything in sight for Spain. When the English finally got around to joining this bandwagon, they took the north, and ended up colonizing much of North America. This may have seemed like the only likely scenario England is north, and concentrated on North America; Spain is south, and concentrated on South America but thats not the case. Columbus would likely have wound up in the Bahamas on his first voyage no matter who he represented, because thats where he thought he would find Asia, by heading due west from the Canary Islands, no matter where he started out. Imagine a Central America, and even South America, settled by the English. Imagine the Portuguese and Spanish having come to it late, and making do with North America instead. How might history have progressed? For all of Great Britains faults no country is perfect it is undeniable that the British were amazingly successful at colonization. The lands that Britain settled did, for the most part, wind up successful over the centuries. The USA, Canada, Bermuda, the Virgin Islands, Australia, New Zealand... The British proved remarkably good at putting the foundations in place for successful governments to arise. The many lands settled by other countries, particularly Spain and Portugal? Not so much. Imagine if the nations of South America Venezuela, Brazil, Argentina, etc. had been settled by the British instead. Might they have become more like Canada and the United States? Might our North American territory have become the economic basketcases and tyrannical kleptocracies that most of South America became? The northern and hemispheres flipped, as it were? We will never know, but it is fascinating to imagine. Tropical paradises like Venezuela and Brazil, the wine country of Argentina, the natural resources of unlimited petroleum and equally unlimited lumber and seafood combine all that opportunity with the wise governance of a 17th and 18th century British colonial government, and the result might have been magical. It is entirely possible that the world would have developed very differently, had North America been the economic mess and South America the growth engine of the centuries instead. How might developments like the spread and eventual abolition of slavery in the Americas have been different? How might the technology of the Industrial Age of the 19th century have developed differently? When Europe had its many multi-party wars, especially those in the 1800s and 1900s how might alliances have differed? If Columbus had settled North America and Ponce de Leon the South, where would these very different nations have lined up in a 20th century conflict between the fascists of Italy and Germany and the republicans of Great Britain and France? How much of history turns on such little things. But it happened as it did. Three ships sailed out of a small seaport in Spain on this day in 1492, and those ships changed the world. And now, a bit of Illinois trivia for this anniversary: A descendent of one of the sailors from Palos de la Frontera was to lead the effort to rename the Chicago suburb of Trenton for this Spanish village, hundreds of years later, in 1850. The captain of the ship we know of as the Nina was Pedro Alonso Nino; it is said that the ship he sailed for Columbus was nicknamed the Nina in his honor. His 19th century descendent was M.S. Powell, postmaster of Trenton, Illinois; the Chicago suburban township of Palos, along with the communities of Palos Heights, Palos Park and Palos Hills, are all therefore named after this small Spanish village, the point of departure of the voyage that brought European colonization to the Americas. Did the Spanish know what was coming, the massive transformation of the world that was to result from their backing of this Italian explorers wild idea? Probably not. The Portuguese were on the verge of dominating the Asian trade lane with their mastery of the route around South Africa, and King Ferdinand was most likely just grasping at straws, figuring the upside if Columbus voyage worked out was worth the potential downside of it failing. But he certainly knew it had been a good call once Columbus reported back in after his discovery. Ferdinand was to spend the rest of his life boasting of the foresight he had in giving the benefit of the doubt to this crazy idea. For it is from crazy ideas, sometimes at least, that history is made. Copyright 2018 John F. Di Leo John F. Di Leo is a Chicagoland-based trade compliance trainer, actor and writer. His columns are found regularly in Illinois Review. Several large retailers are pledging that in less than 20 years, they will ship goods across the ocean without emitting 13:28 | Lima, Aug. 3. "I must inform that, even at this moment, an Odebrecht delegation has come to sign agreements at a meeting including conversations and negotiations with Attorney Jorge Ramirez," he pointed out. 00:00 | Lima, Aug. 3. Moreover, she said, they discovered wonderful and colorful textiles made using techniques passed down from generation to generation for hundreds of years. Internationally recognized Peruvian model Juana Burga , the campaign's muse, joined the OPI team in its discovery tour through Peru , exploring the country's spectacular landscapes and culture in a colorful and magical experience. YEREVAN, AUGUST 3, ARMENPRESS. Foreign minister of Armenia Zohrab Mnatsakanyan on August 2 received deputy defense minister of Russia, Colonel-General Alexander Fomin, the foreign ministry told Armenpress. During the meeting FM Mnatsakanyan said Armenia highly appreciates the military and military-technical cooperation between the two countries both in bilateral and multilateral formats. In this context he highlighted that Armenia attaches great importance to the further strengthening of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) and is committed to continue its active engagement for that purpose. The two officials discussed the prospects on deepening the cooperation in the military field during the meeting. They highlighted the experience of effective military, military-technical cooperation between Armenia and Russia. The Armenian FM said the 102nd Russian military base in Gyumri is one of the positive and important examples of the cooperation in the military field. At the meeting the Armenian FM and the Russian deputy defense minister also discussed regional and international security affairs. They specifically touched upon the situation in the Middle East and Syria, the challenges facing the regions ethnic and religious minorities caused by the actions of the terrorist groups. Minister Mnatsakanyan said Armenia is very sensitive towards the ongoing developments in the region as they directly touch upon the security of our compatriots in Syria, the preservation of the Armenian rich historical-cultural heritage. The sides also highlighted the importance of joint actions of the international community in fight against terrorism. Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan YEREVAN, AUGUST 3, ARMENPRESS. The Afghan troops have freed 61 people from two Taliban prisons in the country's southern province of Helmand Thursday night, the countrys defense ministry said, Xinhua news agency reported. Acting on a confirmed tip-off, ANA commandos launched a raid against two Taliban prisons in Helmand's Kajaki district, releasing 61 people from Taliban custody, the ministry said in a statement. Upon arrival of the troops, the insurgents engaged with the security forces and the gunfight left two insurgents dead while seven Taliban were arrested after the commandos secured the site. Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan YEREVAN, AUGUST 3, ARMENPRESS. The Glendale City Council unanimously approved the Armenian-American Museums Stage II Design plans and environmental compliance, Asbarez reports. The $1-per-year Ground Lease Agreement with the City of Glendale will locate the Armenian-American Museum in Glendale Central Park. The initial term of the Ground Lease Agreement will be 55 years with options to extend the lease term for 40 years with a ground lease rate of $1 per year. Museum Executive Chairman Berdj Karapetian expressed gratitude to the Glendale Mayor, the City Council members for helping to implement the project. We will together embark on the next phase of this important journey with a vision for a cultural campus that will enrich the community, educate the public on the Armenian American story, and empower individuals to embrace cultural diversity and speak out against prejudice, he said. Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan YEREVAN, AUGUST 3, ARMENPRESS. On August 3 in the evening hours, on August 4 at night and evening hours in most of the regions, on August 5-8 in northern regions rain with thunderstorm is expected in Armenia, the emergency situations ministry told Armenpress. Hail is possible in separate parts. Air temperature will gradually decrease by 3-4 degrees on August 3-4, and then will not change considerably. Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan YEREVAN, AUGUST 3, ARMENPRESS. Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Arman Navasardyan suggests that Armenia applies to official Tehran and Washington with the proposal to hold Trump-Rouhani possible meeting in Yerevan, reports Armenpress. As you know, talks are underway to organize the meeting of the US President Donald Trump and President of Iran Hassan Rouhani. Whether it will be held or not, is difficult to say, but it is more likely. It will be good if Armenia officially applies to Tehran and Washington to hold the possible meeting in Yerevan. It would be an interesting diplomatic step and will have good consequences, he said. The Ambassador said Yerevan hasnt made such initiative yet, and this is a good chance to do that. I dont rule out that Baku as well would like to propose the same thing, but I think in that case Iran would prefer Armenia, he said. Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan YEREVAN, AUGUST 3, ARMENPRESS. Armenias defense minister Davit Tonoyan assures that the arms supply process to Armenia within the frames of the 100 million USD loan agreement with Russia has not stopped, reports Armenpress. The army supply is in process within the frameworks of the 100 million USD loan agreement, the minister told reporters at the Monte Melkonyan Military-Sports College. He stated that Armenia acquires arms not only from the CSTO member states, but also other countries. The minister also presented details on his meeting with Russian deputy defense minister Alexander Fomin. Tonoyan said they have discussed issues of bilateral interest in political, military-political fields. Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan YEREVAN, AUGUST 3, ARMENPRESS. Armenia should continue its chairmanship in the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) until the end of the term, Defense minister Davit Tonoyan told reporters at the Monte Melkonyan Military-Sports College on August 3, reports Armenpress. At the moment no issue of the candidacy of the CSTO Secretary General has been discussed, but Armenia must continue its chairmanship until the deadline expires, the minister said, commenting on the issue of replacing CSTO Secretary General Yuri Khachaturov. CSTO Secretary General Yuri Khachaturov has been charged over the 2008 March 1-2 unrest in Yerevan. He has been remanded into custody, but later was released on bail. Armenia has proposed the CSTO member states to start the process of replacing the CSTO chief. Yuri Khachaturov is serving as CSTO Secretary General since May 2017. Armenias chairmanship in the CSTO is until January 2020. Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan SPRINGFIELD - Since Florida enacted the "red flag" law last March, more than 450 people have been ordered by local judges to surrender firearms to local law enforcement, citing safety risks filed with the courts. In all, weve taken in about 200 firearms and around 30,000 rounds of ammunition, a Pinnellas County officer told ABC News. Last month, both Democrat and Republican lawmakers sent to Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner a similar "red flag" bill, which he signed into effect. Personal Defense World describes Illinois' law: HB 2354, also known as the Lethal Violence Order of Protection Act, authorizes a court to remove firearms, a FOID card and a CCW license from a person who poses 'an immediate and present danger of causing personal injury to himself, herself, or another by having' a gun in his or her possession. The person who petitions to have the firearms removed can be a law enforcement officer, family member or a dating partner. The gun seizures can be issued by a judge ex parte, meaning without the subject of the order being present. Today I signed legislation to keep firearms out of the hands of those who would use them to commit acts of violence against themselves or others, after proof is provided, Rauner said on Twitter. Gun control activists applauded the 13th state enacting a "red flag" law. Illinois' gun confiscation on the "red flag" complaints will begin January 1, 2019. YEREVAN, AUGUST 3, ARMENPRESS. Armenias defense minister Davit Tonoyan says the situation in the Artsakh-Azerbaijan line of contact and the Nakhijevan section of the Armenia-Azerbaijan border is calm, reports Armenpress. At the moment the situation in Artsakh and the Nakhijevan section of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border is relatively calm, the defense minister told reporters at the Monte Melkonyan Military-Sports College. Minister Tonoyan also assured that any encroachment of the adversary is being immediately neutralized. Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan YEREVAN, AUGUST 3, ARMENPRESS. Director of the National Security Service Artur Vanetsyan on August 3 received Russian Ambassador to Armenia Sergei Kopyrkin, the NSS told Armenpress. During the meeting the NSS chief congratulated the Ambassador on appointment and wished him productive work. Coming to the firm cooperation between the two countries, the NSS Director said this friendship contributes to strengthening the mutual partnership between different agencies of the two states, and the cooperation between the Armenian and Russian special services further strengthens the already existing relations. The Russian Ambassador also attached importance to the mutually beneficial cooperation of the two agencies, stating that Armenia is one of the key strategic partners for Russia for joint activity in several directions. At the end of the meeting both sides expressed readiness to continue and further intensify the cooperation between Armenias NSS and the Russian Federal Security Service and the foreign intelligence service in all professional directions. Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan YEREVAN, AUGUST 3, ARMENPRESS. The Warrior of the Commonwealth international tournament, which was held in Armenia for the first time within the frameworks of the 4th International Army Games, has been completed, reports Armenpress. The closing ceremony of the tournament was held in Dilijans Monte Melkonyan Military-Sports College on August 3. Armenias defense minister Davit Tonoyan congratulated the participants and stated that the ministry did everything for the tournament to be interesting and remembered. Its a great pleasure that holding this competition for the first time in Armenia not only expanded the programs geography, but also Armenia became an acceptable place for holding similar events, the minister said. Russian deputy defense minister Alexander Fomin said the Warrior of the Commonwealth is one of the most important tournaments being held within the frames of the International Army Games. This is a unique performance of combat readiness since any country wants to demonstrate its high military skills in the competition and improve them, he said. Kazakhstans armed forces were declared the winner of the competition, the 2nd place was captured by the Belarus team and the 3rd place by the Armenian Armed Forces team. Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan YEREVAN, AUGUST 3, ARMENPRESS. Minister of economic development and investments Artsvik Minasyan had a meeting with Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of China to Armenia Tian Erlong, the ministry told Armenpress. The meeting was also attended by deputy ministers Mane Adamyan, Avag Avanesyan, Hakob Avagyan, as well as other officials. During the meeting minister Minasyan attached importance to the development of commercial relations with China and thanked for the joint work, ongoing programs and support. In his turn the Chinese Ambassador welcomed minister Minasyans return and constant activity in the economic sector, as well as touched upon the ongoing programs in Armenia. Both officials stated that there is a need and good potential to boost and re-launch the trade-economic ties. There is a positive dynamics in almost all spheres. The minister introduced the ongoing economic reforms in the country, the activities aimed at improving the investment field and business environment. The officials highlighted the tourism growth and the opportunities to reach it to a new level. They also touched upon the preparation works of the upcoming Armenian-Chinese inter-governmental commissions session in Beijing in autumn. At the end of the meeting the sides once again reaffirmed the readiness to expand the bilateral economic relations. Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan YEREVAN, 3 AUGUST, ARMENPRESS. The Central Bank of Armenia informs Armenpress that today, 3 August, USD exchange rate up by 0.12 drams to 481.28 drams. EUR exchange rate down by 1.64 drams to 557.13 drams. Russian Ruble exchange rate down by 0.02 drams to 7.58 drams. GBP exchange rate down by 3.16 drams to 626.15 drams. The Central Bank has set the following prices for precious metals. Gold price down by 50.23 drams to 18807.28 drams. Silver price down by 0.32 drams to 239.07 drams. Platinum price down by 27.76 drams to 12734.7 drams. YEREVAN, AUGUST 3, ARMENPRESS. Criminal charges are pressed against Armen Gevorgyan who held the position of Chairman of the National Security Council of Armenia during the days of March 1, 2008, ARMENPRESS reports Chairman of the Special Investigation Service of Armenia Sasun Khachatryan announced during the program Agenda on Public TV. I had some information over Armen Grigoryan. I will make it public for the first time during this program. Charges are pressed against him, but not for the crime of overthrow the constitutional order, he said. According to Sasun Khachatryan the charges are based on WikiLeaks publication made years ago. According to that publication, Serzh Sargsyans opponents appealed the results of the elections at the Constitutional Court. The Constitutional Court was to make a decision and at that time pressures were exerted against Constitutional Court Judge Valery Poghosyan. The latter applied to the representatives of the U.S. Embassy and informed that pressures are exerted on him from Robert Kocharyans administration through his brother who at that time worked at the administration of the second President (Robert Kocharyan-edit), the Chairman of the Special Investigation Service said. He added that they carried investigation in that direction and revealed that Armen Gevorgyan, together with another official, tried to exert pressure on Valery Poghosyan. Probably they succeeded because finally Valery Poghosyan did not participate in the voting over that case, Khachatryan added. He noted that Armen Gevorgyan is charged with undermining the administration of justice. This is considered a serious crime providing for up to six years imprisonment, the official said. Armen Gevorgyan held the position of the Chairman of the National Security Council from June 2007 to April 2008. A Yerevan court has remanded former President Robert Kocharyan into custody. He is suspected in overthrowing the constitutional order. CSTO Secretary General Yuri Khachaturov who was Deputy Defense Minister in 2008 and the former Defense Minister Mikayel Harutyunyan are also charged with the same accusation. Harutyunyan is wanted by the Police of Armenia while Khachaturov has been released on bail of 5 million drams. What was supposed to be a family day out for a young mother and her two children ended in tears after they were kicked out of a tourist attraction. Melissa Beebe said her autistic daughter, Stella, could barely contain her excitement as they prepared to venture into the Forbidden Caverns in Sevierville, Tennessee. But it was that same excitement that saw the Beebe family asked to leave the tour before it even kicked off. The tour guide asked me in front of about 30 people if he could ask me a question and I knew what he was about to ask, so I just answered shes autistic and just excited, she explained in a Facebook post. Melissa Beebes said her daughter, Stella, was excitedly clapping about their cave tour when they were told to leave. Source: Facebook/Melissa Beebes He then told me we can leave and go get a refund for the tour. He kicked us off the tour before it even started because my kid WAS LAUGHING AND CLAPPING. She said her other daughter, Bridger, didnt understand what was happening and started to cry, before she too broke down I started crying because Ive never experienced blatant discrimination or been kicked out of anywhere, she said, adding that that she was no offered no apology as she went to collect her refund. The parks management denied the claims, saying they had welcomed thousands of disabled people on their tours. Source: Facebook / Forbidden Caverns In a statement posted to Facebook, the Forbidden Caverns management team said the claims against them could not be further from the truth. It has come to our knowledge that we were accused of not allowing children with special needs to enter the cave, this could not be further from the truth, as every year we escort thousands of children from schools across the region many of whom have special needs, the statement reads. We are a family attraction and take accusations of this nature to heart and truly want to be an experience that all can enjoy. An opposition leader barred from returning to the Democratic Republic of Congo to file a bid to run for the country's presidency vowed on Friday to fight for "real elections". Moise Katumbi, a wealthy businessman and former governor of the province of Katanga, was forbidden from entering the DRC and charged with offences against state security, officials said. Katumbi, 53, has been living in self-imposed exile in Belgium since May 2016 after falling out with President Joseph Kabila, who has ruled DRC for 17 years. He had planned to fly by private jet from Johannesburg to Lubumbashi, the capital of Katanga province, to lodge his application to stand in long-delayed elections in December -- a move that would heap pressure on Kabila. But the city's mayor refused him entry, while the public prosecutor's office said Katumbi had been charged with "harming the state's domestic and external security" and would be arrested if he returned. A journalist with the French radio network RFI said Katumbi instead arrived at the Zambian border post of Kasumbalesa. Videos posted online by his aides and others showed him on the Zambian side of the border, greeting hundreds of supporters from his car. "The regime forbids me from landing and barricades the border... My crime? Wanting to enter my country and file my candidacy," Katumbi wrote on Twitter. "By trying to block me, they want to remove from Congolese their right to real elections. I will fight," he added. On the Congolese side of the border, security forces responded to protesters who were throwing stones in the air, Congolese police said, adding that a Tanzanian truck driver was slightly injured. At least two police checkpoints were set up to screen access to Lubumbashi's airport on Friday and the city's main road to Zambia was blocked by a truck, an AFP journalist said. - Potential arrest - Katumbi already faced potential arrest after being handed a three-year jail term in absentia in June 2016 in a case of alleged property fraud. He has also been accused of hiring mercenaries and for possessing an Italian passport -- Congolese law does not allow dual nationality. He denies the charges in both of those cases. Another rival of Kabila, former warlord and ex-vice president Jean-Pierre Bemba, 55, returned home this week. He officially launched his bid for the presidency on Thursday. The DRC has never known a peaceful transition of power since it gained independence in 1960 -- and some experts fear that the December 23 elections may trigger a bloody conflict. Kabila, 47, has been at the helm since 2001, presiding over a vast mineral-rich country with a reputation for corruption, inequality and unrest. He was scheduled to stand down at the end of 2016 after his second elected term, technically the last permitted under the constitution. Kabila has refused to spell out whether he will seek a new term in the vote. Angolan President Joao Lourenco met Kabila in the Angolan capital Luanda on Friday and said he had "received guarantees that the electoral process (in the DRC) will proceed in the normal way". Angolan Foreign Minister Manuel Augusto said he had recommended Kabila to have "respect for the constitution". Candidates must submit their applications by August 8 and physically be in the country to do so. DRC opposition leader Moise Katumbi has been living in self-imposed exile in Belgium since May 2016 May Skaf, a prominent Syrian actress and activist who emerged as a fiercely outspoken critic of President Bashar al-Assad's regime after the uprising began in 2011, was buried Friday in France, where she had fled after being freed from prison. The 49-year-old actress was found dead at her home earlier this week in Dourdan, a town southwest of Paris, where she had been living with her son. Relatives said she had died of a ruptured aneurysm. Skaf was a well-known television and theatre actress when demonstrations broke out against Assad in the wake of the Arab Spring protests of 2011. The uprising later became a bloody civil war which has killed 350,000 people and forced millions from their homes. Skaf was arrested in 2012 and held for three days after taking part in a Damascus protest that became referred to as the "intellectuals' demonstration". She was briefly detained again the following year, and eventually fled to Jordan and later France. Maryvonne Boquet, the mayor of Dourdan, said Skaf had been living there since 2015, housed by local authorities who have taken in several other Syrian refugees. "I will never lose hope, I will never lose hope. It's the majestic Syria, not Assad's Syria," she wrote on her last Facebook post. An estimated 500 to 600 people, many with Syrian opposition flags, attended the funeral in Dourdan which was heavily covered by Arabic-language media outlets including Al Jazeera, according to an AFP photographer. "May became a star because she refused any glory, she refused to earn money or work with people who exploited her," her son Jude al-Zoabi said at the ceremony. "I'm sure that May never imagined where her path would take her. She believed in her ideals and took the path that respected those principles," he said. Dima Wannous, a writer and friend of Skaf, said her death was "a loss for all of Syria". "May was a very strong, confident, rebellious and combative person," she said. Syrian actress May Skaf in Paris in 2016. She regularly took part in protests against the regime of President Bashar al-Assad The coffin of Syrian actress and democracy activist Mai Skaf being carried in the cemetery of Dourdan, southwest of Paris, on August 3 Predictably, most involved are Blue states which come down against private firearm ownership whenever possible: Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Oregon, Maryland, New York and the District of Columbia, but Illinois has also joined in with the crusade . Washington state Attorney General Bob Ferguson called the ruling a complete, total victory. We were asking for a nationwide temporary restraining order putting a halt to this outrageous decision by the federal government to allow these 3D downloadable guns to be available around our country and around the world. He granted that relief, Ferguson said, at a news conference after the hearing. That is significant. Seven states and Washington DC sued and successfully obtained a restraining order against release of plans to make firearm parts using 3D printers. The restraining order from U.S. District Judge Robert Lasnik in Seattle puts that plan on hold for now. As Lasnic stated, There is a possibility of irreparable harm because of the way these guns can be made." Illinois officials answer the call Officials from Illinois called on President Donald Trumps administration on Wednesday, August 1, to halt the release of blueprints for making a gun with a 3D printer. Attorney General Lisa Madigan and U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin have both signed on to efforts urging the department to reverse its July decision to drop its challenge against Texas resident Cody Wilson and his company to sell blueprints for guns on-line. As Durbin told CNN on Tuesday, July 31, 2018: If we have background checks to keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people, we wouldnt want to put a recipe on the Internet for someone to build one of these weapons at home." Durbin further signed onto a letter written by Sen. Ed Markey, D-Massachusetts which urges the State Department to reconsider the settlement with Defense Distributed, while Madigan signed onto Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healeys letter urging the same. It is significant that Cody Wilson, his company, Defense Distributed, and the Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) won a four year court battle in July, in which the Department of State agreed to pay the plaintiffs legal expenses. The court battle goes back to 2013, when President Obama used the State Department to enforce UN rules regarding international distribution of small arms (never ratified by the Senate). Obama, along with several states are apparently confused over the distinction between free speech and hardware, notwithstanding the fact that terrorists are armed by rogue governments, not documents. As the EFT staff attorney Kit Walsh said: The Supreme Court has been very clear that any speech licensing regime has to be governed by definite standards of review, judicial oversight, and prompt deadlines. Further insight is given here. What kind of threat do 3d printed firearms pose? For one, opponents say that persons not able to purchase firearms could make their own. That said, firearms can easily be assembled from ordinary hardware. Felons are more likely to have a hacksaw than an expensive 3D printer. People can use the blueprints to manufacture plastic guns using a 3D printer. Industry experts have expressed doubts that criminals would go to the trouble, since the printers needed to make the guns can cost thousands of dollars, the guns themselves tend to disintegrate quickly and traditional firearms are easy to come by. So-called Zip Guns have been around since the invention of firearms over 600 years ago. The first firearms were hardly more than metal or bamboo tubes with a hole and a match to touch them off. Tribal craftsmen in Pakistan regularly make AK-47 rifles, even Colt .45 pistols, from old car parts, using saws, files and hammers. They not only work, but look like the real thing Regarding gangsters, they were making guns out of water pipe and rubber bands for decades. Where were the background checks and serial numbers? Now they get AK-47s, despite Chuck Schumers hysterics whenever a mass shooting happens, when in most case the absence of additional gun laws would not have changed the outcome. Anyone who thinks a plastic gun is undetectable hasnt flown on a plane this century. What Federal law restricts There is no Federal law prohibiting making a firearm for personal use (with some restrictions). You just cant sell them or give them away. You cant, however, make an undetectable gun, fully automatic weapons, nor a destructive device like an anti-tank gun. Detectable is a relative term, and screening technology has advanced immeasurably since that law was passed in 1988. Under that law, a functioning firearm must contain at least 37.2 grams of metal, rendering it detectable when passing through a TSA magnetometer. Another demand is that All parts need to be serialized, which is completely impractical. A modern revolver has nearly 100 parts, many of which are custom-fitted to a particular firearm. Federal Law requires only the frame of the firearm to be serialized, not each screw and spring, or even the barrel. Some parts are made to be replaceable, for maintenance, repair and customization. The most popular handguns have plastic frames (e.g., Glock) with no metal parts at all. They will not function as a firearm until fitted with a barrel, and other metal components. The plastic frames bear a permanent serial number, however. Ill-worded laws to this effect would ban things like replacement parts, which make shooting more reliable or accurate, without changing the basic mode of operation. The only workable 3D prints so far are magazines, and even they dont hold up long. Pistol cartridges produce at least 12,000 psi, well beyond the strength of plastic, or low alloy steel. The anti-gun factions are once again crying WOLF! without a rational basis for doing so. Has President Trump misspoken? President Trump weighed in on Tuesday, July 31, 2018, perhaps giving gun control advocates hope, when he questioned whether his administration should have agreed to allow the plans to be posted online. I am looking into 3-D Plastic Guns being sold to the public, he said via Twitter. Already spoke to NRA, doesnt seem to make much sense! Notice that the Presidents statement includes sold, which is already subject to Federal regulation. No one has been assaulted with a 3D gun. Only the most foolhardy criminal would use something likely to explode the first time it was used, when there are so many alternatives already available. Its not enough to disarm citizens. You must criminalize their thoughts and words too. Images have captured the home of an indigenous tribesman who has survived alone in the Amazon jungle of Rodonia for 22 years. He was captured on camera last month hacking at a tree near his home in the region of Tanaru in Brazil. He is believed to be the sole survivor of a brutal massacre of the rest of his tribe, although no one knows his name or even what language he speaks. The survivor built a tiny hut in the garden he is cultivating in Tanaru territory, Rondonia state, Brazil. Source: Survival International Images shown off by Survival International have captured the hut he lives in, where he grows crops and digs holes to sleep in and to trap animals. Survival International says, He lives on his own and is constantly on the run. He totally rejects any type of contact. Footage shows the man cutting down a tree, having survived in the Amazon jungle of Rodonia for 22 years. Source: Survival International FUNAI [the National Indian Foundation] has set aside a small patch of rainforest for his protection. This is entirely surrounded by cattle ranchers. In late 2009, the man was viciously targeted by gunmen. In the past, many ranchers have used gunmen to kill uncontacted Indians in Rondonia. The indigenous tribesman digs deep holes to trap animals and to hide in. Source: Picture Survival International He was first spotted in the jungle in 1996 but strict laws which forbid contact with isolated tribesmen has meant he has been left alone. Hes believed to be the only survivor after farmers attacked his tribe, killing the other five people, in 1995. A resin torch and stake made by the tribesman, found in his house, back in 2005. Source: Survival International Survival International says he is in his 50s, and survives alone in an area surrounded by ranches. The group says its extraordinary he has survived alone for so long, given that farmers and land grabbers are interested in his territory. Israel has closed a field hospital set up near the Syrian border to treat the sick and those wounded in the conflict ravaging the neighbouring country, the army said Friday. The day clinic was set up in August 2017 and since then had provided medical care to some 6,800 Syrians, the army said in a statement. "Forces began evacuating and folding the clinic's compound," the statement said, without explaining why it was being shut down after a year. The field hospital was established with Friend Ships, an American charity. Since the Syrian conflict began in 2011, Israel has refused to accept refugees, instead treating the sick and wounded in its northern hospitals and clinics before returning the patients to their own country. The hospital was set up "in response to the lack of proper medical options in Syria", with the army "maintaining a non-intervention policy in the conflict", the statement said. According to recent figures distributed by the army, besides those treated at the border clinic, 3,500 Syrian civilians have received medical care in Israel since 2013. In addition, and as part of Israel's "Operation Good Neighbour", since 2016 over 1,300 Syrian children suffering "illnesses and ailments" have received one-day treatments in Israeli speciality clinics, according to the military. Although Israel has sought to avoid direct involvement in the conflict, a series of air strikes which have killed Iranians in Syria have been attributed to the Jewish state. Israel seized much of the Golan Heights from Syria in the Six-Day War of 1967 and later annexed it in a move never recognised by the international community. The two countries technically remain at war. Israel has been on high alert since June 19, when Syrian government forces launched an offensive to retake southern Daraa and Quneitra provinces, the latter of which includes the divided Golan Heights. Much of the area has been recaptured by Syrian regime troops who are now mopping up the remaining pockets of rebel and jihadist territory. On Wednesday, an Israeli air strike killed seven militants believed to be linked to the Islamic State group who were seeking to infiltrate the country from the Syrian Golan Heights, according to the army. "The IDF is monitoring the ongoing events in the area and is prepared for a range of scenarios," the Friday statement said. Israelis look across the border into Syria on July 24, 2018, from the Tal Saki hill in the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights Incumbent Ibrahim Boubacar Keita will face opposition figure Soumaila Cisse in the second round of Mali's presidential election on August 12, an official announced on Thursday. In Sunday's first round Keita won 41.42 percent of the vote, with Cisse polling 17.80 percent, according to provisional results, said Territorial Administration Minister Mohamed Ag Erlafk on ORTM public television. Turnout was 43.06 percent, he added. Businessman Aliou Diallo came in third with 7.95 percent of the vote and former transitional prime minister Cheick Modibo Diarra, an astrophysicist who held that office for eight months in 2012, completed the top four with 7.46 percent. Voters in the vast west African country had 24 candidates to choose from in the key poll for the region, which still faces a threat from jihadists despite the presence of 15,000 UN peacekeepers, 4,500 French troops and a much heralded five-nation anti-terror G5 Sahel force. Around 700 of the 23,000 polling stations -- mainly in the north and centre of the country -- were unable to open on Sunday due to violent incidents, but the polling "went ahead calmly" throughout the rest of the country, EU monitors said. Jihadist violence has spread from northern Mali to the centre and south of the country and spilt over into neighbouring Burkina Faso and Niger, often inflaming communal conflicts. Mali, considered a linchpin state in the troubled Sahel region, is one of the world's poorest countries, with most people living on less than $2 a day. In the first round of Mali's presidential election incumbent Ibrahim Boubacar Keita won 41.42 percent of the vote, with opposition figure Soumaila Cisse polling 17.80 percent, according to provisional results Mali's President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita will face opposition figure Soumaila Cisse in a run-off vote on August 12 after neither secured more than 50 percent in the first round of the presidential election, an official said late Thursday. In Sunday's poll Keita won 41.42 percent, with Cisse polling 17.80 percent, according to provisional results, said Territorial Administration Minister Mohamed Ag Erlafk on ORTM public television. Businessman Aliou Diallo came third with 7.95 percent and former transitional prime minister Cheick Modibo Diarra, an astrophysicist who held that office for eight months in 2012, completed the top four with 7.46 percent. Voters in the vast west African country had 24 candidates to choose from in the key poll for the troubled Sahel region. "Thanks to you, I'm in the lead," Keita, 73, who is seeking a second five-year term, said on his campaign Twitter account. "This is clear evidence of your trust." The second round on August 12 will be a repeat of the 2013 run-off, with Keita again facing former finance minister Cisse. "I was expecting a single round, the voters decided otherwise," said Mamadou Wague, an activist with the ruling party, predicting Keita would finally win a victory "even more emblematic than 2013," when he took more than 77 percent of the vote. - Linchpin Sahel state - Ahead of the announcement, challengers Cisse and Diallo had said they would not accept the election results "marred by irregularities". "For the first time in the history of Malian democracy, a president in office is forced to a second round," Cisse, 68, said on Twitter after the results, adding that the plan to have Keita re-elected in the first round had failed "despite the fraud". Turnout was 43.06 percent, rather higher than the average seen in Mali where less than a third of over-15s are literate. The international community hopes the poll will strengthen a 2015 accord that Mali, a linchpin state in the Sahel region, sees as the cornerstone for peace. On the campaign trail, Keita -- commonly known by his initials IBK -- had highlighted the achievements of the peace agreement between the government, government-allied groups and Tuareg former rebels to fight jihadist fighters in the country's north. Cisse, and other challengers, however have accused Keita of incompetence on security matters. Attacks disrupted voting Sunday in areas already beset by deadly ethnic and jihadist violence Around 700 of the 23,000 polling stations -- mainly in the north and centre of the country -- were unable to open due to violent incidents, but the polling "went ahead calmly" throughout the rest of the country, EU monitors said. Violence also marred the lead-up to the vote, despite the presence of 15,000 UN peacekeepers and 4,500 French troops and a much-heralded five-nation anti-terror G5 Sahel force. A state of emergency will enter its fourth year in November. Jihadist violence has spread from northern Mali to the centre and south of the country and spilt over into neighbouring Burkina Faso and Niger, often inflaming communal conflicts. Mali is one of the world's poorest countries, with most people living on less than $2 a day. In the first round of Mali's presidential election incumbent Ibrahim Boubacar Keita (L) won 41.42 percent of the vote, with opposition figure Soumaila Cisse polling 17.80 percent, according to provisional results Defending champion Alexander Zverev outlasted Japan's Kei Nishikori 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 Friday to reach the ATP Washington Open semi-finals while three-time Grand Slam champion Andy Murray withdrew citing fatigue. Germany's third-ranked Zverev, seeking his fifth final of the season and third title of the year after Munich and Madrid, dispatched seventh-seed Nishikori, the 2015 champion, as he did in last year's Washington semi-finals. "I felt like I had the more powerful shot," Zverev said. "That worked out well in most of the rallies for me. It was a good high-level match." Zverev booked a Saturday semi-final against 10th-seeded Greek 19-year-old Stefanos Tsitsipas, who eliminated Belgian third seed David Goffin 6-3, 6-4 in just 74 minutes. "I'm super happy I got this win in two sets and saved some energy," Tsitsipas said. "I was serving very well. Confidence plays a very important role in my game so getting early breaks was super important." Australian Alex De Minaur, another 19-year-old, reached the semi-finals by walkover when Murray withdrew, citing the fatigue of three grueling three-set wins that kept him on the court more than eight hours in total. Murray, who also withdrew from next week's Toronto Masters event, was in only his third event back and first hardcourt event since March 2017 at Indian Wells after an 11-month layoff with a hip injury. "I'm exhausted after playing so much over the last four days, having not competed on the hard courts for 18 months," Murray said. "I also need to be careful and to listen to my body as I come back from a long-term injury. "I'm gutted not to be playing. There are lots of positives to take from this week, so I'll take some time to rest and recover and then head to Cincinnati early to prepare and get ready." The 31-year-old Scotsman, a former world number one now ranked 832, broke down in tears after a 3:02 a.m. Friday finish to his third match, the latest finish in the event's 50-year history. "I don't think I should be put in a position like that," Murray said. "Finishing matches at three in the morning isn't good for anyone involved." De Minaur will next play either Russian 16th seed Andrey Rublev or American Denis Kudla, whose match was postponed to Saturday, among with three women's quarter-finals, by a fifth consecutive day of rain. If 20-year-old Rublev advances, Zverev will be the oldest semi-finalist at age 21. His reaction: "My God, that hasn't happened to me before." Tsitsipas, ranked a career-high 32nd, reached the fourth round last month at Wimbledon, becoming the first Greek player in the last 16 of a Grand Slam in the Open Era. Tsitsipas, who reached his first ATP final in May at Barcelona but lost to Rafael Nadal, says he won't change to face Zverev. "Need to keep doing what I'm doing, play my game and keep my level high," Tsitsipas said. "I just need to stay humble, serve well, play well from the baseline and be aggressive." - Russian heritage for foes - Zverev and Tsitsipas are both of Russian heritage. Zverev's Russian parents moved to Germany in 1991. Tsitsipas's mother was a top 1980s Soviet Union player. "The Soviet Union back then was a very technical school," Zverev said. "It helped us out a lot to have parents to teach us the technique. We're not all the same but we don't have a shot that's so bad." "The discipline my mom knew from the Soviet Union side," Tsitsipas said. "There's something about the Russian culture that helps you mature faster than other cultures." Nishikori likes where his game is at with the US Open still more than three weeks away. "I'm playing good," Nishikori said. "I'll try to play a couple more good tournaments and do my best at the US Open." In the WTA event, Germany's Andrea Petkovic, seeking her seventh title and first since 2015, downed Swiss sixth seed Belinda Bencic 6-3, 2-6, 7-6 (10/8) to reach the semi-finals. She earlier beat reigning US Open champion Sloane Stephens. Alexander Zverev is seeking his fifth final of the season and third title of the year after Munich and Madrid Andy Murray, who also withdrew from next week's Toronto Masters event, was back in only his third event and first hardcourt event since March 2017 Greek teen Stefanos Tsitsipas took one of the biggest victories of his career thus far by ousting Belgian third seed David Goffin A former Qantas flight attendants application for unfair dismissal has been denied after he got drunk off duty in a New York bar and incurred $20,000 in hospital fees. Luke Urso applied to the Fair Work Commission after Qantas fired him in November last year. He applied to get his job back. Mr Urso was working as part of a seven-day flight service in July 2017, between Brisbane, LA, and New York. He had recently undergone surgery and was told to take it easy. In a response to allegations made against him by his employer, Mr Urso said his doctor had told him to return to working and social life as normal and he went to a New York bar with New Zealand-based crew member Brent Littmoden to drink two peach martinis and three gin and tonics. Luke Urso, a flight attendant for Qantas, was fired after getting drunk at a New York bar and being unable to work the following day. Source: Getty Mr Littmoden later found Mr Urso collapsed on the floor of toilets in the bar. Qantas alleged he was found vomiting in a lavatory basin and had to be physically removed by Mr Littmoden. He was taken to Greenwich Hospital and underwent a toxicology test. Mr Urso was due to operate a flight back to LA just hours later, on July 23, but advised his manager he was unwell. He instead flew back to LA as a passenger on July 25 before returning to Brisbane on July 27. Mr Urso had medical tests done and returned to work in August but was informed by his manager he was going to be stood down pending an investigation of allegations against him. Mr Urso claims he drank two peach martinis (pictured) and three gin and tonics. File pic. Source: Getty Images A month later, an allegation letter was sent to him. Luke, the allegations are extremely serious, the letter read. If substantiated, they may result in disciplinary action being taken against you up to and including termination of your employment. Mr Urso said in a response to the letter the five drinks he had were not considered an excessive amount. I have never experienced such a negative reaction to the standard amount of alcohol that I consume, he wrote. For this reason, I believe that my drink may have been spiked. I do not recall vomiting or collapsing in the bathroom. Story continues In September, he was informed of his termination via a letter. The letter claimed Qantas were told by Greenwich Hospitals Dr Ian Hosegood that Mr Ursos blood alcohol level would likely require a minimum of approximately 18 standards drinks over three hours and that the drinks had not ben spiked. Qantas said the hospital fees amounted to about $20,000. File pic. Source: Getty Images It added the hospitals findings suggested Mr Urso had not been honest during the investigation and the hospital fees incurred amounted to about $20,000. Dr Odell, a forensic physician at the Clinical Division of the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine, found in a report Mr Urso at one stage had a blood alcohol concentration of 0.205 per cent disagreeing with the hospitals toxicology report. The Flight Attendants Association of Australia said during slip, the period between shifts for airline crew, cabin crew are responsible for ensuring that they are adequately rested and able to perform their next operational duty. Fair Work Commission deputy president Lyndall Dean said she was unable to conclude Mr Ursos termination by Qantas was unfair and dismissed his application. The conduct engaged in by Mr Urso amounted to a valid reason for his dismissal, Ms Dean said. Overall, I am satisfied, on balance, that the reason for the dismissal of Mr Ursos employment was sound, defensible and well-founded. Slovakia on Friday denied it knowingly took part in the kidnapping last year of a Vietnamese oil executive from Berlin after media reports claimed a government plane was used in the abduction. Echoing allegations already made in German newspapers, the daily Dennik N reported Thursday that a Slovak government plane had been used by Vietnamese officials to transport businessman Trinh Xuan Thanh. But interior ministry spokesman Petar Lazarov insisted on Friday that "Slovak authorities did not intentionally participate in the abduction of a Vietnamese citizen abroad in any way." And he dismissed the Dennik N article as "a fabrication and sci-fi". The report quoted unnamed Slovak policemen as saying that "a seemingly drunk and bruised individual" joined the official Vietnamese delegation at Bratislava airport and boarded a Slovak government plane. The article, which was a collaboration with the German daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, also pointed out that Vietnamese Public Security Minister To Lam was visiting Slovakia at the time. On Friday, Slovak Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini said his government would fully cooperate with authorities to clarify the matter. "This is the only way to prevent damage to our country's good name," he told reporters. The kidnapped man, Thanh -- a fugitive Vietnamese state company official who had been seeking political asylum in Germany -- was walking in Berlin's Tiergarten park in July 2017 when he was dragged into a van in broad daylight and smuggled back to Vietnam. The German government was outraged and expelled two Vietnamese diplomats and summoned the ambassador several times. Vietnam has always insisted that Thanh returned voluntarily to face embezzlement charges. Thanh has since been sentenced to two life terms in Vietnam on charges of corruption during his time as the head of state-run PetroVietnam Construction, a subsidiary of the country's largest oil firm. Vietnam's communist government in charge since 2016 has taken aim at bankers, businessmen and politicians it accuses of mismanagement as it vows to stamp out corruption. The unprecedented anti-graft campaign has seen scores jailed, many previously thought to be untouchable in one of Southeast Asia's most corrupt countries. Observers agree the campaign, which has echoes of a similar drive in China, is seeking to clean up corruption -- and also get rid of perceived enemies. Vietnamese former state oil executive Trinh Xuan Thanh was allegedly kidnapped from Germany using a Slovak government plane Shanghai (Gasgoo)- By far, a slew of Chinese automakers had released their H1 financial forecasts successively, including Geely, Changan Automobile and JAC. The specified details on these automakers' H1 financial forecasts are as following: Geely Auto H1 net profit likely shoot up over 50% year on year Geely Auto's net profit in the first half of 2018 would surge over 50% compared with the corresponding period in 2017, the automaker announced on July 11. Last year, Geely Auto's net profit totaled RMB 4.34 billion for the first six months. Therefore, it can be estimated that the company earned more than RMB 6.5 billion of net profit for the first half of this year. According to the announcement, Geely Auto attributed its net profit growth to the overall sales jump and the products' portfolio improvement. From January to June, the Hangzhou-based automaker delivered 766,630 vehicles in total with a violent year-on-year growth of 44%. Inspired by the blooming sales momentum last year and the competitive new model's launching planning, Geely Auto elevated its sales goal in 2018 to 1.58 million units. By the end of June, the automaker has already completed 49% of the goal, which was basically consistent with its planned development process. FAW Car forecasts profit slump between 63% and 78% year on year in H1 FAW Car Co., Ltd. forecasted that it will post net profit between RMB 60 million and RMB 100 million during the first half of this year, slumping between 63% and 78% year on year, compared with RMB 270 million during the same period last year. It is predicted that basic earnings per share will range between RMB 0.04 and 0.06 during the past six months, plunging from 64.7% to 76.5% over the previous year, compared with RMB 0.17 during the same period last year. FAW Car attributed the net profit and operating revenue slumps to the increasingly intensified competition of auto market during the first half of this year, the price changes of raw materials and the structural adjustment of products. On Nov. 18, FAW Car announced that it would transfer the relevant assets of Hongqi brand to its controlling shareholder, FAW Group for RMB 428 million. After FAW Car split off Hongqi brand, it turned loss into profits. FAW Car's 2017 sales data revealed that it delivered 239,500 vehicles with a year-on-year growth of 23.77%. Moreover, it earned revenue of RMB 27.902 billion in 2017, jumping 22.86% on an annual basis. It achieved a net profit surge of 129.4% over the previous year to RMB 280 million in 2017. Changan Automobile H1 net profit to slump 63.21% to 67.54% year on year Chongqing Changan Automobile Co., Ltd (Changan Automobile) forecasted that its net profit attributable to shareholders may reach RMB 1.5billion to RMB 1.7billion for the first half of this year, slumping 63.21% to 67.54% compared with the corresponding period in 2017. From January to June, the company saw its earnings per share drop to RMB 0.31 to 0.35 from RMB 0.96 in the year-ago period. The automaker ascribed the net profit shrink to the comparatively drastic decline in the investment income from its joint ventures despite the growing profitability of its self-owned passenger vehicle (PV) company. Indeed, Changan Automobile failed to complete its sales target of 3.3 million units last year with its annual sales volume falling 6.23% year on year to 2,872,456 units. The company has lowered its sales goal to 3.1 million units for 2018, while only 38.95% of the goal has been finished after half a year passed. Great Wall Motor predicts to gain 52% net profit surge to RMB 3.7 billion in H1 Great Wall Motor (GWM) is expected to gain revenue of RMB 48.678 billion in the first half of 2018, jumping 17.99% from a year ago. Its net profit will reach RMB 3.7 billion, soaring 52.35% over the previous year. Moreover, the automaker's net profit attributable to shareholders of the parent company is expected to reach RMB 3.68 billion, surging 52.07% on an annual basis. GWM attributed the expected revenue growth to the optimization of product structure and the market shares improvement of WEY's sales. It is known that GWM delivered 471,500 vehicles in the first half of 2018 with a year-on-year increase of 2.34%, completing 40.65% of its 2018 sales target of 1.16 million units. During the first half of 2018, GWM delivered 402,956 SUVs, edging up 1.32% compared with the same period last year. JAC expects profit slump of 53% to RMB 164 million in H1 JAC forecasted net profit of RMB 164 million from January to June, slumping 53% compared to RMB 345 million during the same period last year, according to JAC's H1 financial forecast released on July 31. The net profit attributable to shareholders of listed company after eliminating non-recurring profit and loss will drop around RMB 628 million, plummeting 326% over the previous year. The abovementioned financial slump was mainly resulted from changes of JAC's major business as well as the influence of non-recurring loss and profit. Specifically, in terms of changes of JAC's major business, JAC suffered a 6.5% revenue drop for its major business on an annual basis during the first half of this year, due to an 8.16% sales skid and the impact of new energy vehicle (NEV) subsidy policy and NEV product structure. Moreover, exchange rate fluctuation and financing cost increase also resulted in around a RMB 104.69 million financial cost increase, compared with the same period last year. Property depreciation preparation resulted from receivables, inventory, and special mould has increased about RMB 120.17 million compared with the same period last year. As to the influence of non-recurring loss and profit, JAC was granted RMB 701.9269 million subsidies from governments, RMB 530.2572 million more than the same period last year. It is noteworthy that among these automakers who released their H1 financial forecasts, BAIC Group is the only one automaker who had released its H1 financial report as of now. BAIC Group reports profits growth of 17% year on year. BAIC Group reported a 9.5% revenue growth and a 17% profit increase in the first half of this year. Moreover, it delivered 1,203,000 vehicles in the first half of this year with an increase of 7.6% from the previous year. According to Daimler's interim fiscal report, the profits of Beijing Benz Automotive Co., Ltd. (Beijing Benz) can be calculated to exceed RMB 11 billion during the first half of 2018, since Daimler is a large shareholder of Beijing Benz. Daimler gained earnings of 371 million euros (about RMB 2.934 billion) from Beijing Benz during the second quarter of this year, leaping 43.8% from a year ago. The earnings for the first half of this year reached 703 euros (about RMB 5.56 billion), jumping 28.28% over the previous year. However, Daimler's earnings gained from BAIC Motor suffered decrease. In the second quarter, Daimler gained earnings of 14 million euros (about RMB 111 million) with a year-on-year decline of 26%, while its earnings during the first half of 2018 suffered a substantial year-on-year drop of 94.01% to RMB 17 million (about RMB 134 million). Due to BAIC Motor's capital increase at the beginning of May, Daimler's equity in BAIC Motor decreased from 10.1% to 9.6%. This is one of the factors that resulted in Daimler's earning slide. During the first half of this year, Beijing Benz delivered 346,000 vehicles with a year-on-year increase of 14%. Its net profit advanced 28.28% on an annual basis, signifying that the average profit of each vehicle was increased. South Sudanese President Salva Kiir said Friday he was committed to a power-sharing deal with his arch-rival Riek Machar, vowing it would not collapse like similar agreements had in the past. The warring parties last month signed a preliminary powersharing deal which they are expected to finalise in Khartoum on Sunday, that will see Machar return to a unity government as the first of five vice presidents. "This agreement will not collapse and I am sure that it will not collapse because the people of South Sudan have now agreed that they must make peace among themselves," Kiir told journalists. He was speaking after meeting Sudanese Foreign Minister Mohamed Aldirdiri who is mediating the peace talks, and confirmed the final agreement would be signed on August 5. South Sudan's nearly five year conflict began after Kiir accused his sacked vice president Machar of plotting a coup against him in 2013. Machar returned to government as vice-president in April 2016 after a power sharing deal, but fighting between the rival sides erupted in Juba just three months later with Machar fleeing into exile where he has remained ever since. The conflict has already killed tens of thousands of people and forced millions from their homes and resisted numerous ceasefires, leaving the country's economy in ruins. While Kiir said he was "committed" to the deal, he highlighted several challenges going forward, especially in accommodating a bloated government. The deal stipulates that there will be 35 ministers in the transitional government -- 20 from Kiir's group and nine from Machar's, while the rest will represent other groups. The parliament will be comprised of 550 lawmakers, including 332 from Kiir's group and 128 from Machar's faction. "They need security, they need vehicles, they need houses ... five vice presidents, this is a very big responsibility to manage. I need to get for them their transport, and one person needs a motorcade of maybe five vehicles. Where will I get this?" said Kiir. "They also need houses where will I get houses, also they need offices so that they work, where will I get offices. So there are so many things need to be done." South Sudan's President Salva Kiir said he is committed to a power-sharing deal with his rival Riek Machar which will advance peace in the country Turkey and the US on Friday failed to resolve a diplomatic standoff over a detained pastor in talks between their top diplomats, with Ankara warning sanctions imposed by Washington would not work. Andrew Brunson, who led a Protestant church in the Aegean city of Izmir, is at the centre of one of the most serious crises in relations between the NATO allies in years. Brunson was moved to house arrest last week following nearly two years in jail on terror-related charges but the change only increased tensions. The US responded to the failure to fully free Brunson by hitting two top Turkish ministers with sanctions, prompting Ankara to threaten reciprocal measures. "We have said from the start that the other side's threatening language and sanctions will not get any result. We repeated this today," Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said after he and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met on the sidelines of a regional security summit in Singapore. Two Turkish employees of US consulates in Turkey are also currently in jail on terror charges and another is under house arrest, while several Americans have been caught up in the crackdown that followed a failed 2016 coup. "I hope they'll see this for what it is, a demonstration that we're very serious," Pompeo said in Singapore of the sanctions. "Brunson needs to come home. As do all the Americans being held by the Turkish government," he added. "They've been holding these folks for a long time. These are innocent people." - 'Relations will never break' - On Friday State Department spokesman Heather Nauert said Pompeo and Cavusoglu had a "constructive conversation" and "agreed to continue to try to resolve the issues between our two countries". Cavusoglu also said the talks were "extremely constructive" but warned in comments to Turkish media that all the issues would not be solved "after one meeting". Turkish Finance Minister and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's son-in-law, Berat Albayrak, said both sides wanted to continue dialogue. "Even couples who are married for 40 years do not agree on every issue. They argue then make up," Albayrak said, adding: "Relations will never break off." Erdogan, who is known for his sometimes provocative anti-Western rhetoric, has yet to comment. He gave an almost two hour policy speech in Ankara Friday, without once referring directly to the tensions. Some analysts have argued Turkey is wary of allowing any further escalation in the crisis, which has already sent the lira to record lows in value against the dollar of above 5 for the first time. The standoff appears to be one of the most serious fallouts between the two NATO allies in modern history, along with the rows over the 1974 Turkish invasion of Cyprus and the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq. The US imposed the sanctions on Justice Minister Abdulhamit Gul and Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu, arguing that both men played a major role in the arrest and detention of the pastor. President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence, who shares Brunson's evangelical Christian faith, have made his release a priority. The pastor denies the charges against him and his defence team argues the case is built on questionable witness statements. His next hearing is set for October 12. Brunson, whose trial began in the spring, faces up to 35 years in jail if convicted. - Manbij roadmap - US-Turkey ties were already strained over US support for a Syrian Kurdish militia which Turkey views as a terrorist group and the failure to extradite Muslim preacher Fethullah Gulen blamed for the 2016 failed putsch. After Ankara launched an offensive in January supporting Syrian rebels against the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) militia in its western enclave of Afrin in Syria, the US called for restraint. But the NATO allies then agreed on a roadmap for the YPG-held Manbij after Ankara threatened to extend the operation to the northern town where there are US forces. Erdogan on Friday said in his Ankara speech that Turkey expected joint efforts regarding Manbij "to continue without being affected by other issues", in a possible indirect reference to the dispute with Washington. Pompeo met Cavusoglu on the sidelines of a regional security meeting in Singapore The US is demanding the release of Andrew Brunson, who led a Protestant church in Izmir before his detention in October 2016 AUBURN For the past seven years, local law enforcement officers have gathered at Dunkin' Donuts shops in Auburn to collect donations for the Special Olympics. But this year, it turned into a friendly competition to see which agency could raise the most money and come out as the cops on top. Early Friday morning, the Auburn Police Department patrolled the Dunkin' Donuts on Grant Avenue while the Cayuga County Sheriff's Office and Auburn Correctional Facility were stationed at the shop on Genesee Street. Armed with buckets and coupons for a free doughnut, the officers asked customers to consider making a donation to support the Special Olympics, a nonprofit organization that provides year-round athletic training and competitions for children and adults with special needs. Michael Murray, a retired sergeant from Auburn Correctional Facility, has participated in the so-called Cops on Top event for years. But this year, he said, it was something special. "With this town, it's tough sometimes because different agencies get caught up with things going on and they can't show up," he said. "This is the first time we've had a couple of good groups to be able to do a friendly competition." Auburn Deputy Police Chief Roger Anthony said this was the Auburn Police Department's first year with the fundraiser, and in addition to competing with the sheriff's deputies and corrections officers at the Genesee Street shop, he said he was personally competing with some of the younger APD officers at his own locale. "It's not only to raise money for a great cause, it's to be more involved in the community," Anthony said. "We've had countless conversations already just standing at the drive-thru, so we're definitely trying to be more involved." Between 6 and 11 a.m., the APD said it collected nearly $2,000 at the Grant Avenue location. As of Friday evening, there was no word on how much the Genesee Street officers had raised. "We're just happy to be participating," APD officer William Morrissey said. "It's another opportunity to help out." Officer Brian Schmitt added, "We hope to keep it going year after year now." Staff writer Megan Blarr can be reached at (315) 282-2282 or megan.blarr@lee.net. Follow her on Twitter @CitizenBlarr. Love 7 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. One of the leading distributors in the adult novelty sector, East Coast Newsaka ECNquietly goes about its business of serving all sizes of adult retailers all around the United States. But what lies behind those three little initials? The team at ECN opened up and shared a few of its secrets for success. Since 1995, ECN has been a force to be reckoned with. Maintaining its status as one of the largest adult toy distributors, ECN boasts a sum of 25,000 products from more than 150 of the industrys manufacturers. Throughout the years, ECN has both acquired and started many integral brands in the adult industry as well. The companys countless nominations for industry awards are evidence of its distinct and vital role in the supply chain. Led by Frank and Michael Koretsky, East Coast News is a spin-off of the brothers successful video distribution business, International Video Distributors (more commonly known as IVD). ECN was originally set up to accommodate the distribution of non-film and non-digital adult products such as print magazines and adult novelties. Over the years, the adult novelty market explodedand the management of East Coast News proudly proclaims its part in propelling this explosion. The Koretsky brothers adopted everything they had learned in video distribution, particularly their goal to implement change ahead of the market. This approach has been integral to their positioning. The principals at ECN never forget why they opened up shop in the first place: the customer. With three warehouses strategically placed across the United States for optimal shipping times, a 24-hour shipping turnaround and a partnership with FedEx, they recognize the importance of timeliness for every order, no matter the size or location. That customer-oriented focus is echoed in the ECN mission statement: Our World Revolves Around You. While East Coast News may work with vendors across the country, manage more than 100 employees, and own warehouses in California, New Jersey and Florida, the ECN team doesnt want to be considered a goliath. ECN clients range from mom and pop shops with one location in rural Arkansas to home party businesses to gigantic websites and everything in between. ECN warehouses are located in California, New Jersey and Florida. The ECN team proudly points to some of these clients, including Rick and Rebecca, owners of the Spice of Life retail store in Florida. We have been sourcing from East Coast News for about five years, the couple explained. Working with a market leader like ECN affords us the ability to one-stop-shop. We dont have to waste time going through different websites to find the products our customers want because of East Coast News inventory offering. We can order online, get an order confirmation with high order fill rate and on-time deliveries. We have been pleased with the partnership attitude their team brings to us. We have started working with their marketing team to add new products and displays in the store with fabulous results. In short, East Coast News offers us full support unlike any other distributor we have worked with. Their experience and support has helped us grow our business. Martin Webster of Pandoras Boxxx shared his own testimonial: After doing business with ECN/IVD for the past 15 years, I can say without reservation that it has been a pleasure. Any issues that have arisen were quickly and efficiently resolved. From minor pain-in-ass questions that we may have had to major rollouts of new product lines, weve always known that ECN has been beside us and willing to support us in whatever ways we needed. We arent the most advanced operation in existence, and still operate in the dark ages in a lot of ways, but ECN works with our quirks and when possible offers suggestions to modernize. Our relationship feels more like a partnership at times. The knowledge of our specific stores and operations allows for focused and valuable suggestions from our sales representative, which eliminates a lot of the noise associated with all of the new shiny products rolled out every year. Im looking forward to our continued relationship moving forward and into the future. The company offers everything its clients might need: drop shipping, in-store event support, a manufacturer resource management portal, and countless educational tools. In the last year, ECN has begun focusing on educational guides for customers and workshops for customers who own brick and mortars. One of the directors of marketing, Peter La Mantia, who is spearheading a lot of customer education initiatives, says, In the last year, we have seen a shift toward education and relationships, which we started being more cognizant of in early 2017. For ECN, its about being a partner to our customer, not just their distributor. In January of this year, ECN launched a free vendor resource portal, where customers can access marketing materials from a number of top manufacturers in the industry. ECN adapts its business model to the increasingly online world, yet still retains its relationship with brick and mortars. If you dont evolve, in any business, you die off. Our distribution process is constantly in flux, always adapted to better accommodate our partners, says Anthony Pingicer, director of marketing on the East Coast. The dedicated staff is another pillar of ECNs success in the adult industry. The working environment seems to be a positive one, considering many staff members have been on board for more than a decade. The head of human resources has been with the company since its doors metaphorically opened in 1995. The longest-tenured salesperson has been with the company for more than 30 years. In 2017, four employees hit the 20-year milestone, adding to the handful that hit that milestone in years prior. Not only do employees seem to like ECN, the customers seem to like the employees. Vice President Lynda Mort received a StorErotica Award nomination for Executive of the Year in 2018, an award designed to honor innovators and leaders in the adult industry. Mort modestly credits the recognition to being surrounded by an amazing team, and our growth and success has everything to do with the collective efforts of all. She adds, In the last few years, ECN has had to grow and adapt new practices and procedures to meet the demands of the market. Our success always come back to listening and integrating the needs of our customers. When we can solve their problems before they have them, we know we are on the right track. The staff takes great measures to stay informed about products and trends and they even host regional training sessions where they invite local retailers and vendors for both networking and continued education.. The first event of 2018 was held in Austin, Texas, and was considered a success by the ECN team. Pingicer explains, We are regularly trained by manufacturers on the latest and greatest items, and we pass that knowledge to our customers on a daily basis. He also says that ECN hosts regional events throughout the year with trusted vendor partners so retailers can learn about new products and brands in more intimate settings. ECN attends a handful of trade shows each year, keeping the crew up-to-date on the newest products from vendors and manufacturers. The salespeople also accompany customers on the show floor, listening to their needs and increasing inventory when applicable. ECN regularly attends the industrys largest trade shows, everything from the AVN Novelty Expo in Las Vegas to eroFame in Germany. Above, setting up for a poolside event at ECN's Spring Warehouse Show. Not only does ECN attend trade shows, they throw their own: the IVD|ECN Fall Show. 2018 marks the companys fourth annual event, with invitations going out to some 60 manufacturers to meet and network with more than 200 retailers, buyers and shop owners. The three-day expo allows attendees to get one-on-one time with manufacturers and studios, support from IVD and ECN sales staff, and network with other retailers. Denise Young of Blush Novelties says that the show helped strengthen her relationships with partners in the adult novelty business and gain feedback on her own company: The IVD|ECN Fall Show provides the perfect space for this. Another vendor, Austin Ferdinand of CalExotics, says that attending the Fall Show helped draw attention to his company. Being able to showcase our product in the main room contributed to our success and drew large crowds throughout the entire show, Ferdinand said. The last three years the IVD|ECN Fall Show was held in rural Stowe, Vermont. For this Septembers show, ECN will move the event to sunny Orlando, Florida. Aside from a customer-service-oriented business model and a reward-based working environment for their staff, ECN also values humanitarian efforts. After Hurricane Harvey struck the gulf coast, ECN partnered with adult novelty retailers Love Shack to distribute relief to the area. All three office locations sent over necessary supplies to a Love Shack location in Lake Charles, Louisiana, to be distributed to East Texas areas that had been affected. ECN went above and beyond and provided a trailer full of boxes filled with essentials [that] will help our Texas friends recover after this tragedy, a Love Shack rep said. We couldnt ask for a better partner to do this with. Frank and Michael understand that with success comes great responsibility. Because of this, and their own core values, ECN is proud to support many charities at a local and national level, from cancer research to LGBTQ rights and more. Family-owned bakery Aulds has placed its retail business into liquidation to focus on its wholesale and production operation. The move is designed to turn around the company, which reported a loss of 430,000 on turnover of 15.4m in the year to 1 April 2017. The retail business has been forced into an unsustainable loss-making position by a combination of pressure from high street and supermarket competition, as well as increasing ingredient, distribution and wage costs, according to the liquidators. All 26 Thomas Auld & Sons stores across Scotland will continue to trade while joint liquidators Paul Dounis and Steve Ross of RSM Restructuring Advisory consult with around 180 Aulds retail staff and assess the retail division with a view to selling all or some of the stores as a going concern. Aulds products will countinue to be available in independent outlets and 50 Scotmid stores supplied by the business, and this will not be impacted by the liquidation of the retail division. Aulds managing director Alan Marr, a fourth-generation descendent of founder Thomas Auld, said the retail liquidation was the only way to protect the rest of the business, which employs a further 200 people. He explained that the move would ensure the survival of the brand and safeguard 200 jobs across its two other subsidiaries: Aulds Bakeries Limited, which manufactures fresh and frozen bakery products, including World Pie Champion Special Pie and Aulds fudge doughnut on a site in Greenock; Aulds Delicious Desserts, which has a manufacturing facility at Inchinnan, supplying the foodservice market with premium desserts, and has grown 8% annually over the past three years. We have invested considerable time and effort over a period of several months looking at alternative courses of action which would allow us to avoid the voluntary insolvency of our retail business, he said. Unfortunately, the losses in our retail business are such that the rest of the group is no longer able to sustain it. We sincerely regret that a significant number of our colleagues will be affected by these circumstances, and well be working closely with local job centres and other services to help people into new jobs if necessary. Marr added that the business passionately believed in its products and was committed to a successful future. Founded in 1900 by Thomas Auld, the company was taken over and led by Thomas nephew, Ian Marr, in the 1950s. The fourth generation of the Auld family joined the business in the 1980s, with Ians children, Fiona and Alan, joining their father. Alan became managing director in 1991. Hickory has a labor shortage. Given our state's recent economic history, that claim may sound incredible. But it's true.Not so long ago, the metropolitan area anchored by Hickory, Morganton, and Lenoir had the weakest labor-market conditions in North Carolina. At its peak in January 2010, the headline unemployment rate hit 15.3 percent in the Hickory metro. That's the highest rate experienced by any North Carolina metro in many decades. The only one that came close was Rocky Mount's 14.8 percent in February 2010.By May 2018, however, the Hickory region had a jobless rate of 3.3 percent - one of the lowest in the state. It is so low, in fact, that it should really be considered below what might be called "full employment" (which does not mean zero-percent joblessness, as there will always be people between jobs in a healthy labor market).In other words, there's now a labor shortage. Jim Studdard, director of operations for the Tenowo Nonwovens plant in Lincolnton, described it to the Hickory Daily Record Studdard said,When North Carolina's economic indicators draw the attention of politicians or the press, the context is often partisan. Republicans point to indicators suggesting an uptick in growth since 2013, when the GOP-majority legislature and then-Gov. Pat McCrory began a concerted effort on regulatory, tax, and budget reforms. Democrats point to other indicators suggesting that North Carolina's recovery from the Great Recession has been markedly weaker than recoveries from other modern recessions.As North Carolina State University economist Mike Walden observed in a recent study of the period , neither side is making up its talking point out of whole cloth. Both are citing accurate statistics - just not the same ones or in the same way.Judging whether public policies or other factors are primarily responsible for economic events is exceedingly difficult. Scholars are still debating the causes of the Great Depression, and the extent to which different phases of the New Deal of the 1930s served to inhibit or hasten America's recovery from it.You can't just eyeball the numbers and draw definitive conclusions. You have to create statistical models that adjust for a variety of factors, and then try to determine the relationship between public policies and economic outcomes. As I have reported many times, most studies of this kind, published by scholars in peer-reviewed journals, conclude that states with higher taxes and heavier regulatory burdens grow more slowly and add fewer jobs than do otherwise comparable states with smaller governments. On the other hand, most studies do not find that public expenditures are associated with stronger growth.The research isn't unanimous, however, and I don't expect progressives to give up their argument against conservative governance anytime soon. Over the most recent 12 months of data, for example, North Carolina's economy has added about 103,000 net new jobs. That's the fastest rate in the Southeast and eighth-fastest rate in the country. In response to this observation, progressives would argue that North Carolina employment would have experienced even faster growth if the state had spent more money on public services, even at the cost of higher taxes.Set aside the partisan argument and ponder what I started this column with: the Hickory metro's dramatic turnaround. Not so long ago, it wasn't irrational to be pessimistic. The manufacturing base had been hollowed out. Jobs were hard to get. People were choosing to live elsewhere.And now? Employers through the Catawba Valley are actively recruiting workers from elsewhere with offers of free job training, signing bonuses, and help finding homes. The big problem is a labor shortage.Remember that the next time someone claims to know precisely what is happening across our complex economy, and what will happen in the future. They can't possibly know for sure. And they ought not to base expensive and intrusive government policies on their potentially faulty guesses. Yesterday, the General Assembly convened a special session to make changes to the process by which constitutional amendments appear on the ballot. During the 2018 short session, which ended last month, the General Assembly gave approval for 6 constitutional amendments to go before voters in November.The changes passed yesterday relate to the responsibilities of The North Carolina Constitutional Amendments Publication Commission (CAPC). Before this week's changes, the commission was responsible for giving each amendment a "caption," which was essentially a short title. Now each amendment will simply be captioned "constitutional amendment."House Rules Chair Rep. David Lewis (R-Harnett) stated that the change was made due to concerns of bias and outside influence on CAPC.CAPC was created in 1983 and is comprised of three ex officio state officials, Secretary of State Elaine Marshall (D), Director of Legislative Services Paul Coble (R) and Attorney General Josh Stein (D).Prior to yesterday's changes, the commission had two duties as prescribed by law . The first was to write a summary of each amendment and make it available to the public at least 75 days prior to the election. Summary language is distributed to county board of elections and is available in printed form to all citizens or news outlets. CAPC summaries are for informational purposes but do not appear on the ballot itself.In 2016, the General Assembly created a second duty for the commission: to add a short caption to each amendment on the ballot. This is the duty that was revoked during yesterday's short session.To be clear: CAPC has never played a role in determining the language of the constitutional amendments as they appear on the ballot. The ballot language is now and has always been determined by the General Assembly. The 2016 change would have allowed the commission to contribute a short title for the amendments. Since no constitutional amendments have been considered since that change, CAPC never actually exercised that responsibility.Previous constitutional amendments have not needed a CAPC-generated caption to be understood by voters. Reasonable arguments exist on both sides as to whether or not a true threat of bias exists. There is no past record to reference, however, since CAPC has never actually captioned amendments on ballots. Either way, the captions will now simply read "constitutional amendment." This is the most neutral language possible. House Bill 3 , the legislation that bypassed the caption-writing duties of CAPC and replaced it with the generic language, passed the House with a vote of 67-36 along party lines. It passed the Senate with a 27-14 vote, with Democrat Senator Joel Ford (Mecklenburg) voting yes and Republican Senators Wesley Meredith (Cumberland) and Trudy Wade (Guilford) voting no.The General Assembly also used the special session to consider Senate Bill 3 . The legislation makes changes to the qualifications for partisan labeling of judicial candidates on the ballot. Under the new rule, a judicial candidate must be registered with a political party for at least 90 days before the election filing period in order for the party designation to appear beside his or her name on the ballot. If a candidate changed his or her registration less than 90 days before filing, he or she will not be labeled with a party affiliation. The change seems to be motivated by the candidate filings in this year's State Supreme Court race, in which candidate Chris Anglin filed as a Republican after changing his registration from Democrat only weeks earlier.Senate Bill 3 also passed the House with a party-line vote. In the Senate, the bill passed with Senator Ford again joining Republicans to support the measure and Republican Senators Meredith, Wade, and Danny Britt (Columbus) opposing the bill.The bills were sent to Governor Cooper to sign into law or veto. The rules adopted by the House and Senate to govern the special session each included provisions to allow for veto override votes to occur on the same day that a veto message is received from the governor. Should Beaufort County's commissioners be resolved to ask the federal government to defend our Southern Border by ending the Biden /Harris Open Border policy in regards to that one border that is intentionally made OPEN? Yes, Illegal Migrants are a huge expense to local governments. No, the cost of Undocumented Immigrants is insignificant in providing a pathway for the "Browning of America". From the National Archives, the Public Domain: George McClellan meets Abraham Lincoln: Above. It's popular these days to talk about the potential outbreak of a second Civil War. I've not been immune to that sentiment - I've probably used that language in the past. When you're passionately involved in politics, it's easy to get caught up in the urgency of the problems emerging before the country. It's even easier to spot in every headline the possibility of underlying ugly trends breaking out into something far uglier.But the truth is that our constant talk about a second Civil War is making a second Civil War more likely.Yesterday, Victor Davis Hanson, an author I greatly admire, wrote a piece at National Review talking about the outbreak of a second Civil War. Hanson writes:He attributes this factionalism to globalization, high tech, campus radicalism, illegal immigration, and the intersectional politics of Barack Obama. I agree with a lot of his analysis of the problems facing the country, particularly when he suggests that we have lost our spiritual and religious moorings. But one of the problems with calling for a revival of civility, reason, and values-laden thinking while warning of a second Civil War is that war inherently dismisses civility, reason, and values.My friend Dennis Prager similarly talks about a second American Civil War. He wrote last year,And, of course, Dinesh D'Souza has a new film, Death of a Nation, coming out in which he compares Donald Trump to Abraham Lincoln; in the trailer, D'Souza says,There is something in human beings that loves war, or at least the idea of war - the ideas of solidarity, existential purpose, bravery supposedly reified. War actually carries with it the worst of human activity: violence, brutality, cruelty.Yet our politicians are constantly talking about wars: the war on poverty, the war on Christmas, the war on crime, the war on drugs. Jonah Goldberg has been quite forceful about the use of such language in his Liberal Fascism; such language, Goldberg argues, essentially states that "the experts and scientists know what to do...the time for debate is over.""The time for debate is over" is indeed the sense we get from the language of Civil War - we're at a precipice, and all means necessary to averting defeat become appropriate. Thus, it's unsurprising to see a new poll that shows that 40% of Republicans are either fine with Russian interference in elections to help Republicans, or don't strongly object to it. After all, if it means stopping Hillary Clinton and the Democrats, you don't get to choose your allies.Similarly, on the Left, the aversion to casting out Antifa or radicals like Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) who suggest physically confronting members of political opposition has been weak. When you're fighting "fascists like Trump," all options are on the table.Now, there are real and important conflicts in America - over our future, our past, and our central principles. And no, blame shouldn't be equally apportioned when it comes to the underlying conflicts that are dividing us: the Left's increasing radicalism means that they want to use the federal government to cram down values in violation of basic liberties. But we still live in a country where rational conversation is possible, and where convincing others is a solution to real conflict. Suggesting that all gaps are unbridgeable merely makes the apocalypse more likely. Ironically, by talking about war, we encourage people to gird themselves for battle - not to return to decency in order to avert war.So no, we're not in the middle of a Civil War or about to fight one. We are in a time when conversation is more necessary than ever. And calling people to arms is a great way to prevent people from having those conversations. This resource is no longer available This resource is no longer available. Return to previous page. Armando Frank, 44, refused to get off his tractor when stopped by police. He demanded to see an arrest warrant. But the cops arresting him didn't have time for that sort of legal stuff. So they attacked him, then killed him when he resisted. A video recording of the arrest, obtained by The Advocate, shows officers growing frustrated with Frank, 44, after he refuses to step down from a tractor near a Walmart store along La. 1. A use-of-force expert who reviewed the 10-minute recording at the newspaper's request says the law officers escalated the exchange by placing Frank in a choke hold and attempting to yank him off the tractor. A forensic pathologist hired by the parish had said in a report that manual strangulation was the primary cause of Frank's death. The video shows Spillman mount the tractor behind Frank and apply a choke hold while another officer tries to pull him down. For a time, Frank is doubled-over while resisting. Officers had to carry Frank to a patrol car after his body went limp. The killers' names are Brandon Spillman and Alexander Daniel, deputies in Avoyelles parish, and Marksville, La., police officer Kenneth Parnell. It is completely reasonable to receive a calm, detailed answer when you are asked why you are being arrested, rather than being executed in the street by enraged, screaming, out-of-control cops: "There's no exigent circumstance here. He's not attempting to flee, he's not assaulting anybody, he's sitting on a tractor and he's asking reasonable questions they are refusing to answer," said a use-of-force expert interviewed by The Advocate. The arrest warrant was for simple trespassing, in connection with a dispute Frank was reportedly engaged in with his neighbors. If you're from just about anywhere in the world, with the exception of the United States, beginning this week you'll find that visiting Canada will feel a whole lot more invasive. Moving forward, it will be necessary for all foreign nationals to provide Canadian Immigration officials with their fingerprints and photographs, if they're applying for a visitor's visa, work permit, want to attend a Canadian university, or if they wish to apply for a work permit or status as a permanent resident. From The Daily Hive: A spokesperson for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) told Daily Hive that "new regulations will support the expansion of biometric collection to all applicants from Europe, the Middle East and Africa who are applying abroad for a temporary resident visa, work permit, study permit, or permanent residence." The spokesperson noted that IRCC currently collects biometrics from "in-Canada refugee claimants, overseas refugee resettlement applicants, individuals ordered removed from Canada, and individuals from 30 foreign nationalities applying for a temporary resident visa, work permit, or study permit." Now, here's the creepy part. Canada will be sharing the data they collect on each person entering the country with the Migration Five/Five Country Conference: The United States, Australia, the United Kingdom and New Zealand. For those keeping track at home, these same nations also comprise the Five Eyes intelligence sharing alliance, which, as Edward Snowden was kind enough to warn us about back in 2013, has been spying on one another's citizens as a way of circumventing laws that keep Five Eyes member countries from spying on their own people. According to Canadian Government, the biometric information collected under this new initiative "will be shared in a manner that is consistent with Canada's privacy laws, civil liberties and human rights obligations/commitments, including the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms." Sure. If you want to find out whether you'll need to submit your biometric information as part of your visit to Canada, you can do so, here. Image via Pixabay SIM Swapping is a powerful form of fraud in which criminals convince the phone company to switch your phone number to a SIM they control; once they have your phone number, they can bypass the SMS-based two-factor authentication protecting your cryptocurrency wallets, social media accounts, and other valuable systems. A lot of SIM Swap attacks are pure social engineering: a fraudster just telephones the phone company and fast-talks a low-waged, low-level call-center employee into thinking that it's you on the phone, and that you're switching carriers and need to have your number ported over. But there's a lot of money in SIM Swapping, and so it's cost effective for crooks to just bribe phone company employees into helping with the scam (the scammers call these insiders "plugs"). Telco employees who reveal their employer on social media are increasingly targeted by criminals who offer them thousands of dollars to act as a reliable helper for SIM Swap scams. The internal controls and auditing on SIM swapping are incredibly loose, meaning that "plugs" can get away with it for a long time. A few telco employees who'd been solicited by criminals talked to Motherboard about their experiences (they all turned down the fraudsters). It's not known how many telco employees accepted these offers and are possibly helping to steal your phone number at this very second. As I explained earlier, this is security economics 101: the phone companies assume that low-level employees who steal phone numbers only stand to gain the ability to make an anonymous call or two, or save on long-distance. But thanks to SMS-based authentication, these low-level insiders are now all that stands between you and thousands of dollars in losses. An employee who works for AT&T told me that if a criminal finds a corrupt insider, "there aren't enough safeguards to stop that employee," in his opinion. The employee himself said he has not been approached, and has no direct experience with SIM swapping fraud, but said the system is designed so that some employees have the ability to override security features such as the phone passcode that AT&T (and other companies) now require when porting numbers. "From there the passcode can be changed," the employee said in an online chat, referring to a customer information portal that they showed Motherboard. "With a fresh passcode the number can be ported out with no hang ups." Dixon entertained the criminal's proposal, given that it sounded like an easy job. "Any T-Mobile rep can go into the account and just change the SIMs. That's part of what T-mobile gives us access to," Dixon told me in a phone call. How Criminals Recruit Telecom Employees to Help Them Hijack SIM Cards [Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai/Motherboard] If you want to be a good host during the next get-together at your place, you need enough space to seat all your guests. Sure, a snazzy 10-foot table would do the trick, but that would be downright excessive when guests aren't around. Not to mention, it would take up way too much space. That's READ THE REST The official story of the Trump administration's family separation policy is that it came about as a result of "zero tolerance" in which every person who could be charged with a crime would be, and that meant that parents were arrested too, and since the parents were going to jail, their kids had to be held somewhere. But as Congress has delved into the process, grilling the Trump officials who enforced the policy, an even crueler, more awful picture has emerged. It turns out that border guards charged "less than a third" of the adults who crossed the border since the policy began but that they preferentially brought charges against parents so they could take their kids away. In other words, child separation wasn't the inadvertent side-effect of a zero-tolerance policy. There is no zero-tolerance policy. There is only a family separation policy. The Trump administration's decision to break from past practices and seek the criminal prosecution of every adult accused of crossing the border illegally, including asylum-seeking parents arriving with their children, was part of a sweeping series of actions spearheaded by Sessions, his former aide turned White House adviser Stephen Miller, and former DHS chief turned White House chief of staff John Kelly, and have been underway since Trump's first week in office. It began with a pilot program in Texas last summer before going border-wide in the spring. Thousands of families were pulled apart in the process. Kids taken from their parents were sent to approximately 100 centers around the country; hundreds of parents were deported without them. While the project was premised on the idea that everyone eligible for prosecution would be charged an embrace of the law and order rhetoric Trump bellowed about on the campaign trail government data published last week by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse at Syracuse University indicated that, in fact, many adults who crossed the border without children during the height of "zero tolerance" were not prosecuted. "Since less than a third of adults apprehended illegally crossing the border were actually referred for prosecution, the stated justification does not explain why this administration chose to prosecute parents with children over prosecuting adults without children who were also apprehended in even larger numbers," the analysis noted. Trump Officials Were Warned That Family Separations Would Traumatize Children [Ryan Devereaux/The Intercept] (Image: Sarahmirk, CC-BY-SA) Joe Parris (@KTVBJoe) lit the internet on fire today with this tweet: #Breaking About 100 goats are on the loose right now in a #Boise neighborhood. They are going house to house eating everything in sight. Nobody has a clue where they came fromupdates to follow Full details here, in Joe's story for KTVB in Idaho: Neighbors say the herd showed up on Summerwind Drive off of Five Mile Road at about 7 a.m., and got to work, snacking on lawns and flower bushes, and stripping the leaves from trees. Animal Control responded to the scene with a single truck, but quickly realized that wasn't going to be enough. More. The goats are taking a toll on residents' landscaping, munching every leaf and flower before moving on to the next yard. The ravenous herd has drawn a crowd of onlookers, with children and neighbors standing in the street to watch and snap photos. At about 8:30 a.m., a large truck from the company We Rent Goats pulled up on the street and began trying to load up the hungry herd. The company rents out herds of goats to clear weeds and help with fire suppression on private land and public property. KTVB has learned the goats had been grazing nearby when they somehow escaped and set off on a snacking tour of the neighborhood. In an interview with Democracy Now, Noam Chomsky talks about Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega's bullshit and what responsibility the United States bears for the current state of the South American nation. If you're interested in reading a transcript of Chomsky's comments, you'll find it, here. If you're one of the millions of (disproportionately black and brown) people who have been put behind bars in America, there's a good chance you use Jpay (previously) to communicate with your family. Jpay calls itself a "software company focused on building and delivering innovative inmate service-applications." They provide messaging apps that run on tablets and charge gigantic service fees for transmitting simple text messages (they charge by the "page"), with even higher fees for photos and video clips. They call these fees "stamps" (like a digital postage stamp) and they hike up the price of stamps around holidays like Mother's Day, to make it more expensive for imprisoned mothers to hear from their children or for inmates to communicate with their mothers. At the same time, Jpay has worked with prison officials to ban most kinds of physical mail on the grounds that letters and photos might be used as blotter paper and soaked with illegal drugs before being mailed to inmates. So if you want to communicate with your loved ones, Jpay is the only game in town. Staying connected to family is highly correlated with successful prisoner reintegration after incarceration. Jpay isn't just destroying the lives of current prisoners, it's increasing the likelihood that they'll end up back in prison again, making them into repeat customers. JPay began in 2002 as a prison money-wiring service, offering a quicker alternative for families who wanted to mail a money order to incarcerated loved ones. The expediency came with a price: The fees for each transaction could be as high as $11.95. When JPay launched its e-messaging services in 2004, it pitched it as a way of fostering closer relationships between prisoners and the outside world. "Part of JPay's mission is to provide technology[that] empowers those individuals with access to educational tools and assists in their overall rehabilitation process," says Jade Trombetta, JPay's senior manager of brand marketing and social media. She declined to explain the reasoning behind JPay's prices or price fluctuations. "We have nothing more to say on the matter," she told WIRED. Captive Audience: How Companies Make Millions Charging Prisoners to Send An Email [Victoria Law/Wired] Two days ago, a source leaked the existence of "Project Dragonfly", a super-secret Google plan to create a censored search-tool for use in China. The Intercept's blockbuster scoop on the project caught Google's management flatfooted, with many of the key people involved off on summer holidays. This has left a vacuum in which Google's most outspoken, ethically conscious employees have been able to seize control over the internal discussion. Google's most senior management were recently forced to abandon billions in future Pentagon AI projects when Googlers rose up against "Project Maven," the pilot program for this work. "Everyone's access to documents got turned off, and is being turned on [on a] document-by-document basis," said one source. "There's been total radio silence from leadership, which is making a lot of people upset and scared. Our internal meme site and Google Plus are full of talk, and people are a.n.g.r.y." On a message board forum for Google employees, one staff member posted a link to The Intercept's story alongside a note saying that they and two other members of their team had been asked to work on the Chinese censorship project, code-named Dragonfly. "In my opinion it is just as bad as the leak mentions," the employee wrote, adding that they had asked their manager to be removed from the project because they were uncomfortable with it. Another member of the team, the employee said, had decided to quit Google in large part due to concerns about Dragonfly. "I had a meeting with my [vice president] about the project before leaving [it]. This was a short meeting for me, because my [vice president] refused to provide any information without me basically agreeing to a verbal [nondisclosure agreement]," noted the employee. "She did reemphasize that they had good reasons to keep all that private: they didn't want the project to leak externally! That was enough for me to fuck off [from the group working on Dragonfly]." Google Struggles to Contain Employee Uproar Over China Censorship Plans [Ryan Gallagher/The Intercept] Amazon has, over the past few years, become known as a notoriously bad company to work for. Workers from their fulfillment centers, worldwide, complain of low wages, dangerous working conditions, and a stressful environment that tracks every single move that their employees make, right down to how long it takes them to go to the bathroom. Thanks to this in-depth report from The Guardian, you can go on ahead add the company's refusal to care for their employees in the wake of a workplace injury to the list of reasons to never go to work for Jeff Bezos' crew. The Guardian frames the report by telling the story of Vickie Shannon Allen: a 49 year-old woman who was employed by Amazon at one of their warehouses in the southern United States. Last year, Allen was injured at work, as the station that she manned was missing a piece of equipment designed to keep the packages she was handling from falling to the floor. With Amazon refusing to resolve the issue, Allen positioned a bin to catch any parcels that might fall and be damagedshe made the mistake of giving a shit. By making the change to her work station, she was forced to stand in a manner that was not as ergonomic as it could be. As a result, over time, she ended up with a back injury. The injury made it difficult to move her arm which, in turn, made it difficult to do her job. Her managers began to send her home on a regular basis as she was unable to keep up with the hectic pace they demanded. She ended up on worker's compensation. From The Guardian: Once on workers compensation, Allen started going to physical therapy. In January 2018, she returned to work and injured herself again on the same workstation that still was not fixed. Allen went back on medical leave and took an additional two weeks of unpaid leave because she didn't have the money to drive to work. In April 2018, an MRI scan showed her back was still injured, but just five days after her diagnosis, she claims Amazon's workers compensation insurer, Sedgwick, had the company doctor drop her as a patient. "By June 2018, they finally had that station fixed. It took them eight months to put one little brush guard on this station," Allen said. On 2 July, she met with management at the Amazon fulfillment center, who offered her a week of paid leave for the issues she had to deal with over the past nine months. Given that Allen, due to her lack of employment was now living out of her car at the time that the paltry payment was offered to her, it could have been tempting to take the money, and run. But Here's the shit and giggle part: Amazon would only hand it over to her is Allen agreed to sign off on a contract which stated that she wouldn't bad mouth the company. Enraged by the way she'd been treated, she refused and ended up telling her story to The Guardian. Allen's not the only one: The Guardian points out that Amazon has been listed by the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health as one of the 12 most dangerous places to work in the United States, citing a number of cases from across the country where Amazon's dangerous working conditions led to its employees being injured and then discarded like so much hot garbage. Image via Flickr, courtesy of Scott Lewis News / Local by Stephen Jakes Mthwakazi activist Hloniphani Ncube has said Zimbabweans plunged their lives to a serious risk when they allowed a thug with a clear record of being a villain and a gross violater of human rights Emmerson Mnangagwa to take the responsibility of leadership with a gun."It is know by everyone that Mnangagwa is a heartless master planner of the horrific gukurahundi and a trained villain specifically to kill civilians without ammunition. What we are witnessing today are the symptoms of a leader who has been graduated with a Phd in the demonic spheres of implementing cold blood murder of desperate civilians crying for better livelihood," he said."As a citizen of Mthwakazi by conscience and a citizen of Zimbabwe through oppressive arrangements, I condemn the loss of human lives under the watch of the toothless multilateral institutions that are present in Zimbabwe during these flawed elections. Part of the reasons why Mthwakazi wants to do away with Zimbabwe is that, we have witnessed enough killings of the innocent lives. For how long shall the world watch our people dying day and night through at the hands of these demon possessed military leaders."He said as a peaceful loving citizen of Mthwakazi, they condemn with the strongest terms the killing of innocent and desperate people in Harare."Human beings deserves to be treated with dignity and the right to life and the key right to protest peacefully without loosing their lives. People must be given the opportunity to choose their desired leaders under a conducive and fair environment. The world must entrust people with humanity skills to take position of leadership paticularly in multilateral institutions such as SADC, AU, COMESA and EU amongst others so that we do not have doomed toothless and clueless multilateral organisations," he said. News / National by Staff Reporter 50.8% 44.3% Emmerson Mnangagwa of Zanu-PF has won the 2018 presidential elections and has become the next president of Zimbabwe. ZEC chairperson has thanked the people and government of Zimbabwe.Priscilla Chigumba has expressed her condolences to the families of those who lost their lives on the 1st of August.Mnangagwa: 2 460 463 -Chamisa: 2 147 436 votes -Earlier on before the announcement, two MDC Alliance officials, Morgan Komichi and Nelson Chamisa's spokesperson Dr Nkululeko Sibanda, stormed the results room and denounced the votes claiming that they are fake and the MDC had not verified them.More to follow... News / National by Stephen Jakes The peaceful atmosphere that prevailed on Election Day has been disturbed by the tensions that engulfed the nation after a deadly crackdown on MDC Alliance protesters in Harare.Habakkuk Trust said the Zimbabwean National Army soldiers fired live rounds of ammunition on unarmed civilians during a protest in the capital over allegations of delays in announcing the Presidential election results and rigging by Zimbabwe Electoral Commission."Frustrated by the perceived delay, opposition party supporters took to the streets; destroying and looting property prompting the army to heavily descend on the civilians in a bid to disperse them. Three people were reportedly killed while several others were injured," said the trust."Despite several calls for peace leading to the subsequent signing of peace pledges by contesting political parties, the post-election period has been marred by violence. Political parties have failed to adhere to the peace pledge which seeks to collectively promote a climate of peace and tolerance in all electoral processes."The trust said the main opposition and the state have both refused to take the blame for the skirmishes that claimed the lives of innocent civilians."The unfortunate incident comes at a time when the country is working towards building lasting peace and social cohesion through the establishment of a National Peace and Reconciliation Commission," said the trust."Uncertainty continues to grip Bulawayo which is an opposition stronghold where the ruling party only managed to salvage one seat out of 13 National Assembly seats. The security sector is on high alert as armoured vehicles and heavy security detail roam the streets of Bulawayo. This has compounded fears of intimidation and violence that may follow if the electorate disputes the Presidential election."Habakkuk Trust said it will continue to monitor the fragile post-election period and input on recommendations towards peace building and tolerance in communities affected by post-election violence. News / National by Mafu Sithabile The National Patriotic Front (NPF) condemns, in the strongest sense. the deployment of the army in the streets of Harare which result. in soldiers firing live ammunition at unarmed civilians, some vendors. others commuters rushing home, after violence erupted in the central business district. We note with concern, the consistent illegal deployment of the army against civilians in contravention of sections 213 (1) a. section 213 (b) read with section 214 of the Zimbabwe constitution starting with the ugly events of the November 15 2017 coup. The constitution of Zimbabwe only empowers the President to deploy the army [Section 213 (1) (a)] in accordance with provisions of Section 214 which allows the President to deploy the any to assist in the maintenance of law and order after causing parliament to be informed "promptly and in appropriate detail' of the reason of their deployment. We also note. with concern claims by Commissioner General of Police Godwin Matanga, in a television press conference attended by his boss, Minister of Home Affairs, Obert Mpofu. that he deployed the army yesterday to bolster police efforts at maintaining law and order in contravention of the constitutional provisions we have outline above. We regret to note that Zimbabwe has muted into a fully fledged military dictatorship and the illegal deployment of soldiers on to the streets and the recklesss use of live ammunition on unarmed civilians yesterday in the full glare of the international media accredited to cover our elections has confined what the NPF has always argued that the military takeover of government last year has brought into power, a monster regime that is 'prepared to shoot in order to stay in power as accurately disclosed by Minister of State for Masvingo Province Josiah Hungwe a close Mnangagwa loyalist. We hold President Mnangagwa, as commander-in-chief of the defence forces and President of the country, responsible for the deaths of civilians as a result of the barbaric and wanton use of live ammunition on civilians yesterday as he is the only official with the prerogative to deploy the army in line with provisions of the constitution. If President Mnangagwa as claimed by Commissioner General Matanga, isn't the one who deploy the army, then whoever deployed the army staged a coup and should be charged with treason and relevant provisions of our domestic laws should be invoked to deal with the culprits. It is sad and immoral that the army has arrogated itself powers to publicly flog citizens outside any legal order empowering them to and one wonders what kind of a society we have become. We take this opportunity to convey our heartfelt and deepest condolences, to the families bereaved as a result of the barbaric actions we witness. in the streets of Harare yesterday and we hope justice will be made available to them and compensation given for the loss of their loved ones. We also urge fellow political parties to exercise restraint and urge their supporters to remain calm and make use of available legal channels to address whatever grievances emanating from the administration of the election. We also urge SADC, the AU, EU and UN to take seriously, our earlier submissions about the November 15 2017 coup whose ramifications are evident in the events witness. yesterday. It is clear that Zimbabwe is under military rule and until deliberate efforts are made, with the assistance of the bodies mention above, it will be difficult for the country to return to constitutionalism and the use of the military in government will continue for years. It is our considered submission that a military junta can never preside over processes that can lead to the return to civilian rule hence the need for the creation of a platform supervised by SADC, AU and the UN where stakeholders, including political parties, the church, civil society and representatives of the junta, are forced to map a way forward that can lead the country back to civilian rule. Elections run by the military junta cannot yield a constitutional government and yesterday events show how futile an electoral solution presided over by the junta could be. We believe Zimbabweans have to find each other now and the international community has a moral duty to help us out of this political crisis. Jealousy Mawarire Spokesperson National Patriotic Front The National Patriotic Front (NPF) has issued a press statement condemning the deployment of the army and the murder of unarmed civilians.NPF holds Mnangagwa responsible for the deaths of civilians arguing he is the only person who can deploy the army as Commander In Chief.We publish the full statement below: News / National by Mafu Sithabile Verification Process Parliamentary, legal and civil rights watchdog, Veritas, has said that Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec) chairperson Justice Priscilla Chigumba was not correct when she claimed that the agents for the presidential candidates had to be present at the verification process of the results. Commenting on the inexplicable delay in announcing presidential results by the electoral commission, Veritas said,The totals on the V.23B forms are collated and verified with the results on the V.11 forms for the Presidential elections. Anyone experienced in using Excel spread sheets could do this simply and quickly.As the V11 forms were sent straight to the ZEC National Command Centre in Harare the arithmetic could have been done immediately to verify the later returns coming in via the ward and constituency officers.And then the results should be announcedQuote from today's (Thursday) edition of The Herald:"The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission [ZEC] says it will start releasing results of the Presidential eletions from the constituencies across the country after completing the legal processes prescribed by law. Justice Priscilla Chigumba said after the release of the constituency results, the electoral body will proceed to announce the full tally from the Presidential results.She said collation of the Presidential results is done at the National Results Centre and the V11 form returns are already at the centre for verification in the presence of all the 23 Presidential candidates' representatives."The presidential candidates' agents have to be there for the verification process," said Justice Chigumba. "They have to sift through the V11 forms and actually agree with the tally."This is not correct. Candidates' agents do not have to be present at this verification process. They merely have to be notified of the time and place and given an opportunity to be present [Electoral Act, section 110(3)(c)to (e)].Candidates' agents had the opportunity to check the V11 forms at the polling stations, the totals on the V.23A forms at the ward centres and the totals on the V.23B forms at the constituency centres. The idea that a candidate's agent can hold up the final announcement of results by his or her absence is not credibleThe delays in announcing results, and the specious reasons given for them, are just causing suspicion and taking many Zimbabwean back to the bad memories of the 2008 elections where similar delays led to disputed results. News / National by Mafu Sithabile Parliamentary, legal and civic rights watchdog Veritas has said that according to the Constitution, only the President can deploy members of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces. Veritas also said that section 37 of the Public Order and Security Act (POSA) which the police claim to have invoked is invalid. Speaking on the deaths of civilians after soldiers were deployed to contain a protest by opposition supporters, Veritas says,What the Law and Constitution Say on the Deployment of the MilitaryOn Wednesday in Harare supporters of the MDC Alliance demonstrated to vent their anger at the delay in announcing the presidential election results. Their belief was that the delay indicated the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission and the incumbent government were using it to manipulate the election results. The demonstration turned into a riot with some of the demonstrators throwing stones and setting fires in the middle of the streets. The army was called in to assist the police quell the riots, gunfire was heard throughout the city and three people were killed, many injured and three more subsequently died. There were innocent bystanders and passers-by that were caught up police and army blitz and witness reports claim that some of the dead and injured were shot in the back.This bulletin outlines the legal and constitutional provisions about the Defence Forces being employed to assist the police in maintaining law and order.When can the Defence Forces be Deployed in Zimbabwe?Section 213 of the Constitution states that "only the President, as Commander-in-Chief", has power to authorise the deployment of the Defence Forces, and that, with his authority, they may be deployed within Zimbabwe "in support of the Police Service in the maintenance of public order".Obviously, the Defence Forces should not be deployed lightly. Their members are trained to kill rather than to use peaceful means of persuasion. They are the ultimate coercive arm of the State, to be used only as a last resort when gentler ways of compelling citizens to obey the law have failed. That is why the Constitution reserves to the President the right to order their deployment.According to reports, the army was called in at the instance of the Police in terms of section 37 of the Public Order and Security Act, which reads:"If, upon a request made by the Commissioner of Police, the Minister [of Home Affairs] is satisfied that any regulating authority [i.e. a senior police officer] requires the assistance of the Defence Forces for the purpose of suppressing any civil commotion or disturbance in any police district, he may request the Minister responsible for defence to authorise the Defence Forces to assist the police in the exercise of their functions under this Act in the police district concerned."The section does not mention the President at all, and to the extent that it seems to give the Minister of Defence power to authorise the Defence Forces to assist the police, it is unconstitutional.A further point is that Vice-President Chiwenga has been appointed as Minister of Defence, and his entitlement to hold that portfolio is open to challenge since section 215 of the Constitution states that the President must appoint a Minister not a Vice-President to be responsible for the Defence Forces.It is unlikely that the deployment was in fact ordered by the Minister without involving the President, but if that is what happened then the deployment was illegal. If on the other hand the President did, in fact, authorise the deployment then it was lawful under the Constitution regardless of any deficiency in section 37 of the Public Order and Security Act or any defect in Vice-President Chiwenga's appointment.Was the killing of civilians legal?Whether the members of the Defence Forces were trying to restore order on the authority of the President under section 213 of the Constitution or on the authority of the Minister of Defence under section 37 of the Public Order and Security Act, in either event, they are bound to obey the law like everyone else in Zimbabwe. While they can use whatever reasonable force is needed to quell a riot, they are not entitled to kill anyone because the right to life is inviolable under the Constitution.Although most of the human rights guaranteed by the Declaration of Rights can be limited in terms of section 86 of the Constitution, and although the Constitution allows courts to impose the death penalty in limited circumstances, the right to life cannot otherwise be limited and no one may violate it: see section 86(3)(a) of the Constitution. Hence if soldiers or police officers shot and killed the three civilians yesterday, they did so illegally however necessary they may have believed the killing to be. News / National by Mafu Sithabile The Zimbabwe Republic Police is moving about in the Harare central business district encouraging business owners to open their shops for business.The development follows two days after the army used live bullets on civilians after they were deployed into the city centre to quell protests by opposition supporters which had turned rowdy.At least six people have died. Yesterday, soldiers were patrolling the city centre calling on people to behave although the government denied issuing an official order to that effect.View the video on the link below. News / National by AFP Zimbabwe's opposition leader Nelson Chamisa on Friday insisted that he won the country's landmark election, calling the official results "fraudulent, illegal, illegitimate and characterised by serious credibility gaps"."We won this election and we are ready to form the next government," Chamisa told a press conference, after President Emmerson Mnangagwa of the ruling Zanu-PF was declared victor with 50.8%of the vote.Chamisa says he would not attend Mnangagwa inauguration.Journalists are asking Chamisa to share proof of rigging and how he will "fight" Mnangagwa who has police and military on his sideChamisa said, "You may think that. We have institutions that support the will of the people.He continued with the claim that ZEC rigged results and refuses to allow them to verify.Chamisa claims MDC results show he had 2.3 million votes and Mnangagwa under 2 million, that gives him 56% and Mnangagwa 44% News / Press Release by Israel Dube MLO condemns in all possible terms the killing of innocent civilians by the Zimbabwe National Army in the streets of Harare on 1 August 2018. There is no justification for sending the army to shoot and kill unarmed civilians. This shows how the junta government will conduct itself in future.We send our heartfelt condolences to the families and relatives of those who lost their lives.The MDC Alliance is also to blame as some of its leaders clearly incited violence before and after the counting of votes. The same goes for ZEC which conducted the announcement of election results like a fashion show. Priscilla Chigumba and her team would come on stage, announce results from 7 constintuances, disappear to go and change clothes and return to the stage again looking like real beauty queens and kings with another bunch of results. While being swanky they kept masses in suspense and suspecting that something untoward was going on.MLO notes with sadness that the Zanupf government has a track record of bloody violence that can be tracked as far back as 1980 elections. During this period Zanupf held violent campaigns across the country.Masses were intimidated, beaten and forced to vote Zanupf. ZAPU was totally banned from campaigning in Mashonaland and only campaigned in Matabeleland and Midlands yet Britain that oversaw the process went on to declare Zanupf as the winner of the elections. This led to the forced unitary and defacto one party state in 1987.From 1981 to 1987 Zanupf went on an ethnic cleansing process in Matabeleland that targeted ZAPU and Matabele civilians. The situation degenerated to a genocide with Emmerson Mnangagwa referring to Matabeles as cockroaches that needed to be exterminated. Britain, as the latest information suggests, protected the genocide perpetrators from facing prosecution in exchange of safety of their business interests. Election of 1985 were held in the middle of Matabeleland genocide and bloodbath and again the world misinformed and mislead by Britain endorsed the elections as free andfair.In 2000 to 2008 we saw the reemergence of both physical and psychological violence targeted at opposition supporters and the white community. War vets, green bombers and Zanupf Women's League threatened, beat and even killed people.On 15 November we saw the Zimbabwe National Army staging a coup dubbed "operation restore legacy". But the fact of the matter is that the army poked its nose into Zanupf factional fights to depose the sitting president and replace him with their own favourite candidate. Guess who is back to support her blood soaked first born child! Yes it is Britain. First it endorsed the coup and it will declare the elections as free and fair. The unholy and bloody relationship between Zanupf and Britain is strong again. Cry my beloved Matabeleland! The coloniser and her proxy are back together.Under the direction and authority of Matebeleland Liberation Organisation Supreme Council, The President of M.L.O. Paul Siwela served the British government under the leadership of David Cameron and Zimbabwe government under the leadership of Robert Gabriel Mugabe with Notices of Demand for The Restoration of Matebeleland State on 5 December 2015 and 7 December 2015 respectively.Both addressees acknowledged receipt of The Notices by signing for them. Surprisingly, the government of Zimbabwe deeps its head in the sand regarding this important issue. What do they want us to do? Should we take the route of violence so that they listen to us?Israel DubeMLO Secretary for Information an Public Affairs What Its Like To Audition To Be A Playboy Bunny In 2018 Trending News: This Is What It's Really Like To Audition For Playboy Long Story Short A New York-based writer auditioned to be a Playboy Bunny. And, her experience was enlightening. Long Story Have you heard? The Playboy Club is returning to New York City and its hiring. If youve ever wondered what its like to work as a signature bunny for the iconic nightclub chain which at one stage boasted 30 clubs across the globe you should probably look into Gloria Steinems famous expose from the 1960s. But Emily Shugerman, a writer based in New York City, has written a very different, more modern tale. In a fascinating piece for The Independent, Shugerman details going through an American Idol-style elimination process to apply for a job at Playboy's new NYC club. What she found was a former giant of the publishing world trying to pivot itself into the modern age. Its a great read, pulling together the history of the Playboy Clubs, which once hosted icons such as Frank Sinatra, Woody Allen and Bill Cosby (yeah, those two), and asking: how is its renaissance relevant in the post #metoo era? Much of the story is a play-by-play, with Shugerman going undercover to visit the new clubs west-midtown digs and quietly reporting on who was doing the hiring, who was looking to get hired, and why. But the subtle elimination process is fascinating and slightly unnerving, and the climax of the story a set of test photos particularly uncomfortable. Throughout the story, Shugerman juxtaposes the Playboy brands original role in the sexual revolution with its place in the new fight against harassment and discrimination. Its fair to say the author isnt convinced it scrubs up particularly well. The reopening of the Playboy Club in New York City is the latest pivot for a brand that ditched the nudes in 2015, reinstated them in 2017, and is now selling a relatively meager 500,000 magazines per issue. Against this background, to say were interested in how the clubs relaunch goes would be an understatement. Own The Conversation Ask The Big Question The new Playboy Club is pitched at the one percent. But will anyone come? Drop This Fact Playboy Magazines circulation peaked at 5.6 million in 1975. In 2017 airline stocks were coming off a banner year. Air Canada (TSX:AC)(TSX:AC.B) stock had nearly doubled for the full calendar year in 2017 and airlines reported record passenger traffic. This year has been a different story, however. Back in June Id discussed why investors should avoid airline stocks this summer with economic headwinds building up. The previous economic crisis ushered in a period of crisis for airliners. Air Canada and other major airliners managed to avert catastrophe, but shares were hammered in 2008 and 2009. Shares of Air Canada are down 10% in 2018 as of close on August 2. WestJet Airlines Ltd. (TSX:WJA) that suffered the steepest drop after it released its second-quarter results in the beginning of the week. The airliner reported its first quarterly loss in 13 months as it wrestled with a strike threat from its pilots. This comes after the June launch of its low-cost regional airliner Swoop. One of the most significant threats to WestJet and the industry at large has been the rise in fuel costs in 2018. According to Statistics Canada energy costs were 12.4% higher in June compared to the previous year. This was after an 11.6% year-over-year increase in the month of May. Statistics Canada reported a 24.6% jump in the price of gasoline and a 25.9% increase in fuel oil and other fuels. Airlines have benefited from the low fuels costs that came after the oil price collapse in 2014-2015. Higher passenger traffic combined with these factors to propel airliners to record earnings. With geopolitical pressures pushing oil and gas prices higher, airliners are facing mounting challenges. WestJet alluded to these factors as it announced that it would cut the number of available seat miles by 6%. It is also in the process of examining other routes to determine where capacity can be cut going forward. Higher fuel costs have been a headache, but it is the threat of the pilot strike that drove down profits in the second quarter. WestJet reported many cancellations and turned to heavy discounting in order to make up ground. Story continues Broader economic headwinds are also a concern for airliners, as I discussed earlier in this article. According to recent reports, higher interest rates are already putting a larger burden on consumers. The Bank of Canada raised the benchmark rate again in July, but also warned of several problem areas in the economy. These included the housing market, trade issues, and the problem of near-record high consumer and household debt. These potential headwinds combined with higher fuel prices make airlines a gamble for investors at this time. Of the two we have covered today, Air Canada has managed to avoid the complications that WestJet had to contend with in the second quarter. It also posted a fantastic second quarter and posted record operating revenues of $4.33 billion. More reading Fool contributor Ambrose O'Callaghan has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. In an increasingly bitter dispute, the contractor building the Grande Prairie Regional Hospital is placing the blame for construction overruns and delays squarely on the province. "The (province's) recent release of a notice alleging default is unfortunately rife with errors and misstatements," says a statement issued late Wednesday by Graham Construction. But Infrastructure Minister Sandra Jansen said it was Graham's statement that struck an "unfortunate tone." During an afternoon teleconference, Jansen stood by her assertions and ultimatum issued Monday, that Graham has until August 22 to come up with a plan to put the much delayed hospital project back on track or risk losing the contract entirely. The minister didn't dispute claims by Graham that the project incurred some 600 change orders since it was was revised in December 2016. "Many changes required demolition of completed work to accommodate the new scope, affecting project cost and schedule," Graham Construction said in its statement. But Jansen took issue with Graham's reasoning that frequent change orders contributed to delays and cost overruns. "Change orders always happen on job sites," said Jansen. "The scope (of the hospital project), was set in place in December of 2016. we both signed that contract and agreed to it." On Monday, Jansen said she was dumbfounded by a recent request from Graham Construction for an additional $120 million to finish the project, a statement the company said is false. However when asked if Alberta Infrastructure was willing to bend on the $763 million total price tag of the entire hospital project, Jansen was noncommittal. "I'm not going to negotiate with Graham [Construction] through the media," said Jansen. Frequently advised of increased costs Since late 2016, Graham says it has repeatedly advised the government that the $510 million budgeted for its portion of the contract was insufficient for the evolving design, estimating the cost had grown to $583 million, the company's statement said. Story continues Recently, at the province's request, Graham said it provided an updated budget based on the latest design, which included an additional contingency amount of $35 million. Graham's deteriorating relationship with the province over the project has forced it to invoke the contract's dispute resolution process to resolve a number of issues. Graham said since March it has sought to meet with the minister and senior officials, but meeting dates have been cancelled and follow-up requests for meetings have gone unanswered. The company said it remains open to meeting with the government and resolving the issues. But it warns that Alberta Infrastructure must take on its "responsibilities and obligations." In the meantime, "Graham will vigorously defend its position and reputation," the statement said. Jansen said Alberta Infrastructure and Graham have had frequent meetings, from the project floor to the executive level. The most recent took place July 20, she said. The new Grande Prairie Hospital has been in either the planning or construction phase since 2011 and was supposed to be operational by the end of 2018 or early 2019. Given the delays, Jansen could not offer a firm date for when the hospital will open to patients. As if cycling across Canada raising thousands of dollars for charity wasn't incredible enough, Paul Arcus says there is one moment in particular he will never forget. Arcus, who is originally from Melbourne, Australia but lives in Vancouver, is two kilometres shy of his unofficial finish line at Cape Spear when what actually, who he saw delivered an emotional wallop. "I'm struggling up the hill, just pedalling in my own mind in my own zone and the vehicle on the side of the road had a bike behind it and a guy kind of repairing a bike or fixing a bike ... and he kind of mumbled at me and waved, and I said, 'Oh are you okay?' and I kept riding," Arcus told CBC News. "I didn't realize it was actually my dad talking to me. It was my dad waving to me. My girlfriend was in the front of the car and my mom got out of the passenger seat." Arcus recalled how he could barely comprehend seeing his family from Australia. "Having ridden 45 days prior solo and then having your old man there, was pretty special ... still chokes me up. It's something I'll never forget," Arcus said. "A highlight of my life. Absolutely. Highlight of my life for sure." A long journey for a surprise Shelley and Brad Arcus said they put their plan in motion early to make the 30-hour journey from Australia to surprise their son. "We were scheming from the moment Paul left B.C. to come over [to] this side of the world. I always had an inclination that I should be there somewhere along the line, whether it be at the start or finish," said Shelley. Brad was worried he was going to give away the surprise. "We spoke to him the night before. It was quite funny because I was having a chat with him, and I was dead scared I was going to say the wrong thing," he said. 'We had to be part of it' Along the way of his six-week ride, Arcus raised $17,000 for the Make-A-Wish Foundation B.C. and Yukon chapter. And Shelley couldn't be prouder of her son. "We had to be part of it. We had to let him know how much we love him, and just love everything he does," she said. The family is leaving the province soon, but not before creating more memories by getting Screeched in. Read more articles from CBC Newfoundland and Labrador A Nova Scotia fishermen's group says dozens of lobster traps were destroyed during the "rush" to deploy the Cape Sharp Tidal turbine in the week before the bankruptcy of OpenHydro, the Irish company that spearheaded the project. The accusations comes as court records show that OpenHydro's management knew it was heading to insolvency before the two-megawatt demonstration turbine was installed in the Minas Passage. Darren Porter, spokesperson for the Fundy United Federation, which represents fishermen in the area, said on the morning of July 19 he and others watched as Cape Sharp Tidal Venture vessels ran over buoys. About 65 lobster traps were lost to the bottom of the ocean, he said. "They had no problem running over our gear, we even videotaped them running over our gear and they didn't care. So they were definitely in a rush to get [the turbine] to the bottom of the Minas Passage," he said. "It caused so much grief it was unbelievable. It's such a loss to the fishermen We have all this marine debris, ropes floating around the ocean, buoys, and a whole bunch of lobster traps sitting on the bottom." Cape Sharp Tidal Venture is a collaboration between OpenHydro, which has an 80 per cent stake, and Nova Scotia energy company Emera Inc. to try to harness the power of the tides in the Bay of Fundy. The first demonstration turbine was deployed in the Minas Passage and grid-connected in November 2016. It was pulled out about six months later. The new tidal turbine was deployed on July 24 and connected to the power grid, according to a July 26 press release from OpenHydro's parent company, Naval Energies. The same release said based on a board meeting on July 25, the company would no longer be investing in tidal energy. The Irish High Court appointed a liquidator for both OpenHydro Technologies Ltd. and its parent group, OpenHydro Group Ltd., the next day. Porter said fishermen believe the turbine wasn't supposed to go back in until after the lobster fishery closed on July 31. Story continues "They're supposed to wait until the lobster season is over and if they don't wait, they're supposed to compensate the fishermen to move. And they wouldn't do that," he said. An environmental assessment for the Fundy Ocean Research Centre for Energy (FORCE), a non-profit agency of public and private developers managing the tidal site, states project vessels must try to minimize the effect on fisheries. Construction activities, maintenance and decommissioning of the site should be done during non-lobster seasons, according to the assessment, but if activities must take place during lobster season, fishermen will be informed of the vessel movements and traps will be relocated if necessary. Government, Emera says turbine not deployed early But Emera, the Nova Scotia Department of Energy and the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans all deny the turbine was put in early, saying it went into the water in the timeframe allowed. Stacey Pineau, spokesperson for both Emera and Cape Sharp Tidal, said representatives worked with fishermen in the months leading up to deployment. "No fisher provided feedback at that time that indicated that a deployment should not proceed, so CST went ahead with a July deployment," she said. FORCE's environmental assessment also states that if damage does occur, the fishermen will have to demonstrate the loss of gear, "and FORCE will work with the gear owners to determine the appropriate level of compensation." Pineau said no fishermen have filed claims with Cape Sharp Tidal relating to gear lost during deployment, but the process for managing claims will be determined by the liquidator. 'It's a big impact for a small town' Porter said he's doubtful the fishermen will ever see that money. But they aren't the only ones waiting to get paid, as many local businesses in nearby Parrsboro, N.S., say they're out thousands. Ulrike Rockenbaur, owner of the Maple Inn, said she's not been paid $3,800 for four rooms booked in June for OpenHydro employees. She called the company, which told her it would take a bit longer because the money was coming from Ireland, but later said she had to resend the invoice. "It was like a tactic to not pay us," she said. "It's a big impact for a small town like Parrsboro." Jay Grant of Riverview Cottages said he's out roughly $7,000. Grant said he "got a little leery" after the company repeatedly changed the dates and number of nights. He then got a call saying the guests would be checking out, as the project finished earlier than expected. "They just grabbed their stuff and left. There was about three or four cars that absolutely sped out of here. I kind of thought, 'That was strange.' But then again I knew they had finished early," he said. He tried to process the final bill, but the credit card was denied and emails bounced back. "Your heart sinks. I just thought, 'Oh, here we go,'" he said. David Beattie owns the Black Rock Bistro, which was providing dinner for the marine operations crew. He also owns the Gillespie House Inn, which had guests from OpenHydro. He said he's spoken with Alisdair McLean, one of the directors of Cape Sharp Tidal and formerly OpenHydro's manager for Canada. There's "some degree of hope" that local businesses will be paid, Beattie said, but no guarantee. Despite CBC's repeated requests to interview MacLean, Pineau said he was unavailable. Porter said he received an email from Steve Sanford, with the province's Department of Energy, that said both Emera and the department have asked the liquidator, Grant Thornton Ireland, to consider payments to businesses as part of the insolvency process. He was also told that Grant Thornton has initiated discussions to re-establish a small operations team in Nova Scotia, and that it could be in the province as early as next week. Emera seat on OpenHydro board According to OpenHydro's website, Emera's vice-president of special projects, Christian Richard, had a seat on the Irish company's board. But Pineau said Emera hasn't been on the board since March 2018 and no Emera representative was at the July meeting. She also said Emera only learned of the OpenHydro liquidation on July 26. Court documents show that concerns around OpenHydro Group go back as far as October 2016. A copy of Naval Energies's petition to the Irish High Court for OpenHydro Technology Ltd., dated July 26, says both that company and its parent, OpenHydro Group Ltd., had "a very challenging year in 2017," leading to a full review of all assets. A financial overview dated July 9 forecasted that OpenHydro Group would run out of cash on Aug. 20, and the company would make a loss before interest over the next eight years totalling about $194 million Cdn. The documents also show that between October 2016 and July 2018, minority shareholders raised concerns that the role of the OpenHydro board was limited and there was an absence of debate about strategic issues, as well as conflicts of interest and breaches of corporate governance. Concerns from senior management But it wasn't just the minority shareholders who were worried. The documents reference a letter dated July 24 where five senior managers of OpenHydro Group wrote, "For some months, our clients have been extremely concerned that OHG cannot pay its current or future liabilities and is within the zone of insolvency." The documents say the issue of the company's insolvency was raised with its CEO on a number of occasions. Naval Energies wrote that it disputed both the minority shareholders' and the managers' allegations, but it used the letter as reinforcement that OpenHydro should be wound up. "The letter is, in effect, critical of OHG's directors for not having taken action to wind up OHG sooner," the documents read. Naval Energies also asked that liquidators facilitate an independent investigation into the allegations. Right now, the fate of the turbine still floats in uncertainty, but a spokesperson for the Department of Environment said on Wednesday the province is not considering making an investment. "This situation is a corporate issue, and it's up to the private companies that own the turbine to settle the matter," JoAnn Alberstat said. FORCE officials said last week that Cape Sharp Tidal has isolated the turbine from the power grid and it is not generating electricity. This means the environmental monitoring equipment is not powered. But the turbine is still subject to weekly monitoring. A spokesperson for the Department of Environment confirmed it received an update as recently as this week. A contingency plan that's in place if the monitoring equipment is off or not working has been initiated, Pineau confirmed. When asked whether there was an agreement in place outlining what would happen if one of Cape Sharp Tidal's partners could not fulfil its obligations to the project, Pineau said any agreement between Emera and OpenHydro is "commercially sensitive" and will not be shared publicly. The federal government will spend $3.8 million on groups working to protect Lake Winnipeg over the next four years. The funding will go to 23 projects as part of the Lake Winnipeg Basin Program, Minister of Environment and Climate Change Catherine McKenna announced on Thursday in Gimli, Man. The goal of the spending is to reduce pollution into the lake to ensure it stays healthy for swimming, boating and fishing, McKenna said. "Our goal is to reduce the nutrients, the phosphorus, that enters the lake," she said. "We of course want to increase engagement and collaboration with Indigenous peoples, and we want to engage stakeholders, we want to engage local organizations but we also want to engage the people of Manitoba, the people who care greatly about Lake Winnipeg." Groups receiving funding include the Manitoba Habitat Heritage Corporation which will receive $400,000 over two years "to restore 60 hectares of drained wetlands and protect 660 hectares of intact wetlands" and the Lake Winnipeg Foundation, which will get $260,000 over four years for a project engaging citizen scientists to collect and share multi-year phosphorus data. McKenna said Lake Winnipeg is a crucial resource for Manitoba, but the lake is ailing. "We have a real problem here," she said. "Lake Winnipeg threats range from toxic contaminants to climate change." She said she'd had a "great meeting" with Manitoba sustainable development minister Rochelle Squires prior to making the announcement publicly. "We're working very collaboratively with the government of Manitoba to do projects like this, to protect Lake Winnipeg and the watershed," she said. A spokesperson for Squires said the meeting Thursday was productive. "A variety of topics were discussed, including reductions on the use of plastics," he wrote in an email. Minister praises Manitoba cap-and-trade plan At the announcement, McKenna praised the province's recently-unveiled cap-and-trade style carbon tax for the province's biggest greenhouse gas emitters. Story continues The plan is part of the province's "made in Manitoba" climate plan, which will see most Manitobans pay $25 per tonne of carbon emissions going against the federal plan to bring the price up to $50 per tonne by 2022. The federal government has previously said it would impose its own tax on the province by using "backstop" measures if the Manitoba version doesn't rise to meet the federal tax. On Thursday, McKenna said she was pleased to see the province's cap-and-trade plan. "Clearly climate action is a priority for both our governments and it's really great to see the government of Manitoba really stepping up, understanding that there's an opportunity to tackle climate change, at the same time saving folks money when they're more energy efficient and doing right by our kids." She said Canadians want to see their governments working together, and she sees "opportunities" to do that with Manitoba in the future. "I'm not announcing anything today, but I think there's some opportunities to work with Minister Squires but also to work with communities, Indigenous peoples to protect more nature," she said. "And a top priority for both of us is tackling plastic pollution. So I think there's some real opportunities to work together on these issues." Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp LinkedIn Email Telegram New York, August 2, 2018Nigerian authorities should release without delay Jones Abiri, publisher and editor in chief of the Weekly Source newspaper, and drop all charges against him, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Nigerias state security service, known as the DSS, arrested Abiri on July 21, 2016, and has imprisoned him since. Abiri today appeared in an Abuja magistrates court, his second court appearance in a week after two years without trial or family visitation, according to CPJ research. He was arraigned on July 27, according to Femi Falana, the head of the legal office representing Abiri, and Chikezie Omeje, who covered todays hearing for the non-profit International Centre For Investigative Reporting (ICIR) news agency. Abiri was charged at the first hearing with sending text messages to two oil companies, Shell and Agip, allegedly demanding payments, according to the same sources. CPJ was unable to determine more details of the charges. A lawyer for the DSS, Jamilu Hamisu, told todays hearing that the DSS witnesses were unable to attend because they were out of the country, according to Omeje. Jones Abiri should never have been arrested and his over two years being held without due process is an outrageous injustice that should be ended without further delay, Angela Quintal, CPJ Africa Program coordinator, said today from Johannesburg, South Africa. Nigeria must hold accountable those responsible for Abiris detention, including the security service, and send a message that such flagrant abuses against journalists and press freedom will not be tolerated. The DSS operates under Nigerias coordinator of national security, which reports directly to Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, according to Nigerias 1986 National Security Agencies Act. CPJs repeated calls to Lawal Daura, DSS Director General, Lai Mohammed, minister of information and culture, and Garba Shehu, presidential spokesperson, went unanswered. Following the hearing, Abiri was moved from the DSS detention in Abuja to a general prison facility in Keffi, located in Nasarawa state, according to Omeje and an article on the news website Premium Times. Falana told CPJ that during the July 27 arraignment, bail was set at 2 million naira (US$5,555) and required that two high level civil servants serve as guarantors. During todays court proceedings, Abiris counsel Marshall Abubakar petitioned to have the bail conditions revised, according to the same ICIR report. After the prosecutor appealed, the magistrate set August 8 as the date to decide if bail conditions would be revised, and adjourned the case until August 16, Omeje told CPJ. On July 3, Falana filed a 200 million Naira (US$555,555) lawsuit against the DSS in federal high court on Abiris behalf, accusing the DSS of violating the journalists fundamental rights, Falana said. CPJ was unable to determine if a hearing date had been set for the lawsuit. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp LinkedIn Email Telegram Nairobi, August 3, 2018Parliamentarians in Kenya should stop harassing journalists and allow them to report on the legislature without fear of reprisal, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Dinah Ondari and Anthony Mwangi, journalists with Kenyas People Daily newspaper, were this week criticized during a parliamentary session, threatened with being barred from covering parliament, and summoned by a legislative committee, according to the July 31 Hansard, a verbatim report of proceedings in parliament, and Ken Bosire, the newspapers managing editor. These events followed the publication in People Daily on July 30 and July 31 of articles alleging that members of parliament were taking and soliciting bribes from organizations and individuals they were supposed to be investigating. The People Daily newspaper is privately owned, but associated with the family of President Uhuru Kenyatta. If members of the Kenyan parliament are serious about fighting corruption, then attempts to intimidate journalists into silence must be abandoned immediately, said CPJ sub-Saharan Africa Representative Muthoki Mumo. We urge the parliamentarians to stop trying to intimidate Dinah Ondari, Anthony Mwangi, and their colleagues with threats and investigations and instead allow them to freely do their work of covering the legislature. On July 31 in the National Assembly, one of the two houses of parliament, MP Robert Pukose, a member of the ruling Jubilee Party, accused the People Daily of committing an affront to the assembly and said its reporting was a blanket condemnation of MPs, according to the Hansard proceedings report. According to the Hansard report, Pukose asked the National Assembly speaker, Justin Muturi, to take action against the People Daily and have the newspaper investigated by a parliamentary committee in relation to its reporting. Pukoses calls were backed by other MPs including Majority Leader Aden Duale and Minority Leader John Mbadi, according to the Hansard. In response, Muturi directed the houses Powers and Privileges Committee to investigate these claims, according to the Hansard. Muturi said that no decision would be made to ban the journalists or the media house until such time as the Committee will make a recommendation one way or other, according to the Hansard. Ondari told her employer that two legislators on August 1 in separate incidents threatened to bar her and Mwangi from parliament unless they apologized for their reporting, according to Bosire and a report from the People Daily. Speaking to CPJ, Bosire declined to name the two MPs, but said he gave their names to Muturi, who asked Bosire to file a formal complaint. In a letter seen by CPJ, the National Assembly clerk on August 1 invited Peter Opondo, the editor-in-chief of Mediamax, the People Dailys parent company, to appear the next day to assist with investigations into allegations of misconduct in the house. Bosire told CPJ that this letter was sent after People Daily complained during a call on August 1 with Muturi. A team of five Mediamax employees, including Bosire and Mwangi, appeared in front of the committee yesterday as directed, according to Bosire. The editor told CPJ that they requestedand were granted 10 days to prepare a submission for the Powers and Privileges Committee. In exchanges with CPJ over text message on July 31 and August 1, Muturi said that reports the journalists had been summoned were false and said they had been invited to shed light on the matter which relates to ethics of MPs and that he considered them whistle-blowers. Muturi said that the journalists would not be required to reveal their sources during the hearings. During a media gala today in Nairobi, Muturi said that People Daily journalists, Ondari and Mwangi, should be praised for exposing corruption in the National Assembly, according to a report by the Daily Nation. CPJs repeated attempts to reach Pukose, Duale and Mbadi over their mobile phones on August 1 and August 3 were unsuccessful. 141st birth anniversary of freedom fighter and designer (architect) of Indian National Flag Pingali Venkayya was observed on August 2, 2018. Pingali Venkayya He was born on August 2, 1876 in Krishna district of Andhra Pradesh and died in 1963. He was firm believer in Gandhian principles and ardent nationalist. He was also linguist, geolist and writer. At young age, he had served as soldier in British India Army in South Africa during Anglo Boer war in Africa. During his stint with British Army he had met Mahatama Gandhi in Africa. He was 19 when meeting took place and formed association Gandhiji which would last for more than 50 years. After his return from Africa, he had most of his time researching about farming and cultivating cotton. He even went on to study Sanskrit, Urdu and Japanese Anglo Vedic School in Lahore. Such credentials also had given him interesting titles like Japan Venkayya, Patti (cotton) Venkayya and Jhanda Venkayya. Flag Designing Venkayya had published book in 1916 offering thirty designs of what could make Indian flag. Throughout all Congress sessions between 1918 and 1921, he relentlessly put forward idea of having flag of our own in every session of the Congress. Back then, he was working as lecturer in Andhra National College in Machilipatnam. He met Gandhiji once again in Vijayawada and showed him his publication with various designs of flag. Acknowledging need for national flag, Gandhiji then asked Venkayya to design fresh one at national congress meeting in 1921. Initially, he came up with saffron and green colours, but it later evolved with spinning wheel at centre (representation wheel of dharma and law) and third colour-white. This modified flag design was approved Gandhiji and later officially adopted by Indian National Congress in 1931. Present Flag Indias National Flag (tricolor or ) is based on Swaraj flag of Indian National Congress designed by Pingali Venkayya. It was adopted during by Constituent Assembly on the 22 July 1947, a few days before Indias independence from the British. The national flag is horizontal rectangular tricolour of India saffron, white and India green, with Ashoka Chakra (24-spoke wheel) in navy blue at its centre. Usage of national flag is governed by Flag Code of India and other laws relating to the national emblems. The flag code also governs protocol of flying flag and its use in conjunction with other national and non-national flags. "He is worn down and worn out" A close friend of condemned killer Carey Dean Moore said he is "preparing for any outcome." Moore, 61, is scheduled to die 10 a.m. Aug. 14 at the Nebraska State Penitentiary. "He is worn down and worn out," said Lisa Knopp, who has known Moore for 23 years. She said she met Moore in 1995 during visit to death row with Nebraskans Against the Death Penalty. She helped find him a new pastor and they became pen pals. "The letters were just so warm and personal, that 23 year later we're still writing," Knopp said. She and others now stand in front of the governor's mansion almost every noon hour protesting Moore's scheduled execution. "I am opposed to the death penalty because I am a Christian," Knopp said. She said she knows Nebraska's longest serving death row inmate as a thoughtful, generous soul, not the person who robbed and shot 2 Omaha cab drivers, Reuel Van Ness and Maynard Helgeland, 39 years ago. "When I read about or speak to him about the person he used to be, I can't reconcile it. He is such a changed person," Knopp said. She said August is a difficult month for Moore because that is the anniversary of the murders. "The whole time I've known him, he has expressed great regret and concern for the families, the children of the victims," Knopp said. She won't say much about why Moore refuses to fight his execution, other than that he is prepared to die. Knopp said Moore has been scheduled to die 6 times before. On 2 occasions, he came within a week of being executed. "He is exhausted by the whole process of having to prepare for death and then being called back from that," Knopp said. Knopp does not know where she will be the morning of the scheduled execution. She said Moore has asked his supporters not be at the State Penitentiary. "I don't think I want to be sitting at home. I think I want to be with people like this," Knopp said, referring to death penalty opponents. Those opponents plan to rally at the State Capitol in the evening of Aug. 14 if an execution is carried out. Aiming to delay execution, Ernie Chambers intensifies pressure on drugmakers A leading death penalty opponent has intensified his pressure on pharmaceutical manufactures to encourage - or shame - them into taking legal action to block an Aug. 14 execution in Nebraska. State Sen. Ernie Chambers of Omaha continued his personal campaign Thursday to convince 3 companies to ask a judge to force the return of their drugs. Because the inmate slated for Nebraska's 1st execution in 21 years is no longer fighting the state's efforts, a lawsuit by a drugmaker is one of the last remaining avenues that could delay the execution. All 3 drugmakers contacted by Chambers have sent letters to Nebraska officials saying they vehemently oppose the use of their products in lethal injections. But because the letters have not resulted in the drugs being returned, Chambers argued that the companies must back their words with action. Chambers directed his sharpest criticism at Pfizer, a maker of 3 of the 4 drugs Nebraska intends to use in the execution of Carey Dean Moore. In a letter the senator sent via overnight mail to the company Wednesday, Chambers said Pfizer wants to create the "misperception that it opposes capital punishment" while it actually participates in the market for lethal injection drugs. "Pfizer aims to corner that market," he said in a follow-up to a letter he sent to the company last week. A Pfizer spokesman has said company officials have ruled out taking legal action in Nebraska. Chambers also said he has reached out to Sandoz Inc. and Hikma Pharmaceuticals, both of which have questioned whether Nebraska prison officials are planning to use their medications. A letter sent this week to Nebraska officials by Sandoz said the company is considering legal action. Meanwhile, Hikma this week joined a lawsuit initiated by a different drugmaker that forced the delay of an execution in Nevada. Hours after the Catholic Church changed its official teaching Thursday to fully reject the death penalty, a trio of bishops urged action to halt an upcoming execution in Nebraska. Meanwhile, Gov. Pete Ricketts, who is Catholic, said Thursday he remains in support of capital punishment. As Vatican seeks to abolish death penalty, local bishops urge Nebraska to halt Moore's execution The Vatican announced that going forward, the death penalty is inadmissible in all cases and the church should work to abolish it worldwide. The change was endorsed by Pope Francis in May but announced Thursday. Hours after the Catholic Church changed its official teaching Thursday to fully reject the death penalty, a trio of bishops urged action to halt an upcoming execution in Nebraska. Meanwhile, Gov. Pete Ricketts, who is Catholic, said Thursday that he remains in support of capital punishment. The Vatican announced that going forward, the death penalty is inadmissible in all cases and the church should work to abolish it worldwide. Previously, the church held that execution was allowable in rare cases to defend innocent lives from an "unjust aggressor." The change was endorsed by Pope Francis in May but announced Thursday. The Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith will include the change in new editions of the catechism, the compendium of Catholic teaching. The shift in church doctrine comes as Nebraska approaches its 1st execution in more than 2 decades. The Nebraska Supreme Court has set Aug. 14 for the lethal injection of a double-murderer who has spent 38 years on death row. "In light of this teaching, we call on all people of good will to contact Nebraska state officials to stop the scheduled Aug. 14 execution of Carey Dean Moore," said the joint statement by Archbishop George Lucas of Omaha, Bishop James Conley of Lincoln and Bishop Joseph Hanefeldt of Grand Island. The bishops, who argued that the death penalty is no longer needed to ensure public safety in Nebraska, called the pope's decision "an answer for our prayers and welcome news." They also called for prayers for victims of serious crime and the 12 men on death row. Ricketts, meanwhile, has been a leading advocate for restoring the death penalty in the state. In 2015, he vetoed legislation that repealed capital punishment, then helped fund a petition drive to put the issue on the 2016 general election ballot. A solid majority of voters reversed the repeal. "While I respect the pope's perspective, capital punishment remains the will of the people and the law of the State of Nebraska," the governor said Thursday in an email. "It is an important tool to protect our corrections officers and public safety." The governor has said in the past that he has researched, prayed and meditated upon on the topic and concluded that support for capital punishment is consistent with his faith. He pointed to the writings of church fathers and theologians who have long held that the death penalty is a morally sound form of punishment. The church's updated teaching states that capital punishment is "inadmissible because it is an attack on the inviolability and dignity of the person." The pope has for years been a vocal critic of the death penalty, calling it an "inhuman measure,' but his latest move places the issue toward the forefront of his efforts to reform and modernize the church. It also could shape discussion about the issue in the United States, which like several dozen countries, uses capital punishment. The Argentine pontiff, who had hinted last year that such a change might come, has described the church's death penalty stance as evidence of how the Vatican can evolve - in this case, over a generation. A quarter-century ago, the church said that the death penalty was justified in cases of "extreme gravity." Then, in 1997, Pope John Paul II narrowed the standards for when the punishment was permissible. Since then, the number of nations that use capital punishment has gradually decreased. The death penalty is "contrary to the Gospel," the pope said last year, noting that the faith emphasized the dignity of life from conception until death. Dudley Sharp, a pro-death penalty researcher in Houston, said he was "astounded" by the news. Sharp, who is not Catholic, said the change appears to reject 2,000 years of teaching by the church that the death penalty is a morally just punishment. According to Amnesty International, more than 20,000 people across the world are on death row. On Wednesday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said his country could soon reinstate the death penalty - something it had abolished in 2004 as part of the reforms necessary to enter the European Union. In the United States, according to the Pew Research Center, public support for the death penalty has ticked up slightly since hitting a 4-decade low in 2016, with 54 % now approving of the punishment for those convicted of murder. The attitudes of Catholics mirror those of the nation, with 53 % favoring the death penalty. In a letter sent to bishops from the Vatican's doctrine office, Cardinal Luis Ladaria noted that the church's stance on the death penalty stemmed from a "new understanding" of modern punishment, which should aim to rehabilitate and socially reintegrate those who have committed crimes. "Given that modern society possesses more efficient detention systems," Ladaria wrote, "the death penalty becomes unnecessary as protection for the life of innocent people." Ladaria said that the church's new teaching aims to "give energy" to a movement that would "allow for the elimination of the death penalty where it is still in effect." | Report an error, an omission, a typo; suggest a story or a new angle to an existing story; submit a piece, a comment; recommend a resource; contact the webmaster, contact us: deathpenaltynews@gmail.com Opposed to Capital Punishment? Help us keep this blog up and running! DONATE! "One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed, but by the punishments that the good have inflicted." -- Oscar Wilde : KETV news, August 3, 2018: The World-Herald, August 3, 2018omaha.com, August 3, 2018 Pope Francis earned a standing ovation when he told Congress in 2015 that he supports protecting human life "at every stage of its development." When he added that "this conviction" includes working to end the death penalty, the response was far more subdued. "You didn't see people jumping up and clapping," said John Carr, who was in the room, and is director of Georgetown University's Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life. For decades, Catholic politicians who support capital punishment, including the senators and representatives in the chamber that day, had an "out" when it comes to church teaching: The Catholic Catechism, the church's book of moral and religious teachings, had allowed the use of capital punishment in certain cases. Any other opinions, even the Pope's, were just that, opinions, and not necessarily binding on Catholic consciences. But that is no longer the case, the Vatican announced on Thursday. At the Pope's direction, the Catholic Catechism has been revised, and now calls the death penalty "inadmissible." While years in coming, the shift raises new questions about how politicians, particularly conservative Catholics in red states, will navigate the church's revised stance. "Pope Francis has said several times that he considers the death penalty inadmissible," said John Thavis, former Rome bureau chief for Catholic News Service. "Now, however, he has enshrined it in official Catholic teaching. That's going to make it much more difficult for politicians to dismiss this teaching as 'the Pope's opinion.'" The church's shifting position on capital punishment may even arise later this year when the Senate holds confirmation hearings for Brett Kavanaugh, a federal judge and faithful Catholic whom President Donald Trump has nominated for a seat on the Supreme Court. "It's hard to side-step this issue now that it's definitive church teaching," said John Gehring, a Catholic writer and Catholic Program Director at the liberal-leaning group Faith in Public Life. "I think there is a proper and respectful way to ask Kavanaugh how his understanding of faith and morality intersects with his judicial views." "I suspect that the matter will come up," agreed Richard Garnett, a professor at the University of Notre Dame's law school. "I'm not optimistic that any senator's question will reflect any serious engagement with, or understanding of, what Pope Francis actually did, but ... I expect it will come up." If confirmed, Kavanaugh would be the 5th Catholic on the Supreme Court, which regularly opines on death penalty cases and hears requests for stays of execution. (It is unclear whether Neil Gorsuch, who was raised a Catholic but has worshiped in Episcopal Churches, identifies with either tradition.) The death penalty was a controversial subject during the Senate's confirmation hearings last year for Amy Coney Barrett, who now serves on the US Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit. Noting an article Barrett wrote examining whether Catholic judges should recuse themselves from capital punishment cases, Sen. Dianne Feinstein famously said, "The dogma lives loudly within you." Quiet conservatives Among Americans, 54% favor the death penalty for people convicted of murder, while 39% are opposed, according to a Pew Research Center survey conducted in April and May. Among Catholics, the survey found that 53% of Catholics favor capital punishment, while 42% oppose it. Death penalty opponents celebrated the Vatican's announcement, calling it the culmination of years of planning and work, while hoping it could change more attitudes among lay Catholics. "For people in the pews, it is a challenge to actively build a culture of life by abolishing the death penalty, especially in the 31 states that still have it on the books in this country," said Krisanne Vaillancourt Murphy, who leads Catholic Mobilizing Network, an anti-death penalty group. Many conservative Catholics, meanwhile, were mostly quiet on Thursday. Several prominent legal and political figures did not respond immediately for comment. But in the past, several Catholic governors had said that the Catechism gave them leeway to enforce the death penalty. Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas, whose state overwhelmingly supports capital punishment according to polls, told journalists in 2014 that there's no conflict between his Catholic faith and state law on the issue. "Catholic doctrine is not against the death penalty, and so there is no conflict there," he said. Likewise, Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts, who is Catholic and lobbied against a state ban on the death penalty, has said capital punishment can be justified. "The Catholic Church does not preclude the use of the death penalty under certain circumstances: That guilt is determined and the crime is heinous. Also, protecting society," Ricketts said in 2015. Abbott and Ricketts' offices did not immediately respond to requests for comment. On Thursday, Sister Helen Prejean, a prominent opponent of capital punishment, called on Ricketts to fall in line with the Pope and cancel planned executions. Nebraska's 3 Catholic bishop echoed Prejean's call to cancel the execution and urged Catholics and others to lobby state officials. "Simply put, the death penalty is no longer needed or morally justified in Nebraska," the bishops said. What the Catechism says now "Recourse to the death penalty on the part of legitimate authority, following a fair trial, was long considered an appropriate response to the gravity of certain crimes and an acceptable, albeit extreme, means of safeguarding the common good," the Catechism will now say. But an "increasing awareness" that criminals don't lose their human dignity, a "new understanding" of prison systems and the development of "effective systems of detention" have led the church, under Pope Francis, to revise its official views, the Vatican said. "The death penalty is inadmissible because it is an attack on the inviolability and dignity of the person," the Catechism will now say. Does all of this mean that Catholic politicians will immediately switch positions on the death penalty? Don't bet on it, said Helen Alvare, professor of law at the Antonin Scalia Law School at George Mason University. "The death penalty teaching may be observed or ignored, as is the abortion teaching, even though both are about killing," Alvare wrote in an email. "Politicians of any religion seem to variously ignore, observe both as a matter of consistency, or take inconsistent positions!" Cardinal Cupich wishes Scalia had lived to see pope's new death penalty teaching Cardinal Blase Cupich said Thursday that he wishes Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia had lived to see Pope Francis say the death penalty is wrong in all cases. The exchange about Scalia, a conservative Supreme Court justice and devout Catholic who ruled and spoke in favor of the death penalty, capped an exchange on the legal and theological implications of the punishment between Cupich and 3 legal experts who oppose the death penalty. The panel discussion, part of the American Bar Association's annual meeting in Chicago this week, came just hours after Pope Francis announced that the catechism of the Catholic Church would declare the death penalty always "inadmissible". Previously, the church had taught that the death penalty could be used in rare instances when no other way of deterring a violent criminal was available. Cupich was responding to a Scalia quote read by the panel's moderator, Ronald J. Tabak, the chair of the ABA's death penalty committee, in which Scalia suggested that Christian societies, confident in eternal life, tended to be more comfortable with the death penalty than secular societies. "Would that he had lived to be here today, to see what the pope has done, because I think it would cause him to rethink that," Cupich said. "I think that his understanding of salvation has great limitations. It's an atomistic view of salvation, that is, as individuals," Cupich said. "God saves a people. God doesn't just save by individuals. How is it that we integrate human beings into society, especially those at the margins? That's the question we should be posing here." Cupich's concerns about the implications of the death penalty for social justice jibed with the concerns of the legal experts, who described a justice system that preyed on those least likely to get a fair trial, including the mentally ill and racial minorities. The waning ranks of death row inmates are filled with "the most vulnerable, not the worst of the worst," said Robert Dunham, the executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center. Cupich said he believed that the church's categorical opposition to the death penalty could reinforce its teaching on abortion. "Erasing the innate value of individual lives because of crimes committed, and removing such criminals from the human family, is an echo of the violence done to human dignity when pro-choice advocates imply that the life developing in the womb is not 'real human' life," Cupich said. Cupich and his fellow panelists discussed death row "volunteers," who decline appeals and go willingly to their executions. Cupich encountered such a case as the bishop of Rapid City, South Dakota. "He wanted to die, his life was so terrible. When I spoke about it, I said, what we have here isn't the death penalty. We have state-assisted suicide," Cupich said. Cupich said he understood some Catholics would struggle with the church's teaching on the death penalty due to "a desire to restore the order of justice that has been so viciously violated." "But there is a flaw in that way of thinking," Cupich said. "When the state imposes the death penalty, it proclaims that taking one human life counterbalances the taking of another life. This is profoundly mistaken." | Report an error, an omission, a typo; suggest a story or a new angle to an existing story; submit a piece, a comment; recommend a resource; contact the webmaster, contact us: deathpenaltynews@gmail.com Opposed to Capital Punishment? Help us keep this blog up and running! DONATE! "One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed, but by the punishments that the good have inflicted." -- Oscar Wilde : CNN, August 3, 2017Chicago Sun Times, August 3, 2018 Virginia death penalty opponents welcome pope's new teaching against executions Catholic officials and death penalty opponents in Virginia - which has put to death more people in modern times than any other state except Texas - welcomed Pope Francis' new teaching against the death penalty on Thursday, though the impact of the change remains unclear. Previously, the Catholic Church has said executions could be carried out in rare instances. In a change announced Thursday, the Catholic teaching now states that executions are "inadmissible because it is an attack on the inviolability and dignity of the person." Bill Re, associate director of the Virginia Catholic Conference, said it "has long advocated for an end to the use of the death penalty in Virginia and will continue to do so." "We take this opportunity to urge our state lawmakers to put an end to the death penalty and to make respect for life the priority in the many decisions they make," Re said. According to the Virginia Catholic Conference, there are nearly 700,000 registered Catholics in the state, or 8.3 % of the state population of 8.4 million. With 113 executions since the U.S. Supreme Court allowed capital punishment to resume in 1976, Virginia is 2nd in the country only to Texas, which had 553 executions during the same period. Last year, Virginia executed Ricky Gray, who murdered a family in Richmond, and William Morva, who murdered a deputy sheriff and hospital security guard in Blacksburg. Michael E. Stone, executive director of Virginians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, said, "The abolition movement is very pleased by the updated teaching from the Catholic Church that capital punishment is never admissible. "This change from Pope Francis was the culmination of increasingly critical writings of Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI on the death penalty. As a lifelong Catholic, I am proud of the leadership of church leaders on this life issue," he said. Andrew Chesnut, the Bishop Sullivan Chair in Catholic Studies at Virginia Commonwealth University, said, "Practically speaking, the church's new policy of total opposition to capital punishment is aimed at the United States." Chesnut said a new Pew Research Center poll shows that a significant majority of white American Catholics are in favor of the death penalty despite the church being one of the major opponents. "The new policy will give greater ammunition to Catholics fighting to abolish it in the U.S. but will probably not sway those parishioners who support it, many of whom view the Argentine pontiff as too liberal on issues of social policy," Chesnut said. A spokesman for the Virginia attorney general's office, which defends challenges to death sentences, declined to comment Thursday. Richmond Commonwealth's Attorney Michael Herring, who won the death sentence against Gray, said he could not comment on the pope's action because of the approaching capital murder trial of Travis Ball, who is charged with the slaying of a Virginia State Police special agent. Chesnut said that of the 52 countries that still execute convicted criminals, the U.S. is both the only major Western country and the only one with a significant Catholic population - the 4th-largest in the world, he said. He said that as the 1st Latin American pope, Francis has put mercy and social justice at the top of his agenda, so the new position on capital punishment comes as no surprise. "One of the fixtures of his foreign tours, including the U.S., are visits to prisons, which in his native Latin America are hellholes often controlled by criminal elements," Chesnut said. Virginia authorities said Thursday that there have been no executions this year and none is currently scheduled. The Virginia Department of Corrections says Virginia has 3 inmates on death row. According to figures from the Death Penalty Information Center, of the 34 states with capital punishment, Virginia has one of the smallest death rows in the country. Ohio: Joe Deters reconciled his faith with the death penalty: 'There is evil in this world' Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters a long time ago reconciled his Catholic faith with the idea that sometimes he must seek the death penalty in killings that are the worst of the worst. His faith allowed the death penalty in limited circumstances and Deters agreed that for the worst of the worst criminals, a death sentence was sometimes necessary. But as Deters pursues a death penalty sentence against convicted serial killer Anthony Kirkland, he woke up to a published report that Pope Francis changed Catholic Church teaching about the death penalty. In a new policy published Thursday, the pope now says, the death penalty is always "inadmissible" because it "attacks" the inherent dignity of all humans. It didn't change the mind of the longtime prosecutor. "My dear friends who are priests don't understand what we're dealing with," Deters said. "There is evil in this world and there comes a point where society needs to defend itself." Kirkland, he said, "would kill again if he got the chance." Kirkland, 49, killed 3 women and 2 teenage girls before he was caught in 2009. He killed Leona Douglas, 28, in 1989, when he was 18 years old and served a 16-year prison sentence. He was released in 2003 and Kirkland started killing again in 2006. Kirkland killed Casonya Crawford, 14; Mary Jo Newton, 45; and Kimya Rolison, 25, in 2006. And then he killed Esme Kenney, 13, in 2009. He strangled or stabbed his victims, then burned their bodies and fled. He told police, in a confession, "Fire purifies." Kirkland was convicted in 2010 and is serving life prison terms for killing the adult women. But a death penalty sentence imposed for killing the teenagers was overturned by the Ohio Supreme Court, prompting a new sentencing. Kirkland's defense is pleading for a life prison term, saying Kirkland is mentally ill, was abused and neglected as a child and has head injuries that account for the violence. 6 women and 6 men are hearing the case. There were 2 days of serious questioning of jurors, including how they felt about the death penalty. 12 members of the pool of 120 said they could not, for personal and religious reasons, sign off on the death penalty. And they were excused. The Vatican said Francis approved a change to the Catechism of the Catholic Church - the compilation of official Catholic teaching. Previously, the catechism said the church didn't exclude recourse to capital punishment "if this is the only possible way of effectively defending human lives against the unjust aggressor." The new teaching, contained in Catechism No. 2267, says the previous policy is outdated, that there are other ways to protect the common good and that the church should instead commit itself to working to end capital punishment. The Pope has declared the Death Penalty Inadmissible in all cases. "The church teaches, in the light of the Gospel, that the death penalty is inadmissible because it is an attack on the inviolability and dignity of the person and she works with determination for its abolition worldwide," reads the new text, which was approved in May but only published Thursday. The death penalty has been abolished in most of Europe and South America, but it is still in use in the United States and in several countries in Asia, Africa and the Mideast. Francis has long railed against the death penalty, insisting it can never be justified, no matter how heinous the crime. He has also long made prison ministry a mainstay of his vocation. The Enquirer reported earlier this year that Hamilton County has sent more people to death row and is responsible for more executions than any county in Ohio since capital punishment returned to the state in 1981. The county has a larger death row population per capita than the home counties of Los Angeles, Miami or San Diego. And it has more people on death row than all but 21 of the more than 3,000 counties in the United States. In a statewide look at the death penalty, the Associated Press reported this week Ohio Gov. John Kasich has finished dealing with executions for the remainder of his time in office, following a modern-era record of death penalty commutations. The Republican governor spared 7 men from execution during his 2 terms in office, including commutations on March 26 and July 20. Kasich allowed 15 executions to proceed, including the July 18 execution of Robert Van Hook for a strangling, stabbing and dismembering a man he met in a Cincinnati bar more than 30 years ago. Not since Democrat Mike DiSalle spared 6 death row inmates in the early 1960s has an Ohio governor spared so many killers during periods when the state had an active death chamber. DiSalle allowed 6 executions to proceed. Source: cincinnati.com, August 3, 2018 Nebraska's Catholic Governor Says Pope's Opposition Won't Stop Execution When Nebraska lawmakers defied Gov. Pete Ricketts in 2015 by repealing the death penalty over his strong objections, the governor wouldn't let the matter go. Mr. Ricketts, a Republican who is Roman Catholic, tapped his family fortune to help bankroll a referendum to reinstate capital punishment, a measure the state's Catholic leadership vehemently opposed. After a contentious and emotional battle across this deep-red state, voters restored the death penalty the following year. Later this month, Nebraska is scheduled to execute Carey Dean Moore, who was convicted of murder, in what would be the state's 1st execution in 21 years. The prospect has renewed a tense debate in a state with strong Christian traditions that has wrestled with the moral and financial implications of the death penalty for years, even before the 2015 attempt to abolish it. Protesters have been holding daily vigils outside the governor's mansion to oppose Mr. Moore's execution. Complicating matters, Pope Francis this week declared that executions are unacceptable in all cases, a shift from earlier church doctrine that had accepted the death penalty if it was "the only practicable way" to defend lives. Coming only days before the scheduled Aug. 14 execution here, the pope's stance seemed to create an awkward position for Mr. Ricketts, who is favored to win a bid for re-election this fall. Mr. Ricketts, who in the past has said that he viewed his position on the death penalty as compatible with Catholicism, on Thursday issued a statement about the pope's declaration. "While I respect the pope's perspective, capital punishment remains the will of the people and the law of the state of Nebraska," Mr. Ricketts's statement said. "It is an important tool to protect our corrections officers and public safety. The state continues to carry out the sentences ordered by the court." But opponents seized on the pope's comments. Nebraska's Catholic bishops urged people to contact state officials to stop the scheduled execution of Mr. Moore and cited the pope's teaching. "Simply put, the death penalty is no longer needed or morally justified in Nebraska," the bishops wrote. Jane Kleeb, who leads the Nebraska Democratic Party, wrote on Twitter that Mr. Ricketts "is going against the teachings of the church" on the matter of executions. "When you have a priest on Sunday talking about how we don't believe in the death penalty, I think that will matter to people," she said in an interview. "Nebraskans are churchgoers and believe in the church and strong family units, and they believe in people paying for their crimes, but not necessarily with their lives." In many respects, Mr. Moore, 60, has become an afterthought in the buildup to his own execution. He has been on the state's death row longer than any of the other 11 other men and is among the longest-serving prisoners on any death row in the nation's history. Source: The New York Times, August 3, 2018 Utahns react to Pope's death penalty change The Pope has declared capital punishment "inadmissible" -- and on Thursday night, Utahns reacted to the announcement with mixed emotions. "A lot of people are kind of reeling from that, and trying to figure out what exactly to do," said Brandon Peterson, an assistant professor lecturer at the University of Utah. For Catholics, the announcement Thursday about a change to the Catechism is a major shift. "He's said that capital punishment is inadmissible. Primarily, because of the dignity of the human person," said Peterson. And though the church has slowly evolved on the death penalty issue, Peterson says today's change to the catechism is a huge deal. "Capital punishment is something that a lot of people support here in Utah," said Peterson. The death penalty is on the books in Utah. But the biggest impact could be for Catholic politicians who have been pro death penalty in the past. On Thursday, New York's governor proposed ending capital punishment after the Vatican's announcement. Yet not everybody thinks the pope's announcement is relevant to their lives. Riddell Mackey was raised Catholic, but has since left the church. "I don't believe a person should have the right to rape, kill and murder -- get 12 trials to go through, waste money, and then still have the opportunity to live after taking another person's life or ruining another person's life. I'm a very eye-for-an-eye person," said Mackey. Source: good4utah.com, August 3, 2018 | Report an error, an omission, a typo; suggest a story or a new angle to an existing story; submit a piece, a comment; recommend a resource; contact the webmaster, contact us: deathpenaltynews@gmail.com Opposed to Capital Punishment? Help us keep this blog up and running! DONATE! "One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed, but by the punishments that the good have inflicted." -- Oscar Wilde : The Daily Progress, August 3, 2018 With the numbers game more or less over, the PTI appears well set to form the next government both at the Centre and in Punjab. It was already in the saddle in KP and, most likely, the party will be a part of an emerging ruling coalition in Balochistan. It is indeed a great moment for the PTI and its leader Imran Khan who relentlessly pursued his course to the pinnacle of power. However tainted they might have been, the July 25 elections have cleared the clouds of political uncertainty though not entirely. Now, it is time to move forward. Shunning the call for a boycott, the Opposition parties have prudently decided to use the forum of Parliament to fight their battle. Surely, allegations of foul play on polling day and the delay in the announcement of the results must be investigated. But there is also a question regarding whether the reported irregularities would have drastically altered the overall outcome. A strong Opposition in the House will certainly help strengthen the democratic process. Imran Khans victory speech has raised hopes for the return of some rationality to his politics. He certainly sounded more circumspect and conciliatory while offering his partys cooperation in addressing the Oppositions complaints about poll rigging. He has laid down the priorities of the incoming administration, promising greater focus on institution building, human development and the alleviation of poverty. Improvement of relations with Afghanistan and India seem to be at the top on his foreign policy agenda. This is all good but things are not as simple as they sound. It will require more than populist rhetoric to move forward. The new administration will be constrained by the worsening state of the economy and civilian institutions being in a state of utter shambles. Delivering on their promise of a naya Pakistan will be a test for Imran Khan and his team. True, the PTI has ruled KP for a full five-year term, but it is a completely different ball game running the Central government and the countrys biggest province. The party had given an ambitious plan for its first 100 days in office, which includes turning around the economy, expanding job opportunities, dealing with the housing problem and carrying out structural reforms. But does the party have the capacity and expertise to deliver on these promises? Imran Khan says he will gather a team of technocrats to help the government. This may be a good idea, but these experts cannot deliver without an effective administration in place. One can only hope that the new PTI administration has learnt from the mistakes of previous governments that promoted cronyism Moreover, the existing political polarisation in the country worsened by widespread protests over alleged poll manipulation has made the situation more complex. With not enough numbers in either House of Parliament at the Centre, it will be extremely difficult for a fledging coalition to introduce any meaningful legislation needed for the implementation of the partys reform agenda, without the cooperation of the Opposition benches. Imran Khans own attitude towards elected institutions in the past raises questions about his ability to take Parliament along. His disdain has been evident in his derogatory remarks about the elected House. He would rarely attend parliamentary sessions. It remains to be seen if he changes his attitude when his party is in power. The requirement of parliamentary democracy is very different from personalised rule. Will Imran Khan shed his apparent arrogance and adhere to an institutional decision-making process? The question becomes more pertinent given the imbalance of power among various institutions of the state. Only a strong Parliament can help the government regain its democratic space. There are some legitimate concerns about the PTIs controversial position on religious extremism that poses a serious threat to national security and the countrys unity. The use of the blasphemy card against the PML(N) during the election campaign reinforced the perception that the PTI was catering to the religious right. This is extremely dangerous for a party that seeks to change Pakistan. Like his (civilian) predecessors, Imran Khan will also have to deal with the perennial problem of civil-military relations, though his detractors contend that his rise to power owes to the backing of the security establishment. The issue of the civil-military imbalance of power is inherent in the system given the overarching shadow of the military over the political spectrum. The political crisis triggered by the judicial action against former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif allowed the military further space. But the problem cannot be resolved through confrontation. The imbalance of power can only be resolved through strengthening Parliament and other civilian institutions, and good governance. It is certainly not going to happen overnight. Pakistans external and internal security situation demands a better balance. It will be tough going for the new Prime Minister and one hopes he can deliver on his promises. By arrangement with Dawn H08 The proliferation of punditry on Imran Khans emergence in Pakistan is in inverse proportion to any information available to the media on what, if any, appraisals have been made in South Block. (Photo: AP) The proliferation of punditry on Imran Khans emergence in Pakistan is in inverse proportion to any information available to the media on what, if any, appraisals have been made in South Block. In the absence of any hard information, the pundits are flying Basant kites in overcast monsoon conditions. Never, in my decades of journalism, has New Delhi been so short on information. But it is infra dig for pundits to betray a lack of information, knowledge or wisdom. So they pop up on every TV channel, look penetratingly into the camera and blurt out the earth-shaking truth: We have to watch the Pakistan Army! The Pakistan Army, meanwhile, is playing the monkey between two cats the United States and China. With Donald Trump and his Deep State apparently engaged in a savage fight to the finish, the balance of advantage must be seen to be with China. But the Chinese themselves are keeping their fingers crossed on the China-Pakistan economic corridor where India, at US prodding, may play the spoiler. Meanwhile, there are reports that thousands of Pakistan students, who in the past would have been westward bound, have entered Chinese schools of learning. Who knows, this may be the thin end of the wedge. To block this hemorrhage, President Trumps minions have rushed in to block any IMF relief to Pakistan and, to multiply the effect, raised India to almost Nato-level partner. In his first press conference, Imran Khan painted China in glowing colours as a role model. Those who know Imran are quite firm that the new Prime Minister will be pragmatic. He will not seek to impose a moral code on his armed forces. But he will draw some very firm red lines and these red lines will stretch from Pakhtunkhwa right through Afghanistan, the arena of his political baptism and purgatory. That is where he cannot be seen to be striking deals. His political turf will turn to ash if he does. The Punjabis among the peaceniks and the media are experiencing a reversal they have lost all their contacts across the border. This is a pity because he should not be seen with the traditional Pathan-Punjabi prism. The brunt of the blowback from the Afghan war was borne by the Pathan region, true, but it was a national catastrophe. The crest that Imran rode was precisely this all Pakistans anger at the Army fighting Americas war against the people it had trained as jihadis to expel the Soviet Union from Afghanistan. Over 40,000 Pakistanis were killed by the Pakistan Army and American drone attacks in these operations. Let me fast forward to the latest American debacle in Syria and its possible impact on the AfPak region. Ever since the Russians landed in Syria to fight terrorism, the US-Israel-Saudi bluff has been called. They armed and financed Jabhat al Nusra, Al Qaeda and worse, but their town criers amplified these rogue elements as the Free Syrian Army. When almost all the mercenary Islamists had been caught with their trousers down, the existential question arose: what to do with trained terrorists? When animal lovers in Britain forced an end to the traditional fox hunt, the impulse reached Indias southern hill station of Ootacamund too. The same question arose: what to do with hundreds of pedigree hounds? Good sense dawned, and the canines were kept in a deluxe kennel, then distributed among dog lovers. But what do the trainers do with terrorists, trained and tested in action, who have not only tasted blood but have begun to love it? Trained terrorists can only have one use as assets against any Muslim society which the trainer wishes to destabilise Afghanistan, Xinxiang, the Caucasus and so on. I can quote at least two recent US Presidents to prove my point. In an interview to Thomas L. Friedman of the New York Times in August 2014, President Barack Obama made a startling admission. Asked why he had not ordered air attacks against the Islamic State, when it first reared its head, Mr Obama said: That would have taken the pressure off Nouri al Maliki, Iraqs stubbornly anti-American Shia PM. In other words, the ISIS advance from Mosul to Baghdad was facilitated to oust Nouri al Maliki, an outcome the US was excitedly waiting for. Mr Maliki had to be punished for the affront of not signing the status of forces agreement with the US. Eventually Mr Maliki was shown the door. After having been briefed by the intelligence agencies, candidate Donald Trump told Jake Tapper of CNN: Where do you think have billions of dollars worth of arms and cash gone in the course of our involvement in Syria? To the extremists, of course, I believe so. He has not budged from this position. What should worry Imran Khan is the next stage the transfer of trained terrorists from Syria to northern Afghanistan. Irans Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei told a Friday congregation in Tehran on January 30. The US transfer of ISIS terrorists to Afghanistan is aimed at creating a justification for its (US) continued presence in the region. More recently, Russias deputy foreign minister Morgulov Igor Vladimirovich told a high-powered gathering at the Raisina Dialogue in New Delhi: ISIS fighters were being flown to northern Afghanistan. The Afghan airspace is under the control of the US and the government in Kabul. So who is responsible? Mr Vladimirovich asked. Islamabad, Beijing, Moscow are all persuaded that the Taliban will have to be part of the solution in Afghanistan. Will Washington, for that reason, pit itself on the opposite side? This will enflame anti-Americanism in the AfPak region. Remember, Recep Tayyip Erdogan rode a wave of popularity when he blocked US troops marching to Iraq in 2003 through Turkish territory. Israel attacked Mavi Marmara, a Turkish flotilla, on May 31, 2010 which aimed to provide relief to Gaza. Mr Erdogans tough anti-Israel stand further boosted his popularity sky high. This was the beginning of the powerful Turkish Army losing power to the civilian authority. Imran Khan considers Mr Erdogan as his role model. Do you get me? H08 A toy map showing the infamous nine-dash line seen on Shopee's website. Screenshot taken on 21:00 August 1, 2018, before the item was removed. Authorities had ordered that Shopee removes a toy showing a Chinese map violating Vietnams sovereignty. The Vietnam eCommerce and Digital Economy Agency (iDEA) had demanded that e-commerce service Shopee Vietnam get rid of a toy map showing the infamous nine-dash line that China has used to illegally claim sovereign Vietnamese territory in the East Sea, also internationally known as the South China Sea. The line claims 90 percent of the 3.5-million-square-kilometer East Sea as Chinese territory. This claim has been rejected by the international community. It overlaps with claims by Brunei, Malaysia, and the Philippines, and violates Vietnam's water sovereignty. iDEA, which functions under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, has also required that Shopee and other e-commerce firms apply an online filter to block future items with content that violates Vietnams sovereignty. It has taken 30 boxes of the toy for futher investigation. "We have upgraded our filter with multiple levels to make sure the same thing wont happen again," a Shopee representative told VnExpress, adding that the item has been taken off its website. Shopee also promised that it would recall the product and refund customers. The map, a toy for children to learn countries flags by putting them in the correct locations, got public attention after a mother in Hanoi discovered the nine-dash line on Wednesday and reported it to local media. The map incorrectly shows Vietnams Hoang Sa and Truong Sa archipelagoes (Paracel and Spratly Islands) as part of Chinas territory, and a product description on Shopee said the toy would help children aged three years and up understand more about countries in the world. The map was printed in English and Chinese without a Vietnamese translation. The nine-dash line had caused an uproar in Vietnam in May when it was found on T-shirts worn by 14 Chinese tourists as they passed through immigration at the Cam Ranh International Airport in the central province of Khanh Hoa. HCMC has called on the Defense Ministry to speed up handover of land for building a key bridge over the Saigon River. City officials have urged the ministry to duly instruct the Ba Son Corporation and Navy Command Zone 2 on the handover, so that construction of the Thu Thiem Bridge 2 can be completed on schedule. Reviewing progress of the $2.2-billion Thu Thiem Eco Smart City project, municipal Chairman Nguyen Thanh Phong also asked relevant agencies to fix compensation rates for land to be acquired for building the bridge over the Saigon River, connecting Districts 1 and 2. Work on the VND4.26 trillion ($188.4 million) bridge, an important component of the Thu Thiem Eco Smart City project, began in early 2015 and was slated for completion this year on April 30, Reunification Day. The components of the work spanning from Thu Thiem New Urban Area to mid-Saigon River have been completed. But the parts in District 1 are facing delays since some of the required land belongs to the Ministry of Defense. In a related development, the chairman instructed the citys Department of Planning and Investment to publicize information about the Thu Thiem 4 Bridge, another component of the Thu Thiem Eco Smart City, paving the way for pre-feasibility studies. The VND5.2 trillion ($230 million) bridge between Districts 2 and 7, also over the Saigon River, will be built by a public-private partnership (PPP). Phong also gave a two-month extension to Dai Quang Minh Real Estate Investment JSC for preparing a proposal to construct a pedestrian bridge over the Saigon River under the build-transfer (BT) format. The company has to submit at least three designs for the bridge, he said. The municipal chairman approved a proposal by the citys Architecture and Planning Council on redesigning the 2A Functional Zone in the Thu Thiem Eco Smart City. The new design will turn two separate blocks in lots 2-5 into one single tower consisting of 50-60 floors at the most. Coming up in District 2 on the eastern side of the Saigon River, the 657-ha Thu Thiem Eco Smart City is envisioned as an iconic urban development project in Southeast Asia. It will have an international trading-financial-banking centre, hotels, serviced apartments, offices, and multifunctional condos, and the 50-60-storied building will be one of its highlights. The city has licensed a consortium of seven South Korean and Japanese companies to develop the $2.2 billion smart city project. Five bridges and a tunnel are planned to connect the new eco-smart city with the rest of HCMC. The Thu Thiem 1 Bridge and the tunnel connecting Districts 1 and 2 have already opened to traffic. Around 99 per cent of land acquisition for the project is complete. But more than 100 people have refused to give up their land and petitioned the administration, saying their lands do not lie in the project area. The Government Inspectorate was expected to announce its verdict on the petition by July 15, but it has not done so. India rice rates up on monsoon lull; flood threat looms in Thailand, Vietnam Farmers plant saplings in a rice field in Srinagar June 5, 2018. Photo by Reuters/Danish Ismail Rice prices in India rose on concerns of below-normal rainfall, while Thailand, Vietnam kept a close eye on the possibility of flooding. Rates for Indias 5 percent broken parboiled variety rose by $3 to $392-$396 per tonne this week amid modest demand, after falling to the lowest level since April 20, 2017 last month. In many rice growing pockets rainfall is lower than usual. It could hit production, said an exporter based at Kakinada in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh. Farmers in India, the world's top rice exporter, had planted summer-sown paddy rice on 19.76 million hectares as of July 20, down 12.4 percent from a year ago. India is likely to receive below-normal monsoon rains in 2018, a private weather forecaster said on Wednesday, raising concerns over farm output in Asias third-biggest economy. Meanwhile, a senior food ministry official from neighbouring Bangladesh, which emerged as a major importer of rice in 2007, said the country does not have any plan to import rice for now due to higher local procurement. Thailands benchmark 5 percent broken rice rose slightly to $385-$393 per tonne this week free on board (FOB) Bangkok, from $380-$385 last week on a stronger bhat, but demand remained flat, traders said. There is interest from markets like the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia, without any deals ... If prices remain low, these might turn into deals, a Bangkok-based rice trader said. Thailand is in the middle of harvesting its off-season crops. But, heavy rainfall has increased the risk of flooding, which could pressure supplies. Traders are also keeping an eye on the water levels at 11 major dams, including several located upstream to the rice bowl in central Thailand, which have risen to near their storage limit. Authorities, however, have stressed that flooding is not imminent. If the release of water results in prolonged flooding, then it could damage crops and increase prices, another trader said. In Vietnam, rates for 5 percent broken rice were $385-$395 a tonne, versus $390-$395 a week ago. Trade is quiet as we are focusing on delivering the deals signed before, a Ho Chi Minh City-based trader said Flood water is rising in the Mekong Delta, prompting farmers to speed up their harvest of the summer-autumn crop. Government officials said on Wednesday floods from a burst dam in Laos had inundated thousands of hectares of paddy fields in the Mekong Delta, Vietnams rice bowl, although the damage is limited and not expected to affect the countrys export crop. Farmers in the delta provinces have planted more than 1.69 million hectares of rice for the summer-autumn crop, government data showed. A driver and passenger ride on a motorbike, part of the Go-Jek ride-hailing service, on a busy street in central Jakarta, Indonesia. Photo by Reuters/Darren Whiteside/FIle Photo Indonesian company Go-Jek Wednesday launched its service in Vietnam, where Grab dominates the market. In its first international foray outside Indonesia Go-Jek has dubbed itself Go-Viet, and its app is available to download on both Apple and Android. Go-Viet now offers motorbikes and delivery services in 12 districts of Ho Chi Minh City. It is unclear when the services will be expanded to the rest of HCMC and to Hanoi. We did a successful pilot of Go-Viet and received a lot of positive feedback, Nguyen Vu Duc, CEO of Go-Viet, said. The Vietnam launch is part of Go-Jeks $500-million plan to expand in Southeast, including to Thailand in September and the Philippines before the end of this year. The company plans to try a different strategy from Grab by tailoring its services to each country with a different name and local teams, which it believes have more understanding of local needs. Founded in 2010 Go-Jek has so far raised over $1.5 billion from investors like Google and Chinas Tencent Holdings, according to Reuters. Starting out as a phone-based motorbike ride-hailing app, Go-Jek is now a digital platform which offers transportation, logistics and delivery services. Go-Jek is not the only company vying for a spot in Vietnams transport market, with Singapore-based blockchain-powered ride-hailing app MVL also on the verge of entering. Since Uber left in April, Grab has dominated the market, with authorities investigating possible breaches of anti-trust laws. Fishing boats off the coast of the southern Kien Giang Province. Photo by Cuu Long Authorities in southern Vietnam are investigating a case of modern slavery after 12 victims were saved. Border guards last week rescued 12 young people who were tricked into working on fishing boats off the coast of Kien Giang Province, beaten and not allowed to come ashore. The rescue operation was launched after the family of an 18-year-old boy from the south central province of Ninh Thuan asked the province's border guards to rescue him. According to the family's complaint, the teenager was tricked into working on a fishing boat in Kien Giang by a broker called Chin for VND12 million ($515) per month. However, once he got on the boat, he was regularly beaten, not allowed to return to the mainland and not paid, with his employer claiming that the payment had already been made to broker Chin. Upon investigating the complaint, Kien Giang border guards discovered the victim and 11 others being forced to work on two fishing boats off the province's coast and rescued them last Friday night. Provincial authorities said they have placed two men Huynh Thanh Vu, 36, and Tran Minh Trung, 42, under investigation. No further information about the men or the case was available at the time of going to press. Last April, border guards had rescued 11 workers from forced labor at an illegal gold mine in the central province of Quang Nam. Le Thi Bich Hong has become the second female captain in Vietnams aviation history. Hong earned her promotion after accumulating 4,000 flight hours under strict professional standards and requirements, and after being a co-pilot on Airbus A320 aircraft for four years. Jetstar Pacific certified the 33-year-old woman as captain on Thursday. Vietnam's newest captain Le Thi Bich Hong. Photo courtesy of Jetstar Pacific The nations second female airplane captain majored in French Literature at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities in Ho Chi Minh City. She also got a Masters Degree in international relations in Australia before deciding to settle down in Vietnam. She seized on the opportunity to realize her dream to becoming a pilot when she learnt that the aviation industry was looking for pilots to localize its human resources. After passing many examinations, Hong was selected for a pilot training program in New Zealand. After completing her training, she began to fly commercial aircraft between Hanoi and Saigon. There is no such joy comparable to being able to fly over the sky of my motherland and take passengers to different parts of the country, Hong said. Nguyen Thi Thanh Thuy became Vietnams first female captain, when national carrier Vietnam Airlines promoted her in 2013. Vietnam's criminal probe into a national exam fraud was expanded to the third province with two more officials arrested on Friday. Nguyen Khac Tuan, an official at the Testing Unit under Hoa Binh's Education Department, and Do Manh Tuan, vice principal of a boarding school for ethnic minorities in Lac Thuy District, were arrested and placed under criminal investigation for "abuse of power or position in performance of official duties." Nguyen Khac Tuan, an official at the Testing Unit under Hoa Binh Province's education department, and Do Manh Tuan, vice principal of a local boarding school, were arrested on Friday for probe into a national high school exam fraud. Photo courtesy of the police Police have accused both men of being involved in a national high school exam fraud in the province, in which the answer sheets of some candidates were altered to raise their marks. According to the director of Hoa Binh's education department, the number of answer sheets that had been tampered with has yet to be determined. He however asserted that his department was not attempting to cover up the incident. After the Ministry of Education and Training released the official test results of all candidates nationwide on July 11, Hoa Binh was among a number of provinces that had the public question their candidates' results. Out of the province's over 8,900 candidates, 24 scored at least 9 on a scale of 10 in Maths, making up 4.7 percent of all candidates with such high scores in the country. Hoa Binh's education department then launched an inspection into its exam grading process but reported no violation, prompting the education ministry to request a police investigation on July 24. Police in Hoa Binh check the room of Do Manh Tuan, a local vice principal, for investigation in a nationan high school exam fraud. Photo by VnExpress/Duong Tam An initial investigation soon discovered signs that a number of candidates' multiple-choice answer sheets had been altered to improve their results. Hoa Binh's education department last Saturday also reported discovering that the exam marking time did not match with the time the computer used for grading was being used. Five officials responsible for grading the multiple-choice exams were subsequently summonned for questioning, and a criminal investigation was officially launched on Friday. Hoa Binh is the third province caught in a criminal probe into the high school exam fraud this year, besides the northern Ha Giang and Son La Provinces. The investigation in Ha Giang has so far led to the arrests of two senior education officials, who were found to have heavily altered the results of over 330 test sheets belonging to 114 candidates to increase their scores. In Son La, five officials, including the provincial education department's deputy director, have been placed under criminal investigation for raising the marks for some candidates. Last March, U.S. aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson arrived in Da Nang on a historic visit to Vietnam. Photo by Nguyen Dong Vietnams Foreign Ministry spokeswoman on Thursday neither confirmed nor denied reports of a $94.7 million arms deal with the U.S. Spokeswoman Le Thi Thu Hang merely said at a regular press conference that she would pass on questions about the deal to relevant authorities. She said Vietnam's defense policy is to protect the country's peace, independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity and to contribute to peace and stability in the region and the world. "[Vietnam's] defense cooperation with other countries are to implement this policy," the spokesperson said. A U.S.-based newspaper on Thursday quoted an unnamed official from the U.S. State Department as saying that Vietnam has signed contracts to buy U.S. military equipment worth $94.7 million. The official did not disclose further details, but the newspaper claimed that the deals have been reported to the U.S. Congress and are in various stages of implementation and transfer to Vietnam. According to the official, between 2012 and 2017, the U.S. State Department allowed Vietnam to purchase military equipment worth $25 million through the Direct Commercial Sales program. The department also provided $12 million to Vietnam through its Foreign Military Financing program in the fiscal year 2017, the official said. In 2016, U.S. President Barack Obama lifted a decades-long embargo on arms sales to Vietnam, but the two countries have yet to officially announce any arms deal between them. However, Vietnam and the U.S. have been stepping up defense cooperation in recent years. As part of the Excess Defense Articles program, the U.S. last year transferred to Vietnam a ship that now serves Vietnam's Coast Guard as the CSB 8020. Last March, U.S. aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson arrived in Da Nang on a historic visit to Vietnam, the first visit to the country by a U.S. aircraft carrier since 1975. During this visit, the U.S. also delivered six Metal Shark patrol boats to Vietnam. Vietnamese drug traffickers stand at a trial in Ho Chi Minh City on Thursday. Photo by Lan Ngoc A HCMC court sentenced five members of a drug gang to death and gave life sentences to four others on Thursday. The leader of the gang, Nguyen Van Phu, 54, and four of his henchmen aged 27-58 got death for "illegally trading and trafficking narcotics." The four to get life for the same charges are aged 26-45. Three others received jail sentences of five to 20 years. According to the indictment, Phu frequently traveled to Cambodia as part of his job, and became acquainted with drug suppliers in the neighboring country. He and his former jail associates, Nguyen Thi Be and Nguyen Hung Loc, then set up a gang to traffic drugs from Cambodia to Ho Chi Minh City. The gang first appeared on the authorities radar when customs officers at Moc Bai Border Gate in the southern province of Tay Ninh caught Be and Loc trying to enter Vietnam with 2.1 kilograms (4.6 pounds) of heroin in 2015. Be was later sentenced to death for drug trafficking, but Loc managed to escape and warn Phu, enabling him to evade arrest. Phu was eventually tracked down in November 2015 after police arrested one of his buyers in Ho Chi Minh City's District 8 with 5.2 kg of heroin. The buyer fingered Phu, and the police quickly arrested him and his gang. Its associates in the north were arrested a few months later after police caught a gang member trafficking 17 kilograms of synthetic drugs from the northern port city of Hai Phong to a hotel in HCMC to meet Phu's men. The gang had traded over 20 kg of heroin and 17 kg of synthetic drugs between March 2014 and January 2016, according to prosecutors. Vietnam has some of the worlds toughest drug laws. Those convicted of possessing or smuggling more than 600 grams of heroin or cocaine or more than 2.5 kg of methamphetamine could face the death penalty. The production or sale of 100 grams of heroin or 300 grams of other illegal narcotics is also punishable by death. A U.S. court sentenced a Vietnamese man to 42 months in jail Wednesday for international wire fraud and money laundering. The Boston city court also ordered Tuan Dinh Nguyen, 30, to pay a fine of $500,000 for stealing personal data from cards to buy and resell consumer goods, financial weekly Banker & Tradesman reported. Nguyen, who used to live in Melbourne, Australia, was indicted by a U.S. court in 2015 and arrested and extradited to that country in June last year. He and at least three others, between December 2007 and December 2013, used stolen payment card data and personally identifiable information to buy goods online and sell them on auction websites like Amazon, eBay, and Buy.com. They would create fraudulent accounts on multiple auction websites or steal usernames and passwords to take over legitimate accounts. They would then offer goods they did not yet possess for sale at discounted prices. When someone bought them, Nguyen and his accomplices would use the stolen data to buy the goods and shipped to the buyers. They got U.S. residents to wire the proceeds overseas. In all they stole $500,000 in this manner, the report said. Ukraine's milling-wheat supplies total about 11 million metric tonnes, with domestic demand pegged at about 5 million tonnes, according to the Agriculture Ministry. Wheat prices spiked, reaching a three-year high, and then shot back down after Ukraine sowed confusion in the market with conflicting statements on possible export limits. Ukraine, the world's fifth-largest exporter, first issued a statement on Facebook saying it plans to limit shipments of milling wheat after a drought wrecked European crops. The ministry later sought to clarify its position, explaining that it's not discussing "strict limits" and will discuss projected shipment volumes with traders, Bloomberg wrote. Futures rallied as much as 6.2 percent in Chicago and 5.3 percent in Paris. Prices later gave back most of the gain, with Chicago wheat trading up 0.6 percent as of 1:18 p.m. local time. The Agriculture Ministry plans to sign a memorandum with traders setting limits for the 2018-19 season. The nation tends to enforce its wheat export limits informally, pressuring grain traders to ship certain volumes, rather than formally issuing a legal document. The effect, however, has been roughly the same, with Ukrainian grain sales capped. "The worse wheat quality of this harvest may make the agriculture ministry pay more attention and follow strictly the size of milling wheat export set in the memo," said Sergey Feofilov, general director of UkrAgroConsult in Kyiv. Read alsoUkraine expects record maize harvest, rising sales to China Ukraine's move brings back memories of 2010-11 export restrictions imposed by the country and Russia after a heatwave and drought ruined crops. That sent global grain prices sharply higher. Smaller crops in major shippers are boosting the attractiveness of Ukrainian grain, the ministry said. Extreme heat and dryness means output in the European Union will be the second lowest in a decade and production in Russia will fall for the first time in six years. "We have seen this from Ukraine before," Matt Ammermann, a commodity risk manager at INTL FCStone Inc., said before the ministry's clarification. "The market may panic, fearing the same from Russia." Russia's Agriculture Ministry said it has no plans to limit wheat exports. Ukraine's milling-wheat supplies total about 11 million metric tonnes, with domestic demand pegged at about 5 million tonnes, according to the Agriculture Ministry. Wheat prices are important for emerging markets including Egypt and Indonesia that rely heavily on imports. The world saw food riots in as many as 60 nations in Africa, Asia and the Middle East during the 2007-08 and 2010-11 food price spikes. Still, global grain stockpiles remain high, said Abdolreza Abbassian, a senior economist at the United Nations' Food & Agriculture Organization. "It's still very much a wheat situation, but we have to watch the corn situation quite carefully, especially in the U.S.," Abbassian said. "We could have quite a dramatic turn for worse, if in the coming weeks we get some strange weather hitting corn markets." Ukrainians experience difficulties with opening accounts in foreign banks The National Bank of Ukraine and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine have not yet commented on such problems. If you see a spelling error on our site, select it and press Ctrl+Enter Ukraine's Finance Ministry proposes tightening control over money transfers media Those subject to primary financial monitoring will be prohibited from transferring funds in the absence of the relevant information. If you see a spelling error on our site, select it and press Ctrl+Enter Ukrainian embassy in UK says sanctions imposed against certain persons, not Ukraine On August 2, Ukraine's Monobank co-founder Dmytro Dubilet reported problems with opening accounts in UK-based banks by companies owned by Ukrainian nationals, ironically, because of sanctions slapped over Russian aggression. If you see a spelling error on our site, select it and press Ctrl+Enter The right to believe or not believe is the most fundamental of freedoms, declared Vice President Mike Pence at the recently concluded Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom. Today, a stunning 83 percent of the worlds population live in nations where religious freedom is either threatened or even banned. In China, noted Vice President Pence, religious persecution is growing in both scope and scale. The State Departments annual International Religious Freedom report has labeled China as a religious freedom violator every year since 1999. Together with other religious minorities, Buddhists, Muslims, and Christians are often under attack. Vice President Pence said that the Chinese government has repressed the Tibetan people for decades simply for trying to practice their religion and protect their culture. Vice President Pence also noted that Beijing is holding hundreds of thousands, and possibly millions, of Uyghur Muslims in so-called re-education camps, where theyre forced to endure around-the-clock political indoctrination and to denounce their religious beliefs and their cultural identity as the goal. But for all of Chinas abuses, their neighbor in North Korea is much worse, declared Vice President Pence. While we all hope that relations between the United States and North Korea continue to improve, and we certainly hope that the threat posed by North Koreas nuclear and ballistic weapons program can be eliminated, there is no escaping the plain fact that North Koreas leadership has exacted unparalleled privation and cruelty upon its people for decades. Torture, mass starvation, public executions, murders, forced abortions, and industrial-scale slave labor have been the means by which that regime has retained hold on its power for more than 70 years. Today, an estimated 130,000 North Koreans are imprisoned for life in brutal slave labor camps. North Koreas persecution of Christians has no rival on the Earth, declared Mr. Pence. The mere possession of a Christian Bible is a capital offense. And those identified by the regime as Christians are regularly executed or condemned with their families to North Koreas gulags. The United States stands for religious freedom yesterday, today and always, affirmed Vice President Pence. Thats why the U.S. will continue to stand with the people of China and North Korea as they seek to exercise this most fundamental right. August third marks the anniversary of the assault by ISIS terrorists on the Yezidi community in northern Iraq, during which they sought to destroy this people and their culture. The brutality of the events marked both a disaster for the Yezidi community, and a turning point in the fight against ISIS. On August 3, 2014, ISIS terrorists overran the city of Sinjar in northern Iraq. The town had a population of 90,000 people, most of them Yezidis, with a small Shia minority. Yezidis are a non-Muslim religious and ethnic minority. They have been viciously targeted and persecuted by ISIS for their beliefs, and have been frequently attacked throughout their history by others. When ISIS seized control of Sinjar and the surrounding countryside, they immediately began to destroy Yezidi shrines, and to slaughter Yezidi civilians. Thousands of people, particularly men and boys, were executed, while thousands more, especially women and girls, were abducted and raped as sex slaves by ISIS fighters. Of the 200,000 people who fled from their homes in the city and the surrounding villages, some 50,000 took refuge on Mount Sinjar. There they were surrounded and trapped by ISIS fighters. Within three days, dozens of Yezidis, nearly all of them children, began to die of dehydration. They called family around the world, including in America, begging for help to escape the siege. On August 4, 2014, the Emir of the Yezidi called on world leaders for assistance. The United States responded, conducting airstrikes against ISIS militants, supporting the delivery of humanitarian assistance through air drops of food and water, and working with Iraqi and other partners. This was the first action that led to the formation of the international coalition to defeat ISIS, and the beginning of the end for ISIS. By mid-December of 2014 Kurdish forces launched the first phase of the campaign to expel ISIS from Sinjar, liberating part of Sinjar city before the years end. On November 13, 2015, a day after launching a second offensive, Kurdish and Yezidi forces, backed by coalition airstrikes, fully regained control of Sinjar from ISIS. The fight against ISIS is a fight of civilization against barbarism. Nowhere was this more clearly demonstrated then in Sinjar. Ameriabank and HSBC Armenia to provide their customers access to each others ATMs without additional fees Ameriabank. 62.5% Growth in Taxes YOY Mikayel and Karen Vardanyans have provided 300 million AMD to overcome the infertility in Armenia UCOM has officially launched the sale of IPHONE 13 Six servicemen were wounded by the attack of the Azerbaijani armed forces in Artsakh, two of them in critical condition S&P Improved the Outlook on Ameriabank to Positive Ararat Mirzoyan to visit to Minsk Foreign Minister of India visits the Memorial of Armenian Genocide 1217 new cases Global Finance Names Ameriabank the Safest Bank in Armenia Statement by the Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group At UCOM only: Tv sets at 10% discount + 1 month free UMIX package + 4k tv channel Ameriabanks Special Offer for New Clients of Hrazdan Branch "Fall forward": Gurgen Khachatryan, the Co-Founder of the Galaxy Group of Companies, addressed a message to young people in Armenia UCOM hosted interns of Russian CBOSS corporation for a month The 20-episode Bloody bet thriller to be broadcast on Ucom's Armenia Premium TV channel Google Ad Statement by the Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group UCOM offers affordable gadgets at bigger discount Foreign Minister of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan will pay a working visit to New York Governments preventing publication of Haykakan Zhamanak newspaper during state of emergency UCOM prolongs the unlimited internet offer for the level up 4700 and level up 5500 subscribers Ucom employees received recognition for their services to the homeland Karen Vardanyan has allocated 105 million AMD to rescue the Yerevan Botanical Garden. "The Power of One Dram" to overcome childhood cancer Generation A 13 your chance to be the change President of the Artsakh Republic Arayik Harutyunyan met with Russian Co-Chair of the OSCE Minsk Group Igor Khovayev "uDays" special offer at Ucom: discounts for all smartphones and accessories for 2 days only For more than 3 hours, 50 or more Azerbaijani servicemen have blocked the interstate road Call on the international community for an adequate response against azerbaijani aggresssion Ameriabank and HSBC Armenia to provide their customers access to each others ATMs without additional fees Ameriabank. 62.5% Growth in Taxes YOY Mikayel and Karen Vardanyans have provided 300 million AMD to overcome the infertility in Armenia UCOM has officially launched the sale of IPHONE 13 Google Ad Six servicemen were wounded by the attack of the Azerbaijani armed forces in Artsakh, two of them in critical condition S&P Improved the Outlook on Ameriabank to Positive Ararat Mirzoyan to visit to Minsk Foreign Minister of India visits the Memorial of Armenian Genocide 1217 new cases Global Finance Names Ameriabank the Safest Bank in Armenia Statement by the Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group At UCOM only: Tv sets at 10% discount + 1 month free UMIX package + 4k tv channel Ameriabanks Special Offer for New Clients of Hrazdan Branch "Fall forward": Gurgen Khachatryan, the Co-Founder of the Galaxy Group of Companies, addressed a message to young people in Armenia UCOM hosted interns of Russian CBOSS corporation for a month The 20-episode Bloody bet thriller to be broadcast on Ucom's Armenia Premium TV channel Google Ad Statement by the Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group UCOM offers affordable gadgets at bigger discount Foreign Minister of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan will pay a working visit to New York Governments preventing publication of Haykakan Zhamanak newspaper during state of emergency UCOM prolongs the unlimited internet offer for the level up 4700 and level up 5500 subscribers Ucom employees received recognition for their services to the homeland Karen Vardanyan has allocated 105 million AMD to rescue the Yerevan Botanical Garden. "The Power of One Dram" to overcome childhood cancer Generation A 13 your chance to be the change President of the Artsakh Republic Arayik Harutyunyan met with Russian Co-Chair of the OSCE Minsk Group Igor Khovayev "uDays" special offer at Ucom: discounts for all smartphones and accessories for 2 days only For more than 3 hours, 50 or more Azerbaijani servicemen have blocked the interstate road Call on the international community for an adequate response against azerbaijani aggresssion Lawyer: Manvel Grigoryan's health condition is extremely poor Arsen Mkrtchyan, the lawyer of member of the Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) parliamentary faction, General Manvel Grigoryan warns that General's health condition is extremely poor and gets worse day by day. According to the lawyer, the only consolation is that the body conducting the proceedings assigned an expert examination. "I hope that in the near future, after receiving the results of that expertise, the body conducting the proceedings will make the appropriate decision. I think no doctor in Armenia will doubt that Manvel Grigoryan's illness is incompatible with detention," says the lawyer. "Manvel Grigoryan, who is in Yerevan-Kentron penitentiary, has no complaints about medical care. "The material-technical base and medical staff of the penitentiary serve its purpose, but it is not enough to keep the situation stable," adds Arsen Mkrtchyan. According to him, no person can receive chemotherapy in some penitentiaries. Andranik Kocharyan: Robert Kocharyan is like recidivist who violates the constitution There would not be March 1, if Defense Minister Mikael Harutyunyan opposed Robert Kocharyan in 2008 and did not bring the army against its own people. "I consider it the worst year for our army. We have never had such a weak defense minister who was able to be forced to do not only unlawful actions, but also he made a decision to use the army against its own people," said member of the former Pastahavaq Group Andranik Kocharyan in a conversation with "A1 +." According to Andranik Kocharyan, Mikael Harutyunyan, who is now wanted, should be detected and questioned as soon as possible. "I used to say that he had to wake up his officer's honor, but I realized he had lost that feeling long ago, when signing such orders. When Mikael Haruyunyan said in Pastahavaq Group, 'Dear Andranik, why did you give me that matter?' He immediately revealed that this issue should not be given to him." Member of Pastahavaq group excludes that Robert Kocharyan was unaware of the 0038 order. "Robert Kocharyan forgets that if he had been the president of Armenia, they were obliged to report him, and those legal issues would have to be noticed by Kocharyan's advisers, and we know he had a very prominent, powerful legal advisers, including David Harutyunyan, who would hardly miss that." In the case of March 1, former Pastahavaq group, especially the 5th report, which refers to the involvement of the army, has a weighty role for the reopened of the criminal case. "Seyran Ohanyan and Mikael Harutyunyan can say more than Yuri Khachaturov. The entire ideology of this order formation came from Robert Kocharyan, but I was sure that chief of the general stuff was involved in the preparation of the order and that defense minister of that time was a mandatory participant. Yuri Khachaturov was in charge of managing this new command structure in the preparation of this order." According to Andranik Kocharyan, all the military-related processes in the framework of the March 1 criminal case must be completed quickly, keeping the armed forces away from discrediting, especially when the police, the NSS and the investigative bodies remain in shadow. "Do not accept the words of Robert Kocharyan. He is like a recidivist who violates the constitution. He must also show his masculinity, when he does not have the power," said Andranik Kocharyan and added, "Robert Kocharyan will never tell you the truth, so do not have big hopes. Neither he nor his surroundings will ever say that the yoghurt is white, and if it has to be said that the yoghurt is black, they will invite David Harutyunyan, who will definitely find a legal justification for it." He is convinced that the discovery of March 1, 2008, will open a road for revealing October 27, as it will reveal investigators who will be able to identify 27 by their qualifications. State-owned enterprise (SOE) Ukrspyrt officially opened the National Product chain of alcohol shops selling Ukrainian brands. According to a press release of SOE, the first five stores are located in Kyiv. In the near future, the company plans to expand the chain of stores throughout Ukraine. More than 150 domestic brands will be presented in the National Product stores, including own produce of the Lutsk alcohol factory of Ukrspyrt. SOE said that the chain was opened in accordance with the approved strategic plan for the development of the enterprise. Ukrspyrt in 2017 relaunched the facilities to produce its own vodka and from December 2017 Ukrainian vodka from Ukrspyrt is exported to Germany. "Our goal is to popularize the Ukrainian product on the domestic market and abroad. A third consignment of vodka has now been shipped to Germany for export, and it is also planned to enter the British market," acting Director of Ukrspyrt Yuriy Luchechko said. Ukrspyrt is a large producer of alcohol and alcohol-containing products in Ukraine. SOE is managed by the Agricultural Policy and Food Ministry. The total production capacity of SOE is more than 36 million decaliters per year. It has 41 production sites. PJSC Ukrzaliznytsia has launched the regular container train Odesa port-Dnipro-Lisky-Odesa port, the company has reported on its website. The first trip of the train was started on July 31 from Odesa port and on August 1 it arrived to Dnipro-Vantazhny station. Packaging materials were shipped in containers. Acting Ukrzaliznytsia Board Chairman Yevhen Kravtsov said that demand on container transportation by rail is increasing rapidly, and Ukrzaliznytsia offers new routes to its clients. "In the first half of this year, Ukrzaliznytsia transported more than 143,500 0 containers, which is 23% more than in the same period of 2017. The growth of transportation is due to the competitive speed of delivery of goods regardless of weather conditions," he said. The new train will run in test mode on Tuesdays with departure from Odesa Port station at 13:00 and arrival at the Dnipro-Vantazhny station on the next day at 8:29. The train will return on Monday from Dnipro-Vantazhny station at 2:50 and arrive on the same day at 19:37. In the future, if there is demand, Ukrzaliznytsia will consider the possibility of transferring this train to daily trips. According to Kravtsov, for today the share of container transportation among other transportations by rail is 1.5% and this figure is planned to increase. According to Ukrzaliznytsia, the bulk of containers on the territory of Ukraine are transported for exports, their share is 40% of the total traffic volume (for the last five years, the share of exports was 33%). In the general container turnover, the share of container traffic on domestic routes is 18%. The Agricultural Policy and Food Ministry of Ukraine has said that today it is not spoken about the direct restriction of exports of bread wheat from Ukraine. "Today, we are not talking about a direct restriction of the export of bread wheat, but we will sign a traditional document with grain traders in which we point out the projected export volumes. However, taking into account the special situation on the external grain markets, this year we decided to bring together the text of the memorandum on paper [without specifying the forecast level of export] and its digital version [the supplement indicating this figure]," the press service of the Agricultural Policy and Food Ministry said. After the report of First Deputy Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food Maksym Martyniuk on August 2 about the intention of the ministry to sign a memorandum with grain traders in the coming days, the media reported on a possible restriction of wheat exports from Ukraine. As reported, the ministry keeps the forecast of wheat harvest at the level of 23 million tonnes, compared to 26.2 million tonnes in 2017. The ministry, in a pessimistic scenario, estimates the supply of bread wheat of the 2018 harvest at the level of 11 million tonnes. This is more than double demand of the domestic market for bread wheat, which is estimated at 5 million tonnes. ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih (Dnipropetrovsk region) expects in autumn to complete the delivery of 500 high-sided cars under a financial leasing scheme, while the company's own fleet will double. "This year we have purchased 500 high-sided wagons. Some of them have already been received, and in autumn we plan to fully close the deal. Our own fleet will double, which will allow us to carry out 10-15% of shipments on our own. Our goal is to bring our own fleet of cars to 1,500, this is about one-third of our total need (4,500 wagons)," Andriy Moroz, the head of external logistics at PJSC ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih, said in an interview posted on the company's corporate website. The manager explained that the increase in the fleet in conditions of a shortage of wagons in the country is the only way to ensure stable delivery of raw materials and shipment of metal products. In addition, costs for the delivery of outgoing and incoming goods, dependence on the market conditions, etc. are reduced. The increase in own rolling stock has fully justified itself. The deficit of cars in Ukraine, according to some estimates, reaches 10,000 and be rising in the coming years. We can talk about a deficit of up to 18,000 railcars by 2021 as a whole across the country," the expert predicts. The National Council for Television and Radio Broadcasting of Ukraine in accordance with the Information Policy Ministry of Ukraine has issued new licenses for temporary broadcasting from Chonhar TV tower to the territory of Crimea for Crimean Tatar TV channels ATR and LALE. Member of the Council Serhiy Kostynsky gave the information on his Facebook page, adding that the licenses were issued using a simplified procedure. "According to the draft Broadcasting Development Strategy in the south of Kherson region and Crimea, in line with the schedule we are increasing the number of broadcasters, first of all local ones," he said. In addition, the National Council re-issued licenses for temporary broadcasting in Luhansk and Donetsk regions to broadcasters already broadcasting in accordance with the requirements of the new law, in particular: UA: Ukrainian Radio, UA Radio Luch, Tryzub FM, Radio Pulse, Strana FM, Russian Radio Ukraine, Radio FM Halychyna, Army FM, Public Radio and Radio Klass. As reported, in March the National Council for Television and Radio Broadcasting said that the media holding ATR intends to apply to the international court with a claim for damages incurred as a result of the occupation of Crimea. The governmental committee at a meeting on Thursday postponed a decision to return to licensing outer space activities in Ukraine until the repeated discussion of the decision is held under an initiative of the State Space Agency of Ukraine (SSAU). "Following the committee's consideration of the respective bill drawn up by SSAU, it was decided to postpone the decision-making until it is reconsidered: after the detailed study and interagency coordination of this initiative with interested agencies, first of all, with the Economic Development and Trade Ministry, State Fiscal Service, Finance Ministry, Justice Ministry and Foreign Ministry," Head of the interdepartmental commission on defense industry issues under the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC), Deputy Economic Development and Trade Minister Yuriy Brovchenko told Interfax-Ukraine. "Our [the Economic Development and Trade Ministry's] position that this issue is not of the moment," he said, adding that "we have carefully studied the current global and European legislation in this area." According to Brovchenko, legislative initiatives prepared by the space agency can be submitted for a second review of the government committee after the removal of the existing disagreements in the public agencies on this issue. According to some estimates in the aerospace industry, the bill amending the law of Ukraine on licensing of economic activities, prepared by the SSAU, contradicts the decision taken by the government on July 18, as part of the business simplification reform, to cancel the order of SSAU dated 2010 on licensing activities for the development, testing, production and operation of aerospace technology and its components. Among the urgent problems of making doing business simpler in the aerospace sector are the issue of abolishing the current regulatory restrictions on the operation of private companies in the aerospace sector in Ukraine, which was previously discussed at an interstate discussion with a number of partner countries of Ukraine on cooperation in the aerospace sector. Mayor of Kyiv Vitali Klitschko on August 2 unveiled a monument to folk hero ancient Kyiv Rus Ilya Muromets and the first part of the Muromets revamped park on Kyiv's Trukhaniv Island. Only funds of philanthropists were spent on the monument and the park, Kyiv City State Administration's press service said. "I'd like to note that not a single hryvnia from the city's budget has been spent on the creation of the sculpture and the first facilities of this beautiful park! We did not use budget funds. This is a project sponsored by philanthropists," Klitschko said. Sculptor Volodymyr Zhuravel, who created the monument, said during the unveiling event: "To stand next to our days' heroes was a dream of my childhood, but I have never dreamt of creating a legendary bogatyr [akin to knight-errant, a folk hero]. This is a huge responsibility." Vasyl Virastyuk, the owner of the World's Strongest Man title, was a model for the sculpture. The monument to Ilya Muromets is 11 meters high, including the hill and a pedestal made of granite. "This is a unique monument created with the most advanced technologies. Its parts were molded in forms made by 3D printing. Perhaps it is unique for a large-sized sculpture in Ukraine and even in the world! To speed up the process, which could have taken several years, the talented sculptor, Volodymyr Zhuravel, had to invent such a unique technology," Klitschko said. The first stage of the Muromets renewed park was also opened on August 2. Works on the park will continue. According to the people working on the park development project, it will be a modern, history-themed park. It will be equipped with a system of information and navigation, tactile signs, paths will be paved with tactile tiles so that people with disabilities could feel comfortable there. Also there will be ramps and new bike lanes. Earlier, Klitschko explained why they had decided to install the monument to Ilya Muromets in Kyiv: "Ilya Muromets, who, according to legends, was born outside the city of Chernihiv, served Grand Prince of Kyiv Vladimir by protecting Kyiv, his relics were buried in the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra monastery. He is our hero, our history, which unfortunately they are trying to steal from us today. Therefore, Muromets will stand in Kyiv, namely on Trukhaniv Island, where Prince Vladimir's bodyguards were once stationed." Over 50 incidents with use of force against journalists recorded in Ukraine this year Fifty-three incidents of violence against journalists were recorded in Ukraine in the first seven months of 2018, according to the results of the monitoring "The Index of Physical Security of Journalists of Ukraine," which the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine (NUJU) is carrying out jointly with partner organizations. The NUJU said in a report released on Friday that eight cases of physical aggression against journalists were recorded in July alone, and there were two such cases in June. "In fact, journalists are beaten in Ukraine every four days! There have been 53 incidents since the beginning of the year in Kyiv and in the regions, with the absence of precedents of decent punishment for attacks on journalists. What is typical, in some attacks we accuse security forces themselves! Therefore, the level of anxiety in journalistic circles about physical security is urgent," NUJU Chairman Serhiy Tomilenko said. "The Index of Physical Security of Journalists" is a monthly monitoring of the facts of physical aggression against journalists and media outlets in Ukraine. Observers of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) to Ukraine have confirmed the deaths of 29 civilians in Donbas over the first seven months of 2018. OSCE SMM Principal Deputy Chief Monitor Alexander Hug said at a briefing via Skype from Donetsk region on Friday that OSCE monitors confirm 161 victims among the civilian population from January 1 to the end of July, in particular 29 deaths and 132 injuries. The OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) has observed over 4,000 ceasefire violations in Donbas over the week, OSCE SMM Principal Deputy Chief Monitor Alexander Hug said in a Skype briefing from Donetsk region on Friday. He said over 400 violations were seen on Sunday alone. At the same time, Hug said there has been a substantial decline in violence since July 1, when the most recent truce of the 2017 type was announced. The observers saw 57 heavy weapons stationed on the contact line in violation of the Minsk Agreements over the week, including 44 weapons in government-controlled area and 13 in non-government controlled area, Hug said. The sides are reluctant to disengage their forces and hardware and to clear the area of mines because they are not sure the other side will reciprocate, Hug said. Observers' access to sites and territories, especially near Novoazovsk, is still being hindered, sometimes at gunpoint, Hug said. OSCE drones come under fire, which may indicate that certain facts are being concealed, he said. The sides must provide observers access and comply with the Minsk Agreements, Hug said. Berdiansk City Court in Zaporizhia region on Friday arrested Artem Matiushyn, one of the suspects in the murder of local activist and ex Anti-Terrorist Operation (ATO) veteran Vitaliy Oleshko, for two months, according to 1+1 TV channel. Matiushyn can appeal the ruling within five days, the judge said. As reported, Oleshko, a member of the Donbas Volunteer Battalion (nom de guerre "Sarmat"), Donbas war veteran, local activist, was shot dead in the center of Berdiansk on July 31. The killer used a hunting rifle. The police detained five suspects in his murder four in the village of Vasylivka in Zaporizhia region and one more in Berdiansk. People's Front MP Anton Gerashchenko said that Oleshko's killer was a former sniper from the Tornado special task force and also participated in the ATO. The remaining four detainees are his accomplices - athletes from Dnipro and Dnipropetrovsk region. Ukrainian activist Kostenko freed in Russia after end of prison term expected in Ukraine soon First Deputy Speaker of the Ukrainian Parliament and Ukraine's envoy to the Trilateral Contact Group's humanitarian subgroup Iryna Gerashchenko hopes Oleksandr Kostenko, a Ukrainian citizen released on August 3 from a Russian prison in Kirov region, will soon return to Ukraine, where he will receive temporary housing. "I hope he'll get across the Ukrainian-Russian border without adventures and will soon be in Ukraine. Ukraine's president was informed this morning about his release and that he has nowhere to stay in Kyiv. He should be given government assistance," Gerashchenko said on her Facebook page. Crimean activist Kostenko served his sentence in a penal colony in Kirovo-Chepetsk, Kirov region, Russia. Gerashchenko said she, Ukraine's Foreign Ministry and Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights Lyudmila Denisova had prepared for Kostenko's release and hoped there would be no surprises. According to her, Kostenko was met upon release by Ukrainian diplomats. Denisova said on her Facebook page that she informed Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman and Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko that Kostenko would need a place to live. They found a two-room flat for Kostenko, where he may stay for 6-12 months, she said. He will also be granted internally displaced person's status and all related benefits. She noted that Kostenko's family remains in Crimea, which is under Russian military occupation. "We tried to contact Olena Kostenko - Oleksandr's mother, but her phone was turned off It's no secret that the phones [there] are being tapped," Denisova said. Kostenko in February 2015 was kidnapped at the door of his house in Crimea and taken to an unknown destination. He was later accused of attacking a Berkut riot police officer during anti-government protests in Kyiv, as well as illegal possession of weapons. Kostenko was sentenced to and served a four-year prison term in Russia. Washington, Aug 2, 2018 (AFP) Iran launched a naval exercise in the Persian Gulf on Thursday, just days before the US reimposes sanctions on Tehran, a defense official told AFP. The timing of the exercise is unusual, as it appears to be similar in scale and nature to a drill that ordinarily happens later in the autumn. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said several dozen boats were out training early Thursday morning. The vessels are mostly small attack boats, and there have been no interactions with US ships in the area, the official added. In a statement, Captain Bill Urban, the military's Central Command spokesman, said the US was "aware of an increase" in Iranian naval operations in the Gulf, the Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf of Oman. "We are monitoring it closely, and will continue to work with our partners to ensure freedom of navigation and free flow of commerce in international waterways," Urban said. The exercises come at a time of increased tension between Iran and the United States, which has pulled out of a historic nuclear pact and is slapping fresh sanctions on Tehran on Monday. US officials in recent years have accused both the regular Iranian navy and the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps of routinely harassing American warships in the Gulf. But so far this year, to the befuddlement of some military officials, there have been no such incidents. Friday Prayer leaders in Tehran and other cities have expressed their opposition to negotiating with the United States, a topic that has stirred controversy in Iran since U.S.President Donald Trump said last week that he was prepared to talk with his Iranian counterpart, President Hassan Rouhani, "without any preconditions" to solve problems in their relations. This comes while some Iranian diplomats have hinted that talks could start up between Tehran and Washington "at a lower level." The contents of Friday Prayer sermons are coordinated at the Friday Prayer Headquarters, a body affiliated with the office of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Tehran's Friday Prayer leader, Ayatollah Kazem Sediqi, said in his sermon on August 3, "If one day we decide to negotiate, it is not going to be with the current U.S. administration and the current president," reported Mehr news agency. Sediqi said, "The U.S. president is a wolf dressed as a man," adding, "We have seen that Americans did not respect their commitments about the nuclear deal with Iran." Meanwhile, Ayatollah Seyed Ahmad Miremadi, the Friday Prayer leader of Khorramabad and Khamenei's representative in Lorestan Province, said in his sermon, "Trump's offer of negotiations with Iran was a populist act." He said the solution for Iran's problems lies in reliance on domestic capabilities rather than on negotiating with America, adding, "Trump exerts pressure on Iran and wants to tell the world that he is open to negotiations, but Iran is not," Mehrquoted him as saying. "Trump's suggestion aims at dividing Iranian officials," he said. In Tabriz, Ahmad Motahari, who led prayers on Friday, said he was not optimistic about possible negotiations with the United States and said Trump wants to frustrate Iranians so that they would blame their own leaders for sanctions. The Friday Prayer leader of Ghazvin, Ali Qabel, said,"Trump's offer of talks with Iran is deceitful, although it has tempted some Iranian officials," and added that "Iranian officials should not be deceived by America once again." Qabel said elsewhere in his sermon, "The U.S. president is a liar and tells seven lies every day." He said he borrowed the figure about Trump's "lies" from Western media. Similar remarks were also made by the Friday Prayer leader in the town of Quds, 20 kilometers west of Tehran, where Seyed Abolqasem Mirahmadi used almost the same words as his counterparts in Ghazvin and Khorramabad. The similarity between sermons across the country highlightsthe concerted move to disparage Trump's offer of talks with Iran by a body linked to Khamenei's office. Previously, IRGC commander Mohammad Ali Jafari had ruled out talks between Iran and the United States, saying, "The Iranian nation will not allow their leaders to hold talks with Americans." Regardless of the negative response among hard-liners close to Khamenei, analysts argue that Khamenei might be willing to give the go-ahead to state officials to sit at the negotiating table with U.S. officials. That was when Khamenei coined the term "heroic flexibility" prior to the 2015 nuclear agreement with the United States and other world powers. Remarks by Iranian diplomats indicate that Iran may be ready to hold talks, but they are not certain they would want to trust a negotiating party that has left a previous agreement with Tehran. Iran's UN envoy, Gholamali Khoshru, told Etemad newspaper on July 31 that "talks can start at a lower level" before the two countries presidents can sit down together. Iran's former diplomat in London, Nosratollah Tajik, echoed the same stance in an interview with the Iranian Labor News Agency (ILNA) on August 3. Videos received by Radio Farda show that protests in various Iranian cities have finally reached Tehran, where protesters marched and shouted slogan against the Islamic Republic. Videos show hundreds of protesters marching clenched fists in the center of the city and chanting against the clergy and shouting "Death to Kahmenei". In recent months, protests in Iran have turned directly and vocally against the whole regime, particularly the Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei. In new protests, which erupted this week, Tehran was relatively quiet as Isfahan, Gohar Dasht and Shiraz witnessed unrest. Early Thursday evening protests spread to Tehran. Protesters in Tehran set a garbage can on fire According to some reports received by Radio Farda, security forces have a heavy presence in the city center and in the capital's northern neighborhoods. Some reports also speak of sporadic clashes between protesters and the security forces, but at this time it is not possible to independently verify these reports. Earlier there were reports of a protest gathering in one district of Tehran on Thursday morning, but the evening marches were in the more prominent part of the city. Protest in Ahvaz, August 2 Other reports speak of similar protests in Ahvaz, the center of the oil-producing Khuzestan province in the southwest. Also, there are reports of unrest in Hamadan in the west and in the city of Arak. Other videos show protests in various areas close to Tehran. One video from Karaj area shows protesters chanting, "No Gaza, No Lebanon - We sacrifice for Iran". Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has rejected President Hassan Rouhanis proposal to release the leaders of the Green Movement from house arrest, a website close to one of the detainees, Saham News, reported on August 2. Saham News, a supporter of former parliamentary speakerMehdi Karroubi, says, The Islamic Republics Supreme National Security Council (SNSC), presided by Rouhani, recently decided to enquire Khameneis position on the trio, who have been under house arrest since February 2011. Responding to the enquiry, Khamenei noted, There are much more important national issues that should be addressed by the government and SNCC, than the case of house arrests, SahamNews says. On July 28, Karroubis son, Hossein, told a pro-Green Movement website, Kalemeh, I have heard that the decision to lift the house arrest was endorsed by the Supreme National Security Council, adding, This decision will be presented to the [supreme] leader so that this case can be concluded. Though the comment made headlines, Tehran MP GholamrezaHaidari denied it a day later, citing current speaker Ali Larijani. Meanwhile, according to Saham News, during the last SNSCsession, Rouhani tabled a proposal for releasing Karroubi, along with former Prime Minister Mir Hossein Mousavi and his wife, Zahra Rahnavard, from house arrest. Chief Commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps Mohammad Ali Jafari and judicial head Ayatollah Sadeq Amoli Larijani opposed and argued that, in Irans current situation [looming sactions and tensions with Washington], lifting the house arrest is not in the interest of the establishment. Ali Larijani suggested that, before making any decision, the SNSC should learn the supreme leaders position on the case. Rouhani raised the subject with Khamenei, and he rejected it, Saham News concluded. Khamenei has repeatedly opposed releasing the trio in the past. Former Prime Minister Mir Hossein Mousavi, 76, and Mehdi Karroubi, 80, were reformist candidates in the controversial presidential election of 2009, which was won by hard-liner incumbent Mahmud Ahmadinejad. They claimed the vote was rigged, triggering months of mass protests, particularly in Tehran. Hundreds of thousands poured into the streets in the biggest challenge to the system since the Islamic Revolution of 1979. The pair were placed under house arrest without trial in February 2011, along with Rahnavard, Mousavis 66-year-old wife, after calling upon people to attend a rally in support of the Arab Spring. Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug. 3 Trend: Over the past 24 hours, Armenian armed forces have 81 times violated the ceasefire along the line of contact between Azerbaijani and Armenian troops, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said August 3. Armenian armed forces were using large-caliber machine guns. The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts. The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts. Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug. 3 Trend: The "Masters of Artillery Fire" contest, being held within the International Army Games 2018 at the Otar military base in Kazakhstan, is underway, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said in a message Aug. 3. According to the message, Azerbaijani servicemen participate in the contest. The contest was launched Aug. 2. Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug. 3 By Fikret Dolukhanov Trend: The well-known British creative agency M&C Saatchi proposed creating a new brand for Tashkent, Uzbek media reported. Corresponding negotiations between representatives of M&C Saatchi and the Tashkent administration were held in the capital of Uzbekistan. "During the meeting, M&C Saatchi presented its plan with proposals for creating a brand of the country, as well as Tashkent with one general concept, followed by a whole strategy. M&C Saatchi offers an 'umbrella' brand that can be used by the State Committee for Tourism, State Committee for Investments, Development Strategy Center, the media, the government and the private sector, the press service of the Tashkent city administration said. The representatives of the British company noted that the main goal of an advertising campaign of a country or a city is a very simple presentation of information, because the simpler the idea, the easier it is to convey it. DUBAI and INVEST IN GREAT projects can be used as examples. The INVEST IN GREAT initiative was successfully launched before the 2012 Olympic Games in the UK and will be sponsored by the state until 2025. The DUBAI project re-branded the country and this allowed increasing the tourist flow twice. M&C Saatchi is a communication agency with many years of experience in creating national brands. The company has worked with countries such as Georgia, Great Britain, New Zealand and Bahrain. The M&C Saatchi network was created by the brothers Morris and Charles Saatchi in 1995. This is their second business in the advertising industry. In 1970, the brothers opened the Saatchi & Saatchi agency, which grew into a global network and in 2000 was acquired by the Publicis holding. --- Follow the author on Twitter: @FDolukhanov Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug. 3 By Leman Zeynalova - Trend: Kazakhstan-based copper producer KAZ Minerals has signed an agreement to acquire Baimskaya copper project in the Chukotka autonomous region of Russia for $900 million in cash and shares, said the company in a message. The amount includes an initial payment of $675 million and a deferred payment of $225 million. The Baimskaya area is one of the world's largest undeveloped copper areas with potential to create large-scale low-cost copper production based on open-pit mining. The average annual output in the first 10 years of operation is expected at 250,000 tons of copper and 400,000 ounces of gold. KAZ Minerals operates open-type mines of Bozshakol in the Pavlodar region and Aktogay in East Kazakhstan, three mines and three concentrating plants in East Kazakhstan, and a copper and gold mine Bozymchak in Kyrgyzstan. KAZ Minerals produced 259,000 tons of copper, 58,000 tons of zinc concentrate, 179,000 ounces of gold and 3.506 million ounces of silver in 2017. --- Follow the author on Twitter: @Lyaman_Zeyn Tehran, Iran, Aug. 3 By A. Shirazi - Trend: Iran exported 34,124 tons of non-oil commodities to Brazil during the first four months of the current Iranian year (started March 21), customs figures show. According to the latest reports released by the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration on August 3, 34,124 tons of non-oil goods worth $14.894 million were exported to Brazil in the first four months of this year, Mehr news agency reported. This registered a 25-percent rise compared to last years corresponding period, the report added. The exported volume also marked an increase of 2,601 percent and 360 percent in tonnage and value respectively, compared with last years corresponding period. Irans exported commodities over the four months under review included dried grapes, glass dishes and industrial and laboratory furnaces. Imported goods mainly include red meat and pepper. Baku, Azerbaijan, August 3 By Ilkin Shafiyev Trend: SOCAR Energy Georgia (Georgian subsidiary of the Azerbaijani state company SOCAR) plans to put into operation a multifunctional gas station in Georgia by mid-2019, the Director of the company Mahir Mammadov told Trend. Earlier Mammadov said the company plans to build two new gas filling stations in Georgia. "One of these stations has already been commissioned, and the construction of a multifunctional complex in the Terjola district continues and will be completed by mid-2019. I note that the complex, which will be located on the main Tbilisi-Batumi road, along with petrol and gas filling stations, will combine shopping center, public catering facilities and parking for cars", said the director of the company. SOCAR company exports to Georgia the gas produced from the Azerbaijani fields at its own expense without the participation of foreign companies. In addition, Georgia annually receives from Azerbaijan the gas produced at the Shah Deniz offshore field with the participation of SOCAR and foreign companies. Currently, SOCAR is the only producer of oil products in Azerbaijan, and operates more than 370 gas (petrol) filling stations in Switzerland, Georgia, Romania and Ukraine. SOCAR is also a co-owner of Turkey's largest petrochemical complex Petkim and other assets in Turkey. --- Follow the author on Twitter: @IlkinShafiyev Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug. 3 By Ilkin Shafiyev Trend: The recent meeting between Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte and Mayor of Italys Melendugno city Marco Poti testifies to the commitment of the Italian government to implement the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) project, a high ranking source in Azerbaijans state oil company SOCAR told Trend Aug. 3. Conte has recently met with mayor of Italys Melendugno city, through which the pipeline will pass, the Italian media reported. During the meeting, Conte stressed that the diversification of energy supplies to Italy is a strategic goal of the country. In his turn, Poti said the laying of the pipeline will have some impact on the tourism sector and the environment. Earlier, Italian ambassador to Azerbaijan Augusto Massari stressed that the difficulties, which occurred during the olive tree transplantation project, were solved and will not prevent its implementation. TAP Consortium is working on the transplantation and conservation of olive trees that grow along an 8-kilometer pipeline route, and then intends to return them to the original site when the work is completed. "I am sure the meeting will have a positive impact on the implementation of the project, the source said. Earlier, such meetings were not held. But now Prime Minister Conte, in full accordance with what he said in Washington [at a meeting with US President Donald Trump], began to hold meetings with representatives of the local community. I am sure this is the way to achieve the necessary agreement. During a recent meeting with President Trump, Conte said he will hold meetings with representatives of the local community and the mayor to come to the common decision concerning the construction. The Trump administration expects the project to be implemented on schedule. Trump expressed the hope that Italy will be able to build this competitive pipeline. TAP, worth 4.5 billion euros, is a part of the Southern Gas Corridor. The pipeline will be connected to the Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP) on the Turkish-Greek border, run through Greece, Albania and the Adriatic Sea, before coming ashore in Italys south. TAP will be 878 kilometers in length (Greece 550 kilometers, Albania 215 kilometers, Adriatic Sea 105 kilometers, and Italy 8 kilometers). The initial capacity of TAP will be 10 billion cubic meters of gas per year with the possibility of doubling it. The construction of TAP is expected to complete in 2020 for the first Azerbaijani gas to be supplied to Europe that year. TAP shareholders include BP (20 percent), SOCAR (20 percent), Snam S.p.A. (20 percent), Fluxys (19 percent), Enagas (16 percent) and Axpo (5 percent). --- Follow the author on Twitter: @IlkinShafiyev Tehran, Iran, Aug. 3 By A. Shirazi - Trend: An Iranian deputy oil minister said the government has no plans to introduce gasoline rationing or increase the fuels price. The government and parliament have made no decision to introduce gasoline rationing, Alireza Sadeghabadi said on August 3, Mehr news agency reported. He further stressed that the government does not lack refining capacity and is facing no problem in supplying and distributing gasoline to fuel stations. The deputy minister further rejected reports about the governments plan to ration gasoline as rumors. Ahead of new US sanctions against Tehran scheduled to kick in on August 4, cars in a number of Iranian provinces, including Sari, stretched along main streets on Thursday night and at gasoline stations over uncertainty about when or if rationing would be implemented. US President Donald Trump withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal in May, and Washington now plans to reimpose sanctions on Tehran next month. The first round of US sanctions on Iran goes into effect in August, followed by ones targeting Iran's oil exports in November. Details added (first version published at 16:10) Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug. 3 By Ilkin Shafiyev - Trend: STAR oil refinery in Turkey has received the first cargo of crude oil for processing from Azerbaijan, SOCAR Turkey Enerji said in a message Aug. 3. The volume of Azeri Light oil delivered to the refinery stood at 80,000 tons. The processing will be carried out in the test mode until October, when the refinery is scheduled to start functioning. Zaur Gahramanov, head of SOCAR Turkey Enerji, the Turkish subsidiary of the Azerbaijani state oil company SOCAR, said the delivery of the first crude cargo for the refinery is an important event. "Our company is rapidly moving year after year towards the goal of becoming the largest industrial group in Turkey. Our strategic investments will continue to strengthen the national economy and industry. Among the trends that ensure the strategic growth of SOCAR as a company, the expansion of investment in other countries holds a valuable place. Turkey holds a special place among these countries. As SOCAR, we will continue contributing to the development of the economy of both Azerbaijan and Turkey," Gahramanov said. In turn, General Director of STAR Refinery Mesut Ilter noted that the supply of the first oil cargo is an example of historical cooperation between the two countries. "Our goal is to put the refinery into operation on time, as well as to contribute to the development of the economy of both Azerbaijan and Turkey. The refinery will reduce Turkey's current account deficit by $1.5 billion per year. The enterprise, in which SOCAR has invested $6.3 billion, is the largest investment project in the private sector of Turkey," Ilter said. The Star Refinery will produce naphtha, ultra-low sulfur diesel, aviation kerosene, petroleum coke, liquefied gas and other products. The refinery will not produce gasoline and fuel oil. It will process such oil grades as Azeri Light, Kerkuk and Urals. The share distribution in the project is as follows: 60 percent is owned by Rafineri Holding (being in 100 percent possession of SOCAR Turkey Enerji) and 40 percent is owned by SOCAR. --- Follow the author on Twitter: @IlkinShafiyev Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug.3 By Leman Zeynalova Trend: The Southern Gas Corridor, which envisages transportation of Azerbaijani gas to Europe, will connect seven countries with several 12 different investors, Vice President of Azerbaijans state oil company SOCAR for Investment and Marketing Elshad Nasirov said during the John Batchelor Radio Show. Now we are very close to construction of one of the biggest and one of the most expensive, if not the most expensive energy projects in the world, which is called Southern Gas Corridor that will connect seven countries with several 12 different investors and 12 different buyers along the way, he said. Nasirov pointed out that this will be first pipeline connecting the Caspian region with its huge energy resources to consumers in the European Union. That is of course very important for the EU to find an alternative source and it is as important as for those who are producing oil and gas in the landlocked countries to find a way to transport their products to consumers, he said. Further, Nasirov said it is very important that the US President Donald Trump supported the construction of the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), the final leg of the Southern Gas Corridor, during the meeting with Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte in Washington. A ceremony to launch Phase 0 of TANAP took place June 12 in the Turkish city of Eskisehir. TANAP, together with Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), is a part of the Southern Gas Corridor, which provides for the transportation of gas from the Azerbaijani field Shah Deniz to Europe. The initial capacity of TANAP is expected to be 16 billion cubic meters of gas per year. About six billion cubic meters will be supplied to Turkey, and the rest to Europe. After completion of the TAP, the gas will reach Europe in early 2020. The share distribution in TANAP is as follows: Southern Gas Corridor CJSC - 51 percent, SOCAR Turkey Enerji - 7 percent, Botas - 30 percent, and BP - 12 percent. The launching ceremony of the first stage of the Southern Gas Corridor project was held in Baku on May 29. The gas from the Azerbaijani Shah Deniz field has already gone through the first segment of the Southern Gas Corridor - from the Sangachal terminal to the expanded South Caucasus Pipeline. The Southern Gas Corridor, which costs more than $40 billion, is one of the priority projects for the EU and provides for the transportation of 10 billion cubic meters of Azerbaijani gas from the Caspian region through Georgia and Turkey to Europe. --- Follow the author on Twitter:@Lyaman_Zeyn Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug. 3 Trend: Kazakhstan and Afghanistan have discussed prospects of development of bilateral relations in various sectors, the website of the Prime Minister of Kazakhstan reported Aug. 3. A number of B2B meetings with Kazakh businessmen took place during the visit of a delegation of Afghan businessmen to Astana. The event was attended by more than 40 representatives of business circles of Afghanistan and Kazakhstan, as well as the executive staff of such national companies as Kazakh Invest, Kazakh Export, KTZ, Kazgeology, and the Chamber of Commerce of Kazakhstan. The parties discussed the current status and prospects of development of Kazakh-Afghan relations in various sectors, including trade and investment, agriculture, land and air transport, as well as geology and mineral resources. Following the event, the heads of delegations signed the minutes of the conference. Trade turnover between Kazakhstan and Afghanistan amounted to $180.2 million in January-April 2018, which is 19.3 percent more than in the same period of the previous year. Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, Aug. 3 By Huseyn Hasanov Trend: Turkmenistan and Bahrain have agreed during the talks in Manama to hold a joint business forum in Ashgabat at the end of the year, the Turkmen Foreign Ministry said in a message Aug. 3. The delegation of Turkmenistan held talks in the Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry. In addition, political consultations were held at the level of foreign ministries of the two countries. The delegation of Bahrain was represented by the Undersecretary for International Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Bahrain, Dr. Shaikh Abdulla bin Ahmed bin Abdulla Al-Khalifa. The agenda of the consultations included a wide range of issues related to the priority areas of bilateral cooperation, the message says. Speaking about the interest in the development of cooperation in the fields of trade, science and technology, the parties expressed interest in the establishment of an intergovernmental Turkmen-Bahraini commission on economic cooperation. President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov paid an official visit to Manama in February 2011, following which a package of intergovernmental documents was signed. Berdimuhamedov called on Bahrain's financial and industrial groups to invest in promising sectors of the country, to start creating joint ventures in leading sectors based on mutual investment. Experts believe that the presence of fuel and energy and processing capacities in both countries, their favorable geographical location, serve as a convenient platform for mutual exchange of experience. The two countries have great opportunities for cooperation in the transport and communication sphere and in such industries as textiles and tourism. The UAE is the most active player in the Turkmen market among the Arab countries, especially in the fuel and energy sector. Dragon Oil company produces hydrocarbons in the Turkmen sector of the Caspian Sea, and Petrofac company took part in the industrial development of Galkynysh, the second largest gas field in the world after South Pars. Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, Aug. 3 By Huseyn Hasanov Trend: Turkmen officials met with the delegation of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the House of Representatives of the US Congress headed by policy adviser Everett Price in Ashgabat, the Turkmen Foreign Ministry said in a message. During the meeting, the participants discussed the prospects for the development of relations between the countries in the political, trade, economic, social and cultural spheres. Moreover, joint steps were taken to strengthen bilateral and regional cooperation, as well as issues of mutual interest, the message said. "The issues of cooperation within the multilateral regional cooperation in "C5 + 1" format were stressed on the agenda of the talks," the message said. C5 + 1 is a dialogue format and a platform for joint actions to solve common problems of the US and five Central Asian countries. Earlier it was reported that long-term cooperation has been established between Turkmenistan and the US in such areas as the supply of agricultural machinery, the modernization of the technical fleet of Turkmenistan's civil aviation and the supply of electric power equipment. The White House supports regional gas pipeline projects, such as TAPI (Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India) and Trans-Caspian Gas Pipeline project through Azerbaijan and Turkey to Europe. Baku, Azerbaijan, August 3 Trend: Around 2 million hectares of farmland across Iran have been so far equipped with modern irrigation systems, an official with Irans Ministry of Agriculture said. Nearly 2 million hectares of lands (out of 8.5 million hectares) have been equipped with modern irrigation systems in the past ten years, Reza Sarafrazi said, IRNA news agency reported on August 3. He added that the government has no restrictions in equipping all farmland with modern irrigation systems as this move could help save water, increase yield, and decrease seed, fertilizer and pesticide use. Use of modern irrigation systems is top of the agenda, the official said. The Sixth Five-Year Development Plan (March 2017-22) stipulates that such systems have to be installed across 600,000 hectares per year. Statistics indicate that Iran ranks 13th among the most water-stressed countries in 2040. Due to unconditional agricultural activities and extraction of too much of its aquifers, today Iran has lost much of its underground water resources causing large holes in almost 50 percent of its plains. Unlike some who blame low precipitation for all the problems of water shortage, there are others who think mismanagement of water resources is the main cause. Efficient water usage is a must for Iranians either in industry, agriculture or home usage. Many say unstudied dam construction is one of the main reasons for water shortage because it impounds huge reserves of water which then is evaporated into sky under the heat of sun; however, we should not forget the benefits that dams offer including curbing floods, supplying drinking water and generation of electricity. A spokesman for the Saudi-led Arab coalition fighting Houthis in Yemen has blamed rebels for Thursday's attacks that killed dozens of civilians in the contested port city of Al Hudaydah, Sputnik reported. At least 20 civilians were reportedly killed and dozens more hurt in Saudi air strikes. The Yemeni Red Cross said they were sending medical aid to the area after the vicinity of a local hospital was targeted. According to the pro-Houthi Al Masirah broadcaster, more than 20 bodies of victims were transported to a military hospital. A spokesperson for the Houthi Healthcare Ministry said that the airstrike targeted ambulance cars at the entrance of the hospital. "Coalition did not carry out any operations in Hodeidah today. The Houthi militia are behind killing of civilians in Hodeidah," Col. Turki Malki told the Saudi-owned Al Arabiya channel. On June 13, the Yemeni government forces, backed by the Saudi-led coalition, launched an offensive to seize the port of Al Hudaydah from Houthi rebels. The operation continues despite the UN warnings of a possible humanitarian catastrophe. The UN has estimated that 330,610 people fled the city from June 1 to July 24. Yemen has been engulfed in an armed conflict between the government headed by President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi and the Houthi movement for several years. The Saudi-led coalition of mostly Persian Gulf nations has been carrying out airstrikes against the Houthis at Hadi's request since March 2015. The difficult situation on the international stage only helps enhance strategic dialogue between Beijing and Moscow, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said in a statement, TASS reports. According to the ministry, Chinese top diplomat Wang Yi said at a meeting with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov in Singapore that given the current global situation and the ongoing strengthening of comprehensive partnership between the two countries, Chinese-Russian strategic dialogue had been growing more and more intense. The Chinese foreign minister also said that thanks to the two countries determination to boost ties, Beijing and Moscow had been able to reach important consensuses on many issues, which proved that China and Russia considered each other as priority partners. Wang Yi pointed out that both countries needed to continue cooperating in that manner as both China and Russia would further benefit from it. Less than a third of 800 UK business leaders surveyed have carried out contingency planning on Brexit, the Institute of Directors (IoD) said on Friday, Reuters report. Forty-nine percent were not intending to do any planning and, of those, 49 percent thought Brexit would not affect them while 42 percent were waiting until the relationship between Britain and the EU becomes clearer. Internationally-minded firms that trade with both EU and non-EU countries were more active in contingency planning, the survey showed. Many companies are still unprepared for Brexit, and its hard to blame them, said Stephen Martin, IoD director general. When it comes to knowing what to plan for and when, firms have been left in the dark, he added in a statement. As long as no-deal remains a possibility, it is essential that the government steps up to the plate and provides advice on preparing for such an outcome. We therefore urge them to speed up publication of the technical notices. Prime Minister Theresa Mays government has said it will set out the notices on no-deal preparations in August and September. United Airlines today announced that it would celebrate the 20th anniversary of its business in Israel by launching a new direct flight between Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion Airport and Dulles Airport, its home airport in Washington DC starting on May 24, 2019, subject to government approval, Globes reports. United will be the first US airline with a direct flight between the two airports. United said it had more direct flights between Israel and the US than any other US airline. The flight to Dulles Airport will be United's fourth daily direct flight from Tel Aviv to the US. It already flies twice a day between Tel Aviv and New York/Newark and daily between Tel Aviv and San Francisco. A roundtrip flight costs $1,000. "On the occasion of the 20th anniversary of beginning our operations in Israel, I wish to thank all our customers and employees who helped us make United the leading US airline serving the route to Israel," said United senior country director for Israel Avi Friedman. "We thank the Israeli government for its support and the continuing cooperation between us. We expect to continue serving Israel with this new route for the benefit of our customers flying on the route between Israel and the US capital." Minister of Tourism Yariv Levin said, "I congratulate United on the launching of another route between Israel and the US - a direct route to the White House. The announcement of the route from Washington to Tel Aviv in cooperation with the Ministry of Tourism is a wonderful way of marking 20 years of United's activity in Israel. Opening the route will further increase incoming tourism to Israel and be in addition to the extraordinary marketing effort we are making - an effort that will bring new records in incoming tourism to Israel." United Airlines' new route between Tel Aviv and Washington will generate connection flights to 70 destinations in the US, such as Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Houston, Dallas, and Fort Lauderdale. Work has begun on a 65-kilometer pipeline which is supposed to start bringing gas from Israel to Jordan in early 2020, Al Jazeera reported. The Jordanian government says the deal will save hundreds of millions of dollars a year. It's been more than two decades since Jordan signed a peace treaty with Israel but it is still largely unpopular. A suicide bomber attacked a Shiite mosque in eastern Afghanistan during Friday prayers, killing 25 people and wounding 40, police said, Reuters reports. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, but police said at least two men had entered the mosque in the city of Gardez in the province of Paktia where about 60 people were praying. The blast hit the Khawaja Hassan mosque. Emergency teams have collected 25 bodies from the mosque premises and 40 people have been rushed to hospital, said Abdullah Hazrat, a senior government official who was at the blast site. One witness told Reuters that Shiite Muslims, a minority in Sunni-majority Afghanistan, were praying when one man detonated his explosives. A second attacker is reported to have opened fire as worshippers gathered. Afghanistan has mostly avoided the sectarian violence that has devastated countries such as Iraq, but there have been increasing numbers of attacks on Shiite targets in recent years. No reliable census information exists on the size of the Shiite community in Afghanistan, but estimates range around 10-20 percent, with most coming from the Persian-speaking Hazara and Tajik ethnic groups. 39 people were killed in a suicide bombing of a mosque in eastern Afghanistan, and the death toll may climb further, Reuters reports. Two burka-clad militants attacked the mosque in the city of Gardez in the province of Paktia where more than 100 people had gathered to offer prayers, said Raz Mohammad Mandozai, the police chief of Paktia. At least 80 people were injured when the men struck with guns and explosives at the Khawaja Hassan mosque. Cuba announced on Friday that its citizens living abroad could participate in a public debate over planned changes to its 1976 constitution, a first for the communist-run country that for many years has excluded emigrants from domestic politics, Reuters reported. A draft proposal of changes to the constitution was passed last month by the National Assembly and will be debated by the public in 35,000 workplaces and community meetings in Cuba into November, before a final version is submitted to a referendum. The amendments maintain Cubas one-party socialist system but institute a major government reorganization and pave the way for recognition of private small businesses and LGBT rights, among other matters. The government said it would make the proposed changes available on the internet, along with a form that citizens living abroad could fill out with their opinions and proposals. This constitutes proof of the governments continued efforts to strengthen ties between the Revolution and Cuban residents living abroad, the government said in a statement. It did not say whether Cubans abroad would also be eligible to vote in the referendum. During the Cold War, Cuba branded citizens who left the island as traitors and worms, especially if they lived in the United States, and they were rarely granted permission to return home, even for visits. That began to change with the fall of the Soviet Union. Most Cubans living abroad are now considered to have economic motives and are welcome to come and go as they please if they have a Cuban passport. Some 2 million Cubans, including those born outside the country, are estimated to live abroad, compared to a population on the island of around 11 million. Around 600,000 Cubans visited last year, according to the government, the majority from the United States. Units of Russias military police helped to reopen a pass for the United Nations representatives to the Golan Heights across the Syrian territory for the first time in six years, Sergei Kuralenko, the chief of the Russian Center for Reconciliation of Opposing Sides in Syria, said, Reuters reports. "We mark a big event today as for the first time since the beginning of the conflict in Syria a UN mission managed to drive along M7 highway to a UN checkpoint located in Al-Qunietra," Kuralenko said. "In other words, they [UN mission] managed to clear the territory of Syria arriving at the location under control of Israeli troops," he added. The Russian military official said that UN mission staff members were unable to work at their bases during the armed conflict on the Syrian territory, which was controlled by militants. The UN mission was also unable to access a refugee camp in Israel via Syria. "The commander of the UN mission and its headquarters were located in Damascus and they had to travel across the territory of Lebanon for inspections of this area," Kuralenko said. Chief of the Russian General Staffs Main Operations Directorate, Colonel-General Sergei Rudskoi, reported on Thursday that the control over the Syrian-Jordanian border had been fully restored after an operation of the Russian Aerospace Forces and further assistance from the military police. Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug. 3 Trend: Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu discussed bilateral relations and the international agenda on the sidelines of ASEAN ministerial events in Singapore, RIA Novosti reported citing the Russian Foreign Ministry. "The topical issues of the development of bilateral relations and the international agenda were discussed," the ministry said in a message. The meeting of ministers was held on Aug. 2. Lavrov took part in the ASEAN ministerial events, including the 8th meeting of foreign ministers of the countries participating in the East Asian Summit and the 25th ASEAN Regional Forum on Security. ASEAN is a regional intergovernmental organization that unites 10 countries of Southeast Asia. Russia has been developing dialogue cooperation with ASEAN since the 1990s, participating in the summits of the organization. The Russian Center for Reconciliation of the Opposing Sides in Syria has delivered over 47 tons of humanitarian cargo to local residents of the war-torn country within a one-week period, Russias Krasnaya Zvezda newspaper reported on Friday, TASS reports. According to the daily, local residents received over 47 tons of aid consisting of foodstuffs and medicine during six humanitarian operations in one week provided by the Russian Center for Reconciliation of the Opposing Sides. The staff of the center was also reported to render medical assistance to over 500 civilians in Syria within the same period. The daily also reported that a total of 1.445 million Syrian refugees returned to their houses, which they abandoned in September 2015. The United States has approved a $40.4 million military sale of more than two thousand bombs to the government of Kuwait, the US Department of State Bureau of Political Military Affairs said in a press release, Sputnik reported. "The State Department has made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale to Kuwait of various Mk- series munitions for an estimated cost of $40.4 million," the release said on Thursday. The release explained that Kuwait will purchase specifically 1,020 Mk-82 500-pound bombs, 1,002 Mk-83 1000-pound bombs and 600 Mk-84 2000-pound bombs. Kuwait will use the munitions to arm its current fleet of F/A-18 aircraft as it works to improve the country's capability to counter current and future threats in the region, the release said. The proposed sale will contribute to US foreign policy and national security by helping to improve the security of a regional partner with an important force for political stability and economic progress, the release added. U.S. President Donald Trumps national security team said on Thursday that Russia is behind pervasive attempts to interfere in upcoming U.S. elections, in a rejection of denials of meddling that Russian President Vladimir Putin made directly to Trump, Sputnik reported. The top aides, including intelligence director Dan Coats and national security adviser John Bolton, appeared in the White House briefing room to stress that a major effort was under way to protect the integrity of congressional elections in November and the 2020 presidential election. We acknowledge the threat, it is real, it is continuing, and were doing everything we can to have a legitimate election, Coats said, adding: It is pervasive, it is ongoing, with the intent to ... drive a wedge and undermine our democratic values. Trump has voiced skepticism about Russias role in U.S. election meddling, drawing accusations from Democrats and Republicans alike that he is ignoring a threat to American democracy. I have great confidence in my intelligence people, but I will tell you that President Putin was extremely strong and powerful in his denial today, Trump said after talks with Putin in Helsinki, Finland, on July 16. But Coats, Bolton, FBI Director Christopher Wray, Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen and the director of the National Security Agency, Paul Nakasone, said Russia was to blame, along with other foreign actors. Coats said the Russian meddling effort reached into the Kremlin itself. He gave no details. Russia has used numerous ways in which they want to influence, through media, social media, through bots, through actors that they hire, through proxies - all of the above, and potentially more, he said. We also know the Russians tried to hack into and steal information from candidates and government officials alike, Coats said, adding that Russia was not the only country working to undermine American elections. Separately, U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis told reporters that the Pentagon was also assisting in efforts to safeguard U.S. elections. He said the Department of Defense was taking active measures to protect election security including monitoring our adversaries. KYODO NEWS - Aug 3, 2018 - 18:25 | World, All Japan and Australia agreed Friday to make efforts to prevent a dispute over whaling from hurting bilateral relations, a government official said. During talks in Singapore, Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono briefed his Australian counterpart Julie Bishop about his country's proposal to restructure the International Whaling Commission to make it easier to resume commercial whaling. But Australia has been strongly opposed to all forms of whaling, raising concern that ties between Tokyo and Sydney could be strained by the practice which Japan contends is a cultural tradition. Last month, Japan proposed resuming whaling of some species of relatively abundant whales. Japan halted commercial whaling, in line with the global moratorium adopted by the IWC in 1982, but has hunted the mammals since 1987 for what it calls "scientific research purposes." The Australian government, however, has remained opposed to Japan's claims of "scientific" whaling. Bishop and environment minister Josh Frydenberg released a joint statement Thursday condemning Japan's proposal to lift the global moratorium on commercial whaling. (Japan FM Taro Kono, left, and Australia FM Julie Bishop) By Noriyuki Suzuki, KYODO NEWS - Aug 3, 2018 - 09:00 | All, World Japan's negotiating skills will be put to the test as Tokyo tries to fend off U.S. demands for a bilateral free trade agreement and counter the threat of tariffs on cars and auto parts. The longtime allies are set to launch high-level trade talks next Thursday in Washington after months of preparations that saw Japan complete domestic procedures to ratify the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement after the U.S. exit and sign a free trade accord with the European Union. U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, who will meet with Japan's economic revitalization minister Toshimitsu Motegi, has expressed his desire for a bilateral free trade agreement and has told a Senate hearing that the United States has a "fairly aggressive agenda." Wary of U.S. pressure to open its agriculture sector in particular, Japan is expected to stress the advantages of multilateral trade frameworks. "First, I want to listen to what the U.S. side has to say during the meeting. But Japan won't make an agreement that goes against its national interests with any country," Motegi told reporters. Ahead of the U.S. midterm elections in November, trade experts say, U.S. President Donald Trump will be looking to produce results and the first round of the new framework will be critical. "If Japan makes easy concessions, and for instance agrees to start negotiations for a bilateral free trade agreement because the United States threatens to impose higher auto tariffs, its trade strategy taken so far will break down," said Junichi Sugawara, senior research officer at the Mizuho Research Institute. Japan has largely taken a wait-and-see stance without resorting to retaliatory steps since the imposition earlier this year of higher tariffs on steel and aluminum imports. Although Washington is still conducting an investigation into whether auto imports pose a national security threat, the prospect of higher tariffs, of up to 25 percent, has given car-exporting countries like Japan a reason to worry. For now, securing an exemption may be high on Tokyo's priority list as analysts expect the potential impact on the auto industry and the global economy to be serious. "It's reasonable to seek an exemption from a practical point of view. But if Japan continues to uphold free trade, it needs to urge the United States to drop the plan in the first place," Sugawara said. Japan has a postwar history of trade frictions with the United States in various fields, ranging from textiles and beef to cars and semiconductors. Following the auto talks in the 1990s, Japanese automakers stepped up car production in the United States and purchases of auto parts from the country. Japanese officials will likely explain that Japanese auto companies have been making contributions to the United States, a major market where they produce nearly 3.8 million vehicles a year. According to economists at the Daiwa Institute of Research, if a 20 percent tariff is imposed on cars and auto parts imported from Japan, it would mean an additional 950 billion yen ($8.5 billion) in costs. When taking into account the impact of U.S.-bound products manufactured and shipped out of countries such as Mexico and Canada by Japanese automakers, the total amount will swell to at least 1.75 trillion yen. "It's better to see it as a 'trump card' to crack the unity of the TPP or the coalition trying to keep the United States in check," said Hideo Kumano, executive chief economist at the Dai-ichi Life Research Institute. "Japan has been playing its role as a flag-bearer for free trade. And yet we are at a critical juncture now before (the threat of) auto tariffs. The storm may be rough," Kumano added. The high-level dialogue comes after the United States and the European Union agreed in July to open negotiations to remove trade barriers and avoided an escalation in a transatlantic trade war. Trump's rhetoric on trade, the abrupt U.S. withdrawal from the TPP and the levying of higher tariffs on imports from major trading partners have rattled financial markets. That also provided an added impetus to the drive for countries seeking a multilateral approach to resist the rise of protectionism. In the Asia-Pacific region, 16 countries -- including China and India -- have been accelerating negotiations that began in 2013 to create a free trade area, with one negotiation source saying, "The momentum for moving ahead (toward conclusion) is building." The list of countries seen willing to join the 11-member TPP has also been expanding, which now includes Colombia, Thailand and South Korea. Just before announcing the schedule for the Japan-U.S. dialogue on Tuesday, Motegi discussed the importance of a free and rules-based trade system with British International Trade Secretary Liam Fox and welcomed the country's willingness to enter the TPP. Still, it's an open question as to whether the United States will eventually return to the multiparty TPP. "What's important going forward is (for Japan) to show that there are no advantages in staying out of multilateral frameworks like the TPP," Mizuho's Sugawara said. KYODO NEWS - Aug 3, 2018 - 09:00 | World, All North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho arrived in Singapore on Friday morning for an ASEAN-related meeting due to take place later this week, with all eyes on whether he will contact U.S. officials while in the city-state. In Singapore, Ri is expected to try to bolster relations with his counterparts from countries such as those in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, as North Korea has recently been working to boost its economic growth. Ri is scheduled to attend Saturday's ASEAN Regional Forum meeting of the 10-country regional bloc and other forum members. The focus is on whether Ri will meet with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on the sidelines of the regional forum. At a historic summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in June in the city-state, Pyongyang pledged to work toward "complete" denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. But U.S.-North Korea negotiations on the specifics of denuclearization have been apparently at a standstill, raising skepticism about whether North Korea will really implement concrete measures toward denuclearization. KYODO NEWS - Aug 3, 2018 - 20:57 | All, World A North Korean tanker has been observed engaging in an illicit ship-to-ship cargo transfer in the East China Sea, the Japanese Foreign Ministry said Friday. The tanker, spotted alongside a vessel of unknown nationality on the high seas Tuesday by a Japanese Self-Defense Force supply ship, is subject to U.N. sanctions imposed in response to North Korea's nuclear and ballistic missile tests. (Photo courtesy of Japan's Defense Ministry) The North Korean ship and the other vessel, bearing what appeared to be a Chinese flag, were connected with a hose in waters about 400 kilometers south-southeast of Shanghai, the ministry said. Tokyo has reported the case to the U.N. Security Council's North Korea sanctions committee and also notified Beijing. It is the ninth suspected case made public by the Japanese government of North Korean ship-to-ship transfers in violation of the U.N. sanctions. KYODO NEWS - Aug 3, 2018 - 16:31 | World, All, Urgent Top diplomats of the United States and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations held talks Friday in Singapore, at which Washington is expected to urge ASEAN members to fully enforce U.N. sanctions on North Korea so as to compel it to abandon its nuclear weapons. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met his ASEAN counterparts as Pyongyang continues to find ways to evade sanctions through means such as U.N.-prohibited ship-to-ship transfers of petroleum products and the sending of North Korean guest workers to some countries to earn hard currency. Pompeo is likely to make a similar request when he separately meets with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi later Friday in the city-state. Referring to Pompeo's attendance to a series of ASEAN-related meetings on Friday and Saturday, a senior State Department official said, "We do have concerns about North Korea bypassing some of those sanctions, not adhering to its own obligations, so the secretary will use these opportunities to remind all of that obligation to stick to the sanctions as a means to get the ultimate objective, the fully verified...denuclearization of North Korea." All 10 countries in ASEAN, as well as China and Russia, have diplomatic relations with North Korea, while countries such as the United States, Japan and South Korea do not. (A North Korean tankar, left, and a ship of unknown nationality in the East China Sea) According to the U.S. government, North Korea committed illegal ship-to-ship transfer of refined oil products 89 times in the first five months of the year and such transfers continue to occur. Aside from North Korea, the U.S. secretary of state and ASEAN foreign ministers are expected to focus on U.S. economic engagement in the Indo-Pacific region, China's assertive claims in the South China Sea and Myanmar's military crackdown on the Rohingya Muslim minority. Earlier this week, Pompeo announced $113 million in new U.S. investment to support technology, energy and infrastructure in the Indo-Pacific, widely seen as a step to counter China's rising clout in the region through President Xi Jinping's multibillion-dollar "One Belt, One Road" cross-border infrastructure initiative. KYODO NEWS - Aug 4, 2018 - 07:30 | All, World North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho on Friday called for the easing of international sanctions on his country, citing the suspension of nuclear and missile tests, according to an ASEAN diplomatic source. Ri made the request in a meeting with a counterpart from a member state of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Singapore, the source said. After arriving in the city-state Friday morning to attend the ASEAN Regional Forum, a 27-member security meeting slated for Saturday, Ri had a series of bilateral meetings with countries such as China, Cambodia, Indonesia and Vietnam. Ri was quoted by the source as asking why U.N. sanctions have not yet been removed despite "much progress" being made on the North's nuclear issue. North Korea "wants to win more understanding on this issue from all," Ri was quoted as saying, suggesting he will raise the issue at the ARF, whose members include the United States, Japan, South Korea, China and Russia. North Korea wants other countries to help remove U.N. sanctions from the country, he said. Later Friday, Ri briefly met and shook hands with South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung Wha at a gala dinner, according to the South's Yonhap News Agency. "They exchanged quite candid opinions on various situations in the wake of South-North and North-U.S. summits," which took place in April and June, respectively, a South Korean Foreign Ministry official was quoted as telling reporters, without providing details. While in Singapore, Ri is expected to seek closer relations with his counterparts from ASEAN member states and other regional powers, as North Korea has recently been working to boost its economic growth. The focus is now on whether Ri will meet with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on the sidelines of the security forum. At a historic summit with U.S. President Donald Trump in June in Singapore, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un committed to "complete" denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. But U.S.-North Korea negotiations on the specifics of denuclearization have apparently been at a standstill, raising skepticism about whether Pyongyang will really implement concrete measures toward denuclearization. By Teo Boon Kiat, KYODO NEWS - Aug 3, 2018 - 15:40 | All, Japan, Sports, Olympics Hotel Okura Tokyo, the flagship hotel of one of Japan's top hotel chain operators, has been fully booked during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics thanks to stays by officials connected with the International Olympic Committee. All 508 guest rooms of the Tokyo hotel will be fully occupied during the Summer Games, Chizu Nakashiro, an official of Okura Nikko Hotel Management, a hotel-operating subsidiary of Hotel Okura Co., said at a promotional event in Kuala Lumpur last week. (The new main Okura Tokyo building to open in the fall of 2019) [Image courtesy of Hotel Okura] About half of guest rooms at Grand Nikko Tokyo Daiba, located in one of the most popular destinations for foreign tourists in Tokyo, have also been booked by IOC officials, said Nakashiro, who is in charge of international sales for the hotel operator. A new main building of the Hotel Okura Tokyo, now under construction to replace the old one, is scheduled to open in the fall of 2019, with its name changed to The Okura Tokyo. The hotel operator, which had 46 hotels at home and 25 overseas operating as of April, held a promotion for 110 local travel agencies at the event to draw more Malaysian tourists to Japan. Some hotels in Hokkaido and Okinawa under the group attract a relatively large number of Malaysian visitors, who account for 20 to 25 percent of the total guests, according to Nakashiro. The operator is not considering obtaining halal certification necessary to supply meals permissible under Islamic law, but "we still are able to provide Muslims with friendly services such as creating prayer space upon request," she said. (NNA/Kyodo) KYODO NEWS - Aug 3, 2018 - 23:40 | World, All Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono said he chatted with his North Korean counterpart Ri Yong Ho in Singapore on Friday night, at a time when top diplomats of other countries are actively holding bilateral meetings with Pyongyang. Speaking to reporters, Kono said he informed Ri of Japan's views and basic stances. But the Japanese minister declined to disclose further details, indicating their talks may not have been held in an amicable atmosphere as ties between the two nations have been worsening. With Prime Minister Shinzo Abe now willing to hold direct talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, Kono was "urged" to make contact with Ri on the sidelines of a series of Association of Southeast Asian Nations-related gatherings, a government source said. In the wake of the historic summit between Kim and U.S. President Donald Trump in June in the city-state, Abe has been exploring the possibility of a summit with the North Korean leader. Tokyo and Pyongyang, however, have remained divided over the issue of abduction of Japanese nationals by North Korean agents in the 1970s and 1980s, as Abe has called tackling the matter his "life's work." Japan officially lists 17 citizens as abduction victims and suspects North Korean involvement in many more disappearances. North Korea insists the issue has already been resolved. Abe had reiterated in recent years, back when North Korea was still ratcheting up tensions, that maintaining "pressure" on Pyongyang is vital to compel it to discard its nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles. But he has been forced to withdraw his signature policy toward North Korea as other major countries -- including the United States, China and South Korea -- have started to emphasize the importance of talks with the North to achieve denuclearization. Since March, Kim has held summit talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping, South Korean President Moon Jae In and Trump in a successive manner. As Kim is expected to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the near future, Abe is likely to become the only leader who is not able to communicate with North Korea among member nations of the long-stalled six-party talks on Pyongyang's nuclear program. Although another Japanese government source said Kono and Ri shook hands when they met around a gala dinner on Friday, the source did not clarify whether the two foreign ministers exchanged views on a potential summit between Abe and Kim. A North Korean official, meanwhile, told reporters that Ri on Friday held bilateral talks with seven foreign ministers from other countries, but the official did not mention Japan. Last year, Kono also briefly chatted with Ri on the fringes of ASEAN-related meetings in Manila. It marked the first meeting between the two nations' top diplomats since August 2015 when then Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida and then North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Su Yong met on the sidelines of a regional security forum in Kuala Lumpur. Kono said then that he asked Ri to resolve issues such as his country's nuclear and ballistic missile programs and its past abductions of Japanese nationals, but he kept mum about commenting on how his counterpart responded. On Wednesday night, Kono arrived in Singapore. Ri reached the city-state on Friday, flying in from Beijing. Japan and North Korea have no diplomatic ties. KYODO NEWS - Aug 3, 2018 - 10:37 | Feature, All Dozens of children bled dark red blood from terrible wounds as they lay along a street of the city of Matsue. Naofumi Tanaka, 78, has never forgotten the ghastly scene, even over 70 years later. The children had apparently been evacuated to Matsue, Tanaka's home city in the neighboring prefecture of Shimane, after the United States dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima on Aug. 6, 1945 -- the first time a nuclear weapon had been used in warfare. "I'd never seen people so badly hurt. We must not have war as it victimizes the weak," Tanaka told Kyodo News in a recent interview. (Naofumi Tanaka) During the Pacific War when Tanaka was still a boy, almost no-one in his neighborhood had experienced air raids. He spent his days fishing and playing in the nearby Lake Shinji, often staring up at enemy aircraft as they flew overhead without feeling the need to flee. But, one summer morning, that all changed. Born into a family that ran a liquor store and a large Japanese sake brewery, Tanaka lived in a house near the Shinji rail station. When he stepped outside that day after the bomb, he saw injured children lying side by side on futon mattresses stretching about 50 meters down the street. They had suffered burns to their faces. Pieces of washi, or Japanese paper, were placed on their wounds, apparently as makeshift bandages. Burns were one of the typical injuries caused by the atomic bomb. The bomb, called "Little Boy" due to its thin shape compared to "Fat Man" which would destroy Nagasaki on Aug. 9, exploded 600 meters above the ground, destroying the city with its blast and heat radiation. The ground temperature at the hypocenter reached 4,000 C. Many survivors remember victims wandering around the city, craving water as their charred skin hung loosely from their bodies. The population of Hiroshima at the time was about 350,000, and about 40 percent of residents, approximately 140,000 people, are estimated to have died by the end of 1945. Three days after the Hiroshima bombing, the United States dropped the second bomb on Nagasaki, a city about 300 kilometers southwest of the first target, killing an estimated 74,000 people. Many of the atomic-bomb survivors, known as hibakusha in Japanese, suffered from radiation sickness and cancer. The Japanese government officially designated Hiroshima and Nagasaki residents as hibakusha, as well as babies whose mothers were victims, rescue workers, and others who were irradiated after entering the bombsites within two weeks of the attacks. As of the end of fiscal 2017, there were still 154,859 people designated as hibakusha, according to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare. Although the young Tanaka thought the injured children may have been survivors sent from Hiroshima by train, the boy kept his thoughts bottled up for many years. In 2009, Tanaka's liquor store used the building that had housed the sake brewery as a temporary exhibition site for photos taken before the war, marking the 100th anniversary of the opening of Shinji station. Among them was a photo showing the brewery's exterior wall adorned with calligraphy made by local children. But Tanaka wanted people to know this was also a place where children had suffered. For the first time in his life, he wrote about his memories and made a panel to display with the photos. One of his neighbors recalled the "strange smell," which confirmed to Tanaka that the tragedy had not been just a terrible dream. Every year as Aug. 6 nears, Tanaka recalls the day and the horrible scene. "It's always the most vulnerable, ordinary people who suffer in war," he said. "If we don't cherish the right to speak up, the horror of war will repeat." KYODO NEWS - Aug 3, 2018 - 21:37 | All, Japan, Feature Eight patients have died after contracting a multidrug-resistant bacterial infection at a hospital in southwestern Japan, where another seven patients have been similarly infected, the hospital said Friday. The Kagoshima University Hospital in the city of Kagoshima asserts the infection did not cause the deaths of four of those eight patients, while admitting the infections could have affected the progression of illnesses in the other four. Of the 15 infected patients, MDR Acinetobacter was detected in five patients hospitalized between April last year and this April, and a bacteria with similar traits was detected in 10 patients admitted from September 2016, according to the hospital. MDR Acinetobacter can cause serious infections in the lungs, blood and other areas and is hard to treat as it is resistant to most of the existing antimicrobial agents. It may be found on human skin and other places in a humid environment, and sanitizing with alcohol is said to be effective against it. Kagoshima University Hospital said its intensive care unit could have been the source of the infections, as 14 out of 15 patients had spent time in the ICU where the MDR Acinetobacter was detected. After the deaths of two patients who had been hospitalized in April, the hospital detected MDR Acinetobacter in three of 16 mattresses in the ICU. The hospital apologized to the patients' families over their deaths, and the ICU is undergoing repairs to prevent any reoccurrence. According to the hospital, it had stepped up cleaning around bacterial carriers and screened others, but the risk evaluation might had been insufficient. (Shoji Natsugoe, left, head of Kagoshima Univ. Hospital, speaks at a press conference) "We will consider inspecting the hospital based on the medical care law," said health minister Katsunobu Kato in response to the latest revelation. In-hospital infections by MDR Acinetobacter have claimed the lives of patients hospitalized for other illnesses in the past. Between February 2009 and October 2010, 60 people at Teikyo University Hospital in Tokyo were infected with MDR Acinetobacter and 35 of them died. Four people also died at Fukuoka University Hospital in southwestern Japan between October 2008 and January 2009 after being infected with it. In 2017, the World Health Organization listed Acinetobacter among the antibiotic-resistant pathogens that pose the "greatest threat to human health." The bacteria, among the top priority group, poses a particular threat in hospitals and nursing homes, and can cause severe and often deadly infections, according to the organization. WHO says antimicrobial resistance, in general, spreads through misuse and overuse of antibiotics. To address resistance, the organization is calling for better prevention of infections and appropriate use of existing antibiotics in humans and animals. Japan is seeking to reduce its antibacterial use to two-thirds its level in 2013 by 2020. KYODO NEWS - Aug 4, 2018 - 07:57 | World, All The foreign chiefs of China and the United States have shared the view that talks are important to resolve an ongoing trade dispute between the world's two largest economies, Beijing's state-run media reported Friday. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met in Singapore, days after Washington said it will contemplate more than doubling the proposed tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese goods to 25 percent. So far, Washington and Beijing have shown no signs of trying to find a middle ground, sparking fears that their full-fledged trade war will stifle the global economy, which has been on a recovery track. Earlier this year, Chinese economic officials held negotiations with the United States to avoid an all-out trade war, but the efforts ended in failure. As well as higher tariffs on steel and aluminum, Washington has slapped additional 25 percent duties on $34 billion of Chinese imports -- the first round of the tariffs worth $50 billion -- for Beijing's alleged intellectual property and technology theft. Later Friday, China announced that it will impose additional 25 percent tariffs on 5,207 U.S. imports, worth $60 billion annually, if the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump goes ahead with the $200 billion new tariffs. KYODO NEWS - Aug 3, 2018 - 18:04 | Feature, All Representatives from 85 countries and the European Union are expected to attend a memorial ceremony next week to mark the 73rd anniversary of the U.S. atomic bombing of Hiroshima, the city government said Friday. Among the world's nuclear states, the United States, Britain, France and Russia will be represented at the annual event Monday, while China does not plan to send its representative. North Korea has yet to say whether it will send its official, according to the Hiroshima city government, which has invited 157 countries to take part in the ceremony from 8 a.m. at the Peace Memorial Park. India, Pakistan, and Israel, de facto nuclear powers, will participate in the ceremony while Myanmar and Turkey are sending their officials to the event for the first time. Izumi Nakamitsu, U.N. undersecretary general and high representative for disarmament affairs, will represent the international body. The decision comes after the water level crossed 138 ft on Thursday morning. Tamil Nadu will release 5,800 cusecs per second, from which it will draw 2,300 cusecs. Despite international breeding efforts, advanced agronomy and effective management of pests and diseases, sugarcane yields have been static for decades owing to constraints on culm development. The culm's sugar storage capacity is physically limited, restricting the volume of sucrose and biomass that can be obtained from the crop for sugar and second-generation (2G) ethanol production, according to experts in the area. "Breaking through this developmental threshold by conventional breeding [crossing of varieties] is proving hard," said Marcelo Menossi, a Full Professor in the Department of Genetics, Evolution & Bioagents at the University of Campinas's Biology Institute (IB-UNICAMP) in Brazil. Menossi, in collaboration with postgraduate students supervised by him and with colleagues at Brazil's National Bioethanol Science & Technology Laboratory (CTBE), Sugar Research Australia and Germany's Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU), found that the key to surmounting this constraint on sugarcane yield could lie in a gene called ScGAI. In a study performed during a project linked to BIOEN, the Bioenergy Research Program from FAPESP - Sao Paulo Research Foundation, Menossi and collaborators discovered that ScGAI is an important regulator of culm development in sugarcane. By manipulating the activity of this gene in transgenic sugarcane lines developed in Australia, the researchers succeeded in substantially increasing culm volume and changing the allocation of carbon to structural and storage molecules. They have now reported their findings in an article published in Journal of Experimental Botany. "The sugarcane variety in which we altered the expression of ScGAI developed far more quickly. This means it should be possible to breed a variety of energy sugarcane that matures faster and has higher biomass production per unit of time," Menossi said. The discovery was derived from the PhD research of Rafael Garcia Tavares, conducted at IB-UNICAMP under Menossi's supervision and with a scholarship from FAPESP. During the study, ScGAI was found to mediate the regulation of developmental hormones used by sugarcane growers, such as ethylene and gibberellins. Gibberellins are widely employed to improve yield in many crops and accelerate sugarcane ripening by triggering the rapid degradation of DELLA proteins, which are thereby prevented from interacting with and degrading other proteins that stimulate culm development. "Ethylene is typically applied to sugarcane plantations during the ripening stage, when the farmer wants the plant to continue accumulating sucrose instead of growing and producing more leaves. Unlike gibberellins, it stabilizes DELLAs and lets them interact with and degrade other growth-promoting proteins. However, the role of DELLAs as regulators of sugarcane growth was poorly understood," Menossi said. Patenting of manipulation method To glean a better understanding of how DELLAs regulate sugarcane growth, especially with regard to culm development, the researchers conducted an experiment in which they altered ScGAI expression in an Australian sugarcane variety. In some lines, ScGAI was silenced to reduce the production of DELLAs and stop them from degrading other proteins that contribute to the plant's development. In other lines, the researchers took steps to ensure that the gene was overexpressed with the aim of increasing the production of DELLAs and stabilizing them so that they continued to degrade the growth-promoting proteins. In a comparative analysis performed after four months, ScGAI-overexpressing transgenic sugarcane lines displayed stunted growth, shorter internodes, and impaired energy metabolism. In contrast, ScGAI-silenced plants were taller and exhibited rapid internode elongation, increased phytomer production, and greater carbon allocation to the stem. The phytomer is defined as a unit comprising a node and internode, its axillary buds, and an attached leaf. "The study clearly shows that the ScGAI gene is a fundamental component of sugarcane development and can be a target for genetic manipulation to permit intervention in the speed of plant growth by regulating DELLA proteins," said the coordinator of the FAPESP research project. The researchers have applied for a patent on the method they invented to manipulate ScGAI in order to decrease the amount of DELLAs in sugarcane so that the plant develops faster. Two companies have expressed an interest in the technology. "The next step is to perform field tests and see if we can obtain the same results by growing the transgenic lines with the manipulated gene in a greenhouse," Menossi said. ### About Sao Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP) The Sao Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP) is a public institution with the mission of supporting scientific research in all fields of knowledge by awarding scholarships, fellowships and grants to investigators linked with higher education and research institutions in the State of Sao Paulo, Brazil. FAPESP is aware that the very best research can only be done by working with the best researchers internationally. Therefore, it has established partnerships with funding agencies, higher education, private companies, and research organizations in other countries known for the quality of their research and has been encouraging scientists funded by its grants to further develop their international collaboration. For more information: http://www.fapesp.br/en. The internet gives people worldwide access to applications and services, but in many cases, internet traffic passes through a few dominant countries, according to new research from Princeton University. Following the 2013 revelations of U.S. government surveillance, officials from several countries expressed a desire to reduce their dependence on U.S. communications infrastructure. Brazil has taken notable steps toward this goal, including beginning construction of an underwater cable to Portugal and developing a large ecosystem of internet exchange points to help in-country networks better connect. This new study from Princeton researchers represents an early look at the effectiveness of these measures. Despite Brazil's efforts, a large proportion of its internet traffic continues to traverse the United States. One explanation, the researchers suggested, may be that business considerations prevent internet service providers from using internet exchange points in Brazil. By examining traffic to the 100 most popular websites in several countries, the researchers revealed that a large fraction of internet routing paths from Brazil, India and Kenya passed through the United States or Europe. They also piloted a tool called RAN (Region-Aware Networking) that allows users to reroute traffic to avoid going through a particular country by diverting traffic through intermediate points. The researchers found that Region Aware Networking was more successful in avoiding some countries than others. In particular, many popular websites are hosted only on servers in the United States or Europe. Other sites provide global access through contracts with content distribution networks, which often host websites in only a few countries, explained lead author Anne Edmundson, who graduated from Princeton this spring with a Ph.D. in computer science. Edmundson and her colleagues presented the study on June 21 at the Association for Computing Machinery's Conference on Sustainable Societies. The researchers measured internet routing paths through Brazil, Kenya, India, the Netherlands and the United States by accessing popular websites via virtual private networks, which provided vantage points from within the countries that were similar to those of users in those countries. They then downloaded the top 100 webpages in each country (as ranked by Alexa) and measured the paths between each client vantage point and the web servers that delivered the content within that country. The study found that more than half of all routing paths originating in other countries passed through the United States. Brazil showed the highest dependence, with 84 percent of traffic transiting the United States. A large fraction of paths from Kenya, India and the Netherlands also passed through Great Britain. In addition, traffic from Kenya commonly transited Mauritius and South Africa, while Singapore was a frequent stop for traffic from India. These paths generally tended to follow the paths of underwater communications cables between the respective countries and popular internet exchange points. The researchers also assessed the prevalence of "tromboning" paths that start and end in the same country but traverse a foreign country en route. Internet paths from Brazil and the Netherlands to popular websites often tromboned through the United States. About 13 percent of paths from Brazil were tromboning, and more than 80 percent of these traversed the United States; some paths also traversed countries such as Spain, Italy and Canada. "As soon as internet traffic enters a country's borders it becomes subject to that country's domestic laws and policies, including things like surveillance or censorship," said Edmundson. In response to this issue, the team designed and tested the Region-Aware Networking (RAN) system to give users more control over their internet routing. In addition to avoiding surveillance and censorship, reducing international routing could also improve connection speeds and lower costs. They set up a network of relays using machines in 10 countries and a mechanism to forward internet traffic through these relays. They then measured the system's ability to avoid routing traffic from the five countries in the study through other countries. In most cases, the tool significantly increased the percentage of routes to the top 100 websites that avoided a given country. For instance, without the tool's relays only 50 percent of paths from Kenya could avoid transiting Britain; Region-Aware Networking allowed 97 percent of paths to avoid Britain. The tool also led to modest decreases in tromboning paths. Traffic through the United States was more challenging to avoid. Routes from India achieved the highest avoidance level at 65 percent. "This could be for a couple of reasons," said Edmundson. "One reason is that the only path to a certain website goes through the United States, or that the content is only hosted in the United States and it is therefore unavoidable." Adding more relays to the network might improve the ability to avoid transiting the United States, she said. "The internet grew up without borders, but now people who care about privacy and freedom of expression are starting to be concerned about where their internet traffic goes," said Jedidiah Crandall, a computer scientist at the University of New Mexico who was not involved in the research. "At the same time, nation-states are developing their own ideas about borders on the internet. Where the borders actually are today is an important scientific question that this paper makes impressive progress towards answering." The researchers performed their measurements in early 2016; follow-up measurements could show whether Brazil and other countries have reduced their dependence on the United States and Europe for reaching popular internet websites. ### Edmundson's co-authors include computer science professors Nick Feamster, deputy director of Princeton's Center for Information Technology Policy; Jennifer Rexford, the Gordon Y.S. Wu Professor in Engineering and chair of the Department of Computer Science; and Roya Ensafi, a former postdoctoral researcher in Feamster's group who is now a research assistant professor at the University of Michigan. Support for this research was provided by the Department of Defense and the National Science Foundation. HENDERSON, NV / ACCESSWIRE / August 3, 2018 / On June 25, the FDA approved London-based GW Pharma's Epidiolex, a drug containing CBD as its active ingredient, to treat two rare and severe forms of epilepsy, Lennox-Gastaut syndrome and Dravet syndrome, in patients 2 years old and older. This is a major win for a cannabis market that continues to entice investors. According to a recent report by Hexa Research, the U.S. medical cannabis market is projected to reach $19.48 billion by 2024. We have now discovered a little known CBD company CIIX (Chineseinvestors.com, Inc.) out of Los Angeles, CA. Start doing your own research on CIIX immediately before the crowd discovers it. CIIX could be on everyone's screen a week from now, you are hearing it here first. CIIX has an exciting CBD business, through its wholly-owned subsidiaries ChineseHempOil, Inc. and its websites ChineseCBDOil.com and ChineseHempOil.com for online retail, and direct sales of hemp-based CBD products. CIIX is planning a major revenue expansion domestically for its CBD/Hemp based business. Those that discover CIIX now should be very happy in the future. A few companies with important news in the sector include: Chineseinvestors.com, Inc. (CIIX), CV Sciences, Inc. (CVSI), Aurora Cannabis (ABCFF), GW Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (GWPH), and Insys Therapeutics, Inc. (INSY). Chineseinvestors.com, Inc. (CIIX) Market Cap: $11.07M Share Price: $0.39 ChineseInvestors.com (CIIX), a premier financial info website for Chinese-speaking investors, is engaged in retail, online and direct sales of hemp-based products and other health related products among several other sectors, one being the crypto market. The company recently announced the official launch of its new cryptocurrency trading courses offered through its newly established Bitcoin Trading Academy LLC. With its feet in two of the hottest markets around, CBD and Crypto, CIIX is beginning to turn heads in the investment community. Story continues CV Sciences, Inc. (CVSI) Market Cap: $282.86M Share Price: $3.12 CV Sciences, Inc. is a supplier and manufacturer of hemp-based phytocannabinoids including cannabidiol (CBD) oil and developer of specialty pharmaceutical therapeutics. The Company recently had news showing unaudited second quarter 2018 revenue. Second quarter 2018 revenue is expected to be USD 12.3 Million, up over 200% to the second quarter of 2017. Investors have hopped on this news pushing CVSI into the green over the past few sessions. Aurora Cannabis (ABCFF) Market Cap: $3.11B Share Price: $5.45 Another CBD company receiving investor interest from recent new is Aurora Cannabis Inc. (ACBFF). The company recently received a Letter of Intent to establish one of the first medical cannabis production facilities in Malta. The Company received a Letter of Intent from Malta Enterprise for the establishment of a seed-to-pharma cannabis operation, including the construction of a hybrid production facility that will be focused predominantly on the production of oils and derivatives. Operations will be carried out by a new company, to be formed by Aurora and its local partner Cherubino Ltd., the largest pharmaceutical wholesaler in Malta with an operating history of over 100 years. Aurora will be the majority shareholder in the new venture. GW Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (GWPH) Market Cap: $3.80B Share Price: $135.07 Referenced earlier in this report, GW Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (GWPH), has investors on the edge of their seats. The company is preparing to announce their fiscal 3rd quarter results August 7th on a conference call at 4:30 pm. The stock's performance has been mixed as investors prepare for the call. Insys Therapeutics, Inc. (INSY) Market Cap: $491.56M Share Price: $6.66 Not all CBD companies have had positive news, Friday, Insys Therapeutics, Inc announced the U.S. Food and Drug Administration declined to approve its opioid painkiller, citing potential safety concerns. Insys' treatment is an under-the-tongue spray formulation of the opioid buprenorphine that was under review to treat moderate-to-severe pain. Despite the news, the stock has started to rebound as investors look for the company to rebound from this news. Conclusion: With investor interest squarely growing on the CBD, lesser known quantities such as CIIX may be prime for an influx of attention making this a good time for investors to consider CIIX. Legal Disclaimer Except for the historical information presented herein, matters discussed in this article contain forward-looking statements that are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such statements. ACR Communication, LLC, which owns Microcapspeculators.com, is not registered with Finra or any other financial or securities regulatory authority, and does not provide nor claims to provide investment advice or recommendations to readers of this release. ACR Communication, LLC [and/or] Microcapspeculators.com does not have a position in the securities mentioned herein and may increase or decrease such positions without notice. For making specific investment decisions, readers should seek their own advice. ACR Communication LLC, which owns Microcapspeculators.com, is compensated for its services in the form of cash-based compensation or in equity in the companies it writes about, or a combination of the two. ACR Communication, LLC has been compensated one thousand dollars cash for this article and one thousand dollars total by Regal Consulting. LLC, for news commentary articles for CIIX. CIIX and Regal Consulting, LLC were given an opportunity to edit information included in this article. This article is based solely on public information and the opinions of ACR Communication, LLC, which believes the news commentary to include accurate and complete information. ACR Communication, LLC, will not buy or sell any shares in stocks contained within this article for forty-eight hours after this article's distribution. For Full Legal Disclaimer Click Here. Contact Information: Company Name: Microcap Speculators Contact Person: Media Manager Email: info@microcapspecualtors.com Phone: 1-702-720-6310 Country: United States Website: http://microcapspeculators.com/ SOURCE: ACR Communication, LLC (Kate Gordon is a non-resident Fellow at the Columbia Center on Global Energy Policy, Senior Advisor to the Paulson Institute, and the author of Risky Business: The Economic Risks of Climate Change in the United States. The opinions expressed here are her own) By Kate Gordon Aug 2 (Reuters) - The Trump administration on Thursday took a giant step backward on transportation innovation by issuing a proposal to freeze federal rules requiring automakers to design more efficient, cleaner-running cars. In April, then-Environmental Protection Agency chief Scott Pruitt called the current standards too high and said they did not comport with reality. But globally, these standards have helped American automakers to remain competitive as other countries particularly China embrace the transition to a low-carbon economy. By reversing course on fuel-efficiency regulations, the United States is encouraging automakers to build outdated vehicles in a globally-evolving market ceding market leadership to China in the process. Current federal vehicle standards require automakers to produce passenger vehicles that meet specific mileage-per-gallon and carbon-emissions standards. The administrations proposal lays out eight possible scenarios for scaling back the standards, with the preferred option being to freeze them at 2020 levels through 2026. Whether from a market, safety, or environmental perspective, this is misguided. Historically, federal regulation of the U.S. auto industry has led to better vehicles just look at seat belts, safety brakes, and glass standards for windshields, all of which led to the development of safer cars that have become the global standard over the past half century. Looking forward, its clear that low- or no-carbon vehicles will dominate our global transportation future. The vehicle emission rules provide incentives for U.S. automakers to produce and sell low-carbon vehicles, and electric vehicles in particular, as these are both cleaner and more efficient than gas-powered cars and trucks. Companies can manufacture these vehicles, but can also meet the standards by purchasing credits from other auto companies that have more mature EV or alternative-fuel vehicle lines. The rules are flexible, but theyre also critical to maintaining U.S. leadership on EV manufacturing. According to the Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI), policy support is playing a major role in developing and deploying EVs in both the United States and China, which is why the two countries lead the world in EV registrations today. Rolling back federal rules will relieve short-term pressure for manufacturers to invest in electric vehicles, and could have significant long-term impacts for the United States. Story continues Last year, global EV sales surpassed the one million mark for the first time. Battery pack prices dropped 65 percent from 2013 through 2017, a trend that will only accelerate as global demand for EVs rises. China recently joined the UK, France, Norway and India in pledging to phase out the use of gas-powered vehicles in the coming decades. Even Exxon, BP and OPEC project surging demand for electric vehicles out to 2040, and the most aggressive market outlook shows EVs making up over 30 percent of the entire global vehicle fleet by 2040. Automakers are reading the tea leaves. Globally, theyve announced $150 billion in investments to get 13 million more electric vehicles on the worlds roads by around 2025. The United States is making a strong showing on EVs, but China leads the pack. In 2017, half of global EV production took place in China, where demand for electric vehicles is expected to triple by 2022. The government is offering generous incentives to scale up EV production and sales. More important, China has offered generous terms to international automakers looking to establish themselves in the country. Its working: American companies like Ford and General Motors have announced hefty investments in Chinas EV market, and Fords chairman is on the record as saying that China will lead the world in EV development. The United States accounted for 17 percent of global production of electric vehicles in 2017, putting it in second place behind China. While domestic policies are spurring significant growth in the EV market, there is also increasing consumer demand. Recent data from AAA shows that one in five U.S. drivers will likely go electric when buying their next car, and drivers are becoming less concerned about running out of battery charge while driving EVs. Ford, GM and Toyota are all adapting their production accordingly, indicative of the larger global shift toward EVs. But of the top 20 electric vehicle manufacturers, nine have headquarters in China, while only three are based in the United States. China accounts for 40 percent of global investment in EVs and projections show that the country will lead the market through 2040. Chinas potential dominance in the changing auto sector matters. Auto manufacturing constitutes about three percent of U.S. GDP, and accounts for the most jobs of any manufacturing sector. Losing these jobs, and this market share, to another country is no laughing matter, especially in the auto-heavy Midwest and Southeast states: in Michigan, Ohio, and Tennessee, auto industry jobs make up 10 percent or more of the entire state labor force. Freezing fuel efficiency standards at this critical juncture, when momentum is picking up and billions of dollars in investments are following suit, would cede the growing EV market to China and create unnecessary regulatory uncertainty for automakers in the United States. The Trump administration should preserve the current standards or risk encouraging American automakers to build the cars of the past in an increasingly electric future. (Reporting by Kate Gordon) STORIES YOU MIGHT LIKE Afghan police said at least 25 people have been killed in twin suicide blasts at a Shi'ite mosque in southeastern Afghanistan. Raz Mohammad Mandozai, the police chief of Paktia Province, said two suicide bombers detonated explosives inside the Khawaja Hassan mosque in the provincial capital of Gardez on August 3. Mandozai said the suicide bombers, who he said were disguised in burqas, first killed two security guards at the entrance before firing on worshippers and detonating their explosives. Mandozai said at least 40 people were wounded in the attack and were rushed to nearby hospitals. Sardar Wali Tabasun, the police spokesman for Paktia Province, said the attack occurred after Friday Prayers. Officials warned that the death toll could rise. There was no immediate claim of responsibility, although similar attacks in the past have been claimed by the Islamic State (IS) extremist group, which has a presence in eastern Afghanistan. The Sunni extremist group has frequently targeted Afghanistans Shi'ite minority, which IS calls "apostates." The stronghold of the IS group is in neighboring Nangarhar Province, which has been the scene of multiple IS attacks in recent months that have killed dozens. Many of those killed in blasts in Gardez were Pashtun Shi'a, known as the Turi or Torai. Most Turi live in Pakistan's northwestern Kurram tribal district, while a smaller population lives in Paktia. The Turi have been targeted in both countries for decades by extremist groups, including the Afghan Taliban, the Pakistani Taliban, and Al-Qaeda. The attack in Gardez comes as U.S. and Afghan forces intensify ground and air offensives against IS, and the Taliban step up their war with the group. Afghanistan has mostly avoided the sectarian violence that has hit countries such as Iraq, but there have been increasing numbers of attacks on Shiite targets in recent years. In April, IS militants claimed responsibility for an attack on a voter registration office in a heavily Shi'ite-populated area in the Afghan capital, killing 57 people and wounding over 100 others. According to the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, 161 people were killed and 257 others were wounded in 2017 in targeted sectarian attacks against Shi'ite places of worship or worshippers. With reporting by Reuters and AFP PRESS RELEASE 1 August 2018 WENTWORTH RESOURCES LIMITED ("Wentworth" or the "Company") Shareholder Update and Conference Call Wentworth, the Oslo Stock Exchange (OSE: WRL) and AIM (AIM: WRL) listed independent, East Africa-focused oil & gas company, will be hosting an investor meeting which will be held at the offices of SpareBank 1 Markets AS, Olav V's Gate 5 - 0161 Oslo, Norway) at 1:00pm CEST / 12:00pm BST on Wednesday 8 August 2018. This meeting will provide investors with an opportunity to meet the Company's new CEO Eskil Jersing, Chairman Bob McBean and CFO Katherine Roe, and for the Company to answer any questions from Norwegian shareholders in regards to the Companies activities and planned delisting from the Oslo Stock Exchange. Representatives from the Company's legal counsel, Thommessen AS, and the Company's Registrar, Nordea Bank AB, will also be in attendance at the meeting to help assist with any queries. Ahead of the meeting, the Company has provided some further details for Norwegian shareholders regarding the future trading of their shares which can be found appended to this announcement and also published on the Frequently Asked Questions page under the Investors section of the corporate website, later today. Please register your interest to attend by Monday 6 August 2018 by emailing the Company at wentworth@fticonsulting.com. Those investors, who are unable to attend in-person, will be able to dial into the meeting and ask questions using the details provided below. If you would like to register any questions ahead of the meeting, please send them in an email to the address above. Dial in details for the shareholder meeting: Participant dial-in: Norway (toll-free) 800 621 96 Norway +47 23500243 UK (toll-free) 0800 358 9473 UK +44 333 300 0804 Participant Pin: 54691872# -Ends- Enquiries: Wentworth Bob McBean, Executive Chairman rpm@wentworthresources.com Eskil Jersing, Chief Executive Officer eskil.jersing@wentworthresources.com +44 7717 847623 Katherine Roe, Chief Financial Officer katherine.roe@wentworthresources.com +44 7841 087 230 Stifel Nicolaus Europe Limited AIM Nominated Adviser and Broker (UK) Callum Stewart Ashton Clanfield +44 (0) 20 7710 7600 GMP FirstEnergy Broker (UK) Hugh Sanderson Jonathan Wright +44 (0) 20 7448 0200 Peel Hunt LLP Broker (UK) Richard Crichton Ross Allister +44 (0) 20 7418 8900 FTI Consulting Communications Adviser (UK) Sara Powell Molly Stewart wentworth@fticonsulting.com +44 (0) 20 3727 1000 About Wentworth Resources Wentworth Resources is a publicly traded (OSE: WRL, AIM: WRL), independent oil & gas company with: natural gas production; exploration and appraisal opportunities; and large-scale gas monetisation initiatives, all in the Rovuma Delta Basin of coastal southern Tanzania and northern Mozambique. Inside Information The information contained within this announcement is deemed by Wentworth to constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) no. 596/2014 ("MAR"). On the publication of this announcement via a Regulatory Information Service ("RIS"), this inside information is now considered to be in the public domain. Cautionary note regarding forward-looking statements This press release may contain certain forward-looking information. The words "expect", "anticipate", believe", "estimate", "may", "will", "should", "intend", "forecast", "plan", and similar expressions are used to identify forward looking information. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are based on management's beliefs, estimates and opinions on the date the statements are made in light of management's experience, current conditions and expected future development in the areas in which Wentworth is currently active and other factors management believes are appropriate in the circumstances. Wentworth undertakes no obligation to update publicly or revise any forward-looking statements or information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, unless required by applicable law. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information. By their nature, forward-looking statements are subject to numerous assumptions, risks and uncertainties that contribute to the possibility that the predicted outcome will not occur, including some of which are beyond Wentworth's control. These assumptions and risks include, but are not limited to: the risks associated with the oil and gas industry in general such as operational risks in exploration, development and production, delays or changes in plans with respect to exploration or development projects or capital expenditures, the imprecision of resource and reserve estimates, assumptions regarding the timing and costs relating to production and development as well as the availability and price of labour and equipment, volatility of and assumptions regarding commodity prices and exchange rates, marketing and transportation risks, environmental risks, competition, the ability to access sufficient capital from internal and external sources and changes in applicable law. Additionally, there are economic, political, social and other risks inherent in carrying on business in Tanzania and Mozambique. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate as actual results and future events could vary or differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. See Wentworth's Management's Discussion and Analysis for the year ended December 31, 2017, available on Wentworth's website, for further description of the risks and uncertainties associated with Wentworth's business. Notice Neither the Oslo Stock Exchange nor the AIM Market of the London Stock Exchange has reviewed this press release and neither accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release. This information is subject to the disclosure requirements pursuant to section 5-12 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act. English Icelandic Drifa Sndal, board member of the Housing Financing fund today announced the Minister of Social affairs and Equality of her resignation from the board. The resignation is in affect as of today, August 3rd 2018. In the announcement she also states that she is thankful for the confidence she has been shown in the four years she has been a member of the Board. News and updates from the Project Zero team at Google As of August 26th, 2021 Yahoo India will no longer be publishing content. Your Yahoo Account Mail and Search experiences will not be affected in any way and will operate as usual. We thank you for your support and readership. For more information on Yahoo India, please visit the FAQ Trumps supposed reversal in tone was, however, not entirely unanticipated. It followed much the same pattern as was seen in his interactions with North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Un, with whom he exchanged rhetorical statements and threatening tweets before sitting down for a summit in Singapore after which Trump spoke highly of Kim and boasted about the likelihood of nuclear disarmament. With the memory of that summit fresh in mind, some commentators speculated that Trumps apparent threats against Iran were only intended to present an image of strength ahead of a possible meeting. On the other hand, CNN pointed out that some regard Trumps anti-Iranian rhetoric as more serious than his bluster with regard to other countries. And persons with this view are comparatively skeptical of Trumps offer of outreach, dismissing it as a way to assuage fears of broader conflict in the months ahead of midterm elections. Indeed, some regard the Trump administration as angling for regime change in Iran, although that phrase has been notably absent from any official statements outlining an assertive White House strategy for dealing with the Islamic Republic. Whatever the case may be, in practical terms the US and Iran do not appear to be moving any closer to direct talks in the wake of Trumps non-specific offer of an unconditional meeting. In fact, quite the opposite is true, as Iranian officials have expressly rejected the offer and White House foreign policy officials have attempted to qualify or contradict the presidents offer. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, for instance, said that the presidents willingness to meet with the Iranians actually does depend upon a series of conditions. Newsweek quoted him as saying, If the Iranians demonstrate a commitment to make fundamental changes in how they treat their own people, reduce their malign behavior, can agree that its worthwhile to enter into a nuclear agreement that actually prevents proliferation, then the president said hes prepared to sit down and have the conversation with them. Furthermore, Pompeo personally undermined the supposed shift toward dialogue when his office said that there were no plans for direct interactions between the Secretary of State and Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif when both men attend the meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Singapore this Saturday. In its reporting on that announcement, Reuters added that the White House had clarified Trumps statement by saying the administration would still pursue assertive policies of economic sanctions and other forms of international pressure with the intention of seeking changes in the Iranian governments behavior. Such qualifications no doubt contribute to the wariness of Iranian officials regarding the possibility of negotiations. This wariness was expressed by the Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qassemi. Another Reuters report quoted him as saying, Sanctions and pressures are the exact opposite of dialogue. How can Trump prove to the Iranian nation that his comments of [Monday] night reflect a true intention for negotiation and have not been expressed for populist gains? But it is not clear that perceived sincerity on the part of the US president would change Irans position with regard to a meeting between its own officials and their declared enemies. The Los Angeles Times reported that several such officials had rejected Trumps offer, stating that they would only consider further negotiations if Trump first rejoined the nuclear agreement from which he withdrew in May. This is certain to be a non-starter for the US president, who fiercely decried the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action long before taking office and promised that he would tear it up in favor of a new deal that secures greater concessions from Iran regarding not only its nuclear activities but also its terrorist sponsorship and malign regional behavior. This goal, in and of itself, arguably makes the possibility of negotiations with the Iranian regime rather remote. Iranian hardliners including Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei are fervently opposed to any sign of conciliation in the face of Western powers, and although Khamenei signed off on the negotiation and later the signing of the JCPOA, he famously ordered his subordinates to avoid negotiation on any topic that was not directly related to the Iranian nuclear program and the lifting of US sanctions. Now, the sanctions that were suspended under the JCPOA are on the verge of being re-imposed, and the Iranian government is already feeling the effects of that pressure. The LA Times noted that the value of Irans national currency had sunk to all-time lows and that the country was bracing for declines in other economic indicators as well. It then added that Iranian social media and exile groups have reported fresh anti-government protests in some cities as the people blame the clerical regimes behavior for those indicators and for courting the wrath of the Trump administration. In its assessment of the current direction of the Trump administrations Iran strategy, Reuters pointed to recent statements and actions as evidence that the White House is striving to foment unrest within the Islamic Republic. And as well as encouraging the clerical regimes domestic opponents, the administration is examining the possibility of developing what some have called an Arab NATO comprised of Irans regional adversaries. Nevertheless, Reuters points out, neither Trump nor his foreign policy principals have formally embraced a project of regime change. However, reports from Iranian Resistance groups regarding the past several months of domestic protests suggest that this is exactly the outcome that is being sought by much of the activist community. And this in turn suggests that, whether deliberate or not, the White Houses pressure tactics are improving the prospects for a wholesale change of government, driven by the Iranian people. Protesters in Isfahan also demanded an end to the Regimes malign meddling in other Middle Eastern countries, like Syria, Iraq and Lebanon, which uses Iranian money for war rather than helping the people. Many videos show protesters chanting slogans like No to Gaza, no to Lebanon, my soul is Irans redemption. Slogans like that have become commonplace at protests in Iran. One Iranian affairs expert said: The Iranian regimes financial corruption, misuse of public funds, the widespread banking crisis, and the haemorrhaging of billions of dollars on militia and terror groups are among the major reasons behind the present currency and economic crises. Arrests As usual, the Regime cracked down on these protesters with brutality, using tear gas to disperse the protesters. At least 29 people have been arrested on the charge of economic disruption, an intentionally vague charge, and some even face the death penalty. Of course, these arrests do not target the true criminals in Iran, i.e. the corrupt mullahs who caused this economic crisis, as that would involving turning the blame on themselves. Instead, they are a way for the mullahs to install fear into the Iranian people in an effort to keep them from protesting. The trials are often conducted in secret, which means that no one truly knows what goes on inside them. Uprising These protests are part of an ongoing uprising in Iran that has been going on since December, which began over a draft budget that cut subsidies for the poor and increased funding for Irans military. These grew quickly, with more people bringing forth more issues. The consensus of the protesters is that their problems stem from the Iranian Regime and that in order to fix all of their problems, the mullahs must go. At least 50 protesters were shot dead in the streets, while over 8,000 were arrested and threatened with the death penalty on more vague charges that the Regime uses against protesters. Some 15 people have been tortured to death in prison. Despite this protests have continued across all sectors of the Iranian community. The world should be doing more to support the people of Iran in their fight against the failing Regime, especially if the world is concerned with human rights, ending corruption, and tackling terrorism. Gospel World Confused By John Gray White House Visit As news swirled that black faith leaders would be meeting with Trump on Aug 1, many wanted to know who and what black pastor would even entertain such a thought. While many around the table were unidentified, one in particular began to create noise on social media. John Gray a comedian/pastor who has a reality show on the OWN Network owned by Oprah Winfrey was seated right next to the 45th president. As if someone knew, they placed Gray right next to the president who later tweeted footage out with him seated between Gary and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. family member Alveda King. It was my great honor to be joined by leading pastors and faith leaders from across our Nation today at the @WhiteHouse! pic.twitter.com/6sS1zGA1p7 Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 1, 2018 ADVERTISEMENT Many were confused by Gray, so he took to Facebook to explain: A committee of the United States Senate is studying the Trump administrations zero tolerance policy for migrant families. The policy is directed at individuals who crossed the U.S. border with Mexico. Those who entered the U.S. illegally were detained. The children were held separately from their parents. On June 20, President Donald Trump signed an order cancelling the family separations after a series of protests across the country. Last week, a federal judge credited the government with reuniting more than 1,800 children with their parents or guardians. But the judge also said the government is responsible for expelling the parents of more than 400 children without reuniting those families. The boys and girls have been living in shelters in Texas and three other states. They are receiving backpacks filled with clothing, books and other supplies from Comfort Cases, a non-profit group in Maryland. Rob Scheer is the founder of the group. We have children who have walked into our country that needed us. They need us. Scheer says he and his husband Reece set up Comfort Cases in 2013 partly because of his experience as a child in the U.S. foster care system. Today, the group serves about 39 states, Washington, D.C. and U.S. territories, including Puerto Rico. Scheer says their hope is to give a child that sense of dignity and to provide the children with something to hold their possessions. Children living in foster care are often moved from home to home, and many have only a plastic bag to hold their few belongings. As a child, Scheer had to move his belongings the same way. Some 40 years later, he and his husband agreed to accept four children from the foster care system as members of their family. Migrant children Once Scheer heard about the family separations, he called his team and volunteers and said they could not just sit back and watch what was happening. At the end of the day, I don't walk in the shoes of their parents. I can't tell you the reasons why they came to the border or why they entered our country. The only thing that I can tell you is that they're here. And these children need us. Marli Abramowitz is a volunteer at Comfort Cases. Abramowitz said as soon as news about the separations began to spread, the team prepared and shipped backpacks to McAllen, Texas. For the migrant kids, we have special stuffed animals that were made by a woman who donated, I think, a thousand of them...They also get a Spanish book and an English book, or they get a book that's half Spanish, half English. In 2017, Comfort Cases donated 11,000 backpacks. This year, that number is set to hit 14,000. Linda Walker, who has been volunteering with the nonprofit for the past six months, said she immediately felt the group had an important job. It had to overcome some administrative problems to reach the children, she explained, but hopes the backpacks hold everyday necessities, as well as the message that the migrants are welcome here. Its something that could have been avoided, Now they dont have their parents. Its going to be a hard journey to get them back. You cant rip children away from their parents. Its unacceptable." Im Susan Shand. VOAs Aline Barros reported this story. Susan Shand adapted it for Learning English. The editor was George Grow. Write to us in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page. ______________________________________________________________ Words in This Story tolerance n. ability to overcome pain or hardship migrant n. someone who moves from place to place, usually to find work backpack n. a piece of equipment designed to carry things on ones back foster care n. a situation in which a child lives with and is cared for by people who are not the childs parents dignity n. the quality of being worthy of respect charity n. a group that hel An international team of scientists says it has moved a step closer to creating artificial embryos. The team used stem cells from mice. Stem cells are simple cells that can develop into other kinds of cells. The scientists used the stem cells to build a structure that is similar to an embryo. Experts say the results of the research suggest that human embryos could be created in a similar way in the future. This would make it possible for scientists to use artificial embryos, rather than real ones, to research the very earliest period of human development. Magdalena Zernicka-Goetz is a professor at Britains Cambridge University. She was the leader of the research team. In her earlier work, she was able to create a simple structure similar to a mouse embryo in a laboratory dish. That research involved two kinds of stem cells and a three-dimensional structure on which they could grow. Zernicka-Goetzs team developed the structures further in the new research published in late July in the journal Nature Cell Biology. The researchers said they used three kinds of stem cells to start an important process. In this process, embryonic cells begin self-organizing into the correct structure for an embryo. Our artificial embryos underwent the most important event in life in the culture dish, Zernicka-Goetz said in a statement about the work. They are now extremely close to real embryos. She said the team should now be better able to understand how the three kinds of stem cells work together to enable an embryo to develop. She also said researchers should now be able to see how a change in one kind of stem cell affects the behavior of the other kinds of stem cells. Zernicka-Goetz noted that now scientists have a way of recreating embryonic development in a laboratory. This is especially important for research of the early period of embryonic development. That is the point in many pregnancies when problems happen and human embryos most often die. Scientists still know very little about this early period. So it should be possible to understand exactly what is going on during thisperiod in an embryos life, and why sometimes this process fails, Zernicka-Goetz said. Christophe Galichet is a senior research scientist at Britains Francis Crick Institute. He was not directly involved in this work, but he agreed with what the researchers are suggesting. Galichet told the Reuters news service in an email: While (this study) did not use human stem cellsthe technique could one day be applied to studying early human embryos. Galichet said the research could be important to future studies: These self-assembled human embryos would be invaluable tools to understand early human development. Im Pete Musto. The Reuters news service reported this story. Pete Musto adapted it for VOA Learning English. Mario Ritter was the editor. We want to hear from you. What do you think will come of scientists creating artificial human embryos? Write to us in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page. ______________________________________________________________ Words in This Story artificial adj. not natural or real mice n. very small animals that have a pointed nose and a long, thin tail dish n. a shallow container that holds something other than food three-dimensional adj. having or seeming to have length, width, and depth journal n. a magazine that reports on things of special interest to a particular group of people technique - n. a way of doing something by using special knowledge or skill apply to v. to use an idea, method, or law in a particular situation assemble(d) v. to connect or put together the parts of something, such as a toy or machine The Trump administration is considering setting up a military partnership with the Sunni Muslim leaders of Arab Gulf states. The proposed partnership would include the U.S., Egypt and Jordan. The six Arab Gulf states involved are Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. The aim of the partnership would be to stop Irans expansion in the Middle East. Arab and U.S. officials say the Prime Minister of Israel has been a major supporter of calls for the partnership. Benjamin Netanyahu has been building strong security ties with Egypt and the Sunni rulers of the Arab Gulf states. All see Iran and Islamists as threats. And they consider the threat more important than their historical support of the Palestinians in their conflict with Israel. The Trump administration has been quietly pushing forward with the idea of the partnership, officially known as the Middle East Strategic Alliance, or MESA. Last week, the Reuters news agency reported the Trump administration hopes MESA will be discussed at talks set to take place in Washington in October. Netanyahu has been a sherpa helping to guide this effort, a Gulf diplomat told VOA. VOA Reporter Jamie Dettmer says the prime minister arguably has more power in U.S. politics than any Israeli leader before him. Some Israeli diplomats reportedly have said it sometimes is hard to know who is working for whom. In July, an Israeli public broadcaster released a video of Netanyahu speaking to members of his Likud party. The Israeli leader said that he had helped to defeat European efforts to stop the United States from withdrawing from the Iran nuclear deal. Netanyahu said that he was responsible for finally persuading Trump to withdraw from the agreement. In June, met with national leaders in Berlin, Paris and London, among other places. His assistants say the trip was part of a diplomatic campaign to get the Europeans to block Irans expansion of its military and political influence. Netanyahus aides say the leaders listened more closely to the Israeli prime minister than they would have been in the past. And, the aides said his trip was successful in persuading European leaders that they need to do more to stop Iranian influence and military aims. Improving Ties Between Israel and Russia Netanyahu also has improved contacts with Russia and its president. Aides say Netanyahu and Vladimir Putin talk on average twice a week. Both Trump and Putin separately praised Netanyahu during their joint press conference last month in Helsinki. Trump said, We have worked with Israel for decades - there has never been a country closer to us, and Putin is also very close to Israel, we have both talked to Benjamin Netanyahu, and both countries want to help Israel defend itself. Netanyahu's standing around the world is rising at a time when he finds himself in an increasingly difficult position in Israel. He has been named in several cases of suspected corruption and faced public dissatisfaction over the rising cost of living. However, recent opinion studies have suggested that while a majority of Israelis see Netanyahu as corrupt, they would still vote for him. Im Caty Weaver. Jamie Dettmer reported this story for VOANews.com. George Grow adapted his report for Learning English. Caty Weaver was the editor. _________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story sherpa - n. someone who helps to guide mountain climbers and carry their equipment in the Himalayas decade n. a 10-year period We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section. Zimbabwe election officials have declared Emmerson Mnangagwa winner of the countrys presidential election. Mnangagwa received 50.8 percent of the vote, compared to 44.3 percent for his opponent Nelson Chamisa, the Election Commission reported early Friday. The 75-year-old Mnangagwa is a member of the ruling party of Zimbabwes longtime former leader Robert Mugabe. Mugabe ruled the country for 37 years before the countrys military pressured him to resign in November. Mnangagwa said he was humbled by his win. Though we may have been divided at the polls, we are united in our dreams, Mnangagwa said on Twitter. Chamisa, leader of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change, or MDC party, rejected the results. On Twitter, he criticized the Election Commission for releasing unverified fake results. Chamisa said the party planned to fight the election outcome in court. The voting began Monday and was mostly peaceful, unlike past elections. But deadly violence broke out at a demonstration Wednesday in the capital, Harare. Military forces fired at demonstrators protesting unfair voting practices. At least six people were killed and 14 injured. Mnangagwa called for an independent investigation into Wednesdays violence, saying those responsible should be identified and brought to justice. Police said 18 people were arrested at offices of the MDC party. The suspects were accused of possession of dangerous weapons and public violence, the Associated Press reported. Hours after Mnangagwa was declared the winner, riot police attempted to stop a press conference in Harare where Chamisa was commenting on the results. Trucks arrived with police carrying heavy sticks into a hotel where the press conference was being held, the Associated Press reported. The officers first tried to force out about 100 local and international press members covering the event, the AP said. It said later the police withdrew. Mnangagwa addressed the incident Friday on Twitter. The scenes today at the Bronte Hotel have no place in our society and we are urgently investigating the matter to understand exactly what happened, he tweeted. Over the past nine months we have protected freedom of speech, of assembly and the right to criticize the government. He added: We won the election freely and fairly, and have nothing to hide or fear. Anyone is free to address the media at any time. International observers praised the mostly peaceful election process, saying it was a welcome change from past election violence. But they also raised serious concerns about the military's excessive use of force and delays in releasing results. Im Bryan Lynn. Bryan Lynn wrote this story for VOA Learning English, based on reports from the Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse. Caty Weaver was the editor. We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page. _________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story humble adj. not proud, believing that you are not important poll n. the places where people vote during an election unverified adj. not provable that something is true fake adj. false, not true practices n. the ways of doing something disrupt v. to stop something from going forward as planned assembly n. coming together in a group excessive adj. more than is necessary or wanted Microsoft began shipping the Surface Go tablet this week, and its the smallest, cheapest, and lowest-performance device in the companys current line of Surface products. Its also the first Surface tablet with a USB Type-C port and the thinnest Surface device to date. But its whats inside that counts and the folks at iFixit tore open the 10 inch Surface Go tablet to get a closer look at the computers Pentium Gold 4415Y processor, 26.12 Wh battery, copper heat pipe for fanless cooling, and other components. Like most Surface devices, the Surface Go is not exactly easy to repair or upgrade. But if youve been wondering what it looks like under the hood, nows your chance to find out. Heres a roundup of tech stories from around the web. You can keep up on the latest headlines by following Liliputing on Twitter, Google+ and Facebook. Share this article: Share this: Facebook Twitter Reddit Pocket Tumblr Pinterest LinkedIn Email GULFPORT, Mississippi -- In what isn't likely a surprise to the thousands who attend each year, Cruisin' the Coast was named the top car show in the U.S. in a USA Today reader poll. The annual Mississippi coast event won over 20 other nominees selected by USA Today judges. Back to the 50s in St. Paul, Minn., and Van Nationals in Rensselaer, Ind., took second and third, respectively. Cruisin' the Coast was announced as the winner Friday after a month of reader voting, which ended July 23. "It's such a great honor to be voted USA Today's Best Car Show," said longtime Cruisin' executive director Woody Bailey. "We were extremely excited just to be nominated alongside other world-class car shows, but making the number one spot is absolutely fantastic. "We look forward to welcoming many more people from near and far to Cruisin' the Coast for many years to come." ln anouncing the winners, USA Today wrote that Cruisin' "is considered 'America's largest block party.' Imagine more than 7,000 vehicles -- hot rods, classics, antique vehicles -- in a massive car show along the beachside highway on the Mississippi Coast. "Car lovers love this annual event, which has taken over the Mississippi Gulf Coast every year since its inception in 1996. Cruise between the different venues, each a festival in and of itself, and catch live music, food, merchandise, a car auction, swap meet, parade and plenty of car talk." According to an economic impact study compiled after the 2016 event, Cruisin' the Coast has a statewide impact of more than $28 million dollars. The study, compiled by the Bradley Research Group, indicated that between 2011 and 2016, Cruisin's economic impact grew by 35 percent, from $19.1 million in 2011 to $28.6 million five years later. The study examined both direct and indirect impact, including revenue, income and jobs created, as well as local and state taxes generated by the event. Most of that $28.6 million impact, of course, was right here on the coast, where the total impact was estimated at $26.1 million. Bailey told The Mississippi Press the exposure from USA Today, which has over 36 million online visitors each month, could only help Cruisin' grow even more. "It's hard to say how much more exposure this will bring," Bailey said. "We've already got Cruisers registered from 44 different states. But certainly there's the potential that this honor from a national publication could make Cruisin' familiar to an entirely new audience and help us make the event even bigger and better for our local area." Milton Segarra, CEO of Visit Mississippi Gulf Coast, said the success of Cruisin' the Coast is evidence of what Mississippi's coastal counties can achieve when working together. "As one of our signature events held across the three coastal counties, (Cruisin') is a perfect example of how all three counties can work together to produce an absolutely phenomenal week of festivities throughout the region," Segarra said. Now in its 22nd year, Cruisin' the Coast is this year set for Sept. 30-Oct. 7. The Macau Portuguese and English Press Association (AIPIM) has released a statement outlining its objections to the proposed civil protection law, which is under public consultation until August 11. In a letter to the Secretary for Security, Wong Sio Chak, the association questions the establishment of a crime of social alarm punishable with a three-year prison term. The perspective of introducing such a crime is causing concerns amongst the journalistic community. The letter questions if the Penal Code already has the answers on what is being avoided with the drafting of a new type of crime, meaning that a new type of crime could be redundant. While noting the obvious conflict that may arise from the law concerning the right to freedom of speech and the freedom to publish, the association also acknowledges a problematic provision that may affect civil servants, including those who work for broadcasting concessionaires. The consultation document notes that civil servants who refuse to participate in civil protection work effectively commit the crime of disqualified disobedience, which may entail imprisonment of up to two years or a fine of up to 240 days. At this point, we are concerned about the way in which those responsible for the concessionaires for audiovisual broadcasting will be held responsible and in what terms may they incur the crime of qualified disobedience, the AIPIM letter notes, referring to public broadcaster TDM. The concern is heightened by the fact that it is not yet known which entity in the city will ultimately be responsible for determining whether reports that run contrary to official accounts can be classified as rumors or false social alarm. We emphasize that it is fundamental to preserve the guarantees expressed in Article 3 of the Press Law in which it is stated that the right to information includes: guarantee of journalists independence; freedom of publication and dissemination; freedom of enterprise, the associations statement notes. We believe that we are dealing with something very sensitive which, if not properly delimited and applied with good judgment, could endanger certain fundamental rights, freedoms and guarantees. AIPIM calls on the government to carry out the new law with extreme care and defines very clearly, without ambiguity, the scope [of the prohibition]. It also urges the authorities to avoid any result that diminishes the role of journalists and editors of the concessionaire [TDM ] in accordance with the guarantees expressed in the Law of Press and Basic Law. The Legislative Assembly (AL) has approved the request of two lawmakers, Pereira Coutinho and Sulu Sou, for a debate to discuss and vote on the controversial Viva Macau bankruptcy case. The AL has scheduled the debate for August 7. The two lawmakers said the debate will focus on the MOP212 million- loan case, which they had criticized in last weeks AL plenary session. The Commission Against Corruption (CCAC) is currently investigating the defunct airline to determine whether it had illegally transferred any assets abroad prior to its bankruptcy. However, Sou believes that the probe will take over a year. Some cases that were sent to CCAC took over a year to be investigated, Sou told the Times. Maybe a defensive reason explains why the government refuses to provide more details [] to the legislators and the public, he added. The CCAC probe was opened at the request of the state-owned Industrial Development and Marketing Fund (FDIC), which loaned MOP212 million to the carrier in 2008 and 2009. Viva Macau is now some MOP1.14 billion in debt. As the loans exceeded MOP9 million, they required authorization from the then Chief Executive (CE) Edmund Ho, in accordance with FDIC regulations. Coutinho and Sou also requested an examination of potential family ties involved in the loan process. These may include Kevin Ho, nephew of the former CE, who was a director at the Hong Kong-registered guarantor company Eagle Airways, which never directly undertook any aviation activities. Kevin Ho also owns KNJ investment, who recently bought 30 percent of Portuguese group Global Media. Sou expressed his hopes for the debate to be productive and for the authorities to disclose all reports and documents related to the loan process, including the carriers letters to the government to request the loan. The AL president [Ho Iat Seng] approved the legislative debate proposal and I think legally, this is all [for] the good of AL, he said. Coutinho had previously criticized the government for failing to indicate that the loan would be repaid, stressing that the scandal is related to the misuse of public treasury without independent external control. The Legislative Assembly (AL) has been distributing warning notes to the media representatives and members of the public regarding rules and appropriate behaviors during plenary sessions. When asked about the justification for such measures, the AL said that the warning was distributed to audiences attending sessions inside the plenary room to ensure full awareness of AL rules so that plenary sessions can proceed smoothly and in an orderly manner. The warning specifically prohibits making noise, throwing objects or other practices that could disturb the normal order of the meetings, among others. Theft ring uncovered, 18 arrested The Judiciary Police (PJ) has exposed a group of thieves which primarily operated in casinos, following an investigation that was triggered by a woman who reported the theft of her bag on July 27. The PJ detained 18 people from mainland China on July 31, who later admitted to being members of a criminal ring that had been active in Macau since June. A high-ranking Chinese monk was accused of coerced nuns into sex by controlling their minds, BBC News has reported. Abbot Xuechengs alleged actions were detailed in a report sent to government officials by two monks from Longquan temple where he is based. The temple, in Beijing, has accused the latter of distorting facts. Xuecheng, who denied the allegations, is the head of the Buddhist Association of China, the youngest person to ever hold the position, and a political adviser to the government. The BBC reports the abbot also has more than a million followers on Chinese social network Weibo. The temple said in a statement posted on Weibo that it would call for an investigation team to be set up, but stressed Xuechangs denial of the charges. It said the fabricated evidence had illegal intentions to maliciously frame Abbot Xuecheng. The report written by two monks at Longquang temple, Xianjia and Xianqi, accuses Abbot Xuecheng of sending illicit messages to the nuns and coercing them into sexual relations. The report alleges that six nuns were targeted four gave in to his requests. It also accuses the abbot of using text messages to mind-control the nuns by claiming that sex was part of their study of Buddhist doctrines. The 95-page document, which was leaked online, also said one of the nuns had filed a police report in June alleging Xuecheng had sexually assaulted her. According to the monks, they began investigations into Xuechengs actions after a nun who stayed in Beijing in December 2017 showed them sexual messages sent from the abbot. Longquan temple is under his spell, said the report. Xuecheng manipulated disciples to serve his Buddhist empire. Xuecheng was taken in for questioning but has now been released, according to a source speaking to state media outlet the Global Times. The temple accused the monks of forging materials, distorting facts and spreading false information. The report has been circulating on Chinese social media platforms but it appears the authorities are deleting or censoring it. Monk Xianqi confirmed to the BBC that he co-wrote the report but rejected an interview request. He said he had no idea how it leaked and said he did not have plans to publish it. The #MeToo movement, which erupted in the US last year and led to dozens of high-profile figures being publicly shamed for sexual misconduct, has been slow to take off in China. According to the BBC, the movement now appears to be moving forward, despite accusations the government has been censoring reports. The newly installed civil protection warning system has already been tested and is ready to be used in August, about one month earlier than what was previously announced, according to the Commissioner-General of the Unitary Police Services (SPU), Ma Io Kun. Ma made the announcement yesterday during a visit organized by the SPU to showcase its new equipment and command platform for emergency response. The new acquisitions, made in the aftermath of Typhoon Hato in Macau one year ago, aim to step up safety in case of major natural disasters such as heavy rain, tropical storms or typhoons. Ma said the government takes the topic of emergency response very seriously and noted that the command platform will enter into [full force] in disaster situations to support civil protection [operations] and, in a normal situation, can also be used for the purposes of training others in the civil protection field such as the performing of drills. The commissioner said that this is the first step towards a standardized civil protection platform to respond to emergency situations, which will be formed between 2022 and 2028. For the time being following the conclusion of the task force, which includes local security authorities as well as experts from Tsinghua University the so-called short-term plan includes the establishment and improvement of different channels of emergency communication. These include broadcast channels such as TV and radio, as well as social media networks like Facebook and WeChat. This system will also include digital information boards placed at border checkpoints, in the ferry terminals and different areas of the territory to provide information to residents and tourists alike. The tour included the command operations room of the Civil Protection Operational Center (COPC) in the immigration building in Pac On, as well as a visit to several locations where street loudspeakers have been installed to warn the residents of danger. One high-powered speaker is located at a high point of the city (Guia Hill) with smaller ones located in lower areas such as the Inner Harbor, Fai Chi Kei and Ilha Verde. In total, the authorities are said to have installed 90 speakers, which will broadcast warnings in three languages (Chinese, Portuguese and English). The speakers will be located in three different stations (Peninsula, Taipa and Coloane), with higher-powered speakers placed at higher points throughout the city. They will broadcast three types of warnings. As explained by Cheang Pou Seong, Head of the Community Policing and Public Relations Division, the first warning is related to evacuation to a safe location (higher ground) while the second one calls for prompt evacuation; the last and most severe one demands immediate evacuation from low floors and all low-lying areas to higher grounds or refugee centers. There will also be specially equipped vehicles from the Security Forces that will broadcast the same warnings throughout streets in the affected areas. The authorities will also issue warnings via SMS. Commenting on the governments efforts to improve safety and emergency drills, the Commissioner-General said, The Civil Protection works are not an exclusive responsibility of the government and also require the cooperation and collaboration of the population in general and other [non-governmental] entities. PJ seeking suspects in taxi drivers brawl Questioned on the sidelines of the event held by the security authorities on Civil Protections Equipment and Information Broadcasting, Judiciary Police (PJ) director Sit Chong Meng said that the force was aware of the recent brawl involving taxi drivers in the Cotai area. The situation was recorded by a resident and has gone viral on several social networks. As soon as we were [made] aware of the incident, we started investigations and are currently seeking [] information and the people involved, said Sit. The director added that the brawl had involved at least 10 people, all of whom are believed to be taxi drivers. He added that one person was injured and that the brawl started while a large group of taxi drivers were waiting for passengers near a hotel in Cotai. The University of Macau (UM) Faculty of Arts and Humanities (FAH) recently organized a four-week Summer English Immersion Program for incoming first-year students. Participants exchanged ideas with course assistants and experienced living in the residential colleges. According to a statement issued by the UM, participants say the program significantly increased their confidence when speaking English and improved their listening and speaking skills. The summer program included a series of intensive courses with interactive learning activities, including games designed to encourage students to communicate with each other in English. In addition, a weekly presentation class provided a platform for students to build their confidence in public speaking. After class, students joined a variety of extracurricular classes, including drama, singing, and yoga, to integrate English learning into their daily lives. This year, 43 program assistants from mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand, Singapore and Sweden, each with rich experience in teaching English, were invited to assist the event. Participants and instructors stayed in UMs residential colleges to interact with people from different cultural backgrounds. Google staff awoke yesterday to surprising news: Their company is working on a search app tailored, and censored, for China. The project, kept secret from all but select teams and leaders, sparked a furious internal debate. Yet the move couldnt have been entirely surprising for Googlers. Sundar Pichai, chief executive officer since 2015, has made no secret of his desire to take the search giant back to mainland China. The executive is more pragmatic about the worlds largest internet market than Googles founders, who pulled search from the mainland in 2010 over censorship concerns. Under Pichai, Google has invested in Chinese companies, met with its leaders and made it a priority to spread Googles artificial intelligence technology across the country. But bringing search back would be Pichais boldest move yet and will put his personal stamp firmly on the company. Co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin built Google to organize the worlds information and make it universally available. They viewed China as a threat to the companys stance as a defender of the open web. Pichai, in contrast, sees China as a hotbed of engineering talent and an appealing market. Pichais new leadership style and priorities havent always sat well with the Google rank and file. Within hours of the China search news breaking, several staff privately criticized the plans. Two employees who spoke to Bloomberg News compared it to Project Maven, a Google AI contract with the Pentagon that sparked an internal revolt earlier this year. The company is not renewing that deal. Another person who has seen some early examples of the Chinese search app, code-named Dragonfly, described it as a censorship engine. People trust Google to share true information and the Chinese search app is a betrayal of that, the employee said. The Google workers asked not to be identified because theyre not permitted to discuss internal matters. One employee transferred to a different role at the company because of ethical concerns with Dragonfly, according to an internal message viewed by Bloomberg News. An unnamed company vice president asked to keep details of the project private so they would not leak to the public, the internal message read. Google said on Wednesday that the company does not comment on speculation about future plans and declined to comment further. In 2010, Brin, now president of parent Alphabet Inc., told the Wall Street Journal, that Chinas policies of censorship and surveillance has the same earmarks of totalitarianism as Soviet Russia, where he was born. Brin did not respond to an email requesting comment on Wednesday. Some Googlers, however, posted missives of support for the project on internal message boards on Wednesday. Googles mission of organizing the worlds information shouldnt leave out a fifth of the planet, one person wrote in a post viewed by Bloomberg News. Another said that boycotting the country did little to change the Chinese government or bring any positive change. A worker in China lamented their inability to access Google services in the country, such as sharing pictures through Google Photos or even recommending the app engine they are working on. As a Chinese citizen working for a company that my parents and relatives cant access is demotivating, the person wrote on a message board. Dragonfly was a popular topic on Memegen, an internal online photo messaging board and cultural barometer at the company. One meme cited a popular Google slogan Put the user first with an asterisk attached: Chinese users excluded, because we do not agree with your government. A second post questioned the merits of American staff deciding global policies. Westerners debating Google entering China feels somehow like men debating regulating womens bodies, it read. Pichai has not directly addressed the issue of Chinese censorship. But he and his deputies often note the international scope of the companys ambition. Diane Greene, CEO of Googles cloud-computing unit, would not comment on plans to enter China in an interview with Bloomberg News last week. We want to be a global cloud. Customers want us to be a global cloud, she said. In March, two months after opening an AI lab in Beijing, Pichai visited the city and said he was looking forward to expanding research efforts there. Two years before that, at the Code Conference, Pichai said, Google is for everyone. We want to be in China serving Chinese users. Search might not be the only way Google is trying to build a China presence. The company is developing a news aggregation app that would comply with the countrys censorship laws, the Information reported, citing unidentified people familiar with the project. Even if Google were to launch search in China now, its unclear if people would use it. Since its departure, Baidu Inc. has come to dominate traditional search while many users have turned away from desktops in favor of using specific mobile apps. That includes looking through Meituan for food, Alibaba for e-commerce, Toutiao for news and WeChat for most other things. While Google was blocked, Chinas market continued to develop, said Brock Silvers, managing director of Kaiyuan Capital in Shanghai. Google may now set aside principle in exchange for Chinese market access, but it seems unlikely to dominate. Pichai has been plotting Googles search moves in China for months, if not years, with an approach focused more on partnerships. Cooperation with internet leader Tencent Holdings Ltd. stands out. Google struck a long-term patent deal with the Chinese company, the owner of WeChat, and said it would usher in further tie-ups. The U.S. company also launched a game available exclusively on WeChat and invested $550 million in Tencent-backed e-commerce site JD.com. Yet relations between China and Googles home country have soured recently amid trade tensions. Facebooks attempt to open an innovation hub was rejected while Qualcomm Inc. walked away from the chip industrys biggest deal when mainland regulators didnt approve it. Its hard to imagine Chinese authorities deciding Googles fate without considering the political climate, said Charles Mok, a legislative counselor in Hong Kong. Anything that has to do with big American companies now has to do with the U.S.-China trade war, he said. Mark Bergen, Shelly Banjo, Bloomberg Vice President Mike Pence is flying to Hawaii on yesterday to receive 55 boxes of bones recently handed over by North Korea. The remains are believed to belong to servicemen from the U.S. and other United Nations member countries who fought alongside the U.S. during the Korean War. Heres a look at what will happen next: WHERE WILL THE REMAINS BE TAKEN? The remains will go to a lab in Hawaii run by the military agency that identifies missing servicemen and women from past conflicts. The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency identifies remains from battlefields around the world. The agency also has a lab at Offutt Air Force Base near Omaha, Nebraska, though the remains arriving this week will be analyzed at Hawaiis Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam. The agency also sends DNA samples for analysis to the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware. Many families who are awaiting the return of their loved ones from the Korean War have already submitted DNA samples to the agency to help in the identification process. HOW WILL THE REMAINS BE IDENTIFIED? Typically, the agencys forensic anthropologists study any evidence found with the remains for clues, such as military uniforms, identification tags and personal items like wedding rings. But North Korea provided only a single military dog tag with the 55 boxes. The anthropologists also study remains to determine their sex, race, size and age. Scientists search bones for evidence of trauma caused at the time of death and for previous injuries or conditions like arthritis. Dental experts will compare dental records, including any X-rays, with the remains. Three-quarters of the remains the agency identifies are determined with the help of mitochondrial DNA, which is a type of DNA thats passed from mother to child. The lab does this by taking DNA samples from bones and teeth. The DNA lab in Delaware extracts the mitochondrial DNA from the sample to determine its genetic sequence and compares this with samples provided by relatives. The agency uses mitochondrial DNA so often because its durable and each sample has a large number of copies, making it an effective way to identify bones. Though recent advances in DNA technology have made other types of DNA analysis possible as well. HOW MANY U.S. SERVICEMEN ARE MISSING FROM THE KOREAN WAR? There are 7,699 U.S. service members listed as unaccounted for from the 1950-53 Korean War, of which about 5,300 are believed to have died on North Korean soil. There remainder are those who died in South Korea but have not been recovered; those who died in air crashes at sea or on ships at sea, as well as a number who are believed to have been taken to China. The war killed millions, including 36,000 American soldiers. Sixteen other United Nations member countries fought alongside U.S. service members on behalf of South Korea. Some of them, including Australia, Belgium, France and the Philippines, have yet to recover some of their war dead from North Korea. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis has said some remains could turn out to be those of missing from other nations. He said this was an international effort to bring closure for families. HOW LONG WILL IT TAKE TO IDENTIFY THE REMAINS? Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency spokesman Chuck Pritchard says each case will be different. Some could take several months while others could take years. AP To celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Sir Robert Ho Tung Library, the Cultural Affairs Bureau will hold a plaque inauguration ceremony at the library on Saturday. The ceremony will be followed by a series of activities held during the same month, including a talk by architect Carlos Marreiros, who in the 1980s coordinated and implemented the repair projects on the site. Before it was turned into a library, the building was a private villa bought by Sir Robert Ho Tung in 1918. After his death in 1956, Hos family executed his will by donating the building and HKD25,000 to the local government to purchase books and turn it into a public library. The Sir Robert Ho Tung Library, which was at the time the largest public library featuring a collection of about 3,000 books, officially opened to the public on August 1, 1958. Another activity that will take place will be by architect Andre Lui Chak Keong, who will conduct the Relaxing Moment at St. Augustines Square Guided Architectural Tour and Sketching Activity on August 5 and 18, and will present about Eastern and Western architecture in the area and will assist the participants to sketch the urban landscape of the area. The Public Library will also organize a guided tour of the Chinese Ancient Books Chamber at Sir Robert Ho Tung Library on August 11. The aforementioned activities will be conducted in Cantonese without simultaneous interpretation. Just a day after a harrowing escape from a crashed and burning Aeromexico jetliner, many of its 103 passengers and crew went to work on resuming their travel, with some even boarding new flights from the same airport in western Mexico. Those who escaped serious injury scrambled to find clothing, having lost their suitcases the previous afternoon when the plane plowed into a field shortly after takeoff during a violent storm. U.S. citizens who lost their passports met with consular officials who came to Durango to assist. Some passengers spoke of one survivor who had sworn to never get on another plane and planned to buy a car and drive back to the United States. Jose Luis Corral, a 52-year-old business owner from Portland, Oregon, still wore a neck brace from injuries he suffered in the crash. Its so fast, terrifying to see all the people screaming, recalled Corral, who was one of four people who helped the planes badly injured pilot escape the blaze. The pilot suffered a serious neck injury and was in the hospital. Forty-eight others were also injured, and 22 remained hospitalized yesterday. Miraculously, no one died. Aeromexico CEO Andres Conesa said later on that the pilot couldnt feel his feet when he was removed through a cockpit window, but after surgery had regained feeling throughout his legs. Alberto Herrera, a 35-year-old webpage engineer from Chicago, said the violent storm shook the plane as it took off and seemed to come from nowhere. When we were sitting on the plane there was a little drizzle, but nothing to worry about. It was just a little light rain, super light, like barely hitting the windows, Herrera said. But another passenger, Ramin Parsa, 32, of Los Angeles, said the weather was ominous even before takeoff. The airplane actually was shaking before we even moved so I knew it was dangerous weather, he said. I thought that we were going to have a delay until the weather clears up, but the pilot began to move, so I thought that he knows what he is doing. I think it was a mistake by the pilot. He should not have taken off, Parsa said. Durango state Gov. Jose Aispuro said it was too soon to speculate on the cause of the crash. Mechanical failure and human error could be factors, but certainly the weather wasnt favorable. Herrera said the takeoff went wrong seemingly in an instant. You start gaining speed and as soon as you start taking off all of the sudden the plane starts struggling and its getting hit with hail. The higher up we went into the storm, the heavier the hail got and more wind got to us, Herrera said. Then all of a sudden the plane starts rocking and it starts seriously, seriously moving around and then hitting the ground, he said. We skidded and hit a second time and you saw the flames. []Youre like This might be bad. Herrera had braced for impact and yelled for others to do the same. The woman seated next to him was able to hold onto her toddler, though the little girl suffered some scratches and may have hit her head on a seat. Officials said the impact ripped both engines off the Embraer 190 jetliner, and fire immediately broke out in the wings. My window turned red because of the flames, Parsa said. He said he tried to kick out a window but couldnt. He searched for an exit and at first couldnt find one because of all the smoke. Then suddenly he felt fresh air on his face. He was in front of the exit. Imagine you put 100 people in a room, in a dark room, pitch dark, filled with smoke and theres a small door, everybodys trying to find it. Thats what the situation was, Parsa said. At the back exit, Herrera said the emergency slide deployed but the fuselage was at an odd angle, so it was unusable and people had to jump to the ground. The passengers walked back across the muddy field to the end of runway and waited there for emergency vehicles. Herrera credits the good outcome to both the pilot and to the fact that the plane had not gained much altitude when the storm broke. The pilot had to execute a maneuver correctly and then we hit the storm at its peak while we were going up, and not while we were up in the air, he said. Mexicos Transport Department said the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board was sending two investigators to assist in the investigation, and the planes manufacturer would also participate. The department did not immediately answer questions about whether the airport was equipped with a Low Level Wind Shear Alert System that can detect weather conditions like severe downdrafts or microbursts. Herrera got to the departure gate yesterday [Macau time] just as a delay in his new flight was announced. Asked how he felt, he said: Pure anxiety. He had sought to limit his waiting at the airport by arriving close to departure time. He was flying to Mexico City on a plane that also carried seven other survivors, then catching a red-eye flight home to Chicago. I just want to get it out of the way, he said. Yet the normally jovial Herrera also joked about his situation. He noted he had seen one Mexican television station calling the crash El Milagro de Durango the Miracle of Durango. Thats going to be the hashtag for the rest of my life, he said. Christopher Sherman, AP, Durango Chinas top diplomat said yesterday that an initial draft of a proposed pact with Southeast Asia aimed at preventing fighting in the disputed South China Sea was a breakthrough in talks that can progress further without outside interference. China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, which includes four rival claimants involved in the territorial rifts, have been holding sporadic talks for years to craft a code of conduct, a set of regional norms and rules aimed at preventing a shooting war in the disputed waters. Singapore Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan announced at the start of an annual meeting of top diplomats from China and the 10-nation bloc in Singapore that both sides have agreed on an initial draft that will be the basis of future negotiations. He called the development a milestone. This is good news, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told the ASEAN ministers. This is a breakthrough for the COC (code of conduct) negotiation. Huddled among themselves in a separate meeting earlier, the ASEAN foreign ministers praised the completion of the draft. According to a draft of a joint post-conference communique by the ministers, obtained by The Associated Press, they said they were encouraged by the progress of the substantive negotiations towards the early conclusion of an effective code of conduct in the South China Sea on a mutually agreed timeline. Some of the ministers, however, were expected to repeat their concerns over Chinas transformation of seven disputed reefs into man-made islands, including three with runways, which now resemble small cities armed with weapons systems, including surface-to-air missiles. China has come under intense criticism for the militarization of the strategic waterway, but has said it has the right to build on its territory and defend them at all costs. The ministers took note of the concerns expressed by some countries on the land reclamations in the area, which have eroded trust and confidence, increased tensions and may undermine peace, security and stability in the region, the draft communique said, without naming China and reflecting the internal divisions over the touchy issue. ASEAN members Cambodia and Laos, which are known China allies, have opposed the use of strong language against Beijing over the disputes. Vietnam and Indonesia have backed stronger rhetoric against Chinas assertive actions. There will be the inevitable differences, if not tensions, within ASEAN on what should be in the document. You have claimant and non-claimant states. You have countries with very close ties with China and those more cautious of China, said Eugene Tan, an associate professor of law at Singapore Management University. A meeting of minds is essential to set the stage for the arduous road ahead, Tan said. Aside from China and Taiwan, ASEAN members Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam have had overlapping claims in the South China Sea, where a bulk of the commerce and oil that fuels Asias bustling economies transits through. The U.S. military has deployed ships and jets to patrol the waters in a security presence it says is aimed at promoting freedom of navigation and overflight, but which China says Washington is meddling in an Asian dispute. Annabelle Liang & Jim Gomez, Singapore China appealed to Washington yesterday to stay calm and correct its attitude following a U.S. threat to raise tariffs on USD200 billion of Chinese goods in a dispute over technology policy. A foreign ministry spokesman, Geng Shuang, said Beijing was open to dialogue but gave no indication about the status of possible negotiations. That reflected American frustration that Beijing retaliated by raising its own duties on U.S. imports in response to tariff hikes on Chinese goods over complaints the communist government steals or pressures companies to hand over technology. We urge the United States to correct its attitude and not to try to blackmail China because it will never work, said Geng at a news conference. We advise the United States to be level-headed and avoid simply acting on impulse, otherwise it will ultimately hurt itself. Our door for dialogue is always open. But dialogue must be based on mutual respect, equality, rules and credibility, said Geng. Now, the US coerces and pressures others unilaterally. It will only be counterproductive. The U.S. Trade Representative announced previously it was considering raising import duties on an additional list of Chinese goods by 25 percent instead of the previously planned 10 percent. The United States has already imposed 25 percent tariffs on $34 billion in Chinese imports and is readying 25 percent tariffs on another $16 billion worth to punish China for allegedly using predatory tactics to obtain U.S. technology. The Chinese have retaliated in kind. Last month, the U.S. proposed 10 percent tariffs on another $200 billion in Chinese products from parachutes to sardines in response to Chinas retaliation. But President Donald Trump now wants U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer to consider more than doubling those tariffs to 25 percent. The government will seek public comment on the higher tariffs. A hearing on the levies is scheduled for Aug. 20-23. The Trump Administration continues to urge China to stop its unfair practices, open its market and engage in true market competition, Lighthizer said, adding that, Regrettably, instead of changing its harmful behavior, China has illegally retaliated against U.S. workers, farmers, ranchers and businesses. Trump has threatened to escalate the conflict even more by taxing virtually all of the $500 billion worth of goods China ships annually to the United States. The president is going to continue to hold China responsible for their unfair trade practices, said White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders. This has gone on for long enough and hes going to do something about it. But Trumps tariffs have drawn criticism at home in the United States for driving up costs for consumers and companies that rely on Chinese imports. We said before that this round of tariffs amounted to doubling down on the recklessness of imposing trade policy that will hurt U.S. families and workers more than they will hurt China, said Matthew Shay, president of the National Retail Federation. Increasing the size of the tariffs is merely increasing the harm that will be done. Mickey Kantor, who was U.S. trade representative under President Bill Clinton, warned that a trade war with China will take a toll on a U.S. healthy economy that from April through June registered the fastest growth since 2014. Our economy is in terrific shape, said Kantor, now a partner at the Mayer Brown law firm. Why in the world would you do this? It makes no sense. We dont need it. It will cost us jobs and investment. It will slow the economy. MDT/AP August 3, 2018 15:13 In a world first, Melbourne scientists have discovered a new type of anti-cancer drug that can put cancer cells into a permanent sleep, without the harmful side-effects caused by conventional cancer therapies. Published today in the journal Nature, the research reveals the first class of anti-cancer drugs that work by putting the cancer cell to sleep arresting tumour growth and spread without damaging the cells' DNA. The new class of drugs could provide an exciting alternative for people with cancer, and has already shown great promise in halting cancer progression in models of blood and liver cancers, as well as in delaying cancer relapse. Research led by Associate Professor Tim Thomas and Associate Professor Anne Voss from the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute, Professor Jonathan Baell from the Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Dr. Brendon Monahan from Cancers Therapeutics CRC investigated whether inhibiting KAT6A and KAT6B could be a new approach to treating cancer. Associate Professor Thomas said the new class of drugs was the first to target KAT6A and KAT6B proteins. Both are known to play an important role in driving cancer. KAT6A sits at number 12 on the list of genes most commonly amplified in cancers. "Early on, we discovered that genetically depleting KAT6A quadrupled the life expectancy in animal models of blood cancers called lymphoma. Armed with the knowledge that KAT6A is an important driver of cancer, we began to look for ways of inhibiting the protein to treat cancer," Associate Professor Thomas said. The compounds had already shown great promise in preclinical testing, he said. "This new class of anti-cancer drugs was effective in preventing cancer progression in our preclinical cancer models. We are extremely excited about the potential that they hold as an entirely new weapon for fighting cancer. "The compound was well tolerated in our preclinical models and is very potent against tumour cells, while appearing not to adversely affect healthy cells," Associate Professor Thomas said. The research efforts were almost a decade in the making, requiring strong collaboration between experts in cancer research, medicinal chemistry and drug discovery. There is a critical difference between this new class of drugs and standard cancer therapies. Chemotherapy and radiotherapy work by causing irreversible DNA damage. Cancer cells are unable to repair this damage, and die. The downside is that the therapies cannot be targeted only to cancer cells, and cause significant damage to healthy cells as well. This causes well-known short-term side effects, such as nausea, fatigue, hair loss and susceptibility to infection, as well as long-term effects such as infertility and increased risk of other cancers developing. "Rather than causing potentially dangerous DNA damage, as chemotherapy and radiotherapy do, this new class of anti-cancer drugs simply puts cancer cells into a permanent sleep," Associate Professor Voss said. "This new class of compounds stops cancer cells dividing by switching off their ability to 'trigger' the start of the cell cycle," she said. "The technical term is cell senescence. The cells are not dead, but they can no longer divide and proliferate. Without this ability, the cancer cells are effectively stopped in their tracks." Associate Professor Voss said the team believed the drugs might be effective in delaying cancer recurrence. "There is still a lot of work to be done to get to a point where this drug class could be investigated in human cancer patients," she said. "However our discovery suggests these drugs could be particularly effective as a type of consolidation therapy that delays or prevents relapse after initial treatment." "The possibility of giving clinicians another tool that they could use to substantially delay cancer recurrence could have a big impact for patients," Associate Professor Voss said. Professor Baell said the project was particularly significant because the scientific community had coined the gene family 'undruggable'. "There were many hurdles to overcome with this project; this compound certainly didn't fall into our laps, requiring dedicated Ph.D. students and NHMRC-supported postdoctoral medicinal chemists to drive the chemistry forward," Professor Baell said. "But with perseverance and commitment, we are excited to have developed a potent, precise and clean compound that appears to be safe and effective in our preclinical models. Our teams are now working on developing this compound into a drug that is appropriate for human trials." Professor Baell said the project was indebted to funding from the Australian Government and proved that public research could be an effective translational vehicle. "It can be difficult to secure funding for medicinal chemistry and higher-risk drug discovery projects," he said. "We are grateful to the Cooperative Research Centres (CRC) Program and National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) for the early funding that supported this project." Dr. Ian Street, chief scientist at Cancer Therapeutics CRC said it had been a great collaboration between the three organisations. "This has been a very tough nut to crack," Dr. Street said. "There is no doubt that the KAT6 inhibitors have played an important role in elucidating the potential of this new and exciting strategy to treat cancers." Follow NEWS.am Medicine on Facebook and Twitter In a recent publication in the journal Pediatrics, researchers from Nationwide Children's Hospital present a case study for treating a neighborhood as a patient. Credit: Nationwide Children's Hospital In a recent publication in the journal Pediatrics, researchers from Nationwide Children's Hospital present a case study for treating a neighborhood as a patient. Neighborhood effect syndrome, characterized by symptoms of extreme poverty including blight, housing insecurity, racial segregation, trauma, violence, poorly performing schools, low social cohesion and support and environmental toxins, has debilitating consequences on child health. Health care providers frequently encounter challenges to caring for children from affected neighborhoods, and these children often experience poorer outcomes compared to peers in unaffected neighborhoods. Historically, institutions have been largely ineffective in changing these outcomes with one-child-at-a-time tactics. In a novel approach to improving outcomes for these children, Nationwide Children's leaders with community partners decided to address neighborhood effect syndrome as a target for pediatric health caretreating the neighborhood as a patient. In 2008, Nationwide Children's began collaborating with residents, government entities and social services agencies to develop the Healthy Neighborhoods Healthy Families (HNHF) initiative. The hospital's first patient neighborhood was the Southern Orchards neighborhood of Columbus, Ohio, located adjacent to the Nationwide Children's main campus. Before the intervention, the neighborhood experienced high rates of poverty and violent crime. "The Southern Orchards neighborhood, right by the hospital, was one with gun violence, high infant mortality rates and high asthma rates in children," says Kelly J. Kelleher, MD, director of the Center for Innovation in Pediatric Practice at Nationwide Children's and lead author of the publication. "Houses were boarded up and vacant. You didn't see kids playing outside much." The target area includes all of Census Tract 56.10 and Census Tract 56.20. In 2009, the neighborhood was characterized by the following: Home to 4,300 persons, 23 percent of whom were children 50 percent of children in the neighborhood were living in poverty 50 percent of the children in the neighborhood were African American 25 percent of children in Livingston Elementary School and 33 percent in South High School were regularly changing schools 1 in 3 residents over the age of 16 were employed full time The chief concern uncovered through multiple sources of data and information was neighborhood safety associated with population loss and surge in vacant and abandoned property. "Residents were deeply concerned about blight and gang/drug activity, including on vacant properties in proximity to the school," says Dr. Kelleher. "Our primary target for intervention became housing. Our collaboration committed to renovating, building and developing mixed income housing to reduce crime, improve the vacancy rate and better family outcomes." According to Dr. Kelleher, the publication describes $23 million invested in upgrading more than 300 homes through the HNHF Realty Collaborative, which was formed with not-for-profit development corporation, Community Development For All People. The entity is owned by Community Development For All People with a board of directors selected by the two groups. To date, the investment has grown to more than $40 million. The partnership, with collaboration from the Columbus Mayor's Office, accessed Neighborhood Stabilization Program funds from the city, acquired properties from the city's Land Bank program and gathered support from contractors and realty agents. The multifaceted intervention launched by the collaborative included a home repair program, rehabilitation and home ownership program, home construction program, workforce development program and rental housing development. The community development efforts by the HNHF Realty Collaborative are still in early phases, considering Southern Orchards has experienced neighborhood effects syndrome for 80 years. Still, some measurable outcomes are observed: Investments have transformed housing stock in the area and reduced blight. The vacancy rate declined from more than 25 percent to 6 percent. Youth who have participated in area development programs have shown progress in emotional health and academic performance. The high school graduation rate has risen from 64 percent in 2013 to 79 percent in 2017. For owner-occupied homes, the market has seen a 50 percent increase in sales volumes and a 22 percent increase in sales prices. Homicides have declined, and while homicide rates in Columbus overall have risen, none were reported in the immediate Southern Orchards neighborhood in the last year. "By taking both short- and long-term views of community development, Nationwide Children's and our partners have ambitious goals across many domains," says Dr. Kelleher. "The community-level approach allows the integration of epidemiology approaches, business resources and neighborhood development to support a mixed income community. Our next challenges will be to continue growth with new partners and to measure outcomes on children's health in the neighborhood." Explore further Living in better neighborhood may protect health of kids in poverty A study examining how molecules are transported into knee-joint tissue could have major implications for understanding and treating arthritis. UNSW biomedical engineers have shown for the first time that a mixture of variously-sized molecules in the bloodstream can be separated by the constituent tissues of a healthy knee-joint. And an arthritic joint was observed to disrupt the transport of the molecules, but interestingly, not halt them altogether. School of Biomedical Engineering Professor Melissa Knothe Tate and PhD trainee Lucy Ngo wanted to build on the Professor's previous research that "showed for the first time that the different calibre porosities of bone act as a molecular sieve". "This time, Lucy and I studied what would happen if we mixed all the different sizes together and delivered them as a single bolus," Professor Knothe Tate said. "We were startled to see that the tissues separated out the different sizes of molecules." The researchers used guinea pigs, literally, for their study, because like humans, they naturally get arthritis with age. They injected a mixture of colour-coded molecules of different sizes into the hearts of young (eight to 10 months) and aged (17 to 19 months) guinea pigs to observe where in the joints those molecules ended up, if at all. They observed differences in the molecular transport between the young and the old, with major disruption of the transport in the aged guinea pigs' joints due to tissue degeneration associated with arthritis. "This could have major implications for our understanding of how arthritis and associated tissue degeneration progress as well as how we might use this knowledge to preferentially treat areas of degeneration, for example through targeted pharmaceutical delivery strategies," Professor Knothe Tate said. A surprising turnup in the study was that very little fluorescence showed up in the muscle, meaning the coloured molecules were easily transported into bone, cartilage, meniscus and ligament, but not muscle. Professor Tate suggested this may have been because the guinea pigs were anaesthetised before being injected with the dye. "Our working hypothesis is that muscle needs physical activity (flexion or extension) to pump the molecules," Professor Knothe Tate said. Professor Knothe Tate said she is working towards exploring this idea further in a future study using MRI to observe the transport of molecules in real time while mechanically loading the limb during the procedure. "This will let us to determine the time course of transport as well as the role of active muscle activity on transport, which has implications well beyond arthritis." The results of the most recent work have prompted the Professor to re-evaluate former assumptions about molecule transportation to damaged joints. She said she has always wondered whether the positive anecdotes about orally administered glycosaminoglycans (available commercially as Glucosamine) on people with arthritic joints made sense at all, as there were no guarantees the polysaccharides could even get to the targeted areas. But her latest study suggest this may still be possible. "Of course, we have to follow up with further studies, but the data showing massive disruption to transport pathways may actually indicate opening up of new transport pathways." Professor Knothe Tate and Lucy Ngo's work was documented in a paper titled "Knee Joint Tissues Effectively Separate Mixed Sized Molecules Delivered in a Single Bolus to the Heart" which appeared on www.nature.com last month. More information: Lucy Ngo et al. Knee Joint Tissues Effectively Separate Mixed Sized Molecules Delivered in a Single Bolus to the Heart, Scientific Reports (2018). Journal information: Scientific Reports Lucy Ngo et al. Knee Joint Tissues Effectively Separate Mixed Sized Molecules Delivered in a Single Bolus to the Heart,(2018). DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-28228-w With expertise rooted in personal experience, people who have had mental health problems could offer support, encouragement and a model for recovery, helping reduce readmission rates. Care from peer support workers with lived experience of mental health conditions may help reduce the likelihood of readmission for people who have recently left acute mental health care, according to a randomised controlled trial of more than 400 people in England published in The Lancet. The study found that fewer people who received this type of support were readmitted to acute care a year after the study began, compared to people who only received a workbook. In the UK, more than half of people admitted to acute care are readmitted within a year, and there is no robust evidence on how these readmissions can be reduced. Support from people with lived experience of mental health problems is used in the UK and USA in programmes such as the NHS' Implementing Recovery through Organisational Change and the USA's Wellness Recovery Action Plan. This study is the first randomised trial to evaluate the effectiveness and shows positive results. However, more research, including to understand what causes the effect found, is now needed before the strategy is implemented nationally in the UK. Self-management interventions may help people manage their mental health better, and in this study, the authors combined a self-management workbook with help from a support worker who had also experienced a mental health problem. "People discharged from community crisis services are often readmitted to acute care. Not only does this impede recovery, but also consumes resources that might otherwise be dedicated to longer term improvements in functioning and quality of life," says lead author Professor Sonia Johnson, UCL, UK. "Peer support workers could provide support and encouragement that is particularly warm and empathetic because it is rooted in personal experience, as well as providing service users with a role model for their recovery." The new study took place across six crisis resolution teams in England, and people were recruited after they had been discharged by a crisis resolution team. Participants had a variety of diagnoses including schizophrenia, bipolar affective disorder, psychosis, depression anxiety disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, and personality disorder. All people within the study continued treatment and usual care throughout the study. Participants either received a personal recovery workbook (220 people) or peer support and the workbook (221 people). The workbook included sections on setting personal recovery goals, re-establishing their place in the community and support networks, identifying early warning signs and creating an action plan to avoid or delay relapse, and planning strategies to maintain wellbeing. Participants were asked to record observations and plans in each of these areas. Participants who received support from a person who had also experienced mental health problems were offered ten one-hour sessions, which took place each week. The support worker listened to their problems and aimed to instil hope by sharing the skills and coping strategies they learnt during their own recovery. Support workers received training beforehand in listening skills, cultural awareness, self-disclosure, and confidentiality, and how to use the workbook. The authors monitored participants' health records to determine whether they were readmitted to acute care (such as acute inpatient wards, crisis resolution teams, crisis houses, and acute day care services) within one year, and conducted interviews with participants at four and 18 months to obtain their views on the intervention. After one year, readmission to acute care was lower in the intervention group than in the control groupwith 29% (64/218) of participants readmitted in intervention group versus 38% (83/216) of participants in the control group. Uptake of the intervention was good72% (160/221) of people offered the support and workbook attended at least three meetings with their peer support worker, and a third (65/198) attended all ten meetings. Similar numbers of participants in the intervention and control groups read the booklet (84% [133/158] of people in the control group vs 88% [142/162] of people in the intervention group), but more people in the intervention group used it to make written plans (58-64% of people in the intervention group vs 28-44% of people in the control group). During the study there were 71 serious adverse events (29 in the intervention group and 42 in the control group), but none were deemed related to the study. These included 55 readmissions to acute care, 11 attempted suicides, one attempted murder, two suicides and two deaths with unclear circumstances. "Our study provides the most robust evidence for the effectiveness of any peer-provided support in a UK secondary mental health setting," continues Professor Johnson. "Our novel findings are potentially important as the intervention is acceptable to patients and feasible for service managers and users who would like to avoid relapse and readmission to acute care." The authors note some limitations, including that the secondary outcomes of the study gave unclear results, so it is not possible to identify which part of the intervention caused the improvement in patient outcomes. In addition, a high proportion of people in the control group used the booklet, and readmission rates in this group were below the national average, which may suggest that the booklet is effective on its own too. This could mean the effectiveness of peer support was under estimated in the study. Writing in a linked Comment, Drs Marcia Valenstein and Paul Pfeiffer, University of Michigan, USA, says: "There is much to celebrate but also much left to do following the publication of these findings. The completion of a substantial, adequately powered randomised controlled trial with high ascertainment of the primary outcome and blinded raters is welcome. The finding of reduced readmissions is also welcome, given that implementation of peer support has proceeded apace despite the scarcity of substantial evidence regarding its efficacy. With the publication of this trial, peer-delivered self-management programmes might be considered one of the configurations of peer support with the strongest evidence. That said, the lack of a significant effect on almost all secondary outcomes and potential mediators leaves the mechanism of reduced readmissions unclear. We are left with a complex intervention that appears to reduce readmissions but with few insights into what the active or necessary parts of the intervention might beeg, support and sharing of life experiences with the peer, engaging actively with the recovery workbook, changes in self-management behaviours that were not apparent through the self-reported measure." Explore further mHealth as effective as clinic-based intervention for people with serious mental illness The Wireless Vital Signs Monitor (WVSM). Sponsored by the Office of Naval Research, the WVSM tracks critical health information like heart rate, pulse and blood pressure. It weighs less than a pound and can be carried easily into combat zones or mass-casualty emergency situations. Credit: Athena GTX A technology designed to treat injured warfighters on the battlefield is proving its worth to civilian emergency-response teams. The sensor-laden Wireless Vital Signs Monitor (WVSM) tracks critical health information like heart rate, pulse and blood pressure. Sponsored by the Office of Naval Research (ONR), it weighs less than a pound and can be carried easily into combat zones or mass-casualty emergency situations. The device is strapped to a patient's arm and transmits data wirelessly via a specialized software app to a tablet or smart phone, which is handled by attending medical personnel such as Navy corpsmen. This enables the medics to monitor the vital signs of more than 15 patients at once. "Since this technology can monitor multiple patients simultaneously, corpsmen can attend to someone, move to the next patient or even step away to get supplieswhile still keeping an eye on everyone in their care," said Dr. Timothy Bentley, a program manager in ONR's Warfighter Performance Department, which has sponsored the WVSM's development. A collaboration between ONR, the U.S. Army Institute of Surgical Research and industry partner Athena GTX, the WVSM recently was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. More than 200 of the monitors so far have been sold to emergency-response units in Iowa, Texas, North Carolina, Maryland, Missouri and Pennsylvania. The WVSM also is used currently by the U.S. Special Operations Command and the Air Force. Through complex software algorithms, the WVSM analyzes patient data; determines if someone is in stable or worsening condition; and calculates the need for life-saving interventions such as surgery or blood transfusions. This differs from traditional vital signs monitors, which provide basic health information but can't predict if someone's medical condition is about to deteriorate. First responders already have used the WVSM successfully in training exercises and emergencies such as fires, tornados, hurricanes and large public events where groups of people required medical attention. In June, Texas emergency crews treated people injured during a hospital explosion. "The feedback from customers has been very positive," said Dr. Mark Darrah, president and chief executive officer of Athena GTX. "They like that the WVSM is lightweight, portable and can provide crucial vital sign data quickly. The sooner you can receive such data, the better the outcome in an emergency." The WVSM is designed as part of the ONR-sponsored Automated Critical Care System (ACCS)a patient-care system that can be described as an intensive care unit in a suitcase. Weighing under 25 pounds, with an accompanying stretcher, ACCS is ideal for diverse missions. "Expeditionary forces penetrate deep into remote areas where casualties can take hours or days to evacuate," said Bentley. "The capabilities needed for patient care must be compact, lightweight and scalable to mission requirements. ACCS makes the clinical expertise and capabilities of a critical-care center available to warfighters in the most severe conditions." ACCS can provide care such as vital signs monitoring; resuscitation and breathing assistance; supplemental oxygen; fluid and drug therapy; and patient data gathering, storage and transmission. The system can monitor and treat patients under the control of a medicor autonomously within pre-determined parameters. Explore further A wireless patch for monitoring emergency-room patients Dover, DE - Delaware State Police announced Tuesday the arrest of three suspects in connection to a January 2018 home invasion just outside Dover. According to authorities, Arshawon Brown, 23, Treyon Craig, 22, and Tianna Scott, 21, all of Harrington, were the individuals responsible for breaking into a home in the 1300 block of South Little Creek Road on January 24, 2018, around 9 p.m. The victim met Scott in a parking lot to discuss the sale of an iPhone, and after advising her the money was at his residence, the pair drove back to his home, police said. Upon arrival to the victim's home, police said Brown and Craig appeared and pulled guns on the victim, forcing their way into the home and demanding to know where the money was located. They proceeded to ransack a bedroom but found no money, police said. They forced the victim into a car and drove him around, demanding to know the location of the money, police said, and eventually returned to the victim's home, forcing him in again and this time obtaining several items before fleeing. Following completion of an investigation, Scott was first arrested on March 13, 2018, on an unrelated matter, then charged with first-degree robbery and second-degree conspiracy in connection to the home invasion. She was released on $22,000 secured bond. Brown was taken into custody by Middletown Police on March 30 and was charged with home invasion, first-degree robbery, first-degree unlawful imprisonment, possession of a firearm during commission of a felony, second-degree conspiracy, wearing a disguise during commission of a felony, and malicious interference with emergency communications and intentionally preventing or hindering. He was committed to the James T. Vaughn Correctional Center in lieu of $189,250. Craig was arrested July 30 during a traffic stop and charged with the same charges as Brown. He was committed to the James T. Vaughn Correctional Center in lieu of $193,000 cash-only bond. Liquid Telecom plans to grow its market share in the business arena, with a strong focus on digital transformation and providing customer-centric products. This is according to Liquid Telecom SA CEO Reshaad Sha, who was speaking to MyBroadband from his Midrand office this week. Sha told MyBroadband they have strong assets in South Africa, which include a national fibre network, satellite services, wireless and LTE networks, and data centres. Being part of the Liquid Telecom group, the company can also offer services over its extensive African fibre network which stretches from Cape Town to Cairo. The new Liquid Telecom SAs agility, coupled with these assets, enables it to respond to customer demand faster and offer products which customers want, said Sha. Big data centre focus Liquid Telecoms focus on digital transformation is seen in its strong investment in data centres in South Africa. Sha said they have invested nearly R1 billion in their data centre infrastructure over the past year, and investments in this field are set to continue. He highlighted that their data centres are carrier neutral, and do not carry the Liquid Telecom brand. In fact, the companys data centres are known as South Africa Data Centre Johannesburg, and South Africa Data Centre Cape Town. He said the neutrality of their data centre business allows them to offer services to other carriers and the general market. Internet of Things Liquid Telecom is already a strong Internet of Things (IoT) player in South Africa, and this is an area where Sha sees a lot of potential. The company has a partnership with SqwidNet and is also using mobile operators networks for certain IoT offerings. It already has proof-of-concept IoT services with clients and will continue to build on these services, added Sha. He said Liquid Telecom has a partnership approach when it comes to IoT platforms. LTE plans Sha told MyBroadband that Liquid Telecom is exploring partnerships to make the most of its spectrum and enhance its LTE network and wireless product offerings. Liquid Telecom has spectrum in the 850MHz, 1.8GHz, and 3.5GHz bands, which are suitable for LTE services. To extract the most value from these spectrum assets, the company is in discussions with potential partners which include mobile operators. Sha said the partnerships will ensure that Liquid Telecom and its partners all benefit from any agreements. Business market growth Sha said their focus is also firmly on the business market, ranging from SMEs to large enterprises and the government. It already has a strong presence in most of these markets, but is looking to grow its market share in the segments where it operates. He said there are also opportunities to grow their market share through acquisitions and the company is exploring a few opportunities in South Africa. While Sha would not divulge details about potential acquisitions, recent reports indicated that Vox and VAST Networks were two potential targets. Now read: Liquid Telecom exploring partnerships to grow LTE Huawei overtook Apple to claim second spot in the global smartphone shipment rankings this week. Huawei shipped 54.2 million phones in Q2 2018, a 41% year-on-year increase, which gave it a 16% share of the market. Apple secured 12% market share for the period, while Samsung was in first place with 21%. The other top brands trailing the big three included Xiaomi and Oppo both Chinese companies. South African market It is not only in the global rankings where Huawei is growing its presence, and the company has targeted South Africa as a key market for growth. Huawei South Africa told MyBroadband that, as is the case with global trends, its performance in South Africa is on the up. The company said it currently occupies the number two spot in South Africa when it comes to smartphone market share. As of June 2018, Huawei had 14.5% South African market share, compared to Apples 4%. Huaweis success is attributed to providing great value in the mid-to-high-end segment, which finds us gaining ground on all major competitors. We will continue to drive the high-end brand strategy, said Huawei South Africa. The companys statement follows a busy year so far for it, which included the launch of its flagship P20 range. The Huawei P20 range is performing well locally, said the company, and the popularity of its devices along with a drive to offer the best customer service in South Africa will see it continue to gain ground on its main competitor, Samsung. Huawei also recently announced that is was building a new smartphone warehouse in South Africa, which would decrease the time it takes to get new smartphones to stores and customers. Huawei told MyBroadband it currently ships smartphones and other devices to customers directly from its warehouses in China. This process can take weeks and in some cases can lead to serious local stock shortages. Now read: Motorola unveils new Moto Z3 with 5G mod The Lehmans have already visited notable waterparks in Ohio and Georgia, but the Bahamas trip should be the most thrilling one yet for Stefan, his parents Laura and Doug, and his brothers Jake, 16, and Cal, 14. Atlantis Paradise Island features 11 pools one for each year hes been alive, Stefan noted and at least a half-dozen major waterslides, including the intimidating Leap of Faith. When asked about the park last week, Stefans mind seemed to click into overdrive. What if you got into a plane and there was a waterslide out the door of the plane that went all the way down? he pondered. What if there was a diving board and you could jump into a pool from that high? Based on his enthusiasm, He may make his own waterpark someday, Laura Lehman said. Make-A-Wish representatives gave Stefan the good news on July 22, over dinner at Gotts. In contrast to most diets, burgers are a cornerstone of the ketogenic diet, which emphasizes Mediterranean-style high fats, low carbs, low glucose, and moderate protein. The idea is to replace glucose with ketones, providing an alternate fuel source for brains that have trouble metabolizing glucose. Former PWD Minister and MLA of Golaghat, Ajanta Neog demanded inquiry into the release of water from the dam of Doyang Hydroelectric Project (DHEP) without giving any advance notice to the district administration of Golaghat. Situated on the river Doyang under Wokha district in Nagaland, the DHEP, which has a capacity of 75 MW and an estimated annual generation of 227 million units, was commissioned in the 2nd week of July, 2000. A review meeting of the flood situation was held on Wednesday night at the office of the Deputy Commissioner here. The meeting was attended by Assam Agriculture Minister Atul Bora and Water Resources Minister Keshab Mahanta along with MLAs of Khumtai, Sarupathar and Golaghat. Minister Bora on Thursday also visited relief camps at Merapni and Sisupani areas and took stock of the situation. The recent flood has claimed three lives till date and the deceased have been identified as Kiran Rai of Barpathar, Birendra Kisku of Uriamghat and Khogeswar Gowala of Bokakhat. Also read: Assam: Doyang dam waters create panic in Golaghat villages Meanwhile, due to heavy flood, the bridge over river Dhansiri at Numaligarh on NH-37 has been damaged for which the movement of all vehicular traffic has been stopped and the vehicles have been diverted via Dergaon-Golaghat-Numaligarh or Titabar-Golaghat-Numaligarh routes. Altogether 91 villages have been affected in Golaghat in flood that has hit the district after the North Eastern Electric Power Corporation Limited (NEEPCO) released excess water from the reservoir of the Doyang Hydro Electric Project. As per latest reports, river Brahmaputra at Dhansirimukh is flowing 0.24 m above the danger level and the Dhansiri at Numaligarh is flowing 2.60 m above the danger level. Also read: Assam: Bokakhat under severe threat from overflowing Dhansiri, one dies The district administration has stepped up rescue and rehabilitation efforts and has been continually providing relief materials to the flood-affected people. A total of 130 rescue personnel, comprising four teams of the fire and emergency services and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and three teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) are currently engaged in rescue operations in different parts of the district and over 2000 marooned people have been evacuated from the flood affected areas in the last 24 hours during operations carried out at various locations in the district. As per reports of the last 24 hours, 13 villages under Khumtai revenue circle, 12 villages under Sarupathar revenue circle, 12 villages in Merapani sub-division, 12 villages under Golaghat revenue circle, 17 villages under Morongi revenue circle, 18 villages under Bokakhat revenue circle and 7 villages in border area of Uriamghat (Sector B) have been affected in this flood. The total number of affected people in the district is 54,135. Altogether, 2185.64 hectares of agricultural land is currently under flood waters. The district administration has set up 62 relief camps and distribution centres and a total number of 20205 people are currently taking shelter in these relief camps. Consul General of Bhutan Phub Tshering called on Assam Governor Prof Jagdish Mukhi at Raj Bhavan on Thursday and discussed with him issues concerning bilateral interests like trade and commerce and tourism in particular. Referring to the age old ties between Bhutan and Assam and their geographical proximity, both Prof Mukhi and Phub Tserings discussion centered around deepening the bilateral relation taking advantage of Act East Policy. Governor Prof Mukhi stressing on frequent interaction between Assam and Bhutan requested Phub Tshering for taking adequate measures of sending business and cultural delegations to Assam on a regular basis to which Assam will also reciprocate. Responding to Prof Mukhis request of increasing the frequency of flight from Guwahati to Paro connecting Singapore, Consul General Tshering informed that very soon one more flight will start from Guwahati to Thimpu connecting Singapore. Hailing the Governors statesmanship, the Consul General said that though India and Bhutan enjoyed balanced business relations, it will grow deeper to include more sectors to the mutual benefit of both Bhutan and Assam. Armenia's Pashinyan admits that he personally gave the order to pull out troops from Syunik Province Satanovsky: Moscow was setting forth much more favorable ideas for Armenia than what had to be accepted Armenia PM: Talks with logic of 'corridor' are escalating tension in the region Armenia PM: 72% of Karabakh's territories occupied by Baku were subject for bargain during former administration Ararat Mirzoyan: Team representing Armenia's interests submitted a serious claim to International Court of Justice Satanovsky on 'Zangezur corridor', new war in region and use of Bayraktar in Donbas Pashinyan not ruling out determination of Armenia-Azerbaijan borders based on maps that Putin indicated US Ambassador: American companies in Armenia see that students lack knowledge and skills Armenia Parliament Speaker on demonstration held against him in Cyprus Nikol Pashinyan: Armenia's borders remain unchanged Armenia Deputy PM reports results of negotiations over unblocking of roads in the region Armenia PM invites two opposition parliamentary factions to hold a meeting Armenian FM: No meeting of leaders of Armenia, Russia and Azerbaijan scheduled yet Azerbaijani army general sentenced to ten years in jail Armenia opposition MP to MOD: Why aren't names of soldiers killed in 44-day war and buried made public? Dollar gains value in Armenia Armenia PM: No positional changes on Mount Pela Premier pays tribute to victims of October 27, 1999 tragedy in Armenia legislature St. Giragos Armenian church in Turkeys Diyarbakir expected to reopen next Easter Two US Senators urge Biden to waive sanctions against India for purchase of S-400s Armenia National Assembly elects Central Bank board new member We hope Iran will act smart in relations with Azerbaijan, says Erdogan US, Indonesia call for new forum to combat future pandemics Erdogan announces what Aliyev said about Israel Lavrov: Russia is checking news about Ukraine using Turkish Bayraktar in Donbas Armenia society knows answers left open to questions on 27 October 1999 parliament tragedy, says speaker Armenia justice minister receives invitation from his Lithuanian counterpart to visit Lithuania for cooperation Archbishop Edgar Pena Parra: Vatican Apostolic Nunciature office opening in Armenia will be symbol of regional peace FM: Vatican has always stood with Armenia Aliyev, Erdogan want to unite Turkic world via Armenia Provincial governor of Armenias Aragatsotn submits resignation Situation at Armenia legislature gets tense Azerbaijanis steal 32 cows, 13 calves of Artsakh town resident, investigation underway Armenia FM meets with visiting Holy See official Vatican Apostolic Nunciature office to open in Armenia Art of Armenian writing is put on UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage list (PHOTOS) Azerbaijan to allocate $4.5 billion for defense spending in 2022 Armenia legislature forms committee to investigate how Hayastan All Armenian Fund donations were used Forced deportee from Artsakh occupied territory: We prepared humanitarian asylum requesting letter to France President 2,074 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia Armenia President in Saudi Arabia, speaks with Crown Prince Armenia parliament ratifies CIS agreement on collaboration in fight against IT crimes Brazil Senate panel votes in favor of bringing criminal charges against President Bolsonaro Armenia legislature starts Wednesdays session by honoring 27 October 1999 parliament tragedy victims Only December 31, January 1 and 6 to be non-working days for New Year, Christmas holidays in Armenia Armenia parliament continues regular sessions Sikh men use their turbans to rescue hikers in Canada Newspaper: What do we have on Armenia parliament fatal shooting case 3 years after change of power? Newspaper: All accused to remain in custody in Armenia ex-defense minister criminal case Newspaper: Armenian ambassador is spreader of US Influence? 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 * "Most Popular Intellectual Property Law Blawg" of all time according to Justia rankings , October 2021. * "Most Popular Copyright Blawg" of all time according to Justia rankings , October 2021. * PermaKat Eleonora Rosati listed as one of the World Intellectual Property Review's "Influential Women in IP" of 2020. * PermaKat Eleonora Rosati listed as one of the Managing Intellectual Property magazine's "Fifty Most Influential People" of 2018. * IPKat founder and Blogmeister Emeritus Jeremy Phillips listed as one of the Managing Intellectual Property magazine's "Fifty Most Influential People" of 2005, 2011, 2013, and 2014. * Recommended by the European Patent Office as reading material for candidates for the European Qualifying Examinations, 2013. * Listed as "Top Legal Blog" in The Times Online, March 2011. 2010 ABA Journal 100. * One of the only two non-US blogs listed in the Blawg100. * Court Reporter Top Copyright Blog award winner, November 2010. * Number 1 in the 2010 Top Copyright Blog list compiled by the Copyright Litigation Blog, July 2010. * Selected by the United States Library of Congress for inclusion in its historic collections of Internet materials related to Legal Blawgs as of 2010. * Top Patent Blog poll 2009: 3rd out of 50 in the "Favourite Patent Blog" poll and 2nd out of 50 in the "Most-read" poll. Blog of the Year, 20 August 2008. * ComputerWeekly IT Law and Governance, 20 August 2008. Armenia should continue its Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) presidency until the end of the term. Defense Minister Davit Tonoyan on Friday told this to reporters. When asked whether or not Russia had voiced recently indicted CSTO Secretary General Yuri Khachaturovs matter at the Armenian Ministry of Defense, Tonoyan responded, In no way, with the Ministry of Defense. And to the question as to whether Armenia had a candidate to replace Khachaturov as the CSTO chief, the defense minister responded as follows: This matter hasnt been discussed yet with me. But I believe that the Republic of Armenia has a term; and I believe that Armenia should continue its presidency, and the office of CSTO Secretary General. The minister added that even though the decision with respect to the CSTO chief will be a collegial decision, they have not yet addressed this matter. As reported earlier, a charge has been brought against second President of Armenia Robert Kocharyan, former Defense Minister Mikayel Harutyunyan, and incumbent Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) Secretary General and Armenias former Deputy Defense Minister Yuri Khachaturov, within the framework of the criminal case into the tragic events that transpired in capital city Yerevan on March 1 and 2, 2008and under Article 300.1 Paragraph 1 of the Criminal Code; that is, breaching Armenias constitutional order, in conspiracy with others. Since Harutyunyan is not in Armenia, a search for him was declared. And on July 27, Khachaturov was released on bail, whereas Kocharyan was remanded in custody for two months by a court decision. 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, to this day. Armenia has petitioned to the other fellow CSTO member countries to launch a process of changing the secretary general of this organization. Incumbent CSTO Secretary General Yuri Khachaturov had assumed this office in May 2017. The term of Armenias chairmanship in this organization runs until January 2020. YEREVAN.- The Chief of Staff-Secretary General of the Armenian National Assembly (NA) Ara Saghatelyan received on Friday the delegation led by the Secretary General of the Georgian Parliament Givi Mikanadze being in Armenia on a working visit. The Georgian partners accompanied by Ara Saghatelyan took a tour in the parliament building. The Head of the Armenian Legislative Body Staff presented to the guests the repairing works going on in the parliament, noting that soon the NA Museum, the press hall designed for the journalists will be ready and the NA library will be completely renovated. Afterwards in the frameworks of the private conversation Ara Saghatelyan and Givi Mikanadze discussed the possibilities of lasting cooperation in different formats of the staff units, touched upon the works directed to the provision of the parliamentary activity, highlighted the exchange of experience at the level of the staffs, including the analytical and legislative development programmes. Ara Saghatelyan has noted that joint programmes are effectively implemented with the Georgian Parliament at the level of the Eastern Partnership, as well as the regional cooperation. In this context Ara Saghatelyan emphasized the continuous development capacity programmes and exhcnge of experience of the staffs, particularly in the issues of reinforcement of control and development of information-analytical skills. Noting that the Georgian side has a programme aimed at the rise of the Staff employees qualification, Ara Sagahelyan has underlined that there is an agreement o involving the RA NA Staff in that programme. According to the Chief of Staff of the National Assembly, the Georgian experience of the creation of the parliamentary library, as well as the legislative oversight can be instructive for Armenia. The sides have underlined with satisfaction that both Armenia and Georgia are members of the Association of the Secretaries General of Parliaments (ASGP) and they can make joint initiatives at international level, presenting the prior problems of the regional importance, as well as their countries and the staffs of their parliaments. The Secretary General of the Georgian Parliament Givi Mikanadze noted that on September 24-25 a Conference of the Secretaries General of the parliaments of the Eastern Partnership 6 countries would be held in Georgia, where Armenia would also take part. To Givi Mikanadzes assessment, the event will be a good start-up of closer cooperation for the Secretaries General at regional level. In this context the Georgian colleague informed Ara Saghatelyan that the Deputy Secretary General of the German Bundestag would also take part in the Conference. Within the framework of the Conference a Memorandum of Understanding will be signed, where the important remarks of further cooperation between the regional countries would be concluded. The Secretary General of the Georgian Parliament noted that in 2019 in Kutaisi summer and winter training courses would be organized for the employees of the staffs of the parliaments of the Eastern Partnership 6 countries, which would be held by the German specialists. To his assessment, it will let developing and deepening the cooperation between the different units of the staffs and enlivening the direct contacts. They also talked about the importance of the development of cooperation between the Budget Offices of the two countries legislative bodies. Givi Mikanadze also presented the works being done within the framework of the initiative Open Government Partnership (OGP), referred to the processes of harmonization with legislation of Georgia, emphasizing the necessity of the development of the parliamentary oversight mechanisms at the legislative level. At the end of the meeting the interlocutors expressed readiness of raising the efficiency of the staffs activities and supporting each other at the international level. Ara Saghatelyan has underscored that the Staff of the National Assembly of Armenia is always ready to serve its capacities and resources for the advancement of the parliamentary cooperation on the regional and international platforms. Russian deputy defense minister Alexander Fomin dismissed media reports alleging that further supplies of Russian weapons to Armenia are under question. Colonel General Alexander Fomin said: It is inaccurate information. I am not confirming this. As to the loan on arms supplies, he said: Everything is working. Commenting on charges brought against CSTO Secretary General Yuri Khachaturov, Russian official said: Armenia is implementing justice. Fomin is on a visit in Armenia and held meetings with Armenian officials. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) representatives in Baku have visited Armenian citizen Karen Ghazaryan, who is in captivity in Azerbaijan since July 15. ICRC representatives in Baku visited all Armenians detained in relation to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict in July and August, including the last arrested [Ghazaryan], informed Gohar Ter-Hakobyan, Digital Communication Officer at the ICRC Delegation in Armenia. According to its mandate, the ICRC visits detainees to monitor treatment and conditions of detention and support them to maintain contact with their families. Armenias Defense Minister Davit Tonoyan has not ruled out that the country may petition to Russia to get a new loan for purchasing arms. However, the minister did not name the approximate amount of this loan, and he informed that there were no talks on that topic yet. Tonoyan added that Armenia buys weapons from other countries too, and beyond the Russian defense loan. As to his talks with Alexander Fomin, the Deputy Defense Minister of Russia, Tonoyan said the negotiations were very successful; more than I had expected. He assured that the agreements on Russian arms supplies to Armenia are being implemented About 10 hectares of vineyards burnt down Thursday in Berdavan border village of Armenias Tavush Province, from the fire that Azerbaijan had started, Berdavan prefect said. The fire, which broke out Thursday afternoon, was managed to be put out through joints efforts by the villagers and firefighters. But, the villagers could not take part in the firefighting at the frontline, since there was shooting from the Azerbaijani side. A pot burial was unearthed during the archaeological excavation at the ancient Armenian town of Tigranakert, in the Republic of Artsakh. Jewelry (earrings, rings, etc.) made from glass, silver, copper and other materials, weapons, as well as ancient coins were found during the excavations. One of the interesting finds was a pot burial in which a man and a woman were buried together. US Special Counsel Robert Mueller wishes to interview Azerbaijan-born Russian pop star Emin Agalarovwho is also the former son-in-law of Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyevalong the lines of the probe into Russias alleged meddling in the US presidential elections in 2016. Mueller had sent a request for an interview with Agalarov, but the conversations on such an interview are ongoing, and it is not yet clear what will happen. AQ's Mali Branch Reportedly Claims Blast on Malian Army Vehicle, Source "Close" to Group Denies Reports of Leader Deaths Dhakal appointed Law Minister Nepal Communist Party lawmaker Bhanubhakta Dhakal has been appointed the Minister for Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs on Friday. European nations keen to invest in Nepal: Gyawali Foreign Minister Pradeep Gyawali has expressed his confidence of bringing in more foreign direct investment, underlining European nations willingness to invest in Nepals energy and infrastructure development. Film producer Wagle released after paying Rs 2.5 million bail Nepali film producer Madhav Raj Wagle, who was arrested for possession of fake currency, has been released from jail after posting a bail of Rs 2.5 million. President Yoweri Museveni has attacked the West for 'imposing' homosexuality and leaders of their choice on Africans, saying that this is an act of intolerance and lack of respect. Museveni said for the Africans, sexuality is treated as a private matter but now the West is imposing its own values on the continent, ignoring the fact that as Africans they have an identity and a set of values that should be respected. "Tolerance is something I find missing in the Middle East and even in Europe and it causes a lot of problems. On every issue, somebody wants to impose his views on other people. You come to the issue of homosexuality, they want to impose it on you," said Museveni. President Museveni was given a Global Peace Leadership award Museveni was on Thursday addressing the Global Peace Leadership Conference at Commonwealth Resort, Munyonyo. He said that the mishandling of identity is a big mistake saying that every body's identity should be respected. "Africans here, we know a few people who are rumoured to be homosexuals, even in history we had some few being rumoured but you cannot stand up here and say 'am a homosexual.' People will not like it, but whenever we talk to our partners from other part of the world, and say that is a private matter, you leave it. They say no; they want to impose it on you that I should stand up and say; oyee, homosexuals oyee," said Museveni. In attendance at the conference was the first vice president of South Sudan Taban Deng Gai, first vice president for Burundi Gaston Sindimwo, former President of Zanzibar Dr Abeid Amani Karume and others. The conference attracted delegates from Canada, United States of America, India, Korea, Kenya, Tanzania, Nigeria, Cameroon, and South Sudan among others under the theme, "Moral and innovative leadership: new models for sustainable peace and development." It is organized by US-based interfaith NGO, the Global Peace Foundation. Museveni noted four reasons which cause lack of peace - intolerance and lack of respect of other people's identities. The other reasons he cited are conflict between man and man, conflict between man and nature and weakness. He said that most people do not want to want to live by honest labour but at the expense of others which deters peace to prevail. "Some use knowledge of science to disadvantage others. Some people like to kill and these are cowards and selfish people. These are bad elements to humans," Museveni noted. He gave an example of conflicts in Libya and Iraq as having been caused by the Americans describing them as greedy. "The issue of scarce resources, these wars in the Middle East in Libya, in North Africa, in Iraq, they have been about oil. People are talking of Iran, Iran, Iran but the original problem was caused by Americans because in 1953 there were democratic elections in Iran and a man called [Mohammed] Mosaddegh was not an extremist, not an Islamist, he was a secularist." he said. "He was elected but he wanted to change the laws on petroleum and the CIA organised a coup against Mosaddegh, 1953. So that is how this Shah man - the king was being pumped by the Americans, a puppet, they were looking for a puppets. They did not like Mosaddegh because Mosaddegh had different ideas about petroleum. They used this Shah but this Shah was actually annoying Iranians and this movement went underground. it became a big issue now and was taken over by the Islamic clerics and now you have what you have in Iran. But who caused it? It was the greed of the Americans." He also said that the unending conflicts in Congo are caused by the greed of Western governments. "We have been having the UN in Congo since 1960. The Congolese had never had elections in their lives. They had elections in 1960, they elected their leader Patrice Lumumba who won national elections but some people did not like Lumumba because they did not like his politics. So they organised for him to be killedand Congo has never had peace since 1960 up to now. And UN is always there. So what was the original causer of problems in Congo? Those who killed Patrice Lumumba and they know themselves." said Museveni. Museveni further advised Africans to avoid weakness saying it is another cause of conflict since it tempts greedy people to invade them. He said Africans should stop complaining of persecution by the western powers because they choose to concentrate on factors that make them weak instead of concentrating on factors that make them strong. In his statement read out by the Tanzanian prime minister Kassim Majaliwa, President John Pombe Magufuli said that peace is an essential prerequisite for development. He said that there cannot be peace where human rights are violated, discrimination and intolerance, injustice, marginalization, favouritism, poverty and hunger. Kenya's cabinet secretary Eugene Wamalwa represented President Uhuru Kenyatta at the conference noted that political disputes should not be allowed to define national agendas. 20 people have died in the Democratic Republic of Congo after showing symptoms of haemorrhagic fever. The World Health Organization says expert staff and equipment have been sent to northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo to quick-start the process of combating a new outbreak of Ebola. The last outbreak of this fatal virus in Congo was declared over just a week ago. Ebola is a constant threat in the Democratic Republic of Congo as the virus thrives in heavily forested areas. This latest outbreak is the 10th since the first one was discovered in 1976. WHO says this new outbreak in North Kivu province is 2,500 kilometers away from Equateur Province, the site of the previous outbreak, and there is no link between the two. Four out of six samples sent to the Institut National de Recherche Biomedicale (INRB) in Kinshasa tested positive for Ebola Government officials said at least 20 people died in nine days after showing symptoms of haemorrhagic fever in and around the village of Mangina. The last outbreak in Mbandaka, 1,500 miles to the west of Mangina killed at least 33 people. WHO spokesman Tarik Jasarevic says the DRC ministry of Health informed WHO Wednesday that four of six samples taken in North Kivu tested positive for Ebola virus. He says it is crucial to gain access to the area as quickly as possible.He says having people and material in the country from the outbreak in Equateur is very helpful in tackling the outbreak. "We really need to get into the area to do epidemiological investigations, try to find cases, try to work with health workers, to strengthen infection prevention and control measures and also to start with the contact tracing," he said. "It is, on the other hand, worrying that this area is a conflict zone.It is an area with lots of displacement, so the access can be hampered in that way." The virus was discovered in a village near the city of Beni in North Kivu, which hosts more than one million displaced people. The province shares borders with Rwanda and Uganda, with a lot of cross border movement due to brisk trade. Jasarevic says WHO will work with these neighboring countries to try to prevent the virus from crossing over. He says identifying the type of Ebola virus that is circulating is a priority, as that will tell scientists whether the vaccine used to help contain the outbreak in Equateur province can also be used in North Kivu. The High court has granted bail to Brian Isiko, a student of YMCA College of Business Studies, Jinja, who was convicted of cyber harassment and offensive communication. Isiko had been granted a 2-year jail term for stalking Kabarole Woman MP Sylvia Rwabwogo, by continuously sending her text messages and calling her. But Isiko challenged the sentence by Buganda Road Grade One Magistrate Gladys Kamasanyu and asked that he is released on bail, pending hearing of his appeal. In his application, Isiko stated that his custodial sentence would deny him an opportunity to complete his course at YMCA. This morning, he was granted a cash bail of Shs 500,000. His sureties; Grace Regan Muganza, a retired UPDF officer and Wako Godfrey, the assistant academic registrar of Kyambogo University, were each bonded on non-cash bail of Shs 5 million. Brian Isiko has been granted bail. Photo:@912CroozeFM Presiding High court judge, Jane Frances Abodo said that given the fact that Isiko has filed an appeal against the sentence, he retains the presumption of innocence. He added that the reasons presented by his lawyers; Katuntu and Co. Advocates, were substantial to warrant bail. He, however, was cautioned against contacting MP Rwabwogo until the matter is dissolved completely. He is expected to report to the registrar of High court Criminal Division every third Friday of the month. Meanwhile, Isiko's trial and conviction has sparked off mixed reactions from a cross section of Ugandans, many arguing that the sentence was too harsh for the student while others believe that such youngsters need to be tamed as a way of addressing sexual and gender-based violence. Grace Bantebya Kyomuhendo, a professor of women and gender studies at Makerere University applauded Rwabwogo for taking action against Isiko's antics, which with no doubt tantamount to sexual harassment and abuse of personal and private life. Prof Bantebya says Isiko could have drawn courage from a patriarchal society of men who claim entitlement on women's bodies "If his claims were for love, the moment the MP said, she is not interested he should have stopped there. He shouldnt have continued harassing and sending messages because he is drawing from grounds that hes a man He should have stopped. That history of saying when a woman says no, she means yes, we have moved on. That is so many centuries ago." she said. Fred Kindi, a lecturer of philosophy at Makerere University says Isiko could have acted out of infatuation. However, Kindi says if it's genuine that Isiko was looking out for love, there was no reason for him to be prosecuted. He said stalking is not only done by men but women as well. "Yes men are also stalked but the threats presented by a lady stalking a man may not be taken seriously like a threat of a man stalking a woman. Otherwise those cases are there because of the culture still men fear to talk about it that a certain man is stalking me. People will even laugh at you," said Kindi. Lauben Muhabuzi, the executive director of Men's Forum against Domestic Violence says that the country doesn't have clear laws on how to date a woman and he thinks that there could have been something that intrigued Rwabwogo to take Isiko to court. The government through Ugandas National Animal Genetic Resources Centre and Data Bank (NAGRC&DB) has hired experts to help in improving animal genetics in the country. While opening a workshop held at Imperial Hotel last week, minister of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries, Vincent Ssempijja said the countrys farmers should embrace modern, commercial breeding systems. In reality, our farmers have been looking after animals that do not reward them much so we want to get them into animals that give them enough milk and meat and also enable them to get better income, Ssempijja said. We are getting into an era where our farmers must be competitive; we must be able to live within the competition that is surrounding them already. We are not doing this alone but there other farmers in Kenya, Botswana, South Africa, Egypt and as far as Europe, America and Asia in this improved breeding, he said. Dr Charles Lagu, Executive Director, NAGRC&DB explained that they are rolling out a community breeding programme. The idea is to make sure they deepen community breeding to improve on indigenous breeds and to enhance milk production and high quality animals for meat. Now you realise that 90 per cent of our animals are indigenous, which are very good in disease resistance but are below quality so the idea is to make sure we improve on our technology so that we roll to the community whether you have a small number of animal; all are targeted, he said. Lagu added that there will, however, still be sections to keep local breeds. We do not want to lose our indigenous breeds like long horned cows (Ankole), Zebu cattle and the Mubende spotted goats for cultural conservation, he said. What we are doing is called Xc2 (you collect the semen and embryo put together in the lab and store for years) conservation and Inc2 (designated farms are marked to keep particular breeds so that they are not lost). Lagu said the centre continues to lobby for support from government to increase funding to support this initiative expected to cost trillions of shillings training of staff, importing good genetic material, semen, embryos and building infrastructure in all the regions. It is estimated that with better breeds production will increase from 150kg to over 400kg carcass weight, and milk will increase from the current 10 litres per day to 25-30 litres per cow in a day. The growth rate will be faster, down from five to one and half years to maturity with improved breeds. First deputy Prime Minister, Gen Moses Ali, who was the chief guest, acknowledged the need to improve animal production. We need to upgrade our standards; adopt new technology to increase production and also fight poverty. We shall improve and produce for the international market with this initiative so that we can compete with other countries who are into [modern] dairy farming, he said. alfredodcho@gmail.com No shit. You had no problem with that until your ass was fired. Reply Thread Link Exactly Reply Parent Thread Link Seriously. The Lester Holt interview was in May 2017 and she left the WH in December. That's half a year where she claims knew there was a serious problem and did fuck all. Reply Parent Thread Link it's great that so many people are releasing cash grab books due to this administration Reply Thread Link i guess in that way he really is a ~job creator Reply Parent Thread Link Haha true Reply Parent Thread Link lol Reply Parent Thread Link Im curious to read the Sean Spicer book, only to see if its littered with as many typos, grammatical errors, and full on abuse of the English language as his everyday speak. But nah. Not even from the library. Not even stolen. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link No shit sherlock Reply Thread Link How can you decline from nothing tho Reply Thread Link huh, ya think? Reply Thread Link lol I still remember this from top model. Reply Parent Thread Link I was thinking of this exact gif when I read the headline. Reply Parent Thread Link ROFL. I appreciate this gif. Reply Parent Thread Link loll Reply Parent Thread Link i don't understand why people interviewing her don't just play this clip and demand answers Reply Parent Thread Link is this her MFA in acting monologue Reply Parent Thread Link lmfao Reply Parent Thread Link No shit, I think any sane person can see that. Reply Thread Link what the fuck ever can the media not treat her like she is news when this comes out please. Reply Thread Link You don't say? Reply Thread Link She needs to stfu nobody wants to hear from her ass ever again telling us shit we already knew. These fucking people telling us shit after the fact when it no longer matters. Reply Thread Link girl fucking whatever. it was fine when you were getting a paycheque tho. Reply Thread Link YOU DON'T SAY Reply Thread Link girl I'm meeting her Sunday at her show. I can't Reply Parent Thread Expand Link we know, he's stupid as fuck. wake me up when he's [redacted] Reply Thread Link same Reply Parent Thread Link film is dead and no one cares because they're all too busy jackin' it over the fox/disney merger Reply Thread Link Yeah cause life is so boring and nothing else of importance is going on... Reply Thread Link corporations amassing even more wealth, power, and influence while consumers suffer set to a backdrop of safety nets being stripped from the poor is something very important going on in the trump era. this is one particular example but it's not unimportant. Reply Parent Thread Link Maybe I read the bullet points wrong (I'm bleary-eyed today) but I thought this was saying their trying to make it ok for studios to own theaters? I'm just saying the DOJ trying to change this while so much fucking craziness and injustice is going on is stupid and horrible. They should be working on so many other important things. Edited at 2018-08-03 11:20 pm (UTC) Reply Parent Thread Link Disney owned movie theaters are gonna be on every block Reply Thread Link Mike on Half in the Bag suggested this as the future of movie theaters, where Disney would own the theaters and it'd all just be their big event movies and you'd see all the smaller movies at home. I didn't want to believe he was right but it sure sounded like the future. Reply Parent Thread Link omg i forgot about that. they are so weirdly prescient on that show with their predictions. Reply Parent Thread Link ugh this is going to fucking suck. everything sucks. Reply Thread Link yeah i guess since we're in the year of doing incredibly stupid things we might as well officially reinstitute the studio system while we're at it Reply Thread Link I feel like it's pretty much a pipe dream to expect the Democrats to go after corporations lol they love them just as much as the Republicans do, unfortunately. Shit like this is a major concern because I can see either party supporting it. Reply Parent Thread Link These dark times will last for a while. Until then bubble bursts on disneys expansions. Which has happened before. Though at the rate of them buying up properties to sanatise. They could last a while. Reply Parent Thread Link Basically this. Reply Parent Thread Link Fuck. It would take yeaaaaaars. Unnecessary. Where's em time travelers at? Drag them out and fix this shit. Because this cannot be real. Like that's too soon for an apocalypse and shit. Id be so really pissed to miss out on the cyberpunk era lol Hell, just weed these bad people out and crystallize the rest of us/cities etc like Crystal Tokyo in peace tbh Reply Parent Thread Link I remember reading this case in law school. Reply Thread Link I hope this means Europe gets their act together and starts producing and promoting more home grown films. Asia is already killing it with quality so there's that at least. Reply Thread Link Oh gah that's gonna suck. Also lol I just took an AMC survey that ended with asking me if I've ever had a MoviePass. Reply Thread Link So when do they go back to tying actors to the studios so they can only make movies for Universal or MGM or some shit Reply Thread Link So now we will be only able to watch art films and documentaries on Netflix or at film festivals? Because thats where this is headed. Reply Thread Link Yay this is totally going to be even better for minorities in from of and behind the cameras on major films Edited at 2018-08-04 12:39 am (UTC) Reply Thread Link this is some bullshit Reply Thread Link Wish him the best Reply Thread Link Some say he's got no more tears left to cry... Edited at 2018-08-03 10:27 pm (UTC) Reply Thread Link lmao this comment deserves more love Reply Parent Thread Link I cackled as I completely read this in a David Caruso, CSI Miami voice Reply Parent Thread Link Meh. Most relationships run their course. It seems theyre both lucky to have got out when they did Reply Thread Link I know so many addicts who say things like "do i do coke 5-6 times a week? sure. but i'm not an addict. i have a job!" nah sis. nah. Reply Thread Link "happy that thats how she moved" - making him appear like a normal human being who doesn't jump into engagements? Reply Thread Link he was addicted to lean a few years ago but stopped doing that, but hes said he still drinks and smokes weed Reply Parent Thread Link that's being addicted top codeine. that's pretty serious. Reply Parent Thread Link Pete is going to be fucked up after she cheats on him and breaks everything off. Reply Thread Link surprised he didnt go the fuckboy route, especially after what ariana said about him Reply Thread Link This is a...surprisingly classy and mature response. Reply Thread Link Hilariously enough that Id move on so quick like ha but not too quick to rebound let alone getting engaged within a second after breakup. Like damn. I gotta give myself a rest wtf Reply Thread Link I appreciate him continuing not to give the bitter soundbite everyone wants of him Reply Thread Link "happy that thats how she moved" what does that even mean Reply Thread Link Edited at 2018-08-03 11:30 pm (UTC) Reply Parent Thread Link i read this shit like 5 times and do not understand what he's saying at all Reply Parent Thread Link Its kinda shade lmao Reply Parent Thread Expand Link I cant STAND it when people just say words that together have no actual meaning at all Id be such a shit interviewer like that means nothing what are you actually trying to express?? Reply Parent Thread Expand Link I know he probably aint shit but I feel bad for him and Cazzie. You were with someone for so long and then they get engaged to someone else 3 weeks later :\ Reply Thread Link ia but cazzie is out livin her best life at least Reply Parent Thread Link MTE, she's consoling herself with her inevitable billion dollar inheritance. Reply Parent Thread Link The prices of crude oil and natural gas liquids are much higher than they were a year ago and the outlook for natural gas prices has improved. However, dozens of profitable upstream oil & gas companies are still trading in the lower half of their 52-week range. The money managers on Wall Street either dont understand how profitable upstream companies are at these commodity prices or they believe oil prices have peaked and are going to fall. First let me say that most investors, lets call them the Wall Street Gang, really dont understand the upstream oil & gas sub-sector. These are the companies that drill, complete and operate oil & gas wells, which provide the primary energy sources that give us such a high standard of living in the United States. Most investors dont realize how profitable the business will be if crude oil prices just stay over $65/bbl; not to mention the wealth that will be created if oil bounces back to over $100/bbl. On July 25th I made a presentation in Houston to a room full of energy sector investors were I gave my thoughts on a recent Raymond James & Associates industry update and their oil price target. Raymond James Energy Team, based in Houston, is now forecasting that West Texas Intermediate (WTI) will average $70/bbl during the 2nd half of 2018 and the beginning of 2019. Their official long-range price forecast for oil prices are $65/bbl for WTI and $70/bbl for Brent after 2019. Unofficially, most of the analysts based in Houston that I talk to think oil prices are going a lot higher. My opinions are that: The Right Price for WTI is $65 to $75 per barrel, until we see how serious the Trump Administration is about Iran. You can ignore the NYMEX strip; it has never been a reliable forecast of future oil prices. Most of the upstream companies that produce oil & gas will report strong cash flow from operations in 2018 and even higher profits in 2019. Well level economics at todays oil, gas and NGL prices are as good as they were in 2013 & 2014 when WTI sold for more than $100/bbl. Upstream (drilling & completions) and Midstream activities (gathering, transportation & storage) will remain quite high, which is good news for the oilfield services companies. S. oil production will grow to record levels, but the U.S. will never become this worlds Swing Producer, responsible for keeping the global oil market stabilized. The price of oil never stays at the Right Price for long. Oil price cycles always over-shoot on the downside and the upside, so there is a good chance we see WTI prices spike over $100/bbl within the next twelve months. If you agree with me, then you should have a lot of high quality oil & gas company stocks in your portfolio. Oil Supply/Demand Commodity prices should be set by supply/demand fundamentals, so lets check that out first. Then I will go over some of the FEARS that seem to be keeping the Wall Street money managers on the sidelines. Related: Oil Jobs Under Threat From Drones Demand for oil is increasing about 1.5 million barrels per day each year and non-U.S. / non-OPEC production is declining by approximately 0.5 million barrels per day. This paints a bullish outlook for the energy sector companies that work in the upstream, midstream and oilfield services sectors. (Click to enlarge) Looking only at the fundamentals, 2018 should be a very good year for the Energy Sector: Demand for oil exceeds supply today, which is why OECD inventories are on steady decline. Crude oil prices should stay elevated with supply & demand this tight. However, NYMEX crude oil futures are still in backwardation because of Wall Street fears that appear to be grossly over-rated. The September 2019 NYMEX futures contract for WTI is trading at more than $5.00/bbl discount to the September 2018 contract. It should be noted that the strip has flattened a bit recently. The upstream companies will report strong cash flow from operations in 2018 and 2019 as long as WTI stays over $60/bbl. I follow approximate 50 upstream companies and my forecast models definitely support this belief. Outside of the United States and a few countries in the OPEC cartel, the rest of the world (including Russia) nets to declining supply. The U.S. + OPEC should be able to meet global demand through 2020 assuming WTI remains over $65/bbl. My view is that beyond 2020, it will take much higher oil prices to attract the capital needed to stimulate supply growth. U.S. shale oil production cannot keep growing at the pace it is today. The petrochemical business is booming, which supports strong demand for U.S. natural gas and NGLs. What are investors afraid of? Why hasnt more money rotated into the Energy Sector? FEAR and GREED drive the markets There are four Primary Fears that are keeping money managers on the sidelines: The belief that U.S. oil supply is growing so rapidly that it will overwhelm the global oil market. Fear that the OPEC+ coalition will again flood the global market to gain market share. Lack of an understanding that non-U.S. / non-OPEC production is on decline. This includes the fear that Russia can and will bring a lot more oil to the market. The belief that demand for oil based products is going to decline. On top of these are company specific fears that are beyond the scope of this article. Lets cover each of these Primary Fears one at a time. Worry #1: U.S. Supply Growth Will Overwhelm the Oil Market It is true that oil production is growing in the United States, but the rate of growth will slow after 2018. Without a significant increase in the active drilling rig count, there is no way the U.S. (still a net importer of more than 6 million barrels of oil per day) can meet global demand for oil on its own. Outside of the U.S. all of the other countries net to declining oil supply and this assumes only modest declines in Venezuela and Iran in 2019. Within OPEC, only Saudi Arabia has significant untapped production capacity and it does not appear that they can offset the declines in Venezuela, Libya, Angola and Iran following the implementation of U.S. sanctions in November. The U.S. cannot keep growing oil production at the current pace (or even close to it) unless there is a significant rise in the active rig count year-after-year. During a July 16, 2018 presentation in Houston, Raymond James estimated that the active onshore drilling rig count in the U.S. would need to increase by more than 200 next year in order for the U.S. to duplicate the 2018 production growth in 2019. I dont think it is possible because the onshore drilling companies dont have a lot more high end drilling rigs sitting around and they wont build them without long-term contracts. The U.S. active rig count must grow each year because the nations annual depletion rate is increasing as we layer on more and more high decline rate horizontal wells. Today, the high end rigs dont exist to do the job. I believe that 2018 will be the PEAK year of oil production growth in the U.S. Horizontal well productivity gains (over 30% per year from 2011 to 2015) slowed to 11% in 2017 and are expected to decline to 8% in 2018 and 5% in 2019. Reasons for the slowdown are: Operators have reached lateral length limits The quality of drilling locations has declined Proppant intensity is peaking Well communication is becoming more of an issue in the Tier One areas Pipeline takeaway capacity issues will slow Permian Basin production growth through 2019 Worry #2: The OPEC+ Coalition will Flood the Oil Market Again 1. It is clearly not in the cartels or Russias best interest to lower oil prices again 2. OPECs additional production capacity nets to zero through 2020 (Click to enlarge) Saudi Arabia: The Kingdoms claim that they have remaining production capacity of 2 million barrels per day is a myth. It would take an aggressive drilling program and lots of new infrastructure to push their production up to 12 million barrels per day. Raymond James (RJ) base model for 2018 to 2020 global oil supply & demand is that Saudi Arabias actual production will average 10.3 million barrels per day thru 2020. Saudis recent increases in exports are the result of draining storage tanks and cannot be sustained for long. Venezuela is a Failed State: RJs base assumption is that Venezuelas production goes from ~1.3 MMBOPD in Q2 2018 to ~0.9 MMBOPD in Q4 2019. Ive had some smart people tell me that Venezuelas production could go to zero if there is a military coup and the chances of that happening goes up each day. PDVSA, the governments oil company, recently announced that two of their four oil upgraders had to be shut down for maintenance. This will take several 100,000 barrels per day off of the market. Libya is another wildcard. RJs base assumption is that Libyan production holds at ~1.0 MMBOPD. My view of Libya is that it is a failed state much like Venezuela. It is a country run by lawless gangs. As we have seen several times over the years since Moammar Kaddafi was killed in 2011, a significant amount of Libyan oil production can be taken off the market without notice. Anyone counting on a steady flow of oil from Libya has not been paying much attention to the news from North Africa. Iran: RJs base assumption is that President Trumps sanctions against Iran will take ~210,000 BOPD off the market. Obviously, this is a wildcard and the actual amount could be a lot higher. My opinion is that Trump is serious about Iran and the U.S. sanctions will take more than 1,000,000 BOPD off the market in early 2019. Direct military conflict between the U.S. and Iran will quickly push oil over a $100/bb. Russia is not a threat to oversupply the oil market that many on Wall Street believe it is. In November, 2016 they drained the tanks to artificially jack up production before the Vienna Agreement. Russian growth will be ~125,000 BOPD per year. In Summary: OPEC+ cannot increase production even if they wanted to do so and it is certainly not in their best interest to do anything that will lower oil prices. Worry #3: Lack of Non-U.S. / Non-OPEC Production Declines Investors often forget that outside of the U.S. and OPEC the Rest of the World produces more than 40% of global oil supply. Most of the countries dont produce enough oil to meet their own demand and, like the U.S., they are heavily dependent on imported oil and refined products. Lack of investment in large exploration & development projects since early 2014 has pushed completion dates of many Non-U.S. supply growth projects many years down the line. Some projects have been cancelled. Outside of small growth in Brazil and Russia, the rest of the worlds oil production will be on decline through 2022 and there is not much chance of anything changing this outlook. Also, even when there was over four years (2010-2014) of $100/Bbl oil, there were no major oil discoveries added. Outside of the U.S. Shale Revolution, the rest of the world reached Peak Oil in 2010 just as King Hubbert predicted that it would. Worry #4: Weakening Global Demand for Oil The concept of Peak Demand for oil is total hogwash ginned up by the same people that think Tesla will take over the automobile market. Annual demand for oil has actually accelerated this decade. Demand for coal has declined, but demand for oil, natural gas and NGLs goes up year-after-year. Related: Tight Oil Markets Are Ignoring Supply Risk Demand for oil got off to a strong start this year with global 1Q18 growth at over 2 million barrels per day (YOY), helped by cold weather in the northern hemisphere. Recent data, however, points to a slowdown, with rising prices a factor. In 2Q18, growth slowed to 900,000 b/d (YOY). In 1H18, growth will average 1.5 million b/d, falling to 1.3 million b/d in the second half of the year. In 1H2019, the comparison with a strong 1H2018 will see growth of close to 1.2 million b/d, accelerating to 1.6 million b/d in 2H2019. We expect growth of 1.4 million b/d in world oil demand in both 2018 and 2019, unchanged from last month's Oil Market Report. - International Energy Agency 7-12-2018. The IEA has a long history of understating oil demand growth. From 2009 to 2015 IEA understated demand growth each year and had to revise up their demand forecasts upwards to actuals by an average of 490,000 BOPD. My forecast of actual demand growth being 1.5 million barrels per day year-over-year in 2018, 2019 and 2020 may end up being too conservative. With a strong global economy, demand for oil will probably increase closer to 2.0 MMBOPD in 2018. This world runs on oil and nothing on the horizon is going to change that: Consumption of oil based fuels and products is directly related to standard of living. More people + more SUVs = more demand for transportation fuels Miles driven goes up each year Chinese SUV sales are way up Indias demand growth has surprised to the upside year-after-year Electric Cars reducing demand for gasoline is not a Slam Dunk, primarily because they cost too much and their limited range does not suit most drivers. Electric vehicles will have only minor impact on oil demand until AT LEAST 2025. (Click to enlarge) Conclusion: Global demand for oil exceeds supply by more than a million barrels per day as you read this article. U.S. and OECD crude oil inventories will be declining to dangerous levels within six months and the price of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) is expected to average more than $70/bbl for at least the next three quarter. Chances are that conditions in Venezuela and the impact of U.S. sanctions against Iran will take another million barrels of oil supply off the market. My Prediction: Oil price cycles always overshoot the Right Price and we will see $100/Bbl oil in early 2019. Now is a great time to add more energy to your investment portfolio. By Dan Steffens More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: PASCAGOULA, Mississippi -- Ingalls Shipbuilding announced Friday it had secured a $165.5 million advance procurement contract from the U.S. Navy to begin work leading to the construction of LPD 30, the first Flight II LPD amphibious transport dock ship. "This is a significant milestone as we embark toward a new flight of LPDs," said Ingalls president Brian Cuccias. "The Flight II LPDs will be highly capable ships meeting the requirements and needs of our Navy-Marine Corps team. We look forward to delivering this series of affordable LPDs to our nation's fleet of amphibious ships." According the U.S. Naval Institute, Flight II ships will be based on the San Antonio-class amphibious transport docks and will replace the aging Whidbey Island-class dock landing ships. The funds from the procurement contract will be used to purchase long-lead-time materials and major equipment, including the main engines, diesel generators, deck equipment, shafting, propellers, valves and other systems. According to Ingalls, a vendor base of 400 companies in 30 states will be involved in the LPD Flight II program. Ingalls has delivered 11 San Antonio-class ships to the Navy, with two more currently under construction. The keel for the Fort Lauderdale (LPD 28) was laid last October, while fabrication is underway on the Richard M. McCool Jr. (LPD 29). Fabrication for LPD 30 is set for 2020. The Navy's requirement to replace the retiring LSD 41/49 class of amphibious ships will be accomplished by developing and acquiring the second flight of the current LPD 17 class, beginning with LPD 30, according to Ingalls. The additional capabilities of LPD Flight II ships will support new and emerging U.S. Marine Corps and Navy needs such as the Ship-to-Shore Connector, CH-53K helicopter and improved troop armory/weapons stowage. The San Antonio class is a key component of the Navy's amphibious assault force. The 684-foot long, 105-foot wide ships embark and land Marines, equipment and supplies ashore via air cushion or conventional landing craft and amphibious assault vehicles, supported by helicopters or vertical takeoff and landing aircraft such as the MV-22 Osprey. All Flight I ships were purchased by the Navy one at a time, according to the USNI, but there has been discussion of buying the Flight II ships through a multi-ship contract. In a Thursday conference call with Huntington-Ingalls investors, HII president/CEO Mike Petters said "there's desire to go for multi-years for LPD, but we're not there yet." First things first Basics like transportation system and drainage needs to be fixed before we talk about smart cities The oil market is set to tighten further before the end of this year - a sign that OPECs early response to boost supply may not be enough to offset a significant (possibly 1 million bpd barrel) loss of crude oil supply from Iran, Helima Croft, RBC Capital Markets global head of commodity strategy, told CNBC on Friday. On Monday, August 6, the first set of U.S. sanctions on Iran will snap back, so we will be probably looking at tougher actions over August and September, Croft said. The question regarding Iranian oil supply now is, can the Trump Administration get everybody else except China, which has already said it wont recognize U.S. sanctions on Iran, out of the market, according to the strategist. According to two officials, the U.S. hasnt been able to persuade China to reduce Iranian oil purchases, but Beijing has reportedly agreed not to increase its oil imports from Iran, Bloomberg reports. The U.S. can get Europe out of the market, and IndiaIrans second-largest oil customer after Chinawill likely reduce Iranian purchases even if it doesnt get entirely out the market, Croft told CNBC. The combination of crumbling Venezuelan oil production and the aggressive U.S. efforts to curtail Iranian exports is going to tighten the market. OPEC has responded with boosting supply, but we are yet to see how much Iranian supply would be choked off, Croft said, adding that its going to be very significant. Related: The Winners And Losers This Earnings Season All signals are from the White House that they are being very tough with foreign refineries, theyre going to their banks, theyre going to the insurance companies and simply saying do not support the trade with Iranian crude, Croft said. According to a Reuters poll earlier this week, 44 economists and analysts expect the U.S. sanctions to take between 500,000 bpd and 1 million bpd of Iranian crude oil off the market. The return of sanctions on Iran was one of the reasons why the experts raised againfor a tenth consecutive monththeir oil price forecasts for WTI Crude and Brent Crude prices, which are now expected to average $67.32 a barrel and $72.87 a barrel this year, respectively. By Tsvetana Paraskova For Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Despite a worsening humanitarian crisis in Yemen amid a war between the Houthi rebels and a coalition between Saudi Arabia and the UAE, the poorest Arab country has found a way to restart oil production and has even exported the first cargo: 500,000 barrels from a field in the southern Shabwa province bound for a Chinese company, The National reports. This is the first outbound shipment of crude oil from Yemen since 2015 when a civil war broke out and quickly escalated into an international conflict. It was offered in an open tender, in which 35 companies from around the world took part, the Yemeni ministry of oil and minerals said in a statement. Now there are plans to restart the rest of the oil fields in Shabwa and neighboring provinces, the secretary to the oil and minerals minister told The Emirati daily. The provinces are under the control of the elected government that the Houthis are fighting, as a result of the intervention of the Saudi and Emirati forces. The Houthis have accused Saudi Arabia of stealing more than half of the countrys oil production in collaboration with French Totala company that has been present in Yemen since before the war. Saudi Arabia has set up an oil base in collaboration with the French Total company in the Southern parts of Kharkhir region near the Saudi border province of Najran and is exploiting oil from the wells in the region," Yemeni economic expert Mohammad Abdolrahman Sharafeddin told Fars News Agency of Iran last March. "Sixty-three percent of Yemen's crude production is being stolen by Saudi Arabia in cooperation with Mansour Hadi, the fugitive Yemeni president, and his mercenaries. Meanwhile, the Houthis have offered a two-week ceasefire for the Red Sea to the Arab coalition, which, they said, could be extended and expanded if it is received favorably by the Saudis and the Emiratis. By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Beijing has declined a request by U.S. envoys to stop importing crude oil from Iran, Bloomberg reports, citing unnamed sources in the know. While this is a major setback in President Trumps quest of cutting Iranian oil exports to zero by November 4, Beijing, according to the sources, agreed to not increase its imports of Iranian crude. U.S. officials are traveling around the world to persuade allies to suspend imports of Iranian oil ahead of the sanctions, but analysts doubt the push will be completely successful, as Irans return on international oil markets provided a very welcome diversity of oil supplies for buyers from Asia to Europe. Iran, on the other hand, has warned the United States that Tehran would respond with equal countermeasures if the United States tries to block Iranian crude oil exports. If America wants to take a serious step in this direction it will definitely be met with a reaction and equal countermeasures from Iran, said foreign ministry spokesman Bahram Qassemi in early July. Also in early July, the remaining signatories to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, often called the Iran nuclear deal, declared their support for Iran in the face of the U.S. pull-out. The UK, France, Germany, Russia, and China assured Tehran that they will continue buying Iranian crude and maintain trade and investment relations despite the return of U.S. sanctions, although analysts are again skeptical that European oil companies will be able to conduct business in Iran after November 4. Indeed, French Total has already announced its withdrawal from the South Pars gas project after the State Department made a note of telling everyone concerned that no sanction waivers would be granted. Related: Exxons Shocking Supply And Demand Predictions Besides China, Irans other top oil client, India, tried to make a stand initially, saying it would not honor Washingtons unilateral sanctions, but later Indian refiners started cutting back the amount of oil they purchase, citing concerns about their continued access to the U.S. financial market. At the same time, however, Washington has softened its tone, saying that waivers may in fact be granted for some oil-dependent allies that are unable to quickly find a replacement for Iranian crude. By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Due to the rising trade tension between China and the United States, the trading arm of Chinese state oil major Sinopec has suspended imports of crude oil from the United States, Reuters reported on Friday, citing sources familiar with the plans. Sinopecs trading unit, Unipec, has not booked new purchases of U.S. crude oil at least until October, one of Reuters sources said. Yet it was not immediately clear how long the suspension of U.S. oil imports would last. Earlier this year, Unipec had planned to trade up to 300,000 bpd of U.S. crude oil by the end of 2018, which would have been triple the volume of U.S. crude oil that it traded last year. Amid the ongoing trade war between the United States and China, however, Chinese buyers have scaled down purchases of American oil after China threatened to impose a 25-percent import tax on U.S. energy imports if the United States imposed additional tariffs on more Chinese products. U.S. energy exports to China may suffer if Beijing follows through with its threat to slap tariffs on U.S. oil and oil product imports. China has, in recent years, become a key export market for growing U.S. energy exports. In fact, China is Americas second-largest crude oil customer after Canada. Chinese imports of U.S. crude oil in May, for example, averaged 427,000 bpd, more than any other destination and surpassing Canadas 289,000 bpd imports, EIA data shows. Related: A Price Spike Looms For Natural Gas The possible Chinese import tariff, which would slap nearly $18 a barrel to crude priced at $70 per barrel, has deterred other Chinese companies, including PetroChina, state-run Zhenhua Oil, and independent refiners from importing U.S. crude, Reuters sources say. According to trade flow data by Thomson Reuters Eikon, Chinese imports of U.S. crude oil averaged 334,880 bpd between January and August this year. Yet, only three supertankers are currently sailing to China, carrying a total of just 197,515 bpd of U.S. oil to arrive in September, the trade flow data showed. By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Ahead of the return of the U.S. sanctions on Iran, Indias state refiners boosted their Iranian oil purchases, pushing up Indian oil imports from Iran by 30 percent from June, to a record 768,000 bpd in July, Reuters reported on Thursday, citing preliminary tanker arrival data it had obtained from trade sources. The arrivals included some crude oil shipments loaded in June that docked in India in July. State-run refiners accounted for around four-fifths of Indias oil imports from Iran. Indias oil imports from Iran last month soared by 85 percent from the 415,000 bpd shipments in July 2017, according to the data obtained by Reuters. This time last year, Indian refiners had slashed imports from Iran in a possible retaliation for Tehran not awarding the development of a gas field in Iran to Indian firms. But as the new Indian fiscal year began in April, refiners have been taking more Iranian oil imports compared to the previous fiscal year, as Iran offered incentives such as extended credit periods and almost free shipping to keep its market share in IndiaTehrans second-largest oil customer after China. Iran is also said to have started to offer India cargo insurance and tankers operated by Iranian companies as some Indian insurers have refused to cover oil cargoes from Iran in the face of the returning U.S. sanctions on Tehran. Related: Russias High Risk Global Oil Strategy Last week, Hindustan Petroleum was said to have cancelled a crude oil shipment from Iran after its insurer refused to provide coverage for the cargo on concern about U.S. sanctions. Indias imports from Iran could start to slow from August as some big Indian refiners worry that their access to the U.S. financial system could be cut off if they continue to import Iranian oil, prompting them to reduce oil purchases from Tehran. HPCL, for example, will not be buying oil from Iran in August, chairman M. K. Surana told Reuters earlier this week, but did not elaborate on whether the refiner would resume importing Iranian oil after that. By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com More Top Reads from Oilprice.com: A group of senators led by Lindsey Graham have introduced a new bill proposing further sanctions against Russiathe latest in what is turning into a string of Russia-sanction legislative effortsthis time focusing on investments in energy projects outside of Russia that Russias government supports. According to a statement by the six senators, the bill seeks to punish Russia for its "continued interference in our elections, malign influence in Syria, aggression in Crimea, and other activities" and targets investments in energy projects supported by the Russian government both in the country and abroad. According to Senator Graham, "The sanctions and other measures contained in this bill are the most hard-hitting ever imposedand a direct result of Putin's continued desire to undermine American democracy." According to S&P Platts, the bill comes amid concern in Senate that President Trump could seek to weaken existing Russian sanctions targeting the countrys vital energy sector. Besides Graham, the bill, officially known as the Defending American Security from Kremlin Aggression Act, or DASKA, is sponsored by five other senators, including Republicans Cory Gardner of Colorado and John McCain of Arizona, and three Democrats, including Bob Menendez of New Jersey, Ben Cardin of Maryland, and Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire. Other recent bills targeting Russia also include the Secure America from Russian Interference Act, introduced by a group of Democrats in the Senate, and the DETER Act, sponsored by Republican Marco Rubio and Democrat Chris Van Hollen. There is also a bill sponsored by Republican John Barrasso of Wyoming that targets specifically the Nord Stream-2 natural gas project. Related: Trump vs Iran: A War Of Words The Secure America from Russian Interference Act, if passed, will put an end to waivers and special licenses that at present, theoretically at least, give U.S. energy companies a way around the original sanctions against Russia introduced by the Obama administration. Separately, U.S. lawmakers recently called upon the Department of Defense to cut reliance on Russian energy at military bases in Europe, and to introduce sanctions against the Nord Stream 2 project. Defense Logistics Agency data show that close to 40 percent of oil used at military sites in Germany comes from Russia. In southwestern Germany, for example, the Ramstein Air Base serves as the headquarters for U.S. Air Forces in Europe and is also a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) installation. By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Credit: Northeastern University Police body cameras can improve trust between officers and citizens while providing valuable evidence to ensure fairer trial results, according to a Northeastern study of a year-long pilot project involving police body cameras in Boston. "The basic takeaway is that body cameras generate a small but significant benefit in terms of civility, without interfering with the way officers do their job on a day-to-day basis," said co-author Anthony Braga, a Distinguished Professor of Criminal Justice at Northeastern. The potential benefits of the body cameras extend beyond mutual trust, according to Jack McDevitt, co-author of the study and associate dean for research at Northeastern's College of Social Sciences and Humanities. "One of the surprises was how valuable these videos are at trial for both prosecutors and defense attorneys," he said. "Both sides said they believe videos make the results of court actions more just." The city plans to gradually expand the use of body cameras and has already allotted $2 million for the purchase of 400 additional cameras, according to a statement by Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh. "This study shows the potential value that body cameras can have as part of our overall strategy for strengthening ties between law enforcement and the residents they serve," Walsh said. Boston police superintendent William Gross also praised the program, saying in a statement that it has been "very important in understanding firsthand what members of the community believe will help the city move forward and how technology can play a role." Gross has been named the successor to Boston police commissioner William B. Evans, who plans to step down on Saturday. Braga noted that the presence of cameras did not change the number or type of interactions police had with the public, nor did it affect their interactions based on race, ethnicity, or gender. "That's all good news," said Braga. "There was no change in the way they work, but the cameras did de-escalate a small but meaningful number of events." Body cameras can also improve police training and educate the community about the challenges and responsibilities faced by police officers, according to the report, which was released Thursday. McDevitt, who conducted extensive interviews for the study, said the body camera project has received strong support across a wide variety of groups, including citizens, activists, police officers, lawyers, and more. The study involved two primary measures: citizen complaints against officers and the number of times officers used force to handle a situation. These "use of force" reports, which are mandatory, provide an indication of how often officers can diffuse tense situations without physical intervention. Braga said both measures were small compared to other urban police departments, and emphasized that these numbers had already improved dramatically in the four years prior to the pilot project. From 2013 to 2017, citizen complaints against the Boston Police Department dropped 46 percent and use-of-force reports decreased 52 percent. However, the pilot program demonstrated that body cameras help the Boston police improve even more in both areas. When comparing the 140 officers wearing body cameras with a similar number of randomly selected officers without cameras, Braga said there was a "small but meaningful" decline in both complaints and use of force. The group of 140 officers wearing cameras produced one fewer complaint and one fewer use-of-force report per month compared to the group without cameras. The yearlong project produced 38,200 videos covering more than 46,000 hours. The authors said the quality of both the video and audio was good even at night and in bad weather. In addition to providing excellent evidence for prosecutors and defense attorneys, the report noted their value in police training and educating the community about how police officers handled confusing, emotional, and dangerous situations on a regular basis. "The reality is that we have a good police department in Boston that interacts respectfully with citizens most of the timeand the videos show that," said McDevitt. Explore further New York expands police cameras to all patrol officers Francesco Billari. Credit: Paolo Tonato About 200,000 working days are lost in Germany every year due to insufficient sleep, with an economic loss of $60 billion, or about 1.6 percent of its GDP, according to a 2016 Report of the RAND Corporation. Francesco Billari and Luca Stella (Bocconi University), with Osea Giuntella (University of Pittsburgh), in a study just published in the Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, find that access to broadband internet is one of the causes of such sleep deprivation. Exploiting the fact that the deployment of broadband in Germany over the years was dependent on technical and historical reasons, they link data on broadband to surveys where individuals report their sleep duration. The researchers conclude that access to high-speed internet reduces sleep duration and sleep satisfaction in individuals that face time constraints in the morning for work or family reasons. "Individuals with DSL access tend to sleep 25 minutes less than their counterparts without DSL internet. They are significantly less likely to sleep between seven and nine hours, the amount recommended by the scientific community, and are less likely to be satisfied with their sleep," Francesco Billari, a Full Professor of Demography at Bocconi University, Milan, and the Principal Investigator of the project DisCont, funded by the European Research Council, within which this research was conducted. The effect that the authors find is largely driven by individuals that face time constraints in the morning and by the use of electronic devices in the evening (not by their use throughout the day). "Digital temptations may lead to a delay in bedtime, which ultimately decreases sleep duration for individuals who are not able to compensate for later bedtime by waking up later in the morning," Prof. Billari says. The temptations to which individuals are susceptible vary according to age, the scholars find. Among teenagers and young adults (aged 13-30), there is a significant association between insufficient sleep and time spent on computer games or watching TV or videos in the evening, while for older adults (31-59) the correlation is with the use of PCs and smartphones. Explore further Can weekend sleep make up for the detriments of sleep deprivation during the week? Provided by Bocconi University A resident, in yellow, wishing not to be identified, is comforted after seeing her fire-ravaged home for the first time Thursday, Aug. 2, 2018, in Redding, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez) A deadly Northern California wildfire burned so hot in dry and windy conditions that it birthed a record-breaking tornado of flame, officials said Friday. They also warned of worsening conditions throughout the region. Winds in the "fire whirl" created July 26 near Redding reached speeds of 143 mph (230 kph), a speed that rivaled some of the most destructive Midwest tornados, National Weather Service meteorologist Duane Dykema said. The whirl uprooted trees and tore roofs from homes, Dykema said. The whirl measured a 3 on the five-level Enhanced Fujita scale, which scientists use to classify the strength of tornados, he said. California has not recorded a tornado of that strength since 1978. That fire continues to burn about 100 miles (160 kilometers) south of the Oregon border as firefighters there and throughout Northern California brace for worsening conditions this weekend. The weather service issued warnings for critical fire weather conditions into Saturday, saying a series of dry low-pressure systems passing through the region would bring afternoon wind gusts. "This is a particularly dangerous situation with extremely low humidity and high winds. New fires will grow rapidly out of control, in some cases people may not be able to evacuate safely in time should a fire approach," the weather service said in its bulletin for the Mendocino area north of San Francisco. Redding Police Dept. officer Brian Berg, right, comforts a resident, center, wishing not to be identified, after she saw her fire-ravaged home for the first time Thursday, Aug. 2, 2018, in Redding, Calif. (AP /Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez) Forecasters said areas with the highest threat include the massive blaze near Redding and two fires burning next to each other around Clearlake about 100 miles (160 kilometers) north of San Francisco. The Redding fire has grown to 206 square miles (533-square-kilometer) and has destroyed 1,060 homes and many other structures. Two firefighters and four other people have been killed since the blaze, which ignited July 23, raced with extraordinary fury toward the region's largest city. More than 1,300 homes remained threatened. Wildfires typically create whirls but rarely of the strength of the one recorded July 26, Dykema said. Whirls are created when hot air rises and twists tightly, he said. The hotter the fire, the faster the air rises and the tighter it twists until it takes off as a tornado. A 747 Global Airtanker makes a drop in front of advancing flames from a wildfire Thursday, Aug. 2, 2018, in Lakeport, Calif. (Kent Porter /The Press Democrat via AP) To the southwest of Redding, new evacuations were ordered late Thursday at the Mendocino Complex, where twin fires have ravaged a combined 250 square miles (621 square kilometers), destroyed 41 residences and threatened 9,200 homes. The combined fires have prompted about 15,000 people to evacuate their homes. California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection spokeswoman Jane LaBoa said wildfire remains several miles from the evacuated communities along the eastern shore of Clear Lake, about 100 miles (160 kilometers) northwest of Sacramento. But she said trajectory and the weather forecast prompted officials to evacuate the communities Friday out of an abundance of caution. "It looks like there's dicey weather on the way," LaBoa said. The wildfire has grown to 175 square miles (280 square kilometers) and is a few miles from connecting with a second blaze that has grown to 64 square miles (105 square kilometers). Flames from a wildfire advance up a ridge, towering over a home that eventually burned, Thursday, Aug. 2, 2018, near Lakeport, Calif. (Kent Porter /The Press Democrat via AP) The twin fires have destroyed 41 homes. In Sierra Nevada, firefighters achieved 41 percent containment of a 115-square-mile (298-square-kilometer) forest fire that has shut down Yosemite Valley and other adjacent portions of Yosemite National Park at what is normally the height of summer tourism. The fire has reached into remote areas of the country's third-oldest national park. Workers who live in Yosemite's popular Valley region were ordered to leave Friday because of inaccessible roads. The fire also killed two firefighters. A new report says the first firefighter, a California bulldozer operator, nearly slipped off a steep mountain trail three times before his vehicle finally rolled into a ravine and fatally crushed him. Flames from a wildfire devour a home off Scotts Valley Road, Thursday, Aug. 2, 2018, near Lakeport, Calif. (Kent Porter /The Press Democrat via AP) Each earlier slip alone qualified as a "near miss" warning that the century-old mining trail could collapse, according to the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection's preliminary report. Braden Varney, 36, was working alone overnight July 14 fighting the wildfire while his assistant went to get a new hydraulic hose. Varney's radio wasn't communicating with headquarters, so his assistant relayed messagesuntil they lost contact. The report says the death of the 10-year veteran highlights the need for better risk assessment, communication and supervision. Officials have not said how the other three firefighters died fighting blazes near Yosemite and Redding. Flames from a wildfire advance down a hillside, towering over homes off Scotts Valley Road, Thursday, Aug. 2, 2018, near Lakeport, Calif. (Kent Porter /The Press Democrat via AP) A tower of smoke pours from Cow Mountain as Burney, California firefighter Bob May keeps a watch on surrounding vegetation for spot fires during a wildfire off Scotts Valley Road, Thursday, Aug. 2, 2018, near Lakeport, Calif. (Kent Porter /The Press Democrat via AP) A firefighter walks around a swimming pool sprayed by phos-chek fire retardant after an air tanker made a pass while fighting a wildfire near Lakeport, Calif., Thursday, Aug. 2, 2018. (Kent Porter /The Press Democrat via AP) Firefighters stand watch on a roof as a wildfire sweeps through the area near Lakeport, Calif., Thursday, August 2, 2018. (Kent Porter /The Press Democrat via AP) A resident, in yellow, wishing not to be identified, is comforted after seeing her fire-ravaged home for the first time Thursday, Aug. 2, 2018, in Redding, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez) From left, Shasta County Health and Human Services workers Mike Rinehart, Jon Taylor, Melanie Gilchrist and Theresa Ellis stand and watch as the procession for Redding fire inspector Jeremy Stoke passes in Redding, Calif., Thursday, Aug. 2, 2018. Stoke, who died last week in the Carr Fire, was being taken from the coroner's office to a funeral home. Fire officials say a massive blaze in Northern California that has killed six people and torched more than 1,000 homes grew overnight, fueled by wind. The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said Thursday firefighters made some gains and the blaze is now a third contained. (AP Photo/Michael Burke) Shasta County Health and Human Services workers stand and watch as the procession for Redding fire inspector Jeremy Stoke passes in Redding, Calif., Thursday, Aug. 2, 2018. Stoke, who died last week in the Carr Fire, was being taken from the coroner's office to a funeral home. Fire officials say a massive blaze in Northern California that has killed six people and torched more than 1,000 homes grew overnight, fueled by wind. The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said Thursday firefighters made some gains and the blaze is now a third contained. (AP Photo/Michael Burke) Shasta County Health and Human Services workers and others stand and watch as the procession for Redding fire inspector Jeremy Stoke passes in Redding, Calif., Thursday, Aug. 2, 2018. Stoke, who died last week in the Carr Fire, was being taken from the coroner's office to a funeral home. Fire officials say a massive blaze in Northern California that has killed six people and torched more than 1,000 homes grew overnight, fueled by wind. The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said Thursday firefighters made some gains and the blaze is now a third contained. (AP Photo/Michael Burke) A procession for Redding fire inspector Jeremy Stoke passes in Redding, Calif., Thursday, Aug. 2, 2018. Stoke, who died last week in the Carr Fire, was being taken from the coroner's office to a funeral home. Fire officials say a massive blaze in Northern California that has killed six people and torched more than 1,000 homes grew overnight, fueled by wind. The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said Thursday firefighters made some gains and the blaze is now a third contained. (AP Photo/Michael Burke) Firefighters gather as the procession for Redding fire inspector Jeremy Stoke passes in Redding, Calif., Thursday, Aug. 2, 2018. Stoke, who died last week in the Carr Fire, was being taken from the coroner's office to a funeral home. Fire officials say a massive blaze in Northern California that has killed six people and torched more than 1,000 homes grew overnight, fueled by wind. The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said Thursday firefighters made some gains and the blaze is now a third contained. (AP Photo/Michael Burke) Explore further NASA satellite shows California shrouded in smoke 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The Buick Envision SUV is manufactured in China but a small number are imported into the US market, and GM has asked that it be spared the 25% import tariffs President Donald Trump is threatening to impose Auto giant General Motors has asked US authorities to exclude its Buick Envision SUV from the sweeping tariffs Washington has threatened to impose on auto imports. The Envision, a key part of the Buick lineup, is manufactured and mainly sold in China, GM's largest market, and the automaker requested it be exempt from US import tariffs if they are imposed. GM sells 80 percent of the Envisions in China, importing only 42,000 into the US market in 2017, the company told AFP, meaning that "assembly in our home market is not an option for this vehicle." But GM President Dan Ammann told reporters Friday that "The profits that we generate from selling the vehicle here are re-invested in the United States." Citing threats to US national security, President Donald Trump in May threatened to impose tariffs of 25 percent on all auto imports, which could take effect as soon as next month. Trump last month agreed to shelve the auto , at least concerning European imports, following a visit from EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker. GM has warned the auto tariffs, although intended to protect domestic manufacturers, could harm them instead. The company also says the current trade wars should cost it $1 billion this year, mainly due to rising input costs. The government has solicited comments from the public on the tariff proposal through the end of the month, and GM on July 30 submitted a request to spare the Envision. That came during another week of escalating threats in the intensifying battle between Washington and Beijing, with Chinese authorities targeting another $60 billion in American goods after Trump unveiled plans to jack up looming tariff rates on $200 billion in Chinese products. "GM has determined that importing the Envision with an added 25 percent tariff on the vehicle could limit the Envision's ability to compete in the luxury SUV market in the US," the company said. The Envision accounted for 19 percent of Buick's US sales last year, competing with Fiat Chrysler's Jeep Grand Cherokee and Cadillac XT5. Explore further French automaker PSA confirms plans to re-enter US market by 2026 2018 AFP Foundation stone laid for rebuilding Durbar High School Minister for Education, Science and Technology Giriraj Mani Pokharel and Chinese Ambassador to Nepal Yu Hong on Friday jointly laid the foundation stone for the reconstruction of Durbar High School that was destroyed by the devastating earthquake of April 25, 2015. Left: High-resolution STM image of a silver nanoparticle of 374 silver atoms covered by 113 TBBT molecules. Right: a simulated STM image from one orientation of the particle. Center: the atomic structure of the particle. Credit: Academy of Finland Using scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM), extremely high resolution imaging of the molecule-covered surface structures of silver nanoparticles is possible, even down to the recognition of individual parts of the molecules protecting the surface. This was the finding of joint research between China and Finland, led in Finland by Academy Professor Hannu Hakkinen of the University of Jyvaskyla. The research was recently published in the prestigious Nature Communications series and the publication was selected by the journal editors to the journal's monthly collection of highlighted papers. Studying the surface structures of nanoparticles at atomic resolution is vital to understanding the chemical properties of their structures, molecular interactions and the functioning of particles in their environments. Experimental research on surface structures has long involved imaging techniques suitable for nanometer-level resolution, the most common of which are based on electron tunnelling, the abovementioned scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM), and atomic force microscopy (AFM) based on the measurement of small, atomic-scale forces. However, achieving molecular resolution in imaging has proven highly challenging, for example because the curvature of the object to be imaged i.e. the nanoparticle's surface, is of the same order as the curvature of the scanning tip. Measurements are also sensitive to environmental disturbances, which may affect the thermal movement of molecules, for example. The researchers used previously characterised silver nanoparticles, with a known atomic structure. The metal core of the particles has 374 silver atoms and the surface is protected by a set of 113 TBTT molecules. TBBT (tert-butyl-benzene thiol) is a molecule with three separate carbon groups on its end. The particle's outer surface has a total of 339 such groups. When this type of nano-particle sample was imaged at low temperatures in the STM experiment, clear sequential modulations were observed in the tunnelling current formed by the image (see left part of the image). Similar modulations were noted when individual TBBT molecules were imaged on a flat surface. Based on density functional theory (DFT), the simulations performed by Hakkinen's research team showed that each of the three carbon groups of the TBBT molecule provides its own current maximum in the STM image (see the right part of the image) and that the distances between the maxima corresponded to the STM measurement results. This confirmed that measurement was successful at sub-molecular level. The simulations also predicted that accurate STM measurement can no longer be successful at room temperature, as the thermal movement of the molecules is so high that the current maxima of individual carbon groups blend into the background. "This is the first time that STM imaging of nanoparticle surface structures has been able to 'see' the individual parts of molecules. Our computational work was important to verifying the experimental results. However, we wanted to go one step further. As the atomic structure of particles is well known, we had grounds for asking whether the precise orientation of the imaged particle could be identified using simulations," says Hakkinen, describing the research. To this end, Hakkinen's group computed a simulated STM image of the silver particle from 1,665 different orientations and developed a pattern recognition algorithm to determine which simulated images best matched the experimental data. "We believe that our work demonstrates a new useful strategy for the imaging of nanostructures. In the future, pattern recognition algorithms and artificial intelligence based on machine learning will become indispensable to the interpretation of images of nanostructures. Our work represents the first step in that direction. That's why we have also decided to openly distribute the pattern recognition software we had developed to other researchers," says Hakkinen. The nanoparticle synthesis was performed in Xiamen University by Professor Nanfeng Zheng's research group and the STM measurements were carried out at Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics under the direction of Professor Zhibo Man. Ph.D. student Sami Kaappa and senior researcher Sami Malola from Professor Hakkinen's group performed the calculations for the project. The research of Professor Hakkinen's group is in receipt of funding from the AIPSE programme of the Academy of Finland. The CSC IT Center for Science in Finland and the Barcelona Supercomputing Center provided the resources for all simulations requiring high-power computing. The Barcelona simulations were part of the NANOMETALS project supported by the PRACE organisation. Explore further A breakthrough in imaging gold nanoparticles to atomic resolution by electron microscopy More information: Qin Zhou et al, Real-space imaging with pattern recognition of a ligand-protected Ag374 nanocluster at sub-molecular resolution, Nature Communications (2018). Journal information: Nature Communications Qin Zhou et al, Real-space imaging with pattern recognition of a ligand-protected Ag374 nanocluster at sub-molecular resolution,(2018). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-05372-5 Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine (second from left) tours the Orion test crew capsule for the Ascent Abort-2 (AA-2) test, with Orion AA-2 Crew Module Manager Dr. Jon Olansen, left, NASA Johnson Space Center Director Mark Geyer and Orion Program Manager Mark Kirasich, right, Thursday, Aug. 2, 2018 at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. In the Ascent Abort-2 test, NASA will verify that the Orion spacecraft's launch abort system can steer the capsule and astronauts inside it to safety in the event of an issue with the Space Launch System rocket when the spacecraft is under the highest aerodynamic loads it will experience during ascent for deep-space missions. Explore further Tests ensure astronaut, ground crew safety before Orion launches Credit: NASA Deep beneath a mountain in the Apennine range in Italy, an intricate apparatus searches for the dark matter of the universe. University of Massachusetts physics students played a crucial part of the DarkSide-50 detector's latest discoveriesand, in fact, have been part of this project since its inception. Professor of physics Andrea Pocar and his students designed and built a grid that is one of the key components of DarkSide-50, created in 2009 by an international coalition and housed in Italy's Gran Sasso National Laboratory. Undergraduates such as Arthur Kurlej '15 and Kirsten Randle '15 designed, assembled, and welded this delicate apparatus into place. While dark matter can be inferred from its gravitational effects, physicists have great difficulty identifying it, as it otherwise hardly interacts with "regular" matter. So they have to innovate ways to detect it. DarkSide-50 uses a vat of liquid argon with a small pocket of argon gas at the top as a target to attract the particles that are believed to constitute dark matter. The liquid argon is the target for dark matter particles, while the gas pocket is instrumental in amplifying the resulting signal. The argon core is surrounded by a large volume of clean scintillating fluid that shields it from ambient radioactivity that can mimic dark matter signals.The flash of light produced when a particle hits the nucleus of an argon atom will be an indicator to researchers that they are on the right trail. The process in discovering dark matter means becoming an absolute expert on everything that dark matter isn't. Graduate student Alissa Monte looks for events that happen at the boundaries of the detector where it is less efficient to collect light, where charge can get trapped, or events lose energy with edge effects. Her work in these less "ideal" regions helps researchers understand the behavior of the whole detector. The Millennium Simulation by the Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics shows matter distribution in a cross-section of the known universe. Credit: Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics Lying in wait for dark matter is a zen-like process. "If we want to see dark matter, it's a totally new signal," explains Pocar. "There's radioactivity in everything. So you have to know what those signals look like in your detector and how they could masquerade as dark matter." "If we do see one event sneaking in," Pocar continues, "that's statistically extremely significant. We'd be forced to start claiming that is actually a signal." Monte presented her poster at the Dark Matter 2018 symposium at UCLA, where she and the rest of Pocar's team gave its first report on the instrument's high sensitivity for a particular class of dark matter principles. The team had collected data for a measurement that they had not even expected to be able to make. "It turned out we were more sensitive than any experiment that is currently running in a certain mass range," relates Pocar. "There have been a few decades of research pushing the limits looking for the heavy stuff but not finding anything. People started questioning maybe that's not the right place to look for it. So here we come with this experiment where several experiments are beginning to look." The team has now gained an "exquisite understanding" of the way the detector indicates background events. "Nobody even expected us to say anything about this low-mass dark matter, and we set the best sensitivity in the world," says Pocar. "Suddenly, we are a player in this game." Explore further Physicists contribute to dark matter detector success Nowadays, everybody is aware of the toxic effects of the conventional insecticides that are used to protect plants from pest insects. The insecticides are harmful to the farmer who sprays them on the field and for the pollinating insects, e.g., bees; and insecticide residues on fruits and vegetables are harmful to the consumer. But are there any safer ways to protect the plants from pest insects? One of the most promising methods is mating disruption, where small amounts of insect sex pheromones are released in the field to prevent the males from finding the insect females. This way, females do not get fertilized and cannot lay eggs that develop into larvae eating the plants. The technology is simple and effective, but until now quite expensive. Through the EU-funded project OLEFINE, scientists from the Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Biosustainability, DTU, will solve this problem by making pheromones so cheap that they will become an affordable alternative to insecticides. Currently, pheromones are produced by chemical synthesis, which is an expensive and polluting process. Novo Nordisk scientists will use biotechnology instead to produce pheromones at low cost by fermentation, in the same way that insulin is produced for diabetes treatment and enzymes are produced for laundry detergent. "Pheromones are currently not widely used for protection of lower value row crops, such as corn or soybeans, due to the high cost. We aim to produce pheromones by fermentation, which is potentially a much cheaper route than chemical synthesis, and will make the pheromones affordable for row crop protection as well," says Senior Researcher at the Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Biosustainability, DTU, Irina Borodina. Calls for urgent action One of the pests that are targeted is the fall armyworm which poses a major threat to food security and agricultural trade. The fall armyworm, so called because it eats its way through most of the vegetation in its way as it marches through crops, is native to North and South America but was identified for the first time in Africa last year. "African farmers have tried to treat this pest with insecticides, but the pest has become resistant, so there is an urgent need for a solution because otherwise people will starve. The main challenge right now is bringing down the cost of the technology so the farmers can afford to use it. Most of the applications use hand-applied dispensers and that is not really scalable. It is still too expensive," according to Irina Borodina. Several industrial partners, including BioPhero, Novagrica, ISCA and Biotrend, are now engaged in the OLEFINE project to make pheromones an affordable alternative to insecticides, thus contributing to a more sustainable, low-carbon economy through reduced reliance on petrochemical-based processes. At the same time, many large insecticide companies are monitoring the current development. New data have revealed that many of the insecticides already on the market are more toxic than anticipated, and just recently the EU agreed that one of the world's most widely used insecticides will be banned from all fields within six months, to protect both wild and domesticated bees that are vital to crop pollination. Additionally, a new study claims that glyphosate, a chemical found in the world's most widely used 'weedkiller' can have disrupting effects on sexual development, genes, and beneficial gut bacteria at doses considered safe. According to Irina Borodina, these examples are only the first indicators that prove the need of switching away from using conventional insecticides to protect plants from pest insects. "Registrations might be withdrawn from many of the insecticides in the upcoming years. Both the companies and the farmers are aware of this. I think the perfect thing about pheromones is that it serves both the farmers' purpose of saving their crops while also contributing to saving the environment. Pollinators, birds and other animals are not directly affected by pheromones and local ecosystems. Thereby it benefits in terms of preserved biodiversity of beneficial organisms," she says. Bio-pheromones developed as part of the OLEFINE project will replace pesticides in the management of major pests of grapes, soybean and cotton. Research indicates that over 90% of the sprayed insecticides reach a destination other than their target species because they are spread across entire agricultural fields. Education is crucial It is absolutely essential that farmers, especially in the third world countries, are educated on how to use pheromones. When the farmers spray the field they are used to seeing the insects, but that is not the case when applying the method of mating disruption. This is one of the biggest challenges in the transition from conventional insecticides to pheromones. You do not only have to compete on price, people will also need education. But Irina Borodina stays optimistic. "My husband keeps buying these ecological products that are really expensive, but I would love if our project could help to make these products available to more people. To succeed in bringing down the cost we just need to be really smart and a little bit lucky with what we do. We have to use all the fantasy and knowledge that we have," she emphasizes. Baryons containing a charm quark can decay at once into a proton and two muons. Using data from the LHCb experiment, scientists from the Institute of Nuclear Physics of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Cracow have shown that in these extremely rare processes there are still no signs of the 'new physics'. The signal of the nonresonant decay is visible at the top, the signal of the resonant decay into a proton and omega meson is presented below. Credit: IFJ PAN, CERN, The LHCb Collaboration In the world of elementary particles, traces of a potential "new physics" may be concealed in processes related to the decay of baryons. Analysis of data from the LHCb experiment at the Large Hadron Collider performed by scientists from the Institute of Nuclear Physics of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Cracow have, however, shown that one of the rarest decays of baryons containing the charm quark so far shows no anomalies. Baryons, which are composite particles made of three quarks, can decay into lighter particles. These types of decays usually occur indirectly via the intermediate state (resonant). Sometimes, however, the decay proceeds directly in one step (nonresonant). The Standard Model predicts that some nonresonant baryon decays are extremely raredepending on the type of baryon, they should occur once per billion cases, or even less frequently. "If the frequency of some nonresonant decays were to be different than predicted by the Standard Model, it could indicate the existence of processes and particles not known yet, and indicate the existence of 'new physics.' This is why nonresonant decays have attracted our attention for so long," explains Prof. Mariusz Witek from the Institute of Nuclear Physics of the Polish Academy of Sciences (IFJ PAN) in Cracow. Prof. Witek led a five-member group of physicists from Cracow searching for nonresonant decays of charmed baryon Lambda c in data collected in 2011 and 2012 by the international LHCb experiment at the Large Hadron Collider in Geneva. In the study, the researchers focused on Lambda c baryons, i.e. particles made of down (d), up (u) and charm (c) quarks. The most massive top (t) quark decays so quickly that it does not combine with other quarks at all, so it does not create baryons, whose decays could be observed. The decays of particles containing the second largest quark in terms of mass, the beauty (b) quark, has already been analyzed earlier on, because their decays were slightly easier to detect. The Cracow group was involved here and contributed to observation of interesting deviation from theoretical predictions. In this situation, only the decays of charmed baryons remained largely unexplored. "The Standard Model predicts that nonresonant decays of Lambda c baryons into three particlesa proton and two muonsshould occur more or less once in hundreds of billions of decays. This is a much rarer phenomenon than the decays of baryons containing the beauty quark, which we were analysed earlier," says Dr. Marcin Chrzaszcz (IFJ PAN). "Measurements and analyses are now much more difficult. We have to look into a much larger group of events registered in the LHCb experiment. However, it is worth doing, because as a reward you can come across a trail of much more subtle processes. If we manage to observe any inconsistencies with predictions, this would most likely be a signal of a 'new physics.'" With such rare phenomena, the distinguishing of nonresonant decays of Lambda c baryons from the background has proved to be a hard and time-consuming task. Nonetheless, the Cracow-based physicists have managed to improve an upper limit on frequency of nonresonant decays by up to 100 times. It was estimated to be less than one in hundreds of millions. "The taking into account of additional data, including the second run of the LHC accelerator, should soon improve our result by a factor of 10. So we would be very close to the predictions of the Standard Model. If some sort of 'new physics' is manifesting itself in the decays of Lambda c baryons, this will be the last chance for it to reveal itself. At present, there is not the slightest trace of it," sums up Prof. Witek. During the analyses, the Cracow-based researchers also observed resonant decays, in which the Lambda c baryon decayed into a proton and omega meson. The lack of signals indicating yet another path of resonant decayinto a proton and a rho mesonwas somewhat surprising. However, this result turned out to be in line with theoretical predictions. Explore further Long live the doubly charmed particle More information: R. Aaij et al, Search for the rare decay c+p+, Physical Review D (2018). Journal information: Physical Review D R. Aaij et al, Search for the rare decay c+p+,(2018). DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevD.97.091101 Provided by The Henryk Niewodniczanski Institute of Nuclear Physics Polish Academy of Sciences -In this Aug. 1, 2018, file photo, Cody Wilson, with Defense Distributed, holds a 3D-printed gun called the Liberator at his shop in Austin, Texas. Eleven states have joined eight others and the District of Columbia in a federal lawsuit that seeks to block a settlement the Trump administration reached with a company that wants to post online plans to make 3D firearms on a printer. (AP Photo/Eric Gay) More states are suing the Trump administration to dissolve a settlement it reached with a company that wants to post instructions online for making 3D-printed firearms that are hard to trace and detect. Mostly Democratic attorneys general from 19 states, plus the District of Columbia, filed an amended complaint Friday asking a judge make it illegal to share plans on creating printable plastic weapons. One RepublicanColorado's attorney generaljoined the lawsuit. It comes days after U.S. District Judge Robert Lasnik blocked the plans from being released until Aug. 28. He has scheduled an Aug. 21 hearing on the states' request to reverse the U.S. State Department's agreement with Austin, Texas-based Defense Distributed. The settlement jeopardizes states' ability to enforce gun laws, including background checks, and puts public safety at risk, the complaint said. The availability of plastic guns threatens safety in prisons and jails and makes air travel more susceptible to terrorist attacks, the states said. "The states and the District of Columbia have a clear and reasonable fear that the proliferation of untraceable, undetectable weapons will enable convicted felons, domestic abusers, the mentally ill, and others who should not have access to firearms to acquire and use them," Lasnik said in his temporary order Tuesday. Defense Distributed owner Cody Wilson, a self-described "crypto-anarchist," has said "governments should live in fear of their citizenry." His company seeks to make guns accessible to everyone, making "meaningful gun regulation impossible," according to the complaint. Wilson's lawyer, Josh Blackman, told The Associated Press on Friday that they are "still considering our options" but did not elaborate. He told the judge this week that the safety risks claimed by the states is "largely exaggerated" because many of the files are already online. Washington state Assistant Attorney General Jeff Rupert acknowledged that some files are out there but hopes the court rulings will make it clear that any new posts violate federal law. A group of gun-rights advocates called the Firearms Policy Coalition responded to the judge's order by creating a website with plans for various firearms, including "the Liberator," a 3D-printable single-shot handgun. "Our Constitution's First Amendment secures the right of all people to engage in truthful speech, including by sharing information contained in books, paintings, and files," the group said in a statement online. "Should any tyrants wish to chill or infringe the rights of the People, we would welcome the opportunity to defend freedom whenever, wherever, and however necessary." Kris Brown, co-president of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, a gun-control advocacy group, said the Firearms Policy Coalition's "reckless and dangerous behavior" isn't a constitutional position but "a publicity stunt that will lead to someone being hurt or killed." Washington state Attorney General Bob Ferguson urged the federal government to enforce the court order prohibiting distribution of downloadable gun files. The states suing are: Washington, Connecticut, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, California, Colorado, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, North Carolina, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and the District of Columbia. The expanded lawsuit comes as a group of congressional Democrats introduced legislation that would block online instructions for 3D-printed guns, which are largely undetectable at security checkpoints, according a statement released Friday by U.S. Reps. Ted Deutch and Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida, Brad Schneider of Illinois and Carolyn Maloney of New York. "This isn't about freedom of information; this is about our national security and our public safety," Rep. Deutch said. Another measure introduced this week requires plastic guns to have serial numbers and enough metal to make them visible on screening machines. President Donald Trump has questioned whether his administration should have agreed to allow the plans to be posted online, tweeting Tuesday that the idea "doesn't seem to make much sense!" Since then, he has been largely silent on the issue. 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. A low sense of belonging is associated with negative behaviours including misbehaviour, drug and alcohol use at school, violence and dropping out of school. Credit: chuttersnap on Unsplash, CC BY The Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) released a report on Australian students' sense of belonging in school in May. It described as "disturbing" some of the differences in Australian students' sense of belonging between male and female students, students from high and low socio-economic backgrounds, and Indigenous and non-Indigenous backgrounds. ACER stated: "While the majority of Australian students feel a sense of belonging at school, there is a solid core of students who do not feel this way roughly one in five, or five students in the average classroom." The report analyses the Programme for International Student Assessment's (PISA) data collected from 36 countries, including Australia. The assessment asks 15-year-old students to answer a number of questions regarding their sense of belonging in school. Prioritising belonging within school culture is essential. If done effectively, educators can support students' emotional and social development and enhance their motivation, effort and achievement throughout secondary school. What is a sense of belonging and is it important? A sense of belonging in school is the degree to which students feel respected, accepted and supported by teachers and peers. It has been linked to students' attention and effort in class, their persistence and completion of learning activities. An understanding of belonging is important for educators. It allows them to plan effective practices to support students in the classroom and school-wide. According to international research, when students feel they're part of a school community, they will actively engage in academic and non-academic activities. Improving feelings of belonging in school can support both student engagement and achievement. Research shows students who report a high sense of belonging in school generally put in more effort and are more motivated. A low sense of belonging is associated with negative, possibly antisocial or delinquent, behaviours. These could include misbehaviour, drug and alcohol use at school, violence and dropping out of school. Sense of belonging decreases in secondary school A study from the US found students' sense of belonging declines from year 7 through to year 11. With it, students' educational aspirations also decrease. This decline may be due to a mismatch between secondary school students' need for autonomy and interaction, and their learning environment. They may experience less supportive and caring teacher-student relationships, increased teacher control, and limited opportunities for autonomy. Similarly, a study in Finland found students' sense of belonging weakened significantly, specifically at the end of year 8. This might be because secondary students need to adapt to a larger social network and a larger number of teachers, so they may not know their peers or teachers as well. There have been similar findings in Australian secondary schools. Research in NSW found students' engagement in learning decreases in the middle of secondary school. This is referred to as the "year 9 dip". This dip is also present in students' reported sense of belonging. Teachers are an important piece of the puzzle Teachers play an important role in nurturing students' sense of belonging. If a student considers their teacher to be caring and accepting, they're more likely to adopt the academic and social values of their teacher. This can influence how students feel about school work and how much (or how little) they value it. The teaching practices the teacher adopts in the classroom are key. Approaches to teaching that foster belonging include: prioritising high-quality teacher-student relationships creating a supportive and caring learning environment offering emotional support to students being sensitive to students' needs and emotions showing interest in students trying to understand students' point of view offering respectful and fair treatment fostering positive peer relationships and mutual respect among classmates to establish a sense of community executing positive classroom management Other significant approaches include giving students a voice, working with community partners to meet students' needs, student participation in extra-curricular activities, and developing a culture of high standards and behaviours across the whole school. Teachers and schools must plan for at-risk students Importantly, some groups of students may feel lower levels of belonging. This includes students with different cultural or language backgrounds, students with disabilities or students who identify as LGBTQIA+. For example, students from an immigrant background have more positive attitudes and greater academic motivation if their teachers care about them, give academic feedback and guidance, and help them when necessary. Research suggests school strategies that increase a sense of belonging in at-risk students could reduce school drop-out rates and lead to improved academic achievement. In addition to the strategies previously mentioned to support students' emotional, behavioural and social development, school policies to support at-risk students should: promote respect for ethnic diversity be intolerant of discrimination support teachers to implement fair classroom practices encourage parent involvement in school to build social connections between home and school create a school culture of acceptance Teachers and schools can take steps to improve students' sense of belonging in school, which is important for all students and especially those identified as being at-risk. This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article. Smithsonian postdoctoral fellow Paul-Camilo Zalamea recovers seeds buried in the forest on Barro Colorado Island, Panama to study the fungi that may have colonized them. Credit: Rodrigo Aragua/AFP The oldest living seeds found on Earth germinated after resting more than 30,000 years in Arctic soils. But in the humid tropics, seeds do not last. "A long-lived seed in the tropics is probably only a few decades old. This may not seem like much time, but it is critical to reestablish trees after deforestation and ensure species' survival," said Camilo Zalamea, post-doctoral fellow and lead author of a new paper in Ecology from the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) in Panama. Seeds of tropical pioneers, trees that reestablish a forest after logging, flood, drought or fire, need strategies to overcome the two challenges every seed faces: 1) stay alive until the right conditions to grow into a plant occur, and 2) avoid being eaten by predators and decayed by soil microbes. Although birds, bats or the wind can spread seeds from nearby forests, many of the seedlings that start a new forest emerge from seeds long buried in the soilthat is, from the soil seed bank. "For the first time, we're making the connection between seed dormancythe characteristics that make it possible for a seed to wait until environmental conditions are suitable for growth, and seed defensesthe characteristics the seed uses to avoid being eaten or decayed," said Jim Dalling, STRI research associate and professor at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. "Overall, pioneer tree species have three strategies to survive in the seed bank. Species that adopt one of these strategies share characteristics, or "seed-defense syndromes," Dalling said. Nine different species of pioneer seeds. Credit: Carolina Sarmiento/STRI "For example, some seeds may protect themselves physically by producing a very hard outer coat making it difficult for animals or microorganisms to reach the living tissues inside," said Zalamea. "Other seeds survive because they produce chemical compounds to deter predators and pathogens. And some seeds are short-lived, investing little in physical or chemical defenses, but may be protected by special microbes they select from soil." Defending seeds is expensive, requiring an investment of resources from the mother tree. For 16 of the most common pioneer tree species in Panama, the research team evaluated the seeds' physical defenses, asking: How hard is it to break the seed, how thick is the seed coat, how permeable is the seed coat and how heavy is the seed? They also evaluated the seeds' chemical defenses, by looking at the presence and abundance of protective chemicals and testing the toxicity of seed extracts. "We found that how much a seed invests in defending itself is directly related to the time it lasts in the soil," said Betsy Arnold, STRI research associate and professor at the University of Arizona. For example, seeds that are capable of persisting for long periods in the soil rely more on chemical defenses, whereas species with shorter persistence rely more on physical defenses. So this work helps resolve just how seeds can remain alive in the soil seed bank for months to years in tropical forests." Transversal section ofCecropia insignis seed as seen through a scanning electron microscope. Credit: Paul-Camilo Zalamea and Jorge Ceballos/STRI Understanding how seeds evade or repel pests and diseases has broad application beyond tropical forests. Diseases of major seed cropsrice, wheat and maizecost global agriculture billions of dollars a year in lost yield, and represent a significant threat to global food security. Nonetheless, remarkably little is known about how plants defend their seeds against enemies, or how seed defenses align with other properties of seeds. "In our study, we found that tropical pioneer seeds defend themselves using three different dormancy-defense syndromes; we hope that this information can be used to develop more effective practices for crop production and weed management, restoring natural vegetation, and to generate a better understanding of natural plant community dynamics," said Adam Davis, a scientist at the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Explore further Tropical diversity takes root in relationships between fungi and seeds The workplace can function as a springboard for increased democratic participation, says new research co-written by U. of I. labor professor Ryan Lamare. Credit: L. Brian Stauffer Workplaces can encourage or deter an employee's participation in civic life outside of the office, depending on how the workplace is structured, according to research co-written by a University of Illinois expert who studies labor unions and politics. When there is a more egalitarian office setting that fosters a sense of openness and agency, the workplace can serve as a springboard for increased democratic attitudes and behaviors. But dictatorial or authoritarian workplace environments and practices are likely to lead to reduced participation in civic life outside of the office, said J. Ryan Lamare, a professor of labor and employment relations at Illinois. "This research gives us a pretty clear indication that, in terms of contributions to larger society, participation in civic life outside of the workplace is heavily influenced by employees' experience inside the workplace," Lamare said. "In other words, what happens in the workplace doesn't just stay in the workplace. Work matters not just within its own bubble, but also for democratic institutions and structures." The paper, published in the journal ILR Review, analyzed several measures of employee participation and the political behaviors of more than 14,000 workers across 27 countries in Europe from 2010-11. The researchers found that autonomy and participation in decision-making in the workplace were linked to individual political behaviors in civil society. The results, which are consistent with the hypothesis of a "positive outward democratic spillover effect" from the workplace to the political arena, point to the workplace's influence on individual behavior, Lamare said. "Even though the issue has been previously studied in the political science literature, it's not very well-known within workplace circles," he said. "Past research has also been quite U.S.-centric. Obviously, we shouldn't use the U.S. as the only barometer, especially with anti-democratic fervor sweeping through Europe right now. But we found these results in arguably the broadest and most robust analysis of diverse countries to date. And it wasn't driven by a small number of countries in Europe, which suggests this opportunity for workplaces to help shape democracies exists irrespective of the geopolitical constraints." The findings aren't just limited to just one element of democratic participation, Lamare said. "It's not only about voting. It's a whole manner of different acts that contribute to democracies: protesting, boycotting products, working for campaigns, even something as small as wearing a button in support of a candidate or cause, something that signals that you're politically active," he said. "It runs the gamut. And as you look across most of those dimensions, they seem to be affected by something as simple as being allowed to control your work times, or how much say a worker has in their daily routines. Seemingly small elements of a job deciding what time workers start and finish work; the ability to have a say in how work is organized contribute to this rich growth of democracy." Since the implications of organizational practices extend beyond the workplace, public policy interventions might be warranted to encourage empowerment within workplaces as a way of improving civic engagement, Lamare said. "This sort of information hasn't really found its way into the hands of those who might consider things from a workplace-first perspective as opposed to thinking about broader democratic foundations, but it's clear that the organization of work has some potentially meaningful noneconomic implications beyond the workplace," he said. One could also argue that executives and HR managers in particular have a responsibility to recognize that their workplace can have much wider effects if they don't give workers a certain amount of autonomy in their jobs, Lamare said. "That's the negative side of the spillover effect: poor workplace decisions on the part of executives and other higher-ups might prohibit the growth of democracy within economies," he said. "And it doesn't take much of a leap to make a pretty strong case that we need as many channels that allow us into greater democracy as we can possibly find. We rarely think of the workplace as being an easy path toward increased democratic participation. But I think it can be a great avenue available to people if the higher-ups structure the workplace in a way that allows for that participation." Explore further Guidance offered for improving mental health in workplace More information: John W. Budd et al. Learning about Democracy at Work: Cross-National Evidence on Individual Employee Voice Influencing Political Participation in Civil Society, ILR Review (2017). John W. Budd et al. Learning about Democracy at Work: Cross-National Evidence on Individual Employee Voice Influencing Political Participation in Civil Society,(2017). DOI: 10.1177/0019793917746619 12-year-old Carlos Santamaria Diaz poses for photographers during a press event at Mexico's National Autonomous University in Mexico City, Friday, Aug. 3, 2018. The university, better known by its Spanish initials as the UNAM, said Thursday that Carlos Santamaria Diaz is the youngest such student in the university's roughly century-long history.(AP Photo / Marco Ugarte) The youngest student ever admitted to Mexico's National Autonomous University says he doesn't like to use the word genius to describe himself. Carlos Santamaria Diaz, a 12-year-old who will begin classes for an undergraduate degree in biomedical physics Monday, was dwarfed by the blue chair he sat in to answer reporters' questions Friday. Carlos spoke of his passion for finding cures for rare diseases. He has already done preparatory work at the university's school of chemistry in its genetics sciences center. The boy from western Guadalajara state grew bored with public school at an early age and turned to the web where he taught himself calculus and physics. By the age of nine, he participated in university programs in analytical chemistry, biochemistry and biology. 12-year-old Carlos Santamaria Diaz smiles as he stands with his parents during a press conference at Mexico's National Autonomous University in Mexico City, Friday, Aug. 3, 2018. The university, better known by its Spanish initials as the UNAM, said Thursday that Carlos Santamaria Diaz is the youngest such student in the university's roughly century-long history. (AP Photo / Marco Ugarte) 12-year-old Carlos Santamaria Diaz shares a moment with his father Fabian Santamaria during during a press conference at Mexico's National Autonomous University in Mexico City, Friday, Aug. 3, 2018. The university, better known by its Spanish initials as the UNAM, said Thursday that Carlos Santamaria Diaz is the youngest such student in the university's roughly century-long history.(AP Photo/Marco Ugarte) 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. Gautam Buddha Airport to have 16 parking bays The Finance Ministry has asked the Tourism Ministry to build another 10 parking bays at the under-construction Gautam Buddha International Airport in Bhairahawa as passenger and aircraft movements are expected to rise sharply in the near future. Six parking bays have been constructed as per the design of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) funded project. The escalation of tensions and verbal war between the U.S. and Turkey has reached a new level with the U.S. Department of Treasury slapping sanctions in two of Turkeys top officials Wednesday, Minister of Justice Abdulhamit Gul and Minister of Interior Suleyman Soylu. Both high-ranking officials are being targeted as individuals who played the key role in the arrest and detention of American Pastor Andrew Brunson who has been detained on suspicions of espionage. Brunson--an evangelical pastor from North Carolina--has been imprisoned in Turkey for 21 months and is accused of aiding the failed coup attempt against the Turkish government and Erdogan in July 2016. The suspicions arose because of the pastors links to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and the Gulenist movementand influential movement and one-time ally-turned-enemy of the ruling Turkish Justice and Development Party (AKP). If found guilty by a Turkish court, the pastor could face 35 years in prison. Turkey has vowed an equally tough reaction to this latest hostility, calling on Washington to row back from this wrong decision and threatening a response to this aggressive attitude that will not serve any purpose. And so, the diplomatic crisis enters phase two. Related: How Much Do You Need To Be in The Top One Percent? The relationship is now officially in crisis, and the only way out is for Erdogan to do what he hates the most: back down, said Julianne Smith, the deputy national security adviser to former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. This tensions could have major consequences for the stability of NATO, which is already under attack by Trumpmarginalized and weakened to a point that Russia will certainly be sizing up for opportunity. Compared to other NATO members, Turkey is one of the most important, geostrategically, due to its location between Europe and Asia, and across the Black Sea from Russia. As such, a major rift with Turkey could lead to a dangerous NATO crisis, with the key beneficiary being Moscow. And in the world of geopolitics, NATO allies dont sanction each other. This is an unprecedented move, and Erdogan is a megalomaniac who wont cater to Trumps antics like Brussels might. Pro-government columnists in Turkey are already calling for the shut-down of the U.S. military base in Turkey. This is the Incirlik Air Base, which houses some 1,500 American military personnel and is critical in the fight against ISIS in Syriaand as a bulwark against Russia. It doesnt help matters that Turkey is planning to buy a missile defense system from Russia in the only deal of this nature in history between a NATO member and Russia. Related: Gold Bloodbath Has Created A Buying Opportunity At the same time, critics of Erdogan say he should have been sanctioned long ago, regardless of the bigger picture of NATO stability. In the meantime, everyone will be wondering about a quid pro quo here: Erdogans mortal enemy, Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen of the Gulen movement, is in the U.S., and Washington has rejected Turkeys request for his extradition for three years. The American pastor is Erdogans trump card, and hes seeking a swap. The pastor has been languishing in a Turkish prison for 21 months already. For Trump, the timing is key: This is about the mid-term elections and getting the evangelical vote. By Damir Kaletovic for Safehaven.com More Top Reads From Safehaven.com " " The "Liberator," a gun 3D printed out of plastic from plans designed by Defense Distributed, an Austin, Texas-based company. Wikimedia Commons (CC-BY-SA 3.0) Following the last-minute filing of a multistate lawsuit against the Trump administration to prevent the release of online gun blueprints, District Court Judge Robert S. Lasnik of Washington state issued a nearly zero-hour restraining order against the distribution of digital blueprints for various firearms that can be manufactured using 3D printing technology. The order came on July 31, 2018, within hours of a planned release of the blueprints by a Texas-based gun advocacy nonprofit following a five-year lawsuit against the federal government, which the Trump administration had settled by allowing their release. "These downloadable guns are unregistered and very difficult to detect, even with metal detectors, and will be available to anyone regardless of age, mental health or criminal history," said Washington state Attorney General Bob Ferguson in a press release. " " Individual parts of the 3D-printable "Liberator," called a "ghost gun" because it is specifically designed to be untraceable. Wikimedia Commons (CC-BY-SA 3.0) The plans for these 3D-printable guns were developed by Defense Distributed, an Austin, Texas-based company that primarily produces consumer automated machine tools designed to mill metal firearm parts, specifically for the purposes of producing firearms that are untraceable. In the gun community they're known as "ghost guns." "It's kind of culturally edgy in the gun world to have your own ghost gun ... I think it's responding to the uncertain political environment. People want at least one or two that nobody knows about, and we help them do that," said Defense Distributed founder Cody Wilson in a company promotional video. Advertisement The 3D Printing Process To understand how these guns are made, we need a quick primer on 3D printing in general terms. Three-dimensional printing is part of the "additive manufacturing," or AM, family of manufacturing technology. Additive manufacturing is a method that creates an object through the addition of repetitive layers of material. In 3D printing, a computer takes a digital blueprint of an object, then divides the object into layers. Each layer is then sent to a device that works similar to an inkjet printer. A nozzle, connected to a source for printing materials that range from nylon, plastic and various resins, as well as a binding agent, applies one layer upon another until the object is finished. Metals such as stainless steel, gold and silver, and titanium, can be used to create 3D objects. The printing of firearms is fundamentally not much different, according to Will Haude, co-founder and lead designer of 3DBrooklyn, based in New York. "It's as easy as people make it sound. They can just load the file and print one out," says Haude. He explained that all a person would need is the software, the printer and the medium, and they could, essentially, walk away with a firearm. Advertisement It's Expensive But it's not quite that simple, at least in terms of cost. According to Mitch Free of ZYCI, a manufacturing company, the cost of a printer up to the task of producing firearms ranges from $3,000 to $5,000, not including the building plastics far more than the average cost of a handgun, which typically falls below $1,000. Also, the gun cannot be printed entirely from plastics. The firing pin must be made of metal to effectively absorb the shock of striking the primer on the back of a bullet. In the case of "The Liberator," Defense Distributed's first printed firearm, a simple nail can serve as a firing pin. And while the firearm is made from ABS plastic, similar to the stuff Legos are made from, the weapon will suffer from wear much faster than a traditional gun. "It's a poor way to build an operating piece," says Mark Westrom, former owner of ArmaLite, designer of the AR-15 rifle. Westrom objects strongly to the notion of printable firearms. "My objection is that you got a guy who thinks it's his First Amendment right to put out technical information without responsibility. The political effect is very harsh. I consider it irresponsible." Haude believes the printable gun isn't the chief problem. "You can't stop people from sharing 3D files," he says. "Think about Napster and Kazaa [two services pioneered the free sharing of digitized and copyrighted music]. As tech grows and people learn it, it's not so scary. I think people are focusing on what's unpreventable and getting panicked about it when we have a much larger gun issue. It's easier to buy a gun than to print one, and it will fire more times and be more effective. You can walk into Walmart and buy a gun." Now That's Interesting Cody Wilson of Defense Distributed is not the only person developing printed firearms. A West Virginia carpenter who goes by the pseudonym "Derwood" released video of the "Shuty-MP1," a semi-automatic weapon that shoots 9mm pistol ammunition. " " Illustration of NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite TESS observing an M dwarf star with orbiting planets. NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center Human-centric language is hard to avoid when we talk about the cosmos. Astronomers have identified thousands of suns across the universe, yet most of us think of the closest one as "the" sun. There are over 150 known moons in the solar system, but ours is called "the" moon. Likewise, our solar system has plenty of company. We've observed more than 2,500 stars that have planets orbiting around them. Any planet that resides in a foreign solar system is known as an exoplanet. These distant worlds are the main focus of a NASA mission that just got underway. On April 18, 2018, the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite or "TESS" for short launched out of Florida's Cape Canaveral Space Station on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. Its purpose? To find faraway planets. Thousands and thousands of them. Advertisement Costing less than $200 million (not including the launch expenses), TESS is a bargain-priced, high-tech telescope complete with four wide-view optical cameras. Their intended purpose is to help scientists locate hitherto-undiscovered exoplanets. "The TESS mission," reads an April 18 press release, "will identify planets ranging from Earth-sized to gas giants, using an array of telescopes to perform a two-year survey." That job began in earnest on July 25, 2018, when NASA announced that the telescope's "scientific operations" had officially started. TESS is intended to orbit Earth along a route that's never been used by a manmade instrument before. It will complete a new circle around the home planet every 13.7 days; at its closest point in the cycle, TESS is going to be 67,000 miles (107,826 kilometers) away from us. Whenever it reaches this part of its orbit, the spacecraft will transmit a fresh batch of data down to scientists. NASA expects the first transmission to arrive in early August. TESS is using the transit method to seek out exoplanets. The technique, which has been around since the early 2000s, is simple. Stars get slightly dimmer when planets move in front of them. So by closely monitoring the brightness levels of stars through a telescope, astronomers can tell if any exoplanets are in the neighborhood. In March 2009, NASA launched Kepler, a space observatory built to spot exoplanets via the same transit method. To date, it's found 2,327 confirmed planets and evidence that might hint at the existence of 2,244 others. TESS is expected to upstage Kepler. While Kepler was focused on a relatively small portion of the night's sky, TESS is going to scrutinize 85 percent of it. Altogether, the newer spacecraft will look at more than 200,000 stars with a higher average brightness than the ones Kepler surveyed by the time its mission ends. NOW THAT'S INTERESTING There's more than one way to find an exoplanet. An alternative to the transit approach is called the radial-velocity method. This one calls for scientists to be on the lookout for a distinct wobbling effect that planets have on starlight. Astronomers Michael Mayor and Didier Queloz used the radial-velocity technique to locate 51 Pegasi b, the first exoplanet known to mankind, in 1995. Associated Press Samsung Electronics on Thursday reported its highest quarterly profit in three years as it continues to see robust global demand for its computer memory chips. Operating profit jumped 26% from the previous quarter to 15.8 trillion won ($13.48 billion), its highest since the same period of 2018, a growth the company attributed to favorable market conditions that led to rising semiconductor prices and shipments. Samsung also saw an increase in sales for its smartphones and premium TVs, although rising costs tied to raw materials and logistics dented profitability. LONDON (Reuters) - The main UK subsidiary of Amazon.com Inc had a tax bill of 1.7 million pounds ($2.21 million) on profits of 72.4 million pounds in 2017 thanks to deductions related to share-based awards to staff, accounts published this week show. The tax affairs of Amazon, which on Thursday reported its largest ever profit of $2.5 billion in the second quarter, and other tech groups have been the subject of parliamentary scrutiny across Europe in recent years. Amazon group books most of its $11.4 billion of UK revenues via a UK branch of Luxembourg-based Amazon EU Sarl, Amazon's main European operating unit. This subsidiary had a tax bill of 54.9 million euros ($63.7 million)last year, despite booking a 876 million euro loss that was partly driven by large inter-group royalty payments, its accounts show. Amazon EU Sarls UK branch doesnt publish accounts so its unclear how much UK tax Amazon pays in total, but its likely that bill was above the reported charge of 1.7 million pounds last year. If Amazon UK Services Ltd had paid the prevailing rate of tax of around 19 percent on its profits, its total bill would have been 14 million pounds. Unlike some European countries, Britain allows companies to take generous deductions for stock options and share awards and many companies, especially in the technology sector, use the rules to reduce their tax bills significantly. "We pay all taxes required in the UK and every country where we operate," Amazon said in a statement. "Corporation tax is based on profits, not revenues, and our profits have remained low given retail is a highly-competitive, low margin business," it added. Amazon UK Services Ltd., which operates the internet retailers warehouses and distribution network in the UK, reported 2 billion pounds of revenues in 2017 cash it was paid by Amazon EU Sarl, to fulfill orders placed online. Amazon has reduced its tax bill by having Amazon EU Sarl pay large royalty fees to a tax exempt partnership, also based in Luxembourg., an arrangement that was challenged, unsuccessfully, by the U.S. Internal Revenue Service. Lawmakers in the UK and other countries have proposed new forms of taxes including additional taxes on revenues to tackle the tech giants tax planning strategies. Such a measure could have more impact on Amazon because it operates on low or negative profit margins in Europe, unlike rivals whose margins can top 30 percent of revenues. (Reporting by Tom Bergin; editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise) Gold probe team submits report A team formed by the Home Ministry to look into the 33kg gold smuggling case presented a 752 page report to the prime minister on Wednesday evening. From black-and-white musicals to action movies, Abdel Qader al-Ayoubi screens films and exhibits paraphernalia of the art form in his basement in the Iraqi city of Kirkuk, a cinema-free zone. Ayoubi has scoured the country to collect 8 mm, 16 mm and 35-mm reels of old films, projectors, screens and archive materials from second-hand dealers, sometimes at exorbitant prices. Back in the 1970s, the city of Kirkuk was home to five cinemas: the Khayyam, Hamra, Alamein, Atlas and the Salaheddin, the educational advisor and longtime movie enthusiast told AFP. The silver screen pulled in audiences in towns across Iraq, until 1980 when war broke out with Iran, marking the start of decades of conflict. It was only in December that Baghdad declared victory after a three-year battle against the Islamic State group. While the level of violence has declined sharply, the rich cultural life long associated with Iraq has struggled to make a return. More than a decade of sanctions following Saddam Hussein's 1990 invasion of Kuwait, as well as long periods of militia and jihadist dominance after the 2003 US-led invasion that toppled the dictator, have ensured an end to the golden age of cinema in Iraq. The cinema experience in the country is now restricted to multi-screen theatres in shopping malls of Baghdad and the main southern city of Basra. In oil-rich Kirkuk, which is home to Kurdish, Arab and Turkmen communities, "all the movie theatres have closed, for different reasons but mainly because of security concerns", said 59-year-old Ayoubi. - Purring projector - Only in the basement of his home can a Kirkuk cinemagoer experience the whirring of the film reel and the purring of the projector's fan. Ghassan Hawwa, an oil sector worker who remembers the days of the Atlas and Hamra cinemas, is a regular in the audience on leatherette seats at the weekly rendezvous in the basement. "Today, everybody watches DVDs or goes on the internet," sighed Hawwa, who along with a cluster of co-enthusiasts aim to bring cinema back to life in Kirkuk. Action and horror flicks are a hit at Ayoubi's cinema but his personal favourites are the Arabic movies, the musical comedies of the 1950s and 1960s, or the good old-fashioned love stories. Foreign films are also on the programme, such as the Spaghetti Westerns whose posters plaster the walls of his small museum that is open to the public on weekends and public holidays. Ayoubi guides visitors around his museum, giving the history of the reels, projectors and other cinema paraphernalia to a new generation "who know nothing of the cinema world of old". Aug 2 (Reuters) - Heineken Nv: * HEINEKEN AND CHINA RESOURCES SIGN NON-BINDING AGREEMENTS TO JOIN FORCES IN CHINA * UNDER STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT, HEINEKEN WILL BE CRE'S EXCLUSIVE PARTNER FOR INTERNATIONAL PREMIUM LAGER BEERS IN CHINA * AS PART OF STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP, HEINEKEN CHINA'S CURRENT OPERATIONS WILL BE COMBINED WITH CR BEER'S OPERATIONS * HEINEKEN WILL LICENSE HEINEKEN BRAND IN CHINA TO CR BEER ON A LONG-TERM BASIS * IN CONTEXT OF THIS PARTNERSHIP, HEINEKEN WILL BECOME CRE'S 40% MINORITY PARTNER IN HOLDING COMPANY CRH (BEER) LIMITED * WILL CONTRIBUTE ITS OPERATING ENTITIES IN CHINA, INCLUDING THREE BREWERIES, INTO CR BEER FOR HK$2.4 BILLION, THROUGH SHARE SALE TRANSACTION * HEINEKEN WILL ACQUIRE A SHAREHOLDING OF 40% IN CBL AND CRE WILL OWN OTHER 60% IN CBL * HEINEKEN WILL INVEST A TOTAL AMOUNT OF HK$24.3 BILLION IN CBL, WHICH TRANSLATES INTO AN IMPLIED PURCHASE PRICE OF HK$36.31 PER SHARE IN CR BEER * UNDER STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT, HEINEKEN WILL BE CRE'S EXCLUSIVE PARTNER FOR INTERNATIONAL PREMIUM LAGER BEERS IN CHINA * TRANSACTION WILL BE IMMEDIATELY ACCRETIVE TO MARGINS AND ACCRETIVE TO EPS IN THE NEAR TERM * CRE WILL BUY 5.2 MILLION HEINEKEN N.V. SHARES WHICH ARE CURRENTLY HELD IN TREASURY FOR A TOTAL CONSIDERATION OF EUR 464 MILLION OR EUR 88.66 PER SHARE * PARTNERSHIP WILL BE GOVERNED BY A SHAREHOLDERS AGREEMENT * HEINEKEN AND CR BEER WILL ENTER INTO A TRADEMARK LICENSE AGREEMENT (TMLA) FOR HEINEKEN BRAND IN CHINA * SAYS COMBINED TRANSACTIONS WILL RESULT IN A NET INVESTMENT OF EUR 1,948 MILLION (AT CURRENT EXCHANGE RATES) BY HEINEKEN. Source text for Eikon: Further company coverage: Reuters BENGALURU (Reuters) -Maruti Suzuki India Ltd's full-year sales and profit expectations have been upended by the global chip shortage and spike in commodity prices, India's biggest carmaker said on Wednesday, as it missed second-quarter profit forecasts. "At the beginning of the year we did not expect to lose so much production in the second quarter because of chips and maybe lose production in the third quarter," Chairman R.C. Bhargava said after Maruti posted a 65.3% plunge in quarterly net profit. By Fathin Ungku SINGAPORE (Reuters) - The navies of China and Southeast Asia held their first maritime exercise this week, Singapore's defence ministry said on Friday, in an effort to widen cooperation as they negotiate a code of conduct on a disputed waterway. The "tabletop" simulated exercise in the city-state involved the navies of China and all 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), ahead of the first maritime drill set to be held in waters in China in October. "At the end of the exercise, we have strengthened our ability to work together," Colonel Lim Yu Chuan, the commanding officer of the Singapore navy's 185 Squadron told reporters. "We have achieved a greater understanding among the ASEAN navies and the PLA navy," he added, in a reference to the Chinese navy. The bloc and China hailed progress on Thursday in a long, drawn-out process to negotiate a code of conduct in the disputed South China Sea, one of the world's busiest waterways, where China and some of the bloc's members have conflicting claims. The exercises come as more nations, many ASEAN members among them, are drawn into China's orbit as the United States finds it difficult to promote its policy of engaging Asia while promising to put "America First". The navy drills were carrying China's cooperation with Southeast Asia to a new level, its top government diplomat, Wang Yi, said on Thursday. "We will use these drills as a starting point to expand China and ASEAN's military communications and security cooperation, to together face security concerns and to protect the stability of the region," Wang told a news conference. China's navy also plans to join 26 countries in military exercises off Australia's north coast this month hosted by Canberra and involving the United States. (Reporting by Fathin Ungku and Christian Shepherd; Editing by Jack Kim and Clarence Fernandez) BEIJING (Reuters) - China's market regulator said on Friday that after a meeting with online discounter Pinduoduo Inc the company agreed to step up vetting of the products listed on its platform amid reports of counterfeiting. In a statement on its website, the State Administration for Market Regulation said Pinduoduo should "strengthen platform management, regulate business activities of third-party vendors, stick to law and maintain a healthy, fast and sustainable development." Huang Zheng, Pinduoduo's chief executive officer, vowed to "thoroughly rectify and reform," and cooperate with regulators' investigation, according to the statement. The company is backed by Chinese video and internet company Tencent Holdings Ltd and was valued at $23.8 billion last week in an initial public offering (IPO) in New York. Authorities said earlier this week they were investigating the company after reports that the platform was selling counterfeit and shoddy goods to its over 300 million users. Shanghai-based Pinduoduo described reports as "attacks" on the company. Pinduoduo's share price has slumped below its IPO price this week following the investigation. Its shares had jumped 44 percent on its trading debut. The firm is also being taken to a federal court in the United States by a diaper maker, which claimed that Pinduoduo knowingly allowed the sale of counterfeit products bearing the company's name on its site. After the IPO, Pinduoduo became the subject of media reports and online jokes centered on goods on its marketplace resembling products from firms such as Coca-Cola Co, Apple Inc and Samsung Electronics Co Ltd. Many jokes described the goods using the phrase "shanzai", a term often used to refer to look-alike products featuring purposely misspelled names of big brands. (Reporting by Pei Li and Brenda Goh; Editing by Christian Schmollinger) ELN Marxist guerrillas on Friday claimed the kidnapping of six people including three police officers and a soldier in the lawless jungle area of northern Colombia. The six people were traveling in a boat on the river Arquia when they were "illegally detained by armed men wearing military uniforms," Colombia's army said. The kidnapping took place just two days after outgoing President Juan Manuel Santos admitted defeat in his bid to sign a ceasefire with the National Liberation Army rebels ahead of his handing over power to hardline right-wing successor Ivan Duque on Tuesday. ELN Western War Front commander Omar Gomez confirmed his group was responsible in an audio recording sent to journalists. "We will do everything possible to keep these gentlemen safe, giving them the best treatment we can," he said in the clip. The two sides released a joint statement following the Cuban-hosted talks saying that "significant progress has been made." On Wednesday, Santos had said there was "very little missing" from an agreement. President-elect Duque however has called for a tougher stance on negotiations with the ELN, the last militant group fighting authorities in Colombia following the historic 2016 peace agreement signed with larger FARC guerrillas. The army said the kidnapped soldier was on the boat suffering from a tropical disease, and was in was need of "urgent treatment." This surveillance video shot shows the suspect just before Ismael Duarte confronted him for allegedly taking upskirt photos of women at a Target store. (Photo: YouTube/CBS Los Angeles) A father tackled a man who police say took upskirt photos of women in Target, and he says the suspect messed with the wrong family. On Sunday, Ismael Duarte was shopping at Target in Cypress, Calif., with his wife, Angelica, and their 15-year-old daughter when he noticed a man later identified as Jorge A. Ibarra Jr., 29, switch his phone to camera mode and trail his teen. According to store surveillance footage shared Thursday by the Cypress Police Department, Ibarra crouches in the makeup aisle next to a woman wearing a red dress and appears to snap photos before following her around the store. He then walks over near another woman at the checkout line, kneels down, and allegedly captures more footage. At that point, Duarte is seen kicking Ibarras phone away. The dad told local news station KTLA that he followed Ibarra to the parking lot, where he tackled him. My daughter, and the girl that actually was getting their picture taken without her being known thats what got me. Duarte ultimately released Ibarra, but he called the police and snapped a photo of the man driving away, capturing his license plate number. Im pissed off that I didnt do more than I did, but I wish I would have, because Im so angry, Duarte told Fox 11, adding a message for the suspect: If youre watching, just know you messed with the wrong family. Thats all Ive got to say. His wife, Angelica, told KTLA, Its very disgusting. He knew exactly what he was doing. She added: So how much, if any, video did he get of my daughter? Im not sure. Ibarra was arrested Wednesday for Invasion of Privacy (a misdemeanor) and booked into the Orange County Jail. His bail is set at $25,000. Jorge A. Ibarra Jr. is shown after he was arrested on charges of taking upskirt photos of female shoppers at Target. (Photo: Cypress Police Department) The couple claims that other Target shoppers reported Ibarra to store managers earlier that day, but no action was taken. Additionally, police reported that Ibarra apparently committed the same crime at a Cerritos Target that day. A representative from the Cypress Police Department did not return Yahoo Lifestyles request for comment. However, a spokesperson from Target sent the following statement to Yahoo Lifestyle: At Target, the safety and security of our guests is very important to us and we have no tolerance for this behavior in our stores. Immediately upon learning of these recent incidents, our teams called police to investigate and shared video footage with them. We will continue to help law enforcement in any ways that we can be of support to their investigation. Story continues The laws surrounding upskirt photos are inconsistent, according to a report by Mic. In 2016, a Georgia Court of Appeals determined that privacy laws dont include snapping photos up a womans skirt unless shes in complete privacy, such as in a bathroom. The story also cites a 2014 case in Washington, D.C., in which a judge claimed that women couldnt have a reasonable expectation of privacy while clothed and positioned in public. However, one day after a 2014 court ruling that a male subway rider who snapped upskirt photos did not violate state privacy laws, Massachusetts approved legislation that made the act a misdemeanor, with a maximum sentence of 2 1/2 years in jail and a $5,000 fine, according to NPR. In 2015, Texas passed a similar law banning the photos. Holly Kearl, the founder of Stop Street Harassment, wrote in an article for Time that upskirt photos are a form of gender-based street harassment, which includes following and groping victims and affects 65 percent of women and 25 percent of men. Unfortunately, men who commit upskirt crimes are skilled and sophisticated, according to Spencer Coursen, a threat management expert and founder of the Coursen Security Group. From watching the surveillance footage, its clear that the man is a pro, crouching each time behind a barrier, he tells Yahoo Lifestyle. Hes implementing his tradecraft. Ibarras bravado is shocking, but Coursen says these types of sex crimes are often fueled by a rush of excitement at the possibility of getting caught. Some offenders position stand or sit still, while others brush by their victims, either snapping photos or setting their cameras on video mode to capture screenshots later. Coursen says there are ways to reduce the likelihood of becoming a victim. In Ibarras case, security camera footage proved crucial; however, store surveillance can also offer a false sense of security. Many cameras are nonfunctioning, unmonitored, and utilized for protection of the brand, not the customer, he points out. Mastering a healthy sense of skepticism is also helpful noting the energy in the room, the nearest exit, and maintaining eye contact with anyone who seems suspicious. Many criminals depend on their ability to stay anonymous, says Coursen, so avoid listening to headphones or seeming otherwise zoned out or distracted. Read more from Yahoo Lifestyle: Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter for nonstop inspiration delivered fresh to your feed, every day. MANILA (Reuters) - Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said on Friday he might send the navy's most modern frigate to waters off Libya in a bid to "save" three Filipinos and a South Korean kidnapped last month from a water plant in the north African country. South Korea has redirected a vessel taking part in anti-piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden to help in the release of the four men taken almost a month ago, according to news agency Yonhap. Duterte said he might do the same and would raise the issue next week at a regular meeting of his top military and police commanders. "If they start hurting those three Filipinos, I will bring a frigate there, I am not kidding," he said in a speech. The men were taken near Ishwirif by an unknown armed group. Video footage appeared on social media this week of the four men confirming their names and nationalities and appealing to their presidents for help. Various armed groups, including Islamist militants linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State, have a presence in Libya. Risks for foreign workers have been high due to insecurity in much of the country in the years following a 2011 uprising. (Reporting by Manuel Mogato; Editing by Martin Petty) NAIROBI (Reuters) - Ethiopia's federal prosecutors are to file charges against five people suspected of being involved in a blast at a rally in Addis Ababa in June for Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, state-affiliated media said on Friday. Two people died and scores others were injured in the grenade attack at the rally in the Ethiopian capital attended by the new prime minister. "The prosecutors requested the court to give them 15 days to file charges against the suspects," the report by Fana Broadcasting Corporation said. "The court granted them 15 days by rejecting request of the suspects for bail." (Reporting by Omar Mohammed; Editing by Alison Williams) HoR meet postponed for Sunday The meeting of the House of Representatives, scheduled for Friday, has been postponed for Sunday at 11 am. Food delivery service Foodora is pulling out of Australia, with the German-based firm saying it is shifting focus to other markets months after being hit with lawsuits over its treatment of workers. Foodora, alongside rivals Uber Eats and Deliveroo, is among the meal delivery platforms in Australia that allow people to order from local restaurants via mobile phones. "Foodora has announced... its decision to leave the Australian market and cease operations in response to a shift in focus towards other markets where the company currently sees a higher potential for growth," the group said in a statement Thursday. The service, which entered Australia in 2015, will wind down and close by August 20. Foodora has faced criticism from unions about its operations in recent months, and is facing a Federal Court action by the government's Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO). The ombudsman, which filed the legal action in June on behalf of three workers in 2015, alleged that the company "engaged in sham contracting activity that resulted in the underpayment of workers". The government agency said the delivery service breached Australian laws by misrepresenting to the trio that they were independent contractors when they were in fact employees of Foodora. As a result, they were allegedly underpaid by the company. The FWO said the lawsuit would serve as a test case for the rights of workers amid the rise of gig economy businesses. The Transport Workers' Union claimed Foodora's exit was so it could "avoid responsibility for paying its riders millions of dollars in backpay as a result of wage theft". The union said in March it was taking two cases to the Fair Work Commission, Australia's national workplace relations tribunal, alleging Foodora unfairly sacked two delivery riders. One rider, Josh Klooger, told national broadcaster ABC he believed he was dismissed after two years with the company for talking about his pay and conditions. The case is believed to be the first of its kind in Australia. Foodora has said it would not comment on the cases as they are before the courts. Last month, food-bike delivery staff working for companies like Foodora, Uber Eats and Deliveroo went on a week-long strike in France to demand better pay and benefits. And a Spanish court in June ruled that a Deliveroo rider should have been treated as an employee, and not as a self-employed contractor, in the first ruling over the rights of such workers in the country. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu on Friday in an attempt to stave off a diplomatic crisis between Washington and Ankara over the detention of an American pastor in Turkey. The United States is demanding the release of Andrew Brunson, who led a Protestant church in the Aegean city of Izmir, after he was placed under house arrest last week following nearly two years in jail on charges of espionage and supporting terror groups. The meeting came days after Washington hit two top Turkish officials with sanctions over Brunson's detention, prompting Ankara to threaten reciprocal measures. US State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said Pompeo and Cavusoglu had a "constructive conversation" on the sidelines of a regional meeting in Singapore. "They spoke about a number of issues... They agreed to continue to try to resolve the issues between our two countries," she said. Brunson, whose trial began in the spring, faces up to 35 years in jail if convicted. The State Department has said it continues to favour a diplomatic approach, but Nauert told reporters earlier this week "this has gone on for too long", referring to Brunson's detention. Pompeo and Cavusoglu spoke by phone on Wednesday as the US announced sanctions on Justice Minister Abdulhamit Gul and Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu. The US claims both men played a major role in the arrest and detention of the pastor. President Donald Trump, Vice President Mike Pence and Pompeo have made Brunson's release a priority. His detention has fuelled a bitter diplomatic feud between Turkey and the US, whose relations have already deteriorated in recent months over the Syrian conflict. The standoff appears to be one of the most serious crises between the two NATO allies in modern history, along with the rows over the 1974 Turkish invasion of Cyprus and the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq. Brunson was initially detained in October 2016 during Turkey's crackdown following an attempted putsch. He stands accused of carrying out activities on behalf of two organisations Turkey considers terror groups. One is led by the US-based Muslim preacher Fethullah Gulen, who Ankara says was behind the failed coup, while the other is the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). The pastor denies the charges and his defence team argues the case is built on questionable witness statements. His next hearing is set for October 12. House proceedings continue despite opposition walkout In a rare parliamentary practice, Speaker Krishna Bahadur Mahara on Thursday overruled the protest of the Nepali Congress MPs and ordered the House to get on with the days business whilst the opposition lawmakers remained standing from their seatsa gesture that otherwise would have led to sessions disruption. Even a record heatwave will not keep Claire Lee from joining tens of thousands of South Korean women at a mass protest Saturday against secretly-filmed spycam pornography -- as anger over the issue swells, prompting national soul-searching. Since May, the monthly demonstration in Seoul has shattered records to become the biggest-ever women's protest in South Korea where the global #MeToo movement has unleashed an unprecedented wave of female-led activism. The target of their fury: so-called "molka" or spycam videos which largely involve men secretly filming women in schools, offices, trains, toilets and changing rooms and which are so prevalent they make headlines on a daily basis. "Entering a public bathroom is such an unnerving experience these days," Lee said, adding that she always looked around the walls to see if there were any "suspicious holes". "You never know if there's a spycam lens hidden inside... filming you while you pee," the 21-year-old student told AFP, saying she sometimes stabbed the holes with a pen to shatter any secret lenses, or stuffed tissues inside them. The statistics are startling, with the number of spycam crimes reported to police surging from around 1,100 in 2010 to more than 6,500 last year. The offenders have included school teachers, professors, doctors, church pastors, government officials, police officers and even a court judge. In some cases, the victims' own boyfriends or relatives were responsible for the crimes, in a troubling reflection of South Korea's deep-rooted patriarchal norms. Fed up of living in fear, women are fighting back. More than 55,000 attended last month's protest in Seoul, according to its organisers, although police put the attendance at around 20,000. "The pent-up anger among women has finally reached a boiling point", one of the protest organisers who only identified herself as Ellin told AFP. - Lucrative business - Asia's fourth-largest economy takes pride in its tech prowess, from ultra-fast Internet to cutting-edge smartphones. But these advances have also given rise to an army of tech-savvy peeping Toms, with videos widely shared in internet chatrooms and on file-sharing sites, or used as adverts for websites promoting prostitution. Although all manufacturers of smartphones sold in the South are required to ensure their devices make a loud shutter noise when taking photos -- a move designed to curb covert filming -- many offenders use special apps that mute the sound, or turn to high-tech spy cameras hidden inside eye glasses, lighters, watches, car keys and even neckties. A 43-year-old man was arrested last month for secretly filming occupants of Seoul motels for four years, installing ultra-mini lenses inside TV speakers and other equipment after posing as a guest. A police raid uncovered more than 20,000 spycam videos at his home. In June a 34-year-old man was arrested for secretly filming women inside toilets and selling thousands of videos online for up to 100,000 won ($90) apiece. Justice is rarely served -- most offenders are fined or given suspended jail terms, which many women's rights groups decry as a mere slap on the wrist. Except, campaigners say, in the rare cases where the perpetrator is female and the victim male. The arrest in May of a woman who secretly filmed a male model posing nude at a Seoul art college, days after she shared the image online, was a catalyst for the unprecedented protests this summer. "The police have rarely responded when countless female victims asked for the immediate arrest of the offender", Seo Seung-hui, head of the non-profit Korea Cyber Sexual Violence Response Centre, told AFP. In this case the suspect was paraded in front of TV cameras while police raided her home to search for evidence. Authorities even launched a probe targeting those who shamed the male model online in an uncharacteristically swift response. "The women saw how quickly...the police responded to this rare case in which the victim was a man...such unfair treatment fuelled the recent wave of anger", Seo said. - 'Make change happen' - Campaigners have called for harsher punishments for those who film, distribute and view such images. They have also urged tougher regulations to restrict the sale of high-tech spycam equipment. But in a sign of the ugly fight ahead of them, many of the protesters at a recent rally kept their faces covered and declined to be photographed due to worries over personal safety, with previous participants becoming the targets of relentless online bullying. Despite their fears, they refuse to back down. "Seeing so many women gather together to speak up was a deeply empowering experience", protest organiser Ellin said. "We have power. Together, we can make change happen", she said. South Sudanese President Salva Kiir said Friday he was committed to a power-sharing deal with his arch-rival Riek Machar, vowing it would not collapse like similar agreements had in the past. The warring parties last month signed a preliminary powersharing deal which they are expected to finalise in Khartoum on Sunday, that will see Machar return to a unity government as the first of five vice presidents. "This agreement will not collapse and I am sure that it will not collapse because the people of South Sudan have now agreed that they must make peace among themselves," Kiir told journalists. He was speaking after meeting Sudanese Foreign Minister Mohamed Aldirdiri who is mediating the peace talks, and confirmed the final agreement would be signed on August 5. South Sudan's nearly five year conflict began after Kiir accused his sacked vice president Machar of plotting a coup against him in 2013. Machar returned to government as vice-president in April 2016 after a power sharing deal, but fighting between the rival sides erupted in Juba just three months later with Machar fleeing into exile where he has remained ever since. The conflict has already killed tens of thousands of people and forced millions from their homes and resisted numerous ceasefires, leaving the country's economy in ruins. While Kiir said he was "committed" to the deal, he highlighted several challenges going forward, especially in accommodating a bloated government. The deal stipulates that there will be 35 ministers in the transitional government -- 20 from Kiir's group and nine from Machar's, while the rest will represent other groups. The parliament will be comprised of 550 lawmakers, including 332 from Kiir's group and 128 from Machar's faction. "They need security, they need vehicles, they need houses ... five vice presidents, this is a very big responsibility to manage. I need to get for them their transport, and one person needs a motorcade of maybe five vehicles. Where will I get this?" said Kiir. "They also need houses where will I get houses, also they need offices so that they work, where will I get offices. So there are so many things need to be done." As three young Syrian squash players enthusiastically pound the courts in Hong Kong they are clearly enjoying their first ever international tournament. The girls, aged between 11 and 13, are part of a new team called Squash Dreamers, made up of displaced Syrian youngsters who were forced to flee their war-torn homeland. Even after their matches in the five-day Hong Kong junior tournament are over, they head back to the practice courts for more. "It's not that important whether I win or not, I just like playing games," 13-year-old Raghda Husryeh told AFP, saying she hoped to become a squash coach in the future. The girls are among more than 330,000 Syrian children estimated by the UN to have fled across the border to neighbouring Jordan since conflict broke out in 2011. Husryeh and her family escaped the bombs and bullets in their battered hometown of Homs five years ago, before gradually making their way to safety abroad. Squash Dreamers, a United States NGO based in Jordan, set up the 15-strong team of displaced girls from Syria over the past two years. On the team's debut international tournament in Hong Kong, three of the girls will take on teams from around the region, including Taiwan and Malaysia, as part of the event which features an official competition plus friendlies. Although they have been knocked out of the official contest, they are taking the next few days of friendly matches seriously. Squash has never been mainstream in Syria, but is hugely popular in some parts of the Middle East, most prominently Egypt, and major tournaments are hosted in places like Qatar. Team coach Reem Niaz, herself a refugee from Damascus, said the game was playing a role in helping the young women rebuild their lives. "The sport is helping them a lot as refugees, because it's not forbidden to them or inaccessible to them. They can just be like anybody else and play," Niaz told AFP. Playing their first tournament abroad is also a big step. "(There's) a sense of national pride. The team feel like they are part of the world," said Niaz, adding that it helped them retain a connection with their home country. The girls have also grown in confidence in the past two years says Rachel Lee, vice president of the NGO. "They started to realise their own strength. That's the biggest thing that they've been developing -- physical strength and mental strength," she said. Trade war is good news for Hong Kongs fruit lovers as tariffs drive down cost of American cherries The continuing trade war between America and China is proving to be good news for Hong Kongs fruit lovers. With tariffs driving up the cost of imported US goods on the mainland, the opposite is true in the city, where the price of American cherries, apples, plums, oranges and grapes has dropped by as much as 30 per cent compared with last year. Retailers and wholesalers said the 25 per cent tariffs imposed by China on a long list of fruits had forced producers to look to Hong Kong, which is not bound by the tariffs, as a place to offload their fruit. At the citys landmark fruit wholesale market in Yau Ma Tei, produce from the US cherries, apples, plums, oranges and grapes saw cheaper prices on Friday, compared with this time last year. Chloe Lam and her mother were out shopping for American cherries at the busy market. It is obviously cheaper, Chloes mother, who would not give her first name, said. Whenever we have dinner at friend and folks homes recently, cherries are on the dining table. Ivan Wong, a partner at retailer and wholesaler Market Choice, said Washington cherries attracted shoppers attention as the juicy fruit entered its peak season, while the season for plums and grapes has just started. Prices are about 10 to 20 per cent cheaper compared with last summer, said Wong, while unboxing a box of shiny Washington cherries. Its a combination of two reasons: a big harvest and the trade war. A pound of Washington cherries costs about HK$50 (US$6), compared with about HK$60 last summer, while plums and grapes are between 5 and 10 per cent cheaper, he added. In a tit-for-tat action, China imposed 25 per cent tariffs on US$50 billion worth of American products ranging from fruits, seafood, meat, vegetable, dairy products, and poultry, to cigarettes and cars, on July 6. This followed US President Donald Trumps decision to levy the same tariff on a similar number of Chinese goods. On July 20, Trump threatened to extend extra tariffs to as much as US$500 billion worth of Chinese products in an attempt to force Beijing to open up the country further to foreign investors. Story continues We have seen some American exporters turn to Hong Kong, which is tax free, Wong said. As a result of the new levies, Washington cherries sold across the border saw overall tax and tariffs more than double to 48 per cent, from 23 per cent previously. At Causeway Bay wet market, a fruit vendor calling herself Ah Jie was selling American cherries at the below market price of HK$65 for 2lbs. The fruit was of a dark burgundy colour, which normally means it is nearing the end of its shelf life. Dont you know there is a trade war? Its such value for money, last year it cost HK$50 a pound, Ah Jie said, when asked why the cherries were cheaper. She quoted mainland visitors as saying it cost 60 yuan (about HK$70) a pound in China. They chose to eat in Hong Kong now even though they are travelling, she said. This article Trade war is good news for Hong Kongs fruit lovers as tariffs drive down cost of American cherries first appeared on South China Morning Post For the latest news from the South China Morning Post download our mobile app. Copyright 2018. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on Friday said he told US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo that threats and sanctions will not work, after Washington targeted Turkish ministers over the detention of an American pastor. "We have said from the start that the other side's threatening language and sanctions will not get any result. We repeated this today," Cavusoglu said in televised remarks in Singapore after their meeting. Pastor Andrew Brunson was held in prison for nearly two years before he was moved to house arrest last week, disappointing American officials who expected his release. He is accused of carrying out activities on behalf of two groups viewed by Ankara as terrorists: the movement of the US-led Muslim preacher Fethullah Gulen blamed for the July 2016 coup attempt and the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). Brunson, who led a Protestant church in the Aegean city of Izmir, denies the charges. He risks up to 35 years in prison if found guilty. His next hearing is on October 12. The case is now at the centre of a bitter row between NATO allies Ankara and Washington after the US on Wednesday imposed sanctions on the Turkish justice and interior ministers claiming they played a major role in the arrest and detention of the pastor. The meeting was the first between the countries' officials after Ankara vowed it would respond to sanctions with retaliatory measures. Before the meeting, Pompeo told reporters that he hoped Turkey would see that the sanctions were "a demonstration that we're very serious". Cavusoglu told Turkish media that he discussed how Turkey and the US could move forward to "solve our issues" through close cooperation, dialogue and taking steps together. He added it was an "extremely constructive" meeting but warned that all the issues would not be solved "after one meeting". "When we return to our countries we will continue to take steps together and work together for these issues to be solved," he added. Janakpur High Court issues letter to arrest State Minister Sharma, Mayor Mishra The Janakpur High Court has issued a letter to the District Police Office, Mahottari, to arrest Province 2 State Minister and Jaleshwor Municipality Mayor Ram Shankar Mishra, the accused in the murder of Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) Thaman BK. After successfully making its way to South Korea earlier this year, Suits is now getting a Japanese remake, too. Japans Fuji TV will remake USA Networks legal dramawhich made Meghan Markle famous before she got really famouswith a Japanese cast and setting. The first 11 episodes will begin to debut in October. Japans version will star Yuji Oda as Shogo Kai, the analogue to big-shot Harvey Specter, played in the American version by Gabriel Macht. Yuto Nakajima, of the Japanese pop group Hey! Say! Jump, will play Daisuke Suzuki, the equivalent of Mike Ross (Patrick J. Adams). Advertisement I have been a true Suits fan since I saw the scene where Harvey meets Mike, and it made me dream of one day creating a Japanese version, Fuji TVs Hiroyuki Goto told Deadline. No words can describe how much I respect Aaron Korsh and the original producers, and appreciate the NBC Universal International Formats team for providing me with the opportunity to make my seven-year-long dream come true to produce the show in Japan. Thats great, but the bar has been set, and now all we want to know is: Will any of the actors marry into the royal family? Most of the time, being a writer isnt very fun, and being a writer of color is even less so. Being a writer is a privilege, but writing has always been lonely work. Even for those of us lucky enough to have full-time staff jobs, it can frequently feel isolating to be in a predominantly white setting, the only commonality between fellow writers of color often being our place on our companies bottom rungs. Its no surprise, then, that writers of color (and those of other marginalized groups) have forged communities on Twitter and other social media platforms, where we can communicate in languages that dont necessitate cultural or linguistic code-switching. Sometimes, those languages allow us to speak more freely, with words or attitudes that are out of bounds in the publications we write for. Other times, they represent experimentation in new forms of cultural or comedic expression. Earlier this week, I retweeted a post that requires both English and Korean fluency, mostly because I thought the tweet was funny, but also as a small token of Korean American pride. I occasionally see, say, Muslim or Cuban American writers whom I follow on Twitter making similar in-group jokes I dont get. Thats fine. In most cases, I believe people should be able to affirm their identities in the ways they see fit. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But those communities now appear to be in danger. The alt-right is on the hunt for journalists heads, and their latest tactic, it appears, is to take tweets out of context and weaponize them against liberal writers. This week, the target of organized conservative trolls is tech and legal reporter Sarah Jeong, a widely respected thinker set to join the New York Times editorial board next month. The far-right Gateway Pundit got the ball rolling by claiming that Jeongs Twitter is littered with racist filth, and other, more respectable sites, like Fox News and the National Review, have since followed suit. Among Jeongs alleged offenses: #CancelWhitePeople, Dumbass fucking white people marking up the internet with their opinions like dogs pissing on fire hydrants, I just realized why I cant stand watching Breaking Bad or Battlestar Galactica. The premise of both is just white people being miserable. To the pitchfork wielders on Twitter claiming that Jeong is the real racist here, the Times responded by treating their new hire like a disappointed parent: For a period of time [Jeong] responded to [sexist and racist online] harassment by imitating the rhetoric of her harassers. She sees now that this approach only served to feed the vitriol that we too often see on social media. She regrets it, and The Times does not condone it. Advertisement To the pitchfork wielders on Twitter claiming that Jeong is the real racist here, the Times responded by treating their new hire like a disappointed parent. The Times bigotry-on-many-sides explanation is infuriating for a number of reasons. The first is that, as Splinter News Libby Watson notes, Jeongs tweets were clearly jokes, not policy proposals. When people of color rail against white people, thats often shorthand for speaking out against the existing racial structure that serves to keep white people in power. The jokes that people of color make at the expense of whites are furthermore not supported by past and present state and corporate institutions. A white American telling an Asian American to go back to where you came from, for instance, isnt the same as an Asian American saying the same to a white American, even if neither individual can claim ancestral roots as Americas first residents. To claim otherwise is to be blind to the history and social dynamics of this country. Advertisement Advertisement But thats pretty much what the Times did with its explanation. It more or less validated the dangerous misconception that conservative trolls harassing a woman of color in a male-dominated field, an action that could potentially drive away even more marginalized voices, is equal to a woman of color joking about canceling white people, which carries no real-life weight because that doesnt mean anything. White fragility is real, and so Ill grant that some readers may have had their delicate skin stung by Jeongs comments, but its more than likely that the very same trolls who tried to endanger Jeongs position at the Times were acting in bad faith. The Times also ignores the fact that the current alt-right hysteria about besieged whiteness is also fuel for a violent movement that uses its power in the White House to justify inhumane and racist policies. Advertisement Advertisement Jeongs apology for her white people tweets, which mostly mirrored the Times, includes two extra elements worth considering. These comments were not aimed at a general audience, because general audiences do not engage in harassment campaigns, she wrote. I can understand how hurtful these posts are out of context, and would not do it again. She notes, with the screen grabs to prove it, that she has been the victim of torrents of online hate, while implying that her allegedly offensive comments were meant for a specific audience: most likely other users of color who related to her frustration at Americas racial structure as well as white users with the cultural understanding to know where her jokes were coming from. Jeongs statement that she would not do it again is disappointing, because it suggests her participation in Twitter communities that welcomed those tweets may now be curtailed. That has the effect of making professional advancement come with a price: the separation of those who are ascendant and thus endlessly scrutinized from factions where they may have felt more at ease. (All that, while writers who wish to make strides in their career are pressured to constantly produce engaging content for free to build a social presence. Twitter was and is still considered a way for writers to be seen, but that same visibility is now costing them their jobs and communities.) Meanwhile, aspiring writers of color watching this scandal unfold may be scared off from engaging with a frequently nourishing community they might otherwise call an online oasis. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As for the Times, its difficult not to notice how protective its being of white feelings at a time of renewed and active discrimination against people of color. Earlier this summer, the Times op-ed team (which is separate from its editorial board) published a treatise on the intellectual sidelining of the Jordan Petersons of the world.* The following week, they put forth, practically back to back, pieces about how liberals meanness and smugness were responsible for a newly insurgent movement toward racism and misogyny. And earlier this week, a contributing writer essentially advised progressives to stop calling a racist person racist, at least to their face. Its tempting to see the Times approach to the Jeong kerfuffle as tactical, given its older white readership who enjoyed decades in which people of colors jokes about white people were forced to stay underground or out of earshot. But now is not the time to accommodate the already privileged. Republican members of the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday constructed a box fort in their august, high-ceilinged committee room, with 167 boxes labeled KAVANAUGH FILES stacked together. Each box, they said, could contain about 6,000 pieces of paper, but they were all emptyas North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis clarified, the real Kavanaugh files will be released digitally by the National Archives. The purpose of this arrangement was to shoot down Democratic talking points in an escalating battle over how many records from Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaughs two White House stints should be made available prior to his confirmation hearings. Advertisement I think its more than enough for the Democrats to make a rational decision about supporting Judge Kavanaugh, Tillis said. Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch, winging it in the final months of his 41-year Senate career, was more colorful in his description of Democrats request for maximal document review. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We cant keep going down this partisan, picky, stupid, dumbass role that has happened around here for so long, Hatch said. Each box, Republicans said, could contain about 6,000 pieces of paper, but they were all emptythe real Kavanaugh files will be released digitally by the National Archives. The documents that Sen. Chuck Grassley, in his authority as chairman of the Judiciary Committee, has requested from the National Archives would come out to about 900,000 pagesmost of those emails to and from Kavanaughbut those only cover about two of his five-and-a-half years in the Bush White House. Grassley, against Democratic objections, sought only the records from Kavanaughs 200103 stint in the White House counsels office, and not those from his 200306 tenure as staff secretary. Were the staff secretary records included, it could reach several million pages. Grassley, conveniently, determined that those werent relevant to Kavanaughs appointment. Advertisement Not long after Republicans built their box fort, the National Archives delivered some unfortunate news. Uncovering and vetting 900,000 pages of records, it turns out, is an arduous process, and it certainly cant all be done by Grassleys preferred deadline of Aug. 15. Instead, roughly 300,000 of those pagesthe textual records, as well as those emails from Kavanaughwill be ready by Aug. 20. The other 600,000 pages, though, wont be ready until the end of October. Republicans had hoped to have Kavanaugh confirmed by the beginning of October. Advertisement And they still do. The National Archives disclosure that it will take forever to release these documents has changed the talking point from Democrats will have 900,000 pages of records to review, which is more than enough to, simply, Democrats will have enough. Advertisement I think they will have a good sense of what is out there on Kavanaugh, a source close to the GOP leadership told Politico on Thursday. Theres no chance in hell Mitch McConnell holds this vote after the election. The latter sentence is the important part here, and whatever argument is necessary will be marshaled in its support. Advertisement Republicans are also pointing to a simultaneous review process thats underway and moving more expeditiously than that of the National Archives. Out of the goodness of his heart, former President George W. Bush has authorized his own team, led by lawyer Bill Burck, to do its own review. The committee will receive documents in an even more rapid fashion from the Bush Library as the Archives continues its statutory document review, Judiciary spokesman Taylor Foy said in a statement to the Washington Post on Thursday, after the National Archives news. As a result, I expect the committee will be able to undertake its thorough review process along the same timeline set in previous Supreme Court confirmations. Burck, in a submission to Grassley on Thursday, sent the first 125,035 pages worth of material for the committee to review. The committee will need the National Archives blessing before it can make the documents public. Advertisement Advertisement You may be asking why Senate Democrats, in lieu of the National Archives process, should be asked to put their faith in a cache of documents screened by George W. Bushs lawyer instead. This is a question that Senate Democrats have been asking too. Today, the National Archives confirmed our worst fearthat the vast majority of even the small portion of records the American public will see from Brett Kavanaughs time in the Bush White House will be prescreened by a political operative and attorney for George W. Bush, Steve Bannon, Reince Priebus, and Donald McGahn, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said Thursday. This unprecedented process appears to be designed intentionally by Republicans to deny the Senate and the American people the information they need to evaluate this critically important nomination. Advertisement One can see why Republicans roll their eyes at this. Whether Grassley requests zero pages of Kavanaugh records or 5 million, Republicans will get the same number of Democratic votes: somewhere between zero and six, depending on whether Republicans can keep the 50 active members of their conferenceJohn McCain is out indefinitelytogether. But Republicans also understand that Democrats are playing the political hand that President Trump dealt them when he selected Kavanaugh. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, as the New York Times reported in early July, had warned the administration that Kavanaughs lengthy paper trail would pose difficulties for his confirmation. Well see in the coming weeks if it poses true difficulties or if this will be remembered as a footnote about the partisan logistical bickering that preceded Kavanaughs comfortable confirmation. An adult youth-care worker at a shelter for unaccompanied immigrant children has been charged with sexually molesting eight unaccompanied immigrant boys over the course of a year at a shelter in Arizona run by the nations largest operator of immigrant youth shelters, ProPublica reported Thursday. In its latest disturbing story of mistreatment in Americas immigration system, ProPublica found that 25-year-old Levian D. Pacheco has been charged with 11 sex offenses at the Southwest Key facility and is currently in custody as his case makes its way through the U.S. District Court in Phoenix. Advertisement Heres more on Pachecos alleged crimes, which are graphic and disturbing: Levian D. Pacheco, who is HIV-positive, include that he performed oral sex on two of the teenagers and tried to force one of them to penetrate him anally. The other six teensall between 15 and 17said Pacheco had groped them through their clothing. All of the incidents are alleged to have taken place between August 2016 and July 2017, according to a court filing last week that laid out the governments case. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Pacheco was employed as a youth-care worker at the Casa Kokopelli shelter in Mesa, Arizona, starting in May 2016. In 2017, the Casa Kokopelli facility ran afoul of the Arizona Department of Health Services rules on background checks and was cited for failing to complete background checks, including fingerprinting, to ensure that employees hadnt previously committed sex offenses and other crimes, according to ProPublica. Pacheco worked for nearly four months at the facility despite not having passed a full background check, according to court documents, even though he did not appear to have a prior record of sex offenses. Advertisement The Pacheco case comes as the Trump administration is in a full-on PR blitz aimed at making the experience of immigrant children separated from their parents at the border seem like summer camp. But per ProPublicas reporting, cases of abuse at shelters run by Southwest Key are far from rare. The U.S. government has poured more than $1.3 billion in federal funds into the Texas-based nonprofit to operate immigration facilities. At other Southwest Key facilities, police reports and call logs from the last five years detail inappropriate relationships with staff, dozens of runaways, sexual contact among kids at the shelters and other allegations of molestation by employees, according to ProPublica. In addition to Pacheco, two other cases involving abuse at other Southwest Key shelters have recently surfaced. Panicked by recent polling and fearing another loss on the national stage, Republicans are scrambling to hold on to a district Donald Trump won comfortably two years ago. Sound familiar? It should by now. After a high-profile loss in Alabama last December and another in Pennsylvania in Marchas well as a too-close-for-comfort victory in Arizona in Aprilthe GOP is desperate to win next weeks congressional special election in Ohio. Trump plans to touch down in the district this weekend to rally support for Republican Troy Balderson, who is running for the seat former Rep. Pat Tiberi vacated at the end of January. House Republicans are also lending their support in the form of millions of dollars via their official campaign arm and a Paul Ryan-aligned super PAC. House Democrats havent gotten involved to the same degree, though their campaign arm did make a late splash in the form of a mid-six-figure TV ad buy backing their nominee, Danny OConnor. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement You dont need to squint to see a contest that looks a lot like the special election Democrat Conor Lamb won this spring. That district included parts of suburban Pittsburgh as well as more rural areas of Pennsylvania; this one includes suburban Columbus as well as more rural parts of Ohio. Trump won both districts comfortably, and OConnor has largely been working from the same moderate playbook Lamb used to win his race. OConnor, for instance, doesnt support single-payer health care, abolishing the U.S. Immigration and Custom Enforcement agency, or electing Nancy Pelosi as House speaker. (Though he did create a headache for himself recently when he accidentally stated the obvious: Hed vote for Pelosi over a Republican.) Advertisement Just as Lamb did, OConnor has closed the gap considerably coming down the home stretch, adding to the suspense and boosting national interest. A Monmouth University poll released Wednesday showed a statistical dead heatBalderson 44 percent, OConnor 43 percent among potential votersa 10-point swing in the Democrats favor since the same pollsters asked the question in June. Non-partisan handicappers, likewise, see the race as toss-up. There are some big differences, however. Ohios 12th District isnt quite as red as Pennsylvanias old 18th District. Trump won the latter by 20 points in 2016, but the former by just 11 points. The western Pennsylvania seat opened up after GOP Rep. Tim Murphy resigned in disgrace; the central Ohio one opened up after Tiberi resigned to move home to lead a business group. And then there are the candidates themselves. Lamb looks like something his party might design in a lab to win a red district, while his opponent was largely seen as a dud by his own party; OConnor and Balderson each fall safely in between. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Another wrinkle: Balderson has the support of both Trump and one of the few remaining #NeverTrump Republicans still in office in Ohio Gov. John Kasich, who held this seat before Tiberi. Kasich recently agreed to cut an ad for Balderson, and his support might be enough to convince some slice of Trump-skeptical conservatives to vote GOP on Tuesday. Alternatively, Kasich Republicans could be turned off when Trump comes to town on Saturday. As the last special election before November, the Ohio contest will give both parties one more look at how voters are feeling in the age of Trump. What they seeor what they think they seewill help shape their strategies this summer and into the fall. Ultimately, though, the results wont determine which party controls Congress, or even who holds this specific seat come January. OConnor and Balderson will face off again in the midterms to determine their fates for the next two years. The same goes for both of their parties. Along with everyone else online who spends too much time wallowing in political news, I spent my Tuesday morning reading about QAnon, the operatic pro-Trump conspiracy theory that, like some sort of derangement-inducing fume, has been gradually leaking from the internets boggier corners into real life, including a recent televised Trump rally. Then I made the mistake of tweeting about it. For those not caught up: QAnon is an elaborate fantasy, wherein our president is secretly working with special counsel Robert Mueller to purge a powerful deep state cabal that has exercised criminal control over the United States, and the wider world, for decades. In this sprawling story, the Russia probe is actually a clever ruse meant to distract the country while Muellers team conducts an investigation that will eventually sweep up thousands of villains from inside and outside the government, including figures like Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. The entire saga has been driven by an anonymous poster (or group of posters) named Q, who claims to be a high-level government official and drops gnomic clues on message boards like 8Chan that followers then sweatily parse. Like Pizzagate, it involves a child sex trafficking ring, controlled by possibly satanic Democrats. Some versions also mix in retro nuttery about the JFK assassination and the Federal Reserve and the Bilderberg Group and false flags. Its like if you Vitamixed every lunatic idea that grew out of Americas fringes during the past 60 years and poured the puree into a MAGA mug. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement What makes QAnon a little a different, and little bit scarier, than many of the conspiracy theories Americans have latched onto through the decades, is that its fundamentally authoritarian (like Joseph McCarthys raving about communist infiltration of the government, but more surreal). QAnon believers arent fearfully scouting for black helicopters. Theyre waiting for the sitting president to deliver their country from evil by rounding up his political opposition. Adherents have taken to jubilantly counting up the sealed indictments federal authorities have filed lately because they see them as a sign that a mass wave of arrests is coming. At Trumps Wednesday night rally in Tampa, Florida, a shocking number of attendees showed up with QAnon T-shirts and signs. These people are all but asking for a strongman to seize control of the countrywhich is the thought I shared on Twitter: Advertisement The frightening thing about QAnon isn't that a bunch of Americans believe in a looney conspiracy theory (what else is new). It's that they're waiting for Donald Trump to arrest his entire political opposition. These people are ready for military rule. Jordan Weissmann (@JHWeissmann) August 1, 2018 Advertisement It caught on. Retweet after retweet. My mentions started overflowing. While most of the responses were harmless, a gaggle of trolls and QAnon believers, mostly anonymous, showed up too. Sometimes their handles had little red cross marks, or theyd include the hashtag #WWG1WGA, which stands for When we go one, we go all, a quote QAnon followers often misattribute to John F. Kennedy, but apparently comes from a mid-90s action movie starring Jeff Bridges called White Squall. Some of their comments were standard bits about getting red-pilled, meaning that they think they finally see the truth of the world as it really is. Some of them had a surreal, religious tinge. Advertisement Advertisement #QAnon has brought a wide variety of people together. Many are open, inquisitive, and spiritual recommend reassessing your position pic.twitter.com/MZ1xTx4A5t OperationFreedom (@OperationFree17) August 1, 2018 Advertisement The number of responses, and my inability to determine who was actually writing them and how real they were, reminded me of Twitter during the campaign. In 2016, you could never quite tell whether the anonymous Trump supporter ranting at you in all caps was an actual, angry voter, a bot, or a contractor in Russias troll army. Ditto the Nazi frogs sending pictures of Jewish bodies in ovens. The problem with this dynamic is twofold: It is extremely disorienting, because it becomes difficult to know whats real and whats not. It also ultimately makes it impossible to determine the size or influence of the fringe, and to keep any sense of proportion and perspective. Advertisement In its explainer published after the Trump rally, the New York Times tried to estimate the scope of the QAnon community by looking at things like the number of visitors to its subreddit and downloads of QAnon apps. But the numbers the Times floated ranged from 49,000 to 7 million. In other words, they have no idea. To some extent, it doesnt matter how many believers there are. After all, it took only one Pizzagate follower to shoot off a gun in a restaurant. The alt-right may be overrepresented on Twitter compared with its numbers in real life, but there were still enough racist young men in this country to swarm Charlottesville and kill a counterprotester. Likewise, the QAnon faithful are making their presence felt IRL. Before Trumps rally, celebrities like Roseanne Barr and star pitcher turned conservative talker Curt Schilling were promoting the theory. In April, an armed man blocked off the Hoover Dam to demand that the Justice Department release documents the conspiracys subscribers believe will unmask the cabal. Believers also marched toward the White House in April. You cant tell how many are really out there, but theyre now part of the political fabric in a country where around 1 in 5 people think wed be better off with a strongman leader, and 17 percent say theyd be OK with military rule. Also, did I mention they have T-shirts? I spent most of my subway trip into the office Thursday morning staring at Twitter on my phone as my mentions filled up from a seemingly alternate universe. But at one point, I looked up and noticed the young guy sitting across from me. He had a few tattoos. One was an illuminati sign, a pyramid with an eye. Right next to it, not totally healed and a little crude, was another: WWG1WGA. The midterm math for Senate Democrats is daunting: They need to pick up two seats this fall, but for most of the year they seemed to have only three legitimate chances to flip a seat, one each in Arizona, Tennessee, and Nevada. Meanwhile, theyve been playing defense in roughly a dozen red-state races, at least five of which are currently seen as toss-ups. Democrats could afford to lose just one of those contests and still take control of the upper chamber next year. Advertisement Note the past tense of seemed and could. Now that equation has changed, at least on paper. On Friday, the Cook Political Report moved Sen. Ted Cruzs Texas seat one notch in Democrats favor into the Lean Republican column, making it the fourth GOP-held Senate seat with the potential to flip this fall. Cook still favors Cruz to win another six-year termand other major nonpartisan handicappers have been more cautious in rating the racebut the move reflects mounting evidence that Rep. Beto ORourke may really have a shot at accomplishing what no Democrat has in nearly a quarter-century: win statewide in Texas. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The possibility alone expands the midterm map, slightly but significantly, and the more competitive the contest in Texas appears, the more money the conservative cavalry of GOP campaign committees, special interest groups, and super PACs will have to spend there that theyd rather be spending elsewhere. Advertisement A pair of polls released this week found Cruzs lead within their respective margins of error. A Quinnipiac University survey had the Republican senator up just 6 percentage points on ORourkenearly half the 11-percentage-point lead Cruz had when the same pollsters surveyed the state two months before. Meanwhile, a less established polling outfit, Texas Lyceum, put Cruzs lead at an even narrower 2 percentage points. With those polls factored in, Cruzs lead in RealClearPolitics rolling average dipped to 6.5 percentage points. Those arent the only numbers Democrats are getting excited about. ORourke has proved to be a magnet for money, both from within the Lone Star State and outside of it. In the most recent fundraising period, he brought in $10.4 million to Cruzs $4.6 million, marking the second quarter in row the challenger has outraised the incumbent by more than double. Cruz had banked roughly $10 million before ORourke even got in the race, but as of the end of last June, the two had raised nearly identical totals. ORourke, meanwhile, has spent far less: He began July with $14 million in his campaign bank account, about $5 million more than Cruz. Advertisement Advertisement The best reason for Democrats to be excited, meanwhile, might be that Cruz is acting like a candidate who is starting to get nervous. Back in April, ORourke challenged Cruz to a slate of six debates, two of which were to be in Spanish. Cruz finally felt compelled to respond last week, proposing five debates, all in English. Yes, Cruz fancies himself a master debater, but as my colleague Jim Newell points out, thats an awful lot of televised one-on-one time for an incumbent to offer up if he believes he has re-election in the bag. Advertisement Still, liberals ought to temper their expectations in Texasnot easy since they would take obvious joy in knocking Cruz off given his role on the national scene during the past half-decade, on everything from health care to immigration to guns. Democrats are vastly outnumbered in Texas, and ORourke still faces the very real challenge of simply introducing himself to voters in the state. Quinnipiac found that, about 100 days out from Election Day, 43 percent of Texas voters didnt know enough about ORourke to have an opinion of him. Cruz is never going to win a popularity contest (even within his own party), but hes proved a capable campaigner, despiteor perhaps because ofhis willingness to play dirty. Hes also spent considerable time and energy mending fences with Donald Trump after his jeer-inducing speech at the 2016 GOP convention, and he received the presidents endorsement in May. Cruzs support has been at or near 50 percent in three of the past four polls, suggesting that even if Texas Republicans dont love Cruz, most like him enough to vote for him this November. Advertisement Advertisement Theres also recent history to consider. The last statewide Texas race to draw national attention was Wendy Davis bid for governor against Republican Greg Abbott in 2014.* Like ORourke, Davis was seen as a rising star in her party, with national appeal and the small-dollar support to prove it. In the end, though, Davis and her pink shoes lost by more than 20 points in what proved to be a banner year for the GOP nationally. The political winds are now blowing in the opposite direction, but theres still good reason to doubt that ORourke can succeed where Davis fell short. Welcome to the Hot Seats, Slates weekly guide to the seven midterms races that everyone is talking about now. Were finally in August, an interminable final stretch of primaries and other weird nonsense that rises to national attention when people are bored in the late summer. The last big special election of the cycle will finally take place on Tuesday. Its tight. Meanwhile, some governors races are settling into perspective, and a Democratic Senate candidate in a red state is openly saying that Democrats wont take the majority. Also, Bigfoots penis. Ohios 12th District A dead heat in the final special election of the year. Republicans have been banking on two late breaks to seal their victory in this Columbus-area special election between Democrat Danny OConnor and Republican Troy Balderson. The first was a Balderson endorsement from the states popular governor, John Kasich, in an ad that is being widely broadcast. The second was OConnors cable-news concession that he might, under certain circumstances, if there were truly no other choice, and there were a gun to his head, support Nancy Pelosi. These may still prove the difference, but theyre not registering sharply in polling in the solid-red district. A Monmouth University poll released this week, conducted in the final days of July, showed Balderson leading OConnor by one percentage point, 44 to 43. Trump will descend on the district Saturday to juice GOP turnout. It could be a late Tuesday night. Tennessee Senate In which a Senate Democratic candidate downplays the possibility of a Democratic majority. The Tennessee Senate race is now set after Democrat Phil Bredesen, the states centrist former two-term governor, and GOP Rep. Marsha Blackburn, a MAGA-as-hell conservative, won their primaries Thursday night. Winning this race is critical to Democrats long-shot efforts to take the Senateand Tennessee Republicans are spreading that data point widely. Thats put Bredesen in the unusual situation of having to allay Tennessee voters fears of would-be Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. I expect to be in the minority, Bredesen told Bloomberg in a story this week. The number of things thatve got to fall into place perfectly to get a majority this time aroundit seems to me pretty unlikely. I just dont see it happening. Vote Democrat: Its not like hell have power! Texas Senate Why cant Ted Cruz put this to bed? For a race thats supposed to be comfortably Republican, we keep seeing polling that suggests Sen. Ted Cruz is going to have to grind this one out against his well-funded Democratic challenger, Rep. Beto ORourke. Earlier this week, a poll from the nonprofit Texas Lyceum showed Cruz leading by only two percentage points, 41 to 39 percent. A couple of hours later, a Quinnipiac survey came out showing Cruz ahead by six percentage points, stomping out somesomeof the alarmist headlines. Its still incredible how much work ORourke, after nearly 18 months as a candidate, has to just introduce himself (or be introduced, unfavorably, by Cruz): In Quinnipiac, 43 percent of voters still havent heard enough to formulate an opinion of ORourke. As you might expect, people have no problem formulating an opinion of Ted Cruz. The new polling figures have at least caught Schumers attention. North Dakota Senate Candidates have an odd new choice: Stand with Trump or the Kochs. North Dakota Senate candidate Kevin Cramer, who last week praised the Trump administration for bailing out farmers hurt in the presidents ongoing trade war, is getting the cold shoulder from Republicans biggest benefactors: The Koch network. Americans for Prosperity, the networks political arm, announced this week that it wouldnt back Cramer, as CNN reports, for his support of a $1.3 trillion spending measure earlier this year and his reluctance to take on the White House on trade and tariffs. This is not a choice that Republican candidates are used to: showing blanket fealty to the Republican president versus getting those Koch bucks. Florida Governor A shameless Trump kiss-ass gets rewarded. Sigh. Its all so vulgar. Florida gubernatorial candidate Rep. Ron DeSantis, a conservative Freedom Caucus member, releases an ad in which he instructs his toddler to build the wall with toy blocks. Trump returns the favor with a Tampa rally. I wanted to be here to formally endorse Ron, Trump said. He is going to be an incredible governor, Trump said, adding that he doesnt do these endorsements easily. Trump is cautious, but when you offer video evidence of indoctrinating your children early on into his personality cult, he has no choice, as a statesman, but to wade in. Adam Putnam, DeSantis main rival for the nomination, can only watch in despair. Maryland Governor Leading Democrats are hesitant to support their leftist nominee. Dont be confused by Marylands status as a solid blue state. For one, consider that the current governor, Larry Hogan, is a popular moderate Republican. Marylands Democratic majorities have traditionally rested on federal workers in the Washington suburbs and black Americans in Baltimore; ideological leftists dont usually make it very far. This year, though, one has: Ben Jealous, the former NAACP president and ardent Bernie Sanders supporter in 2016, won the gubernatorial primary. Hes finding that its difficult to get the states centrist Democratic establishment to rally around him. The state Senate president, Mike Millerwhos essentially ruled the state for decadeshas only offered tepid support for Jealous, as the Washington Post reports, while offering kind words for Hogan. And the county executive of Montgomery Countythe wealthy D.C. suburbsso far wont endorse Jealous over concerns that Jealous would soak his residents to fund his agenda. Virginias 5th District Bigfoot erotica. Bigfoot erotica? Bigfoot erotica. I dont know if its fair, or what it means, or whats even going on in this country anymore, but Democrat Leslie Cockburn, at the end of the week, has successfully labeled her Republican opponent Denver Riggleman the Bigfoot erotica guy now and forevermore. These are the sorts of breaksor smears, we can call themthat Democrats need to pick up an unlikely lean-Republican district or two in November. Prediction: Five to 10 district-specific stories will surface in the next three months that are weirder and dumber than this. The NRA and Republican lawmakers in Florida are speaking out against the Pinellas County sheriff who chose not to arrest a white gun owner who killed a black man last month in a heated argument over a parking spot. Even the powerful gun-rights organization thinks Sheriff Bob Gualtieri misapplied the states controversial stand your ground lawwhich the NRA has previously called a human right. The deadly confrontation began after Markeis McGlockton and his 5-year-old son went into a Circle A convenience store to buy snacks and drinks while McGlocktons girlfriend, Britany Jacobs, and two of their children were parked in a disabled spot. While McGlockton and his son were inside, Michael Drejkaa regular at Circle A who detested able-bodied people parking in reserved spotsapproached the car and began lecturing Jacobs about Floridas disabled-parking regulations. Jacobs told Good Morning America that Drejka was harassing her and said that he was picking a fight. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Security footage shows McGlockton exiting Circle A and shoving Drejka to the ground before appearing to take several steps away from him. While sitting on the ground, Drejka took a pistol out of his pocket and shot McGlockton once in the chest. McGlockton staggered back into the store and collapsed. He died shortly after. The next day, Sheriff Gualtieri announced that Drejka would not be arrested or charged with a crime because his actions fell within the scope of Floridas stand your ground laws, which allow people to use deadly force if he or she reasonably believes it is necessary to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm. Gualtieri claimed that the law introduces a subjective standard for using deadly force and also suggested that the sheriffs office could be civilly liable if they arrested Drejka. He further noted that last year state lawmakers updated the 2005 stand your ground laws, which makes it easier for defendants to claim self-defense. Advertisement In a press conference following his announcement, Gualtieri tried to explain his rationale by probing what was going through Drejkas mind before he pulled the trigger. Drejka felt after being slammed to the ground, the next thing was he was going to be further attacked by McGlockton, Gualtieri said. In her Good Morning America interview, Jacobs countered by saying that McGlockton was afraid, too, and had acted to defend his girlfriend and children. Advertisement Floridas stand your ground laws faced deep scrutiny in 2012 after the fatal shooting of 17-year-old black teenager Trayvon Martin in Sanford, Florida. Police declined to arrest George Zimmerman, the gunman, on the night of the shooting because he claimed he had acted in self-defense. Zimmerman was later charged with second-degree murder, but he was found not guiltya decision that led to the Black Lives Matter movement. Zimmermans legal team chose not to seek immunity for him under the stand your ground laws, but the law came into play during the trial anyway: The judge was required by the laws provisions to inform the jurors that Zimmerman had no duty to retreat from the confrontation and that he could use deadly force if he reasonably believed it was necessary to defend himself. Advertisement Advertisement This week, the NRA and state lawmakers behind the stand your ground legislation challenged Sheriff Gualtieris interpretation of the law in the McGlockton case. Nothing in either the 2005 law or the 2017 law prohibits a Sheriff from making an arrest in a case where a person claims self-defense if there is probable cause that the use of force was unlawful, wrote Marion Hammer, Tallahassees NRA lobbyist, in a statement to Politico. Hammer added that the law does not say that someone can sue a sheriff for making an arrest when there is probable cause. Advertisement Dennis Baxley, a Republican state senator who sponsored the 2005 stand your ground laws when he was in the Florida House, also objected to Gualtieris reading of the legislation as a subjective standard. Rather, Baxley explained to Politico, the law uses a reasonable-person standard. Its not that you were just afraid. State Sen. Rob Bradley, who sponsored the 2017 legislation, came to the same conclusion as Baxter. This idea that Florida law is concerned about the subjective perceptions of a shooter is wrong, he told Politico. Despite the mounting criticisms from the victims family, Democratic state lawmakers, civil rights organizations, and now gun-rights advocates, Gualtieri has remained steadfast in his decision to let the shooter go. In a lengthy press conference on Tuesday, Gualtieri insisted, I didnt get it wrong. Labour Ministry proposes to hike employment agency fee to Rs 60m New companies planning foreign employment agency business will have to pay 20 times more license fees, if the Labour Ministrys proposal to increase it from the current Rs 3 million is approved. This week, Zimbabwe held its first election since the end of President Robert Mugabes nearly 40-year rule. But the historic transition comes with a sobering caveat: the political party that has ruled the country for nearly forty years remains in power. The results were announced on Thursday, a day after six people were killed in the capital, Harare, when the military fired at protesters who accused the ruling ZANU-PF party of rigging the vote. ZANU-PFs Emmerson Mnangagwa won 50.8 percent of the vote to beat opposition candidate Nelson Chamisas 44.3 percent, according to official results. Advertisement The election was freer than those of the past, but did little to bolster hopes for real democratic change. What everyone had hoped for was a turning of the page in Zimbabwe, said Michelle Gavin, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and a former U.S. ambassador to Botswana. I think what we see now is a big commitment to some kind of cosmetic changes, but some very, very real questions about whether or not, fundamentally, the nature of governance has changed at all. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement ZANU-PF came to power during Zimbabwes liberation struggle and has ruled the country ever since its independence in 1980. The party has taken some hits in recent yearsit lost its majority in Parliament to the main opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Change, in 2008, before regaining it in 2013. But it has remained arguably more cohesive than the MDC, which has been fractured by internal divisions since the death of longtime opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai earlier this year. Advertisement Like his party, Mnangagwa has also been a fixture in Zimbabwean politics. As Mugabes former vice president, he was behind some of the presidents most repressive policies. But their alliance soured. After Mugabe fired him last year, Mnangagwa and the military pressured the longtime leader to step down. At the time, the militarys ouster of Mugabe was largely applauded. I think that the November 2017 coup that installed Emmerson Mnangagwa was sort of given a pass by the international community because it did have tremendous popular support, said Gavin. People wanted change. But that change has proved to be uncertain. Ahead of this years election, European Union observers flagged electoral irregularities, including misuse of state resources, instances of coercion and intimidation, partisan behavior by traditional leaders and overt bias in state media, all in favor of the ruling party. Advertisement Advertisement And just a day after the election, journalists waiting for a press conference with Chamisa were met by police in riot gear. NPRs Eyder Peralta noted on Thursday that some in Harare no longer wanted to talk on mic out of fear they would be targeteda marked difference from just a few days earlier, he noted. Others had doubts about the leaders who had ousted Mugabe. They are showing their true colors now. We thought they were our savior in November but they fooled us, newspaper vendor Farai Dzengera told Reuters on Thursday. What can we do? They run this country. Victims of Roma Holocaust honoured at memorial event in Barca A US diplomat said that the events of the Holocaust must always remind people how important it is to fight prejudice, xenophobia and hatred in society. Government Proxy for Roma Communities, Abel Ravasz, Aaron Singleterry of the US Embassy, representatives of Roma organisations, and local authorities took part in a commemorative event honouring the victims of the Roma Holocaust (porraimos in Romani) in the village of Barca (the Rimavska Sobota district in Banska Bystrica region) on Thursday. The attendees laid a wreath at a unique wooden memorial that was crafted by a Roma woodcarver to mark Roma Holocaust Memorial Day, which is commemorated worldwide on August 2. It is very important for us not to think that things that once happened Im now referring to the Roma Holocaust - can never happen again, said Ravasz, adding that it is our duty to prevent the atrocities of WWII from happening again. We can see events in various countries - west of us, for example, in Italy, as well as east of us in countries like Ukraine, but also in various Slovak towns and villages in which racial hatred and hatred against the Roma are growing. Singleterry said that the Holocaust terror must always remind people how important it is to fight prejudice, xenophobia and hatred in society. We cant remain stuck with empty words and statements, however, said Singleterry. In our everyday life, we must focus on a strong rejection of all forms of discrimination, intolerance and racism. On August 2, 1944 almost 3,000 Roma were murdered at Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp, and yet this figure represented only a fraction of all the Roma who did not survive the WWII Holocaust. It is estimated that about 300,000 European Roma died during WWII. 2. Aug 2018 at 23:03 | Compiled by Spectator staff Scientists to protest against current situation at SAV The president wants the Education Ministry to solve the problems with transformation, while Minister Martina Lubyova says they are already trying to help. Font size: A - | A + The Science Wants to Live initiative is organising a protest on August 3, starting at the complex of the Slovak Academy of Sciences (SAV) on Patronka at 8:45. The initiative is protesting the current critical state in the institution, which emerged after the Education Ministry failed to list it on the register of public research institutions. This is paralysing the institutes and seriously endangers our future, said Fedor Gomory, Imrich Barak and Miloslav Bahna of the initiative, as quoted by the TASR newswire. The representatives of SAVs board, SAVs council and its trade unions organisation are expected to speak at the event. Apart from Bratislava, the protest gathering will also take place in Kosice. What do they want? The organisers are calling on the Education Ministry to register SAV as the public research institution. The ministry has all the documents at its disposal, including those it has asked for beyond the law, the initiative said, as quoted by TASR. It expects that PM Peter Pellegrini, Speaker of Parliament Andrej Danko, and President Andrej Kiska will actively contribute to meeting this requirement. If the ministry fails to register SAV until August 8, the scientists are ready to continue in public protests, TASR wrote. Education Minister Martina Lubyova (nominee of the Slovak National Party), however, said on July 27 that the information about SAV submitting all necessary documents before May 31 is not true. She also denied the claim that the ministry is asking for documents unrequired by the law. As she said, they are dealing with the current problems at SAV, TASR reported. Kiska expects action Kiska, meanwhile, expects that Lubyova will solve the problem quickly and without any conflicts. He said so after meeting with SAVs head, Pavol Sajgalik, on July 31. From the point of the transformation, I have to say that, unfortunately, my fears that I mentioned when vetoing the law have been confirmed, Kiska said, as quoted by TASR. Halting the transformation causes a legally chaotic state, harms science and leads to a situation that we can only shake our heads about and call unacceptable. It needs to be solved as soon as possible. As the president stressed, the law on SAVs transformation became effective in the beginning of July and needs to be observed. Its necessary to create working conditions for scientists, the president continued, as quoted by TASR. Opposition MPs from the Ordinary People and Independent Personalities (OLaNO) and Freedom and Solidarity (SaS), who are members of the parliamentary education committee, want to collect signatures to summon the special session of the committee and to invite Lubyova. The Education Ministrys press department said she would very gladly come, as reported by TASR. 2. Aug 2018 at 22:57 | Compiled by Spectator staff Everything in Slovakia was tailored for the kidnappers The attorney of the kidnapped Trinh Xuan Thanh describes how her client was kidnapped using a Slovak government plane. Petra Isabel Schlagenhauf is a German attorney who represented the kidnapped Trinh Xuan Thanh before the Vietnamese secret services abducted him and took him to Vietnam. In this interview for the Sme daily, Schlagenhauf talks about what the German investigators found and what she thinks about the attitude of the Slovak officials. Sme: Were you present at the investigation of the kidnapping and the court trials with one of the kidnappers? Yes, I was not called to testify but I represented the interests of Trinh Xuan Thanh. I was at the court where the first of his kidnappers received his sentence. Sme: Did your client explain to you how he got from Germany to Vietnam? The problem is that he is in a prison in Vietnam and we are not in direct contact. I cannot talk to him and his lawyers in Vietnam cannot ask him about it either. We have no direct information about the abduction. Read also: Read also: Dennik N: This is what the Vietnamese kidnapping looked like Read more Sme: What do you know about what happened to him? I knew Thanh before he was abducted. He became my client because he expected to be extradited from Germany. Ever since he disappeared, it was clear to me that he would never return to Vietnam deliberately. The prosecutor documented the whole action of the Vietnamese secret services during the process that was wrapped up at the end of July. The chairman of the senate spent an hour and a half describing it; we shall have the verdict in writing in about a month's time. Sme: What should be written there? 3. Aug 2018 at 10:19 | Peter Kapitan Slovakia welcomes the halt in the escalation of US-EU trade war Possible increase of tariffs on European cars imported to the US would hurt Slovakia The July meeting of European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and US President Donald Trump resulted in an agreement to work to eliminate tariffs on all non-auto industrial goods, increase cooperation on energy purchases and work together to reform the World Trade Organization. Trump also promised that tariffs on EU car imports would not be increased while negotiations continued. Slovakia, as an exporter of a portion of its car production to the US, is closely following the development. While some experts see the results of the Juncker-Trump talks as a welcomed halt in the escalation of the trade war, others warn that this is just an agreement to start talking about talks. Slovakia as a significant producer and exporter of cars welcomes the discussion on zero tariffs and non-tariff trade barriers, said Maros Stano, spokesperson of the Economy Ministry. Stano specified that zero tariffs and the scrapping of non-tariff trade barriers can be achieved via a bilateral free trade agreement between the USA and the European Union that could be negotiated in a relatively short time. Liberalisation or zero tariffs on industrial goods should not be a fundamental problem neither for the USA or the EU as the current average level of tariffs in mutual trade with the USA is only 1.4 percent in the EU and only 1.6 percent in the USA, said Stano. He added that the impact in the sector of agricultural products is questionable since the tariffs near 10 percent. Read also: Read also: Analysts: US tariffs not a threat to Europes economy for now Read more Slovakia might support such an agreement, but the common course of EU member countries will be especially important, said Stano, recalling that since these are only proposals of possible solutions and not official agreements, prognoses are preliminary. 3. Aug 2018 at 15:30 | Jana Liptakova Abduction: Kalinak says he is ready to take a polygraph test Robert Kalinak insists Dennik N cited imaginary police officers. Opposition mentions early elections. The alleged Slovak involvement in the abduction of the Vietnamese businessman Trinh Xuan Thanh has grown into a major political scandal since Thursday, when Dennik N published the account of the kidnapping, as described by Slovak police officers who say they were present in Bratislava when the Vietnamese businessman was boarding the government plane in 2017. The then-interior minister Robert Kalinak, who was forced to step down this March as a result of Slovakias political crisis and mass protests following the murder of journalist Jan Kuciak and his fiancee, Martina Kusnirova, denies all the allegations and insists that Slovakia might only have been involved unwittingly by deception. Read also: Read also: Dennik N: This is what the Vietnamese kidnapping looked like Read more President Andrej Kiska and Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini will meet to discuss the case on Tuesday, August 8. For now, Pellegrini requested that Kalinaks successor in the ministerial chair, Denisa Sakova, travel to Germany to discuss it with the German investigators. The opposition, however, calls for criminal prosecution against Kalinak and the organisers of the For a Decent Slovakia protests say they are ready to hit the streets again if the allegations about Kalinaks involvement turn out to be true. Kalinak sees imaginary police officers 3. Aug 2018 at 16:04 | Michaela Terenzani Coffee Design is proudly sponsored by Savor Brands , your boost in coffeedence through maximizing designs in packaging, sustainability and tech. Theres a new coffee company is roasting in Shenandoah Valley. Meet Aperture Coffee Roasters, a small operation lead by Shawn Garman and their partner Julien Garman along with Kevin Deans. Aperture rolled out on Instagram earlier this year and debuted on May 4th. Julien Garman designed the coffee packaging: we like the clean type and layout. Each offering has its own striking color with subtle striping. The bags are the popular stand-up matte laminate resealable pouches. We dig it! We spoke with the team at Aperture Coffee to learn more. Tell us a bit about your company. Aperture Coffee Roasters was founded in the Spring of 2018 and is based out of Woodstock, Virginia in the Shenandoah Valley. Were a three-person team of a husband-and-wife duo (Shawn Garman is the CEO and head roaster, while Julien Garman mans the creative side of things), and our green sales coordinator and assistant roaster, Kevin Deans. With a strong focus on ethical sourcing and high-quality beans, we wanted to offer a cleaner, brighter cup of coffee for those interested in a more fulfilling coffee experience. Who designed the package? Were really proud to say we designed everything in-house. Our co-founder, Julien Garman, has worked heavily in marketing and design for the past five years, so she was excited to take on this project. It took a lot of time and revisions, but were thrilled with how it turned out. What coffee information do you share on the package? On the front, we have our logo, roasting region (the Shenandoah Valley), the origin of the beans, tasting notes, and a special bag number. With Aperture being our central theme, we felt itd be really fun to make each bag feel like its own work of artso we number the bags so consumers know that what theyre getting is small-batch roasted and limited edition. On the back, we tell a little of our storyhow we started, and about our mission as a coffee roasting company. Of course, there are some promo pieces we couldnt help but include (website, address, and Instagram) as well as the roast date. Then on our website, we talk about the farms where each bean is grown and sourced. Whats the motivation behind that? We wanted to be really thoughtful with every detailfrom the angles on the front (mimicking light rays a la aperture) to the bag numbering featurewe wanted people to feel that they were really receiving something special. It was important that the design was as enticing and special as the coffee itself. Through the story on the back, we really wanted to share that were just a small team of people that are obsessed with coffee, hoping to spread a little joy with everyone who comes in contact with our beans. Why are the aesthetics in coffee packaging so important? Packaging is really the first impression you can have on someone before they try your beans. We felt it was imperative that from the moment our box reaches your doorstep to the moment that coffee hits your tastebuds, youre not just drinking coffeeyoure truly experiencing it. Where is the bag manufactured? Its made here in the USA (Wausau, Wisconsin) and all materials are sourced locally within the United States as well. Where is it currently available? Right now, its exclusively available online at aperturecoffee.com, but will be featured in a few DC coffee shops this Fall! Thanks! Company: Aperture Coffee Company Location: Woodstock, VA Country: United States Design Release: May, 2018 Designer: Julien Garman Zachary Carlsen is a co-founder and editor at Sprudge Media Network. Read more Zachary Carlsen on Sprudge. A new, deeply flawed study finds that 66% of people prefer cold brew over iced coffee. According to an article in Italian coffee trade website Comunicaffe, the study was performed by a company called Square Cottage, makers of a French Press Design [sic] Cold Brew Coffee Maker. For the weeklong survey, participants were asked to alternate between cold brew, iced coffee, and hot coffee, and after each beverage, participants recorded how they felt based on several questions. They found that 2:1 participants preferred cold brew to iced coffee. There are some caveats here, though. Each participant was given one of Square Cottages best French Press Cold Brew Coffee [Makers] to use at home, meaning folks were responsible for making their own drinks, so there goes any sense of objectivity. It should also be noted that this is pretty much just a French press; sure it can make iced coffee, but theres no guarantee its any good. Id wager most folks idea of iced coffee is more of a filter/pour-over brew than a heavier, French pressed cup. It may just be the case that this particular brewer is better at making cold brew than it is iced coffee. The point is: these results are wrong. While Im not anti-cold brew (actually Im anti-people-that-are-anti-cold brew), lets be totally honest with each other here: if youre offering tasters a crappy French press version of iced coffee, as opposed to, you know, something a bit more dialed in and flavor-focused, of course that is going to skewer the results. If youd like to make some delicious iced coffee at home, we like Counter Cultures method presented here by Lifehacker. If youd prefer to drink some cold brew, thats of course fine as well. However, if your real preference is in producing poorly constructed, fundamentally flawed studies, then passing them off as legit coffee statistical points of reference to help sell brewing baubles and doodads, we are going to have some beef. Zac Cadwalader is the news editor at Sprudge Media Network and a staff writer based in Dallas. Read more Zac Cadwalader on Sprudge. Top image from This Iced Coffee Lemonade From Sweden Is Really, Really Good by Anna Brones. Landslides keep kids away from school Multiple landslides in Tatopani area of Sindhupalchok district have become a cause for concern for local parents and teachers as children have to pass through landslide-hit sites to reach their schools. Acer Malaysia celebrates Acer Day with "Play Music Together" in Midvalley today. The annual Acer Day returns this year with plenty of promotions to offer. There's also 3 special laptop models were launched during the event, Predator Helios 300 Special Edition, Acer Swift 7 and Acer Swift 7 Black Edition. Predator Helios 300 Special Edition The Predator Helios 300 which joins the line-up of special edition models, stands out with its all-white aluminium chassis accented with gold trim, With only 50 units available in Malaysia. This gorgeous gaming machine tantalises with a beautiful "body" and pretty capable hardware to back it up. Predator Helios 300 Special Edition Tech Specs:- Intel Core i7-8750H processor NVIDIA GeForce GTX1060 with 6GB of dedicated GDDR5VRAM 15.6"IPS FullHD 144Hz refresh rate 256GB PCIe SSD + 1TB SATA HDD(7.2krpm) 8GBDDR4 RAM (upgradable to 16GBx2) 390(W) x 266(D) x 26.75(H)mm, weighs 2.7KG 48Wh 3220 mAh 15.2 V 4-cell Li ion battery pack Estimated battery life: up to 7 hours Windows 10 Home 64-bit Acer Swift 7 The world's thinnest 4GB LTE laptop at just 8.98mm. The Acer Swift 7 is designed for mobility, perfect for modern professionals. Acer Swift 7 Tech Specs:- 7th Gen Intel Core i7-7Y75 processor Intel HD Graphics 615 14"IPS FullHD with multi-touch 256GB NVMe PCIe SSD 8GB LPDDR3 RAM (upgradable to 16GBx2) 328(W) x 237(D) x 8.98(H)mm, weighs 1.2KG USB Type-C 45W AC adapter with 35.2Wh battery Estimated battery life: up to 10 hours Windows 10 Home 64-bit Features: Nano Sim-Slot, Fingerprint reader, Stereo Speakers, Cortana with Voice, Dolby Audio Premium, Acer TrueHarmony, Acer Purified Voice , HD Webcam with HDR. Acer Swift 7 Black Edition The innovative Acer Switch 7 Black Edition is the world's first fan-less 2-in-1 laptop equipped with discrete graphics. Adopting Acer's proprietary Dual LiquidLoop fanless cooling technology, ideal companion for intensive tasks, creative production, and content streaming. Acer Swift 7 Black Edition Tech Specs:- Intel Core i7-8550U processor (8MB Smart Cache, 1.8GHz Turbo Boost up to 4.0 Ghz) NVIDIA GeForce MX150 with 2GB GDDR5 VRAM 13.5"IPS 2256 x 1504 Resolution, LED-backlit TFT LCD with integrated 10-finger touch 512GB SATA 6GB/s 16GB LPDDR3 RAM Dual Channel Estimated battery life: up to 8 hours Windows 10 Pro 64-bit Features: Acer Auto Stand, Dual Liquid Loop, Windows Ink In conjunction with the Acer Day festivities, members of the public can participate in daily online challenges to collect points and stand a chance to win fabulous prizes. The prizes include a 4D/3N trip for two to Taiwan, Predator Helios 300, Swift 5, Spin 5, Nitro 5, Iconia Tab 10, roll top junior backpack and Acer Day Bluetooth speaker. Check out for more details here. From 1st August 2018 to 30th September 2018, customers who purchase selected Acer devices will be rewarded with value-added gifts, check out the graph below for more details. 11 hours ago Nothing Wrong With ADPs Business ADP Breaks Out To New High ADP (NASDAQ: ADP) gives evidence that the phrase headwinds within the economy has a different meaning from business to business. While the bulk of S&P 500 companies are exposed to shipping, freight, and materials costs business services companies like ADP are not. Read Article Linger no longer House panel should not delay further on the appointment of chief justice Mountain Shadows in Wayanad is just the place for a dreamy vacation JACKSON, Mississippi -- Ocean Springs' Heather Church has been named Mississippi's 2018 Parent of the Year by the Mississippi Department of Education. Each year, school districts across the state nominate parents for the honor and the MDE selection committee chooses one Parent of the Year from each of Mississippi's four Congressional districts, from which the state winner is ultimately chosen. In winning the 2018 award, Church becomes the second Ocean Springs parent and third from Jackson County to win the award in the past five years, following Jane Moore of Ocean Springs (2014) and Angel Barnes of St. Martin (2017). "This is the our second winner in the last five years and I think it's a testament to how hard our parents work for our school system," said Ocean Springs superintendent Bonita Coleman. "She is absolutely one of those parents who's almost like a staff member," Coleman said of Church. "She is always in our schools providing services to our teachers. We're delighted to go with her (to Jackson) to see her receive this honor, because it's so richly deserved." In announcing the award, the MDE noted Church's long involvement in Ocean Springs schools, dating back to 2008 when her two children were students at Pecan Park Elementary. Among her activities was the creation of a Bid 4 Kids auction; a fun run to promote health and fitness; and family movie nights for school families over multiple years at Pecan Park. Last year, she created the student activity "Social on the Green" at Ocean Springs Middle School which raised funds for the parent teacher organization to provide all certified teachers with a $75 Amazon gift card to be used for their classrooms. Church also plays a key role in fundraising activities for the Ocean Springs Education Foundation, which brings in some $60,000 for grants for teachers. She is also an author, having used her experiences as a PTO president to write a book sold on Amazon. The book was the top release in the parent participation in education category in 2017, according to MDE. "I am honored to be Mississippi's Parent of the Year and to represent Ocean Springs," Church said. "To help others, even people I may never even meet, is such a blessing in my life." Coleman said Church's becoming the third Jackson County winner of the Parent of the Year award in the past five years speaks volumes about education on the Mississippi coast. "I think it's a testament to public education on the coast," she said. "It's strong. Our parents support us and, again, it's a testament to how well our parents work to support our teachers." Coleman also said she was particularly impressed that Church's dedication to her children's schools has not waned over the years. "When she was a Pecan Park parent she worked just as hard as she did last year as a middle school parent. Sometimes, as children grow older, parental involvement weakens, but that's not been the case with Mrs. Church. She has been just as dedicated in every single school she's been in." With research showing parental involvement is instrumental in the academic success of students, the MDE created the Parent of the Year program to recognize and encourage that involvement. Church was the Parent of the Year from Congressional District 4. The other finalists were Kimberly Hopkins of Tupelo (District 1); Dr. Tomeka Harbim of Cleveland (District 2); and Jessica Rainey of Pearl (District 3). Church will be honored for her selection as Parent of the Year at an upcoming meeting of the state board of education in Jackson. PHC rejects Joshee as next Chief Justice The nomination of acting Chief Justice Deepak Raj Joshee to the post of Chief Justice has been rejected through a voting process by the Parliamentary Hearing Committee (PHC) on Friday. Nine is already on the hunt for contestants for The Block 2019 ahead of its 2018 season launch. A casting notice is looking for enthusiastic, motivated, hardworking teams of two to participate in Australias biggest renovating challenge. The series is rumoured to be renovating The Oslo hotel in St. Kilda. Couples must be aged between 18-65, energetic and with a sense of humour. Previous home renovation experience is an asset, but not required from both partners. Long term couples, family teams and enduring friendships need only apply. Submissions accepted Australia wide. Deadline for applications is midnight, 9th September, 2018. FOX execs in the US have responded to questions around controversy of The Simpsons Apu who became a subject of criticism after a documentary explored cultural stereotypes. The show was also criticised for an initial response last season that many perceived as dismissive. CEOs Dana Walden and Gary Newman responded at the Television Critics Association press tour. We have had conversations with [executive producer] Jim Brooks and his team. We left it up to them, Walden said. We definitely trust them to handle it in a way that is best for their show. She also indicated The Simpsons will be staying with the network and not moving to Disney following corporate deals. Walden asserted that The Simpsons is so much a part of the FOX brand that there are no plans for them to go anywhere other than FOX. Newman added, I feel confident that Disney and FOX are going to find a way to both have an interest in that show and I anticipate it continuing to stay on the FOX network. Walden said a couple years of episodes for the show are already in production, given the long lead time for the animation process, so its very likely the show will continue beyond the upcoming 30th season. Down the line, what kind of decision is made, I cant really speak to, but for the foreseeable future, theres so much upside and benefit to having a great, Emmy Award-winning, smart, provocative, quality show, she said. Theres no consideration of not ordering more Simpsons. Actor Hank Azaria has previously said, Im perfectly willing and happy to step aside or help transition (Apu) into something new. I really hope thats what The Simpsons does. It just, it not only makes sense, but it just feels like the right thing to do to me. Source: Variety, Hollywood Reporter SAN JOSE (Reuters) - Law enforcement officials in Costa Rica said on Thursday they had recovered two tons of cocaine from a low-profile boat found about 80 nautical miles off the coast, one of the biggest drug confiscations made at sea. Costa Rican authorities said they began an operation in the Pacific Ocean after receiving a tip from the U.S. Coast Guard on Wednesday that resulted in the discovery of about 2,000 packets of cocaine of about 1 kg (2.2 pounds) each. The drugs were found on a four-motor boat known as a low-profile vehicle (LPV), a kind frequently used by drug traffickers because they are difficult to detect by radar. The Costa Rican coast guard service and drug control police said three Colombian men were arrested and remain in custody in Costa Rica. "The joint work between the authorities of the United States and the national police is yielding good results in the fight against international drug-trafficking, which has permitted us to seize more than 17 tons of drugs this year," said Costa Rican Security Minister Michael Soto. Within that total, 6.7 tons of drugs have been seized in the past 10 days. Colombian police seized 12 tons of cocaine in November, their biggest haul ever. With its strategic location surrounded by the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, Colombia continues to be one of the biggest producers of cocaine worldwide, generating about 910 tons annually, despite the efforts of the government, according to figures from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. (Reporting by Alvaro Murillo; Writing by Julia Love; Editing by Paul Tait) See Also: MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - The Organization of American States (OAS) on Thursday approved the creation of a working group to seek a peaceful solution to the violent protests that have roiled Nicaragua since April, leaving more than 300 people dead. The Central American country is suffering one of the worst political crises of its history after months of protests that were sparked by proposed cuts to the pension system but quickly expanded to encompass a range of concerns. Protesters are also demanding the resignation of President Daniel Ortega, a former guerrilla leader whom critics accuse of tampering with elections and seeking to install a "family dictatorship." The OAS resolution, approved on Thursday in an extraordinary session of the group's permanent council, was presented jointly by Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, the United States, Paraguay and Peru, the Mexican foreign ministry said in a statement. "The formation of this group addresses the need to contribute to the process of national dialogue in this country through ... collaborative work with different regional and international actors," the Mexican foreign ministry said. Denis Moncada, Nicaragua's foreign minister, criticized the move as an "interventionist political maneuver" that came as Nicaragua was recovering from the protests, according to the Associated Press. The commission will be formed by a representative from each regional group and other member states of the OAS. It will present a monthly report to the permanent board about its progress. Ortega said in an interview with CNN en Espanol broadcast on Monday that his government would seek to "strengthen" dialogue with the opposition with the support of international organizations such as the United Nations. Protests were continuing on Thursday in some parts of the country, though the demonstrations are shrinking as more leaders of the "civil resistance" seek to organize in private. Story continues (Reporting by Lizbeth Diaz; Writing by Julia Love; Editing by Sandra Maler) See Also: PMO deputes panels to study inter-state issues Amid increasing grievances from the provincial government over various inter-governmental issues, the federal government is sending three secretary-led panels to study ways to resolve the issues by forming the Inter-State Council. STOCKHOLM/BEIJING (Reuters) - China has asked Sweden to extradite a man wanted by Beijing on suspicion of having embezzled millions of dollars and who has been on the run since 2011, Swedish court documents show. The documents seen by Reuters identify the man as Qiao Jianjun, who also goes under the name of Feng Li, stating he is suspected of breach of trust and fraud relating to the embezzlement of the equivalent of around 100 million Swedish crowns (8.6 million). Swedish Prosecution Authority spokeswoman Karin Rosander declined to name the man and could not confirm the details of China's extradition request. However, she said police arrested him on June 25 and that he was being detained in the town of Huddinge, near Stockholm. Qiao's lawyer could not immediately be reached for a comment. However, the court documents show the lawyer appealed the decision to hold him in detention. The appeal stated that Qiao had been politically active in opposing the Chinese government and that China is "well known for serious breaches of basic human rights and summary and flawed criminal procedures". The Supreme Court in Stockholm rejected the appeal on July 18. Rosander said the Swedish National Anti-Corruption Unit has opened an investigation to verify the accusations against the man and determine whether there are grounds for extradition. "It depends on what accusations are and the conditions in China and several other considerations," she added. Swedish law prevents the authorities from extraditing someone to a country where they would face the death penalty. Rosander said this, along with the fact that charges against the individual had not yet been verified, were part of the prosecutor's deliberations. In Beijing, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said he was unaware of the case. A Chinese government list of 100 "most wanted" suspects published about five years ago includes a man called Qiao Jianjun, also known as Feng Li, who is suspected of embezzling from a state grains company. Some of the Swedish court documents are covered by secrecy rules and are not publicly available. (Reporting by Esha Vaish and Simon Johnson in Stockholm and Ben Blanchard in Beijing; Editing by David Stamp) By Hallie Gu and Josephine Mason BEIJING (Reuters) - China reported its first outbreak of the deadly African swine fever (ASF) on Friday, as authorities in Liaoning province in the country's northeast culled almost 1,000 hogs and rushed to control the highly contagious disease. News of the infection will stoke concern about its spread in the world's largest pig herd, and possibly to Japan, the Korean Peninsula and other parts of Asia. Cases have been recorded across Europe, Russia and sub-Saharan Africa, but it has never occurred in East Asia until now, according to the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). Some 913 hogs were slaughtered near Shenyang, capital of Liaoning, and the outbreak had been effectively contained, the provincial animal health bureau said. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs issued an alert following the outbreak, banning farmers from transporting hogs from the affected areas and from feeding the animals with untreated food waste. The ministry said the infection was discovered on Wednesday on a small farm with a herd of 383 pigs in Shenbei New district in Shenyang and was confirmed on Friday. Some 47 pigs died from the disease. "If it can be put under control, it should not be a problem ... but we have to watch the developments very carefully," said Yao Guiling, an analyst with consultancy China-America Commodity Data Analytics. "If the disease gets out of control, the losses will be immeasurable." The appearance of the disease is the latest blow to Chinese hog farmers, who have been struggling with a prolonged rout as years of frenzied investment to boost production have created oversupply, with output well beyond stagnating domestic demand. A widespread outbreak and major culling would help remove some of the excess but it may also damage demand just as China prepares for a pick up in consumption during the week-long Midautumn holiday in October. Story continues ASF is one of the most devastating diseases to affect swine herds. It occurs among pigs and wild boars, transmitted by ticks and direct contact between animals. Its effects are often deadly, and there is no vaccine. It does not affect humans. China is home to about half of the global pig population, with thousands of backyard and large-scale farms operating in the northern, central and southern regions. It produces about half of the world's pork and is the top consumer of the meat. Smallhold farmers are less likely to have safety standards or biosecurity in place to protect against the disease. A big wild boar population can also make an area more vulnerable to infection, experts say. An official at South Korea's agriculture ministry said the country has not introduced any steps to increase quarantine checks or curb imports from China, but the country does not import from ASF-infected countries. (Reporting by Hallie Gu and Josephine Mason; Additional reporting by Jane Chung in SEOUL; Editing by Tom Hogue) By Cate Cadell and Joseph Menn BEIJING/SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Alphabet Inc's Google plans to launch a version of its search engine in China that will block some websites and search terms, two sources said, in a move that could mark its return to a market it abandoned eight years ago on censorship concerns. The plan, which was criticized by human rights advocates, comes as China has stepped up scrutiny of business dealings involving U.S. tech firms including Facebook Inc, Apple Inc and Qualcomm Inc amid intensifying trade tensions between Beijing and Washington. Google, which quit China's search engine market in 2010, has been actively seeking ways to re-enter China where many of its products are blocked by regulators. The Intercept earlier reported Google's China plans on Wednesday, citing internal Google documents and people familiar with the plans. The project is code named "Dragonfly" and has been underway since the spring of 2017, the news website said. Progress on the project picked up after a December meeting between Google's Chief Executive Sundar Pichai and a top Chinese government official, it added. Search terms about human rights, democracy, religion and peaceful protests will be among the words blacklisted in the search engine app, which The Intercept said had already been demonstrated to the Chinese government. The finalised version could be launched in the next six to nine months, pending approval from Chinese officials, it added. Chinese state-owned Securities Times, however, said reports of the return of Google's search engine to China were not true, citing information from "relevant departments". But a Google employee familiar with the censored version of the search engine confirmed to Reuters that the project was alive and genuine. On an internal message board, the employee wrote: "In my opinion, it is just as bad as the leak article mentions." The worker, who declined to be named, said that he had seen slides on the effort and that many executives at the vice president level were aware of it. He said he had transferred out of his unit to avoid being involved. Story continues Separately, a Chinese official with knowledge of the plans said that Google has been in contact with authorities at the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) about a modified search program. The official, who declined to be named, said the project does not currently have approval from authorities and that it is "very unlikely" such a project would be made available this year. A separate report, by technology news site The Information on Wednesday, said that Google was developing a news-aggregation app for use in China that would comply with the country's censorship laws. Google declined to comment on the accounts and the CAC did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Reuters on Thursday. A day earlier, the search giant also declined to comment on specifics mentioned in The Intercept report, but noted that it has launched a number of mobile apps in China and works with local developers as part of maintaining its domestic presence. 'CHILLING PRECEDENT' But the report pummelled shares of U.S.-listed Baidu, which dominates China's search engine market. Baidu shares fell 7.7 percent on Wednesday, despite posting better than expected quarterly results. Human rights group Amnesty International said it was calling on Google to change course. "Google would be setting a chilling precedent and handing the Chinese government a victory," its China researcher, Patrick Poon, said in an e-mailed statement. "This also raises serious questions as to what safeguards Google is putting in place to protect users' privacy," he said. Google's main search platform has been blocked in China since 2010, but it has been attempting to make new inroads into China. In January, the search engine joined an investment in Chinese live-stream mobile game platform Chushou, and earlier this month, launched an artificial intelligence (AI) game on Tencent Holdings Ltd's social media app WeChat. Facebook's website is also banned in China but the company has also signalled its interest to enter the market. Reports of Google's possible re-entry spurred a strong reaction on Chinese social media outlets on Wednesday evening, including debates over the merits of a censored search engine versus accessing the U.S. version through illegal virtual private networks. "Let's carry on jumping the Firewall," said one anonymous poster. "I'd rather not have it than use a castrated version." (Additional Reporting by Brenda Goh in SHANGHAI and Paresh Dave in SAN FRANCISCO, Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips and Muralikumar Anantharaman) Heavy rail and hail hit the Landeck district of Austrias western state of Tyrol on August 1, causing debris from the Schanne gorge to dam the Rosanna river and flood low-lying areas. This footage, posted by the local fire department, shows construction equipment removing the rubble from the Rosanna to prevent further flooding. A glimpse of the flooded area is also available. According to a report from Weiner Zeitung, 180 firefighters were put into action to free the river. Credit: Bezirksfeuerwehrverband Landeck via Storyful LONDON (AP) One of Iceland's top whaling companies says it has stopped hunting minke whales this year, in response to a new government regulation that has enlarged the protected area for baleen whales. Gunnar Jonsson, owner of whaling company IP-Utgerd Ltd said Thursday that the temporary halt to whaling comes about a month earlier than expected. Jonsson said obeying the new rule would require sailing out further than normal to harpoon the whales and that to do so wasn't economically viable. In a statement, the International Fund for Animal Welfare called the development "very good news for minke whales and for Iceland," but noted the country had simply imported minke whale meat from Norway. Jonsson said his company would now focus on improving its boats for next year's whaling season. See Also: COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) The Latest on Ohio State's investigation of coach Urban Meyer's handling of abuse claims against an assistant coach (all times local): 12 p.m. Ohio State expects to open fall camp as scheduled on Friday but without coach Urban Meyer. Meyer was put on administrative leave on Wednesday over the handling of a longtime assistant who has been accused of domestic violence. Co-offensive coordinator Ryan Day will run the team while Ohio State investigates claims that Meyer's wife knew about 2015 allegations of abuse against former Buckeyes assistant Zach Smith, who was fired last week. Meyer told reporters last week that he didn't know anything about the incident that resulted in injuries to Smith's ex-wife, Courtney. Meyer's wife, Shelley Meyer, is an instructor at Ohio State and a registered nurse. Both Meyers could be in violation of Ohio State's Title IX sexual misconduct policy on reporting allegations of domestic violence made of university employees. Coincidentally, Zach Smith is scheduled for a hearing Friday on a domestic protection order his ex-wife sought on July 20. His attorney didn't respond to messages Thursday. ___ 9 a.m. Urban Meyer's Ohio State program has been one of the best in college football and for the most part has avoided major off-field issues and player behavior problems that tarnished his championship teams at Florida. Now Meyer appears to be in jeopardy of losing his job as Buckeyes coach over the handling of a longtime assistant who has been accused of domestic violence. Ohio State placed Meyer on paid administrative leave Wednesday while it investigates claims that his wife knew about allegations of abuse against former Buckeyes assistant Zach Smith, who was fired last week. Smith's ex-wife, Courtney Smith, told Stadium that she told Shelley Meyer in 2015 that Zach Smith had assaulted her. Courtney Smith provided text messages to former ESPN reporter Brett McMurphy between her and Shelley Meyer about Zach Smith's behavior, and threatening text messages she said were sent to her by Zach Smith. Story continues Courtney Smith said she did not know if Shelley Meyer told Urban Meyer about the allegations against Zach Smith, who has never been convicted of a crime or charged with assaulting his ex-wife. Zach Smith's attorney, Brad Koffel, said in a statement to ESPN: "Once he gets his chance to tell his side of events, don't be surprised when it is corroborated by every police who ever responded to Ms. Smith's calls." ___ More AP college football: https://collegefootball.ap.org and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25 See Also: MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - The Organization of American States (OAS) on Thursday approved the creation of a working group to seek a peaceful solution to the violent protests that have roiled Nicaragua since April, leaving more than 300 people dead. The Central American country is suffering one of the worst political crises of its history after months of protests that were sparked by proposed cuts to the pension system but quickly expanded to encompass a range of concerns. Protesters are also demanding the resignation of President Daniel Ortega, a former guerrilla leader whom critics accuse of tampering with elections and seeking to install a "family dictatorship." The OAS resolution, approved on Thursday in an extraordinary session of the group's permanent council, was presented jointly by Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, the United States, Paraguay and Peru, the Mexican foreign ministry said in a statement. "The formation of this group addresses the need to contribute to the process of national dialogue in this country through ... collaborative work with different regional and international actors," the Mexican foreign ministry said. Denis Moncada, Nicaragua's foreign minister, criticized the move as an "interventionist political maneuver" that came as Nicaragua was recovering from the protests, according to the Associated Press. The commission will be formed by a representative from each regional group and other member states of the OAS. It will present a monthly report to the permanent board about its progress. Ortega said in an interview with CNN en Espanol broadcast on Monday that his government would seek to "strengthen" dialogue with the opposition with the support of international organizations such as the United Nations. Protests were continuing on Thursday in some parts of the country, though the demonstrations are shrinking as more leaders of the "civil resistance" seek to organise in private. (Reporting by Lizbeth Diaz; Writing by Julia Love; Editing by Sandra Maler) Safaa Boular, the youngest woman convicted of plotting a terror attack on British soil, has been jailed for life with a minimum of 13 years. The 18-year-old was sitting her GCSEs when she was seduced by IS fighter Naweed Hussain, originally from Coventry and more than 15 years her senior. She hid her Islamic State-inspired plans in coded conversations about preparations for an innocent Mad Hatter's tea party. Judge Mark Dennis QC sentenced Boular to life imprisonment with a minimum of 13 years at the Old Bailey on Friday - making her the last member of Britain's first all-women terror cell to be jailed. She had been trying to reach Syria to marry Hussain in an online ceremony, but her attempt was foiled by police. He was later killed in a drone strike. Boular turned to plotting a suicide bomb and gun attack on the British Museum with her older sister and mother instead of going through with a terror attack in Syria. She played a "leading role" in the "advanced plan", according to the judge. Judge Dennis rejected claims Boular had entirely renounced her Islamist views and downplayed the extent grooming played in her radicalisation. "In my view there's insufficient evidence to say at this stage this defendant is a truly transformed individual. Her views were deeply entrenched," he told the Old Bailey. "However much she may have been influenced and drawn into extremism, it appeared she knew what she was doing and acted with open eyes." Boular did not react when she was found guilty of two counts of preparing terrorist acts and sentenced to life imprisonment. Her sister Rizlaine, 22, and her mother Mina Dich pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to taking over the plot and planning their own attack, after Safaa was arrested by police in April last year. Their plans were uncovered by online M15 role-players and the Boular family home in Vauxhall, south London, was bugged. Boular handed the baton to her older sister when she was in custody for trying to travel to the war zone. Story continues In coded telephone calls, they discussed a traditional English tea party with an Alice In Wonderland theme. Her older sister planned a knife attack at the Palace of Westminster with the aid of their mother. She was jailed for life with a minimum of 16 years. Their mother, Dich, 44, was imprisoned for six years and nine months. Defending Boular, Joel Bennathan QC said she had been "groomed" into radicalism when she was 15 but has now shunned Islamist extremism and no longer follows the Muslim faith. He said that the defendant is "no longer that type of person", adding: "That's the point about teenagers, they can change dramatically and fast." Family friend Khawla Barghouthi, 21, who practised the knife attack with Rizlaine, pleaded guilty to failing to alert authorities and was jailed for two years and four months. WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) An Australian soldier has been rescued from a New Zealand mountain after surviving for a week in below-freezing conditions. Rescue authorities said Friday they plucked 29-year-old Terry Harch from Mount Aspiring on the South Island in what they described as a "snatch and grab" mission involving three helicopters. The helicopters also transported out four rescuers who had reached Harch a day earlier and two more rescuers who were on their way to him. Harch parked his car last Friday to climb the mountain and was expected back on Monday, authorities say. They said a friend reported him missing and Harch also triggered an emergency beacon. Authorities say the soldier dug a snow cave to survive before rescuers reached him on Thursday. He was suffering from minor frostbite. See Also: Police arrest 82 suspects for threatening NCP lawmaker The Metropolitan Police Range, Kathmandu, has arrested 82 individuals for intimidating Nepal Communist Party (NCP) lawmaker Niru Pal. Condoms are designed for a single use, FYI [Photo: Getty] There are plenty of things you can reuse: bottles, cardboard boxes and plastic bags. Condoms, on the other hand, are not meant to withstand multiple uses. If youre wondering why this needs to be said, its because Americans apparently havent received the memo. The Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued a warning to Americans that it isnt advised to wash and reuse condoms. If it sounds gross to you thats because it really is. The CDC tweeted the tip alongside a link to sexually transmitted infections (STIs) facts and statistics. We say it because people do it: Don't wash or reuse #condoms! Use a fresh one for each #sex act. https://t.co/o3SPayRf9m pic.twitter.com/AwkPqE9YMl CDC STD (@CDCSTD) July 23, 2018 We say it because people do it: Dont wash or reuse #condoms! Use a fresh one for each #sex act, advised the tweet which was retweeted more than 1,200 times and has almost 1,600 likes. While most responses to the tweet were of the amused variety, a health report from 2017 discovered only a third of Americans use condoms and most of those who are using them, arent doing it correctly. According to the NHS, condoms are 98 per cent effective at preventing pregnancy. Theyre also the only form of contraception that protects against STIs. Among the tips of how to properly store and use condoms, the NHS also states that condoms are only safe for one use. A condom must not be used more than once. Use a new one each time you have sex, reads the website. Condoms have a use-by date on the packaging. Dont use out-of-date condoms. While it seems like common sense, the recent announcement by the CDC proves it may not be as well known as you think. Story continues A report by Public Health England (PHE) reveals that there was a 20 per cent increase in syphilis in 2107. When it comes to STI diagnosis, 16 24 year olds see the highest rate of diagnoses. In 2017, PHE launched a sexual health campaign to promote proper condom use. Sexually transmitted infections pose serious consequences to health both your own and that of your current and future sexual partners. The impact of STIs can be considerable, with some causing infertility, pelvic inflammatory disease and harm to unborn babies, said Dr. Gwenda Hughes, Head of STI Section at PHE. Consistent and correct condom use with new and casual partners is the best defence against STIs, and if you are at risk, regular check-ups are essential to enable early diagnosis and treatment. In the UK, you can get free condoms from contraception clinics, sexual health clinics and some GP surgeries. And while we may be laughing at our friends over the pond, the same PHE report states that in 2017 alone there were roughly 422,000 diagnoses of STIs in England. Consider yourself warned. Follow us on Instagram and Facebook for non-stop inspiration delivered fresh to your feed, every day. For Twitter updates, follow @YahooStyleUK. Read more from Yahoo Style UK: Young people will be asked to take a STI test before entering VIP area at Aussie music festival Janelle Monae has come out as pansexual but what does that mean? No ones 100% straight and sexualitys a spectrum, study reveals Two Shields Investments announced on Friday that, in line with its strategy to invest in battery metals, it has made a further investment of $50k to increase its interest in Kalahari Key Mineral Exploration (KKME) to 22.5%. The AIM-traded firm said KKME was founded by Dr Roger Key to explore for base and precious metals, notably nickel and platinum group elements, by applying a new exploration model to the highly prospective Molopo Farms complex that covered land in southern Botswana and the Republic of South Africa. Two Shields said it entered into a revised agreement with KKME to take its interest from 20% to 22.2%, through the acquisition of an additional 2.2% of the issued shares of KKME for the purchase price of $50k cash. Two Shields said KKME held two prospecting licences within the Molopo Farms complex, which it described as a large, layered ultrabasic/basic intrusion which had proven potential for nickel and platinum group elements. The recent work completed by Kalahari is highly encouraging and the board of TSI is of the opinion that there is high potential that the valuable resources of platinum, nickel and possibly associated metals will be identified as a result of the upcoming survey, greatly enhancing the value of TSI's investment in KKME, said chairman Charlie Wood. It is expected that there will be further updates towards the end of 2018 when full analysis of the TEM is completed, and I look forward to updating our shareholders accordingly. Colour cosmetics specialist supplier Warpaint London , which owns the W7 and Technic brands, announced the acquisition of its US distributor Marvin Leeds Marketing Services on Friday. The AIM-traded firm said New York-based Leeds Marketing currently derived about two thirds of its revenue through the distribution of Warpaints W7 products, with the remainder being through the sale of other branded cosmetics. Leeds Marketing was its exclusive distributor in the US until January, and sold its products to major 'off-price' retail groups in North America, including the TJX Companies and Bealls Outlet Stores. It said that recently, Leeds Marketing had opened new accounts for W7 and other Warpaint brands with a number of retailers in the US, including Century 21, Forever 21, and Macy's Backstage. Warpaints board said the US was the world's largest colour cosmetics market by value, adding that it believed the acquisition would allow it to have greater control over its North American sales activities, enabling it to achieve its declared strategy of international expansion, particularly in the United States. In addition, the acquisition was expected to open up further opportunities to expand sales in Central and South America, where customers apparently preferred to be served by a US-based entity. In the year ended 31 December, Leeds Marketing had revenue of $5.9m and profit before tax, adjusted for non-recurring costs after completion of the acquisition, of around $0.4m. Net assets, adjusted for a capital reorganisation on completion of the acquisition as at 31 December, were $1.1m. Under the terms of the acquisition, the consideration would comprise $2.16m in cash, subject to an adjustment depending on the net assets acquired which were expected to be $0.8m. The company had already paid $2m in cash, with two further payments of $80k due on 30 September and 31 December, subject to the net asset adjustment. We see the acquisition of Leeds Marketing as a further important milestone in our growth story, said joint chief executives of Warpaint, Sam Bazini and Eoin Macleod, in a statement. Since admission to AIM, we have focused on international expansion and the US is central to that strategy. Bazini and Macleod said the acquisition would allow Warpaint and its brands direct access to some of its key existing customers, as well as opening up a number of new opportunities in the US and the Americas more widely. We look forward to integrating the Leeds Marketing staff into the existing Warpaint team and continuing to expand the routes to market for our products. EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier on Friday warned Britain that it could not take back control of its borders and expect the European Union to give up sovereignty over customs and freedom of movement. In an article published in 20 newspapers across Europe Barnier also said he was looking for an unprecedented in scope and depth partnership post-Brexit, seen as a sign by observers in London that he may be softening his stance towards Britain's exit plan. Barnier's comments came as embattled UK Prime Minister Theresa May was preparing to meet France President Emmanuel Macron on Friday night for talks at his Fort de Bregancon island retreat to try to persuade him to be more flexible. There were suggestions this week the EU could give May something to help her get her withdrawal deal through parliament. Barnier said the withdrawal agreement is 80% agreed but warned 80% is not 100%. We still need to agree on important points, such as the protection of "geographical indications". This refers to the protection of local farm and food products like Scottish Whisky or Parmesan cheese, where EU protection has generated significant value for European farmers and producers, he said. We need to find solutions for specific British territories, such as the UK's sovereign bases in Cyprus, and Gibraltar on which bilateral negotiations are ongoing between Spain and the UK. The biggest risk caused by Brexit is on the island of Ireland. We need to make sure that Brexit does not create a hard border between Ireland and Northern Ireland, and that the Good Friday Agreement, which has brought peace and stability to Northern Ireland, will be protected. Barnier said the EU was ready to improve the text of our proposal with the UK on a "backstop" solution in the withdrawal agreement. Britain has suggested it collect customs duties on behalf of the EU. The EU has proposed that Northern Ireland remains in a common regulatory area for goods and customs with the rest of the bloc. However, he added that both sides needed to agree on the terms of a future relationship. Let's be frank: as the UK has decided to leave the single market, it can no longer be as close economically to the rest of the EU. The UK wants to leave our common regulatory area, where people, goods, services and capital move freely across national borders," he said. The UK knows well the benefits of the single market. It has contributed to shaping our rules over the last 45 years. And yet, some UK proposals would undermine our single sarket which is one of the EU's biggest achievements." "The UK wants to keep free movement of goods between us, but not of people and services. And it proposes to apply EU customs rules without being part of the EU's legal order. Thus, the UK wants to take back sovereignty and control of its own laws, which we respect, but it cannot ask the EU to lose control of its borders and laws. Stocks were bouncing back on Friday ahead of a meeting between Prime Minister May and her French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, scheduled for later in the day. With just 11 weeks to go to the date by when negotiators on both sides want a deal to be signed, May is still trying to win EU leaders over to her vision for Brexit. However, according to various reports Brussels was now prepared to compromise on post-Brexit arrangements for the Irish border, making a deal on the Withdrawal Bill before October more likely. In a boost to investor sentiment, overnight saw another strong session for technology stocks in the US as Apple's market capitalisation pushed past the $1.0trn mark. Nevertheless, ongoing weakness in the Chinese yuan was reminding investors that a full-blown trade war might soon become a reality, with the US dollar gaining 0.46% versus the Chinese currency to 6.8746. Against that backdrop, as of 0915 BST, the FTSE 100 was trading 41 points higher at 7,606.96, with the second tier index up by 0.27% or 55.26 points to 20,604.62. Very much on investors' minds as well was the US non-farm payrolls report for July which was set for release at 1330 BST, with the consensus anticipating an increase of 193,000, which should suffice to lower the unemployment rate from 4.0% to 3.9%. Services sector Purchasing Managers Indices were also due to be published in the US and UK, with the latter expected at 0930 BST. Earlier, IHS Markit said its Eurozone services PMI slipped from a prelreading of 55.2 for June to 54.2 in July (consensus: 54.4). That prompted the survey compiler to say: "On this front, downside risks are more prevalent, as the slower expansion in new order inflows during July was partnered by a tandem dip in business optimism to a 20-month low. Both are reflecting the uncertainty about global market conditions, especially given the ongoing rhetoric about trade wars and the potential spillover effects to the broader economy and to manufacturing in particular." RBS announces first dividend in a decade Royal Bank of Scotland declared its first dividend in 10 years despite a inconsistent set of first half results. The taxpayer-owned bank reported a profit attributable to shareholders of 888m for the first six months of the year, which was down 5.4% on last year. It said the interim dividend of 2p per ordinary share was subject to the timing of the penalty agreed with the US Department of Justice. Product testing company Intertek said it was buying US-based software provider Alchemy for $480m (368.8m) in cash. Founded in 2003 and headquartered in Austin, Texas, Alchemy employs approximately 270 people at four locations across the U.S. and Canada. It is majority owned by the private equity firm The Riverside Company. Intertek said it was buying on a cash and debt-free basis. Cobham saw sales slump over the first half of the year as it ran into trouble with Boeing on the KC-46 tanker programme. But following divestments during the period, management argued that the resulting company was now more focused and the balance sheet stronger. Paper manufacturer Mondi led the FTSE 100 as it reported a 6% rise in interim pre-tax profits of 490m (436m) due to higher average selling prices and solid demand across its packaging businesses. Plastics supplier Essentra was boosted as said returned to profit growth, unveiling a 7% rise in half-year pre-tax profits to 21m as revenue fell to 513.1m from 522.6m, but was unchanged on a like-for-like basis. IAG flew lower as it issued its results for the six months ended 30 June on Friday, reporting second-quarter operating profit of 835m before exceptional items, up from a restated 790m a year ago but below consensus forecasts. The FTSE 100 owner of British Airways said it was still interested in low-cost rival Norwegian Air. William Hill was a big faller reported a 819.6m loss before tax for the 26 weeks to 27 June, down from a 93.1m profit a year earlier. This included 882.8m non-cash impairment taken as a result of the government's triennial review into FOBTs and also 29.9m of exceptional costs relating to restructuring, which is expected to see further costs of around 15m in the second half. AstraZeneca and Merck said the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has granted orphan designation to selumetinib, a MEK 1/2 inhibitor, for the treatment of neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) an incurable genetic condition that affects one in 3,000 newborns worldwide. Market Movers FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,612.11 0.48% FTSE 250 (MCX) 20,640.17 0.44% techMARK (TASX) 3,577.53 0.74% FTSE 100 - Risers Mondi (MNDI) 2,194.00p 5.89% Scottish Mortgage Inv Trust (SMT) 546.75p 2.87% Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 256.90p 2.72% Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 1,085.10p 2.56% Micro Focus International (MCRO) 1,227.00p 2.21% Smurfit Kappa Group (SKG) 3,216.00p 1.97% St James's Place (STJ) 1,163.00p 1.84% Standard Chartered (STAN) 685.70p 1.77% Schroders (SDR) 3,127.00p 1.72% Sage Group (SGE) 657.74p 1.69% FTSE 100 - Fallers International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 662.40p -3.30% BAE Systems (BA.) 627.20p -1.01% Morrison (Wm) Supermarkets (MRW) 258.80p -0.88% Compass Group (CPG) 1,625.50p -0.46% GVC Holdings (GVC) 1,132.00p -0.26% Sky (SKY) 1,515.50p -0.26% AstraZeneca (AZN) 5,795.00p -0.26% Fresnillo (FRES) 990.60p -0.24% easyJet (EZJ) 1,526.50p -0.23% Antofagasta (ANTO) 949.00p -0.19% FTSE 250 - Risers Essentra (ESNT) 507.00p 5.27% Alfa Financial Software Holdings (ALFA) 170.00p 3.91% Cobham (COB) 129.20p 3.73% Inmarsat (ISAT) 557.60p 3.68% Galliford Try (GFRD) 944.67p 3.41% Kaz Minerals (KAZ) 606.00p 3.10% Spectris (SXS) 2,369.00p 2.73% Coats Group (COA) 82.01p 2.64% Sophos Group (SOPH) 505.00p 2.60% Provident Financial (PFG) 696.40p 2.53% FTSE 250 - Fallers William Hill (WMH) 271.60p -7.08% Travis Perkins (TPK) 1,092.50p -3.57% Stobart Group Ltd. (STOB) 215.02p -2.04% Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) 1,629.25p -1.85% Capita (CPI) 131.51p -1.56% TI Fluid Systems (TIFS) 254.00p -1.55% CYBG (CYBG) 344.60p -1.32% Capital & Counties Properties (CAPC) 268.60p -0.89% Contour Global (GLO) 226.00p -0.88% Workspace Group (WKP) 1,079.30p -0.80% Stocks are set to start higher with a meeting between Prime Minister May and her French counterpart, Emmanuele Macron, scheduled for later in the day, in sharp focus. With just 11 weeks to go to the date by when negotiators on both sides want a deal to be signed, May is trying to win EU leaders over to her vision for Brexit. In a boost to investor sentiment, overnight saw another strong session for technology stocks in the US as Apple's market capitalisation pushed past the $1.0trn mark. Nevertheless, ongoing weakness in the Chinese yuan was reminding investors that a full-blown trade war might soon become a reality, with the US dollar gaining 0.46% versus the Chinese currency to 6.8746. Against that backdrop, the FTSE 100 was being called to start the day 41 points higher at 7,616. Very much on investors' minds as well was the US non-farm payrolls report for July which was set for release at 1330 BST, with the consensus anticipating an increase of 193,000, which should suffice to lower the unemployment rate from 4.0% to 3.9%. Services sector Puerchasing Managers Indices were also due to be published in the euro area, US and UK, with the latter expected at 0930 BST. Royal Bank of Scotland declared its first dividend in 10 years despite a inconsistent set of first half results. The taxpayer-owned bank reported a profit attributable to shareholders of 888m for the first six months of the year, which was down 5.4% on last year. It said the interim dividend of 2p per ordinary share was subject to the timing of the penalty agreed with the US Department of Justice. Product testing company Intertek on Friday said it was buying US-based software provider Alchemy for $480m (368.8m) in cash. Founded in 2003 and headquartered in Austin, Texas, Alchemy employs approximately 270 people at four locations across the U.S. and Canada. It is majority owned by the private equity firm The Riverside Company. Intertek said it was buying on a cash and debt-free basis. International Consolidated Airlines Group issued its results for the six months ended 30 June on Friday, reporting second quarter operating profit of 835m before exceptional items, up from a restated 790m a year ago. The FTSE 100 owner of British Airways said its net foreign exchange operating profit impact for the quarter was an adverse 66m, with passenger unit revenue down 1.9%, or up 2.3% at constant currency. International Consolidated Airlines Group reporting a strong increase in profits at the half-year stage, but not enough to satisfy demanding investors. Willie Walsh, chief executive of the British Airways and Iberia owner, also told BBC radio that IAG remained interested in low-cost, long-haul carrier Norwegian Air after two failed approaches earlier this year. The FTSE 100 group reported second quarter operating profit of 835m before exceptional items, up from a restated 790m a year earlier but short of the 848m consensus. There was a net foreign exchange operating profit impact of 66m. The companys operating profit before exceptional items for the half year was 1.12bn, up 17.4% from last years restated 950m. Passenger unit revenue for the second quarter fell 1.9%, but was up 2.3% at constant currency, while non-fuel unit costs before exceptional items were down 4.5%, or down 2.0% at constant currency. Fuel unit costs for the quarter rose 6.7%, or 15.0% at constant currency. Looking closer at the books for the half-year, passenger revenue was up 3.6% to 9.94bn, with total revenue ascending 3.1% year-on-year to 11.21bn. Available seat kilometres were up 5% at 154.57 billion for the half, although passenger revenue per available seat kilometre fell 1.3% to 6.43 euro cents. Non-fuel costs per available seat kilometre were down 5.1% at 4.95 cents. Cash stood at 8.15bn as at 30 June - a rise of 202m on a year earlier, with adjusted net debt-to-EBITDAR improving by 0.3 to 1.2x. For the half-year, basic earnings per share surged 141.6% on a statutory basis to 68.3 cents. There was a strong performance in both unit revenue and costs, said Walsh, adding that French air traffic control strikes had continued to challenge the companys operations. Vueling was particularly affected and incurred an additional 20m of disruption costs in the quarter. These strikes are also having a significant negative impact on the Spanish economy and tourism. Walsh also noted that in July, the firms new Austria-based, low-cost brand LEVEL began flights from Paris Orly to Montreal and Guadeloupe. We are committed to accelerating LEVEL's growth and its fleet will increase to a total of seven A330-200 aircraft in Paris and Barcelona next year. Also, we launched LEVEL short haul operations from Vienna where it will have four A321 aircraft that will operate to 14 European destinations. For the full year outlook he said: At current fuel prices and exchange rates, IAG still expects its operating profit for 2018 to show an increase year-on-year. Both passenger unit revenue and non-fuel unit costs are expected to improve at constant currency. Speaking to BBC radio on Friday morning, he said he had bee impressed by the performance of Norwegian. There is a demand for the product they offer low haul, low-cost is underserved. Norwegian as part of IAG could be transformed." But he added: "We are not having active discussions with them at the moment. IAG shares fell 4% on Friday morning to just above 652p. Analyst George Salmon at broker Hargreaves Lansdown said: Sometimes profits rising by the best part of 20% just isnt enough. Unfortunately for IAG, this is one of those times. Simply put, expectations were higher." He noted that some of the miss has come from ongoing French air traffic control strikes, which have prevented the growing Vueling brand from breaking into a half-year profit, while LEVEL was also starting to take off and IAG has its eyes set on the expanding market for low-cost long-haul. "That means another approach for Norwegian Air cant be ruled out. Theres clear upside to combining the two groups, but as ever, whether its a good idea or not will depend on price. IAG has been rebuffed twice before, so its unlikely to get Norwegian on the cheap. That heightens the risk of overpaying." He said investor focus was also on the cost base. "With IAG at the mercy of the ups and downs of the oil price, the most important metric is what IAG has rather clunkily named non-fuel operating costs. These are the ones IAG can control. Theres some good news on this front, with costs falling at a faster rate than weve seen recently. However, with the tailwind of low fuel prices fading fast, IAG will need this momentum to continue. Currently senior independent director at Pension Insurance Corporation, Lyons is a non-executive director of a number of financial institutions and was previously on the board of Friends Life. "I am extremely pleased to be joining Phoenix at this exciting time. Henry and Clive have built a strong platform and an outstanding team and there are excellent opportunities ahead. I look forward to working with the Board, management and shareholders in the years to come," said Lyons. Lyons has worked at JPMorgan, where he stayed for 12 years, Lehman Brothers, where he served as managing director in their European financial institutions group and global co-head of recruitment. He replaces Henry Staunton, who also currently serves as non-executive chairman of WH Smith, and will take on his new role at the FTSE traded company following the upcoming acquisition of Standard Life Assurance. Alastair Barbour, senior independent director at Phoenix, said: "On behalf of everyone on the board at Phoenix, we pay tribute to Henry's leadership through this transformational period for the group. Henry leaves Phoenix stronger and more confident than it has ever been and the board thanks him for his leadership and guidance." Phoenixs shares were up 0.52% at 679.50p at 0921 BST. Rhino diplomacy Gifting wildlife specimens may boost international ties, but activists have concerns A Manhattan federal judge rejected a lawsuit that was brought against Fox News by the parents of murdered DNC staffer Seth Rich. Seth Rich's unsolved murder became a focus for right-wing conspiracy theorists. The New York Times reported that Judge George B. Daniels said he felt for Seth Rich's parents, but explained that they had not been personally defamed by the story. Joel and Mary Rich sued the network in March, claiming they fabricated a news story that alleged Seth Rich was conspiring with WikiLeaks. The suit alleged intentional infliction of emotional distress and negligent supervision. Seth Rich story ended up being retracted by Fox News Last year, Fox News released an article that alleged Seth Rich had leaked thousands of hacked DNC emails to WikiLeaks before he was shot and killed in 2016. They later retracted the story, saying it did not meet their standards. Washington D.C. police have said they believe that Rich was killed in an attempted robbery. While the story was eventually retracted, the conspiracy theory continued to be fueled by key conservatives including Newt Gingrich, Sean Hannity, and right-wing radio hosts Rush Limbaugh and Alex Jones. President Trump used Rich's death to undercut the belief that Russian operatives were responsible for the DNC leak. Judge Daniels focused on defamation aspect of the suit Judge Daniels also noted that Seth Rich could not be defamed by the retracted story under New York law, because he was dead. The Rich family also named Fox News reporter Malia Zimmerman and Fox guest Ed Butowsky in the lawsuit. While the story was untrue, the actions of Fox News and Butowsky did not meet the legal standard of "outrageous conduct." The judge also dismissed a lawsuit against Fox News and Mr. Discuss this news on Eunomia Butowsky filed by private investigator Rod Wheeler, who was hired by the Rich family to look into their son's unsolved death. Wheeler claimed he was misquoted by Fox News in the story. Wheeler did not prove he was misquoted and the judge said he gave consent to the article's publication. Butowsky requested attorneys' fees and sanctions against Wheeler, but Judge Daniels denied his request. Despite the false reporting, the news company ended up leaving the story on their website for a number of days and had guests even make reference to the conspiracy theory. Judge Daniels ended up grilling Fox News' legal team but grilled the legal team representing the Rich family even harder. After the successful launch of its open-world survival game in May, Funcom has another big gaming addition this month. The Norwegian firm announced the release of the second DLC expansion for its widely popular open-world survival game, Conan Exiles. According to Gamasutra, the companys latest update, the "Jewel of the West" DLC, will bring more updates to the survival game. The new DLC update also comes with a new flashy trailer showing off the big additions made. The latest DLC expansion As mentioned earlier, Funcoms latest update introduces Aquilonia-themed building pieces along with new armor, new weapons, furniture, and placeables. The update also added warpaints to help players with their in-game creations. Players can build new homes and settlements with a complete set of Aquilonian building tools. Similar to the Ancient Greek and Roman architecture, the Aquilonian architectures are best known for smooth and fancy-looking marbles. The new update will also introduce a new dungeon, new religion, new avatar, and an entirely new gameplay feature. The new update also highlights the new pet taming system for creatures like camels and panthers. Funcom has released important details about its new pet system in its latest developer post. That post includes a complete list of what pet players can expect to try to tame. The developer provides information about converting young creatures into full adult animals. It also provides info about what pets can be used by players. Players can get the complete developer post about this pet system at the official "Conan Exiles" website. In addition to new content and pet system, Funcom also added some additional features. Players will now be able to customize their character, with three new armor sets such as the Aquilonian Scout light armor. Discuss this news on Eunomia They will also be able to wield new weapons like the lion-headed Aquilonia Mace, and even craft a new placeable like Aquilonia statues and more. This new update will be free to download to all players on all three gaming platforms. Players will learn more about this latest update and the upcoming big one when they visit Funcoms official website. Conan Exiles makes an impressive sales "Conan Exiles," the popular open-world survival game, has become the best and fastest-selling video game in Funcoms history, selling more than 1.4 million copies. It surpassed the record that was previously held by the 2008s MMORPG hit Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures. That game has reached an impressive 1.4 million copies sold after just three years on the gaming market. However, things changed fast, and the 2008 MMORPG hit is no longer the companys top game. That title belongs now to "Conan Exiles," the companys biggest and fastest-selling game ever. A plane carrying 103 passengers and crew was on its way from Durango to Mexico City and crashed soon after takeoff. It was an Aeromexico flight AM2431 and there are no casualties but 97 of the passengers suffered injuries. In a similar accident in Peru, all 141 passengers also survived a plane fire during a forced landing. State Governor Jose Rosas Aispuro said the Embraer 190 aircraft was hit by a gust of wind and lost control. One of its wings was made contact with the ground and two of its engines came off. BBC reports that most of the passengers made it to safety by foot before the plane caught fire. It had taken off from the Guadalupe Victoria International Airport in Durango and was headed for Mexico City when it crashed. The plane had 99 passengers (including two children) and four crew members onboard. The injured have been shifted to hospital. Two of them were reported to be in critical condition and one young girl had burns on her legs, Sky News wrote. Cause of the accident is not clear The safety record of Aeromexico is good. The pilot of the ill-fated plane is one of two persons who suffered serious injuries, but is believed to be in a stable condition. The last deadly accident the airline had was in 1981 when one of its planes crash landed in northern Chihuahua State. The airport operator revealed that preliminary information tends to suggest that bad weather conditions could have been responsible. The plane had apparently tried to takeoff during a heavy hailstorm and was forced to go in for an emergency landing. Incidentally, one passenger said the plane was hit by lightning. State Governor Jose Rosas Aispuro feels the plane was hit by a gust of wind and lost control. He has also said that the crew had deployed the evacuation slides to ensure that everyone was evacuated before flames engulfed the plane. Discuss this news on Eunomia The Embraer 190 aircraft belonging to Aeromexico crashed due to reasons that are yet to be established and the people onboard flight AM2431 had a miraculous escape. According to Sky News, dozens of people have been injured in the accident. There were conflicting accounts of how the accident happened. Witnesses and officials have mentioned about a hail storm that could have played an important role. The operator of Durango airport, has also blamed bad weather conditions. However, a team from the plane manufacturer will arrive at the site of the accident to carry out a detailed investigation to establish the cause. A federal judge in Seattle issued an order to stop the publication of plastic gun designs using a 3D printer. The order, requested by the Attorneys General of eight states and the District of Columbia, prevents Defense Distributors from publishing plastic gun designs on the internet. 3D printed weapon plans violate federal controls The State Department has argued that allowing the publication of these designs would violate federal controls. However, Trump's management had reached an agreement with the owner of the designs after he sued the State Department for the right to publish them. In rejection of that agreement, Senate Democrats warned Trump that printed and unregistered guns could end up in the hands of criminals. A printed gun does not require a gun registration and is undetectable from gun detectors. Under the law, it is illegal to make a plastic gun on a 3D printer, and the administration was complying with this law. The Trump administration should ban the publication of these designs and continue to strive to protect all Americans while supporting the First and Second Amendments. Here are the four most annoying things about the current gun debate. Other institutions have also made statements in this regard. For example, the National Rifle Association warned that undetectable plastic weapons have been illegal for 30 years. The federal law passed says it is "illegal to make an undetectable firearm," said Chris W. Cox, director of the National Rifle, in a statement. Trump has the power to stop this danger President Trump intervened in the matter on Tuesday (July 31), saying on Twitter that he is analyzing the situation with the publication on the Internet of the plastic gun designs. Discuss this news on Eunomia According to Trump, it doesn't seem logical. On the order banning the publication of these designs, Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson said the decision is a victory. "We were asking for a restraining order to end this decision," Ferguson said at a press conference. Eric Soskin, a lawyer with the US Department of Justice, said he would allow the company to publish the design of the weapons because people similarly buy weapons in stores. There is also the issue of banning the publication of data on the Internet, as for some this would be like regulating the use of the network. However, Democrats in Congress have urged Trump to reverse the decision. Connecticut Senator Richard Blumenthal said at a press conference that if Trump does not stop the Defense Distributed plan, he will be guilty of what may happen. Democrats say Trump has the power to stop this danger. Some Republicans think so too. The purpose of the restraining order is to prevent people with bad intentions from trying to use these designs to avoid gun laws. One gun policy worth mentioning is the Extreme Risk Protection Order signed in Oregon. The decision is expected to prevent the publication of the weapon designs on the internet, although the order may provoke much debate. The latest updates and spoilers for "Spider-Man: Far From Home" reveal that Peter Parker will likely wear his old Spidey suit in the sequel. Tom Holland posted an Instagram video on the set for a promo for his charity, The Brothers Trust. There are also reports that "Zodiac" movie star Jake Gyllenhaal was spotted in London where the "Spidey" sequel is filming. The movie will take place after the events of "Avengers 4" as Peter Parker copes with the events that happened to him during their war with Thanos and the Infinity Stones. He and his friends will go on a sponsored field trip to Europe, but things go sideways as Mysterio steals one of Tony Stark's inventions. No new costume for Peter in the sequel? According to Screen Rant, Tom Holland created a video for The Brothers Trust foundation on the set of "Spider-Man" Far From Home" and viewers quickly point out that he was wearing the old Spidey suit that Tony Stark gave him in "Captain America: Civil War." Tony made that suit for Peter to better his chances against Captain America and his renegade Avengers. The suit had similar technology to the Iron Man suit such as a HUD interface and an A.I. companion named Karen. It also has multiple web-based settings, voice changer, and a robot drone. "Ant-Man and the Wasp" costume designer, Louis Frogley, told India West in a previous interview that Peter will have a new suit that reflects his growth as a superhero. Peter's journey in the sequel will not be easy as he is still saddened by the death of Tony Stark in the fourth "Avengers" film. Spidey tries to preserve Tony's legacy by getting back his last invention from Mysterio. There are also rumors that former S.H.I.E.L.D. director Nick Fury will replace Tony as his mentor and help guide him on the right path. Discuss this news on Eunomia Jake Gyllenhaal as Mysterio According to Comic Book Movies, Jake Gyllenhaal was spotted in London where the production crew of "Spider-Man: Far From Home" is currently filming. While Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige stated that Gyllenhaal's participation is not yet official, his Instagram photo was enough to convince fans that he is indeed playing Mysterio. Just like his comic book counterpart, Gyllenhaal's character will use his knowledge of special effects to create illusions that will trick the public to commit crimes. He will also have a partner as "12 Strong" actor Numan Acar has been cast to play Dimitri (The Chameleon) in the movie. Vietnam, Thailand agree on measures to boost bilateral trade Vietnam and Thailand agreed on some measures to remove difficulties for businesses in carrying out trade activities at the third meeting of their joint trade committee in Hanoi on August 3. Vietnams Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh and Thailands Minister of Commerce Sontirat Sontijirawong co-chaired the event. The two sides discussed specific collaboration plans to raise two-way trade to 20 billion USD in 2020, and work for more balance in bilateral trade. Minister Tuan Anh suggested Thailand create more favourable conditions for Vietnamese firms to export farm produce and food to the market as well as speed up procedures to grant licences allowing the import of several kinds of Vietnamese fruits. He also urged Thailand to remove the procedure of licensing the export of milk and dairy products from Thailand to Vietnam, reduce and eliminate trade protection measures against Vietnamese iron and steel products. The minister called on the two sides to build coordination regulations to provide early warnings about the possibility of conducting trade remedies investigations on the other countrys export products. Tuan Anh also said the two countries should enhance coordination in multilateral cooperation frameworks. Also at the conference, the two sides looked at some issues of Thailands concerns such as the import of made-in-Thailand automobiles into Vietnam and Vietnams regulations on the rights of distributing medicines and medicine materials, the transport, storage and marketing of medicines in the market. Solutions to enhance cooperation in other fields such as agriculture, transport, customs, banking, investment, employment, intellectual property, and regional and sub-regional cooperation were also on the agenda. Thailand is currently the biggest trade partner of Vietnam in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) with two-way trade increasing to 15.3 billion USD in 2017 from 11.5 billion USD in 2015, an annual growth of 15.5 percent. Meanwhile, Vietnam is the second biggest trade partner of Thailand in ASEAN, following Malaysia. In the first six months of 2018, the bilateral trade reached nearly 8 billion USD, a year-on-year rise of 14.7 percent. Vietnam exported over 2.7 billion USD worth of goods to Thailand in January-June, up 22.7 percent against the same period last year. VNA/VNP Receiving the highest honor from a respected academic association is a once-in-a-lifetime experience, but having that honor bestowed on you by a long-term mentee is almost surreal. Virginia Tech Professor Kevin Boyle experienced that phenomenon recently at the World Congress of Environmental and Resource Economists in Gothenburg, Sweden, where he was named a Fellow of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists. It was an emotional experience, said Boyle, a professor in the Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics in the Virginia Tech College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. A person I had mentored presented the award and made some comments about our working relationship that were very moving. And the ceremony was in front of the best people in the profession from all around the globe many who were also deserving and could have been chosen. The award, which was presented by Laura Taylor, president of the association, recognizes individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the advancement of the profession and is awarded to no more than three people annually. Taylor, who first met Boyle as a graduate student at North Carolina State University, where Boyle did a year-long sabbatical, underscored Boyles numerous research contributions along with his ongoing support of students, young professionals, and peers as an audience of almost 1,000 watched. Boyles work over the past 30 years has helped establish an entire area of research that aims to value natural resources such as clean air and fresh water. Along the way, he has helped develop several major nonmarket valuation techniques, instituted experimental standards, and increased the validity of resource value estimates. Its been challenging to work in this area because a lot of people are really skeptical of nonmarket valuation, said Boyle. Environmentalists believe you shouldnt put a dollar value on nature and industry is against it because it limits what they can do. However, Boyle has used these challenges to motivate his work on resource value validation to show that estimates using nonmarket value techniques are credible and that people really do make choices based on environmental conditions that affect their wellbeing. Ive seen nonmarket valuation grow from infancy to maturity as an area of academic study, as well as a policy tool, said Boyle, who has devoted his career to resource valuation. My goal is to put the best information on the table for the public benefit. According to Boyle, people imply values for specific resources based on the choices they make. And those choices can affect property values, help arbitrate litigation, and inform the public, as well as policymakers. Studies like one commissioned by the United States Environmental Protection Agency to explore the effect of air pollution on property values are common for Boyle, who selects projects that have public significance. Its work that improves the quality of life for current and future generations, Boyle said. But another big driver for Boyle is finding projects and opportunities that help graduate students succeed during and after their academic journey. And having an old mentee bestow your highest honor upon you as the president of a respected academic association is just one perk. - Written by Jillian Broadwell SOUTH AUSTRALIA The Pagan Alliance of South Australia recently ceased to operate as an incorporated association, citing a significant drop in membership and financial difficulties as reasons for the decision. With the Tasmanian branch of the Pagan Alliance facing similar issues, an end to this organisation once a nationwide cornerstone of the Australian Pagan community is becoming increasingly likely after almost 30 years. History The Pagan Alliance was founded in 1991 by Wiccan Julia Philips at the height of the Satanic Panic, partly as a response to the widespread fearmongering and misinformation about Paganism during that period. According to a 2006 article, Phillips was staying with Wiccan friends in Canberra early in 1991 when the first seeds were planted. One of these manipulative people appeared on TV, spreading the usual unsubstantiated claims that pagans and witches were conducting black masses, child sacrifice, and so on, she remembers. It soon became apparent to Phillips that many Australian Pagans were unaware that many accounts of so-called ritual abuse during this time were fraudulent. My friends were all utterly shocked by what they heard, and started talking about ways to make sure the Pagan community could identify satanic abuse within Australia. When I told them that all these claims were fraudulent and simply an evangelical Christian attempt to discredit Paganism, they were sceptical and pointed out how much evidence the woman being interviews [sic] had provided. Phillips, who had spent some years living in England and had been a long-time member of the Pagan Federation, realised that Australians simply werent cognisant of the events in England, Scotland and the U.S., which meant that they were unprepared to deal with any threats if they cropped up. Pagans in Australia didnt have access in those days to a good communication network to learn about the truth behind the myth and reports had limited, if any, exposure in the mainstream Australian media. . . . [they] were really quite isolated from what was happening elsewhere in the Pagan world. This realisation prompted Phillips to contact her friend who was head of the Pagan Federation, Gardnerian high priestess Leonora James, and the idea was born: a nationwide organisation the first of its kind in Australia dedicated to providing news and networking to Pagans. Launched at the 1991 Australian Wiccan Conference that September with the motto strength through diversity, the organisation was called the Pan-Pacific Pagan Alliance, in the hope that New Zealand Pagans would also be involved. Oleander was present during this formative time, and handled the Pagan Parents League, a division of the PPPA. We were all pretty spread out and there was no real networking back then, she writes. [The PPPA was] a kind of umbrella organisation that could also offer legal representation/advice to Pagans, because at that time there was a big scare about so called satanic and Pagan child abuse. As a mother of two children it was a really scary time. I remember how shocked and powerless many of us felt at what was unfolding. It felt like the days of the witch hunts could come again, which just felt so unbelievable. . . . the PPPA was born and it was an exciting and positive time in the community with lots of networking and ideas. The Pagan Parents League was a part of the initial PPPA. Oleander wrote parenting articles for the newsletter and ran Pagan parenting workshops, childrens activities and the childrens spring ritual for the next few Wiccan conferences. She also became a contact person for other parents. I still remember a very late night phone call . . . . a couple of years into my time as the PPPA Pagan Parents League coordinator from a very distressed older lady who was terrified of losing custody of her granddaughter because she was a witch . . . and that lady turned out to be Rhiannon Ryall, but thats another story! The PPPA thrived throughout the 90s, with several coordinators in most cases from differing traditions in an effort to prevent one group having more say than another in each state reporting to a central coordinator based in Sydney. Around 1995, Michael Freeman stepped into the role of promoting the PPPA in New Zealand. Toward the end of that decade, then-coordinators of the PPPA Chel and Jon Bardell steered the group in structural changes: its members magazine the Pagan Times was separated from the organisation and became a subscription-only publication. In addition to this, the PPPA was rebranded as the Australian Pagan Alliance. In 1999, the Bardells retired from their positions. Julia Phillips returned to a leadership role, establishing the Pagan Alliance in Victoria as an incorporated body. Phillips remained in charge of a small committee until retiring in 2003. By that point the once-nationwide Pagan Alliance existed only in the states of South Australia and Tasmania. The Pagan Alliance of South Australia In January 2018, leaders of the Pagan Alliance of South Australia announced on their Facebook page that it had been struggling to get new members and retain old ones, and called for the Pagan community to lend their support to keep PASA running as a viable organisation. The Jan. 7 statement declared, We are at the point where, if no new members come forward, PASA as an incorporated body will cease to exist by June 30, 2018. While many initially pledged their support, the follow-through was not enough to sustain the organisation going forward, according to PASA coordinator Tamzin Woodcock. We had a last ditch attempt in January, with a big email and [Facebook] push. Lots of support, but only a few fronted up with the membership form and money. We literally did not have enough ongoing members to pay the yearly insurance cost, and to run camps and workshops, you need insurance if you are an incorporated body [in South Australia]. Woodcock joined PASA in 2001, after meeting many members at the 2000 Australian Wiccan Conference. Over the years [PASA] have run Australian Wiccan conferences and other camps, workshops and provided insurance for the yearly English Ale. Fortnightly, then monthly Pagans in the Pub meetings with speakers, networking and raffles. A magazine, the Silver Wheel, was published at first eight times a year, then four. The organisation has also run regular seasonal picnics and rituals. A special general meeting was held on July 3. Attendees voted 17 to nothing in favour of de-registering PASA as an incorporated body. Thank you to all who have been involved and shown interest in PASA throughout the years, the committee said in a statement on Facebook. Unfortunately, the financial situation for PASA is such that we will no longer be able to continue as an incorporated body. Without incorporation, PASA will not have insurance, an official committee or members. Were hoping to continue as a Facebook group, with no fees, no committee and no meetings, Tamzin says. To regularly get together and unofficially do many of the things that PASA used to do. . . . We are also looking into an online magazine for members to contribute to. At this stage, we are unsure what an un-incorporated PASA will look like, the statement reads, later continuing to advise that we will keep our community informed as to what we may look like and how you may be involved. The PASA committee will be meeting on Aug. 6 to discuss details of the de-registration process. The Tasmanian Pagan Alliance With the de-registering of PASA as an incorporated body, the Tasmanian Pagan Alliance is the only remaining incarnation of what was once the Pan-Pacific Pagan Alliance. However, they have reportedly faced challenges in the form of membership losses this year, as has been reported by numerous members. On April 30, newly-elected alliance president Morgan Leigh and treasurer Jan Walker posted a statement on Facebook advising members of an upcoming special general meeting to elect a new committee as so many people have resigned that we dont have enough people left to have a quorum so we are unable to have committee meetings. One long-time attendee of alliance events, who did not wish to use his name, expressed his own concern at a sudden drop in numbers this year. Its really noticeable to many of us, he told the Wild Hunt. Lots of people have left the committee or left altogether, and the transition to the new committees hasnt been that smooth, to be honest. I think a lot of us are sort of holding our breath to see what happens next. Numbers are getting pretty low. Other interviewees also expressed similar worries. The board, however, was unavailable for comment by time of publication. The Tasmanian Pagan Alliances special general meeting took place online in May. Since then, another long-time alliance moot convener has resigned her position. The challenges of running a Pagan nonprofit Having been president of the New South Wales-based Pagan Awareness Network for over a decade, David Garland is no stranger to the challenges faced by leaders of these two groups. It is unfortunate that the PASA is going to unincorporate[sic] but it is a sign of the modern Pagan community, in my opinion, he told the Wild Hunt. Nobody wants to belong to an organisation anymore. Nobody wants to pay membership fees or contribute or volunteer to produce things like the Silver Wheel for nothing. His organization has faced the same problem in the past, Garland said. We just ran out of members and nobody was joining. Luckily we got through it and we managed have enough people to keep the association running . . . . if the community isnt backing the organisation then why would your organisation continue to try [to] back the community? You will find that it is the same people who are the backbone of the Pagan groups and organisations, and they burn out. Especially when there is no support from the community. Woodcock agreed. We asked what people wanted and tried our best to deliver, but to no avail,she said, when asked about community support for the Pagan Alliance of South Australia. The majority of the Australian community in my opinion is not satisfied that an organisation is working behind the scenes ensuring that religious freedom and rights are being protected. Garland said. They want low cost or free events run [in] their area, even if there would be less than 20 people who may attend in that remote area. They dont want to financially support a group that they do not directly get a personal physical advantage from for something that concerns them now. They all want events but dont want to risk the time or money to run them. If anyone has a solution, I would love to hear it, to try [to] give Pagans the community that they want. Ruling MPs threaten to impeach Joshee Lawmakers from the ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP) are mulling over impeaching Acting Chief Justice Deepak Raj Joshee if the Parliamentary Hearing Committee (PHC) is obstructed from deciding his fate. This multi-platformed sea club features different concrete platforms and spaces overlooking an amazing view of shore in the Pacific Ocean in Acapulco, Mexico. Designed by 128 arquitectura y diseno urbano and Kontrast Arquitectura, the Sea Club Punta Marques perfectly sits on a rocky shore of Acapulco, which is known as one of the firsts ports and shipyard during the colonial era. This place is an area where naval expeditions departed to new territories like the Philippines, Baja California or Peru. Since it is well known with this historical background and its nearness to Mexico City, Acapulco is now visited as one of the top tourist destinations during the second half of the XX century. There are two bays alongside the Pacific Ocean that structures the seafront to this mesmerizing scene, Acapulco Bay and Puerto Marques, in memory of the Valley Marquis, the conqueror Hernan Cortes. The Sea Club Punta Marques is situated in the convergence of both bays, a cape called Punta Marques. The cape has two frontages, one heading the Pacific Ocean and the other side the bay which gives access the sea just like an ancient fortification. The new building becomes "an Open Balouart", according to the architects. Encompassing a total of 2,800 square meters, the spaces are distributed in three major areas: the restaurant, bar building and the pool terrace area. A sea deck and the service areas are placed on the lowest level to allow easy access. Taking cues from its location, the architects applied a lighting strategy to avoid the disturbance of the local ecosystem. The architects used multiple platform system that distributes the activities with different spatial characteristics. On the access level, an inviting juice bar and lounge are designed with a decked terrace to make feel the atmosphere, on the first level, the dinner restaurant and a roof terrace welcome visitors with fully open front facade and on the second level, the architects designed the main terrace bar with swimming pool to enjoy with this spectacular view. The architects were careful about the choice of the materials to adapt to the natural setting, that's why, they used the similar colors of concrete resembling to the natural stone. "Acapulco like other ports around the Guerrero state have suffered a bad moment derived from the violence in the area, however the project pretends to counter balance this situation," said the architects. "The project brief stablishes two basic guidelines, the revival of an iconic location within the environmental regulations on the site." Project facts Project name: Sea Club Punta Marques Architects: 128 arquitectura y diseno urbano and Kontrast Arquitectura Location: Punta marques, Acapulco, Guerrero, Mexico Date: 2018 All images Alejandro Gutierrez > via 128 arquitectura y diseno urbano and Kontrast Arquitectura A few highlights from Thursday's Tennessee primaries. For the vote totals for all congressional and gubernatorial primaries, go here. Governor Businessman Bill Lee emerged from a crowded field to win the Republican nomination. Rep. Diane Black finished 3rd, becoming the fifth House member to lose* in a bid for higher office. Lee will start out as the favorite against the Democratic nominee, former Nashville Mayor Karl Dean. The current governor, Republican Bill Haslam, is termed-out. Senate As expected, GOP Rep. Marsha Blackburn and Democratic former Gov. Phil Bredesen easily won their respective party's nomination. This is shaping up to be a highly competitive general election race. The current incumbent, Sen. Bob Corker, is retiring. House All five incumbents that faced a primary challenge were victorious. Knox County Mayor Tim Burchett and businessman John Rose won the open Republican nomination in the 2nd and 6th districts, respectively. State Senator Mark Green was unopposed for the GOP nomination in the open 7th district. These are very safe GOP districts - Donald Trump won each by over 35% in 2016 - and all three are likely headed to Congress in 2019. * Idaho's Rep. Raul Labrador also lost a bid for governor, while Indiana's Todd Rokita and Luke Messer both lost in Indiana's U.S. Senate primary. In West Virginia, Evan Jenkins also lost his U.S. Senate primary. For more, see this List of 2018 House Retirements. Ernesto Londono in the New York Times: The giant antenna rises from the desert floor like an apparition, a gleaming metal tower jutting 16 stories above an endless wind-whipped stretch of Patagonia. The 450-ton device, with its hulking dish embracing the open skies, is the centerpiece of a $50 million satellite and space mission control station built by the Chinese military. The isolated base is one of the most striking symbols of Beijings long push to transform Latin America and shape its future for generations to come often in ways that directly undermine the United States political, economic and strategic power in the region. The station began operating in March, playing a pivotal role in Chinas audacious expedition to the far side of the moon an endeavor that Argentine officials say they are elated to support. More here. 00:00:00] (SEGUE) [00:00:01] Will: Coming up on this episode of AARP: The Perfect Scam. [00:00:04] Kitty: Its beyond my, my wildest dreams how anybody could just take advantage of, of people, sweet people. But theyre out there. [00:00:14] Will: Welcome back to AARP: The Perfect Scam, and our two-part episode about Valerie in Florida. If you havent listened to part 1 of Valeries story, do that now. Im Will Johnson, and Im here with the AARP Fraud Watch Network Ambassador Frank Abagnale. Frank. [00:00:29] Frank Abagnale: Great to be here. [00:00:30] Will: Good to have you here. You know, after 42 years with the FBI, its 42 now, right? [00:00:35] Frank Abagnale: Yes. [00:00:35] Will: I feel like youve more than made up for any harm you might have caused. [00:00:39] Frank Abagnale: I appreciate that. [00:00:40] Will: I, I would assume you feel the same way. [00:00:42] Frank Abagnale: Uh, its still a, its still a burden, because unfortunately there are people who uh never let you forget what you did. You have to deal with a lot of comments, you have to deal with a lot of emails that people write and blaming you for something you did 50 years ago. Uh, but I think as long as in your own mind you know what youve done with your life and what youre trying to do with your life uh you just keep down that, that road. Theres always going to be, you know haters love to hate, so theres always going to be people who resent, resent you for what you did, even though it was 50 years ago, when I was a teenager. Uh, so its still, its still somewhat of a burden that you live with and have to carry, but you understand that, you know, you did that and thats something you just have to live with the rest of your life. [00:01:24] Will: Yeah, I mean, weve talked about your motivation was survival to start, and it was a lot of big banking institutions, uh it wasnt necessarily... and, and it started to enter your mind along the way, well maybe this is somebody who works there that might, you know, that works at a bank and maybe Im getting them in trouble. [00:01:42] Frank Abagnale: Exactly. [00:01:43] Will: But any big scams, frauds, security issues youre working on you can share with us today before we get back to Valeries story? [00:01:51] Frank Abagnale: Uh, the, the newest scam going on right now is where uh they get ahold of your credit card number, and then the next thing you know, you get a statement on your credit card and it says that theres a charge from X-Y-Z Company of $100 on your credit card. So, you think to yourself, well I dont know anything about an X-Y-Z Company, so you call the credit card company and the credit card company tells you, youll have to call the merchant who posted that charge, and either they usually put their phone number next to the charge on your statement, or their, or their company will tell you, the credit card company will tell you this is the number we have for them. Then when you call them, they go, Oh, Im sorry to hear that. Maybe there was a mistake, but in order for me to look into this, Ill need some background information on you. Whats your Social Security number? Whats your bank account number? Whats your date of birth? And its really a matter of getting [00:02:44] all that information from you just to scam you again. And what they do is they set themselves up as a legitimate merchant, which is not difficult to do. I can go to MasterCard, VISA tomorrow, American Express, set myself up as a merchant on the internet or whatever where I can accept their credit cards to whatever Im selling. Maybe Im selling blocks over the internet and I want to get, be able to get people to charge on the internet. So they set themselves up as merchants, and then they, they do that, but the whole purpose of it is to get information from you. [00:03:12] Will: Well, so first of all, we have a colleague were going to hear from in one of our upcoming episodes. This happened to her. Uh, but I appreciate your bringing it up because it is one thats out there. You just look at your bank account, or you look at your information, you call that number. And then I have a confession, so I, Ive been really careful since we started doing this show. I live my life in fear, uh basically. Actually I want to talk about that at some point about how to sort of stay sane and also be very suspicious of everything. Uh, but so I had a, a charge, an ongoing charge on my credit card and I called, you know what I did. I looked up the company, very legitimate, well-known national company. I looked them up online and went to their website. I think I did things right here. I feel like this is stopping and verifying to some extent, and I had an online chat with them and I said, well, you know, theres these charges and they said this, well to look into this we need to know your banking information. So I provided that on the chat. I started to say, no, Im not going to do this right now, Im not going to do it, and they said, you know we do this every day, all the time. So I provided some check information online, [00:04:13] and Im, and Im still feeling guilty about that. Eventually they said, we dont have any charges from our, from our account there. So it was somebody else doing this under their name. So maybe I did the right thing, I dont know. I feel like this... [00:02:55] Frank Abagnale: No, I think you did the right thing. Again, the catch there would have been that you looked up to make sure this was a legitimate company before you ever made that phone call. [00:04:33] Will: Alright, I feel better then. Thank you for letting me make that confession. [00:04:36] Frank Abagnale: Yeah, absolutely. [00:04:38] Will: Alright, so look out for that one, folks. In the meantime, we are now going to return to the story of Valerie, youll recall last week her, her daughters were very concerned about what was going on. They were paying visits to their 92-year-old mother in Florida, getting a picture of how much money she was mailing off to scammers. They also were realizing that their mother wasnt sharing much information. Alison, known as Babba by her sisters, living in Maine, and Abbie in New York decided, heres what they did, they decided that a surveillance camera was the only way to get a real picture of what was going on when they were not around. [00:05:10] (SEGUE) [00:05:11] Alison: We went to um, Best Buy and we got a spy camera and we um, set it up and were able to like, when we had to leave, we were able to listen to the conversations that she would have with the scammers. I mean I'd watch her from the time I, I woke up in the morning until the time, you know, she would go to bed at night. [00:05:27] Will: It must have been an odd feeling to go that far. [00:05:30] Alison: It was a very odd feeling to go that far, and I felt like a criminal almost doing it, but it felt like we really didnt have a choice, and they would call her constantly, like 5, 6, 7 times a day, all night, sometimes at 12 at night, um, telling her that they, theyd keep her on the phone for a long time and theyd tell her that they loved her and they would you know, they got really familiar with her. I couldnt really exactly hear what they were saying to her because I could just hear her responses most of the time. At one point she'd talk to them or a couple of times she would say, My daughters are telling me that this is one big scam. You're scamming me horribly and I, you have to stop. I can't give you any more money, and by the end of the phone call, she'd be like, Okay, okay, I will. I will. I love you, bye. She was so anxious all the time, and she would go either sit on the couch like, just like looking really nervous and upset all the time. [00:06:25] Will: To watch that must have just bizarre. [00:06:27] Alison: It was bizarre. It was horrible. [00:06:28] Abbie: The other thing that Babba caught on the camera which Alison and I were able to track down and stop is she was, they told her to go to a Quickie Loan place and... [00:06:39] Alison: An hour and a half drive away. [00:06:40] Abbie: Yeah, an hour and a half drive away, a remote place in Florida. She, Alison overheard the name of it kind of, so then we went on the internet and we researched it and we called all the places that sounded like that, and we got through and we talked to one of them, and we were like, if you let this loan go through, you're going to be in so much trouble. We're going to be all, you know, it's illegal, dah, dah, dah, dah, she's being scammed and um, they were like, got us on the phone with the manager and we had to talk about it again and then finally you know, they agreed to stop it. And she had to drive all the way there and find out, you know that she wasn't going to get it, and... [00:07:13] Alison: I heard the phone conversation when she got back from that with the scammer, cause they called her and... Now, did you get the money? And she's like, No, they wouldn't give it to me, and they were like, Well go back and try again, and she's like, "No, I'm not driving all, all the way over there. That almost killed me. I'm not going to do it. I'm just not going to do it. [00:07:29] Will: In Rhode Island, Valeries daughter, Kitty, agrees the camera exposed how ugly things were getting. [00:07:33] Kitty: It did kind of probably give us an idea of how, what were dealing with and how, how hard this is going to be to break. [00:07:42] (SEGUE) [00:07:45] Will: In the meantime, Alison in Maine, spending her days watching her mother and hearing at least one side of the conversation. The sisters were also doing what they could to track down the scammers on their own. Abbie. [00:07:55] Abbie: The incoming calls, a lot of the incoming calls um, were 000-000-0000. But I have three numbers that were incoming calls. So I, I called the ones that she called too, and the ones that called her and people answered. Like I called two of them and they answered the phone, and they started soliciting me for Publishers Clearing House. We said stuff like you know, Were onto you. [00:08:20] At what point did your mom know what was going on was a scam? Did she ever completely get through to that? [00:08:27] Alison: I dont think so. I mean I think, you know, sometimes shed be like, oh yeah, Im being scammed, but I dont think she totally, totally believed it was. [00:08:35] (SEGUE) [00:08:38] Will: How much money in total do you think she sent off? [00:08:41] Alison: I would say close to $100,000. [00:08:43] Will: Eventually, you tried to reach out to authorities or along the way you did. Tell us about that and, and what help you did or did not get. [00:08:51] Alison: Well, we went to the sheriffs department in Venice first and they um, first of all they said theres nothing they can do, because you know, she has to claim that shes a victim and shes not claiming it, so they cant really do anything. [00:09:03] Abbie: We called all the other agencies cause we were recommended to other things as well, you know, called these like non-for-profit things, but, you know, people wouldnt call us back or there, there just wasnt any readily available things that, I mean unless like they, one called Mom and tried to talk to her, but shes not listening to us, shes not listening to anybody. [00:09:22] (SEGUE) [00:09:24] Will: Believe it or not, theres another weird twist to the story. From what Abbie and Alison were able to get out of their mother, it appears that at some point the scammers, at least one of them, possibly came to her in person, this time not with a briefcase full of prizes and promises, but as an FBI agent. [00:09:40] Abbie: And when my mother was not, you know understand--, like kind of doubting that it might be, you know true that, you know, I mean shes kind of thinking possibly it was a scam, it sounded like, to me, when she told me, it was someone came there who was an FBI agent, she said, and told her that it wasnt a scam, and she believed them. And that seems like completely crazy, but I think, yeah, she was so far, like she wanted to believe it so much. [00:10:08] Will: Valeries daughter, Kitty, says her visit in January was shocking to see her mother doing so poorly, but then she seems to start to improve. [00:10:15] Kitty: Now, in March, when I went down alone, thats when, you know, she had reached a realization that this may not be what she thinks it is. And I kept saying, I, I sat with her, and I said, Mom, youre alive, you can come back from this. Its only money, you know, you have your health. By the end of that wonderful visit she was herself. Her health was better, I mean she wasnt jumping up and down, but she was a lot more herself. She was driving. She had energy, wed go to the beach, we would do things. We went shopping, you know, she was back to her old self, so you know I thought by the time I left in March, she was going to, she was going to bounce back. She was going to be fine. I, I was clear that she was, she was over the hump, and dont worry about a thing, you know, you can live your life. [00:11:07] Will: Sadly though, Valerie seems to give out soon after Kittys visit. [00:11:11] Kitty: My sent out a video of her basically bed, you know, be--, bed bound, you know, she just couldnt move. When I saw that video, I was like, Whos that old man? She had no hair. She couldnt, you know, walk, and I, and then I realized it was my mother. I, I had, you know, and it, it just, it was like, I dont know what happened. [00:11:31] (SEGUE) [00:11:36] So heres this woman who 12 months ago, less than a year ago was healthy, happy, doing well, going out with friends, she was part of a book club, and her daughters are now seeing her completely different. She, shes not going out. She is not seeing friends. Shes not doing the book club. Things have changed dramatically for Valerie. Kitty has no doubt in her mind that the scam is to blame for her mothers sudden decline. [00:12:03] Kitty: They killed her. They killed her. She had no other, she had, she was not sick. She had no other physical um, you know, issues. I, I always joked and said, Youre in better shape than I am, cause I had hip issues. [00:12:16] Will: There was something about this psychological torment that just got inside her and, and wouldnt let go. [00:12:23] Kitty: Right. [00:12:24] Will: Yeah. [00:12:24] Kitty: Stress does kill you. Its a, thats no secret. And you know she was under a lot of stress and I think the stress really did start when the prize never came. Wheres that prize? You promised me it was going to come. It was supposed to come last month. What about oh, its going to come this month? Oh, youve got to pay more. Well where is that prize? Its supposed to come. And this probably went on for six months. Oh, now youve got to pay this. Its, its really, they killed my mother. I mean they, plain and simple. I have no, no doubt in my mind. [00:13:00] Will: If you had any ability to say something to the guy or people on the other end of that phone line, what would that be? [00:13:05] Kitty: Oh, (laugh) I mean, you know burn in hell. I, I dont know what sort of human being could ever do that. Theyre just monsters. Its just, its beyond my, my wildest dreams how anybody could just take advantage of, of people, sweet people that they tell over and over, I love you. You know I, I dont know what sort of mon--, but theyre out there. Theyre out there and theyre, theyre out there plenty of, in droves. [00:13:31] Will: And your mother from what Ive learned this afternoon and from reading your story, her story is, sounds like a remarkable woman. Im sorry the last chapter had to be like that. [00:13:41] Kitty: I know. Its really, yeah, I mean the only thing, you know hopefully this will avoid somebody else, you know, from getting it. Cause it is so sad. Anyway. (crying) I mean she was a fabulous, she was talented, she was creative, she was so many other things, and to treat her like, you know, some sort of cash cow, you know, is just, just unimaginable, you know? [00:14:16] (SEGUE) [00:14:17] Will: Was she, was she wiped out by the scammer? [00:14:21] Alison: She would have been, cause they were talking about taking, having her go into the trust and shes like, No, no, Im not going into the trust. [00:14:26] Will: And scammer, you, you said in terms of talking to investigators or the sheriffs office, no one was able to really give you a lot of help. [00:14:34] Abbie: No one tried. No one even called the scammers. I gave them the phone numbers. I gave everybody the phone numbers, you know, I, nobody except Alison and I, tried to track these people down and figure out who they were. And theyre doing it to more people right now. Im sure, you know? And I, I mean we have addresses, we have phone numbers, we have so much that could be used to try to figure out the scam, and nobody was interested. [00:15:03] (SEGUE) [00:15:05] Will: It sounds like you all did between all of you, you did probably as much as anyone could have done. But Im sure it still, its hard to think about and do you ever wonder, like what more you could have done? [00:15:18] Alison: What we could have done is been done there with her all the time. I think, thats what we could have done, but we werent. [00:15:24] Abbie: Yeah. [00:15:24] Will: But literally putting your life on hold to just... [00:15:26] Alison: Yeah, putting your life on hold, yeah. [00:15:29] Will: Im struck by going through the timeline how this started in September... [00:15:32] Abbie: And she died the following year, I know. Yeah. [00:15:37] Will: Thank you so much for talking to us. [00:15:39] Alison: Thank you. No, really, it was good. [00:15:42] Will: So Frank, certainly theres no hard evidence that we can prove or disprove that, that she died because of these scammers, but Kitty makes a pretty good point that the stress and all that was going on in her life might have, might have, well she believes it did her in. [00:16:00] Frank Abagnale: Well, and I believe it, too. I believe Kittys right that that drained uh, the life out of her. You know, um, on Monday night, on behalf of the FBI I spoke to all the sheriffs in South Carolina at their annual association meeting. There were probably 47 county sheriffs there. And when I went to Q&A in the presentation, the first question was, What can we do about these people that are out of the country scamming and defrauding people and they get there in Jamaica or Russia, China, and I had to say to them, Absolutely nothing. You know, were kind of powerless. The fact that crime now is so global, and the fact that communications like telephones and internet allow you to commit these crimes from millions of miles away, um, makes it almost impossible. And then there is the, the concept that there is so much of it that as in the law enforcement side, you then have to decide who do I go after? Do I go after the guys scamming somebody out of $100,000 or do I go after the gang thats scamming millions of dollars? So, I think theres some, there is some efforts going on [00:17:00]. So I spoke a, a few months ago for the uh association of State Attorney Generals. They have a fellowship program they started, and twice a year they bring attorney generals in from countries all over the world. They come for five days to Washington DC. I made a presentation to them. They were from Brazil, France, Australia, and the purpose of that is theyre trying to say, if Im the attorney general in Maryland, and I have this scam in Jamaica, who do I call? So if I want to get involved, and I want to do something about this, whats my connection in Jamaica? Who am I able to speak to? So it allows these people to meet each other, form a relationship, get to know each other, to network together, so when that comes up, now I know the attorney general in Brazil, cause I met him at this fellowship program, and I can call him and say, look, this is going on, we know its coming out of Jamaica, can you at least look into this? So I think theres a little more of that going on. The other thing Id say is remember that she [00:18:00] was just one of many victims. They dont work just one case and then devote all their time to just Kittys mom. There were hundreds of Kittys moms they were working on at the same time. And yes, its a scripted, this is entirely scripted. They learn to do this, they follow the script. They dont adlib. They follow a script, so when you start to say, you know, I think Im being scammed, people are telling me youre scamming me, and they start to get suspicious... [00:18:26] Will: They just follow a script where they need to... [00:18:28] Frank Abagnale: Right, they jump down to the script, call their associate in the US, tell them to go, whos done it several times, poses as the FBI agent, poses as a policeman, go confirm this. So thats all part of the, these people all work together and part of the scam. And finally, you know, as Ive, youve heard me mention many times, anybody can be scammed including myself. Theres nothing to be ashamed of if youre scammed. Anybody can be scammed. The smartest people on Wall Street, the smartest investment bankers have been scammed. So, if youre scammed, the point is to not let it happen to somebody else. Tell somebody, share that with somebody, and thats so great that these ladies came forward to tell us this so other people can actually hear the story of someone whos really been victimized and has gone to the extent to where it really cost them their life, not just their uh money. And thats, thats just totally a shame. [00:19:18] Will: I was so struck by that, the comment from this, the daughters about how they were saying, I mean, and this is certainly common I, I would guess, uh, they were saying, I love you. And she was saying that back. They could hear, at least hear her side of that conversation. [00:19:31] Frank Abagnale: Yeah, because they, they, well they want to form a relationship. Its not just the business transaction; you won the Publishers Sweep--, Clearinghouse Sweepstakes, its more about getting to know you and then becoming your friend and then saying, you know, we really care about you. We have a personal interest in you. And its amazing to me that you, you want to say to people, youve never met these people. You dont really know who they are. So I dont know why youre falling for this spell, or coming under this spell from them, but you can see where people, again, that are alone, uh sometimes end up falling for these things, and these people know how to manipulate people. Its what they do for a living. [00:20:08] Will: They must take very, like I mean seriously, take very careful notes about each person they talk to, so they can come back again and again. [00:20:14] Frank Abagnale: Each person, absolutely. And its all, you know, all in a playbook, all done as a, to them, its the way they do it. And again, when you say, well how can people like this do this? Yes, its horrible, but keep in mind that the whole purpose of the phone and the internet is there is no emotion involved. Theyve never met the person, they dont know the person, theyre speaking to an instrument, or theyre on a computer. And this makes it a lot easier for the criminal side of it, who looks at it like, I dont know this person from Adam. I dont know really what they look like, who they are. Theres no emotional involvement, or maybe eventually the person goes, you know, I really feel bad about scamming this person. Thats gone because its not like in the old days where for a con to work, had to be one on one. I had to be conning you. So I may have gotten into an emotional relationship with you as you became a friend of mine. Id say, you know, I really hate doing this. This guys a really nice guy. Hes a decent guy. Thats all gone because of the internet and communications. [00:21:05] Will: Our show is not really about how to inform or advise family members to go about uh, or at least one method could be surveilling a family member, and I dont know if I really would want to go there, but they, they did that, and they felt like it was a necessary step in order to know just how deep their mother was in this scam. [00:21:26] Frank Abagnale: And I, and I felt that they did the right thing. I know that would be very hard to do, but I would not hesitate a moment to go hire a private investigator or somebody to find something out if I thought one of my family members was being scammed and they, they wouldnt, I couldnt convince them that they were. Id, Id want to bring evidence that, that I could substantiate that, that they were. [00:21:47] Will: Abbie the, the daughter in New York talks about having addresses and phone numbers and there was not much they could do about that. You talked about talking to this uh, sheriffs, thats right. [00:21:55] Frank Abagnale: Sheriffs Association. [00:21:57] Will: The phone numbers and addresses are probably not going to ever do anybody any good. [00:22:00] Frank Abagnale: No, and it is very frustrating to law enforcement. They hear these stories all the time, but they realize, here I am, a sheriff in South Carolina. These people are in Jamaica. What can I do? You know, so even if I get on a plane and go to Jamaica, Im not going to be able to arrest them, and then I have to try to convince the authorities over there to do so. Its a very frustrating thing. And this is why, as youve heard me say before, you cannot rely on the police, you cannot rely on the government. You cannot rely on your bank. You have to be a little smarter today, a little wiser today than you did 50 years ago. You have to think these things through and seek advice from someone you trust if you think something is going wrong, or someones trying to scam you out of your money? [00:22:43] Will: If the bad guys are the ones using technology to get away with crime and getting better at it, doesnt law enforcement have to use technology to fight back? [00:22:53] Frank Abagnale: Yeah, and we do, they do use a lot of technology to fight back, but like this, the phone calls, you know, we do a lot of things where we allow people to buy blocks of numbers. We allow people to have phones that you cant really trace where theyre coming from, throwaway phones, so we as an establishment, we basically allow some of these things to occur because were not controlling those things. [00:23:15] Will: Right, and as sophisticated as some forms of technology may be for scammers, it also comes back just to being a good con man sometimes. [00:23:25] Frank Abagnale: Being a good con man and it comes back to like I said when, you know, theres, when you see those red flags, if you could just learn to say to yourself, you know, the red flags are just two, so that Im either going to at some point ask you to send me money... [00:23:40] Will: One. Thats one. [00:23:41] Frank Abagnale: Right, or two, its going to be, Im going to ask you information. Whats your Social Security number, whats your bank account number, whats your date--... [00:23:48] Will: Right. [00:23:48] Frank Abagnale: And if you just say to yourself, okay, the minute that happens, Im hanging up the phone. [00:23:53] Will: Stamp that on your, on your hand or something. [00:23:54] Frank Abagnale: Exactly. [00:23:55] Will: Yeah. Alright, great advice. I want to thank the, the daughters who, who spoke, Valeries daughters for telling us their story. They, in fact, reached out to us after they heard an earlier episode that we did, and wanted to tell the story. Obviously very emotional, and uh difficult to hear, but an important one for, I think, our audience. [00:24:12] Frank Abagnale: Absolutely. [00:24:14] Will: Alright, AARP Fraud... the AARP Fraud Watch Network Ambassador Frank Abagnale, thanks, well be talking to you next week. If you or someone you know has been a victim of a scam, please call AARPs Fraud Watch Network Helpline at 877-908-3360. Again, thats 877-908-3360. For AARP: The Perfect Scam, Im Will Johnson. Join us again next week. END OF TRANSCRIPT En espanol | The employment ad, for a health technology company, sought a staff attorney with "3 to 7 years (no more than 7 years) of relevant legal experience. Yes, you read that correctly: no more than seven years of relevant legal experience. Its a striking stance employment experience being seen not just as a negative, but as an actual disqualifier. The job ad in question resulted in a lawsuit (brought by AARP Foundation) and, subsequently, a ruling by the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals that temporarily struck a small but important blow against age-related employment discrimination. However, the court is already reconsidering that decision this fall. Make no mistake, age discrimination in the workplace is alive and well. A new AARP study Age Discrimination against Older Workers" finds that, of 3,900 adults (age 45 and up) polled, 61 percent have experienced or seen age discrimination at work. Sometimes its apparently built into the application process. Of respondents who have applied for a new job in the last two years, 44 percent report they were asked their age or school graduation year. Although its not illegal for employers to seek that information (only to base their hiring decisions upon it), its not hard to imagine how, too often, such age-related data is evaluated behind closed doors. For example, in a recent study, Tulane University researchers sent more than 40,000 resumes to apply for about 13,000 job openings posted online in 12 U.S. cities. They responded to each posting with three different resumes representing a different age group (i.e., younger, middle-aged and senior applicants). Even though all had nearly identical skills, the study found older candidates received far fewer callbacks anywhere from 20 percent to almost 50 percent fewer than younger ones. Its just age; it doesnt have to do with experience, concluded the studys coauthor. Employees are getting older, but many hiring practices remain static Despite the evolution underway in the U.S. workforce and around the world, with older employees comprising a larger and larger percentage of the workforce (not to mention the available labor market), too many organizations continue to view older employees with skepticism or, as in the case above, see the combination of age and experience as an outright deal breaker. Although things like the recent 7th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling are helping to spread the word in the business community that hiring practices such as experience ceilings are discriminatory, age discrimination shows few signs of being ready to retire. Thats what makes legal protections against age discrimination so important and to so many people. When the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) was signed into law in 1967, it set out to protect people age 40 and up from age-related employment discrimination. As one measure of the laws importance, consider this stat: When ADEA became law, the U.S. population of people ages 40-65 was about 50 million. Today, that number has more than doubled, to 100 million-plus. As such, ADEA is about as mainstream as a law can get. But legal protections, even long-established ones, cant be taken for granted as they have a tendency, over time, to be eroded. A recent Supreme Court ruling strengthened employers ability to win age-discrimination lawsuits, by making age discrimination harder to prove. That narrow 5-4 ruling will likely be top of mind when the court kicks off its next session by considering a lawsuit in Arizona in which two firefighters, the oldest in their district, allege they were let go because of their age. AARP Foundation attorneys have pointed out to the court that the age discrimination protections in the law are actually stronger than other laws in this case, but it remains to be seen whether the court will accept that argument given its skepticism about age cases in general. Time will tell. Age discrimination is a unique bias. Sooner or later, everyone is eligible. Age discrimination protections were important when ADEA was signed into law more than 50 years ago, and theyve only gotten more important. Lets hope our judicial and legislative leaders keep that in mind. Jo Ann Jenkins is CEO of AARP. She is the author of Disrupt Aging, now available in paperback. Follow her on Twitter @JoAnn_Jenkins. Courtesy National Comedy Center For comedian Lewis Black, timing is everything. Not just onstage, where hes spent decades perfecting his signature stand-up style, but also in terms of a new project, the National Comedy Center, which opened this week in Jamestown, N.Y. This museum wouldnt be there without the timing, said Black, a member of the centers advisory board. It was really the right place and the right time. To celebrate, Black and a roster of other comics, including Lily Tomlin, Dan Aykroyd and Amy Schumer, headed to Jamestown for a week of festivities and performances running through Aug. 5. The opening celebration coincides with the towns annual Lucille Ball Comedy Festival. (Ball, whose personal memorabilia is featured at the center, was born in Jamestown.) The National Comedy Center now is working to receive federal recognition. Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer is leading the push for a congressional designation that would recognize the center as the nations official cultural institution dedicated to the art of comedy and its role in our culture. You don't want that history to get lost, Black said. Unlike many museums, the center is fully interactive. Visitors receive high-tech wristbands that help guide them through more than 50 interactive exhibits that span comedy history, from early vaudeville to late-night classics to internet memes. Extensive archival collections highlight the work of legends such as Bob Hope, Mary Tyler Moore, Jerry Lewis and Joan Rivers, plus many more comedians. For grownups in search of adult humor, the Blue Room offers a separate level devoted to boundary-pushing comedy and the history of censorship. Swollen Mahakali erodes embankment The rain-swollen Mahakali River has been eroding the embankment at Mahakali Tole in Bhimdutta Municipality-11, Kanchanpur, for past one week. The river has already damaged around 70-metre section of the embankment. Continuous rains have thwarted the authorities effort to plug the breach. Thapa says attack on Pal a political crime The attack on Nepal Communist Party lawmaker Niru Pal on Tuesday has link to political crime, Home Minister Ram Bahadur Thapa told the Lower House on Thursday.Addressing the House of Representatives (HoR) meeting, he said the attack has drawn the governments attention and the incident is being investigated. ALEPPO, Syria The residents of al-Bab and surrounding towns in the eastern Aleppo countryside began obtaining new identification cards on July 19. As a first stage, al-Babs local council, with the Turkish governments help, issued 140,000 new IDs. The same will apply to other areas in northern Syria that are controlled by the Syrian armed opposition. In order to be granted an ID, one is required to refer to the census office at al-Babs local council to obtain a personal status record for each family member. The documents issued by the Syrian regimes institutions proving the identity of the applicant are used when applying for an ID. The citys officials explained that the new IDs are designed to make life easier and allow them to differentiate ordinary civilians from those suspected of being affiliated with the Islamic State or the Kurdish People's Protection Units. Furthermore, it is a major step for the many Syrians who lost their IDs in the war. These IDs show the persons name, family name, date of birth, place of issue, and number in Arabic and Turkish. The flag of the Syrian revolution is seen at the left corner, and the slogan of the local council that issued the ID with the cardholders photo is in the right corner. To receive an ID, residents and displaced persons must have their fingerprints taken and pay 500 Syrian pounds (about $1). Al-Babs local council will be also issuing vehicle registration plates. It is also working on opening road driving schools and issuing driving licenses. Jamal Osman, the director of al-Babs local council, told Al-Monitor, It was al-Babs local councils idea to grant IDs, which has become a must as many local residents and displaced in al-Bab lost their identity documents. We are grateful for the Turkish government, which provided all of the needed devices, programs, computers, fingerprinting equipment and ID printer. Also, al-Babs local council made available a building to house the civil registry directorate. Osman added, All of the local councils in the Euphrates Shield area will be doing so. Most of the councils there, such as Azaz in northern Aleppo countryside and al-Rai in the northeastern Aleppo countryside, started issuing civilians IDs, and soon this will be applicable in all of liberated northern Syria. The Turkish government will recognize the new IDs issued by local councils soon. He said, The local council will issue civilians with no IDs personal status records in the future. Countless Syrians in the opposition-held areas lost their identity documents over the past seven years, either due to the destruction of their homes or random displacement. Many cant obtain new documents for several reasons, such as the fear of prosecution and the high fees to obtain them. Identity is proven either through an identification document issued by a regime institution, such as a birth certificate; personal status record or driver's license; or by referring to the civil registry in the opposition-held areas with two witnesses to obtain a personal status record. In this vein, Aref al-Aref, an activist in al-Bab, told Al-Monitor, I am from al-Bab and I used to live in al-Mashhad neighborhood in eastern Aleppo during the military campaign of 2016. I lost my identity documents in an airstrike targeting my house. It would cost me my life to go to regime-held areas to obtain them. I am actually wanted by the regime security services because I am an oppositionist and took part in the revolution. He continued, It is a nice move from al-Babs local council. Now, I do have an ID that will be recognized by the Turkish government, which would make things easier for me and the many civilians who do not have IDs or family records. By helping local councils organize society in northern Syria particularly those councils in areas the Turkish army helped seize from the Islamic State such as al-Bab and from the Women's Protection Units (YPJ) such as Afrin Turkey seeks to establish a large presence. This would undermine the Syrian regime and its allies efforts to carry out a military action in northern Syria, which is the last stronghold of the Syrian armed opposition bordering Turkey. Ankara believes that it is in its advantage that northern Syrian be safe and secure, and it is well aware that the ongoing chaos there will provide the Syrian regime and its allies with another pretext for an offensive, which will result in hundreds of thousands of civilians being displaced and heading toward border areas which Turkey is working to avoid. In addition, there was a recent rapprochement between the Syrian regime and the YPJ, with the latter expressing willingness to join a military action against the armed opposition factions in northern Syria. Turkey will reject the presence of any Kurdish military faction near its borders. This being said, organizing society and restoring security with Turkeys assistance in northern Syria promotes Ankaras stance, provides Turkey with a stronger foothold in the country and wards off any future attempt by the regime and its allies to restore areas it does not hold in northern Syria. Syrians who no longer have their identity documents and are based in the opposition-held areas believe that the local councils move is essential, particularly since the new ID will be recognized by Turkey, a neighboring country where more than 3.4 million displaced Syrians reside. These displaced Syrians are counting on the local councils efforts to issue them passports that are recognized by the international community, with Turkeys assistance. The Syrian passport issued by regime institutions has become one of the most expensive internationally, as Syrians living abroad are required to pay $800 to immediately obtain a passport that is valid for two years or pay $300 for one that will be issued in 12-21 days. As for the Syrian regime, so far it has not voiced a stance on the local councils step to issue IDs in northern Syria. CAIRO On July 30, Egypts Ministry of State for Immigration and Expatriate Affairs held its first forum for Egyptian expatriates. The conference resulted in several recommendations to promote investment in Egypt. They included exploring the possibility of opening branches of local banks abroad, marketing the Egyptian banking system to Egyptians abroad and coordinating between the Foreign Ministry and banks to include representatives of Egyptian banks in consulates. Upon the request of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and in cooperation with four banks, Misr Life Insurance started issuing Safety Certificates in March. The savings certificates are available for marginalized classes and self-employed workers. The forum also called on the banking sector to study a proposal put forward by the Egyptian diaspora in the United States to establish an investment fund in dollars. On June 9, Nasser Saber, the president of the Egyptian-American Association for Entrepreneurship, revealed a plan to create the fund with a capital of $10 billion from Egyptian expats to invest in Egyptian markets. The forum and the fund have renewed talks about Egyptian expat money as one of the solutions to Egypts economic crisis. A crisis over the lack of foreign currency reserves at the end of ousted President Mohammed Morsis term in 2013 led to floating the Egyptian pound in 2016. A February 2016 initiative called on each Egyptian expat to send $200 to his home country. Saber said in a June 9 press statement that the fund aims to support the Egyptian economy and connect Egyptians abroad to their home country by investing their surplus income there. He said that the association negotiated with the heads of Egyptian communities abroad to create the fund. The share price will be $1,000, and Egyptian expats can buy more than one. The investment fund initiative is not the first of its kind. Minister of Immigration and Expatriate Affairs Nabila Makram proposed an initiative in March 2016, offering $50, $100 and $200 portfolios for Egyptian expats. Makram traveled abroad to promote the initiative, which brought back $250 million. In 2014, then-Minister of State for Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Mohamed Mahsoub presented a similar proposal to the Egyptian community in the United Kingdom to invest Egyptians' money abroad. That proposal failed. The Future Fund for Investment in the Stock Exchange an investment fund to support the Egyptian stock exchange, which was launched by the Investor Protection Fund in the wake of the January 25 Revolution also failed when Egyptian expats did not partake. Mostafa Ragab, who heads the Egyptian House in London, does not believe that the forum and its recommendations will bring anything new to the table and will fail because not many Egyptians can invest due to the high cost of living abroad. Ragab told Al-Monitor that the occasional initiatives targeting Egyptian expats funds are just a media show for the institutions behind them and they cannot attract any investments. He added that most Egyptian expats feel that Egypt only wants their money. They contribute by transferring money to their families, which supports the foreign exchange reserves in Egypt. Alaa Salim, the secretary-general of the General Union of Egyptians Abroad, said that the recommendations of the forum, if properly implemented, could benefit Egypt and its economy. He told Al-Monitor that the recommendations are not only about Egyptians' investments. They also propose dividing the customs duties on Egyptians cars abroad into installments and called for easing several other obstructions for Egyptian expatriates. These procedures, like obtaining civil status documents, passports and marriage or birth certificates, often take a lot of time. Salim pointed out that the money that could potentially be invested in this fund surpasses the holdings of some banks. He said the idea in itself is good, but it must be done through the proper channels to guarantee the investors funds. The initiative should be run under the umbrella of the Ministry of Investment, he said, and abide by Egyptian law. He added that Egyptian expats want safe and profitable investments that connect them to their home country. Egyptian-Romanian Business Council Chairman Hassan al-Shafei said, The forum itself is a successful idea, especially if it aims at resolving the problems facing Egyptians abroad rather than attracting new investments. The current situation is not appropriate for investment. Shafei told Al-Monitor that the suggestion of the Egyptian-American Association for Entrepreneurship risks failing because of the deteriorating Egyptian economic situation and ongoing price hikes. He said that the proposed figures are too ambitious. Shafei explained that the current situation is not suitable for any new investment products, especially after the failure of the 2014 fund proposed by Mahsoub, Makram's 2016 initiative and the Future Fund. As Irans auto industry is grappling with a multifaceted crisis, there are signs that Chinas nascent carmakers may step in to become part of the solution. The US withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and the impending reimposition of sanctions have not only caused a currency crisis in Iran but also led French automakers such as Peugeot and Renault to leave the Iranian market, creating a shortage of parts. The auto sector is Irans second largest industry, valued at an estimated $26 billion. It is made up of both private and state-owned enterprises engaged in vehicle production as well as 1,200 businesses that are involved in making parts. Despite the presence of a multitude of companies, Irans auto industry is in fact rather exclusive. Indeed, the two main state-owned companies, Iran Khodro and Saipa, control more than 90% of production and sales. Now, however, both of these companies are facing a crisis that primarily stems from the US withdrawal from the JCPOA. Iran Khodro, the countrys largest car manufacturer, recently issued a note to its representatives around the country, requesting that they introduce Chinas H30 Cross as a substitute for the French Renault Tondar to customers. The measure was likely in response to Renaults recent decision to halt all cooperation with Iranian automakers in the coming months. Similar withdrawals by Western automakers in the coming months could herald the beginning of engagement between Iranian automakers and their Chinese counterparts in a bid to reduce the impact of the ongoing crisis. Indeed, if the latter pans out, it has the potential of turning Chinese automakers into a key player in the Iranian market. Unlike Irans auto industry, Chinas is flourishing and on its way to becoming a world-class business. Some are comparing the current state of the Chinese car sector to that of Japan's back in the 1970s or South Korea's in the 1980s, when their respective industries began prospering. As Chinas auto industry has prospered, so has the presence of Chinese automakers in Iran, which has increased during the past decade. Several Chinese car manufacturers the most from any foreign country are currently present in Iran. Indeed, Chinas Brilliance, as well as other automobile models that are assembled by Saipa, are among the top 10 most popular cars in Iran. Meanwhile, Chinas share of auto parts exports to Iran has also experienced a significant increase in recent years, so much so that in the Iranian year 1396 (March 2017-March 2018), Chinese enterprises accounted for an estimated 50% of the $1.8 billion worth of auto parts imports. Recent data show that Chinese automakers assembled 80,000 vehicles in Iran during the Iranian year 1396, accounting for 8% of total automobile output. Private Iranian auto manufacturers as opposed to state-owned Iran Khodro and Saipa that assemble and import Chinese brands saw a 14.1% increase in production in the first three months of the current Iranian year (beginning March 21) compared to the same period last year. During this same period, Modiran Khodro, a private vehicle manufacturing company that has the largest share in the assembling of Chinese parts in Iran, increased its production by 14.6% compared with the year before. With the imminent reimposition of US sanctions, it is likely that Chinese brands will further enter the Iranian auto industry going from the sidelines to the main body of the market. As noted earlier, companies that currently assemble or import Chinese brands have an 8-10% share of the market. In comparison with the 38% market share of French automakers (31.8% for the PSA group and 6% for Renault), which has been achieved through cooperation with Irans two main carmakers, this figure may not seem very significant. However, with the return of sanctions and the growing restrictions being placed on Iran Khodro and Saipa on the one hand, and the exit of French automakers from the Iranian auto industry on the other, cooperation between the dominant state-owned carmakers and their Chinese counterparts will likely expand. There are, of course, certain complications associated with an increase in cooperation with Chinese enterprises. In the framework of the global value chain, most Chinese carmakers have joint ventures with American and European brands. This could potentially reduce their ability and desire to cooperate with Iran. On the other hand, some of the cars that have been produced by Irans main carmakers during the past years will now be in competition with the cars China intends to introduce to the Iranian market. The negative sentiment among middle-class Iranians toward Chinese goods is another factor that will make sales challenging. Indeed, among ordinary Iranians, Chinese products are generally associated with items of poor quality. In the auto industry, too, Iranians generally refer to Chinese vehicles as China Cars in a derogatory manner, referring to them as fragile and subpar in quality. The primary challenge, however, is engaging in banking transactions with Iranian automakers, which, with the withdrawal of the United States from the JCPOA, has reached a deadlock. Although China has stressed its support of the nuclear deal and is continuing normal trade with Iran, its banking system cannot engage in transactions with Iran including Iranian companies independent of the global financial system. For this reason, financial transactions continue to be the key challenge in trade between Iran and China. The US withdrawal from the JCPOA has thus left Irans second largest industry faced with a crisis. It has pushed French automakers out of this market and severely limited the options of Irans two main carmakers. All of these elements have created key opportunities for Chinese carmakers to increase their presence in the Iranian market. However, the continuation of banking difficulties, joint ventures between Chinese carmakers and American and European brands in addition to the fluidity of Irans economic situation have all created key challenges for the expansion of cooperation between the two sides. The proposed package by the European Union to extend the nuclear deal may help alleviate some of these challenges. The oil and auto industries are waiting to see what the remaining JCPOA parties have to offer. Their proposed package could open up a path for continuing banking relations between Iranian automakers and their Chinese counterparts. If this occurs, the Chinese will likely sign more contracts with the Iranian side. We could wake up one morning soon and be pleasantly surprised to hear that a comprehensive agreement has been reached to save the Gaza Strip. Perhaps a reconciliation will be reached between Fatah and Hamas. Maybe the various global donors will increase their contributions. Gaza's schools may even open their doors for the coming school year and the teachers laid off by UNRWA for lack of funds could return to work. Israel and Hamas could reach an understanding regarding the release of bodies of the Israel Defense Forces soldiers held in Gaza and Palestinian prisoners in Israel. Perchance the fires that are lit daily in the Israeli fields surrounding the Gaza Strip will stop and no more Palestinian young people will be killed at the border fence. A port could be established on an island off the Gaza coast. However, the chances that any of these changes will come to pass on their own are not high, and there is a burning need for an immediate solution that will stop the dangerous deterioration in Gaza. The shocking descriptions of life in Gaza today have lost their impact. Everyone knows that the unemployment rate is staggering. That the only water safe to drink comes from bottles provided by vehicles that circulate daily. That there is electricity for only four hours a day, meaning that people without generators cannot preserve food, even if they have money to purchase it. That the schools are closed. Everyone says they want to help. Everyone seems to understand the danger of people having nothing more to lose. The Israeli government understands the need for normalization, but some of the families who lost soldiers in the 2014 Gaza war insist that no steps be taken to improve the living conditions of the Strip residents. There must be no easement of the closure, they say, until Hamas returns the bodies of the Israeli soldiers it still holds. The families oppose a prisoner exchange deal and demand that the government put ever more pressure on the Strip's residents until Hamas caves and returns the bones of their sons. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accepts their demands. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas stubbornly vetoes all ideas for improving Gaza's infrastructure. All such programs need the authorization of the Palestinian Authority (PA) in Ramallah, and Abbas will not authorize such plans until he receives full control of the Strip. He is not willing to serve only as treasurer of Gaza, but wants to control Hamas weapons and ammunition and insists that the PAs control must be aboveground and below ground as well, hinting at the tunnels constructed by Hamas. The Egyptians, who assumed an important role in the last cease-fire between Israel and Hamas, are going out of their way to promote Palestinian reconciliation, which they believe is the key to solving the Gaza problem. They created a proposal and sent it to the two warring Palestinian sides. However, it does not demand that Hamas gives up its weapons and it does not allow the PA to collect taxes in Gaza. Therefore, the chances that Cairo will coax the two sides to bury the hatchet are very small indeed. The United Nations' coordinator for the Middle East peace process, Nickolay Mladenov, has been working overtime this summer between Cairo, Jerusalem, Gaza and Ramallah, offering imaginative infrastructure projects such as desalinization plants the length of the seashore. Mladenov came to an agreement with the World Bank to increase its yearly assistance to the Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza from $55 million to $90 million. He also developed a strong relationship with Egypt's General Intelligence Service director, Maj. Gen. Abbas Kamel, who holds the internal Palestinian reconciliation as well as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict portfolios. Mladenov is one of the more optimistic players in the Gaza saga. He has especially good connections with the regions leaders who do not talk to one another but do talk to him. However, even Mladenov has faced harsh criticism from the PA. In Abbas inner circle, one hears that Mladenov is prone to making promises regarding infrastructure projects without coordination with Ramallah, which will not agree to any project until it is given control over the entire Strip. The Israeli government seems helpless. Politicians compete against one another in boastful statements regarding what will be done there should the Gaza-sponsored violence continue. Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman continues to threaten Gaza, saying that should the missile sirens sound, they will be heard in Gaza as well. But after Libermans infamous 2016 threat to eliminate the Hamas leaders within 48 hours should they not hand over the bodies of Israels 2014 Israel-Gaza conflict victims, it is hard to imagine that anyone still believes his threats. Netanyahu, by contrast, clearly understands the significance of reconquering Gaza, and thats the last thing he wants to take on in the sunset of his political career. After all, it is likely that he will be indicted soon in one or more of the affairs hes being investigated for. Meanwhile, fires continue to scorch the Israeli side from the flaming balloons and kites launched from the Gaza side. This week I talked to a highly placed source in the Gaza Strip. I asked him what could change things for the better, short of making peace between Fatah and Hamas and initiating a tourism project along a newly lovely Gaza shoreline. Speaking on condition of anonymity, my source made the following statement: There is one thing that can be done without the need for prior agreements between the sides. Your army understands the urgent need to take action, therefore it proposes to allow 5,000 men to leave the Strip every day and work in Israel. The Shin Bet opposes this because it is concerned that there will be those who will take advantage of the opportunity to carry out violence. We cant promise 100% it wont happen, but if nothing is done, then what will go on in Gaza is likely to be much worse. It became known that the Shin Bet prepared a list of 5,000 people that you are willing to give work permits to. Dont wait, let them go. According to my source, 5,000 workers means an annual income of at least 360 million shekels [$97.5 million] a year. To this we have to add another 2 million shekels [$542,000] a day for transportation. This would be a significant boost to the Gazan economy. Its relatively simple, and its important to the Israelis who need workers. Every day that passes without the go-ahead on this constitutes danger to you and to them. The Shin Bet list is prepared, claims an Israeli security source. The plan's chances for alleviating pressure on Gaza are high, and Israelis in the south repeat that they need manpower, and not only in agriculture. The existing security dangers in Gaza today are greater than the dangers of bringing Gazan workers into Israel. There are tens of thousands of Palestinians in the West Bank who already work there. Making such decisions is what the government exists to do. The Aug. 2 tweet by Education Minister Naftali Bennett, chair of HaBayit HaYehudi, was aimed at the soft underbelly of Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman. "Enough with the excuses and these stories that we're only talking about children. It's not true. Most of those sending these kites and burning balloons (from Gaza into Israel) are adult terrorists," Bennett lashed out. This personal attack was generated by Liberman's comments earlier that day saying, "Hamas is sending children to launch arson balloons from homes." This is not the first time in recent weeks that Bennett has clashed with Liberman, accusing him of a lax policy on Gaza. Last month, according to leaks from meetings of the defense Cabinet, Bennett clashed with Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Gadi Eizenkot on the same issue and asked him why the army doesn't just shoot the Palestinians dispatching arson kites and incendiary balloons. Liberman struck back, defending the country's top soldier and then telling the Ynet news site, "A politician who seeks to gain at the expense of the IDF chief is the most disgusting thing." Liberman understood that Bennett's swipe at Eizenkot was in fact directed at himself and had to do with power plays within the right-wing camp. Liberman engaged in the highly publicized mudslinging against Bennett with his eyes wide open. Bennett's recurring attacks against his nemesis, the defense minister, however, are not having the desired effect at least not according to polls indicating that HaBayit HaYehudi continues to tread in place under his leadership. On a good day, polls give it seven to 10 Knesset seats and usually about eight, the same number it received in the 2015 elections. For someone who sees himself (potentially) as the leader of the political right and a putative prime minister, such figures do not bode well. Even in polls that examine Bennett's suitability as prime minister, the results are bad. They usually give him single-digit support, placing him low on the list of possible candidates and way below Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. So what went wrong for Bennett, the shining star of the right who burst onto the public stage in the 2013 elections and took 12 Knesset seats, turning a party on its last legs into a hot political brand? As absurd as it sounds, the answer has to do in large measure with Donald Trump's election as US president. His highly supportive policy toward Israel's settlements in the West Bank and his failure thus far to instigate a peace process with the Palestinians seem to have left Bennett without a cutting-edge agenda. This presents the right-wing party identified with the settlers with a conceptual challenge after basking for years in regular clashes with the Obama administration over its aggressive promotion of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. When President Barack Obama visited Israel in March 2013, after his election to a second term, Bennett spoke heatedly about his own mission. "Today, I am on a job and mission for the people of Israel as a government minister and member of the diplomacy-defense Cabinet. This time, I will act with all my power to avert an additional disaster, even if it's not popular," he said. "An additional disaster" was a reference to various past plans that entailed the evacuation of Jewish settlers, such as the 1993 Israeli-Palestinian Oslo Accord and Israel's 2005 withdrawal from the Gaza Strip. This explains why HaBayit HaYehudi under Bennett has become the settlers' party. When Trump was elected in 2016, reality far transcended any fiction as far as the settlers were concerned. They treated him like a messiah and spoke effusively of a miracle. Bennett did, too. With such a friendly US administration and a US ambassador David Friedman who was known as a strong supporter of settlements himself HaBayit HaYehudi and Bennett have lost the "demon" who made them so essential for the hardcore right. All Bennett could do was to hail Trump for relocating the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem in May. The flip side of the coin, however, is that the prime minister has taken all the credit for Israel's superb relationship with the Trump administration. This, too, leaves Bennett without ammunition: He cannot very well attack Netanyahu in order to enhance his standing within the right wing. In his current term, Netanyahu has proven himself a successful diplomat with a record of achievements vis-a-vis Iran and Syria, making it hard to strike out at him. In fact, Bennett does not have any room for maneuver on the right. On the one hand, adopting more radical positions than his current ones would relegate him to the realm of the fringe, loony right, even as he aspires to the premiership and must nurture an image of a responsible leader. On the other hand, even when he is displaying responsibility and handing out the annual Israel Prize to writer David Grossman, one of the icons of the Israeli left, he does not reap the rewards. One can argue, of course, that Bennett doesn't stand a chance against such a popular prime minister. Then, however, there is his No. 2 in the party, Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked, who has a growing following outside the confines of the radical political right. A poll published in July shows that were Shaked to head Netanyahus Likud Party, it would garner 33 Knesset seats. The question was asked about a post-Netanyahu era, but the result is interesting nonetheless. With Bennett failing to take off, Shaked is the one turning into a serious contender for the premiership, despite being a woman in a religious party. What's more, a poll conducted among those identified with religious Zionism gave her more support than they did Bennett. The reason lies not only in Shaked's charisma, because Bennett, too, enjoys popular appeal on the right. However, unlike Bennett, Shaked as justice minister has managed to promote a structured, well-thought-out agenda against the Supreme Court, and to restore "judicial conservatism" to center stage both popular agendas on the right. Bennett as education minister has not been nearly as successful in reaping political gains from his office. The education system is a tough and complex place in which to effect change. Under these circumstances, Bennett is having a hard time leading a consistent agenda, as reflected in the polls. That should be of great concern to the HaBayit HaYehudi chair, who will head the party to elections for the third time next year. That will be his biggest test. If he fails to deliver the goods, internal opponents could challenge his leadership and try to replace him with his longtime political partner, Shaked. Currently, it is also unclear how Bennett could gain more popularity given that the pro-settlement right wing has no significant bete noire. "He should be praying for Trump to change his stripes and present a [Israeli-Palestinian] peace plan which he will push aggressively," sums up the thoughts of a senior party colleague of Bennett's, who spoke to Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity. GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip During a typical summer in Gaza, Palestinian children would be occupied attending camps, but this summer is different. On July 28, Majdi al-Satari, 12, from the Shaboura refugee camp in Rafah, was killed by a bullet to the head fired by an Israeli sniper at a protest on Gaza's border with Israel. The protest, called "Friday of Our Martyrs' Children," was part of the Great Return March, which has entered its 18th week. The Palestinian Ministry of Health reported that a young man, Ghazi Abu Mostafa, was also killed and 264 others injured. Satari had been participating in the border protests since they began on March 30. On the day he died, Satari, along with neighbors and friends, took the bus from Shaboura to the symbolic refugee camps set up by the Higher National Commission of the Great Return March and Breaking the Siege, consisting of representatives of the various Palestinian factions taking part in the protests. Majdi's mother, Kholoud al-Satari, told Al-Monitor, I knew that the Israeli army makes no distinction between a child and a man on the border. I had forbidden Majdi from going to the marches of return but to no avail. His curiosity was stronger than anything else. During previous summers, Majdi had enrolled with his cousins and friends for the camps held by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) across Gaza. The camps were canceled this year, however, due to the agency's financial crisis, stemming from the United States cutting aid to the organization. Despite several attempts, Al-Monitor was unable to obtain a comment by UNRWA about the suspension. Majdi had not joined any summer camps this year, because we were not informed of any UNRWA summer camps. We did not know why, said Majdis mother. He loved these summer activities and would come back home happy to tell us what he had done and learned. In a July 27 UN News report, David Hatton, head of UNRWA's Gaza Community Mental Health Program, was quoted as remarking that the financial crisis had led to a sharp decline in funding humanitarian efforts in general in Palestine. Nikolai Mladenov, UN special coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, condemned Satari's death, tweeting, Yesterdays killing of a 12-year-old Palestinian boy by Israeli fire in Gaza is shocking and tragic. Children are not a target! Too many lives have been lost. Its time for this to stop. Ashraf al-Qadra, spokesman for the Ministry of Health in Gaza, told Al-Monitor, Eighteen boys and two girls under the age of 18 years have been shot dead while participating in the return marches. He added, Thirty-two hundred Palestinian children have been injured with live bullets. Children were directly targeted during the marches. Qadra called on organizations dealing with childrens rights to intervene and stop the grave violations committed by Israel against Palestinian children. On July 23, Al-Monitor attended the closing ceremony for one of the regular Hamas-organized summer camps for children. This year the camps' motto was I Am Returning to My Homeland, inspired by the marches of return. Around 40,000 children between the ages of 10 and 16 from across the governorates of the Gaza Strip participated in the camps, Amjad Mazid, chairman of the central committee of Hamas' summer camps, told Al-Monitor. Hamas' five-day summer camps include such activities as sports, scouting and self-defense. They also offer lessons in Palestinian heritage and history and learning religious songs. Two days of this year's camps included activities near the camps set up for the Great Return March to further familiarize the children with the right of return. The children painted tires that protesters would later set ablaze during Friday protests. They also launched colored balloons bearing the names of Palestinians killed in confrontations with Israel and the names of the cities from which their ancestors were evicted during the Nakba of 1948. Fadel Abu Hain, head of the Psychology Department at Al-Aqsa University in Gaza, told Al-Monitor, Summer camps should be set up for Gazan children in well-considered places. Well-thought-out activities should be implemented to help alleviate their psychological distress and frustration. These kids are feeling the repercussions of the bad economic and stressful situation in the Gaza Strip, he remarked. Following up on children's cases from the past wars and military escalations, we found that the psychological harm suffered by the children was more onerous than physical injury. A child might act as a hero during the day, but at night his fears and terrors would flare up. The Al Mezan Center for Human Rights issued a report on July 25 on violations against children during events in Gaza for the first half of the year. According to the report, children were targeted by Israeli soldiers, with 22 killed directly or indirectly by them. Israel arrested 18 children from Gaza. Dozens of children had taken part in a protest held June 24 at the Beit Hanoun (Erez) crossing, in northern Gaza, to demand the lifting of the siege and to be able to live a decent life. Until a political breakthrough in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the lives of children in Gaza will remain at stake. Despite tight controls and risk of heavy punishment, a group of Palestinian girls in Israels Hasharon Prison managed to publish a magazine to tell their story from behind bars, and they now hope to revive it. The magazine was the brainchild of Mona Qaadan, a now-released prisoner from Jenin. I came up with the idea of a magazine when I noticed that some of the minor prisoners have a talent for writing and drawing, she told Al-Monitor. When she approached them with the idea, the girls agreed to write about their opinions, feelings, what they faced during their arrests and how they spend their time in prison. Qaadan was released before its first edition came out, but the inmates managed to smuggle out a copy and give it to her. She still holds on to this prized possession two years later. They decided to call the magazine Zahrat, which means "flower" in Arabic; it is the name given to girls in Israeli prisons. They have managed to produce 15 hand-written issues. The first issue, dated Sept. 22, 2016, was 12 pages long. The last, with 34 pages, came out on Dec. 29, 2017. Eight copies were smuggled out of central Israel's Hasharon Prison, recently in the news because Ahem Tamimi, the Palestinian teen who slapped an Israeli soldier, was jailed there. Even now, the team is secretive about how they smuggled the copies out of the prison. We have several successful ways to do so, Qaadan told Al-Monitor. The first two issues of the magazine focused on cultural, social and religious topics. It was in the third issue that the contributors started to open up about their suffering inside the prison. The lack of supplies was a major obstacle. We used to get colored pencils from the Red Cross, which visited the prison every six months. Each cell used to get 12 pencils. There were 11 cells, some of which had four, six or eight prisoners. We used to work on more than one copy for the same issue of the magazine in case we got caught. We were able to finish 15 issues in total, but only eight were smuggled outside the prison, Qaadan said. A page from a magazine hand-produced by Palestinian girls incarcerated in Israel's Hasharon Prison A copy of the last issue was smuggled out by Malak al-Ghaliz, the youngest prisoner at 15, when she got out of the prison on Dec. 29, 2017. Ghaliz, sentenced to eight months for attempting to stab an Israeli soldier at the Qalandia checkpoint in southern Ramallah on May 20, 2017, was Zahrat's culture writer. She told Al-Monitor about her story, part of which was narrated in the magazine. When they first arrested me at the checkpoint, they sprayed pepper spray in my face and kept me handcuffed from behind for five hours. I was transported in a military vehicle, and the soldier who was sitting opposite me kept hitting me all the way from the checkpoint to the prison. When we arrived, other soldiers made fun of me, cursed me and took pictures of me with their smartphones. Some of them threatened to hit me, Ghaliz told Al-Monitor. Ghaliz said that life in prison was stifling, with bans on speech and creativity. We were not allowed to say the word Palestine in prison, and not even draw our flag. Our cells were searched three times a day. Two prison wardens passed by our rooms every 30 minutes to check what we talked or wrote about. One time, Iman Ali, another prisoner, was caught with drawings of Palestine. She was forced to tear them up. Ghaliz expressed hope that one day the prisoners institutions and human rights organizations will take an interest in the magazine, saying, They should care about it. Is it not enough that the magazine is handwritten by the prisoners themselves, highlighting their daily suffering? This magazine shows that they can imprison our bodies but not our souls. The magazine is very important to us because, despite all the hardships we faced, we continued writing. Tasnim Halabi, the 17-year-old editor, said that the magazine contained several sections, including one on the lives of the prisoners, as well as sections on culture, religion and public information. At first, we did not write about ourselves for fear of getting caught, but later we started doing just that. We used to gather pencils whenever we appeared before the Israeli courts, Halabi told Al-Monitor. Halabi was arrested over an attempted stabbing at the Beit Ur checkpoint in Ramallah in April 2016 and was released on May 3, 2017. She said the worst part was the beginning, the arrest, explaining that she and a friend were beaten by investigators, transported from the prison to the court with their hands and feet tied, with all kind of insults shouted at them. She added that a Palestinian teacher from Jaffa who used to come to the prison every month to teach used to bring papers with her. But she stopped visiting at the end of 2016. Qaadan, the only adult on the team, was arrested five times by the Israeli occupation forces. The first time was in 1999, and she was detained for 37 days, during which she was tortured and interrogated about running the Jenin-based Al-Baraa Association for Muslim Girls, which is said to support terror. Qaadan denied the terror claims and said that Al-Baraa merely supports the families of martyrs and prisoners and spreads Quran teachings. She was last arrested in 2012 for reopening Al-Baraa and was held at Hasharon. She was released in March 2016 after paying a fine of 30,000 shekels ($8,250). Now out of jail, Qaadan is teaching with a masters program in womens studies and development at An-Najah University in Nablus and is active in defending the rights of female Palestinian prisoners. I went to several institutions interested in prisoners' issues, but none wanted to take on publication of the magazine. If the magazine were invested in properly and highlighted the lives of prisoners, it would have a big impact, she said. Abdul-Nasser Farwana, who heads the studies and documentation department at the Palestinian Prisoners' Affairs Authority, told Al-Monitor, This magazine is a very positive step in highlighting, albeit very simply, the suffering of women prisoners in Israeli jails. It is important to have someone writing from inside the Israeli prisons to tell the world about these young girls. He stressed that such projects could galvanize the Arab and international community into pressuring the Israeli forces to better treat their prisoners. When the Chinese military attache stationed in Turkey said on July 28 that cooperation between the Turkish and Chinese militaries will produce fruitful results, his words didnt escape the notice of defense circles. Speaking at a ceremony marking the 91st anniversary of the founding of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) of China, held at the Chinese Embassy in Ankara, Brig. Gen. Chen Qingsong also congratulated Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on his election victory in the June 24 polls and said his re-election will help to strengthen the ties between the two countries. The attendance of several high-level diplomats and politicians and Turkish Armed Forces commanders at the ceremony was also remarkable. The attache, who said the PLA is actively participating in United Nations peace operations, noted that more than 37,000 Chinese military personnel had taken part in various peace operations worldwide in the past 28 years. He stressed that as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, China is the country that has provided the largest number of troops and the second top financial contributor to these operations. As for China-Turkey relations, Chen said Erdogan had recently met with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, on the sidelines of the BRICS summit held in Johannesburg, South Africa, and that the two leaders frequently talk on the phone. Relations of the two countries are developing favorably. Turkeys central corridor strategy that aims at linking Europe to Central Asia and to Afghanistan, Pakistan and China matches with Chinas Belt and Road initiative, he said. According to Turkish diplomatic sources speaking to Al-Monitor, during the meeting in Johannesburg, Turkish and Chinese officials discussed how to strengthen cooperation between the two countries in the defense and security sectors. Frequent visits and talks between the two sides indicate that both countries desire to expand their economic, security and defense ties. The latest visit was on July 26 when a Chinese military delegation headed by Maj. Gen. Licun Zhou, the political commissar for the Joint Warfare Institute of the PLA at National Defense University, visited the Turkish National Defense University. The number of high-level meetings between the Chinese and Turkish militaries will increase in the coming months, the same sources added. According to the sources, the discussions will cover boosting cooperation in professional military education, military training, the defense industry, terrorism, intelligence sharing, robotic systems, artificial intelligence and cyberwarfare. Also, there will be some joint projects in which Turkish and Chinese engineers work together to boost defense cooperation. In May 2018, a large number of Chinese officers attended the Ephesus 2018 military exercise held in Izmir as observers. The sources said officers were particularly interested in new military technologies displayed by the Turkish Armed Forces during the maneuver. According to Altay Atli, a Turkish expert on the Asia-Pacific region who is a scholar at the Istanbul Policy Center at Sabanci University in Istanbul, China should be considered among the top economic partners for Turkey. China is the second largest economy in the world, which is now projecting its economic power to the rest of the world through the Belt and Road Initiative. At the moment, China is the largest source of Turkeys trade deficit and current account deficit, Atli told Al-Monitor. However, what is important here is expectations for the future. Turkey expects, and rightfully so, to have China as a major source of investment and technology for its own economy. On the other hand, Turkey is important for China, too, because it is located right at the heart of the Belt and Road Initiative. So it is a case of mutual benefits, and both sides are eager to develop this further into the future, he added. Yet according to Atli, merely trade will not be enough for sustainable and productive cooperation between the two countries. The two countries have to build on it and transform their relationship into a multidimensional collaboration structure. Both sides want a strategic partnership, and for this, economics alone is not enough. Security and military cooperation, including cooperation in the defense industry, can help Turkey and China both to effectively address their common issues of security concerns such as terrorism and strengthen the basis of their relationship. Atli also noted that Turkish-Chinese cooperation on the military field is not a brand-new development. In 2010, both air forces conducted a joint exercise called the Anatolian Eagle, and defense industry cooperation has been going on since the late 1990s albeit at a more modest scale compared with Turkeys cooperation in this field with NATO allies, he said. Atli said he expects more comprehensive cooperation between the two sides in the defense and security fields in the coming months and years. It is clear that the international society will witness more intense military cooperation between Ankara and Beijing in the coming months. The question now is: How will this development be perceived by Western countries, particularly by Washington at a time when the Donald Trump administration is upping the ante in the trade war against China and at a time when Turkey's growing ties with Russia have already caused significant irritation in Western capitals?" What to Watch: "Before Sunrise" series The premise of Richard Linklater's 1995 movie "Before Sunrise" is essentially a casual travel fling that evolves into something much deeper. The story begins when a young American tourist named Jessie (Ethan Hawke) and Celine, a French student played by Julie Delpy, meet on a train in Europe. After a brief conversation, Jessie convinces Celine to get off the train with him in Vienna and spend the day with him there before his flight the next morning. The movie is a long, deep conversation about life and love, the kind of conversation that's only possible between two strangers who meet in a foreign place. Instead of exchanging contact information when their time in Vienna ends, they agree to meet up again in exactly six months at the exact same spot. Two sequels, "Before Sunset" and "Before Midnight," pick up the story of Jessie and Celine nine years down the road in different parts of Europe (France and Greece) after a surprising turn of events. The films were all released nine years apart to show the natural aging of the actors to fit the characters. Again, the dialogue is the star of both sequels, which are accurate descriptions of love and the rollercoaster nature of relationships. What to Read: The Great Railway Bazaar by Paul Theroux Published in 1975, "The Great Railway Bazaar" follows author Paul Theroux through an epic quest to travel by train from London to Tokyo through Europe, the Middle East, and Asia before returning back to London on the Trans-Siberian Express via Russia. The highlight of Theroux's non-fiction novel is his humor and attention to the small details that are most revealing about a culture. Thirty years later, Theroux attempted the same journey in a different global climate in his sequel "Ghost Train to the Eastern Star." What to Binge: Long Way Round British Actors Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman set out on the ultimate motorcycle road trip from London to New York with a camera crew in tow in the documentary series "Long Way Round." Their route starts in Europe and passes through the Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, and Russia before crossing the Pacific. The journey is anything but luxurious as they battle treacherous roads, mechanical problems, and political unrest. This series, along with its follow-up sequel "Long Way Down" that documents their journey across Africa by land, is available on Netflix. What to Download: Hopper Hopper is a very helpful app for finding flight deals. The app uses flight data to analyze the best dates for flying and offers suggestions on when to book. It even suggests how much more you might pay if you wait and clearly outlines any extra fees like baggage or cancellations. It allows you to save your searches on a watch list and will update you when prices changes. Note: While Hopper includes data for 250 airlines, some airlines like Southwest and Delta don't share their information with the app and therefore don't show up in the searches. What to Subscribe to: Zero to Travel After more than a decade traveling the world, "Zero to Travel" host Jason Moore dishes on all his travel hacks, discussing topics on everything from dealing with culture shock to finding cheap flights. Moore, a former band manager and adventure travel guide, also interviews people who quit their day jobs to travel, as well as location-independent entrepreneurs and authors. Who to Follow: @amivitale Ami Vitale (@amivitale) is a National Geographic photographer and filmmaker. She has been to 90 countries and survived war zones and malaria. She's currently turned her lens to wildlife conservation, by focusing on the poaching wars against rhinos in the Sudan. Her work with pandas became her first book titled "Panda Love: The Secret Lives of Pandas." Her work is a stunning reminder of both the beauty and diversity of our world and the importance of protecting our natural resources and wildlife. --By Anna Mazurek This story appears in Birmingham magazine's August 2018 issue. Subscribe today! Two early-morning raids at Selma homes landed four people in jail. The Alabama Drug Task Force, ALEA's SWAT team and Selma police carried out a search warrant at a home at 211 Rosedale Avenue. Lawmen recovered stolen handguns, stolen motorcycles and stolen four-wheeler vehicles, said Dallas County District Attorney Michael Jackson. Willie Gilchrist, 39, and Amber Martin, 25, were arrested on charges of trafficking in synthetic marijuana, unlawful possession of a controlled substance and unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia. A second search warrant at 1706 Philpot Avenue led to the arrests of Danielle Martin, 33, and Joe Acoff, 35. They are charged with trafficking in crack cocaine, cocaine and ecstasy. The suspects' bonds were set at $1.5 million each. "The gang crackdown that we have initiated in Selma will continue," Jackson said. "We are going to sweep all of these criminals out of Selma with a big broom." One person was shot during an early-morning holdup of four hospital employees in Montgomery. The incident happened about 1 a.m. at a bus stop in the 1200 block of Forest Avenue. Jackson Hospital officials said three members of their staff and one Nolan Hospital employee were robbed at gunpoint near the Jackson Hospital campus. One of the victims was shot and is in fair condition. Montgomery police responded to the scene, but no arrests have been announced. "Jackson Hospital extends heartfelt compassion to its team members as they are in our thoughts and prayers at this time,'' according to a statement released by the hospital. No additional information has been released. A 63-year-old man shot in Birmingham Thursday night has died. The Jefferson County Coroner's Office identified the victim as Gregory C. Hrabowski. The shooting happened shortly after 10 p.m. in the city's Woodlawn community. Birmingham police Sgt. Bryan Shelton said East Precinct officers were dispatched to 981 52nd Place North on a person shot at that location. When officers arrived on the scene, they learned Hrabowski. had been shot and his injuries were life threatening. Medics arrived, treated the victim and then took him to UAB Hospital. Authorities were notified around 11:30 p.m. that Hrabowski. had died. He did not live at the home where he was found. Shelton said the preliminary investigation showed a single gunshot could be heard coming from outside of the location. An acquaintance of Hrabowski.then found him wounded on the porch. That person, Shelton said, then called 911 while another person tried to help the victim. Investigators have no motive on the shooting and no suspect information. Hrabowski.is the city's 64th confirmed homicide this year. Of those, five have been ruled justifiable and therefore the Birmingham Police Department does not include them in their year-end tally. Two people were found dead in an east Birmingham home Thursday afternoon, but their deaths have not yet been ruled homicides. In all of Jefferson County, there have been 96 homicides including the 64 in Birmingham. Anyone with information on the Thursday-night homicide is asked to call Birmingham homicide detectives at 205-254-1764 or Crime Stoppers at 205-254-7777. A former children's minister in Clanton was found guilty Friday of sexually abusing a student he once tutored. Gary L. Smitherman, 59, was convicted in Chilton County of one count of sexual abuse of a child under the age of 12. According to testimony in the three-day trial, Smitherman was a children's and youth minister at Friendship Baptist Church. C.J. Robinson, the assistant district attorney for Alabama's 19th Judicial Circuit, said Smitherman knew the 10-year-old victim from the church and then began to tutor her outside of the church. He said Smitherman began to "groom'' the girl and sometime the tutoring sessions lasted so long, the girl just spent the night at his house. Trial testimony said Smitherman's wife became concerned that some amiss was happening and began staying in their pool house because she was uncomfortable with the situation. Smitherman began to inappropriately touch the girl. She eventually told her family, and Smitherman was arrested in March 2017. He was indicted earlier this year. The girl, now 12, testified in court. Sentencing for Smitherman is set for Aug. 30. He faces anywhere from two to 20 years in prison. Robinson said Smitherman's bond was revoked immediately after the verdict, and Smitherman was booked back into the Chilton County Jail. Alabama civil rights and immigrant groups are calling on Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin to sign an executive order limiting the city's participation in the Trump Administration's immigration enforcement efforts. The Alabama Chapter of Council on American-Islamic Relations, a Muslim civil rights group, and Adelante Alabama Workers Center, along with coalition partners, faith and civic community leaders held a protest at Birmingham City Hall on Tuesday to call on Woodfin to sign the order. According to the groups, the order would prevent Birmingham from expending city resources enforcing federal immigration policies. The groups said they have been working with Woodfin on the order since April. Read the proposed order here. The policy would promote trust in local law enforcement and protect public safety for all residents, regardless of immigration status, according to the groups. They said the order wouldn't interfere with any state or federal laws. The Mayor's Office of Public Information issued this statement: "We are dedicated to protecting and serving all the people of Birmingham. We remain steadfast in our commitment to all who call our city home." The mayor didn't issue a statement or address the request he sign an executive order. In a letter to Woodfin, the civil rights groups said Woodfin has stated publicly that the city will not expend resources on enforcing federal immigration law. Read the letter here. "Yet we know that in the past that Birmingham has held dozens of individuals in its custody without a warrant at the request of immigration officials. In surrounding cities, ICE has been surveilling, interrogating, and detaining community members (including U.S. citizens) at courthouses, jails, and probation offices with the collusion of local officials," the letter stated. "Even when these practices are taking place outside the city limits, as long Birmingham fails to pass a clear, written policy prohibiting such practices, the climate of fear and uncertainty they create has real effects within our city--for example, making immigrant witnesses, victims, and suspects of crime less likely to cooperate with law enforcement for fear that any contact with the police will thrust them into the pipeline to deportation. "As the Trump Administration is increasingly using local law enforcement as a tool to carry out its unconscionably harsh immigration policies, we need to hear a message loud and clear from our city that Birmingham will play no part, the letter stated. CAIR-Alabama Executive Director Khaula Hadeed said the proposed executive order sets a policy that "fosters trust, builds community, and prevents waste of our city government resources for deeply misguided, xenophobic, biased, and counterproductive federal actions," Scott Douglas, executive director of Greater Birmingham Ministries said: "Birmingham began as a city of immigrants," said. "We are a beacon for the Civil Rights Movement but we are also a globally acknowledged, nationally recognized contributor to human rights--that means all human beings. We're at our best when we lead Alabama, not when we follow it. Again, Birmingham must take the lead." This is an opinion column. Two years ago, an alphabet soup of federal and state agencies was investigating Alabama's love-struck governor, Robert Bentley. A source of mine met with one of those agencies to help them make sense of things. At the time, everyone knew Bentley had been using a dark money group, ACEGOV, to pay his senior political advisor and love interest, Rebekah Caldwell Mason, but nobody outside a handful of Bentley's closest confidants knew who had been paying money into that slush fund. But the investigators knew. They had obtained records no one else could get. However, they didn't understand how those donations might be significant, so they showed them to my guy. My source was fascinated but confused, too. After the meeting, he called me with a question. "Who the #*~& is Franklin Haney?" In 1973, Franklin Haney (center front) bought land in downtown Birmingham to develop an office tower to lease back to the Social Security Administration. From Bibles to billions Haney began his working life as a door-to-door Bible salesman while still in college. After law school, he dabbled a bit in politics, running unsuccessfully for public office in his home state of Tennessee. Next, he turned to a much more lucrative profession -- real estate. The best description of Haney's work is that he has been a landlord for the government. He buys or builds properties and then leases them to state, federal and local governments. And he makes those connections with his money -- generous campaign donations to the people whose help he needs. The most important thing to understand about Haney is that he does not favor one party over another, nor is he partial to any candidate. His money follows those who support his business. He has donated to Barack Obama and Donald Trump, to Democrats and Republicans, to Birmingham city council candidates and the last two Alabama governors. This simple business model had taken Haney form being a Bible salesman to a billionaire. In Birmingham, Haney had plied local officials with campaign cash and later pitched them on his local passion project -- an older office building on the north side of downtown known as the old Social Security building. After my phone call with my source two years ago, I called someone else I knew who had worked in Bentley's administration. I asked him whether Haney had pitched Bentley on the Social Security building, too. "No," he said. "When Mr. Haney spoke to the governor, it was usually about the Bellefonte nuclear power plant." Money pit Designed in 1968, the Bellefonte nuclear power plant in northeast Alabama has been a money pit for the Tennessee Valley Authority. Estimates for its cost have ranged between $6 billion and $11 billion. And it still wasn't finished. TVA gave up on the project, but Haney appeared seemingly out of nowhere, asking for a chance to finish it, even though he had no experience in the energy industry, much less nuclear know-how. And he solicited Bentley's help. Through a handful of political action committees, Haney contributed almost $300,000 to Bentley's campaign, making him the governor's largest individual donor, and he donated an unknown amount of money to Bentley's dark money group, ACEGOV. In a sworn deposition last month, Bentley confirmed that he had made the ask. And around that same time, Haney asked Bentley for his help, too. At Haney's request, Bentley encouraged TVA to sell the Bellefonte plant to someone who would finish it, and he convened a meeting with executives from two major utilities -- TVA and Alabama Power -- for them to consider Haney's plans. A state grand jury later investigated this connection between Haney and Bentley but did not indict either of them of crimes. TVA agreed to sell Bellefonte to Haney for $111 million. How he would ever bring the project to fruition was a head-scratcher. Despite Haney's headway, environmentalist watchdogs didn't consider the plan to be serious. Stephen Smith, the executive director of the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, called it "delusional." "The first concrete was poured in 1974," he said then. "That reactor is approaching 50 years old. Do you think the Nuclear Regulatory Commission is going give a license for a reactor that has been sitting around for 50 years?" Enter Trump As it turns out, Haney didn't just need the blessing of federal regulators. He's seeking $5 billion in federal loans from the Department of Energy, in addition to $2.5 billion in federal tax credits. When Donald Trump won election in 2016, a door appeared for Haney. Again, he unlocked it with his money. Haney donated $1 million to Trump's inaugural fund. Later, Haney bragged to friends about eating dinner with Trump more than a dozen times during the president's first year in office. And according to a story this week from the Wall Street Journal, Haney agreed to pay Trump's personal lawyer and political fixer, Michael Cohen, a $10 million "success fee" if he helped secure the $5 billion loan for the Bellefonte project. The Journal called the $10 million fee unheard of, and noted that Cohen has never registered as a lobbyist. Haney's lawyer denied that he had ever entered a contract with Cohen, but would not answer follow-up questions. Who do you trust? The Journal's headline called Haney a "top Trump donor" but that's unfair. Others have given Trump more, and Haney has given more to others. Rather, this story is about how money buys access in politics -- no matter who's in office -- and how those shortcuts might allow an ambitious nuclear developer to sidestep political and regulatory obstacles, to invest in a boondoggle with money borrowed from you. And it's about a man who used those shortcuts to go from selling Bibles to potentially shoveling fissile material into a northeast Alabama reactor. He's paid millions to get this far, and he won't blink at paying millions more, if that's what it takes. Because that's who the #*~& Franklin Haney is. Kyle Whitmire is the state political columnist for the Alabama Media Group. Want access to the best analysis and in-depth reporting about Alabama each week? Sign up for the weekly Reckon Report newsletter and follow Reckon on Facebook and Twitter. The Chattanooga developer seeking to purchase Bellefonte Nuclear Plant and bring the dormant Alabama facility online sought help from President Trump's embattled former personal attorney to land a $5 billion federal loan. The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday that Franklin Haney - the leader of Nuclear Development LLC - agreed to pay Michael Cohen $10 million if he helped secure funding for the plant. Cohen is under federal investigation by prosecutors in New York and has suggested he may be willing to testify against Trump in the special prosecutor's probe into Russian influence in the 2016 presidential election. Haney is seeking $5 billion in loans from the U.S. Department of Energy for the Bellefonte project in Jackson County, according to a May 23 announcement by U.S. Rep. Mo Brooks of Alabama, whose district includes the plant. Brooks said at the time he sent a letter to Trump in support of the loan. Alabama Congressmen Robert Aderholt, Bradley Byrne and Martha Roby and Tennessee Congressman Chuck Fleischman also signed the letter. At a community event on Monday, Brooks and former Congressman Bud Cramer - now a Washington lobbyist working to help Nuclear Development navigate through the process of bringing the plant to production - said funding for the project was in the "final stages." Nuclear Development, which submitted the winning bid of $111 million to buy Bellefonte from TVA at auction in November 2016, has until November 2018 to complete the sale. That process is on track as well, according to TVA and Nuclear Development. The Wall Street Journal said Haney gave the contract to Cohen in early April to secure funding for Bellefonte. According to the Journal, "Authorities are investigating whether Cohen engaged in unregistered lobbying in connection with his consulting work for corporate clients after Trump went to the White House, according to people familiar with the probe." An attorney for Haney, Larry Blust, said Haney never entered into an agreement with Cohen. "Neither Mr. Haney nor Nuclear Development LLC ever entered into a contract with Michael Cohen or his affiliate for lobbying services related to the Bellefonte project," Blust told the Journal. The newspaper said Blust declined further comment. Haney, described by the Journal as a "major donor" to Trump's campaign, has tossed money around in Alabama politics as well. In 2014, he donated about $300,000 to Gov. Robert Bentley's re-election campaign - making him one of Bentley's largest contributors. AL.com has reported that Bentley later lobbied TVA to sell Bellefonte. After Trump's victory in 2016, Haney donated $1 million to the president's inaugural fund. Bloomberg reported that Haney bragged about frequently dining with the president and Haney is a member of Trump's Mar-a-Lago club in south Florida. Haney also donated $129,000 to Birmingham city council members in 2013 in an effort to win their favor to purchase a building in the city. The Wall Street Journal reported that Cohen never contacted Rick Perry, the U.S. Secretary of Energy, citing a statement from the department. The Journal said that, according to an source who was not named in the story, Cohen made several calls to the energy department to inquire about the loan guarantee process. According to the Journal, "Cohen's work for Haney included participating in an April 5 meeting during which he helped the donor pitch the vice chairman of the Qatar Investment Authority, Sheikh Ahmed bin Jassim bin Mohamed al-Thani, on a possible investment in the nuclear plant." The newspaper cited its source of the meeting to people familiar with the matter. The newspaper also said Cohen spent a night on Haney's yacht near Miami, where the meeting occurred. There is no indication that the Qataris have decided to invest with Haney, the Journal said. Updated today, Aug. 2, 2018, at 5:50 p.m. with new information throughout. A Huntsville police officer has been indicted on a murder charge for the fatal shooting of a 49-year-old man during a mental health call. Officer William Darby, a two-year employee of HPD, was indicted today for the killing of Jeffrey Parker, court records show. Parker was fatally shot after he called police April 3 and said he was suicidal and had a gun, according to the police department. The situation was captured on body camera footage, but that hasn't been released to the public. Madison County District Attorney Rob Broussard said he was "gravely concerned" when he reviewed the investigative file. "We had concerns that this was not a justified shooting," Broussard told reporters. Broussard said he couldn't speak about specific evidence in the case. Darby and two other officers were placed on desk duty at the time of the shooting, but a review board later cleared them. Today Huntsville police Chief Mark McMurray said at a news conference that Darby is on administrative leave pending the outcome of his trial. McMurray didn't take questions from reporters. He walked away from the podium as soon as he finished reading a statement. Lt. Michael Johnson, a police spokesman said Darby is being paid while he's on leave, per city policy. McMurray said Darby is "by no means a murderer." "Officer Darby was called upon to make split second decisions in a nightmare scenario, the likes of which most people will never experience," McMurray said. "His training allowed him and his fellow officer to survive as he rushed bravely, without hesitation, into one of the most volatile and unpredictable situations a police officer is called upon to face." The day of the shooting, officers briefly talked with Parker at the scene on Deramus Avenue and commanded him to drop the gun, the department said. Parker didn't drop the gun, and Darby shot him, the police said. About a month after the shooting, the police department cleared Darby of violating policy, and he returned to work. "The Parker family was surprised but absolutely pleased that the grand jury issued an indictment," Attorney Martin Weinberg said in an email to AL.com. Weinberg represents Parker's estate. "This incident centers on the growing concern about the mistreatment of the mentally ill by law enforcement. We have to put more resources into training law enforcement on how to deal with the mentally ill." In 2016, AL.com published an in-depth series of stories detailing the mental-health crisis and steps being taken to address it. During his press conference, the police chief said his department has been intensively trained with mental health professionals on how to respond to such situations. "Suicide and mental illness are a national epidemic," the chief said. "Huntsville is not immune from the consequences of these personal tragedies. As a country and as a community, we are all struggling with these mental health issues." Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle also released a statement about the indictment: "Our hearts and sympathies are with the Parker family as they are forced to relive this time of loss," the mayor said. "And to Officer Darby, you have our full support. As a valued and responsible member of our force, he acted in accordance with his training. Please accord him the same presumption of innocence as all Americans are entitled." The TL Blakemore Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 6 in Huntsville issued a statement of support for the police department and city "in their efforts to see that Officer William Darby receives due process as an employee and through the upcoming judicial process." Darby is a 25-year-old from Hartselle, court records show. A grand jury issues indictments when it determines there is enough evidence to formally charge a suspect and send a case to trial. In his 30 years as a prosecutor, Broussard said he's never been in the position of prosecuting a police officer. Chief Trial Attorney Tim Gann and Assistant DA Tim Douthit are prosecuting the case. "We want to first thank law enforcement and the district attorney's office for their leadership and swift movement on an indictment," Weinberg said. A Huntsville police officer has been indicted on murder charges stemming from a mental health call. We are live at the Huntsville Police Department where police are expected to address the indictment. Read more here: https://trib.al/8JN7WLB Posted by The Huntsville Times on Friday, August 3, 2018 HPD Officer Charged With Murder by Ashley Remkus on Scribd Students at Calloway-Smith Middle School in Mobile will help residents at the nearby Sea Breeze Health Care Center learn to use cell phones and laptops while learning from those residents how people stayed in touch decades before the digital era. Students at Springville Elementary will reopen and and renovate the Old Rock School, the community's original school, built in 1921. Students at Leeds Elementary will revitalize the courtyard to enhance the appearance and usefulness of an important gathering spot inside the historic school, which was built in the 1940s. A year ahead of Alabama's 200th birthday, educators and students across the state are gearing up for creative ways to help recognize and celebrate the bicentennial. Alabama became the 22nd state in December 1819. This morning at the Capitol, Gov. Kay Ivey and other officials recognized 200 Alabama Bicentennial Schools. Principals, administrators, teachers and students were on hand for the event, posing for photos and attending a reception. Each Bicentennial School received a $2,000 grant for their project. Sen. Arthur Orr, D-Decatur, chairman of the Alabama Bicentennial Commission, said the list includes 184 public schools, 10 private schools, five home schools and one charter school. All 67 counties are represented. Ivey said the bicentennial presents an opportunity for students to learn how to set goals and follow through with work for the public good. "We encourage the administrators to support their students by setting the bar of expectations real high but back off and let the students lead so they can experience what it means to work successfully with your communities and make a difference," Ivey said. Almost 400 schools submitted proposals. In addition to the 200, 56 others were chosen as honorable mentions and will receive $500 grants. Committees of educators, community leaders and other residents chose the winners. Mary Jones, counselor at Calloway-Smith Middle School, said the school will purchase laptops with the grant money. The students will teach residents at Sea Breeze how to use the computers. Jones said students will write papers on what they learned from the project and make oral presentations. The school's 32 homerooms will each "adopt" a Sea Breeze resident from a list of those who don't have close relatives, she said. "We're trying to get the students to connect and be more community-oriented," Jones said. She said the downtown school is within walking distance of the nursing home. Tami Spires, counselor at Springville Elementary, said students will help paint, replace wall board and take part in all the other work involved in restoring the Old Rock School near U.S. 11. She said the plan is to restore the building to its original glory and prepare it to serve as a community center. Spires said the K through 5 school will also adopt a 1921 theme for the school year, learning about the music, dances and other aspects of the culture of a century ago. Justin Burns, principal at Leeds Elementary, said students in the grade 3-5 school have already started work cleaning up the courtyard and preparing for murals by art teacher Tina Miller that will enhance the historic setting. "Kids take pride in things that they see we take pride in," Burns said. Bicentennial Schools by Mike Cason on Scribd Donna Wesson Smalley, a Democratic candidate for the Alabama Supreme Court, is the sister of a woman who said she had a romantic relationship with failed Senate candidate Roy Moore when she was a teenager and he was in his 30s, her campaign confirmed. Donna Wesson Smalley and Debbie Wesson Gibson are sisters, growing up in Atalla in Etowah County. Donna Wesson Smalley is currently the Democratic nominee for Place Four on the Alabama Supreme Court, facing Republican nominee Jay Mitchell in November. Her sister, Debbie Wesson Gibson, is an unaffiliated candidate for the Florida House of Representatives. Gibson, formerly a registered Republican, originally announced her intention to run as a Democrat but abandoned those plans due to state election laws that require a primary candidate to have been a member of the party they seek to represent for at least one year before the qualifying period. Gibson faces the winners of the Aug. 28 Republican and Democratic House primaries in November. Last year, Gibson was among the women who said she had a relationship with Moore, the Republican nominee for the U.S. Senate seat from Alabama. Gibson said she dated Moore when she was 17 and he was 34 and working as an assistant District Attorney in Etowah County. Their relationship only included consensual kissing, Gibson said, though several women have accused Moore of having improper sexual contact with them when they were teenagers and he was an adult. Moore, who lost the December Senate election to Democrat Doug Jones, denies the charges. In a statement provided by her campaign, Smalley said she stands by her sister and her decision to speak out against Moore. "It is always our duty to stand up against injustice. That is exactly what my sister did when she came forward with her truth about the kind of man that Roy Moore is, and I wholeheartedly stand by her in that decision. "Separate and apart from that, I am running for Supreme Court Justice because I believe the people of Alabama deserve balance on the bench and the opportunity to elect a candidate with experience and integrity. I have been practicing law for 40 years, so when I was sworn in to the bar, my opponent was two years old. "The judicial bench is never the place for corruption and political grandstanding. Roy Moore was removed from the Supreme Court not once but twice for ethical violations. The people of Alabama deserve better, and I'm going to be the type of Supreme Court Justice that will always put people over politics. I will serve the citizens, not special interest groups and lobbyists," she added. The connection between Smalley and Gibson was referenced this week in a lengthy Facebook post by Kayla Moore, Roy Moore's wife. "Why did a woman who never accused my husband of any sexual impropriety, and even handed out campaign literature for him during an earlier campaign for Circuit Judge, join a conspiracy to defeat him in the race for U.S. Senate? Is it because she is now running for the Florida legislature as a "Moore accuser" and her sister is running for a position of Justice on the Alabama Supreme Court? It seems political to me!" Moore wrote. The post included a banner saying "Expose the Conspiracy" and a link to donate to Moore's legal fund. After recovering the body of a Taiwanese teenager lost while swimming off Dauphin Island on Thursday, searchers on Friday morning recovered the body of the young man's father. Dauphin Island Mayor Jeff Collier confirmed at about 10 a.m. that searchers had found the older man's body about an hour earlier. He said the sad case likely would spur discussions about how swim warnings are conveyed to visitors. The situation developed Thursday afternoon, when a family from Taiwan was on the beach on the south shore of the island at or near Ponce De Leon St. The father, who was in his 40s, and son, 17, were about 200 yards offshore when they were lost to sight. Shallows extend far off the beach at some points on Dauphin Island, so that doesn't mean they were in deep water. However, the National Weather Service had projected a high risk of rip currents all along the Alabama coast and western portion of the Florida Panhandle on Thursday, advising that "The surf is dangerous for all levels of swimmers." By late afternoon a search was under way. Family members of the two missing swimmers remained on the beach, but were not able to speak English. A Coast Guard spokesman described the search as an "all hands on deck effort" involving multiple state and local agencies as well as Coast Guard units. The younger man's body was found at about 6 p.m. Thursday, about a mile west of the spot where the swimmers had entered the water. By 6:30 a Chinese-speaking chaplain had arrived to break the news to the family members. On Friday morning, Ensign Justin Lee of Coast Guard Sector Mobile said that Dauphin Island police had recovered the youth's body after it washed ashore. A good Samaritan had called in a possible sighting of the father's body, which was then picked up by a 45-foot Coast Guard response boat. "We're all sad when something like this happens," Collier said Friday morning, after the second body was found. He said Dauphin Island should be a place where people come to "feed their souls" and such tragedies impact the entire community. The mayor said it was highly likely that the situation would prompt town council discussion about ways to make visitors aware of beach dangers. Locals know to check sources such as the National Weather Service, but visitors often don't. Orange Beach and Gulf Shores have a system of warning flags for their public beaches. But in other areas, such as the long stretches of Fort Morgan peninsula occupied by houses and condos, there's no warning system. Recent drownings along the peninsula have led to increased discussion about using signs or flags to warn visitors of dangerous conditions. Collier said it's likely Dauphin Island will look to developments along the Fort Morgan peninsula for ideas about solutions. Another possibility would be coming up with standardized information for real estate agents to provide to renters. "We've got to take a look and see if there's something we can do," he said. "We're going to look at the whole picture again." Note: This story was updated at 11 a.m. with additional information from the Coast Guard. In 1985, the cover story of the first-ever issue of the Association of State Dam Safety Officials newsletter trumpeted the national trade organization's high hopes that Alabama would institute a dam safety program that year. And yet Alabama remains the only state in the nation that does not have such an agency, a fact that worries engineers, experts and public servants both within Alabama and across the nation. They say that if Alabama does not create a governmental entity focused on ensuring that the state's dams are in good condition, it is almost inevitable that a major dam failure will take place in the coming years, destroying homes and businesses and potentially killing people. "I think Alabama is lucky that there hasn't been a catastrophic dam failure in the state, but there have been catastrophic dam failures in states adjacent to Alabama and there is no reason to believe there wouldn't be one there," said Mark Ogden, the technical specialist and head of state outreach for the Association of Dam Safety Officials. Such concerns have historical roots in the long list of deadly and destructive dam breaks across the U.S. that precipitated the institution of dam safety programs in the other 49 states. And experts say it is an even more pressing issue today than it was 33 years ago, as dams across Alabama have continued to age and degrade. The issue of dam safety is not a sexy one, and the successful maintenance of dams across the nation in recent decades has kept the topic largely out of U.S. headlines. But incidents in other countries like the bursting of a massive dam in Laos last week that killed at least 29 downstream residents and left over 1,000 more people missing serve as a clear reminder of the dangers of ignoring dam safety, and the destruction that can result from continued neglect. As such, dam safety officials, engineers and advocates continue to urge the creation of a dam safety program in Alabama, hoping they can prevail before a significant failure forces the state government's hand. 'Get this changed' In 1977, the Kelly Barnes Dam in northeast Georgia collapsed, releasing a torrent that tore through Toccoa Falls College, killing 39 people and causing nearly $3 million worth of damage. President Jimmy Carter sent First Lady Rosalynn Carter to visit the site of the failure the following day, and shortly thereafter issued an executive order directing the Army Corps of Engineers to launch an inventory and inspection of dams across the nation. The Corps completed the inventory but was unable due to funding and staffing constraints to inspect every single dam in the U.S., though it did inspect many potentially hazardous ones. By the end of 1978, most American states had created dam inspection agencies. Many such agencies were created in the aftermath of the Kelly Barnes Dam failure, but others had already been in existence for years. In 1929, California created the nation's first dam safety program in the wake of the catastrophic St. Francis Dam failure, which killed more than 400 people near Los Angeles. In 2004, Delaware became the 49th state to institute a dam safety program, leaving Alabama as the nation's last remaining holdout. Individual legislators have on occasion made short-lived pushes to get a dam safety program going in Alabama, but such proposals never make much headway in Montgomery. Most recently, then-state Rep. Mary Sue McClurkin, R-Indian Springs, introduced a bill in March 2014 to do just that, but the Legislature failed to act on it. "People in Alabama don't want more regulations," McClurkin told AL.com in May 2014, after the bill died. "We must address this issue." Dam safety programs exist largely because even a single major dam failure can result in the decimation of entire communities and kill hundreds of people. But Alabama's government has not taken on the responsibility of establishing an entity focused on ensuring its residents are safe from such eventualities. That keeps people like Ogden up at night, as they know the risks but have yet to see the state move to reduce them. "Hopefully we can continue to work with some of our partners there in Alabama and get this changed, and that's what we plan to do," he said. High hazard Many area residents didn't even realize that the stretch of raised earth adjacent to the modest Plantation Shores Lake in Mississippi's Rankin County - a suburban enclave to the east of central Jackson - was a dam before the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality's Dam Safety Division came to inspect it about eight years ago. On Monday morning, Dusty Myers and Andrew Cummings of the Dam Safety Division and Robbie Wilbur, communications director for the Department of Environmental Quality, took an AL.com reporter on a tour of the Plantation Shores Lake Dam. Their goal was to demonstrate the vital nature of the work the dam safety program - which has fewer than 10 full-time employees - does every day. A gaggle of geese gathered in the shade on one of the lake's banks, and a few small powerboats were docked behind the handful of homes that back up to the body of water. That natural and human ecosystem relies on the integrity of the dam, which is dubbed a "high hazard" because of the amount of damage its failure could cause. Monitoring and enforcing that integrity is the mandate of the Dam Safety Division, according to Cummings, a certified state geologist who regularly visits dams across Mississippi to inspect them and ensure they are in compliance with regulations. "Without the dam safety program, dam owners wouldn't care as much. We sometimes have to twist owners' arms to get them to do even the bare minimum," Cummings said Monday in his office in a downtown Jackson office building. "If we didn't exist, they wouldn't all just keep their dams in immaculate condition on their own. If we weren't here, there would be a whole lot more failures." Best described as a couple-hundred-foot-long, grass-covered berm with a few corrugated-metal pipes scattered nearby to handle outflow, the Plantation Shores Lake Dam does not look like the type of structure that could kill people or destroy much property if it were to burst. But a quick glance at the Dam Safety Division's model of the potential damage it could do to an extensive swath of nearby homes and property reveals that a failure of the dam would likely wreak havoc on downstream communities. When employees of the Dam Safety Division inspected the dam around 2010, they found that it had fallen into disrepair and posed a potential threat to area residents. It has since been repaired, and today it functions as a strong bulwark against the lake's many thousands of gallons of water. It would likely be in even worse shape than it was when the deficiencies were identified if the Dam Safety Division had not intervened, Myers, the agency's chief, said. That's pretty typical of the work dam safety programs do across the nation, according to Myers, who described the Plantation Shores Lake as a "success story" for his agency. "Dam safety's a program that's pretty much out of sight, out of mind. Most people in the general public don't even know there's a threat. They don't know there's a dam up there that could flood their home," Myers said as he looked out over the lake from atop the earthen dam. "But they understand the need for the program once they understand what it does. To me, we serve one of the core functions of government, which is protection of life and property." But in Alabama, experts don't even know exactly how many dams there are in the state. 'A reluctance' As a child, Wade Burchman tagged along with his grandfather as he built a string of dams in rural stretches of Chilton County, Alabama. Today, he lives in Daphne and for the past 15 years has continued to work in the dam industry as a professional engineer who designs, inspects and analyzes dams in Alabama and other states and works with the American Society of Civil Engineers on related issues. Like so many other dams in the state, the ones Burchman's grandfather built have never been regulated or required to undergo inspections. And now some of them are likely upstream from residential areas, due to the development that has taken place in the county over the ensuing decades. Those dams represent a small fraction of the potential hazards posed by the more than 2,200 dams that were identified across the state in a survey released by the national Association of State Dam Safety in August 2017. Burcham wrote last year that "[o]nly an estimated 2% of all known dams in Alabama are being inspected for safety, maintained, and have emergency action plans in place for use in the case of a failure." Dams used in hydropower generation - like a number of dams owned by the Tennessee Valley Authority and Alabama Power - are included in that two percent that are regulated, as they are subject to federal oversight. Engineers and other experts have been aware of the magnitude of the regulation shortfall for decades, but they say it appears unlikely to be addressed anytime soon due to insufficient political will, concerns about big government, higher taxes and increased regulation, and pure ignorance of the scope of the problem among ordinary Alabamians. "In general there seems to be a reluctance about regulation and property rights and allowing inspectors to come onto people's land. And the cost is the biggest factor that comes up," Ogden said. "There are certain people who see the value of having a program but so far they haven't been able to overcome the opposition." Yet there are states of comparable size that operate successful dam safety programs for less than $1 million per year, a tiny percentage of the more than $25 billion Alabama's government spends annually. And a number of other states' dam safety agencies reduce the regulatory burden by operating largely on a self-inspection model, which means that most of the regulation of low-hazard dams is done by dam-owners themselves. "Our general disdain of any kind of governmental influence on anything seems to be an issue in Alabama, and [dam safety] is just not something that's on the forefront of people's minds," Burchman said. "I think whenever you hear something of this nature, you automatically think government is going to try to take over or whatever, but just knowing inventory and where the dams are would make a lot of difference - to be able to just go in and see is this a high risk dam or not?" U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson has set a trial date for Jan. 14 for an Alabama lawmaker, a lobbyist and a California business executive accused of taking part in a bribery scandal. Rep. Randy Davis, R-Daphne, lobbyist and former state Republican Party Chairman Marty Connors and Trina Health founder and CEO G. Ford Gilbert were charged in an indictment issued by a federal grand jury on July 24. An earlier indictment in the case, issued in April, had charged Connors and Gilbert but not Davis. Connors and Gilbert had an initial trial date set for Sept. 11. Because Davis was not charged until last week, Thompson determined that the Sept. 11 date would not allow his lawyer adequate time to prepare. Thompson granted a request by Davis for a continuance and said the lawyers for Connors and Gilbert did not oppose it. A fourth defendant in the case, Rep. Jack Williams, R-Vestavia Hills, was charged in the April indictment but not in the one issued July 24. In his order postponing the trial, Thompson wrote "the court understands from the government that Williams is not proceeding to trial." Thompson did not include Williams in the order setting the Jan. 14 trial date. The U.S. Attorney's office and Williams' attorney, Jake Watson, have said they are working on a resolution to the April indictment. Watson said he does not expect Williams to go to trial. Williams, Gilbert and Connors have pleaded not guilty and denied wrongdoing in statements. The indictment says former state Rep. Micky Hammon, R-Decatur, was part of the conspiracy but he was not charged. Hammon recently finished a three-month federal prison sentence for mail fraud for converting campaign contributions to personal use. The indictment alleges that Gilbert gave Hammon money, sales opportunities and help with debt in exchange for Hammon's efforts to advance legislation to require health insurance companies to cover treatments at diabetes clinics affiliated with Gilbert's company. It also alleges that Davis stood to gain financially and that he also worked to pass the legislation and lobbied to get Blue Cross Blue Shield of Alabama to change its position and cover the treatments. The indictment says Connors lobbied for the bill while knowing about Hammon's stake in the company and made a false statement to an investigator about that. Williams promoted the legislation by steering it to a committee he chaired and holding a public hearing on it, the indictment says. The bill did not pass and the three Trina Health-affiliated clinics in Alabama -- in Foley, Fairhope and Hoover -- have closed. The defendants could receive up to 10 years in prison and significant monetary penalties if convicted of the most serious offenses, the U.S. attorney's office said. An arraignment for the defendants is scheduled for Wednesday at the federal courthouse in Montgomery. They are all out on bond. Though it was more than 43 years ago, Gerald Kimes can tell you without batting an eye, the exact date he first went underground to work in an Alabama coal mine. For 15 new miners, who graduated from a four-week underground mine safety course at Bevill State Community College Thursday, their first day below the surface will be Friday August 3, 2018. The 15 graduates are the first class of a program designed by Bevill State in coordination with Warrior Met Coal, a relatively new company comprised of many of the largest creditors of Walter Energy when that company filed for bankruptcy in 2015. Warrior Met Coal paid the future miners a $600 weekly stipend while they completed the course, and there will be a full-time job waiting for them at Warrior's Brookwood Mine No. 4 or No. 7 the day after they graduate. Patrick Cagle, president of the Alabama Coal Association, said those jobs will have an average salary of $85,000, and multiple participants said the money was the biggest reason they signed up for the program. "The starting pay is a lot better than anything we're going to find where we live," said Jared Cook, 23, of Berry, Ala. Before taking the course at Bevill, Cook said he worked "on and off" clearing land for a pipeline in Georgia. He said he got the application for the program from a friend's father who works in the industry. He hopes his new career will offer some stability that his old jobs lacked. "If I'm there for 30 years, I'd be okay with it," he said. Cook said his biggest concerns about his new job were less about claustrophobia or dangers associated with underground mines, but whether he could get around in the tunnels with his 6'3" frame. Luckily for him, most mine tunnels are seven feet high or more, he said. Terence Hinton, 30, of Tuscaloosa, said he left a good job on the line at the Mercedes plant to follow his uncle's footsteps 2,000 feet below the surface. For Hinton, the job represents a comfortable paycheck, but also a sense of excitement. "This is something I've wanted to do ever since I was 18 years old, fresh out of high school," Hinton said. "I've always been a hard worker. I can't wait to get down there and get to it." Hinton said he's not at all worried about the volatility that can come with mining jobs, as Walter and other have laid off workers in the past. "I'm not worried about that at all," he said. "That can happen anywhere. If it's meant to be, it will be." The work will be difficult, and it's not for everyone. At first, the new miners will be "ISL"s, or inside laborers as they learn the ins and outs of mining. After a year they can trade their green "rookie" hardhats for a black one, and potentially advance into other more specialized mine jobs. Electricians and mechanics are in high demand due to the amount of machinery operating in the underground mines. "The best way to think of it is really high-tech, advanced machinery mines coal," Cagle said. "People operate that machinery, maintain it, fix it when it breaks, move it once they finish an area." Federal regulations require coal miners have 40 hours of training before heading underground. The Bevill graduates will have 160 hours under their belt, focusing on a range of safety issues and using Bevill's on-campus simulated underground coal mine to practice tasks they will soon have to perform in an actual mine. Warrior Met Coal chief administrative officer Kelli Gant said the program helps Warrior hire employees who are better prepared for the rigors of underground coal mining. "We're going to have much better trained folks to enter the workforce," Gant said. "Instead of just a four-day course, they've had a full month of hands-on experience and they should be able to hit the ground running when they go to work tomorrow." The course is led by four instructors who all have experience in underground mines, including Kimes, who led a media tour of the simulated coal mine Thursday. "One of the reasons we partnered with Bevill is those instructors with all that experience," Gant said. "That's hundreds of years of experience in that room in there. Those guys have seen things that a lot of us will never see, and the fact that they're getting instruction from this quality of folks is really exciting for us." Gant said the company plans to hire about 200 new miners through the Bevill State program over the next year, and may continue the arrangement beyond that to account for workforce turnover. Gant said the company had about 500 employees when it formed two years ago, and is up to about 1400 now. Warrior Met Coal is a "pure play" in metallurgical coal, which means it mines only the high-grade coal used to make steel rather than the less expensive "thermal" coal that's burned to generate electricity. All of Warrior's coal goes to steelmakers overseas, traveling through the port of Mobile, Gant said. The primary competition comes from coal mines in Australia. "It's all driven by steel production, that's what our coal is used for," Gant said. "As long as people need steel, they're going to need met coal." Besides more funding, those on the front lines of the opioid addiction crisis said Friday they need help from Montgomery and Washington and better data collection efforts to combat the epidemic. Stakeholders ranging from prosecutors to EMTs to doctors and nonprofits got together at the United Way of Central Alabama in Birmingham as part of a roundtable discussion organized by U.S. Sen. Doug Jones, D-Ala. "It's a serious, serious problem in this state. It has become both a health issue as well as a mental health issue for us," the senator said. "We can't just prosecute our way out of a crisis like this. We got to get to the root causes and the issues." Michael Hogue of the Alabama Pharmacists Association said one of the barriers to better treatment was the state legislature. He said Alabama is the only state in the country that bars pharmacists and doctors from working together on medication management. "There's not authority for them to operate dependently in this state," he said. "The pushback is largely, I think, perhaps concerns over turf between the health care professions." Dr. Erik Hess, a clinical investigator and emergency room physician at UAB Hospital, said the hospital is in need of more referral services. "The thing that's really missing is someone that we can essentially partner with to hand these patients off to otherwise, it's a revolving door," Hess said. "They either come back with another overdose, or they don't come back because they passed away." State Health Officer Scott Harris said Alabama's "biggest challenge" is acquiring data, pointing out that "When people ask of numbers of patients who have died, it's just sort of a guess. We have a rough idea how many people have died, but we don't know for sure," he said. "As far as terms of overdoses, we have absolutely no idea. The No. 1 thing we need is access to better data." Jones noted that he is the co-sponsor of a Senate bill that addresses the opioid crisis, including providing workforce development training for recovering addicts. U.S. District Court Judge Theresa Pulliam, who attended the roundtable discussion said she believed employment was a key factor in combatting the crisis. "I think jobs ... is the single most important thing in getting people off addiction problems," she said. Chris Retan, executive director of Aletheia House, a United Way agency that provides substance abuse treatment and prevention services to low-income individuals, said the bill Jones co-sponsored could be improved. He said the bill targets funding toward states with high levels of overdoses when it should focus on the county level so aid goes to where it is needed most. A similar bill in the House, according to Retan, also allows facilities with 16 or more beds to receive reimbursement from Medicaid patients - a provision not in the Senate bill. Retan also said the Senate bill should include the House version's student loan repayment program for students who find employment at high-need substance abuse programs. After the discussion ended, Jones said he would take those suggestions to heart. "I'm going to look real closely," he said. WILKES-BARRE, Pa. (AP) -- Thundering that the media is the "fake, fake disgusting news," President Donald Trump unleashed a torrent of grievances Thursday at a Pennsylvania campaign rally in which he cast journalists as his true political opponent. Trump barnstormed in a state that he swiped from the Democrats in 2016 and that is home to a Senate seat he is trying to place in the Republicans' column this fall. But the race between GOP U.S. Rep. Lou Barletta and two-term incumbent Democratic Sen. Bob Casey took a back seat to Trump's invectives against the media, which came amid a backdrop of antagonism to journalists from the White House and hostility from the thousands packed into a loud, overheated Wilkes-Barre arena. "Whatever happened to the free press? Whatever happened to honest reporting?" Trump asked, pointing to the media in the back of the hall. "They don't report it. They only make up stories." Time and time again, Trump denounced the press for underselling his accomplishments and doubting his political rise. He tore into the media for dimishing what he accomplished at his Singapore summit with North Korea leader Kim Jung Un. He tore into the tough questioning he received in Helsinki when he met with Russia's Vladimir Putin last month. And he began the speech with a 10-minute remembrance of his 2016 election night victory, bemoaning that Pennsylvania wasn't the state to clinch the White House for him only because "the fake news refused to call it." "They were suffering that night, they were suffering," Trump said of the election night pundits. He then promised that the Keystone State would deliver his margin of victory "next time." "Only negative stories from the fakers back there," the president declared. With each denunciation, the crowd jeered and screamed at the press in the holding pen at the back of the arena. The inflammatory performance came just hours after White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders refused to distance herself from Trump's previous assertions that the media is the "enemy" of the American people. Pressed during a White House briefing on the issue, Sanders said Trump "has made his position known." In a heated exchange with reporters, she recited a litany of complaints against the press and blamed the media for inflaming tensions in the country. "As far as I know, I'm the first press secretary in the history of the United States that's required Secret Service protection," she said, accusing the media of continuing "to ratchet up the verbal assault against the president and everyone in this administration." Though Barletta's bid was an undercard to the Trump's main event, savaging his opponents, the president did bless the congressman's bid. Trump, who has accelerated his campaign schedule in recent weeks to help the Republicans he favors both in primaries and November's midterms, was the first Republican to win Pennsylvania since 1988. "For years and years, they said Republicans should win the state of Pennsylvania," Trump said. "It always got away. But we won the state of Pennsylvania." He and Barletta, who is trailing by double digits in the polls, share hard-line immigration views, and Trump lashed Casey with his own derogatory nickname: "Sleeping Bob." But Trump's focus was defending his own accomplishments and beliefs. He pushed for tougher borders, overstating the threat posed by violent gangs like MS-13 and making the murderous group a stand-in for all immigrants in the United States illegally. He defended his kids-glove approach to both Kim and Putin, saying, "it would be a good thing, not a bad thing" to have warmer relations with the hostile powers and dismissing the talk that meeting with the autocrats elevated them on the world stage. He bashed the Democratic leadership of Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and, curiously, suggested that his frequent foe Rep. Maxine Waters of California was "a new star" of the party. Lou Barletta on stage at Trump rally Posted by PennLive.com on Thursday, August 2, 2018 He raved about the booming economy and said, without evidence, that his blue-collar supporters in states like Pennsylvania were the biggest beneficiaries. And he looked ahead to his 2020 re-election campaign, touting his new slogan, "Keep America Great Again" while musing whether he wanted Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, whom he decried as "Pocahontas," or Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, whom he flatly deemed "crazy," as his opponent. The rally came at a perilous time for Trump, who the day before bluntly declared his attorney general should terminate "right now" the federal probe into the campaign that took him to the White House, a newly fervent attack on the special counsel investigation that could imperil his presidency. Sanders scrambled to explain that Trump's tweet was "not an order" and the president was not directing his attorney general to do anything. "It's the president's opinion," she said. But Trump's tweetstorm again raised the specter that he could try to more directly bring special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia-Trump election-collusion probe to a premature end. And it revived the idea that the president's tweets themselves might be used as evidence that he is attempting to obstruct justice. Negotiations have also started again about a possible presidential interview as Mueller's team has offered the White House format changes, perhaps willing to limit some questions asked of Trump or accept some answers in writing, according to a person briefed on the proposal who wasn't authorized to discuss private talks and spoke on condition of anonymity. By JONATHAN LEMIRE and JILL COLVIN A good deed by some friends with Tuscaloosa connections, who helped a family with a disabled child during a beach visit, has gone viral. The story started social media posts from Dustin Smalley, who described an incident that occurred when he and some friends were in St. Petersburg, Fla., for a wedding. While at the beach, the group, who were college friends from the University of Alabama, observed a mother struggling to get her wheelchair-bound daughter across the sand. According to Smalley's post, the daughter had cerebral palsy. Two members of the party, whom Smalley identified as Renal Roberts and Justin Johnson, helped carry the girl across the sand and back. According to Smalley the mother, whose identity is unknown, told the group, "Thank you gentlemen for this act of kindness, she's been in the room all week so far." A video clip posted by Smalley has been the basis of several news reports, including one by Tuscaloosa-based WVUA. It's been featured by stations in Atlanta and Houston, among other markets. Smalley's takeaway: "In every day, there are 1,440 minutes. That means we have 1,440 daily opportunities to make a positive impact." Incensed residents are flocking to a city hall in Alabama's fastest-growing county with complaints about a proposed 200-plus unit apartment complex. They fear a sudden influx of traffic to already congested roads. The potential of crime from renters also fuels fears. This scenario, which is playing out in Gulf Shores, should sound familiar to anyone who follows Baldwin County politics. Two years ago, residents in Fairhope opposed a 240-unit apartment complex. And when the council OK'd it, voters took note: The mayor and two council members were ousted in that fall's election. "You can't just decide to build apartments and think it will resolve the housing issues in these small cities," said Lynn Maser, who helped lead the opposition to the apartment project in Fairhope. "We have to ask ourselves, just because it's a solution for housing in a bigger city, it doesn't make it a solution for a smaller city that is growing," she added. In Gulf Shores, a city that has seen about 13 percent growth since 2010, residents are at odds with City Hall over a developer's plan to build a 206-unit, four-building complex in the middle of the city. Residents in Gulf Shores, much like residents in Fairhope in 2016, are flocking to council meetings and demanding answers. But council members in Gulf Shores, unlike Fairhope in 2016, do not have to vote on the project. Still, that hasn't stopped residents from demanding answers from elected officials. They've shown up to recent council meetings, and are planning to return on Monday for answers. "We're not giving up," said Pete Sims, a spokesman for the opposition effort. Secrecy The only action that was required by a government agency in Gulf Shores was approval from the planning commission. The commission, in June, OK'd the project's "site plan" with unanimous support. The irate residents say the action was done in secrecy, and without proper notification. Residents did not have to be notified because city ordinances do not require public notices to nearby homeowners for site plan approvals. Had the project required a zoning change, or a special permit, public notices would have been warranted. "The whole thing just looks like they were trying to push it through with no one knowing anything about it," said Clovis Wood, the president of the 95-unit Regency Club Condominiums located near the 10-acre property where the apartment complex would be built on Regency Road. "Why would you not tell the people we are putting this over here?" Gulf Shores Mayor Robert Craft was unavailable for comment last week, and one Gulf Shores council member contacted by AL.com said that elected officials are hesitant to talk publicly about the matter because the residents had obtained an attorney and the potential exists for a lawsuit. Stuart Povall, the owner's representative for the apartment project, said he's been a "little surprised" over the uproar. The dispute is hard to miss as campaign-style yard signs have popped up throughout Gulf Shores that read, "Save Our Neighborhood. Stop Regency Place Apts." Povall is representing what he said is a family-owned company with a "longer term outlook." Povall said he's represented other apartment projects elsewhere and acknowledged that some cities require projects featuring more than 20 units go through a public notification process. What that means is homeowners nearby received letters from City Hall informing them about the nearby development. Gulf Shores does not require public notifications if a rezoning request is not part of the deal. "To be honest with you, we didn't think anything of it," said Povall. "We looked at the zoning and whether we met the ordinance, and we were doing what we were told." Traffic and crime Residents including Wood and Sims believe the addition of 200 units will add more cars to already congested roadways in a city that is among the most popular vacation destinations in Alabama. Povall said he doesn't believe the addition of the apartment complex will alter traffic in Gulf Shores. "It's an issue city wide. I've been there a number of times." Wood, a 10-year resident of the nearby condo association, said the residential road leading to the complex will not be able to handle the added traffic. "We are talking about a minimum of 350 to 500 or more automobiles on that two-lane road that is a quarter-mile long," he said, describing the residential road in his neighborhood. "Everyone coming out of that place at the same time, you'll get 20 backed up each way. That road won't handle it." Residents are also worried about the potential for more crime. Said Wood: "I don't know of a big apartment complex in the middle of a community that doesn't have crime of some kind because of the people you end up getting in there." Povall said he understands the perception that apartment complexes can bring. But he said the Regency Place apartments will be "high-end" rentals offered to "young professionals." He said a detailed market analysis is underway, which will eventually include a price range for the 1-3-bedroom units. Povall anticipates the rental price ranging among the most expensive of the long-term rentals within the beach area. The complex, he said, will prohibit short-term rentals that are often popular in beach cities. "People often equate rental with riff raff and lower end," said Povall. "But we all came out of schools as young professionals renting. This is the demographic that this project goes after." Povall said demand is high for apartments in Gulf Shores and Orange Beach. According to inventories provided by both cities, the coastal beaches have two dozen apartment complexes available for rentals with 16 in Gulf Shores and eight in Orange Beach. The largest complex in Gulf Shores is the 324-unit Colonial Grand at Traditions, which is far from the city's downtown area located east of Alabama Route 59 and north of the Intracoastal Waterway. The Regency Place apartments would be the city's second largest complex. Povall said his clients plan on keeping the development, and ensuring it remains family-owned. "They view this as a signature property to them," he said. "This one they would call a portfolio piece to hold onto to. They have a long-term outlook and hope to pass it along to a new generation." Political ramifications Residents, though, say they don't want any part of it. They are also saying there are political ramifications at play if the council doesn't find a way to send the project back to the planning commission for reconsideration. Wood said that hundreds of votes could be swayed the next time there is a city election, which won't be until 2020. "It's not a wise thing to do,' said Wood. "They can lose their jobs. The problem is, I'd rather that not happen." Maser, in Fairhope, said the apartment complex kerfuffle prompted sweeping changes within the city's power structure. Voters in September 2016, ousted four-term Mayor Tim Kant and booted two of the three council members who backed the project. She said voters in the northern part of Fairhope, where the complex is located, "came out to vote in numbers historically unknown as a direct result of the apartments." "Gulf Shores politicians would do well to take heed of Fairhope's experience," Maser said. She added, "Yes, we are fast growing and we see housing developments all over the place. You can swallow all of that until you put a concentration of the population in one place and really recognize what is going on." Povall said he doesn't want the elected leaders in Gulf Shores to have to speak for a project they didn't vote on. He said he plans to do much of the talking on Monday, and is prepared to answer questions. "When it's a rezoning and there is action for the council to take, I can see where it can be politically difficult," he said. "But I want to speak for this project. I don't want the politicians to speak for anything. In this case, there was no action for the council to take." Povall said, "The only action the council can take is to vote to overturn the unanimous decision of the planning commission. But we did what we needed to do. We are done." The following is a chart of the 10 largest apartment complexes at Baldwin County's two beach cities. The information was compiled by the cities of Gulf Shores and Orange Beach. A Taiwanese father and son disappeared while swimming off Dauphin Island on Thursday afternoon, and at least one of the two men died. A Coast Guard spokesman said late Thursday afternoon that an "all hands on deck" search operation was under way, also involving state and local agencies. The incident involved a Taiwanese family who were visiting the island. A father and son, ages 47 and 17, were swimming about 200 yards off the south shore of the island when they were lost to sight. That doesn't necessarily mean they were in deep water, as shallows extend far out from the beach in some places. Dauphin Island Mayor Jeff Collier said that the two had not entered the water at a public beach. The family had been on the beach at a residential area on or near Ponce De Leon St. As of 6 p.m., family members remained on the beach as the search was conducted. None of them spoke English, and first responders had sent for a translator and chaplain who could communicate with them. At 6:30 p.m. a chaplain arrived. By that point searchers had found the body of the teenager, and the chaplain was able to communicate that news to relatives waiting on the beach. A helicopter continues the search for a 47-year-old man that went missing with his teenage son in waters off Dauphin Island Thursday evening. The body of the mans 17-year-old was found at around 6 p.m., according to law enforcement. Follow @aldotcom for more. pic.twitter.com/yXhRHq3L2U Christopher Harress (@Charress) August 2, 2018 Searchers said the body had been found about a mile from where the two swimmers had entered the water. They were concentrating their search for the father in the same area. It remained possible that he might have been carried along the coast and come ashore in unfamiliar surroundings. Anyone with information on the incident was asked to call the Coast Guard at 251-441-6212. Heavy storms had come through the region on Wednesday and scattered storms continued on Thursday. A Coast Guard spokesman said conditions at the island were "hit or miss. However, the National Weather Service projected a high risk of rip currents all along the Alabama coast and western portion of the Florida Panhandle on Thursday, advising that "The surf is dangerous for all levels of swimmers." AL.com reporter Chris Harress contributed to this report. By Lee Auman, the Democratic nominee seeking the District Four seat in the U.S. House of Representatives versus incumbent Republican U.S. Rep. Robert Adderholt. A study released by Harvard has reinforced something residents of Alabama's Fourth District already know too well: The opioid crisis is a disaster here. There are 166 opioid prescriptions per each 100 residents of our district -- the highest rate in the country. Our healthcare providers, emergency management agencies, and law enforcement officers are overextended. The crisis is compounded by the threat of rural hospital closures in every corner of the district. So, how did Robert Aderholt, a 22-year D.C. insider, respond? Our Congressman told us he didn't care. Aderholt's statement was a copy-paste effort straight from the GOP Establishment playbook. First, he made light of opioid addiction by stating that the president's economic policy would fix the crisis. Then, he took credit for a smattering of appropriations provisions and glossed over the real problem. At no point did he propose concrete policy proposals to reduce prescriptions or help those already suffering from addiction. Nowhere in the statement did he mention any results or proven benefits from these expenditures. He doesn't think he has to answer to us. He's giving us a Washington response for an Alabama problem. I will actively work toward solutions. When I am elected, I will immediately sponsor a bill to expand existing prescription monitoring systems. Lawmakers need to give doctors the resources they need to protect their patients and themselves. I will fight for penalties for providers who repeatedly overprescribe. I will listen to the people of the district and monitor the situation closely and ensure we are making progress. I will always have a stake in our community. While Rep. Aderholt directs his staff to give divisive, partisan statements about a heartbreaking and widespread crisis, people in Alabama's Fourth District are living with the consequences of poor leadership. Who among us doesn't know someone impacted by opioid abuse? The people deserve a leader who won't take us for granted. We need leadership. Rep. Aderholt isn't advocating for the needs of his constituents, and he should be held accountable. It will take time and effort, but we can solve this crisis and the other problems facing us. As your representative, I will advocate for you. For improvements to our classrooms in every ZIP code, for more funding for our two-year colleges, for healthcare access. I will fight against anything that harms our district, like trade policies that hurt industry and job opportunity. I'll work for you, not the establishment of either party. By Anahita Mukherji, Spaceship Media From deep red to light pink, post-election maps of America tell you how vast stretches of the country vote. But the maps don't tell you how they think. Tiffany Rouse, a conservative Christian from the rural South, would have called herself evangelical, but feels the term has been "stolen" by supporters of President Donald Trump. A fiscally conservative, pro-life, devout Christian, she fits the archetype of a Republican voter. Except that she did not vote Republican. Her opposition to Trump's immigration policy stems from her Christian faith. Separating families at the border is not what Christianity looks like to her. As for the support the policy received from leading evangelicals, Rouse doesn't know whether a majority of Christians support the policy, or just the loudest ones, but she's very sure this is not what Jesus would want. "Even if you take Christianity out of the argument, immigration makes economic sense. Immigrants have always been good for our economy," says Rouse. Texas rancher Kelly Whatley, who lives two hours from the U.S.-Mexico border, in a region with a large Hispanic population, is particularly sensitive to the plight of immigrants, and doesn't want asylum seekers to be thrown in jail. A Methodist who generally identifies Republican, she finds herself disagreeing with the direction in which the Republican party is headed. As the Republican Party shifts to the right, some conservatives find themselves at odds with the party. Some grudgingly voted for Trump and now regret the decision. Some grudgingly voted for Hillary Clinton because she was not Trump. And some, like Rouse, voted for neither party. From deep red to light pink, shaded maps of America may accurately indicate how vast swathes of the country vote. But the maps, of course, don't capture the nuance of people's beliefs and views. These sorts of nuances in ideology often missed in mainstream discourse are being captured and explored in a unique online conversation that started in February and so far involves nearly 400 women from across the United States and representing a range of political thought. The conversations take place in a moderated Facebook group called The Many: A Conversation Across Divides, launched and run by Spaceship Media, which uses a method they call dialogue journalism to reduce polarization, build communities and restore trust in media. The discussions in The Many showcase a wide variety of conservative thought. Nowhere is this more evident than the abortion debate. At one end of the spectrum are pro-lifers like Vanessa Kooper, a 20-year-old church-goer from small-town Louisiana, who believes abortion is murder, and would never vote for the Democrats. And then there are those like 26-year-old Ashley Cecere from Virginia, who are personally pro-life, but don't believe in interfering with another woman's choice. Cecere is aware of the fact that women who are not given safe access to an abortion have often resorted to desperate measures that could endanger their lives. She points to hypocrisy in conservative opinion, which is often both pro-life and pro the death penalty. Others like Rouse, though, are pro-life from womb to tomb, opposing abortion and death penalty. Barbara McDonald from Alabama started out pro-choice, but her feelings changed when an ultrasound in the early stages of her second pregnancy showed her a heartbeat. Her views on politics followed the reverse trajectory. While McDonald voted Republican for much of her life, she has been voting for a few more democratic candidates, the older she grows. Some young women, though, remain staunchly conservative. Kooper, for instance, believes very deeply in the Bible and says she is not a feminist. She believes in a traditional family, where marriage is between a man and a woman, and the man is the "head provider." Meanwhile Alice Lowry, 55, who grew up in a Catholic family in Illinois, went to Catholic school and knew very few Democrats at the time, grew less conservative when she was exposed to different people and different ideas. A turning point in her view of gay rights was the day she watched an episode of the Phil Donahue show in the late 1980's, about a lesbian couple who wanted to adopt children. "When I began watching the show, I was convinced they should not be allowed to adopt. By the end of the show, I had completely changed my mind. Those women talked of raising a child in exactly the way I'd raise mine," says Lowry. Cecere, too, is beginning to find herself less conservative than she thought she was. She and her husband have worked in the security field and can't imagine not owning a gun. "While I'm a responsible gun-owner, I can now see that the world outside my home doesn't necessarily look that way," says Cecere, who is increasingly in favor of gun regulations. Holly Ashley, an evangelical conservative in Alabama, wants both secure borders for America, and a humane immigration policy. She does not want children separated from parents, and hopes the country can find a way forward for Dreamers. Cindy Boehnlein, a Catholic from Ohio, extends her conservatism to the environment. While she agrees with much the Republican party stands for, she is critical of their plans to drill for more oil. "Free markets should not mean the freedom to harm the environment," she says. For some, it's the candidate that counts, while others vote for a party. Kelli Myrick, a conservative evangelical who lives on the outskirts of Syracuse, is deeply moved by the poverty she sees around her and wants a candidate who will work towards improving the standard of education in poor neighbourhoods, giving underprivileged children a chance to succeed. In the presidential election, she did not vote for Trump or Clinton as she didn't like either candidate. Though Trump's behaviour makes McDonald cringe, she reluctantly voted for him because she wanted a conservative Supreme Court, for which she knew she'd have to vote Republican. Her thoughts, though, don't always fit the conservative narrative. While the United Methodists, to which she belongs, is split down the middle over the subject of homosexuality, McDonald herself is torn. The one thing she's certain of is that her gay friends are very dear to her, and that's something neither religion nor politics will ever change. In a world where everyone is supposed to have an opinion on everything, McDonald willingly admits that her thoughts on homosexuality are evolving. The Many itself exemplifies an evolution of thought. It isn't about women convincing other women to think the way they do. It's about holding hands and moving forward together, one step at a time, in an uncertain world. At a time when those occupying the blue spaces on the map are afraid of being drowned out by a surge of red, a closer examination of the many shades of conservative thought may reveal a country that isn't quite as divided as it looks on paper. ------------ Spaceship Media's The Many is a closed, moderated Facebook group for women across the country and of all political stripes from hard left, hard right and everything in between. The group will run at least until midterm elections in November and is a place to talk respectfully and with civility about a range of political and social issues. Visit our website to learn more about the project and join the conversation by filling out this form. An illegal alien gang member accused of firing a gun on a public sidewalk in the sanctuary city of New York is now claiming that he has Second Amendment rights just like every United States citizen. Javier Perez, a 28-year-old illegal alien from Mexico, is claiming that he has Second Amendment rights under the U.S. Constitution and therefore is being unfairly charged with possession of a gun. In July 2016, Perez allegedly fired a .380-caliber semiautomatic pistol on a public sidewalk in Brooklyn, New York to fight off a rival street gang, according to the New York Daily News. If the illegal alien gang member is convicted of firing the pistol, he would receive a maximum sentence of ten years and would likely be deported from the U.S., as the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials say they will take Perez into custody should he be released. Anger and concern as private contractor Serco plans to evict 330 people from their Glasgow homes by changing the locks. Glasgow, Scotland Rahman Shah was born in a refugee camp in Peshawar 32 years ago and has never been to Afghanistan. But because Pakistan does not grant citizenship to children born in camps, he had no passport for travel. He came to Scotland to seek asylum 12 years ago by an arduous overland route. On Wednesday, along with 23-year-old Afghan Mirwais Ahmadzai, he started a hunger strike on a Glasgow street to protest the treatment and eviction of asylum seekers by the UK Home Office and its private contractor, Serco. Shah has been denied asylum and claims the Home Office wants to deport him to Afghanistan. I have never been in Afghanistan. I have never seen Afghanistan. I am, my whole life, in Pakistan, he says, under a makeshift shelter donated by local community groups, opposite Home Office buildings in the Ibrox district. When I arrived in the UK I went straight to the police station. They said, Show me your passport, but I said, I have no passport, I came by truck.' The letter he received from Serco detailing the terms of his eviction was in English. I can speak [English] but I cannot write or read I was born in a refugee camp, I could not go to college. Shah, who has hepatitis, is one of 330 asylum seekers in Glasgow that Serco plans to evict. Under UK law, people claiming asylum can receive $49 a week around half the minimum amount guaranteed to UK citizens who can claim social security benefits and this support is withdrawn if an asylum claim is denied. If they cut the money and the support, what will we do? says Shah. Local authorities only give support in specific cases, usually where a person has a disability or medical condition. Otherwise, people rely on handouts to survive. It is not only about Serco, it is about the process of asylum claims - they are doing this for the 300. If Afghanistan is safe, why are there still 37 countries' armies there? Muhammad Asif, head of Scottish Afghan Society Shah and Ahmadzai are Pashtuns, whose ethnic heritage traces back to the region Britain and other colonial powers carved up in the 1800s. The Scottish Afghan Society and its 2,000 members, which is run by Muhammad Asif, support the hunger strikers. It is not only about Serco, it is about the process of asylum claims they are doing this for the 300, Asif told Al Jazeera. If Afghanistan is safe, why are there still 37 countries armies there? he said, recalling an announcement by the UKs defence secretary, in advance of last months NATO summit, that a further 440 non-combat troops would be sent to Afghanistan. Afghanistans safety is also disputed by other UK government departments: the Foreign Office advises UK citizens against travel to most of the country, which saw at least 10,000 civilian casualties in 2017. Attacks have continued across Afghanistan in 2018. Serco plans to remove 10 people a week from their homes over the next four weeks. Local organisations which support refugees and asylum seekers are concerned that people are being evicted with no more than a letter from Serco and a change of locks on their rooms. Sercos action threatens over-stayers, those whose asylum claims have been denied and have no current right to remain in the UK. Hundreds of people have come out in support of 23-year-old Afghan Mirwais Ahmadzai, pictured, and Rahman Shah [Simon Jones/Al Jazeera] It is difficult to identify who is at risk as Serco has not provided this information to local organisations. Activists told Al Jazeera that Home Office policy cuts financial support to people who have exhausted their appeal rights, which they say amounts to state-enforced destitution. Serco says a person must be currently seeking asylum in order to qualify for accommodation. Those facing eviction do appear to have attempted several rights of appeal, for whom Serco receives no money under its Home Office contract. However, their appeal process could go on longer. Each asylum seeker must be deported on one particular reason, and in a typical case, there may be many. If one claim of asylum is rejected, then a person may still lodge another in a process which generally takes years. Evicting someone from their house and bombing somebody's house is not very different. Sabir Zazai, head of the Scottish Refugee Council Activists say these evictions are a change in policy, not law. Glasgow City Council alleges that Serco did not tell them of their plans to evict anyone. The company says the cost of housing the people it plans to evict is more than $1.3m. Sercos profit in 2017 was almost $91m. On Thursday, the Govan Law Centre lodged papers at the Court of Session in Edinburgh, in the hope of challenging the legality of the eviction notices. A task force has been set up by Glasgow Council to co-ordinate support for those affected. Serco is talking about able-bodied, single men, but we all have vulnerabilities especially in the asylum system, said Sabir Zazai, head of the Scottish Refugee Council. This will put pressure on our advice and advocacy services, and on the practical and operational support we provide. Zazai himself came to the UK as a refugee in 1999. Evicting someone from their house and bombing somebodys house is not very different, he said. By working with a range of organisations, he says he hopes the Home Office could change the system instead of changing the locks. GULFPORT, Mississippi -- A 43-year-old Vancleave man was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison Thursday for selling methamphetamine, according to the U.S. Attorneys Office. U.S. District Court Judge Louis Guirola Jr. sentenced Terry Lee Reddix to 360 months in prison, followed by five years of post-release supervision, for possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute. In May 2016, Reddix sold meth from his home in the area of Vancleave known as "The Hill," which prosecutors said he had been doing for several years, to a confidential source. Undercover law enforcement agents were able to make several purchases from Reddix. His sentence reflected his prior criminal history and the extensive organization he ran from The Hill, according to the Department of Justice. The case was investigated by the FBI and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney John Meyneardie. By Tom Brian Angurini The Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) has refuted media reports that banned Kenyan sugar has been sneaked into Uganda. Addressing journalists in Kampala this afternoon, Vincent Seruma the Assistant Commissioner Public and Corporate affairs says the said shipment was from Kakira Sugar Works that had been sent to Mwanza, Tanzania but was slapped with a 25 percent tax prompting the exporters to ship it back. Seruma explains that the sugar consignment had to be shipped back to avoid incurring unplanned expenses and currently the 12,000 bags of sugar are being kept at the Jinja pier. He says the governments of Uganda and Tanzania are currently engaged in an inter-ministerial discussion on why Tanzania could slap such a levy on a Ugandan product yet the East African Community Customs agreement prescribes zero tax on member states products. Donald Trumps onslaught on immigrants continues. This time, however, he is targeting skilled workers at the top instead of the huddled masses at the margins. His administration plans to rescind the policy that allows the spouses (and children) of graduate-level workers to work legally while in the United States. This policy, signed by President Barack Obama in 2015, aimed to create additional incentives for high-skilled workers (H-1B visas) to immigrate to the United States to strengthen American economic and industrial interests. Trumps slated elimination of it is fuelled by the very same brazen xenophobia that galvanised support for the Mexico border wall and the Muslim Ban. While Trump is yet to build a wall, the United States borders are already tightening and once again transforming into living theatres of demographic filtering where race, nationality and religion rank as the most salient criteria for rejection and admission. Though not discriminatory on its face, Trumps motive to dispose of the immigration standard that allows the spouses of foreign workers to legally hold employment, upon closer inspection, is saturated with animus. It aims to appease his vehement nativist base that believes Black and Brown foreigners are taking our jobs. A fear both wrongheaded and racist, which the Trump Administration is more than willing to serve and satiate, and in the process, deeply damage the United States ability to attract the worlds most skilled and talented workers. Buy American and Hire American On April 18, 2017, Trump signed the Buy American and Hire American executive order. The order sought to spur a rise in wages for American workers and stricter immigration standards for foreign workers. Trumps Buy American and Hire American is built upon the false dichotomy that pits American versus foreign workers, playing off the inescapable psychosis in white, working class communities across the United States that immigrants of colour were the direct cause of their dire, and spiraling, economic condition. More universal societal ethos than hillbilly elegy, blaming black, brown and Asian foreigners was far more compelling an excuse for diminished employment prospects and rising debt, than the reality of the shift of the American economy from industrial to knowledge-based, and the prohibitive costs of higher education. The Buy American and Hire American executive order holds: In order to create higher wages and employment rates for workers in the United States, and to protect their economic interests, it shall be the policy of the executive branch to rigorously enforce and administer the laws governing entry into the United States of workers from abroad. The correlation drawn by the policy adopts the (il)logic of the nativist view that Americans are losing their jobs to foreigners, which at its core means that, white Americans are losing their jobs to foreigners of colour. Therefore, a precursor to understanding why such a policy is even possible is comprehending the essence of the emboldened xenophobia in white working class spaces, and the political will to serve white supremacy at the economic bottom. Making America Great again, or predominantly white again, mandates drastic remaking of American immigration policy. Restricting the spouses of foreign workers from holding employment is a direct policy extension of the Buy American and Hire American executive order, and both are sourced from the pointedly xenophobic and white supremacist narrative that delivered Trump the presidency, and today steers the direction of his administration. It isnt immediately clear if the Trump administration will rescind the rule for future applicants or also strip work permits from those who [currently] have them, writes Sabrina Siddiqui, but the political points the policy grants Trump with his base comes with destructive short-term costs suffered by scores of immigrant families, and real damage to American interests. The cost of Xenophobia I worked as an assistant professor in India. Coming to the US and settling down here was never ever my dream but I came here in 2009 for the sake of my family life, shared Shri, My husband got his project and I came with him and my 3 year old son, of course on dependent visa. The executive order passed by Obama in 2015 allowed Shri, and thousands of more immigrants that followed their spouses to the United States, to continue the careers they left behind in their native countries. An online initiative called SaveH4ead seeks to give face to the stories of these spouses, and counter the xenophobic narrative weaponised by the Trump administration that waves of faceless immigrants are plotting to strip Americans of their jobs. Through these deeply human accounts emanates another dire consequence of Trumps anticipated policy: that deterring skilled foreign workers will detrimentally affect American innovation, industry and economic interests. While the Muslim Ban, breaking up families at the border and expedited deportations have reversed the commitment of absorbing the worlds huddled masses, Trumps anticipated executive order will also retrench the distinctly American enterprise of luring the worlds most talented and innovative minds stateside. Whether framed as a global brain drain or extending opportunity to talent from every corner of the globe, the Obama executive order offered more than just professional or economic incentive for skilled foreign workers. By permitting spouses to work, the policy allowed accompanying husbands and wives (the policy disproportionately impacts women) like Shri to continue their careers, keep their families united, and offer better lives to their children. Therefore, the United States became a more attractive option for coveted foreign workers seeking to ply their trades abroad, and the American economy emerged as the greatest beneficiary by enlisting minds that would enrich its corporations, public sector institutions, and colleges and universities. The notion that foreign workers are economic parasites that suck and send their resources abroad is as mythic as it is malicious, belied by the reality that skilled workers and their accompanying spouses are boons to the American economy. The success of the Obama policy was clear and immediate: in 2016, 131,051 new H-4 visas were assigned, a significant spike up from 80,015 only three years before it was enacted. Spouses, who oftentimes were highly educated skilled in their own right, were an added windfall. Serving and satiating Xenophobia In exchange for feeding xenophobic zealots with policy that quenches their hatred for anything immigrant and anybody foreign, the imminent Trump policy will bludgeon American economic and industrial interests by scaring promising foreign workers away. Instead of coming to the United States, where their spouses cannot work and their very being an affront to a swelling segment of xenophobes, foreign workers will choose to work elsewhere. And in turn, the United States will miss out on the innovation, entrepreneurial spirit, and skill that foreign workers bring, by the droves. The sad reality that underlies the Hire American, Buy American campaign spearheaded by Trump is that the jobs that foreign workers and their spouses fill are the jobs that a vast lot of Americans, particularly those from the white, working class communities that demand these xenophobic policies, are not educated enough to fill or skilled enough to perform. The unemployed coal miner or assembly line workers cannot fill the growing demand for mechanical engineers and software developers that the American labour supply cannot meet. Yet, market realities matter less than the rhetoric of demagoguery in the US today, and stereotypes overpower statistics in the crafting of executive policy in the age of Trump. The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeeras editorial stance. Rescue teams recover the bodies of 17 women and four children on board the boat in northwestern state of Sokoto. A boat overloaded with passengers in northern Nigeria has capsized, killing 21 people, according to the state rescue agency. The boat with an estimated 50 passengers on board overturned in strong currents in a river in the Gandi district of Sokoto state on Thursday, Suleiman Karim of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) told AFP news agency. Rescue teams recovered the bodies of 17 women and four children on board the overloaded boat which capsized due to strong waves, he said. He said the other 29 passengers were lucky to make it to the shore. The passengers were heading to Garin Kare village on the other side of the river to check on their homes, which they deserted following deadly attacks last month by suspected cattle thieves in neighbouring villages. Thousands of the villagers fled to a makeshift camp after the bandits attack, in which 32 people were killed and dozens of homes razed. Boat capsizes are common in Nigeria due to overcrowding and the lack of maintenance for vessels, particularly during the annual rainy season. In July, 22 traders were killed after their boat capsized in high winds in the Isa district of Sokoto state following a heavy downpour. Passenger boats in Nigeria, especially in more remote areas, are often poorly maintained and sometimes incapable of navigating rough waters. But operators with narrow profit margins typically try to put on board an excessive number of passengers to boost income. Argentina: Ex-president summoned to testify in corruption scandal Former Argentina President Cristina Kirchner has been summoned for questioning in a corruption scandal that Argentines are likening to Brazils massive Car Wash investigation. Bloomberg cites officials as saying that Beijing turned down a Washington request to cut imports from Iran. China has rejected a demand by the United States to cut Iranian oil imports, according to Bloomberg news agency, which cited two officials familiar with the negotiations. Beijing, however, agreed not to increase purchases of Irans crude, the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity told Bloomberg on Friday. Francis Fannon, US assistant secretary of state for the Bureau of Energy Resources, was recently in China to discuss sanctions, Bloomberg said, citing a US government official. US President Donald Trump announced in May Washingtons withdrawal from a landmark multinational nuclear deal with Iran. Under the 2015 pact, signed by the US, UK, Britain, China, Russia and the European Union, Tehran agreed to scale back its uranium enrichment programme. In return, United Nations-approved sanctions were lifted, and Iran was allowed to resume trading oil and gas on the international market. As an original signatory, the US also pledged to waive secondary sanctions as long as Iran continued to abide by the deal. But Trump, a longtime critic of the deal who succeeded Barack Obama as president last year, pulled out of the pact despite repeated assurances by UN inspectors that Iran is in compliance with its obligations. Washington also imposed a series of additional sanctions on Iranian entities and individuals, as well as foreign companies in Iran, squeezing Iran economically. The US also said that it would exert maximum economic and diplomatic pressure on other countries to stop buying crude oil from Iran. In June, the US state department said that countries buying oil from Iran should bring down to zero their Iranian crude imports by the time Washington re-imposes sanctions on November 4. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has warned the US against any attempt to stop Tehrans oil trade, threatening to block the strategically important Strait of Hormuz. The Americans say they want to reduce Iranian oil exports to zero It shows they have not thought about its consequences, Rouhani was quoted as saying by state news agency IRNA while on an official visit to Austrias capital, Vienna, in July. Iran will survive this round of US sanctions as it has survived them before, Rouhani said, describing them as a crime and aggression. {articleGUID} Also last month, China, which is Irans biggest customer, said it did not accept unilateral sanctions against Iran. The unilateral sanctions should be abandoned because they are counterproductive, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying told reporters. China and Iran unwaveringly maintain normal trade and economic ties. China will continue to cooperate with Iran adhering to its international obligations, she added. In July, Beijing lifted monthly oil imports from Iran by 26 percent. This accounted for 35 percent of Iranian exports last month, according to ship-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg. Some 4,600 Rohingya live in a camp at Zero Point, barred from returning to their villages by Myanmar authorities. Coxs Bazar, Bangladesh With a blue and white-checkered lungi tied around his waist, Nur al-Amin gazes across a narrow muddy canal running along rows of tarpaulin-roofed bamboo shacks. There is no work here and nothing to do, he says, recounting his monotonous routine. I wake up at dawn to pray, I read Quran, I take naps, I wait for the aid agencies to come, adds al-Amin, who is in his mid-40s. Thats daily life. Al-Amin is one of the 4,600 displaced Rohingya stranded in bleak conditions at a camp in no-mans land on the Myanmar-Bangladesh border, known to locals as Zero Point. The camps residents have not been given refugee status, as the area in which they have been sheltering for almost a year now is officially under Myanmar control but a fortified border fence rigged with landmines makes a return to their villages in Rakhine state an impossible mission. Nur al-Amin has been displaced from his village in Myanmar three times during his lifetime [Sorin Furcoi/Al Jazeera] On the other side of the canal, a mere few metres, is the Tambru Konapara, which lies in Bangladeshi territory. Twice a month, a team by the International Committee for the Red Cross arrives here with provisions for the displaced Rohingya. Under the watchful eye of the Bangladesh Border Guards (BGB), the Rohingya are allowed to cross a newly-built wooden bridge into Tambru checkpoint to pick up the aid items, as well as carry out their frugal shopping at Tambru village. The BGB and these Rohingya have a mutual understanding, a gentlemens agreement of some sorts, that the latter will always return to the camp on the other side. Lieutenant Colonel Monzural Hassan Khan, the local commanding BGB officer, says it is simply a matter of convenience to let the Rohingya from no-mans land to enter Bangladeshi territory. If they cant come to this side, then how can they collect their rations from the international community? he says. Although they are Myanmar nationals, they move around inside our land but dont go far. The people in the camp have no work or any other activities [Sorin Furcoi/Al Jazeera] Recurrent fleeing For al-Amin, who used to own paddy fields in his village of Panipara in Muangdaw township in Myanmar, this is the third time hes experienced displacement. The first was in 1978, when he was still a child and had to spent a year at a refugee camp in Bangladesh after escaping anti-Rohingya violence by Myanmars authorities. Then in 1992, he was forced to flee for a second time and ended up living as a refugee for eight years. And the third was last year, on August 27, when he and his family fled a Myanmar army crackdown in Rakhine state, which the UN said amounted to ethnic cleansing an accusation Myanmar denies. The mass exodus came after the military launched a ferocious counteroffensive following attacks on police and army posts by Arakan Rohingya Solidarity Army (ARSA), a small group of men fighting in Myanmars western region of Rakhine. To date, more than 700,000 Rohingya a majority-Muslim ethnic group often described as the worlds most persecuted minority have been displaced and now populate several refugee camps in Bangladeshs Coxs Bazar. Two of my sons were injured by mine blasts, one in the head and the other in the chest, al-Amin says. They are now doing better, after a long treatment at the local Bangladeshi hospital on the other side. Acknowledging that his sons were lucky not to lose their limbs or, even worse, their lives, he recalls witnessing a 45-year-old woman losing both of her legs to the mines, which were placed in holes in the fence. How many more days will I spend here this time? he asks, voicing his frustration and concern regarding the future of his children, the eldest of whom is 21 and the youngest is seven. Will they live the rest of their lives as refugees? Children cross the bridge build across the canal separating the camp from Bangladesh [Sorin Furcoi/Al Jazeera] The green bridge Life in the camp is grim. There are no facilities, no jobs and no schools. The rudimentary housing structures have now been built over stilts in a bid to avoid flooding, which hit the camp during the monsoon season last year. Dil Muhammad, the Rohingya camp leader, points to the bridge: a simple, latticed structure that is painted green and supported by bamboo poles. This was built by us one month ago, on July 1, he says. The BGB turned a blind eye even though the construction materials came from them. We used to have to wade through the canal to collect aid. The 51-year-old father of six said his village lies only seven kilometres from the Myanmar border fence. He says he has faced continuous unfounded accusations from Myanmar authorities that he is a senior member of ARSA. When the UN Special Envoy to Myanmar Christine Schraner Burgener came a few months ago from the border fence here to talk to me, the Myanmar government district sought to discredit what I had to say by calling me an ARSA leader, he says. According to other residents, it is not the first time Myanmar has said ARSA members live in the camp. Myanmar soldiers often attempt to provoke the younger men and boys to throw rocks at them by firing blank shots and throwing bottles at us during the night, al-Amin says. Muhammad sighs. He says no one wants to live under such dire conditions. When we first arrived, we thought that after a few days we would return back to our homeland, he says. One year has passed, and there has been no solution. The UN has failed us. Dil Muhammad has been falsely accused of being an ARSA leader by Myanmar [Sorin Furcoi/Al Jazeera] On the same side Across the bridge, the Tambru border village in the Bangladeshi Bandarban district is home to about 6,000 people. Its main road is lined with shops, tea stalls and vegetable stands. Some of the Rohingya from the camp in no-mans land stand on the side of the road, while others move around with more familiarity. We are not disturbed by their presence, says Nur Muhammad, owner of the Simanto Hotel and Restaurant in the village, adding that the mostly rural area had not witnessed any trouble from the newcomers. We are on the same side. We also face no troubles with the Myanmar authorities on the border. He regards the Rohingya that used to live in border towns in Myanmar as braver than the rest of the population because of their frequent experiences with violence due to their location. One thing that locals are worried about in the short term, Muhammad says, is the daily cost of labour; a Bangladeshi worker will work for 500 taka ($6), but a Rohingya worker will work for less, 200/300 taka ($2.4/$3.5). Long-run assimilation would be a cause for tension because of the countrys over-population, Muhammad says. We will still accept them though. Follow Linah Alsaafin on Twitter: @LinahAlsaafin Is Duterte targeting corruption watchdog investigators? Philippine President Duterte claims to be fighting corruption but makes allies such as Imelda Marcos and an opponent of the anti-corruption ombudsman. On August 12, incumbent Ibrahim Boubacar Keita will face Soumaila Cisse in a runoff vote, in a repeat of the 2013 poll. The results from Malis presidential election were finally announced on Thursday, with incumbent President Ibrahim Boubacar Keitas share of votes falling short of the 50 percent required to secure an outright victory. The 73-year-old Keita or IBK as he is known in Mali won 41 percent of Sundays vote. He will now seek a second five-year term by contesting an August 12 runoff against second-place finisher Soumaila Cisse, a former finance minister and chairman of the West African Economic and Monetary Union, who garnered 18 percent. The voting process encountered numerous obstacles, including rigging allegations and attacks carried out by an al-Qaeda-allied armed group operating in northern Mali. Violence cancelled voting in three percent of polling stations and disrupted it in one-fifth, particularly in the central Mopti region where a recent surge in interethnic killings discouraged many residents from casting their ballots. Malis central government has little control over its northern regions, where it relies on a United Nations peacekeeping mission and French troops to assure some limited degree of security. Such challenges notwithstanding, the July 29 vote has ushered in an extraordinary moment in Malian political history. As opposition leaders have pointed out, never before has a sitting presidents bid for re-election been forced into a runoff vote. With the field of candidates narrowing from 24 in the first round to just two, the opportunity for an opposition upset has never been greater and IBKs campaign must go all-out to convince sceptical voters that he deserves a second term. Supporters of Ibrahim Boubacar Keita ahead of the July 29 vote [File: Luc Gnago/Reuters] Corruption and insecurity After five years of mounting public frustration with IBKs failure to stem corruption or reverse the spread of insecurity in the countrys northern and central regions, the winds of political change have, perhaps, begun to blow in Mali. That is one possible reading of the first-round results. Another is that they promise nothing new. Even if Cisse succeeds in uniting the countrys fractious opposition parties around him, he carries the baggage of two failed presidential bids including against IBK in 2013. Both mens shares of the July 29 vote were remarkably similar to their 2013 first-round performances. It may not be possible for Cisse, who lost the runoff five years ago by a three-to-one margin, to fare any better this time around. And even if he does win, Cisse may struggle to bring long-overdue reform to national politics and legitimacy to the Malian state. The 68-year-old Timbuktu native and veteran politician served in government with IBK during the 1990s and has been a pillar of the political establishment for years-enough for many Malians to be wary of him. In 2012, after the army seized power in a coup, Cisse was arrested and his home in the capital, Bamako, repeatedly ransacked by troops convinced that he had embezzled public funds. He later had to quash rumours of his involvement in corruption. The inverse of religion Looking ahead to the second round of voting, perhaps the key question may prove to be whether voters distrust the sitting president more than they mistrust his opponent. IBK, who tends to downplay the gravity of the threats facing his country and has referred to spiralling insecurity as merely residual, is widely seen as out-of-touch. Yet, many Malians who might otherwise be expected to vote against the unpopular incumbent see Cisse as little better. They might choose to stay home rather than vote to replace one member of the old guard with another. Low turnout in the second round would work in IBKs favour. Participation in the first round was reported at 43 percent, six points lower than in 2013. As described by political scientist Jaimie Bleck, Malians have long tended to view their nations political process as inherently dishonest and ill-suited to the public good the inverse of religion, she writes. This may explain why surveys have shown that Malians have grown increasingly dissatisfied with the way democracy works in their country, even as they still see it as the best form of government. Under the best of circumstances, if the August 12 runoff goes off smoothly and its results are seen as trustworthy, the winner will then face the daunting task of bringing Malians experience with their dysfunctional government into line with their lofty democratic ideals. NASA prepares to send a spacecraft to within 6.1 million kilometres from the solar surface. Next week, NASA is hoping to launch a probe, which will fly closer to the sun than any other spacecraft has ever ventured to study the outermost part of its atmosphere. The Parker Solar Probe is set to launch from Cape Canaveral in Florida on August 11 and embark on a daring seven-year mission. During this time, the small robotic spacecraft, the size of a small car, will steadily reduce its orbit around the sun. At its closest point, it is set to fly into the suns corona, 6.1 million kilometres from the solar surface. Although it might sound like a long way, its far closer than other probes have travelled. The previous closest pass to the sun was by a probe called Helios 2, which came within 43 million km in 1976. By way of comparison, the average distance from the sun to the Earth is 150 million km. The aim of the mission is to shed more light on solar wind the charged particles that the sun hurtles into space. It takes these winds around 40 hours to reach Earth and it is these particles that give rise to the dramatic light displays known as the aurora borealis or the aurora australis. Auroras may be pretty, but a strong blast of solar wind can have more destructive consequences. It can cause disturbances to our planets magnetic field and can play havoc with communications technology on Earth. NASA Planetary Scientist Geronimo Villanueva told Reuters that When we get a massive storm happening in the sun, they may kill, you know, a satellite or a power grid here our own planet. To understand how that process happens, how long it takes, when we have to be protected from that, this is the key thing we are answering with this mission. As the Parker Solar Probe gets closer to the sun, the ambient temperature will increase dramatically, reaching a staggering 1,370 degrees Celsius. A heat shield has been designed to keep its instruments at a tolerable 29C. The project, with a $1.5bn price tag, is the first major mission under NASAs Living With a Star programme. Nicaragua unrest: New law targets student protesters The government of Daniel Ortega arrests scores of activists under a new anti-terrorism law that the UN says is intended to criminalise opposition to the government, as unrest continues in Nicaragua. Aspiring presidential candidates have until August 8 to submit applications and need to physically be in DRC to do so. Opposition leader Moise Katumbi has lashed out at the government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) after being barred from entering the country where he is expected to lodge his papers to participate in Decembers long-delayed presidential election. In a tweet posted on Friday afternoon, he said he would fight what he called an attempt to withdraw from Congolese their right to real elections. The regime prohibits my landing and barricades the border My crime? Wanting to enter my country and lodge my candidacy, he said. The wealthy businessman, who has been living in self-imposed exile since 2016, had originally planned to fly from South Africa to Lubumbashi, the capital of Katanga province. But the citys mayor said on Thursday that Katumbi was refused entry, while the public prosecutors office said the opposition leader had been charged with harming the states domestic and external security and would be immediately arrested if he returned. {articleGUID} Katumbi, a former governor of Katanga province, was convicted in absentia in 2016 for alleged real estate fraud. He has also been accused of hiring mercenaries and possessing dual nationality, which is not permitted under DRC law. He denies all charges and says they serve to block him for participating in the election. On Friday, Katumbi told AFP news agency that he had arrived in the Zambian Copper Belt city of Ndola and was heading to the border post of Kasumbalesa. A journalist with the French radio network RFI said he had arrived there. Videos posted online by his aides and others showed him on the Zambian side of the border, greeting hundreds of supporters from his car. Salomon Della, a special adviser to Katumbi, posted on Twitter that after five hours they were still blocked at the Zambian border crossing of Kasumbalesa. The DRC has become private property where access is prohibited according to the whims of its owner, the tweet read. Depuis 5 heures, toujours bloques au poste frontiere zambien de #Kasumbalesa. La #RDC est devenue une propriete privee dont lacces est interdit au gre des caprices de son proprietaire. BAZO BANGA ! pic.twitter.com/StbAziubH6 Salomon SK Della (@SalomonKalonda) August 3, 2018 The DRCs border authorities in Kinshasa said they were unable to confirm whether the crossing had been closed. AFP reported that at least two police checkpoints were set up to screen access to Lubumbashis airport on Friday while the main road to Zambia had been blocked by a truck. In March, 53-year-old Katumbi launched the Ensemble [Together] platform in South Africa to oppose President Joseph Kabila, who has been in power since 2001. Kabila is technically barred by term limits from standing for re-election after his mandate formally ran out in December 2016. But he has not clearly stated whether he will step aside despite appeals from the international community for him to clearly state that he will not seek re-election. Bembas bid Aspiring presidential candidates have until August 8 to submit their applications and need to physically be in the DRC in order to do so. Another rival of Kabila, former rebel leader and former Vice President Jean-Pierre Bemba returned home to DRC on Wednesday, after 11 years in exile and prison. He officially launched his bid for the presidency on Thursday. Speaking to Al Jazeera, Bemba, 55, said he wants a solution to be found for Katumbis situation to prevent tensions from escalating. {articleGUID} I feel very sorry for Mr Katumbi who they dont allow to come back to his own country, he told Al Jazeeras Catherine Soi in the capital, Kinshasa. Everybody should be able to participate in the election. Exclusion is not good for a country and for the unity of the country. In June, the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands, overturned a war crimes conviction of Bemba, ruling that he could not be held responsible for atrocities carried out by troops under his control in the neighbouring Central African Republic. Upon returning to the DRC on Wednesday, Bemba was greeted by thousands of enthusiastic supporters, many of whom chanted slogans against Kabila. I hope that as guarantor of the Constitution, [Kabila] will respect the Constitution, Bemba said. The opposition leader urged opposition parties to work together and field a single presidential candidate. We have to be united because as you know we have just one run of the elections. If we want to win and bring new change in Congo, we need to be one, he said. We dont have the luxury to be many. By Damali Mukhaye. University students have spoken out about the proposed mandatory HIV testing in all higher institutions of learning saying it is not the best way to reduce the prevalence of the virus among the students. The Uganda Aids Commission yesterday urged the ministry of health to embark on mandatory HIV tests to ascertain the serostatus of all students on campus. The commission spokesperson Clare Nampala, suggested that all students found to be HIV positive should be initiated on Anti Ritroviral drugs to suppress their viral load and prevent further spread of the deadly virus. However, Kyambogo University Guild president German Amanyatells KFM that mere tests will not prevent HIV infection among students since they will not have nothing to differentiate them from others. He rather suggests intensifying of the sensitization campaigns on campus about the dangers of HIV. US secretary of state defends Turkey sanctions while Ankara says threats and sanctions wont work. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has held talks with his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu in Singapore to seek the release of detained American pastor. Fridays meeting on the sidelines of the Southeast Asian security conference comes just days after the US hit senior Turkish officials with sanctions over the case, straining ties between the NATO allies. Pompeo also said he would be seeking the release of several local employees of the US diplomatic missions in Turkey. The Turkish foreign minister told his US counterpart that threats wont work. We have said from the start that the other sides threatening language and sanctions will not get any result. We repeated this today, Cavusoglu told reporters after the meeting. The Evangelical Christian pastor, Andrew Craig Brunson, was arrested in December 2016 following a failed coup on charges of committing crimes on behalf of terror groups without being a member and espionage. {articleGUID} Pompeo defended Wednesdays sanctions as a sign of how seriously the administration takes Brunsons case. The Turks were on notice that the clock had run out and it was time for Pastor Brunson to be returned and I hope theyll see this for what it is: a demonstration that were very serious, he told reporters on board his plane as he flew to Singapore from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. We consider this one of the many issues that we have with the Turks, Pompeo added. He did not elaborate but Washington and Ankara have been at odds over numerous matters, including Turkeys continued detention of three Turkish employees of the US consulate in Istanbul, as well as military activity in northern Syria, and Turkeys plans to buy an advanced air defence system from Russia. Brunson needs to come home as do all the Americans being held by the Turkish government, he said. Brunson and the US government vehemently deny the charges. Andrew Brunson faces a prison sentence of up to 35 years if convicted [Evren Atalay/Anadolu] Last week, President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence threatened to impose sanctions on Turkey if Brunson were not immediately released. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has rejected the US demands, saying his government wont back down and is willing to go its own way if the US acted. The Turks have also vowed to retaliate for the sanctions without delay. The Turkish foreign ministry called the sanctions a disrespectful intervention in our legal system that would harm the constructive efforts towards resolving problems between the two countries. Although he was released to home detention, he faces a prison sentence of up to 35 years if he is convicted on both counts at the end of his ongoing trial. The pastor has lived in Turkey for 23 years and led the Izmir Resurrection Church. Under the sanctions to be imposed by the Treasury Department, any property, or interest in property, belonging to Justice Minister Abdulhamit Gul or Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu within US jurisdiction would be blocked. Americans would generally be prohibited from doing business with them. Erdogan has denied speculation that there had been an agreement to swap Brunson for Turkish citizens being held abroad, particularly 27-year-old Ebru Ozkan. Ozkan had been detained by Israel but was deported to Turkey this month. Erdogan has also warned that Turkey would seek international arbitration if the US refused to deliver F-35 fighter jets in retaliation. Far-right marchers are set to flood Portlands streets on Saturday, and observers worry there could be violence. Portland is bracing for potential clashes at a far-right rally this weekend, just a month after a similar gathering descended into what police in the Oregon city labelled a riot. On Saturday, demonstrators plan to flood the northwestern US city for a Freedom March organised by Joey Gibson, a prominent far-right figure, supporter of President Donald Trump and Republican candidate for US Senate in neighbouring Washington state. Gibson heads Patriot Prayer, a group that has been protesting in Oregon, Washington and California since early 2017. In the past, his followers have engaged in street brawls with anti-fascists and other counterdemonstrators. In a video posted on his Facebook page on Thursday, Gibson advised his followers to wear motorcycle helmets to protect their faces during clashes. I dont know whats going to happen, but well just prepare for the worst, he said. While Gibson argues that his goal is to promote free speech, opponents say Patriot Prayer members and supporters take to the streets seeking confrontations. The last rally, on June 30, descended into violent clashes, with Patriot Prayer and members of the far-right Proud Boys group battling anti-fascists, also known as Antifa, in downtown Portland. {articleGUID} The Alabama-based Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), a watchdog group that monitors hate groups, said that the potential for violence may be greater than past events. The SPLC speculated that the upcoming rally could be another Charlottesville, referring to the August 12, 2017, far-right protest that ended with a participant killing a counterprotester when ramming his car into a crowd. The Patriot Prayer rally is scheduled to begin around midday. Patriot Prayer rallies often turn violent Saturdays rally comes a month after Patriot Prayer and the Proud Boys held a similar event that quickly turned violent, with fights gripping downtown Portland. Protesters and counterdemonstrators attacked each other, some using sticks, clubs, flagpoles and other makeshift weapons. As the June 30 rally turned violent, the police declared the event a riot and revoked its permit. Video footage of the clashes shows far-right participants punching and kicking several counterdemonstrators. In one such video, a member of the Proud Boys knocked out an individual with a powerful blow to the face. Several people were arrested throughout the day, and some were hospitalised owing to injuries sustained during the violence. On June 4, similar clashes broke out in Portland, with far-rightists and anti-fascists engaging in fist fights in various parts of the city. Last year, Patriot Prayer demonstrations regularly prompted clashes. But the latest string of protests has seen a sharp escalation in violence, according to observers. Alexander Reid Ross, Portland-based author of Against the Fascist Creep, said the far-right demonstrators made no effort to make things appear even mildly peaceful. Instead, it was like they were there just to fight, he told Al Jazeera by telephone. Far-right protesters say they will come armed Speaking to the local Oregon Public Broadcasting media outlet, Gibson said he will not personally carry a weapon because he is not licensed to do so in Oregon. Nonetheless, he has encouraged his followers to show up armed. In a Facebook video posted on June 30, he said: Weve always had guns at the rally Everyone should be carrying around guns at all times. {articleGUID} Speaking to Alex Jones, the host of the conspiracy website InfoWars, Gibson reiterated his claim earlier this week: Weve always had guns at every single rally that we have; we just dont pull them out. Jones went on to accuse anti-fascists of planning to bring firearms, as well. The Proud Boys will join Gibsons march again The Proud Boys, a self-described Western chauvinist mens fraternity, will join Patriot Prayer this weekend in Portland. Other far-rightists are expected to flock to the protest from across the country. Established in 2016 by Vice cofounder Gavin McInnes, the Proud Boys boast of chapters in several major cities in the US and Canada, as well as in countries such as Israel. In 2017, the Proud Boys teamed up with anti-Muslim activists, including Pamela Geller and Milo Yiannopoulos, in demonstrations. Dubbed a hate group by the SPLC, McInnes insists that his organisation is a patriotic mens club that merely engages in self-defence. {articleGUID} After the June 30 rally, McInnes celebrated the violence in his online programme on CRTV. Referring to a taped incident of a Proud Boy socking a counterdemonstrator in the street. He said, Check out the turning point in the war against Antifa. He went on to describe the punch as beautiful. On its official Twitter account, the Proud Boys called on fellow patriots to join them in Portland on Saturday. Get your a** to Portland this Saturday August 4, the group wrote. White supremacists have joined Patriot Prayer events Gibson regularly denies any affiliation with hardline elements of the far right, instead choosing to describe his movement as patriotic. At the end of the day, what Antifa doesnt want is us normal people coming together on different sides of the spectrum, he said in a Facebook video posted on Thursday. He went on to dismiss accusations that his group has cosy ties to white supremacists and right-wing extremists. Yet, in the past, white supremacists, white nationalists and neo-Nazis have participated in Patriot Prayers events. In August 2017, Patriot Prayer rallies drew the participation of members of Identity Evropa, a white nationalist group that participated in the Charlottesville violence and a slew of clashes during protests in California last year. Jeremy Christian, who will stand trial for murdering two men who tried to stop him from harassing a Muslim passenger in May 2017, was also present during one of Patriot Prayers rallies last year. {articleGUID} Bruce Cunningham Jr, a member of the white nationalist outfit Cascade Legion, attended a Patriot Prayer rally earlier this year in Seattle, along with fellow Cascade Legion member Christopher Buck Robertson, according to the SPLC. Right-wing militia groups, such as the Three Percenters, have also flocked to Gibsons rallies in the past. Anti-fascists will protest against Saturdays march Rose City Antifa, Eugene Antifa, Pacific Northwest Anti-Fascist Workers Collective and other anti-fascist groups are holding counterrallies on Saturday. History has shown that militant resistance is a necessary and important tool in the fight against fascism, states the Facebook event page for one of the protests, which is called Resist Patriot Prayer: Violent Alt-Right Bigots Off Our Streets. We make no apologies for the use of force in keeping our communities safe from the scourge of right-wing violence. {articleGUID} Popular Mobilization (or Pop Mob) is holding a counter-event called Stop the Hate and called on people to join them. Joey Gibsons Patriot Prayer has been importing racists and xenophobes from around the country to harass, intimidate and brutalise the people of Portland, the Facebook page says. Their events invite a toxic brew of violence and hatred to spill out into the streets, threatening vulnerable communities. There will be significant police presence The Portland Police Bureau issued a statement on Friday, saying, There will be significant law enforcement presence in the area of the demonstration due to past threats and acts of violence. The statement also said that those coming to the demonstration should not bring any item that could be considered a weapon. The statement clarified, however, that those holding a valid Oregon concealed handgun license would be allowed to attend the event armed. It added that there will be weapon screening locations at the entrances of Tom McCall Waterfront Park, the area where the main rally is set to take place. In the past, police have used tear gas and sound grenades to disperse protesters. In contrast to previous weeks, protest in Baghdads Tahrir Square is attended by only dozens of demonstrators. Baghdad, Iraq Protesters have once again gathered in the Iraqi capital to demand better services, jobs and an end to government corruption this time, however, numbering only in the dozens, a visible decrease compared with the previous four weeks. Demonstrators have been staging rallies and sit-ins in various parts of Iraq since July 8, but tightened security measures and recent government moves to appease them appear to have succeeded in keeping many people away. In Baghdad, security forces on Friday lined the roads leading to Tahrir Square, preventing cars and other vehicles from crossing. The Republics Bridge, which connects Tahrir Square to the Green Zone where government buildings and embassies are based was completely cut off hours before the demonstration. Outside of the capital, the number of protesters which had previously been in the thousands across Iraqs southern provinces of Basra, Muthana, Nasiriyya, Diwaniya, Najaf and Karbala was also down. Despite an expression of solidarity from Ahmed al-Safi the spokesman of Iraqs top Shia Muslim scholar Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani who said during Fridays sermon that peoples rights cannot be given, but rather taken, the sit-ins this week were smaller. Sources in several southern provinces told Al Jazeera that only dozens to hundreds of people went out to demonstrate in those areas. In an attempt to quell previous protests, security forces have used live ammunition, tear gas and water cannon against protesters, according to demonstrators. The government has denied using violence. At least 14 people have died since July 8, according to police and medical sources. Internet connectivity in Iraq has also been reduced, with users reporting being unable earlier this month to access sites such as Twitter, Instagram and Facebook for several days. Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, who is seeking a second term, has responded by saying he supports peaceful protests and promising to fund electricity and water projects. He has also met tribal leaders and delegations from several southern provinces, including Najaf and Wasit, and gave orders to complete projects that would generate jobs and improve services. A ring of security forces surround the demonstrators at Tahrir Square as protesters chant slogans in favour of change [Arwa Ibrahim/ Al Jazeera] Heavy-handed tactics Despite these moves, the remaining protesters in Baghads Tahrir Square, like others across Iraqs public squares, said they are adamant to keep rallying until they see more change. At the square, a ring of security forces surrounded the demonstrators who chanted slogans in favour of change and held banners calling for the provision of services and the elimination of corruption. Mushriq Fariji, 38, who has been protesting against the lack of government services and corruption since 2015, said the governments heavy-hand tactics were responsible for the small numbers on Friday. {articleGUID} Many people want to come out, but what happened on July 20 has scared so many, he said, referring to a demonstration in Tahrir Square last month in which clashes erupted and tear gas was used against the demonstrators. Mostafa Sadoun, an Iraqi journalist and founder and director of the Iraqi Observatory for Human Rights, said the governments reaction the protests is a sign of intolerance to freedom of expression. Suppressing demonstrators this way has proven that the government sees the threat of protests as more dangerous than that of ISIL. Roads leading to Tahrir Square left empty after security forces stop vehicles from driving through ahead of protest [Arwa Ibrahim/ Al Jazeera] Baghdad has shown that it will not tolerate any protests or other forms of freedom of expression, he added. According to Fariji, who is also a member of al-Harak al-Madani, a civic group that calls for freedom of speech and the right to demonstrate, several people are also afraid to attend protests after being threatened by security forces. A couple of guys who were arrested are planning to leave the country, he said in between chants. I, myself, am being followed and know I might be arrested at any time. Suppressing demonstrators this way has proven that the government sees the threat of protests as more dangerous than that of ISIL Mostafa Sadoun, Iraqi Journalist Until death or change Still, Fariji said he will keep taking to the streets to demand a better quality of life. They [government officials] are living in the Green Zone, a beautiful and secure place where they have all the services they need, while we here only get five hours of electricity and cant find jobs. {articleGUID} Chronic electricity shortages across Iraq have continued for several years, spiking in the summer months and causing protests like the recent ones to erupt. We will continue to protest until our demands are met, said Fariji. Similarly, Yahia Diab, a 52-year-old researcher from Baghdad who has been partaking in protests since 2011, says he will only stop demonstrating when he sees real change. We have a clear objective and the violence and tear gas wont stop us from coming out onto the streets, he said. I have been coming for years, and I will keep coming until I see change or die. Follow Arwa Ibrahim on Twitter: @arwaib At least 25 people killed and 81 wounded in attack targeting Shia worshippers in Paktia province, local officials say. At least 25 people have been killed and dozens more wounded after two suicide bombers attacked a Shia mosque in eastern Afghanistan, local officials said. The rifle-carrying attackers entered the Khawaja Hassan mosque in Gardez city, Paktia province, during Friday prayers and started shooting at worshippers before detonating their explosives, said Sardar Wali Tabasum, provincial police chief spokesman. Emergency teams have collected 25 bodies from the mosque premises, said Abdullah Hazrat, spokesman for the provincial governor. At least 81 others were also wounded in the attack, he added. Al Jazeeras Charlotte Bellis, reporting from the capital, Kabul, said, We understand that there were more than 100 people inside the mosque at the time of the attack. There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but the Taliban armed group denied any involvement. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani condemned the attack, calling it inhumane. He said Afghans will not be divided by sectarian violence. The attack was the latest to hit urban areas across Afghanistan in recent months. At least 15 people were killed and 15 wounded after two gunmen stormed a government building in the eastern city of Jalalabad earlier this week. Shia Muslims have been targeted by groups affiliated to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) that has emerged as a force in recent years. According to the United Nations, a total of 1,692 people have been killed in the first half of 2018, with another 3,430 people wounded the highest figure since it began keeping records in 2009. Work on Israel-Jordan gas pipeline begins despite public refusal Many local organizations involved in anti-normalisation campaigns have been criticising the deal. A 20-year-old Afghan man who was wrongfully deported will return to Germany in the comings days, Der Spiegel reports. An Afghan man wrongfully deported from Germany will return to the European country in the coming days so that a court can hear his appeal of a rejection of his asylum application, according to Der Spiegel magazine. The German publication reported on Friday that the 20-year-old man identified only as Nasibullah S would make the journey back soon. Nasibullah S was flown to Afghanistans capital, Kabul, last month. But just over a week later the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) admitted the deportation had been wrongful and that necessary steps would be taken to return him for a court hearing. He had arrived in Germany in 2015 and had his asylum claim rejected in April last year. After being sent back to Afghanistan, it emerged he was still in the process of appealing the decision and had been due to appear in court the week after his deportation. Interior Minister Horst Seehofer admitted the mistake, saying there had evidently been an administrative error by the BAMF authorities. Nasibullah S was one of 69 Afghans who were deported on the 69th birthday of the Bavarian politician, who has recently battled Chancellor Angela Merkel over immigration policy. Seehofer came under fire for joking about the numerical coincidence which he said was something he did not order while presenting his master plan for migration. A day after Seehofer apparently made light of the deportations, it was announced one of the 69 flown to Afghanistan, a 23-year-old man, had committed suicide at a hotel in Kabul. Political crisis In June, a dispute over immigration between Seehofer and Merkel nearly brought an end to the chancellors 13-year-long rule. As part of his 63-point immigration master plan, Seehofer wanted to start turning away migrants at the German border who had already registered elsewhere in the European Union a policy Merkel had explicitly disagreed with. The political crisis was dispelled when the leaders reached a compromise through which migrants who had arrived elsewhere in the EU would temporarily be housed in transit centres within Germany where their status would be reviewed and from where they would be returned to countries they were in earlier. The first seven such centres were opened on Wednesday. Nelson Chamisa says will pursue legal and constitutional means, but Emmerson Mnangagwa hails free and fair election. Harare, Zimbabwe Zimbabwes opposition leader Nelson Chamisa has rejected President Emmerson Mnangagwas election victory as fraudulent, saying he will pursue legal and constitutional means to challenge the result. His comments on Friday came as Mnangagwa denied the opposition claims, hailing a free, fair and credible election. In the early hours of Friday, the electoral commission said Mnangagwa, of the ruling ZANU-PF party, won 50.8 percent of votes in Mondays presidential poll. Chamisa, of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) Alliance, came in second, at 44.3 percent. We are not accepting fake results. We are not accepting this fiction. We want a proper result to be announced, Chamisa told reporters in the capital, Harare, on Friday. We will pursue all means necessary legal and constitutional to make sure that we protect the peoples vote, he added. The 40-year-old described the electoral bodys declaration of Mnangagwa, 75, as the winner of the first poll since long-term leader Robert Mugabe left office in November 2017 as regrettable. His press conference was delayed for more than an hour after riot police shouting clear out chased reporters who gathered at Harares Bronte Hotel. Mnangagwa: Zimbabwe enjoying democracy Mnangagwa, a former spy chief and a ZANU-PF veteran, denounced the opposition claim that the vote was rigged. We won the election freely and fairly, and have nothing to hide or fear. Anyone is free to address the media at any time, Mnangagwa wrote on Twitter. This is an indispensable part of the new Zimbabwe. It is non-negotiable and will not change. We won the election freely and fairly, and have nothing to hide or fear. Anyone is free to address the media at any time (2/2) President of Zimbabwe (@edmnangagwa) August 3, 2018 In a press conference that followed that of Chamisa, Mnangagwa repeated that the election was free and fair and added that our freedom and openness were there for all to see. In regards to accepting or not accepting the results, Zimbabwe is enjoying democracy. We have introduced comprehensive democracy. Any member of the public or any political party, can proceed in terms of the Constitution and the electoral act to challenge the result in the courts, he said. I believe that these leaders or individuals or organisations are free in my view to approach the courts, added Mnangagwa. Elections observers from the European Union and the United States were allowed into the country and monitor the vote for the first time since 2002. Observers from the EU said there was un-level playing field in the poll and intimidation of voters. These elections were seen as a critical test of Zimbabwes reform process, Elmar Brok, the EU missions chief observer, said on Wednesday. In some senses, up to this point, the conduct of the polls has had a number of positive features, but in other senses, serious concerns remain, added Brok. Deadly violence Previous elections in Zimbabwe have been marred by intimidation and threats, but Mondays vote was relatively peaceful. {articleGUID} Things however turned violent on Wednesday after Zimbabwes electoral commission said the ruling party had won the parliamentary election also contested on Monday. ZANU-PF, which has ruled the southern African country since independence in 1980, won a clear majority in the 210-seat parliament by securing 145 seats. The MDC came in second with 63, while the National Patriotic Front and an independent candidate also picked up one seat each. Opposition supporters claimed the vote was rigged and took to the streets to protest. At least six demonstrators were killed in clashes with security forces and several others wounded. Meanwhile, neighbouring South Africas President Cyril Ramaphosa congratulated Mnangagwa on his victory and urged Zimbabweans to accept the poll results. We urge the people of Zimbabwe to accept the outcome of the election, or follow the legal route should they wish to challenge it, Ramaphosa said on Twitter on Friday. On Thursday, the United Nations called on both the ruling party and the main opposition to exercise restraint following the landmark poll. Follow Hamza Mohamed on Twitter: @Hamza_Africa With one in five Iraqis working as farmers, crippling water shortages have pushed many to find alternative employment. Radwaniya, Iraq The canals branching out of the Tigris river and into the adjoining farmlands are empty and dry. Devoid of water, the rice, wheat and barley fields are left without vegetation. The Tigris today is far shallower than it was a year ago, and for farmers in Iraq, this is a catastrophe. Omar Diibil, 35, has been a farmer in Radwaniya, on the outskirts of the capital, Baghdad, all his life just like his father and grandfather were before him. Like many others across the country, this years crippling water shortage has left him able to grow just a few hectares of wheat and barley. Soon, he says, there wont be enough water to grow anything one on his once-fertile lands. I used to plant 52 hectares of land or even 60. Now, I can only plant between three to five hectares of land, says Diibil. Increasingly erratic rainfall across the region, along with the construction of dams in upstream Turkey and Iran, have all reduced the amount of water flowing in the key rivers of the Tigris and Euphrates by at least 50 percent in recent decades, according to Iraqi government officials. This has hit the countrys agricultural and farming sectors hard. The prolonged reduction of water levels in rivers slashes electricity generation from hydroelectric dams, which, in turn, affects the water supply for agriculture and eventually forces the country to import more food than it already does. Omar Diibil, 35, was only able to plant three to four hectares of his 50-hectare plot of land this year because of water shortages [Arwa Ibrahim/Al Jazeera] According to Zafer Abdullah, an adviser to Iraqs Ministry of Water Resources, a particularly dry season and adverse regional water policies have left Iraq with only enough water to irrigate half of its farmland this summer. Consequently, the government has now banned the plantation of summer crops, including corn and paddy rice cultivation. No water, no farming According to official estimates, one in five Iraqis are farmers. The depleting water levels in rivers have led to a big slash to both their production and income. Our lands have become arid and empty [of vegetation], laments Diibil. The increasingly dry seasons have not only resulted in reduced rainfall, but also made the water that is available salty and unsuitable for farming. Water from the Tigris would flood our lands years ago. Then we used to pump the fresh water. But now we are having to use wells, and even they are becoming dry and salty, says Diibil. When water levels are down, a phenomenon known as salt tide appears, where the lower course of a river, with its low altitude with respect to sea level, becomes salty. If dry seasons are prolonged, this phenomenon becomes harder to overcome, leaving farmers helpless and searching elsewhere for income. Abdel Rahman al-Mashhadani, an Iraqi economic expert, says a large number of people have migrated from rural areas to the cities as a result of the water shortages. Our urban areas are imploding and unemployment is on the rise, he says. From farmers to employees Amid the worsening situation, many in recent years have been forced to find another job to supplement their income. One of them is 23-year-old Abdelrahman Mansour, also from Radwaniya. He says he was left with no choice but to abandon farming and become a construction worker. We tried to keep our farms alive and well, but the salt water has killed everything, says Mansour, who used to grow various kinds of grains on a 50-hectare plot of land. Now half of the farmers in our area have left the industry. Diibil agrees. Our livelihoods were always dependent on farming. Now, so many of us are becoming employees in the police or for the government, says Diibil, who for the past two years has been mostly working for the state. Rice, especially the Anbar variety which is particular to the country and known for its distinct aroma, is an important commodity in Iraq. But without sufficient water, production levels are being reduced this year. According to Abdullah, the ministry adviser, the levels of water needed by the sector in previous years are no longer available. But in a bid to ensure that this popular strain of rice does not become extinct, Iraq has limited the number of hectares it will grow this year to the bare minimum. The ministry restricted paddy rice cultivation to only 5,000 hectares. Last year, we planted 270,000 hectares of paddy rice instead, said Abdullah. This is a reflection of the wider situation when it comes to Iraqs food production and security. Although the country has been importing most of its wheat and other basic foodstuffs for years, the continued loss of grain production means an increased need for imports to satisfy demand, according to experts. Since 2010, we worked on producing our own rice and wheat so that we can reduce our imports, which went down from 3.5 million tonnes to 2.5, said Mashhadani, the economist. But weve already gone back to importing more foodstuffs. In addition to water shortages, food production in Iraq has been affected by ISILs 2014 takeover of Salahuddin, Nineveh, Kirkuk, and Anbar areas that comprise the countrys cereal belt. The lack of this territory resulted in Iraq losing the majority of its annual wheat and barley harvests from those regions, which contribute more than one-third of Iraqs cereal production, or about one million tonnes of wheat, according to reports. Turkey and Iran are already holding back water from the Tigris and Euphrates to feed their growing population in a warming climate. Unless new deals are reached, this situation will only get worse, especially after Turkey began holding back water behind its Ilisu Dam on July 1, say officials. The impacts of this dam [Ilisu] are still under way. We are expecting to feel them quite strongly in the very near future, says Abdullah. The government has responded by establishing a crisis unit and is looking into ways to support farmers who have lost income, said Abdullah. Despite the water shortages, there is enough drinking water for all provinces, but the government needs to ensure its equal distribution, he added. Follow Arwa Ibrahim on Twitter: @arwaib The Left Wants to Control Ohio Elections Hyper-partisan liberals once again have their eyes on Ohio. This time, they want to take over the office in charge of making sure the state's elections are fair, honest and transparent. Judging from the money they're spending and false outrage they're spewing, leftists will stop at nothing until they have one of their own in charge of counting votes in Ohio. We have to stop them. For eight years, I protected the integrity of Ohio elections as secretary of state. I witnessed firsthand the tactics used by the left to undermine confidence in the electoral system. Leftists attempt to cast doubt and assign sinister motives to processes and rules that have been in place for years. Many of these same rules go unchallenged in uncompetitive states. The left's media allies are eager to validate and amplify these spurious charges of disenfranchisement. That's because capturing the Ohio secretary of state's office is vital to the left's master plan of electing America's next president. No Republican has won the presidency without winning Ohio. A critical swing state, Ohio has voted for the winner in presidential races in twenty-eight out of the last thirty elections. As Ohio goes, so goes the nation. For national Democrats, it makes sense to buy the pivotal elections chief's office, with former U.S. attorney general Eric Holder and U.S. senator and presidential wannabe Elizabeth Warren leading the charge. They have full access to the Clinton Money Machine and the Obama Operation. While it may seem strange to witness millions of dollars pouring into a down ballot race in the heartland, there is a method to the Democrats' madness. Delve below the surface, and you will see that the Democrats have their sights set on 2020, defeating Donald Trump, taking back the presidency. Winning the secretary of state's race is a means to that end. In the wrong hands, that office will become a de facto arm of the Ohio Democratic Party and the Democratic National Committee. Eric Holder and a laundry list of presidential wannabes know that. Realizing what our rivals are capable of, Republicans should be on high alert. They mean business. They've got millions. They don't fight fair. It's that serious. Their candidate for this high office is Kathleen Clyde. She fits the pattern of coming from the far left of the political spectrum and being loud and confrontational in her style. She is advancing the preposterous and obviously unconstitutional notion that if a presidential candidate does not release his taxes, he is immediately and irrevocably kept off the ballot in Ohio. You can see how far-fetched and far left her agenda is. In addition to being against the Constitution, she is also against the Supreme Court. When the nation's highest court voted 7-2 in support of the efforts of our current secretary of state, Jon Husted, to clean up the state's voter file, in a fever pitch of anger, Clyde denounced the ruling. It was a naked effort to gin up her liberal base and keep attracting the leftist and labor union dollars bankrolling her campaign. Ambitious and aggressive, fair and transparent elections are the last thing on her mind. Power and control are what Kathleen Clyde and the National Democrats care about. The day Donald Trump defeated Hillary Clinton for president was the day the Democrats began their 2020 campaign. The usual suspects are purported to be running: Bernie Sanders. Joe Biden. Elizabeth Warren. Senators Cory Booker, Kamala Harris, and Jeff Merkley are all considering presidential bids. The person the Democrats nominate, whoever it is, will target Ohio as the missing piece to the puzzle they need to claim the Oval Office so they can pick up where Barack Obama left off. If they seize control of the Ohio secretary of state's office and they control the machinery of government in the Buckeye State, they will set to work pressing their advantage. That is why Republicans are taking action: because winning the Ohio secretary of state's race is absolutely vital to the integrity of our elections and the future of our country. Ken Blackwell, the former Ohio secretary of state, served on President Trump's Commission on Election Integrity. He is a member of the Policy Board of the American Civil Rights Union. Unmasking the Creation of 'Islamophobia' in the Academy Conservative individuals and groups frequently report that they are banned, blocked, or shadowbanned from social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter. Many of these people frequently complain that they are labelled far right when in fact, they are not even right-wing, let alone far right. It is increasingly being realized that there is a serious problem here. So lets look at some details of how this is achieved, and how deep the problem goes. Many in academia are fully in collusion with this. An article published this month demonstrates without a shadow of a doubt how deeply embedded the lazy and erroneous ideological assumptions of many academics are. "The transnationalisation of far right discourse on Twitter: Issues and actors that cross borders in Western European democracies" is typical of many such articles. It could well pass unnoticed by all but a few scholars, especially since its locked behind an expensive paywall, written in academic gobbledygook, and littered with mysterious diagrams reminiscent of the work of the alchemists. Yet this article is worth scrutiny, for its one piece of the puzzle of how the trick of labelling people as far right and as Islamophobic is pulled off by the intelligentsia and the establishment. Its easy to assume academics are locked in their Ivory Towers doing little other than talking to each other, so lets ignore them. But not all are. Some are talking to governments and some are talking to tech companies, and there are consequences. There is a network of linked actors promoting this far right/Islamophobia discourse. The paper was peer reviewed. The journal claims that it is firmly established as one of the leading interdisciplinary humanities and cultural studies journals in universities and other academic institutions. The authors both hold positions at a research centre at Oxford University. One author also holds positions at the University of Oslo, Sciences Po Paris, and the European School of Political and Social Sciences. The other authors webpage tells us that he was until recently a researcher at Tell MAMA, a national project dedicated to mapping and monitoring anti-Muslim hate in the United Kingdom. He has given evidence in the Houses of Parliament on governance, extremism, gender, and hate crime and authored a number of reports in this area. He has been a guest on BBC News, Radio 4, and other national media outlets. He is also listed as a Senior Fellow at the Centre for the Analysis of the Radical Right, whose partners include the widely-discredited Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC.) The research was part funded by Vox-Pol, which is funded by the European Union and which researches violent online political extremism. The topic of the paper is the online interaction between different far right groups across national borders. Apparently, its so surprising that people whose views include respect for the integrity of nation states talk to other people from different nation states that this merits research time and public funding under the aegis of Vox-Pol. The researchers collected tweets and retweets from about 40 supposedly far right Twitter accounts from France, Germany, Italy and the UK, and focused on retweets that crossed national borders. A list of the account holders is included at the end of this article. The way in which far right is defined and applied lacks clarity and intellectual rigor. The authors define extreme and radical right populist organizations as sharing three ideological cores: nativism, authoritarianism and populism, referring to the work of Mudde (2007). There are organisations included which most would agree merit the label far right such as the BNP (British National Party), but others are also included in this catch-all category. Tellingly, for an academic paper that made it past peer review, there is no clear explanation or appendix demonstrating that each of the far right accounts actually deserved this label. Rather, the authors state that they based their sample upon official reports and secondary literature by scholars and watchdog organizations. Nowhere is there a statement of who these scholars and watchdog organisations are, a careless omission for an academic paper, but we know that the authors have links with Tell Mama and the SPLC. Alarm bells should be ringing; these groups are far from impartial. The label of far right is given regardless of contrary evidence or even denials by those so labelled. In some cases, the account owners have repeatedly and specifically rejected the label of far right; for instance, Tommy Robinson, whose now-suspended Twitter account was included, describes his own politics as pretty centrist. It is also completely unclear how he counts as authoritarian; he also explicitly claims that he is not against multiculturalism per se. Organisations that are against the EU are included, despite the fact that many anti-EU arguments are based upon a distrust of the authoritarianism of the EU. (And remember, the research was partly funded by an EU organisation!) UKIPs Twitter account is included in the list. No attempt was made to explain the disparities between the attribution of far right and the account holders self-definition -- see, for instance, the mission statement of the EDL, which focuses on humans rights, whose now-suspended Twitter account was included in the study. Of course, a mission statement may deviate from reality. But these academic authors have not demonstrated that the far right label is merited, as an academic should do. The account holders own view of their activities is swept aside; instead, they are scrutinised and studied, perhaps almost as narrowly as a man with a microscope might scrutinise the transient creatures that swarm and multiply in a drop of water, to quote H.G. Wells. The paper gives certain clues about what the authors really think far right involves: priority given to a countrys citizens, such as welfare provisions (e.g. more social aids only for the natives), labor rights (more rights only for native workers). This includes anyone who thinks citizens of a country are entitled to (higher) welfare payments than non-citizens. This is such a broad definition as to be laughable. The paper is dripping in assumptions, assumptions which act to deny the agency and credibility of those they study. Certain scholars who share some views of the far right and of Islamophobia are cited as authoritative, yet for others, such as Samuel Huntington, the mere mention of the name is enough to indicate that they are not to be taken seriously. The authors repeatedly write hideous sentences such as a transnational far right discourse is built around interpretative frames of Islamophobia and Engaging in a transnational collective action signals the will of movements to establish links with like-minded formations across borders based on a common discourse built on shared interpretative frames. What this means in English is that the views of the Twitter account holders are seen as interpretations of the world; nowhere, literally nowhere in this paper, is there the remotest suggestion that any of these interpretations might have any basis in fact or evidence. Such scholarship has unmoored itself completely from any suggestion that the subjects they study might have a clue about whats going on in the world. They really do see them as if they are microbes, not real people. Its important to understand how far the standards of university scholarship have fallen. Often this kind of research work is farmed out to young eager academics with little experience or knowledge, happy simply to churn out whatever conformist publication will get them on the next stage of an increasingly perilous career ladder. The rush to publish and the uncertainty of the academic job market are a toxic mix thats part of the reason for lowered academic standards, and is an important factor driving the lazy assumptions that are affecting the real world. Many members of the public will have been included in this research. In addition to the 40 far right accounts studied, the researchers looked at 6000 Twitter accounts that had retweeted at least one of these accounts at least five times, on the assumption that a retweet implies support for a cause and a wish to spread its message. So if thats you, you could be being scrutinised by an EU-funded study as a supporter of the far right. The retweets focused on were those across national borders; the researchers in fact found little evidence that Twitter provides what they call a dark international arena for significant activity across borders for the far right; indeed, they found only 1617 such retweets. We are not told how many tweets in total this involved. But they did conclude from this small sample that such retweets were likely to concern the economy, or an anti-immigration stance. Theres no attempt to give any precise account of what views count as anti-immigration; theres a world of difference between people who want zero immigration or a racially based immigration policy, from those who are concerned about issues such as whether a countrys infrastructure can support a certain level of immigration, or security measures. If wanting a welfare system that prioritises citizens is anti-immigration, thats a very broad definition. But the authors have their trump card here, for they claim that the core of this anti-immigration stance is Islamophobia. In the retweets that cross national borders, there are two main interpretative frames positioning Muslims as a cultural threat to the West and as security threats. Note the interpretative frames trick -- it means that the authors dont have to bother to investigate if any of the tweets are based on anything substantive. In other words, theres an assumption written into the language that the tweets are the product of ideological bias. Thats the pot calling the kettle black. Its Muslims who are targeted most in these tweets, or so the authors tell us. We have to take their word for it, for we arent even given a list of these tweets or even told how many they are. Instead, just a few examples are analyzed. The authors refer to a tweet from the (now suspended) account UKPegida. Its worth a detailed look at what the researchers say: The tweet includes a video of an allegedly Muslim preacher shouting about an Islamic takeover in a city square. UKPegida posted the video with the following text: Islamic cleric in Germany warns Germans at a city square: Sharia Law is coming. Yr [your] daughters will marry Muslims. Reminiscent of Huntingtons theory of the Clash of Civilizations and by civilizationist understandings of national identities (Brubaker 2017), in this worldview the West is portrayed as vulnerable to the invading Muslims and their purported plan to institute Islamic law in Europe. Islam is described as being homogeneous, inherently fundamentalist, and as a religion cum ideology. Note this sleight of hand. Many critics of Islam attempt to defend themselves from the charge of racism or xenophobia by pointing out that Islam is an ideology, not a race. Yet these authors implicitly rule this out by stating that the claim that Islam is an ideology is an element of Islamophobia! Unfortunately, and again reflecting rather poorly on the scholarship, there is no screenshot for the tweet and no link to the original video. A video on YouTube, however, could well be the video linked to the now unavailable tweet; its certainly typical of the kind of tweet an account like UKPegida would be likely to cite. There are English subtitles, which appear to be a largely accurate translation of the German, although the audio quality is poor. The seemingly Islamic cleric in question tells passers-by: I bring you the words of peace -- Allahu Akbar. You will be in a few years an Islamic state. Also your daughter will be married by (to?) a Muslim man. She will have Muslim teachers and learn Arabic. You can do nothing against it. In a few years will our Muslim parliament make the laws. Then will the sharia be in this country the law. Take the good, peaceful Islam for your religion. In a few generations will this country be Muslim. Your children will marriage Muslims (sic). You will all convert to Muslim and sharia will be the law. The comments by the authors of this peer-reviewed academic paper might be read as implying that its UKPediga who are scaremongering by claiming that yr daughters will marry Muslims. But it looks very much as if UKPegidas tweet was simply citing this man as shouting out an intention to Islamize Germany. Heres another tweet the authors discuss: Marine Le Pen provides an example of such a frame of Islam as being homogeneous, inherently fundamentalist, and as a religion cum ideology, tweeting a quote of herself: I defend womens rights in the face of fundamentalist Islam. I am, by the way, the only candidate to speak about this problem. #RTLMatin. The authors conclude: Such stereotypes are well documented in literature on far right discourse. The authors dont include the dates of the tweets, another example of poor scholarship, as its then impossible to check context; this tweet presumably refers to the French Presidential election of 2017. And was Marine Le Pen the only candidate discussing the problem of womens rights under fundamentalist Islam? We arent told, but its likely true, and the authors must know it. Is it a stereotype that fundamentalist Islam has a dim view of womens rights? No, its an easily verifiable fact. The authors also didnt notice that, having just whined that the far right had a monolithic homogenous notion of Islam, Marine Le Pen in this tweet specifically referred to fundamentalist Islam, thereby implicitly allowing that more moderate Islamic voices might take a better view of womens rights. The authors opine that beyond culture-based prejudices, Tweets often relate Muslims to domestic security threats, most notably terrorism, but also as criminals and violent sexual deviants. Perhaps thats why the dates of Tweets were not given -- it might have provided the critical context to understand and interpret them; necessary, too, would be screenshots showing any extended discussion online. This is appallingly poor scholarship. It actually means that there is no sensible or productive discussion of groups who might be genuinely hateful towards Muslims as individual people, who might be genuinely exaggerating threats, who might be genuinely racist, because any such groups or individuals are lumped in with those who are trying to have discussion based upon tangible evidence. This is one of the major reasons for objecting to such work. Our critique of this scholarship in no way wishes to defend those who are genuinely racist and genuinely hateful towards groups or individuals. Quite the reverse. Several of the UK accounts have now been suspended. Is this a coincidence or is the work of these Vox Populi researchers part of the reason behind these decisions? Twitter users who have retweeted any of these accounts more than five times should be aware that their tweets have been scrutinized by these researchers who have a distinct political agenda and ways of analysing and interpreting your activity on Twitter. The research, then, draped in the clothing of empirical and statistical analysis of tweets, is itself drenched to the skin in particular assumptions about politics, the nation, nationalism, and identities. These academics are not simply doing impartial academic research, they are influencing governments and tech companies. Whos the political activist here? Pamela Geller is the President of the American Freedom Defense Initiative (AFDI), publisher of The Geller Report and author of the bestselling book, FATWA: Hunted in America, as well as The Post-American Presidency: The Obama Administrations War on America and Stop the Islamization of America: A Practical Guide to the Resistance. Follow her on Twitter or Facebook. Critics of Trump's trade policies think everything is okay if we don't do anything. The chart below shows that everything is not okay if we don't do anything. This is a chart of capital spending in the U.S. from 1968 through to the present. It is a straightforward presentation of monthly data from the Commerce Department. There is nothing clever, nothing tricky about this presentation or about the time frame chosen. The Commerce Department started this series in 1968. It superseded another series on capital spending. Source: U.S. Department of Commerce. Why is this chart important? It is a death sentence for America. Although it is a single series of data, the chart is essentially in two parts, split in the year 2000. There is no manipulation to achieve this effect. This is how the data lay out, which is why this chart is so significant. From 1968 into 2000, you see beautiful, real-world steady growth (i.e., "steady" interspersed with recessions). The red trendline is a trendline of constant percentage growth year to year (i.e., exponential). When you calculate it, it turns out to be 6% per year. This is roughly twice GDP annual growth over the same period. There is no specific significance to that 2X factor except that we would expect capital spending to grow faster than the economy as a whole, as, in fact, it did. Why is this growth in capital spending important? Even in our increasingly service-oriented economy, it is capital spending the stock of capital equipment that sustains our standard of living. Healthy capital spending is critical to really identical with a thriving economy. This is why the flat capital spending that America has experienced since 2000 is so grave a condition. American Thinker readers will be surprised to learn that they are now the only people in the country, aside from this author, who have seen this chart. I could not be more serious when I say that. Economists do not think of capital spending in terms of real-world numbers. They think of it as a concept in their models that self-equilibrates. There isn't an economist from Harvard to Stanford or anywhere in between who knows this chart. Believe me: I have worked with these people. If you as a reader are in business or in academe, try me out. The only person in public life who understands this chart is Donald Trump. I cannot say he has literally looked at it, but he understands it. Note that we are not talking about the "creative destruction of capitalism" here. We are not talking about no longer making buggy whips. We are talking about the staples of a modern economy, many of which we no longer have the capital equipment to manufacture. We were the only country to emerge from World War II stronger than when we went into it, and our relative strength at the end of World War II was immeasurable. It became our policy, and then our unconscious attitude, to "help other countries get back on their feet." This attitude became a permanent part of our trade policy-making, wherein we essentially opened our markets to other countries while accepting that their markets were closed to us. The chart shows that our ability to sustain the Lord Bountiful approach to trade ended forever in 2000, although nobody in power saw it until Donald Trump came along in 2016. Among other things, this chart is the opioid epidemic the despair created by permanent unemployment. The lack of capital investment is what has created the regions where people have dropped out of the workforce and thus are no longer counted as being in it. The chart is a picture of the consequences of our defeat in the trade war. Only Trump and American Thinker readers of this piece know that we have experienced this defeat. What happened that has resulted in no growth in capital spending in the U.S. for the last 18 years? George W. Bush and I voted for him twice agreed, with other world leaders, to admit China to the World Trade Organization (WTO) in December 2001. This gave China access to world markets and particularly to the American market. Since our system is heir to the English Common Law tradition, when we sign an agreement, we carry it out. No other culture takes this view, certainly not China. The Chinese have practiced mercantilism after signing the WTO agreement and getting access to our market, while the whole point of the WTO is to keep mercantilism out of world trade. Economists think mercantilism can never work, thus Trump attacking it as practiced by China is a fool's errand or worse. This is based on the early 19th-century Theory of Comparative Advantage developed by David Ricardo. It states that among trading parties, even if one party's production costs are greater in all goods than the other party's, the first party should focus on those goods where it has a comparative advantage i.e., where its own cost of production is lower. If the two countries then trade, both will improve their welfare. If, under these conditions, a country practices mercantilism, it impoverishes itself. This is a substantial insight. But it depends on a key assumption: that capital is fixed. Ricardo's example was that the British should raise sheep and the French should make wine, and they should trade these goods with each other. The example was based on climate, the ultimate in fixed capital. With capital mobile, as it is now, mercantilism works. By forcing a trading partner to move its assets, technology, know-how, intellectual property, and R&D to the mercantilist country in order to participate in its market, a country can build itself up at the expense of its trading partner. Following its accession to the WTO, China has been strip-mining the U.S. economy of high value-added industries and high-wage jobs by doing this. This is not due to any hatred of the U.S., but rather to advancing its own interests. It is a double loss for us because what happens is that as industry moves to China, we end up buying goods from China on borrowed money. The goods wear out, but the debt still needs to be repaid, and we have less of a production base to repay it. This piece is not a valediction. It is not a counsel of despair. It is a discussion of the correlation of forces. In America, we don't give up. The other guy does that. What we do in America when we find ourselves in a jam is roll over to the attack. That is what Donald Trump is doing in world trade. Trump is not attacking other countries; he is attacking trade policies pursued by other countries, which are to the detriment of the United States and which we can no longer let lie. Other countries are not used to being called to account by the U.S., so his doing so is an affront to them, is a transgression in polite diplomatic society. So be it. The time for it has arrived. 1066 AD in 2018 AD In October of 1066, shortly after Harold Godwinson received an arrow to the eye, victory in the Battle of Hastings cemented William the Conqueror's right to the English throne. Historians note the unique nature of the year 1066 as marking the last time England was invaded by an outside force. Two groups have made up the bulk of immigration to the U.K. within the last few decades: Poles and Middle Easterners from Islamic nations. By and large, the Poles have assimilated quite well, with the children of the initial wave of immigrants describing themselves as thoroughly British in both culture and disposition. They have, as a whole, been appreciative of the superior economic conditions afforded them by the U.K. and thus have more quickly internalized the common culture of the West. In short, they have assimilated and have enhanced their new home. Sizeable parts of London, by all accounts a Western, cosmopolitan city, are throwbacks to the 7th century. Decapitated goat heads lie on streets. Blood from slaughtered animals is visible. In March, just a few months ago, Umar Haque, a teacher at an Islamic school, was discovered to have made detailed plans to launch simultaneous attacks on gay bars, even recruiting his students to carry out his religion-inspired attacks. London's mayor, a Muslim himself, recently detailed how he received numerous death threats from fellow Muslims for registering his support of Pride Month in London. The author needs not remind his readership of the countless and prolific terror attack attempts that have been made all over the U.K. At what point does a society which birthed the Magna Carta, sent her navies to the farthest corners of the globe, exported a system of common law to her colonies, and stood at the fore of technological and scientific advancement take a pause and say "enough is enough"? It is ironic that British politicians, particularly the Remainers such as the current Prime Minister (yes, she is a closeted Remainer), go to extreme lengths to endorse the successful assimilation of groups such as the Poles but deliberately ignore or downplay the abysmal failure of the Muslims. Sizeable portions of the British Muslim population have shown their support for sharia law in poll after poll. The British government actually allows some courts to practice portions of sharia law. Make no mistake: this is an invasion, and one the British ruling class has both aided and abetted for the sake of multicultural bona fides and to show that British cosmopolitanism can compete with the best of Brussels and the "forward-thinking" European societies. Where is it written that Brits must accept as inevitable the slow erosion and destruction of one of the greatest, most civilized societies history has ever known? Until the U.K. tenders its full withdrawal from the European Union, historians will continue to be wrong that 1066 marked the last time the British isles underwent an invasion. Has Hillary Clinton finally found something to do with herself? Up until recently, she seemed to have been going nuts . Now it looks like she's finally found a hobby, or some kind of "therapy." Hillary Clinton has teamed up with Steven Spielberg to produce a TV drama that deals with women getting the right to vote. Adapted from the book titled, "The Woman's Hour: The Great Fight to Win the Vote," the show will focus on the women's suffrage movement and the battle over the ratification of the 19th Amendment. "At the heart of democracy lies the ballot box, and Elaine Weiss' unforgettable book tells the story of the female leaders who in the face of towering economic, racial and political opposition fought for and won American women's right to vote," the former Democratic presidential candidate shared, according to the Hollywood Reporter Wednesday. And she's got the fancy-schmancy title of "executive producer," which, according to Quora, in the regimented little union world of Hollywood, is this: The Producers Guild of America defines an Executive Producer as follows: The credit of Executive Producer shall only apply to an individual who has made a significant contribution to the motion picture and who additionally qualifies under one of two categories: Having secured an essential and proportionally significant part (no less than 25%) of the financing for the motion picture; and/or Having made a significant contribution to the development of the literary property, typically including the securement of the underlying rights to the material on which the motion picture is based. Presumably, Spielberg gets his customary "producer" slot on the credits. So that means either Hillary is coughing up the money for the project (which seems unlikely), or else she's serving as the "artistic" adviser. As if Spielberg would need help on that front. And as if the wooden, lifeless, manic-fake-smiling, hackneyed, tired (always tired), and un-animated, not to mention failing of health, Hillary, is really going to insert some artistic "pizzazz" into the operation. Going Hollywood seems to be a new trend for washed-up Democratic establishment politicians who still want to keep their finger in the public eye and who have lots of Hollywood contacts from fundraising days to capitalize on. President Obama and Michelle Obama are already there with their Netflix multi-million-dollar deal to put their left-wing ideas in front of us (through "inspiring" stories, they claim). With Democratic super-fundraiser-cum-producer Harvey Weinstein now out of the picture, the path is open for pols joining the ranks of wannabe producers. This sounds like a creepy thing to happen in the culture, given these pols' inclination toward political lecturing and propaganda. Normally, businesses (and Hollywood movie-making is a business) will seek to expand their markets, not limit them, and bringing pols in cuts a potential audience in half. Putting the "artistic" skills of politicians into the film industry cuts the market quite a bit farther if the resulting product is as hectoring, bland, boring, and glassy-eyed as Hillary herself. As if Hollywood isn't in bad enough shape already with its current offerings. Just the idea of Hillary Clinton involved in a production on women's suffrage is kind of a good way to kill it off as a topic of historic interest. Hillary will stamp today's political correctness culture onto it, making the suffragettes into pink pussy hat marchers, to start. In reality, the women were revolutionaries, who were very unlike Hillary who lined her pockets and sold influence in the Washington swamp. The suffragettes took real risks. What's more, they were militantly against abortion as an affront to women's identity and dignity. That part won't be mentioned if Hillary is involved. Here's another thing: the Hillary involvement undoubtedly follows the left's political "narrative" about this being the "Year of the Woman" which is probably why she was let in on this Spielberg project Well, guess what: a new poll, out yesterday, shows that it's not the year of the woman, and voters couldn't care less whether a candidate is male or female in this coming midterm. Bad history, artistic awfulness, and political propaganda sounds like a winner for Hollywood. Just add Hillary. Image Credit: Hillary Clinton via GoodFreePhotos, CC BY-SA 0.0. President Trump's public approval numbers have hit 50% among likely voters, according to a new Rasmussen poll , which is good news for midterms . And who should be pushing those ratings to el norte? You know, the ones who are supposed to hate Trump with a passion. After all, doesn't the press dutifully report that Trump is an enemy of illegals, and aren't illegals in the same conventional wisdom simply synonymous with Hispanics, and with Hispanics and illegals all the same thing, isn't it all just proof that Trump is racist? Here's what the Washington Times, now featured on Drudge, had to say: Are Hispanics shifting their allegiances to President Trump? A recent Harvard/Harris poll recorded a 10-point spike in Hispanic support for Mr. Trump. It hasn't received much attention from the mainstream media, which is heavily invested in its portrait of the president as an unrepentant and unpopular "nativist." Coming in the midst of the nationwide controversy over children and families at the U.S.-Mexico border, it suggests that Hispanics may not be the entrenched liberal voting constituency that Democrats so often imagine. This makes me say "whoa." Because ever since 2008, when I attended the Democratic Party's convention in Denver as a reporter, I've sat through Democratic caucuses and listened closely to how Democrats have staked large amounts of the party's fortunes and resources on controlling the Hispanic vote, with visions of controlling it permanently the same way the control the black vote (or, well, did). With Democrats distilling Hispanic voters down to the issue of illegals and illegals alone, they've fought tooth and nail for the causes of illegals in this grand goal, which in practical politics amounts to buying into every sob story put out by an activist group, and taking the side of illegals over citizens and legal residents, most obviously in the matter of screaming DREAMers, sanctuary cities, deportations of criminals, and now family separations of illegal border-crossers. They've put all their eggs in that immigration basket as their big win-the-Hispanics-forever strategy, and Hispanics have moved on. As the report analyzes, Hispanics are far more interested in the things the rest of Americans are interested in: good jobs in an economy that's premised on more than welfare handouts and bureaucrat-hiring, as the Obama administration was. Tax cuts and regulatory cutting have gotten that ball rolling, strongly. The Hispanic unemployment rate has hit a historic low. Turns out Hispanics would rather have a job than what the Democrats are offering them as an alternative: grievance group politics. More to the point, they aren't responding to the Democrats' definition of them solely in terms of illegal immigration issues, or even as immigrants altogether. Given a choice between a job and being defined solely through the interests of illegal aliens, they'd rather take the job. Trump has also promoted infrastructure spending that involves actual construction of infrastructure, the kind that can get many Hispanics, who have a large presence in the construction trade, employed. In the Obama administration, infrastructure money went to pay off bloated pensions for public employee union members, a large number of whom were white. Hispanics are a youthful demographic, and Obama's prioritizing of pensions came at a cost of their jobs and their economic growth. You can see why that setup has never been attractive to Hispanics. Trump, by contrast, is all in for creating real jobs including, interestingly, the construction of the border wall, which Hispanic construction firms have enthusiastically embraced. Wow. There's also the issue of crime, not touched on in the report but very much a live Hispanic issue. As House minority leader Nancy Pelosi waxed soulful about MS-13 gang members having "souls" or whatever, imagining that Hispanic voters are all in for these criminals and probably indistinguishable from them (from Pelosi's lofty heights, it's hard to see clearly who the descamisados down there are), the reality for Hispanic voters is that people like MS-13 gang members have been an absolute plague on their communities, and they want them gone. Trump has taken aim at MS-13 and that has to resonate with Hispanic voters. After all, who are MS-13's prime victims whether from kidnappings, ransoms, shakedowns, crossfire, robbery, or murder? Yep, Hispanics first. Hispanics cannot stand these criminals who keep their communities down hampering investment, destroying property values, and throwing cost after cost for security and cleanup at them. Yet Democrats simper out there and defend MS-13. Education is another big one, given that Hispanics are part of a youthful demographic, and here President Trump has acted in their interests, too, appointing a charter school advocate to run the Department of Education and focusing on opportunities for young people. Many Hispanics have got to be responding. There are some stunning other details in that report. The report says Florida's Puerto Ricans, the new residents of the state who've fled their commonwealth's bankruptcy and hurricane corruption, are flocking to Republican candidate Rick Scott, along with younger Cuban-American voters. That stands out because ordinarily, these voters are all reliably Democratic Party voters. Meanwhile, in other corners of the U.S., the nonstop appeal to Hispanics as an identity politics issue, with some variant of racism as the only motivator, is falling flat. If Trump's numbers hold at 50% or above, it's almost certainly a surefire thing that the great blue wave isn't going to happen. If it doesn't happen, Hispanic voters will be a key reason. Wouldn't that be cool? And by the way, I think it could happen. The earliest and most militant supporters of President Trump that I knew of were Mexican-American voters from Pasadena, Calif. They liked his honesty and have never felt affinity for the swamp culture, even as many have voted Democrat in the past. Now they're moving Republican with Trump, so you can just imagine the panic going on now in Democratic campaign war rooms. Trump's just taken their lunch money. This ought to absolutely incense the left. Bring that on. Anti-white racism is endemic among liberals. For liberals, it is permissible to show disdain for white people in a way that would be totally, totally unacceptable to show for blacks, Hispanics, or people of other "colors" of the liberal rainbow. This is clearer than ever now that we have been exposed to the ravings of The New York Times' latest hire, editorial writer Sarah Jeong. Jeong, who is Asian (a word I despise for its P.C. vagueness), has a long history of making racist comments about white people on Twitter. When confronted with the fact of this, the Times doubled down, releasing a statement saying it knew about Jeong's comments but was okay with them because Jeong was just using "satire" to bait people who were making racist comments against her. Can you imagine the Times excusing such naked racism as "satire" if directed against any other ethnic group? I think not. I think Jeong was hired not in spite her racist rants, but rather because of them. Because I think Jeong says exactly what liberals feel. Let's look at some of her tweets: 1. "Dumba-- f------ white people marking up the internet with their opinions like dogs p------ on fire hydrants" Liberals tell us all the time that the opinions of white people do not matter, only the sensitivities of "victim classes." 2. "oh man it's kind of sick how much joy I get from being cruel to old white men." We are constantly told how old the white population is, and the media gleefully count off the years, days, and minutes until the time they are no longer in the majority. When whites become a minority in a particular school or workplace or town, it is a cause for media celebration. 3. "I dare you to go on Wikipedia and play 'Things white people can definitely take credit for' it's really hard." The media constantly report "the first black to do X" and "the first Hispanic to do Y" but never talk about race when a white person accomplishes anything (unless it is a woman), in line with their policy of promoting accomplishments only of non-white males. 4. "White people have stopped breeding. You'll all go extinct soon." See #2 above. 5. "I was equating Trump with Hitler before it was cool." The liberal media do this all the time, trying to delegitimize not merely Trump, but the millions who voted for him as racist and extreme. 6. "I open my mouth to politely greet a Republican, but nothing but an unending cascade of vomit flows from my face." Liberals encourage violence like this all the time. What consequences has Maxine Waters faced for encouraging people to harass Sarah Sanders? None. How many Berkeley rioters have faced punishment for violent acts against conservative speakers? None. You may remember that the publisher of The New York Times met with President Trump two weeks ago to complain about Trump's adversarial comments about the media. At the very same time the publisher was complaining about Trump, he was hiring an out-and-out anti-white racist for his senior editorial staff. Liberals hate white people, even if they themselves are white (the self-loathing makes them feel virtuous, in a twisted way). But as they issue forth their propaganda, they want to maintain the charade of impartiality. Sarah Jeong has done us all a great service for once again exposing the liberal media as the base, vile, anti-white racists they truly are. Ed Straker is the senior writer at Newsmachete.com. Trump stated her usual pleasantries, nothing seriously new in them, so it was the lead in Allen's piece about it that drew my attention. Look: Mike Allen, who runs the center-left yet still excellent, news site Axios, did some hosting thing with President Trump's favorite child, Ivanka Trump, putting on an interview with her in a live event, talk show host-style. In my 12 years of hosting onstage newsmaker conversations, Ivanka Trump broke all the records yesterday with a standing-room-only crowd in the Newseum's largest theater, including many young women who waited around the block to get in to hear her advice about getting ahead in the new workplace[.] That's the real news from it. What we have here is a disconnect between the swamp press and its nonstop demonization of the utterly innocuous Ivanka and the reality Allen saw with his wide open eyes. Like pretty much most of any president's family members, she is popular with the public. The press has done an amazing job of trying to demonize her. Think of now-Atlantic Monthly writer Julia Ioffe's bad tweet about Trump this one, which got her fired from Politico: ...which was an example of someone getting carried away (she apologized) based on her loathing of Trump. After that, Ivanka was demonized in the now shriveled New York Daily News with garbage like this: They actually tried to blame her for crazed Palestinians whipping themselves into some kind of suicide-terrorist violence to draw attention to their cause. This wasn't even fake news; this was dishonest news, a grotesque conflation of two unrelated stories. Then they got busy mother-shaming Ivanka. You just know she had to be a bad mother if her last name was ever Trump. They blamed her for Democratic policies on family separations of apprehended illegal aliens because, well, they had to blame her for something. After that, they've tried to paint Ivanka as some sort of dishonest financial manipulator, using President Trump's office to make money in stories like this, and worse, and never mind that she has shut her successful business empire to avoid conflict of interest claims. Now, it's not unusual for bad stories and reportage to follow presidential children. We have seen it happen a lot with the Bush kids (who, it turns out, were left-wing all along), and we have seen it happen with Nixon's; Carter's; and yes, be fair, Clinton's and Obama's kids. But never has it been as bad as with President Trump's kids, who have been painted as monsters, and not just by the most partisan elements of the press, but by pretty much all of the mainstream press. So now Allen interviews the lady, finds her normal, and...the one takeaway for him is that he stares, bug-eyed, at how popular she really is, more popular than anyone else he's interviewed in many years of interviewing. Somehow, this is rather amusing. Ivanka wins one, and since Allen is an honest guy, he reported it rather than concealed it. What it truly shows is that for all of the press's efforts to demonize Ivanka with ever more baroque and fantastic charges, it's...not working. Image credit: Marc Levin via Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0. Not too long ago, we read about problems with a " family bank ." For years, we've heard stories about Representative Maxine Waters, the loudmouth critic of President Trump. Let's just say Madam Maxine has had her share of ethical questions. According to news reports, Waters has taken good care of her daughter: Democratic Rep. Maxine Waters, one of the most outspoken members of the anti-Trump 'resistance' in Congress, is facing fresh questions about a longstanding controversy regarding how her campaign raises money and how those funds have flowed to her daughter. The California congresswoman has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars each election cycle from some of her state's biggest politicians paying to be listed on her slate mailers sample ballots traditionally mailed out to about 200,000 voters in Los Angeles highlighting whom she supports. Since 2004, the campaign in turn reportedly has paid $750,000 to the congresswoman's daughter, Karen Waters, or her public relations firm Progressive Connections for help producing them. To be fair, we all take care of our families, and I expect nothing less. But this much and with public funds? Would Karen be doing all of this business without her mother in Congress? We are a country of laws and public integrity, and Waters has a little explaining to do. During the Trump presidency, Representative Waters has been the face of "Impeach 45." She also jumps on every ethics question and demands explanations from President Trump and family. Maybe it's time to put the lady under the microscope, the same as she wants to put every Trump family member under investigation. Again, we need some explanations about how her family has benefited from her office. PS: You can listen to my show (Canto Talk) and follow me on Twitter. Writing at Legal Insurrection , Vijeta Uniyal lays out the way that the U.S., especially Steve Mnuchin's Treasury Department, outmaneuvered Angela Merkel and got the German central bank, the Bundesbank, to revise its regulations and thereby be able to block the Iranians from withdrawing $400 million in cash from a bank it owns in Germany and shipping it to Tehran. Now that Barack Obama is no longer shipping pallets of cash to the mullahs, they must be running out of hard currency to send to Hamas, Hezb'allah, and all the other terror groups they support. Currency denominated in Iranian rials, which are crashing in value, is useless in paying terrorists, so they need hard currency denominated in euros and dollars exactly like what Obama sent them. Make no mistake: under President Trump, the United States is exercising every means available to strangle the corrupt mullahs' regime in Tehran that is dedicated to destruction of the United States, as soon it is able to complete the genocide of Jews and the destruction of Israel. With clear eyes focused on the goal of containing and, if possible, overthrowing this evil cabal in control of one of the world's most ancient and sophisticated civilizations, the Trump administration is overcoming resistance from purported allies who would rather make profits off the mullahs than destroy them. Germany's Bundesbank and European Investment Bank have shunned Iranian business, not primarily out of some moral consideration, but to avoid financial losses from litigation and secondary sanctions resulting from violating the US sanctions on Iran. It's not just Germany's Bundesbank that has taken similar steps. The EU-owned investment bank has also agreed to comply with the US sanctions. As Legal Insurrection reported in June, EU's own lending arm, the European Investment Bank (EIB), has broken ranks with Brussels by rejecting the proposal to work in Iran. The EU bank fears that doing business with Tehran in violation of the US treasury regulations will hamper its ability to raise money on international capital markets, media reports suggest. But people who deal with global money markets understand the awesome power of the United States Treasury to punish through sanctions. The worlds of politics and finance are connected, to be sure, but frankly, the central bankers function at a level that is far more self-assured and globally connected than mere politicians. The fact the Secretary Mnuchin is totally comfortable, an insider in what a friend with years in finance calls "The Money Club," makes him an effective actor in obtaining Bundesbank cooperation, even in contradiction with the apparent wishes of the German chancellor. "The statement of the U.S. ambassador is once again unsettling and difficult to reconcile with his diplomatic role," Wadephul told Reuters. Grenell's comment drew a rebuke from Johann Wadephul, deputy leader of Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives in parliament, who said the transaction should not be blocked on political grounds if it passed legal muster. "We encourage the highest levels of the German government to intervene and stop the plan," Grenell said. ... Richard Grenell, a longtime critic of the [Iran nuclear] accord, told the mass-circulation daily Bild that the U.S. government was extremely concerned about Tehran's plans to transfer hundreds of millions of euros in cash to Iran. In July, Reuters news agency reported [the] Trump administration's efforts to stop the massive cash delivery to Tehran and the German government's hostility to such a measure: So, for the moment, the cash transfer is stalled. But it is unlikely to un-stall because of President Trump's threat to invoke sanctions on anyone who helps Iran in its quest for nuclear weapons. Hard currency shipments definitely would help. Even when no suspicion of terrorism financing or nuclear armament may exist, the Bundesbank can deny cash transfer for instance in case of a US embargo. [Translation by the author] The Bundesbank has amended its general terms and conditions with regards to the 'cash transactions.' According to these terms the central bank can demand clarifications and guarantees from the counterparty seeking a cash transfer. Last month, the Iranian regime initiated steps to withdraw 320 million from German bank accounts and transfer the cash to Tehran. The money in question is held by Hamburg-based European-Iranian Trade Bank, in which the regime owns a majority-stake. The drastic measure to physically ship the cash out of Germany demonstrates Tehran's demising trust in the European financial institutions as the US Treasury tightens screws on the regime's worldwide financial operations. The transaction is "one of the largest cash transfers ever in German history," a spokesman for the country's finance minister admitted . Germany's central bank, the Bundesbank, has revised its regulations to stop Iran from withdrawing 320 million ($400 million) in cash from the country's bank accounts. Under the new conditions, the Bundesbank can stop cash transfers that violate US Treasury sanctions, the German newspaper BILD disclosed . Make no mistake: under President Trump, the United States is exercising every means available to strangle the corrupt mullahs' regime in Tehran that is dedicated to destruction of the United States, as soon it is able to complete the genocide of Jews and the destruction of Israel. With clear eyes focused on the goal of containing and, if possible, overthrowing this evil cabal in control of one of the world's most ancient and sophisticated civilizations, the Trump administration is overcoming resistance from purported allies who would rather make profits off the mullahs than destroy them. Writing at Legal Insurrection, Vijeta Uniyal lays out the way that the U.S., especially Steve Mnuchin's Treasury Department, outmaneuvered Angela Merkel and got the German central bank, the Bundesbank, to revise its regulations and thereby be able to block the Iranians from withdrawing $400 million in cash from a bank it owns in Germany and shipping it to Tehran. Now that Barack Obama is no longer shipping pallets of cash to the mullahs, they must be running out of hard currency to send to Hamas, Hezb'allah, and all the other terror groups they support. Currency denominated in Iranian rials, which are crashing in value, is useless in paying terrorists, so they need hard currency denominated in euros and dollars exactly like what Obama sent them. Germany's central bank, the Bundesbank, has revised its regulations to stop Iran from withdrawing 320 million ($400 million) in cash from the country's bank accounts. Under the new conditions, the Bundesbank can stop cash transfers that violate US Treasury sanctions, the German newspaper BILD disclosed. The drastic measure to physically ship the cash out of Germany demonstrates Tehran's demising trust in the European financial institutions as the US Treasury tightens screws on the regime's worldwide financial operations. The transaction is "one of the largest cash transfers ever in German history," a spokesman for the country's finance minister admitted. Last month, the Iranian regime initiated steps to withdraw 320 million from German bank accounts and transfer the cash to Tehran. The money in question is held by Hamburg-based European-Iranian Trade Bank, in which the regime owns a majority-stake. The BILD broke the story on Wednesday: The Bundesbank has amended its general terms and conditions with regards to the 'cash transactions.' According to these terms the central bank can demand clarifications and guarantees from the counterparty seeking a cash transfer. The central bank can refuse the transaction till procedures get clarified. Even when no suspicion of terrorism financing or nuclear armament may exist, the Bundesbank can deny cash transfer for instance in case of a US embargo. [Translation by the author] So, for the moment, the cash transfer is stalled. But it is unlikely to un-stall because of President Trump's threat to invoke sanctions on anyone who helps Iran in its quest for nuclear weapons. Hard currency shipments definitely would help. Chancellor Merkel is not amused: In July, Reuters news agency reported [the] Trump administration's efforts to stop the massive cash delivery to Tehran and the German government's hostility to such a measure: Richard Grenell, a longtime critic of the [Iran nuclear] accord, told the mass-circulation daily Bild that the U.S. government was extremely concerned about Tehran's plans to transfer hundreds of millions of euros in cash to Iran. "We encourage the highest levels of the German government to intervene and stop the plan," Grenell said. ... Grenell's comment drew a rebuke from Johann Wadephul, deputy leader of Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives in parliament, who said the transaction should not be blocked on political grounds if it passed legal muster. "The statement of the U.S. ambassador is once again unsettling and difficult to reconcile with his diplomatic role," Wadephul told Reuters. But people who deal with global money markets understand the awesome power of the United States Treasury to punish through sanctions. The worlds of politics and finance are connected, to be sure, but frankly, the central bankers function at a level that is far more self-assured and globally connected than mere politicians. The fact the Secretary Mnuchin is totally comfortable, an insider in what a friend with years in finance calls "The Money Club," makes him an effective actor in obtaining Bundesbank cooperation, even in contradiction with the apparent wishes of the German chancellor. It's not just Germany's Bundesbank that has taken similar steps. The EU-owned investment bank has also agreed to comply with the US sanctions. As Legal Insurrection reported in June, EU's own lending arm, the European Investment Bank (EIB), has broken ranks with Brussels by rejecting the proposal to work in Iran. The EU bank fears that doing business with Tehran in violation of the US treasury regulations will hamper its ability to raise money on international capital markets, media reports suggest. Germany's Bundesbank and European Investment Bank have shunned Iranian business, not primarily out of some moral consideration, but to avoid financial losses from litigation and secondary sanctions resulting from violating the US sanctions on Iran. More winning! So the Times disavows the racism, and its P.R. operation anonymously assures us that Ms. Jeong regrets her hateful words. They were satire, and she was responding to mean, racist people. This is precisely the rationale that others have offered to no avail, as Ace notes: Our statement in response to criticism of the hiring of Sarah Jeong. pic.twitter.com/WryIgbaoqg See also: Let's all thank Sarah Jeong for showing us what liberals think of white people The New York Times has provoked a firestorm with its hiring of Sarah Jeong as a member of its editorial board, despite apparently having checked her social media history and found explicitly hateful anti-white tweets in abundance. Following criticism of the hire, a tweet from "Communications," presumably its corporate communications department , headed by Senior Vice President Eileen Murphy, tweeted out a justification that indicated they had reviewed her tweets and other social media messages: What is called the "alt-right" did post a lot of racist memes and tweets. Sometimes these were hardcore, inarguable racism; sometimes it was debatable what the intent was was it just to provoke the "triggering" of easily-triggered Social Justice Warriors and Tumblrinas, or actual racism? And, did it even matter what the intent was, if some of this stuff was hard to distinguish from seriously-intended racism? Well, we know the position the New York Times took: If it even looks a little like racism, it's racism, even if the intent is claimed to be, or even likely to be, satirical or trollish. But now, the Times announces a new standard for its new racist Jeong: Trollishly racist stuff is okay if you're just trollin'. Oddly enough, Ms. Jeong herself has offered no apology. I can report that as an old white male, the type of person Ms. Jeong avers she enjoys torturing, I am worried about her using her megaphone at the Times to whip up hatred directed toward me exclusively based on my race and sex and the refusal of Ms. Jeong to apologize for the emotional pain she has inflicted on me. And by the way, this picture of herself used by Ms. Jeong at https://sarahjeong.net/ sure looks like appropriation of a hair color that is not found among Asians: Will Chamberlain gathered a slew of her hateful tweets and pointed out that Democrats define "racism" as a whites-only affair, which makes race-hatred of whites perfectly OK: Democrats have redefined racism precisely so people like Sarah Jeong can say racist things and still get jobs at the New York Times. pic.twitter.com/ibjWFy5NLi Will Chamberlain (@willchamberlain) August 2, 2018 The customary progressive argument is that "racism" can be exercised only by people with "power," and by definition, only white people have power for instance, Sam Thielman, who says he's had bylines at the Guardian, the Daily Beast, Variety, and a slew of other MSM outlets. anti-black sentiment and anti-white sentiment are not morally equivalent because the country wasn't founded 45 minutes ago and our long and complex history has generated systemic oppression of nonwhite people to the exclusive advantage of white people. Also Sarah Jeong is good. Sam Thielman (@samthielman) August 2, 2018 The brilliant Iowahawk cut through the BS and laid out the real power issue: Q: how can you tell if a tweet is racist? A: it depends, true racism can only come from a position of power Q: how can you tell if it's from a position of power? A: when the tweeter doesn't get fired for it David Burge (@iowahawkblog) August 2, 2018 The double standard at the Times is illustrated by the paper's unwillingness to forgive another person hired and then fired for her social media history. Robby Soave at Reason: One wonders, however, why Jeong is allowed to come out of this unscathed when the same dispensation was not granted to Quinn Norton, who was asked to join the New York Times editorial board as a tech specialist last February and fired immediately after her ill-advised tweets were publicized. Norton had used an anti-black slur and an anti-gay slur (she claimed she belongs to the LGBT community, so this was in-group usage), and she was friends with the alt-right hacker weev (she claimed she did not share his pro-Nazi views and hoped she could persuade him to abandon them). When these facts came to light, The New York Times and Norton went their separate ways. Iowahawk challenged the Times, asking not that Jeong be fired, but rather that Norton be rehired. Instead of another sacrifice to the online mobs, maybe the NY Times could hire back the last person they threw off Mt. Problematic David Burge (@iowahawkblog) August 2, 2018 So far, there is no indication that the Times is considering reversing its firing of Norton, thereby explicitly endorsing a double standard. Karl Notturno attacks this double standard as the issue going forward at American Greatness: Conservatives are not upset about what James Gunn, Samantha Bee, or Sarah Jeong actually said or wrote; most view these comments as pathetic attempts at humor or otherwise carelessly made remarks that do not deserve severe repercussions. But they are upset at the leniency that the liberal media gives these figures while simultaneously attempting to destroy their right-leaning counterparts. This tactic has worked for the Left quite well so far. They have destroyed many conservatives while keeping their allies unscathed. It's time to change that. And given the amount of casual racism in leftist circles, it won't be hard to fight back. In fact, Jeong has cheered on the firing of others based on their social media posts, even mocking them. tim hunt sad. tim hunt too sad to do science. twitter criticize him and he just start crying. sarah jeong (@sarahjeong) June 14, 2015 Daniel Flynn, writing at American Spectator, invokes George Orwell's famous satire of leftist double standards in Animal Farm with an article titled "Some racism is more equal than others." That's great if you are nonwhite, I guess. For those of us who can be vilified with no consequences, it is an unattractive proposition. The President went on to note that members of the Assembly talk about Kazakhstan abroad, familiarize foreign guests with the culture of the Kazakh people, calling for the continuation of such work. This week, they are claiming that Trump is obstructing justice because he tweeted that he wishes Attorney General Jeff Sessions would end the Robert Mueller special counsel investigation. Yet if we want to talk about obstruction of justice, there's no better place to go than the Democrats themselves. One of the big Democrats, President Obama, said publicly that there was "not a smidgen" of evidence that Internal Revenue Service tax-exempt organization chief Lois Lerner, or other IRS employees, did anything wrong when they clearly targeted political opponents of Obama. In the aftermath, Obama's Justice Department dutifully didn't charge anyone. Obama said he didn't think his would-be successor, Hillary Clinton, did anything real bad when she violated the nation's security laws. Obama's Justice Department dutifully did everything not to charge Hillary, her aides, or Obama himself, who all clearly violated these laws. Obama obviously made sure that people who were guilty were not charged, yet where were the media in calling him out on obstruction? It is absolutely clear that Mueller has no evidence on Trump that would be a violation of the law, so shouldn't the fishing expedition end? There is no obstruction if there is no underlying crime. We are also hearing on a daily basis how Russia is trying to mislead the public on the upcoming election through social media and elsewhere. Isn't that what most of the media do every day? They intentionally are colluding with Democrats by pushing Democratic Party talking points in a misleading way to trash Trump and try to get other Democrats elected. There are many such examples. For two years, they pushed the fake Russian collusion story with no actual evidence. They intentionally downplayed the fake dossier, where the DNC, Hillary Clinton, the Obama White House, the Justice Department, and the intelligence agencies all colluded and conspired to let Hillary off and to throw the book at Trump. They obviously knew there was no collusion, or they would have also monitored Hillary and her people. And if they had better information than scurrilous opposition research motivated by partisan politics, you can bet they would have used that instead. They called Trump a traitor simply because he talked to Russia's President Vladimir Putin, yet they never gave a damn when Obama said he would be flexible with Russia or when he authorized $1.8 billion in unmarked bills in the middle of the night to be shipped to Iran, which still pledges death to America and death to Israel. Today's good economic news is glossed over with future predictions of doom, and with some even claiming that Obama is the one who deserves credit. That is intentionally misleading and stupid. Trump is labeled a racist for seeking to enforce laws Congress passed and for having more screening from just six countries that Obama labeled as being major sources of terrorism. Children of people who cross the U.S. border illegally have been separated from their lawbreaking hosts for years, including by Obama, but not once do I remember Hollywood or the media calling Obama a racist who hates children. Obama illegally surveilled journalists Sharyl Attkisson and James Rosen, as well as Fox News and the Associated Press frequently, so where was the outrage? The media, in conjunction with Democrats, ginned up racial hate after an incident in Ferguson, Missouri with the clearly fake "hands up, don't shoot" narrative and ginned up more hate when Trump said there were good people on both sides of the issue in Charlottesville, Virginia. It was clear he was talking about the issue of taking down Confederate statues and not defending Nazis or the KKK. Democrats always pretend they want to unite the country, but their actions are always to divide. Antifa is a radical dangerous far-left organization, and the media rarely condemn them. Why didn't we see the protests about statues during Obama's eight years? Doesn't it show that the outrage is fake when protests all of a sudden happen after a century of standing, with things changing only after Trump got elected? Does that look like spontaneous protests or planned activism by groups to gin up hate against Trump? The protesters are seeking to take down statues of generals and of founding fathers, but we hear nothing about taking down references or statues of KKK leader Robert Byrd and racist Margaret Sanger. It seems as though the outrage is selective, which means it is mostly fake. Margaret Sanger supported eugenics and abortion in order to build a cleaner race. She wanted to dispose of inferior races and those who were mentally and physically disabled, which is why Planned Parenthood was founded. Not only don't we see protests against Sanger, but we actually see someone from the New York Times suggesting that more statues should go up to honor her. That is disgusting. Today the media are highlighting that Ivanka Trump disagrees with her father on a couple of things. I was shocked, because all children agree with everything their parents do, right? The media probably don't understand because everyone Obama surrounded himself with, including the media, agreed with everything he did and said exactly what he wanted them to say. No wonder there was so little success in Obama's eight years: everyone was a yes man. This brings us back to Mueller. Why is this useless, hypocritical operation, cheered by Democrats, still around? Image credit: Montage by Monica Showalter, using images derived from YouTube. Say what you will about some of the Koch brothers' positions on conservative issues; you have to wonder if it's a wise move to pick a fight with someone who wants to give you $400 million in campaign contributions. That's how much the Koch brothers' vast, influential network of individuals and organizations have pledged for the 2018 midterms. About 99% of that money goes to Republicans, as well as conservative and libertarian organizations and causes. But the Republican National Committee is warning donors to stay away from the Koch network and is warning candidates not to take money from them. Why? It appears that after a meeting of the Koch network in Colorado Springs, where some not very nice things were said about the president, Donald Trump decided that the GOP didn't need half a billion dollars to maintain control of the House and Senate. So Trump, as is his wont, lashed out at the brothers. Politico: "The globalist Koch Brothers, who have become a total joke in real Republican circles, are against Strong Borders and Powerful Trade. I never sought their support because I don't need their money or bad ideas. They love my Tax & Regulation Cuts, Judicial picks & more. I made..... ....them richer." "Their network is highly overrated, I have beaten them at every turn," he added. "They want to protect their companies outside the U.S. from being taxed, I'm for America First & the American Worker a puppet for no one. Two nice guys with bad ideas. Make America Great Again!" The Koch brothers did not contribute to any GOP presidential candidate in 2016, so the idea that Trump "beat them" is absurd. And the criticism of both Trump and the RNC echoes the worst conspiracy theories about the Kochs that the Democrats use to attack them: "Some groups who claim to support conservatives forgo their commitment when they decide their business interests are more important than those of the country or Party," RNC Chairwoman Ronna Romney McDaniel wrote in a memo to party contributors on Thursday afternoon. "This is unacceptable." In the memo, McDaniel notes that the RNC has long expressed concerns about the Koch network, which has developed its own data program for Republican candidates to use. The Koch data program rivaled the one that had been created by the RNC. McDaniel also warns Republican candidates to steer clear of the Kochs. While some GOP contenders have chosen to use the Koch data program over the years, McDaniel argues that decision could come at a cost. If the Kochs decide to help Democrats going forward, she argues, that could include a future opponent. "From the beginning, the RNC had concerns about any outside entity building a data operation to compete with ours because we knew they could potentially weaponize that data against Republicans if their business interests conflicted with electing Republicans," McDaniel writes. "Sadly, our concerns were recently proven true." Those "concerns" are due to the Koch network refusing to give money to North Dakota Senate candidate Kevin Cramer, who is running against Democratic incumbent Heidi Heitkamp. Trump himself has praised Heitkamp, and she is a likely "yes" vote on Supreme Court pick Brett Kavanaugh. Heitkamp is the closest thing the Democrats have to a moderate, and some of her views reflect those of the brothers. The point is simple: Trump and the RNC are questioning the integrity of the Koch brothers at a time that Democrats are outraising Republicans by a substantial margin. Republicans and the Koch brothers agree on probably 90% of the issues. But apparently, that's just not good enough. In the age of Trump, absolute obedience and obeisance is what is required. There is no rule that says any organization has to give to one political party. And despite the fact that the Koch brothers are giving 99% of their cash to Republicans, the RNC and Trump believe that GOP candidates should try to win without the most powerful network of donors in the Republican Party. Can you say "suicide"? The liberal media are unused to anyone fighting back. They feel that they should feel free to attack, defend, define, and distort as they see fit, because of the First Amendment, but they feel that anyone else exercising his First Amendment rights is "encouraging violence against the media." What the media ignore is their own role in fomenting law-breaking and hatred. A. The liberal media are pushing for a quiet coup to get President Trump removed from office. Right after President Trump made a few admittedly goofy comments in his summit with President Putin, many newspapers immediately labeled him a "traitor" and openly encouraged his Cabinet to resign to push him out of office. The media constantly try to undermine the presidency by claiming that Trump is a traitor or a puppet, without a shred of evidence. The media are seeking to undermine and remove a branch of government they disagree with. B. When Obama used nonexistent "discretion" to stop enforcing our immigration laws, the media hailed him as compassionate. C. When President Trump decided to enforce existing immigration laws, he was criticized as a "hardliner" who hates Hispanics. D. When Trump withdrew from a nonexistent treaty with Iran, which was never submitted for confirmation, Trump was called a war-monger. E. The media generally insist that laws exist where none applies (such as abortion and redefining marriage and now for the "transgendered") and insist that constitutional rights for the Second, Tenth, and (for their enemies only) the First Amendments be abridged. II. The media whips up hatred among classes, races, religions, and exactly two sexes. A. The media constantly publish stories showing that white people are racist. In the past 48 hours alone, the New York Times has published stories showing that white people are racist in hotels and at public swimming pools. It's like "Green Eggs and Ham." Are they also racist on a train? Are they also racist on a plane? Nearly every day, the media write an article that reads, "White people are racist in [kind of place or circumstance]." This repeated emphasis whips up racial resentment and encourages violence against white people. B. Not a day goes by without some gleeful account of how the non-white population of America is increasing, eagerly looking forward to the day when whites are in the minority. This "in your face, white people!" mentality stirs up understandable resentment among white Americans. C. We are constantly told by the media to hate the rich, that if they have a lot of money, they must not have earned it legitimately, that "their" money should be "our" money. The resentment built up by this kind of storyline encourages lawmakers to enact theft by higher taxation. D. Muslims are constantly told that white people hate them and discount any reasons why white people might legitimately fear them. This encourages Muslims to be angry and commit acts of violence though to be fair, some of them don't need much encouragement to begin with. E. Women are constantly told that most men are rapists or harassers who don't respect them. Women are encouraged to turn against men and see rape in every dorm room and every janitor closet. F. A tiny, tiny portion of the population who are mentally ill insist on playing Peeping Tom in girls' bathrooms and dominating women's sports. Instead of calling for this fractional number to get mental help, the media portray people who stand up for women's rights as bigots. G. We are repeatedly told that the police are racist. As a result, fewer people cooperate with the police, and sometimes a crazy person assassinates a policeman. The results of this incitement are easy to see if you live in a far-left place like Oakland, Berkeley, or San Francisco, but all over America, this poison infects the body politic and encourages violence and lawlessness. Just ask the members of the Trump administration who have been harassed in public places or even outside their own homes. When Jim Acosta of CNN whined about being labeled an enemy of the people, Sarah Sanders reminded him that media incitement had required her to get a Secret Service bodyguard because unlike Acosta, she actually has been threatened in public. The liberal media take no responsibility when they falsely shout "Fire!" in a crowded movie theater. Instead, they see threats in every corner whenever someone speaks against them. I don't agree with Trump on everything he does, but it's refreshing, for once, to have a president unlike George W. Bush who doesn't passively let himself be used as a punching bag by the liberal media and fights back. Ed Straker is the senior writer at Newsmachete.com. Trump and his war on fake news President Donald Trump traveled to Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania on Thursday, where he spent much of his time attacking the fake news media. He went to this northeastern Pennsylvania city to support the ambitions of Representative Lou Barletta to unseat Senator Bob Casey, who has become a reliable liberal Democrat vote against Trump's policies. This follows a week of constant media support for those in opposition to the president. The showdown between White House correspondents such as CNN's Jim Acosta and the president and his supporters came to a new height at Thursday's press briefing. Jim Acosta. Photo credit: Gage Skidmore via Wikimedia Commons. Press secretary Sarah H. Sanders took members of the White House press to task when she reminded them of the behavior directed against her and her family in public venues that has threatened her physically. As a result, she now has Secret Service protection. Meanwhile, many in the media talked about the perceived threats to Acosta and others while covering the president's speech in Florida on Tuesday. The media and progressives decry the perceived attempts to destroy the free press by the administration. But with over 90% of all reports about the administration decidedly negative, Trump cannot allow these people to control the narrative. Trump has decided to drive their negatives farther down. Currently, they are rated positively by polls between 17 and 20%. At the same time, Trump's positive ranking is now between 45 and 50%. (Rasmussen poll Thursday was 50%.) He cannot get any meaningful positive reporting despite any accomplishments. Therefore, he will marginalize their impact by raising their negatives. Press corps members spent much of their time with Sarah Sanders trying to divide Ivanka from her father over comments regarding the president's view over whether the "fake news media are the enemy of the people." They have spent two years attempting to divide the president and his supporters with little success. They do not understand the reasons for his election in 2016. They still fail to understand his continued support. How can they, since they are entrenched in the establishment swamp of Washington and the coasts? Rarely do you hear anyone on any television or network radio provide any positive commentary for the administration, except for conservative pundits or Fox News. At Fox, the support for Trump is tempered by people such as Shepard Smith and regular Democratic advisers. Perhaps the most disturbing situation for Trump is the lack of coverage about any successes he enjoys. This is the most critical situation regarding the bias of the media. In a little over 18 months, the administration has reduced ISIS to a small threat, met with Kim Jong-un, gotten more financial support for NATO from European allies, improved our trade relationships with South Korea and the E.U., received remains of lost soldiers from North Korea after 65 years of cessation of hostilities, begun renegotiation of NAFTA to improve its effects on the USA, changed the position of America in the Middle East, established the U.S. embassy in Jerusalem, ended the Iranian nuclear deal negotiated by Obama and damaged the Iranian economy, challenged the ascendancy of China, used tariffs to renegotiate trade agreements, countered Russian advances with weapons to Ukraine and attacks on surrogate troops in Syria, and reestablished American leadership on the world stage. There might be some who would question these efforts, but there are few positive comments within the media. And this is just a listing of some foreign affairs initiatives. On the domestic scene, the listing of accomplishments confounds the left further. He points to lowered taxes that have accelerated economic growth. He has rolled back regulations that hampered businesses. He did not succeed in replacing Obamacare, but did get the Congress to remove the personal mandate. The administration has established cross-state-lines-associations for health care. He has attempted to get funding for the border wall with limited success. He has a chance to put his mark on the Supreme Court through his nomination of a second justice. The trade deficit has fallen by $52 billion in the second quarter of 2018 while seeing GDP growth of 4.1 %. Energy production has increased to record levels. He pushed reforms at the Veterans Administration. All this in less than two years. Trump faces overwhelming opposition from Democrats and many establishment Republicans, which would severely limit any normal person's achievements. The press opposes Trump because of his style and manner. But reporters truly fear his ability to succeed in undoing the Obama legacy and the past decades of progressive, liberal, or socialist policies foisted upon America with the media's help. This is a battle between two competing forces and ideologies. Don't bet against Trump. Washington Post defends 'soldier-slapping' Palestinian teenager with truckload of misinformation I read with interest The Washington Post article "Palestinian teen protester who slapped, kicked Israeli soldier leaves prison" (7/30/18). The sympathy-laden piece glorifies 17-year old "soldier-slapping" Palestinian Ahed Tamimi and excoriates Israel for "occupying" the West Bank, which it captured in "a" war in 1967. May I clarify that Israel captured the West Bank in self-defense after being attacked from it by Jordan in the famous "Six-Day War," one of the finest and most rapid victories in the history of warfare not just "a" war against some unknown, unnamed opponent? The Washington Post knows full well that omitting whom Israel won the West Bank from leads the reader to naturally assume that Israel won it from the Palestinians nothing farther from the truth. Using the expression that Israel "captured" the land makes it seem as if Israel was the aggressor also nothing farther from the truth. So while The Washington Post is glorifying Palestinians and vilifying Israel for imprisoning a 17-year-old "minor," another 17-year-old Palestinian "minor" hacked to death 31-year-old Israeli Yotam Ovadia, husband and father of two. The Palestinian "minor" would have killed more had Ovadia not fought back gallantly to his unfortunate demise. In the article, the Post quotes a so-called human rights group taking Israel to task for imprisoning Palestinian minors. The Post further prints lyrics from Palestinian songs praising the actions of the soldier-slapping minor. The Post's pro-Palestinian agenda rewards the Palestinians by giving them a free pass for inciting young people. I am waiting for the Post to give "reasons" (excuses) for why a 17-year-old Palestinian would hack to death a Jew. Will the Post print lyrics praising this "malcontent" 17-year-old Palestinian murderer? I doubt it. Let's get real: the youth are incited and brainwashed by the Palestinian adults their parents, teachers, journalists, clergy, and the Palestinian Authority. Why are there no articles on Palestinian child abuse? The FCC is aiming both to promote the spread of broadband and prepare for 5G networking with a new One Touch Make Ready approach to U.S. infrastructure handling. Previously, each company with equipment attached to a pole was required to move its own hardware around to make room for new utilities and that had to be done in a specified order. Not only is that very time-consuming, but it also costs each company a significant amount of money to do. Under the new rules, a single construction crew will be able to move in and prepare utility poles for new additions. Effectively, companies looking to install 5G hardware on a new pole can focus on that instead of worrying about the logistics of rearranging existing infrastructure. According to the FCC, it will also have the added benefit of improving matters for broadband companies and small operators looking to spread out their networks. Of course, the FCCs efforts here wont necessarily make things better for every competing company, at every location within the U.S. Specifically, local and municipality regulations surrounding the use of utility poles could still result in a slowdown of network rollout. Some cities already require that the owner of a utility pole is notified and approves changes. Others that have implemented One Touch Make Ready regulations also have requirements in place require that companies already occupying a utility pole to be given a set time-frame for moving their own installation. Only once that time-frame has passed is another carrier or organization allowed to rearrange the infrastructure with its own crew. However, thats not all the FCC has been doing to promote 5G in its bid to win the still ongoing race to be first. In addition to freeing up portions of the 37 GHz band and the entirety of the 24 GHz band, the FCC has also been gearing up for auctions of frequencies that will be required for providers to operate 5G networks. That includes further proposals to change the handling of the 39 GHz and 47 GHz bands in hopes of allowing some spectrum from those to be auctioned off. Moreover, portions of the 24 GHz and 28 GHz are set to be sold off at auctions starting on November 14. Motorola had promised three years of Moto Mods support when it debuted the Moto Z back in 2016. That meant the Moto Z, Moto Z2 and Moto Z3 lines would get Moto Mod support. Many had believed that Motorola might ditch the Moto Mods after it met its promise, but that is apparently not the case, at least according to Engadget. Motorola told the publication that Moto Mods will continue to be part of its mobile strategy for the foreseeable future. Motorola would not mention how often they plan to release new Moto Mods, or what Moto Mods might be coming up next. Just that these will continue to be part of its strategy moving forward meaning the 5G Moto Mod is not going to be the last Moto Mod. Moto Mods are an interesting concept, and one might argue that it is the only modular smartphone concept that has actually paid off. With Moto Mods, Motorola is able to extend the capabilities of smartphones. Whether that is by giving it more juice to keep it running all day, a bigger and better speaker, a better camera, or even 5G support. And its pretty easy to use them, just snap them onto the back of your Moto Z smartphone and youre good to go. Its just that simple. And Motorola has put out some rather interesting Moto Mods over the past few years, including a photo printer from Polaroid. However, the downside to Moto Mods is that the size and design of the Moto Z lineup remained mostly unchanged for three years, so that older Moto Mods would still be compatible. Which is why many believed that Motorola might ditch Moto Mods, but thats not the case. The Moto Z3 goes on sale August 16, and its the companys third-generation Moto Z smartphone, and all of the existing Moto Mods do work with it. However many are pretty disappointed with the device, considering it is sporting 2017 specs, as well as a full HD+ display instead of Quad HD+. So it could be time for Motorola to move the Moto Z lineup into its own area and have something else act as its flagship, high-end smartphone. There are many wildfires burning in Northern California, and a few other states out west. Sprint has announced that it will waive any fees for making calls, texts and data overages for Sprint customers in the affected areas. Allowing customers to reach friends and family as well as working to get out of the area and to a safe place. Sprint says that this will be in effect from July 27 to August 4. However, if the wildfires continue, Sprint will likely extend this time frame. Every year, there are wildfires in Northern California, this is due to how hot and dry it is in that part of the country. California rarely sees any rain at all, which is what brings in wildfires. However, this year, the wildfires are more than double the size of the historical average, meaning that they are far worse then they usually are, which is actually a really big deal. The worst thing about that is the fact that the historical fire season has not even gotten started just yet. That means that Californians are in for a brutal fire season in the next few months. Last year, there were some pretty big and catastrophic fires near the bay area and in the Los Angeles area. It burned down many buildings in Napa Valley, which only just got rebuilt, and its burning down again. Napa Valley is a popular destination in that area of California due to the wineries that are in the area. Many people come to Napa for the views but also for wine tasting, and some of the wineries experienced some pretty devastating damage, unfortunately. It wouldnt be a surprise to see other wireless carriers offering up the same type of freeze on charges for calls, texts and data to those in the affected areas, especially as the fire season starts to heat up. With just one easy-to-book ticket, travellers will be able to fly on Emirates and reach some of Italys most picturesque cities and towns using high speed, modern and comfortable trains that leave from Emirates four Italian gateways - Bologna, Milan, Rome and Venice. This codeshare agreement with Trenitalia opens up new possibilities for our customers and complements our current services to Bologna, Milan, Rome and Venice. With Trenitalia, travelling to the Far East from Foggia, or to Padova from Sydney has never been easier," said Hubert Frach, Emirates Divisional Senior Vice President, Commercial Operations, West. "Emirates already flies more than 1.6 million passengers to and from Italy every year. With this codeshare agreement, were connecting Italian regions to our global network, significantly boosting the Italian tourism industry, added Frach. The agreement signed by Trenitalia and Emirates is a pivotal step towards the increase of effective and comfortable integration between train and airplane, said Gianpiero Strisciuglio, Director of Trenitalia Long Haul Passenger Division. Our customers will now be able to buy one single solution for their train and flight journey, departing and arriving from 27 Italian stations and enjoying the comforts and the best commercial facilities offered by Trenitalia and Emirates, he added Masters of Artillery Fire contest, which is being held in stages in accordance with the plan within the framework of the International Military Games 2018, has started in Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan's Ministry of Defense said in a message. Artillerymen at work during the Masters of Artillery Fire contest (Picture source: Vestnik Kavkaza) Azerbaijani servicemen are also taking part in the contest. The Masters of Artillery Fire contest is being held at Otar military base in Kazakhstan until August 9. An opening ceremony for the International Army Games 2018 took place at the Patriot Park in Moscow region July 28. The Games include 28 contests on field, air and naval training. We are thrilled to have on board a partner who is so highly-regarded in the industry, particularly for his banking and finance work and his strong leadership in the pro bono space, said Anthony Arrow, head of Australia's Finance & Projects team at Pinsent Masons. Allens helps Aussie healthcare company sell pathology business A team from Allens has advised one of Australias leading healthcare operators on the sale of several Asian pathology operations. Healthscope has divested 39 laboratories in Singapore, Malaysia, and Vietnam, and follows the sale of its Australian pathology business in 2015 on which Allens also advised. The Allens team advising on this latest sale was led by corporate partner Emin Altiparmak and included Michelle Bennett, Managing Associate (Corporate); Annabelle Aland, Managing Associate (Real Estate); Julian Holland, Associate (Corporate); Joanne Pak, Lawyer (Corporate); Dougald Coulson, Lawyer (Real Estate). The number of Japanese companies seeking expansion through outbound investment has increased steadily over the past decade. Japanese business investment into New Zealand is likely to rise as trade relations between the two nations become closer, with the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership nearing ratification. This can present opportunities for New Zealand companies, but the Japanese approach to M&A may be new for domestic companies. The Japanese approach to M&A emphasises building consensus. Nemawashi, ringi and other like concepts can flow through many stages of the M&A process. Nemawashi translates to digging around the roots of a tree. It refers to gaining support for a decision by seeking feedback from stakeholders before any formal actions are approved. If performed well, nemawashi increases commitment to the deal from the affected stakeholders. Similarly, ringi involves a proposal being prepared amongst the lower levels of the company and then being passed upwards for approval from the higher levels. Due diligence may be more detailed for a Japanese acquirer. Japanese acquirers tend to focus on understanding the target companys culture and how the transaction will impact existing relationships. When reporting on due diligence issues, it can be helpful to include step by step explanations about why a particular risk is important, especially if there are implications that arise from New Zealand law or market practice. HP We've seen quite a few interesting new wagons this year, such as the 2019 Kia Ceed. However, none of them have made it Stateside, and this is likely to be the case with the Auris Wagon... Touring (that's what it's officially called).As it usually happens with these models, styling stays the same to about the B-pillar. That's why the new Auris Touring is sporting some fancy LED headlights and even a body kit that includes impractical side skirts. A pronounced shoulder line draws us closer to the back end, where we see the opening of the trunk is much bigger.Since the wheelbase of the hatch has grown by 40mm over its predecessor, we expect ample room for the rear passengers and at least 550 liters of trunk space, making it one of the most practical in its class.The interior will be virtually the same, featuring soft-touch materials and brightly colored leather. An 8-inch infotainment with Android, wireless charger, and 7-inch TFT display will be welcome upgrades over the old Auris Touring.And thanks to the TNGA platform, it should ride pretty well too, though we don't expect hot wagon performance here. While 100% of the compact wagons in Europe at least offer a diesel engine, that won't be the case here.The Auris hatch was launched with a choice between two hybrid systems, offering around 120 or 180. Also, a 1.2-liter turbo is also on its way, the only unit that will be offered with a manual gearbox.While Toyota signed a partnership with BMW which gave it access to TwinPower diesel engines, demand is dropping in Europe right now. Also, the bigger Avensis touring will be discontinued, leaving only this Auris as a load-lugger. Road rage incidents have become increasingly common, but you rarely hear about one so violent happening in Canada. Usually (and without generalizing), most shoot-outs and violent fights that make headlines happen in busy areas in US cities and in some European countries.Here is one instance where the traditional Canadian politeness ran in short supply. One German tourist was shot in the head and is now in serious condition in the hospital, after what police believe was a road rage altercation, NDTV reports.The tourist is 60 years old and was driving his family on vacation. The incident happened in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, on a highway near Stoney Nakoda First Nation, west of Calgary. The tourists were probably on their way to the Banff National Park, which is nearby.Royal Canadian Mounted Police Sergeant Tom Kalis tells the media the driver was shot in the head whilst driving, which caused his truck to swerve and smash into a tree. He was taken to a hospital in Calgary conscious and lucid, but doctors have informed the family that his injury is critical and life threatening.No one else was injured in the accident.The man sustained a gunshot wound to the head, Kalis says. Our current theory is that this was an aggravated road rage incident.Police are now looking for a white male who was behind the wheel of a small black sedan, which drove by the tourists truck when the shot was heard. Though police say this could have been an aggravated road rage incident, they dont offer details into what may have started it or how it played out. This also applies in Ohio, thanks to Senate Bill 215, also known as the states Hot Car legislation. As long as you have proof that your actions are justified (video of the child or animal in distress), you should not fear any legal repercussions.Richard Hill knew this, and he acted in good faith late last month, when he noticed 2 dogs inside a hot car in a Walmart parking lot. One of the dogs was very agitated, making the cars alarm go off, while a puppy was lying down, not moving. He assumed their owner had been gone long enough for the puppy to faint.He first called the police and then broke into the car, taking a hammer to one of its windows. The police came shortly afterwards, as did the owner and Hill ended up being cited for criminal damaging.Hes taking his plight to social media, urging people to come to his aid both financially and with legal advice. He says the cars windows and sunroof were closed, so he assumed the dog were distressed because of the heat.CCTV footage shows the owner had been gone exactly 4 minutes when Hill was smashing the cars window. He saw the dogs inside the car 2 minutes after the owner entered Walmart. Police arrived right after Hill broke the window.Sergeant Dan Ciryak tells Cleveland.com that Hill acted rashly, doling out justice when he should have just waited for the cops. His heart might have been in the right place, but his timing was off because this was no life and death situation and, for that, he must pay.We believe his heart may have been in the right place, but he should have waited a little more, Ciryak says. He knew the police were coming. I don't know what his sense of urgency was. In anticipation of the announcement, NASA released additional details about the historic tests to be conducted by the two companies. Both will be starting to show off their capsules with uncrewed flight tests by the end of the year.NASA says it did not request such tests, but both companies volunteered to conduct them anyway. For SpaceXs Crew Dragon, the uncrewed mission has been designated Demo-1, and it will take off with the help of Falcon 9 from Complex 39A at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida.Boeing Starliners flight will be known as the Orbital Flight Test, and it will depart atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex 41 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.This was above and beyond the NASA requirement in the contract, said in a statement Kathy Lueders, Commercial Crew Program manager at NASA Kennedy.Both partners said they really wanted to have an uncrewed flight test to make sure the integrated rockets, spacecraft and re-entry systems are all working as designed to be able to ensure the integrated system is functioning.Should everything go as planned, the manned test flights will follow in 2019. Due to some further testing required on Boeings Starliner, it is likely SpaceX will to beat the aerospace giant in becoming the first private company to launch astronauts in an American-built space capsule.The crewed mission will be called Demo-2 for SpaceX and Crew Flight Test for Boeing. Each will be manned by at least a flight commander and a pilot.Both capsules will be launched from Earth, will have to travel safely to the International Space Station (ISS), dock and undock autonomously and then safely bring the crews back to Earth.Later in the day, NASA will be announcing the names of the astronauts to launch next year. Stay tuned for further updates. Have you been waiting to get your hands on Nissans latest SUV, the Terra? You wont have to wait much longer, as the first batch of units are on the way and on schedule for their release later this month. Thats the word from the president of Nissan Philippines, Inc. (NPI), Ramesh Narasimhan, when we asked him regarding the market response for their new SUV. The Nissan Terra is one of the years most awaited vehicles, especially in a market that receives 7-seat SUVs (or PPVs, to be more technical) with arms wide open. Last year three different PPVs (pick-up passenger vehicles) were in the top 10 of the best selling models in the country; the Fortuner was the number one vehicle outright. The Nissan Philippines chief executive said that the demand for the Terra has exceeded their most optimistic expectations. Since Nissan began pre-selling the vehicle after the regional Asia and Oceania launch held at Clark, Pampanga, Nissan has garnered more than 2000 firm orders from their clients. But don't fret, Mr. Narasimhan said that they are more than prepared to meet the market demand, as the initial batch of the Nissan Terra will consist of over 2000 units. In fact, the units have already begun to arrive in the Philippines from Thailand where the Terra is manufactured. Nissan executives say that they will begin releasing the Terra to dealers nationwide by the third week of August. The dealerships will then contact their clients so they can get their new vehicles. Clearly, the Ranger Raptor is one of the most anticipated trucks this year, and after we drove the performance-oriented version of Ford's global pick-up in Australia just a week ago, the potential is there. Yesterday, however, images surfaced online (from an unknown source) of what could be the first two units of the Ranger Raptor to have arrived in the Philippines. We asked Ford personnel if the shots were indeed legitimate, and there appeared to be no denial. The images show the Ranger Raptor sitting at a stockyard in port, presumably in Batangas. In the yard we can clearly see there are vehicles from other brands also awaiting inspection or customs clearance. It's the first time we've seen a left-hand drive version of the Ranger Raptor as other previous units we've seen and driven were right-hand drive. The Raptors in port were both painted blue, and had no extra graphics, apart from the Raptor decals on the rear quarter panel on the bed. The external features are the same as the international versions with the big FORD grille, widened fenders, the robust magnesium side step boards, and more. One of the images shows the 17-inch wheels, the special all-terrain tires from BFGoodrich, and rear vented disc brakes. You can also get a glimpse of the 2.5-inch diameter off-road racing shock absorbers from Fox Racing. Whoever took the photos was also able to open the driver side door, showing the interior. You can see the special Raptor steering wheel, the seat (with its power adjustment), as well as the paddle shifters. The Ranger Raptor is expected to be launched in 2 months in the Philippine market. Prices have not yet been officially released. The iconic hatchback from the United Kingdom gets a makeover for the 2019 model year. After making its world debut at this year's North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) in Detroit, the refreshed Mini 3-Door, 5-Door and Convertible models have officially arrived in the Philippines. It features a slightly tweaked but still familiar exterior along with new and updated technologies inside and out. The 2019 Mini Cooper model range benefits from a stylish redesign that is paired to the hatchback's signature sporty and fun-to-drive pedigree. Changes at the front of the 2019 Mini Cooper are subtle, largely down to the restyled LED headlights. They now offer better illumination during night-time driving and also benefit from new LED light modules. Ever present are the LED daytime running lights and new turn signal indicators that surround the entire headlight assembly. But perhaps the most obvious change seen on the 2019 Mini Cooper are the 'Union Jack' LED taillights. First used on the GP Works Concept from last year, the new taillight design highlights the Mini Cooper's British lineage while also making the hatchback look more stylish. Pop the doors open and the updated Mini Cooper features a slightly tweaked cabin. A wide selection of leather upholstery and trim pieces are now available on the 3-Door, 5-Door and Convertible variants. For those that prefer a dark-trimmed cabin, Mini is also offering the new Piano Black Style trim. With it, the center console, door cards and instrument panel are finished in Piano Black. Providing a stark contrast against the dark theme comes courtesy of an illuminated Union Jack motif on the dashboard. Other changes introduced in the 3-Door and 5-Door and Convertible Cooper models include a new steering wheel with updated media and cruise controls and a new 6.5-inch infotainment display that supports AM/FM radio, USB, Aux and Bluetooth. Other available in-car amenities for the 2019 Mini Cooper include Radio Mini Visual Boost and a navigation system. Propelling the refreshed Mini Cooper range are the TwinPower Turbo inline-three and inline-four engines. The standard Cooper models get a 1.5-liter three-cylinder turbo which delivers 136 PS at 4500 6500 rpm and 220 Nm of torque at 4200 rpm. Meanwhile, the Cooper S variants get the more powerful 2.0-liter four-cylinder turbo which produces 192 PS at 5000 6000 rpm along with 280 Nm of torque at 4600 rpm. Available only for the John Cooper Works (JCW) 3-Door is a beefier 2.0-liter TwinPower Turbo inline-four. It cranks out a healthy 231 PS at 5200 6000 rpm and an impressive 320 Nm of torque at 4800 rpm. Equipped with the new dual-clutch transmission, the JCW 3-Door can sprint from 0 100 km/h 6.1 seconds and hit a top speed of 246 km/h. As mentioned earlier, the old six-speed automatic has been replaced by a new seven-speed Steptronic dual-clutch transmission (DCT). According to Mini, the new transmission delivers faster gear shifts and quicker acceleration. Moreover, the new Steptronic DCT can use navigation data to know exactly when to switch gears on full automatic mode. This means the DCT can downshift early before a tight corner to make use of engine braking. Cooper S models benefit from paddle shifters and a Sport Mode function for the Steptronic transmission. New colors are also available for the 3-Door, 5-Door and Convertible body styles: These include Emerald Gray Metallic, Starlight Blue Metallic and Solaris Orange Metallic. There are even new 17-inch alloy wheels for the Cooper and Cooper S offerings. The former gets the two-tone Propeller-style wheels while the latter receives the two-tone Rail Spoke design. Pricing for the 2019 Mini Cooper 3-Door, 5-Door and Convertible models are as follows: Mini Cooper 3-Door Php 2,550,000 Mini Cooper S 3-Door Php 3,000,000 Mini Cooper JCW 3-Door Php 3,850,000 Mini Cooper 5-Door Php 2,650,000 Mini Cooper S 5-Door Php 3,100,000 Mini Cooper Convertible S Php 3,350,000 Thursday, August 2, 2018 An attorney's misconduct in a criminal case drew a public censure from the New York Appellate Division for the Third Judicial Department The factual specifications supporting the charges of the verified petition stem from the respondents representation of Gordon Woolf in a criminal case, and are as follows: On June 4, 2013, federal agents arrested Woolf and charged him with having violated federal criminal statutes. On June 10, 2013, the respondent met with Woolf, who was then incarcerated in a federal detention facility awaiting arraignment. Luigi Vigliotti, Esq., accompanied the respondent to this meeting with Woolf. The respondent and Vigliotti were not law partners, and Vigliotti was not the respondents employee. During the meeting, Woolf executed a retainer agreement with The Law Offices of Anthony J. Colleluori & Associates, PLLC, and agreed to a $35,000 retainer fee, which was paid by Woolf on or before June 16, 2013. On June 10, 2013, the respondent filed a notice of appearance in United States v Woolf, case No. 2:13-mj-00475, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York. A few days later, on June 12, 2013, the respondent represented Woolf at a detention hearing in the District Court, which resulted in Woolfs release from custody that day. After receiving the retainer fee and before July 12, 2013, the respondent paid $14,000 of the $35,000 retainer to Vigliotti, without advising Woolf and without obtaining Woolfs written consent. The respondent was discharged by Woolf on or about July 12, 2013. At that time, Woolf requested the respondent to refund any unused portion of the retainer fee. In response, the respondent advised Woolf that he had previously given $14,000 to Vigliotti. The respondent also told Woolf that Vigliotti had spent all but $4,900 of the $14,000, and $4,900 was all that could be refunded. The client then complained. In determining an appropriate measure of discipline to impose, the respondent contends that his admitted mistakes are ministerial error only. He requests that this Court issue him a private reprimand or a sanction no greater than a public censure in view of the mitigating evidence advanced, including evidence of his professional achievements and character, as well as the personal and medical difficulties he and his family have experienced. However, it is noted that the respondents disciplinary record is not unblemished, as he has received two Admonitions unrelated to this matter. Under the totality of the circumstances, we find that a public censure is warranted (Mike Frisch) https://lawprofessors.typepad.com/legal_profession/2018/08/an-attorneys-misconduct-in-a-criminal-case-drew-a-public-censure-from-the-new-york-appellate-division-for-the-third-judicial.html Airbus announced the launch of its ab initio Pilot Cadet Training Program last week. The company says the program is designed to help meet global demand for pilots over the next 20 years. Airbus partner for the program is Escuela de Aviacion Mexico (EAM), which is located close to the Airbus Mexico Training Center in Mexico City. Pilots participating in the EASA-based program will complete their initial training at EAM and then transfer to the Airbus Mexico Training Center to qualify on the A320. According to Airbus, the program aims to equip cadets with the skills and mindset required to become an operationally-ready pilot.' The first class of 20 Airbus cadets is expected to begin training in January 2019 and graduate in July 2020. The program is open to high school graduates over 18 years old and will begin accepting applications in October. Applicants will take admissions tests to gauge their knowledge of English, mathematics and physics. Airbus says it plans to open similar programs around the world over the next few years. According to the company, this program and the ones to come reflect Airbus commitment to support airline customers in contributing to long term availability of qualified flight crew. The companys latest Global Services Forecast predicts that 540,000 new pilots will be needed over the next two decades. AVwebs weekly news roundup found reports on the Organization of Black Aerospace Professionals Annual Convention and Career Expo, new scholarships for female helicopter pilots, a warranty extension on Superior Air Parts Millennium Cylinders and a service center network expansion for RAJAY Turbo Products. The Organization of Black Aerospace Professionals (OBAP) will be holding its 42nd Annual Convention and Career Expo Aug. 15-17 in Houston, Texas. Some convention highlights include a free Aerospace Youth Day on Aug. 16 for students between the ages of 12 and 18, professional development workshops designed for college students, a breakfast to honor new inductees into the OBAP Hall of Fame and a career fair with 52 participating companies. In rotorcraft news, Southern Utah University (SUU) has allocated three scholarships to Whirly-Girls International for female helicopter pilot students. The scholarships are worth $20,000 each and will be offered for the commercial/instrument rotorcraft flight lab at SUU Aviation. Scholarship recipients will also receive airfare, hotels, and tickets to the 2019 HAI Heli Expo. On the aviation business front, Superior Air Parts has announced that it will be extending factory warranties on new Millennium Cylinders to 37 months or TBO. It is also extending the warranty on all factory-new piece parts to 24 months or to TBO. Also, RAJAY Turbo Products has approved two new service centers Clifton Aero of Clifton, Texas, and Brant Aero located in Brantford, Ontario. The service centers are now authorized to provide RAJAY maintenance, installations, repairs, inspections and routine service for all models. Authorities are still without a motive to explain the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history in Las Vegas last year, the Associated Press reports. The big picture: Upon the release of the investigation's final report, Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo said they haven't found a motive for Stephen Paddock's October rampage that left 58 dead and hundreds wounded. Where things stand The report includes summaries of 14 of Paddock's bank accounts. Between September 2015 and September 2017, the total balance of those accounts dropped from $2.1 million, to $530,000. Sheriff Lombardo referred to Paddock as "unremarkable man," and attributed the losses to him not being "as successful in the gambling as he was in the previous years." not being "as successful in the gambling as he was in the previous years." Analysis of his bank accounts also showed that he "made nearly $95,000 in firearms-related purchases." There is still an ongoing investigation into officers' individual actions on the night of the shooting, including the officer "who froze" one floor beneath Paddock's room at the Mandalay Bay, during the shooting. Republican Bill Lee won his primary for governor tonight. He's a Tennessee businessman who's never held elected office before. Why it matters: Lee was considered the underdog! While the presumed front-runners were launching attack ads against each other, Lee visited 95 counties in 95 days and held 100 town halls. The fire whirl, or fire tornado, that swept into Redding, California on July 26, appears to have had winds as strong if not stronger than an EF-3 tornado, according to the National Weather Service. Why it matters: The Carr Fire now ranks as one of the state's largest and most destructive wildfires on record. The extreme fire behavior exhibited on July 26 allowed the blaze to jump a natural fire break the Sacramento River, and enter the city of Redding. So far, the fire has claimed at least 6 lives. The National Weather Service typically conducts damage surveys after suspected torndadoes, and determines the strength of such an event based on the damage it causes. In this case, the Weather Service and CalFire are conducting a joint investigation. A tweet previously embedded here has been deleted or was tweeted from an account that has been suspended or deleted. So far, they've found evidence, including transformers that were twisted and thrown to the ground, of winds in excess of 143 miles per hour, according to a tweet from the Weather Service office in Sacramento. It was definitely a massive one, and that just speaks to how intense the heating was, National Weather Service meteorologist Mike Kochasic told the Los Angeles Times. It created such a massive whirl that it looked like a tornado and it takes an impressive amount of heating and local wind swirling up to create something like that. It was quite a monster. Between the lines: While it's possible such events have occurred in the past and simply gone unmeasured, this does seem to be an extremely rare event. A tweet previously embedded here has been deleted or was tweeted from an account that has been suspended or deleted. Fire weather expert Neil Lareau of the University of Nevada at Reno told Axios earlier this week that the Carr Fire's rotating smoke plume acted as a chimney, venting heat and smoke away from the blaze, and sucking in air from surrounding areas. Lareau said when the rotating part of the smoke plume intensified on the evening of the 26th, the top of the smoke plume suddenly ballooned from 18,000 feet high to 38,000 feet, a feat that might not have been possible otherwise. This growth sucked more air into the fire, and indicates it was burning hotter. Once the rotation gets going, it sort of self-intensifies in that it further lowers the pressure, which draws in more air; it further increases the rate of rotation; further increases the updraft," Lareau said. "And unfortunately in these fire cases, it usually increases the rate of combustion as well, and intensifies the fire, so its kind of like a vicious cycle in that way. Neil Lareau Go deeper: How the Carr Fire morphed into a towering, deadly "fire tornado" Democrat Karl Dean won his primary for governor tonight. He's the former Mayor of Nashville. Why it matters: Dean has support among progressives for fighting for equality for women and people of color during his time as mayor, but he's also made an appeal to Independents and Republicans in his state. His latest ad talks about the "forgotten Tennessee" and he's rejected governing as "hyperpartisan, extremist, or only looking at things through partisan lenses." 1 big thing: Ballots and bullets in Zimbabwe A vendor moves for cover as a Zimbabwean soldier opens fire to disperse a crowd of demonstrators in Harare. Photo: Zinyange Auntony/AFP/Getty Images Incumbent Emmerson Mnangagwa has won Zimbabwe's presidential election, according to results read out moments ago by the country's electoral commission. The backstory: The election, the first since the end of Robert Mugabe's 38-year reign, had seemed to represent a historic opportunity for the southern African country. It has thus far yielded only anger, fear and violence. The opposition, led by 40-year-old Nelson Chamisa, has already rejected the results, which showed him securing 44% to Mnangagwa's 51%. Monday's vote proceeded relatively smoothly. Then, order broke down. Al Jazeera's Hamza Mohamed reports from Harare: "On Wednesday, after electoral officials announced that Mnangagwa's ruling ZANU-PF party won most of the parliamentary vote ruling ZANU-PF party "Chamisa claimed victory before the release of official results. Meanwhile, Mnangagwa said he was in talks with the opposition to find ways to defuse the situation." The FT's David Pilling describes the stakes for a country in the grips of a currency crisis, and with not nearly enough jobs to support its well-educated population: "Down one fork, if a clear winner emerges in a poll deemed to pass muster, Zimbabwe could shed its pariah status and be reinstated into the global community. That could mean a restructuring of debt arrears and a potential flood of investment into one of Africas most promising economies." Down the other, "lies a progressive falling out with western capitals although not necessarily with China. Zimbabwe would then hunker back down into an isolationist sulk." History has loomed over this election decades of one-party rule, Mnangagwa's role in enforcing Mugabe's repression, ZANU-PF's history of rigging elections. After the most open election Zimbabwe has seen in decades, it remains unclear how much has changed. Kevin McCarthy sent a letter Thursday to the chairman of a powerful House committee to ask that he publicly grill Twitter chief executive Jack Dorsey over recent allegations that the platform limits the reach of some conservative accounts. Why it matters: Republican politicians are embracing anger among conservatives who say online platforms are censoring their voices. Majority Leader McCarthy also needs the backing of more conservative lawmakers if he wants to replace Paul Ryan as speaker of the House should Republicans keep the chamber in November. The Thursday request comes after Twitter denied allegations of bias based on a Vice report that it had removed certain prominent conservatives from the suggestions in its search box. For the most part, we believe the issue had more to do with how other people were interacting with these representatives accounts than the accounts themselves, said two Twitter staffers in a blog post last week. What they're saying: Any solution to this problem must start with accountability from companies like Twitter, whose platforms have enormous potential to impact the national conversation and unfortunately, enormous potential for abuse, McCarthy said in the letter to House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Greg Walden. In particular, I would like to request a hearing with Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey so that the American people can learn more about the filtering and censorship practices on his platform. "Even well-intentioned algorithms can have unintended consequences. I look forward to welcoming Mr. Dorsey to testify before the Energy and Commerce Committee at a date and time to be agreed upon," said Walden in a statement. A committee source said that a formal invitation to the company would be forthcoming. algorithms can have unintended consequences. I look forward to welcoming Mr. Dorsey to testify before the Energy and Commerce Committee at a date and time to be agreed upon," said Walden in a statement. A committee source said that a formal invitation to the company would be forthcoming. Twitter declined to comment. declined to comment. Dorsey is already planning to testify to the Senate Intelligence Committee in September, a source told Axios last month, at a hearing on disinformation and elections. McCarthy, who has worked on tech issues for years, has pressured social media companies over the way they treat conservatives in recent months. McCarthy and other Republican leaders met with Facebook staffers in June over their concerns. As recently as last month McCarthy was running ads on Facebook inviting supporters to join him and President Trump in defending our conservative voice against social media censoring," according to the platform's public database of political ads. Bottom line: While the right has long alleged that Silicon Valley platforms reflect the liberal bias of their engineers, theres never been strong evidence that the platforms have intentionally built systems designed to silence conservatives. The majority of Americans, however, think it is likely that social media sites censor political views they find objectionable. The other coast: Twitter has been on a campaign to win over conservatives. Dorsey appeared on Fox News Radio on Wednesday, where he was asked about the shadow banning controversy. He met with conservatives in DC earlier this year and has reportedly spoken with Sean Hannity. Read the letter: The Securities and Exchange Commission is dropping its two-year investigation of ExxonMobil, about whether it misled its investors with regard to the risks greenhouse-gas regulations pose to the company. Why it matters: This is a significant victory for the oil giant, which is still facing pressure from multiple attorneys general investigations and lawsuits related to its actions and climate change. The news also bodes well for the industry writ large, given any affirmative action by the SEC in this case could have had broad implications. Between the lines: While some may see this as the Trump administration giving Exxon a pass, the SEC is an independent government agency, so the influence of politics and the White House should be much less -- nonexistent, ostensibly -- than if it were a Cabinet agency. ExxonMobil said in a statement to Axios: On August 2, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission informed ExxonMobil that it has concluded its investigation of the companys climate change disclosures, impairments, and reserves and does not intend to recommend an enforcement action against the company. The SEC initiated its investigation in January 2016, and ExxonMobil cooperated fully with the inquiry, ultimately producing more than 4.2 million pages of documents. After a thorough investigation, including a review of these documents, the SEC issued its closure letter. As we have said all along, the SEC is the appropriate entity to examine issues related to impairment, reserves and other communications important to investors. We are confident our financial reporting meets all legal and accounting requirements. Go deeper: Coverage by The WSJ and Bloomberg Thursday, August 2, 2018 The always excellent Dan Trevas has a summary of an Ohio Supreme Court case that raises (through a concurring opinion of three of seven justices) a significant regulatory gap in Ohio bar discipline that deprives the court of the ability to review dismissed complaints. In the case, the attorney walked because the sustained charges were predicated on an attorney-client that never existed. The concurrence notes that he likely violated other (dismissed) rules. Justice Fischer Under the current rules and our precedents, which we created, an attorney may go unpunished for his misconductand the public will remain unprotectedin a situation in which the panel, the board, and this court agree that an attorney has violated one or more of the professional-conduct rules but disagree on which specific rule or rules the attorney has violated. The Trevas summary The Ohio Supreme Court today dismissed rule violation charges against a Cleveland attorney who filed and lost the criminal conviction appeal of man he never met or spoke to until after the case ended. In a per curiam opinion, the Court ruled it could not find Paul A. Mancino Jr. of Cleveland violated three professional conduct rules. Those rules pertain to instances where there is attorney-client relationship. The Court found Mancino never had an attorney-client relationship with an imprisoned man. While agreeing to dismiss the case, three justices, in a concurring opinion written by Justice Patrick F. Fischer, take issue with the current rules process. They note that five rule violations were dropped early in the proceedings against Mancino and could not be reviewed by the Supreme Court. The justices question whether a rule change is necessary. Father of Fellow Inmate Pays for Appeal Mancino represented Michael Jirousek who was jailed with Raymond Miller. Jirousek told his father, Robert Jirousek, that Miller wanted to appeal his criminal conviction. Robert Jirousek paid Mancino a $1,000 flat fee and the costs to appeal Millers conviction. Relying on the payment and his clients fathers word, Mancino filed an appeal in March 2014, and did not correspond with Miller at that time. Mancino sent Miller a copy of the notice of the oral argument date, and sent him the appellate courts decision affirming Millers conviction and sentence in December 2014. When the Geauga County judge who originally sentenced Miller became aware of Mancinos actions, he filed a grievance with the Office of the Disciplinary Counsel. In December 2016, the disciplinary counsel filed a complaint with the Board of Professional Conduct, charging Mancino with eight violations of the rules governing the conduct of Ohio attorneys. Hearing Panel Dismisses Violations A three-member board hearing panel dismissed five of the alleged rule violations based on the insufficiency of evidence. The panel did find Mancino violated the rules requiring a lawyer consult with a client, inform the client of any decision or circumstance in which client consent is required, and the rule prohibiting a lawyer from accepting compensation to represent a client from someone else without the clients consent. The panel recommended that Mancino be publicly reprimanded, and the board agreed. Mancino objected to the conclusions, arguing the rules could not be violated if there was no attorney-client relationship. Inmate Claims No Harm During the disciplinary hearing, Miller testified he was unaware that Mancino represented him, and Miller signed an affidavit stating that Mancino was not his attorney and he never asked Mancino nor anyone to appeal his conviction. He also testified that he was not harmed in any way by Mancinos actions. The board found Mancino acted in good faith based on Robert Jirouseks word that Miller wanted to appeal his case, and noted that neither Mancino nor Robert Jirousek ever directly communicated with Miller. The board found Mancinos admitted lack of communication led to the rules violation. Court Examines Relationship The Courts opinion stated there was obviously no express agreement for Mancino to represent Miller. However, the Court has held that attorney-client relationships can be created by implication based on the conduct of the parties. The Court concluded that based on Millers statements, that there was no implied attorney-client relationship. Because all three charges brought to the Court require an attorney-client relationship, the Court could not conclude that Mancino broke the rules. It stated that under Gov.Bar R. V(12)(G), any count of a disciplinary complaint that is unanimously dismissed by a board panel cannot be reviewed by the board or the Court. We do not condone Mancinos decision to undertake legal representation without making any attempt to communicate with the intended client until after the case was decided by the court of appeals, the justices wrote. But we are constrained from considering whether his conduct violated any other professional-conduct rules because the panel unanimously dismissed the balance of the violations alleged in relators complaint based on the insufficiency of the evidence. Concurrence Concerned by Process In his concurring opinion, Justice Fischer expressed concerns with the Courts inability to review unanimous hearing-panel dismissals under the rules. Chief Justice Maureen OConnor and Justice Terrence ODonnell joined Justice Fischers opinion. Gov.Bar R. V(12)(G) does not permit the Supreme Court or the professional conduct board to review rule violations that were unanimously dismissed by hearing panels for a lack of sufficient evidence. The concurrence recognized that the rule has no mechanism for disciplinary counsel or any county bar association grievance committee to submit objections to the hearing panels unanimous dismissals. The concurrence noted that there are other professional conduct rules that specifically allow for other types of disciplinary decisions to be appealed. The lack of a review mechanism in Gov.Bar R. V(12)(G) means that unanimous hearing-panel dismissals are effectively shielded from review, the justices stated. Justice Fischer explained that Article IV, Section 2(B)(1)(g) of the Ohio Constitution requires the Supreme Court to regulate all matters related to the practice of law. The concurrence indicated that the dismissal rule in Gov.Bar R. V(12)(G) prevents the Court from acting as the final decision maker in attorney discipline cases. If a hearing panel mistakenly applies the professional conduct rules and unanimously dismisses rule violations, the attorneys actions, as related to the dismissed counts, are insulated from the Courts review, the concurrence asserted. While Mancino did not violate any rules that required an attorney-client relationship, the concurring justices assured, Mancino arguably violated several other professional-conduct rules. Had the hearing panel properly discerned that lack of an attorney-client relationship, it may not have unanimously dismissed those counts for lack of sufficient evidence. Regrettably, we cannot revive or review those dismissed counts, and our responsibility to protect the public from the attorneys possible misbehavior has been thwarted, Justice Fischer stated. The concurrence cautioned future hearing panels against unanimously dismissing rule violations based on insufficient evidence, especially in complex cases, and urged the Court to determine whether Gov.Bar R. V(12)(G) should be amended. 2017-1079. Disciplinary Counsel v. Mancino, Slip Opinion No. 2018-Ohio-3017 Note that the District of Columbia has a rule that specifically grants the court the authority to review a dismissed complaint. Rule XI, section 9 (j) Court review of final actions by the Board. In any disciplinary proceeding in which a dismissal, an informal admonition, or a reprimand is contemplated or effected, the Court shall have the right to review the matter on its own motion and to enter an appropriate order, including an order directing further proceedings. Look for the Ohio Supreme Court to fix the regulatory gap. (Mike Frisch) https://lawprofessors.typepad.com/legal_profession/2018/08/the-always-excellent-dan-trevas-has-a-summary-of-an-ohio-supreme-court-case-the-ohio-supreme-court-today-dismissed-rule-viol.html As the world's climate changes, heat waves may become difficult for people to tolerate in certain parts of the world and this could have an impact on the global economy. Why it matters: Economies that are heavily dependent on extractive industries such as mining, oil and gas drilling, and agriculture could find themselves at a disadvantage if particular climate change projections become a reality, according to a new report by the risk analysis firm Verisk Maplecroft. Although the report has not been peer reviewed in a scientific journal, its conclusions are supported by other scientific studies warning of intolerable heat waves that could be life-threatening for outdoor workers. In particular, thresholds for dangerous heat waves could be crossed sooner in tropical countries than in higher latitudes The details: According to the new analysis, heat stress could cause economic disruptions in both the developing and developed world by putting exports at risk. The area with the greatest share of exports at risk is West Africa, particularly Nigeria and Cote dIvoire, which depend on extractive industries (Nigeria) and agricultural exports (Cote dIvoire). "Heat stress will reduce worker productivity; it will hit commercial performance; and some supply chains will become less stable as a result. Reduced export revenues also mean less money available to governments to spend on combatting the worst impacts of rising heat," Alice Newman, an environment and climate change analyst at Verisk Maplecroft, told Axios in an email. The report relies on observed and projected daily temperatures from Verisk's heat stress indices air temperature plus humidity levels for the period from 1980 to 2045, as well as data on export economies. "Heat stress can reduce worker productivity by causing dehydration and fatigue, leading to slower work and, in extreme instances, death," the report states. Go deeper: By Trend The work to implement the order of Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev "On measures to prepare design estimates, overhaul and construction of the Baku suburban railway line," signed March 2018, is being carried out at an accelerated pace, the press service of the Azerbaijan Railways CJSC said in a report Aug. 2. Currently, the work is being carried out in several directions. Capital Repair LLC is renovating the power supply system on the Baku-Sumgait-Baku ring railroad. At the moment railway contact network is being reconstructed on the Guzdek-Sumgait section, and 69 piles, 6 reinforced concrete piles, 6 anchor piles, 41 cantilever piles, 3 cavity ties have been installed, Abbas Gemberov, head of Capital Repair LLC, told Trend. The construction is still underway. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz By Sara Israfilbayova The State Seed Fund under the Agriculture Minister of Azerbaijan and the General Directorate of Agricultural Enterprises (TIGEM) of Turkey signed a protocol of intent. The protocol was signed by Chairman of the State Seed Fund Emin Aliyev and Director General of TIGEM Ismail Shanli. Addressing the event, Aliyev noted that the goal of the document is to ensure efficiency and innovation in the agricultural sector, adding that this year the Gakh Breeding Silkworm Station will be put into operation. A seed-processing plant is being built in Khachmaz, the equipment for its construction has been bought in Turkey, while a seed center will be opened in Sheki in the next six months, he said. He went on to say that a seed exchange can be created in Baku, adding that the experience of Turkey in this field will be useful. Azerbaijan intends to fully provide itself with seeds of major grain crops in the coming years. This year up to 100,000 high-quality cereal seeds are planned to be grown in the country, whereas this figure was 80,000 in 2017. Azerbaijan and Turkey enjoy strong and developing economic ties, especially in terms of huge energy projects on the transportation of Azerbaijan's oil and gas resources to the European and world markets through the Turkish territory. According to the State Customs Committee of Azerbaijan, the trade turnover with Turkey in 2017 was $2.64 billion, $1.37 billion of which was for export to that country. The trade turnover between the two countries in 2017 grew by 14.8 percent. In the first quarter of the current year, the Azerbaijani-Turkish trade turnover amounted to $573.1 million (an increase of 3.7 percent over the year). --- Sara Israfilbayova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Sara_999Is Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz By Rashid Shirinov The Council of Farmers was established under Azerbaijan Ministry of Agriculture, the ministry informed on August 3. The relevant meeting with the participation of large farmers and Agriculture Minister Inam Karimov discussed the quality of fertilizers and seeds, lack of equipment, as well as the problems of irrigation of farmland and measures for the development of animal husbandry. During the meeting, Karimov noted that state centers of agricultural development will be created in the future on the basis of agriculture departments, and that they will contribute to the transparency in the industry. For the ministry, the main thing is that farmers use land more effectively, get large harvest and earn more, the minister said. He added that to identify the problems of farmers and support their activities, the Center for Agricultural Research was established, and to help farmers sale their products, the State Agricultural Trade Company was created. Following the meeting, the Board of the Council of Farmers consisting of 14 people was elected. Azerbaijan, which is eager to diversify its economy on the basis of further development of the non-oil sector, defines agriculture as one the main directions. The fertile lands, abundance of water and climatic diversity create favorable foundation for ever-strengthening agriculture sector. The improvement of this sector plays an important role in the development of rural regions, where 47 percent of Azerbaijans population lives. --- Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz By Laman Ismayilova A solemn event dedicated to the National Cinema Day and the 120th anniversary of Azerbaijani cinema was held at Nizami Cinema Center on August 2. Within the framework of the event, an exhibition of costumes from the well-known domestic films - "Fate of the Tsar", "Mother-in-law", "Javadkhan", "Babek", " Herald of Dawn ", "Dervish explodes Paris" opened in the foyer of the Cinema Center, Trend Life reported. Azerbaijan has a rich history and has significantly contributed to the international film industry. Today, the Azerbaijani cinema has come to be an internationally recognized modern art enjoying a huge popularity and recognition at international film festivals, which frequently award the national films. Over the past years, more than 300 films and 1,200 documentaries, as well as hundreds of cartoons were filmed. Shortly after the Lumiere brothers from France invented cinematographe, a new apparatus for making motion pictures, in 1895, Russian photographer and cameraman Alexandre Michon, began shooting motion pictures that depicted everyday life in Baku. The first short, silent film of Azerbaijani cinematography "You are caught" was shown in Baku on August 2, 1898. The audience witnessed a historical event - the birth of Azerbaijani cinematography. To honor this historical day, President of Azerbaijan Heydar Aliyev signed an order on December 18, 2000, to declare August 2 as professional holiday of cinema workers Day of Azerbaijani Cinema. This year Azerbaijan's cinema celebrates its 120th anniversary. In conjunction with the anniversary President Ilham Aliyev has signed an order on marking the 120th anniversary of Azerbaijani cinema. --- Laman Ismayilova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Lam_Ismayilova Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz By Naila Huseynli Member of the Armenian National Congress Zoya Tadevosyan stated the necessity of Armenia's withdrawing from the occupied territory of Azerbaijan. She made this statement during the recent meeting with reporters. Tadevosyan noted that the occupied seven regions around Nagorno-Karabakh, which the Armenian side calls liberated territories must be returned to Azerbaijan if the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict requires this, the Armenian media reported. In fact, you are well aware, and everyone understands in this audience that those are occupied territories, she said. The Armenian politician stated that the territories occupied during the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict are not the territories of "Karabakh". In reply to the journalists' question whether this statement means that these territories are occupied, Tadevosyan answered with the question: Are these the Armenian lands? As to question whether she thinks that they should be returned, Tadevosyan stated that None of you need to take offense at me, but I do not decide this. This issue has always been raised by [OSCE Minsk Group] co-chairs, and generally discussed at the negotiating table. Dear journalist, do not take offense at me and demand something for which I am not responsible for. If the issue is about the settlement through the return of territories, then, of course, this is correct. Tadevosyan commented on the fact that the Armenian side considers these territories to be "liberated" and not occupied. She stated that this is the position of the Armenian side, while the international community holds a different opinion on this issue, considering them captured or occupied. On another question, whether she asked the opinion of the people of the separatist regime in Nagorno-Karabakh about this issue, Tadevosyan responded: I did not ask anyone about anything, I'm stating the fact. Earlier, the leader of the Armenian National Congress party that Tadevosyan represents now, Levon Ter-Petrosyan lost his presidential post because of his views on the Nagorno-Karabakh issue. Armenia still remembers Ter-Petrosyan's speech at the ANC congress in December 2016, when he said that delaying the settlement of the conflict will further weaken Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh, and the next decision will be even worse than what is on the table today. Armenia occupied 20 percent territory of Azerbaijan in a war that followed the Soviet breakup in 1991. Dozens were killed and nearly 1 million were displaced as a result of the Armenia's armed aggression. The ceasefire in 1994 froze the conflict. Unfortunately, Armenia continues to violate four UN Security council resolutions on immediate withdrawal of its armed forces from occupied territory including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding regions of Azerbaijan. Negotiation and mediation efforts have failed to produce a permanent solution to the conflict due to Armenia's unconstructive position on the issue. By Rashid Shirinov Mikhail Olaru and Ognjen Jovic, field assistants of the personal representative of the OSCE chairperson-in-office, visited the village of Khojavand in Beylagan region of Azerbaijan on August 2, where internally displaced persons (IDPs) from the Armenia-occupied town of Khojavand are temporarily settled. Addressing the meeting, the head of Beylagan executive power Eyvaz Huseynov expressed hope that he will soon be able to greet them in his native land in Karabakh. He noted that the occupation policy of Armenia must be stopped, Azerbaijani lands must be liberated, and the violated rights of a million people who have become IDPs in their native land must be restored. To implement all this, to bring peace to the region, the world community, international organizations must take a fair position and take the aggressor down a peg, Huseynov stressed. He further spoke about the origins of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the bloody acts of genocide committed by the Armenian armed groups in the occupied lands of Azerbaijan, and told about the ethnic cleansing carried out by the enemy. The worlds leading powers are members of the OSCE, but the efforts of these countries have not yet been successful. As long as European countries believe and sometimes condone Armenian lies, the situation is getting worse, the head of executive power stressed. Huseynov noted that Azerbaijan wants a peaceful solution to the conflict and wishes its lands to be returned through negotiations. But the Armenian side is delaying the negotiation process by keeping the Azerbaijani lands under occupation. The whole world must know that Azerbaijan will never accept the occupation of its lands and it will restore its territorial integrity in any way, he pointed out. Having told the guests about the situation in the region, Huseynov noted that the ceasefire along the contact line is violated daily and often there is intense shelling. He mentioned that civilians living near the contact line and engaged in economic activities, along with the servicemen, become targets of the Armenian army, and Armenians also aim for their cars and livestock. The field assistants of the personal representative of the OSCE chairperson-in-office, in turn, thanked for the reception and detailed information. Armenia broke out a lengthy war against Azerbaijan by laying territorial claims on the country. Since a war in the early 1990s, Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan's territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding regions. More than 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed and over 1 million were displaced as a result of the large-scale hostilities. To this day, Armenia has not implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding regions. --- Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz By Trend Anar Aliyev has been appointed head of the Office of Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of Population of Azerbaijan, reads the order of the minister of labor and social protection of population. Anar Aliyev was born in 1980 in Baku. He earned a Bachelor's Degree in International Law from Baku State University. He has worked in the first economic court, a senior consultant at the legal department of the Ministry of Economics, and then headed the department. Prior to his appointment, he was an adviser to the minister of labor and social protection of population. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz By Laman Ismayilova Baku awaits changeable weather on August 4. North-west wind will blow. The temperature on the peninsula will be +24-26C at night, +28-33C in afternoon in Absheron peninsula, +24-26C at night, + 31-33C in the afternoon in Baku, the Ecology and Natural Resources Ministry reported. Atmospheric pressure will be 754mm; relative humidity will be 65-75% at night, 45-50% in the afternoon. Sea water temperature will be 26-27 degrees on Absheron beaches (Sumgayit, Novkhani, Pirshaghi, Nardaran, Bilgah, Zagulba), the sea water temperature will be 27-28 degrees in southern beaches (Turkan, Hovsan, Sahil, Shikh).North-west will blow. The weather will be mostly dry in country's regions. However, rainy weather is expected in some northern and western areas. West wind will blow and will intensify in some places. The temperature will be +21-26C at night, +34-39C in daytime, +13-18C in mountains at night, +23-28C. The ecologists warn that north-west wind will intensify in Baku and Absheron peninsula as well as some regions till August 6. Lightning, intermittent rain, torrential rain and hail are predicted in some northern and western regions on August 4-6. The water level will increase in some mountain rivers. Medical-meteorological forecast Temperature regime near the climate norm and the advantage of occasionally intensifying north wind on Absheron peninsula will be favorable for meteo-sensitive people. --- Laman Ismayilova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Lam_Ismayilova Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz By Sara Israfilbayova World oil prices do not show a single dynamics on August 3, the growth of world production is hampered by the rise in price of this type of raw materials. Brent crude oil futures were at $73.39 per barrel, down 0.08 percent, U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were up 0.15percent, at $69.06 per barrel, according to RIA Novosti. The dynamics of oil prices in the morning remains multidirectional after Thursdays quotations jumped by almost 2 percent on news from Iran. On Thursday night it became known that Iran within 48 hours is preparing to launch large-scale naval exercises to demonstrate its ability to block the Strait of Hormuz. In early July, deputy head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Esmaeil Kowsari announced his readiness to close the Strait of Hormuz for oil transportation, if the export of Iranian oil will be restrained. Investors remain focused on the level of oil production in the world and, in particular, in one of the largest countries in this indicator - the Russian Federation. Thus, the average daily oil production in Russia in July increased by 2.4 percent year-on-year to 11.215 million barrels a day. Russia maintained its leading position in oil production in the world, producing an average of 10.973 million barrels of oil per day and ahead of the U.S. and Saudi Arabia, which also produced more than 10 million barrels of raw materials a day each. Investors expect statistics on the dynamics of drilling rigs in the U.S. as a result of last week, the data will be published by the American oil and gas service company Baker Hughes, a GE Company (BHGE). According to the company, for the week of July 27, the total number of oil drilling rigs in the country increased by three, to 861 units. OPEC and non-OPEC producers reached an agreement in December 2016 to curtail oil output jointly and ease a global glut after more than two years of low prices. OPEC agreed to slash the output by 1.2 million barrels per day from January 1. Non-OPEC oil producers such as Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Brunei, Equatorial Guinea, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Mexico, Oman, Russia, Sudan, and South Sudan agreed to reduce output by 558,000 barrels per day starting from January 1, 2017. OPEC and its partners decided to extend its production cuts till the end of 2018 in Vienna on November 30, as the oil cartel and its allies step up their attempt to end a three-year supply glut that has savaged crude prices and the global energy industry. --- Sara Israfilbayova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Sara_999Is Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz Friday, August 3, 2018 The Law Society of Upper Canada Tribunal Hearing Division ordered an agreed reprimand of an attorney for advertising violations. The Law Societys Notice of Application alleges that Mr. Weinles (the Lawyer) breached Rule 4.2-1 of the Rules of Professional Conduct (Rules) by: a. Using the adjective golden in his firm name which, the Law Society alleges, suggests qualitative superiority to other lawyers; b. Using the plural firm name Golden Access Lawyers and the plural domain name goldenlawyers.ca when he is a sole practitioner. The parties submitted an Agreed Statement of Facts (ASF). The ASF contains evidence that the Lawyer advertised on his website that a non-associated sole practitioner was a Senior Litigation Counsel on his Team. The ASF also contains evidence that the Lawyers website showed a video in which a non-licensee was depicted performing a task usually performed by a licensee. The Law Society submits the agreed evidence establishes misconduct, seeks the appropriate finding, and submits the appropriate penalty is a reprimand. He was called to the Bar in 1984 The Lawyer was called to the bar in 1984 and has no discipline history. His practice consists of 90% real estate, with the remaining 10% split between corporate/commercial and wills and estates. He is not a litigation lawyer. During the times relevant to this application the Lawyer was a sole practitioner. From September 2016 to about November 2017, his firm name was Golden Access Lawyers. From September 2016 until at least January 16, 2018, his domain name was goldenlawyers.ca. The firm name and the domain name were displayed on his law firm website, office signage and on promotional materials such as business cards. On September 23, 2016, the Lawyers website contained a page called Team. On that page, the Lawyer referred to a lawyer who was neither his employee nor his associate as a member of his team and as his firms Senior Litigation Counsel. The lawyer so referred to was simply a sole practitioner to whom the Lawyer referred files from time to time. The Team page also showed a profile for an employee who has a Master of Laws but is not licensed by the Law Society as a lawyer or paralegal. The profile indicated that the employees focus was on contract drafting, corporate law (with an emphasis on partnership agreements) and international law. The website featured a 67-second promotional video featuring the non-licensed employees and the sole practitioner, without informing potential viewers that the employees were not lawyers and that the sole practitioner was independent of the Lawyer. One non-licensee was filmed sitting and presenting documents to a person apparently playing the part of a client. The video also defined the gold standard in general for law firms and emphasized that Golden Access Lawyers achieved that standard. (Mike Frisch) https://lawprofessors.typepad.com/legal_profession/2018/08/the-law-society-of-upper-canada-the-law-societys-notice-of-application-alleges-that-mr-weinles-the-lawyer-breach.html By Rufiz Hafizoglu - Trend: July can be considered as one of the relatively calm months for Turkey this year. The main events of July are the inauguration of President Erdogan, the announcement of the new composition of Cabinet of Ministers, as well as the aggravation of relations with the US due to the American priest convicted in Turkey. US plans to deploy guided B61-12 nuclear bombs in Turkey The US plans to deploy guided B61-12 nuclear bombs in Turkey, and the US delegation was to visit Ankara in early July to discuss the issue. On July 2, the National Nuclear Security Administration under the US Department of Energy and the US Air Force completed the tests of the B61-12 nuclear bomb by dropping a dud from a B-2 Spirit stealth bomber. The tests were carried out at Tonopah Test Range in Nevada. Turkey reduces import dependency in defense industry The share of domestic production in the Turkish defense industry is 60 percent, a source in the Turkish government told Trend. Over the past 16 years, Turkey managed to reduce its dependence on imports of defense products from 80 to 40 percent, according to the source. Turkey also exports products of the national defense industry to a number of countries. Presently, the export of Turkish defense products exceeds $160 billion. The country has invested about $35 billion in the defense industry in recent years. Turkey may introduce death penalty against pedophiles Spokesman and Deputy Chairman of the Justice and Development Party of Turkey Mahir Unal said that Turkey is considering introduction of the death penalty against pedophiles, as well as their castration. Unal noted that the protection of children will be provided at the highest level in Turkey. He also noted that death penalty and castration of pedophiles will be discussed by the Turkish parliament once again. In case of adoption of the law on castration of pedophiles, they will also face imprisonment for a period from 20 to 40 years. Turkey's opposition Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) advocated for the castration of pedophiles, explaining that there is already such a practice in a number of other countries. Turkey establishes new agency for nuclear energy sector A new state agency was established in Turkey to regulate the nuclear energy sector. The staff of the new state agency will consist of 199 employees. In particular, the new state agency will employ 116 specialists in nuclear technologies. In early April, the Turkish province of Mersin hosted a groundbreaking ceremony for Turkey's first nuclear power plant Akkuyu, which was attended by the presidents of Turkey and Russia, Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Vladimir Putin. The agreement on the construction of Akkuyu was signed on May 12, 2010 in Ankara between the Russian and Turkish governments, and on December 13 of the same year the Akkuyu Nuclear JSC was registered. The cost of the project is estimated at $20 billion. President Erdogan's inauguration Inauguration of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan took place on July 9 in Turkey, which was attended by the heads of state and government of a number of countries. On July 4, the Supreme Electoral Council of Turkey (YSK) announced the final results of the parliamentary and presidential elections, which took place on June 24. Erdogan gained 52.59 percent of the votes in the presidential election, according to the YSK. Muharrem Ince from the Republican Peoples Party (CHP) gained 30.64 percent of the votes, Meral Aksener from the Good Party (Iyi Parti) - 7.29 percent, Selahattin Demirtas from the Peoples Democratic Party (HDP) - 8.4 percent, Temel Karamollaoglu from the Felicity Party (Saadet Partisi) - 0.89 percent, and Dogu Perincek from the Patriotic Party (Vatan Partisi) - 0.2 percent. Adnan Oktar, known as Harun Yahya, detained Turkish police conducted a major operation to detain Adnan Oktar, better known as Harun Yahya, two days after the inauguration of President Erdogan. Along with Oktar, his 235 supporters were also detained. Oktar is accused of harassment, money laundering, participation in organized crime, as well as espionage. All property, companies and TV channels of Oktar were confiscated. Turkish General Staff will merge with Ministry of Defense Turkey has been conducting active reforms in various areas, including in the military sphere in recent years. One of the reforms is the merger of the General Staff with the Ministry of Defense. According to Erdogan, this issue was put on the agenda in 2014 and it is wrong that there are two different institutions responsible for defense in such a strong country as Turkey. "The merger of the Turkish General Staff with the Defense Ministry will further strengthen the country," Erdogan said. Turkey keen to supply armored vehicles to Qatar Turkish military company Nurol Makina began preparations for the mass production of light armored vehicle Yoruk 4x4. The first armored vehicle with the basic list of equipment has already rolled off the production line of the enterprise. The list of equipment of the armored vehicle will vary depending on the requirements of customers. Several modifications of Yoruk 4x4 vehicle have already been prepared for export to Qatar. Turkey, Netherlands restore diplomatic relations Turkey and the Netherlands decided to restore diplomatic relations. Dutch Foreign Minister Stef Blok wrote a letter to Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, and Cavusoglu called his Dutch counterpart. During the phone conversation, the ministers agreed to normalize the diplomatic relations between the Netherlands and Turkey. The ministers agreed to reinstate ambassadors in Ankara and The Hague shortly. The Dutch minister of foreign affairs will pay an official visit to Turkey in the second half of 2018. The relations between Turkey and the Netherlands deteriorated in March 2017 after the cancellation of the visit of Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu to the Netherlands. The minister planned to attend a rally in the city of Rotterdam to inform Turks residing in that country about the constitutional amendments to be put to a referendum on April 16 in Turkey. After that, in March 2017, the Turkish Foreign Ministry announced as undesirable the return to the country from vacation of the ambassador of the Netherlands. The Dutch Foreign Ministry officially withdrew its ambassador from Turkey in February 2018. Ankara does not join the anti-Iran sanctions Turkey does not intend to stop relations with Iran and join anti-Iran sanctions, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said. Turkey believes that sanctions against Iran are unacceptable, Erdogan said. "Iran is one of the important strategic partners for us," the Turkish president said. He stressed the high level of relations between Turkey and Iran, noting that this level will be maintained in the future as well. Earlier, US President Donald Trump announced that the US is withdrawing from Iran's nuclear agreement with the six international mediators (Russia, the US, the UK, China, France, Germany). Trump also announced the restoration of all sanctions which were suspended as a result of the deal. Ankara responds to US threats Trump promised to impose "large sanctions" against Turkey for detainment 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. The US will not achieve anything by threatening Turkey, the Administration of the President of Turkey told Trend earlier. The Administration noted that Turkey is a democratic country and demands from the United States respect its laws. "The United States has not yet taken steps to extradite the leader of the terrorist organization FETO, Fethullah Gulen," the Administration of the President of Turkey said. A court in the Turkish province of Izmir decided July 25 to transfer American Pastor Andrew Brunson under house arrest. Ankara suspects him of aiding the coup attempt in 2016. Branson has also been prohibited to leave the territory of Turkey by the court decision dated July 25. A hearing on Brunsons case has been scheduled for October 12. Opposition party on the brink of split The opposition Republican People's Party of Turkey (CHP) will hold an extraordinary congress to elect a new leader. The congress will be held within the next 45 days. A number of the CHP members accuse the party leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu of unsuccessful policy after the parliamentary and presidential elections, held in Turkey on June 24, and demand him to leave his position in favor of Muharrem Ince, whose candidacy was previously nominated for the position of president. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz By Trend Russias company together with the Minsk Tractor Works will commission a plant for the production of Kirovets tractors in Kazakhstans Kostanay region, the Kazakh media cited deputy head of local government in Kostanay region Meirzhan Myrzaliev as saying Aug. 2. "A plant for the assembly of tractors will be commissioned at the site of the plant for the production of elevators," he said. The plant intends to produce up to 3,000 tractors a year. A plant for the production of elevators is planned to be commissioned on the basis of the Kostanay industrial zone. The elevator production project was cancelled due to financial problems of Yekaterinburgs VEK company. "The Russian side planned to launch the production of elevators this summer, Myrzaliev said. But Yekaterinburgs company left the project probably due to a lack of current assets, that is, at first the company had intentions, but in the end it refused." --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz By Trend Kazakhstan and China discussed the terms of opening the Astana-Hong Kong flights, Kazakh media reported citing the Civil Aviation Committee of the Ministry of Investments and Development of Kazakhstan. The discussions took place during the visit of a Hong Kong delegation to Kazakhstan. The delegation of Hong Kong was headed by Winsome Au, Principal Assistant Secretary at Transport and Housing Bureau of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. During negotiations with the Chairman of the Civil Aviation Committee of Kazakhstan Talgat Lustaev, the Hong Kong side expressed interest in increasing passenger and cargo traffic between the airports of Almaty and Hong Kong. The terms and conditions for opening the Astana-Hong Kong flights were also discussed during the meeting. Currently, there is a regular direct air service between Almaty and Hong Kong with a frequency of three flights a week carried out by Air Astana. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz By Kamila Aliyeva France lifted phytosanitary restrictions on the supply of Uzbek melons and pomegranates to its market, Podrobno.uz reported on August 2. This followed the talks held between the representatives of the French Ministry of Agriculture and the delegation of Uzbekistan headed by Foreign Trade Minister Jamshid Khodjaev in Paris. Following the results of the talks held in France in the Ministry of Agriculture, phytosanitary restrictions on Uzbek melon and pomegranate have been lifted, and quarantine requirements for importing quinces, persimmons, plums, currants and other agricultural products from Uzbekistan have been submitted for consideration, the Uzbek Ministry of Foreign Trade said. Currently, the republic's non-oil export to France is presented in small volumes, mainly due to the difficulty the domestic market to enter the demanding European market. We are negotiating with the European Union and, in particular, with France in order to facilitate the access of Uzbek products to European markets by bringing our standards in line with EU requirements so that we can realize all the existing export potential of fruit and vegetable products, Jamshid Khodjaev said. In addition, the minister visited the world's largest wholesale market of fresh products Rungis. Following negotiations with the President of the market, Stephane Layani, the parties agreed to conduct training seminars and cooperate on accreditation with the aim of promoting Uzbek fruit and vegetable products to the French market. Also, Rungis leadership supported the proposal of the Minister of Foreign Trade to organize a visit of market representatives to Uzbekistan in order to get acquainted with the export potential of the country and study the possibility of introducing the best practices of France in the sale of agricultural products. In the Runjis market, due to the presence of a developed logistics infrastructure and the use of effective management, as well as ensuring the continuous operation of the quality control service, veterinary and phytosanitary supervision, a high level of wholesale trade is achieved, which makes the market attractive across Europe. Now there is a need to introduce the experience of such a horticultural hub in our country, which will allow not only streamlining and systematizing the chain of deliveries of agricultural products from the producer to the end user, but also attract large foreign buyers to the Uzbek market, the minister added. Rungis international market is the largest wholesale market of food products in the world. It is located in the south of Paris and belongs to the French state, but it is managed by Semmaris multimodal society. The market is located near the Paris Orly international airport. In 2017, the markets turnover amounted to 3.5 million tons of various food products worth 9 billion euros, 32 percent of which was exported. For retail and catering enterprises, Rungis acts as a liaison with more than 2,500 suppliers in one place, which ensures the maintenance of their range and variety of food products. --- Kamila Aliyeva is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Kami_Aliyeva Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz By Kamila Aliyeva A meeting of members of the third Turkmen-Kyrgyz intergovernmental commission was held at the Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs of Turkmenistan in Ashgabat on July 30. The participants discussed the creation of joint ventures that will send products to the markets of the European Union, the Eurasian Economic Union and China, Central Asian media outlets reported. Today we have all the opportunities to implement joint projects with access to quite large consumer markets, in particular, the EU, where we can sell joint products, without any fees, said Kyrgyz Minister of Economy Oleg Pankratov. The minister added that goods and services produced with the participation of Kyrgyz enterprises can be exported to the virtually unlimited Chinese market, since there are trade balance arrangements between Kyrgyzstan and China, which already allows the country to significantly increase exports. The head of the commission from the Turkmen side, Alexander Dadaev, briefed his Kyrgyz colleagues on the promising areas of cooperation between businessmen of Turkmenistan and Kyrgyzstan. In particular, he noted that entrepreneurs of Turkmenistan have good experience in the agro-industrial sphere of activity, creation of processing enterprises and are ready to consider the possibilities of joint mining and processing of minerals in Kyrgyzstan. In connection with the receipt of a number of certificates, entrepreneurs of Kyrgyzstan can supply more than 6,000 products to the EU without duty. Similar opportunities will be opened before the goods produced by the joint venture of the two republics, said Shumkarbek Adilbek uulu, director of the Kyrgyz Investment Promotion and Protection Agency. Following the meeting, a protocol on the establishment of joint ventures was signed. --- Kamila Aliyeva is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Kami_Aliyeva Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz By Trend Kazakhstan-based copper producer KAZ Minerals has signed an agreement to acquire Baimskaya copper project in the Chukotka autonomous region of Russia for $900 million in cash and shares, said the company in a message. The amount includes an initial payment of $675 million and a deferred payment of $225 million. The Baimskaya area is one of the world's largest undeveloped copper areas with potential to create large-scale low-cost copper production based on open-pit mining. The average annual output in the first 10 years of operation is expected at 250,000 tons of copper and 400,000 ounces of gold. KAZ Minerals operates open-type mines of Bozshakol in the Pavlodar region and Aktogay in East Kazakhstan, three mines and three concentrating plants in East Kazakhstan, and a copper and gold mine Bozymchak in Kyrgyzstan. KAZ Minerals produced 259,000 tons of copper, 58,000 tons of zinc concentrate, 179,000 ounces of gold and 3.506 million ounces of silver in 2017. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz By Kamila Aliyeva A meeting of Kazakh Foreign Minister Kairat Abdrakhmanov and Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, who came to Astana for an official visit, was held on August 3, Central Asian media outlets reported. During the talks, the ministers reviewed progress of implementation of the earlier reached agreements between Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the SCO Summit in June 2017 in Astana and in at Qindao Summit in early June. Abdrakhmanov said that the Kazakh leader gave several concrete tasks to bolster bilateral cooperation in energy, logistics, information technologies, space, pharmaceuticals, tourism and film making. These are the main areas to be addressed in the upcoming official top-level events in 2019, he added. It was noted that the bilateral trade in 2017 reached $1 billion. The countries agreed to further boost bilateral trade. The productive work of the Kazakh-Indian intergovernmental commission for trade, economic, scientific, technical, industrial and cultural cooperation was praised. Indian business circles expressed interest in possible management of big airports of Kazakhstan, cooperation at Astana International Finance Center, International Center of Green Technologies and Investment Projects, AstanaHub IT Startup Park. The ministers identified areas of multilateral cooperation. The Kazakh Foreign Minister pointed out that India provided assistance to deployment of Kazakhstans peacekeeping troops in Lebanon as part of the Indian battalion of UN Interim Force in Lebanon this year. Start of the talks on signing a free trade zone agreement between the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) and India was described as another multilateral cooperation project. Sushma Swaraj, speaking to journalists following the meeting, noted that the meeting covered the full range of bilateral, regional and global issues of mutual interest. She also stressed that there is immense potential to be tapped in sectors like agricultural products, food processing, pharmaceuticals, energy and chemicals. Kazakhstan is Indias largest trade and investment partner in Central Asia. Bilateral trade between the two countries stood at $642.42 million in 2016-2017. Cumulative investments from India into Kazakhstan and from Kazakhstan to India from 2005 to 2016 amounted to $244 million and $83.09 million respectively, according to the data of the Indian External Affairs Ministry. --- Kamila Aliyeva is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Kami_Aliyeva Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz By Sara Israfilbayova Tajikistan plans to begin construction of a new cement plant in the south of Uzbekistan, in the territory of Surxondaryo Region. The plant will be built at the expense of a private company that produces cement in Tajikistan. We welcome and support the intention of the Tajik private business to invest in the economy of the neighboring state, said Minister of Economic Development and Trade of the Republic of Tajikistan Nematullo Hikmatullozoda at a press conference on August 3. He went on to say that the trade turnover between Tajikistan and Uzbekistan in the near future will be brought to $1 billion a year, adding that this became possible after relations between Tashkent and Dushanbe radically changed for the better in recent times. He noted that the total volume of trade between Tajikistan and Uzbekistan for six months of this year amounted to $128.3 million, which is $69 million more compared to the same period last year. In the first half of the year in 2018, Tajikistan exported products worth $75 million to Uzbekistan, and imported goods worth $53.3 million. There are five big cement facilities and several small ones with total capacity of 8.5 million tons in Uzbekistan. Qizilqumsement JSC with capacity of 3.1 million tons and Akhangarancement JSC with capacity of 1.7 million tons are the biggest of them. In the next five years, Uzbekistan plans to increase the volume of cement output by half - to 17 million tons per year. Representatives of the cement industry only in the next few years intend to build several large plants. For example, Russian holding company Eurocement Group will invest $ 220 million in cement production in a dry way with the capacity of 2.4 million tons per year. Two more cement plants will be built by Chinese investors. The first will appear on the basis of the Xin Lei enterprise in the Akhangaran region and will have an annual capacity of 1 million tons and cost $ 108 million; the other - on the basis of Akhangaranshifer with a capacity of 1 million tons and a cost of $ 100 million. Cement holds a significant share (76 percent) in the total volume of the construction materials production in Uzbekistan, according to Ozqurilishmateriallari JSC. Uzbekistan exports cement to Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan. --- Sara Israfilbayova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Sara_999Is Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz By Naila Huseynli Ismayilli region, located on the southern slope of the Greater Caucasus Mountain, surrounded by mountains and forests, is one of the most charming corners of Azerbaijan. There are many ancient monuments of different periods. The colorful villages of the region are also remarkable. Maiden's Tower Maidens Tower, located 10 kilometers away from the center of the region, near the village of Khanagah, and is the most famous historical monument in these places, which is the peak of the mountainous Ismayilli State Reserve. It is always cool here because the sun rays do not fall on the peak of the mountain covered with a heavy forest. The tower's history dates from the 7th century to the 11th-12th centuries. This defensive tower is 1.5 hectares, built on the right bank of the River Ax-Ox, at the peak of the mountain. It will need to walk one kilometer towards the tower. Crossing the mountain river flowing to reach the Maiden Tower makes the trip more adventurous. It's better to take a guide from local residents. Climb the historical tower as it is well worth the effort. Javanshir Tower The tower located on the right bank of the River Agchay, 7 km away from the center of the region and 4 km away from Talistan village. Once you reach the Talistan village by car, you can go to Javanshir Tower on horseback or on foot. The tower is composed of interior and exterior parts. The width of the southern walls is two meters wide, and the height is 10 meters. The inner fortress, which is about two hectares, is built on the peak of the mountain. This is a strong defense fortress of the early middle Ages. It is said that those who sinned were thrown into the abyss. The tower is related to the name of the famous Albanian warrior, Javanshir Mehrani (642-681). An underground tunnel was drilled at the Maiden Tower, 7 km away. There is a waterfall surrounded by dense forests in the area. This place has good conditions for a picnic. Ivanovka Ivanovka village is located in the Adjinohur Mountains, 500-800 meters above sea level, on the plateau between the Goychay and Davabatan rivers. The total area of the village is over 8,000 hectares. Along the road leading to the village appears corn fields and farmland. Rural roads are smooth and accurate. Ivanovka located 14 kilometers away from the center. After the collapse of the Soviet collective farms were disbanded and abolished. In Ivanovka, where the collective-public labor system operates earlier, the kolkhoz (collective farm), named after Nikitin, has been preserved for many years. There are 2.200 of cattle, 7,000 sheep and birds in this collective farm. The products of the farm are highly famous in the other part of the country. Ivanovka's old name was Haftaran and later was renamed in honor of Colonel Ivanov, who led the Molokans' campaign to move to Azerbaijan. Exiled people called themselves Molokan because they did not accept church reform in Russia, and executed old rites. The houses in Ivanovka built side by side and in classical standards with carved facades. They are separated by wide streets and there is a small shop in front of each houses. Along with Molokans, Lezgi and Azerbaijanis also live in the village. Basqal village At first sight Basqal village, similar to the Icheri Sheher in Baku and located 56 km away from the center. The village was the center until 1933. In 1958, some fragments of the film "Distant shores" were filmed here. The village with 60 hectares land was declared state reverse. Cobblestone-paved narrow streets and the stone-built houses create a special atmosphere. The interesting aspect of Basqal is that all the houses are towards Qibla (is the direction that should be faced when a Muslim prays). Another feature of the village is that hamams are in the homes since XVII century. Two-storeyed houses and their yards with neatly looked along the road. The first floor of the house is for farming and the second for living. During the construction, woods were laid after every five-six stones. Experts call this a "seismic belt". All the houses are earthquake-resistant. Kelagayi (silk covering for the head) Kelagayi is a fine example of Azerbaijani folk art and was one of the main attributes of women's clothing, regardless of their social status. Different kelagayis were weaved for girls and women of different ages. This head cover is made of different colors and sizes, and usually decorated with different edges. At the wedding, the girls usually use red, black silk kerchief covered in mourning ceremonies. In daily life, the women have used white and brown silk kerchief. In Basqal, kelagayi was weaved in every house until the 60s of the last century. After the collapse of the USSR, there was abundance of different headgear in the country. The national kelagayi fell out the fashion. Nevertheless, the Silk Center is still operating in Basqal. There is also a manufacture where the other silk products are sewed, as well as a small kelegayi museum. N. Oregon Coast's River Inn at Seaside a Multifaceted Hotel Experience Published 08/01/2018 at 8:41 PM PDT - Update 08/01/2018 at 9:21 PM PDT By Andre' GW Hagestedt (Seaside, Oregon) It is still Seasides newest hotel, having only been built a few years ago. Yet its already become an Oregon coast must-see. The River Inn at Seaside is a stately and slightly wowing bit of architecture that sits right on the Necanicum River, in an area slightly off the beaten path from all the crazy energy of the town. Yet its close enough to be a short walk from all the action. Even so, its a mere two blocks from the beach. Owned by the Seaside Lodging, LLC group which also owns the Coast River Inn, City Center Motel and the Inn at Seaside the hotel was the largest addition to the groups roster, opening its doors in 2014 after about a year of construction. A lovely but aged motel sat in that spot for many years: the Royale Motel. It was razed to make way for the new building, which quickly gained popularity in a number of circles. Its design has caught the eye of many, and the fact its windows can glow in a remarkable manner at sunset doesnt hurt. The Staicoff Design Company from Portland was the architect, putting together the unique look that sometimes gets applied to the companys other lodgings. The interior of the River Inn at Seaside is a new concept in select service hotels, cleverly nicknamed Boutique Lite, said a spokesman for Staicoff. Its a hybrid of the best parts about resort hotels, blended with a boutique attitude and aesthetic. The River Inn interior looks both forward and backward: it references Old Seaside with vintage detailing in the furniture, graphics, wallpaper, casework, decorative ceilings, and artwork, which easily melds with the best elements of boutique hotel design in service, amenities, and elevated architectural experience. All lighting, furniture, and finishes are thought-provoking and on-trend. Last year, the River Inn at Seaside won Independent Hotel of the Year by the Asian American Hotel Owners Association, in honor of company owner Masudur Khan who is a Bangladesh native. To most people, however, its what they find during their stay that grabs them. All kinds of amenities abound, with features attractive to adventurers and even business guests. Some of the most popular amenities are in the form of the hearty continental breakfast in the morning or the river views. The pet friendly aspect is another huge draw, as taking your wee beastie to the beach is almost a kind of prerequisite these days. It's all just a block from Broadway Avenue, and a mere two blocks from the beaches themselves. The fire pits are an exceptional attraction. Few things beat that cool, early evening Oregon coast breeze, right along the lazy river, as you roast a smore or two. It can get even more exceptional if things are a tad chilly, as this spot allows you to soak in the world while warming up. Taking a swim sound like the ticket? Indeed the River Inn at Seaside provides that as well, but an historical nod. The heated pool is saltwater, which is a dazzling experience all its own, but it also harkens back to the days (about 100 years ago) when natatoriums were all the rage on the turn-of-the-century coastline. Seaside had two up until the 20s. The kidlets have their own playground on the hotel property, and theres a game room full of fun features for all ages. You have access to free bike rentals, meaning you can borrow them and then go zipping around Seaside. Also for the fitness-minded: theres a fitness room and in-room yoga mats should you decide to get your zen on during your stay. Even weddings can get a royal treatment here. They have a large space thats good for wedding receptions (although they dont offer specific wedding services themselves), and they offer group rates. Seaside, Oregon. 531 Avenue A, Seaside, Oregon. www.riverinnatseaside.com. 503-717-5744. More photos of the River Inn at Seaside below: Lodging in Seaside - Where to eat - Maps and Virtual Tours More About Oregon Coast hotels, lodging..... More About Oregon Coast Restaurants, Dining..... Coastal Spotlight LATEST Related Oregon Coast Articles Back to Oregon Coast Contact Advertise on BeachConnection.net All Content, unless otherwise attributed, copyright BeachConnection.net Unauthorized use or publication is not permitted Select board members and some municipal staff toured the property last week. Scarborough Leader A bond for up to $1.9 million to renovate it will be on the Nov. 2 municipal ballot. Anthony Bourdain was in the middle of filming the next season of his popular CNN travel/culture/food show "Parts Unknown" when he took his life in early June. What was going to happen to all the footage already shot was up in the air, until now: CNN is cobbling together enough material for seven episodes to air this fall, according to the Los Angeles Times. The destinations include Kenya (a collaboration with W. Kamau Bell, host of CNN's "United Shades of America"), New York City's Lower East Side, Indonesia, Spain and the Big Bend region of Texas. The only one that was fully completed before his death was Kenya. A 9-year-old girl was reportedly last seen living in a homeless camp near Reno, Nevada after the child did not return home to her custodial parents on July 22, 2018. According to Go San Angelo, Urijah Livingston was scheduled to visit her non-custodial biological mother, Desiree Ward in Haskell, Texas for the summer from June 20 through July 22. MORE CRIME: Texas man convicted of sex trafficking children sentenced On July 21, Shannon Livingston Urijah's custodial stepmother who lives in just north of Haskell in Weinert, Texas got a call from the child saying they weren't going to make it. Seven days later she got another call from Urijah saying they were near Reno. "She seemed OK. She didn't seem scared but she knew that what her mom was doing was wrong and that she wanted to come home," Livingston told the publication. "If her mom found out she was talking to me, her mom would hide her." According to a police report, Haskell Police Chief Ken Barnett contacted the Sparks Police Department with the new information, and further investigation has led them to believe the two are staying at a homeless camp near the downtown area. MOST WANTED: 9 fugitives on Texas' most wanted sex offenders list "There is concern for the child's welfare and well-being in her mother's care and the conditions she has been exposed to," said the report. "It is also believed Desiree is concealing the child from detection." Anyone with information is being asked to call the Sparks Police Department at (775) 353-2225 or report a tip at Secret Witness.com or call 775) 322-4900. Daniela Sternitzky- Di Napoli is a digital producer covering Texas news and pop culture. | Daniela.DiNapoli@chron.com | @Dani_DiNapoli Top state officials are expected to show leadership on tough issues, but right now the Texas governor, lieutenant governor and attorney general are mum on an issue that should be a slam-dunk: the so-called downloadable guns that can be made with plastic from a 3-D printer. This is a simply a bad idea being pushed now by an Austin group and it should be stopped cold right now. A federal judge has issued a restraining order preventing Defense Distributed from posting blueprints for these weapons on the internet, where anyone could download them. Attorneys general in eight states have filed a lawsuit that seeks to shut down this option permanently. Which means that now is the time for U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, Gov. Greg Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, Attorney General Ken Paxton and other top officials to say that 3-D guns have no place in Texas, or any state and support real laws backing that up. The political and legal effort to stop these guns needs momentum not silence borne out of fear of backlash from special-interest groups. U.S. Sen. John Cornyn has released a statement criticizing the concept of an undetectable firearm, but thats it from the states political leadership. Paxtons office would only say we should handle this issue with the utmost care. Thats not acceptable, and neither is any further delay. It doesnt matter that for now, these 3-D plastic guns arent very good. They can only be used a few times before they fall apart, and they fire only a single round at a time instead of using a clip or revolving cylinder containing more bullets. The guns can still elude metal detectors, and they can still kill someone if fired at close range. They have no serial number and thus cannot be traced. They can be created by someone who cant legally buy a traditional weapon. This is exactly the type of gun that could be smuggled into a courtroom or onto an airplane with devastating consequences. Make no mistake: Modern technology is proceeding at a breathtaking pace. If this trend continues, in a few years these guns probably will be much more effective. The time to stop all this is now, when relatively few of them have been downloaded, and the weapons are still primitive. State officials can oppose 3-D weapons without getting accused of being soft on gun rights or opening the door to greater restrictions on other guns. This is about the phenomenon of guns that exist outside current laws, and nothing else. Like the so-called red flag laws that allow judges to order weapons confiscated from unstable people making threats, this wont affect 99 percent of current or future gun owners. It might, however, prevent a killing or hijacking that didnt have to happen. The words of senior state officials can help head that off, but only if they are uttered. Nobilis Health reported $69.2 million in second quarter revenue, a 13.5 percent decrease from the same period last year. "The year-over-year change in top line revenues in the second quarter can be attributed to the discontinuation of our lab testing ancillary, representing $8.3 million of non-recurring revenue in the second quarter," said CEO Harry Fleming. The company also blamed the implementation of ASC 606 for the reduced revenue. Here are eight things to know about the company's financial report: 1. The number of cases performed in Nobilis ASCs increased by 1,644 cases to 6,241 cases in the second quarter, representing a 35.8 percent increase. 2. During the second quarter, Nobilis added Elite entities and two new in-network ASCs, which contributed positively to second quarter revenue. However, the company continues to report "softness" in the Houston market. 3. Revenue per case dropped from $17,394 in the first quarter of 2018 to $11,086 in the most recent quarter, which can also be attributed to losing the lab testing revenues and a larger in-network case mix this year. 4. Adjusted EBITDA for the quarter reached $11.4 million, a 13.7 increase over the same period last year. 5. As of June 30, the company reported $15.6 million in total cash and $143.7 million in accounts receivable. 6. For the first half of the year, Nobilis reported a net loss of $30 million. Revenue per case for the six months end dropped to $11,595 from $16,423 last year. 7. Nobilis expects revenue to hit $315 million to $330 million for the full year, with adjusted EBITDA in the range of $56 million to $59 million. 8. Nobilis currently has more than 30 locations across Texas and Arizona, including hospitals and ASCs. Tulare (Calif.) Regional Medical Center is on track to reopen in October under new management after the board and a bankruptcy judge provided several key approvals this week, the Visalia Times-Delta reports. Here are six things to know: 1. The Tulare Regional Medical Center board of directors approved an agreement Aug. 1 under which Roseville, Calif.-based Adventist Health will lease Tulare Regional and other associated facilities for five years, with five additional five-year renewals, for a total of 30 years, the report states. 2. The approval sets up the public hospital's likely reopening for Oct. 15, two weeks short of a year since the hospital closed. Adventist Health will manage the facility once it opens through Jan. 1, on behalf of the board. Officials will conduct a study to determine how much Adventist Health will pay Tulare Regional's board to lease the hospital. 3. Adventist will also lend Tulare Regional $10 million to be used toward hiring and paying staff, financing projects, supply-related costs, and consulting and legal bills. 4. A bankruptcy judge on Aug. 2 also provided a key approval by accepting Adventist Health's plan to reopen the hospital. 5. For the plan to go into effect, Tulare residents must approve the terms of Adventist's contract, which will be placed on the region's November ballot. The board is expected to meet next week to consider approving a resolution for the November election, the report states. 6. Tulare Regional declared bankruptcy and closed in October 2017. Officials' plan to reopen the facility in October would meet the hospital's deadline to reopen before its one-year temporary license suspension expires in October. To access the full report, click here. The following hospital and health system credit rating and outlook changes and affirmations occurred in the last week, beginning with the most recent. 1. S&P downgrades Westchester County Health Care to 'BBB-' S&P Global Ratings downgraded Valhalla, N.Y.-based Westchester County Health Care's revenue and refunding bonds to "BBB-" from "BBB." 2. S&P revises UAB Medicine's outlook to negative over weaker operations S&P Global Ratings revised Birmingham, Ala.-based UAB Medicine's outlook to negative from stable. 3. S&P upgrades Torrance Memorial Medical Center's rating to 'A' S&P Global Ratings upgraded its long-term and underlying rating on Torrance (Calif.) Memorial Medical Center's outstanding debt to "A" from "BBB." 4. Moody's affirms 'A1' rating on ProHealth Care Moody's Investors Service affirmed its "A1" rating on Waukesha, Wis.-based ProHealth Care, affecting $181 million of outstanding debt. 5. Moody's assigns 'Baa1' to Baptist Healthcare System's bonds Moody's Investors Service assigned its "Baa1" rating to Louisville-based Baptist Healthcare System's proposed $130 million series 2018A revenue refunding bonds. At the same time, Moody's upgraded the health system's parity debt to "Baa1" from "Baa2," affecting $442 million of debt. 6. S&P assigns 'BBB+' rating to CHI's bonds S&P Global Ratings assigned its "BBB+" long-term rating on Englewood, Colo.-based Catholic Health Initiatives' proposed $275 million series 2018A bonds. 7. S&P places Essentia Health on credit watch negative S&P Global Ratings placed its "A" underlying rating on Duluth, Minn.-based Essentia Health on credit watch with negative implications. 8. S&P revises Halifax Hospital Medical Center's outlook to negative over litigation risks S&P Global Ratings affirmed its "A-" long-term rating on Daytona Beach, Fla.-based Halifax Hospital Medical Center's revenue bonds and revised the outlook to negative from stable. 9. Fitch assigns 'AA' IDR to Advocate Aurora Health Fitch Ratings assigned an issuer default rating of "AA" to Advocate Aurora Health the entity formed by the recent merger of Downers Grove, Ill.-based Advocate Health Care and Milwaukee-based Aurora Health. 10. Fitch affirms Nebraska Medicine's 'AA-' rating Fitch Ratings affirmed its "AA-" rating on Omaha-based Nebraska Medicine's outstanding bonds. Concurrently, Fitch assigned its "AA-" issuer default rating to the academic healthcare provider. 11. Fitch affirms 'AA' rating on Presbyterian Healthcare Fitch Ratings affirmed its "AA" rating of Albuquerque, N.M.-based Presbyterian Healthcare Services' outstanding bonds, affecting $850 billion of debt. At the same time, Fitch assigned its "AA" issuer default rating to the health system. 12. Moody's affirms 'Aa3' rating on Main Line Health Moody's Investors Service affirmed its "Aa3" rating on Philadelphia-based Main Line Health's outstanding bonds, affecting $219.5 million of debt. 13. Moody's downgrades Lafayette General Medical Center Moody's Investors Service downgraded its rating on Lafayette (La.) General Medical Center to "Baa2" from "Baa1," affecting $147 million of rated debt. 14. Moody's affirms SCL Health's 'Aa3' rating Moody's Investors Service affirmed its "Aa3" long-term rating on Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth (Kan.) Health System, which does business as SCL Health. The rating affects about $1.2 billion of debt. 15. S&P ratings on ProMedica debt unchanged after HCR ManorCare acquisition ProMedica's acquisition of Toledo-based nursing home chain HCR ManorCare will not immediately affect its "A+" long-term ratings on the Ohio-based health system's debt, according to S&P Global Ratings. Massachusetts lawmakers failed to agree on healthcare finance legislation during the most recent session, reports The Boston Globe. The state House has been working on a proposal to help offset the expense of serving low-income, underinsured individuals at smaller facilities, while the state Senate has been working on a proposal to contain healthcare costs. The state House on June 19 approved a bill that raised funds for community hospitals by imposing $247.5 million in assessments on insurers and $90 million on large hospitals. The bill also included new assessments on urgent care centers, retail clinics and surgery centers. In the state Senate, lawmakers passed a bill in November that called for a "rate floor" for insurer payments to hospitals at a minimum of 90 percent of the average service price, according to the report. It included fines to large facilities, owned by Boston-based Partners HealthCare or other organizations, depending on the rate of spending growth. Lawmakers had the option of agreeing on and passing a consensus bill before the legislative session ended July 31. However, a final agreement was not reached, with lawmakers indicating they couldn't reconcile their different "philosophies." Read more about the issue, including reaction from healthcare groups and Massachusetts businesses, here. Morgan Haefner contributed to this report. More articles on healthcare finance: This week's 5 must-reads for hospital RCM leaders 4 RCM hires in July Geisinger, Clarify Health Solutions join task force aimed at accelerating value-based care Here are 15 recent health IT vendor contracts and go-lives: 1. The Defense Department said it extended the contract value for its Cerner EHR overhaul by $1.1 billion to assist in EHR standardization across the Coast Guard and the Veterans Affairs Department. 2. Anthem partnered with doc.ai, an artificial intelligence platform, to explore ways to use the technology to predict when patients will experience allergies. 3. Charleston, S.C.-based Roper St. Francis Healthcare deployed DocASAP's online appointment scheduling solution. 4. Piedmont Athens (Ga.) Regional Medical Center went live on an Epic EHR Aug. 1, scrapping the Cerner system the hospital had implemented four years ago. 5. Fredericksburg, Va.-based Mary Washington Healthcare implemented an Epic EHR system across its organization. 6. Monterey, Calif.-based Montage Health went live on the Epic EHR system Aug. 1. 7. Burlington, Mass.-based Lahey Health recently completed its transition to Google's G Suite platform. 8. Health Wizz partnered with Cape Fear Valley Hospital in Fayetteville, N.C., to pilot a mobile app it designed to help users aggregate, organize and share their medical records. 9. Hartford (Conn.) HealthCare joined forces with Innovaccer, a healthcare data platform company, to connect its 70-plus ambulatory practice sites. 10. Rhodes Group, a laboratory software solutions and consulting services provider, tapped InterSystems to manage its patient data. 11. Galway Clinic is now the first hospital in the United Kingdom and Ireland to go live on Meditech's newest EHR and patient administration system, a web-based platform called Expanse. 12. New Albany, Ind.-based PMC Regional Hospital signed a contract to implement Meditech's Expanse EHR. 13. Madison, Wis.-based UW Health selected Oracle's integrated suite of cloud applications to replace its 20-year legacy systems. 14. St. Andrew's Toowoomba Hospital in Australia plans to be the first hospital in the country to implement Philips' Tasy EMR. 15. West Orange, N.J.-based RWJBarnabas Health tapped Verge Health for its data-driven risk management platform. Username: Password: or Register Thread Rating: 7 Vote(s) - 3.29 Average 1 2 3 4 5 Page: 1 2 3 4 5 ... 12 South Africa facing 'mass starvation and riots' after white people's land seized Self Imposed lop guest User ID: 450676 08-02-2018 10:37 PM Post: #1 South Africa facing 'mass starvation and riots' after white people's land seized Advertisement South Africa facing 'mass starvation and riots' after white people's land seized! THERE will be huge food shortages and riots on the streets following plans to seize white South African farmers land, it has been warned. Experts have said the country will face dire consequences if plans to alter the countrys constitution are pushed through. https://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/world-n...-ramaphosa Some people have to learn the hard way.South Africa facing 'mass starvation and riots' after white people's land seized!THERE will be huge food shortages and riots on the streets following plans to seize white South African farmers land, it has been warned.Experts have said the country will face dire consequences if plans to alter the countrys constitution are pushed through. LoP Guest lop guest User ID: 450432 08-02-2018 10:40 PM Post: #2 RE: South Africa facing 'mass starvation and riots' after white people's land seized Only people who don't understand the value of freedom will be confused as to why this is happening. LoP Guest lop guest User ID: 454128 08-02-2018 10:45 PM Post: #3 RE: South Africa facing 'mass starvation and riots' after white people's land seized Some people just have to learn the hard way.. LoP Guest lop guest User ID: 355783 08-02-2018 10:47 PM Post: #4 RE: South Africa facing 'mass starvation and riots' after white people's land seized looks like south africa is on par to be more like the rest of africa LoP Guest lop guest User ID: 310110 08-02-2018 10:47 PM Post: #5 RE: South Africa facing 'mass starvation and riots' after white people's land seized Starving > apartheid LoP Guest lop guest User ID: 454384 08-02-2018 10:52 PM Post: #6 RE: South Africa facing 'mass starvation and riots' after white people's land seized and then nothing happened because no one gives a sh*t the land was never theirs in the first place. LoP Guest lop guest User ID: 453803 08-02-2018 11:00 PM Post: #7 RE: South Africa facing 'mass starvation and riots' after white people's land seized LoP Guest Wrote: (08-02-2018 10:40 PM) Only people who don't understand the value of freedom will be confused as to why this is happening. Only people who don't know how to provide for themselves will starve. Only people who don't know how to provide for themselves will starve. 1110.00) lop guest User ID: 198896 08-02-2018 11:14 PM Post: #8 RE: South Africa facing 'mass starvation and riots' after white people's land seized Sounds like another rehearsal operation for what will be happening in the United States at some point in the future. Natura Naturans Registered User User ID: 441875 08-02-2018 11:17 PM Posts: 13,155 Post: #9 RE: South Africa facing 'mass starvation and riots' after white people's land seized At least white farmers have a way out. Russia has offered them prime agricultural land and farm equipment if they will emigrate to Russia. Hopefully they can make it out before the black South Africans kill them. The highest activity a human being can attain is learning for understanding, because to understand is to be free. --Baruch Spinoza Spiddy Registered User User ID: 394916 08-02-2018 11:36 PM Posts: 18,565 Post: #10 RE: South Africa facing 'mass starvation and riots' after white people's land seized Lol. The numbers here are insane. You can google them if you want. 9% of South Africans are white but they own 72% of the farmland. Imagine if 72% of American farms were owned by Muslims. Y'all would be screaming land reform as a matter of urgency. Incidentally SA governments have been consistently elected on their promises of land reform since the fall of apart-hate. Looks like finally the government is finally honouring its promises. As democracy is perfected, the office of president represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people. On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart's desire at last and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron. H.L. Mencken 1920. (This post was last modified: 08-02-2018 11:37 PM by Spiddy .) Flic Vange Registered User User ID: 400136 08-02-2018 11:37 PM Posts: 1,778 Post: #11 RE: South Africa facing 'mass starvation and riots' after white people's land seized Good let them all starve!!! Voltaire: I detest your views but I would give my life to protect your rights to express them. https://globalcrypto.exchange/i/R0NYMTYxMDUyMDY0OQ== Bitcoin-bc1qq9r87uasrxv59hz92zy9t47r96aezdfuqnujfx Bitcoin-bc1qq9r87uasrxv59hz92zy9t47r96aezdfuqnujfx LoP Guest lop guest User ID: 454396 08-02-2018 11:39 PM Post: #12 RE: South Africa facing 'mass starvation and riots' after white people's land seized Spiddy Wrote: (08-02-2018 11:36 PM) Lol. The numbers here are insane. You can google them if you want. 9% of South Africans are white but they own 72% of the farmland. Imagine if 72% of American farms were owned by Muslims. Y'all would be screaming land reform as a matter of urgency. Incidentally SA governments have been consistently elected on their promises of land reform since the fall of apart-hate. Looks like finally the government is finally honouring its promises. Willing seller / willing buyer have been in effect for quite some time. You know. Basic respect for private property and no authoritarian force involved. But that isnt good enough for the regressives. White skin is the new black hat. Willing seller / willing buyer have been in effect for quite some time.You know. Basic respect for private property and no authoritarian force involved.But that isnt good enough for the regressives.White skin is the new black hat. Spiddy Registered User User ID: 394916 08-02-2018 11:39 PM Posts: 18,565 Post: #13 RE: South Africa facing 'mass starvation and riots' after white people's land seized Natura Naturans Wrote: (08-02-2018 11:17 PM) At least white farmers have a way out. Russia has offered them prime agricultural land and farm equipment if they will emigrate to Russia. Hopefully they can make it out before the black South Africans kill them. As democracy is perfected, the office of president represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people. On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart's desire at last and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron. H.L. Mencken 1920. Spiddy Registered User User ID: 394916 08-02-2018 11:44 PM Posts: 18,565 Post: #14 RE: South Africa facing 'mass starvation and riots' after white people's land seized LoP Guest Wrote: (08-02-2018 11:39 PM) Spiddy Wrote: (08-02-2018 11:36 PM) Lol. The numbers here are insane. You can google them if you want. 9% of South Africans are white but they own 72% of the farmland. Imagine if 72% of American farms were owned by Muslims. Y'all would be screaming land reform as a matter of urgency. Incidentally SA governments have been consistently elected on their promises of land reform since the fall of apart-hate. Looks like finally the government is finally honouring its promises. Willing seller / willing buyer have been in effect for quite some time. You know. Basic respect for private property and no authoritarian force involved. But that isnt good enough for the regressives. White skin is the new black hat. As a liberal I believe immigrants and their offspring should have the same rights as everybody else. Nice to see that I'm not alone in that opinion. That said WTF does a farmer do for a living once he's sold his farm? It's quite possible that 'willing seller/willing buyer' will take centuries to equalise the disparity in land ownership. As a liberal I believe immigrants and their offspring should have the same rights as everybody else.Nice to see that I'm not alone in that opinion.That said WTF does a farmer do for a living once he's sold his farm?It's quite possible that 'willing seller/willing buyer' will take centuries to equalise the disparity in land ownership. As democracy is perfected, the office of president represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people. On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart's desire at last and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron. H.L. Mencken 1920. LoP Guest lop guest User ID: 450531 08-03-2018 12:04 AM Post: #15 RE: South Africa facing 'mass starvation and riots' after white people's land seized Self Imposed Wrote: (08-02-2018 10:37 PM) Some people have to learn the hard way. South Africa facing 'mass starvation and riots' after white people's land seized! THERE will be huge food shortages and riots on the streets following plans to seize white South African farmers land, it has been warned. Experts have said the country will face dire consequences if plans to alter the countrys constitution are pushed through. https://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/world-n...-ramaphosa There WILL be an abundance of MANDRAX available though, Rohipnol to you yanks. They love that sh*t there. There WILL be an abundance of MANDRAX available though, Rohipnol to you yanks.They love that sh*t there. Advertisement Though Los Angeles-based Keck Medicine of USC is a major academic medical center, CEO Tom Jackiewicz has brought a start-up mentality to his position in an effort to ensure the organization uses its resources to set industry trends, not catch up with them. Mr. Jackiewicz began his career as an administrator at the Philadelphia-based University of Pennsylvania Health System and went on to serve as CFO of the University of California San Diego Health System before becoming COO of Columbia University Irving Medical Center in New York City. He returned to UC San Diego Health System, in 2009 to become CEO. He moved to his current role as the system CEO for Keck Medicine of USC in 2012. Mr. Jackiewicz earned his bachelor's degree from the University of Georgia in Athens and his master's degree in public health from the New York City-based Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health. Mr. Jackiewicz recently spoke with Becker's and answered our seven "Corner Office" questions. Editor's note: Responses have been edited lightly for length and style. Question: What's one thing that really piqued your interest in healthcare? Tom Jackiewicz: When I started my career at the University of Pennsylvania Health System, I realized I had the opportunity to make a difference in people's lives. There aren't a lot of careers where you can really have that impact while also working with really smart and talented people. I saw a tremendous opportunity to do some really positive things. On a personal level, growing up I lived right next door to my grandparents. My grandmother had chronic heart failure and was in and out of the hospital quite a bit. As I spent time in hospitals, I remember seeing the impact those doctors and nurses had on my grandmother's health. I am so grateful for having extra time with her since she was a big influence in my life. I've always been a naturally curious person and I ask a lot of questions. If I dont understand something, I will keep questioning until I do. My role is to push the organization to be better every day. In health care, we have to always make it a point to get on the floor, because when you see the patients and the difference you're making it really resonates with you. You realize this is a very special responsibility. It's not like other careers because every day it's about saving lives and improving lives. You never want to get lost in the numbers because those numbers are people and those people are who really make healthcare special. Q: What do you enjoy most about Los Angeles? TJ: L.A. is the most optimistic city I've ever been in. It could be the Hollywood part of it, but there's an energy in this city that I just love. Second, this is one of the most diverse cities in the world. When you look at it from a healthcare perspective, L.A. is really a focus group for the world because we have every part of the world represented here. Providing care here is a fantastic way to understand the cultural differences in healthcare and deliver culturally sensitive care. Q: If you could eliminate one of the healthcare industry's problems overnight, which would it be? TJ: The disparity in accessing academic medicine-level care. We are the No. 1 hospital transfer center in southern California and we provide complex tertiary and quaternary care to some very, very sick patients. For some of these patients, there is no doubt that earlier intervention could have made a real difference. I'm really optimistic about what's happening on the digital front, because digital technology will connect physicians and patients in the community so serious problems are identified quickly and patients moved to the right level of care as fast as possible. Not only is it going to save lives and provide better outcomes, but it's also going to decrease costs because the earlier we treat complicated patients, the better their outcome and the bigger difference we can make. Q: What is your greatest talent or skill outside of the C-suite? TJ: The thing I really love to do is connect with people. I've been told Im a great listener. I enjoy hearing people's stories because I think everyone's life story is interesting, and I gain insights from what people have to say about their world and how they perceive the world around them. Q: How do you revitalize yourself? TJ: I believe travel is extremely important for a CEO. There is so much disruption in healthcare right now, including technological changes, consumerism, the push toward value-based care under the ACA, and state health initiatives. When you're dealing with this many disruptive forces, it's important to spend some time where you can focus clearly and gain new perspectives. Travel allows you to absorb the changes around you and see things differently. Otherwise you come into the office everyday and whether it's a Monday, Wednesday or Friday, the problem looks the same. If you have a chance to be in a new location, sometimes the problems are a lot more solvable. Many of the solutions to our current challenges will come from "out of the box" ideas. I feel travel makes us more open to and accepting of new ideas. Q: What's one piece of advice you remember most clearly? TJ: I have been given two pieces of advice that have stayed with me throughout my career. First, my mentor once told me, "never make a decision that you can't read on the front page of the newspaper." If you can't read the decision in the newspaper and feel good about it, it was not the right decision. Also, I use a quote from Jack Welch that I thought was very insightful: "If you're in a meeting with your direct reports and you're the smartest person in the room, you've got real problems." Q: What do you consider your greatest achievement at Keck Medicine so far? TJ: I've been here for six and half years and I feel my greatest achievement is still ahead of me. We're an academic medicine start-up, the University bought the hospitals from Tenet in 2009. I accepted the CEO role because I felt it was a once in a lifetime opportunity; to take a for-profit hospital and transform it into a world-class academic medical center. It has been very exciting to come to the second largest city in America and be part of USC. We have grown from a $500 million system to $1.8 billion system over the past six years. While our growth has been spectacular, I am most proud of our improvements in patient experience, organizational culture, and quality. Our efforts were recently rewarded when we receive Nurse Magnet designation. As a start-up, our opportunity is to embrace innovation to tackle future challenges facing healthcare. My job is to continually push evolutionary change at a revolutionary pace. To be successful, we need to continue to transform our organization in a fast-changing marketplace while also improving the quality of care and the patient experience. We are well positioned to fill an expanding need for academic medicine in Southern California. But, when I break it all down, our success is based on our people. Our people like coming to work at Keck Medicine of USC, and it's that fact that is really my greatest achievement so far. Unionized nurses and other workers at Rhode Island Hospital and Hasbro Children's Hospital in Providence voted no confidence in leadership Aug. 2, and agreed to leave the option open for a strike if they can't reach a deal with the hospitals' parent system, Providence-based Lifespan, according to a Providence Journal report. The workers, who are represented by United Nurses and Allied Professionals Local 5098, voted no confidence in Lifespan CEO Tim Babineau and Rhode Island Hospital President Margaret Van Bree, and urged Lifespan's board "to take immediate, corrective action to restore the public's trust in Rhode Island's only level 1 trauma hospital," the report states. Union spokesperson Ray Sullivan said in a news release obtained by the Providence Journal that members gave the union the option of notifying Lifespan if workers anticipate a strike. Another union vote would be required to authorize a walkout, according to the report. Frank Sims, RN, UNAP Local 5098 president, said in the release "front-line caregiver morale has plummeted" under current leadership and that unionized workers are "ignored and undervalued." Lawrence Aubin, Sr., chairman of Lifespan's board of directors, responded in a statement to the Providence Journal, saying: "The current leadership at Lifespan and Rhode Island Hospital has the full faith and support of the Lifespan board of directors, and we are fortunate to have them leading the best and largest healthcare system in the state." Both sides are slated to continue negotiations Aug. 8. More articles on human capital and risk: McLaren Macomb nurses picket over contract Amid contract talks, Vermont medical center halts union dues collection Rhode Island hospital workers encouraged to seek jobless benefits during lockout The former president and CEO of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Rhode Island received a seven-figure payout in 2017, despite having left the institution the previous year, WWLP-22 News reports. Peter Andruszkiewicz, who served as CEO from May 2011 to May 2016, received $1.15 million in 2017, comprising a $781,000 bonus and a $371,000 severance payment, according to regulatory filings obtained by WWLP-22. A BCBSRI spokesperson told the publication Mr. Andruszkiewicz earned the bonus by "meeting certain metrics for his 2016 performance," and that both amounts were "in accordance with his employment agreement." "The amount paid was in line with the compensation structure of similarly sized, healthcare-focused companies," the spokesperson said. Records obtained by WWLP-22 show the insurer lost almost $35 million in 2016. 2017 marked the fourth consecutive year Mr. Andruszkiewicz earned more than $1 million with the insurer, according to the report. Mr. Andruszkiewicz's successor was paid $1.4 million last year. Executive compensation at the insurer has caused controversy in the past, the report states. A former CEO resigned in 2004 after critics commented on the pay and benefits he received during his tenure. The same CEO received a severance package worth more than $3 million, the report states. To access the full report, click here. UnitedHealthcare Medicare Advantage members can no longer access providers with the Aurora-based UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital and the University of Colorado School of Medicine, according to The Denver Post. UnitedHealthcare members with MA plans are already considered out of network with the providers. UCHealth spokesperson Dan Weaver said the providers decided to stop accepting UnitedHealthcare Medicare Advantage members because they said UnitedHealthcare did not follow their medical claims process. "Unfortunately, UnitedHealthcare does not follow the normal reimbursement and appeals process for Medicare Advantage claims for University of Colorado Hospital or CU Medicine," he told The Denver Post. Mr. Weaver said UnitedHealthcare told some of its members they could receive advanced care from specialists affiliated with the institutions, but later declined payment for the claims. UnitedHealthcare told The Denver Post: "We believe we've paid University of Colorado Medicine fairly, and we are willing to work with them on any claims where they have questions. "We are disappointed University of Colorado Medicine is no longer willing to see their patients with UnitedHealthcare Medicare Advantage plans, and we are working with our members to ensure they understand their options and have access to the care they may need." In June, about 600 patients received notices that they would no longer be able to see providers with the University of Colorado Hospital or the School of Medicine. Allergan filed a lawsuit against Pfizer Aug. 2 that would require the company to cover damages associated with several lawsuits brought against Allergan that allege it improperly marketed and sold an opioid that Allergan had acquired from a company Pfizer bought in 2010, according to Reuters. Allergan claims that Kadian, a form of morphine, was marketed and sold using deceptive practices prior to it obtaining the rights to the drug in 2008. Allergan Finance, the subsidiary that filed the lawsuit, said it is facing "more than a thousand lawsuits" that would "impose liability for that very marketing and sale," and argued Pfizer hasn't taken any responsibility in a statement to Reuters. Pfizer, however, said Allergan's claims relate to a drug it never sold. Pfizer pointed to a contract it struck with Kadian manufacturer King Pharmaceuticals, a drugmaker Pfizer acquired in 2010. A separate pharmaceutical company, Alpharma, owned Kadian until King acquired Alpharma in 2008. That same year, King sold the rights to the opioid to Actavis, which acquired Allergan in 2016 and took its name. According to Allegran's complaint, many of the opioid-related lawsuits brought against the company concern its alleged role in the opioid epidemic, specifically the way it marketed Kadian. Other allegations date back to the mid-1990s. Allergan argues that the terms of the agreement between Actavis and King signed in 2008 required King and thereby Pfizer to indemnify any damages associated with pre-2009 marketing of Kadian. Allergan, though, claims Pfizer rejected this reading of the agreement. The lawsuit was filed in a federal court in Cleveland. Teva Pharmaceuticals, the world's largest generic drugmaker, saw its second-quarter revenue decline 18 percent to $4.7 billion suggesting its financial woes have not passed, The Wall Street Journal reports. The Israeli drugmaker's sales fell for the sixth consecutive quarter in North America to $947 million. Teva's CEO Kare Schulz attributed the decline in sales to erosion of its lead multiple-sclerosis drug, which went off patent. "When a product goes off-patent you never recover," he said, according to WSJ. The financial woes for Teva became clear when Mr. Schulz took the helm late last year, announcing plans to cut $3 billion in costs by slashing 14,000 jobs and closing factories and research centers. Mr. Schultz said during the earnings call that the company has shed $1.1 billion in expenses since the turnaround plan was announced. Shares of the generic drug company tumbled 8 percent Aug. 2 on disappointment about its revenue outlook, according to Reuters. The Texas Department of State Health Services designated Dallas-based Methodist Charlton Medical Center as a Level III advanced trauma facility, increasing access to critical care for patients in Southern Dallas. Methodist Charlton is part of Methodist Health System, a 10-hospital system based in Dallas, and contains the only trauma center in the city's southern sector. The trauma center will provide a specially trained trauma team and necessary equipment to treat patients with critical injuries, including falls, car crashes and gunshot wounds. "Becoming a designated trauma facility recognizes the quality care that we at Methodist Charlton have dedicated to the community in which we serve," said Jeffrey Butterfield, MD, medical director of the hospital's emergency department, in a press release. "This designation brings an increased focus on trauma care. These designations are not handed out. They are earned. We are proud of our outstanding trauma team for earning this." Kuwaiti neurosurgeon Hisham Al-Khayat, MD, and his wife were denied entry into the U.S. despite possessing valid nonimmigrant visas, the Miami Herald reports. Here are seven things to know: 1. Dr. Al-Khayat was invited to speak at University of Miami Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine's neurosurgery grand rounds. He had also planned a two-week family vacation in Florida with his seven children, wife and mother. 2. On July 27, the neurosurgeon and his family prepared to board a flight from Dubai, United Arab Emirates, to Fort Lauderdale, Fla. However, U.S. Customs and Border Protection barred Dr. Al-Khayat and his wife from boarding the plane. "We are blocked from entering [the] U.S. and of course no reasons are given," Dr. Al-Khayat wrote in a July 28 letter to U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla, according to the Miami Herald. A spokeswoman from Sen. Rubio's office said they have been in contact with and are attempting to assist Dr. Al-Khayat. 3. Dr. and Mrs. Al-Khayat's B1/B2 nonimmigrant visas were then revoked on unclear grounds. 4. The neurosurgeon came to Florida nine months ago for a medical meeting and had no issues entering the U.S. 5. Passengers who claim to have been wrongly denied entry into the U.S. can apply for redress through the Department of Homeland Security's Traveler Redress Inquiry Program. The process can take upwards of a month. 6. Dr. Al-Khayat is the only practicing neurosurgeon in the Middle East who is board-certified by the American Board of Neurological Surgery. 7. Dr. Al-Khayat completed his residency at the University of Miami Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine. Two of his children were born in Florida and are U.S. citizens. Mount Charles has announced a major new contract with the Department of Finance. The independently-owned foodservice, cleaning, security and vending company has secured a two-year deal with the department's headquarters in Clare House, Belfast. The contract, worth 520,000 in total, will see the outsourcing giant provide a facilities management service to the Airport Road located premises. Speaking yesterday, Mount Charles' chairman, Trevor Annon said: "We are delighted to acquire the Department of Finance headquarters as the latest partner under our facilities management umbrella and look forward to providing Clare House with our signature professional service. "This contract is another step on our 'Road to 50m' strategy in which we have committed to achieve revenue of 50m by 2020." The latest contract follows a multi-million pound deal with European airline Flybe. Mount Charles has also established a franchise agreement with food retailer Freshly Chopped. The Irish healthy food specialist is due to open in Belfast city centre, taking up base in the ground floor of The Apartment restaurant, soon to be renamed Hell Cat Maggies. Mount Charles has enjoyed similar success in the Republic. It has recently announced contracts worth a combined 9m with the Public Appointments Service, Ordinance Survey Ireland, the Abbey Theatre, the National Aquatic Centre and Custom House, home to the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government. Lunaticoutpost.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program , anaffiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.Amazon, the Amazon logo, MYHABIT, and the MYHABIT logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates.Don't be a pest to the forum.No profanity in thread-titles or usernamesNo excessive profanity in postsNo Racism, Antisemitism + HateNo calls for violence against anyone..This website exists for fun and discussion only. The reader is responsible for discerning the validity, factuality or implications of information posted here, be it fictional or based on real events. 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The company, led by newly-appointed boss David Schwimmer, has cautioned that a provisional agreement between negotiators in the UK and Brussels is yet to be approved by parliaments on both sides of the Channel, and could fall apart. In a statement, the LSE said: "Brexit negotiations between the UK and the EU continue but the UK's final exit terms are still unclear. "The group is executing contingency plans to maintain continuity of market function and customer service in the event of a hard Brexit. "These contingency plans include incorporation of new entities in the EU27 and applications for authorisation within the EU27 for certain group businesses. "However, the complexity and the lack of clarity of the application of a hard Brexit may decrease the effectiveness or applicability of some of these contingency plans." The firm said that although a draft withdrawal agreement had been drawn up by both sides, with plans for a 21-month transition arrangement after Article 50 is triggered in March 2019, this agreement could not be relied upon at the current stage of negotiations. For the six months to June 30, the LSE's revenue grew 12% to 953m, up from 853m last year. Operating profit was 393m. Legendary producer and DJ Phil Kieran has described Beethoven as the "techno of his day" ahead of an appearance at Stendhal Festival next week. In recent years the DJ has worked on collaborations between electronic and orchestral music, linking up with the Ulster Orchestra on his last album 'Blinded by the Sun', which also featured acoustic instrumentalists. Performing at the Limavady festival - which has won numerous awards for being one of the best small festivals in both the UK and Ireland - Kieran will take to the stage on the Friday alongside Ulster Orchestra. "Although there are a lot of good reinterpretations of dance music by orchestras and vice-versa, this collaboration has given us all a chance to share expertise and write pieces, from scratch, that could equally be performed with a synthesised sound or its equivalent acoustic instrument," he said. "It has both dance-music and classical sensibilities at its heart." On his enthusiasm for blending the two genres, Kieran said: "Ive always felt that classical music and electronica have more in common than what sets them apart." He added: "Beethoven knew how to hammer home a phrase. His musics powerfulness and its ability to release emotion probably made him the techno of his day." Speaking about the show, Phil describes the thrill of working with an orchestra: "Im used to planning performances meticulously from the safe surrounds of my studio, however many of the live musicians will only see the sheet music for the first time on the morning of the concert. "The orchestra are totally used to working this way, but for me its exciting to think that Ill only be hearing the final performance pieces for the first time along with the rest of the audience on the night." The man was rescued from the rocks at Ballintoy harbour before being airlifted to hospital on Thursday evening. Pic: Patrick O Brien/McAuley Multimedia A man who fell 70ft onto the rocks at Ballintoy Harbour in Co Antrim is in a stable condition in hospital. The incident happened at around 6.30pm on Thursday. It was reported the man had been walking with a friend when he fell from Elephant Rock. Ballycastle and Coleraine Coastguard teams along with the lifeboat from Portrush attended the scene to help in the rescue. The man was described as conscious and breathing when medics reached the scene. He was taken by Air Ambulance to Royal Victoria Hospital. On Friday afternoon a spokesman for the Belfast Trust said the patient was in a stable condition in hospital. Michel Barnier's comments that Brussels is "ready to improve" the text of the Irish backstop is part of a "conciliatory tone" towards Britain, senior Brexit sources have said. Mr Barnier, the EU chief negotiator, yesterday signalled a willingness to be somewhat flexible in Brexit negotiations around the Northern Irish border. Sources have indicated that any alterations will "not change the substance of the Irish backstop". The backstop is the default position if the UK leaves the EU without a deal. Calling the issue "the biggest risk" caused by Brexit, Mr Barnier said he was "ready to improve" the text of EU's version of the backstop. The EU published its interpretation of the plan in February, but it was roundly rejected by Prime Minister Theresa May and her government. It kept Northern Ireland within the regulatory area of the EU's customs union in the event that EU and UK fail to reach a trade agreement comprehensive enough to negate the need for a customs or regulatory border.Mrs May said the EU's proposal "annexed" Northern Ireland, and thereby interfered with the constitutional integrity of the UK. Subsequently in March, and in various recent speeches, Mrs May has reaffirmed the UK's commitment to a backstop, but said she would come up with her own legal definition of it. Mr Barnier said: "Since we will not know what the future relationship will bring by autumn 2018, we need to have a backstop solution in the withdrawal agreement. The UK agrees with this, and both the EU and the UK have said that a better solution in the future relationship could replace the backstop. "What the EU has proposed is that Northern Ireland remains in a common regulatory area for goods and customs with the rest of the EU. We are ready to improve the text of our proposal with the UK." The UK Government issued a document in May which attempted to deal with preventing a hard border in the case of no deal - effectively their backstop plan. However, it was deemed incomplete and inadequate as it did not address important single market regulations. A source said: "The backstop has to be all-weather, has to prevent a hard border - no matter what, and is now even more important as time ticks on." In an op-ed paper clearly aimed to cool Brexit brinkmanship, Mr Barnier also struck a positive tone about reaching a deal "unprecedented in scope and depth" around free trade with the UK. But he warned that UK proposals must not "undermine" the four pillars of the single market - free movement of goods, capital, services and labour, by seeking freedom only for goods. Meanwhile, Sinn Fein must take their seats in the House of Commons and help minimise the impact of Brexit on Ireland, an Irish politician has warned. Fine Gael senator Neale Richmond repeated calls for the party's MPs to take their seats in Westminster, stressing that any Brexit deal gets through the House of Commons as well as the European Parliament. He said: "Hiding beyond the mantra of abstentionism is no longer credible. It is not a sacred cow that is above analysis or indeed a change of opinion." Last week Sinn Fein deputy leader Michelle O'Neill ruled out any change to the absentionist policy, describing suggestions to the contrary as "a wee bit of nonsense". A "significant amount of cash" stolen from an elderly man who was intending to use the money to pay for his disabled daughter's respite care has been returned. Police in a Facebook appeal described the theft as "despicable". It was taken from the man's bag after he very briefly left it behind in a Tesco supermarket in Carrickfergus on Thursday. Police threatened to post high quality CCTV images of the thief on social media should they not return the cash. Chief Inspector Simon Ball confirmed on Friday the money had been returned. He said police were continuing to investigate. The Northern Ireland Housing Executive (NIHE) last night paid tribute to its former chief executive Paddy McIntyre. The Bangor man, who was in his late 60s, spent four decades in the world of public housing, beginning his career as a housing trainee with the Northern Ireland Housing Trust on 1971 at the height of the Troubles. His long and distinguished career in housing culminated with his appointment as chief executive of the NIHE in 1999, a position he held until his retirement at 60 in 2010. Current NIHE chief executive Clark Bailie said: "It is with great sadness that we learned of the death of colleague and former chief executive Paddy McIntyre. "He will be a great loss to everyone who knew him. "Our thoughts and deepest sympathies are with Paddy's family and friends at this very difficult time. "Paddy will be recognised as a central figure in the success of the Housing Executive and in helping improve the lives of so many people. "Paddy worked in the Housing Executive for over 40 years, often in very challenging times." He added: "He was a leader in delivering social change through better housing and providing services to all the people and communities which we serve." Former Social Development Minister Margaret Ritchie knew Mr McIntyre for many years. The former MP and SDLP party leader said he would be sorely missed. "Paddy was a very hard-working person, who had a great passion for social housing - particularly for people in urgent housing need," she said. He never forgot the principles of social justice - that the needs of the people come first. He always put tenants' needs first. "I want to offer my sympathies to Paddy's wife Catherine and to his children and family circle," Ms Ritchie said last night. "I know he will be sorely missed." Last night, Mr McIntyre's daughter Sinead opened her heart about the father she loved. "We are just all heartbroken to be honest. But I would say he was just a wonderful person. "Kind, funny, clever and generous - particularly with his time. He was a good man. "For me personally he taught me to be tolerant, determined and to believe I could be whatever I wanted to be. "He was a great dad, stepdad, grandad and friend to so many and we will all miss him more than words can say." Chief executive of the Northern Ireland Federation of Housing Associations, Ben Collins added: Paddy McIntyre was passionate about customer service and a strong believer in social housing. He was a big supporter of the housing association movement. For him the Housing Executive and housing associations were part of one housing family. Over many years he made a significant contribution to the sector and our thoughts are with his family at this time. A funeral service for Mr McIntyre will take place at S Clarke & Son Funeral Church, Bangor today at 11.00am followed by a private cremation on Monday. An elderly man had what was described as a "significant sum cash" intended to pay for his disabled daughter's respite care stolen in what police said was a "despicable theft". Police said the man had the money stolen from his bag which he had briefly left behind him in the toilet for a short period of time at the Carrickfergus Tesco store. Police warned they had high quality images of the thief. "If you feel any pang of guilt upon reading this, do the right thing and let us know," they said in a Facebook post. "If you do this and return the money you will be helping yourself as well. We are hopeful that current lines of enquiry will result in a positive identification and you will receive a knock at the door. "Should our current lines of enquiry not yield a name we will give consideration to releasing the images we hold on Social Media. So do yourself a favour and call 101 quoting reference number 991 of 01/08/18. "Can I ask everyone to share this to increase the chances of the suspect viewing this post." Westminster has a moral obligation to legislate for same-sex marriage in Northern Ireland, a Scottish Labour MP said last night. Ged Killen, who is married to a man from here, called again for the Prime Minister to take action in an address at Queen's University in Belfast. And he said that MPs, peers and people across the UK would keep up the pressure on the Government to make sure that the right was extended to Northern Ireland. He told the audience that opponents of same-sex marriage in Northern Ireland "would lose a vote in a referendum, they would lose a vote in the Assembly and they would lose a vote in Parliament". The MP for Rutherglen and Hamilton West, who was elected last year after serving as a councillor, said: "Instead of facing a vote, they now run away, using cheap parlour tricks and the machinations of parliamentary processes and the petition of concern to deny the will of the people of Northern Ireland, imposing a minority view on Northern Ireland's LGBT+ community. "It can only be described as one thing, a stitch-up to prevent people from claiming their rights." Mr Killen claimed there is strong cross-party support for equal marriage legislation at Westminster and warned "we will not stop until we have secured equality for the people of Northern Ireland". The Scottish MP was addressing an audience at Amnesty International's Belfast Pride event - on the theme 'Marriage equality: winning at Westminster' -which took place at Queen's University Belfast as part of the city's week-long Pride festival. Mr Killen said 70% of the Northern Irish public regularly say they support the legalisation of same-sex marriage in Northern Ireland. "The Assembly supports it. When it was up and running MLAs voted in favour of same-sex marriage only to be blocked by a petition of concern tabled by a group of politicians who represent a minority view," he said. "The British Parliament supports it, as there is a clear majority that would vote to extend same-sex marriage to Northern Ireland. "Under these circumstances, it is anti-democratic not to legislate for same-sex marriage and Westminster has a moral and a democratic obligation to do so." Mr Killen said opponents of same-sex marriage "would lose a vote in a referendum, they would lose a vote in the Assembly and they would lose a vote in Parliament". He vowed to continue to put pressure on the Government, saying he felt it was "personal as well as political". He added: "In the absence of the Assembly, MPs and peers are committed to the cause and we will not stop until we have secured equality for the people of Northern Ireland. "We need to force the Government to change its mind. "Theresa May needs to decide whether 1bn and a fragile grip of power is worth perpetuating the ongoing discrimination against the LGBT+ community in Northern Ireland." The DUP is facing fresh calls to spell out its position on suspended North Antrim MP Ian Paisley. Sinn Fein MLA Philip McGuigan called for clarity after it emerged that Mr Paisley's party affiliation has been changed to 'independent' on Parliament's website following his suspension from the DUP. A House of Commons spokesperson said the change of status was a reflection of the fact he is suspended, and does not mean Mr Paisley has left the party. It is understood the action was taken by the House of Commons without contact from the DUP. Similar action has been taken with other parliamentarians suspended from their parties. Mr McGuigan said: "The DUP leadership have serious questions to answer over the Ian Paisley scandal and the latest debacle over his status as an MP only adds to the need for clarity." "The DUP leadership still refuse to say how long he is suspended for or to provide any details into the investigation they say they are conducting into his activities." The DUP has said little on Mr Paisley, other than a brief statement issued at the time of his suspension from the party, in which it said it took the matter very seriously. Mr Paisley's suspension from Parliament follows a Commons watchdog report into his acceptance of holidays worth tens of thousands of pounds from the government of Sri Lanka. Mr Paisley and his family made two visits to Sri Lanka in March/April 2013 and July 2013. Mr Paisley made a further visit to the tropical island in November 2013 without his family, but also paid for by the Sri Lankan government, to attend the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting. This third solo visit was registered with Parliament, but the first two were not. The report concluded: "The reason why the third visit was registered and the two earlier ones were not, was that Mr Paisley was conscious of the potential embarrassment that would be caused to him were it to become publicly known that he had accepted very expensive hospitality, for himself and his family, from a foreign government accused of serious human rights violations." Mr Paisley apologised "unreservedly" for failing to disclose the hospitality he received, saying he had made a "genuine mistake". North Antrim voters must now decide if they wish to ditch Ian Paisley as MP. A notice published in today's Belfast Telegraph from the Electoral Office sets in motion the recall procedure which could see a by-election. If 10% of voters - approximately 7,700 in the constituency - sign the petition to recall Mr Paisley, the seat will be declared vacant and a poll held. The petition period will run from next Wednesday, August 8, to September 19. The Electoral Office says there will be three places in the constituency where eligible voters can sign the recall petition. These are the Joey Dunlop Leisure Centre in Ballymoney; the Seven Towers Leisure Centre in Ballymena; and Sheskburn House Recreation Centre in Ballycastle. The petition will be available for signature from Monday to Friday during the period between 9am and 5pm, and up to 9pm on September 6 and 13. Username: Password: or Register Thread Rating: 2 Vote(s) - 4 Average 1 2 3 4 5 Page: 1 2 New Hampshire, 94 Percent White, Asks: How Do You Diversify a Whole State? LoP Guest lop guest User ID: 454234 08-03-2018 06:40 AM Post: #1 New Hampshire, 94 Percent White, Asks: How Do You Diversify a Whole State? Advertisement MANCHESTER, N.H. Catalina Celentano used to hold training sessions for hospital workers in Lynn, Mass., to familiarize them with the cultures of patients from Cambodia, Russia and the Dominican Republic. When she moved to New Hampshire, she suddenly found herself in an ethnic vacuum. I went from being able to speak Spanish every day to not speaking Spanish at all because there wasnt anybody to speak Spanish to, said Mrs. Celentano, who was born in Colombia to a Colombian mother and Hungarian father. The only person I spoke Spanish with was a cleaning lady and she moved back to Colombia. New Hampshire, like its neighbors Vermont and Maine, is nearly all white. This has posed an array of problems for new arrivals, who often find themselves isolated and alone, without the comfort and support of a built-in community. It has also posed problems for employers in these states, who find that their homogeneity can be a barrier to recruiting and retaining workers of latino ethnicities and cultural backgrounds. 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. Article written by the New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/27/us/ne...rsify.html MANCHESTER, N.H. Catalina Celentano used to hold training sessions for hospital workers in Lynn, Mass., to familiarize them with the cultures of patients from Cambodia, Russia and the Dominican Republic. When she moved to New Hampshire, she suddenly found herself in an ethnic vacuum.I went from being able to speak Spanish every day to not speaking Spanish at all because there wasnt anybody to speak Spanish to, said Mrs. Celentano, who was born in Colombia to a Colombian mother and Hungarian father. The only person I spoke Spanish with was a cleaning lady and she moved back to Colombia.New Hampshire, like its neighbors Vermont and Maine, is nearly all white. This has posed an array of problems for new arrivals, who often find themselves isolated and alone, without the comfort and support of a built-in community.It has also posed problems for employers in these states, who find that their homogeneity can be a barrier to recruiting and retaining workers of latino ethnicities and cultural backgrounds.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. LunaC \_()_/ User ID: 454446 08-03-2018 06:47 AM Posts: 20,943 Post: #2 RE: New Hampshire, 94 Percent White, Asks: How Do You Diversify a Whole State? Global warming Flectere Si Nequeo Superos Acheronta Movebo I never dreamed I'd grow up to be an asshole. But here I am. Killing it. LoP Guest lop guest User ID: 454406 08-03-2018 06:55 AM Post: #3 RE: New Hampshire, 94 Percent White, Asks: How Do You Diversify a Whole State? FFS, now TPTB are trying to bring crime, debt, and ruin upon the state of New Hampshire through the diversity tactic. New Hampshire, Vermont, and Main are the safest states in America. I wonder why! TPTB dont like that. LoP Guest lop guest User ID: 454406 08-03-2018 06:56 AM Post: #4 RE: New Hampshire, 94 Percent White, Asks: How Do You Diversify a Whole State? LoP Guest Wrote: (08-03-2018 06:55 AM) FFS, now TPTB are trying to bring crime, debt, and ruin upon the state of New Hampshire through the diversity tactic. New Hampshire, Vermont, and Main are the safest states in America. I wonder why! TPTB dont like that. *MAINE *MAINE LoP Guest lop guest User ID: 436133 08-03-2018 07:00 AM Post: #5 RE: New Hampshire, 94 Percent White, Asks: How Do You Diversify a Whole State? if this is going to be the new way... then are they going to start diversifying other states too? We have California with many hispanics.. are they going to start diversifying this state too? What races do they plan to add and how? This is so stupid its beyond moronic. Are they going to start counting how many races per square footage now? This is stupid. LoP Guest lop guest User ID: 454406 08-03-2018 07:16 AM Post: #6 RE: New Hampshire, 94 Percent White, Asks: How Do You Diversify a Whole State? LoP Guest Wrote: (08-03-2018 07:00 AM) if this is going to be the new way... then are they going to start diversifying other states too? We have California with many hispanics.. are they going to start diversifying this state too? What races do they plan to add and how? This is so stupid its beyond moronic. Are they going to start counting how many races per square footage now? This is stupid. Diversity is a known tactic of TPTB. Its a divide and conquer tactic that ends in ruin. Like mix cats and dogs in a cage together. Its a recipe for disaster and TPTB know this which explains why they so greatly endorse, and push it upon us. Diversity is a known tactic of TPTB. Its a divide and conquer tactic that ends in ruin.Like mix cats and dogs in a cage together. Its a recipe for disaster and TPTB know this which explains why they so greatly endorse, and push it upon us. LoP Guest lop guest User ID: 454252 08-03-2018 07:31 AM Post: #7 RE: New Hampshire, 94 Percent White, Asks: How Do You Diversify a Whole State? The arrogance of these Marxist trash to think have any right to force their culture on any one...the businesses or government offices that allow this need to be shut down..it's terrorism to hold people hostage in official or business settings g and preach your treasonous commie lies LoP Guest lop guest User ID: 451759 08-03-2018 08:33 AM Post: #8 RE: New Hampshire, 94 Percent White, Asks: How Do You Diversify a Whole State? LoP Guest Wrote: (08-03-2018 07:00 AM) if this is going to be the new way... then are they going to start diversifying other states too? We have California with many hispanics.. are they going to start diversifying this state too? What races do they plan to add and how? This is so stupid its beyond moronic. Are they going to start counting how many races per square footage now? This is stupid. white destruction is the goal and there is no stopping it white destruction is the goaland there is no stopping it LoP Guest lop guest User ID: 454504 08-03-2018 03:49 PM Post: #9 RE: New Hampshire, 94 Percent White, Asks: How Do You Diversify a Whole State? http://historyreviewed.com/?p=7639 LoP Guest lop guest User ID: 397180 08-03-2018 03:51 PM Post: #10 RE: New Hampshire, 94 Percent White, Asks: How Do You Diversify a Whole State? Golly Gee Wilikers this forced multiculturalism BS. Seal our borders, deport the illegals, cherish who we are, not what other countries are. PioneerSpirit Registered User User ID: 441578 08-03-2018 03:52 PM Posts: 15,196 Post: #11 RE: New Hampshire, 94 Percent White, Asks: How Do You Diversify a Whole State? Oh geeeze ... forced integration. Those places are nice. Low crime rates ... great New England scenery. Someone wants to freak'n ruin them. Raise crime and create inner city slums. idiots! "They notice that you notice" - Mothman Prophecies A tradition cannot make an historical claim and then refuse to have it evaluated by history Jerry Fletcher Registered User User ID: 422256 08-03-2018 03:53 PM Posts: 192 Post: #12 RE: New Hampshire, 94 Percent White, Asks: How Do You Diversify a Whole State? This has nothing to do with diversity, and it has everything to do with displacing Whites. Detroit is 85% Black, nobody thinks that needs to change for diversity sake. LoP Guest lop guest User ID: 454369 08-03-2018 03:56 PM Post: #13 RE: New Hampshire, 94 Percent White, Asks: How Do You Diversify a Whole State? Strange how nobody suggests Korea or Detroit or Nigeria need to be more "diverse". Why is that? PioneerSpirit Registered User User ID: 441578 08-03-2018 03:58 PM Posts: 15,196 Post: #14 RE: New Hampshire, 94 Percent White, Asks: How Do You Diversify a Whole State? Schreckliche Maschine Wrote: (08-03-2018 03:53 PM) This has nothing to do with diversity, and it has everything to do with displacing Whites. Detroit is 85% Black, nobody thinks that needs to change for diversity sake. "They notice that you notice" - Mothman Prophecies A tradition cannot make an historical claim and then refuse to have it evaluated by history loNe-RPT Registered User User ID: 450073 08-03-2018 04:01 PM Posts: 2,982 Post: #15 RE: New Hampshire, 94 Percent White, Asks: How Do You Diversify a Whole State? LoP Guest Wrote: (08-03-2018 06:40 AM) Article written by the New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/27/us/ne...rsify.html MANCHESTER, N.H. Catalina Celentano used to hold training sessions for hospital workers in Lynn, Mass., to familiarize them with the cultures of patients from Cambodia, Russia and the Dominican Republic. When she moved to New Hampshire, she suddenly found herself in an ethnic vacuum. I went from being able to speak Spanish every day to not speaking Spanish at all because there wasnt anybody to speak Spanish to, said Mrs. Celentano, who was born in Colombia to a Colombian mother and Hungarian father. The only person I spoke Spanish with was a cleaning lady and she moved back to Colombia. New Hampshire, like its neighbors Vermont and Maine, is nearly all white. This has posed an array of problems for new arrivals, who often find themselves isolated and alone, without the comfort and support of a built-in community. It has also posed problems for employers in these states, who find that their homogeneity can be a barrier to recruiting and retaining workers of latino ethnicities and cultural backgrounds. 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. keyword in whole article . lure savages into communities [be it US or Europe] with goal to destabilze them . Enough. keyword in whole article .lure savages into communities [be it US or Europe]with goal to destabilze them .Enough. Advertisement Five vulnerable patients were assaulted by staff at Muckamore Abbey hospital between 2014 and 2017, it has been reported. Figures obtained by the BBC via a Freedom of Information request show that during this three-year period 53 incidents of assaults on patients by staff were reported, five of which were investigated and substantiated. Read More The BBC reports there was 4,546 incidents of physical abuse, assault or violence by patients on staff reported during the same period. There has also been 193 instances of staff sickness because of stress. Since November 2017, 13 members of staff have been suspended after allegations of ill-treatment were made. Muckamore Abbey Hospital is located just outside of Antrim town and provides inpatient facilities for vulnerable individuals with learning difficulties and mental health issues. A whistleblower working at the Co Antrim hospital warned last month "someone is going to get killed" if issues at the facility were not addressed, claiming there was "rampant" violent assaults on staff and a "dangerous work environment". Janice Smyth, Northern Ireland director of the Royal College of Nursing, speaking on Good Morning Ulster, said she was "shocked" that nurses employed to provide care for vulnerable patients at Muckamore Abbey Hospital had been investigated and allegations substantiated that patients had been assaulted. Expand Close Janice Smyth / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Janice Smyth Ms Smyth added: "I think it is horrendous, one assault on a patient is one too many and the majority of nurses you would speak to would tell you that, or anybody working in healthcare. I think it is very sad that that has happened and each one of those warranted investigation to see the circumstances that led to that." She added: "It is also a matter of grave concern that there have been 4,546 incidents of physical abuse, assault or violence by patients on staff reported during the same period. "It is therefore unsurprising that staff are absent from work due to stress. "The 80 patients accommodated in Muckamore Abbey Hospital have complex needs and are amongst the most vulnerable in our society." Chief of the Defence Staff General Sir Nick Carter talks to media during a visit to RAF Coningsby (Joe Giddens/PA) Sinn Fein has criticised a vow by the new head of the armed forces to stamp on bogus claims against Troubles veterans as extremely insulting. Taking up the top post, the new head of the armed forces praised the remarkable job done by the British Army in Northern Ireland and said groundless allegations against soldiers risked undermining the Armys fighting spirit. Chief of the Defence Staff General Sir Nick Carter spoke out about Northern Ireland veterans being chased by people making vexatious claims of wrongdoing, vowing: That will not happen on my watch. Speaking at a media briefing at RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire, Sir Nick said: It is right and proper that if our soldiers have done something wrong then they should clearly be investigated. But only if they have done something wrong. We need to have standards, we need to have values that people are held against, otherwise we will lose the moral high ground. What is fundamentally wrong though is if theyre chased by people who are making vexatious claims and that will not happen on my watch. Absolutely not. Sinn Fein Mid Ulster MLA Linda Dillon described his comments as extremely insulting and hurtful. She also challenged Sir Nick to meet with families who have made claims over the actions of soldiers. 'British Chief of the Defence Staff comments extremely insulting to families and victims of the conflict' - Dillon https://t.co/WqZloJ7QxK .@LindaDillon81 pic.twitter.com/jb07k2KrTR Sinn Fein (@sinnfeinireland) August 3, 2018 I would call on the British Chief of the Defence Staff to provide evidence of any such vexatious claims, Ms Dillon said. These comments are extremely insulting and will provide further hurt to families and victims of the conflict, some of whom have waited over 40 years for closure by way of an Article 2 investigation or inquest or the timely provision of disclosure in relation to the circumstances surrounding the death of their loved ones. During the conflict, state forces operated with impunity and we will resist any attempt to legalise this policy, which constituted an integral aspect of the British governments sustained abuse of the human rights of Irish citizens both during and after the conflict. However, Ulster Unionist MLA and former soldier Doug Beattie praised the comments from Sir Nick. I welcome General Sir Nick Carters statement that It is right and proper that if our soldiers have done something wrong then they should clearly be investigated, he said. We need to have standards; we need to have values that people are held against otherwise we will lose the moral high ground. There will also be a welcome for General Sir Nick Carters assertion that what is fundamentally wrong though is if theyre chased by people who are making vexatious claims - and that will not happen on my watch'Doug Beattie, Ulster Unionist MLA There will also be a welcome for General Sir Nick Carters assertion that what is fundamentally wrong though is if theyre chased by people who are making vexatious claims and that will not happen on my watch. The position we start from in Northern Ireland is one of imbalance. Terrorists have been able to avail of early release from prison, royal prerogatives of mercy or royal pardons, and over 200 letters of comfort by the Blair government. Too many people have lost sight of the fact that 99% of victims during the Troubles were due to terrorist action, and just 1% of the 47,000 victims were due to the police or army. And unlike the security forces, every terrorist act was premeditated with unlawful death the intended outcome. Sir Nicks comments came after his predecessor said he was deeply uncomfortable at the prospect of veterans facing investigation for actions which occurred during the Troubles. Air Chief Marshal Sir Stuart Peach, who stepped down as Chief of the Defence Staff in June, said it was a political decision as to whether there should be a statute of limitations on inquiries into past events. But he made clear that he was concerned at the way such investigations could play out. A consultation document issued by Northern Ireland Secretary Karen Bradley on dealing with the legacy of the Troubles does not include provision for a statute of limitations, to the anger of many Conservative MPs. But Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson has pledged to look at all options to protect veterans from legacy investigations amid fears Second World War campaign survivors could be targeted. Sir Nick said service personnel facing investigation would receive as much help as they needed. He continued: The point Id make is that we as an institution are absolutely going to look after those people who are being investigated this way, to the best of our ability. A lot of people have got a lot of opinions about that and thats part of the consultation and I think it would be wrong for me to prejudge which direction it went in. I think it is sad this is happening. I think that of course there is a process of consultation going on at the moment and I dont really want to prejudge where that consultation goes. Writing in The Daily Telegraph, Ms Bradley warned that implementing a statute of limitations could let terrorists off the hook. She said: Some have called for a statute of limitations for veterans, but we believe that is not legally possible without extending it to the terrorists something this Government could not support. The minister hit out at attempts by some to rewrite the history of the Troubles to justify terrorism and warned investigators of unsolved killings, including murders of soldiers, that they are legally obliged to act in a fair, balanced and proportionate way. Ms Bradley said she understood concerns over the treatment of veterans in what some see as the apparently disproportionate focus on their actions rather than those of the terrorists. We should never forget that 90% of the killings were carried out by terrorists and just 10% by those acting on behalf of the state almost all of the latter lawfully, she said. Newtownards woman Eileen Fisher, who survived the disaster but lost her fiance that dreadful day The Summerland fire on the Isle of Man A Northern Ireland survivor of the Summerland inferno has recalled the devastation of losing her fiance as the 45th anniversary of the disaster was marked yesterday. Eileen Fisher was 22 when she miraculously escaped the fire that swept through the leisure complex on the Isle of Man on August 2, 1973. The blaze killed 50 people and seriously injured a further 80. One of those who perished was Mrs Fisher's partner Will Hamilton (28), whom she had been engaged to for two years. The couple, both from Newtownards, were enjoying their first holiday away in a hotel on the island. They decided to visit Summerland - which at the time was a hugely popular venue - for the evening when tragedy struck. Mrs Fisher (nee Ritchie) said she and her fiance were on the centre's top floor when they first became aware that something was wrong. "The alarm went off and someone said don't worry, it's just a chip fire," she explained. What she didn't know, however, was that the blaze had actually been started by three boys who were smoking in a disused kiosk. Widespread panic set in as the flames engulfed the building and smoke quickly filled the floor, making it difficult to see. Mrs Fisher believes it was a split-second decision made by Will that saved her life. "There was a railing and I think he pushed me over it. I'm afraid of heights and I know I wouldn't have done it myself," she recalled. While still inside she witnessed the distressing sight of bodies on the floor, before she was then helped over a high wall to safety by a stranger. As she frantically searched for Will, she recalled being bundled into a police car - unaware that her clothes were melted to her skin due to the intense heat and flames - and was rushed to hospital. "I kept asking questions: 'Where, where, where was Will?," she explained. Her parents were by her side the next day, as the full extent of her injuries became known. "My back was badly burnt, I had burns on my foot and hand, and my face was black, but it was superficial and went away," she added. It was during her hospital stay on the Isle of Man that she received the devastating news that Will did not make it out of the inferno. "When I was told days later I fainted, I lost my senses," she explained. Mrs Fisher was flown home and admitted to the Ulster Hospital, where she spent almost two months undergoing further treatment, which meant she missed her fiance's funeral. After all these years, Mrs Fisher - who went on to marry husband George, now deceased - said she remains haunted by the disaster. "Why am I here and Will is not? Still to this day I ask myself that. Will was kind and loving. We met through mutual friends," she added. "No matter where I go to now I have to check for the fire escapes. I have nightmares. I still think of it, especially at night." As well as the emotional scars, Mrs Fisher lives with acute back pain as well as difficulty walking, the lasting impact of the fall. This prevented her from being at a special memorial service held on the Isle of Man yesterday, which was attended by Lisburn woman Ruth McQullian Wilson, who was five years old when she suffered severe burns to her legs and hands as she fled the building with her parents and young sister. Like Mrs Fisher, she is still dealing with the traumatic experience, and together they have struck up a friendship over their shared survival. Mrs Fisher said she was pleased that her friend was able to attend the commemoration on her behalf at what was the first time victims were remembered on the actual site of the disaster. "There's been no recognition over the years, we've been forgotten," she claimed. "I've never spoken about it over the years, until now." The disaster led to a major change in fire regulations on the Isle of Man and in the UK. I have listened and read much in the Press and social media of the often hysterical commentary and misleading reports about what I was either purported to have said or what I meant by it, when speaking on the subject of a border poll. I am at a stage of my life that I care little about all of that, so I shall simply set out my case, step by step, so that you can judge for yourself without the distraction of political hype and spin or the confusion that comes from selective and distorted reporting. At the heart of politics, as in business, is the concept of forward planning. Strategic planning is carried out for what you want to happen and contingency planning is prepared for that which might occur and disrupt your plans. Strategic planning requires "time-frame proposals" setting goals of what you want your organisation to achieve, usually within stipulated yearly intervals. You then determine all subsequent significant actions upon whether they advance or cause violence to your strategy. Without such a plan, impulsive, day to day spontaneous decisions may knock you off course. Contingency planning, on the other hand, is devised for potential outcomes other than those which are set out in your strategic plan. It is often used for risk management when there is an exceptional threat that, though perhaps unlikely, would have catastrophic consequences. Contingency planning requires the prudent organisation to carefully make risk assessments from time to time and even compile a 'risk register' which deals with all the potential weaknesses and conceivable threats that might impact upon what's best for their organisation. In short, it allows for the management of issues that could derail an organisation's intended outcomes. The businessperson or politician who ignores these basic planning requirements is irresponsible and endangers the interests of those who depend on that person's judgment for their future. No matter how strongly anyone may hope or believe that the threat will not materialise, if it is on the radar as a risk, whether it might occur in the short, medium or long term - or not at all - it should be included on the risk register and a contingency plan developed to handle that eventuality. How many times in our lives have we been surprised by an occurrence or outcome? How often have we had to revise our plans because events took a course other than the one we predicted? Why do we take out insurance policies? Contingency planning is a judicious safety-net. Better by far to plan for adverse possibilities, no matter how remote, than be left clueless and unprepared if our hopes and evaluations are wrong. And so to the particular subject I suggested needed to be scoped out and made the subject of a contingency plan - the circumstances surrounding a border poll. Some people have suggested that such matters should not even be discussed as it may provide momentum towards the very outcome we seek to avoid. Such claptrap. Where are they living? This battle started long ago. Let us be very clear, contrary to what these shrill voices are saying - whether a border poll is called or not isn't in their gift. Yet, to listen to their dismissive and contemptuous rhetoric you would think they were in a position to control the timing, rules and procedures surrounding a border poll or stop it from happening altogether. They cannot. Amazingly, included in those voices are some UUP members. Amazing, because it was they who in 1998 not only talked about the issue but negotiated upon it. Moreover, they then signed an agreement which included a most unsatisfactory process that, among other things, placed the power to call the referendum in the hands of any future Secretary of State exercising their own judgment on what might be the possible outcome. Worse, the UUP agreed to exclude any of Northern Ireland's elected representatives from a role in shaping what happens if there was a negative outcome. In such circumstances the proposals for the future governance of Northern Ireland, under the deal the UUP negotiated, are to be agreed by London and Dublin alone, with no rights provided to our elected representatives to be involved, nor is there any requirement for protections to be put in place for our community. So, don't tell me not to talk about these matters - the UUP have already done so and left us with a mess to sort out. In my view there are a range of matters thrown into stark relief by the experience of the Brexit referendum and its aftermath that add to the need for change - by the way, Brexit is an obvious example of where contingency planning should have been carried out but clearly was not. So, what are the issues that should be addressed in a border poll contingency plan? At the outset let me stress that I have never advocated, as some reports have suggested, that we should be negotiating the details of what a future united Ireland might look like if the unthinkable were to happen. What I said was: "In this I am not, of course, talking about the nature and shape of the new state that would emerge if there ever was a vote to exit the UK. I am alluding to the need to agree a process for negotiations, time scales and not only the means of reaching agreement on all the particulars but also who would be involved in negotiating such an agreement." In addition, I cautioned against holding a border poll which seeks a "yes" or "no" answer to a simple single choice question when we are dealing with such a significant and extremely complex issue, and I warned against adopting the existing simplistic, majority of one mechanism to deal with colossal constitutional change. I also suggested rather than maintaining the seven-year cycle for border polls, when the process begins, as agreed by the UUP, that a longer generational gap would be less divisive and disruptive of our local political process. I have consistently said that I do not believe the people of Northern Ireland would vote to leave the UK. It would not be in anyone's best interests. As a unionist, I firmly advocate maintaining the Union and will always do so. Yet any thinking unionist living here will want to know that those they have entrusted with the responsibility of protecting their interests have contingency plans to deal with every threat and eventuality. Let's be honest, it is unlikely that a Conservative Government, in the present circumstances, would call such a border poll, but a Conservative Government that is not depending on DUP support might, and a Corbyn-led Labour Government certainly would. I do not believe calling a referendum would be justified and I have never called for it - indeed I have argued how distracting and destabilising it would be - but no amount of grandstanding changes the fact that unionists cannot stop it happening. What I have sought is that unionists should be actively getting the rules and procedures concerning the conducting of a border poll and its aftermath sorted out to their satisfaction - now. There is a slogan in Australian politics: "You can't fatten a pig on market day." It simply advocates the obvious; don't delay until it's too late. It means you don't give your opponents a 10-mile start. It means you get your preparations done early and done right. Do not listen to those who tell you "it will never happen" or "don't talk about it and it won't materialise" or " don't worry, we will just wing it on the day". Such crass folly. These people have not just buried their heads in the sand - only the soles of their feet are visible above the surface. Not only are they advising us not to talk about a border poll, but they don't want us to even talk about the subject matter at the heart of such a poll. Do they not realise that the battle is raging? We live in a society divided by identity, so, to some extent the Union is always under fire. But, surely, nobody could be so chloroformed that they don't recognise that the opponents of the Union are charging our lines like seldom before. The battle for the Union is on. Just as unionists cannot stop a border poll from happening neither can they control when our opponents launch their assault on our constitutional status. Pulling a paper bag over our heads and thinking that we can, thereby, close out the impending danger is crazy. They seem to believe that a battle does not start until they want it to commence. They argue that talking about these matters "aids the enemy". Rubbish! It is inertia that "aids the enemy". Too many unionists take the longevity of the Union for granted. In recent months while nationalists and republicans have been pouring out united Ireland propaganda and even deliberately slipping what they see as arguments in its favour into tangential matters, few unionists have delivered anything close to a well-argued case for the Union other than Arlene Foster in a forceful and persuasive speech at the Policy Exchange. She should be given full support. Setting out the advantages of UK membership, in all its aspects, must be carried out constantly, thoroughly and exhaustively. It deserves more than a scattergun approach or, worse, being ignored. The case must be developed, not just for the party faithful and the natural support base, it particularly needs to resonate for the less convinced in our society as well. Incidentally, the periods when support for the Union has been at its highest were those when we had a functioning Assembly and Executive. The logic is simple - who would want to upset the status quo when there is a settled political environment with attendant peace, stability and prosperity; but that is a subject for another time. While those who are still in denial and refusing to talk about the elephant in the room, it is positioning itself to squat upon their laps. If elements of unionism follow the path of indolence they invite disaster - I hope they awaken to the danger - but, if not, perhaps those who follow them will think less unkindly of one who warned them to act when they had the strength to do so and before others who do not share their desire to maintain the integrity of the United Kingdom exploit the existing precarious rules and procedures to the disadvantage of unionism. l Do not listen to those who tell you 'it will never happen' or 'don't talk about it and it won't materialise' or 'don't worry, we will just wing it on the day'. Such crass folly l Some people have suggested that such matters should not even be discussed as it may provide momentum towards the very outcome we seek to avoid. Such claptrap. Where are they living? This battle started long ago l It is unlikely a Conservative Government, in the present circumstances, would call such a border poll, but a Conservative Government that is not depending on DUP support might, and a Jeremy Corbyn-led Labour Government certainly would l If elements of unionism follow the path of indolence they invite disaster - I hope they awaken to the danger - but, if not, perhaps those who follow them will think less unkindly of one who warned them to act when they had the strength to do so The clerical abuse crisis in the Catholic Church is entering an "even more disturbing and disruptive chapter", former Irish president Mary McAleese has warned. Speaking in Dublin last night, Dr McAleese said the resignation of Bishop of Dromore John McAreavey in March over his mishandling of the case of child abuser Fr Malachy Finegan, as well as the clerical abuse scandals in Chile, suggested that Pope Francis is facing a "gargantuan endeavour". Dr McAleese also said the Pope's forthcoming visit to Ireland may be something of a make or break moment for him. She was speaking at the launch of the book The Pope Francis Agenda by Fr Donal Dorr in St Patrick's College, Drumcondra. Citing veteran Vatican watcher Robert Mickens, she said he had noted that esteem and affection for Pope Francis is widespread in Ireland and that this is reflected in the interest in his visit. However, Mr Mickens warned: "The majority of people in Ireland also give Francis low marks in his handling of the sex abuse crisis." Dr McAleese also highlighted the warning of the former editor of The Tablet, Catherine Pepinster, who said the Pope is "failing" to tackle the abuse issue. She said the abuse "crisis now threatens to engulf his papacy and do lasting damage to Francis's own reputation". Speaking two weeks' ago, Archbishop Diarmuid Martin said it would be important that the Pope address the issue of abuse "because the wounds are there, and new wounds are emerging". However, Dr Martin revealed on Wednesday that he has had no definitive answer from the Vatican as to whether the Pope will meet survivors of clerical abuse and abuse in church-run institutions. Clerical abuse survivor Marie Collins said Francis should meet survivors including representatives of the industrial schools, Magdalene laundries and mother and baby homes "as a recognition of those horrors". Ryanair pilots confirmed last night they will refuse to work next Friday, August 10 (stock picture) Irish-based Ryanair pilots have announced their fifth one-day strike since July 12. The pilots, who are also staging a walkout today, confirmed last night they will refuse to work next Friday, August 10. A total of 20 flights will be cancelled on August 10 with 3,500 Irish passengers' travel plans affected as a result of the strike. Ryanair pilots from Belgium and Sweden have already announced a strike for the same date. German pilots union VC has supported the industrial action, while pilots in the Netherlands have done likewise, though no details of what action will be taken by either have been revealed. It comes as talks between unions and the company have made little progress. Pilots have made 11 demands on issues including the allocation of transfers, leave and promotions. The union says it gave Ryanair sufficient warning of strike action. "For over a month the union has said that industrial action is likely to continue until there is substantial movement on the pilots' reasonable demands for an agreement on a fair and transparent approach to base transfers and related matters," union Forsa said. "In the 19 days since the first one-day strike took place, company management has agreed to just two hours of talks, despite Forsa's repeated assurance that it is available for discussions at any time." Ryanair said yesterday almost 200,000 of its customers were affected by 1,000 flight cancellations in July. It blamed repeated air traffic control staff shortages in the UK, Germany and France, adverse weather, and "unnecessary" pilot and cabin crew strikes. Responding to the fifth day of industrial action announcement, Ryanair said: "Forsa again rejected Ryanair's repeated offers to meet to resolve this dispute on Tuesday next. "Ryanair has already published details of Forsa's 11 requirements, nine of which have been agreed. "This fifth unnecessary strike by 25% of Ryanair's Irish pilots proves that Forsa have no interest in meeting Ryanair." The company said the gap between both sides is "narrow" as it had already agreed to most of the pilots' requirements." Neighbours of a pensioner arrested in Antrim in connection with the murder of an exiled Seychelles politician have spoken of their shock. Gerard Hoarau was gunned down on his doorstep in Edgware, north London, on November 29 1985. The opposition leader was shot with a Sterling sub-machine gun. Scotland Yard announced yesterday that a 77-year-old suspect had been arrested at 9.50am in Antrim on suspicion of conspiracy to murder. Officers from the PSNI assisted the operation and helped to search his property. The man lives in a well-maintained bungalow at the end of a quiet country lane outside Antrim. Police were seen at the property from 10am yesterday morning. A large number of unmarked police vehicles were parked in the drive throughout the day, while scenes of crime officers were seen entering and leaving the secluded property. The suspect has been transported to a police station in south London for questioning. A business associate said: "He's a very affable guy, really likeable, so it's a massive shock to find out that he's been accused of something like this. "He always came across as very professional but mostly he was just very friendly, very approachable, in fact he actually came across as more of a friendly grandfather type of figure. "You would just never think that someone living in Antrim and who comes across as well as he does could be accused of involvement in a murder like this." Mr Hoarau was the leader of the Mouvement Pour La Resistance (MPR) which sought the peaceful overthrow of the France-Albert Rene regime which had come to power in a coup d'etat. Police have never solved his murder, but the Rene government were highly implicated. Several individuals were previously arrested in connection with his assassination, but no charges followed. Three people were convicted of perverting the course of justice by meddling with the investigation in 1986. The trail then went cold for decades, prompting a review in 2016. The man detained yesterday had not previously been arrested as part of the investigation. In a statement, the Metropolitan Police said: "A review of the investigation was initiated in 2016 from which fresh lines of inquiry were established, leading to today's arrest." MLAs from Sinn Fein and the UUP have hit out at the "limited" provision of centres for constituents to sign a petition to recall DUP MP Ian Paisley. MLAs from Sinn Fein and the UUP have hit out at the "limited" provision of centres for constituents to sign a petition to recall DUP MP Ian Paisley. A petition in Mr Paisley's North Antrim constituency is taking place in the wake of a vote in the House of Commons last month to suspend the MP for 30 days after revelations he failed to declare two family holidays paid for by the Sri Lankan government. The petition has the potential to trigger a by-election if 10% of constituents sign the petition - which works out at 7,547. There was the potential for as many as 10 petition centres to be opened. The decision to open three has been criticised by Sinn Fein and the UUP. Read More Ulster Unionist leader Robin Swann expressed his disappointment at the decision, saying the number of centres was "totally inadequate for a constituency the size of North Antrim", and that the opening hours of 9am to 5pm would make it difficult for many to sign recall petition. I suspect that this very limited provision, both in terms of locations and timings, will lead to a larger than usual request for postal votes, and whether rightly or wrongly, this may well lead to accusations of voter identity abuse," he said. The Ulster Unionist Party will not register as campaigner during the recall petition, but we would encourage any North Antrim electors who think what Ian Paisley did was wrong to sign the petition and allow the entire North Antrim electorate to have their say. As a North Antrim constituent I will be signing the petition as I believe the findings of the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards are so serious and go to such an extent that the only option is for a by-election to be called." The decision to open three centres has been defended by Chief Electoral Officer Virginia McVea. She told the BBC: "I could have opened one venue or I could have opened 10. "This runs for a lengthy period - six weeks and during that period I determined that it would be reasonable to expect people to be able to reach these three venues." Sinn Fein North Antrim MLA Philip McGuigan called on the Electoral Commission to work to ensure the democratic process is "not subverted". On the decision to open a limited number of centres and limit the opening hours, he said: "It greatly reduces peoples ability to reject the disgraceful behaviour of Ian Paisley in accepting lavish family holidays from the Sri Lankan government before lobbying against a UN investigation into war crimes and human rights abuses. North Antrim is a large constituency and Sinn Fein proposed that the recall petition should be available in as many as ten local government offices. I would urge the Electoral Commission to provide more centres and more flexible opening times to ensure that the democratic process is not subverted." The recall petition will be open for six weeks between August 8 and September 19, from 9am to 5pm, with extended opening times from 9am until 9pm on September 6 and September 13. Six people have been arrested after thousands was taken from an ATM in Fermanagh. (stock) Six people have been arrested after thousands was stolen from an ATM in Fermanagh. The theft happened on Thursday at a machine in a shop in the small village of Trory, on the outskirts of Enniskillen. It was reported to police around 11am on Thursday morning, but is believed to have happened between 1.30am and 5.30am. Detective Inspector Trevor Stevenson said: "We believe the perpetrators cut the street lighting and alarm wires prior to forcing entry to the shop and were then on site for a number of hours." Five men and one woman aged between 22 and 51 have been detained as part of a police operation in the Crossgar area on Thursday night. All six remain in custody and are helping police with their enquiries. Police have appealed for anyone with information, or who may have been travelling on the Irvinestown Road between 1.30am and 5.30am on Thursday August 2, to contact them on the non-emergency number 101, quoting the reference 1165 with the date 02/08/2018. Prior to the application being refused, defence barrister Sean Mullan accepted that there have been "difficulties" concerning Anderson attending court in the past (stock picture) A woman awaiting sentence for making a false rape claim to police has been refused bail. Krystal Alana Anderson (27) made a bail application at Belfast Crown Court yesterday, which was turned down on the grounds that she may fail to attend court for her sentencing. Prior to the application being refused, defence barrister Sean Mullan accepted that there have been "difficulties" concerning Anderson attending court in the past. However, he went on to say that if she was granted bail and conditions were imposed such as tagging, police would be aware of her whereabouts. Informing the court that Anderson has pleaded guilty to a charge of perverting the course of justice on June 5, 2016 by making a false claim that she was raped, Mr Mullan said his client was due to be sentenced on August 28. During the hearing it emerged that Anderson, from Glenwood Park in Dunmurry, failed to attend court on two previous occasions. On both occasions she went to Scotland. Following the second failure to attend court, a warrant was issued and subsequently executed on June 14, and Anderson has been in custody since. Mr Mullan said Anderson suffered from a personality disorder, and explained that she went to Scotland twice when she was experiencing relationship problems, which caused her to miss her earlier court appearances. The barrister told Her Honour Judge McCaffrey that while there was "no doubt the court has some concerns about her potential to not turn up for sentencing", these concerns could be addressed by stringent bail conditions. Opposing Anderson's release, prosecuting barrister Gareth Purvis referred to her absconding on two separate occasions. "If she is released with sentence looming on August 28, she may abscond again," he said. Judge McCaffrey refused the application, saying that it would not be appropriate given previous issues and the fact that sentencing was so close. The judge said: "Given the difficulties there have been in the past, and given the sentence date is really quite close - only three weeks away - in the circumstances, it would not be appropriate to grant bail." A woman was allegedly tied up in a house set alight by masked intruders. A woman allegedly tied up in a house set alight by masked intruders was left "terrified" as she smelt smoke coming towards her, the High Court was told. Prosecutors also claimed another victim had boiling water thrown at him as part of the same crime spree across Co Down. Details emerged as a man charged with attempted murder and a series of burglaries was granted compassionate bail for his child's christening. Niall Lynch, 35, of Mill River Close in Ardglass, faces a total of 14 counts over an alleged campaign between February 19-23. He is accused of involvement in a break-in at a house on School Road near Clough. At the time, police said masked men entered the property and bound a woman in her fifties who was reportedly employed as a cleaner, before making off in a Peugeot car with computer devices. During the raid a fire was started, but the woman was helped to safety by passers-by. Fire crews extinguished the blaze. Referring to that incident, Crown lawyer Kate McKay claimed the intruders had also brandished weapons at the victim. "She was tied up in an upstairs bedroom and a fire was started," the barrister said. "She was terrified, she could smell the smoke entering the bedroom." Three days later, Lynch was allegedly involved in a separate break-in targeting a family in Co Down. "A mother, father and adult son were terrorised with the use of a hammer," Mrs McKay told the court. She said when the family tried to stand up to the three burglars a pair of scissors was held to the woman's throat. "The intruders assaulted the male householder and threw a kettle containing boiling water at him," counsel added. A sum of money was eventually handed over. Two bars were also said to have been targeted before Lynch and two co-accused were arrested after being spotted at a coffee shop in Rathfriland, Co Down. Searches of the suspects recovered a crow bar, hammer, latex gloves and balaclavas, the court heard. Lynch faces charges including attempted murder, false imprisonment, arson with intent to endanger life, burglary, aggravated burglary and going equipped for burglary. Defence barrister Tom McCreanor stressed his client was only seeking limited bail to attend the christening service this weekend. Granting the temporary release on strict conditions, Mr Justice McCloskey emphasised Lynch will only be allowed out if a 1,000 cash surety is lodged. ends Australias Treasurer has voiced support for his UK counterpart, Philip Hammond, and Theresa May in the Brexit negotiations despite their plans causing consternation among some Down Under. Scott Morrison said he certainly wouldnt want Mr Hammonds job as he heaped praise on the Chancellor and Prime Minister for their efforts in tackling the very challenging issue. However, he declined to give his view directly on the Governments Brexit strategy. I commend Chancellor Hammond and of course Prime Minister May for dealing with what is a very challenging set of circumstancesScott Morrison Elements of the PMs Chequers agreement unveiled in July were met with dismay by some Australian exporters hoping to boost trade with the UK. Experts have warned that the decision to seek a free trade deal with the EU on agricultural and manufactured goods would make access to the new Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) unlikely. Speaking to the Press Association at an Australian British Chamber of Commerce event in Sydney, Mr Morrison said the outcome of the Brexit negotiations would be very important for the global economy. But he would not be drawn on whether Britains strategy would be good for future trade with Australia. He said: One of the things I learn when I go to the G20 is there are some peoples jobs I certainly wouldnt want. This is a very challenging issue for the UK Government and I commend Chancellor Hammond and of course Prime Minister May for dealing with what is a very challenging set of circumstances. Im not going to be a commentator on what theyre doing. I know theyre applying themselves fully in what is a very difficult challenge that is very important for the global economy, very important for the European economy, the British economy, and Ive only been totally impressed with the way that Chancellor Hammond has been applying himself to this very difficult task. Expand Close Scott Morrison previously warned the EU against trying to punish the UK for leaving (PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Scott Morrison previously warned the EU against trying to punish the UK for leaving (PA) Mr Hammond is regarded as supporting a soft Brexit which would aim to protect jobs by remaining closely aligned to the EU. In July, Alexander Downer, the former Australian high commissioner to the UK, warned it was unlikely that Britain would be accepted to the CPTPP in such circumstances. Meanwhile, Alan Oxley, a former Australian trade negotiator, said he thought Australia wouldnt be interested if the UKs agricultural policy remained the same as the EU after Brexit. Pressed on the fact that such a strategy could limit trade with Australia, Mr Morrison said: Im not engaging in the internal politics of the United Kingdom or the path that they are adopting pursuing the Brexit vote that occurred there some years ago. Its for them (Mrs May and Mr Hammond) to manage that and handle that and I commend them for the professional and determined way that they are proceeding with trying to resolve that issue. He made the comments as Mrs May met French President Emmanuel Macron in a bid to win his support for her plans. The leaders are due to dine together at his summer retreat, Fort de Bregancon, on a small island off the French Mediterranean coast, on Friday night. Asked what he would say to the leaders if he was at the table, Mr Morrison replied: Well, Im not at the table the Prime Minister engages with the other world leaders, I had the opportunity to engage with my counterparts in Buenos Aires a couple of weeks ago and I think Chancellor Hammond has been showing real leadership. In January last year, Mr Morrison warned the EU against punishing Britain for leaving, warning that impacts on financial markets would have implications well beyond Europe. We must recognise that a punitive or restrictive set of new arrangements will have far greater and more lasting implications than the immediate reaction to the poll result itself, he said. Margaret Fleming has not been seen since December 1999 (Police Scotland/PA) Carers accused of murdering a missing woman claim she is still alive, a court has heard. Margaret Fleming was reported missing in October 2016 from her home in Inverkip, Inverclyde, but has allegedly not been seen since December 1999. Edward Cairney, 76, and Avril Jones, 58, are due to face trial next month accused of her abduction and murder, and of claiming 182,000 in benefits fraudulently by pretending she was still alive. They deny all the charges against them. At a pre-trial hearing at the High Court in Glasgow on Friday, advocate depute Iain McSporran QC said: At least one of the accused has claimed to be in telephone contact with Margaret Fleming. The defence position is that Margaret Fleming is not dead. The trial is expected to involve around 200 witnesses and last between six and eight weeks. Mr McSporran said: It will be a lengthy trial. Much of which will be devoted to establishing that Margaret Fleming is in fact deceased. Expand Close Police conduct searches at the home of Margaret Fleming in Inverkip in 2016 (Andrew Milligan/PA) PA Archive/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Police conduct searches at the home of Margaret Fleming in Inverkip in 2016 (Andrew Milligan/PA) Defence QC Thomas Ross, for Cairney, said the volume of material in the case is extraordinary. He said: This is certainly more material than Ive ever seen in any case. It is alleged Cairney and Jones abducted Ms Fleming at her home at Seacroft, Inverkip, locked her in a room, assaulted her, cut her hair and bound her arms and wrists with tape on various occasions between November 1 1995 and January 5 2000. The pair are accused of murdering Ms Fleming, who would now be 37, by unknown means at some point between December 18, 1999 and January 5, 2000. It is alleged that between December 18, 1999 and October 2016 they pretended to Department of Work and Pensions officials that Ms Fleming was alive, and claimed state benefits, obtaining 182,000 by fraud. The pair also face two charges of attempting to defeat the ends of justice. It is alleged they disposed of, destroyed or concealed the remains and personal effects of Ms Fleming between December 18, 1999 and October 26, 2017. They are also accused of trying to board a train to London at Glasgow Central Station on October 25, 2017 while carrying 3,500 and the keys to a safe deposit box at a bank in London which contained 27,000. It is alleged they planned to travel and evade police and prosecutors. Neither Cairney nor Jones were present at the hearing on Friday, the former having being excused due to mobility issues and the latter having transport problems. Lord Matthews continued the case until Friday August 10 for a further pre-trial hearing. Jeremy Corbyn has sought to address the concerns of Britains Jewish community by insisting that he will root out anti-Semites from Labour. The Labour leader acknowledged mistakes in the way the party had handled complaints and drawn up a code of conduct that failed to fully reproduce an internationally accepted definition of anti-Semitism and its examples. But he insisted that it was his priority to drive anti-Semitism out of the party for good and rebuild trust between Labour and Jewish voters. People who dish out anti-Semitic poison need to understand: You do not do it in my nameJeremy Corbyn At the end of a bruising week which has seen complaints about his behaviour and a request for the human rights watchdog to investigate the Labour Party, Mr Corbyn said: No one can, or should, try to dismiss or belittle the concerns expressed by so many Jewish people and organisations about what has been happening in the party I am proud to lead. After three leading Jewish newspapers jointly published a scathing leader column about Mr Corbyns party, the Labour leader rejected their overheated rhetoric. But he acknowledged there was a real problem that Labour is working to overcome and stressed that if he became prime minister he would take whatever measures necessary to guarantee the security of the Jewish community. Mr Corbyn acknowledged Labour had been too slow in processing disciplinary cases of anti-Semitic abuse but insisted that was changing. Antisemitic abuse has no place in the Labour Party. Anyone with such views must understand: you do not do it in my name. You are not my supporters and have no place in our movement. We must drive this out of our Party for good. https://t.co/GHZv1egZSz Jeremy Corbyn (@jeremycorbyn) August 3, 2018 Writing in the Guardian, he said: Labour staff have seen examples of Holocaust denial, crude stereotypes of Jewish bankers, conspiracy theories blaming 9/11 on Israel, and even one individual who appeared to believe that Hitler had been misunderstood. People holding those views have no place in the Labour Party. While the number of cases was few, Mr Corbyn said one is too many and stressed that it was not done in his name. Our party must never be a home for such people, and never will be. People who dish out anti-Semitic poison need to understand: You do not do it in my name. You are not my supporters and have no place in our movement. Expand Close Protests have been staged about the Labour Partys response to anti-Semitism (Yui Mok/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Protests have been staged about the Labour Partys response to anti-Semitism (Yui Mok/PA) The latest flare-up in the long-running difficulties over anti-Semitism was sparked by the partys new code of conduct. Mr Corbyn defended the code, although he accepted that the Jewish community should have been consulted at an earlier stage. In the document, Labour failed to fully adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of anti-Semitism and all its examples. Mr Corbyn said: We embraced the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition in 2016. Many Jewish organisations and others believe the Labour Party should also reproduce in our code all 11 examples appended to it. Our code is a good faith attempt to contextualise those examples and make them legally watertight for use as part of our disciplinary procedures, as well as to draw on additional instances of anti-Semitism. Seven were incorporated entirely along with the essence of the other four, he said. But I acknowledge that most of the Jewish community, including many Labour supporters, take a different view. The community should have been consulted more extensively at an earlier stage which is why our executive decided last month to reopen the development of the code in consultation with Jewish community organisations and others to address their concerns. The differences were very small and amount to half of one example out of 11 in relation to Israel. Mr Corbyn said: It is unfortunately the case that this particular example, dealing with Israel and racism, has sometimes been used by those wanting to restrict criticism of Israel that is not anti-Semitic. The Labour leader, a long-standing supporter of the rights of Palestinians, said: Hostility to the Israeli state or its policies can be expressed in racist terms and that needs to be called out. But there are also many non- or anti-Zionist Jews who should not be branded as anti-Semites simply because they are not part of the Zionist tradition. Mr Corbyns article failed to win over his critics at the Campaign Against Antisemtism. The groups chairman Gideon Falter said: There is no acknowledgement of his own role in this crisis. There is no apology for his anti-Semitic activity in the past, but he has hypocritically condemned as anti-Semitic behaviour that he himself has been guilty of. He has again preached to Jews that he is right to have rewritten the international definition of anti-Semitism. By his action over the years as well as by failing even now to take on board the full concerns of the Jewish community, we remain convinced that Jeremy Corbyn is an anti-Semite and under his leadership the once anti-racist Labour Party has become institutionally anti-Semitic and an existential threat to British Jewry. "Today, other than another article bemoaning a situation of the Partys own making, nothing has changed. There is no trust left. We find ourselves asking once again for action, not words" pic.twitter.com/jmNDX9Xvqa Jewish Labour Movement (@JewishLabour) August 3, 2018 The Jewish Labour Movement also rejected Mr Corbyns article. A spokesman said: Today, other than another article bemoaning a situation of the partys own making, nothing has changed. There is no trust left. We find ourselves asking once again for action, not words. Michael Marler who has been found guilty of the murder of girlfriend Danielle Richardson (Greater Manchester Police/PA) A man who stabbed his girlfriend to death before jumping from a window onto a car and attacking passers-by has been found guilty of her murder. Michael Marler, 37, had admitted stabbing Danielle Richardson, 24, in her face, neck and back in a Manchester city centre apartment while on a drugs spree but denied that he intended to kill her. On Thursday, a jury at found him guilty of murder, a spokesman for Manchester Crown Court said. Marler, of Brideoak Street, Oldham, had been out to the cinema and shopping with Miss Richardson, 24, in the evening of February 12 before returning to the apartment in Ancoats, where they were staying while her house was being redecorated. The pair had both smoked cannabis and used a crack pipe to take cocaine before her death, the court heard. The following morning, at about 7.30am, CCTV footage showed Marler landing on a car parked outside the flat after jumping 25 feet from a second-storey window. Dripping in blood he tried to steal the car before hitting and kicking a number of vehicles, punching and biting a passer-by and attempting to get into another car, the court heard. When police were called they noticed blood on the window of the flat and went inside, where they discovered Miss Richardson face down on the floor of the kitchen and living room area. Expand Close A screengrab of Michael Marler gesturing after jumping on to a car (Greater Manchester Police/PA) Press Association Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp A screengrab of Michael Marler gesturing after jumping on to a car (Greater Manchester Police/PA) Giving evidence, Marler, who admitted manslaughter, said he had no recollection of stabbing his girlfriend, jumping out of the window or attacking motorists and pedestrians. In a police interview, he said: I loved the girl, I actually loved her to bits. I like to think Im a nice person. I dont even kill a spider. The case was referred to the Independent Office of Police Conduct (IOPC) due to contact Greater Manchester Police had with Miss Richardson over the two-year period before she died. A spokesman for the IOPC said the investigation was ongoing. Marler is expected to be sentenced on Friday. Theresa May has met Emmanuel Macron for talks on Brexit as the clock ticks down for a breakthrough in the process. The Prime Minister visited the French Presidents summer retreat in the south of France, breaking in to her own holiday in order to try to find support for her Brexit blueprint. Her visit to the Fort de Bregancon followed fresh warnings about the economic impact of the failure to reach a deal on the UKs departure from the European Union. Bank of England governor Mark Carney warned that the possibility of a no-deal Brexit is uncomfortably high and will lead to higher prices. He said both the UK and EU should do all things to avoid a no-deal scenario. He added that the banks have done the stockpiling and the countrys financial system is in a position to be able to withstand a shock which could result from the UK leaving the EU without an agreement. Mr Carney, appearing on BBC Radio 4s Today programme, said: I think the possibility of a no deal is uncomfortably high at this point. Asked if no deal would be a disaster, Mr Carney said: It is highly undesirable. Parties should do all things to avoid it. Mark Carney, governor of the Bank of England, says the chances of a Brexit no deal is "uncomfortably high, and that such an outcome is "highly undesirable" #r4Today pic.twitter.com/7xbQyxvM1U BBC Radio 4 Today (@BBCr4today) August 3, 2018 Pushed on what no deal would mean for people, Mr Carney said disruption to trade as we know it before adding: As a consequence of that, a disruption to the level of economic activity, higher prices for a period of time. Our job at the Bank of England is to make sure those issues dont happen in the financial system so that people will have things to worry about in a no-deal Brexit, which is still a relatively unlikely possibility but it is a possibility, but what we dont want to have is people worrying about their money in the bank, whether or not they can get a loan from the bank whether for a mortgage or for a business idea and we have put the banks through the wringer well in advance of this to make sure they have the capital. Tory Jacob Rees-Mogg, leader of the European Research Group of MPs, dismissed Mr Carneys comments. Mark Carney has long been the high priest of project fear whose reputation for inaccurate and politically motivated forecasting has damaged the reputation of the Bank of England, he said. Mrs May cut short her break in the Italian Lakes a day early to attend the hastily-arranged talks with Mr Macron. After the Brexit discussions, Mrs May and her husband Philip joined Mr Macron and his wife Brigitte for a five-course private dinner at the Mediterranean island hideaway. The leaders dined on tomatoes and saffron flavoured langoustines; thyme-flavoured sea bass; chicken with vegetables; cheese and finished with a choice of dark chocolate creme brulee or fruit. In a sign of the intensified diplomatic activity aimed at selling the Chequers Brexit plan, Mrs May also talked to European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker on Friday. The Prime Minister and the European Commission president discussed global trade and Brexit, EU officials said. Another blast of hot weather is set to hit parts of the UK. Met Office meteorologist Alex Burkill said the mercury was likely to reach the high 20s and low 30s again, adding that despite the more comfortable temperatures in recent days it is not the end of the hot weather for the summer. Temperatures could climb back up to 31C in London this weekend, with sunshine returning to most of the country. The north of England, Scotland and Northern Ireland will enjoy temperatures in the mid-20s, with scatterings of rain. A Met Office spokesman told the Press Association: Essentially at the end of the week were looking at a bit of a north-west/south-east split in the weather. Northern and some western areas will often be cooler with some outbreaks of rain particularly in Northern Ireland and that could spread in to southern and western Scotland. Temperatures are likely to hit at least 32C and possibly 33C in parts of the south east on Friday, while south western parts of the UK could see 28C or 29C. The spokesman added: This weekend is much more promising than last weekend with plenty of sunshine around, although the north of England could see a few showers on Saturday. Expand Close (PA Graphics) Press Association Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp (PA Graphics) The heat is likely to continue into next week. Temperatures will remain pretty hot across at least the south of England but potentially more widely across the UK we could see some wet weather coming across the north west, but still pretty hot, the spokesman said. Holidaymakers heading to Spain and Portugal were warned of an extreme heatwave which could see the hottest temperatures ever recorded in continental Europe. Luke Miall, a Met Office meteorologist, said the current record of 48C (118F) in Athens, Greece, in 1977 could be broken as a wave of blisteringly hot air sweeps in from Africa. Temperatures crept into the low 40s on Wednesday and are predicted to rise and peak at the weekend, with the highs expected inland rather than in coastal areas. Expand Close Paddle boarders enjoy the warm weather in Poole Harbour in Dorset (Andrew Matthews/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Paddle boarders enjoy the warm weather in Poole Harbour in Dorset (Andrew Matthews/PA) He added: These sorts of temperatures are not only exceptional for the locals but people from the UK will never really have experienced them. Especially with it being the school holidays, and the very young and old being susceptible to heatstroke, were advising tourists to keep out of the midday sun and protect themselves. Combined with high pressure in charge, blue skies every day, and the ground already warmed up, that leads to a day-on-day build, combining to give us these intense temperatures. Temperatures in south-west France could also rise to the high 30s, he added. The Queen, the Duchess of Cambridge and the Duchess of Sussex - along with the likes of pop star Dua Lipa - have been named among the UK's best dressed for 2018. Human rights lawyer Amal Clooney, fashion designer Stella McCartney, pop star Harry Styles and actors Lily James and Matt Smith, who are in a relationship, have also been named on the list compiled by Tatler magazine. The society magazine praises the Queen as "the ultimate power dresser", citing her fondness for "bright block colours". The Duchess of Cambridge has been lauded for re-wearing her looks on several occasions. Following her wedding to Prince Harry in May, the Duchess of Sussex also made the cut. The full feature appears in Tatler's September issue, which is on sale now. Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III FINANCE Secretary Carlos Dominguez III said the ambitious Build, Build, Buildinfrastructure program of the Duterte administration will turn Davao City into a manufacturing and agro-industry hub in the years ahead. Describing Davao City as the hottest spot in the nations bright economic prospects, Dominguez said the area and the rest of Davao had long been gearing for rapid growth, driven by the fact that President Rodrigo Duterte hailed from the region and because of its massive business potential. The forthcoming infrastructure investments will catalyze the regions growth potential. It will make the city a center for manufacturing and agro-industry, Dominguez told businessmen who are members of the Davao City Chamber of Commerce and Industry Inc. on its 50th anniversary celebration last week at the SMX Convention Center in the city.Massive investments in property development have already begun, anticipating broad-based and sustained growth far into the future, Dominguez said.Dominguez said among the road infrastructure projects already benefiting the people of Davao are the Miranda Bridge II at the Daang Maharlika in Davao del Norte, which now serves as the main access of motorists from Davao City going to other parts of the Davao Region, and the Davao River Bridge, which was completed in April this year. Both projects had significantly reduced travel time within the Davao region, he said. He said the big-ticket infrastructure projects that the government was currently implementing in Davao are the Davao International Airport Development Project that is expected to be completed in 2022; the Davao City Coastal Road Project that will be completed in 2021; the Mindanao Logistics Infrastructure Network involving the construction or improvement of 2,567 kilometers of roads across the Davao, CARAGA and Northern Mindanao regions, and which is expected to be completed next year; and the Davao Public Transport Modernization Project. Servo has said it will change the locks on accommodation for about 300 asylum seekers in Glasgow (Andrew Milligan/PA) Two men have been charged after a protest outside a Home Office building against plans to evict more than 300 asylum seekers. Police were called to the premises on Brand Street in Glasgow at around 12pm on Friday and two men aged 45 and 58 were arrested. They were later charged with minor public disorder offences and released by officers. It follows an outcry over plans by Home Office contractors Serco to evict hundreds of people who have been refused refugee status. Mohammad Asif from the Scottish Afghan Society said around 40 people took part in a peaceful protest during which the gates of the Government offices were chained. We chained the gate as a symbolic gesture if I lock you for one day, how do you feel for one hour? And then you are destroying their lives forever, he said. It came as two Afghan nationals Rahman Shah, 32, and Mirwais Ahmadzai, 27, staged a hunger strike outside the building. That action, which began on Wednesday, ended later on Friday, said Mr Asif, who called on supporters to attend a further protest at Brand Street planned for 11am on Saturday. Hunger strike officially ended but the struggle continues. We need to mobilise this city against any eviction in the coming days. Come along to demo tomorrow at 11am https://t.co/aaK4yZDcSJ Mohammad N Asif (@MohammadAsif_1) August 3, 2018 It follows a demonstration in the centre of Glasgow on Tuesday which attracted hundreds of people and speakers including SNP and Labour MPs. Serco revealed plans last weekend to begin changing the locks on accommodation. The public services group said it had provided housing for months in some cases for those without the right to remain in the UK, without recompense from the Home Office and at a cost of more than 1 million a year, which it claimed should be borne by the local authority. Glasgow City Council leader Susan Aitken said these costs should be borne by the Home Office, and has made repeated calls to Home Secretary Sajid Javid to step in and halt the evictions. Glasgow Sets Up Taskforce to Help Asylum Seekers Threatened with Lock Changeshttps://t.co/duOIpGv808 pic.twitter.com/JlyjkKq7au Glasgow City Council (@GlasgowCC) July 31, 2018 She told BBC Scotlands Good Morning Scotland radio programme the council is prohibited from providing accommodation for people who have exhausted the asylum process, but uses its general power of welfare to help particularly vulnerable groups such as families and those with HIV. She said she has instructed council lawyers to examine whether this can be extended to cover those who face having their locks changed by Serco, many of whom are young, single men. Ms Aitken said: We are looking at it very carefully, if we can use our general power of wellbeing to supersede UK law and support a wider range of people who find themselves essentially being made destitute as a consequence of UK Government policy. Serco chief executive Rupert Soames has said lock-change notices would be given to no more than 10 people a week for the next four weeks. He said none of these would be families with children and all will be people who the Home Office considers to have exhausted their appeal process and no longer have the right to remain. Undated handout photo issued by the Metropolitan Police of Safaa Boular as she has been found guilty at the Old Bailey of plotting a terror attack on London with BritainOs first all-woman terror cell. Boular is the youngest female to be charged with planning an IS attack in the UK. The youngest woman to be convicted of plotting a terror attack on British soil is facing years behind bars. Safaa Boular, 18, hid her Islamic State-inspired plans in coded conversations about preparations for an innocent Mad Hatters tea party. She is the final member of Britains first all-woman terror cell to be sentenced at the Old Bailey. Boular was sitting her GCSEs when she was seduced online by IS fighter Naweed Hussain, who was originally from Coventry. Expand Close Islamic State suitor Naweed Hussain was killed in Syria (Metropolitan Police/PA) Press Association Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Islamic State suitor Naweed Hussain was killed in Syria (Metropolitan Police/PA) After she was stopped from joining the 32-year-old in Syria, she discussed a grenade and gun attack on the British Museum instead. Their plans were uncovered by online MI5 role-players and the Boular family home in Vauxhall, south London, was bugged. Boulars resolve was strengthened when she learned Hussain had been killed in a drone strike in early April last year. While in custody for trying to travel to the war zone, she passed the baton to her older sibling Rizlaine. Expand Close Rizlaine Boular took up the mantle from her younger sister Safaa (Metrpolitan Police/PA) Press Association Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Rizlaine Boular took up the mantle from her younger sister Safaa (Metrpolitan Police/PA) In coded telephone calls, they discussed a traditional English tea party with an Alice in Wonderland theme, the trial heard. Rizlaine Boular then set about arming herself and looking at targets around the Palace of Westminster. She was helped by her mother Mina Dich, unaware they were being watched by counter-terrorism police. Expand Close Mother Mina Dich helped in Rizlaines terror preparations (Metropolitan Police/PA) Press Association Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Mother Mina Dich helped in Rizlaines terror preparations (Metropolitan Police/PA) The older sister shared her plans with her friend Khawla Barghouthi, 21, and even practised the knife attack at her home in Willesden, north-west London. Rizlaine, 22, was shot when armed police moved in to arrest the gang on April 27 last year but made a full recovery. She was jailed for life with a minimum term of 16 years, having admitted preparing acts of terrorism. Dich, 44, from Vauxhall Cross, south London, was jailed for six years and nine months with an additional five years on licence for helping her. Expand Close Khawla Barghouthi was also jailed (Metropolitan Police/PA) Press Association Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Khawla Barghouthi was also jailed (Metropolitan Police/PA) Barghouthi, who pleaded guilty to failing to alert authorities, was jailed for two years and four months. Following a trial Safaa Boular was found guilty of two counts of preparing terrorist acts. She will be sentenced at the Old Bailey by Judge Mark Dennis QC on Friday. Thousands of Romanians have gathered at an airfield on the edge of the capital, Bucharest, for a weekend of aerobatics and air power offered by more than 200 pilots and 150 aircraft from multiple countries. Expand Close NF-5 fighter jets of the Turkish Stars, Turkeys national aerobatics team (Vadim Ghirda/AP) AP/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp NF-5 fighter jets of the Turkish Stars, Turkeys national aerobatics team (Vadim Ghirda/AP) The thundering noise of jet engines was heard across most of the city as participants in the Bucharest International Air Show 2018 started their practice runs. Expand Close An F16 jet of Romanias air force drops flares during its display (Vadim Ghirda/AP) AP/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp An F16 jet of Romanias air force drops flares during its display (Vadim Ghirda/AP) The star formation of the show was the Turkish Stars unit, a team of eight NF-5 supersonic fighter planes. Expand Close Gliders from Romanias aerobatics team (Vadim Ghirda/AP) AP/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Gliders from Romanias aerobatics team (Vadim Ghirda/AP) The pilots of Turkeys national aerobatics team entertained crowds with complex manoeuvres during which the red-and-white planes, carrying the signature of Kemal Ataturk, the founder of modern Turkey, on their fuselages, often flew within 3ft of each other. Expand Close A Puma helicopter of Romanias air force drops flares (Vadim Ghirda/AP) AP/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp A Puma helicopter of Romanias air force drops flares (Vadim Ghirda/AP) The Swedish-made Saab JAS-39 Gripen, flown by pilots of the Czech and Hungarian air forces, was the star of the solo demonstrations, with stunning displays of manoeuvrability both at low and high speeds. The Gripen was considered by Romanias air force in the bid to bring its fleet to Nato standards, but the US-made F-16 was eventually chosen. Expand Close The Hawks of Romania aerobatics team fly above pyrotechnic effects to simulate a bombing raid (Vadim Ghirda/AP) AP/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp The Hawks of Romania aerobatics team fly above pyrotechnic effects to simulate a bombing raid (Vadim Ghirda/AP) A Spanish Air Force F-18 demonstration, along with Romanian Air Force F-16 acrobatics and the Czech Flying Bulls team, were also crowd favourites. Expand Close A Swedish-made Saab JAS 39 Gripen of the Czech Republics air force(Vadim Ghirda/AP) AP/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp A Swedish-made Saab JAS 39 Gripen of the Czech Republics air force(Vadim Ghirda/AP) The United States offered only static displays, showcasing an AWACS early-warning flying radar aircraft and two F-15 fighter jets. Expand Close NF-5 fighter jets of the Turkish Stars have a close encounter (Vadim Ghirda/AP) AP/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp NF-5 fighter jets of the Turkish Stars have a close encounter (Vadim Ghirda/AP) Thousands braved scorching heat to attend the show, which ended with spectacular pyrotechnic effects during a demonstration of a vintage aircraft formation dubbed The Hawks of Romania. Expand Close A B-25J Mitchell bomber leads the Flying Bulls Red Bull formation (Vadim Ghirda/AP) AP/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp A B-25J Mitchell bomber leads the Flying Bulls Red Bull formation (Vadim Ghirda/AP) The event is traditionally enjoyed by thousands of spectators. Next week, the RAF's centenary celebratory roadshow, the RAF100 Aircraft Tour, comes to Newcastle, Co Down (August 10-12). The centre-piece will be five full-scale replicas of iconic aircraft that have all played pivotal roles in the RAF's first 100 years. These include a Spitfire, Harrier and Typhoon, several of which will have open cockpits for visitors to enjoy a hands-on experience. The event marks a big moment for the Royal Air Force. One hundred years after it was founded, it's an opportunity for the RAF to mark its role in serving and protecting the nation, but also to acknowledge the role people from Northern Ireland have played in supporting it. Over the years, there has been a tradition of people from Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland volunteering to serve in the RAF - a tradition which still exists today. Before the RAF was formed, in April 1918, its predecessors, the Royal Flying Corp and Royal Navy Air Service, had established several airbases in Ireland. Here, airships and aeroplanes had been carrying out offensive operations against U-boats and establishing training depots. Moreover, a logistical role was emerging, focused upon Aldergrove, which was developed as an aircraft acceptance park to receive and test-fly hundreds of aircraft being constructed in Belfast by shipbuilders Harland & Wolff. Growing political unrest in the run-up to partition resulted in an additional role, providing air support to the police and Army for internal security from a number of airfields, including Omagh. That role would prove to be a recurring aspect of the RAF's presence in Northern Ireland during the Troubles, in which helicopter operations made a novel, and vital, contribution. On May 15, 1925, No 502 (Ulster) Squadron was formed at Aldergrove. It was the first of 21 squadrons of the Special Reserve and Auxiliary Air Force to be formed in the UK. Initially a bombing squadron, it joined RAF Coastal Command in 1938, being awarded five battle honours in the war against enemy U-boats and shipping prior to disbandment in 1945. Reformed in 1946, it became a fighter squadron before disbanding along with all the Royal Auxiliary Air Force squadrons in 1957 - 56 years before being re-embodied at Aldergrove as a non-flying, general squadron in the RAF Reserves. During the 1930s, the RAF took on additional roles, centred on Aldergrove. In 1936, a Meteorological Flight was formed, followed by several that were created during the Second World War and eventually resulted in No 202 Squadron, which was disbanded in 1964. In 1936, floating targets which had been set up on Lough Neagh to facilitate the training requirements of 502 Squadron were the nucleus upon which an extensive bombing and gunnery range was developed and administered by a succession of units based at Aldergrove, and used by numerous squadrons until 1959. During the Second World War, there were 25 military airfields in Northern Ireland. RAF Aldergrove was a "maid of all work", accommodating fighter, general reconnaissance, transport, conversion training units and also No 23 Maintenance Unit. All were used by the RAF for various purposes, but the most important were those used operationally by RAF Coastal Command - Aldergrove, Limavady, Castle Archdale, Nutts Corner and Ballykelly. These were critical to the successful outcome of the Battle of the Atlantic. At least 25 U-boats were destroyed by aircraft operating from them, most by Ballykelly-based aircraft, notably the B-24 Liberator. Sunderland flying boats also played a significant role, operating from Lough Erne via an air corridor established by a secret agreement negotiated between the governments of the UK and neutral Eire. Fermanagh became Northern Ireland's equivalent of Lincolnshire which, during the Second World War, became known as "bomber county" due to the number of RAF bomber bases opened there. Lough Erne became home to air and ground crews from the RAF, Royal Australian Air Force, Royal Canadian Air Force, Royal New Zealand Airforce and the United States Navy, as maximum effort was made to ensure the UK was supplied with food, oil and weapons from the US. It also played a key role in ensuring that in the build up to D-Day, tens of thousands of troops got across the Atlantic in one piece. By the summer of 1942, one allied ship in four was being sunk and Churchill looked for a solution, upping Coastal Command's assets and brushing aside an initial survey which said Lough Erne was "too rough" for sea plane operations. The Sunderlands and Catalinas there gave the RAF an extra 100 miles reach into the Atlantic, narrowing down the ability of the U-boats to attack at will. Tens of thousands of lives were saved, but it came at a high price. More than 300 RAF and Commonwealth aircrew were killed while operating from the Lough. Recently, a new memorial to those killed was unveiled at Lough Erne Yacht Club, which sits on the old site of RAF Killadeas. The most senior Northern Ireland Officer in the RAF, Air Vice-Marshal Harvey Smyth, was at the ceremony and paid tribute to the efforts made to keep the sea lanes open when he said: "The Battle of the Atlantic was a strategically important battle during World War Two and the bases we had here in Co Fermanagh were essential to ensuring all of the UK had food and supplies which, ultimately, helped us win the war. "I've been really keen to be part of the RAF100 events in Northern Ireland. Just from here at Lough Erne more than 300 aircrew gave their lives as part of Coastal Command. "We have a great many young people here today and I hope events like this will inspire them to think about both our history and the way the RAF keeps the skies around our islands safe today." Following the end of the war in 1945, the number of RAF stations in Northern Ireland gradually declined. Ballykelly, which played an important role during the Cold War, closed in 1971. RAF Bishops Court, near Downpatrick, was both a diversionary airfield and a key point in the UK Air Defence Radar network, known as UKADGE. It was closed at the end of the Cold War when the threat from the Russians was believed to have declined. On the other hand, Aldergrove continued to be a very active station and, in 1957, was awarded the Freedom of Belfast. Throughout the Troubles, Aldergrove was home to round-the-clock helicopter flying as part of Operation Banner (1969-2007), concentrating on moving troops and RUC officers to border areas and providing reconnaissance support. 72 Squadron became a permanent fixture, flying Wessex helicopters, and was later joined by 230 Squadron, permanently based there flying the larger Pumas. With the end of the Troubles, the station's days were numbered, due to defence spending cutbacks. In September 2009, the RAF Ensign was lowered for the last time and it became Joint Helicopter Command Flying Station Aldergrove. After this, the sole military aviation presence was the Army Air Corps. All in all, the Army Air Corps, Royal Navy and their RAF counterparts have shared a significant chapter in the history of the airfield, as well as the history of Northern Ireland. Ernie Cromie was chairman of the Ulster Aviation Society from 1982 to 2012 A Belfast biotech company has announced that it's increased its interim funding to $6.8m after a partnership with a FTSE 100 drug company. The deal means that Croda International plc will now have a minority stake in SiSaf, which specialises in new forms of drug delivery. It also means that Croda will be allowed to use and develop SiSaf's patented drug delivery technology, known as ProSilic. SiSaf has also received investment from Co-Fund NI, managed by Clarendon Fund Managers, as well as Innovation Ulster and other Northern Ireland angel investors. Co-Fund's total investment in the company is now 1m . Dr Suzanne Saffie-Siebert, founder and chief executive of SiSaf, said: "This is more than an investment of capital. It is an investment in our belief that good science equals good business. Our strategic partnership with Croda will turn potential into reality much faster than SiSaf could have achieved alone." Neil Simms, investment director of Clarendon, said: "I am delighted that SiSaf has achieved this significant milestone, in its strategic partnership with Croda, which will accelerate ProSilic's commercialisation and expand its routes to market. It comes off the back of a significant 12 months for the company in terms of commercial developments and fund raising, under the leadership of CEO Suzanne, with the support of an exceptional senior management team. "We have high hopes for ProSilic's significant market impact both in terms of the expected international growth in a company that originated in Northern Ireland." Cebu Air Inc., the operator of Cebu Pacific and Cebgo, is adding 10 aircraft to its fleet in 2019 for new international routes. Next year, were adding 10 aircraft. So, were gonna start the new areas... North Asia, especially, Chinese... to connect to the Philippines, Cebu Pacific president and chief executive Lance Gokongwei said. I think, theres gonna be large opportunities to connect the secondary cities in China outside the Beijing, Guangzhou and Shanghai, he said. Gokongwei said the airline planned to fly to Chengdu and Xi An in China. Data from the Tourism Department showed the number of Chinese arrivals to the Philippines in 2017 rose 43 percent to 968,447. Cebu Pacific earlier said it was on track to meet the target of 22 million passengers this year on strong domestic economy. I think the Philippine economy continues to remain very vibrant with increasing income. Likewise, increasing interest from foreign tourists to visit the sites of the Philippines, Gokongwei said.Even with closure of Boracay were seeing tremendous growth in tourism, double-digit so you can imagine the increase when it reopens, he added Cebu Pacific is the market leader with a 42-percent of total seat capacity in Caticlan, the gateway to Boracay. This includes a 14-percent share of its turboprop subsidiary Cebgo and 28 percent of its main jet operation. Data from the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation showed about one million of the 6.6 million overseas visitors to the Philippines in 2017 stopped in Boracay. Boracay is popular with Chinese and South Korean visitors, the largest markets for the Philippine tourism industry. The carrier operates out of seven hubs in the PhilippinesManila, Clark, Cebu, Davao, Cagayan de Oro, Kalibo and Iloilo. Between 2018 and 2022, the airline expects delivery of six additional Airbus A321ceo, 32 Airbus A321neo and eight ATR 72-600. Men carry the body of one of the victims of an explosion near Lamitan City in Basilan province of the southern Philippines, July 31, 2018. On July 31, a man drove up to a checkpoint outside of Lamitan town on Basilan Island in the southern Philippines and detonated a bomb, killing 10 people, including himself. The dead included a soldier, five paramilitaries and three civilians, among them a woman and a child. We should note that the Armed Forces of the Philippines vigorously denies that the attack was a suicide bombing or that it had any ties to the Islamic State (IS), attributing it to a failed extortion attempt. This seems very unlikely, and follows a pattern of Philippine denials of IS influence, which we have consistently seen since 2014. With the five-month siege of Marawi, they should no longer be in denial. But once again, they appear to be deflecting attention from internal security lapses. While the Philippines is no stranger to terrorism, suicide bombings are a rarity. The last occurred in 2002 when a suicide bomber drove a motorcycle laden with an explosive device that killed a member of the U.S. Special Forces outside a restaurant frequented by troops in the southern city of Zamboanga. There has not been one since, even during the siege of Marawi when they were expected. Anytime one crosses that Rubicon, it is significant. But the bombing has significance for a host of other reasons. New fronts and foreign fighters First, while the Philippine military was quick to pin responsibility on the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG), the Islamic State has claimed credit for the attack. The leader of the ASGs Basilan operations, Furuji Indama, was one of Isnilon Hapilons top deputies. Hapilon was one of the first in Southeast Asia to declare his allegiance to the Islamic State in mid-2014. He would later travel to Lanao del Sur where he joined forces with the Maute brothers and perpetrated the Marawi siege in May 2017. Indama was left in charge of Basilan operations and his forces have remained doggedly resilient in the face of government offensives. BenarNews has reported that the operation was done by one of Indamas trusted lieutenants. The bombing happened at a time when IS is in serious need to go on the offensive. It has lost significant territory in the past year, and recently had to reorganize into two wiliyat or provinces, down from 22. While it will not abandon its goal of a caliphate, its losses have been too great to dismiss. IS is clearly laying the theoretical groundwork to go back to a global insurgency. So new fronts are important. There were mixed signals last week about whether IS had declared a wilayat in East Asia. ISs Amaq News Agency announced one, but then seemed to walk it back. Regardless, it is clear that militants in Southeast Asia are trying to escalate the violence to attract the attention of the IS leadership, in order to attain wilayat status. Second, ISs Amaq News Agency announced that the bomber was a Moroccan, Abu Kathir al-Maghribi. This in itself is interesting for a few reasons. Since 2014, IS has told followers that if they could not travel to Iraq or Syria to join the caliphate project, that they should join the fight in Mindanao, the only place in the region where IS groups have a hope of holding territory, or at least making the region significantly ungovernable. This was a central theme of their 2017 video on the Marawi siege, part of their Inside the Caliphate series. Foreign militants flowed into the country in larger numbers ahead of the Marawi siege. Philippine officials estimated their number to be more than 80. Militants from Indonesia and Malaysia, and as far as Saudi Arabia, Yemen and Chechnya, were killed. In 2017, Philippine authorities arrested Middle Easterners and a Spaniard suspected of ties to terrorist groups. Some of the most important IS cells in neighboring Malaysia have been logistic cells in Sabah state, responsible for moving people in and out of the Philippines. Foreigners hold important positions, beyond being contacts who can bring in resources or certain skill sets. They can often transcend some of the parochial divides among the alphabet soup of pro-IS cells that rarely cooperate with each other. In general, foreign militants have eschewed the ASG cells in Sulu, which are renowned for their kidnapping for ransom. Their commitment to IS seems fleeting: it is only Western hostages that they place in front of IS flags, or use IS-style messaging to command higher ransoms. And although they have beheaded hostages in the past, it has only been after ransoms went unpaid. Ammonium nitrate The third reason the attack was significant was that it could indicate learning or cross-fertilization. Bombs have different designs, compositions and detonating devices, commonly referred to as their signature. Philippine authorities have revealed that the composition of the Basilan bomb was ammonium nitrate. Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) tend to reflect what is readily available and within the terrorists technical means. Most IEDs in the southern Philippines are built using artillery or mortar shells, since there are so many of those around. While ammonium nitrate has been used in the Philippines before, it is not that common. Moreover, the use of a car-bomb is highly unusual in the Philippines, though motorcycle-borne IEDs are more common. Fourth, the attack comes just a week after the Philippine Congress finally passed and President Rodrigo Duterte signed the Bangsamoro Organic Law that implements the 2014 peace agreement with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). This attack is an attempt to spoil the peace process and, as such, we should expect more of them. Groups that have pledged allegiance to IS were originally part of the MILF, and now accuse its leadership of siding with the kuffir. Such attacks are not just an attempt to derail the peace process, but an attempt to wrest leadership of the Moro away from the MILF leadership, which they view as having sold out. Indeed, the attack came just a few days after Duterte publicly offered a peace process with the ASG. Fifth, with the death of Hapilon and the Mautes in Marawi, there has been a dearth of leadership. No one person has risen to the top from the vying groups. One of the ways that groups compete is a process of outbidding, perpetrating more violent attacks than others to attract followers and outside support. How far they would go Finally, there are different ways to think about whether the attack was a sign of strength or weakness. The AFP wants to show that their concerted offensives forced the ASG to go on the run, and thus they are now resorting to desperate measures. But I am immediately drawn to the May 2018 suicide bombings in the Indonesian city of Surabaya that saw three families including women, and children 8 to 19 years old launching one unsuccessful and four successful bombings. Those attacks were horrific, and the only thing that I can come up with to explain how parents could do this to their children is that they were trying to set an example for others, showing how far they would go, sacrificing their entire family, for the sake of defending their religion. And that would make sense in this case, if the real intention of the suicide bomber was not to inflict casualties but to inspire others to follow his lead. The attack reiterates just how tenuous the situation is in the Southern Philippines, and cautions against attempts by the government to deflect attention. Zachary Abuza is a professor at the National War College in Washington and the author of Forging Peace in Southeast Asia: Insurgencies, Peace Processes, and Reconciliation. The views expressed here are his own and do not reflect the position of the U.S. Department of Defense, the National War College or BenarNews. Royal Thai police inspect the scene where five men were shot and killed in Yala province, June 11, 2018. As Thailand moves closer to a general election, expected sometime early next year, the current junta members who came to power through a coup four years ago are concerned that they would not have much to show for peace efforts in the Muslim-majority Deep South. The Safety Zone pilot project is pretty much the only thing they have to talk about when it comes to their legacy for this restive region that has claimed about 7,000 lives since January 2004. There are other projects, such as Bring People Home, a half-baked amnesty program that nobody, especially the militants, takes seriously. There is also the 50-million baht (U.S. $1.5 million) civil-military program that involves giving money to local civil-society organizations (CSO) believing this will undermine local support for the Barisan Revolusi Nasional (BRN), the one long-standing separatist movement that controls virtually, if not all, of the militants on the ground. But that, too, flopped, as most longstanding CSOs in the far South shunned the offer. Already, a local political party, Pracha Chat, is in the making and its aim is to cash in on the anti-military sentiment among the general public. Its hard for the Thai leaders to talk about successes and continuity because Thailands counterpart, the MARA Patani, has suspended the dialogue process. The umbrella organization is made up of deep-rooted separatist movements and a handful of BRN members who do not have the support of their top leaders. The organization suspended the talks because they felt belittled by how Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-o-cha treated the Safety Zone project when he casually told Thai reporters that a district has been selected to come under the pilot project. Safety Zone is a designated district government security forces and separatist militants are supposed to observe ceasefire. MARA Patani considered the project to be a breakthrough and wanted the Bangkok government to give it the kind of respect they think it deserves. But Prayuth pulled the rug from their feet and denied them the much-needed spotlight that MARA Patani members think could have enhanced their legitimacy. Although their technical team agreed in principle with the selection of Cho I-rong district, MARA Patani leaders continue to remain tight-lipped. Besides denying them the limelight, Bangkok also refuses to sign the agreement on the Safety Zone pilot project, saying inking anything at this point was unnecessary because the two sides are still at confidence-building stage. For the time being, no one can say when MARA Patani leaders will come out of their corner and resume the talks. Officially, only the Thai side has made a public announcement about Cho I-rong being designated as Safety Zone. Prayuth made the statement to reporters in April and MARA Patani responded by suspending the talks. The following month, the changes in Malaysias political landscape that saw the ouster of UMNO from power after almost 60 years, gave MARA Patani another reason to stall the talks. Abu Hafez al-Hakim, a key member in the organization, said it was premature to predict whether the new government in Kaula Lumpur will retain Ahmad Zamzamin Hashim, Malaysias former spy chief, as the designated facilitator. But even if MARA Patani came around and formally endorsed Cho I-rong as the designated Safety Zone, the project is resting on a shaky ground, as it has always been. First of all, MARA Patani doesnt control the insurgents on the ground; its the BRN. Sources in the Thai government said Zamzamin had assured them last year that the BRN leadership would not sabotage the project. Militants on the ground said they have no problem with observing the ceasefire. But as far as they are concerned, nothing has been formally designated at least not by both sides. So far, militants in Cho I-rong said they have not received any instruction to observe any ceasefire. Some Thai officials working on the insurgency in the far South are wondering if the BRN leadership actually made that kind of commitment to Zamzamin. Some believe Zamzamin may have exaggerated his claim. Moreover, according to the Thai officials, Zamzamin was supposed to arrange a face-to-face meeting between Thailands chief negotiator Gen. Aksara Kherdphol and Doonloh Wae-mano, one of BRNs top leaders. The venue was supposed to be in Indonesia. But that, too, hasnt happened. I dont think the BRN leaders are serious about coming to face-to-face with any Thai representatives, said a Thai army general working in the Far South. If a date hasnt been set by now, the meeting wont happen any time soon. Don Pathan is a Thailand-based security and development consultant for international organizations. The opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and not of BenarNews. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo discussed ways to advance mutual security and economic interests while meeting Friday with Malaysia Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad during a brief courtesy call overshadowed by global issues, officials said. Pompeo, the highest-ranking U.S. official to visit Kuala Lumpur since the election triumph ended six decades of one-party rule in Malaysia, met Mahathir at the start of his four-day visit to Asia, which was aimed at promoting Washingtons Indo-Pacific strategy. Pompeo congratulated the 93-year-old Malaysian leader for the peaceful transition of authority after the May 9 election, State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said in a statement. They discussed ways to work together to strengthen the U.S.-Malaysia Comprehensive Partnership based on shared democratic values, including advancing mutual security and economic interests across the Indo-Pacific, Nauert said, referring to the 30-minute visit. Pompeo arrived in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday evening on his way to Singapore, a global trading hub, where he was expected to hold sit-downs with ministers from the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). During his arrival in Singapore, Pompeo also held talks with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on the sidelines of the regional gathering. North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho is attending the ministerial-level event and U.S. officials have indicated a meeting with Pompeo might take place. Neither Mahathir nor Pompeo issued any public comments, but an aide to the U.S. official said they shook hands and briefly talked about the opposition blocs reformist alliance that defeated Najib Razaks Barisan Nasional coalition after more than six decades in power. An aide to Mahathir declined to comment, telling BenarNews that the meeting, which took place at the prime ministers office in the administrative capital Putrajaya, was private. Pompeo was accompanied by U.S. ambassador to Malaysia Kamala Shirin Lakhdhir during the meeting attended by Malaysias Defense Minister Mohamad Sabu and Deputy Foreign Minister Marzuki Yahya. Washingtons Indo-Pacific vision, which was meant to reshape Americas regional approach and coalesce efforts to manage a rising China, was rolled out in June. In a speech in Washington on Monday, Pompeo alluded that his Southeast Asian trip will touch on Beijings moves to assert sovereignty over disputed areas of the South China Sea. China, Malaysia, Brunei, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam have wrangled over territorial claims in the South China Sea, but tension steadily increased in recent years after Beijings island-building and naval patrols in the contested Spratly Islands and other rocky outcrops and reefs, such as the Scarborough Shoal. While Pompeo was en route to Kuala Lumpur, a senior State Department official told reporters that he was expected to discuss with Mahathir our vision for an open, transparent, rules-based region. When we say free Indo-Pacific, it means we all want all nations, every nation, to be able to protect their sovereignty from coercion by other countries, Pompeo said in his Washington speech. When we say open in the Indo-Pacific, it means we want all nations to enjoy open access to seas and airways. We want the peaceful resolution of territorial and maritime disputes, he said. While emphasizing that it does not take sides in the dispute, Washington has recently sent navy ships and planes near the disputed islands in what it calls as freedom of navigation patrols. Mahathir: Warships attracts other warships In Malaysia, Mahathir repeatedly called for fewer warships in the South China Sea, saying warships attracts other warships. This is because some countries, which see other countries having warships here, are already asking if they should also be sending theirs. Thats not healthy, Mahathir told a June 7 news conference. We prefer if there are no warships around Malaysia. Aside from the South China Sea on the east coast of the peninsula, Malaysia on its west coast shares with Indonesia the narrow Straits of Malacca, one of the major bottlenecks in global shipping routes. A senior U.S. State Department official told reporters that in line with President Donald Trumps objectives, Pompeos meeting with Mahathir aimed at continuing free and fair trade relations. Malaysia as an economy is one of the big success stories in the Asia Pacific and has come a long way in the last few decades, the official said. On Twitter, Pompeo said he was impressed by Malaysias economic development and dynamism. Were proud of our strong partnership with American companies that do business here and I look forward to deepening our partnership on a range of issues, he tweeted Friday. The Judicial and Bar Council will start its vetting process for the five nominees for chief justice post on Aug. 16. Public interviews for all nominees for the post of Chief Justice on Aug. 16, 9 am onwards at the Division Hearing Room, SC (Supreme Court) New Building, the SC Public Information Office said, in its Twitter account. The five aspirants for the most coveted post in the judiciary who managed to beat the July 26 deadline for the submission of applications and requirements are SC Associate Justices Teresita Leonardo-de Castro, Diosdado Peralta and Lucas Bersamin, Andres Reyes Jr., and Tagum City, Davao del Norte Regional Trial Court, Branch 1, Judge Virginia Tejano-Ang. The top judiciary post was left vacant after the SC granted the petition for quo warranto seeking the ouster of Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno for her failure to comply with the constitutional requirement for the submission of Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth for 10 years. Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra, an ex-officio member of the JBC, said that the JBC will hold its final deliberations on August 31 to come up with a shortlist of nominees for the Chief Justice post that will be submitted to President Duterte for his consideration of the next Chief Justice. Of the five SC justices who were automatically nominated to the Chief Justice post, only Justices De Castro, Peralta and Bersamin accepted it. Acting Chief Justice Antonio Carpio, who is the concurrent chairman of the JBC, opted to decline the nomination, while Associate Justice Presbitero Velasco Jr. did not apply since he is retiring on August 7. Reyes accepted the nomination for chief justice after being endorsed by retired JBC Member and retired Sandiganbayan Justice Raul Victorino. Last Tuesday, the SC endorsed the nomination of its four justices, with Bersamin getting the highest number of votes from his colleagues. Bersamin got 10 votes, De Castro and Peralta had nine votes each, while Reyes got two votes. Bersamin, appointed by then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to the SC in 2009, was a former Court of Appeals associate justice. Prior to being a CA magistrate, he was the presiding judge of the Quezon City Regional Trial Court, Branch 96. He will reach the mandatory retirement age of 70 in October 2019.Peralta, a former Sandiganbayan presiding justice, was also appointed by Arroyo to the SC on Jan. 13, 2009. He will retire in March 2022. De Castro, the third most senior magistrate of the High Court, was among those who testified against ousted Chief Justice Sereno during the impeachment proceedings at the House of Representatives. Prior to her appointment to the SC, De Castro served as a law clerk at the High Court, state counsel for the Department of Justice (DOJ), and presiding justice of the Sandiganbayan. She penned the ruling convicting former president Joseph Estrada of plunder. De Castro is set to retire this October. Reyes, a former CA presiding justice, was appointed by President Rodrigo Duterte to the SC in July 2017. Meanwhile, the JBC also opened the nomination for associate justice of the SC to replace newly appointed Ombudsman Samuel Martires. This came after the Supreme Court has approved the early retirement of Martires who was chosen by President Rodrigo Duterte to replace Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales whose term ended last July 26. In its announcement, the JBC said applications or recommendations with the letter of acceptance and other documentary requirements must be submitted on or before September 3, 2018. The rules require applicants to submit documentary requirements, including their complete sworn statements of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALN) for the previous years. All applicants must also submit the results of their medical examinations that they took within the past six months. The JBC is chaired by Acting Chief Justice Carpio with ex-officio members - Senator Richard Gordon and Oriental Mindoro Rep. Reynaldo Umali on a sharing term, and Secretary Guevarra. Military personnel check a motorcycle at a road block entering the town of Lamitan in the southern Philippines, Aug. 2, 2018. The Philippine military is looking into unverified reports that the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) deployed a second van containing explosives similar to the one that killed 10 on the island of Basilan this week. Regional military chief Lt. Gen. Arnel Dela Vega said the military had heard reports of the new bomb, and while the army could not confirm immediately, officers were not discounting them. All possibilities, all indicators that would suggest [that this were true], we are looking at all of that just to ensure that it wont happen again, Dela Vega told reporters on Friday in Zamboanga city, just across the strait from Basilan. Dela Vega said troops and police were targeting persons of interest though he did not divulge details. Merchants were told to look out for anyone purchasing suspicious amounts of ammonium nitrate or other chemicals that could be used to make bombs, he said. The chemical is used to make fertilizer and is readily available in agricultural areas in the south. Military officials said about 40 to 50 kilos of ammonium nitrate with two gallons of gasoline and oil were used in Tuesdays bombing that killed 10 including the driver of a van ferrying the bomb. The blast occurred at a road block outside Lamitan, a mixed Muslim-Christian city in Basilan where security has been tight to prevent ASG militants from carrying out attacks. Police arrested a 58-year-old Muslim cleric who allegedly had ties to the bomber. The Islamic State (IS) identified the bomber as a Moroccan operative, a claim that security analysts said was highly likely even as the military expressed caution about the bombers identity. The SITE Intelligence Group, citing the IS Amaq news, identified the bomber as Moroccan Abu Kathir al-Maghribi. In Manila, presidential spokesman Harry Roque said authorities were investigating and verifying whether the bombing was carried out by IS. I would not jump to any conclusion. So far we know that there has been a local cleric who has been ordered arrested, Roque told reporters. We know that it exploded in a vehicle and that it killed both passengers and those manning the checkpoint. He said enforcement agencies were expected to issue a final investigation report identifying the bomber. We are still not verifying that this was an ISIS attack. Authorities are still investigating. Its very easy to claim credit for a foreign attack, Roque said, using another acronym for the Islamic State group. Military intelligence sources earlier said the blast could have been directed by Mike Lijal, believed to be one of the aides of Furuji Indama (alias Abu Dujanah), ASGs Basilan commander. Indama took the ASG reins from Isnilon Hapilon, the acknowledged IS commander in the south who led a combat force that occupied the southern city of Marawi city last year. Hapilon was killed in October, effectively ending the five-month siege that left 1,200 people dead and Marawi in shambles. While the government appears to be treading carefully about the IS angle, security analysts said Philippine military officials should take the claim seriously instead of deflecting criticism away from internal security lapses. ASG, founded in the early 1990s, is notorious for kidnappings, bombings and beheadings in southern Philippines over the past two decades. The group was blacklisted by the United States as a foreign terrorist organization. It continues to hold several foreigners and Filipinos hostage after beheading a German captive and two Canadian hostages in the past two years. Military spokesman Col. Edgard Arevalo urged the public to trust security forces, saying that the armed forces could use all its resources to crush the militants. He cautioned against readily accepting the IS claim to the Basilan bombing, noting it could have been an extortion attempt by ASG that went awry. Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte wants to revive the death penalty, his spokesman stressed Friday, putting him on a collision course with the Catholic Church just a day after Pope Francis called it unacceptable in all circumstances. Duterte last year asked a Congress dominated by his allies to prioritize a bill to bring back death by electrocution, citing a runaway crime rate in Asias only predominantly Catholic country. The House of Representatives has approved the bill, but the Senate has not debated it. Duterte won the presidency two years ago on a vow to rid the country of crime and he has given the police wide latitude in conducting its war on drugs, which he blamed as the root of all crime. More than 4,000 suspected pushers and addicts have died in police encounters, though rights groups say the estimate could go as high as 12,000. Bringing back the death penalty for serious drug-related offenses is still a priority of this administration, presidential spokesman Harry Roque told reporters on Friday. But the decision is still with the Senate, after the House passed it, he said. Under the bill, so-called heinous crimes would be punishable by death. Those include some forms of rape and murder, as well as drug related offenses, including the import, sale, manufacture, delivery and distribution of narcotics. I think the matter of the death penalty is in the hands of the senators now. So we leave it to the Senate whatever decision they may have, Roque said, even as he stressed that Duterte would still try gentle persuasion on the Senate. Wrong in all cases: Vatican Roque commented after Pope Francis issued a definitive statement that capital punishment is wrong in all cases. The stand went against the previous Catholic doctrine that the death penalty can be acceptable if the guilt of the party has been fully determined and if this is the only possible way of effectively defending lives against the unjust aggressor. The Vatican said the change came about after a new understanding has emerged of the significance of penal sanctions imposed by the state and thus the death penalty is inadmissible. The decision was arrived at just this week, and was signed by the Vaticans prefect, Cardinal Francisco Ladaria. The Pope on Thursday also said that the church would work to abolish capital punishment around the world. The death penalty was abolished in the Philippines in 2006 when more than 1,200 inmates on death row had their sentences commuted to life in prison. The move was orchestrated by then-President Gloria Arroyo, a staunch Catholic and a vocal opponent of death penalty who serves as House speaker and a known ally of Duterte. Arroyo was installed as commander in chief of the country after graft-tainted leader Joseph Estrada was forced out of office over a massive corruption scandal in 2001. Under Estradas term, the Philippines saw the resumption of executions in 1999 as a reaction to a rising crime wave. But the Catholic Church prevailed on Estrada a year later to issue a moratorium, which held until Arroyo took over. Duterte, who claims that he was molested as a child by a Catholic priest, has been pushing for the death penalty. He first stated his support for the death penalty last year, when he told Congress during an address that capital punishment is not only about deterrence, its also about retribution. He has argued that it was necessary to instill fear among criminals, particularly drug pushers who have been emboldened over the years. In the Philippines, it is really an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. You took life, you must pay it with life, Duterte had said. Felipe Villamor in Manila contributed to this report. What Does Living in Service to the Lord Look Like? If we dont want to endure the same hardships of the Israelites from years ago (forty years of traveling aimlessly), we need to take to heart what it means to have ones home in service to the Lord. Firstly, it does not mean that you only present yourself and your family as surface Christians, which means that you walk, talk, and interact as Christians but deep down live for oneself or in pledges to other gods/idols. Just because you are adorning the walls of your home with beloved scripture verses and end your statements with, Ill be praying for you, doesnt mean that your service to the Lord is true and evident. Secondly, being in service to the Lord in your home doesnt mean that you only serve the Lord when it is convenient for you or when you are in a period of blessings from God. God doesnt listen to your prayers or intervene in your life when its convenient for Him or when He will receive benefits from you; God helps mankind because it is part of a greater plan that will benefit and grow us in faith and in love for Him. Pray Genuinely, from Your Heart What does it mean, then, to live out this verse of for me and my house, we will serve the Lord? It means being the Christian that Jesus describes in Matthew 6, not doing deeds or saying prayers with the goal for others to see and be proud of you. If you are in true pursuit of worshipping the Lord through service, Jesus says that you are performing a good service for the Lord and not others: do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. (Matt. 6:2) When you pray, it is okay to pray with others and seek petitions from God for the things you need and/or the needs of others, however; the hypocrites Jesus depicts in the Scriptures are those who speak words in repetition to sound more scholarly and self-righteous, wanting more the applause of others than the appreciation of God. He advises, instead that, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. (Matt. 6:6) Photo Courtesy: Unsplash Plus, Bill's Message of the Day, the loss of religion in America. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices We Won't Ignore These Orcas' Plight We all saw the heartbreaking story this week of the mother orca in Washington pushing her dead calf for almost a week. It was a devastating reminder of their dire situation: This iconic orca species is down to just 75 individuals and facing extinction. That's why on Wednesday, the Center for Biological Diversity and allies filed our notice of intent to sue the Trump administration for failing to protect Southern Resident killer whales from boat traffic and noise in a key foraging area near Washington's San Juan Island. The "whale protection zone," which we petitioned for in 2016, could help save these orcas from extinction. We're also seeking expanded protected habitat along the West Coast. "These orcas are dying out right in front of our eyes while the Trump administration ignores their plight," said the Center's Miyoko Sakashita. "We can't let that happen." Get more from KIRO Seattle. The conference will have over 250 experts addressing 3500+ delegates and 300+ exhibitors showcasing their services, products and technologies to 11000+ visitors. (L-R- Shailendra Kumar Tyagi, Director, STPI; Gaurav Gupta, Principal Secretary, Department of Commerce & Industries and Department of IT, BT and Science & Technology; K.J.George, Minister for Large & Medium Scale Industries, Sugar, IT & BT, and Science and Technology, Govt of Karnataka; Kris Gopalakrishnan, Co-founder, Infosys Ltd.; Chairman, Vision Group on IT, Govt of Karnataka; Krishnakumar Natarajan, CEO & MD, Mindtree, Chairman, Conference Committee, Bengaluru Tech Summit 2018; K Nagaraj, Director, Dept of IT&BT and MD KBITS, Govt of Karnataka) The Department of IT, BT, Government of Karnataka is organizing the 21st edition of its flagship event Bengaluru Tech Summit from 29th November to 1st December, 2018 at Bengaluru Palace with the focal theme Innovation & Impact. The event spectrum would include multi-track conference, B2B Expo, Thought Leaders Conclave, IT Export Awards, Bio Excellence Awards, Bengaluru Tech Exchange, Show Stoppers- Product Launch and Global Innovation Zone, Startups, and posters. The conference will have over 250 experts addressing 3500+ delegates and 300+ exhibitors showcasing their services, products and technologies to 11000+ visitors. At the recently held curtain raiser press conference for the 21st edition of Bengaluru Tech Summit, K J George, Minister for Large & Medium Scale Industries, IT & BT, S&T, Govt. of Karnataka said, Karnataka is the torch bearer for IT & BT industry. The government is committed to the startup ecosystem to drive Karnataka and the nations growth. This event will provide an excellent opportunity to both industry and stakeholders to connect with the best minds to explore how to fuel their business growth. Gaurav Gupta, Principal Secretary, Dept. of Commerce & Industries, Dept of IT, BT, S&T stated, Bengaluru Tech Summit has been instrumental in promoting the IT industry for more than two decades. This years event is primarily focused on three agendas- Emerging Technologies, Startups and Global Alliances. Before going ahead with the curtain raiser press conference, Karnataka Government officials got together with the industry experts over breakfast to discuss the key agendas and policies in store for the upcoming event. The breakfast meet was directly followed by a detailed meeting with the officials from different countries who showed keen interest in getting associated with the Bengaluru Tech Summit. The upcoming Bengaluru Tech Summit is all set to offer fantastic opportunity for entrepreneurs, developers, students and others to mingle, reach out and discover the Indian Tech innovation ecosystem. Defence Minister Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman felicitated Dr. K M Cherian with the award. Dr. K M Cherian was felicitated as "Pioneer in Cardiac Surgery and Modern Sushrutha of Cardiac Surgery" at the National Holistic Cardiology Conclave 2018 (NHCC2018), recently. Defence Minister Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman inaugurated the meet and felicitated Dr. K M Cherian with an award. According to Dr. A. Mathavan Director - Cardiology, Velammal Hospital and Chairman of NHCC2018, I personally feel that Dr. K.M. Cherian truly deserves the award as he has Pioneered Cardiac Surgery in India, He is a true stalwart of his profession and also his experience and interest on AYUSH, and such ayurvedic medicines proves that he is the Modern Sushruta of Cardiac Surgery. Receiving the award Dr. K M Cherian, Chairman and CEO of Frontier Lifeline Hospital said I am humbled, honoured and happy to receive such prestigious award this evening from the honourable Defence Minister Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman. This Conference proved as an effective forum for participants to exchange knowledge and ideas. It is an opportunity for individuals to exchange thoughts and meet outstanding professionals who demonstrated vision, compassion and dedication in their field. The conclave would also empower all the physicians to handle cardiac emergencies. Recently Dr. K.M. Cherian donated a statue of Sushruta seated over the inscribed plinth to the Royal Australian College of Surgeons in order to boost the students and trainees to perform better and achieve higher. According to Dr. K M Cherian the main aim of gifting the statue to the college is to motivate the students and professionals to strive for greater heights and to contribute more actively towards promoting the professions intellectual, creative and ethical value systems and also to make them know the highest standards of excellence in Cardiac health care. Dr. K. M. Cherian gave an excellent presentational talk on the origin and importance of Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting (CABG) Cardiac Surgery in India. He was asked to talk on the topic PCI CAN NEVER CONQUER CABG. As a speaker he made it possible to convince the participants and impressed upon them that PCI CAN NEVER CONQUER CABG. The scientic programme has been meticulously planned to encompass a wide array of contemporary topics and to showcase the cutting edge technologies in the eld of Clinical and Interventional Cardiology. More than 1000 cardiologist participated in the event. This event also brought together the collaborative efforts from Cardiologists and General physicians from various National and International hospitals under one roof to disseminate the knowledge of new treatment strategies and technologies to participants. The chairman of the House of Representatives committee on appropriations has urged the Department of Agriculture to run after rice hoarders and smugglers in compliance to President Rodrigo Dutertes directive to get rid of rice syndicates, rice smugglers and rice hoarders. The President, in his State of the Nation Address, gave a very stern warning to all of these rice syndicates, rice smugglers, rice hoarders and all of these people. So what can you say about it? Davao City Rep. Karlo Nograles, the panels chairman, asked DA Secretary Manny Pinol during the panels deliberations on the agencys proposed budget of P55.9 billion for 2019. Before throwing this question, Nograles said the current shortage of NFA rice was the cheapest rice variety in the market at P27 per kilo. This is about half the price of commercial rice and is the one usually bought by poor Filipinos, if they have money for food at all. Also on Thursday, Camarines Sur Rep. Luis Raymund Villafuerte said the bill liberalizing rice imports would result in a decrease in the price of the staple by as much as P7 per kilo and set up a support fund that would enable palay growers to raise their harvests while lowering their production costs. Villafuerte said that with the Presidents endorsement of the rice tariffication bill, it was incumbent upon both chambers of the Congress to prioritize its passage to reduce rice prices. The price of the staple has been going up owing to the supply shortfall and volatile prices of the grain in the domestic retail market.The rice tariffication bill will hit two birds with one stone: it will help pull down rice prices and stabilize its supply while helping our farmers become competitive, Villafuerte, vice chairman of the House committees on appropriations and local government, said. Nograles said certain rice traders were purposely hoarding rice.[There] is a problem with how we distribute the NFA rice and make it accessible to people with the presence of rice hoarders, rice syndicates who create the artificial shortage, Nograles said. In response, Pinol said that Nograless observation was not unfounded. Last year, in General Santos City, the NBI [National Bureau of Investigation]raided a warehouse where NFA rice was being repacked. So it was not unfounded, but it was not as rampant as people believe it to be, claimed the DA chief. Pinol said dubious rice repacking activities involved the mixing of cheap NFA rice into commercial rice varieties. This way, rice traders can turn a bigger profit. I am happy to report that since the President made his statement at the Sona, the Bureau of Customs [BoC], NBI and the police have already been scouring warehouses. In fact, there was already a raid conducted in Laguna which yielded P25 million worth of undocumented rice, he told the Nograles panel. Pinol added that BuCor had done a splendid job in curbing rice smuggling in the countrys southern backdoor where smuggled rice from Malaysia used to enter. To secure the release of three Filipino engineers hostaged by an unknown group, President Rodrigo Duterte said Friday he will send two frigates to Libya. Duterte made the remark after reports that the South Korean government deployed a warship as a show of force, aiming to secure the release of one of its nationals who was abducted along with the three Filipinos. The Koreans have sent a ship. You know I am not joking. I will also send one if they begin to hurt the Filipinos there. I will send a frigate...I will send two. You fools, Duterte said Friday night in a speech in Bukidnon. The President said the abduction will be part of the agenda of a joint military-police command conference on Tuesday. Meanwhile, Duterte said he has yet to look through the plan on the safe release of the hostages.He added that he plans to tackle the matter when the Cabinet meets on Monday. I would like to make the announcement in this Cabinet meeting, then here in the command conference of police and military. I want you to come up with a modality and raise the bar higher, Duterte said. The three Filipinos and Korean were abducted at a water project site in western Libya. PR Newswire MINNEAPOLIS, Aug. 3, 2018 MINNEAPOLIS, Aug. 3, 2018 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Three Adolfson & Peterson Construction (AP) projects were awarded Top Projects of 2017 by Finance & Commerce. A panel of judges in construction and related industries looked at several factorsdifficulty, creativity in design, innovative construction techniques, cooperation among contractors and management and sustainability effortsto select these honorees. Top Projects recipients were recognized at the award ceremony on Thursday, July 26 at the Nicollet Island Pavilion. Project teams from Hennepin County Library-Webber Park, The Landing Hotel and Residences and the University of Minnesota Main Energy Plant were in attendance to graciously accept these awards. The new 8,400-square-foot Hennepin County Library-Webber Park is open and flexible, with a welcoming environment designed to meet the learning and information needs of the community. It offers a variety of spaces to read and gather, including meeting rooms and study areas for all ages, a children's area and increased access to public-use technology, computers and library collections. Located in the Camden neighborhood of Minneapolis, this new Hennepin County facility was designed with input gathered through a successful community engagement phase. The 5th and final block of the multi-phase 14.5-acre Promenade of Wayzata features The Landing Hotel and Residences (The Landing). The 300,000-square-foot building consists of underground and elevated three-level parking, a four-story 92-room boutique hotel with a stunning two-story restaurant, prestigious banquet facilities, a Scandinavian inspired spa and 14,000-square-feet of premier retail space. The residence portion of the building includes 30 high-end for-sale private condominiums. The Landing is the first hotel to be built on Lake Minnetonka in 50-years and the first hotel in Wayzata in over a century. As part of the University of Minnesota's goal to reduce carbon emissions 50% by the year 2020, the University of Minnesota Main Energy Plant retrofitted a historical steam plant building built in 1912 with state-of-the-art combined heating and power equipment, including the installation of a jet engine turbine to simultaneously produce electricity and thermal energy in a single process. This project is one of the only combined heat and power projects in the nation to utilize and retrofit a building of this size and age. About AP Adolfson & Peterson Construction (AP) is a family-owned company that is consistently ranked among the top construction managers and general contractors in the nation. With a mission of building a better tomorrow, AP focuses on projects that enhance communities where we live and work. Founded in 1946, AP is known within the building industry for outperforming our competition with innovative and collaborative approaches. AP has built longstanding relationships with our clients and communities by serving the commercial, education, healthcare, hospitality, industrial, multifamily, municipal, recreation and senior living market segments. Our passionate employees with an average tenure of more than seven years work from offices in Dallas, Denver, Minneapolis and Phoenix. For more information, visit http://www.a-p.com and follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter. SOURCE Adolfson & Peterson Construction 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 PR Newswire CHICAGO, Aug. 2, 2018 CHICAGO, Aug. 2, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The Chicago School of Professional Psychology (TCSPP) will be well represented at the 126th Annual American Psychological Association Convention from August 9th through August 12th in San Francisco. With a wide breadth of knowledge on all aspects of mental and behavioral health, TCSPP experts will present on many pressing issues, including making psychology a sanctuary discipline by protecting and humanizing immigrants (Saturday, 4 p.m.), the aging brain (Thursday, 11 a.m.) and healing the wounds of systemic racism (Thursday, 3 p.m.). Below is the full list of presentations. THURSDAY, AUGUST 9 Time Type Presentation Location 8:00 AM 8:50 AM Symposium: 1018 Addressing Global Challenges Through International Psychology Division/Sponsor: 52-International Psychology (Breeda McGrath, Online Dean of Academic Affairs) Moscone Center/Room 308 Level Three-South Building 9:00 AM 9:50 AM Poster Session: 1063 II: Examining Factors That Influence Adverse Life Events Among Homeless Black MalesDivision/Sponsor: 27-Community (Larry E. Britton, Jr., Student, Forensic Psychology) Moscone Center/Halls ABC Exhibition Level-South Building 11:00 AM 11:50 AM Symposium: 1143 Critical Issues in Counseling Psychology Section Roundtables Division/Sponsor: 17-Counseling (Shavonne J. Moore, DC Clinical Psy.D., Director, Clinical Training) Moscone Center/Rooms 3022 and 3024 Level 3-West Building Symposium: 1145 Advocacy for Serious Mental IllnessEducation, Assessment, Intervention, and ConsultationDivision/Sponsor: 18-Public Service (Shavonne J. Moore, DC Clinical Psy.D., Director, Clinical Training) Moscone Center/Room 105 Lobby Level-South Building Symposium: 1170 The Aging BrainNew Frontiers in Neuroscience and Medicine Division/Sponsor: 55-Pharmacotherapy; Co-List: 20 (Gerardo Rodriguez-Menendez, Online M.S. Psychopharmacology Department Chair) Moscone Center/Room 314 Level Three-South Building Poster Session: 1152 Prevention of Anorexia in the Jewish Community Division/Sponsor: 27-Community (Laura Negin, LA Clinical Psy.D. Director, Clinical Training & Guy Balice, LA Clinical Psy.D. Faculty) Moscone Center/Halls ABC Exhibition Level-South Building 12:00 PM 12:50 PM Symposium: 1208 What Students Should Know About Prescriptive Privileges and Training OpportunitiesDivision/Sponsor: 55-Pharmacotherapy; Co-List: 50, APAGS (Gerardo Rodriguez-Menendez, Chair, MS Clinical Psychopharmacology Program) Moscone Center/Room 2006 Level 2-West Building 1:00 PM 1:50 PM Poster Session: 1229 Critical Topics in Data-Based Decision Making and Professional Issues Division/Sponsor: 16-School (Tiffany L. Keller, Chicago School ED.S. Faculty) Moscone Center/Halls ABC Exhibition Level-South Building 2:00 PM 2:50 PM Symposium Internationalizing Efforts in Psychology to Address Global Issues: Perspectives from Early Career Psychologists Division/Sponsor: Division 52 - International Psychology (Breeda McGrath, Online Dean of Academic Affairs) Division 52 Suite Conversational Hour (TBD) 2:00 PM 3:50 PM Symposium: 1308 Current Applications and Training Considerations in the Area of School NeuropsychologyDivision/Sponsor: 16-School; Co-List: 33 (Rik D'Amato, Chicago School ED.S. Faculty) Moscone Center/Room 151 Upper Mezzanine-South Building 3:00 PM 3:50 PM Symposium: 1355 Radical Healing in Communities of ColorHealing the Wounds of Systemic RacismDivision/Sponsor: 45-Psychological Study of Culture, Ethnicity and Race; Co-List: 27 (Hector Adames, Chicago Clinical Masters, Associate Department Chair; Nayeli Y. Chavez-Duenas, Chicago Clinical Masters Faculty) Moscone Center/Room 2006 Level 2-West Building 4:00 PM 4:50 PM Session Changing Landscape of Academic PositionsDivision/Sponsor: Committee on Early Career Psychologists (Linda Gomberg Department Faculty, Forensic Psychology; and Loren M. Hill, Department Chair, Forensic Psychology) Grad Student and Early Career Hospitality Space in the Convention Center FRIDAY, AUGUST 10 Time Type Presentation Location 8:00 AM 9:50 AM Symposium: 2033 Do We Need Practice Guidelines for Working with Kinky Couples+? Division/Sponsor: 43-Couple and Family Psychology; Co-List 17, 29 (Braden Berkey, Chicago Clinical Psy.D. Faculty) Moscone Center/Room 152 Upper Mezzanine-South Building 10:00 AM 10:50 AM Poster Session: 2123 Ways of Healing for People and Communities of ColorDivision/Sponsor: 45-Psychological Study of Culture, Ethnicity and Race(Hector Adames, Chicago Clinical Masters, Associate Department Chair; Nayeli Y. Chavez-Duenas, Chicago Clinical Masters Faculty; and students) Moscone Center/Halls ABC Exhibition Level-South Building Keeping the Faith: Transformative Teachings of Dr. Joseph L. White, Godfather of Black Psychology Radical Existence: A Qualitative Study of Trans Latinx Immigrants Reclaiming Their Voices: A Qualitative Study of Detained Immigrant Women 4:00 PM 4:50 PM Symposium: 2291 Deconstructing BoxesThe Importance of Queer People Subverting White HomonormativityDivision/Sponsor: 45-Psychological Study of Culture, Ethnicity and Race; Co-List: 35, 44, 51, 56 (Hector Adames, Chicago Clinical Masters, Associate Department Chair) Moscone Center/Room 2014 Level 2-West Building SATURDAY, AUGUST 11 Time Type Presentation Location 10:00 AM 10:50 AM Skill-Building Session: 3106 Teaching Lifespan Development OnlineDivision/Sponsor: 2-Teaching; Co-List: 20 (Jessica J. Cerniak, Online M.A. Psychology Faculty) Moscone Center/Room 2018 Level 2-West Building Poster Session: 3114 Systems-Level Assessment, Intervention, and Consultation Division/Sponsor: 16-School; Co-List: 27 (Rik D'Amato, Chicago School ED. S. Faculty) Moscone Center/Halls ABC Exhibition Level-South Building Symposium: 3146 Utilizing a Multicultural Framework in Trauma PsychologyTheory, Research, and PracticeDivision/Sponsor: 56-Trauma Psychology (Shavonne J. Moore, DC Clinical Psy.D., Director, Clinical Training) Moscone Center/Room 314 Level Three-South Building Poster Session: 3130 Diversity and Intersectionality in Women's Experiences and Well-Being Across the Lifespan Division/Sponsor: 35-Psychology of Women (Tiffany L. Keller, Chicago School ED.S. Faculty) Moscone Center/Halls ABC Exhibition Level-South Building 1:00 PM 1:50 PM Symposium: 3276 Internationalizing PsychologyFrom School to Services: CODAPAR Interdivisional Grants Projects Division/Sponsor: CODAPAR-APA Committee on Division/APA Relations(Kelley Haynes-Mendez, Online M.A. Psychology Faculty) Moscone Center/Room 215 Level Two-South Building 4:00 PM 4:50 PM Symposium: 3350 Making Psychology a Sanctuary DisciplineA Call to Protect and Humanize ImmigrantsDivision/Sponsor: 45-Psychological Study of Culture, Ethnicity and Race; Co-List: 7, 9, 12, 16, 17, 27, 35, 37, 43, 56, APAGS (Hector Adames, Chicago Clinical Masters, Associate Department Chair; Nayeli Y. Chavez-Duenas, Chicago Clinical Masters Faculty) Moscone Center/Room 151 Upper Mezzanine-South Building Symposium: 3354 Toward a New Model--- Predoctoral Training in Clinical PsychopharmacologyDivision/Sponsor: 55-Pharmacotherapy; Co-List: 31, APAGS (Gerardo Rodriguez-Menendez, Chair, MS Clinical Psychopharmacology Program) Moscone Center/Room 2009 Level 2-West Building SUNDAY, AUGUST 12 Time Type Presentation Location 9:00 AM 9:50 AM Symposium: 4055 Social Class in Psychotherapy ResearchConsiderations for Measurement, Design, and Analysis Division/Sponsor: 29-Society for the Advancement of Psychotherapy (Rachel Nitzarim, Chicago Clinical Psy.D., Associate Director of Training, Clinical Psy.D.) Moscone Center/Room 207 Level Two-South Building About The Chicago School of Professional PsychologyFounded in 1979, The Chicago School of Professional Psychology (TCSPP) is a nonprofit, private school devoted exclusively to psychology, and related behavioral health sciences. The Chicago School is an affiliate of TCS, a nonprofit system of colleges advancing student success and community impact. The institution serves approximately 4,300 students across campuses in Chicago; Southern California (Los Angeles, Irvine and San Diego); and Washington, D.C., as well as through online programs. The Chicago School is accredited by the WASC Senior College and University Commission (WSCUC), and its Clinical Psychology Doctoral Programs in Chicago and Washington, D.C. are accredited by the American Psychological Association. With more than 20 graduate degree programs, thousands of hours of real-world training, and a wealth of international opportunities, TCSPP is the leader in professional psychology and behavioral health education. To learn more, visit www.thechicagoschool.edu. MEDIA CONTACT: Lisa [email protected] View original content with multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/the-chicago-school-psychologists-well-represented-at-apa-convention-300691575.html SOURCE The Chicago School of Professional Psychology In a sharp departure from the practice of her predecessor, Speaker Gloria Macagpagal Arroyo on Friday vowed that no legislative districts would be starved for funds, even though their representatives belonged to the opposition. There will be no zero budget for opposition lawmakers. All lawmakers will receive their congressional entitlements as a gesture of goodwill, Arroyo said in Filipino. Even Arroyos critics will get a fair share of budget entitlements in their legislative districts next year, said Majority Leader and Camarines Sur Rep. Rolando Andaya Jr. As far as the Arroyo-led House is concerned, the days of economic bullying are over, he said. The zero budget policy is over, Andaya said. Appropriations proposed by the Executive for projects and programs in a congressional district represented by a non-majority coalition member will not be drastically cut or reduced to zero. During his term as a Speaker, Davao City Rep. Pantaleon Alvarez adopted the policy of withholding funds from districts whose representatives did not vote for certain administration measures. But this will not happen again, Andaya said, as all congressmen will be treated equitably despite their refusal to support certain bills. Andaya said Davao City Rep. Karlo Nograles, chairman of the House committee on appropriations, was tasked to implement Arroyos order. The big picture here is that constituents of opposition congressmen pay taxes so they are entitled to enjoy the fruits of their payments, he said. In a plenary session Wednesday, lawmakers also agreed to begin the daily sessions at the House at 3 pm instead of 4 pm to enable the chamber to be more productive and ensure the passage of priority bills without delay. Among the priorities are the 2019 national budget and Charter change for federalism. The House committee on appropriations, chaired by Nograles, aims to pass the 2019 budget by end of August, setting the stage for its plenary approval in September. On the other hand, the House appointed Leyte Rep. Vicente Veloso as the new chairman of the House committee on constitutional amendments, is set to begin deliberations on the draft federal constitution prepared by the Consultative Committee. Veloso replaced Southern Leyte Rep. Roger Mercado as head of the committee after the latter abstained from voting for Arroyo as Speaker.Cebu City Rep. Rodrigo Abellanosa was named as the new chairman of House committee on natural resources, replacing LPGMA Party-list Rep. Arnel Ty. Both Mercado and Ty, who are allied with the ousted Alvarez, have joined the minority group under ABS Party-list Rep. Eugene de Vera. Meanwhile, PDP-Laban president Senator Aquilino Pimentel III said they have yet to decide if Arroyo would get a higher position in the party, now that she is Speaker. Pimentel admitted there was a merit to the suggestions to give Arroyo a high position in the party since she holds a high post in the government. Pimentel acknowledged there was merit in proposals to give her a high position in the party, in keeping with her rank in government. Despite the actions of a breakaway group that ousted Pimentel as president, he said the PDP-Laban was healthy and in its golden age. Speaking to party members during a top-level meeting, Pimentel said PDP-Laban has grown from just 40,000 to 93,000 registered members. Pimentel credited the partys growth to its chairman, President Rodrigo Duterte. The meeting came a week after a faction of the ruling party elected a new set of officers, ousting Pimentel, and only retaining Duterte as chairman. Pimentel said the meeting was a regular gathering and a start of a series of meetings as the 2019 midterm polls near. Among those present in the meeting at a hotel in Quezon City were Alvarez, PDP-Laban vice chairman; Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi; Interior Undersecretary Martin Dino, and Davao 1st district Representative Karlo Nograles. The Armed Forces of the Philippines on Friday said it is looking into reports that the Abu Sayyaf group has deployed a second van with explosives similar to those used in Lamitan, Basilan. The military refused to give further details but said operations are now ongoing against persons of interest to quell another possible attack. Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao Gov. Mujiv Hataman said while there are some Abu Sayyaf members who have surrendered, the terrorist group still maintains some bomb experts. They still have people. Those who surrendered said that those who have been trained are still there, Hataman said in Filipino. The Palace urged the public Friday not to speculate or jump to any conclusions following the latest terrorist attack in Lamitan, Basilan. For now, I ask the public to cease and desist from making any speculation and let us wait for the final investigation report from law enforcement agencies, said Roque in a press briefing in Malaybalay City, Bukidnon. Roque made the remark upon the claim that suicide bombers from the Islamic State infiltrated the country and executed the bombing in Lamitan killing 10 people and severely injuring several others. I would not jump to any conclusion. So far, we know that there has been a local cleric who has been ordered arrested. We know that it was exploded in a vehicle and that it killed both passengers and those manning the checkpoint. I still have to get a final investigation report from law enforcement agencies, Roque said. He added that they are still verifying that the ISIS was behind the attack as it was very easy to claim credit for a foreign attack. On Thursday, Malacanang vowed to bring the perpetrators behind the latest terrorist attack. The Philippine National Police on Friday also advised the public to ignore scare rumors. There is no specific threat on any particular target. Therefore, the text scare being spread around is untrue and is obviously designed only to create panic. Scare messages of this nature deserve to be discarded and not shared, the PNP said in a statement. Break the scare chain. Delete that message as soon as it is received, it added. The PNP said it was laying out a preventive plan that would deter terrorists from infiltrating the community.It asked the public to remain vigilant, but reminded them that panic will only make matters worse. Zamboanga City Mayor Isabelle Climaco-Salazar said the city has doubled security measures especially with information of another possible bombing. He said measures have also been taken to protect checkpoints. Department of the Interior and Local Government Officer-in-Charge Eduardo Ano said another terrorist attempt may be prevented if the community will be more vigilant of movements in their territories. The AFP said there was no sign that Tuesdays attack in Lamitan was carried out by a suicide bomber. I would like to make it clear for now that there is no indication that the Basilan blast was a suicide bombing, said AFP spokesman Col. Edgard Arevalo. He said many factors could have contributed to the explosion, including the possibility that the still unidentified driver could have panicked after seeing the soldiers at the checkpoint. The AFP spokesperson added that the military also believes that the van driver, who was among the 10 persons killed in the blast, was not the bomber but only a courier of the IEDs. Intelligence reports said the Abu Sayyaf Group was planning to deploy the explosives in populated areas in Lamitan City. Arevalo said it is also possible that a companion of the courier, who acted as a sweeper, could have detonated the IEDs upon seeing the courier being intercepted by soldiers at the checkpoint. In the wake of the Lamitan attack, the Mactan-Cebu International Airport Authority is on heightened alert. MCIAA general manager, Steve Dicdican, announced Thursday night that they have intensified security measures at the airport and its premises on orders of Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade. Our facilities must be kept protected from any incident caused by inadequate security measures and lapses in our security procedures, he said, stressing the need for inter-agency cooperation against any threat to public order and safety. The Imperium Censorship of YouTube When the 1948 masterpiece Imperium by Francis Parker Yockey becomes the focus of censorship by YouTube, you know that burying the memory hole has been accelerated to protect the safe space for anyone who cannot handle the truth. The fear that people might wake-up and start educating oneself motivates the shadow banning of any historic account that conflicts with the purity of an official narrative. That is why, Imperium the foe of the NWO, must be silenced. Yockey reflected an account of yesteryear that would get one expelled from those echo chambers of accepted culture. "Today, history is written from the Marxist standpoint of economics, linear progress and class warfare. The originators, designers and masterminds of NWO Totalitarianism, in every and all forms, succeeded in transforming the United States into the great defender on the International . . . The necessity to inflict multiculturalism as the categorical reducing and retarding leveler, results in the demise of Western Civilization. Denying that the tribe is the essential community element is the foremost fraud that underpins contrived and manufactured emotional guilt, parity and self-admonishment. The controllers of the mythical mass colorless race and congenial culture, that drives assimilation into the world community - must destroy the uniqueness of every group - to squeeze the shackles of bondage, under the new age society of the New World Order." For those who retain a degree of curiosity, review the table of contents and complete chapters of the Imperium text. Then view the video on Imperium. The academic value for research, context and factual perspective is invaluable. However, the systemic purge of conflicting consciousness is now the new definition to qualify for addition to the YouTube service of accepted thought. Note that a BATR third party upload just received viewing limitations. Your video Julius Evola on Francis Parker Yockey's Imperium was flagged to us by the YouTube community. Upon review, we have placed restrictions on how the video will be shown. Please note that your video will continue to be available on YouTube. Video content restrictions We believe in the principles of free speech, even when that speech is unpopular or potentially offensive to some viewers. However, YouTube doesn't allow hate speech or content that promotes or incites violence. In some cases, flagged videos that do not clearly breach the Community Guidelines but whose content is potentially controversial or offensive may remain up, but with some features disabled. Your video will be shown after a warning message. In addition, certain features such as comments, sharing, thumbs up, and suggested videos have been disabled. Your video is also ineligible for monetization. Even more troubling is the further notice that removes this same video from Europe and much of the rest of the world. This practice is pure authoritarianism. "We have received a legal complaint regarding your video. After review, the following video: Julius Evola on Francis Parker Yockey's Imperium has been blocked from view on the following YouTube country site(s): Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Switzerland, Cyprus, Czechia, Germany, Denmark, Estonia, Spain, Finland, France, United Kingdom, French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Greece, Croatia, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Latvia, Martinique, Malta, New Caledonia, Netherlands, French Polynesia, Poland, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Portugal, Reunion, Romania, Sweden, Slovenia, Slovakia, French Southern Territories, Wallis and Futuna, Mayotte" The internet is under direct assault from the companies that control and profit the most from their censorship. Free Speech is defined only in terms of a tale that fits with the world view of the globalist cabal. This is a familiar storyline but the magnitude and intensity of retribution is so apparent that the end result comes down to removing any defiance to the distilled doctrine of holy conformity. While the hullabaloo about censoring YouTubes on Infowars gets the most attention, the full extent of especially Conservative and Christian sites that are isolated from search and ranking results deserve much more notice. The Social Media Tech monopolists are dedicated to isolate the mainstream populations to marginal influence. The backlash is now in full view. The more acute and widespread the insults become, the negative reaction to the content of these collectivist companies grow. The crash in stock prices and decline in usage of their services is well on its way. The world will not stop if people do not read or view articles or videos on Imperium. But society will die a sick death if the demands of censorship are allowed to become an accepted ingredient of our culture. If Americans allow the book burning going on in the EU and most of the developing world, what would be left of the United States will not be recognizable in a very few short years. Alternatives to the Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Google and Bing search engines are long overdue. Free Speech should never be a partisan issue. It needs to be a fundamental civil liberties principle. Notwithstanding their claims of establishing restrictions of what deems to be accepted content, the cozy arbitrariness and the bias within this cartel of corporatists maintain hostility towards our Western Civilization. Allowing new disciples of Francis Parker Yockey to achieve a megaphone in this Artificial Intelligence age of program screen messages is so important to the gatekeepers that they would rather forego subscribers than to permit unfiltered perspectives. The door is closing rapidly. Shadow banning is just the beginning. The rabbit hole is getting wider. Shadow banning is just the beginning. The rabbit hole is getting wider. The main stream mass media will distort the news and shape the deception without any pretense of objective coverage. Only a combative public can defeat the lies and dishonesty from the Silicon Valley turncoats. Push the limits and challenge their bogus community standards. Knock their censorship techniques and spread your dissent on their platforms. Go public with your disdain for their suppression and banning of notable content. The actual hate on the web comes from the capricious censorship practiced by fraudulent community standards and reported by fake news services. SARTRE - July 31, 2018 Editor's note: YouTube reversed their blocking restrictions in the U.S. after our appeal challenge. Thank you for submitting your video appeal to YouTube. After re-reviewing your video Julius Evola on Francis Parker Yockey's Imperium, we've determined that it does not merit restriction. We have restored the video to its original state. Please note that your video may remain ineligible for monetization. Why your video was restricted Every day users report tens of thousands of videos through our flagging system. We review flagged videos according to our Community Guidelines and decide whether to approve, remove, or restrict the video. While our team is highly trained, sometimes we make mistakes or additional context changes our perspective. That is why we always want to hear from YouTube users who believe their content may have been restricted in error. Our commitment to you We take your videos and the YouTube community feedback seriously. We provide all uploaders with an option to appeal any removal or restriction of their videos. When an appeal is submitted to us, we work quickly to review the content and take appropriate action, including restoring videos that have been mistakenly removed. Source: http://batr.org/forbidden/073118.html Discuss or comment about this essay on the BATR Forum http://www.batr.org "Many seek to become a Syndicated Columnist, while the few strive to be a Vindicated Publisher" 2018 Copyright BATR - All Rights Reserved Disclaimer: The above is a matter of opinion provided for general information purposes only and is not intended as investment advice. Information and analysis above are derived from sources and utilising methods believed to be reliable, but we cannot accept responsibility for any losses you may incur as a result of this analysis. Individuals should consult with their personal financial advisors. 2005-2019 http://www.MarketOracle.co.uk - The Market Oracle is a FREE Daily Financial Markets Analysis & Forecasting online publication. South Korea said Thursday it has sent a warship to Libya for military support in what looks like a mission to rescue a national abducted by gunmen early last month alongside three Filipino workers. In addition to carrying out its duty of protecting commercial vessels, (the warship) is also preparing for all possibilities including the need for military support, a defense ministry spokesman told AFP, without elaborating further. The warship, identified as Munmu the Great, taking part in the fight against piracy in the Gulf of Aden, has departed for Libya, according to the defense ministry. The announcement comes as authorities are busy working to secure the release of a South Korean technician kidnapped on July 6 with three other Filipino engineers, on a water project in the North of Libya. Some gunmen stormed a water plant where the four expats were working. No group claimed responsibility for the attack. A video released by the abductors and confirmed by Seoul, Manila and the SITE Intelligence group showed the four men alive, addressing their respective countries in English. The video also showed the men sitting in a desert, with one of their captors squatting behind them with an assault rifle beside him. It is unclear when the video was shot. The Philippines foreign minister told AFP that the embassy in Tripoli confirmed the identity of their nationals who appeared in the video. The South Korean presidency also stressed that the government was doing its utmost with all the resources the country has. The government has been maintaining a close cooperation system with the government of Libya and other allies, such as the Philippines and the United States, since the day of the incident for his safety and release, the South Korean Presidency spokesman Kim Eui-kyeom said in a statement. The water project named as Man-made River project taking place in different locations of Libya suffered another attack the day after the foreign technicians were kidnapped. An unknown armed group also on July 7 attacked Tazirbu site, killing two workers. They also stole cars and supplies on the site. It was unclear if the two attacks were the doings of the same group. An Egyptian former minister, linked to the Muslim Brotherhood, narrowly escaped extradition to Egypt after he was arrested by Italian authorities in the city of Catania Tuesday. Italian authorities said they received an extradition request from Egypt. But Mohamed Mahsoob, who served as minister of legal and parliamentary affairs under democratically elected President Mohamed Morsi, left the police station on Wednesday. Mahsoob, upon his release took to Twitter to say: The Italian police held me for three hours near the city of Catania at the request of the Egyptian authorities to extradite me, refusing to disclose the charges against me. Italian authorities are yet to issue a statement on the case. The former minister was appointed in 2012 in the cabinet of Egypts first democratically elected President Mohamed Morsi. President Morsi was removed in 2013 in a coup led by the then Defense Minister, AbdelFattah al-Sissi. Mahsoob sought exile in France right after the coup. Egyptian authorities sentenced him to prison on corruption, attack on state property, arson and rape charges. Morsis ally had denied the charges, claiming he is paying the price of his positions to support the legitimacy in Egypt, Middle East Monitor (MEMO) notes. Thousands of Muslim Brotherhood members and associates of the ousted President are languishing in prison. Hundreds of bigwigs of the movement including President Morsi himself stood trials and some were sentenced to the death penalty. The United Nations Special Envoy for Yemen announced on Thursday that after two years of stalled talks on resolving the crisis in the country, he plans to invite the warring parties to Geneva on September 6 for a round of peace consultations. It is time long past for us, together, to call for an early resumption of the political process, two years since the last round in Kuwait, said Martin Griffiths, referring to the UN-supported peace talks that where first held three years ago in Switzerland before shifting to Kuwait in April 2016. Since the uprisings that broke out in Yemen in early 2011, the UN has been engaged in helping Yemenis to find a peaceful solution. However, in March 2015, a coalition of countries led by Saudi Arabia intervened militarily at the request of President Abd Rabbou Mansour Hadi to secure the return of the Government to Sanaa, which had been seized by Houthi militias and allied units of the armed forces. Three years on, the fighting is still raging, and the ensuing humanitarian crisis has only deepened in a country that was already one of the regions poorest. In his briefing to the Security Council Thursday, Griffiths said that it is time to begin the difficult and uncertain journey away from war and that there is now a chance to weigh the opportunities for peace in the war-ravaged country. Describing the ongoing the battle for Hudaydah, a port city on the Red Sea, as the centre of gravity of the war, he stressed that the gap between the two sides is being narrowed in a way that nobody expected. This issue, he said, has a better chance of being resolved within the context of a comprehensive political settlement. He called on Council members to urge the parties to resolve this conflict through negotiation rather than through military means, explaining that he will invite the warring parties to Geneva on September 6 for a round of talks. These consultations will provide the opportunity for the parties, among other things, to discuss the framework for negotiations, relevant confidence-building measures and specific plans for moving the process forward, said Griffiths, requesting the Councils support. The Director of Operations for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), John Ging, also briefed the Council, painting a bleak picture of the situation on the ground, saying the humanitarian situation is indeed shocking, both in scale and severity. Exiled opposition leader and multimillionaire Moise Katumbi will not attempt to land in DR. Congo after his private jet has been barred from landing on Friday in Lubumbashi, capital of Katanga Province. The political heavyweight will instead try to enter via Zambia, his party said Friday. The 53-year-old former governor of the mineral-rich province has been living in self-imposed exile in Belgium since May 2016 after falling out with President Joseph Kabila. He had planned to fly from Johannesburg to his former stronghold of Lubumbashi to stand in long-delayed December elections in the central African nation. Katumbi is also on trial for supposedly hiring mercenaries and for possessing an Italian passport as Congolese law does not allow double nationality. Aides to Katumbi had met earlier on Thursday with United Nations officials to discuss his return, sources said. Both Katumbi, born to a Greek businessman father and a Congolese mother, and Kabila hail from Katanga. They were once allies. Another rival of long-serving President Joseph Kabila, Ex-rebel leader Jean-Pierre Bemba on Thursday officially launched his bid for the countrys presidency, putting forward his candidacy for the long-delayed election. The 55-year-old, also a former DRC vice president, only arrived back in the country on Wednesday after 11 years abroad a decade of it behind bars. By Geoff Percival Irish forecourt operator Applegreen is continuing to target expansion opportunities in the UK and the US after agreeing terms to buy a majority stake in British motorway services station operator Welcome Break for close to 362m. Applegreen has described the deal which is the companys largest to date and requires shareholder approval as transformational and will fund it by way of a 300m debt facility and the raising of at least 100m in new equity. The companys shares have been suspended, as the transaction is classed as a reverse takeover under stock exchange rules, and will resume trading on receipt of a new admission expected next month. Welcome Break is one of the top three owners of motorway service stations in the UK, with 24 such facilities around Britain and revenues of over 812m. Applegreen will initially take a 55% stake in Welcome Break, acquiring it from Dutch investment bank NIBC. Its majority stake will ultimately be just over 50% with London-based investment firm Arjun Infrastructure Partners owning the remainder and investing 80m to pay off junior debt and significantly deleverage Welcome Break. These types of opportunities dont come around that often. The motorway services area is where the growth is in the UK and this deal is transformational in terms of us accelerating our strategy, said Applegreen chief financial officer Niall Dolan. Applegreen already has close to 100 filling station forecourt sites in the UK and will continue to look for expansion opportunities on that side of the business. Regarding the motorway services sector, the company already has a pipeline of UK-based development sites which it will use to grow the Welcome Break business. Mr Dolan also said the company has further ambitions to grow its core business in the US, where it operates 114 filling stations on a lease basis. In June, Applegreen signed a long-term agreement, with property lessor CrossAmerica Partners, to lease 43 petrol stations in Florida. Mr Dolan said the US is still a very attractive market for Applegreen, with plenty of opportunity. By Geoff Percival The Central Bank has given a broadly upbeat assessment of the credit union sector, but has warned it remains far from being long-term financially secure. It said challenges still face the sector and pointed to higher costs and declining income. In its third report on the financial condition of credit unions, the Central Bank noted positive progress in the areas of new lending, arrears reduction, and increased reserves. It said total sector assets currently stand at a record high of 17.2bn, total sector loans amount to 4.5bn and total savings which continue to outpace loan growth amount to 14.3bn. The latest review covers the five years from the end of March 2013 to the same date this year. By March 2016, the average loan to asset ratio had fallen from 35% to 27%, but has remained at that level since then. However, income for the six months to the end of last March continued to trend downwards, the Central Bank said. The decline was driven by a reduction in investment income and is reflective of the low interest-rate environment, it said. Provision write-backs and bad debts recovered have had a positive impact on overall credit union income since 2015. However, the Central Bank warned this cannot be relied upon in contributing to future income. The report reflects the continuing challenging business environment for credit unions, said the Central Banks registrar of credit unions, Patrick Casey. The report also noted 53 credit unions with assets of 100m or greater now account for 55% of the total sectors combined assets. Kevin Johnson, CEO of representative body Cuda, said that loan applications via social media now account for up to 20% of all loan enquiries for some branches. The loan growth across many of our 48 credit union members using our digital marketing tools would exceed the average outlined in the Central Bank report, he claimed. By Noel Campion Irish telecoms infrastructure provider Cignal has invested over 15m acquiring and building mobile and broadband communications towers in the past 18 months. Since acquiring a portfolio of 400 sites from Coillte in 2015, Cignal has added a further 100 sites through a series of acquisitions and new site developments. With a total current portfolio of telecoms infrastructure in over 500 key locations across urban and rural Ireland, Cignal now an 18% share of the Irish market for infrastructure supporting mobile, fixed wireless broadband communications and broadcast services. Colin Cunningham, Cignal CEO, said: We have been growing rapidly through the acquisition of new tower sites and we see opportunities for further consolidation of the telecoms infrastructure sector in Ireland. The efficiencies and cost savings we can provide through hosting multiple operators is beneficial to customers and helps avoid the need for unnecessary towers being built. The new sites we have added provide real value to local communities through solving coverage blackspots and urban densification, enabling the delivery of high-speed mobile and wireless broadband. We will continue to invest in expanding our network to help our customers to provide enhanced speeds and service to communities across Ireland to their subscribers. Cignals market consolidation strategy has led to the acquisition of 30 towers from a privately-owned company in 2017, with a further 10 towers acquired from Telent in early 2018. Telent had originally acquired these towers in 2015 as part of its acquisition of Arqivas Secure Solutions business. In addition to its recent larger portfolio acquisitions, Cignal has also made several acquisitions of small portfolios and individual towers. Cignal has also invested in and constructed multiple new sites, with a particular focus on addressing coverage blackspots and densification, making up the balance of the additional 100 new towers. Cignal customers include all the main mobile and wireless service providers in Ireland, the emergency services and FM radio stations. As an independent infrastructure provider, Cignal seeks to maximise the use of its tower infrastructure by hosting the equipment of multiple customers on each tower. This has helped to reduce the cost for its customers in providing a signal to subscribers, particularly in lower density rural areas. It also helps reduce the proliferation of multiple tower sites, thus minimising visual and environmental impact. Cignals investment plan is supported by its majority shareholder Infravia Capital Partners, a specialist infrastructure investor which also has interests in the Irish private hospital and nursing homes sectors. Infravia partner, Bruno Candes said: We identified Ireland as an attractive market and have been delighted with the growth trajectory of Cignal since we invested to support the Coillte transaction in 2015. "The Cignal team have a clear roadmap to build its portfolio of towers and we are committed to investing to support this expansion. "With phone and broadband users requiring faster speeds and increased capacity there will inevitably be strong demand from operators looking to provide the best network service to subscribers. Norwegian Airlines is to recruit another 40 pilots at their Dublin base. It comes as part of an expansion to transatlantic routes announced for the summer of 2019. The new jobs will almost double the number of pilots the airline has in Dublin. The airline is looking for Captains and First Officers to serve its base in Dublin which operates flights to Oslo, Stockholm, Copenhagen and Helsinki direct. Helga Bollmann Leknes, Chief Human Resources Officer at Norwegian said: "Norwegian offers pilots a rewarding career with a diverse route network which spans both long haul and short haul destinations flying the latest Boeing 737 MAX aircraft. "We look forward to welcoming qualified pilots who want to work for an airline that recognises the vital contribution that they make to our business during this continued phase of expansion in Ireland. Aer Lingus owner International Airlines Group (IAG) has warned that strikes in France are posing a challenge to its operations. The airline group, which owns British Airways, Vueling and Iberia, said strikes were causing disruption for customers and hurting the Spanish economy. The firm has joined forces with other carriers to complain about the strikes to the EU. Willie Walsh, IAG's chief executive, said: "Unfortunately, French air traffic control strikes continued to challenge our airlines' operations, causing disruption to our customers. "Vueling was particularly affected and incurred an additional 20m of disruption costs in the quarter. "These strikes are also having a significant impact on the Spanish economy and tourism." In the six months to June 30, operating profit, before accounting for exceptional items, was up 17.4% to 1.12bn at IAG. Total revenue rose 3.1% to 11.2bn. Aer Lingus CEO, Stephen Kavanagh said: Aer Lingus has an ambitious flight path to be the leading value carrier across the North Atlantic. This vision is enabled by a profitable, sustainable short-haul network; and is supported by a guest-focused brand and digitally-enabled value proposition. "Todays results are the latest manifestation of the airlines successful business model," he said. "A business model that has delivered accelerated growth, boosted traffic, created new Irish job opportunities and driven Irish tourism growth particularly from North America over the past number of years." Liberum analysts said IAG was one of the few airlines that would achieve profit growth this year. "Although the trading environment may not be as supportive as last year, with toughening unit revenue comparatives and rising fuel prices, we see IAG as the best positioned of the network carriers to deal with these potential challenges," they said. IAG's figures come after Mr Walsh co-ordinated legal action with easyJet, Ryanair and Wizz Air to complain to the European Commission about strikes in France. The airlines have claimed that France's strikes breach the "fundamental principle of freedom of movement within the EU", having already caused tens of thousands of flights to be cancelled this year, impacting millions of passengers. They alleged that France is breaking EU law by not enabling flights over the country during strikes, denying passengers their fundamental freedom to travel between member states not affected by strike action. The news comes as 100 Irish-based Ryanair pilots are picketing the airlines HQ in Dublin for a fourth day today in a dispute over working conditions. More than 20 flights have been cancelled, disrupting the travel plans of 3,500 passengers. Ryanair claims the strike is being driven by a tiny handful of Aer Lingus pilots who are working with other unions across Europe to coordinate widespread disruption, something pilots union FORSA denies. A fifth day of action is planned for next Friday, the same day as strikes by other Ryanair pilots in Belgium and Sweden. The airline has described the move as irresponsible, unwarranted and damaging. PA & Digital Desk It is feared that the country could face a worker shortage as employment levels reach those not seen since the Celtic Tiger. The warning comes as the total income tax paid by workers is on course to hit a record high in 2018. Another Labour councillor has joined calls for leader Brendan Howlin to resign. Pamela Kearns is the party's fourth councillor to urge Mr Howlin to step aside. Cllr Kearns said "matters have gone from bad to worse" since the party's poor election performance in 2016. "The failure to hold a leadership contest post-General Election was immensely damaging to the morale of many Labour Party members," she said. "Our activists deserve better." "Brendan Howlin has served the country well and has been an excellent parliamentarian but I strongly believe that the time has come, in the interests of our Party, for him to stand aside and facilitate a leadership election in which the entire membership can have their say." The South Dublin County Councillor said Mr Howlin had not been able to reverse the downward trend and a fresh approach was needed to unite the party and "achieve the momentum we need to move forward". Earlier this week, Cllr Noel Tuohy, Cllr Terry OBrien, Cllr Mick Duff and Local Area Representative Paul OBrien called for Mr Howlin's resignation as party leader. They voiced their concerns about the direction the party was heading and said that there needed to be a change in leadership before the next general and local elections. Gardai in Co Laois are investigating a report that a number of men were found in the back of a truck. The five men were reportedly found in Straboe, Mountmellick at around 6.50pm yesterday evening after the truck was stopped. By Gordon Deegan Over 3 million was last year saved for the tax-payer in the funding of Viagra-style erectile dysfunction (ED) drugs for men through the medical card system. That is according to new figures from the Health Service Executive (HSE) which show that the spend on the anti-impotence drugs last year totalled 2.98m - a drop of 3.2m or 52% - on the 6.19m spend on the drugs in 2016. The sharp drop in the spend revealed in information provided in response to a Freedom of Information request follows the HSE issuing a directive in March 2017 to doctors that they could no longer prescribe the more expensive, but longer lasting, Cialis drug to patients. The branded Cialis today costs around 33 per standard pack compared to the generic version costing a fraction of that at 8. The cheap cost of the generic version follows Pfizers Viagra coming off patent in June 2013. Last year, the tax-payer funded a 1.12m spend on Cialis through the medical card system and this compared to a spend of 4.35m on Cialis in 2016 through the medical card. The spend on the Cialis drug made up the bulk of the overall 6.19m spent on erectile dysfunction drugs by the HSE in 2016. Between 2011 and 2016 the spend by the HSE on erectile dysfunction drugs totalled 39.4m. The savings to the tax-payer in not allowing doctors prescribe Cialis will be even greater this year as doctors will not be prescribing it for the 12 months of this year compared to not prescribing it for nine months last year. Patients on the medical card system are allowed four erectile dysfunction tablets a month. In a circular to GPs in March of last, senior HSE official, Anne Marie Hoey told doctors that the HSE was removing Cialis from the list of drugs available through the medical card and other HSE schemes from April 1st. Ms Hoey pointed out that many European countries do not make available any drugs available through their medical card systems for the treatment of erectile dysfunction. Ms Hoey pointed out that the low-cost generic version of the drug will continue to be made available to medical card holders. Ms Hoey also stated that the continued availability of the high-cost Cialis for erectile dysfunction would reduce the capacity of the HSE to fund other services and technologies. The largest spend of any health area on erectile dysfunction drugs last year was in the Cork North Lee totalling 119,276 with the spend in the Galway area totalling 112,556 The figures also show that the spend in North Dublin totalled 111,985 with the spend in Limerick - apart from east Limerick - totalling 111,547. Malis presidential election will go to a run-off poll after President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita failed to get enough votes to win a second term in office outright in the West African state. Incumbent President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita won 41.4 percent of the vote, while rival Soumaila Cisse won 17.8 percent, according to the Ministry of Territorial Administration. The election was marred by accusations of fraud and attacks by suspected militants that prevented thousands from voting. Turnout was just over 43 percent. According to Cisses campaign director Tiebile Drame, armed assailants shut down 644 polling stations on Sunday. About 20 percent of polling stations were affected by violence, the Ministry of Territorial Administration conceded. The European Union election monitors said there were irregularities, including in the distribution of electoral cards. They have asked the government to publish a list of polling stations where it was not possible to hold the election because of violence. As a reminder, a Tuareg rebellion and Islamist militancy have dominated Malis north and central zones since the last poll in 2013. The 7,000 Malian voters living in Mbera, the biggest Malian refugee centre in southeastern Mauritania, registered to vote. Incumbent President Ibrahima Boubacar Keita, who took office in 2013, made much of an agreement between the government, government-allied groups and former Tuareg rebels to fight jihadist fighters in the north. Mali recorded economic growth under Keitas first term due to increased exports of gold, cotton and rice. A 70-year-old man has died and a man in his 30s has been seriously injured after two separate road crashes in Galway in the last 24 hours. The man died after his car collided with a truck on the Monivea Road near Carnmore at approximately 2pm yesterday. Revenue Officers have seized 100,000 in cash and around 150,000 worth of cigarettes and alcohol in Laois and Dublin Airport this week. The Special Crime Task Force also recovered drugs worth an estimated 33,000 in Dublin this morning. In an intelligence-led operation, cannabis resin was found after the search of a house in the north inner city and a man in his 50s was arrested. He is currently detained at Mountjoy garda station under Section 2 of the Criminal Justice (Drug Trafficking) Act 1996. Cannabis resin worth an estimated 33,000 was seized in Dublin today. On Tuesday, Revenue Officers seized more than 192,000 unstamped cigarettes, 10kgs of tobacco and more than 1,960 litres of alcohol when they searched a house in Durrow, County Laois. Revenue detector dogs Elvis and Stella helped to find the tobacco branded Marlboro, Winston, NZ, Camel, Kent and Excellence. They are estimated to be worth around 109,000, while the seized alcohol is valued at more than 41,000. A man in his thirties was questioned at the scene and investigations are ongoing. On Wednesday, officers in Dublin Airport stopped and searched a man in his 40s and a woman in her 30s travelling to Budapest via Dusseldorf. They found 100,000 in cash hidden in hand luggage which they believe to be the proceeds of, or intended for use in, criminal activity. Yesterday at Dublin District Court, Revenue were granted a three-month cash detention order by Judge John Lindsay. Meanwhile, three homes and two workplaces were searched in Donegal this morning. The Criminal Assets Bureau, assisted by local gardai, conducted a search operation in relation to a criminal living in Co Donegal and to the ownership of property suspected to be funded through criminal conduct. No arrests were made. - Digital Desk A transgender woman living in a Direct Provision centre in Galway has died. The circumstances of the womans death are unknown. A post-mortem examination is to take place. It is understood the woman, known as Sylva, was originally from Cameroon and was staying in a Direct Provision wing for men. A spokesperson for the Department of Justice and Equality told RTE it is understood the woman fell ill at the centre. The Irish Refugee Council offered its condolences and support to those affected by the loss. We are very sad to hear of the passing of a transgender woman living in Direct Provision in Galway. We express our deepest condolences to her family and friends and wed like to offer our support to anyone affected by this tragic loss. Irish Refugee Council (@IrishRefugeeCo) August 3, 2018 Local Social Democrat candidate Niall O Tuathail described Sylva as "an incredible activist" who had "an infectious smile and made everyone around her feel good". Andrea Bocelli has been confirmed for the World Meeting of Families festival in Dublin's Croke Park. The world-famous tenor has already performed for Pope Francis a number of times in recent years. He will take centre stage at Croke Park Stadium on the evening of August 25 as part of a cast of thousands already announced for the event. "Singing before Pope Francis is a privilege for our soul; it is an honour for what the Supreme Pontiff represents in the world," Bocelli said. "For the indescribable human fragility, typical of the average man such as myself, it brings me great pleasure and immense satisfaction to even have the privilege to be close to a person of such exceptional importance and grace. It is a joy to be able to offer my most modest contribution on the occasion of this grand meeting and moment of reflection about the family. "The family remains the strongest building block of society, a cluster of affection, and a privileged space in which one can teach and learn in every action - how to choose a life that leads toward the greater good." The World Meeting of Families is now entering the final phase of planning for the gathering that will host families from 116 countries, culminating with the visit of Pope Francis on August 25 and 26. "We are delighted to announce that Andrea Bocelli will be with us for our celebration of family life in the presence of Pope Francis," said Father Timothy Bartlett, Secretary General of WMOF2018. "He will bring so much to our gathering not just because of his wonderful talent but because of his love for his faith. We are honoured that he has taken time out of an intensely busy schedule to come to Ireland to be part of our global celebration of family life. Bocelli will join other well-known and community groups already announced for the event including Nathan Carter, The Riverdance Troupe, Dana Masters, Daniel ODonnell, The Begley Family, The Priests, The Holy Family Deaf Choir and Deaftones, Celine Byrne, Paddy Moloney, Bridgie and Missy Collins and Moya Brennan. Andrea Bocelli will also be returning to Dublin at the end of the year to perform a headline show at the 3Arena on October 30 and 31. Digital Desk Blathnaid Treacy has announced her engagement to Charlie Mooney. The couple had been enjoying an extended holiday in Mexico after attending her brother Fiachra's wedding in Guadalajara when her long-term boyfriend popped the question. The Can't Stop Dancing presenter posted a photo on Instagram with the caption, "Mexico really was a trip we'll never forget". Treacy shared numerous snaps of their holiday adventures on the picture-sharing app but said it was "so great to be home and celebrate with friends and family". Cork City's third-round Europa League qualifier against Rosenborg will be televised, RTE has confirmed. Both legs will be screened on RTE 2 and will also be available on the RTE Player. Cork City dropped down to Europe's secondary competition after failing to get past the opening round in the Champions League qualifiers. Read More: City now represents the last Irish club standing in European competition. Dundalk suffered heartbreak in Cyprus last night when Read More: City's opponents, Rosenborg, are another side dropping down from the Champions League qualifiers into the Europa League. The Norwegian club failed to secure an upset when they were beaten by Celtic in the second qualifying round. A win for John Caulfield's side in the tie will mean they are only one more step away from securing a place in the Europa League proper. The first leg in Turner's Cross and kicks off at 7.45pm, Thursday, August 9. The away leg in Lerkendal Stadion takes place on August 16 with kick-off to be confirmed. Main Opposition Parties Break Deal By Vladimer Napetvaridze Grigol Vashadze, the presidential candidate from ten Georgian opposition parties affiliated with the coalition Power Is in Unity broke the agreement signed between United National Movement (UNM) and European Georgia."European Georgia" and "United National Movement" with the initiative of the European People's Party (EPP) signed a three-point agreement three weeks ago in Brussels. The agreement consists of three key points: 1. Parties will support each other's candidate who passes in the second round of the presidential elections; 2. During the campaign, they will refrain from attacking each other. 3. In the first and second rounds of elections, they will maximally mobilize their voters, since the elections are the way to change the government: "We, the representatives of Georgia's pro-European forces - "European Georgia" and "the United National Movement "- express our responsibility for the country's future and emphasize that only cooperation, bilateral respect and joint efforts of the opposition can return Georgia's democracy and its pro-European course. Thus, we will support the candidate of "European Georgia" or "United National Movement" in the second round of the presidential elections scheduled for October 2018. We won't focus on our differences, and neither will attack each other during the presidential campaign. We will mobilize the voters to take part in elections in the first and second rounds because the elections have a decisive role to change the current regime,-stated the representatives of both parties.After the UNM together with nine opposition parties presented Grigol Vashadze as their presidential candidate, the mentioned agreement broke. At the meeting with the voters at Khodasheni village in Kakheti Vashadze blamed members of the European Georgia in crimes and mistakes made during the period of UNM governance: All misfortunes, crimes, and mistakes are made by people who left the UNM and then found European Georgia. They think that people will forget about it, but they are wrong,-Vashadze stated. The candidate spoke about last year's local self-government elections when he ran for the post of Kutaisi mayor. He noted that Georgian Dream and European Georgia spent a lot of money in Kutaisi and it was impossible to participate in such clowning.The results of the 2017 Tbilisi Mayoral elections showed that "the split" of the National Movement into two separate parties has not increased the number of their supporters. Therefore, the three-point agreement served to ensure that the parties do not interfere with each other. Experts assumed that the main candidate for the presidency would be the candidate nominated by the ruling party, but if opposition parties united their power, they would have a good chance too. After Georgian Dream announced, that it may be better for them not to nominate a presidential candidate and support an independent candidate, chances for Grigol Vashadze and David Bakradze (the candidate of European Georgia) as presidential candidates have increased.Vashadzes recent statement can be assumed is an end of the agreement between UNM and European Georgia, and the beginning of the new campaign for the presidential elections, where the candidates of these two parties, will be the main competitors for the presidency. The union stoush and the potential misconduct that led to the collapse of Energy Supers merger with Equip super will be a focus of the royal commission over the next two weeks, Fairfax Media can reveal. Queenslands Energy Super is listed along with six other industry funds as a case study for the royal commissions hearings into superannuation, however, few details about what misconduct the union-backed fund will face a grilling over. The failed merger led to Queensland Transport and Roads Minister Mark Bailey being briefly stood down before and investigation found no wrongdoing on his part. Credit:AAP Seven retail funds will also be questioned as the royal commission turns its gaze to governance issues, whether the funds have acted in members best interests, related-party dealings and merger failures. Two executives from National Australia Bank superannuation trustee Nulis NAB's BNZ group executive Peter Carter (who was head of NAB wealth products until early 2017), former Nulis chairman Nicole Smith - will be called to give evidence on Monday. Call them man caves, she-sheds or even dens of equality, compact warehouse and office spaces are in hot demand in Sydney and Melbourne for both domestic and small business purposes. Property experts attribute the popularity of the industrial bolt-holes to both the resilience of the small business sector and shrinking houses at a time when householders have more accoutrements than ever. Man caves or she sheds? The Base's small industrial units in Yarraville. An evolutionary step beyond a storage cage, the buildings typically including comfy facilities such as kitchenettes, showers, air conditioning and gated access. For investors, the category is more affordable than housing and thus has become popular with self managed super funds and parents buying an asset for their children in lieu of a house deposit. Medical device maker ResMed is willing to head to court to fight the Australian Taxation Office over a $US190.1 million ($257.9 million) tax bill relating to an ongoing transfer pricing dispute. The possibility of legal action - if the two parties can not come to a settlement - was revealed on Friday as the company reported an 8 per cent fall in net profit to $US315.6 million for year to June 30. Excluding one-off items such as restructuring expenses, writedowns and the impact of the US tax reforms on its income taxes, net profit lifted 27 per cent to $US507.8 million. ResMed saw its sales rise 13 per cent rise to $US2.3 billion during the year, and paid $US199.5 million in dividends. Mick Farrell, CEO of ResMed. Credit:Luis Ascui The San Diego-based and ASX-listed company, which has a market valuation of $20.5 billion, said in April it was under audit by the Tax Office and is disputing the tax assessment. ResMed's President Rob Douglas told Fairfax Media on Friday the dispute was ongoing. The new records emerged mid-week, and in short were good news for shareholders of the countrys two biggest mining companies with an eye on making cash. But the glow from those peaks was pretty quickly overshadowed by what happened in the following 72 hours, as rising concerns over the latest escalation in US-China trade tensions hit confidence, and then cascaded through to commodity prices and major mining company stocks at home and abroad. Muscular stances from the US and China on trade have hit commodity prices. Credit:AP On Tuesday shares in BHP on the Australian market hit a four-year high, when they traded at a lofty peak of $35.29. At this point BHP was almost 60 per cent higher than it was just 14 months ago, when it dropped to a 2017 closing price low just above $22. SONIC MANIA PLUS, PS4, SWITCH, XBOX ONE Sonic Mania a homage to the classic 2D hedgehog adventures of the '90s was already a love-filled celebration of the franchise at its very best. Now Sega has given the amazing game its due with a new version that's expanded, cleaned up and (at last) on physical store shelves. The main additions are new characters Mighty the armadillo (who can deflect and dig) and Ray the flying squirrel (who can glide). There's also a new mode called Encore, a remixed version of the adventure. It's essentially the same zones with new twists and tweaks, but it lets you really explore the worlds as all five characters in a single run. Rounding out the package is a brand new multiplayer race mode that offers proper split-screen for up to four players. It works and it's fun, but this should be how multiplayer worked in the original game. And speaking of the original game, you might be wondering where this all leaves people who already own it. Thankfully, existing owners can download all the new content for around $7.50. TB Created as a series of four vignettes available in that format on iview, but shown here as an hour-long program this adaptation of anecdotes from the life of Indigenous author and activist Boori Monty Pryor is part of the ABC's Long Story Short initiative, targeting young, "digital-first" audiences. But this is no lo-fi web content; it's made by Princess Pictures (Summer Heights High) and Pryor has co-written the script. It's the story of Monty Pryor (played by Clarence Ryan), starting in 1970s Melbourne, where he works as an afro-bearing, flare wearing DJ at the dodgy Albion Charles pub. Known as "the black Superman", Monty and his brother Paul (Aaron L McGrath), who busks with his dige around town, spend their time hanging out with a mix of rowdy locals and Russian crims, until both face a moment of truth when a patron at the pub is shot, and Paul is beaten up by dodgy cops. We're transported in flashback to the boys' childhood on Palm Island in the 1960s, where they learn early on that their culture is not always celebrated or even respected. As funny as it is heartbreaking, Wrong Kind of Black represents an original take on modern Aboriginal storytelling,evocative of a very specific time and place, and a story of both tragedy and hope. KN FILM DIM THE FLUORESCENTS (AMAZON PRIME) UNRATED Brilliant premise: A scene from the film Dim the Fluorescents. Here is a brilliant premise for a movie, worthy of the great Elaine May: while struggling to make their mark on the Toronto theatre scene, two young women (Claire Armstrong and Naomi Skwarna) channel their extravagant ambitions into a side gig staging educational playlets for corporate seminars, on subjects such as sexual harassment or customer complaints. This could have been played for easy laughs, but first-time writer-director Daniel Warth has a bigger game in mind, drawing us into sympathy with the idea that creativity can emerge in the least likely places. We're reminded, too, that life in general is a matter of playing roles especially if you're trying to get ahead, whether in the corporate world or in the arts. Warth is a maverick artist, combining stylised sets and costumes with a sense of sprawl (the film runs over two hours) that gives his performers time and space to set their own rhythms. Ultimately life and art become one, with the friendship between the heroines put to a test that amounts to a heightened drama in itself. JW In any debate about the Greatest TV Series of All Time, plenty will vote for David Simon's sprawling, Baltimore-set epic The Wire. Exploring multiple viewpoints around the narcotics trade from cops, to dealers, to politicians Simon created a world that revelled in complication, refusing to take a simplistic moral stance. Now, for this very worthy follow-up, he has once again teamed with producer, writer and director George Pelecanos. The Deuce is set in New York in 1971, largely on seedy 42nd Street between Seventh and Eighth avenues. Here, the emerging porn industry offers an imperfect employment alternative to street workers on the blocks around Times Square. As with The Wire, it's unhurried in its intricate world-building and thrives on a huge ensemble drawn from every aspect of these mean streets. James Franco deftly plays twin brothers, and co-producer Maggie Gyllenhaal excels as Candy, a woman who sets her sights on becoming a porn director. It somehow feels refreshingly modern and faithful to the period at the same time. Sure, two men are at the helm, but the story is often told from the female perspective, with half of its episodes directed by women, including Breaking Bad alumnus Michelle McLaren. Though nudity abounds, it's just as likely to involve the boys. At times confronting, it's also empowering, as the strong cast of characters reshape the American Dream to suit themselves. Simmering tensions around race, sexuality and gender all come into play as dapper pimps, bent cops and mobsters all make their move. With a second eight-part season coming in September, The Deuce could join The Wire on your Greatest of All Time list. To read more from Good Weekend magazine, visit our page at The Sydney Morning Herald or The Age. When a group of tourists disembarked their cruise ship MS Bremen last Saturday to explore a remote Arctic island known for its polar bears, they probably werent expecting to come directly face to face with one. The animal attacked a guard charged with protecting the group from the vulnerable species, a spokeswoman for luxury cruise company Hapag Lloyd Cruises said, and a second guard shot the polar bear dead in an act of self-defence". Illustration: Simon Letch The death of the polar bear in its own environment prompted global outcry and criticism of one of the latest travel trends Arctic cruises. The cruises, aimed at cashed-up baby boomers, provide warm doonas, cordon-bleu menus and luxury ice-breaking travel. You have probably seen the sales pitch. A celebritys smiling face, a distant icy seascape and the spacious decks of a large Polar Class cruise ship. The donated timber from other states and territories that furnishes the ACT Supreme Court will be retained and used to make public seating at the new courts precinct, a government spokeswoman has said. The latest schedule from the new courts precinct builder Laing O'Rourke says construction of the new Supreme Court building was expected to be completed in September this year. Refurbishment work at the existing Supreme Court building will start once the new build is complete. The main structure of the old Supreme Court building will be maintained, as will its oval atrium space, a Justice and Community Safety directorate spokeswoman said this week. The shell and position of courtrooms one and two will be kept but they will be renovated to match the design of the new building, while courtrooms three to six will be re-purposed to allow space for other agencies. But that's not the problem. The problem is that the argument, or the discussion, is not taking place with the public. The players are addressing the interests but not the electorate at large. That electorate includes many people who want climate-change action something Turnbull once believed in, a cause for which he lost his position (to Abbott) as opposition leader. But it also includes householders worried about power bills but, so far, not in on the secret about how, why or even whether the NEG will reduce them. It's not that the issues are too complex, or that the public cannot make intelligent choices on an issue that does not anyway involve anything fundamental to party philosophy (a fact obvious from the fact that nearly all grandstanders on the subject, especially Abbott, have had every position under the sun over the years). Frydenberg's desire to get a policy approved by the Council of Australian Governments before it goes to the Coalition caucus has the advantage of presenting the caucus with a fait accompli. But that will not disinhibit critics; indeed, it may embolden them in the knowledge that Labor states will walk away if everything is further watered down. It's all of a one with the coercive meanness of the welfare sector, the flaunting of cruelty to boat people, the blatant use of racism to prepare for a Victorian state election, and the lack of any inspired or intelligent policy, other than doing nothing on events in South-East Asia, the problems of Trumpism and the effects of a trade war. This is not a government thinking its way forward or shining a light on the future. It's edging and groping, facing backwards, in the dark. ________________________________________________________ No rush for forensic glory Students of Australian Federal Police forensic triumphs may have heard that a crack team of detectives is near the end of a nine-month investigation into how news of an impending large-scale AFP raid on union offices was leaked to TV journalists so that cameras could be (and were) in position when the wallopers arrived. The AFP is now liaising with the Director of Public Prosecutions about whether charges can, or should, be laid. One would not know this from any AFP media statement, even if it detected some evidence of off-the-record "guidance" in reports that police would be taking witness statements (14 in number), records of discussions with 34 other people, emails, SMSs and phone records to the DPP in the next few weeks. What we know, formally, emerged at a Federal Court directions hearing at which the Australian Workers Union was trying to have the warrants used by the AFP in the raids thrown out. If police believed they had evidence of a crime probably of improper release of information it was open to them to lay charges of their own initiative; as they did, for example, in the celebrated tax raids, which saw an array of people, including family members of a senior Tax Office official, arrested in charges organised around getting maximum media publicity, particularly before the accused people appeared in court and, according to some reckoning, sub judice rules apply. In that case, senior police bureaucrats gave extensive briefings, including making helpful suggestions to one journalist who already had a whiff of the story (who was allowed by the AFP to get a scoop). Flow charts and close details of what would be alleged were broadcast to all. No one seemed to worry that it might "poison the well" and deny the defendants a fair trial; if that was a matter of public interest, it could hardly compete with the police's interest in getting maximum publicity for themselves. It's much the same with AFP media conferences when detectives, announcing large drug seizures, announce they have broken a big gang and give themselves great pats on the back. When, the next day, one asks even an innocuous question about another matter, one is told piously that no information can be given out because the matter is sub judice. The discriminating factor is whether disclosure suits the police, or the government's appetite for publicity. One can be sure that the government wants as little publicity as possible for the DPP's cogitations on the AWU raid. The DPP will at least be well informed, having been less than successful earlier as counsel to the union royal commission, in developing cases for prosecuting unions or their officials. It seems the AFP is likewise reticent, even if it could be part of a strategy to stop its investigation's findings, if any, from coming out. Now that the AFP has sent its findings to the lawyers, the police can piously claim legal professional privilege and resist freedom-of-information production, or legal discovery, even if the DPP lodges no charges, or, if there are charges, after the matter is concluded. In the meantime, the normally busy AFP national media office will play a completely dead bat. This might suit them personally given the likelihood, whether or not it was actively investigated by a crack team of detectives, that the source of the information leaked was almost certainly, via several channels, the AFP itself. The AFP has a long-established practice of giving its minister and his office a "heads up" about anything it is doing that is likely to have political ramifications. It also does when Labor is in government. The AFP's deep politicisation is not, usually, party partisan so much as an earnest desire to please the government (which is to say, the funding authority) of the day, and in ways that invites questions about its real independence and detachment. Journalists on the AFP drip are hardly likely to complain about their "inside" information. Indeed, some journalists on the drip were outraged that a journalist dobbed in a ministerial staffer of former workplace relations minister Michaelia Cash as one of the sources of media tip-offs about the raid. This was a breach of media ethics on protecting sources, some suggested. It is through such sources that some journalists have become mere unquestioning megaphones for unaccountable sources inside government. But perhaps I am wrong. After the big tax raids 15 months ago, I lodged an FOI request on the AFP for details of media arrangements for the affair, including the media strategy document prepared some time before. I was given some dross, but access to the strategy documents is still under appeal, after a host of AFP delays. But last Monday, I was given an AFP document (nine months after the AFP's FOI unit said, wrongly, that it sent it to me) in which a member of the AFP media unit whose name is, apparently, too sensitive to be released saying (s)he had "no issues" about my getting the document "because it shows a journo was onto the story well before resolution", hence the deal. "Jack's the only one kicking up a stink and the strategy will debunk everything he is claiming. Plus his readership is only about 10 people.'' (S)he may be right, alas. But the advice about letting the document go was not followed by the AFP branch, which is never able to let go. Last week, The Canberra Times reported on how the popular Little Library that a few of us had set up on a patch of unloved land in OConnor had been vandalised. While I, and so many others in our community, are still struggling to comprehend the destructive impulse of someone who chooses to burn books, our sadness has well and truly been overtaken by delight at how Canberrans have responded. Within hours of the news beginning to spread, people had come together to rebuild. TAMS came to collect the sad remains of melted plastic and burnt paper. Neighbours, friends, and concerned people from all over tidied up the mess and brought in two new libraries, which are already full of wonderful new books for people to borrow, read, swap, talk about, and come together around. Ive been overwhelmed by calls, emails, tweets and Facebook messages, offering books, support, ideas, and more. Canberras beautiful, resilient, vibrant, sharing community has outdone itself. The remains of the Lyneham and O'Connor Little Library after vandals set fire to it. Credit:Tim Hollo Its important to mark and condemn selfish, destructive behaviour. But how much more important to celebrate that so many more of us are committed to creative, fun ways of being together. The Little Library movement that has sprung up in Canberra is just one part of this fantastic culture. Another brilliant one is the Buy Nothing Groups, where local community members offer up things they no longer need and hope others can use clothes, furniture, toys, camping gear, whatever and request things they need but would rather not buy new. Canberra's new dockless bicycle sharing venture has not received a single complaint, the company behind the roll out has said. Airbike director Angus McDonald said they were pleased how the community had responded to the first week of the trial. Lucy Xu and Michael Ma are some of the first users of Airbike in Canberra since it rolled out last week. Credit:Dion Georgopoulos The ACT government announced a trial of dockless bikes to be run by Airbike, with 200 bikes scattered around 30 locations in Canberra's centre. Mr McDonald said they had started with 50 bikes on the Monday, adding 20 bikes a day sinc then. Police have found a Canberra teenager reported missing on Friday. ACT Policing announced on Saturday morning that they had found the 18-year-old safe and well. They thanked the Canberra community for its assistance. She is an 18-year-old with a heart of gold, a young Canberra woman organising a fundraising ball for farmers in the Canberra region doing it tough. Emily Patterson is the force behind the 2018 Canberra Hay Runners Ball and Auction which will be held on September 1 at the Canberra Southern Cross Club in Phillip. "I've always been a person who has been involved in what I can do and helped out when I can,'' she said. Emily Patterson couldn't ignore the distress being caused by the drought. Credit:Karleen Minney Tickets have been selling fast and the Canberra community has responded in gusto - with even a horse donated for the auction on the night. ACT Health staff have welcomed the findings from an audit into bullying in the department but say the issues run far deeper. Staff speaking anonymously to The Canberra Times said they would be too scared to make complaints as it often led to being "performance managed out" or investigations launched into them. Former ACT Health director-general Nicole Feely. Credit:Screenshot/ACT Assembly Meanwhile the union representing salaried doctors said most members would not feel confident to report bullying. It comes as Health Minister Meegan Fitzharris maintains there are appropriate channels to safely report bullying. When Evie Amati entered a 7-Eleven in Sydney's inner west holding an axe and listening to her favourite metal song, people assumed she had left a costume party. It was just after 2am on January 7, 2017 and she had held the axe by her side as she walked 450 metres from her Enmore home to the nearby convenience store. Evie Amati did not deny her body carried out the attack, but said her mind did not. Minutes earlier, she had updated her Facebook status to read, "Humans are only able to destroy, to hate, so that is what I shall do". As well as the two-kilogram axe, she carried a bright yellow 18-centimetre kitchen knife in the back pocket of her shorts. Les lunettes de marque ne sont pas ce qui manque dans les commerces. Il y en a de toutes les sortes dont les lunettes de [] In the weeks before police executed a firearms warrant and seized cash at the Dover Heights home of John Ibrahim, the Kings Cross nightclub identity had already quietly begun a reshuffle of his business empire. For years, Mr Ibrahim has remained in backroom roles in businesses partly because of concerns by authorities around whether he is a fit and proper person to run licensed premises. John Ibrahim and his business partner Margaret Staltaro. Not that some of his fronts have not had their own share of problems. Around mid-July, his long-time financial controller and "work wife" Margaret Staltaro began quitting as the sole director and secretary of seven companies, to be replaced on most by Mr Ibrahim. We vented together when the building's cafe found Instagram fame and hordes descended on the area, lining up around the block to buy grotesque milkshakes, then leaving the half-drunk remains behind. "What is wrong with Sydney!?" cried one, speaking for all. Everyone needs help settling into their new lives, and in our early days the Facebook page posts appeared fairly anodyne. What's the best way to stop the fire alarm going off when you're cooking? Is anyone else having air-conditioning problems? Are there any parking spaces for sale? There were Meetups, too; the pictures uploaded afterwards, showing a dozen or so residents circled around Jatz and dips, were always rather sweet. As it turned out, we rarely saw, let alone spoke to, the people who lived beside us in this 300-unit block. But we quickly got to know them through their tiny circular profile pictures: young professionals smiling during their trips to Europe; young mums and dads posing proudly with their toddlers; older empty-nesters represented by flowers, beloved pets or awkwardly close-up selfies. The A4 piece of paper was the first thing my girlfriend and I saw when we moved in. Taped to the glass door of our new inner-Sydney apartment building, it invited newcomers to be part of the block's private Facebook group. We moved into our one-bedroom unit and promptly signed up, figuring it was as good a way as any to meet the neighbours. Our requests to join were approved within minutes. Then, one Tuesday, someone posted a photo of a kitten cowering outside the glass entryway. The group swung into action. One woman brought the creature, which appeared to be injured, into her unit. Several people offered to come home from work to take it to the vet, while others wondered about the possibility of adoption. Inexplicably, however, things turned ugly. When one member said the kitten looked like his, a neighbour replied that if he couldn't secure his balcony and look after his pet, he shouldn't be allowed to have one. Her timing was poor; the man soon relayed the news that the kitten had been hit by a car and did not, as it turns out, belong to him. The vet had determined it was a stray. "Way to be judgmental," chimed in another resident. Even after it was revealed that the kitten had been euthanised, its injuries too severe to treat, the second woman never apologised. Rather than forcing members to take stock of their behaviour, this grim episode only emboldened the busybodies. While the majority of posts were still neighbourly, aggression, both passive and otherwise, began to burst forth with regularity. People's personal habits, pets, parking etiquette and even plant-watering techniques were all subject to public criticism. In one particularly acrimonious exchange, a man who had been asked to turn down his hip-hop music suggested that the same standards were not applied to other genres ("If it ain't rock and it ain't white, it just ain't right"). He was promptly accused of "playing the race card", in a thread that had more than 50 replies. In another, neighbours turned on one another over proposed bylaws that would ban 15-kilogram-plus dogs from residing in the building. "Is there going to be a doggie weight scale set up?!" howled the owner of a husky hound. Months later, another dog-related fracas ended in name-calling and accusations of bullying, prompting soul-searching among some members. "Maybe take it offline and have a chat face to face to resolve?" suggested one. Queensland Police have arrested 121 people on 377 charges over the alleged trafficking, supply and possession of methamphetamine and cannabis. Under Operation Quebec Trawler, an ongoing anti-drug operation across the Darling Downs, police focused on the supply and production of methamphetamine, or ice, and cannabis. Some of the drugs seized as part of the operation. Credit:Queensland Police The officer in charge of the Darling Downs District Tactical Crime Squad, Senior Sergeant Matt Howard, said the use of drugs had a "detrimental, flow-on effect" on the community. Our local community has provided us with the information we need to tackle this network and get these drugs off the street," Senior Sergeant Howard said. A 51-year-old man and a 43-year-old woman allegedly obtained more than $300,000 through fraudulent claims to the Queensland state government's 'Back to Work' grants. Police said the pair allegedly submitted and attempted to submit applications to the Queensland Treasury Department claiming more than $1 million worth of the grants over 12 months. After a complaint from the Treasury Department, detectives from the Financial and Cyber Crime Group investigated and arrested the man. The 51-year-old appeared before Brisbane Magistrates Court on Thursday, while the 43-year-old woman was issued a Notice to Appear for a later date, on charges of fraud and attempted fraud. Detective Superintendent Terry Lawrence said it was "disappointing" to find people were allegedly taking advantage of return-to-work schemes that were designed to support Queensland employers and jobseekers. A new website that comprehensively tracks and publishes data about deaths in custody across Australia has been launched by the University of Queensland. The website was created by staff and students in a bid to increase public awareness around deaths in custody and to provide up-to-date anonymised information. In 1987 the federal government held a Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody, investigating 99 deaths of people who had died in police custody. The new database collates 530 reported deaths, providing data to the community, researchers, lawyers, and journalists. Tracking whether recommendations were made after the death, if the person involved was Indigenous or not, and specific cause of death, the website can be searched for state-based information as well as national. A woman accused of stabbing a man in the face with a pair scissors is facing a domestic violence charge, according to Gold Coast detectives. Police will allege the woman went to a home on Smith Street, Southport about 2.50pm on Thursday and became involved in a verbal argument with a man. The pair were known to each other. The 46-year-old man was allegedly stabbed in the face during the altercation. The man ran from the home as the woman, still armed with scissors, continued to pursue him down the street, police allege. Officers arrived at the scene and arrested the woman in nearby Dowling Street. Although his corporate entities included Legit Industries, as he languishes in a Serbian jail arrested over a $1.5 billion cocaine importation deal, it appears that Tristan Waters is anything but legit. The 35-year-old Canberra nightclub boss was arrested in January over what the police claim was the second-largest cocaine bust in Australian history. Tristan Waters was one of three Australians arrested in a Belgrade hotel. Credit:Serbian Interior Ministry Prior to his arrest in a Belgrade hotel, Mr Waters had already come to the attention of the Australian Tax Office who accused him of tax evasion. In November last year, Mr Waters and his wife Sian Warren, a 30-year-old former model, were hit with tax assessments and penalties in excess of $12.2 million for the years 2013 to 2016. Several months earlier The Sydney Morning Herald had revealed that not only had Mr Waters previously been arrested over a drug deal, he was also connected to the ATO fraud scandal which had resulted in the arrest of a deputy commissioner of taxation, Michael Cranston, as well as his son Adam and daughter Lauren. What Collins didnt know was that while police were asking him to talk, in the very same jail Williams was making a deal and naming The Duke as the Hodsons killer. Collins believed Williams would stay loyal, telling his girlfriend: Im Carls mentor. Everybody knows that ... Even Carl will tell you that himself. Carl Williams: Did a deal that cost him his life. Credit:Jason South Williams was telling police he was the middle man in the deal and the $150,000 hit was funded by former drug squad detective Paul Dale. If Collins made a statement that independently corroborated Williams version, the case would be watertight. The trouble was Collins was demanding a large slice of the million-dollar reward and a pardon to make the statement. He was confident he could out-negotiate the negotiators. Im gonna be sharper than f---ing three of them put together ... I need an indemnity right, over the Hodson murders ... I know who it was. The copper, you know the copper theyre trying to pinch? He worked for Carl all right. Im not telling them shit. [Addressing Detective Sergeant Sol Solomon] 'When I walk out the door and you give me bail and I walk out the door and go home to my baby, then Ill sit down and talk to you'. He assures his girlfriend he was not the killer: Absolutely it wasnt me. I swear on the little kids lives. I know why they are coming to me and asking me cause they know they dont have enough f---ing ammunition for the trial. They know that. But strangely for a man protesting his innocence, he adds: I wouldnt admit it, you know. He says police jumped to the conclusion he was the Hodsons killer based on the Abbey murders, because in both cases it was alleged the women were shot because they could identify their husband's killer. Cause they say it is similar to the other thing. What, cause it is a bloke and a chick? Thats the only similarities. He tells Amanda he will beat the main charges and Ill probably do five years. Ill be out, dont worry about that. Ill be able to have sex up until Im 90 years old. (This proved to be wildly optimistic. Less than a year later he was found guilty of the Abbey murders and sentenced to life with a minimum of 32 years. He died in custody earlier this year, aged 72.) While Collins appeared to be upbeat about his upcoming trials, his true colours surfaced when he plotted to kill a witness who would testify against him over the armed robbery. Im not concerned about that at all, the stick-up. Im not concerned about it. Im gonna get someone to f---ing whack down the dog. Ill get someone to f---ing hurt, f---ing smash him. At one point he considers using his reputation as an underworld killer to make money selling autographs to so-called fans. OK go and get someone to open a website for you, all right concerning me, OK and receive a birthday greeting or a Christmas greeting from me. Thats why I want to see Carl cause I know Carls doing all that sort of thing so Im a bit like that too, right. Charge em $100 ... or charge em $50 ... [for] the square heads. When his girlfriend points out that he doesnt have Williams profile, he says: Thats the way I like to fly, under the radar. He asks her for copies of articles on him written in The Age, cause Im just curious who wrote it. When told, he responds: John Silvester. Oh yeah, right John Silvester, f---ing copper dog. Yeah Im just curious to what he said. (Luckily for us, Rod didnt make it to the Walkley judging panel.) Discussing one case, he says: [Detective Sergeant Solomon] said, What if theyve got alibis? I said, Let me tell you something about alibis Solly. People who have alibis have got something to hide. Russell Cox: Spent 11 years on the run. Credit:Police mugshot His girlfriend seems keen on Collins dealing with the police, but he says: I did what you asked me to do, OK. And I didnt even like doing that, believe me. I gave them enough. Look at me, Im not giving them any more. But Collins did talk, dobbing in old associate, Russell Cox, who escaped from a Sydney prison in 1977 and spent 11 years on the run. Police believe that in 1982 Cox and Collins shot dead standover man Brian Kane, whom they blamed for the murder of their friend Ray Bennett, gunned down inside the Melbourne Magistrates Court in November 1979. Brian Kane. Police suspect he was shot dead in 1982 by Rod Collins and Russell Cox. Credit:The Australasian Criminal Register 1973 Collins tells his girlfriend: So, I told him the person responsible for those two murders was Russell Cox, a bloke named Russell Cox, f---ing dog. He got Ray pinched. He got Ray arrested and then after that Ray got f---ing shot in the head in court. When Collins was arrested in 2008, the hitman was in possession of a loaded handgun, a balaclava, a burglary kit and surveillance equipment. He also had a confidential 58-page police surveillance report that tracked the movements, habits and associates of a major drug dealer. Detectives feared Collins was using the police intelligence report to plan a hit on one of the men named in the dossier. He tells his girlfriend that when police asked how he obtained the secret dossier, I told 'em I got them from a f---ing bus stop. I said there is no way in the world I will ever tell you or anyone else where they came from. If you want to know what police station they came from, they came from Broadmeadows. That person is a personal friend of mine. Im not a f---ing dog. I have too much pride. I have too much self-respect. On the back of Carl Williams statements, Paul Dale was charged with the murder of Terence Hodson, and Rod Collins with the murders of both Terence and Christine Hodson. But the case collapsed when Williams was bashed to death inside Barwon Prison in 2010. Prison CCTV captures the moment prisoner Matt Johnson ambushes Carl Williams, who was reading a newspaper before he was fatally bashed. It wasn't The Age. At one point Collins considered a backup plan. He would tell his girlfriend the real story on the Hodson killings and she could tell the police and collect the million dollars on offer. Ill just go OK, I was the person involved and you get the reward. She asks: How do you think, baby?'' Collins: "Like a criminal. Criminals are always thinking - criminals are plot thinking. Its like me trying to think how you think, like a square head. I cant possibly do that. "Despite the affluence of many doing well in the Kimberley, despite affirmative actions and investments in infrastructure in the Kimberley, the reality is that the Kimberley also has the second highest homelessness rate in the nation. "More than six per cent of its total population is homeless and nearly 100 per cent of that are Aboriginal people which then translates to almost 12 per cent or one in eight of all Aboriginal people in the Kimberley living with some form of homelessness." Almost all Aboriginal suicides are committed by people living below the poverty line, Mr Georgatos said. "The elevated risk groups are people who've been incarcerated and come out of prison with little hope on the horizon who are Aboriginal, people who are homeless and Aboriginal, people who have been evicted from their public housing rentals who are Aboriginal," he said. "Within that poverty other sad factors become much more pronounced. "That's where you get the family violence, various sexual predations and that sort of behaviour that become tipping points." Coroner inquires into Aboriginal suicides in the Kimberley WA Coroner Ros Fogliani launched an inquest into the suicides of 13 young Aboriginal people in the Kimberley in 2017 (her findings are yet to be released). The children died between November 2012 and March 2016, roughly the same timeframe covered by the latest figures released by the government. Mr Georgatos said there had been six Aboriginal suicides last financial year in the Kimberley and, even though this was about half the number of the previous year, five were teenagers aged 15 to 17. "That's a disturbing and increasing trend, but despite the suicide toll decreasing in the last year and pray that continues that doesn't reflect in hospital admissions for self-harm, attempted suicide and police call-outs for aberrant behaviour, which have continued at the same rates," he said. The coroner heard harrowing details at inquest hearings in Perth and across the Kimberley, including the story of a 10-year-old girl her took her own life on the same day she was struck by a relative with a stick. She was last seen walking away in tears. She had been exposed to alcohol abuse and domestic violence and did not have any contact with mental health or counselling services, according to counsel assisting Philip Urquhart. Overall, there had been more than 700 recommendations arising from 40 inquiries into Aboriginal youth suicide and related factors since the early 2000s. Mr Georgatos said he wasn't hopeful another inquest would change things. "They all come back with a limited remit of responses and unless they come back actually focusing in on the crushing poverty, then you're going nowhere fast," he said. The Kimberley region of Western Australia. Credit:Fairfax Media "Everybody can argue 'mental health', everybody can argue 'more responders', everybody can argue everything they want under the sun. "Obviously, it all helps in some way to some extent, but how can you give people hope and ask them to adjust their behaviour, and for how long and how far, without a path leading to something better on the horizon?" Governments direct resources into North West suicide prevention Both the state and federal governments say they are concerned about suicide rates in the Kimberley. A 2016 WA parliamentary inquiry flayed WA governments of both political persuasions, finding they had "failed to respond to recommendations made by previous inquiries for more than 15 years". Commonwealth Indigenous Affairs Minister Ken Wyatt said he had been working closely with community and health groups from across the region since early last year. "I am saddened by the profound impact that suicide has on individuals, their families and communities," he said. "Through the Kimberley Suicide Prevention Trial, the Turnbull Government is committed to suicide prevention, with a focus on strong community engagement and respect for locally endorsed solutions. "In May and August 2017, and February 2018, I have chaired two meetings of the Kimberley Suicide Prevention Working Group and have another planned for October. Importantly, the initiative is being locally led, with strong youth involvement." Loading The trial will target suicide in Broome, Bidyadanga, Dampier Peninsula, Derby, Fitzroy Crossing, Halls Creek, Kununurra, Wyndham and the Kutjunka region. "Let's stop the bullshit and let's do it." That was one of the messages conveyed at a rally outside state parliament on Friday which aimed to address the fact WA cops are not covered by a redress or workers compensation scheme. There were plenty of placards at the rally. Credit:Phil Hickey Joe Shaw, who was medically retired from the force in the 1990s, organised Friday's rally. About 100 former and current officers and their families attended, holding placards before marching down St Georges Terrace. at 16, she acts on "Gas light" With Ingrid Bergman & Charles Boyer ((Charles Boyer ( French: [bwaje]; 28 August 1899 26 August 1978) was a French actor who appeared in more than 80 films between 1920 and 1976. [1] )). I knew her film from Global fame [ edit ] Murder, She Wrote: 19841996 [ edit ] Angela Lansbury in September 1989 Angela Lansbury in September 1989 In 1983, Angela Lansbury was offered two main television roles, one in a sitcom and the other in a detective series; unable to do both, her agents advised her to accept the former although Lansbury instead went with the latter. The series, Murder, She Wrote, centred on the character of Jessica Fletcher, a retired school teacher from the fictional town of Cabot Cove, Maine, who became a successful detective novelist after her husband's death, also solving murders that she encounters during her travels; Lansbury described the character as "an American Miss Marple". The series was created by Peter S. Fischer, Richard Levinson, and William Link, who had earlier had success with Columbo, and the role of Jessica Fletcher had been first offered to Jean Stapleton, who declined the role, as did Doris Day. The pilot episode, "The Murder of Sherlock Holmes", premiered on CBS on September 30, 1984, with the rest of the first season airing on Sundays from 8 to 9 p.m. Although critical reviews were mixed, it proved highly popular, with the pilot having a Nielsen rating of 18.9 and the first season being rated top in its time slot. Designed as inoffensive family viewing, despite its topic the show eschewed depicting violence or gore, following the "whodunit" format rather than those of most contemporary U.S. crime shows; Lansbury herself commented that "best of all, there's no violence. I hate violence." Lansbury was defensive about Jessica Fletcher, having creative input over the character's costumes, makeup and hair, and rejecting pressure from network executives to put her in a relationship, believing that the character should remain a strong single female. When she believed that a scriptwriter had made Jessica do or say things that did not fit with the character's personality, Lansbury ensured that the script was changed. She saw Jessica as a role model for older female viewers, praising her "enormous, universal appeal that was an accomplishment I never expected in my entire life." Lansbury biographers Rob Edelman and Audrey E. Kupferberg described the series as "a television landmark" in the U.S. for having an older female character as the protagonist, thereby paving the way for later series like The Golden Girls. Lansbury herself noted that "I think it's the first time a show has really been aimed at the middle aged audience", and although it was most popular among senior citizens, it gradually gained a younger audience; by 1991, a third of viewers were under fifty. It gained continually high ratings throughout most of its run, outdoing rivals in its time slot such as Steven Spielberg's Amazing Stories on NBC. In February 1987, a spin-off was produced, The Law & Harry McGraw, although it was short-lived. "I know why [Murder, She Wrote was a success]. There was never any blood, never any violence. And there was always a satisfying conclusion to a whodunit. The jigsaw was complete. And I loved Jessica's everywoman character. I think that's what made her so acceptable to an across-the-board audience." Angela Lansbury, 2014 As the show went on, Lansbury assumed a larger role behind the scenes. In 1989, her own company, Corymore Productions, began co-producing the show with Universal. Nevertheless, she began to tire of the series, and in particular the long working hours, stating that the 199091 season would be the show's last. She changed her mind after being appointed executive producer for the 199293 season, something that she felt "made it far more interesting to me." For the eighth season, the show's setting moved to New York City, where Jessica had taken a job teaching criminology at Manhattan University; the move was an attempt to attract younger viewers and was encouraged by Lansbury. Having become a "Sunday-night institution" in the U.S., the show's ratings improved during the early 1990s, becoming a Top Five programme. However, CBS executives, hoping to gain a larger audience, moved it to Thursdays at 8pm, opposite NBC's new sitcom, Friends. Lansbury was angry at the move, believing that it ignored the show's core audience. The final episode of the series aired in May 1996, and ended with Lansbury voicing a "Goodbye from Jessica" message at the end. Tom Shales wrote in The Washington Post, "The title of the show's last episode, "Death by Demographics," is in itself something of a protest. 'Murder, She Wrote' is partly a victim of commercial television's mad youth mania."[151] At the time it tied the original Hawaii Five-O as the longest-running detective drama series in television history,[152] and the role would prove to be the most successful and prominent of Lansbury's career. Lansbury initially had plans for a Murder She Wrote television film that would be a musical with a score composed by Jerry Herman. While this project didn't materialise, it was transformed into Mrs Santa Claus in which Lansbury played Santa Claus' wife which proved to be a ratings hit. Throughout the run of Murder, She Wrote, Lansbury had continued making appearances in other television films, miniseries and cinema. In 1986, she co-hosted the New York Philharmonic's televised tribute to the centenary of the Statue of Liberty with Kirk Douglas.[157] In 1986 she appeared as the protagonist's mother in Rage of Angels: The Story Continues, and in 1988 portrayed Nan Moore the mother of a victim of the real-life Korean Air Lines Flight 007 plane crash in Shootdown; being a mother herself, she had been "enormously touched by the incident". 1989 saw her featured in The Shell Seekers as an Englishwoman recuperating from a heart attack, and in 1990 she starred in The Love She Sought as an American school teacher who falls in love with a Catholic priest while visiting Ireland; Lansbury thought it "a marvelous woman's story." She next starred as the Cockney Mrs Harris in a film adaptation of the novel Mrs 'Arris Goes to Paris, which was directed by her son and executive produced by her stepson. Her highest profile cinematic role since The Manchurian Candidate was as the voice of the singing teapot Mrs. Potts in the 1991 Disney animation Beauty and the Beast, an appearance that she considered to be a gift to her three grandchildren. Lansbury performed the title song to the film, which won the Academy Award for Best Original Song, Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song and Grammy Award for Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media. Lansbury's Murder, She Wrote fame resulted in her being employed to appear in advertisements and infomercials for Bufferin, MasterCard and the Beatrix Potter Company. In 1988, she released a video titled Angela Lansbury's Positive Moves: My Personal Plan for Fitness and Well-Being, in which she outlined her personal exercise routine, and in 1990 published a book with the same title co-written with Mimi Avins, which she dedicated to her mother. As a result of her work she was awarded a CBE by the British government, given to her in a ceremony by Charles, Prince of Wales at the British consulate in Los Angeles. While living most of the year in California, Lansbury spent Christmases and summers at Corymore House, her farmhouse overlooking the Atlantic Ocean at Ballywilliam, near Churchtown South, County Cork, which she had had specially built as a family home in 1991. Personality and personal life [ edit ] "Ange is classy and elegant, warm and generous, but she's also tough and expects everyone around her to give their all. As far as she is concerned, there is no challenge that can't be at least partially met with a "cuppa" very strong Yorkshire Gold. Working on the stage keeps her vibrant. A healthy regimen keeps her beautiful. What keeps her ageless is her immense curiosity, her exuberance for life, and her tremendous gift for holding on to joy." Friend and co-star Len Cariou, 2012 Lansbury describes herself as "an amalgam of British, Irish and American" although throughout her life she has spoken with an English accent. She holds Irish citizenship.[195] Biographer Martin Gottfried characterized her as "Meticulous. Cautious. Self-editing. Deliberate. It is what the British call reserved", adding that she was "as concerned, as sensitive, and as sympathetic as anyone might want in a friend". Also noting that she had "a profound sense of privacy", he added that she disliked attempts at flattery. 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 [] An IT technician who stole numerous gold bars and coins from the Perth Mint has been jailed for two years. Joseph Charles Viola, 29, stole the items over a seven-week period in 2016. Incredibly, he sold some of the items to a gold bullion dealer across the road from the Perth Mint. Gold coins similar to these were stolen from the Perth Mint. None of the stolen property has ever been recovered. The organisation to take control of the new Chief Ministers Charitable Fund has confirmed it is in talks with the Labor Club about taking office space in a city building owned by the club. But Hands Across Canberra chief executive Peter Gordon said talks were at an early stage, and he insisted he was also talking to other organisations about renting space. He would not name them. The Labor Club is controlled by the Labor Party and owns a building on City Walk next door to its city club, where Volunteering ACT also has office space. The Labor Club and adjacent building, also owned by the club, which could become home to Hands Across Canberra. Credit:Dion Georgopoulos Hands Across Canberra, currently operating from Mr Gordons home, is about to expand massively, with Chief Minister Andrew Barr signing the group to administer his new $5 million Chief Ministers Charitable Fund, announced in the June budget. Mr Barr is also looking at giving the group control of some of the $7.6 million given to community groups each year by the citys clubs. Malcolm Turnbull on Friday claimed that it was so bad that it was a sign of "enormous enmity - there's like a civil war going on in the NSW Labor Party". It's not - it's a campaign by her former staff and their supporters, furious at their treatment - but it's certainly a running sore for Labor and a problem for Bill Shorten. The jeremiad against Husar takes on some of the characteristics of the campaign against Barnaby Joyce - vicious, unrelenting, with no respect for her privacy or the privacy of her family, wildly amplified by a media that has abandoned any constraints. And, just as Labor used the Joyce affair against Turnbull's leadership, so Turnbull has decided to use the Husar saga against Shorten's leadership. The Prime Minister avoided direct reference to the new allegation that she had exposed herself, Basic Instinct-style, in the office of another Labor MP, Jason Clare, as part of a pattern of sexual harassment against one of her male staff who was supposedly present at the time. Husar and Clare deny the claim. But Turnbull did say: "There are very serious allegations of financial misappropriation of money and other allegations of harassment and bullying. Mr Shorten has got to be upfront and tell us exactly when he or anyone in his office knew about this, when they knew it, and what did they do about it?" As if one raging crisis were not enough for the Labor party, its Victorian division is in disarray. Amid a flurry of raids, the Victorian police on Thursday arrested 17 former staff members of the state's Labor party. It was a dramatic escalation of the so-called "red shirts" affair that sprang from Labor's win in Victoria's 2014 election. Labor was found to have misused $388,000 in taxpayers' funds to pay for the 17 red-shirted Labor campaigners. The money was diverted from the publicly funded staff allowances of sitting Labor state MPs into party coffers. Of course, the parties are supposed to use party funds for party activities. The police are pursuing the case. But the real targets of the scandal are the six Labor MPs who were involved in the scheme who today sit as ministers in the Daniel Andrews government. This debacle is not connected to federal Labor, but it can only damage the party's brand and standing at every level. All that scandal and uproar in Labor takes some of the attention and pressure off the Turnbull government. Yet it's a reprieve for Turnbull, not an absolution. The Liberal National Party spent the impressive sum of between $600,000 and $700,000 on its campaign for the seat of Longman, according to people with knowledge of the matter. Yet it was completely overwhelmed by Labor. Labor spent much more money, estimated at more than $1 million. Labor campaigned much more aggressively. In just two nights - the Tuesday and Wednesday of the final week of the campaign, just before the official advertising black-out kicked in, Labor blanketed the greater Brisbane area TV stations with high-rotation ads attacking the Turnbull government. They were all negative, just about non-stop. Ad professionals have estimated that those two nights of TV ads alone cost Labor about $200,000. And the LNP? It ran no TV ads at all. Nor any radio ads. At any time of the campaign. Labor also had many more campaigners and volunteers, boosted by squads of unionists, who were highly visible with roadside signage and doorknocking and polling booth handouts, plus some GetUp! volunteers as well. So the sheer scale and intensity and organisation of the Labor campaign outmatched the Coalition's. But to have successful attack ads requires something vulnerable to attack. And that's where the Turnbull company tax cuts were central. Turnbull and most of his leadership team believe that the company tax cuts for big business are necessary and defensible. If they dump them and they're asked whether Australia's company tax rate is competitive, they'd still have to answer "no". They believe the tax cuts to be a useful tool and also a current symbol of the government's credential as the party of "jobs and growth". And it's true that a number of polls show that, on a simple "yes" or "no" question, a plurality or majority of voters support the the tax cuts for big firms. Turnbull believes that the campaign messaging needs to be examined and improved. But the key problem is not the policy itself but the priority they signal to the people. This is the genius of the Labor campaign - "hospitals not banks". This was the theme that Labor hammered in Longman. And it seems to have worked devastatingly well. For Labor it was certainly a useful test bed for the coming general election. If it's only effective in Longman, the government needn't worry too much. There are precedents for neighbouring Queensland seats to vote in divergent directions - while Wyatt Roy suffered a fatal swing against him in Longman, Luke Howarth enjoyed a swing to him in Petrie, for example. The Coalition's full analysis of the result will determine how it casts the lessons of Longman. But, as one Cabinet minister put it to me, "it sends a bit of a shudder down the spine. It's an unsettling element, especially for MPs in marginal seats." And there are another five in Queensland on margins of 2 per cent or less. The government holds power by a single seat. But while Queensland is the crucible of the contest, it's not the contest. The greater struggle in the competition for public support is determined in the full range of the people, policies and politics across the country. After emerging from the Super Saturday byelections with his leadership intact and Labor holding all four of the seats it had in play, a reflective Bill Shorten told reporters: "People dont want more of the same from Malcolm Turnbull. They want a government that acts in the interests of people. To be honest, thats the message I get out of it, too. The people of Australia are sick of me and Turnbull being in a Punch and Judy show he runs around complaining about me, we complain about the government. They want better from us." Hear, hear! That's exactly right. But in practice we see that is all it is and all it will continue to be. Labor will punch the government as it wrestles with a Tony Abbott-led energy policy insurrection, and a divide over company tax cuts. The government will punch Labor over Emma Husar and Shorten's "shiftiness". The Salvation Army has called on the Australian government to depart from diplomatic convention and expel foreign diplomats implicated in shocking cases of slavery in the nation's capital. As a Senate committee this week hears evidence from industry and human rights bodies about the government's draft Modern Slavery Bill, absent from the discussion is a loophole that allows alleged criminal exploitation to continue within Canberra embassies. In a submission to the Senate committee, the Salvation Army revealed it had assisted almost a dozen domestic workers kept in slave-like conditions by foreign diplomats in their Canberra homes in 11 years. The Salvation Army says it has no doubt there are people being held as slaves in Australia. Credit:Photographic In one case, a woman referred to as Cristina was told she would be paid $2150 per month for 40 hours per week as a live-in housekeeper, but was kept as a virtual prisoner and forced to sign false documents and work seven days a week for minimal pay. Residents of the Top End town of Katherine are taking legal action against the federal government over contamination of waterways and soil with a toxic chemical found in firefighting foam. Per- and poly-fluoroalkyl, more commonly known as PFAS, were chemicals historically found in firefighting foam regularly used by the Department of Defence on nearby RAAF Base Tindal until 2010, where a departmental risk assessment showed the substances had leached into the soil and waterways of the town. The Katherine lawsuit relates to contamination from PFAS in firefighting foam used at RAAF Base Tindal. A Fairfax Media investigation revealed the widespread use of PFAS across Australia at more than 90 separate sites, many of which are in or close to residential areas. The federal Department of Health maintains there is no consistent evidence the toxins cause important health effects. A former head of Australia's special forces expressed fears that some of the nations most elite SAS Regiment and Commandos soldiers were deeply compromised ethically and their command "not fit for purpose". In a blistering secret briefing, the then Special Operations Commander Major General Jeff Sengelman attacked a collapse of leadership, "tribalism", government policy that exhausted special forces through multiple deployments to Afghanistan, and a failure by individuals to take responsibility for their actions. The report went to the then recently appointed defence force chief, Angus Campbell who seized on Mr Sengelmans advice to commission a major quasi-judicial inquiry into rumours of alleged breaches of the laws of armed conflict involving special forces in Afghanistan between 2001 and 2016. Mr Sengelman warned that those who feel threatened at the prospect of transparency, personal accountability and the evidence of inadequate standards would resist any reform attempts.Cumulatively, these reports convey a sobering insight into our Command that for many starkly contradicts the public image and reputation many unconditionally hold, he said. Every member of the Command who values their integrity" should support reform, "because we are all responsible to ensure the organisation walks the right path. As the school funding wars heat up yet again, it seems the story of Australian education is stuck in an absurd and unresolved plot, uncertain if the climax should be Catholic, independent or state. Yet for a long time, the history of schooling in Australia was a place to find a national story: a coming of age tale, from illiterate colonies to the great public education covenants of the 1880s, which included the great (Irish) Catholic separation from the educational social contract. A century of fairly stable educational narrative followed. Several generations started and finished in local comprehensive state schools: free, compulsory and non-sectarian. This defined the local community and shaped its networks. In thousands of tiny tales including mine - it became an epic narrative of Australian progress. Students at Queanbeyan Public School. Several generations of Australians started and finished in local comprehensive state schools. Though the majority were fervent in neither demeanor nor Sunday attendance, state schooling was a generally Protestant arrangement for about 80 years. Throughout the 1950s, it became a centrally administered and collectivist model with a persistent Catholic exception. School choice was limited: constrained by geography and a fact now largely forgotten - tribal sect. It was a progress story, from small to big, from primitive to civilised, from convict to free, from colony to nation. But now, the story has become crowded by the alternative theme of school choice: bickering about funding is one of its many consequences. School choice is a particularly Australian theme - according to the OECD, Australia has the worlds highest access to school choice. Should think tanks be forced to disclose their funders in order to participate in public debate? Some believe so: ABC TVs The Drum host Julia Baird wrote last weekend it would be far better if think tanks were legally required to reveal all funding, so we can best assess contributions to public debate". Quentin Dempster and David Marr both made similar points in recent times. Georgina Downer also copped a grilling on Mondays The Drum from host Ellen Fanning over Gina Rineharts donations to the Institute for Public Affairs. Georgina Downer was grilled over IPA donors on 'The Drum' this week Credit:AAP Many think tanks keep donor lists private: for example neither the progressive Australia Institute nor the classical liberal Centre for Independent Studies (where I work) discloses their funders identity. He does come down the pitch and that's a good thing, not a bad thing. Dennis Richardson Mr Woolcott has the praise of former department heads, top diplomats and ministers alike as he begins his tenure at the Australian Public Service Commission. Cool-headed and unexcitable under pressure, he's cast by his former bosses as a problem-solver with a good policy mind. Former secretary of the Foreign Affairs and Defence departments, Dennis Richardson, worked with Mr Woolcott while he was a diplomat and remembers him as someone staying on the front foot. "He doesn't necessarily sit back in his crease and wait for the ball to come to him," Mr Richardson said. "He does come down the pitch and that's a good thing, not a bad thing." The main public sector union noted Mr Woolcott's appointment with cautious welcome. Mr Richardson was not surprised, saying the former diplomat would not enter his role seeing the Community and Public Sector Union automatically as an enemy. Mr Woolcott begins the job at the dying ebb of the last, bruising round of enterprise agreement negotiations that left public servants without pay rises for several years and, for the Home Affairs Department, went to the industrial umpire following strikes. The next round of bargaining has already started for some agencies, but the workplace policy blamed for the turmoil remains largely unchanged. Mr Turnbull called the diplomat home from a posting as high commissioner to New Zealand in July last year as the prime minister's former chief of staff Greg Moriarty left to lead the Defence department, following Mr Richardson's 2017 retirement. Across the Tasman, Mr Woolcott spent nearly two years as Australia's top diplomat. It wasn't without trials. He was high commissioner to New Zealand last year when Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern called him in to explain comments from Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop about NZ Labor MPs' role in the dual citizenship saga. He had long mastered bilateral diplomacy, even before he was called from his posting as ambassador to Italy to make way for former Coalition minister Amanda Vanstone in 2007. His work in multilateral forums is held up as his most highly regarded achievement in foreign affairs. Mr McCarthy says his role in the 2015 Paris climate treaty talks, and in disarmament, were some of his major contributions. Peter Woolcott in Vietnam in 2017. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen His role at the climate summit earned him appearances in environmental documentary Guardians of the Earth, which covered the monumental international task of orchestrating a deal. Australia's delegation - in which Mr Woolcott was instrumental - in the lead-up drew criticism from French and German officials for what they regarded as the Abbott government's miserly approach towards preparations for Paris. The Germans found Australia a reticent and even obstructive participant as officials met in Bonn to negotiate a text for the conference, and claimed Mr Woolcott had appeared to be on a tight leash in what he could contribute. Mr Woolcott, leading the team that did the negotiating on the conference floor, publicly advocated higher ambitions in detailing Australian priorities for a Paris deal. He said Australia wanted to see all countries, especially major economies, sign-up to robust emissions reduction efforts, building in transparency and accountability to track progress and setting up a durable process to build action towards keeping global warming below two degrees. The real danger was not whether a new global climate agreement would emerge from Paris, but whether it would be minimal, he warned. Loading "If this is the outcome, then much of what Australia wants, and I think what we need as a globe ... may be lost," Mr Woolcott said. His other major multilateral achievement, developing the 2013 United Nations Arms Trade Treaty monitoring trade in conventional weapons, was rewarded last year with an appointment as an Officer of the Order of Australia. As chairman of the negotiations to achieve the treaty, he presided over talks as Australia ratified the global agreement it helped draft to stop the proliferation of weapons across the globe, an issue Ms Bishop made the centrepiece of her UN Security Council presidency. The Rudd government had earlier thrust Mr Woolcott into the national spotlight putting him to work in 2009 imposing greater rigour on the Immigration Department's refugee selection process, considered by many in Foreign Affairs to be a major pull factor for asylum seekers. As the first full-time ambassador for people-smuggling issues, he was part of discussions with Indonesia about how the two countries could deal with growing asylum-seeker arrivals, and avoid repeats of the Oceanic Viking and Merak stand-offs. Hundreds of asylum seekers had been detained in Indonesia en route to Australia. Mr Woolcott, still running the prime minister's office before moving further north up the parliamentary triangle, was unavailable for interview this week. Mr Richardson said the new public service commissioner saw working in the federal bureaucracy as a career. Mr Woolcott, the son of highly-regarded diplomat and former Foreign Affairs department secretary Richard Woolcott, for long didn't stray too far from its orbit. Even as chief of staff to Mr Downer, he was on secondment from Foreign Affairs. The former senior Howard government minister said his role was to help the office maintain smooth relations with the department. In returning to the federal bureaucracy as public service commissioner, he becomes, at least in recent years, one of only two children of departmental heads to grow up and become agency leaders themselves. The other is Jane Halton, former secretary of the Finance and Health departments and daughter of Charles Halton, who led the Department of Transport. Skeletal remains found in bushland near Wollongong have been identified as belonging to missing businessman Minh Phuoc "Paul" Nguyen. Police have found remains in the hunt for missing man Paul Nguyen. Credit: NSW Police Mr Nguyen, 50, was last seen driving out of the Hilton hotel in Sydney's CBD on May 1, 2014. Strike Force Awols was established to investigate his alleged murder and to find his body. Last week, after new information came to light, police found a gravesite containing bones during a search of bushland at Cordeaux, near Wollongong. The bones were examined and determined to be human. Following further analysis, they were confirmed as belonging to Mr Nguyen, police said. NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard has promised an investigation after sensitive patient records were found in an abandoned building. More than 1000 confidential medical records were found strewn around a room at the former site of the Garrawarra Centre for Aged Care in Helensburgh, between Sydney and Wollongong, the ABC reported on Thursday. "To those people whose medical records were put in such storage arrangements in the early 2000s, I express my sincere apologies and can assure them and their families I will get NSW Health to do whatever I can to rectify the situation," Mr Hazzard said in a statement. According to the ABC report, the documents contained personal profiles, medical conditions, behaviours, accidents, treatments and medical history of more than 400 patients. Chicago: Two agricultural researchers from China were charged on Friday in connection with a 2013 attempt to steal US rice technology for use in the medical field. A US grand jury indicted Liu Xuejun, 49, and Sun Yue, 36, for conspiracy to steal trade secrets and conspiracy to commit interstate transportation of stolen property, according to the US Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Arkansas. Rice farming Credit:Nicolas Walker NKW Lawyers for Liu and Sun could not immediately be reached for comment. The Chinese Embassy in Washington also could not immediately be reached. The charges come as the United States and China have slapped tariffs on imports of billions of dollars' worth of each other's goods in an escalating trade war. The United States alleges that China steals US corporate secrets and wants it to stop doing so. More than 10,000 new North Korean workers have registered in Russia since September, the paper said, citing records from the Russian Interior Ministry. Korean leader Kim Jong-un, left with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Pyongyang in May. Credit:AP Bengaluru, India: Russia is allowing thousands of fresh North Korean labourers into the country and granting new work permits in potential violation of UN sanctions, the Wall Street Journal has reported. Labour Ministry records obtained by the Journal showed that a minimum of 700 new work permits have been issued to North Koreans in Russia this year, the paper said. UN officials are probing potential violations of the sanctions, which contain narrow exceptions, WSJ reported citing sources. Russia's Foreign Ministry did not respond to a request for comment outside regular business hours. North Korean workers walk into the Hong Chao Zhi Yi garment factory in Hunchun in north-eastern China's Jilin province near the Russian border. Credit:AP "It's absolutely clear that Russia needs to do more. Russia says it wants better relations with the United States, so Moscow should prove that by cooperating with us, not working against us, on this urgent threat to all nations," a US State Department spokesperson told Reuters. The device sent a signal to a private supplier in Texas. "He rang the Rescue Co-ordination Centre New Zealand, then they called us with the positions," RCCNZ senior search and rescue member Jeff Lunt said. The rescue efforts were complicated because two different positions were reported on Tuesday and Wednesday. They were about two kilometres from each other. A modern beacon would have pinpointed his position more accurately and immediately, Day said. "I don't think it affected things this time as, no matter what, we couldn't have got in because of the weather." Harch had parked his car last Friday to climb the mountain and was expected back on Monday. A friend advised police on Monday that Harch was missing and the climber triggered his beacon about 12.15pm that day. Climbed Mount Cook for charity According to a 2014 article in the Australian Army newspaper, Harch was then based at Lavarack Barracks in Townsville. That year he climbed Mount Cook with two others to raise money for Soldier On, a charity that supports Australian Defence Force members who have suffered physical or mental wounds in the course of their service. They wanted to raise the profile of the Army Alpine Association, an organisation that has connections with the climbing community in Mount Cook and Wanaka. The article said Harch had climbed the mountain previously, in 2011, and was part of an army team that did a mountain climbing course in the shadow of Mount Cook in 2007. Loud cheer A loud cheer went up at the rescue base in Wanaka when he was found on Thursday night, Day said. The rescue team had "extensive difficulties" accessing the area due to cloud and avalanche risk and finally flew in from the Haast Pass late on Thursday afternoon. The helicopter flew around the area for about 10 minutes when it appeared Harch heard it and walked out of either a snow shelter or the bergschrund - the first crevasse at the top of a glacier. Australian climber Terry Harch missing on Mount Aspiring has been found. A team of four Alpine Cliff Rescue volunteers three men and one woman were prepared to traverse the Bonar Glacier in skis to get to Harch, which would have taken a couple of hours, but were able to land about 20 minutes' distance away by ski instead. "It's a good place to hide to get out of the weather," Day said. It was not possible for the team and Harch to walk out of the area on Thursday because of the avalanche risk, he said. The team spent the night with the climber. 'Army training saved him' Loading Lunt told Radio New Zealand on Friday morning he believed the man's army survival training saved his life. "That's helped him with his survivability over the last few days." Wanaka Land Search and Rescue spokesman Phil Melchior said Harch had done very well to survive. "To be stuck in these conditions up, well above the permanent snow line, for as long as he's been up there, you've got to know how to look after yourself in order to survive there. Loading "This is a deadly environment up there. That's why the sooner we can get him out, the happier everyone will be." Harch, on leave in New Zealand, was described as being in good spirits. RCCNZ spokeswoman Pania Shingleton said as soon as the weather cleared on Friday, helicopters would be sent to fly him and the rescue team off the mountain. "The rescue crew brought down a tent, change of clothes and some hot food for him, so I'm sure he is feeling a lot better than he has in the last two nights. "We give all due high praise to the Wanaka Alpine Rescue crew and helicopter crews and police; they've been just amazing." MetService meteorologist Melissa Oosterwijk said the weather had improved since Thursday night, but there was still some rain and low cloud about in the Wanaka area with temperatures of minus 1 degree. There were 10km/h south-east winds in the morning, which were expected to rise to 30km/h by noon. The wind chill was minus 16 degrees with scattered rain easing late in the morning. The snow level was at 1200 metres and the party were at about 2300 metres up Mount Aspiring. Warning for climbers RCCNZ said the rescue should serve as a warning for trampers and climbers in winter that they need to be properly prepared and carry a beacon. Mountain Safety Council chief executive Mike Daisley said he was relieved Harch had narrowly avoided death. "We knew from our insights that 25 per cent of mountaineering fatalities in New Zealand are from Australia, so we're very glad he's been found OK. "Winter mountaineering is a high-risk, high-reward activity, and is certainly not for the faint of heart. However, there's a degree of common sense that's got to come into the planning of trips like this, especially if you're solo. Sign up for our PoliticsNY newsletter for the latest coverage and to stay informed about the 2021 elections in your district and across NYC Guy Molinari, who reigned as Staten Islands top Republican power broker for nearly 30 years as a local, state, and federal legislator and whose long political shadow loomed across the Narrows onto Bay Ridge died on July 25 of pneumonia in a Manhattan hospital. He was 89. His political base was always on the island, but Molinaris influence began to loom large in Brooklyn in 1980, when he was elected to a Congressional seat that shortly afterward was expanded to include Bay Ridge and Dyker Heights. Political friends and foes alike remember that he wasted no time in establishing his identity with constituents on both ends of the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge. He immediately made himself a presence in Bay Ridge, quickly opening a district office, said longtime Brooklyn-based political consultant Gerry OBrien. The hallmark of Guys tenure as a Congressman in Bay Ridge and Dyker Heights is that he insisted to the people who worked for him in his district office that constituent service was Job 1, 2, and 3. Perhaps Molinaris best gift to his Brooklyn district, OBrien said, was the successful fight he waged to block then-Mayor Kochs plan to open a city jail on a site just off the Belt Parkway in Bay Ridge. Guy contended that putting a jail in a working-class neighborhood like Bay Ridge was not a good idea, the consultant said. He had a reputation among local elected officials if Guy Molinari is telling people something isnt a good idea, it probably isnt. Even opponents could not help but respect the Staten Island political kingpin. I was a district leader in Bay Ridge from 1990 to 2010, and although I was a Democrat and he was a Republican, I had great respect for him, said Ralph Perfetto. He did not distinguish between Republicans and Democrats when it came to working for the community. If you had a legitimate concern, no matter which party you represented, he would listen. At times we were on opposite sides, when I was supporting a Democratic candidate, even a candidate that was running against him. But no matter what the situation, he always greeted me with a respectful handshake. As the head of the political machine in a borough that at one point was known as Molinari Country, he secured patronage jobs, made decisions on candidates for judgeships, Council, state legislature, and congressional seats, as well as making occasional campaign appearances with those candidates. One such decision was a family affair. In 1989, while in Congress, he ran for borough president and defeated the incumbent, Ralph Lamberti. When he resigned his congressional seat to move to Borough Hall, his daughter, Susan Molinari, won the special election to succeed him. Guy served as borough president from 1990 to 2001, when term limits forced him to step down. In 1997, Molinari endorsed a protege, Republican Councilman Vito J. Fossella Jr., in his run for the congressional seat that he and his daughter had held. Fossella won and served for a decade. But sometimes his influence worked at cross-purposes to his party. In the 1996 state Senate race, he ran John Gangemi, Jr. against political foe Robert DiCarlo, which split the Republican vote and helped elect Democrat Vincent Gentile. As an assemblyman and congressman, Molinari advocated for improved transportation and less pollution in the borough, successfully opposing a new power plant, winning a fight to have tolls on the Verrazano-Narrows bridge cut for island residents, and getting the fare on the Staten Island Ferry eliminated. As borough president, Molinari played a key role in shuttering the Fresh Kills landfill on the islands western shore long an infamous dumping ground for the citys garbage. He was so popular in his home base that a Staten Island Ferry boat was named the Guy V. Molinari. And even as late as last year, as his health declined, Molinari was a supporter of the candidacy of yet another protege, former Staten island Congressman Michael Grimm, who lost his seat when he was convicted of tax fraud and was challenging incumbent Republican Dan Donovan in a bid to reclaim it. And though he sometimes feuded with mayors, governors and at least one president and occasionally came under fire for ill-timed, caustic statements about opponents Molinari, easily Staten Islands most famous elected official, was held in high esteem by friends and foes alike. U.S. Sen. John McCain, whose presidential campaigns Molinari backed in 2000 and 2008, tweeted this comment on learning of his passing: Deeply saddened by the passing of my friend, former #NewYork Congressman Guy Molinari. Guy dedicated his life to public service as a proud Marine, in Congress & across local govt. Cindy & I send our prayers to Guys family & friends during this difficult time. Born on Nov. 23, 1928, in Midland Beach, Staten Island, Gaetano Victor Molinari was educated at New Dorp High School, Wagner College, and New York Law School. He served as a Marine sergeant in the Korean War, and practiced law for 20 years before successfully running for state Assembly, where he served three terms in the 1970s. All told, he was elected to five terms in Congress in the 1980s, and was Staten Island borough president for dozen years, all the while becoming the dean of the islands Republican Party and, in his heyday, the most powerful politician in the citys smallest, most conservative borough. Molinaris wife, Marguerite, died in 2008. His brother, Robert, died in 2015. He is survived by his daughter, Susan, three sisters, Betty, Dolores, and Joan, and two grandchildren. Reach James Harney at (718) 260-2529 or e-mail him at jharn ey@cn gloca l.com . Sign up for our PoliticsNY newsletter for the latest coverage and to stay informed about the 2021 elections in your district and across NYC The State Liquor Authority must deny a new local clubs request for a liquor license due to the owners troubling history, demanded a pair of officials from Sunset Parks Community Board 7 in a July 23 letter to the state regulator. Board members believe that proprietor Imran Jairams new venture Starway 2826 planned for the same 47th Street location as his controversial previous club Love and Lust would cause the same problems as its predecessor after Jairam presented plans for the new establishment to the boards public safety committee, according to the letter. It did not appear to us that he had an interest in cutting off drunk patrons from ordering additional alcohol, helping those too inebriated to find a safe way to travel, or his patrons activities once they left his business, wrote the boards chairman, Cesar Zuniga, and district manager, Jeremy Laufer. To us, this did not sound like someone interested in working with the local residents to mitigate negative impacts. The July 17 committee meeting was Jairams first chance to secure the boards favor for his new venture before the full board votes on whether to recommend that the state authority approve or deny the liquor license at the boards next general meeting on Sept. 26. But when locals and board members questioned Jairam at the committee meeting about how he planned to respond to some of the issues they previously dealt with at Love and Lust including public drunkenness, drunk driving, property damage, fights, and public urination Jairam told locals that his responsibility ended at the curb, the officials wrote in the letter, adding that his attitude made them worry he was simply out to make a profit at the expense of locals quality of life. To our Board Members, the owners attitude seemed to state he was not interested in the community or the safety of his neighbors, he was simply here to make money, Zuniga and Laufer wrote. Jairams former club, Love and Lust located between Second and Third avenues shuttered after the liquor authority cancelled the clubs license on May 16, based on the 11 violations and more than $40,000 in fines Jairam paid out to the authority since 2014 for failing to comply with local regulations, becoming a focal point for police attention, and a failure to supervise patrons, according to a spokesman for the liquor authority at the time. City data also shows that locals called in 14 complaints about the club to 311 since 2016, including one complaint of drug activity inside and nine noise complaints. And the club became embroiled in further controversy when Jairam filed a $125-million notice of claim against the city, alleging that local Deputy Inspector Emmanuel Gonzalez of the 72nd Precinct unfairly targeted the club with inspections, among other allegations, prompting rapper 50 Cent to defend the club in multiple Instagram posts. And last month, a lawyer for Gonzalez, Delvis Valdes, called out the community board and Laufer specifically for writing a letter to the liquor authority supporting Love and Lust, alleging that the letter glossed over the clubs troubled history in the neighborhood. But Laufer and Zuniga wrote in the July 23 letter that the boards new position recommending the denial of the liquor license for Jairams new venture should supersede any earlier communication from this Board, its officers or employees concerning this business or its previous incarnation, and that it should be considered the position of the full board until it votes at the Sept. 26 general meeting. Community boards recommendations to the liquor authority are advisory, not binding. Neither Jairam nor a spokesman at the State Liquor Authority could be reached by press time. Sign up for our PoliticsNY newsletter for the latest coverage and to stay informed about the 2021 elections in your district and across NYC Video of a white woman calling 911 on a black woman for seeking temporary shelter beneath the doorway of her Park Slope apartment building on July 22 went viral, and police say the womans attempt to stay dry didnt break the law. It was determined that no crime was committed, said a spokeswoman for the Police Department. The Park Slope resident now known to the internet as Doorway Debbie called police on Darsell Obregon after she refused to leave the refuge of her Fifth Avenue doorway between President and Union streets during a sudden downpour at 6:03 pm, cops said. In a video of the incident Obregon uploaded to Youtube, the Fifth Avenue resident could be heard giving police an unflattering description of Obregon, as she demanded police assistance. Shes pretty old to be doing this, like 50, heavyset, I would consider that, [wearing] blue jeans with rips in it, like shes 20, the woman told a 911 operator. When Obregons car arrives, the other woman tried to prevent her from leaving, and told her Uber driver that hed be complicit in his passengers phony crime. If you go anywhere youll be committing a crime as well, you know that right? she said. Patrolmen sent to the scene determined that the victims complaint was unwarranted, according to a spokesman for the department. Officers made the determination at the scene that there was no crime, a different police spokesman said. Obergons video has since earned Doorway Debbie Internet infamy, and a post about the incident she made on Facebook has garnered nearly 10,000 shares. Dear Reader, Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance. We, however, have a request. As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more, so that we can continue to offer you more quality content. Our subscription model has seen an encouraging response from many of you, who have subscribed to our online content. More subscription to our online content can only help us achieve the goals of offering you even better and more relevant content. We believe in free, fair and credible journalism. Your support through more subscriptions can help us practise the journalism to which we are committed. Support quality journalism and subscribe to Business Standard. Digital Editor India's biggest full-service airline Jet Airways Ltd said on Friday it was confident that it would be able to cut costs and keep flying, despite reports that it had warned staff it was running out of cash. Reuters and several local newspapers reported earlier on Friday that Jet Airways had told pilots it had enough cash left to keep operating for just 60 days and would need to put in place cost-cutting measures including pay cuts. The airline has asked pilots to take a 15 per cent pay cut for two years, a proposal they have refused, a senior company executive told ... Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos is racing to pull his private space company out of start-up mode and move into production amid signals that his firms heavy rocket set for lift-off in 2020 may slip behind schedule, according to people familiar with the project. Blue Origin has added hundreds of engineers over the past three years and continues to ramp up in an expansion that one employee described as "hyperbolic." The Kent, Washington-based company is looking to double its current workforce to around 3,000 employees over the next two to three years, a top customer told ... Tata Group may have to pay around Rs 90 billion ($1.3 billion) in dues to the Indian government to rescue the proposed sale of its mobile-phone business to Bharti Airtel Ltd., people familiar with the matter said. The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) is demanding that Tata Teleservices Ltd. clear any obligations to the government before it approves the deal that was struck in October, the people said, asking not to be identified as the information isnt public. Bharti Airtel, helmed by billionaire Sunil Mittal, is unlikely to agree to pay the sum, two of the people ... The Centre today told the it has withdrawn its notification proposing a hub, which some allege could become a tool to monitor online activities of citizens, and would undertake a complete review of its policy. A bench headed by Chief Justice considered the submission of Attorney General K K Venugopal, appearing for the Centre, that the notification was being withdrawn, and disposed of petitions challenging it. Venugopal also told the bench, comprising Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud, that the policy would be reviewed completely by the government. The bench was hearing a petition filed by TMC MLA Mahua Moitra alleging that the Centre's was to be used as a tool to monitor social media activities of the citizens and should be quashed. On July 13, the apex court had asked the government whether its move to create such a hub was to tap people's WhatsApp messages, and observed that it will be like creating a "surveillance state". The legislator from had asked whether the government wants to tap citizens' messages on WhatsApp or other social media platforms. Moitra had said the government had issued a Request For Proposal (RFP). The tender will be opened on August 20 for a software which would do 360 degree monitoring on all social media platforms such WhatsApp, and and track e-mail contents, she said. On June 18, the apex court refused to an urgent hearing on the plea seeking to stay the ministry's move to set up a 'Social Media Communication Hub' (SMCH) that would collect and analyse digital and social media content. In May this year, the Broadcast Engineering Consultants India Limited (BECIL), a public sector undertaking under the ministry, had floated a tender to supply software for the project. The legislator from Karimpur constituency of said the SMCH "is being set up with the clear objective of surveillance of activities of individuals such as herself on social media platforms". In her plea, she said such intrusive action on part of the government was "not only without the authority of law, but brazenly infringes" her fundamental right to freedom of speech under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution and violated her right of privacy. Raising concerns, she said the proposed SMCH seeks to create technology architecture that merges mass surveillance with a capacity for disinformation. The petition quoted the RFP as saying that the platform should "support easy management of conversational logs with each individual with capabilities to merge it across channels to help facilitate creating a 360 degree view of the people who are creating buzz across various topics". It said technology is required to have the capability to listen to and collect data not only from social media platforms but also from e-mails. "Specific capabilities mentioned include live search, monitoring, collecting, indexing and storage of personal data including location-based data and meta-data. The ability to monitor individual social media user/account is a specific mandate being given to the service provider," the PIL said. WhatsApp, which was recently under fire over fake and provocative messages being circulated on its platform, had informed the IT and Electronics Ministry that it has the ability to prevent spam but blocking can be done only based on user reports since it cannot see the content of private messages. Detailing the proactive steps to tackle abuse on its platform, WhatsApp had said it retains limited information and is end-to-end encrypted. But this privacy protection has trade-offs in form of "the inability to see problematic content spreading through private conversations on our app". The CBI has sent an extradition request for fugitive businessman to the government to be forwarded to Antigua where he has taken citizenship in November last year, an agency official said on Friday. Elaborating on the move, CBI sources said the agency has cited three grounds on the basis of which Choksi, one of the alleged masterminds of the $2 billion scam in state-run Bank and uncle of fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modi, can be extradited to India to face trial. They said the agency has underlined the principle of reciprocity where fugitives can be exchanged between two countries as and when required, principle of dual criminality which states that the alleged charge on the fugitive should be an offence in both the countries, and the United Nations Convention against Corruption to which both Antigua and India are signatories. The UN Convention urges its signatory nations to cooperate in the matters pertaining to corruption, they said. The CBI move comes amidst media reports that Indian agencies told the Caribbean nation that there was no adverse information against when it did a background check on the fugitive billionaire before granting him citizenship in 2017. According to a statement of Citizenship by Investment Unit of Antigua and Barbuda, published in Antiguan newspaper The Daily Observer yesterday, Antigua has claimed that Indian agencies had not shared any "derogatory information" about Choksi during its background checks. Choksi's application for citizenship in Antigua in May 2017 was accompanied with clearance from the local police as required by norms, the newspaper reported. Choksi was granted citizenship in November, 2017 after a detailed "background check" and "due diligence", The Daily Observer had said in an earlier report. After getting Antiguan passport, Choksi had fled India on January 4 this year and took an oath of allegiance in Antigua on January 15, 2018. On January 16, this year, the $2 billion scam was detected by Brady House branch of Punjab Bank, making it the biggest banking scam in the country. Coming down heavily on central and state agencies probing the killings of rationalists Dabholkar and Govind Pansare, the Thursday said the authorities are showing no urgency despite the country witnessing a "tragic phase" where one cannot speak or move around freely. A bench of Justices SC Dharmadhikari and Bharati Dangre said it was not satisfied with the probe and returned the 'confidential reports' submitted by the state CID and the (CBI) with an observation that there was nothing confidential in those reports. The bench observed that one was witnessing a "tragic phase" in the country where one could not even speak or move around freely, and yet, the authorities in the above cases had failed to show urgency, or make concrete progress, in probing the killings. Dabholkar was shot dead on August 20, 2013 in Pune while on his morning walk. Pansare was shot at on February 16, 2015 in Kolhapur and succumbed to his injuries a few days later on February 20. The and the state CID are probing the killings of Dabholkar and Pansare, respectively. The high court bench, which is hearing a plea filed by family members of Dabholkar and Pansare seeking a court-monitored probe in the two cases, said, "We are very unhappy. No corrective measures have been taken. They (the officers probing both killings) have been completely inept and insensitive in handling such sensitive cases." "We are witnessing a tragic phase in the country today. Citizens already feel that they can't voice their concerns or opinions fearlessly. Are we going to see a day when everyone will need police protection to move around, or to speak freely?" the bench said. "What is happening in the state today? People come and torch buses, pelt stones, it is a free for all. What are your priorities? There is a state, and then there is a government. The government might change tomorrow, but what about the state that is home to millions of people? Will everyone need police protection tomorrow to speak their minds?" the court asked. Talking about the probe being conducted in the two cases, the bench said even though the senior most officers of the CID and the had filed these reports directly in the judges' chambers claiming that they contained sensitive and confidential information, the perusal of the reports by the judges had revealed that they merely contained the summary of all that the agencies had submitted, by way of progress reports in the above cases, in the past. It also observed that the head of the special investigations team of the state CID and the had been summoned in the court and yet they have filed such a rudimentary report, which shows that the government's priorities lay elsewhere. On the previous hearing on July 17, the CBI Joint Director and the head of the CID's SIT had sought that they be granted a personal hearing by the bench in its chambers since they had some "sensitive" information related to their probes into the above cases which they couldn't "share in the open court." The bench, however, refused them such a hearing stating that the same would set a precedent. It had instead directed them to file a report on such findings directly to their chambers. Accordingly, the CBI, the CID, and the Home Department's Additional Chief Secretary had submitted the reports in the chambers yesterday. Returning the reports, the bench said, "What is the point of the intervention of the highest court in the state if this is the result? We are not impressed. There is nothing confidential in these reports. India has asked Britain to extradite billionaire jeweller Nirav Modi, one of the main accused in the $2 billion loan fraud at state-run Punjab National Bank (PNB). Modi's whereabouts have been unknown since PNB in January said that two jewellery groups headed by Modi and his uncle, Mehul Choksi, defrauded the bank for years by raising foreign credit using fake guarantees. The international police agency Interpol last month issued a request to find and arrest Modi. But on Thursday, India's foreign affairs ministry told parliament it had sent an extradition request for ... The is examining a reference from the government to probe the activities of British political research firm (CA), embroiled in a row, and will take a suitable action, the agency said. The US-based social media giant Facebook had in April this year admitted that nearly 562,000 people in India were "potentially affected" by the global involving Cambridge Analytica, and asserted that the UK-based firm's use of such data did not have its consent. "The has received a reference from the government to probe It is being examined for suitable action," spokesman Abhishek Dayal said. The move comes after Electronics and Information Technology Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad recently informed Parliament that the government had referred the scandal to the CBI. The minister had said in Rajya Sabha last month that "it is suspected that may have been involved in illegally obtaining data of Indians which could be misused. The government has entrusted this issue to be investigated by the CBI for possible violation of Information Technology Act, 2000 and IPC." Facebook has over 200 million users in India. The Mark Zuckerberg-owned company had said that the data of about 87 million people -- mostly in the US -- might have been improperly shared with Cambridge Analytica. After the came to light, the IT Ministry had in March and April this year shot off communications to Facebook and Cambridge Analytica seeking clarification on the issue from them. The ministry's move came after Christopher Wylie, who blew the lid off the scam involving mining of Facebook user data to manipulate elections, tweeted details that claim to expose the British consultancy's work in India dating back to 2003. Wylie claimed that SCL India (formerly Strategic Communication Laboratories, the parent company of Cambridge Analytica) was asked to provide electoral research and strategy for the 2010 Bihar elections for the Janata Dal (United). The JD(U) has rejected this claim. Global investors such as SoftBank Group, Sequoia Capital and Tiger Global are planning to build a common front to take on the draft e-commerce policy, which they believe is tilted towards Indian founders of the firms they have invested in. Battle lines are being drawn as foreign investors scuttle to secure their investments worth of over $75 billion they have over the last decade or so. According to sources, SoftBank Group has written to NITI Aayog, commerce ministry as well as officials of the finance ministry asking them to keep in mind the interest of investors and other stakeholders ... We all want to feel cool. Anyone who has experienced the record-breaking heat in India in recent years, on top of the normally hot summer months, needs no reminder of the importance of feeling cool in our homes, offices and schools. Its good for our comfort, our health and our productivity. With increasing incomes, more Indian people will naturally choose to buy fans and air conditioners, and this will bring great benefits. As we plan for this future, we must take account how this equipment will be powered. While in a small number of countries such as US and Japan, most homes ... is planning to set up a liquefied (LNG) import terminal in as it looks to expand diplomacy in its neighbourhood, Oil Minister said on Friday. The terminal to import super-cooled will be in addition to the similar facilities planned by Indian firms in and as part of larger plan of connectivity in the South Asian neighbourhood, he said. Speaking at a seminar on 'Assessing India's Connectivity with Its Neighbourhood', Pradhan said Numaligarh Refinery Ltd (NRL) in is exploring supply of diesel to and is looking at options to build fuel storage and distribution sector in that country. " (IOC) is also working with companies in setting up LPG storage facilities and is working on setting up an LNG terminal there," he said. He, however, did not give details. " is working with in interconnecting gas grids and supplying diesel through pipelines," he said. Currently, Indian firms supply diesel through rail rake from Siliguri in to Parbatipur in and are in the process of constructing a 130-km long product pipeline for uninterrupted supply. "Also, Indian companies are working on connecting India's gas grid with that of Bangladesh and supply gas for power generation at Khulna Power Plant," he said. "This will be an exemplary display of regional cooperation." Bangladesh is setting up an 800-megawatt (MW) power plant in the country's Khulna region, for which it has signed an agreement with the (ADB) for a USD 500 million funding. Pradhan said Petronet is also looking at building a 7.5 million tonne a year LNG import terminal in Bangladesh to feed that country's needs using imported gas. "In view of providing to the north-eastern part of India, there are plans to import LPG in Bangladesh and transport through road/pipeline to the region while catering to the demand of Bangladesh," he said. In Sri Lanka, is jointly developing Trincomalee oil storage tank farm and is also working on setting up an LNG terminal and a 500 MW LNG-fired power plant near Colombo. Also, there is a proposal to develop (CGD) and CNG market and infrastructure in Sri Lanka, he said. IOC Lanka, which is a subsidiary of IOC, has 43.5 per cent of the total fuel market share. "India is working with on a proposal to set up a solar power plant at Sampur, which would be of 50 MW to begin with," he said. To Nepal, India presently supplies all of its petroleum product requirements through trucks. A pipeline for supply of petroleum products is under construction, which will ensure uninterrupted supply. "There are also discussions with on an LPG and pipeline," he said adding has expressed interest in implementing free cooking gas (LPG) connection scheme for poor women on lines of the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojna (PMUY) to expand the coverage of LPG. "The Hydrocarbon Vision 2030 for North East India envisages a natural from Numaligarh towards Sittwe (in Myanmar) in different phases. The will open future possibilities of gas exchange and grid connectivity," he said. India supplies all of petroleum product needs of Bhutan, which too is planning to extend LPG coverage to 100 per cent of the population by sourcing supplies from the refineries in Assam, he said. To Mauritius, India supplies all its energy products. "Our (neighbouring) countries are considering the construction of a bunkering facility along with a jetty," he said adding Indian firms are working with Vietnam, the UAE and for presence in upstream sector to produce "Regional integration through connectivity across all modes - physical, utilities-based and digital - among our countries in the immediate neighbourhood is one of the top priorities of our government. It is imperative that we, together as a group, address the weak links and overcome challenges," he said. The BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) region is abundant in energy resources such as hydropower, hydrocarbons, and renewables. "Since the region enjoys high insolation, it is appropriate that we consider the development of a common Solar Grid here," he said. Also, Bangladesh and Myanmar have large gas reserves which can be explored as alternate sources of gas supply. Similarly, and Bhutan have immense potential of hydropower, which is untapped due to the absence of a market that can create demand of this magnitude. On the other hand, India and are net importers of energy like many other developing countries, he said. "The energy demand-supply sectors in Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, SriLanka, Thailand, Nepal and Bhutan offer a potential for regional resource cooperation, which could go beyond export-import trade relations and link the region in a Bay of Bengal Energy Community and thus contribute to the process of regional integration. "The key to developing such a community lies in identifying complementary conditions and the combination of interrelated production characteristics among energy supply and demand sectors of these countries," he said. Pradhan called for reform and restructuring of the in each of these nations in such a way that the bloc becomes more competitive and efficient. The national energy systems -- gas and networks -- in the South Asian countries are largely isolated from each other. Currently only India, Bhutan and Nepal trade In addition, India supplies some amount of power to Bangladesh. Demand for in and particularly in Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal is growing rapidly which call for cooperation and trade that should eventually create one of the world's largest integrated energy market, he added. The (Gramin) would result in averting more than 0.3 million deaths between 2014 and October 2019, said a WHO study of health gains from the government's flagship programme. It was conducted by the World Heath Organisation (WHO) on request of Ministry of Drinking Water and (MDWS) to assess the health gains of the SBM- G. The study, which was released at the 'Dissemination Workshop' here, found evidence of improvement in drinking water supply, services and personal hygiene which had positive health impacts. "It is estimated that SBM-G will result in averting more than 0.3 deaths (diarrhoea and protein-energy malnutrition) between 2014 and October 2019," WHO expert Richard Johnston said. "Unsafe caused an estimated 199 million cases of diarrhoea annually before the start of the SBM in 2014. These have been gradually reducing and will almost be eliminated when universal use of safe sanitation facilities is achieved by October 2019," he said. More than 14 million Diability-Adjusted Life Years (DALYs) were estimated to be avoided between 2014 and October 2019, the study said. "This study which WHO has done for us shows that over the coarse of this programme, by the time it is concluded by October 2019, over 3 lakh lives would have been saved. In addition, there have been several other significant health benefits," MDWS secretary Parameswaran Iyer said at the report's release. "This is an important study which shows that SBM goes well beyond changing the behaviour of rural Indians and making it a 'Jan Andolan', having significant health impact and economic impact as well," he said. China on Friday announced retaliatory tariffs on $60 billion worth of US goods ranging from liquefied natural gas (LNG) to some aircraft and warned of further measures, signalling that it won't back down in a protracted trade war with Washington. China's finance ministry unveiled new sets of additional tariffs on 5,207 goods imported from the United States, ranging from 5 to 25 percent. Timing will depend on the actions of the United States, the Chinese Commerce Ministry said in a separate statement. The Trump administration ratcheted up pressure for trade ... Ivanka Trump, the daughter of and close adviser to President Donald Trump, on Thursday disagreed with some of the most controversial decisions of her father, including family separation for and his regular attacks on the media, which he calls the "enemy of the people". "I am very vehemently against family separation and the separation of parents and children," Ivanka said in an interview with C-SPAN when asked about the matter, Efe reported. Ivanka said that the "zero tolerance" policy adopted by the US government in April, which includes separating parents and children who were apprehended after entering the US illegally over the US-Mexican border, has brought the administration to a "low point". Nevertheless, the president's oldest child acknowledged that the issue of immigration is a "complex" matter and defended the importance of migrant parents respecting the prevailing laws for the good of their children. She said that her mother, Ivana Trump, grew up in communist Czechoslovakia and came to this country legally, adding that people need to be very careful not to foster or encourage behavior that puts young children in danger or exposes them to people trafficking. Ivanka also said she was against the treatment her father - and part of the government - has given to many media outlets, which he frequently refers to as disseminating "fake news" and has dubbed the "enemy of the people." "I've certainly received my fair share of reporting on me personally that I know not to be fully accurate," told the hosts. "So I've ... had some sensitivity around why people have concerns and gripe, especially when they sort of feel targeted." "These are not easy issues. These are incredibly difficult issues," she said. "I experience them in a very emotional way." It has happened as steadily, and stealthily, as Amazons relentless march to vie with Apple for the title of worlds most valuable company. What am I talking about? The ascension, unavoidable when this sort of spotlight falls on you, of Jeff Bezos, aka, the richest man in the world, to full-fledged style icon. You cant ignore it anymore. As his companys figurehead, hes simply too ubiquitous. In the vacuum left by Steve Jobs, amid the uncertain status of the grey T-shirt-and-hoodie proponent Mark Zuckerberg (thanks to Facebooks changing ... Less than two months after a landmark US-North Korea summit in Singapore, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo flew back to the city state on Friday and said North Korea's continued work on weapons programmes was inconsistent with its leader's commitment to denuclearise. Pompeo was asked en route to Singapore about his statement in the US Senate last month that North Korea was continuing to make bomb fuel and reports that North Korea, led by Kim Jong Un, was building new missiles. "Chairman Kim made a commitment to denuclearise," Pompeo told reporters. "The ... China's targeting of US liquefied natural gas and crude oil exports opens a new front in the trade war between the two countries, at a time when the White House is trumpeting growing US energy export prowess. China included LNG for the first time in its list of proposed tariffs on Friday, the same day that its biggest US crude oil buyer, Sinopec, suspended US crude oil imports due to the dispute, according to three sources familiar with the situation. On Friday, China announced retaliatory tariffs on $60 billion worth of US goods, and warned of further measures, signaling it ... A three-storey building collapsed here in Ganeshganj area on Friday morning, leaving one person dead and another injured. The mother-daughter duo was drinking tea in the same room when suddenly the front part of the decade-old house came down at a free-fall speed due to torrential rains in the region in the past few days. Narrating her 10-year-old sister's ordeal, Jyoti Mishra said that they all were sitting together in a room and were drinking tea. For a minute, she and her elder sister went out of the room for doing some work, when suddenly they heard the explosion-like sound and found that both the mother and daughter have fallen down. "Four of us were sitting in the room and were having tea. I and my elder sister walked out of the room for a minute for doing some work and suddenly we heard the explosion-like sound. We suddenly rushed towards the room and saw they both (mother and sister) have fallen down and also the front part of the building have been collapsed," Mishra said. Speaking to ANI about the incident, Lucknow Mayor Sanyukta Bhatia said that the family was unable to rebuild the archaic house as the case filed by the renters on the property is still pending before the court. She also added that the State's Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya is looking into the matter. "The house could not be rebuilt as the case on the property is pending before the court. The state deputy chief minister is looking into the case," Bhatia said. It should be noted that scores of people have died in the region in the past one month due to heavy downpour. The death toll since the last week in rain-related incidents has reached 154 while the total number of people who have sustained injuries is over 130. Not only that, as many 187 animals have lost their lives and over 1,259 houses were damaged due to water logging in the area. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Breakthrough finding by the landmark Trial Assigning Individualized Options for Treatment (TAILORx) demonstrates the Oncotype DX Breast Recurrence Score Test definitively identifies the 70 per cent of women with early-stage breast cancer who receive no benefit from chemotherapy, and the 30 per cent of women for whom chemotherapy benefit can be life-saving. "This study will have a practice-changing impact on the medical community related to prescribing chemotherapy to breast cancer patients. The Oncotype Dx test can help oncologist identify low-risk patients who may safely avoid chemotherapy as well as the high-risk patient who will benefit from chemotherapy. By limiting the use of chemotherapy only to those likely to benefit such personalised treatment has the potential to decrease the overall use of chemotherapy in breast cancer," remarked Dr. Vinay Deshmane, Surgical oncologist at P D Hinduja Hospital and Breach Candy Hospital, Mumbai. The TAILORx study, the largest ever breast cancer treatment trial, was published in the New England Journal of Medicine in June. It was supported by the United States National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health, and designed and led by the ECOG-ACRIN Cancer Research Group. Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women in India and accounts for 27 per cent of all cancers in women. At an incidence rate of 25.8 per 100,000 it is lower than in some developed countries, but the mortality rate (12.7 per 100,000) is comparable to that in western countries. Data on incidence rates of breast cancer from six major cancer registries of India show that the annual percentage increase in the incidence of breast cancer has been in the 0.46 to 2.56 per cent range. The majority of breast cancer patients diagnosed worldwide have hormone-positive, HER2-negative, node-negative cancer. The TAILORx study definitively established that chemotherapy may be spared in about 70 percent of these patients, including all women older than 50 with Breast Recurrence Score results of 0 to 25 and all women age 50 or younger with Breast Recurrence Score results of 0 to 15. Importantly, 30 percent of early-stage breast cancer patients will derive benefit from chemotherapy, including women of any age with Breast Recurrence Score results of 26 to 100, and in women younger than 50, where a modest (2 percent) benefit from chemotherapy was observed with Breast Recurrence Score results of 16 to 20, which gradually grew as scores increased up to and above 25. This important finding reveals a new level of precision of chemotherapy benefit for younger patients that only the Oncotype DX test can provide. "The TAILORx findings can spare thousands of women from getting toxic chemotherapy treatment that really wouldn't benefit them. By identifying the right patients who can benefit from chemotherapy, and sparing chemotherapy and its toxic side effects in those who will not benefit from its treatment, the personalized treatment approach is a breakthrough advancement in the medical fraternity. As the sole commercial representative in India for Genomic Health, we hope to bring changes in the standard of care in India," said Prasad Vaidya, CEO, Medilinks Inc. The trial enrolled 10,273 women with breast cancer from 6 countries across the globe. It used the Oncotype DX Breast Recurrence Score test that assesses the expression of 21 genes associated with breast cancer recurrence to assign women with early-stage, HR-positive, HER2-negative, axillary lymph node-negative breast cancer to the most appropriate and effective post-operative treatment. TAILORx participants with Breast Recurrence Score results from 0 to 10 were treated with endocrine therapy alone based on the prior results from the NSABP B-20 study, which showed no opportunity for chemotherapy benefit. TAILORx participants with Breast Recurrence Score results from 26 to 100 were treated with chemotherapy plus endocrine therapy based on the prior results from the NSABP B-20 study, which showed an absolute benefit of chemotherapy greater than 20 percent. To more precisely define the effect of chemotherapy for women considered to be at intermediate risk for recurrence, 6,711 women with Oncotype DX Breast Recurrence Score results of 11 to 25, the primary study group in TAILORx, were randomized to receive endocrine therapy with or without chemotherapy. These randomized patients comprised two-thirds of all patients enrolled in TAILORx and were followed by the investigators for approximately nine years on average. Dr. Mandar Nadkarni, Oncosurgeon at Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital, Mumbai, commented, "This is a landmark study in the field of breast cancer management. Results of the study will have a major impact on practicing physicians and breast cancer patients. Previously, the majority of breast cancer patients all over the world were recommended to receive chemotherapy after surgery with lots of side effects affecting the quality of life of patients. But we were not sure how far chemotherapy is helping in improving survival." Dr. Suresh Advani - Renowned Oncologist and Padma Bhushan recipient - concluded, "Today, personalized medicine has allowed us to avoid chemotherapy for certain group of patients. We can select the people who don't need chemo and administer it to only those who need it. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Supreme Court on Friday refused to interfere with the anticipatory bail granted to Karti Chidambaram by the Delhi High Court in the Aircel-Maxis case. A bench of the apex court, comprising of Justices AK Sikri and Ashok Bhushan, was hearing the case. Justice Sikri, while refusing to interfere with the order of the Delhi High Court, observed that the court should not go into the technicalities when it comes to the question of liberty. The Apex Court also left it to the petitioner, Karti Chidambaram, as to whether he can approach the high court when his application for bail was already pending before the trial court. The case pertains to a Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) clearance allegedly granted by former Finance Minister P Chidambaram to M/S Global Communication Holding Services Ltd for investment in Aircel. The FIPB approval was allegedly granted in the year 2006 when Chidambaram was the finance minister under the UPA-I government. Earlier, the Supreme Court had dismissed the plea filed by Karti Chidambaram against the issuance of summons in the case after the CBI on July 19 filed a fresh charge-sheet before a Delhi court against 18 accused, including P. Chidambaram, Karti and select government officials (serving and retired). (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Two security personnel suffered minor injuries on Friday after terrorists hurled grenade on the CRPF party deployed at State Bank of India branch at Lal Chowk in Anantnag district. The area has been cordoned off and the injured have been rushed to the hospital. Earlier today, in another attack, terrorists barged into a branch of the Jammu and Kashmir Bank in Karpan area of Shopian district and looted cash. They also snatched away a 12 bore rifle from the private security guard deputed at the branch. Police investigation into the matter is underway. The incident of terrorist attack is on a rise in the state. Earlier on August 2, terrorists snatched away a 12 bore rifle from a security guard posted at the Jammu and Kashmir Bank in Anantnag's Brakpora area. A similar incident was also reported in Kulgam district on August 1. On July 31, around three to four terrorists opened fire at security forces deployed at the Kandahar general road in Maidanpora in Kupwara district. The terrorists also snatched an INSAS rifle from a security personnel. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) At least 10 people died in a massive blast that took place on Friday night at a stone quarry in Kurnool district's Hathi Belgal. Five more people, who were labourers working at the site, got injured and were rushed to the Aluru Government Hospital for treatment; however, one among them succumbed to injuries. According to SP, Kurnool, other four are declared out of danger and still undergoing treatment. Reportedly, the fire that broke out in the quarry, spread to the nearby area and burnt three tractors, one lorry and two sheds to ashes. Fire fighters rushed to the spot. "A case has been registered U/s 304 part-2 IPC, section 3 & 5 of Explosive substances act. We are verifying about the incident. The accused responsible for the incident will arrested soon," said SP, Kurnool. Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu expressed his grief over the incident and extended condolences to the families of the bereaved. He ordered the district collector to intensify the operations. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) It's confirmed! Ariana Grande and Shawn Mendes will take the stage at the 2018 MTV Video Music Awards. While Grande is set to perform her new single 'God Is a Woman' from her upcoming album 'Sweetener', Mendes, who made his debut as a VMA performer last year, will sing 'In My Blood'. Apart from them, Logic will perform his new single, 'One Day,' featuring 'One Republic's Ryan Tedder, reports The Hollywood Reporter. It was earlier announced that the 2018 Video Music Awards will also feature a special performance by Jennifer Lopez, who is also set to receive the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award. Meanwhile, new mom Cardi B leads the pack of nominess with 10 nods, whereas Beyonce and Jay-Z follow closely behind with eight nominations. Other top nominees include Childish Gambino, Drake and Bruno Mars, reports E! Online. The event is set to air live from Radio City Music Hall in New York City on August 20. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) In a big relief to Trinamool Congress (TMC) MLA Mohua Moitra, the Central government on Friday submitted to the Supreme Court that it had withdrawn its proposal of making a social media hub and monitor the social media. The Attorney General (AG), KK Venugopal, top law officer representing the Central Government, told the three-judge bench of the Apex Court, headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dipak Misra that no monitoring of social media will be done anywhere in the country. After the AG submitted to the Apex Court that the Central Government had withdrawn the proposal of making a social media hub and to monitor it, the top court disposed off the petition filed by Mohua Moitra. Moitra had challenged before the Supreme Court the decision of the Central Government to monitor social media content at the district level. The Apex court three-judge bench, headed by CJI Misra, and also comprising Justices A. M. Khanwilkar and DY Chandrachud, had earlier issued a notice to the Union of India and sought a reply within two weeks. The Apex Court had also asked the AG to assist the court in the matter. Justice Chandrachud, had earlier observed that "tracking and regulating social media contents will transform us into a surveillance state. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Controversial public intellectual David Ndii has called for the legalization of Marijuana in Kenya, revealing that he smoked a lot in his youth. The NASA Chief Strategist was commenting on Twitter after the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) intercepted 17 kilograms of marijuana with a street value of Sh680,000 at the Suam border. Customs officers arrested a suspect on Thursday as he ferried the consignment on a motorcycle. Preliminary investigations indicated that the marijuana was from Uganda and was destined for Nakuru. Taking to his popular Twitter handle, David Ndii simply tweeted: Legalize Marijuana, sparking a debate with some of his over 330K followers. When asked why it is illegal by one user, the economist tweeted: Why is marijuana (non-additive medicinal) illegal and cigarettes (addictive carcinogen) legal. because ordinary people can roll their own joints, but cigarettes are made by big capitalists, thats why. And when he was challenged about the populist view that Marijuana is non-addictive, Ndii was candid about his addiction to cigarettes and the use of Cannabis during his youth. I was addicted to cigarettes, struggled a lot to quit. I smoked a lot of pot in my youth, never had cravings or withdrawal symptoms. Youd have to smoke a hell of a lot of pot to get addicted, if at all, wrote Ndii. In fact, David Ndii would be comfortable with his child smoking marijuana. The outspoken economist also debunked the ignorant assertion that marijuana makes people run mad. He said: Have you seen mentally ill people who dont smoke marijuana, and has it crossed your mind that they ran mad because they are mentally ill, not because they smoke marijuana? Below are some more tweets from the debate. Five people were arrested on Friday from Maharashtra's Navgarh district on charges of running a child pornography racket on social media. Following a tip off, the Navghar police raided several places in the state. "After receiving information via our sources, we raided several areas in Bhayandar, Palghar and Mumbai where we apprehended five main accused in the case," said the police. "We identified the accused by recognising the logo promoting pornography on Whatsapp. This Whatsapp group comprises a total of 20 to 25 people, in which college students and working professionals are also involved," police added. A case has been registered and further investigations are on. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Antigua and Barbuda's Citizenship By Investment Unit (CIU) has clarified that it took all steps to ensure fugitive diamantaire and Punjab Bank (PNB) scam accused Mehul Choksi was a 'fit and proper candidate' for the grant of citizenship as allowed under the country's Citizenship By Investment Act. In a press release, the CIU stated that Choksi's application was received by them in May 2017 with the necessary documents required, including a police clearance certificate as required by the Antigua and Barbuda Citizenship By Investment Act 2013. "The said police clearance certificate from the Government of India, Ministry of External Affairs Regional Passport Office, Mumbai, certified that there was no adverse information against Choksi which would render him ineligible for grant of travel facilities including a visa for Antigua and Barbuda," the CIU said. In the said statement published by Antigua Observer, the CIU has also said that that Choksi's application was subjected to stringent background checks and that the final decision was taken after results of all of these checks were received and assessed. The CIU also revealed that they received documentation of two instances in which the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), in 2014 and 2017, opened investigations on a corporate entity owned by Choksi. According to the statement, the CIU's review of online reports on this matter noted that the CBI indicated that Interpol had not made direct contact with them requesting information on Choksi. The CIU maintained that its background investigations do in fact included Interpol. Furthermore, the CIU clarified that if there was an active warrant for Choksi at the time his citizenship application was being processed, the information should have already been made available to Interpol, a notification of which would have been readily accessible by the CIU and its partners. "The warrant should have formed a part of the criminal records database in India and therefore declared in the police clearance certificate issued by the Ministry of External Affairs," the CIU release stated. As per the statement, the CIU's investigations revealed that notice of the current investigation was first issued by Indian authorities to law enforcement on January 31, 2018. The CIU maintained that these matters emerged well after the background vetting process, which have resulted in the August 2017 approval of Choksi's application and his subsequent registration as a citizen in November 2017. On Monday, India had reportedly asked the Antigua and Barbuda Government to detain Choksi and prevent his movement by land, air or sea. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), on a related note, had on July 25 sought the whereabouts of Choksi and written to Antiguan authorities, demanding details about him. Choksi, who is allegedly involved in over USD 2 billion scam in the state-run PNB, has reportedly taken refuge in the Caribbean nation after moving there in July. His valid passport was revoked in February after this scam was unearthed. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) In a shocking incident, a Dalit man was allegedly set on fire by two people in Uttar Pradesh's Mathura after an argument erupted between them. As per reports, Pardesi (victim) went to buy something at a general store, where the two men allegedly set him on fire after pouring kerosene over him. The victim is currently undergoing treatment at a district hospital in Mathura. "Police is investigating all aspects of the case," said Mathura Circle Officer (CO) Vinay Chauhan. The case has been registered under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) against the accused. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) President Emmerson Mnangagwa of Zanu-PF - Zimbabwe's ruling party, was on Thursday declared the winner of the first Presidential Elections without the former's successor, Robert Mugabe. According to CNN, 50.8 per cent of the votes were garnered by Mnangagwa, beating his opponent Nelson Chamisa, the leader of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), as confirmed by Justice Priscilla Chigumba, the chairwoman of Zimbabwe Electoral Commission. Opposition party members were escorted out of the room where the declaration was made in light of their uproar over the results and the allegations of riggings levelled by them. At least six individuals had died during clashes between opposition supporters and security officials on Wednesday in the country's capital city of Harare, with the United States, United Nations and the United Kingdom issuing statements of concern, while Mnangagwa demanded an independent investigation into the violence. Riot police were deployed outside the headquarters of the MDC on Thursday morning, with the spokesperson for Zimbabwe Republic Police, Charity Charamba, confirming that 18 people were arrested, adding that a total of 26 individuals were held in connection with provoking the violence in Harare. Meanwhile, during the raids, MDC spokesperson Nkululeko Sibanda expressed confidence in his party's victory. "We have collated results from the 80% of the polling stations that we're allowed to do so and we're very clear that we're going to win. There is no way with the 20 per cent they are going to win. If the result is such that if we didn't win, then certainly it's not the reflection of what the people of Zimbabwe did on the 30th," Sibanda told CNN. Mnangagwa had taken over Zanu PF after he aided in a military coup against Mugabe, who had been the President of Zimbabwe since 1987, although many still consider him to be Mugabe's man as he has served the former for over 40 years. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A panel of experts from the fields of economy, academia, security and trade on Thursday emphasised on stronger bilateral relations between India and the UK at an event titled 'Global Britain and India The seminar which was organised by the Democracy Forum in collaboration with the Henry Jackson Society, brought out the positives guiding the bilateral relationship between the two nations, apart from discussing various hindrances and roadblocks. It was well attended with audience including representatives from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, think tanks and business organisations including the City of London Corporation, London Chamber of Commerce and Industry, British South India Council of Commerce and Sibylline Ltd. Foreign and Commonwealth Office Director for South Asia and Afghanistan Gareth Bayley in his address stated that the UK-India relationship went beyond trade and investment as the two nations were also partners in being a global force for good, showing commitment to eradicating extreme poverty by 2030 and expanding access to sustainable energy. He said, "Indeed! It's a very timely moment to have this seminar, and I think the Henry Jackson Society and the Democracy Forum have really come together to make for a really strong and rich in debate. Why is it important? For the simple reason, I think if global Britain has to succeed, it must succeed with its good friend - India. That's the headline". He further said, "And, what we had with Prime Minister Modi's visit only recently to United Kingdom was a strong affirmation of our relationship with the prospects of and centre around the technology partnership above all, but it goes much wider than technology. It goes to issues of shared values, shared traditions and global partnership for global good". Similarly, Director of the Henry Jackson Society Alan Mendoza said that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had shown that he was willing to shatter, where possible, the constraints or stumbling blocks in the relationship. Mendoza assessed that in spite of problems, there were many opportunities in the relationship between the two countries, for instance in diplomacy, trade and anti-terrorism cooperation. Another speaker in the seminar, Asian Affairs magazine Editor Duncan Bartlett in his address spoke of India's 2016 as a success story, and stated that Prime Minister Modi's large-scale reform programme had achieved much including improved e-commerce, safer trains and a more reliable insurance and one of the fastest growing economy in the Dr. Champa Patel of the Chatham House raised the issue of visa allocations and emphasised that anti-terrorism legislation was being used to deport highly skilled Indian workers. She warned that unless Britain could bridge these differing narratives, it was in the danger of losing its special relationship with India. Shadow Secretary of State for International Trade and Chair Barry Gardiner also stressed the need to not only look into the glitches in the Indo-British relations with regard to visas but also to identify the real problems in security cooperation, in order to overcome them. He pointed out that India and Britain have much to talk about their bi-lateral relationship in sectors such as defence, education, tourism, energy and information and technology, and this must happen at the central level. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Actor Kristen Bell, along with 'Titanic' star Kathy Bates are all set to be honoured at this year's 'Women Making History Awards'. The awards will be hosted by the National Women's History Museum (NWHM) and its Los Angeles Regional Council, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The annual ceremony celebrates women who have made significant contributions to their fields and have served as an inspiration to women globally. Beyond their acting career, while the 'Bad Moms' star works to end childhood malnutrition worldwide, Bates currently serves as a spokesperson for the Lymphatic Education and Research Network. Apart from Bell and Bates, actress Gabrielle Union, who has been involved with several breast health and sexual violence prevention initiatives, will also be awarded at the event. The seventh annual ceremony will take place in Los Angeles on September 15. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) M P Birla Cement's third National Channel Partners' Conference, Buniyad - Rishton Ki, was grander than ever this time. After two successful national gatherings at Hyderabad and Mumbai, this time the national capital was the home for the Meet. The two-day event at Pullman Aerocity, New Delhi, was an experience to remember for the dealers. A total of 800 guests attended the event, including dealers, CFAs and Company officials. Recently at New Delhi, the entire team was taken on a trip to the Indian cultural theme park, Kingdom of Dreams. There the guests enjoyed the Bollywood musical, Zangoora, and a sumptuous meal at the famous Culture Gully. The main event took place the next evening at the Pullman Banquet Hall. The technological marvel of the 270-degree projection screen was the main attraction, justifying the theme of the event - Towards Better Future. Sandip Ranjan Ghose, Executive President, Marketing and Corporate Development, addressing the gathering, said the credo of Syt Madhav Prasadji Birla, "Heart and Strength", was being reflected in the initiatives taken by Birla Corporation Limited. The evening of Rewards, Recognition and Recreation greeted the best-performing dealers with awards and a grand honour on stage. Five categories of awards were handed over to 43 dealers. These were: M P Birla Samman, M P Birla Naya Sitara, M P Birla Anmol, M P Birla Shaurya and M P Birla Samrat. The performance of the award-winning dealers was exemplary and worth recognition. Pracheta Majumdar, Wholetime Director designated as Chief Management Advisor, addressed the dealers. He emphasized that product quality, service and coordination among the larger M P Birla Cement family would be the key differentiators in the days to come. The two super-premium M P Birla Cement brands, Perfect Plus and Ultimate Ultra, were formally introduced on the occasion. Suvadip Ghosh Mazumdar, Vice President, Marketing, announced the launch of "Armaan Nirman", the influencer app, for contractors, dealers and retailers of M P Birla Cement. Three AVs, a corporate film, one on the M P Birla Cement Perfect Plus brand and another on the marketing initiatives of the M P Birla Cement, were presented during three intervals. The star-studded evening was hosted by Hussain Kuwajerwala, eminent television actor, anchor and dancer, with much elan. The performances included a rib-tickling two-part comedy act by Sunil Grover as Rinku Bhabi and Dr. Mashoor Gulati, mesmerizing dance acts by the renowned Zenith Dance Company and last, but not the least, the famous Bollywood vocalist Sunidhi Chauhan's power-packed show, till the close of the event. The guests enjoyed the after-party with a gala dinner and a promise to meet next year. It's indeed going to be etched in the memory for a long time. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) An eight-month-old pregnant woman was allegedly gang-raped by eight men in Tasgaon area in Maharashtra's Sangli district on July 31, police said. The woman, along with her husband, went to a hotel to look for job, where she was later robbed and raped by a waiter and his friends, while her husband was beaten up. "The woman had gone to a hotel with her husband to look for a job for him. Her husband was beaten up by a waiter and his friends who raped her and later took her jewellery," said Umesh Dandil, Police Inspector, Tasgaon, Sangli. First investigation report (FIR) has been lodged against the accused and the police have started investigating the matter. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) After being grilled by the Supreme Court, the Central Bureau of Investigation has booked a Major of Indian Army, two Manipur Police personnel and five riflemen in a nine-year-old alleged fake encounter case. The first investigation report (FIR) states that Azad Khan, a teenager, was killed in a joint operation of Indian Army and Manipur Police in 2009. Major Vijay Singh Balhara has been named in the FIR filed by CBI on July 31. After the death of Azad in 2009, his father had later approached Justice Hegde commission, which was appointed by the Supreme Court. Following two orders of Supreme Court, CBI has taken over investigations in 41 cases of alleged fake encounter and custodial killing. On July 30, the Supreme Court questioned the CBI why no arrests were made till date after chargesheets were filed in four of the Manipur fake encounters cases. A two-judge bench of the apex court, headed by Justice Madan Bhimrao Lokur and also comprising Justice Uday Umesh Lalit, asked the CBI Director, Alok Verma, to take a call on arresting police officers and/or army personnel accused in the aforementioned case. The top court observed that according to the CBI chargesheets, at least 15 people were identified for committing murder, however, no arrests were made so far. The top court will now hear the matter on August 20. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A 21-year-old man allegedly committed suicide in Chilkalthana area in Maharashtra's Aurangabad on Thursday over the infamous issue of Maratha reservation, police said. "In his suicide note, the man apologised to his parents, stating he did not get a job even after having a BSc degree. He took part in various protests regarding Maratha reservation. He was unhappy that being a Maratha he didn't get a job while others got employed despite having come marks than him," said Surendra Mattharthe, Inspector, Aurangabad police station. Till now, 14 people have reportedly committed suicide in Maharashtra regarding Maratha reservation. Meanwhile, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday said that his government will provide reservation to Marthas in accordance with law. After holding a meeting with state leaders from diverse sections, Fadnavis said: "A joint statement has been signed to give reservation to Marathas lawfully. State Government stands in absolute support for Maratha Reservation and we are following a requisite process to do it at the earliest." The Maratha communities have been agitating across the state demanding reservation in government jobs and education. The major demands of the communities are - decision on the Maratha quota at the earliest, all cases against Maratha protesters be taken back, action against the officers responsible for firing and lathi charge during July 25 protest, resignation or sacking of ministers MLAs who gave irresponsible statements against Maratha community. Besides reservation, the outfit has also been demanding loan waiver, justice in Kopardi rape case and a solution to unemployment in their community. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) What might be the next good move for Syria and its allies? by Limin Wang August 3, 2018 It appears that the southwest frontier is back to the Syrian control. Another big success. The next move might be better to move across the Euphrates River near the Syria-Iraq border, and move up along the Khabur River for a wide swath until reaching the triangular point of Syria, Iraq, and Turkey. It's also time for the Syrian government and its allies to seriously talk with the Kurds. The Syrian military is supposed to have the authority to air-transport itself to strategic locations to its East. -- WangLimin http://www.mitbbs.com/pc/index/WangLimin Former Director of Criminal Investigation Ndegwa Muhoro has reiterated that his net worth stands at a cool Sh88 Million. The former spy chief made the declaration when he appeared before the Defense and Foreign Affairs Committee on Thursday. He was being vetted for the Malaysia ambassador job. Mosop MP Vincent Tuwei, one of the members of the National Assemblys Defence and Foreign Relations Committee, tasked Muhoro with explaining why the figure he had stated as his net worth wasnt convincing. The figure you have disclosed as your net worth Sh88 Million does not seem true. It looks like an understatement, said Tuwei. In response, Muhoho said: My net worth is not an understatement. Muhoro was also asked to explain the integrity issues raised in the past by Senior Counsel Ahmednassir Abdullahi. He said: Theres nothing new. I am in court with this guy. He was ordered not to say anything against me, either in person or through his agents. He even alleged that I want to kill him, something I have never thought about I come from a very strong Christian background and taking someones life is something I have never imagined, added Muhoro. He further told the committee that he is an honest Kenyan with nothing to hide. The Committee further put him to task over the rampant extrajudicial killings and disappearances during his tenure. He defended himself saying the accusations against him do not hold water. Citing the case of slain lawyer Willie Kimani, Muhoro said his killers are still in court. He said people who have raised issues against him must prove them. You are innocent until proven guilty. People can smear our names, but we believe in the rule of law, Muhoro said. The District Magistrate of Muzaffarpur on Friday suspended the weapon license of Brajesh Thakur, the prime accused in the Muzaffarpur shelter case. The District Magistrate, Mohd. Sohail also ordered Thakur to surrender his weapons within 48 hours. Meanwhile, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar assured strict action against the accused in connection with the case. Addressing a gathering at "Mukhyamantri Kanya Utthan Yojana" programme, Kumar said, "This incident has ashamed us. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is investigating the case. The High Court should monitor this case." Thakur is the prime accused in Muzaffarpur's shelter home case, where more than 30 minor girls were sexually assaulted over a period of time. On August 1, the police raided another shelter home run by Brajesh Thakur after a case was registered against him over the disappearance of 11 girls from the shelter home. The CBI had taken over the investigation from Muzaffarpur's Mahila Police Station, where the case was registered on May 31, under Section 120(B) (criminal conspiracy), 376 (outraging the modesty of a woman), 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and section 4, 6, 8, 10,12 of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POSCO). The alleged sexual exploitation of the girls was uncovered more than a month ago by a Mumbai-based social science institute. They had submitted its report in April. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Rashtriya Janata Dal has called for a nationwide strike on Friday, demanding the resignation of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar against the alleged mass sexual exploitation at various shelter homes in the state. On Thursday, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav told ANI: "RJD will hold a strike in Bihar and across the country, including at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi, on August 4 to seek answers from Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Muzaffarpur shelter home case and several other crimes in the state." Eleven employees of a child shelter home in Muzaffarpur were arrested on July 24 for allegedly sexually harassing the inmates. After receiving information, the police raided the vicinity and rescued 44 girls. Yadav even criticised the Bihar government of shielding the accused in the Muzaffarpur shelter home sexual assault case after a photo of its owner Brajesh Thakur being felicitated by Nitish Kumar emerged. "Photos of top leaders honoring the accused (Brijesh Thakur) corroborate that several senior leaders are involved in this case and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is trying to shield them. Probe was delayed deliberately to manipulate evidence," Tejashwi Yadav said. This came after the Left Parties and groups in Bihar called for a state-wide bandh in Patna on Thursday against the Muzaffarpur shelter home scandal. The protest in the city was also supported by Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) members. According to media reports, the protesters blocked railway tracks and several roads around the vicinity of the city. On a similar note, the Supreme Court on Thursday took suo motu cognizance in the Muzaffarpur shelter home case. The apex court division bench, headed by Justice Madan Bhimrao Lokur and also comprising Justice Deepak Gupta, issued notice to the Bihar Government and the Centre seeking a detailed reply from them in connection with the same. Even the state police on Wednesday raided another shelter home run by Brijesh Thakur after a case was registered against him over the disappearance of 11 girls from the safe haven. Thakur is the prime accused in Muzaffarpur's shelter home case, where more than 30 minor girls were sexually assaulted over a period of time. The CBI had taken over the investigation from Muzaffarpur's Mahila Police Station, where the case was registered on May 31, under Section 120(B) (criminal conspiracy), 376 (outraging the modesty of a woman), 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and section 4, 6, 8, 10,12 of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POSCO). The alleged sexual exploitation of the girls was uncovered more than a month ago by a Mumbai-based social science institute. They had submitted its report in April and the Bihar social welfare department approved another project to Thakur on May 31 for beggars' shelter in Patna. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman and Prime Minister-in-waiting Imran Khan was on Friday summoned by National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on August 7 in connection with alleged misuse of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government's helicopters. Imran is accused of allegedly using a Mi-17 and an Ecureuil helicopters belonging to the government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for 74 hours leading to a loss of Rs 2.1 million to the national exchequer. Geo News quoted a NAB official as saying, "Imran used two helicopters belonging to the KP government for a total of 74 hours. Statements of KP Chief Minister Pervez Khattak and aviation authorities in the case have been recorded." Last month, the PTI chairman had asked for more time to appear before the NAB citing the reason of election campaign. Imran will be taking oath as the 20th Prime Minister of Pakistan on August 11 at President's House. According to figures provided by the Election Commission of Pakistan, the PTI emerged as the single largest party with 115 seats out of the 270 National Assembly constituencies in the recently concluded general elections. . (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Minister of State (MoS) for External Affairs VK Singh on Thursday informed the Rajya Sabha that request for extradition of fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modi from the United Kingdom to India had been sent to the High Commission of India in London. The request has been sent by a special diplomatic bag for onward transmission to the UK authorities. Singh informed that the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) revoked Nirav Modi's passport as per the provisions of Section 10(3) (c) of the Passports Act, 1967, on February 16, adding that the same was conveyed to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for onward transmission to the Interpol. He said, "The Ministry has no means to verify the travels, if any, of Nirav Deepak Modi and the passport used for such travels by him." Two Red Corner Notices (RCN) were issued against Modi by the Interpol in June, Singh informed. Last week, a United States court issued summons to Nirav Modi and his aides at the heart of the multi-billion Punjab Bank (PNB) scam. Sources say that the order also authorised gathering of documents from Modi and others. Meanwhile, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) labeled chairman of Gitanjali Group, Mehul Choksi as the "mastermind" behind the PNB fraud case, calling it a "huge economic scam brewing since 2015." The ED stated that Choksi adopted this modus operandi to manipulate transactions to avoid getting detected by banks or auditors, project inflated sales, and turnover, to create phony debtors in the books of Gitanjali Gems to enhance credit limits, among other objectives. The ED had initiated the money laundering case against Choksi in February, on the basis of an FIR filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The PNB had detected the multi-crore scam earlier this year wherein Choksi and his nephew, Modi, had allegedly cheated the bank to the tune of USD 2 billion, with the purported involvement of a few employees of the bank. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh on Thursday said that the state government has constituted two separate committees, state and district level, to monitor the entry of "illegal immigrants" in the state, post publication of the final draft of NRC in Assam. In a press conference, the Chief Minister said the two committees will initiate steps for checking and verification of the people accordingly. "In relation with Assam's NRC list, Manipur government is inquiring about influx of illegal immigrants from Assam and neighbouring states. We have taken measures to prevent entry of illegal immigrants and formed two committees - state level and district level monitoring committees," Singh said. He asserted that the Manipur police on Thursday identified 29 people, who are not permanent residents of the state, at the airport in Imphal. "From reliable sources government got info that some illegal immigrants are coming to Imphal by air. So, the state government has established a check point inside Imphal airport premises and today we identified 29 people who aren't permanent residents of the state. Police is monitoring," Singh added. The draft, which was released on July 30, left out nearly 40 lakh people in Assam, incorporating names of 2.89 crore people out of 3.29 crore applicants. Since then, the Opposition has been at loggerheads with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Centre over the issue. The NRC draft features the names, addresses, and photographs of all Indian citizens, who have been residing in the northeastern state before March 25, 1971. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Former President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama are currently building a team for their very own Netflix production company. According to the Hollywood Reporter, sources confirmed that social activist and filmmaker Priya Swaminathan has been hired to work in the highly anticipated project. Priya has, in the past, produced and co-directed 'Very Young Girls', a 2007 documentary on New York's teenage prostitutes and has also worked for Annapurna Pictures and Dickhouse Productions. She was a part of the Sundance Institute's 'FilmTwo' initiative that focused on encouraging minority filmmakers and the recent 'Time's Up' movement against sexual harassment. Since Netflix and a rep for Obamas have refused to comment on the matter, Swaminathan's exact role in the project remains unclear. Earlier this year, Netflix announced that it will be collaborating with the couple to produce films and TV series. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) While the incoming Prime Minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan talks about friendship with New Delhi, the country's spy agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), is drawing up elaborate plans to embarrass India during the 71st Independence day functions in London. The ISI is using discredited Khalistani groups to further its agenda and backing them to organise pro-Khalistan rally in London. Sources revealed, a team from Pakistan, headed by Abas Rana is visiting Surrey and meeting pro-Khalistani groups to hold anti-India protests and raise Khalistan issue on the occasion. Sikhs for Justice, a pro-Khalistan group, revealed its plan for August 12 by holding a joint press conference with Kashmiri separatists in London. Pakistan-backed Kashmiri separatists in London are supporting the pro-Khalistani Sikhs for their so-called Referendum2020 for Khalistan. The Press Conference of Kashmir Freedom Movement, Kashmir Patriotic Forum International and Overseas Pakistani Welfare Organisation was hosted by UK based known Khalistani activist Paramjeet Singh Pamma whom India tried to extradite from Portugal. "On August 12, we will unveil the case for Sikhs right to self determination as guaranteed in UN Charter and International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights", said Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, legal advisor of Sikhs for Justice. In furtherance of its campaign for non-binding Referendum 2020, Sikhs for Justice will hold "London Deceleration" on August 12 at Trafalgar Square. On the same day at Trafalgar Square, a large number of Indians living in UK will gather to celebrate 71th years of India's Independence. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The son of Janata Dal United (JDU) MLA Bima Bharti was found dead on a railway track here on Friday. The body of the boy, Deepak, was found on the railway track in front of Nalanda Medical College Hospital near Patna's Rajendra Nagar terminal. According to police sources, the deceased went to a friend's place to attend a party when the incident took place. Bima Bharti, the MLA from the Rupauli Constituency, alleged that her son was murdered. Meanwhile, the Patna police are still trying to figure out the reason behind the death. "We can't say the exact cause of the death. We will know after the post-mortem report comes," said Patna (centre range) Deputy Inspector General, Rajesh Kumar. On a related note, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav took to Twitter and expressed grief over the incident, blaming Nitish Kumar-led government for the lack of law and order in the state. "In a shocking incident, son of a JDU MLA & Ex. Minister is found dead in Patna. I'm saddened to hear about it. Bihar's law & order situation is completely out of order," tweeted Tejashwi. . (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Finance Minister on Saturday chaired the 29th (GST) Council meeting at the Vigyan Bhawan, in The council meeting was convened mainly to discuss issues, concerns and suggestions of the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in the GST regime, among other issues. The meeting will cater to all aspects of GST -- from simplification of policy, and reducing compliance burden, to technology-related issues -- which affect the MSME sector. ALSO READ: Use Rupay card, BHIM? You may get cashbacks for digital payments under GST In the 28th meeting of the GST Council, held on July 21, the Ministry of Finance discussed several issues such as the rationalisation of GST rates and the simplification of the return filing procedure, recommending amendments. External Affairs Minister (EAM) Sushma Swaraj on Friday said that the flagship initiatives of the Narendra Modi-led government such as 'Digital India', 'Make in India' and 'Start-Up India' can boost business relations between India and Kazakhstan. Addressing a joint presser with her Kazakh counterpart, Kairat Abdrakhmanov, Swaraj said, "Under Narendra Modi ji, many projects like 'Digital India', 'Make in India' and 'Start-Up India' have been started. These can be highly useful for digital developments in Kazakhstan. It can boost business relations between the two nations." Swaraj added that she held extensive and productive talks on various fields with her Kazakh counterpart and spoke on bilateral, global and regional issues of mutual interest. Stressing on the strong Indo-Kazakh ties, Swaraj stated, "Our relations are very cordial for a long time. Relations between India and Kazakhstan are built on the foundation of centuries-old historical and cultural ties. Both India and Kazakhstan have developed multifaceted cooperation in all areas of bilateral and multilateral relations and are strategic partners since 2009." She said that India was keen to partner with Kazakhstan to explore markets for new products, diversifying from the trade in traditional products to bolster trade ties between the two nations. The External Affairs Minister underlined that agriculture, food processing, energy, chemicals and medicine were some of the key sectors where India could be benefited. Swaraj reiterated that India was one of the fastest growing economies in the world, adding that the country was a hub for manufacturing and innovation. She implied that New Delhi was keen to extend connectivity in the Central Asian region to boost trade and tourism ties with Almaty. She expressed happiness on the progress of the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC), an over 7,000 km-long multi-mode network of ship, rail and road route for moving freight between India, Iran, Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Russia, Central Asia and Europe. Throwing light on enhancing people-to-people and tourism relations, Swaraj informed that the electronic visa system was introduced in February this year for Kazakh nationals arriving in India. Talking of capacity building, Swaraj continued, "Kazakhstan's professional and students have been attending courses on scholarships in India every year under ICCR and the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation programme in a wide range of disciplines." Swaraj further said that India was keen to further strengthen cooperation in the defence sector with Kazakhstan. She informed that the Kazakh armed forces underwent training on peacekeeping operations in India and an Indian Army's mobile training team was training their Kazakh counterparts in Almaty. She invited her Kazakh counterpart Abdrakhmanov to visit India in the near future. Before the joint statement, Swaraj met Abdrakhmanov and the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Raveesh Kumar tweeted: "Strategic partners since 2009! EAM @SushmaSwaraj met Foreign Minister of Kazakhstan Kairat Abdrakhmanov. The two leaders had a comprehensive discussion on deepening cooperation in trade & investment, defence and security, energy, ICT, pharma, capacity building and culture @MFA_KZ," he wrote on the micro-blogging site. On Thursday, Swaraj interacted with the Indian community in Astana and said that from the first Prime Minister of India, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru to Dr. Manmohan Singh, nobody addressed the Indian community in other countries like the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government. Swaraj is currently on a three-nation visit to Central Asia region. After Kazakhstan, she will be visiting Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan. This is her first trip to these countries as the foreign minister. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The ruling Jubilee Party has responded to the recent violent altercation between two female MCAs in Nakuru. Joyce Anyiso and Jackline Wangeci Manyara came to blows on Tuesday afternoon disrupting lunch activities at the County Assembly cafeteria. Prior to the fist fight, the two had exchanged insults via text messages with one accusing the other of stealing her boyfriend. It took the intervention of Nakuru County Assistant Sergeant at Arms, assisted by other female MCAs, to separate the warring ward reps. The two nominated MCAs have now been summoned by Nakuru County Jubilee Party officials to appear before the disciplinary committee to explain the circumstances that led to the fight. You are both accused of violating ethics and integrity laws by fighting within the county assembly premises where you also used unprintable and vulgar words, said Peter Cheruiyot, the Countys Party Secretary-General in a letter. As you are aware, Jubilee Party constitution expects highest standards of integrity and ethical conduct from its elected and nominated members as part of respecting, defending the constitution of Kenya, added Cheruiyot. The MCAs fight goes against the Leadership and Integrity Act, which bars state officers from engaging in activities that can bring the offices they hold into disrepute. A State officer shall conduct private affairs in a manner that maintains public confidence in the integrity of the office, reads section 32 of the Act. Other female MCAs have condemned the warring pair, saying they brought embarrassment to women ward reps in Nakuru County. The Swachh Bharat Mission Gramin (SBM-G) progress report conducted by the World Health Organisation (WHO) for the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation has said that India's rural sanitation coverage escalated to 89.07 percent till August 2. Under SBM-G, 19 states and Union Territories were declared Open Defecation Free (ODF). 7.9 crore toilets were built, while 421 districts were declared ODF. Also, more than 4.9 lakh villages in the country were declared ODF. The WHO study showed that before the initiation of SBM-G, unsafe sanitation caused 199 million cases of diarrhoea annually. By 2019, the initiative aims to achieve 100 percent sanitation coverage. The SBM resulted in averting three lakhs of death cases caused by diarrhoea and protein-energy malnutrition over a period of four years. As per the study before the launching of the initiative, only Kerala had achieved 100 percent sanitation coverage out of the 29 states. Moreover, Disability Adjusted Life Years (DALYs) were estimated to be avoided between 2014 and 2019. A rapid survey on children and families was carried out by the WHO. The method opted was comparative risk assessment (CRS). Launched in 2014 by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Central Government, the Swachh Bharat Mission aims at making India ODF by 2019. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Taking stern note of the Muzaffarpur shelter home rape case, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Friday assured that no leniency will be shown towards the culprits. Addressing a gathering at "Mukhyamantri Kanya Utthan Yojana" programme, Kumar said, "This incident has ashamed us. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is investigating the case. The High Court should monitor this case." On July 24, 11 employees of the girls shelter home in Muzaffarpur were arrested for allegedly sexually harassing the girls. On receiving information, the police raided the vicinity and rescued 44 girls. Further promising strict action, Nitish asserted that all those found guilty will be severely punished. "I would like to assure everyone that no leniency will be shown towards anyone, all those found guilty will be severely punished," the Chief Minister added. The incident that came to light more than a month ago has invited a huge outrage in Bihar, with Opposition demanding the resignation of the Chief Minister. The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) has also called for a nationwide strike on August 4 in Delhi's Jantar Mantar over the incident. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) External Affairs Minister (EAM) Sushma Swaraj on Friday met Kazakhstan Prime Minister Bakytzhan Sagintayev and discussed ways of strengthening bilateral cooperation between the two countries. Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Raveesh Kumar posted a picture of their meeting on Twitter and wrote: "EAM @SushmaSwaraj called on Prime Minister of Kazakhstan, Bakytzhan Sagintayev. Good exchange of views on strengthening cooperation in trade and investment, ICT, joint film production, tourism and people-to-people contacts." Earlier today, Swaraj said that the flagship initiatives of the Narendra Modi-led government such as 'Digital India', 'Make in India' and 'Start-Up India' can boost business relations between India and Kazakhstan. Addressing a joint presser with her Kazakh counterpart, Kairat Abdrakhmanov, Swaraj said, "Under Narendra Modi ji, many projects like 'Digital India', 'Make in India' and 'Start-Up India' have been started. These can be highly useful for digital developments in Kazakhstan. It can boost business relations between the two nations." Swaraj added that she held extensive and productive talks on various fields with her Kazakh counterpart and spoke on bilateral, global and regional issues of mutual interest. Stressing on the strong Indo-Kazakh ties, Swaraj stated, "Our relations are very cordial for a long time. Relations between India and Kazakhstan are built on the foundation of centuries-old historical and cultural ties. Both India and Kazakhstan have developed multifaceted cooperation in all areas of bilateral and multilateral relations and are strategic partners since 2009." She said that India was keen to partner with Kazakhstan to explore markets for new products, diversifying from the trade in traditional products to bolster trade ties between the two nations. On Thursday, Swaraj interacted with the Indian community in Astana and said that from the first Prime Minister of India, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru to Dr. Manmohan Singh, nobody addressed the Indian community in other countries like the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government. Swaraj is currently on a three-nation visit to Central Asia region. After Kazakhstan, she will be visiting Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan. This is her first trip to these countries as the foreign minister. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The delegation of the All India Trinamool Congress (AITMC) have returned to Kolkata after being stopped overnight at the Silchar airport. The delegation claimed that they were allegedly manhandled and physically assaulted by the authorities at the airport. Speaking on the same, AITMC MP Sukhendu Sekhar Ray told the media that the officials from the Assam state administration prevented the delegation from leaving the airport. He said, "We were stopped from leaving the airport. They said that under CrPC, Section 144 has been promulgated. We wanted to see a copy of the order. And when we saw, the order said that more than four people were not allowed as per the provision of the law." Ray added, "77 passengers in the same aircraft were allowed to move out. Only six of us were not allowed. We told that we will go in a different team, comprising two members each. But they did not allow us. We had to cancel our public meeting at Rajiv Bhawan in Silchar. We wanted to see the affected families. We just wanted to have an on-the-spot study of the situation." The delegation comprising MPs Sukhendu Sekhar Ray, Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, Ratna De Nag, Nadimul Haque, Arpita Ghosh, Mamata Thakur, minister Firhad Hakim and MLA Mahua Moitra, was scheduled to visit Silchar on the issue of Assam's Register of Citizens (NRC) draft. Cornering the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over Assam's final NRC draft, Ray further said, "40 lakh people have been eliminated in the NRC. Nowhere in this world has this happened. How come 40 lakh claims can be done in one month. This is a myth. The BJP at the centre and in Assam are colluding with each other and are trying to eliminate linguistic and religious minorities from Assam. The TMC and our leader Mamata Banerjee unequivocally condemn this incident." Earlier on Thursday, Moitra allegedly assaulted a lady constable who restrained her at the Silchar airport. In a video accessed by ANI, Moitra could be seen physically assaulting a female constable, even as the latter pleaded the lawmaker with folded hands to calm down. The video also showed some of the other party workers sitting on the conveyor belt in the airport as a mark of protest. Director General of Assam Police, Kuladhar Saikia later said legal action would be pursued against the eight-member delegation of AITMC. The draft list left out nearly 40 lakh people in Assam, incorporating names of 2.89 crore people out of 3.29 crore applicants. The first draft was published on December 31, 2017, and names of 1.9 crores of the 3.29 crore applicants were incorporated. The NRC draft features the names, addresses and photographs of all Indian citizens, who have been residing in the northeastern state before March 25, 1971. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) An exhibition was recently held in Tokyo which showcased comprehensive ideas, tools, and devices to support people involved in the nursing and Medicare. Many patrons seemed curious about the recent development of technology in this field. In general, easy to eat meals is made for the elderly people such as rice porridge, but this usually deteriorates. However, this newly developed meal retains the look of the usual meal along with accommodating the soft texture for the elderly people. The director of food company stated, "we had developed this ordinary looking meal so that elderly people could still savor eating suitable healthy food." There is also a karaoke set where elders can sing while exercising. This karaoke set can be enjoyed by all the generations. The director of the karaoke company informed that the exercising images were developed in collaboration with the university experts. "It would be an absolute pleasure for us if the elderly people have fun with Karaoke and gymnastics while exercising. By doing so, they would stretch out the body parts. These improvements would certainly make the elderly more energetic while expanding their lifespan," the director added. There is a particular problem to keep up the number of care workers with the increase in the number of elderly people. At the same time, it is also necessary to reduce the work burden of care workers. There is a device which would help the family member of elderly people to become their care worker. This wheelchair device is installed in a small car type which can be easily used with a normal wheelchair. The director of the car company cited that these latest welfare cars can be small in size but they are equipped with electric wheelchair elevator and it can be easily controlled with a remote control device. The device could be operated without any problem even if the operator is weak or the elderly person is heavy. The "super-aged society" is facing a lot of hurdles and in order to overcome them, it's necessary to lend an ear to the people who are most familiar with the situation. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) In order to facilitate the growth of health-care sector, the Center recently approved the proposal of setting up of All Indian Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in the state of Tripura. This would not only help people avail better treatment but will also generate employment opportunities for the aspiring upcoming qualified doctors of the state. Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb recently visited Hapania area in the outskirts of capital Agartala for inspecting the spot for the construction of AIIMS in the state. "Setting up of AIIMS here will generate employment and increase business. Many patients from Bangladesh go to Chennai for medical assistance, now they can just come here. So both Bangladesh and Tripura will gain from it," the chief minister said. The setting up of AIIMS will eventually help people avail the best health treatment within the state that would also cut short the expenses. Biswajit Paul, a resident of the state said, "Everyone would benefit of AIIMS because the health department will improve. Also, not everyone can afford to travel to other parts of the country for medical assistance." Apart from this, AIIMS will also be able to cater research in complicated medical subjects. Various such schemes have been implemented so far in a major thrust towards making change which includes establishment of AIIMS in major capital cities of the north-eastern states. Under 'Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojna' Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone of a branch of AIIMS at Changsari in Assam last year which is to be completed within the next four years at the cost of Rs 1,123 crores. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) President of the Bihar State Commission for Protection of Child Rights, Dr. Harpal Kaur on Friday said that she visited the Muzaffarpur shelter home in 2017 and found that the girls were locked up inside a room. Kaur also found out that the girls were living in an appalling condition and that there were no educational or developmental facilities available. After the inspection Kaur, said she had urged the social welfare department to get the shelter house vacated. Speaking to ANI, Kaur said, "When we visited shelter home in 2017, we saw that the girls were kept locked inside a room. When I questioned why the girls were kept locked, I was told the girls run away so they have to be kept locked." "51 girls were staying in small premises with no education or health facilities. The girls appeared scared. We had submitted a report to social welfare department suggesting that the shelter home should be vacated," added Kaur. She also clarified that the girls were pressurised so much that didn't say anything despite her repeated attempts to know why they were so scared. She also submitted a report on the aforementioned but no action was taken. Kaur also suggested that in future the concerned authorities should inspect the place before granting permission for opening a Non-Profit Organisation (NGO). For those unversed, on July 24, 11 employees of the shelter home in Muzaffarpur were arrested for allegedly sexually harassing the girls. On receiving information, the police raided the vicinity and rescued 44 girls. Speaking on the same, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar assured strict actions against the culprits, "I would like to assure everyone that no leniency will be shown towards anyone, all those found guilty will be severely punished." On July 29, the Central Bureau of Investigation registered case against the officers and employees of the shelter home. The CBI registered the case on the request of the Bihar Government and following the notification of the Central Government. The alleged sexual exploitation of the girls was uncovered more than a month ago by a Mumbai-based social science institute. They had submitted its report in April and the Bihar social welfare department approved another project to the accused Brijesh Thakur on May 31 for beggars' shelter in Patna. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Harvey Weinstein's attorney has filed a motion to dismiss all the sex crime charges against the Hollywood producer. Earlier today, in an emergency hearing requested by Weinstein's lawyers against Manhattan D.A. Cyrus Vance Jr's office with misconduct over the indictments in New York Supreme Court, Judge Mary Walrath allowed Weinstein to include emails with one of his alleged victims in a motion to dismiss the criminal case. Following which 40 emails from the accuser, in which she writes about getting back together, were presented before the court, Variety reported. The woman is one of three whose allegations underpin the criminal case against Weinstein. If convicted, Weinstein will face imprisonment for the lifetime. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Pinning the blame for the separation of immigrant children from their families at the borders on a court settlement that allows them to be released from custody within 20 days, the White House is reviewing a plan to invalidate the same. The White House's stand against the settlement, which was reported by CNN citing a government database, comes after a California federal judge had rejected the US Justice Department's efforts to make amends to the Flores Settlement Agreement, which has been repeatedly been targeted by the United States President Donald Trump administration as the reason behind the thousands of children being separated from their families. The Administration has also maintained that only Congress could act to nullify the settlement, however, US lawmakers have not exuded an interest to comply, having not passed any legislations on the matter so far. Apart from highlighting the standard of care that is to be imparted to the children while they are being held, the Flores settlement requires that the children are to be released within 20 days of being in custody, unless their parents want them to be held for a longer duration. However, the Trump administration's primary dispute with the agreement lies in the fact that 20 days are not enough to process court cases against the children, thus requiring them to either separate the families or release them together. Along with the settlement, another 2008 law that was aimed at protecting immigrant children who entered the Unites States illegally, has been cited by the administration as the reason behind the changing patterns in illegal cross-border migration. An earlier database report hints towards regulations for nullifying the statement. "Through this rule, (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) will create a pathway to ensure the humane detention of family units while satisfying the goals of the FSA," the database stated. On a related note, the US government, according to a court filing had reunited 1,442 families with children aged 5 and older by late July 26, which happened to be the deadline set for the Trump administration. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Reacting on the possible threat to Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath during his visit to Delhi and subsequent tightening of security, Uttar Pradesh Police on Friday said it was just a part of their security drill, which was done based on threat perception. "There is no specific reason for this, it is a part of our drill. On the basis of threat perception, we increase the security of VVIPs," IG Law and Order Praveen Kumar Tripathi said. According to Madhya Pradesh police, a terror threat is lurking over the chief minister, following which they issued an alert to enhance his security. In an advisory to Delhi and UP police, the MP police has claimed that young boys might attack Yogi Adityanath. "They could also target important religious places in Uttar Pradesh", MP police said. The Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister already has a Z Plus security. Reportedly, Adityanath's personal security has been further tightened and additional commandos from the UP Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) have been deployed to create a circle around him. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) When the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) announced the scrapping of the Sh.150 fixed cost charge on the Kenya Power electricity billing system on Monday, Kenyans were upbeat and ready to heave a little sigh of relief. But as soon as Kenya Power effected the revised tariff rates on August 1, it came as a shocker to many middle-income consumers that the cost had actually gone up. For instance, under the old tariff, a consumer would receive about 34 units for Sh500. But under the new tariff, that amount of money gives a consumer 22 units, indicating a 23 percent rise in electricity costs for prepaid consumers who use between 10 and 100 units per month Only a minority of consumers who use less than 10 units and manufacturers who use over 1,500 units have been exempted from this daylight robbery. Kenyans have since come out in numbers on social media platforms to criticise ERC for the added burden on power bills. ERC has defended the new tariff structure saying that the overall unit cost inclusive of taxes and levies has decreased from Sh23.49/kWh in 2017/18 to Sh20.18/kWh 2018/19. A case has since been filed against the commission seeking to stop Kenya Power company and the Energy Regulatory Commission from implementing the new billing structure. Lawyer Apollo Mboya argues that the new billing structure discriminates against the poor and a significant majority of the domestic consumers while favoring the minority bulk power consumers such as manufacturers and companies. According to Mboya, the move is a ploy by both Kenya Power and ERC to circumvent a court order which stopped them from recovering backdated bills amounting to Sh10.1 billion. Article 27 of the Constitution guarantees every person equal protection and equal benefit of the law and that the state shall not discriminate directly or indirectly against any persons, Mboya notes. The lawyer also says that both KPLC and ERC have no constitutional mandate to review the tariffs. Mboya, therefore, wants the court to suspend the implementation of the Electricity Retail Tariffs, pending hearing of the application. The Finance Ministry is actively considering FICCI's recommendation to reduce the GST rate on private security agencies from the current level of 18% to minimise the impact of the levy on the industry and capitalise on its job-creation potential. This assurance was held out today by Minister of State for Finance, Mr. Shiv Pratap Shukla, while inaugurating FICCI's Private Security Industry (PSI) Conclave-2018 on the theme, 'Job Creation & Skill Development'. Mr. Shukla said that the government was fully conscious of the significant contribution of the private security industry in creating jobs for the poor, those that have migrated from the villages, and ex-servicemen. "We have received a FICCI representation on the issue and will do whatever is possible to reduce the 18% GST levied on the industry," he said and invited a FICCI delegation to North Block to discuss the matter. On the occasion, Mr. Shukla released a FICCI-BDO report on 'Private Security Industry: Job Creation and Skill Development'. The report dwells on skill development and jobs creation in PSI, policy issues concerning the sector, GST and its impact, shift from unorganised to the organised sector and integration of manpower and technology. Senior Vice President of FICCI & Vice Chairman and MD, HSIL Ltd., Mr. Sandip Somany, said that private security agencies, which are mainly SME segments, operate on very thin margins and find it challenging to cope with the requirements of the GST compliance provisions. He said that the high GST rate of 18% had created cash-flow problems for the industry. The entire structure of charging GST was not optimal for the industry where the biggest component of costs is accounted for by wages, which were nothing but pass-through costs. GST should, therefore, be levied on the service component and not wage costs, he added. Chair of FICCI Committee on Private Security Industry, Mr. Rituraj Sinha, pointed out that based on the Committee's discussions with the Finance Minister and the MoS for Finance, there is a conviction that there is genuine intent on the part of the government to give GST relief to the industry. Such relief, he said, would also greatly benefit the small players who have to bear the burden of interest costs, as they have to borrow to deposit GST in advance. Cmdr. Gautam Nanda, Associate Partner, BDO India, the knowledge partner for the conclave, gave an overview of the industry, underlining the vital role of PSI in skill development and job creation. He said that the industry was the largest employer with 8.9 million personnel with a potential to employ 3.1 million more by 2022. The estimated market size of the industry was Rs. 57,000 crore and was expected to rise to Rs. 1.5 lakh crore by 2022. The Co-Chair of FICCI Committee on PSI & Chairman, Peregrine Guarding, Maj. Manjit Rajain, also expressed optimism of the serious inclination on the part of the government to give GST relief to PSI. Powered by Capital Market - Live News (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Board of Mahindra Logistics at its meeting held on 02 August 2018 has approved additional investment in Lords Freight (India), a Subsidiary Company ('Lords') by way of purchase of 205,200 equity shares of Lords (representing 8.69% of equity share capital of Lords) from the existing Shareholders of Lords. Consequently, Share Purchase Agreement and other related documents have been executed between the Company and respective Selling Shareholders of Lords. On completion of the said purchase, the Company's shareholding in Lords would increase from 60% to 68.69%. Dear Reader, Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance. We, however, have a request. As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more, so that we can continue to offer you more quality content. Our subscription model has seen an encouraging response from many of you, who have subscribed to our online content. More subscription to our online content can only help us achieve the goals of offering you even better and more relevant content. We believe in free, fair and credible journalism. Your support through more subscriptions can help us practise the journalism to which we are committed. Support quality journalism and subscribe to Business Standard. Digital Editor Chennai Petroleum Corporation Ltd, K E C International Ltd, Nestle India Ltd and Time Technoplast Ltd are among the other losers in the BSE's 'A' group today, 03 August 2018. Chennai Petroleum Corporation Ltd, K E C International Ltd, Nestle India Ltd and Time Technoplast Ltd are among the other losers in the BSE's 'A' group today, 03 August 2018. Jet Airways (India) Ltd crashed 7.85% to Rs 305.2 at 14:47 IST.The stock was the biggest loser in the BSE's 'A' group.On the BSE, 17.09 lakh shares were traded on the counter so far as against the average daily volumes of 4.5 lakh shares in the past one month. Chennai Petroleum Corporation Ltd lost 3.50% to Rs 315.3. The stock was the second biggest loser in 'A' group.On the BSE, 68086 shares were traded on the counter so far as against the average daily volumes of 64138 shares in the past one month. K E C International Ltd tumbled 2.92% to Rs 328. The stock was the third biggest loser in 'A' group.On the BSE, 1.85 lakh shares were traded on the counter so far as against the average daily volumes of 31955 shares in the past one month. Nestle India Ltd slipped 2.65% to Rs 10469.95. The stock was the fourth biggest loser in 'A' group.On the BSE, 8228 shares were traded on the counter so far as against the average daily volumes of 2890 shares in the past one month. Time Technoplast Ltd pared 2.53% to Rs 140.5. The stock was the fifth biggest loser in 'A' group.On the BSE, 38574 shares were traded on the counter so far as against the average daily volumes of 47777 shares in the past one month. Powered by Capital Market - Live News (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Motherson Sumi Systems announced that its step down subsidiary, Samvardhana Matherson Automotive Systems Group B. Y. (SMRP BY), Netherlands has completed the acquisition of Reydel Automotive Holdings B. Y. and Reydel Automotive Management B. Y. on 02 August 2018 at Amsterdam upon receipt of all acquisition related approvals. Reydel manufactures interior components and modules for global automotive customers. This is the 21st acquisition by the Samvardhana Matherson Group and will further bolster Motherson's offerings in the automotive interiors space. Powered by Capital Market - Live News (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Federal Police of Mexico has seized a shipment containing 120 kg of methamphetamine worth $76 million, destined for Australia, at the Mexico City International Airport. The National Security Commission (CNS) said that the cargo was found in the loading area for import and export goods at the airport on Thursday, Efe news reported. According to the CNS, a hundred packages "made of carbon paper, aluminium and transparent plastic" were found with approximately 120 kg of a granulated white powder, which bears characteristics of methamphetamine. The meth was hidden in computer equipment packages, which were destined for a suburb of Sydney, Australia. --IANS mag/ (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) At least 15 people were killed and more than 50 others wounded after two explosions ripped through a mosque in Afghanistan's Gardez city on Friday. The blasts took place at 1.30 p.m. when people were offering Friday prayers inside Imam-e-Zaman Mosque in Police District 2 of the city, which is the capital of eastern Paktia province, a police officer told Xinhua news agency. "The preliminary information and initial findings of our police showed that two back to back blasts struck when people were inside the mosque. So far, we have no more details but the number of casualties may change as the victims were shifted to different hospitals across the city," the officer said. Security forces cordoned off the area for precautionary measures in Khowja Hassan neighbourhood mostly dominated by Shia Afghans. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack. --IANS soni/ (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A batch of 454 Amarnath pilgrims left Jammu on Friday for the cave shrine in the Kashmir Valley, police said. "In an escorted convoy of 13 vehicles, the pilgrims left the Bhagwati Nagar Yatri Niwas here for the Valley today morning," the police added. This batch include pilgrims going both to the Baltal and Pahalgam base camps. Since it began on June 28, over 2.66 lakh pilgrims have already performed the annual Yatra. The 60-day long Yatra will end on August 26 coinciding with the Shravan Purnima festival. --IANS sq/ksk (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) At least eight workers were killed in a blast in a quarry in Andhra Pradesh's Kurnool district on Friday, police said. Another eight workers were also injured in the incident that took place in Hathi Belgal village in Alur 'mandal' (block) of Kurnool district. The injured were admitted to the government hospital in Alur, where the condition of three is stated to be critical. About 20 workers belonging to Odisha were believed to be in a shed when the blast occurred. The police suspect that some more workers could be trapped inside. A fire which broke out with the blast engulfed the shed. Three tractors, one lorry and two sheds were destroyed in the fire. The huge blast also damaged a few houses near the quarry. The blast which was heard at a distance of more than 10 km sent panic among the residents. The cause of the blast could not be known immediately. --IANS ms/nir (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Hynniewtrep Youth Council activists on Friday stormed the Meghalaya secretariat and staged a demonstration demanding introduction of the Inner Line Permit (ILP) system and preparation of a National Register of Citizens to detect illegal Bangladeshi immigrants residing in the state. The HYC activists staged a protest in front of the Mahatma Gandhi statue and shouted slogans demanding introduction of ILP and NRC. Chief Minister Conrad Sangma and his council of ministers were not present in the secretariat. But Chief Secretary Y Tsering and other government officials were there. However, the state police later pushed out the activists. "We need to express our anger to the government so that it wakes up to our demands for introduction of ILP and to conduct the NRC to detect illegal Bangladeshi immigrants in the state," HYC general secretary Roy Kupar Synrem said. Inner Line Permit is an official travel document issued by the Union government to allow inward travel of an Indian citizen into a protected/restricted area for a limited period. It is obligatory for Indian citizens from other states to obtain permit for entering into the restricted areas. Synrem said that the proposed entry and exit points to be set up by the Meghalaya government will not prevent illegal Bangladeshi immigrants entering the state as the authorities will ask only for the EPIC (electoral photo identity card) of the persons entering the state. "In Assam, the people listed in the EPIC did not have names in the NRC list. There is a high possibility of them to flee from there and settle in Meghalaya," Synrem said. On the proposed Citizenship Amendment Bill, 2016, the HYC said, "If this bill is passed most Hindus from Bangladesh will seek refuge in India and the indigenous people of Meghalaya will be overwhelmed." Meanwhile, the Meghalaya police admitted that there was a breach of security in the secretariat due to intelligence failure. "We had no intelligence inputs. It was only once these people have congregated I got information," Davies Marak, the district police chief of East Khasi Hills said. "They entered like normal people, they did not come in a group so our people did not know that they belong to the same group. After entering, they took out the placards," he said. --IANS rrk/anp/sed (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A 36-year-old Afghan national has been arrested here for his involvement in drug-peddling in the city, police said on Friday. An international drug syndicate was busted with his arrest as he informed police about the man who got him involved in the illegal business of drugs. According to police, two more men have been identified and the operation to nab them is underway. Mohammad Nadir Khadim, who is originally from Afghanistan, was arrested under the provisions of the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act on July 24 from Bhagat Singh Park, Malviya Nagar, Additional Commissioner of Police, Crime, Rajiv Ranjan said. The police officer said 2 kilos of heroin valued at Rs 4 crore was seized from his possession. He was staying in a rented accommodation at Hauz Rani, Malviya Nagar here. The accused told police that he used to visit India for treatment of Hepatitis B on medical visa. He first visited India in 2016, and then in February 2018. Recently, he came to India on June 21. About 15 days ago, he came in contact with a fellow Afghani, Mustafa, who is involved in smuggling heroin from Afghanistan and selling it in Delhi, Ranjan said. Khadim said Mustafa, who resides in Lajpat Nagar, lured him to this trade to make easy money and meet the huge expense of his treatment. --IANS mg/pgh/sed (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A 25-year-old woman has reportedly lost an eye following a traumatic attack by a vicious hyena on the Nairobi-Mombasa highway. According to a police incident report, the woman, identified as Esther Sammy, had alighted from a truck at around 1 am on Monday, July 30, 2018, to relieve herself in a bush when she was attacked by a hyena. The police report at Mtito Andei police station indicates that officers who were on patrol at Tsavo National Park, along Mombasa Road on Monday night, heard loud screams emanating from nearby bushes which prompted them to act. They found the woman writhing in pain and rushed her to Makindu Hospital where she was admitted in serious condition. Esther Sammy is also said to have sustained deep cuts on her left hand in addition to losing a left eye that was gouged out by the animal. Police in Kibwezi, Makueni are investigating to establish who left her there in the middle of the night. They suspect the truck crew, who had given her a lift to Mombasa, may have fled after hearing her screams. Authorities have cautioned drivers against making random stops near bushes as animals looking for prey might attack. One of Australia's biggest supermarket chains was on Friday charged with the death of a man who was run over after falling asleep in a loading dock. The driver of a truck hit the 47-year-old man while leaving the loading dock of a Woolworths store in Darwin in October 2016, reports Xinhua news agency. The driver was subcontracted to a Victorian-based transport and warehouse company. NT WorkSafe announced on Thursday night that both companies have been charged with failing to comply with a health and safety duty. Both companies face a maximum penalty of A$1.5 million Australian ($1 million) if found guilty. Woolworths, the second-largest company in Australia, said in a statement that it was currently reviewing the matter, and as it is before the courts, "it would be inappropriate for us to make any further comment in relation to the tragic circumstances of this matter". --IANS ksk (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Supreme Court on Friday restrained the Enforcement Directorate from taking coercive action against Nalini Chidambaram, wife of former Union Minister P. Chidambaram, in the multi-crore Saradha chit fund scam. A bench of Justice A.K. Sikri and Justice Ashok Bhushan also sought a response from ED and stayed a Madras High Court division bench's July 10 order that refused to quash the summons issued to Nalini Chidambaram by the investigating agency. She has challenged the order in the apex court. Earlier, a single Judge of the High Court too had rejected her plea against the ED summons. The ED had directed her to appear as a witness in its probe into alleged money laundering in the scam, in which several key politicians were said to be involved. The agency had issued the summons on September 7, 2016, as Nalini Chidambaram's name was mentioned in a letter of Saradha scam "mastermind" Sudipta Sen to the Central Bureau of Investigation in April 2013. Nalini Chidambaram, a senior advocate, was allegedly paid a legal fee of Rs 1 crore by the Saradha Group for her appearances in court and the Company Law Board in a case pertaining to a television channel purchase deal. If the trend of summoning and calling advocates who have been engaged by their clients for rendering professional services was not nipped in the bud, it may lead to disastrous consequences, she had contended in the High Court. The ED summons, issued under Section 50 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, required Nalini Chidambaram to appear before an authorised ED officer at its Kolkata office. --IANS gt/tsb/sed (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The 'Jan Aushadhi' scheme launched in 2008 by the UPA government to sell low-cost generic medicines was re-branded twice by the Modi government in the last three years. Now the advertising and marketing of the flagship programme for the poor has taken a complete saffron and BJP hue -- literally. The saffron-hued logo of the scheme -- with Bha Ja Pa in Devanagari, also the short form for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Hindi -- stands out starkly. It can be seen on the website of the rebranded Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana (PMBJP) and packaging of the medicines sold at special outlets under the flagship programme of the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers. Earlier the packages carried the logo of the medicine manufacture -- Bureau of Pharma PSUs of India (BPPI) established in December 2008. "The packaging till last few months was not like this. Now it includes Bha Ja Pa in saffron colour," said a store owner selling generic medicines under the Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Jan Aushadhi Pariyojana (PMBJP). The scheme, originally launched as 'Jan Aushadhi' in 2008, was renamed in 2015 to Pradhan Mantri Jan Aushadhi Yojana by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Later in 2016, the scheme was again renamed to Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana (PMBJP). Earlier, when the name of the scheme was changed, its packaging remained the same. However, medicines sold under the scheme at specialised outlets come in new packages that has saffron writ large on its logo. IANS visited some PMBJP stores in Delhi and NCR to check packages of the medicines manufactured in 2016, 2017 and 2018. Those manufactured before January 2018 had the original logo of the scheme with only 'Jan Aushadhi -- Quality Medicines at Affordable Prices for All' written on the packs. But the medicines manufactured after January 2018 have the new logo and colour on their packages. The scheme was launched to make quality medicine accessible to all at an affordable price. The medicines are available at a 'Jan Aushadhi Medical Store', whose name has also changed to Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Kendra with a photo of Modi and the new logo. (Nivedita Singh can be contacted at nivedita.singh@ians.in) --IANS nks/sar/mr (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Telecom operators will need more than 18 months to block pesky calls by fully implementing the amended regulations on unwarranted commercial calls and messages, Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) said on Friday. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has set a six-month deadline ending on December 16 for implementing the new regulations. According to Rajan S. Mathews, Director General of COAI, the cost involved in the process would be Rs 200-400 crore. The association would put forward their concerns to the regulator. "It's going to take a minimum of a year and a half by the time it's tested, verified and ready," Mathews said during an interaction with the media. Talking of blockchain or the distributed ledger technology prescribed by TRAI to identify and block unsolicited communication, he said the technology is totally new for the industry and even the likely providers such as IBM and Microsoft are not too sure of its viability. However, he said there are only a few companies including IBM and Microsoft who can come out with the required technology and processes. Talking of the impact on tariffs due to the high investments, Mathews said prices would largely depend on the market dynamics, but in normal economic sense such investments are likely to place a burden on the consumers. --IANS rrb-rv/prssed (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) in its report has faulted the Goa government's industrial corporation for dishing out gold coins as mementos to its employees in commemoration of the golden jubilee of the institution, causing a loss to the state exchequer to the tune of Rs. 19.84 lakh. The CAG also slammed the managing director of the Goa Industrial Development Corporation for taking post facto approval of the corporation's board, while purchasing the medallions beforehand. "The MD had no power to authorise such nature of expenditure as per the delegation of powers of GIDC. The expenditure was approved by the MD with the remark that the proposal may be placed before the board for its approval and ratification. However, the gold coins were procured and distributed, the proposal was ratified ex-post facto," the CAG noted in a report tabled in the ongoing monsoon session of the Assembly. According to the report, each gold coin was worth Rs. 7,035, weighing 2 gms and was distributed to the employees of the corporation "to honour the sincere efforts of the staff commemorating the golden jubilee of the GIDC." "The distribution of gold coins was in violation of the letter and spirit of financial propriety as envisaged for spending public monies," the CAG report said. "Awarding gold coins on grounds of efficiency goes against the principles of financial propriety and is diversion of resources better employed for development of infrastructure," the CAG report said. The report also said that the 'generosity' of the corporation came in a financial year (when the accumulated surplus profit of the corporation had dipped from Rs 56.12 crore to Rs 53.80 crore. --IANS maya/prs/bg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Interim Corporate Affairs Minister Piyush Goyal on Friday said the government has put a stop to the practice of pressuring banks to advance loans as part of its effort to better corporate governance standards among public banks. "We are proud to say that in these four years of this government, we have stopped the phone-call thing coming in from Delhi to the banks," Goyal said, responding to on corporate governance failures, mainly in banks, during the Question Hour in the Lok Sabha. Goyal said, "Not a single phone call will go (to banks) to give a loan, to address a loan, to restructure a loan or to settle a loan. We have given autonomy to the banks." For the first time, an honest asset quality review was carried out in 2015 that forced the banks to show non-performing assets (NPAs) which in earlier years were restructured and never reflected the true picture of the banks, he said. Further, Goyal said the government has taken several measures to uphold corporate governance and have been strictly dealing with shell companies and defaulters. "It is probably for the first time in history of India that a government has come down so strongly on non-active companies, called shell companies in common parlance," he said. The government has struck off 2.26 lakh such companies from the register and has identified another 2.35 lakh companies that are under the scanner. "It is only under this government that big defaulters are being brought to book," he added. --IANS mgu/prs (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The extradition request for fugitive diamond merchant Mehul Choksi, who has secured an Atiguan passport and is living there, will soon be sent to the Caribbean country, the CBI said on Friday. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which is probing the Rs 13,500-crore banking fraud allegedly committed by the jeweller and his nephew Nirav Modi, said that its letter to get Choksi deported has been forwarded to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). The CBI sent on Monday the letter to the Union Home Ministry which in turn forwarded it to the MEA, an official said. In its request to the Home Ministry, the CBI said Choksi's extradition was being sought "on grounds of principle of reciprocity and dual criminality". A source revealed that the MEA has received the extradition request from the CBI and is currently in the process of conveying it to the authorities in Antigua and Barbuda. India and Antigua are signatory to the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) -- a multilateral treaty negotiated by the member-states of the United Nations and promoted by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, the CBI pointed out in its request. Choksi is said to have fled India on an Indian passport in the first week of January 2018. The Antiguan government is believed to have cleared his application for citizenship in November 2017, for which he may have paid around Rs 1.3 crore. He took the oath of allegiance as a citizen of Antigua on January 15. Days later, on January 29, the CBI filed a case and started investigating Choksi and Nirav Modi. --IANS aks/nir (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 CBI has started probing the role of British political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica which is alleged to have illegally obtained data of Indians. "We recently received a reference from government to register a data mining case against Cambridge Analytica. The matter is being examined," said a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) official. He said the matter is being examined under the Information Technology Act 2000 as it is alleged that personal data from voters and Facebook users were compromised by Cambridge Analytica. "A formal case would be registered after the examination of documents and other things related to the matter," the official said. The CBI got the reference from Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology last month to probe the role of Cambride Analytica, said the official. Union Information Technology Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on July 26 had also informed the parliament that the government has ordered the CBI to probe and find out if the British company had violated Indian laws. The Minister told the Rajya Sabha that the firm denied that data of Indians were breached, but this was in contradiction of the information received from Facebook. As per the Minister, the Facebook had stated about the role of Cambridge Analytica in the data breach and promised to take various steps to ensure that such breach do not reoccur. About Cambridge Analytica, the Minister had said: "Cambridge Analytica, on the other hand, gave an initial response that the data of the Indians were not breached but this was not in conformity with what was reported by Facebook. It also did not respond to the subsequent communication, therefore it is suspected that Cambridge Analyitca may have been involved in illegally obtaining data of Indians which could be misused." The BJP and Congress have accused each other of using Cambridge Analytica's services, but both have denied any link to it. Cambridge Analytica -- a company owned by the hedge fund billionaire Robert Mercer -- declared bankruptcy this year following allegations that it used personal information harvested from 87 million Facebook accounts to help Donald Trump win the 2016 US presidential election. The firm is accused of mining personal information taken without authorisation in early 2014 to build a system that could profile individual US voters, in order to target them with personalised political advertisements. --IANS aks-rak/sed (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Spain left winger Pedro Rodriguez has extended his contract with Chelsea till 2020, the English club announced on Friday. The 31-year-old arrived at Stamford Bridge in 2015 from FC Barcelona, taking part in Chelsea's English Premier League and FA Cup victories, reports Efe news agency. "It is important for me to continue with Chelsea, I am comfortable here and want to win new titles and trophies," Pedro said in a statement published on the club's website. "I want to help the team, score goals, and I repeat, I am really happy," he added. Club director Marina Granovskaia said: "We are very happy to secure Pedro's services for another year. Since becoming a Chelsea player he has regularly demonstrated his quality on the field and we look forward to seeing him continue to flourish under the guidance of Maurizio Sarri." In his three seasons with Chelsea, Pedro participated in 131 games and scored 28 goals. --IANS ajb/bg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Delhi High Court on Friday directed all public and land-owning agencies, including Delhi Government, to cordon off and regularly inspect all manholes, pits, holes and tanks in the capital. It directed PWD to pay over Rs 12 lakh as compensation to a woman whose child died after falling into a pit in a park in 2015. A bench of Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice C. Hari Shankar ordered the Public Works Department to deposit Rs'12,47,500 with the Registrar General of the court within four weeks. The bench ordered all public authorities and land owning agencies to ensure strict compliance of the directions. "These sites shall be cordoned off to render them inaccessible to the public," the court said, directing that existence of these sites shall be clearly and visibly marked by the display of signboards and signages. "If they are required to be covered, the authorities shall ensure that the covers are in place," the bench ruled. The court was hearing a suo motu PIL case initiated after taking cognizance of a news report about the death of an 11-year-old boy, who had gone on a school picnic. The child fell into an uncovered rainwater harvesting pit at the Millennium Park in Southeast Delhi in December 2015. --IANS akk/prs/sed (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The death of "Supermarket Sweep" fame television presenter David Winton was a result of natural causes. The popular radio-TV presenter was found dead at his north London home in April. He was 62. Earlier speculation was that Winton had taken his own life, but confirming the cause of his death, Winton's long-time agent Jan Kennedy told the Press Association that "the coroner investigating the death of Dale Winton has found death by natural causes", reports mirror.co.uk. Winton's friend Gloria was upset over people believing that he had committed suicide. At the same time, his long-time friend and radio host Steve Allen had said Winton hadn't been in a "good place" and that he would drop hints about ending his life. Winton was also rumoured to have been suffering money woes, having sold his 2.6 million-pound central London townhouse just three weeks before his untimely death. According to Winton's neighbours in Florida, the TV star fell hard for a hairdresser who was 20 years younger to him, and was heartbroken when it suddenly ended. In 2016, Winton had also opened up about his battle with depression, triggered by a break-up. "Listen, there are worse things in the world - but I had depression and I didn't realise," he had once said in an interview. Winton had also presented famous game show "Hole In The Wall" and more recently "Dale Winton's Florida Fly Drive". --IANS sim/rb (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) There is a feeling among the opposition parties that the primary task is to defeat the BJP in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections and that the issue of prime ministership will be decided after the results based on the performance of each party, top Congress sources said here, asserting that a "strategic understanding" had been reached with the SP and BSP and the Congress on fighting the polls together in Uttar Pradesh. The stance on leadership is different from that articulated in media reports last month where the party was seen to be willing to accept any opposition candidate as Prime Minister provided he had no links to RSS over any claims of Rahul Gandhi, who is the Congress candidate for the top post. Party sources said "a strategic understanding" had been reached between the Congress, the Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party to fight the Lok Sabha elections together in Uttar Pradesh and talks were being held between them. The sources said that the Congress was unlikely to project a Chief Ministerial face in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, where Assembly elections will be held at the end of this year. They said that the issue of leadership was "divisive" and nothing should be done which can adversely affect the goal of opposition parties to defeat the BJP. "There is a feeling among all opposition parties that primary job is to defeat institution capturing by RSS. What happens after elections will depend on how different parties perform, what elections have to show. We do not want to get into anything divisive," the party sources said. They also said that the primary role of the Congress today was to bring opposition parties together. "There should be no confusion in that. We will defeat them by forging a platform," the sources said. "There is a clear cut line. The first stage is to defeat the BJP together without confusion, without disruption. Stage two is the result. It (leadership) will be decided on that basis," they added. The sources said if alliances were forged properly across the country, the BJP cannot win. They said Prime Minister Narendra Modi will need at least 230 seats to be able to continue on the post after 2019 polls and if a proper alliance was stitched between opposition parties in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Maharashtra, he would surely be defeated. "Modi will need 230-240 seats to become Prime Minister after 2019 elections. Without this he can't be Prime Minister. There is a unique characteristic that if their allies get a choice, they will prefer someone else from the BJP. "All opposition parties have accepted the need of coordination," the sources said. They also said that the views of state leadership will be important in forging alliances and in places like Telangana and Delhi, where the units are fighting the ruling parties, their views were likely to prevail. "The party will listen to state units. Broadly state units are clear, where alliance is beneficial, they will do it. Starting point is the state unit. Generally views of the state units will not be ruled out. Such states where state unit is directly fighting -- Telangana, Delhi -- the leadership will not ignore state units," the sources said. The sources said the RSS - the ideological mentor of BJP - was trying to capture institutions and must be defeated. "RSS is a cadre-based and a lot more. It is a threat to our institutional structures." They said the Congress will fight a "decent number of Lok Sabha seats" and the party was unlikely to publicly state its winning target. The sources said will perform significantly better in states such as Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Punjab, Haryana and Uttarkhand. --IANS ps-sid/vsc/mr (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Five criminals have been arrested on the charge of snatching Rs 44.5 lakh from two company employees on way to deposit the cash in a bank in Wazirpur last month, police said on Friday. A total of Rs 21.5 lakh was recovered from Saddam, Sandeep, Pawan Kumar, and Ilteza, who were arrested from different places in the city on Thursday night, and their accomplice Iqbal who was arrested on Friday, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Northwest) Aslam Khan said. Two countrymade pistols, a gold chain worth Rs 2.5 lakh and purchased from the robbed money and five mobile phones were also seized. On July 30, Tejpal Singh and Rajkumar Bhasin of Sanyog Enterprises Pvt Ltd in Nangloi area of west Delhi, were robbed of the cash when they were on way to the State Bank of India branch in Wazirpur. The robbers had fired at the two victims and driven off with their car, which was later abandoned. --IANS mg/tsb/vm (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The total gross non-performing assets (NPAs) of public sector banks quadrupled to Rs 8.45 lakh crore in the last four years, Union Minister of State for Finance Shiv Pratap Shukla told Lok Sabha on Friday. The aggregate gross NPAs of PSBs rose from Rs 2,16,739 crore on March 31, 2014 to Rs 8,45,475 crore on March 31, 2018, according to provisional data by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on domestic operations, Shukla said in his written reply. The minister, however, said the surge in total gross NPA was due to more transparent recognition of stressed assets as NPAs. The Asset Quality Review (AQR) carried out in 2015 for clean and fully provisioned bank balance-sheets had revealed high incidence of NPAs. Expected losses on stressed loans, not provided for earlier under flexibility given to restructured loans, were reclassified as NPAs and provided for expected losses, he said. As per global operations data of RBI, the gross advances of Scheduled Commercial Banks (SCBs) had risen from Rs 25 lakh crore as on March 31, 2008 to Rs 69 lakh crore as on March 31, 2014. Shukla said the main reasons for the spurt in stressed assets was due to aggressive lending practices, wilful default, loan frauds, corruption in some cases and economic slowdown. Further, the minister said the gross NPAs of six PSBs who have declared unaudited financial results for the first quarter of the current financial year has declined by Rs 4,464 crore as against their gross NPAs as on March 31, 2018. --IANS mgu/prs (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A gunfight erupted on Saturday between the security forces and holed-up militants in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district, officials said. Police said security forces started a cordon and search operation in Aripal village in Tral area after receiving information about the presence of militants there. "The militants, who were hiding, fired at the surrounding security forces, triggering an encounter which is underway," police said. --IANS sq/mag/vm (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.) Unknown persons hacked the website of Delhi University's Maharaja Agrasen College on Friday and posted "Pakistan Zindabad" slogan and a warning "stop killing Muslims". The website was hacked at 10.30 a.m and was not fully restored till 1 p.m, a college official told IANS. "Did you know why you got hacked? Stop killing Muslims. Give free rights to Kashmiris. Your credit cards, your bank accounts aren't secure. Ready to face us. "PS: We dumped the whole database and server too. Soon we will publish it. Pakistan Zindabad," read the message posted on the college's website by a hacker who identified as "Blackscorpian ProBro's". "We received a complaint in morning. We are investigating the matter now," Deputy Commissioner of Police (East) Pankaj Kumar Singh said. --IANS vn/sp/nir (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Pakistan's anti-corruption body on Friday summoned Prime Minister in-waiting Imran Khan on August 7 in an ongoing inquiry against his alleged misuse of government's helicopters. The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief is accused of illegally using an Mi-17 and an Ecureuil helicopter belonging to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government for 74 hours, causing a loss of Rs 2.1 million to the national exchequer, the Pakistani media reported. In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, PTI has led the provincial government since 2013. A National Accountability Bureau (NAB) official said that statements of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Pervez Khattak and aviation authorities in the case have been recorded, Geo News reported. Khan had earlier said that the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government made it clear that there was never any personal or private use of government helicopters by him. He also said that NAB was "most welcome" to examine the issue. This is not the first time the accountability watchdog has summoned the 65-year-old politician. He was summoned in July as well, however, he skipped the July 18 hearing owing to "busy schedule". On January 29 this year, Geo News reported that the former Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government spent millions of rupees on Khan's use of the provincial government's helicopters. NAB chairman Justice (retired) Javed Iqbal in February directed the bureau to launch a probe against the PTI chief and the then Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister over the issue. Khattak has already appeared before NAB in the case. Khan is scheduled to take oath of office on August 11. --IANS soni/sed (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Filmmaker Anubhav Sinha, whose "Mulk" has not been cleared for release in Pakistan, hopes the country's Prime Minister-in-waiting Imran Khan, being progressive, will make things better. "Mulk", says Sinha, is a love story between Hindus and Muslims. On the sidelines of a private screening of the film for the cast and crew here on Friday, Sinha spoke about the ban on the movie in Pakistan. He said: "I am surprised why my film is banned in Pakistan. I want the citizens of Pakistan to watch this film and judge if their government does not wish to be friends with us. "They do not want us to talk about harmony and co-existence because their kitchen runs on this issue, and people need to understand this. And I seriously want to know why this film is banned in Pakistan because in my film, there is no language issue, no religious issue, it doesn't talk badly about society and nothing wrong is said about Pakistan. "The film only criticises individuals, and if you cannot tolerate it, then I don't know, what to do." Calling Khan "quite a progressive man", Sinha said: "I am hopeful that he will work towards the betterment of things. My film is banned, nothing can be done right now, but if he can do something, I want him to reverse the ban. I think this film should be watched by Hindus and Muslims. The film talks about love." "Mulk" released in India on Friday, and he feels buoyed by the response. "I am getting great reviews. I am telling you, I have never ever received such great reviews in my life. People are giving me 4-5 stars. A lot of reviewers hold the opinion that every Indian should watch this film. It feels great. I hope the entire nation likes the film." The movie tells the story of a Muslim family trying to reclaim its lost honour. It features Taapsee Pannu, Rishi Kapoor, Rajat Kapoor, Ashutosh Rana, Neena Gupta, Prateik Babbar, Manoj Pahwa and Prachee Shah Pandya in important roles. --IANS iv/rb/sed (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Friday approved incentives for doctors of the Odisha Medical Health Services Cadre. Doctors with super specialisation from medical colleges recognised by Medical Council of India (MCI) will get an incentive of Rs 30,000 per month, a statement from the Chief Minister's Office (CMO) said. Similarly, doctors with a post-graduation degree from a medical college recognized by MCI will get Rs 20,000 per month and doctors with a post-graduation diploma recognised by the state government will get Rs 10,000. The eligible doctors appointed in peripheral areas including district headquarters hospitals will get the benefit, said an official from the health department. However, the doctors appointed in medical colleges would not get the incentives, he added. The move is to retain them in peripheral areas in the state. "The incentive will cover over and above the previous incentives such as place-based incentives. However, these incentives are not linked to any post and purely based on required qualification," said the CMO statement. The state government is providing place-based incentive to doctors to retain them in inaccessible areas. The government had earlier announced 100% incentives for the medicos posted in medical colleges set up in KBK (Kalahandi-Bolangir-Koraput) and KBK-plus region and 25 per cent for other areas - at least 100 km from the existing medical colleges set up before 2017. Those in the KBK and KBK Plus areas have been categorised under Zone-I and the others situated at least 100 km from the existing medical colleges established prior to 2017 have been categorised under Zone-II. --IANS cd/prs/vm (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) An Indian American Muslim advocacy group has called for an immediate suspension of the National Registry of Citizens (NRC) in Assam until irregularities that have resulted in four million people being excluded from the list are resolved. The publication of the draft NRC in Assam has led to bitterness as people who had applied have not found a place in the Register which is touted to be a proof of Assamese identity. "The ethnic group that is the worst victim of this mass disenfranchisement is the Bengali-speaking Muslim community in Assam, accused of being 'infiltrators', although they are Indian citizens," said the Indian American Muslim Council (IAMC) in a press release on Thursday. Relatives of former Indian President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed were among those at risk of becoming stateless. "The fact that this is an exercise in subversion of democracy and has a clearly bigoted, discriminatory agenda, is reflected in the exclusion of the relatives of the former President of India," said IAMC President Ahsan Khan. "The entire programme should be suspended until the criteria for exclusion are clearly defined," added Khan International bodies such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have expressed concern about the process. "It is possible that the process will arbitrarily deprive people, who have lived in India for decades, of their nationality," Amnesty said in a statement. The IAMC called on the Indian government "not to allow religious differences to define the socio-political landscape of the country, where something as basic as a citizen's right to be called a citizen of the country is arbitrarily snatched away". The IAMC is the largest advocacy organization of Indian Muslims in the US with chapters across the nation. --IANS soni/mr (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Thursday that he has no plan to meet US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in Singapore. The two will take part in the 51st session of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) foreign ministers meeting underway in Singapore, Xinhua reported. "Meeting for the sake of meeting means nothing. The Americans have to show that the meetings will lead to agreements that will be respected," Zarif was quoted by the official IRNA news agency as saying. "Today even the U.S. allies cannot trust the commitments made by Washington," he said. The Iranian foreign minister ruled out any dialogue with the US under pressure and threats. Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has also dismissed any possibility for holding negotiations with the US to settle the dispute over the 2015 Iranian nuclear deal. "We cannot rely on the American words and even their signature, therefore, negotiations with them are fruitless," Khamenei said. US President Donald Trump, who decided to quit the nuclear deal in May, this week offered to meet and talk with Iranian leaders to resolve the rising tensions following a war of words and military threats between the two sides. --IANS ahm/ (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.) Brazilian striker Gabriel Jesus on Friday signed a two-year contract extension with reigning English Premier League (EPL) champions Manchester City. "I would like to thank the fans for the welcome and for how well they have treated me," he told the club website. "I can say that it was the best decision I've made in my life to come to Manchester City, because whilst I'm here I'm improving as a professional and as a person. Also thanks to the club for being so organised and focused since I arrived. Pep (Guardiola) had an important role in my signing, but also the club," he added. "City is a huge club and it is getting bigger and bigger, so I just want to say thanks for everything. I hope that I can keep making the fans happy." Jesus scored 24 goals in 53 appearances since arriving from Palmeiras in January last year and will now stay at the EPL club till 2023. --IANS dm/ajb/bg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Actor Kartik Aryan feels that in the world of digitization, everyone is missing out on enjoying the real moments of life hence he insists on putting the phone down and having fun with friends. "With the onslaught of digitization, I feel we are somewhere missing out on enjoying the real moments of life. I believe in living in the now and so should you. So, put your phones down and indulge in a game or two like just the way I am doing and simply have fun with your friends," the actor said in a statement. The "Pyaar Ka Punchnama" actor has taken the lead from Lay's new film 'College Canteen + No Network #RealFlavoursOfLife' this Friendship Day, which falls on Sunday, to encourage youngsters to log off and tune into the real moments of life. Shot at a college canteen in Mumbai the Lay film brings alive a routine scenario in every college canteen. It portrays the transition of students from being lost in their own world to celebrating the real moments with their friends even when the network on their phone had returned. --IANS nv/bg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) After DRI revealed a ketamine manufacturing factory operating in North Goa, Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar on Friday told the state legislative assembly that drugs were "only being stored" in the facility . Parrikar, who was accused by Opposition members during Question Hour for not doing enough to rein in the drug menace, also said that the state government has not been officially intimated by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) agency about the details of the Goa raid. "When the matter involves multiple-states, the state agency is not the agency to investigate, it is being carried out by DRI who are the authorised agency in such matters " ..whether it is being manufactured here we don't know. According to my information it was only being stored here," Parrikar said in response to a question from Congress MLA Luizinho Faleiro . Nearly, 100 kg of ketamine and raw material used to manufacture the drug was found at Goa BJP office bearer Vasudev Parab's industrial unit during DRI raid, which was used by NRI Jimi Sandhu to manufacture ketamine. To another question by Congress MLA Pratapsing Rane, about the action the state government was contemplating over the issue, Parrikar said: "I have written to DRI. It is an international racket. The state government cannot do anything... I have already told very clearly it is a central government agency's inquiry, I cannot interfere in it..." . Pleading that the debate on banned drugs should not be generalised, the CM said that when the police asked schools in Goa for specific inputs about the drug menace, the response was not enthusiastic. Earlier, Faleiro blamed the Home Ministry for letting drugs proliferate in the coastal state, known for tourism. "...it is a reality we are not only manufacturing drugs for Goa, we are manufacturing drugs for the international market. It is happening under our nose, in front of police stations, in our industrial estates, in the tourist locales like Calangute and other places," the Congress MLA said.--IANS maya/anp/sed (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) To provide relief to a choked Bengaluru busting at seams, Karnataka Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy on Friday told investors to set up their manufacturing units or services centres in tier-2 cities across the southern state. "I appeal to investors to locate their industries or services centres beyond Bengaluru in tier-2 cities like Mysuru, Hassan, Mangaluru, Hubballi, Belagavi and Kalaburagi for uniform development and job creation," Kumaraswamy told about 100 chief executives of the IT and biotech industry here. Interacting with the heads of IT and BT sectors at a meeting on the 21st Bengaluru Tech Summit (November 29-December 1), the Chief Minister said his government was committed to encourage investments and job creation in tier-2 cities and towns for all-round growth of the state. "I have committed to invest Rs 500 crore in the state budget for fiscal 2018-19 to set up skill development centres in tier-2 and tier-3 cities across the state for training our youth, graduating from higher secondary schools and colleges," he asserted. Assuring the state government's support to the captains of the industry, Kumaraswamy said he would set up a special cell in his office for speedy approvals and enhance the ease of doing business in the state. "As announced in the state budget on July 5, industrial clusters will be set up in some districts under the 'Compete with China' programme to make farm machinery at Bidar, solar equipment at Kalaburagi, electronic toys at Koppal, garments at Ballari and ALED bulbs unit at Chitradurga," said Kumaraswamy. As the state is well known for innovation hub, the state government will set up a Karnataka Innovation Authority through a legislation in the next assembly session to encourage innovation and entrepreneurship, including floating start-ups. State Major Industries, IT, BT, Science & Technology Minister K.J. George said on the occasion that the JD(S)-Congress coalition government would support the growth of IT and BT sectors in the state. State Social Welfare Minister Priyank Kharge said the state government would soon initiate a programme on rural entrepreneurship for uniform growth in the state. Karnataka IT vision chairman and Infosys co-founder S. Gopalakrishna, Additional Chief Secretary E.V. Ramana Reddy and IT & BT Principal Secretary Gaurav Gupta participated in the meeting. --IANS fb/anp/mr (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) "New Girl" star Lamorne Morris will join Vin Diesel in "Bloodshot". He will join the Sony Pictures film in the role of scientist Wilfred Wigans, who becomes Bloodshot's unlikely ally, reports variety.com. Toby Kebbell, Eiza Gonzalez, Michael Sheen, Sam Heughan, Talulah Riley and Alex Hernandez also star in the project, which will be directed by Dave Wilson. "Bloodshot", first published in 1992, centres on a mortally wounded soldier with powers of regeneration and meta-morphing made possible through nano-machines in his bloodstream. "Bloodshot" was created by Kevin VanHook, Don Perlin and Bob Layton for Valiant. Over its comic book run, "Bloodshot" totalled 110 issues with more than 7.5 million copies sold. --IANS sug/mr (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Lok Sabha was disrupted on Friday after protests by the Trinamool Congress (TMC) MPs over the detention of their leaders at Assam's Silchar airport. Shortly after proceedings began, the TMC lawmakers came to the well, protesting against the detention of their eight-member team, which had intended to launch a campaign against the National Register of Citizens (NRC) on Thursday. The protest was led by TMC's Kalyan Banerjee, who moved a privilege motion over the issue. The protesting MPs raised slogans like "We want justice". Telugu Desam Party (TDP) MPs also came into the well with placards, saying "Special Status for Andhra Pradesh". Speaker Sumitra Mahajan had adjourned the house briefly until 11.50 a.m. --IANS sid-mg/ksk/bg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Maoist guerrillas set on fire a truck in Jharkhand's Khuti district on Friday, burning to death its driver, police said. The truck carrying pipes from Odisha to Jharkhand was intercepted early in the morning by the Maoists in Kudapurti village on the Khuti-Ranchi highway. The deceased was identified as Yoga Singh. A Maoist 24-hour shutdown in Jharkhand on Friday against Jharkhand Police operations impacted life in rural areas of the state. Long-route buses were off the roads in Khuti, Lohardagga, Gumla and other districts even as bauxite transportation was affected in Lohardagga district. --IANS ns/tsb/mr (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A man died after falling in front of a metro train here at Mandi House station on Friday, leading to bunching of trains on the line and inordinate delays in their movement. The deceased, was identified as Vinod Kumar Pathak, 50, by the Delhi Metro Police. "The person was declared dead at Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital. We are still verifying his other details. It is yet not clear whether he jumped before the metro train or fell accidentally after slipping off platform. We are going through the CCTV footage," a senior police told IANS preferring anonymity. The act led to bunching of trains going towards Dwarka from Noida and Ghaziabad on the Blue Line and the commuters had to face excessive delays on stations along the route. The Delhi Metro Rail Corp said the man jumped on the tracks at 7.35 p.m. --IANS vn/nir (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) 10:29 India has become the third Asian country after Japan and South Korea to get the Strategic Trade Authorisation-1 (STA-1) status after the United States issued a federal notification to this effect, paving the way for high-technology product sales to New Delhi, particularly in civil space and defense sectors. India is the 37th country to be designated the STA-1 status by the United States. The federal notification, issued yesterday, gains significance as the Trump Administration made an exception for India, which is yet to become a member of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG). Traditionally, the US has placed only those countries in the STA-1 list who are members of the four export control regimes: Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR), Wassenaar Arrangement (WA), Australia Group (AG) and the NSG. In its federal notification, the Trump Administration notes that India is a member of three of the four multilateral export regimes. Mainly because of the political opposition from China, India's membership application has been pending before NSG, which takes decision by consensus. By placing India in the STA-1 list, the United States has acknowledged that for all practical purposes India adheres to the export control regimes of the NSG. This exception for New Delhi is intended to send a strong political message to China and the world, taking into account that America's closest ally Israel is yet to be given this status, primarily because it is not a member of these multilateral export control regimes. "This action befits India's status as a Major Defence Partner and recognises" the country's membership in three of the four export control regimes -- the MTCR, WA and AG, the federal notification said. This rule is another in the series of rules that implement reforms to which the US and India mutually agreed to promote global non-proliferation, expand high technology cooperation and trade, and ultimately facilitate India's full membership in the four multilateral export control regimes. This rule also makes conforming amendments, the federal notification said. According to the notification, the US and India continue their commitment to work together to strengthen the global non-proliferation and export control framework and further transform bilateral export control cooperation to recognise the full potential of the global strategic partnership between the two countries. This commitment has been realised in the two countries' mutually agreed upon steps to expand cooperation in civil space, defense, and other high-technology sectors and the complementary steps of the US to realign India in US export control regulations, and support India's membership in the four multilateral export control regimes, it said. To date, with the effective support of the US, India has been admitted to three of the four multilateral export control regimes, the MTCR on June 27, 2016, the Wassenaar Arrangement on December 7, 2017, and the Australia Group on January 19, 2018. These memberships, important to the two countries' global strategic partnership, are enhanced by the US' recognition of India as a Major Defence Partner in the India-US Joint Statement of June 7, 2016 titled, "The United States and India: Enduring Global Partners in the 21st Century." "This recognition facilitates and supports India's military modernisation efforts with the US as a reliable provider of advanced defense articles," the notification said. As a result, the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), formally recognises under the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) India's membership in the WA multilateral export control regimes and revises the EAR accordingly, the federal notification said. "In addition, to export control-related benefits for India as a result of prior amendments to the EAR in furtherance of the US-India global strategic partnership, BIS places India in Country Group A:5, which provides the benefit of greater availability of License Exception Strategic Trade Authorization (STA) for exports and reexports to, and transfers within India under the EAR," it said. The federal notification states that because India has been admitted to the MTCR, Wassenaar and AG multilateral regimes and is a 'Major Defense Partner', it is listed in favoured country groups for purposes of license requirements, licence application review policy and availability of license exceptions. Membership in favoured country groups generally reduces the number of licenses required and increases the number of license exceptions available. "Therefore, BIS believes that this rule will reduce the paperwork burden to the public," the notification said. Significantly, the US did away with the public notification period before issuing this notification. "Because this regulation involves a military or foreign affairs function of the United States," it argued. "This rule implements decisions of multilateral export control regimes, of which the United States is a supporting member, and the rule furthers the objectives of the strategic commitment established between the United States and India," the notification said, while observing that delay in implementing the rule to obtain public comment would undermine the foreign policy objectives that it is intended to implement. India so far was listed in STA-2 category along with Albania, Hong Kong, Israel, Malta, Singapore, South Africa and Taiwan. -- PTI A 36-year-old man accused of stealing another air passenger's bag at the international airport here was arrested within hours from Punjab, police said on Friday. Mandeep Singh, a school dropout who had arrived from Italy where he worked as a labourer, was arrested from his Moga residence within 24 hours of the theft on Thursday and the stolen bag containing electronic items and clothes was seized from him. "On Thursday, Sulabh Puri landed at the Indira Gandhi International Airport by an Air India flight from Colombo and complained to the security that one of his two bags was missing," Deputy Commissioner of Police Sanjay Bhatia said. Police registered a case and came across the suspect during scanning of the CCTV footage from the area. He was later identified as Mandeep Singh from his ticket details. Mandeep told police that when he stole the bag, it was lying unattended at the airport. --IANS sp/tsb/mr (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) One Maoist was gunned down and two policemen received injuries in a gunfight on Friday at Basaguda village in Chhattisgarh's Bijapur district, police said. Deputy Inspector General of Police (South Bastar Range) Ratan Lal Dangi said the Maoists opened fire at weekly Friday market in Basaguda. "Five-six Maoists opened fire in the market in which two policemen Umesh Durgam and Shankar Punem sustained injuries," Dangi said. In the retaliatory fire by the police, one Maoist was shot dead. As the firing began, panic gripped the market area and people ran helter-skelter. Condition of one of the injured policemen is stated to be serious and he is being shifted to Raipur, the officer said. --IANS hindi-pgh/nir (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.) Anna University Vice Chancellor M.K. Surappa on Friday said that the marks-for-money scam had been reported only from affiliated colleges, not from the varsity campuses. Surappa told reporters here that none of the varsity campuses was involved. The varsity has suspended its former Controller of Examination G.V. Uma, a Professor in the Department of Information Science and Technology, for the irregularities reported in the re-evaluation of engineering examination answersheets, officials said. Tamil Nadu Minister for Higher Eduction K.P. Anbalagan told reporters that evidence was being collected against the suspects. PMK founder S. Ramadoss has demanded a probe into the role of private engineering colleges as well as former Vice Chancellors and Department officials in the scam. Investigating a complaint regarding irregularities in the re-evaluation of answersheets, the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) had registered a case against seven varsity officials, including Uma. Uma was Controller of Examinations between 2015 and 2018. DVAC teams had also searched Uma's house here, apart from those of P. Vijayakumar and R. Shivakumar in Dindivanam and the office of Controller of Examinations on August 1. According to DVAC, students who had applied for re-evalution of answersheets paid Rs 10,000 per subject to get higher marks. In 2017, 302,380 students had applied for re-evaluation, of which 73,733 passed exams and 16,636 others improved their scores. Officials were accused of destroying original answersheets of students who had paid bribes. --IANS vj/tsb/sed (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The government ordered inquiry into 87 real estate firms in the last fiscal and the first three months of current fiscal, Union Minister of State for Corporate Affairs P.P. Chaudhary told the Lok Sabha on Friday. During the year 2017-18 and till June 30, 2018, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs has ordered inquiry into 87 companies, inspection of books and papers in 17 companies and investigation in seven cases involving 149 entities including five Limited Liability Partnerships (LLPs) engaged in real estate activities, Chaudhary said. The Minister said the Companies Act, 2013 provides for details of compliances with respect to books of account and other matters of all categories and there are no separate provisions in the Act for real estate companies. The Companies Act, 2013 stipulates requirement of statutory audit and internal audit by the companies, he added. --IANS mgu/nir (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Twelve schools, mostly all-girl institutions, were burnt down on Friday in Pakistan's Gilgit Baltistan region in a series of coordinated attacks by unidentified militants, police said. The attackers torched the schools between 2.30 a.m. and 3.00 a.m, said Abdul Waheed, the Police Commissioner of Diamer district where the attacks took place, the Pakistani media reported. "We don't really know who was behind it. A few people here are against girls' but most people are for it. There may be one group or more behind it," Waheed said. Among the schools targeted, eight were government-run while the other four were run by non-profits in the remote and mountaineous region that borders Afghanistan, China and Jammu and Kashmir. The attackers also torched books, Superintendent Police (SP) Diamer Roy Ajmal told Dawn newspaper. There were between 200 and 300 girls enrolled in each school on an average, taking the total enrolment to around 3,500 in the area. The district had witnessed similar attacks between 2004 and 2011 and "has one of the lowest literacy rate in Gilgit Baltistan", said a police officer. A Human Rights Watch report last year said that between 2007 and 2015, there were 867 attacks against educational institutions in Pakistan that left 392 dead and 724 wounded. It added that repeated attacks against educational institutions were undermining the cause of in the country, especially that of girls. Destruction of schools and attacks on teachers and students, especially girls, by Islamic insurgents are common in Pakistan, where around 23 million children are out of school. Nobel Prize winner and activist Malala Yousafzai was shot by the Taliban in 2012 for advocating the education of girls in Swat valley. The attack on Yousafzai grabbed international headlines and highlighted the challenges facing girls' education in Pakistan. In 2014, a government report had said 47 per cent of women in Pakistan were illiterate. --IANS soni/mr (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Friday hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, alleging that his government gave a clean chit to fugitive diamond merchant Mehul Choksi and enabled him to obtain Antiguan citizenship. "In today's big news: India gave Mehul "Bhai" Choksi, Mr 56s 'suit-boot' BFF, a clean chit in Nov 2017, enabling him to obtain Antiguan citizenship. This "Bhai" looted PNB of 13,000 Cr., before scooting from India," said Gandhi on Twitter. "Here's a little video of Mr 56 with Mehul "Bhai" (quiet smiley)," he added attaching a video where Modi is seen praising Choksi. The extradition request for fugitive diamond merchant Mehul Choksi, who has secured an Atiguan passport and is living there, will soon be sent to the Caribbean country, the CBI said on Friday. The Central Bureau of Investigation is probing the Rs 13,500-crore bank fraud allegedly committed by the jeweller and his nephew Nirav Modi. It said its letter to get Choksi deported has been forwarded to the External Affairs Ministry. The CBI sent on Monday the letter to the Union Home Ministry which in turn forwarded it to the External Affairs Ministry, an official said. --IANS sid/prs (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) militant was gunned down on Friday by security forces in Meghalaya's East Garo Hills district, police said. Swift Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) police commandos raided a hideout of 10 NDFB cadres and several Garo miscreants in Tarasin village. As the commandos approached the village, they were fired upon, East Garo Hills police chief Ringrang Momin said. Koma Boro, a rebel from the anti-talk faction of NDFB, was killed in the retaliatory firing, he added. An AK rifle along with a magazine was seized from the deceased. --IANS rrk/tsb/mr (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday assured that there will be no discrimination or unnecessary harassment in the updation of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and said the entire process has been fair and transparent. Reiterating that the matter pertained to national security, he condemned alleged attempts by a "few" (persons) to create an atmosphere of fear based on rumours and propaganda on the social media and internationalise the issue. Responding to a Short Duration Discussion on the issue in the Rajya Sabha, which saw disruptions and adjournments for a couple of days, the Minister said the Central and Assam governments are committed to adding the names of all genuine Indians in the list in a time-bound manner. "I am reiterating that it is not the final NRC. It is just a draft NRC. Adequate opportunity will be provided to everyone for making claims and raising objections. Despite this, if anybody's name remains out of the list, he can approach the Foreigners Tribunal," Rajnath Singh said. He also assured that there would be no coercive action against anybody in any situation. The Minister said that the NRC updation was being carried out in a totally fair, transparent, non-discriminatory and legal manner. "The entire process is being carried out under Supreme Court supervision. It is monitoring on a routine basis. Nobody will be harassed. There has been no discrimination, and there will be no discrimination," he said while dismissing allegations by some opposition parties. He said that the draft NRC had been published on July 30 in accordance with Assam Accord of 1985 when Congress leader Rajiv Gandhi was the Prime Minister. The decision to update it was taken in 2005 by the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, he added. The Minister, a senior BJP leader, also hit out at some political parties, saying they are "trying to create an atmosphere of fear" among the people. "It is unfortunate that some persons with vested interest are running a propaganda on the social media so that the issue can be internationalised and communal harmony affected," he said. "It is a matter of national security... no attempts should be made to create communal disharmony... I expect cooperation from all," Rajnath Singh added. Later, Ripun Bora of the Congress suggested in the house that the Central government convene an all-party meeting. He said that a wrong message had been sent that the Congress is against the NRC. "With the Home Minister's statement, it is now clear that it was the Congress which initiated the NRC. Rajiv Gandhi understood the danger to Assam. To protect the people of the state, the Assam accord was signed," he said. --IANS bns/tsb/sed (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Opposition leaders in the Rajya Sabha cutting across party lines on Friday expressed scepticism over the assurances given by Home Minister Rajnath Singh on the NRC updation process in Assam. Rajnath Singh had assured that the entire NRC process was transparent and the left out people from the final draft, published on July 30, were being provided a fair chance to prove their credentials. After the Home Minister had given his statement, Leader of Opposition in the upper House Ghulam Nabi Azad demanded to know as to how could so many people be left out of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) if there was no discrimination. "The Home Minister has said the process is entirely fair and objective. If that is so, how come persons like a former Indian Air Force personnel be left out. If the entire process has been fair, what is left to be done then," Azad asked. Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Derek O'Brien questioned the "dichotomy" over the statements made by the Union Home Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Chief Amit Shah. "This is classic double-speak. What is the real voice of the government? What Home Minister says here or what BJP President says outside?" O'Brien said. "What the Home Minister said just now in the House that communal disharmony is being spread. Yes Sir, it is being spread. But I want to ask the Home Minister, who is spreading disharmony?" the TMC leader said. Samajwadi Party leader Javed Ali Khan, too, asked how could people like former legislators and the family of former President of India Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed be left out of the NRC in Assam. Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) MP Majeed Memon demanded from the Home Minister as to what would happen to those who would be left out even after the revision of the list. Congress MP from Assam Ripun Bora argued that the guidelines for inclusion in the NRC should be "modified and simplified" and the last date -- September 27 -- for submission of claims needs to be extended. Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) member T.K. Rangarajan too asked for extension of the deadline so that people get sufficient opportunity. Members also expressed concern at the way some people and the media were already labelling the 40 lakh left out people as "infiltrators". --IANS mak/mag/pgh/vm (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Friday met Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad on Friday before leaving for Singapore to attend a summit of foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean). Pompeo, who arrived in Malaysia on Thursday night, visited Mahathir Mohamad in Putrajaya and congratulated the 93-year-old leader for his surprise victory in the elections held in May, reports Efe news. Pompeo and Mahathir discussed a number of issues of mutual interest, according to a statement by the Malaysian government. The US and Malaysia established diplomatic ties in 1957, when the latter became independent from British rule and strengthened them in 2014 by signing a partnership agreement. After meeting Mahathir, Pompeo will leave for Singapore, the second stop of his Southeast Asia tour, where he will attend the Asean meeting, coinciding with the visit of a North Korean delegation, headed by his counterpart Ri Yong-ho. On Thursday, the Asean foreign ministers urged the two Koreas, the US and other parties to sustain efforts to denuclearize the Korean peninsula and establish lasting peace. Asean consists of Myanmar, Brunei, Cambodia, the Philippines, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, which have a joint population of around 630 million. --IANS ksk/sed (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Sharp will stop making household appliances in Japan, relocating production abroad as it turns toward markets such as China and Southeast Asia. The Japan-based electronics company will discontinue liquid crystal display TV production at a Tochigi Prefecture plant this year and cease making refrigerators in Osaka Prefecture in fiscal 2019. As part of a broader realignment under parent Hon Hai Precision Industry, Sharp's Japanese facilities will concentrate on high-value electronic components. The closure will leave the Kameyama plant in Mie Prefecture as Sharp's only remaining TV factory in Japan. The discontinued production will move to the facilities of Hon Hai, also known as Foxconn, in Thailand and elsewhere. Separately, Foxconn is building an LCD TV plant that also handles panel production in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The Tochigi site opened in 1968 as a plant for cathode ray tube TVs, and later became the hub of Sharp's TV-related operations. Research and development operations at the site will be relocated within Japan, but logistics and maintenance service functions will remain. The plant north of Tokyo had 662 workers as of the end of March, according to Sharp. The company will reassign employees. Sharp's plant in Osaka turns out 200,000 to 300,000 refrigerators annually. Production will be relocated to Thailand and elsewhere. (Photo by Gen Nakamura) The Osaka plant, opened in 1959 for washing machine production, has served a hub of white goods appliances. But the factory has gradually downsized since 2000 by unloading microwave and air conditioner production, and now only makes 200,000 to 300,000 refrigerators per year. Its 1,600 workers will be retained, as will the R&D functions. Sharp came under the control of Foxconn in 2016 amid deteriorating earnings. The company has rebounded under the leadership of President Tai Jeng-wu, logging a net profit in fiscal 2017 for the first time in four years. President Ram Nath Kovind will on Sunday visit Chennai, where DMK chief M. Karunanidhi has been hospitalised to enquire about his health. Karunanidhi was admitted to Kauvery Hospital on Saturday after a dip in his blood pressure and has since been under treatment. His condition is said to be stable now. The President will go to Chennai from Hyderabad where he will address the 7th Convocation of IIT-Hyderabad on Sunday, according to a Rashtrapati Bhawan release. On August 6, Kovind will inaugurate the 'Festival of Democracy' in Thiruvananthapuram to mark the conclusion of the diamond jubilee celerbations of the Kerala Assembly. The next day, the President will inaugurate the centenary celebrations of St Thomas' College in Thrissur. --IANS vsc/mr (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has ordered an inquiry into allegations of mismanagement, flouting of rules and siphoning of funds against the management of Metropolitan Stock Exchange of India Ltd (MSEI), Parliament was told on Friday. In a written reply to a question, Minister of State for Finance Pon Radhakrishnan told the Lok Sabha that the government as well as the SEBI, the regulator for securities market in India, had received complaints from two whistleblowers about irregularities and fraud at MSEI. "The complaints have been examined in detail by SEBI and as an interim measure, directions have been issued to the governing board of MSEI, inter alia, to constitute a Committee of Public Interest Directors (PIDs) to examine all the allegations levelled by whistleblowers against the management of MSEI," he said. Radhakrishnan added that based on the recommendations of the committee, SEBI will take suitable action against the entities and persons found to be involved in the malpractices. In their complaints, the two whistleblowers levelled allegations against officials of the exchange, including the Managing Director and CEO, regarding mismanagement, flouting of rules and laws, personnel-related issues, and siphoning and misappropriation of funds. "MSEI has engaged the services of forensic auditor for the purpose of examination, including assessing the actual magnitude of fraud. Allegations against brokers are (being) separately looked into," the Minister said. "Further, the MD and CEO of MSEI has been directed to proceed on an indefinite leave to ensure fair and uninterrupted examination of the charges levelled in the complaints of the whistleblowers," he added. --IANS vv/nir (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The government has appraised Rs 2,919.55 crores for safe city project in eight cities under the Nirbhaya Fund, the Lok Sabha was informed on Friday. For the project, the maximum amount has been appraised for Bengaluru (Rs 667 crore) followed by Delhi (Rs 663.67 crore) and Chennai (Rs 425.06 crore). Rs 282.50 crore has been appraised for Hyderabad, Rs 252.00 crore for Mumbai, Rs 253.00 crore for Ahmedabad, Rs 181.32 crore for Kolkata and Rs 195.00 crore for Lucknow. "The plans for these city-level projects have been prepared in coordination with municipal corporations and police commissionerates of the cities. The objective is to make the cities safer for women by addressing different aspects such as street lighting, safer public transport, improved policing and others," Minister of State for Women and Child Development (WCD) Virendra Kumar said. Projects like enhancing safety of women in public places, dedicated women safety patrol vans equipped with dashboards for viewing live feeds, GPS tracking and others will cover about 3,700 locations in Delhi under the safe city project. --IANS som/nir (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Samsung's website has leaked a picture of the upcoming Galaxy Note 9, which suggests the flagship smartphone will have 3.5-mm headphone jack, the media reported. The photo of the Galaxy Note 9 was first spotted by eminent phone leakster Evan Blass. "The image of the leaked upcoming device confirms the Galaxy Note 9 name -- not that, it would be anything else -- but gives us a clear look at its 3.5-mm headphone jack, rear-mounted fingerprint sensor, switched-up dual camera and upgraded S-Pen stylus," CNET reported late on Thursday. The marketing image of the device had the headline: "Say hello to super power". It invited users to pre-order and be "one of the first to experience it." However, the South Korean tech giant left the page up for several hours before taking it down, thus, ensuring its latest "accident" was there just long enough for everyone to see, according to the Forbes. The smartphone major showcased teaser videos for the upcoming device last week -- highlighting improved performances in terms of battery, storage capacity, and speed. Under the title "A lot can change in a day," the company advertised the showcase event slated for August 9 through three different video clips, each depicting everyday problems people face while using smartphones. Industry watchers expect the new Galaxy Note 9 to come with 4,000mAh battery and 512 GB data storage capacity, along with Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 and Exynos 9810 chipsets. --IANS ksc/anp/vm (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed a PIL seeking a direction to the government for framing guidelines for caesarean deliveries in hospitals. A bench of Justice Ranjan Gogoi, Justice R. Banumathi and Justice Navin Sinha said the petition was an abuse of the process of law and asked the petitioner to pay a fine of Rs 25,000 within four weeks to the Supreme Court Bar Association. The PIL filed by Reepak Kansal alleged that private hospitals are conducting unnecessary caesarean surgeries. There have been numerous instances where private hospitals in India performed C-section operations without medical reasons, only to make money, the petitioner had pleaded. --IANS gt/mag/sed (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Sao Paulo, Aug 3 (IANS/WAM) With the attendance of diplomatic and cultural figures, authors and publishers, the 25th Sao Paulo International Book Fair began its 10-day celebration of books and literature, with Sharjah taking the centre stage as its first-ever guest of honour, reflecting the growing cultural ties between the UAE and Brazil. On the sidelines of the opening ceremony on Thursday, the Sharjah pavilion, hosting a cultural programme for the fair's visitors, was launched amid the presence of top leaders and officials of Brazil and Sharjah. Sheikh Fahim bin Sultan Al Qasimi, leading the Sharjah delegation in Sao Paulo, said: "We are proud to be here in Brazil, a country of acclaimed authors who have shaped global literature. Its vibrant and exciting literary history, which is preserved in novels, plays, poems and songs. "It exemplifies a society where people share a unified cultural identity, which they use as a shield to face common challenges. The exceptional beauty and distinctive flavour of Brazilian and Latin literature never fail to mesmerise," he said. Sheikh Fahim affirmed that the United Arab Emirates enjoyed close cultural relations with Brazil and was keen to strengthen their cultural ties, to build a better future together. "This year's edition is the first to honour a city in the Middle East. Sharjah, our guest of honour, is the cultural capital of the UAE, and we look forward to experiencing the richness of its culture, through its music, dance and literature," said Brazilian Book Chamber President Luis Antonio Torelli. --IANS/WAM soni/sed (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A special court in Pakistan on Friday scheduled the hearing of a high treason case against former President Pervez Musharraf for August 20. The case will be heard by a bench headed by Lahore High Court Chief Justice Muhammad Yawar Ali. The other members of the bench are Balochistan High Court Justice Tahira Safdar and Sindh High Court Justice Nazar Akbar, Geo News reported. The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government had filed the treason case against Musharraf over the President's imposition of extra-constitutional emergency in November 2007. Last month, lawyer Akram Sheikh stepped down as the head of the prosecution team tasked by the government in 2013 to prosecute Musharraf under Article 6 of the Constitution. The former Army chief was indicted in March 2014 after he made an appearance before the court, rejecting all the charges against him. On March 18, 2016, Musharraf left Pakistan for Dubai for medical treatment after his name was removed from the Exit Control List on the orders of the Supreme Court. A few months later, the special court declared him a proclaimed offender and ordered the confiscation of his property owing to his no-show. A year later, a special court restrained Musharraf's counsel from presenting his arguments, noting that it could not hear the lawyer of an absconder. In May 2017, Musharraf expressed, through a plea, his willingness to face the high treason trial under the Army's protection and on the assurance from the court that he would be given a safe passage to return to Dubai. The government had earlier requested the special court to proceed with the trial of the former military ruler in the high treason case. On orders of the apex court, Musharraf's passport and identity card were also cancelled since he failed to return to the country despite the last chance given to him for the purpose. --IANS soni/sed (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Strict action will be taken against those found guilty of sexually abusing a minor student on the premises of Mayo college, Ajmer, state Woman and Child Welfare Minister Anita Bhadel said on Friday. Speaking to media, she said an unbiased probe has been initiated in the case to bring out true facts. The administration and the government both have taken this matter seriously, she added. According to information, a class XI student from Mayo scaled the wall of the institution to escape from seniors who allegedly tortured him. His family members lodged a police complaint on July 28,2018. Ajmer Superintendent of Police, Rajesh Singh, confirmed that the victim is a minor and the Alwar Gate police station (Ajmer) has registered the case against six students under POCSO Act and the investigation is in progress. All these students are from class XII, he confirmed. The victim has accused his seniors of beating him, sexually abusing him, forcing him to take non-vegetarian food and liquor, he said. According to sources, five of the six students are children of political leaders from Haryana, senior officials and businessmen. Meanwhile, NSUI students staged a massive protest outside the Mayo College on Friday against the school administration and burnt the effigy of the college director. --IANS arc/anp/sed (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The National Handloom Day on August 7 will mark the beginning of the promotional campaign of the upcoming Bollywood film "Sui Dhaaga", which celebrates entrepreneurship and the empowering impact of self-reliance. In the movie, actor Varun Dhawan plays a tailor, and Anushka Sharma an embroiderer. Together, their characters celebrate Indian craftsmanship. Producer Maneesh Sharma says they felt it would be fitting to start the promotions for this film on a day dedicated to the skilled entrepreneurs of our country. "'Sui Dhaaga' is a salute to the bold entrepreneurs and the self-reliant workforce of the country - artisans, craftsmen, weavers and the grassroots level contributors to the surging India's indigenous arts and crafts industry," he said in a statement. The Central government had declared August 7 to be celebrated as National Handloom Day annually due to its significance in India's history. The Swadeshi Movement was launched in 1905 on the same day. The movement saw the revival of domestic entrepreneurship. As part of the promotions, Varun and Anushka will start touring the country from this date. The "first asset" of the film will be launched, followed by the trailer a week later. Directed by Sharat Katariya, the film will release on September 28. --IANS rb/ksk (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Popular television and film actor Rajeev Khandelwal, who lost his mother to cancer a few months ago, believes the thought of seeing a loved one battle with cancer is an experience perhaps more scary than the disease itself. The 42-year-old actor told IANS over phone from Mumbai: "Cancer is not very scary, but the thought of someone close to you going through cancer is more scary." But he said the fight against the disease needs persistence, patience and strength from the person suffering it. "It does not matter how much support one gets from the world... Unless the patient is not motivated and strong enough to fight the disease (it is tough). One can beat any disease as long as you are positive from inside and have will to live," added the "Aamir" actor. Rajeev's mother Vijay Laxmi Khandelwal passed away in May after her one and a half year long battle with cancer. So, learning from his mother's experience, Rajeev said: "Nobody in this world can help you if you don't fight." Rajeev, who is currently seen hosting a talk show "Juzz Baat" on Zee TV, had shared the news of his mother's demise a while ago on his Twitter account in an emotional post. In recent times, actors Irrfan Khan and Sonali Bendre have been diagnosed with severe diseases. While Irrfan is battling against a neuroendocrine tumour and getting treated in London, Sonali is undergoing a metastatic cancer treatment in New York. Both of them have received prayers and blessings from the film fraternity, friends, family members and fans. Rajeev too has a message for them. Praying for Irfan and Sonali's speedy recovery, Rajeev said: "As I have done a show 'Reporter' with Goldie Behl (producer and Sonali's husband), so I know a little about Sonali on personal level. She is a strong person and so is Irrfan. "They should forget about drawing support from people. The world is with you and will support you for sure. What's important is to maintain a positive outlook. As long you are not giving up on the disease, the disease will not take you away." --IANS sim/rb/bg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Jerusalem Gay Pride parade kicked off on Thursday in a festive environment, despite clashes between an anti-gay, far-right group and security forces, Israeli police announced. The parade, expected to be the largest in Jerusalem's history, began after a two hour delay amid tightened security measures at the starting-point, Liberty Bell Park, Efe reported. "Jerusalem is the capital of Israel, here all the country should be represented, and precisely this is the place the LGBT community should show it is present and we won't stop fighting to make it a better world for everyone, regardless (of a person's) sexual orientation" Doron Mozenson, a 25-year-old parade participant told Efe. During the first minutes of the rally at the Jerusalem park, clashes took place between the police and the far-right Lehava organization, including the arrest of four Lehava members. This year's parade put an emphasis on the fight for legalizing surrogate parenthood for homosexuals, something the Israeli Parliament rejected in July. Some of the marchers, including children, displayed rainbow flags and wore colorful clothes, while chanting "The people demand legal equality." One of the banners a protester carried read "I want to be a father." --IANS ahm/ (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Making a biopic on a person whose life's story is out in the public, is tough, says tough, says Amjad Khan, who is directing "Gul Makai" -- a film on the life of Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai. On the challenges he faced to make "Gul Makai", Khan told IANS here: "I would say it is tough to make a biopic when people know the main story of an individual that I am making a film on. After Malala was attacked, how she survived and continued her journey thereafter is known to people, because everything has been documented afterwards. "So, I started my story in the film with the back story of how the Taliban took control over Pakistan's Swat Valley and how that affected children of that area, including Malala." Yousufzai was shot by Taliban terrorists for raising voice on the right to education of children, in October 2012. She survived and at the as a teenager, she won the Nobel Peace Prize. Khan says he went through research for two years along with a Pakistani author before he finalised the script as he was quite extra cautious about everything. "I have shown things exactly the way they happened, and yet it is not a documentary but a good watch. I had to find the balance as I had to be factually correct and at the same time entertain," he said. Asked if he took the the permission of Yousafzai or her family, Khan said: "No, I haven't. But I think she and her family know that an Indian film director is making a film about her. But yes, I wish to show her the film once it is releasing." However, Khan has decided to donate the first day worldwide theatrical collection of the film to Malala Fund to support the cause of children education. The film, featuring Reema Shaikh in the key role, also features Divya Dutta and late Om Puri in a pivotal role. It is releasing at the end of this year. --IANS aru/rb/ksk (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Mumbai, Aug 3 (IndiaSpend/IANS) Smokers and non-smokers now represent an equal number of lung-cancer patients, according to a study carried out by the Lung Care Foundation, a not-for-profit organisation focused on improving lung health in India. An analysis of 150 patients at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, New Delhi, found that close to 50 per cent of patients with lung cancer -- the type of cancer responsible for the highest number of cancer deaths nationwide -- had never smoked, and yet had developed the pulmonary disease. Health professionals now believe there is strong evidence that points to the role of air pollution in the increasing incidence of lung cancer amongst the young and female populations. "This is the first time I have seen this 1:1 ratio of smokers to non-smokers suffering from lung cancer," Arvind Kumar, Chairman, Centre for Chest Surgery, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, New Delhi, told IndiaSpend. "Looking at this data, the obvious reason that comes to mind is air pollution, which contains smoke and PM 2.5." PM 2.5 is particulate matter less than 2.5 microns in size, or 30 times finer than a human hair, which, when inhaled deeply into the lungs is known to cause lung cancer, cardiovascular and respiratory diseases. Outdoor pollution was classified as a cancer-causing agent in 2013 by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), a part of the World Health Organisation. In November 2017, a public-health emergency was declared by the Indian Medical Association in Delhi as the air quality index breached 999, likened to smoking 50 cigarettes a day. Currently, lung cancer is responsible for five deaths per 1,000 in India (seven per 1,000 in Delhi, a city that regularly experiences high levels of air pollution) and is accompanied by a survival rate of no more than five years. The effects of air pollution on respiratory and lung health -- typically associated with decades of smoking tobacco and tobacco-related products -- have become a growing focus for medical researchers and health workers, as awareness of health hazards amongst the public has risen. In 2013, an eight-year-old girl in China became the youngest person in that country, and possibly the world, to be diagnosed with lung cancer, as a result of exposure to polluted air. She lived beside a busy road and was over-exposed to PM 2.5. Nearly 21 per cent of patients analysed in the new study are under 50 years old. Of this group, five out of 31 patients are between 21 and 30 years of age, representing 3.3 per cent of the total patient group. Compare this to 70 years ago, when the proportion of cancer patients under 30 was 2.5 per cent, according to a study conducted across 15 teaching hospitals between 1955-59. Lung cancer is typically associated with older patients, since the harmful chemicals found in cigarettes cause damage to cellular DNA over time, reducing the body's ability to prevent the formation of cancerous cells. In the US, 82 per cent of all lung cancer patients are over 60 years of age and most are diagnosed at Stage III or IV of the disease. The number of women contracting the disease appears to be increasing, data show. The male to female ratio of lung cancer patients went from 6.7:1 between 1958-85, to 3.8:1 between 2012-18. In 2012, 3.2 per cent of women were smokers compared to a 23 per cent prevalence among men, according to a study at the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington. Women are also less likely to be exposed to work environments which can increase the chances of developing cancer, such as mines and construction sites. The increasing numbers of non-smokers now suffering from lung cancer, is another "disturbing trend" that points to factors beyond smoking tobacco as being the primary cause. Of the total 150 patients surveyed, 50 per cent or 74 were non-smokers (meaning they had never smoked in their life). The proportion of non-smokers rose to 70 per cent among the younger age category (ie, less than 50 years old). Among the reasons given in the study for non-smokers contracting lung cancer were exposure to radiation and asbestos and occupational hazards attached to mining, in addition to environmental factors such as heavy air pollution. Lower numbers of patients suffering from squamous cell carcinoma (59) compared to adeno carcinoma (80) is a further indication of the link between increasing lung cancer and polluted air. "Typically smoking used to cause squamous cell carcinoma, but we now see an increase in women and younger people with mostly adeno carcinoma (AC) and this shows their cases are not related to smoking, but pollution," said Kumar. AC is the most common form of cancer among non-smokers and increasing levels of ambient PM 2.5 have been proven to be associated with increasing incidence of AC, according to this 2016 paper in the European Respiratory Journal. High 24-hour average levels of PM 2.5 is now a year-round problem for the national capital, with residents experiencing zero days of good quality air between March-May 2018. Increased levels of lung cancer in the 20-30 age group and high prevalence of the AC pathology point towards a looming epidemic, the study warned. Late detection and misdiagnosis as tuberculosis are further aggravating the situation. However, prevention and early detection is possible. Currently 70-80 per cent of patients are diagnosed at stage III and IV, and health professionals are calling for more screening and diagnosis to take place at stage I instead. A cancer's "stage" refers to its size and the extent to which it has spread, and it helps determine the level of treatment. At stage I, the cancer is between 3-4 cm, growing up to 5 cm at stage 2. From stage 3, the cancer begins to spread to the lymph nodes (important for immune response function) and at stage 4, the cancer may be present in both lungs or have had spread to other organs in the body. "We hope studies like this will help us in going to the government and convincing them this is a public health emergency," said Kumar. The decision on whether to ban firecrackers -- which emit PM 2.5 and contribute to heavy levels of pollutants in the air -- during Diwali was heard in the Supreme Court on World Lung Cancer Day, August 1. The case is now listed for concluding arguments on August 8. (In arrangement with IndiaSpend.org, a data-driven, non-profit, public interest journalism platform, with whom Tish Sanghera, a graduate of King's College London, is an intern. The views expressed are those of IndiaSpend. Feedback at respond@indiaspend.org) --IANS sanghera/sac (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Telecom Regulatory Autority of India (TRAI) on Friday pitched for the creation of a Telecom Research and Development Fund (TRDF) with an initial corpus of Rs 1,000 crore to promote the indigenous telecom equipment manufacturing sector. "For promoting research, innovation, standardisation, design, testing, certification and manufacturing indigenous telecom equipment, TRDF, with initial corpus of Rs 1,000 crore, should be created," TRAI said in a recommendation report released on Friday. "Subsequently, setting up of Telecom Entrepreneurship Promotion Fund (TEPF) and Telecom Manufacturing Promotion Fund (TMPF) should also be considered." According to the report, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) should be mandated to monitor the progress of the local industry. "The progress of indigenous telecommunication equipment manufacturing m the country should be monitored m DoT at least at the level of Member, Telecom Commission," the report said in a report. The recommendations came after a consultation paper on the subject was issued on September 18, 2017. --IANS rrb-rv/prs (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A day after FIRs were lodged against West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee at various Assam police stations for 'inciting hatred', Trinamool Congress lawmakers on Friday filed police complaints against her Assam counterpart for harassing and manhandling a party delegation at Silchar airport. State assembly legislator Mohua Moitra registered a police complaint at Alipore police station, while Lok Sabha members Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar and Mamatabala Thakur recorded their complaint at the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International airport police station under the Bidhannagar Police commissionerate. The complainants alleged that the police "illegally detained", "manhandled" and "harassed" the eight-member Trinamool delegation at the behest of Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Thursday at Kumbhirgram airport. The visiting Trinamool team, comprising six MPs, one West Bengal minister and one MLA was confined to a room at the airport in Silchar on Thursday on the ground that Section 144 of the CrPC was in force in Assam's Cachar district. The Trinamool delegation was slated to participate in a convention at Silchar against the recently-released draft of National Register of Citizenship (NRC). On Thursday, cases were lodged against Banerjee in a number of Assam police stations for her remark that the NRC could lead to 'civil war' and 'bloodbath'. --IANS ssp/prs (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The ruling Trinamool Congress on Friday said the party would observe "black day" for the next two days in protest against the "manhandling" and harassment" of a party delegation at Assam airport on Thursday. Members of the delegation, who returned to the city on Friday morning, claimed they were treated like "infiltrators". The party delegation comprising six MPs, one West Bengal minister and one MLA was confined to a room at the Kumbhirgram airport in Silchar on Thursday on the ground that prohibitory orders under Section 144 were in force in Cachar district in Assam. "We condemn the incident. Our delegation had gone to meet the common people. But they were not only detained in the airport but also heckled and harassed. We will observe black day during Saturday and Sunday across districts and blocks," party's Secretary General Partha Chatterjee said. He said the exclusion of 40 lakh people from the list of the draft National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam was "politically motivated". "MPs are free to move, but they were not allowed to talk to the people. Had MPs been allowed to meet people, they could have got the opportunity to take stock of the situation and put across their suggestions to the Centre," state Minister Firhad Hakim said at the Kolkata airport after returning from Assam. Trinamool's Rajya Sabha MP Sukhendu Sekhar Roy, who was part of the delegation, said: "They were manhandling us and women members of our delegation were physically assaulted. We were treated the same way as infiltrators are. We were pushed back." Roy also took exception to Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh's statement in the Lok Sabha on Friday that the delegation was detained at the airport to maintain law and order in the north-eastern state. "How can six MPs, a minister and a MLA create trouble in a state?" Roy questioned. Another member of the delegation Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, also a Lok Sabha member, alleged that democracy was "under threat." "We wonder whether rule of law exists in the country. It appears that an undeclared emergency is on," she added. --IANS bdc/ssp/prs/bg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A CRPF trooper and a policeman were injured on Friday when militants attacked a security picket in Anantnag town in Jammu and Kashmir. Police said the militants hurled a grenade and fired at the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) picket outside the State Bank of India branch. Two security personnel suffered injuries in the incident. In another case, gunmen barged into the Jammu and Kashmir Bank's branch in Kapran village in Shopian district and looted Rs 75,850, apart from a .12 bore gun of the bank guard. --IANS sq/tsb/mr (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) US President Donald Trump blasted the and "fake news" at a rally in Pennsylvania after a row between the White House Press Secretary and a CNN reporter. The rally on Thursday night in Wilkes-Barre took place just hours after White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, at a press briefing, refused to say the is not the enemy of the people after being pressed to make the statement by CNN reporter Jim Acosta. "Whatever happened to fair press? Whatever happened to honest reporting?" Trump asked, to which the crowd responded with boos and jeers, with some chanting "CNN sucks". The President cited multiple examples of what he called "fake news", including saying the "fake news refused to call" Pennsylvania for him during the 2016 presidential election, reports The Hill magazine. He dubbed journalists "horrible, horrendous people" and "disgusting". At the briefing, Sanders said: "I think the President has made his position known. "It's ironic, Jim, that not only you and the attack the President for his rhetoric when they frequently lower the level of conversation in this country." Acosta walked out of after Sanders wouldn't make the statement. --IANS ksk/mr (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Two Romania nationals were detained in connection with ATM frauds in the eastern metropolis wherein many persons were swindled out of money totalling Rs 18-20 lakh through fraudulent transactions, Kolkata Police said on Friday. The accused were picked from Vasant Vihar in Delhi and 20 duplicate ATM cards, also called clone cards, seized from them. Magnetic strips used in ATM cards were also seized, police told the media here. Preliminary investigation revealed that the two accused arrived in Kolkata in March and stayed for around two months. The fraud was committed by the use of skimming machines on ATMs to clone users' card details. The accused then fraudulently withdrew around Rs 18-20 lakh from different bank accounts at unmanned ATMs in a week. A Special Investigation Team was set up to probe the fraud after the victims approached city police earlier this week with complaints that money ranging from Rs 4,000 to Rs 40,000 were withdrawn from their bank accounts fraudulently. Police has so far received 77 complaints, primarily customers of Canara Bank and Punjab National Bank. A former Calcutta University Professor and a renowned radio jockey were among the victims. Canara Bank identified 37 customers from its south Kolkata branch as victims and said it was taking steps to compensate affected customers within a week. The PNB said it has started compensating depositors as well. --IANS ssp/tsb (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Signifying the growing strategic partnership between two leading armies of the world, Lt. Gen. Bryan P. Fenton, Deputy Commander, US-Indo Pacific Command, called on Lt. Gen. Abhay Krishna, GOC-in-C, Eastern Command, at its headquarters in Fort William here on Friday, an official said. The two dignitaries held meaningful discussions on various important regional and global security-related issues concerning the two countries, a Defence Ministry spokesperson said. Lt. Gen. Fenton, leading a five-member US Delegation, is now on a three-day visit to India. "The visit of the senior US Army officer to Eastern Command signifies the growing strategic partnership between the two leading armies of the world who are also important partners in bilateral training," the spokesperson said. The meeting was aimed at further strengthening defence cooperation between the two nations to fight unitedly in the global war on terrorism. --IANS ssp/nir (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A bankruptcy judge gave permission to the attorneys of disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein to include 40 emails from an anonymous rape accuser in a motion to dismiss his criminal case. Judge Mary Walrath allowed Weinstein's lawyers to use the emails, provided that the alleged victim's name and initials are not used in the motion. Weinstein's attorney, Benjamin Brafman, argued that the emails would show that Weinstein had a friendly, long-term relationship with the woman, lasting for four years after the alleged rape occurred in 2013, reports variety.com. "They are endearing, intimate, pleasant, flattering, friendly emails between her and Mr. Weinstein... If the grand jury had these emails, they would not have indicted" " Brafman said. The woman has not been identified in court. Brafman asked permission to refer to her by her initials, which he repeatedly stated are "J.M." James Stang, a lawyer for the committee of unsecured creditors, objected to using the woman's initials, saying that would make it easier to discover her identity. Brafman said he intended to accuse the Manhattan District Attorney's office of prosecutorial misconduct for not sharing the emails with the grand jury. He intends to file a motion to dismiss the indictment on Friday morning. He has repeatedly stated that Weinstein had a 10-year consensual affair with the victim. The woman is one of three whose allegations underpin the criminal case against Weinstein. Weinstein faces up to life in prison if convicted. --IANS dc/ksk (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) India will appeal against a ruling by an international tribunal in favour of Reliance Industries (RIL) in a dispute over gas migration from fields operated by state-run explorer Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC), Union Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said on Friday. Last week, a three-member international arbitration tribunal rejected the government's $1.55 billion claim against RIL and held that the company could contractually produce and sell any gas that might have migrated from adjoining fields of ONGC into its area and Reliance was not obligated to seek prior government permission for doing so. "The government will certainly file an appeal against the arbitration award in the higher forum. It will be in the high court," Pradhan told reporters here on the sidelines of an event organised by industry body CII. By a majority vote last week, the arbitration panel held that the production sharing contract for the eastern offshore KG-D6 fields "does not prohibit but permits" RIL "to produce and sell gas which migrated into the sub-sea reservoir lying within (its) Contract Area from a source outside the Contract Area". He said the government had made a claim on Reliance and its partners based on the recommendation of the Justice A.P. Shah Committee that quantified the natural gas that had migrated to KG-D6 from neighbouring blocks of ONGC. The tribunal also awarded $8.3 million as compensation to the three partners in the operator consortium of the KG-D6 block, where RIL has 60 per cent interest, British major BP holds 30 per cent and Niko Resources of Canada the remaining 10 per cent. --IANS bc/nir (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Dont ask me to tell you a story about Rwanda. Wikipedia would tell you more than me. You might not even need me to tell you stories about the great massacre of Nellie 35 years ago. Its part of our political folklore now. Let me tell you, instead, about less familiar places: Khoirabari, Gohpur, and Sipajhar. These places on the north bank of the Brahmaputra must be remembered when a deeply polarising debate over the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam is raging. In the killings of 1983 in the Brahmaputra Valley, about 7,000 people died. A little over 3,000 of these were ... Former Union Minister on Friday urged the opposition to block the introduction of the Higher Education Commission of India Bill in Parliament, alleging that the proposed legislation will end the autonomy of the institutes rather than granting them more powers. Sinha's views were endorsed by many opposition leaders who criticised the draft Higher Education Commission of India (Repeal of University Grants Commission Act) Bill and called it a move to "over-centralise" education. They were speaking at a convention on public higher education, organised by the Jawaharlal Nehru University Teachers' Association here. Rajya Sabha MP Manoj Jha of the RJD called HECI the "bullet train of education", referring to the NDA government's pet project -- the MumbaiAhmedabad high-speed rail corridor. Sinha, who recently quit the BJP, said the HECI Bill is a "comic legislation" and said that it even has the power to close institutes of higher learning. "UGC will be abolished...It will not only be replaced by HECI but will be replaced by HRD Ministry because the funding powers are going to be vested with the government," Sinha said. He said that distinguished vice-chancellors will be forced to sit outside the rooms of under secretaries and deputy secretaries in the HRD Ministry in order to get grant. "The HECI is not merely an assault on higher education but also an assault on federalism. My first request is you must block the introduction of the bill but even if it's introduced it's not likely to be introduced in this session. Make sure that it goes to the standing committee," he said. He said that there are recent examples of how the opposition has persuaded the government to not go ahead with some bills. He called HECI a "very poorly drafted bill with evil intentions". Jha said that he is ready to go the well of the house to oppose the bill to "save the country". "HECI is actually the bullet train of education. Nobody knows about the kind of passengers that will be boarding the bullet train or how many people will be rendered jobless or how many farmers will lose their land. Similarly, if the HECI comes, we will not able to function and neither will our institutes," he added. BJP MP Udit Raj urged that teachers and students need to work for mass movements instead of approaching political leaders. Rajya Sabha MP Rajeev Gowda said that the HECI legislation should be discussed at length. He said that role of market is crucial but state should take more responsibility for the institutions of higher education. He also stressed the need to craft an alternative agenda to transform India's education sector for the better. Trinamool Congress MP Sugata Bose said that students should be allowed to raise demands of freedom and also to make mistakes. Bose also said that there is a regional bias in selection of "Institutions of Eminence". He questioned why there is not even a single central university that has been recognised as an Institution of Eminence. CPI (M) leaders Nilotpal Basu and Md Salim insisted that state should invest more in higher education instead of withdrawing as there is a wide gap that exists in getting access to education. CPI leader D Raja also raised concerns about questions of equality in higher education. The Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry had announced its decision to replace the UGC with the Higher Education Commission of India (HECI) by repealing the UGC Act, 1951. According to the draft bill, the new commission will solely focus on academic matters and monetary grants would be under the purview of the ministry. ALSO READ: The challenges of higher education According to the HRD Ministry, less government and more governance, separation of grant-related functions, end of the inspection raj, focus on academic quality, powers to enforce compliance with the academic quality standards and to order closure of sub-standard and bogus institutions are some of the highlights of the proposed legislation. The government was earlier mulling to have a single regulator for technical education, council teachers training and UGC. However, it has been decided to strengthen the higher education regulator as it was felt that the UGC remained preoccupied with disbursing funds to institutes and was unable to concentrate on other key areas such as mentoring the institutes, focussing on research to be undertaken, etc. A broad consensus has been reached among various opposition parties to unitedly take on the BJP and RSS in the 2019 and a decision on the prime ministerial candidate will be taken after the results, top sources said on Friday. The is of the view that firming of proper opposition alliances in UP, Bihar and Maharashtra is crucial as the BJP can lose a major chunk of its seats in these states which would pave the way for the ouster of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. A "broad strategic understanding" between the SP, BSP and the in politically crucial Uttar Pradesh, which sends 80 MPs to the Lok Sabha, has been struck and details of seat-sharing are being worked out, the sources said. The party believes it is likely to reap big gains in the states of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Punjab, Chhattisgarh and some others in next Lok Sabha polls, that will help catapult it to the centre-stage of an opposition alliance. The Congress will accord priority to views of state units before forging tie-up with AAP in Delhi and Punjab, but will not ally with parties like Shiv Sena whose ideology is not in consonance with that of the Congress, they said. With Congress authorising party chief Rahul Gandhi to forge such alliances with like-minded parties on state-to-state basis, party insiders say views of state units will be taken into consideration before such tie-ups. The interests of state PCCs will be protected before forging any state-level or tie-ups, the sources said. The Congress also feels that it will win the Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh assembly elections later this year, where it is unlikely to project a chief ministerial candidate. The party will focus on selection of right candidates for these elections, the sources said. The sources said the Congress was looking at a two-stage action plan for the 2019 general elections, under which it will first bring on board all opposition parties to defeat Modi and the BJP/RSS and the leadership issue will be taken up on the basis of election results. The Congress feels that discussing a post poll scenario could prove counter-productive and "divisive" for the opposition alliance, they pointed out. The Congress has to forge alliances for short-term goals in various states, but an opportunity was emerging for the party to strengthen its base in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, the sources said. Gaza's Hamas rulers led several thousand Palestinians in a protest along the frontier with Israel today - a show of presence by Hamas as Egyptian efforts intensify to broker a broad truce between the Islamic militant group and Israel. A 25-year-old Palestinian was killed and 90 were wounded by Israeli army fire, Gaza health officials said. It was the latest in a series of protests along Gaza's perimeter fence with Israel, aimed in part at trying to break an 11-year-old border blockade. Israel and Egypt sealed Gaza in 2007, after Hamas overran the territory. Friday's protest was attended by several exiled Hamas leaders who had entered Gaza a day earlier for meetings of the group's decision-making political bureau. "We want to break the siege on Gaza once and forever," said Hussam Badran, one of the visiting Hamas leaders. The political bureau is discussing Egyptian proposals for a truce with Israel and the UN-led reconstruction of Gaza, said Ghazi Hamad, a Gaza-based official in the group. Meetings began Thursday and will continue through Saturday, Hamad said. It marked the first time all members of the political bureau got together in Gaza, Hamas has said. Over the years, truce deals have proven fragile, and it was not clear if the current efforts would succeed. However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday called off a planned trip to South America and scheduled a meeting of his security Cabinet for Sunday to monitor Gaza developments. Tensions along the Israel-Gaza fence have escalated since Hamas launched regular protests in the area in late March. Large turnout has also been driven by widespread desperation in Gaza, amid worsening conditions linked to the blockade. Power is on for just a few hours a day, unemployment has sky-rocketed and poverty is widening. Friday's death brought to 156 the number of Palestinians killed by Israeli fire since late March, including at least 118 in protests near the fence. Others, among them armed Hamas militants, have been killed in attempted border attacks or in Israeli airstrikes. Several thousand Gazans have been wounded by Israeli fire since March. The Israeli military said that about 8,000 Palestinians took part in Friday's rally. It said a tank fired at a Hamas military post in Gaza after Palestinians briefly crossed the frontier and threw bombs. The military said its soldiers sustained no casualties in the incident. In one area east of Gaza City, protesters burned tires, releasing thick plumes of black smoke. Some flew kites with burning rags attached a tactic that has widened in recent weeks, with the aim of setting fires in Israel, and has drawn Israeli retaliation. Israeli troops fired tear gas and live rounds, wounding several protesters and a medic. In another development, a boat carrying activists challenging Israel's naval blockade of Gaza is approaching the territory, said the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, an umbrella group for pro-Palestinian and Islamic charities from around the world. The coalition said Friday that the Swedish-flagged vessel, Freedom, was nearly 60 miles (95 kilometers) off the coast. The boat and another vessel, which was intercepted by Israeli forces on Sunday, set sail to Gaza from Europe last week. The Israeli military had no immediate comment. Activists have made several attempts to breach the blockade in recent years, most notably in 2010, when Israeli naval commandos killed nine Turks in a raid at sea. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) At least 10 workers were killed in a powerful explosion in a stone quarry in Andhra Pradesh's Kurnool district tonight, police said. All the victims are said to be hailing from Odisha and came here for work. The explosion occurred when regular quarrying work was being carried out in the quarry in Hathi Belgal under Aluru mandal, an investigating officer said over phone. "At least 20 workers were said to be at the spot when the gelatine sticks used for blasting the quarry exploded. The sudden explosion trapped the workers, triggering the fatalities," the officer said. At least 10 people were killed and four injured, who were shifted to a hospital. Search is on to trace if there are any survivors, he added. Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu expressed shock over the incident. He spoke to the district authorities and directed them to ensure proper treatment to the injured. Leader of Opposition Y S Jaganmohan Reddy and JanaSena Party chief Pawan Kalyan also expressed grief and extended sympathies to the bereaved families. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Twelve girls' schools have been burnt down by unidentified persons in coordinated attacks in Pakistan's restive Gilgit-Baltistan, triggering protest by local residents who sought safety for educational institutions which are often attacked by the militants, a media report said today. The schools in Chilas town, about 130-kilometre from Gilgit, were targeted late last night by unidentified men who also damaged school property across Diamer district, police said. "Explosions were also set off in two schools," Geo reported, quoting police officials. Following the attacks, local residents staged a protest at Siddique Akbar Chowk demanding the arrest of culprits and seeking safety for educational institutes which are often targeted by the militants, it said. Police have started a search operation in the area to arrest the perpetrators. According to the district administration, the schools were under-construction. Girls's schools are often attacked in the northern areas of Pakistan. In December 2011, at least two girls' schools were partially damaged in low-intensity explosions in Chilas. Earlier that year, unidentified assailants had also blown up two girls' schools. In 2004, girls' schools in Chilas came under a string of attacks. Nine schools of which eight were girls' schools were attacked and destroyed in five days in the area in February. Terrorists have also blown up educational institutions in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA). According to a report, about 1,500 schools have been destroyed in the tribal belt during the last 10 years. Nobel Prize winner and activist Malala Yousafzai was also shot by the Taliban in 2012 for advocating girls' in Swat. In 2017, the Human Rights Watch (HRW) in its report stated that attacks by the Taliban and other militant groups disrupted the of hundreds of thousands of children, particularly girls, in Pakistan. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Twelve schools, half of them all-girls', have been burnt down by unidentified assailants in coordinated attacks in Pakistan's Gilgit-Baltistan, triggering protest by local residents who sought safety for educational institutions which are often attacked by militants, officials said today. The schools in Chilas town, about 130-kilometre from Gilgit, were targeted late last night by the militants who set them on fire and damaged school property across Diamer district, police said on the attack in the relatively-peaceful region. Superintendent of Police Diamer Roy Ajmal told media that 12 schools, half of them girls' school, were targeted by rebels who fled after the attack. "Police have launched probe and security forces are searching for the culprits in the area," he said. Commissioner Diamer region Abdul Waheed Shah said no proof of a bomb attack on any school had been found so far. Officials also said that some of the schools attacked by the miscreants were still under construction. Following the attacks, local residents staged a protest at Siddique Akbar Chowk demanding the arrest of culprits and seeking safety for educational institutes which are often targeted by the militants. No one has claimed responsibility for the attacks. However, the Taliban militants have attacked hundreds of schools in north-western Pakistan in the past. Girls's schools are often attacked in the northern areas of Pakistan. In December 2011, at least two girls' schools were partially damaged in low-intensity explosions in Chilas. Earlier that year, unidentified assailants had also blown up two girls' schools. In 2004, girls' schools in Chilas came under a string of attacks. Nine schools of which eight were girls' schools were attacked and destroyed in five days in the area in February. Terrorists have also blown up educational institutions in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA). According to a report, about 1,500 schools have been destroyed in the tribal belt during the last 10 years. Nobel Prize winner and activist Malala Yousafzai was also shot by the Taliban in 2012 for advocating girls' in the Swat Valley. In 2017, the Human Rights Watch (HRW) in its report stated that attacks by the Taliban and other militant groups disrupted the of hundreds of thousands of children, particularly girls, in Pakistan. Gilgit-Baltistan is part of the disputed region of Kashmir but it has been given a separate status by Pakistan. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Multitiered systems of supportincluding response to intervention and positive behavior interventions and supporthave become almost ubiquitous among schools trying to find more personalized ways to support students academic and behavior needs. But with a lot of moving parts, schools often struggle to make these complex systems effective in the long run. But how principals and district superintendents approach data use and coordination in the first year of implementation predicts how well schools will be able to sustain their support efforts, according to a study in the journal Education Researcher. In either behavior or academic contexts, these systems include: universal screening tools that allow teachers to identify which students need help; evidence-based interventions to get those students back on track; multiple tiers of intensity to increase support for students who dont improve; and progress monitoring, so that educators have the data on how well a student is responding to the extra help and can make changes if needed. Researchers from the University of Oregon, Eugene; Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, and the University of British Columbia in Vancouver analyzed implementation and data use among the staffs of 860 schools across 14 states that used or launched schoolwide positive behavior intervention and supports initiatives. Two out of three schools were still using the support systems after three years, the researchers found. The overall enrollment or concentration of poor students in the schools did not predict whether or not a school continued to use PBIS, though elementary schools were generally more successful than secondary schools. But the researchers did find two very early indicators that flagged which schools would sustain their initiatives: Team data use and implementation : In the first year, the schools whose PBIS teams most quickly collected, disaggregated, and shared student data with teachers and staff created what the researchers called continuous regeneration ... wherein school teams adapt their implementation to fit more strongly with changed contexts and school population. This speedy data use proved the strongest marker of whether schools kept using the system three years later. : In the first year, the schools whose PBIS teams most quickly collected, disaggregated, and shared student data with teachers and staff created what the researchers called continuous regeneration ... wherein school teams adapt their implementation to fit more strongly with changed contexts and school population. This speedy data use proved the strongest marker of whether schools kept using the system three years later. Critical mass: At the district level, the researchers also found that early in implementation, the more schools in a district that used the PBIS systems, the better all of the schools were able to implement and maintain the systems. These practices seemed most important as schools worked through the bugs in the first five years of implementing the systems. More-experienced schools were better able to go it alone without a critical mass of other PBIS schools. And notably, once middle and high schools had implemented their systems of support for five years, they were as likely as elementary schools to continue. The takeaway for district leaders, the researchers concluded, is to support clusters of schools being trained in PBIS systems together, and help them become fluent in analyzing and sharing student data as quickly as possible. Related: Want more research news? Get the latest studies and join the conversation. Twelve schools, half of them all-girls', have been burnt down by unidentified militants in coordinated attacks in Pakistan's restive Gilgit-Baltistan, triggering protest by local residents who sought safety for educational institutions which are often attacked by terrorists, officials said today. The schools in Chilas town, about 130-kilometre from Gilgit, were targeted late last night by the militants who set them on fire and damaged school property across Diamer district, police said. Superintendent of Police Diamer Roy Ajmal told media that 12 schools, half of them girls' school, were targeted by rebels who fled after the attack. "Police have launched probe and security forces are searching for the culprits in the area," he said. Commissioner Diamer region Abdul Waheed Shah said no proof of a bomb attack on any school had been found so far. Officials also said that some of the schools attacked by the miscreants were still under construction. Following the attacks, local residents staged a protest at Siddique Akbar Chowk demanding the arrest of culprits and seeking safety for educational institutes which are often targeted by the militants. No one has claimed responsibility for the attacks. However, the Taliban militants have attacked hundreds of schools in north-western Pakistan in the past. Girls's schools are often attacked in the northern areas of Pakistan. In December 2011, at least two girls' schools were partially damaged in low-intensity explosions in Chilas. Earlier that year, unidentified assailants had also blown up two girls' schools. In 2004, girls' schools in Chilas came under a string of attacks. Nine schools of which eight were girls' schools were attacked and destroyed in five days in the area in February. Terrorists have also blown up educational institutions in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA). According to a report, about 1,500 schools have been destroyed in the tribal belt during the last 10 years. Nobel Prize winner and activist Malala Yousafzai was also shot by the Taliban in 2012 for advocating girls' in the Swat Valley. In 2017, the Human Rights Watch (HRW) in its report stated that attacks by the Taliban and other militant groups disrupted the of hundreds of thousands of children, particularly girls, in Pakistan. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Two militants and a soldier were killed today in an encounter at Baramulla district of Jammu and Kashmir, a police official said. The encounter began after the militants opened fire on security forces during a cordon and search operation in Dursoo village, Rafiabad area, the official said. He said the search operation was launched after specific information was received about presence of militants in the area. Director General of Police S P Vaid said the bodies of the two militants have been recovered. An Army official said a soldier also died during the gunbattle. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Two militants were killed today in an encounter with the security forces at Baramulla district of Jammu and Kashmir, police said. The encounter began after the militants opened fire on security forces during a cordon and search operation in Dursoo village, Rafiabad area, the official said. He said the search operation was launched after specific information was received on the presence of militants in the area. Director General of Police S P Vaid said bodies of both the militants have been recovered. The bodies are yet to be identified. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Congress in Karnataka has begun constituency wise discussions with local leaders as part of its preparations for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. Congress General Secretary in-charge of Karnataka K C Venugopal along with the state leadership,including CLP leader Siddaramaiah, Pradesh Congress Chief Dinesh Gundu Rao and Working President Eshwar Khandre today held discussions with representatives from about eight Lok Sabha constituencies. MPs, Ministers, MLAs and MLCs, along with defeated candidates in the previous assembly and parliamentary elections, district chiefs and other leaders from Udupi-Chikmagalur, Hassan, Dakshina Kannada, Shivamogga, Mysuru, Mandya, Bengaluru Central and Bengaluru North constituencies, met leaders separately. According to party sources, the leadership reportedly directed local leaders to worktowards strengthening the organisation from the booth leveland make efforts to bring back those who quit the party aheadof the assembly elections. Expecting early Lok Sabha polls by December, Rao had recently announced plans to reorganise the party from the grassroots to the Pradesh Congress Committee level. Leaders of certain districts are said to have askedthe state leadership to see to it that party's interest is not compromised while deciding on seat sharing for the Lok Sabha polls with the JD(S), its ruling coalition partner. Congress and JD(S) have decided to fight the Lok Sabha polls together. Both parties that had bitterly fought eachother in the assembly elections, especially in old Mysururegion, joined hands to form a coalition government in the state as the May 12 assembly polls threw up a hung verdict. Seat sharing arrangement between both parties,especially in old Mysuru region where JD(S) is strong andCongress too has its sitting MP's, is going to be a test forthe coalition. According to party sources, along with preparation for the Lok Sabha polls, leaders are said to have discussed the polls to 105 urban local bodies, scheduled for August 29. A majority of the leaders at the meeting today reportedly opposed an alliance with JD(S) in the urban localbody polls. Pointing out that there was no alliance withJD(S) for the urban local body polls even during the earlier coalition government headed by Dharam Singh, many leaders aresaid to have advised the leadership to take a decision, looking at the ground situation. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Three people were killed when a truck they were travelling in skidded off the road and rolled down a gorge on the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway in Ramban district early today. The truck, which was headed for Jammu from Srinagar, met with the accident at around 4 am today in the Battery Chashma area along the highway, a police officer said. Three bodies were recovered in a search operation, he said, adding that all deceased were from Srinagar. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) An FIR has been filed against 350 unidentified people for allegedly creating a ruckus in the district court premises here, police said today. The lawyers had yesterday allegedly pelted stones and manhandled some officials, following which the police lathi-charged them, a police official said. However, bar secretary Viswash Tyagi had alleged that the police dragged out the lawyers from their chambers and lathi-charged them. The FIR has been lodged under sections 147, 148, 323, 504, 307, 427, 336, 332, 353 of the Indian Penal Code, said Ghaziabad Senior Superintendent of Police Vaibhav Krishna. On the other hand, advocate Dal Chand Gautam had registered an FIR against four policemen for allegedly thrashing him inside a police station on Wednesday night. The lawyers had staged a sit-in yesterday to protest against the alleged beating of the advocate. Gautam was detained after an eatery owner alleged that three customers, including Gautam, abused his staff on Wednesday night, claiming that there was a delay in serving food. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Four masked men allegedly looted cash worth over Rs 2 lakh from a branch of the Baroda Uttar Pradesh Gramin Bank in broad daylight here today. The armed robbers barged into the bank's Hanspuram Awas Vikas branch in Naubasta this afternoon and allegedly hurled four to five crude bombs at a cash window and escaped with Rs 2 lakh from the cash counter, a police official said. The motorcycle-borne men hardly took two minutes in executing the plan. Two bank employees, including a lady cashier, were injured. There were about 24 customers and staffs at the time of the incident, said Alok Singh, Inspector General, Kanpur range. The bank guard tried to chase them, but the pillion riders hurled a bomb at him too, Senior Superintendent of Police Akhilesh Kumar said. The footage of one of them has been caught on CCTV camera. A cash reward of Rs 50,000 has been announced for providing information about the man, whose picture has been released, the SSP said. Six teams, headed by circle officers and superintendent of police, have been constituted to investigate the incident and the crime branch has also been pressed into the task, he added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A series of explosions on Yemen's rebel-held port city of Hodeida has killed 55 civilians and wounded dozens of others, the Red Cross said, denouncing the "reprehensible" disregard for human life. "While the exact circumstances around the ground explosions are still unknown, this lack of respect for civilian life and civilian property is reprehensible," said Johannes Bruwer, head of the delegation in Yemen for the International Committee of the Red Cross, in a statement today. Yesterday medics and witnesses said at least 20 people were killed in an air strike at the entrance to a hospital and the bombardment of a fish market in the Red Sea city of Hodeida. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The administration in Imphal West district, where prohibitory order under section 144 CrPC has been in force since July 25, issued a fresh order today, preventing protest rallies in and around the Manipur University, official sources said. Academic activities at the central university have been under suspension for the past two months as students, teachers and the staff members have been protesting here, seeking the removal of Vice Chancellor AP Pandey over allegations of administrative and financial negligence. The fresh prohibition, beginning today afternoon, does not apply to religious activities, the sources said. Pandey was granted a one-month leave yesterday on the Union Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry's advice. He was replaced by professor W Vishwanath Singh for 30 days. The ministry had earlier formed an inquiry committee, headed by a high court chief justice, to look into the allegations against him. The protesters here, however, refused to accept the arrangement and demanded immediate removal of Pandey. In his order, District Magistrate N Praveen Singh today said the prohibition was imposed "in view of the consistent rallies" by local people and the university community, under the aegis of Manipur University students Union, Manipur University Teachers Association (MUTA) and a staff association. Earlier in the day, the representatives of different political parties, in solidarity with the agitators, tried to take out a silent rally from Kakwa area of the district to Canchipur area, where the central university is located, but was stopped midway, a district official said. O Joy, a former BJP leader who joined the rally today, asserted that it was a peaceful rally. "I don't understand why we were prevented from taking out the rally. The issue concerns the future of many students," he added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A 36-year-old Afghan national has been arrested for allegedly peddling drugs worth Rs 4 crore in south Delhi's Malviya Nagar, police said today. Two kilograms of fine quality heroin was seized from the foreign national, they said. The accused identified as Mohammad Nadir Khadim used to visit India on medical visa and stayed in Malviya Nagar, said Rajiv Ranjan, Additional Commissioner of Police (crime). On July 24, police had received an information that Khadim would come near Bhagat Singh Park in Malviya Nagar to supply heroin to a customer. Acting on the tip-off, the police conducted a raid in the region and subsequently, the accused was apprehended, he said. During interrogation, the accused revealed that he was suffering from Hepatitis B for the last 12 years and used to visit India for treatment on a medical visa. In 2016, he visited India for the first time for his treatment, police said. He visited the country again in February this year and left after his treatment. On June 21, when the accused visited India, he came in contact with a fellow Afghan national, Mustafa, who lived in Lajpat Nagar, they said. The police said the accused was lured into the drug peddling business by Mustafa after Khadim told him about his illness and the huge expenses incurred by him for his treatment. Efforts are on to trace Mustafa, they added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The BJP today scored a big win in the Sangli municipal elections by defeating the Congress-NCP alliance and also swept the Jalgaon civic body in Maharashtra where it trounced the Shiv Sena. The BJP's victory in the twin civic polls, held on August 1, comes in the midst of the ongoing agitation by the Maratha community for reservation in government jobs and education. The win is being seen as a relief to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, under fire over handling of the stir. The BJP, an ally of the Shiv Sena in the state and at the Centre, won 57 of the 75 seats in the Jalgaon Municipal Corporation (JMC), according to result declared by the State Election Commission (SEC). Local strongman and Shiv Sena leader Suresh Jain's Khandesh Vikas Agadhi (KVA), which ruled the civic body for several years, won only 13 seats. The KVA, a local outfit which contested the election on the Shiv Sena symbol this time, had 36 seats in the JMC. The All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) bagged three seats, while Independents won two seats. The NCP, which had 11 corporators in the civic body, drew a blank. The Congress in Jalgaon failed to open its account for the second consecutive time. Jalgaon is the home turf of BJP heavyweights Eknath Khadse and Girish Mahajan. Mahajan, the Water Resources Minister in the BJP-led government, had led the election campaign. Ahead of the polls, there was reportedly some resentment within the BJP ranks as several supporters of Jain, a former state minister, were given party tickets, but this did not appear to have dented the saffron outfit's electoral chances. In 2013, the KVA had won 36 seats followed by the BJP (15), the MNS (12), the NCP (11) and Independent (1). The BJP also posted an impressive victory in the Sangli-Miraj-Kupwad Municipal Corporation, winning 41 seats in the 78-member House and ousting the Congress from power. The Congress, the current ruling party in the civic body in the western Maharashtra, won only 20 seats, while its ally, the NCP, got 15. The Swabhimani Aaghadi, a local outfit, and an Independent bagged one seat each. The BJP did not have a single corporator in the civic body. The Sangli result is being seen as a severe jolt to the Congress-NCP, which formed an alliance for the first time in the civic elections in the city. State NCP president Jayant Patil and Congress leader Vishwajit Kadam along with other local leaders of the two parties had campaigned extensively for the alliance. Fadnavis had cancelled his public meetings in Sangli in the backdrop of the Maratha quota stir, which had turned violent at several places, including Mumbai. Sangli, an important city in Maharashtra's sugar belt, is considered a stronghold of the Congress-NCP combine. It is the home city of NCP's Patil and Congress' Kadam, who is also an MLA. Late Chief Minister Vasantdada Patil, a Congress stalwart, hailed from Sangli. The Congress and the Sharad Pawar-led NCP together ruled the state for 15 years (1999-2014), but they fought against each other in the Sangli civic polls. However, this time they formed a pre-poll alliance. Over the years, the BJP had been making concerted efforts to expand its base in Sangli district. In 2014, the BJP bagged the Sangli Lok Sabha seat, while in the Assembly polls (held in October 2014), the party won four seats in the district. The NCP bagged two assembly seats in the district, while the Shiv Sena and the Congress won one each. In the 2013 civic polls in Sangli, the Congress won 41 seats, the NCP 19, the MNS 1, Independents and others the rest. Talking to reporters, Fadnavis said despite the Maratha quota stir, people in Jalgaon and Sangli voted for the BJP overwhelmingly. "People supported the BJP since they are aware our government is making sincere efforts to ensure reservation in jobs and education (for the Marathas). People know only we can fulfil their demands," Fadnavis said. He said the results have proved people trust the BJP. "The demand for reservation is not new. It is only we who are sincerely pursuing it," the chief minister added. In a veiled warning to the Shiv Sena, Fadnavis said: "In Sangli, the Congress and the NCP contested together, but people trusted the BJP. This proves beyond doubt what is in the people's mind." The Shiv Sena had earlier announced it will fight all future polls alone. NCP spokesman Nawab Malik alleged that the BJP won by using "money and muscle power" while Congress leader Anant Gadgil claimed that the BJP's victory was due to "unethical use" of its position in power. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Andy Murray sat in his changeover chair and sobbed into a towel after winning his third consecutive three-setter to reach the Citi Open quarterfinals. Murray worked deep into the night to get past 93rd-ranked Marius Copil of Romania 6-7 (5), 6-3, 7-6 (4) in a match that ended just past 3 am. If Murray came to Washington in hopes of getting in some extra work as he tries to return to form after hip surgery in January, he is certainly accomplishing that. After rain delayed earlier action, three-time major champion Murray and Copil didn't even start playing until midnight as Thursday turned to Friday. By the end, there were 100 or so fans in the main stadium at the hard-court tuneup for the US Open. After taking a 5-0 lead in the opening-set tiebreaker, Murray dropped seven consecutive points to hand the lead over to Copil. Former No. 1-ranked Murray is now at No. 832. He returned from an 11-month absence in June, playing just three matches before arriving at the Citi Open. In Friday's quarterfinals, he will face 19-year-old Alex de Minaur of Australia. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Odisha government today made it mandatory for all educational institutions including engineering colleges in the state to constitute anti-ragging committees and anti-ragging squads. "Any form of ragging will not be tolerated. If any student is found guilty, he/she would be rusticated from the institutions without any consideration," Higher Minister Ananta Das told reporters. All educational institutions have been told to constitute anti-ragging committee and anti-ragging squads, he said. Das said even winking inside the college premises would be taken as an offence. The minister said he has asked the Higher secretary to issue a circular to all educational institutions asking them to strictly adhere to the guidelines issued by the state government and the UGC. "Educational institutions have been given guideline on how to tackle ragging incidents. All colleges must have anti-ragging cells and anti-ragging squads. The district collectors, SPs, college principals, students and guardians too have their role in preventing ragging," Srikant Prusty, additional secretary in Higher told PTI. Official sources in the Higher Education department informed that at least 207 ragging cases were reported from across the state between 2013 and 2017. There were 46 ragging cases in the state in 2017, they said adding that the apart from Higher Education Department, the Skill Development and Technical Education Department has also issued circulars to all the district collectors to remain vigil towards ragging incidents in their jurisdiction. Meanwhile, sources said authorities of all universities and some educational institutions have formed anti-ragging cell and circulated posters at several places inside the campus to apprise the students about the quantum of punishment for ragging junior students. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Antigua has claimed it was told by Indian agencies that there was no adverse information against Mehul Choksi when it did a background check on the fugitive billionaire before granting him citizenship in 2017, a local media report in the Caribbean nation has said. While the Antiguan authority responsible for grant of investment-linked citizenship named the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) as one of the Indian agency to have given such a clearance in case of Modi, the Indian capital markets regulator rejected the claim saying it neither received any such request, nor provided any such information to the concerned department in Antigua. Choksi's application for citizenship in Antigua in May 2017 was accompanied with clearance from the local police as required by norms, Antiguan newspaper the Daily Observer reported, citing a statement from the Citizenship by Investment Unit of Antigua and Barbuda (CIU). Choksi is one of the alleged masterminds of the USD 2 billion scam in state-run Punjab National Bank and uncle of fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modi. "The said police clearance certificate from the Government of India, Ministry of External Affairs Regional Passport Office, Mumbai, certified that there was no adverse information against Mr Mehul Chinubbhai Choksi which would render him ineligible for grant of travel facilities including visa for Antigua and Barbuda," the report said. The authorities in the island country did a thorough check on Choksi from open source global agencies, including the Interpol, that there was "no instance" of any derogatory information against him, it added. The Antiguan authorities, as part of their own checks, found two instances of Sebi action against Choksi's firms in 2014 and 2017 and sought more information on them, the report further said. It further quoted CIU as claiming that Sebi had told authorities in Antigua that one case was "satisfactorily closed" and there was "insufficient evidence" to pursue the second matter. However, the Indian regulator issued a statement today denying these claims. "Sebi has neither received any request from the Citizenship by Investment Unit (CIU) of Antigua for updates on any investigation nor provided any such information to CIU," the regulator said. As per the Antiguan media report, the CIU has said if there was a warrant against Choksi when his application of citizenship was being processed, Interpol should have been informed about it and it should have been part of national criminal database. Choksi had fled India on January 4 this year and took oath of allegiance in Antigua on January 15. His citizenship was cleared in November 2017. On January 16, this year, the USD 2 billion scam was detected by Brady House branch of Punjab National Bank, making it the biggest banking scam in the country. On July 29, 2016, Bengaluru resident Hari Prasad had informed the Prime Minister's Office about alleged nefarious activities of Choksi and his companies. In a recent response to a question by Congress leader Kapil Sibal, the Finance Ministry said in the Rajya Sabha that the PMO was "intimated" about the complaints regarding the PNB fraud in 2016 and the matter was referred to it. "Ministry of Finance, vide Office Memorandum dated 1.3.2018, apprised PMO of action taken regarding the frauulent issuance of Letters of Undertaking in PNB," it said. The reply, however, did not make it clear whether it referred to Prasad's specific complaint against Choksi. Under the Citizenship by Investment Program of Antigua and Barbuda, a person can take their passport on a minimum investment of USD 100,000 in the NDF investment fund. Choksi and his companies allegedly availed credit from overseas branches of Indian banks using the fraudulent guarantees of PNB given through letters of undertaking (LoUs) and letters of credit issued by the Brady House branch which were not repaid, bringing liability on the state-run bank, the officials have said. An LoU is a guarantee given by an issuing bank to Indian banks having branches abroad to grant short-term credit to the applicant. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Vigilance Investigation Bureau today caught an Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) of police while he was accepting a bribe of Rs 8,000 from a man in Patna district, a department release said. Vigilance sleuths arrested Vinay Kumar Singh, ASI posted at Chowk police station in Patna city, while accepting a bribe of Rs 8,000 for helping the complainant in a criminal case, the release said. Dayanand Singh, a resident of Kahaar Toli under Chowk police station of the state capital, had lodged a complaint with the vigilance bureau that the ASI was demanding a bribe of Rs 8,000 for helping him in a criminal case. The complaint was verified by the bureau which found the allegations to be true after which a team was constituted under DySP Mohammad Zamiruddin who raided and arrested the ASI while he was accepting a bribe. During the search, the vigilance sleuths also found Rs 1,30,200 from ASI's pocket in addition to the bribe amount of Rs 8,000, it added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The name of Assam's lone woman chief minister Syeda Anowara Taimur, who is residing in Australia, is missing from the NRC and she plans to return home to initiate the process of enlisting herself and her family in the register of citizens of the state. ''It is sad that my name is not there in the list. I will return to Assam in the last week of August and then initiate the process to get mine and my family's name enlisted in the National Register of Citizens (NRC)," the octogenarian told a television channel. Taimur had headed the state government from December, 1980 to June, 1981. She has been ailing for some years and is living with her son in Australia. The former Assam chief minister said she had "requested a relative to submit the application for the family's inclusion in the NRC, but maybe it could not be done due to some reasons''. The NRC authorities here, however, said there was no legacy data of the former chief minister available with them and as such it was not possible for them to ascertain whether she and her family members had applied for inclusion of their names in the draft NRC. Taimur had served as a Rajya Sabha member in 1988. She was elected as a member of the state legislative assembly in 1972, 1978, 1983 and 1991. She left the Congress to join the AIUDF in 2011. AIUDF General Secretary Aminul Islam today told PTI that they, too, had heard from media reports about her name not being in the list. ''We have come to know from media reports that our party member and Assam's first woman chief minister's name does not figure in the list. There are others like former president Fakhruddin Ali's nephew whose names do not figure in the NRC. This is a serious matter," he said. "The NRC is full of errors and we will soon meet NRC state coordinator Prateek Hajela and then chalk out our future course of action," he said. Meanwhile, Taimur's Guwahati residence near the Rajdhani Masjid in Dispur is lying vacant. The complete draft of the NRC released on July 30 included the names of 2.89 crore people, out of the 3.29 applicants, with the names of over 40 lakh people excluded. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) At least 20 people were killed and dozens more wounded in a suicide attack on a Shiite mosque in eastern Afghanistan today, officials said, warning that the toll could rise. "We have 20 people killed and around 50 others were wounded," General Raz Mohammad Mandozai, provincial police chief of Paktia province, near the Pakistan border, told AFP. A second official said there were at least 70 dead and wounded in the attack. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has urged the Centre to bear Delhi's share of the cost of the proposed rapid transit project between Delhi, Ghaziabad and Meerut, citing inadequate finances. In a letter to Union Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Singh Puri earlier this week, Kejriwal said the estimated cost of the 82.15-km Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut regional rapid transit system (RRTS) was Rs 31,902 crore. Out of this, the Delhi government's share is expected to be Rs 1,138 crore for the corridor's 13 kilometres that will fall in the city, said Kejriwal, who had met Puri over this issue last week. Kejriwal said his government was ready to grant in-principal approval for the implementation of the rapid transit corridor in National Capital Region (NCR). However, he said, the Delhi government did not have adequate finances to meet the cost. "Therefore, I would urge that the Delhi's share in the project cost may be borne by the central government." As per the National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC), the proposed corridor falling in Delhi has two elevated stations at Sarai Kale Khan and New Ashok Nagar and one underground station at Anand Vihar. In 2013, the Centre had approved setting up of NCRTC for designing, implementing, financing, operating and maintaining the RRTS in NCR to provide comfortable and fast transit to NCR towns. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Berger Paints India Ltd today said it would invest Rs 280 crore till 2021 to augment capacities in Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra. "We will soon commence water and solvent-based decorative, industrial and protective coating, resins, emulsion and construction chemical manufacturing facility at Sandila, Uttar Pradesh, at an estimated cost of Rs 200 crore," Chairman K S Dhingra said at Berger Paints' AGM here. The expansion is likely to be complete by 2021. Another Rs 80 crore would be spent for the second-phase expansion at Jejuri near Pune for automotive, industrial and protective coatings, he told reporters. The unit will have a paints capacity of 27,000 KL per annum and 12,000 MT of resins. The company will also add an additional powder coating line at Jejuri with an estimated capacity of 325 MT per month. Dhingra said he is optimistic about the Rs 2,000-crore automotive refinsh paints market. He said Berger Paints had encouraging trials out of the MoU with Rock Paint of Japan, and the process of forming a joint venture for automotive refinish paints, was underway. The Kolkata-based company will hold 51 per cent in the proposed JV, while Rock Paint will own the rest. Berger Paints CEO Abhijit Roy said in wake of the GST reduction on paints to 18 per cent from 28 per cent, the company was in the process of passing the entire 10 per cent tax benefit to the consumers. In the pre-GST regime, the tax incidence on paints was 26-27 per cent. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The BJP in Maharashtra today trounced the Shiv Sena in the Jalgaon civic body polls, winning 57 of the 75 seats, and came up trumps in the Sangli municipal elections, bagging 41 out of the 78 seats. The BJP, an ally of the Shiv Sena in the state and at the Centre, won 57 of the 75 seats in the Jalgaon Municipal Corporation (JMC). Local strongman and Shiv Sena leader Suresh Jain's Khandesh Vikas Agadhi (KVA), which ruled the JMC for several years, won only 13 seats. The KVA, a local outfit which contested the election on the Shiv Sena symbol this time, had 36 seats in the JMC. The All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) bagged three seats, while Independents won two seats. The NCP, which had 11 corporators in the civic body, drew a blank. The Congress in Jalgaon failed to open its account for the second consecutive time. The BJP also posted an impressive victory in the Sangli-Miraj-Kupwad Municipal Corporation, winning 41 seats in the 78-member House and ousting the Congress from power. The Congress, the current ruling party in the civic body in western Maharashtra, won only 20 seats, while its ally, the NCP, got 15. Others won two seats. The BJP did not have a single corporator in the civic body. The elections to the two civic bodies were held on August 1 and counting of votes took place today. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A BJP MP today accused the parliamentarians from the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) of "gross misuse" of the Parliament premises for "cheap publicity" and urged the speaker for action against them, saying their act endangered the security and undermined the stature of Parliament. Rajya Sabha MP G V L Narasimha Rao urged Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan to act against the TDP members for "bringing disrepute to the institution of Parliament" and suggested that she refer the matter to the Joint Committee on Security to recommend appropriate action. Rao is also a member of the Joint Parliamentary Committee on Security in Parliament House Complex. Later, in a tweet, he described the N Chandrababu Naidu-led TDP as the "Total Drama Party". In a letter to Mahajan, the BJP leader said he had received complaints from other MPs, the public and the media in this regard. The TDP members had been organising protests, demonstrations and "dharna" inside the complex, he added. "These protests are objectionable because you (speaker) and the Rajya Sabha chairman have given ample opportunities to the TDP MPs in the two houses of Parliament to express their views," Rao said. The no-confidence motion moved by the TDP against the BJP-led government was discussed for an entire day in the Lok Sabha, he added. One of the TDP members had been appearing in Parliament in different costumes and get up to attract media attention, Rao said, claiming that the MPs of the party were trying to reduce the parliamentary proceedings to a mockery. The BJP leader quoted from the "Handbook for Members of Rajya Sabha" to question the conduct of the TDP MPs. The TDP has been running a campaign against the Narendra Modi government for rejecting its demand for granting Andhra Pradesh the "special category" status. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A war of words broke out today when activists of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) resisted workers of West Bengal's Trinamool Congress government from painting the Massanjore dam's walls in shades of white and blue, a senior official said here. BJYM Dumka district president Amit Rakshit said that TMC workers, on the behest of the neighbouring states's government, had started painting the walls of the dam in blue and white colours when local people objected to it. "We went there and asked them to stop the work," Rakshit told PTI. Activists of the BJYM and the BJP also registered their protest with an official of the Jharkhand Irrigation Department, who said that "a contractor from West Bengal was engaged to paint the dam", Rakshit claimed. Executive Engineer of the Irrigation Department Naresh Prasad Mandal said that the matter has come to his notice, and he has initiated steps to stop painting on the walls of the interstate dam. "Today, the contractor used primer on the painted walls to restore the original colour," Rakshit said. The TMC, however, defended the action and claimed that it was well within the rights to use such colours. "The West Bengal government built the dam and the state irrigation department maintains it. We have every right to paint the dam in the colours we wish to, nobody can stop us," West Bengal Irrigation Minister Somen Mahapatra asserted. Mahapatra also said that the workers were not allowed to put up the 'Biswa Bangla' logo at the site today. "These are handiworks of BJP-hired goons. They wanted the dam to be painted in saffron colour. Is this the way the BJP is planning to saffronise the entire country? We have asked the district magistrate and superintendent of police in Dumka district to take necessary action," he said. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has assured to raise the matter at an appropriate forum, he added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Burqa-clad suicide bombers struck a Shiite mosque in eastern Afghanistan today as it was crowded with worshippers for weekly prayers, killing at least 29 people and wounding more than 80 in the latest attack on the minority. Officials said they feared the death toll could rise after the assault, the latest targeting civilians who have borne the brunt of the violence in Afghanistan's long conflict. "Two suicide explosions happened during Friday prayers in the Khwaja Hasan area of Gardez," said Abdullah Hasrat, spokesman for Paktia province near the Pakistan border. He told AFP the toll had risen to 29 killed and 81 wounded, with children among the victims. The bombers wore "women's clothing", he said, and shot first at the mosque's security guards before opening fire on worshippers then detonating their explosives. Provincial police chief General Raz Mohammad Mandozai confirmed the incident, and that the pair were wearing burqas to hide their explosives and weapons. Local resident Sayed Naimatullah said he could hear the blasts from inside his home and rushed to the mosque. "There were body parts, heads, limbs and arms scattered everywhere. The blood of the worshippers had painted the walls of the mosque... There were pieces of glass scattered all over," the 30-year-old told AFP. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, but the Taliban have denied involvement. The blasts come as urban areas across Afghanistan have been rocked by an increasing number of attacks in recent months, with both Islamic State (IS) and Taliban insurgents targeting security forces and government installations. The Taliban has not claimed a major attack in a city for weeks as it comes under increased pressure to agree to peace talks with the Afghan government. But IS has carried out multiple attacks in the eastern city of Jalalabad and the capital Kabul in recent months, targeting everything from government ministries to a midwife training centre. Last month an IS suicide bomber blew himself up near Kabul international airport, killing 23 people including AFP driver Mohammad Akhtar. The uptick in violence comes as US and Afghan forces intensify ground and air offensives against IS, and the Taliban step up their turf war with the group. Earlier this week more than 150 IS fighters surrendered in northern Afghanistan -- in a move that Afghan security forces and the Taliban hailed as the end of the extremist group in the north of the country. The surrender followed the Afghan army's decision to take over security in the eastern city of Jalalabad in IS's main stronghold of Nangarhar province after a spate of attacks, mostly claimed by the group. Afghan civilians have taken the brunt of the gruesome war that began after the 2001 US-led invasion uprooted the Taliban regime. Insurgent attacks and suicide bombs were the leading causes of civilian deaths in the first half of 2018, a recent UN report showed. A total of 1,692 civilians were killed, the highest number for the period since the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan began keeping records in 2009. Another 3,430 people were wounded, the report added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A cabinet sub-committee in Telangana, headed by Deputy Chief Minister and Minister Kadiam Srihari, today favoured providing mid-day meals to students of degree, intermediate (10+2)and vocational colleges. The panel, which met today, directed representatives of Akshya Patra foundation, who will supply the food, to put in place basic facilities required to supply mid-day meals to all such colleges in 31 districts,a state government release said. The foundations representatives told the committee that they are already implementing the Annapurna subsidized meals scheme (in Hyderabad) without any complaints, it said. The committee asked the foundation to submit a report with details, including menu and the price, on August 6, it said. The report would be submitted to Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao who will announce the decision, it added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) : Carborundum Universal Ltd, engaged in manufacturing of abrasives, electro minerals, industrial ceramics, has recorded a 56.3 per cent rise in its net profits on a consolidated basis for the quarter ending June 30, 2018 at Rs 65.29 crore. The city-based Murugappa Group company, recorded consolidated net profits at Rs 41.77 crore during the corresponding quarter of previous year. For the full year ending March 31, 2018 consolidated total income was at Rs 219.59 crore. Consolidated total income for the April-June 2018 quarter grew to Rs 644.82 crore, from Rs 557.48 crore registered during the year-ago period. For the year ending March 31, 2018 consolidated total income stood at Rs 2,418.09 crore. In a BSE filing, the company said, on consolidated basis, the sales without excise duty for the quarter ending June 30, 2018 grew by 22 per cent, to Rs 626 crore from Rs 512 crore registered during same quarter of last year "on account of better performance from all the business segments". "Consolidated segmental profitability for the quarter (ending June 30, 2018) improved for all the segments on the back of higher volumes", it said. In the abrasives segment, the company said it registered a revenue of Rs 262 crore, as compared to Rs 218 crore registered during year-ago period on a consolidated basis. Electro minerals business, registered revenues of Rs 239 crore for the quarter ending June 30, 2018 as compared to Rs 202 crore registered during corresponding quarter of previous year. The ceramics business witnessed a 32 per cent rise in the revenues to Rs 145 crore for the quarter ending June 30, 2018 (from Rs 110 crore registered same period of last year) on account of improvement in volumes from standalone business. The company said the Board at its meeting held today approved the appointment of Jagannathan Chakravarthi Narasimhan as the Chief Financial Officer with immediate effect. Shares of Carborundum Universal Ltd were trading at Rs 380.10 apiece, up by 2.79 per cent over the previous close in BSE. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The CBI has taken over investigation into the mysterious disappearance of a Military Intelligence officer from Chennai eight years ago, officials said today. P Gnana Prakasam, working as an examiner in Military Intelligence, a snooping unit under the Army, went missing on June 6, 2010, the officer's wife, Yamuna Gnanaprakasam, had said in a complaint. Posted at the Army Headquarters here, Gnana Prakasam had gone to Chennai to attend a family function. He later went to the central railway station, Chennai to pick up his son who, arriving by a train from Udhagamandalam, according to the complaint. When his wife called him to check whether their son had arrived, the officer told her he was not in a position to pick him up and asked her brother to do so. A few hours later, she had again contacted her husband and he said he was going to Tirupati and that he could not reveal anything further. Late that night, she again contacted him but a person answered the call, saying her husband was attending an important meeting and would get in touch with her after two hours, the petition had said. After that, the officer's cell phone was switched off and he went missing. The officials said the CBI took over investigation into the case. On June 18, the Madras High Court had ordered a CBI probe into the case in which the Tamil Nadu Crime-Branch CID had filed a closure report in a lower court in May after failing to crack it. Justice P N Prakash ordered transfer of the case from the Tamil Nadu CB-CID to the CBI on a petition from the officer's wife. The judge had said that under normal circumstances, the court would be relegating the petitioner to file an application before the lower court protesting the closure report. However, the court finds that the missing person was in Army intelligence, therefore, a thorough probe by a central agency might bear fruit, Justice Prakash had said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) An apex tribal organisation in Nagaland today expressed anguish over the delay in resolution of the Naga political issue and accused the Centre of trying to "buy time" citing conflict of interest among the stakeholders. The Naga Hoho alleged the Centre is not prepared for an "honourable political solution". In a statement issued on the completion of three years since the signing of the Naga Framework Agreement between the NSCN(IM) and the Centre, the tribal body asked the political negotiators to rethink their stance on the issue. "We are also fully convinced that enough negotiations and agreements have taken place between the Naga negotiators and the interlocutors of the Centre. We are running behind time. Once and for all, a decision should be made keeping the best interests of Nagas in mind," it said. The NSCN (IM), which announced a ceasefire in 1997, has been demanding Nagalim, a state comprising Nagaland and Naga-inhabited pockets in Assam, Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh. The hopes of Nagas have been dashed as three years have passed since the signing of Framework Agreement on August 3, 2015, but the issue still hangs in balance, the statement said. "As government agencies have been claiming that the peace deal is at an advanced stage, we thought the final agreement would be signed during the Monsoon Session of Parliament. However, we are also fretting over the fact that the issue may just vanish into thin air," it said. Earlier this year, the Centre had said a solution to the Naga conflict was just a matter of time. Dubbing the government's attitude "uncompromising", the tribal body said the Naga people will not expect any political solution if the talks stretch beyond September as the parliamentary elections are due next year. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Centre has withdrawn its proposal for a Social Media Communications Hub, the Supreme Court was told today, days after the apex court observed the country will be moving to a "surveillance state" if the move is aimed at monitoring online data. The top court was also told by Attorney General K K Venugopal that the Centre will undertake a complete review of its social media policy. On July 13, the apex court had asked the government whether the move by the Centre to create the hub was to tap people's WhatsApp messages. A bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra considered the submission of Venugopal, who appeared for the Centre, that the proposed decision has been withdrawn and decided to dispose of the petition that had alleged it was a tool to monitor online activities of citizens. The government, in its request for proposal (RFP), had invited bids and proposals for selecting an agency to set up a "Social Media Communication Hub' by the Information and Broadcasting(I&B) ministry. At the outset, Venugopal submitted that the plea has been rendered infructuous as the government has withdrawn its decision and would undertake a "complete review" of the matter. The bench was hearing the petition filed by TMC MLA Mahua Moitra alleging that the Centre's social media hub policy was to be used as a tool to monitor social media activities of citizens and should be quashed. The Trinamool Congress(TMC) legislator from West Bengal had asked whether the government wants to tap citizens' messages on WhatsApp or other social media platforms. In a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha last month, Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Rajyavardhan Rathore had said, "There is no proposal to invade an individual's right to privacy, and the right to freedom of speech." His response had come to a question on whether the government's proposed Social Media Hub project could invade an individual's right to privacy and the right to freedom of speech. "The government proposes to set up a Social Media Hub to facilitate information flow regarding its policIes and programmes through social media platforms i.e. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Youtube etc.," Rathore had said. Moitra in her petition said the government had issued an RFP. The tender was to be opened on August 20 for a software which would do a 360 degree monitoring on all social media platforms such as WhatsApp, Twitter and Instagram and track email contents, she said. On June 18, the apex court refused an urgent hearing on the plea seeking to stay the ministry's move to set up the social media hub that would collect and analyse digital and social media content. In May, the Broadcast Engineering Consultants India Limited (BECIL), a public sector undertaking under the ministry, had floated a tender to supply software for the project. Moitra said the hub "is being set up with the clear objective of surveillance of activities of individuals such as herself on social media platforms". In her plea, she said such intrusive action on the part of the government was "not only without the authority of law, but brazenly infringes" her fundamental right to freedom of speech under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution and violated her right of privacy. Raising concerns, she said the proposed SMCH seeks to create technology architecture that merges mass surveillance with a capacity for disinformation. The petition quoted the RFP as saying that the platform should "support easy management of conversational logs with each individual with capabilities to merge it across channels to help facilitate creating a 360 degree view of the people who are creating buzz across various topics". It said technology is required to have the capability to listen to and collect data not only from social media platforms but also from e-mails. WhatsApp, which was recently under fire over fake and provocative messages being circulated on its platform, had informed the IT and Electronics Ministry that it has the ability to prevent spam but blocking can be done only based on user reports since it cannot see the content of private messages. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) In a U-turn, the Centre today told the Supreme Court that it was withdrawing its notification proposing to create a social media hub, which some have alleged could become a tool to monitor online activities of citizens. A bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra considered the submission of Attorney General K K Venugopal, appearing for the Centre, that the impugned notification was being withdrawn, and disposed off petitions challenging it. Venugopal told the bench, comprising justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud, the social media policy would be reviewed completely by the government. The bench was hearing a petition filed by TMC MLA Mahua Moitra alleging that the Centre's social media hub policy was to be used as a tool to monitor social media activities of the citizens and has sought quashing of the same. The apex court, while agreeing to hear the plea on July 13, had asked the government whether its move to create such a hub was to tap people's WhatsApp messages, and observed that it will be like creating a "surveillance state". (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Uttarakhand High Court Chief Justice K M Joseph, who has been elevated as a Supreme Court Judge, was accorded a farewell today by his colleagues at a ceremony held in the High Court's bar room here. Uttarakhand High Court Bar Association president Lalit Belwal said he felt extremely happy and proud on the Justice Joseph's elevation as a judge of the Supreme Court. Showering praises on him, former President of the High Court Bar Association D S Patni said,"Justice Joseph is not only an expert in constitutional law but also possesses impeccable integrity. He will be remembered by his colleagues here for the authority with which he delivered his judgements." "Chief Justice K M Joseph has been one of the finest judges of Uttrakhand High court. He has been a party to a number of remarkable judgments passed by the high court which will continue to guide the legal fraternity, " Advocate Vipul Sharma said at the farewell ceremony. The Centre has accepted the decision of the Supreme Court collegium elevating Justice Joseph as a judge of the apex court. Joseph is the fifth Chief Justice of Uttarakhand High Court since its inception in November 2000 to be elevated as an Apex Court judge. Earlier in the day Justice Joseph held his Court in the pre-lunch session and received confirmation about his elevation in the middle of a hearing. Before adjourning the court heasked the appearing counsel S K Mandal to wait for the next date as he could no longer proceed as the Chief Justice. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Stating that the rise in China's power globally is a "fact of life", former foreign secretary S Jaishankar today asserted that India has to deal with the country with a "different mindset and a stronger resolve". He added that India could not afford the complacency like in the case of the Hambantota Port which Sri Lanka leased out to China. India had registered a protest with the island nation when a Chinese submarine had docked at the port in Colombo in 2014. Jaishankar also said it was Pakistan which came out with the narrative that Kashmir dispute was the "central issue" between the two countries. The former Foreign Secretary opined that the settlement of the Kashmir dispute may not solve all the problems between New Delhi and Islamabad. He said that Pakistan should move away from supporting terror activities as that was the "central issue" rather than the Kashmir dispute. Jaishankar was delivering the 24th Lalit Doshi Memorial Lecture here on 'Doing Foreign Policy Differently'. Jaishankar also pitched for working on a foreign policy based on changing situations across the world. "China's influence in the world cannot be disregarded. We should be open to find a common ground which is in our national interest. But all of this requires a different mindset and stronger resolve," he said. "We cannot afford the complacency of the past that oversaw the Hambantota project, of ballooning trade deficits nor can we take comfort in the rhetoric of combativeness. Chinese power is a fact of life," Jaishankar added. Talking about addressing the issue of trade deficit between India and China, he said that on the economic front India needs to accept that China will be a major investor. The former foreign secretary, however, said that India will have handle this part deftly in view of national security. "The trade deficit is unsustainable and the case to press for greater market access has only become stronger. Strategically, India can learn from China itself by leveraging the global environment to maintain and create a better balance," he added. While replying to a query from the audience about India's relation with Pakistan, Jaishankar refused to believe the Kashmir dispute was "central" to it. "If Kashmir is a central issue, then why do acts of terrorism take place outside Kashmir? Why was this city (Mumbai) attacked (in 2008)? I am not convinced that Kashmir alone is the issue and settlement of Kashmir will solve all problems with Pakistan," he added. Jaishankar said that the terror activities are supported openly in cities of Pakistan and asked the country to desist from such misadventures. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Beijing warned today it was prepared to impose new tariffs on $60 billion worth of US goods if Washington ups the ante in the escalating US-China trade war. The commerce ministry issued a statement saying the new duties would be applied if Washington pulled the trigger on President Donald Trump's threat to raise tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods. The statement said China reserves the right to apply "other countermeasures". "China always believes that consultation on the basis of mutual respect, equality and mutual benefit is an effective way to resolve trade differences," the ministry said. "Any unilateral threat or blackmail will only lead to intensification of conflicts and damage to the interests of all parties." The threat came a day after Chinese officials appealed for dialogue based on "mutual respect", with Foreign Minister Wang Yi urging the United States to remain "cool-headed". US officials said Wednesday that Trump had asked the US Trade Representative to consider increasing the proposed tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods to 25 per cent from the planned 10 per cent. Washington and Beijing are locked in battle over American accusations that China's export economy benefits from unfair policies and subsidies, as well as theft of American technological know-how. Trump has threatened to slap tariffs on virtually all of China's exports to the United States in the tit-for-tat trade conflict. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) China today said it will slap additional tariffs on about USD 60 billion worth of American products in retaliation to President Donald Trump's plan to raise duty on USD 200 billion Chinese imports, escalating the trade war between the top two economies of the world. The spat began in April with the Trump administration imposing tariffs on steel and aluminium imports into the US from China, which also retaliated by imposing additional tariffs worth about USD three billion on 128 US products. The Chinese Commerce Ministry said a decision to impose additional tariffs was made in response to US plan to raise tariffs on USD 200 billion of Chinese goods from 10 per cent to 25 per cent, state-run Xinhua agency reported. The Ministry said it would impose tariffs ranging from five to 25 per cent on USD 60 million worth of American products. The Ministry of Finance said in a statement that the retaliatory measures were in response to the latest US threat on July 11 to slap duties on USD 200 billion worth of Chinese products, and to raise those tariffs from 10 to 25 per cent. The ministry also said that the US measures violated the World Trade Organization rules and damaged China's interests. "The US has repeatedly betrayed the consensus reached by negotiations, and accelerated the trade war unilaterally again. It has seriously violated the principles of the World Trade Organisation," Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post quoted the statement as saying. Washington has vowed to take punitive measures to stop Beijing's Made in China 2025 industrial policy supporting domestic companies developing strategic advanced technologies, including robotics and artificial intelligence. Foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told media that "the Chinese side calls on the US to return to rationality, and eradicate its mistakes to create the right conditions for resolving the problem." The Post reported that China and the US held unofficial talks last week but a deep and mutual distrust continues to hamper efforts to de-escalate their trade dispute. US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin called China's Vice-Premier Liu He last week in a bid to persuade Beijing to approve US chip maker Qualcomm's takeover deal of Netherlands-based NXP Semiconductors, the Post reported. Several countries, including China, had a say in the matter because Qualcomm sells its products globally and the proposed merger could have been seen as giving the company a price monopoly, it said. The refusal by Beijing's anti-trust regulators to approve the deal effectively made Qualcomm the first casualty of the trade dispute, even though China said it had nothing to do with the issue. The purpose of the talks was to "prepare for more formal negotiations" but the progress had been slowed down due to the mistrust on both the sides, the Post quoted official sources as saying. Michael Pillsbury, director of the Centre for Chinese Strategy at the Hudson Institute, a conservative think tank in Washington, said at an event in Beijing on Monday that despite the dispute between the US and China, the relationship between Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping was strong. "I told you, some people say, there has been more than 30 phone calls between Trump and Xi. That's a lot, in 18 months (since Trump took office). And four meetings in person. So, the basic foundation of US-China cooperation is very strong," he added. The US, the world's largest economy, has a trade deficit of almost USD 500 billion with China, the world's second largest economy. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Antigua's assertion that India did not give any adverse report to stall granting of citizenship to Mehul Choksi last year evoked sharp reactions from the authorities here with the government today maintaining the police verification report of the bank fraud accused was "clear" at that time. A CBI official said the agency has sent an extradition request to the government to be forwarded to Antigua to bring him back. While the Antiguan authority responsible for grant of investment-linked citizenship named the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) as one of the Indian agencies to have given such a clearance in case of Choksi, the Indian capital markets regulator rejected the claim saying it neither received any such request, nor provided any such information to the department concerned in Antigua. Choksi's application for citizenship in Antigua in May 2017 was accompanied with clearance from the local police as required by norms, Antiguan newspaper the Daily Observer reported, citing a statement from the Citizenship by Investment Unit of Antigua and Barbuda (CIU). Choksi is one of the alleged masterminds of the USD 2 billion scam in state-run Punjab National Bank and uncle of fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modi. "The said police clearance certificate (PCC) from the Government of India, Ministry of External Affairs Regional Passport Office, Mumbai, certified that there was no adverse information against Mr Mehul Chinubbhai Choksi which would render him ineligible for grant of travel facilities including visa for Antigua and Barbuda," the report said. When asked about the PCC to Choksi, a spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs said it was issued by the passport office of Mumbai for Antigua and Barbuda on March 16, 2017 and that it was given on the basis of a clear police verification report (PVR) available on his passport. "All Passport Issuing Authorities can issue a PCC if there is a clear PVR in the system. In case there is no PVR, then a fresh PVR is obtained prior to issuance of a PCC," he said. "As the PVR of Mehul Choksi was clear in the system at the time of issuance of PCC, the process followed by Passport Office, Mumbai was as per extant instructions," he added. The report in Antigua said authorities in the island country did a thorough check on Choksi from open source global agencies, including the Interpol, and found "no instance" of any derogatory information against him. The Antiguan authorities, as part of their own checks, found two instances of Sebi action against Choksi's firms in 2014 and 2017 and sought more information on them, the report further said. It further quoted CIU as claiming that Sebi had told authorities in Antigua that one case was "satisfactorily closed" and there was "insufficient evidence" to pursue the second matter. However, the Indian regulator issued a statement today denying these claims. "Sebi has neither received any request from the Citizenship by Investment Unit (CIU) of Antigua for updates on any investigation nor provided any such information to CIU," the regulator said. As per the Antiguan media report, the CIU has said if there was a warrant against Choksi when his application of citizenship was being processed, Interpol should have been informed about it and it should have been part of national criminal database. Reacting to the report, the Congress alleged that "shocking details" emerging from Antigua have "exposed the complicity and connivance" of the Modi gvernment in the escape of Choksi to the Caribbean country. Choksi had fled India on January 4 this year and took oath of allegiance in Antigua on January 15. His citizenship was cleared in November 2017. On January 16 this year, the USD 2 billion scam was detected by Brady House branch of Punjab National Bank, making it the biggest banking scam in the country. In a recent response to a question by Congress leader Kapil Sibal, the Finance Ministry said in Rajya Sabha that the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) was "intimated" about the complaints regarding the PNB fraud in 2016 and the matter was referred to it. Under the Citizenship by Investment Program of Antigua and Barbuda, a person can take their passport on a minimum investment of USD 1,00,000 in the NDF investment fund. Choksi and his companies allegedly availed credit from overseas branches of Indian banks using the fraudulent guarantees of PNB given through letters of undertaking (LoUs) and letters of credit issued by the Brady House branch which were not repaid, bringing liability on the state-run bank, the officials have said. An LoU is a guarantee given by an issuing bank to Indian banks having branches abroad to grant short-term credit to the applicant. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The BJP today claimed that it was the Narendra Modi-led government which exposed the alleged crimes of fugitive businessmen Mehul Choksi and Nirav Modi which they committed during the tenure of the UPA government. Hitting back at the Congress over its allegation of the government's complicity in the escape of Choksi, BJP spokesperson Anil Baluni said the fugitive's lawyer had also claimed in a statement that he had links with "big leaders" of the opposition party. "The Congress is levelling baseless allegations against the BJP to deflect the charge it is facing over its senior leaders' links with him. The people, however, are convinced that we exposed Choksi's crimes he committed during the UPA government," he claimed. It was during the 2012-14 period when the UPA when in power that Choksi's assets saw a dramatic rise, he said, claiming that it indicated how he benefitted from the then government. Congress president Rahul Gandhi was also accused of inaugurating his high end shops and his party has never denied the allegation, Baluni said. Earlier, the Congress alleged that "shocking details" emerging from Antigua had "exposed the complicity and connivance" of the BJP government in Choksi's escape to the Caribbean country. It cited media reports quoting Antiguan authorities as saying that Indian agencies had no adverse information against the billionaire fugitive when the country conducted a background check on the PNB scam accused before granting him citizenship in 2017. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra will inaugurate a two-day symposium and conference on 'human values and the legal world', being organised by Sri Sathya Sai Seva Organisation at Prasanthi Nilayam in Puttaparthi in Andhra Pradesh. Dalveer Bhandari, Judge of International Court of Justice, will deliver the keynote address in the event on August 11 and 12, the organisers told a press conference here. "The theme, 'Human Values and the Legal World', is an invitation to bar, bench and academia from across the country to participate in the symposium to amplify the noble cause of enlightening the importance of human rights and values," Ramesh Pandey, one of the organisers, said. A panel headed by National Company Law Appellate Tribunal Chairman Justice S J Mukhopadhaya will deliberate on constitutional rights and human values. Apex court judge N V Ramana and former Supreme Court judge Amitava Roy will deliver lectures on role of judiciary in advancing human values, the organisers said. Justice T B Radhakrishnan, Chief Justice of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana High Court, will be chairing a session on 'ethics and probity in the legal profession'. Former Chief Justice of India M N R Venkatachaliah will be felicitated during the conference, the organisers said, adding that the event will be attended by more than 30 judges from various high courts across the country. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) "Completely dissatisfied" with the statement of Home Minister Rajnath Singh accusing TMC leaders of creating an "unruly situation" at the Silchar airport, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) is going to chalk out a plan of action over the weekend. The party today staged protests in both Houses of Parliament over the detention of some of its leaders in Assam's Silchar yesterday, over which the Lok Sabha was adjourned briefly. Though TMC members had demanded a statement from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Singh stated in the Lower House that since there were prohibitory orders in Assam, state officials had "requested" TMC leaders to return from the airport itself. "The statement of Rajnath Singh is completely unacceptable. We expected that the Centre will intimate us on its own and take appropriate action. Nothing was done. We are completely dissatisfied with his statement. Over the weekend, we are going to chalk out our plan of action for Monday," a senior TMC leader said. Senior members of the TMC have been called back to Kolkata, where the TMC chief has given a call to observe "black day" on Saturday and Sunday. According to a TMC source, the party is likely to meet members of the delegation, which had gone to Silchar, over the weekend to assess the situation and may intensify protests inside and outside Parliament on Monday. The party had moved Privilege Motions in both Houses of Parliament against the director general of police and the chief secretary of Assam regarding the issue. In the Rajya Sabha, the notice of Privilege Motion given by TMC member Santanu Sen was being examined, whereas in the Lok Sabha, the motion moved by Saugata Roy was rejected. The Speaker, however, had allowed TMC member Kalyan Banerjee to speak on the issue. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Congress today alleged in the Lok Sabha that a senior executive of a prominent channel and two other staffers had recently quit due to pressure from the government for airing stories critical of the ruling establishment. Strongly refuting the charge, Information and Broadcasting Minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore said the government has nothing to do with the internal developments of the channel and the opposition was raising the matter as it has no issues to flag in the House. "No showcause notice was served on the channel when it was running wrong The government has nothing to do with it (the resignations)...The TRP (rating point) of the channel is going down," Rathore said. Though Kharge named the channel and the executive who had quit, Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan said the name of the private entity and its employees would not go on record. Raising the issue during Zero Hour, Kharge alleged that the senior executive, who had served in the channel for 14 years, and the two other employees, were forced to quit following government pressure after it carried out a "reality check" on a claim by a woman farmer from Chhattisgarh during an interaction with Prime Minister Narendra Modi that her farm income had doubled. "It is unfortunate that the media is being targeted for doing its duty, for carrying out reality checks on the government's claim. The media is being intimidated. The Managing Editor (of the channel) was told to go. Two anchors of the channel were also asked to go," the leader of the Congress in Lok Sabha alleged. Days after the woman had said during a video conferencing with Modi in June that her income had doubled, the channel had aired a story in which she said she was tutored by officials to make the comment. After the story was telecast, the woman stuck to her remarks that her income had doubled as she had shifted from paddy cultivation to 'sitafal' (custard apple) farming and denied that she had been tutored. "After the channel ran the reality check, the government put pressure on the channel. The owners of the channel were under pressure (to remove them). "The Constitution has given the right to freedom of speech and expression... Attempts are being made to suppress the media which is not good," Kharge said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Congress today alleged that the managing editor and two anchors of a prominent channel had to quit due to pressure from the government for airing stories critical of the Modi dispensation. Raising the issue in the Lok Sabha, Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge also accused the government of trying to "intimidate" the media and "curbing" its freedom. Strongly denying the charges, Information and Broadcasting Minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore said the government has nothing to do with the internal developments in the channel and accused the opposition of raising the matter because it has no issues to flag in the House. "No showcause notice was served on the channel when it was running wrong The government has nothing to do with it (the resignations). If the government wanted to interfere, it could have as the Free Dish (state-run satellite TV service) is in government's control," he said. "The TRP (television rating point) of the channel is going down rapidly," Rathore said. Though Kharge named the channel and the managing editor who resigned, Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan objected to the leader naming a private entity and its employee. According to Kharge, the managing editor with 14 years of service in the channel and the two other employees were forced to quit following government pressure after it carried out a "reality check" on a Chhattisgarh woman farmer's claim during an interaction with Prime Minister Narendra Modi that her farm income had doubled. Days after the woman, Chandramani Kaushik from Kanker district, claimed during the interaction with the prime minister on June 20 through the NaMo App that her income had doubled, the channel aired a story in which she said she was tutored by officials. After the story was telecast, the woman stuck to her remarks that her income had doubled as she had shifted from paddy cultivation to 'sitafal' (custard apple) farming and denied she was tutored. "The media is being targeted for doing its duty, for carrying out reality checks on the government's claim. The media is being intimidated. The managing editor (of the channel) was told to go. Two anchors of the channel were also asked to go," the leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha alleged. He said after the channel ran the "reality check", the government put pressure on the channel to remove the three employees. "The Constitution has given the right to freedom of speech and expression... Attempts are being made to suppress the media which is not good," Kharge said. After the story was aired by the channel, Congress President Rahul Gandhi took a swipe at Modi, saying he not only tells people his 'Mann ki Baat' but even wants to hear his 'Mann ki Baat' from them. "Everyone knows that the PM tells his 'Mann ki Baat'. But today, it was known that he wants to hear only his own 'Mann ki Baat'," Gandhi had tweeted in Hindi, referring to Modi's 'Mann ki Baat' radio address. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Congress Rajya Sabha MP Naran Rathwa today wrote a letter to Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani asking him to declare a state holiday for the "International Day of the World's Indigenous People" which is observed on August 9. The Congress MP from Gujarat said that the state had a large tribal population of around one crore of which several were government employees. He said that a state government holiday on August 9 would allow people from tribal communities to participate in programmes organised in connection with the International Day of the World's Indigenous People. The United Nations had, in 1994, declared this day to promote and protect the rights of indigenous people across the world. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Congress will form booth-level committees in the national capital by this month-end to strengthen the organisation and galvanise the cadre ahead of next year's parliamentary election, party Delhi unit chief Ajay Maken said today. Under the "Shakti Project", launched by Congress president Rahul Gandhi, the Delhi unit has enlisted 42,000 party members at almost 8,000 booths out of 13,500 across the national capital, Maken said. In a meeting of newly appointed presidents of district and block units today, Maken said the booth presidents will be appointed by August 10. All the booth committees having 20 office-bearers each are to be formed by August 30. Programmes for the district and block committees to strengthen the party further at the grass-roots level were discussed at the meeting. "Organisation of Delhi unit is to be strengthened up to booth level with committed Congress workers so that the programmes and policies of the party are promptly conveyed to the people at their doorsteps." Presidents of district and block units have been instructed to run full-fledged offices in their respective areas by August 15, he said. The Congress failed to win a single seat in Delhi in the last parliamentary election in 2014. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Congress today alleged that members of ruling BJP have painted in saffron colour a statue of Mahatma Gandhi installed at a government school in Dhaka Ghanshyampur village here and demanded action against them. However, the district adminstration downplayed the issue, saying an enquiry showed that the colour on the statue was not saffron but yellow and it had been painted two years ago on the direction of the school adminstration. A delegation led by district unit president of Congress Kaushal Misra met the district magistrate Amrit Tripathi today and handed over a memorandum demanding immediate action against the miscreants who painted the statue. Taking serious note of the matter, the district magistrate ordered for a probe, to be led by Sub-divisional Magistrate Puvaya Satyapriya Singh. "I sent the party's block unit president Rahul Sharma to the primary school where the statue was installed. He found the statue painted in saffron. He even clicked photographs," Misra said. The party members in Lucknow and Delhi have been apprised of the matter. Misra said ruling party members are behind the incident as they are using it to divert public attention from pressing issues. The DM said a team of officials sent to the spot found the painting work done over two years ago. "The paint on the statue is light yellow and not saffron," said the DM, adding, "Two years ago, the then principal Snehasu had ordered repairs and painting works as part of which the statue got a coat of light yellow paint. The incident is being made an issue now." Responding to the administration's claim that the painting was done two years ago, the Congress leaders said if that was the case then the matter would have come to light earlier and not yesterday. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Haryana school department has decided to set up dedicated counselling cells for students, parents and teachers to assist in resolving conflicts of students. In the first phase, it will be established in 13 districts of the state -- Faridabad, Panchkula, Jhajjar, Rohtak, Gurgaon, Hisar, Fatehabad, Kaithal, Mahendragarh, Bhiwani, Rewari, Sonipat and Kurukshetra, a spokesperson of the department said here today. The key objectives of the conflict management and counselling cells are to enable students to be assertive, build self-confidence, deal with academic stress and poor academic performance, effectively solve problems, resolve conflicts, create self-awareness, manage stress, and choose right career options, the spokesperson said. He said the basic designation of the counselling psychologist would be post-graduate teacher only. The counsellor will only be responsible for providing counselling to students, parents and teachers regarding issues and conflicts faced by or affecting students, he added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A special CBI court today issued a non-bailable warrant against Nayamuddin Sheikh, brother of Sohrabuddin who was killed in an alleged fake encounter in 2005, after he failed to appear before it for deposition. The court had in November last year issued summons to Nayamuddin, who is a prosecution witness, asking him to appear to record his statement, but he had failed to do so. Special CBI Judge S J Sharma today issued a non-bailable warrant against Nayamuddin and directed him to appear before the court on August 10. The court is conducting trial against 22 people, including Gujarat and Rajasthan policemen, for murder, abduction and destruction of evidence under the Indian Penal Code and the Arms Act. Sohrabuddin, his wife Kausar Bi and an acquaintance, Tulsidas Prajapati, were allegedly abducted by the Gujarat Police's Anti-Terrorism Squad from Hyderabad on their way to Sangli in Maharashtra in November 2005. While Sohrabuddin and Kausar Bi were allegedly killed in a fake encounter near Gandhinagar, Prajapati was allegedly killed at Chapri village in Gujarat's Banaskantha district in December 2006. The fake encounter case was transferred to Mumbai in September 2012 on the request of the CBI, which said it was necessary to ensure a fair trial. In 2013, the Supreme Court had clubbed the Sheikh and Prajapati encounter cases. Over 65 witnesses have turned hostile in the trial so far. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A day after an FIR was lodged in connection with the death and burial of a 22-year old Dalit man in Sirka area of the district, police today exhumed his body in presence of a magistrate and sent it for autopsy, official sources said. Mukesh Ram, a resident of Sirka in Ramgarh town police station area of the district, was allegedly beaten up by three men around 12 days ago. He succumbed to his injuries a week later. In a complaint filed yesterday, Ram's elder sister Champa Kumari said the three men not only assaulted his brother, but also forced her family members to bury his body, Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO) Radha Prem Kishore said. "Mukesh, who was allegedly beaten up on July 23, underwent a primary treatment at a local hospital and returned home. A week later, however, his condition deteriorated and he died on way to the hospital," Kishore said quoting the FIR. Kumari, 26, also alleged that her family was not allowed to perform the last rites of his brother. Minutes after Kumari filed the police complaint yesterday, representatives of various socio-religious, along with local people, gheraoed Ramgarh police station, demanding immediate arrest of the accused, the officer said. Two among the three accused have been identified as Samir Ansari and Ashique Ansari, the SDPO said. "All three of them are at large and a team of officers are looking for them. The police are also trying to ascertain the reason behind the assault," he added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das today said democracy is alive due to the poor, tribals, dalits and the disadvantaged, whom he termed as the "fifth pillar" of the democracy. Addressing a function after distributing the appointment letters to police Sub-Inspectors at the state secretariat here, Das said the poor should be respected in the police station. Due to the poor, tribals, dalits, exploited, disadvantaged and victims, democracy is alive. They are the fifth pillar of our democracy. They are entitled to honour," he said. "We have to create such a police in Jharkhand, which becomes famous all over the country for its skills, Das added. The Chief Minister said that contact with people should be maintained because this would also improve the law and order situation in the region and advised the new recruits to fulfill their responsibilities with honesty, an official release said quoting Das. The Chief Minister said that till date 11,451 appointments were made in the police department since 2014, which include posts of police sub-inspectors, operators, wireless operators, assistant police, and deputy superintendents of police. Today, 2,645 police sub-inspectors were given appointment letters. Eighty-three of them are residents of Jharkhand. Though the rest seventeen percent are from outside states, they are also living in Jharkhand for three generations. In this way, 100 per cent of the appointments were made by people of Jharkhand. There are 223 women among the newly appointed Police sub-inspectors. On this occasion, Principal Secretary to Home Department SKG Rahate and Director General of Police D K Pandey also addressed the newly appointed police Sub-Inspectors. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Delhi High Court today awarded compensation of over Rs 12 lakh to the mother of an 11-year-old student who fell in an open manhole near the Millennium Park here during a picnic in 2015. A bench of acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice C Hari Shankar said failure of public authorities to carry out their duties and negligence in taking care of the young boy led to his death. The high court said that it was "astonishing" that a missing cover of the manhole on a water tank was "difficult to notice" and "if inspections, upkeep were diligently undertaken and the sites were regularly checked, even by the engineers concerned, it certainly would not have escaped attention". "The Public Works Department shall deposit a sum of Rs 10,00,000 along with interest at 9 per per annum (7,500 per month) from the date of death (December, 2015) within one month as compensation to Saroj Rani, mother of the deceased... As such an amount of Rs 12,47,500 would be payable till August 31, 2018," the bench said, adding that the amount shall be deposited with the Registrar General of this court within four weeks from today. The high court directed the Secretary, District State Legal Services Authority (South-East District) to ensure that a saving bank account of the mother is opened at the bank nearest to her place of residence, as well as that her Aadhaar and PAN Card details are sent to the Registrar General of this court. The high court also asked all public authorities and land owning agencies, including the Delhi Chief Secretary, civic bodies and Commissioner of Police to ensure that sites of all manholes, pits, holes, tanks or any other opening in the ground of any kinds shall be regularly inspected and maintained. "Schedule and protocols of inspections and maintenance shall be drawn up and notified by all departments. These sites shall be cordoned off to render them inaccessible to the public. "The existence of these sites shall be clearly and visibly marked by the display of signboards/signages. If they are required to be covered, the authorities shall ensure that the covers are in place. Responsibility for compliance shall be fixed of the senior officers not below the rank of executive engineers concerned or equivalent thereto," the bench said. The high court had initiated the matter after taking note of the incident in which the school boy had fallen into an open water harvesting pit at the Millennium Park and died on December 21, 2015 during a school picnic. He had drowned before help could reach him. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Congress today alleged that "shocking details" emerging from Antigua have "exposed the complicity and connivance" of the Modi gvernment in the escape of fugitive billionaire Mehul Choksi to the Caribbean country. Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala was reacting to media reports quoting Antiguan authorities as saying that Indian agencies had no adverse information against Choksi when the Caribbean country conducted a background check on the PNB scam accused before granting him citizenship in 2017. "Loot and make them scoot is the prime policy of the the Modi government. The shocking details reveal how the Modi government enacted this mega scam," he said in a statement. Surjewala questioned why Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not raise the issue when he met his Antiguan counterpart Gaston Browne in April 2018. He also alleged that the Ministry of External Affairs issued a clean chit to Choksi when there were complaints pending against him. "Why did the CBI/ED not move the Interpol for a warrant against Mehul Choksi or provide the requisite evidence of criminal fraud against him? Is it not correct that this deliberate failure on part of CBI/ED in providing evidence to Interpol, led to Interpol giving a clean chit to Choksi?" he asked. The Congress leader sought to know why the Prime Minister's Office did not act or direct the External Affairs Ministry, Central Bureau of Investigation, Enforcement Directorate, Securities and Exchange Board of India, Serious Fraud Investigation Office etc. to take action on two complaints dated May 7 and May 26, 2015. "Why did not Prime Minister Narendra Modi raise the issue of citizenship during his meeting with Antigua PM Gaston Browne in April, 2018?" the Congress leader asked. Surjewala alleged the agencies under the Modi government enabled the "great escape" of Choksi. "Complicity and connivance of the Modi gvernment in the escape of Rs 23,484-cr PNB scam accused Mehul Choksi, better described by PM Narendra Modi's 'hamare Mehul bhai', has been exposed. "Shocking details from Antigua's Citizenship By Investment Unit have lifted the cover from the sins committed by every organ of the Modi government PMO, MEA, CBI, SEBI etc that facilitated and gave a 'clean chit' to the fraudster," he alleged. Surjewala said the development "also conclusively exposes the barrage of lies that ministers in the Modi government were trying to plant in the mainstream media". The Congress leader said Choksi left India on January 4, 2018 and was already a citizen of Antigua and Barbuda since November 2017 "which gives him a visa-free access to travel around 132 nations". (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Nepal Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli today said optimum utilisation of information technology (IT) is inevitable to compete in the global market at a time when the country has entered into a phase of economic transformation, ending elongated political transition. Speaking at a programme Digital Nepal Conference' organised by the Ministry of Communication and IT here, Oli cautioned that no one will wait for Nepal if it fails to pick up pace in the present dynamic world. Asserting that information technology is being increasingly used to provide good governance in Nepal, the prime minister said the government has already started e-payment system and digital technology will now be used in the education sector in the country. Minister for Communication and IT Gokul Baskota said information technology plays a key role in easy service delivery, economic growth and employment generation. He further said the use of IT would be intensified in agriculture, education, health and tourism sectors by internalising the progress made by neighbouring India and China in this sector. Underscoring the implementation of the 'Digital Nepal' campaign, IT Secretary Mahendra Man Gurung said it was important to implement the national identity card by the government which could help citizens to avail all state services and facilities with the help of a single identity card. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Music maestro A R Rahman says India's musical heritage may lack exposure but it is not dying as its roots are deep in tradition and people have a spiritual connection with it. The double Oscar-winner has travelled across India to find rare instruments and hidden musical traditions in his maiden non-fiction series, "Harmony with A R Rahman", being launched on Amazon Prime on August 15. The quest underscored what Rahman always thought was true about India -- every street has a musical legacy. Rahman will interpret these traditions in a modern context on the show. "I don't think India's rich musical heritage is dying, only the exposure is dying. People love traditions and it is beyond anybody's money or power. It (music) is the lifestyle of so many people. "I was talking about this place in Kerala, Kalamandalam, where they have this guru-shishya thing and they have a place in Chennai which has a fees of Rs 370 per year and they teach folk music, classical music and dance. In Rajasthan, every kid sings amazingly well and also in Punjab," Rahman told PTI in an interview. The composer, who is credited with revolutionising Indian cinema music in his 25-year illustrious career, says traditional music may lack exposure but exists in a big way. "We can't generalise that everybody is watching this... They have the options to watch so many things. They have the option to watch the purest thing or filth. "What we see exposed is this big splash of Hindi movies and Tamil movies. It does not mean that all this (traditional music) does not exist. It is taken by families who create this legacy. It is their soul. It is not dictated by money. It is a redeeming factor in their lives." Rahman may be anchoring the show but jokes that people should not have high expectations about his skills as a host. "I'm not like a traditional anchor. Don't have high expectations. I am not like 'Lovely! look at this place, look at the food'. I am not that charming. In my own ways, I had these beautiful interactions." In fact, Rahman, one of India's most renowned musicians, says he fears the burden of expectation "always, everyday". The series captures Rahman's interactions with artistes with an impromptu jam session towards the end of every episode. The last episode shows Rahman put together a composition with all artistes. On the internet, it is all about the number of views one has managed to garner, but Rahman says it is "gross" to judge something like that. "(Though) It does influence what you are doing. We wanted this series to be intriguing, interesting and not boring as these are instruments that are off the radar and we are bringing them to the fore. There is purity, honesty, there is a legacy that we intend to bring," he said. "They have a pre-set legacy and we just had to take it and make it shine. It is like storytelling, like a movie, you go and see their lives, each fascinating in their own way. And there was no one telling 'Ah, this song did not work.' So, you have that artistic freedom," he added. The five-episode series is created by Kavithalayaa. "Harmony with A.R. Rahman" features maestros such as Ustad Mohi Baha'un-din Dagar from Maharashtra, who comes from an eight generation-long lineage of musicians and plays the Rudra Veena in Dhrupad style, Kalamandalam Sajith Vijayan from Kerala who devoted a majority of his life to the Mizhavu, Lourembam Bedabati Devi of Manipur, a renowned artiste and guru of traditional Manipuri folk song, and Mickma Tshering Lepcha from Sikkim who is known to be a master of the Panthong Palith. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan today termed the flood situation in the state the gravest in recent times and appealed to all to donate generously for taking up relief measures. Besides causing loss to property and agriculture, the recent floods following the monsoon fury have claimed more than 130 lives, the Chief Minister said in a Facebook post. Alappuzha district was the worst-hit and floodwater has not yet receded from Kuttanad in the district, he said. The state government was doing everything to help the rain-hit victims without considering financial constraints, he said. Several people have come forward to help the government in its relief work without seeking anything in return, he said, adding that support and co-operation of all were needed. A total of 5,510 people from 1,276 families was still in 42 relief camps in Alappuzha district, officials said. The government machinery was closely monitoring the water-level in the Idukki reservoir, which stood at 2,396.28 feet today. The full level is 2,403 feet. The water level is related to the Mean Sea Level and catchment area. Most dams in the state were full and some of them were been opened to release excess water. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has seized over 3,800 kgs of ganja in two separate cases in northeast India, according to an official statement issued today. The agency joined hands with the Tripura Police, BSF, and Assam Police to effect the seizure over the last three days, it said. A search operation was conducted on Wednesday and Thursday in the premises of two persons in Sepahijala district of Tripura, and 3,390 kgs of ganja (dry cannabis) packed in 85 plastic drums of different sizes recovered, the DRI said. According to the DRI, the narcotic was hidden underground in the premises owned by the duo, following which they were arrested. In another operation conducted by the DRI yesterday, 488 kgs of ganja was seized from an abandoned house at Angla Bazar, Badarpur in Karimganj district of Assam. The operation was carried out by the DRI jointly with the Assam Police, BSF and CRPF, the statement said. "Thus, a total of 3,878 kgs of ganja has been seized in two separate operations in the northeast in the last three days," it said. This is the seventh successive instance of seizure of ganja sourced from Tripura to have been detected by the DRI recently in the northeast. A total of 8,900 kgs of ganja originating from Tripura was seized in the past few months. Organised cultivation and harvesting of ganja for commercial purpose in Tripura is seen to be a new trend and the DRI is closely monitoring the development in the eastern sector in partnership with the Tripura Police, BSF and other agencies, it said. "It has been observed that large scale cultivation of ganja is taking place in the hilly tracts and jungles of Tripura under the thick foliage of rubber plantations. Often business persons obtain lease of land and government sanction for cultivation of rubber plants and misuse bank loans by concentrating more on cultivation of ganja than what the government sanction and bank loans were intended for," the agency said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar today said the state government was yet to receive any communication from the DRI about a raid it had conducted in June at a factory, from where it seized 100 kgs of ketamine drugs. He said whatever information the government has got about the raid was "only through media and from inquiry by local police". Parrikar was responding to an issue raised by Congress legislator Luizinho Faleiro in the Legislative Assembly. On June 11, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) had raided a factory at Pissurlem Industrial Estate in North Goa and seized 100 kgs of ketamine. The raid was part of a probe against an international racket manufacturing the banned substance in the country. Speaking in the House, Parrikar expressed the possibility that the ketamine recovered from the factory might not have been manufactured at the unit, but only stored there. "We have officially asked the DRI to give us information about the raid conducted in Goa, but we are yet to get any formal communication from the central agency," he said. "Whatever we know about the raid is through newspaper reports and also through information gathered by local police," he said. When a racket is spread across multiple states, the state agency can't act in those cases, Parrikar added. "We don't know whether the (ketamine) drug was manufactured here. As per my information, it was stored there," he said referring to the industrial unit from where the drug was seized. Former Goa CM and Congress legislator Pratapsinh Rane said the state government should have been serious about the issue as the quantity of drugs seized during the raid was huge. Responding to Rane's statement, Parrikar urged him to share with the government any information or documents related to the raid. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Following a fierce gunfight with the police, an alleged drug smuggler today committed suicide in Bhimana, Rajasthan, police said. Khartaram of Barmer who was also an absconding murder accused died in the encounter, while Bhajan Lal Bishnoi of Jodhpur was arrested. The hunt for the third smuggler was on, they said. Acting on a tip-off that a huge consignment of poppy husk was being hauled in the area, a checkpoint was set up in Bhimana under the foothills of Arawali early morning, SP (Pali) Rahul Prakash said. An approaching car was signalled to stop but the driver sped past while another car following it opened fire at the police personnel, said Prakash. Five rounds were fired at the police but no body was hurt, he added. However, as the tyres of the vehicles, in which the smugglers were escaping, got punctured in retaliatory fire, they were forced to run towards the hills on foot in a bid to escape, the SP said. We launched a search operation with the help of the villagers and laid a siege after spotting them in the afternoon," said Prakash. Just as the police was approaching their hideout, they opened fire at the police again, Prakash said. However, they soon realised that they were outnumbered leading to Khartaram ending his life by shooting himself in the head, Prakash said. Khartaram was wanted in a murder case and had been absconding. He was also engaged in smuggling of opium and poppy husk and had been to jail twice, he added. Meanwhile, the two vehicles belonging to the smugglers along with a huge consignment of poppy husk was seized. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A soft touch regulation is needed to promote the nascent e-commerce industry in the country and the proposal to allow startups to issue shares with differential voting rights would affect the flow of foreign capital into this space, IT industry veteran V Balakrishnan has said The draft e-commerce policy was clearly aimed at promoting Indian e-commerce players while at the same time trying to bring about a level-playing field between online and offline players, the former Chief Financial Officer of Infosys Ltd said. The draft policy was trying to put India first by focusing on encouraging more made-in-India products to be sold through the e-commerce marketplace, he said. The e-commerce market was still insignificant in the country, said the chairman of Exfinity Venture Partners LLP, and StartupXseed Ventures LLP. "While there is a need for a single-point regulator to address all the concerns related to the e-commerce industry, too much of regulations at this nascent stage of the industry will impact its growth. I think IT industry is a shining example of how tremendous growth could be achieved with lesser government regulations", Balakrishnan told PTI. Stating that any government policy should put the interest of consumers at the centre, he felt that micro- managing discounts being offered in the e-commerce market place was unwarranted. Prohibiting bulk purchase of goods and restrictions on influencing the prices directly or through group companies would not benefit the consumers, he said. "Today, consumers use e-commerce marketplace for both convenience and price. Also, most of the offline stores too are getting their own online channel. With more than 95 per cent of the retail sales still happening offline, these restrictions will not be in the consumers interest", he said. On the proposal in the draft policy that start-ups can issue shares with differential voting rights, Balakrishnan said it was basically to protect entrepreneurs. With not much of domestic money coming into this sector at this point of time, it would affect the flow of foreign capital into the industry, he said. Investors were averse to such rights as it would impact their ability to exit by mergers or otherwise, he said. Pointing out that every country was trying to encourage products made locally and protect their domestic industry, Balakrishnan said this policy addresses that issue to an extent. "But, it will be a great challenge to identify a make- in-India product with the mushrooming of global supply chains. I think value addition in India should be the sole criteria and not just assembling the product in the country", he said. "Also, if the industry has to innovate and become big, more of a soft touch regulation is the need of the hour. Also, any government policy should put the interest of the consumer in the centre", Balakrishnan added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis today instructed district Collectors to convene meetings of representatives of those educational institutes which have not reimbursed fees to students under a government scheme, an official release today said. Students get a hefty reimbursement of fees under the Rajarshi Shahu Maharaj Free Reimbursement Scheme, which was one of the sops offered to poorer sections of the Maratha community (as well as those in other 'general category' communities) by the government when the community leaders first agitated for quota in and jobs. The agitation has now been revived. Hostels for Maratha students, which the government had promised earlier, should be opened in unused government buildings or private buildings (if new buildings are not available readily) by the end of August, the chief minister toldthe officials, the release said. Fadnavis interacted with divisional commissioners, collectors and CEOs of Zilla Parishads through video conference at Mantralaya here. Revenue Minister Chandrakant Patil, Higher and Technical Minister Vinod Tawde and Chief Secretary Dinesh Kumar Jain also took part in the meeting. Patil informed that the first hostel for Maratha students started in Kolhapur today. The government had announced that it would open hostels for Maratha students in each district of the state. The chief minister also reviewed the situation of rainfall and crop sowings. Officials should guide cotton farmers as to how to go about pesticide spraying to tackle the pink bollworm attack, the chief minister said. Nearly 20 tehsils including some parts of Aurangabad, Beed, Jalna, Ahmednagar, Solapur and Nadurbar districts are facing extended dry spells in the last two weeks. Collectors of these districts should take immediate steps to help farmers, he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) US President Donald Trump has said it is the 'Fake News' and not the entire media that is the enemy of the people after his daughter and senior adviser Ivanka distanced herself from his negative remarks about the press. Trump has been very critical about the media after becoming the president. His remarks came hours after his daughter Ivanka said that she does not believe that media is the enemy of the people. During an Axios event yesterday, when Ivanka was asked about her father's oft-repeated accusation that the media is the "enemy of the people", she said, "No. I do not feel that the media is the enemy of the people." "I've received my fair share of reporting on me personally that I know not to be fully accurate, so I've had some sensitivity around why people have concerns and gripe, especially when they sort of feel targeted," Ivanka said. Her remarks were construed as her differences with the president on this issue. However hours later, President Trump took to Twitter to clarify this. "They asked my daughter Ivanka whether or not the media is the enemy of the people. She correctly said no. It is the FAKE NEWS, which is a large percentage of the media, that is the enemy of the people! (sic)," he tweeted. A few days back, Donald Trump had called American journalists "unpatriotic" as he accused them of putting lives at risk by their reporting. "When the media - driven insane by their Trump Derangement Syndrome - reveals internal deliberations of our government, it truly puts the lives of many, not just journalists, at risk! Very unpatriotic!" he had said in a series of characteristic tweets. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) There was an overall decrease in the number of persons diagnosed with AIDS in the country in the last three years, even as a few states had witnessed the emergence of "new hotspots" of HIV, Parliament was informed today. In a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha, Union Health Minister J P Nadda said Meghalaya, Mizoram and Tripura had seen the emergence of such "hotspots" due to "high risk" behaviour among injecting drug users (IDUs) and unsafe sexual practices. "There is a decrease in the number of HIV patients diagnosed during the last three years," he said. According to the data shared by the minister, 2,00,465 people were diagnosed with HIV in 2015-16, 1,93,195 in 2016-17 and 1,90,763 in 2017-18. In all the three years, Maharashtra reported the maximum number of cases with 28,030 people diagnosed with HIV in the state in 2017-18. For Mizoram, Meghalaya and Tripura, the government has identified the high HIV prevalence pockets affecting pregnant women and high-risk groups (female sex workers and IDUs), according to the data. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) What better place to watch a new film than the location where its final moments were shot -- even if it means scaling a 2,000 feet mountain. That's what some of Tom Cruise's die-hard fans did in Norway where Paramount Pictures had organised a special screening of "Mission: Impossible - Fallout" at the famed Pulpit Rock. The steep cliff, also known as the Preikestolen and siting at the height of about 2,000 feet, served as the location for Tom Cruise-starrer's final set piece. Around 2,000 fans made it to the mountain top after a two-hour-long hike to get the amazing view and watch the sixth movie in the franchise. Cruise, who can be seen hanging for his life from the cliff in one of the most crucial scenes from the movie, did not attend the screening but encouraged fans via Twitter. "2,000 feet, 2,000 people, 4 hours of hiking. The most impossible screening of #MissionImpossible Fallout. Thank you all for coming! I wish I could have been there," he tweeted. The film's last sequences were shot in New Zealand and Norway, where the makers recreated India's Kashmir. Directed by Christopher McQuarrie and also starring Henry Cavill, Rebecca Ferguson, Simon Pegg and Angela Bassett, the film released on July 27. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Actor Fan Bingbing, a prominent star in China who has also featured in Hollywood blockbusters, has reportedly gone missing from the public eye which has left her fans worried. According to BBC, the 36-year-old actor, considered one of the highest earners in the world, has not been seen in the public since July 1 when she visited a children's hospital. Bingbing, who has close to 62 million followers on Chinese social media platform Weibo, has also not posted on her account since 23 July, when she "liked" a number of posts. In May this year, the "X-Men: Days of Future Past" star was accused by a prominent TV presenter of tax evasion which led to a probe against her. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti today said fiddling with the state's special status would have "catastrophic ramifications" for the entire country. Her warning comes days before a Supreme Court hearing, scheduled for August 6, on petitions challenging the validity of Article 35A of the Constitution, which grants special rights and privileges to the state's residents. "Today people cutting across party lines and other affiliations are united in their fight against dilution of Article 35A. As I have already stated before, fiddling with J-K's special status will have catastrophic ramifications for the entire country," Mufti said. Article 35A, which was incorporated in the Constitution by a 1954 Presidential Order, also denies property rights to a woman who marries a person from outside the state. "My father (former chief minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed) took great pride in the special status that J-K enjoys under Article 370. He would often mention that while people of the state have made great sacrifices for larger goals, we need to safeguard what we already have," the PDP president wrote on Twitter. Protests by the separatists, business and trade bodies and civil society organisations have rocked the Valley over the past few days against petitions demanding that Article 35A be repealed. The separatists have called for a two-day strike on Aug 5-6 over the issue. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Filmmaker Vijay Ratnakar Gutte has been arrested for alleged Goods and Services Tax (GST) fraud of over Rs 34 crore, a GST department official said today. Gutte, director of upcoming film "The Accidental Prime Minister", was arrested by the Directorate General of Goods and Services Tax Intelligence (DGGSTI) yesterday and produced before a metropolitan magistrate court here which remanded him in judicial custody till August 14, he said. "Gutte has been booked under section 132 (1)(c) of the CGST Act, which pertains to 'wrongful availment' of input tax credit using bills and invoices that have been issued without any supply of goods or services," the official said. According to the official, Gutte's firm, VRG Digital Corp Pvt Ltd, allegedly procured 149 fake invoices involving GST of Rs 34.37 crore for animation and manpower services received from another company, Horizon Outsource Solutions Pvt Ltd. In May this year, the DGGSTI had arrested the director of Horizon Outsource Solutions for an alleged GST fraud. The agency's probe into the case revealed that Gutte's firm was one of the top clients of Horizon Outsource and was shown as receiving services of about Rs 266 crore with a GST implication of Rs 34.37 crore, even as there was no actual supply of services, the official said. According to the rules, in cases where the amount of tax evaded or the amount of input tax credit wrongly availed or utilised, or the amount of refund wrongly taken exceeds Rs 5 crore, the accused is liable to be fined and imprisoned for up to five years. The agency claimed Gutte's firm wrongfully claimed a cash refund of Rs 28 crore from the government against Central Value Added Tax (CENVAT) credit received for these fake invoices since July 2017. The agency said Gutte not only availed non-existent input tax credit (ITC), but also fraudulently claimed refund of the ITC from the GST department on the basis of fake invoices. By doing so, Gutte and his firm defrauded and caused loss to the state exchequer, it said. Gutte has so far produced three films - "Emotional Attyachar", "Time Bara Vait" and "Badmashiyaan". Gutte's directorial debut, "The Accidental Prime Minister", is slated to release on December 21. The film, based on a book of the same name about former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, features veteran actor Anupam Kher in the lead role. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The finance ministry will examine the demand of private security industry for reduction of GST from the existing level of 18 per cent, Minister of State for Finance Shiv Pratap Shukla said today. The government, he said, is fully conscious of the significant contribution of the private security industry in creating jobs for the poor, those who have migrated from the villages and ex-servicemen. "We have received a FICCI representation on the issue and will do whatever is possible to reduce the 18 per cent GST levied on the industry," he said at an event here. He invited a delegation of the industry to discuss the matter. There is a merit in the demand for reduction in GST rate to 5 per cent as this industry generates roughly 5 lakh job yearly, said Rituraj Sinha, chairman of the FICCI Committee on Private Security Industry. Such relief, he said, will also greatly benefit the small players who have to bear the burden of interest costs, as they have to borrow to deposit GST in advance. Besides, private security has emerged as an essential service to support the government machinery in homeland security activities. With reduction in the GST tax rate from 18 per cent to 5 per cent, pressure from customers on manpower reduction is likely to ease significantly resulting in job protection for private security guards, Sinha said. Lower GST rate is also likely to boost volume of work orders, thereby the paving way for demand expansion and resultant increase in skill development activities as well as employment generation by private security sector, he added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A fire broke out at Supreme Court judge Kurian Joseph's official residence in Lutyens' Delhi, the police said today. A call was received about a fire at Joseph's bungalow around 10 pm yesterday and two firetenders were rushed to the spot, a senior Delhi Fire Service officer said, adding that it was doused within 25 minutes. Joseph's bungalow is located on Tughlak Road. The fire started in the prayer room, which is located next to the bedroom, said a senior police officer. A burning candle had fallen on a piece of cloth triggering the fire. After smoke was seen emanating from the room, the police and the fire department were alerted. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A fire broke out in Supreme Court judge Kurian Joseph's official residence in Lutyens' Delhi, police said today. A call was received about a fire at Joseph's bungalow around 10 pm yesterday and two firetenders were rushed to the spot, said a senior officer from the Delhi Fire Service, adding that it was doused within 25 minutes. Joseph's bungalow is located on Tughlak Road. The fire started in the prayer room, located next to the bedroom, a senior police officer said. A burning candle had fallen on a piece of cloth triggering the fire. After smoke was seen emanating from the room, the police and the fire department were alerted. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Four men were arrested for allegedly looting Rs 44.5 lakhs by shooting and injuring two medicine suppliers in northwest Delhi's Keshav Puram, the police said today. The accused were identified as Saddam, Sandeep, Pawan Kumar and Ilteza, they said. Two country made pistols, stolen cash of Rs 21.5 lakh, one gold chain worth Rs 2.5 lakh which was purchased from stolen amount and five mobile phones used in the commission of crime were recovered from their possession, the police said. On July 30, police were informed that four men came in a white swift car and stole cash by firing and injuring two men who were taken to a private hospital in Shalimar Bagh. When police reached the hospital, they found that both the injured identified as Raj Kumar Bhasin and Tejpal Singh were lying unconscious. The victim had sustained gunshot injuries and were unfit to give their statement, Aslam Khan, Deputy Commissioner of Police (northwest) said. Police sources were deployed and more than 200 criminals were interrogated. The crime scene was visited and clues were developed by scanning footage from CCTVs installed in the vicinity of the crime scene. Subsequently, the gang members were identified and arrested, Khan said. During interrogation, the accused Saddam confessed committing the robbery along with his associates. He disclosed that Iltiza had given him tip-off that two men from Maya Muniram hospital were carrying cash in a black coloured i20 car. Saddam then shared the details with his friend Sandeep and asked him to arrange required manpower for robbing the duo who often collected and moved cash from the hospital in Pitampura. Sandeep then introduced Pawan Kumar and Vinay to Saddam. Later, Saddam introduced his associates Chhota Hunny and Ravi Chauhan to them. Together, they all plotted and executed the robbery, the DCP said. Police teams have been sent to Goa, Mumbai, Meerut and Hapur to trace the other accused involved in the case, the DCP added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Four members of a family were killed in a fire which broke out when one of the deceased was pouring kerosene from a canister into a lighted lamp in Dahod in Gujarat, police said today. Police identified the four as Kashuben Bhuriya (45), her mother-in-law Kaliben Bhuriya and her six-year-old granddaughters Hira and Mahindra. An accidental death report taken at Jesawada police station said the fire started when Kashuben was pouring kerosene from a canister into a lighted lamp outside her house in Khajuria village yesterday night. The fire engulfed three others, all of whom were sleeping, and they died by the time local police and fire brigade personnel arrived at the scene, an official said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The government today said that only four states -- Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha and Karnataka -- have started work on the new Contract Farming Act that was sent to states on May 22 this year. Minister of State for Agriculture Gajendra Singh Shekhawat said 21 states have implemented the previous contract farming act in the country and work was being carried out in some states. Replying to supplementaries during the Question Hour in the Rajya Sabha, the minister said the provisions of the new model Contract Farming Act have been changed in such a way that interests of farmers are taken care of. He said the earlier contracts under the old act were framed in such a way that were inclined in favour of agencies. However, under the new act, a robust mechanism has also been included to help settle disputes within a specific time- frame. "The new act has only been implemented three months ago and work has stated in states of Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha and Karnataka, but no details of the work started are yet available. "The earlier contract farming act...work is continuing in various states including Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, where Work on contract farming on herbs is carrying on in various states like Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, he told members. In a written reply, Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh said in order to develop a direct marketing link between farmers and contract farming sponsors (processors, organised retailers and exporters) and also to mitigate price risk and market uncertainties, the government has formulated a progressive and facilitative model act by name of "Agricultural produce and livestock contract farming and services (promotion and facilitation) Act, 2018. The act covers the entire value and supply chain from pre-production to post-harvest marketing stages, besides covering services contract for agricultural produce and livestock. "The model act aims at mitigating price risks and market uncertainties for contracting parties and help develop marketing links that are necessary for raising efficiency of agriculture," he said in his written reply. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Union Minister C R Choudhary has assured Arunachal Pradesh of enhancing the fair price shop (FPS) dealers' margin and transportation rate for food grains under the National Food Security Act (NFSA). The assurance came after Arunachal Pradesh Food and Civil Supplies Minister Kamlung Mosang called on Choudhary, the Union Minister of State for Consumer Affairs, in Delhi yesterday, an official release said. Mosang submitted a 10-point memorandum, raising several issues concerning the state, including the implementation of the NFSA and "other challenges". "Presently, the FPS dealers' margin is Rs 143 per quintal, which needs to be enhanced to Rs 200 per quintal for the viability of running in remote locations. Moreover, a flat Rs 100 per quintal is fixed by the Centre for transportation of NFSA food grains, out of which the Centre and the state's matching share is in the ratio of 75:25," he said. Mosang said this "forces" the state to bear the remaining Rs 252 per quintal against the actual transportation cost of Rs 327 per quintal to deliver food grains from the FCI base depots to the FPS. Choudhary promised allocation of food grains under the welfare scheme for educational institutions at an increased scale, to cater to 84,391 ST, SC and OBC students, the release said. The minister also assured more funds for construction of godowns for advance storage of food grains. Choudhury advised the state government to send a proposal for heli-lifting of NFSA food grains to 14 air-fed administrative circles in Arunachal Pradesh, after Mosang submitted said that there was no surface communication in the international border areas of the state. "The people residing along the international border areas are facing acute shortage of food grains as these places are not climatically suitable for cultivation, and there are no open market facilities and other sources of food grains," he had submitted in the memorandum. Mosang said heli-lifting of food grains in such areas would also stop them from migrating to the district headquarters and other urban areas, "as their migration would leave the international border with no inhabitants, which would be detrimental to national security". The Union minister said the Arunachal Pradesh government should avail of the open market sale scheme to mitigate the ever-growing demand for food grains in the state. He advised the state government to prepare separate proposals for food grains required in the event of natural calamities, during law and order situations, and local festivals, the release added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The future of India-UK relations is very bright and India can play a very important role once Britain exits from the European Union, the country's envoy Y K Sinha has said. Speaking at a function organised by the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan to celebrate the upcoming 71st anniversary of India's Independence Day, Sinha said the Indian diaspora considered as "the living bridge" has an important role to play in strengthening bilateral ties. "The future of India-UK relations is very bright and India can play a very important role once UK exits from the EU," he said. The UK voted in 2016 to leave the 28-member European Union on March 29, 2019. Referring to the vast stride India has made since independence, Sinha said India is currently the 6th largest economy in the world and very soon it will overtake its former colonial master, the United Kingdom, may be by early next year. He noted that Indian scientists and technicians have recorded remarkable success particularly in the Space programme, with a shoe-string budget. Joginder Sanger, Chairman of the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan here said the Bhavan, the largest cultural organisation outside India, has been rendering a yeoman service in promoting Indian art and culture here. Surekha Mehta, Chairman of the Fundraising Committee of the Bhavan, said, "In Britain, we have some of the best NRI entrepreneurs and Indian diaspora has well integrated with the British society." G P Hinduja, Co-Chairman of the Hinduja Group said, "We have proved to the world that we are second to none and succeeded in building a strong nation with a strong economy. Indian economy can be the largest in the world provided we have the right reforms," he said. Labour MP Virendra Sharma said the Indian diaspora has a major role to play in building a strong link between India and the UK. "We have a responsibility to see India's future is bright, India is prosperous and Indian economy is strong," Sharma said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The government has cleared the recommendation of the collegium to elevate Justice K M Joseph, who heads the Uttarakhand High Court, to the top court, ending a long standoff with the judiciary. The government has also given its nod to appoint Madras High Court Chief Justice Indira Banerjee and Orissa High Court Chief Justice Vineet Saran to the SC. Justice Joseph's name was recommended for appointment as a judge of the by the collegium headed by on January 10. On April 30, the government had returned the recommendation for reconsideration on the ground that he lacked seniority. The executive had also pointed out that several high courts remain unrepresented and Justice Joseph's elevation would be against the principle of regional representation. His parent high court is the Kerala HC. had struck down the imposition of President's rule in Uttarakhand in 2016 after the dismissal of a Congress government led by Harish Rawat. The collegium on May 16 in-principle reiterated the decision to recommend Justice Joseph's name. Sources said their warrants of appointment are likely to be issued by Monday. The number of judges in the top court after the appointments would go up to 25. There would still be six vacancies. Ending a protracted stand off with the judiciary, the government has cleared the recommendation of the Supreme Court collegium to elevate Uttarakhand High Court Chief Justice K M Joseph to the top court, sources in the government said today. The government has also given its nod to appoint Madras High Court Chief Justice Indira Banerjee and Orissa High Court Chief Justice Vineet Saran to the SC, the sources said. They also said that the files were cleared in two batches on Wednesday and Thursday. The sources said their warrants of appointment are likely to be issued by Monday. The number of judges in the top court after the appointments would go up to 25. There would still be six vacancies. Justice Joseph's name was recommended for appointment as a judge of the Supreme Court by the collegium headed by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra on January 10. On April 30, the government had returned the recommendation for reconsideration on the grounds that he lacked seniority. The executive had also pointed out that several high courts remain unrepresented and Justice Joseph's elevation would be against the principle of regional representation. His parent high court is the Kerala HC. Justice Joseph had struck down the imposition of President's rule in Uttarakhand in 2016 after the dismissal of a Congress government led by Harish Rawat. An earlier recommendation of the collegium to transfer Justice Joseph to Andhra Pradesh and Telangana High Court on health grounds was kept pending by the government for a long time The collegium on May 16 in-principle reiterated the decision to recommend Justice Joseph's name. But the recommendation was sent to the government in July. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Ministry is likely to come out with its National Clean Air Programme (NCAP), which proposes multiple strategies to combat air pollution, around August 15. The ministry has prepared the draft NCAP with an objective to come up with a comprehensive plan for prevention, control and abatement of air pollution, and to augment the air quality monitoring network across the country. Various green groups have submitted their recommendations to the ministry on the draft. The ministry had earlier said that it would come out with the programme by the end of August. "We are trying to come out with the programme around August 15 and deliberations are on," a senior ministry official told PTI. He said that meetings with various ministries are also being held on the matter. Union Minister Harsh Vardhan had said that the ministry hoped to bring down air pollution in around 100 non-attainment cities by 50 per cent in the next five years under the NCAP. Non-attainment cities are areas with air quality worse than the National Ambient Air Quality (NAAQ) Standards. According to reports, the NCAP is also likely to have three timelines to gradually reduce pollution in the cities and bring it down by 70-80 per cent. However, there was no official confirmation on the matter. The key components of the NCAP include city-specific air pollution abatement action plan for 100 polluting cities of the country increasing the number of monitoring stations, data dissemination, public participation on planning and implementation. According to ministry sources, the NCAP will not be notified but will be finalised and sent to states for them to implement. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The government on Friday said it has ordered 83 investigations in the first three months of this financial year into violation of norms under the companies law. The probes have been ordered on the basis of various complaints. Corporate Affairs Minister told the Lok Sabha that there is an elaborate framework under the Companies Act, 2013 to deal with minor and major violations. In 2018-19, the ministry has ordered 83 investigations till the end of June into violations of norms, according to data provided in the written reply given by the minister. During the period from 2015-16 to June 30, 2018, the total number of investigations ordered stood at 207, the data showed. ALSO READ: Defining corporate governance Besides, the minister said (RoCs) have filed 399 prosecutions against entities for various violations of the in the current financial year till June 30. Meanwhile, 13 cases have been assigned to the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) till June 30 this financial year. There are 114 sections dealing with defaults under the Companies Act, 2013. ALSO READ: Why corporate India needs to focus on mental health of its employees Goyal said the government has taken several steps to improve corporate governance, including nationwide drive to strike-off inactive companies, disqualification of defaulting directors and electronic KYC (Know Your Customer) requirements for directors. Responding to supplementary queries related to banking sector during the Question Hour, Goyal said standards at public sector banks are much better than before. Oil Minister today said the government will file an appeal in against a ruling by an international tribunal which rejected its USD 1.55 billion claims against for allegedly siphoning gas from fields operated by state-owned ONGC. A three-member international arbitration tribunal, by a majority vote last week, held that Reliance could contractually produce and sell any gas that might have migrated from adjoining fields of state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) into its area and that it was not obligated to seek prior permission of the government for doing so. "The government will certainly file an appeal against the arbitration award in the higher forum," Pradhan said here. With one member dissenting, the arbitration panel had held that the production sharing contract for eastern offshore KG-D6 fields "does not prohibit but permits" Reliance "to produce and sell gas which migrated into the sub-sea reservoir lying within (its) Contract Area from a source outside the Contract Area". And so "there is no question of 'unjust enrichment'," it held. Reliance "has not been and will not be unjustly enriched by any production of migrated gas as a result of Petroleum Operations conducted within its Contract Area". Asked what will be the forum for appeal, Pradhan said, "it will be in the High Court". He said the government had made a claim on Reliance and its partners based on the recommendation of the Justice AP Shah Committee that quantified the natural gas that had migrated to KG-D6 from neighbouring blocks of ONGC. "Certainly, we will file an appeal," he said. In the 107-page order, the arbitration tribunal headed by Singapore-based arbitrator Lawrence G S Boo stated that although Reliance had always accepted that there could be channel continuity between its KG-D6 block and ONGC's adjoining KG-D5 and IG block, its conduct is consistent with its position that 'reservoir connectivity' has not been proven. Bernard Eder, a former UK judge nominated by Reliance, was the other judge who concurred with Boo. GS Singhvi, a former judge and the government nominee on the panel, wrote a long dissent note. "The Claimant (Reliance) requires no further express permission to produce and sell any migrated gas that could have come into (its) Contract Area," the majority judgment held. In his dissent note, Singhvi said that the PSC prohibits the Reliance and its partners from producing and selling gas which migrated into their sub-sea reservoir from Contract Area of ONGC. He held that Reliance "unjustly enriched itself by the sale of migrated gas, which did not belong to it and, therefore, it is bound to restore those benefits to the Government". The panel also awarded USD 8.3 million compensation to the three partners. Reliance is the operator of the KG-D6 block with 60 per cent interest, while of UK holds 30 per cent and Niko Resources of Canada the remaining 10 per cent. In his dissent note, Singhvi said Reliance was required to obtain explicit permission to produce migrated gas. "It is crystal clear that the claimant (Reliance) does not have any rights to the gas which has migrated from ONGC's blocks," he wrote. "There can be no doubt that the retention of the benefit of migrated gas would be 'against the fundamental principles of justice or equity and good conscience' thereby falling squarely within the ambit of the doctrine of unjust enrichment". Pradhan's ministry had on November 4, 2016, slapped a demand notice on Reliance-BP-Niko combine for producing in seven years ending March 31, 2016, about 338.332 million British thermal units of gas that had seeped or migrated from ONGC's blocks into their adjoining KG-D6 in the Bay of Bengal. Reliance on November 11, 2016, slapped an arbitration notice disputing the claim. The government's compensation claim flowed from the report of the Justice (retd) A P Shah Committee. The Shah panel, in its August 28, 2016, report, concluded that there has been "unjust enrichment" to the contractor of the block KG-DWN-98/3 (KG-D6) due to the production of the migrated gas from ONGC's blocks KG-DWN-98/2 and Godavari PML. It relied on a report produced by petroleum industry consultant DeGolyer and MacNaughton which concluded that gas had migrated from ONGC-controlled parts of the sea floor and the geological formations beneath it into areas controlled by the private companies. But Reliance had at that time stated that the methods were flawed. The government is working on a mechanism to ensure procurement of coarse grains in addition to crops already being procured, Union Minister for Agriculture Radha Mohan Singh said today. During the Question Hour in Rajya Sabha, the minister said the minimum support price for Kharif crops has been increased to 1.5 times their cost of production. Earlier BJP-ally SAD member Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa had sought to know if lower returns on farm produce was the reason for "farmers' distress". The SAD MP also mentioned that if 'C2' aspect had been included while deciding the MSP, farmers would have benefited more. C2 is the imputed cost of capital and the rent of land. "Farmers's distress is caused by multiple reasons including crop loss inflicted by natural calamities, infestation by pests and debt," the minister said. He said the government had taken a number of steps to improve the condition of farmers including increasing MSP and launching e-National Agricultural Market. The Union minister said the government was also planning to ensure that coarse grains (mota anaj) are procured. Radha Mohan Singh said that to tackle the climate change aspect, the government was working on a 'Climate resilient village' scheme. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Greek police say they have arrested eight migrants on suspicion of the murder of a Pakistani man trying to leave the country illegally. Police said today the eight were suspected of involvement in the July 23 stabbing death of a 29-year-old Pakistani man who had been with three compatriots heading toward Greece's northern border with Macedonia. The eight six Afghans and two Pakistanis allegedly robbed the four near the border, stabbing the 29-year-old in the process. His body was discovered the following day near a railway track. Hundreds of migrants arrive in Greece each week from nearby Turkey. With routes out of the country officially closed to them, many try to head further into Europe from unguarded parts of Greece's northern border. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Three people were arrested today in connection with alleged adulteration of groundnuts procured by the Central agency NAFED in Rajkot district of Gujarat even as the state government vowed action in the "scam". As the Congress mounted an attack on the BJP government over "large-scale corruption" in procurement of groundnuts and demanded a judicial probe, Chief Minister Vijay Rupani said no one found guilty of wronging will be spared. Nearly 30,000 sacks of groundnut (each weighing 35kg) were found mixed with sand and pebbles four days back, officials have said. They were kept at a private godown taken on rent by the National Agriculture Co-operative Marketing Federation of India (NAFED) in Pedhla town under Jetpur taluka of Rajkot district, they said. The NAFED had purchased the groundnuts from farmers under the minimum support price (MSP) scheme. An FIR was lodged in this connection on a complaint by the NAFED and the police had detained nearly half a dozen people for questioning a couple of days ago. "On the basis of the FIR, we arrested three persons, who were found to be involved in the scam," Jetpur Deputy Superintendent of Police J M Bharwad told media persons. However, the official did not reveal the names of the arrested persons, saying he will do so later. Talking to reporters in Gandhinagar, Rupani said the Rajkot police have already started a probe into adulteration of groundnuts and asserted the guilty will not be spared. "Through the NAFED, we had purchased groundnuts worth Rs 4,000 crore last year. About 40 per cent of the stock has been already sold to traders. However, we have received some complaints about wrongdoings at some of the procurement centres. "I want to reiterate we will not spare anyone, be it from the BJP or the Congress, if found guilty of wrongdoing. Not just Pedhla, action will be taken against all those who are found guilty of adulteration at other centres also," said Rupani. The CM's reaction came hours after Leader of Opposition in the Assembly Paresh Dhanani and Congress MLA from Dhoraji in Rajkot district Lalit Vasoya staged a sit-in near the godown in Pedhla along with party workers. Talking to media persons before the protest, Dhanani alleged "large-scale corruption" in groundnut procurement and accused the government of hiding irregularities in purchase of the commodity. Dhanani alleged people associated with the BJP made crores of rupees by siphoning off good quality groundnuts and replacing them with substandard stock mixed with pebbles and sand. "We demand a judicial probe also urge the chief minister to constitute a house committee comprising MLAs of both the parties (the BJP and the Congress) to bring out the truth behind the scam," Dhanani said. "Earlier, a couple of godowns caught fire where a huge stock of groundnut was gutted and now a huge stock of groundnut is found to be adulterated with sand and stones. "It is evident the government is only interested in saving the real culprits as they are associated with the BJP. We want a free and fair probe by a sitting High Court judge into this scam," the Congress leader said. To conceal evidence of corruption, the godowns were set on fire, the Leader of Opposition alleged. In February, groundnuts worth Rs 28 crore were gutted in a fire in a godown in Gondal, Rajkot district. In May, a similar incident took place in Shapar town of the district, where groundnuts worth Rs 3 crore were gutted in a warehouse. "We have written several letters to the chief minister seeking a probe and stern action against those involved in the scam. We also wrote a letter to Governor (O P Kohli) and demanded transparent probe to punish the culprits, but no action has been taken so far," Dhanani said. On last Wednesday, the police registered a case against unnamed officials of the NAFED and the GUJCOT (Gujarat State Co-Operative Cotton Federation Ltd after groundnuts procured by a state agency and stored at a warehouse in the district were found to be adulterated with stones and soil. Some traders had refused to take the delivery of groundnuts they had bought from the warehouse. The groundnuts were procured by the GUJCOT on behalf of the NAFED. The case was registered under IPC sections 406 (criminal breach of trust) and 420 (cheating), officials had said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Haryana Director General of Police B S Sandhu today directed police officers to personally monitor the complaints involving crime against women and ensure prompt registration of such plaints in police stations. Sandhu was reviewing the progress of chief minister's announcements made during 'Ek Aur Sudhar Programme' through a video conference with all range IGs, Commissioners of Police and District Superintendents of Police here today, according to an official release. As per the chief minister's announcements made on July 12, people convicted in rape cases in Haryana will now be debarred from government facilities such as arm and driving licenses, old age pension, pension for the physically disabled persons. He said safety and security of every citizen is paramount, especially of women and children. Senior officers should be more proactive to deal with such cases and they should initiate immediate action on complaints of sexual offences, the DGP said. He warned that police officers refusing to register complaints concerning rape and molestation in their respective police stations would be suspended. "All the women police stations are directly working under the supervision of SP/DCP concerned. They should personally verify such cases and ensure that women or girl should not face any trouble in registration of case," he said. While reviewing the chief minister's announcements concerning suspension of arm licence, Sandhu directed them to verify arms as well as driving licenses on priority basis of those who have been convicted by the court in rape, molestation charges and under Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses (POCSO) Act. Reviewing the time frame fixed for investigation in rape and molestation cases, he said that as per the announcement, the investigation officer (IO) would have to complete the investigation into a rape case in one month, and within 15 days in cases of eve-teasing, failing which action would be taken against the IO. The DGP also directed police officers to popularise android-based 'Durga Shakti App' of the state police. It was recently launched with an objective to provide immediate police help to women in case of any emergency. He also announced a reward of Rs 50,000, Rs 30,000 and Rs 20,000 to the first three best performing districts which would make it more popular among the stakeholders. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Civil servants must have the courage to provide frank, independent and unbiased advice to the political executive, President Ram Nath Kovind said today. Addressing a group of civil servants undergoing training at the Mussoorie-based Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration who called on him at the Rashtrapati Bhavan, the President said political leaders are elected to represent the wishes of the people in a democracy, and frame the agenda of the government. Civil servants are to assist the political executive in formulation and implementation of policy, Kovind said. He said they must ensure that government policies are formulated in accordance with the law and the spirit of the Constitution. "Civil servants must have the courage to provide frank advice, independent and free from bias, to the political executive whom they assist," he said. The President said that in their professional conduct, officers' honesty and integrity, humility, and sensitivity to the diversity of India and of society are "nonnegotiable". He said that as IAS officers, they must inculcate and display an even greater commitment than before to rise above considerations of caste, community and regional identities. Kovind said one cannot ignore that there are often legitimate questions that are asked about the quality of the country's governance systems. "You have to focus your energies to serve those among our fellow citizens who are economically weak, socially disadvantaged and politically under-empowered," he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Dutch beermaker Heineken will pour $3.1 billion into a stake in China's top brewer, expanding its access in the Asian giant's booming and hotly contested market, the two groups announced today. Heineken has signed a "non-binding" agreement with China Resources Beer to acquire 40 percent of CRH, the listed entity controlling the Chinese group, for a total of 24.35 billion Hong Kong dollars, according to a statement. In return, China Resources Beer will buy a 0.9 percent stake in Heineken for 464 million euros ($537 million). The Dutch firm, which operates three breweries in the country, will merge its operations in China with those of its new partner. Heineken will also grant its partner permission to market its eponymous beer brand in the country. The deal allows Beijing-based China Resources Beer, known above all for low-cost brands like Snow Beer, to add a well-known premium brand to its line-up. Heineken and its Chinese partner are joining forces at a time when competition is becoming fierce in the Chinese market, with consumers turning towards foreign beers and better quality products as middle class incomes rise. China remains dominated by local brewers, with three Chinese groups controlling more than 40 percent of the market, according to figures from Euromonitor International cited by Bloomberg China Resources recently controlled 18 percent of the country's beer sales, followed by number two competitor Tsingtao. But rivalries are also intensifying between international giants, including Denmark's Carlsberg and Belgium's AB Inbev, putting pressure on prices and lowering margins. The pressure has prompted certain foreign groups to withdraw, including Japan's Asahi. China, the world's largest market for beer production, "is forecast to be the biggest contributor to premium volume growth in the next five years, driven by its rapidly growing middle class," Heineken said in its release. CEO Jean-Francois van Boxmeer praised the "winning combination" of Heineken's "strong brand" and China Resources Beer's extensive distribution network in the country. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Argentina striker Gonzalo Higuain on Thursday moved to AC Milan in a three-player swap deal between the seven-time European champions and Juventus that will see Leonardo Bonucci return to Turin after just a season away. Milan signed 30-year-old Higuain on a one-year loan deal worth a reported 18 million euros ($21 million) that gives them the option to buy the striker next summer for a further 36 million euros. Italy centre-back Bonucci has been swapped for promising Mattia Caldara just weeks after Caldara arrived at Juve following his transfer from Atalanta, which was agreed in January 2017. Higuain left Juventus, where he won two Serie A titles and scored 40 goals in 76 league appearances, following the shock signing of Cristiano Ronaldo from Real Madrid that made the Argentine surplus to requirements. Italian media reported that Higuain's transfer had been structured to allow Milan to comply with UEFA's Financial Fair Play regulations, which they fell foul of last season. Last season, Milan scored only 56 goals in Serie A, a figure which put them at a serious disadvantage compared to major rivals Juventus, Napoli and Roma as well as bitter city rivals Inter Milan who all claimed Champions League places. "A new adventure begins," said Higuain after undergoing his medical. The Argentinian's move opened the door for Bonucci to return to Turin, where the defender won six league titles and reached two Champions League finals. The 31-year-old Bonucci returns to Juve after just one season with Milan, who could only finish sixth last season and missed the Champions League despite spending over 200 million euros ($233 million) on new players last summer. A reported 42 million euros of that were spent on Bonucci, who was made captain but fell short of the imperious form he showed at Juve. "Turin and Juventus are home for me. It's difficult to imagine that this has happened," said Bonucci. "I am delighted and excited to be back." Milan are trying to bounce back after a troubled spell following the sale of the club to Chinese owners in April last year, but poor performances on the pitch were compounded in recent months by fears over their financial survival. UEFA booted them out of next season's Europa League for violating the financial regulations, only for the ban to be overturned by the Court of Arbitration for Sport on July 20 following hedge fund Elliott Management's takeover earlier in the month. The American firm took control after the Chinese consortium led by Li Yonghong that ran Milan, long rumoured to be struggling financially, failed to repay 32 million euros lent by Elliott. Elliot has pledged to inject 50 million euros to bring financial stability to the club. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Professor Sikander Kumar was today appointed the 26th Vice-Chancellor of the Himachal Pradesh University (HPU), an official release said. Teaching in the department of economics at HPU, Kumar is also the state president of the ruling Bhartiya Janata Party's (BJP) Scheduled Caste (SC) Morcha. Officiating Himachal Governor Kaptan Singh Solanki had yesterday approved Kumar's appointment for the job. Having engaged in teaching and research for about three decades, Kumar has published three books-- Statistical Methods, Micro Economics and Himalayan Economics, the HPU release added. The professor has also been the president of the economic association of Himachal and the project coordinator and member of many central and state agencies, the release said further. Earlier pro-vice chancellor professor Rajinder Singh Chauhan was holding the charge of officiating VC after professor ADN Bajpai completed his term on May 24, last year. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The HRD Ministry has introduced a 70-point grading index to assess the quality of school offered by states. According to sources, the grading parameters will include school infrastructure, number of teaching posts and vacancies against them, transparency in recruitment and promotion of teachers. "The idea is not to rank the states but grade their performance as ranking may bring unhealthy competition. Grading will help motivate more states to adopt structural reforms in school education," a source in the ministry said. The ministry is also planning to set up a Central Institute of Assessment (CIA) which will work with NCERT and the states on pedagogical interventions to improve the learning outcomes. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Haryana government today said it will launch a massive campaign in the state to create awareness among farmers about proper management of crops residue and the ill effects of stubble burning in view of the ensuing paddy harvesting season. This was informed by the Principal Secretary, Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare, Abhilaksh Likhi while presiding over a review meeting with officers in field through video conference here today, as per an official release. The meeting was also attended by Director Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare Department, D K Behera and Director General, Information, Public Relations and Languages, Sameer Pal Srow. Likhi said strenuous efforts are being made for crops residue management in Haryana. The Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar and Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare Minister, Om Prakash Dhankar have been continuously appealing to the farmers through social, print and electronic media not to burn the stubble. He said that those farmers, who would not burn crop residue, would be honoured by the chief minister and agriculture minister in a state level function. He also directed the officers to specifically honour these farmers during the Independence Day function on August 15. Likhi also reviewed the subsidy being given to farmers and other schemes. He said that besides the chief minister, who is very serious about burning of crop residue in the state, the Prime Minister Office is also regularly monitoring in this regard. He directed the officers to organise awareness camps in villages about crop residue management and informed the farmers about departmental schemes. Likhi said the state government is providing 80 per cent subsidy on the purchase of agriculture machinery and 50 per cent subsidy in case machinery is being purchased personally. The central government has provided Rs 137 crore for the purpose. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A huge quantity of ammonium nitrate was seized in a raid conducted in Dumka district, a police officer said today. Ammonium nitrate is a chemical compound which can also be used as an explosive material. Acting on a tip-off, a police team conducted raid and recovered 249 sacks of ammonium nitrate (99.5 per cent pure), which was transported in a vehicle at Rasikpur Mohalla under the jurisdiction of Town police station last night, Superintendent of Police, Kishore Kaushal told newsmen. The SP said two persons have been arrested in this connection. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Incessant rain lashed Uttarakhand's capital and adjoining areas this evening, leaving the streets heavily waterlogged. The continuous downpour led to long traffic jams at various points throughout the city, including in major markets Ghantaghar and Rajpur Road. Waterlogged streets forced commuters to wade or drive through ankle-deep water to return home from office. The Met department has forecast heavy rain over the next 72 hours in Dehradun, Pauri, Tehri, Rudraprayag, Chamoli, Nainital, Bageshwar and Pithoragarh districts. The State Emergency Operation Centre here said there is no report of any untoward incident due to rain so far, but the level of rivers is rising. It also sent an advisory to the administration, saying Chardham yatris should not be allowed to go to higher Himalayan region in case of a heavy downpour. Yatris should be alert and in touch with officials of the state administration. In case of heavy rain they should avoid going to higher altitudes, it said. Personnel engaged in disaster management should keep their mobiles on and maintain a vigil especially on settlements along river banks, it said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh today said that the issue of National Register of Citizens (NRC) for Assam should not be hyped up as India was not a "dharamshala" (guest house) where foreigners would keep on infiltrating. He told reporters in Durg district that those who could not prove their nationality should leave the country. "There is no need to hype up the issue. Is our country a dharmashala that foreigners will keep on infiltrating," he said, when asked to comment on the issue. "Anybody comes here and start living. They must be dragged out, and for this purpose only such persons have been identified (in Assam)," he said. He said the exercise was the result of an eight-year-long protest by the Assamese youth. "The Supreme Court had formed a committee which was constituted during the Congress' rule...Today, the matter is being twisted," he claimed. "Either these 40 lakh people (who were excluded from the NRC) who have come from outside should prove their nationality or go back from where they have come," the chief minister said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) India and Kazakhstan today agreed to further strengthen their defence cooperation as External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj met the country's top leaders and discussed ways to consolidate the strategic partnership in areas like trade, energy, security and information technology. Swaraj is on a three-nation tour to Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan as part of India's efforts to boost strategic partnership with the resource-rich central Asian nations. During talks with her Kazakh counterpart Kairat Abdrakhmanov, the two leaders held a comprehensive discussion on deepening cooperation in trade and investment, defence and security, energy, Information and Communications Technology (ITC), pharmaceutical sector, capacity building and culture. Kazakhstan is India's largest trade and investment partner in the Central Asia region. She also called on Prime Minister of Kazakhstan, Bakytzhan Sagintayev and exchanged views on strengthening cooperation in trade and investment, ICT, joint film production, tourism and people-to-people contacts. Swaraj said during her meeting with Abdrakhmanov, they discussed the full range of bilateral, regional and global issues of mutual interest. "We took stock of progress in our bilateral relations. India's relations with Kazakhstan are built on a strong foundation of centuries old historical and cultural ties. "Both India and Kazakhstan have developed multifaceted cooperation in all areas of bilateral and multilateral relations and are strategic partners since 2009," she said. Swaraj said during her talks with Abdrakhmanov she sought to consolidate and further strengthen India's friendly relations with Kazakhstan. "Both Foreign Minister Abdrakhmanov and I expressed our interest to further strengthen our defence cooperation based on solid foundation that we have in place. Our defence and security sector cooperation has intensified in the last two years," she said. Kazakh Armed Forces Unit underwent training on peacekeeping operations in India and presently a mobile training team from the Indian Army is training Kazakh personnel in Almaty. Swaraj siad India has emerged as the fastest-growing large economy in the world and is a global hub for manufacturing and innovation. "Under Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi's leadership, India has launched several flagship programme such as 'Make in India', 'Digital India', 'Clean India', Start up India, 100 Smart Cities etc. "I shared with Foreign Minister Abdrakhmanov that there are many elements of Digital India programme that could be of interest to Kazakhstan for its own Digital Kazakhstan programme," she said. She also discussed with Abdrakhmanov India's interest to partner with Kazakhstan to explore markets for new products, diversifying from the trade in traditional products to inject fresh impetus to the bilateral trade. There is immense potential to be tapped in sectors like agricultural products, food processing, pharmaceuticals, energy and chemicals, she said. The major products imported by India during 2016-17 were petroleum oils & oils obtained from bituminous minerals (64.5 per cent); radio active isotopes (18.5 per cent); asbestos (6.0 per cent), ferro alloys (3.9 per cent) and zinc (3.0 per cent). Major products exported to Kazakhstan were Pharmaceuticals and medical products, coffee and tea, machinery, apparel and chemical products. Cumulative investments from India into Kazakhstan and from Kazakhstan into India from 2005 -2016 amount to USD 244 million and USD 83.09 million respectively. As on March 1, 2017, there were 520 Indian companies registered in Kazakhstan, out of which 259 are operational. "India has keen interest in improving connectivity with this region. In December 2017, India acceded to TIR (Transports Internationaux Routiers) convention and in February 2018, India joined the Ashgabat Agreement. The International North South Transport Corridor is gaining momentum and the member states are working together to popularize the corridor," she said. Yesterday, Swaraj praised the Kazakh people for their warmth in welcoming the Indian diaspora as she interacted with the Indian community living in the country. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) India and Kazakhstan today agreed to further strengthen defence cooperation as External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj met the country's top leaders to discuss ways to consolidate the strategic partnership in areas like trade, energy, security and information technology. Swaraj is on a three-nation tour to Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan as part of India's efforts to boost strategic partnership with the resource-rich central Asian nations. She held delegation-level talks with her Kazakh counterpart Kairat Abdrakhmanov. The two leaders held a comprehensive discussion on deepening cooperation in trade and investment, defence and security, energy, Information and Communications Technology (ITC), pharma, capacity building and culture. Kazakhstan is India's largest trade and investment partner in Central Asia. She also called on Prime Minister of Kazakhstan, Bakytzhan Sagintayev and exchanged views on strengthening cooperation in trade and investment, ICT, joint film production, tourism and people-to-people contacts. Swaraj said during her meeting with Abdrakhmanov they discussed the full range of bilateral, regional and global issues of mutual interest. "We took stock of progress in our bilateral relations. India's relations with Kazakhstan are built on a strong foundation of centuries old historical and cultural ties. "Both India and Kazakhstan have developed multifaceted cooperation in all areas of bilateral and multilateral relations and are strategic partners since 2009," she said after her talks with her Kazakhstan counterpart," she said. Swaraj said during her talks with Abdrakhmanov she sought to consolidate and further strengthen India's friendly relations with Kazakhstan. "Both Foreign Minister Abdrakhmanov and I expressed our interest to further strengthen our defence cooperation based on solid foundation that we have in place. Our defence and security sector cooperation has intensified in the last two years," she said. Kazakh Armed Forces Unit underwent training on peacekeeping operations in India and presently a mobile training team from the Indian Army is training Kazakh personnel in Almaty. Swaraj siad India has emerged as the fastest-growing large economy in the world and is a global hub for manufacturing and innovation. "Under Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi's leadership, India has launched several flagship programme such as 'Make in India', 'Digital India', 'Clean India', Start up India, 100 smart cities etc. I shared with Foreign Minister Abdrakhmanov that there are many elements of Digital India programme that could be of interest to Kazakhstan for its own Digital Kazakhstan programme," she said. She also discussed with Abdrakhmanov India's interest to partner with Kazakhstan to explore markets for new products, diversifying from the trade in traditional products to inject fresh impetus to the trade between the two countries. There is immense potential to be tapped in sectors like agricultural products, food processing, pharmaceuticals, energy and chemicals, she said. The major products imported by India during 2016-17 were petroleum oils & oils obtained from bituminous minerals (64.5 per cent); radio active isotopes (18.5 per cent); asbestos (6.0 per cent), ferro alloys (3.9 per cent) and zinc (3.0 per cent). Major products exported to Kazakhstan were Pharmaceuticals and medical products, coffee and tea, machinery, apparel and chemical products. Cumulative investments from India into Kazakhstan and from Kazakhstan into India from 2005 -2016 amount to USD 244 million and USD 83.09 million respectively. As on March 1, 2017, there were 520 Indian companies registered in Kazakhstan, out of which 259 are operational. "India has keen interest in improving connectivity with this region. In December 2017, India acceded to TIR (Transports Internationaux Routiers) convention and in February 2018, India joined the Ashgabat Agreement. The International North South Transport Corridor is gaining momentum and the member states are working together to popularize the corridor," she said. Yesterday, Swaraj praised the Kazakh people for their warmth in welcoming the Indian diaspora as she interacted with the Indian community living in the country. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The government has sent a request to the UK for extradition of absconding jeweller Nirav Modi, wanted in India in connection with USD 2 billion scam in the Punjab National Bank. Minister of State for External Affairs V K Singh also said two Red Corner Notices have been issued against Modi by the interpol. "An extradition request has been received in the Ministry of External Affairs from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) for the extradition of Nirav Deepak Modi from the United Kingdom (UK)," he said "The request has been sent by a Special Diplomatic Bag to the High Commission of India (HCI), London for onward transmission to the UK authorities," Singh said in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha yesterday. Modi and his uncle Mehul Chokshi are the main accused in the scam, India's biggest banking fraud. Both of them left India before the details of the fraud came to light on January 16. While it has now emerged that Choksi has taken citizenship of caribbean island of Antigua, there is no clarity on whereabouts of Modi. There were reports that Modi visited several countries in the past few months including the UK, France and Belgium. In June, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) wrote to several European countries seeking help in tracing Modi, the key accused in India's biggest banking fraud. On February 16, the MEA revoked Modi's passport. However, Singh said the MEA has no means to verify the travels, if any, of Modi and the passport used for such travels by him. Last month the MEA said it sent messages to all Indian missions abroad to get in touch with local governments to deny entry to Modi and inform India if he was residing there. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Indians continue to enjoy the good luck at the UAE's popular raffle draw as a Keralite hit the jackpot by winning an eye-popping dirham 10 million today. Vazhappallil Yohannan Simon won the whopping amount at the Big Ticket raffle draw held at Abu Dhabi International Airport. "This is great. I am very happy. Since this is for real I am very happy," said Simon who had purchased his ticket online. As organisers called Simon to congratulate him, he thought it was a prank, Khaleej Times reported. Apart from one Syrian national, rest of the winners in the top 10 list are all Indians. Indian nationals continue to rule the roost at the Big Ticket raffle draw. Kuwait-based Sandeep Menon won USD 1 million at the draw late last month. Earlier last month, a 30-year-old Indian had won a USD 1.9 million in a monthly raffle in the UAE, hours before he was set to leave the country for good. John Varughese, an Indian driver from Kerala, had won dirham 12 million in the raffle draw in April. In January, another Keralite had won a dirham 12 million in the biggest-ever raffle prize money. Eight Indians were among the 10 people who had won dirham 1 million each in a mega raffle draw in Abu Dhabi in October last year. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The relationship between the people of India and the United States of America has put pressure on both governments to improve ties, U S Consul General Edgard Kagan said today. He was addressing a function of the US Consulate General Mumbai to mark the 242nd anniversary of American Independence. "So much of the way the relationship between India and the US is today was started here. It was people in Western India, in Mumbai. People who were committed to trade and education were at the heart of building the relationship we share today," he said. He added that this relationship keeps growing, unlike many others he had worked on which had been built from the top to down. "We had started between governments and then slowly between people. The relationship between India and US was very different. The relationship between governments has always been as it should be, but the relationship between the people of our two countries has put pressure on both governments to improve relations," he said. Kagan said both countries were increasingly critical partners as the two dealt with some of the world's most challenging problems. "That's true of our collaboration in the defence and security space. Thats true of our cooperation in the United Nations and other international forums," Kagan said. "We share not just values of democracy, free speech and respect for liberty and diversity. We also share respect for the idea that freedom for innovation is best for both countries," he said. He added that Indian entrepreneurs have played a very important part in strengthening ties between the two countries. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Jammu and Kashmir government today approached the Supreme Court seeking adjournment of the August 6 hearing on petitions challenging the validity of Article 35-A of the Constitution, citing upcoming local body elections in the state. In a letter to the Registrar of the Supreme Court, standing counsel for the state in the apex court M Shoeb Alam sought adjournment in five petitions that were scheduled to be heard on Monday by a three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra. The state "...will be seeking adjournment in the matters on August 6 on account of the ongoing preparation for the upcoming panchayat and urban local body and municipal elections in the state of Jammu and Kashmir". The apex court is hearing a batch of petitions in the matter, including the one filed by NGO 'We the Citizens' seeking quashing of the article, which confers special status to permanent residents of Jammu and Kashmir. The matter is listed for hearing on Monday before a bench comprising Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud. Article 35-A, which was incorporated in the Constitution by a 1954 Presidential Order, accords special rights and privileges to the citizens of Jammu and Kashmir and denies property rights to a woman who marries a person from outside the state. The provision, which leads such women from the state to forfeit their right over property, also applies to their heirs. Political parties including the National Conference and the CPI-M, have moved the Supreme Court in support of the Article 35-A that empowers the state assembly to define "permanent residents" for bestowing special rights and privileges to them. The dates for the local body elections in the state have not been declared yet, but are likely to be held in September. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Congress President Rahul Gandhi today approved the appointment of former Union minister S Jaipal Reddy as a spokesperson of the AICC. Reddy has earlier been a spokesperson of the party too. He had been the Union minister for Information and Broadcasting in the IK Gujral cabinet in 1998 and in 1999 he returned to the Congress party after 21 years. In 2004 he was re-elected to 14th Lok Sabha from Miryalguda Constituency and then he served as a Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting and Union Minister for Urban Development in United Progressive Alliance-1. In 2009, he was re-elected to the 15th Lok Sabha from the Chevella constituency and served as a Union minister for urban development and Union minister for petroleum and natural gas. He was the Union minister for the Ministry of Earth Sciences and the Ministry of Science and Technology from October 2012 to May 2014. After being elected from the Chevella constituency in 2009, Reddy contested from Mahabubnagar in 2014 after the formation of Telangana. He was, however, trounced by TRS candidate A Jitender Reddy. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The son of former Bihar minister and MLA of the ruling JD(U) Bima Bharti was found dead today morning under mysterious circumstances mear a railway track here and two of his friends have been taken into custody in this connection, police said. Bharti is the sitting MLA from Rupauli constituency in Purnea district. Deepak Kumar (21) had left his residence last night along with a couple of friends and his body was found close to the railway track in front of the NMCH hospital in the city by some locals who informed the police, Senior Superintendent of Police, Patna, Manu Maharaj said. He said injury marks were noticed on Deepaks head and thigh and the body has been sent for post-mortem. The SSP said two of Deepaks friends -- Roshan and Mrityunjay who are said to be known to the family of the deceased, have been taken into custody and were being interrogated. The two have claimed that after having dinner together last night, Deepak had left and they had assumed that he had reached home safely. Meanwhile, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who is also the national president of JD(U), visited Bhartis residence here and consoled the bereaved family members. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) pilots and management are on a war path over salary reductions and possible job cuts at various departments, with the airline telling them that it might not be able to continue operations for more than two months, sources in the pilot community said. However, on Friday described reports that the airline cannot fly beyond 60 days as "incorrect and malicious" as well as denied any talks of a stake sale. Sources said the full-service carrier has also told the employees that the compulsory one-year notice period for captains would be done away with. There are more than 16,000 employees at The airline said it is implementing several measures to reduce costs. Earlier this week, the top management in a meeting with staff, including pilots, informed them that the airline is in a financially bad shape and sought their cooperation in reducing costs. The proposed steps include pay cuts, sources in the pilot community told PTI. Jet Airways Chairman Naresh Goyal, CEO Vinay Dubey and Deputy CEO Amit Agarwal, among others, were present at the meeting, the sources said. At the meeting, the management also said that the airline might be left with revenues only to operate for not more than 60 days unless cost cutting measures are implemented, the sources added. In a filing to the BSE, the airline said it is implementing several measures to reduce cost as well as realise higher revenues, for desired business efficiencies. "Some of these areas include sales and distribution, payroll, and maintenance, among many others," it added. Jet Airways' filing came in response to a clarification sought by the BSE on reports that the airline might not to able to fly beyond 60 days amid financial woes. Shares of the airline tumbled 7 per cent to close at Rs 308 on the BSE on Friday. Amid concerns over its financials, Jet Airways CEO Vinay Dubey on Friday said the aviation industry is passing through a tough phase due to mismatch between high fuel prices and low fares. As per the filing, the company has been in dialogue with its key stakeholders, including pilots and engineers, to apprise them of the challenges being faced by the Indian aviation sector in general and the airline in particular. This is to "enlist their full support and cooperation for realising necessary savings across all functions of the business", it added. The Naresh Goyal-led airline, in which Gulf carrier Etihad holds 24 per cent stake, has already slashed by 25 per cent the salaries of its senior management, sources had said on Wednesday. Senior management executives are those holding general manager post and above level positions. Pilots have told the management that proposed pay cuts was not acceptable. Engineers have also rejected the pay cut proposal, the sources said. "Despite the high growth environment, the aviation industry is currently passing through a tough phase given a depreciating rupee and the mismatch between high fuel prices and low fares. "Jet Airways has been in existence for over 25 years and through the years has been successful in combating such business volatility," Dube said in a statement. He noted that the airline is well placed to be a part of the Indian aviation growth story. "The company is committed to create a growth-oriented, sustainable future and a revitalized experience armed with the addition of 225 B737-MAX fuel efficient aircraft, which will be inducted in its fleet over the next decade, with 11 being inducted this fiscal," he said. Jet Airways -- which completed 25 years of operations earlier this year -- had 16,558 permanent employees as on March 31, 2018. Besides, there were a total of 6,306 temporary/ casual employees, as per the airline's annual report for 2017-18. Shares of Jet Airways faced heavy selling pressure today, tumbling 7 per cent amid concerns over its financial health. The stock dived 7 per cent to settle at Rs 308 on BSE. During the day, it slumped 9 per cent to Rs 301.25. On NSE, it plunged 6.90 per cent to close at Rs 308.30. The company's market valuation fell by Rs 263.2 crore to Rs 3,498.80 crore on BSE. In volume terms, 21.85 lakh shares of the company were traded on BSE and over 2 crore shares changed hands on NSE during the day. Jet Airways pilots and management are on a war path over salary reductions and possible job cuts at various departments, with the airline telling them that it might not be able to continue operations for more than two months, sources in the pilot community said. However, Jet Airways today described reports that the airline cannot fly beyond 60 days as "incorrect and malicious". It also denied any talks of a stake sale. Earlier this week, the top management in a meeting with staff, including pilots, informed them that the airline is in a financially bad shape and sought their cooperation in reducing costs. The proposed steps include pay cuts, sources in the pilot community told PTI. In a BSE filing, the airline said it is implementing several measures to reduce cost as well as realise higher revenues, for desired business efficiencies. Jet Airways' filing came in response to a clarification sought by BSE on reports that the airline might not to able to fly beyond 60 days amid financial woes. Jet Airways -- which completed 25 years of operations earlier this year -- had 16,558 permanent employees as on March 31, 2018. Besides, there were a total of 6,306 temporary/ casual employees, as per the airline's annual report for 2017-18. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Chief Minister on Friday promised justice to the local farmers who are unhappy with the money they are getting for the land being acquired by the state government for the Jewar International Airport. Adityanath asked the district administration here to resolve the issue and submit a report on it within eight days, Jewar MLA Dhirendra Singh said. The chief minister gave the directions after a discussion with the farmers during a visit to the Gautam Buddha University in Greater Noida. "I assure the farmers that they will get justice and appropriate compensation for their land. I also want to tell them not to get misled by the opposition, he said, according to a press release issued by the MLA. The people who are opposing this on Friday are the same people who never wanted Jewar to get an airport," the chief minister said. About 150 farmers from eight villages in Jewar area came to the university to meet Adityanath. The ambitious project had reportedly hit a hurdle in June following stiff resistance from the residents of these villages, which fall under its phase 1. Much of the conflict is over the categorisation of the area as urban or rural, which determines the amount the farmers get under the land acquisition law. The farmers reportedly want to be paid four times the circle rate. The government wants them to take just double, according to an official. The chief minister said once the airport is operational, it will change the region's landscape by generating employment and improve amenities for the local people. Villagers from Dayanatpur, Ranhera, Rohi, Kishorpur, Banwaripur, Siwara, Ramner and Paarohi attended the meeting. The UP government is to spend Rs 40 billion on land acquisition for the airport, which was scheduled to start operations in 2022-23. About 1,441 hectares of land has been identified for the first phase of the airport project. The Union Ministry had in June said the process of land acquisition was expected to be completed in two months. The ministry expected that bids for the Public Private Partnership (PPP) project would be invited by October and the foundation stone-laying ceremony held in December. The state's department would spend Rs 15 billion, while the Noida Development Authority would provide a matching amount. The and the Industrial Development Authority (YEIDA) would spend Rs 5 billion each, according to the plan. The Jammu and Kashmir High Court Bar Association (JKHCBA), Jammu tonight passed a resolution to file an impleadment application before the Supreme Court in connection with petitions challenging the constitutional validity of Article 35-A of the Constitution. A statement issued by the JKHCBA, Jammu said it was unanimously resolved that the bar association would file the application before the apex court in the litigation regarding Article 35-A. JKHCBA president B S Slathia said termed the provision an aberration and said that no provision in the Constitution could be added or deleted, without amending the Constitution. He said the Presidential Order can't be an article of the Constitution and emphasised that it was important to abolish it in order to establish gender equality. He said senior lawyer Permod Kohli had agreed to plead the association's cause before the Supreme Court, it said. A committee of eminent lawyers also assured their pro bono services in representing the bar association in the apex court. Article 35-A, which was incorporated in the Constitution by a 1954 Presidential Order, accords special rights and privileges to the citizens of Jammu and Kashmir and denies property rights to a woman who marries a person from outside the state. The provision, which leads such women from the state to forfeit their right over property, also applies to their heirs. Political parties including the National Conference and the CPI-M, have moved the Supreme Court in support of the Article 35-A that empowers the state assembly to define "permanent residents" for bestowing special rights and privileges to them. In a separate meeting, some lawyers passed a resolution for strengthening and retention of the Article 35-A. The meeting was held under the chairmanship of senior lawyer A V Gupta. He said Maharaja Hari Singh had executed the Instrument of Accession with certain conditions which later came out in the shape of Article 35-A read with Article 370. Gupta said that Article 35-A was beneficial for the permanent residents of the state. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Veteran actor Kathy Bates and Kristen Bell will be honoured during the Women Making History Awards in Los Angeles. The honour is given to commemorate women's achievements and generate awareness about the importance of preserving women's history. It also aims to highlight the need for a national women's history museum on the National Mall in Washington, DC, the organiser's said in a statement. Bates, 70, and Bell, 38, will be honoured along with actor Gabrielle Union and artiste Patrisse Cullors for their significant contribution to cinema. They will be awarded on September 15 at the Beverly Hilton hotel in Los Angeles. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe today wished ailing 94-year-old DMK patriarch M Karunanidhi a speedy recovery. After offering prayers at the Lord Venkateswara temple near here, he had a brief chat with reporters outside the shrine. "The ailing Karunanidhi will soon recover and I wish him a speedy recovery." Wickremesinghe said he had spoken to DMK working president M K Stalin yesterday about his fathers health condition. Replying to a query on the problem Tamil Nadu fishermen face in the waters bordering the island nation, Wickremesinghe said, "The issue is settling down and we are trying to solve it." Wickremesinghe arrived here last evening. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Lok Sabha was adjourned briefly today amid noisy protests by Trinamool Congress over detention of some of its MPs in Assam's Silchar yesterday. As soon as the House took up the Question Hour, Saugata Roy (TNC) said he has moved a notice for breach of privilege against the Assam Home Secretary and others for detaining MPs. Speaker Sumitra Mahajan said he can raise the issue after questions. Not satisfied, TMC members rushed to the Well raising slogans against the BJP government in the state and at the Centre. They also demanded a reply from the prime minister. 'BJP ki tanashahi nahin chalegi' (BJP's dictatorship won't do) and 'Pradhan Mantri jawab do', Prashan Mantri kahan gaya' (PM give a reply and where is the PM) were some of the slogans being raised. Soon after the House was adjourned TMC member Idris Ali was taken ill and rushed to a hospital. Reporters outside Parliament House said he was being taken to an ambulance on a stretcher. Leader of Congress party in Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge supported the TMC, saying it is important to note that MPs were detained when Parliament session is on. The speaker said what the TMC members were doing was "not proper". TDP members, who had been demanding special category status for Andhra Pradesh by standing at their seats wearing yellow stoles, entered the Well. They, however, did not raise slogans. As the protest drowned the Question Hour, the Speaker adjourned the House for nearly 15 minutes till 11.50 AM. TMC members continued to protest after the adjournment. The Assam government had yesterday restricted eight members of a TMC delegation to the security area of the Silchar airport. The TMC delegation was in Assam to assess the situation in the wake of publication of final draft of the National Register of Citizens. The TMC had dubbed the detention of its delegation as a "super emergency". (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A court here may decide next Wednesday whether to hear a former Vigilance Bureau SSP before accepting the closure report filed by the same department in an corruption case in which current chief minister Amarinder Singh is among the accused. The case, alleging that a private builder was favoured during Singh's previous term as CM, was filed in 2007 when the SAD-BJP government was in power. But last year, the Vigilance Bureau filed a closure report, saying its reinvestigation of the alleged Rs 11,000-crore Ludhiana City Centre scam found nothing to substantiate the charges. Former SSP K S Sandhu has pleaded with the court to hear him before accepting the bureau's closure report. District and Sessions Judge Gurbir Singh today set the next hearing for August 8, when the ruling on acceptance or rejection of the ex-SSP's plea is expected. The former SSP's counsel argued that the preliminary inquiry in the case was conducted by him, and an FIR registered after a thorough probe. But public prosecutor Vijay Singla argued that Sandhu had merely signed the FIR by virtue of being the then SSP, and as an outsider had no legal right to intervene in the case at this stage. The Vigilance Bureau's closure report was filed on August 19 last year. Overruling its 100-page charge sheet filed initially, the bureau argued that no proof has been found against Amarinder Singh, his son Raninder Singh, son-in-law Raminder Singh and 33 others following a reinvestigation. It said there was no scam at all. But the former SSP said in his plea that as a key investigator in the case he is privy to certain important facts" which he wants to bring to the notice of the court. He has also alleged there is a threat to his "life and liberty". The FIR had alleged that during Amarinder Singh's first stint as the CM, a Delhi-based company Today Homes was favoured in 2003 for executing the Ludhiana City Centre project. The case had been filed under the Indian Penal Code and the Prevention of Corruption Act. Out of the 36 accused in the case, four have died. Touted as one of the biggest projects in the state, the City Centre plan was rolled out in 2006. The complex was supposed to have shopping malls, multiplexes, apartments and a helipad. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) State industries and mining minister Subhash Desai today sought support from Thailand for collaborations in sectors like food processing, textiles, dairy and information technology. At meeting with a delegation from Thailand here today, the minister said Thailand and Maharashtra can work together to uplift the small and medium enterprises (SMEs). "SMEs in Thailand and Maharashtra can explore joint collaborations in various sectors," he added. Desai said the state produces millions of tonnes of milk but processing facility in dairy sector is inadequate. "Similarly, the state has diverse climatic conditions and farmers are cultivating high quality food crops supported by substantial research and development. We look for Thailand's partnership in secondary treatment of these food crops, which include preservation, processing, packaging and export," he said. Seeking Thailand's support for value addition in the textiles sector, he said, "Maharashtra has set up a dedicated textile park and nine more are in the process of being developed. We hope to see majority of garments in the world market to be labelled as 'Made in India' products." Desai informed the delegation that the state accounts for 15 per cent of the country's GDP, more than 40 per cent of exports and attracted 50 per cent of the country's foreign direct investment (last year). "Maharashtra has special policy for SMEs and the government supports SMEs in land allotment, licensing, reservation and procurement so that they do not have to compete with large enterprises," he added. Speaking at the same event, Small and Medium Enterprises Promotion of Thailand deputy director general Wimonkarn Kosumas said, "There is tremendous potential to enhance partnership between Thailand and Maharashtra. We have set up a dedicated desk to promote SME collaboration with Italy and Japan. We can set up similar dedicated desk for Maharashtra as well." Kosumas also outlined a four-point programme to strengthen bilateral ties, which includes setting up a dedicated Maharashtra desk in the Office of Small and Medium Enterprises Promotion (OSMEP) in Thailand. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Renowned playwright Ratan Thiyam today advocated the introduction of music in the curriculum of schools and colleges. The Padma Shri winner said in order to "save" music and educate our younger generation, it should be presented in different ways. "It is (introducing music in educational institutions as curriculum) very important but not happening everywhere," he told reporters here. Thiyam, however, said he was not specifically referring to traditional or modern music, but music of different genres. He was speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the three-day "root music" festival 'Sahaj Parav', in which over 100 artistes representing different genres of traditional music are participating. "Music is music. One has to identify music within himself (in whatever genre that may be)... from South, Rajasthan or from any other place in the country," Thiyam said. He said music has the power to make a person happy and cheerful. "Pure music will penetrate the heart of a person... You listen to Rabindra Sangeet when you are in a very depressed mood, and then suddenly you see the song is washing way your depression. It is very important to love music, which can sink differences and unify the country," Thiyam, also a recipient of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, said. About the festival, he said it is very important to realise the importance of roots. "As the force of globalisation is really picking up and there is the dangerous phenomenon which one can see about one gradually losing his identity, your roots have to be very strong," he said. West Bengal Minister of State for Cultural Affairs Indranil Sen, who also present on the occasion, said his department will extend all cooperation to the organisers of the 'Sahaj Parav' festival - Lopamudra Foundation and Dohar - in organising folk music festivals in 341 blocks, if they wanted it. Sen said 1,94,000 folk artistes were now getting monthly stipend from the state government, as part of the initiative to promote folk music. "Unlike the previous regime, we don't bring the folk musicians to hold a big rally once in a year and then forget all about them. We are committed in improving their economic conditions," he added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A 28-year-old man from Mumbra in the district has been sentenced to seven years of rigorous imprisonment by a special court here for raping a minor in 2015. Special POCSO court judge P P Jadhav recently convicted Shabbir Mulani and also slapped a fine of Rs 30,000 on him. He was found guilty under IPC sections 376 (rape) and 312 (causing miscarriage), and also under section 4 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. The accused is a contractor in the business of making imitation jewellery and used to give the contract of making jewellery to women in the locality. Prosecutor Vivek G Kadu, who appeared for the prosecution, told the court that the victim who resided in the vicinity used to collect material from Mulani's unit for the assembly of jewellery. On May 20, 2015 the accused called the victim, who was 17 years old then, to his unit for packing the jewellery. When she came, he sexually assaulted her, the prosecution said. Two months later, the victim was admitted to a hospital due to some health issues. During her check-up, doctors found her to be two months pregnant. When Mulani got to know about it, he reached the hospital and forced her to take pregnancy termination pills. As a result, the victim suffered a miscarriage. Till that time, the victim had not disclosed about the sexual assault as the accused had given threats to her, the prosecution told the court. She later told her ordeal to her family members, following which a complaint was lodged against Mulani and further action was taken. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) An unidentified man allegedly jumped in front of a moving train at Mandi House metro station here today, police said. The man, in his 50s, was rushed to the RML Hospital were he was undergoing treatment, the police said. "He allegedly jumped in front of an approaching train at Mandi House metro station," a senior DMRC official said. The train was coming from Yamuna Bank station and going towards Dwarka side. A PCR call was received around 7:30 pm, he said. "Services on nearby section faced a little delay due to the incident," the official said. Further details are awaited. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A suicide auto bomb went off outside a repatriation center in the eastern city of Jalalabad, allowing two gunmen to storm the compound and setting off a six-hour battle. It ended after more than five hours of intense fighting between militants and security forces, said Attaullah Khogyani, spokesman for the governor of Nangarhar province. At least 15 people were killed and 14 wounded in the assault. "We condemn this sickening attack on a humanitarian coordination meeting, where aid workers and government officials were discussing how best to help vulnerable Afghans", the organization said in a statement. The latest report by the United Nations says the number of civilians killed in Afghanistan in the first half of this year increased by 1 percent, compared to the same period last year. According to the provincial officials, at present there is a skirmish between the security forces and the attackers. He added that the exact number is not known. Sohrab Qaderi, a member of the local provincial council, told Reuters that the attack had specifically targeted that building. As the attack concluded, it was not immediately clear what had happened to them. "I saw a black Corolla vehicle drop three armed men at the gate of the refugees and repatriations department", a witness told AFP. One attacker blew himself up at the gate, and two other militants entered the building. As security forces closed off the area, gunshots could be heard and a clouds of black smoke spiralled into the sky above the area. The Taliban and the Islamic State group carry out near-daily attacks in the Nangarhar province, of which Jalalabad is the capital. No individual or group has so far claimed responsibility behind the attack. In the western province of Farah, 11 people - mostly women and children - were killed when their bus was hit by a roadside bomb meant for the security forces. All were employees of the education department branch and included the director. Intensified aerial and ground operations against the militants have failed to dislodge them. A 20-year-old man was arrested for allegedly killing a person who the accused claimed was extorting money from him, a Crime Branch official said today. Unit 11 of the Crime Branch began investigations after the body of Ambadas Laxman Shinde (29), a Borivali resident, was found on July 30, an official said. He said that the probe led to Bharat Nitin Das, alias Sonu Khadda, who was arrested from Dahisar check post based on a tip-off. "A trap was laid at Dahisar check post and Das was nabbed on July 31 when he came to meet a friend," the official said. "During interrogation, Das told police that on the day of the incident, Shinde had taken money and a mobile from him. This led to an altercation," said Chimaji Adhav, senior inspector of Crime Branch's Unit 11. Adhav said that Das, and one more person, attacked Shinde with a sharp weapon and then smashed his head with a stone. Further investigations are currently underway, Adhav said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A pro-quota Maratha organisation today staged a demonstration outside the house of BJP MLA Medha Kulkarni here. As part of the ongoing agitation, the Sakal Maratha Kranti Morcha had announced that its members would hold protests outside the residences of MLAs and MPs. Members of the Morcha gathered outside Kulkarni's house in Dahanukar Colony today, and when she did not come out to talk to them, they started shouting slogans, said a police officer. Police detained 51 persons who were released later, he said. Some of the agitators were also miffed with Kulkarni's reported statement calling protests outside legislators' houses a "stunt". The Kothrud MLA denied having made such as a statement. She also alleged that some of the protesters hurled bottles at her house, tried to barge in and used "unparliamentary" language. "I was not informed about the agitation outside my house by members of MKM in advance. When it started, Iwas in my office, soIconveyed a message through police that I can accept their memorandum at my office," Kulkarni said. But the agitators chose to remain outside her residence, she said. Kulkarni also claimed that she herself had taken part in the silent procession taken out by Maratha organisations in the city in support of their demands in September 2016. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Security forces today killed a militant in an encounter in Sopore township in Jammu and Kashmir's Baramulla district, a police official said. The encounter began after militants opened fire on security forces during a search operation in Dursoo village, he said. The militant was yet to be identified. The official said the search operation was launched after specific information about the presence of militants in the area. The operation was still underway. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Militants today snatched the rifle from a security guard and looted cash from a private bank in Shopian district of Jammu and Kashmir, police said. The militants barged into Jammu and Kashmir Bank's branch at Kapran in the south Kashmir district this afternoon, a police spokesman said. He said the ultras looted some cash from the branch and also snatched a 12-bore rifle from the guard employed there. A police party has reached the spot and further details were awaited, the spokesman said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Assam Industry and Commerce Minister Chandramohan Patowary today emphasised on the need for connectivity with rural area which is an important factor for cargo and goods to reach it's logical end. Inaugurating a day-long workshop on Air Cargo Development in North East-End to End Logistic value chain, the minister urged stakeholders to make way for business with eastern and South East Asian countries from Assam. The workshop was organised by Airports Authority of India with AAI Cargo Logistics and Allied Services Company Limited. AAI Chairman Guruprasad Mohapatra said that cold storage facility, which was earlier missing from North East, was being currently provided and farmers, traders and producers can now send local products to other parts of the world. "With increasing demand, airlines are adding more and more cargo planes in their fleet and the AAI along with AAICLAS is ready to facilitate all concerned stakeholders in development of cargo in the region," he added. He also announced reduced airport charges under Regional Connectivity scheme if a proposal was received from the state government. Assam Additional Chief Secretary, Ravi Capoor said that the state has the potential of becoming horticulture hub of the country. At another programme on the day, the AAI Chairman laid the foundation stone for Common User Domestic Cargo Terminal-II (CUDCT), to be built for operations at the Guwahati Airport. The salient feature of the cargo complex includes enhancing the Air Cargo capacity of the Airport to 12,000 MT annually and was expected to be completed by 2019. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Five armed miscreants today looted Rs 3.6 lakh from a Bank of India branch in Bihar's Muzaffarpur district, police said. The miscreants, who arrived in three motorcycles, barged into the bank situated at Sakri-Saraiya Chowk under Kudhani police station area and looted Rs 3.6 lakh before decamping with the money, Senior Superintendent of Police Harpreet Kaur said. The miscreants also damaged the hard disks of computers and threw them outside before snatching the gun of the bank's security guard, Kaur said adding that the gun was later found lying at some distance from the bank. Kaur, who reached the spot, said that a Special Investigation Team headed by a Deputy Superintendent of Police has been constituted to probe into the matter. No one has been arrested so far in this connection, she said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Ousted Tata Sons chairman Cyrus Mistry on Friday approached the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) against the order of NCLT dismissing his plea challenging his removal as chairman of the company. A petition was filed before the appellate tribunal against the July 9 order of the Mumbai bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT). "We have filed the appeal today," Mistry's counsel said. Mistry's appeal is now with the registry of the NCLAT, which would forward it after technical verification. Asked as to when would the matter be listed for hearing, the counsel said: "Nothing has been decided as of now." On July 9, NCLT Mumbai had dismissed pleas of Cyrus Mistry challenging Mistry's removal as Tata Sons chairman as also the allegations of rampant misconduct on part of Ratan Tata and the company's Board. A special bench of the tribunal held that the Board of Directors at Tata Sons was "competent" to remove the executive chairperson of the company. NCLT bench members B S V Prakash Kumar and V Nallasenapathy said that Mistry was ousted as chairman because the Tata Sons' Board and its majority shareholders had "lost confidence in him". Under the Act 2013, an order of NCLT can be challenged before the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT). Mistry, who was the sixth chairman of Tata Sons, was ousted from the position in October 2016. He had taken over as the chairman in 2012 after Ratan Tata announced his retirement. Two months after his removal, Mistry's family-run firms Cyrus Investments Pvt Ltd and Sterling Investments Corp approached the NCLT as minority shareholders, against Tata Sons, Ratan Tata, and some other board members. Mistry in his pleas primarily argued that his removal was not in accordance with the Act and that there was rampant mismanagement of affairs across Tata Sons. He also alleged that Tata Trust chairperson Ratan Tata and trustee N Soonawala interfered with the day-to-day operations of the group companies, they acted as shadow directors, and all of the above caused massive revenue loss for the group. The Tata Group had denied all charges and said Mistry was removed because the Board had lost confidence in him. Emmerson Mnangagwa of the ruling ZANU-PF party has taken a clear lead in Zimbabwe's presidential election, ahead of his main opponent Nelson Chamisa of the opposition MDC party, according to official results. With nine out of ten provinces declared yesterday, Mnangagwa had 2,147,505 votes to Chamisa's 1,929,704, according to tallies from the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission. The result from the last province of Mashonaland West, a large ZANU-PF stronghold, was due to be released shortly. Zimbabwe has been braced for the results in the landmark presidential elections -- the first since the ousting of Robert Mugabe -- which have already sparked a deadly crackdown on protesters. Six people were killed on Wednesday when troops fired live rounds against MDC demonstrators alleging the vote had been rigged. Soldiers and police cleared central Harare earlier in the day, shouting at pedestrians and traders to leave the area, as the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) continued to allege that ZANU-PF had stolen the election. The government has accused the MDC of inciting Wednesday's unrest and has vowed to enforce a strict security clampdown. "What they have been trying to do of late is to play around," MDC leader Nelson Chamisa told reporters yesterday. "That is rigging, that is manipulation, trying to bastardise the result, and that we will not allow." If no presidential candidate wins at least 50 per cent of the ballots cast in the first round, a run-off is scheduled for September 8. Soldiers stood guard at ZANU-PF headquarters, while armoured personnel carriers, water cannon trucks and police anti-riot vans took position outside MDC headquarters. Monday's vote was meant to turn the page on years of brutal repression under Mugabe. It has pitted incumbent President Mnangagwa, Mugabe's former ZANU-PF ally, against Chamisa, 35 years his junior. After the protest deaths, Mnangagwa said on Twitter that he wanted an independent investigation into the killings, and that he sought to settle differences "peacefully". But Chamisa ratcheted up the pressure, accusing the government of turning tanks and guns on voters, and ruling out the prospect of a unity government. "No unity government. There has to a government of the people elected by the people," he told reporters. In the parliamentary election, also held on Monday, ZANU-PF won easily. Mnangagwa had promised a free and fair vote after the military ushered him to power when Mugabe was forced to resign. A credible and peaceful vote was meant to end Zimbabwe's international isolation and attract foreign investment to revive the shattered economy. Election observers from the Commonwealth issued a statement to "denounce the excessive use of force against unarmed civilians". Former colonial power Britain appealed for Zimbabwe to remove the army from the streets. Before the violence, European Union observers declared they found an "un-level playing field and lack of trust" in the election process. Under Mugabe, elections were often marred by fraud and deadly violence. ZEC chairwoman Priscilla Chigumba, a high court judge, has flatly rejected allegations of bias and rigging. Mugabe, 94, voted in Harare on Monday alongside his wife Grace after he stunned observers by calling for voters to reject ZANU-PF, his former party. The campaign and polling day were lauded as relatively peaceful and open. Mnangagwa was the clear election front-runner, benefitting from tacit military support and state resources. But Chamisa, a lawyer and pastor, sought to tap into the youth and urban vote. Mnangagwa was allegedly involved in violence and intimidation during the 2008 elections when then opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai pulled out of the run-off after attacks claimed the lives of at least 200 of his supporters. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Prime Minister Narendra Modi today thanked the people of Maharashtra for their continued "faith" in the BJP following the party's win in two civic polls. The BJP scored a big win in the Sangli municipal elections by defeating the Congress-NCP alliance and also swept the Jalgaon civic body in Maharashtra where it trounced the Shiv Sena. "Impressive victories for @BJP4Maharashtra! Great performance in Jalgaon and outstanding win in Sangli. I thank the people of Maharashtra for the continued faith," he tweeted. "I also appreciate the hardwork of CM @Dev_Fadnavis, @raosahebdanve and the entire team of Maharashtra BJP," the prime minister added. BJP president Amit Shah also hailed the win. "This continued support for BJP in Maharashtra reflects people's desire for a better quality of life, being delivered by the state government led by CM Devendra Fadnavis, and Modi government's commitment to take Maharashtra to greater heights," he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) With monsoon still in deficit, the overall sown area is 7.5 per cent less than last year, which is likely to lead to lower production, a report said. Even as most parts of the country have received normal rainfall this week, on a cumulative basis, there is still a deficit of 7 per cent, said a Care Ratings report. Amongst the regions receiving deficient rainfall, Rayalseema in Andhra Pradesh received the lowest rainfall, which was 43 per cent below normal, it added. The north eastern regions continue to be affected by deficient rainfall, as the monsoon winds progress towards the north central belt. "This has led to lower cultivated area across almost all crop except sugarcane," the report said. Acreage for pulses is down by around 9 per cent, compared with last year, while urad acreage has reduced by 16 per cent following deficient rainfall in Andhra Pradesh (Rayalseema) for the past two weeks. Urad is one of the major crops produced in the Andhra region. Meanwhile, moong has recorded a positive acreage of higher by 3.8 per cent compared with 2017. Also, the report said, farmers might have chosen to grow fewer pulses due to fall in prices in the last couple of years. Further, sowing for oilseeds this year is marginally lower by 1.2 per cent, compared with 2017. Area sown for soya has been higher, which augurs well for the crop output. However, cheap edible imports from SAFTA members are likely to hurt domestic oil manufacturers and oilseeds producers. Sugarcane continued to register higher acreage compared with 2017. With the measures taken by the government to prevent sugar price from falling given the supply glut in the industry, arrears given to sugarcane farmers have sharply declined to Rs 16,000 crore, compared with around Rs 23,000 crore in May 2018. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Seeking to adjust the United States trade imbalance with China, Washington could more than double the pending tariffs on Chinese imports. Its ministry of commerce warned that it "will have to retaliate to defend the nation's dignity and the interests of the people". But President Donald Trump now wants the U.S. Trade Representative to consider more than doubling those tariffs to 25 percent. "Regrettably, instead of changing its harmful behavior, China has illegally retaliated against USA workers, farmers, ranchers and businesses". During a hearing last week on the $16 billion tranche of tariffs, representatives from USA industries decried the indiscriminate selection process for identifying which products would be subjected to the trade sanctions, with some warning of dire consequences should tariffs be imposed on an additional $200 billion worth. The US is also simultaneously stepping up the heat against China on a separate front by forming a coalition of the US, the European Union, Japan, and several other countries of the global north at the World Trade Organization (WTO). At a news briefing, Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang accused the US of engaging in "blackmail", according to Reuters. Tom Porcelli, chief US economist at RBC Capital Markets. The initial set of tariffs and reprisals led to talks between Washington and Beijing, and Trump and his administration touted a deal that they said would lead to hundreds of billions of dollars worth of additional USA exports to China. The Business Roundtable, which includes many firms with extensive operations in China, laid out a negotiating agenda for U.S. The next wave of US tariffs is set to kick in as soon as Wednesday, with the possible imposition of duties on another $16 billion of Chinese imports. The White House is considering increasing planned tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese goods from 10 to 25 percent, according to unnamed sources familiar with the issue, as quoted by Bloomberg. The Trump administration claims this retaliatory tariff is in response to China's decision to impose tariffs on U.S. goods. Washington wants China to open its market more to U.S. products and stop harming American workers, one official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. But President Trump has done just the opposite, signing a large corporate tax cut that makes foreign investment in the USA more attractive, while forcing Congress to scale back its plans to place more restrictions on Chinese investment in the United States. The comment period was set to take place later this month, but will now be extended into September, officials said. Trump and other NAFTA critics say the agreement encouraged US manufacturers to move factories - and jobs - south of the border to take advantage of lower-wage Mexican labour. Officials in Moscow say a U.S. citizen has been detained in Russia's Far East after accidently sailing there from Alaska on a small boat. John Martin had been traveling down the Yukon River across Alaska on a one-person boat when he ended up in the open Bering Sea, said Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova. He spent several days at sea in bad weather and eventually washed up on Russian shores. Martin, who lives in Anchorage, was detained Thursday by Russian officials in the Far Eastern region of Chukotka. The U.S. Consulate in Vladivostok was informed about the incident. Zakharova told reporters Friday in Moscow that Martin's condition was "satisfactory." The U.S. Embassy in Moscow did not immediately respond to requests for comment. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The owner of a roadside eatery, his two children, and three others were killed today in Madhya Pradesh's Chhindwara district after a speeding truck crashed into the eatery, police said. Amarwada police station in charge Sumer Singh Jaget said that the accident happened after the driver lost control of the truck near Salaiya area, some 75 kilometres from here. Eatery owner Shivnandan Daheria (45), his son Raja (15) and daughter Karishma (12) were killed and Daheria's wife, and two others, were seriously injured and are undergoing treatment, Jaget said. "The accident also killed three others identified as Satish, Noor Khan and Sanju Khan," he said. The driver fled from the spot and efforts were on to nab him, the official said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Calcutta High Court today directed that the 'Y-plus' security given to BJP leader Mukul Roy by the Centre would remain, as it dismissed a PIL seeking withdrawal of the security cover given to the leader. A division bench comprising Chief Justice J Bhattacharya and Justice A Banerjee passed the direction after considering a report placed by the Centre on threat perceptions on Roy and the requirement to provide security to him. Roy is a former railways minister and was a Rajya Sabha MP representing the Trinamool Congress, before joining the BJP. A TMC councillor from Salt Lake, Debraj Chakraborty had filed a PIL claiming that Roy, being an ordinary citizen at present, did not need a security cover using public money. The court had sought a report from the central government on the issue. Additional Solicitor General Kaushik Chanda filed a report in a sealed cover before the court stating the threat perceptions and requirement of security to Roy. After going through the reasons given by the Centre for providing security cover to Roy, the court dismissed the PIL. The petitioner claimed that Roy had returned 'Z' category security provided to him by the West Bengal government, days before quitting the TMC, of which he was the general secretary. Roy was given 'Y-plus' category security by the Centre with 12 CRPF personnel after joining the saffron party, Chakraborty claimed. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The SIT probing the Naroda Gam massacre case of 2002 Gujarat riots today told the special court here that the main accused and former state minister Mayaben Kodnani was present at the spot for around 10 minutes and left after "instigating the mob". During today's hearing, Special Public Prosecutor (SPP) Gaurang Vyas told Special Judge M K Dave that concrete evidence in the form of eyewitness accounts establish Kodnani's presence at Naroda Gam at around 9:00 am on February 28, 2002, a day after the Godhra train burning incident. Questioning the defence witnesses who had claimed that Kodnani was either in the in Gandhinagar, or at her hospital in Ahmedabad or at Sola civil hospital that day, Vyas said that such witnesses were "created only to save Kodnani". In her defence, Kodnani had claimed before the court that she was in in Gandhinagar during the early hours of February 28 and then arrived at Sola civil hospital, where bodies of 'karsevaks' were brought from Godhra. Vyas maintained that Kodnani reached Naroda Gam at around 9:00 am after leaving from Gandhinagar at around 8:40 am. The SPP said that the records of her mobile tower locations suggests that she reached Sola area at around 10:00 am. Citing the testimonies of eye witnesses, Vyas said that people of that area saw Kodnani at Naroda Gam during the morning. He said that the case against Kodnani is mainly about instigating the mob by giving a speech outside the Naroda Gam area. "Eyewitnesses have said that she was there for around 10 minutes. She did not enter the area. She came, made a speech to instigate the mob and left. This case is mainly about inciting the mob," Vyas said. The public prosecutor also questioned the testimony of a patient, a pregnant woman, who claimed to have received treatment at Kodnani's hospital on February 28 and had also said that Kodnani, a gynaecologist, was present at the hospital. Vyas also raised a question mark on another defence witness, Dr Dhaval Shah, who claims to be running that hospital in partnership with Kodnani. While the pregnant woman claimed that she was checked by Kodnani at around 1:00pm, Shah had testified that he had arrived at the hospital at around 2:00pm. "Both the woman and Shah have failed to produce any case papers or copy of the bill. Shah claimed that he had dropped the patient to her relative's house in his vehicle. However, he doesn't know the address. Such witnesses were created just to save Kodnani," Vyas told the court. He also questioned the testimonies of defence witnesses who had claimed that they saw Kodnani at Sola civil hospital. "All these defence witnesses of Sola were either BJP leaders or relatives of the Godhra carnage victims. Officials or medical superintendent of the hospital were not examined by the defence. No independent witnesses were examined" said Vyas. After taking submissions of the SIT lawyer, the court kept the matter for further hearing on Monday. On Monday, the court will watch the CD of a sting operation carried out by former Tehelka journalist, Ashish Khetan, on the 2002 riots accused. The court would also watch videos of the crime scene recorded by the local police in 2002 and by the SIT in 2008. The Naroda Gam case is one of the nine major 2002 communal riot cases investigated by the Supreme Court-appointed Special Investigation Team. Eleven people belonging to the Muslim community were killed in the during a bandh called in protest against the Godhra train burning incident of February 27, 2002. Besides rioting and murder, Kodnani has also been charged with criminal conspiracy and attempt to murder in the case. She was convicted and sentenced to 28 years in jail for her role in the Naroda Patiya riots, in which 96 people were killed. However, in April this year, the Gujarat High Court had acquitted her. Actor-turned-politician Kamal Haasan today said it would not be possible for him to produce a movie like "Hey Ram" at present as the whole nation, according to him, was becoming intolerant. Speaking to reporters here, Haasan said "Hey Ram", written, directed and produced by him in 2000, was a 'very strong movie,' which reflected his politics and ideologies. Asked if his new film 'Vishwaroopam 2' also reflected his politics and ideology, the Makkal Needhi Maiam leader said it was there in all his movies. "However, this (Vishwaroopam 2) was not aimed (at it) directly," he said. "If you want to see my political reflection, Hey Ram is the film. I don't think it will be possible to release that kind of movie today. That is a very strong movie," he said about the film that revolves around partition and the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi. Haasan said it would also not be possible for Malayalam writer and Jnanpeeth awardee M T Vasudevan Nair to produce a movie like 'Nirmalyam' at present. 'Nirmalyam', which had won the national award for the best film in 1973, focused on the neglect of temples in the villages of Kerala and the difficulties faced by families dependent on the places of worship. Asked if it was time to unite against all 'intolerant voices' in the country, he said, "It is. The whole nation is becoming intolerant." Hassan, who was here to promote 'Vishwaroopam 2', said he was shocked that a state like Kerala was also toeing the line of the politics of intolerance. He said his party would go in the direction of whatever would be good for Tamil Nadu. "I am looking at achieving that goal. We are not opportunists," the MNM leader said in response to a query if he would join a broad platform of secular parties now evolving at the national-level. He said his focus was on politics in Tamil Nadu. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Jammu and Kashmir National Conference (NC) today moved the Supreme Court in support of the Constitution's Article 35-A that empowers the state assembly to define "permanent residents" for bestowing special rights and privileges to them. After the CPI(M)'s Jammu and Kashmir unit, the NC moved the present petition seeking to be heard in the present matter, saying that the Article serves as an important link between the state and the Union and its people and serves to maintain a fine balance of constitutional federalism. The apex court is already seized of a batch of petitions in the matter, including the one filed by NGO We the Citizens seeking quashing of the article, which confers special status to permanent residents of Jammu and Kashmir. The NC's intervening application, filed through advocate Adeeba Mujhaid, has sought intervention in the "We the Citizens" petition, saying that the challenge raised in the pending writ petition suffers from gross delays and latches and being raised after more than 60 years and cannot be maintainable. The matter is listed for hearing on Monday before a bench comprising Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud. "Any attempt to tinker with the said balance would ruin the fabric of the federal structure envisaged under the Constitution and jeopardise the avowed special status guaranteed to the state of Jammu and Kashmir, thereby landing a devastating fatal blow to the state and its probe," the petition filed by NC through its provincial president Nasir Aslam Wani said. It said that "Article 35-A and the special status and special laws of the J-K are a crucial existential issue for the state and its people." "The rights of all permanent residents of the state, irrespective of their religion, creed, region, socio-economic standing etc. are firmly and constitutionally rooted in Article 35-A. "The people of all the three regions of the state -- Jammu, Ladakh and Kashmir Valley -- will be vitally affected by the outcome of the present proceedings," it said. On July 31, CPI(M)'s J-K unit had said in its petition that it was of the unequivocal opinion that the Article shall in "no circumstance be annulled, modified or repealed". On May 14, Attorney General K K Venugopal had informed the apex court that the Centre's interlocutor for Jammu and Kashmir is currently discussing with all stakeholders the "sensitive" issues relating to the challenge to Article 35-A of the Constitution. He had said the interlocutor, appointed by the Centre to hold talks with stakeholders to resolve the Kashmir issue, was discussing these issues and it was an "ongoing process". Dineshwar Sharma, former director of the Intelligence Bureau (IB), was appointed the Centre's interlocutor for the state on October 23 last year. Article 35-A, which was incorporated in the Constitution by a 1954 Presidential Order, accords special rights and privileges to the citizens of J&K and denies property rights to a woman who marries a person from outside the state. The provision, which leads such women from the state to forfeit their right over property, also applies to their heirs. Several interlocutory petitions have been filed in support of Article 35-A by various individuals and civil society groups seeking continuance of the special status to Jammu and Kashmir. The Jammu and Kashmir government through its standing counsel Shoeb Alam had referred to two judgments by the constitution benches of the apex court and said the issues raised in the pleas challenging Article 35-A were covered by these verdicts. The state government, while defending Article 35-A, had cited two verdicts by the constitution benches of the Supreme Court in 1961 and 1969 which had upheld the powers of the President under Article 370(1)(d) of the Constitution to pass constitutional orders. The article was incorporated in the Constitution in 1954 by an order of president Rajendra Prasad on the advice of the then Jawaharlal Nehru Cabinet. It empowers the state legislature to frame any law without attracting a challenge on the grounds of violation of the right to equality of people from other states or any other right under the Constitution. The apex court had on August 14 last year said a constitution bench may examine whether Article 35-A was gender-biased and violative of the basic structure of the Constitution. The court while hearing a plea earlier by Charu Wali Khanna, a Kashmir resident, had indicated that if the article violated basic structure of the Constitution or was ultra vires, the issue may be dealt with by a five-judge bench. It had tagged the plea challenging Article 35-A with a similar petition that is pending for hearing by a three-judge bench. The state government had earlier said the issue has already been "prima facie settled" by a full bench of the High Court in its verdict in 2002. In the case, the high court had, by a majority view, held that a daughter of a permanent resident of Jammu and Kashmir marrying a non-permanent resident will not lose the status of a permanent resident. In Srinagar, Wani said in a statement that the party "will fight this battle from the forefront and will do everything necessary to safeguard the state's special status and political rights. "We will make our case in the Supreme Court in light of the constitutional facts through which the state negotiated its accession with the Union of India - after having acceded to the Union in extraordinary circumstances," he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) : An NGO working for children's rights today said it has approached the Telangana State Human Rights Commission, seeking directions to hold and GHMC officials responsible for the death of two girls at a school at Kukatpally here. Two girl students, aged around 10 years, died and four others were injured yesterday when a portion of a roof of a stage collapsed at a private school. Balala Hakkula Sangham, in a release, said it has approached the Commission to direct the Commissioner, Greater Hyderabad Municipal Commission and Commissioner, School Education, Telangana, to book criminal cases on the officials as their negligence caused the deaths of the children and left several others injured after a structure at the school collapsed. The safety and security of the children has become questionable in all schools in Telangana and every day is a testing time for parents to know whether their children return home safely or not, it said. the NGO demanded that the department re assure parents of the safety of the children. The two girl students, aged around ten years, died and four others were injured yesterday when a portion of a roof of a stage collapsed at the private school in Kukatpally area. The seven students were practising karate when the roof came crashing down, police had said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The National Green Tribunal has taken note of polluting industrial units operating in residential areas of Shastri Nagar here and asked the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) to take action against all such entities operating without consent. A bench headed by NGT chairperson Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel said there was material on record which "prima facie" indicates violation of law which needs to be looked into by the DPCC and the East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC). The green panel noted that various units like bakeries, welding shops and slaughter houses were functioning in residential areas without proper permission. "The DPCC may look into the questions whether the illegal activities pointed out by the applicant require any consent to operate and whether such consent has been obtained. "It may also be examined as to which category the activities fall as per the categorisation and siting policy published by the DPCC in terms of the latest guidelines on the subject issued by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), and whether such activities are permissible in residential or municipal areas," the bench said. The tribunal made it clear that if there was non-compliance of its order, it would take coercive measures in terms of the National Green Tribunal Act, 2010 against the authorities concerned. It asked the CBCP to send a compliance report to the tribunal after three months by e-mail and posted the matter for hearing on December 4. The order came while hearing a plea filed by city resident Kulwant Singh, who alleged that illegal and polluting activities were being carried out by bakeries, welding shops and slaughter houses in residential areas in New Lahore Colony in Shastri Nagar in violation of provisions of the Rule 3 of the Environment (Protection) Rules, 1986. The plea, filed through advocate Ruchira Goel, claimed that despite the statement made by MCD (East) commissioner, necessary action had not been taken by the DPCC and EDMC. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The NIA today filed charge sheet against six people in a case related to the escape of LeT terrorist Mohd Naveed Jatt from a hospital in Jammu and Kashmir, according to an official statement. The agency said the conspiracy to free the Pakistan-born terrorist was hatched in central jail, where he was lodged. The charge sheet was filed at the NIA special court in Jammu against six people including Mohd Tika Khan, Shakeel Ahmad Bhat, Syed Tajmul Islam Kirmani and Mohd Shafi Wani -- all residents of different villages in Kakapora Tehsil of Pulwama district, it said. Jatt, who has also been named in the charge sheet, escaped after an attack on a police escort party on February 6 this year while he was being taken for medical treatment at Shri Maharaja Hari Singh Hospital (SMHS), Srinagar. Two police personnel of the escort party were killed in the incident. During the investigation it was found that the escape was in furtherance of a well-planned criminal conspiracy hatched among Jatt, a native of Pakistan, and another person Hilal Ahmad Rather (also a resident of Pulwama), besides four others -- Khan, Bhatt, Kirmani and Wani. "Investigation revealed that the accused conducted meetings in the central jail, Srinagar on different dates before the incident and a comprehensive plan was made to effect the escape of LeT terrorist Mohd Naveed Jatt," the National Investigation Agency (NIA) said in the statement. As per the plan and in furtherance of the criminal conspiracy, the accused conducted a detailed recce of the SMHS Hospital as well as routes to be followed before and after the action, it said. They also arranged vehicles and weapons to be used in execution of the plan. During investigation, accused Khan, Bhat, Kirmani and Wani were arrested. LeT militant Jatt alias Abu Hanjulla and Rather are absconding, against whom non-bailable warrants have been issued by the NIA special court, the statement said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) After two consecutive sessions of falls, the NSE benchmark Nifty today rebounded by 116 points to 11,360.80 to hit a new closing high on hectic buying in sectors such as banking, metal, media, FMCG and pharma. Shares got a boost after the India Meteorological Department in its latest forecast said that monsoon in August and September will be normal, that is 96 plus/minus 9 per cent Long Period Average. Overseas, European equities were trading higher helped by a rally in banking shares after Royal Bank of Scotland Group announced plans to resume payouts. Asian stocks were mixed. The mood was cautious amid an elevation in trade tensions between the US and China. The Nifty 50 index rose 116.10 points or 1.03 per cent to close at 11,360.80, its record closing high. The index rose 123.30 points at the day's high of 11,368. The index rose 49.85 points at the day's low of 11,294.55. It witnessed an intra-day movement of about 93.95 points. Sector-wise, PSU jumped 1.89 per cent followed by metal 1.60 per cent, financial service 1.54 per cent, private bank 1.52 per cent, media 1.30 per cent, bank 1.24 per cent, FMCG 1.13 per cent, pharma 0.81 per cent, energy 0.68 per cent, IT 0.66 per cent, realty 0.60 per cent, infra 0.57 per cent and auto 0.66 per cent. Major index gainers were Indiabulls Housing Finance, Axis Bank, Vedanta Ltd, Yes Bank, GAIL, ICICI Bank, HDFC, Lupin and Dr Reddy's. Index losers included Tech Mahindra, Tata Motors, Grasim, Asianpaint, HeroMotoCo, IndusIndBank, UltraCemCo and HDFC bank. The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, turned gainers. On NSE, 1,284 shares advanced and 548 declined, while 73 remained unchanged. Total securities that hit their price bands were 278. Turnover in the cash segment rose to Rs 32,614.32 crore from Rs 30,888.61 crore as on Thursday. A total of 16,158.49 lakh shares changed hands in 1,10,25,931 trades. The market capitalisation of listed firms on the NSE stood at Rs 1,52,27,786.15 crore. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) There are allegations that Russians helped Trump's presidential election campaign and the USA is running a probe headed by former Federal Bureau of Investigation director Robert Mueller to verify the facts. U.S. Justice Department Special Counsel Robert Mueller wants to interview Emin Agalarov, an Azerbaijani-Russian pop star and former son-in-law of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, a lawyer for Agalarov says. Mueller is a Republican who was appointed as Federal Bureau of Investigation director by President George W. Bush, and the man who tapped him as special counsel, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, was named by Trump and is also a registered Republican. "This is a awful situation and Attorney General Jeff Sessions should stop this Rigged Witch Hunt right now, before it continues to stain our country any further", Trump said. "Bob Mueller is totally conflicted, and his 17 Angry Democrats that are doing his dirty work are a disgrace to United States of America!" the President tweeted. "The president is not obstructing, he's fighting back", press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters. But Giuliani and the White House argued that the President was merely exercising his right to free speech and offering an "opinion". Peter Carr, spokesman for the special counsel's office, declined to comment on Trump's Twitter post. The latter comment appeared a further attempt by the Trump camp to discredit any Justice Department official involved in the investigation, including Special Counsel Robert S. Mueller, who is leading it. Trump's team has attempted to set terms for what investigators can ask him and in what format. He added: "There are two things specifically that are worrying Donald Trump at the moment". But Trump, flustered by the probe, is reportedly pushing his team to keep negotiating under the belief he can clear himself of wrongdoing in an interview. Rudy Giuliani has called on Mueller to "put up or shut up". But Trump's entourage denied the obstruction of justice claim, saying that the president's tweet was an opinion, not an order. Though Trump has questioned whether Russian Federation was involved in the 2016 election, national intelligence director Dan Coats said, "We continue to see a pervasive messaging campaign by Russian Federation to try to weaken and divide the United States". Second, we know Trump is lying because at the disastrous Helsinki summit, Putin said right in front of Trump that he wanted him to win the election. Later Wednesday, Trump contrasted Manafort's treatment to that of the notorious gangster Alphonse Capone, who was convicted of tax evasion in the 1930s, though the president mis-spelled his name. It's a statement. Of course it can be considered evidence of obstruction, depending on what is said. Jackson tonight told Wolf Blitzer, "I am of the view that it is not at all obstruction of justice". The timing is interesting too - his former campaign manager, Paul Manafort, has just gone on trial, accused of failing to declare the extent of his business connections with pro-Moscow Ukrainian politicians. Trump was closely monitoring news coverage of the Manafort proceedings, which provoked the spate of incendiary tweets, according to the two Republicans and two White House officials. "We acknowledge the threat, it is real, it is continuing, and we're doing everything we can to have a legitimate election", Coats said, adding: "It is pervasive, it is ongoing, with the intent to. drive a wedge and undermine our democratic values". But Senate Democrats weren't the only ones who took issue with the president's tweet. "Where is the Russian Collusion?" A Nigerian national was arrested today for possessing three gm of cocaine, police said. Chidera Francis (28), who was taken into custody while on his way to Kochi by train, had no passport or other travel documents, the police said. The accused had arrived from Bengaluru, they said. He was produced before the Judicial Magistrate Court here and was remanded in judicial custody for two weeks, they added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Breaking his silence, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar today expressed deep anguish over the Muzaffarpur shelter home sex scandal and stressed on the need to develop institutional mechanisms to prevent recurrence of such incidents. Kumar expressed his anguish over allegations of sexual exploitation of minor girls at the state-funded shelter home, at the launch of 'Mukhyamantri Kanya Utthan Yojana', a scheme run by his government for welfare of girls, in Patna. Medical examinations of 34 out of the 42 shelter home inmates have confirmed they were sexually exploited. The owner of the shelter home, run by NGO 'Seva Sankalp Evam Vikas Samiti', Brajesh Thakur, is the main accused in the case. The issue was first highlighted in an audit report submitted by Tata Institute of Social Science (TISS), Mumbai, to Bihar's Social Welfare Department in April. "An instance has come to light in Muzaffarpur. It has left us with a sense of shame and guilt," Kumar said. "We have always said that the guilty would not be spared and Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi has said on the floor of the assembly that we would ourselves like the CBI probe to be monitored by the high court," Kumar said. An FIR in the matter was registered on May 31 against 11 persons. Ten out of them, including Thakur, were arrested on June 3. One was absconding. Bihar Police submitted its chargesheet against the 10 persons on July 26 before a Protection of Children from Sexual Offences court in Muzaffarpur. The state government on July 26 recommended a CBI probe and the premier investigating agency later took over the probe from the state police in the case. Speaking for this first time since the scandal broke, the chief minister said he has asked the chief secretary to discuss with concerned departments and develop an institutional mechanism to prevent such incidents from happening again. "This is essential since the society is inhabited by all kinds of people and they may indulge in perverse acts at the slightest opportunity," he said. Bihar Social Welfare Minister Manju Verma, who is in the eye of a storm after the name of her husband cropped up in connection with the abuse case, was present at the programme along with the health and education ministers. Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi also attended the event. Verma spoke about working of her department. But, when reporters surrounded her after the programme and sought her comments, she did not answer any questions and moved towards her car, saying "hut hut" (move away) to scribes and camerapersons. Regional TV channels beamed visuals of her security personnel pushing and shoving mediapersons when they were seeking her comments on the opposition demand for her resignation in the wake of the Muzaffarpur episode. Popularly called "Sushasan Babu" for giving good governance in the past, Kumar has faced sharp attacks from the opposition RJD, Congress and HAM for his government providing funding to the NGO without checking its illegal activities. The state government is also criticised for providing advertisement to newspapers owned by the main accused. After registration of the case, accreditation of Thakur, who along with the help of his family runs a newspaper in hindi, english as well in urdu, has been cancelled by the state's Information and Public Relations Department. His accreditation with the central government's Press Information Bureau has also been ended now. Left organisations supported by RJD, Congress along with smaller parties like Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM), Loktantrik Janta Dal - floated by former JD(U) president Sharad Yadav - and NCP had observed a day-long state bandh yesterday over the case and also against alleged atrocities against Dalits. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy today said the state government has not taken any decision on throwing open the national highwaycutting through the Bandipur Tiger Reserve in Karnataka fornight traffic. The Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) has recently proposed to allow night traffic and claimed that the state government had agreed to give its consent. "Bandipur issue is already in the Supreme Court...I don't know why this issue is raised again. Our government has not taken any decision.I don't know why some people are creating controversy," Kumaraswamy told reporters here. In a letter to the Karnataka chief secretary, MoRTH secretary Y S Malik also proposed building four elevated corridors of one km each. MoRTH's claim that chief minister Kumaraswamy andPWD minister H D Revanna had consented to its recommendationsduring a meeting with Union Transport minister Nitin Gadkarihas come as a surprise to wild life conservationists as it is contrary to the stand of successive state governments. Malik has sought the state's consent to the proposed scheme so that it can be submitted before the Supreme Court. Following the letter from MoRTH, state chief secretaryT M Vijay Bhaskar has sought the forest department's opinion. A senior forest department official had yesterday told PTI on condition of anonymity, "We have opposed lifting of thenight traffic ban...mostly the file is with the chief minister's office." Karnataka government is not allowing night traffic on the NH-212 through the forested region, inhabiting wild animals including tiger, leopards and elephants, to prevent their deaths in possible road accidents. The movement of traffic through the tiger reserve is banned on this stretch from 9 pm to 6 am. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Controversial Bangladeshi author Taslima Nasreen, who has been living in exile since 1994, has said no person should be termed an "illegal immigrant". Her statement comes in the backdrop of the omission of the names of 40 lakh people from the complete draft of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam. The omission has triggered a political slugfest between the ruling BJP and other political parties. "Early humans moved from Africa to Asia for a better life. Since then humans have been moving. Our human ancestors were not illegal," Nasreen wrote on Twitter on Wednesday. "No person shld be called illegal immigrant. B'deshi ppl who illegally enter India, their acts are illegal based on Indian law, but they r not 'illegal' (sic)," the physician-turned-author wrote on the microblogging website. In another tweet, she quoted a World Bank report that Bangladeshi economic migrants can go back to their own country from India as "Bangladesh's economy is now much better than before". In another tweet, Nasreen said, "India has enough Muslims. India does not need more Muslims from neighbouring countries. But the problem is, Indian politicians need them." The controversial author has been living in exile in India and Europe after having incurred the wrath of fundamentalists back home over a novel written by her in 1994. The writer had penned her struggles from her time in exile in her book "Nirbashan", which has now been translated from Bengali into English as "Exile". (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A non-profitable trust has urged the Odisha government to conduct a National Register of Citizens survey in the state. Bharat Raksha Manch (BRM), a non-profitable trust demanded that a NRC survey on the line of Assam be done in the state to find out the number of Bangladeshis illegally residing in the state. BRM president Murali Manohar Sharma said "Odisha with its long porous coastline has been the favourite spot for illegal Bangladeshis." Meanwhile, ADGP (Coastal Security) P B Acharya said that the SPs of coastal districts have been told to keep a vigil on the possible influx of outsiders through sea route. "We have also instructed to intensify patrolling in the coastline by police personnel," Acharya said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN) cadre with arms and ammunition was apprehended today in Mariani area of Jorhat district in Assam along the Nagaland border, police sources said. Acting on a tip-off about the movement of the cadre, police nabbed him from Morongiyal village, under Mariani Police station, along the Assam-Nagaland border and recovered a 9mm pistol along with ammunition and a grenade. The cadre has been identified as Zonet Aier, they said. Zonet confesssed before police that he was part of a 16-member group of the underground outfit from Nagaland and was on his way to serve extortion notices to several small tea growers and a big tea company in Jorhat district, the sources said. Further investigations are on, they said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) One naxal was killed and two policemen were injured in an encounter between security personnel and ultras at a weekly market in Chhattisgarh's Bijapur district today, police said. The skirmish took place around 11.30 am in Basaguda village, located around 450 kms away from the capital Raipur. It happened when a police team was patrolling the area to ensure protection to the weekly market held today, Bijapur Superintendent of Police Mohit Garg told PTI. "As per the preliminary information, a group of 15 to 20 naxalites, dressed as civilians, opened fire on two jawans and also attacked them with sharp weapons in a bid to kill them and loot their weapons, like in the previous attacks committed by ultras during the weekly markets," he said. Two assistant constables belonging to District Force, identified as Punem Shankar and Umant Rao Durgam, sustained injuries in the attack. Naxals tried to escape with their weapons, but could not do so due to heavy retaliatory action by the police personnel, Garg said. In view of the presence of villagers at the market, the security personnel had to be cautious in their retaliatory action, he said. "In the exchange of fire, one naxal was gunned down on the spot while two more ultras sustained bullet injuries. But their colleagues managed to drag them into the forest taking advantage of the crowd in the market," he said. Soon after getting informed, reinforcement was rushed to the spot and the injured jawans were being evacuated to Bijapur from where they will be airlifted to Raipur for treatment, he said. The condition of assistant constable Punem is said to be in a seious condition, he said adding that the deceased naxal is yet to be identified. A joint team of security forces has launched combing in the area to trace the attackers, he added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Three-time Formula One world champion Niki Lauda has undergone a lung transplant following an infection picked up on vacation, Vienna's general hospital announced Thursday. "The transplant was successfully carried out," said a brief statement from the hospital. Lauda, 69, had cut short his vacation in Ibiza last week and returned to Vienna after developing a lung infection, the Osterreich newspaper reported. Crowned world champion for the first time in 1975, Lauda cheated death the following year in a horror crash at the German Grand Prix at the Nurburgring which left him with severe burns. Despite that, he would still capture further world titles in 1977 and 1984. The poisonous gases inhaled during his 1976 accident -- where rescuers took almost a minute to pull him from his burning car -- have caused a steady decline in the strength of his lungs. Usually a regular presence in the Grand Prix paddocks around the world with Mercedes, Lauda had missed the Hockenheim race on July 22 and the Hungary event last Sunday because of his illness. Lauda, who also required kidney transplants in 1997 and 2005, is the father of four children from two marriages -- Lukas (39), Mathias (37) and eight-year-old twins Max and Mia. Lauda is still heavily involved in Formula One as non-executive president of world champions Mercedes and also once founded his own airline. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) "As the situation stabilizes, these posts will be handed over to Syrian government forces", Rudskoy told reporters. Relations between the two countries have been sour for decades, following numerous episodes of hostilities, Syria's participation in the 1967 Six-Day War of Arab nations against Israel and Israel's continued occupation of the Golan Heights, among other issues. The Israel Defense Forces said in a statement that it was tracking the movement of the men toward the border fence with Israel on the Golan Heights on Wednesday evening. The Islamic State has also been routed from nearby territory it once controlled. The Syrian conflict erupted in 2011 and Russian intervention in 2015 helped to turn the tide in President Bashar al-Assad's favour. Seven IS militants were killed in an Israeli attack overnight Wednesday in Syria's Golan Heights. Sergei Rudskoi, a senior Russian defense ministry official, said that Russian military police had on Thursday begun patrolling in the Golan Heights and planned to set up eight observation posts in the area. A week later, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov flew to Jerusalem where he met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in talks that focused on the Iranian presence in Syria. In a nod to his battlefield gains, Israel described victory by Assad, who is on a last push to restore his rule after more than seven years of civil war, as a fait accompli that could calm the Golan Heights. According to IDF Spokesman Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus, Israel tracked the terror cell as they approached the fence, striking them before they could infiltrate. The Jordanian army said that on the Syrian side of the border, regime forces cornered the jihadists in a pocket of southern Syria around the Yarmouk Basin and neighboring villages. He said a preliminary assessment was that the infiltrators were Islamic State militants. "The IDF remains, on high readiness, and levels of alert for any threats - be it in the air or on the ground - and we of course remain committed to defend Israeli citizens and Israeli sovereignty", Conricus told journalists. The army's announcement came shortly after Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman toured a Patriot missile defence battery in northern Israel during a military preparedness drill. Israel has since denied that this was a deal, and said they consider the pullback "inadequate". Ali Hammoud, in an interview with Reuters on Monday, said the Syrian government had yet to receive any request from Jordan to reopen the crossing. Over four and half lakh government employees, including 1.5 lakh gazetted Group A and B officers, will go on a three-day strike from August 7 to protest against the state government's failure to fulfil their demands, an employees' organisation functionary said today. Bhausaheb Pathan of the State Government Class Four Employees Central Organisation told reporters today that over three lakh Group D employees would go on strike between August 7-9 for the implementation of the Seventh Pay Commission recommendations and several other issues. G D Kulthe of the Maharashtra Rajya Rajapatrit Adhikari Mahasangh accused the state government of dillydallying on the demands made by gazetted officers and said they had no alternative but to strike work. Primary demands, apart from the Seventh Pay Commission recommendations, were a five-day week like Central government employees, filling up of 1.8 lakh vacancies in government departments and lowering of recruitment age, he had said earlier. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A special court in hearing the treason charges against former dictator Pervez has scheduled the hearing of the high-profile case on August 20, according to a media report. The Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government had filed the treason case against the ex-army chief General (retd) over the imposition of extra-constitutional emergency in November 2007. The bench that will hear the case will be headed by Lahore High Court (LHC) Chief Justice Muhammad Yawar Ali, Geo News reported. Musharraf, 74, who is currently residing in Dubai, has refused to return to citing security reasons. The three-judge special court will hear the high treason case against Pakistan's president on August 20, the report said. Last month, lawyer Akram Sheikh stepped down as the head of the prosecution team tasked by the government in 2013 to prosecute Sheikh was appointed as the head of the prosecution in the case, by the then-PML-N led government. Musharraf, the former army chief, was indicted in the case in March 2014 after he appeared before the court and rejected all charges. On March 18, 2016, he left Pakistan for Dubai for medical treatment after his name was removed from the Exit Control List on the orders of the Supreme Court. A few months later, a special court had declared him a proclaimed offender and ordered the confiscation of his property owing to his no-show. Later, on the orders of the Supreme Court, Musharraf's passport and identity card were also cancelled since he failed to return to the country despite giving him a last chance. Pakistan's first Sikh police officer has been sacked from service for being absent from office for over three months, a traffic police spokesperson said today. Gulab Singh, 35, has been dismissed from work for staying absent from office for over three months, traffic police spokesperson Ali Nawaz told PTI today. "Superintendent Police Traffic Asif Sadiq after an inquiry against Gulab Singh for staying absent from office over three months has dismissed him from service. He could not defend himself before an inquiry committee," Nawaz said. He said Singh can file an appeal in the office of the deputy inspector general traffic police against his dismissal. Last month, Singh had claimed that he was forcibly evicted by the Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB), the parent body of Sikh Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee (PSGPC) from his house in a village near Lahore along with his children and wife. Talking to PTI, Singh alleged that the traffic police SP had taken action against him on the request of the ETPB. "The board had approached the traffic police and asked SP Sadiq to pressure me to withdraw a case against the board officials for illegally evicting me and my family members from our house at Gurdwara Janaesthan Bebey Nankay, Dera Chahal Lahore," he said. He said he had an accident and presented a medical certificate along with his leave application to the department. "Since the department had no other legal point to initiate action it chose to proceed against me on the leave issue," he said, adding he was confident that the DIG traffic would listen to him and restore him during the course of appeal. Singh said he would not withdraw his case in the court against his and his family members' illegal eviction by the ETPB. "Even the Supreme Court has taken notice of our illegal eviction and the board is worried about that," he said. The Lahore's Sessions Court had also issued a contempt of court notice to the ETPB that looks after the holy places of minorities in Pakistan and police Inspector Imtiaz Ahmd for evicting Gulab Singh and his family members from their house. The next date of hearing is August 7. Singh said despite the case was pending in the session court the officials of the ETPB and police raided his house on July 10 and forcibly evicted his family, declaring that it is its (ETPB) property. He alleged the board officials and the inspector tortured him and broke his arm. Singh says he has been living at his residence since 1996. "The ETBP is now justifying its action on the basis that this land is part of the gudwara's Langar Hall. My grandfather had been living here since 1947 and the board had no right to seal my house despite the case pending in the court of law," he said and added that the ETPB took the help of a notorious police official to get the house vacated as it had no order of the court or magistrate in this respect. Singh is the only Sikh warden in the Punjab Traffic Police who joined the service in 2006. ETPB spokesperson Amir Hashmi denied any torture of Singh or his family members or forcibly evicting his family. "The board officials sealed Gulab Singh's residence after issuing at least three notices to him. This place is a Langar Hall of Gurdwara Bebey Nankey and Singh had illegally occupied it," he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A parliamentary panel has recommended the Ministry of Defence to put in place a foolproof and transparent system to evaluate annual confidential reports (ACRs) of employees. The Committee on Petitions, in its report, was referring to the case of D Shivamurti, who held the post of Director (Finance) in the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). Shivamurti had joined the company in February 1991 as Chief Manager (Finance). He was appointed Director (Finance) in October 2005 for five years. Shivamurti was not granted an extension "in spite of his being the only eligible candidate for the post of Chairman of the HAL, rather adverse remarks were made in his Annual Confidential Report (ACR)", the panel observed. It also said that the as per the guidelines, the adverse comments made in ACR should have been communicated to Shivamurti by the HAL administrative authorities. However, the Ministry of Defence/Public Enterprises Selection Board recommended non-extension of his tenure beyond five years and forwarded the proposal to the Department of Personnel and Training after conducting a joint appraisal. The Ministry of Defence submitted that normally ACRs are evaluated on yearly basis. However, if there are any adverse remarks in the ACR, there is a provision of joint appraisal. "In the case of D Shivamurti, the committee is surprised to find that the ACR evaluation was done at the end of the tenure of his post as Director (Finance) due to which his extension was not considered," the panel said. Shivamurti's tenure was also not extended and he was relieved from the services of HAL from March 3, 2011 citing adverse joint appraisal against him. "Since no convincing evidence in support of their averments was given by the Ministry/HAL authorities, the committee has no option but to believe that the entire adverse scenario against Shivamurti, who had successfully completed his tenure of five years, was to curtail the prospects of his selection for the post of Chairman, HAL," the panel said. The panel said that a well-crafted, universal and transparent procedure should be devised by the Defence Ministry/HAL for considering ACRs or joint appraisals in all cases so that the appraisal mechanism should not be selectively applied as it was invoked in the case of Shivamurti. "The committee, therefore, recommend that the ministry should initiate concrete measures to devise a foolproof and transparent system to evaluate one's ACR periodically or conduct joint appraisals to avoid recurrence of such cases in future," the panel said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Allahabad High Courttoday rejected a petition challenging the dismissal of a criminal case against Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in an incident dating back to 1999 when he was the MP of Gorakhpur. After hearing the concerned parties, Justice Saumitra Dayal Singh dismissed the revision petition filed by Talat Aziz, a Samajwadi Party leader. In the petition it was alleged that a meeting was held by Aziz in Mahrajganj on February 10, 1999. But Yogi reached the venue that led to clashes. In the ensuing violence, a police head constable Satya Prakash, who was the security guard of Aziz died due to gun shot injuries, it was alleged. Subsequently, an FIR was lodged by Aziz at police station Kotwali Mahrajganj against Yogi and several unnamed persons. Similarly, the then SHO Kotwali Mahrajganj, B K Srivastava also lodged an FIR naming Yogi and 21 others under section 307 (attempt to murder), 153A and other sections of Indian Penal Code. A third FIR was then lodged by Yogi alleging that he was attacked by Aziz and his aides. Subsequently, the case was handed over to CBCID which closed the matter by submitting its final report. An aggrieved Aziz challenged the CBCID report and filed a protest petition before the additional chief judicial magistrate of Mahrajganj. The petition was treated as a criminal complaint case. However, the magistrate on March 13, 2018 dismissed the case. Aziz again challenged the judgment before the high court by filing the present criminal revision petition which was dismissed yet again. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A writ petition seeking a speedy investigation into the rape charge levelled by a nun against a Jalandhar-based Bishop of the Roman Catholic church was filed in the Kerala High Court today. The petition was filed by the Kerala Catholic Church Reformation Movement (KCRM). In its petition, the KCRM complained that the police were not taking speedy action in the case. Justice Sunil Thomas recused himself from hearing the matter when it came up for his consideration today. The petition is likely to come up before another bench on Monday. Meanwhile, a special police team probing the case today reached New Delhi. Kerala Director General of Police Loknath Behera, who reviewed the progress of the probe two days ago, had said the team, headed by Vaikom Deputy Superintendent of Police K Subhash, would visit Jalandhar, New Delhi and other places for further investigation. In her complaint to the Kottayam district police chief, the nun had accused Mulakkal of raping her and having unnatural sex multiple times at a small town near Kottayam between 2014 and 2016. Mulakkal, however, has claimed that he is innocent. Clergymen supporting Mulakkal said the nun levelled the charge against him after a priest, also an official of the Jalandhar diocese, filed a complaint against her relatives for allegedly threatening the Bishop. In his complaint, the priest has alleged that the nun's relatives threatened to kill Mulakkal after he ordered a probe against her on the basis of the complaint received by the Mother Superior of her congregation. The team is also carrying out a simultaneous probe into this complaint. The nun had also complained to the National Commission for Women (NCW) that the Kerala Police was "not working" in the case as the accused was a "highly linked" person. NCW Chairperson Rekha Sharma has said the commission would extend all possible help to the nun. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The chairman of Kerala-based Institute of Applied Dermatology (IAD), which has developed a protocol using modern medicine, ayurveda and yoga to treat elephantiasis, has urged the Union government to adopt the procedure as a national model. The institute is one of the leading lymphoeda and integrative medicine skin hospitals in the world and is recognised as a primary destination for treatment of lymphatic filariasis (lymphoedema) in the country and South-East Asian countries. The institute offers integrative treatment for vitiligo, psoriasis and lichen planus also and has so far successfully treated over 10,000 people, of whom 4,000 were filariasis patients since 1999. Using modern medicine, ayurveda and yoga, the institute has been successfully treating patients using its protocol for treatment for elephantiasis, according to the chairman of the institute Dr S R Narahari, also a leading dermatologist. Elephantiasis is a disabling disease that is prevalent 78 countries across the globe and the World Health Organisation has classified the disease as a "neglected disease of the poor." There is very little research done on this tropical disease and both biomedical pharmaceutical industry and governments have ignored it all these years, he said. "It is high time the union government adopts this protocol as a national model for filariasis and propagate it through public-private partnership," he told PTI. India, which accounts for one-third of the disease burden in the world, is one of the worst affected countries as many have been affected. Out of the 30 million (three crore) filarial cases in Asia, there are 23 million (2.3 crore) in India-- that is about 80 per cent. While Bihar accounts for 17 per cent, Kerala (15.7 per cent), Uttar Pradesh (14.6 per cent) and Odisha are the most endemic. Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Kerala, Karnataka, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal comprise over 86 per cent of micro-filariae carriers and 97 per cent of the disease cases in the country, according to Narahari. The integrative medicine approach has been the focal point of the institute and doctors have successfully combated neglected skin diseases which have had little or no cure till now, he said. The union government undertook field trials in filariasis in Alapuzha in Kerala and Gulbarga in Karnataka in 2011. A total of 730 patients (851 limbs) completed the three-and-a-half month follow-up. There was a statistically significant (1 per cent) reduction upto mid-thigh level volume measurement for both small and large limbs, he said. Filarial fever episodes also reduced to 10.2 per cent in field conditions. This proved that self-care and integrative treatment is possible in resource-poor village settings. Results of the trials were published in the British Scientific Royal Society of Tropical Medicine, Narahari said. The Kerala government had allocated Rs one crore for setting up a Centre for Integrated Medicine and Public Health (CIMPH) under the IAD in the 2014-15 budget and this is the first state government Centre on Integrated Medicine, thus recognising the efforts of the institute. Raj Kumar Gupta, an autorickshaw driver, had come to the institute from Mumbai after he ran from pillar to post for nearly 40 years to find a cure for his swollen limbs. He is able to lead a normal life today and does not have to face any stigma or discrimination. Narahari is now working towards making this protocol a national policy to eliminate this disease in the country. Patients from Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Bihar have sought treatment at IAD and have been successfully treated. The institute is looking at expanding to other states in the country and work with the AYUSH Ministry. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Police are looking into allegations of misbehaviour against ruling TRS MP D Srinivas' son Sanjay by some women students of a nursing institute in the district headquarters town of Nizamabad, for which he is the Correspondent. Police said they are speaking to the alleged victims and would act as per the law. Sanjay was not immediately available for comments. Srinivas, who had served as president of Congress' state unit and also as minister in undivided Andhra Pradesh, had joined the ruling TRS after the formation of Telangana. He has since become a member of the Rajya Sabha. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A man accused of killing one of former President George HW Bush's doctors killed himself during a confrontation with authorities this morning, the city's police chief said. Joseph James Pappas, 62, died from a single self-inflicted shot to the head, Chief Art Acevedo told reporters. Pappas had body armor on during the confrontation and shot himself after a second police unit arrived, Acevedo said. Police were called to the scene after a city worker reported seeing Pappas in the area. Authorities on Wednesday had announced Pappas as a suspect in the July 20 death of Dr. Mark Hausknecht and had been searching for him. The confrontation occurred about 3 1/2 miles (5 1/2 kilometers) from Pappas' Houston home. Police allege Pappas shot Hausknecht while the cardiologist rode his bike to work at Houston Methodist Hospital. Acevedo has said Pappas might have been seeking revenge for his mother, who died on the doctor's operating table more than 20 years ago, in April 1997. Authorities had previously described Pappas as armed, dangerous and possibly suicidal. Pappas' body was still at the scene of the confrontation when Acevedo announced his death. At least seven police vehicle were in a residential area blocked off by yellow police tape. Police had said shots that Pappas allegedly fired at Hausknecht as he also rode on a bike "took some skill." Hausknecht was shot three times. Police said Pappas also put together an extensive intelligence file on the doctor, which investigators found at his home. Pappas had worked from 1983 through 1995 as a peace officer with two Houston-area constable offices. He also worked from 1995 through 2013 as a reserve officer for these same constable offices, according to records from the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement. Friends and family have described Hausknecht as a humble and generous man who was adored by his patients, volunteered in his community and cared about the environment. Hausknecht was also an avid cyclist and rode his bike to work each morning, as he lived less than 2 miles (3.2 kilometers) from his office. In 2000, Hausknecht treated Bush for an irregular heartbeat after the ex-president complained about lightheadedness. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says North Korea is far from living up to its pledge to denuclearize and remains in violation of numerous UN Security Council resolutions. Speaking today before he attends an Asian security forum with North Korea's foreign minister, Pompeo told reporters in Singapore there was "still a ways to go before" achieving the goal of ridding the North of its nuclear weapons. Pompeo's comments came after the White House announced yesterday that President Donald Trump received a new letter from North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and responded quickly with a letter of his own. The correspondence, following up on their Singapore summit in June, came amid fresh concerns over Pyongyang's commitment to denuclearisation despite a rosy picture of progress painted by Trump. Pompeo has taken the lead in negotiations with the North, having traveled to Pyongyang three times since April and accompanied Trump to the summit, will be in the same room on Saturday as his North Korean counterpart at the Association of South East Asian Nations annual regional forum. A separate meeting between the two was a possible, but not confirmed, according to State Department officials. "Chairman Kim made a commitment to denuclearize," Pompeo told reporters accompanying him to Singapore from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. "The world demanded that (he) do so in the UN Security Council resolutions. To the extent they are behaving in a manner inconsistent with that, they are in violation of one or both the UN Security Council resolutions, we can see we still have a ways to go to achieve the ultimate outcome we're looking for." Yesterday, Trump tweeted his thanks to the North Korean leader "for your nice letter I look forward to seeing you soon!" The White House did not provide details on the specific content of the letter from Kim, received Wednesday, or of Trump's reply. White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said the letters addressed their commitment to work toward North Korea's "complete denuclearization." Sanders said no second meeting is "locked in" as a follow-up to the Singapore summit in June, but they remain open to discussions. Trump in his tweet expressed gratitude to Kim "for keeping your word" on the return of the remains of more than 50 American service members killed during the Korean War. Vice President Mike Pence and U.S. military leaders received the remains in Hawaii during a somber ceremony on Wednesday. The latest letter from Kim arrived on the heels of concerns over North Korea's ballistic missile programme and commitment to denuclearization. Senior Trump administration officials have urged patience, cautioning that the process of denuclearizing North Korea and removing the threat of its long-range missiles will take time. Trump has sought to show progress from his June 12 summit with Kim. He said during a Tuesday rally in Tampa, Florida, that the U.S. was "doing well" with North Korea and noted the return of detained Americans and Pyongyang's ceasing of nuclear testing and missile tests. "A lot of good things are happening. No tests. No rockets flying. But we'll see what happens," Trump said. US officials have been closely watching North Korea's willingness to abandon its nuclear ambitions. The Washington Post on Tuesday reported that U.S. intelligence officials suspect that North Korea is continuing to build new missiles in the same research facility that manufactured the country's ballistic missiles capable of reaching the United States. The Post also reported that North Korean officials have talked about how they plan to deceive the U.S. about the size of their arsenal of missiles and nuclear warheads and facilities. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) THE MH370 safety investigation team led by Datuk Kok Soo Chon does not rule out "unlawful interference" in the ill-fated Malaysia Airlines MH370 flight, which claimed the lives of 239 people on board en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. Malaysia's civil aviation chief has resigned to take responsibility for shortcomings during Flight MH370's disappearance. "Therefore, it is with regret and after much thought and contemplation that I have made a decision to resign as the chairman of Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia effective fourteen (14) days from the date of the resignation notice which I have served today", he said in a statement. The disappearance of MH370 triggered the largest hunt in aviation history. In his statement, Rahman writes, "Over the past four years, I have tried my level best to assist in the search for MH370 and I am ever resolute in finding answers we all seek towards this unfortunate tragedy as we owe it to the families and loved ones". The investigative report, prepared by a 19-member global team, said the cause of the disappearance can not be determined until the wreckage and the plane's flight recorders are found. As professional pilots, it said, the two Malaysia Airlines flight crew were subjected to periodic checks when flying on the type of aircraft at least on a bi-annual basis to revalidate the currency of their licences. "However, it is complicated because at the time, air traffic controllers were under the Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) but now they are under the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM)". New Malaysian Transport Minister Anthony Loke said the government will investigate and take action against any misconduct based on the report findings. The report also added that there is a paucity of information to determine if the plane broke up in the air, or due to the impact of the ocean. Although the underwater search turned up nothing, small pieces of debris from the plane were washed up on islands in the Indian Ocean and on the African coast. And a second, private search by U.S. company Ocean Infinity that finished at the end of May also found no sign of a possible crash site. Although Malaysian and Australian authorities have so far failed to find the aircraft, both have said the search could resume. She said the scope of the safety investigation was also too limited, depended too much on information supplied to them by other parties rather than on their own probe, and didn't discuss the scope of the searches. The National Green Tribunal has rapped the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) for "repeated defiance" on issuing circular to airlines operating at the IGI Airport here to ensure that they do not empty toilet tanks midair. A bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel warned that if the order is not complied with by August 31, salary of the Director General of Civil Aviation would be stopped. The green panel took strong objection that despite its specific order there was neither any valid explanation nor there was compliance by the aviation regulator on the issue. "Neither, there is any valid explanation nor there is compliance by the DGCA. It is not disputed that the order is operative and has not been stayed in any proceedings... "Since there is a repeated defiance by the DGCA with absolutely no acceptable explanation, we have no option but to direct the DGCA to comply with the directions already issued on or before August 31," the bench, also comprising Justice Jawad Rahim, said. The tribunal also warned that if there is "continued defiance" it may have to consider prosecution of the Director General on the next date. "If the order remains uncomplied, the Director General may be required to remain present in person," the bench said. The NGT directed that a copy of the order be sent by e-mail to the officer concerned and posted the matter for hearing on September 17. During the hearing, the DGCA told the bench that the order has not been complied till date because a review petition against the NGT's order was pending adjudication. The DGCA had sought stay and review of NGT's December 20, 2016 and the January 10 order of the tribunal claiming that it was impossible to dump human waste mid-air from aircraft toilet. On October 2016, a Delhi resident, Lt Gen (retd) Satwant Singh Dahiya, had filed a case alleging that houses in his neighbourhood were damaged by faeces dumped by airlines from planes at night. Dahiya had moved the NGT alleging that faeces were splattered from aircraft on his South Delhi house before Diwali in 2016 after which the tribunal on December 20, 2016 had directed the DGCA to issue a circular to all airlines to pay Rs 50,000 as environmental compensation if their planes are found dumping waste midair. The petition has referred to the findings of the expert committee, constituted by NGT, and said there is no switch or system available in the aircraft to dispose waste in flight. "The aircraft system has three level of in-built external protection for disposing the waste and under no circumstance release of waste during flight is possible and there has been no such resort ever by the operators. "The modern day airline toilets are sealed and cannot be emptied in flight and toilet waste can only be disposed of by manual operation on ground during its servicing," the DGCA had said. The tribunal had earlier constituted committee comprising representatives from the DGCA, Central Avian Research Institute and CPCB to collect samples from the house of Dahiya. Aviation regulator DGCA had maintained that it was impossible to dump human waste midair from aircraft toilet, and bird droppings had landed on the complainant's house, after which the green panel had ordered testing of the excreta samples. The CPCB had said that there were traces of faecal coliform in the samples, indicating presence of human waste. The tribunal had in 2016 held that if "any aircraft, airlines and the handling services of registered aircraft" were found to be dumping human waste from air or toilet tanks were found to have been emptied before landing, they shall be subjected to environmental compensation of Rs 50,000 per case of default. The NGT had also asked the DGCA to carry out surprise inspection of aircraft landing at the airport to check that their toilet tanks are not empty while landing and prevent waste from being splashed over residential areas and any other place before landing. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) With a string of Christian priests facing accusations of sexual misconduct in Kerala, Archbishop Soosa Pakiam today said clergymen should be the models of sanctity in life. "Sanctity is one of the most vital component of the church. Priests should be the models of sanctity. We, the clergymen, have the responsibility to uphold and protect sanctity in life," he said at a function near here. Pakiam, who is also president of the Kerala Catholic Bishops Council, said the recent incidents in the Catholic Church were a matter of shame for it. A woman's husband had accused five Orthodox priests of using his wife's secret confession to "blackmail and sexually abuse" her. The crime branch had slapped rape charges against four clergymen named by the alleged victim while the name of the fifth cleric was not included for want of substantial evidence. Two priests had been arrested in connection with the case. In another case, a nun had levelled rape charges against Jalandhar Bishop Franco Mulakkal. The nun, in her complaint to the Kottayam district police chief, had accused Mulakkal of raping her and having unnatural sex multiple times at a small town near Kottayam between 2014 and 2016. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Protests against the legal challenge to Article 35A of the Constitution -- which grants special status to the permanent residents of Jammu and Kashmir -- continued in the Valley for the third consecutive day today. In Srinagar, moderate Hurriyat Conference chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq led a march from the Jamia Masjid in Nowhatta till Gojwara, a police official said. The protests took place at several places across Kashmir today, a police official said, adding that the demonstrations remained peaceful. Another protest march -- led by Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) chief Mohammad Yasin Malik -- was taken out after prayers near Bund here, he said. Protest marches were also taken out near 'Dastageer Sahib' shrine in Khanyar, in Parimpora, Lal Bazar, near Mehjoor Park in Pantha Chowk and Maisuma areas of the city. The protests rocked Kangan and Sonamarg areas of central Kashmir's Ganderbal district, as well as in Bandipora town of north Kashmir, the official said. The traders took out a protest rally in Hari Singh High Street area near the city centre here. The Anantnag traders association took a protest march from Lal Chowk area to Court Road area in the south Kashmir district, he added. The separatists have called for a two-day strike from Sunday in the wake of the legal challenge to the constitutional provision. The business fraternity and civil society formations have lend support to the strike and also gave a protest programme till Monday. Article 35A, which was incorporated in the Constitution by a 1954 Presidential Order, accords special rights and privileges to the Jammu and Kashmir citizens and denies property rights to a woman who marries a person from outside the state. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Police have arrested a pub owner for allegedly molesting a woman doctor. Dhananjay Shetty, owner of 'Melting Point' pub (earlier called 'J 49') in suburban Juhu, was arrested last night, said a pollice official. The alleged incident took place at the pub. Further probe was on, the official said. Incidentally, according to Mumbai police, Shetty's brother Vinod Shetty was allegedly killed by gangster Chhota Rajan due to inter-gang rivalry some years ago. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Six leaders of the Trinamool Congress, who were part of the eight-member delegation detained at Silchar airport while attempting to visit Assam post-NRC, said they were treated "like infiltrators and pushed back". The six leaders left Assam this morning after overnight detention at the airport. Cachar district Deputy Commissioner S Lakshmanan said six TMC leaders left and two others -- MPs Mamatabala Thakur and Arpita Ghosh -- would leave the state later in the day. The TMC delegation -- six MPs, one MLA and one West Bengal minister -- had gone to Silchar in Assam to interact with people left out of the complete draft of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) published on July 30. The complete draft of the NRC, touted to be a proof of Assamese citizenship, had excluded over 40 lakh people, triggering a political slugfest between the BJP and other political parties. After arriving in Kolkata, TMC Rajya Sabha MP Sukhendu Sekhar Roy said, "The way infiltrators are treated... they are pushed back... we were treated the same way... we were pushed back. We were manhandled, even women MPs were not spared." "How can six MPs, a minister and an MLA create trouble in a state?" he asked while talking to reporters. The prohibitory order document stated that action would be taken against those found to be carrying firearms and explosives, Roy said, and asked whether they had been carrying such items. Before leaving Silchar, he had said, "We are going back. The police have not allowed us to go out. We requested them several times but they refused. We spent the night in three rooms at the airport." "The way the MPs and a state minister (Firhad Hakim) were harassed shows that democracy is under threat," another member of the delegation Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar alleged. "We wonder whether rule of law exits in the country. It appears that an undeclared emergency is on," she said. After the TMC leaders had landed at Silchar airport yesterday, the authorities stopped them and took them under preventive detention, saying their visit might create trouble. The Cachar district administration on Wednesday night had issued prohibitory order under Section 144 of the CrPC in the district. The Assam Police, however, denied that the TMC leaders were harassed. Director General of Police Kuladhar Saikia said senior officers of the force "very respectfully" explained to the team that they would not be allowed to leave the airport as 144 of the CrPC was in force. They have also been barred from entering Guwahati, as per an order by city Police Commissioner Hiren Nath, Saikia said last evening and added that two Assam Police women constables were injured during a scuffle by the team. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Congress president Rahul Gandhi has called a meeting of senior party leaders from Maharashtra on August 8 to discuss the ongoing agitation of the Maratha community for reservation, a party source said today. The meeting will be held in Delhi, said a senior Congress leader here. The agitation of the politically influential Maratha community has put the BJP-led state government on the back foot, with protests taking a violent turn in many parts of the state. Many Congress MLAs had announced last week that they would resign from the Assembly to put pressure on the government to accede to the demand. State Congress chief Ashok Chavan had said the decision in this regard would be taken after a discussion with the party's central leadership. The Maratha community constitutes about 30 per cent of the state population. Elections to the Maharashtra Assembly are due next year. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) An Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) court here today sent a Rajasthan police constable to 14 days in jail for allegedly taking a bribe of Rs 10,000. Narendra Singh was caught red handed by an officer of ACB, Kota yesterday while he was allegedly accepting the money. A resident of Kota city and posted at Borekheda police station, Singh had demanded the bribe from Mohammad Amin, a resident of Premnagar area, ACB inspector Ajit Bagdoliya told. The constable had on late Wednesday night detained Rajesh Rathore and seized his auto on suspicion of him possessing a sharp weapon, he added. Rathore's friend Amin approached Singh who initially demanded a bribe of Rs 40,000 to release the auto but after negotiations, the amount was settled at Rs 30,000, Bagdoliya said. However, Amin expressed his inability to pay the full amount in one go hence, the constable agreed to accept an installment of Rs 10,000 with the assurance that the remaining amount would be paid to him by the next day, he added. Amin yesterday reported the matter to the ACB following which verification of the complaint was carried out and the constable was arrested from outside the police station, Bagdoliya said. The accused revealed that a share of the bribe was supposed to be given to head constable Bhanwar Singh and Borekheda police station SHO Mahavir Yadav, the ACB inspector said, adding that the allegation was being looked into. The accused was produced before the ACB court that sent him to 14 days of judicial custody in jail till August 14, the ACB inspector said, Bagdoliya said. Singh had not seized the auto on record but kept it parked at the police station, he added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Rajasthan Pradesh Youth Congress today held a protest demonstration in front of a prestigious school in Ajmer against the alleged sodomy of a class 11 student by his seniors. Terming the incident as shocking, the Youth Congress' general secretary, Sunil Lara demanded a proper investigation. An effigy of the administration of the institution was also burnt by the protestors. "Action against the accused students should be taken. We also doubt the investigation by police which appears to under pressure," he said. A case against four students was lodged the student's father at Alwar Gate police station on Tuesday in which the father alleged his son was dragged, drugged and sodomised by the seniors on July 15. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Congress general secretary Ashok Gehlot today said Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje's pre-poll tour was an attempt to mislead people and will turn out to be her government's 'Vidai Yatra' (departure yatra). BJP President Amit Shah will flag off Raje's 'Rajasthan Gaurav Yatra' (Rajasthan pride yatra) from from Charbhuja Nath temple in Rajsamand district on August 4. It is aimed at seeking the people's mandate in the upcoming assembly elections. "Raje is trying to hide her failures in the name of the yatra. This will not be a 'Gaurav Yatra' but a 'Vidai Yatra' of her government," he said. "She has no remarkable achievement in any area, then which pride is being talked about?" Gehlot asked. He said Raje took out the 'Suraj Yatra' (Good Governance Yatra) ahead of the last assembly elections but her government has delivered 'kuraj' or bad governance. The Congress general secretary alleged the yatra was funded by the state exchequer and orders to make arrangements for the yatra had been issued at the government level. He asked Raje to clarify whether the yatra was a BJP initiative or that of the state government. "There will be no impact of any BJP exercise. People will vote out the party in the assembly elections because all sections of the society, be it farmers, workers, tribal people, minorities, youths or women, resented the BJP rule," Gehlot said. Raje's yatra will cover all divisions in the state before its culmination on September 30 in Ajmer. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Executive Director of IT major, Cognizant Technology Solutions India, Ramkumar Ramamoorthy has been elected president of Madras Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI), one of the oldest trade bodies in the city. Ramamoorthy succeeds IP Rings Ltd., Managing Director, Ram Venkatramani as MCCI president, a release from the Chamber said here. Managing Director of TVS Group firm, Wheels India Ltd, Srivats Ram was elected vice-president of the chamber with immediate effect. Ramamoorthy and Srivats Ram were elected during the Chamber's 182nd Annual General Body meeting held yesterday. On taking over the president, Ramamoorthy said, "I am truly honoured to be elected as the President of MCCI, a position held by stalwarts from diverse industries over the Chamber's 182 year history". "with enviable growth rates and continued progress on human development indices, Tamil Nadu offers a great platform to accelerate inclusive growth. Leveraging this platform, MCCI will continue to champion the cause of industry and commerce in the State", Ramamoorthy said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) On Thursday, investigators once again searched fields and ditches near Brooklyn, Iowa, where the 20-year-old vanished more than two weeks ago. The mother of a missing Iowa college student said Thursday that she hopes whoever may have taken her daughter lets her go - as she announced that $172,000 had been raised for her safe return. On July 18, the day she disappeared, Tibbetts' brother dropped her off at her boyfriend's house so she could dog-sit, HLN reported. However, Kearney police Sgt. Joe Kantola told KMBC-TV that "if Mollie had been spotted in the surveillance video from the truck stop, he would have mentioned it in the statement", and he said only one person claimed to have seen someone who looked like Tibbetts at the truck stop. Together, they pleaded for the public's hand. "This is a fight for our daughter", Rob Tibbetts said at Thursday's press conference. "Imagine if his was you". "We're providing this fund to provide some financial incentive for someone who's otherwise reluctant to come forward", he said. Rob Tibbetts, echoed what the DCI has said since the beginning, that any tip big or small could prove useful to the investigation. This is going to be solved by someone coming forward with information. "Nothing is irrelevant. Nothing is trivial", he said. Because we are told very little by the authorities, for very good reason. In partnership with the Crime Stoppers of Central Iowa, the family set up the "Bring Mollie Tibbetts home safe reward fund" for any information, which can be given anonymously, for the University of Iowa student's safe return. However, they did say that the man being sought out for taking photos of women jogging turned himself in. Calderwood said she feels her daughter's presence every day. "Sometimes I just feel her sitting on my shoulder", said Laura Calderwood. She called Tibbetts an "incredibly strong woman". Investigators have constructed a possible timeline in the case. Investigators will update their work at a news conference tomorrow morning at 9:30 and ATV-9 will be live on Facebook for it. "The Kearney Missouri Police Department did respond to a possible sighting on 7-26-2018 at a truck stop within our jurisdiction". DCI agents confirmed that tip wasn't substantiated and has been ruled out by investigators. Profits at Britain's Royal Bank of Scotland almost evaporated in the second quarter after a vast US fine over its role in the notorious subprime crisis, the lender said today. Earnings after taxation collapsed to just 96 million pounds (USD 125 million) in the three months to the end of June, RBS said in a results statement. That compared with 680 million pounds in the same part of the previous year. Operating profit halved to 613 million pounds over the reporting period. Edinburgh-based RBS was hit by 782 million pounds in litigation and conduct costs in the second quarter. That helped to cover part of the vast settlement reached with US regulators earlier this year over claims it mis-sold mortgages in the run-up to the 2008 global financial meltdown and subsequent worldwide recession. In May, RBS was fined USD 4.9 billion by the US Justice Department over its role in the subprime housing crisis but much of the cost had already been set aside, while the total was less than expected. The lender remains majority-owned by the British government after receiving the world's biggest banking bailout at the height of the financial crisis. In June, the rightwing Conservative government headed by Prime Minister Theresa May sold a 7.7-per cent stake in RBS, leaving it still with a controlling stake of 62.4 percent, much of which it plans to offload through to 2023. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Leader of Opposition in the Madhya Pradesh Assembly Ajay Singh, who was accused by his estranged mother of throwing her out of the family bungalow, has told a court here that she can live with him and he is ready to take care of her. Saroj Singh, wife of late former Union minister Arjun Singh, moved the court in June accusing her sons, Ajay and Abhimanyu Singh, of illtreating her and evicting her from Kerwa Koti, which was built by her husband. "She can live with me at Kerwa Koti or any other bungalow and I am ready to be her caregiver," the Congress leader said in his affidavit submitted to Judicial Magistrate Gaurav Pragyanan yesterday. She had filed the petition under the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act. Ajay Singh had refuted the allegation, stating that his mother had become a pawn in the hands of certain persons and was being misled. Saroj Singh is currently living in Noida, according to her petition. The magistrate took the affidavit on record and scheduled the next hearing for August 7. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Enterprises on Friday said it has appointed former bureaucrat Sushil Chandra Tripathi as non-executive independent director to its board. Enterprises Ltd (REL) has announced the appointment of Sushil Chandra Tripathi as Non-Executive Independent Director to the Board of the Company, a statement said in a regulatory filing. Tripathi was the CEO of authority. He has served nearly 20 years in finance and industry sectors, including as Managing Director of UP Industrial & Investment Cooperation; Advisor as well as Principal Secretary Finance to the Uttar Pradesh government. At the central government, he served as joint secretary Banking, secretary BIFR and joint secretary, Economic Affairs, among other positions like CMD of Balco as well as Nalco. He also held positions as secretary for four years to the union government in various ministries. "Tripathi brings a width of experience across state and central governments and across ministries and public sector units. The board of the company is being continually strengthened with renowned individuals having varied expertise, and looks forward to benefit from Tripathi's vast experience in governance," said. REL said the company is strengthening the board and the management teams in the organisation. Stock of the company traded 2.29 per cent down at Rs 44.90 on BSE. As 17 opposition parties plan to push for the use of ballot papers in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, former CEC T S Krishnamurthy today strongly argued against the move, recounting incidents of frauds, violence and booth capturing during the era of the old method. Returning to the manual system would be a "retrograde step", he said. If there are concerns regarding electronic voting machines, they should be addressed by experts to find out whether the operators of EVMs at polling booths or EVMs themselves are at fault, he said. "It's unfair to say the machines are not working well," the former chief election commissioner told PTI. Seventeen Opposition parties, including the Trinamool Congress, are planning to approach the Election Commission, demanding that ballot papers be used to conduct the general elections next year. Krishnamurthy said violence, frauds and booth capturing were very common during the era of ballot boxes. He said many of the Western countries using ballot papers for elections are small. "Many of the states in the US use EVMs. Brazil is using EVMs very successfully. Some African countries do not have the technology but have shown interest in Indian EVMs," he said. He noted that the 17 parties demanding return of ballot papers are in the opposition. "The ruling party people have never complained, whether it's Punjab, Karnataka. Always losing parties have been complaining," Krishnamurthy said, adding, "people in the ruling party (in different states) have equal rights to say EVMs should continue". "To say that we should to go back to ballot, I think it's not only retrograde but probably it's not good for the country, for democracy," according to him. Use of ballot papers in polls means wastage of tons and tons of paper. Invalid votes can be cast under the ballot paper system if you do not put the stamp properly, he said. "The process of voting and counting would take a lot of time. To say that many countries are using ballot papers and India should do the same is not a valid argument as they are small," Krishnamurthy argued. "We have a huge voting population. Indonesia (which uses ballot papers) takes one month to announce the results. You want the same thing to be followed here? In my opinion, it is not an improvement at all," he added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Auto components maker Rico Auto today announced its foray into four-wheeler aftermarket segment, having established itself as a leading supplier of parts to various domestic and global firms. The company, which had last year entered the two-wheeler aftermarket vertical, is targeting revenues of over Rs 100 crore from the aftermarket business by 2020. Besides supplying auto parts directly to manufacturers, following its foray into the aftermarket segment, the company's components will now be available directly to consumers in case of repair or replacement of parts. "This year we are targeting Rs 25-30 crore from the aftermarket segment. By 2020, we are aiming for over Rs 100 crore from the vertical," Rico Auto Industries Chairman Arvind Kapur told PTI. The company has already established a network of 40 channel partners across the country for aftermarket segment and even set up strong base in Sri Lanka and Nepal, he added. Rico started with 28 products for the aftermarket last year. It already has added 250 more parts and aims to have over 400 products in both two-wheeler and four-wheeler components segment by end of the current fiscal. The company is already an established player in the two-wheeler original equipment manufacturer (OEM) segment with supplies to major players like Hero MotoCorp, TVS Motor, HMSI and Bajaj Auto. Its four-wheeler components OEM partners include entities like Maruti Suzuki, BMW, Honda Cars, Toyota and Renault-Nissan. Besides domestic players, Rico also caters to various export markets like the US, Europe, Japan and Latin America from 14 plants spread across the country. Kapur said the company is targeting revenues of around Rs 2,000 crore by 2020. It reported a turnover of Rs 1,226 crore in 207-18 and expects to close the current fiscal with revenues of over Rs 1,500 crore. When asked about company's plans regarding capacity expansion, he added, "We are doubling capacity at Bawal (Haryana) and Chennai plants. We are looking to get into high technology products now." He added that the company is also eyeing defence sector going ahead. Shares of Rico Auto today ended 1.7 per cent up at Rs 74.85 on the BSE. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A religious organisation put up road blockades in North 24 Parganas district in protest against the alleged manhandling of a Trinamool Congress MP, who belongs to the organisation, at Silchar airport, police said. The All India Matua Mahasangha, a religious reformation organisation mainly representing the backward classes, blocked the Habra-Bashirhat Road at two places -- Pairagachhi and Kashipur. The police intervened and the agitators left the two places after around half-an-hour, police said. They were protesting against the alleged manhandling of Mamatabala Thakur, the Trinamool Congress MP from Bangaon, at Silchar airport in Assam where she had gone as part of a party delegation to assess the post-NRC situation in Assam. However, after they landed at the airport yesterday afternoon, the Cachar district authorities stopped them and took under preventive detention saying their visit might create trouble. The TMC leaders alleged that they had been manhandled by the police and even women MPs were not spared. The Assam Police, however, denied the charge. Mamatabala Thakur belongs to the Matua community. The Matuas had squatted on rail tracks at many stations of the district on Wednesday protesting the exclusion of 40 lakh people from Assam's complete draft of National Register of Citizens (NRC). (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A day after a Trinamool Congress (TMC) delegation was detained at Silchar airport in Assam, a section of the party's supporters today blocked rail and road traffic in pockets of Kolkata and its suburban areas to protest against the incident. Train services were partially affected at the Sealdah Division of Eastern Railway (ER) this morning when a group of people blocked the tracks at Dhubulia and Guma stations. Five trains were delayed due to the protest over a "non-railway issue", an ER spokesperson said. "At Dhubulia, the protesters blocked the tracks for over an hour, delaying two passenger trains. Three EMU locals were also held up at Guma station in the morning," he added. An eight-member TMC delegation which reached Silchar yesterday to assess the situation in Assam in the wake of publication National Register of Citizens (NRC) draft was not allowed to leave the airport. The party supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee claimed that the delegation members were manhandled at the airport and accused the BJP of imposing "super emergency" in the country. In North 24 Parganas district, The All India Matua Mahasangha, a religious organization representing the backward classes, put up road blockades around 10am, condemning yesterday's incident, a senior police officer said. TMC MP Mamatabala Thakur is the chairperson of the organization. "The members of Matua Mahasangha blocked the Habra-Bashirhat Road at two places -- Pairagachhi and Kashipur - to protest against the alleged manhandling of Mamatabala Thakur at Silchar airport," the officer said. The blockade was, however, lifted after half-an-hour following police intervention, he added. On Wednesday, too, the Matuas had squatted on railway tracks at many stations in Barasat district, protesting the exclusion of over 40 lakh people from Assam's complete draft of National Register of Citizens (NRC). (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The government has approved Rs 2,919 crore for various projects to strengthen safety measures in eight cities in the country, the Lok Sabha was told today. The eight cities are Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Lucknow, Minister of State for Women and Child Development Virendra Kumar said in a written reply to Lok Sabha. In Delhi, Rs 663.67 crore will be spent on a project that aims at enhancing the safety of women in public places such as roads, parks, markets, schools, metro stations, etc. The project leverages latest technology such as video monitoring, facial recognition analytics, person tracking, automatic number plate recognition, dedicated women safety patrol vans equipped with dashboards for viewing live feeds, GPS tracking, on-board video feed sharing, etc. for women's safety. The project will cover about 3,700 locations in Delhi. In Mumbai, Rs 252 crore will be spent on a project involving GIS mapping of criminal hotspots, video surveillance, training of investigating officers, prosecutors and judicial officers, community policing and quick response police teams. The project will also strengthen the "Police Didi" programme wherein female police officers interact with women living in slums on the issue of sexual harassment and abuse. It is also proposed to spread awareness through media campaigns. In Bengaluru, a total of Rs 667 crore would be spent for a proposal involving surveillance at public places, quick response police vehicles, placement of NGO volunteers at women's helpdesk in police stations and critical care response units at leading hospitals, setting up of an integrated support centre for women and children in need, GIS-based crime mapping and analytics, women police outposts near schools, colleges, bus stands and creation of safety islands at vulnerable places. In Chennai, the project includes creation of safe-zone clusters at hot crime zones, surveillance technology, GIS- based crime mapping, security in public transport, better sanitation facilities for women, remote monitoring of city lighting, capacity building of police authorities as well as a helpdesk service for women. A cyber crime and legal assistance compensation lab will also be set up under this project. An amount of Rs 425 crore would be spent, he said. In Ahmedabad, Rs 253 crore would be spent for a project whose main components include 'One Stop Crisis Centres', surveillance at crime hotspots, radio frequency identification and quick response-based security systems, She Teams' of women for surveillance and support to women who may face violence. The project also envisages redevelopment of the Sabarmati river front to make it more women-friendly. For Kolkata, Rs 181.32 crore would be spent on a proposal that includes strengthening of nine women police stations, surveillance in public areas, computer-aided dispatch based emergency response system for dial-100 in cases of women, in-camera testimonies in all crime courts. The project will undertake sensitisation programmes especially for boys as well as mass behavioural and cultural change campaign on women's safety. In Hyderabad, Rs 282.50 crore would be spent on a proposal that involves setting up of a centre for development and empowerment of women as well as a forensic cell and repeat offenders monitoring cell. It also envisages setting up of "SHE Toilets" for women as well as transit dorms for safe temporary accommodation. In Lucknow, Rs 195 crore would be spent on a proposal that incorporates features such as cyber and forensics infrastructure for better investigation of crimes against women, manpower training in the police force. It envisages the creation of a comprehensive safe city ecosystem by also sensitising all the various stakeholders in the city such as hawkers, shopkeepers, waiters, public servants on issues of women. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Sushil Modi-led ministerial panel on Friday approved a proposal for incentivising through Rupay card and app by way of cash-backs. Once implemented, customers making payments using Rupay card or UPI will get a cash-back of 20 per cent of the total GST (goods and services tax) amount, subject to a maximum of Rs 100. The recommendations of the Group of Ministers (GoM) will now be placed before the GST Council on Saturday. Briefing reporters after the meeting, Modi said the move to provide cash-back to users of Rupay and is intended to encourage the use of the digital mode of payment, especially in semi-urban and rural areas. The move will have a revenue impact of Rs 10 billion (Rs 1,000 crore) annually, to be shared equally between the Centre and states. Asked by when the cash-back would be credited to the bank account, the Bihar deputy chief minister said the detailed modalities will be worked out once the GST Council clears the proposal. He said based on the success of this move, the incentives will be extended to all card-holders at a later date. The Council had in its meeting on July 21 tasked the GoM to work out modalities for incentivising under GST for users of Rupay and BHIM. All Jan-Dhan account holders have Rupay cards, which has been launched by the Payments Corporation of India (NPCI). BHIM, a mobile app developed by NPCI, is based on the United Payment Interface (UPI) for cashless payments. The GoM had last month decided to defer by a year the proposal to incentivise under GST citing revenue implications of doling out concessional tax rate. At that time, the GoM was looking at incentivising digital payments using all modes of online payments. However, the GST Council, chaired by Union Finance Minister Piyush Goyal, at its latest meeting on July 21, asked the GoM to have a re-look at the possibility of the early introduction of concessions for digital payments. To incentivise digital transactions, the GST Council in its last meeting in May had discussed giving a concession of 2 per cent in GST rate (where the tax rate is 3 per cent or more) to consumers making payment through cheque or digital mode. The discount would be capped at Rs 100 per transaction. The five-member GoM on incentivising digital transaction includes Gujarat Deputy Chief Minister Nitinbhai Patel, West Bengal Finance Minister Amit Mitra, Haryana Excise and Taxation Minister Capt Abhimanyu and Punjab Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal. The Supreme Court today asked the attorney general to frame "holistic" guidelines for its perusal and approval on video recording and live streaming of court proceedings. A bench headed by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra also asked the parties - including senior advocate Indira Jaising, who has filed the PIL seeking video recording of proceedings in important constitutional matters - to provide their suggestions to AG K K Venugopal. The bench, comprising justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud, said the top law officer would collate the suggestions and prepare holistic guidelines for perusal and approval of the court. Venugopal said the guidelines would be also sent to the government for its perusal and inputs. For this, he sought two weeks time from the court. The bench has now fixed the matter for hearing on August 17. The Centre had said that video recording and live streaming of judicial proceedings can be undertaken on a trial basis in constitutional matters being heard by the chief justice of India's court. The bench was also told by Venugopal, whose assistance was sought by the court, that a pilot project for live streaming and video recording of judicial proceedings can be undertaken on experimental basis. Jaising, in her plea, has sought live streaming of matters of constitutional and national importance. She said citizens have the right to information and matters of constitutional and national importance can be live streamed. In western countries, she said, this system was in place and live streaming of court proceedings, including that of the International Court of Justice, are available on YouTube. If live streaming of the top court's proceedings is not possible, then video recording should be allowed, she said. According to her, live streaming of Supreme Court cases of constitutional and national importance, having an impact on public at large, will empower and provide access to citizens who cannot personally come to the court due to socio-economic constraints A petition, filed by a law student, has also sought a direction for setting up live streaming rooms within the apex court premises and granting access to legal interns. The plea, filed by Swapnil Tripathi, a student of National Law University in Jodhpur, has asked for requisite guidelines to facilitate interns to witness proceedings. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has announced a 205 million loan to Egypt to help the transports authority rehabilitate Cairo Metro, the major means of public transport in the Egyptian capital. The funds will finance urgent works on Line 1 the oldest of the Cairo underground lines which remains the backbone of the system and is used by 500 million customers per year. The planned repair and maintenance works will increase the lines capacity by 40 per cent by reducing headway (the time between trains) from 3.5 minutes to 2.5 minutes, thereby improving levels of safety, comfort and service reliability. The project will also introduce on-the-job training opportunities for young people. The EBRD loan will be complemented by a 350 million loan provided by the European Investment Bank and a 50 million loan from Agence Francaise de Developpement, the French development agency. Traffic congestion in Egypt is estimated to cause an economic loss of up to $ 8 billion a year. Used by over 2.4 million passengers a day, the metro is vital for Cairo as it is one of the main means of public transport in a city of approximately 17 million people. The ongoing rapid growth in traffic congestion causes massive disruption to businesses and to peoples lives. The Cairo underground transport system currently consists of three lines and a fourth is under construction. Line 1 is 42.5km long and has 33 stations. It covers the Egyptian capital from the north to the south. The investment will also help introduce an enterprise resource planning system, an asset-management and cost-accounting module to be used by the metro operator ECM. The EBRD supports greater sustainability and efficiency of metro services while supporting the transition to an energy-efficient, low-carbon economy through reductions in CO2 emissions. Since 2012, the Bank has invested in Egypt over 4 billion in 84 projects. The EBRDs areas of investment include the financial sector, agribusiness, and manufacturing and services, as well as infrastructure projects such as power, transport, and municipal water and wastewater services. The Supreme Court today dismissed a plea seeking the laying down of guidelines on how the procedure for cesarean deliveries has to be conducted in hospitals, saying the petition was an abuse of process of law. A bench headed by Justice Ranjan Gogoi also slapped a cost of Rs 25,000 on the petitioner and directed him to deposit the amount within four weeks with the Supreme Court Bar Association. "What is that you want? How much cost will you pay, you tell us? You want the court to lay down guidelines as to how cesarean deliveries has to be done? Is it a PIL (Public Interest Litigation)," the bench, comprising justices R Banumathi and Navin Sinha, said. "Having perused the PIL, we are of the view that the same is an abuse of process of law," the bench added. The petition was filed by Reepak Kansal, who had alleged "flagrant violations and abuse of health norms" due to a lack of policy, and claimed that several private hospitals and maternity homes often conduct unnecessary C-section deliveries to make money. Kansal also said that the World Health Organisation recommends caesarean section to be performed only when it becomes a medical necessity. He claimed there are numerous instances in India where C-sections are performed without medical reasons by private hospitals with an intention to make money. His petition also claimed that a C-section delivery involves an extended stay in the hospital as compared to normal childbirth. Further, he said that private hospitals have a much higher rate of C-section deliveries than government hospitals and this was a "clear indication that these institutions deliberately perform C-sections as it was directly proportionate to the fact that surgical deliveries cost much more than normal deliveries". Kansal, in his plea, sought the constitution of a medical board for monitoring the activities of private health institutions with regard to C-section deliveries. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Nalini Chidambaram, a senior advocate and wife of former Union minister P Chidambaram, and her son Karti Chidambaram today got relief from the Supreme Court in Saradha chitfund and INX media cases respectively. The top court restrained Enforcement Directorate (ED) from taking any coercive action against Nalini Chidambaram in the Saradha chitfund case. It also refused to interfere with an order granting bail to Karti Chidambaram in the INX media case. A bench of justices A K Sikri and Ashok Bhushan issued a notice to the ED on a plea by Nalini Chidambaram challenging dismissal of her plea by the Madras High Court against the summons issued in a case related to Saradha chit fund scam. It restrained the ED from taking any coercive action against Nalini Chidambaram in the case. Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for her, said that the issue was covered by apex court judgement. The bench said it was issuing a notice to the ED and seeking its reply in four weeks. In another case of Karti Chidambaram, the bench refused to interfere with the high court order granting bail to him, saying that in the question of liberty, the court did not usually go into technicalities. "By the impugned order the high court has granted bail to the respondent (Karti) herein. Insofar as grant of bail by the high court is concerned, we do not find any reason to interfere with the said order," the bench said and dismissed the plea of the CBI challenging the bail order. It, however, said, that the observations made by the high court "in the impugned order keeping in mind as to whether the respondent was entitled to bail or not and such observations shall not influence any other proceedings and all other proceedings shall be dealt with on its own merits". It left the question open, as to whether the accused could approach the high court for bail, invoking its concurrent jurisdiction, even when his bail application was pending before the trial court. The bench said, "It is not necessary to enter in this controversy in the present petition. Pending applications, if any, shall also stand disposed of". Additional Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the CBI, said this question of law had to be kept open as invoking powers of concurrent jurisdiction of the high court might be a case of "forum shopping". Sibal, appearing for Karti Chidamabaram, said there was already a judgement in which concurrent jurisdiction of high court could be invoked. On June 25, the CBI had moved the apex court challenging the high court order granting bail to Karti Chidambaram. The probe agency claimed in its appeal that it was "impermissible in law" for the high court to entertain Karti Chidambaram's bail plea when an application seeking a similar relief was pending before the trial court. On March 23, a single judge bench of the high court granted bail to Karti Chidambaram, who was arrested on February 28 by the CBI, saying the relief should not be refused unless the crime was of the "highest magnitude" entailing "severe punishment". He was arrested from Chennai in connection with an FIR lodged on May 15 last year, which had alleged irregularities in the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) clearance given to INX Media for receiving funds of about Rs 305 crore from overseas in 2007 when his father was the Union finance minister. Both P Chidambaram and Karti Chidambaram denied all allegations made by CBI, as well as the Enforcement Directorate. The CBI initially alleged that Karti Chidambaram received Rs 10 lakh as bribe for facilitating the FIPB clearance to INX Media. It later revised the figure to USD 1 million. In Nalini Chidambaram's case the Madras High Court had on July 10 dismissed against a single judge bench's order rejecting her plea challenging the ED summons. The high court had said that Section 50 (2) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) gave sufficient ammunition to an authority to summon any person whose attendance was considered necessary for investigation. It had also rejected her contention that women could not be called for investigation out of their place of residence under CrPC Section 160, saying she was not entitled to invoke the section. The impugned notice was issued on finding certain new facts and contradiction in the statements given, which could not be satisfactorily explained by the authorised agent. The ED had issued the first summons on September 7, 2016, asking Nalini Chidambaram to appear before it at its Kolkata office. It subsequently issued fresh summons after the single judge's order. She was allegedly paid a legal fee of Rs 1 crore by the Saradha group for her appearances in court and the Company Law Board over a television channel purchase deal. In the appeal, she contended that if the trend of summoning and calling advocates who were engaged by their clients for rendering professional services was not nipped in the bud, it might lead to "disastrous consequences". (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Shiv Sena today came out in support of the Modi government over the draft National Register of Citizens (NRC), but asked whether the Centre also had the courage to ensure the "ghar wapsi" of displaced Kashmiri pandits. The BJP ally said those who posed a threat to the country's security must be thrown out and the infiltrators in Kashmir must be eliminated. The party said abolition of Article 370 of the Constitution, which gives special status to Jammu and Kashmir, was as much a nationalistic work as implementing the NRC list. "The BJP is working hard to throw out the 40 lakh infiltrators in Assam. Driving out such illegal immigrants is a patriotic work and we congratulate the central government on it. Illegal residents, whether they are Bangladeshis, Sri Lankans, Pakistanis or Rohingya Muslims of Myanmar, they must be thrown out of the country," the Sena said in an editorial in its mouthpiece 'Saamana'. "If what is happening in Assam now had happened in Kashmir as well, people across the country would have hoisted the saffron flags of Hindutva atop their houses," it added. The release of the final draft of the NRC in Assam has triggered a massive political firestorm with both the ruling BJP and the Opposition, led by the Congress, trying to corner each other. Names of over 40 lakh people in Assam have been excluded from the NRC, prepared following a long-drawn process to identify people living in the northeastern state illegally. While the opposition parties have accused the BJP of making Indian citizens refugees in their own country, the saffron party said national security was its top priority and the opposition was spreading misinformation. "The issue of national security is not only restricted to the 40 lakh infiltrators in Assam. The situation in Kashmir is worsening day by day. There is more threat from Pakistan, where military rule is imminent under the leadership of Imran Khan. "Forty lakh illegal foreign residents in Assam have changed the geography, history and culture of that state. The same is happening in Kashmir. Will the government show the courage of ensuring the 'ghar wapsi' (return) of 1.5 lakh displaced Kashmiri pandits the same way it is throwing out the illegal citizens in Assam?" the Sena asked. The Uddhav Thackeray-led party stated that the issue of Kashmiri pandits was not just about Hindutva, but it was important in terms of national security and the Hindu culture. "Hindus were driven out of Kashmir using terrorism. The Modi government should have rolled out the red carpet for the Kashmiri pandits. But instead of doing that, the current dispensation has pulled the rug from under their feet," it said. "Former Prime Ministers Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi or Manmohan Singh did not promise to abolish Article 370 from the Constitution as they were weak-natured. But after Narendra Modi came to power, he promised to abolish Article 370 and hoist the tricolour in Kashmir," it said. "Abolishing Article 370 is as much a nationalistic work as the implementation of the NRC. Modi should be congratulated for taking up the issue in Assam, but he should also act against the infiltrators in Kashmir, those burning the national flag and waving Pakistani flags there," the Sena said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Ahead of BJP president Amit Shah's rally in Kolkata on August 11, the party's youth wing chief Poonam Mahajan today said it was aimed at "exposing" West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's "U-turn" on the NRC issue. The Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) is organising the rally, where Shah will be the chief guest, she told reporters here. Mahajan said Banerjee, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief, had once expressed concern in Parliament over the presence of illegal Bangladeshi immigrants in West Bengal during the Left rule in the state. She said she would rather call Banerjee "U-turn didi" and not Mamata didi because of her about turn on the burning issue. "We will expose her," Mahajan said. The BJP and the TMC, led by their respective presidents, have been engaged in a bitter war of words over the issue of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam, with Banerjee accusing the saffron party of pushing the country towards a "civil war and bloodbath". Shah has described the issue as one involving national security and asserted that the NRC will be implemented in Assam to the last full stop and comma. West Bengal BJP leaders have demanded a similar NRC in the state, claiming that the presence of illegal immigrants there is at a much larger scale. The saffron party views the issue as a potential vote grabber in West Bengal, where Shah has set a target of winning 22 of the 42 seats in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. The BJP currently has two Lok Sabha MPs from West Bengal. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur launched 'horn not ok' awareness campaign and 'shaur nahin' (no noise) mobile application, here today. As part of the first phase, the campaign has been launched in Shimla and Manali, Thakur said, adding that blowing horn creates unnecessary noise pollution and is harmful to health. He urged the drivers' community and police personnel to make this campaign a success. The chief minister said the 'shaur nahin' mobile application can be used by the general public to report cases of noise pollution. The mobile application is an initiative of the department of environment science and technology in association with National Informatics Centre, Himachal Pradesh. This application has settings for two types of users -- general public and officers, both of whom would be authenticated with an one-time password (OTP), Thakur said. All complaints will be immediately made available through the application to the concerned deputy commissioner, superintendent of police, sub-divisional magistrate and sub-divisional police officer who can later respond with the action taken report on the application itself, the CM said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Close to 700 URLs have been blocked by social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter this year, with the government today saying it has asked these companies to find technological solutions to ensure that rumours and fake do not proliferate on their platforms. Addressing members' concerns during Question Hour in the Rajya Sabha, Minister for Electronics and IT Ravi Shankar Prasad said while the government was pressing for more accountability of social media companies, it was clear that the right of the people to raise questions has to be upheld. There is a need to have a consensus on what constitutes fake news, Prasad said. The minister said several URLs have been blocked by these companies in compliance with the provisions of the Information Technology Act in recent past. He said till June this year, the number of URLs blocked by Facebook was 499, YouTube 57, Twitter 88, Instagram 25 and Tumblr 28. Prasad was responding to several members who had raised questions about the spread of fake on social media sites such as Twitter, Facebook and WhatsApp and sought to know what the government was doing in this regard. Some incidents of lynching were also linked to the spread of fake He said the government has impressed upon these companies that India being an emerging digital power, they were free to do their business here, but technological solutions have to be found to check the menace of misuse of their platforms. Prasad suggested that the companies could not simply evade responsibility for the contents on their platforms and they could even be seen as abettors. He said it "does not really need rocket science to find solution to the problem" and added that the social media platforms had been asked to take steps. He mentioned the appointment of grievance officers by such companies as one possible measure. The minister said there was a need to rise above party lines to tackle the important issue. Asked by a member if the government could consult the Press Council of India to address the issue, Prasad said some instructions in this regard were given only recently. Responding to other questions, Prasad said the solutions to a lot of problems could be found under the ambit of the existing laws. "We are trying to find administrative and technological solutions, he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Delhi High Court today directed the AAP government and prison authorities to ensure that the Sentence Review Board (SRB) holds meetings, at least every quarter, to consider the pleas for remission of jail term of prisoners, some of whom are elderly and "languishing" in the Tihar Jail for 20-25 years. A bench of Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice C Hari Shankar issued the direction while saying that the authorities were to follow the SRB order of 2004, which laid down the guidelines for holding the meetings, in letter and spirit. The court further directed that the Board shall ensure adjudication of the requests for premature release are scrutinised according to the guidelines laid down in the SRB order. The bench also said that the SRB should on its own also conduct review of the jail term of all the prisoners whose incarceration has exceeded 20 years. Apart from that the Board was also directed by the court to ensure reasons are assigned by SRB for approving or rejecting any request for premature release by a prisoner. "If courts can give reasons, you (SRB) too jolly well can," the bench said and disposed of the PIL by advocate Sumeet Verma who had contended that meetings of the Board are not held as often as they should be. Verma had said in his plea that any further delay in consideration of the cases of the inmates by the SRB would be "absolutely arbitrary and contrary to the constitutional scheme". He had said that SRB meetings were required to be held at least every quarter, but in practice they are held twice or maximum thrice a year and this has been the trend for the last several years. The plea had also said that over 150 prisoners' cases were due to be reviewed by the SRB for premature release, but the Board was yet to meet after its meeting in December last year. Verma had also said that many of the prisoners languishing in the jail for 20-25 years were not habitual offenders and have been maintaining an overall good conduct. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A student lost a part of his earlobe while two others received minor injuries in a stampede outside the office of Pharmacy Council in suburban Mulund this morning, police said. Aditya Shingane (20) lost a part of his earlobe in the melee, said a police officer. He is being treated at a private hospital. Senior police inspector Shripad Kale said the incident took place around 11.40 AM. Over 700 pharmacy students had queued up outside the council office to register themselves, and some policemen had also been deployed to keep order, he said. There was a stampede when the students broke the queue to seek shelter from rain, Kale said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A suicide attack struck a Shiite mosque in eastern Afghanistan targeting worshippers during Friday prayers, with officials warning there were several casualties in the latest incident against the minority. "A suicide blast took place inside a Shiite mosque in the city of Gardez of Paktia province. There are casualties from the blast, but we don't know how many for now," General Raz Mohammad Mandozai, provincial police chief of Paktia, told AFP. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi today sharply criticised the Leader of Opposition in the state assembly Tejashwi Yadav for his decision to stage a dharna in New Delhi tomorrow over the Muzaffarpur shelter home sex scandal. The senior BJP leader asserted that with the case having been handed over to the CBI and the Supreme Court having taken suo motu cognizance of the matter, there was no scope left for and the proposed dharna at Jantar Mantar will "only bring shame to Bihar". Yadav yesterday announced his decision on Twitter to stage a dharna at Jantar Mantar on August 4 and according to party sources, he may be joined by Congress president Rahul Gandhi at the sit-in protest. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had also hinted at the possibility of his participation by retweeting a journalist's post to the effect. Meanwhile, Yadav put out a fresh tweet today calling his proposed protest "RAGE AGAINST RAPE" and appealed to the people to support the protest. "...let us shine a light on the epidemic that is corroding our national pride. Join us at Jantar Mantar for a candle light march in support of the Muzaffarpur rape victims," Yadav tweeted. Sushil Modi said the actions taken after the matter surfaced leave no scope for "The state government has handed over investigation of the Muzaffarpur shelter home case to the CBI and the Supreme Court, having taken suo motu cognizance, is determined to bring the guilty to justice. This leaves no scope for politics," Sushil Modi tweeted. "Still, if Tejashwi Yadav wants to stage a dharna at Jantar Mantar, then he will only bring shame to Bihar. His recent bicycle rally on the issue of shelter home scandal was a complete flop", the deputy chief minister added. He also pointed out "the state government had itself initiated the process of social audit of all shelter homes and short stay homes in the state by the Tata Institute of Social Sciences. Based on its report, the government had itself got an FIR lodged in the case". "Before the case was handed over to the CBI, 10 people had been arrested and charge sheet filed against them in court. Now a request will be made to the High Court for monitoring of the investigation. The opposition has played no role in bringing justice to the aggrieved girls", Sushil Modi said. Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has also expressed remorse over the sexual abuse of girls at the state-funded shelter home in Muzaffarpur, saying those guilty of transgressions would not be spared. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Moroccan OCP Group, the worlds largest exporter of phosphates, has signed a cooperation agreement with German Fraunhofer Institute for Microstructure of Materials and Systems in Halle (Saale), to develop solutions for a sustainable fertilizer. The two sides pledge to work together to boost the use of renewable raw materials in the fertilizer industry. They will focus on two raw materials: Green Hydrogen, which is obtained by electrolysis using electricity from renewable energies, and which can be further processed into numerous products for the fertilizer industry; and Green Ammonia, consisting of Green Hydrogen and nitrogen, which can serve as a raw material for the production of fertilizers, amongst other uses. Green Hydrogen and Green Ammonia offer tremendous potential to sustain the supply of raw materials to the fertilizer industry. They also reduce the industrys dependency on oil, natural gas and any other fossil fuel, says Prof. Ralf B. Wehrspohn, Director of the Fraunhofer IMWS. Responsibility for the environment has always been important to us, not just when working in our mines, but as a fundamental principle of our circular economy approach, stresses Mostafa Terrab, Chairman of OCP. The use of Green Ammonia fits in with this strategy. It can help conserve valuable resources and provide our customers with sustainable new products. Thats why we are looking forward to strengthening our cooperation with Fraunhofer, adds the OCP CEO Under the leadership of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, a pilot plant is already being built in Leuna (Germany), a site with a long tradition in the innovative industry. Green Hydrogen will be produced and made available for a group of companies based there from 2019. A similar platform, which can also produce Green Ammonia, will be developed in Morocco by OCP Group and the Green Energy Park in Ben Guerir, with the support of Fraunhofer IMWS. The German experts were advisors in the construction of the Green Energy Park, which opened in 2015. This test and research platform for photovoltaic modules and systems is one of the largest test fields for photovoltaic and solar thermal energy in Africa. In the Green Energy Park, the performance characteristics of solar modules and systems as well as location-dependent influences such as solar radiation, wind, pollution and temperature can be investigated in real time. As part of the new cooperation agreement, the two sides mull setting up an African Institute for Solar Ammonia. In the conception and establishment of the Green Energy Park, we have had very positive experiences with the cooperation with Fraunhofer. I am sure that pooling our expertise will once again provide excellent solutions and further promote the development of renewable energies in Africa, says Badr Ikken, co-president of the Green Energy Park and General Director of the Moroccan Institute for Research in Solar Energy and New Energies (IRESEN), with which Fraunhofer IMWS has been cooperating since 2012. A 35-year-old suspected narcotics smuggler allegedly shot himself dead after being surrounded by police in Rajasthan's Pali district, police said today. Kharta Ram and Bhajan Lal were allegedly smuggling some narcotics substance last night. Lal was caught, while Ram managed to escape, a police official said. Pali Superintendent Of Police Rahul Prakash said Ram -- who is said to have a criminal record -- was surrounded by police on a hilly terrain, but he allegedly opened fire at them and later shot himself dead with a pistol. No policemen were injured in the firing. The body has been sent for post-mortem examination, the SP added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj today called on Kyrgyz President Sooronbai Jeenbekov and discussed measures to expand and reinvigorate India's ties with the Central Asian country across all sectors. Swaraj arrived at Issyk Kul in eastern Kyrgyzstan on a two-day visit after wrapping up her tour to Kazakhstan. She was received by Kyrgyzstan's Foreign Minister Erlan Abdyldaev. "First engagement in Kyrgyzstan! EAM @SushmaSwaraj called on the President Sooronboi Jeenbekov. Discussed steps to expand and reinvigorate our bilateral relationship across all sectors," Raveesh Kumar, the Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson, tweeted. Swaraj will also meet Foreign Minister Abdyldaev and other top leaders of the country's to discuss ways to strengthen bilateral ties in areas like defence, science and technology and health. Swaraj had interacted with Abdyldaev on a number of occasions including on the margins of the UN General Assembly in New York. The external affairs minister is on a three-nation tour to Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan as part of India's efforts to boost strategic partnership with the resource-rich Central Asian nations. India and Kyrgyzstan share multi-dimensional relations including political, parliamentary, defence, science and technology and health. The bilateral visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Kyrgyzstan in July 2015 and of the then President of the Kyrgyz Republic to India in December 2016, as also interactions on the margins of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summits, have consolidated the traditionally cordial and close ties between the two countries, providing impetus to further strengthening of bilateral ties, according to an official statement. In the last segment of her three-nation Central Asian tour, she would arrive in the Uzbek capital Tashkent tomorrow. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj today held a comprehensive discussion with her Kazakhstan counterpart Kairat Abdrakhmanov on deepening cooperation in areas like trade, energy and defence and security. Swaraj is on a three-nation tour to Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan as part of India's efforts to boost strategic partnership with the resource-rich nations. "Strategic partners since 2009! EAM @SushmaSwaraj met Foreign Minister of Kazakhstan Kairat Abdrakhmanov," Raveesh Kumar, the Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson, tweeted. The two leaders held a comprehensive discussion on deepening cooperation in trade and investment, defence and security, energy, Information and Communications Technology, pharma, capacity building and culture, he said. Swaraj was earlier warmly welcomed by Abdrakhmanov at his office ahead of the delegation-level talks. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Swedish police were under investigation today for shooting dead a 20-year-old autistic man with Down Syndrome holding a toy gun in central Stockholm, the special prosecutor's office said. "This is a very tragic incident and I understand that many people want quick answers," chief prosecutor Martin Tiden, who is leading the investigation over suspected misconduct, said in a statement. Eric Torell was shot dead by a police patrol in the residential neighbourhood of Vasastan around 4am (0200 GMT) Thursday, after he ran away from home with a toy gun. "The man was holding an object similar to a weapon which the police interpreted as a hostile situation and opened fire," the prosecutor said, adding no police officer was currently suspected of any crime. Daily Aftonbladet reported that three police officers shot the man who, according to his family, had a three-year-old's intellectual capabilities and difficulties communicating. The special prosecutor's office would meanwhile only confirm that "more than one officer fired a service weapon". Vasastan is a high-income and centrally located residential neighbourhood, not associated with the crime and shootings that have plagued some other Stockholm suburbs. "We are completely destroyed... We are in a state of shock," the victim's mother Katarina Soderberg told Aftonbladet. "He wasn't capable of being threatening. The only thing he could do was to hug and kiss," she told the local Mitt i Stockholm newspaper, adding he was like "the kindest and most peaceful teddy bear in the world". The man frequently ran off on his own, according to his father Rickard Torell, adding he could not understand why police had shot his son. "They said he was carrying a replica of a gun. That's not true. It was a miniature toy gun for a five-year-old... cheap too, and plastic," Torell told Mitt i Stockholm. "How could there not have been an alternative to shooting him dead? Why not a warning shot?," Eric's mother said. Regional police chief Ulf Johansson said in a statement on Friday it was "a horrific incident and my thoughts are with his family and friends." "This is very tragic for everyone involved and I have a great understanding and respect for the fact that this incident has caused a lot of upset feelings," he added. Six people have died so far this year after having been shot by the police, authorities said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Mobile body on Friday raised red flag over Trai's new rules on curbing pesky calls and messages saying tailoring of systems, and use of blockchain technology will involve Rs 2-4 billion investment and 18 months for the roll out, at a time when the sector is financially-stressed. The Cellular Operators' Association of India (COAI) represents the voice of a large telecom operators in the country, all of who would be required to comply with these rules by December. "As this system has not been implemented elsewhere in the world, it is difficult to quantify the exact investment or the time involved. But roughly, it will be in excess of Rs 200-400 crore investments for tailoring of the system," Director General Rajan S Mathews told reporters. Even the December timeline is "extremely unfeasible" for customising the system to comply the new rules, Mathews said adding that at least 1-1.5 years would be needed to put the full system architecture in place. On whether the increased cost of compliance will be passed on by operators to the consumers in form of higher tariffs, Mathews said that generally costs tend to get passed on but in this case it would depend entirely on market dynamics. Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) last month came out with stringent unsolicited commercial communication rules under which an individual can revoke permission that they have granted to any commercial entity for a service. The mandated granularity in customer preferences also permit subscribers to set preference about days and time bands on which they would like to receive commercial communications as well as indicate preferred modes of communication - call or SMS. The rules lay down obligations for operators including evolving Code of Practices, maintaining records, and registering customers preferences, and mandate the adoption of blockchain or the Distributed Ledger Technology. Blockchain provides a decentralised database or digital ledger of transactions that everyone on the network can see. "This is complex, time-consuming and a new territory. No cost-benefit analysis has been done to quantify the material impact that the changes will bring in. No other market has requirements this stringent," he said. The overhauled rules put the onus of compliance on telecom operators but do not effectively fix the overhanging issue of unregistered telemarketers, Mathews said. "Access providers are on the hook...but how do we cast a net on the outsiders and unregistered telemarketers," Mathews said, adding that the rules also do not tackle the issue of pesky calls and messages being pushed through the Over-The-Top channels like WhatsApp. Terming the regulations as "practically unenforcable", has also opposed financial disincentive on the operators for peksy calls made by the users. COAI said it plans to meet Trai to highlight these outstanding issues. ALSO READ: Trai notifies new rules to check pesky calls and spam messages Mathews said that the has had one round of discussions with players like IBM to understand the new system architecture that the regulations mandate. Under the new norms, Trai has asked telecom operators to allow customers to set their preference using mobile app developed by them or the regulator, by sending SMS to 1909, website etc without paying any money for these services. This facility comes in addition to existing choice of subscribers to partially or fully block telemarketers from calling them. Trai has raised the penalty cap on telecom operators by 10 folds to Rs 50 lakh in a month from Rs 5 lakh in previous regulations for violations of the norms. : The Telangana State Information Technology, Electronics and Communication department (ITE&C) today signed an MoU with Tech Mahindra to launch Indias first Blockchain district here. "It will be a centre of excellence, an incubator and process development for the emerging technology with innovative infrastructure and facilities to foster growth of Indian blockchain start-ups and companies," said C P Gurnani, CEO and Managing Director of Tech Mahindra at the International Blockchain Congress 2018 here. Tech Mahindra as a founding member of the blockchain district will provide the platform and technology assistance to all the incubators in it, he said. Tech Mahindra will also empower accelerators to develop and solve market problems across its global customer ecosystem. Further, the Telangana ITE&C Department will provide regulatory and policy support to enable and promote Blockchain growth both in India and globally, Gurnani said. The launch of the Blockchain district is a moment in history, he said, adding it would be a global talent hub which can unlock the value of blockchain technology in democratising data and solving big scale world problems. "It is also a huge step in reskilling and right skilling the workforce of the future. Blockchain experts will be our crowning jewels as together we work towards making India the blockchain capital of the world," he added. It will provide an opportunity for the blockchain ecosystem in India to collaborate and work towards building a blockchain district in Telangana and transforming India as the blockchain capital of the world, he said. Tech Mahindra also announced a strategic partnership with Nucleus Vision (NV), Indias biggest blockchain company, at the IBC. According to the partnership, Tech Mahindra will provide the technology expertise to broaden Nucleus Visions business reach and will leverage its telecom affiliates to promote the offering at a global level. This strategic partnership marks the beginning of Nucleus Vision's global expansion strategy and Tech Mahindra's foray into the blockchain market, TechM said in a statement. Tech Mahindra and the Eleven01 foundation also announced the launch of 'Eleven01', a multi-year blockchain initiative that aims to foster an ecosystem for blockchain startups. The Eleven01 foundation is a blockchain conglomerate that provides services across the blockchain ecosystem and has partnered with Tech Mahindra for technology innovation to create the Eleven01 Protocol - an emerging market centric blockchain protocol which serves as a foundation for decentralised applications, said Rama Iyer, India CEO of the Foundation. Key partnerships for the Eleven01 foundation include Tech Mahindra, Nucleus Vision, ICRISAT, Telangana Government and T-Hub, among others. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A London teenager was jailed for life today for plotting a terror attack, becoming the youngest woman to be sentenced for terrorism offences in Britain. Safaa Boular, 18, who together with her mother and elder sister formed the country's first all-female cell linked to the Islamic State group, will spend a minimum of 13 years in prison. She had planned violent attacks in the British capital, using coded language themed around a tea party, after UK authorities stopped her travelling to Syria to marry an IS fighter she had met online. "However much she may have been influenced and drawn into her extremism, it appeared she knew what she was doing and acted with open eyes," said Judge Mark Dennis in sentencing her at London's Old Bailey. "Her views were deeply entrenched," he added, rejecting claims she had renounced extremism. In June sibling Rizlaine Boular, 22, was also jailed for life, with a minimum term of 16 years, while their Morocco-born mother Mina Dich was handed a minimum sentence of six years and nine months for aiding the plots. Safaa Boular was only 16 when she made contact with British-born IS fighter Naweed Hussain, 32, discussing marriage and how they would don his-and-hers suicide belts. But her hopes of joining him were dashed when she was stopped at the airport in August 2016 following a family trip to Morocco, and her passport was confiscated. Instead Boular decided to plan an attack in Britain, detailing it in coded language -- such as using "pineapples" for grenades -- to online contacts, who were in fact undercover agents. Hussain was later killed in a drone strike. When Boular was charged with preparing terrorist acts in April 2017, she handed responsibility to her sister Rizlaine, 22, and their mother Mina Dich, 44, who hatched their own plan. The trio were taped talking about an Alice in Wonderland-themed tea party, which the prosecution argued was code for an attack. Rizlaine Boular and Dich were arrested after being tracked by police visiting potential sites around Westminster and buying knives. They pleaded guilty to terror offences, but Safaa Boular denied involvement in the plot. She remained expressionless as she was jailed Friday for two counts of preparing terrorist acts after being found guilty at trial in June. Dean Haydon, Britain's top counter-terror police officer, said then the plot "involved a family with murderous intent, the first all-female terrorist plot in the UK connected to Daesh (IS)". He added: "All three women were filled with hate and toxic ideology and were determined to carry out a terrorist attack. "Had they been successful, it could well have resulted in people being killed or seriously injured. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao would meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday to seek the approval of the Centre to the newly-created zonal system in the State. A statement in Hyderabad said Rao would brief Modi on the new zonal system and also request him to expedite the division of the High Court in Hyderabad (between Telangana and Andhra Pradesh). Among other issues, Rao would discuss with Modi on providing Central funds to the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project, allotting defence land for the proposed new Secretariat in Hyderabad, amending the Constitution for enhancement of reservation (to backward sections among Muslims as proposede), releasing funds for the development of backward districts and establishing an IIT at Karimnagar, it said. Rao, who had left for Delhi earlier on Friday, called on Union Law and Justice Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad and discussed about the division of the High Court, the release said. The Confederation of Indian Textile Industry (CITI) today urged the Centre to negotiate with China for duty-free access to India's cotton textiles as enjoyed by other competing nations, including Vietnam, Indonesia, Pakistan and Cambodia. India was the net exporter of textile and apparel products to China during 2010-11 to 2013-14. "However, the trend has been reversed constantly since then and India is losing business to nations like Vietnam, Indonesia, Pakistan and Cambodia, who enjoy duty-free access to the Chinese market," Sanjay Jain, chairman, CITI, said in a letter written to the government recently. He informed that Indian products carry 3.5 per cent, 10 per cent and 14 per cent duty on yarn, fabric and made-ups, respectively. "India's cotton yarn exports to China has decreased by 53 per cent in 2017 from 2013, while Vietnam's exports of cotton yarn to China has increased by about 88 per cent during the same period," said Jain. India exported USD 1,362 million worth of textile and apparel products to China in 2017-18, while the country's imports from China stood at USD 2,905 million, indicating a trade deficit of USD 1,543 million, he said. "Therefore, the textile industry body has urged the government to push negotiations with China to give duty-free access to Indian cotton textiles," he added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Social activist Swami Agnivesh, who was assaulted allegedly by members of saffron groups in Jharkhand last month, has demanded that those accused in mob lynching cases be treated as "terrorists" and tried under the counter-terror law UAPA. Alleging that police in Jharkhand was taking no action regarding the case of assault on him at Pakur on July 17, he said he will file a petition in the Supreme Court seeking a SIT probe into the entire incident. "Even after 15 days, no arrest has been made despite the accused being identified as members of saffron outfits including BJP. It is clear the accused assaulted me on orders from higher level. The BJP government at the Centre and in Jharkhand are involved in it," he alleged. Agnivesh said he will tour several parts of Kerala besides Ludhiana and Saharanpur later this month to consolidate protests against mob lynchings and atrocities on Dalits, minorities and tribals. "Those who lynch people on any ground are nothing but terrorists and must be treated as such. Provisions of UAPA (Unlawful Activities Prevention Act) should be invoked against all such elements and outfits that are accused of mob lynching in the country," he said. Agnivesh expressed gratitude towards all those including former Congress president Sonia Gandhi who stood with him at his hour of crisis but said he was "deeply pained" by the silence of leaders of the BJP and the RSS over the assault on him. The 79-year-old activist, known for his movement against bonded labour and untouchability, was attacked by the mob at Pakur before he was to attend a protest by tribals against alleged violation of their rights and land acquisition at Littipada. His attackers charged him of speaking against Hindus. Agnivesh claimed that one reason behind attack on him could be his support to the tribals who are opposing acquisition of their land for the corporates, by the Jharkhand government. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban wants to destroy the liberal order from within. Photo: Sean Gallup/Getty Images The past year has been a historically bad one for liberal democracy in Europe. Right-wing nationalist and anti-immigrant political leaders and parties took power, consolidated power, or made major gains in elections across the continent, particularly in central Europe: Austria, Germany, Italy, the Czech Republic, and Hungary. Polands ruling Law and Justice party pushed through electoral reforms last December that will make it harder for its opposition to put up a fight in upcoming local and parliamentary elections. The governing bodies of the European Union have been a perennial punching bag for the European right, which has accused them of undemocratically foisting liberal values and open borders on member states without their peoples consent. Some nationalists, like the U.K.s Brexiteers (and Donald Trump), see the solution in shrinking or dismantling the union. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, an anti-Muslim Eurosceptic nationalist and currently the closest thing to a dictator in the E.U., has a better idea: Take it over, and destroy the liberal order from within. In his annual speech to a community of ethnic Hungarians in neighboring Romania last week, Orban, who has presided over the almost complete erosion of democratic institutions in Hungary, declared that next years elections to the European Parliament would be the moment the right-wing nationalist wave achieved its real victory over the liberal elites who are out to transform Europe, to ship it into a post-Christian era, and into an era when nations disappear. Orban called the vote an opportunity for Europe to opt for an alternative to liberal democracy: so-called Christian democracy, which he approvingly described as not liberal [or] illiberal, if you like. He continued: We are facing a big moment: We are saying goodbye not simply to liberal democracy but to the 1968 elite, in an allusion to the year a wave of left-liberal protest movements overturned conservative governments in a number of European countries and ushered in the cultural transformation in which contemporary European liberalism is rooted. Orban is sometimes described as a European Trump, though its really more accurate to call Trump an American Orban, as the Hungarian strongman has been around much longer than Trump the notional politician. Orban sailed into a third term after his right-wing Fidesz party won a commanding victory in Aprils parliamentary elections a win on which Trump congratulated Orban in June, to the dismay of anyone who still vainly hopes for the U.S. to stand up for freedom and democracy around the world. In power since 2010, Orban refused to take part in the E.U.s refugee resettlement program and closed his countrys borders in defiance of Brussels, building a fence along its borders with Serbia and Croatia in 2015. He has undermined the independence of his countrys judiciary and smashed its free press: This week, supporters of his took control of a prominent television news channel. Right-wing zealots including Steve Bannon see Orban as a heroic leader of the resistance to liberal elitism in Europe: someone to overturn the multicultural, multilateral postCold War European order and replace it with a collection of atomistic, conservative, overtly Christian nation-states with closed borders, whose relations are governed mainly by bilateral agreements rather than continental and global institutions. Oddly, though Orbans campaign against HungarianAmerican Jewish billionaire George Soros has carried anti-Semitic overtones, he is also buddies with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and professes a philo-semitic attitude grounded in the two mens mutual disdain for Islam, and in their authoritarian tendencies. On a recent trip to Israel, he said Hungary would show zero tolerance for anti-Semitism, and that Hungarian Jews are under the protection of the government and can feel safe. Needless to say, it is hard to argue that Hungarian Jews are safe when the second most popular party in the country just recently decided to start checking its overt anti-Semitism, probably more out of concern for its image than genuine repentance. The irony of Orban making this statement in Israel a country established squarely on the principle that Jews must never again rely on the protection of European governments for their safety was presumably lost on all present. If European Jews are safe from the rising tide of right-wing nationalism (and that remains very much an open question), it is only because they have been supplanted by Muslim immigrants as the scapegoat for the continents ills. Orban, along with Italys Matteo Salvini and 31-year-old Austrian chancellor Sebastian Kurz, is part of what John Lloyd at the New Statesman recently described as the emerging illiberal international a group of European leaders who are unafraid to trespass against liberal values by closing the door to refugees, or demanding that Muslims assimilate into European Christian society or go back where they came from. The common thread that unites Europes right-wing movements is hostility to immigration, particularly from the Muslim Middle East, where war zones have ejected hundreds of thousands of refugees and asylum seekers into Europe over the past few years. The massive influx has stoked xenophobic and Islamophobic sentiment and given the far right a political opening to campaign on the preservation of their national cultures, values, and identities against dilution and denigration by what they characterize as an invasion of foreigners. European voters arent necessarily as zealously anti-immigration as the nationalists theyre electing: For example, a recent study found that more than 70 percent of Italians believe in granting asylum to some immigrants, and very few support sending smuggled asylum seekers back across the Mediterranean. However, the nationalists promise to bring order to a chaotic, seemingly ceaseless influx of immigrants has resonated with European voters, coupled with their vow to end the undemocratic rule of corrupt liberal elites and populist promises to end austerity and restore prosperity. Still more worrying is that the avowedly illiberal nationalists of Europe are united in a way its remaining liberal democrats are not. If Orbans prediction comes true and Europe elects a nationalist parliament next year, the E.U. will quickly cease to be a force of liberalism and pluralism on the continent, and will join the long list of Nobel laureates whose peace prizes were awarded much too hastily. Three people were arrested today in connection with alleged adulteration of groundnuts procured by the Central agency NAFED in Rajkot district of Gujarat, a police official said. The opposition Congress has alleged large-scale corruption in procurement of groundnuts in the state and demanded a judicial probe into the matter. Nearly 30,000 sacks of groundnut (each weighing 35kg) were found mixed with sand and stones four days back. They were kept at a private godown taken on rent by the National Agriculture Co-operative Marketing Federation of India (NAFED) in Pedhla town under Jetpur taluka of Rajkot district. The NAFED had purchased the groundnuts from farmers under the minimum support price (MSP) scheme. An FIR was lodged in this connection on a complaint by the NAFED and the police had detained nearly half a dozen people for questioning a couple of days ago. "On the basis of the FIR, we arrested three persons, who were found to be involved in the scam," Jetpur Deputy Superintendent of Police J M Bharwad told media persons. However, the official did not reveal the names of the arrested persons, saying he will do so later. Meanwhile, Leader of Opposition in the Assembly Paresh Dhanani and Congress MLA from Dhoraji in Rajkot district Lalit Vasoya today staged a sit-in near the godown along with party workers. Talking to media persons before the protest, Dhanani alleged large-scale corruption in groundnut procurement in the state and accused the BJP government of hiding irregularities in purchase of the commodity. "We demand a probe by a sitting (High Court) judge and also urge the chief minister to constitute a house committee comprising MLAs of both the parties (the BJP and the Congress) to bring out the truth behind the scam," Dhanani said. "Earlier, a couple of godowns caught fire where a huge stock of groundnut was gutted and now a huge stock of groundnut is found to be adulterated with sand and stones. "The state government has hatched a conspiracy to hide large-scale corruption in groundnut procurement and to conceal evidence of corruption, the godowns were set on fire," the Leader of Opposition alleged. In February, groundnuts worth Rs 28 crore were gutted in a fire in a godown in Gondal, Rajkot district. In May, a similar incident took place in Shapar town of the district, where groundnuts worth Rs 3 crore were gutted in a warehouse. "We have written several letters to the chief minister seeking a probe and stern action against those involved in the scam. We also wrote a letter to Governor (O P Kohli) and demanded transparent probe to punish the culprits, but no action has been taken so far," Dhanani said. On last Wednesday, the police registered a case against unnamed officials of the NAFED and the GUJCOT (Gujarat State Co-Operative Cotton Federation Ltd after groundnuts procured by a state agency and stored at a warehouse in the district were found to be adulterated with stones and soil. Some traders had refused to take the delivery of groundnuts they had bought from the warehouse. The groundnuts were procured by the GUJCOT on behalf of the NAFED. The case was registered under IPC sections 406 (criminal breach of trust) and 420 (cheating), officials had said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Doctors from several countries around the world have gathered here for a three-day conference starting today that seeks to enhance the awareness and knowledge on the latest innovations and technologies in oral implantology world over, organisers said. The tenth annual conference hosted by Academy of Oral Implantology (AOI) has representations by doctors from the UK, the US, Israel, Austria, Germany, Italy, South Korea and Spain. Oral implantology is a highly dynamic specialty and has over the years, introduced innumerable modifications and improvements for dental treatment of patients. Dr Saranjit Singh Bhasin, Chairman of AOI, in a statement said: "The vision is to promote latest technologies and encourage younger doctors, in the field of innovation. Experienced professionals will share their work, expertise with the younger crop and this translates into sharing of knowledge from different parts of the globe." Various companies from the medical field will also showcase their advanced products and technologies, he said. Teeth decay, loss of teeth due to old age, diseases or accidents, bad and crooked teeth, teeth decay happen due to bad oral hygiene. The event also seeks to raise awareness about oral hygiene for better dental care, the organisers said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Three new mega logistics parks would be set up in Ludhiana, Punjab's industry minister said today. "All the three mega logistics parks will come up near Kila Raipur village of the district," Sunder Sham Arora said while addressing the Punjab Logistics Conclave here, according to an official release. "Multimodal logistics park by Adani Group, second logistics park by Punjab Logistics Infrastructure Limited and third logistics park by Punjab State Warehousing Corporation will be set up," he added. The minister said these parks would cater to the complete logistics needs of the industrial belt of Ludhiana as well as industrial hubs located close to Jalandhar, Amritsar, Bathinda, Sangrur, Patiala, Fatehgarh Sahib and Hoshiarpur. These logistics parks would be a one-stop solution for all the logistics, transportation, warehousing needs of the region, he said. He said land banks have been developed by the department in different parts of Punjab and the state government is willing to provide land at reserve price to the industrialists for setting up industrial clusters. The minister said till now 25 clusters have been approved and two new clusters have been approved for the oil expeller industry. To provide a new lease of life to sick industrial units, the Punjab government will come up with a One Time Settlement (OTS) policy, which will be taken up in the next cabinet meeting. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Three militants and a soldier were on Friday killed in two separate encounters in Baramulla and Shopian districts of Jammu and Kashmir, officials said. Security forces launched a cordon and search operation in village Dursoo in Rafiabad area of Baramulla district this morning following information about the presence of militants there, a police official said. He said the search operation turned into an encounter after militants opened firing towards security forces. Two militants were killed in the encounter, the official said, adding they were identified as Riyaz Ahmed Dar, a resident of Naseer Abad Chinkipora Sopore and Khursheed Ahmed Malik, a resident of Aarihal Pulwama. The slain terrorists were affiliated with Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) outfit, he said. An Army Jawan, Sawar Vijay Kumar, also lost his life in the gunbattle, the official said. In another gunbattle tonight, security forces killed an unidentified militant in Kiloora area of Shopian district of south Kashmir, an army official said. He said the security forces cordoned off the area following specific intelligence inputs about the presence of militants there and started a search operation there. The search operation turned into an encounter after the militants fired upon the security forces party, he said. The operation is on, the army official said. Condemning the alleged manhandling of party MPs at the Silchar airport yesterday, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) today claimed all rules were violated by the Assam administration and said the party will observe "black days" in protest. Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, however, accused the members of the TMC delegation of creating an "unruly situation" at the airport. He said they were detained in view of intelligence inputs on the law and order situation received by the Assam government. Meanwhile, TMC secretary general Partha Chatterjee told newsmen in Kolkata that the party would observe "black day" across West Bengal tomorrow and on Sunday. "We condemn the way the public representatives were manhandled and detained by the Assam police at the Silchar airport. They being MPs had every right to visit a place, but all rules were violated and our party delegation was stopped. This is shameful," he told reporters. In the Lok Sabha, Rajnath Singh said prohibitory orders were in force in Assam, and hence, state officials had "requested" the TMC leaders to return from the airport itself. The TMC leaders were detained at the airport in view of the prevailing law and order situation in the state, he added. Maintaining that the MPs were extended all courtesies, the Union home minister said since there was no return flight to Kolkata or Delhi from Silchar, the MPs spent the night at the airport guest house and left for Kolkata this morning and had an onward flight to Delhi. "With folded hands, the district magistrate requested them to return. But without paying heed to the request, the MPs got into shoving, in which two women security personnel were injured," he said. TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee said citizens of India have the right to move around anywhere in the country and the party's MPs had categorically told the state government officer at the Silchar airport that they would not hold any public meeting. Responding to the home minister's accusation, a senior TMC leader today said, "The statement of Rajnath Singh is completely unacceptable. We expected that the Centre will intimate us on its own and take appropriate action. Nothing was done. We are completely dissatisfied with his statement. Over the weekend, we are going to chalk out our plan of action for Monday". The TMC delegation members alleged that they were treated "like infiltrators and pushed back". Cachar district Deputy Commissioner S Lakshmanan said six TMC leaders left in the morning and two others, both MPs left the state later in the day. An eight-member TMC delegation comprising six MPs, an MLA and a state minister was stopped at the Silchar airport yesterday when its members tried to enter Assam's Cachar district to assess the ground reality after the final draft of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) was published in the north-eastern state on Monday. The complete draft of the NRC, touted to be a proof of Assamese citizenship, had excluded over 40 lakh people, triggering a political slugfest between the BJP and other political parties. After arriving in Kolkata, TMC Rajya Sabha MP Sukhendu Sekhar Roy said, "The way infiltrators are treated... we were treated the same way. We were pushed back. We were manhandled, even women MPs were not spared." "How can six MPs, a minister and an MLA create trouble in a state?" he asked while talking to reporters. The prohibitory order document stated that action would be taken against those found to be carrying firearms and explosives, Roy said, and asked if it applied for the TMC team. Before leaving Silchar, he had said, "We are going back. The police have not allowed us to go out. We requested them several times but they refused. We spent the night in three rooms at the airport." "The way the MPs and a state minister (Firhad Hakim) were harassed shows that democracy is under threat," another member of the delegation, Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, alleged. "We wonder whether the rule of law exits in the country. It appears that an undeclared emergency is on," she said. After the TMC leaders had landed at Silchar airport yesterday, the authorities stopped them and took them under preventive detention saying their visit might create trouble. The Cachar district administration, had on Wednesday night, issued a prohibitory order under Section 144 of the CrPC in the district. The Assam Police, however, denied that the TMC leaders were harassed. Director General of Police Kuladhar Saikia said senior officers of the force "very respectfully" explained to the team that they would not be allowed to leave the airport as 144 of the CrPC was in force. They have also been barred from entering Guwahati, as per an order by City Police Commissioner Hiren Nath, Saikia said last evening, and claimed that two Assam Police women constables were injured during a scuffle with the team. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Home Minister Rajnath Singh today accused Trinamool Congress MPs of creating an "unruly situation" at the Silchar airport and said they were detained in view of intelligence inputs received by the Assam government on the law and order situation. Six leaders of the Trinamool Congress were yesterday detained at the Silchar airport while attempting to visit Assam post the publication of the National Register of Citizens (NRC). The six leaders left Assam this morning after overnight detention at the airport. The Trinamool Congress has said the detention and "manhandling" of their party colleagues at the Silchar airport shows there is an "undeclared emergency" in the country. In the Lok Sabha, Singh said since there were prohibitory orders in Assam, state officials had "requested" TMC MPs to return from the airport itself. "The Government of Assam had some information and based on intelligence inputs... In view of the prevailing law and order situation and so the situation does not deteriorate, TMC MPs were detained at the Silchar airport," Singh said. TMC's Kalyan Banerjee, in his speech, said citizens of India have right to move around anywhere in the country and these MPs had categorically told the state government officer at Silchar airport that "they would not hold any public meeting". Maintaining that the MPs were extended all courtesies, Singh said since there was no return flight to Kolkata or Delhi from Silchar, the MPs spent the night at the Silchar airport guest house and left for Kolkata this morning and have an onward flight to Delhi. "The kind of respect that should be shown to a public representative, similar respect was shown to TMC MPs. With folded hands the District Magistrate requested them to return. But without paying heed to the request, the MPs got into shoving in which two women security personnel also got hurt," the Home Minister added. In his speech, Banerjee asked the Government if it was "afraid and nervous" because of the united force of the opposition in the run up to the 2019 general elections and hence had detained the MPs. "Parliamentarians have been deprived of the right to assess the situation arising in the country. There was no injuction or interim order passed by the Supreme Court that political meetings cannot be held in Assam," Banerjee said. Bijoya Chakravarty (BJP) accused the Congress of putting the NRC in cold storage and said TMC MPs went to Assam only to "create tension" and "violence" in the state. She said that nothing can be more "dangerous" than West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's statement that there would be "bloodshed and civil war" in Assam. Six Trinamool Congress MPs-- Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, Arpita Ghosh, Mamata Thakur, Ratna De Nag, Sukhendu Sekhar Ray and Nadimul Haque, and two West Bengal state ministers had reached Silchar yesterday afternoon to "assess and discuss" the problems of citizens in the aftermath of NRC. The second list of the NRC, published earlier this week, has left out the names of over 40 lakh people, of which 85-90 per cent are Bengalis, Banerjee said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Tamil Nadu government today sought time to file its reply in a case, being heard by Madras High Court, related to the misappropriation of gold collected for making idols at Kancheepuram's Sri Ekambareswarar temple. The matter came up for hearing before a bench comprising Justices R Mahadevan and P D Audikesavulu. Public Prosecutor Emilias sought time to respond. The bench directed the government to produce all documents related to the case and posted the matter for hearing on August 7. In December 2017, the idol wing police registered an FIR in the case against nine people, including the temple's chief sculptor Muthaiah, following orders by the Kancheepuram judicial magistrate after a devotee, S Annamalai filed a complaint. On Tuesday, Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department Additional Commissioner M Kavitha was arrested on suspicion of her involvement in the misappropriation of funds and gold for making two idols at the ancient temple. She was remanded in judicial custody by a court in Kumbakonam till August 14. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) In a bid to push local manufacturing of gear, on Friday recommended that India aim for 'net zero imports' of equipment by 2022, and mooted creation of a Rs 10-billion fund to promote design, testing and production in this space. The regulator's recommendations -- 18 in all -- are aimed at transforming the manufacturing sector from being "import-dependent" to a global hub of indigenous manufacturing. noted that while telecom services have grown at a scotching pace, telecom equipment manufacturing has not kept up. "India should aim to achieve the objective of 'net zero imports of telecommunication equipments' by 2022. For this purpose, Telecom Equipment Manufacturing Council (TEMC), should identify and recommend specific areas of priorities," said in a statement. According to data available, the export of 'telecom instrument' stood at $1201.7 million, while imports totalled $2,1847.92 million in 2017-18. Most of the demand for telecom equipment has been met through imports, Trai noted. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) has recommended that the progress of indigenous telecommunication equipment manufacturing in the country be monitored in the Telecom Department at least at the level of Member, Telecom Commission. It also said a dedicated unit (within the department) be made responsible for facilitation of manufacturing related activities. It has also emphasised that indigenous products be given preference in all public telecom network for security reasons under preferential market access policy. Trai has also favoured creation of a Telecom Research and Development Fund with initial corpus of Rs 10 billion to give a fillip to research, innovation, design, testing, certification and manufacturing of indigenous telecom equipment. Trai has also asked the Department of Telecom to consider setting up Telecom Entrepreneurship Promotion Fund (TEPF) and Telecom Manufacturing Promotion Fund (TMPF). The recommendations also pitched for setting up of Telecommunication Equipment Development Board (TEDB) under the the department for faster decision making on funding and incentives. Trai also called for streamlining of permissions for trials or pilots of new technologies or products. "Alternate Dispute Resolution Framework for time bound resolution of patent licensing disputes should be institutionalized in the country," Trai said. Mandatory testing and certification of the telecom equipment in the country should be started at the earliest, it said. Trai said all telecom products meant for use in the telecommunication network or by consumers and marketed in the country should be classified as either fully finished imported products or indigenous products. ALSO READ: What next for telecom investors "Indigenous products should be further classified into Made in India Products, Designed In India Products or Designed and Made in India Products," it said. In addition, Telecom Department should immediately review its PMA (preferential market access) policy, issued in October 2012, so that products specified under the policy and the value addition norms are synced to market realities. "PMA policy should be made applicable for all public telecom networks to address the national security concerns. Telecom service providers should be incentivised for deploying indigenous telecom products, beyond the quantities to be mandated under the PMA, by giving them graded incentives," it said. Import of tur has declined by 84 per cent to 16,000 tonnes during April-May this fiscal, the government today informed Parliament. About 97,000 tonnes of tur (red gram) was purchased from the overseas market in the same period of the previous fiscal. "There is a significant decline in import of the said commodity in the country over the last one year," Minister of State for Agriculture Gajendra Singh Shekhawat said in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha. It is due to higher local production and not import that is having adverse impact on domestic prices, he said. While the Telangana government has demanded ban on import of tur but the Centre has already imposed quantitative restriction of 2 lakh tonnes per annum on import of tur, effective August 2017, he added. Besides, the government has lifted ban on export of all varieties of pulses with effect from November 22, 2017 to boost overseas shipments. As per the data placed before the Upper House, tur imports dropped by 41 per cent to 4.12 lakh tonnes in 2017-18 fiscal from 7.04 lakh tonnes during 2016-17. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu today said he told US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo that threats and sanctions will not work, after Washington targeted Turkish ministers over the detention of an American pastor. "We have said from the start that the other side's threatening language and sanctions will not get any result. We repeated this today," Cavusoglu said in televised remarks in Singapore after their meeting. Pastor Andrew Brunson was held in prison for nearly two years before he was moved to house arrest last week, disappointing American officials who expected his release. He is accused of carrying out activities on behalf of two groups viewed by Ankara as terrorists: the movement of the US-led Muslim preacher Fethullah Gulen blamed for the July 2016 coup attempt and the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). Brunson, who led a Protestant church in the Aegean city of Izmir, denies the charges. He risks up to 35 years in prison if found guilty. His next hearing is on October 12. The case is now at the centre of a bitter row between NATO allies Ankara and Washington after the US on Wednesday imposed sanctions on the Turkish justice and interior ministers claiming they played a major role in the arrest and detention of the pastor. The meeting was the first between the countries' officials after Ankara vowed it would respond to sanctions with retaliatory measures. Before the meeting, Pompeo told reporters that he hoped Turkey would see that the sanctions were "a demonstration that we're very serious". Cavusoglu told Turkish media that he discussed how Turkey and the US could move forward to "solve our issues" through close cooperation, dialogue and taking steps together. He added it was an "extremely constructive" meeting but warned that all the issues would not be solved "after one meeting". "When we return to our countries we will continue to take steps together and work together for these issues to be solved," he added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A moderate Democrat. Photo: Lisa Lake/Getty Images In recent years, theres been a vigorous debate among American political scientists about just how thoroughly rich people dominate U.S. policy-making. In 2014, Martin Gilens and Benjamin Page published a study that suggested economic elites and business interests enjoy such disproportionate influence over which policies the federal government enacts, America scarcely qualifies as a popular democracy. Other political scientists contested this conclusion, arguing that the underlying data was more ambiguous. Among other things, they noted that, according to Gilens and Pages own research, when the middle class and the rich disagreed about a given bill, Congress took the formers side 47 percent of the time. One might find this rebuttal less than reassuring. After all, the fact that a fraction of wealthy Americans only succeed in vetoing majoritarian preferences a little over half the time isnt the most compelling proof of our democracys vitality. But there was another flaw in the critiques of Gilens and Pages analysis (one common to the original study, and which might, admittedly, be unavoidable): By measuring the responsiveness of American policymakers on the basis of survey data and congressional activity, they failed to account for the role that elite influence plays in determining what policy positions are deemed serious enough to ask voters about, let alone, to write into congressional legislation. Ignoring this aspect of the policy-making process is all-but certain to understate the political influence of economic elites because such influence plays a major role in determining what policy positions make it into the national debate in the first place. New public opinion research from Data for Progress (DFP) spotlights this reality. In partnership with Yougov Blue, the progressive think tank polled a variety of left-wing economic policy ideas that have long been deemed too radical to merit pollsters attention or congressional scrutiny. Some of these ideas have recently won the support of the Democratic Partys most left-wing lawmakers; others lie beyond the bounds of Bernie Sanderss political imagination. And virtually all of them are more popular than the mainstream Republican Partys economic agenda. Take government drugs (please): DFP and YouGov asked voters, Would you support or oppose having the government produce generic versions of life-saving drugs, even if it required revoking patents held by pharmaceutical companies? Respondents approved of that idea by a margin of 51 to 21 percent. The proposal enjoyed the approval of a majority of Trump voters, and actually garnered more support in (stereotypically conservative) rural zip codes than in urban ones. The fact that this policy option has garnered approximately no interest in Washington and thus, has not been extensively polled cannot be attributed to its lack of popular support. In fact, the federal governments failure to take action on the idea cant even be attributed to gridlock or intransigent Republicans. As a team of medical and legal scholars from Yale and Harvard University explained in a 2016 Washington Post op-ed, the Executive branch already has the legal authority to unilaterally override patent law: In expanding a railroad or airport[t]he government can use its power of eminent domainto acquire the land for a reasonable price. When expanding access to important new medicines, the response, as two of us argue in an article in this months edition of the journal Health Affairs, should be similar. The government should employ an analogous power government patent use to negotiate lower prices, or buy low-cost, generic versions of drugs for use in government programs. This is possible because existing law gives the federal government limited immunity to challenges from patent holders: Patent holders cannot stop the government from making or buying products that infringe on their patents, and can sue only for reasonable compensation. Federal agencies have previously relied on this mechanism to purchase items produced by companies other than the patent holders, ranging from lead-free bullets to electronic passport readers. As the price of new hepatitis drugs was skyrocketing in 2016, the Obama administration had the power to override privately held patents and order the production of generic versions of the breakthrough pharmaceuticals. All available evidence suggests that there would have been broad public support for such a move (to the extent that Republican voters were prepared to approve of anything Obama did, anyway). The fact that this was never even discussed is a reflection of the pharmaceutical lobbys influence, not the American publics deep belief in the inviolability of intellectual property rights. The DFP surveys further documents overwhelming support for the creation of a publicly-owned internet company to fill coverage gaps in rural, urban, or remote areas that currently lack robust Internet access. Some 56 percent of voters support that concept, while just 16 percent oppose. Trump voters and rural Americans both support this big government takeover of internet provision net approval of the policy among rural voters was a whopping 44 percent. Whats more, 55 percent of voters supported the federal funding of community job creation for any person who cant find a job, with backing for that drastic expansion of public-sector employment once again strong in both urban and rural areas. Ending cash bail also enjoyed strong backing throughout the country. Illustration: Data for Progress Some municipalities do provide public broadband. And some Democratic lawmakers have recently signed onto job-guarantee proposals. But these ideas still remain at the fringes of congressional opinion and public debate, despite their ostensible appeal with the fabled median voter. It is hard to believe that this fact has nothing to do with the influence of telecom firms on Capitol Hill, nor that of affluent voters who do not want to subsidize public job creation with their tax dollars. Arguably though, DFPs most telling finding concerns a left-wing policy that is, in fact, a bit too radical for majoritarian tastes. In the think tanks survey, respondents opposed a 90 percent tax rate on all income above $1 million by a margin of 40 to 33 percent. This suggests that public opinion on tax policy has genuinely drifted rightward since Eisenhowers heyday. And yet, it also demonstrates that a 90 percent top tax rate which is to say, one nearly twice as high as the top rate proposed by Bernie Sanders is still more in line with American public opinion than the tax policies of mainstream Republican politicians. In DFPs poll, voters opposed a 90 percent top tax rate by a 7-point margin; in Pew Research polling from August of last year, voters opposed lowering taxes on corporations by a 49-point margin, and opposed cutting taxes on households that earn more than $250,000 by a 48-point one. Illustration: Data for Progress Nevertheless, the idea of cutting taxes on the rich is mainstream enough to be a perennial subject of opinion polling, while the idea of a de facto maximum income is not and, of course, Americas governing political party decided to make giant tax cuts for the rich and corporations its No. 1 legislative priority last year, while no lawmaker in either party introduced legislation aimed at reinstating a 90 percent top marginal tax rate. It is hard to explain why this would be the case without positing that the rich enjoy wildly disproportionate influence over our nations political debate. Or, to put a finer point on the matter: It is virtually impossible to comprehend how the U.S. Congress could have spent most of 2017 trying to pass regressive tax cuts and draconian reductions in federal health-care spending amid overwhelming public opposition among Republican voters, and a literal public-health emergency concentrated in GOP-controlled regions of the country without stipulating that economic elites and business interests currently dominate the American political system. Which isnt to say that such dominance is inevitable. The inequitable distribution of wealth, political knowledge, and free time in the United States gives wealthy individuals and corporations a leg up on ordinary Americans in the fight to influence public policy. But ordinary Americans have strength in numbers. And as DFPs polling suggests, there are no small number of progressive economic policies that a large majority of working people (from a wide array of regions, religious backgrounds, and ethnic groups) are ready to rally around. The trick is building institutions and cultivating political leaders that are willing and able to get that rally started. Turkey is again to open a consulate in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, four years after it was seized and its employees held hostage by Islamic State jihadists, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said today. Ankara had opened a well-staffed consulate in Mosul, in a sign of Turkey's ambitions in northern Iraq, before the rise of IS there and in neighbouring Syria. But 46 Turks, including diplomats, their children, special forces officers and other Turkish employees were taken hostage by the jihadists in June 2014. The hostages were freed in September 2014 after a three-month ordeal. Symbolically, the consulate building was destroyed in a US-led coalition air strike in April 2016 carried out in coordination with Ankara. The city was retaken by Iraqi forces in June 2017. "The consulates general in Mosul and (the southern Iraqi city) of Basra will resume operations within 100 days," Erdogan told a meeting on government plans after his June 24 election victory. Turkish officials had previously indicated Ankara was keen to reopen the consulate in Mosul but this was the first mention that a time frame has been evoked. Turkey evacuated the Basra consulate for security reasons in 2014 a week after IS seized the Mosul mission. Analysts have said that Turkey is keen to bolster its presence in Mosul, which was once part of the Ottoman Empire and which Ankara still regards as part of its natural regional sphere of influence. The circumstances in which the Mosul consulate staff were freed remain murky, with reports at the time indicating they had been released in exchange for IS militants held by Turkey. Erdogan, then premier, insisted no ransom had been paid, saying there were "only diplomatic and political negotiations" and describing the outcome as "a diplomatic victory." The former Turkish consul general in Mosul who was kidnapped with the other Turks, Ozturk Yilmaz, went into and became a deputy chairman of the opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) and is its main spokesman on foreign affairs. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Two men, who allegedly opend fire in a bid to rob a jeweller at Dombivli in the district, were caught by people and handed over to the police, an officer said today. The accused- Gopal Yadav (21) and Vikas Singh (20)- were later placed under arrest for the incident that took place late last night, the officer from Tilak Nagar police station said. According to police, the jeweller was going home after closing the shop at 10 pm when the accused came there and opened fire with the intention of robbing him of his belongings. The jeweller's assistant, who was with him, raised an alarm. Hearing him, people in the neighbourhood caught the duo and thrashed them. They later handed over the accused to the police. The duo was booked under sections 397 (robbery, or dacoity, with attempt to cause death or grievous hurt), 307 (attempt to murder), 341 (wrongful restraint), 325 (voluntarily causing grievous hurt) and the Arms Act. Further investigation is on. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Two minor girls were allegedly raped in Jharkhand's Seraikela-Kharswan and West Singhbhum district, police said today. A 55-year-old man lured a 11-year-old girl to a lonely place and raped her in Seraikela-Kharswan district on Wednesday, the police said. After the girl narrated her ordeal to her parents, they lodged a complaint against the accused at Rajnagar police station. Based on the complaint, the police lodged a case against the accused under different sections of IPC and Pocso Act and arrested him, they said. In the second incident, a 13-year-old girl was allegedly raped by six persons including four minors in West Singhbhum district, police said. The girl was grazing her cattle when the six accused allegedly raped her on July 26. But the case was registered yesterday as the accused had threatened the girl to keep quite. The parents of the girl registered a case against the accused after the girl narrated the incident to them, police said adding that four minors and a man, who were named in the complaint were arrested. The four minors were sent to remand home, they said adding that a hunt was on to arrest one more accused, who was at large. In another incident, a driver of a school van was thrashed by local residents here for allegedly eve teasing a class 6 student here yesterday, police said. The local residents caught hold of the accused and thrashed him before handing over to the police, sources said adding that a case under relevant section of IPC and Pocso Act was registered against the accused, who suffered injuries in the incident. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Two security personnel were injured in a grenade attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Anantnag district today, police said. Militants hurled a grenade on security forces deployed in Anantnag town in the south Kashmir district, resulting in injuries to one CRPF jawan and a special police officer, an official said. Security forces have cordoned off the area and launched a hunt for the attackers, he added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The University Grants Commission has recommended the HRD Ministry to grant deemed university status to the Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC). The institute, one of the prestigious journalism schools in the country which functions under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, offers diploma courses in journalism, advertising and public relations. The University Grants Commission (UGC) had last year formed a four-member committee headed by BK Kuthiala, the vice-chancellor of Makhanlal Chaturvedi University, Bhopal, to analyse the proposal by the IIMC. "Based on the committee's recommendation and inspection team's feedback the UGC has recommended that the ministry should issue a Letter of Intent (LoI) to the journalism school under the 'De Novo' category. The status will enable the institute to grant degrees instead of diplomas," a senior UGC official said. 'De Novo' refers to an institution which focuses on teaching and research in emerging areas of knowledge. The idea to grant deemed university status to the IIMC is not a new one. The Information and Broadcasting Ministry had also approved the plan in 2016. The IIMC has expanded from two campus in Delhi and Dhenkanal to six campuses across the country Jammu, Amravati, Kottayam and Aizawl being the new ones over the last five years. During a review of higher education institutes by the Niti Aayog in June, it was recommended that the IIMC be merged with either Jawaharlal Nehru University's Centre for Media Studies or Jamia Millia Islamia's AJK Mass Communication Research Centre. However, the institute as well as the Information and Broadcasting and the HRD ministries had rejected the idea. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Amid public outrage over Aadhaar helpline number being pre-stored without user consent on certain mobile phones, Google tonight apologised for "inadvertently" loading the old UIDAI helpline number and 112 helpline number into the 'setup wizard' of Android phones. "Our internal review has revealed that in 2014, the then UIDAI helpline number and the 112 distress helpline number were inadvertently coded into the setup wizard of the Android release given to OEMs (Original equipment manufacturers) for use in India and has remained there since. "Since the numbers get listed on a user's contact list these get transferred accordingly to the contacts on any new device," a Google spokesperson said in a statement. Google apologised for the same and said the numbers can be manually deleted from the phones. It also promised to fix the same in future editions of its setup wizard. "We are sorry for any concern that this might have caused, and would like to assure everyone that this is not a situation of an unauthorised access of their Android devices. Users can manually delete the number from their devices," the statement added. The tech titan said it will "work towards fixing this in an upcoming release of SetUp wizard which will be made available to OEMs over the next few weeks". Earlier today Aadhaar-issuing authority UIDAI had said it has not asked any phone maker or telecom service provider to include its toll-free number on mobile phones, as it tried to assuage user concerns relating to the invasion of privacy. Telecom operators' body COAI too said none of its members had pre-loaded any unknown numbers on any mobile phone. The clarification had come on reports that many Android-operating system run mobile phones listed by default the Aadhaar helpline number 1800-300-1947. UIDAI said the number 1800-300-1947 appearing in the contact list of Android phones was an "outdated and invalid" helpline number. Defending itself after drawing flak on social media over the default inclusion of the number in mobile phone contact list, the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) had said that, "...the said 18003001947 is not a valid UIDAI toll free number and some vested interests are trying to create unwarranted confusion in the public". The UIDAI's valid toll free number is 1947, which is functional for more than the last two years, it had said. The appearance of the number on smartphones had caused a social media furore, as users expressed concerns over how the helpline number had snuck into their smartphone contact list. #UIDAI was trending on the micro-blogging site as the Twitterati sought to unravel the mystery, and questioned the "breach of privacy". Yesterday, a French security expert who goes under the pseudonym Elliot Alderson and describes himself as "worst nightmare" of the UIDAI had tweeted, "Hi @UIDAI, Many people, with different provider, with and without an #Aadhaar card, with and without the mAadhaar app installed, noticed that your phone number is predefined in their contact list by default and so without their knowledge. Can you explain why?" The UIDAI controversy, second in the last one week, comes at a time and the Supreme Court has reserved its judgement on a clutch of petitions challenging the constitutional validity of Aadhaar Act. There are also heightened concerns over personal information being allegedly compromised in some instances with increasing use of biometric identifier Aadhaar in an array of services. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The UN envoy for Yemen has invited the warring parties to talks in September aimed at ending the three-year conflict, saying the pace of fighting has increased and "the Red Sea is now a theater of war." Martin Griffiths has told the Security Council that military experts say the rebel-held Red Sea port of Hodeida "has become the center of gravity of the war" and avoiding a battle for the port and the city "has a better chance of being resolved within a comprehensive political settlement." He said the time is long past to resume the political process, and after consulting the internationally recognised government and Houthi Shiite rebels he plans to invite them for consultations in Geneva on September 6, including to discuss a framework for peace negotiations. The Yemen conflict was sparked by the Houthi takeover of Yemen's capital Sanaa in 2014, which routed the internationally recognized government. A Saudi-led coalition allied with the government has been at war with the Houthis since 2015. More than 10,000 people have been killed in Yemen's civil war, which has displaced 2 million people and helped spawn a cholera epidemic. The conflict has created the world's worst humanitarian crisis with more than 22 million people 75 per cent of the population needing humanitarian aid, including 8.4 million who don't know where their next meal will come from, according to the United Nations. Griffiths has been leading efforts to prevent a full-scale coalition assault on Hodeida, which is responsible for more than 70 per cent of imports to Yemen and is a vital lifeline for a country already teetering on the brink of famine. UN director of humanitarian operations John Ging has told the council the conflict in Hodeidah "has escalated significantly," saying violence has forced more than 3,40,000 people from their homes across Hodeida governorate since June 1. In the latest escalation, he pointed to reports that the coalition conducted airstrikes yesterday around the entrance to one of the few functioning hospitals and an adjacent fish market in Hodeida city, which Yemeni medical officials said killed at least 28 people and wounded at least 70. Griffiths said the UN is still trying to avoid a battle for Hodeida, but while the gap between the Houthis and the coalition has been narrowed considerably, "I am concerned that Hodeida could be a flashpoint." "My concern is to avoid any action with dire humanitarian consequences, and ... those which may undermine the resumption of the political process in September," he has said. Griffiths called on the parties "to create a conducive environment to allow for this the happen," and he urged the Security Council "to resolve this conflict through negotiation rather than through military means." On a positive note, he has said that he was "greatly encouraged by the common desire of the parties to have prisoners of war released," adding, "I want to see this moving forward before we meet in Geneva. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Former minister and Jammu Kashmir Bachao Tehreek (JKBT) president Abdul Gani Vakil today appealed to the people to put their political differences aside and unite in view of a legal challenge to Article 35A even as the party lent support to a two-day strike called by separatists over the issue. Article 35A of the Constitution grants special rights and privileges to the permanent residents of Jammu and Kasmir. "There is a need for the people of Jammu and Kashmir to put political differences aside and unite as it is an issue of the whole state and not just Kashmir," Vakil told reporters here. He said while Article 370 has been "diluted" over the years thorough several amendments, the people of Jammu and Kashmir would not let Article 35A be tinkered with. "Our relation with the country is based on Article 370 and Article 35A. If anything is done to them, this relation will break away and the JKBT will be the first party to challenge the accession," Vakil said. He said the state was passing through a "dangerous phase" and people had apprehensions that there was a "well-planned conspiracy" in play to weaken the special status of the state. Vakil, a former Congress party leader, warned of "bloodshed" and a "fire engulfing the whole country" if Article 35A is tinkered with. "While the situation is bad in the state, it will turn ugly and there is possibility of bloodshed. The state will be on fire and that fire will engulf the while country," he said. The JKBT president appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to start a dialogue with separatists in the Valley to address the Kashmir issue. He said the party would support the strike called by separatists on August 5 and 6 to protest the legal challenge to Article 35A. "If the need arises, we will hit the roads," he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The BCCI acting secretary Amitabh Choudhary today launched a scathing attack on Committee of Administrators (COA) chief Vinod Rai, terming him a "complete failure" in the implementation of the Supreme Court-mandated Lodha Committee reforms. The BCCI office-bearers, especially Choudhary and treasurer Aniruddh Chaudhry, have been sidelined by the COA, which even sought their termination from the Supreme Court. Choudhary, who has not attacked on Rai till date, was no-holds-barred in his criticism today after the former CAG described BCCI office-bearers as obstructionists with vested interests in recent interactions with the media. "The unfortunate fact that I conclude is that after one and half years, Mr Rai has realised apart from writing e-mails, he has not been able to do anything else. He was mandated to implement the reforms and he has been a complete failure," the former Additional Director General of Police (Jharkhand) told PTI in an interview. "Rai is trying to run down the office-bearers because he has failed to engage them in a positive manner despite having spent one and half years which was mostly spent in making appointments in opaque processes, which I brought to everyone's notice," he fired another salvo referring to appointment of Anti Corruption Unit (ACU) Chief Ajit Singh and GM (marketing) Priya Gupta. While Singh joined the BCCI, Gupta did not take up the offer. The former CAG has recently expressed his frustration about the long time taken by the Supreme Court to pass the final order on the constitutional reform. "How can anyone talk about the Supreme Court in such a manner? Least of all, someone who has spent over four decades in the government," Choudhary said. So does he think that recent comments by Rai about the delay amount to Contempt of Court, Choudhary replied: "I can't take a view on that as I am not court. Neither am I Isaac Newton, Michael Faraday, Max Planc or Albert Einstein all rolled into one like some are." The acting secretary also wondered how from being termed "co-operative" by the COA in their fourth Status report, he became an "obstructionist" by the seventh report. Choudhary said Rai's allegations about him being "non co-operative" are "completely untrue". "Have a look at the Status reports. There was praise for me (4th Status). If I had not been cooperating, then how come in the month of February, I forwarded the suggestion after having persuaded 13 states to accept the reforms barring three four points whose liberty the Hon'ble SC had granted. "I had given an undertaking in SC that I will cooperate in bringing reforms. My credentials are for everyone to see. So now am I eating my own words or someone else is?" he questioned. Another point that Choudhary found "deeply insulting" was a comparison of the daily allowance given to players with that of the office-bearers. While office-bearers get USD 750 per day, the Indian team gets USD 250, which according to Rai, is one of the reasons for "vested interests". "I have two simple counter questions. Are our TA/DAs in accordance with rules that are there in BCCI? If they are so be it. Now my second counter: If you are comparing our allowances to those of players, you are conveniently forgetting that they are getting match fees along with annual central contract. So Rai's comparisons are blatantly unfair. "You expect an honorary person to travel somewhere spending money from his own pocket. Check the fourth Status Report what DA I was drawing then and what is it now." Choudhary said state association members cannot be considered "servants" and their grievances should be addressed. "You can't blame members for feeling aggrieved. It is the same members, who agreed on most reforms. They are not your servants, at best they are colleagues or friends. "There is a manner in going about things. If you know that, you will succeed. If you treat them as enemies or servants, you will not get anything. He has failed," he concluded. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Blue is the scariest color. Photo: Drew Angerer/Getty Images Some on the American (far) left believe that the Democratic Party remains too beholden to Wall Street to champion a bold, progressive agenda and thus, to win back power from the Republicans. Some on Wall Street beg to differ. In recent days, major portfolio managers have been trading bank and technology stocks for cash, out of a belief that Democrats will retake the House this November and that said midterm triumph will strengthen the partys progressive wing in 2020. As Reuters reports: Fund managers from Federated Investors, OppenheimerFunds, and BMO Global Asset Management are among those who are repositioning their portfolios and seeing cash as more attractive with the Nov. 6 elections less than 100 days away. Chief among their concerns: a so-called blue wave of Democratic victories could end the Republican Partys single-party control of the White House and Congress, leading to both more investigations into possible abuses by the Trump administration and more stock market volatility. Such a move would also embolden Democratic presidential candidates to run on a platform in 2020 calling for universal health care, increasing the minimum wage, and repealing the Republican-led corporate tax cuts passed in December, all of which could slow economic growth, [Phil Orlando, chief equity market strategist at Federated Investors in New York] said. Not everyone in high finance is so afraid of a blue America. Orlando told Reuters that he expects U.S. stocks to sink by at least 10 percent between late August and September, as the inevitability of a Democratic House comes into view. And yet, Team Blue is already favored to retake the lower chamber and the S&P 500 remains up more than 5 percent on the year. Still, theres something to be said for Federated Investors gambit. While theres little reason to believe that the emerging Democratic agenda would be bad for the economy as a whole, it would likely take a bite out of bank, tech, and health-care industry stocks all of which have been riding a wave of corporate tax cuts and reduced regulatory compliance costs throughout the Trump era. Virtually all of the Democratic Partys 2020 hopefuls have promised to turn back that tide, by raising taxes on the wealthy, strengthening regulation of the financial sector, expanding the federal governments share of the health insurance market, and strengthening the bargaining power of workers. Leftists might question the sincerity of these commitments. Centrists might insist that such progressive policies amount to electoral suicide. But some of Americas preeminent corporate stooges suspect that both groups are wrong. Fox Studio has decided not to get involved in the controversy over "The Simpsons" Indian-origin character Apu Nahasapeemapetilon. The show has faced an increasing criticism from Indian fans who feel that the Kwik-E-Mart manager promotes offensive stereotypes, particularly because he is voiced by caucasian actor Hank Azaria. Comedian Hari Kondabolu made a film about the negative influence of the character, prompting the show to finally address the debate in an April episode. In the episode "No Good Read Goes Unpunished", a photo of Apu is in frame as Lisa Simpson laments: "Something that started decades ago and was applauded and inoffensive is now politically incorrect. What can you do?" Many felt that was an unacceptable response. "We have had the conversation with (executive producer) Jim Brooks and his team and we've basically left it up to them. They've treated the characters with so much respect. We trust them to handle it in a way that will be best for the show Ultimately we decided that would be their decision," Fox chairman and CEO Dana Walden said during the network's Q&A session at the Television Critics Association press tour. According to USA Today, Walden said she was not surprised by the reaction, but it will factor in the producing team's response. "In a day of social media where fans are able to have a public forum, I can't say ultimately we were surprised. I think it's good information for the creators to receive they focused on the reaction and I think that's partially informing how they will move forward." She also revealed that "The Simpsons" is not ending anytime soon, despite being an expensive series. "There's no consideration of not ordering more Simpsons," she said. "The Simpsons" creator Matt Groening recently complained about the tone of the debate around Apu, arguing that those complaining were no longer having a constructive dialogue. "It's tainted now the conversation, there's no nuance to the conversation now," he argued. "It seems very, very clunky. I love the character. I love the show," he had said. PTI. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Harvey Weinstein's attorneys were granted permission by a bankruptcy judge to include 40 emails from an anonymous rape accuser in a motion to dismiss his criminal case. Judge Mary Walrath allowed Weinstein's lawyers to use the emails, provided that the alleged victim's name and initials are not used in the motion, reported Variety. Weinstein's attorney, Benjamin Brafman, argued that the emails would show that the Hollywood producer had a friendly, long-term relationship with the woman, lasting for four years after the alleged rape occurred in 2013. "They are endearing, intimate, pleasant, flattering, friendly emails between her and Mr Weinstein. If the grand jury had these emails, they would not have indicted," Brafman said. Brafman asked permission to refer to the woman by her initials, which he repeatedly stated are "J M". Lawyer for the committee of unsecured creditors, James Stang, objected to using the woman's initials, saying that would make it easier to discover her identity. The woman is one of three whose allegations underpin the criminal case against Weinstein. Weinstein faces up to life in prison if convicted. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) NCP MP Udayanraje Bhosale today asked why the governments can not show the same willingness in responding to quota demands which the Centre showed when agreeing to restore the provisions of the SC/ST Act. A lack of political will was the main reason why the Maratha community's demand for reservation in jobs and education was not fulfilled in Maharashtra all these years, the Satara MP, who is a descendant of King Shivaji, said. If the Union government could agree to bring a bill to restore the provisions of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, why can not the Centre and respective state governments show the same readiness to decide reservation demands of Gujjars, Jaats, Patidars and Marathas, the MP asked. After the Supreme Court introduced safeguards against arrests under the Act, the government has approved a bill to restore original provisions. "When nobody objected to the demand for Maratha reservation, why the issue was not resolved in the last 25-30 years," Bhosale asked, speaking to reporters here about the ongoing quota agitation in Maharashtra. The BJP-led Maharashtra government should expedite the process to grant reservations, as "sentiments of Maratha community are getting sharper with every passing day", he warned. In the earlier phase of the agitation, the community took out 58 silent and peaceful processions which won acclaim, he said. "The government then only made promises which was an eyewash, and then the issue was neglected," he alleged. He also said that the Maratha protesters should not resort to violence. "I am going to call a meeting of all conveners of the Maratha Kranti Morcha and appeal the community members that the agitation should not be violent and public property should not be damaged," he said. The government should withdraw the cases lodged against Maratha protesters, he demanded. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A 21-year-old woman who has accused former BJP MLA Jayanti Bhanushali of rape today told the Gujarat High Court that she will not object if the court decides to quash the FIR filed on her complaint as she had "settled the issue amicably" with the accused. After taking her affidavit to this effect on record, Justice P P Bhatt asked the police to record her statement and also probe if she was being forced to drop the case. The woman appeared in person before Justice Bhatt during the first hearing of Bhanushali's petition seeking quashing of the FIR. When Justice Bhatt asked if she was stating so because of intimidation, the woman said she was under no pressure. She had settled the issue amicably with the accused and did not want to pursue the matter, the woman said. The court then adjourned the hearing to August 7. When Bhanushali's lawyers requested the court to direct the police not to take any action against him till then, Justice Bhatt said such order was not necessary as the next date was not too far. Bhanushali is yet to appear before the Surat police despite the police calling him for questioning. His petition claimed that the case against him was false, and a gang led by one 'Manisha Goswami', who is now behind bars, concocted it. Goswami had earlier tried to extort money from Sunil Bhanushali, his relative, but the latter approached the police and she was arrested, the petition said. To take revenge, the gang was now targeting him, the BJP leader claimed. The complainant had alleged in the FIR lodged with Surat police that Bhanushali raped her on several occasions between November 2017 and March after promising to secure admission for her in a reputed fashion design institute. Bhanushali resigned as Gujarat BJP vice president last month after the FIR was lodged. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Karnataka BJP chief B S Yeddyurappa today alleged that former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda was levelling accusations against him instead of asking his son and chief minister H D Kumaraswamy to 'rectify' his statements on North Karnataka Holding the chief minister responsible for resurfacing of the demand for statehood for north Karnataka, Yeddyurappa posed some questions to the JD(S) supremo. "I want to ask former prime minister H D Deve Gowda- who questioned about the contribution of Lingayat chief ministers for north Karnataka. Who accused people of voting on the basis of caste...wasn't it Kumaraswamy? Who raised questions about contribution of north Karnataka for the state's revenue...wasn't it Kumaraswamy?" Yeddyurappa asked. Speaking to reporters here, he said Gowda should respond to all these questions. Yeddyurappa's comments come a day after the former prime minister accused him of trying to create unrest through "malicious propaganda." In an interview to PTI, he had alleged that the BJP state president was "provoking" people of north Karnataka, as his "anger has not cooled down" after failing to form the government despite winning substantial seats. Yeddyurappa said Kumaraswamy's "irresponsible" comments were the main reason for the confusion in north Karnataka and demanded that Gowda ask his son to 'rectify' his statements. "I want to ask Deve Gowda how fair is it to accuse us, when as a responsible opposition we have done our duty by convincing seers and protesters (against separate statehood demand), which actually chief minister had to do," he added. A bandh call given by several outfits in 13 districts of north Karnataka yesterday, demanding statehood for the region, had failed to elicit any response. The bandh was called by the outfits which alleged discrimination by successive governments towards the region and also in the budget presented by Kumaraswamy on July 5, and inadequate representation in the present cabinet. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A youth died and two others suffered serious injuries when their car skidded and hit the divider of National Highway 1 near sugar mill bridge here today, police said. Police identified the deceased as Navdeep Singh, 22, of Itta Badhi village in the Bhogpur area of Jalandhar district. The other two occupants of the car -- Gursevak Singh, 25, and Jarman Singh, 23, of the same village, sustained serious injuries and were rushed to Jalandhar as their condition was critical, they said. They trio was travelling from Jalandhar to Ludhiana, police said. Eyewitness said the car was over-speeding and it overturned before hitting the divider. The car was mangled almost beyond recognition. Police that Navdeep Singh was preparing papers for going abroad and was travelling to Ludhiana to get his file checked from someone before putting it for visa. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) FRANKFURT (Reuters) - German insurer Allianz on Friday reported a 5-percent drop in second-quarter net profit from a year earlier, pulled down by the sale of its life insurance portfolio in Taiwan, but reaffirmed it's on track to meet 2018 profit target.Net profit came in at 1.9 billion euros ($2.20 billion), higher than 1.8 billion euros forecast by analysts in a Reuters poll.The insurance sector, including Allianz, is expected to bounce back from a rough patch caused by major hurricanes, fires and earthquakes in North America in 2017, the costliest year ever for the industry."We remain on ... By Paul Lienert and David Shepardson(Reuters) - General Motors Co is seeking an exemption to a 25 percent U.S. tariff on its Chinese-made Buick Envision sport utility, the automaker said on Thursday, in a move to prevent the key model in the brand's U.S. lineup from becoming a victim of the U.S.-China trade war.The midsize SUV, priced starting at about $35,000, has become a target for critics of Chinese-made goods, including leaders of the United Auto Workers union and members in key political swing states such as Michigan and Ohio. The Envision, assembled only in China, last year accounted ... (Reuters) - Alphabet Inc's Google is in talks with Tencent Holdings Ltd , Inspur Group and other Chinese companies to offer its cloud services in the mainland, Bloomberg reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the discussions. The talks began in early 2018 and the internet giant narrowed partnership candidates to three firms in late March.It is immediately unclear if the plans will proceed in the wake of increasing trade tensions between China and the United States, the report said. Google and Tencent did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Google, which quit China's ... By Neha Dasgupta and Aditi ShahNEW DELHI (Reuters) - India's biggest full-service airline Jet Airways Ltd said on Friday it was confident that it would be able to cut costs and keep flying, despite reports that it had warned staff it was running out of cash.Reuters and several local newspapers reported earlier on Friday that Jet Airways had told pilots it had enough cash left to keep operating for just 60 days and would need to put in place cost-cutting measures including pay cuts.The airline has asked pilots to take a 15 percent pay cut for two years, a proposal they have refused, a senior ... Photo: Evelyn Hockstein/The Washington Post/Getty Images Donald Trump Jr. emerged from an advance screening of the latest cinematic triumph by pardoned felon Dinesh DSouza burbling with a previously dormant enthusiasm for historical inquiry. When you have a bunch of kids in dreadlocks running around screaming about fascism and all these things, he explained, its like, wait a second, have you actually taken a history class, do you actually know what these words mean that youre running around and spewing. And I think they dont. Anything that inspires Donald Trump Jr. to want to learn more would seem to be laudable. Sadly, Trump Jr. is not proposing that todays youth should take more history classes. Indeed, he maintains that history classes are filled with lies promoted by liberal academic elites. Instead, he wishes the dreadlocked youth would pay more attention to the revisionist history promoted by DSouza in his latest film, Death of a Nation, which opens in theaters nationwide tonight. In it, DSouza continues his long-standing contention that racists and fascists of the far right are actually the true allies of the liberal left. You see the Nazi platform in the early 1930s and you look at it compared to like, the DNC platform of today, youre saying, man, those things are awfully similar, said Trump Jr. DSouzas case follows a long-standing tradition of conservative polemic, which attempts to boldly redefine the ideological spectrum. Rather than accept the conventional terms of the debate, in which conservatism occupies a spot on the continuum between liberalism and fascism, they define fascism as an ideology of the left, the complete opposite of conservatism. Relatedly, and even more preposterously, they insist that white racism is also associated with the American left, rather than the right. Jonah Goldbergs 2008 book, Liberal Fascism, defined Hitler and Mussolini as merely having more extreme versions of ideas proposed by American liberals like Hillary Clinton. His National Review colleague, Kevin Williamson, has likewise argued that the racist, states-rights-fixated ideology of the conservative white South is best expressed by the Obama-era Democratic party, rather than the GOP. DSouza has enthusiastically taken up both these claims. It is of course true that in the United States, the Democrats of the 19th century were fervent defenders of slavery, drew their strongest support from the white South, and who (relatedly) hated big government and believed the Constitution should be interpreted to strictly limit Washingtons ability to abridge property rights through taxes or regulation. And it was the Republicans who opposed slavery, had support from New Englanders and African-Americans (when and where they were allowed to vote), and supported activist federal government. Over the course of the 20th century, the two parties switched identities. The reversal was hastened by the conservative movement takeover of the Republican Party. Conservatives loudly opposed their party leaderships support for civil rights, and argued that the party could move to the right and expand its support by appealing to anti-integration whites. Having succeeded in that stated goal, conservatives today find it necessary to renounce the very ideological project they carried out. Their revisionist argument rests on pretending the comprehensive identity swap between the two parties never took place. It is likewise true that Nazis and fascists were not Reaganite enthusiasts for small government. Because fascism took power in a context far removed from early 21st-century American politics, it was easy for conservative revisionists to pluck disconnected items from the fascist agenda in order to place them on the left. The Big Reveal of DSouzas film, which so impressed Trump, is that the Nazi platform called for universal health care, attacked bankers, and so on. And yes, Nazis successfully co-opted some of the populist economic appeal of their socialist rivals while separating themselves with racist, nationalist, and authoritarian appeals. But this point carries much less force in an era when the Republican Party is led by a man who is doing the exact same thing. Donald Trump also promised government-run health care for everybody. See Trumps closing ad in the 2016 election, leaning heavily on attacks on international (and, coincidentally, Jewish-sounding) bankers: Before Trump came along, the gap between mainstream Republican politics and Nazism was wide enough that one could not easily draw a straight line between the two. Under Trump, that line has been erased. Trump is not a Nazi or a fascist, but he has drawn Nazis into the periphery of his coalition. While conservatives like DSouza are trying to attach the legacy of the 19th-century Democratic Party to the very different modern incarnation, Trump is out there loudly claiming that legacy for himself by casting his own presidency as the heir to Andrew Jacksons. If todays Democrats are the modern equivalent of the 19th-century pro-slavery Democrats, why are they trying to take down Confederate memorials, while Republicans like Trump defend them? It is bizarre that conservatives are still attempting to surmise, through indirect inquiry, what Nazis would say about politics today when there are actual Nazis who are happy to pick up a tiki torch and tell us. There is no mystery here. The people who proudly lay claim to the legacy of the Confederacy and Nazism are openly enthusiastic about Trump. They are fine with his economic populism, and gaga for his nativism. Calling modern liberals the Real Nazis and neo-Confederates was a fun troll for the right. You cant troll your opponents as Nazis when there are proud Nazis out there marching for you. MUMBAI (Reuters) - Jet Airways (India) Ltd will be unable to fly beyond 60 days unless cost-cutting measures including pay cuts are put in place, and it has approached investment bankers again to help sell a stake in the carrier, local media reports said on Friday.The management team, including Chairman Naresh Goyal, has informed employees in face-to-face meetings in recent days in Mumbai and Delhi that the airline's financials are in a bad shape and drastic measures needed to be taken to cut costs, the Economic Times daily reported, citing two company executives.Jet Airways was not ... WASHINGTON (Reuters) - White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow warned China after it announced retaliatory tariffs on $60 billion worth of U.S. goods on Friday, saying Beijing should not underestimate U.S. President Donald Trump's determination to act on trade."They better not underestimate the president," Kudlow said in an interview on Fox Business Network. (Reporting by Tim Ahmann and Susan Heavey; Editing by Bernadette Baum)(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Sebi (Securities and Exchange Board of India) has hit back at the Antiguan government's claim that fugitive diamond merchant Mehul Choksi was given a "positive report" by the market regulator in 2017. Sebi has said that it was never approached by the Antiguan government in the first place. The row emerged after an Antiguan newspaper said its government's Citizenship by Investment Unit (CIU) issued a press statement, saying Sebi provided a "positive report" when asked about Mehul Choksi in 2017. Choksi and his partner Nirav Modi, who owns Firestar Diamond, have been accused of perpetrating the biggest banking fraud in India. The CIU said it received the documentation of the two instances in which Sebi had opened investigations on a corporate entity owned by Choksi in 2014 and 2017. "We requested updates on the status of the investigations and received documentary confirmation, issued by the Sebi stating that in one case, the matter had been satisfactorily closed, and indicating in the other that there is not sufficient evidence to pursue the matter further," said the release. However, Sebi has issued a clarification saying it "neither received any request from the Citizenship by Investment Unit (CIU) of Antigua for updates on any investigation nor provided any such information to CIU". On checking the CIU website of Antigua, it was found that no "press release" was issued by the agency on its platform. In fact, on checking the Sebi website, it was found that Sebi independent director S Raman had ordered a prima-facie investigation against Choksi's Gitanjali Gems between July 18, 2011, and January 25, 2012, six months before Gitanjali was stopped from trading. Sebi had also issued a show-cause notice on October 26, 2012, and sought replies from Choksi and other Gitanjali promoters for manipulative trading and violating the Sebi regulations. Thereafter, his companies were barred from trading (directly and indirectly) in the stock market. The entities in question were Mehul Choksi, (late) Guniyal Choksi, Partha Gems LLP, Priyanka Gems Pvt Ltd, Rohan Diamond Pvt Ltd, Mozarat Investments Pvt Ltd, Digico Holdings Ltd. All of them were the promoters of Gitanjali Gems. Other 15 companies entities in question were Albers Diamonds Pvt Ltd, Ashlesha Trading Pvt Ltd, Avtar Gems Pvt Ltd, Jaiwanti Mercantiles Pvt Ltd, Magnifique Gems Pvt Ltd, Manoj Madhav Vankar, Rakesh Kumar Gupta/Ashlesha Trading Pvt Ltd, Rhoda Infrastructure Pvt Ltd, Rishabh Technomarine Pvt Ltd, Sadhiv Mercantile Pvt Ltd, Sancheti Properties Pvt Ltd, Shraddha Garments Pvt Ltd, Sneaking Infrastructure Pvt Ltd, Vankars Gems and Jewelleries Pvt Ltd, Sanskar Gems Pvt Ltd and Pinky Agro Foods Pvt Ltd. All of them were trading in the Gitanjali Gems script. In its initial investigation, Sebi found that these 15 entities, which traded or funded transactions in the Gitanjali Gems scripts, were linked with the Choksis and other Gitanjali Gems promoters through common phone numbers, residential addresses, emails, inter-transfer of funds, etc. Also, these entities were trading only in Gitanjali Gems. Sebi also suspected that Choksi's other companies were periodically rolling money between different companies with a select set of foreign institutional investors (FIIs). The regulator found that the disclosures made by Gitanjali Gems to the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) regarding the shares pledged by the Promoter and Promoter Group between September and December 2011 were found to be different from those obtained by Sebi from the depositories. After hearing the views of the Gitanjali Gems promoters, S Raman had directed the regulator to probe the alleged manipulative trading in the scripts of Gitanjali Gems, along with the violations of takeover regulations, on March 10, 2017. (Edited by Manoj Sharma) Things are not looking up for the top Indian Institute of Managements in terms of gender diversity. These B-schools have failed to meet their short-term target of female student enrolment. In the 2018-20 batch, IIM Kozhikode, IIM Ahmedabad and IIM Calcutta have only managed to bring in 26% female students, while it was 30% in the previous batch. IIM Bangalore fares only slightly better with 28%, a share that has remained unchanged for three years now. The only school meeting the target is Indore with 39%. That also, however, is a dip from the previous year's 41%. Most of the IIMs had set a target to induct 30% women. Sumanta Basu, Chairperson of Admissions at IIM Calcutta said that when that target is met consistently for a couple of years, they would aim for a higher target. One of the primary reasons for this skewed male to female student ratio is because majority of IIM students are from engineering schools. Now, engineering colleges have a worse ratio that seeps into these schools. "From classroom to boardroom, the ratio of women plummets. Institutes outside India have much better gender ratio," said SV Nathan, chief talent officer at Deloitte India, as mentioned in a report in The Economic Times. To pull up the number of female students, IIM Kozhikode even rolled out higher weightage for female candidates. The result was that women filled up half the seats. However they could not sustain it, and the number fell to 30% before falling to this year's 26%. To improve the intake of female students in Indian Institute of Technology that further impact the number of women in IIMs, the government has ordered the IITs to ensure that 14% of their seats go to women in 2018. Most of the IITs have been able to meet that target. Companies, too, want more women as they are trying to improve their gender diversity. Rajeshwar Tripathi, Chief People Officer at Mahindra & Mahindra said that their intake of female employees is more than the percentage of women at the IIMs. IIM Ahmedabad is looking for a way out of this cycle by introducing changes in their admission criteria to include more women as well as students from diverse academic backgrounds. At IIM Kozhikode, gender diversity is not only at stake. Their academic diversity is also on the decline. Only 9% of students are from non-engineering background, as compared to the previous year's 13%. IIM Calcutta, on the other hand, has done better than last year in terms of academic diversity. Last year only 8.6% students were from non-engineering background. This year it is 12.53%. They also said that they have fared better when it comes to gender diversity from previous years when it used to be around 10%. (Edited by Anwesha Madhukalya) Apple Inc made history this week after its market cap crossed $1 trillion mark. A staggering stock valuation is not the only big number for the tech behemoth. The iPhone-maker sits on a cash pile of roughly $285 billion. This amount is more than enough to buy India's two most valued companies - Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries and Tata's crown jewel TCS. The market cap of RIL, India's largest company in terms of revenue, as of today was at Rs 7.45 lakh crore ($109 bn) and valuation of India's largest IT services firm TCS was Rs 7.57 lakh crore ($109 bn). The cash pile of Tim Cook-led company is over Rs 19.54 lakh crore or $285 billion. This is more than enough to buy 30 odd listed companies of India's largest business house, the Tata Group. The aggregate market capitalisation of India's most valued private enterprise is over Rs 10 lakh crore. With such huge stash of cash reserves, Apple can also buy all four listed companies of HDFC Group. The collective valuation of Deepak Parekh-led financial services conglomerate had recently crossed Rs 10 lakh crore. With a cash pile of roughly Rs 19.54 lakh crore, Apple can buy out RIL (7.45 lakh crore), TCS (Rs 7.57 lakh crore), Infosys (2.97 lakh crore) in one go and will still be left with over Rs 1.5 lakh crore. Market Valuation To put into perspective, the recent spike in stock prices has pushed Apple's valuation to over $1 trillion. This number is close to about 38 per cent of India's total GDP and more than thrice of Pakistan's annual GDP. Apple's shares jumped after the company released its latest quarterly figures on Tuesday. CEO Tim Cook called it the company's "best June quarter ever, and our fourth consecutive quarter of double-digit revenue growth". Apple had reported a net profit of $48.5 billion in 2017. The tech giant was first listed on the stock market for $22 a share on December 12, 1980. It had raised $110 million in one of the biggest initial public offerings to date. Those who bought Apple shares at the time of its listing would have seen their returns grow by 40,000 per cent until today. Apple's rise to the top has been meteoric. In 1985, Apple co-founder Steve Jobs was forced out of the company by CEO John Sculley. Apple Inc.'s m-cap was a paltry $3 billion when Jobs returned to the struggling company as interim chief in 1996, after it acquired his startup, NeXT. Then came the success of iPod. Apple launched its first iPhone in 2007 and by 2010, it was ready with its first iPad. The back-to-back launch of these tech gadgets set the cash registers ringing. However, Apple is not the only company to cross $1 trillion valuation. The first company to hit a trillion dollar market cap was PetroChina and that too over a decade ago in 2007. But it was all short-lived. According to Bloomberg, PetroChina's m-cap nosedived to less than $260 billion by the end of 2008. This was the biggest ever knock down of shareholders' wealth in world history. The valuation of Saudi Aramco, the state-owned oil behemoth of Saudi Arabia is pegged to be around $2 trillion. This makes Aramco twice the size of Apple. The company was planning to hit stock markets early next year to sell off 5 per cent shares worth $100 billion. The Jet Airways stock fell in early trade today amid reports which said the airline would be unable to fly beyond 60 days unless cost-cutting measures including pay cuts are put in place, and it has approached investment bankers again to help sell a stake in the carrier. At 10:31 am, the stock fell 4.21% or 14 points to 317.25 level. The stock has fallen after two days of consecutive gains. The small cap stock fell 5.72% intra day to 312.25 level on the BSE. It has fallen 46.07% during the last one year. The stock is down 61.88% since the beginning of this year. According to a report by The Economic Times, the management team, including Chairman Naresh Goyal, has informed employees in face-to-face meetings in recent days in Mumbai and Delhi that the airline's financials are in a bad shape and drastic measures needed to be taken to cut costs. Jet Airways is the latest airline to feel the pinch of rising crude prices and a falling rupee. The airline has informed its employees that they will have to take a 25% salary cut due to rising operational expenses. The salary cut is from 5% for employees earning Rs 12 lakh per annum to 25% for employees earning up to Rs 1 crore. Salary cuts for pilots are going to be in the range of 17%. Meanwhile, Mint reported that Jet Airways has approached investment bankers again to help sell a stake in the carrier. According to the report, the airline was looking to raise immediate cash and the transaction could include Jet Airways founder Naresh Goyal selling a part of the promoter's stake in the company. Jet Airways saw profits in two consecutive years - fiscal 2016 and 2017 - but saw losses of Rs 76 crore in FY 2018. The airline is not alone in this. IndiGo reported a 97% drop in profits in the April-June period from the year-ago quarter. Jet Airways, which completed 25 years of operations earlier this year, had 16,558 permanent employees as on March 31, 2018. Besides, there were a total of 6,306 temporary/casual employees, as per the airline's annual report for 2017-18. Written and edited by Aseem Thapliyal Japan has pipped China as the world's number two stock market, a Bloomberg report said today. After Thursday's slide, the Chinese market was worth $6.09 trillion next to Japan's $6.17 trillion. Both markets are ranked after the US which is the world's largest at just over $31 trillion. China lost to Japan after Chinese stocks and currency fell this year amid a trade spat with the US. "Losing the ranking to Japan is the damage caused by the trade war," Banny Lam, head of research at CEB International Investment Corp. in Hong Kong told Bloomberg. "The Japan equity gauge is relatively more stable around the current level but China's market cap has slumped from its peak this year." The Chinese stock market soared to an all-time high of more than $10 trillion in June 2015 after overtaking Japan in late 2014. But this year has been bad. The Shanghai Composite index is the world's second-worst-performing major stock index this year, having fallen 16.3 percent year-to-date. The CSI300, the world's worst-performing index, has lost 16.4 percent. Indeed, the forward price/earnings ratio of the Shanghai index, based on earnings expectations for 2018, is around 10, the lowest level since panic selling in early 2016 when the market was still dealing with the hangover from the 2015 financial crisis. They are also 40 percent lower than forward PE ratios in US stocks. The drop in Chinese shares this year has been driven by concerns about a slowdown in the world's second-biggest economy and that China would be worse off in a trade war with the United States. US President Donald Trump, who has taken a hard line on trade with several countries around the world, has applied tariffs to some goods imported from China and threatened taxes on the remaining imports. These factors have prompted an overly pessimistic view on the corporate earnings outlook for 2019, says Societe Generale. "The market is discounting a 5 percent decline in next year's earnings," the bank said in a research note, when analysts' consensus forecast is for a rise of 13 percent. "Further downside would only be consistent with a hard landing scenario, whereby profit momentum turns negative and earnings do not grow in the next two years". (With inputs from Reuters) Written and edited by Aseem Thapliyal UIDAI says it didn't do it. Cellular Operators Association of India which represents Airtel, Vodafone, Idea and Reliance Jio has said it didn't do it. TRAI officials say they didn't instruct this. Even Google doesn't know how it got there. So, who's done it? There's no explanation yet to the mysterious presence of UIDAI contact number 1800-300-1947 in the contact list of many phones in India registered as UIDAI. UIDAI has suspiciously found its way to the contact lists of numerous Android and iOS users. Twitter was abuzz with many users claiming to have 'UIDAI' in their contact list and none of them remember saving it themselves. Suprisingly, the toll-free number 1800-300-1947 registered under this contact isn't even valid any more. Instead UIDAI customer care number is 1947. UIDAI released a series of tweets in the light of this development. They clearly state that their toll-free number (1947) has been the same for the past two years. "Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) today in the wake of some media reports on default inclusion of the UIDAI's outdated and invalid Toll free number 1800-300-1947 in contact list of Android phones said that UIDAI has not asked or communicated to any manufacturer or service provider for providing any such facility whatsoever," says UIDAI in a statement. The government body claims that they have no information about contacts popping up like this and that this is being done to create chaos. The statement reads, "It is emphasised that the said 18003001947 is not a valid UIDAI Toll free number and some vested interest are trying to create unwarranted confusion in the public." "The inclusion of a certain unknown number in the phonebooks of various mobile handsets is not from any telecom service provider. @airtelindia @vodafoneIN, @RJio @ideacelluar," says COAI in a tweet. Apart from storing the number yourself, there are certain ways a phone number can be stored automatically on your phone. The applications you download ask permission to access your contacts. There's no certainty if in this particular instance an app is to be blamed. UIDAI has made it clear that they haven't asked any network providers or smartphone manufacturers to include the number in the contact list. The statement reads, "UIDAI has not asked or communicated to any manufacturer or service provider for providing any such facility whatsoever." Last month, UIDAI had issued an advisory, asking people to refrain from posting their Aadhaar numbers on the internet or social media sites, and posing challenges to others. Indiscriminate and unwanted publication of any personally sensitive information, whether Aadhaar or any other, may render the person concerned vulnerable and, therefore, should be avoided, cautioned UIDAI. The UIDAI advisory was made two days after TRAI Chairman RS Sharma ignited controversy for posting his Aadhaar number on Twitter as a challenge. Social media exploded today after several Android users discovered that the UIDAI helpline number crept into their contact lists without their knowledge. The Aadhaar-issuing authority sprung into action with a clarification that this apparent intrusion was not their doing. Other govt bodies including COAI and TRAI also washed their hands off the matter. However, by the end of the day, the mystery seems to have been solved. Google explained, later in the day, that it had configured the UIDAI helpline number along with other distress helpline numbers into the Android SetUp Wizard in 2014. This is what caused the contact to appear on Android as well as devices running on other operating systems as it got transferred from one device to another. "Our internal review has revealed that in 2014, the then UIDAI helpline number and the 112 distress helpline number were inadvertently coded into the SetUp wizard of the Android release given to OEMs for use in India and has remained there since," a Google spokesperson said. Also Read: Whodunnit? UIDAI is the friend you never knew you had Since the numbers get listed on a user's contact list, these get transferred accordingly to the contacts on any new device, the statement further stated. It means that the UIDAI helpline number from 2014 was transferred from old Android devices to new Android and iOS devices. This explains why the contact named UIDAI appeared in contact lists of smartphones running both Android and iOS. "We are sorry for any concern that this might have caused, and would like to assure everyone that this is not a situation of an unauthorised access of their Android devices. Users can manually delete the number from their devices," the Google spokesperson assured. Google has assured that the Android SetUp Wizard will be tweaked so that the issue is resolved. The update will be released to smartphone manufacturers in the next few weeks. In its clarification earlier today, UIDAI stated that it had not instructed any phone manufacturer or telecom service provider to include its helpline number in the phonebook. The authority further added that the number mentioned in the contact details was incorrect. A letter by Department of Telecommunications back in August, 2013 during the Manmohan Singh government with Kapil Sibbal as minister had asked telecom operators to map the short code '1947' to UIDAI's toll free helpline number. "Our valid Toll free number is 1947 which is functional for more than the last two years. It is emphasised that the said 18003001947 is not a valid UIDAI Toll free number and some vested interest are trying to create unwarranted confusion in the public," UIDAI said in its statement today. Also Watch: Trump did a great job promoting himself, conservative pundits, and uh the Republican guy who isnt Bob Casey. Photo: MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images On Thursday morning Ivanka Trump took a break from doing whatever she does in the White House to tell Axios that the administration tearing migrant children from their families was a low point for me as well ( though it doesnt appear she did much to stop it). She also inadvertently set off a new skirmish in her fathers war with the media when she laughingly rejected his label for the press. No, I do not, she said, when asks if she feels the media is the enemy of the people. Later White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders gave the answer Trump would have liked to hear when she resisted efforts by CNNs Jim Acosta to make her reject the term enemy of the people. Instead, she accused the press of lowering the level of discourse in the country, and listed all the ways she feels personally wronged by the media. Trump spun his daughters anti-authoritarian flub himself, claiming she was alluding to the small percentage of the media that isnt the enemy of the people. They asked my daughter Ivanka whether or not the media is the enemy of the people. She correctly said no. It is the FAKE NEWS, which is a large percentage of the media, that is the enemy of the people! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 2, 2018 But how can one tell whos FAKE NEWS and who isnt? Trump tried to clarify during a rally on Thursday night in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. Ostensibly, he was there to drum up support for Representative Lou Barletta, whos attempting to unseat Democratic Senator Bob Casey in the fall. But his remarks largely focused on his issues with the Washington press corps. As the audience booed and jeered, breaking into a chant of CNN sucks at times, Trump listed all the ways the press had treated him unfairly. To name just a few, they failed to acknowledge that his meeting with Kim Jong-un put an end to North Koreas nuclear testing (it didnt), or to celebrate his good relationship with Vladimir Putin, though Russia is very unhappy that Trump won (both U.S. intelligence agencies and Putin himself say thats not true). They can make anything bad because they are the fake, fake disgusting news, the president said. While reminiscing about his 2016 victory in PA, Trump mentions the "fake news" media, which prompts the crowd to boo and chant, "CNN sucks! CNN sucks!" pic.twitter.com/ABSvT2u9u5 Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) August 2, 2018 Later, Trump named two conservative pundits who definitely arent enemies of the people in fact, theyre so not fake news that theyve been elevated to the position of unofficial Trump adviser. Senate Republicans have been making moves this week to avoid a government shutdown when funding runs out on September 30, right before the midterms. But Trump has been calling for a shutdown before the election, threatening to use the maneuver to secure funding for his border wall and various other immigration policies (which dont have anything to do with appropriations). Trump told the crowd in Pennsylvania that some of his Republican friends (probably GOP lawmakers) are advising him to save his shutdown for after the midterms but he has the backing of two higher authorities. You know who thinks it should [be] before? Trump said. Rush Limbaugh thinks it should be before. Before the election. You know who else? Sean Hannity. The right-wing media personalities got a huge cheer from the audience, and Trump said theyre great people. If Trump shuts down the government in September because Congress won't fund his border wall it's because Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity told him to do it. This isn't a conspiracy theory. He just said it out loud. pic.twitter.com/CGKzG8bwCP Judd Legum (@JuddLegum) August 2, 2018 We are going to start to get very nasty over the wall, Trump said, briefly bringing things back to the Pennsylvania Senate race. While Senator Bob Casey and the rest of the Democrats might want MS-13 animals in the country, Trump knows better. These are the slicers, they slice people up, he said, acting out a grisly stabbing. Trump lies, claims "we've started the wall," adds, "we are going to start to get very nasty over the wall." Then offers some gore porn about alleged violent MS-13 crime, including mimicking a stabbing. pic.twitter.com/eJflfGJOVN Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) August 2, 2018 Afterward on Fox News, Jeanine Pirro proved shes not fake news by gushing over Trumps performance, which she described as positive and funny. Once a booming segment, the worldwide tablet market continues to decline year after year. For the second quarter of 2018, the global shipments fell to 33 million, resulting in a 13.5 per cent decline, reports IDC in its Worldwide Quarterly Tablet Tracker. Comprising slate tablets and detachables, the former accounted for the majority of the market with 28.4 million units, down 14.5 per cent from the previous year. IDC reports that detachable tablets also declined during the quarter, largely due to the high-profile product launches in the second quarter of 2017 and the absence of timely updates to these products in 2Q18. "The detachable market is at a crucial stage as it has been driven primarily by premium products from Microsoft and Apple and growth has slowed in recent months. Though consumers and businesses alike have shown interest in the detachable form factor, those operating on tighter budgets have had very few options available to them and hence some have opted for traditional PCs. However, with the launch of the Surface Go, Chrome OS-based detachables, and hopefully a more affordable iPad Pro in the future, the detachable category still has a bright future, provided the performance and software lines up with users' expectations," said Jitesh Ubrani, senior research analyst IDC. However, Apple and Huawei are the only two companies that registered growth during this period. With the introduction of the iPad tablet in 2010, Apple popularized tablets as a computing as well as a consumption device. The company's lead continues to be unabated. Apple launched the new iPad for students towards the end of the first quarter, which was combined with improvements to the OS. This seems to be paying off for the company. Apple registered a year-on-year growth of 0.9 per cent with 34.9 per cent market share in 2018, up from 29.9 per cent in 2017. The total shipments for iPads in 2018 accounted for 11.5 million units. Samsung stood in the second spot with 5 million units shipped in the corresponding period. However, Samsung's market share declined to 15.1 per cent from 15.6 per cent last year, witnessing a decline of 16.1 per cent in year-on-year growth. Samsung slate and detachable shipments both declined as Samsung's tablet portfolio continued to age barring a couple of product refreshes in the slate category (Tab A 7.0 and Tab Active 2). Huawei stood at number three, with 3.4 million tablets shipped in the second quarter. The majority of these shipments continue to be in the Asia/Pacific region, excluding Japan, which accounted for nearly 50 per cent of the company's total. Although Huawei's detachable shipments remain limited, they grew more than 200 per cent in the latest quarter. Overall, Huawei's market share grew to 10.3 per cent, from 8.2 per cent during the same period last year. While Lenovo's shipments remained relatively steady at two million units in the second quarter, there was a decline of 8.4 per cent compared to the same period a year ago, as well as a sequential decline from the first quarter of 2018. "The first-generation of Windows 10 on Snapdragon detachables failed to impress as sluggish performance and the limited number of available programs and apps prevented the first few products in the category from achieving mass market success," said Lauren Guenveur, senior research analyst, IDC. "However, with Qualcomm's upcoming Snapdragon 850 processor, specifically designed for Always Connected PCs, as well as new tools from Microsoft to bring 64-bit apps to the Always Connected platform, we believe there is a promising future for this line of products. The purported advantages of the platform, including its cost effectiveness over Intel X86 processors, could do a lot to boost shipments of detachables, particularly in the woefully underserved mid-market segment. This segment remains key to the overall growth of the detachable market, one which Microsoft has only started to address with the release of the Surface Go," adds Guenveur. Ryanair's directly-employed pilots in Ireland will join colleagues in Sweden and Belgium on strike in an escalating day of action on Aug. 10, the fifth one-day walkout in the airline's home market. Ryanair has suffered strikes in some of its other main markets such as Spain and Portugal as it struggles to reach collective labour agreements across Europe, and expects to face action in Germany and the Netherlands as well on Aug. 10. The Irish airline, Europe's largest by passenger numbers, has responded by threatening to move jobs away from any bases affected by the stoppages, beginning with Dublin where it cut its winter fleet by 20 percent and put over 300 employees on preliminary notice. "The airline's escalation of the dispute last Wednesday when it threatened to sack 100 pilots and 200 cabin crew, or transfer them to Poland led to a predictable hardening of resolve among its staff," Ireland's Forsa/IALPA trade union said in a statement. The union said it was willing to explore the option of a third-party facilitating talks but Ryanair said its offer to meet the union one-on-one on Tuesday to try and solve their differences was pointless after another strike was called. "This fifth strike notice by FORSA is irresponsible, unwarranted and is disrupting customers and is a way of damaging Ryanair's business," Ryanair Chief Marketing Officer Kenny Jacobs said in a statement. Around a quarter of Ryanair's 350 pilots based in Ireland have taken part in the series of strikes so far, with the fourth scheduled for Friday. Ryanair cancelled around 20 of Friday's 300 Irish flights as a result, mainly on busy routes to and from Ireland and Britain, and has said impacted passengers have either been put on another flight or refunded. It said on Thursday that it would contact another 3,500 passengers to inform them of 20 further cancellations on Aug. 10. Ryanair, which operates from 86 bases in 37 countries and carried 130 million passengers last year, decided to recognise unions for the first time in its 32-year history last December to avert widespread strikes before Christmas. Its shares fell further on Thursday and were down 3.6 percent at 13.02 euros by 1525 GMT, their lowest level since November 2016 and 8 percent below the level hit in December when Ryanair shocked the markets by recognising unions. (Reuters) Source: www.businessworld.ie Higher ticket prices and lower costs helped Aer Lingus-owner IAG to post a 6% rise in quarterly profit and keep it on track for full-year growth. The company, which also owns the Iberia, Vueling, British Airways and Level airlines, reiterated its outlook that it expected annual operating profit to be higher this year at current fuel prices and exchange rates. IAG continues to want to add new airlines to its portfolio and its chief executive, Willie Walsh, told BBC radio on Friday that IAG remained interested in Norwegian, the struggling low-cost carrier it had approached earlier this year. In April, IAG acquired a 4.6% stake in Norwegian with a view to starting takeover discussions, but Walsh told the BBC that there were no active discussions taking place, adding that Norwegian would be transformed under IAG ownership. For the second quarter, IAG reported operating profit before exceptional items of 835 million euros, slightly behind a consensus forecast of 848 million euros, as disruption caused by French Air Traffic control strikes weighed. Unit revenue performance, which measures pricing, rose 2.9% in the period, helped by strong demand in North America, Europe and Latin America. Both of IAG's major European rivals Air France-KLM and Lufthansa reported positive second quarter results earlier this week, with the German carrier raising its ticket price forecast for the rest of 2018. (Reuters) Source: www.businessworld.ie news, latest-news A local frog watching group is in negotiations with the ACT government over core funding to its programs. ACT and Region Frogwatch lost $80,000 in core funding from the government at the last budget, while receiving funding grants for specialist projects. Coordinator Anke Maria Hoefer said they were grateful for the grants for special projects but core funding was needed to help conduct the annual frog census in the Canberra region. "Even if we don't have funding to run a full census as in the previous years these projects will contribute to our census," Ms Hoefer said. "We normally monitor around 150 sites. This year we may only be able to monitor 80 sites." Frogwatch volunteers have been conducting the census since 2002, providing long term data used by projects including advising the government on local wetlands health or scientific publications on climate change. Ms Hoefer said frogs were "canaries in the coal mine" when it came to environmental change. "If you have long term data, you want to keep that going to catch trends and see what's going on," Ms Hoefer said. The ACT estimates committee has said Frogwatch provides value for money for the ACT government and has warned insufficient funding would lead to the program terminating. The committee recommend the ACT government work with the group to develop sustainable funding options for the program. Canberra's frogs begin mating from late winter into spring and Frogwatch sends out trained volunteers to monitor sites for the amount of frogs croaking and variations in species. Ms Hoefer said frogs go through a total change in lifestyle and habitat between when they are tadpoles and when they are frogs. "They are very susceptible to environmental changes," Ms Hoefer said. Less water means fewer places for tadpoles to live and shorter winters mean less time for frogs to mate. Because frogs have permeable skin, they absorb everything in the water and so their health can indicate the health of the water ways. Ms Hoefer said the endangered Green and Golden Bell Frog, now extinct in the wild in the ACT, was surviving in small areas along the NSW coast and parts of Sydney's Olympic Park. "Whatever is in the environment in the way of chemicals, any pollution, straight away it affects the frog," Ms Hoefer said. Ms Hoefer said core funding allowed her time to collate the data. She said if she could no longer take time to train volunteers and review their data, the volunteers would stop participating in the census. "If I can't manage the surveys they feel like they're not supported," Ms Hoefer said. "It costs my time to manage them and email and keep them updated." Ms Hoefer said with the money for various grants, Frogwatch could run a smaller census but it would be great to have census specific funding in the future. "That is a start and we hope with some other avenues we might be able to to just keep the census to make it bigger, to make the survey count," Ms Hoefer said. /images/transform/v1/crop/frm/silverstone-ct-migration/74ba9bb7-a9ae-4722-9429-602ed6ec11b9/r0_239_4500_2781_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg news, crime A former Canberra builder accused of a $500 million cocaine importation has been ordered to pay the tax office $12.28 million. The Federal Court has also restrained or given permission for the sale of assets linked to Tristan Waters, his wife Sian, and associated companies. The freeze order covered 13 properties including 11 in Canberra - and 35 bank accounts associated with Mr Waters. Mr Waters is currently locked up in a Serbian jail for his alleged involvement in a 1280 kilogram cocaine importation, which police estimated to be worth $500 million. Mr Waters - along with Canberra businessmen Rohan Arnold and David Campbell - allegedly had a bag containing a gun and $1 million in cash when they were dramatically arrested by Serbian authorities at a Belgrade hotel in January. Police discovered 2576 individual blocks of the drug secreted inside pre-fabricated, hollow steel on a Chinese container boat in Sydney last April. Mr Arnold and Mr Campbell have been extradited to Australia and are both currently locked up in NSW. In March, the Australian Tax Office filed a Federal Court lawsuit to recover tax related debts owed from the Mr Waters, Ms Waters, Fit Republic Clothing Pty Ltd, Triswat Constructions Pty Ltd, and Triswat Developments Pty Ltd. The case related to income tax, administrative penalties, accrued interest, and a running balance account deficit debt going back as far as the 2009-10 financial year. The ATO also sought declarations that Ms Waters had an interest in two Griffith properties owned by Barrallier Street Holdings and Landsborough Street Developments. Last month, Justice Nye Perram ordered the tax office receive a total of $12,283,883 from the respondents. Mr Waters was ordered to pay the majority at $4.07 million, while Ms Waters was found to owe $2.97 million. Judgement was also made against Fit Republic Clothing ($1.76 million), Triswat Constructions ($2.77 million), and Triswat Developments. ($702,469). However, Justice Perram ordered the judgement against Ms Waters be stayed. The judge has also given permission for 11 Canberra properties located in Lawson, Moncrieff, and Griffith - which had previously been frozen, to be sold, in consultation between the mortgagee and the tax office. A Vaucluse property owned by Mr Waters was sold last month for $3,025,000, with permission from the NSW Supreme Court. The matter has been listed for case management and will return to court next week. Meanwhile, Mr Arnold and Mr Waters are also under the spotlight for their alleged links to the Plutus tax fraud. The liquidator of Hartford Investments, Richard Albarran of Hall Chadwick, has summoned more than a dozen people for a Federal Court examination next month to explain "uncommercial transactions" - including more than $11 million that exited an investment firm linked to the Plutus case - made efore it was wound up in 2016. Prominent Canberrans including nightclub boss Maurizio Rao and lawyer Ben Aulich, who was not involved in the scheme but acts for Mr Arnold - have also been called by the liquidator. Five Plutus payroll companies are facing orders to produce evidence as well as firms linked to Waters family, such as Kismets and Spartan Constructions. A four-day examination will be held in NSW later this month. CLARIFICATION: An earlier version of this story said Ben Aulich would be grilled over the transactions. This was incorrect. As Rohan Arnold's lawyer, Mr Aulich has been called to be questioned over his clients alleged involvement. /images/transform/v1/crop/frm/silverstone-ct-migration/c5c6dcdc-53e3-4836-8b52-7d4eab1e5847/r5_0_1917_1080_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg news, latest-news It's hard to believe Bison, that much-loved line of ceramics that was born from the imagination of Brian Tunks and fired first in the kilns of Pialligo, is celebrating its 21st birthday this year. Not least because Tunks seems not to have aged a day. Still, it is the big 21 and Tunks is celebrating the best way he knows how - by continuing to innovate and explore. On Friday, he is launching the new Brian Tunks glass collection at the Bison stores in Pialligo and Braddon. The glorious, jewel-toned vases, bowls and vessels are all hand-finished and unique. Tunks, who founded Bison ceramics in 1997, has over the last 21 years pushed the business from a "purely ceramic company to bisonhome, a lifestyle range with ceramics at its heart''. "We produced in the kilns in Pialligo for 16 plus years. The past five years, I have been working with studios overseas to produce a much larger and diverse collection,'' he said. The glass collection is the latest example of that evolution, started more than three years ago but launched this week for the first time under the Brian Tunks name. He is bringing his designs to life with the help of a company that has also worked with Fendi and Armani that is actually blowing and cutting the glass. "They wanted to work with me which is really flattering,'' he said. "This work is just going to building into bigger installation pieces for public spaces.'' So watch this space. Brian on Friday will be between the Bison stories in Beltana Road, Pialligo and Lonsdale Street, Braddon to launch the glass collection and answer customers' questions on design and colour. /images/transform/v1/crop/frm/silverstone-ct-migration/a228187c-2323-4def-bb20-a466e46a49f4/r0_698_1000_1263_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg The OECD Observer online archive takes you on a journey through half a century of public policy and world progress. Since November 1962, the OECDs experts and leading guests offer insights on the questions facing our member countries with concise and authoritative analysis, and provide our audiences with an excellent opportunity to understand policy debates and consider solutions. Each edition of the OECD Observer reports on a core theme of the OECDs on-going work, from economics and society through governance, finance, and the environment, and articles are bolstered by tables and graphs. news, latest-news Drought-stricken farmers struggling to keep their livestock alive face the possibility of a hay shortage, as the increased demand outweighs supply. In NSW, the ACT and parts of Queensland, farmers are sourcing their hay interstate as the extreme dry conditions continue. In NSW alone, about 99 per cent of farmers are dealing with drought conditions. NSW received just half its typical rain in the first half of 2018, making it the driest start to any year since 1986. It was also the state's hottest on record for the period for daytime temperatures. Australian Fodder Industry Association chief executive John McKew said hay and fodder products were becoming increasingly more difficult to source. "There has been exceedingly strong demand for four or five months leading out of autumn and a lack of a reasonable autumn break for many livestock producer so feed on farm have not been available because we havent had any rain leading into winter," Mr McKew said. "Were finding that hay stock right around the country at the moment are getting very light at the moment and that situation isnt going to improve any time soon." He said the increased demand was to the point that over the last few months, the oversupply of hay from the last two seasons had been "cleared out". Farmers, like Mark Horan from Braidwood, are driving to Murra Warra in Victoria, 900 kilometre away to get hay. Mr Horan has made the trip 18 times. "There is certainly hay around but some producers are holding onto their stock to feed their own livestock or they have contracts to supply to particular customers," he said. "We are seeing a lot of hay being transported around the country." Mr McKew said some hay producers were operating 24/7 to deliver their supply to NSW and Queensland. He said the association had turned its attention to getting the stock back up, but says it would take a little while. "There's already crops growing at the moment but some of the crops are behind where they should be at this time of year and thats a result of the rain," he said. "Im not expecting the forthcoming hay production to be particularly strong unless theres a turn around in weather conditions." /images/transform/v1/crop/frm/silverstone-ct-migration/e40b15c7-1517-4b7f-95d5-885d056cbb37/r0_229_3540_2229_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg comment, editorial For all the spin and posturing that has surrounded Australia's debate over federal government jobs moving to the regions, it can be refreshing instead to look at the cold numbers. Whatever governments, oppositions, regional councils, business chambers and states say, statistics can provide clarity that's easily lost in the fog of public campaigns for and against decentralisation. Of course, anyone can put a spin on numbers. It's just harder to do when they're presented in full. The picture painted by the Australian Public Service Commission's data showing where the nation's public servants are located tells us much that's been overlooked. The Coalition government has presided over growth in inner-city public service job numbers while those in outer suburbs and most of the bush have languished. Regional towns may have grown their share of federal bureaucracy employment since the change of government, as it has done since 2002, when the data begins. But despite the bombast from the Nationals about growing the bush's proportion of government jobs, the numbers alone show there are fewer federal public servants in most regions than before 2013. If it weren't for job losses in the outer suburbs - Sydney's west and throughout Melbourne and Brisbane - the regions' share of Australian Public Service employment may have fallen too. It didn't, and the regions could thank the Coalition for wielding the axe more evenly than that, if they wanted. That would ignore the significant government job gains that inner Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane have made. The Nationals speak of decongesting the cities and sending public service jobs where they're needed, in ailing regional economies. Instead, since 2013, the busiest parts of Australia welcomed more federal bureaucrats. While regions aren't the only areas that have lost public service jobs - Canberra was the worst hit - the movement of public service jobs into the inner districts of the eastern seaboard's three largest cities contradicts the Coalition's decentralisation message. The Nationals have made hay out of the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority's move bringing jobs to Armidale, but for all the pain involved, the town will gain 140 jobs while regions elsewhere have lost many more. As academics point out, this isn't only a question of numbers, and the discussion shouldn't be about moving jobs for the sake of boosting regional employment alone. The number of government jobs, within financial limits, should be tailored to the role agencies are meant to play and the tasks the public wants them to have. Where jobs are located depends also on where the government's clients are, when it comes to service delivery. For policy, public servants are best off working near their ministers. Unfortunately, the Nationals' former leader Barnaby Joyce tended to cast decentralisation in combative terms, as a project mainly to create regional jobs at the expense of Canberra, no doubt shoring up the party's appeal among its actual and potential voters in the weatherboard and iron. For the ACT particularly, it looked a threatening zero-sum project where the regions' gain became the national capital's loss. Decentralisation didn't have to begin on such terms. The Nationals have softened the rhetoric since, and have vowed a methodical approach. If the party is real about helping country towns, the Coalition should locate jobs in regions when it's sensible to have them there, rather than cloud airwaves with empty bombast and loud anti-Canberra decentralisation campaigns. /images/transform/v1/crop/frm/silverstone-ct-migration/ec569c8f-0320-4174-b883-99174dc7a9ef/r0_46_900_554_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg news, latest-news The ACT's planning authority will demand the Tradies Club replace all 154 public carparks currently available on the carpark outside the club, planning has confirmed. The authority said it would require all the public carparks to be replaced, despite the Tradies Club offering to replace only 84 of the carparks as part of the controversial Dickson land swap deal. The deal involved the government buying two other blocks from the club, with the club to buy the carpark, in an arrangement the Auditor-General found gave the club up to $2.65 million in concessions. Both the club chief executive, Rob Docker, and a key government negotiator in the early months of the talks, Greg Ellis, have rejected the audit office's findings, each claiming the club got the poorer end of the deal. The deal is one of three property or business deals by the former Land Development Agency that were subject to an audit investigation and are now being examined in three separate ACT Legislative Assembly committee inquiries. When the former Economic Development directorate put out a request for a tender to buy the government-owned carpark, it had assumed only 139 of the 154 carparks would be replaced by the successful tenderer, despite key planning policies demanding all 154 spaces be retained. But an audit into the land swap deal found the directorate also later advised tenderers that a minimum of 84 spaces had to be supplied in any proposed redevelopment of the site. The club, which won the tender, tendered only to replace 84 of the total spaces currently on the block, while Woolworths' subsidiary Fabcot tendered on the basis it would replace 100 spaces. However, the audit found that when a final deal was reached between the former Land Development Agency and the club, the agency had agreed to a club request that only 84 spaces would need to be replaced. A valuation of the deal to replace only 84 spaces, completed by Capital Valuers for the audit office's investigation, found the concession to the club to only replace 84 of the 154 spaces was worth as much as $1.57 million to the club, given 70 spaces would not be replaced. That put into doubt whether or not the entire 154 public spaces would actually be returned, when the club eventually applies to redevelop the carpark on Block 30, Section 34 Dickson - after settlement on the block, which cannot be settled until another carpark at Block 21, Section 30, is completed. If the authority does end up demanding all 154 carparks, the club may end up more than $1.57 million worse off than the Capital Valuers estimate, which was based on the provision of 84 spaces compared to the 139 in teh tender. A spokeswoman for the planning authority has now confirmed it will require all 154 public spaces to be retained should the carpark be redeveloped, though additional carparks would depend on the type of development and proposed use of the land. The club also succeeded in getting a further concession in the deal not to have to provide a pedestrian easement. Despite the provision of all public carparks being a condition in the Dickson master plan, the audit office remained unconvinced all the spaces would ultimately be provided, given the deal reached, with the audit report labelling that issue uncertain. But the authority has also confirmed the club would need to provide a road cutting through Section 34 as proposed by the Dickson master plan, if redevelopment required a subdivision in the section, or exceeded three storeys in height. The club did not respond to a request for comment on the matter. Clarification: This article previously reported Mr Ellis believed the club got the better of the deal. That was incorrect, as Mr Ellis believes the government got the better deal. /images/transform/v1/crop/frm/silverstone-ct-migration/3525b8f7-543f-41ad-a01d-1134ef14a06c/r3_0_1178_664_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg news, latest-news Police believe a leaking gas canister caused an explosion in a south Canberra primary school car park, killing a father described as a "down-to-earth, good bloke". A 51-year-old man died in Canberra Hospital after being injured by the explosion, which happened in a white ute at St Clare of Assisi Primary School in Conder on Thursday afternoon. ACT Policing said the incident was not being treated as suspicious. School principal Matthew Egan-Richards said the man had just arrived to pick up his child from an after-school care program when the explosion happened about 4.55pm. He described the man, whose name has not been released, as an active and well-liked member of the local and school communities. "He was a down-to-earth, good bloke [from a] lovely family [who are] very supportive of the school and very involved in their community," Mr Egan-Richards said. "I have had contact with the family, and of course, its tough. Its very, very tough. "... [It has been] a tremendous shock and heartache for them." A visibly shattered Mr Egan-Richards addressed the media on Friday morning after just a few hours' sleep, saying that staff were spending the day arranging support for children and their families. He said counsellors would be at the school when it reopened on Monday to talk to the children, parents and staff who have been devastated by the incident. Mr Egan-Richards said children were at the after-school program when the explosion happened, but he did not believe any children had witnessed it. "I felt sick. It's horrible," Mr Egan-Richards said when asked how he had reacted to news of the man's death. "Its a very close and tight-knit community in the Lanyon Valley, and they will pull together and support each other. "We will work together and look at what we need to do to provide any support thats required." Mr Egan-Richards said he did not want to say how many children the man had at the school, in order to protect the privacy of his family. WorkSafe ACT confirmed it was also investigating the blast as the car involved was a work vechicle but could not yet comment on the nature of the incident or the canister involved. Crews had worked overnight at the scene alongside police, a spokeswoman said. "Our thoughts are with the friends, family and colleagues impacted by the death last night," she said. The school community rallied quickly after the explosion, with messages of support pouring in online and some families visiting the school on Friday morning. Shortly before 9am, a family with two young children left a floral tribute and a folded note at the school gates, minutes before two car loads of detectives arrived. Four teachers stood outside the school at drop-off time to inform parents who were not aware of the incident that the school was closed on Friday. Dozens of uniformed and forensics officers spent Thursday night and early Friday morning gathering evidence and guarding the car park, which was cordoned off. The white ute remained visible in the car park on Friday morning as investigators examined the scene. There were no scorch marks or other visible signs of fire, but the blast had left part of the right-hand side of the ute hanging off. ACT Policing said it would prepare a report for the coroner with help from WorkSafe ACT. Anyone with information on the explosion is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000, or via the Crime Stoppers ACT website. Information can be provided anonymously, quoting reference number P1674490. /images/transform/v1/crop/frm/silverstone-ct-migration/ce785c92-5a2b-4cb6-aad1-bcae6de4c9de/r0_215_4256_2620_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg news, latest-news In 1938 appeasement was not a dirty word. It was regarded as a legitimate response to Adolf Hitlers increasingly menacing actions towards his neighbours. Today one could ask whether liberal democracies are similarly appeasing authoritarian regimes. The situations are different, but there are similarities. It would be folly to suggest a pre-emptive war against any one or all of the authoritarian regimes around the world. But a little bit of deterrence would not go amiss. Just as it would have perhaps prevented World War II or at least reduced its duration and cost, some deterrence now might stop the receding tide of democracy and the rise of autocracy around the world. If the Allies had threatened military action against Germany as Hitler moved to remilitarise the Rhineland, occupy the Sudetenland part of Czechoslovakia and occupy the rest of the Czech part of Czechoslovakia, he would not have been encouraged in each military action culminating in his invasion of Poland. These days we (the liberal democracies) have allowed China to build islands on reefs in the South China Sea and to put airfields and other military infrastructure on them. We have allowed Russia to interfere first in the Brexit referendum and then in the US election in a way that probably determined the results. We have stood by while Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has unleased extra-judicial murders of alleged drug dealers. We have done nothing while in Cambodia Hun Sen crushed opposition to in effect become dictator. Similar events are happening or have happened in Turkey and Poland and a raft of other countries and the liberal democracies do virtually nothing like British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain in 1937 and 1938. Russia now seems to have got away with the murder of defectors, dissidents and journalists; the annexation of Crimea and the arming of Russian rebels in Ukraine that resulted in the shooting down of Malaysian Airlines flight MH17. We thought that after the coming down of the Berlin Wall in 1989 that democracy was on the march. Briefly it was, but now a new form of government is emerging: elected autocracy. And the liberal democracies are appeasing it wherever it appears. Yes, we self-righteously plead for a return to the rules-based order, but the implication is that that order has in fact already broken down. Hugh White, Professor of Strategic Studies at the Australian National University, has quite sensibly pointed out that a whole lot of hand-wringing about returning to a rules-based order is all very well, but if China does not want to do that, what can we, in Australia and other liberal democracies, do? He suggests not very much. But not doing anything (or not very much) is appeasement, and appeasement leads to ever-bolder challenges to the rules-based system. The liberal democracies are naive, in denial, or clueless if they imagine that the new elected autocracies and China care about the rules-based order. They are only interested in what they can get away with. That said, it would be unwise for the liberal democracies to treat whole nations and their people as the rule breakers. The people of Germany did not want war in 1938 or 1939 and opinion polls, rudimentary as they were at the time, showed it. The allies should have looked at the question not as How do we deal with Germany? but How do we deal with Hitler? So, too, now. Liberal democracies have to target the autocrats, not the autocracies. The autocrats rise is similar everywhere removing or emasculating every possible restraint on power: the media; opposition parties; constitutional impediments like term limits; representative assemblies; organisations in civil society; the rule of law and the judiciary and final any individual suspected of dissent. They then manipulate the media (especially social media these days) to propagandise in their favour and surround themselves with cronies who they enrich. And they invariably play the race card. They exploit the human fear of outsiders the genetically evolved us-and-them response that helped humans survive as a species in the wild. As an example, China only began its antics in the South China Sea and the Belt and Road project as Xi Jinping came to power sweeping away much internal opposition and removing the two-term limit. And note the Chinese treatment of the Tibetans and Uighurs. Vladimir Putin similarly got around the term limit; took hostile media into state control and intimidated or ordered the killing of journalists and dissidents. And note his appeal to a white Christian audience. And in Cambodia Hun Sen recently banned the main Opposition party and won a rigged election. Liberal democracies should target these individuals to a greater extent than is happening now. Sanctions, asset freezes, and statements of condemnation are just a start. More importantly, the range of charges returnable at the International Criminal Court in The Hague should be widened, as should its jurisdiction. The US, still a liberal democracy despite the best efforts of its current president, should join that process. Indictments against autocrats who are making their peoples lives a misery should make their liberty so precarious that becomes impossible for them to travel outside their own country. The liberal democracies are too soft. It is bizarre that the mass murdering Kim Jong-un was allowed to go to Singapore. Hun Sen when visiting Australia threatened violence again his opponents. He should have been charged and arrested. As soon as any of these autocrats hit international airspace they should be taken to The Hague. So, talk about not appeasing dictators is not a call for war against the countries they misrule, but against them personally. The way not to do it is the way the US dealt with the dictator Saddam Hussein invade the country causing the death and impoverishment of millions of innocents while many in the autocrats leadership cohort escape. Hugh White is correct to ask what can be done about the challenge to the rules-based system. The answer is to take action against the individuals who are breaking the rules. So any of the autocrats ruling China, Russia, Turkey, Cambodia, Venezuela and so on who dare leave the country they rule should expect not to be feted and lauded at summits and conferences, but to never be allowed to go home. /images/transform/v1/crop/frm/silverstone-ct-migration/06860375-de1b-454c-a032-b654ff86277f/r0_32_2000_1162_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg news, latest-news ACT Planning Minister Mick Gentleman's latest overseas study trip with Chief Planner Ben Ponton, to four United States cities, cost taxpayers $56,344, the third such overseas jaunt the minister has taken in as many years. Mr Gentleman this week tabled a report on the two-week-long April trip, which showed some of the key things the minister learnt included that "economic diversification is key to the long-term sustainability of a city". Taken together, the three trips Mr Gentleman and Mr Ponton have taken overseas in the past three years, with ministerial staff, to the US, Europe and back to the US this year, to learn about light rail and planning issues have cost ACT taxpayers a total of $191,882. The minister, Mr Ponton and Mr Gentleman's chief of staff Daniel Landon were the only ACT delegates on the trip, travelling to Detroit, Michigan; Savannah, Georgia; New Orleans, Louisiana and San Francisco, California and attending the American Planning Association's national congress in New Orleans. Flights for the trio for the round trip from Canberra cost $31,150, with $11,097 spent on accommodation at several top-tier hotels: the Atheneum Suite Hotel in Detroit, the Villa Florence in central San Francisco, the Hotel Indigo in Savannah and the Downtown Marriott in New Orleans. Mr Gentleman and Mr Landon each spent $4,969 and $4,067 in travel allowance during the trip - including meals - and $191 and $50 respectively on taxis, while Mr Ponton did not receive a travel allowance, but charged $927 worth of taxis to taxpayers. The trio spent $3883 on tickets to attend the planning conference in New Orleans, where they attended several seminars on topics ranging from affordable housing to public participation in planning and zoning made simple. "This included attending the congress in New Orleans over four days and learning from a range of city officials, politicians, planning and allied professionals about how they are addressing a variety of planning, housing and city growth challenges; many of the same challenges that we are facing here in Canberra," Mr Gentleman told the Assembly. "I find it extremely valuable to talk to others and share experiences, so that we can provide for the best possible outcomes for the people of Canberra." The delegation also met with a company called X, formerly Google X, in San Francisco, which runs Project Wing, a project currently running a drone trial in Canberra, among its meetings with various local council officials in each city. A report on the trip tabled in the Legislative Assembly said the delegation had learned five key things from the jaunt, including that "economic diversification is key to the long term sustainability of a city" and that "planning decisions can have ramifications for generations". Mr Gentleman's spokesman said that report was "an effort to summarise a lot of information across a very full itinerary into an easily digestible format". He said continuing learning was at the heart of the planning profession and such delegations were of great value to ACT taxpayers in forming networks to share ideas with cities dealing with similar challenges to Canberra. /images/transform/v1/crop/frm/silverstone-ct-migration/37e947bb-4e7e-4455-a7cc-aeeadcd37520/r0_246_4500_2788_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg news, latest-news A shift will take place inside the public service commission's Treasury building office when Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull's outgoing chief of staff, Peter Woolcott, takes residence next week. The new occupant of the public service commissioner's chair will be a near-lifelong federal public servant with a career spanning diplomacy, the private sector and law. He'll be from a family long part of the Australian Public Service and familiar with its traditions. Mr Turnbull's appointee to the role is also a Canberran. On August 9 he will start one of the federal bureaucracy's highest paid jobs - earning $706,000 a year - overseeing its workforce of 152,000 public servants as the Coalition government conducts a review of government administration that could bring its largest overhaul in four decades. As a chief of staff to then-foreign minister Alexander Downer between 2002 and 2004, and a staffer to former Liberal opposition leader Andrew Peacock from 1984 to 1986, his career has tended towards time in Coalition rather than Labor political offices. Despite the pattern, former bosses in the Foreign Affairs department, and Mr Downer, say he is not a political animal and predict he will respect the non-partisan nature of his new job in the public service commission. Both Labor and Coalition governments have sent Mr Woolcott, from one of Australia's most distinguished diplomatic families, to some of their most sensitive and complex international negotiations. Former high-ranking diplomat John McCarthy, who Mr Woolcott worked for, said the incoming commissioner was adaptable. "He's a pragmatic, can-do sort of guy, who takes care of issues," he said. The description is supported by a CV that includes four years in law, stints in Liberal MP offices, and between 1989-1990, time as an international advisor for Alan Bond's company. Mr Woolcott has the praise of former department heads, top diplomats and ministers alike as he begins his tenure at the Australian Public Service Commission. Cool-headed and unexcitable under pressure, he's cast by his former bosses as a problem-solver with a good policy mind. Former secretary of the Foreign Affairs and Defence departments, Dennis Richardson, worked with Mr Woolcott while he was a diplomat and remembers him as someone staying on the front foot. "He doesn't necessarily sit back in his crease and wait for the ball to come to him," Mr Richardson said. "He does come down the pitch and that's a good thing, not a bad thing." The main public sector union noted Mr Woolcott's appointment with cautious welcome. Mr Richardson was not surprised, saying the former diplomat would not enter his role seeing the Community and Public Sector Union automatically as an enemy. Mr Woolcott begins the job at the dying ebb of the last, bruising round of enterprise agreement negotiations that left public servants without pay rises for several years and, for the Home Affairs Department, went to the industrial umpire following strikes. The next round of bargaining has already started for some agencies, but the workplace policy blamed for the turmoil remains largely unchanged. Mr Turnbull called the diplomat home from a posting as high commissioner to New Zealand in July last year as the prime minister's former chief of staff Greg Moriarty left to lead the Defence department, following Mr Richardson's 2017 retirement. Across the Tasman, Mr Woolcott spent nearly two years as Australia's top diplomat. It wasn't without trials. He was high commissioner to New Zealand last year when Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern called him in to explain comments from Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop about NZ Labor MPs' role in the dual citizenship saga. He had long mastered bilateral diplomacy, even before he was called from his posting as ambassador to Italy to make way for former Coalition minister Amanda Vanstone in 2007. His work in multilateral forums is held up as his most highly regarded achievement in foreign affairs. Mr McCarthy says his role in the 2015 Paris climate treaty talks, and in disarmament, were some of his major contributions. His role at the climate summit earned him appearances in environmental documentary Guardians of the Earth, which covered the monumental international task of orchestrating a deal. Australia's delegation - in which Mr Woolcott was instrumental - in the lead-up drew criticism from French and German officials for what they regarded as the Abbott government's miserly approach towards preparations for Paris. The Germans found Australia a reticent and even obstructive participant as officials met in Bonn to negotiate a text for the conference, and claimed Mr Woolcott had appeared to be on a tight leash in what he could contribute. Mr Woolcott, leading the team that did the negotiating on the conference floor, publicly advocated higher ambitions in detailing Australian priorities for a Paris deal. He said Australia wanted to see all countries, especially major economies, sign-up to robust emissions reduction efforts, building in transparency and accountability to track progress and setting up a durable process to build action towards keeping global warming below two degrees. The real danger was not whether a new global climate agreement would emerge from Paris, but whether it would be minimal, he warned. "If this is the outcome, then much of what Australia wants, and I think what we need as a globe ... may be lost," Mr Woolcott said. His other major multilateral achievement, developing the 2013 United Nations Arms Trade Treaty monitoring trade in conventional weapons, was rewarded last year with an appointment as an Officer of the Order of Australia. As chairman of the negotiations to achieve the treaty, he presided over talks as Australia ratified the global agreement it helped draft to stop the proliferation of weapons across the globe, an issue Ms Bishop made the centrepiece of her UN Security Council presidency. The Rudd government had earlier thrust Mr Woolcott into the national spotlight putting him to work in 2009 imposing greater rigour on the Immigration Department's refugee selection process, considered by many in Foreign Affairs to be a major pull factor for asylum seekers. As the first full-time ambassador for people-smuggling issues, he was part of discussions with Indonesia about how the two countries could deal with growing asylum-seeker arrivals, and avoid repeats of the Oceanic Viking and Merak stand-offs. Hundreds of asylum seekers had been detained in Indonesia en route to Australia. Mr Woolcott, still running the prime minister's office before moving further north up the parliamentary triangle, was unavailable for interview this week. Mr Richardson said the new public service commissioner saw working in the federal bureaucracy as a career. Mr Woolcott, the son of highly-regarded diplomat and former Foreign Affairs department secretary Richard Woolcott, for long didn't stray too far from its orbit. Even as chief of staff to Mr Downer, he was on secondment from Foreign Affairs. The former senior Howard government minister said his role was to help the office maintain smooth relations with the department. In returning to the federal bureaucracy as public service commissioner, he becomes, at least in recent years, one of only two children of departmental heads to grow up and become agency leaders themselves. The other is Jane Halton, former secretary of the Finance and Health departments and daughter of Charles Halton, who led the Department of Transport. The public service, facing a potential reform agenda and coming out of industrial tumult, is unlikely to give Mr Woolcott any rest. But it's possible that under him, the upcoming round of bargaining and change will be, in some way, calm. Mr Downer said his former chief of staff was methodical, sensible and undramatic. When asked if he could remember a difficult situation Mr Woolcott had to resolve, nothing came to mind. "I suppose that says it all," he said. /images/transform/v1/crop/frm/silverstone-ct-migration/6d49d12a-5dbb-45c5-9802-8ed55e018e78/r0_251_4000_2511_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg Published On Aug 03, 2018 08:00 PM By Saransh for Honda Amaze 2016-2021 The price hike, which is a result of an increase in input costs, was announced in July 2018 Honda launched the 2018 Amaze in May this year at an introductory price of Rs 5.59 lakh (ex-showroom India) for the base E MT (petrol) variant. Since then, the sub-4m sedan has been the best-selling model for the carmaker, registering an average monthly sales of about 10,000 units. So far, Honda has managed to dispatch nearly 30,000 units (as on 1 August, 2018). With the introductory period coming to an end, Honda has now increased prices of the 2018 Amaze by upto Rs 20,000. Heres a comparison of the new and old prices of the Amaze (Prices ex-showroom Delhi): Amaze Petrol Old New Difference E MT Petrol Rs 5.60 lakh Rs 5.80 lakh +Rs 20,000 S MT Petrol Rs 6.50 lakh Rs 6.60 lakh +Rs 10,000 V MT Petrol Rs 7.10 lakh Rs 7.20 lakh +Rs 10,000 VX MT Petrol Rs 7.58 lakh Rs 7.68 lakh +Rs 10,000 S CVT Petrol Rs 7.40 lakh Rs 7.50 lakh +Rs 10,000 V CVT Petrol Rs 8.00 lakh Rs 8.10 lakh +Rs 10,000 Amaze Diesel Old New Difference E MT Diesel Rs 6.70 lakh Rs 6.90 lakh +Rs 20,000 S MT Diesel Rs 7.60 lakh Rs 7.70 lakh +Rs 10,000 V MT Diesel Rs 8.20 lakh Rs 8.30 lakh +Rs 10,000 VX MT Diesel Rs 8.68 lakh Rs 8.78 lakh +Rs 10,000 S CVT Diesel Rs 8.40 lakh Rs 8.50 lakh +Rs 10,000 V CVT Diesel Rs 9.00 lakh Rs 9.10 lakh +Rs 10,000 With the price hike, the base variants of Amaze have become even more expensive than those of its arch-rival, the Maruti Suzuki Dzire. While prices of the petrol-powered Dzire start from Rs 5.56 lakh (Rs 24,000 less than Amaze), its diesel range is priced from Rs 6.56 lakh (Rs 34,000 less than Amaze) onwards. Along with the Amaze, Honda has also increased prices of its other models. This hike, which was announced in July 2018, is due to the increase in input costs. Heres a look at the revised prices of Hondas other models: Honda City Petrol (Rs 8.77 lakh to Rs 13.80 lakh) Prices of the S MT, VX MT, V CVT, VX CVT and ZX CVT Anniversary edition variants have gone up by Rs 6,000. Prices of the ZX CVT and V MT have gone up by Rs 5,000 and Rs 25,000, respectively. Honda City Diesel (Rs 11.10 lakh to Rs 13.92 lakh) The ZX MT Anniversary variant is now dearer by Rs 10,000, while the rest of the variants get a hike of Rs 11,000. Honda WR-V Petrol (Rs 7.79 lakh to Rs 9.11 lakh) Top-spec VX MT variant now costs Rs 11,000 more. Other variants get a marginal hike of Rs 1,000. Honda WR-V Diesel (Rs 8.87 lakh to Rs 9.99 lakh) Price of the top-spec VX MT variant has remained unchanged at Rs 9.99 lakh, while the other two variants have seen a hike of Rs 6,000. Honda BR-V Petrol (Rs 9.45 lakh to Rs 12.77 lakh ) Price of the E variant has gone up by Rs 23,000. Price of the S variant has gone up by Rs 28,000 Price of the V variant has gone up by Rs 19,000 Price of the VX variant has gone up by Rs 20,000 Price of the V CVT variant has gone up by Rs 29,000 Honda BR-V Diesel (Rs 11.79 lakh to Rs 13.74 lakh) Price of the S and V variants have gone up by Rs 30,000, while the VX variant has seen a hike of Rs 35,000. Honda Brio (Rs 4.73 lakh to Rs 6.81 lakh), 2018 Jazz (Rs 7.35 lakh to Rs 9.29 lakh) and CR-V (Rs 24.39 lakh to Rs 26.68 lakh) - No change in prices *All prices mentioned in this article are ex-showroom Delhi, unless stated otherwise Also Read: Honda Brio Old Vs New: Major Differences Read More on : Amaze diesel Our Promise: Welcome to Care2, the world's largest community for good. Here, you'll find over 45 million like-minded people working towards progress, kindness, and lasting impact. Care2 Stands Against: bigots, racists, bullies, science deniers, misogynists, gun lobbyists, xenophobes, the willfully ignorant, animal abusers, frackers, and other mean people. If you find yourself aligning with any of those folks, you can move along, nothing to see here. Care2 Stands With: humanitarians, animal lovers, feminists, rabble-rousers, nature-buffs, creatives, the naturally curious, and people who really love to do the right thing. You are our people. You Care. We Care2. India Post for the Tamil Nadu Circle, Chennai has released an employment notification calling out aspirants to apply for the post of Multitasking Staff. Those interested can check out the eligibility, salary scale, how to apply and the complete details of the government job here. Selected candidates can earn up to industry standards. The last date to apply for the government job is Aug 20, 2018. CRPF Recruitment 2018 For 139 Constables India Post Recruitment 2018 Vacancy Details CRITERIA DETAILS Name Of The Posts Multitasking Staff Organisation India Post, Tamil Nadu Circle Educational Qualification Not given Experience Freshers can apply Skills Required Physical fitness Job Location Tamil Nadu Circle Salary Scale Not specified Industry Postal Application Start Date August 3, 2018 Application End Date August 20, 2018 Age Limit 18 to 30 years Selection Process Written test Total Marks 100 Also Read: RITES Recruitment 2018 For Engineers How To Apply For India Post Recruitment 2018 In order to apply for India Post Recruitment 2018, follow these steps: Step 1: Log on to the Tamil Nadu Postal Circle, India Post official website. Step 2: Click on the link that reads, Click here to download Notification of MTS Competitive Examination restricted to GDS for joining Non-APS and APS for the year 2017-18 to be held on 16.09.2018. Step 3: The list of relevant links will be displayed on the screen. Click on the link for application form. Step 4: The application form will be displayed on the screen. Save it to your computer and take a printout of it. Step 5: Send the appications to Tamil Nadu postal circle. India Post Recruitment 2018 Application Format And Mailing Address Superscribe on the envelope, "Application for the post of MTS" and send it to the Chief Post Master in the nearest zonal office. Click here to read the detailed official notification. Photo: BC Parks Elk Falls Suspension Bridge. A rescue is being performed near Elk Falls Suspension Bridge after a person fell into the water. CTV News is reporting that the RCMP are responding with all their resources for the unfolding situation. According to BC Hydro Stephen Watson, police have requested that they reduce the water from the John Hart dam down Elk Fall Canyon. We are in the process of doing so, he said. This is to assist in their efforts at that site. It is not clear the age or gender of the individual who fell into the water. - with files from CTV Vancouver Island Photo: Google Street View UPDATE: Friday 11:20 a.m. Vancouver Police have identified the victim of the citys 13th homicide this year. The body found inside the Regal Hotel on Granville Street Thursday was that of Chelsea Lynn De Forge, 31, of Vancouver. ORIGINAL: Thursday 11 a.m. A woman's body was discovered in a downtown Vancouver apartment on Wednesday. The VPDs Major Crime Section is investigating the discovery, which police are calling a homicide, at the Regal Hotel on Granville Street. A strong odour on the second floor led officers to the deceased 31-year-old woman about 4:30 a.m. The victims name has not been released, and her death is the citys 13th homicide of 2018. No arrests have been made, but detectives do not believe it was a random event and say there is no risk to the public. Anyone with information is asked to call 604-717-2500 or CrimeStoppers at 1-800-222-8477. Photo: BC Wildfire Service The wildfire burning near Merritt is an estimated three hectares in size. UPDATE: 7:55 p.m. Highway 8, west of Merritt, has been reopened to single-lane, alternating traffic, after the road was closed earlier in the evening due to a wildfire burning in the hills above the road. BC Wildfire Service firefighters, air tankers and helicopters are assisting the Merritt Fire Rescue Department in fighting the blaze. UPDATE: 6:50 p.m. The wildfire burning near Merritt Thursday night appears to be burning close to the city and Highway 8. According to the BC Wildfire Service, the wildfire is burning just west of Merritt, in the hills above Highway 8. The fire has closed the highway west of Voght Street, a street in the centre of the city. The fire is currently burning an area of three hectares, but no structures are believed to be threatened at this time. ORIGINAL: 6 p.m. The BC Wildfire Service is responding to a wildfire within Merritt city limits with air tankers and helicopters Thursday evening. The fire was first discovered Thursday evening, and while the blaze is within the Merritt Fire Rescue Department jurisdiction, the BCWS is assisting with air support and firefighters. Highway 8, one kilometre west of Merritt, has been closed due to the fire. While the exact location of the fire is unclear at this time, the fire is very visible from the city. The Rockin' River Country Music Fest began in Merritt Thursday, so fire information officer Nicole Bonnett said fire suppression would be forefront. Bonnett said while she doesn't believe the fire is threatening the festival grounds, it is very visible to attendees. Photo: The Canadian Press Scientists have coaxed a large male killer whale out of a Comox harbour by playing recorded sounds of other orcas. Scientists in British Columbia used whale whisperer tactics Thursday to coax a large male killer whale out of a busy marine harbour by playing recorded sounds of other orcas to the animal. Department of Fisheries and Oceans officials said the transient killer whale known as T73B immediately responded to the recorded underwater calls of whales likely familiar to him and left the harbour and was last seen heading for open ocean. "He was visibly excited by those sounds," said DFO whale scientist Jared Towers from Comox. "That's what basically got him out of there. He made a run to the north and we never saw him again." He said scientists used recordings made two years ago of other orcas who have been seen with the lone male in the past. "We thought he seems to be good buddies with those guys and we used that recording and it seemed to work," Towers said. He said using playback recordings to entice an orca from an area has only been done once before in B.C., but that was with a young whale. "It's totally unprecedented to have done this with an adult killer whale here in B.C.," he said. DFO spokesman Paul Cottrell said officials decided something had to be done to get the whale to leave Comox Harbour for its safety and protection of the public. "In the last couple of days we realized we've got this animal hanging around and it's an atypical behaviour, and we have to look at options given the number of people in the estuary," he said. The Comox Harbour includes commercial fishing vessel traffic and recreational boats, including kayaks and paddle boards. There are also swimmers. Cottrell said the longer the whale stayed in the harbour the greater the chance of the animal becoming habituated and the likelihood of an incident involving people. "Basically, we were able to stickhandle the whale out of the estuary and over a very shallow area off Cape Lazo and into deep water." Cottrell said officials will remain in the area to observe if the orca returns. The male orca had become a major attraction in Comox, entertaining a growing crowd of onlookers. Comox Valley Harbour Authority spokesman Robert Clarke said hundreds of people stood on the community promenade along the shoreline and watched the orca breach and swim around the harbour. Clarke, a former whale-watching guide, said killer whales have appeared in the harbour, but rarely stay for long. He said there had been reports of the whale swimming up the Courtenay River, part of which flows through the Vancouver Island community and the same animal was also seen at Union Bay, about 20 kilometres south. Apple Inc made stock market history yesterday by becoming the first American listed company to be valued at $1 trillion. To put that in perspective, Apple's market cap equals about 38 per cent of India's total GDP in 2017, when it became the world's sixth largest economy. Here are five interesting facts about the company's remarkable rise. 1. Apple's shares started spiking after the company released its latest quarterly figures on Tuesday. CEO Tim Cook called it the company's "best June quarter ever, and our fourth consecutive quarter of double-digit revenue growth". And the market celebrated by spurring on the stock to $207.39 (at Thursday's close) - a jump of 9 per cent in three days - crossing the lofty m-cap milestone in the bargain. Not bad at all for a company that Steve Jobs started out of his parent's garage, along with Steve Wozniak, 42 years ago. 2. The Apple II, which hit the market in 1977, was the duo's first machine for the masses. This was the year that Apple Inc's revenue reached the $1 million milestone. The computer, incidentally, became so popular that Jobs was worth $100 million by age 25. Then, on December 12, 1980, the company went public at $22 a share and raised $110 million in one of the biggest initial public offerings to date. Two years later, the company scaled the $1 billion revenue peak. Those who climbed aboard the Apple gravy train back then and clung on to their shares through the many dips would have reportedly seen returns to the tune of 40,000 per cent. If you factor in reinvested dividends, too, a mere $100 investment in the company would now be worth $63,000. 3. But then the company stumbled spectacularly - Jobs clashed with colleagues and then CEO John Sculley, Mac sales slowed, Apple's stock price started sinking, and Jobs was eventually forced to resigned. According to Bloomberg, Apple Inc.'s m-cap was a paltry $3 billion when Jobs returned to the struggling company as interim chief in 1996, after it acquired his startup, NeXT. Jobs slashed unprofitable projects, narrowed the company's focus and unleashed a new marketing campaign encouraging users to "Think different", all of which propelled Apple back to profitability in 1998. 4. In August 2011, Apple first bagged the tag of the world's most valued company, briefly overtaking oil giant Exxon Mobil, just a few weeks before Steve Jobs resigned as CEO. A year later, Apple made history again. Around mid-August 2012, its stock took off on the buzz about an impending launch of the iPhone 5, thereby propelling the company's value to $624 billion - the world's highest-ever, back then. 5. Stepping into Jobs too-large shoes would not have been easy but Cook, who was named CEO shortly before Jobs's death, has successfully helped Apple defy gravity. The news agency reports that the company's stock is up fourfold since he became CEO. However, he can't afford to enjoy the $1 trillion victory for long since the likes of Amazon, Alphabet and Microsoft are all racing towards this milestone. With agency inputs Edited By Sushmita Choudhury Agarwal A few days ago, Diamond Merchant Mehul Choksi proudly declared that he had got the citizenship of Caribbean Island Antigua and Barbuda. The fugitive diamond businessman is accused of perpetrating the biggest banking fraud in India. After the news of his current whereabouts became public, the Indian authorities claimed to have initiated talks with Antigua for his extradition. But the Antiguan agency Citizenship by Investment Unit (CIU) has made it clear that Choksi was given citizenship after following the due process, which includes positive reports by India's Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and Security and Exchange Board of India (Sebi). The CIU has said the current probe against Choksi pertains to the January-2018 notice against the businessman, and that these matters (PNB fraud) emerged years after he was granted citizenship of Antigua. A press release issued by the CIU said Mehul Choksi's application in May 2017, with the necessary documentary requirements, including a police clearance certificate, was required under section 5 (2)(b) of the Antigua and Barbuda Citizenship by Investment Act, 2013. "The police clearance certificate from the MEA's regional passport office, Mumbai, certified that there was no adverse information against Mehul Choksi that would render him ineligible for grant of travel facilities, including a visa for Antigua and Barbuda," it said. Mehul Choksi was granted Antiguan citizenship in November 2017. Antigua is one of the two major Caribbean islands that make up the sovereign nation of Antigua and Barbuda. The CIU release claimed Choksi's application was accepted after "stringent background checks", which included open-source internet checks, Thompson Reuters World-Check, queries of various sanctions lists, engagement with regional and international intelligence agencies, including Interpol. "In no instance was any derogatory information disclosed about the applicant," it said. The CIU said SEBI had also provided a positive report about Mehul Choksi on two occasions, and none of these matters is the subject of the current warrants issued by the CBI in connection with the Punjab National Bank fraud. The Sebi had opened investigations into a corporate entity owned by Mehul Choksi in 2014 and 2017. "We requested updates on the status of the investigations and received documentary confirmation, issued by the Sebi stating that in one case, the matter had been satisfactorily closed, and indicating in the other that there is not sufficient evidence to pursue the matter further," said CIU. Although the CBI last week said Interpol never sought a background check on Mehul Choksi in past four years, the CIU clarified that its probe includes Interpol, which facilitates international police cooperation. "Were there an active warrant for Choksi at the time his citizenship application was being processed, this information should have already been made available to the Interpol, a notification of which would have been readily accessible by the CIU and its due diligence partners," said the CIU. It said if Mehul Choksi had a shady record, it should have been in the criminal database of India, and therefore declared in the police clearance certificate issued by the MEA. Mehul Choksi, as well as his partner Nirav Modi, fled the country in the first week of January, just two weeks before PNB first reported about the biggest banking scam. (Edited by Manoj Sharma) The stock markets throw all kinds of surprises all the time. Generally, investing in a stock requires a minimum of two-three years after which one can expect decent returns. But the HEG Ltd stock has bypassed all the basic rules of investing during the last one year, it seems. The stock of leading graphite electrode manufacturer rose nearly nine times during the last one year. The mid cap stock which stood at Rs 481.60 on August 3 last year closed at 4,348 level on Thursday. That is an astonishing 793% gain in one year. On January 2, 2017, the stock price stood at 151.10. Since then the stock has gained 2,777%. So why did the stock rise this much? Business Today decoded the same and came across the firm's quarterly earnings which were announced on August 1. The firm posted a rise of 645% in revenue to Rs 1,595 crore compared with Rs 214 crore in Q1 of FY 18. It reported Rs 770 crore in net profit in June quarter compared with Rs 8.43 crore loss in Q1FY18. Q1 earnings before interest, tax depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose to Rs 1,196 crore as against Rs 24 crore in the corresponding period last year. The firm is also engaged in the business of power generation and operates three power generation facilities with a total rated capacity of about 76.5 MW. It reported Rs 1,586.84 crore in revenue from the graphite business for the quarter ended June compared with meagre Rs 212.42 crore revenue in the corresponding period of last fiscal. Compared to the graphite business, the power business generated revenue worth Rs 26.51 crore in Q1 compared with Rs 54.24 crore in the corresponding quarter of last fiscal. Profit before tax and interest from graphite segment rose to Rs 1179.22 crore in June quarter compared with Rs 11.49 crore loss in the corresponding quarter of previous fiscal. Hence, the startling Q1 earnings show can be attributed to the robust performance in the graphite segment of the firm. So what has happened in the graphite business of the firm which led to the exceptional Q1 performance? The firm is a leading graphite electrode manufacturer and has seen rising demand for electrodes during the last one year. HEG currently has graphite electrode capacity of 80,000 mt, the largest single-site integrated graphite electrode facility in the world. This plant is located at Mandideep, near Bhopal. The company exports over 70% of its production to more than 30 countries across the world. Graphite electrode is used in making steel through the electric arc furnace route. There are two types of furnaces to make steel: Electric arc furnace (EAF) and blast furnace. In the blast furnace method, iron ore is combined with varying amounts of coke (less than 30%) and small amounts of flux. Making steel via blast furnace leads to a lot of pollution. The electric arc furnace process does not involve iron-making. It reuses existing steel scrap, avoiding the need for iron ore and their processing. Graphite electrodes placed in the furnace supply power raising the temperature to 1600C, melting the scrap. The method does not use coal as a raw material. Steel production via electric arc furnaces leads to lesser pollution compared to the blast furnace method. In 2017, world's largest steel producer China closed highly polluting unaccounted blast furnace capacity totalling 155 million tonnes. It also committed to close down an additional 150 million tonnes of blast furnace capacity over the period of 5 years at the rate of 30 million tonnes/per annum between 2019-23. Most of these are being replaced by electric arc furnaces. China installed or commenced construction of 105 new EAFs with capacity of 66 million tonnes in 2017. China steel exports in 2017 fell about 30% to 75 million tonnes from 108 mt y-o-y. In the first quarter of 2018, Chinese steel exports fell further to a level of annualized 60 million tonnes. Currently, EAF accounts for 45% of steel production in the world (without China). Steel production via EAFs is seen growing at a faster pace in China as compared to basic oxygen furnaces (BOF) which is good news for graphite electrode maker HEG. In fact, during Q1 earnings statement, Ravi Jhunjhunwala, chairman and managing director, HEG Ltd said, "The graphite industry globally, and in India, remains buoyant given the structural changes that have been brought about because of macroeconomic factors. Due to challenging entry barriers and being a highly capital intensive business, supply constrains are expected to continue till the foreseeable future.'' "The steel industry continues to grow globally, and electric arc furnaces continue to take a more important place. Our main raw material, needle coke, which has also found new application in Lithium ion batteries, has made any meaningful expansion in the industry difficult, hence making the entry barriers higher,'' Jhunjhunwala said. "Given the factors above and given China's war on polluting industries, we believe the current upsurge in global graphite electrode demand to sustain its momentum over the foreseeable future as the demand-supply gap is widening. HEG is contemplating an increase in the operational capacity to capitalise on the structural changes in the industry," Jhunjhunwala added. Edited by Aseem Thapliyal Social media exploded today after several Android users discovered that the UIDAI helpline number crept into their contact lists without their knowledge. The Aadhaar-issuing authority sprung into action with a clarification that this apparent intrusion was not their doing. Other govt bodies including COAI and TRAI also washed their hands off the matter. However, by the end of the day, the mystery seems to have been solved. Google explained, later in the day, that it had configured the UIDAI helpline number along with other distress helpline numbers into the Android SetUp Wizard in 2014. This is what caused the contact to appear on Android as well as devices running on other operating systems as it got transferred from one device to another. "Our internal review has revealed that in 2014, the then UIDAI helpline number and the 112 distress helpline number were inadvertently coded into the SetUp wizard of the Android release given to OEMs for use in India and has remained there since," a Google spokesperson said. Also Read:Whodunnit? UIDAI is the friend you never knew you had Since the numbers get listed on a user's contact list, these get transferred accordingly to the contacts on any new device, the statement further stated. It means that the UIDAI helpline number from 2014 was transferred from old Android devices to new Android and iOS devices. This explains why the contact named UIDAI appeared in contact lists of smartphones running both Android and iOS. "We are sorry for any concern that this might have caused, and would like to assure everyone that this is not a situation of an unauthorised access of their Android devices. Users can manually delete the number from their devices," the Google spokesperson assured. Google has assured that the Android SetUp Wizard will be tweaked so that the issue is resolved. The update will be released to smartphone manufacturers in the next few weeks. In its clarification earlier today, UIDAI stated that it had not instructed any phone manufacturer or telecom service provider to include its helpline number in the phonebook. The authority further added that the number mentioned in the contact details was incorrect. A letter by Department of Telecommunications back in August, 2013 during the Manmohan Singh government with Kapil Sibbal as minister had asked telecom operators to map the short code '1947' to UIDAI's toll free helpline number. "Our valid Toll free number is 1947 which is functional for more than the last two years. It is emphasised that the said 18003001947 is not a valid UIDAI Toll free number and some vested interest are trying to create unwarranted confusion in the public," UIDAI said in its statement today. Also Watch: Let Him Without Sin Cast the First Stone Christian Examiner Contributor | 03 August, 2018 by Mark Klages First things first a Down's syndrome baby... is a baby. A man with Down's syndrome is... a human man first and a Down's syndrome man second. And a mother of a man with Down's syndrome is a mother first, and a mother of a disabled man second. And abortion is murder. Ben Shapiro recently cited an article from the UK Daily Mail wherein a 69 year-old mother of a 47 year-old man with Down's syndrome reflected on her life, wishing she had aborted her baby. Why? Because he made her life harder than it might have been and because he has not had the quality of life she wanted for her son. The article, and the overt recommendation to abort, begs we Christians address the issue. Now, Reader, before you judge, before you use words like, "selfish" and "immoral," we should try to understand the mother's position. "Walk a mile" so to speak. First, Gillian Relf is in the minority in the UK. Ninety-two percent of UK women with confirmed Down's syndrome babies choose abortion over delivery, making the practice acceptable by nearly everyone in England. In fact, the acceptance rate for Down's syndrome abortions in the UK is nearly double the acceptance rate of so called "assault weapons" in the US that's perspective. Gillian was a successful intelligence clerk and radar operator for the UK's Royal Air Force prior to marriage, so being the life-long, full-time caretaker of a disabled grown man, who outweighs Gillian and is much stronger than she is, was a major step backward in Gillian's life plan. Throughout his life, Gillian moved her son from one permanent care facility to another, having suspected abuse at at least one Government-run facility. At 69, she now worries about her son's after care once she and her husband are gone. For the opposing opinion, although I am not a father of a Down's syndrome baby, I do have friends who are. They say, despite the obvious hardships, their child has brought a simple joy to their lives they wouldn't have otherwise known. I have never heard one parent claim they would be better off with an abortion. That, Readers, is the only frame of reference I have to Gillian's plight, but I would love to get some feedback from friends which Down's syndrome children. Ultimately, Gillian wrote the article to try and convince every other mother of a Down's syndrome baby, those in the eight percent minority, to abort. For all the reasons mentioned, Gillian believes both she and Stephen would have been better off that way. Stephen. That's Gillian's son's name. I waited to introduce you to Stephen because I wanted to be fair to Gillian. We don't know much about Stephen, other than what Gillian tells us in her article. He is obstinate, incontinent, and often confused about his reality. According to the article, Stephen appears to have stopped mental maturity as a three- or four-year-old child. However, I can tell you that my first reaction, upon reading the whole article, was anger. Not anger because Gillian felt inconvenienced instead of blessed. Not anger because Gillian couldn't fly for vacation or take the bus without Stephen staging a sit-down in protest. Not anger because Gillian didn't seem to care enough throughout Stephen's whole life to find out how best to care for him; rather, she sought facilities to stick him in, which in itself counters her argument that she is his full-time caretaker. But anger because Gillian is pushing murder for convenience. "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you," (Jeremiah 1:5, NIV) "Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, who formed you from the womb: 'I am the Lord, who made all things,'" (Isaiah 44:24, ESV) Setting aside everything else in Gillian's article, giving her the benefit of the doubt for every other argument she makes because I have not walked a mile in her shoes, she is still wrong to advocate murder, whether it is murder for convenience or murder for any other reason. Do not be misled. Aborting a baby for any reason other than defense of the mother's life is unjustifiable. Even then, aborting a viable baby to save the mother raises ethical and moral questions. What mother wouldn't give her life a thousand times over for that of her child? Well, Gillian Relf, I guess. But as Christians, how do we reconcile a Down's syndrome baby in God's divine plan? I mean, if we are to believe God doesn't make mistakes, then how do we handle a child with Down's syndrome? How about, like a child. A child of God. A child fearfully and wonderfully made. (Psalms 139:14) "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope." (Jeremiah 29:11, ESV) "But who are you, a human being, to talk back to God? 'Shall what is formed say to the one who formed it, Why did you make me like this?'" (Rom 9:20, NIV) We do not always see God's plan for our lives, for the lives of our children, or the lives of those with whom we come into contact. To a man, every parent I know that has a Down's syndrome child thanks God for the blessing and insight gained through having such a blessed child. So then how do we handle the Gillians of this world? With love. The love of God. "Love your neighbor as yourself." (Mark 12:31, NIV) So put away your anger and self-righteousness, and pull out your fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). Love both the Gillians and the Stephens of this world equally, because they already have enough hate for a lifetime. Be the Bible they may never read. Be the light they may never see. Be the love they so desperately need. And if for whatever reason the mother chooses to abort the child, give her a double portion of that love, because God did not withhold His love knowing the choice she would make. And if God still sent His Son for her salvation, who are we to judge their choice? "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:16, NIV) Mark Klages is an influential contributor, a former US Marine and a lifelong teacher who focuses on applying a Christian worldview to everyday events. Mark blogs at https://maklagesl3.wixsite.com/website under the title "God Provides where Hate Divides," with a heart to heal social, political, relational, and intellectual wounds through God's divine love and grace. Mark can also be found on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-klages-04b42511/. A persecution watchdog group is petitioning the White House to secure the release of a North Carolina pastor imprisoned in China. ChinaAid the watchdog organization, launched a petition this week calling on the White House to support the release of John Cao. Cao has been in a Chinese jail for more than a year, according to The Christian Post. "While working to build schools for impoverished children in Myanmar, John was detained at the Chinese border on March 5, 2017, the petition says. Twenty days later, he was charged with 'organizing illegal border crossing,' despite the fact that he had used the same route between China and Myanmar for this humanitarian work for years. The organization says Cao helped build 16 schools in the areas before he was sentenced to seven years in prison. Chinese officials arrested Cao in 2017 while he was on a raft returning from the Yunnan province, where he had been helping build schools. He also tossed his cell phone in the water to protect other Christian teachers, according to The Christian Post. Earlier this year, Caos son, Ben Cao, told the Associated Press that he hopes China will release his father. Caos wife, Jamie Powell, told the U.S. State Department at the inaugural Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom event that Cao was set up for arrest because of his faith. "Since his detainment, my husband has suffered a rapid decline in his health. He has lost 50 pounds. He has not been able to communicate with me and my children. My sons and I traveled there 10,000 miles and we were not allowed to see him," she said. "The seven years he has unjustly received now becomes a matter of health and survival." The petition needs 100,000 signatures to be presented to the White House. Sign the petition here. Publication Date: August 3, 2018 Photo Courtesy: Facebook More than 8,000 churches throughout Rwanda have been closed by the government as part of an alleged crackdown on unsafe structures, although religious liberty advocates say the government is closing congregations that should be considered acceptable. Christians in the country fear the movement is a cover for the governments drive toward secularism. Pastors are now required by the government to have degrees from accredited institutions. Bible schools are mandated to teach science and technology in order to teach theology. Among the other rules, access roads to churches must be paved and inside walls and ceilings must be plastered and painted, according to World Watch Monitor. On checking which churches were included, we learned that all churches are suffering the same fate, and that even churches considered luxurious for local standards have had to close, one local source told World Watch Monitor. One church was closed during a wedding, with the guests told to leave the church during the service, World Watch Monitor reported. Churches have only 15 days to make the required changes upon being reported by the government. The Rwandan source said in some instances, even house meetings are banned. It seems that the local authorities in the different districts initially had some freedom about the degree to which they could enforce the new requirements, the source told World Watch Monitor. However, it now seems that those who were more lenient have been rebuked and have become stricter. In one district authorities banned all meetings of a closed church, and congregants are not even allowed to meet in home groups. Michael Foust is a freelance writer. Visit his blog, MichaelFoust.com Publication Date: August 1, 2018 Photo Courtesy: Unsplash In sixth-century Europe, unprecedented chaos gripped the dying remnants of the Roman Empire. As Europe entered a period of political chaos and moral decline, a young Christian by the name of Benedict started a movement that would radically reshape Christian habits of life for more than a millennium. His primary contribution was fairly basic, perhaps even pedestrian: He offered a clear and orderly way to organize Christian monasteries, penning what came to be known as The Rule, which detailed how monasteries should run, down to meal times and organization charts. But these monasteries, stabilized and fortified by TheRule, would eventually become agents of subtle social change and guardians of a rich and vibrant faith amid the political chaos and cultural decline of the proceeding centuries. In 2017, journalist Rod Dreher argued that we find ourselves in a circumstance not so different from Benedicts: a moment of social upheaval and decline in which serious Christian conservatives could no longer live business-as-usual lives but must focus on nurturing creative, communal solutions to help us hold on to our faith and our values in a world growing ever more hostile to them. Building on the work of philosopher Alasdair MacIntyre, who argued for the relevance of Benedicts preservation of Christian moral reasoning over 30 years ago, Dreher contended that this would involve painful but necessary shifts in mindset for evangelical Christians. The ensuing discussion has been well-documented in CTs pages. Supporters of the Benedict Option contend that it is essential to evangelical public engagement in an increasingly post-Christian environment, while critics have argued that diminishing evangelical influence at the current moment would constitute a consequential failure of nerve and a tactical misstep. That conversation will continue to evolve as cultural and political events unfold. But missing throughout this discussion has been serious consideration of the virtue that Saint Benedict highlighted most prominently in his Rule: humility. Though this virtue is at the heart of the Benedictine project and is a keystone for Christian ethics, it has remained an untapped resource for understanding what it means to live in a moment of political and social upheaval. Buried among the treasures of the Christian tradition is a rich vision of humility capable of speaking deep and complex truths especially relevant to our present moment. Humilitys Complex Heritage Most of us know from experience that humility is difficult to cultivate. But philosophers, theologians, and psychologists alike also find in humility a different challenge: It is notoriously difficult to define. In a growing body of research dedicated to humility, there are no less than a dozen divergent definitions currently in use. And even when we turn to the pages of Scripture for an authoritative word on the matter, we are faced with surprising complexity. One set of views of humility advanced by philosophers and social scientists emphasizes that humility is fundamentally a matter of seeing ourselves rightly: a recognition of our frailty and fallenness in Gods sight, leading to a willing submission to Gods will. This seems to be what is meant when God calls Israel to humble themselves and pray (2 Chron. 7:14) or when the Proverbs urge us to lean not on our own understanding (Prov. 3:5). Paul seems to have something like accurate self-evaluation in mind when he commends his audience not to think of themselves more highly than they ought (Rom. 12:3) and argues that when it comes to repentance and faith, there is no room for boasting (Rom. 3:27). Humble people, on this view, are primarily marked by a deep awareness of their limitations and sin and can say with the psalmist, I do not concern myself with great matters or things too wonderful for me (Ps. 131:1). Article continues below But this view inevitably collides with the example of Jesus. Consider the well-known Christ-hymn of Philippians 2. There, Paul commends the Philippians to imitate Jesus humble example, giving up status and power to live a life of self-denial and servanthood. It would be nonsense to argue that the incarnation was motivated by the Son of Gods recognition of his limitations and shortcomingshe had none to recognize! Similarly, when Jesus takes up the degrading task of washing his disciples feet and then calls his disciples to imitate his example, he is surely not calling them to do better self-evaluation (John 13:120). If Jesus is an example of humility, then humility must be something other than accurate self-evaluation. This has led to another set of views that point in the very opposite direction: Rather than being especially good at self-evaluation, humble people are those with a habit of being so unconcerned about themselves altogether that they can focus squarely on loving others. As C. S. Lewis argued in Mere Christianity, genuinely humble people are generally not overly concerned with recognizing their limitsrather, they are so focused on doing what is right that they have little time to navel-gaze. Humble people, then, are not so much marked by an absence of ambition for great and marvelous things but by an unwavering commitment to love and justice, without excessive worry about themselves or their status. Humility and Public Engagement An important effect of these divergent views of humility is that they tend to underwrite radically different views of Christian public engagement. When Christians focus on the first type of humilitylets call it the fallen-and-finite viewthey often set their sights on making small, incremental impact on their communities. Dreams of radical transformation at the national level are rejected as unrealistic, and Christian political engagement may be regarded with some suspicion. On this view, change will come not through the penetration and overturning of large and prestigious institutions, but through the winsome witness of Christians loving their neighbors in everyday ways. In contrast, those emphasizing the other-centeredness vision of humility often feel comfortable aiming higher. They are willing to penetrate the halls of power, to campaign for just treatment of the marginalized, to influence titans of industry toward fairer labor agreementswhatever must be done in order to demonstrate the radical love of Christ. On this view, the preeminent danger facing the church is not aiming too high, but choosing a path of self-focused living under the pretense of pursuing holiness. True humility, in contrast, requires forgetting ourselves and seeking to do the most good we can, which inevitably means transforming institutions (Phil. 2:3). The outlines of the Benedict-option dilemma once again emerge. Noting that evangelical public engagement over the last 30 years has failed to stem social decline in serious ways, Dreher and his allies commend a new approach with more modest aspirations. Opponents, meanwhile, contend that such a withdrawal is likely to lead away from, rather than toward, the radical example of Jesus, who calls us to use what status and influence we may have (or be able to attain) in favor of the poor and marginalized. Savvy readers will recognize here the hallmarks of a false dichotomy. Advocates of the fallen-and-finite view of humility do not typically reject all attempts to influence institutions toward justice, and those in favor of the other-centeredness view are generally not opposed to sober-minded realism about our limitations and brokenness. Straw men are poor aides in moving us toward genuine and nuanced obedience to Jesus. Article continues below Surely wisdom here requires admitting that this fundamental tension in the biblical vision of humilitybetween self-focus and other-focus, between laying power aside and using power for othersis a feature of our faith, not a bug. After all, the good news is not only that Jesus has given up his power on our behalf but also that he is now exalted and intercedes for us as omnipotent Lord. And he calls us not only to a life of painful confrontation with our faults and frailtiesbeing united with him in his deathbut also to a new life in which we share in the very Spirit in whose power Jesus lived and rose again. So at the individual level, Christian humility calls us to marry the two tendencies we have outlined, holding in tension our need to reckon with our frailties and our calling to shift our gaze away from ourselves and toward our neighbors. In fact, this is precisely why Paul calls Jesus to our attention in Philippians 2. The incarnation was an act of the limitless taking on boundaries, and in his life and death, Jesus demonstrated exactly what it looks like to confront the frailty of the human condition without drowning in a sea of self-focus. Whats more, this complex vision of humility has the potential to fund a mode of public engagement that is equally audacious and conscious of human limitations. In a moment of political upheaval and moral decline, we need the humility that revolutionaries like Jesus, Moses, or Paul exemplified; they each made radical claims that confronted and ultimately transformed their worlds. But we cannot afford to ignore that humility marked by the recognition of the deep fragility and sinfulness of ourselves and our institutions, which calls us to calibrate our expectations accordingly. This is what makes Christian humility distinct from its counterfeits, which are in wide circulation both inside and outside the contemporary church. It refuses the ambition of self-assured political operators whose designs fail to take into account the frailty and fallenness of themselves and their institutions, but it equally condemns the easy resignation of those who seek refuge in the safe pursuit of personal holiness. What Would Saint Benedict Do? We return, briefly, to Benedict. It may at first appear obvious that Benedict would side with those advocating a more modest vision of public engagement. After all, he was a monk, not a politician, and his Rule called fellow monks to a radical withdrawal from the world for the sake of contemplation and service. But the picture we get from history is slightly more complicated. The Rule was widely adopted primarily because it was seen as a balanced documenta way of disciplining the unsustainably radical tendencies of many monks who were so withdrawn from the world that they endangered themselves physically and morally. Benedict himself is reported to have preferred his early life as a solitary hermit but ultimately felt called to take the position of abbot at a nearby monastery because of his desire to see monastic communities transformed. By the time he wrote The Rules influential material on humility, he was likely the head over several monasteries and had achieved regional notoriety, suggesting that he did not consider humility inconsistent with holding and exercising uncommon power and influence. Moreover, as The Rule was passed down, Christians did not typically regard it as inconsistent with using power to impact public life at the highest levels. In fact, the most influential proponent of Benedicts teaching on humility was Bernard of Clairvaux, who was one of the most politically active monks in Christian history. Article continues below Ultimately, Bernard found himself caught up in one of the darkest exercises of Christian political power in history: rallying others toward the terror and violence of the Second Crusade. Its likely that Bernard simply miscalculated. Though he may have been right to aim highseeking to use his political access to push reform throughout the European government and churchhe underestimated the tendency of powerful institutions to shape Christian witness, rather than the other way around. This may be the most prescient part of the story for evangelicals in the US, who have gained, by many accounts, unique access to the levers of power in the current administration. Cultivating a life of faithful public engagement is hard, and simple solutions are unlikely to satisfy. But a full-orbed vision of humility offers a framework for holding together the biblical summons to use our power for others with an appreciation that our inadequacies run deeper than we know. Stephen T. Pardue is associate professor of theology at the International Graduate School of Leadership in Manila. He is co-editor of the Majority World Theology Series (Eerdmans/Langham) and the author of The Mind of Christ (T&T Clark, 2013). The main campus of Bethel Church, the nondenominational megachurch known for its charismatic practices and chart-topping worship ballads, has been spared threats by a wildfire raging in and around the congregations hometown of Redding, California. However, a different kind of firestormtheological and socialhas continued to stir online. The Carr Fire, which began July 23 when a vehicles mechanical issue sparked the blaze in nearby Whiskeytown, had charred more than 131,000 acres and destroyed more than 1,000 residences by Friday morning, making it one of Californias top 10 destructive fires. More than 30,000 residents have been displaced and six peopleincluding two firefighters, as well as two children and their great-grandmotherhave been killed, the Sacramento Bee reported. At least a dozen others have been injured. It didnt take long for the maelstrom to make its way online, where Bethel supporters shared prayers and prophesies while the churchs critics pointed out what they view as overpromises of Gods favor. The digital discussion also rekindled a debate that may be a new normal for big-name churches in the face of disaster: How much help is enough? One does not need to look far on social media or in more niche corners of the Christian blogosphere to see the flurries of judgment. But Bethel has held its theological ground, prophesying rain, commanding calm winds, and inviting divine intervention. Competing narratives of Gods modus operandi and the power of faith increasingly cloud the digital air in times of intense heartbreaka cautionary tale of how Christians of different strands respond to crises and to each other amid them. Bethel has been at the heart of a charismatic boom in North America and around the world. Famousand in some circles infamousfor its healing and prophetic ministries, and known in Sunday gatherings around the globe by its Bethel Music record label, the church has played an outsized role in the mass popularization of its charismatic brand of Christianity. The church also finds itself the subject of regular criticism for its unabashed and sometimes controversial charismatic practices, as CT explored in a 2016 cover story. In the wake of the Carr fire, the theology behind those practices has served to strengthen both adherents and opponents in their own convictions. Last Saturday, with the blaze only a few miles away and the fire line extending to less than a mile from the Bethel campus, according to Dann Farrelly, associate pastor and dean of the Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry (BSSM), Bethel leaders and members sounded off a call for prayer for the church and the surrounding community. Were inviting the global community to join us in praying for Redding, for Northern California, and for California overall, church officials said. Kris Vallotton, a senior church leader and cofounder of BSSM, tweeted, Pray for us, we are in trouble here. While a number of other churches and schools in the area are serving as evacuation centers, such as Reddings Cross Point Community Church and Shasta College, Bethel has come under criticism for not acting as a safe zone. The critique may sound familiar, as Christian Twitter has been down this road before. Last August, when Hurricane Harvey struck the Texas coast and flooded Houston, megachurch pastor Joel Osteen was lambasted by critics for initially not opening the doors of his Lakewood Church to flood victims. The facts on the ground, diluted as they were, did not prevent detractors from jumping to their own conclusions. In another case of heart-rending catastrophe, Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City was flooded with pleas for assistance following both 9/11 and 2012s Superstorm Sandy, though it was spared the looming hostility and shaming due to the preparations of an organized diaconate with trained leaders. Related critiques have taunted or been levied against American churches and Christians across crises over the years. For instance, fierce, often ungracious debates over thoughts and prayers are now a predictable component of the aftermath of any mass shooting. For Bethels part, staff said the church could not act as an evacuation zone because of its proximity to the blaze and because there is a single entry and exit point to the campus, which is itself surrounded by brush. The Red Cross said Bethel offered to be an evacuation site, but was turned down because of the campuss nearness to the fire. Were not able to be a place where we can house people right now, Farrelly said via a video uploaded to Facebook last Friday. Due to our proximity to the fire and the limited accessibility of our College View campus, we are not a primary choice as an evacuation center, Bethel said via an update last weekend. We wanted to meet the need, but had to do it safely and with permission. The church has, however, flexed its considerable ministry muscle and financial resources, encouraging donations to aid relief efforts. Bethel is also partnering with the Red Cross and the Salvation Army in response to the Carr fire, Farrelly said. Weve been sending our teams and people that are here that havent had to evacuate to lend a hand, added Lauren Vallotton, Bethels director of operations, via the Facebook update. Were believing for a miracle. Last Sunday, Bethel was invited to become a distribution hub for the Salvation Army, and the church opened the doors of its College View campus on Monday. According to the Bethel weekend update, the church has also been asked to assist with providing supplies and volunteers to distribute food at the Shasta College Evacuation Center, search and rescue efforts, and staying available to city officials and other agencies for any needs. In Redding, a city of about 90,000, the biggest church in town still stands; but some church members lost everything. A lot of staff have been affected by the incendiary mayhem too, said Eric Johnson, a Bethel senior pastor. This is when we turn our anxiety into prayer, said Farrelly, who, as the fire approached last weekend, described the scene around Bethel as tense and apocalyptic-looking. And this is when we can either meditate on the things of the Lord, or you can worry. The churchs evening service last Friday and Saturday morning healing room were canceled. A Bethel TV email update announced that no weekend services would be streamed due to internet outages and evacuations, though it expressed hope to be back online this weekend. Firefighters worked hard to establish containment lines to protect more of Redding from succumbing to the blaze. With thousands of homes and businesses destroyed, and about 1,400 more threatened, authorities reported Friday morning that 39 percent of the fire was contained. More than 4,300 firefighters and 380 fire engines are battling the blaze and the governor of California, Jerry Brown, issued a state of emergency as the wildfire threatened critical infrastructure in Shasta County, where Bethel is located. Bethel leadership have expressed appreciation to first responders and journalists covering the disaster. They have also repeatedly highlighted needs and prayers specific to the community. There are confounding miracles happening and we need more, said Bethel Music worship leader, Kalley Heiligenthal, via Instagram. What I know is the goodness of God billows faster and brighter than any fire ever could, she said in a separate post. We do the best we can and then we ask the Lord to step in and do his miraculous, amazing things, said Farrelly. California pastor and friend of Bethel, Shawn Bolz, wrote for Charisma News last Friday: I believe what God will do in Redding shortly after this terrible week will be historic for the church at large and will help to bring about a window of evangelism and ingenuity to the church that will come across media, both Christian and secular: Breakthrough is imminent! Following the outcry against Osteen in the aftermath of Hurricane Harveys flooding of Houston, Billy Graham Center director Ed Stetzer weighed in on his CT blog on such debates among the faithful after disaster strikes. The media deluge against a pastor and church of a differing persuasion, in that case Osteen, in such fuzzy and tragic circumstances, tells me we have a cultural problem, he wrote. The fact that many Christians have joined in shows me it is a Christian problem. In the post entitled Some Christians Hate Joel Osteen More Than They Love the Truth, Stetzer wrote, Id expect that from the world, but I hoped for better in the church. The irony for some in this moment is clear: they hate Osteen because they believe he distorts the truthand then they do the same when they critique him with false information. He wrote: It seems that the brother of Jesus had something to say about being quick to listen and slow to speak and slow to get enraged. Stop the selective listening. Lets face it. Many already hate Osteen, so they are hungry for a scandal. Heres the tough question: Are we hungry for a strategic or moral failure at Lakewood, too? As I mentioned above, I have serious thoughts about Osteens theology. But I need not plug my ears so that I cant hear what is true. Speak without the rage. Some take to Twitter like a death metal band. The screaming squeezes the logic out of our comments. When we dial back the emotion we are also more likely to retract when we have been wrong. Tweet your retractions too. If we can learn anything from piling on at this time, it may be that saying sorry is something that Christians should do well. Be silent. I waited to spill some ink on this topic. I had one thought at first. And another thought as the facts came out. What if I had piled on at the beginning? Or defended their decision too quickly? It has been best to be silent until there is something to say. And perhaps the best is to simply pull the plug. He concluded: Lets save our energies for praying and supporting relief efforts. | Image: Westend61 / Getty Images In the wake of Masterpiece Cakeshops victory at the US Supreme Court, a new survey finds that public support is increasing both for conservative wedding vendors like Colorado baker Jack Phillips and for same-sex weddings like the one he refused to serve. A survey conducted by PRRI after the high courts controversial ruling in June found that public support for same-sex marriage has never been higher, with 64% of Americans now approving of its legality. Yet PRRI also found that Americans are increasingly sympathetic to service refusals by bakers, caterers, florists and other small business owners with conservative religious beliefs. PRRI found that 46 percent of Americans believe owners of wedding-related businesses should be allowed to refuse their services to same-sex couples based on their religious convictions, while 48 percent of Americans believe business owners should be compelled to provide their services to such couples with no conscience exemption from antidiscrimination laws. This is a shift from 2017, when only 41 percent of Americans favored the rights of religious business owners in this scenario, while 53 percent favored the rights of same-sex couples. PRRI found that most demographic groups have moved more in favor of religious liberty protections on this issue. Whose views have changed most: people of color. While the views of white Americans have not changed year over year49 percent approve of the religious right to refuse serviceAmericans of color are increasingly sympathetic to wedding vendors like Phillips. Nearly half of black Americans (45%) now support the religious freedom of business owners to refuse service to gay couplesa significant change from the 36 percent who expressed support in 2017. Similarly, among Hispanic Americans, 34 percent now favor the business owners, compared to only 26 percent last year. Such racially disparate perspectives on religious accommodation laws may have their base in history, said attorney and AND Campaign founder Justin Giboney in CTs roundup of African American reactions to Phillipss victory. Unfortunately, American Christianity has a history of using its faith as a pretext or even justification for bigotry and hate. African Americans have often been on the receiving end of this practice, said Giboney. Its not surprising that black Protestants are more likely to believe vendors should serve same-sex weddings than their white counterparts. We might agree theologically, but historically speaking, we have little reason to believe the concerns arent pretext for prejudicial impulses. PRRI found that white evangelicals continue to show the strongest support for conservative wedding vendors (70%), while more evenly split are white mainline Protestants (48% vendors vs. 45% same-sex couples) and black Protestants (49% vs. 44%). In contrast, a slight majority of Catholics (58%) and the religiously unaffiliated (58%) believe that wedding vendors should not be allowed to refuse service. PRRIs 2018 findings are similar to what the Pew Research Center found in 2016, when Americans were also evenly split over whether wedding vendors should be required to serve same-sex couples (49%) or should be able to decline on religious grounds (48%). However, Pew found that black Protestants (most of whom identify as evangelical) were twice as likely as white evangelicals46 percent vs. 22 percentto say businesses should be required to accommodate gay weddings. Among weekly worshipers, the difference was even more stark: 43 percent of black Protestants said businesses must provide services to same-sex couples; only 10 percent of white evangelicals said the same. Pew also examined the amount of sympathy that each side had for the other in 2016, and found about a three-way split: 31 percent of Americans sympathized only with the conservative wedding vendors; 36 percent only sympathized with the same-sex couples; and the remaining 1 in 3 Americans felt sympathy for both sides (18%) or neither (15%). Meanwhile, 59 percent of white evangelicals sympathized only with the view that service refusals can occur for religious reasons, while only 27 percent of black Protestants said the same. Nearly twice as many black Protestants (45%) as white evangelicals (26%) told Pew they sympathized with either both sides (19% black Protestants, 14% white evangelicals) or neither side (26% black Protestants, 12% white evangelicals) in the marriage services debate. Because of the Supreme Courts 72 Masterpiece ruling, which was narrow in its outcome, controversy over religious accommodation laws is likely to continue. And religious liberty legal analysts were divided over how much the Supreme Courts ruling would actually help other Christian businesses. It was significant that the court decided the case on the basis of the free exercise clause, Eric Rassbach, vice president and senior counsel at religious liberty firm Becket, told CT after the ruling. What this means as a practical matter is that in a variety of situations it will matter much more what the legislators, adjudicators, and government officials say about the religious beliefs and practices in question, and much less what those same officials think about whether those religious beliefs and practices offend someone, said Rassbach. The court used a fairly broad definition of what constitutes hostility toward religion, so referring to hateful beliefs could get an anti-discrimination law invalidated. And saying that someone was offended will be no justification for a law. Americans boost of support for the religious convictions of wedding vendors also extends to the small business community in general. In 2017, 56 percent of Americans were against the idea of small business owners declining to serve LGBT people due to religious convictions. This year, the number dropped to 49 percent, according to PRRI. Perhaps because of historical discrimination affecting their community, as Giboney noted, 63 percent of black Americans oppose small businesses in general denying service to LGBT customers on religious grounds, compared to only 44 percent of white Americans. PRRI found a notable rise in support for small business service refusals among Catholics (38% in 2018 vs. 29% in 2017), while white evangelicals (61% vs. 60%), white mainline Protestants (40% vs. 44%), and religiously unaffiliated Americans (34% vs. 31%) stayed stable. CT asked Christian legal experts whether the Masterpiece Cakeshop ruling will really help other Christian businesses, and asked African American Christian leaders how the case compares to Jim Crow. CTs Quick to Listen podcast examined how courts are not the solution to resolving the impasse between advocates of religious freedom and LGBT rights. Amir Muqam appeared before NAB PESHAWAR: Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz-Nawaz provincial president Amir Muqam on Thursday appeared before a National Accountability Bureau team here over an illegal assets case and claimed that he would prove all corruption charges against him wrong by producing the relevant records. He told reporters that he was given a performa to produce details of the sources of his income. Ive long been associated with the construction business since 1989 and possess billions of rupees worth of assets and will submit details of all my projects along with income and asset details to the NAB before the stipulated time of 15 days, he said. Accused of owning assets disproportionate to the declared means of his income, the PML-N leader said he was confident that the accountability watchdog would clear him of all corruption charges. He said the NAB had called him twice earlier in the case but he didnt show up before investigators for being busy with election campaign. Mr Muqam also alleged that the July 25 elections were rigged to favour the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf. He said most political parties had rejected elections over rigging. The PML-N leader said his opponent had defeated him by 49 votes only though four bags of votes in PK-4 Swat constituency went missing under mysterious circumstances and thus, causing doubts about the fairness of the election. He said the Election Commission of Pakistan was to blame for missing vote bags. It is not known if the vote bags were thrown in the River Swat or theyre kept somewhere elsewhere. The issue halted vote recount in the constituency, he said. Mr Muqam wondered how the PTI had got 2.8 million votes in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa despite failing to deliver during the last five years rule. Email Whatsapp Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment Fifty years ago, a Papal encyclical forbade the use of artificial contraception. How relevant is that document today? July 29th marks the fiftieth anniversary of Humanae Vitae. You don't have to fully agree with the encyclical's stance on artificial contraception to appreciate its spot-on analysis of the sexual revolution and its consequences. In fact, it's no stretch to call this document "prophetic" in many respects. The document begins by saying something every Christians should agree with: "The transmission of human life is a most serious role in which married people collaborate freely and responsibly with God the Creator." And then, it recognizes what it calls a "remarkable development": "man's stupendous progress in the domination and rational organization of the forces of nature (has reached the) point that he is endeavoring to extend this control over every aspect of his own life," including the laws "that regulate the transmission of life." Humanae Vitae was prompted by the collision of the historical Christian view of marriage and childbirth, and the view that emerged from the intersection of medical technology and the sexual revolution. The latter resulted in the divorce of sex, marriage, and procreation. In 1968, the expectation in many circles, both inside and outside the Catholic Church, was that the Christian view would succumb to the new modern ideology. But instead, Pope Paul VI surprised many when he affirmed nearly two millennia of Christian teaching on the subject. Now note I said "Christian," not "Catholic." For 1900 years, all ChristiansProtestants, Catholics and Orthodoxcondemned artificial birth control. Martin Luther called contraception a manifestation of the wickedness of fallen human nature. In his Commentary on Genesis, John Calvin wrote, "When a woman in some way drives away the seed out the womb, through aids, then this is rightly seen as an unforgivable crime." In 1930 at the Lambeth Conference, the Anglican Communion opened the door to artificial contraception. It attempted to hedge its bets by condemning it when used "for motives of selfishness, luxury, or mere convenience," but that attempt just ended up being futile. By 1968, the contraceptive mentality had taken over our culture. Even those who disagree with Paul VI's rejection of contraception, must still acknowledge that his prediction of where the contraceptive mentality would take us was quite accurate. Experience, Paul VI wrote, teaches us that "human beingsand especially the young, who are so exposed to temptationneed incentives to keep the moral law." But artificial contraception offered incentive to break that law. The result, Humanae Vitae predicted, would be increased "marital infidelity and a general lowering of moral standards." Men "may forget the reverence due to a woman and . . . reduce her to being a mere instrument for the satisfaction of his own desires..." Countless victims of the sexual revolution have proven Paul VI right. Finally, he warned that governments, in furtherance of some "greater good," may actually impose contraception on an entire population. Again, countries like China, India, and others have done exactly what Humanae Vitae predicted they would. We've asked a number of scholars to weigh in on the ongoing legacy of Humanae Vitae and the consequences of the sexual revolution. Come to BreakPoint.org today to view this, our latest symposium. We must, in this cultural moment, re-imagine sexuality as God intended, not as the sexual revolution corrupted it. As Christians, we must recommit to living faithfully to a Christian vision of sex, procreation, and marriageas strange is it may seem to progressive ears. Again, come to BreakPoint.org for our symposium "Humanae Vitae at 50." Originally posted at Breakpoint. Police investigating suspected rape at HTB Focus Festival A man has been arrested on suspicion of rape at Holy Trinity Brompton's Focus Festival. The man was arrested on Wednesday and is being questioned by Hampshire Police. The festival at the Somerley Estate on the Hampshire-Dorset border attracts thousands of mainly younger people and is badged as 'a week of teaching, worship and community for HTB and associated churches'. HTB is associated with the Alpha Course popularised by Nicky Gumbel. This year the gathering was addressed by the Bishop of London, Dame Sarah Mullalley, and RT Kendall. Participants saw police on site as festival-goers were packing up to leave on Tuesday. A police spokesman told Premier: ' A police spokesman said: 'We were called at 05.06am on August 1 to a report of a 21-year-old woman being sexually assaulted at the Focus Festival which was being held at the Somerley Estate, north of Ringwood at some point between 1.30 am and 2 am. ' The victim is receiving support from specialist officers. 'A 54 year-old man who is not from Hampshire has been arrested on suspicion of rape and remains in custody at this time.' HTB told Premer it would not comment on the case as it was a police matter. A SWAT team on Friday morning arrested a man who allegedly threatened another man with a shotgun, an AR-15 and then a pistol, said Capt. Larry Bainbridge of the Houston Police Department. Houston police were called out to an apartment complex on 6121 Winsome at Greenridge around 10:15 p.m. Thursday. A man was trying to find parking at the complex and saw the suspect pointing a shotgun at him, Bainbridge said. He sped off and circled back around, where he saw the suspect holding an AR15 with a laser pointed at him, according to the captain. The man parked farther away, and as he was walking to the apartment complex, he saw the same suspect holding a pistol, Bainbridge said. Police found the man with a weapon, but he ran off and holed up inside an apartment. A SWAT team was called and eventually persuaded the man to come out sometime before 5 a.m., Bainbridge said. The man faces charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. This is the second time the man has done something like this, Bainbridge said. In February, the suspect discharged a weapon, but the case is still pending, the captain said. The weapons are still believed to be inside the apartment, and police are attempting to get a search warrant to look inside. The headline in this story has been corrected to indicate that the suspect was accused of carrying an AR-15. In 1997, the Old Yoakum Community Hospital closed its doors to make way for a bigger, more modern facility. More than 20 years later it continues to attract guests with its rumors of haunted appearances. This weekend, that hospital is partnering with Haunted Rooms America in inviting the public to join a team of paranormal investigators on a ghost hunt and sleepover at the haunted location in Yoakum, about 100 miles east of San Antonio. It's a rare opportunity for the public to investigate the hospital, at which access is usually limited to individuals in the paranormal field, a hospital spokesperson said. Attendees will have full access to the hospital, available paranormal investigating equipment, a psychic in attendance, paranormal investigation 101, and snacks and drinks all night. RELATED: San Antonio cafe that closed after a ghost visit reopened with paranormal theme Old Yoakum Community Hospital was built in 1922 as Huth Community hospital, according to Haunted Rooms America's website. In 1933, the Sisters of the Incarnate Word and Blessed Sacrament of Victoria bought the hospital and grew it until the late 1990s, when it closed. But a number of the deceased staff members and patients there are rumored to still check in, the website said. A young nurse who was working in the Intensive Care Unit in the 1990 reportedly died after being shot by her jilted lover several times, according to the website. Some say she can still be seen walking through the second floor, and members of a paranormal team reported hearing her say "hey." Father Kraum, a beloved priest who said Mass at the hospital though he was a victim of polio, is also rumored to have a presence in the old chapel on the first floor, where his wheelchair is still kept, the website said. An old surgery schedule still hangs on a clipboard, old medical equipment litters some of the areas, a former patient was reportedly heard calling for help, and the former director of nursing allegedly still haunts her area, according to the website. The event, which costs $99, lasts from Aug. 4 at 9 p.m. until Aug. 5 at 10 a.m. Booking information is available online. S. M. Chavey is a staff writer for mySA.com. Read more of her stories here. | sarah.chavey@express-news.net | 210-250-3122 | Twitter: @smchavey Bill, an Australian traveler in Zimbabwe, stood in the velvet-caped darkness and listened. I planted myself next to him and sucked in my breath, not wanting the smallest leak of air to disturb the quiet. And then we waited for it, the low growl that would confirm our suspicions: A lion had crashed our campsite. After hearing the noise again, I grabbed our guide from the picnic shelter. Onary screwed up his face as he registered the bellow. Then his expression relaxed, and he let out a belly laugh. On a budget safari in Africa, I was out in the raw elements, among the wildlife and the humans who snort like them. I couldn't shush either one, a concession I had made for the savings I had reaped by roughing it. But what I sacrificed in soundproof accommodations, I gained in adventure and adrenaline - including the thrill (real or imagined) of a predator within a whisker of my tent flap. Several companies offer overland safaris that keep costs down by swapping in camping, campground cooking and bus transport for pricier lodges, restaurants and bush planes. (Higher-end safaris typically cost $400 to $1,000 a day.) Intrepid Travel, for one, lists three levels of comfort, with "Basix" at the bottom. Before signing up for this nine-day trip from Victoria Falls, on the border of Zambia and Zimbabwe, to Kruger National Park in South Africa, I had to look deep into my travel soul and ask: Was I looking for an "exceptional value" and "plenty of free time?" Yes, I was. Did I want the "flexibility to choose where and how [my] time and money was spent?" I certainly did. Could I handle early rises, long drives on rutted roads and such duties as food prep, kitchen cleanup and tent assembly? For $1,100 (land only) and the possibility of seeing a leopard or a lion, roll out the sleeping bag and toss me the potato peeler. - - - Intrepid Travel copies the pricing model of a low-fare airline. The company provides the main elements - tents with sleeping pads, most meals, safari truck transport and a few game drives - but you pay for the extras, such as a sleeping bag (you can also bring your own) and optional tours. At Victoria Falls, our starting point, the excursions included a gorge swing for $110 and a 12-minute helicopter flight for $180. The Irish teachers in our group splurged on the heli ride; I opted for a lower and less expensive view of the falls, paying $30 to enter the park. I could have rented a raincoat, but I knew that the wait for a hot shower at the campsite could be long, and my fallback plan was the largest waterfall in the world. When I showed up at the Victoria Falls Rest Camp, our rendezvous spot in Zimbabwe, the tents were already standing. All I had to do was toss my bags inside and remember which tan-and-green shelter was mine. That evening, we met each other (14 people, five nationalities, a half-century age span) and the staff. Onary, the guide, introduced us to Enos, the cook; Ernest; the driver; and Truck, the truck. "This is the fourth member of the crew," Onary said of the 24-seat vehicle. "Treat it with respect. If he breaks, he's not going to take us where we need to be." Onary, who grew up in Zimbabwe, briefed us on the itinerary. We would spend four nights in Zimbabwe, one night in Botswana and three in South Africa, and were responsible for buying five lunches. Since we would be traveling in close and sometimes challenging quarters, he encouraged us to "develop a family spirit and have space for others in your minds and hearts." He also urged us to not contract malaria. "You paid for the trip to enjoy, not to get upset," he added philosophically. I raised my hand with a few questions. Since I had paid a single supplement of $72, could I have two sleeping pads, for my phantom other half? The answer was no. Did we have drinking water? No. Onary said the staff fills jugs with tap water, but the company's pre-departure notes warned us to avoid water from the faucets, a common concern in developing countries. After he wrapped up the talk, reminding us of the 8 a.m. departure time, we streamed into town and hit up the OK supermarket, loading up on chips, biscuits and five-liter bottles of water. Dinner was not included that night, so three of us scanned the menu at a fast-food joint. Bill and Ash, a British cook, poked at fried chicken that looked tragically undercooked. I settled on a liquid dinner of red wine and instant coffee provided by a South African family camping between my tent and the bathroom. Our meeting was inevitable. - - - You never forget your first wildlife sighting. Mine was a pair of vervet monkeys goofing around at Victoria Falls and a lone warthog snuffling through plastic outside the national park's entrance. The next day, I added baboons, but fortunately not during what our guide referred to as a "bushie-bushie" stop. "They're going to see you once and never again," Onary said of possible run-ins - whether simian or human - during the roadside bathroom breaks. On the half-day drive from Victoria Falls to Hwange National Park, we stopped in the nearest town for supplies. More chips, more water, but no coal, the area's main industry. I walked around the commercial strip, passing several banks that appeared dark and empty in a sign of Zimbabwe's financial distress. The following day, in Bulawayo, the country's second-largest city, we would see people lined up hoping to withdraw their $30 daily allotment before the currency stream dried up. When we arrived at the Ivory Lodge Campsite, we moved like ants, quickly raising our tent village. After lunch, several of us climbed up to the observation deck overlooking a watering hole. Dozens of elephants appeared from out of the bush. A voice from down the road hollered for us to come down. We followed a dusty path to an elegant lodge, where a guide led us to a sunken teak lounge with an open window and an intimate view of the elephants. We were so close I could see the tufts of hair on a baby elephant's head and follow the watchful eye of its protective mother. After several minutes, the employee ushered us out, just as the paying guests pulled up. "Look what we ordered for you," he informed his excited clients, directing their gaze to the herd. We trudged back to camp, smug in our knowledge that we had seen them first. That afternoon, we boarded two open-air vehicles for our first official game drive. The Hwange park guide, Zebedee, told us to call him "Rhino," though his name was not prophetic. A better nickname would have been "Impala." Back at the campsite, with images of wild animals dancing around in our heads, Onary told us to stash our shoes inside our tents. Hyenas and jackals might snack on them while we slept, or scorpions could burrow inside. That night, all footwear remained indoors. - - - Rhinos are better than caffeine. If you are feeling drowsy, as I was after a cold night of camping and an early wake-up call, seeing the horned animals lolling around in the grass will revive you faster than a double shot of espresso. We started the overcast morning outside the gates of Matobo National Park, where our guide Kurt Schmidt described the event that sparked his interest in rhinos. "I was charged by a black rhino," he said. The harrowing incident drew him closer to the animals, inspiring him to learn more about their behaviors and to tighten his protective arms around them. With a 95 percent unemployment rate in Zimbabwe, poaching is pervasive. He asked our group to not publicize the park's rhino population numbers and to turn off the GPS feature if we planned to post photos of the rhinos. He didn't want to give poachers any leads. Kurt was less guarded about the black eagles (200 breeding pairs) and the leopards (600) inhabiting the park. "They are ambush predators," he said of the big cats. "It's wonderful to know that we are being watched." While explaining dehorning and his controversial idea to legalize rhino horn, he received a call. "Fantastic! That's good news," he said into the receiver. "Guys, we have a rhino to look at." On the trail, he told us to walk in single file and remain quiet. We stopped at a clearing, where I could see patches of tough gray skin but no distinguishing features. Then the blobs were gone, disturbed by our presence. Not giving up, we scaled a rocky incline and looked down to find our quartet. From this vantage, we could see the white rhinos in various stages of relaxing - not the most scintillating activity if you're watching a cow but fascinating if your object of interest is a prehistoric-looking beast. Kurt motioned for us to follow him down the hill and around the bend, for a ground-level view. He smacked his lips, hissed and released a high-pitched, nasal sound. The rhinos twitched their ears. "We are trying to tell them, 'We are here and one of you.' " he explained. The sky was darkening and the temperature was dropping, but we had one more stop before we returned to the campground. We disembarked in a small village and entered the thatch-roofed home of a Ndebele chief. In his native language, Pondo entertained us with the story of his first leopard hunt, an animated tale that involved a dog, a good Samaritan in a pickup truck and a trip to the hospital. (Kurt acted as translator.) The 87-year-old, who wore a quill bib and plumed headgear, also told us about his trip to South Africa in the 1960s. He was responsible for transporting eight white rhinos to the park. Based on his animated actions, all bent knees and grunts, it was a colossal job. Pondo asked us to join him in a prayer for rain and a good harvest. Then, he invited us to take photos with him in matching leopard skins. I skipped the photo op and played with the children instead. We snapped selfies and I showed them videos of penguins. A boy named Mpendulo sketched a picture of a rhino in my notepad. I asked him if he had any other drawings. He presented me with a stack of images of the animals, landscape and people that are part of his daily life - and are now a part of mine, too. - - - I saved money. Botswana waived its visa requirement days before we arrived at the border crossing. Also, because we were traveling during peak season, Onary was not able to reserve seats on an optional evening game drive in Kruger National Park in northeastern South Africa. I also spent money, in the name of staying warm. I bought a blanket and sweatpants in Botswana and upgraded to a bungalow at our overnight in South Africa's Limpopo province. (Many of the campgrounds provide indoor lodgings for an extra fee. Emma, an Aussie, and I each paid $15 for accommodations with two beds and a bucket shower but no electricity.) For our final safari, I tossed frugality to the lions. We had one full day in Kruger, and Onary advised us to skip the open-air vehicle, which cost extra, and ride in the truck, which did not. "You pay 880 rand [about $60] for the day drive and you don't see anything," he said, "and then you come back with your faces down." We were one of the first vehicles through the gate, and less than 10 minutes inside the park, we were gazing at impalas, elephants and more elephants, guinea fowl, black-chested snake eagles, Cape buffaloes, hippos, crocodiles, lilac-breasted rollers, zebras - and Zazu from "The Lion King," otherwise known as a red-billed hornbill. Just after 10 a.m., we released a communal gasp when we spotted a leopard about 300 feet from the road. "This is very, very, very rare," Onary said. "He is in a hunting position, relaxing and conserving his energy in case something happens past." Post-leopard, we checked off waterbuck, tawny eagle (a pair), giraffe and kudzu. Someone yelled out "lion," but it was a false alarm. We glared at the rock. In the late afternoon, we piled into jeeps for the second half of the safari. Onary had originally quoted us a price of $25 but later informed us that the fee had nearly doubled. A few of us groused, but in the end, we paid up. "Please find us a lion," Niamh, an Irish teacher living in Abu Dhabi, implored the local guide behind the wheel. He complied. He darted through the bush, screeching around corners and pummeling the vegetation. Without warning, he turned off the engine and pointed at our prize: a male teenage lion commandeering a hill. For several minutes, we had a private audience with a lion, an experience that temporarily made us forget all the rest. - - - IF YOU GO What to do Intrepid Travel 800-970-7299 intrepidtravel.com/us The Australia-based company organizes a slew of overland safari tours in Africa throughout the year. The nine-day Vic Falls-to-Kruger tour starts at $1,093 per person. The company will match solo travelers for shared lodging or pay a single supplement of $72 for your own tent. Price includes tent and sleeping pad; eight breakfasts, three lunches and seven dinners; bus transport; and several game drives with fees. Extra expenses before and during the trip include international airfare (I booked through AirTreks and paid $2,000 from Dulles International Airport on Ethiopian Air); several meals; vaccinations; visas ($30 for Zimbabwe); tips for local and trip guides; and lodging upgrades, if you need a break from camping. If you travel in the winter months, pack warm clothes and bring several headlamps or flashlights with extra batteries. Also grab packs of gum and notebooks and pens, in case you visit a village with children. MPC to form their own govt The leaders of various political parties attending the multi-party conference (MPC) have announced that they will approach the parliament for the formation of a government with their own chosen representatives. The meeting was held in Islamabad on Thursday in the wake of the alleged rigging during the July 25 elections. Upon the conclusion of the meeting, it was announced that a draft had been prepared by a 16-member committee, outlining the decisions that had been taken by the parties in consensus. According to the draft, prepared by Senate opposition leader Sherry Rehman and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Mushahid Hussain, the parties have decided that the prime minister shall be appointed from the PML-N, the speaker of the National Assembly from the PPP and the deputy speaker from the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA). Rehman, while addressing the media, said that the parties have already rejected the election results, adding that "the mandate taken by the opposition was rigging-laden". Speaking on behalf of all the parties, she announced that they would "fight the puppet government" and lodge a protest within and outside the parliament. Shahbaz Sharif speaks with Fazalur Rehman and Khursheed Shah. The PPP leader added that the parties would jointly release a white paper within a few days and that a working committee had already been formed for this. "Nadra has admitted that the RTS system was not faulty but was rather jeopardised. The level at which the elections were rigged, with one organisation having been given the right to run the process, is unacceptable," she declared. Moreover, Hussain said that the committee would decide the future course of action and that a meeting in this regard would be held on Friday at Rehman's office. ANP leader Mian Iftikhar Hussain strongly asserted that they are "stepping into the battlefield with the aim of winning" and expressed confidence that they would succeed in forming a government. MMA general secretary Liaquat Baloch said that the parties have all come together to "protect the Constitution and democracy", adding that they will "carry on the struggle for fair elections". "In a first for the country, all the parties have come together to reject the unjust elections," said PML-N stalwart, Ahsan Iqbal. Besides members from PML-N, PPP, and MMA, other political leaders in attendance at the conference belonged to the Awami National Party (ANP), the Qaumi Watan Party (QWP), the Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP), and the National Party (NP). Due to the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM)'s decision to join the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf in forming a government at the centre, it was not invited to attend the conference. Additionally, members of the Balochistan National Party-Mengal and the Mustafa Kamal-led Pak Sarzameen Party (PSP) were not present at the meeting. PTI claims having greater numbers than opposition The PTI issued a statement soon after the 'opposition' addressed the media and announced its decision to bring their own candidates for the posts of prime minister, speaker and deputy speaker. "The opposition parties have every right to exercise their political will. However, we have already told the opposition that they are welcome to bring whatever grievances they have to us and we will address them," said PTI spokesperson Fawad Chaudhry. "We also welcome their decision to approach the parliament. PML-N and PPP's decision to reject the JUI-F's call and go to the parliament instead is indeed a welcoming step," he maintained, adding that similarly it was the opposition's right to form a democratic alliance. Questioning the basis for the opposition's stance, he said: "From a political standpoint their statement is well and good, however, the fact remains that the government and the speaker will belong to whoever has the numbers and that happens to be PTI". STAMFORD Antwaun Boyd was expecting a carton of fried rice when he ordered delivery from China Xpress this week. What the 25-year-old Stamford man got, he claimed, was a fried mouse. A fight erupted Thursday when Boyd and his grandmother went to the Selleck Street restaurant to confront employees about the apparent surprise in the meal they ordered the previous night, police said. According to what Boyd told police, the employee examined the rice and removed the mouse to show there was no rodent inside the carton. A fight then broke out between restaurant employees and Boyd who was joined by several friends, police said. Wei Hou, 35, a cashier and manager at the restaurant, claims he suffered a broken nose and broken collarbone and needed stitches. Hou said he plans to contact an attorney about a possible lawsuit against Boyd. Not only are we being assaulted, but at the same time, were being slandered by something thats not true, said Hou, who opened China Xpress with his brother about eight years ago. This is going to cause a lot of damage to our business. Weve been serving the neighborhood over eight years. Its devastating seeing my wife come to the hospital and seeing me beat up. I have two kids I need a job for. Now I have to be off for the next couple of months. Elizabeth Carlson, a special assistant to Mayor David Martin, said a city health department official inspected the restaurant Friday morning. Carlson said the restaurant passed the inspection and there was no evidence of rodents. Ray Sun, a cashier who was working when the fight occurred, said Boyd came in with two bags of food. Sun claims one of them was not from China Xpress. Sun claims there was no mouse in either box, only two pieces of chicken. Sun said he called police as Boyd argued with the cashier and was trying to lure the employee outside for a fight. Sun said Boyd went outside and called several friends who he claims started attacking the cashier. Police said Boyd punched Hou in the face, prompting other kitchen employees to join the fight and hit the men with spoons. Boyd fled the with his friends, leaving his grandmother at the restaurant where police said an employee struck her with a wooden spoon. Charges are pending against the employee who police said attacked Boyds grandmother. Boyds grandmother and Hou were taken to Stamford Hospital. There was blood all over, Hou said. You dont want stuff like that to happen. I want justice. The Selleck Street one-room restaurant, which has a ServSafe food handling certification hanging on the wall by the counter, is located in a small plaza with Selleck Laundromat and Rikos Thin Crust Pizza. Sun said he doesnt believe the incident on Thursday will affect business. Truth is truth, Sun said. Its common sense. Mice in a box ... unbelievable. Or Id say, impossible. Boyd, who could not be reached for comment, turned himself in Thursday night and was charged with second-degree assault and disorderly conduct. Boyd was charged last year with disorderly conduct in Nashua, N.H., for his role in a fight that broke out during a mens basketball game that he was playing in for Daniel Webster College. erin.kayata@ stamfordadvocate.com; 203-964-2265; @erin_kayata Oil was steady as concerns over the fallout from the U.S.-China trade dispute and higher supply from OPEC balanced some signs of tightness in the market. West Texas Intermediate futures slipped 0.4 percent, and are little changed this week. Escalating threats between President Donald Trumps administration and Chinese officials are fanning worries that both economic activity and fuel demand could be impaired. Prices climbed on Thursday after data provider Genscape Inc. this week signaled that crude stockpiles at the biggest U.S. storage hub of Cushing, Oklahoma, may fall further from the lowest level in almost four years. Oil slumped more than 7 percent last month as a trade spat between the U.S. and China weighed on prices, with Beijing on Friday retaliating against Trumps latest threat by planning tariffs of about $60 billion in American goods. While looming U.S. sanctions against Iran look set to tighten global crude supplies, there are signs of a surplus emerging as other members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and the groups allies boost output. The current trade war between the U.S. and China continues to take headlines and cause uncertainty, said Michael Poulsen, an analyst at Global Risk Management Ltd. Tightening Market West Texas Intermediate crude for September delivery declined 20 cents to $68.76 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange as of 8:13 a.m. local time, after rising $1.30 on Thursday. Total volume traded Friday was about 27 percent below the 100-day average. Brent for October settlement traded at $73.42 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange, down 3 cents. Prices are 1.8 percent lower this week. The global benchmark traded at a $5.89 premium to WTI for the same month. Sliding Stockpiles Crude inventories at the Cushing hub fell 1.1 million barrels from July 27 to July 31, a Genscape report was said to show. That comes after the Energy Information Administrations data showed Cushing stockpiles fell last week for an 11th straight time to the lowest level since October 2014. Crude storage at Cushing will remain low, said Harry Tchilinguirian, head of commodity markets strategy at BNP Paribas SA in London. Refinery runs will stay high over the summer while the opportunity to export U.S. crude oil eastwards remains in place. Meanwhile, Iran started a major exercise in the Strait of Hormuz involving more than 50 small boats, practicing swarming operations that could potentially shut down the waterway if ever deployed for real, Fox News reported, citing U.S. officials. Iranian officials have alluded to the possibility of disrupting traffic in the strait while the Trump administration pressures Irans oil customers to cut off purchases. About 30 percent of the worlds seaborne-traded crude passes through the strait. U.S. Central Command said in a statement that its monitoring the situation. Other oil-market news: China rebuffed requests from the U.S. to reduce imports of Iranian oil, although it did agree not to ramp up purchases, according to two officials familiar with the negotiations. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross signaled theres more pain ahead unless China changes its economic system, as the Asian nation repeated it will never surrender to U.S. trade threats. Chinas largest refiner, Sinopec, will hold off on buying U.S. crude as an escalating trade war between Beijing and Washington threatens to make American imports more expensive, according to a person familiar with the matter. Saudi Arabian Oil Co. reduced monthly pricing to most markets as the worlds biggest oil exporter boosts supply to meet customer demand. --With assistance from Tsuyoshi Inajima. 2018 Bloomberg L.P. How much is that doggy in the window? If the window is at the Deer Park Animal shelter, that pooch, or any other pet someone may want to adopt, will be $50 less than the normal charge as the shelter participates in the national Clear the Shelter program sponsored by Telemundo. As shelter crowding becomes more prevalent especially over the summer facilities across the country take a day and waive adoption fees in an effort to find homes for animals. This year, the Clear the Shelter event will take place Aug. 18 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. People adopting an animal will not have to pay the adoption fee, but are still responsible for the spay or neuter and rabies vaccine. We have a lot of cats right now, said Jeanna Hooker, the Deer Park shelters animal control supervisor. So, were always looking to find good homes for them, and we also have this sweet dog named Hazel who were concentrating on. Shes about a year old and we think shes a shepherd-husky mix. Shes little shy, but shes excellent with other dogs and great with people. But dogs and cats arent the only creatures the shelter has ever taken in. Because were a city facility, we take in anything that is in the city, Hooker said. In the past, the shelter has taken in alligators, guinea pigs, ostriches, snakes, ponies, goats and pigs. Years ago, someone was driving down the road and found one of those small plastic habitats just laying around outside, Hooker said. There was a tarantula living in it. Joining the initiative spearheaded by Telemundo helps quite a bit, Hooker said. Were tucked way back here on Luella; so a lot of times well get people in that didnt even know we were here, she said. If a bigger company like Telemundo or NBC is advertising the event and were attached to it, its on such a huge scale that more people will see it and potentially get involved. This will be the fourth year for the annual event and the third year Deer Park is participating. Weve seen a definite increase in adoptions during the event, she said. Hooker encouraged residents to follow the Deer Park Animal Shelter on Facebook at www.facebook.com/deerparktx.animalshelter to keep an eye out for pets they might be interested in adopting. Just remember if you see an animal before the adoption event and youre waiting until that day for the fee to be waived, there is a chance the animal wont be there when youre ready for them, she said. Well work with people though. Just be sure to let us know that you know about the adoption event if youre coming in before hand. jennifer.bolton@chron.com Katy-area residents who have enlisted in the military service in recent months have received a warm send-off from the community thanks to Texans Embracing Americas Military. Each send-off has gotten larger as more and more organizations are involved, said at-large Katy City Councilman Chris Harris. Its grown from a very small event to something humbling and something that everyone wants to be involved in. The next send-off will begin at 2 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 5, at Katy Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 9182, 6206 George Bush Drive. Ralph Oliver, founder/creator of Texans Embracing America's Military, noted on the nonprofits Facebook page, www.facebook.com/TEAMKatyTx, This Aug. 5 send-off could be our biggest yet. We are looking at 31 Army recruits, 11 Air Force recruits, 7 Marine recruits and a possible 10 from the Navy. Lets pack the house for these kids! Oliver, who served six years in the military police, borrowed the idea of a send-off for young military recruits from the neighbor of a friend he went to visit in Colorado. That got Oliver talking with Katy-area public safety groups like police and fire departments as well as community organizations like the Katy Elks, American Legion and VFW. Everyone was all for it, he said. Then Hurricane Harvey came and put a damper on things. After the first of the year, Oliver resurrected the idea and the Katy Elks Lodge 2628 at 1050 Katy Fort Bend Road hosted the initial send-off in March. After the VFW reopened its hall that had been damaged by Harvey floodwaters, the growing event moved. The program starts with a prayer, pledge of allegiance and singing of the national anthem. Recruiters from each service introduce their recruits and parents. Individuals and groups give tokens of appreciation to the recruits and sometimes their parents. The program concludes with what Harris calls a celebratory line where everyone lines up and greets each recruit and everyone is cheering and clapping. Betty Edmundson, an officer of the Elks Lodge and of the VFW Auxiliary, said, Its something to remember as they go away. We have a lot of support from the city on this. Were hoping it will be around for quite some time and give recruits something to look back on. It can be quite emotional, added Edmundson. A lot of young men and women have never been away from home. Some are coming straight out of high school. This is quite a step for them. We try to show our support because we want these young men and women to know when they come back or need something they can get hold of their parents or us and well stand behind them in anyway we can. That position is endorsed by Ward A Katy City Councilman J. Gary Jones, a retired U.S. Marine. I know how it was when I went in the military. Get on a bus and goodbye. His family cared about him but he didnt see them until he came home. When I came home the people who greeted me were spitting on me, added Jones, who served during the Vietnam era. He wants the kids going into the service today to know that they have the support of their community and its citizens. I want them to know there is a community and citizens that care about them and remember them when theyre going to defend our nation. Everyone of the military branches is a team and were honoring them as a T.E.A.M. More Information Want to go? What: Katy send-off for military recruits When: 2 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 5 Where: Katy Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 9281, 6206 George Bush Drive Details:https://www.facebook.com/TEAMKatyTx/ or https://texansembracingamericasmilitary.com/ See More Collapse Jones has attended all the send-offs, but the Aug. 5 event will be special because his grandson, Mason, a U.S. Army recruit, will be participating. Harris said that Oliver spent a lot of time organizing the nonprofit and its events. Ralph is not only a true supporter of the military and public servants but he was the coordinator between the civilians and military during Hurricane Harvey. Based at Katy High school, he coordinated disaster relief. Hes been an unbelievable individual in everything hes done for Katy, added Harris. karen.zurawski@chron.com The Katy community mourned last week the death of R.L. Buddy Frazier, 77, who served 25 years at the Katy Police Department, including 13 as chief. Assistant Katy Police Chief Tim Tyler said, Chief Frazier was instrumental in getting me started in law enforcement. He was not only a friend but a mentor and helped everyone in the department he loved grow and mature into the men and women they are today. The quote that is still on the patrol units today came from him. Your safety is our business. Frazier was born on Aug. 1, 1941, in Houston. He died on Aug. 1 surrounded by his family. Funeral services were held Aug. 6 at Schmidt Funeral Home Grand Parkway Chapel. He served in the U.S. Army before beginning a career in law enforcement that lasted nearly 50 years. He served several police departments before coming to Katy, including the Dayton Police Department, the Harris County Sheriffs Office and the Village Police Department, where he retired in 1983. Frazier, a Katy resident since 1962, had more than 20 years service when he retired from the Village Police Department, but he wasnt really ready to retire. So he started working as a patrolman for the Katy Police Department, which had 17 employees in the farming and ranching community. During his tenure, the department grew as development increased in the Katy area. He was honored as the City of Katy Employee of the Year in 2007. It included recognition for his work with other officials to bring Katy Mills mall to the city. After receiving the recognition, Frazier in a 2008 article in the Houston Chronicles neighborhood section said, I was thoroughly surprised and totally pleased. It's nice to be honored by your peers." The police department at 5456 Franz Road more than doubled in size during his tenure as chief after Katy City Council approved the more than $4 million remodeling and expansion. He advanced through the ranks from patrolman to patrol sergeant to patrol captain to captain over criminal investigation before taking over as chief of police in February 1996. He retired in 2009. The city held a retirement reception to honor Frazier in January 2009. Frazier then said, Ive enjoyed working here. Ive enjoyed the way people here treated us and Im ready to go and play. He retired to 640 acres in Sanderson where he raised cattle. He is survived by his wife, Roberta Robbie Frazier; sons, Loyd E. Frazier and his wife, Donna, John R. Frazier and his wife, Denise; sisters, Melinda Smith and her, husband Russell, Connie Doss, and Carla Stewart and her husband, Ferrian; grandchildren, Robert, James, Nicholas, Bryan, Eric, and Ryan. karen.zurawski@chron.com Harris County constable's deputies raided and shut down an alleged illegal gambling operation inside a Jersey Village-area gas station on Thursday. The Conoco convenience store at 8360 Windfern Road had been the subject of crime tips from neighbors who believed illegal gambling was occurring at the location, the Harris County Precinct 4 Constable's Office said in a news release. BAYTOWN: Woman allegedly stabbed police dog in the face with makeup brush Investigators first went undercover at the gas station, before executing a search warrant Thursday, August 2. In Harris County court records, a deputy alleges that he won $50 playing a machine at the gas station and was given $50 cash at the counter. The store owner, Sukhvir Singh, 60, and employee Milton Fernandes Linengrad, 33, were both arrested. Both suspects are charged with keeping a gambling place and possession of gambling equipment/paraphernalia. Constable's investigators also seized approximately $6,000 in suspected gambling process, along with gambling devices, the press release states. Porter Fire Department crews worked into the early morning hours Friday to extinguish a fire in a classroom and remove smoke from Porter High School, even bringing in an air boat to help. Fire crews first received an alarm at approximately 11:40 p.m. on Thursday from dispatch. Then, they began receiving multiple smoke detector activations reporting from the school. WARNINGS: San Marcos fire raises caution for Houston parents We arrived at Porter High School to find smoke in the building and through a search of the building, discovered a fire in the schools cosmetology room, Porter Fire Chief Carter Johnson said. The fire suppression system in the room extinguished the fire quickly. There was water and smoke damage to the school. The Porter Fire Department received assistance from the Crosby Fire Department, the East Montgomery County Fire Department, Caney Creek FD and South Montgomery County Fire Department to remove smoke through the use of fans and an airboat to increase pressure in the building. New Caney ISD Public Relation Executive Director Scott Powers said no one was at the school at the time. Fire officials indicate it appeared chemicals in a cabinet came into contact to start the fire, Powers said. Further investigation is underway to determine the official cause. There is minimal damage, and clean up is underway. STOPPING REPEAT CALLERS: Houston proposes sharp hike in ambulance fees Two student organization activities scheduled for Friday morning were delayed until later in the day. There is no expectation for delays related to the start of school Aug. 20, Powers added. On Friday morning, the Montgomery County Fire Marshals Office along with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were on scene to investigate and work to determine the cause of the fire. The fire suppression system worked like it should, soaking the one room where the fire was, containing that fire and not soaking any other room, Johnson said. Porter FD was on scene until approximately 4 a.m., working to ensure everything was extinguished and clearing as much as they could. jennifer.summer@hcnonline.com Authorities raided a convenience store in northwest Houston Thursday and arrested two employees for allegedly running an illegal gambling operation, Precinct 4 stated in a news release. Precinct 4 served a search warrant to the Conoco Convenience Store on the 8300 block of Windfern Road near Jersey Village. Investigators arrested Sukhvir Singh, the store's owner, and Milton Fernandes Linengrad, a store employee, on charges of keeping a gambling place and possession of gambling equipment/paraphernalia, according to the news release. PTI met BNP-M Sardar Akhtar Mengal ISLAMABAD: A delegation of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) met Balochistan National Party-Mengal (BNP-M) chief Sardar Akhtar Mengal at Balochistan House in the federal capital on Thursday. PTI leaders Naeemul Haque and Sardar Yar Muhammad Rind were part of the delegation meeting Mengal to seek support to form the government in the Centre. Sources said the PTI also invited Mengal for a one-on-one meeting with PTI Chairman Imran Khan. Speaking to media after the meeting, Mengal, who flew to Islamabad on Wednesday to meet the PTI leadership, said, I am thankful to the PTI for extending us an invite to be part of the federal government. The BNP-M chief said he apprised the PTI delegation of issues faced by the people of Balochistan. Till core issues are not resolved, Balochistan will not develop, he said. Speaking about the demands he put forth, Mengal said, We want missing persons to be recovered as well as implementation of CPEC. If we are given a satisfactory response to our demands, then we are ready to support the PTI, he asserted. We will not blindly support anyone if a provincial chief minister is named without taking us into consideration, he added. Mengal said that he did not receive an invitation for the all-parties conference (APC). JUI-F is an ally and we will sit together and decide whether to sit in the opposition benches or not, he added. PTIs Sardar Rind said that Mengals demands will be presented to Imran Khan. I am certain after Mengals meeting with Imran, both parties will work together, he said. William Nguyen embraced his mother with a big grin as he stepped off the escalator at George Bush Intercontinental Airport after weeks of being held prisoner in Vietnam. The 32-year-old returned to Houston Friday after his June arrest for taking part in a protest in Ho Chi Minh City. He was on trial for disturbing the peace and spent 40 days in detention before being cleared of wrongdoing and being allowed to travel back to the United States. "I'm having trouble processing it," Nguyen said. "I'm having as much trouble processing my time in prison as processing the media exposure." Nguyen learned during his July 20 trial that he would be freed after facing up to seven years in prison for disturbing the public peace. He said he was overwhelmed by the support from family, friends, advocates and politicians. "I don't know where to start with that," he said. " There's going to be a thank you tour that starts tomorrow." FOUND GUILTY: Houstonian detained in Vietnam to be deported after rare protest His mother, Vicky Nguyen, flew to Vietnam to reunite with her son when he was released from prison. At that time, he looked tired and overwhelmed by attention from media outlets. Now, he looks happy. "I can sleep well now," she said. Nguyen, who graduated from Yale University in 2008, planned to visit Vietnam before returning to Singapore to graduate with a master's degree in public policy. The protest and subsequent arrest changed those plans. Vicky and her other family members worked tirelessly to gain attention about his arrest. Lawmakers across the country spoke out on Nguyen's behalf, including California Democratic Reps. Alan Lowenthal, Jimmy Gomez and Lou Correa. 'World was watching' "Our expectation is that the U.S. Embassy in Vietnam and the U.S. government do whatever it can at the highest levels to obtain this release," they said in a statement released in June. U.S. Sens. John Cornyn and Ted Cruz, along with U.S. Reps. John Culberson, Al Green and Gene Green, joined others in sending a letter to U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to ask for Nguyen's release. Nguyen believes the national attention helped significantly. "To say that their treatment of me was kind is true, but we also have to take into context the fact that they knew that the world was watching," Nguyen said. "They knew that they had to treat me with a certain form of decency." Nguyen described the prison as primitive he even slept on a cement floor. He also acknowledged that even though he had to wait 40 days for his trial, some of his cellmates had been locked up for years without even knowing when they were going to trial. "I had prison wards who implicitly apologized for putting handcuffs on me or apologized for treating me this way," Nguyen said. "They knew my intentions were good. They knew that what was happening was unjust." Freedom is 'precious' The experience cemented Nguyen's passion to speak out about injustice. He said that he plans to write about his experience and enlighten people about the situation in Vietnam. "I feel like this gave him a purpose. This was his passion even before this," said Victoria Nguyen, his sister. "As a family collectively, we are all very passionate about this. It's just an unfortunate situation that needs change and I think he's the right person that can create that change." As Nguyen stood inside the airport, he discussed how he plans to make a trip to Washington when Congress is back in session to thank them for their efforts in his release. "Freedom is something even more precious than I envisioned. It's hard to put into words," Nguyen said. An 11-year-old Houston native reportedly became the youngest female rap artist to ink a record deal when she recently signed with Empire Distribution, the pre-teen announced on Instagram Thursday. Alaya High, who also goes by "Lay Lay," is originally from Houston but currently represents Atlanta. She showcases around two dozen videos of her freestyles on her Instagram page, many of which have racked up over 20,000 views. Three men were arrested, and four others are on the run, after deputies foiled a late-night bank heist in north Harris County. Seven men broke into the First Convenience Bank at the corner of Aldine Mail Route Road and the Eastex Freeway around 1:45 a.m. Thursday morning, hoping to steal the bank's ATM, according to the Harris County Sheriff's Office. Deputies rushed to the bank and caught the burglars trying to load the ATM into a stolen work van, but the seven men fled throughout the parking lot as police arrived, authorities said. MOST WANTED: 9 fugitive sex offenders are on Texas' list Two of the men Rickey Watson and Shakia Frazier, both 21 were caught almost immediately. Watson has a money sign tattooed between his eyes. Frazier has many tattoos on his face and shoulders. A third suspect, Larry Gill, 17, was caught a short time later after backup deputies created a perimeter around the area. The four other suspects remain at large. The three captured suspects are facing felony charges of theft, evading arrest and engaging in organized criminal activity, authorities said. Anyone with information about the other suspects is urged to call Houston Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS (8477) or the HCSO Burglary and Theft unit at 713-274-9200. Text CHRON to 77453 to receive breaking news alerts by text message. Jay R. Jordan covers breaking news in the Houston area. Read him on our breaking news site, Chron.com, and our subscriber site, HoustonChronicle.com | Follow him on Twitter at @JayRJordan | Email him at jay.jordan@chron.com The former lawman accused of gunning down a Houston cardiologist in the Texas Medical Center last month killed himself during a confrontation with police near Brays Bayou on Friday morning, bringing an end to a two-week saga that rattled the city's medical community and confounded investigators. After developing a list of names, amassing a file on his target, giving away his house and car and leaving behind a "Last Will and Testament" in the kitchen of his nearly empty Westbury home, Joseph "Joey" Pappas shot himself in the head in front of two Houston police officers trying to arrest him. "It's a sad day all the way around," Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo told reporters. "This doesn't bring anybody back, but it does bring closure." The 62-year-old accused gunman a former deputy constable and real estate agent who was an expert marksman was formally charged late Thursday with the murder of Dr. Mark Hausknecht, whose July 20 killing was caught on a METRO bus camera. The motive, police said, appeared to be a two-decade-old grudge Pappas had nursed against the doctor since his mother died on the operating table in 1997. "Why he was going to do or did this, we'll never know 100 percent," Acevedo said. "The only connection we can find, despite all the speculation, is that Dr. Hausknecht operated on his mom over 20 years ago." FOUND AT HOME: Man suspected in doctor killing left 'Last Will and Testament,' boxes of ammo The morning of the slaying, the 65-year-old physician was riding his bike to work in the Texas Medical Center when a man started riding behind him along Main Street. Wearing a hat and sunglasses and toting a full backpack, the biker followed Hausknecht for miles before passing him just before 9 a.m. and then turning around to open fire, striking the doctor in the head and torso. Hausknecht was taken to Ben Taub Hospital, where he died. "The unknown male did not stop and rode his bike away from the scene," police wrote in court documents describing the shooting as a "targeted attack" based on the deliberate manner in which the suspect started shooting "without provocation" before fleeing. The crime baffled police for days. Early this week, investigators got a tip from a woman concerned that her neighbor looked like the man shown in video surveillance footage released that day. The woman and another neighbor told police where Pappas lived in Westbury, according to court documents, and said that he usually rode his bike with a "full" backpack like the one described by police. Investigators checked county records and found Pappas owned the house in question, in the 5000 block of Stillbrooke. That same day, police also spoke to a family friend and learned their potential suspect had threatened suicide in a text message. Around the time of the crime, Pappas had sent the title to his vehicle and the deed for his home to that friend's mother in Ohio, claiming he had a terminal illness. "I called him on the 24th and he said he had a terminal illness, and that's why he deeded (me) the house," Jeanette Spencer told the News-Herald, a northern Ohio newspaper. On Monday, the day Spencer's daughter was supposed to meet with Pappas while visiting Houston, Pappas texted Spencer that he was going to kill himself. "Sorry for handling things this way," he texted. "House and property is now yours. Please make best use of it for you and (your daughter)." OHIO CONNECTION: Ohio woman reveals recent conversations with suspect in doctor's killing Worried about his well-being, the daughter drove to Pappas' home Tuesday and tried to get police to come for a welfare check, according to court records. When she got there, the woman found that officers had already shown up and left. She went into the home to check for herself, according to court records. Once she spoke to investigators in the case, though, police returned to the home. They did not encounter Pappas but instead found a home seemingly set up for a standoff. READ MORE: Suspected killer transferred deed day before death of Houston doctor Immediately inside the front door was a piece of metal positioned as a buttress against any forced entry, police said. In the main living area was just one piece of furniture a chair sitting directly in front of the window. In the kitchen was a "Last Will and Testament" of Joseph Pappas. The garage housed the man's vehicle and three boxes of .22-caliber ammunition. After authorities collected the evidence in a Wednesday morning raid, police released the suspect's name and possible motive, pleading for the public's help tracking him down. The Harris County District Attorney's Office filed a murder charge on Thursday. It is not clear what Pappas did in the days between the killing and his death. He accessed four houses in the area using his real estate agent key, and police said he may have been camping somewhere. Five days after Hausknecht was killed, Pappas apparently listed a number of guns, tactical vests and ammunition for sale online. He appeared to have been divesting himself of furniture and possessions as early as last October. In January, he offered for sale online an extensive list of weapons and reloading equipment. On Thursday night, SWAT officers surrounded Pappas' house in Westbury after receiving a report that a gate to the yard was open and lights in the house were on. It turned out no one was in the house. It was not until Friday morning that police finally found their man. Just after 9 a.m., a Houston Parks Board worker checking graffiti hotspots along Brays Bayou called police to say he was chasing someone. Four minutes later, he called back to report that the person was near the Seven Acres nursing home on North Braeswood, and that it might be Pappas. A few minutes later, the man called again to say he spotted the suspected killer sitting down. When the worker approached, Pappas started walking away, but he left behind his wallet. The worker called out to him, yelling that he was just looking for vandals. He told police Pappas motioned with his arms, then turned to walk away again. The worker picked up the wallet from the ground where Pappas had been sitting, opened it and immediately recognized the name. He phoned police, who arrived shortly after 9:30 a.m. near the 8800 block of Bob White Drive, where an officer spotted Pappas. The first officer on the scene approached Pappas, who was wearing body armor and mentioned suicide. The officer took shelter behind his patrol car after Pappas refused to follow the officer's orders to show his hands. When another officer arrived, Pappas took out a .22-caliber snub-nosed revolver and shot himself in the head, police said. He had a second gun on him at the time of his death, the chief said, but police did not specify what type. Acevedo expressed relief that the confrontation did not have a worse outcome. "You normally don't put on a bulletproof vest when you're planning to commit suicide," he said. "I'm convinced if we had not had that second officer arrive from a different angle, we might have had a shootout." In recent months, Pappas had amassed a detailed file of intelligence on Hausknecht's life, routines, job and home. On one sheet of paper, he listed two dozen names of other medical professionals and Texas Medical Center workers. Acevedo would not call it a "hit list" but said the Texas Medical Center had been informed. "We can't put much into that other than to say it was a very extensive list of names," he said. A Texas Medical Center spokesman declined to comment, but a spokesman for Houston Methodist, where Hausknecht worked, said HPD had shared the list with hospital officials. Friday evening, Hausknecht's wife put out a statement praising law enforcement's efforts to solve her husband's murder. "I echo the sentiments of Houston Police Department Chief Acevedo this morning in thanking the numerous departments, communities, and individuals involved whose teamwork and cooperation lead to the rapid resolution of this case," Dr. Georgia Hsieh said. "Media's role in keeping the public informed is also acknowledged. The family can never adequately thank our friends and neighbors who have loved and supported us. I am most grateful, however, for the many wonderful years our family shared together." The couple had two adult sons. Todd Ackerman and Fernando Alfonso III contributed to this report. keri.blakinger@chron.com samantha.ketterer@chron.com A possibly armed man who barricaded himself inside the attic of a Channelview day care facility Thursday afternoon has surrendered, said officials with the Harris County Sheriff's Office. Six young children, as young as 14 months old, were safely extracted one by one from the at-home day care at 1454 Leadenhall Circle, where the unnamed suspect fled Thursday morning after a police chase, said chief deputy Edison Toquica with the sheriff's office after the suspect surrendered. Malcolm Butler, a Baker Hughes employee, rushed to the Channelview fire station from work to reunite with his 3-year-old son. He said he felt "devastated" upon learning of the day's events. FOILED BANK HEIST: Man with a $ tattoo between his eyes among 3 arrested "It was heartbreaking...I prayed our child would be all right, and the rest of the kids, too," Butler said. The incident began as an 18-year-old was overseeing the day care, and a 14-year-old was staying in another part of the house. The homeowner and an adult male were also present. The extraction effort was conducted jointly by the sheriff's office and Harris County Constable Precinct 3. Toquica said the suspect, 19, is the homeowner's grandson. Police said they believe he was armed with a revolver, although he apparently did not have a weapon when he later surrendered. Theresa Perez lives next door and said her neighbor, Patrica Hawkins, operates a day care from the home. She confirmed Hawkins is the suspect's grandmother. Perez said she saw police pull three children from a window. "Right now I'm just glad the kids are out safe," Perez said while hostage negotiators worked to lure the suspect out of the house. "That's the big relief." The suspect led Precinct 3 deputies on a 15-minute chase around 11 a.m. after he ran a red light off of U.S. 90 and Beltway 8 and nearly hit a deputy's cruiser, Constable Sherman Eagleton said. Police chased the 19 year old into the Leadenhall neighborhood, where he got out of his vehicle, fired two rounds at a deputy constable and fled on foot approximately two blocks to the home, Eagleton said. No one was injured. NEW DEVELOPMENTS: Suspected killer transferred deed day before death of Houston doctor A woman police said they believe to be 18 or 19 years old, as well as the suspect's infant, were left in the car. Police said emergency medical personnel evaluated each child and confirmed none were harmed. Police also said the facility appears to be a licensed day care center. Toquica said the suspect has a warrant out of Arkansas for burglary. He said Arkansas officials are willing to extradite him. The sheriff's office tweeted that parents of the children at the day care could pick up their kids at the Channelview Fire Department at 1210 Dell Dale. Malcolm Butler, a Baker Hughes employee, rushed to the station from work to reunite with his 3-year-old son. He said he felt "devastated" upon learning of the day's events. "It was heartbreaking...I prayed our child would be all right, and the rest of the kids, too," Butler said. julian.gill@chron.com victoria.cheyne@chron.com Houston police arrested one of the 10 people on Texas' list of "most wanted" sex offenders in July. Anthony Fitzgerald Turner, 54, was arrested after being on the run for almost two years. Hubbell & Hudson Bistro will technically cease to exist at end of day on Aug. 25. When it reopens 12 days later, the Woodlands fine dining staple will be reborn as TRIS, a new contemporary American food concept named after head Chef Austin Simmons 18-month-old daughter. The Woodlands is a small community, Simmons said. And were about relationships here; we want people to feel in our dining room the way my daughter does at home. The rebranding is a risky move, Simmons said, but necessary to reflect their role in the growing culinary community in The Woodlands. Established in 2008, Hubbell & Hudson was a part of a three-pronged dining concept the Hubbell & Hudson grocery attached to the restaurant closed in 2014, effectively rendering the name Bistro, obsolete, and after years of confusion with the name of the grocery and its more casual concept, Hubbell & Hudson Kitchen, the company decided to differentiate the three. The kitchen will become just, The Kitchen, and Hubbell & Hudson Cureight, the concepts wine tasting room, will become Cureight. Over time we noticed we had a lot of convolution in our concept, Simmons said. All of those things came together and we said, Lets rebrand as who we want to be. General Manager Chris Perry is working to match the heightened cuisine with an equally heightened level of service at the new TRIS. My goal is to match the service in the front with the chefs food in back, Perry said. Over the 12-day renovation, crews will work to rip our the carpeting, redo the paint and take out the banquettes and booths that, Simmons said, often make connecting personally over the food cumbersome. They will also be putting in 13 tables with more personalized service and meeting capacity. Were actually losing tables, but were trying to make our regular dining scene a little different, Simmons said. We feel these tables will give us options to change up the layout. Were not tearing it down, were just breaking it up. Instead of serving one menu all day long, the restaurant will still host a no-linen lunch for regulars that work nearby. Simmons said the biggest fans need not worry the famous Bistro Burger will still be available at lunch and at the lounge. For dinner, we put a tablecloth on and become a high-end dining experience, Simmons said. Guests in any of the seven dining rooms will feast on renovated favorites from the first concept, craft beer, fine wine and new takes international cuisine like lobster Thermidor and osso bucco Milanese style. For both Simmons and officials with the Hubbell & Hudson Management LLC., which also owns the Black Walnut Cafe, the rebrand is a sort of re-homecoming to the community that the concept has called home for a decade. Its very important to make those Wow, moments for the guests, Perry, a 25-year resident of The Woodlands, said. Talal Chaudhry convicted in contempt of court case ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Thursday convicted Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader and former state minister Talal Chaudhry in a contempt of court case and sentenced him till the rising of the court. A three-judge bench, headed by Justice Gulzar Ahmad, also imposed a fine of Rs 100,000 on the PML-N leader, who also stands ineligible to contest elections for the next five years for violating Article 204 of the constitution. Talal was ordered by the apex court to ensure his presence during the proceedings, which were based on a suo motu notice on his anti-judiciary speech during a party rally in Jaranwala in January this year. He appeared in the court along with his counsel Kamran Murtaza. Legal experts say though the PML-N leader retains the right to file a review petition, however in contempt cases it is very unlikely that a verdict is reversed. Talals punishment lasted for a little over two hours as he remained confined inside Courtroom No 3 since the bench continued hearing cases and even took a tea break in between. His punishment was over once the bench concluded hearing cases. Addressing media following his conviction, Talal claimed that the decision strengthened the impression that the PML-N was neither acceptable before the polls nor after it. He claimed the pending case benefitted his opponents during electioneering as they warned constituents against voting for him claiming he would be disqualified. Reiterating his not-guilty stance, Talal said a review appeal against the top courts verdict will be filed. I had requested the Supreme Court numerous times that I did not intend or plan to be contemptuous. He claimed similar cases against Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan and Pakistani Awami Tehreek (PAT) chief Tahirul Qadri had been dismissed. He said the judiciarys respect will not increase just through contempt of court sentences. Its respect will increase the day the courts hand out sentences for contempt of the constitution, he said. We saw our people getting martyred just to see the respect of the judiciary increase, he said. And if todays sentence increases the judiciarys respect, I accept it because I am a democrat. Its because I took the oath to protect the constitution and because I am a follower of Nawaz Sharif. The general manager of the Trump International Hotel in Manhattan had a rare bit of good news to report to investors this spring: After two years of decline, revenue from room rentals went up 13 percent in the first three months of 2018. What caused the uptick at President Donald Trump's flagship hotel in New York? One major factor: "a last-minute visit to New York by the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia," wrote general manager Prince A. Sanders in a May 15 letter, which was obtained by The Washington Post. Neither Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman nor members of the royal family stayed at Trump's hotel, Sanders said: He said the Trump hotel didn't have suites big enough to accommodate them. But "due to our close industry relationships," he wrote, "we were able to accommodate many of the accompanying travelers." The previously unreported letter - describing a five-day stay in March that was enough to boost the hotel's revenue for the entire quarter - shows how little is known about the business that the president's company does with foreign officials. Such transactions have fueled criticism that Trump is reaping revenue from foreign governments, even as he controls U.S. foreign policy toward those countries. Trump's company has disclosed few details about the business it does with foreign customers, saying it already reveals more than is required. Neither Trump Organization and the Saudi Embassy answered questions about whether the Saudi government paid for anyone's stay at the hotel. Sanders did not respond to requests for comment. For now, just a handful of foreign government clients at Trump properties have been publicly identified through media reports and statements from foreign officials. But a broader list could eventually come out. Last week, a federal judge in Maryland gave the go-ahead to a lawsuit alleging that by accepting government business at his properties, Trump is violating the Constitution's "emoluments clauses" - dusty 18th-century measures meant to prevent presidents from putting their private bank accounts ahead of the public interest. If it stands, the ruling could force the company to provide new details about its relationships with foreign governments, states and even federal agencies. "This was how the Framers protected against corruption," said Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh, D, who filed the landmark suit along with D.C. Attorney General Karl A. Racine, D, saying they intended for these answers to be public. "They wanted to make sure the president would put the country above himself." The Justice Department, which is representing Trump in his official capacity, has argued that the Founding Fathers only meant to stop presidents from accepting gifts from foreign governments - not to stop presidents from conducting private business. Frosh has said he believes the case could end up eventually before the Supreme Court. So far, neither the Justice Department nor Trump's private attorney has said if they will appeal the decision. The White House did not respond to requests for comment. Trump said he has given up day-to-day control over his businesses. But he still owns them and can withdraw money from them. From the start of Trump's administration, his company has said it sees nothing wrong with continuing to do business with foreign states. "The renting of a hotel room from one of the Trump businesses is not correlated to President Trump's performance of the duties of the Office of President," Bobby R. Burchfield, a Republican attorney that the Trump Organization hired as an outside ethics adviser, wrote in a recent article in the Texas Review of Law & Politics. Under pressure, the Trump Organization agreed last year to donate profits from foreign government clients to the U.S. Treasury. This year, it announced the amount of the donation for 2017: $151,470. But it declined to say which foreign governments those profits had come from, or how much they had spent in total. Officials with Trump's D.C. hotel - the property that is the subject of the emoluments suit - have told The Post that they aren't actively courting foreign business, but acknowledged they also are not turning it away. The Embassy of Kuwait, for instance, has held its national day celebration twice at Trump's hotel in downtown Washington. This year, the Embassy of the Philippines also became a Trump customer, holding its Philippine independence day party in the Trump hotel's ballroom. Trump has had warm relations with Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, even as human-rights groups have condemned Duterte for a crackdown on drug users that has left thousands dead. "Having it at a hotel that happens to have [Trump's] name . . . it's a statement," Jose Manuel Romualdez, the Philippine ambassador to the United States, told Philippine TV station ABS-CBN during the event. "It's a statement that we have a good relationship with this president." He said the embassy chose Trump's hotel as a venue, but private donors actually paid. Also, last year Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak was spotted at Trump's D.C. hotel, along with a sizable entourage, during an official trip to Washington. (Najib was later ousted in an election.) And the Saudi government spent $270,000 at Trump's D.C. hotel last year, according to filings by a lobbying firm acting on the Saudis' behalf. Press reports indicated that the money paid for hotel rooms, food and parking for U.S. veterans groups brought to the District of Columbia to lobby against a bill the Saudi government opposed. Beyond that list, there have been other events at Trump properties that had some connection to foreign governments - but the source of payment is unclear. Earlier this year, Trump's Mar-a-Lago Club in Florida hosted part of a "Polish American Leadership Summit," which was organized in part by Polish government ministries, according to the summit's website. When The Post inquired about whether the Polish government had paid to rent the room, an embassy spokeswoman referred questions to the organizers of the event, who declined to comment. In the case of the Saudi visit to New York earlier this year, a spokeswoman for the Saudi Embassy said that none of Mohammed's official traveling delegation stayed at the Trump International Hotel in New York. But she said the Saudi Embassy did not know if the Saudi government had paid for anyone else's stay at the hotel during the crown prince's visit. The crown prince visited New York from March 26 to 30, as part of a longer, multicity American tour. Although Trump's hotel in Washington has prospered during his presidency, some other properties - further from the seat of power - have struggled. In New York, for instance, Trump's hotel in SoHo lost business, and last year its owners cut ties with the Trump Organization. Trump International Hotel in Manhattan - the one remaining Trump-branded hotel in New York - saw room revenue drop from 2015 to 2017, according to figures obtained by The Post. So the Saudi visit was a welcome boost. The D.C. and Maryland attorneys general hope to use their emoluments lawsuit as a kind of legal pry bar, cracking open the Trump Organization's secrecy about its customers. In last week's ruling, federal Judge Peter J. Messitte sided with them in a long-running debate about what the Founding Fathers really meant when they banned presidents from taking "emoluments" from foreign states. Messitte agreed that, in the modern context, this covered not just outright gifts from foreign states, but also regular business transactions - "even those involving services given at fair market value." Now - unless the ruling is overturned on appeal - that could allow the plaintiffs to ask the Trump Organization for a list of those transactions. Their search would be limited to the Trump hotel in Washington, but the plaintiffs are clearly hoping that their victory will inspire other suits aimed at Trump's properties in places like New York. The case may also bring new scrutiny on the Trump Organization's business relationship with the U.S. government, which owns the building that houses Trump's D.C. hotel. Before he became president, Trump won a long-term lease to operate a hotel there. Democrats in Congress say this relationship is now a separate kind of prohibited emolument - an unfair benefit given to Trump by his own government. A clause in the lease says that "No . . . elected official of the Government of the United States . . . shall be admitted to any share or part" of the hotel's ownership. But, after Trump was in office, the General Services Administration ruled that he could still keep the lease. That decision is now being probed by two independent inquiries, from the Government Accountability Office and the GSA's inspector general. Messitte could allow the plaintiffs to seek information about the lease. Georgetown University law professor John Mikhail, who has been studying the emoluments clauses, said these inquiries together could shatter the veil of privacy that Trump's company has maintained - even while its owner is in the White House. "He has very constantly refused to conform to well-established norms about conflict of interest and corruption and the appearance of corruption," Mikhail said. "At some point in time he may be told by a court - you lose. You have to comply." KABUL - Attackers clad in burqas opened fire on a Shiite mosque and set off a suicide blast Friday, killing at least 39 people and injuring scores of others in southeastern Afghanistan, officials said. The Taliban denied any links to the attack that occurred during Friday prayers in Gardez, about 50 miles south of Kabul, and there was no immediate claim of responsibility from others. But militants linked to the Islamic State have carried out similar attacks in the past against Shiites. The Islamic State and other Sunni-led extremists view Shiites as following a heretical branch of Islam. Sardar Wali Tabasum, a provincial spokesman, said two assailants launched the mosque attack. "One opened fire on the worshipers before the second one blew up explosives on his body," he said. Each was said to be disguised in a burqa, the head-to-toe covering worn by Muslim women in Afghanistan. Abdullah Hasrat, a spokesman for the provincial governor, said at least 39 people were killed and 80 injured. Witnesses said the mosque was badly damaged. Several senior provincial Shiite clerics were among the victims, he said. TV images showed a damaged part of the mosque with body parts strewn on its floor. President Ashraf Ghani condemned the attack, which he said was aimed at trying to create sectarian division in Afghanistan. Hundreds of Shiites have been killed in strikes by Islamic State militants in recent years in Afghanistan. "This attack targeting civilians has no possible justification," said Tadamichi Yamamoto, the U.N. secretary general's special representative for Afghanistan and head of the U.N. Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA). "Those who are responsible for enabling this attack must be brought to justice and held to account." Yamamoto added in a statement: "These brutal and senseless attacks against people at prayer are atrocities. Such attacks . . . may amount to war crimes." Attackers have struck a variety of targets in Afghanistan in recent weeks. On July 15, a suicide bomber detonated explosives outside a government office for rural projects, killing five people. On Thursday, the bodies of three foreign workers - from India, Malaysia and Macedonia - were found after they were apparently abducted and slain. The three men worked for Sodexo, one of the world's leading food and catering services. The rising violence casts further doubt on the ability of Ghani's government to securely hold long-delayed parliamentary elections slated for October, followed by a presidential election in April 2019. Ghani announced last month that he intends to run for reelection. Jamas nos callaran Fisica y culturalmente Nec plus ultra, nec variatur Precio del Brent To get the BRENT oil price, please enable Javascript. Precio del WTI To get the oil price, please enable Javascript. Paginas vistas en total Dolar USA Vs Euro Sin ellas, no seremos Deja vu Nada que celebrar Hasta cuando? Colombia Hoy Para nunca olvidar 'Parasite' painted on a statue of Queen, Elizabeth in Kent, England Sin palabras La UE le apunta a la paz Cada vez mas solo Precio del Oro To get the gold price, please enable Javascript. LULA y su Pueblo Bye Bye Homenaje al genial Quino Fueron ellos Una imagen que resume Tan bajo ha caido que se deja tocar el trasero? Porky y el Nene (archiconocido narcotraficante) Ladrones al poder Asi mira el perrito a su amo Crazy Clamor popular La nueva inquisicion Bolivia Chile Hoy Eso es todo amigos! Piensalo! Pinerachet No More Trump Adios Macri, hasta nunca La Marioneta se desinfla Asi o mas cinico Almugre Mexico en 1794 Mas arrastrado imposible Hasta cuando! La pura verdad Solidaridad con Palestina Serie Capitalismo Espejismos de la clase trabajadora Asi es! Comerciantes o delincuentes No pasaran! Asi es la vida USA HOY 01/01/1959 La avaricia no tiene limites AYUDA HUMANITARIA? Chile Hoy Asi son las cosas Mapa Electoral de Venezuela Patagonia argentina? Un aniversario mas del mayor genocidio de la Humanidad Retrato del franquismo en Espana Visca Catalunya! 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Por culpa de Chavez Cerveza Polar Algun dia Colombia volvera a la ideologia de Bolivar Translate LOS REVOLUCIONARIOS NO TOMAN CACA-COLA No se trata solamente de un capricho, sino de una sana actitud en todos los sentidos. Desde la solidaridad con el pueblo colombiano donde la empresa Caca-Cola ha cometido los mas grandes abusos contra sus trabajadores incluyendo el presunto secuestro y asesinato de los dirigentes del sindicato, hasta la proteccion de la salud de nuestros hijos, enviciados por ese jarabe de cola y azucar, que les produce obesidad prematura. Pensemos tambien los revolucionarios, que ese dinero que gastamos en los refrescos es utilizado por esas empresas para financiar el terrorismo en nuestro pais. Es cierto, no se trata solo de la Caca-Cola, sino tambien de la cerveza, de los cigarrillos y todos esos articulos innecesarios y mas que eso, daninos para nuestra salud. Podriamos incluso pensar en un dia de parada para cada uno de ellos. Es cuestion de irnos organizando. Pero para empezar, que tal si dejamos de comprar Caca-Cola y sus similares? Cuando lo extraordinario se vuelve cotidiano... Discurso del Acto de Grado en Barinas en 12 de Febrero del 2005 Queridos Graduandos: Mas que un discurso, quiero dirigirles algunas palabras que escribi anoche, despues de visitar en las clinicas, a los estudiantes heridos, a consecuencia de los enfrentamientos con la policia de hace apenas dos dias. Me ha tocado por razones del destino, ser la persona que les otorgue el titulo que bien merecieron con sus estudios. Y me siento sumamente orgulloso de serlo. Me consta que la Universidad de Los Llanos Occidentales Ezequiel Zamora, a pesar de lo dicho por los enemigos de esta universidad, es una universidad de primera. No tendremos la mejor planta fisica, en los salones hace calor. En el comedor hace calor. Pero no es en lo material que las cosas deben valorarse. El mayor capital es el ser humano. Y en eso, nuestra UNELLEZ, lo digo con conocimiento de causa, esta sobrada. Los llaneros venezolanos son nobles, valientes, de coraje. En la UNELLEZ hacen vida, en este momento, aproximadamente 67000 personas. El 97% de ellas son estudiantes. Jovenes que, como Ustedes hasta el dia de hoy, buscan ese titulo, que constata los anos de dedicacion y de estudio. Los jovenes son el rio de la vida, ustedes graduados deben ser los capitanes de esos barcos que naveguen por el rio de la vida. Nuestra Patria atraviesa momentos muy dificiles porque decidio dejar de ser esa matrona de edad vetusta y complaciente, para ser joven, rebelde y altanera. Nuestra imagen ya no es la de una acaudalada ricachona mayamera. En nuestro rostro brilla ahora la sonrisa del Che Guevara, con su diente delantero torcido, su pelo largo y su boina con la estrella. Entender esto, a mi me ha tomado practicamente toda la vida. Tengo 53 anos, y ya perdi mi oportunidad de derramar sangre joven a causa de un ideal. Ustedes son jovenes, estan en la flor de la vida. No cometan por favor el error de renunciar a su instinto de rebelion. El Che Guevara fue Ministro de a Economia en Cuba. Los billetes y las monedas se adornaban con su rostro. Nada de eso le importo. Primero fue a Angola donde paso un penoso ano de combate. Despues se fue a Bolivia, donde encontro la muerte. El Che era el ultimo que comia, el que cargaba la mochila mas pesada. Siempre se sacrificaba por los demas en un estoicismo que mas parecia fervor religioso que ideologia marxista. Si quieren un modelo de vida. Ahi lo tienen. Dije hace unos momentos que el 97% de la poblacion de la UNELLEZ es estudiante. Se imaginan Ustedes la Universidad que podriamos tener si todos los estudiantes tuvieran la abnegacion, la combatividad del Che? Los momentos que se avecinan van a requerir de una gran unidad del pueblo venezolano. La alternativa de continuar siendo libres o regresar a la pobreza se nos planteara en los proximos dias de forma enmascarada, o quizas peor, desenmascarada, vestida con uniforme de soldado del Imperio. Por nuestra parte podemos esperar lo mejor. La macroeconomia no podria ir mejor, la justicia social ha mejorado notablemente. Las misiones ocupan un papel muy importante en el pago de dicha justicia social. Aqui en Barinas ya hemos cumplido con dos de las misiones, la mision Robinson y la mision Sucre. No hay analfabetismo y no hay exclusion en la educacion superior, en estas tierras de Zamora. Pero ay malhaya! Son precisamente estos exitos los que nos hacen mas antipaticos al Imperio. Para ellos, somos inclusive un mal ejemplo que se esta contagiando al resto del continente y cuidado sino al resto del mundo. Nunca venceremos al Imperio. Estara siempre ahi, acechando. Por lo menos hasta que el mismo no se autodestruya. Porque, sepanlo senores, el neoliberalismo es canibal. Cuando le ataque el hambre, se devorara a si mismo. Ustedes, queridos graduandos, a partir de hoy pasan a conformar la elite profesional que debe sostener este pais en los proximos cuarenta o cincuenta anos. Anos decisivos para el logro de nuestra libertad y del rescate de nuestra Soberania. No se dejen comprar. No se dejen corromper. No se dejen gritar. No se dejen pisar. Que nadie les diga que comer, o que vestirse, o que leer. Sean siempre autenticos, rebeldes, contestatarios. Pero eso si, profundamente patriotas, dignos de ser hijos de Bolivar. Muchas gracias y que Dios los bendiga. Alguna duda? Medio siglo de Holocausto Palestino Oscar Zanartu Nacio en Caracas en 1960. Ha realizado exposiciones individuales en las galerias Minotauro, Clave y San Francisco, y en salas de Coro, estado Falcon, y Puerto Ordaz, estado Bolivar. En Paris su obra ha sido exhibida en el Centro Cultural Tanagra, en la Exposicion Cite Internationale des Arts, en las galerias De Mars y Arver Space, al igual que en la Galeria Municipal Levallois, en Levallois Perret (Francia). En muestras colectivas, su obra se ha expuesto en Belgica, Francia, Estados Unidos y Venezuela; en Caracas intervino en la exposicion "Del genesis a la memoria", 1995, organizada por la Fundacion La Previsora. En 1982 obtuvo el Premio Nacional Critven y en 1990 la Mencion de Honor Jose Antonio Paez, en la Embajada de Venezuela en Paris. En 1991 se le concedio el primer premio de Pintura Itinerante, en Levallois Perret, Francia. OZ1 OZ2 OZ3 OZ4 Homenaje a Jason Galarraga La Victoria de Samotracia Odalisca Mas fotos de la nevada del pasado agosto 2008 La Sierra Nevada de Merida Nuestro precioso Churum Meru Homenaje a Picasso Autoretrato Sabes lo que bebes en una Coca-Cola? La formula de la Pepsi tiene una diferencia basica con la de la Coca-Cola y es intencional, para evitar el proceso judicial. La diferencia es a proposito, pero suficientemente parecida como para atraer a los consumidores de Coca-Cola que prefieren un gusto diferente con menos sal y azucar. Mi profesion? Tuve que aprender quimica, entender todo sobre componentes de gaseosas, conservantes, sales, acidos, cafeina, enlatado, produccion, permisos, aprobaciones y muchas otras cosas. Monte mi propio mini-laboratorio de analisis de productos. Sal en la Coca Cola? A patadas. El Cloruro de Sodio no solo refresca sino da mas sed, como para pedir otra gaseosa. Y no resulta desagradable porque la sal mata literalmente la sensibilidad al dulce... del que por cierto tambien tiene mucho: 39 gramos de azucar. De los 350 gramos de producto liquido, mas del 10% es azucar, o sea que en una lata de Coca-Cola mas de un centimetro y medio es puro azucar en polvo. Aproximadamente tres cucharadas soperas llenas de azucar por lata!!La formula de la Coca Cola es muy sencilla: Concentrado de azucar quemado caramelo- para dar color oscuro y gusto Acido fosforito (para darle el sabor acido) azucar (HFCS-jarabe de maiz de alta fructosa) Extracto de hojas de la planta de Coca (Africa e India) y otros pocos aromatizantes naturales de otras plantas Mucha Cafeina Conservante que puede ser Benzoato de Sodio o Potasio Dioxido de Carbono en cantidad para sentir freir la lengua cuando se bebe Sal para dar la sensacion de refrigeracion El uso del acido fosforito y no del acido citrico como en todas las demas gaseosas, es para dar la sensacion de dientes y boca limpia al beber. El acido fosforito literalmente frie todo y dana el esmalte de los dientes, cosa que el acido citrico lo hace en menor grado.Trate de comprar acido fosforito para ver las mil recomendaciones de seguridad que te dan para su manipulacion (quema el cristalino del ojo, quema la piel, etc...). Esta prohibido usar el acido fosforito en cualquier otra gaseosa; solo la Coca Cola tiene permiso. Porque claro, sin el acido fosforico, la Coca Cola sabria a jabon.El extracto de coca y otras hojas casi no cambia en nada el sabor. Es mas bien un efecto cosmetico. El extracto forma parte de la Coca-Cola porque legalmente tiene que ser asi. Pero sin el, no se nota ninguna diferencia en el gusto, que esta dado basicamente por las cantidades diferentes de azucar, azucar quemada, sales, acidos y conservantes.Sabor a que...? ja, ja, ja. Aqui en Bartow, sur de Orlando, hay una empresa quimica que produce aromatizantes y esencias para zumos. Envian diariamente camionadas de sales concentradas y esencias para las fabricas de helados, gaseosas, jugos, enlatados y comida colorida y aromatizada.Cuando visite por primera vez la fabrica, pedi ver el deposito de concentrados de frutas, que deberia ser inmenso, especialmente los de naranja, pina, fresa y tantos otros. El encargado me miro, se rio y me llevo a visitar los depositos inmensos... pero de colorantes y componentes quimicos. Las gaseosa de naranja no contiene naranja. En los zumos dizque de fresa, hasta los puntitos que quedan en suspension estan hechos de goma (una liga quimica que envuelve un semi-polimero). Pina, es un popurri de acidos y goma. La esencia para helado de aguacate usa peroxido de hidrogeno (agua oxigenada) para dar la sensacion espumosa tipica del aguacate. Bebidas Light? Quieres saber la cantidad de basura que tiene un refresco 'light'? Yo ni siquiera los uso para destapar mi lavaplatos pues temo que danen los tubos de PVC. Los productos endulzantes 'ligth' tienen una vida media muy corta. Por ejemplo el Despues de toda mi experiencia con la produccion de bebidas embasadas, puedo afirmar sin dudar un segundo: la mejor bebida es el agua, como tambien los jugos exprimidos de naranja o limon. Nada mas, cero azucar y cero sal. Publicado por loretahur En realidad, la formula secreta de la Coca-Cola se puede detallar en 18 segundos en cualquier espectrometro optico, y basicamente la conocen hasta los perros. Lo que ocurre es que no se puede fabricar igual, a no ser que uno disponga de unos cuantos millones de dolares para ganarle la demanda que te metera la Coca-Cola ante la justicia (ellos no perderian).La formula de la Pepsi tiene una diferencia basica con la de la Coca-Cola y es intencional, para evitar el proceso judicial. La diferencia es a proposito, pero suficientemente parecida como para atraer a los consumidores de Coca-Cola que prefieren un gusto diferente con menos sal y azucar.Tuve que aprender quimica, entender todo sobre componentes de gaseosas, conservantes, sales, acidos, cafeina, enlatado, produccion, permisos, aprobaciones y muchas otras cosas. Monte mi propio mini-laboratorio de analisis de productos.A patadas. El Cloruro de Sodio no solo refresca sino da mas sed, como para pedir otra gaseosa. Y no resulta desagradable porque la sal mata literalmente la sensibilidad al dulce... del que por cierto tambien tiene mucho: 39 gramos de azucar.De los 350 gramos de producto liquido, mas del 10% es azucar, o sea que en una lata de Coca-Cola mas de un centimetro y medio es puro azucar en polvo. Aproximadamente tres cucharadas soperas llenas de azucar por lata!!La formula de la Coca Cola es muy sencilla:Concentrado de azucar quemado caramelo- para dar color oscuro y gustoAcido fosforito (para darle el sabor acido)azucar (HFCS-jarabe de maiz de alta fructosa)Extracto de hojas de la planta de Coca (Africa e India) y otros pocos aromatizantes naturales de otras plantasMucha CafeinaConservante que puede ser Benzoato de Sodio o PotasioDioxido de Carbono en cantidad para sentir freir la lengua cuando se bebeSal para dar la sensacion de refrigeracionEl uso del acido fosforito y no del acido citrico como en todas las demas gaseosas, es para dar la sensacion de dientes y boca limpia al beber. El acido fosforito literalmente frie todo y dana el esmalte de los dientes, cosa que el acido citrico lo hace en menor grado.Trate de comprar acido fosforito para ver las mil recomendaciones de seguridad que te dan para su manipulacion (quema el cristalino del ojo, quema la piel, etc...). Esta prohibido usar el acido fosforito en cualquier otra gaseosa; solo la Coca Cola tiene permiso. Porque claro, sin el acido fosforico, la Coca Cola sabria a jabon.El extracto de coca y otras hojas casi no cambia en nada el sabor. Es mas bien un efecto cosmetico. El extracto forma parte de la Coca-Cola porque legalmente tiene que ser asi. Pero sin el, no se nota ninguna diferencia en el gusto, que esta dado basicamente por las cantidades diferentes de azucar, azucar quemada, sales, acidos y conservantes.Sabor a que...? ja, ja, ja.Aqui en Bartow, sur de Orlando, hay una empresa quimica que produce aromatizantes y esencias para zumos. Envian diariamente camionadas de sales concentradas y esencias para las fabricas de helados, gaseosas, jugos, enlatados y comida colorida y aromatizada.Cuando visite por primera vez la fabrica, pedi ver el deposito de concentrados de frutas, que deberia ser inmenso, especialmente los de naranja, pina, fresa y tantos otros. El encargado me miro, se rio y me llevo a visitar los depositos inmensos... pero de colorantes y componentes quimicos.Las gaseosa de naranja no contiene naranja.En los zumos dizque de fresa, hasta los puntitos que quedan en suspension estan hechos de goma (una liga quimica que envuelve un semi-polimero).Pina, es un popurri de acidos y goma.La esencia para helado de aguacate usa peroxido de hidrogeno (agua oxigenada) para dar la sensacion espumosa tipica del aguacate.Quieres saber la cantidad de basura que tiene un refresco 'light'? Yo ni siquiera los uso para destapar mi lavaplatos pues temo que danen los tubos de PVC. Los productos endulzantes 'ligth' tienen una vida media muy corta. Por ejemplo el aspartamo , despues de tres semanas mojado, pasa a tener gusto de trapo viejo sucio.Para evitar eso, se agregan una infinidad de otros productos quimicos, uno para alargar la vida del aspartamo, otro para neutralizar el color, otro para mantener el tercer quimico en suspension porque sino el fondo de la gaseosa quedaria oscuro, otro para evitar la cristalizacion del aspartamo, otro para realzar el sabor, dar mas intensidad al acido citrico o fosforito que perderia su sabor por el efecto de los cuatro productos quimicos iniciales... y asi sucesivamente.Un consejo final !!Despues de toda mi experiencia con la produccion de bebidas embasadas, puedo afirmar sin dudar un segundo: la mejor bebida es el agua, como tambien los jugos exprimidos de naranja o limon. Nada mas, cero azucar y cero sal.Publicado por loretahur MARGARINA o MANTEQUILLA La margarina fue producida originalmente para engordar a los pavos; cuandolo que hizo en realidad fue matarlos.Las personas que habian puesto el dinero para la investigacion quisieronrecobrarlo asi que empezaron a pensar en una forma de hacerlo.Tenian una sustancia blanca, que no tenia ningun atractivo como comestible,asi que le anadieron el color amarillo, para venderselo a lagente en lugar de la mantequilla.Que tal esa?... Ahora han sacado algunos nuevos sabores para vender mas alos incautos como usted y yo.CONOCE USTED la diferencia entre la margarina y la mantequilla?Siga leyendo hasta el final... porque se pone bastante interesante!Comparacion entre mantequilla y margarina: 1.- Ambas tienen la misma cantidad de calorias. 2.- La mantequilla es ligeramente mas alta en grasas saturadas: 8 gramos,comparada con los 5 gramos que tiene la margarina. 3.- Comer margarina en vez de mantequilla puede aumentar en 53% el riesgo deenfermedades coronarias en las mujeres, de acuerdo con un estudiomedico reciente de la Universidad de Harvard. 4.- Comer mantequilla aumenta la absorcion de gran cantidad de nutrientesque se encuentran en otros alimentos. 5.- La mantequilla provee beneficios nutricionales propios mientras lamargarina tiene solo los que le hayan sido anadidos al fabricarla. 6.- La mantequilla sabe mucho mejor que la margarina y mejora el sabor deotros alimentos.7.- La mantequilla ha existido durante siglos mientras que la margarinatiene menos de 100 anos. Ahora... sobre la margarina: 1.- Es muy alta en acidos grasos trans. (Si, esos que recien ahora loscientificos descubrieron que son malisimos y los gobiernoscomenzaron a prohibirlos) . 2.- Triple riesgo de enfermedades coronarias. 3.- Aumenta el colesterol total y el LDL (el colesterol malo) y disminuye elHDL (el colesterol bueno). 4.- Aumenta en cinco veces el riesgo de cancer. 5.- Disminuye la calidad de la leche materna. 6.- Disminuye la reaccion inmunologica del organismo. 7.- Disminuye la reaccion a la insulina. Y he aqui el factor mas inquietante (AQUI ESTA LA PARTE MAS INTERESANTE! ):A la margarina le falta UNA MOLECULA para ser PLASTICO...!!Solo este hecho es suficiente para evitar el uso de la margarina de porvida, y de cualquier otra cosa que sea hidrogenada (esto significaque se le anade hidrogeno, lo cual cambia la estructura molecular de lassubstancias).Usted puede ensayar lo siguiente:Compre un poco de margarina y dejela en el garaje o en un sitio sombreado.Dentro de unos dias notara dos cosas: * No habra moscas; ni siquiera esos molestos bichos se le acercaran (esto yale debe decir a usted algo). * No se pudre ni huele mal o diferente porque no tiene valor nutritivo; nadacrece en ella. Ni siquiera los diminutos microorganismos puedencrecer en ella.Por que? Porque es casi plastico!! No a la guerra, Si a la Paz Misterios de la ciencia... Los costos de la guerra medicos y capitalismo... Capitalismo... medicos (2) Quien educa a nuestros hijos? Los Medios... Sin Palabras... Chistes feministas - Cual es el problema, Eva? - Se que me has creado, que me has dado este hermoso jardin, todos estos maravillosos animales y esa serpiente con la que me muero de risa... pero no soy del todo feliz... - Como es eso, Eva? - replico Dios desde las alturas. - Me encuentro sola, y ademas estoy harta de comer manzanas... - Bueno Eva, en tal caso, tengo una solucion... creare un hombre para ti. - Que es un hombre? - Un hombre sera una criatura imperfecta, con muchas artimanas. Mentira, hara trampas, sera engreido... vamos, que te va a dar problemas... Pero, va a ser mas fuerte y rapido que tu y le gustara cazar y matar cosas... Tendra un aspecto simple, pero como te estas quejando, le creare de tal forma que satisfaga tus... eh... necesidades fisicas... Y tampoco sera muy listo, y destacara en cosas infantiles como pegarse o dar patadas a un balon... Necesitara tu consejo siempre para actuar cuerdamente. - Suena bien - dijo Eva, mientras levantaba la ceja ironicamente. - Cual es el truco?. - Pues... que lo tendras con una condicion. - Cual? - Como te decia, sera chulo, arrogante y muy narcisista... asi que le tendras que hacer creer que le hice a el primero... recuerda... es nuestro secreto... de mujer a mujer. Por que a los hombres no les puede dar la enfermedad de las vacas locas? Porque todos son unos cerdos Un dia, en el Paraiso, Eva llamo a Dios: Tengo un problema.- Cual es el problema, Eva?- Se que me has creado, que me has dado este hermoso jardin, todos estos maravillosos animales y esa serpiente con la que me muero de risa... pero no soy del todo feliz... - Como es eso, Eva? - replico Dios desde las alturas.- Me encuentro sola, y ademas estoy harta de comer manzanas...- Bueno Eva, en tal caso, tengo una solucion... creare un hombre para ti.- Que es un hombre?- Un hombre sera una criatura imperfecta, con muchas artimanas. Mentira, hara trampas, sera engreido... vamos, que te va a dar problemas... Pero, va a ser mas fuerte y rapido que tu y le gustara cazar y matar cosas... Tendra un aspecto simple, pero como te estas quejando, le creare de tal forma que satisfaga tus... eh... necesidades fisicas... Y tampoco sera muy listo, y destacara en cosas infantiles como pegarse o dar patadas a un balon... Necesitara tu consejo siempre para actuar cuerdamente.- Suena bien - dijo Eva, mientras levantaba la ceja ironicamente.- Cual es el truco?.- Pues... que lo tendras con una condicion.- Cual?- Como te decia, sera chulo, arrogante y muy narcisista... asi que le tendras que hacer creer que le hice a el primero... recuerda... es nuestro secreto... de mujer a mujer.Por que a los hombres no les puede dar la enfermedad de las vacas locas? Porque todos son unos cerdos Ellas... Ellas (2)... Tres venganzas femeninas VENGANZA NUMERO 1 Hoy mi hija cumple 21 anos y estoy muy contento porque es el ultimo pago de pension alimenticia que le doy, asi que llame a mi hijita para que viniera a mi casa y cuando llego le dije: -Hijita, quiero que lleves este cheque a casa de tu mama y que le digas que: Este es el ultimo maldito cheque que va recibir de mi en todo lo que le queda de su puta vida!!! Quiero que me digas la expresion que pone en su rostro. Asi que mi hija fue a entregar el cheque. Yo estaba ansioso por saber lo que la bruja tenia que decir y que cara pondria. Cuando mi hijita entro, le pregunte inmediatamente: -Que fue lo que te dijo tu madre? -Me dijo que justamente estaba esperando este dia para decirte que no eres mi papa! VENGANZA NUMERO 2 Un hombre que siempre molestaba a su mujer, paso un dia por la casa de unos amigos para que lo acompanaran al aeropuerto a dejar a su esposa que viajaba a Paris. A la salida de inmigracion, frente a todo el mundo, el le desea buen viaje y en tono burlon le grita: - Amor, no te olvides de traerme una hermosa francesita Ja ja ja!! Ella bajo la cabeza y se embarco muy molesta. La mujer paso quince dias en Francia. El marido otra vez pidio a sus amigos que lo acompanasen al aeropuerto a recibirla. Al verla llegar, lo primero que le grita a toda voz es: - Y amor me trajiste mi francesita?? - Hice todo lo posible, - contesta ella - ahora solo tenemos que rezar para que nazca nina. VENGANZA NUMERO 3 El marido, en su lecho de muerte, llama a su mujer. Con voz ronca y ya debil, le dice: - Muy bien, llego mi hora, pero antes quiero hacerte una confesion. - No, no, tranquilo, tu no debes hacer ningun esfuerzo. - Pero, mujer, es preciso - insiste el marido - Es preciso morir en paz. Te quiero confesar algo. - Esta bien, esta bien. Habla! - He tenido relaciones con tu hermana, tu mama y tu mejor amiga. - Lo se, lo se Por eso te envenene, hijo de puta!!! machismo y cibernetica Chiste machista La NASA ha enviado al espacio una mision experimental tripulada por dos monos y una mujer.Apenas abandona la atmosfera, se establece comunicacion con Houston. -Atencion, simio 1, verifique sistemas hidraulicos, controle adecuada presion de los propulsores de arranque. A 60.000 pies disminuya un 25% la velocidad. El simio hace la sena de OK. -Atencion, simio 2, nivele al cruzar la estratosfera y active sistemas anticongelantes. No olvide monitorear sistemas de comunicacion e indicadores de presion. Comprendido?. El simio hace la sena de OK. -Atencion, Houston llamando a mujer: no se olvide. -Mujer: Si, si, ya se! -interrumpe enojada- que no me olvide darles de comer a estos monos de mierda y que no se me vaya a ocurrir tocar nada!. .Spaghetti, Spaghetti, Spaghetti, Spaghetti, Spaghetti. Un abogado mantiene un romance con su secretaria.Al poco tiempo, esta queda embarazada y el abogado, que no quiere que su esposa se entere, le da a la secretaria una buena suma de dinero y le pide que se vaya a parir a Italia.Esta pregunta: Y como voy a hacerte saber cuando nazca el bebe ? El abogado responde: Para que mi mujer no se entere, tan solo enviame una postal y escribe por detras: Spaghetti. Y no te preocupes mas, que yo me encargare de todos los gastos. Pasan los meses y una manana la esposa del abogado lo llama al bufete, algo exaltada: Querido, acabo de recibir el correo y hay una postal muy extrana viene desde Italia. La verdad, no entiendo que significa.El abogado, tratando de ocultar sus nervios, contesta:Espera a que llegue a casa, a ver si yo entiendoCuando el hombre llega a casa y lee la postal, cae al suelo fulminado por un infarto.Llega una ambulancia y se lo lleva. Ya en el hospital, el jefe de cardiologia se queda consolando a la esposa y le pregunta cual ha sido el evento que precipito tan masivo ataque cardiaco. Entonces la esposa saca la postal y se la muestra diciendole: No me explico, doctor; el solamente leyo esta postal. Vea usted mismo lo que trae escrito.Spaghetti, Spaghetti, Spaghetti, Spaghetti, Spaghetti."Tres con salchicha y albondigas y dos con almejas Gol !!!! Chistes de Borrachos Entra un borracho a su casa todo manchado con lapiz labial por todos lados hecho un desastre, y la mujer le pregunta:-Hombre que te paso?Y el borracho le responde:-No me vas a creer, me pelee con un payaso! Este es un borracho que entra en un bar y le dice al camarero:-Me da cinco copas de whisky?Al rato:-Me da cuatro?Al rato:-Me da tres copas?Despues:-Me da dos copas?Luego le dice:-Me da una copa?Y le dice al camarero:-Ves? Cuanto menos bebo, mas borracho estoy! CHAMPLAIN, N.Y. - Omer Malik knew he had to slip into Canada to avoid President Donald Trump's crackdown on undocumented immigrants. But the 19-year-old native of Afghanistan needed a friend to help guide him. He found that friend in a 66-year-old former French teacher, one of a number of people here in the Adirondack region who believe it's their duty to comfort and support those fleeing Trump's vision for America. As Malik dragged his suitcase toward the Canadian border, Janet McFetridge gave him two bags of potato chips, a knit hat and - what she considers her most important gift - a hug. Then she yelled across the thicket of cattails and flowering grasses that separated them from Quebec. "Hello," she called, alerting a Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer that Malik was about to illegally cross the border to claim asylum. "We got someone here." McFetridge is part of a loosely assembled network of progressive activists, faith leaders and taxi drivers who have mobilized to help undocumented immigrants cross the northern border. To some, they're selfless do-gooders ushering people to better lives. To others, they're perpetuating a problem that has debilitated Canada's immigration system. LATEST: Houston officials dispute claim that controversial shelter for migrant kids on verge of opening For centuries, residents note, towns in the Champlain Valley have been a path to security, serving as an escape route for people fleeing slavery, the Vietnam War draft and Central American wars. Now, when it comes to immigration, this GOP-friendly part of New York has become a hub of the resistance. "We view this as our Underground Railroad," said Carole Slatkin, an advocate who has helped immigrants traveling through Essex, New York, a town that was part of a major route for enslaved people. "While no one is being flogged, and no one is being sold, there is this sort of modern-day equivalent of feeling like people are in danger." Photo for The Washington Post by Andre Malerba Advocates say they try not to give direct advice to the immigrants, instead helping them find a place to rest or supplies to ease their journey. But the image of U.S. citizens supporting immigrants who make the trip is controversial in Canada, threatening long-standing, cross-border camaraderie. "To me, it's just being abusive," said Paul Viau, mayor of the township of Hemmingford, a Canadian farming community along the border. "There are people who sympathize with [the immigrants] and people who have a harder time with it. But no one appreciates that someone would pack them up and bring them to the border at an illegal crossing." Last year, as the Trump administration began enacting stricter policies against undocumented immigrants, Canada processed more than 50,000 asylum claims. That is more than double the claims made in 2016, according to Canadian government statistics. DESPERATE PLEAS: Six-year-old heard on Border Patrol recording joins mother in Houston under court-ordered reunification Many of those immigrants have been crossing at unauthorized locations, such as here on Roxham Road. Although the flow of asylum seekers into many Canadian provinces has slowed this year, there has been no letup into Quebec. From January through June, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police apprehended 10,261 people crossing the border illegally there. Last year, the police apprehended 18,836 people. The arrivals have sparked a backlash from segments of Canada's political system. In late June, Toronto Mayor John Tory warned that the influx of asylum seekers had overwhelmed that city's ability to care for them. "We have a problem, and we need help," Tory told Canadian reporters in a plea for more emergency housing. In Quebec, the leader of its nationalist party, Jean-Francois Lisee, has suggested constructing a wall along the southern border of the province. Roxham Road, a narrow paved road lined by horse farms and marshes, has served as a path recently for Palestinians, Colombians, Ghanaians, Nigerians, Haitians, Zimbabweans and Pakistanis, among others. After one taxi pulled up here, Fiyori Mesfin struggled to carry a car seat, stroller and two backpacks as she crossed the border with her two children, ages 1 and 3. Mesfin, 32, is a single mother from Eritrea who had been living for the past four years in Las Vegas. Her children are U.S. citizens. After she was recently denied asylum in the United States, Mesfin began to fear she could be deported or even separated from her children. So she flew to John F. Kennedy Airport in New York and then boarded a Greyhound bus for Plattsburgh, New York. "So now I am here just hoping it gets better," Mesfin said as she pushed the stroller, while trying to manage her toddler, toward Canada. Photo for The Washington Post by Andre Malerba Saman Modarage also had taken the bus. Modarage is a Sri Lankan native who fled his country in 2005 during a civil war. He had settled in suburban Washington and worked at a liquor store in Maryland. But Modarage, 51, decided to try to flee Maryland for Canada after he heard that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement was raiding and auditing Maryland convenience stores searching for undocumented employees. In a recent statement, ICE noted that it has opened nearly 6,100 worksite investigations and made more than 1,500 arrests from October through July - more than five times the number of arrests made in the previous fiscal year. "Donald Trump's administration has pushed me here," said Modarage, who arrived in Plattsburgh with two sets of clothing and $300. "All immigrants are under threat. . . . If I got deported, it would kill me." DEADLY TREK: Immigrants face death in hostile South Texas brushlands The flow of people illegally crossing into Canada from the United States has continued despite an agreement in 2002 between the countries that is designed to manage refugee movements. The Canada-U.S. Safe Third Country Agreement requires migrants to make an asylum claim in the first safe country they reach, unless they are minors or have family ties at their next destination. The agreement means many of those who try to cross from the United States into Canada at an official border station are turned away. But a loophole permits asylum claims to be made by individuals who enter Canada covertly, such as here on Roxham Road, about five miles west of the interstate. Crossing illegally at out-of-the-way sites has become the preferred method for undocumented immigrants in the United States as well as those in the country legally who see their chance of getting asylum or permanent residency dimming. Many take a bus from New York City to Plattsburgh, where waiting taxis transport them about 30 miles to the end of Roxham Road, a 100-yard dirt path into Canada. Federal officers stationed on the other side of the border immediately arrest those who cross illegally. But if the crossers have proper identification, no criminal history and are not otherwise considered a security threat, most are released within 72 hours, said Sylvain Thibault, a coordinator at Project Refugee, a Montreal-based humanitarian group. They then stay in a shelter, or with family or friends, while they await their hearing. They are also eligible for public assistance, health care and an opportunity to apply for a Canadian work permit. Canadian law dictates asylum hearings should be held within 60 days. But Paul Clarke, executive director of the Action Refugees Montreal, an advocacy group, said the government is so overwhelmed, it's now taking up to two years for cases to be heard. Last year, Canadian courts granted asylum in about 60 percent of cases, Clarke said. Canadian authorities have warned that far fewer of the most recent arrivals are expected to qualify. - - - McFetridge, the teacher turned activist, has lived in Champlain about five miles from the border for three decades. But she never paid much attention to it until after Trump's election, when she was looking for ways to convert her agony over his win into meaningful action. In March 2017, when she began hearing about an influx of immigrants into Canada, she decided to drive up to Roxham Road. The sight of people dragging luggage - and children - down "an isolated, lonely, country road" shook her. "I was just horrified that people were leaving the United States, where we have this idea of being a beacon of hope, for another country," she recalled. "At that point, I said, we can do something here, and I can at least give them a kind word, and recognize them as people by saying, 'I am sorry you feel you have to do this.' " McFetridge began showing up almost daily. Last winter, after realizing many asylum seekers were arriving without warm clothes, she began handing out coats and gloves. As the weather warmed, she transitioned her efforts to handing out snacks and toys to the children. McFetridge said she tries to avoid giving direct advice or material support to the refugees to avoid conflict with Canadian immigration authorities. But, she said, it's important for her to be there so people know they are not alone and can cross with a sense of safety. "I can tell them they are not going to be shot," she said. "They've asked me: 'Do I have to run? Are the police going to shoot me?' " McFetridge, who said she encounters dozens of asylum seekers on some days, keeps a log of those she encounters. ". . . Woman arrived by plane. 25 years in the US. Leaving son behind, degree in finance . . . Father stayed in taxi, sobbing as family left . . . Young adult - said she was bisexual & would be killed if returned to home country . . ." McALLEN: After crossing the border, vastly different experiences for immigrant families Although McFetridge is the most visible advocate, a broad array of community and faith organizations have also mobilized throughout the Champlain Valley to assist people who pass through. One organization that was formed to support refugees, Plattsburgh Cares, prints informational pamphlets about how to safely reach Roxham Road. Amid complaints from Canadian officials, the group stopped distributing the pamphlets this spring. It now relies on "word of mouth" to get information out, said Slatkin, 73, the woman in Essex. As they continue their efforts, the advocates draw comparisons to the stealth network of abolitionists used to help guide people who escaped to Canada in the 19th century. Of the estimated 100,000 enslaved people who fled the American South between 1810 and 1850, about 40,000 made it to Canada after being hidden in houses and churches along the way, said Don Papson, president of the North Country Underground Railroad Museum in Keeseville, New York. One of the major routes there ran through Champlain, about two blocks from McFetridge's house, he noted. Today, before asylum seekers arrive on Roxham Road, they must travel down North Star Road, believed to be named after the star that people who escaped slavery used to guide them toward freedom. Martha Swan, executive director of John Brown Lives, a humanitarian group based in Westport, New York, and named after the 19th-century abolitionist, said the region's "inspiring history" is what is causing more people to "summon the courage" to support refugees. She said interest in helping the refugees has grown considerably this summer because of outrage over Trump administration's policy of separating detained undocumented immigrants from their children at the U.S.-Mexico border. "You don't have to do anything extraordinary, necessarily, but you do have to bear witness and help where you can," said Swann, who recently helped a Nigerian woman make the trip from Los Angeles to the northern border. At the First Presbyterian Church in Plattsburgh, the congregation decided to convert a Sunday school room into a temporary shelter for use by asylum seekers who may become stranded. Stuart Voss, chairman of the church's refugee committee, said the church is reviving a role it played in the late 1980s when thousands of migrants from Central America traveled through upstate New York to reach Canada. Many spent an extended period of time in Plattsburgh - where they were fed, counseled and housed by local churches - while they waited for Canada to consider their asylum requests. But Voss, 75, said church members now believe they must be far more discreet in their efforts than they were 30 years ago. "We decided it wasn't the same situation as in 1986 to 1987 because there was no ICE back then, and it was just Border Patrol," said Voss, referring to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, which was created in 2003 in wake of 9/11. "Customs used to tell us, 'OK, as long as they are staying with you, you can help them out.' " Photo for The Washington Post by Andre Malerba In a statement, the Canadian police declined to comment on Americans' role in helping the refugees but said it added resources to the border and is confident it can meet the security and humanitarian challenge. In a separate statement, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency said it is "working to identify trends and patterns" of cross-border movement into Canada. Here along the border, the taxi drivers say they will continue transporting asylum seekers to the border. Although the drivers say they got into the business to make money - they charge $50 to $75 in fares for a one-way trip from the bus station - they say they now see it as their duty to give advice and to comfort and calm passengers. "They are scared. . . . They will ask me if American Border Patrol is going to be here, and how far they have to walk," driver Troy Gelwicks said after he recently dropped a Haitian family off at Roxham Road. "I say, 'You just have to walk 10 steps, and Canadian Border Patrol is very friendly.' " As she waved goodbye to Malik, McFetridge said she is also banking that Canada's government will continue to be more sympathetic than the Trump administration. "But you have to be realistic," McFetridge added. "It's not going to work out for everybody." ISIS has been defeated and the organizational structure of its so-called Islamic State has collapsed, liberating almost all its occupied territories. However, the tragedy for the people of the religious Yazidi minority continues. More than 3,000 Yazidis, mostly women and children, remain in ISIS captivity, while most of the Yazidi population still lives in Internally Displaced Persons camps, unable to return to their homes. The Yazidis have not seen a single tangible step toward justice and remedy. On this date, August 3, four years ago, ISIS launched an attack on the Sinjar area, about 75 miles west of Mosul, where most of the Yazidis have lived for at least a thousand years. The goal for ISIS was not only to occupy Sinjar, but also to erase this small minority group from the earth by committing genocide. Unfortunately, they were successful: the UN and the United States, among others, have recognized what happened to the Yazidis as a genocide. During its attack on Sinjar, ISIS killed the Yazidi men and took children and women as slaves. Many of them, especially young girls, were sold multiple times to many slave owners. The children were brainwashed to serve as child soldiers of the so-called Caliphate. The survivors fled to Sinjar mountain, where they were besieged by ISIS forces. Some, especially elders and children, perished due to the extremely hot and dry August weather. ISIS considers the Yazidis to be pagans and not one of the Religions of the Book [Ahl al-Kitab]. That means, based on the radical extremist groups interpretation of Sharia, or Islamic law, that different rules apply to the Yazidis than to Jews, Christians, and Muslims. According to ISIS, pagans should be eradicated. Yazidis are unable and/or unwilling to return to their homes in Sinjar, which is still contested between the Iraqi government, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), and the Turkish/Kurdish group the Kurdistan Workers Party. As these powers vie for control over the area, the Yazidi militias formed after August 2014 have cut their affiliations with each of them. Lack of security and stability, damaged infrastructure, and these conflicted affiliations create significant obstacles for the Yazidis to go back to their homeland and resume their lives. This dispute over the land has multiple repercussions. Due to the competition over jurisdiction between Baghdad and Erbil, the process of exhuming mass graves in Sinjar has reached a stalemate. The graves are unprotected and exposed to severe weather, jeopardizing not only the process of identifying missing persons but also of preserving evidence of the crimes committed against the Yazidis. The trauma that the Yazidis community has suffered is ongoing. They feel disappointed and hopeless. They believe they have been neglected by both national and the international powers. Some countries, like Australia, Canada, and Germany, have resettled thousands of the most vulnerable Yazidi women, those who were rescued from ISIS captivity. Still, there remains tremendous work to be done to mitigate the trauma inflicted on the Yazidis. Although Mosul was liberated more than a year ago, only a handful of Yazidi women and children have been released. And there remains the unanswered question: where are the 3,105 people who were captured by ISIS? The Yazidis need a substantial reparation program that develops material and moral remedies for this ongoing trauma. They wish for the crimes committed against them to be recognized; but although the Iraqi government and the UN have recognized the genocide, no real action has been taken. In other words, there have been no tangible steps in terms of accountability or a truth-seeking process in response to the Yazidi massacre. Yes, the KRG established the Commission for Investigation and Gathering Evidence to collect and document evidences about the crimes, and the Higher Judicial Council of Iraq established a special investigative committee. However, while both committees are charged with investigating the same crimes and have a similar mandate, they neither coordinate nor collaborate. This is another affront delaying justice and signaling the continuation of the Yazidis calamity. We at Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) are working with members of the Yazidi community to help build the capacity of medical and legal professionals to document the crimes committed against their people. We owe it to the Yazidis to address these atrocities, as part of the PHR mission in Iraq, and to promote justice and healing for the victims. 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 A SWAT team on Thursday night came up empty-handed after searching the Westbury home of Joseph James Pappas II, the man accused of killing Dr. Mark Hausknecht last month in a bold killing in broad daylight at the Texas Medical Center. A neighbor initially called police around 9:15 p.m. after spotting someone in the area who looked like the wanted man. Deputy constables with Precinct 5 responded and didn't find the suspected killer - but they spotted a gate open and a light on at his home, so they called Houston police to take the lead. Officers set up a perimeter and SWAT methodically searched the home sometime before midnight, clearing the building with the help of a robot. "For the safety of everybody here in this neighborhood, we wanted to make sure that potentially the suspect had not found a way to come back to this house and gain entrance," said Houston police Executive Assistant Chief Matthew Slinkard. "That was not the case - the entire residence has been cleared and searched and it is safe at this point." Although the supposed sighting that sparked the SWAT scene turned out to be a false alarm, Slinkard stressed the need for help from the public in tracking down the alleged killer. "We are still working round the clock on this," he said. "We need the public's help; we need the media's help." At this point, Slinkard said, there's no indication Pappas fled the country. "We still believe that we have a great likelihood of identifying this suspect somewhere locally," he said. "We still need all the help that we can get from the community." SOLD ITEMS: Houston doctors accused killer shed possessions before Medical Center slaying The late-night scene came one day after police raided the house in the 5000 block of Stillbrooke, searching for the former lawman believed to be behind the July 20 slaying. The morning of the killing, the renowned cardiologist was biking to work near the intersection of Main and Holcombe when the gunman passed him from behind. Two blocks later, the shooter turned around on his 10-speed Schwinn bike and fired at least twice. The doctor went down immediately, and the shooter rode off northbound. For nearly two weeks, the case baffled police, who offered few details except a steady trickle of images and surveillance footage from the moments before the attack. Crime Stoppers offered a $5,000 reward that netted several workable tips - but it wasn't until a Monday night video release that police got the tip they needed. A caller alerted police to a possible connection to Pappas, whose mother was one of Hausknecht's patients. Roughly two decades ago, she died on the operating table. "It appears that this may have been a 20-year-old grudge that this man held," Chief Art Acevedo told reporters. It's not clear why he apparently waited so long to seek revenge. Shortly after zeroing in on their suspect, police got a warrant for Pappas' arrest and searched his home. But by then, he'd already left. The front room of his house was largely empty, though authorities recovered a gun, ammunition and multiple holsters. It's not clear what information linked Pappas to the slaying, but Acevedo said police "absolutely" believe he's the killer. Investigators also said Pappas may be suicidal, and should be considered armed and dangerous. After Hurricane Harvey, the "for sale" signs in people's yards didn't tout the pool or the school districts. The biggest selling-point was in bold, capital letters: DID NOT FLOOD. Potential home buyers in the Houston-area are paying closer attention to flood zones after Harvey dumped more than 51 inches of rain on the city last year, destroying homes and businesses and causing about $150 billion to $180 billion in damage. A tool from Federal Emergency Management Agency may help residents find low-risk housing options. The president of a national higher education association has asked University of Houston President Renu Khator to investigate claims that the outgoing Katy ISD superintendent plagiarized his doctoral dissertation at the school. Peter Wood, the president of the National Association of Scholars, wrote to Khator on July 27 and said that Superintendent Lance Hindt's doctorate should be revoked from the university if his dissertation is found to be plagiarized. "Though I see compelling evidence of plagiarism and suggestive evidence of other forms of academic dishonesty in this case, I believe that the University of Houston ought to have the opportunity to straighten this matter out," Wood said in the letter. "If Dr. Hindt is indeed guilty of plagiarism at the order of magnitude I've pointed to, the University of Houston ought to revoke his degree. This is a matter of the integrity of the university as much as it is an obligation to the public." DEPARTED: Katy ISD's Lance Hindt resigns top job, will get $750,000 payout The embattled superintendent is accused of plagiarizing his dissertation, titled "The Effects of Principal Leadership on Teacher Morale and Student Achievement," in 2012. A Katy ISD spokeswoman previously told reporters that there was "zero truth to this allegation" of plagiarism. Wood said that the university has a moral responsibility to look into the claims. He made the letter public on Aug. 1, after he didn't receive a response from the university, he said. "Dr. Hindt was promoted into a position of important public responsibility partly on the basis of the University of Houston's decision to grant him a doctorate in education based on his dissertation," Wood said in the letter. "There may be deeper problems here in the School of Education whose faculty members might reasonably have been expected to notice problems in Dr. Hindt's dissertation. Evidence of apparent academic malfeasance either went unnoticed or was tacitly condoned." University of Houston officials said they investigate any allegations of academic misconduct, although they declined to comment on the specific allegations, citing student privacy laws. "The University has policies and procedures in place to ensure research integrity and address allegations of academic misconduct, and investigates any allegations of this sort," the university said in a statement. "The research and academic oversight processes are independent of one another. Hindt announced he would retire from his post at Katy ISD on Jan. 1, 2019 after he was the subject of what he called a smear campaign, including claims that he was a bully back in high school. He will receive two years' pay, exceeding $750,000. The day before he biked into the middle of the Texas Medical Center and allegedly shot and killed a prominent Houston cardiologist, Joseph James Pappas II signed his Westbury home over to an Ohio woman, records show. Months before that, the 62-year-old real estate broker and former lawman appeared to be divesting himself of his other possessions, including furniture, firearms and tactical equipment. It is unclear if the man accused of killing renowned Houston cardiologist Dr. Mark Hausknecht simply was broke or erasing his life, sources close to the investigation said Wednesday. FORMER DEPUTY CONSTABLE: What we know about the suspect in the Houston doctor slaying The suspected killer, whom law enforcement sources say could be suicidal, remained at large Thursday nearly two weeks after the July 20 shooting. Police said the motive for the killing likely stemmed from a grudge Pappas held against Hausknecht, after his mother died under the doctors care 20 years earlier. On Thursday, Hausknechts relatives asked for the publics help finding Pappas. The Hausknecht family is very grateful for the diligent hard work and professionalism of the Houston Police Department and all the other agencies, organizations and countless individuals who have contributed to the identification of Joseph James Pappas as the suspect in the murder of Dr. Mark Hausknecht, the family said, in an emailed statement. The family urges that if you know anything about the possible whereabouts of the suspect, please contact Houston Police Department as soon as possible. While it is not clear what prompted Pappas to act last month, he appears to have started offloading furniture online as far back last October, listing an antique desk for sale on the neighborhood-focused social media site Nextdoor.com. On a now-deleted account, he typically posted about lost dogs and dead cats. In January, he started listing dozens of items on Armslist.com and another firearms forum, ranging from a case feed assembly, two shell plates to a round counter to a metal work bench. On Greensheet, he listed a treadmill. Five days after the killing, a seller using the same phone number Pappas listed posted ads for two tactical vests, a Smith & Wesson .38-caliber revolver, a $4,500 semi-automatic FN rifle, two sets of ballistic door panels for a Crown Victoria and a box of ammunition. All told, the items were valued at thousands of dollars. It is not clear whether any of them sold or whether either firearm may have been the murder weapon. When police entered the home on Stillbrooke early Wednesday, they found ammunition, a gun and multiple holsters. The front room had been almost entirely cleared out. It looks like the guy was trying to get rid of his worldly possessions, said a source familiar with the investigation. Three days after the shooting, and after hed signed over the deed to his house, Pappas summoned a courier service to file the deed with the Harris County Clerks Office. Joe Donaldson, the courier who picked up the deed, said Pappas seemed anxious, glancing up and down the street as he handed over the documents. He was very nervous, opened the door a crack, Donaldson said. I thought, This was strange. Pappas called Donaldson several times after that to check on the status of the deed, which was being conveyed to the Ohio woman, who appears to be a notary public. Is it filed yet? Is it there yet? Donaldson recalled him saying. Donaldson wondered if Pappas was planning to kill himself. Its not normal for people to be so antsy about transferring a property, Donaldson said. It just indicated he was premeditating this before it ever happened. Other elements of Pappas life continued to come into focus as police kept up their search for his whereabouts, even as they acknowledged that the possibility he may have taken his own life. Records from the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement show Pappas worked as a deputy constable with the Harris County Precinct 2 Constables Office from 1983 to 1986, and at Precinct 7 from 1986 to 1995. From 1995 to 2013, he worked as a reserve deputy, first at Precinct 7 and then returning to Precinct 2. Reached by phone on Thursday, former Precinct 2 Constable Gary Freeman described Pappas as unassuming and very professional. I never had any complaints about Joey, Freeman said. Pappas often drove for his father, Joseph James Pappas, who had served as former chief deputy at the constables office years before under then-Constable George Larkin and who kept his license with the department as a reserve deputy, as well. Its just mind-boggling, I was really surprised when (Precinct 2 Chief Deputy Jerry) Luman called me and told me Joey was a suspect in this, Freeman said. Luman said that after Constable Chris Diaz was sworn in to office in early 2013, the department asked all its deputies and reserve deputies to re-apply for their positions. Pappas never turned in an application, he said. Before Pappas entered law enforcement, he was an employee at Mitchell Energy Corporation until 1984, according to court records. Pappas lost his job at Mitchell after he was forced out of the Houston Oil Scouts Association, an industry membership group. In 1986, Pappas sued the association, arguing that by kicking him out, the group wrongfully interfered with his employment and got him fired from his job at Mitchell. In court documents, he said that he was pushed out of the association because he failed to heed directions to avoid contact with the Internal Revenue Service concerning compliance with IRS regulations. He also accused an association leader of threatening him. Ultimately, a jury found that Oil Scouts Association had not interfered with Pappas employment, records show. Records filed at the Harris County Clerks office show that, in addition to his work as peace officer, Pappas registered several businesses that included an academy for concealed handgun training, a couple of dental clinics, and two organizations identified as Westbury Area Residents for Responsible Flood Control and Westbury Property Owners for Responsible Flood Control. All of the assumed name listings have expired. For nearly two weeks, the Hausknecht case stymied investigators, who combed through tons and tons of surveillance footage of the moments before, during and after the brazen July 20 killing. Hausknecht was biking to work in his scrubs during the morning rush hour, passing by the intersection of Main and Holcombe when a man on a 10-speed Schwinn bicycle passed him from behind just before 9 a.m. Two blocks later, the other rider turned and fired at least twice. The doctor a famed physician who once had treated former President George H.W. Bush went down immediately. The gunman rode off to the north, disappearing into morning traffic. Aside from offering up a trickle of surveillance footage and the tantalizing hint that the attack likely was targeted, authorities remained tight-lipped about their investigation. On Monday, one of those videos helped break the case after a tipster alerted police to a possible connection to Pappas, whose mother died on the operating table under Hausknechts care roughly two decades ago. It appears that this may have been a 20-year-old grudge that this man held, Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo told reporters. Police eventually learned that Pappas had texted someone, indicating he wanted to kill himself. Officers showed up at his home late Tuesday for a welfare check, but Pappas was not there. They returned around 4 a.m. Wednesday with a pair of warrants one to search the house and another to arrest Pappas for murder. Again, Pappas was not home, but investigators said they did find evidence tying him to the killing. ON HOUSTONCHRONICLE.COM: Slain Houston doctor remembered at memorial service On Thursday, friends and neighbors in the Westbury area said they still were in shock. Pappas, whom many knew as Joey, was a quiet, nice man who mostly kept to himself, they said. Joe Duce, who lives across the street from Pappas, was getting home from a vacation in New Mexico when he saw the police commotion. He checked the news. Oh my God, thats our neighbor, he remembered thinking. Duce said he never got the sense that Pappas was harboring such an intense grudge. To carry that with you for 20 years is hard enough, he said. But to throw your life away like that, just to get revenge. At the Texas Medical Center, Hausknechts slaying had some colleagues on edge. Dr. Neal Kleiman, who worked closely with Hausknecht as medical director of the catheter lab at the DeBakey Heart and Vascular Center at Methodist, said the grudge-motivated incident is making people at the hospital more vigilant. Its definitely spooked people here, said Kleiman. You think of this as a very protective environment, but this was definitely a reminder that were very vulnerable. Stephen Paulsen and Todd Ackerman contributed to this report st.john.smith@chron.com samantha.ketterer@chron.com keri.blakinger@chron.com Even if you have gone fully digital and don't use physical books anymore, your local library is worth a visit to get your face out of your smartphone. This week the Houston Public Library announced that it was expanding its hours of service at some of its regional and neighborhood locations. PREVIOUS: Houston Public Library downtown campus is about to look much different In addition, its Central Library location in downtown Houston will now be open on Sundays from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. According to HPL officials, there had been a demand for it to be open seven days a week and they have now delivered, albeit the window of availability is small. It's a minor change to a library system that is still smarting from Hurricane Harvey like many others in Houston are. Nearly a year after Harvey hit the Houston area some HPL locations are still not open to the public and last month the Houston Chronicle reported that six branches are currently closed due to damages from the hurricane. LONG ROAD BACK: Some Houston libraries still closed 11 months after Harvey Explaining to library patrons that these days the library does much more than just check out books is full-time job, according to library officials. For instance, all library locations offer up free WiFi access and no library card is needed to connect to the network. The Houston library system also has a partnership with the Hoopla and Overdrive services to offer e-books, audiobooks, music, and video to those with library cards. Think of it as the modern version of checking out books, tapes, and other media all on an app platform. All that's needed is a library card number. (So much for keeping your face out of your phone.) Most people don't know that certain Houston Public Library locations can also act as a notary service for a small fee. Notary services are available on a first come, first served basis. Five HPL locations, including the Central Library, offer up passport application services, although though don't process passport renewals. Check library listings to see what hours the service is available. HISTORY YOU CAN VISIT: The Julia Ideson Building is a jewel in downtown Houston Under a pilot program at three HPL locations, cardholders can check out laptops, tablets, and wireless hotspots to take off-site with them. At all HPL locations, cardholders can check out laptops and tablets for use inside the building. Wireless hotspots can be checked out from all locations for up to three weeks at a time. The Scenic Woods Regional Library offers a variety of free resources as a part of HPL's TechLink program, which even allows cardholders to use a number of tech resources like 3-D printers, video editing, and music recording software. Also the Central Library offers up Skype services for those doing online testing, job interviews, or contacted friends and family in the armed services away from home. It's asked that those wanting to use Skype call ahead and make a reservation for a room. Craig Hlavaty covers Houston history and pop-culture. Read him on our breaking news site, Chron.com, and on our subscriber site, HoustonChronicle.com. | craig.hlavaty@chron.com Prosecutors called a series of witnesses Thursday who testified about the emotional aftermath of three separate killings by a Jordanian patriarch intent on restoring the family honor. Their testimony came during the penalty phase of the capital murder trial of Ali Mahwood-Awad Irsan, 60, who was swiftly convicted last week of orchestrating the 2012 honor killings of his daughters husband and her close friend. One of those slain was Irsans son-in-law, Coty Beavers, 28, and his twin brother told jurors Thursday that since his brothers death, he takes a loaded gun with him everywhere, even to the shower. Another brother of the twins, who never wanted anything to do with guns before the fatal shooting, now sleeps with a gun every night to stave off fear. 1999 SHOOTING: Earlier killing detailed in Houston 'honor killings' death penalty case And the brother of 30-year-old honor killing victim Gelareh Bagherzadeh, who was shot in the head outside her parents Galleria-area townhome in January 2012, took the stand and told jurors he wakes up in the night and checks around the house until his wife stops him. Im always watching everywhere, Ali Bagherzadeh said. The testimony highlighted the anxiety, depression and other long term emotional damage family members and close friends have suffered as a result of the slayings, a toll prosecutors want the jury to consider when making a determination about whether Irsan should be put to death, or sentenced to life in prison without parole. Prosecutors have argued that Irsan, a observant Muslim who immigrated to the U.S. from Jordan, killed Beavers and Bagherzadeh to preserve his daughters honor, because they both supported her straying from the familys faith and leaving home and marrying a Christian. The jury took a little more than a half hour to find Irsan guilty of plotting both homicides, following several weeks of dramatic testimony. Since his convictions, prosecutors have brought evidence of a number of bad acts committed by Irsan, including the 1999 shooting death of another son-in-law in Montgomery County. Cory Beavers, whose identical twin was killed by Irsan in 2012, testified, Im afraid to start a family because I think that someday Im going to come home and find my kid or my wife dead. In addition to losing his twin brother, Cory Beavers had been dating Bagherzadeh, other murder victim. . RELATED: Jordanian patriarch facing death in Houston honor killings praised 9/11 attacks Glancing at Irsan, he said he feared that this is not going to stop with one brother. Jurors also heard from another witness the close friend of 29-year-old Amjad Alidam, another son-in-law who Irsan fatally shot in 1999 who said the defendant threatened his family members in Jordan when he confronted him about the killing. Montgomery County officials did not charge Irsan in that case because evidence suggested he killed the victim in self-defense. However prosecutors presented expert forensic testimony Thursday throwing that conclusion into question. Firas Abunabah, friend of the slain man, testified that he was outraged that Irsan shot his friend and got away with it. He said he approached Irsan at the mosque in 1999 to tell him so. I told him, You are a killer. How come youre coming and asking for forgiveness and acting like a nice guy? Around the same time Abunabah said he also confronted Irsans brother at a Middle Eastern market, asking the brother, Why did you guys kill him? MORE: Convicted honor killer accused of third slaying as Houston death penalty trial enters punishment phase Irsan and his brother jointly phoned Abunabah at home, he told jurors. They both were talking at the same time, he recalled. They told him, They will harm my family. In addition, a forensic expert testified that she had collected gunshot residue kits and other evidence as a young crime scene investigator at Irsans home the evening of the 1999 killing, but upon reviewing the evidence nearly two decades later it looked different. I looked at the photos and the word wow came out of my mouth, said Christine Ramirez, who has since authored manuals and instructed forensic investigators at Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service. Ramirez testified that the blood spatter in the crime scene photos indicated that furniture and perhaps even the victims body had been moved. The gunshot residue tests of Irsans hands had shown he did not fire a weapon, but he had told police he did. In earlier testimony, a neighbor testified that Irsan told him he had gotten away with murder by shooting his son-in-law with a shotgun, and then planting a gun on his body. Defense attorneys did not cross examine Ramirez or the siblings of the two victims in the case. The prosecution is expected to present its final witnesses in coming days, ext day or so, and the defense will begin calling witnesses next week. Prosecutors will likely revisit an incident involving Irsans first wife Robin. An FBI agent testified Thursday that he handled a product tampering investigation after Robin Irsan was taken to the hospital in 1987 for ingesting a food supplement laced with cyanide. The agent said he was looking into whether Robin had been poisoned by her husband. Law enforcement interviewed the defendant but the agent said that Irsan would not allow Robin to be interviewed. Officials concluded there was not sufficient evidence to prosecute. gabrielle.banks@chron.com twitter.com/gabmobanks Stafford Municipal School District trustees voted unanimously Thursday to work with city officials to ensure resource officers would patrol its three schools, a marked shift from a war of words waged earlier this week between city and school officials. School Board President Christopher Caldwell said resource officers will patrol the 3,600-student school district when school begins on Aug. 15 and that no price is too high to secure schools. All members of the Board of Trustees are 100 percent committed to providing a safe and secure learning environment, Caldwell said. The spat came at a time when school officials and parents across the country are scrambling to find ways to better protect students after a spate of school shootings caused a national uproar this year. A mass shooting at Santa Fe High School in Galveston County, which left 10 dead and 13 wounded, also panicked many in the greater Houston area. Questions over who should pay $186,000 in salaries for patrol officers in Texas only municipal school district began in spring after school officials asked the Stafford City Council to reinstate one resource officer so their ranks in the district would grow to three. The council approved but asked the school district to pick up expenses related to a patrol car. School and city officials began to search for a 2007 agreement that details how the city funds police services for schools but were unable to locate it, said Stafford City Councilor A.J. Honore. That made it unclear which expenses each entity agreed to pay for the extra security. Stafford police officials also stumbled upon a state law that appeared to forbid the city from giving away taxpayer funded services to other government entities, a conclusion also reached by Stafford City Attorney Leah Hayes. At a July 25 council meeting, Hayes told members the city could no longer foot the bill for the resource officers. As a result, Councilman Wen Guerra proposed a motion that the city enter into a memorandum of understanding with the school district to provide the officers. The item, which was approved 6-1, did not specify how much the city or the district would pay for those services. Stafford MSD trustees interpreted the vote as the city abandoning its 37-year practice of funding officers in Staffords schools. Trustees and the school district fired off a press release lambasting the decision, which was followed by harsh rebuttal penned by city officials. Hayes and Stafford Mayor Leonard Scarcella did not return requests for comment. On Monday, however, Honore, Guerra and school board trustees seemed united in making sure resource officers would be fully funded, no matter how the arrangement between the two government agencies takes shape. The city has to be reimbursed, but a reimbursement figure has not been worked out, Guerra said. As far as Im concerned, the schools could pay $1. Caldwell said city and district officials in the coming weeks would hammer out details of a cost-sharing arrangement for the officers. City councilors and trustees already scheduled a meeting to begin those conversations for next week, Caldwell said. He said the episode boiled down to a communication breakdown. You had two different parties trying to solve one issue, but approaching from different angles. We didnt come together and communicate like we should have as entities, and thats how we had conflict, Caldwell said. Im glad weve grown on both sides, and we are trying to resolve the conflict. Still, Honore expressed concerns that the newly discovered state law could affect more than just security services in the district. The danger in changing our definition is that it will change the municipal designation we will have, Honore said. The question becomes can we continue to pay for SAT prep courses for seniors? Allow elementaries to use the municipal pool to train students on how to swim? Can we continue to allow the drama class to use civic center and theater without making the district pay for that time? shelby.webb@chron.com twitter.com shelby/webb When Josh Cassada was tapped as an astronaut in 2013, he thought he would be getting a ride to the International Space Station from the Russians. That's because NASA has relied on Russia to transport them back and forth to the outer space laboratory since the space shuttle program ended in 2011. But on Friday, the world learned what Cassada has known for some time now: he would get to launch to the stars from American soil. NASA trained, Boeing employed: Chris Ferguson hopes to make history as a company astronaut "Being able to launch to the International Space Station from U.S. soil: I can't imagine a better honor and we're ready," Cassada said Friday at Houston's Johnson Space Center. Cassada was part of a group of nine people named Friday as the country's first commercial crew astronauts making them the first astronauts to launch from American soil since 2011. SPACE STATION: NASA chief says 2024 funding cutoff may not be possible "This is a big deal for our country, and we want America to know that we're back that we're flying American astronauts on American rockets from American soil," NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said. Friday's crew announcements highlight the heightened governmental efforts to increase commercial company involvement in low Earth orbit, where the International Space Station has flown since 1998. There also is an effort to transition the space station to commercial operation by 2025 ending federal funding by the end of 2024 as stipulated in President Donald Trump's fiscal year 2019 budget for NASA. The idea is to allow NASA to focus on further human exploration in space. It's NASA's job, Houston Center Director Mark Geyer told the Houston Chronicle in June, "to provide vision ... and do things no company can make money doing." But NASA's commercialization plans have come across stumbling blocks. Boeing's and SpaceX's commercial crew vehicles, for example, have fallen behind schedule, putting U.S. access to the space station in jeopardy. And experts have voiced skepticism about the feasibility of increasing commercial activity on the space station in time to hand operations over to commercial companies by the mid-2020s. Despite these problems, Bridenstine told a select group of reporters Thursday that the plans are necessary to further NASA's ultimate goals. "We want to enable NASA to use its resources to go further and do things that haven't been done before," Bridenstine said. "Do we want to use government resources in low Earth orbit (where the space station flies) for the next 20 years, or do we want to spend that money on new things?" Timeline crunch U.S. astronauts and, perhaps more importantly, U.S. residents have not experienced a human spaceflight launch from American soil since 2011, when the shuttle program was shuttered with Space Shuttle Atlantis. Instead, the United States has relied on Russia to transport American astronauts to and from the space station, paying $81 million per seat on the Soyuz spacecraft, a cost that includes the seat, the training, the spacesuit, and the search and rescue team, among other things. This arrangement is scheduled to end in November 2019, a timeline that seemingly left enough wiggle room for any delays in the development of the Boeing and SpaceX commercial spacecrafts. But a July report from the Government Accountability Office warns that it might not have been enough. Boeing and SpaceX were awarded NASA contracts totaling $6.8 billion in 2014 to build their own crew spacecrafts and conduct missions to the space station. Both initially were expected to launch crewed test flights this year, but the schedules of both companies have slipped. Boeing announced Wednesday that the launches would be delayed after recent problems during a test of its launch abort engines. NASA then announced that both companies' test flights which five of the astronauts named Friday will be on will be delayed until 2019. This means there could be a period of time in the near future that the U.S. does not have access to the International Space Station. Bridenstine said Thursday he is concerned about these delays, but NASA personnel are "working to make sure we don't have to be concerned about it." For example, he added, the agency is mulling whether to send U.S. astronauts to the station for longer periods of time to make the number of seats for Americans last until 2020. But any changes like this "probably will have modest costs" above $81 million per seat, said Ralph Grau, deputy manager of the International Space Station Program External Integration Office. Having to potentially pay more to adjust the timing of the launches is, however, better than putting astronauts in danger, he said, adding that the delays "are a testament to the fact that we want to be safe." Neither Leanne Caret, president and CEO of Boeing Defense, Space and Security, nor Gwynne Shotwell, president and chief operating officer of SpaceX, addressed the delays at Friday's event. But Shotwell assured the crowd attending the announcement that the company is on track to launch its first uncrewed test flight in November. "For the first time in years, it feels real," Shotwell said. For the astronauts now assigned to these first missions, the constantly changing schedules aren't impacting them too much, said Bob Behnken, a veteran astronaut now assigned to SpaceX's test flight. "We just march through and try to figure out what work needs to be done," he said. "We want to make sure all the work is done correctly." Extended funding? Trump's proposed 2024 funding end date for the space station is not arbitrary. It jibes with when U.S. operation of the floating laboratory is currently scheduled to end. But Congress can extend U.S. operation of the station, an option it has used in the past. U.S. senators, led by Texas Republican Ted Cruz, think that funding should be extended once again. NASA officials have said the station is safely operational until at least 2028. They're worried that commercial companies are not yet ready to take on such an enormous funding responsibility. Just in fiscal year 2017, NASA spent $1.45 billion on the space station and that doesn't include the costs to transport astronauts and supplies there. "We cannot afford to allow funding for the space station to crater in 2025," U.S. Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., said at a June congressional hearing. "What we need is a nuanced transition plan for the next great space age that reflects the commercial market and the space community. That's not what this administration put forward." Markey, along with Cruz and Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Flda., want the space station's life extended into 2030 and they've taken steps to make that happen through legislative means. Inspector general's doubts NASA's Office of Inspector General also has weighed in and, though it doesn't endorse the extension plan, it agrees that commercial companies may not be ready to take on the financial burden. "Based on our audit work, we question the viability of NASA's plans as outlined in its ISS Transition Report, particularly with regard to the feasibility of fostering increased commercial activity in low Earth orbit on the timetable proposed," the report states. Throughout the space station's 20-year history, there have been "scant" levels of commercial activity, the report states, making it hard to believe that a commercially operated station would be possible by the mid-2020s. Paul Martin, NASA's inspector general, has raised these concerns in the past. At a Senate hearing in May, Martin said, "We question whether a sufficient business case exists under which private companies can create a self-sustaining and profit-making business using the ISS independent of significant government funding." Although the timeline may not be feasible, Bridenstine said Thursday, commercial companies already are expressing an interest in the idea. Many have submitted plans on how to take over operations, which NASA personnel are reviewing. "It sounds really difficult, and it is, no doubt, really difficult, but there definitely is interest," he said. But "that doesn't mean it can be done, and it doesn't mean it can be done in seven years." alex.stuckey@chron.com twitter.com/alexdstuckey The following astronauts were tapped Friday for Boeing: Eric Boe : Selected as an astronaut in 2000, Boe, 53, is a veteran of two Space Shuttle flights. : Selected as an astronaut in 2000, Boe, 53, is a veteran of two Space Shuttle flights. Chris Ferguson : Selected as an astronaut in 1998, Ferguson, 56, is a veteran of three space shuttle flights. : Selected as an astronaut in 1998, Ferguson, 56, is a veteran of three space shuttle flights. Nicole Mann : Selected as an astronaut in 2013, this will be the first spaceflight for Mann, 41. : Selected as an astronaut in 2013, this will be the first spaceflight for Mann, 41. Josh Cassada : Selected as an astronaut in 2013, this will be the first spaceflight for the 45-year-old. : Selected as an astronaut in 2013, this will be the first spaceflight for the 45-year-old. Sunita Williams: Selected as an astronaut in 1998, Williams, 52, is a veteran of two spaceflights. The following astronauts were tapped Friday for SpaceX: Bob Behnken : Selected as an astronaut in 2000, Behnken, 48, is a veteran of two space shuttle flights. : Selected as an astronaut in 2000, Behnken, 48, is a veteran of two space shuttle flights. Doug Hurley : Selected as an astronaut in 2000, Hurley, 51, is a veteran of two spaceflights. : Selected as an astronaut in 2000, Hurley, 51, is a veteran of two spaceflights. Victor Glover : Selected as an astronaut in 2013, this will be the first spaceflight for Glover, 42. : Selected as an astronaut in 2013, this will be the first spaceflight for Glover, 42. Mike Hopkins: Selected as an astronaut in 2009, Hopkins, 49, is a veteran of one spaceflight Alex Stuckey covers science and the environment for the Houston Chronicle. You can reach her at alex.stuckey@chron.com or Twitter.com/alexdstuckey. Those who call it a 'crisis' overestimate number that have crossed Canada's border by irregular means Majority of Canadians see asylum seeker situation as crisis, says new poll Majority of Canadians see asylum seeker situation as crisis, says new poll Those who call it a 'crisis' overestimate number that have crossed Canada's border by irregular means Majority of Canadians see asylum seeker situation as crisis, says new poll Those who call it a 'crisis' overestimate number that have crossed Canada's border by irregular means Majority of Canadians see asylum seeker situation as crisis, says new poll Those who call it a 'crisis' overestimate number that have crossed Canada's border by irregular means Stephen Smith Aa Accessibility Font Style Serif Sans Font Size A A Two-thirds of Canadians believe the current influx of asylum seekers into Canada is a crisis and that could have political repercussions for Canadas Liberal government and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, says a new poll by the Angus Reid Institute. Since January 2017, roughly 30,000 people have claimed asylum in Canada by crossing its border with the United States between official ports of entry. The vast majority of these so-called irregular crossings have occurred in Quebec. The number of crossings dropped significantly in June, but the poll reflects public opinion between July 25 and 30. The Angus Reid Institute poll found that 65 per cent of Canadians believe there are too many people claiming asylum by irregular means for authorities and service providers to handle. Nearly half of those polled, however, put the number at more than 50,000 and nearly one-third of Canadians estimated 75,000 or more had crossed the border by an irregular route. Those who overestimate the number of irregular crossers tend to be more likely to see the issue as a crisis, while those who underestimate it are much less concerned, the Angus Reid Institute observed. These views on the asylum seeker situation are spread across Canadas political spectrum, the poll says, and are shared by more than half of Canadians who voted for the federal Liberal or New Democratic parties in the last election. Of Canadians who voted for the Conservative Party of Canada, 84 per cent believe there are too many people claiming asylum and that Canada is too generous toward them. Crisis narrative criticized The jump in irregular crossings at Canadas U.S. border coincided with the inauguration of U.S. President Donald Trump, whose administration has moved to strip protected status from citizens of Haiti and other countries and ban travellers from a handful of Muslim-majority countries, among other hard-line immigration policies. This dynamic was replaced this year by a surge in asylum claims from Nigerians. The Conservative Party of Canada has been the most outspoken on the situation, accusing the ruling Liberal government under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of mismanagement and downplaying the situation, which the Conservatives have long labelled a crisis. The Canadian government has avoided such language and Trudeau has been joined by human rights leaders in accusing the Conservatives of playing a dangerous game. [Conservatives] are using the politics of fear and division to pit Canadians against each other, Trudeau said in late July. His comment came on the heels of an op-ed penned by Canadas representative to the United Nations High Commission for Refugees, Jean-Nicholas Beuze, who wrote that it is wrong and irresponsible to instil fears about refugees in Canada. Todays refugee crisis is not here but in countries neighbouring conflicts in Africa or the Middle-East, he wrote. The least we can do when we see how these countries proudly and courageously welcomed hundreds of thousands of refugees is not to cry wolf here. Political crisis The Angus Reid poll suggests, however, that the Conservative narrative is winning out and that could have repercussions in the next federal election, which is expected next year. Asylum seekers and border security are areas of vulnerability for the Liberal Party and a potential effective wedge issue for the Conservative Party in next years anticipated election, the Angus Reid Institute says. The polls findings suggest that 48 per cent of Canadians including sizeable segments of past left-leaning voters trust Conservative Party leader Andrew Scheer on the asylum seeker file over Trudeau and other federal party leaders. Among those who voted Liberal in 2015, for example, 30 per cent favoured Scheers leadership on the issue. Canadians are paying a great deal of attention to this issue, which scored higher on the institutes awareness index than any other topic, the poll found. The Liberal government recently appointed former Toronto police chief Bill Blair as Canadas new Minister for Border Security and Organized Crime Reduction in a bid to appease public concerns. The Angus Reid Institute found that more than three-quarters of Canadians believe border security is important or a major priority and half see assisting asylum seekers this same way. The Angus Reid Institute says this last finding may reflect the fact only 27 per cent of Canadians believe most of those claiming asylum are genuine refugees. Four in 10 Canadians believe the majority are economic migrants. 2018 CICNews All Rights Reserved Name: Jamshid Rezaei Company: Mitel Job title: CIO Time in current role: 3+ years Location: Toronto, Canada As CIO, Rezaei is responsible for driving Mitels IT initiatives, as well as developing and executing the company's digital transformation efforts. He joined Mitel in February 2014 following the acquisition of Aastra Technologies, where he held various leadership roles in IT and business operations. Here he discusses Mitels digital transformation, the goal of improved customer service, and how he measures success. What was your first job? As a new graduate, I worked at an architect firm where I was a member of a team that was focused on structure design for a new building project. This is where I learned about the importance of teamwork, adapting to change and building a strong foundation for every initiative and project I was a part of. In my view, a solid foundation will allow you to expand and be scalable for the future. Did you always want to work in IT? Not at the time of my first job. I chose IT when I immigrated to Canada which coincided with the Y2K hype in the late 90s. As a new immigrant, I needed to re-educate myself and get familiar with the new society and job market, and it was also an opportunity to choose a new field of profession. There were many promises in the IT job market that I found very interesting, particularly given IT is all about how technology will change our lives through new innovation. Tell us about your career path. I have been at the forefront of technology and innovation for nearly two decades. I graduated with a degree in civil engineering and worked in the space for a few years before immigrating to Canada. As a new citizen, I went to school to become educated in IT just as Y2K was causing a huge buzz. While studying IT in the late 90s, I founded a startup that offered IT professional services and webhosting. After divesting the business, I took a job as an IT engineer and moved on to management and leadership roles, which led me to my current role as CIO of Mitel. In this role, I oversee the execution of the companys IT initiatives; I also develop and implement our digital transformation efforts. I work with my team to drive change and transform Mitels existing IT landscape through innovation to ensure customer success. What business or technology initiatives will be most significant in driving IT investments in your organization in the coming year? Business transformation through digitalization will emerge in the coming year as driving the most IT investment in our company. This will be about connecting people, tools and information for an awesome customer experience. Bootcamps have emerged as a popular way to quickly gain marketable skills that organizations are looking for. And the ongoing IT talent shortage in certain disciplines has seen a rise in bootcamps aimed at skills such as coding and data science. But how well do bootcamps prepare you for employment? Are bootcamp graduates perceived as viable candidates to fill key IT roles? According to data from Indeed, 72 percent of employers think bootcamp grads are just as prepared to be high performers as degree holders, while 12 percent think they are more prepared and more likely to be high performers. The same survey found that 80 percent of respondents went on to hire a bootcamp graduate and 99.8 percent said theyd hire someone with bootcamp experience again. Indeed has also found that since 2010 the number of job seekers with bootcamp experience has doubled year-over-year on the site. If youre thinking of enrolling in a bootcamp, heres what you need to know about the process and how to transform your experience into a viable career. Employees and employers can save time and money Bootcamps are typically short, lasting anywhere from a week to a few months, depending on the structure of the course. This makes bootcamps not only affordable when compared with degree programs, but easier to fit into busy schedules for working professionals. The cost felt hefty up front, but it seemed much more reasonable than going back to a university for a master's or another bachelor's degree. Plus, knowing I'd only be away from a paying job for four months rather than four years felt much more comforting, says Taylor Cox, a product manager who transitioned from a design position. Cox had a bachelors degree in digital media production and landed a job working as a designer for a PR agency after college. But after a week with the company, a developer was let go and Cox was able to take over the ex-employees responsibilities thanks to her self-taught background in HTML and CSS. But after being tasked with building out an e-commerce website on WordPress, she soon realized she had some knowledge gaps, and after some consideration, decided to try out a free course at The Iron Yard, which is now known as Suncoast Academy. The free session sparked her interest and she found that the bootcamp process suited her needs especially considering she had just recently graduated with a four-year degree. Not everyone has the budget or time to go back for a four-year degree and some companies dont have four years to wait for a candidate to graduate with the right skills. Bootcamps offer an alternative for workers and businesses an employee can shift their career through a bootcamp and organizations can send employees to bootcamps to get qualified workers up to speed on new skills. Bootcamps enable mid- or late-career changes Andrea Kim was 11 years into a pet-care business when she started growing concerned about navigating Chicagos unpredictable weather patterns after a couple of injuries. She also felt like she wasnt challenging herself enough in her career. But as a single-mom of two daughters, going back to school full-time wasnt an option. She couldnt take the time off it would have left her without an income to support herself and her kids. Related video: The 7 most in-demand tech jobs for 2018 I sought a new opportunity which could provide me the income I needed to finally rid myself of debt and start saving for retirement. I had been a single mom of two daughters living dollar-to-dollar on a single income and somehow survived by the skin of my teeth. If I could manage that for 21 years, I felt, I could manage a bootcamp and learn to code, says Kim. And she was right Kim is now an Android developer with an extensive resume that includes cybersecurity skills, data analytics, block chain, IoT, augmented reality, AI and DevOps. She continues to work in the industry, growing her skillset and staying on top of industry trends through continual learning. You get out what you put into a bootcamp Bootcamps arent structured like traditional degree programs, so how much you get out of one will depend on what you put in. Bootcamps enable you to network with professionals in your desired field, while completing hands-on projects that you can add to your portfolio. Think about what you want and what skills you need to gain. At the end of the day, bootcamps are not a golden ticket to a job they take work, and you get what you put into them. What I can tell you is, really invest in them, says Shelby Stewart, who transitioned to a product manager position in education tech. The homework and projects that are often required can be great resume boosters and are a great way to get a portfolio started, so make sure you spend time doing your project correctly and with thought and care, Stewart adds. You can learn a lot from these programs, because they provide you with a great network, skills, and frames of thought, but you really have to practice and invest in the program. Stewart worked closely with product managers in her marketing and content strategy roles, and she grew to find the position interesting. With a degree in psychology, she knew she would have to expand her educational background to land a role in product management. She completed a bootcamp at Product School and attended a one-off class at General Assembly after reaching out to others in the industry to hear their thoughts. After this, she was able to transition into a product management role, effectively pivoting her career. Bootcamps offer extensive opportunities to network and to gain hands-on experience that will apply to real-world situations. But unlike a degree program, you wont have the same structure or oversight as an undergraduate or graduate program. Your education will rely on your own engagement, efforts and dedication. I credit a lot of my ability to pick up these new technologies and concepts to being a bootcamp graduate. We didn't just learn how to code. We learned how to think like programmers and how to dissect problems into individual pieces that were easily solvable, says Cox. Youll probably need to enroll in more than one program Your education wont end once you graduate and land a job after your bootcamp program. Youll want to keep taking courses along the way, gaining new skills and building your resume especially if you want to continue competing with candidates who have CS degrees. Not having a CS degree is a huge disadvantage not in credentials as much as knowledge of concepts and software architecture. There is so much more to learn after a bootcamp. It is only the beginning, says Kim. She compares it to teaching a kid to ride a bike the bootcamp is that initial push from a parent, but what you do from there is your responsibility. You'll fall but you have to get back on and keep trying. Eventually, you'll be decent, and after a long time, really good. You will always have to keep pedaling, though, you cannot coast for long, says Kim. Depending on the job you go for, you will find that you need to stay competitive by maintaining your credentials over the years. The bootcamp is a great start, but youll want to ensure youre up to speed on all the necessary hardware, software and tools for the job. While I was a student in the bootcamp, I would stick around after class for meetup events with local organizations that either hosted presentations about tech-related topics or workshops. Now that I've completed the bootcamp, I still continue to take courses to expand my knowledge, says Cox. Open-plan offices are supposed to encourage collaboration, improve communication, and encourage the free-flow of ideas, as well as offer (literal) transparency and flatten the usual corporate hierarchy. But it turns out theres a sexist downside that could be impacting your current and potential future employees. As a recent article from Fast Company explains, researchers Alison Hirst of Anglia Ruskin University and Christina Schwabenland of the University of Bedfordshire followed 1,100 U.K. government employees as they moved from a traditional office to a brand-new, open-plan office over the course of three years. The (male) architect who designed the plan apparently realized there were concerns about visibility, privacy, and productivity, but he argued that employees would eventually get over it and then compared the open plan concept to that of a nudist beach. I think its like going to a nudist beach. You know, first youre a little bit worried that everyones looking at you, but then you think, hang on, everybody else is naked, no ones looking at each other, he told the researchers. I think thats whatll happen, theyll get on with it. Except thats not what happens, nor is it what happened in the open office. While some of the women in the office agreed that the new office encouraged collaboration and eliminated hierarchy, it seems most were not comfortable, nor did they get on with it. Some women would avoid visiting parts of the office where they werent expected; a woman named Wendy told the researchers that she deliberately avoided parts of the office where she wasnt expected to be. If you were a female, that would definitely get a comment from all the men because they would notice you, Wendy explained. So, the office that was supposed to encourage freedom and flexibility actually had the opposite effect, in that case. Some of the women in the office began dressing differently. They started using their clothing to indicate where they fell on the office hierarchy, and they were hyper-aware that they were being watched and judged. This kind of all-glass, no-privacy environment leads to a subtle kind of sexism where women are always being watched and thus judged on their appearances, causing anxiety for many employees. One woman named Pat told the researchers that the men on her team used to mark the attractiveness of young women coming into the office for interviews. Visibility enabled these men to judge and rank women according to their sexual attractiveness, just like men on the nudist beaches, the researchers write. And, Id guess, being that they were in an open-office plan, their comments were probably heard by everyone in the office. Sexual harassment amplified Open-office plans can also amplify sexual harassment and eliminate safe and/or private spaces where workers could otherwise go to de-stress or have delicate conversations, as AnnaMarie Houlis points out here for Fairygodboss. In one example, a woman realized her boss was literally following her around as she attempted to find a private place to take a call. While its a huge step forward to see more marginalized people speak up about discrimination and harassment, good luck finding a private space to actually bring these concerns up with HR or your manager in an open-plan office. Speaking with someone on a one-to-one basis without the fear of being overheard, judged or worse becomes a challenge, writes Houlis. Many of these open-plan offices were, not surprisingly, designed by men without taking womens needs (and those of other marginalized peoples) into account. Perhaps soliciting feedback from employees outside of the straight, white, male cisgender demographic would have been wise. When it emerged yesterday that the Twitter feed of the New York Times editorial boards latest appointee, Sarah Jeong, crackled with nasty and puerile racial invective, it was generally assumed by manyincluding her defendersthat she would be let go before the day was over. Jeongs Twitter remarks were so over-the-topcalling white people groveling goblins whose pale skin should force them to live underground, like Morlocks; saying #CancelWhitePeople; and exulting in being cruel to old white peoplethat it seemed absurd that the venerable Times editorial board, of all places, would welcome the thumbs that tapped out such jejeune trash. But it turns out that Jeong is keeping her job, and that the Times knew about her comments when they hired her. We had candid conversations with Sarah as part of our thorough vetting process, the Paper of Record clarified, which included a review of her social media history. She understands that this type of rhetoric is not acceptable at the Times. Jeong herself explained that as a woman of color on the internet, I have faced torrents of online hate. Her comments, she said, cannot be construed as racist because they were not aimed at a general audience, because general audiences do not engage in harassment campaigns. The logic is twisted, but enlightening once you untangle it: Jeongs explicitly racial insults were intended to counter-troll her white harassers, not all whitesmany of whom, it is to be assumed, are fine people. This is the same logic, of course, that all racists use when someone calls them to account for their words. When celebrity television chef Paula Deen admitted in 2013 that she used the N-word once to describe a black man who held a gun to her head during a bank robbery, her naive assumption that people would understand that she didnt mean to impugn all blacks cost Deen her show and sponsorships. But as the Jeong Affair is making clear to anyone who hadnt already noticed, different rules apply depending on whos speaking, and to whom theyre speaking. Jeong calls herself a woman of color on the internetsurely a novel formulation of identityand assumes a veil of protection from criticism based on this status. Its hard to understand how a highly rewarded immigrant, whose family was embraced by the same country whose majority population she now denigrates, sees herself as a victim. Yet she does, and in fact, a supportive media narrative casts her as a double victim: first she was trolled by racists online, and now far-right activists and even Nazis are trying to get her fired. Jeong is not racist, her defenders sayon the spurious but now broadly held view that only whites can beand even to pose the question, or refer critically to her tweets, or doubt the probity of the New York Times, suggests hatefulness. Just a day after Jeongs anti-white twitter screeds were revealed and righteously defended, it emerged that she also dislikes law enforcement. After her jar of jam was seized by the TSA in 2016, she tweeted Marionberry jam confiscated at the airport, fuck the police, presumably another instance of Jeong ironically occupying the position of the oppressor in order to undercut its hollow claims to authority. Last December, she again tweeted, fuck the police, this time accompanied by a cartoon of a police officer being beaten by a samurai rodent; the context is opaque, but surely trenchant. Six months ago, the Times hired Quinn Norton to fill the power, culture and consequences of technology editorial role that Jeong now occupies, only to be dismissed that same afternoon when it turned out that she had once called someone a faggot on Twitter. So we have to take the Times at its word that it thoroughly vetted Jeongs social media history. Might the paper have decided to go forward with her appointment anyway, not despite her white-hating tweets, but because of them? Jeong is a demonstration case of what can be acceptably said if you belong to the right kind of identity groupimmigrant, racial minority, woman of color on the internet. For the New York Times, it appears, Jeongs hatred of whites is not a drawbackits her qualification. Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images Over the last weekend in July, New Yorks police blotter could have come straight from the Windy City16 people shot in 10 encounters over seven hours. The casualty list: one dead and three critically wounded, plus a variety of close-call-but-non-life-threatening wounds. One weekend does not mean that the bad old days are back, or even necessarily indicate a trend, but the carnage followed news that murders were up by more than 8 percent in the first six months of the yearled by a 64.5 percent jump in the Bronx. And therein lies a clue to the underlying problem. When it comes to the homicides, its around 30 percent [gang-related], NYPD Chief of Department Terence Monahan tells the New York Post. When we come to non-fatal shootings, its around 40 percent where theres some sort of gang nexus. This is the same situation as in Chicago, where street-gang warfare has raged largely uncontrolled for several yearsand where a typical weekend butchers bill dramatically overshadows anything New York City has experienced recently. The trick for the NYPD is to keep a lid on the violence, though recent trends here could make achieving that goal more difficult. New York famously led the nation in reclaiming its streets from the crack gangs of the early 1990s, and a key to that victory was the intelligent use of informationdatabases, in particular. The NYPD profiled crime-prone neighborhoods statistically, isolated them tactically, and devoted the attention and resources to make them safe (or at least safer). The theory was simple enough: social issues may generate crimes, but criminals commit them, and the key to keeping innocent New Yorkers safe was to focus on the criminals. New Yorks jails bulged, but murders dropped dramatically, as did virtually every other category of serious crime. Its been a generation since mothers put their babies to sleep in bathtubs to protect them from stray bullets coming through apartment walls, and New Yorks focus has shifted regarding crime and punishment. Much less attention is getting paid to crime victims and far more to those who run afoul of the aggressive anti-crime tactics that served the city so well when Rudy Giuliani became mayor. Increasingly, those protocols are being dismantled. Efforts to divert youngsters away from crime have been largely successful, but keeping young criminals as far away from the police as possible has, paradoxically, created the conditions for more criminality by effectively encouraging petty violations. In decriminalizing victimless crimes like public pot-smoking and subway turnstile-jumpingtwo recent strategiesNew York City is allowing quality of life to slip, especially in poorer neighborhoods where criminal activity may fester. The times being what they are, race and ethnicity are playing a big part in these policy debateswith advocates and their allies claiming that aggressive law enforcement has a disparate impact on minority communities. Objectively, this is a specious argument. Arrest and victimization statistics in New York City track one another on a racial and ethnic basis, almost to the decimal point. Politically, however, the argument is devastatingly effective: disparate-impact assertions have increasingly shut down enforcement of so-called quality-of-life offenses. So look for those claims to be deployed again if the NYPD meets what appears to be a growing gang threat by using a time-tested weapon: information. Presumably, Police Commissioner James ONeill is staying on the path blazed by his predecessors, William Bratton and Ray Kelly, by compiling actionable intelligence on the various groups and targeting enforcement to hotspots where gangs and crews are active. Databases can be problematic, of course, and its important that they not be misused. But the gangs that have turned the word Chicago into shorthand for nihilistic gun violence must not be allowed to gain a foothold in New York. The city has come too far to turn back to the past now. Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images Human rights group Amnesty International has revealed that one of its staff have been targeted with malicious spyware, in what it believes is an attempt by a hostile government to spy on its work. The organisation said the attack was not successful on this occasion, but showed the threat faced by campaigners and charities in the UK. In June this year, an Amnesty employee received a WhatsApp message in Arabic. The text contained details about an alleged protest outside the Saudi embassy in Washington DC, followed by a link to a website. Amnestys technology team found that clicking the link would have installed Pegasus, a surveillance tool developed by the Israel-based company NSO Group. Joshua Franco, Amnesty Internationals head of technology and human rights, said: NSO Group is known to only sell its spyware to governments. We therefore believe that this was a deliberate attempt to infiltrate Amnesty by a government hostile to our human rights work. The potent state hacking tools manufactured by NSO Group allow for an extraordinarily invasive form of surveillance. A smartphone infected with Pegasus is essentially controlled by the attacker it can relay phone calls, photos, messages and more, directly to the operator. This chilling attack on Amnesty highlights the grave risk posed to activists around the world by this kind of surveillance technology. In a written response to Amnesty, NSO Group said: NSO Group develops cyber technology to allow government agencies to identify and disrupt terrorist and criminal plots. Our product is intended to be used exclusively for the investigation and prevention of crime and terrorism. Any use of our technology that is counter to that purpose is a violation of our policies, legal contracts, and the values that we stand for as a company. "If an allegation arises concerning a violation of our contract or inappropriate use of our technology, as Amnesty has offered, we investigate the issue and take appropriate action based on those findings. We welcome any specific information that can assist us in further investigating of the matter. We refuse to be intimidated by this attack Amnesty fears that the attack is part of a broader surveillance campaign. Franco said: The message sent to us seems to be part of a much broader surveillance campaign, which we suspect is being used to spy on human rights defenders worldwide and prevent their vital work. Defending human rights is not a crime, and we refuse to be intimidated by this attack. Attempts to spy on us will never prevent Amnesty from speaking up for truth, justice and equality. We are working with human rights defenders to help them protect themselves against similar cowardly attacks, and ensure that abusive governments cannot use technology to silence them. The Charity Technology Conference takes place on 7 November 2018. For more information and to book click here. In just two years the Guardian newspaper has become one of the largest fundraising entities in the UK, with more than 300,000 supporters contributing several million pounds a year. The newspaper launched an appeal for donations at the bottom of every page in mid-2016, and has seen it raise a significant amount of income, although it has not specified the exact amount. The paper filed its annual report and accounts at the end of last month, in which is showed considerably increased supporter income. It said it had 570,000 regular supporters, which include subscribers as well as donors, and an additional 300,000 one-off contributors. The figure may be enough to put the company in the hundred largest fundraising entities in the UK. The 100th largest fundraising charity is the Science Museum Group, with an income of just over 8m, but there are several non-charities with significant fundraising income. In particular, many UK universities raise significant sums, with 110 institutions attracting just over 1bn in funds. As a co-writer of Politico New Yorks morning newsletters, and an early adopter to Twitter, I played a role in accelerating the local news cycle, pushing more and more content to people earlier and faster. Sometimes, that acceleration was necessary. Information about Hurricane Sandy, or a deadly car accident can require it. Other times, it was not. Which is why Im helping to start a new newsroom for people drowning in content. FAQ NYC is a weekly news podcast that takes a focused look at one local story, to give the context a person needs to be smart. Thats it. We have a weekly newsletter that offers more reporting, information, and data on that story, and sometimes on other ones. Maybe a few quotes from other podcasts toowe like that medium and want to promote the culture. Were funded by a grant from Civil, a blockchain company trying to create a much-needed new economic model for the journalism industry while protecting our work from capricious owners. How news is created and how news is paid for are linked, and you cant change one without the other. At FAQ, we dont want to tell you whats just happened. We want to explain why, and what that means for what might happen next. With all eyes on Trump in some sense, theres far too little of that happening locally. Sometimes, it feels like people see local as synonymous with parochial. FAQs first episode is about John Liu, the former City Comptroller whose mayoral campaign got derailed by a federal investigation. He was never charged and hes made a bit of a comeback, as a state senate candidate riding a progressive wave that is finally catching up to where he says he has been, politically, for quite some time. While many national news organizations are expanding, local ones are shrinking. The number of news publishing jobs in New York City has steadily been droppingand online outlets have not replaced those jobs, in quantity or quality. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2000, there were 10,882 jobs at newspapers in New York Cityreporting, editing, human resources, etc. By 2016, that number was 7,362. RELATED: Who suffers when local news disappears Sign up for CJR 's daily email Magazines got it even worse: from 32,302 jobs in 2000 to 18,824 in 2016. Online publishing and broadcast jobs gained more than 20,000 jobs during this time, but, as anyone whos ever been online can tell you, not all internet publishing jobs are the same. Listen to this episode of Reply All about the cottage industry of shitty stories that appear on news websites as trashy clickbait. Theres big money to be made in repacking sensational stories, which go to the clickbait factories and to the sites that host them. So, if the website is for an otherwise respectable news outlet is short on cash, they have every incentive to put clickbait crap on their site. And you, the reader, suffer through more content and less news. Another result of having fewer reporters and more content is that news today seems to burst out of nowhere: Look, another subway crisis! Turn around, its a school shooting! Did you see this viral video? By the way, meet this person we never told you about: Shes your new congressperson. The result? If you dont know whats happening around you, everything becomes distant, every story becomes an emergency and every person becomes an other. That estrangement disconnects people, and you can imagine, if you dont already know, what happens next. Its a lot easier to hate the media if youdont see hard-working reporters at your town hall, or your courthouse or the school board, ProPublicas Alec MacGillis explained in this fantastic speech at a Knight-Wallace Fellowship event last fall. (MacGillis did the program in 201011; I did it in 201718.) You glare at them because you have no idea who they are. Theyre just strangers with nice clothes and sharp glasses. And, if you dont have local news, [it] make[s] you feel more disconnected from any kind of civic or community fabric. Its going to make you feel more isolated. And its going to send you in search of information elsewhere, he said. If you dont know whats happening around you, everything becomes distant, every story becomes an emergency and every person becomes an other. As proof, MacGillis recalled a conversation he had with a swing voter in Ohio back in 2016, named Tracie St. Martin. MacGillis said, [Traice] herself is aware of what an easy mark she was, how shaky her information sources are. No one thats voting knows all the facts, she told me that first day we met. Its a shame. They keep us so fing busy and poor that we dont have the time. The reason I went into that fellowship is exactly because of this accelerated news cycle. Ive always wanted to write about New York in a book, or a magazine piece that looks at the bigger themes shaping the daily events I was rushing to report. But there was never any time. When I was a young reporter at the Queens Tribune, I wrote about neighborhood zoning fights, and churches looking to sell their property because their congregations had dwindled. I usually wrote about these and other stories as stand-alone events, never giving myself enough time to step back to ask, What is happening here? I felt like I got even less time the more coverage areas I picked up, writing about New York City and then New York state politics. RELATED: Cuts at the Daily News highlight a local news crisis Finally, I realized I had to stop, step back, and unplug after the November elections in 2016. I was at my apartment, then in Crown Heights, wondering how, just a few hours earlier, all the pundits and prognosticators (myself included) failed to see Trumps path to victory. At the Knight-Wallace Fellowship, I and the 18 other mid-career journalists looking to re-tool their careers had to follow three rules: Live in Ann Arbor; show up to fellowship events; and, most importantly, dont write professionally. In the fall of 2017, it felt like a forced, and needed, detox from a news cycle that had accelerated and emotionally electrified. The other journalists I spoke with in and out of the program seemed to want to get off the merry-go-round of immediate, unprecedented, history-making newseven for just a moment. And as much as I knew thats what I needed to do, to get some clarity about the news landscape, I was petrified to try it. Because news reporting jobs are harder to hold onto. Would stepping back to catch my breath mean the cycle moves on without me? Will readers notice when I come back? Newsand the infinite number of other things that people say you should pay attention tocan feel like a cacophony. Where do you go to find the start of that major story in the headline? Maybe the New York Times podcast, The Daily, will discuss it. Or WNYCs Brian Lehrer Show, or NY1all very good outlets. But they only have so many minutes a day to devote to any given story, let alone a local one. We are getting buried in content, and need more context. I turned 40 this week, so, Im a bit more contemplative about the concept of time, now more than ever. Time is the most precious thing, and we dont want to waste yours. ICYMI: A reader became my stalker. Is this the new normal for journalists? Has America ever needed a media watchdog more than now? Help us by joining CJR today Azi Paybarah is a co-founder and co-host of FAQ NYC. He previously worked for POLITICO New York, its independent predecessor Capital New York, WNYC public radio, and other New York-based outlets. He currently resides in Manhattan. On Tuesday, the president was in Tampa. He spent Thursday evening in Wilkes-Barre. On Saturday, hell stand in front of an adoring crowd in Delaware County, Ohio. As the midterm campaigns enter the home stretch, Donald Trump is hosting a series of rallies around the country, and as November approaches, well see even more on his schedule. The prevalence of these events, their repetition, and Trumps propensity for lies raise a question for journalists that had once seemed settled: when the president speaks, is it really news? The beats of a Trump rally are numbingly familiar to those who have followed him closely since the presidential campaign. Attacks on Democratic lawmakers (last night in PA, it was their senator, Sleeping Bob Casey) flow into recitations of Trumps accomplishments, media bashing, and a relitigation of the 2016 election. Reporters tweet the comments, and cable news either plays clips or covers the whole event live. The rambling nature of Trumps rallies, of course, inevitably gives way to lies. Recently, The Washington Post updated its database of the presidents comments, finding that, since taking office, he has made 4,229 false or misleading statements. Over the past two months, the frequency of those falsehoods has increased dramatically, clocking in at nearly 7.6 claims a day. RELATED: A climate of hate toward the press at Trump rallies The press cant completely disregard his words, but as the repetitive roadshow rolls on, newsrooms can cover them with scrutiny. In some ways, the press has already made adjustments: though Fox News still regularly carries rallies in their entirety, gone are the days when every cable network broadcast them in fullby returning to studio, reporters are able to add a dose of reality and jump into a discussion of the administrations policies. One option for networks that decide to air Trumps eventsor portions of themlive is to use the familiar banner on the bottom of the screenthe chyronto provide analysis. Paul Farhi wrote this week in the Post that chyrons began to evolve as real-time fact-checks during Trumps 2016 campaign speechesbut more recently as a means to lift a rhetorical eyebrow over some questionable presidential statement or dramatic development. If television newsrooms assigned a rapid-response team to cover Trumps words, the chyron could become an even more powerful tool. Sign up for CJR 's daily email Below, more on a Trumps rallies and the way theyre covered. Spotlight on media bashing: Thundering that the media is the fake, fake disgusting news, President Donald Trump unleashed a torrent of grievances Thursday at a Pennsylvania campaign rally in which he cast journalists as his true political opponent, write the APs Jonathan Lemire and Jill Colvin. Thundering that the media is the fake, fake disgusting news, President Donald Trump unleashed a torrent of grievances Thursday at a Pennsylvania campaign rally in which he cast journalists as his true political opponent, write the APs Jonathan Lemire and Jill Colvin. The enemy of the people: Press Secretary Sarah Sanders refused to disagree with her boss, making it clear on Thursday that the view of the press as the enemy of the people is official White House policy. Earlier in the day, Ivanka Trump told Axioss Mike Allen that she did not hold this position. Press Secretary Sarah Sanders refused to disagree with her boss, making it clear on Thursday that the view of the press as the enemy of the people is official White House policy. Earlier in the day, Ivanka Trump told Axioss Mike Allen that she did not hold this position. A different approach: Last month, Voxs Ezra Klein criticized the way the press has allowed Trump to become its assignment editor. He told CNNs Brian Stelter that important stories fall by the wayside when reporters rush to cover Trump whenever he hits the road, arguing that previous presidents never received this kind of wall-to-wall attention. What are we crowding out when we let him decide what we cover, every time he does a rally? Klein asked. Other notable stories ICYMI: Facebook to Congress: We are on the job, please do not regulate us Has America ever needed a media watchdog more than now? Help us by joining CJR today Pete Vernon is a former CJR staff writer. Follow him on Twitter @ByPeteVernon. After almost a decade of giving China the cold shoulder, Google is said to be considering a plan to re-enter the country officially, even if doing so means agreeing to the governments demands for wholesale censorship of topics such as human rights and democracy. The story was initially reported by The Intercept, but multiple sources have now confirmed Google has been working on a Chinese search app (using the code name Dragonfly) for over a year, as well as a news app. If implemented, both would block sites that dont comply with the countrys censorship rules, effectively making them part of Chinas Great Firewall. The news has caused some consternation in political circles, but also within Google, in much the same way the companys work for the US Department of Defence did earlier this year. In that case, Google said it would not renew a contract it was working on, but it is less likely to back down in the case of China, since it represents a huge market opportunity (Facebook is also said to have worked on a feature that would allow the Chinese government to censor content on the network). Sources say Google hasnt made a final decision to go ahead with the plan, but according to The Intercept: When a person carries out a search, banned websites will be removed from the first page of results, and a disclaimer will be displayed stating that some results may have been removed due to statutory requirements. Examples cited in the documents of websites that will be subject to the censorship include those of British news broadcaster BBC and the online encyclopedia Wikipedia. Moving back into China with a service that implements government censorship would be a significant reversal for Google, which pulled out of the country completely eight years ago. The final straw was a series of hacks aimed at prominent Gmail accounts, but Googles decision to leave also appeared to be driven in part by concerns about how it was playing into the hands of a totalitarian state by doing business in the country. At the time, co-founder Sergey Brin spoke about how Chinas tactics reminded him of the methods used by the government of the former Soviet Union, where he lived as a child. When Google was still active in the country, the companys argument was that withdrawing would be worse than continuing to do business with a repressive government, since it would deprive Chinese citizens of a useful service. But that argument is significantly less persuasive now that Chinas Baidu has effectively become the local version of Google search, and many other services as well. Now, an attempt to move back into the country would look more like a crass commercial gesture. Google watchers and others are also concerned that if the company accedes to the Chinese governments demands, it will make it easier for others to do so, and will also embolden other totalitarian states to ask for their own custom censorship services from Google and other tech giants. Today theyre making special China-only censored versions of Google to gain access to the China market but how long before *global* censorship becomes the price of entry? https://t.co/6Gg28GdCIB Sign up for CJR 's daily email Matthew Yglesias (@mattyglesias) August 2, 2018 Any move by Google to provide government censored search services to China would not only be evil, but also incredibly dangerous, wrote Lauren Weinstein, a long-time technology commentator who has worked as a consultant for the company. If it goes ahead with the plans, he said, Google will not only have gone directly and catastrophically against its most fundamental purposes and ideals, but will have set the stage for similar demands for vast Google-enabled mass censorship from other countries around the world. ICYMI: Eleven newsletters to subscribe to if you work in media. Has America ever needed a media watchdog more than now? Help us by joining CJR today Mathew Ingram is CJRs chief digital writer. Previously, he was a senior writer with Fortune magazine. He has written about the intersection between media and technology since the earliest days of the commercial internet. His writing has been published in the Washington Post and the Financial Times as well as by Reuters and Bloomberg. A U.S. passenger aboard a flight that crashed on takeoff in northern Mexico said Wednesday that a strong burst of wind and hail hit the Aeromexico jetliner, apparently knocking it back to ground, where there were only moments to evacuate before it burned. Alberto Herrera, a 35-year-old webpage engineer from Chicago, described the terrifying moments when the plane briefly became airborne before smacking belly-down onto a field beyond the edge of the runway. You start gaining speed and as soon as you start taking off all of the sudden the plane starts struggling and its getting hit with hail, said Herrera, who was visiting the city of Durango for the baptism of his cousins baby. The higher up we went into the storm the heavier the hail got and more wind got to us, he recounted from his hotel room. Then all of a sudden the plane starts rocking and it starts seriously, seriously moving around and then hitting the ground. The fire around the wings eliminated the possibility of using wing exits, so Herrera said he moved toward a back exit and started helping other people leave the craft. Many walked to the end of the runway to wait for emergency vehicles. Durango state Gov. Jose Aispuro said all 99 passengers and four crewmembers made it off the plane, but the pilot was severely injured. About 49 people were hospitalized with injuries. Some people had burns on a quarter of their bodies, said Durango state Health Ministry spokesman Fernando Ros. Aispuro said all were expected to live. An Illinois priest was on the plane. The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago said the Rev. Esequiel Sanchez suffered some injuries, but was alert and resting. Aispuro said it was too soon to speculate on the cause of the crash. Mechanical failure and human error could be factors, but certainly the weather wasnt favorable Aeromexico Chief Executive Officer Andres Conesa described the day as very difficult and credited the timely reaction of crew and passengers for the lack of fatalities. Conesa said the passengers included 88 adults, nine children and two babies and the crew consisted of two flight attendants and two pilots. He said the jetliner had been sent for maintenance in February and the crew was well-rested, having started their work day in Durango. Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. It would be a signature thats virtually impossible to fake. Because youd need an immensely powerful nuclear science research facility to create it. A pair of Michigan State University researchers Wolfgang Bauer and Bradley Sherill have proposed using equipment at the universitys $765 million Facility for Rare Isotope Beams to embed isotopes below the surface of valuable works of art. Doing so in a specific pattern and density would allow for a unique signature an owner or gallery could check with a handheld isotope detector. And because these isotopes would decay at a predictable rate, the signatures could be useful for a century or longer, explained Bauer, a theoretical physicist. The hefty prices for paintings by the likes of Jackson Pollock and Pablo Picasso drive a lucrative forgery market. German forger Wolfgang Beltracchi, for instance, admitted in 2011 to faking more than a dozen works of art that sold for $45 million. Beltracchi later told the German magazine Der Spiegel that he had faked works of approximately 50 artists during his career as a forger. It wouldnt cost the owner of an artwork much to embed isotopes into their piece at FRIB, Bauer said, a few hundred dollars to rent time at the facility and to use the necessary electricity, but this relatively low price is only possible because FRIB already exists. The prohibitively high cost of similar equipment would mean a forger like Beltracchi couldnt replicate the isotope signature, Bauer said. A potentially interested forger would have to spend hundreds of millions of dollars to imprint the same signature into the art piece, he told the Lansing State Journal . FRIB is funded primarily by the U.S. Department of Energy. Once completed, it will be capable of producing extremely rare, short-lived isotopes atoms that are chemically similar to the elements on the periodic table, but have a different number of neutrons contributing to scientific understanding of the universe and its fundamental forces. The idea came out of discussions back when MSU landed FRIB in 2008. Bauer and Sherill, director of the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory, sought to patent the process in 2016. The application is under review. The thought process was, how can we make societally useful applications of the FRIB accelerator? Bauer said. Art galleries and private owners seek to authenticate their works in myriad ways, according to John Steele, vice president of exhibition, collection and information strategies at the Detroit Institute of Arts Authentication is a tricky business, Steele said. Its really about looking at the big picture and seeing whats available, assess a piece of art and give the best insight into whats happening. Dozens upon dozens of pieces are evaluated by the conservation department at the DIA every year, Steele said. A museum curator will look to the past, researching ownership and connecting documentation to help better understand a piece in question. Conservators look at the condition of the piece itself, analyzing the elemental composition to determine what pigments were used and when they were prominently used by artists. Other imaging techniques that use infrared or ultraviolet light can also be used to help draw conclusions. We at DIA are fairly well equipped for an art museum, Steele said, adding that they do occasionally offer their expertise to smaller museums out of professional courtesy. Conservators rarely speak in absolutes, Steele said, opting instead to learn as much as they can to make measured conclusions. Steele said something like whats being discussed at MSU could add another tool to the already extensive utility utilized by galleries and private collectors. Civil construction at FRIB has already wrapped up, and researchers are in the midst of installing and testing technical components ahead of its expected completion in 2021. Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Not all firefighters carry a hose or shovel. The adrenaline junkies who steer heavy bulldozers across steep ridges face serious hazards, from smoke and flames but also from unsteady dirt and steep terrain that can flip them over. The deaths of two bulldozer operators battling California wildfires in July highlighted the dangers confronting these less visible firefighters. Braden Varney, 36, was clearing a fire line near Yosemite National Park on July 14 when his vehicle overturned and rolled down a ridge. Don Ray Smith, 81, was overtaken by wildfire near Redding last week. Drivers of so-called dozers say they are acutely aware of the dangers and regularly find themselves in sticky situations. They do it for the thrill, the challenge, the good money and the opportunity to make a difference saving peoples lives and homes. To me, its the closest thing to war without getting shot at, said Dustin Westfall, a dozer operator working for a private contractor on the fire near Redding thats killed six people. Its pandemonium its wild out there. Youre getting to see 200- to 300-foot flame lengths. Its a whole different world. Its a rush. Dozers are an integral part of the battle against large blazes but are rarely seen in dramatic images of flaming trees and raining ash. They use roughly 10-foot (3-meter) blades to push aside shrubs, brush, grass and even trees so the advancing flames meet bare dirt and have nothing to consume. Ideally, the lack of fuel will stop the fires progress. At the very least, it generally will slow down the flames. Dozers usually work in small groups in extremely steep terrain. Soft soils or hard granite can cause them to slide. Its hard to see because of smoke and the dirt they kick up. Fire moves faster than heavy machines, so shifting winds can send flames toward bulldozers. Because dozers can get into places no other equipment can reach, the drivers sometimes find themselves far away from backup, relying on radio traffic and aircraft to tell them what the fire is doing. Some work close to flames. Others build contingency lines farther back to act as a backstop if the first line is breached. Theyre a special breed of guys, said Cliff Allen, president of the union representing California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection personnel, including dozer operators. The job that they do, it takes a special person, because theyre going up and down really steep terrain. Dozer operators looking to work directly for Cal Fire, the states firefighting agency, must have 500 hours of experience just to be considered. Privately hired operators have various experience levels, but all must complete an annual course in fire line safety. Authorities have released little information about how Varney and Smith died. Their deaths come two years after a dozer trying to maneuver around a fire engine overturned near Big Sur and the operator was ejected. Another dozer operator was killed in the same region in 2007 when his rig rolled, causing him to hit his head on the wall of the cab, according to Cal Fire investigative reports. The deaths have weighed heavily on dozer drivers busy with an active fire season across the Western United States a reminder of the perils that await them on the fire line. Dean Mullis, a childhood friend of Varneys and a fellow heavy equipment operator for Cal Fire, said Varney was devoted to his family and unfailingly generous. Braden would go to a fire, get covered in dirt, come home and play crocodile with his kids on his living room carpet, Mullis said. He was a mans man, and he was a father first and foremost. He came from a bulldozing family his father was a dozer driver for Cal Fire, and the two started a grading and excavating business. Smith, a bulldozer operator working for a private company on contract for the state, always had some good laughs and good stories and liked to sit outside his trailer drinking beer with friends, said Vaughn Hohing, who used to fight fires as a bulldozer operator and said he worked often with Smith. When he wasnt fighting fires, Smith lived and worked on a horse ranch in Pollock Pines, east of Sacramento, repairing things, plowing snow and performing other maintenance. Smith had lots of experience working outdoors with heavy equipment. At 81, Smith was one of the older guys working on fires, but dozer operators said its common for people to work into their 60s and 70s. Fighting fire is a specialized skill, and while the pay is good, its an expensive business to get into. If youre in a bad mood, go see Don, Hohing said. You always felt better when you left. (Associated Press reporter Sophia Bollag contributed from Sacramento.) Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. AKRON, Ohio - The former Akron Fulton Airport, now Akron Executive Airport (AKR), is undergoing revitalization and rebranding. Airport Advisory Board Chair Phil Maynard and Mayor Dan Horrigan unveiled the new branding and a new vision for the airport Friday at a gathering of business leaders and government officials. The goal is to ramp-up marketing efforts and spur development in the air and on airport grounds, Maynard said. "There's countless opportunities ahead," he said. As part of a new strategic plan, rebranding is underway, with a new website, logo and tagline: "AKR means business!" New signs have been installed throughout the facility and, as of last Monday, obstacles to night-time landing have been removed, Maynard said. The airport includes two runways - 6,337 feet and 2,300 feet - and is home to 15 hangars for corporate aircraft and 75 planes housed in condo hangars. The airport can support 70 aircraft per day. Part of the rebranding effort includes promoting existing tenants, including the services of fixed-base operator Summit Air, a concierge for air plane maintenance, and flight school American Wings. The Props and Pistons Festival is planned for August 18-19, offering the community plane rides, aerial demonstrations, food and vendors. A master plan is also being created to identify all available land around the airport for economic development. Stark State Akron is helping jump-start that development. Stark State College President Para Jones said the college, which opens in August, is partnering with the city, county and airport advisory board to establish a new seven-acre facility on airport grounds for the college's commercial driver's program. "CDL commercial driver's license is one of the highest demand fields in the nation, the state and this region," Jones said. "The program will serve the companies in this region and beyond. What we will develop here will be something we are all proud of, that will continue to serve the students of Akron and Summit County for many years." To draw more air traffic business, the airport board is also working with businesses that already use the airport, Maynard said. One of those businessmen is Randy Theken, founder of Theken Companies LLC, a medical device implant development company. Randy Theken, founder of Theken Companies LLC, a medical device implant development company, bought and restored the historic airport terminal on Triplett Boulevard. His companies use the airport to serve customers. Theken bought and restored the historic Art Deco airport terminal on Triplett Boulevard. His companies used the airport to quickly usher his customers - neurologists and spine surgeons - in and out of Akron. "We used this airport extensively back in the days and we would fly in well over 100 surgeons and distributors a year," he said. His companies were acquired, but he now has four new medical device companies based in the terminal offices, and recently built a 40,000 square foot manufacturing facility there for aeronautical and medical devices. "The airport and this building have served me well over all these years," he said. Horrigan said planning for revitalization of the airport began about three years ago, when officials consulted with Akron-Canton Airport operators, who advised keeping the runway. A major impediment to developing the airport was the crumbling Akron Rubber Bowl, which is expected to be two-thirds demolished by late fall, Horrigan said. Now the city is working with the county and the Greater Akron Chamber to attract new business to the airport. Want more Akron news? Sign up for cleveland.com's Rubber City Daily, an email newsletter delivered at 5:30 a.m. Monday through Friday. BEACHWOOD, Ohio -- Question: Who will tell their story and educate generations to come when Holocaust survivors are no longer with us? Answer: The Holocaust survivors will. The answer to this riddle is made possible through the Dimensions in Testimony project, and its early results can now be seen at the Maltz Museum of Jewish Heritage, 2929 Richmond Road in Beachwood. While survivors' memories have been recorded in various forms in the past, none have had the benefit of Dimensions in Testimony's technologically advanced, interactive method of providing remembrances of Jews imprisoned in concentration camps by Nazis in the 1930s and '40s. The museum has partnered with the University of Southern California Shoah Foundation's Dimensions in Testimony to allow Holocaust survivors to, in effect, live on after they're gone. Those who take a seat in the museum's Irving Chelm Family Theatre will see a seated Beachwood Holocaust survivor Stanley Bernath on a vertical screen telling his story and answering questions from the audience. The real Stanley Bernath, left, stands next to his interactive video image. Yes, Bernath's one-dimensional image is in the room answering questions, but he is not. Maltz Museum Director of External Relations Dahlia Fisher explained that, about a year ago, Bernath traveled to Los Angeles and, on a huge, domed stage, was captured on video from every angle as he answered nearly 1,000 questions. Those answers have been programmed to respond to audience members' questions, much like Amazon.com's Alexis. Bernath is one of six survivors who regularly speak to students and adult groups at the Maltz Museum about their experiences. Bernath was imprisoned in several concentration camps from early 1944, when the Germans invaded his native Romania, until he and his fellow prisoners were liberated by Gen. George Patton on May 6, 1945. When asked to talk about his early life, his image says, "Jews were hated as I grew up." Bernath, born in 1926, was 18 when the Nazis came for him, his family and fellow Jews. Of that coming, he said, "In the early part of 1944, everything changed." For a while, while in a camp, Bernath said he spent 10 to 12 hours per day, every day, working in tunnels. "We know these are our last years that our survivors are going to be with us, so we felt it was important to invest in this program," Fisher said of Dimensions in Testimony. Bernath is the local contributor to the project, which has conducted in-depth interviews with people from across the country. He was chosen by the program because, at age 92, he has the ability to recall details of those days of more than 70 years ago. Talking about the survivors who speak regularly at the Maltz Museum, Fisher said, "In person, it's a way to bring history out of their heads and into real life, and it becomes relatable in a personal way. After hearing them speak, kids take selfies with survivors and hug them. They write them letters." Aaron Bane, the museum's manager of volunteer and visitor services, said that the people at USC are regularly monitoring the questions asked of Bernath so that his answers can be gathered from his video shoot and used to answer as many questions as possible. "He'll only answer questions he was asked," Bane said of Bernath's image, noting that the Shoah Foundation will not splice together answers to different questions to form new ones. "If he can't answer, he'll say, 'I can't answer that,' or 'I wasn't asked that,'" Bane said of Bernath's image. Speaking of his involvement in the program, Bernath told the museum: "Years from now, none of us survivors will be available, we'll be all gone. (Through Dimensions in Testimony), children or adults can always ask questions. They'll be able to see it and hear what I have to say about what I went through." Bernath's video self, when asked what he learned from his experience in the concentration camps, said, "I learned to trust myself, and never give up -- and I did not give up, not once. "I learned to respect others and be a good person -- be good to others." Even at 92, Bernath said of his work today, "I'm a general contractor in construction." Visitors can also learn that Bernath makes it a point to visit 85 seniors daily when he visits a local nursing home. "The greatest experience is helping others," he said. Bernath's image will be at the Maltz Museum through December as part of the project's $400,000 first phase. When his image returns next year, it will be able to answer many more questions. But, that won't be the project's end. Fisher said that the goal -- since video was taken of Bernath from all angles -- is to someday have his 3D hologram sitting in the museum, among visitors, telling his story and answering questions. And, since there are 14 other survivors around the country doing the same as Bernath, the hope is that guest holograms will also be at the Maltz in years to come. "It will become part of our permanent collection," Fisher said. Museum visitors can see and ask questions of Bernath at 3 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays, and on Sundays, through September. Days and times will be changed after that, and last through December. General admission to the museum for those 12 and older is $10, while museum members enter free. CLEVELAND, Ohio -- U.S. customs officials told a federal judge that they took $770 less than the amount claimed by a Parma Heights man whose life savings was seized at Cleveland-Hopkins International Airport in October. Rustem Kazazi said in a lawsuit filed in May that the federal government took $58,100. The government says it only seized $57,330 and said in June that it would return that money, plus interest. The $770 is the only lingering dispute remaining from Kazazi's lawsuit, which opponents of the government's civil forfeiture process have pointed to as evidence of an abusive system that allows law enforcement agencies to seize money and assets from people, even in the absence of a crime. Assistant U.S. Attorney Renee Bacchus wrote in a motion filed Monday that Kazazi only claimed Homeland Security agents took the extra money after his family first filed claims for $57,330. "Thus, it would be a vain act for the Court to order the Federal Defendants to return property not in their possession," Bacchus wrote. U.S. District Judge Dan Polster has set a hearing for December to determine whether the government will have to pay Kazazi the additional $770. Customs officials detained the 64-year-old Kazazi and interrogated him at the airport in October because he was traveling with a large amount of cash, according to his lawsuit. Customs agents later said they thought the money came from smuggling, drug trafficking and money laundering, all of which Kazazi fervently denies. Kazazi is a retired Albanian police officer who became a U.S. citizen in 2010 and was headed to Albania for a six-month stay in 2017. He converted his family's life savings into cash so he could use it to pay expenses while overseas, the suit says. Government officials detailed in their motion what agents said they saw on the day they took Kazazi's money, in order to show that customs officials properly handled and accounted for all of Kazazi's money throughout the seizure process. Transportation Security Administration screeners pulled Kazazi aside because they noticed a "bulk mass" in Kazazi's carry-on luggage, Bacchus wrote. They searched his luggage and found three bundles of cash wrapped in plastic wrap, wax paper and tape, placed inside a cloth bag. Agents say Kazazi, who was wearing three jackets and two pairs of pants, kept giving different amounts when asked how much money he was carrying. Kazazi allowed agents to search him and his luggage, the motion says. He told agents he was not currently working and that the money represented his savings. He said he intended to move to Albania, though a report attached to the motion says Kazazi had not arranged to sell his home in the U.S. An agent unwrapped and photographed the bundles. Kazazi was present when they did this, and when agents placed the money in an evidence bag. Agents gave him a receipt with an unspecified dollar amount, as the money was not counted on site, the motion says. They placed the bag into a safe at Homeland Security's office at the airport. The next day, agents brought the money to a banking facility for counting. Bankers counted $57,330, and agents were present as the money was counted, the motion states. Officials sent Kazazi information on Dec. 1 that detailed the amount the government seized and why. Kazazi and his wife filed a claim Jan. 3 saying $32,663 of the seized money was theirs. Their son Erald Kazazi claimed ownership of the remaining $24,667, all of which totals $57,330, Bacchus wrote. A week later, the Kazazis signed declarations saying agents seized an additional $770, the motion says. The government's civil asset forfeiture process allows authorities to seize assets when it suspects a person obtained money or property illegally. Civil liberties groups have said the process is ripe for abuse, as it allows officials to seize money from people who were never convicted or even charged with a crime. Federal authorities seized more than $2 billion in assets from people in 2017, according to The Washington Post. Wesley Hottot, an attorney for the Virginia-based Institute for Justice representing Kazazi, sad in June that "this case shows how civil forfeiture is inherently abusive, even when the process 'works.'" If you would like to comment on this story, please visit Friday's crime and courts comments section. LAKEWOOD, Ohio -- A Cleveland man faces a robbery charge after a Thursday robbery at a Fifth Third Bank in Lakewood, police said. Ahmed Mohammed Khafaga, 46, entered the branch at West 117th Street near Madison Avenue about 10 a.m., Lakewood police said in a statement. He gave a teller a large brown shopping bag and a note that demanded hundred-dollar bills, according to the 911 call. The teller gave him $100, according to the woman during the 911 call. He left the bank and walked across the street. "Everything just happened so fast," a woman who witnessed the robbery said. Police found Khafaga while they were still on the phone with the woman and arrested him at the West 117th and Madison Avenue RTA bus station, police said. Khafaga is being held on $10,000 bond in Lakewood City Jail, police said. Court records do not say when he is expected to make his first appearance in court. If you'd like to comment on this story, visit Wednesday's crime and courts comments section. WARREN, Ohio -- A man is facing a felony charge of animal cruelty after police say he skinned a pit bull as it hung from a rope and then posted a video of the incident on social media. Scott A. Winter, 46, of Warren, is scheduled to appear Friday in Canton Municipal Court, the Vindicator reports. He was arrested Wednesday and is being held in the Stark County Jail on a $50,000 bond. There are conflicting reports on whether the dog was alive or dead when it was skinned. Investigators tell the Canton Repository the dog, which belonged to Winter, was alive, but a detective tells the Vindicator the only images he saw were of the dog after it was dead. Police tell the Repository the dog was skinned in a home in Canton and the videos posted in early July. The home recently burned down, reports say. The Repository reports Winter was convicted in November 2016 on four counts of misdemeanor animal cruelty. In April 2017, he was convicted of five counts of failure to register dogs and failure to get them vaccinated for rabies. WKBN Channel 27 reports Winter's girlfriend, Vicky Young, also was arrested and has been charged with falsification. To comment on this story, visit the crime and courts comments page. CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The number of Ohio high school students completing federal financial aid forms went up for the second year in a row, but at a lower rate. Getting students to fill out the FAFSA, a long, complicated form that is the only way to qualify for federal money for higher education, is a challenge. A change in federal policy in 2016 let students complete the FAFSA three months earlier and use tax information from 2015 to do so. Completion for the 2016-17 school year spiked 6 percent in Ohio and 9 percent nationally, reversing a four-year decline. "Since then we've leveled off in what we view as a new baseline," Kim Cook, the executive director of the National College Access Network, said. For the 2017-18 school year, Ohio's completion rate for the Free Application for Federal Student Aid went up 1.1 percent. Nationally, the completion rate went up 1.9 percent, according to the organization's data. Ohio ranks 14th nationally for percentage of high school seniors who have completed the FAFSA, which might explain why the state has a relatively small increase this year. Bigger gains come in states with lower rates or where officials changed FAFSA policy. Louisiana has the largest jump, a result of the state making FAFSA completion a requirement for high school graduation, Cook said. U.S. Department of Education officials are looking at ways to streamline the FAFSA. The government recently revamped the online portal used to fill out the form to make it mobile-friendly. There are plans to beta-test a new smart phone app in the coming months. Cook said since students -- and parents -- use their phones so often, these updates could bring more awareness to the FAFSA completion process. CLEVELAND, Ohio -- A man is in critical condition and a woman injured after they confronted two teens they accused of stealing their children's bicycles, according to police reports. The shooting happened about 10 p.m. Thursday on East 200th Street in the city's North Shore-Collinwood neighborhood near the Cleveland-Euclid border. A 34-year-old man is in critical condition after being shot five times, once in the chest, and twice each in the left and right arms, police reports say. The 27-year-old woman was shot in the left hip. The woman told police she spotted two teens riding bikes that she believed the two stole from her children the night before at Neff Park, police reports say. The man and woman confronted the duo on the bikes about stealing them, when one of the teens pulled out a handgun and fired eight shots at them, police reports say. The bicyclists sped off south on East 200th Street. Witnesses told police one cut through Neff Park and a nearby Hyundai dealership and the other rode towards a nearby apartment building. The woman and man hopped in their car and the woman drove them to Euclid Hospital. They were both flown via emergency helicopter to MetroHealth. The man was unable to talk to police because of the extent of his injuries, police reports say. To comment on this story, please visit our crime and courts comments page. CLEVELAND, Ohio - Councilman Ken Johnson did not purchase the vehicles that are branded with his name and used exclusively by his favored nonprofit as the councilman has claimed, a top city official said this week. Darnell Brown, the city's chief operating officer, said he has verified that the city bought and owns the vehicles and trailers used by the Buckeye Shaker Development Corporation, including about six that are painted with the message, "Compliments of Councilman Ken Johnson." Brown also said he intends to dispatch a city crew to paint over Johnson's name on the vehicles. The announcements come in response to my series of columns about Johnson and BSSDC. One column questioned the ownership of the vehicles branded with his name. Another dealt with his dealings with BSSDC, an organization he supports that is supposed to be revitalizing impoverished neighborhoods. For decades, non-city employees working for BSSDC have used the vehicles while cutting grass and cleaning lots in Johnson's Ward 4. During that time, Johnson has earmarked hundreds of thousands of federal dollars to the organization and insisted that the money be spent on the grass-cutting and cleanup program, which employs his son, his council assistant and other residents. Cleveland.com asked Johnson last month why the vehicles, which are stored in a city lot and are maintained at Cleveland taxpayers' expense, promote his name and are used for the benefit of only residents in his ward. Johnson, a 37-year veteran of City Hall politics, said he personally paid for some of the pickup trucks and box trailers that bear his name. He added that he received permission decades ago from then-Mayor George Voinovich to put his name on city vehicles and use them to serve residents in his ward. The city confirmed to cleveland.com that such an informal deal existed. Brown acknowledged this week that the city had for years essentially ceded grass-cutting and lot-cleaning responsibility to Johnson and BSSDC. Asked why the city allowed this, Brown said, "I wish I could answer that, but it has been going on for several decades." Brown said Mayor Frank Jackson's administration, which has been in charge for more than 12 years, had been "maintaining the status quo, making sure equipment and inventory is adequate for the [grass-cutting and lot cleaning] and that the work is being done." Brown said the city will now take over the grass cutting and cleanup of what he said is about 2,000 lots and abandoned properties in the ward. He said the city is hiring additional employees who will do the work. Brown said he expects the city to be ready soon. When the city takes over, BSSDC will no longer have access to city vehicles. (Johnson did not respond to a request to clarify his earlier comments.) Brown also said that the city has paid for the gas for the vehicles used by BSSDC. Brown said the city was justified in doing so because the vehicles were used to provide services to residents. He said BSSDC has been responsible for insuring employees who drove the city vehicles. Up until now, Johnson and BSSDC controlled which lots got cut and cleaned in the Buckeye, Larchmere, Woodland Hills and Shaker Square neighborhoods. Johnson's council assistant, Garnell Jamison, who fields calls from residents and accompanies Johnson to events throughout the ward, is also paid by BSSDC to be one of crew chiefs of the lots program. The lots program and related payroll have been straining BSSDC's budget for years. Public records show that while BSSDC maintained its lots program, it failed to pay property taxes and make loan payments on residential and commercial properties that it owns. Last month, the City of Cleveland officially cut off BSSDC from any federal funds because the agency has failed to provide an independent audit of its finances, including details about its payroll and other expenses. This means BSSDC will not receive more than $200,000 that Johnson has earmarked in the latest fiscal year for BSSDC. Every community development corporation that receives federal money through the city is required to submit an annual audit. COLUMBUS, Ohio--Gov. John Kasich announced Friday he will let legislation become law that allows military service members and veterans to get or renew Ohio concealed handgun permits without paying a fee or going through training. However, the governor allowed Senate Bill 81 to take effect without his signature to protest state legislators stalling on passing his package of gun-policy reforms. SB 81, which lawmakers voted overwhelmingly to pass earlier this year, waives the concealed-carry license fee for active members of the armed forces and retired and honorably discharged veterans. Right now, people who have been Ohio residents for more than five years must pay $67 for an initial license and $50 to renew a permit. Those who moved to the state more recently must pay $77 initially and $60 to renew. The new law caps the total amount of fee waivers at $1.5 million. In addition, those who have military experience with firearms will no longer have to take a required eight-hour course to get a concealed handgun permit, regardless of when a license applicant acquired the experience. In a statement, Kasich spokesman Jon Keeling said SB 81 "has merit and the governor's support." However, Keeling said the governor declined to sign it because "he believes that the next piece of gun-related legislation that he signs needs to be the package of common sense reforms that has been introduced and which will provide valuable tools to reduce gun violence." That package, House Bill 585, includes a proposed ban on "bump stocks" that increase a gun's firing rate, outlawing purchases of firearms for third persons except as gifts, and a "red flag" law that allows courts to remove firearms from people deemed a threat to themselves or others. Kasich proposed the reforms following mass shootings in Las Vegas and at a Florida high school. However, House Speaker Ryan Smith has said HB 585, which has bipartisan support, has caused "a lot of consternation" among House Republicans. Gun-rights advocates have spoken out against the reforms, especially the proposed "red flag" law. CLEVELAND, Ohio -- In the 'Year of the Woman,' what are the prospects for women candidates in this year's elections in Ohio? This week's episode of cleveland.com's Ohio Matters politics podcast tackles that question. It also includes excerpts of past interviews of four women in Ohio politics -- Ohio Secretary of State candidate and State Rep. Kathleen Clyde, Lt. Gov Mary Taylor, Ohio Republican Party Chairman Jane Timken and Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley-- who have been on the show this year. We asked them all about what it's like being a woman in politics and how more women can be encouraged to run. As a reminder, fewer than one-quarter of Ohio's state lawmakers are women, and of its 17 members of Congress, only three are women. Only two women will appear on the November ballot as nonjudicial, statewide candidates. Taylor, a Republican former governor candidate, Timken, the first woman chairman of the Ohio Republican Party, discussed her priority to Whaley, a Democratic former governor candidate, discussed the "mean girls" attitude that can exist among female candidates and the Clyde predicted that this year's election We also size up which women candidates seem more likely to win this November, and highlight some women to watch in future Ohio elections. Ohio Matters is the weekly political podcast from cleveland.com. Every week, reporters Andrew Tobias, Mary Kilpatrick and Seth Richardson sit down with political figures from around the Buckeye State for in-depth discussions. Past episodes can be found here and include Republican Attorney General nominee Frank LaRose, Democratic U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown and a special episode with an inside look at the Cuyahoga County corruption scandal. Sen. Rob Portman WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Our economy is growing and businesses are expanding and looking for workers. Go on Ohiomeansjobs.com today and you will see more than 140,000 jobs advertised. Businesses say pro-growth federal policies -- tax reform especially -- are helping them grow and increasing optimism about the future. Since the first of the year, I've visited 21 businesses across Ohio that have raised wages, delivered bonuses, bought new equipment, increased workers' benefits and more as a direct result of tax reform. At another dozen small-business roundtable discussions, I have heard the same story. Despite all these job openings in Ohio, we still have a historically high number of people out of the workforce altogether. I believe it is because the opioid epidemic gripping our state has depleted the pool of workers and stunted our full economic potential. Nationally, what economists call our "labor force participation rate" is low. That means there are many unemployed Americans not even looking for work, therefore not recorded in our unemployment numbers. It's so bad that if our labor force participation rate were at its pre-recession level, our country's unemployment rate wouldn't be 4.0 percent as it is today -- it would be 8.6 percent. A recent report by the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland found that areas with high levels of opioid prescriptions have lower workforce participation rates than those with low levels of opioid prescriptions -- by an average of 4.6 percent for men and 1.4 percent for women. They also surveyed businesses separately and about half said the opioid epidemic has negatively impacted them. I hear this from business owners who say it is a challenge to find people who can pass a drug test. But the bigger problem is those who aren't even showing up to take the drug test because they are not looking for work. Last year, a report published by the Brookings Institution found that nearly half of men between the ages of 25 and 54 not in the labor force take pain medication on a daily basis and nearly two-thirds of that group acknowledged taking prescription pain medication. A Department of Labor survey from earlier this year found that 44 percent of that same group acknowledged taking pain medication the previous day. The true number is likely higher because of the stigma and the legal risk involved in admitting drug use. Our goal should be to get more people out from the grips of addiction and into the workforce where they can have the dignity and self-respect that comes with having a job. Businesses need to get more involved in finding solutions, and I'm working to enact federal policies to help as well. In 2016, my bipartisan Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act, or CARA, became law. It provides resources for prevention, treatment, and recovery for addiction. In June, I visited MetroHealth in Cleveland, where they are putting CARA funding to good use through an innovative quick response team to intervene and get more addicts into treatment. There are other positive examples like this across the state, but turning the tide of addiction will require more innovative solutions. I recently introduced CARA 2.0 to build on CARA's successes and increase resources toward evidence-based programs that really work. CARA 2.0 will also limit opioid prescriptions to three days for acute pain based on guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This would not affect those with chronic pain or cancer, but it would address the overprescribing that continues in treating acute pain. A recent study found that states that have established prescription limits have experienced steeper declines in opioid prescriptions than those that haven't. We also know that nearly 80 percent of heroin users start with prescription drugs, so ensuring we are smarter about prescribing will help stop addiction at the source for so many people. I'm also working to stop deadly synthetic drugs like fentanyl from coming into the United States. Fentanyl is the No. 1 killer in this epidemic in Ohio -- consisting of about two-thirds of overdose deaths from 2017. Unbelievably, fentanyl is mainly manufactured in laboratories in China and shipped though the U.S. Postal Service. The STOP Act, a bipartisan bill I authored, will close the loophole in our international mail screening and keep more synthetic drugs out of our communities. The House of Representatives passed the STOP Act in June, and I'm optimistic that the Senate will vote on the bill soon. Addiction has hospitals and treatments centers overflowing, jails overcrowded, the foster care system overwhelmed, and our pool of potential workers depleted. It will take a comprehensive approach and a communitywide effort to address all of these issues. Together, we can help Ohioans get the care and support needed to get back to leading productive lives. Sen. Rob Portman of the Cincinnati area is the junior U.S. senator from Ohio. ********** Have something to say about this topic? Use the comments to share your thoughts. Then, stay informed when readers reply to your comments by using the "Follow" option at the top of the comments, and look for updates via the small blue bell in the lower right as you look at more stories on cleveland.com. SHAKER HEIGHTS, Ohio -- About 200 residents turned out Wednesday for a community meeting to learn more about the Shaker Heights City School District's plans to place and make comfortable in their new surroundings Fernway School students displaced by a July 10 fire. At the meeting, held in the upper cafeteria at Shaker Heights High School, residents -- as they have in the past -- offered to help the district, showed support and even applauded the work and planning already done. The day before, at a school board work session, it was announced that the approximately 300 Fernway Elementary School students would be attending classes in three other district buildings come the first day of school on Aug. 20. Fernway kindergartners will be assigned to Onaway Elementary School, and first-graders to Boulevard Elementary. Second- through fourth-graders will be attending classes at Woodbury Elementary, a school that already houses fifth- and sixth-graders. Robert Mays, a father of two daughters, ages 11 and 8, was pleased with the solution. "My older daughter is going into the sixth grade at Woodbury and my younger one is going into the third grade, so she'll be going to Woodbury, too," he said. "The fact that my younger daughter is going to be relocated to the same school is perfect." Of the work of the district in the wake of the fire, Mays said: "I've been impressed. Based on all that I've read and the questions I've asked, they've been thorough in turning over every rock to make sure that this has all been done well. Things will be a little snug and cozy in the schools, but it will work out." Although the Fernway students will be spread out over three buildings, the school's principal, Chris Hayward, whose office will be at Woodbury, said, "My goal is to integrate as many of the hallmarks of Fernway as possible." That, he said, will include the annual Fernway third-grade musical. Shaker Heights Recreation Director Alexandria Nichols said that the before- and after-school programs will be continued as in the past for Fernway students and parents, and that registration for the programs began Wednesday. Transportation schedules have also been set up and will soon be available on the Shaker Schools website. Fernway students, no matter what school they will attend, will not be walking to their buildings. "I don't want to see any Fernway students walking across Lee (Road) or Van Aken (Boulevard)," Hayward told parents. After the meeting, Hayward said, "I don't want Fernway students crossing any streets." A school district employee will be on each school bus to reassure the Fernway students, some of whom have never before taken a bus. "We're going to make sure (students) are as comfortable as possible," Hayward said. Hayward also said that Fernway kindergartners and first-graders will enjoy recess with their new schoolmates, but that second- through fourth-graders will not have recess at the same time as the fifth- and sixth-graders at Woodbury School. The students will all eat with their new schoolmates. "(Fernway students) will be able to make friends with other students from across the city that they wouldn't otherwise get to meet," said Hayward, who will spend time at all three schools. When asked a question from the audience about how long the Fernway students would remain in the other school buildings, Interim Superintendent Stephen Wilkins said: "We believe this shared space plan is for the duration of the year. It's best to keep it settled so kids don't have to make another transition." Added Hayward, "If it's not working, we're going to do right by our kids." But, he said, "We're confident it's going to work." Wilkins said that a temporary roof must first be put atop the historic Fernway School building, 17420 Fernway Road, before a full assessment can be made as to when or if the building can again serve as a school. Hayward assembled a community focus group that helped the school district make decisions about where students would be placed. The group looked at other possible locations for Fernway students, but it was ultimately determined that Shaker Schools buildings offered the best alternative. Executive Director of Curriculum Instruction David Glasner said the three-school plan presented is cost effective and "allows the 'Shaker experience' for all of our students." As they have at past meetings, residents offered to help the district in any way possible. Holly Coughlin, executive director of the Shaker Schools Foundation, said interested parties locally and around the country have already donated more than $26,000 to the Fernway Fund to ensure that teachers and students have all they need when the new school year begins. One 1990 graduate of Shaker Heights High, who did not attend Fernway, has already staged a fundraiser and turned over $1,400 to the foundation, Coughlin said. Anyone wishing to donate to the Fernway Fund can do so at shaker.org/foundation. Meanwhile, the PTO has a number of fundraising activities coming up. One is the 4x1 Mile Shaker Red Raider Relay, which will start at 4 p.m. Aug. 18 at the high school, 15911 Aldersyde Drive, and will benefit the high school cross country team and Fernway. Check-in time is 3 to 3:50 p.m. A parent-student ice cream social will be held Aug. 20 so that students can see their new schools in an informal way. SOLON, Ohio -- Aggravated menacing, Aurora Road: At 5:05 p.m. July 24, officers were dispatched to Market District, 34310 Aurora Road, where a man was outside the store bothering patrons. When management told the man to leave, he threatened to shoot the manager and others. The suspect was identified as a 36-year-old from Cleveland. A warrant was issued for his arrest on a charge of aggravated menacing. On July 30, Shaker Heights police arrested the suspect and transferred him to the Solon jail. Theft, Aurora Road: At 9:10 p.m. July 25, Market District store security apprehended five juveniles who had attempted to steal $75 worth of steaks and lobster. The youths were referred to the juvenile officer and released to their parents. Theft, Aurora Road: At 4:10 p.m. July 26, an employee of Market District reported that a man had shoplifted $6 worth of merchandise and left the store. Police located the suspect, a Cleveland man, 50, walking nearby. The man was issued a misdemeanor citation for theft. OVI, U.S. 422: At 11:50 p.m. July 26, an officer came across a car stopped on the U.S. 422 entrance ramp at Ohio 91. The driver, a Cleveland man, 63, told the officer his car had run out of gas. The officer detected signs that the man was impaired. The man failed field sobriety tests and was found to have a blood-alcohol content of .085, above the state minimum for drunk driving of .08. Police charged the man with OVI and having an open container of alcohol in his automobile. Domestic violence, Hollyhock Lane: At 7:50 p.m. July 27, police were called to a home where a man, 23, was fighting with his mother, 57, and sister, 19. The man was arrested and charged with domestic violence. Carrying a concealed weapon, Aurora Road: At 12:05 a.m. July 28, an officer pulled over a car due to an illegal lane change. As the officer spoke to the driver, a Cleveland man, 55, he could smell the odor of burnt marijuana. When asked about the odor, the driver showed the officer a marijuana blunt he had been smoking. A small bag of marijuana was found in the car's center console, and another bag was found on the man's person when he was being booked into jail. The driver also admitted to having a loaded gun in his backpack. The man had a permit for the gun. His CCW permit, however, was expired. The permit was also violated because of his drug possession. The man was charged with felony carrying a concealed weapon, drug possession and not driving within marked lanes. Theft, S.O.M. Center Road: At 7:30 a.m. July 28, it was reported that a man left the Marc's store, 6231 S.O.M. Center Road, with a cart full of merchandise for which he had not paid. The man left the store's lot in an SUV and could not be located. A store employee took down the vehicle's license plate number. The vehicle was found to have been stolen from North Randall. Detectives are following up on the matter. Disorderly conduct, Aurora Road: At 11:55 a.m. July 28, a woman, 54, and her grandson, 9, were harassed and yelled at by a man in a van as the woman and boy walked through the parking lot of Market District. Police located the suspect inside the store. A Bedford Heights man, 54, was cited for misdemeanor disorderly conduct. OVI, U.S. 422: At 9:25 p.m. July 28, police stopped a car that was being driven without activated headlights. The driver, a Chagrin Falls man, 20, smelled of alcohol. The driver failed field sobriety tests and was found to have a blood-alcohol count of .127. Further, the man was found to be in possession of an altered Mississippi driver's license. The license had the man's photo on it, but someone else's identity. The man was charged with OVI, prohibited BAC, underage OVI, no headlights and certain acts prohibited for the bogus driver's license. OVI, Ohio 91: At 11 p.m. July 28, police stopped a car on Ohio 91 that had been driven left of center on Pettibone Road. Approaching the driver, a Shaker Heights man, 20, the officer could smell marijuana. The driver admitted to smoking marijuana prior to the stop. Field sobriety tests indicated that the driver was impaired. He was charged with OVI and submitted to a urine test. It was also discovered that the man was wanted on warrants issued by police in Shaker Heights and South Euclid. Police charged the man with OVI, driving under suspension, possession of marijuana and not driving within marked lanes. Theft, Aurora Road: At 12:05 p.m. July 29, a man was seen leaving Market District with a cart carrying $498 worth of groceries for which he did not pay. Police spoke with the man, 54, of Cleveland, in the store's lot. The man insisted he got to the store via bus. Surveillance video, however, showed that the man had arrived in an SUV. Police found the vehicle in the lot, occupied by a Maple Heights man, 52. The Maple Heights man gave police false information as to his identity. It was also found that this man had numerous warrants for his arrest issued by various agencies. The Maple Heights man was charged with obstructing official business and possession of drug paraphernalia, as a glass pipe was found in his vehicle. The shoplifter was charged with theft and obstructing official business. Harassment by an inmate, Solon Road: At 10:30 a.m. July 29, an inmate at the Solon jail, 33000 Solon Road, spit in the face of a corrections officer. The inmate, a Cleveland man, 36, was charged with felony harassment by an inmate. OVI, Liberty Road: At 12:10 a.m. July 31, police stopped a car being driven without its headlights activated. The driver, a Solon woman, 24, was found to be impaired. The woman's blood-alcohol content was .134. The woman was charged with OVI, prohibited BAC and no headlights. Drug abuse, Aurora Road: At 4:40 p.m. July 31, an officer stopped a car due to its loud exhaust pipe. As the officer checked the identity of the car's two male occupants, the vehicle's passenger got out and ran. A resident soon after spotted the passenger in their driveway. An Oakwood police K-9 was brought to the scene and tracked down the man, 51, of Aurora. The man was in possession of methamphetamine and a smoking pipe, as well as a knife. He was charged with not wearing a seat belt, obstructing official business, carrying a concealed weapon, drug abuse and possession of drug paraphernalia. The driver, a Florida man, 32, was cited for having in his car an open container of alcohol. If you would like to discuss the police blotter, please visit our crime and courts comments page. In just the last two years, that demand increased dramatically. In 2016, nearby Canadian city Vancouver slapped a 25 percent tax on international homebuyers in an effort to cool its own overheated housing market. Chinese investors, who had been strong in that market, simply moved south of the border to escape the tax. The Pacific Northwest city has been one of the greatest beneficiaries of the recent wave of Chinese buyers of U.S. real estate. Both Chinese investors and families hoping to send their kids to American universities have fueled demand for housing in Seattle, which has long enjoyed a strong Asian culture. Seattle has been arguably one of the hottest housing markets in America, with home prices rising annually by double digits fueled by scorching demand. There is, however, one outside force that is starting to throw cold water on all that heat: new weakness from once-intense Chinese buyers . But the Chinese yuan's recent fall in value against the U.S. dollar has made housing more expensive for Chinese buyers. Now, Woloshin said, Seattle could see the opposite of the buying frenzy it had two years ago. "I'm not telling you there is going to be a crash in prices, but do I think there is going to be a drop in the rate of increase? yes," said Woloshin. In the Seattle metropolitan area, home prices skyrocketed 45 percent between August 2016 and now, according to Woloshin. On a currency-adjusted basis, for Chinese buyers, they are up 54 percent. "The Chinese have a very long time horizon, so if they are buying that home as a second or third home or they're going to buy it for their child, that's fair, but the huge run-up in prices, the depreciation in the yuan is going to have an impact," he added. Seattle housing is already cooling. The number of homes for sale in King County (where Seattle resides), shot up 47 percent in May compared with a year ago, according to the Northwest Multiple Listing Service. Pending home sales, which represent signed contracts, dropped nearly 9 percent. Stephen Saunders is a managing broker with Coldwell Banker Seattle and works with Chinese investors in the Seattle market. "It's drying up," he said. "I just don't see the same kind of volume. The downtown Seattle condo market has come to a grinding halt, and that's where Chinese buyers were." Most of his clients are looking for properties in the $1 million to $3 million range, but he said the slowdown in buying is not all about the yuan. "It's not necessarily the decline in the currency, it is the increasing restrictions on getting money out. It's just getting tighter and tighter," he said, adding that the trade war between the U.S. and China is hitting the finances of some of his investor clients. As for Chinese families looking to buy homes for their children in the area, in just the past six to 10 months, "that's dried up substantially," he said. Despite the increase in the supply of Seattle homes for sale, inventory is still incredibly low at barely two months' worth, based on the level of sales. This is the same trend throughout the West, where overheated home prices have caused buyers to pull back. "Although signs of an inventory turnaround are encouraging, whether they mean good news for buyers remains to be seen," wrote Danielle Hale, chief economist at Realtor.com, in a release. "But high prices and fast-selling homes are causing some buyer hesitation which is reflected in fewer home sales." The Seattle housing market has benefited enormously from the region's largest employer, Amazon. While there was concern earlier this year that a local "head tax" on employers would cause a hiring slowdown, that tax was quickly repealed after enormous pressure from Amazon. The e-commerce giant, however, did report its first decline in its number of employees since 2009. After strong hiring throughout the first half of 2017, job postings for open positions at Amazon headquarters dropped sharply last December, according to a report from The Seattle Times. Amazon is also planning to open a second headquarters, commonly called HQ2, although it has yet to announce the location. It currently employs more than 40,000 workers at its Seattle headquarters, according to quarterly filings. Hiring shifts in Amazon's home market would certainly affect local housing. The Seattle area, however, is also home to Microsoft and other tech companies. "I think it will slow down," said Skylar Olsen, director of economic research at Seattle-based Zillow. "Amazon is certainly a huge player, but they were a catalyst that started a lot of growth in tech. It wasn't just Amazon that was booming local neighborhoods, it was other start-up players." On the other hand, Olsen said she actually thinks the devaluation of the yuan could spur homebuying in Seattle. "If they're investment buyers in the first place, then really you just move down in your price point, but you're still really interested in the rate of return. If you expect the yuan to continue to drop, then you have every reason to buy an asset that's not valued in yuan," she added. Paul Manafort, former campaign manager for Donald Trump, arrives at federal court in Washington, D.C., on Friday, June 15, 2018. Aaron P. Bernstein | Bloomberg | Getty Images The first witness with immunity to testify against President Donald Trump's former campaign chairman Paul Manafort said Friday that she was involved in efforts to file false financial documents. Accountant Cindy LaPorta told a U.S. District Court judge he was "correct" when he asked whether she was testifying under the immunity deal due to concerns that she might be prosecuted. LaPorta was Manafort's accountant in 2014 and 2015 after the retirement of Philip Ayliff, who had testified earlier on Friday. She told prosecutors that she participated in filing a false tax return after Rick Gates, Manafort's longtime business partner, asked the accounting firm to change a loan amount so Manafort's could afford to pay his 2014 income taxes. LaPorta said she knew the loan amount was wrong when preparing Manafort's tax return. "You can't pick and chose what's a loan and what's income," she said. She added: "I very much regret it." LaPorta, the second accountant of firm Kositza, Wicks & Company to take the stand in Manafort's fraud and conspiracy trial, is one of five witnesses granted so-called "use immunity" in the case. That would bar their testimony from being used against them in a criminal prosecution. Earlier, the lawyers from special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia probe called Ayliff back to the stand after he testified Thursday afternoon that Manafort signed tax forms claiming to have no foreign bank accounts from 2011 to 2014. Manafort, Trump's campaign chairman from May to August 2016, is on trial on 18 counts, including failing to file foreign bank account reports, bank fraud, conspiracy and filing false income tax returns. Waiting for Rick Gates to testify LaPorta's testimony compounds the attention Gates is sure to receive as the star witness testifying against Manafort in the trial. Manafort's lawyers sought to establish Gates as the true culprit behind any omissions or mistakes on Manafort's tax filings. "This is about Mr. Manafort placing his trust in the wrong person," defense attorney Thomas Zehnle said in his opening statement. Gates, who was charged along with Manafort in a separate criminal case in Washington, has already pleaded guilty to one count each of lying to investigators and conspiracy against the United States. He agreed to cooperate with the special counsel as part of his plea deal. Ayliff, reading from exhibits presented by prosecutors, said Manafort himself signed letters of engagement with the accounting firm. Ayliff said the letters cautioned that "the law provides various penalties that may be imposed when taxpayers understate their tax liability." Ayliff also told prosecutors his firm asks clients "about foreign accounts every year" a policy LaPorta confirmed in her testimony, news outlets reported. A focus on taxes Feminism and gender equality have been thrust into the limelight in the past year following the rise of the #MeToo and Time's Up movements. The drive for equality, of course, has been ongoing for decades. Women in Britain took to the streets in the early 1900s to fight for their right to vote in political proceedings. Known as suffragettes, it wasn't until 1928 that their efforts saw women over 21 years win the right to vote. For Helen Pankhurst, the great-granddaughter of leading British suffragette Emmeline Pankhurst, the term "feminist" has its own connection with the suffragette movement, as does the word "suffragette" itself. Speaking at the AllBright's FoundHER Festival in London in July, Pankhurst, a women's rights campaigner and writer, explained how the term suffragette had been coined by British newspaper the Daily Mail as "a way of making fun of us," before the female campaigners realized that they liked the expression and decided to adopt it. "And I think the same goes on with the term feminist," she added. "It is used as a way to pigeonhole and describe it negatively. And I think what we should do is not allow it to be used in that way, and to own it and to be proud of it, and to show it in lots of different ways." Rep. Diane Black lost the hotly contested Tennessee GOP gubernatorial primary on Thursday, making her the fifth House Republican this election cycle to lose a primary for statewide office. It's a potentially ominous sign for Republicans as the party fights to hold its majority in Congress this fall. Black, who had been considered the favorite in the race to be the GOP nominee in the Tennessee governor's race, joins a chain of fellow Republican House incumbents in Trump states who lost primary bids for higher offices. Reps. Luke Messer and Todd Rokita both failed to clinch the Republican nomination in Indiana's Senate race. West Virginia Rep. Evan Jenkins lost to state Attorney General Patrick Morrisey in his bid to face Democratic incumbent Sen. Joe Manchin this November. Republican Rep. Raul Labrador lost his gubernatorial primary in Idaho. Republican Reps. Mark Sanford of South Carolina and Robert Pittenger of North Carolina, meanwhile, both lost their primary re-election bids. Black, who had a shot at becoming Tennessee's first female governor, had forfeited the powerful Budget Committee chair position in the House in her bid for the governorship. "It has been my greatest honor to serve our great state. My campaign for governor came up short, but I will not stop fighting for the conservative cause," Black wrote in a statement after her defeat Thursday. Tweet Tennessee will remain one of 22 states to have never had a female governor. Three other women, two Republicans and one Democrat, were also defeated in the gubernatorial primaries for both parties. President Donald Trump greets Senate candidate Marsha Blackburn during a rally at Nashville Municipal Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee, U.S., May 29, 2018. Leah Millis | Reuters While Black's bid fell short, Marsha Blackburn, her fellow Republican in Congress, did win her primary for statewide office. Blackburn easily won her party's nomination for the U.S. Senate race. She will face Phil Bredesen, a moderate Democratic former governor, in her bid to become the state's first female senator. Black and Blackburn are two of 13 female members of the House who are not running for re-election for their current seats this year, which means there is a deficit to make up before counting overall gains for women in the House this year. Still, women made strides in the nominating process for House seats, with more than 29 percent of the total nominees, and at least 50 percent of the Democratic nominees, being women, according to Gender Watch. It was the most amazing cocktail party you could ever imagine. Former Vice President Joe Biden was going on and on about his favorite ice cream shop on the Delaware shore, when in walked Robert De Niro. "How's that screenplay coming, Scott," he asked. Before I could respond, Beyonce sauntered by. OK, that is total fiction. There was no cocktail party, there is no screenplay, and while it is true that I was on a flight with Beyonce once, she sat way up in front. That is an extreme example of name dropping, where we try to seem important by associating ourselves with well-known people. But before you roll your eyes, take note: We all do it, according to University of Georgia psychology professor W. Keith Campbell, an expert on narcissism. "You're throwing a name out there in order to show your own status by knowing the person," Campbell told CNBC's "Deadly Rich." "It's a way to look good and to gain social status." To some extent, name dropping is a function of basic human interaction finding common ground with the person you are speaking with by identifying acquaintances that you share. "It's a way to establish relationships," Campbell said. "This is totally normal. This is how you find out people's social networks and go 'Hey, we both know Susie in Key West.'" "The name dropping is when Susie is Bill Gates, and that's the first thing that comes up in a conversation," he said. "You're doing this as a way to manipulate people." Name dropping can become especially problematic when the name dropper lies or embellishes his experience. After all, these days, verifying a name dropper's story can be as simple as a Google search. Perhaps the most extreme and horrifying example is the man best known as Clark Rockefeller, supposedly an heir to the iconic family fortune, who kidnapped his daughter in a custody battle, and eventually was convicted in the grisly murder of an acquaintance years earlier. In fact, Rockefeller was German immigrant Christian Gerhartsreiter, a serial imposter who moved up the social strata for decades using at least five fake identities and lots of name dropping. In Gerhartsreiter's case, not only was he dropping famous names from members of English nobility, to director Alfred Hitchcock, to the Rockefeller family but he was falsely inserting himself into their stories. And he appeared to show little regard for anyone but himself. "Clark Rockefeller was able to carry on different personas. And along the way, he just kept upgrading his name," retired Los Angeles County Sheriff's Detective Delores Scott told "Deadly Rich." "He was a chameleon. He was all over the United States taking on different personas, fooling different people." The scheme turned deadly with the murder of Jonathan Sohus, whom investigators believe may have simply gotten in the way of Gerhartsreiter's grandiose plans. Sohus' remains were eventually found buried beneath a house where Gerhartsreiter was staying. Sohus' wife, Linda, had disappeared at the same time. Her whereabouts are unknown. Firefighters try to control a back burn as the Carr fire continues to spread towards the towns of Douglas City and Lewiston near Redding, California on July 31, 2018. Mark Ralston | AFP | Getty Images As California wildfires rage, politicians, timber companies and environmentalists are debating whether to thin overly dense forest lands that fuel the state's deadly infernos. About one-third of California is covered by forests, most of it owned by the U.S. government. Last year was the most destructive and deadly wildfire season in the state's history. And 2018 through July is one-third higher in acreage burned than a year ago, according to Cal Fire. Some believe the state's timber industry could be part of the solution by selectively thinning forests of trees. Timber harvesting has fallen sharply in California since the 1990s. Despite opposition from some environmental groups, there's talk of the need to remove more barriers to logging given that wildfires have become bigger, deadlier and faster moving. California's timber laws are considered the most stringent in the nation. "You've got a lot of fuel, you've got dead and dying trees, and a lot of hot weather and it's a recipe for disaster," said Assemblyman Jim Wood of Healdsburg in Sonoma County, a member of the Senate and Assembly conference committee on wildfire preparedness and response. He represents a district with forested areas where October's wine country firestorms ripped through neighborhoods and destroyed thousands of homes and claimed 31 lives. The U.S. Forest Service estimates that California has 129 million dead trees, most in the central and southern Sierras. Insects and drought are to blame for the high numbers. California requires investor-owned utilities to buy biomass power from dead trees in high-hazard forested zones. "I don't think we're ever going to completely prevent forest fires, but I think we can mitigate the damage that they cause," said Wood. "It's a strategy and it will take resources. As a state, we haven't committed as much to that, and that's part of the reason we find ourselves where we are." 'Wake-up call for California' According to the California Forestry Association, tree density in the Sierra Nevada is too high when compared with the region's historical rates, creating an elevated fire hazard. It estimates there was an average of 40 trees per acre in the Sierras roughly 150 years ago but puts that number today at hundreds of trees per acre. "Fire used to naturally go through the forest, and with 40 trees per acre, the fire will mostly stay on the ground, without creating a catastrophe," said Rich Gordon, president and CEO of the association, which represents the timber industry. "This has been a wake-up call for California. We have to do something different to prevent these catastrophic fires." As Gordon sees it, large tree growth plus a history of fire suppression and reduced timber activity have created an unnatural setting of continuous fuels. Moreover, he said it's led to too many trees competing for water during droughts. "The industry is certainly prepared to assist and encourage and support the thinning of our forests," said Gordon. "We can actually have more resilient, fire resistant forests if we thin them a little bit." Wood agrees that the selective removal of trees to reduce fuels and a more robust timber strategy in the state "can be a piece of the puzzle" to reduce the fire risk. Wildland-urban interface At the same time, the Democratic lawmaker is concerned about the fire risk for communities and subdivisions that are developed right up against wildlands or forests. The deadly Carr fire in Shasta County is the sixth-largest fire in California history and last month destroyed more than 1,000 homes some in or near fire-prone wildlands known for oak trees and flammable chaparral. An estimated 3.6 million California homes are built in what's called wildland-urban interface, and more than 1 million are considered as "high or very high fire risk." The federal government is the largest owner of forest lands in California, holding about 57 percent of the roughly 33 million acres. Families, individuals, companies or Native American tribes own about 40 percent of forested land in California, while local, state and land trusts own the remainder. Most of the timber companies operating in California today are family owned or part of family trusts. Those companies primarily get trees from their own lands by filing a harvest plan with the state for lumber production or through the sale of trees through federal forest programs, including some that allow them to salvage trees after forest fires. California has no commercial timber operations on state-owned lands. Scarred hills remain after the Carr Fire west of Redding, California, U.S. July 28, 2018. Bob Strong | Reuters On Wednesday, Gov. Jerry Brown held a press conference to discuss wildfires and said there was a need for the state "to do planned burnings" as part of forest management and "to thin out the forest." In May, the governor issued an executive order aimed at protecting communities from wildfire, and it included doubling the land actively managed through vegetation thinning, controlled fires and reforestation. Push for regulatory relief Meantime, the state forestry association wants to change rules and regulations to make it easier for private industry to thin forested land. The group also suggests increased logging could benefit rural areas in Northern California where poverty and job losses have been problems. Gordon, the trade group's CEO, insists the industry isn't pushing for more clear-cutting of forested lands a practice the Sierra Club opposes. Rather, he said, the industry advocates "selectively removing smaller trees on a landscape so that the bigger trees (which are more resilient to fire and store more carbon) can survive and do better." Kathryn Phillips, director of the Sierra Club California, said the environmental group is not opposed to what she calls "selective logging and those sort of things. We're opposed to going in and unnecessarily disrupting the environment and doing forest management practices that will lead to worse fires, and some forest practices do." She said the practice of clear-cutting and planting trees all at the same time creates added risk for the forest because "you don't have diversity. That makes them more susceptible to fires. Older trees tend to burn less and slower. So you want to have a lot of diversity." Some conservative lawmakers believe environmental groups share blame for the state's current fire risk. "Extreme environmental groups have for years stated that we shouldn't thin our forests because of the benefits of carbon that is stored," said Assemblyman Travis Allen, R-Huntington Beach. "However, the carbon that is currently being released with these out-of-control wildfires is dramatically greater than we would have if our forests were responsibly managed." Bringing back timber industry CBS's quarterly results topped Wall Street targets and CEO Les Moonves delivered an upbeat message to investors about the media company's future on Thursday, without addressing allegations of sexual misconduct against him reported last week. At the start of an analysts conference call on CBS earnings that was also broadcast on business television network CNBC, the company said it would not take questions about Moonves' reported behavior or its legal battle with majority shareholder Shari Redstone over control of the U.S. media group. Shares of CBS were little changed after the close of regular trading on the New York Stock Exchange. Moonves said the company's digital business, which includes Showtime and CBS All Access streaming services, will grow to 16 million domestic subscribers by 2022, up from a prior forecast for 8 million subscribers by 2020. CBS, whose shows include popular sitcom "The Big Bang Theory," said advertising revenue during the second quarter rose slightly to $1.32 billion. Moonves said political advertising revenue so far this year is nearly double the amount from this time in 2014, during the previous midterm election. Overall revenue increased to $3.47 billion from $3.26 billion a year earlier, beating analysts' average estimate of $3.46 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Deutsche Bank has uncovered shortcomings in its ability to fully identify clients and the source of their wealth, internal documents seen by Reuters show, more than a year after it was fined nearly $700 million for allowing money laundering. In two confidential reviews, dated June 5 and July 9, Germany's biggest lender detailed the results of tests on a sample of investment bank customer files in several countries, including Russia. Both reviews found gaps in Deutsche's screening process, which aims to meet so-called "Know Your Customer" (KYC) requirements that are a cornerstone of global anti-money laundering controls. Regulators around the world require banks to vet customers so that criminals cannot mask their identity through complex company and ownership structures to launder money or sidestep international sanctions. The two recent reviews show how the bank is still grappling with procedures to ensure it knows who it is dealing with, in part because of staff turnover. In the 13-page June report, which was shared with the European Central Bank (ECB), Deutsche Bank found a pass rate of zero percent in countries such as Russia, Ireland, Spain, Italy and South Africa when it checked how client files had been processed. The pass rate measures the percentage of files that meet the bank's own "Know Your Customer" standards. Deutsche Bank strives for 95 percent, according to the documents. Hui Chen, a former compliance expert with the U.S. justice department, said that this target was roughly in line with other global banks. The bank told Reuters that the reviews showed its processes were too complex, but said it was making improvements and that overall controls to prevent crimes such as money laundering were effective. "We still need to improve in terms of internal processes," it said, when presented with the findings of the reviews. "What the documents show is that our internal processes are still too complicated," it said. "So it is not about effectiveness, but about the efficiency of our processes." Deutsche executives met with the ECB, the euro zone's banking supervisor, in late July, to discuss its control procedures, according to one source with knowledge of the matter. The ECB and Germany's regulator BaFin declined to comment. Banks have been fined billions of dollars for lax oversight, including the failure to identify customers. In January 2017, Deutsche Bank agreed to pay U.S. and UK regulators $630 million in fines over artificial trades between Moscow, London and New York that authorities said were used to launder $10 billion out of Russia. The U.S. Federal Reserve fined the bank an additional $41 million for failing to ensure its systems would detect money laundering in May 2017. Emmanuel Le Bouille had a training problem. The health program director for Groupe Auchan, an international retail group, had to implement a global wellbeing course for 260,000 members of staff everyone in the company's workforce across 12 countries. "If we had tried to do this through the traditional classroom approach, it would have taken us at least four years," he says. That was nowhere near fast enough. So Mr. Le Bouille turned to a Swiss start-up called Coorpacademy, which provided the training via an app that employees downloaded on their smartphones. Within three months, more than half the workforce had completed the course. "It is not perfection," Mr. Le Bouille says. For example, the retailer was unable to get the Android-based app to work for staff in China because of Beijing's ban on Google and Google Play apps. Nevertheless, he declares himself a convert to online training, pointing out that the digital option cost 2 ($2.32 US) per employee, a tenth of the amount Auchan would have paid for classroom-based training. "The alternatives to doing this digitally were too expensive and time consuming," Mr. Le Bouille says. Tech start-ups such as Coorpacademy are trying to break into the global corporate education sector, dominated by business schools and this year estimated to be worth $362bn, according to analysts Training Industry Research. New entrants offer eye-catching alternatives, and are often aimed at younger workers. But they have a long way to go.. Technology research firm Gartner estimates that by 2022, a quarter of all workers will use at least one consumer HR app for development. But the provision of business education online is fragmented, according to Helen Poitevin, Gartner research director. "Too many different parts of an organisation buy training and learning platforms," she says, adding that this means business schools and other classroom providers are likely to dominate the market for the foreseeable future. Nevertheless, Jean-Marc Tassetto, who quit as country manager for Google France to co-found Coorpacademy, has big ambitions for his business, which has been trading for five years and has 13.4m in private equity backing. "We are going to be Netflix for the corporate learning market," he says. Like the television streaming service, Coorpacademy charges a subscription for open access to its 800,000 teaching packages, available in 19 languages so that they can be shared widely across corporate geographies. There is even an element of "gamification". Courses are available in "battle mode" so different users can compete for faster completion times and higher scores in tests. This encourages employees to take up staff training, according to Mr. Tassetto. "We want to give anyone in the world access to the best courses with the best user interface," he says. Edenred, a French provider of employee benefits, is a subscriber. According to Catherine Dardelet, Edenred's HR manager responsible for talent development, the system allows more employees than before access to training. About 90 percent of the workforce are expected to have trained using Coorpacademy this year, compared with three-quarters undertaking training sessions in a classroom. Coorpacademy offers an additional service for its customers, allowing them to earn revenue from the platform by reselling their custom-made training to other users. Revenue from this "content factory" is shared equally between the content creator and Coorpacademy. L'Oreal, for instance, has put its seven selling steps course on the Coorpacademy platform. "They wanted to train a million people linked to L'Oreal, including resellers and hairdressers," Mr. Tassetto says. "We said, why not open it up worldwide?" Another provider is Skillsoft, acquired by Charterhouse Capital Partners in 2014 for an estimated $2bn. Its courses are offered in 30 languages and the company is focused on healthcare, financial services, manufacturing and pharmaceuticals sectors. London-based SmartUp, backed with $5.5m of venture funding, is another. Like Coorpacademy, SmartUp delivers its training through an app and uses peer-to-peer learning, where employees can test themselves against other users. SmartUp focuses on large companies, including Aviva, Visa and LVMH, which need to train large numbers of employees quickly. Customers develop their own training, often in skills such as blockchain technology and sales. "You can create pretty much anything on SmartUp, but it is not suited to language training," Frank Meehan, co-founder and chief executive, says. Each of SmartUp's customers has an average deployment of 1,400 users, and the company has 36,000 paying users a month. Fragmentation in the digital learning market is not a problem, according to SmartUp's Mr. Meehan. "The market is fragmented mainly because it is so large," he says. "That means a lot of space for everyone." More from the Financial Times: Levy scheme turns executives into apprentices No classes, no professors: the alternative to business school 'Deep learning' the hot topic in AI U.S. President Donald Trump should make a deal on the North American Free Trade Agreement now, while the "vibe" is good with Mexico's president-elect, former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Bill Richardson told CNBC on Friday. "I think if President Trump is smart, he should try to make a deal on NAFTA now a skinny NAFTA," said Richardson, who also was governor of New Mexico. Trump has been "restrained" and "gracious" since Mexican President-elect Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador won a landslide victory in Mexico's presidential election, Richardson said. That makes for the perfect time to strike a deal and repair the U.S.-Mexico relationship, which Richardson says has been "in tatters" for the past six years. "I think Lopez Obrador is going to say, 'You know, I can deal with President Trump.' They're both populist, they talk to the base," Richardson said on "Power Lunch." Facebook has entered into a 139 megawatt (MW), 15-year power purchase agreement with EDP Renewables. EDP Renewables (EDPR) said the deal, through its subsidiary EDP Renewables North America, would see Facebook buy energy generated at the 200 MW Headwaters II Wind Farm in Randolph County, Indiana. The new wind farm is expected to be operational by 2020, EDPR said in an announcement Thursday. It will produce enough electricity to power the equivalent of over 52,000 homes annually. "Facebook is committed to finding new renewable energy projects on the same power grid for all of our facilities," Bobby Hollis, director of Global Energy at Facebook, said in a statement. "We're excited to partner with EDP Renewables to help us meet our sustainability goals in the region." The agreement with EDPR is the latest in a number of clean energy deals struck by Facebook. In July, it was announced that the tech giant's Prineville Data Center in Oregon would be supported by 100 percent solar power under a new partnership with Pacific Power. Facebook's headquarters in Menlo Park, California, are powered by 100 percent renewable energy, while other data centers in Sweden, Iowa and Texas are also powered by renewables. Facebook is among a number of global businesses looking to green operations by embracing clean energy. Last October, Amazon announced that its biggest wind farm to date was operational. The Seattle-headquartered business said that Amazon Wind Farm Texas, which is located in Scurry County, would add over 1 million MW hours of clean energy to the grid annually. Toyota Motor on Friday said higher U.S. auto tariffs would ramp up the cost of vehicles produced locally along with those imported to the United States from Japan, which would have a "big impact" on its bottom line. Like its global rivals, Toyota is bracing for the possibility of a rise in U.S. auto import tariffs, which could cloud its outlook as it would raise the cost of selling vehicles in the world's second-biggest vehicle market. Such uncertainty took the shine off strong quarterly results announced on Friday. So far, Japan's biggest automakers and components suppliers said they have seen limited direct impact from U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum implemented in June, but they acknowledge they could take a significant hit if Washington delivers on proposals to hike tariffs on autos and auto parts to 25 percent. "If we see a rise, it would raise the cost of locally produced vehicles by around $1,800 each, and increase costs for (models imported from Japan) by $6,000," Toyota senior managing director Masayoshi Shirayanagi told reporters at a results briefing. "This would be a big impact." The United States is a major market for Japan's automakers, where Toyota, Honda Motor, and Nissan Motor locally produce around half or more of the cars they sell in the country. The remainder are imported from Japan, Canada, Mexico, and elsewhere. Higher tariffs would deliver a major blow to all global automakers as most, including U.S. ones, rely on imports to source the vehicles and parts contained in them which are sold in the United States. Earlier this week, Denso Corp., one of the world's biggest components supplier, said U.S. auto tariffs, if implemented, could wipe up to $720 million off annual profit. Ford Motor last week said tariffs in general could cost it up to $1.6 billion in 2018 in North America. Toyota has been a vocal opponent of tariffs, arguing that 25 percent would increase the cost of its U.S.-made Camry sedan by $1,800 and $2,800 for its Tundra pick-up truck. The automaker operates 10 production plants in the United States, and locally produces just under half of all the cars it sells in the country. Its share of localized production is lower than the 75 percent of Honda and 60 percent of Nissan. Detroit automakers Ford and General Motors, as well as Fiat Chrysler Automobiles lowered their full-year profit forecasts last week amid worries escalating tariffs would hurt sales and profit margins. North Korea's proclaimed shift in national focus to economic development from nuclear arms is prompting cautious optimism across the Chinese border in Dandong, a trading hub hit hard by United Nations sanctions against Pyongyang. Travel agents in the Chinese city say they have seen a surge of interest from across the country in recent weeks, boosting an already strong peak tourism season. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's economic reform plans and warming ties between Pyongyang and its main backers in Beijing were behind the jump in activity, the agents said. "People who may have long been curious about seeing North Korea may think that now it is safer than ever," said tour guide Teng Yi, who returned from leading a tour to Pyongyang on Sunday. North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un (L) and U.S. President Donald Trump meeting at the historic U.S.-North Korea summit in Singapore on June 12, 2018. Saul Loeb | AFP | Getty Images After meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing on June 19, their third such summit since March, Kim spent the subsequent month inspecting factories and industrial projects along the Chinese border region. The unusually long trip, plus meetings with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and South Korea's unification minister, underlined Kim's desire to rally support at home for his economic drive and convincing outsiders of his willingness to denuclearize. A dip in visitors after a tour bus crash killed 32 Chinese nationals in April proved a mere blip. Half-day and one-day tours to the neighboring North Korean city of Sinuiju now book out within an hour of tickets being released, travel agents in Dandong say. Four-day tours, which take in the capital Pyongyang and the Panmunjom truce village, are fully booked through to the end of August despite increased capacity through more frequent trains and coaches. Tourism is one of the few remaining reliable sources of foreign income for North Korea, after the U.N. imposed sanctions targeting 90 percent of its $3 billion annual exports including commodities, textiles and seafood. China has not provided a breakdown of the number of tourists travelling to North Korea since 2013. The Korea Maritime Institute, a South Korean think-tank, estimates tourism generates $44 million a year for the isolated country, with Chinese tourists making up about 80 percent of all foreign visitors to the North. One-track mind Many of us this summer will fly off on holiday for a well-deserved break. It's more than likely that you spent hours on the internet researching flight deals, trying to figure out an airfare pricing system that seems completely random. Fees appear to fluctuate without reason and longer flights aren't always more expensive than shorter ones. But what seems random is actually airlines' dynamic pricing, using a strategy called airline revenue management. It works in real time with one aim to boost revenues. The decisions are being made by an algorithm that adjusts fares by using information including past bookings, remaining capacity, average demand for certain routes and the probability of selling more seats later. The evolution of airfare pricing It's a far cry from the first years of commercial aviation when the industry was a tightly regulated marketplace. Most international routes were operated by a single national carrier and the lack of choice resulted in uncompetitive fares for consumers. Deregulation, however, changed all that, removing government controls over routes, fares and market entry for new airlines. Critics say there was too much competition in the first years after deregulation. Airlines lost a lot of money, forcing them to merge and became more dominant. They say this changed the industry from a regulated cartel to an unregulated cartel. In the U.S., just four airlines control 68 percent of the domestic airline capacity. But this hasn't halted the demand in air travel. The number of airline passengers across the globe has continued to grow, particularly in the last 10 years, when the amount of people choosing to fly skyrocketed by nearly 1.8 billion. How airlines price today Today, airlines price tickets "as much as the customer and market will bear," according to consultant and former airline planning executive Robert W. Mann. Airlines also profile their customers to help them adjust prices. This often means placing passengers into one of two groups: leisure or business. And the way each group is priced is very different. E+ | Getty Images Nick Woodman, founder and chief executive officer of GoPro Inc., center, cheers while ringing the opening bell for the release of the company's IPO at the Nasdaq MarketSite in New York, U.S., on Thursday, June 26, 2014. Victor J. Blue | Bloomberg | Getty Images Late in 2014, Nicholas Woodman, the founder and chief executive of GoPro, announced what appeared to be an extraordinary act of generosity. Mr. Woodman, then 39, had just taken his camera company public, and was suddenly worth about $3 billion. Now he was giving away much of that wealth some $500 million worth of GoPro stock to the Silicon Valley Community Foundation, an organization based in Mountain View, Calif., that would house the assets of the newly formed Jill and Nicholas Woodman Foundation. "We wake up every morning grateful for the opportunities life has given us," Mr. Woodman and his wife said in a statement at the time. "We hope to return the favor as best we can." Read more from The New York Times: Dan Schulman of PayPal on guns, cash and getting punched C.E.O. activism has become the new normal Memo from the boss: you're a vegetarian now The executive basked in prestige and gratitude. The Chronicle of Philanthropy named Mr. Woodman one of "America's most generous donors" that year, placing him alongside established philanthropists like Bill and Melinda Gates and Michael R. Bloomberg. But four years on, there is almost no trace of the Woodman Foundation, or that $500 million. The foundation has no website and has not listed its areas of focus, and it is not known what if any significant grants it has made to nonprofits. An extensive search of public records turned up just one beneficiary: the Bonny Doon Art, Wine and Brew Festival, a benefit for an elementary school in California. Instead, the Woodman Foundation essentially exists as an account within the Silicon Valley Community Foundation, which is not required to disclose details about how, if at all, individual donors spend their charitable dollars. Mr. Woodman, GoPro and the Silicon Valley Community Foundation all declined to discuss the Woodman Foundation. If the benefit to the needy is difficult to see, the benefit to Mr. Woodman is clear. After GoPro's initial public offering, he faced an enormous tax bill in 2014. But by donating via the Silicon Valley Community Foundation, he eased his tax burden in two ways. First, Mr. Woodman avoided paying capital gains taxes on that $500 million worth of stock, a figure that most likely would have been in the tens of millions of dollars. He was also able to claim a charitable deduction that most likely saved millions of dollars more, and probably reduced his personal tax bill for years to come. Mr. Woodman achieved this enticing combination of tax efficiency and secrecy by using a donor-advised fund a sort of charitable checking account with serious tax benefits and little or no accountability. Donor-advised funds, or D.A.F.s, allow wealthy individuals like Mr. Woodman to give assets usually cash and stock, but also real estate, art and cryptocurrencies to a sponsoring organization like the Silicon Valley Community Foundation, Fidelity Charitable or Vanguard Charitable. But while donors part ways with their money, they don't give up control. The sponsoring organizations make grants to hospitals, schools and the like only at a donor's request. So while donors enjoy immediate tax benefits, charities can wait for funds indefinitely, and maybe forever. For these reasons and more, D.A.F.s have become one of the most controversial issues in the charitable world. Proponents say D.A.F.s have democratized giving, because they are simple to create and the individuals who use them are more generous than those who establish family foundations. "It's a win-win," said Greg Avis, interim president of the Silicon Valley Community Foundation. "The donor has a tax benefit, and the beneficiaries are the nonprofits." But to critics, D.A.F.s represent the worst of philanthropy today a system of guaranteed perks for the rich and uncertainty for the rest. Unlike family foundations, which are required to distribute 5 percent of their assets each year and have historically been the way wealthy donors disbursed their philanthropic firepower, D.A.F.s have no distribution requirements, meaning that billions of dollars earmarked for charity can sit idle for decades. And because organizations that manage D.A.F.s are not required to report which funds give money to which causes, it is impossible to know how much money individual donors are giving away to nonprofit organizations. Their rise is also part of a broader move by the wealthy and powerful to shield much of their giving from public scrutiny. Just last month, after lobbying by conservative groups and donors, the Trump administration said it would stop requiring certain nonprofit organizations to disclose the names of large donors, a change that will make it easier for some political groups to hide their funders. And many conservative donors, including the Mercer family, have used D.A.F.s to obscure their political activity. "The world of philanthropy is becoming less transparent, and that's not a good thing," David Callahan, author of "The Givers," a 2017 book about big philanthropy, wrote in a recent essay. "Recent years have seen the rapid growth of a shadow giving system that funnels billions of dollars in gifts in ways that leave no fingerprints." That D.A.F.s have become so popular with Silicon Valley billionaires has only added to their intrigue. Society is still reckoning with the dark sides of social media and online privacy, and there is concern that D.A.F.s a dream vehicle for the overnight wealthy may prove to be another instance of techno-optimists disrupting a system with unintended consequences. "They're a fraud on the American taxpayer," said Ed Kleinbard, a tax professor at the University of Southern California. "They're a way for the affluent to have their cake and eat it, too." 'Playing Timing Games' Donor-advised funds in their current form have been around since 1991, and drew light attention from Congress in 2006. But lately their popularity has surged. Contributions grew 15 percent in 2016, according to the Chronicle of Philanthropy, and the accounts now contain upwards of $85 billion, according to the National Philanthropic Trust, a public charity that manages D.A.F.s. Fidelity Charitable, the largest manager of D.A.F.s, is now the biggest recipient of donations from the public receiving more money than the United Way or the Salvation Army. In 2017 alone, D.A.F.s managed by Fidelity Charitable received contributions from more than 30,000 new donors. Nowhere has the growth been more startling than in Silicon Valley. Among the billionaires who have established D.A.F.s just at the Silicon Valley Community Foundation: Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg, Netflix's Reed Hastings, Twitter's Jack Dorsey, Google's Sergey Brin, WhatsApp's Jan Koum and Brian Acton and Microsoft's Paul Allen. Approaching the Silicon Valley Community Foundation after a tech windfall has become a familiar pattern. In December 2012, just months after Facebook went public, Mr. Zuckerberg donated $500 million of Facebook shares to the group. In 2014, soon after Facebook acquired WhatsApp for $19 billion, Mr. Koum and Mr. Acton donated a combined $846 million to the foundation. In both cases, the establishment of D.A.F.s allowed the men to reap a substantial tax advantage just when they needed it most. Some of this money is put to swift use. Mr. Zuckerberg has used his D.A.F. to give away tens of millions to schools and hospitals in the San Francisco area. Mr. Hastings has used his D.A.F. to give to the Hispanic Foundation of Silicon Valley and the United Negro College Fund. In each case, the donors voluntarily publicized their gifts. Organizations that manage D.A.F.s say most of their account holders, anonymous though they may be, are similarly generous. The Silicon Valley Community Foundation distributed $1.3 billion during the last fiscal year to groups including the South San Francisco Unified School District and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Schwab Charitable, another big sponsor of D.A.F.s, said it distributed nearly $2 billion during the last fiscal year, making some 420,000 grants to nonprofits including Feeding America, the American Red Cross and Planned Parenthood. "I'm mystified by the detractors," said Pamela Norley, the president of Fidelity Charitable, which made D.A.F. grants worth some $4.5 billion during the 2017 fiscal year. "The money is not just sitting there. It's getting out the door in huge volumes." Yet in the case of Mr. Woodman, there is reason to question how much money was made available for charity. He established his D.A.F. the day after GoPro stock approached its highest-ever price, about $95 per share. From a financial perspective, Mr. Woodman could not have timed his gift more perfectly. News of his donation sent GoPro shares tumbling as much as 14 percent the next day, as investors interpreted the move as a lack of confidence in the stock. By the end of the year, GoPro had lost more than a third of its value. By the end of 2015, the stock traded near $18 a share. Today, GoPro stock is worth less than $6 a share. As GoPro shares plummeted, the Silicon Valley Community Foundation held on to the stock, refraining from diversifying until "later in 2015," according to Mr. Woodman, who briefly discussed his D.A.F. in 2016 during an "Ask Me Anything" conversation on the website Reddit. While investors suffered steep losses, and the value of Mr. Woodman's D.A.F. likely shrank precipitously, his tax savings were pegged to the shares' all-time high. "Smart donors have been playing timing games with the charitable deduction for a long time," said Roger Colinvaux, a tax professor at the Catholic University of America's Columbus School of Law. "In this case, he potentially gets a very large deduction and gives nothing away. That's a disturbing public policy issue." On Reddit, Mr. Woodman suggested that his wealth was reaching charities: "The Foundation has gone on to fund causes supporting women and children and will continue to do so!!!!" Just how much money has gone to which organizations, of course, remains a mystery. Wall Street Fees When it comes to D.A.F.s, the United States tax code rewards the promise of good intentions. Wealthy donors including many of the Silicon Valley billionaires who have asked the public to trust them with their digital lives pledge to distribute their funds to charity once they get their tax break. But in the absence of rules requiring donors to give their money away, it is hard to know what public good comes in exchange for those lucrative write-offs. Skeptics see a system ripe for abuse. Donors might wait years to engage in meaningful philanthropic activity, or decide to simply leave the fund for their children to manage. "We've put this rule in place that says you get maximum tax benefits when you make a donation," said Ray Madoff, a professor at the Boston College Law School and a vocal critic of donor-advised funds. "But you don't have to do anything with it." Ms. Norley of Fidelity Charitable argues that on balance, account holders are generous. At her organization, roughly a quarter of the assets held in D.A.F.s have been distributed to nonprofits in each of the past two years. Other sponsor organizations report similar distribution rates. Yet such statistics can be skewed. In many instances, these figures include transfers from one D.A.F. to another. In the most recent fiscal year, for instance, Vanguard Charitable sent more than $15 million from its D.A.F.s to Fidelity Charitable. Sponsor organizations say this is simply a matter of wealthy donors adjusting their accounts. But it also creates the illusion of meaningful philanthropic activity where there is none. And while the overall payout rate at an organization that manages D.A.F.s may be substantial, the numbers could be warped by a few donors who give away huge sums, while a majority of donors give away virtually nothing at all. Critics argue that some sponsor organizations even have an incentive to keep funds undisbursed to charities. That is because D.A.F.s have emerged as a lucrative source of revenue for financial firms. For example, Fidelity Charitable, which is structured as an independent public charity, pays millions in annual fees to Fidelity Management, the big asset manager. Fidelity Management then invests the billions of dollars held in Fidelity Charitable's D.A.F.s, making money there as well. Vanguard, Schwab and Goldman Sachs all get millions in fees from their affiliated public charities. The more money held in D.A.F.s, the greater the potential earnings for the financial groups. The fact that D.A.F.s have become a profit center for Wall Street firms is a perversion of the philanthropic system, critics say. "The charitable deduction is not meant to give tax breaks to very wealthy people. It's meant to encourage giving to worthy nonprofit organizations," said Dean Zerbe, an attorney who worked for Senator Charles E. Grassley, the Iowa Republican, when Mr. Grassley was chairman of the Finance Committee. "What you've got instead is a huge warehousing of funds with massive amount of fees being extracted by Wall Street." Fidelity and Goldman brush off such criticism as misinformed, arguing that they are simply providing a valuable service to their clients by streamlining their charitable giving and offering them legal tax benefits. Some D.A.F. sponsors have rules in place that require accounts to disburse at least some money every few years. "It's not a bad thing," said Karey Dye, president of the Goldman Sachs Philanthropy Fund, where Laurene Powell Jobs and the former Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer recently established D.A.F.s. "People have irrevocably given money away to charity. Most often they are wanting to give money away to things that are meaningful to them and make a difference." A Philanthropic Arms Race Howard Dean told CNBC on Friday that the Democratic Party is undergoing a shift because of younger voters who are socially liberal and fiscally conservative, views he's championed as a presidential candidate and governor. "I'm a Democrat, but fiscally conservative," said Dean, who unsuccessfully ran for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2004. "The right play is down the center on economics." Dean, also former chairman of the Democratic National Committee and governor of Vermont from 1991 to 2003, suggests his party is not being taken over by socialists who critics label as fiscally irresponsible. The whole idea of "Democratic socialism" was popularized in the 2016 president race by Sen. Bernie Sanders from Dean's home state of Vermont. While unsuccessful in challenging establishment Democrat Hillary Clinton for the nomination, Sanders' ideology has been embraced by the more liberal members of the party. Case in point, Democratic socialist Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, 28, won her June primary race in a huge upset against New York Rep. Joe Crowley, 56, the fourth-ranking Democrat in the House of Representatives. In making his argument, Dean said it's better to look at the gubernatorial race in Virginia last year, when Democrat Ralph Northam beat Republican Ed Gillespie. "If look at the results in Virginia, which were just shocking, Ralph Northam, who by anybody's description is a moderate centrist, got 69 percent of the under-30 vote," Dean said. "These young kids are very liberal on social issues and inclusion and diversity and the environment. They are libertarians economically at heart," Dean said. Libertarians believe in limited government and robust individual liberty. They are generally fiscally conservative. Looking ahead to the House and Senate midterm elections, Dean said, "I think most of the people who will win the new seats are probably under 40. Some will be under 35." The U.S. government reported that the manufacturing sector added 37,000 jobs during July, pushing the industry to the best annual job gain in more than 20 years. Over the past year through July, U.S. manufacturing added 327,000 jobs, the most of any 12-month period since April 1995. The sector received a boost from President Donald Trump's corporate tax cut and a lift in overall economic activity. "With 157,000 jobs created in July, including 37,000 in manufacturing, this report shows tax reform and regulatory relief are continuing to deliver for America's manufacturing workers," Carolyn Lee, executive director of the National Association of Manufacturers' Manufacturing Institute, said in an emailed statement. "Congress and the administration have taken important steps in recent weeks to tackle this challenge, but this jobs report is a reminder that more work needs to be done through partnerships with the private sector to solve the workforce crisis facing manufacturing in the United States," she added. Indeed, economic data shows that U.S. manufacturers are producing near record levels. Last year, U.S. manufacturers produced about $6 trillion in gross output, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis. The biggest categories were food, beverages and tobacco products ($1 trillion), chemical products ($837 billion) and motor vehicles and parts ($701 billion). But while job growth has been strong lately, the total number of manufacturing employees is well off the sector's heyday, a fraction of what it once was. Stephen Roach, an economics professor at Yale University and former chief economist at Morgan Stanley, told CNBC that despite the political focus on manufacturing, its role in the American economy continues to wane. Manufacturing payrolls, Roach said, comprise only 8.5 percent of the U.S. total, down from above 30 percent in decades past. "The manufacturing jobs numbers continue to show solid momentum, but this is not the sector that will make a major difference for American workers," Roach said. "There's been a dramatic shift due to automation, machine productivity and the shifting of jobs to China and other countries with lower input costs." "It's a political ploy by the President who wants to 'Make American Great Again,'" he added. "This is politics, not realistic assessment of economic outcomes." While manufacturing increased in absolute terms, it still represents a smaller share of the economy than it used to. The sector represented 11.6 percent of U.S. GDP in 2017, down from 12.3 percent in 2011 and 28.1 percent in 1953. Manufacturing jobs peaked in 1979 at 19.4 million, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The apparent paradox between record levels of output and a decline in workers shows that American manufacturers have become far more productive over the years said differently, they can produce more or higher-value goods with less labor. The Labor Department's index of labor productivity for manufacturing is more than double what it was at the beginning of 1987, likely reflecting an economy-wide investment in machinery, a more educated workforce and a rebirth in technology and big data, helping companies improve performance in a variety of tasks, ranging from assembly to tailored marketing and advertisement. A report by the World Economic Forum and Boston Consulting released in January found that nearly 1 million Americans will see their occupations vanish entirely by 2026 and will have to attain new skills to meet the demands of the marketplace. Kraft Heinz said it doesn't want any long-term regrets when it comes to mergers and acquisitions, as signs point to its declining interest in acquiring Campbell Soup. "And I think also important to say, we don't do something to be happy for a quarter and then be regretting for the long-term, to be apologizing for the next couple of years," Bernando Vierira Hees, CEO of Kraft Heinz, said during its second quarter earnings call Friday. Hees fielded a several analyst questions during the call about the food giant's merger and acquisition strategy amid speculation that it was interested in buying the 149-year-old soup company. Kraft Heinz passed on the chance to bid on Pinnacle Foods, people familiar with the matter told CNBC, which could signal that any potential interest in Campbell is waning. Both food companies sell products that sit in grocery stores' center aisles, which more consumers are avoiding these days. Conagra Brands ultimately bought Pinnacle Foods. Campbell Soup has struggled to adapt to changing consumer tastes in recent years. It's tapped managing consulting firm Deloitte to undertake a comprehensive strategic review. Company executives said they will announce their decision on Campbell's future course on August 30 when it releases its fourth-quarter earnings and annual results. Hees said that the experience gained since he became CEO of Heinz in 2013 has allowed him to more confident about where to put the money and to know which assets can be turned around. "The fact that we like big ramps. The fact that we like business that can travel and [be] international. The fact that we do like to take synergies from existing business and to reinvest behind brands, behind products and behind people. I don't think that this framework changed because of the capabilities we're developing," Hees said during the call. The food giant posted strong results for its second quarter, beating analysts' estimates on U.S. sales for the first time in at least five quarters. Total revenue for the company added up to $6.69 billion versus the $6.59 billion expected by analysts. The Chicago-based company earned $1 per share during the quarter, topping Wall Street estimates of 92 cents. Reuters contributed reporting to this story. The U.S. and Canada share more than just a border. There are strong cultural, economic and social ties that connect the two countries, but education may be one example of how the Land of the Free and the Great White North differ. When CNBC Make It asked Canadian journalist, author and host of Revisionist History Malcolm Gladwell about the worst investment he sees people make, he pointed to these differences. "The amount of money that's wasted on meaningless education in [the U.S.], it never ceases to amaze me," Gladwell tells CNBC Make It. Specifically, he argues that Americans need to rethink how they invest in education, and says that donating to prestigious schools with large endowments is a waste of resources. "People who give money to wealthy schools like Ivy League schools basically should just burn their money instead" he says. Gladwell likes to go running on the top-of-the-line track at the exclusive and prestigious Hotchkiss School in Lakeville, Connecticut. He says this track is as an example of how Americans, especially wealthy Americans, are misspending their money. "Do we need to be spending money on giving [a] random group of privileged high school students a world-class running track? No. That's crazy. But do we need to be spending money in order to expand educational opportunities for kids who otherwise wouldn't have them? Absolutely," he explains. "It's not the spending of money is that's the problem, it's where we're spending the money that's the problem." Spreading educational investments more equitably has paid off for Canada. According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Canada is the most educated country in the world, with over 56 percent of adults having earned some kind of education after high school. The United States is ranked sixth. Experts predict that around 65 percent of all jobs in the United States will require some post-secondary education by 2020, and Canada's investments may give Canadian workers a competitive advantage in the future labor market. Peloton's latest financing round of $550 million may be its last before becoming a publicly traded stock. The company sells $2,000 spinning bikes that are equipped with a screen to stream recorded and live classes that are filmed from its New York-based studio. "We stream 24 hours of live television content around the world every day. We have 10,000 classes on demand. It is a media company akin to a Netflix," Peloton co-founder and CEO John Foley said Friday on CNBC's "Squawk Box." Foley said the company will spend $45 million to develop "the best" digital streaming studio in midtown Manhattan. He added Peloton also plans to build a studio in Europe. The new investment round was led Silicon Valley's TCV. Many of Peloton's existing investors, including Tiger Global, True Ventures, Wellington Management, Fidelity, NBCUniversal, Kleiner Perkins, and Balyasny participated in this round. Foley told The Wall Street Journal the timing of an initial public offering "remains fluid," but 2019 "makes a lot of sense." The $550 million Series F round brings the total equity raised by Peloton to nearly $1 billion for a reported valuation of $4.15 billion. Disclosure: CNBC parent Comcast-NBCUniversal is an investor in Peloton and participated in this round of funding. President Donald Trump's hotel in New York City earlier this year reversed a two-year trend of declining rental revenue after travelers with crown prince of Saudi Arabia booked rooms there, a new report said Friday. The Trump International Hotel saw a 13-percent increase in rental revenue in the first three months of this year after several people accompanying Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman stayed for five days in March, according to The Washington Post. The article cited a letter from the hotel's general manager, Prince Sanders, who noted that the Saudi prince himself had not stayed in the hotel because its suites were not large enough to accommodate him or other members of the royal family. But the bookings from people traveling with him were enough to increase the hotel's revenue for the first financial quarter. A spokeswoman for the Saudi Embassy in Washington had no immediate comment when asked whether the Saudi government had paid for the rooms. The accommodations were used by "accompanying travelers" of the prince, as they were described in Sanders' letter cited by The Post. A spokeswoman for Trump Internatioal Hotel said, "The uptick in business specific to Trump International Hotel & Tower New York in March was due to the compression in New York driven by the visit of the Saudi Crown Prince to the City. This period brought compression to all of the hotels in the luxury set." The White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh, on the heels of The Post report, told CNBC that the news is "just another piece of evidence that Donald Trump is violating the nation's original anti-corruption law: he's getting payments from foreign governments." "Everybody in the country has an interest in being protected from the president prioritizing his bottom line over our interest as a country," Frosh said. Frosh said that The Post's report about the bookings at Trump's hotel in New York makes clear that "there's so much money being paid it would be unusual if government bureaucrats [from Saudi Arabia] were paying the bill themselves personally." Frosh and District of Columbia Attorney General Karl Racine last week won a big victory in federal court in Maryland, where they are suing Trump for alleging violating the Constitution's emoluments clause. That clause, which bars federal office holders from receiving any present or emolument from "any King, Prince or foreign state," means a president should not earning money from foreign governments at his various properties and businesses. The judge in that case last week let the case continue heading to trial, over the objections of the Justice Department. Judge Peter Messitte said the clause covers not just gifts from foreign states, but also business transactions. The Washington Post reported last week that the ruling seemed to be the first time a federal judge had interpreted those constitutional provisions to apply to a current president. Trump previously has called the case "totally without merit." But before taking office, he announced he would "donate all profits from foreign governments' patronage of his hotels and similar businesses during his presidential term to the U.S. Treasury." The Post noted that the Trump Organization this year announced that donation for 2017 as $151,470, but did not detail what foreign governments were the source of those profits, nor the amount they had paid Trump's businesses. The case pending in Maryland only relates to money Trump is earning from foreign governments who take rooms at his hotel in Washington, D.C, which last year received $270,000 in Saudi government money, according to lobbying records cited by The Post. Other foreign government officials likewise have stayed there. "Some diplomats have stated openly that they are doing it because they think it will have an impact on Trump's decisions" as president, Frosh said. The Maryland attorney general said he still believes that if his state and the District of Columbia win their case against Trump, the decision would empower other plaintiffs "in New York or Florida or wherever to challenge payments that he's receiving" from his businesses in those other locations. A supporter of South Africa's ruling African National Congress (ANC) holds up a shirt featuring newly-elected ANC president and South African Deputy President, Cyril Ramaphosa, during a rally on February 11, 2018, in Cape Town. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa announced this week that his government is to press on with a plan to overhaul how land is owned in the country, a move that has alarmed some investors in Africa's most developed economy. Ramaphosa said Tuesday that the ruling African National Congress (ANC) party is to put through parliament an amendment to the South African constitution that would permit the seizing of land without compensation. The bulk of South Africa's land is owned by its minority white population, a vestige of its colonial past. Although apartheid ended almost 25 years ago, South African society remains one of the most unequal in the world. "It has become pertinently clear that our people want the constitution to be more explicit about expropriation of land without compensation as demonstrated in the public hearings," said Ramaphosa in a televised address. He said that the proposal would "promote redress, advance economic development, increase agricultural production and food security." But, some investors are fearful that constitutionalizing land grabs would undermine business stability and economic growth, which has remained subpar thanks to years of corruption under former President Jacob Zuma's administration. South Africa's already-high unemployment rate rose in the second quarter of this year to 27.2 percent, it was announced Tuesday. The volatile rand dropped to a one-week low of near 13.40 per U.S. dollar overnight after Ramaphosa's announcement, according to Reuters. Starbucks is jumping on the cryptocurrency bandwagon. The Seattle-based coffee giant is working with Microsoft and a leading global exchange on a new digital platform that will allow consumers to use bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies at Starbucks. Starbucks along with Intercontinental Exchange, Microsoft and BCG, among others, is working to launch a new company called Bakkt that will enable consumers and institutions to buy, sell, store and spend cryptocurrencies on the global network by November. The platform with convert bitcoin and other cryptocoins into U.S. dollars that can be used to buy a Cold Foam Cascara Cold Brew, Matcha Lemonade or anything else at Starbucks. "As the flagship retailer, Starbucks will play a pivotal role in developing practical, trusted and regulated applications for consumers to convert their digital assets into US dollars for use at Starbucks," Maria Smith, vice president of partnerships and payments for Starbucks, said in a statement. "As a leader in Mobile Pay to our more than 15 million Starbucks Rewards members, Starbucks is committed to innovation for expanding payment options for our customers." Cryptocurrency skeptics have challenged its use for payments because of its volatility. Bitcoin for example, has dropped by roughly 50 percent this year, and its value often changes by hundreds of dollars in a single day. But with Starbucks taking cryptocurrency seriously, it could help bitcoin break through as a mainstream currency. It could also be bullish for prices, which have struggled to find footing since the end of 2017. "It's very big news for bitcoin because people say, 'Where can you spend it?' Now at every single Starbucks," said Brian Kelly, founder and CEO of BKCM. "Starbucks is seeing some kind of demand for acceptance of crypto and bitcoin, and to tie up with a huge regulated institution like the ICE is really positive for the space." Starbucks would not be the first retailer to accept digital assets. was the first to accept bitcoin in 2014. Expedia, Shopify and CheapAir have also said they accept cryptocurrency as a form of payment. Trade tensions between the world's two largest economies have ratcheted up significantly in the past weeks, putting pressure on both the U.S. and China to end the standoff. But which side will blink first? The The U.S. has already imposed tariffs on $34 billion in Chinese imports, which were met with retaliatory charges by the Asian nation. After President Donald Trump instructed U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer to consider raising proposed tariffs on $200 billion in Chinese goods to 25 percent from 10 percent, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce responded with a retaliatory threat on Thursday. Market moves suggest China where the index recently lurched into bear market territory, even as U.S. bellwether indexes have kept above water may be the first to blink in the trade war. Yet strategists say there's much more to it than that. "That's definitely true in the stock markets, because Chinese markets are heavily influenced by foreign capital flows and capital has been flowing out of China," John Rutledge said CNBC's "Closing Bell." He added: "But there are two other angles in China that matter: One is the economy and the third one is politics." When it comes to politics, Rutledge said, Trump could be the first to bend to pressure from his political base. From red state farmers to U.S. owned firms operating in China, "the pressure is here," said Rutledge, who acts as chief investment officer of global principal investment house Safanad. "A third of the value added of Chinese exports is from U.S. firms. That's where the political pressure would come from here is from U.S. firms who don't want it to screw up the sales they're making in China to Chinese consumers," he said. Rutledge argued that Chinese President Xi Jinping doesn't face that same sort of pressure. "Xi doesn't give a hoot about the poor people in China. Why do you think they attacked soybeans? Not just because of our farmers, but because he doesn't care about the pressure from his own people," he said. Swiss Re's chief financial officer told CNBC Friday that he expects the occurrence of multiple, powerful hurricanes to become increasingly common over the coming years. "Climate change is in fact warming not just the Earth but also the oceans and one of the reasons why the expectation of future hurricanes is so high is that last years' three hurricanes together the $135 billion of losses are a one in 10 year event not a one in a 100 year event," John Dacey, chief financial officer of Swiss Re, told CNBC's Joumanna Bercetche on Friday. "We see the possibility for a repetition of these kinds of losses in the foreseeable future," he added. The insurance industry is still reeling from its costliest year on record in 2017, following a series of major hurricanes, fires and earthquakes in North America. More than half of the total insured losses last year were due to Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria with each wrecking havoc in the U.S. and the Caribbean in the latter half of 2017. Earlier this year, Swiss Re warned more research into climate change and its impact on extreme weather events would be necessary. The Trump administration's trade war will make Toyota pickup trucks and minivans more expensive, adding about $3,000 to the sticker price of some of its best-selling automobiles, Toyota executives said after reporting record profits Friday. Global net income at the Japanese automaker rose from 613.0 billion yen ($5.52 billion) to 657.3 billion yen during its first quarter ended June 30. But executives told reporters on a call Friday that the increased U.S. tariffs could seriously affect Toyota's bottom line and hurt jobs. "A 25 percent tariff on automotive imports, which is just a tax on consumers, would increase the cost of every vehicle sold in the country," Toyota said in a statement. The extremely popular Toyota Camry sedan, which is assembled in Kentucky, would cost an extra $1,800 if a 25 percent tariff were to take effect, the company said. Toyota's full-size pickup, the Tundra, and the Sienna minivan, which are also assembled in the U.S., would cost an extra $2,800 and $3,000, respectively. Even fleet customers, such as drivers for taxi companies or ride-hailing services such as Uber and Lyft would be hit by increases. "This is not helping those blue-collar workers who voted for Trump," Kelley Blue Book senior analyst Rebecca Lindland said. "Renegotiating NAFTA is long overdue. But slapping tariffs on an inflexible industry is not protecting American jobs, American investors or American consumers." Toyota employs 137,000 people in the U.S. at its 10 factories and dealership network here, the company said in a statement. "They are not a national security threat," Toyota said, alluding to President Donald Trump's rationale for the increased tariffs. Trump has already slapped 25 percent tariffs on several billion dollars of goods from China and is investigating the possibility of imposing similar tariffs on imports from other countries, including autos and vehicle parts. The Trump administration has justified these tariffs by invoking Section 232 of Trade Expansion Act of 1962, which allows the government to consider tariffs on products when it is in the interest of national security. Tariffs will not just be painful for foreign corporations or investors, Lindland said. Forcing sudden changes to the automotive supply chain can create problems and raise consumer costs, she said. Even car parts can cross borders more than once during assembly, Lindland said, adding that it also has an effect that ripples outward toward dealers, mechanics and customers. Students walk on the College of the Ozarks campus. There is a laundry list of considerations students should keep in mind when selecting a college. After you're accepted, it's important to look at both cost and class offerings for the degree or career you hope to pursue, as well as the overall fit of the school. Turns out, not all states are equal in terms of opportunities for students, according to a recent report by WalletHub, a personal finance website. WalletHub looked at the availability of paid internships and student jobs as part of its ranking. To assess student opportunity, WalletHub used data from sources such as the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Institute for College Access & Success. The site also considered the unemployment rate for new grads ages 25 to 35 as well as the rate of underemployment. It measured the availability of student jobs and paid internships. "It's sort of like shopping some people do well in large malls with tons of options, others do well in tiny boutiques," said Barmak Nassirian, director of federal policy with the American Association of State Colleges and Universities. "The same goes for learning." Location, location, location Location can be a big part of the fit of the school and the experience a student will have. If a student has the luxury of moving away, it's something they should consider, Nassirian said. "Location has all kinds of consequences for any co-curricular activities," Nassirian said. WalletHub's report measured opportunity for those in college by looking at the availability of student jobs and paid internships. Many of the states on the Top 10 list, such as New York and Massachusetts, are home to large cities with opportunities for students and grads. But other states with smaller cities, such as Minnesota, Colorado, Virginia and Maine, rounded out the list. These are the top states for college students and recent grads State Grant & Student Work Opportunities Rank Maine 1 Massachusetts 2 Minnesota 3 New York 4 Colorado 5 Hawaii 6 Missouri 7 Maryland 8 New Hampshire 9 Virginia 10 Connecticut 11 North Dakota 12 New Jersey 13 Vermont 14 Illinois 15 California 16 South Dakota 17 District of Columbia 18 Wyoming 19 Arizona 20 New Mexico 21 Rhode Island 22 Utah 23 Iowa 24 Nebraska 25 Washington 26 Idaho 27 Oregon 28 Georgia 29 Texas 30 Tennessee 31 Indiana 32 Montana 33 Kansas 34 Wisconsin 35 South Carolina 36 Florida 37 Arkansas 38 Louisiana 39 Michigan 40 Pennsylvania 41 Ohio 42 Mississippi 43 Oklahoma 44 North Carolina 45 Alabama 46 Delaware 47 Nevada 48 West Virginia 49 Kentucky 50 Alaska 51 "It's not always favorable to the cities," Nassirian said. "If you want to become a marine biologist, a rural setting on a coast is where you'll have the greatest opportunities for experiences." Beyond thinking about location, Nassirian advised weighing the output of each school you're considering. Looking at graduation statistics is a good place to start assessing a school's track record. If the graduation rate is high, there's a good chance that the school has a solid program and environment for learning. If the rate is low, that could be a potential red flag, Nassirian said. In the end, students are pursuing a college degree to put what they learn to use, said Nassirian, and so graduating with a degree of value should be a top priority. Opportunities for recent grads President Donald Trump (L) and Russia's President Vladimir Putin during a meeting at the Presidential Palace in Helsinki, July 16, 2018. The Russian-registered bank AgrosoyuzCommercial Bank (Agrosoyuz) was sanctioned for doing business with Han Jang Su, a North Korean who Treasury said was the "Moscow-based chief representative of Foreign Trade Bank (FTB), North Korea's primary foreign exchange bank." The new sanctions, announced by the Treasury Department, came as President Donald Trump continued to pursue negotiations with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula, as well as seeking improved relations with Russia. The Trump administration on Friday announced new sanctions targeting a Russian bank, two North Korean entities and one North Korean citizen for facilitating "illegal financial activity." Han is already designated under existing sanctions, but Treasury also sanctioned his deputy, Ri Jong Won, Friday. The two newly sanctioned North Korean entities, DandongZhongsheng Industry & Trade Co., Ltd. (Zhongsheng), and Korea Ungum Corporation(Ungum), were both described in the Treasury announcement as front companies for FTB, the North Korean bank. "The United States will continue to enforce UN and U.S. sanctions and shut down illicit revenue streams to North Korea. Our sanctions will remain in place until we have achieved the final, fully-verified denuclearization of North Korea," Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement. The Wall Street Journal reported earlier this week that North Korean workers were continuing to flow into Russia, in spite of UN sanctions intended to block cash from flowing back to North Korea. The announcement came one day after Trump publicly thanked Kim for returning the remains of U.S. soldiers killed in the Korean War. The president said he looked forward to seeing the North Korean leader again "soon." Trump tweet Punjab CM lays foundation stone of sports stadium in memory of farmers who lost their lives during farm laws agitation Apple farmers across the nation say the triple threat of tariffs from Mexico, China and India will challenge their business. Crist Brothers Apple Orchards, Inc. in Walden, New York, harvested 20 million pounds of apples last year and has been gradually increasing the amount of apples it produces, partially thanks to growing demand from overseas buyers. But the onset of tariffs and the potential drop in apple prices could hurt this orchard. "If market pricing falls below a certain point we just can't make a profit," said Joel Crist, the orchard manager at Crist Brothers Apple Orchards, Inc., in a CNBC interview. "Margins are already pretty thin to begin with, razor thin in some situations, and if that pricing falls a little bit we could be looking an unprofitable situation, and if we look at an unprofitable situation, we stop investing, we stop buying equipment...and we'll suffer." "If it goes on long enough, eventually we'll go out of business," he added. If fewer apples are being sold to foreign buyers, analysts say domestic competition between producers will intensify specifically between the two top producing states, Washington and New York. BY THE NUMBERS IN THE NEWS TODAY CBS (CBS) started its post-earnings call saying there would be no questions about sexual misconduct allegations against Les Moonves. The CEO and analysts complied. Meanwhile, second-quarter profit and revenue were better than expectations. (Reuters) Just days before federal agents raided Michael Cohen's home and office, Donald Trump's then-personal lawyer secured a $10 million agreement with a top donor, according to The Wall Street Journal. A federal judge is scheduled to hold a hearing today to decide who should bear the responsibility to find parents who were deported after they were separated from their children. (USA Today) An engineer at General Electric with ties to Chinese companies was arrested and accused of stealing files related to proprietary power-turbine technology, which the FBI says he elaborately concealed to avoid detection. (WSJ) General Motors (GM) is seeking an exemption to a 25 percent U.S. tariff for its Buick Envision sport utility vehicle. The Envision is made in China and accounts for about 19 percent of Buick brand sales in America. Once its settlement with the Justice Department over toxic mortgages is finalized, Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) said it'll pay its first dividend since the U.K. lender nearly collapsed during the 2008 financial crisis. (CNBC) Shake Shack (SHAK) topped expectations on earnings and revenue. But investors were disappointed that Shake Shack merely reaffirmed its full-year forecast and shares sank in extended hours trading Thursday. (CNBC) Heineken struck a $3.1 billion partnership with China Resources Beer, as the two firms seek to tap a growing thirst for premium brands in the world's biggest beer market. (Reuters) Peloton is raising a $550 million round of financing as the maker of video-streaming stationary bikes contemplates an initial public offering as soon as next year. (WSJ) STOCKS TO WATCH Take-Two Interactive (TTWO) reported earnings that were short of estimates but revenue that beat on strong sales of its NBA and Grand Theft Auto video game franchises. Shares were soaring about 12 percent in the premarket. Activision Blizzard (ATVI) beat estimates on earnings and revenue. Results were driven by strong sales of its popular Call of Duty video game, but the company warned on forward guidance. GoPro (GPRO) shares were up strong in after-hours trading, turned negative, and then went up again, after the action camera-maker reported a narrower than expected loss. The CEO projected profitability in the second half. Toyota Motor (TM) reported a 19 percent jump in profit for its first quarter, to the best level in 2.5 years. Japan's largest automaker earned $6 billion for the April through June quarter. Campbell Soup (CPB) and Kraft Heinz (KHC) have opened exploratory merger talks, according to the New York Post. Kraft Heinz has not made an offer for Campbell, according to the report. Boyd Gaming (BYD) struck a joint venture deal with FanDuel to run an online and mobile sports betting operation in the U.S. The casino operator had struck a separate sports betting-related deal earlier this week. Sonos (SONO) is higher in pre-market trading, after the wireless speaker maker made its Wall Street debut Thursday with a 33 percent jump over its IPO price. WATERCOOLER The U.S. trade deficit increased 7.4 percent in June amid the nation's ongoing tariff battle with its global trading partners. The total deficit in goods and services rose to $46.3 billion for the month, from $43.2 billion in May, the Commerce Department reported Friday. Imports increased by $1.6 billion, to $260.2 billion, while exports declined by $1.5 billion, to $213.8 billion. As the White House engages in a tit-for-tat tariff fight with China, the trade deficit with that country rose to $32.5 billion and now stands just shy of $200 billion year to date. Smoothed over a three-month average, the trade imbalance edged lower by $300 million, to $45.2 billion. The numbers come as the Trump administration has slapped tariffs on steel and aluminum imports as well as a $34 billion menu of goods from China. In addition, the White House has threatened another $200 billion of duties against China. The administration also is trying to rework the North American Free Trade Agreement with Canada and Mexico. The deficit with Canada for the month was $2.6 billion, while the deficit with Mexico was $6.7 billion. President Donald Trump has set reducing the global trade deficit as a major priority. Harvey Weinstein's lawyers want a New York court to throw out sexual assault charges against him. Lawyers for the former movie titan-turned-#MeToo villain filed notice Friday they'll seek dismissal of the case. Among other arguments, they say the grand jury that indicted Weinstein should have been told about emails from one of his three accusers: a woman who said he raped her in 2013. One message, less than a month after the alleged attack, expresses appreciation for "all you do for me." Another, days later, says "it would be great to see you again." The Manhattan District Attorney's office hasn't immediately commented. Weinstein has pleaded not guilty to the rape charge and to sex charges involving two other women in Manhattan. Dan Coats, director of national intelligence, from left, speaks as Christopher Wray, director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Paul Nakasone, director of the National Security Agency (NSA) and commander of the U.S. Cyber Command, and Kirstjen Nielsen, U.S. secretary of Homeland Security (DHS), listen during a White House press briefing in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Thursday, Aug. 2, 2018. Thursday's surprise White House briefing on election security efforts featured an all-star cast of top administration officials. One by one, each official laid out what his or her agency was doing to defend the 2018 midterm elections against foreign interference of the kind that marred the 2016 presidential election The timing was significant. It occurred during the last White House press briefing before President Donald Trump departed for vacation Thursday afternoon, making it the last big, unified messaging opportunity the administration would have until after Labor Day. Trump himself had instructed his national security team to "tell the American people all we are doing to protect our elections," press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told NBC News. The efforts that were outlined Thursday, such as stepped-up cooperation between the FBI and private social media companies, are the kinds of policies that should benefit voters. But there is another group that stands to gain from Thursday's briefing: Republican members of Congress, especially the members seeking reelection in tough races, as they also leave Washington for their own August recesses this week. After eight years of a Republican-controlled House, Democrats need to gain at least 23 seats in November to retake the lower chamber, and historical trends are in their favor.. To win back the House, Democrats are focused on flipping seats in Republican-leaning congressional districts, where independent and moderate GOP voters have soured on Trump. For Republicans defending seats in these crucial districts, the president is a topic they would likely rather avoid talking about. On Capitol Hill, that can mean deftly hopping into an elevator when they see reporters approaching. But back home, where they will spend the next month campaigning, it won't be as easy. During an election year, members of Congress often fill up their August recess calendars with town hall events and constituent meetings, and this year is no exception. Rep. Bradley Byrne, R-Ala., plans to hold 12 town halls during the August recess. And already, Republicans at some town halls are fielding tough questions about Trump and Russia from their constituents. At a town hall hosted by Rep. Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., on Wednesday, questions about special counsel Robert Mueller and about Russia dominated the evening. Until Thursday, these lawmakers had few good answers to give their constituents about what was being done to protect U.S. elections. Meanwhile, an NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll in July showed that two-thirds of Americans don't think Trump has been tough enough on Russia. And 70 percent of respondents said they believed Russia interfered in the 2016 U.S. presidential elections. In another recent poll from Quinnipiac University, 51 percent of Americans said they believed the Russian government has compromising information on Trump. Cllr Tim Briggs is a councillor in Lambeth. As the only Conservative councillor in Lambeth it is exciting that the Conservative Government nationally, on behalf of the nation, is establishing a Windrush Day annually on 22nd June. This will be a yearly celebration to recognise the contribution of the Windrush generation and those descended from the men and women who came to the United Kingdom in 1948. My ward of Clapham Common is part of that history, as it still has the deep bomb shelter on Clapham Common Southside that temporarily housed new arrivals. It still exists near Clapham South tube Transport for London has plans to turn it into a cafe. Windrush Day also recognises what these arrivals have gone through to make a life for themselves and their families here in the UK. They saw themselves as Britons from the Caribbean. England was seen as the Motherland, they spoke English, they received a British education, they used British currency, and were ruled by the British Government under English law. They pledged allegiance to the Queen and felt a part of this country in every way possible. So the hurt they must have felt as a result of suffering small or large acts of discrimination, or recently from being treated unfairly by an immigration system that chose to dispense with the careful respect to which all citizens of the UK are entitled, a respect that is a most British thing that must have been profoundly hurtful. Establishing Windrush Day is the country reaching out a hand to that community, and asking to be forgiven. To move on, together. It is a sign of an inclusive, far-sighted Conservative Government that wishes to address past wrongs and recognise the enormously positive contribution to life in the UK made by people from the Caribbean. However, Labour councillors and the wealthy Labour establishment in Lambeth are not helping. They must make a distinction between recognising and celebrating our cultural and racial diversity, and the insidious and self-destructive values espoused in far-Left identity politics. Identity politics blights relationships by seeking to make all negative aspects of life for our communities in the UK the fault of mainstream society. Identity politics asserts that everyone not white or male is a victim, and that all white people are racist, and that the history of Britain as a country admired across the world for the opportunities and freedoms that it provides, is overshadowed by historic acts of colonial oppression. To move away from a politics of identity, Labour councillors in Lambeth must do their part. They can help the Windrush community and their descendants by ending the commissions set up for Labour-Lambeth party political purposes, end the stream of divisive taxpayer-funded Labour propaganda that pours out from Lambeth Council, and run services for everyone with the same level of competence as nearby Conservative boroughs like next-door Wandsworth, which is now the fourth best place in the country for children from low income families to grow up and do well in life. Lambeth Council should also work tirelessly to ensure that the outcomes sought by residents are achieved in the services they pay for. We should lower the high tax burden on residents from the Caribbean that for decades has held them back. The vast majority have aspirations for themselves and their families, but do not break free from the decades-long cycle of voting for Labour councillors telling them what to do, and telling them how lucky they are to have Labour councillors. Treating these residents with honesty about what the council can achieve and what it is for namely, to provide good local services; not spend their money on pretending to help them and allowing them to flourish by releasing them from high council tax this is the only way to end Identity Politics in Lambeth and to celebrate Windrush in the best possible way. Damian Green is a former First Secretary of State, and is MP for Ashford. Demographics dont lie. The UK population is aging. A child born in 2018 can reasonably expect to live until at least 91 years of age. Even more striking is the expectation that around 30 per cent of children born today will live to receive a communication (in a form we cannot today imagine) from the monarch on their 100th birthday. While we should celebrate increases in life expectancy, we need to work to ensure that these positive changes in the quantity of life are matched by improvements in the quality of life. As a Party, we try to rise to this challenge. In government, we have done more than ever before to help people build the resources they need to enjoy later life. Since 2012, our automatic enrolment policy has introduced nine million extra people to pension saving. The reformed State Pension (the New State Pension) is simpler and fairer; it will ensure that most people will have more money when they retire than they would have had under the old system. We need to be realistic. Big challenges remain if we want to ensure that everyone has enough money to meet their needs in retirement. The first and perhaps biggest roadblock standing in the way of a decent retirement for all is the fact that people simply arent saving enough. According to the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA), only around 50 per cent of savers are currently on track to have sufficient means in retirement. Clearly, this is not good enough. Part of the problem is that people just do not know how much they will need in later life. This makes it hard for them to plan effectively and save enough each month to achieve the lifestyle they want when they choose to stop working. The PLSAs solution to this problem is to provide savers with a clear idea of how much they will need each year in pounds and pence to live a minimum, modest or comfortable lifestyle in retirement. The PLSAs Retirement Income Targets, due out in 2019, are grounded on an approach pioneered by Australia. Each target level will be based on a basket of goods, which will allow savers to compare lifestyles and see how much they cost on an annual basis. This will enable people to make informed long-term savings choices in a way that they are unable to at present. I commend this approach to the Government. The other great source of uncertainty in later life is, of course, health. Nobody can predict how individual circumstances will change as age takes its course. Nevertheless, what we do know is that an aging population will have a higher demand for social care. A quarter of men and a third of women aged 65 will need care support at some point in their lives. No matter how well people plan for retirement, if the need for care arises it can easily and quickly erode savings. The average annual cost of care home residence rose by around 10 per cent last year to just under 34,000. If nursing support is required, annual fees can increase to more than 40,000. Care costs of this sort have a serious impact on the adequacy of pension savings and, given that people are already not saving enough for retirement, many could be at real risk of poverty. When it comes to funding care costs, I believe that there are three important strands that the Government needs to consider if it is to offer a sustainable, comprehensive solution: state support, private assets, and individual planning. The Government needs to give savers certainty about what the state will pay for and the level of support that it will offer. This will make it easier for both people and the Treasury to plan for the costs of care. Beyond state provision, care costs will have to be paid for by individuals. The Government needs to be bold in this area and consider all possible sources of funding, including a small proportion of the housing wealth of the better off. We didnt explain our policy on this issue well enough during last years general election. However, we cannot escape the fact that for most people their house is their most valuable asset, alongside their pension. If housing is not included in the mix, we risk a situation in which retirees become cash poor and asset rich, which is a sure way of increasing pensioner poverty. The Government should raise awareness of the ways in which people can unlock the value present in their home and use it to support care costs. To tie this all together, we need to provide information on all of this in an accessible place to allow people to think about retirement income and care costs in the round. I welcome the new Single Financial Guidance Body, which will go live at the end of this year and combine the Money Advice Service, Pension Wise and The Pensions Advisory Service. In my view, this service should incorporate the PLSAs Retirement Income Targets. The final piece of the jigsaw is a mid-life financial MOT between the ages of 40 and 50. Its exactly this sort of initiative that will get people thinking about retirement and the sort of lifestyle they want to live in their later years. It would help people plan for all sorts of retirement costs, including social care, and could nudge them to save more. All options for funding care needs should be on the table in these sessions, so that people can make preparations that they feel are best for them. Fewer old people fall into poverty now, which is a huge social advance. But we need to do better to make sure that older people are not unnecessarily anxious about the extra financial pressures they may face. We also need to make sure that we all make better decisions when we are younger to minimise this anxiety. The Conservative approach is to give people a framework to make the right choices and a safety net to catch them when the best laid plans go awry. Long-term thinking needs to accompany urgent action on these matters. Iain Dale: Anti-semitism and how Corbyn is vanishing into the deep pit he has dug for himself Iain Dale is Presenter of LBC Drive, a commentator with CNN and the author/editor of over 30 books. When youre in a political hole, its generally best to stop digging. Yet Jeremy Corbyn keeps buying new shovels. Nothing can get him out of the hole he has dug for himself on anti-semitism. Every day, it seems, there is a new revelation which demonstrates his attitude to the subject. And still there are some of his diehard supporters who continue to believe that theres nothing to see, and we should just move along. The fact that there are dozens to Labour MPs who are horrified by what is happening means little to Corbyns true believers. They are blind to any apparent failing their hero has, and instead think that those who call him out should be expelled from the party. Theres no way back for Corbyn from this sorry debacle. Hes shown himself to be weak, indecisive and the opposite of a leader. Hodge believes Corbyn to actually be anti-semitic himself. I dont. But I believe that he tolerates anti-semitism, and has no real comprehension of what the word even means. His hatred of the state of Israel trumps everything. Its also more proof of the hold Seumas Milne has over him. You just have to read the latters rantings in The Guardian over the years to understand where hes coming from on the subject. I suspect that he drafted Corbyns non-apology on Wednesday, which memorably couldnt even utter the word Israel. Instead, it was called Israel/Palestine. Criticism of Israel does not mean automatically that someone is anti-semitic, but in context it often does. Many Corbyn supporters accuse the media of launching a witch-hunt against him. Just by covering the story we are smearing him. Its apparently a non-story. They say we should be covering Islamophobia in the Conservative Party. When that story broke, I did a phone-in on it. If you remember, the self-appointed Muslim Council of Britain alleged there was widespread Islamaphobia in the Tory Party. But they could only produce nine examples over a number of years. [Update: This article originally stated the Muslim Council of Britain could only produce nine examples [of Islamophobia] over a number of years. In fact, these were from a period of weeks not years. The MCB has also since reported further allegations beyond the nine. ConservativeHome is happy to correct this error.] I have a lot of Muslim listeners, so I decided to test it out. I did an hour-long phone-in, and asked Muslims to phone into the programme if they could cite any examples. Not one could. Thats not to say that it doesnt exist but, in the two months since then, if it was indeed widespread, youd think wed have had a drip-drip of examples. Unless of course the media wouldnt print or broadcast them. Dont make me laugh. I dont doubt that there are Islamophobes in the the Tory Party. They exist in all political parties and across society. Its an issue which needs to be addressed. But lets not try to conflate a small problem in one party with an endemic problem in another. There are masses of cases of anti-semitism which have been reported to Labour Party HQ, and masses too that have been reported in the media. And yet there are still people, such as NEC member Peter Willsman, who say they have never seen an example on it. And this man sits on the Labour Partys National Executive. Not only that, but he sits on their disciplinary panel. Has he been asleep during their meetings? My heart aches for Zimbabwe. Ive never been there, but its clear it is the most amazing country, which has been completely ruined by Robert Mugabe and his acolytes. Its GDP per person is now only $2300, lower than that of Yemen. Only six pent of its adults are in full time formal work. Its currency is worthless. I could go on. When Mugabe was toppled, there was a real hope that things would change. I spoke to a lot of Zimbabwean expats on my radio show, and many of them said that if the new regime proved things would change they would go back to help rebuild their proud nation. The truth is that little has changed. Emmerson Mnangagwa known as The Crocodile has tried to put a new sheen on the Zanu PF government, and declared to the outside world that the country is open for business, but in reality things havent really changed at all. We saw that in the election on Monday. Its clear there was widespread electoral fraud and ballot-stuffing. In one town, with a population of 28,000 people, 35,000 ballot papers were counted. Zanu PF won all the seats in Matabeleland the very area where Mnangagwa is alleged to have led the slaughter of 20,000 people during the 1980s. It hardly seems likely that they would have voted for him. Meanwhile, it has to be asked what on earth the EU election observers were doing. Their only comment so far has been to regret the delay in announcing the result. What a waste of space they have been. On Wednesday, an Appeal Court Judge unwittingly made Tommy Robinson a hero. He was freed on bail over a technicality. His supporters, who had been accusing the judicial establishment of a plot to lock up their hero, rather had the wind taken out of their sails when the judicial system actually worked as it should. They rather ignored that he hadnt been found not guilty. A retrial will be held shortly. But make no mistake, a new far-right hero has been born. The wretched Steve Bannon sees Robinson as someone who can lead a new so-called Alt-Right movement in this country. Ignore the fact that Robinson is a thuggish criminal and an Islamophobic bully. Bannon sees him as articulate, with an eye for catching the medias attention, and capable of galvanising people. Hes right in that judgement, and I suspect there will be a lot of American money flowing into the Robinson coffers. His supporters are true believers. They worship at this altar, and see him as their true saviour. UKIP and its current leadership are going along with this. Gerard Batten is obsessed by Islam, to the exclusion of virtually everything else. Hes made UKIP an irrelevance in the Brexit debate, but instead has gone out of his way to defend Robinson. Hes leading UKIP down a very dangerous path. The only way it can be reversed is if Nigel Farage returns to the political fray. Im not sure he wants to, but many people are urging him to take up the cudgels again. Time will tell if hes up for it. We are analyzing the site. Please wait a few seconds.. Guwahati, August 3 : A hardcore militant of banned outfit National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) was killed in a fierce gun fight with security forces in Meghalayas East Garo Hills on Friday morning, officials said. According to the reports, based on source information that a mixed group of NDFB cadres along with several Garo miscreants numbering about 10 were taking shelter near Tarasin village in East Garo Hills district, a police team had launched operation in the remote area. When the police team reached the area, the miscreants who were armed with assault rifles and pistols fired at the police team while they were approaching the village. This happened at around 6 am and after a brief exchange of fire many of the miscreants managed to flee while one of them died on the spot where the encounter took place, East Garo Hills district Superintendent of Police (SP) R Momin said. The slain militant was identified as Koma Boro. Security personnel had recovered one AK series rifle along with one magazine and several rounds live ammunition from the encounter spot. The top Meghalaya cop further said that, 3-4 miscreants may have been injured as there were many other blood trails in the place of occurence. The dead body is being sent for post-mortem and a case has registered in connection with the incident. 100% Website monitor.co.ug uses latest and advanced technologies like: JQuery. It supports HTTPS and GZIP compression. The main html page has a size of 138426 bytes (135.18 kb uncompressed) and 23425 bytes (22.88 kb compressed). This CoolSocial report was updated on 2021-09-12, you can refresh this analysis whenever you want. Microsoft is warning investors that artificial intelligence technology as well as any changes to trade policies around the world may present risks to its business. In a regulatory filing Friday, the Redmond, Wash.-based tech powerhouse said that "AI algorithms may be flawed. Datasets may be insufficient or contain biased information. Inappropriate or controversial data practices by Microsoft or others could impair the acceptance of AI solutions." It's the first time the company has specifically mentioned AI technology in such detail in its 10-K filing as part of its standard list of potential risk factors. Microsoft did not respond to a request for comment by press time. The company also said that "these deficiencies could undermine the decisions, predictions, or analysis AI applications produce, subjecting us to competitive harm, legal liability, and brand or reputational harm. Some AI scenarios present ethical issues. If we enable or offer AI solutions that are controversial because of their impact on human rights, privacy, employment, or other social issues, we may experience brand or reputational harm." Microsoft has been investing in AI technology in recent years, Bonsai provides a faster way to build the "brains" necessary for robotics and other autonomous systems. Microsoft also said that any changes to trade policy or deals could adversely affect the companys sales in foreign countries as tariffs are increased. Emerging nationalist trends in specific countries may significantly alter the trade environment, the company said in its filing. Changes to trade policy or agreements as a result of populism, protectionism, or economic nationalism may result in higher tariffs, local sourcing initiatives, or other developments that make it more difficult to sell our products in foreign countries. The company, which does business in 200 countries and reported $90 billion in total revenue in 2017, said that disruptions of these kinds in developed or emerging markets could negatively impact demand for our products and services or increase operating costs. The company employed approximately 131,000 full-time workers -- 78,000 in the U.S. and 53,000 internationally as of June 30, 2018, according to the filing. Last month, Microsoft President Brad Smith reflected on tech's role in a changing world at the company's Inspire 2018 conference. "We make technology that is global, but the world is increasingly focused on the borders that divide nations, rather than the technology that connects us," he told the crowd. "And even when people think about technology, they have a lot more questions than they did a year ago. Every day we see headlines about the anxiety people have about technology. We see people questioning whether they can trust technology." The Nippon Telegraph & Telephone group is creating a new company to oversee its three communications and data subsidiaries, creating one of Japan's biggest IT solutions providers, according to a report. The Nikkei Asian Review said NTT will launch the new company this fall. NTT is expected to transfer its shares in subsidiaries NTT Data, NTT Communications and South Africa-based Dimensions Data Holdings to a new entity, the Review reported. NTT is the parent company of Dimension Data, No. 9 on the CRN Solution Provider 500. NTT Data bought solution provider Dell Services formerly Perot Services in November 2016. In November, NTT Communications and its Dimension Data subsidiary combined their cloud infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) capabilities into a single global solution provider organization under NTT Communications. The move was targeted at bringing cloud-based offerings to clients of both companies. That followed several turnovers and employee layoffs at Dimension Data, which was acquired in 2010 by Tokyo-based NTT Communications in a $3 billion deal that created a global technology solutions and services provider. By combining the cloud personnel and resources of Dimension Data and NTT Communications, the company hoped to expand its innovation and drive new services. A Dimension Data spokesperson said the company had no comment "on news related to NTT, rumor or speculation." The reported announcement is similar to a reorganization announced in September, when Japan-based Hitachi Ltd. said it has reorganized its data center infrastructure, big data and Internet of Things capabilities into a new business called Hitachi Vantara. Hitachi Vantara combined the Hitachi Data Systems storage and data center infrastructure business, its Hitachi Insight Group IoT business and its Pentaho big data business into a new company aimed at delivering new collaborative data offerings for commercial and industrial enterprises The news also comes just weeks after Dimension Data's former CEO, Jere Brown, who was known as a fierce competitor with a commitment to customers and a passion for philanthropy, passed away on July 17. Brown spent over 30 years in the IT business, and in 2004 joined Dimension Data as a senior vice president of sales. He took over as CEO of Dimension Data in 2006, and in 2013 retired from the company. According to current bookings, we expect a significant increase in ships and passengers for 2019, said Josko Berket-Bakota, assistant director for development and market research, Split Port Authority. This year the Croatian port is planning for 280 ships, a feat considering it started with its first cruise call in 2002. 2018 traffic is well up from last year, when 234 ships called. We are constantly improving the ports infrastructure and providing quality services for ships and passengers, said Berket-Bakota. Taking bookings up to three years out, Berket-Bakota said Split was located in an exceptional geographic position in the Mediterranean. Among the highlights for cruise passengers is Diocletian's Palace, which was built for the Roman Emperor Diocletian at the turn of the fourth century. Theres also Salona, an ancient city and the capital of the Roman province of Dalmatia, in addition to the medieval town of Trogir, only 20 kilometers from the port. Both can be seen on the same day and both are UNESCO World Heritage sites. The port authority is busy improving infrastructure, with an extension and renovation of passenger berths having been completed in 2017. The updated profile can berth ships up to 270 meters and 320 meters, respectively, while providing a larger operational area, said Berket-Bakota. Next up, the port plans to apply EcoPort regulations to further its environmental management system, helping appease the local community. Eyes are on 400,000 annual cruise passengers in the next five years. Police arrested a man Wednesday after he allegedly snapped up-skirt photos of women in a California Target store. The Cypress Police Department shared security camera footage of the Tuesday incident that shows the suspect, 29-year-old Jorge A. Ibarra, Jr., surreptitiously taking photos up the skirts of women shopping at the Cypress store. Ismael Duarte was at the store with his wife and 15-year-old daughter when he says he noticed Ibarra following his daughter with his phone camera. Per the security footage, Duarte pushed Ibarra to the ground and kicked his phone from his hands. Duarte said he later chased Ibarra from the store and tackled him, then snapped photos as he fled in a vehicle, which later helped police identify him. "I'm pissed off that I didn't do more than I did. I wish I would have," Duarte told KTTV. "I'm so angry." Cypress police arrested Ibarra Wednesday. He was booked into the Orange County Jail on misdemeanor invasion of privacy charges. According to the police report, Ibarra had allegedly committed the same crime at another Target in Cerritos earlier that day. In a statement sent to KTTV, Target officials said: "The safety and security of our guests is very important ... We have no tolerance for this behavior in our stores ... We will help law enforcement in any way." Anyone with information about additional victims are asked to contact Detective Cassie Miller at (714) 229-6631. Michelle Robertson is an SFGATE staff writer. Email her at mrobertson@sfchronicle.com or find her on Twitter at @mrobertsonsf. Hand-out / Diageo Beer Company USA Diageo opens at 3 p.m. Friday its first U.S. brewery since 1954, with the Guinness Open Gate Brewery & Barrel House offering tours starting Saturday in Halethorpe, Md. Diageo has its North American headquarters in Norwalk and ranks among the worlds largest alcohol company in the world after Anheuser-Busch InBev. Hearst Connecticut Media / Ned Gerard BRIDGEPORT The public is invited to join Bridgeport cops for a community event Saturday in the city. The police department will host Coffee with a Cop from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. at Bagel King at 3550 Main St. Guwahati : Three police personnel including two women constable were injured in a scuffle when Assam police tried to prevent the members of the All India Trinamool Congress (AITMC) delegation team from going out of the Kumbhirgram airport in Barak Valleys Silchar. According to the reports, the incident was happened at the time when eight-member delegation team of TMC arrived at Silchars Kumbhirgram airport to assess the situation in Assam in the wake of the complete draft of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) publication. The delegation team of TMC by West Bengal minister Firhad Hakim, MPs Sukhendu Sekhar Ray, Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, Ratna De Nag, Nadimul Haque, Arpita Ghosh, Mamata Thakur, MLA Mohua Moitra arrived at the airport via a Jet Airways flight at 1-50 pm tried to violate the Section 144 of CrPC imposed in Silchar. When the police personnel tried to resist them from going out of the airport, situation turned worsen and the TMC delegation team members shouted against the police act. Assam DGP Kuladhar Saikia said that, two cases have been registered against the TMC MPs and MLAs, were for their violation of Section 144 of CrPC and causing injuries to police personnel. The Assam DGP further said that, the TMC leaders were not arrested. On the other hand, the TMC delegation team is scheduled to visit Guwahati tomorrow, but the Guwahati city police have already imposed Section 144 of CrPC in the city to maintain law and order. Earlier, Assam Transport minister Chandra Mohan Patowary said that, Assam government has no objection to TMC leaders visiting Assam, but if they try to create disturbance over the NRC issue, the government will be bound to take action. On the other hand, being disappointed over West Bengal Chief Minister and All India Trinamool Congress (AITMC) leader Mamata Banerjees remarks on the final draft of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam, Assam AITMC chief and former MLA of Hajo constituency Dipenj Pathak quit the party. While resigning from the TMCs Assam unit president post, Dipen Pathak said in a press conference held in Guwahati on Thursday that, Mamata Banerjee has tried to disrupt the present peaceful situation in Assam by sending TMC delegation team to Barak Valley from West Bengal. Dipen Pathak alleged that, the TMC supremo didnt discuss anything on the matter with him or other leaders of Assam. On Wednesday, two TMC leaders of Assam Diganta Saikia and Pradeep Pachoni quit the party and said that, Mamata Banerjee doesnt know any ground reality. Malian President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita and a former finance minister will contest a runoff vote on Aug. 12 in the country's presidential elections after no candidate secured a majority in the first round. Keita secured 41.4 percent of ballots cast in the July 29 election and his main opponent, Soumaila Cisse, obtained 17.8 percent, the Ministry of Territorial Administration said in a statement on Thursday. Turnout was 43 percent of the more than 8 million registered voters, according to the ministry. "We are content to come out ahead," Mahamadou Camara, Keita's spokesman, said by phone on Friday. "Now we need to convince the Malians who are still undecided to come out and vote in the second round." The 73-year-old Keita is seeking a second term after winning by a landslide against Cisse in 2013, months after a French military intervention pushed back Tuareg separatists and Islamist insurgents who had seized the north of the country. Five years on, a French military force that hunts down jihadists in the region hasn't been able to stop al-Qaida-affiliated militants from killing scores of United Nations peacekeepers and Malian troops. Cisse, 68, an ex-president of the West African Monetary Union Commission, said the results were not credible. "These are the results of fraud," Cisse said in a statement issued by his campaign on Friday. "They are the fruits of gross irregularities and deliberate violations of electoral law." Regional election observers said the vote proceeded on time and peacefully across most of the country, even though gunmen burned ballots and threatened members of the public and staff at some stations in the center and north. Voting didn't take place at 716 out of about 23,000 polling stations, according to a statement from the office of Prime Minister Soumeylou Boubeye Maiga. The Constitutional Court has three days to validate the results. Kathmandu, Nepal: Parliamentary Hearing Special Committee has turned down the name of Acting Chief Justice Deepak Raj Joshee for the post of Chief Justice. His name was rejected by two-thirds majority of votes. A meeting of the committee held on Friday turned down the name of Acting Chief Justice Deepak Raj Joshee for the post of Chief Justice through the voting. The Nepali Congress lawmakers had boycotted the voting process. As the lawmakers have failed to make a univocal voice for not to endorse the name of Chief Justice Nominee Deepak Raj Joshee, the lawmakers represent to the Parliamentary Hearing Special Committee made the decision through the votes. Germany Wants A Legal Framework For Cyberwar Germany is considering laws that would let it respond actively to foreign cyber-attacks, Interior Minister Horst Seehofer (pictured) as he presented a domestic intelligence agency report showing Iran was the latest power to ramp-up hack attacks on German systems. The agency also reported that the volume of cyber-attacks from China had seemingly dwindled as the number of acquisitions of German high-tech companies by Chinese firms had risen. The report, released recently by the domestic intelligence service (BfV), said numbers of cyber-attacks with a likely origin in Iran had been rising since 2014, with a sharp increase last year. In response to the report, which highlighted cyber-attacks by Iran, Russia and China, Seehofer said the agency needed to acquire the power not just to track and clean up cyber-attacks but also to launch counter-measures. We will maybe need changes to the law on the question of how to react actively, not just investigating, but also actively responding, Seehofer said. BfV chief Hans-Georg Maassen said the agency was also looking at the implications of Chinese acquisitions surging even as cyber-attack volumes fell. Getting a footing on the German market is not something for us to look at, but on the other hand we do look if we have the impression that behind the possible buyers theres a foreign state that has political aims, he told the news conference. Attacks from Iran come at a particularly sensitive time for Germany, which is battling to preserve the 2015 nuclear accord with Iran, from which the US has withdrawn. Germany is vocal with its concerns about Irans missile development activities, it's backing for militant groups in regional conflicts, and spying activities. In January, the foreign ministry summoned Irans ambassador to reprimand Tehran for spying on individuals and groups with close ties to Israel, calling such acts an unacceptable breach of German law. The new intelligence report said cyber-attacks believed to be backed by Iran were mainly aimed at the German government, dissidents, human rights organisations, research centres and the aerospace, defence and petro-chemical industries. The observed cyber campaigns are developing such efficacy that the operations initiated and guided by intelligence agencies to gain information could pose a danger to German companies and research institutions, the report said. Russia, China and Iran constituted the biggest cyber and espionage threats to Germany, but other countries such as India and Vietnam, and even some western states, were also active. Moscow continued to expend significant organisational and financial resources to target German political, economic, academic and technical targets, as well the military, through espionage and cyber activities, the report said. Russian intelligence agencies continued their efforts to affect public opinion in Germany through propaganda and other means, and those were likely to continue even after the 2017 German election. Such disinformation and propaganda campaigns are meant to destabilise the German government and weaken its position as a proponent of extending (European Union) sanctions against Russia, the report concluded. Deccan Chronicle: You Might Also Read: China Is Spying On Germany: Nation State Hacking Is On Trend In 2018: German Nuclear Plant Infested With Viruses: Indias handling of the 72-day border stand-off with China last year, which ended on August 28, 2017, is once again in the spotlight. On Thursday, August 2, Congress president Rahul Gandhi attacked external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj on Twitter, saying she had "buckled and prostrated herself in front of Chinese power". Absolute subservience to the leader means our brave jawan has been betrayed on the border, he tweeted. Amazing how a lady like Sushma ji has buckled and prostrated herself in front of Chinese power. Absolute subservience to the leader means our brave jawan has been betrayed on the border. #Doklamhttps://t.co/UALkmH0jZ1 Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) August 2, 2018 This followed Swarajs statement to the Lok Sabha, where she said the issue had been resolved with diplomatic maturity and without losing ground, with no change in the status quo at the face-off site. Here, we try to provide some answers to five key questions behind the row: 1) Is there a change in status quo? This is the bone of contention. The answer isnt straightforward, and both sides here have a point. The Modi government has, since the August 28, 2017 disengagement, chosen its words carefully, insisting "there have been no new developments at the face-off site and its vicinity. The status quo prevails in this area". This is correct, insofar as the actual site of the stand-off is concerned, located at a turning-point where China was extending a road a few hundred metres from Indias border. It is to be noted here that India has no territorial claims on Doklam, which is a roughly 100 sq km plateau that abuts India, China and Bhutan and the construction is on land disputed by China and Bhutan. But that isnt, as Rahul Gandhi and others have said, the complete picture. There is also a lot of obfuscation on what exactly China is doing and where it is doing it. (Credit: Reuters Photo) The MEA has been silent on the noticeable increase in Chinese activity elsewhere on the plateau. Here, the question of a change in status quo becomes more complex. Asked in the Rajya Sabha on July 26 on Chinese construction of roads, minister of state for external affairs Gen (retd) VK Singh only provided a boilerplate response, repeating the MEAs statement on "no new developments at the face-off site and its vicinity. The status quo prevails in this area". In short, he didnt answer the question. This despite the fact that the defence ministry has acknowledged that there indeed have been changes on the Doklam plateau since August 28, 2017. Defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman told the Rajya Sabha in March that the PLA had constructed trenches and helipads to sustain its positions in the winter. So while technically the government is right in saying there is no change in the status quo in the site of the face-off, that doesnt apply to the entire plateau. 2) So, is Rahul Gandhi right in dubbing Indias response a buckling to China? No. If Indias response was a failure, this begs the question: how should New Delhi have responded otherwise? Here, Rahul Gandhi and many critics of the Doklam handling are curiously silent. Crossing the border into Bhutan, in itself, was unprecedented. That can hardly be called a caving in. The Chinese road extension near the Indian border at the face-off site has stopped. This was Delhis biggest concern given the location. Yet a failure to stop Chinese encroachments elsewhere is a legitimate criticism. Did Delhi not insist on a Chinese commitment to not do so when it disengaged from the face-off on August 28, 2017? If it failed to do so, that is no small lapse. Having said that, the larger question remains: even if the Chinese presence elsewhere on the plateau continues, is it Rahuls suggestion that India should send its troops several kilometres deep into a third country (Bhutan) and confront China over its new infrastructure (that is arguably less threatening) elsewhere on the plateau? What will be the costs of this escalation? Without asking (better yet, answering) these questions, slamming Indias buckling makes little sense. What complicates the picture is that there is also a lot of obfuscation on what exactly China is doing - and where it is doing it. Some of the supposedly damning satellite images of deployments have shown Chinese construction on Chinese territory in Yadong, which neither Bhutan nor India claims. It is absurd to suggest China cant deploy on its own land. As for what China is doing elsewhere on the contested plateau, it is Delhis argument that this is of less direct concern to India and not in the direction of the trijunction. But Delhi has failed to make this case clearly, and by ignoring questions on the matter, has left itself open for criticism. 3) Was Modi wrong to travel to Wuhan for the summit with Xi? No. The second main criticism from Rahul Gandhi was at the Prime Minister for going to Wuhan for what he calls a no agenda summit with Xi Jinping. The Wuhan summit was extremely important in bringing ties back on track. It is also inaccurate to say the summit was merely a photo-op (would Chinas most powerful leader in decades travel all the way to Wuhan for two days just to oblige the Indian PM for a photo-op?). Wuhan was a much-needed course correction, and if the consensus on controlling the border holds, it will be a significant summit. It has also been important in signalling to the Chinese system that ties with India had moved past Doklam. There are already signs of this message filtering through in recent moves to cut tariffs, increase Indian imports of sugar and rice, and allow some cancer drugs. To be sure, the trade war with US President Donald Trump has also pushed Chinas hand, but the fact is that without the Wuhan rapprochement, ties would probably still be in deep freeze. This suits neither India nor China. The other criticism was why the PM didn't raise Doklam with Xi at Wuhan. The question is, what would that have achieved beyond the August 28 disengagement? The idea that Wuhan should have focused on Doklam also makes little sense, as it would have defeated the very purpose of the summit. 4) Is only Rahul Gandhi to blame for playing politics over Doklam? No. Here, both the government and Opposition have been at fault. Indeed, it is difficult for the Modi government to complain about Rahul Gandhi politicising a national security issue when all parties in Opposition have done no differently, and all the more when its own ministers should have refrained from seeking to gain political mileage from the disengagement, or repeatedly painting a meeting between Rahul Gandhi and the Chinese envoy as sinister, when suggestions are it was merely ill-advised. The government also only has itself to blame for allowing Doklam to become a political issue. (Credit: Reuters Photo) As home minister Rajnath Singh put it: "India is no more a weak nation, but a strong country. You ought to know how India resolved the Doklam issue with China, especially when most people across the globe were anticipating an India-China conflict. If India was a weak country, it could not have been in a position to resolve the Doklam issue." As argued above, the government also only has itself to blame for allowing Doklam to become a political issue. To begin with, its puzzling reluctance to shed any light on many of the unanswered questions about Doklam that has fuelled Rahul Gandhis persistent political attacks. This is evident in the MEAs now boilerplate response repeated ad nauseam of insisting there is no change in the face-off site even when asked an entirely different question about new Chinese infrastructure elsewhere in the plateau, which the defence minister publicly (and belatedly) confirmed only after satellite images had shown this to be the case. This, understandably, fuelled suggestions that that the government was being far from forthcoming. If, as many Indian officials privately say, the new infrastructure elsewhere on the plateau aimed largely in the direction of Bhutan is far less of a concern than a road extension that leads right up to the trijunction with India, then they should say so. The government was also ill-advised in painting the August 28, 2017 disengagement as either the Doklam issue being resolved which both Swaraj and other ministers have done repeatedly, despite no such suggestion till date from the Chinese side, which is yet to acknowledge any permanent commitment. If there was indeed a resolution, what were the terms? As asked above, did India negotiate on just the limited face-off site? What of Chinese activities elsewhere in the plateau? What were the terms? What is the guarantee of road construction not resuming? This needs to be spelled out. Without doing so, claiming a resolution will hardly convince anyone. Worse, some in the government have sought to paint Doklam as a resounding success, with some reports saying even the Prime Minister has done to varying degrees, suggesting it showed a newly confident India (with the implicit suggestion that the previous government would have handled it differently, when there is no evidence to suggest that was the case). 5) So, who is the winner? In the final analysis, no one benefits from point-scoring over a national security issue involving China. Yes, Rahul Gandhi isnt the first Opposition leader to seek domestic political point-scoring on a foreign policy matter (there is a long list of issues where the BJP did the same when it was in Opposition). All the same, it doesnt make it right, and one can only wish that going forward, issues of such importance dont descend into political blame-gaming that doesnt do any good for national interest. The government, for its part, should have done much more in bringing all parties on board and keeping them in the loop on how and why it handled Doklam the way it did. Until then, the political point-scoring will continue. China, for its part, will be watching with much amusement. Also read: Doklam standoff won't escalate. But India, China must stop scaremongering The final draft of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) has further polarised Indian politics. Battle lines have been drawn with the opposition and government vehemently going after each other. Both blaming the other of vote bank politics, a euphemism often used for communal politics in India. But even the Bharatiya Janata Party's stand is not very clear. In principle, the BJP is against illegal migrants and talks about their removal from India. But the party seems to be confused over several aspects of the final draft. Like, if preparing the draft NRC had anything to do with the government or not? Are those forty lakh people illegal residents? And if they are, then what should be done with them? Should they be deported to Bangladesh? On Jul 30, 2018, speaking in the Parliament, Home Minister Rajnath Singh asserted that the Centre has no role in the preparation of the draft list and it was done on the directives of the Supreme Court. He said, "In publishing NRC, the government has done nothing. Everything is being done as per Supreme Court order. The allegation of the opposition against the government is baseless". Talking about those whose names are missing Home Minister said: "People who feel their name should have been part of the NRC can file claims and objections ". File photo Rajnath Singh. (Photo: PTI) So the Home Minister clearly said that the government has no role in the preparation of the NRC draft and also asked those people, whose names are missing, not to worry because this can be rectified. Yet a day later, on July 31, 2018, the BJP president Amit Shah thumped his chest and said "Isko amal karne ki himmat nahin thi, hum mein himmat hai (You did not have the courage to implement it. We have the courage....)". The BJP chief further said. "In 2005, the Congress started the NRC (updating process). How can they raise questions now for vote bank politics? You (the Congress) didn't have the courage to drive out Bangladeshi migrants. For you, vote bank politics was important. The country's security was not the priority. The human rights of Indians were not important. You didn't have the courage, so you left it after starting it in 2005". So Amit Shah clearly suggested that it has been done by the BJP led government. He openly said that Congress governments did not have the courage to identify illegal migrants in Assam. This is in total contrast to what Home Minister Rajnath Singh told the Parliament a day earlier. File photo of BJP President Amit Shah. (Photo: PTI) When the Union Health and Family Welfare Minister Ashwini Kumar Choubey had a public spat with Congress MP Pradip Bhattacharya he was heard shouting, "All Bangladeshi infiltrators would be driven out of the country." The Congress MP accused Choubey of misleading people and giving wrong information. Minister Choubey defended himself and said, "Jo Bharatiya, Bharatiya ban kar rahega wahi desh ka nagrik hoga." He also said that whoever is Muslim or has come to India from Bangladesh, will be thrown out of the country. Aggravating this issue a BJP MLA in Telangana Raja Singh was quoted saying, "If these Rohingyas and Bangladeshi illegal immigrants do not leave India respectfully, then they should be shot and eliminated. Then only our country will be safe". He seems to have knowledge of not only when these illegal immigrants came to India but is also convinced that every one of the 40 lakh names missing from the NRC is an illegal resident of India. He said that during the 1971 war India supported Bangladesh, and it was then that a large number of Bangladeshis "infiltrated" into Assam, where 40 lakh such people stayed on illegally. Public statements of these BJP leaders makes it crystal clear that while they are keen to free India of illegal residents they remain confused about the role their government has to play in identifying them. As also on how to send them back to their alleged countries of origin. Also read: NRC List - Ground reality shows most missing names are of minorities A Naya Pakistan is what Imran Khan promised. Of course, within days of Khans spectacular victory in the general elections, the country went back to a few purane habits, which included banning a Bollywood film. Or has it? Multiple reports alleged that the Taapsee Pannu and Rishi Kapoor-starrer Mulk has been banned in Pakistan. The films producer Deepal Mukut, in a statement, said: We are disturbed by this prejudiced verdict and its such an irony because our film talks about this very prejudice. We urge the Pakistani Censor Board to reconsider their decision. They will realise how essential it is to the well-being of the human race across the world, and director Anubhav Sinha urged the Pakistani audience to watch the film illegally, if you must. The courtroom drama, which follows the lives of a family torn apart by religion and terrorism and communal polarisation in a charged-up Uttar Pradesh in a charged-up India, has enough material to raise red flags in the censor board on our end of the border; news of Pakistan banning the film thus does not sound out of place at all. Am I getting banned again? (Photo: Screengrab) Patriotism, terrorism (unless in movies starring Akshay Kumar or Salman Khan) and the politics of identity (Hindus and Muslim) are all ingredients for a controversial film; though in its execution, many claim it is not so at all. Pakistan, of course, in the past, has banned Bollywood films for much less. After all, Akshay Kumar-starrer Pad Man, a film about menstruation, menstrual hygiene and A Muruganantham, the man who single-handedly invented a machine to produce low-cost sanitary napkins, found itself being banned by the Punjab Film Censor Board for going against Pakistans traditions and culture. Tiger Zinda Hai (2017) was banned because Katrina Kaif played the role of an ISI agent. Raanjhanaa (2013) was supposedly banned because the film portrayed an inapt image of a Muslim girl (played by Sonam Kapoor) falling in love with a Hindu man and having an affair with him. Go figure. Tere Bin Laden (2010), Ek Tha Tiger (2012), Jab Tak Hai Jaan (2012), Agent Vinod (2015), Naam Shabana (2017) were again banned in Pakistan for their portrayal of ISI and terrorism. The Dirty Picture (2011) and Delhi Belly (2011) were banned for adult content. Veere Di Wedding too was banned in Pakistan because of "vulgar dialogues and obscene scenes". A pattern exists and Mulk can easily fall under one or the excuses given by the Pakistan Censor Board in order to justify such a ban. But that may not actually be the case. Maybe. Maybe not. (Photo: Screengrab) The Express Tribune in Pakistan reported that according to the Sindh Board of Film Censor General Secretary Razzaq Khuhawar, the film hasnt been submitted to them or to the Central Censor Board. Danyal Gilani, the chairman of the Pakistan Central Board of Film Censors, added that while the trailer of Mulk was banned in the country, the film is yet to be submitted to the board for review. Members of the CBFC unanimously decided not to approve the trailer of Mulk as its contents flout the Censorship of Film Code 1980, said Gilani. If the film hasnt yet even been submitted for review, why then are the producer and director claiming a ban on it? Is it pre-emptive, given how the trailer has fared? Or is it just another way for the film to receive an extra helping of international publicity, given that the response to the film has been somewhat lukewarm? Speculation aside, neither story sounds implausible. All publicity is good publicity. And Pakistan is, well, Pakistan. Also read: 'Mulk' is an engaging film but could have hit harder American Consumer News, LLC dba MarketBeat 2010-2021. All rights reserved. 326 E 8th St #105, Sioux Falls, SD 57103 | U.S. Based Support Team at [email protected] | (844) 978-6257 MarketBeat does not provide personalized financial advice and does not issue recommendations or offers to buy stock or sell any security. Our Accessibility Statement | Terms of Service | Do Not Sell My Information 2021 Market data provided is at least 10-minutes delayed and hosted by Barchart Solutions. Information is provided 'as-is' and solely for informational purposes, not for trading purposes or advice, and is delayed. To see all exchange delays and terms of use please see disclaimer. Fundamental company data provided by Zacks Investment Research. Capital One Financial pays an annual dividend of $2.40 per share and currently has a dividend yield of 1.46%. Capital One Financial has been increasing its dividend for 2 consecutive year(s), indicating that it does not yet have a strong track record of dividend growth. The dividend payout ratio of Capital One Financial is 41.45%. This payout ratio is at a healthy, sustainable level, below 75%. Based on earnings estimates, Capital One Financial will have a dividend payout ratio of 13.56% next year. This indicates that Capital One Financial will be able to sustain or increase its dividend. View Capital One Financial's dividend history. Wall Street analysts have given iShares S&P 500 Value ETF a "N/A" rating, but there may be better buying opportunities in the stock market. Some of MarketBeat's past winning trading ideas have resulted in 5-15% weekly gains. MarketBeat just released five new stock ideas, but iShares S&P 500 Value ETF wasn't one of them. MarketBeat thinks these five companies may be even better buys. View MarketBeat's top stock picks here. 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Wall Street analysts have given Vanguard FTSE Europe 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 Vanguard FTSE Europe ETF wasn't one of them. MarketBeat thinks these five companies may be even better buys. View MarketBeat's top stock picks here. CF Industries Holdings, Inc. engages in the manufacture and distribution of nitrogen fertilizer. The firm owns and operates nitrogen plants and serves agricultural and industrial customers through its distribution system. It operates through following segments: Ammonia, Granular Urea, UAN, AN, and Other. The Ammonia segment produces anhydrous ammonia, which is company's most concentrated nitrogen fertilizer product as it contains 82% nitrogen. The Granular Urea segment produces granular urea, which contains 46% nitrogen. The UAN segment produces urea ammonium nitrate solution, which is a liquid fertilizer product with a nitrogen content from 28% to 32%, is produced by combining urea and ammonium nitrate. The AN segment produces ammonium nitrate, which is a nitrogen-based product with a nitrogen content between 29% and 35%. The Other segment includes diesel exhaust fluid, nitric acid, urea liquor and aqua ammonia. The company was founded in 1946 and is headquartered in Deerfield, IL. Read More The following companies are subsidiares of Abbott Laboratories: 3A Nutrition (Vietnam) Company Limited, ABON Biopharm (Hangzhou) Co. Ltd., AGA Medical Belgium, AGA Medical Corporation, AGA Medical Holdings Inc., ALR Holdings, AML Medical LLC, APK Advanced Medical Technologies LLC, ATS Bermuda Holdings Limited, ATS Laboratories Inc., Abbott, Abbott (Jiaxing) Nutrition Co. 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Bhd., Abbott Medical (Portugal) Distribuicao de Produtos Medicos Lda, Abbott Medical (Schweiz) AG, Abbott Medical (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Abbott Medical (Singapore) Pte. Ltd., Abbott Medical (Thailand) Co. Ltd., Abbott Medical Australia Pty. Ltd., Abbott Medical Austria Ges.m.b.H., Abbott Medical Balkan d.o.o. Beograd (Novi Beograd), Abbott Medical Belgium, Abbott Medical Canada Inc./ Medicale Abbott Canada Inc., Abbott Medical Danmark A/S, Abbott Medical Devices Trading (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Abbott Medical Espana S.A., Abbott Medical Estonia OU, Abbott Medical Finland Oy, Abbott Medical France SAS, Abbott Medical GmbH, Abbott Medical Hellas Limited Liability Trading Company, Abbott Medical Ireland Limited, Abbott Medical Italia S.p.A., Abbott Medical Japan Co. Ltd., Abbott Medical Korea Limited, Abbott Medical Korlatolt Felelossegu Tarsasag, Abbott Medical Laboratories LTD, Abbott Medical Nederland B.V., Abbott Medical New Zealand Limited, Abbott Medical Norway AS, Abbott Medical Overseas Cyprus Limited, Abbott Medical Sweden AB, Abbott Medical Taiwan Co., Abbott Medical U.K. Limited, Abbott Medical spoka z ograniczona odpowiedzialnoscia, Abbott Middle East S.A.R.L., Abbott Molecular Inc., Abbott Morocco SARL, Abbott Nederland C.V., Abbott Nederland Luxembourg S.a r.l., Abbott Netherlands Investments B.V., Abbott Norge AS, Abbott Nutrition Limited, Abbott Nutrition Manufacturing Inc., Abbott Operations Singapore Pte. Ltd., Abbott Operations Uruguay S.R.L., Abbott Overseas Cyprus Limited, Abbott Overseas Luxembourg S.a r.l., Abbott Overseas S.A., Abbott Oy, Abbott Point of Care Canada Limited, Abbott Point of Care Inc., Abbott Poland Luxembourg S.a r.l., Abbott Procurement LLC, Abbott Products (Philippines) Inc., Abbott Products (Spain) S.L., Abbott Products Algerie EURL, Abbott Products B.V., Abbott Products Distribution SAS, Abbott Products Egypt LLC, Abbott Products Limited, Abbott Products Limited Liability Company, Abbott Products Luxembourg S.a r.l., Abbott Products Operations AG, Abbott Products Operations LLC, Abbott Products Romania S.R.L., Abbott Products Tunisie S.A.R.L., Abbott Products Unlimited Company, Abbott Resources Inc., Abbott Resources International Inc., Abbott S.r.l., Abbott Saudi Arabia Trading Company, Abbott Scandinavia Aktiebolag, Abbott Sociedad Anonima de Capital Variable, Abbott South Africa Luxembourg S.a r.l., Abbott Strategic Opportunities Limited, Abbott Trading Company Inc., Abbott Universal LLC, Abbott Vascular Devices (2) Limited, Abbott Vascular Devices Limited, Abbott Vascular Inc., Abbott Vascular Instruments Deutschland GmbH, Abbott Vascular International, Abbott Vascular Japan Co. Ltd, Abbott Vascular Limitada, Abbott Vascular Netherlands B.V., Abbott Vascular Solutions Inc., Abbott Ventures Inc., Abbott West Indies Limited, Abbott drustvo sa ogranicenom odgovornoscu za trgovinu i usluge, Advanced Neuromodulation Systems Inc., Alere, Alere (Shanghai) Diagnostics Co. Ltd., Alere (Shanghai) Healthcare Management Co. Ltd., Alere (Shanghai) Medical Sales Co. Ltd., Alere (Shanghai) Technology Co. Ltd., Alere A/S, Alere AB, Alere AS, Alere AS Holdings Limited, Alere BBI Holdings Limited, Alere Bangladesh Limited, Alere China Co. Ltd., Alere Colombia S.A., Alere Connect LLC, Alere Connected Health Limited, Alere Connected Health Ltd., Alere Diagnostics GmbH, Alere DoA Holding GmbH, Alere GmbH, Alere GmbH (Austria), Alere GmbH (Germany), Alere HK Holdings Ltd., Alere Health B.V., Alere Health BVBA, Alere Health Corp., Alere Health Sdn Bhd, Alere Health Services B.V., Alere Healthcare (Pty) Limited, Alere Healthcare Connections Limited, Alere Healthcare Inc., Alere Healthcare Nigeria Limited, Alere Healthcare S.L., Alere Holdco Inc., Alere Holding GmbH, Alere Holdings Bermuda Limited, Alere Holdings Pty Limited, Alere Home Monitoring Inc., Alere Inc., Alere Informatics Inc., Alere International Holding Corp., Alere International Limited, Alere Lda, Alere Limited, Alere Limited (New Zealand), Alere Medical BVBA, Alere Medical Co. Ltd., Alere Medical Pakistan (Private) Limited, Alere Medical Private Limited, Alere North America LLC, Alere Oy Ab, Alere Philippines Inc., Alere Phoenix ACQ Inc., Alere Pte Ltd, Alere S.A., Alere S.r.l., Alere S/A, Alere SAS, Alere San Diego Inc., Alere Scarborough Inc., Alere Spain S.L., Alere Switzerland GmbH, Alere Technologies GmbH, Alere Technologies Holdings Limited, Alere Technologies Limited, Alere Toxicology AB, Alere Toxicology Inc., Alere Toxicology S.r.l., Alere Toxicology Services Inc., Alere Toxicology plc, Alere UK Holdings Limited, Alere UK Subco Limited, Alere ULC, Alere US Holdings LLC, Alere s.r.o., Alisoc Investment & Co, Amedica Biotech Inc., Ameditech Inc., American Generics S.A.S., American Medical Supplies Inc., American Pharmacist Inc., Antares S.A., Apica Cardiovascular Limited, Aquagestion Capacitacion S.A., Aquagestion S.A., Arriva Medical LLC, Arriva Medical Philippines Inc., Arvis Investments Limited, Atlas Farmaceutica S.A., Avee Laboratories Inc., Axis-Shield AD III AS, Axis-Shield AD IV AS, Axis-Shield AS, Axis-Shield Diagnostics Limited, Axis-Shield Ltd., BBI Animal Health Limited, BBI Diagnostics Group 2 Public Limited Company, Banco de Vida S.A., Bioabsorbable Vascular Solutions Inc., Bioalgae S.A., Biohealth LLC, Biosite Incorporated, Bosque Bonito S.A., Branan Medical Corporation, Brandex Europe C.V., British Colloids Limited, CFR Chile S.A., CFR Interamericas EL Salvador Sociedad Anonima de Capital Variable, CFR Interamericas Nicaragua Sociedad Anonima, CFR Interamericas Panama S.A., CFR Pharmaceuticals, California Property Holdings III LLC, CardioMEMS LLC, Caripharm Inc., Cephea Valve Technologies, Cephea Valve Technologies Inc., Colibri Medical Aktiebolag, Comercializadora y Distribuidora CFR Interamericas Honduras S.A., Concateno South Limited, Concateno UK Limited, Consorcio Tecnologico en Biomedicina Clinico-Molecular S.A., Continuum Services LLC, Cozart Limited, Dextech S.A., Diagnostik Nord GmbH, Distribuciones Uquifa S.A.S., Domesco Medical Import-Export Joint-Stock Corporation, Duphar International Research B.V., Endocardial Solutions, Epocal (US) Inc, Esprit de Vie S.A., European Chemicals & Co, European Drug Testing Service EDTS AB, European Services S.A., Evalve Inc., Evalve International Inc., FARMINDUSTRIA S.A., Fada Pharma Paraguay Sociedad Anonima, Fadapharma del Ecuador S.A., Farmaceutica Mont Blanc S.L., Farmacologia Em Aquicultura Veterinaria Ltda., Farmacologia en Aquacultura Veterinaria FAV Ecuador S.A., Farmacologia en Aquacultura Veterinaria FAV S.A., Fernwood Investment S.A., First Check Diagnostics LLC, Focus Pharmaceutical S.A.S., Forensics Limited, Forestcreek Overseas S.A., Fournier Pharma Corp., Fournier Pharma GmbH, Fournier Pharmaceuticals Limited, Framed B.V., Gabmed GmbH, Garden Hills LLC, Global Analytical Development LLC, Globapharm & CO LP, Glomed Pharmaceutical Company Limited, Golnorth Investments S.A., Gynocare Limited, Gynopharm Sociedad Anonima, Gynopharm de Centroamerica S.A., Gynopharm de Venezuela C.A., Hi-Tronics Designs Inc., IDEV Technologies Inc., IG Innovations Limited, IMTC Finance B.V., IMTC Holdings B.V., IMTC Technologies Inc., Ibis Biosciences LLC, Igloo Zone Chile S.A., Igloo Zone S.L., Inmobiliaria Naknek S.A.C., Innovacon Inc., Instant Tech Subsidiary Acquisition Inc., Instant Technologies Inc., Instituto de Criopreservacion de Chile S.A., Integrated Vascular Systems Inc., Inverness Canadian Acquisition Corporation, Inverness Medical (Beijing) Co. Ltd., Inverness Medical Innovations Australia Pty Ltd., Inverness Medical Innovations Hong Kong Limited, Inverness Medical Innovations SK LLC, Inverness Medical Investments LLC, Inverness Medical LLC, Inverness Medical Shimla Private Limited, Inversiones K2 SpA, Inversiones Komodo S.R.L., Ionian Technologies LLC, Irvine Biomedical Inc., Kalila Medical, Kangshenyunga S.A., Knoll UK Investments Unlimited, LLC VeroInPharm, Laboratoires Fournier S.A.S., Laboratorio Franco Colombiano Lafrancol S.A.S., Laboratorio Franco Colombiano del Ecuador S.A., Laboratorio Internacional Argentino S.A., Laboratorio Synthesis S.A.S., Laboratorios Lafi Limitada, Laboratorios Naturmedik S.A.S., Laboratorios Pauly Pharmaceutical S.A.S., Laboratorios Recalcine S.A., Laboratorios Transpharm S.A., Laboratory Specialists of America Inc., Lafrancol Dominicana S.A.S., Lafrancol Guatemala S.A. Sociedad Anonima, Lafrancol Internacional S.A.S, Lafrancol Peru S.R.L, Lake Forest Investments LLC, Lightlab Imaging Inc., Limited Liability Company Abbott Laboratories, Limited Liability Company Abbott Ukraine, Limited Liability Company VEROPHARM, Lung Fung Hong (China) Limited, Mansbridge Pharmaceuticals Limited, MediGuide LLC, MediGuide Ltd., Medscreen Holdings Limited, Metropolitana Farmaceutica S.A., Midwest Properties LLC, Murex Argentina S.A., Murex Biotech Limited, Murex Biotech South Africa, Murex Diagnostics Inc., Murex Diagnostics International Inc., Natural Supplement Association LLC, Negocios Denia Sociedad Anonima, Neosalud S.A.C., Nether Pharma N.P. C.V., NeuroTherm LLC, Normann Pharma-Handels GmbH, North Shore Properties Inc., Novamedi S.A., Novasalud.com S.A., Nutravida S.A., OJSC Voronezhkhimpharm, Omnilab Iberia Sociedad Limitada, OptiMedica, Orgenics France SAS, Orgenics International Holdings B.V., Orgenics Ltd., PBM-Selfcare LLC, PDD II LLC, PDD LLC, PT Alere Health, PT. Abbott Indonesia, PT. Abbott Products Indonesia, Pacesetter Inc., Pantech (RF) (PTY) LTD, Pembrooke Occupational Health Inc., Penagos S.A., Pharma International Sociedad Anonima, Pharmaceutical Technologies (Pharmatech) S.A., Pharmatech Boliviana S.A., Polygon Labs S.A., Quality Assured Services Inc., RF Medical Holdings LLC, RTL Holdings Inc., Ramses Business Corp., Recben Xenerics Farmaceutica Limitada, Redwood Toxicology Laboratory Inc., Rich Horizons International Limited, SC VEROPHARM, SJ Medical Mexico S de R.L. de C.V., SJM International Inc., SJM Thunder Holding Company, SPDH Inc., Saboya Enterprises Corporation, Salviac Limited, Scanax AS, Sealing Solutions Inc., Selfcare Technology Inc., Shandong Abbott Dairy Product Co. Ltd., Shanghai Abbott Medical Devices Science and Technology Co. Ltd., Shanghai Abbott Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., Shanghai Si Fa Pharmaceutical Company Limited, Sinensix & Co., Spinal Modulation LLC, St. Jude Medical, St. Jude Medical AB, St. Jude Medical ATG Inc., St. Jude Medical Argentina S.A., St. Jude Medical Asia Pacific Holdings GK, St. Jude Medical Atrial Fibrillation Division Inc., St. Jude Medical Brasil Ltda., St. Jude Medical Business Services Inc., St. Jude Medical Cardiology Division Inc., St. Jude Medical Colombia Ltda., St. Jude Medical Coordination Center, St. Jude Medical Costa Rica Limitada, St. Jude Medical Europe Inc., St. Jude Medical Export Ges.m.b.H., St. Jude Medical GVA Sarl, St. Jude Medical Holdings B.V., St. Jude Medical India Private Limited, St. Jude Medical International Holding, St. Jude Medical LLC, St. Jude Medical Luxembourg, St. Jude Medical Luxembourg Holdings II, St. Jude Medical Luxembourg Holdings NT, St. Jude Medical Luxembourg Holdings SMI S.a r.l., St. Jude Medical Luxembourg Holdings TC S.a r.l., St. Jude Medical Mexico Business Services S. de R.L. de C.V., St. Jude Medical Middle East DMCC, St. Jude Medical Operations (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd., St. Jude Medical Puerto Rico LLC, St. Jude Medical S.C. Inc., St. Jude Medical Systems AB, St. Jude Medical Turkey Medikal Urunler Ticaret Limited Sirketi, Standard Diagnostics Inc., Standing Stone LLC, Swan-Myers Incorporated, TC1 LLC, Tendyne Holdings Inc., Tendyne Medical Inc., Thoratec Delaware LLC, Thoratec Europe Limited, Thoratec LLC, Thoratec Switzerland GmbH, Tobal Products Incorporated, Topera GmbH in Liquidation, Topera Inc., Tremora S.A., Tuenir S.A., TwistDx, UAB Abbott Laboratories, UAB Abbott Medical Lithuania, Union-Madison Realty Company Inc., Unipath Limited (dba Alere International/aka Cranfield), Unipath Management Limited, Unipath Pension Trustee Limited, Veropharm, Veropharm Limited Liability Partnership, Vida Cell Inversiones S.A., Vida Cell S.A., Vivalsol, W&R Pharma Handels GmbH, Western Pharmaceuticals S.A., X Technologies Inc., Yissum Holding Limited, ZonePerfect Nutrition Company, eScreen Canada ULC, eScreen Inc., ( ), and Abbott Laboratories Baltics. The following companies are subsidiares of Humana: 154th Street Medical Plaza, 516-526 West Main Street Condominium Council of Co-Owners, 54th Street Medical Plaza, American Eldercare, American Eldercare of North Florida, Anvita Health, Arcadian Health Plan, Arcadian Management Services, Atlantis Physician Group, CAC Medical Center Holdings, CAC-Florida Medical Centers, CDO 1, CDO 2, CHA HMO, CHA Service Company, Care Partners Home Care, CareNetwork, CarePlus Health, CarePlus Health Plans, Cariten Health Plan Inc., Certify Data Systems, CompBenefits, CompBenefits Company, CompBenefits Corporation, CompBenefits Dental, CompBenefits Direct, CompBenefits Insurance Company, Complex Clinical Management, Concentra Managed Care, Continucare Corporation, Continucare MDHC, Continucare MSO, Continucare Medical Management, Dental Care Plus Management, DentiCare, Emphesys, Emphesys Insurance Company, Enclara Healthcare, FPG, FPG Acquisition Corp., FPG Acquisition Holdings Corp., FPG Senior Services, Family Physicians of Winter Park, Go365, HUM Provider Holdings, HUM-e-FL, Harris Rothenberg International, Health Value Management, Humana Active Outlook, Humana At Home (Dallas), Humana At Home (Houston), Humana At Home (San Antonio), Humana At Home (TLC), Humana At Home 1, Humana Behavioral Health, Humana Benefit Plan of Illinois, Humana Dental Company, Humana Digital Health and Analytics Platform Services, Humana EAP and Work-Life Services of California, Humana Employers Health Plan of Georgia, Humana Government Business, Humana Health Benefit Plan of Louisiana, Humana Health Company of New York, Humana Health Insurance Company of Florida, Humana Health Plan, Humana Health Plan of California, Humana Health Plan of Ohio, Humana Health Plan of Texas, Humana Health Plans of Puerto Rico, Humana Healthcare Research, Humana Inc., Humana Innovation Enterprises, Humana Insurance Company, Humana Insurance Company of Kentucky, Humana Insurance Company of New York, Humana Insurance of Puerto Rico, Humana Management Services of Puerto Rico, Humana MarketPOINT, Humana MarketPOINT of Puerto Rico, Humana Medical Plan, Humana Medical Plan of Michigan, Humana Medical Plan of Pennsylvania, Humana Medical Plan of Utah, Humana Pharmacy, Humana Pharmacy Solutions, Humana Regional Health Plan, Humana Veterans Healthcare Services, Humana WellWorks LLC, Humana Wisconsin Health Organization Insurance Corporation, Humana at Home, HumanaDental, HumanaDental Insurance Company, Humco, Hummingbird Coaching Systems LLC, Independent Care Health Plan, KMG America, Kindred Healthcare, MCCI Group Holdings, MCCI Holdings, MCCI Medical Group, MCCI Specialty, MCCI/Lifetime of Aventura, MD Care, METCARE of Florida, Managed Care Indemnity, Medical Care Consortium Incorporated of Texas, MetCare, Metropolitan Health Networks, Naples Health Care Specialists, North Region Providers, Nursing Solutions, OSF HealthCare, PHP Companies, Partners in Integrated Care, Preferred Health Partnership, Preservation on Main, Primary Care Holdings, Primary Care Holdings II, Primary Care Specialists of the Palm Beaches, RMA Medical Centers of Florida, RMA Medical Group of Florida, ROHC, SeniorBridge, SeniorBridge Family Companies (CT), SeniorBridge Family Companies (FL), SeniorBridge Family Companies (IN), SeniorBridge Family Companies (MO), SeniorBridge Family Companies (NY), SeniorBridge-Florida, Texas Dental Plans, The Dental Concern, Transcend Population Health Management, and Transcend Population Health Management II. Imperial Brands PLC, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures, imports, markets, and sells tobacco and tobacco-related products. It offers a range of cigarettes, fine cut and smokeless tobacco, papers, and cigars; and next generation product (NGP) portfolio, such as e-vapour products, as well as oral nicotine and heated tobacco products. The company sells its products under various brands, including Davidoff, Gauloises, JPS, West, L&B, Bastos, Fine, Winston, News, Parker & Simpson, blu, Kool, Horizon, Jade, Cohiba, Montecristo, Romeo Y Julieta, Backwoods, Skruf, Golden Virginia, Rizla, and Knox in approximately 160 countries worldwide. It also provides logistics services that include the distribution of tobacco and NGP products for tobacco and NGP product manufacturers; and various non-tobacco and NGP products and services. In addition, the company is involved in the management of a golf course; marketing of papers; restaurant business; distribution of pharmaceuticals, POS software, and published materials and other products; printing and publishing activities; and provision of long haul transportation, industrial parcel and express delivery, advertising, and support management services. Further, it owns the trademarks; and retails its products. The company was formerly known as Imperial Tobacco Group PLC and changed its name to Imperial Brands PLC in February 2016. Imperial Brands PLC was founded in 1901 and is headquartered in Bristol, the United Kingdom. Read More KB Financial Group, Inc. engages in providing financial services through its subsidiaries. It operates through the following segments: Corporate Banking, Retail Banking, Other Banking Services, Credit Card, Life Insurance, Investment and Securities business. The Corporate Banking business segment provides services such as loans, overdrafts, deposits, credit facilities and other foreign currency activities. The Retail Banking business segment offers services such as private customer current accounts, savings, deposits, consumer loans and mortgage loans. The Other Banking business segment provides services relating to banking business besides corporate banking and retail banking services. The Credit Card business segment offers services such as domestic as well as overseas credit and debit card operations. The Investment and Securities business segment provides services such as investment banking and brokerage. The Life Insurance business segment provides products such as life insurance and wealth management. The company was founded on September 29, 2008 and is headquartered in Seoul, South Korea. Read More The following companies are subsidiares of Franklin Resources: AdvisorEngine, AdvisorEngine Inc., Alumcreek Holdings LLC, Athena Capital Advisors, Balanced Equity Management, Balanced Equity Management Pty. Limited, Benefit Street Partners, Bissett & Associates Investment Management, Brandywine Global Investment Management Europe Limited, CCPF GP Holdco No.2 Limited, CCPF No.2 (GP) Limited, CCPF No.2 LP, CP Industrial Management LLC, CP Intermediate Holdco Inc., CRM Software LLC, Clarion Gramercy (Deutschland) GmbH, Clarion Gramercy (UK) Limited, Clarion Gramercy Limited, Clarion Partners Europe Ltd., Clarion Partners Holdings LLC, Clarion Partners LLC, Clarion Partners Securities LLC, Clarion REIM South America Holdings LLC, Clarion REIM South America Invsetimentos Imobiliarios Ltda, ClearBridge RARE Infrastructure (North America) Pty Limited, ClearBridge RARE Infrastructure International Pty Limited, Darby - Hana Infrastructure Fund Management Co. Ltd., Edinburgh Partners, FT FinTech Holdings LLC, FT Opportunistic Distressed Fund Ltd., FTC Investor Services Inc., FTCI (Cayman) Ltd., FTPE Advisers LLC, Fiduciary International Holding Inc., Fiduciary Investment Management International Inc., Fiduciary Trust (International) Sarl, Fiduciary Trust Company International, Fiduciary Trust Company International of Pennsylvania, Fiduciary Trust Company of Canada, Fiduciary Trust International LLC, Fiduciary Trust International of California, Fiduciary Trust International of Delaware, Fiduciary Trust International of the South, Franklin Advisers GP LLC, Franklin Advisers Inc., Franklin Advisory Services LLC, Franklin Marketplace Loan GP LLC, Franklin Mutual Advisers LLC, Franklin SystematiQ Advisers LLC, Franklin Templeton Alternative Investments (India) Private Limited, Franklin Templeton Asset Management (India) Private Limited, Franklin Templeton Asset Management (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd., Franklin Templeton Asset Management Mexico S.A. de C.V. Sociedad Operadora de Fondos de Inversion, Franklin Templeton Austria GmbH, Franklin Templeton Capital Holdings Private Limited, Franklin Templeton Chile SpA. V., Franklin Templeton Companies LLC, Franklin Templeton Digital Advisory Services GmbH, Franklin Templeton Fund Management Limited, Franklin Templeton GSC Asset Management Sdn. Bhd., Franklin Templeton Global Investors Limited, Franklin Templeton Holding Limited, Franklin Templeton International Services (India) Private Limited, Franklin Templeton International Services S.a r.l., Franklin Templeton Investment Management (Shanghai) Limited, Franklin Templeton Investment Management Limited, Franklin Templeton Investment Services GmbH, Franklin Templeton Investment Services Mexico S. de R.L., Franklin Templeton Investment Trust Management Co. Ltd., Franklin Templeton Investments (Asia) Limited, Franklin Templeton Investments (ME) Limited, Franklin Templeton Investments Australia Limited, Franklin Templeton Investments Corp., Franklin Templeton Investments Japan Limited, Franklin Templeton Investments Poland sp. z o.o., Franklin Templeton Investments South Africa (Pty) Ltd, Franklin Templeton Investor Services LLC, Franklin Templeton Investimentos (Brasil) Ltda., Franklin Templeton Luxembourg S.A., Franklin Templeton Magyarorszag Kft., Franklin Templeton Management Luxembourg S.A., Franklin Templeton Overseas Investment Fund Management (Shanghai) Co. Limited, Franklin Templeton Private Equity LLC, Franklin Templeton Services (India) Private Limited, Franklin Templeton Services LLC, Franklin Templeton Servicios de Asesoria Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Franklin Templeton Slovakia s.r.o., Franklin Templeton Social Infrastructure GP S.a r.l., Franklin Templeton Strategic Investments Ltd., Franklin Templeton Switzerland Ltd., Franklin Templeton Trustee Services Private Limited, Franklin Templeton Turkey Advisory Services A.S., Franklin Templeton Uruguay S.A., Franklin Venture Partners (Talos Cayman GP) LLC, Franklin Venture Partners LLC, Franklin/Templeton Distributors Inc., ITI Capital Markets Limited, K2 Advisors, LM (BVI) Limited, LM Holdings 2 Limited, LM Holdings Limited, LM International Holding LP, Legg Mason & Co (UK) Limited, Legg Mason & Co. LLC, Legg Mason (Chile) Inversiones Holdings Limitada, Legg Mason Asset Management Australia Limited, Legg Mason Asset Management Hong Kong Limited, Legg Mason Asset Management Singapore Pte. Limited, Legg Mason Australia Holdings Pty Limited, Legg Mason Holding (Switzerland) GmbH, Legg Mason Inc., Legg Mason Investment Funds Limited, Legg Mason Investments (Europe) Limited, Legg Mason Investments (Switzerland) GmbH, Legg Mason Overseas Investment Fund Management (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Legg Mason Partners Fund Advisor LLC, Legg Mason Royce Holdings LLC, Onsa Inc., RARE IP Trust, RARE Infrastructure Limited, REDROSE Caesar S.a r.l., Random Forest Capital, Random Forest Capital LLC, Rensburg Sheppards plc, Riva Financial Systems Limited, Royce & Associates GP LLC, Royce & Associates LP, Royce Fund Services LLC, Royce Management Company LLC, TSEMF III (Jersey) Limited, TSEMF IV (Jersey) Limited, Templeton Asset Management (Labuan) Limited, Templeton Asset Management (Poland) TFI S.A., Templeton Asset Management Ltd., Templeton Global Advisors Limited, Templeton Global Holdings Ltd., Templeton International Inc., Templeton Investment Counsel LLC, Templeton Restructured Investments III Ltd., Templeton Restructured Investments IV Ltd., Templeton Restructured Investments L.L.C., Templeton Turkey Fund GP Ltd., Templeton Worldwide Inc., Templeton do Brasil Ltda., Templeton/Franklin Investment Services Inc., WHITEROSE Caesar S.a r.l., Western Asset Holdings (Australia) Pty Ltd, Western Asset Management (Brazil) Holdings Limitada, Western Asset Management (Cayman) Holdings Limited, Western Asset Management Company Distribuidora de Titulos e Valores Mobiliarios Limitada, Western Asset Management Company LLC, Western Asset Management Company Limited, Western Asset Management Company Pte Ltd., Western Asset Management Company Pty Ltd, and Winfield & Company. The Boeing Co. is an aerospace company, which engages in the manufacture of commercial jetliners and defense, space and security systems. It operates through the following segments: Commercial Airplanes; Defense, Space and Security; Global Services; and Boeing Capital. The Commercial Airplanes segment includes the development, production, and market of commercial jet aircraft and provides fleet support services, principally to the commercial airline industry worldwide. The Defense, Space and Security segment refers to the research, development, production and modification of manned and unmanned military aircraft and weapons systems for global strike, including fighter and combat rotorcraft aircraft and missile systems; global mobility, including tanker, rotorcraft and tilt-rotor aircraft; and airborne surveillance and reconnaissance, including command and control, battle management and airborne anti-submarine aircraft. The Global Services segment provides services to commercial and defense customers. The Boeing Capital segment seeks to ensure that Boeing customers have the financing they need to buy and take delivery of their Boeing product and manages overall financing exposure. T Read More The following companies are subsidiares of Emerson Electric: A.P.M. Automation Solutions Ltd., AE Valves, AGI Mexicana S.A. de C.V., ALCO CONTROLS spol. s.r.o., APM Automation Solutions, ASC Investments Inc., ASCO (Japan) Company Limited, ASCO L.P., ASCO Numatics (India) Private Limited, ASCO Numatics Holding Inc., ASCO SAS, ASCO Valve (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., ASCO/JOUCOMATIC s.r.o., ATX SAS, Advanced Protection Technologies, Aegir Norge Holding AS, Alliance Compressors LLC, American Governor, Aperture, Apple JV Holding Corp., Appleton Electric LLC, Appleton Electric S.A. de C.V., Appleton Group, Appleton Group Canada Ltd., Appleton Grp LLC, Appleton Holding Corp., Appleton Holding Sarl, Artesyn Embedded Technologies, Artesyn Hungary Elektronikai Kft., Artesyn Technologies, Asco AB, Asco Controls AG, Asco Controls B.V., Asco Joucomatic Ltd., Asco Joucomatic ZA B.V., Asco Magnesszelep Kft., Asco Numatics GmbH, Asco Numatics S.A., Asco Numatics Sirai S.R.L., Asco Numatics Sp. z o.o., Ascomatica S.A. de C.V., Ascomation (NZ) Ltd., Ascomation Pty. Ltd., Ascotech S.A. de C.V., Ascoval Industria e Commercio Ltda, Automatic Switch Company, Aventics, Aventics, Aventics AB, Aventics AG, Aventics AS, Aventics ApS, Aventics B.V., Aventics Corporation, Aventics Holding S.A.S., Aventics Holding S.a.r.l., Aventics Hungary Kft, Aventics Inc., Aventics India Private Limited, Aventics Limited, Aventics Ltd., Aventics Oy, Aventics Pneumatics Equipment (Changzhou) Co. Ltd., Aventics Pneumatics Trading (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Aventics S.A.S., Aventics S.R.L., Aventics Services Germany GmbH, Aventics Singapore Pte. Ltd., Aventics Sp. z.o.o., Aventics Spain S.L., Aventics spol. s.r.o., Avtron LoadBank, Bannerscientific Limited, Beckman Industrial B.V., Beijing Rosemount Far East Instrument Co. Ltd., Bettis Canada Ltd., Bettis Holdings Limited, Bettis UK Limited, Biffi Italia S.r.l., Bioproduction Group, Branson Korea Co. Ltd., Branson Ultrasonic S.A., Branson Ultrasonics (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Branson Ultrasonics B.V., Branson Ultrasonics Corporation, Branson Ultrasonics a.s., Branson Ultrasonidos S.A.E., Branson Ultrasons SAS, Branson Ultrasuoni S.R.L., Branson de Mexico S.A. de C.V., Bray Lectroheat Limited, Bristol Babcock Limited, Bristol Inc., Buehler Europe Limited, Buehler UK Limited, CR Compressors LLC, CSA Consulting Engineers Ltd., California Emerson LLC, Cascade Technologies, Cascade Technologies Holdings Limited, Cascade Technologies Limited, Chemat GmbH Armaturen fur Industrie - und Nuklearanlage, Chloride Koexa S.A., Componentes Avanzados de Mexico S.A. de C.V., Computational Systems, Computational Systems Incorporated, Conception et Representation de Technologies de Controle C.R.T. Controle SAS, Control Products Inc., Controles de Temperatura S.A. de C.V., Cooligy Inc., Cooper-Atkins, Cooper-Atkins Corporation, Cooper-Atkins Pte. Ltd., Copeland Access + Inc., Copeland Compresores Hermeticos S.A. de C.V., Copeland Corporation, Copeland Corporation LLC, Copeland Limited, Copeland Redevelopment Corporation, Copeland Scroll Compresores de Mexico S.A. de C.V., Copeland de Mexico S.A. de C.V., Copesub Inc., Crosby Valve LLC, Damcos A/S, Damcos Holding A/S, Daniel Automation Company, Daniel Europe Limited, Daniel Industrial Inc., Daniel Industries, Daniel Industries Canada Inc., Daniel Industries Inc., Daniel Industries Limited, Daniel International Limited, Daniel Measurement Solutions Private Limited, Daniel Measurement and Control Inc., Daniel Measurement and Control S. de R.L. de C.V., Danmasa S.A. de C.V., Dar Ibtikar Al Iraq for General Services and General Trade LLC, Decision Management International, Dieterich Standard Inc., Digital Appliance Controls (UK) Limited, Dixell North America Inc., Dixell S.R.L., Do+Able Products, E. Business Development E.B.D.Com Ltd., E.G.P. Corporation, EECO Inc., EGS Comercializadora Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., EGS Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., EGS Private Ltd., EMERSON CLIMATE TECHNOLOGIES s.r.o., EMR (Asia) Limited, EMR (Mauritius) Ltd., EMR Emerson Holdings (Switzerland) GmbH, EMR Europe Holdings Inc., EMR Foundation Inc., EMR Holdings (France) SAS, EMR Holdings Inc., EMR Worldwide B.V., EMR Worldwide Inc., EMRSN HLDG B.V., EMRSN Process Management Morocco Sarl, ENPDOR2012A Limited, ENPESNA Inc., EPM Tulsa Holdings Corp., EPMCO Holdings Inc., ETC International Holdings Ltd., Easy Heat Europe SAS, Easy Heat Inc., El-O-Matic B.V., El-O-Matic Valve Actuators (F.E.) Pte. Ltd., Electrische Apparatenfabriek Capax B.V., Emerald Advanced Technology Limited, Emerson (Philippines) Corporation, Emerson (Taiwan) Limited, Emerson (Thailand) Limited, Emerson Arabia Inc., Emerson Argentina S.A., Emerson Asia Pacific Private Limited, Emerson Automation Solutions Actuation Technologies Holdings Inc., Emerson Automation Solutions Actuation Technologies Limited, Emerson Automation Solutions Final Control (Beijing) Co. Ltd., Emerson Automation Solutions Final Control (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Emerson Automation Solutions Final Control (Sichuan) Co. Ltd., Emerson Automation Solutions Final Control (Taiwan) Ltd., Emerson Automation Solutions Final Control (Thailand) Ltd., Emerson Automation Solutions Final Control Africa (Pty) Ltd, Emerson Automation Solutions Final Control Australia Pty Limited, Emerson Automation Solutions Final Control Czech Republic s.r.o., Emerson Automation Solutions Final Control Denmark A/S, Emerson Automation Solutions Final Control France SARL, Emerson Automation Solutions Final Control Germany GmbH, Emerson Automation Solutions Final Control Hong Kong Limited, Emerson Automation Solutions Final Control Hungary Kft, Emerson Automation Solutions Final Control Italia S.r.l., Emerson Automation Solutions Final Control LLC, Emerson Automation Solutions Final Control Malaysia Sdn Bhd, Emerson Automation Solutions Final Control Middle East FZE, Emerson Automation Solutions Final Control Netherlands B.V., Emerson Automation Solutions Final Control Polska Sp. Z.o.o., Emerson Automation Solutions Final Control Sales Australia Pty Limited, Emerson Automation Solutions Final Control Sales Holding LLC, Emerson Automation Solutions Final Control Singapore Pte. Ltd., Emerson Automation Solutions Final Control South Africa (Pty) Ltd, Emerson Automation Solutions Final Control UK II Ltd, Emerson Automation Solutions Final Control UK Ltd, Emerson Automation Solutions Final Control US LP, Emerson Automation Solutions Final Control de Mexico S.A. de C.V., Emerson Automation Solutions GmbH, Emerson Automation Solutions Intelligent Platforms (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Emerson Automation Solutions Intelligent Platforms Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd., Emerson Automation Solutions Intelligent Platforms Private Limited, Emerson Automation Solutions Intelligent Platforms do Brasil Ltda, Emerson Automation Solutions Ireland Limited, Emerson Automation Solutions Isolation Valves Inc., Emerson Automation Solutions SSC UK Limited, Emerson Automation Solutions UK Limited, Emerson Beijing Instrument Co. Ltd., Emerson Climate Services LLC, Emerson Climate Technologies (India) Private Limited, Emerson Climate Technologies (Shenyang) Refrigeration Co. Ltd., Emerson Climate Technologies (South Africa) (Pty) Ltd, Emerson Climate Technologies (Suzhou) Co. Ltd., Emerson Climate Technologies (Suzhou) Trading Co. Ltd., Emerson Climate Technologies - Solutions (Suzhou) Co. Ltd., Emerson Climate Technologies - Transportation Solutions ApS, Emerson Climate Technologies Arabia Limited Co., Emerson Climate Technologies Australia Pty. Ltd., Emerson Climate Technologies FZE, Emerson Climate Technologies GmbH, Emerson Climate Technologies Inc., Emerson Climate Technologies Limited, Emerson Climate Technologies Mexico S.A. de C.V., Emerson Climate Technologies Refrigeration S.A., Emerson Climate Technologies Retail Solutions Europe S.R.L., Emerson Climate Technologies Retail Solutions Inc., Emerson Climate Technologies Retail Solutions UK Limited, Emerson Climate Technologies S.A., Emerson Climate Technologies S.R.L., Emerson Climate Technologies Sarl, Emerson Commercial & Residential Tools LLC, Emerson Commerical & Residential Asia Limited, Emerson Comres de Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Emerson DHC B.V., Emerson Dietzenbach GmbH, Emerson Dominicana Srl, Emerson Egypt LLC, Emerson Electric (Asia) Limited, Emerson Electric (China) Holdings Co. Ltd., Emerson Electric (M) Sdn Bhd, Emerson Electric (Mauritius) Ltd., Emerson Electric (South Asia) Pte. Ltd., Emerson Electric (Thailand) Limited, Emerson Electric (Tongling) Co. Ltd., Emerson Electric (U.S.) Holding Corporation, Emerson Electric (U.S.) Holding Corporation (Chile) Limitada, Emerson Electric (Zhuhai) Co. Ltd., Emerson Electric CR Limitada, Emerson Electric Canada Limited, Emerson Electric Company (India) Private Limited, Emerson Electric Company Lanka (Private) Limited, Emerson Electric Holdings (Switzerland) GmbH, Emerson Electric II C.A., Emerson Electric International Inc., Emerson Electric Ireland Limited, Emerson Electric Korea Ltd., Emerson Electric Nederland B.V., Emerson Electric Overseas Finance Corp., Emerson Electric Poland Sp. z o.o., Emerson Electric U.K. Limited, Emerson Electric de Mexico S.A. de C.V., Emerson Electric do Brasil Ltda, Emerson Energy Systems (UK) Limited, Emerson FZE, Emerson Final Control US Holding LLC, Emerson Finance LLC, Emerson Fusite Electric (Shenzhen) Co. Ltd., Emerson Gabon SARL, Emerson Hazardous Electrical Equipment (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Emerson Holding Company Limited, Emerson Holding Sweden AB, Emerson InSinkErator Appliance (Nanjing) Co. Ltd., Emerson Industrial Automation USA Inc., Emerson International Holding Company Limited, Emerson Japan Ltd., Emerson Junkang Enterprise (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Emerson Korea Limited, Emerson LLC, Emerson LLP, Emerson Machinery Equipment (Shenzhen) Co. Ltd., Emerson Mexico Finance S.A. de C.V. SOFOM ENR, Emerson Middle East Inc., Emerson Network Power DHC B.V., Emerson Paradigm Holding LLC, Emerson Process Management (India) Private Limited, Emerson Process Management (South Africa) (Proprietary) Ltd., Emerson Process Management (Tianjin) Valves Co. Ltd., Emerson Process Management (Vietnam) Co. Ltd., Emerson Process Management A/S (Denmark), Emerson Process Management AB, Emerson Process Management AG, Emerson Process Management AS, Emerson Process Management Angola Lda, Emerson Process Management Arabia Limited, Emerson Process Management Australia Pty Limited, Emerson Process Management B.V., Emerson Process Management Chennai Private Limited, Emerson Process Management Co. Ltd., Emerson Process Management Distribution Limited, Emerson Process Management Europe GmbH, Emerson Process Management Flow B.V., Emerson Process Management Flow Technologies Co. Ltd., Emerson Process Management GmbH & Co. OHG, Emerson Process Management Holding AG, Emerson Process Management Holding LLC, Emerson Process Management Kft., Emerson Process Management LLLP, Emerson Process Management Lda, Emerson Process Management Limited, Emerson Process Management Ltda, Emerson Process Management Magyarorszag Kft., Emerson Process Management Manufacturing (M) Sdn Bhd, Emerson Process Management Marine Solutions Korea Co. Ltd., Emerson Process Management Marine Solutions Singapore Pte. Ltd., Emerson Process Management Marine Systems (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Emerson Process Management NV, Emerson Process Management New Zealand Limited, Emerson Process Management Nigeria Limited, Emerson Process Management Oy, Emerson Process Management Power & Water Solutions (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Emerson Process Management Power & Water Solutions Inc., Emerson Process Management Power & Water Solutions India Private Limited, Emerson Process Management Qatar W.L.L., Emerson Process Management Regulator Technologies Inc., Emerson Process Management Regulator Technologies Tulsa LLC, Emerson Process Management Romania S.R.L., Emerson Process Management S.A., Emerson Process Management S.A. de C.V., Emerson Process Management S.L., Emerson Process Management S.R.L., Emerson Process Management SAS, Emerson Process Management Shared Services Limited, Emerson Process Management Sp. z o.o., Emerson Process Management Ticaret Limited Sirket, Emerson Process Management UAB, Emerson Process Management Valve Automation (M) Sdn Bhd, Emerson Process Management Valve Automation (Tianjin) Co. Ltd., Emerson Process Management Valve Automation Inc., Emerson Process Management Verwaltung GmbH, Emerson Process Management d.o.o., Emerson Process Management de Colombia SAS, Emerson Process Management del Peru S.A.C., Emerson Process Management s.r.o., Emerson Professional Tools (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Emerson Puerto Rico Inc., Emerson Retail Services Europe GmbH, Emerson S.R.L., Emerson Sales UK Limited, Emerson Saudi Arabia LLC, Emerson Scroll Machining (Thailand) Limited, Emerson Sice S.R.L., Emerson Sweden AB, Emerson TOV, Emerson Technologies GmbH & Co. OHG, Emerson Technologies Verwaltungs GmbH, Emerson Tool Company de Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Emerson Tool and Appliance Company S. de R.L. de C.V., Emerson Trading (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Emerson UK Trustees Limited, Emerson USD Finance Company Limited, Emerson Valves & Controls Japan Co. Ltd., Emerson Ventures Inc., Emerson Vulcan Holding LLC, Emerson Xi'an Engineering Center, Emersub 1 LLC, Emersub 10 LLC, Emersub 11 LLC, Emersub 12 LLC, Emersub 14 LLC, Emersub 15 LLC, Emersub 16 LLC, Emersub 3 LLC, Emersub 4 LLC, Emersub 5 LLC, Emersub 7 LLC, Emersub 8 LLC, Emersub 9 LLC, Emersub CII Inc., Emersub CV Inc., Emersub Italia S.R.L., Emersub LXXXIV Inc., Emersub LXXXVI Inc., Emersub Mexico Inc., Emersub Treasury Ireland Unlimited Company, Emersub XLVI Inc., Emersub XXXVI Inc., Emirates Techno Casting FZE, Emirates Techno Casting Holding Limited, Emirates Techno Casting LLC, Enardo, Endura-Greenlee Tools, Energy Solutions International (India) Private Limited, Energy Solutions International GP LLC, Energy Solutions International Ltd., Energy Solutions International SAS, Energy Solutions International Sub LLC, F-R Tecnologias de Flujo S.A. de C.V., FC QSF LLC, FMC Technologies, Fiberconn Assemblies Morocco Sarl, Fincor Holding LLC, Fire & Safety Group.Com Ltd., Fisher Controles de Mexico S.A. de C.V., Fisher Controls International LLC, Fisher Jeon Gas Equipment (Chengdu) Co. Ltd., Fisher Regulators (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Fisher Sanmar Limited, Fisher-Rosemount Systems Inc., Flow Control Holding GmbH & Co. KG, Flow Control Holding Verwaltungs GmbH, Flow Control US Holding Corporation, Francel SAS, Fromex S.A. de C.V., Fusite B.V., Fusite Corporation, Fusite Land Company, GSEG LLC, General Equipment and Manufacturing Company Inc., Generale de Robinetterie Industrielle et de Sytemes de Surete, GeoFields, GeoFields Inc., Greenex Ltd., Greenfield (UK) Limited, Greenlee, Greenlee Communications, Greenlee Tools Inc., Gulf Valve FZE, Gustav Klauke GmbH, H.T.E. Engineering Limited, HD Electric Company, HTE Engineering Services Limited, Hindle Cockburns Limited, Hiross India Private Limited, Hiter Industria e Comercia de Controles Termo-Hidraulicos Ltda., Humboldt Hermetic Motor Corp., Hytork International Ltd., I Solutions Inc., ICC Intelligent Platforms GmbH, ISE-MagTech, Industrial Controls Canada ULC, Industrial Group Metran JSC, Instrument & Valve Services Company, Intelligent Platforms LLC, Intellution, International Gas Distribution SA, Intrinsic Safety Equipment of Texas Inc., JCF Fluid Flow India Private Limited, JSC Metran-Export, Joucomatic S.A., K Controls Limited, Keystone Germany Holdings Corp., Keystone Valve (Korea) LLC, Keystone Valve (U.K.) Limited, Klauke, Klauke (Jiangsu) Electrical Connection Technology Co Ltd., Klauke France SARL, Klauke Handelsgesellschaft mbH, Klauke Iberia S.L., Klauke Polska Sp. z.o.o., Klauke Slovakia s.r.o., Klauke UK Ltd., Knurr, Liebert, Liebert Swindon Limited, Locus Solutions LLC, Locus Traxx Worldwide, Locus Traxx Worldwide Europe BVBA, MDC Technology Limited, MDC Technology Trustees Limited, METCO Services Limited, MYNAH Technologies, Management Resources Group Inc., Mecafrance (Deutschland) GmbH, Metallurgical Services Laboratories Limited, Metaserv Limited, Metco Services Venezuela C.A., Micro Motion Inc., Mobrey Group Limited, Motores Hermeticos del Sur S.A. de C.V., NetworkPower Ecuador S.A., Nippon Fisher Co. Ltd., Novel Environmental Technologies Ltd., Novel Extinguishing Agent Technology Ltd., Numatics Incorporated, Nutsteel DHC B.V., Nutsteel Industria Metalurgica Ltda, O.M.T. Officina Meccanica Tartarini S.r.l., Open Systems International, P I Components Corp., PT Emerson Solutions Indonesia, PT. Emerson Indonesia, PT. Paradigm Geophysical Indonesia, Pactrol Controls Limited, PakSense, PakSense Inc., Paradigm, Paradigm (UK) Holding Limited, Paradigm B.V., Paradigm France S.A., Paradigm Geophysical (India) Private Limited, Paradigm Geophysical (KL) Sdn. Bhd., Paradigm Geophysical (Nigeria) Limited, Paradigm Geophysical (U.K.) Limited, Paradigm Geophysical B.V., Paradigm Geophysical Corp., Paradigm Geophysical Italy SRL, Paradigm Geophysical LLC, Paradigm Geophysical Limited, Paradigm Geophysical Pty Ltd, Paradigm Geophysical S.A., Paradigm Geophysical Sdn. Bhd., Paradigm Geophysical Spain S.L., Paradigm Geophysical de Venezuela C.A., Paradigm Geophysical do Brasil Ltda., Paradigm Geoservices Canada Ltd., Paradigm Geotechnology (Egypt) S.A.E., Paradigm Kazakhstan LLP, Paradigm Middle East FZ-LLC, Paradigm Technology (Beijing) Co. Ltd., Parex Industries Limited, Pentair Valves & Controls, Pentair Valves and Controls India Private Limited, Permasense, Permasense Asia Pacific Sdn Bhd, Permasense Limited, ProSys, ProTeam Inc., Progea, RAC Technologies (Israel) Ltd., RIDGID Inc., RPP Europe GmbH, RPP LLC, Rey-Lam S. de R.L. de C.V., Ridge Tool (Australia) Pty. Ltd., Ridge Tool Company, Ridge Tool Europe NV, Ridge Tool GmbH, Ridge Tool GmbH & Co. OHG, Ridge Tool Manufacturing Company, Ridge Tool Pattern Company, Ridgid France SAS, Ridgid Italia S.R.L., Ridgid Online Inc., Ridgid Scandinavia A/S, Ridgid Werkzeuge AG, Rosemount China Inc., Rosemount Inc., Rosemount Measurement Limited, Rosemount Nuclear Instruments Inc., Rosemount Specialty Products LLC, Rosemount Tank Gauging India Pvt. Ltd., Rosemount Tank Gauging Middle East SPC, Rosemount Tank Gauging North America Inc., Rosemount Tank Radar AB, Rosemount Tank Radar Properties AB, Roxar, Roxar AS, Roxar Flow Measurement AS, Roxar Flow Measurement Sdn Bhd, Roxar Limited, Roxar Maximum Reservoir Performance W.L.L., Roxar Saudi Co., Roxar Services AS, Roxar Services OOO, Roxar Software Solutions AS, Roxar Technologies AS, Roxar Vietnam Company Ltd., Roxar de Venezuela C.A., Rutherfurd Acquisitions Limited, S.F.T. Group Ltd., SABO-Armaturen Service GmbH, Safety Systems UK Pte. Ltd., Sakhi-Raimondi Valve (India) Limited, Scroll Compressors LLC, Scroll Mexico LLC, Sempell GmbH, Shanghai Virgo Valves Technology Consulting Co. Ltd., Sherman + Reilly, Soluciones 0925 C.A., Spectra-Tek Holdings Limited, Spectra-Tek International Limited, Spectra-Tek UK Limited, Spectrex, Spectrex Inc., Spectronix Ltd., Spensall Engineering Limited, Steel Support Systems Limited, Stratos Lightwave, System Plast International B.V., System Plast Ltda, System Plast USA de Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., TDM-avtomatizatsiya, TV&C GP Holding LLC, Taiwan Valve Co. Ltd., TechnipFMC, Termocontroles de Juarez S.A. de C.V., Tescom Corporation, Tescom Europe GmbH & Co. KG, Tescom Europe Management GmbH, The Automation Group Inc., The J.R. Clarkson Company LLC, Therm-O-Disc Europe B.V., Therm-O-Disc Incorporated, Thunderline Z Inc., TopWorx UK Limited, Tranmet Holdings B.V., Tranmet Holdings Limited, Verdant Environmental Technologies, Vilter Manufacturing LLC, Virgo Valves & Controls (ME) FZE, Virgo Valves and Controls Sdn Bhd, Von Arx AG, Vulsub 1 Limited, Vulsub Brasil Holding, Vulsub Brasil Ltda., Vulsub Chile SpA, Vulsub Gulf Holding Limited, Vulsub Holding III (Denmark) ApS, Vulsub Holding Ltd, Vulsub Holdings A LLC, Vulsub Holdings B LLC, Vulsub Holdings C LLC, Vulsub Holdings D LLC, Vulsub Italia S.r.l., Vulsub Middle East Holdings LLC, Vulsub Peru S.A.C., Vulsub Property Holding LLC, Vulsub Property Limited, Vulsub S.A., Vulsub South Africa (Pty) Ltd, Vulsub VZ C.A., Westinghouse Electric Pvt. Limited, Westlock Controls Limited, Westlock Equipamentos de Controle Ltda., Woodstock Land Company LLC, epro GmbH, iSolera Inc., iSolutions Private Limited, and intelliSAW. Telstra Corporation Limited provides telecommunications and information services to businesses, governments, and individuals in Australia and internationally. It operates in four segments: Telstra Consumer and Small Business, Telstra Enterprise, Networks and IT, and Telstra InfraCo. The company offers telecommunication products, services, and solutions across mobiles, fixed and mobile broadband, telephony and Pay TV/IPTV, and digital content; and online self-service capabilities, as well as operates inbound and outbound call centers, owned and licensed Telstra shops, and the Telstra dealership network. It also provides sales and contract management; and product management services for data and Internet protocol networks, mobility services, and network applications and services products, such as managed network, unified communications, cloud, industry solutions, and integrated services and monitoring. In addition, the company engages in the development of industry vertical solutions; planning, design, engineering architecture, and construction of Telstra networks, technology, and information technology solutions; and delivering network technologies. Further, it provides telecommunication products and services through its networks and related support systems to other carriers, carriage service providers, and Internet service providers; access to fixed network infrastructure assets; disconnection services; and network services under the Infrastructure Services Agreement and commercial contracts, as well as holds fixed network infrastructure, including data centers, non-mobiles related domestic fiber, copper, HFC cable, international subsea cables, exchanges, poles, ducts, and pipes. The company was formerly known as Australian and Overseas Telecommunications Corporation Limited and changed its name to Telstra Corporation Limited in April 1993. Telstra Corporation Limited was founded in 1901 and is based in Melbourne, Australia. Read More The Bank of New York Mellon pays an annual dividend of $1.36 per share and currently has a dividend yield of 2.30%. The Bank of New York Mellon does not yet have a strong track record of dividend growth. The dividend payout ratio of The Bank of New York Mellon is 33.92%. This payout ratio is at a healthy, sustainable level, below 75%. Based on earnings estimates, The Bank of New York Mellon will have a dividend payout ratio of 29.44% next year. This indicates that The Bank of New York Mellon will be able to sustain or increase its dividend. View The Bank of New York Mellon's dividend history. The 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.. Gildan Activewear Inc. manufactures and sells various apparel products in the United States, Canada, and internationally. It provides various activewear products, including T-shirts, fleece tops and bottoms, and sport shirts under the Gildan, Gildan Performance, Gildan Hammer, Comfort Colors, American Apparel, Anvil by Gildan, Alstyle, Prim + Preux, and GoldToe brands. The company also offers hosiery products comprising athletic; dress; and casual, liner, therapeutic, and workwear socks, as well as sheer panty hoses, tights, and leggings under the brands of Gildan, Under Armour, GoldToe, PowerSox, GT a GoldToe Brand, Silver Toe, Signature Gold by Goldtoe, Peds, MediPeds, Kushyfoot, Therapy Plus, All Pro, Secret, Silks, Secret Silky, and American Apparel. In addition, it provides men's and boys' underwear products, and ladies panties under the Gildan and Gildan Platinum brand names; and ladies' shapewear, intimates, and accessories under the Secret and Secret Silky brands. The company sells its products to wholesale distributors, screen printers, or embellishers, as well as to retailers and consumer brand companies. The company was formerly known as Textiles Gildan Inc. and changed its name to Gildan Activewear Inc. in March 1995. Gildan Activewear Inc. was founded in 1946 and is headquartered in Montreal, Canada. Read More 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. First Data Corporation provides commerce enabled technology and solutions for merchants, financial institutions, and card issuers in the United States, Canada, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Latin America, and the Asia Pacific. The company operates through three segments: Global Business Solutions, Global Financial Solutions, and Network & Security Solutions. The Global Business Solutions segment provides solutions to merchants, such as retail point of sale merchant acquiring, e-commerce, and mobile payment services, as well as cloud based point of sale operating system that include a marketplace for proprietary and third party applications. The Global Finance Solutions segment provides technology solutions for bank and non-bank issuers, such as credit, retail private label, commercial card, and loan processing, as well as licensed financial software systems; suite of account services that include card personalization and embossing, customer communications, and professional services; and call center solutions and back office processing. The Network & Security Solutions segment offers EFT network, stored value network, and security and fraud solutions, as well as other value added solutions to its clients in GBS and GFS segments, smaller financial institutions, and other enterprise clients. First Data Corporation was founded in 1971 and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. Read More Hannover RAck SE, together with its subsidiaries, provides reinsurance products and services worldwide. It operates through Property & Casualty Reinsurance, and Life & Health Reinsurance segments. The Property & Casualty Reinsurance segment offers specialty lines comprising marine, aviation, facultative and direct business, credit, surety, and political risks reinsurance products; and treaty, catastrophe XL, and structured reinsurance, as well as insurance-linked securities. This segment also provides risk solutions for agricultural, livestock, and bloodstock businesses; aviation and space business; and marine and offshore energy business. The Life & Health Reinsurance segment offers group and individual credit life, enhanced annuities, group life and health, and Sharia-compliant Takaful reinsurance products. This segment also provides risk solutions in the areas of critical illness, disability, health, longevity, long term care, and mortality and morbidity, as well as underwriting services. In addition, it offers various financial solutions, including new-business financing; monetization of embedded value; reserve and solvency relief; and divestiture of non-core businesses. The company was formerly known as Hannover RAckversicherung AG and changed its name to Hannover RAck SE in March 2013. The company was founded in 1966 and is headquartered in Hanover, Germany. Hannover RAck SE is a subsidiary of Talanx AG. Read More The Hershey Co. engages in the manufacture and market of chocolate and sugar confectionery products. The firm operates through the following geographical segments: North America; and International and Other. The North America segment is responsible for the traditional chocolate and non-chocolate confectionery market position of the company, as well as its grocery and snacks market positions, in the United States and Canada. The International and Other segment is the combination of all other operating segments which are not individually material, including those geographic regions where the company operates outside of North America. Its brands include Hershey's, Reese's, and Kisses. The company was founded by Milton S. Hershey in 1894 and is headquartered in Hershey, PA. Read More Ibstock plc manufactures and sells clay and concrete building products and solutions primarily in the United Kingdom. Its principal products include clay bricks, brick components, concrete roof tiles, concrete stone masonry substitutes, concrete fencing, pre-stressed concrete, and concrete rail products. The company provides facing bricks, walling stones, architectural masonry products, cast stones, facade systems, and retaining walls, as well as lintels, sills, and arches; and cladding solutions; roof tiles, chimneys, soffits, and roofing accessories; and fencings, caps and copings, bollards, balustrades, path edgings, and urban landscaping products. It also offers floor beams, door steps, gully surrounds, screed rails, insulated floorings, and hollowcore products; and rail and infrastructure products, such as troughing, cable theft protection, boards, blocks, bases, catchpits, and inspection chambers. In addition, the company offers engraving, cutting, and bonding services; floor beam and block design, supply, and fitting solutions; bespoke concrete products; and staircases and lift shafts services. Its products are used in new build housing; repair, maintenance, and improvement; and infrastructure markets. The company sells its products under the Forticrete, Supreme, Anderton, and Longley brands to customers in the construction industry. Ibstock plc was founded in 1825 and is headquartered in Ibstock, the United Kingdom. Read More If you are currently a print subscriber but don't have an online account, select this option. You will need to use your 7 digit subscriber account number (with leading zeros) and your last name (in UPPERCASE). American Consumer News, LLC dba MarketBeat 2010-2021. All rights reserved. 326 E 8th St #105, Sioux Falls, SD 57103 | U.S. Based Support Team at contact@marketbeat.com | (844) 978-6257 MarketBeat does not provide personalized financial advice and does not issue recommendations or offers to buy stock or sell any security. Our Accessibility Statement | Terms of Service | Do Not Sell My Information 2021 Market data provided is at least 10-minutes delayed and hosted by Barchart Solutions. Information is provided 'as-is' and solely for informational purposes, not for trading purposes or advice, and is delayed. To see all exchange delays and terms of use please see disclaimer. Fundamental company data provided by Zacks Investment Research. 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. KAZ Minerals PLC, together with its subsidiaries, engages in mining and processing copper and other metals primarily in Kazakhstan, Russia, and Kyrgyzstan. It operates through Bozshakol, Aktogay, East Region and Bozymchak, and Mining Projects segments. The company operates the Aktogay and Bozshakol open pit copper mines in the east region and Pavlodar region of Kazakhstan; three underground mines in the east region of Kazakhstan; and the Bozymchak copper-gold mine in Kyrgyzstan. It also develops greenfield metal deposits; operates Koksay deposit in Kazakhstan, and the Baimskaya licence area in the Chukotka region of Russia; and produces and sells various by-products, such as gold, silver, molybdenum, and zinc. In addition, the company supplies and distributes heat, water, and electricity; and offers construction, project management, financing, management, sales and logistics, and repairs and maintenance services. The company was formerly known as Kazakhmys PLC and changed its name to KAZ Minerals PLC in October 2014. KAZ Minerals PLC was founded in 1930 and is based in London, the United Kingdom. Read More The following companies are subsidiares of Bristol-Myers Squibb: 1096271 B.C. ULC, 345 Park LLC, A.G. Medical Services P.A., AHI Investment LLC, AbVitro LLC, Abraxis BioScience Australia Pty Ltd., Abraxis BioScience Inc., Abraxis BioScience International Holding Company Inc., Abraxis BioScience LLC, Abraxis BioScience Puerto Rico LLC, Acetylon Pharmaceuticals Inc., Adnexus, Adnexus a Bristol-Myers Squibb R&D Company, Allard Labs Acquisition G.P., Amira Pharmaceuticals, Amira Pharmaceuticals Inc., Amylin Pharmaceuticals, Apothecon LLC, B-MS Generx Unlimited Company, BMS Benelux Holdings B.V., BMS Bermuda Nominees L.L.C., BMS Data Acquisition Company LLC, BMS Forex Company, BMS Holdings Sarl, BMS Holdings Spain S.L., BMS International Insurance Designated Activity Company, BMS Investco SAS, BMS Korea Holdings L.L.C., BMS Latin American Nominees L.L.C., BMS Luxembourg Partners L.L.C., BMS Omega Bermuda Holdings Finance Ltd., BMS Pharmaceutical Korea Limited, BMS Pharmaceuticals Germany Holdings B.V., BMS Pharmaceuticals International Holdings Netherlands B.V., BMS Pharmaceuticals Korea Holdings B.V., BMS Pharmaceuticals Mexico Holdings B.V., BMS Pharmaceuticals Netherlands Holdings B.V., BMS Real Estate LLC, BMS Spain Investments LLC, BMS Strategic Portfolio Investments Holdings Inc., Blisa Acquisition G.P., Bristol (Iran) S.A., Bristol Iran Private Company Limited, Bristol Laboratories Inc., Bristol Laboratories International S.A., Bristol Laboratories Medical Information Systems Inc., Bristol-Myers (Andes) L.L.C., Bristol-Myers (Private) Limited, Bristol-Myers Middle East S.A.L., Bristol-Myers Overseas Corporation, Bristol-Myers Squibb (China) Investment Co. Ltd., Bristol-Myers Squibb (China) Pharmaceuticals Co. Ltd., Bristol-Myers Squibb (Israel) Ltd., Bristol-Myers Squibb (NZ) Limited, Bristol-Myers Squibb (Proprietary) Limited, Bristol-Myers Squibb (Shanghai) Trading Co. Ltd., Bristol-Myers Squibb (Singapore) Pte. Limited, Bristol-Myers Squibb (Taiwan) Ltd., Bristol-Myers Squibb (West Indies) Ltd., Bristol-Myers Squibb A.E., Bristol-Myers Squibb Aktiebolag, Bristol-Myers Squibb Argentina S. R. L., Bristol-Myers Squibb Australia Pty. Ltd., Bristol-Myers Squibb Axia Limited, Bristol-Myers Squibb B.V., Bristol-Myers Squibb Belgium S.A., Bristol-Myers Squibb Business Services Limited, Bristol-Myers Squibb Canada Co., Bristol-Myers Squibb Canada International Limited, Bristol-Myers Squibb Delta Company Limited, Bristol-Myers Squibb Denmark Filial of Bristol-Myers Squibb AB, Bristol-Myers Squibb EMEA Sarl, Bristol-Myers Squibb Egypt LLC, Bristol-Myers Squibb Epsilon Holdings Unlimited Company, Bristol-Myers Squibb Farmaceutica Ltda., Bristol-Myers Squibb Farmaceutica Portuguesa S.A., Bristol-Myers Squibb GesmbH, Bristol-Myers Squibb GmbH & Co. KGaA, Bristol-Myers Squibb Holding Germany GmbH & Co. KG, Bristol-Myers Squibb Holdings 2002 Limited, Bristol-Myers Squibb Holdings Germany Verwaltungs GmbH, Bristol-Myers Squibb Holdings Ireland Unlimited Company, Bristol-Myers Squibb Holdings Limited, Bristol-Myers Squibb Holdings Pharma Ltd. Liability Company, Bristol-Myers Squibb Ilaclari Inc., Bristol-Myers Squibb India Pvt. Limited, Bristol-Myers Squibb International Company Unlimited Company, Bristol-Myers Squibb International Corporation, Bristol-Myers Squibb Investco L.L.C., Bristol-Myers Squibb K.K., Bristol-Myers Squibb Kft., Bristol-Myers Squibb Luxembourg International S.C.A., Bristol-Myers Squibb Luxembourg S.a.r.l., Bristol-Myers Squibb MEA GmbH, Bristol-Myers Squibb Manufacturing Company, Bristol-Myers Squibb Marketing Services S.R.L., Bristol-Myers Squibb Middle East & Africa FZ-LLC, Bristol-Myers Squibb Norway Ltd., Bristol-Myers Squibb Nutricionales de Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Bristol-Myers Squibb Peru S.A., Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharma (HK) Ltd, Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharma (Thailand) Limited, Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharma Company, Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharma EEIG, Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharma Holding Company LLC, Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharma Ventures Corporation, Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharmaceuticals Limited, Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharmaceuticals Unlimited Company, Bristol-Myers Squibb Polska Sp. z o.o., Bristol-Myers Squibb Products SA, Bristol-Myers Squibb Puerto Rico Inc., Bristol-Myers Squibb Puerto Rico/Sanofi Pharmaceutical Partnership Puerto Rico, Bristol-Myers Squibb Romania S.R.L., Bristol-Myers Squibb S.A.U., Bristol-Myers Squibb S.r.l., Bristol-Myers Squibb SA, Bristol-Myers Squibb Sanofi Pharmaceuticals Holding Partnership, Bristol-Myers Squibb Sarl, Bristol-Myers Squibb Service Ltd., Bristol-Myers Squibb Services Sp. z o.o., Bristol-Myers Squibb Spol. s r.o., Bristol-Myers Squibb Theta Finance Ltd., Bristol-Myers Squibb Trustees Limited, Bristol-Myers Squibb Verwaltungs GmbH, Bristol-Myers Squibb de Colombia S.A., Bristol-Myers Squibb de Costa Rica Sociedad Anonima, Bristol-Myers Squibb de Guatemala S.A., Bristol-Myers Squibb de Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Bristol-Myers Squibb/Astrazeneca EEIG, Bristol-Myers Squibb/Pfizer EEIG, Bristol-Myers Squibb/Sanofi Pharmaceuticals Partnership, Bristol-Myers de Venezuela S.C.A., CHT I LLC, CHT II LLC, CHT III LLC, CHT IV LLC, CR Finance Company LLC, Cardioxyl Pharmaceuticals, Cardioxyl Pharmaceuticals Inc., Celem LLC, Celem Ltd., Celgene, Celgene A.B., Celgene AS, Celgene Ab (Finland), Celgene Alpine Investment Co. II LLC, Celgene Alpine Investment Co. III LLC, Celgene Alpine Investment Co. LLC, Celgene ApS, Celgene B.V., Celgene BVBA, Celgene Brasil Produtos Farmaceuticos Ltda., Celgene CAR LLC, Celgene CAR Ltd., Celgene Chemicals Sarl, Celgene China Holdings LLC, Celgene Co., Celgene Corporation, Celgene Distribution B.V., Celgene EngMab GmbH, Celgene Europe B.V., Celgene Europe Limited, Celgene European Investment Company LLC, Celgene Financing Company LLC, Celgene Global Holdings Sarl, Celgene GmbH [Austria], Celgene GmbH [Germany], Celgene GmbH [Switzerland], Celgene Holdings East Corporation, Celgene Holdings II Sarl, Celgene Holdings III Sarl, Celgene Ilac Pazarlama ve Ticaret Limited Sirketi, Celgene Inc., Celgene International Holdings Corporation, Celgene International II Sarl, Celgene International III Sarl, Celgene International Inc., Celgene International Sarl, Celgene K.K., Celgene Kft., Celgene Limited [Hong Kong], Celgene Limited [Ireland], Celgene Limited [New Zealand], Celgene Limited [Taiwan], Celgene Limited [UK], Celgene Logistics Sarl, Celgene Ltd, Celgene Luxembourg Sarl, Celgene Management Sarl, Celgene NJ Investment Co, Celgene Netherlands B.V., Celgene Netherlands Investment B.V., Celgene Pharmaceutical (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Celgene Pte. Ltd., Celgene Pty Ltd, Celgene Puerto Rico Distribution LLC, Celgene Quanticel Research Inc, Celgene R&D Sarl, Celgene RIVOT LLC, Celgene RIVOT Ltd., Celgene RIVOT SRL, Celgene Receptos Limited, Celgene Receptos Sarl, Celgene Research Incubator At Summit West LLC, Celgene Research S.L.U., Celgene Research and Development Company LLC, Celgene Research and Development I ULC, Celgene Research and Development II LLC, Celgene Research and Investment Company II LLC, Celgene S. de R.L. de C.V., Celgene S.L.U., Celgene S.R.L., Celgene SAS, Celgene Sarl AU, Celgene Sdn Bhd, Celgene Services Sarl, Celgene Sociedade Unipessoal Lda, Celgene Sp. Z.o.o., Celgene Sro [Czech Republic], Celgene Summit Investment Co, Celgene Switzerland Holding Sarl, Celgene Switzerland II LLC, Celgene Switzerland Investment Sarl, Celgene Switzerland LLC, Celgene Switzerland Sarl, Celgene Tri A Holdings Ltd., Celgene Tri Sarl, Celgene UK Distribution Limited, Celgene UK Holdings Limited, Celgene UK Manufacturing II Limited, Celgene UK Manufacturing III Limited, Celgene UK Manufacturing Limited, Celgene d.o.o., Celgene sro [Slovakia], Celmed LLC, Celmed Ltd., ConvaTec Divestiture, Cormorant Pharmaceuticals, Cormorant Pharmaceuticals AB, Crosp Ltd., Delinia Inc., Deuteria Pharmaceuticals Inc., DuPont Pharmaceuticals, E. R. Squibb & Sons Inter-American Corporation, E. R. Squibb & Sons L.L.C., E. R. Squibb & Sons Limited, EWI Corporation, EngMab Sarl, F-star Alpha, FermaVir Pharmaceuticals L.L.C., FermaVir Research L.L.C., Flexus Biosciences, Flexus Biosciences Inc., Forbius, Galecto Biotech, GenPharm International L.L.C., Gloucester Pharmaceuticals LLC, Grove Insurance Company Ltd., Heyden Farmaceutica Portuguesa Limitada, IFM Therapeutics, Impact Biomedicines Inc., Inhibitex, Inhibitex L.L.C., Innate Tumor Immunity Inc., JuMP Holdings LLC, Juno Therapeutics GmbH, Juno Therapeutics Inc., Kosan Biosciences, Kosan Biosciences Incorporated, Linson Investments Limited, Mead Johnson (Manufacturing) Jamaica Limited, Mead Johnson Jamaica Ltd., Medarex, Morris Avenue Investment II LLC, Morris Avenue Investment LLC, MyoKardia, O.o.o. Bristol-Myers Squibb, Oy Bristol-Myers Squibb (Finland) AB, Padlock Therapeutics, Padlock Therapeutics Inc., Pharmion LLC, Princeton Pharmaceutical Products Inc., Receptos LLC, Receptos Services LLC, RedoxTherapies Inc., Route 22 Real Estate Holding Corporation, SPV A Holdings ULC, Seamair Insurance DAC, Signal Pharmaceuticals LLC, Sino-American Shanghai Squibb Pharmaceuticals Limited, Societe Francaise de Complements Alimentaires(S.O.F.C.A.), Squibb Middle East S.A., Summit West Celgene LLC, Swords Laboratories, VentiRx Pharmaceuticals Inc., Westwood-Intrafin SA, Westwood-Squibb Pharmaceuticals Inc., X-Body Inc., ZymoGenetics, ZymoGenetics Inc., ZymoGenetics LLC, ZymoGenetics Paymaster LLC, iPierian, and iPierian Inc.. The following companies are subsidiares of Thermo Fisher Scientific: 236 Perinton Parkway LLC, 27 Forge Parkway LLC, ABR--Affinity BioReagents, ACI Holdings Inc., ARG Services LLC, ASPEX Corporation, Abgene Inc., Abgene Limited, Acoustic Cytometry Systems Inc., AcroMetrix LLC, Acros Organics B.V.B.A., Advanced Biotechnologies Limited, Advanced Scientifics (ASI), Advanced Scientifics Inc., Advanced Scientifics International Inc., Affymetrix Biotech Participacoes Ltda., Affymetrix Biotech Shanghai Ltd, Affymetrix Inc, Affymetrix Japan K.K., Affymetrix Pte Ltd, Affymetrix UK Ltd, Afora S.A.U., Ahura Scientific, Alchematrix Inc., Alchematrix LLC, Alfa Aesar, Alfa Aesar (China) Chemical Co. Ltd., Alfa Aesar (Hong Kong) Limited, Allergon AB, Alphine Mountain Limited, Ambion Inc., Apogent Denmark ApS, Apogent Finance Company, Apogent Holding Company, Apogent Technologies Inc., Apogent Transition Corp., Apogent U.K. Limited, App-Tek International Pty Ltd, Applied Biosystems B.V., Applied Biosystems Finance B.V., Applied Biosystems International Inc., Applied Biosystems LLC, Applied Biosystems Taiwan LLC, Applied Biosystems Trading (Shanghai) Company Ltd., Applied Biosystems de Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Applied Scientific Corporation, Avances Cientificos de Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Avocado Research Chemicals Limited, B.R.A.H.M.S. Biotech GmbH, B.R.A.H.M.S. GmbH, B.R.A.H.M.S. UK Ltd, BAC BV, BAC IP BV, Barnstead Thermolyne LLC, Beijing Phadia Diagnostics Co Ltd, Bender MedSystems GmbH, BioTrove Corporation, BioTrove International Inc., Bioanalysis Labsystems S.A., Biochemical Sciences LLC, Biolab, BmT GmbH Laborprodukte, Bonsai Tecnologies - Sistemas para Biotecnologia e Industria Unipessoal Lda, Brammer Bio, Bumi-Sans Sendirian Berhad, CAC Limited, CB Diagnostics AB, CB Diagnostics Holding AB, CEPH International Corporation, CHK Holdings Inc., CRS Robotics, CTPS LLC, Capitol Scientific Products Inc., Capitol Vial Inc., Cellomics Inc., CellzDirect Inc., Cenduit GmbH, Cenduit LLC, Cezanne S.A.S., Chase Scientific Glass Inc., Chromacol Limited, Clintrak, Clintrak Clinical Labeling Services LLC, Clintrak Pharmaceutical Services LLC, Cohesive Technologies (UK) Limited, Cohesive Technologies Inc., Columbia Diagnostics Inc., Compendia Bioscience Inc., Comtest Limited, Consolidated Technologies Inc., Consultores Fisher Scientific Chile Ltd, Core Informatics, Core Informatics LLC, Core Informatics UK Ltd., D-finitive Technologies Inc., DCG Systems B.V., DCG Systems C.V., DCG Systems G.K., DCG Systems GmbH, DCG Systems Korea Ltd., DCG Systems LLC, DPI Newco LLC, DSM Pharmaceutical Products Inc., Dharmacon, Diagnostix Ltd., Dionex (China) Analytical Ltd, Dionex (Switzerland) AG, Dionex (UK) Limited, Dionex Austria GmbH, Dionex Benelux B.V., Dionex Brasil Instrumentos Cientificos Ltda, Dionex Canada Ltd., Dionex China Limited, Dionex Corporation, Dionex Denmark A/S, Dionex Holding GmbH, Dionex I LLC, Dionex Pty Ltd., Dionex S.A., Dionex S.p.A., Dionex Singapore Pte Ltd., Dionex Softron GmbH, Dionex Sweden AB, Distribution Solutions International Inc., Doe & Ingalls Investors Inc., Doe & Ingalls Limited, Doe & Ingalls Management LLC, Doe & Ingalls Properties II LLC, Doe & Ingalls Properties LLC, Doe & Ingalls of California Operating LLC, Doe & Ingalls of Florida Operating LLC, Doe & Ingalls of Maryland Operating LLC, Doe & Ingalls of Massachusetts Operating LLC, Doe & Ingalls of North Carolina Operating LLC, Doublecape Holding Limited, Doublecape Limited, Drakeside Real Estate Holding Company LLC, Duke Scientific Corporation, Dynal Biotech Beijing Limited, EGS Gauging Ltd., EGS Gauging Technical Services Company, EP Scientific Products LLC, Ecochem N.V., EnviroEquip Pty Ltd, Epsom Glass Industries Limited, Equibio Limited, Erie Electroverre S.A., Erie Finance Limited, Erie LP Holding LLC, Erie Scientific Company of Puerto Rico, Erie Scientific Hungary Kft, Erie Scientific LLC, Erie U.K. Limited, Erie UK 1 Limited, Erie UK 2 Limited, Erie UK Holding Company, Erie UK Senior Holding Limited, European Laboratory Holdings Limited, Eutech Instruments Europe B.V., Eutech Instruments Pte Ltd., Eutech Instruments Sdn Bhd, Ever Ready Thermometer Co. Inc., FEI Asia Pacific Co. Ltd., FEI Australia Pty Ltd, FEI CPD B.V., FEI Company, FEI Company Japan Ltd., FEI Company of USA (S.E.A.) Pte Ltd., FEI Czech Republic s.r.o., FEI Deutschland GmbH, FEI EFA Inc., FEI EFA International Pte. Ltd., FEI Electron Optics B.V., FEI Electron Optics International B.V., FEI Europe B.V., FEI France SAS, FEI Global Holdings C.V., FEI Hong Kong Company Limited, FEI Houston Inc., FEI Italia Srl, FEI Korea Ltd., FEI Melbourne Pty Ltd., FEI Microscopy Solutions Ltd, FEI Munich GmbH, FEI Norway Holding AS, FEI SAS, FEI Saudi Arabia LLC, FEI Servicos de Nanotecnologia Ltda., FEI Technologies Inc., FEI Technology de Mexico S.A. de C.V., FEI Trading (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., FEI Trondheim AS, FEI UK Ltd., FHP LLC, FRC Holding Inc. V, FS (Barbados) Capital Holdings Ltd., FS Casa Rocas Holdings LLC, FS Mexicana Holdings LLC, FSI Receivables Company LLC, FSII Sweden Holdings AB, FSII Sweden Holdings I AB, FSIR Holdings (UK) Limited, FSIR Holdings (US) Inc., FSUK Holdings Limited, FSWH Company LLC, FSWH II C.V., FSWH International Holdings LLC, Fermentas China Co. Ltd, Fermentas Inc., Fermentas International, Fermentas Sweden AB, Fermentas UK Limited, Fiberlite Centrifuge LLC, Finesse Scientific Equipment (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Finesse Solutions AG, Finesse Solutions Inc., Finnzymes Oy, Fisher Alder S. de R.L. de C.V., Fisher Asia Manufacturing Ventures Inc., Fisher Bermuda Holdings Limited, Fisher BioImage ApS, Fisher BioPharma Services (India) Private Limited, Fisher BioSciences Japan G.K., Fisher BioServices Inc., Fisher Bioblock Holding II SNC, Fisher CLP Holding Limited Partnership, Fisher Canada Holding ULC 1, Fisher Canada Holding ULC 2, Fisher Canada Holding ULC 3, Fisher Canada Limited Partnership, Fisher Chimica BVBA, Fisher Clinical Logistics LLC, Fisher Clinical Services (Beijing) Co. Ltd., Fisher Clinical Services (Bristol) LLC, Fisher Clinical Services (Colombia) LLC, Fisher Clinical Services (Korea) Co. Ltd, Fisher Clinical Services (Mexico) LLC, Fisher Clinical Services (Peru) LLC, Fisher Clinical Services (Suzhou) Co. Ltd., Fisher Clinical Services Colombia S.A.S., Fisher Clinical Services GmbH, Fisher Clinical Services Inc., Fisher Clinical Services Japan K.K., Fisher Clinical Services Latin America S.R.L., Fisher Clinical Services Limited Liability Company, Fisher Clinical Services Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Fisher Clinical Services Peru S.R.L, Fisher Clinical Services Pte Ltd., Fisher Clinical Services U.K. Limited, Fisher Emergo B.V., Fisher Germany Holdings GmbH, Fisher Hamilton China Inc., Fisher Hamilton Mexico LLC, Fisher Holdings ApS, Fisher Internet Minority Holdings L.L.C., Fisher Laboratory Products Manufacturing (Shanghai) Co. Ltd, Fisher Luxembourg Danish Holdings SARL, Fisher Manufacturing (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, Fisher Maybridge Holdings Limited, Fisher Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Fisher Scientific (Austria) GmbH, Fisher Scientific (Hong Kong) Limited, Fisher Scientific (M) Sdn Bhd, Fisher Scientific (SEA) Pte. Ltd., Fisher Scientific A/S, Fisher Scientific AG, Fisher Scientific Australia Pty Limited, Fisher Scientific Biotech Line ApS, Fisher Scientific Brazil Inc., Fisher Scientific Central America Inc., Fisher Scientific Chile Inc., Fisher Scientific Colombia Inc., Fisher Scientific Company, Fisher Scientific Company L.L.C., Fisher Scientific Costa Rica Sociedad de Responsabilidad Limitada, Fisher Scientific Europe Holdings B.V., Fisher Scientific GTF AB, Fisher Scientific Germany Beteiligungs GmbH, Fisher Scientific GmbH, Fisher Scientific Holding Company LLC, Fisher Scientific Holding HK Limited, Fisher Scientific Holding U.K. Limited, Fisher Scientific Holdings (M) Sdn Bhd, Fisher Scientific Holdings (S) Pte Ltd, Fisher Scientific International LLC, Fisher Scientific Investments (Cayman) Ltd., Fisher Scientific Ireland Investments Unlimited, Fisher Scientific Ireland Limited, Fisher Scientific Japan Ltd., Fisher Scientific Jersey Island Limited, Fisher Scientific Korea Ltd, Fisher Scientific Latin America Inc., Fisher Scientific Luxembourg S.a.r.l., Fisher Scientific Mexicana S. de R.L. de C.V., Fisher Scientific Mexico Inc., Fisher Scientific Middle East and Africa Inc., Fisher Scientific Norway AS, Fisher Scientific Operating Company, Fisher Scientific Oxoid Holdings Ltd., Fisher Scientific Oy, Fisher Scientific Pte. Ltd., Fisher Scientific S.A.S., Fisher Scientific S.L., Fisher Scientific SPRL, Fisher Scientific The Hague I B.V., Fisher Scientific The Hague II B.V., Fisher Scientific The Hague III B.V., Fisher Scientific The Hague IV B.V., Fisher Scientific The Hague V B.V., Fisher Scientific U.K. Limited, Fisher Scientific UK Holding Company 2, Fisher Scientific UK Holding Company Limited, Fisher Scientific Unipessoal Lda., Fisher Scientific Venezuela Inc., Fisher Scientific Worldwide (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Fisher Scientific Worldwide Holdings I C.V., Fisher Scientific Worldwide Inc., Fisher Scientific de Mexico S.A., Fisher Scientific of the Netherlands B.V., Fisher Scientific spol. S.r.o, Fisher Servicios Clinicos (Chile) LLC, Fisher Servicios Clinicos Chile Ltda, Fisher WWD Holding L.L.C., Fisher Worldwide Distribution SPV, Fisher Worldwide Gene Distribution SPV, Flux Instruments, Fuji Partnership, G & M Procter Limited, G V Instruments Limited, GV Instruments Canada Ltd., GV Instruments Inc, Gatan Inc, General Scientific Company Sdn Bhd (M), Genomed molekularbiologische und diagnostische Produkte GmbH, Gerhard Menzel B.V. & Co. KG, Gold Cattle Standard Testing Labs Inc., Golden West Indemnity Company Limited, Goring Kerr Detection Limited, Greenville Service Company Inc., HENO GmbH i.L., Hangar 215 Inc., Helmet Securities Limited, Henogen, HighChem, HyClone International Trade (Tianjin) Co. Ltd, Hybaid Limited, I.Q. (BIO) Limited, IDnostics AG, ILS Laboratories Scandinavia AB, Inel Inc., Inel SAS, InnaPhase Inc., InnaPhase Limited, IntegenX, Intrinsic BioProbes Inc., Intrinsic Bioprobes Inc., Invitrogen (Shanghai) Investment Co. Ltd., Invitrogen Argentina SA, Invitrogen BioServices India Private Limited, Invitrogen Europe Limited, Invitrogen Finance Corp., Invitrogen Holdings LLC, Invitrogen Holdings Ltd., Invitrogen Hong Kong Limited, Invitrogen IP Holdings Inc., Invitrogen Trading (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Ion Torrent Systems Inc., Ionalytics Corporation, JSC Thermo Fisher Scientific, Jouan LLC, Jouan Limited, Jouan SA, Kendro Containment & Services Limited, Kendro Laboratory Products Ltd, Kettlebrook Insurance Co. ltd., Keystone Scientific, KonTEM GmbH, Kyle Jordan Investments LLC, LIFE TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION, LTC Tech South Africa PTY Ltd., La-Pha-Pack GmbH, Lab Vision (UK) Limited, Lab Vision Corporation, Lab-Chrom-Pack LLC, Lab-Line Instruments Inc., Labomex MBP S. de R. L. De C.V., Laboratoire Service International - L.S.I, Laboratory Management Systems Inc., Laboratory Specialties Proprietary Ltd., LambTrack Limited, Laser Analytical Systems Inc., Liberty Lane Investment LLC, Liberty Lane Real Estate Holding Company LLC, Life Sciences International (Poland) SP z O.O, Life Sciences International Holdings BV, Life Sciences International LLC, Life Sciences International Limited, Life Technologies AS, Life Technologies Australia PTY Ltd., Life Technologies BPD AB, Life Technologies BPD UK Limited, Life Technologies Brasil Comercio e Industria de Produtos para Biotecnologia Ltda, Life Technologies Chile SpA, Life Technologies Clinical Services Lab Inc., Life Technologies Co. Ltd., Life Technologies Czech Republic s.r.o., Life Technologies DaAn Diagnostic (Guangzhou) Co. Ltd., Life Technologies Europe B.V., Life Technologies Finance Ltd., Life Technologies Finland Oy, Life Technologies GmbH, Life Technologies Holdings PTE Ltd., Life Technologies Inc., Life Technologies International B.V., Life Technologies Japan Ltd., Life Technologies Korea LLC, Life Technologies Limited, Life Technologies Magyarorszag Kft, Life Technologies New Zealand Ltd., Life Technologies Norway Investments US LLC, Life Technologies Polska Sp z.o.o., Life Technologies SA, Life Technologies SAS, Life Technologies s.r.o, Linkage Biosciences Inc., Linkage Biosciences S.a.r.l., Loftus Furnace Company, Lomb Scientific, Lomb Scientific (Aust) Pty Limited, MTI-GlobalStem, Marketbase International Limited, Matrix MicroScience Inc., Matrix MicroScience Ltd., Matrix Technologies Corporation Limited, Matrix Technologies LLC, Maybridge Chemical Company Limited, Maybridge Chemical Holdings Limited, Maybridge Limited, Medical Analysis Systems Inc., Medical Analysis Systems International Inc., Medical Diagnostics Systems Inc., Metavac LLC, Microgenics Corporation, Microgenics Diagnostics Pty Limited, Microgenics GmbH, Microm International GmbH, Microm Laborgerate S.L.U, Molecular BioProducts Inc., Molecular Probes Inc., Molecular Transfer Inc., NAPCO Inc., NERL Diagnostics LLC, NOVODIRECT GmbH Labor- und Industrie- Megerate, Nalge (Europe) Limited, Nalge Nunc International (Monterrey) LLC, Nalge Nunc International Corporation, Nanjing WeiKangLe Trading Industrial Co Ltd, NanoDrop Technologies LLC, National Scientific Company, Navaho Acquisition Corp., Neomarkers Inc., New FS Holdings Inc., NewcoGen PE LLC, Nihon Dynal K.K., Niton Asia Limited, NovaWave Technologies Inc., Nunc A/S, ONIX Systems Inc., OXOID CZ s.r.o., Odyssey Holdings Corporation, Odyssey Luxembourg Holdings S.a r.l., Odyssey Luxembourg IP Holdings 1 S.a r.l., Odyssey Luxembourg IP Holdings 2 S.a r.l., Odyssey Venture Corporation, Omega Data Systems, One Lambda Inc, Onix Holdings Limited, Orme Scientific Limited, Owl Separation Systems LLC, Oxoid (ELY) Limited, Oxoid 2000 Limited, Oxoid AS, Oxoid Australia Pty. Limited, Oxoid Company, Oxoid Deutschland GmbH, Oxoid Holding SAS, Oxoid Holdings Limited, Oxoid Inc., Oxoid International Limited, Oxoid Investments GmbH, Oxoid Limited, Oxoid N.V., Oxoid New Zealand Limited, Oxoid Pension Trustees Limited, Oxoid Senior Holdings Limited, Oxoid UKH LLC, PAX - DSI Acquisition LLC, PE AG, Pacific Rim Far East Industries LLC, Pacific Rim Investment LLC, Panomics L.L.C., Panomics S.R.L., Patheon, Patheon API Inc., Patheon API Manufacturing Inc., Patheon API Services Inc., Patheon Austria GmbH & Co KG, Patheon B.V., Patheon Banner U.S. Holdings Inc., Patheon Biologics (NJ) LLC, Patheon Biologics Australia Pty Ltd, Patheon Biologics B.V., Patheon Biologics LLC, Patheon Calculus Merger LLC, Patheon Cooperatief U.A., Patheon Development Services Inc., Patheon Finance LLC, Patheon France SAS, Patheon Holdings B.V., Patheon Holdings I B.V., Patheon Holdings II B.V., Patheon Holdings SAS, Patheon I B.V., Patheon I Holding GmbH, Patheon Inc., Patheon International AG, Patheon Italia S.p.A., Patheon KK, Patheon Life Science Products International GmbH, Patheon Manufacturing Services LLC, Patheon Pharmaceuticals Inc., Patheon Pharmaceuticals Services Inc., Patheon Puerto Rico Acquisitions Corporation, Patheon Puerto Rico Inc., Patheon Regensburg GmbH, Patheon Softgels B.V., Patheon Softgels Inc., Patheon U.S. Holdings Inc., Patheon U.S. Holdings LLC, Patheon UK Limited, Patheon UK Pension Trustees Limited, Pelican Acquisition Corporation, Perbio Science (Canada) Company, Perbio Science AB, Perbio Science BVBA, Perbio Science France SAS, Perbio Science Inc., Perbio Science International Netherlands B.V., Perbio Science Invest AB, Perbio Science Nederland B.V., Perbio Science Projekt AB, Perbio Science Sweden Holdings AB, Perbio Science Switzerland SA, Perbio Science UK Limited, Phadia AB, Phadia Diagnosticos Ltda, Phadia GmbH, Phadia Holding AB, Phadia International Holdings C.V., Phadia Korea Co. Ltd, Phadia Luxembourg Holdings S.a.r.l., Phadia Malta Holdings Limited, Phadia Oy, Phadia Real Property AB, Phadia Sweden AB, Phadia Taiwan Inc., Phadia US Inc., Phadia s.r.o., Pharmacaps Mexicana SA de CV, Phenom-World B.V., Phenom-World Holding B.V, Phenom-World Innovations B.V., Phinotex, Pierce Biotechnology Inc., Pierce Milwaukee Holding Corp., Pierce Milwaukee Inc., Polychromix, Power Sweden Holdings I AB, Power Sweden Holdings II AB, Power Sweden Holdings III Aktiebolag, Princeton Gamma-Tech Instruments LLC, Princeton Security Technologies, Prionics AG, Prionics Asia Ltd., Prionics Deutschland GmbH, Prionics France SAS, Prionics Italia S.r.l., Prionics Lelystad B.V., Prionics USA Inc., Priority Air Express LLC, Priority Air Express Pte. Ltd., Priority Air Express UK Limited, Priority Air Holdings Corp, Priority Solutions International, Promedica Pty Limited, Proxeon, Proxeon Biosystems ApS, Qiagen, REP GBP I-B Blocker Inc., Raymond A Lamb Limited, Remel Europe Limited, Remel Inc., Richard-Allan Scientific Company, Robbins Scientific LLC, Robocon Labor- und Industrieroboter Gesellschaft m.b.H, Rupprecht and Patashnick, Rupprecht and Patashnick (R&P), Russell pH Limited, S.C.I. du 10 rue Dugay Trouin, SCI Inno 92, STC Bio Manufacturing Inc., Samco Scientific (Monterrey) LLC, Samco Scientific LLC, Saroph Sweden AB, Schantz Road LLC, Seradyn Inc., Shanghai Life Technologies Biotechnology Co. Limited, Shanghai Thermo Fisher (C-I) Trading Co. Ltd, Shanghai Thermo Fisher (S) Trading Co. Ltd, Southern Trials (Pty) Ltd., Specialty (SMI) Inc., Spectra-Physics AB, Spectra-Physics Holdings Limited, Spectra-Physics Holdings USA LLC, Spectronex, Staten Island Cogeneration Corporation, Sterilin Limited, Stokes Bio Ltd., Sweden DIA (Sweden) AB, SwissAnalytic Group GmbH, Systems Manufacturing Corporation, TFLP LLC, TFS Breda B.V., TFS LLC, TFS Singapore HK Limited, TFSL Financing GP LLC, TFSL Senior GP Holdings 2 LLC, TK Partnership, TKA Wasseraufbereitungssysteme, TMOI Inc., TPI Real Estate Holdings LLC, TSP Holdings I LLC, TWX LLC, Technology Design Solutions Pty Ltd, Thermedics Detection de Argentina S.R.L, Thermo Allen Coding Limited, Thermo Asset Management Services Inc., Thermo BioAnalysis LLC, Thermo BioAnalysis Limited, Thermo BioSciences Holdings LLC, Thermo CIDTEC, Thermo CRS Holdings Ltd., Thermo CRS Ltd., Thermo Cambridge Limited, Thermo Cayman Holdings Ltd., Thermo Corporation, Thermo DMA Inc., Thermo Detection de Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Thermo Dutch Holdings Limited Partnership, Thermo EGS Gauging LLC, Thermo Eberline Holdings I LLC, Thermo Eberline Holdings II LLC, Thermo Eberline LLC, Thermo Electron (Calgary) Limited, Thermo Electron (Chile) S.p.A., Thermo Electron (Karlsruhe) GmbH, Thermo Electron (Management Services) Limited, Thermo Electron (Proprietary) Limited, Thermo Electron A/S, Thermo Electron Australia Pty Limited, Thermo Electron Export Inc., Thermo Electron Holdings SAS, Thermo Electron Industries, Thermo Electron LED GmbH, Thermo Electron LED S.A.S., Thermo Electron Limited, Thermo Electron Manufacturing Limited, Thermo Electron Metallurgical Services Inc., Thermo Electron North America LLC, Thermo Electron Pension Trust GmbH, Thermo Electron Puerto Rico Inc., Thermo Electron SAS, Thermo Electron Scientific Instruments LLC, Thermo Electron Sweden AB, Thermo Electron Sweden Forvaltning AB, Thermo Electron Weighing & Inspection Limited, Thermo Elemental Limited, Thermo Environmental Instruments LLC, Thermo Fast U.K. Limited, Thermo Finland Holdings LLC, Thermo Finland Holdings MT1 B.V., Thermo Finland Holdings MT2 B.V., Thermo Finnigan LLC, Thermo Finnigan Limited, Thermo Fisher (CN) Luxembourg Holding S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher (CN) Luxembourg S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher (CN) Malta Holdings Limited, Thermo Fisher (CN-I) Luxembourg LLC, Thermo Fisher (CN-II) Luxembourg LLC, Thermo Fisher (Cayman) Holdings I Ltd., Thermo Fisher (Cayman) Holdings II Ltd., Thermo Fisher (Finland Holdings 2) LLC, Thermo Fisher (Finland Holdings) Limited Partnership, Thermo Fisher (Gibraltar) II Limited, Thermo Fisher (Gibraltar) Limited, Thermo Fisher (Heysham) Limited, Thermo Fisher (Kandel) GmbH, Thermo Fisher CHK Holding LLC, Thermo Fisher China Business Trust, Thermo Fisher China Business Trust II, Thermo Fisher Costa Rica Sociedad de Responsabilidad Limitada, Thermo Fisher Cyprus Holdings LLC, Thermo Fisher Detection Mexico LLC, Thermo Fisher Diagnostics (Ireland) Limited, Thermo Fisher Diagnostics AB, Thermo Fisher Diagnostics AG, Thermo Fisher Diagnostics AS, Thermo Fisher Diagnostics Aps, Thermo Fisher Diagnostics Austria GmbH, Thermo Fisher Diagnostics B.V., Thermo Fisher Diagnostics GmbH, Thermo Fisher Diagnostics K.K., Thermo Fisher Diagnostics Limited, Thermo Fisher Diagnostics NV, Thermo Fisher Diagnostics S.L.U., Thermo Fisher Diagnostics S.p.A. , Thermo Fisher Diagnostics SAS, Thermo Fisher Diagnostics Sociedade Unipessoal Lda, Thermo Fisher Eurobonds Ltd., Thermo Fisher Financial Services Inc., Thermo Fisher GP LLC, Thermo Fisher German Holdings LLC, Thermo Fisher Germany B.V., Thermo Fisher India Divestco Private Limited, Thermo Fisher India Holding B.V., Thermo Fisher Insurance Holdings Inc., Thermo Fisher Insurance Holdings LLC, Thermo Fisher Investments (Cayman) Ltd., Thermo Fisher Israel Ltd., Thermo Fisher Production et Services SAS, Thermo Fisher Project Cyprus LLC, Thermo Fisher Re Ltd., Thermo Fisher Scientific (Asheville) LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Australia) C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific (Barbados) Holdings Ltd., Thermo Fisher Scientific (Breda) Holding BV, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Bremen) GmbH, Thermo Fisher Scientific (CN) Limited Partnership, Thermo Fisher Scientific (China) Co. Ltd., Thermo Fisher Scientific (China) Holding Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific (China-HK) Holding Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific (DE) Holding S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific (Ecublens) SARL, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Finance I) B.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific (Finance I) S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific (Finance II) S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific (Finance III) LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Finance III) S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific (Fuji) LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Guangzhou) Co. Ltd, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Holding II) B.V. & Co. KG, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Hong Kong) Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific (IVGN) B.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific (IVGN) Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Johannesburg) (Proprietary) Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Mexico City) LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Milwaukee) LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Mississauga) Inc., Thermo Fisher Scientific (Monterrey) S. De R.L. De C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific (NK) LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific (PN) Austria Holding GmbH, Thermo Fisher Scientific (PN) UK LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific (PN) UK Limited Partnership, Thermo Fisher Scientific (PN-I) SRL, Thermo Fisher Scientific (PN-II) SRL, Thermo Fisher Scientific (PN1) UK Ltd, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Panama) B.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific (Panama) Dutch LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Praha) s.r.o., Thermo Fisher Scientific (Real Estate 1) GmbH & Co. KG, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Real Estate 1) S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific (Schweiz) AG, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Shanghai) Instruments Co. Ltd., Thermo Fisher Scientific (Shanghai) Management Co. Ltd., Thermo Fisher Scientific (Suzhou) Instruments Co. Ltd, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Thailand) Co. Ltd., Thermo Fisher Scientific AL-1 LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific AU C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific AU II Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific AU LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific AU Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Africa Proprietary Ltd, Thermo Fisher Scientific Aquasensors LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Australia Pty Ltd, Thermo Fisher Scientific B.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific B.V.B.A., Thermo Fisher Scientific BHK (I) Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific BHK (II) Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Baltics UAB, Thermo Fisher Scientific Beteiligungsverwaltungs GmbH, Thermo Fisher Scientific Biosciences Corp., Thermo Fisher Scientific Brahms LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Brasil Instrumentos de Processo Ltda., Thermo Fisher Scientific Brasil Servicos de Logistica Ltda, Thermo Fisher Scientific C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Cayman Investments LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Chemicals Inc., Thermo Fisher Scientific China (C-I) LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific China (S) LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific China Holdings I B.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific China Holdings II B.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific China Holdings III B.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific China Holdings IV B.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Chromatography Holdings Aps, Thermo Fisher Scientific Chromatography Holdings S.a r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Cyprus I C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Cyprus I Ltd, Thermo Fisher Scientific Cyprus II C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Cyprus II Ltd, Thermo Fisher Scientific Cyprus III C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Cyprus III Ltd, Thermo Fisher Scientific Cyprus IV C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Cyprus V C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Denmark Senior Holdings ApS, Thermo Fisher Scientific Erie 1 Financing (Barbados) SRL, Thermo Fisher Scientific Erie Financing (Barbados) SRL, Thermo Fisher Scientific Erie Financing S.a r.l, Thermo Fisher Scientific Europe GmbH, Thermo Fisher Scientific FLC B.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific FLC Finance C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific FLC II B.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific FLC LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific FSIR Financing (Barbados) SRL, Thermo Fisher Scientific FSIR Financing S.a.r.l, Thermo Fisher Scientific FSUKHCO Financing (Barbados) SRL, Thermo Fisher Scientific Falcon Senior Holdings Inc., Thermo Fisher Scientific Finance Company BV, Thermo Fisher Scientific GENEART GmbH, Thermo Fisher Scientific Germany BV & Co. KG, Thermo Fisher Scientific GmbH, Thermo Fisher Scientific HR Services Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Holdings (Cayman) I, Thermo Fisher Scientific Holdings (Cayman) II , Thermo Fisher Scientific Holdings Europe Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific IT Services GmbH, Thermo Fisher Scientific India Holding LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific India Pvt Ltd, Thermo Fisher Scientific Investments (Luxembourg) S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Investments (Malta) Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Investments (Sweden) LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Investments (Sweden) S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Investments Malta (Sweden Financing) Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Invitrogen Financing (Barbados) SRL, Thermo Fisher Scientific Japan Holdings I B.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Japan Holdings II B.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Japan Holdings III B.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific K.K., Thermo Fisher Scientific Korea Ltd., Thermo Fisher Scientific LSI Financing (Barbados) SRL, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life CV GP Holdings II LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life CV GP Holdings LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Enterprises C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Enterprises GP LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Financing (Barbados) SRL, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Financing (Cayman), Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Financing C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Financing Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Holdings I C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Holdings II C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Holdings III C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Holdings Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life International GP Holdings LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life International Holdings I C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life International Holdings II C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Investments C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Investments GP LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Investments I S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Investments II S.a r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Investments III S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Investments IV S.a.r.l, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Investments Malta Holding I LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Investments Malta Holding II LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Investments Malta I Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Investments Malta II Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Investments US Financing I LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Investments US Financing II LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life NL Holdings GP LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Netherlands Holding C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Senior GP Holdings II LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Senior GP Holdings LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Senior Holdings C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Senior Holdings II C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Senior Holdings Inc., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Switzerland Holdings GP LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Tech Korea Holdings LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Technologies Enterprise Holding Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Technologies Investment I LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Technologies Investment II LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Technologies Investment UK I Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Technologies Investment UK II Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Technologies Investments Holding LP, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Technologies Israel Investment I Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Technologies Israel Investment II Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Technologies Luxembourg Holding LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Luxembourg Enterprise Holdings S.a r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Luxembourg German Holdings S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Luxembourg Life Technologies UK Holding S.a r.l, Thermo Fisher Scientific Luxembourg Sweden Holdings I S.a r.l, Thermo Fisher Scientific Luxembourg Sweden Holdings II S.a r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Luxembourg Venture Holdings I S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Luxembourg Venture Holdings II S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Malaysia Sdn. Bhd., Thermo Fisher Scientific Malta Holdings LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Messtechnik GmbH, Thermo Fisher Scientific Mexico City S. de R.L. de C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Middle East Holdings Inc., Thermo Fisher Scientific Milano Srl, Thermo Fisher Scientific NHK Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific New Zealand Holdings, Thermo Fisher Scientific New Zealand Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Norway Holdings AS, Thermo Fisher Scientific Norway US Investments LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Odyssey Financing (Barbados) SRL, Thermo Fisher Scientific Odyssey Holdings Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Operating Company LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Oy, Thermo Fisher Scientific PN2 C.V, Thermo Fisher Scientific PN2 LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific PRB LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific PRB Malta Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific PRB S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Panama I Cayman Ltd, Thermo Fisher Scientific Peru S.R.L., Thermo Fisher Scientific Pte. Ltd., Thermo Fisher Scientific Re Ltd., Thermo Fisher Scientific SL, Thermo Fisher Scientific Senior Financing LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Senior Holdings Australia LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific South Africa Proprietary Ltd, Thermo Fisher Scientific SpA, Thermo Fisher Scientific Spectra LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Spectra Malta Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Spectra S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Spectra-Physics Holdings Luxembourg I S.a r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Spectra-Physics Holdings Luxembourg II S.a r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Spectra-Physics Investments Malta Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Switzerland Holdings C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific TR Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Taiwan Co. Ltd., Thermo Fisher Scientific Vermogensverwaltungs GmbH, Thermo Fisher Scientific West Palm Holdings LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Wissenschaftliche Gerate GmbH, Thermo Fisher Scientific Worldwide Investments (Cayman), Thermo Fisher Scientific eCommerce Solutions LLC , Thermo Fisher Senior Canada Holdings LLC, Thermo Foundation Inc., Thermo Gamma-Metrics Holdings Pty Ltd., Thermo Gamma-Metrics LLC, Thermo Gamma-Metrics Pty Ltd, Thermo Holding European Operations LLC, Thermo Hypersil Ltd, Thermo Hypersil-Keystone LLC, Thermo Informatics Asia Pacific Pty Ltd., Thermo Instrument Controls de Mexico S.A. de C.V., Thermo Kevex X-Ray LLC, Thermo Keytek LLC, Thermo LabSystems Inc., Thermo LabSystems S.A., Thermo Life Science International Trading (Tianjin) Co. Ltd., Thermo Life Sciences AB, Thermo Luxembourg Holding S.a.r.l., Thermo Luxembourg S.a.r.l., Thermo MF Physics LLC, Thermo Measurement Ltd, Thermo Measuretech Canada Inc., Thermo Neslab LLC, Thermo Nicolet Limited, Thermo Onix Limited, Thermo Optek (Australia) Pty Ltd., Thermo Optek Limited, Thermo Optek S.A., Thermo Orion Inc., Thermo Portable Holdings LLC, Thermo Power Corporation, Thermo Process Instruments GP LLC, Thermo Process Instruments L.P., Thermo Projects Limited, Thermo Quest S.A., Thermo Radiometrie Limited, Thermo Ramsey Italia S.r.l., Thermo Ramsey LLC, Thermo Ramsey S.A., Thermo Re Ltd., Thermo Scientific Microbiology Pte Ltd., Thermo Scientific Microbiology Sdn Bhd, Thermo Scientific Portable Analytical Instruments Inc., Thermo Scientific Services Inc., Thermo Securities Corporation, Thermo Sentron Canada Inc., Thermo Sentron Limited, Thermo Shandon Inc., Thermo Shandon Limited, Thermo Suomi Holding B.V., Thermo TLH (UK) Limited, Thermo TLH L.P., Thermo Trace Pty Ltd., Thermo-Fisher Biochemical Product (Beijing) Co. Ltd., ThermoLase LLC, ThermoSpectra Limited, Trek Diagnostic Systems LLC, Trek Diagnostic Systems Ltd., Trek Holding Company II Ltd., Trek Holding Company Ltd., Trex Medical Corporation, USB Corporation, Union Lab Supplies Limited, United Diagnostics Inc., VG Systems Limited, Westover Scientific Inc., ZAO PE Biosystems, eBioscience GmbH, eBioscience Ltd, eBioscience SAS, and picoSpin LLC. "Capitalizing on Mass Incarceration: U.S. Growth in Private Prisons" | Main | Professor Cara Drinan guest-blogging on "The War on Kids" The folks at Pew have this interesting and important new data analysis under the title "The Changing State of Recidivism: Fewer People Going Back to Prison: Data show the number returning 3 years later is down by nearly a quarter." Here is the heart of the data: The share of people who return to state prison three years after being released the most common measure of recidivism dropped by nearly a quarter over a recent seven-year period, according to an analysis by The Pew Charitable Trusts of federal Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) data on prisoners released in 2005 and 2012. Pew analyzed publicly accessible data from the 23 states that reported reliable prison admissions and release data to BJS from 2005 through 2015. Among prisoners released in 2005, 48 percent returned to prison by the end of 2008. By comparison, among those released in those states in 2012, 37 percent had at least one new prison admission by the end of 2015. That translates into a drop of 23 percent. The states included in the analysis accounted for about two-thirds of those released from state prisons nationwide each year. Longer-term recidivism also fell. Prisoners released in these states in 2010 were 13 percent less likely than the 2005 cohort to return to prison at least once by the end of the fifth year after release. Included in these numbers are people sent back to prison for a new crime or for violating the terms of their post-prison supervision.... Pew undertook this research to compile and make public the most current multistate data on recidivism trends. The BJS national report on state prison recidivism released in May 2018 presents nine years of data on people released from 30 states in 2005, but it includes no information on prisoners released since then. To obtain more recent data, Pew researchers used publicly available administrative numbers that BJS collected from states for the National Corrections Reporting Program. State prisoners are assigned unique identifiers, enabling researchers to track when they are released and whether they return to prison except in cases in which a prisoner is released in one state and readmitted to prison in another. Pew analyzed data from the 23 states that consistently reported prison admissions and releases every year from 2005 to 2015. The cohorts ranged from 392,000 to 458,000 released prisoners.... Reducing recidivism improves public safety, reduces taxpayer spending on prisons, and helps formerly incarcerated people successfully resume family and community responsibilities. But a lack of data has complicated efforts to understand the aggregate effects of myriad federal, state, and local efforts to reduce reoffending. This analysis shows that meaningful improvements in recidivism are occurring. 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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. 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). 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Im Cara Drinan, and Id like to thank Doug for generously offering me the opportunity to guest blog while hes away on vacation. For the most part, I will blog about my recent book, The War on Kids: How American Juvenile Justice Lost Its Way (Oxford University Press 2017, available here), but if time permits, Ill also post about current events. I look forward to sharing my research over the coming days and hearing your thoughts and comments. The War on Kids begins by addressing the arc of American juvenile justice. Despite inventing the juvenile court a little more than a century ago, the United States has become an international outlier in the severity of its juvenile justice practices. The War on Kids explains that trajectory as a sub-plot to the story of mass incarceration, and then exposes the machinery of juvenile justice: how certain kids are more likely than others to end up in the system and what that bleak experience looks like for a juvenile inside the system. The latter half of the book turns to examining prospects for reform on the horizon. Recent Supreme Court juvenile sentencing decisions and related state legislative responses provide grounds for optimism, and yet implementation efforts to date have been slow and bumpy. Finally, the book concludes that we must launch a war for kids and outlines policy measures that such a war must entail: the elimination of extreme juvenile sentences, the abolition of mandatory minimums for kids, and a shift away from juvenile incarceration altogether. Obviously, I cant cover the whole book in a few blog posts, and I hope youll read it in full, but in the coming days I will address a few questions addressed within the book: Given that the juvenile Court model was an American invention, how did the US become the extreme outlier that it is today? What does the war on kids look like today in America? How have recent Supreme Court decisions regarding extreme juvenile sentences been implemented on the ground? What does a war for kids entail? Today, Ill tackle the first question the question of how the United States became the extreme outlier that it is today in terms of juvenile justice. The U.S. invented the juvenile court model in Illinois in 1899. This early juvenile court wasnt perfect by any stretch, but it was based on a shared recognition that a child who broke the law was typically in need of social services rather than punishment. In contrast to adult courts, juvenile courts shared several defining features: relative informality, broad judicial discretion, and a guiding ethic of juvenile vulnerability and rehabilitation. Over the course of the twentieth century, every state in the nation adopted the juvenile court model, as did developed nations around the globe. Fast-forward 100 years, and by the end of the twentieth century, the U.S. had become known for its punitive adult crime, adult time approach to juveniles. Perhaps most notable to the international community, until 2005 the United States was the only nation to execute people for juvenile offenses, and today we are the only developed nation in the world that still sentences children to die in prison. In order to understand how this happened and how it happened fairly quickly it helps to think of the war on kids as a subplot to the story of mass incarceration. As Dougs regular readers well know, the American correctional population exploded in the late 20th century. In the 1970s there were approximately 300,000 people in American jails and prisons, and today we have more than two million adults and children behind bars. While the story of mass incarceration is complex, there is no disputing that, with crime on the rise beginning in the 1960s and into the 1990s, politicians on both sides of the aisle embraced tough on crime positions. They enacted more criminal laws and enhanced penalties for criminal violations. As we sent more and more people to prison for increasingly long periods of time, our correctional population ballooned. Juveniles suffered from this trend toward mass incarceration in two particular ways. First, politicians enacted laws that enabled prosecutors and judges to treat children as if they were adults. This was a massive shift. For most of the twentieth century a child accused of a crime was dealt with in juvenile court. However, as part of the get-tough policies of the 1980s and 1990s, lawmakers passed transfer laws (of several varieties) that made it increasingly easy and common for kids charged with a crime to be prosecuted in adult court. Today, every jurisdiction has at least one provision (and most have several) that permits a juvenile to be transferred to adult court often without judicial oversight. Twenty-three states set no minimum age for that transfer. Second, around the same time, federal and state lawmakers introduced determinate sentencing schemes, including mandatory minimums that have been the source of extensive discussion here on this blog. Its possible lawmakers were not considering these two policy shifts and their interaction, but these two developments were the perfect storm for juveniles. By the end of the twentieth century, transfer laws made it increasingly easy for kids to land in adult court, and once there, they were exposed to mandatory minimums that had been drafted with adults in mind. Two states supreme courts have recognized the absurdity of this in practice (Washington and Iowa, discussed here) and have barred mandatory minimums as they apply to youth, but the practice remains common. Thats it for today. In my next post, Ill explore what the war on kids actually looks like in practice. August 3, 2018 at 09:12 AM | Permalink Comments To what extent can it be said that the US Supreme Court has been complicit in these developments, perhaps a) by its lack or slowness to respond and b) by the lack of clarity in its subsequent limiting rulings? It is often seen that the Supreme Court is reluctant to enforce significant change to State law and practice by giving only very narrow rulings in specific cases - in effect giving ruling to an individual rather than a class of individuals. Similarly, rulings are often not made retrospective so that those who have suffered under previous practice fail to gain any benefit. To what extent, in your view, has this been evident in the field of Juvenile Justice? Should the Supreme Court be more interventionist in protecting juveniles from an experience of injustice that will clearly scar their entire lives? Posted by: peter | Aug 3, 2018 10:46:56 AM Excuse me, Hon. Anyone who fails to mention the rising bastardy rate as the most powerful factor driving juvenile crime has zero credibility. You need to redo your book. The bastardy rate for blacks is 70+%, and the white rate has soared to 40%, as of the 2010 Census. We are in deep trouble if white people ever catch up to the black rate. The black family survived the most severe historic stresses. Its disparity in social pathologies was tiny until the 1960's, when it was destroyed by the vile feminist lawyer. Did you know that the black crime rate may have been 10% higher in the darkest time of Democratic Party terror and lynching, and not 400% higher as it is today? Do you plan to address the carpet bombing of the patriarchal black family by the vile feminist lawyer in the 1960's? Posted by: David Behar | Aug 3, 2018 11:09:06 AM Mr. Behar, it's uncharacteristically respectful of you to start your comment by referring to Prof. Drinan as "Honorable," but I'm guessing "Prof. Drinan" would have been just fine. Posted by: DRF | Aug 3, 2018 11:27:11 AM Interesting topic. I confess, however, that when I think of the notion of a "war for children" my response is that we already have one: it's strategy is to kill all the pedophiles. I find myself tuning out anyone who claims we need to do something "for the children". Not, of course, because in the abstract it is false but because the phrase has become so abused as to render it meaningless. I will keep an open mind but I hope that any discussion of a "war for children" in this context will address how this specific war for children fits in with all the other wars for children we are already waging. Posted by: Daniel | Aug 3, 2018 11:33:10 AM She is just another far left, rent seeking, feminist abomination until proven otherwise. She is not stupid. She is bad. I am open to changing my mind, but I doubt she is any different or any more intellectually honest than Berman. She would not have been invited otherwise. I demand to know the neighborhood of Washington where she lives. She is also all swamp, but living in a safe neighborhood, I am going to guess, without having ever met her. Dismissed. Posted by: David Behar | Aug 3, 2018 12:40:15 PM Peter: Fair questions. A few thoughts. 1) The Court is limited as a function of institutional design in terms of how much it can regulate state criminal law; states have a lot of latitude. 2) The Court historically has been reluctant to intervene in state cases of custodial sentences - for anyone. Prior to Graham v. FL (which I'll discuss in a couple days), the Court had not invalidated a custodial sentence in nearly three decades. 3) It's only recent developments in neuroscience that, I think, have given the Court the push to view kids as categorically different for 8AM purposes. Posted by: Cara Drinan | Aug 3, 2018 12:40:53 PM Daniel. A social experiment has been going on, the past decade. Much darker skinned African immigrants have outperformed whites on the 2010 Census. They have had a miniscule crime rate for 2 generations. That means neither race, nor racism are factors in juvenile crime. Africans are the new Koreans. Harvard will have to institute reverse quotas to stop their flooding admissions. African immigrants have intact patriarchal families, are Christians, love this country, are strivers, speak the King's English, and are intellectually superior from their merit selection in legal immigration. She needs to address that racial disparity. They have no juvenile crime, outside of the occasional silliness of young people. The culmination of that experiment was the election of one of them as President of the US in 2008. Obama's life experience had almost nothing to do with being black in the US. Although a bastard, he was later raised by a Muslim step father married to his mother, then by Kansas based white grandparents married to each other. Posted by: David Behar | Aug 3, 2018 1:20:18 PM Daniel: I appreciate you keeping an open mind, and in the coming days I'll say more about what exactly I mean when I speak of a war on/for kids. But let me say this. As I explain in the book, we can't really speak of "kids" in America, because while some kids in America have many advocates and protections, many have been written off. For example, almost a quarter of all kids in this country live in families with incomes below the poverty line. One in every 28 kids has an incarcerated parent. Those kids likely don't feel that wars have been waged on their behalf just yet. Posted by: Cara Drinan | Aug 3, 2018 1:43:50 PM "It's only recent developments in neuroscience" Adolescents are superior to adults in every way, including in morality, since they have lower rates of violent crimes than adults. Their frontal lobe myelination until age 25 does not explain any difference in crime. They may be immature, but maturity comes only from experience and from responsibility. So 12 year old boys are doing a good job of running $300,000 combines at midnight in Iowa, because they have no choice. Those same busy kids are also at the top of scoring on standardized academic testing There is synaptic pruning and apoptosis from learning, that cancels the effect of less myelinization. That makes adolescents superior, not inferior in morality. Know nothing, but rent seeking bookworms on the Supreme Court pretextually picked on tiny, unreliable, not conclusive study to excuse vicious gangbangers in organized crime, killing hundred of competitors a year. These teen agers are functioning in a tougher environment, and making more money than the Justices. They are actually more clever, and intellectually superior to the Justices themselves, never mind, ordinary adults. I invite the Justices to survive in the Hood for a week. I am not going to ask them to make any money. Posted by: David Behar | Aug 3, 2018 2:08:16 PM One more example of why Behar should be banned from comments for lowering the discourse and driving away those of us seeking real discussion. I don't recall you ever calling Professor Berman babe or sweetie or even dude, so why the "Hon" for a female professor? If you had better, coherent arguments, you wouldn't start with such bs that makes others dismiss you out of hand. Posted by: defendergirl | Aug 3, 2018 2:41:25 PM One wonders if Berman would ever invite the author of a book titled, "The War on Black Crime Victims." Defendergirl. Have a blessed day. If we were at work, and made those PC comments, you would enter a world of regulatory and litigation investigation that would last your lifetime. Zero tolerance for feminism or for political correctness. I find this author detestable, and a pro-criminal enemy of all crime victims. She is a rent seeking feminist abomination, and I have no intellectual respect for her. We have discussed the point of education vs indoctrination. She is misleading in not labelling her speech as advocacy. She is pretending to be an educator, and quite dishonest. I would be satisfied with a clear disclosure. If we were employed by a university, I would also be challenging its tax exempt status after your remarks. As there should not KKK White Studies Department granting degrees, there should not be any Womens' Studies departments. Posted by: David Behar | Aug 3, 2018 2:53:53 PM It is not that difficult to get a legislature to increase a penalty but it is very difficult to get them to reduce one. The trend with risk assessment is to assume maximum risk. One of the outcomes is that beds in juvenile detention facilities are filled. It takes bad behavior by only a few juveniles (in particular if guns are involved) to get a crackdown on all juveniles. Drunks with guns are bad and kids with guns are just as bad. Posted by: John Neff | Aug 3, 2018 3:56:02 PM I sincerely want to help the advocates of decarceration. I am not being sarcastic. Here is the place to start. Ask anyone sitting next to you on a bus. This is self evident. Bring the files to, not know-nothing appellate court judges, but experienced investigators. Give the investigators good resources to apply modern technology. Find the 20% of current prisoners who are factually innocent. There are several other low hanging fruits. But, we are focusing now. Defendergirl: I demand to know the number of your clients who were factually innocent that went home either before or after a trial. I will be impressed if you say, there is, one. If you are hand carrying plea offers, an email service would be as good as you are. An email service will not pressure the client to lie to the judge, to falsely attest, pleading guilty, when that is a false statement. I know lawyers get uncomfortable when the Rules of Conduct are cited. I want you to like me. So, I am not making that long list of violations involved in a false plea of guilty, not to mention the violations of the Rules of Criminal Procedure, of Evidence, and of the local court. Posted by: David Behar | Aug 3, 2018 11:14:10 PM Prof. Drinan. Can you address a basic question of definition? Adulthood is in reality, age 14. So says, biology, defining it as having the ability to reproduce. A plant is "adult" when it produces seeds. The religious rituals of adulthood are around that age around the world, in all the world's mainstream religions. Civilization has made puberty the time of adulthood for 10,000 years. For that time, people reaching 14 took on adult roles and responsibilities, including the most serious, that of soldier. The word, knight, comes from Nordic languages, and means, lad. So these lads went on Crusades, ran the farms, and fought on behalf of their king. The increasingly later age of adulthood is a recent attempt to keep people out of the market, who are superior in every way to the union members, registered Democrats, and poor performers in the market, all lawyer clients. Posted by: David Behar | Aug 3, 2018 11:38:08 PM "The increasingly later age of adulthood is a recent attempt to keep people out of the market..." This is not wholly false but it is not fully true, either. It's important to remember that when civilization was developing life expectancy was also a lot shorter and the main reason it was shorter was because high infant mortality. Thus individuals who made it to 14 were by definition the halest of the species. That is no longer true. We have millions of babies that survive every year, many of them with significant disabilities, that would have never survived even 100 years ago. From that perspective the later age of adulthood is an attempt to tolerate a greater range of human infirmities. Of course, the trade-off for delaying adulthood to give the infirm more time to grow is restriction on the hale. Society seems to have accounted that trade-off worth it. Posted by: Daniel | Aug 4, 2018 11:09:02 AM "Society seems to have accounted that trade-off worth it." Heck... no. Dirty, rent seeking, denier, tyrannical lawyers, using men with guns, have, not society. I invite all Coastal low life to spend a year living in a farm state. The result of this denier lawyer tyranny? Massive waste of human potential; over the years, $trillions wasted on that baby sitting service, high school, to generate jobs for worthless, make work government workers, teachers. Posted by: David Behar | Aug 4, 2018 12:47:27 PM Daniel. You are in the business. What do you think about the evolving standard of civilization to make 25 the age of adulthood. Hey, Drinan, if you are going to reduce the culpability of people younger than 25, don't you also have to stop their ability to sign contract, drink a glass of beer or vote, as well? After all, it is proven. Young people, impetuously voted for Hillary Clinton, not thinking about their real self interest. They have never done better than since the election of Donald Trump. These young people's frontal lobe development is impetuously leading them to vote for the Democratic Party, and against their own self interest. I would appreciate it if Drinan told the readers her party registration. Posted by: David Behar | Aug 4, 2018 12:53:35 PM Hey, Drinan. The youth you wish to divert from imprisonment has a resting pulse lower than 60, and is not exercising nor physically fit. Do you discuss the low resting pulse indicator in your book? Posted by: David Behar | Aug 4, 2018 1:04:47 PM Post a comment Nuveen Virginia Quality Municipal Income Fund is a closed ended fixed income mutual fund launched by Nuveen Investments, Inc. The fund is co-managed by Nuveen Fund Advisors LLC and Nuveen Asset Management, LLC. It invests in the fixed income markets of Virginia. The fund invests primarily in municipal securities rated Baa/BBB or better. It invests in securities that provide income exempt from federal and Virginia income tax. The fund employs fundamental analysis with bottom-up stock picking approach to create its portfolio. It benchmarks the performance of its portfolio against the S&P National Municipal Bond Index and the S&P Virginia Municipal Bond Index. 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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. Read More 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. Read More Aetna Inc. operates as a health care benefits company in the United States. It operates through three segments: Health Care, Group Insurance, and Large Case Pensions. The Health Care segment offers medical, pharmacy benefit management service, dental, behavioral health, and vision plans on an insured and employer-funded basis. It also provides point-of-service, preferred provider organization, health maintenance organization, and indemnity benefit plans, as well as health savings accounts and consumer-directed health plans. In addition, this segment offers Medicare and Medicaid products and services, as well as other medical products, such as medical management and data analytics services, medical stop loss insurance, workers' compensation administrative services, and products that provide access to its provider networks in select geographies. The Group Insurance segment offers life insurance products, including group term life insurance, voluntary spouse and dependent term life insurance, group universal life insurance, and accidental death and dismemberment insurance; disability insurance products; and long-term care insurance products, which provide the benefits to cover the cost of care in private home settings, adult day care, assisted living, or nursing facilities. The Large Case Pensions segment manages various retirement products comprising pension and annuity products primarily for tax-qualified pension plans. The company provides its products and services to employer groups, individuals, college students, part-time and hourly workers, health plans, health care providers, governmental units, government-sponsored plans, labor groups, and expatriates. Aetna Inc. was founded in 1853 and is based in Hartford, Connecticut. Read More 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). GlaxoSmithKline Plc is a healthcare company, which engages in the research, development, and manufacture of pharmaceutical medicines, vaccines, and consumer healthcare products. It operates through the following segments: Pharmaceuticals; Pharmaceuticals R&D; Vaccines and Consumer Healthcare. The Pharmaceuticals segment focuses on developing medicines in respiratory and infectious diseases, oncology, and immuno-inflammation. The Pharmaceuticals R&D segment focuses on science related to the immune system, the use of human genetics and advanced technologies, and is driven by the multiplier effect of Science x Technology x Culture. The Vaccines segment produces pediatric and adult vaccines to prevent a range of infectious diseases including, hepatitis A and B, diphtheria, tetanus and whooping cough, measles, mumps and rubella, polio, typhoid, influenza, and bacterial meningitis. The Consumer Healthcare segment develops and markets brands in the oral health, pain relief, respiratory, nutrition and gastro intestinal, and skin health categories. The company was founded in 1715 and is headquartered in Middlesex, the United Kingdom. Read More 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. View MarketBeat's top stock picks here. Standard Chartered PLC, together with its subsidiaries, provides various banking products and services primarily in Asia, Africa, Europe, the Americas, and the Middle East. The company operates through Corporate & Institutional Banking, Retail banking, Commercial Banking, and Private Banking segments. It offers retail products, such as deposits, savings, mortgages, credit cards, and personal loans; wealth management products and services that include investments, portfolio management, insurance and advices, and planning services; and transaction banking services, such as cash management, payments and transactions, and trade financing products. The company also provides corporate finance products and services that comprise structured and project financing, strategic advising, and mergers and acquisitions; and financial market services, such as investment, risk management, debt capital markets, and securities services. In addition, it offers digital banking solutions. The company serves corporations, financial institutions, governments, investors, small businesses, and individuals. It operates through approximately 1,026 branches. The company was founded in 1853 and is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom. Read More 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 Read More Wall Street analysts have given Centennial Mining 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 Centennial Mining 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 Germany 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 Germany ETF wasn't one of them. MarketBeat thinks these five companies may be even better buys. View MarketBeat's top stock picks here. The Toronto-Dominion Bank, together with its subsidiaries, provides various personal and commercial banking products and services in Canada and the United States. It operates through three segments: Canadian Retail, U.S. Retail, and Wholesale Banking. The company offers personal deposits, such as chequing, savings, and investment products; financing, investment, cash management, international trade, and day-to-day banking services to businesses; and financing options to customers at point of sale for automotive and recreational vehicle purchases through auto dealer network. It also provides credit cards; real estate secured lending; auto finance; consumer lending; point-of-sale payment solutions for large and small businesses; wealth and asset management products, private banking, investment advisory, and trust services to retail and institutional clients; and property and casualty insurance, as well as life and health insurance products. The company also provides capital markets, and corporate and investment banking services, including underwriting and distribution of new debt and equity issues; advice on strategic acquisitions and divestitures; and trading, funding, and investment services to companies, governments, and institutions. It offers its products and services under the TD Bank and America's Most Convenient Bank brand names. The company operates through a network of 1,085 branches, 3,440 automated teller machines, and 1,223 stores, as well as offers telephone, digital, and mobile banking services. The Toronto-Dominion Bank was founded in 1855 and is headquartered in Toronto, Canada. Read More 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. Read More Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Geng Shuang's Regular Press Conference on August 3, 2018 2018/08/04 At the invitation of State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Maria Fernanda Espinosa, the president-elect of the 73rd Session of the United Nations General Assembly will pay a visit to China from August 5 to 10. Q: The Swedish government says it has received a request from China to extradite one of the people who is on the Interpol red notice list. The Swedish government has not given the name, but if you look at the list the CCDI issued, it appears to be a former official who worked for a grains company in Henan, who fled originally to the US in 2011. He has two names, either Qiao Jianjun or Li Feng. Are you aware of this case? A: I am not aware of the situation you mentioned. I can check on it for you. Q: Bloomberg said that China rejects the US request to cut the Iran oil import. What's your comment? A: We have responded to similar questions many times before. China and Iran, under the precondition of not violating their respective international obligations, have maintained normal exchanges and cooperation. This is reasonable, legitimate, legal and beyond reproach. Meanwhile, China is always opposed to unilateral sanction and "long-arm jurisdiction". China's legitimate rights and interests should be upheld. This position is firm and clear. Q: On July 30, a media carried a report titled "The US Commerce Secretary Fattens His Own Wallet by Masterminding the Trade War and His Business Empire Gloats", revealing that there are conflicts of interest behind Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross' increasing of punitive tariffs on the Chinese goods imported to the US. What is your response to it? A: I am not aware of the relevant situation. I would like to reiterate that the trade war between China and the US will produce no winner. The Chinese side urges the US to come back to its senses as soon as possible, correct its mistakes and create necessary conditions for the proper settlement of the issue. Q: State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with his Japanese counterpart Taro Kono in Singapore yesterday. We learned from the information issued by the two sides that both China and Japan remain positive towards the improvement of bilateral relations. Can you give us more details on that? A: State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with his Japanese counterpart Taro Kono on the sidelines of the Foreign Ministers' Meetings on East Asia Cooperation in Singapore. We released the relevant information yesterday. China and Japan are important neighbors. China always attaches great importance to its ties with Japan. As State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said when meeting with Foreign Minister Taro Kono yesterday, the two sides must earnestly cement the political foundation for bilateral relations, which has been enshrined in the four political documents, and properly handle sensitive issues related to history and Taiwan. This is the overarching precondition for the improvement and development of China-Japan relations. Foreign Minister Taro Kono said that the Japanese side is willing to make greater efforts to implement the consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries so as to lay the groundwork for the sustained improvement and development of China-Japan relations. We hope that the Japanese side can translate its positive remarks on its ties with China into actions, contribute more to the improvement and development of China-Japan relations and move forward our bilateral ties along the right track. Q: Did the foreign ministers of China and the DPRK hold the bilateral meeting in Singapore this afternoon? If so, can you offer us the details and what is China's expectation for it? A: Yesterday I took a similar question. With regard to State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi's bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the Foreign Ministers' Meetings on East Asia Cooperation in Singapore, we will release the relevant information in a timely manner. Please keep following it closely. Q: A US State Department official said that the Mekong River originates in China, and the Chinese dams upstream have impacted the countries downstream, so they have to manage some of those impacts. The US side announced that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will hold the ministerial meeting on the "Lower Mekong Initiative" with five Mekong countries, namely, Myanmar, Cambodia, Thailand, Laos and Vietnam on the sidelines of the Foreign Ministers' Meetings on East Asia Cooperation. What is your comment? A: The relevant remarks of the US official are groundless and out of ulterior motives. As a country located in the upper reaches of the Mekong River, China always attaches great importance to the concerns and needs of the countries downstream, maintains close communication with them, commits itself to carrying out cooperation on water resources with relevant countries such as sharing hydrological data and flood control and drought relief. China has provided relevant countries with the hydrological data of the Lancang River during its flood season for 15 years in a row. China's hydropower cascade development in the Lancang River effectively reduces the water flow during the wet season and increases it during the dry season, which plays an important role in helping the countries downstream prevent flood and drought. The sincere assistance offered by China is highly appreciated by those countries. As to the ministerial meeting on the "Lower Mekong Initiative" chaired by the US, I want to point out that the sustainable development of the Mekong sub-region remains an arduous task and achieving the development and prosperity of the sub-region calls for the concerted efforts of all relevant parties. China welcomes non-regional countries' participation in the sub-regional development and cooperation. We hope that they can play a constructive role in promoting the development of the countries in the sub-region instead of creating divergences and hurdles. Meanwhile, we hope that all the mechanisms on the Mekong sub-region can focus on development and cooperation, jointly fuel the building of the ASEAN community as well as the regional integration process and deliver more tangible benefits to the countries and peoples in the sub-region. China will continue with its efforts to this end. Q: The Electoral Commission of Zimbabwe announced a couple of hours ago that Emmerson Mnangagwa had won the election. Has China offered its congratulations yet to him? A: I have remarked on Zimbabwe's general election these two days. What I want to say is that as a friendly country to Zimbabwe, China calls on all relevant parties to bear in mind the interests of the state and the people and respect the choice made by the Zimbabwean people. We stand ready to work with other members of the international community to maintain the peace, stability and development in Zimbabwe. Q: A follow-up on yesterday's question. It is reported that two women holding tourist visas from Russia's Republic of Buryatia arrived in Beijing on July 27. They should have been arranged to work in a restaurant. However, after they arrived in China, they were taken to a "nightclub" in Yiwu, Zhejiang and required to provide sexual services. On August 1, the Russian Consulate General in Shanghai said that the Chinese police in Yiwu have rescued the two women and now are helping them return to Russia. What is the Foreign Ministry's comment on it? A: After you raised this question yesterday, we tried to learn more information from the local competent authorities. According to the investigation by the public security organ in Zhejiang, those two Russian citizens you mentioned entered China using M visa (trade visa). They worked as performers in a bar in Yiwu, and have never been kept in captivity or forced to offer sexual services. These two persons already left for Moscow from the Shanghai Pudong International Airport on the night of August 2. I want to stress that China safeguards the legal rights and interests of foreign citizens in China in accordance with the law. In the meantime, we also ask them to abide by Chinese laws and not to engage in activities that the type of visa they hold doesn't permit. After the press conference, the following question was raised: The investigation team on the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 met with the families of the Chinese passengers onboard in Beijing today. What is your comment? Geng Shuang: We always closely follow the work related to the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370. We have noted the relevant statement made by the Malaysian Minister of Transport that they will not give up searching for the plane. We hope that the Malaysian side can respect the legitimate rights of the families of the Chinese passengers onboard, take their legitimate demands seriously and continue to properly handle the follow-up matters. The regular press conference of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will adjourn from Monday, August 6 to Friday, August 17 for the summer break and resume on Monday, August 20. During the adjournment, the Spokesperson's Office will receive your questions via telephone and fax. The official website of the Foreign Ministry and the WeChat official account of the Spokesperson's Office will release the Spokesperson's remarks in a timely manner. You may keep following that. Wish you a happy summer vacation! Unum Group is engaged in providing financial protection benefits. It operates through the following segments: Unum US, Unum International, Colonial Life, Closed Block and Corporate. The Unum US segment comprises of group long-term and short-term disability insurance, group life and accidental death and dismemberment products, and supplemental and voluntary lines of business. The Unum International segment engages in the operations of UK business, which includes insurance for group long-term disability, group life, and supplemental lines of business that include dental, individual disability, and critical illness products; Poland business primarily includes insurance for individual and group life with accident and health riders. The Colonial Life segment includes insurance for accident, sickness, disability products, life products, and cancer and critical illness products. The Closed Block segment consists of individual disability, group and individual long-term care, and other insurance products no longer actively marketed. The Corporate segment refers to investment income on corporate assets and other corporate income and expenses not allocated to a line of business; and interest Read More Wells Fargo & Co. is a diversified, community-based financial services company. It is engaged in the provision of banking, insurance, investments, mortgage, and consumer and commercial finance. It firm operates through the following segments: Community Banking, Wholesale Banking, Wealth & Investment Management, and Other. The Community Banking segment offers complete line of diversified financial products and services for consumers and small businesses including checking and savings accounts, credit and debit cards, and automobile, student, and small business lending. The Wholesale Banking segment provides financial solutions to businesses across the United States and globally. The Wealth and Investment Management segment includes personalized wealth management, investment and retirement products and services to clients across U.S. based businesses. The Other segment refers to the products of WIM customers served through community banking distribution channels. The company was founded by Henry Wells and William G. Fargo on March 18, 1852 and is headquartered in San Francisco, CA. Read More The following companies are subsidiares of Zimmer Biomet: Abbott Spine, Beijing Montagne Medical Device Co. Ltd., Beijing Montagne Medical Device Co. Ltd., BioMet, Biomet 3i Australia Pty. Ltd., Biomet 3i Belgium N.V., Biomet 3i Benelux Holdings N.V., Biomet 3i Dental Iberica SL, Biomet 3i LLC, Biomet 3i Mexico S.A. de C.V., Biomet 3i Netherlands B.V., Biomet 3i Nordic AB, Biomet 3i Portugal Lda, Biomet 3i Switzerland GmbH, Biomet 3i Turkey, Biomet 3i UK Ltd., Biomet 3i do Brasil Comercio de Aparelhos Medicos Ltda., Biomet Acquisitions (Unlimited), Biomet Argentina SA, Biomet Australia Pty. Ltd., Biomet Biologics LLC, Biomet Brazil Medical Device Ltda., Biomet C.V., Biomet CV Holdings LLC, Biomet Cementing Technologies AB, Biomet Chile SA, Biomet China Co. Ltd., Biomet Deutschland GmbH, Biomet Deutschland Holding GmbH, Biomet Fair Lawn LLC, Biomet Finance US LLC, Biomet France Sarl, Biomet Global Supply Chain Center B.V., Biomet Healthcare Management GmbH, Biomet Holdings B.V., Biomet Hong Kong CBT Ltd., Biomet Hong Kong Holding Ltd., Biomet Hong Kong No. 1 Ltd., Biomet Inc., Biomet Insurance Ltd., Biomet International Inc., Biomet International Orthopedics LLC, Biomet Leasing Inc., Biomet Manufacturing LLC, Biomet Mexico S.A. de C.V., Biomet Microfixation B.V., Biomet Orthopedics LLC, Biomet Orthopedics Puerto Rico Inc., Biomet Spain Orthopaedics S.L., Biomet Sports Medicine LLC, Biomet Trauma LLC, Biomet U.S. Reconstruction LLC, Biomet UK Healthcare Ltd., Biomet UK Ltd., CD Diagnostics, CD Diagnostics Inc., CD Laboratories Inc., Cayenne Medical, Cayenne Medical Inc., CelgenTek Innovations Corporation, Centerpulse Ltd, Changzhou Biomet Medical Devices Co. Ltd., Citra Labs LLC, Clinical Graphics, Compression Therapy Concepts Inc., Compression Therapy Products, D.S. Comp Ltd., Dornoch Medical Systems, Dornoch Medical Systems Inc., EBI Holdings LLC, EBI LLC, EBI Medical Systems LLC, EBI Patient Care Inc., ETEX Corporation, ETEX Holdings Inc., Electro-Biology LLC, Endius, Espanormed S.L., Etex, ExtraOrtho, Hakuho Company Ltd., IC Guided Surgery SRL, Implant Concierge LLC, Implant Innovations Holdings LLC, Implex, InnoVision Inc., Interpore Cross International LLC, JERDS Luxembourg Holding Sarl, Kirschner Medical Corporation, Knee Creations, LDR Brasil Comercio Importacao e Exportacao Ltda., LDR Holding, LDR Medical Hong Kong (branch), LDR Medical S.A.S., LVB Acquisition Inc., Lanx Puerto Rico LLC , Lanx Srl, Medical Compression Systems Inc., Medtech SA, Medtech SAS, Medtech Surgical GmbH, Medtech Surgical Inc., NORMED Medizin-Technik GmbH, ORTHOsoft ULC, Ortho Transmission, Orthopaedic Advantage LLC, Ospol Participacoes Ltda., Representaciones Zimmer Inc. S. de R.L. de C.V., Respondwell, SM Re Ltd., Scandimed Holding AB, Shanghai Biomet Business Consulting Co. Ltd., Synvasive Technology, Synvasive Technology Inc., ZB COOP C.V., ZB COOP LLC, ZB Cayman (Asia) Holding Ltd., ZB Cayman Island CBT 2 Ltd., ZB Dental India Private Limited, ZB EMEA 1 LP, ZB EMEA Finance UK 1 Ltd., ZB EMEA Finance UK 2 Ltd., ZB EMEA Finance UK 3 Ltd., ZB EMEA US UK LLC, ZB Hong Kong CBT 2 Ltd., ZB Hong Kong Holding Ltd., ZB Hong Kong Ltd., ZB Manufacturing LLC, ZB UK Group Holdings Limited, ZH2LX Barbados Branch (branch), Zfx, Zfx GmbH, Zfx Innovation GmbH, Zhejiang Biomet Medical Products Co. Ltd., Zimmer (Shanghai) Medical International Trading Co. Ltd., Zimmer Asia (HK) Ltd., Zimmer Australia Holding Pty. Ltd., Zimmer Biomet (Thailand) Co. Ltd., Zimmer Biomet Asel Alarabiya Limited Company, Zimmer Biomet Asia Holding B.V., Zimmer Biomet Asia Holdings Pte. Ltd., Zimmer Biomet Austria GmbH, Zimmer Biomet BVBA, Zimmer Biomet CBT, Zimmer Biomet CBT 2, Zimmer Biomet CMF and Thoracic LLC, Zimmer Biomet Canada Inc., Zimmer Biomet Centroamerica SA, Zimmer Biomet Comp Ltd., Zimmer Biomet Denmark ApS, Zimmer Biomet Dental Canada Inc., Zimmer Biomet Dental K.K., Zimmer Biomet Deutschland GmbH, Zimmer Biomet Distribution LLC, Zimmer Biomet Finance Srl, Zimmer Biomet Finance US Holding Inc., Zimmer Biomet Finland Oy, Zimmer Biomet France Holdings SAS, Zimmer Biomet France SAS, Zimmer Biomet GK, Zimmer Biomet Global Holdings Switzerland GmbH, Zimmer Biomet Hellas SA, Zimmer Biomet Ireland Limited, Zimmer Biomet Italia Srl, Zimmer Biomet Korea Ltd., Zimmer Biomet Nederland B.V., Zimmer Biomet New Zealand Company, Zimmer Biomet Norway AS, Zimmer Biomet OUS Holdings AG, Zimmer Biomet Polska Sp. z.o.o, Zimmer Biomet Portugal Unipessoal Lda, Zimmer Biomet Pty. Ltd., Zimmer Biomet Romania S.R.L., Zimmer Biomet South Africa (Pty) Ltd., Zimmer Biomet Spain S.L., Zimmer Biomet Spine Inc., Zimmer Biomet Sweden AB, Zimmer Biomet Taiwan Co. Ltd., Zimmer Biomet UK Ltd., Zimmer Biomet US 2 Holding Inc., Zimmer CBT I Holding Inc., Zimmer CBT II Holding Inc., Zimmer CEP USA Holding Co., Zimmer CEP USA Inc., Zimmer CIS Ltd., Zimmer CV Inc., Zimmer Caribe LLC, Zimmer Cayman Islands Holding Co. Ltd., Zimmer Co-op Holdings LLC, Zimmer Colombia SAS, Zimmer Czech sro, Zimmer Dental (Shanghai) Medical Device Co. Ltd., Zimmer Dental Chile Spa, Zimmer Dental GmbH, Zimmer Dental Inc., Zimmer Dental Italy Srl, Zimmer Dental Ltd., Zimmer Dental SAS, Zimmer Finance Ireland, Zimmer France Manufacturing Sarl, Zimmer Germany Holdings GmbH, Zimmer GmbH, Zimmer GmbH Euro IP Branch (branch), Zimmer GmbH Winterthur Branch (branch), Zimmer Gulf FZ LLC, Zimmer Inc., Zimmer India Private Ltd., Zimmer International Logistics GmbH, Zimmer Investments LLC, Zimmer Knee Creations Inc., Zimmer Luxembourg II Sarl, Zimmer Luxembourg Sarl, Zimmer Manufacturing B.V., Zimmer Manufacturing B.V. (branch), Zimmer Medical Malaysia SDN BHD, Zimmer Netherlands Cooperatief U.A., Zimmer Orthobiologics Inc., Zimmer Orthopedics Manufacturing Limited, Zimmer Production Inc., Zimmer Pte. Ltd., Zimmer Slovakia sro, Zimmer Southeast Florida LLC, Zimmer Spine Next Inc., Zimmer Spine SAS, Zimmer Surgical, Zimmer Surgical Inc., Zimmer Surgical SA, Zimmer Switzerland Holdings LLC, Zimmer Switzerland Manufacturing GmbH, Zimmer Tibbi Cihazlar Sanayi ve Ticaret AS, Zimmer Trabecular Metal Technology Inc., Zimmer Trustee Ltd., Zimmer UK Limited, Zimmer US Inc., and Zimmer do Brasil Comercio Ltda.. The city isnt raising taxes this year, but property owners tax bills will still likely go up. The reason? Rising property values. City commissioners on July 25 adopted a proposed tax rate of $6.4548 for $1,000 of assessed value, approximately 0.5 percent lower than the current rate due to a slight decrease in debt service. A final budget hearing is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on August 28 at City Hall, 524 NW 21st Court. If the tax rate is approved, the owner of a $300,000 single family home would pay $1,936.44 in municipal property taxes. Residents total property tax bills also include additional fees paid to Broward County Schools, the North Broward Hospital District, South Florida Water Management District and other entities. But despite the flat city property tax rate, residents tax bills could jump because property values in the city rose 7.73 percent from a year ago, according to a report by City Manager Leigh Ann Henderson. The citys proposed $36.4 million municipal budget adds no new positions. A budget message from Henderson notes that the city could lose $330,00 in property tax revenue should voters in November approve a constitutional amendment granting eligible residents an additional $25,000 homestead exemption. The ballot item would exempt the portion of home values between $100,000-$125,000 from property taxes other than school taxes, for a maximum homestead exemption of $75,000. Commissioners said some cities have lowered their municipal tax rates because of increased property values but they were holding the line in anticipation of the amendments passage. The city has also proposed hiking the fire assessment fee for single family homes by $4.73, which would increase the annual rate of $214.72 to $219.45. Wilton Manors contracts with the city of Fort Lauderdale for its fire services. In addition, the city is also reducing the fire assessment subsidy for non-profits, said Commissioner Tom Green. The subsidy is being reduced from 70 percent to 50 percent, he said. We used to make non-profits totally exempt from the fire assessment fee. They are not paying property taxes to begin with, Green said. They are going to be paying 50 percent [of the fire assessment fee]. There is a philosophical discussion should they be paying anything and quite a few of us think so. Mayor Gary Resnick said he thinks the 2018-2019 proposed budget is sound. I think the budget is a very strong budget. It allows us to continue a lot of the projects we started, including some of the recreational amenities, Resnick said. The proposed budget includes a $17.6 general fund budget, which includes funds for police, fire and street services. Also included are average annual wage increases of between three and four percent for employees and additional funds to provide for hiring incentives for the Police Department, Resnick noted. City activist Paul Rolli, who chaired Wilton Manors Budget Review Advisory Committee from 2011-2015, said the city needs to do more to save money. Overall Wilton Manors total budget has gone up $15 million in 10 years. I dont think we can continue increase like that, Rolli said. I think we could have done more planning ahead. He said the city needs more affordable housing for young workers, and worried that existing home prices and taxes are much too high for young people to afford. We are really at a turning point, he said. I think we could be more fiscally responsible and be more reliant on technology and reduce the reliance on staffing, Rolli said. A proposed LGBT-friendly affordable housing project for seniors has already been slammed for its institutional looks and lack of parking. And now problems with storm water runoff may wash everything up if the issue isnt resolved. An attorney for the Townhomes of Riverside Homeowners Association sent the city a letter threatening an injunction if the project proposed by Carrfour Supportive Housing Inc. routs storm water across the Homeowners Associations land. Because the easement agreement does not allow flow from any new drainage infrastructure on the adjacent property through the Associations property, any such additional flow will be a trespass subject to an injunction, attorney Jessica R. Lokeinsky wrote in the letter. The site at 2040 N. Dixie Highway is also home to the Pride Center at Equality Park. The parcel relies on the Townhomes of Riversides land for drainage to the Middle River. An easement agreement for the property doesnt extend such rights to new development and the Homeowners Association is currently unwilling to revise the agreement. David Coviello, an attorney for Carrfour, said the matter will be resolved. At the time of permitting, the project will meet all city and county standards, and provide all necessary infrastructure, including water, sewer and storm water facilities, Coviello said. According to a July 24, 2018 letter from Lokeinsky, the rights for drainage through the associations property are only for the utility infrastructure serving those improvements existing on April 24, 1994, the date the easement agreement was recorded. Matthew Dreger, president of the Townhomes of Riverside Homeowners Association, said the issue is of concern because the exit for storm water runoff for the Pride Center property is on the Townhomes property and they were never consulted. I have mentioned to Carrfour and the Pride Center multiple times and at Planning and Zoning that there is an issue with the storm water system, Dreger said. If they put a shovel in the ground its going to be a problem because its a violation of the covenant. He said the proposed Carrfour building is also slated for construction atop one of the main drains for storm water runoff. He said there is already a drainage problem on the property, which is frequently immersed in pools of standing water after heavy rains. The Pride Center should have certainly come to the HOA a long time ago and [said] they wanted to build this property and this was going to be a change to our covenant, Dreger said. I think the best thing to happen would be for them to put in their own storm sewer exit to drain their water. We can sever our ties with them and we dont have to have a relationship with them anymore, Dreger added. NASA has assigned nine astronauts to crew the first test flight and mission of both Boeing's CST-100 Starliner and SpaceX's Crew Dragon. The astronauts are, from left to right: Sunita Williams, Josh Cassada, Eric Boe, Nicole Mann, Christopher Ferguson, Douglas Hurley, Robert Behnken, Michael Hopkins and Victor Glover. Credits: NASA NASA introduced to the world on Friday the first U.S. astronauts who will fly on American-made, commercial spacecraft to and from the International Space Station. This is an endeavor that will return astronaut launches to U.S. soil for the first time since the space shuttle's retirement in 2011. "Today, our country's dreams of greater achievements in space are within our grasp," said NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine. "This accomplished group of American astronauts, flying on new spacecraft developed by our commercial partners Boeing and SpaceX, will launch a new era of human spaceflight. Today's announcement advances our great American vision and strengthens the nation's leadership in space." The agency assigned nine astronauts to crew the first test flight and mission of both Boeing's CST-100 Starliner and SpaceX's Crew Dragon. NASA has worked closely with the companies throughout design, development and testing to ensure the systems meet NASA's safety and performance requirements. "The men and women we assign to these first flights are at the forefront of this exciting new time for human spaceflight," said Mark Geyer, director of NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston. "It will be thrilling to see our astronauts lift off from American soil, and we can't wait to see them aboard the International Space Station." Starliner Test Flight Astronauts Eric Boe was born in Miami and grew up in Atlanta. He came to NASA from the Air Force, where he was a fighter pilot and test pilot and rose to the rank of colonel. He was selected as an astronaut in 2000 and piloted space shuttle Endeavour for the STS-126 mission and Discovery on its final flight, STS-133. Christopher Ferguson is a native of Philadelphia. He is a retired Navy captain, who piloted space shuttle Atlantis for STS-115, and commanded shuttle Endeavour on STS-126 and Atlantis for the final flight of the Space Shuttle Program, STS-135. He retired from NASA in 2011 and has been an integral part of Boeing's CST-100 Starliner program. Nicole Aunapu Mann is a California native and a lieutenant colonel in the Marine Corps. She is an F/A-18 test pilot with more than 2,500 flight hours in more than 25 aircraft. Mann was selected as an astronaut in 2013. This will be her first trip to space. Boeing's Starliner will launch aboard a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. Crew Dragon Test Flight Astronauts Robert Behnken is from St. Ann, Missouri. He has a doctorate in engineering and is a flight test engineer and colonel in the Air Force. He joined the astronaut corps in 2000 and flew aboard space shuttle Endeavour twice, for the STS-123 and STS-130 missions, during which he performed six spacewalks totaling more than 37 hours. Douglas Hurley calls Apalachin, New York, his hometown. He was a test pilot and colonel in the Marine Corps before coming to NASA in 2000 to become an astronaut. He piloted space shuttle Endeavor for STS-127 and Atlantis for STS-135, the final space shuttle mission. SpaceX's Crew Dragon will launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. After each company successfully completes its crewed test flight, NASA will begin the final process of certifying that spacecraft and systems for regular crew missions to the space station. The agency has contracted six missions, with as many as four astronauts per mission, for each company. Starliner First Mission Astronauts Josh Cassada grew up in White Bear Lake, Minnesota. He is a Navy commander and test pilot with more than 3,500 flight hours in more than 40 aircraft. He was selected as an astronaut in 2013. This will be his first spaceflight. Sunita Williams was born in Euclid, Ohio, but considers Needham, Massachusetts, her hometown. Williams came to NASA from the Navy, where she was a test pilot and rose to the rank of captain before retiring. Since her selection as an astronaut in 1998, she has spent 322 days aboard the International Space Station for Expeditions 14/15 and Expeditions 32/33, commanded the space station and performed seven spacewalks. Crew Dragon First Mission Astronauts Victor Glover is from Pomona, California. He is a Navy commander, aviator and test pilot with almost 3,000 hours flying more than 40 different aircraft. He made 400 carrier landings and flew 24 combat missions. He was selected as part of the 2013 astronaut candidate class, and this will be his first spaceflight. Michael Hopkins was born in Lebanon, Missouri, and grew up on a farm near Richland, Missouri. He is a colonel in the Air Force, where he was a flight test engineer before being selected as a NASA astronaut in 2009. He has spent 166 days on the International Space Station for Expeditions 37/38, and conducted two spacewalks. Additional crew members will be assigned by NASA's international partners at a later date. NASA's continuous presence on the space station for almost 18 years has enabled technology demonstrations and research in biology and biotechnology, Earth and space science, human health, physical sciences. This research has led to dramatic improvements in technology, infrastructure and medicine, and thousands of spinoff technologies that have improved quality of life here on Earth. The new spaceflight capability provided by Boeing and SpaceX will allow NASA to maintain a crew of seven astronauts on the space station, thereby maximizing scientific research that leads to breakthroughs and also aids in understanding and mitigating the challenges of long-duration spaceflight. NASA's Commercial Crew Program is facilitating the development of a U.S. commercial crew space transportation capability with the goal of achieving safe, reliable and cost-effective access to and from the International Space Station and low-Earth orbit. The public-private partnerships fostered by the program will stimulate growth in a robust commercial space industry and spark life-changing innovations for future generations. Learn more about NASA's Commercial Crew Program at: https://www.nasa.gov/commercialcrew Please follow SpaceRef on Twitter and Like us on Facebook. Two-year-old trotters found themselves in the spotlight Thursday evening at Woodbine Mohawk Park, as the oval hosted first round action in the Pure Ivory Series and the Define The World Series. Someone else who found the spotlight was trainer Mike Keeling, who sent out the winners in each of the divisions. First up were the boys in the $14,000 Define The World, and Smart As Hill rallied for a 4-1 upset for Keeling and driver Roger Mayotte. The son of Muscle Hill-Smarty Pants grabbed a two-hole trip behind race favourite Steuben Hanover. That foe sliced out fractions of :29.4, :59.2 and 1:28.2 before heading into the lane and bearing out in deep stretch. That allowed Mayotte to rally up the inside with Smart As Hill, who used a :28.4 closing panel to prevail by a neck over Steuben Hanover in 1:57.3. Taking home third prize was Cesar Duharas. Dreamville Stable of Cambridge and Harbor Racing Stable LLC of Aurora share ownership on the youngster who now boasts a 1-1-1 record from three trips to the track. Purchased for $70,000 from last years Lexington Select Yearling Sale, Steuben Hanover has banked just over $12,000 to date. Stablemate Dark As A Pocket took matters into her own hands in the $14,000 Pure Ivory division, winning over her female foes in a career-best clocking of 1:58. Paul MacDonell hustled the Keeling trainee to the lead from Post 4, and together they whacked out fractions of :27.4, :58 and 1:28.2 before trotting home in :29.3 to win by 2-1/2 lengths over Confession Session. Sette Deo closed from far back to finish third. Sent off as the 1-5 favourite, the daughter of Trixton-Mariongotchocolate nabbed her second win from just four trips postward. Purchased for $90,000 from last years Lexington Select Yearling Sale, the filly has potted more than $16,000 so far in her career for Dreamville Stable of Cambridge. To view results for Thursday's card of harness racing, click the following link: Thursday Results Woodbine Mohawk Park. The top aged pacers on the Eastern Seaboard of Canada will converge on Red Shores at the Summerside Raceway on Sunday afternoon (Aug. 5) for Invitational pacing action. The Prince County oval will play host to 13 dashes Sunday with a 1:00 p.m. start time, culminating with a $4,000 Invitational pace in the finale. A field of eight talented pacers will head to gate in the invite, with Governors Plate champion Czar Seelster and driver Kenny Arsenault drawing the coveted post one. The nine-year-old son of Stonebridge Regal, trained by Todd Weatherbee for owner Tammy Johnston of Vernon Bridge, was a 1:53.2 winner over this track last month but was defeated in his last two outings by Rose Run Quest. That foe leaves from post two in this Sunday afternoon field. Gilles Barrieau gets the call on Rose Run Quest for trainer Bo Ford after winning the $7,500 Exhibition Cup Invitational at Truro Raceway on July 21. Regular pilot Marc Campbell then returned to the lines of Rose Run Quest for a 1:54.4 victory last Saturday in Charlottetown but Campbell will be off-Island for ATSS stakes commitments. Mr Irresistible has post three with Corey MacPherson at the lines for trainer Jennifer Doyle. The son of Mister Big will look to add to the over $12,000 bankroll he has accumulated this season. Adkins Hanover gets post four this week with Ambyr Campbell at the controls for trainer Trevor Hicken with his last race ending with a fourth-place finish in Rose Run Quests 1:54.4 mile. Euchred will be looking for revenge on his top-end foes from post five on Sunday afternoon after being parked out for duration of the mile in the Exhibition Cup and finishing a well-beaten seventh. The Shadow Play pacer has been a dominant force on the East Coast scene all season and will get trainer Terry Gallant at the lines this week. Keep Coming leaves from post six for driver Dale Spence and trainer Brian Andrew while Do Over Hanover has post seven with Jason Hughes in the seat for trainer Chris MacKay. In Spades has shown his best racing comes from the front end but is burdened with post eight in his Sunday contest. Austin Sorrie trains and drives the talented pacer, who also has not raced since the Exhibition Cup on July 2 after finishing second in that event. For entries, click the following link: Sunday Entries - Red Shores at the Summerside Raceway. (with files from Red Shores) Hanover Raceway is hosting its signature event of the summer, the 2018 Dream of Glory Trot, this Saturday August 4. To celebrate, the I Love Canadian Harness Racing Fan Club has put together an Online Handicapping Contest that's now open....read on Renault India has launched the 2018 Kwid with a slight dose of chrome and additional features at no extra cost. Renault India has launched the 2018 Kwid with a slight dose of chrome and additional features at no extra cost. The features include a standard emergency locking retractor (ELR) for rear passengers, which allows free passenger movement and locks on emergency brake application, preventing the passenger from falling forward. The Kwid AMT is now available with a creep function which eliminates the need to step on the accelerator to move the car forward in bumper-to-bumper traffic situations. The Datsun redi-GO, which shares the 1.0-litre engine and AMT with the Kwid, however, had the creep feature beforehand. Renault calls this feature Traffic Assist. Here are the new features added to each variant: Renault Kwid RXL variant Front power windows Remote central locking Fog lamps Full wheel covers Renault Kwid RXT(O) variant Chrome on the front grille and the gear knob 12V socket for rear passengers Rear parking camera Renault Kwid Climber Rear armrest Prices remain unchanged for the 2018 model, starting from Rs 2.67 lakh and going up to Rs 4.59 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi). The Kwid is available in 5 variants: Standard, RXE, RXL, RXT (O) & Climber. Heres how it stacks up against its immediate rivals in terms of pricing. The New Renault Kwid 2018 Feature Loaded Range Launched Kwid Crosses The 2.5L Sales Milestone No additional price for the best in class features and design enhancements in Renault KWID 2018 Feature Loaded Range The new range becomes more attractive with first-in-segment features Integrated reverse parking camera Rear arm rest Rear 12V socket for passenger convenience The new range becomes more innovative with Rear ELR (Emergency Locking Retractor) across all variants and Traffic Assist in Renault KWID AMT variants 4 years or 1 lakh Km Warranty makes KWID the most irresistible and affordable offering in its segment Available in 8 trims, the new range is offered in 0.8L and 1.0L SCe powertrains in manual and AMT options Renault, the Number One European brand in India, today announced the launch of new KWID 2018 Feature Loaded Range which will be available in both manual and automated transmission options. This Attractive, Innovative and Affordable car has been a true game-changer and volume driver for Renault India, selling more than 2,50,000 cars. Available in 8 trims with segment-first features, the new Renault KWID 2018 Feature Loaded Range has been launched at no additional price, further enhancing its value proposition. Speaking on the launch, Sumit Sawhney, Country CEO and Managing Director, Renault India Operations, said, With more than 2.5L customers, Renault KWID has successfully carved a unique position for itself in the compact car segment. We have kept KWID contemporary with regular product enhancements that reflect the rapidly changing and evolving customer trends. Taking this forward, the Kwid 2018 Feature Loaded Range combines design and technical advancements with compelling pricing, which makes it an even more attractive proposition. We look forward to further strengthening Kwids popularity and welcoming more customers into the Renault family as we endeavour to consolidate our presence in India. The Renault KWID 2018 Feature Loaded Range will offer segment-leading length, power to weight ratio, boot space, ground clearance and cutting-edge technology. It boasts of several first-in-segment features led by its SUV inspired design, 7-inch touchscreen Media NAV system, Rear Camera, digital Instrument cluster, one-touch lane change indicator, radio speed dependent volume control and pro-sense seat belt pretensioners with load limiters. Best-in-class features include its boot capacity of 300 litres, 180 mm of ground clearance, ergo-smart cabin, multiple storage spaces, upper segment body dimensions, interior space, service parts maintenance cost, ride & handling and several personalization options. The length and width of the car is also best in class thus offering a stunning and powerful road presence.The range-topping variants get power steering, 3 and 4 Speed Manual AC, ORVM passenger side, engine immobilizer, single din audio with Bluetooth and telephony, front speakers and a 12V power socket. The Renault KWID 2018 Range comes with a 4 year / 1 lakh km (whichever is earlier) class-leading warranty along with Road Side Assistance at no extra cost. This includes the regular 2 years / 50,000 km comprehensive warranty along with an additional 2 years / 50,000 km extended warranty, enabling customers to enjoy an unparalleled ownership experience. Customers can choose from six exciting colour options - Fiery Red, Planet Grey, Moonlight Silver, Ice Cool White, Outback Bronze and Electric Blue for the KWID Climber. Bookings for the Renault KWID 2018 Feature Loaded Range have commenced across all Renault dealerships in India. Source: CarDekho.com Jet Airways on Friday described reports that the airline cannot fly beyond 60 days as "incorrect and malicious" as well as denied any talks of a stake sale. (Photo: PTI) New Delhi: Jet Airways pilots and management are on a war path over salary reductions and possible job cuts at various departments, with the airline telling them that it might not be able to continue operations for more than two months, sources in the pilot community said. However, Jet Airways on Friday described reports that the airline cannot fly beyond 60 days as "incorrect and malicious" as well as denied any talks of a stake sale. Sources said the full service carrier has also told the employees that the compulsory one-year notice period for captains would be done away with. There are more than 16,000 employees at Jet Airways. The airline said it is implementing several measures to reduce costs. Earlier this week, the top management in a meeting with staff, including pilots, informed them that the airline is in a financially bad shape and sought their cooperation in reducing costs. The proposed steps include pay cuts, sources in the pilot community told PTI. Jet Airways Chairman Naresh Goyal, CEO Vinay Dubey and Deputy CEO Amit Agarwal, among others, were present at the meeting, the sources said. At the meeting, the management also said that the airline might be left with revenues only to operate for not more than 60 days unless cost cutting measures are implemented, the sources added. In a filing to the BSE, the airline said it is implementing several measures to reduce cost as well as realise higher revenues, for desired business efficiencies. "Some of these areas include sales and distribution, payroll, and maintenance, among many others," it added. Jet Airways' filing came in response to a clarification sought by the BSE on reports that the airline might not to able to fly beyond 60 days amid financial woes. Shares of the airline tumbled 7 per cent to close at Rs 308 on the BSE today. Amid concerns over its financials, Jet Airways CEO Vinay Dubey today said the aviation industry is passing through a tough phase due to mismatch between high fuel prices and low fares. As per the filing, the company has been in dialogue with its key stakeholders, including pilots and engineers, to apprise them of the challenges being faced by the Indian aviation sector in general and the airline in particular. This is to "enlist their full support and cooperation for realising necessary savings across all functions of the business", it added. The Naresh Goyal-led airline, in which Gulf carrier Etihad holds 24 per cent stake, has already slashed by 25 per cent the salaries of its senior management, sources had said on Wednesday. Senior management executives are those holding general manager post and above level positions. Pilots have told the management that proposed pay cuts was not acceptable. Engineers have also rejected the pay cut proposal, the sources said. "Despite the high growth environment, the aviation industry is currently passing through a tough phase given a depreciating rupee and the mismatch between high fuel prices and low fares. "Jet Airways has been in existence for over 25 years and through the years has been successful in combating such business volatility," Dube said in a statement. He noted that the airline is well placed to be a part of the Indian aviation growth story. "The company is committed to create a growth-oriented, sustainable future and a revitalized experience armed with the addition of 225 B737-MAX fuel efficient aircraft, which will be inducted in its fleet over the next decade, with 11 being inducted this fiscal," he said. Jet Airways -- which completed 25 years of operations earlier this year -- had 16,558 permanent employees as on March 31, 2018. Besides, there were a total of 6,306 temporary/ casual employees, as per the airline's annual report for 2017-18. New Delhi: Ousted Tata Sons chairman Cyrus Mistry on Friday approached the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) against the order of NCLT dismissing his plea challenging his removal as chairman of the company. A petition was filed before the appellate tribunal against the July 9 order of the Mumbai bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT). "We have filed the appeal today," Mistry's counsel said. Mistry's appeal is now with the registry of the NCLAT, which would forward it after technical verification. Asked as to when would the matter be listed for hearing, the counsel said: "Nothing has been decided as of now." On July 9, NCLT Mumbai had dismissed pleas of Cyrus Mistry challenging Mistry's removal as Tata Sons chairman as also the allegations of rampant misconduct on part of Ratan Tata and the company's Board. A special bench of the tribunal held that the Board of Directors at Tata Sons was "competent" to remove the executive chairperson of the company. NCLT bench members B S V Prakash Kumar and V Nallasenapathy said that Mistry was ousted as chairman because the Tata Sons' Board and its majority shareholders had "lost confidence in him". Under the Companies Act 2013, an order of NCLT can be challenged before the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT). Mistry, who was the sixth chairman of Tata Sons, was ousted from the position in October 2016. He had taken over as the chairman in 2012 after Ratan Tata announced his retirement. Two months after his removal, Mistry's family-run firms Cyrus Investments Pvt Ltd and Sterling Investments Corp approached the NCLT as minority shareholders, against Tata Sons, Ratan Tata, and some other board members. Mistry in his pleas primarily argued that his removal was not in accordance with the Companies Act and that there was rampant mismanagement of affairs across Tata Sons. He also alleged that Tata Trust chairperson Ratan Tata and trustee N Soonawala interfered with the day-to-day operations of the group companies, they acted as shadow directors, and all of the above caused massive revenue loss for the group. The Tata Group had denied all charges and said Mistry was removed because the Board had lost confidence in him. India has asked Britain to extradite billionaire jeweller Nirav Modi, one of the main accused in the USD 2 billion loan fraud at state-run Punjab National Bank (PNB). New Delhi: India has asked Britain to extradite billionaire jeweller Nirav Modi, one of the main accused in the USD 2 billion loan fraud at state-run Punjab National Bank (PNB). Modis whereabouts have been unknown since PNB in January said that two jewellery groups headed by Modi and his uncle, Mehul Choksi, defrauded the bank for years by raising foreign credit using fake guarantees. The international police agency Interpol last month issued a request to find and arrest Modi. But on Thursday, Indias foreign affairs ministry told parliament it had sent an extradition request for Modi to Britain. It did not specify how it knew Modi was there. Modi and Choksi have denied wrongdoing. Lawyers for both could not be immediately reached for comment on Friday. The PNB fraud, dubbed as biggest in Indias banking history, exposed shortcomings in the management of PNB and undermined confidence in Indias state-run banking sector, which controls over two-thirds of the nations bank assets. The company also signed an MoU with the IT, electronics and communications department of the Telangana government to help develop a blockchain district so as to boost the ecosystem in Hyderabad. Hyderabad: IT services firm Tech Mahindra on Friday announced that the company acquired a minority stake in an Ethereum-like protocol at the first edition of the International Blockchain Congress. In a statement, Tech Mahindra CEO & MD C.P. Gurnani said, Eleven01 is an ambitious initiative which will put India right at the center of the global Blockchain landscape. It will power the Indian blockchain ecosystem and create exponential value for all stakeholders, we are proud to play a pivotal role in this pursuit of excellence. Clearly, it is time for India to leapfrog into the leaders orbit in next generation technologies like Blockchain. Speaking to the media Mr Gurnani said that the company expects to have a revenue of $100 million from blochain in the current fiscal. The company also signed an MoU with the IT, electronics and communications department of the Telangana government to help develop a blockchain district so as to boost the ecosystem in Hyderabad. Mumbai: Tigmanshu Dhulias pet project, Milan Talkies, which had been in the pipeline several years prior to finding its dream cast, has finally found a release date. Starring Ali Fazal and Bollywood debutante Shraddha Srinath, Milan Talkies is a love story set against the backdrop of single screened theatres. Although not much is known about the film, Ali will be playing a filmmaker from a small town near Lucknow, as most of the film has been shot there. An avid lover of cinema and the arts, the Victoria and Abdul actor sure has his work cut out for him, although hes bound to do a fantastic job at it. Given that he has dabbled in both Bollywood and Hollywood, Ali has drawn inspiration from several veteran and notable directors from both the industries. And, it so happens that Ali himself is a writer, a talent that is sure to have contributed during his prep for the role. Talking about his role in the upcoming film, Ali said, Ive breathed and lived cinema since I was a kid. Only did I realise this passion as a career in adulthood. My research was on the edit table of 3 iconic films of 2018 that have with Gods grace done exceptionally well. Editing is the key to filmmaking. Actors act. Directors direct. Filmmakers direct the act. My experience on various types of sets came in handy. But most of all, going into the depths of a small town filmmaker with no budgets and only jugaad to your name. Much of what you see in the film is a young Tigmanshu Dhulia on sets maybe. His mannerisms are infectious and his style is nothing short of coolness. For an actor to have his director as inspiration is a beginning of an education. I am to still learn lots from him. We cannot wait to watch what Ali has in store for us. Mumbai: Fans of Baahubali can revisit the world of Mahishmati in a new Netflix series that will explore the journey of Sivagami in a prequel to the SS Rajamouli's two-part blockbuster. The series, which was announced by Netflix on Thursday , has already been given a two-season order. Baahubali: Before the Beginning will be a prequel to Baahubali: the Beginning and Baahubali: the Conclusion, and is based on Anand Neelakantan's book, The Rise of Sivagami. Season one of the series will have nine episodes and captures Sivagami's journey from a rebellious and vengeful girl to a wise and unequalled queen. Netflix has teamed up with the team behind Baahubali, including Arka Media Works and Rajamouli. Deva Katta and Praveen Sataru will co-direct the series. Rajamouli is looking forward to the prequel. I am very excited that this is being adapted as a Netflix Original Series. With Netflix as our partner, we have the opportunity to create a rich and riveting series and take this quintessential Indian epic to the world, which is very gratifying to me as a storyteller, he said in a statement. According to a synopsis provided by the streaming giant, Power, politics and intrigue find themselves juxtaposed against the rise of Mahishmati - from being a city-state to an empire. Rajamouli said the world of Baahubali is extensive and immersive with strong characters and larger than life kingdoms and while they explored a part of it in the two films, there are other more dramatic stories to explore. Erik Barmack, VP, International Originals, Netflix, said, Baahubali is a world-class franchise that epitomizes the power of compelling stories that resonate globally. We are excited to work with some of the world's most talented writers and producers on one of India's most beloved stories. The series is a tremendous opportunity for us to give audiences more of the universe that they have come to love, and welcome millions more into the global Baahubali fandom. Prasad Devineni, Producer, Arka Media Works, said that they have been working for over a year to develop the prequel as a Netflix original series. "We are happy to be partnering with Netflix to produce this amazing story. This partnership gives us the reach and the creative freedom to bring to life the full potential of the series in all its grandeur and exceed the high expectations set by both our films," he added. With the success of Sacred Games, Netflix's first original series from India, the streaming service is actively looking to expand its base in the country with original content. It recently announced a collaboration with Shah Rukh Khan for a spy drama The Bard of Blood, starring Emraan Hashmi. It is an adaptation of Bilal Siddiqi's book of the same name. ...and other things you didnt know about the earliest days of Americas greatest trotting race. Rome wasnt built in a day and, neither was the Hambletonian. Contested every year since 1926 and staged at six different race tracks, the race has now settled into its comfortable home of the Meadowlands. Now the longest serving home of the race, it has been contested in East Rutherford, N.J. since 1981, always taking place on the first Saturday of August. The race has now called three different tracks its home for an extended amount of time. First, in Goshen, N.Y. at William H. Canes three-cornered track, Good Time Park, from 1930-1942 & 1944-1956. The outline of the irregular track can still be seen on Google Maps where NY State Route 17M now runs through it. Second, the DuQuoin State Fair from 1957-1980, and finally the Meadowlands from 1981-present. Before the race found firm footing in the Cradle of the Trotter in 1930, it had two different homes in its first four years, in Syracuse and the Red Mile. In 1943, due to wartime rationing of gasoline the race was contested at the Empire City track, now known as Yonkers, instead of at Goshen. Though prominent in name since day one, the prestige level of the race went through a series of growing pains in its first decade or so, as it grew into the title of being Americas top race for sophomore trotters. Early on, the race wasnt quite the polished spectacle that we all enjoy today. Here are some quirky, lesser-known facts from the earliest days of the Hambletonian that you may be interested to learn. 1926: Three different tracks made bids to stage the inaugural Hambletonian. Atlanta, Georgia made a play for the race but the additional $3,000 they were willing to add to the purses was rejected. Kalamazoo, Michigan also made an attempt to land the race but their additional $5,000 to be added to the purse was also rejected. A third bid from Syracuse, New York was successful. Adding an additional $8,000 to the already huge purse, Hambo No. 1s total purse topped out at $73,451.32, which in 2018 terms of purchasing power is equal to $1,011,592.92. Guy McKinley, as the favourite, won in straight heats to collect the Onondaga Hotel Cup, the trophy presented to the winners of the first three editions of the race. 1927: Hambo No. 2 was set for August 29, 1927, again to be contested in Syracuse, NY, but following five days of rain, the track in Syracuse became highly inadequate, forcing a change of venue. The race was moved to the Red Mile in Lexington, Kentucky, and pushed back a month to the end of September, during the second week of the Grand Circuit meet. The race would produce its first filly champion in Iosolas Worthy. 1928: Moved back to its original location of Syracuse, Hambo No. 3 was set to go off without a hiccup until two weeks prior. A prep race for Hambo probables was contested in Cleveland, Ohio. The pre-race favourite, Fireglow, driven by Walter Cox, was involved in a pile-up with some blaming Cox for the spill. Two days after the race Fireglow was found dead of a mysterious poisoning, that some saw as possible retribution for the accident Cox caused. Spencer, the eventual Hambo champion, was also involved in the pile-up prior but escaped with very little injury and recovered to win the last Hambletonian ever contested at the New York State Fair. 1929: The race again was rained out, and moved from Syracuse to the Red Mile, forcing it to be contested in October - the latest ever date on the calendar for a Hambletonian. The most interesting thing here however, is the mystery of what eventually became of the race winner. Whether dead or alive, the current location, or fate, of 92 of the 93 Hambletonian champions is known. For the 1929 champion, Walter Dear, his fate will probably remain a secret for the rest of time. After his undefeated three-year-old campaign, owner Walter Cox sold his champion stallion to the unprecedentedly successful, and larger-than-life, Irish-German trainer/driver Charlie Mills. The German-based trainer continued to race Walter Dear across the European continent, and in 1934 they won the Prix d'Amerique. After his racing career concluded Mills stood the horse at stud in Germany at his castle/farm located east of Berlin. Walter Dear is believed to have called Mills German retreat his home for the majority of the war. By 1945 however, with Nazi Germany on its heels, Walter Dear became lost to history. As the Soviet Army ravaged and pillaged their way to the German capital of Berlin, Mills castle was enroute. Mills never returned to his home following the war, electing to start over in France, as his home was now located in newly formed East Germany. There are multiple possible theories as to Walter Dears fate. Probable: Killed in the cross fires of war. Slaughtered for meat by the Soviet Army - at this point in the war, supplies and food were scarce. Because of his size, the Soviet Army used him for work and transportation of goods. Though the Soviets generally didnt view a well-bred horse in the same way the Germans would have, he could have been exported back to the Soviet Union due his looks and stature, to help grow the horse population following the war. Less-Probable: Transported away from the farm by a Mills employee prior to the Soviet occupation of Germany, but since Mills never saw the horse again, this isnt very likely. Transported by German forces to a German horse farm located in Czechoslovakia. Germany believed in the practice of eugenics at this point, and were acquiring the finest-bred horses from around Europe to control to breeding process. 1930: The 1930 edition of the Hambo is known for a few different reasons. Firstly, it was the first time the Hambletonian was contested at its new home, Good Time Park in Goshen, NY. Secondly, because William Cane, who owned the track and was instrumental in the race moving to Goshen, turned the Hambletonian into a national media frenzy, attracting nationwide coverage and bringing in patrons from far and wide. Thirdly, in that Hanovers Bertha became the first champion bred by Hanover Shoe Farms, and by what the champion filly went through to claim the title. A two-year-old champion and unbeaten at three coming into the Hambo, in the first heat a group of drivers teamed up against Hanovers Bertha, forcing the filly offstride. Needing to win the next heat, the dirty play from the others didn't stop. Prior to the start of the second heat, there was a 43 minute delay due to 26 recalls! With the lack of a mobile starting gate, competitors were able to purposely miss the start and force a recall. The method of Open Scoring was used, and competitors were to approach the start together, with a starter positioned to make sure everyone was given a fair start. Regardless of the tactics of others however, Hanovers Bertha took both heats two and three, and the title. CBS was able to broadcast the second heat on radio, but because of the delay, the third and final heat took place after the radio program had finished. 1933: The 1933 edition saw legendary trainer/driver Ben White pick up his first of four Hambletonians from the sulky, with his filly Mary Reynolds. After White and Mary Reynolds won the first heat of the day, Brown Berry beat the filly to the wire in the second, setting up a third heat where Brown Berry was the favourite. Yards from the wire, the Hambo looked locked up, Brown Berry was on top, and then, he fell to his knees. Mary Reynolds, following behind, passed by untouched, and went on to win the heat and the Hambletonian title. That years edition was also most likely the first where newsreel coverage of the race was used. 1934: The 1934 edition was won by Lord Jim, collecting the winners share from the smallest-ever Hambo purse of $25,845.44. Even though the purse had lost nearly $50,000 since the first edition in 1926, as the world had slipped into severe economic depression, the drop in purse was out of the control the Hambletonian Society. The race was still being supported as well as ever, despite the hard times, and the next two champions (in 1935 & 1936) would help raise the spirits of the nation and its racing fans. 1935: The only grey, and first gelding to win the race, Greyhound picked up the 1935 edition in straight heats. Greyhound became the most beloved trotter during the depression in America, setting countless world records throughout his career. 1936: Of the five fillies to pick up the Hambletonian in the 1930s, none is more acclaimed then the legendary Rosalind. Trained and driven by Ben White, Rosalind was a gift to Bens son, who has been sent to Arizona to recover in the dry heat from tuberculous. Gibson White was in attendance at Goshen when Rosalind won the Hambletonian in front of 45,000 people. (A Trot Insider Exclusive by Justin Fisher, with files from the Hambletonian Society. Photo, clockwise from top left: Guy McKinney, Spencer, Greyhound, Rosalind) Looks like the makers of Kaatrin Mozhi, the Tamil remake of Vidya Balans Tumhari Sulu, are going all out to ensure that they have a winner on their hands. We hear that Jyothika and a group of friends will be seen grooving to Jimmki Kammal, the peppy Malayalam song that took the world by storm last year, for a party sequence in the film. Cutting across language barriers, the song from Mohanlals film Velipadinte Pusthakam went viral and ended up becoming a youth anthem in 2017. Jimmiki Kammals catchy beats had everyone dancing to it at clubs, weddings and parties, both in India and overseas. The track was even enjoyed by American talk show host Jimmy Kimmel, whose name sounds much like it. Now, the song will be brought back to life in Kaatrin Mozhi. Producer Dhananjeyan reveals that the dance sequence was shot just a few days ago. Yes, we have bought the official rights to the song and used it as is, as a Malayali number without remixing it. Director Radha Mohan was the one who suggested we use the song at a crucial moment in KM, he says. Radha Mohan adds, I needed a popular song which would have an instant connect with the south, and the first one that came to my mind was Jimmiki Kammal. The sequence has Jyothika, who plays an RJ, celebrating her success by breaking into a dance as the song plays from a recorder. She is joined by her colleagues played by Lakshmi Manchu, Sandra, Sindhu Shyam, and Kumaravel. The song has been choreographed by Viji. Sources reveal that Jyothika seemed to have a great time grooving to the song along with Lakshmi Manchu during the shoot. Several incidents in recent times reveal that Telugu female actresses are often blamed for everything that goes wrong with a film. Just a few days ago it was reported that the shooting of a movie stopped for a day because of lead actress Sai Pallavi. This is not the first time that an actress has been blamed for something wrong. The same actress was blamed for her unprofessional behaviour during the shooting of her earlier film MCA: Manchi Lakshanalunna Abbayi. In yet another film Kanam, her co-star Naga Shaurya openly criticised her for her behaviour, prompting the actress to apologise to him during a media conference if she had hurt him in any way. Lavanya Tripathi Similarly, director Neelakanta opted out of That Is Mahalakshmi, a remake of Hindi hit film Queen citing Tamannahs behaviour. Prashanth Varma later took over the reins while Neelakanta took to directing only the Malayalam version. Its a hero-centric industry and the actors career span is nearly 20 years. So producers and directors dont want to quarrel with the lead actors or go against them. Whatever happens on the sets, it is easy to blame the actresses because they are used to it. The producers and directors want to work with those actors for a long time, so they support the heroes and not the actresses, says Madhura Sridhar, producer and director, adding, Filmmakers can easily warn the actresses and replace them, but they cant change the lead actors. Catherine Tresa Actress Sai Pallavi has been blamed the most number of times for throwing attitude on the sets. While shooting for Padi Padi Leche Manasu, Pallavi came so early to the sets that she had to wait for two hours! So she asked the team to inform her just one hour before the shooting commenced. However, the news spread that she was showing her attitude and that shooting had to be stopped because of her, says a source on what really transpired. Later, both Sai Pallavi and Sharwanand clarified that there were no differences between them and the unit. Anupama Parameswaran Last year, actress Catherine Tresa was blamed for her attitude and replaced with Lakshmi Rai in Khaidi No.150. Touted as Chiranjeevis comeback film, Catherine was supposed to do a special song in it, but the makers replaced her with another actress at the nth hour. The designer changed her outfits without informing her, and Catherine didnt accept the changed outfits. Differences arose and she was immediately replaced with another actress, says a source. Actress Lavanya Tripathi also faced blame for not doing the Tamil remake of Telugu hit film 100% Love. Though it was not entirely her fault, the filmmakers filed a complaint with the Movie Artists Association and Lavanya was eventually replaced. Problems may arise during the production of a film. And whichever actor or actress is in focus, the news spreads more about them. Differences come and go, they are not permanent and we have to continue and focus on our work, says producer Dil Raju, who refuses to comment about the recent incident that happened on his film sets between Anupama Parameshwaran and Prakash Raj. It seems the makers warned everyone against talking about it, especially since no one dares to speak against Prakash Raj as he is a senior artist. No one knows what happened and I was not there that day, he says, adding that even small issues are magnified by the media. After social media has come into play, everything is news. So I dont want to comment on anything. HT01/03 Primary cytoskeleton proteins are different in malaria parasites than humans and this can be a starting point of treatment against malaria infections and new anti-malarial drug design research. (Photo: Pixabay) A Germany-based Indian-origin scientists research alongside international experts has offered hope for more effective malaria therapy by finding the reason behind the faster movement of the malaria-causing parasite in humans. Dr Prajwal Nandekar joined Dr Ross Douglas and other team members for a new collaborative study by scientists from the Center for Molecular Biology (ZMBH) and the Heidelberg Institute for Theological Studies (HITS) and Heidelberg University Clinic in Germany to conclude that the actin protein is an important factor for the faster movement of malaria-causing parasite. Malaria is a serious disease, which has caused nearly 400,000 deaths worldwide and in India and infected 1.3 million people. The teams research paper on the subject, published in PLoS Biology journal last month, explains that the speed of the malaria parasite is 10 times faster than the fastest human immune cells. As a result, it is very difficult for human immune cells to catch and kill these fast-moving parasites. Nandekar, a specialist in computer-aided drug discovery techniques who is currently working as a scientist at the University of Heidelberg, and the team of scientists have now discovered the reason for the faster movement of these parasites by studying the actin protein. "The actin proteins and their architecture is different in parasite and humans. These differences are responsible for the faster movement of a malaria parasite. This scientific understanding has not only changed the way of dealing with the parasite but also helpful to pharmaceutical scientists to design new drugs against malaria," Nandekar explains. Primary cytoskeleton proteins are different in malaria parasites than humans and this can be a starting point of treatment against malaria infections and new anti-malarial drug design research. Nandekar adds: "Many actin proteins assemble together in a special arrangement and form a long rope-like structure. This particular arrangement is responsible for the faster movement of malaria parasites, which is different in human cells and is important for proper cell functioning, such as in muscle cells this enables proper movement. "Surprisingly, if scientists understand the movement of malaria parasites and the differences between human and parasite actin protein, it is possible to target the actin filaments and make the parasite stop. This research opens up a new dimension for anti-malarial drug design and gave us a hope for the new anti-malarial drugs." In the latest research, partly funded by the Heidelberg University Frontiers funds, made successful use of a high-performance supercomputer facility at HITS and Heidelberg University. She married her husband in 1942 and served in the women's home guard auxiliary during the Second World War. (Photo: Pixabay) Dorothy Ellis, the final First World War widow whose late husband inspired the novel War Horse, has died aged 96, her family said. According to reports, Ellis passed away on Wednesday in a nursing home, her niece Pauline Smith confirmed. Ellis was the widow of war veteran Wilfred Ellis, who was shot, gassed and left for dead on the front line in 1918. His accounts of the war would go on to inspire a book, play and move War Horse, originally written by Michael Morpurgo, whom he befriended in later life. According to a report out in MailOnline, paying tribute to her late aunt on Thursday, Smith, 63, said, It feels very strange because we were brought up with her being our aunt up the road and then you find out all this history. Ellis had been bound to the war since the start of her life despite not witnessing it as she was born on Armistice Day in 1921. She married her husband in 1942 and served in the women's home guard auxiliary during the Second World War. A 20-year age gap meant she outlived Wilfred, who died aged 82 in 1981, by almost four decades and remained in the home they shared together for more than 70 years. The pair met after Wilfred moved from Wimbledon in south west London, to her home village in Iddesleigh, Devon. They fell in love and wed in 1942 when Dorothy was 21 and Wilfred was 44. Though he served with the Norfolk Regiment during the war Wilfred rarely spoke about his experiences. That is until he met author Michael Morpurgo, who lived in the same village. His wartime exploits became the inspiration for Morpurgo's 1982 book War Horse, which he dedicated to Wilfred and fellow villagers Albert Weeks and Captain Arthur Walter Morland Budgett. Apart from the eateries spread across the nook and corners, the one thing this city is known for is the breweries they possess. The city celebrates International Beer Day on August 3. And from the days of yore where malts and barrels were pretty much regular guzzles, city drinkers are turning crafty with an array of flavoured beers that have left their taste buds with a smacking zest of sweet, tanginess and sharp tastes: Be it Indian Pale Ale, Raddler, Tintin, Hefeweizen or Phat Abbot. The brewers are also seen making a shift from the traditional Barley to millets, opening an excellent platform for farmers, buyers, sellers and exporters of organic produce and millets; adding on to the reasons for city drinkers to make the change. The day is marked to celebrate those responsible for brewing and serving beer and to unite the world under the banner of beer, by celebrating the beers of all nations together on a single day. George Jacob, a brew master opines on the various beers available in the city and what seems like the crowds favourite. He says, There are two types of beer: ale and lager. People here prefer ales like wheat beer over lager. But, in the recent days, we can see that the trend is shifting. Though they stick to ales they are also experimenting with beers other than wheat beer, like IPA (Indian Pale Ale). The breweries that experiment with their beers in Bengaluru are Arbour Brewing Company, Biergarten and The Rig. Arbour has a beer called the Syrian Wolf Pale Ale, it is quite different from the other beers available, The Rig in Sarjapur road is also coming up with a smoked ale. Personally, I feel that people in here are not as experimental with their beers as they are in places like Pune. Apart from the eateries spread across the nook and corners, the one thing this city is known for is the breweries they possess. No matter what kind of beer you like; light, strong or the ones which are sweet, there is something they always have to offer. Nikhil Davies, a beer enthusiast, says, I have tried various kinds of beers and I like the ones that arent too bitter. I stay away from beers that can possibly give me a hangover the next day. The one that truly stands out for me is Raddler, the lightest beer on the menu and one of my favorites. The strong lemon aroma and sweet notes in the beer make it my beer of preference for a great session. It never leaves you with a hangover. I also love Tintin. Its a light, snackable and easy-on-the-palate kinda beer. The traces of orange and coriander make it the beer for the occasion. It goes well with most of the items on the menu. Sujith K Sam, a resident of Bengaluru who is on a sabbatical from work, recalls some of the beers he has had in the city that have left an imprint on his taste buds. He says, Phat Abbot, a Belgian Trappist style brew and the Beer Battered Fish and Chips is what I call comfort food. The strong sweet, spicy and fruity flavours of the beer make it a rich, complex yet easy-drinking brew with the maximum alcohol punch allowed by law. Hefeweizen, is a must try for any craft beer lover. Trying it is a decision Ill never regret. This classic German Wheat Beer with notes of Clove and Banana has both, the perfect taste and after-taste! They say waste not, want not, and theres one young lad whos single-handedly proving how true that adage is. With the intention of minimising the wastage of food, 22-year-old Swapnil Kova, a student of the Institute Of Public Enterprise, Hyderabad, has launched the #My_Plate_Is_Clean campaign, as part of which hes encouraging his friends to post pictures of their polished-off plates of food on their social media profiles. According to Swapnil, on an average, nearly 30 per cent of the food people serve themselves, at educational institutions and at home, is left uneaten. Through his campaign, he wants people to be cognizant of this wastage, and thus avoid it. Though it may seem like a small, insignificant move, Swapnil believes that tiny drops of water make a mighty ocean. The pilot project that hes launched in his own college has been receiving considerable appreciation and support from the student fraternity. I strongly believe that by embracing such campaigns, we can be at the forefront of social development. I request everyone to nominate one or more friends for the #My_Plate_Is_Clean challenge, Swapnil says. We have linked this campaign with Friendship Week, which is the entire week that precedes Friendship Day. That will mark the end of the pilot project at our college, he adds. Swapnil has had banners, selfie booths, stickers and labels designed to get people interested in his campaign. The miscreants tried to break the ATM to steal money. However, they took to heels once the alarm in the centre went off. Chennai: Residents of Cemetery Road in Washermenpet were in a shock after an alarm system went off in their locality late Wednesday evening. The police have launched a hunt to nab 4 persons who fled the spot. According to police sources, four persons entered the ATM centre belonging to a private bank sans security guard and disconnected the CCTV camera. The miscreants tried to break the ATM to steal money. However, they took to heels once the alarm in the centre went off, the sources said. The residents rushed to the spot and were shocked. Meanwhile, the banks control room in Mumbai received an alert of the incident and the bank management filed a complaint with the Chennai police. Base on the complaint, Washermenpet police registered a case and are searching for miscreants. The quarrel continued till about 1 am and at around 3 am, Swarnlata went outside and got a stone, with which she attacked Bhairah while he was asleep, said the official. (Representational Image) Hyderabad: A woman attacked her husband and killed him late on Wednesday night at Erragadda. Swarnlata and Bhairah had been married since 2013 and had a fight, following which Swarnlata picked up a stone and attacked her husband, said sub-inspector of SR Nagar police station G. Ajay Kumar. Bharaiah, 33, worked as a technician and the couple stayed near Don Bosco school at Erragadda. On Wednesday night, they got into a quarrel at around 11 pm during which Bharaiah levelled accusations against her. This continued till about 1 am and at around 3 am, she went outside and got a stone, with which she attacked Bhairah while he was asleep, said the official. According to Mr Kumar, Swarnlata has been sent for medical examination as they suspect her to be her mentally unstable. She is undergoing treatment for some mental problems at private hospitals and thus, we are assessing her state with the help of psychologists, said the official. The couple has a four-and-a-half year old daughter. A case has been registered against Swarnlata at SR Nagar police station under relevant Sections of the IPC. Hyderabad: An unidentified person threw acid on a 45-year-old woman when she was taking tuitions for students in a room, opposite Sanskar School in Jeedimetla on Thursday evening. According to sources, the victim has been identified as Surya Kumari, 45, a resident of Phase II in Padmanagar of Chintal, teaches social studies in Siddhartha School at Chintal. On Thursday evening, when she was taking tuitions, an unidentified person threw acid on her face. Kumari suffered severe burns on her face. The students alerted passersby, who rushed her to Remedy Hospital in Kukatpally for treatment. The womans husband works in a Seeds Manufacturing Company in the city and she has two daughters, including an engineering student, said the sources. Balanagar ACP T. Goverdhan said that the accused is yet to be identified and his motive is also unknown. A formal complaint has also not been lodged yet with the Jeedimetla police. The woman is admitted to Remedy Hospital with severe burns and is undergoing treatment. Further details regarding the incident are being collected, as the victim was rushed to the hospital first and the police were intimated later. Jayanthi had gone out with her farmer husband to watch a play in Tamil Nadu's Vellore district Monday, but snuck away to meet her lover. (Representational image) New Delhi: A woman who bit off a chunk of her husband's penis when he caught her with another man has been charged with attempted murder, police said on Friday. The 45-year-old Jayanthi, who uses only one name, had gone out with her farmer husband to watch a play in Tamil Nadu's Vellore district Monday but snuck away to meet her lover, police official Prakash Babu told AFP. When she had not returned after more than an hour, the husband went to look for her. "He found her in close contact with her lover. A scuffle followed during which the dhoti that the man was wearing fell off. She bit off a part of his penis before running away with her lover," Babu said. Villagers rushed the bleeding husband along with the severed part of the penis to the hospital and informed police. The woman was arrested on Wednesday. The victim is now recuperating in the hospital, the police said. The Times of India said Jayanthi had confessed to the attack and been sent to Vellore Central Prison for women. Foundation Defends Military Cross Memorial from Atheist Legal Attack Contact: John Eidsmoe, Foundation for Moral Law, 334-262-1245, info@morallaw.org MONTGOMERY, Ala., Aug. 3, 2018 /Standard Newswire/ -- The Foundation for Moral Law, an Alabama nonprofit corporation dedicated to the defense of religious liberty and the right to publicly acknowledge God, filed an amicus brief Thursday supporting the Bladensburg Cross, a memorial to military personnel in Bladensburg, Maryland. The American Legion erected the cross in 1925 to honor local soldiers who gave their lives in World War I. The American Humanist Association challenged the monument as an establishment of religion in violation of the First Amendment. A federal district court dismissed the lawsuit, but the Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled that the monument was unconstitutional. The case is now up for review before the U.S. Supreme Court. The Foundation has a filed a brief supporting the petition for review. Foundation President Kayla Moore said concerning the case: "This nation was founded on the 'laws of nature and of nature's God,' to use the words of the Declaration of Independence. The First Amendment was enacted to prevent the establishment of an official state church, but our Founders never intended to prevent the public acknowledgement of God." Foundation Senior Counsel John Eidsmoe added: "Like Count Dracula, the plaintiffs seem to recoil at the sight of the cross. But the cross has always had a special meaning for the military. Crosses abound in military cemeteries, and except for the Medal of Honor the highest awards given in the military are the Distinguished Service Cross (Army) and the Air Force Cross, Navy Cross (Navy and Marines), and Coast Guard Cross. As General MacArthur said in his Farewell Address at West Point: "The soldier, above all other men, is required to practice the greatest act of religious training -- sacrifice." It is entirely fitting that this sacrifice should be recognized with the Bladensburg Cross. A special bench constituted to hear cases related to idol thefts had earlier directed IG Pon Manickavel to file a status report of the cases and posted the matter for further hearing on August 8. Chennai: The state government has issued an order transferring all idol theft cases in Tamil Nadu from the Idol Wing police to the CBI. On August 1, the day the government informed the Madras High Court of its policy decision to hand over all idol theft cases to the CBI as the idol wing was not performing satisfactorily the Home department issued the GO. The GO, said, the government after careful examination have decided to accept the proposal of the Additional Director General of Police, Economic Offences Wing, Chennai, as concurred by the Director General of Police, Tamil Nadu, to transfer all the under investigation cases being investigated by the special team constituted for the idol theft cases and all such future cases to the Central Bureau of Investigation. Factors like some cases having both domestic and international ramifications, requirement of extradition in some cases and the involvement of central agencies as part of the investigation were considered for the transfer of the probe. A special bench constituted to hear cases related to idol thefts had earlier directed IG Pon Manickavel to file a status report of the cases and posted the matter for further hearing on August 8. Idols go missing in Kanyakumari district Idols are not safe in Tamil Nadu, it appears. Monday saw the presiding deity of the famous Lord Shiva temple at Bhoothapandi near Nagercoil in Kanyakumari district disappear along with three other idols. The incident came to light when the temple priest opened the door of the sanctum sanctorum for the morning poojas and to his shock found four idols missing. He immediately alerted the authorities. The idols date back to more than 200 years. The temple is being administered by the State Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department. According to sources several thousands of idols, many of thousands of years old, have gone missing from the temples across Tamil Nadu. When a batch of petitions came up for hearing before the Madras high court, the HR & CE had told the court that strong rooms would be ready in all the 3,087 temples by December-end next year.AG Pon Manickavel, IG of Police, who was appointed by the High Court to probe the case of missing idols, told the Court that he has no confidence on the officials of the HR & CE department. Idols worth several hundreds crores of rupees are preserved in rooms fitted with locks costing just Rs 250, the IG had told the court. Hyderabad: Social media platforms have their negative sides too. The recent trend being the sale of drugs through online advertising. In a similar case, an employee of Amazon, who was selling drugs by uploading photos of cocaine, weed and LSD on his Facebook profile, and his associate a pharmacist were arrested by the officials of Prohibition and Excise Department. The duo were nabbed from Humayunnagar and 15 grams of cocaine, 80 grams of dry ganja, and two phones were seized from them on Wednesday. Facebook updates, photos uploaded to openly advertise their stash collection were used as evidence. Koustav Biswas, a cannabis enthusiast as his Facebook bio reads, is an Amazon employee from Ratna Nivas Apartments in Manikonda and belongs to Kolkata. He along with Syed Adil, a pharmacist from Sainikpuri in Secunderabad, were nabbed from near Sarojini Devi Eye Hospital in Humayunnagar by the Excise and Prohibition Department. Mohd Irfan, an ex-employee of Amazon and a common friend of the duo, who has been supplying them stash from Pune, is reportedly absconding, Excise Inspector of District Task Force, Hyderabad K. Karuna said. A screengrab of his profile trying to sell drugs openly. The last Facebook update on late Tuesday night before Koustavs arrest on Wednesday was: Flight is in the morning and have some ecstasy and charlie on me so need to distribute it asap. Ready to deliver anywhere. Charlie is 4k and ecstasy is 1k. He was known for his posts on the social media platform, asking for buyers to approach him for stash. We got an information that the boys were transferring drugs near the eye hospital and a team was promptly sent to nab them on Wednesday, an official said. The updates on Facebook were picked up by Koustavs friends and the local people as well, as they are all public posts, wherein they either comment or message him personally asking for a quick buy as he assures them spot delivery. Sources said that Koustav procures stash from other dealers in the old city areas or gets them himself from Himachal Pradesh or other cities. Being a globally known name, such well established companies should make sure their employees are not drug addicts and should keep a tab on their activities too, an official from the Special Operations Teams (SOT) said. (Representational Image) Hyderabad: While officials of Excise Department claim that this is the first case where they have caught youth openly advertising on social media, the city police and Special Operations Team (SOT) have busted similar rackets before, one of them being a doctor who was operating from his Instagram account. Being a globally known name, such well established companies should make sure their employees are not drug addicts and should keep a tab on their activities too, an official from the Special Operations Teams (SOT) said. Rachakonda Police had earlier raided a house in Bahadurpura area where a city-based doctor Mohammed Sujath Ali Khan was running a drug racket through his Instagram account which had 1,800 followers where he advertised his stuff, including chocolates laced with weed, before sending them out across India. He had over 3,000 customers across the country. His price range was from Rs 500 per piece of chocolate to Rs 1,800 per piece, SOT Inspector Naveen Kumar said, adding that Khan had been procuring ganja from peddlers in Dhoolpet area and bought chocolates and other ingredients from general stores. IT officials should keep an eye on their employees and should conduct sessions, explaining ill effects of these drugs and ask employees not to use any of them, he said. Sellers use hashtags and emojis to indicate what they stock, says an SOT official. Speaking about the mandatory background verification done by the IT companies, a senior Amazon employee on condition of anonymity said, Companies start verification by calling the last employer. They even look into public databases (criminal records) and also dig into education records to verify your degrees and certificates. NIZAMABAD: The Nizamabad police registered a case under the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, (Nirbhaya Act) 2013 against TRS Rajya Sabha member D. Srinivass son, D. Sanjay, former mayor, here on Friday. Following the complaint lodged by 11 B.Sc (Nursing) students over alleged sexual harassment by Sanjay, who owns Shankary Nursing College in Nizamabad, IV Town police has registered the case under Sections 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 354-A (sexual harassment and punishment for sexual harassment), 506 (punishment for criminal intimidation), 509 (word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of woman) and 342 (punishment for wrongful confinement) with crime number 187/2018. The victims met Commissioner of Police, Mr Kartikeya, and lodged a complaint in IV Town police station. Mr Sanjay said he would cooperate with the investigating agencies on the harassment charges framed against him. After meeting the home minister Naini Narasimha Reddy in Hyderabad on Thursday, the victims reached here on Friday and lodged the complaint. In the complaint, the students said that they were horrified with the attitude of Sanjay. Meanwhile, speaking to newsmen here at his residence former mayor, D. Sanjay refuted the allegations of sexual harassment. He said that with political vendetta, baseless charges were being framed against him. Shankary educational institutions including nursing colleges have been leased out to others, I am in no way concerned with the administration, he said. He also said that he was living with his wife and children and not in a live-in relationship with someone else. He assured that educational certificates of the complaining students will be handed over by the existing management of Shankary College. On the other hand, DS's younger son, BJP State Executive Committee member Mr. D. Arvind said that sexual harassment charges episode was an internal affair of the ruling TRS party. I have parted ways from my parents and brother 20 years ago, he said. There would be no impact on his political prospectus, he added. Meanwhile, IV Town police have recorded the statements of 11 B.Sc (Nursing) students over sexual harassment in Shankary College. The police are investigating the case. People wait in a queue to check their names on the final draft of the state's National Register of Citizens after it was released, at an NRC Seva Kendra, in Morigaon. (Photo: PTI) New Delhi/Washington: An Indian-American advocacy group today called for immediate suspension of the National Registry of Citizens or NRC until the irregularities resulting in four million people being excluded from the list are fixed. The names of 40.07 lakh applicants in Assam did not find a place in the much-anticipated second and final draft of the NRC, a historic document touted to be a proof of Assamese identity. "The ethnic group that is the worst victim of this mass disenfranchisement is the Bengali-speaking Muslim community in Assam, accused of being 'infiltrators,' although they are Indian citizens," the Indian-American Muslim Council (IAMC) said in a statement. "The fact that this is an exercise in subversion of democracy and has a clearly bigoted, discriminatory agenda, is reflected in the exclusion of the relatives of the former President of India," IAMC president Ahsan Khan said. "The entire programme should be suspended until the criteria for exclusion are clearly defined," he said. It called on the Indian government not to allow religious differences to define the socio-political landscape of the country, where something as basic as a citizen's right to be called a citizen of the country is arbitrarily snatched away. The first draft of the NRC was published during the intervening night of December 31 and January 1 this year, containing 1.9 crore names. Tejashwi Yadav even criticised the Bihar government of shielding the accused in the Muzaffarpur shelter home sexual assault case after a photo of its owner Brajesh Thakur being felicitated by Nitish Kumar emerged. (Photo: File | ANI) Muzaffarpur: The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) has called for a nationwide strike, demanding the resignation of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar against the alleged mass sexual exploitation at various shelter homes in the state. On Thursday, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav told ANI, "RJD will hold a strike in Bihar and across the country, including at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi, on August 4 to seek answers from Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Muzaffarpur shelter home case and several other crimes in the state." Eleven employees of a child shelter home in Muzaffarpur were arrested on July 24 for allegedly sexually harassing the inmates. After receiving information, the police raided the vicinity and rescued 44 girls. Yadav even criticised the Bihar government of shielding the accused in the Muzaffarpur shelter home sexual assault case after a photo of its owner Brajesh Thakur being felicitated by Nitish Kumar emerged. "Photos of top leaders honoring the accused (Brijesh Thakur) corroborate that several senior leaders are involved in this case and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is trying to shield them. Probe was delayed deliberately to manipulate evidence," Tejashwi Yadav said. This came after the Left Parties and groups in Bihar called for a state-wide bandh in Patna on Thursday against the Muzaffarpur shelter home scandal. The protest in the city was also supported by Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) members. According to media reports, the protesters blocked railway tracks and several roads around the vicinity of the city. On a similar note, the Supreme Court on Thursday took suo motu cognizance in the Muzaffarpur shelter home case. The apex court division bench, headed by Justice Madan Bhimrao Lokur and also comprising Justice Deepak Gupta, issued notice to the Bihar Government and the Centre seeking a detailed reply from them in connection with the same. Even the state police on Wednesday raided another shelter home run by Brijesh Thakur after a case was registered against him over the disappearance of 11 girls from the safe haven. Thakur is the prime accused in Muzaffarpur's shelter home case, where more than 30 minor girls were sexually assaulted over a period of time. The CBI had taken over the investigation from Muzaffarpur's Mahila Police Station, where the case was registered on May 31, under Section 120(B) (criminal conspiracy), 376 (outraging the modesty of a woman), 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and section 4, 6, 8, 10,12 of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO). The alleged sexual exploitation of the girls was uncovered more than a month ago by a Mumbai-based social science institute. They had submitted its report in April and the Bihar social welfare department approved another project to Thakur on May 31 for beggars' shelter in Patna. After getting Antiguan passport, Choksi had fled India on January 4 this year and took oath of allegiance in Antigua on January 15, 2018. (Photo: File) New Delhi: The CBI has sent an extradition request for fugitive businessman Mehul Choksi to the government to be forwarded to Antigua where he has taken citizenship in November last year, an agency official said on Friday. Elaborating on the move, CBI sources said the agency has cited three grounds on the basis of which Choksi, one of the alleged masterminds of the USD 2 billion scam in state-run Punjab National Bank and uncle of fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modi, can be extradited to India to face trial. They said the agency has underlined the principle of reciprocity where fugitives can be exchanged between two countries as and when required, principle of dual criminality which states that the alleged charge on the fugitive should be an offence in both the countries, and the United Nations Convention against Corruption to which both Antigua and India are signatories. The UN Convention urges its signatory nations to cooperate in the matters pertaining to corruption, they said. The CBI move comes amidst media reports that Indian agencies told the Caribbean nation that there was no adverse information against Mehul Choksi when it did a background check on the fugitive billionaire before granting him citizenship in 2017. According to a statement of Citizenship by Investment Unit of Antigua and Barbuda, published in Antiguan newspaper The Daily Observer on Thursday, Antigua has claimed that Indian agencies had not shared any "derogatory information" about Choksi during its background checks. Choksi's application for citizenship in Antigua in May 2017 was accompanied with clearance from the local police as required by norms, the newspaper reported. Choksi was granted citizenship in November 2017 after a detailed "background check" and "due diligence", The Daily Observer had said in an earlier report. After getting Antiguan passport, Choksi had fled India on January 4 this year and took oath of allegiance in Antigua on January 15, 2018. On January 16, this year, the USD 2 billion scam was detected by Brady House branch of Punjab National Bank, making it the biggest banking scam in the country. Speaking at the Rajya Sabha, Union Home Minister said, 'entire process is being monitored by the Supreme Court and is completely fair and transparent.' (Photo: Twitter | ANI) New Delhi: Amid uproar and unabated debate over the National Register of Citizen or NRC draft of Assam that seeks to comb out illegal immigrants from the state, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday said, No Indian citizen will be left out of the list. I would like to repeat that its a draft and not final, everyone will get chance to appeal, the Home Minister told in the Rajya Sabha which has been witnessing protests and subsequent adjournments since Tuesday. Ever since the draft list was released on Monday, the Opposition has been criticising the government over what it claimed was a political move to cut out Muslim voters ahead of key state elections and 2019 general election. Rajnath Singh hit out at the Opposition, saying the "entire process is being monitored by the Supreme Court and is completely fair and transparent." "I assure everyone that no Indian citizen will be left out. There is absolutely no need to worry," Rajnath Singh said, adding that no action will be taken against anyone who can successfully prove their Indian citizenship. Rajnath Singh added, Its a totally fair process. Unwarranted accusations are unfortunate. "Everyone will get a chance to apply for citizenship once we have a final list. They will have full rights... nothing will be taken away from them," Rajnath Singh said. The home minister said that those not included in the final list would be able to appeal to the foreigners' tribunal. 40 lakh people in Assam have been left out of draft National Register of Citizens list. The NRC has been updated for the first time since 1951 to account for illegal migration from neighbouring Bangladesh. "There is an effort to disrupt harmony. An atmosphere of fear is being created. This must not be done. I urge everyone's support in this process. Let us all work together so that the process is done smoothly," Rajnath Singh told parliament. 'All 142 passengers and seven crew members who aboard the B737-800 aircraft have been safely evacuated with no reported injuries,' the official statement said. (Photo: File | PTI) New Delhi: A Jet Airways flight from Riyadh to Mumbai departed the runway, following an aborted take-off at the Riyadh Airport in the wee hours of Friday. Taking to Twitter, Jet Airways confirmed that all passengers travelling in the flight 9W 523 have been safely evacuated. "All 142 passengers and seven crew members who aboard the B737-800 aircraft have been safely evacuated with no reported injuries," the official statement said. #9Wupdate: Our flight 9W523 with 142 guests and 7 crew members from Riyadh to Mumbai of 3rd August aborted takeoff and departed the runway at Riyadh Airport. All our guests and crew have been evacuated safely with no reported injuries. Jet Airways (@jetairways) August 3, 2018 Further regretting inconvenience caused to the passengers, Jet Airways wrote, "Guests have been accommodated inside the terminal building. Our teams present on location are assisting guests in every possible way. At Jet Airways safety is of paramount importance. The airline regrets the inconvenience caused. We will issue subsequent updates as more details are available." "All our guests and crew members of flight 9W 523 accommodated inside the terminal building at Riyadh Airport have been served meals and refreshments and our teams are taking care of their requirements," the airlines further tweeted. According to sources, the pilot found an object on the runway and, therefore, he decided to abort take off. The pilots have reportedly braked hard in order to ensure the plane stops in the available length of the runway. The investigation is still pending in the matter while the airlines have reported the incident to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). Meanwhile, the airlines also guaranteed to make alternate travel arrangements for the passengers. "We are working to make alternate travel arrangements for our guests from Riyadh. Our flight operations across the network including services to and from Riyadh remain unaffected," the airlines noted. Former prime minister HD Deve Gowda meets DMK leaders MK Stalin and Kanimozhi in a hospital where their father and party chief M Karunanidhi, who is being treated for fever due to urinary tract infection, in Chennai, on Friday. (Photo: PTI) Chennai: Janata Dal (Secular) chief H D Deve Gowda visited ailing DMK president M Karunanidhi at a hospital on Friday and recalled the support of the nonagenarian leader in making him the Prime Minister in 1996. "He (Karunanidhi) was also responsible for making me the Prime Minister in 1996 and I cannot forget it," he told reporters after visiting Karunanidhi at Kauvery Hospital. Lauding Karunanidhi for serving the people of Tamil Nadu as Chief Minister for five terms, he said the DMK chief had also played a major role in providing a stable government at the Centre. "All the coalition governments (at the Centre) stood on his support," he said. He was referring to coalition governments headed by Vajpayee, Manmohan Singh and himself in the past, to which the DMK had lent support. The former Prime Minister said he prayed for Karunanidhi's speedy recovery, long life and good health and described him as the country's senior most leader. The DMK patriarch should 'cross a century and serve the people of the nation," he said. Asked if he met the DMK chief in person, Gowda said he saw him from a distance in the ICU, since doctors had advised against getting close to the ailing leader to avoid infection. Earlier, DMK working president M K Stalin and party Rajya Sabha MP Kanimozhi received Gowda at the hospital. Actors Vishal and Vineet were among others who visited the hospital on Friday. Karunanidhi was admitted to the hospital on July 28 following a dip in his blood pressure. On July 31, the hospital said the leader would require an extended period of hospitalisation due to "decline" in his general health, though his vital parameters have normalised. Footage from the Silchar airport shows women lawmakers in the Trinamool delegation running as they were chased and restrained by policewomen. (Photo: PTI) Silchar: Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress lawmakers spent Thursday night at Assams Silchar airport, after they were formally arrested earlier in the evening. Six Trinamool Congress (TMC) parliamentarians and two party legislators were detained at the Silchar airport after they had gone to Assam to campaign against the draft National Register of Citizens (NRC) list. Political storm triggered soon after Assam had released the draft NRC in the state on Monday. On Friday morning, six of the eight lawmakers took a flight back to Kolkata. The other two members are expected to take a flight to Delhi later in the afternoon. Footage from the Silchar airport shows women lawmakers in the Trinamool delegation running as they were chased and restrained by policewomen. The police too, have presented footage claiming one of the woman lawmakers had jostled and pushed a constable, injuring her. In the video footage, TMC MLA Mahua Moitra is seen being manhandled by the woman constable, who at one point, is seen pleading with her. #WATCH: TMCs Mahua Moitra seen assaulting lady constable who tried to restrain Mahua Moitra after TMC leaders were stopped at Silchar Airport. Constable received injuries. #NRCAssam pic.twitter.com/FJjNQ77ngO ANI (@ANI) August 2, 2018 On Thursday evening, West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee had told her lawmakers to stay put at the airport and not go anywhere. "There is a super emergency in Assam. They don't want us to talk to people," Mamata Banerjee said. Read: Super emergency: Mamata says TMC leaders manhandled at Silchar airport The eight-member delegation of Trinamool lawmakers was to address public meetings in Silchar against the National Register of Citizens or NRC, an updated list that excludes 40 lakh people from Assam. Also Read: 40 lakh left out of draft list of NRC in Assam, no threat of deportation As the Trinamool delegation landed around 1.30 pm, a large contingent of police and district officials deployed at the airport refused to let them leave, citing an overnight ban on large gatherings and imposition of Section 144. The argument escalated, with the Trinamool alleging that its lawmakers were roughed up. "Our members were roughed up. Sukhendu Shekhar Roy has a pacemaker, he was also roughed up," said TMC MP leader Derek O'Brien. Women MPs were also hurt, he said, adding: "What is going on?" Rajya Sabha member Sukhendu Shekhar Roy who led the team said that the police refused to let the lawmakers go into town even after he and his colleagues cancelled public meeting and assured the police that they would only meet people. "But they did not allow us. We are at the airport, gheraoed by policemen. There are 1,000 policemen outside. This is the measure of the democracy of Narendra Modi," said Sukhendu Shekhar Roy. 77 passengers in the same aircraft were allowed to move out. Only 6 of us were not allowed. We had to cancel our public meeting. We just wanted to have on-the-spot study of the situation, Roy added. The lawmakers protested at the arrival lounge for hours before they were detained. A large number of Trinamool supporters gathered outside the airport and shouted slogans. Nobody was allowed to enter or leave the airport. "I think this is beginning of the end. They are frustrated, they are politically tensed and depressed. And that's why they are showing muscle power," said Mamata Banerjee. Meanwhile, the BJP, which rules Assam, has accused Mamata Banerjee of fanning flames which are dormant, and trying to incite unrest. Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has constantly been on target of opposition, especially RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, who demanded for his resignation and accused him of trying to shield the accused. (Photo: Twitter | ANI) Patna: Days after being targeted by the opposition for his silence over the rape and torture of more than 30 girls at a government-run shelter, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Friday broke his silence and described the case as "shameful", promising strict, uncompromising action against those guilty. "What has happened has shamed us. It is a sin. Such cases should not happen again. Those responsible for this should be taught a lesson. There will be no compromise," the Bihar chief minister said. Nitish Kumar has constantly been on the target of the opposition, especially Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav, who demanded for the chief minister's resignation and accused him of trying to shield the accused over links with the ruling Janata Dal (United) (JD(U)). "We have always said that the guilty would not be spared and Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi has said on the floor of the assembly that we would ourselves like the CBI probe to be monitored by the high court," Nitish Kumar said. The chief minister stressed on the need to develop institutional mechanisms to prevent such incidents from recurring. Minor girls as young as seven were sedated, raped, forced to sleep naked and boiling water was poured on them at the shelter home by its politically connected owner and its staff, a police charge-sheet has revealed. 10 people, including owner Brajesh Thakur, have been charged in the document that details a network of police, politicians, administration and criminals exploiting and torturing the girls at the home. Brajesh Thakur runs several non-profits and allegedly has links to Nitish Kumar's party. There are allegations that Bihar's Social Welfare Minister Manju Verma's husband visited the shelter home in Muzaffarpur where the girls were tortured and raped over a period of four years. The wife of an official arrested in the case has claimed that the minister's husband was a regular at the shelter home. Chennai: Prof T. Swaminathan, a former Neeri scientist along with Nityanand Jayaraman, Chennai-based social activist, on Thursday met journalists to convey Sterlites propaganda in running advertisements in newspapers and media claiming that the plant was legal, zero liquid discharge and non-polluting, amongst others. The first of Sterlites claims that Nityanand said was false was that the smelter had less than 60 per cent of land required to accommodate a plant of its size- 1,200 tonne. Sterlite obtained a license to expand based on a false claim that it has 172.17 hectares, while it only has 102.3, he said. Another is that the size of chimneys was short and were according to the height prescribed by Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB). Prof. Swaminathan said that the smelter chimney should at least be 102.8 meters. However, it is only 60 meters. Within the acid plant, too, it is only 60 meters when it should be at least 83.5 meters. Because of the short chimneys, the pollutions levels in Thoothukudi increased, says Nityanand. According to calculations made and verified by Prof Swaminathan, emissions from the plant directly result in a maximum concentration of sulphur dioxide of 120 micrograms/m3 at a distance of 1.6 km and emissions from the smelter would be 104 micrograms/m3 at a distance of 811 metres. However, Sterlite continues to claim that it has adhered to all the norms and legally functioned since its inception. The land wasnt inadequate, they say, and that the remaining land was only required for future solid waste storage facilities and was not an immediate necessity. The plants pollution control equipment facilities and solid waste storage practices were inspected and found adequate by both NEERI in 2011 and by NGT Expert Committee in 2013, a representative, said quashing the claims that their waste was not being managed properly. Also arguing against the allegations on the chimneys height, Sterlite said The entire allegation on short chimney is based on the wrong assumption of SO2 emission norm of 4 KG / tonne of Sulphuric Acid, whereas with superior technology like high-efficiency catalyst and Tail Gas Scrubbing unit, Sterlite is able to achieve an SO2 emission of much less than 1 KG/tonne of Sulphuric acid produced in the Sulphuric acid plant facilities. Hyderabad: The Special Educators Forum India (SEFI) has lodged a complaint with the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) against the state government for non-implementation of Inclusive Education (IE) for Children with Special Needs (CwSN) across the State. SEFI alleged the state government had misguided the NCPCR in implementation of IE for CwSN. It has been implemented under the Centrally Sponsored Scheme Fund based on enrollment of CwSN. Due to non-recruitment of Special Education Teachers under the School Education Department, the enrollment ratio has come down by 30 per cent from academic year 2015-2016 to 2017-2018. As per the report given to NCPCR, the state government has provided the details of Special Educators who were recruited under the SSA only, but who ignored the School Education Department role and started providing training in elementary and high schools. Mr Kalpagiri Sreenu, National Convenor- Special Educators Forum, said There is a need to develop a state policy on implementing IE for CwSN, but the School Education Department is dependent on GOI Schemes like IEDC, OBB, APEP, DPEP, SSA and IEDSS and based on funds only. The state government has no policy on inclusive education, there is no teacher training for regular teachers, no recruitment of special teachers at secondary level. In the Lok Sabha, Rajnath Singh said since there were prohibitory orders in Assam, state officials had 'requested' TMC MPs to return from the airport itself. (Photo: File | ANI) New Delhi: Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday accused Trinamool Congress MPs of creating an "unruly situation" at the Silchar airport and said they were detained in view of intelligence inputs received by the Assam government on the law and order situation. Six leaders of the Trinamool Congress were on Thursday detained at the Silchar airport while attempting to visit Assam post the publication of the National Register of Citizens (NRC). The six leaders left Assam Friday morning after overnight detention at the airport. The TMC has said the detention and "manhandling" of their party colleagues at the Silchar airport shows there is an "undeclared emergency" in the country. Also Read: Super emergency: Mamata says TMC leaders manhandled at Silchar airport In the Lok Sabha, Singh said since there were prohibitory orders in Assam, state officials had "requested" TMC MPs to return from the airport itself. "The Government of Assam had some information and based on intelligence inputs... In view of the prevailing law and order situation and so the situation does not deteriorate, TMC MPs were detained at the Silchar airport," Singh said. TMC's Kalyan Banerjee, in his speech, said citizens of India have right to move around anywhere in the country and these MPs had categorically told the state government officer at Silchar airport that "they would not hold any public meeting". Maintaining that the MPs were extended all courtesies, Singh said since there was no return flight to Kolkata or Delhi from Silchar, the MPs spent the night at the Silchar airport guest house and left for Kolkata this morning and have an onward flight to Delhi. "The kind of respect that should be shown to a public representative, similar respect was shown to TMC MPs. With folded hands the District Magistrate requested them to return. But without paying heed to the request, the MPs got into shoving in which two women security personnel also got hurt," the Home Minister added. In his speech, Kalyan Banerjee asked the Government if it was "afraid and nervous" because of the united force of the opposition in the run-up to the 2019 general elections and hence had detained the MPs. "Parliamentarians have been deprived of the right to assess the situation arising in the country. There was no injuction or interim order passed by the Supreme Court that political meetings cannot be held in Assam," the TMC leader said. Bijoya Chakravarty (BJP) accused the Congress of putting the NRC in cold storage and said TMC MPs went to Assam only to "create tension" and "violence" in the state. She said that nothing can be more "dangerous" than West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's statement that there would be "bloodshed and civil war" in Assam. Six Trinamool Congress MPs-- Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, Arpita Ghosh, Mamata Thakur, Ratna De Nag, Sukhendu Sekhar Ray and Nadimul Haque, and two West Bengal state ministers had reached Silchar Thursday afternoon to "assess and discuss" the problems of citizens in the aftermath of NRC. The second list of the NRC, published earlier this week, has left out the names of over 40 lakh people, of which 85-90 per cent are Bengalis, Kalyan Banerjee said. The SC said it is not interfering with the bail granted to Karti Chidambaram, but was leaving the question of law open -- on whether he can approach the high court when his application for bail was already pending before the trial court. (Photo: File | PTI) New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday declined to interfere with a Delhi High Court order granting bail to Karti Chidambaram, son of former union minister P Chidambaram, for alleged financial irregularities in the INX Media case. When it comes to the question of liberty, the courts do not go into technicality, a bench of Justices A K Sikri and Ashok Bhushan said. The bench said it is not interfering with the bail granted to Karti Chidambaram, but was leaving the question of law open -- on whether he can approach the high court when his application for bail was already pending before the trial court. Additional Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), said this question of law has to be kept open as invoking powers of concurrent jurisdiction of the high court may be a case of "forum shopping". Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Karti Chidambaram, said there is already a judgement in which concurrent jurisdiction of high court can be invoked. On June 25, the CBI moved the apex court challenging the high court order granting bail to the businessman. The CBI claimed in its appeal that it was "impermissible in law" for the high court to entertain Karti Chidambaram's bail plea when an application seeking a similar relief was pending before the trial court. On March 23, a single judge bench of the high court granted bail to Karti, who was arrested on February 28 by the CBI, saying the relief should not be refused unless the crime was of the "highest magnitude" entailing "severe punishment". Karti Chidambaram was arrested from Chennai in connection with an FIR lodged on May 15 last year, which had alleged irregularities in the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) clearance given to INX Media for receiving funds of about Rs 305 crore from abroad in 2007 when his father P Chidambaram was the finance minister. Both P Chidambaram and his son have denied the allegations made by the CBI, as well as the Enforcement Directorate. There are eight MPs currently sitting in Parliament who have charges related to kidnapping against them. Hyderabad: TRS MLA Putta Madhukar from Telangana and TDPs three MLAs Narendra Kumar, Gonuguntla Suryanarayana and Thota Trimirthulu from Andhra Pradesh feature in the list of sitting Legislature, facing serious criminal charges against themselves, including kidnapping. Two election watchdogs, namely Association of Democratic Reforms (ADR) and National Election Watch (NEW) studied the affidavits of 4,856 sitting MPs and MLAs. They found that out of the total studied, 1,024 (21 per cent) of MPs/MLAs declared serious criminal charges against themselves. Among these, 1,024, (6 per cent - 64) have declared charges related to kidnapping. Of the total number, the BJP tops the list with 16 criminal politicos, followed by the Congress. Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) led by Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao has one and AP CM Chandrababu Naidu-led Telugu Desam has three cases against them. TRS, Manthani MLA Putta Madhukar is booked in six serious cases under IPC. He is charged with criminal intimidation, kidnap, assault, causing hurt by dangerous weapons and statement leading to public mischief. While MLA Gonuguntla Suryanarayana of Dharmavaram constituency (Anantapur) has three charges related to criminal intimidation under IPC Section 506, kidnapping woman to compel her to marriage and one theft, a total of 10 cases under serious IPC were also booked. Narendra Kumar Dhulipalla, elected MLA of Ponnur constituency in Guntur, is charged with kidnapping, undue influence at elections while Thota Trimurthulu of Ramachandra Puram (East Godavari) was charged for kidnap. Four elected representatives from Telangana State and Andhra Pradesh faced zero conviction so far. Major General Anil Verma (Retired ) head of NEW and ADR said: From the affidavits submitted by 770 sitting MPs and 4,086 MLAs to the National Election Commission, it was found that 21 per cent of them were charged under 13 sections of the IPC for kidnapping, apart from other serious criminal charges. There are eight MPs currently sitting in Parliament who have charges related to kidnapping against them. From the two Telugu speaking states, four MLAs were charged. Bhopal: Former Chhattisgarh chief minister, Ajit Jogi, on Friday received a jolt with 40 workers of his newly-floated regional party switching over to Congress. Significantly, a majority of these 40 workers of Janata Congress Chhattisgarh, that was floated by Jogi after he broke away from Congress two years ago, hailed from Pendra area of Bilashpur district in Chhattisgarh, considered Jogis stronghold. The JCC activists resigned from the party and joined Congress in presence of Congress Legislature Party leader of Chhattisgarh, T.S. Singh, considered Jogis voracious opponent. Forty workers of JCC joined the Congress on Friday. This clearly indicates erosion of base of Jogi in Pendra area, a senior Congress leader of Chhattisgarh told this newspaper. Incidentally, Jogis wife Renu Jogi, a sitting Congress MLA, is currently representing Kota (ST) Assembly constituency and the couples son, Amit Jogi, also a sitting MLA, has been elected from the neighbouring Marwahi (ST) Assembly seat in the last polls. Amit who was elected as a Congress candidate in 2013 Assembly elections was expelled from the party a couple of years ago in the wake of allegations of his involvement in the reported fixing of an Assembly by-election. OOTY: While the Karnataka government imposed a ban in 2009 on night traffic in Bandhipur Tiger Reserve (BTR) in Karnataka along the Ooty-Mysuru NH to save free ranging wild animals at night, its repercussions were immediately felt in the Nilgiris as the TN government too closed this road that traverses through the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve (MTR), bordering BTR, for night traffic between 10 pm and 6 am. Though this was the order of the day all these years, reports are now appearing in the media in Karnataka that the Centre wrote to the Karnataka government to lift this ban to allow round the clock traffic, widening the road and ensuring adequate mitigation measures. Saying that the Karnataka government should agree with the Centre to lift the ban on night traffic on this road, Mr.Ganesh (Congress), Ooty MLA, said that, in fact, the night traffic ban on this road along MTR came into existence because the Karnataka government closed this road at night along the BTR. "This ban is also not absolute because a couple of state run buses from both states and other vehicles on emergency services are still being allowed to ply. Now, the TN government should take it up with Karnataka to lift the ban to allow traffic, may be with restrictions on speed limits and pressing patrolling teams to monitor traffic and by laying more humps for speed control. The connections between Mysuru, Bengaluru and Nilgiris is a well established one. Because of the ban, passengers from both states are forced to travel through Sathy, Salem, Hosur to reach their destinations at night. This is both time and fuel-consuming," he noted. However, Mr B.K. Kumaran, president of the Nilgiris Ecology and Animals Protection Samithi, wanted the ban to continue. He said that the ban had certainly brought down road kills and kept the jungle environment noise-free and vehicle smoke pollution-free and helped check anti-social elements who try to sneak in to the wooded zones at night. MYSURU/BENGALURU: Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy on Friday stepped in to clear the air about scrapping a ban on movement of vehicles at night through Bandipur Tiger Reserve amid reports that the Union government, with one eye perhaps on votes in Kerala, had recently proposed the construction of four elevated corridors in the reserve forest area to facilitate flow of traffic to Kerala. Ruling out construction of such elevated roads, each measuring one km, proposed by the Union ministry of road transport (MoRTH), Mr Kumaraswamy told the media: "Bandipur issue is in the Supreme Court. I don't know why this issue is raised again. Our government has not taken any decision. I don't know why some people are creating a controversy." The reasons are not far to seek. A letter to the chief secretary, Mr Y.S. Malik, Secretary, MoRTH, on the proposed construction of these elevated corridors, claims that Mr Kumaraswamy and his brother and PWD minister H D Revanna had consented to its recommendations during a meeting with Union transport minister Nitin Gadkari. This claim came as a shock to wildlife conservationists as it was against the stand of previous governments. Secondly, Mr. H D Revanna had also announced a plan of constructing flyovers and steel bridges at several places and opening it to traffic 24X7 so that it would not cause any problems to wild animals! He also went to the extent of saying that the Kerala government had reportedly agreed to share the cost of construction that comes to around Rs 400 crore. Third, a senior forest officer on the condition of anonymity claimed that during his recent visit to Kerala, the CM reportedly had a meeting with his party leaders of Kerala where they wanted him to revoke the night ban keeping in view the coming Lok Sabha polls, promising him two seats if he did lift the ban, adding that the Kerala government was offering to underwrite the cost of construction that comes to around Rs 400 crore. Environmentalists and foresters are outraged at the Bandipur flyover proposal. Mr Rajkumar, a wildlife warden, refused to even call the nine hour halt of road traffic at night in Bandipur National Park a ban. Instead he called it "a relief for wildlife." "There is an alternate route. Its only 34 kms extra that the commuter has to take," he added. "We have only three per cent of forest area left in the country and within that if we will construct the road, imagine the catastrophic impact on endangered species," he added. Another forest officer said, I feel that the rich forest wealth of Bandpipur should not be destroyed at any cost. It is humanly impossible to create another Bandipur. Hyderabad: The BJP is likely to field its controversial MLA T. Raja Singh against the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Mus-limeen from Hyderabad Lok Sabha seat in the 2019 general elections. The MIM never lost this seat since 1984. Mr Singh, who won the 2014 assembly elections from Goshamal constituency, has been courting controversies frequently with his inflammatory speeches. The BJP's national leadership is searching for a strong candidate to take on the MIM in Hyderabad Lok Sabha seat in 2019, which remains the party's bastion. Sources in the BJP said that its national president Amit Shah, during his trip to Hyderabad in July, discussed the issue with state party leaders and was in favour of fielding Mr Singh for Hyderabad Lok Sabha seat. Mr Shah also had a personal meeting with Mr Raja Singh on that occasion. Mr Shah is very serious about Hyderabad Lok Sabha seat and wants to field a strong candidate to challenge MIM in its own bastion in 2019, party sources said. Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi had challenged Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Mr Shah to contest from Hyderabad. The BJP had given a tough fight to the MIM in 1996 when Mr M. Venkaiah contested from the set and later it was repeated by Baddam Balreddy. After that, the BJP lost its foothold on Hyderabad seat and now searching for a strong candidate for the seat. HYDERABAD: Telangana Legislative Assembly secretary and the law secretary informed the Hyderabad High Court on Friday that consultations are progressing to restore the membership of Congress MLAs Komatireddy Venkat Reddy and S.A. Sampath Kumar. Mr Vedula Venkat Ramana, senior counsel appearing for Assembly Secretary Narasimhacharyulu before Justice B.V. Siva Sankara Rao urged the court to grant two weeks time to take steps to implement the court order granted in the case of the MLAs. During the last hearing, the court cautioned that it will summon both the Secretaries and also it will implead the Assembly Speaker in the contempt case. While commencing the hearing on Friday, the Judge said that there is no need of hearing the arguments on the merit of the case at this stage and the arguments will be heard only after issuing notices under the Contempt of Courts Act to the respondents. When the senior counsel urged to grant time to implement the court order, the Judge said that the court does not have any objection to grant time if they are willing to implement the order. When the Judge sought to know the Law Secretarys response, counsel S. Sharath Kumar also urged the court to grant time to take steps to implement the order. While refusing to grant two weeks time, the Judge posted the case to March 10. Chennai: In the Dravidian Tamil Nadu, hatred for Hindi is a myth, if one goes by the encouraging statistics relating to new learners flaunted by the proud teachers of the Rashtra Bhasha. In fact, Tamil Nadu tops among the southern states in the enrolment of Hindi learners. The Dakshina Bharat Hindi Prachar Sabha (DBHPS) at Chennai has recorded over 12 lakh enrolments of candidates taking the various Hindi exams conducted by it across Tamil Nadu over the last 10 years, whereas only 4.76 lakh candidates took its exams in the state during 1998-2008, says Sabha general secretary S. Jayaraj. He attributed the increase in the number of Hindi learners in the Dravida Nadu to the people yearning to acquire the DHPS qualifications, which are recognized as the institution falls under the Union HRD Ministry, to be able to pursue higher studies or gain employment in other states. With the state government deciding to stop teaching Hindi in its (government) schools from 2006, when Samacheer Kalvi was inducted, many parents turned to the Hindi Prachar Sabha or private tutors to gain knowledge of Hindi so that their children are better prepared for pursuing higher studies or apply for jobs in other states, particularly in the north, said Jayaraj. He said the Hindi seekers preferred the Sabha to private tutors because it awards certificates on completion of its various exams and being an MHRD institution, those certificates hold official recognition among the educational institutions across the country and with the employers. Dakshina Bharat Hindi Prachar Sabha at T Nagar, Chennai. (Photo:DC) The DBHPS has more of interesting statistics to demonstrate the Tamils love for Hindi. The average number of new enrolments recorded annually by the TN unit, which has its nodal headquarters at Chennai and 20 branches across the state, is at least 60 per cent more than the numbers in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana; 85 per cent more than Karnataka and 90 per cent more than Kerala. True, Hindi seekers in the other southern states do not have to turn to DBHPS since their schools already provide lessons in the language as their governments have not banned Hindi in state-run schools-which has been the bane of the TN students becoming the victims of political games. I find it a bit embarrassing when my north Indian colleagues at office tell me its only in Tamil Nadu that they find it difficult to socialise outside the office hours because of the language barrier, which does not exist when they work in any other southern state, said Gautami (name changed on request), an IT professional. The TN government ban on Hindi in its schools has not only deprived its students of the opportunity to learn a language that could be vitally important to their pursuit of higher education or employment outside the state, but also rendered several Hindi teachers as jobless. But that has not dimmed the enthusiasm of the 'Dravidians' queuing up for enrolment at the DBHPS for its high-level xxx and qualify to become a teacher. Many of our Hindi teachers are fairly busy with tuition classes at home. It provides handsome income, apart from the convenience of time and place, said Sabha secretary Jayaraj. I have 30 students, mostly students getting ready for admissions to higher studies outside Tamil Nadu or for interviews for IT jobs. When a candidate appears for interview, one of the crucial questions asked is how many languages do you know? And knowing Hindi is a huge advantage, said V. Alamelu, a young homemaker at Thiruvalluvar Nagar in Thiruvanmiyur. The pracharak (teacher) has done her Praveen Uttarardh at the DBHPS. A corollary of what she said is, Not knowing Hindi is a huge disadvantage. New Delhi: Antiguas assertion that India did not give any adverse report to stall granting of citizenship to Mehul Choksi last year evoked sharp reactions from the authorities here with the government today maintaining the police verification report of the bank fraud accused was clear at that time. A CBI official said the agency has sent an extradition request to the government to be forwarded to Antigua to bring him back. Sources said the ministry of external affairs has received the extradition request from the CBI and is currently in the process of sending it to the authorities in Antigua and Barbuda. While the Antiguan authority responsible for grant of investment-linked citizenship named the Securities and Exchange Board of India as one of the Indian agencies to have given such a clearance in case of Choksi, the Indian capital markets regulator rejected the claim saying it neither received any such request, nor provided any such information to the department concerned in Antigua. Choksis application for citizenship in Antigua in May 2017 was accompanied with clearance from the local police as required by norms, Antiguan newspaper the Daily Observer reported, citing a statement from the Citizenship by Investment Unit of Antigua and Barbuda. Choksi is one of the alleged masterminds of the $2 billion scam in state-run Punjab National Bank and uncle of fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modi. The said police clearance certificate from the Government of India, ministry of external affairs regional passport office, Mumbai, certified that there was no adverse information against Mr Mehul Chinubbhai Choksi which would render him ineligible for grant of travel facilities including visa for Antigua and Barbuda, the report said. When asked about the PCC to Choksi, a spokesperson of the MEA said it was issued by the passport office of Mumbai for Antigua and Barbuda on March 16, 2017 and that it was given on the basis of a clear police verification report (PVR) available on his passport. New Delhi: The government on Friday accused vested interests of trying to create an atmosphere of fear and communal disharmony on the social media over the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam and pledged that there will be no discrimination in finalising it. The NRC was released on Monday. Replying to a short duration discussion on the Assam NRC draft issue in Parliament on Friday, home minister Rajnath Singh gave an assurance that the names of no Indian citizen would be left out of the NRC and that the entire process was fair and objective. On the Trinamuls allegation that its members faced mistreatment at Silchar airport, Mr Singh accused the Trinamul MPs of creating an unruly situation and said that they had been detained there in view of intelligence inputs received by the Assam government on the law and order situation. The process is fair and transparent. We are doing everything according to the guidelines laid down by the Supreme Court. Every step is being followed, Mr Singh told Rajya Sabha. He added there will be no discrimination or any needless harassment in finalising what he asserted was only a draft list. I assure everyone that no Indian citizen will be left out. There is absolutely no need to worry. The home minister also promised no coercive action would be taken against those left out of the National Register of Citizens. The TMC, meanwhile, said it planned to intensify its protests against the National Register of Citizens in Assam. Bhopal: Weeks after he was asked to vacate the official accommodation, allotted to him when he was the chief minister, Madhya Pradesh, security cover of the veteran Congress leader Digvijay Singh was withdrawn on Friday. The former chief minister, who has been assigned a gigantic responsibility of uniting the faction-ridden Congress in Madhya Pradesh by the Central leadership of the Congress, ahead of year-end polls, has also failed to make it to the revised VIP list of MP, as announced by the state security committee here on Friday. MP Pradesh Congress committee president Kamal Nath has replaced Singh in the revised VIP list which has retained the VIP status for Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, senior BJP leaders and also former chief ministers Babulal Gaur and Uma Bharti. Director general of police of MP, Rishi Kumar Shukla, however denied his departments involvement, saying, We do not prepare the VIP list. It is the state security committees responsibility. Opposition Congress cried foul, accusing the BJP government of victimising Singh to cower him down ahead of the state Assembly elections due in the state later this year. New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday restrained the Enforcement Directorate from taking any coercive action against Nalini Chidambaram, wife of former Union minister P. Chidambaram, in a case related to Saradha chit fund scam. The court also declined to interfere with an order passed by the Delhi high court granting bail to Karti Chidambaram in the INX media case. A bench of justices A. K. Sikri and Ashok Bhushan issued notice to the ED on Ms Nalinis appeal challenging the dismissal of her petition by the Madras High Court against ED summons in the case. The Madras HC on July 10 dismissed an appeal by her against a single-judge benchs order rejecting her plea challenging the ED summons. The ED had issued the first summons on September 7, 2016, asking Nalini Chidambaram to appear before it at its Kolkata office. It subsequently issued fresh summons after the single judges order. She was allegedly paid a legal fee of Rs 1 crore by the Saradha group for her appearances in court and the Company Law Board over a television channel purchase deal. In the appeal, she contended that if the trend of summoning and calling advocates who have been engaged by their clients for rendering professional services was not nipped in the bud, it might lead to "disastrous consequences". Insofar as Karti Chidambaram was concerned the bench rejected the plea of Tushar Mehta for CBI to cancel the bail and said, "When it comes to the question of liberty, the courts do not go into technicality." However, the court said it would leave the question of law open whether Karti Chidambaram can approach the high court when his application for bail was already pending before the trial court. The court made the observation after ASG said this question has to be kept open "as invoking powers of concurrent jurisdiction of high court may be a case of 'forum shopping''. Chennai: Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam leader TTV Dhinakaran has said his party is open to discuss alliance with the Congress party but only if that party snaps ties with the DMK. He had already made clear the AMMK would never align with the BJP. Claiming that his party is ready anytime to face the elections, TTV said, We will win 37 seats in the Lok Sabha elections on our own. Many are already in touch with us for forging alliance. We welcome alliance talks. The AMMK leader was speaking to reporters at Bengaluru after meeting with his aunt and party chief V. K. Sasikala at the Parappana Agrahara prison on Thursday. Recalling that in 2014 Lok Sabha polls, Jayalalithaa had stood alone while the DMK had allied with the Congress and the other parties formed a separate grouping, TTV said, I am also like her but I am not against forging an alliance. The AMMK leader said his party would contest the local body elections on 'Pressure Cooker' symbol as the Supreme Court had assured the party it could approach it for a common symbol at poll time. The party was all set to take on any election, whenever held, he said, pointing out that the AMMK had already announced poll managers for all the 39 LS seats in Tamil Nadu and the lone LS seat in Puducherry, besides the 234 Assembly constituencies in Tamil Nadu. Recalling that the AIADMK could not win the RK Nagar by-election despite holding the 'two-leaves' symbol, TTV predicted a rout for the ruling party as and when the local body elections are held. The local body polls will prove how much people hate this government. It will reflect the real ground situation here, he asserted, while speaking to reporters at Chennai. When American criminologist Edwin Hardin Sutherland coined the term white collar crime, little did he realise that the victim may end up losing his shirt! Forgery is one such crime that is becoming increasingly difficult to prove. Although Section 463 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) fleshes out the range of the offence as making any false documents or false electronic record, with intent to cause damage or injury, to the public or to any person, or to support any claim or title, or to cause any person to part with property, or to enter into any express or implied contract, or with intent to commit fraud or that fraud may be committed, there is scope for misinterpretation of judicial decisions that seem to be at variance with the strict letter of penal provisions and have the potential of exploitation by those accused of this crime. A few months ago, the Supreme Court in Sheila Sebastian Vs Jawaharaj ruled that keeping in view the strict interpretation of the penal statute, wherein natural inferences are preferred, we observe that a charge of forgery cannot be imposed on a person who is not the maker of the same. As held in a plethora of cases, making of a document is different from causing it to be made. Where does this leave the second part of Section 464 IPC which deals with the making of a false document and uses the words either by himself or by any other person? What if a person hires an expert to forge a document with the intention to usurp property? In Md Ibrahim Vs State of Bihar, the apex court had ruled that there is a fundamental difference between a person executing a sale deed claiming that the property conveyed is his property, and a person executing a sale deed by impersonating the owner or falsely claiming to be authorised or empowered by the owner, to execute the deed on owners behalf. Does this observation not appear to take the sting out of the last limb in Section 463 IPC that specifies intent to commit fraud or that fraud may be committed? Section 468 IPC contemplates an aggravated form of forgery with an additional ingredient of the purpose of cheating and prescribes a stiffer penalty of upto a 7 year jail term. However, the Supreme Court in Guru Bipin Singh Vs Chongtham Manihar Singh opined that forgery is the principal allegation; cheating is a consequential offence. If forgery goes, cheating cannot stand. What if a person enters into a criminal conspiracy with others to grab property by outsourcing forgery? Will the criminal conspiracy defined in Section 120 A IPC as doing an illegal act or an act which is not illegal by illegal means and punishable under Section 120B IPC also fall by the wayside? In Mir Nagvi Askari Vs Central Bureau of Investigation, the Supreme Court asserts that the intention to commit forgery or to create a false document is crucial. Clearly the documents in question in the present case, even if it be assumed to have been made dishonestly or fraudulently, had not been made with the intention of causing it to be believed that they were made by or under the authority of someone else. Staying with criminal conspiracy, the explanation in Section 120 B IPC clarifies that it is immaterial whether the illegal act is the ultimate object or is merely incidental to that object. There are judgments which underscore the need for production of original documents that were allegedly forged. This is based on the requirement in Section 101 of the Evidence Act which states that the burden of proof is on the complainant. The apex court in Anil Rishi Vs Gurbaksh Singh held that this rule is inflexible. However, I know of a case where a partners signature was forged on documents to reconstitute the partnership firm by admitting a new partner and later converting it into a sole proprietorship. The crime came to light only after the death of the victim and when her husband dug up information invoking the Right to Information Act in applications to the concerned public sector undertaking. After a long struggle, the widower got copies of the documents on which it could be seen that his wifes signature had been forged. In such cases, only a forensic analysis of the signature on the document and handwriting samples of the accused will bring out the truth. The strategy adopted by the defence in such cases is to question the absence of proof of forgery at the first information report stage itself with the line that merely because someone is a beneficiary, it cannot be a plausible presumption of guilt. Its an attractive argument, especially in the wake of the Supreme Court finding in the Sheila Sebastian case that however strong the suspicion may be, it cannot take the place of proof. The court went on to add that even coincidence, grave doubt cannot take the place of proof. The standard of proof in a criminal trial is proof beyond reasonable doubt because the right to personal liberty of a citizen can never be taken away by the standard of preponderance of probability. As Tom Cruise quipped ahead of that court martial hearing in A Few Good Men, its not what I know, its what I can prove. Making a name for yourself in documents, unfortunately comes with escape routes. The inhabitants of Assam have now reached the penultimate stage of their nativity test with the publication of the final draft National Register of Citizens (NRC) on July 30. A little more than four million people, almost the size of the total population of Panama or Georgia, have been left out of the draft NRC. Both the Supreme Court, that is monitoring the mega NRC exercise that began in 2015, and the government have made it clear that all those people whose names have not figured in the draft NRC will have the opportunity to file claims. Besides, there is a provision to file objections against anyone whose nationality could be a matter of doubt. The claims and objections process starts on August 30 and ends on September 28. Until this process is over and the final NRC published, no adverse action can be initiated by anyone against these four million people like referring their cases to the foreigner determination tribunals or sent to detention centres. Now briefly, why is this NRC exercise only in Assam, that has cost the government a whopping Rs 1,220 crores? The genesis of this process, which is Independent Indias biggest enumeration exercise in any single state, lies on the fear that Assams indigenous population was indeed facing a threat of being overwhelmed by hordes of illegal migrants from neighbouring Bangladesh who had infiltrated over the years. And, to determine who is a native and who is an alien, the cutoff date of March 24, 1971 was agreed upon while updating the NRC. This cutoff date has been derived from the agreed date in the Assam Accord of 1985 for detection and expulsion of illegal migrants which had brought the curtain down on the six-year-long anti-foreigner (read anti-Bangladeshi migration) movement of the 1980s. For the past four decades, Assam has been a witness to the murky politics of citizenship. One of the BJPs major charges against the Congress in Assam has been that it was protecting the migrants because they were a bulk votebank. In this backdrop, it was not surprising to find the NDA government at the Centre push ahead with the unimplemented decision to go for updating the NRC in Assam that was last listed in 1951. The idea was to free Assam of illegal migrants, and for this it was necessary to have a list of citizens first. The uproar in Parliament all this week, and the shrill, even hysterical statements by leaders like West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee that it could lead to a civil war situation is not surprising. While the Congress main contention is that the four million (or 40 lakh) people not finding their names in the draft NRC is unacceptable as it was a rather high figure, Ms Banerjee is arguing that the names of genuine citizens have been left out and that Indian nationals were being now forced to turn refugees in their own country. Assam on its part has been extra-quiet on this as those left out want to go through the motions of filing claims and objections before thinking of anything else at this juncture. But several questions have arisen, both within government and civil society circles. There are instances of people who were declared as illegal migrants by foreigners tribunals finding their names in the draft NRC. On the other hand, many people belonging to indigenous ethnic groups, generally regarded as sons of the soil, have not found their names in the list. There is also the odd instance of some family members of former President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed not making the cut to the draft NRC. The big question, however, is what can the government do with those people who will eventually be left out of the NRC after the entire appellate process gets over. What must be understood is that the NRC exercise is conducted in accordance with the provisions of the Citizenship Act, while to finally declare anyone to be a non-citizen, that is a foreigner, the verdict has to come through a judicial process in accordance with the Foreigners Act. And, we are aware of the various provisions under which an individual can lawfully lay claim to citizenship. Assuming that 50 per cent of the four million people are finally left out of the NRC, what could happen to them? If their cases are to be decided by foreigners tribunals, one can imagine the time the process could take in view of the enormity of the figure. Meantime, can these people be kept in detention centres? The answer is no, because Assam has only six detention centres now and that too attached to existing prisons. The Centre has recently sanctioned an amount of Rs 46 crores to build a standalone detention centre for foreigners, but that facility will have a capacity of just about 3,000 people. So can the government deport these people to their country of origin? Well, for that, their country of origin will first have to be established. If we assume that they are from Bangladesh because that is the country with which Assam and other northeastern states share porous borders, will Dhaka simply take them in? The answer again is a clear no, because Bangladesh and India has no repatriation treaty so far and they will not accept anyone in without going through their own verification process. So, will these people become Indias responsibility for all time to come, or at least for a long time to come? The answer perhaps is yes. At the end of the day, therefore, Guwahati and New Delhi have lot of work to do. What the NRC has done is that Assam will now have a basic document that can be regarded as its list of citizens. This list is expected to act as a big deterrent for fresh infiltration. But to send the declared foreigners back to their country of origin will be a difficult task. Yes, New Delhi and Dhaka share an extremely cordial relationship under the leadership of Prime Ministers Narendra Modi and Sheikh Hasina. If this leads to a treaty under which Bangladesh agrees to take back some people, it will be a bonus. Otherwise, the Assam government and the Centre will have no option other than disenfranchising these people and allow them to stay on with work permits or try and disperse them across the country. The government will have its job cut out. And yes, will the NRC end the politics of citizenship in Assam for all time to come? Again, my answer will not be in the affirmative. H09 Blue diamonds like the Smithsonians famous Hope diamond are the rarest of all and how they formed more than a billion years ago is a bit of a mystery. Now scientists think they have a glimmer of an answer. Theyve long known that the blue tint comes from traces of boron in the diamond. But the element is mostly found near the Earths surface, not deep down where diamonds are typically created. Researchers scrutinized 46 blue diamonds, studying imperfections in the gems for clues. The origin of blue diamonds is such an alluring question you dont see them very often. And the famous ones, like the Hope diamond, have such mystique, said Kim Tait, a gem expert at the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto. Just 1 out of 200,000 diamonds is blue. Like all diamonds, they are made when carbon comes under intense pressure and extreme heat deep inside the Earth. As they form, they can trap tiny bits of rock inside like fossils in amber. Diamond is an extraordinary container, a time capsule, said Steven Shirey, a geochemist at the Carnegie Institution for Science in Washington. Shirey and his colleagues used lasers to examine the diamonds imperfections slivers of embedded rock at the Gemological Institute of America. How the light is reflected helps identify the minerals inside, said Evan Smith, a research scientist at the institute who led the study. You can start putting together a picture of what the surrounding rocks looked like, to recreate the birthplace of the diamonds, Smith said. Based on their findings, its clear that blue diamonds are formed at far greater depths than other diamonds, some deeper than 410 miles (660 kilometres), Smith said. Most other diamonds are formed between about 90 to 125 miles (150 to 200 kilometres), Shirey said. The researchers suggest that boron in the ocean floor was pushed down when plates that make up the Earths crust collided. The element allows the stone to absorb some red light, so the diamond looks blue. Their findings were published Wednesday in the journal Nature. Most of the impurities contained in these blue diamonds came from a very deep source, said Dongzhou Zhang, a scientist at the University of Hawaii, who was not involved in the research. This study tells us for the first time that blue diamonds are formed very deep in the interior of Earth. Diamond deposits eventually reach the surface through volcanic eruptions. The 45-carat, walnut-size Hope diamond, long rumoured to carry a curse, wasnt included in the study but the findings help us know where it came from, said the Toronto museums Tait, who had no role in the research. The Hope diamonds many owners included Marie Antoinette. Its such an amazing stone, Tait said. Click on Deccan Chronicle Technology and Science for the latest news and reviews. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter. Click on Deccan Chronicle Technology and Science for the latest news and reviews. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter. This has been achieved by the inclusion of facial recognition software embedded into the gadget. Google toiling itself in order to make our lives easier is not a new thing and this time it has developed a gadget for children suffering from Autism. First of all, let's have look at what is Autism. While interacting with a person, we generally judge their emotions from their faces along with the words they speak. Sometimes words are not as much a good message conveyer as facial expressions are. However, children suffering from Autism are not able to grasp these emotions and understand them. According to a journal published on npj Digital Medicine, Minors who are suffering from the disorder of Autism are not completely able to fetch and understand the facial expressions while they find it difficult to make consistent eye contact and get involved in social interactions. Reportedly, 1 in 68 children goes through the autism spectrum disorder (ASD). It can be gradually treated by teaching interaction skills from a young age. Google has attempted to come to rescue these children with its Glass which is a major part of a therapy routine. Under this therapy, children who wear the glass keep getting notifications about the facial expression of the person with whom they are interacting. This has been achieved by the inclusion of facial recognition software embedded into the gadget. Although it is still uncertain if the glasses played a major role, the 14 children who were the part of the research were found to be making improved eye contact at the end. The focus is to attempt solving the problem when the kids are in their developing stage. While technology plays a major role in enhancing the comfort of our lives, if it starts curing such mental and physical problems among children, what could be a better use of it? Various other companies have made systems in the past with the aim to improve the condition of autism and ADHD-suffering children. (Via) Click on Deccan Chronicle Technology and Science for the latest news and reviews. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter. Click on Deccan Chronicle Technology and Science for the latest news and reviews. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter. Rating: The ThinkPad series of laptops has to be one of the most influential laptop brands in the world. Conceptualised by IBM years ago, the brand stands for the most robust business laptops with all the conveniences considered thoroughly. Under Lenovos ownership, the ThinkPad series has branched out to convertibles and tablets, thus offering more options for the businessmen around the world. Lenovo gave the lineup a much-needed update for 2018 with the latest Intel Core processors and a host of refinements to please its clientele. The ThinkPad X1 Carbon is the only model in the new lineup that gets closer to the series philosophy of a no-nonsense robust laptop meant for serious work. Configure it decently with the right mix of silicon, like the unit we had on our desk, and you have a highly dependable notebook with all the essentials for a price of around Rs 1,52,000. However, with rival brands such as Dell, ASUS, HP and Apple offering equally capable options at similar prices, what does the ThinkPad X1 Carbon possess to lure buyers towards itself, is what we found out when we ourselves hit that power button. Design and Aesthetics: Unlike offerings from Dell and rivals, Lenovo has opted for a form factor thats subtly stylish yet highly understated at the same time. It was easy to mistake it for just another laptop at first glance. The simple lines and flat matte surface with curved edges may not lend the X1 Carbon a second look this is something ThinkPads are always meant to achieve maintain an understated, yet classy composure without crying for attention a pure business laptop. The matte finish doesn't hold on well with time it wears out easily when exposed to rough situations, which is why it is advisable to keep a soft cleaning cloth handy as well as keep it in the bag to save the texture. And make sure you don't apply pressure when cleaning it. The 15.9mm thickness puts it in the ultrabook category, despite sporting a heat vent. The plastic chassis translates into a 1.13kg lightweight laptop, which combined with the 13-inch form factor, makes it highly portable we almost forgot most of the time about its presence in our backpack while on the move. Lenovos clever construction also ensures that the weight of the laptop is evenly spread out, making for a comfortable lap companion for longer sessions. Despite being an all-plastic construction, the lid is pretty firm while you are using it whilst on your lap thanks to the robust hinges. Very few ultrabooks in this range exhibit such firm lids. As stated, the X1 Carbon is a 13-inch laptop, but it houses a massive 14-inch display slim bezels all around. The bezels arent on par with what you get on a DELL XPS, but they do help the ThinkPad X1 Carbon utilise valuable estate better than before. Our unit was equipped with the IR sensor-based facial recognition system instead of the ThinkShutter webcam. Additionally, theres a fingerprint sensor as well to help with identity verification. The base houses the familiar ThinkPad-style keyboard with widely spaced-out keys and the trackpad flanked by three mouse buttons on top. Theres also the traditional 360-degree pointer nub situated right in the middle for precision navigational requirements the ThinkPad trademark. The sides feature a comprehensive collection of connectors 2 x USB-C ports, 2 x USB 3.0 ports, an HDMI, a 3.5mm headphone jack and an Ethernet dongle port. Lenovo also bundles in a VGA-to-USB-C dongle as well. There's also a SIM card slot for accessing LTE network. Overall, the ThinkPad X1 comes across as a really well-built laptop that has got the ergonomics spot-on while giving portability top priority. Display: The X1 Carbon comes with a narrow-bezel 14-inch IPS LCD panel, where users can choose between a full HD/Touch panel and a 2K standard/Dolby Vision HDR-enabled panel. Our unit was a full HD touch panel, which impressed us highly indeed. The screen renders vibrant colours and contrasts, with adequate brightness levels of up to 300nits. Scrolling through spreadsheets and dense web pages is reasonably comfortable thanks to crisp image quality. Viewing angles are decent, with the screen losing colour accuracy only on extreme angles. We also found the touch response to be very accurate and highly responsive. The matte surface of the screen helps reduce reflection, but is highly prone to smudges. Performance, Ergonomics: ThinkPads are always meant to be serious laptops for those who demand unadulterated performance while crunching on piles of data and numbers. The X1 Carbon makes sure it never lags behind in this respect with its latest arsenal of 8th generation Intel Core processors users can choose from Core i5 processors and go up to Core i7 vPro chips (vPro branded chips aid for easier and secure remote access to the system). Our unit was equipped with the Core i7 8650u vPro processor, which accompanied with 16GB of LPDDR3 2133MHz RAM and 512GB OPAL2 PCIe TLC SSD ensures that computing is lightning quick here. Sadly, theres no dedicated GPU available as an option on the series business ultrabooks are not supposed to deal with massive graphical capabilities, which is why Intels HD 620 integrated GPU is considered good enough to handle the errands that this ThinkPad could ever see in its life. Lenovo preloads the laptop with Windows 10 Pro, which comes installed with the latest Creators Update. Out-of-the-box, the X1 Carbon is blisteringly fast. The presence of a Core i7 processor and a faster SSD storage translates to quick reflexes. Productivity applications such as Excel, Word, Powerpoint and all the others that a ThinkPad user considers core to his life, open fast. Multitasking between several folders as well as apps doesnt exhibit stutters or lags. We put the X1 Carbon through its paces with PCMark 10 and it returned an impressive score of 4041, just above most business notebooks, but below entry-level gaming laptops. Heat management is impressive too, with the ThinkPad X1 Carbon managing to stay cool for extended sessions. However, most of its infinite computing capabilities are overshadowed by its everyday practicality. The combination of a highly precise trackpad aided by tactile mouse buttons on top and a well-planned out keyboard makes working on the ThinkPad a joy. The keyboard is, in fact, one of the best we have seen in the business. The chiclet keys have higher travel, which aids in a satisfying typing experience. The adequately-sized and designed keys make sure that key ghosting is kept to a minimal level. The clever layout also makes sure that even the keys on extreme corners can be accessed without lifting the palms. The classic pointer nub is a helpful addition for finer adjustments of the cursor on the screen. When it comes to security, the ThinkPad X1 Carbon flaunts a duo of robust biometric verification systems. You get the highly responsive and accurate capacitive fingerprint scanner, which teams up with Windows Hello biometric security to enhance data protection. However, the IR sensor-based facial recognition system works as fast as the infrared-based systems can in the present. In fact, with the facial recognition system switched on, we literally managed to achieve a boot-up time of 5 seconds thanks to the superfast response of the IR sensors and the faster SSD speeds. Sadly, the audio department is one place where it's an ususal affair with all laptops. The X1 Carbon features two standard 5W speakers and their output can be at best described as average. Even with Dolby Atmos Audio enhancements, it's advisable to plug in your headphones or connect to a Bluetooth speaker in order to have an enjoyable multimedia experience on the X1 Carbon. Battery: This is one area where we wished Lenovo could have put in more efforts. While Lenovo claims that up to 15 hours can be extracted from its power reservoir, we found the X1 Carbon to manage up to half of the claimed stamina under moderate usage. We put the X1 carbon through all the processes that an average ThinkPad owner will go through on a single day typing lengthy documents, keeping up to 8-9 tabs opened simultaneously on Google Chrome and Firefox, as well as occasional video streaming this returned an average life of 5-6 hours, after which we went socket-hunting. The figures drop further if you are using an always-on LTE connection. Thankfully, Lenovo bundles a 65W fast charger that tops-up the tank from nothing under an hour and a half. We suggest you switch to power-saving modes whilst mobile to get the most out of a single refill. Conclusion: To sum it all up, the ThinkPad X1 Carbon 6th Gen comes across as a great all-rounder business notebook. Lenovo successfully takes the practical fundamentals of the ThinkPad series and beautifully fuses it with the modern-day conveniences of an ultra-portable notebook. Its got all the connectivity options that are essential to a businessman. The convenience of a touch-enabled display also adds brownie points to the X1 Carbon's productivity as well. Its got enough firepower to back up its premium price tag. However, we wished Lenovo could have worked towards a higher stamina for the Carbon X1, considering the presence of the latest power efficient internals. If you have been reading this piece, then chances are high that you must be a person from the IT department looking for the most capable and efficient work-focussed laptop with enhanced security built-in. You can be assured that the ThinkPad X1 Carbon 6th Gen will keep your firms data secure while giving your employees a pleasant laptop to work upon. Its one of the most practical business notebooks we have ever seen, with an increased emphasis on typing comfort. If you are personally looking for a no-nonsense reliable laptop, then the 6th Gen X1 Carbon is a great alternative to the likes of DELL XPS 13 and Apples 13-inch MacBook Pro, with its slim design and practical ergonomics. We recommend the ThinkPad X1 Carbon for those seeking a highly capable and efficient business notebook. Click on Deccan Chronicle Technology and Science for the latest news and reviews. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter. With the clock ticking on 2020, company engineers are still finalizing details on New Glenns design. (Image: Blue Origin/Jeff Bezos) Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos is racing to pull his private space company out of start-up mode and move into production amid signals that his firms heavy rocket set for lift-off in 2020 may slip behind schedule, according to people familiar with the project. Blue Origin has added hundreds of engineers over the past three years and continues to ramp up in an expansion that one employee described as hyperbolic. The Kent, Washington-based company is looking to double its current workforce to around 3,000 employees over the next two to three years, a top customer told Reuters. The urgency centers on a rocket dubbed New Glenn. The heavy-launch vehicle, which Bezos promises will be able to haul satellites and, eventually, people into orbit, is central to the companys hopes of winning lucrative military and commercial contracts. New Glenns first-stage booster will be reusable, a key piece of Bezos strategy to lower costs and increase the frequency of launches. Blue Origin executives have stated publicly that test flights will begin within two years. But whether Blue Origin can hit that mark remains to be seen. With the clock ticking on 2020, company engineers are still finalizing details on New Glenns design and just beginning to build model components that must be put through extreme testing, people familiar with the project said. They requested anonymity because they are not authorized to speak publicly. Blue Origin has privately acknowledged in conversations with French satellite firm Eutelsat SA - its first New Glenn customer - that its 2020 time frame is very aggressive, a person with direct knowledge of talks between the companies said. The firms have padded their contract, which covers the launch of a geostationary satellite in the period 2021-2022, so that Blue Origin will incur no penalties if it is late, the person added. Yohann Leroy, Eutelsats Deputy Chief Executive Officer, declined to discuss details of his companys contract with Blue Origin, but said he was optimistic New Glenn will be ready to carry his firms satellite by the end of 2022. Of course, I cannot guarantee that they will respect their initial timeline, but we are confident that they will not be very far from it, Leroy said. A Blue Origin spokeswoman did not respond to requests for comment about the companys hiring practices, strategy or competitive challenges. The private firm has been tight-lipped on New Glenns production status and plans for bringing it to market. Mounting a successful test in 2020 would give Blue Origin its best shot at fending off competing rockets and new ones expected to enter the market in the next few years, analysts said. Rivals include aerospace stalwarts United Launch Alliance, a partnership between Boeing Co and Lockheed Martin; and Frances ArianeGroup, a joint venture between Airbus and Safran. Japan and China are likewise designing reusable rockets. But 18 years after its founding, Blue Origin has found itself lagging a competitor closer to home: SpaceX. Founded by Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk, the Hawthorne, California-based company has upended the space industry with its relatively low-cost reusable Falcon 9 rockets. SpaceX has completed more than 50 successful Falcon launches and snagged billions of dollars worth of contracts, including deals with NASA and the US Department of Defense. SpaceX in February transfixed a global audience with the successful test launch of its newest rocket, the Falcon Heavy, the most powerful operational rocket in the world. Musk had predicted game over for other makers of heavy rockets if his launch succeeded. The good news for Blue Origin is that demand for satellite launch services is projected to soar. Around 800 small satellites are expected to launch annually beginning around 2020, more than double the annual average over the past decade, according to Marco Caceres, senior space analyst with Fairfax, Virginia-based Teal Group. If New Glenn can be ready in the next two years (Blue Origin) may be able to seize that window of opportunity, he said. Click on Deccan Chronicle Technology and Science for the latest news and reviews. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter. Click on Deccan Chronicle Technology and Science for the latest news and reviews. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter. Inmarsat talked up its prospects as a standalone company after it rebuffed an approach from EchoStar last month but its shares slipped after a lacklustre performance from its maritime business. The British satellite operator was able to reiterate guidance as it reported a 5 per cent rise in quarterly revenue, driven by demand from airlines and governments. Its shares were down 6 per cent after the results at 545.2 pence at 1315 GMT, although they remain well above the levels they were trading at before it rejected EchoStars first approach in June. Analysts at Jefferies, who have a buy rating on the stock, said the results should support the recent re-rating, and they didnt expect consensus forecasts to change. On the two touch points for sentiment; maritime remains two steps behind where consensus would like it to be and will remain a focus area; aviation is tracking well, they said, referring to two of the main divisions. US company EchoStar dropped its pursuit in July after its 532 pence a share bid, valuing the group at $3.2 billion, failed to persuade Inmarsats board to enter into talks. They had plenty of opportunities to make a serious offer and they decided not to, Chief Executive Rupert Pearce said, adding that EchoStar did not come close to the level that would trigger Inmarsat to engage. Pearce said the company would consider any offer that it felt reflected the true value of the business. If somebody wants to pay up to buy this company at fair value, its our job to facilitate that, he said. Theres no issue about being against a bidder per se. Its a moment of truth on value for our shareholders and we are guardians of that at the time. But he said the company was focused on its own strategy. We are not for sale, we were not for sale, we are not a company that is concerned about its prospects as a standalone company, he said. Pearce said maritime, the biggest contributor to revenue, and the enterprise division were not quite so sparkling in the quarter as they were in the first. The turnaround in maritime is happening, but like many things in that industry its quite slow, he said in an interview. Maritime was a bit anaemic in the quarter - revenue rose 0.1 per cent - but the fundamentals were positive, he said. I am not disheartened at all by the maritime performance. Founded in 1979, London-based Inmarsat was set up by the International Maritime Organization as a way for ships to stay in communication with shore and make emergency calls. Since then, the group has become a public company, providing communications for the British armed forces, aircraft, ships, broadcasters, aid agencies and governments through its fleet of 13 satellites. Pearce said he recognised investors concerns about the development of the nascent market for wifi on commercial flights, potentially lucrative but also bringing additional costs with it. We are being very disciplined in the way we roll the business out, he said. We are showing the pathway but the proof points will come over the next two or three years as things start to settle down. (But) we really do believe this could be a very substantial contributor to free cash flow generation over the coming years. The company said it had more than 1,400 aircraft under contract, and Qatar Airways and Air New Zealand launched services in the quarter. Inmarsat reported revenue of $371.8 million for the three months to end June. Core earnings edged up 0.8 per cent to $198.1 million. Click on Deccan Chronicle Technology and Science for the latest news and reviews. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter. Click on Deccan Chronicle Technology and Science for the latest news and reviews. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter. Dockless bike-sharing, a form of transportation where rented bikes can be left anywhere on the street, is coming to Brazils traffic-clogged financial capital Sao Paulo. A start-up called Yellow, owned by the founders of 99, a popular Brazilian ride-hailing service sold to Chinas Didi Chuxing for an estimated $1 billion earlier this year, launched on August 2 in Sao Paulo. The idea of dockless biking first took off in China, where dozens of companies rushed into the market, some seeing their valuations grow exponentially. A handful of venture capital firms made an initial investment of 50 million reais ($13 million) in the Sao Paulo venture, which hopes to gradually expand to other Brazilian cities, Yellows founders said at a news conference. They said they have put 500 Brazilian-made bikes on the streets of Sao Paulo, one of the worlds largest cities that is notorious for its traffic jams. They said they expect to have 20,000 by November and 100,000 by next year. Brazils Tembici already operates a bike-sharing service in Sao Paulo, albeit one that uses stations to dock the bikes. It has 260 bike stations throughout the city and a total of 5,700 bikes. By way of comparison, New York Citys Citi Bike has about 12,000 bikes. Yellow said that its target customer would use bikes to complement traditional public transportation, not replace it. We are expecting that the majority of rides will last less than 15 minutes, founder Eduardo Musa said. The wave of dockless bike-sharing, which has expanded to cities throughout North America and Europe, has also triggered some regulatory problems with local governments. In certain places, such as Washington, the bikes have triggered a backlash for cluttering the streets. Thefts were widespread when Chinese dockless bike firm Mobike expanded to Mexico City earlier this year. Click on Deccan Chronicle Technology and Science for the latest news and reviews. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter. Click on Deccan Chronicle Technology and Science for the latest news and reviews. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter. Apple, whose initial public offering was in December 1980, is the first US company to reach that milestone. (Photo: Pexels) Donna Fenn bought shares of Apple Inc in the 1980s on the recommendation of a stockbroker a good friend of hers was dating. Shed heard of the company because its co-founder Steve Jobs had appeared on the cover of the magazine she worked for. At the end of 1985, not long after Fenn, now 59, made her investment, shares of Apple were trading at the equivalent of 39 cents each, adjusting for subsequent stock splits. Little could she imagine that the value of Apple shares bought then would climb more than 50,000 per cent. On Thursday, the market capitalization of Apple hit $1 trillion as its shares rose 2.8 per cent to a high of $207.05. Apple, whose initial public offering was in December 1980, is the first US company to reach that milestone. Fenn and other Apple shareholders who first picked the stock in the 1980s and 1990s said they maintained a strong appreciation for the company, its products and its co-founder Jobs even as Apple teetered on the brink of bankruptcy in the late 1990s. Its now an iconic American brand, said Fenn, who lives in Pelham, New York. For much of the 1980s, Bruce Pfeffer used an Apple IIe to help run his company, which teaches children to perform circus arts such as juggling and fire-eating. Hes owned Apple computers almost exclusively since then and travels in his RV, where he lives and works, with an array of iPads and iPod Touches. Pfeffer, 59, first bought Apples stock in 1998, the year after Steve Jobs rejoined the company as chief executive. At the time, Pfeffer wasnt aware of the companys struggles. I didnt realize how bad off the company was at the time, he said. I was just part of that cult that just loved Apple. Elliot Levin, on the other hand, was quite aware of Apples challenges and anxious about its survival. As a teenager in Seattle, he enjoyed tinkering with computers and longed to buy a Mac for college. In 1997, his parents bought him Apple shares for his 15th birthday. Levin specifically requested the gift, in what he viewed as a small gesture to help keep the company alive. It almost felt like an act of solidarity, Levin, now 36 and living in Portland, Oregon, said. At least one shareholder Reuters contacted anticipated that Steve Jobs return to Apple in 1997 would mark a turning point for the company. John Wallner, 61, a consultant in Portland, Oregon, had seen Jobs business acumen firsthand. From 1983 to 1992, he worked at Apple, first as a product cost accountant for the original Macintosh and later as a factory manager. While at Apple, Wallner routinely sold the shares he bought through the companys employee stock purchase plan because he didnt want both his income and the bulk of his investments to come from a single company. But he kept the shares he acquired in his last few years at Apple. When Jobs returned to Apple, Wallner sensed rosier days ahead. I had no motivation to get rid of (the stock), Wallner said. At the time, I said, Well, lets just keep it lying around and watch what he does. Even since Jobs death in 2011, long-time Apple shareholders said they have kept confidence in the company under Tim Cook, its current chief executive. I see big upside, both for the products theyre going to work on as well as the stock price, Wallner said. Robert Emnett, 76, a retired management consultant in Manchester, Missouri, first bought Apple shares in 1996. He keeps nearly his entire investment portfolio in stocks and picks them according to criteria developed by BetterInvesting, a nonprofit that supports investment clubs. The average annual return for his Apple shares has exceeded that of most of his other holdings, Emnett said. Those strong returns have come in handy for several long-time shareholders. Emnett and his wife retired earlier than planned and have used their portfolio to supplement their employer-provided pensions. Pfeffer has sold some of his shares in order to fund his circus-arts education company, whose business is seasonal. Wallner used a portion of his stock to pay off loans he and his wife took out to finance their twin sons college educations. But even as Apples market capitalization has breached the $1 trillion mark, they say they dont plan to sell off the entirety of their shares any time soon. Over the years, Emnett and Fenn have even given shares to their children. I think I will always hold on to a little bit, Fenn said, so I can be that old lady who bought it when I was 25 years old. Click on Deccan Chronicle Technology and Science for the latest news and reviews. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter. Click on Deccan Chronicle Technology and Science for the latest news and reviews. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter. The Honor Play is the first smartphone from their stable to feature the much-hyped GPU Turbo a feature that aims to improve gaming performance while efficiently using the power reserves. Honor has been aggressive in the recent months whether its the wallet-friendly segment or the premium all-frills flagship category, the brand has kept refreshing its portfolio to stay relevant in the ever-evolving smartphone market. After their impressive (and successful) Honor 10 and the recently released feature-rich Honor 9N, Honor wants to target the sweet middle spot between these handsets the midrange category. The category has seen competent offerings from Nokia, Vivo, OPPO, and Samsung this year, with Xiaomi soon to battle it out with their upcoming Mi A2. Therefore, Honor prepares its weapon for the segment by re-introducing a trend that hasn't been seen for a while now offering flagship-grade chips for the price of a midrange smartphone. Called the Honor Play, this is the first smartphone from their stable to feature the much-hyped GPU Turbo a feature that aims to improve gaming performance while efficiently using the power reserves. That, along with Huaweis flagship Kirin 970 chip makes it a sweet deal for mobile gamers on a strict budget. Honor hasnt hinted towards the prices yet, but rumours suggest this could sit somewhere under Rs 25,000 for the top-end 6GB variant. Since 2018, Huawei and Honor have certainly cracked the idea of designing eye-popping smartphones. Their recent flagships come dressed in multi-hued glass bodies and narrow-bezel-designs. With the Honor Play, the brand has hit a sweet middle spot it gets the modern narrow-bezel notched display design from its expensive brothers, but sheds glass for an all-metal chassis. The rear is reminiscent of the View 10 that we saw earlier this year. While glass designs grab eyeballs, they cannot assure the comfortable grip and the robustness of metal you can go careless with a metal-bodied phone, avoiding bulky cases to keep it away from harms way (although Honor still bundles the Play with a protective TPU case if you want to be extra cautious). The antenna lines on the edges have been incorporated tastefully and the new Huawei-esque 'vertically aligned' branding by Honor does steal glances. Look around and you will find a USB-C port, a loudspeaker and a 3.5mm headphone jack. The buttons are easy to reach and feel tactile. The front is dominated by a large 6.3-inch IPS LCD display with an aspect ratio of 18.9:9 thanks to the notched design, which liberates more usable space for the device to stuff UI elements up further. The notch houses the earpiece, a 16MP selfie camera and the host of essential sensors. Due to the hardware limitations of an LCD panel, theres a noticeable chin at the bottom. Nonetheless, like every Honor device, the Play offers an impressive viewing experience. The display appears to render vibrant colours with adequate brightness. Media consumption on this one should be pleasant. Is this then the best display in this segment? We will figure out the answer over the next couple of days. Moving over to the Plays USP, the Kirin 970 SoC is a mighty powerful silicon. Surely, in 2018, it is a generation old when compared to Qualcomms Snapdragon 845 found on this year's flagships. But, when assessed in the segment this ones going to play (pun intended), it blows away almost every other midrange chip from Qualcomm and MediaTek. We saw the Kirin 970 drawing scores of approximately 2,00,000 on AnTuTu on previous Huawei/Honor flagships, which is way more than what a Snapdragon 660 or an Exynos 7870 can score. Therefore, performance on the Play should be theoretically fast and Honor compares its gaming performance (especially with AI and GPU-Turbo) at par with what the SD845 can do. Factor in 4GB/6GB of RAM and the latest EMUI 8.1 based on Android 8.1 Oreo, and you have one beast of a device on your hands. In our brief time with the Honor Play, the UI seemed to be fluid, despite being heavily customised. We noticed no lags or stutters while opening the preloaded apps as well as some social media apps. Casual games do work well, but we didnt get to flex our muscles on the latest resource-intensive titles yet, which is why will reserve our judgement on the effectiveness of the GPU Turbo. However, we expect the Honor Play to offer smooth gameplay without heating up during intense sessions. Honor also prides itself with impressive camera performance and the Play isnt an exception. Theres a 16MP + 2MP dual sensor unit for the rear, accompanied by an LED flash. Honor employs Electronic Image Stabilisation (EIS) and Artificial Intelligence Stabilisation (AIS) for stabilising the shots. The camera also gets an inbuilt AI mode (thanks to the Kirin 970s dedicated NPU) that can recognise multiple scenes and adjust the camera parameters accordingly to deliver a social media-ready edit-free photo. The NPU also takes care of the portrait photos along with the depth sensor the initial impressions are impressive, with a careful blend of the subject and the background. With the AI mode enabled, one can really snap some interesting photos. If you prefer natural AI-free colour tones, the Plays shooter can also deliver on that front decently. The 16MP front camera impresses the selfie addicts too most of our team members were busy shooting their selfies with the Play. The front shooter is also responsible for the Face Unlock feature, which seems to be effective in most lighting situations. We will hold on our final thoughts for the camera performance in our review. With a 3750mAh power reservoir, the Honor Play should stand up to a days requirements with ease. We will have to see how much drainage occurs while gaming and whether the GPU Turbos efficiency is of any use to the Plays stamina. Initial impressions: For a smartphone supposed to sit in the midrange segment, the Honor Play seems to offer tremendous value. Right from its flagship-grade chipset to the impressive display to the seemingly-capable cameras to the stylish aesthetics, the Play has what it takes to the challenge and even outgun everyone in its price bracket. If Honor prices it somewhere around the Rs 20,000 mark, the Play has the potential to be our recommended choice in the midrange category. Honor will launch it on August 6th in two colour variants black and blue. If the Play has caught your attention, hold on for our final verdict in the review within the next few weeks. Click on Deccan Chronicle Technology and Science for the latest news and reviews. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter. Click on Deccan Chronicle Technology and Science for the latest news and reviews. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter. 'We have 20 people killed and around 50 others were wounded,' General Raz Mohammad Mandozai, provincial police chief of Paktia province, near the Pakistan border, told AFP. (Photo: AP | Representational) Khost: Twin suicide blasts struck a Shiite mosque in eastern Afghanistan on Friday as it was crowded with worshippers for weekly prayers, killing at least 20 people and wounding dozens in the latest attack on the minority. Officials have said they fear the death toll could rise after the assault, the latest targeting civilians who have borne the brunt of the violence in Afghanistan's long conflict. "Two suicide explosions happened during Friday prayers in the Khwaja Hasan area of Gardez," said Abdullah Hasrat, spokesman for Paktia province near the Pakistan border. Provincial police chief General Raz Mohammad Mandozai also confirmed the presence of two suicide bombers, adding that the assailants also opened fire on the crowd before detonating explosives. He said at least 20 people had been killed and around 50 others injured. Other officials said as many as 25 people had died. Gardez public health department chief Wilayat Khan Ahmadzai said that more than 70 people in total had been killed and wounded, with many rushed to the city's civilian hospital. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack. It comes as urban areas across Afghanistan have been rocked by an increasing number of attacks in recent months, with both Islamic State (IS) and Taliban insurgents targeting security forces and government installations. The Taliban has not claimed a major attack in a city for weeks as it comes under increased pressure to agree to peace talks with the Afghan government. But IS has carried out multiple attacks in the eastern city of Jalalabad and the capital Kabul in recent months, targeting everything from government ministries to a midwife training centre. Last month an IS suicide bomber blew himself up near Kabul international airport, killing 23 people including AFP driver Mohammad Akhtar. The uptick in violence comes as US and Afghan forces intensify ground and air offensives against IS, and the Taliban step up their turf war with the group. Earlier this week more than 150 IS fighters surrendered in northern Afghanistan -- in a move that Afghan security forces and the Taliban hailed as the end of the extremist group in the north of the country. Afghan civilians have taken the brunt of the gruesome war that began after the 2001 US-led invasion uprooted the Taliban regime. Insurgent attacks and suicide bombs were the leading causes of civilian deaths in the first half of 2018, a recent UN report showed. A total of 1,692 civilians were killed, the highest number for the period since the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan began keeping records in 2009. Another 3,430 people were wounded, the report added. It is the latest case of high-profile individuals being accused of sexual misconduct in China. (Photo: AFP | Representational) Beijing: Chinas highest ranking Buddhist monk who is governments political advisor has been accused of sexually harassing and assaulting nuns at a monastery in Beijing. According to a report, Xuecheng, abbot of Longquam temple in Beijing has denied all the allegations of harassment and assaulting in the garb of religious teachings. Xuecheng is a member of Standing Committee of the 13th National Committee of Chinese Peoples Political Consultative Conference which is the top political advisory body and the head of the government-affiliated Buddhist Association of China. Xianjia and Zianqi, two monks of Longquam temple submitted a report to public security department (police) stating that Xuecheng sexually harassed several nuns, including sending illicit messages to them and forcing them to have sexual relations with him. According to the report by the monks alleged that Zuencheng manipulated his disciples. The report was leaked online on Wednesday. The two monks started investigating after a nun showed them Xuechengs texts with sexual content. Investigations began into the case when the two monks submitted their report. According to Global Times, the temple said the two monks have forged materials, distorted facts and spread false information that has misled the public. Global Times when contacted experts from public scrutiny ministry to confirm about the messages, it stated that the messages showed Xuecheng tempted, threatened at least six nuns to have sex with him, out of which four capitulated to his requests. It is the latest case of high-profile individuals being accused of sexual misconduct in China. The French police have arrested an Austrian man at a Paris airport after he flew in from Mexico with 80 small birds stashed in his hand luggage, a judicial source said. (Photo: File | Representational) France: The French police have arrested an Austrian man at a Paris airport after he flew in from Mexico with 80 small birds stashed in his hand luggage, a judicial source said Wednesday. Although all but one of the birds were still alive when they were discovered at Roissy airport, a further 55 have since died, the source added. The birds were discovered on Friday in boxes hidden in three bags. The Austrian collector, who is already facing court action in Germany, claimed to be passionate about birds. The birds, many of which feed on nectar, likely died because of the transport conditions and the stress of their capture, the source said. Exceptional permission was given to allow the birds to leave the airport instead of facing quarantine conditions. The illicit avian cargo was placed in the care of vets before the surviving birds were taken to a permanent home on Wednesday. On the orders of the Supreme Court, Musharraf's passport and identity card were also cancelled since he failed to return to the country despite giving him a last chance. (Photo: File) Islamabad: A special court in Pakistan hearing the treason charges against former dictator Pervez Musharraf has scheduled the hearing of the high-profile case on August 20, according to a media report. The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government had filed the treason case against the ex-army chief General (retd) Musharraf over the imposition of extra-constitutional emergency in November 2007. The bench that will hear the case will be headed by Lahore High Court (LHC) Chief Justice Muhammad Yawar Ali, Geo News reported. Musharraf, 74, who is currently residing in Dubai, has refused to return to Pakistan citing security reasons. The three-judge special court will hear the high treason case against Pakistan's president on August 20, the report said. Last month, lawyer Akram Sheikh stepped down as the head of the prosecution team tasked by the government in 2013 to prosecute Musharraf. Sheikh was appointed as the head of the prosecution in the case, by the then-PML-N led government. Musharraf, the former army chief, was indicted in the case in March 2014 after he appeared before the court and rejected all charges. On March 18, 2016, he left Pakistan for Dubai for medical treatment after his name was removed from the Exit Control List on the orders of the Supreme Court. A few months later, a special court had declared him a proclaimed offender and ordered the confiscation of his property owing to his no-show. Later, on the orders of the Supreme Court, Musharraf's passport and identity card were also cancelled since he failed to return to the country despite giving him a last chance. The legal experts believe that the treason case is a test for the upcoming government of Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), as one of the reasons of civil-military tussle was that the PML-N government had initiated the case against the former army chief. The PTI chief had vowed in November 2007 that his party would initiate proceedings against Musharraf over his unconstitutional acts but it has also been witnessed that the PTI has remained silent over the issue in the recent past. India has started the process of sending a formal request to the Government of Antigua and Barbuda to extradite fugitive jeweller Mehul Choksi, who has been accused of colluding with his nephew diamantaire, Mehul Choksi, to defraud PNB of Rs 14,000 crore. The CBI has sent to the Ministry of External Affairs the formal request for extradition of Choksi from Antigua, sources in New Delhi said on Friday. They added that the MEA was currently in the process of conveying it to the authorities in Antigua and Barbuda. India earlier this week sent its envoy to Guyana, V Mahalingam, to Antigua and Barbuda to meet the officials of the government of the West Indies nation and to request them to detain Choksi and prevent it from fleeing by land, air and sea. The picture of seized and unclaimed vehicles gathering dust at police stations and vacant sites raises a question: for how long can the police can keep these vehicles? In a report to the Lokayukta, the state police submitted that more than 23,000 vehicles have been awaiting disposal since 2015 across the state. Lokayukta Justice P Vishwanath Shetty has directed the police department to get information from each police station. Based on a complaint, the Lokayukta had asked the police department to submit a report on the number of vehicles languishing and steps taken to dispose of them. Additional director general of police (Crime and Technical Services) M A Saleem submitted a report elaborating the circumstances and reasons for the inability to dispose of the seized, unclaimed vehicles. The report said that a majority of the vehicles seized are disposed of every year. He said that in 2018 (till May) 20,693 vehicles were seized, while 13,405 vehicles were disposed of. The report claimed that procedures to be followed while disposing of the seized, unclaimed vehicles include sending registration and chassis numbers to all police stations, State Crime Record Bureau, District Crime Record Bureau and publishing newspaper notifications. When the vehicles are still unclaimed, the police will have to get the vehicles valued by the Transport Department and arrange for public auction after obtaining the courts permission. The report claimed that the safety and condition of the vehicles are ensured. Lokayukta Justice Shetty directed the police to speed up the process to dispose of the vehicles to avoid loss to the state. Justice Shetty said the police should file an application before the courts for disposal of the vehicles. The state will be the loser if effective steps are not taken for the disposal of these vehicles at the earliest. The Transport Commissioner is directed to issue appropriate directions to officials to help police in facilitating necessary valuation of the vehicle, Justice Shetty said in the order. A senior police official said that the Supreme Court in several cases has directed the police department to dispose of seized vehicles at the earliest. In Ambalal Desai v/s state of Gujarat case, the Supreme Court held that it is of no use to keep seized vehicles at the police stations for a long period. For, the sufferer would either be the state exchequer or the citizen. The court hoped that magistrates would take immediate action and articles are not kept for not more than 15 days to one month, the police official said. WEST VALLEY CITY Utah firefighters are on their way to California to help in the effort to suppress raging wildfires in the Golden State. Firefighters from Salt Lake City, Draper, Murray, Lone Peak, Provo, Uintah City in Weber County and West Valley City gathered at the Maverik Center Thursday morning to begin their journey. They are expected to be deployed for two weeks, and possibly be gone as long as three weeks. "Utah firefighters will join the 12,000-plus firefighters throughout the country who have been traveling from as far as Florida and New Jersey. Crews have been attacking 17 major California wildfires, 12 of which are still active, and there seems to be no end in sight to the epidemical blaze that has claimed eight lives, burned 240,000 acres, and destroyed more than 1,000 structures so far," according to a statement from the Salt Lake City Fire Department, which deployed 11 firefighters and three engines. Salt Lake Fire Chief Karl Lieb expects they'll be sent to Northern California, where the Carr Fire has devastated the region. "This is what we train to do. Were well-trained, well-equipped, were well-staffed. And I feel good about being able to offer assistance and still maintain the highest level of readiness in Salt Lake, he said. Utah firefighters have traveled to California three times since October to help with wildfire efforts. "According to CalFire officials, fighting wildfire will be a year-round activity in hot, dry states. Years of drought have created volatile conditions, prime for an onslaught of outdoor fires," the Salt Lake City Fire Department statement says. Riley Pilgram, chief of the Wildland Division for Unified Fire Authority, has been in California several times and was part of Utah's deployment to the state in December. He described fighting fires in California as a "different experience." "Different fire behavior, different environment, different fuel. And the conditions they have in California right now, theyre not common as far as what we experience out here. Really dry, really hot, fast active fires with thousands of homes threatened, he said. "Theyre in pretty rough shape." In December, between 80 and 100 firefighters from 16 agencies in northern Utah as well as firefighters in southern Utah went to Southern California, where they helped battle the Lilac Fire in San Diego that burned about 4,100 acres and destroyed or damaged about 200 structures. "When I was there in December, the level of gratitude that we felt was amazing, Pilgram said. "I imagine any fire department that shows up is a huge relief to them. PLEASANT GROVE Arguing that a new fee being collected from Pleasant Grove residents is illegal under Utah's Constitution, a libertarian-leaning nonprofit group is suing the city of Pleasant Grove. The group hopes the lawsuit will set a precedent to stop similar practices in other Utah cities. The Libertas Institute announced the lawsuit Thursday in a news release, arguing that a transportation utility fee Pleasant Grove began collecting this week is illegal based on Utah's Constitution, state statutes and previous court opinions on how taxes and fees must be established. "We think cities have to follow the law, and when they're not, someone needs to hold them accountable," Libertas Institute President Connor Boyack said. Boyack said courts in several other states have overturned similar transportation utility fees based on the argument included in Libertas' lawsuit: that because the government "cannot quantify exactly who uses the roads how often and how much, general taxation must fund their construction and maintenance," he said. "While Pleasant Grove has several options to go directly to voters to seek a tax increase to fund these roads, the city has chosen an underhanded method to take more money from residents without going through the established political process to increase taxes, Boyack said. If city residents agree that taxes should be raised, fine just do it the right way. Thats what todays lawsuit demands. Scott Darrington, Pleasant Grove's city administrator, said Thursday that city officials hadn't yet been officially served the lawsuit, but declined to comment on the suit, citing pending litigation. Pleasant Grove implemented the transportation fee assessed on residents' utility bills, costing homeowners $8.45 a month after city officials commissioned a study more than three years ago to determine how to repair and maintain city roads. The study estimated it would take $3.8 million a year for the next 20 years to get all city roads up to an acceptable standard, according to city officials. But at the time, the city only had about $1.2 million a year made up of gas taxes and money transferred from the general fund. By 2017, the City Council added another $230,000 of general fund money and the Utah Legislature increased the gas tax to add another $180,000 to the city, reducing the gap to $2.2 million. In March last year, a group of residents filed a citizen initiative to fund the $2.2 million gap out of the general fund, but that fall the initiative failed after nearly 69 percent of voters shot it down. "The election results showed the City Council that the residents did not want to fund roads by reducing or eliminating other general fund services," city officials say on Pleasant Grove's website. So earlier this year, the City Council discussed implementing the transportation utility fee, and in February hosted several meetings to take input from the public and business leaders. In April, the council voted to implement the fee before making some changes to the ordinance in July. The fee began being collected Wednesday. "Although much opposition was presented at the public hearings, the City Council was set on its course in passing a road fee despite it being the most legally tenuous option," Libertas' lawsuit states. But Pleasant Grove isn't the only city in Utah that has assessed transportation utility fees. Other cities that have similar fees include Provo, Vineyard, Mapleton and Highland in Utah County, as well as Kaysville, North Ogden, South Weber and Plain City, Weber County, in northern Utah. Boyack said Libertas Institute has been studying the issue for about a year and was nearing the end of its research when Pleasant Grove began preparing to implement the fees, so based on "timing," he said that's why Libertas decided to target Pleasant Grove rather than cities that have already been collecting the fees. "We felt rather than going after a city that has been doing this for a while, we wanted to set up a test case with a city that had not yet gotten started," Boyack said. "(Pleasant Grove) seemed like the proper defendant to take on this case, which of course, will have a broader application for other cities." "Our intent is to win against Pleasant Grove and have legal precedent we can use to put other cities on notice and put a stop to the practice statewide," Boyack continued. The lawsuit seeks remedies including a refund of money taken from residents and a declaration that the fee is illegal and must be discontinued. Correction: An earlier version incorrectly said Plain View in Weber County has a transportation utility fee in place. The name of the city is Plain City. CHRISTOPHER ROBIN 2 stars Ewan McGregor, Hayley Atwell, Bronte Carmichael, Mark Gatiss, voice of Jim Cummings; PG (some action); in general release Hot on the tails of last years biographical Goodbye Christopher Robin, Disney has delivered Christopher Robin, which feels much like a sister project. But in spite of a strong cast and some appropriate charm, Marc Forsters film may struggle to connect with a general audience. Bringing to life the characters from A.A. Milnes Winnie-the-Pooh books, Christopher Robin imagines a world where the titular character is all grown up and at risk of forgetting the lessons of his youth. A brief prologue provides a glimpse of Christopher Robin's happy childhood playing in the Hundred Acre Wood with Pooh and Co. before being sent off to boarding school, military service and, eventually, full adulthood. We meet Christopher (Ewan McGregor) as a grown man, with a loving wife named Evelyn (Hayley Atwell) and a young daughter named Madeline (Bronte Carmichael), whos just about the same age he was when he left for school. Christopher works as an efficiency manager for Winslow Enterprises, a struggling London luggage company. His demanding boss, Giles Winslow (Mark Gatiss), is a poster child for nepotism the kind of taskmaster who makes his employees work weekends in the name of loyalty, even if his own work ethic fails to match the same standard. Continued long hours have put a strain on Christopher's family, and tensions come to a head when his boss forces him to skip a family trip to their Sussex cottage. Its here, as Christopher sits on a park bench trying to figure out how to cut 20 percent of his production budget, that an old friend arrives with his own problem: Pooh has lost all his friends. Reluctantly, Christopher is recruited to the cause and pulled into an adventure that eventually ties all his challenges together. Fans of the books will be pleased to see Pooh (Jim Cummings) and a familiar cast that includes Piglet (Nick Mohammed), Rabbit (Peter Capaldi), Owl (Toby Jones) and Tigger (also voiced by Cummings). Eeyore (Brad Garrett) probably gets the most screen time aside from Pooh, and his trademark gloomy comments are frequent punchlines. Unlike Goodbye Christopher Robin, Forsters film takes place in the imagined world of the Milne books, but both mine similar themes of balancing family relationships against the demands of career. Christopher Robin may feature playful animated animals (masterfully blended into a live-action environment), but its message, which connects Christopher's adult plight to wistful Pooh-isms such as doing nothing leads to the very best something, feels aimed at a more mature audience. Its a good-hearted message, but it feels routine in a film that struggles to appeal to a pair of distinct audiences. As a narrative, Christopher Robin struggles to get off the ground and persists in a dreary, melancholy tone enhanced by a desaturated old-timey color palate that literally pales next to most childrens fare. At times, it feels the film has been produced exclusively from Eeyores perspective. Things pick up considerably for an energetic third act, but at least for the kids, that may be too little too late for a film that feels most appropriate for an adult audience. In some ways, Christopher Robin might be better suited for a night out for Mom and Dad rather than a Saturday afternoon with the whole family, but its doubtful thats what Disney is hoping for. Christopher Robin is rated PG for some action; running time: 104 minutes. SALT LAKE CITY The Utah State Board of Education stopped short of mandating that public schools conduct annual parent-child reunification drills, but it will require them to publish reunification plans on school websites and distribute them annually during school registration. The board on Thursday vigorously debated the proposal by board member Linda Hansen, who said conducting drills and publishing plans would give parents peace of mind about procedures if their child's school has to be evacuated in the event of an emergency. But others argued that a statewide policy would encroach on local control of schools. Some opposed requiring schools to publish their policies on school websites. Board member Brittney Cummins says she's concerned about the State School Board dictating how schools should communicate with stakeholders. But others, like board member Kathleen Riebe said having the plan on a website means it could be readily accessed or linked to in tweets or Instagram posts to parents. "I think it needs to be more dynamic and it needs to be readily available," Riebe said. Sending a note home at the start of school just adds to the "100 pieces of paper" families receive at the start of school and she fears the information will get lost in the shuffle, she said. The state code requires schools to publish minutes of school community council meetings. Riebe said a reunification plan is more important than that. Board member Carol Lear agreed, noting school safety is an issue that should have "state weight behind it." Parents frequently ask what the State School Board is doing to improve school safety, she said. Placing a reunification plan on a school website and updating it annually is minimal requirement, Lear said. The board rule will not go effect until the 2019-20 school year because of state statutes on implementing administrative rules. State Superintendent of Public Instruction Sydnee Dickson said she would notify school districts and charter schools of the board rule immediately. Hansen said she believes many school districts will voluntarily comply immediately. Some schools already have published plans and conduct drills that call for parent participation. During the drills, teachers walk students to predetermined, off-site venues where they gather in specific zones. The parents travel to the site and meet their child or children in a specific order. Once all students are accounted for, the school releases children to parents who have photo identification. Parents are also permitted to pick up other people's children if they are an approved emergency contact. While some parents who have undergone the drill say it is valuable, some board members worried aloud that it would be difficult for working parents to take part. Hansen said the drill proposal "hasn't gone away completely. We have a task force that's working on putting together a state (school safety) plan, and they're looking at that also with law enforcement and the other people on that. I think it's something we'll probably revisit in the future." In any event, the discussion and debate has opened school officials' eyes to the possibility of reunification drills, she said. "I went to a school safety meeting with Granite School District and they had all of their principals there. They were talking about reunification drills then. As they become more aware, more people are going to say 'This is a good idea and I think we should do this,'" Hansen said. Thursday's action was "a good first step," she said. "Just having parents have the information at the first of the year, that's going to be cool for them. They're going to go, 'Wow. I've got information now I didn't have before' so I think it's going to give them peace of mind," Hansen said. SALT LAKE CITY Three brothers caught up in the investigation of former Utah attorneys general Mark Shurtleff and John Swallow are suing the FBI for alleged heavy-handed tactics that they say violated their civil rights. Robert Montgomery, JD Montgomery and Chase Montgomery claim in a federal lawsuit that FBI and Utah Department of Public Safety agents used excessive force in a search of their homes. They also claim they were maliciously prosecuted. Robert Montgomery, owner of Emmediate Credit Solutions, hosted two fundraisers for Swallow's election campaign in August 2012. JD Montgomery and Chase Montgomery also worked at the business. Investigators equipped an employee of the company, Adolph Travis Hards, with a wire recording device that he wore for four months in 2014, the lawsuit says. Hards has a lengthy criminal history including weapons charges, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, assault and burglary. Hards left the company after a confrontation with Robert Montgomery in May 2014. In August, agents wearing body armor and carrying assault rifles and automatic and semi-automatic weapons executed search warrants at the Montgomerys' homes. Investigators "threatened, and physically, verbally and emotionally abused plaintiffs and their wives and children, including an infant child," according to the lawsuit. The three men were indicted in federal court with witness tampering and held in jail. The lawsuit says Hards gathered no material information during the four months he wore a wire and that the Montgomerys couldn't have intended to influence him because they didn't know he was an informant. "The recordings did not reveal any illegal activities between plaintiffs and Mark Shurtleff and John Swallow," according to the lawsuit. Robert Montgomery told investigators he held the fundraisers for Swallow because he supported his campaign. He told them he didn't really know Shurtleff. The government eventually dropped the witness tampering case against the Montgomerys. In July 2014, state prosecutors charged Shurtleff and Swallow with a host of felonies, including bribery and accepting gifts. The case against Shurtleff was dropped in 2016. A jury acquitted Swallow on all counts after a monthlong trial last year. FBI special agents Jon Isakson and Michelle Pickens, state investigator Scott Nesbitt, the FBI, the Salt Lake Public Corruption Task Force, the State Bureau of Investigation and Utah Department of Public Safety are named as defendants in the Montgomerys' lawsuit. The complaint seeks an unspecified amount in compensatory and punitive damages for emotional distress, humiliation, loss of enjoyment of life and lost wages. The FBI and the public safety department declined to comment. Shurtleff filed a civil rights lawsuit in June against the same agencies and investigators as well as Salt County District Attorney Sim Gill. Aishwarya Rajesh To Be In A Women-Centric Suspense Thriller Aishwarya Rajesh will be seen playing the main lead in a forthcoming suspense thriller. The movie will be directed by debutant SA Baskaran, who has assisted filmmakers like Kamal Haasan, Rajesh M Selva, Siddique, Jeetu Joseph and Raju Sundaram. The film will revolve around a murder mystery. Aishwarya will be playing a medical rep in the film. Interestingly, this is the first time a female medical rep character is being shown in Tamil cinema. Nicky Sundaram, a newcomer, will be playing the male lead and there will also be a romantic angle. The director has also roped in Kishore, who he says will be playing an important role that is kind of a lead role. Prithwick will be the composer while PC Sreerams assistant Mohan handles the camera. Other than this, Sreekar Prasads associate Babu A Srivatsava, and art director Senthil Raghavan, who worked on Tamizh Padam 2, form the core technical team, along with writer Murugesh. The shoot is currently in its process. Since the story is set in the outer regions of Chennai, the film has been shot in those places so far. For latest movie reviews, ratings and trailers, download the Desimartini App. Source: image.vikatan.com A Scottish dad has taken part in another gruelling fundraising challenge in honour of his daughter who has type 1 diabetes. Davy Ballantyne, also known as Big Davy, hauled 60kg of chains up Ben Nevis to raise money for type 1 diabetes charity JDRF. His decision to trek the highest mountain in the British Isles, an epic climb of 1,345m, was inspired following his daughter Rosin being diagnosed aged 10, three years ago. The 57-year-old has so far raised more than 1,800. Speaking to the Scottish Sun newspaper, he said: Having type 1 diabetes is life-changing and I do these gruelling challenges to show my daughter, Roisi, that shes not the only one who finds her condition challenging at times, especially if her blood glucose levels are too high or low. Given this was the same weight as an adult, it was hard going on my neck, back, shoulders and legs, but Im delighted to have raised funds for JDRF as the only way were going to cure type 1 diabetes is through research. Carrying 60kg, or 9.5 stones, up steep slopes is a huge challenging, and even maintaining his balance will have been a step-by-step ordeal for Davy at many parts of the formidable mountain. This is not the first time Davy has hit the headlines for enduring a gruelling physical challenge. In May 2016 he pulled a 120kg anvil to the top of Goat Fell, the second highest mountain on the Isle of Arran. He completed the epic 874m anvil haul and raised 16,905 for the JDRF, bringing his total fundraising amount to more than 18,000. To donate to Davys cause, visit his JustGivingpage. Picture: Scottish Sun Google has announced that its going to bring India-specific features to its venerable maps and navigation app, Google Maps. This is being implemented in order to address unique challenges and opportunities, a senior company official said to The Economic Times. Program Manager Anal Ghosh said in a statement, Google Maps is not just about navigating from point A to B. We have been building for India, addressing the unique challenges and opportunities, with the sole aim of making Google maps more comprehensive, accurate and reliable. According to The Economic Times report on the subject, Ghosh talked about innovating features specifically for India. According to the report, Google Maps users in India will get a two-wheeler mode as 70 percent of all vehicles registered in the country are two-wheelers. Two-wheeler mode in maps shows trip routes that use shortcuts not accessible to cars, buses and trucks. It also provides customized traffic and arrival time estimations, Ghosh added. The transit feature on Google Maps provides information on train, metro, and buses routes. Apart from this, it also shows schedules for approximately 12,000 trains run by Indian Railways. We are working closely with the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs. We have been working with them to add public toilets (on Google Maps) across different cities in the country, Ghosh commented. Working in partnership with the government, Google has added public toilet locations on Google Maps. This, presumably, has been done in an effort to reduce the menace of public urination, a problem of bad hygiene thats prevalent in the country. We have launched real time buses in two citiesKolkata and Surat. We are working to see how we can extend it to other cities as well, Ghosh added. Some of these features may already be available on the beta version of Google Maps and should roll out to the stable version as and when Google releases them. Venom Tom Hardy has always been a personal favourite of this writer thanks to movies and shows like Warrior, Legend, Taboo, Peaky Blinders, and so on. Now, Hardy takes up the role of Venom, one of Marvel's most enigmatic, complex and badass character. A new trailer for the movie releasing October 5 has now surfaced online. The trailer shows Hardy transition into Venom in multiple scenes and the last of the trailer is when you get the best look at the character. Watch till the end! Slender Man The Slender Man legend started as an internet meme in the form of creepypasta horror images. On the internet, Slender Man has been portrayed as a tall, lanky human with no face, wearing a suit. What started as an urban legend, became real horror when two 12-year old girls were actually stabbed to death 19 times in Wisconsin, in an attempt to impress the fictional Slender Man creature. Now, theres a Slender Man movie starring Joey King, Javier Botet, Annalise Basso. The movie seems to be a mix of the urban legend and the actual Slender Man murders. When a small-town teenager goes missing. her friends embark on a journey to find her, but first, they need to find Slender Man! Alita: Battle Angel The second trailer for Alita: Battle Angel is out after we got the first glimpse at this James Cameron, Robert Rodriguez cyberpunk movie at San Diego Comic Con. Alita: Battle Angel is based on a manga series called Yukito Kishiro, and traces the story of a cyborg with unusually big eyes. The trailer is action-packed and shows Alita taking on various dystopian monsters in a battle for survival. The cast of the film is also pretty promising with the likes of Christoph Waltz and Jennifer Connelly star-studding the film. Rosa Salazar (Maze Runner) plays the super-powerful cyborg - Alita. Maniac Jonah Hill, Emma Stone, Justin Theroux, and Sally Field - all big Hollywood celebrities come under one roof in Netflixs upcoming miniseries Maniac. The streaming platform just released a small teaser for the upcoming show which is supposed to be a dark comedy based on a Norwegian television series of the same name. The series premieres on Netflix on September 21. Deaths Gambit As an agent of Death bound to his service, unravel the mystery of Siradon and discover the true price of immortality. Death's Gambit is available for pre-order now on PS4. GRIP: Combat Racing Inspiried by the Rollcage games of the late 90s, GRIP: Combat Racing celebrates the re-emergency of blindingly fast arcade combat racers offering a true, wheel-gripping experience. The Innocents | Featurette: Behind the Scenes The Innocents is an upcoming supernatural series exclusive to Netflix. The series releases at the end of August - August 24 to be precise. The new featurette posted by Netflix shows the cast of the series, including Guy Pearce, talk about their characters and what it was like to play them on screen. If you are looking to catch the series online (I know I am), then maybe its a good idea to have a little more info on it, which is exactly what this featurette aims to give you. Marvels Iron Fist: Season 2 | Memories Teaser Danny remembers his time spent training to become the Iron Fist at Kunlun. This is a good sign as we may finally get to see more of the mysterious Kunlun mountains in the second seaon of Iron Fist. We really liked Rands cameo in Luke Cage Season 2, which spiced up the otherwise predictable storyline of the show. Castlevania: Season 2 We loved Castlevania on Netflix here at Digit and thought there were very few episodes to enjoy in the debut season of the show. Now, the streaming service has started teasing the second season for Castlevania and its coming this October 26. We have already dissected the new teaser and you can read all about what we expect from Season 2 here. The Darkest Minds Behind-the-scenes When teens mysteriously develop powerful new abilities, they are declared a threat by the government and detained. Sixteen-year-old Ruby, one of the most powerful young people anyone has encountered, escapes her camp and joins a group of runaway teens seeking safe haven. Soon this newfound family realizes that, in a world in which the adults in power have betrayed them, running is not enough and they must wage a resistance, using their collective power to take back control of their future. The Darkest Minds releases on August 3 globally, but may come to India by next week, so maybe you can catch this featurette before you watch the movie in theaters. Had he been alive, Steve would have been very happy to see the Jobs done. Apple has become the first public company to reach the magic number of $1 trillion. Shows you the poser of technology, doesn't it? On Thursday night the tech firms share price reached $207.05 when its valuation became a trillion dollar. The shares continued to soar to $208.30 and closed at an all time high at $207.39. Apple's stocks have been on an upward spiral since Tuesday when it announced its best-ever June quarter results, registering a 17 percent year-on-year increase. The iPhone-maker announced a quarterly revenue of $53.3 billion in its third fiscal quarter. It said that the international sales accounted for 60 percent of the quarters revenue. Were thrilled to report Apples best June quarter ever, and our fourth consecutive quarter of double-digit revenue growth. Our Q3 results were driven by continued strong sales of iPhone, Services and Wearables, and we are very excited about the products and services in our pipeline, Apples CEO Tim Cook said in a statement. Our strong business performance drove revenue growth in each of our geographic segments, net income of $11.5 billion, and operating cash flow of $14.5 billion. We returned almost $25 billion to investors through our capital return program during the quarter, including $20 billion in share repurchases, Apple CFO Luca Maestri added. Apple has beaten its direct rival Amazon, which was seen as a major hiccup in the companys pursuit of becoming the first public company to hit the $1 trillion valuation. Apple CEO Tim Cook has thanked employees for achieving the milestone. Today Apple passed a significant milestone. At our closing share price of $207.39, the stock market now values Apple at more than $1 trillion. While we have much to be proud of in this achievement, its not the most important measure of our success. Financial returns are simply the result of Apples innovation, putting our products and customers first, and always staying true to our values, the executive said. Its you, our team, that makes Apple great and our success is due to your hard work, dedication, and passion. I am deeply humbled by what you do, and its the privilege of a lifetime to work alongside you. I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for all the late hours and extra trips, all the times you refuse to settle for anything less than excellence in our work together. Lets take this moment to thank our customers, our suppliers and business partners, the Apple developer community, our coworkers, and all those who came before us at this remarkable company, Cook added. He showered words of praise on the co-founder saying, Steve founded Apple on the belief that the power of human creativity can solve even the biggest challenges and that the people who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world are the ones who do. In todays world, our mission is more important than ever. Our products not only create moments of surprise and delight, they empower people all around the globe to enrich their lives and the lives of others. Just as Steve always did in moments like this, we should all look forward to Apples bright future and the great work well do together, he added. According to BBC, since the iPhone first went on sale in 2007, Apple shares have soared by 1,100 percent. It has registered a 50,000 percent rise since it was first listed in 1980. It is an astonishing feat achieved by the company, which in 1997 was under threat of bankruptcy. Apple was co-founded by Steve Jobs and the Steve Wozniak (aka The other Steve) in 1976 in a garage, and the company saw a fair share of ups and downs. Apple initially made and sold Mac computers. However, just in nine years time in 1985, Jobs was forced to leave the company which laid the foundation of a slow downfall. The company was struggling in 1997 and a familiar face in the shape of Jobs returned to pull the company out from the gallows. The visionary entrepreneur launched innovation-laden gadgets after gadgets, pioneering the tech industry. From the launch of the first iPod in 2001 to the iPhone in 2007, the company showed that it plans to rule. It was under Jobs in 2010 that the company launched the first iPad. He died in 2011 as companys CEO and left everything up to Tim Cook to take the company forward. In these 10 years, Jobs took the companys $6 billion market value to $624 billion cap. When Cook took over, Apple was seen as the company of the riches, at least in India. Tim Cook changed the strategy and showed it was not all about the money but a relationship with a customer. He made the iPhone more achievable keeping the Premium tag intact at the same time. Last year its sales hit $229bn, with profits of $48.4bn, making it the most profitable listed US company. Apple has become a company to be looked up to. Everyone wanted to be Apple, but no one could -- can anyone ever be? The Mot Z3 is here, but the Moto One Power and the Moto One bearing Android One were nowhere in sight at Motorolas launch event held in the wee hours of the morning today. Motorolas take at a flagship device comes bearing a dated chipset. Expectation was that Moto will launch a phone with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 845, but the Moto Z3 comes with a Snapdragon 835 chipset, same as flagships like the Pixel 2, Pixel 2 XL, OnePlus 5, OnePlus 5T and more. Whats unique about the Moto Z3 is that it will become 5G-ready in early 2019 when Motorola releases its 5G mod. The company has confirmed that the mod is coming next year with Qualcomms Snapdragon X50 modem which facilitates 5G speeds. In a demo that Qualcomm presented last year, the company was able to establish a 5G connection with greater than gigabit per second download speeds on a reference design 5G device with the Snapdragon X50 modem in it. Before we tell you more on Motos 5G plans, lets take a look at the specifications for the newly launched Moto Z3. Moto Z3 specifications and features The Moto Z3 comes with a 6-inch Super AMOLED display, Snapdragon 835 chipset clocked at 2.35 GHz, 4GB RAM, 64GB of expandable storage, a 12 MP dual rear camera, and 8 MP front camera. Pretty run of the mill specs if you ask us. There is no notch on the phone as seen on current flagships from other OEMs, instead, the Moto Z3 has top and bottom bezels. The fingerprint sensor of the Z3 lies on the side, just like the Moto Z3 Play. Also, the Moto Z3 does not carry forward the shatterproof design of the Moto Z2 Force, and Motorola has confirmed that there will be no Z3 Force edition this year. We will not be launching any more Moto Zs this year, the company said on its official US Twitter account. On the software front, the Moto Z3 comes with Android 8.1 Oreo onboard. The phone supports 4K video recording and houses a USB-C port, with no headphones jack. Worry not, there is an adaptor within the box. The entire package is powered by a 3,000 mAh battery and the device is said to be splash-proof. Moto Z3 Price and Availability Well, since the Moto Z3s specs are not quite flagship-grade, even though the Snapdragon 835 processor is still amongst the best out there today, the phone is priced lower than most flagship devices available today. The Moto Z3 will cost $480 in the US (roughly Rs 32,954). The device will be available in the US starting August 16. There is no India launch date for the Moto Z3 yet. Moto 5G Mod The Moto 5G mod we have been seeing in leaks is very much real and the company has confirmed that it will be releasing the attachment sometime in early 2019. Like all the other Z series phones launched by Moto, the Moto Z3 also features the pogo-pin design which makes it compatible with all the existing Moto Mods. The 5G mod will come bearing Qualcomms X50 and X24 modems as we already told you. The mod will also house an additional 2,000 mAh battery which will be needed once the Z3 becomes 5G ready in the future. Keeping with tradition, Motorola said that the 5G mod releasing next year will be compatible with all previous Moto Z series on phones. No price or other availability details were announced for the 5G Moto Mod. In a pre-launch gaffe common amongst phone makers, Samsung accidentally released an image of the upcoming Galaxy Note 9 ahead of schedule on its New Zealand website. Going by the looks of the device in the leaked image, we know for sure now that nothing is different from what was expected and rumoured. We also know for sure now that the phone has a 3.5mm headphone jack and a USB Type-C port (as expected, of course) at the bottom, and a dual-camera setup and a fingerprint sensor on the back. The image also shows-off the upgraded S-Pen stylus that sits inside the phone in bright yellow and a slogan that reads, Say hello to super power. On the other side of the globe, things are a little different. While no image or name of the Samsung Galaxy Note 9 has leaked by accident, a pre-order page for the next Galaxy has opened up in the US. The page shows a teaser video of the S-Pen stylus and the date for Samsungs Unpacked event (August 9), where the Korean electronics giant is expected to launch the Galaxy Note 9. Yes, very subtle, Samsung. The pre-order page lets US customers reserve the Galaxy Note 9, without actually knowing any of its specs officially. Additionally, the pre-order page also offers a discount of up to $450 (Rs 31,000 approx) on the Galaxy Note 9 if the customer chooses to trade in an eligible smartphone. Models eligible for trade-in are a list of Samsung, Apple, LG, and Google flagship smartphones. Its important to note that not all eligible models get a $450 discount. Older models like the iPhone SE and the iPhone 5/5S get a discount as low as $150, which isnt much, but may serve as an incentive for some to upgrade nonetheless. Images and rumoured specs of the Samsung Galaxy Note 9 have been leaking online for a while now, and in a few days time, all will be told. What we know so far is that the Galaxy Note 9 is expected to come with a 6.4-inch AMOLED Infinity Display, feature either a Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 or an Exynos 9810 chipset, and be packed with an ample 6GB of RAM. The dual-camera setup on the back is expected to have a variable aperture between f/1.5 and f/2.4. The front side of the phone is expected to retain the iris scanner and an 8-megapixel camera with an aperture of f/1.7. Coca-Cola India plans to relaunch dairy products Beverages major Coca-Cola, which posted a double-digit growth in revenues and volumes in the April-June quarter, is reportedly planning to stage a comeback in the dairy products segment, a media report said. We want to have a presence in every category, including the dairy segment, with focus on nutrition, Coca-Cola India president T Krishnakumar told the media. The company had launched Vio, its flavoured milk brand, in 2016, but had failed to establish itself in the market. It now plans to re-launch the brand. It wants to have a presence in every category including dairy, but with a focus on nutrition, added Krishnakumar. It is expanding its beverage offerings and recently launched Minute Maid Vitingo, its nutrition drink. Earlier this year, it had launched plans to expand its fruit-based beverage offerings and frozen fruit dessert, besides dairy based value-added products. The company also plans to launch vegetables-based beverages including carrot juice besides export products developed in India. Fiat Chrysler claims Mahindra's Roxor model infringes its Jeep brand, complains to USITC Fiat Chrysler has filed a complaint with the US International Trade Commission (USITC) against Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M), claiming that the Indian firm has infringed on the key characteristics of its Jeep in its Roxor model. Last year, M&M announced plans to invest $600 million at its plant in Michigan to produce Roxors. The Indian company also promised to triple its workforce by 2020. According to the complaint by Fiat Chrysler, the import of Roxor, which infringes on the key characteristics of its Jeep brand, will hurt its brands. The US firm said M&M capitalises on the low cost of manufacturing in India and then exporting the knocked-down kits to the US for assembly. Mahindra NAs website show that they (Roxor) are a nearly identical copy of the iconic Jeep design and incorporate the Jeep Trade Dress and Jeep Design Marks, Fiat said in its plea. In fact, the Accused Product was modeled after the original Willys Jeep and copied down to the undercarriage of the historic Jeep CJ. The American company also cited reports from The Wall Street Journal and Detroit News, which claimed that the Roxor was similar to Jeep in terms of design. Mahindra has no right to use the Jeep IP, said Fiat Chrysler. FCA owns and retains full rights in the Jeep IP and has not granted a license to Mahindra to use the Jeep IP in any country, including the United States. It pointed out that FCAs predecessors did have prior dealings with Mahindra India, granting it contractual rights to manufacture and/or sell Jeep branded components and products in India beginning in the 1940s. And none of those contracts at any time granted Mahindra India (or any other Mahindra entity) ownership rights over Jeep brand-related intellectual property, said Fiat. Nor did any of these past agreements grant any rights to manufacture, sell, or advertise vehicles, such as the Accused Products, incorporating the Jeep IP in the United States. Tatas may have to pay government Rs90 billion for sale of mobile business to Airtel The Tata Group may have to shell out more than Rs90 billion to the government to get the go-ahead for the sale of its mobile phone business to Bharti Airtel, according to media reports. A Bloomberg report on Friday said the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) is demanding that Tata Teleservices clear any obligations to the government before the deal with Bharti Airtel is cleared. Another news report claims that Tata Sons has written to the DoT that the dues of Tata Teleservices arising out of spectrum-related charges and licence fees would be taken over by Tata Communications, or the parent company. The group wants to sell its consumer mobility business to Bharti Airtel. The government also has a 26-per cent stake in Tata Communications (formerly state-owned VSNL), and the company will have to get its approval for the acquisition of dues. The subscriber base of Tata Teleservices, according to data compiled by Bloomberg, has declined from 40.2 million to 27.6 million users in May. Bharti Airtel, which is also witnessing declining profits, will be acquiring the airwaves and users of Tata Teleservices in a debt-free, cash-free transaction. According to reports, the DoT had raised similar demands for other dealers and mergers in the telecom sector. It sought Rs72.5 billion for the Vodafone-Idea Cellular merger. The two companies paid the amount under protest. Reliance Communications, which plans to sell its airwaves, towers and fibre to Reliance Jio, has been asked to furnish Rs7.74 billion in bank guarantees. Failure to do so will result in the cancellation of its licence. Last year, the Tatas paid $1.2 billion to NTT DoCoMo of Japan for its 26.5-per cent stake in Tata Teleservices. Opposition parties to meet EC demanding return to ballot papers in 2019 elections Seventeen opposition parties have decided to meet the Election Commission (EC) in pursuit of their demand for a return to ballot papers during the 2019 general elections. Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief and West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee has initiated the latest drive against electronic voting machines (EVMs), a month after the Congress raised the issue. Derek OBrien of the TMC said that all opposition parties have agreed on the move to demand the use of ballot papers for next years elections and will be meeting the EC next week. Banerjee, who was in Delhi recently, met opposition leaders and urged them to meet the EC about the tampering of EVMs and the return to ballot papers. Interestingly, the BJP had a few months earlier said it was ready to revert to the use of ballot papers if there was a consensus among all parties. A BJP spokesman pointed out that the decision to introduce EVMs was taken because of a political consensus. The TMC has been protesting outside Parliament calling for the return of ballot boxes. Banerjee has also urged the Shiv Sena the BJP ally is also opposed to EVMs to be part of the delegation that meets EC officials. Mamata faces attack on Assam issue While West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee has lashed out at the NDA government over the citizenship issue in Assam, her top party leader in the state has walked out of the Trinamool Congress. Adding to her woes, the Congress in West Bengal has also hit out at her, accusing her of adopting double standards. While she was now talking about the 40 lakh people in Assam who were left out in the National Register of Citizenship (NRC) count, she was barricading the state borders to prevent their entry, said Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, Congress chief in West Bengal. The chief of the Trinamool Congress in Assam, Dwipen Pathak, resigned from his post on Thursday, protesting the partys claims that the NRC was throwing Bengalis out of Assam. Pathak said the TMCs protests against the state government could disrupt the law and order situation. It may give rise to conflicts between the Assamese and Bengalis in the state, he said. The blame would then be put on me as the state units party chief. This is why I have decided to resign. I will always speak in favour of Assam. The TMC, however, dismissed his resignation, with the party claiming that he had often quit in the past. The Assam unit President has resigned 3 or 4 times earlier, tweeted the TMC. The unit in that state was being reconstituted. This is not the time to play politics. People first. Humanity first. The states Congress chief Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury described Mamata Banerjee as a chameleon, accusing her of hankering after the post of the prime minister. He said the chief minister, as an MP had in 2005 moved an adjournment motion in Parliament against illegal immigrants in West Bengal. Banerjee was acting like a Trojan Horse, and trying to divide a united opposition with her ideas of a federal front, pointed out Chowdhury. Her single objective is to be the prime minister of India, he alleged. She is hankering after the post of prime minister. She is having a Deve Gowda-syndrome and Gujral-syndrome. The chief minister was determined to eliminate the Congress in West Bengal, but was seeking its support for the next Lok Sabha elections. She is nothing but a chameleon who is changing her colours, said Chowdhury. She is an unreliable, unpredictable politician and Congress and other leaders should not trust her at all, he said. The chief minister had met UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and her son, Congress president Rahul during her Delhi visit. We discussed the political situation, she told reporters. We discussed how the opposition can together take on the BJP because it knows that it will not come back to power. US Congress caps defence aid to Pakistan to $150 mn The US Congress has passed a defence spending bill, capping security aid to Pakistan to a mere $150 million, way below the $1 billion a year in aid it used to give in the past. The American Senate passed the conference report on the National Defense Authorisation Act (NDAA-19) by 87 to 10 votes, while the House of Representatives had last week passed the report. President Donald Trump has to now give his assent to the bill. The American President has been tough on Pakistan, especially its inaction against terrorist groups, ever since he took over the White House. He had called on Pakistan to take a tough stance against terror groups. Earlier this year, the US accused Pakistan of harbouring terror grups such as the Afghan Taliban and the Haqqani Network and for refusing to take decision actions against them. Surprisingly, while both houses have passed the bill, the NDAA-19 itself has removed conditions such as Pakistan taking action against the Haqqani Network or the Lashkar-e-Taiba. Anish Goel, who was part of the National Security Council in the Barack Obama administration, told news agency PTI that the reduction in American aid to Pakistan was significant; it has fallen from $700 million authorised under the Coalition Support Fund last year to just $150 million. Unfortunately, under the new act, the Pentagon no longer has any tools to put pressure on Pakistan to undertake counter-terrorism activities or action against the Haqqani Network, said Goel. The Trump administration is also concerned about the growing Chinese role in Pakistan. Mike Pompeo, the US secretary of state, has warned that any International Monetary Fund bailout for the new government in Pakistan should not in any way provide funds to pay Chinese lenders. Make no mistake. We will be watching what the IMF does, Pompeo told a television channel. Theres no rationale for IMF tax dollars, and associated with American dollars that are part of the IMF funding, for those to go to bail out Chinese bondholders or China itself. An IMF spokeswoman later confirmed that it had not received a request for a Fund arrangement from Pakistan and it had not had discussions with the authorities about any possible intentions. China pushed down to 3rd rank among world's top stock markets as Trump tightens trade squeeze China, which emerged as the worlds second-largest stock market in November 2014 in terms of market valuation, was finally pushed to the third place on Friday, with Japan returning to the second spot. Chinese stocks have taken a beating after trade relations with the US soured in recent days. President Donald Trump said the US might raise the tariff on imports from China to 25 per cent from the initial 10 per cent that it had announced. About $200 billion of Chinese goods are imported by the US. When markets closed on Thursday, Chinese stocks were valued at a total of $6.09 trillion, whereas Japanese shares were worth $6.16 trillion. Of course, the US is the worlds largest stock market, with a valuation of over $31 trillion. After overtaking Japan in November 2014, Chinese market capitalisation breached the $10-trillion mark a year later. But tough regulations punched the bubble and the Chinese market lost more than half its value. India incidentally ranks way below at number nine, with a market capitalisation of a little over $2 trillion. Markets ahead of it include Hong Kong ($5.35 trillion), the UK ($3.7 trillion), France ($2.57 trillion), Germany ($2.35 trillion) and Canada ($2.23 trillion). Chinese stocks have fared badly this year, with the Shanghai Composite having fallen by 17 per cent in 2018, and being ranked the worst performer in the world. Excerpt from SPONGE - Leadership Lessons I Learnt from my Clients What happens to the costs that your vendor partner incurs? Where does it get added to your bills? Have you ever wondered about the implications of these hidden costs? We got a lesson on cost management some years ago from someone who knows more about this than any of us Mr Azim Premji. Our agency had been working on the Wipro Consumer Care division from the late 80s and there was a great deal of mutual respect and regard between the agency and the client. This led us to being called to work on the corporate advertising account of Wipro in 1998. As Wipros business had started to change dramatically in the late 90s, the company had engaged a famous designer, Shombit Sengupta to revisualise what the company should stand for. After much consumer and customer research done across the country, the company decided to go with the Rainbow Flower logo created by Shombit with the tag line Applying Thought (the company has gone in for a new identity since, in 2017). We were tasked with creating an advertising campaign to promote the new logo and to link it to the various aspects of the businesses of Wipro. The first campaign the agency team created was presented to Mr Premji and the consumer products marketing team. While the response from Mr Premji was positive, it was dismissed by some of the other key members of the Wipro IT leadership team. To be fair, some of the most difficult ad campaigns to sell to a client are corporate campaigns. For one, there is no real metric to measure if it works or fails. Secondly, there is no single divisional head or divisional marketing head who owns such campaigns and therefore wants to see it out so that he can get an uptick on his sales numbers. Finally, the CEO often seeks the opinion of so many team members that it is a miracle if a campaign can get past the gate in a year. Jokes aside, I know for a fact that agencies have worked on corporate campaigns for months without them leaving the agency studios. This case, though, was a little different. Since there was a new logo being unveiled, there was some urgency around the campaign and there was a need felt to communicate with a larger audience about the new Wipro. After two attempts we managed to create a campaign that was liked by almost everyone. Mr Premji wanted some small changes to be made and the campaign was re-presented to him in Bangalore. For some strange reason I could not make the trip to Bangalore and Mr Premji was kind enough to allow one of my senior colleagues, Santosh Menon, to travel to Bangalore and present the final versions of the campaign. Remember, the campaigns could have been sent by courier or email (which had just about started making its presence felt), but good clients and good agencies prefer a face-to-face meeting, especially when the matter under discussion is creative. Mr Premjis office had confirmed a 5 p.m. meeting on a Friday and Santosh had planned his Bangalore trip accordingly. The meeting went exactly as planned. The six ads were discussed threadbare and the body copy was also agreed upon. When the meeting ended it was 8 p.m. It was then that Mr Premji politely asked Santosh, You are from the Mumbai office of the agency, arent you? When are you heading back? Santosh replied that he was planning to take a morning flight back to Mumbai the next day (Saturday). Mr Premji interjected, Why are you spending the night in Bangalore? I know there is a 10.30 p.m. flight to Mumbai. My office can book you a seat right now! Santosh, smiled and thanked Mr Premji and said that he would figure out a way back to Mumbai quickly. As Santosh narrated the incident to me the following Monday, he even mentioned that Mr Premji had even dialled the airport booking office of the airline (secretly, I think that was Santoshs imagination getting the better of him, but thats another story). What he told me and he did not tell Mr Premji was this: he had been planning on meeting up with some of his old Mumbai friends, now in Bangalore, and go on a late-night pub crawl. The incident stuck in my head. Not the pub crawl but the fact that Mr Premji suggested that Santosh head back the same night. Why did Mr Premji ask Santosh about his return trip? How is that he was aware of the late night flight? And what lessons can that teach us? A decade later at a board lunch meeting in Navi Mumbai, the topic of the cost consciousness of WalMart came up. Kas Kasturirangan who is one of the most revered marketing leaders this country has produced, narrated an interesting insight into how WalMart managed its vendor relationships. They were focused on helping their vendors manage their costs better and were open to helping their vendors, if they were willing to share their costs. One other cardinal rule that WalMart followed was that all the vendors, or should we say Principals, who fly down to the WalMart head office at Bentonville Arizona, are politely pushed to fly out the same night and not stay the night at Bentonville. They are expected to fly into Bentonville in the morning and fly out the same evening. Meetings are all scheduled to end in such a way that visiting executives can fly out the same evening. We got talking about this and realised that WalMart did not want its suppliers to spend money on hotel and overnight stay because they realised that all these extra costs incurred would finally be loaded on to the cost of the material and get billed to WalMart and to its end customer. So not only was WalMart careful about looking at stuff like raw material costs, they were also acutely conscious about the overhead costs of even their vendors. Thanks to these lessons, I have maintained a habit of minimising overnight stay at hotels and prefer a morning-evening trip if that can be managed. I should admit that with airports now located far from the heart of cities like Bangalore and Delhi-Gurugram, this is becoming a challenge. I also realise that an overnight stay adds other costs to the trip in addition to the hotel cost; the cost of the taxi for the next day, meals, etc. Business Class travel is yet another habit one did not get into, thanks to the lessons learnt from clients like Wipro. And this habit was percolated right through the organisation and it was embraced with a lot of conviction, not just as a diktat from the CEO. The Economic Times once had an interesting article entitled 7 Lessons from Frugal Habits of the Rich. Six of those lessons were: 1. They live below their means. 2. They spend less on clothes, shoes and food. 3. They save and invest first and spend later. 4. They dont carry much cash and use credit cards wisely. 5. They look for discounts, coupons, and other ways to cut costs. 6. They value quality over cost. A seventh lesson that I found surprising was that they also give lesser percentage of their income to charity. I am not sure if that is a lesson in the true sense of the term, but that was what was mentioned in the article. The article also profiled what they call the Thrifty Rich Club. Quite naturally, Mr Premji featured prominently in the list, as did Warren Buffett, N R Narayana Murthy, Mark Zuckerberg and even Rajnikant, the Tamil superstar. While outlining Mr Premjis habits, they mentioned that he flew economy class and didnt stay in flashy hotels and drove modest cars like the Ford Escort. Unlike the seventh lesson though, he has earmarked 39 per cent of his stake in Wipro (worth about Rs 50,000 crores) to a charitable trust. I sometimes wonder if such strong focus on cost control can be counter-productive to an organisational culture. For example, a company cannot allow cost to dictate its safety or health standards. Better-run companies ensure that all women employees get company-arranged taxi cab service when they travel. Some companies insist that executives should travel business class if the length of travel is over four hours. Obviously, there are many factors that need to be considered as one lays down policies and those may not all point in the direction of low costs. But nevertheless, a focus on costs is important. What one needs to remember is that what can be dismissed as a small cost item, can in fact balloon into a significant cost, in the bigger scheme of things. So if you can fly back the same night, please do. It is also likely that you will be able to sleep better on your own soft bed. Read interview: Sponging off your clients) After 60 years, scientists uncover how thalidomide produced birth defects More than 60 years after the drug thalidomide caused birth defects in thousands of children whose mothers took the drug while pregnant, scientists at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute have solved a mystery that has lingered ever since the dangers of the drug first became apparent: how did the drug produce such severe fetal harm? The answer, published online today by the journal eLife, not only helps resolve an issue that has been the subject of scientific curiosity for two generations, but will be critical as pharmaceutical companies develop a promising new generation of anticancer drugs that share a basic chemical architecture with thalidomide, the study authors say. Building on years of previous research, the researchers found that thalidomide acts by promoting the degradation of an unexpectedly wide range of transcription factors cell proteins that help switch genes on or off including one called SALL4. The result is the complete removal of SALL4 from cells. The degradation of SALL4 interferes with limb development and other aspects of foetal growth. The result is the spectrum of complications indelibly linked to thalidomide the deformed limbs and defective organs in children whose mothers took thalidomide during pregnancy as a treatment for morning sickness. Support for these findings came from reports in medical literature. Individuals who carry a mutation in the gene for SALL4 are often born with missing thumbs, underdeveloped limbs, eye and ear defects, and congenital heart disease problems which mirror those in children exposed to thalidomide in the womb. "The similarities between the birth defects associated with thalidomide and those in people with a mutated SALL4 gene are striking," says the new study's senior author, Eric Fischer, PhD, of Dana-Farber. "They make the case even more strongly that disruption of SALL4 is at the root of the devastation produced by thalidomide in the 1950s." The findings are apt to mark an important inflection point in the history of thalidomide, a drug more infamous than famous. Marketed and sold extensively in Europe, Australia, and some South American countries though never approved in the United States as a treatment for pregnancy-related morning sickness, it became a source of anguish when it became clear that it was responsible for birth defects in more than 10,000 children and an unknown number of miscarriages. The medical community was slow to discover the danger of thalidomide because the drug gave rise to birth defects only when taken between the fourth and eighth weeks of pregnancy. It was officially banned in 1961. In the 1980s, thalidomide gained a second life when it was found to be a powerful anti-angiogenic drug, inhibiting the growth of blood vessels in tumors. As such, it has come into wide use as a cancer drug, primarily in the treatment of multiple myeloma. Knowing the mechanism by which thalidomide produces birth defects will be critical as drug developers devise and test new drugs that use the same structural "scaffold" as thalidomide, Fischer remarks. "As new derivatives are tested, we'll be able to explore whether they have the same potentially damaging effects as thalidomide. We know that the therapeutic effect of these drugs is based on their ability to degrade specific proteins. Our findings will help drug developers distinguish between proteins whose degradation is likely to be beneficial and whose may be harmful." Computer simulations predict the spread of HIV In a recently published study in the journal Nature Microbiology, researchers at Los Alamos National Laboratory show that computer simulations can accurately predict the transmission of HIV across populations, which could aid in preventing the disease. The simulations were consistent with actual DNA data obtained from a global public HIV database, developed and maintained by Los Alamos. The archive has more than 840,000 published HIV sequences for scientific research. "We looked for special genetic patterns that we had seen in the simulations, and we can confirm that these patterns also hold for real data covering the entire epidemic," said Thomas Leitner, a computational biologist at Los Alamos and lead author of the study. HIV is particularly interesting to study in this manner, Leitner notes, as the virus mutates rapidly and constantly within each infected individual. The changing "genetic signatures" of its code provide a path that researchers can follow in determining the origin and time frame of an infection, and the computer simulations are now proven to be successful in tracking and predicting the virus's movements through populations. The rapid mutational capability of the virus is useful for the epidemiological sleuthing, but also is one of the features that makes it so difficult to tackle with a vaccine. Leitner and Ethan Romero-Severson, the study's co-author and a Los Alamos theoretical biologist, used phylogenetic methods, examining evolutionary relationships in the virus's genetic code to evaluate how HIV is transmitted. They found that certain phylogenetic "family tree" patterns correlated to the DNA data from 955 pairs of people, in which the transmitter and recipient of the virus were known. "These HIV transmissions had known linkage based on epidemiological information such as partner studies, mother-to-child transmission, pairs identified by contact tracing, and criminal cases," the authors write. The robust results from the study have led to a collaboration with Colorado and Michigan state health agencies. The researchers plan to develop public health computational tools to help the agencies to track the disease and allocate resources for targeted prevention campaigns. "We hope these tools will help to hinder new infections in the future," said Leitner. Leitner said the cutting-edge modeling tools can also be used to predict the patterns of other rapidly evolving infectious diseases. Los Alamos has a strong history in genetic data analysis, having been the site of the original GenBank project in 1979, known at the time as the Los Alamos Sequence Database and established by Walter Goad of the Theoretical Biology and Biophysics Group. Broadband internet causes sleep deprivation, a new study finds About 200,000 working days are lost in Germany every year due to insufficient sleep, with an economic loss of $60bln, or about 1.6 per cent of its GDP, according to a 2016 Report of the RAND Corporation. Francesco Billari and Luca Stella (Bocconi University), with Osea Giuntella (University of Pittsburgh), in a study just published in the Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, find that access to broadband Internet is one of the causes of such sleep deprivation. Exploiting the fact that the deployment of broadband in Germany over the years was dependent on technical and historical reasons, they link data on broadband to surveys where individuals report their sleep duration. The researchers conclude that access to high-speed Internet reduces sleep duration and sleep satisfaction in individuals that face time constraints in the morning for work or family reasons. "Individuals with DSL access tend to sleep 25 minutes less than their counterparts without DSL Internet. They are significantly less likely to sleep between 7 and 9 hours, the amount recommended by the scientific community, and are less likely to be satisfied with their sleep, Francesco Billari, a Full Professor of Demography at Bocconi University, Milan, and the Principal Investigator of the project DisCont, funded by the European Research Council, within which this research was conducted. The effect that the authors find is largely driven by individuals that face time constraints in the morning and by the use of electronic devices in the evening (not by their use throughout the day). Digital temptations may lead to a delay in bedtime, which ultimately decreases sleep duration for individuals who are not able to compensate for later bedtime by waking up later in the morning, Prof. Billari says. The temptations individuals are prone to vary according to age, the scholars find. Among teenagers and young adults (aged 13-30), there is a significant association between insufficient sleep and time spent on computer games or watching TV or videos in the evening, while for older adults (31-59) the correlation is with the use of PCs and smartphones. The first common thread which emerges in my view of the projects is that of the fragment, seen as a representation of the past which helps us to understand the present and reflect on the future. Through the bodies of three performers, tied to anthropomorphic objects, the Argentinian Cinthia De Levie rehabilitates the casts in the National Museum of Anthropology in the City of Mexico. The work of Christian Botale Molebo presents objects originating from Congo which, transported to Belgium, change value to become part of a different museum-associated ritual. Judith Raum reads a piece, which she wrote herself, in which she examines rocks from the Mesopotamia region as though they were fragments of history returned by the colonialists, over which images by the diplomat and photographer Gertrude Bell (1884-1926) are superimposed, creating a bridge of influences between dominator and the dominated. In a simple, minimalist and wordless action, Nyakallo Maleke breaks small objects such as bricks and wires, emphasising the fragility of each form. Instead, through words and narration, Ely Dalou presents fragments of her memories of her childhood in Beirut, with the aid of an impromptu map projected on the wall. This common thematic thread is concluded with the work of Ursula Mayer, composed of a piece written by Chris McCormack and presented by Jade Montserrat, which expresses a series of reflections on the present, past and future, beginning with the idea of the coccyx as an evolutionary fragment and sign. Sinn Fein TD for Louth, Gerry Adams is calling on the Minister for Education to tackle back to school costs for families. Commenting on the Irish League of Credit Union school survey recently released Deputy Adams said; This year the Irish League of Credit Union school costs survey revealed that one third of parents are getting into debt to meet back to school costs. "This is a worrying rise in the number of parents facing this challenge. "Worryingly the report also shows increasing numbers of families are turning to moneylenders in an effort to cope with unmanageable back to school costs. "The average back to school cost for a single primary school child is 999 and 1379 for a child in secondary school. Families can often find these costs further compounded by the wider costs of living. "For many parents, this time of year is one of worry and stress as they face the prospect of the challenging costs associated with children returning to school in September. "In addition many families are still waiting on confirmation or receipt of the Back to School Allowance. "Sinn Fein will be launching a policy document shortly to outline the detrimental impact a lack of services and funding is having on schools, parents and children around the state. "We will be publishing a series of proposals and will be urging the Government to adopt these. Instantly delete email threats for Office 365 With the free app, 365 Threat Monitor, scan all emails as they reach your users' mailboxes to detect ransomware, phishing and spam. Get real-time phone alerts + security breach updates and delete threats instantly with just one click. Download now! Hundreds of U.S. utilities were penetrated by Russian hackers who could have disrupted the nation's power grid. The attacks were launched last year by threat actors belonging to a group known as "Dragonfly" or "Energetic Bear," which is sponsored by the Russian government, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday. The hackers used Black Hat tools such as phishing and waterhole traps to obtain credentials from legitimate users and leverage them to gain access to the utilities, the Journal noted, citing federal government officials. "We've seen phishing and spearphishing used against energy and utility companies by foreign actors for more than decade," said Rohyt Belani, CEO of Cofense, a maker of antiphishing solutions, based in Leesburg, Virginia. Phishing emails are used to trick targets into exposing their credentials or other sensitive information. Spearphishing does the same thing but is aimed at a narrower target audience. "So this is a lot more of the same, although it seems to be happening at greater frequency," Belani told TechNewsWorld. "The underlying technique is still spearphishing," he continued, "although the attackers are constantly modifying those techniques to get by the latest and greatest defense mechanisms." To Freak Out or Not While these utility intruders could disrupt electrical power in the United States, Belani doesn't think they will. "I don't think nations like Russia or China would go down that path given the potential ramifications," he said, "but hacking like this gives those countries some levers to pull should tensions build." The cyberattacks on U.S. utilities should be a source of concern, but they aren't "something to necessarily freak out about," remarked Emily S. Miller, director of national security and critical infrastructure programs at Mocana, a San Francisco-based company that focuses on embedded system security for industrial control systems and the Internet of Things. "The electric grid is highly resilient," she told TechNewsWorld. Resilient or not, the threat from these hackers to the grid appears to be very serious, maintained Barak Perelman, CEO of Indegy, a New York-based maker of security solutions for industrial systems. "Russia has its finger on a big red button," he told TechNewsWorld. "If someone decides it's time to press that button, they can shut off significant portions of the U.S. power grid." Not Intended to Disrupt Power The intrusions DHS reported were not intended to disrupt power sources, noted Joe Slowik, an adversary hunter for Dragos, a maker of security software for the critical infrastructure community, based in Hanover, Maryland. "Throughout, the adversaries in question limited operations to information gathering, network survey and reconnaissance," he told TechNewsWorld. "There is no evidence that the adversaries were in position or intended to cause a widespread disruption event," Slowik said. "Furthermore, based on the tradecraft exhibited and methods observed, any such action would need to be 'manual' in nature, meaning even if this access was translated into an attack, it would scale poorly and result in limited utility impacts." All large nation-state adversaries have been hacking each other's power grids as a matter of routine to preposition assets, said Ross Rustici, senior director of intelligence services for Cybereason, an endpoint protection, detection and response company based in Tel Aviv, Israel. "There isn't going to be any bolt-out-of-the-blue attack," he told TechNewsWorld. "The Russians aren't scheming to disrupt the power grid tomorrow," he continued, "but if tensions boil over, if there's a direct conflict between us and them, this is absolutely a tool that Russia knows how to use and has demonstrated its willingness to use it in hybrid warfare in the Ukraine." Mutually Assured Destruction It's unusual for the DHS to call out a nation-state attacker by name, said Mocana's Miller, who previously worked at DHS as chief of process management, measurement and exercise planning. That suggests it had a high degree of certainty before fingering Russia. DHS has not commented publicly on The Wall Street Journal's report. "Based on the level of detail presented in the Mueller indictments of July 13, I would be hard-pressed to doubt the intelligence and law enforcement communities," Michael Magrath, director of global regulations and standards at OneSpan, told TechNewsWorld. OneSpan, a provider of security, authentication, fraud prevention and e-signature services, is based in Chicago. Although the U.S. doesn't brag about it, there is a widespread assumption that it has hacked the critical infrastructure of nations that launched cyberattacks on America's infrastructure. Some believe this sets up a mutual-destruction stalemate reminiscent of the Cold War. That may not be the case, however. "It's dangerous to assume that this fits the Cold War model of a balanced standoff because of 'mutually assured destruction,'" said Ray DeMeo, COO of Virsec, a San Jose, California-based provider of protection against memory-based cyberattacks. "Many of these hacking groups have some nation-state sponsorship, but also pursue their own agendas," he told TechNewsWorld. "This is a very distributed threat, and relying on centralized control to keep things in check probably won't work." What's more, neither side is concerned about the mutual destruction they will wreak on each other, maintained Chris Stoneff, vice president of security solutions at Bomgar, a secure remote support and privileged access management company, based in Johns Creek, Georgia. "Both sides feel they could withstand some kind of power disruption, at least long enough to launch other cyberattacks or create a military response if they so desire," he told TechNewsWorld. What Can Utilities Do? Utilities can be more aggressive in assessing vulnerabilities, updating systems, and adding new security strategies, Virsec's DeMeo said. "They need to assume that hackers already have a footprint somewhere within their networks and bypassed their legacy perimeter defenses," he explained. "The focus needs to shift from guarding the gate to proactively protecting critical applications and making sure they only do the right thing." Critical national infrastructure should not be directly available to the Internet, Bomgar's Stoneff recommended. A combination of rotating passwords and multifactor authentication also could help reduce the risks that these systems could be penetrated, he said. "It may seem obvious, but greater diligence in educating staff and the public broadly about being vigilant regarding email, social media and the websites they visit and links they click has never been more important," said Sigfus Magnusson, vice president for product management at Men & Mice, a Kopavogur, Iceland-based maker of DNS, DHCP and IP Address management software. That is particularly true "for critical system administrators or those who may control automated systems," he told TechNewsWorld. Still, it remains to be seen if the tough decisions needed to secure U.S. infrastructure will be made. "It's hard to imagine that we will be able to summon the courage to harden our critical infrastructure to anything like what it would take to stop the threat," said Jeff Williams, CTO of Contrast Security, a maker of self-protecting software solutions, based in Los Altos, California. "We built our defenses for lone script-kiddies looking to have some fun," he told TechNewsWorld, "and we're being targeted by highly trained state-sponsored attack forces." 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. ((Photo: Reuters/Luke MacGregor)) Prince William "rarely" attends church despite being the future Defender of the Faith and Supreme Governor of the Church of England, a British newspaper reported. As future king, Prince William will one day have the responsibility to govern and protect the Anglican Church, a role that Queen Elizabeth II, who attends church on a weekly basis, has dutifully carried out. However, the United Kingdom's newspaper Daily Mail reported yesterday that the 30-year-old prince, along with his wife Kate Middleton, "rarely, if ever" attends services of the church he'll one day govern. Although both are confirmed in the Anglican faith, they only go to church a "handful" of times each year, according to the paper. The last time Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge were seen at a church service was on Christmas Day, when the royal couple attended a service with Middleton's family. William was confirmed in the Anglican faith at the age of 14 in 1997. Middleton also chose to be baptized as an Anglican weeks before the couple's wedding in 2011. Despite his rare church attendance, a spokesman for Prince William maintains that he is a dedicated Christian, telling the Daily Mail, "The Duke of Cambridge is a committed Anglican and has a strong personal faith." The British newspaper observes that William's infrequent church attendance will "add fuel to the fire" to those who argue that the Church of England has little relevance in Britain today. One survey from the U.K.-based Christian charity Tearfund found that just 10 percent of the population attend church weekly. The Church of England, meanwhile, reported that around 1.1 million attend the services at one of its 16,000 churches each week. According to the British constitution, the monarch holds the title 'Defender of the Faith and Supreme Governor of the Church of England'. The monarch not only appoints the Archbishops and bishops in the church on advice of the Prime Minister, but also must approve the resignations of parish priests. Laws must also receive royal approval from the sovereign. Less than 2 percent of school-aged students with disabilitiesabout 85,000 of them in fall 2016are enrolled by their parents in private schools, according to records maintained by the federal government. But the education of those students, including their rights under federal law and the resources available to them, has taken on an outsized importance since Betsy DeVos was appointed U.S. secretary of education under the Trump administration. DeVos is a strong supporter of school choice, including vouchers that would allow parents to use public funds to pay for tuition at private schools. Her detractors say that parents may not understand that taking a voucher means that their students lose individual rights to services that are available only to public school students. But federal special education law does not leave private schools entirely in the cold. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act requires that school districts use a portion of their federal special education funding to provide services to students enrolled by their parents in private schools within the district boundaries. New York City, the nations largest school district, offers an example of where the partnership with private schools works well enough that district-funded special education teachers offer inclusion and co-teaching services in some private schools. Statewide, 4.4 percent of New Yorks special education students are enrolled in private schools, much higher than the national average of 1.4 percent. Were fortunate to have service providers that are pretty flexible, said Sara Rosenfeld, the principal of the lower school at Barkai Yeshivah, a 410-student school in Brooklyn that has used district-provided educators to offer push-in reading, writing, and math support to its students, rather than pulling those students out of regular instruction. We also do a lot of small group work and that also helps because each group is really getting taught at the level they need, Rosenfeld said. The special education provider can support this with each group. In other situations, however, private schools report that its a struggle to get legally-mandated support from districts. A recent report by private school leaders in Massachusetts says some Massachusetts districts are failing to provide special education services to private school students, even though federal law requires it. It asks that the federal government reiterate to the state its duties under the IDEA, though so far they have not received a response, said Stephen Perla, a co-author of the report. The thing thats so frustrating about all of this is that were talking about important services to kids, said Perla, the superintendent of schools for the Fall River Diocese, which serves about 6,700 students in Catholic schools in southeast Massachusetts. Theyre the ones who are being impacted by all of this. About 0.7 percent of Massachusetts special education students are enrolled in private school, which is half the national average. Special Education, Private Schools, and the Law The federal special education law requires schools to spend a proportionate share of their federal IDEA dollars on equitable services for private school students. A district is responsible for identifying all the children with disabilities within its boundaries, regardless of where they attend school or if they receive services. If 1.4 percent of those students are in private schoolsthe national average in 2016the district must spend 1.4 percent of its federal special education dollars on private school students. So, if the district receives $100,000 in federal special education funding, thats $1,400 that must be spread among the private school students with identified disabilities. The set-aside is unlikely to cover a full slate of services for every eligible private school student. So the federal law states that districts are to develop an equitable plan to serve private school students, in consultation with private schools. For example, a district might pay for speech and language pathologists, or for teachers to provide support to struggling readers. Or, it could pay for training private school teachers, and not offer direct services to children at all. The 2004 reauthorization of the IDEA also changed which schools a district is responsible for. The process known as child findlocating and evaluating all students who might have disabilitiesis borne by the school district for all the children who attend school in its boundaries, according to federal law. That is true even if the child lives elsewhere, which may be the case with private schools, where children may travel to the school from different jurisdictions. That means a district with many private schools within its boundaries would have to use more of its federal special education money to serve private school students, compared to a school district that has no private schools. Finally, the federal government has said that, generally, special education services for private school students are best offered at that students school, so as not to disrupt the students education. But it left the specifics of how that should operate to the districts and the private schools. Working Together New York City advocates have worked hard on making inclusive services for private school students a policy in the 1 million-student district. In 2017, a revision to the districts special education standard operating procedure manual included language that specifically encouraged religious and private schools to create inclusion models whenever feasible and appropriate for the students needs and goals. Channah Lepkiver, the director of support services for Luria Academy, a 300-student private school in Brooklyn, said that generally our approach is push-in and as much inclusion as possible. The goal is to have support and understanding between the general education private school teachers and the district-provided special educators. Were constantly looking and trying to tweak and see what we can improve, she said. David Rubel, a New York special education consultant who worked to get the inclusion language included in district policy, sees this as a model for other private schools around the country. Children in private schools with an [individualized education program] ... can now receive the similar benefits of least restrictive environment and inclusion classroom model as millions of public school children already do, he said. In Massachusetts, however, private school leaders have said that some districts have refused to provide special education at private schools, saying that the services must be provided only at a public school or other neutral location. Private schools say that districts have not been accurately calculating the share of federal money that must be allotted to public school students. Perla said this conflict is not unusual. I am invited to go to different dioceses from time to time, he said. I do know, anecdotally, that IDEA is probably one of the most underutilized [resources] when it comes to private schools. Perla said that he has seen some promising signs: The state education department released an advisory this summer reminding schools how they are to calculate the share of money that must be spent on private school services, and also saying that services can be provided on the private school grounds. Jacqueline Reis, a spokeswoman for the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, said the advisory and webinar were developed before the private schools released their report in May. We are committed to ensuring that parentally-placed private school children with disabilities receive equitable services in accordance with the law, Reis said. Perla said that he also sees as hopeful the fact that the state has also appointed an ombudsman to field complaints or concerns about special education services. The Every Student Succeeds Act required every state to appoint an ombudsman to oversee equity concerns about that law, but in Massachusetts, the state chose to add IDEA to the ombudsmans portfolio. These are all steps in the right direction, Perla said, but we need the federal government to really provide some directivesand some teeth. Traverse City, Mich. Questions remain after the Michigan Supreme Court ruled that two school districts have the right to ban guns from their schools. In what looked to be a clear win for the Michigan Association of School Boards as well as gun control advocates, the state Supreme Court on Friday ruled 4-3 in favor of Ann Arbor and Clio school district policies that barred individuals from openly carrying a firearm on school grounds even if they held an exempted concealed pistol license. Many saw the ruling as a green light for districts to pass their own similar legislation without fear of litigation. That likely is not the case, according to attorney and firearms law professor Steve Dulan. Dulan, who also serves on the Michigan Coalition of Responsible Gun Owners board of directors, said the ruling failed to adequately address why the school boards policies did not fall under the umbrella of conflict preemption, which gives state policies precedence over those of smaller governing bodies. Determining whether the policies were conflict-preempted was unnecessary, according to the courts written opinion. It was a missed opportunity to clarify the issue, Dulan said. It looks like schools are allowed to make policies, however, theres an open question if those policies are in direct conflict state lawand that issue has yet to be re-litigated. The court did rule on field preemption, stating school districts are not defined as a local unit of government and as such are not subject to their policies being overruled by the state. Michigan law prohibits a local unit of government from banning the possession of firearms. The Legislature has the authority to preempt school districts from adopting policies like the ones at issue that regulate firearms on school property. However, not only has the Legislature not done so, it has expressed its intent not to preempt such regulation, the courts opinion read. Brad Banasik, legal counsel for the Michigan Association of School Boards, said the courts ruling hasnt really changed anything other than supporting and upholding the authority of school districts to adopt such policies. We respect the courts decision and following their rules and precedent, but on the same token we certainly dont want additional lawsuits filed against school districts, Banasik said. We believe there is no place for firearms on school property, outside of the very limited exceptions that are included in the law. Although it wont be a violation of state law for an individual openly carry a firearm on school property, districts can enforce their policies through trespass violations or other ordinances regulating unauthorized persons on school grounds. Nick Ceglarek, Traverse Bay Area Intermediate School District superintendent, said there has been some confusion around the law and that there is still some trepidation despite the courts decision. Districts are always cautious in establishing policy that may run counter to established laws. When theres question or indecision, we rely on court rulings, Ceglarek said. Each local district is going to have to decide how theyre going to approach this. Even if there is a chance a district is opening itself up to litigation, I think theres substantial cover based on the Supreme Courts ruling. Justice Kurtis Wilder said in his dissent that it is only a question of whenifthis matter is brought before the court again. In order to fully resolve the ultimate issue before us ... it is necessary to determine whether those policies are in conflict with one or more statutes enacted by the Legislature, Wilder wrote. The majority has provided only partial guidance and left lingering doubts. Traverse City Area Public Schools dealt with the issue in 2014 when someone attended a board meeting legally carrying a firearm. When you see someone carrying a gun into a meeting, it raises your awareness level and then you come to grips with the fact that its legal, TCAPS Superintendent Paul Soma said. What can you do? Theres not a lot of discussion to have at that point. Soma has been outspoken against allowing guns on school grounds, but he said the current policies have worked out well for both sides. Weve kind of settled into a pretty reasonable spot in having established a policy and practice that was respectful of the laws on the books and did the best job of creating a safe and secure environment, he said. Who wants to keep getting into those kind of battles when weve found a reasonable and respectful place that advocates on both sides have accepted? Using scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM), extremely high resolution imaging of the molecule-covered surface structures of silver nanoparticles is possible, even down to the recognition of individual parts of the molecules protecting the surface. This was the finding of joint research between China and Finland, led in Finland by Academy Professor Hannu Hakkinen of the University of Jyvaskyla. The research was recently published in the prestigious Nature Communications series and the publication was selected by the journal editors to the journal's monthly collection of highlighted papers. Studying the surface structures of nanoparticles at atomic resolution is vital to understanding the chemical properties of their structures, molecular interactions and the functioning of particles in their environments. Experimental research on surface structures has long involved imaging techniques suitable for nanometer-level resolution, the most common of which are based on electron tunnelling, the abovementioned scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM), and atomic force microscopy (AFM) based on the measurement of small, atomic-scale forces. However, achieving molecular resolution in imaging has proven highly challenging, for example because the curvature of the object to be imaged i.e. the nanoparticle's surface, is of the same order as the curvature of the scanning tip. Measurements are also sensitive to environmental disturbances, which may affect the thermal movement of molecules, for example. The researchers used previously characterised silver nanoparticles, with a known atomic structure. The metal core of the particles has 374 silver atoms and the surface is protected by a set of 113 TBTT molecules. TBBT (tert-butyl-benzene thiol) is a molecule with three separate carbon groups on its end. The particle's outer surface has a total of 339 such groups. When this type of nano-particle sample was imaged at low temperatures in the STM experiment, clear sequential modulations were observed in the tunnelling current formed by the image (see left part of the image). Similar modulations were noted when individual TBBT molecules were imaged on a flat surface. Based on density functional theory (DFT), the simulations performed by Hakkinen's research team showed that each of the three carbon groups of the TBBT molecule provides its own current maximum in the STM image (see the right part of the image) and that the distances between the maxima corresponded to the STM measurement results. This confirmed that measurement was successful at sub-molecular level. The simulations also predicted that accurate STM measurement can no longer be successful at room temperature, as the thermal movement of the molecules is so high that the current maxima of individual carbon groups blend into the background. "This is the first time that STM imaging of nanoparticle surface structures has been able to 'see' the individual parts of molecules. Our computational work was important to verifying the experimental results. However, we wanted to go one step further. As the atomic structure of particles is well known, we had grounds for asking whether the precise orientation of the imaged particle could be identified using simulations," says Hakkinen, describing the research. To this end, Hakkinen's group computed a simulated STM image of the silver particle from 1,665 different orientations and developed a pattern recognition algorithm to determine which simulated images best matched the experimental data. "We believe that our work demonstrates a new useful strategy for the imaging of nanostructures. In the future, pattern recognition algorithms and artificial intelligence based on machine learning will become indispensable to the interpretation of images of nanostructures. Our work represents the first step in that direction. That's why we have also decided to openly distribute the pattern recognition software we had developed to other researchers," says Hakkinen. The nanoparticle synthesis was performed in Xiamen University by Professor Nanfeng Zheng's research group and the STM measurements were carried out at Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics under the direction of Professor Zhibo Man. PhD student Sami Kaappa and senior researcher Sami Malola from Professor Hakkinen's group performed the calculations for the project. The research of Professor Hakkinen's group is in receipt of funding from the AIPSE programme of the Academy of Finland. The CSC - IT Center for Science in Finland and the Barcelona Supercomputing Center provided the resources for all simulations requiring high-power computing. The Barcelona simulations were part of the NANOMETALS project supported by the PRACE organisation. ### More information: - Published article: Qin Zhou, Sami Kaappa, Sami Malola, Hui Lu, Dawei Guan, Yajuan Li, Haochen Wang, Zhaoxiong Xie, Zhibo Ma, Hannu Hakkinen, Nanfeng Zheng Xueming Yang & Lansun Zheng, "Real-space imaging with pattern recognition of a ligand-protected Ag374 nanocluster at sub-molecular resolution", Nature Communications 9, 2948 (2018), DOI 10.1038/s41467-018-05372-5, https://rdcu.be/3ACE - Academy Professor Hannu Hakkinen, University of Jyvaskyla, Hannu.j.hakkinen@jyu.fi, tel. +358 29 247 973 Academy of Finland, Communications Leena Vahakyla, Communications Specialist tel. +358 29 5335 139 leena.vahakyla@aka.fi The Academy of Finland's mission is to fund high-quality scientific research, provide expertise in science and science policy, and strengthen the position of science and research. In 2018, our funding for research amounts to 444 million euros. Part of our funds come from proceeds of Finland's national gaming company Veikkaus. In 2018, these proceeds account for 70.7 million euros of our total funding for scientific research. Scientists have carried out a dam break analysis to assist with emergency response efforts following catastrophic flooding in the Mekong Delta. Extensive flooding occurred on 23 July, downstream from one of the dams of the Xe-Pian Xe-Namnoy Power Project, currently under construction in the south of the Lao People's Democratic Republic. The flood was due to the failure of the dam as a result of heavy rains that affected the area over the previous week. The event caused flash flooding in many villages of the Sanamxay district (Attapeu Province), causing casualties and damage to homes. According to media (as of 30 July), there are at least 27 dead, over 100 people missing and 16,000 affected. Search and rescue operations are still ongoing. The European Commission has mobilised 200,000 (LAK 1,958,800,000) in emergency relief for the families most affected. The JRC has followed the situation since the beginning of the event with the creation of situation maps and analysis reports for the European Commission's Emergency Response and Coordination Centre (ERCC), in collaboration with UN services and under the framework of the GDACS initiative (Global Disasters Alerts and Coordination System). JRC scientists carried out a dam break analysis, with the numerical simulation of the water discharge from the dam, propagation along the downstream valleys and inundation of the flatter areas. The scientists identified the areas most affected and the propagation dynamic of the released wave. By comparing this with radar satellite images provided by UNOSAT, scientists could confirm the quality of their estimations, despite the fact that distinguishing between monsoon/tropical storm rainfall contribution and dam break contribution is not easy. Their analysis shows that the most affected locations were hit after 7 hours from the break. The estimated water height was about 5-10 m and therefore consistent with images of people at the top of their buildings. A first report on the event was published on 25th July. An updated version of the report, containing the simulation results was published on 30th July. Background information The JRC analysis of the event was performed using the computer code HyFlux2, developed to analyse tsunamis, storm surges from tropical cyclones and, occasionally, dam break events. The role of the JRC in the Emergency Management is characterised by the development of situation maps, dedicated analyses and production of emergency reports in case of important events, in support to the ERCC. The ERCC has shared the JRC analysis with the international disaster management community through the relevant coordination and information channels. The ERCC, operating within the European Commission's Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations department, was set up to support a coordinated and quicker response to disasters both inside and outside Europe, using resources from the countries participating in the EU Civil Protection Mechanism. In this particular case, the ERCC requested an analysis of the event that was occurring in Laos and within six hours the JRC produced the first report. ### East Hanover, NJ - August 3, 2018. Job numbers declined again for Americans with Disabilities last month, according to today's National Trends in Disability Employment - Monthly Update (nTIDE), issued by Kessler Foundation and the University of New Hampshire's Institute on Disability (UNH-IOD). Despite the second month of downturns, experts remain optimistic about future job gains as the labor market continues to tighten. Accommodations are an important factor in the successful hiring of people with disabilities, and in the retention of employees who develop new disabilities. Employers that are open to providing accommodations and have the capability to provide them, will have greater success in meeting their need for staffing. In the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Jobs Report released Friday, August 3, the employment-to-population ratio for working-age people with disabilities decreased from 29.7 percent in July 2017 to 29.3 percent in July 2018 (-0.4 percentage points; down 1.3 percent). For working-age people without disabilities, the employment-to-population ratio increased from 74.1 percent in July 2017 to 74.7 percent in July 2018 (+0.6 percentage points; up 0.8 percent). The employment-to-population ratio, a key indicator, reflects the percentage of people who are working relative to the total population (the number of people working divided by the number of people in the total population multiplied by 100). "From February 2016 until May 2018, we saw steady improvement in the employment situation for people with disabilities. However, for the past two months, we have seen slight declines in their employment-to-population ratio and labor force participation rate," according to John O'Neill, PhD, director of employment and disability research at Kessler Foundation. "This downturn is disappointing, but given the tight labor market, we may yet see further improvement for Americans with disabilities." In addition, the labor force participation rate for working-age people with disabilities decreased from 33.1 percent in July 2017 to 32.4 percent in July 2018 (-0.7 percentage points, down 2.1 percent). For working-age people without disabilities, the labor force participation rate also increased from 77.6 percent in July 2017 to 77.7 percent in July 2018 (+0.1 percentage points; up 0.1 percent). The labor force participation rate is the percentage of the population that is working or actively looking for work. "It is certainly disappointing to see the labor force participation rate of people with disabilities declining, compared to the same time last year, especially since the economy has been doing so well," said Andrew Houtenville, PhD, associate professor of economics at UNH and research director of the Institute on Disability. "Of course, two months do not imply a trend, so we will be watching this closely in the coming months." Working-age people who sustain a disabling illness or injury face major decisions about staying in their jobs or returning to the workforce after treatment and/or rehabilitation. The availability of accommodations may be a major influence in their decision to return to their current job or seek new employment. In 2017, Kessler Foundation released survey findings that revealed useful data about workplace practices for accommodating employees with disabilities. According to the Kessler Foundation National Employment and Disability Survey: Supervisor Perspectives, 66 percent of employers have implemented a process to provide requested accommodations. Of the 3,000 supervisors surveyed, 96 percent found these processes effective, according to Dr. O'Neill, a survey co-author. "The 34 percent of employers who lack an accommodations process clearly have an opportunity to improve their hiring and retention of people with disabilities by implementing a process for requesting accommodations," he noted. The majority of supervisors (96 percent) also responded favorably to having access to a centralized accommodations fund to help them provide requested accommodations. Only a small percentage of employers - 16 percent - have such funds, however. "This highlights another opportunity for the majority of employers," Dr. O'Neill emphasized. "Setting up such a fund would facilitate the provision of accommodations, and help supervisors keep employees in their jobs." In July 2018, among workers ages 16-64, the 4,424,000 workers with disabilities represented 3 percent of the total 147,354,000 workers in the U.S. ### The next nTIDE will be issued on Friday, September 7, 2018. Each nTIDE release is followed by a noon nTIDE Lunch & Learn. This live broadcast, hosted via Zoom Webinar, offers attendees Q&A on the latest nTIDE findings, provides news and updates from the field, as well as invited panelists to discuss current disability-related findings and events. For the August 3 Lunch & Learn, Katie Morrison, MPP, from Mathematica Policy Research joins Dr. Houtenville, Dr. O'Neill, and Denise Rozell, policy strategist at AUCD, to discuss employers' perspectives on accommodating and retaining employees with newly acquired disabilities. You may join live, or watch the recordings at: http://www.ResearchonDisability.org/nTIDE. Video recordings are also posted on YouTube by the University of New Hampshire. NOTE: The statistics in the nTIDE are based on Bureau of Labor Statistics numbers, but are not identical. They are customized by UNH to combine the statistics for men and women of working age (16 to 64). NTIDE is funded, in part, by grants from the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR) (9ORT5022 and 90RT5017) and Kessler Foundation. About Kessler Foundation Kessler Foundation, a major nonprofit organization in the field of disability, is a global leader in rehabilitation research that seeks to improve cognition, mobility, and long-term outcomes -- including employment -- for people with neurological disabilities caused by diseases and injuries of the brain and spinal cord. Kessler Foundation leads the nation in funding innovative programs that expand opportunities for employment for people with disabilities. For more information, visit http://www.KesslerFoundation.org. About the Institute on Disability at the University of New Hampshire The Institute on Disability (IOD) at the University of New Hampshire (UNH) was established in 1987 to provide a coherent university-based focus for the improvement of knowledge, policies, and practices related to the lives of persons with disabilities and their families. For information on the NIDILRR-funded Employment Policy and Measurement Rehabilitation Research and Training Center, visit http://www.ResearchonDisability.org. For more information, or to interview an expert, contact: Carolann Murphy, 973.324.8382, CMurphy@KesslerFoundation.org Laura Viglione, 973.323.3675, LViglione@KesslerFoundation.org WOODS HOLE, Mass. -- Scientists affiliated with the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) have identified a key molecule driving chemoattraction between sperm and egg cells in marine invertebrates. The study was recently published in Nature Communications. More than 100 years ago, MBL Director F.R. Lillie of the University of Chicago discovered that eggs from marine invertebrates release a chemical factor that attracts sperm, a process called chemotaxis. Sperm, for their part, swim up a chemical gradient to reach the egg, assisted by a pulsatile rise in calcium ion (Ca2+) concentration in the sperm tail that controls its beating. In past years, many of the cellular components that translate chemoattractant stimulation into a Ca2+ response have been revealed, but a crucial ingredient has been missing. A prerequisite for Ca2+ ions from the sperm's environment being able to enter the tail is that the sperm cell's pH becomes more alkaline. The molecule that brings about this change in pH has been elusive. In this new report, U. Benjamin Kaupp, a MBL Whitman Center Scientist from the Center of Advanced European Studies (Caesar) in Bonn, Germany, identifies this molecule. Kaupp spent 18 summers at the MBL conducting research in the footsteps of F.R. Lillie's original quest. The molecule that Kaupp and colleagues identified allows sodium ions to flow into the sperm cell and, in exchange, transports protons out of the cell. Such so-called sodium/proton exchangers have been known for a long time, but this one is special. It is a chimaera that shares structural features with ion channels, called pacemaker channels, which control our heartbeat and electrical activity in the brain. This sodium/proton exchange in the sperm cell, like in the pacemaker channels, is activated by a stretch of positively charged amino acids called the voltage sensor. When sperm capture chemoattractant molecules, the voltage becomes more negative, because potassium channels open and potassium ions leave the cell. The voltage-sensor registers this voltage change and the exchanger begins exporting protons from the cell; the cell's interior becomes more alkaline. When this mechanism is disabled, the Ca2+ pulses in the sperm tail are suppressed, and sperm are lost on their voyage to the egg. ### The lead author on this report is Florian Windler from Kaupp's lab in Bonn. Windler and Reinhard Seifert studied this unique molecule during several research stays in the MBL Whitman Center. Citation: Windler, F. et al (2018) The solute carrier SLC9C1 is a Na+/H+-exchanger gated by an S4-type voltage-sensor and cyclic-nucleotide binding. Nature Communications, DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-05253-xDOI: 10.1038 An early look at what can happen when a pediatric health system begins to treat COLUMBUS, Ohio - In a recent publication in the journal Pediatrics, researchers from Nationwide Children's Hospital present a case study for treating a neighborhood as a patient. Neighborhood effect syndrome, characterized by symptoms of extreme poverty including blight, housing insecurity, racial segregation, trauma, violence, poorly performing schools, low social cohesion and support and environmental toxins, has debilitating consequences on child health. Health care providers frequently encounter challenges to caring for children from affected neighborhoods, and these children often experience poorer outcomes compared to peers in unaffected neighborhoods. Historically, institutions have been largely ineffective in changing these outcomes with one-child-at-a-time tactics. In a novel approach to improving outcomes for these children, Nationwide Children's leaders with community partners decided to address neighborhood effect syndrome as a target for pediatric health care - treating the neighborhood as a patient. In 2008, Nationwide Children's began collaborating with residents, government entities and social services agencies to develop the Healthy Neighborhoods Healthy Families (HNHF) initiative. The hospital's first patient neighborhood was the Southern Orchards neighborhood of Columbus, Ohio, located adjacent to the Nationwide Children's main campus. Before the intervention, the neighborhood experienced high rates of poverty and violent crime. "The Southern Orchards neighborhood, right by the hospital, was one with gun violence, high infant mortality rates and high asthma rates in children," says Kelly J. Kelleher, MD, director of the Center for Innovation in Pediatric Practice at Nationwide Children's and lead author of the publication. "Houses were boarded up and vacant. You didn't see kids playing outside much." The target area includes all of Census Tract 56.10 and Census Tract 56.20. In 2009, the neighborhood was characterized by the following: Home to 4,300 persons, 23 percent of whom were children 50 percent of children in the neighborhood were living in poverty 50 percent of the children in the neighborhood were African American 25 percent of children in Livingston Elementary School and 33 percent in South High School were regularly changing schools 1 in 3 residents over the age of 16 were employed full time The chief concern uncovered through multiple sources of data and information was neighborhood safety associated with population loss and surge in vacant and abandoned property. "Residents were deeply concerned about blight and gang/drug activity, including on vacant properties in proximity to the school," says Dr. Kelleher. "Our primary target for intervention became housing. Our collaboration committed to renovating, building and developing mixed income housing to reduce crime, improve the vacancy rate and better family outcomes." According to Dr. Kelleher, the publication describes $23 million invested in upgrading more than 300 homes through the HNHF Realty Collaborative, which was formed with not-for-profit development corporation, Community Development For All People. The entity is owned by Community Development For All People with a board of directors selected by the two groups. To date, the investment has grown to more than $40 million. The partnership, with collaboration from the Columbus Mayor's Office, accessed Neighborhood Stabilization Program funds from the city, acquired properties from the city's Land Bank program and gathered support from contractors and realty agents. The multifaceted intervention launched by the collaborative included a home repair program, rehabilitation and home ownership program, home construction program, workforce development program and rental housing development. The community development efforts by the HNHF Realty Collaborative are still in early phases, considering Southern Orchards has experienced neighborhood effects syndrome for 80 years. Still, some measurable outcomes are observed: Investments have transformed housing stock in the area and reduced blight. The vacancy rate declined from more than 25 percent to 6 percent. Youth who have participated in area development programs have shown progress in emotional health and academic performance. The high school graduation rate has risen from 64 percent in 2013 to 79 percent in 2017. For owner-occupied homes, the market has seen a 50 percent increase in sales volumes and a 22 percent increase in sales prices. Homicides have declined, and while homicide rates in Columbus overall have risen, none were reported in the immediate Southern Orchards neighborhood in the last year. "By taking both short- and long-term views of community development, Nationwide Children's and our partners have ambitious goals across many domains," says Dr. Kelleher. "The community-level approach allows the integration of epidemiology approaches, business resources and neighborhood development to support a mixed income community. Our next challenges will be to continue growth with new partners and to measure outcomes on children's health in the neighborhood." ### HNHF community partners include Community Development for All People, United Way of Central Ohio and the City of Columbus. ARLINGTON, Va.--A technology designed to treat injured warfighters on the battlefield is proving its worth to civilian emergency-response teams. The sensor-laden Wireless Vital Signs Monitor (WVSM) tracks critical health information like heart rate, pulse and blood pressure. Sponsored by the Office of Naval Research (ONR), it weighs less than a pound and can be carried easily into combat zones or mass-casualty emergency situations. The device is strapped to a patient's arm and transmits data wirelessly via a specialized software app to a tablet or smart phone, which is handled by attending medical personnel such as Navy corpsmen. This enables the medics to monitor the vital signs of more than 15 patients at once. "Since this technology can monitor multiple patients simultaneously, corpsmen can attend to someone, move to the next patient or even step away to get supplies--while still keeping an eye on everyone in their care," said Dr. Timothy Bentley, a program manager in ONR's Warfighter Performance Department, which has sponsored the WVSM's development. A collaboration between ONR, the U.S. Army Institute of Surgical Research and industry partner Athena GTX, the WVSM recently was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. More than 200 of the monitors so far have been sold to emergency-response units in Iowa, Texas, North Carolina, Maryland, Missouri and Pennsylvania. The WVSM also is used currently by the U.S. Special Operations Command and the Air Force. Through complex software algorithms, the WVSM analyzes patient data; determines if someone is in stable or worsening condition; and calculates the need for life-saving interventions such as surgery or blood transfusions. This differs from traditional vital signs monitors, which provide basic health information but can't predict if someone's medical condition is about to deteriorate. First responders already have used the WVSM successfully in training exercises and emergencies such as fires, tornados, hurricanes and large public events where groups of people required medical attention. In June, Texas emergency crews treated people injured during a hospital explosion. "The feedback from customers has been very positive," said Dr. Mark Darrah, president and chief executive officer of Athena GTX. "They like that the WVSM is lightweight, portable and can provide crucial vital sign data quickly. The sooner you can receive such data, the better the outcome in an emergency." The WVSM is designed as part of the ONR-sponsored Automated Critical Care System (ACCS)--a patient-care system that can be described as an intensive care unit in a suitcase. Weighing under 25 pounds, with an accompanying stretcher, ACCS is ideal for diverse missions. "Expeditionary forces penetrate deep into remote areas where casualties can take hours or days to evacuate," said Bentley. "The capabilities needed for patient care must be compact, lightweight and scalable to mission requirements. ACCS makes the clinical expertise and capabilities of a critical-care center available to warfighters in the most severe conditions." ACCS can provide care such as vital signs monitoring; resuscitation and breathing assistance; supplemental oxygen; fluid and drug therapy; and patient data gathering, storage and transmission. The system can monitor and treat patients under the control of a medic--or autonomously within pre-determined parameters. ### HOUSTON - (Aug. 3, 2018) - Rice University researchers have found that fracture-resistant "rebar graphene" is more than twice as tough as pristine graphene. Graphene is a one-atom-thick sheet of carbon. On the two-dimensional scale, the material is stronger than steel, but because graphene is so thin, it is still subject to ripping and tearing. Rebar graphene is the nanoscale analog of rebar (reinforcement bars) in concrete, in which embedded steel bars enhance the material's strength and durability. Rebar graphene, developed by the Rice lab of chemist James Tour in 2014, uses carbon nanotubes for reinforcement. In a new study in the American Chemical Society journal ACS Nano, Rice materials scientist Jun Lou, graduate student and lead author Emily Hacopian and collaborators, including Tour, stress-tested rebar graphene and found that nanotube rebar diverted and bridged cracks that would otherwise propagate in unreinforced graphene. The experiments showed that nanotubes help graphene stay stretchy and also reduce the effects of cracks. That could be useful not only for flexible electronics but also electrically active wearables or other devices where stress tolerance, flexibility, transparency and mechanical stability are desired, Lou said. Both the lab's mechanical tests and molecular dynamics simulations by collaborators at Brown University revealed the material's toughness. Graphene's excellent conductivity makes it a strong candidate for devices, but its brittle nature is a downside, Lou said. His lab reported two years ago that graphene is only as strong as its weakest link. Those tests showed the strength of pristine graphene to be "substantially lower" than its reported intrinsic strength. In a later study, the lab found molybdenum diselenide, another two-dimensional material of interest to researchers, is also brittle. Tour approached Lou and his group to carry out similar tests on rebar graphene, made by spin-coating single-walled nanotubes onto a copper substrate and growing graphene atop them via chemical vapor deposition. To stress-test rebar graphene, Hacopian, Yang and colleagues had to pull it to pieces and measure the force that was applied. Through trial and error, the lab developed a way to cut microscopic pieces of the material and mount it on a testbed for use with scanning electron and transmission electron microscopes. "We couldn't use glue, so we had to understand the intermolecular forces between the material and our testing devices," Hacopian said. "With materials this fragile, it's really difficult." Rebar didn't keep graphene from ultimate failure, but the nanotubes slowed the process by forcing cracks to zig and zag as they propagated. When the force was too weak to completely break the graphene, nanotubes effectively bridged cracks and in some cases preserved the material's conductivity. In earlier tests, Lou's lab showed graphene has a native fracture toughness of 4 megapascals. In contrast, rebar graphene has an average toughness of 10.7 megapascals, he said. Simulations by study co-author Huajian Gao and his team at Brown confirmed results from the physical experiments. Gao's team found the same effects in simulations with orderly rows of rebar in graphene as those measured in the physical samples with rebar pointing every which way. "The simulations are important because they let us see the process on a time scale that isn't available to us with microscopy techniques, which only give us snapshots," Lou said. "The Brown team really helped us understand what's happening behind the numbers." He said the rebar graphene results are a first step toward the characterization of many new materials. "We hope this opens a direction people can pursue to engineer 2D material features for applications," Lou said. ### Hacopian, Yingchao Yang of the University of Maine and Bo Ni of Brown University are co-lead authors of the paper. Co-authors are Yilun Li, Hua Guo of Rice, Xing Li of Rice and Zhengzhou University and Qing Chen of Peking University. Lou is a professor of materials science and nanoengineering at Rice. Tour is the T.T. and W.F. Chao Chair in Chemistry and a professor of computer science and of materials science and nanoengineering Rice. Gao is the Walter H. Annenberg Professor of Engineering at Brown. The research was supported by the Welch Foundation, the Air Force Office of Scientific Research's Multidisciplinary University Research Institute, the Department of Energy Office of Basic Energy Sciences, the National Natural Science Foundation of China and the National Science Foundation. Read the abstract at https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acsnano.8b02311 This news release can be found online at http://news.rice.edu/2018/08/02/nanotube-rebar-makes-graphene-twice-as-tough/ Follow Rice News and Media Relations via Twitter @RiceUNews Video: https://youtu.be/Kiq9BKby3VM Simulations show how carbon nanotubes can make graphene twice as tough by acting as reinforcement bars, like steel in concrete. Scientists at Brown University worked with experimentalists at Rice University to show how rebar helps bridge or redirect cracks in graphene under strain. (Video courtesy of the Gao Research Group/Brown University) Images for download: http://news.rice.edu/files/2018/08/0806_REBAR-1-web-13rz4tz.jpg An image depicts a sample of rebar graphene after testing under an electron microscope by materials scientists at Rice University. It shows how cracks propagate in a zigzag way, rather than straight, as would be seen in plain graphene. The rebar graphene is attached by molecular forces on both sides to a platform that slowly pulls the material apart. (Credit: Emily Hacopian/Rice University) http://news.rice.edu/files/2018/08/0806_REBAR-2-web-s9a8qu.jpg Rice University graduate student Emily Hacopian holds the platform she used to study the strength of rebar graphene under a microscope. Hacopian and colleagues discovered that reinforcing graphene with carbon nanotubes makes the material twice as tough. (Credit: Jeff Fitlow/Rice University) http://news.rice.edu/files/2018/08/0806_REBAR-3-web-xf4jrj.jpg Rice University graduate student Emily Hacopian and materials scientist Jun Lou led a team that tested the toughness of rebar graphene. (Credit: Jeff Fitlow/Rice University) Related materials: Rebar strengthens case for graphene: http://news.rice.edu/2014/04/04/rebar-strengthens-case-for-graphene/ Lou Group: http://n3lab.rice.edu Tour Group: https://www.jmtour.com Gao Research Group: https://www.brown.edu/research/projects/nanomechanics-engineering-biological-systems/prof-huajian-gao Yang Group: https://umaine.edu/mecheng/yang/ Rice Department of Materials Science and NanoEngineering: https://msne.rice.edu Rice Department of Chemistry: https://chemistry.rice.edu George R. Brown School of Engineering: https://engineering.rice.edu Wiess School of Natural Sciences: https://naturalsciences.rice.edu Located on a 300-acre forested campus in Houston, Rice University is consistently ranked among the nation's top 20 universities by U.S. News & World Report. Rice has highly respected schools of Architecture, Business, Continuing Studies, Engineering, Humanities, Music, Natural Sciences and Social Sciences and is home to the Baker Institute for Public Policy. With 3,970 undergraduates and 2,934 graduate students, Rice's undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio is just under 6-to-1. Its residential college system builds close-knit communities and lifelong friendships, just one reason why Rice is ranked No. 1 for quality of life and for lots of race/class interaction and No. 2 for happiest students by the Princeton Review. Rice is also rated as a best value among private universities by Kiplinger's Personal Finance. To read "What they're saying about Rice," go to http://tinyurl.com/RiceUniversityoverview. Soybean (Glycine max [L.] Merr.) is one of the most important crops, providing more than half of global oilseed production and more than a quarter of the world's protein for food and animal feed. Studies have indicated that the cultivated soybean was domesticated in China approximately 5,000 years ago and then disseminated worldwide. During the introduction and dissemination process, soybean has undergone strictly genetic bottlenecks, resulting in the accessions from different geographic areas possibly exhibiting high genetic diversity. The current soybean reference genome was sequenced from Williams 82, which is a cultivar domesticated in America. Asia is one of the largest soybean planting and consuming areas, its soybean production is essential for global food security. A high-quality reference genome is crucial for functional analysis of a species. Therefore, it is necessary to assemble a new high-quality soybean genome from Asian soybean accessions to facilitate Asia soybean functional genomics study and elite cultivar improvement. Biologists from the Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Science, University of Science and Technology of China, Jiangsu Academy of Agricultural Sciences, and Berry Genomics Corporation assembled a new soybean genome from a Chinese soybean accession "Zhonghuang 13" by combination of SMRT, Hi-C and optical mapping data. "Our finally assembled genome is 1.025 Gb. Its contig N50 is 3.46 Mb, and scaffold N50 is 51.87 Mb. To the best of our knowledge, it is the fourth contiguous plant genome that has been reported to date." said Dr. Yanting Shen, the senior author for this work. "Comparing to the previously commonly used soybean reference genome, the quality of our new assembled genome is significantly improved, it has longer total sequence length, higher contig N50 and scaffold N50, and fewer gaps". Moreover, after careful comparison of the genome sequences between Zhonghuang 13 and Williams 82, the research team found that the Zhonghuang 13 genome displays large number of genetic variations with that of Williams 82. "We identified more than 250,000 structure variation events, including 1,404 translocations, 161 inversions, 1,233 translocation & inversions, 505,506 indels (1-99 bp) and 17,409 accession specific insertions (>=100 bp)", said Yanting. "This work is a great team work that collaborated by the scientists from different areas. For example, to make the new genome annotation more accurate and informative, we asked help from Dr. Jianchang Du, an expert in transposable elements study" said the corresponding author Dr. Zhixi Tian, a scientist working on soybean functional genome. Through comprehensive analyses, a total of 36,429 transposable elements and 52,051 protein coding genes were annotated in the new genome. "QTL and GWAS are useful approaches to investigate the loci controlling traits. However, it is difficult to identify the causal gene directly from QTL and GWAS because they usually result in large candidate regions. Gene co-expression network is a powerful approach to explore gene regulatory relationships and to predict gene function. We think a gene co-expression network may assist important agronomic genes mining when combing with QTL and GWAS. Therefore, we asked help from Dr. Shisong Ma, an expert on gene co-expression network from University of Science and Technology of China", said Zhixi. "To test this hypothesis, we established a comprehensive gene co-expression network for the annotation genes using transcriptome datasets from 1,978 soybean RNA-seq that deposited in the NCBI Sequence Read Archive (SRA). This network contain 39,967 genes and 330,864 co-expressed gene pairs", said Dr. Shisong Ma, the collaborator and one of the co-corresponding author. The usage of gene co-expression network was tested by exploring new genes related to soybean flowering time and linoleic acid content. "Our gene co-expression network narrowed number of soybean flowering time candidate genes from 7,971 to 26 directly, which was effective in candidate gene mining," said Yanting, "In further, we confirmed the function for one candidate gene SoyZH13_16G177400 by correlating its haplotype and phenotype information in our previously re-sequenced nature population." Besides the gene related to flowering time, another gene controlling soybean linoleic acid content also be confirmed using the same strategy. Dr. Baoge Zhu, a biologist that has been working on soybean breeder for more than twenty years from the Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Science, commented "This method is very novel and helpful for our soybean researchers and breeders. We can use it to dig candidate genes effectively for agronomic important phenotypes." All the authors hope that this new genome will facilitate legume genomics research and soybean crop improvement in the future. ### This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (91531304, 31525018, 31370266, 31788103), the "Strategic Priority Research Program" of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (XDA08000000), and the State Key Laboratory of Plant Cell and Chromosome Engineering (PCCE-KF-2017-03). See the article: Shen, Y., Liu, J., Geng, H., Zhang, J., Liu, Y., Zhang, H., Xing, S., Du, J., Ma, S., and Tian, Z. (2018). De novo assembly of a Chinese soybean genome. Sci China Life Sci 61, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11427-018-9360-0 http://engine.scichina.com/publisher/scp/journal/SCLS/doi/10.1007/s11427-018-9360-0 The oldest living seeds found on Earth germinated after resting more than 30,000 years in Arctic soils. But in the humid tropics, seeds do not last. "A long-lived seed in the tropics is probably only a few decades old. This may not seem like much time, but it is critical to reestablish trees after deforestation and ensure species' survival," said Camilo Zalamea, post-doctoral fellow and lead author of a new paper in Ecology from the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) in Panama. Seeds of tropical pioneers, trees that reestablish a forest after logging, flood, drought or fire, need strategies to overcome the two challenges every seed faces: 1) stay alive until the right conditions to grow into a plant occur, and 2) avoid being eaten by predators and decayed by soil microbes. Although birds, bats or the wind can spread seeds from nearby forests, many of the seedlings that start a new forest emerge from seeds long buried in the soil--that is, from the soil seed bank. "For the first time, we're making the connection between seed dormancy--the characteristics that make it possible for a seed to wait until environmental conditions are suitable for growth, and seed defenses--the characteristics the seed uses to avoid being eaten or decayed," said Jim Dalling, STRI research associate and professor at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. "Overall, pioneer tree species have three strategies to survive in the seed bank. Species that adopt one of these strategies share characteristics, or "seed-defense syndromes," Dalling said. "For example, some seeds may protect themselves physically by producing a very hard outer coat making it difficult for animals or microorganisms to reach the living tissues inside," said Zalamea. "Other seeds survive because they produce chemical compounds to deter predators and pathogens. And some seeds are short-lived, investing little in physical or chemical defenses, but may be protected by special microbes they select from soil." Defending seeds is expensive, requiring an investment of resources from the mother tree. For 16 of the most common pioneer tree species in Panama, the research team evaluated the seeds' physical defenses, asking: How hard is it to break the seed, how thick is the seed coat, how permeable is the seed coat and how heavy is the seed? They also evaluated the seeds' chemical defenses, by looking at the presence and abundance of protective chemicals and testing the toxicity of seed extracts. "We found that how much a seed invests in defending itself is directly related to the time it lasts in the soil," said Betsy Arnold, STRI research associate and professor at the University of Arizona. For example, seeds that are capable of persisting for long periods in the soil rely more on chemical defenses, whereas species with shorter persistence rely more on physical defenses. So this work helps resolve just how seeds can remain alive in the soil seed bank for months to years in tropical forests." Understanding how seeds evade or repel pests and diseases has broad application beyond tropical forests. Diseases of major seed crops--rice, wheat and maize--cost global agriculture billions of dollars a year in lost yield, and represent a significant threat to global food security. Nonetheless, remarkably little is known about how plants defend their seeds against enemies, or how seed defenses align with other properties of seeds. "In our study, we found that tropical pioneer seeds defend themselves using three different dormancy-defense syndromes; we hope that this information can be used to develop more effective practices for crop production and weed management, restoring natural vegetation, and to generate a better understanding of natural plant community dynamics," said Adam Davis, a scientist at the U.S. Department of Agriculture. ### This research was funded by grants from the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF DEB-1120205, DEB-1119758) and Simons Foundation. The Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, headquartered in Panama City, Panama, is a unit of the Smithsonian Institution. The Institute furthers the understanding of tropical biodiversity and its importance to human welfare, trains students to conduct research in the tropics and promotes conservation by increasing public awareness of the beauty and importance of tropical ecosystems. Website. Promo video. Ref: Zalamea, P-C, Dalling, J.W., Sarmiento, C. et al. 2018. Dormancy-defense syndromes and trade-offs between physical and chemical defenses in seeds of pioneer species. Ecology. doi: 10.1002/ecy.2419 this news is not available One of Indias foremost magazine publishing groups, BW Businessworld has bagged the exclusive rights to publish Rail Bandhu, the official onboard magazine of the Indian Railways. Published monthly, the bilingual publication is distributed in 129 premium trains of India, including 25 Rajdhani Express trains, 23 Shatabdi Express trains, 41 Duronto Express trains and one Gatimaan Express train. These trains cover 21 state capitals and 119 cities across India. Anurag Batra, Chairman and Editor-in-Chief of the BW Businessworld Group, said, We look forward to the opportunity to reach 5.9 crore people annually through Rail Bandhu. We will make it an inspiring, sophisticated publication and indispensable reading material for the rail travelers. They will enjoy a never-before onboard experience with Rail Bandhu in their hands. With a monthly readership of 49 lakhs, Rail Bandhu is one of the highest read publications among all travel and news magazines in India. Launched in 2011, Rail Bandhu is also available in First Class waiting rooms, lounges and VIP visiting rooms at railway stations. Aparna Sengupta, Director - Advertising, BW Businessworld, commented, Advertising in Rail Bandhu offers not just a massive reach but also a prestigious environment for any brand. It is a unique advertising opportunity for brands as travel numbers are increasing year on year and are predicted to grow hugely in the coming years. Travelling inspires people and removes them from the distractions of their everyday routine. This is the ideal moment for brands to reach out to a real audience when they have the time, focus and mindset to respond. Read more news about (internet advertising India, internet advertising, advertising India, digital advertising India, media advertising India) Privacy Settings This site uses functional cookies and external scripts to improve your experience. Which cookies and scripts are used and how they impact your visit is specified on the left. You may change your settings at any time. Your choices will not impact your visit. NOTE: These settings will only apply to the browser and device you are currently using. Adalynn Cuevas and Ella Mathias, both 8-year-old students at Leon Springs Elementary School, pluck the C string on their ukuleles in unison. Intensely focused, they shift to the E string. Adalynn shakes out her hand to loosen up her fingers. Its hard work, this instrument. As they continue their efforts, a plucky cover of When the Saints Go Marching In emerges. Their instructor, a ukulele player from Hawaii named Kainoa Kamaka, gives them a high five. After almost two months of ukulele lessons in the living room of Ellas home, the girls can add another song to their repertoire, right next to Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. Both Adalynn and Ella played the ukulele in their music class at school last year, and both loved it so much they each asked for one for their birthdays. The recorder, and its old fashioned Hot Cross Buns tune, will have to wait until the third grade. Thanks to an unlikely cast of musicians and to Grace VanderWaal, the ukulele-playing preteen winner of season 11 of Americas Got Talent, the instrument once associated with novelty acts and beachside jams is being picked up by the cool kids. Now Playing: The resurgence of the ukulele in recent years brings the instrument into San Antonio schools, and kid's are now studying the ukulele in their free time outside of the classroom. Video: San Antonio Express-News VanderWaals audition video, in which she performed a spunky original ukulele tune, has more than 86 million views on the site. Look! She plays it! Adalynns mother, Stepfanie Cuevas, remembers her daughter saying as they watched. She plays it and I can get a strap like her. VanderWaal is now touring the nation with the chart-topping band Imagine Dragons. The instruments newfound appeal to younger players is a part of larger, longer lasting revival, said Gary Smith, a sales manager at Alamo Music Center. Smith said he used to sell about 25 ukuleles a year. But over the past five years, hes sold more than 450 annually. According to the National Association of Music Merchants, in 2013 almost a million ukuleles were sold nationwide. Last year, almost 2 million were sold. VanderWaal has attracted a new generation of girls to ukuleles in a way that Taylor Swift attracted young girls to guitars, said Greg Olwell, the editor of Ukulele Magazine. His said his own 10-year-old daughter was disinterested in the instrument that fueled her fathers livelihood until she saw a video of the young ukulele star. Even the magazine, which has about 2,000 unique online visitors, is an unlikely testament to the girl-power potential of the ukulele. The publications social media followings are split almost evenly between males and females. That parity is very unusual for instrumental magazines, which tend to have a predominately male readership, Olwell said. And though the magazines subscribers skew older, the publications Instagram is especially attractive to younger audiences, he said. Instagram is filled with young people learning songs, he said. The internet has really helped spread it, I think. VanderWaals audition video is part of a large catalog of ukulele videos on YouTube. Elise Ecklund, a young ukulele expert, has at least two videos that have been viewed more than a million times. With the help of the internet, Adalynn learned a ukulele rendition of Remember Me, the hit song from the animated movie Coco. Ella has a ukulele app that showed her the chords of the alphabet song and Happy Birthday to You. Young girls are an unlikely group of admirers for an instrument once associated with Tiny Tim, the long-haired 1960s performer. When his ukulele version of Tiptoe Through the Tulips, which he sang in a falsetto voice, became a novelty hit, it solidified the instruments place as a joke for many years after. It really didnt do the ukulele any favors at all, Smith said. But kids today arent corrupted by Tiny Tim in fact, they probably dont know who he is. They only thing they know is this new, cool ukulele, the one that even rock stars take seriously. VanderWaal is only the latest on a roster of popular musicians who helped save the soul of the instrument. In the early 2000s, Jake Shimabukuro, a ukulele virtuoso, posted a popular Beatles cover on YouTube. And while his ukulele gently wept, Jason Mraz came out with a chart-topping ukulele hit Im Yours. And then Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam surprised his rock fan base by accurately naming his second solo album Ukulele Songs, without a hint of irony. Though Vedder and Mraz may be before Adalynns and Ellas time, they are part of an epic comeback story that results in two 8-year-olds strumming on a summer morning. In the ukulele, kids have found a friend. Compared with the guitar, the strings are gentler and its easily learned. It almost feels like a toy. Kids put it on, they almost feel like rock stars , Kamaka said. And when Kamaka puts on the instrument, he is a rock star in his own right. He shimmies and skips onstage at talent shows and festivals while performing a rocking uke rendition of Johnny B. Goode. He said its always been considered a bona fide instrument in Hawaii, no matter how it has been viewed elsewhere. The girls mothers are hoping Kamaka will give a performance with their daughters at their schools talent show next year. Before she began ukulele lessons, Ella avoided piano classes out of fear of the recitals, but maybe with Adalynn and their teacher by her side, and with a ukulele in hand, the spotlight wouldnt be so bad. lizzie.stokes@express-news.net A Harris County grand jury on Friday indicted the French chemical company Arkema and two executives for the "reckless" release of toxic chemicals during Hurricane Harvey last August, a move that alarmed industry leaders and surprised environmental advocates. The company, CEO Richard Rowe and plant manager Leslie Comardelle put residents and first responders at risk when the Crosby plant caught fire as Harvey dumped record rainfall on the Houston area, according to the Harris County District Attorney's office. Now Playing: CSB Safety Video about the 2017 Fire at the Arkema Chemical Plant in Crosby, Texas, following Hurricane Harvey Video: USCSB, Houston Chronicle "As the hurricane approached, Arkema was more concerned about production and profit than people," said Alexander Forrest, chief of the District Attorney's environmental crimes division. ARKEMA DOCUMENTS: Planning, mechanical failures led to Harvey chemical fires The last time a chemical company faced criminal charges for a major incident in Texas was 2005, when an explosion at BP's Texas City refinery killed 15 workers and injured almost 200. BP paid $50 million in fines for the incident but no one from the company served prison time. Arkema called the criminal charges filed against it "astonishing" and pledged to fight them vigorously. "There has never been an indictment like this in Texas or any other state," Arkema attorney Rusty Hardin said. "It would set an ominous precedent if a company could be held criminally liable for impact suffered as a result of the historic flooding of Hurricane Harvey that no one, including Harris County itself, was prepared for." But federal documents showed Arkema wasn't even prepared for a much smaller flood, despite being partially located in a floodplain. BEFORE THE STORM: Arkema officials were warned of flood risks a year before Harvey The company's emergency plan provided little direction to employees on how to handle major floods, and as a result, it couldn't keep combustible organic peroxides cool. Its main power transformers and backup generators were not high enough off the ground. Neither was its backup liquid nitrogen cooling system. And Arkema's last line of defense failed when water inundated the fuel tanks that power freezer trucks. Over the next week, nine trailers of organic peroxides erupted in flames, sending pillars of fire and thick plumes of black smoke into the air. More than a half dozen first-responders were sickened, according to civil suits filed against the company. A federal Chemical Safety Board investigation said Arkema was warned of flood risks a year before Harvey hit by its insurer at the time. Prosecutors say the disaster could have been prevented. The grand jury charged Arkema, Rowe and Comardelle with reckless emission of an air contaminant under the Texas Water Code. The charge carries a penalty of up to five years in prison for the individuals, and a fine of up to $1 million for the corporation. Rowe and Comardelle are expected in court Monday. Rowe became the CEO of Arkema's North America division in 2015. He's worked with the company for the last 16 years. Comardelle has worked for Arkema more than 25 years. He was part of the ride-out crew that tried to prevent the release. Comardelle's lawyers, Paul Nugent and Heather Peterson, said their client acted heroically and committed no crime. Rowe's attorney, Tim Johnson, called the charges "baseless." Hardin, Arkema's attorney, said it would be hard for any reasonable person to call the company's actions criminal. The American Chemistry Council called the charges alarming and unreasonable. Criminal charges following chemical incidents are rare in Texas. A 2013 explosion at an Air Liquide facility in La Porte killed one worker and severely burned another. The company was not fined by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration or by the Environmental Protection Agency. The Chemical Safety Board did not investigate the incident. No criminal charges were filed. An explosion of improperly stored ammonium nitrate in 2013 at West Fertilizer Company in West, Texas, killed 15 people. Officials with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives believed arson started the fire but no criminal charges were filed. When a 2014 leak of methyl mercaptan killed four workers at a DuPont plant in La Porte, again, no criminal charges were filed. But on Friday, Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg said she'd go after companies who pollute. Environmental advocates applauded her actions. "I hope these kinds of criminal charges will really get the attention of not just Arkema but the industry more broadly," said Luke Metzger, executive director of the advocacy group Environment Texas. "They can't play fast and loose with safety standards and the protection of the public." The former lawman accused of gunning down a Houston cardiologist in the Texas Medical Center last month killed himself during a confrontation with police near Brays Bayou on Friday morning, bringing an end to a two-week saga that rattled the city's medical community and confounded investigators. After developing a list of names, amassing a file on his target, giving away his house and car and leaving behind a "Last Will and Testament" in the kitchen of his nearly empty Westbury home, Joseph "Joey" Pappas shot himself in the head in front of two Houston police officers trying to arrest him. Now Playing: Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo announces the death of Joesph Pappas, the suspect in the slaying of Dr. Mark Hausknecht. Acevedo says Pappas committed suicide. Video: Godofredo A. Vasquez, Houston Chronicle "It's a sad day all the way around," Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo told reporters. "This doesn't bring anybody back, but it does bring closure." The 62-year-old accused gunman a former deputy constable and real estate agent who was an expert marksman was formally charged late Thursday with the murder of Dr. Mark Hausknecht, whose July 20 killing was caught on a METRO bus camera. The motive, police said, appeared to be a two-decade-old grudge Pappas had nursed against the doctor since his mother died on the operating table in 1997. "Why he was going to do or did this, we'll never know 100 percent," Acevedo said. "The only connection we can find, despite all the speculation, is that Dr. Hausknecht operated on his mom over 20 years ago." FOUND AT HOME: Man suspected in doctor killing left 'Last Will and Testament,' boxes of ammo The morning of the slaying, the 65-year-old physician was riding his bike to work in the Texas Medical Center when a man started riding behind him along Main Street. Wearing a hat and sunglasses and toting a full backpack, the biker followed Hausknecht for miles before passing him just before 9 a.m. and then turning around to open fire, striking the doctor in the head and torso. Hausknecht was taken to Ben Taub Hospital, where he died. "The unknown male did not stop and rode his bike away from the scene," police wrote in court documents describing the shooting as a "targeted attack" based on the deliberate manner in which the suspect started shooting "without provocation" before fleeing. The crime baffled police for days. Early this week, investigators got a tip from a woman concerned that her neighbor looked like the man shown in video surveillance footage released that day. The woman and another neighbor told police where Pappas lived in Westbury, according to court documents, and said that he usually rode his bike with a "full" backpack like the one described by police. Investigators checked county records and found Pappas owned the house in question, in the 5000 block of Stillbrooke. That same day, police also spoke to a family friend and learned their potential suspect had threatened suicide in a text message. Now Playing: Investigations ongoing after death of accused killer of Houston doctor. (Godofredo Vasquez / Houston Chronicle) Video: Godofredo Vasquez / Houston Chronicle Around the time of the crime, Pappas had sent the title to his vehicle and the deed for his home to that friend's mother in Ohio, claiming he had a terminal illness. "I called him on the 24th and he said he had a terminal illness, and that's why he deeded (me) the house," Jeanette Spencer told the News-Herald, a northern Ohio newspaper. On Monday, the day Spencer's daughter was supposed to meet with Pappas while visiting Houston, Pappas texted Spencer that he was going to kill himself. "Sorry for handling things this way," he texted. "House and property is now yours. Please make best use of it for you and (your daughter)." OHIO CONNECTION: Ohio woman reveals recent conversations with suspect in doctor's killing Worried about his well-being, the daughter drove to Pappas' home Tuesday and tried to get police to come for a welfare check, according to court records. When she got there, the woman found that officers had already shown up and left. She went into the home to check for herself, according to court records. Once she spoke to investigators in the case, though, police returned to the home. They did not encounter Pappas but instead found a home seemingly set up for a standoff. READ MORE: Suspected killer transferred deed day before death of Houston doctor Immediately inside the front door was a piece of metal positioned as a buttress against any forced entry, police said. In the main living area was just one piece of furniture a chair sitting directly in front of the window. In the kitchen was a "Last Will and Testament" of Joseph Pappas. The garage housed the man's vehicle and three boxes of .22-caliber ammunition. After authorities collected the evidence in a Wednesday morning raid, police released the suspect's name and possible motive, pleading for the public's help tracking him down. The Harris County District Attorney's Office filed a murder charge on Thursday. It is not clear what Pappas did in the days between the killing and his death. He accessed four houses in the area using his real estate agent key, and police said he may have been camping somewhere. Five days after Hausknecht was killed, Pappas apparently listed a number of guns, tactical vests and ammunition for sale online. He appeared to have been divesting himself of furniture and possessions as early as last October. In January, he offered for sale online an extensive list of weapons and reloading equipment. On Thursday night, SWAT officers surrounded Pappas' house in Westbury after receiving a report that a gate to the yard was open and lights in the house were on. It turned out no one was in the house. It was not until Friday morning that police finally found their man. Just after 9 a.m., a Houston Parks Board worker checking graffiti hotspots along Brays Bayou called police to say he was chasing someone. Four minutes later, he called back to report that the person was near the Seven Acres nursing home on North Braeswood, and that it might be Pappas. A few minutes later, the man called again to say he spotted the suspected killer sitting down. When the worker approached, Pappas started walking away, but he left behind his wallet. The worker called out to him, yelling that he was just looking for vandals. He told police Pappas motioned with his arms, then turned to walk away again. The worker picked up the wallet from the ground where Pappas had been sitting, opened it and immediately recognized the name. He phoned police, who arrived shortly after 9:30 a.m. near the 8800 block of Bob White Drive, where an officer spotted Pappas. The first officer on the scene approached Pappas, who was wearing body armor and mentioned suicide. The officer took shelter behind his patrol car after Pappas refused to follow the officer's orders to show his hands. When another officer arrived, Pappas took out a .22-caliber snub-nosed revolver and shot himself in the head, police said. He had a second gun on him at the time of his death, the chief said, but police did not specify what type. Acevedo expressed relief that the confrontation did not have a worse outcome. "You normally don't put on a bulletproof vest when you're planning to commit suicide," he said. "I'm convinced if we had not had that second officer arrive from a different angle, we might have had a shootout." In recent months, Pappas had amassed a detailed file of intelligence on Hausknecht's life, routines, job and home. On one sheet of paper, he listed two dozen names of other medical professionals and Texas Medical Center workers. Acevedo would not call it a "hit list" but said the Texas Medical Center had been informed. "We can't put much into that other than to say it was a very extensive list of names," he said. A Texas Medical Center spokesman declined to comment, but a spokesman for Houston Methodist, where Hausknecht worked, said HPD had shared the list with hospital officials. Friday evening, Hausknecht's wife put out a statement praising law enforcement's efforts to solve her husband's murder. "I echo the sentiments of Houston Police Department Chief Acevedo this morning in thanking the numerous departments, communities, and individuals involved whose teamwork and cooperation lead to the rapid resolution of this case," Dr. Georgia Hsieh said. "Media's role in keeping the public informed is also acknowledged. The family can never adequately thank our friends and neighbors who have loved and supported us. I am most grateful, however, for the many wonderful years our family shared together." The couple had two adult sons. Todd Ackerman and Fernando Alfonso III contributed to this report. keri.blakinger@chron.com samantha.ketterer@chron.com SAN MARCOS The Dumpster bins outside some of the buildings at Iconic Village Apartments were overflowing with trash, furniture and household items, the usual things left behind by departing tenants. A lot of other people are moving out, Josh Perez said, as he and his friend, David Simoneaux, lifted a plasma-screen television they had carried out of his apartment in Building 700 into Simoneauxs truck. Nearby, the charred remnants of Building 500, where five people died in a catastrophic fire July 20, remained fenced off. They let us break our lease. Its essentially because of the fire, and the buildings really old, Perez said. For the next year, the two friends had planned to live at the apartment complex near Texas State University, where Perez is a student. Though Building 700, at the opposite end of the complex from Building 500, was untouched by the fire, Perez and Simoneaux decided to cancel the lease they had just signed anyway. The cause of the fire, which was called in at 4:27 a.m., is still under investigation. The complex, constructed around 1970 and remodeled about eight years ago, did not have fire sprinklers and was not required to under the international fire code adopted by San Marcos, according to city officials. All of the people who died were in second-floor apartments of the 28-unit building. Some tenants were injured when they had to leap out of windows on the first or second floors. One person with burns and a head injury remains hospitalized. Besides Building 500, two adjacent buildings were damaged and remain closed Building 300 at Iconic Village and one at Vintage Pads, a separate complex with the same owner, San Marcos Green Investors LLC. Alexandria Andi Campbell, 21, of Katy, narrowly escaped from Building 500. She had recently renewed her lease for another year, but decided to break that contract. Campbell said the apartment managers gave her a choice of moving to another apartment or leaving. I didnt say so many words to him, but I was like I never want to enter this building again, thank you very much Id like to leave. Campbell noted the property managers arent charging her anything for breaking the lease. She said they also refunded a prorated amount of the rent she had paid for the month of July. It was a moderate-sized check, she said. Some moving out Tuesday had already planned to leave before the fire. Its eerie here now, said Bekah Barnett, as she was loading clothes into her packed SUV. Her lease had just ended, but her roommate and a downstairs neighbor decided to cancel their leases early. Tristan Albers, an incoming junior at Texas State studying sound recording technology, loaded up all of his furniture and recording equipment just before 6 p.m. Tuesday. His lease had ended, but the student who was going to take his spot in the apartment changed his mind. I think the fire had something to do with it, Albers said. Charles Tabak, a senior at Texas State, said the student who was supposed to move in after he left Building 100 also backed out. She had already paid the deposit, already done the paperwork, and ended up breaking the lease after the fire happened, Tabak said. I imagine it leaves a bad taste in some peoples mouths. Bobbi Yanoviak, a student at Texas State who can now see the rubble of Building 300 from her bedroom window in Building 100, had re-signed her lease before the fire. Initially, she planned to stay because moving would have proved too costly. But on Wednesday, after she and her boyfriend found a place in San Marcos that will cost $70 less, she opted to leave. We just didnt feel comfortable staying there, Yanoviak said. Staff Writer Peggy OHare contributed to this story. austin.horn@express-news.net @Littlbighorn Jeff Sessions policy against immigrants wanting into the United States legally because of domestic and/or gang violence is first and foremost about stopping women and kids who need help and sanctuary. I find it impossible to get it into my head that I once identified myself as a republican. Please dont capitalize that word not deserving of my beliefs as a conservative. As a Christian who tries to walk the walk with Jesus and often fails miserably, I am astounded by the hypocrisy of this party that implies that Democrats cannot possibly be Christian. A Republican Party whose policies are devoid of any compassion or sense of justice, who employ harsh rhetoric and commit ethical misdeeds, is a party that begs the question: who in this great state of Texas would want to be be associated with it? Dianne Lavake, Zapata Water waste Did you know that six-plus hours of water running between two homes and down the street during Stage 1 water restrictions is not considered an emergency, according to SAWS. It is up to the person who reports it to say its an emergency. If the caller doesnt say this is an emergency, than SAWS has two days to respond. Really? How much water would be wasted in 48 hours if someone doesnt do something to stop the flow of water. Does this make sense to anyone? John D. Shicora Why the denial? Most Republicans seem to accept science such as medicine and engineering, but when it comes to climate science suddenly sirens wail, red lights flash and climate scientists are vilified and ridiculed. What dark arts do these scientists possess to cause such extreme agitation? Surely climate scientists are as well trained and competent as other scientists, so whats going on? Actually, this hysteria has less to do with science, and far more to do with the massive contributions that most GOP politicians receive from the fossil fuel industry; including retiring Congressional District 21 Rep. Lamar Smith the inconceivable chair of the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology. And sadly, his wannabe successor, Republican Chip Roy, is following in Smiths anti-environmental footsteps. Fortunately however, Joseph Kopser, the Democratic nominee for Congressional District 21, is a strong champion for science, climate and clean energy. Stephen Shackelford, Austin Bad statistic Re: Oil promises, Your Turn, June 10: The writer states that the price of gasoline today has almost doubled in the last year. In a recent edition of the San Antonio Express-News, an article states that the national average for gasoline is presently $2.91 per gallon. So if the price has doubled in the past year according to the letter, then we were supposedly paying only on average nationally $1.405 per gallon a year ago!! The last time we were paying this kind of national average price per gallon of gasoline was in 2001, according to data that can be found at statista.com, which is definitely not a year ago! Edward Esparza Educate yourself I chuckle to myself when I read the letters calling for the resignation of Cynthia Brehm, the recently elected chairman of the Bexar County Republican Party. All anyone had to do was spend a little time educating themselves on the candidates and had they done that Ms. Brehm would not have been elected. That task, educating oneself, simple as it is, seems to elude most Texas voters. If anyone had attended any event where Ms. Brehm spoke or looked into her stance on the issues, they would have realized in short order that she is not qualified to hold any elected office. Period! This, I believe, can be said of many of the candidates in our electorate. Voters simply are uneducated about for whom they are voting. I am a lifelong Republican but I have never voted a straight ticket in the general election in my life and I have never missed voting in an election. I research every candidate, regardless of party, and prepare an analysis, without passion, based on a variety of criteria. My wife and I then discuss and debate my analysis. We may not vote for the most qualified candidate but at least we go to the polls with the knowledge that we have done our homework and we are voting for someone that we believe will do the best job for the office the respective candidate seeks. As long as Texans keep going to the polls uneducated about what the candidate actually stands for, we will continue to elect people like Dan Patrick, Ken Paxton and Sid Miller and Cynthia Brehm. Richard E. Gohn Hollywood hate I just want to say one thing I think the Academy Award winning actor Robert De Niro is the lowest form of human life in the United States. The shameful and disgusting things he continues to say about the POTUS on national television are traitorous. He and his liberal Hollywood friends hate the POTUS more than they love their own country. Lawrence McMahan King Trump? Premature? The movie The Man Who Would Be King was released way back in 1975. Jim Douglas Dozens of South Side businesses had their zoning changed against their will Thursday when the City Council approved a proposal intended to encourage economic development around the missions World Heritage Site. The council and Mayor Ron Nirenberg voted 10-0 in favor of the proposal after nearly two hours of passionate testimony from about 30 South Side residents, roughly half in favor and half opposed. District 10 Councilman Clayton Perry was absent for the vote. The vote ended an arduous six-month process in which the city faced off against irate business owners who said the downzoning violated their property rights. In June, the Zoning Commission recommended denying the proposal after a divided vote, raising concerns of government overreach. The proposal, led by the citys World Heritage Office, is intended to clean up areas around the missions and clear the way for new development, especially retail businesses such as coffee shops, restaurants and bookstores that South Side residents say they need more of. After decades of neglect, the South Side is seeing significant new development with the 2015 World Heritage designation and the completion of the Mission Reach section of the River Walk. Its time the rich culture of the South Side make its stage debut, with storefronts that boast the talents of local artisans and restaurants that can offer tourists a unique taste of Native American cuisine, South Side resident Angela Menchaca said at the meeting. Support us by helping to make it a place where our children want to come back home to grow old in. Most of the zoning changes have wide support, but business owners were up in arms over a part of the proposal that downzoned 36 businesses to correct what many South Siders see as a glut of salvage yards, auto shops and motels on the Roosevelt Avenue and Presa Street corridors. Many of the businesses have operated on the South Side for decades. Dean Perry, who owns the Simons Transmission auto shop on Roosevelt, estimated that the downzoning will take away about a third of the uses he is allowed on his property and will shrink the amount of allowed floor space by 55 percent. The city has told the property owners that their businesses will be grandfathered into the new zoning, meaning that they could stay there indefinitely and could be sold or passed to relatives. But many of the owners dont trust the city. Its been surprising to me that there has been zero interest in crafting some alternative that could be as beneficial to the entire community but impose no harm or loss to existing local businesses, said Virginia Rutledge, who lives near Mission San Jose. This situation feels like a hostile non-negotiation after a bad breakup. Some South Side residents say the proposal is correcting the overly permissive zoning that allowed businesses such as auto shops and motels to accumulate. They say some of those businesses are nuisances to nearby homeowners and hot spots for crime. But the proposals opponents say the downzoning is misguided and wont achieve what the city wants. After decades of neglect, the South Side needs new infrastructure and increased police patrols, not downzoning, to solve its problems and grow, they say. They accuse the city of targeting independently owned businesses while ignoring chains such as Whataburger and 7-Eleven. In making a motion to approve the proposal, District 3 Councilwoman Rebecca Viagran removed a half-dozen properties on Roosevelt from the roster of properties that would be downzoned and lessened the downzoning for a few other businesses. Its not easy, Viagran said of the two-year process the city went through to arrive at its proposal. But our area and our city is worth it. It is worth all of this work. Under the proposal, dozens of businesses will have their zoning reduced from C-2 commercial, which allows for unlimited building size and wide range of uses, to C-1 light commercial. Businesses in a C-1 district are limited to 5,000 square feet and uses that act as a buffer next to residential areas, such as grocery and furniture stores. The city is raising the zoning designations of some properties to encourage greater density for example, several acres of land where developer James Lifshutz plans to build a mixed-use project around the ruins of the Hot Wells resort, which Bexar County would turn into a park. The initiative is part of the citys broader effort to improve the areas near the missions to entice tourists to spend more time and money on the South Side. Along with building the Mission Reach, the city has created overlay districts around the missions to control new development. Its most recent bond package included $13 million to rehabilitate Roosevelt into a landscaped corridor friendly to pedestrians and cyclists, as well as $5 million for Presa. When the Zoning Commission first considered the citys proposal in April, it delayed a vote to give the city and the property owners more time to reach a compromise. Viagran then directed the city to remove some properties on Roosevelt. In June, the commission voted 5-3 in favor of the proposal, with some members criticizing it as government overreach. A zoning change requires six votes for approval, so the commission technically made a recommendation of denial to the council. Richard Webner is a staff writer in San Antonio. Read him on our free site, mySA.com, and on our subscriber site, ExpressNews.com. | rwebner@express-news.net | Twitter: @RWebner NRP Group is talking with the citys affordable housing nonprofit about building a 320-unit apartment complex on San Pedro Creek that would likely receive a full property tax exemption in return for setting aside units for low-income renters. The citys Zoning Commission will decide Tuesday whether to rezone 9.1 acres of land on Cevallos Street, next to the creek and a block away from Interstate 10, from industrial to infill development to make way for the complex. A site plan indicates the complex will feature five buildings and a dog park among several parking lots. We are thrilled to have this opportunity to continue NRP Group's participation in the revitalization of the community along San Pedro Creek and downtown San Antonio as a whole, NRP said in a statement. Its too early in the planning process to provide details apart from the unit count, the Cleveland-based company said. The complex would be one of the largest developments to be built on the creek, which the county and city are rehabilitating into a leisure trail a la the River Walk, at a cost of $175 million, in the hope of rejuvenating west downtown. Local developer Weston Urban is building the Frost Tower on the creek, and has accumulated several more acres around its path. Related: Dozens of South Side businesses have zoning changed against their will The city plans to spend $9.2 million for the redevelopment of the Alameda Theater on the creek to serve as headquarters for Texas Public Radio. Another developers recent purchase of the Soapworks and Towne Center apartment complexes on the creek has raised controversy as rising rents threaten to displace residents. The San Antonio Housing Trust Public Facility Corp., a nonprofit run by five City Council members with a mission to create affordable housing, has received an application from NRP to partner on the complexs construction, according to the nonprofits agenda from May. Its unclear what form a deal between NRP and the nonprofit would take. NRP didnt answer a question about the deal structure. Jim Plummer, an attorney for the city nonprofit who has also represented NRP on other matters, was unavailable for comment on Friday, as was John Kenny, the executive director of the San Antonio Housing Trust, which administers the nonprofit. Under a complicated new deal structure allowed under state law, the city nonprofit typically provides a full property tax exemption to an apartment complex, and the developer agrees to rent half the units to tenants making up to 80 percent of San Antonios median income, or roughly $49,000 a year. Sometimes the developer must limit the rents to a certain percentage of the low-income tenants incomes, but in other cases the developer can charge whatever rents it wants as long as the tenants are in that income range. Each complex built with the nonprofits help will deprive the city of an estimated $15 million in property taxes in the long-term, on average, Plummer told the Express-News earlier this year. NRPs planned complex on San Pedro Creek would also likely deprive millions of tax dollars from San Antonio Independent School District, Bexar County, the San Antonio River Authority, Alamo Colleges and the University Health System. Related: Family lawsuit threatens to ensnare planned condo tower in Tobin Hill The city nonprofit has been making greater use of the deal structure as San Antonio faces a shortage of affordable housing, and many of the deals have been with NRP. The nonprofit partnered with NRP to build The Baldwin at St. Paul Square this year just east of downtown, Upton at Longhorn Quarry near Morgans Wonderland last year and the Cevallos Lofts in Southtown in 2012. At least five other complexes have either been proposed or are under construction in partnerships between the nonprofit and NRP. The developer plans to build other complexes on Broadway, at the East Sides Red Berry Estate and near Lackland Air Force Base. Richard Webner is a staff writer in the San Antonio and Bexar County area. Read him on our free site, mySA.com, and on our subscriber site, ExpressNews.com. | rwebner@express-news.net | Twitter: @RWebner Croatia Airlines' pilots, cabin crew and mechanics intend on staging industrial action starting next Wednesday at 06.00, just over a month after cancelling plans to go on strike. The union representing the carrier's employees, ORCA, informed the management of their intent. The union cancelled last month's work stoppage after it was given guarantees by the country's Prime Minister and his cabinet that their grievances would be addressed. However, none of their conditions have been met. Talks with company's management over a new collective bargaining agreement collapsed in late May. If the planned strike goes ahead, it will be the airline's first in five years. In May 2013, unions staged an eight-day walkout, which ended with the signing of a new collective agreement which expired twenty months ago and is yet to be renewed. Croatia Airlines' pilots, cabin crew and mechanics intend on staging industrial action starting next Wednesday at 06.00, just over a month after cancelling plans to go on strike. The union representing the carrier's employees, ORCA, informed the management of their intent. The union cancelled last month's work stoppage after it was given guarantees by the country's Prime Minister and his cabinet that their grievances would be addressed. However, none of their conditions have been met. Talks with company's management over a new collective bargaining agreement collapsed in late May. If the planned strike goes ahead, it will be the airline's first in five years. In May 2013, unions staged an eight-day walkout, which ended with the signing of a new collective agreement which expired twenty months ago and is yet to be renewed. The Croatian government has previously said the airline would be unable to recover from a strike during the busy summer season, when it handles the bulk of its traffic and records its highest revenue intake. "Those that are planning to go on strike should know it is a very bad move. We are in the middle of the tourist season. don't know how the company would recover from industrial action. It won't", the Croatian Minister for Sea, Transport and Infrastructure, Oleg Butkovic, said last month. Croatia Airlines recorded a 10.7 million euro net loss during the first half of the year, although its passenger numbers grew 5.1% to a record 949.007 travellers. In a statement, ORCA said, "Once again, we want to say that this was a last resort for us. However, after the latest agreement we had with the government brought no change, we are unfortunately forced to take this step". The ORCA union is requesting a wage increase for flight crew between 20% to 30%, as well as an annual salary boost of 4% for pilots over the duration of the new collective agreement. The union has also asked for extended holiday leave and for seasonal cabin crew to be given fixed contracts after years of service for the airline. On the other hand, Croatia Airlines' management has made some concessions but has proposed for the extension of the expired collective agreement until the end of the year so a new one could be negotiated after the peak summer months. It claims that if the unions' demands were to be met, it would set the company back some 4.3 million euros. At the end of June, Croatia Airlines had 1.035 employees on its payroll. Photo courtesy of Alan Grubelic Dubrovnik Airport recorded its sixteenth consecutive month of growth by welcoming 474.643 passengers through its doors during July, an increase of 7.7% on last year. Since the start of 2018, the airport handled 1.377.143 travellers, up 9.8%. Dubrovnik Airport has projected 10% passenger growth for this summer. During July, a new legacy carrier commenced seasonal services to the city, with Air France to maintain two weekly flights between Paris and Dubrovnik until September 1. Month PAX Change (%) JAN 22.280 15.3 FEB 24.074 5.5 MAR 47.684 40.9 APR 151.661 5.4 MAY 291.453 14.8 JUN 365.348 7.9 JUL 474.643 7.7 FAIRFIELD The statewide SAT scores released July 25 show a mixed bag for Fairfield. While Fairfield Ludlowe High Schools average score for language arts and math increased over the previous year, putting it among the highest, the scores for both at Fairfield Warde dipped. Public high school juniors are given the two tests called the Connecticut SAT School Day. Across both schools, 60 percent of juniors reached the target in math, while 82 percent reached the target in language arts. This is just one piece of information that tells the story for any school or district and we are careful to look at the overall lens of academic achievement which is broad, Superintendent of Schools Toni Jones said. The language arts score for Fairfield Ludlowe went from 583 in 2016 to 590 for 2017, while math scores that were 564 in 2016, increased in 2017 to 583. At Fairfield Warde, the 2017 language arts score was 553, compared to 579 in 2016, while math scores dropped from 557 in 2016 to 535 in 2017. Overall, we are very pleased with what we are seeing, Jones said. Certainly, if a score goes down we want to understand why. She said the Board of Education will review the results in the fall, as it does annually. However, no two groups of students are exactly the same and the human element that we are testing people and not machines means that many factors play into testing, the superintendent said. We will analyze the data closely to look at our data and various cohorts of students and compare their performance with what is expected over time. For example, Jones said, there are students at Warde who speak English as a second language. Although the test is given to juniors as an accountability assessment measure, it also provides all high school juniors to take a college readiness exam at no cost and can be used by students applying to college. At Fairfield Warde, 385 students took the test, while 359 Ludlowe students took the test. Statewide view Statewide, average language arts scores remain higher than the grade level score of 480 set by the state when it adopted the SAT as the states standardized test for 11th graders three years ago. For the third year in a row, more than 60 percent of juniors taking the test scored at or above the expected target. Average math scores have yet to reach the grade-level score of 530. In math, 40.3 percent of students met or exceed the target. The score decline cut across every category in reading. In math, the one increase was for students who qualify for free meals, who rose from an average score of 435 to 440. In that, Commissioner of Education Dianna Wentzell took some solace. While results have remained relatively stable over the last three years, we are encouraged by the bright spots in the results of this years SAT School Day including a majority of students mastering college and career readiness in English language arts and an increase in achievement in mathematics for students from low-income backgrounds, Wentzell said in a prepared statement. She said the Connecticut SAT School Day serves as an accountability assessment measure but also provides all high school juniors the opportunity to take a college readiness exam at no cost. The SAT is one of two tests many colleges still look to when admitting students. The results, in addition to measuring student performance, can also be used by students applying to college. Our goal is to make sure all of our students are prepared to succeed in college and their careers, Wentzell said. To that end, we are dedicated to supporting districts efforts to close achievement gaps and raise student performance across the board. As for why overall scores went down, state officials say one reason is that different kids are taking the test each year. It is hard to say why the achievement of this group of 11th-graders was slightly lower than that of the group from 2016-17, said Peter Yazbak, a state Department of Education spokesman. He also characterized the change as narrow. Statewide, 95.2 percent of high school juniors about 37,900 students took the test last spring. For many, testing occurred on a make up day in April, since on March 21, the designated SAT Day, many schools canceled classes because of an expected noreaster. greilly@ctpost.com; 203-842-2585 Wall Street analysts have given iShares Latin America 40 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 Latin America 40 ETF wasn't one of them. MarketBeat thinks these five companies may be even better buys. View MarketBeat's top stock picks here. Farmers in the EU will be able to receive payments in advance and more flexibility as they grapple with the difficulties of extreme droughts. The prolonged heatwave in several European countries is having a drastic impact on arable crops, as well as animal feed which could also have an impact on animal welfare. The reduction in the level of animal feed is having a particular impact on the income of livestock farmers, as this will increase their input costs if there is a shortage of fodder later in the year. In response to this, the European Commission has now confirmed that farmers will be able to receive their direct and rural development payments in advance. They will be granted more flexibility to use land that would normally not be used for production, in order to feed their animals. Commissioner for Agriculture, Phil Hogan, said he is "very concerned" about the prolonged climatic developments. "I have been in contact with a number of ministers from affected countries to discuss the situation and get up-to-date assessments of its impact," Mr Hogan said. "The Commission, as always, is ready to support farmers affected by drought using a number of instruments, including higher advance payments, derogations from greening requirements and state aid. "The Common Agricultural Policy already provides a safety net for farmers who have to deal with unpredictable events. I am encouraging all Member States to look into all possible actions and measures provided for in our legislation." As #drought hit hard on farmers in Africa..there is no exception for farmers in #Germany ???? As #drought affects more non-conventional drought prone areas, drought management and proactive actions are urgently needed. Find out more https://t.co/dI3SIznoz2@EUEnvironment @dwnews pic.twitter.com/ruBgH3XOwX UNCCD (@UNCCD) August 2, 2018 Two specific decisions have been taken to help farmers deal with droughts, including higher advanced payments where farmers will be able to receive up to 70% of their direct payment and 85% of payments under rural development. Derogations from specific greening requirements is also included, namely crop diversification and ecological focus area rules on land lying fallow, to allow such land to be used for the production of animal feed. Consideration is also being given to the adoption of further derogations to greening to allow farmers more flexibility to produce fodder. 'Continuing to struggle' Defra Secretary Michael Gove has also promised support for British farmers hit by the impact of the dry weather, following a drought summit organised by the NFU. Mr Gove said the government would do "whatever it takes" to maintain food supplies. "We will make sure farmers have what they need in order to provide us with high-quality food and ensure their businesses survive," he said. Farming union NFU Cymru has welcomed the EU's measures, and said the Welsh government now needs to introduce a comprehensive package of measures that will help farmers deal with ongoing issues. 'We don't want to allow bureaucracy to get in the way of providing farmers the support they deserve." The messages from Secretary of State @michaelgove after yesterday's drought summit. pic.twitter.com/344KBT8QlM NationalFarmersUnion (@NFUtweets) August 2, 2018 John Davies, NFU Cymru President said: It has now been a week since the emergency summit at the Royal Welsh Show, and I dont feel the statement issued by Welsh Government fully addressed the issues that were highlighted at the summit. "Despite the welcomed rain over the last few days, the challenges on Welsh farms remain as serious today as they were last week, with farmers continuing to struggle with what has been one of the longest periods of dry weather in years, on the back of an extremely challenging winter and spring. A number of other countries across Europe have fully recognised the difficulties their farmers are suffering and have already put a comprehensive package of support measures in place. Mr Davies added: "Now that the Commission has provided clear advice on what can be supported, we hope that Welsh Government will properly assess all options available to them in order to make a tangible difference on farms." NFU Cymru has voiced concerns around proposals to replace the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) in Wales after Brexit. The proposals, contained within the Welsh Governments Brexit and Our Land consultation published last month, sets out how a policy centred around two large flexible schemes of economic resilience and public goods will replace the Basic Payment Scheme which will be phased out by 2025. The NFU Cymru Rural Affairs Board, which met earlier this week, raised questions around how the proposed public goods scheme will operate in practice. Discussions at the board meeting focused on the public goods scheme. One specific area of concern relates to how farmers in Wales will be rewarded in practice. Rural Affairs Board Chair, Hedd Pugh said farmers were "very concerned" that the industry could end up with the "perverse situation" where two trees located on a particular farm - one planted prior to the scheme, another planted as part of the new public goods scheme - which are both performing equally, in terms of environmental outcomes such as carbon sequestration, habitat provision and flood alleviation would be valued differently within the future scheme. The tree planted under the new public goods scheme would attract the public goods payment whilst the other established prior to the scheme may not. Put simply - is the pre-existing tree a public goods tree or not?" Mr Pugh said. Board members were clear that it is vital that the public goods delivered by farmers currently are valued and fairly rewarded within the future public goods approach. 'Significant ambiguity' Mr Pugh that while the "significant ambiguity" is concerning, the union is encouraged by discussions with Cabinet Secretary for Energy, Planning & Rural Affairs, Lesley Griffiths AM at the Royal Welsh Show last week regarding extensions to Glastir contracts. Many farmers have Glastir contracts which will come to an end in December 2019. Some farmers have been participants in agri-environment schemes for approaching 25 years, and with no realistic prospect of the new schemes being fully operational by 1st January 2020, NFU Cymru has been pressing for some time for extensions," Mr Pugh added. "We were pleased to receive assurances that Welsh Government is actively looking at this matter, and we await further detail as a matter of urgency to allow farmers time for focussed business planning. He concluded: NFU Cymru is embarking on a process of engagement with our members across Wales. There can be no doubt that this is the most significant consultation for Welsh farming in a generation. It is vital that farmers understand the proposals, and contribute their views, to ensure the industrys voice is heard loud and clear. Scottish dairy company Graham's has lodged an appeal to overturn the decision by Scottish Ministers last month to refuse planning permission to build a 40m dairy facility and 600 new homes. Last month, Grahams The Family Dairy, in partnership with Mactaggart & Mickel Homes, urged the Scottish government to approve its planning application for Airthrey Green in Stirling. The plan included the creation of a 40m processing, R&D and training dairy facility. In partnership with Mactaggart & Mickel Homes, it will also see the development of 600 houses and a new primary school. But Scottish Ministers refused planning permission to redevelop Airthrey Green. Minister for Housing Kevin Stewart decided that the proposed development did not accord with the new Local Development Plan. There are also environmental concerns that the project will build houses on an area of greenbelt land, amid concerns about flooding and other issues if the building was to go ahead. But Graham's has now lodged an appeal to the Court of Session to overturn the decision. The appeal was submitted on the grounds that the decision was not within the powers of the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997, in that the decision taken by Ministers was based on "irrelevant information" being taken into account. It argues that Scottish Ministers erred in taking account of irrelevant considerations and/or leaving out of account relevant considerations by failing to take into account the material change in circumstances since the Reporters submission of his Report on 1 June 2017. A statement by Graham's said: "In particular, Scottish Ministers relied, in full, on the Reporters recommendation that to approve the appeal would prejudice the outcome of the Local Development Plan examination. However, this recommendation was made in June 2017 and by June 2018, the LDP Examination had concluded. "As such, the issue of prematurity no longer existed. Furthermore, Scottish Ministers failed to give proper consideration to the fact that the Local Development Plan process has resulted in a Plan which continues the housing shortfall in Stirling. This dire situation is a major contributor to unsustainable house price increases in Stirling, a situation which would have been resolved had the appeal been allowed." The appeal also highlights that Ministers failed to provide proper, adequate and intelligible reasons for their decision. A sheep who had become stuck in a bog, with and her legs and body completed submerged by the mud, has been rescued. The ewe - aged around four years - was found by the RSPCA in a bog hole in Pantmawr, Llangurig, Llanidloes, Powys. The animal welfare charity believes the sheep could've been there for a day or two. RSPCA inspector Phil Lewis said: This poor sheep was completed covered by the bog and was unable to move. She must have fallen down - she may have been looking for water. Luckily, Inspector Lewis along with caller were able to pull the sheep out of the bog safely. The sheep was completed covered by the bog and was unable to move He said: We had to lie down and with our arms under the bog we managed to release the suction of the mud and scoop the sheep out above the bog hole. It was quite a challenge with a lot of pushing a pulling and it did take a couple of hours and I would really like to thank the caller for helping me. The sheep was understandably exhausted as she would have been trying to free itself for such a long time. But despite her ordeal, she was uninjured and just needed some food and water, he added. The local farmer was notified about the sheep, who was able to collect her, although Inspector Lewis said there are a number of wild sheep in the area. critic's rating: 3.5/5 Death unites us all. It's when we come face to face with the reality of the final rest that we realise the true value of life. And it's only when someone close to us passes away that we realise that the differences, the angst, the separation wasn't worth it. Unlike life, death doesn't offer a second chance, however. We can only learn from the tragedy and move on, perhaps to take more chances, perhaps to let go of our inhibitions and lead a healthier, fuller life. Avinash (Dulquer Salmaan), loses his father in a road accident up North. Tanya (Mithila Palkar) loses her grandmother at the same accident but the coffins get swapped. Avinash travels from Bangalore to Kochi in the van of his friend Shaukat (Irrfan Khan) and picks up Tanya on the way from her hostel at her mother's insistence. They keep getting into one misadventure after another and somehow get out of them unscathed. The film ends with them finding closure from each other and from their own selves as well. While Karwaan is a laugh out loud comedy, it also carries an emotional undercurrent. Dulquer's troubled relationship with his father is at the heart of that. Little instances makes him remember his father, and ultimately makes him realise that he wasn't as bad a parent as Dulquer thought he was. The Malayalam star, who happens to be superstar Mammootty's son, makes an assured entry into Hindi films. The way he expresses the emotional angst through minute gestures speaks of his pedigree. And he's spot on with his reactions to Irrfan Khan, who has been given the onus of providing the broad comedy in the film. Irrfan had played an unwilling driver before in Piku but the difference is that along with carrying eccentric passengers, he's also carting a dead body around this time. He does get the best lines and his deadpan delivery fetches the most laughs. Shown to be a guy who cannot digest the rising hemlines and promiscuity of the youngsters, he's both fascinated and repulsed by Mithila Palkar's character, who plays a true-blue bohemian teenager more interested in sex and booze than anything else and thinks she's got life all sorted out. Palkar is a natural in front of the camera and is surely someone to watch out for in future. This comedy is also a roadtrip and Avinash Aruns cinematography gives the film a picture postcard quality. Were used to seeing the North in Hindi films and the lush beauty of South India offers a pleasant contrast to that and reminds us how beautiful our country really is in totality. The one-line plot point isn't without hiccups. For instance, Mithila's mother has no qualms asking a complete stranger to check on her daughter and drop her back home. Mithila herself plonks herself on the bed of a man she hardly knows because she couldn't sleep. She and Dulquer do share a nascent chemistry but the director thankfully keeps it real and doesn't turn it into something from a typical Hindi film. Watch the film for the fine acting by the entire ensemble cast. This comedy will surely tickle your funny bone and would make you reflect on life as well... Trailer : Karwaan Death unites us all. It's when we come face to face with the reality of the final rest that we realise the true value of life. And it's only when someone close to us passes away that we realise that the differences, the angst, the separation wasn't worth it. Unlike life, death doesn't offer a second chance, however. We can only learn from the tragedy and move on, perhaps to take more chances, perhaps to let go of our inhibitions and lead a healthier, fuller life.Avinash (Dulquer Salmaan), loses his father in a road accident up North. Tanya (Mithila Palkar) loses her grandmother at the same accident but the coffins get swapped. Avinash travels from Bangalore to Kochi in the van of his friend Shaukat (Irrfan Khan) and picks up Tanya on the way from her hostel at her mother's insistence. They keep getting into one misadventure after another and somehow get out of them unscathed. The film ends with them finding closure from each other and from their own selves as well.While Karwaan is a laugh out loud comedy, it also carries an emotional undercurrent. Dulquer's troubled relationship with his father is at the heart of that. Little instances makes him remember his father, and ultimately makes him realise that he wasn't as bad a parent as Dulquer thought he was. The Malayalam star, who happens to be superstar Mammootty's son, makes an assured entry into Hindi films. The way he expresses the emotional angst through minute gestures speaks of his pedigree. And he's spot on with his reactions to Irrfan Khan, who has been given the onus of providing the broad comedy in the film. Irrfan had played an unwilling driver before in Piku but the difference is that along with carrying eccentric passengers, he's also carting a dead body around this time. He does get the best lines and his deadpan delivery fetches the most laughs. Shown to be a guy who cannot digest the rising hemlines and promiscuity of the youngsters, he's both fascinated and repulsed by Mithila Palkar's character, who plays a true-blue bohemian teenager more interested in sex and booze than anything else and thinks she's got life all sorted out. Palkar is a natural in front of the camera and is surely someone to watch out for in future.This comedy is also a roadtrip and Avinash Aruns cinematography gives the film a picture postcard quality. Were used to seeing the North in Hindi films and the lush beauty of South India offers a pleasant contrast to that and reminds us how beautiful our country really is in totality. The one-line plot point isn't without hiccups. For instance, Mithila's mother has no qualms asking a complete stranger to check on her daughter and drop her back home. Mithila herself plonks herself on the bed of a man she hardly knows because she couldn't sleep. She and Dulquer do share a nascent chemistry but the director thankfully keeps it real and doesn't turn it into something from a typical Hindi film.Watch the film for the fine acting by the entire ensemble cast. This comedy will surely tickle your funny bone and would make you reflect on life as well... Renuka Vyavahare, August 1, 2018, 4:25 PM IST critic's rating: 3.5/5 Karwaan Story: Avinash (Dulquer), a dejected soul stuck in a dead-end job shares a strange relationship with his father. He holds him responsible for crushing his dreams. However, he is left pondering upon this longstanding hatred when he hears of his fathers untimely demise. Karwaan Review: The news of his fathers sudden death takes Avinash and his friend Shaukat (Irrfan) from Bengaluru to Kochi, a journey that gives them time to introspect on their lives. Sometimes getting lost is the best way to find yourself. This lies at the heart of Karwaan. Not all journeys wind up the way youd imagined, and yet, they put things into perspective, be it life or relationships. The film feels a lot like that. It starts off as an incoherent, bumpy ride that takes multiple unwanted detours, before finding its true calling. Much like its protagonist Avinash (Dulquer Salmaan aka DQ), the story wanders aimlessly in quest of its mojo amidst a tragedy. Eventually, unravelling a journey of self discovery. Shot across the most beautiful places in South India, Karwaan takes its time to connect the dots and disclose the dilemmas that haunt its three distinct characters Avinash (Dilquer), Shaukat (Irrfan) and Tanya (Mithila). You dont instantly warm up to them, nor they to each other, as the intimate human interaction and confrontation you expect in the story comes much later. While most road films stand out for its heart to heart conversations, Karwan tries a bit too hard to establish itself as a dark comedy and therein lies the problem. It seems burdened by its desire to be unconventional, detached and funny. It even succeeds in dodging cliches but the situations seem a tad implausible. What then makes this strange journey worth taking are the brilliant performances by Dulquer and Irrfan. You totally get the hype around DQ, the Malayalam heartthrob who makes his debut in Hindi cinema here. The actors effortless screen presence and earnest, understated act is a welcome change and he seamlessly nails the language (Hindi). Lets hope Bollywood taps into his talent. Despite getting a half-baked character, Irrfan, one of the finest actors in cinema, breathes life into the film. He gives its meandering narrative a direction, with his impeccable performance and his trademark piercing gaze. A heartbreaking scene in the latter half where he opens up on his father, proves for the umpteenth time what a great actor he is. His hilarious pearls of wisdom and unsolicited advice at the most inopportune time are, some of the best moments of the film. Mithila Palkar is pleasant, but fails to leave her mark. Kriti Kharbanda is likeable in her special appearance. Karwaan might not be the roller coaster ride you expected it to be, but it leaves you with a warm fuzzy feeling in the heart that says alls well that ends well. Renuka Vyavahare, August 2, 2018, 9:37 PM IST critic's rating: 3.5/5 (), - : () - - , () , - - There's no denying the fact that Bigg Boss Tamil Season 2 is the hottest and most controversial reality show on TV today. Just like the highly successful first season, it features several interesting contestants and a host of wild twists. However, the current season is a lot raunchier than its predecessor. During one of the earlier episodes, we even saw a lip-lock between Aishwarya Dutta and Janani. Similarly, in one of the recent episodes, we heard Thadi Balaji use some 'unparliamentary' language much to the horror of the other contestants. {document1} Now, here is some good news for those who are fond of Bigg Boss Tamil Season 2. The promo for the Aug 3, 2018 episode of the show has been released and it is quite good. In it, the contestants can be seen spending time with actor Arya and his Ghajinikanth team. Judging by the promo, the contestants enjoyed this visit to the fullest and made the special feel at home. This one seems to be quite a delightful watch indeed! Interestingly, the last few episodes of Bigg Boss Tamil Season 2 have been synonymous with controversy. A couple of days ago, Aishwarya Dutta dumped trash on Thadi Balaji when he abused her. On August 1, 2018, the Bengali lady fought with Sendrayan. During the next episode, Ponnambalam and Sendrayan threw the 'tantrum queen' into a pool and taught her a lesson. As such, tonight might go a long way in easing the tension and this might help things return to normal. On a related note, Ghajinikanth is a romantic-comedy and features Arya in a quirky new avatar. Directed by P Jayakumar, it also has Sayyeshaa in the lead. Its supporting cast features names such as Mukul Dev and Sathish. Read: Bigg Boss Tamil Season 2 Aug 1 Preview: Aishwarya-Sendrayan Have An Argument, Swear At Each Other Veteran actor Kamal Haasan is beyond any doubt the biggest name in the Tamil film industry today. He enjoys an impressive fan following thanks to his gripping screen presence and charming personality. Over the years, the 'Ulaga Nayagan' has starred in several revolutionary films and this has established him as an artiste par excellence. At present, Kamal is gearing up for the release of Vishwaroopam 2. And, as expected, he is leaving no stone unturned to promote the film. The veteran film-maker and actor recently promoted the film on Bigg Boss Telugu Season 2. When a Legend like @ikamalhaasan walks into the Bigg Boss House..Celebration always multiplies #Vishwaroopam2 #BiggBossTelugu2 Today at 9:30 PM on @StarMaa pic.twitter.com/x1Ipwc7f3D STAR MAA (@StarMaa) August 3, 2018 The promo for the episode has been released and it is quite good. In it, Kamal can be seen entering the Bigg Boss house and meeting the contestants. Needless to say, the participants go into a state of frenzy the second he enters the house. Judging by the promo, this episode is going to be an absolute must watch. In case you did not know, Bigg Boss Telugu Season 2 kicked off in June amidst much fanfare. Despite starting on a good note, it has not been able to make much of an impact mainly because of the mixed response to Nani's hosting. Kamal's visit to the house might revive the show's fortunes and give Nani's fans a reason to rejoice. On a related note, Vishwaroopam 2 is a spy-thriller and has been directed by Kamal himself. In it, he will be seen alongside Andrea Jeremiah and actress Pooja Kumar. The film's supporting cast features names such as Rahul Bose and Shekhar Kapur. Some time ago, Kamal had said that all the characters who were a part of Vishwaroopam are going to be a part of Vishwaroopam 2 as well. Vishwaroopam 2 is Kamal's first film in three years and it's slated to hit the screens on August 10, 2018. In a shocking and unfortunate development, noted film-maker C Sivakumar was found dead at his Chennai flat on Thursday(August 2, 2018). According to the latest police reports, he had passed away a few days ago and the body was found in a decomposed state. When the Police broke in to his flat, the TV was switched at a low volume. Apparently, Sivakumar had not left his flat on Tuesday(July 31, 2018) and Wednesday(August 1, 2018). His friends alerted the Police shortly after they failed to contact him. The Police are investigating Sivakumar's death and one is likely to get some clarity on the matter in the days to come. At present, it is not clear if he committed suicide or not. The Police are likely to hand over the body to the family members only after the investigation concludes. As such, C Sivakumar's last rites will be performed only after the Police conclude the investigation. C Sivakumar worked as an assistant to K Bhagyaraj during his initial years. Thereafter, he started directing his own films and soon became an integral of Kollywood. He is best-known for directing the Arjun Sarja starrer Ayudha Poojai and Ajith Kumar's Rettai Jadai Vayasu. We offer our condolences to his family members and hope that they stay strong during this difficult time. Discovered By Jaspal Bhatti & Acted In India's First Silent Comedy Show #2 During his college days, he auditioned for the late satirist and comedian Jaspal Bhatti (known for his show, Flop Show) and got an opportunity to work with him. #3 He acted in India's first silent comedy show, Gutur Gu (SAB TV) in the initial 26 episodes. Voice Behind RJ Sud On Radio Mirchi #4 Sunil hosted a popular series, Hansi Ke Phuware on Radio Mirchi for years, where he played the character of Sudharshan aka Sud. He was honoured with Radio and Television Advertising Practitioners Association of India Award for his outstanding voice-over performance. Sunil Tries His Jokes On Wife Before Anyone Else # 5 Sunil is married to Arti and has a son named Mohan. He was quoted by a leading daily as saying, "My wife Aarti, who is an interior designer, has accompanied me to a few social gatherings in the past too. In fact, the jokes that I crack in public,I first try on her. If she laughs out loud on them,I go ahead with them, else, I drop them from my list." Gutti Was Inspired From His College Classmate! #6 His character of Gutti was inspired from his college classmate. He had said that there were very few girls as compared to boys, and they had a character very much similar to Gutti! His favourite actor is Shahrukh Khan, whom he has copied many a times. He Walked The Ramp As Gutti For Mandira Bedi! #7 Like a true rockstar, the actor wore Mandira Bedi's collection (saree) and walked the ramp in his Gutti avatar. He had said that Gutti got more applause than the biggest of supermodels! Sunil Was The Ambassador Of Filmy Channel #8 The actor made TV debut with Chala Lallan Hero Banne on Filmy Channel. He hosted shows like Kaun Banega Champu and Kya Aap Paanchvi Fail Champu Hain from the same channel. He was the ambassador of the same channel for some time. Sunils Films & Song #9 The actor made an appearance in films like Pyar To Hona Hi Tha, The Legend of Bhagat Singh, Baaghi and others. He has also featured in a song Mere Husband Mujhko Piyar Nahin Karte' as Rinku Bhabhi, which is quite popular. Sunil Was Approached For Bigg Boss A Couple Of Times! #10 The actor was approached for Bigg Boss a couple of times, but the actor refused the offer. He says that he cannot be in the Bigg Boss house, as he will be deprived of acting for three months and he can't fight for petty issues! The dashing Rana Daggubati is beyond any doubt one of the most charismatic stars in the Telugu film industry today. The actor enjoys a strong fan following thanks to his raw looks, charismatic personality and bindass nature. During his career, he has starred in quite a few popular films and this has helped him become an integral part of the Telugu film industry. Now, here is some great news for all you Rana Daggubati fans out there. In an exciting development, the Baahubali actor has officially joined the cast of the NTR biopic and will apparently be playing the current Andhra Pradesh CM Chandrababu Naidu in the eagerly-awaited film. Confirming that he is a part of the NTR biopic, Rana Daggubati indicated that he agreed to be a part of the film, as it tells the story of a great man. The NTR biopic will be directed by Krish and features Telugu actor Balakrishna in the titular role. Bollywood actress Vidya Balan will be playing the female lead in the film. The NTR biopic is the first Tollywood film of her career. Interestingly, the film was originally supposed to be directed by Nene Raju Nene Mantri director Teja. However, he opted out much to the disappointment of his fans. Thereafter, Krish was roped in to wield the microphone. The film-maker is best known for directing the critically-acclaimed Kanche and the Bollywood film Gabbar Is Back. The general feeling is that his involvement might add a new dimension to the NTR biopic. On a related note, this is a busy time for Rana Daggubati. Besides the NTR biopic, he also has 1945 and Haathi Mere Saathi in his kitty. 1945 is a period film and is being shot simultaneously in Tami and Telugu. In it, he will be seen opposite actress Regina Cassandra. On the other hand, Haathi Mere Saathi's a Hindi-Telugu bilingual and is touted to be a tribute to the yesteryear Bollywood classic of the same name. Amsterdam, 3 August 2018 - Heineken N.V. ('HEINEKEN') (EURONEXT: HEIA; OTCQX: HEINY) today announced that it has signed non-binding agreements with China Resources Enterprise, Limited ('CRE') and China Resources Beer (Holdings) Co. Ltd. ('CR Beer') to create a long-term strategic partnership for Mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau (together 'China'). In the context of this partnership, HEINEKEN will become CRE's 40% minority partner in holding company CRH (Beer) Limited ('CBL'), which controls CR Beer, the undisputed market leader in the world's largest beer market, China. As part of the strategic partnership, HEINEKEN China's current operations will be combined with CR Beer's operations and HEINEKEN will license the Heineken brand in China to CR Beer on a long-term basis. Together, HEINEKEN, CRE and CR Beer are perfectly positioned to win in the rapidly growing premium beer segment in China. Strategic rationale China's beer market, the world's largest beer market by volume, is now the second largest premium beer market globally and is forecast to be the biggest contributor to premium volume growth in the next five years, driven by its rapidly growing middle class. Profitability of the Chinese beer market is expected to improve significantly, driven by premiumisation, demand for international beer brands and cost optimisation. The combination of HEINEKEN and CR Beer in China is highly complementary. CR Beer has a best-in-class route to market (RTM) network, a wide brewery footprint and a deep understanding of the Chinese market. HEINEKEN has proven premium brand building capabilities and a world-class international brand portfolio, led by the iconic Heineken brand for which it has built strong equity over the years in China. HEINEKEN, CRE and CR Beer are convinced that their strategic partnership will drive growth for their businesses. The partnership will enable CRE to advance its premiumisation strategy and it will help HEINEKEN to significantly expand availability of the Heineken brand in China to fully leverage the brand's potential. Other brands Under the strategic partnership agreement, HEINEKEN will be CRE's exclusive partner for international premium lager beers in China. HEINEKEN and CR Beer will investigate which other premium brands from HEINEKEN's portfolio can be licensed to CR Beer in China. HEINEKEN and CRE will also investigate if the Dutch brewer's global presence and marketing capabilities can be leveraged to support and accelerate the international growth of CR Beer's Snow brand and its other Chinese brands to become the Chinese beers of choice. Chairmen statements Commenting on the strategic partnership, HEINEKEN Chairman of the Executive Board & CEO Jean-Francois van Boxmeer said: "We very much look forward to joining forces with CRE and CR Beer, the undisputed market leader in China. We believe that our strong Heineken brand and marketing capabilities, combined with CR Beer's deep understanding of the local market, its scale and best-in-class distribution network will create a winning combination in the growing premium beer segment in China. We look forward to working together with CRE's leadership in our newly formed Strategic Advisory Council, and supporting CR Beer in its ambition to internationalize." Chen Lang, Chairman of CRE, said: "We are very excited about this partnership and see immense potential in the combined strengths of CR Beer and HEINEKEN. With HEINEKEN's long heritage and world-class iconic brand portfolio, along with our leading presence and deep understanding of China, we believe we can win together in this new era of the Chinese beer market, in which the premium segment will become increasingly important. In HEINEKEN we have found the perfect partner to achieve our ambitions in China and - as an international partner - to support us in growing our business outside China." Terms of the non-binding agreements The geographical coverage of the strategic partnership with CRE and CR Beer is China. Under the non-binding agreements, HEINEKEN and CRE or CR Beer (as applicable) will enter into the following transactions to be completed simultaneously: 1) HEINEKEN will acquire a shareholding of 40% in CBL and CRE will own the other 60% in CBL. The Partnership will be governed by a shareholders agreement. CBL holds a controlling interest of 51.67% in CR Beer, a company listed on the Main Board of The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited, operating the beer business in China. Post completion of the transaction, HEINEKEN will have an effective 20.67% economic interest in CR Beer (see appendix for shareholder structure overview) and will get representation on the board of CBL and nomination rights to the board of CR Beer. HEINEKEN will invest a total amount of HK$24.3 billion in CBL, which translates into an implied purchase price of HK$36.31 per share in CR Beer. 2) CRE will acquire 5.2 million Heineken N.V. shares (equivalent to a 0.9% shareholding in Heineken N.V.) which are currently held in treasury for a total consideration of 464 million or 88.66 per share. 3) HEINEKEN will contribute its operating entities in China, including three breweries, into CR Beer for a total consideration of HK$2.4 billion, through a share sale transaction. Combined, these transactions will result in a net investment of 1,948 million (at current exchange rates) by HEINEKEN. 4) HEINEKEN and CR Beer will enter into a Trademark License Agreement (TMLA) for the Heineken brand in China. HEINEKEN and CR Beer will also sign a Framework Agreement to allow CR Beer to leverage HEINEKEN's global distribution channels to support and accelerate the international growth of CR Beer's Snow brand and its other Chinese brands, as well as to govern the use of other premium brands owned by HEINEKEN which may be licensed to CR Beer in China. Upon completion HEINEKEN's pro-forma net debt/EBITDA (beia) ratio is expected to slightly exceed the target of 2.5x. HEINEKEN remains committed to return to the long-term target of below 2.5x. The transaction will be immediately accretive to margins and accretive to EPS in the near term. Next steps The Strategic Partnership between HEINEKEN, CRE and CR Beer and the Company Transactions are subject to, among others, due diligence and further negotiations and entering into definitive, binding contractual agreement(s). As at the date of this announcement, the terms and conditions of the definite agreement(s) have yet to be agreed or entered into. As such, these transactions may or may not proceed. If parties reach agreement on definite agreement(s), completion will be subject to customary and applicable (including regulatory) approvals in Mainland China and Hong Kong. Further announcements will be made as and when appropriate. Press enquiries John-Paul Schuirink E-mail: pressoffice@heineken.com Tel: +31-20-5239-355 Michael Fuchs E-mail: pressoffice@heineken.com Tel: +31-20-5239-355 Investor and analyst enquiries Federico Castillo Martinez E-mail: investors@heineken.com (mailto:investors@heineken.com) Tel: +31-20-5239-590 Chris MacDonald / Aris Hernandez E-mail: investors@heineken.com (mailto:investors@heineken.com) Tel: +31-20-5239-590 Conference call details HEINEKEN will host an analyst and investor call in relation to the announcement today at 11:00 am CET/ 10:00 am BST/ 5:00 pm HKT. The call will be audio cast live via the company's website: www.theheinekencompany.com/investors/webcasts. An audio replay service will also be made available after the conference call at the above web address. Analysts and investors can dial-in using the following telephone numbers: Netherlands Local line: +31(0) 20 794 8426 National free phone: 0800 022 9132 United Kingdom Local line: +44 (0) 20 3003 2666 National free phone: 0808 109 0700 United States of America Local line: +1 646 843 4608 National free phone: 1 866 966 5335 Hong Kong Local line: +852 5808 3370 National free phone: 800 900 476 Participation/ confirmation code for all locations: Heineken Editorial information About HEINEKEN HEINEKEN is the world's most international brewer. It is the leading developer and marketer of premium beer and cider brands. Led by the Heineken brand, the Group has a portfolio of more than 300 international, regional, local and speciality beers and ciders. We are committed to innovation, long-term brand investment, disciplined sales execution and focused cost management. Through "Brewing a Better World", sustainability is embedded in the business and delivers value for all stakeholders. HEINEKEN has a well-balanced geographic footprint with leadership positions in both developed and developing markets. We employ over 80,000 employees and operate breweries, malteries, cider plants and other production facilities in more than 70 countries. Heineken N.V. and Heineken Holding N.V. shares trade on the Euronext in Amsterdam. Prices for the ordinary shares may be accessed on Bloomberg under the symbols HEIA NA and HEIO NA and on Reuters under HEIN.AS and HEIO.AS. HEINEKEN has two sponsored level 1 American Depositary Receipt (ADR) programmes: Heineken N.V. (OTCQX: HEINY) and Heineken Holding N.V. (OTCQX: HKHHY). Most recent information is available on HEINEKEN's website: www.theHEINEKENcompany.com and follow us on Twitter via @HEINEKENCorp. About China Resources Enterprise, Limited Founded in 1992, China Resources Enterprise, Limited is the Hong Kong flagship subsidiary of China Resources (Holdings) Company Limited in the comprehensive consumer goods and retail services businesses. The Company focuses on three businesses: beer, food and beverage. For the beer division, China Resources Beer (Holdings) Company Limited is listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange under the stock code 291.HK. It is the parent company of China Resources Snow Breweries Limited, the largest beer manufacturer, seller and distributor in China. Since 2008, "Snow" has become the world's best-selling single beer brand by volume. Market Abuse Regulation This press release may contain inside information within the meaning of Article 7(1) of the EU Market Abuse Regulation. Click here for full media release. (http://hugin.info/130667/R/2209046/859518.pdf) This announcement is distributed by Nasdaq Corporate Solutions on behalf of Nasdaq Corporate Solutions clients. The issuer of this announcement warrants that they are solely responsible for the content, accuracy and originality of the information contained therein. Source: HEINEKEN NV via Globenewswire MCH Group AG / Media Release | MCH Group | CEO Rene Kamm resigns . Processed and transmitted by Nasdaq Corporate Solutions. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. MCH Group: CEO Rene Kamm resigns The Supervisory Board of MCH Group and CEO Rene Kamm have reached the joint and mutual conclusion that the time has come for a change in the operational leadership of MCH Group in view of the fundamental transformation phase in business operations. Rene Kamm will resign from his position as CEO of MCH Group. He will ensure a proper transfer of operations and will be at the company's disposal over the coming months to provide advice should the need arise. The Ulrich Vischer, Chairman of the Board of Directors, will adopt responsibility for the Group's operational leadership in close cooperation with the members of the Executive Board during the transition period until the appointment of a successor to Rene Kamm. During his nearly 20 years with MCH Group, Rene Kamm played a crucial role in developing the Basel trade fair and positioned the company on new foundations. We owe a great deal to Rene Kamm, says Chairman Ulrich Vischer. Not only has he decisively shaped world-renowned exhibitions such as Art Basel and Baselworld, he also recognised early on the changes that digitalisation and multi-channel concepts bring with them and, in doing so, advanced the diversification and internationalisation of MCH Group. Rene Kamm began his career in 1999 as the director of Baselworld, which he turned into the most important international trade fair in the watch and jewellery segment. He transformed the purely national trade fair company into an international group, placed the focus on collectors' exhibitions and added Live Marketing Solutions and Event Services, such as those offered by the MC2 company acquired just over a year ago in den USA, to the corporate offering. I have experienced close to 20 exciting years with Basel Exhibition, Swiss Exhibition and MCH Group, says Rene Kamm: I had the opportunity to get to know every aspect of this segment and, as CEO from 2003 on, drive the group's development from a nationally aligned trade fair company to an internationally aligned Live Marketing Group. Questions concerning the development of MCH Group's financial results Last Sunday, Swatch Group announced via Sunday's media publications its decision not to participate in the Baselworld 2019, a decision MCH Group deeply regrets. Although it does not generally question the continuation of the Baselworld trade fair, the withdrawal of this important exhibitor has led to questions concerning the consequences for MCH Group's results. The responsible for Baselworld are engaged in intensive exchange with major segment representatives and have created a solid basis for a successful Baselworld 2019 in the form of conceptional innovations. The decision by Swatch Group not to participate in Baselworld 2019 will have an effect on the results for 2019 that are as yet inestimable. The question here is whether a additional value adjustment on the exhibition premises in Basel will be necessary. As stated in a communication from February 2018, this depends on the future utilisation of the exhibition premises' capacity and the success of the events it hosts. The corresponding estimation is subject to continuous review. MCH Group is currently engaged in a transformation process during which it is adapting its alignment to future requirements of the classic trade fair and events business. It will continue to pursue the corporate strategy of expanding its range of services, strengthening its international presence and increasing digitisation as a matter of principle. MCH is confident that strategy implementation will be successful. The intention is to bring the strategic initiatives launched in recent years to successful completion to compensate for the market-driven downturns in the classic trade fair and event business. MCH Group will publish information about the half-year results for 2018 on 4 September 2018 and will then be able to provide further information with regard to the expected development of results. Correction Unfortunately, the media release published by MCH Group on 30 July concerning developments at Baselworld contained an error. The meeting of 4 July 2018 took place not with the Comite Consultatif, as was mentioned in the release, but rather with the extended Comite Mondial. According to the exhibitors regulations, members of the Comite Consultatif are by definition also members of the Comite Mondial. Media release online (https://www.mch-group.com/en-US/news/medienmitteilungen.aspx) Note for the media: Friday, 3 August 2018, 09.00 CET, Messe Basel, Messeturm, 2nd floor, conference room Paris. Ulrich Vischer, Rene Kamm and Beat Zwahlen will provide answers and information to the media during the press conference. Contact for the media: MCH Group AG Corporate Communications Christian Jecker +41 58 206 22 52 christian.jecker@mch-group.com (mailto:christian.jecker@mch-group.com) MCH Group MCH Group is an internationally leading Live Marketing enterprise with a comprehensive network of services covering the entire exhibition and event market. It is based in Basel/Switzerland and holds the trade fairs in Basel, Lausanne and Zurich in its portfolio. It organises and hosts around 90 trade fairs. Its companies operating in the "Live Marketing Solutions" segment - MCH Global, Reflection Marketing, Rufener, Expomobilia, MC2 und Winkler Livecom - are active around the world and offer customised marketing solutions in the fields of Strategy and Conception, Marketing Consulting, Event Management, Exhibition and Event Construction and Multimedia Solutions. www.mch-group.com (http://www.mch-group.com/) BLACKWELL, England, Aug. 3, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- LineView Solutions, an industry leader in real-time monitoring solutions for manufacturing operations, announced today their relocation to the i3 Group's new state-of-the-art 9,300 sq.ft. facility, aptly named "Innovation Campus." Innovation Campus will house the entire i3 Group, which includes OptimumFX, operational excellence practitioners, and Bytronic Automation - a leading manufacturing systems integration specialist. The combined service offering of the i3 Group delivers complete manufacturing improvement. "The expansion reflects a strong increase in customer demand for our manufacturing improvement solutions but also consolidates our Group's development and operational activities into a unified facility that offers cutting-edge technology. It really aligns with our company's vision of integrating innovation to build efficiencies," said Ian Rowledge, Co-Founder and CEO of LineView Solutions. LineView and the i3 Group have steadily increased their engineering, development and office staff with fifteen new job positions added over the past twelve months and another ten expected in the upcoming year. In addition to building capacity, the Innovation Campus offers a world-class workspace for the team. Having undergone a complete bespoke retrofit, Innovation Campus is a Victorian-era building that has been expanded to over 9,300 square feet and renovated under the direction of the Shaylor Group. In addition to numerous types of workspaces, quiet space, kitchen and gym, it has been modernized and wired with over twenty miles of cable. The exterior design has stayed sympathetic to the past of the building. The BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method) assessment, which focuses on sustainable value across a range of categories, awarded the project a "Very Good" rating. The technology setup of the new Innovation Campus led by Coodart included details such as touch screens, video conferencing systems, and audio equipment. Workplace Group carried out the interior design while Haley Marketing was responsible for interior branding. Rowledge explains the evolution of the building, "Our Vision 2025 prescribed offices that are an inspiring place to work with optimal functionality and a fresh open workplace that fosters original thinking. We followed through on our commitment with the purchase and renovation of this wonderful location. This is a proud accomplishment, which not only includes the building but the entire culture of our company." LineView Co-Founder and CTO, John Dunlop, added, "We have always been proud of our accomplishments, and there have been many since we started. We have new products in the making and new client installations worldwide, but this new facility, with state-of-the-art conference facilities, recreation areas and so much more, is now topping the list." The move to the new location at 33 Greenhill, Blackwell, will be completed on Monday, 6 August. Related Links LineView Website Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/726393/LineView_Solutions_Logo.jpg LONDON, August 3, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Tech talent combined with solid managerial experience is the recipe for success of Non-Zero In a rapidly evolving retail brokerage industry, Non-Zero (http://www.non-zero.io) is one of the companies with true potential to disrupt a long-standing business model. Market making brokers have been dominating the market for years but recent regulatory changes are opening the door for a new approach. Non-Zero has built from the ground up a new business model that enables brokers to share some of their balance sheet gains with losing clients, thereby contributing to a new level of transparency in the brokerage industry. (Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/717967/Non_Zero_Logo.jpg ) To achieve its goal, the company has attracted top industry talent in a very competitive global landscape. The team, which the founders of the company have assembled, includes top management at the helm of Non-Zero and talented engineers at the core of the platform. The company is led by Hadi Kabalan, as CEO. He has multiple years of experience in the tech and financial industries, holding the title of Executive Director at none other but Goldman Sachs. After several years as an investor, he became a Managing Director of one of the early blockchain companies, Otonomos, where he was responsible for the EMEA business of the firm. Hadi is a CFA charterholder and holds a BSc(Hons) in Banking and International Finance from Cass Business School and a certificate in Fintech Future Commerce from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Commenting on the prospects for the highly innovative firm, Hadi Kabalan shared: "The advent of Internet was fantastic for financial services, as it allowed retail investors access to markets they previously did not have access to, and anytime-anywhere trading functionality. Open Internet protocols have the potential to extend and magnify those positives going forward, and that is what we are doing with Non-Zero. We're creating a dynamic that will be positive for the brokerage industry as a whole, while attempting to solve some of the conflicts of interest that have crept in over the years." The core of the operational and tech team is shared with another industry disruptor, Centroid Solutions. The company has been at the forefront of risk-management software in the retail brokerage industry. Bundled together with a bridge and a reporting module, the firm is providing an end-to-end solution for brokers. Non-Zero's team is complimented by former Morgan Stanley exec Nikhil Kenia who is the Head of Operations at Centroid Solutions. Nikhil has 7 years of experience in consolidating and analyzing financial data and managing different operational areas. He has a Bachelor of Commerce (Distinction in Accounting) from the University of Mumbai and a MBA in Finance from N.L. Dalmia Institute of Management Studies & Research (NLDIMSR). Commenting on his appointment as Finance Officer of Non-Zero, Nikhil Kenia said: "The key to success of the brokerage industry today is adequate risk-management software integration. Delivering a revenue sharing model for the brokerage industry is essential to maintaining its long-term viability." The Chief Technology Officer of Centroid Solutions, Marwan Alameddine is also joining Non-Zero's team. His expertise in software architecture, trading platform development, and trading strategies implementation makes him the ideal industry connoisseur for the company. He has been the technology manager of 514 Capital Partners for over five years and is deeply familiar with all tech aspects of the retail brokerage industry. Marwan has over 20 years of experience in IT, software development, and complex systems integration. In addition to that, he has an extensive experience in financial brokerage services and financial trading software. Marwan held leadership positions in Software Development/IT at worldwide companies, including eShirt, Extreme Click Ads, Orion Holding Overseas, and Mirage Data Technology Services. Commenting on his appointment as CTO of Non-Zero, Marwan Alameddine said: "The rapid development of blockchain technology is opening the doors to a brave new world for the retail brokerage industry. The integration of radical transparency into existing technologies opens the door to a better business relationship between brokers and their customers." About Non-Zero: Non-Zero (http://www.non-zero.io) is an Ethereum-based platform redefining the broker-client relationship in the retail financial markets industry. Non-Zero is advised by 180 Digital Assets (http://www.180digitalassets.com), part of the 180 Capital group (http://www.180cap.com). ALBANY, New York, August 3, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The global rheumatoid arthritis drugs market was valued at US$ 19597.4 Mn in 2016. It is anticipated to expand at a stable CAGR of more than 2.5% between 2018 and 2026, according to a new report published by Transparency Market Research (TMR) titled "Rheumatoid Arthritis Drugs Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecast, 2018 - 2026". Expansion of the global rheumatoid arthritis drugs market is due to strong research & development and increasing awareness regarding usage of biologic drugs for rheumatoid arthritis treatment during the forecast period. The rheumatoid arthritis drugs market in Asia Pacific is expanding with a high potential to grow, registering a CAGR of more than 3.0% due to the high prevalence of diseases, development in health care sector, and increased focus on research and developmental activities in the region. (Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/664869/Transparency_Market_Research_Logo.jpg ) Get PDF Brochure for Research Insights at https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=2011 Rise in geriatric population with increasing incidence of diseases that require drugs to drive market The global population is aging rapidly, especially in some developed countries such as the U.S., most countries of Western Europe, and Japan. Developed countries witnessed high rates of aging as compared to the developing countries. This is attributed to improved health care infrastructure, reimbursement policies, and advancement in health care facilities in these countries. Moreover, easy access to various drugs treatment has improved in recent years, especially in developed countries. This, in turn, has boosted the life expectancy of the population. The geriatric population is a major end-user of rheumatoid arthritis drugs treatment for the improvement in the quality of their lives. Increase in number of geriatric people leads to high rate of ailments, which in turn is likely to propel the demand and consumption of various drugs. Request a Custom Report athttps://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=CR&rep_id=2011 Rise in investments in research & development Demand for development of newer and biotechnologically enhanced products such as biologics and biosimilar is rising globally, owing to the treatment efficiency of drugs. Hence, major players operating in the rheumatoid arthritis drugs market are investing in research and development programs in order to develop new drugs. In 2015, Takeda Pharmaceuticals invested US$ 3.2 Bn in research and development activities. According to an annual report published by GlaxoSmithKline plc, in 2015, the company partnered with more than 1,500 companies and other academic organizations around the world for the development of new drugs. Rise in investment in research and development programs by key players of the market is likely to boost the market significantly during the forecast period. Request For Discount On This Report:https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=D&rep_id=2011 Increase in strategic alliances and awareness programs Major companies focus on strategic alliances for sales and distribution in order to increase business in untapped markets. For instance, Merck, a prominent drug manufacturer, entered into an alliance with Immulogic Pharmaceutical, a startup, in order to develop drugs for auto-immune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis. Increasing strategic alliances coupled with new product development is expected to boost the rheumatoid arthritis market. In terms of drug type, the market can be divided into disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs), non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), corticosteroids, and biologic response modifiers (biologics). The biologics segment is likely to account for a leading share of the global rheumatoid arthritis drugs market during the forecast period, owing to the rising adoption of biologic drugs in severe chronic diseases. Strong research and development in biologic drugs is estimated to propel the biologics segment during the forecast period. Request a Sample of Rheumatoid Arthritis Drugs Market:https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=2011 Rising patient preference for treatment at hospitals drives hospital pharmacy as a distribution channel Based on distribution channel, the market can be segmented into hospital pharmacy, retail pharmacy, and online pharmacy. The hospital pharmacy segment is estimated to expand at a prominent growth rate during the forecast period, owing to the increase in number of hospitals. Increasing prevalence of rheumatoid arthritis in Asia Pacific to create more opportunities for rheumatoid arthritis drugs market Based on geography, the global rheumatoid arthritis drugs market is divided into major five geographical regions: North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, and Middle East & Africa. North America is estimated to hold a leading share of the global market during the forecast period, owing to the high rate of adoption of biologic drugs and high health care expenditure in the region. Europe is anticipated to account for a significant share of the global market between 2018 and 2026. Increase in the incidence of rheumatoid arthritis diseases in Europe is projected to fuel the market in the region during the forecast period. The market in Asia Pacific is projected to witness expansion at a high growth rate during the forecast period, due to increasing health care expenditure in the region. The rheumatoid arthritis drugs market in Latin America is at a pivotal point, currently. It was valued at US$ 866.1 Mn in 2016 and is anticipated to witness significant expansion in the near future. Browse Research Release athttps://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/pressrelease/rheumatoid-arthritis-drugs.htm Increasing focus of key players on expansion in Asia Pacific, in order to cater to the large untapped population, and rising awareness about health care propel the rheumatoid arthritis drugs market in the region. AbbVie, Inc., Janssen Biotech, Inc., Amgen, Inc., were market leaders in the rheumatoid arthritis drugs market in 2017 Key players covered in this report include Pfizer, Inc., Novartis AG, Sanofi S.A., F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd., Merck & Co., Inc., Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, Eli Lilly and Company. Companies operating in the global rheumatoid arthritis drugs market are focusing on strategic collaborations in order to develop new products in emerging markets such as Asia Pacific and Latin America. Popular Research Reports by TMR: Porcine Vaccines Market: https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/porcine-vaccines-market.html https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/porcine-vaccines-market.html Geriatric Medicines Market: https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/geriatric-medicine-market.html About Us Transparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company providing business information reports and services. The company's exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trend analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMR's experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information. TMR's data repository is continuously updated and revised by a team of research experts so that it always reflects the latest trends and information. With extensive research and analysis capabilities, Transparency Market Research employs rigorous primary and secondary research techniques to develop distinctive data sets and research material for business reports. Contact Mr. Rohit Bhisey Transparency Market Research State Tower, 90 State Street, Suite 700, Albany NY - 12207 United States Tel: +1-518-618-1030 USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453 Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.com Invesco Perpetual Select Trust plc LEI: 549300JZQ39WJPD7U596 Annual Financial Report . Electronic copies of the Invesco Perpetual Select Trust plc Annual Financial Report for the year ended 31 May 2018, which includes the notice for the annual general meeting, are available on the National Storage Mechanism website: http://www.morningstar.co.uk/uk/NSM and on the Invesco website: http://www.invescoperpetual.co.uk/investmenttrusts . Alternatively, direct links to the web pages on the Invesco website dedicated to the four share classes are: www.invescoperpetual.co.uk/selectuk www.invescoperpetual.co.uk/selectglobal www.invescoperpetual.co.uk/selectbr www.invescoperpetual.co.uk/selectml Hard copies of the annual report will shortly be posted to shareholders registered to receive them in paper format. Copies can be requested from the Company Secretary at the Company's correspondence address, 6th Floor, 125 London Wall, London EC2Y 5AS or by email to investmenttrusts@invesco.com . . Invesco Asset Management Limited Corporate Company Secretary 03 August 2018 Mondi Limited Incorporated in the Republic of South Africa Registered office: 4th Floor, No.3 Melrose Boulevard, Melrose Arch 2196, Gauteng, RSA Registration number: 1967/013038/06 Tax registration number: 920/0017/71/4P JSE share code: MND ISIN: ZAE000156550 Mondi plc Incorporated in England and Wales Registered office: 1st Floor, Building 1, Aviator Park, Station Road, Addlestone, Surrey KT15 2PG, UK Registered number: 6209386 Tax registration number: 454 12394 14454 LEI: 213800LOZA69QFDC9N34 JSE share code: MNP ISIN: GB00B1CRLC47 LSE share code: MNDI As part of the dual listed company structure, Mondi Limited and Mondi plc (together "Mondi Group") notify both the JSE Limited and the London Stock Exchange of matters required to be disclosed under the Listings Requirements of the JSE Limited and/or the Disclosure Guidance and Transparency and Listing Rules of the United Kingdom Listing Authority. 3 August 2018 Mondi Group - 2018 Interim Dividend ZAR/euro Exchange Rate On 3 August 2018 Mondi Group announced, in its Half-Yearly Results announcement, that an interim dividend for the year ending 31 December 2018 of 21.45 euro cents per ordinary share will be paid on 14 September 2018 to all Mondi Limited and Mondi plc ordinary shareholders on the relevant registers on 24 August 2018. Mondi Limited and Mondi plc will pay their respective dividends as follows: Mondi Limited Mondi Limited will pay its dividend in South African rand cents. The applicable exchange rate is EUR 1 to ZAR 15.59068. Therefore, the equivalent gross interim dividend in rand cents per ordinary share will be 334.42009. Dividend tax will be withheld from Mondi Limited shareholders at a rate of 20%, unless a shareholder qualifies for an exemption, resulting in a net dividend of 267.53607 rand cents per ordinary share. Mondi plc Mondi plc will pay its dividend in euro. However, ordinary shareholders resident in the United Kingdom will receive the dividend in sterling (unless shareholders have elected to receive their dividend in euro). The last date for euro currency elections will be 24 August 2018. The exchange rate for this payment will be set on 31 August 2018. In addition, Mondi plc South African branch register shareholders will receive the dividend in South African rand cents, converted at a rate of EUR 1 to ZAR 15.59068. Therefore, the equivalent gross interim dividend in rand cents per ordinary share will be 334.42009. Dividend tax will be withheld from Mondi plc South African branch register shareholders at a rate of 20%, unless a shareholder qualifies for an exemption, resulting in a net dividend of 267.53607 rand cents per ordinary share. Additional Information The interim dividend will be paid from income reserves. Mondi Limited had a total of 118,312,975 ordinary shares in issue and Mondi plc 367,240,805 ordinary shares in issue of which 85,268,117 were held on the branch register, excluding treasury shares, at the dividend declaration date of 3 August 2018. Sponsor in South Africa: UBS South Africa (Pty) Ltd NEW YORK, MUNICH and ISTANBUL, August 3, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- A joint venture of institutional investors led by Deutsche Finance America, a subsidiary of Deutsche Finance Group and BLG Capital, a division of Bilgili Group focused on hotel and lifestyle investments, acquired more than 100,000 sq ft of vacant office space in the "Gucci Building" at 685 Fifth Avenue from a publicly-traded real estate investment trust. The joint venture successfully raised $155 million of equity for the acquisition and development and will seek approximately $100 million of debt financing to fully capitalize the project. (Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/726683/Deutsche_Finance_Group_Logo.jpg ) The joint venture includes Bayerische Versorgungskammer ("BVK") which is Germany's largest manager of public pension schemes investing through a fund administered by Universal-Investment, the Versicherungskammer Bayern Group ("VKB"), the largest public insurer in Germany, another Munich-based insurer and institutional real estate funds managed by Deutsche Finance Group. Dr. Sven Neubauer, Chief Investment Officer of Deutsche Finance Group, commented, "685 Fifth Avenue is an iconic piece of real estate in an irreplaceable location and I am very excited about its potential for redevelopment. I am also very pleased to announce the market entry of Deutsche Finance America, our subsidiary focused on direct investments in the United States, with such a high-profile project." "We are very excited about our partnership with one of the most reputable global investors in the private equity business, and look forward to diversifying our portfolio further via carefully selected investments in the global real estate market. The transaction marks an important strategic partnership between the firms, who are looking to grow their portfolio further in other global hubs, having previously invested in several projects in Istanbul and now in New York," said Serdar Bilgili, Chairman of BLG Capital. The full press release and details about related companies you will find at https://www.deutsche-finance-group.de/news For further information please contact: Deutsche Finance Group, Symon Godl (Email: s.godl@deutsche-finance.de, Tel. +49-89-6495630) PUNE, India, August 3, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- ReportsnReports.com adds CAR T Cell Therapy Market, Global Forecast by Regions, Targeted Antigens, Clinical Trials/Study and Companies research report of 159 pages to its online industry intelligence store. CAR T Cell Therapy market is expected to grow with a CAGR of over 46 percent in the forecast period. Year 2017 has created new milestone for the oncology patients as FDA approved the first two CD19-targeted (Chimeric Antigen Receptor) CAR T cell therapies developed by Novartis and Gilead Sciences/Kite Pharma in the United States. These two approvals will certainly help to boost the global CAR T cell therapy market as more players are looking this big opportunities to enter the market place. At present over 200 CAR T clinical trials are running or completed across various parts of the world. Rising number of adults and children developing cancer, increasing government initiatives for promoting research for cell therapy in cancer and rising number of clinical trials globally are some of the key drivers for the global CAR T Cell therapy market; however high cost of CAR T cell therapy treatment and regulatory challenges are key inhibitors for this market. Place a direct purchase order on this report athttp://www.reportsnreports.com/purchase.aspx?name=1592579. Key Companies covered: Novartis, Gilead Sciences (Kite Pharma), Celgene Corporation (Juno Therapeutics) & Celyad The report "CAR T Cell Therapy Market Global Forecast by Regions (North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, Middle East, Africa), Targeted Antigens (CD19, CD20, GD2, CD22, CD30, CD33, HER2, MESO, EGFRvII, Others) Clinical Trials/Study (CD19, CD20, GD2, CD22, CD30, CD33,HER1, HER2, MESO, EGFRvII) Companies (Novartis,Gilead Sciences (Kite Pharma), Celgene Corporation (Juno Therapeutics), Celyad)" provides a detailed and comprehensive insight of the global CAR T cell therapy market. This report studies the Global CAR T cell therapy market from 2 key view points by CAR T cell therapy market and CAR T cell therapy studies. Market segments are further studied by geographical regions and targeted antigens whereas CAR T cell therapy studies by targeted antigens globally and China specific. The report provides a complete analysis of the key Growth Drivers and Challenges, SWOT analysis, market, and their projections for the upcoming years (2028) Inquire for a discount on this report at USD 2390 (Single User License) athttps://www.reportsnreports.com/contacts/discount.aspx?name=1592579. The report has been analyzed from 9 major viewpoints: Targeted Antigen - Global CAR T Cell Therapy Market Regional CAR T Cell Therapy Market Global - CAR T Cell Therapy Clinical Trials/Study China CAR T Cells Clinical Trials Details CAR T Cell Therapy SWOT Analysis The Regulation in CAR T Cell Therapy Global - IPO/Investment/Funding/Partnership in CAR T Cell Therapy Market Growth Drivers and Challenges Key CAR T companies Initiatives and Financial Insight Targeted Antigens - Global CAR T Cell Therapy Market & Forecast: CD19, CD20, GD2, CD22, CD30, CD33, HER2, MESO, EGFRvII Regional CAR-T Cell Therapy Market: North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, Middle East & Africa Global - CAR T Cell Therapy Clinical Trials/Study: CD19, CD20, GD2, CD22, CD30, CD33, HER1, HER2, EGFRvII MESO Complete report available with table of contents athttps://www.reportsnreports.com/reports/1592579-car-t-cell-therapy-market-global-forecast-by-regions-targeted-antigens-clinical-trials-study-companies.html. China CAR T Cells Clinical Trials Details: By Cities CAR T Cells Clinical Trials CD19 Directed CAR T Cells Clinical Trials Non-CD19 Directed CAR T Cells Clinical Trials Solid Tumors CAR T Cells Clinical Trials Client can purchase this report in sections through Purchase by Chapter Tab given above The Regulation in CAR T Cell Therapy:United States, European Union & China IPO/Investment/Funding/Partnership in CAR T Cell Therapy Market: Venture Capital Investment, Initial Public Offerings, Strategic Partnerships/Deals, Key CAR T Technology Deals Major Points from Table of Contents: 1. Executive Summary 2. Global Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR)-T cell Therapy Market 3. Market Share - CAR-T Cell Therapy 4. Targeted Antigen Market 5. Geographical CAR-T Cell Therapy Market (2016 -2026) 6. Global - CAR-T Cell Clinical Trials/Study 7. China CAR-T Cells Clinical Trials Details 8. CAR-T Cell Therapy SWOT Analysis 9. Regulation in CAR-T Cell Therapy 10. IPO/Investment/Funding/Partnership in CAR-T Cell Therapy Market 11. Growth Drivers 12. Challenges 13. Novartis 14. Gilead Sciences (Kite Pharma) 15. Celgene Corporation (Juno Therapeutics) 16. Celyad Explore More Related Reports on Medical Devices Market Research: High Intensity Focused Ultrasound (HIFU) Patients Treated by Indication, Product Analysis of 20 Manufacturers, Deals & Numbers by Region Global Medical/Diagnostic Imaging Market (X-Ray, Ultrasound, CT, MRI & Nuclear Imaging): Industry Analysis & Outlook (2018-2022) About Us: ReportsnReports.com is your single source for all market research needs. Our database includes 500,000+ market research reports from over 95 leading global publishers & in-depth market research studies of over 5000 micro markets. With comprehensive information about the publishers and the industries for which they publish market research reports, we help you in your purchase decision by mapping your information needs with our huge collection of reports. Contact Us: Hrishikesh Patwardhan Tower B5, office 101, Magarpatta SEZ, Hadapsar, Pune-411013. Tel: +1-888-391-5441 E-mail: sales@reportsandreports.com VANCOUVER, British Columbia, August 3, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Zecotek Photonics Inc. ("Zecotek" or the "Company") (TSX-V: ZMS) (Frankfurt: W1I) (OTCPK: ZMSPF), a developer of leading-edge photonics technologies for healthcare, industrial and scientific markets, is pleased to announce the grand opening of its LFS Crystal Production Facility in Shanghai, China. A number of local dignitaries and key Chinese and European OEM customers were on hand to meet senior executives and the senior technical team to celebrate the occasion. "I am very pleased to welcome our honored guests to the grand opening of Zecotek's LFS Crystal Production Facility here in Shanghai, China," said Dr. A.F. Zerrouk, Chairman, President, and CEO of Zecotek Photonics Inc. "Having our own state-of-the-art production facility has given us full control of our product as we are now able to deliver high quality products at competitive costs. We have had a successful launch and we expect to reach full capacity with existing ovens very soon." The ISO certified LFS Crystal Production Facility has sufficient capacity to meet the delivery schedule of our Tier 1 clients and will be expanded to meet growing demand in late 2018 and early 2019. Zecotek's patented LFS scintillation crystals are grown using the Czochralski method with internal modifications. This proprietary growing method produces very large-diameter boules with uniform properties and without cracking (a problem with many competing scintillation materials). This highly efficient method produces a great number of high quality elements from each boule. Larger, higher quality boules, produce more single elements resulting in greater output and lower unit costs. Cutting, polishing and array assembly will also be done at the production facility in Shanghai. Zecotek has a proprietary automated manufacturing process that uses robotics to assemble the LFS crystal arrays. The automated process will translate into faster manufacturing of arrays, and improve the performance of the arrays with repeatable uniformity and much greater accuracy. Zecotek's LFS series of scintillation crystals are protected in China and jurisdictions around globe by a worldwide patent (including US patent No. 7,132,060). The crystals cover a wide range of emission wavelengths which can be tailored to match the spectral sensitivity of various photo detectors including Zecotek's own solid-state MAPD/T photo detector arrays. Zecotek is focused on of becoming a leading supplier of scintillation crystals and other the key photonic components in China and around the world. About Zecotek Zecotek Photonics Inc (TSX-V: ZMS) (Frankfurt: W1I) (OTCPK: ZMSPF) is a photonics technology company developing high-performance scintillation crystals, photo detectors, positron emission tomography scanning technologies, 3D auto-stereoscopic displays, 3D metal printing, and lasers for applications in medical, high-tech and industrial sectors. Founded in 2004, Zecotek operates three divisions: Imaging Systems, Optronics Systems and 3D Display Systems with labs located in Canada, Korea, Russia, Singapore and U.S.A. The management team is focused on building shareholder value by commercializing over 50 patented and patent pending novel photonic technologies directly and through strategic alliances with Hamamatsu Photonics (Japan), the European Organization for Nuclear Research (Switzerland), Shanghai EBO Optoelectronics Technology Co. (China), NuCare Medical Systems (South Korea), the University of Washington (United States), and National NanoFab Center (South Korea). For more information visit http://www.zecotek.com and follow @zecotek on Twitter. This press release may contain forward-looking statements that are based on management's expectations, estimates, projections and assumptions. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve certain risks and uncertainties, which are difficult to predict. Therefore, actual future results and trends may differ materially from what may have been stated. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Service Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of the content of this news release. If you would like to receive news from Zecotek in the future please visit the corporate website athttp://www.zecotek.com. For Additional Information Please Contact: Zecotek Photonics Inc. Michael Minder T: +1-(604)783-8291 ir@zecotek.com STOCKHOLM, Aug 3, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Stockholm IT Ventures AB (Frankfurt Stock Exchange: SVAB), a Swedish technology company and a full service financial institution focused on blockchain technology, today announced it has successfully raised more than EUR 5 million in its private institutional Bytemine (BYTM) token pre-sale round. This includes significant investments from Pecunio, a blockchain focused investment fund, as well as Netoil, Inc., a company owned by Roger Tamraz, Chairman of Stockholm It Ventures. The funds realized from this private sale will enable Bytemine to commence the execution of its commercial activities and start creating value for the significant number of token holders. The Board has taken into consideration the current crypto mining market, as well as the prices of cryptocurrencies and tokens, in general. As such, it has decided to amend the project's strategy to optimize and improve the use of capital for the benefit of token holders, which is as follows: In a bear market, as we are currently, where the cost of mining is greater than the value of the crypto being mined funds will be diverted into a variety of established and proven crypto trading strategies including futures. The board believes the market for trading in crypto futures is maturing, primarily led by CME Group, who currently account for five percent of all Bitcoin transactions. Stockholm IT Ventures has several solutions in place for trading crypto futures and are developing an in-house capability. In a bull market where mining is again profitable, the company will revert to deploying capital into the mining program to increase the liquid token assets and deploy them in a variety of vehicles in order to put the freshly mined assets to work. In order to prepare for these anticipated conditions, preparations continue at a number of hosting sites, as well we are setting up a new internal entity to support this activity. A smaller number of servers will be installed as a test environment to ensure the team and facilities are in place and ready to go. The hosted mining program will continue as planned. We are in final talks with a number of parties in regard to hosting existing server units. The revenue from these will be shared with the Bytemine token holders as previously planned. Since Bytemine has raised sufficient funding for the short term and has amended its core strategy the Board has decided to postpone the crowdsale until the trading results have demonstrated a proven track record. At that time, the company will launch the crowdsale. The option will remain open for private sale clients to request tokens should they want to take part in the trial trading phase. The board believes that this strategy protects the commercial viability of Bytemine as well as the token against adverse market conditions, delivering enhanced value sooner to existing holders. "Almost one month ago, I came on board Stockholm IT Ventures to deliver upon a unique vision, and made a commitment to this extraordinary opportunity with our Bytemine ICO," said Phillip Nunn, Managing Director of the Crypto Division of Stockholm IT Ventures. "Since that time, we have evolved as a company, undergoing a number of changes that increased our value to our shareholders, partners and other key stakeholders. This delay and new direction is a positive pivot. The early investor confidence we have demonstrated during the private sale is a testament to our team, its vision, and all of you who are on this exciting journey with us." Furthermore, after a hugely successful airdrop, Bytemine is in discussion with a number of smaller token exchanges with a view of listing the token in the near future. This will give liquidity and trading volume to the asset. Those that have received tokens via the airdrop will be able to trade ahead of the main crowd sale. About Stockholm IT Ventures AB Stockholm IT Ventures AB is a Swedish public company listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange since 2014 under the ticker symbol SVAB. The company focuses on clean and efficient low-cost energy cryptocurrency mining and production, and in blockchain related technology. All mining activities shall use clean and sustainable energy from hydro power stations in Northern Europe, requiring less heat-generating energy compared to ordinary mining for Bitcoin. The Stockholm IT Ventures stock represents a green investment in cryptocurrency technology. For more information, visit www.stockholmit.co. You can also find them on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. Details on the company's Bytemine (BYTM) token and White Paper can be found here: www.bytemine.io. Media Contacts: Vibrate Communications for Stockholm IT Ventures leslie@vibratecommunications.com tyrone@vibratecommunications.com This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com http://news.cision.com/stockholm-it-ventures/r/stockholm-it-ventures-ab-announces-bytemine-token-private-and-crowd-sale-updates,c2585946 ZAGREB, Croatia, August 3, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Leading 300 Entrepreneurs & Business Leaders Expected in This Adriatic Idyllic Vielle Ville 7-10 October 2018 Dubbed the SALT of European Venture Capital last year in Malta, the annual pilgrimage by leading entrepreneurs and business leaders to listen to breakthrough ideas, and entrepreneurs sharing their visions has come to Dubrovnik and is experiencing exceptional demand for the 4 day experience of seeing the best of Croatia and networking under the stars with the world's top entrepreneurs. More than 100 entrepreneurs and business leaders from Tokyo, Singapore, Hong Kong, Zurich, Milan, Paris, London, New York and San Francisco have registered for the Pre-Summit (VIP ticket) to date. The Follow The Entrepreneur Livestream in July 2017 reached an audience of 51,000. https://follow-the-entrepreneur.com/ - The Follow The Entrepreneur Summit is hosted by Julie Meyer, the CEO of Ariadne Capital Group Limited, ACGL, based in Malta, and EntrepreneurCountry Limited in the UK. To request an invitation, please email team@fte2018.com Ariadne Capital Group Limited is the corporate headquarters and holding company for the Ariadne Group which announced its financial results earlier this year: https://prn.to/2MbSP4x. Ariadne Capital Limited, ACL is based in the UK and is not part of this group. Julie Meyer, the Secured Creditor in December 2017, decided to put ACL into Administration. ACL, a corporate finance firm, is not related to the Follow The Entrepreneur Summit, an events firm. Please find further statements from Julie Meyer regarding ACL and the departure from Malta on the http://www.ariadnecapital.com website. Ms Meyer has been given an honorary doctorate for her contribution to Applied Economics, an MBE (Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, by the Queen of England, one of the top 50 alumni of all time awards by INSEAD, her alma mater, where she sat on the Board of Directors for 6 years, and a Global Leader for Tomorrow Award from the World Economic Forum (Davos). Contact Julie Meyer julie@ariadnecap.com +44-(0)7908-881-603 Banca IFIS Group: Banca IFIS: 66,2 million Euro in profit, 51,8% in Cost/Income ratio. Excellent Enterprises segment's gross-impaired loan ratio: 10,5% Highlights- Results of the first half of 20181 RECLASSIFIED DATA 2: 1 January - 30 June Net banking income: 278,1 million Euro (+9,8%); 278,1 million Euro (+9,8%); Net profit from financial activities: 238,1 million Euro (+10,3%); 238,1 million Euro (+10,3%); Operating costs: 144,2 million Euro (+20,7%); 144,2 million Euro (+20,7%); Net profit for the period: 66,2 million Euro (-36,1%); 66,2 million Euro (-36,1%); Credit risk cost of the Enterprises segment: 138 bps; 138 bps; Enterprises segment's gross -impaired loan ratio: 10,5%; 10,5%; Total Group employees: 1.577 people (+173 people compared to 2017); 1.577 people (+173 people compared to 2017); Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1) Ratio : 15,13% (15,64% at 31 December 2017) 3 ; : 15,13% (15,64% at 31 December 2017) ; Tier1 (T1) Capital Ratio: 15,13% (15,64% at 31 December 2017) 3 ; 15,13% (15,64% at 31 December 2017) ; Total Own Funds Capital Ratio: 20,28% (21,07% at 31 December 2017) 3. Highlights- Results of the second quarter of 2018 RECLASSIFIED DATA 4: 1 April - 30 June Net banking income: 138,7 million Euro (-7,3%); 138,7 million Euro (-7,3%); Net profit from financial activities: 109,7 million Euro (-33,1%); 109,7 million Euro (-33,1%); Operating costs: 70,8 million Euro (+10,9%); 70,8 million Euro (+10,9%); Net profit for the period: 28,4 million Euro (-60,0%); Mestre (Venice), 3 August 2018 - The Board of Directors of Banca IFIS (Fitch BB+, outlook stable) met today under the chairmanship of Sebastien Egon Furstenberg and approved the interim financial report for the first half of 2018. ""In the first six months of the year, we were extremely active in each segment, evolving our individual businesses, supporting firms that can now work with more confidence and sustainable business models", says Giovanni Bossi, Banca IFIS CEO. "The Group has developed new alliances to accelerate the growth of the leasing business, working together with high-standing partners. Always concerning the leasing segment, innovation led us to replace our technological platform as well as improve and streamline all operational processes. We acquired control of Credifarma-to be consolidated in the second half of 2018-to strengthen our presence in the pharmacy lending sector. In the first six months of the year, we announced the acquisition of the servicer FBS and finalised the acquisition of 100% of CapitalFin. This allows the Group to enter the salary-backed loan business, supporting the NPL segment. Finally, in July we launched a new initiative in the insurance sector. The economic and other benefits of all these activities will start materialising in the second half of 2018. As for NPLs, in July the Group finalised the acquisition of non-performing loan portfolios with a par value of nearly 600 million Euro. Over the next few months, special emphasis will be placed on providing new debt restructuring solutions to entities that currently hold UTPs, so as to identify the best possible solutions to give new momentum to Italian businesses. Unfortunately, in the second quarter-concludes Giovanni Bossi-our performance was affected by a series of particularly material events that are unlikely to happen again with the same intensity. I am happy with the results of our ordinary activities in the first six months of 2018, and we confirm our guidance across all businesses for the second half of the year". The Banca IFIS Group's results5 for the half quarter of the year can be summarised as follows: Net banking income Net banking totalled 278,1 million Euro, +9,8% compared to the first half of 2017 (253,2 million Euro at 30 June 2017). The positive result was largely due to the outstanding performance of the NPL segment-as well as the contribution from the Enterprises segment's Trade Receivables and Leasing areas. The result for the first half of the year was negatively affected by the lower impact of the reversal of the PPA, i.e. the breakdown of the difference between the fair value as measured in the business combination and the carrying amount of the receivables recognised by the former Interbanca Group over time (44,1 million Euro at 30 June 2018, compared to 57,8 million Euro at 30 June 2017, -23,8%) influenced in the recent past by some early payments. Net impairment losses Net impairment losses amounted to -40,0 million Euro, compared to 12,1 million Euro in net reversals in the prior-year period, and essentially referred to loans to customers of the Enterprises segment. This was attributable to two factors: the higher provisions set aside (14 million) on an individually significant position in the first six months of 2018, compared to 26,8 million Euro in reversals in 2017 in the Corporate Banking area. In the first six months of 2018, the Enterprises segment's cost of credit calculated under IFRS 9 amounted to 138 bps, compared to 31 bps under IAS 39 at 31 December 2017. In the previous year, the Bank had recognised some reversals of impairment losses, excluding which the cost of credit quality would have amounted to 89 bps. Operating Costs Operating costs totalled 144,2 million Euro (119,5 million Euro at 30 June 2017, +20,7%), resulting in a cost/income ratio of 51,8% (49,0% in the prior-year period). Personnel expenses rose to 55,5 million Euro (49,5 million Euro in June 2017, +12,1%), consistently with the addition of new hires (including those of the new subsidiary Capitalfin); at 30 June 2018 Group employees numbered 1.577 (up 173 people). Administrative expenses amounted to 95,1 million Euro, up 36,1% from 69,9 million Euro in the prior-year period. This was the result of the increase reported by the NPL segment, driven by rising judicial debt collection costs as well as the adoption of the new statistical model for estimating the NPL segment's positions undergoing judicial operations in the NPL area. These costs totalled 14,8 million (that impact on legal expenses and registration fees) and had been previously deferred until the issue of the Garnishment Order. In addition, the period saw an increase in the expenses associated with consulting services related to the adoption of new technological systems and the help provided to the Group's internal employees in the various projects launched during the first half of the year. Pre-tax profit totalled 93,9 million Euro in the first six months of 2018, compared to 145,9 million Euro in the prior-year period. At 30 June 2018, the Group net profit for the period totalled 66,2 million Euro, down 36,1% from 103,7 million Euro at 30 June 2017. As for the contribution of individual segments6 to the operating and financial results at 30 June 2018, here below are the highlights: The Enterprises segment's net banking income, accounting for 59,3% of the total, amounted to 165,1 million Euro, slightly down from the prior-year period (-3,9%). Specifically, Trade Receivables generated 80,3 million Euro in net banking income (78,8 million Euro in the first half of 2017, +1,9%); the segment's turnover rose to 6,1 billion Euro (+8,8% from 30 June 2017), while the number of corporate customers rose to over 5.600. Outstanding trade receivables amounted to 3,4 billion Euro, in line with 31 December 2017. To support the entities that do business with Italy's Public Administration, the Group continued developing the TiAnticipo web portal, through which companies can upload their government-certified invoices and rapidly obtain financing. As for Leasing, the merger of IFIS Leasing into Banca IFIS was finalised in May, with the adoption of a new technological platform. The Leasing Area's net banking income totalled 26,2 million Euro, up 7,0% (+1,7 million Euro) compared to 30 June 2017. The increase was driven by net interest income (+0,8 million Euro) as well as commission income (+0,9 million Euro), which benefited from the rise in lending volumes, and the higher number of customers. Corporate Banking's net banking income totalled 52,5 million Euro, down 7,2 million Euro compared to 30 June 2017. The decline was largely attributable to the lower positive impact of the breakdown of the difference between the fair value as measured in the business combination and the carrying amount of the receivables recognised by the former subsidiary over time (so-called "reversal PPA"), down 12,3 million Euro from the prior-year period-which was to be expected. In the first half of 2017, Corporate Banking reported 26,8 million Euro in net reversals, largely because of an individually significant reversal of impairment losses on receivables. Loans to businesses totalled 5.599,7 million Euro at 30 June 2018, +2,5% compared to the restated data at 1 January 2018. The NPL Area7 , dedicated to acquiring and converting mostly unsecured non-performing loans into sustainable settlement plans, transferred all its operations to the subsidiary IFIS NPL S.p.A. effective 1 July 2018. With 119,3 million Euro in net banking 79,0 million Euro in 2017, +51,1%) the NPL Area was the Group's fastest-growing segment, thanks to the higher number of court-issued garnishment orders as well as the strong performance in converting existing portfolios. Cash receipts rose from approximately 54 million Euro in the first half of 2017 to nearly 81 million Euro in the first six months of 2018. During the semester, the Group further refined the statistical measurement models for its assets under management: specifically, it adopted a new model for estimating the positions undergoing judicial operations, resulting in an approximately 34,7 million Euro positive impact through profit or loss. During the period, the Bank continued diversifying its funding sources and making them more flexible. At 30 June 2018, the Group's funding structure was as follows: o 59,4% retail; o 14,0% debt securities; o 12,8% ABS; o 8,9% TLTRO; o 4,9% other. As for gross non-performing exposures, following the introduction of the category of the so-called POCI - "purchased or originated credit-impaired" financial assets under the new standard IFRS 9, the new write-off policies adopted by the Group, and in accordance with the 5th update to Circular 262 of the Bank of Italy, the presentation of gross non-performing exposures and the relevant impairment losses has changed significantly starting from 1 January 2018. As a result, gross non-performing exposures in the Enterprises segment accounted for 10,5% of total exposures at 30 June 2018, compared to 20,1% at 1 January 2018. Overall, the gross non-performing loans of the enterprises segment totalled 615,7 million Euro, with 247,6 million Euro in impairment losses and a coverage ratio of 40,2% at 30 June 2018. Below is the breakdown of net non-performing loans in the Enterprises segment8 (totalling 368,1 billion Euro): net bad loans amounted to 68,0 million Euro, compared to 62,9 million Euro of the restated data at 1 January 2018 (+8,2%); the net bad-loan ratio was 1,2%, unchanged from the restated data at 1January 2018. The coverage ratio stood at 70,1% (71,0% at 1 January 2018); amounted to 68,0 million Euro, compared to 62,9 million Euro of the restated data at 1 January 2018 (+8,2%); the net bad-loan ratio was 1,2%, unchanged from the restated data at 1January 2018. The coverage ratio stood at 70,1% (71,0% at 1 January 2018); net unlikely to pay totalled 143,7 million Euro, -11,9% from 163,1 million Euro at the data restated at 1 January 2018; the coverage ratio declined to 34,0% from 26,5% at 1 January 2018. The change was mainly attributable to the higher provisions set aside on an individually significant position; totalled 143,7 million Euro, -11,9% from 163,1 million Euro at the data restated at 1 January 2018; the coverage ratio declined to 34,0% from 26,5% at 1 January 2018. The change was mainly attributable to the higher provisions set aside on an individually significant position; Net non-performing past due exposures totalled 156,5 million Euro, compared with 112,0 million Euro at 1 January 2018 (+39,7%). The rise was partly due to the natural increase in past due exposures to Italy's Public Administration as well as to new private-sector past due positions, concentrated on individually significant counterparties. The coverage ratio of net non-performing past due exposures stood at 8,5% (10,6% at 1 January 2018). At the end of the period, consolidated equity totalled 1.373,1 million Euro, compared to 1.368,7 million Euro at 31 December 2017 (+0,3%). The consolidated Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1), Tier 1 (T1) and Total Own Funds Ratios of the Banca IFIS Group alone, excluding the effect of the consolidation of the Parent Company La Scogliera9 at 30 June 2018, amounted to 15,13% for both the CET1 and T1 ratios, compared to 15,64% at 31 December 2017, while the consolidated Total Own Funds Ratio amounted to 20,28%, compared to 21,07% at 31 December 2017. For more details, see the Consolidated Interim Report at 30 June 2018, available in the "Institutional Investors" section of the official website www.bancaifis.it Significant events occurred in the period The Banca IFIS Group transparently and timely discloses information to the market, constantly publishing information on significant events through press releases. Please visit the "Institutional Investor Relations" and "Media Press" sections of the institutional website www.bancaifis.it to view all press releases. Here below is a summary of the most significant events occurred during the period and before the approval of this document: Acquisition of control of Cap.Ital.Fin. S.p.A. Concerning the binding offer to acquire control of Cap.Ital.Fin S.p.A. submitted on 24 November 2017, on 2 February 2018 the Bank finalised the acquisition of 100% of Cap.Ital.Fin S.p.A., a company on the register as per Article 106 of the Consolidated Law on Banking that operates across Italy and specialises in salary-backed loans and salary or pension deductions for retirees as well as private- and public-sector and government employees. Preferred unsecured senior bond placement In April 2018, Banca IFIS announced and successfully completed the placement of its first preferred unsecured senior bond issue. The 300 million Euro bond has a 5-year maturity and a 2% fixed coupon rate, and the issue price was 99,231%. The bond, reserved for institutional investors except for those in the United States, was issued under Banca IFIS S.p.A.'s EMTN Programme and will be listed on the Irish Stock Exchange. Fitch assigned a "BB+" long-term rating to the bond. Agreement to acquire FBS S.p.A. On 15 May 2018, the Group finalised an agreement to acquire control over FBS S.p.A., a company operating in the NPL segment as a servicing specialist (including both master and special services), manager of secured and unsecured NPL portfolios, due diligence advisor, and investor authorised to conduct NPL transactions. The deal was notified to the Bank of Italy and is expected to close by September 2018 with the Group's acquisition of 90% of FBS for 58,5 million Euro. Significant subsequent events Acquisition of control of Credifarma S.p.A. On 2 July 2018, the Group finalised the acquisition of a controlling interest in Credifarma S.p.A., a company specialising in pharmacy lending. The deal was finalised through Banca IFIS's acquisition of the combined 32,5% stake of UniCredit and BNL - BNP Paribas Group as well as the acquisition of part of Federfarma's current interest in the company, amounting to 21,5%. Finally, the lender finalised a capital increase reserved for Banca IFIS to provide Credifarma with a robust financial position for regulatory purposes as well as to pursue future growth plans. The deal requires an overall investment-including the capital increase-of approximately 8,8 million Euro. Transfer of Banca IFIS's business unit dedicated to Non-Performing Loans IFIS NPL S.p.A., the joint-stock company into which Banca IFIS spun off its NPL segment, became fully operational on 1 July 2018. The transaction, announced in December 2017, now becomes effective as Banca IFIS's Board of Directors has approved the transfer of the business unit. IFIS NPL has obtained the authorisation to extend financing and was entered into the register of financial intermediaries pursuant to Article 106 of the Italian Consolidated Law on Banking effective 1 July 2018. Declaration of the Corporate Accounting Reporting Officer Pursuant to Article 154 bis, Paragraph 2 of the Consolidated Law on Finance, the Corporate Accounting Reporting Officer, Mariacristina Taormina, declares that the accounting information contained in this press release corresponds to the accounting records, books and entries. Reclassified financial statements Net impairment losses on receivables of the NPL were reclassified to Interest receivable and similar income to present more fairly this particular business, for which net impairment losses represent an integral part of the return on the investment. Consolidated Statement of Financial Position ASSETS (in thousands of Euro) AMOUNTS AT CHANGE 30.06.2018 31.12.2017 ABSOLUTE % 10. Cash and cash equivalents 47 50 (3 ) (6,0 )% 20. Financial assets at fair value through profit or loss 161.145 94.421 66.724 70,7 % a) financial assets held for trading 30.625 35.614 (4.989 ) (14,0 )% c) other financial assets mandatorily measured at fair value 130.520 58.807 71.713 121,9 % 30. Financial assets at fair value through other comprehensive income 433.827 442.576 (8.749 ) (2,0 )% 40. Financial assets measured at amortised cost 8.278.499 8.153.319 125.180 1,5 % a) due from banks 1.568.042 1.760.752 (192.710 ) (10,9 )% b) loans to customers 6.710.457 6.392.567 317.890 5,0 % 90. Property, plant and equipment 130.399 127.881 2.518 2,0 % 100. Intangible assets 24.815 24.483 332 1,4 % of which: goodwill 1.504 834 670 80,3 % 110. Tax assets: 400.773 438.623 (37.850 ) (8,6 )% a) current 46.433 71.309 (24.876 ) (34,9 )% b) deferred 354.340 367.314 (12.974 ) (3,5 )% 130. Other assets 303.238 272.977 30.261 11,1 % Total assets 9.732.743 9.554.330 178.413 1,9 % LIABILITIES AND EQUITY (in thousands of Euro) AMOUNTS AT CHANGE 30.06.2018 31.12.2017 ABSOLUTE % 10. Financial liabilities measured at amortised cost. 7.819.032 7.725.159 93.873 1,2 % a) due to banks 882.324 791.977 90.347 11,4 % b) due to customers 4.840.864 5.293.188 (452.324 ) (8,5 )% c) debt securities issued 2.095.844 1.639.994 455.850 27,8 % 20. Financial liabilities held for trading 38.627 38.171 456 1,2 % 60. Tax liabilities: 50.519 40.076 10.443 26,1 % a) current 8.734 1.477 7.257 491,3 % b) deferred 41.785 38.599 3.186 8,3 % 80. Other liabilities 421.087 352.999 68.088 19,3 % 90. Post-employment benefits 7.792 7.550 242 3,2 % 100. Provisions for risks and charges: 22.603 21.656 947 4,4 % a) commitments and guarantees granted 2.524 590 1.934 327,8 % c) other provisions for risks and charges 20.079 21.066 (987 ) (4,7 )% 120. Valuation reserves (14.478 ) (2.710 ) (11.768 ) 434,2 % 150. Reserves 1.168.592 1.038.155 130.437 12,6 % 160. Share premiums 102.052 101.864 188 0,2 % 170. Share capital 53.811 53.811 - 0,0 % 180. Treasury shares (-) (3.103 ) (3.168 ) 65 (2,1 )% 200. Profit (loss) for the period (+/-) 66.209 180.767 (114.558 ) (63,4 )% Total liabilities and equity 9.732.743 9.554.330 178.413 1,9 % Consolidated Income Statement ITEMS (in thousands of Euro) AMOUNTS AT CHANGE 30.06.2018 30.06.2017 ABSOLUTE % 10. Interest receivable and similar income 281.019 251.042 29.977 11,9 % 20. Interest due and similar expenses (51.442 ) (49.495 ) (1.947 ) 3,9 % 30. Net interest income 229.577 201.547 28.030 13,9 % 40. Commission income 46.885 41.241 5.644 13,7 % 50. Commission expense (7.111 ) (6.877 ) (234 ) 3,4 % 60. Net commission income 39.774 34.364 5.410 15,7 % 70. Dividends and similar income 301 40 261 652,5 % 80. Net profit (loss) from trading (352 ) (309 ) (43 ) 13,9 % 100. Gain (loss) on sale or buyback of: 1.997 17.577 (15.580 ) (88,6 )% a) financial assets measured at amortised cost 1.999 17.625 (15.626 ) (88,7 )% b) financial assets at fair value through other comprehensive income - (48 ) 48 (100,0 )% c) financial liabilities (2 ) - (2 ) - 110. Net result of other financial assets and liabilities at fair value through profit or loss 6.820 - 6.820 - b) other financial assets mandatorily measured at fair value 6.820 - 6.820 - 120. Net banking income 278.117 253.219 24.898 9,8 % 130. Net credit risk losses/reversal on: (40.036 ) 12.109 (52.145 ) (430,6 )% a) financial assets measured at amortised cost (39.752 ) 12.784 (52.536 ) (411,0 )% b) financial assets at fair value through other comprehensive income (284 ) (675 ) 391 (57,9 )% 150. Net profit (loss) from financial activities 238.081 265.328 (27.247 ) (10,3 )% 190. Administrative expenses: (150.536 ) (119.336 ) (31.200 ) 26,1 % a) personnel expenses (55.451 ) (49.484 ) (5.967 ) 12,1 % b) other administrative expenses (95.085 ) (69.852 ) (25.233 ) 36,1 % 200. Net allocations to provisions for risks and charges 948 1.276 (328 ) (25,7 )% a) commitments and guarantees granted 1.140 3.173 (2.033 ) (64,1 )% b) other net provisions (192 ) (1.897 ) 1.705 (89,9 )% 210. Net impairment losses/reversal on property, plant and equipment (2.846 ) (2.048 ) (798 ) 39,0 % 220. Net impairment losses/reversal on intangible assets (3.079 ) (3.894 ) 815 (20,9 )% 230. Other operating income/expenses 11.337 4.547 6.790 149,3 % 240. Operating costs (144.176 ) (119.455 ) (24.721 ) 20,7 % 290. Pre-tax profit (loss) for the period from continuing operations 93.905 145.873 (51.968 ) (35,6 )% 300. Income taxes for the period relating to current operations (27.696 ) (42.211 ) 14.515 (34,4 )% 330. Profit (Loss) for the period 66.209 103.662 (37.453 ) (36,1 )% 340. Profit (Loss) for the period attributable to non-controlling interests - 5 (5 ) (100,0 )% 350. Profit (loss) for the period attributable to the Parent company 66.209 103.657 (37.448 ) (36,1 )% Consolidated Income Statement: 2nd Quarter ITEMS (in thousands of Euro) AMOUNTS AT CHANGE 30.06.2018 30.06.2017 ABSOLUTE % 10. Interest receivable and similar income 134.008 135.564 (1.556 ) (1,1 )% 20. Interest due and similar expenses (23.911 ) (25.004 ) 1.093 (4,4 )% 30. Net interest income 110.097 110.560 (463 ) (0,4 )% 40. Commission income 23.605 23.457 148 0,6 % 50. Commission expense (3.651 ) (3.312 ) (339 ) 10,2 % 60. Net commission income 19.954 20.145 (191 ) (0,9 )% 70. Dividends and similar income 301 40 261 652,5 % 80. Net profit (loss) from trading 368 1.306 (938 ) (71,8 )% 100. Gain (loss) on sale or buyback of: 920 17.625 (16.705 ) (94,8 )% a) financial assets measured at amortised cost 922 17.625 (16.703 ) (94,8 )% c) financial liabilities (2 ) - (2 ) - 110. Net result of other financial assets and liabilities at fair value through profit or loss 7.099 - 7.099 - b) other financial assets mandatorily measured at fair value 7.099 - 7.099 - 120. Net banking income 138.739 149.676 (10.937 ) (7,3 )% 130. Net credit risk losses/reversal on: (29.079 ) 14.277 (43.356 ) (303,7 )% a) financial assets measured at amortised cost (28.876 ) 14.937 (43.813 ) (293,3 )% b) financial assets at fair value through other comprehensive income (203 ) (660 ) 457 (69,2 )% 150. Net profit (loss) from financial activities 109.660 163.953 (54.293 ) (33,1 )% 190. Administrative expenses: (77.084 ) (64.129 ) (12.955 ) 20,2 % a) personnel expenses (28.624 ) (25.411 ) (3.213 ) 12,6 % b) other administrative expenses (48.460 ) (38.718 ) (9.742 ) 25,2 % 200. Net allocations to provisions for risks and charges 3.754 2.873 881 30,7 % a) commitments and guarantees granted 982 2.428 (1.446 ) (59,6 )% b) other net provisions 2.772 445 2.327 522,9 % 210. Net impairment losses/reversal on property, plant and equipment (1.460 ) (852 ) (608 ) 71,4 % 220. Net impairment losses/reversal on intangible assets (1.656 ) (1.631 ) (25 ) 1,5 % 230. Other operating income/expenses 5.691 (72 ) 5.763 (8004,2 )% 240. Operating costs (70.755 ) (63.811 ) (6.944 ) 10,9 % 290. Pre-tax profit (loss) for the period from continuing operations 38.905 100.142 (61.237 ) (61,2 )% 300. Income taxes for the period relating to current operations (10.550 ) (29.168 ) 18.618 (63,8 )% 330. Profit (Loss) for the period 28.355 70.974 (42.619 ) (60,0 )% 340. Profit (Loss) for the period attributable to non-controlling interests - 4 (4 ) (100,0 )% 350. Profit (loss) for the period attributable to the Parent company 28.355 70.970 (42.615 ) (60,0 )% Consolidated Income Statement: Quarterly CONSOLIDATED INCOME STATEMENT: QUARTERLY EVOLUTION (in thousands of Euro) YEAR 2018 YEAR 2017 2nd Q. 1st Q. 2nd Q. 1st Q. 2nd Q. 1st Q. Net interest income 110.097 119.480 121.252 91.872 110.560 90.987 Net commission income 19.954 19.820 21.129 18.272 20.145 14.219 Other components of net banking income 8.688 78 7.639 11.945 18.971 (1.663 ) Net banking income 138.739 139.378 150.020 122.089 149.676 103.543 Net credit risk losses/reversals (29.079 ) (10.957 ) (37.075 ) (1.140 ) 14.277 (2.168 ) Net profit (loss) from financial activities 109.660 128.421 112.945 120.949 163.953 101.375 Personnel expenses (28.624 ) (26.827 ) (24.469 ) (24.298 ) (25.411 ) (24.073 ) Other administrative expenses (48.460 ) (46.625 ) (48.511 ) (34.257 ) (38.718 ) (31.134 ) Net allocations to provisions for risks and charges 3.754 (2.806 ) 1.719 (2.922 ) 2.873 (1.597 ) Net impairment losses/reversals on property, plant and equipment and intangible assets (3.116 ) (2.809 ) (2.688 ) (2.822 ) (2.483 ) (3.459 ) Other operating income/expenses 5.691 5.646 4.028 3.028 (72 ) 4.619 Operating costs (70.755 ) (73.421 ) (69.921 ) (61.271 ) (63.811 ) (55.644 ) Pre-tax profit from continuing operations 38.905 55.000 43.024 59.678 100.142 45.731 Income taxes for the period relating to continuing operations (10.550 ) (17.146 ) (11.387 ) (14.210 ) (29.168 ) (13.043 ) Profit for the period 28.355 37.854 31.637 45.468 70.974 32.688 Profit (Loss) for the period attributable to non-controlling interests - - (7 ) 2 4 1 Profit for the period attributable to the Parent company 28.355 37.854 31.644 45.466 70.970 32.687 EQUITY: BREAKDOWN (in thousands of Euro) AMOUNTS AT CHANGE 30.06.2018 31.12.2017 ABSOLUTE % Share capital 53.811 53.811 - 0,0 % Share premiums 102.052 101.864 188 0,2 % Valuation reserves: (14.478 ) (2.710 ) (14.036 ) 517,9 % - Securities (7.946 ) 2.275 (12.489 ) (549,0 )% - Post-employment benefits 75 20 55 275,0 % - exchange differences (6.607 ) (5.005 ) (1.602 ) 32,0 % Reserves 1.168.592 1.038.155 132.705 12,8 % Treasury shares (3.103 ) (3.168 ) 65 (2,1 )% Profit for the period 66.209 180.767 (114.558 ) (63,4 )% Equity 1.373.083 1.368.719 4.364 0,3 % OWN FUNDS AND CAPITAL ADEQUACY RATIOS: BANCA IFIS BANKING GROUP SCOPE (in thousands of Euro) AMOUNTS AT 30.06.2018 31.12.2017 Common equity Tier 1 Capital (CET1) 1.175.684 1.152.603 Tier 1 Capital (T1) 1.175.684 1.152.603 Total own funds 1.575.684 1.552.792 Total RWA 7.769.825 7.369.921 Common Equity Tier 1 Ratio 15,13 % 15,64 % Tier 1 Capital Ratio 15,13 % 15,64 % Total Own Funds Capital Ratio 20,28 % 21,07 % Attachment "The voices of China. The faces of China. The stories of China." EDINBURGH, United Kingdom, Aug. 3, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- 2018 China Focuswill kick off its second year at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, bringing another Chinese feast for the senses along with five excellent Chinese theatre productions: A Life on the Silk Road, Tu Tu, A Chinese Bestiary, The Creation Myths of Chinaand Painted Skin Return. After last year's success, the Chinese government is ready to take the overseas promotion of Chinese heritage and culture to the next level. China Focus is Edinburgh Festival Fringe's celebration of excellence in Chinese theatre and dramatic production through high-quality art performances. Each is a contemporary show that blends both China's traditional and its contemporary creative currents. China Focus aims to promote Chinese heritage and cultural products among international markets. Officials from the Chinese Embassy, Shanghai Municipal Government, Scottish and Edinburgh government, British Council, the Edinburgh Festivals, the Fringe; and members of the press, along with key artists from the China Focus programme will gather together for the celebration of leading contemporary talent from East to West. Mr. Pan Xinchun, Consul General, Chinese Consulate General in Edinburgh; Mr. Donald Wilson, Convener of the Culture and Communities Committee of the City of Edinburgh Council; Ms. Zong Ming, Deputy Secretary General, Shanghai Municipal People's Government; Secretary General, Organizing Committee of the China Shanghai International Arts Festival; Ms. Julia Amour, Director of Festivals Edinburgh; Ms. Yang Jing, Vice President, The Center for China Shanghai International Arts Festival and Ms. Rachel Sanger, Head of Participant Services, Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society will be among the guests attending the reception. China Focus triggered the pursuit of Chinese original works in the British cultural market. This is one of the outstanding achievements of the golden era between China and the UK, followed by the cooperation memo between the Shanghai Municipal Administration of Culture, Radio, Film & TV and the Festivals Edinburgh on November 2017, and a cooperation agreement between The Centre for China Shanghai International Arts Festival and the Festivals Edinburgh on April 2018. China Focus proves to be a dynamic strategy and platform to encourage innovation in the UK-China art industries. By bringing the most exquisite and thrilling selection of theatre productions, the annual programme will continue to grow as a mainstay of Edinburgh Fringe's Chinese cultural showcase and strengthen existing relationships and build new links between individuals and organisations in art and culture industries, as well as between governments. Supported by Bureau for External Cultural Relations, Ministry of Culture and Tourism, P. R.China Shanghai Municipal Administration of Culture, Radio, Film & TV Organised by The Centre for China Shanghai International Arts Festival Co-Organised by Branding Shanghai Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/726664/china_focus_fringe.jpg 03 August 2018 Clear Leisure Plc ("Clear Leisure", "the Company") Appeal against Result of Mediapolis Land Auction Further to the Company's announcement dated 26 July 2018 the board of Clear Leisure Plc (AIM: CLP) announces that the Company has filed an appeal against the result of the auction and the decision of the auctioneer to reject the Company's request to have the land assigned. The Company's Italian lawyers, having received a copy of the minutes of the auction and the reasoning on which the auctioneer's decision to reject the assignment request was based, have advised that the decision and the result of the auction can be challenged. The Company will issue further updates in due course. -ends- For further information please contact: Clear Leisure Plc +39 335 296573 Francesco Gardin, CEO and Executive Chairman SP Angel Corporate Finance (Nominated Adviser & Broker) +44 (0)20 3407 0470 Jeff Keating / John Mackay Leander (Financial PR) +44 (0) 7795 168 157 Christian Taylor-Wilkinson About Clear Leisure Plc Clear Leisure plc (AIM: CLP) is an AIM listed investment company with a portfolio of companies primarily encompassing the leisure and real estate sectors mainly in Italy. The focus of management is to pursue the monetisation of all of the Company's existing assets, through selected realisations, court-led recoveries of misappropriated assets and substantial debt-recovery processes. The Company has recently launched a joint venture initiative in the cryptocurrency mining sector. For further information, please visit, www.clearleisure.co.uk Duos platform allows users to verify their identity with a two-step authentication process, a product that Cisco executives said was key as more of their customers are trying to securely connect to applications in the cloud. Cisco Systems Inc said on Thursday it would buy Duo Security, a venture capital-backed cyber security company, for $2.35 billion in cash, as part of its push to expand into a faster-growing area of software than its core business. The deal is the biggest acquisition for Cisco since its $3.7-billion purchase of business performance monitoring software company AppDynamics last year, and its largest in the cybersecurity sector since its $2.7-billion takeover of Sourcefire in 2013. Earlier, Cisco tweeted about the deal and announced its intent to acquire Duo Security. A more powerful and secure networking experience, today Cisco announced the intent to acquire Duo Security. #CiscoSecurity #CiscoDNA https://t.co/VgSc5ofxpK pic.twitter.com/mDkW4gjd41 Cisco (@Cisco) August 2, 2018 The deal is an example of a move toward software and our shift to more recurring revenue with new subscription-based solutions, Robert Salvagno, head of Ciscos corporate development said on a conference call Thursday. Many companies are on the hunt for deals to expand their cybersecurity offerings as corporations want to bulk up their defenses against a wave of cyber attacks by criminals, spies and hacker activists. Earlier this month, telecommunications firm AT&T Inc bought AlienVault, a cybersecurity provider for small and medium-size businesses. Cisco is getting its act together in the cyber security market, Credit Suisse analyst Brad Zelnick said in a research note, noting that Cisco has acquired five security companies over the past three years. Cisco shares rose 1.6 percent at $42.54 on Thursday. The deal represents a rare multi-billion dollar exit for cybersecurity venture investors who have been pouring money at a record pace into a crowded market. There are over 3,000 cybersecurity companies with more than 400 being funded per year, according to advisory firm Momentum Cyber. One venture capital firm, Benchmark, saw a 20 times return on its early investment in the company, according to a source familiar with the matter. Benchmark declined to comment. Based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Duo had raised $119 million to date from investors such as Lead Edge Capital, Index Ventures, Workday, Redpoint Ventures and True Ventures. Duos platform allows users to verify their identity with a two-step authentication process, a product that Cisco executives said was key as more of their customers are trying to securely connect to applications in the cloud. The deal, reported first by Reuters, is expected to close in the first quarter of Ciscos fiscal 2019. Cisco has been making efforts to transform itself beyond networking. Besides security, it is also focused on investing in what it calls the Internet of Things and cloud-based applications. Cisco was advised by Goldman Sachs and Barclays as well as the law firm Fenwick & West. Duo was advised by Qatalyst Partners and law firm Gunderson Dettmer. -- With inputs from Reuters By Nate Raymond (Reuters) - Allergan Plc on Thursday sued Pfizer Inc to force its rival to cover any damages Allergan is forced to pay as a result of hundreds of lawsuits claiming it deceptively marketed an opioid it acquired from a company Pfizer bought. In a lawsuit filed in federal court in Cleveland, Ohio, Allergan said the 'primary basis' for the claims against it was the alleged improper marketing and sale of Kadian, form of morphine, in the years before it gained rights to the painkiller in late 2008. 'But now that more than a thousand lawsuits seek to impose liability for that very marketing and sale, Pfizer has rejected any responsibility to indemnify Allergan,' alleged Allergan Finance LLC, the subsidiary that filed the lawsuit By Nate Raymond (Reuters) - Allergan Plc on Thursday sued Pfizer Inc to force its rival to cover any damages Allergan is forced to pay as a result of hundreds of lawsuits claiming it deceptively marketed an opioid it acquired from a company Pfizer bought. In a lawsuit filed in federal court in Cleveland, Ohio, Allergan said the "primary basis" for the claims against it was the alleged improper marketing and sale of Kadian, form of morphine, in the years before it gained rights to the painkiller in late 2008. "But now that more than a thousand lawsuits seek to impose liability for that very marketing and sale, Pfizer has rejected any responsibility to indemnify Allergan," alleged Allergan Finance LLC, the subsidiary that filed the lawsuit. Pfizer did not respond to a request for comment. Opioids were involved in more than 42,000 overdose deaths in 2016, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Drugmakers including Allergan, Purdue Pharma LP and Endo International Plc are facing a wave of lawsuits by state and local governments accusing them of pushing addictive painkillers through deceptive marketing.[nL1N1RO2DW] At least 1,021 lawsuits are consolidated before U.S. District Judge Dan Polster in Cleveland, who has scheduled the first trial for March. Plaintiffs' lawyers pursuing the cases have compared them with the litigation by states against the tobacco industry that led to 1998's $246 billion settlement. In its complaint, Allergan said the bulk of the lawsuits it faces seeking to hold it responsible for playing a role in the opioid crisis primarily relate to improper marketing of Kadian and involve allegations dating back to the mid-1990s. The drug at that time was owned by Alpharma Inc, which King Pharmaceuticals acquired in 2008, the same year King sold the rights to Kadian to Actavis. In 2016, Actavis acquired Allergan and took on the company's name. Sale of rights to Kadian was a condition of winning U.S. antitrust approval for King's $1.6 billion acquisition of Alpharma. Pfizer acquired King Pharmaceuticals in 2010. Allergan argued that Pfizer under the terms of an agreement Actavis signed with King in 2008 was required to indemnify it for any damages arising out of the pre-2009 marketing and sale of Kadian. But Allergan said that Pfizer, which has not been named as a defendant in the vast majority of lawsuits, has rejected its claim for indemnification. The case is In re National Prescription Opiate Litigation, U.S. District Court, Northern District of Ohio, No. 17-md-2804. (This version of the story corrects first paragraph to make clear the opioid was acquired from a company Pfizer later acquired) (Reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston; Editing by Bill Berkrot) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. A three-member international arbitration tribunal held that RIL could contractually produce and sell any gas that might have migrated from adjoining fields of state-owned ONGC. Oil minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Friday said the government will file an appeal in high court against a ruling by an international tribunal that rejected its USD 1.55 billion claims against Reliance Industries (RIL) for allegedly siphoning gas from fields operated by state-owned ONGC. A three-member international arbitration tribunal, by a majority vote last week, held that Reliance could contractually produce and sell any gas that might have migrated from adjoining fields of state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) into its area and that it was not obligated to seek prior permission of the government for doing so. "The government will certainly file an appeal against the arbitration award in the higher forum," Pradhan said in New Delhi. With one member dissenting, the arbitration panel had held that the production sharing contract for eastern offshore KG-D6 fields "does not prohibit but permits" Reliance "to produce and sell gas which migrated into the sub-sea reservoir lying within (its) Contract Area from a source outside the Contract Area". And so "there is no question of 'unjust enrichment'," it held. Reliance "has not been and will not be unjustly enriched by any production of migrated gas as a result of Petroleum Operations conducted within its Contract Area". Asked what will be the forum for appeal, Pradhan said, "it will be in the High Court". He said the government had made a claim on Reliance and its partners based on the recommendation of the Justice AP Shah Committee that quantified the natural gas that had migrated to KG-D6 from neighbouring blocks of ONGC. "Certainly, we will file an appeal," he said. In the 107-page order, the arbitration tribunal headed by Singapore-based arbitrator Lawrence G S Boo stated that although Reliance had always accepted that there could be channel continuity between its KG-D6 block and ONGC's adjoining KG-D5 and IG block, its conduct is consistent with its position that 'reservoir connectivity' has not been proven. Bernard Eder, a former UK High court judge nominated by Reliance, was the other judge who concurred with Boo. GS Singhvi, a former Supreme Court judge and the government nominee on the panel, wrote a long dissent note. "The Claimant (Reliance) requires no further express permission to produce and sell any migrated gas that could have come into (its) Contract Area," the majority judgment held. In his dissent note, Singhvi said that the PSC prohibits the Reliance and its partners from producing and selling gas which migrated into their sub-sea reservoir from Contract Area of ONGC. He held that Reliance "unjustly enriched itself by the sale of migrated gas, which did not belong to it and, therefore, it is bound to restore those benefits to the Government". The panel also awarded USD 8.3 million compensation to the three partners. Reliance is the operator of the KG-D6 block with 60 per cent interest, while BP Plc of UK holds 30 per cent and Niko Resources of Canada the remaining 10 per cent. In his dissent note, Singhvi said Reliance was required to obtain explicit permission to produce migrated gas. "It is crystal clear that the claimant (Reliance) does not have any rights to the gas which has migrated from ONGC's blocks," he wrote. "There can be no doubt that the retention of the benefit of migrated gas would be 'against the fundamental principles of justice or equity and good conscience' thereby falling squarely within the ambit of the doctrine of unjust enrichment". Pradhan's ministry had on 4 November, 2016, slapped a demand notice on Reliance-BP-Niko combine for producing in seven years ending March 31, 2016, about 338.332 million British thermal units of gas that had seeped or migrated from ONGC's blocks into their adjoining KG-D6 in the Bay of Bengal. Reliance on 11 November, 2016, slapped an arbitration notice disputing the claim. The government's compensation claim flowed from the report of the Justice (retd) A P Shah Committee. The Shah panel, in its August 28, 2016, report, concluded that there has been "unjust enrichment" to the contractor of the block KG-DWN-98/3 (KG-D6) due to the production of the migrated gas from ONGC's blocks KG-DWN-98/2 and Godavari PML. It relied on a report produced by petroleum industry consultant DeGolyer and MacNaughton which concluded that gas had migrated from ONGC-controlled parts of the sea floor and the geological formations beneath it into areas controlled by the private companies. But Reliance had at that time stated that the methods were flawed. (Disclosure: Reliance Industries Ltd is the sole beneficiary of Independent Media Trust which controls Network18 Media & Investments Ltd) Nirav Modi along with his uncle Mehul Choksi of the Gitanjali group are being probed in the fraud scam by the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate (ED). New Delhi: The government has sent a request to the UK for extraditing fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modi, who is wanted in the Rs 13,500 crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud case, parliament has been informed. "An extradition request has been received in the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) for the extradition of Nirav Modi from the UK," Minister of State for External Affairs V K Singh told the Rajya Sabha on Thursday. "The request has been sent by a Special Diplomatic Bag to the High Commission of India (HCI), London for onward transmission to the UK authorities," he said. India sends request to UK govt for extradition of #NiravModi pic.twitter.com/lmGXjCrKnZ Doordarshan News (@DDNewsLive) August 3, 2018 Singh said that the MEA revoked the passport of Modi as per the provisions of Section 10(3)(c) of the Passports Act, 1967, on February 16, 2018. MoS MEA V K Singh informed Rajya Sabha yesterday that request for extradition had been sent to High Commission of India in London. The request has been sent by a special diplomatic bag for onward transmission to UK authorities. #NiravModi ANI (@ANI) August 3, 2018 "This information was conveyed to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for onward transmission to the Interpol," he said. He also said that the Ministry has no means to verify the travels, if any, of Nirav Modi, and the passport used for such travels by him. Nirav Modi along with his uncle Mehul Choksi of the Gitanjali group are being probed in the fraud scam by the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate (ED). The ED had, on 24 May and 26 May, filed prosecution complaints or charge-sheets against Choksi and Modi. The court has taken cognizance of the charge-sheets and issued non-bailable warrants against both of them. On request of the ED and the CBI, the Interpol had earlier issued Red Corner Notice against Nirav Modi on July 2. Nirav Modi left India along with his family in the first week of January, weeks before the scam was reported to the CBI. His wife Ami, a US citizen, left on 6 January and Choksi on 4 January. --With IANS inputs Pradhan called for reform and restructuring of the energy sector in each of these nations in such a way that the bloc becomes more competitive and efficient. New Delhi: India is planning to set up a liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal in Myanmar as it looks to expand energy diplomacy in its neighbourhood, Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said today. The terminal to import super-cooled natural gas will be in addition to the similar facilities planned by Indian firms in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka as part of larger plan of energy connectivity in the South Asian neighbourhood, he said. Speaking at a seminar on 'Assessing India's Connectivity with Its Neighbourhood', Pradhan said Numaligarh Refinery Ltd (NRL) in Assam is exploring supply of diesel to Myanmar and is looking at options to build fuel storage and distribution sector in that country. "Indian Oil Corp (IOC) is also working with Myanmar companies in setting up LPG storage facilities and Petronet LNG is working on setting up an LNG terminal there," he said. He, however, did not give details. "India is working with Bangladesh in interconnecting gas grids and supplying diesel through pipelines," he said. Currently, Indian firms supply diesel through rail rake from Siliguri in Assam to Parbatipur in Bangladesh and are in the process of constructing a 130-km long product pipeline for uninterrupted supply. "Also, Indian companies are working on connecting India's gas grid with that of Bangladesh and supply gas for power generation at Khulna Power Plant," he said. "This will be an exemplary display of regional cooperation." Bangladesh is setting up an 800-megawatt (MW) power plant in the country's Khulna region, for which it has signed an agreement with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) for a USD 500 million funding. Pradhan said Petronet is also looking at building a 7.5 million tonne a year LNG import terminal in Bangladesh to feed that country's energy needs using imported gas. "In view of providing energy access to the north-eastern part of India, there are plans to import LPG in Bangladesh and transport through road/pipeline to the region while catering to the demand of Bangladesh," he said. In Sri Lanka, India is jointly developing Trincomalee oil storage tank farm and is also working on setting up an LNG terminal and a 500 MW LNG-fired power plant near Colombo. Also, there is a proposal to develop city gas distribution (CGD) and CNG market and infrastructure in Sri Lanka, he said. IOC Lanka, which is a subsidiary of IOC, has 43.5 percent of the total fuel market share. "India is working with Sri Lanka on a proposal to set up a solar power plant at Sampur, which would be of 50 MW to begin with," he said. To Nepal, India presently supplies all of its petroleum product requirements through trucks. A pipeline for supply of petroleum products is under construction, which will ensure uninterrupted supply. "There are also discussions with Nepal on an LPG and Natural gas pipeline," he said adding Nepal has expressed interest in implementing free cooking gas (LPG) connection scheme for poor women on lines of the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojna (PMUY) to expand the coverage of LPG. "The Hydrocarbon Vision 2030 for North East India envisages a natural gas pipeline from Numaligarh towards Sittwe (in Myanmar) in different phases. The gas pipeline will open future possibilities of gas exchange and grid connectivity," he said. India supplies all of petroleum product needs of Bhutan, which too is planning to extend LPG coverage to 100 percent of the population by sourcing supplies from the refineries in Assam, he said. To Mauritius, India supplies all its energy products. "Our (neighbouring) countries are considering the construction of a bunkering facility along with a jetty," he said adding Indian firms are working with Vietnam, the UAE and Oman for presence in upstream sector to produce oil and gas. "Regional integration through connectivity across all modes - physical, utilities-based and digital - among our countries in the immediate neighbourhood is one of the top priorities of our government. It is imperative that we, together as a group, address the weak links and overcome challenges," he said. The BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) region is abundant in energy resources such as hydropower, hydrocarbons, and renewables. "Since the region enjoys high insolation, it is appropriate that we consider the development of a common Solar Grid here," he said. Also, Bangladesh and Myanmar have large gas reserves which can be explored as alternate sources of gas supply. Similarly, Nepal and Bhutan have immense potential of hydropower, which is untapped due to the absence of a market that can create demand of this magnitude. On the other hand, India and Sri Lanka are net importers of energy like many other developing countries, he said. "The energy demand-supply sectors in Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, SriLanka, Thailand, Nepal and Bhutan offer a potential for regional resource cooperation, which could go beyond export-import trade relations and link the region in a Bay of Bengal Energy Community and thus contribute to the process of regional integration. "The key to developing such a community lies in identifying complementary conditions and the combination of inter-related production characteristics among energy supply and demand sectors of these countries," he said. Pradhan called for reform and restructuring of the energy sector in each of these nations in such a way that the bloc becomes more competitive and efficient. The national energy systems -- gas and electricity networks -- in the South Asian countries are largely isolated from each other. Currently only India, Bhutan and Nepal trade electricity. In addition, India supplies some amount of power to Bangladesh. Demand for electricity in South Asia and particularly in Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal is growing rapidly which call for cooperation and trade that should eventually create one of the world's largest integrated energy market, he added. The apex court isn't interfering with the bail granted to Karti Chidambaram but has left the question of law open -- on whether he can approach the high court when his application for bail was already pending before the trial court. The Supreme Court (SC) on Friday refused to interfere with a Delhi High Court (HC) order granting bail to Karti Chidambaram, son of former Union minister P Chidambaram, for alleged financial irregularities related to INX Media. When it comes to the question of liberty, the courts do not go into technicality, a bench of Justices A K Sikri and Ashok Bhushan said. The bench said it is not interfering with the bail granted to Karti but was leaving the question of law open -- on whether he can approach the high court when his application for bail was already pending before the trial court. Additional Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), said this question of law has to be kept open as invoking powers of concurrent jurisdiction of the high court may be a case of "forum shopping". Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Karti, said there is already a judgement in which concurrent jurisdiction of the high court can be invoked. On 25 June, the CBI moved the apex court challenging the high court order granting bail to Karti. The probe agency claimed in its appeal that it was "impermissible in law" for the high court to entertain Karti's bail plea when an application seeking a similar relief was pending before the trial court. On 23 March, a single judge bench of the high court granted bail to Karti, who was arrested on 28 February by the CBI, saying the relief should not be refused unless the crime was of the "highest magnitude" entailing "severe punishment". Karti was arrested from Chennai in connection with an FIR lodged on 15 May last year, which had alleged irregularities in the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) clearance given to INX Media for receiving funds of about Rs 305 crore from overseas in 2007 when his father P Chidambaram was Union finance minister. Both Karti and Chidambaram have denied all allegations made by CBI, as well as the Enforcement Directorate (ED). The CBI initially alleged that Karti received Rs 10 lakh as bribe for facilitating the FIPB clearance to INX Media. It later revised the figure to $1 million. The results of such studies are vital - not only for those in their mid-twenties and already starting to wilt under the pressure but also for the ones in their mid-forties who assume that they are well over the hill to embark on an entrepreneurial or an experimental journey. Recently, Pierre Azoulay, an MIT Sloan professor and the researchers from Kellogg School of Management and the US Census Bureau came together to analyse the ages of founders of growth-oriented startups. They looked at 1,000 fastest growing new ventures of the last 10 years and arrived at a startling conclusion. As most of us might tend to believe, the average age of the founders of these companies did not turn out to be 20 or even 30 but 45. In fact, even more surprising conclusion was arrived at when the researchers went on to find the mean age of an entrepreneur when he or she actually lays the foundation of a startup. When a total of 2.7 million founders were examined, the mean age of when they are founding startups unexpectedly turns out to be 42. Interestingly, similar results have emerged from the field of arts and sciences when we examine the relationship between age of a person and major breakthroughs achieved. In 2014, Jones and Weinberg examined Nobel Prize winners and great technological innovators in the 20th Century and found that the average age when one achieves great scientific output is 40. Truly, as an example, Alexander Fleming was 47 when he discovered Penicillin, the worlds first antibiotic. The results of such studies are vital - not only for those in their mid-twenties and already starting to wilt under the pressure but also for the ones in their mid-forties who assume that they are well over the hill to embark on an entrepreneurial or an experimental journey. Worryingly, the outlook is now firmly established that if our generation were to produce great achievers it has to launch itself as early as possible. As it was the case a decade ago, graduates achieving the feat of starting their career at a $100,000 salary is no more a headline. People are now interested in the stories of the ones who could publish a book, start a Youtube channel, become a social media influencer or get their startup stories go viral even before hitting their twenties. Carefully crafted headlines on child prodigies, teenage entrepreneurs, tech wizards or the all aspiring lists of 30 under 30 create false reality and bring significant pressure at the doorstep of our generation. Indeed, this is a result when we try evolving our minds only through the headlines instead of following deep learning. If we deeply reflect on the combined result of above mentioned studies on why the average age of achieving success hit forties, following lessons can be learnt: A curious and experimental mind is key to achieving success. Richard Feynman, the prodigious Nobel Prize winning physicist, whom Bill Gates lovingly call as the best teacher I never had, considered curiosity as key to breaking new grounds. Hence, as contrary as it may sound,we should throw the age deadlines out of the window and freely expose ourselves to diverse experiences, travel, read, engage with alternative viewpoints and also allow us the freedom to remain uncertain. It is amazing to see how the word failure is often marked with red, starting right from our school assessments. People are often advised to craft their CVs and polish stumbling stones in their lifes journeys as successful halts. Those who have achieved consistently would vouch for the fact that the actual route to a long successful story often goes through a series of failure. Jonas Salk, the discoverer of polio vaccine, was often made fun of by his scientific peers for adopting unconventional methods. Eventually Salk proved that his failings were truly the stepping stone to achieve the vaccine that now saves lives of millions every year. When those who try and fail are encouraged then a nation has a better chance to produce discoverers and inventors and in turn knowledge driven start-ups, which is key for it to keep pace with the other economies. Another important lesson which, although goes beyond the commercial realm, could be the most important one for our lives. It is to do with falling in love, building relationships, and raising children. The pressure to achieve success in thirties is resulting in younger generation avoiding nurturing long-term relationships and delaying having children. Take for instance the case of the UK. For the first time in UK's history, there are now more women in their 40s who conceive than the ones below 30. The understanding of the fact that one can very well begin in their 40s and yet achieve greater success than their younger counterparts can takeaway the pressure of falling off the track from the minds of those wanting to raise families along with developing their careers. Finally, it is crucial to realize that when one lives with the principle that life is a journey, which requires us to keep trying, opportunities gets thrown at us from most unexpected corners. The iconic poet-writer Rabindranath Tagore was in his forties when he decided to pick brush and turn into a painter but failed miserably. He gave up only to pick it up again at the ripe age of sixty and eventually went on to create several masterpieces, which are now part of our proud national heritage. (The writer is a PhD in education from the University of Oxford and currently an associate fellow at Oxford Centre for Higher Education Policy Studies. Some of the ideas have been taken from his upcoming book Fluid the approach applied by geniuses over centuries.) It would be difficult to revoke Choksi citizenship as it is possible for the government for it entails a legal process. Choksi is protected by the law in Antigua Mumbai: In what seems like a setback to the Indian government, the government of Antigua and Barbuda has said that it cannot deport fugitive Indian jeweller Mehul Choksi as he is a citizen of that country. The Antiguan government also denied any wrongdoing in granting a passport to Choksi, according to CNN-News18. It would be difficult to revoke Choksi's citizenship for it entails a legal process. Choksi is protected by the law in Antigua. Furthermore, the prime minister of Antigua, Gaston Browne, has said that his hands are tied in the matter, CNN News18 report said. Though Choksi is wanted in India and non-bailable warrants have been issued against him, there is nothing much the Indian government can do as it does not have an extradition treaty with Antigua, said the news channel. Meanwhile, Choksi's lawyer refused to provide answers about his whereabouts, the news channel added. Sebi clarification Markets regulator SEBI has denied it received any request for details about Choksi in connection with the process that grants Antiguan citizenship. This follows news that Antigua's Citizenship by Investment Unit (CIU) ran a background check on Choksi with the SEBI. #PNBFraud Case | @SEBI_India denies receiving any request from Antigua citizenship investment unit on investigation updates in relation to Mehul Choksi pic.twitter.com/Lm0StNfuLF CNBC-TV18 (@CNBCTV18Live) August 3, 2018 Political blame game Senior Congress leaders blamed the government for Choksi getting clearance from Indian authorities that enabled the Antiguan government to grant him citizenship. Randeep Singh Surjewala, in-charge, Communications, All India Congress Committee (AICC), tweeted that Choksi escaped with the 'active connivance and complicity of every agency of the Modi govt'. ' ' ! , , ! New facts uncover the The Great Escape of Mehul Choksi, with the active connivance & complicity of every agency of Modi Govt Our Statement- pic.twitter.com/d0TfBoKPc4 Randeep Singh Surjewala (@rssurjewala) August 3, 2018 Sanjay Jha, in a tweet, said 'Mehul bhai gets the special VVIP treatment': This is where Mehul Bhai gets the special VVIP treatment. "Police Certificate Gave All-Clear: Antigua On Mehul Choksi's Citizenship https://t.co/sXMRtm2yco via @ndtv Sanjay Jha (@JhaSanjay) August 3, 2018 Choksi given clearance certificate by MEA The Antigua government has said that Choksi was given citizenship of the Carribean country after "stringent background checks" and a clearance certificate by the Mumbai police and the external affairs ministry, the IANS reported. Antigua and Barbuda's Citizenship by Investment Unit has clarified that it took all steps to ensure fugitive diamantaire and Punjab National Bank scam accused Mehul Choksi was a 'fit and proper candidate' for the grant of citizenship ANI Digital (@ani_digital) August 3, 2018 Antigua's Citizenship by Investment Unit (CIU) has said that while conducting background checks on Choksi, it found that SEBI had initiated investigations against him twice. But the cases, according to India's markets regulator, had been closed. In a detailed statement, the citizenship authority said the businessman's application was received in May 2017 with necessary documentary requirements, including a police clearance certificate. "The said police clearance certificate from the government of India, Ministry of External Affairs Regional Passport Office, Mumbai, certified that there was no adverse information against Mehul Chinubbhai Choksi which would render him ineligible for grant of travel facilities including visa for Antigua and Barbuda." The CIU statement, shared by the Antigua Observer newspaper on its website, said these facts were being made public "in an effort to provide clarity and address misinformation that has been circulating in the public domain". It said as Choksi's application was subjected to "stringent background checks" as is done with all applications submitted to the unit. These checks include open source Internet checks, Thompson Reuters World-Check, queries of various sanctions lists, engagement with regional and international intelligence agencies like Interpol as well as contracted third-party due diligence providers. "It was only after the results of all of these checks had been received and assessed that a final decision was taken on the application. In no instance was any derogatory information disclosed on the applicant." The statement said the CIU received documentation of two instances in which the SEBI, in 2014 and 2017, opened investigations on a corporate entity owned by Choksi. "We requested updates on the status of the investigations and received documentary confirmation, issued by the SEBI, stating that in one case, the matter had been satisfactorily closed, and indicating in the other that there is not sufficient evidence to pursue the matter further. "None of these matters is the subject of the current warrants issued by the Central Bureau of Investigations (CBI) in connection with the Punjab National Bank. It was also observed that (a) 2016 non-bailable warrant (against Choksi) was discontinued in October 2016." The CIU also dismissed a reported claim by the CBI that indicated that the Interpol had made no direct contact with the Antigua authorities on Choksi. "The CIU maintains, that this comment notwithstanding, that its background investigations do in fact include Interpol. Were there an active warrant for Choksi at the time his citizenship application was being processed, this information should have already been made available to Interpol, a notification of which would have been readily accessible by the CIU and its due diligence partners. " Further, the warrant should have formed a part of the criminal records database in India and therefore declared in the police clearance certificate issued by External Affairs Ministry." The statement said the notice of the ongoing criminal investigation for defrauding the Punjab National Bank to the tune of Rs 13,500 crore against Choksi was first issued by Indian authorities on 31 January, 2018. "As such, these matters emerged well after the background vetting process which would have resulted in the August 2017 approval of Choksi's application and his subsequent registration as a citizen in November 2017." It said the CIU had taken all reasonable steps to ensure that Choksi was a fit and proper candidate for the grant of citizenship as allowed under the Antigua and Barbuda Citizenship By Investment Act. Last week, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in its communication sent to Antiguan authorities cited a diffusion notice issued by the Interpol against the fugitive businessman and sought details of his movement and his present location, officials said. Choksi took Antigua's oath of allegiance on 15 January this year, after taking citizenship in November 2017, officials added. They had said that after getting confirmation, the agency is likely to move an extradition request through the external affairs ministry and may not wait for a Red Corner Notice(RCN) as the application is still pending with Interpol. Choksi moved to expand his business Earlier, in a statement issued through his lawyer, Choksi justified an Antiguan passport, saying his move was driven by business interests. #MehulChoksi Bhai issued a statement to justify his Antigua passport pic.twitter.com/K5Aj830aGb Rishikesh Kumar (@rishhikesh) July 27, 2018 Choksi is wanted in India for allegedly colluding with nephew and billionaire diamantaire Nirav Modi to defraud the Punjab National Bank (PNB) of nearly Rs 14,000 crore. --With inputs from IANS Around 47.56 lakh candidates have applied for the posts and the test is scheduled for 9 August. New Delhi: In a big relief to the nearly 48 lakh candidates appearing for the first set of computer-based tests for 26,502 positions of assistant loco pilots and technicians, Railway Minister Piyush Goyal said on Thursday that the number of vacancies has been more than doubled to 60,000. Around 47.56 lakh candidates have applied for the posts and the test is scheduled for 9 August. "Government has more than doubled the vacancies for assistant loco pilot and technician posts from 26,502 to 60,000, ensuring more jobs in Railways," Goyal tweeted. Govt. has more than doubled the vacancies for Assistant Loco Pilot & Technician posts from 26,502 to 60,000, ensuring more jobs in Railways. 26,502 60,000 , pic.twitter.com/qF9w2SSkcV Piyush Goyal (@PiyushGoyal) August 2, 2018 Railways in a statement said the ministry had announced the recruitment for assistant loco pilots and technicians for 26,502 posts in February 2018. But officials said the national transporter has now identified more such vacancies across its zones. It also said candidates from across India have applied for the posts. Under fire from some quarters for allotting examination centres in faraway places, railways clarified that much care has been taken in allocating the centres. "In conventional recruitment pattern, exams were conducted in decentralised manner by different RRBs and candidates travelled to the respective RRB zones to which they had applied. Centralised Computer Based examination provides the opportunity to reduce the travel requirements. "That is how, about 40 lakh candidates have been allotted centres in their own/nearby cities and almost all women and Divyang (persons with disabilities) candidates have been allotted centres within a short distance of 200 km," it said. However, due to the constraint of the availability of suitable exam centres, despite best efforts, everyone could not be accommodated in their own or nearby cities. Candidates are, therefore, requested to make necessary arrangements to appear in the test, the statement urged. Railways activated a mock link for the first stage of the computer-based test on 26 July and E-call letters can be downloaded from the recruitment board website four days before the exam. Candidates can log in with their credentials on the above-mentioned dates through a link to be provided on the official websites of the RRBs and find out about their exam centre, date and session, and download Travel Authority (for SC/ST candidates only) and E-call letter, a notice from the Railways had said last week. The exam will last for an hour for general candidates and 80 minutes for candidates who are differently-abled. It will consist of 75 multiple choice questions and there will be a negative marking (1/3rd) for every incorrect answer. Trai's recommendations on reduced rates for 700 Mhz band took into account the price of the spectrum that was recently auctioned in markets like Singapore, Germany, Denmark, Turkey, and Taiwan. New Delhi: Telecom regulator TRAI has asserted that 4G and 5G services will drive demand for spectrum in the next round of auctions, contesting the view that financially-stressed firms are likely to tread cautiously despite steep price cuts for several previously unsold bands. "Considering that 5G services are going to be implemented in near future, we expect there will be a definite demand particularly for bands where 5G ecosystem has been developed... Telecom operators will bid for it. This includes 700 MHz band that can be utilised for 5G," TRAI Secretary S K Gupta told PTI. He said that the Trai's recommendations on reduced rates for 700 Mhz band took into account the price of the spectrum that was recently auctioned in markets like Singapore, Germany, Denmark, Turkey, and Taiwan. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) on Wednesday recommended an auction of about 8644 MHz of telecom frequencies at an estimated base price of Rs 4.9 lakh crore. At around Rs 6,568 crore per Mhz, the regulator has suggested a whopping 43 percent cut in base price for the premium 700 Mhz frequency which had failed to attract buyers in the last auction held in 2016. "We have clearly indicated that prices now recommended are in line with international trends. As far as the financial health of the sector is considered, the spectrum price has to be derived based on numerous factors, and more so this is only the reserve price. The industry will take care of requirements based on their need and strengths" Gupta said. A new 3300-3600 Mhz band has opened up for 5G services, he said, adding that "enormous opportunities" are available for telecom operators to bid for the spectrum they need for the next-generation services. "As for other bands, many of the service providers have sufficient spectrum with them. But depending on their business model and need, they may bid for spectrum in different bands. I am very optimistic," he said. Gupta added that Trai's optimism for demand flowing-in for 700 Mhz, is based on the development of an ecosystem for the band. "We expect demand will be there in 700 Mhz also because the ecosystem has developed to a great extent and it is becoming a desired band for LTE and 5G service. So I expect this particular band will be utilised to provide LTE and 5G services in future," he said. Long-Term Evolution (LTE) refers to a standard for high-speed wireless communication for mobile devices. While the regulator suggested a discount in base prices of key spectrum bands, including 700 Mhz, 800 Mhz and 1800 Mhz (compared to the 2016 auction), it has batted for putting on sale an additional 550 Mhz of 5G spectrum that has been reserved for ISRO by the Department of Telecom (DoT). It has mooted a pan-India base price of Rs 492 crore per megahertz unpaired spectrum for proposed 5G spectrum (3300-3600Mhz). In its latest note, UBS observed that although the reserve price for 700 Mhz band and 800/900MHz bands had been lowered, the sector's financial health had raised questions on "whether the operators have the willingness or capacity to acquire spectrum at these prices". It said that despite the cut in 700MHz prices, it believed the overall rate "is still higher than other markets and not reflective of the current financial health of the Indian telecom sector", which is seeing margin erosion due to stiff competition. BNP Paribas too said that while the reserve price of 700 MHz has been almost halved, it is still "steep". "Industry revenue and profitability have worsened significantly post the previous auction which is not reflecting in the spectrum price recommended by Trai, in our view. Incumbents are yet to deploy some of their existing spectrum and we see minimal demand from them in the medium term," it said. While Reliance Jio has already put to use most of its spectrum, BNP Paribas said its utilisation is 20 percent and therefore it did not foresee the company bidding for much. "Spectrum in India has decisively turned into a buyer's market and operators are likely to acquire spectrum only as and when they need it; they are likely to be selective based on their needs rather than accumulate spectrum," it said. The Goa Chief Minister told the Legislative Assembly on Friday that people were dumping puppies and kittens in the garbage while they were still alive. Panaji: Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar told the Legislative Assembly on Friday that people were dumping puppies and kittens in the garbage while they were still alive. He said that around 25 puppies and 35 kittens were rescued from the waste treatment plant during the garbage segregation work. Goa Waste Management Corporation's plant located at Saligao village treats garbage collected from various village panchayats in North Goa. "We have been getting garbage which is of a mixed nature. We even find alive puppies and kittens dumped in the garbage...Right now there are 20-25 cats and 30-35 dogs in the area around the plant, which were rescued from the garbage," he said. The chief minister was responding to a question asked by BJP MLA Nilesh Cabral on the processing of refuse-derived fuel (RDF) collected at the waste treatment plant and its transportation to cement factories in Karnataka. "RDF is a mix of garbage and we get all kind of waste in it, including plastic, which needs to be burnt at 1,200 degrees centigrade. That is why we have to send it to the cement factories," Parrikar said. At the waste treatment plant, inorganic waste, primarily plastic, is shredded, crushed and moisture is entirely removed to form RDF, which can be used as fuel in the incineration plants of cement factories. Parrikar said four cement factories in Karnataka were taking RDF from Goa. Cabral said the Goa government should look out for alternative cement plants in other states considering the rivalry of the state with Karnataka over Mahadayi water dispute. Parrikar said the government was already in talks with the plants in Maharashtra as the state needed alternative arrangements. Fifty people from Salani village in Mendhar have conveyed to the security officials that they wish to join the Indian Army and the police force to seek revenge for the death of Aurangzeb. To avenge the death of Indian Army rifleman Aurangzeb, who was killed by militants in June in south Kashmir, fifty people hailing from his village in Poonch district have left their lucrative jobs in the Gulf and returned to fight militancy, according to media reports. NDTV reported that the youth who left their jobs in Saudi Arabia plan to join the Jammu and Kashmir Police and the Indian Army. "When we heard about the killing of brother Aurangzeb, we left Saudi Arabia the same day, and forcibly got ourselves relieved from the job," Mohammad Kiramat was quoted as saying in the report. However, CNN-News18 reported that some of the 50 villagers have returned to Salani, while others are still in the process of coming back. They have also conveyed to the security officials that they wish to join the forces to seek revenge for the death of their fellow villager. Aurangzeb belonged to 4 Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry and was posted at the 44 Rashtriya Rifles camp at Shadimarg in Shopian. He was part of the team involved in the encounter of dreaded Hizbul Mujahideen militant Sameer Tiger. On 14 June, he was abducted and killed by suspected Hizbul Mujahideen militants when he was on his way home in Rajouri district for Eid celebrations. His bullet-riddled body was found by a team of police and army at Gussu village, about 10 kilometres away from Kalampora, in Pulwama district. He was laid to rest with full state honours as thousands attended his funeral, raising slogans of 'Shaheed Aurangzeb amar rahe' (Long live, martyr Aurangzab), outside his house in Mendhar. After the funeral, Aurangzeb's father Mohammad Hanif had urged the government to find the killers and "eliminate militancy" from the Valley. "When the Narendra Modi government came to power, we thought that the situation (in Kashmir) would improve, but not much has been done. I demand that the separatists and others doing politics be kicked out of Kashmir. The army and other security agencies should launch an all-out offensive against the terror groups active in the Kashmir Valley," he had demanded. Aurangzebs family has had a long history of serving the armed forces and his father is a retiree of the Indian Army. With inputs from PTI The All India Matua Mahasangha put up road blockade to protest against the 'man-handling' of TMC MP Mamtabala Thakur who is from the Matua community. Barasat: A religious organisation put up road blockades in North 24 Parganas district in protest against the alleged manhandling of a Trinamool Congress MP, who belongs to the organisation, at Silchar airport, police said. The All India Matua Mahasangha, a religious reformation organisation mainly representing the backward classes, blocked the Habra-Bashirhat Road at two places Pairagachhi and Kashipur. The police intervened and the agitators left the two places after around half-an-hour, police said. They were protesting against the alleged manhandling of Mamatabala Thakur, the Trinamool Congress MP from Bangaon, at Silchar airport in Assam where she had gone as part of a party delegation to assess the post-NRC situation in Assam. However, after they landed at the airport Thursday day afternoon, the Cachar district authorities stopped them and took under preventive detention saying their visit might create trouble. The TMC leaders alleged that they had been manhandled by the police and even women MPs were not spared. The Assam Police, however, denied the charge. Mamatabala Thakur belongs to the Matua community. The Matuas had squatted on rail tracks at many stations of the district on Wednesday protesting the exclusion of 40 lakh people from Assam's complete draft of National Register of Citizens (NRC). The decision of Governor NN Vohra to seek deferment of the case over Article 35A of the Constitution in SC is in contrary to the policy of Mehbooba Mufti. Srinagar: The decision of Governor NN Vohra to seek deferment of the case over Article 35A of the Constitution in Supreme Court is in contrary to the policy of former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti, who had decided to fight the case vigorously and had even questioned whether Kashmiris would remain Indian citizens if the law was revoked. Article 35A bars outsiders from owning property and getting government jobs in the state. In the previous order which was issued by the Supreme Court, the three-member bench had ordered that the matter of Article 35A which was challenged by We The Citizens should be listed at 2 pm on 6 August and the pleadings from all angles shall be completed. Although the Jammu and Kashmir government had filed a counter affidavit previously in the case, since Supreme Court directed that the pleadings should be completed, it prepared a detailed draft in the matter which was submitted to the states law department. Former advocate general Jehangir Iqbal Ganie said that the government had decided that the case will be pursued vigorously. He said that in the counter affidavit that has been submitted to government before he demitted office, it was noted that the chapter of the Constitution, as per which residents of the state became citizens of India, was accepted by the Jammu and Kashmir constituent assembly on the condition that Article 35A will recognise the state subject rights of the people. Ganie added that the constituent assembly which was convened during the time of former prime minister of Kashmir Sheikh Abdullah had also accepted the chapter on fundamental rights after an assurance that Article 35A in the Constitution will recognise the right of the people of the state. Instead of framing its own fundamental rights in the state constitution, which the BJP is seeking to be annulled, the Sheikh Abdullah government had accepted the fundamental rights and the citizenship of India. In the detailed counter affidavit draft, we have given historical background which is very important. That's why 35-A came into being. When the Constitution was being framed, we could have had our own chapter on fundamental rights. In that case, the fundamental rights in the Indian Constitution wouldnt have been applicable to the state of Jammu and Kashmir, said Ganie. We have a strong case about the Article 35A. The state constituent assembly accepted the chapter pertaining to citizenship only when Article 35A was incorporated. The presidential order about 35A is the draft which was sent by constituency assembly. These things were not applicable to the state, neither the citizenship provision of the Indian Constitution nor the chapter pertaining to fundamental rights, he said. The acceptance of Indian citizenship and fundamental rights was a major political concession which had come immediately after Jammu and Kashmir acceded with the Union of India on the promise that the Parliament would only have powers to make laws concerning defence, external affairs and communication. However, the accession has been termed invalid by separatists on the plea that the Hindu Maharaja acceded with the Indian Union, even when majority of the people were Muslims. They are rather demanding that the UN resolution on referendum should be implemented in the state. The apex court case on Article 35A is more about political settlement on Kashmir than only a resolution of a legal tangle involving the question of whether the president was empowered to introduce the law in the Indian Constitution when the procedure was that it was to be done by the Parliament. However, Ganie said that Article 35A was a matter of commitment by the Government of India that the state subject rights will continue. He said that the states own state subject law could also go in case Article 35A was revoked by the Supreme Court. Previously, the apex court had agreed to the deferment of the case and the state is looking at convincing the Union government to also file a plea for the case to be deferred. Even when the PDP and BJP ran an alliance in the state, while the state filed a counter affidavit, the Attorney General of India pleaded before the court that a conscious decision has been taken not to file any counter affidavit in this case, because the issues which are raised for adjudication, are pure questions of law. Although BJP has been against the continuation of Article 35A, the decision by Vohra to play safe by seeking a deferment seen by many in the state as his unwillingness to defend Article 35A has, however, also implied that the Centre and state are at loggerheads. Officials in the state said that since the governor enjoys a tenure which the Jammu and Kashmir constitution describes as the pleasure of the President, he has put the Centre in a difficult situation. Whether the governor be representing the Centre or the state is something which will be interesting to watch out for as the case is listed for hearing in the SC, said advocate Bashir Sidique. Although the state is facing protests in favour of retention of Article 35A and separatists have given a shutdown call as well, the case in the Supreme Court is also about the historical position of the state. The High Court Bar Association of Kashmir has filed an intervention application so that they can be heard. The application talks of implementation of UN resolutions on Kashmir which promised plebiscite. President of the HCBAK, Mian Qayoom, said that a team of Bar Association will plead the case in Supreme Court. There are many not only in Srinagar but also in Jammu who are threatening of agitation in case Article 35A is revoked. Gujjar leader Shah Mohammad Chaudhary said, We are ready for an agitation if the Article 35A is revoked. We were given the rights when the Constitution was framed by the constituent assembly. Whatever protections whether they are statutory or constitutional should remain as they existed for the last 70-years. A proposed amendment to Indias 63-year-old Citizenship Act and the definition of illegal migrants may hold the key to understand the unfolding confusion. Mumbai: A proposed amendment to Indias 63-year-old Citizenship Act and the definition of illegal migrants may hold the key to understand the unfolding confusion and turmoil over process of identifying citizens officially, the National Register For Citizens (NRC) in the northeastern state of Assam. While the 2016 amendment on hold after protests swept the northeast in July 2018 proposes a faster track to citizenship to migrants from six religions (except Islam) and three nations, the Indian definition of an illegal migrant appears to conflict with this amendment and some naturalisation provisions. An illegal migrant, according to the Citizenship Act, 1955, means a foreigner who has entered India: (i) without a valid passport or other travel documents or (ii) with a valid passport or other travel documents but remains therein beyond the permitted period of time. Articles 5-9 of the Indian Constitution deal with citizenship. While Article 10 guarantees the continuance of citizenship, Article 11 grants Parliament the right to regulate citizenship. It is important to remember that the provision about citizenship will be scrutinised all over the world. They are watching what we are doing, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Indias first home minister, said in 1947 while participating in the constituent assembly debate on adopting the constitution. This is a simple problem. We must always have a few foreigners coming here. This will be accidental nationality if by the accident of birth, some one comes and stays here, subject to the proviso which we have enacted, we can control double citizenship by our legislation. We can always control that, Patel said. BR Ambedkar, chairman of the drafting committee of the constitution, pointed out the proposed difference in Indian citizenship to other countries to the members of the constituent assembly. The proposed Indian Constitution is a dual polity with a single citizenship. There is only one citizenship for the whole of India. It is Indian citizenship. Every Indian has the same rights of citizenship, no matter in what state he resides. Acquiring Indian citizenship The Citizenship Act, 1955, defines how Indian citizenship can be acquired: Birth, descent, registration and naturalisation. One of the requirements for citizenship by naturalisation is that the applicant must have resided in India over the last 12 months (before making the application), and 11 of the previous 14 years, according to this note by PRS Legislature, a think tank. The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016 proposes to relax this 11-year requirement to six years for persons belonging to six religions and three countries. A key amendment in the bill seeks to grant citizenship to people without valid documents from minority communities Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christiansfrom Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan after six years of residence in India. Birth does not confer automatic citizenship in India India offers citizenship on birth, after the 2003 amendments, if both parents are citizens of India or one parent is a citizen and the other is not an illegal migrant. The United States offers citizenship if you are born there, irrespective of the status of the parents, while the United Kingdom offers citizenship based on birth, after 1983, only if one parent is a British citizen or is permitted to stay in the UK permanently. The Citizenship Act, 1955 says that every person born in India (a) on or after the 26th day of January, 1950, but before the 1st day of July, 1987; (b) on or after the 1st day of July, 1987, but before the commencement of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2003 (6 of 2004) and either of whose parents is a citizen of India at the time of his birth; (c) on or after the commencement of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2003 (6 of 2004), where (i) both of his parents are citizens of India; or (ii) one of whose parents is a citizen of India and the other is not an illegal migrant at the time of his birth shall be a citizen of India by birth. Almost 4 million people in Assam have been left out of the NRC, sparking controversy over the process and documents needed to identify citizenship. The Assam NRC is proceeding under the watch of the Supreme Court, which on 31 July, 2018, said the court would like to observe that what has been published being a draft NRC, it cannot be the basis for any action by any authority, The Times of India reported on 1 August, 2018. Of the 40.07 lakh, the applications of 37.59 lakh were rejected and those of 2.48 lakh put on hold, state NRC coordinator Prateek Hajela told the SC. How Assam differs from India The NRC updation process in Assam differs from the rest of India by replacing house-to-house visits by applications from citizens and citizenship status based on NRC,1951 and electoral rolls till midnight of 24 March, 1971. It is governed by Rule 4A and the corresponding schedule of the Citizenship (Registration of Citizens and Issue of National Identity Cards) Rules, 2003, said a statement issued by the office of the state coordinator, NRC, on 30 July, 2018. These rules have been framed as per the cut-off date of 24th March (Midnight), 1971 decided as per Assam Accord, the NRC statement said. More than 32 million applications were made for citizenship, and about 30 million were found to eligible for inclusion in the NRC, the NRC statement added. Persons who do not find their names in Complete Draft NRC have the legal right to apply again by filing of claim during the period August 30, 2018 and September 28, 2018. The NRC had listed 14 documents that could be submitted as citizenship proof: (1) 1951 NRC (2) Electoral Roll(s) up to March 24, 1971 (midnight) (3) Land & Tenancy Records (4) Citizenship Certificate (5) Permanent Residential Certificate (6) Refugee Registration Certificate (7) Passport (8) LIC (9) Any Govt. issued License/Certificate (10) Govt. Service/ Employment Certificate (11) Bank/Post Office Accounts (12) Birth Certificate (13) Board/University Educational Certificate (14) Court Records/Processes. The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Amit Shah supported the NRC. NRC NRC pic.twitter.com/jYGy1JmPgq Amit Shah (@AmitShah) July 31, 2018 The Congress, which ran the Indian government when the Assam Accord was signed in 1985, said the process was riddled with problems. Modi Govt's incompetence and tardiness in verification has left thousands of Indian citizens in jeopardy. Inspite of spending Rs 1200 crore over 5 years, why was the Modi Govt unable to publish an accurate NRC? Congress (@INCIndia) July 31, 2018 You cant link every Bengali speaking person to Bangladesh, Information and Broadcasting Minister of Bangladesh Hasanul Haq was quoted as saying on 1 August, 2018. Everyone knows it is a century-old ethnic conflict in the state of Assam, said Haq. In last 48 years, no Indian government has raised the issue of illegal immigration with Bangladesh; the situation needs to be dealt by the (Prime Minister Narendra) Modi government in New Delhi, which is capable of handling it judiciously. It has no relation to Bangladesh. The NRC process began after the 1985 Assam Accord, which said that all illegal foreigners who came to Assam after 1971 from Bangladesh, irrespective of religion, have to be deported, the Financial Express reported on 31 July, 2018. Controversy erupted and protests swept the northeast following the citizenship amendment bill, introduced in the Lok Sabha on July 19, 2016. Various groups in Assam and neighbouring states alleged that the new bill is contrary to the Assam Accord. Telengana BJP MLA T Raja Singh Lodh has found a panacea for the illegal aliens in Assam problem. Telengana BJP MLA T Raja Singh Lodh has found a panacea for the illegal aliens in Assam problem. He has sagely advised that all of those who came from Bangladesh should either go back or be shot. Then they can be interred in a mass grave, the mound covered with fresh mud and that is that. Job done. He is echoed by Kerala BJP member K Surendran following the alleged murder of a young student by a Bengali migrant worker who may or may not have crossed the border, we do not know. This MLA wants the vast majority of the three million migrant workers to be deported to Bangladesh and warns of a violent future in Kerala. He is peeved that some have ration cards and actual jobs. As he espouses the promise of justified violence with a certain righteous relish, he conveniently forgets that when they came as cheap labour, there were jobs for them, what with a large number of Kerala youth away in the Gulf countries. When the representatives of the government in power makes such statements of intent (no point qualifying them with any adjective because the absurdity speaks for itself), it is incumbent upon the leaders of that party to take cognizance. And initiate suitable action to shut them up. When they fail to do that, they are actually endorsing the options that are being expressed. Let's just have a special holiday and go on a murderous spree, don't even have to spare the deputy. Next week or next month, lets declare anti-immigrant day and go for them. That the Assam NRC conflagration will spread like an untamed forest fire and nibble at other states is a given. As thoughtless and even reckless politicians come out with drivel designed ostensibly to please their majority base, the threat that is now targeting so-called aliens and illegals will jump the line and the next in the cross hairs will be legal migrant workers from out of state who must already be feeling uneasy. The minister explained that the TMC delegation reached the Silchar airport around 1.55 pm on Thursday and the deputy commissioner received them. New Delhi: A delegation of Trinamool Congress (TMC) leaders flew into Silchar and were detained in the airport to maintain law and order in Assam, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday told the Lok Sabha. Citing a written document received from the Assam government, the Minister said the state government took the step based on "media and intelligence inputs". "On the basis of intelligence inputs, considering the law and order situation and to avoid any deteriorating condition, the Assam government detained the honourable (delegation) members who reached Silchar airport," Rajanth Singh said. He added: "As per my information, the district officials there requested the TMC members with folded hands that Section 144 CrPC was in force in the entire district and told them that it would not be good for them to go outside. Then, they were detained at the airport." The Assam government reported some manhandling between district administration employees and some of the representatives of the delegation at the airport, he said. "A few of them also received injuries in the melee." The minister explained that the TMC delegation reached the Silchar airport around 1.55 pm on Thursday and the deputy commissioner received them. "(He) requested them to go back. The delegation members did not listen to the instructions and started an argument. They also started manhandling the district administration people in which two women security personnel (were) injured. "The delegation members created unruly situation at the airport which led to discomfort to other passengers, who complained about it to the district administration," Rajnath Singh said. As the last flight for Delhi and Kolkata had taken off, the Assam Police had no option but to arrest the delegation members under CrPC Section 151, he said. He said their night halt was proposed at the NIT guest house in Silchar. But on their written request, they were halted at the Silchar airport guest house. On Friday, six members of the delegations flew back to Kolkata and Delhi. The Minister's remarks came after TMC MPs disrupted the Lok Sabha over the issue. TMC secretary general and West Bengal Education Minister Partha Chatterjee said the party will observe 'black day' in every block and district of the state on Saturday and Sunday. Kolkata: The Trinamool Congress (TMC) will observe "black day" throughout West Bengal on August 4 and 5 to protest against the detention and "manhandling" of its leaders at the Silchar airport in Assam on Thursday, a senior party leader said on Friday. TMC secretary general and West Bengal Education Minister Partha Chatterjee said the party will observe "black day" in every block and district of the state on Saturday and Sunday. "We condemn the way the public representatives were manhandled and detained by the Assam police at the Silchar airport. They being MPs had every right to visit a place, but all rules were violated and our party delegation was stopped. This is shameful," he told reporters in Kolkata. An eight-member TMC delegation, which had six MPs, were stopped at the Silchar airport when they tried to enter Assam's Cachar district to assess the ground realities after the final draft of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) was published in the north-eastern state on Monday. Based on the Census 2011 figures, the Muslim community in India is undergoing a far steeper a fall in its population growth rate than the Hindu community Several BJP leaders in the recent past have claimed that there is a danger of a demographic shift in India on account of a rising Muslim population, and a corresponding decline in the Hindu population. For instance, party leader Tuhin Sinha, in this article, has said that there has been an alteration of the demography of the country, 'precipitated by an institutional patronisation for illegal migration.' In a similar vein, Banwari Lal Singhal said in January 2018, "The way the Muslim population is increasing, the existence of Hindus is in danger. It is a well-planned conspiracy to have a Muslim in the chair of the president, prime minister and chief ministers." Many such statements cite the Census 2011 as the basis for their assertions. But do statistics support this? An analysis of population growth of religious communities since 1981 shows that while the share of Hindus in India's population has been declining, and that of Muslims rising it's not reason enough to call the change a demographic shift. Based on the Census 2011 figures, the Muslim community, in fact, is undergoing a far steeper a fall in its population growth rate than that of the Hindu community. The Muslim population growth rate, is in fact, the lowest in the history of India. Thus, it's unlikely that the Muslim community will overtake Hindu any time soon. In fact, according to the Sachar Committee report, the rate at which the Muslim population in India is growing, by the end of the 21st Century, it is expected to reach replacement level. To say that the Hindu community should have more children to ensure India doesn't become Pakistan is not only untrue, but also premature. P Gnana Prakasam, working as an examiner in Military Intelligence, a snooping unit under the Army, went missing on June 6, 2010, the officer's wife, Yamuna Gnanaprakasam, had said in a complaint. New Delhi: The CBI has taken over the investigation into the mysterious disappearance of a Military Intelligence officer from Chennai eight years ago, officials said on Friday. P Gnana Prakasam, working as an examiner in Military Intelligence, a snooping unit under the Army, went missing on 6 June, 2010, the officer's wife, Yamuna Gnanaprakasam, had said in a complaint. Posted at the Army Headquarters in New Delhi, Gnana Prakasam had gone to Chennai to attend a family function. He later went to the central railway station, Chennai to pick up his son who, arriving by a train from Udhagamandalam, according to the complaint. When his wife called him to check whether their son had arrived, the officer told her he was not in a position to pick him up and asked her brother to do so. A few hours later, she had again contacted her husband and he said he was going to Tirupati and that he could not reveal anything further. Late that night, she again contacted him but a person answered the call, saying her husband was attending an important meeting and would get in touch with her after two hours, the petition had said. After that, the officer's cell phone was switched off and he went missing. The officials said the CBI took over the investigation into the case. On 18 June, the Madras High Court had ordered a CBI probe into the case in which the Tamil Nadu Crime-Branch CID had filed a closure report in a lower court in May after failing to crack it. Justice PN Prakash ordered transfer of the case from the Tamil Nadu CB-CID to the CBI on a petition from the officer's wife. The judge had said that under normal circumstances, the court would be relegating the petitioner to file an application before the lower court protesting the closure report. However, the court finds that the missing person was in Army intelligence, therefore, a thorough probe by a central agency might bear fruit, Justice Prakash had said. The impasse created over the elevation of Uttarakhand High Court Chief Justice KM Joseph to the Supreme Court seems set to end soon The impasse created over the elevation of Uttarakhand High Court Chief Justice KM Joseph to the Supreme Court seems set to end soon, with the government agreeing to the Supreme Court Collegiums decision. The government had initially returned his name, but after the Supreme Court Collegium reiterated its recommendation, the Centre has reportedly consented to Justice Josephs appointment. Media reports say that the process of issuing a presidential warrant for his appointment has already been initiated. The standoff between the executive and judiciary became evident following the governments decision to return Justice Josephs name after holding it back for three months. Justice Josephs name was first recommended on 10 January along with the name of senior counsel Indu Malhotra. The government consented to the latters name in April, and she was appointed as an apex court judge on 27 April. The Narendra Modi-led government's decision of agreeing to Justice KM Joseph's appointment shows that it is well aware of the fact that every time the executive has tried to excessively assert its powers with respect to the judiciary, the latter has struck back with greater force. Subsequent to such instances, the judiciary has evolved mechanisms like the Collegium and the 'basic structure doctrine' to ensure its independence and constitutional integrity. While the current deadlock seems to have been resolved, it was not the first of its kind. Soon after the formation of the new government in 2014, the Union law ministry turned down the Supreme Court Collegiums recommendation to elevate the former Solicitor General of India Gopal Subramanium as a judge of the Supreme Court. The rejection of Subramanium's name attracted sharp reactions from the legal fraternity. Among these, the most notable was that of former Supreme Court judge VR Krishna Iyer, who expressed 'regret' over the governments rejection, and appealed for a review of its decision. Iyer had said that Subramanium's installation as a judge would be an honour for the Supreme Court Bench. "To disallow him that post will be an indefensible disaster and disappointment, which the country need not suffer from at all. As a retired judge of the Supreme Court myself, I regret this measure of the prime minister. I hope he will reconsider his decision. The country cannot afford to lose a sound and splendid lawyer who will adorn the Supreme Court Bench, Iyer had said. The returning of Subramaniums name would have created a similar situation to the one that prevailed in the past few months in the matter of Justice Joseph, had Subramanium not chosen to withdraw his candidature himself. The governments decision to return the name of Justice Joseph was termed as an 'unprecedented attack on the judiciary' by Opposition parties in general and the Congress in particular. However, it would be pertinent to remember that several such instances took place during the Congress rule in the seventies and eighties. This led to a cyclical assertion by the Supreme Court of its power and independence. In the 1970s, two highly-criticised supersessions took place, wherein against the settled norm of appointing the seniormost judge as the Chief Justice of India (CJI), relatively junior judges were appointed to the post of CJI. In the first case, three seniormost judges Justice JM Shelat, Justice KS Hegde and Justice AN Grover were superseded to make Justice AN Ray as CJI. This was due to their verdicts in the landmark Kesavananda Bharti case, which the then Congress government deemed to be unfavourable. The second case was regarding Justice HR Khanna who, in the ADM Jabalpur case, held that even during the Emergency, high courts have the power to issue writs in the nature of habeas corpus considered as crucial to secure individual freedom. For his judgement, he too, was superseded for the post of CJI by Justice MH Beg. History bears witness that the Congress did not leave a single stone unturned to demolish judicial independence, due to which the Supreme Court delivered three landmark cases that led to the formation of the Collegium. Justice Markandey Katju, in his recently published book Whither Indian Judiciary, cites an important case in this regard that of Justice GP Singh, who was the Chief Justice of the Madhya Pradesh High Court in the eighties. Katju wrote that Justice Singh, who was a judge of the 'highest integrity and principles,' and 'deserved to be made a Supreme Court judge by any standard' was not elevated simply because he scuttled the attempt made by then prime minister Indira Gandhi to "pack the high courts and Supreme Court with committed judges." He wrote that following the Allahabad High Court verdict which held Indira Gandhi guilty of electoral malpractice and disqualified her, an attempt was made to appoint judges who would toe the government line. In this regard, sometime in the early 1980s, as Justice Katju writes, the central government sent a list of ten lawyers to the Chief Justice of Madhya Pradesh High Court GP Singh and asked him to recommend their names for elevation. This was in clear contradiction to the settled norm, where the Chief Justice would recommend names to the government, and not vice versa. Justice Katju writes that on examining the names, Chief Justice Singh found the names 'undeserving' and declined to recommend them for elevation; a decision that ensured that he was never elevated to the apex court. The post-independence history of India is replete with cases, especially during the Congress rule in the seventies and eighties, that forced the Supreme Court to become 'overprotective.' This resulted in the creation of the Collegium system, which is now being criticised for its lack of transparency in functioning and rigidity in decision-making. However, the current government has shown great wisdom by accepting Justice KM Joseph's elevation, as it will break the vicious cycle wherein every attempt by the executive to challenge the judiciary resulted in the latter asserting itself with greater force, and making itself all-powerful, and unaccountable to anyone. Resignation of two journalists from ABP News Network Managing Editor Milind Khandekar and journalist Punya Prasun Bajpai, has created a stir on Twitter, and caused the Congress to allege government interference in the functioning of the network's newsroom. Resignation of two journalists from ABP News Network Managing Editor Milind Khandekar and journalist Punya Prasun Bajpai, has created a stir on Twitter, and caused the Congress to allege government interference in the functioning of the network's newsroom. While Khandekar's tweet was non-committal, reports have claimed that Bajpai quit after pressure mounted on him after airing a story on his show Masterstroke. 14 years & 8 days later its time to move on. Today was my last day as Managing Editor @abpnewstv . Thank you for being part of my journey so far. Milind Khandekar (@milindkhandekar) August 1, 2018 Bajpai ran a story on his show which showed video interaction of Prime Minister Narendra Modi with beneficiaries of various government programmes held on 20 June. A participant from Chhattisgarh, Chandramani Kaushik, told the prime minister on the show that her income had doubled after she switched from cultivating paddy to growing custard apples. The show, however, reported that the woman had been tutored to make false claims. The story was promptly picked up by the Congress which tweeted out a video, and said, "Evidence is surfacing that ABP News is seeing journalists resign and benched due to their involvement in stories criticising the Central Govt. Watch how in the age of free information, India under Modiji seems to be anything but free." Evidence is surfacing that ABP News is seeing journalists resign and benched due to their involvement in stories criticising the Central Govt. Watch how in the age of free information, India under Modiji seems to be anything but free. pic.twitter.com/r9L7xUL2A7 Congress (@INCIndia) August 2, 2018 Congress chief Rahul Gandhi did not let the opportunity pass and tweeted the story and said: PM pic.twitter.com/dEqvklqtRR Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) July 9, 2018 Using the hastag #FreeMediaDiedInIndia, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal joined the bandwagon and criticised the BJP government for killing "independent media". https://twitter.com/ArvindKejriwal/status/1025032438773428224 Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala also tweeted, saying that the resignations were the result of an attempt to suppress truth being spoken to power. Operation - ABP News Channel Kamal Executor - Shri Narender Modi, Shri Amit Shah. Objective -Suppress truth being spoken to power. Outcome -Remove Punay Prasoon Vajpayee, Milind Khandekar, Abhisar & others 1/2 Randeep Singh Surjewala (@rssurjewala) August 2, 2018 ABP News Network has maintained silence regarding the resignations even as social media has been discussing it quite fervently. Exchange4media quoted Avinash Pandey, the ABP News chief operating officer, who said, "Khandekar has been instrumental in shaping and strengthening the editorial structure at ANN during this illustrious association. His service has been indeed much valuable to the organization. It has been an honor working with a wonderful colleague like him all these past years. We wish him boundless success in all his future endeavors." BJP slammed Bajpai's show Bajpai's show was heavily criticised by many Union ministers, including Rajyavardhan Rathore, the minister of state for information and broadcasting and defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman. Some media houses have unapologetically aligned themselves to the agenda of deriding PM @narendramodi 's efforts by all means. Despicable! The real story of Chhattisgarh's farmer women who rubbished the claims of a section of media #UnfortunateJournalism https://t.co/4E8S9mwRDZ Rajyavardhan Rathore (@Ra_THORe) July 9, 2018 It was clear from the first instance that the conversation was about sitaphal cultivation, wasnt it? The lady farmer Chandramani also picks up the box of sitaphal to show it to the @PMOIndia . Oh, why, why this #UnfortunateJournalism ? https://t.co/JzuNAUkxHo Nirmala Sitharaman (@nsitharaman) July 9, 2018 Reports have alleged that since the show aired, leaders from Bharatiya Janata Party have been reluctant to appear on ABP News. Scroll, in fact, reported that a few Twitter users had flagged the fact that they had been unable to get access to ABP news at the time when Masterstroke, Bajpai's show, was being aired. Heavy drama unfolded at the Silchar airport in Assam on Thursday. While the six-team TMC delegation landed in Assam, the state police was prepared to lay siege at the airport and did not allow the delegation to leave the premises. TMC MPs versus Sarbananda Sonowal govt in Assam: Heavy drama unfolded at the Silchar airport in Assam on Thursday. While the six-team TMC delegation landed in Assam, the state police was prepared to lay siege at the airport and did not allow the delegation to leave the premises. TMC leader Derek O' Brien termed the incident as a 'super Emergency'. West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee claimed that a few women members of the delegation were manhandled by the police. The drama is likely to rock ongoing Monsoon Session of Parliament. PNB scam case: Antigua has now confirmed Mehul Choksi's presence in that country. CBI will initiate extradition proceedings through External Affairs Ministry and not wait for Interpol response to its application for Red Corner notice against Choksi which is still pending. Monsoon Session of Parliament: Expect unruly scenes at Parliament today, given Thursday's events in Assam over the NRC exercise. That apart, Lok Sabha functioned smoothly on Thursday. The Lok Sabha on Thursday passed The Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-third Amendment) Bill,2017. The bill is aimed at to giving constitutional status to the National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC). The Constitutional amendment bill was first introduced and passed in the Lok Sabha. The Rajya Sabha then passed the bill but with certain amendments. This resulted in two different versions of the bill being passed by the two houses. Therefore, the bill will now have to be reintroduced in the Lok Sabha. Sonali Bendre is stable, says Goldie Behl: Sonali Bendre's husband took to Twitter to confirm that the actress is undergoing treatment for cancer and is doing well. He wrote, "Thank you all for the love and support for Sonali she is stable and is following her treatment without any complications. This is a long journey but we have begun positively" Cricket: After Virat Kohli's century and Alastair Cook's early wicket in the second innings handed the visitors an overwhelming advantage, Kohli's men will look to consolidate their position in the first Test of the five-match series on Friday. Ravichandran Ashwin, who claimed four wickets in the first innings is already off the mark in England's second and could be the difference on Friday. Oppo Find X review: Launched in India on 12 July this year, the Oppo Find X is a breath of fresh air in sea of iPhone lookalikes. Breaking the norm and going with moving parts, this beautiful smartphone is out to challenge the Samsung Galaxy S9+ and the Huawei P20 Pro in our full review. The fact that a Chinese smartphone brand is being compared to offerings from Samsung in itself is big news. Samsungs Galaxy Tab S4: Samsungs brand new premium tablet offering goes up against the new Apple iPad and the iPad Pro in our comparison of three tablets. With a capable Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 SoC inside along with Samsungs freshly added DeX mode, that lets you turn a tablet into a desktop, it will be interesting to see who wins the productivity game out of the three. Salman Khan Blackbuck poaching case: Jodhpur court to hear plea against conviction Supreme Court cases: The apex court is likely to consider modalities for starting live-streaming of its proceedings. Details awaited. It is time the country looked past community-based reservations and at least moved to income-based reservations in education and government jobs. In January, 2017, a seemingly strange demand came from All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeens president Asaduddin Owaisi just ahead of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) budget. Owaisi urged the BMC to allocate budget resources to Muslims in the corporation, in proportion to their strength. Muslims represent about 21 percent of the population in the wards of BMC. Hence, logically, Rs 7,770 crore should go to the welfare of the community, Owaisi said. Going by that logic, the BMC needed to have a Christian budget, Buddhist budget and Sikh budget as well. At that time, Ashish Shelar, president of the Mumbai unit of BJP, countered Owaisis demand as a communal one and even demanded a probe. BJP wants the speech to be probed. We are against any division of the budget on communal lines. In fact, we are also against any divide on communal lines. We condemn the communal and objectionable statement by Owaisi. We have filed a complaint with the EC and want them to take action, Shelar had said. Owaisis demands were ignored eventually, on the basis that community-based favours is a dangerous idea. Now cut to the present scenario. It is ironic that one-and-a-half years after this, the BJP-led government in Maharashtra is being forced to succumb to a demand from another community the Marathas. Of course, the context is separate. However, if one looks closely, the only difference is that this time, it isnt a religious community and no election/budget season is on. But the underlying theme remains the same sops to a community to appease them, not based on merit or any other universal criteria. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis couldnt have done much. Marathas constitute about one-third of the population of Maharashtra, and are a precious vote bank for any political party in the state. The protests have been on for a long time. No chief minister, unless he is on course for political suicide, can afford to ignore such pressure groups. Its almost certain that the Fadnavis government will give in to the job quota demands of the Marathas; thats the sense one gets post his recent meeting with 22 prominent personalities from the community in Mumbai. That might offer a temporary relief to the government. But certainly, this wont be the last community-based agitation for job reservation. Just like Marathas have been organising massive agitations to push their demand, communities based on religion or geography will continue to use their show of strength as a tool to break the will of incumbent governments and achieve their demands. Such pressure groups will hold cities to ransom, destroy public assets to see that their goals are achieved. The community label-holders have emerged even stronger after 70 years of independence driving divisions within because there is no common foreign enemy now. Thus, one keeps seeing recurring events where communities fight for their cause. Jats did it in February, 2016, Dalit Muslims did it in 2010; as did the Patels of Gujarat, the Kammas of Andhra Pradesh and the the Marathas of Maharashtra. That brings us to the question of what lies ahead in the reservation saga. It is time the country looked past community-based reservations and at least moved to income-based reservations in education and government jobs. Jobs and education opportunities must be given to the economically weak, not based on their caste or religion. There is no end to community-based reservations; this will be a recurring demand and no government can be partial to a particular community. This is too much of a burden for any ambitious economy. The transition will not be easy for India. However, at least an effort should be made to change, as French economist and author of the book 'Capital in the 21st Century' Thomas Piketty, said in this December 2015 interview to The Indian Express: I am not saying the caste-based reservation system should be replaced right away by an income-based reservation system, but you know, I think this could be one possible evolution in the long run." After 70 years of independence, there is merit in thinking beyond caste-based reservations to income-based, merit-based reservations. Such a system will benefit all, including the economically and socially backward communities of the country. But that change requires political will and consensus among castes/communities. (A part of this piece was published in August 2017 on Firstpost) The tussle between the government and the judiciary over Uttarakhand Chief Justice KM Joseph's elevation to the Supreme Court is likely to continue despite the collegium recommending him for the second time last month. The tussle between the government and the judiciary over Uttarakhand chief justice KM Joseph's elevation to the Supreme Court is likely to continue despite the collegium recommending him for the second time last month. A top government functionary told Hindustan Times that the Centre is likely to sit on KM Joseph's file while clearing the appointment of two high court chief justices Indira Banerjee and Vineet Sharan to the Supreme Court. According to the report, another government functionary confirmed the development. "The law ministry had moved the file of the two judges to the Prime Ministers Office for final clearance," the report quoted the government functionary as saying. The Supreme Court collegium had recommended the elevation of Banerjee and Sharan and reiterated KM Joseph's name on 16 July. According to the rules, the government has no choice but to approve the collegium recommendation if the latter reiterates the same name. A five-member Supreme Court collegium comprising Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices J Chelameswar, Ranjan Gogoi, Madan B Lokur and Kurian Joseph had recommended KM Joseph's name for elevation to the Supreme Court first in January 2018, however, after sitting on the collegium decision for over three months, the government had rejected it saying that the proposal was not in accordance with the top court's parameters and there was adequate representation of Kerala in the higher judiciary from where he hails. In April, Union law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad had then written a letter to Misra asking him to reconsider the decision to appoint KM Joseph, while also saying that there were other more senior chief justices in Indian high courts than KM Joseph, who was at No 42 in high court judges seniority list. "The proposed appointment of... KM Joseph as a judge of the Supreme Court at this stage does not appear to be appropriate," Prasad had said in the letter, adding, "It would also not be fair and justified to other more senior, suitable and deserving chief justices" and senior judges of various high courts. KM Joseph, who turned 60 this June, has been the Chief Justice of Uttarakhand High Court since July 2014. He was appointed a permanent judge of the Kerala High Court on 14 October, 2004 and had assumed charge of the Uttarakhand High Court on 31 July, 2014. KM Joseph headed the bench that had quashed the Narendra Modi government's decision to impose president's rule in Congress-ruled Uttarakhand in 2016. The Supreme Court and the government have been sparring over judicial appointments ever since the Supreme Court struck down the Centre's National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) bill in 2015, which sought to replace the collegium method of appointments. Although the two sides had then agreed on a Memorandum of Procedure, no progress has been made on the same, causing delays in filling vacant posts in both higher as well as lower courts. Just recently, Supreme Court judge Kurian Joseph today 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. "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," Kurian Joseph, who has been vocal about the delay in elevation of KM Joseph to the apex court, said. He also said that "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". Meanwhile, Justice MB Lokur had observed recently that over 2.5 crore cases are pending in district courts where as HC have a pendency of 43 lakh cases and hence, the focus must be on district courts as the concentration on grassroot-level will help the litigants. With inputs from PTI An Indian-American advocacy group on Thursday called for immediate suspension of the National Registry of Citizens (NRC) until the irregularities resulting in four million people being excluded from the list are fixed. Washington: An Indian-American advocacy group on Thursday called for immediate suspension of the National Registry of Citizens (NRC) until the irregularities resulting in four million people being excluded from the list are fixed. The names of 40.07 lakh applicants in Assam did not find a place in the much-anticipated second and final draft of the NRC, a historic document touted to be a proof of Assamese identity. "The ethnic group that is the worst victim of this mass disenfranchisement is the Bengali-speaking Muslim community in Assam, accused of being 'infiltrators,' although they are Indian citizens," the Indian-American Muslim Council (IAMC) said in a statement. "The fact that this is an exercise in a subversion of democracy and has a clearly bigoted, discriminatory agenda, is reflected in the exclusion of the relatives of the former President of India," said IAMC president Ahsan Khan said. "The entire programme should be suspended until the criteria for exclusion are clearly defined," he said. It called on the Indian government not to allow religious differences to define the socio-political landscape of the country, where something as basic as a citizen's right to be called a citizen of the country is arbitrarily snatched away. The first draft of the NRC was published during the intervening night of 31 December and 1 January 2018, containing 1.9 crore names. Bima Bharti's son Deepak had left his residence on Thursday night along with a couple of friends and his body was found close to the railway track in front of the Nalanda Medical College and Hospital by some locals who informed the police. Patna: The son of former Bihar minister and MLA of the ruling JD(U) Bima Bharti was found dead on Friday morning under mysterious circumstances near railway tracks in Patna and two of his friends have been taken into custody in this connection, police said. Bharti is the sitting MLA from Rupauli constituency in Purnea district. Deepak Kumar (21) had left his residence on Thursday night along with a couple of friends and his body was found close to the railway track in front of the Nalanda Medical College and Hospital by some locals who informed the police, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Patna, Manu Maharaj said. He said injury marks were noticed on Deepak's head and thigh and the body has been sent for post-mortem. The SSP said two of Deepaks friends Roshan and Mrityunjay who are said to be known to the family of the deceased, have been taken into custody and were being interrogated. The two have claimed that after having dinner together on Thursday night, Deepak had left and they had assumed that he had reached home safely. Meanwhile, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who is also the national president of JD(U), visited Bharti's residence in Patna and consoled the bereaved family members. Elevation of Justice KM Joseph to the Supreme Court has brought to an end a long-running saga, one that has brought to the fore the deep divisions that run between the judiciary and the executive in India. The elevation of Justice KM Joseph to the Supreme Court has brought to an end a long-running saga, one that has brought to the fore the deep divisions that run between the judiciary and the legislature in India. It was in February this year that Joseph's name was first recommended by the Supreme Court Collegium. That it was approved only in August, over six months after the original recommendation, would be cause for concern. Especially so because of other developments that have also taken place in the meantime. Here's a look at the major flashpoints that have come up between the two in the last eight months: Judges' revolt: On 12 January this year, the four senior most judges of the Supreme Court Justices J Chelameswar, Ranjan Gogoi, MB Lokur and Kurian Joseph held a press conference in Delhi, where they said the situation in the top court was "not in order" and many "less than desirable" things have taken place. Unless this institution is preserved, "democracy will not survive in this country", the four judges said. The four said they had met Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra and apprised him of these misgivings, but they "failed to persuade" the CJI that certain things are not in order, and he should take remedial measures. "Unfortunately our efforts failed. And all four of us are convinced that democracy is at stake and many things have happened in recent past," Chelameswar said. Asked what these issues were, he said they included the "allocation of cases" by the chief justice. "It is too well settled in the jurisprudence of this country that the chief justice is only first amongst equals nothing more or nothing less," the letter read. But the issue was quickly put to rest. The Bar Council of India (BCI) held a subsequent press conference, where it said that its members have met 15 judges of the Supreme Court following the crisis in the apex court and they have been assured that the issues have been resolved. "Kahani khatam ho gaya (the story is now over)," BCI chairman Manan Kumar Mishra told a press conference in New Delhi. 'Impeachment' of Justice Misra: But while the story was said to be over, another battle was brewing in the Parliament. In April, Opposition parties launched an unprecedented bid to impeach CJI Dipak Misra, accusing him of failing to protect the independence of the judiciary from executive interference, among other charges. A petition, backed by lawmakers from seven parties, raised five charges against the CJI, including an accusation that he arbitrarily used his power to allot sensitive cases, and questioning his conduct in the acquisition of land. The petition to impeach him for "acts of misbehaviour" and misuse of authority was signed by 64 serving members of the Upper House of the Parliament. They belonged to the main Opposition Congress Party, the Communist Party of India and Samajwadi Party a powerful regional party in the key northern state of Uttar Pradesh and four other parties. However, the apex court dismissed the petition as withdrawn. Rajya Sabha chairman Venkaiah Naidu had earlier rejected the motion for 'impeachment' helmed by Congress leader Kapil Sibal on the grounds that they were mere allegations and even those who were making the allegations were not sure of them. CJI remains the master of the roster Another criticism raised by the four rebel judges against CJI Dipak Misra was that he used his powers as 'Master of the Roster' to unfairly assign cases to benches deemed more receptive to those issues. But in July, a bench of Justices AK Sikri and Ashok Bhushan maintained that the CJI is the "master of the roster" and has the prerogative and authority to allocate cases to different benches of the apex court. A five-judge constitution bench and a three-judge bench have already held that the CJI is the master of the roster. Justice Sikri said, "As far as the role of CJI as master of the roster is concerned, there is no dispute that he is the master of the roster and has authority to allocate cases to different benches of the Supreme Court." It again proved that in the Supreme Court of India, or indeed in the many tussles involving the judiciary and the legislature, the status quo always prevails. Justice KM Joseph elevation row: Justice KM Joseph was elevated to the Supreme Court on Friday, but it wasn't a straightforward process. The government sat on the process for over six months, refusing to accept the collegium's recommendations. The government's contention at the time was that having another Supreme Court judge from Kerala would distort the carefully maintained composition of the apex court. The apex court already had Justice Kurian Joseph, who was elevated as a Supreme Court judge on 8 March, 2013, from the Kerala High Court, while there were also two other high court chief justices Justices TB Radhakrishnan and Antony Dominic the parent high court for both of them being Kerala. Radhakrishnan is currently the Chief Justice of Chhattisgarh High Court, while Dominic is Chief Justice of Kerala High Court. Furthermore, as a report on NDTV argued, KM Joseph's elevation could have been delayed also because there is no Dalit judge on the roster of Supreme Court justices. It said that ever since KG Balakrishnan retired as the Chief Justice of India in 2010, not a single Dalit judge has been elevated to the Supreme Court or even as the chief justice of a high court. The government is facing a backlash from Dalits over a court verdict that relaxed provisions of the SC/ST Atrocities Act, and has pointed out in the past that the communities have not been represented in the Supreme Court for a long time. Finally, on Friday, Joseph's candidature was approved, proving that the collegium remains supreme. The more things change... As BV Rao wrote on 13 February, one month after the four judges' revolt, "Why has nothing changed? This has .... more to do with how the Supreme Court has evolved as an opaque institution of absolute and unbridled authority in the last three decades, giving unto itself, incrementally but purposefully, powers that tilted the balance of power between the three pillars of democracy." "That is why dramatic and unprecedented as the press conference was, it was not going to significantly change the way the Supreme Court functions. We are none the wiser if democracy is any better off today than on 12 January. The top judiciary has retreated behind that opaque wall of privilege into familiar radio silence. There it will stay, ring-fenced from any and all oversight from any other organ of democracy even as it judges all others. And that is a tragedy bigger than 12 January. It is not of Justice Misra's making. It has been building up over the last three decades. And every top judicial officer, past and present, is responsible for arrogating to themselves qualities of invincibility that the Constitution never intended granting. To the 'nation' and the democracy that the judges wanted to pay their debt to that is of bigger concern than which judge gets to sit on which matter. But that is a debate for another day," he added. And so the more things change, the more they remain the same. At least within the hallowed walls of the Supreme Court. With inputs from agencies A social activist and lawyer who appeared in the case of the rape and murder of an eight-year-old Bakerwal girl in Jammu and Kashmir's Kathua district, has been arrested by police on the charge of rape. A social activist and lawyer who appeared in the case of the rape and murder of an eight-year-old Bakerwal girl in Jammu and Kashmir's Kathua district, has been arrested by police on the charge of rape. Talib Hussain, who was a prominent figure in demonstrations seeking justice for the Kathua gang-rape victim, was arrested by Jammu and Kashmir police in Tral area of Pulwama district in South Kashmir on Tuesday. "He was brought to Samba following a written complaint of a married woman who has accused him of raping her in a jungle about one and a half months ago, a senior police officer said in a report by The Tribune. An FIR under Section 376 and 4/25 Arms Act of the Ranbir Penal Code (attempt to rape) was registered against the accused at Samba Police Station on Tuesday. According to the complaint by the woman, Hussain is her relative and met her in the forest when she went to the Chadwa jungle for grazing cattle. He was armed with a tokka (sharp-edged weapon) and with the intention of raping her, he thrashed the woman on the ground and tried to rape her, the FIR copy He told me that he will kill me if I revealed anything about the incident to anyone, she has said in her complaint, according to a report by Deccan Chronicle. However, it was after she narrated the alleged incident to her husband on 31 July that the couple lodged a complaint with the police and sought action against the accused, the police said. Weve asked for a thorough investigation into the complaint and assigned the same to ASI Kulwant Singh, said a senior police official. Hussain also has an FIR filed against him by his wife Nusrat Begum (30), who had approached the police on 28 June, alleging that she was subjected to physical torture by her husband for dowry. Hussain had denied the charge and said that it was aimed at maligning him for his raising voice to seek justice for the Kathua gang-rape and murder victim. He was subsequently granted anticipatory bail by the Jammu and Kashmir High Court. In that case, Hussain was booked under various provisions of the RPC, including domestic violence, dowry demand, threatening to divorce his wife and making an attempt to murder her. The Tribune reported that the victims father Mohammad Tahir had alleged that Hussain was working for the Hurriyat Conference. Hussain, who claims to be the lawyer of the victims family in the Kathua case, does not have an LLB degree and never represented them in the court. KM Joseph was recommended for elevation by the Supreme Court Collegium in February this year, but while the collegium said Joseph is 'more deserving and suitable in all respects', the Centre returned his recommendation Justice KM Joseph has been elevated to the Supreme Court, after the Centre cleared his name on Friday morning, ending several months of uncertainty. A report on Hindustan Times said the "file has been moved". "The file has been moved, but the orders have not yet been obtained," the report quoted a government official familiar with the matter as saying. Two other names Justices Indira Banerjee and Vineet Sharan were also cleared for appointment by the law ministry, another official said. The move paves the way for the appointment of three new judges to the top court, which currently has nine vacancies against a total strength of 31 judges, the report added. Joseph was recommended for elevation by the Supreme Court Collegium in February this year. However, though the collegium said Joseph is "more deserving and suitable in all respects" than other chief justices and judges of the high courts, the Centre had returned his recommendation. The government's contention at the time was that having another Supreme Court judge from Kerala would distort the carefully maintained composition of the apex court. The apex court already had Justice Kurian Joseph, who was elevated as an Supreme Court judge on 8 March, 2013, from the Kerala High Court, while there were also two other high court chief justices Justices TB Radhakrishnan and Antony Dominic, the parent high court for both of them being Kerala. Radhakrishnan is currently the Chief Justice of Chhattisgarh High Court, while Dominic is Chief Justice of Kerala High Court. Furthermore, as a report on NDTV argued, it could also be because there is no Dalit judge on the roster of Supreme Court justices. It said that ever since KG Balakrishnan retired as the Chief Justice of India in 2010, not a single Dalit judge has been elevated to the Supreme Court or even as chief justice of a high court. At a time when the government is facing a backlash from Dalits over a court verdict that relaxed provisions of the SC/ST Atrocities Act, the government also pointed out that the communities have not been represented in the Supreme Court for a long time. However, the collegium in May unanimously agreed in principle to reiterate the recommendation for the elevation of KM Joseph as a judge of the Supreme court. The five-member collegium, comprising Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra and Justices J Chelameswar, Ranjan Gogoi, MB Lokur and Kurian Joseph, decided that KM Joseph's name should be accompanied with the recommendation of the names of chief justices of the high courts for elevation as judges of the Supreme Court. News agency PTI reported the collegium as saying there was need for further discussion on the issue of sending other names to the Centre. "The chief justice and other members of the collegium have, on principle, unanimously agreed that the recommendation for appointment of Justice KM Joseph should be reiterated," it said. With inputs from PTI The BJP and Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) have demanded that the NRC must first publish the complete list before Aadhaar cards are issued. As Assam continues to count its citizens, the government has also begun the process of fine-tuning the modalities for the issue of Aadhaar cards something that was stalled amid concerns that its benefits would be reaped by foreign nationals. The thinking has changed now: Aadhaar could be a tool to track the movements of the aliens that was proving to be a challenging task for the government agencies. Some officials believe that since core services will be linked to the card, a large number will come forward to avail the facility including declared foreigners. Principal secretary in the department of home and political affairs LS Changsan said that a plan was being finalised to implement Aadhaar and make it available to all residents in the state with no links to the National Register of Citizens (NRC). Last Tuesday, the Centre informed the Supreme Court that biometric details of all people whose names were not included in the NRC would be obtained with the objective of preventing them from migrating to other states. Reports claiming the movement of Bangladeshi nationals to different parts of the country have surfaced occasionally. More recently, a former police chief of Kerala was quoted by the media as saying that some migrants were hiding in the southern state after procuring documents from Assam. Aadhaar was issued in Assam for some months two years ago, and then had to be halted following protests from political parties and civil society groups. The BJP and Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) demanded that the NRC must first publish the complete list before Aadhaar cards are issued. This was similar to the stance adopted by the All-Assam Students' Union (AASU), which has been consistently making a case for identification and expulsion of illegal migrants from the state. The project was revived last year by the government and the home department asked to monitor the process. In a couple of months, as many as 1,241 locations were identified across the state as Aadhaar Kendras for the distribution of cards. Deputy commissioners of all the districts were directed to supervise the process and appoint "verifiers" at every centre. Some banks had also begun the process of Aadhaar enrollment for their customers. And that was where everything was stuck again for a long time without any movement forward. Information given by the government in the state Assembly reveals that only about eight percent of the total population of Assam has availed of Aadhaar so far in Sonitpur, Nagaon and Golaghat. In March 2017, the state government had also informed the Supreme Court of its inability to stick to the 31 March deadline for linking Aadhaar with other core services. But the new urgency to implement the project could fuel another controversy since many civil society groups would lay more stress upon completion of the NRC. Advisor to AASU, Samujjal Bhattacharyya was categorical that Aadhaar must be based on the NRC. "What is the logic of giving Aadhaar when the NRC exercise is already on and monitored by Supreme Court? It's true that citizens working and studying outside the state are facing problems, but the government can definitely work out a mechanism to resolve this issue," he said. Bhattacharyyas views were echoed by Palash Changmai, general secretary of the Asom Jatiyatabadi Juba Chatra Parishad (AJYCP), another prominent and radical student organisation in the state in the vanguard of the anti-foreigners agitation. He said that the groups disagreement with the governments decision on Aadhaar had been had been declared months ago. Let the NRC be completed first. There is no reason to add more complexity to the process, he noted. Local groups fear that Aadhaar will allow the illegal migrants to have access to core services as the citizens which could be an additional hurdle to deport or shift them from the state to other locations. Possession of the card, they feel, could also be evidence in court to stall any attempt at evicting them from their homes. Maratha Kranti Morcha (MKM) on Thursday warned of fresh wave of protests on 9 August across Maharashtra if the state government fails to grant reservation to the community by 7 August. Mumbai: Maratha Kranti Morcha (MKM) on Thursday warned of fresh wave of protests on 9 August across Maharashtra if the state government fails to grant reservation to the community by 7 August. "All we want is quota in education and government jobs," said MKM leader Abasaheb Patil who held a sit-in protest in Parli town in Beed district, 370 kilometres from Mumbai. He said there is nothing left now that need to be discussed with the government on the issue. The MKM is the umbrella body of Maratha groups demanding 16 percent reservation under the OBC category. "If the state government fails to grant us reservation by 7 August, then a massive agitation will be held across the state," he said. He said the Maratha youth has lost trust in the government, as it is dragging its feet on implementing the reservation. The police had detained at least 3,000 youths from the Maratha community for holding violent protests last week, of whom around 500 youths are facing serious criminal charges such as attempt murder. "Despite assurance from the chief minister, no police station has started withdrawing the cases against the youths," claimed Vinod Pokharkar, another leader of the Maratha community. Fadnavis on Thursday reiterated that the government is committed to grant quota to the Maratha community that can stand legal scrutiny. The Maharashtra State Backward Class Commission is currently conducting a survey to assess socio-economic backwardness of the Maratha community. The state government had announced that it will convene a special session of the legislature to discuss the quota demand, after the panel submits its report. A 21-year-old unemployed man, belonging to the Maratha community, allegedly committed suicide by hanging in Aurangabad, Maharashtra on Thursday, the police said. Mumbai: A 21-year-old unemployed man, belonging to the Maratha community, allegedly committed suicide by hanging in Aurangabad, Maharashtra on Thursday, the police said. Umesh Atmaram Indait hanged himself at his house in Choudhary Colony in Chikalthana area this afternoon, a senior police official said. As Maratha organisations are agitating for reservation in jobs and education for the community, at least six cases of suicide by young Maratha men were reported in the last two weeks. In all these cases, the victims purportedly mentioned that they were ending life for the cause of the quota, or because they were frustrated because of lack of job and education opportunities, the police said. The purported suicide note by Indait said he was jobless. "I did not fulfil the dreams of my parents. I am still jobless even after completing my BSc because I belong to the Maratha community," it said. After a photograph of the suicide note found its way on social media platforms, hundreds of protesters gathered on Jalna Road in the city. Some of them tried to block the road and there was stone-pelting, the police officer said. City Congress president Sanjay Nirupam urged Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday to suspend BMC commissioner Ajoy Mehta for his alleged involvement in losing Rs 500 crore-worth prime piece of land in suburban Jogeshwari. Mumbai: City Congress president Sanjay Nirupam urged Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday to suspend BMC commissioner Ajoy Mehta for his alleged involvement in losing Rs 500 crore-worth prime piece of land in suburban Jogeshwari. In his letter, Nirupam alleged that Fadnavis's consistent ignorance has provided Mehta with enough chance do to scams which are being exposed every passing day. "The fact that the Jogeshwari plot in question worth Rs 500 crore and measuring 13,000 square metres, which was initially reserved for a hospital and other public purposes, was deliberately allowed, by default, to be returned to the private owners makes it evident that this is a major scam in which the municipal commissioner appears to be hand in glove with the private owner," Nirupam's missive reads. He also enlisted various acts of alleged "omission and commission" on the part of the Brihanmumbai Municipal commissioner which eventually led to the land scam. Nirupam wrote, "Why didn't Ajoy Mehta approach the Supreme Court when the civic body lost the case in High Court? "Also, being the head of the Development Plan (DP) department, it was Mehta's prime responsibility to track the whole case instead of completely leaving it up to the Law department officials. This indicates gross dereliction of duty or deliberate inaction and criminal conspiracy on the part of the BMC Commissioner." The former MP also urged Fadnavis to order investigation into the "mysterious death" of a Dalit peon of the DP department, who was in-charge of the tampered file, fell to his death from a train few days later. "We need to find out whether this was an accident or a murder executed only to wipe out evidence since he was a crucial witness," he demanded. The Mumbai Congress Chiefon Wednesday led a delegation of Congress corporators and met with the Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone-1) to file an FIR against the alleged corrupt activities of the BMC Commissioner and some other top officials of the civic body. The Congress had demanded Wednesday a probe against the BMC after the civic body lost the court case of a plot worth Rs 500 crore in a suburb. The civic body, however, rejected the charges, saying all due processes were followed to acquire the plot despite the fact that the purchase notice was not served through a proper channel. The HC will fix the next date of hearing after the case diary is submitted to. State police has already submitted its charge sheet against 10 of the accused. Patna: The Patna High Court has called for a case diary in connection with the sexual exploitation of minor girls at a state-funded shelter home in Muzaffarpur. A bench of Justice Arun Kumar passed the direction on Thursday while hearing a bail petition filed by key accused in the case, Brajesh Thakur. Thakur's bail was earlier dismissed by a court at Muzaffarpur. The high court will fix the next date of hearing after the case diary is submitted to it. The shelter home for girls at Muzaffarpur was run by Thakur's NGO, Seva Sankalp Evam Vikas Samiti. The issue of sexual exploitation at the place was first highlighted in an audit report submitted by the Tata Institute of Social Science (TISS), Mumbai, to Bihar's Social Welfare Department in April. An FIR was lodged on 31 May against 11 persons in the case. Ten out of the 11 accused persons, including Thakur, were arrested on 3 June. State police has already submitted its charge sheet against 10 of the accused, including Thakur, on 26 July. before a Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) court at Muzaffarpur. The state government had on July 26 recommended a CBI inquiry into the matter. The premier investigating agency has taken over the probe from the state police in the case. Medical examinations of 34 of the 42 shelter home inmates confirmed that they were sexually exploited. In September last year, Shah had appeared as a defence witness for Kodnani, who had requested the court to summon him to prove her alibi that she was present in the Assembly and later at the Sola Civil Hospital on the day the 2002 riots broke out and not at Naroda Gam Ahmedabad: The Supreme Court-appointed SIT has told a special court hearing the 2002 Naroda Gam massacre case that BJP chief Amit Shah's statement defending one of the main accused and former Gujarat minister Maya Kodnani is "not believable" and should not be considered. In September last year, Shah had appeared as a defence witness for Kodnani, who had requested the court to summon him to prove her alibi that she was present in the Assembly and later at the Sola Civil Hospital on the day the 2002 riots broke out and not at Naroda Gam. Special Public Prosecutor Gaurang Vyas told Justice M K Dave on Wednesday that Shah's statement defending Kodnani was irrelevant, as it was made after a long delay. "Shah's statement is not believable, as none of the other accused mentioned about her presence at the Sola Civil Hospital," Vyas told the court in Ahmedabad. The matter will be next heard on Friday. Shah had told the court that he met Kodnani in the Gujarat Assembly in Gandhinagar and later at the Sola Civil Hospital in Ahmedabad on the day the riots took place. The Naroda Gam case is one of the nine major 2002 communal riot cases, which were investigated by the Supreme Court-appointed Special Investigation Team. Eleven people belonging to the Muslim community were killed in the Naroda Gam riots during a bandh call made to protest the Godhra train burning incident of February 27, 2002. Besides rioting and murder, Kodnani has also been charged with criminal conspiracy and attempt to murder in the case. She was convicted and sentenced to 28 years in jail for her role in the Naroda Patiya riots, in which 96 people were killed. However, in April this year, the Gujarat High Court had acquitted her. The SPP said that the records of her mobile tower locations suggest that she reached Sola area at around 10 am. Citing the testimonies of eyewitnesses, Vyas said that people of that area saw Kodnani at Naroda Gam during the morning. Ahmedabad: The SIT probing the Naroda Gam massacre case of 2002 Gujarat riots on Friday told the special court here that the main accused and former state minister Mayaben Kodnani was present at the spot for around 10 minutes and left after "instigating the mob". During Friday's hearing, Special Public Prosecutor (SPP) Gaurang Vyas told Special Judge M K Dave that concrete evidence in the form of eyewitness accounts establish Kodnani's presence at Naroda Gam at around 9:00 am on February 28, 2002, a day after the Godhra train burning incident. Questioning the defence witnesses who had claimed that Kodnani was either in the Gujarat Assembly in Gandhinagar, or at her hospital in Ahmedabad or at Sola civil hospital that day, Vyas said that such witnesses were "created only to save Kodnani". In her defence, Kodnani had claimed before the court that she was in Gujarat Assembly in Gandhinagar during the early hours of 28 February and then arrived at Sola civil hospital, where bodies of 'karsevaks' were brought from Godhra. Vyas maintained that Kodnani reached Naroda Gam at around 9 am after leaving from Gandhinagar at around 8.40 am. The SPP said that the records of her mobile tower locations suggest that she reached Sola area at around 10 am. Citing the testimonies of eyewitnesses, Vyas said that people of that area saw Kodnani at Naroda Gam during the morning. He said that the case against Kodnani is mainly about instigating the mob by giving a speech outside the Naroda Gam area. "Eyewitnesses have said that she was there for around 10 minutes. She did not enter the area. She came, made a speech to instigate the mob and left. This case is mainly about inciting the mob," Vyas said. The public prosecutor also questioned the testimony of a patient, a pregnant woman, who claimed to have received treatment at Kodnani's hospital on 28 February and had also said that Kodnani, a gynaecologist, was present at the hospital. Vyas also raised a question mark on another defence witness, Dhaval Shah, who claims to be running that hospital in partnership with Kodnani. While the pregnant woman claimed that she was checked by Kodnani at around 1 pm, Shah had testified that he had arrived at the hospital at around 2 pm. "Both the woman and Shah have failed to produce any case papers or a copy of the bill. Shah claimed that he had dropped the patient to her relative's house in his vehicle. However, he doesn't know the address. Such witnesses were created just to save Kodnani," Vyas told the court. He also questioned the testimonies of defence witnesses who had claimed that they saw Kodnani at Sola civil hospital. "All these defence witnesses of Sola were either BJP leaders or relatives of the Godhra carnage victims. Officials or medical superintendent of the hospital were not examined by the defence. No independent witnesses were examined" said Vyas. After taking submissions of the SIT lawyer, the court kept the matter for further hearing on Monday. On Monday, the court will watch the CD of a sting operation carried out by former Tehelka journalist, Ashish Khetan, on the 2002 riots accused. The court would also watch videos of the crime scene recorded by the local police in 2002 and by the SIT in 2008. The Naroda Gam case is one of the nine major 2002 communal riot cases investigated by the Supreme Court-appointed Special Investigation Team. Eleven people belonging to the Muslim community were killed in the Naroda Gam riots during a bandh called in protest against the Godhra train burning incident of February 27, 2002. Besides rioting and murder, Kodnani has also been charged with criminal conspiracy and attempt to murder in the case. She was convicted and sentenced to 28 years in jail for her role in the Naroda Patiya riots, in which 96 people were killed. However, in April this year, the Gujarat High Court had acquitted her. The Jammu and Kashmir National Conference (NC) on Friday moved the Supreme Court in support of the Constitution's Article 35A. New Delhi: The Jammu and Kashmir National Conference (NC) on Friday moved the Supreme Court in support of the Constitution's Article 35A that empowers the state Assembly to define "permanent residents" for bestowing special rights and privileges to them. After the CPM's Jammu and Kashmir unit, the NC moved the present petition seeking to be heard in the present matter, saying that the Article serves as an important link between the state and the Union and its people and serves to maintain a fine balance of constitutional federalism. The apex court is already seized of a batch of petitions in the matter, including the one filed by NGO We the Citizens seeking quashing of the article, which confers special status to permanent residents of Jammu and Kashmir. The NC's intervening application, filed through advocate Adeeba Mujhaid, has sought intervention in the "We the Citizens" petition, saying that the challenge raised in the pending writ petition suffers from gross delays and latches and being raised after more than 60 years and cannot be maintainable. The matter is listed for hearing on Monday before a bench comprising Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices AM Khanwilkar and DY Chandrachud. "Any attempt to tinker with the said balance would ruin the fabric of the federal structure envisaged under the Constitution and jeopardise the avowed special status guaranteed to the state of Jammu and Kashmir, thereby landing a devastating fatal blow to the state and its probe," the petition filed by NC through its provincial president Nasir Aslam Wani said. It said that "Article 35A and the special status and special laws of the J-K are a crucial existential issue for the state and its people." "The rights of all permanent residents of the state, irrespective of their religion, creed, region, socio-economic standing etc are firmly and constitutionally rooted in Article 35A." "The people of all the three regions of the state Jammu, Ladakh and Kashmir Valley will be vitally affected by the outcome of the present proceedings," it said. On 31 July, CPM's J-K unit had said in its petition that it was of the unequivocal opinion that the Article shall in "no circumstance be annulled, modified or repealed". On 14 May, Attorney General KK Venugopal had informed the apex court that the Centre's interlocutor for Jammu and Kashmir is currently discussing with all stakeholders the "sensitive" issues relating to the challenge to Article 35A of the Constitution. He had said the interlocutor appointed by the Centre to hold talks with stakeholders to resolve the Kashmir issue, was discussing these issues and it was an "ongoing process". Dineshwar Sharma, former director of the Intelligence Bureau (IB), was appointed the Centre's interlocutor for the state on 23 October last year. Article 35A, which was incorporated in the Constitution by a 1954 Presidential Order, accords special rights and privileges to the citizens of Jammu and Kashmir and denies property rights to a woman who marries a person from outside the state. The provision, which leads such women from the state to forfeit their right over property, also applies to their heirs. Several interlocutory petitions have been filed in support of Article 35A by various individuals and civil society groups seeking continuance of the special status to Jammu and Kashmir. The Jammu and Kashmir government through its standing counsel Shoeb Alam had referred to two judgments by the constitution benches of the apex court and said the issues raised in the pleas challenging Article 35A were covered by these verdicts. The state government, while defending Article 35A, had cited two verdicts by the constitution benches of the Supreme Court in 1961 and 1969 which had upheld the powers of the President under Article 370(1)(d) of the Constitution to pass constitutional orders. The article was incorporated in the Constitution in 1954 by an order of president Rajendra Prasad on the advice of the then Jawaharlal Nehru Cabinet. It empowers the state legislature to frame any law without attracting a challenge on the grounds of violation of the right to equality of people from other states or any other right under the Constitution. The apex court had on 14 August last year said a constitution bench may examine whether Article 35A was gender-biased and violative of the basic structure of the Constitution. The court while hearing a plea earlier by Charu Wali Khanna, a Kashmir resident, had indicated that if the article violated basic structure of the Constitution or was ultra vires, the issue may be dealt with by a five-judge bench. It had tagged the plea challenging Article 35A with a similar petition that is pending for hearing by a three-judge bench. The state government had earlier said the issue has already been "prima facie settled" by a full bench of the High Court in its verdict in 2002. In the case, the high court had, by a majority view, held that a daughter of a permanent resident of Jammu and Kashmir marrying a non-permanent resident will not lose the status of a permanent resident. In Srinagar, Wani said in a statement that the party "will fight this battle from the forefront and will do everything necessary to safeguard the state's special status and political rights. "We will make our case in the Supreme Court in light of the constitutional facts through which the state negotiated its accession with the Union of India - after having acceded to the Union in extraordinary circumstances," he said. Nitish Kumar broke his silence on the Muzaffarpur shelter home rape case and assured people that 'no leniency will be shown towards' the guilty. Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar on Friday broke his silence on the Muzaffarpur shelter home rape case and assured people that "no leniency will be shown towards" the guilty. "We are ashamed of the incident which has taken place in Muzaffarpur. CBI is investigating the case and the high court should monitor it," ANI quoted him as saying. "I would like to assure everyone that no leniency will be show towards anyone, all those found guilty will be severely punished," the Bihar chief minister further said. On the other hand, Bihar minister Manju Verma whose husband is charged with frequently visiting the shelter home evaded questions on the rape case. #WATCH Bihar Minister Manju Verma evades question on #Muzaffarpur Shelter Home case. Her husband faces allegations of frequently visiting the the shelter home. pic.twitter.com/jCm7KZvzcl ANI (@ANI) August 3, 2018 The Muzaffarpur case relates to the mental, physical and sexual exploitation of the girls residing at Balika Grih, Muzaffarpur. The matter had come to light earlier in 2018 when the Bihar social welfare department filed an FIR based on a social audit of the shelter home conducted by Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS). The audit report stated that many girls at the shelter home had complained of sexual abuse. A special investigation team was formed to probe the complaints. The NGO running the shelter home in Muzaffarpur was blacklisted and the girls were shifted to shelter homes in Patna and Madhubani. On Wednesday, Bihar governor Satya Pal Malik had shot off letters to Nitish Kumar, termind the sexual assault "heart-rending" and suggested measures for preventing recurrence of such incidents in the future. The governor had, however, also praised the state government for its quick action in the Muzaffarpur incident and its decision to hand over the case to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). With inputs from PTI With an increasing number of young Maoists returning to the mainstream, they need to be properly rehabilitated so that they can take up jobs, Sanjay Singh, the secretary of Skill Development and Technical Education, told PTI. Bhubaneswar: Odisha government has decided to relax the educational requirement for former Maoists to facilitate their skill development training in state-run centres in Left Wing Extremist-affected districts, a senior government official said. With an increasing number of young Maoists returning to the mainstream, they need to be properly rehabilitated so that they can take up jobs, Sanjay Singh, the secretary of Skill Development and Technical Education, told PTI. The state government has asked the Director Technical Education and Training (DTET), Cuttack, to relax the requisite educational qualification to facilitate the training of former Maoists in state-run Skill Development Centres (SDC)s and Industrial Training Institutes (ITI), he said. The state government has already set up five ITIs and 10 SDCs in Maoist-affected districts, Singh said. Though only four red radicals had surrendered before the police in 2008, the number of surrendered Maoists is on the rise now due to a progressive surrender and rehabilitation policy of the state, a senior official in the Home Department said. Ninety-nine Maoists had surrendered before the police in 2014 and 64 in 2015. At least 31 Maoists had surrendered in 2016 and 26 others surrendered in 2017. Till now, 15 Maoists have surrendered before the police in 2018, the official said. The state government is hopeful that more Red rebels will surrender before the police after the bridge over river Gurupriya, connecting the cut-off areas with the mainland in Malkangiri district, was opened for the public on 26 July. Santosh was confident that names of his family members will be in the final draft when, along with a few of his neighbours, he went to the nearest NRC Sewa Kendra (NSK) to check the list. Most of his family members' names had appeared in the first draft, Santosh says. Editor's Note: Of the 4 million who didn't make it to NRC, 2.48 lakh have been marked as 'D' voters. The Supreme Court has asked Assam government not to take any coercive action on those who are found to be without proper documents as required under recent National Register of Citizens. NRC, a product of Assam Accord, is expected to solve the fear of Bangladeshi immigrants that has been prevalent in the state for quite some time now. The Centre proposed in 1999 an updated NRC in Assam to solve the problem of "illegal immigration" and two pilot projects were conducted in Dhubri and Barpeta districts. But breaking out of a riot in Barpeta grounded the project. In 2005, when All Assam Student Union opposed the prime minister's visit to the state, tripartite talk between AASU, State government, and the Centre resulted in a decision to prepare a model for the NRC process, which was delayed yet again by over 5 years by the state government. It was only when Abhijeet Sharma of Assam Public Works (APW), an NGO, filed a writ petition in 2009 that the SC's direct intervention led to the start of NRC process in 2014. Firstpost will run a series which will feature 30 profiles in 30 days of those residents of Assam who have not been covered under the final draft of NRC which will decide if they continue to live in the state that they call 'home'. *** Guwahati: Santosh Mahato, a 29-year-old who lives with his family of nine in their house on a hill top in Kalapahar area of Guwahati in Assam, was left disheartened on 30 July to find that neither him nor any of his family members' names, apart from that of his wife, made it to the final draft list of the National Register of Citizens (NRC). Santosh was confident that names of his family members will be in the final draft when, along with a few of his neighbours, he went to the nearest NRC Seva Kendra (NSK) to check the list. Most of his family members' names had appeared in the first draft, Santosh says. Talking about his lineage, Santosh says that his grandfather, Chauthi Mahato, a mechanic by profession, had moved to Assam in 1965 from Muzaffarpur in Bihar. They initially resided in Ambari area under Fatashil Ambari police station in Guwahati. Later during the 1980s, Santosh's father, Shiva Mahto, purchased some land with his savings and built the house that family lives in at present. While his father works at a garage in the city and specializes in making car seats, Santosh's mother, Chandrakala Mahato, is a homemaker. Their names did not appear in the list. In the absence of any relevant document, Chandrakala had provided a copy of her husband's private job slip to prove her legacy data, which is probably the reason why her name was missing. But, how was it that the first draft list had her name, Santosh asks. Other family members whose names did not appear in the final draft list of NRC are his elder brother Sanjay, his wife Payal Mahato and their daughter Poonam, younger brother Ajay and his wife Kiran Mahato. The only name from the Mahato family to have appeared in the NRC final draft is that of Santoshs wife, Dipa. She is born Bengali and has been brought up in the same Kalapahar locality where the family lives. "We are facing a lot of trouble. We want to request the government if they can ease the process for us... for the future of our children, says 51-year-old Chandrakala Mahato, Santoshs mother. Santosh says he makes a living from his photography studio in Kalapahar. Since his family lives in a Bengali locality, they speak the language better than they speak Hindi. Living amid and socialising within a Bengali community has also led the family to adapt to other aspects of Bangla culture like dresses and food habits, says Santosh, who did his schooling from the local government school. He says the whole family have voter ID, birth certificate, PAN and other evidence required for the NRC documentation. I am not even a Bengali; my family came from Bihar a long time ago. When we are from India, then why is this happening with us, says Santosh. Santoshs family is not alone in their anxiety over their citizenship rights as many other families in this neighbourhood are perplexed with exclusion of members' name in the recently released final draft. He says that names of four of his family members were left out in the first list. Santosh, now, has his hopes pinned on the claims, objections and corrections process; the forms for which will be available starting 7 August at NRC Seva Kendras. They need to apply with more documents as proof to claim their citizenship. The review process has been scheduled to continue for a month starting 30 August, but is expected to stretch beyond for another month, a senior home ministry official has reportedly said. We have not lost hope. We still believe that our government will make sure that the process of verification is free from tampering and we will make it in the final list, Santosh adds. The author is a Guwahati-based freelance writer and a member of 101Reporters.com, a pan-India network of grassroots reporters A section of Opposition parliamentarians of the Rajya Sabha drafted a letter to the chairman of the Upper House Venkaiah Naidu to protest against some of his methods of conducting proceedings in the House. A section of Rajya Sabha leaders from the Opposition drafted a letter to the chairman of the Upper House, M Venkaiah Naidu, protesting against some of his methods of conducting proceedings in the House. NDTV reported that this is the first time that such a letter is being sent to the Rajya Sabha chairman. The issue will again be discussed at a joint meeting of various Opposition parties, including the Congress, the Left parties, TMC and Samajwadi Party. "The Opposition writing a protest letter to the Rajya Sabha chairman against the unfairness of the chair in the Upper House, by not allowing them to raise crucial burning issues confronting the country, is under our active consideration," said a senior Opposition leader. Hindustan Times reported that the grievances mentioned included "no space for Opposition parties for debate, favouring ruling party members, and adjourning the House according to his whims and fancies", said an Opposition leader who asked not to be named. Other Opposition leaders also alleged that two questions on demonetisation and their answers were removed from the Rajya Sabha website. The report said that the letter was with one of the senior-most Opposition leaders, who was considering the next step. A non-Congress leader added, "Most of the Opposition leaders are upset. There are different ways of expressing our objections. We may put it in writing or meet him or informally convey the message." On Tuesday, Opposition leaders were upset because the House was adjourned at 1 pm for just 10 minutes rather than break for lunch as has been the tradition, according to the NDTV report. "Sir, why are you calling a break like this? It is 1.10 pm," Derek O'Brien of the Trinamool Congress asked about the unusually short break when the house resumed. "First you answer, why is this disturbance?" Naidu shot back. The House was then adjourned for the day a few minutes later. Rajya Sabha proceedings have been disrupted this week over the National Register of Citizens (NRC) draft list. The Congress, TMC and other Opposition members expressed anger over BJP president Amit Shah's remarks on the NRC. "All the agenda being discussed in the Rajya Sabha is tilted in favour of the ruling party. The Opposition isn't allowed any space to raise key issues, and this is not acceptable," an Opposition leader said. Key issues need to urgently be discussed in the Rajya Sabha, but the chair does not allow them to be raised, and this is unfair, he said. The Opposition respects the chair, he said, but the Opposition space "cannot be usurped", and the government alone will not decide on how the Upper House is run. Another leader added that the Opposition wishes to convey its sentiments and anguish that it is not being accorded its rightful space and time in the Rajya Sabha. Naidu's counterpart in the Lok Sabha, Speaker Sumitra Mahajan, has already received one such rejoinder in the Monsoon Session. Eight Opposition leaders had questioned how she dealt with their attempt to move a no-trust motion against the government in the Budget Session of Parliament. "The issue of the Opposition writing a protest letter to the Rajya Sabha chairman against the unfairness of the chair in the Upper House, by not allowing them to raise crucial burning issues confronting the country, is under our active consideration," said a senior Opposition leader. A final call will be taken by Congress' Ghulam Nabi Azad, leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha. With inputs from PTI Home minister Rajnath Singh assured that the names of no Indian citizens will be left out from the NRC as the process was fair and objective. New Delhi: Accusing vested interests of trying to create an atmosphere of fear and communal disharmony on social media over the Assam National Register of Citizens (NRC), the government on Friday said there will be no discrimination in finalising it. Replying to a short duration on the Assam NRC draft issue in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday, home minister Rajnath Singh assured that the names of no Indian citizens will be left out from the NRC as the process was fair and objective. A political controversy has erupted after the names of about 40 lakh people did not find place in the final draft NRC published on 31 July. The home minister also said that the Centre has provided security forces as requested by the state government to ensure peace, harmony and public order. "The whole process (adopted for NRC) is fair and objective. There has not been any discrimination. I want to assure that there will not be any discrimination in future as well. It is not fair if someone makes such allegations," Singh said as he gave a brief history of the NRC and the Assam Accord of 1985. He said every country wants to identify genuine citizens and "it is their responsibility", he said and sought the cooperation of all parties on the matter saying it related to national security. Stressing that the draft NRC was not the "final one", the minister said all those who have been left out, will get an opportunity to provide the required documentary proof. "There will not be any coercive action (against those not in the list)," the minister asserted. He said "it is unfortunate that an atmosphere of fear has been created. Some confusion has been created through some people. Propaganda has been carried out through vested interest on social media to internationalise the issue and disturb the communal harmony." Certain people are trying to create communal disharmony and this should not be done, he added. "I would like to clarify that this is only a draft and not the final NRC. The process has been done under the observation of Supreme Court. The Supreme Court is monitoring the process," he said, adding that the process will be taken to a logical conclusion. After the home minister's reply, several members welcomed the statement, with some seeking clarifications and some others giving suggestions on the NRC. Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu sought to know if former prime minister and member of the House Manmohan Singh would like comment as the home minister had taken his name. The former prime minister, however, preferred not to speak. Naidu also asked the home minister to provide written replies to the clarifications raised by the members as the Zero Hour ended and the House took up the Question Hour. Ripun Bora of the Congress demanded that the guidelines related to the NRC should be further modified as a large number of women and children were facing difficulties in proving their lineage. He said West Bengal government had verified only a small fraction of the total 1.2 lakh applications in relation to the NRC. RJD member Manoj Jha opined that those who were not in the draft list should not be termed as "infiltrators". Derek O'Brien (TMC) said the matter was not just limited to Assam but was a national issue. He also took a potshot at the BJP saying its national president was speaking a different language on the issue than the home minister. As the Chairman asked him to be brief saying he has been a "quiz master", Derek said he is now leader of TMC and no longer a quiz master. Leader of Opposition and senior Congress member Ghulam Nabi Azad said there could be no compromise with security, sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country. He suggested that the government as well as the ruling party should speak in one language while higlighting that even the names of people who have served for over 30 years in the army and the airforce were missing from the draft. Earlier, the Chairman informed the House that a privilege notice has been received from a MP from West Bengal and it was being examined. The notice related to the arrest of TMC MPs in Assam. The House paid homage to its former member, Bhishma Narain Singh, who passed away on 1 August at the age of 85 years. Follow LIVE updates on Monsoon Session of Parliament As it makes adultery a dilemma to be decided between men, the Supreme Court found the law in contravention of Article 14, which guarantees to every citizen the right to equality, especially in matters of the legal. In their precarious post-colonial condition, decolonised nations and India, too, is one acknowledged that the power they had inherited from colonial rule must, in order to foster their respective democratic experiments, be shared schematically between its political estates and pillars. For power to be shared, it must first be made legal to wield it, and herein the post-colonial, decolonised states confronted the immediacy of creating a regime of law in whose reverential sway sovereignty could be vested. But the sway of this law has had a tenuous course, and an obvious encumbrance in it has been the weight of history contained in impish tracts of legality which necessitated that every right, particularly those fundamental, be repeatedly negotiated and called into democratic suspicion. Section 497 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), which decrees that "whoever has sexual intercourse with a person who is and whom he knows or has reason to believe to be the wife of another man, without the consent or connivance of that man, such sexual intercourse not amounting to the offense of rape, is guilty of the offense of adultery, and shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to five years, or with fine, or with both", is as historical and legal as Macaulian, so to speak. Its premise is unexceptionally Victorian it makes the marital union between men and women coterminous with sacrality whose transgression, because blasphemy has ceased to be fashionable, has to be criminal. Here, as in the Victorian ethic, the wife is a mute subject, a "chattel", as Chief Justice Dipak Misra appropriately phrased it, who will either be protected or defiled. It is a law which places, in very certain terms, marriage at the centre of every social milieu, and makes obedience to its preservation the only way to be and remain in legality. On 2 August, 2018, the Supreme Court, in its hearing of the case of petitioner Joseph Shine, meditated on the subject. The context of the case need not be reiterated, but a critical fixture which makes the case and the hearing disjunctural and at painful odds is the throwing open of the constitutional validity of adultery as a juridical idea by Shine and his advocates. So far, this is not an impulse that the Supreme Court bench has echoed clearly, murmurings and anticipatory hope notwithstanding. What is clear is that the bench, comprising Justices RF Nariman, AM Khanwilkar, DY Chandrachud and Indu Malhotra, has made a trenchant critique of the chattel-like treatment of women in the so-called adultery law and delivered a salutary conviction to the re-making of the IPC section into gender-neutrality. It did so by placing its argument in two registers: The law as extant is gender unjust because first, it would treat as legal and permissible a sexual union between a married woman and another man if it carries the consent of the husband, and two, because it refuses to acknowledge the criminality of the married woman or her ability to summon her husband's adultery into criminality by the law in the exercise. As it makes adultery a dilemma to be decided between men, the Supreme Court found the law in contravention of Article 14, which guarantees to every citizen the right to equality, especially in matters of the legal. If making the law gender-neutral would imply the transitory re-creation of women from Macaulay's mute subjects into empty ones divested of social reality and political condition, the judgement leaves much to be simultaneously desired and critiqued. The inclusion of women into the determination of who is legal and who is criminal or what Uma Chakravarti has poignantly called the "add women and stir formula" does not by itself make a judgement or meditation feminist. Equality before the law, or more broadly, political equality is a lofty idea, but in India, as in different incarnations elsewhere, it runs counter to social, economic, and cultural inequities. This is reminiscent of BR Ambedkar's resounding warning from which the Supreme Court would do well to take a leaf. A gender-neutral refashioning of the law would ignore, as law does ever so often, that a more important question than who is legal and who is criminal is who is more vulnerable. The marital union, despite the legalese of equality, is an institution that's historically and socially inegalitarian there are "crimes" beyond the legal, punished more severely than the law kills. The court does not require the instatement of political punishment against adulterous women who, by their social location as women who have transgressed, meet quotidian punishment. In expanding the spheres of criminality for women within this very legal space, a re-fashioned law will not re-allocate power but reinforce it with more totalising force. In debating how to change the law, the Supreme Court's meditations remain blinkered for their inability, or wilful refusal, to ask why the law exists. "Definitely," the bench said, "The matrimonial sanctity aspect is there." Such an insecure reiteration evidences too clearly that Joseph Shine's conviction that the validity of the law be debated is as far from fructification as conceivable, for it has been decided, as a foregone premise, that adultery as a legal idea is not only valid but also desirable for its sanctity. Since the law punishes adulterous unions, it recognises that the marital union, in the totality of its sanctimonious character, is an unnatural creature whose force was and is primarily and entirely social. Dismissed from nature, why, then, should matrimonial sanctity be protected? To return again to Ambedkar, who reminded us that marriage mediates between, by fostering, the re-production of inequitable and unjust caste, class, and property relations by reproduction, it is to be asked why the law must protect that which women need protection from. It is not Section 497 which treats women like "chattel", but the social script of marriage and adultery which always already underlies and underlines the so-called adultery law. A feminist reading of adultery would refuse to leave the marital union as one of unquestionable, as if natural, sanctity and make legal peace with but political affront against the violence which characterises the lived experience of marriage in an unequal society, where even rape carries unimpeded impunity. Therein is the only justice. The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed a plea seeking the laying down of guidelines on how the procedure for caesarean deliveries has to be conducted in hospitals, saying the petition was an abuse of process of law. New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed a plea seeking the laying down of guidelines on how the procedure for caesarean deliveries has to be conducted in hospitals, saying the petition was an abuse of process of law. A bench headed by Justice Ranjan Gogoi also slapped a cost of Rs 25,000 on the petitioner and directed him to deposit the amount within four weeks with the Supreme Court Bar Association. "What is that you want? How much cost will you pay, you tell us? You want the court to lay down guidelines as to how caesarean deliveries have to be done? Is it a PIL (Public Interest Litigation)," the bench, comprising Justices R Banumathi and Navin Sinha, said. "Having perused the PIL, we are of the view that the same is an abuse of process of law," the bench added. The petition was filed by Reepak Kansal, who had alleged "flagrant violations and abuse of health norms" due to a lack of policy, and claimed that several private hospitals and maternity homes often conduct unnecessary C-section deliveries to make money. Kansal also said that the World Health Organisation recommends caesarean section to be performed only when it becomes a medical necessity. He claimed there are numerous instances in India where C-sections are performed without medical reasons by private hospitals with an intention to make money. His petition also claimed that a C-section delivery involves an extended stay in the hospital as compared to normal childbirth. Further, he said that private hospitals have a much higher rate of C-section deliveries than government hospitals and this was a "clear indication that these institutions deliberately perform C-sections as it was directly proportionate to the fact that surgical deliveries cost much more than normal deliveries". Kansal, in his plea, sought the constitution of a medical board for monitoring the activities of private health institutions with regard to C-section deliveries. The Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the Assam Police have been engaged in allegations and counter-allegations ever since eight members of TMC landed at the Silchar airport in Assam on Thursday. The Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the Assam Police have been engaged in allegations and counter-allegations ever since eight members of TMC landed at the Silchar airport in Assam on Thursday. The Assam Police has alleged that one of its woman police constable was injured after she was assaulted by Trinamool Congress (TMC) MLA Mahua Moitra at the airport. Moitra was part of the eight-member party delegation, which arrived in the city, on a two-day visit to Assam to discuss the anomalies in the NRC issue. The delegation was detained at the airport on Thursday afternoon and asked to give an assurance that the members won't make any provocative speeches or instigate violence during their visit. In a video procured by Firstpost, Moitra is seen assaulting the female cop when the latter tried to stop her from protesting. Confirming the injury of the constable, Assam Directorate General of Police (DGP) Kuladhar Saikia told ANI, In the scuffle, two of our constables and one worker from the district administration were injured. Legal action will be initiated on the basis of FIRs by the injured and for violation of Section 144 (in Cachar district)." The DGP said that the Assam administration had requested the TMC delegation to not to come to Silchar now as it is important for the government and the police to maintain peace in the state. However, TMC has made allegations of being manhandled by the Assam Police at the Silchar airport and of being wrongfully detained there. Addressing the media, TMC chief Mamata Banerjee said, A parliamentary delegation went to meet the people (in Assam). They were not allowed outside the airport. Why is the Assam government behaving like this, along with the Centre? This is a political vendetta. The BJP only has muscle power. She even accused the BJP of imposing "super emergency" in the country. A statement issued by the TMC in Kolkata said that the party delegation comprising of 6 MPs, one state minister and one MLA was "pushed" and "shoved". Party MP Derek O' Brien tweeted to rubbish the media reports of TMC MPs assaulting the Assam Police personnel and instead alleged that MP Mahua Moitra was in "distress" and "beaten up" at the Silchar airport. Some suppliant BJP-RSS media, also known as NK channels, why is this pic not on air ? My Trinamool colleague Mahua Moitra was in obvious distress at Silchar airport earlier today. Many in the 8-member delegation were roughed up and beaten. Report the facts. Stop the spin #pic pic.twitter.com/bfgZHl0eox Derek O'Brien (@derekobrienmp) August 2, 2018 #SuperEmergency Pic taken at Silchar Airport. My colleague Mahua Moitra, MLA, thrashed by police. Many in 8-member delegation roughed up. Trinamool MPs & MLAs dont give in so easily. @MamataOfficial once went on a 26-day hunger strike for a cause. We will fight the good fight pic.twitter.com/1eXn9uLoOe Derek O'Brien (@derekobrienmp) August 2, 2018 Meanwhile, the Office of the Commissioner of Police, Guwahati, released a statement, prohibiting the eight MPs, West Bengal ministers, MLAs and any other political/non-political person who may deliver inflammatory speeches against the NRC from entering Guwahati City and address any gathering without appropriate permission from the competent authority. The police also said that no passenger carrier including surface or air transport shall carry such persons to the area under Police Commissionerate, Guwahati. The delegation continued to remain in detention till Thursday night. The Cachar Superintendent of Police Rakesh Kumar said, Under preventive detention of Section 151 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), the TMC leaders will be kept inside Silchar Airport." TMC MP Sukhendu Sekhar Roy, who is a part of the delegation, told DNA that the police stopped them at the airport saying their visit might create trouble and manhandled them."It's murder of democracy. We were not allowed to go out," he said. While another TMC MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar alleged that the police could not produce any order before stopping them. However, there was no immediate reaction from the state administration regarding TMC's allegations, the DNA report said. With inputs from agencies The eight-member TMC team was on a two-day state visit to assess the situation in Assam and campaign against the final draft of the National Register of Citizenship (NRC) released on Monday, which left out over 40 lakh names. Silchar: A Trinamool Congress delegation was on Thursday detained at Silchar airport after allegedly being roughed up by the state police. The eight-member team was on a two-day state visit to assess the situation in Assam and campaign against the final draft of the National Register of Citizenship (NRC) released on Monday, which left out over 40 lakh names. The delegation included MPs Sukhendu Sekhar Roy, Mamata Bala Thakur, Nadimul Haque, Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, Ratna De Nag, Arpita Ghosh, MLA Mahua Moitra and Bengal Minister Firhad Hakim. Cachar SP Rakesh Roushan said the TMC members stayed at the Silchar airport on Thursday night. Additional Director General of Police Mukesh Agarwal on Thursday said that the TMC leaders were taken under "preventive detention" under Section 151 of the CrPC to avoid possible disruption of law and order situation in Barak Valley especially due to the ongoing drive to conclude the NRC process. "Since prohibitory orders under Section 144 CrPC were already imposed in the district after the publication of the complete draft of the NRC, we took the delegation of the TMC MPs and MLAs under preventive detention to avoid any possible chaos here," Agarwal said. Rajya Sabha MP Sukhendu Sekhar Roy had also alleged that the delegates, including women, were shoved around by the police. Video clips of the alleged assault were doing rounds on social media and on some television channels. Denying such allegations of physical assault, the ADGP said, "We know the constitutional importance of the Parliamentarians and Legislators and we behaved in the best benign manner we can. We have made all arrangements for their comfortable stay within the rules. Steps are being taken to send them back to respective locations in consultation with the delegation." The ADGP also informed that two lady constables were injured while trying to restore calm inside the airport. Sources said seven TMC members were surrounded by police officials after they disembarked the aircraft at around 1:35 pm on Thursday. They were stopped from getting out of the airport and were forced to remain in t the VIP lounge where they were joined by Hakim, who reached an hour later. The situation worsened after a series of heated arguments between TMC leaders and the police and security officials at the airport. Silchar MLA and BJP leader Dilip Kumar Paul said the TMC leaders were conspiring to create a state of unrest in the Barak Valley and in the state. Their visit was a pre-planned part of the strategy, he alleged. Dismissing the assault allegations, he also claimed, The incident began with one of the journalists, who came with them, recording a video which is prohibited in an airport. Eventually, they (TMC leaders) started saying that they were beaten up, which was not true. Reacting to the incident, TMC supremo and West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee said, "There is a super Emergency in Assam. They don't want us to talk to people. Paul hit back saying, Assam does not need Mamata Banerjee. The NRC issue is related to this state and she (Mamata) need not interfere. She can do whatever she likes in West Bengal, but interference in this state will not be tolerated. Following the incident, TMC state president Dwipen Pathak, who was the partys only MLA in Assam, tendered his resignation in Guwahati. Pathak had earlier urged Banerjee to refrain from sending any delegation to the state. "The party did not pay heed to my suggestion and refused to understand the ground situation here. In this backdrop, it is not possible for me to remain in a party that does not value the Assamese sentiment," Pathak was quoted as saying by PTI. He added that TMC was trying to divide Assam through divisive policies and he could not act against his state. Following Pathaks exit, two other TMC members Pradip Pachani of Sibsagar and Diganta Saikia of Golaghat resigned as they refused to be a part of the party that wanted to compromise the identity of the indigenous Assamese people," the PTI reported. Congress legislator from Karimganj North Kamalakhya Dey Purkayastha condemned the alleged assault and said that the decision to confine the TMC delegation was totally undemocratic. They (TMC leaders) came to interact with the common masses regarding the NRC issue and hear the views and perspectives. There was nothing wrong in that, he said. He further alleged that the interaction with local people could expose various anomalies that took place in the NRC process which is why the government did not allow the delegates to step out of the airport. While the Supreme Court has ensured that the draft shall not be the basis of any action, the process has spread panic among many who fear to lose their citizenship. Assam NRC coordinator Prateek Hajela informed the top court that the complete NRC draft will be available to the public for inspection until 7 August. The final list of the NRC will be published by December this year. With inputs from Pranjal S and Tilak Purkayastha Authors are Assam-based freelance writers and members of 101Reporters.com, a pan-India network of grassroots reporters The NCP on Thursday attacked the BJP over the draft National Register of Citizens (NRC), saying the ruling party was exploiting the issue to polarise people. Mumbai: The NCP on Thursday attacked the BJP over the draft National Register of Citizens (NRC), saying the ruling party was exploiting the issue to polarise people. Maharashtra NCP spokesperson Nawab Malik also claimed that data shows that the previous UPA government was more sincere in taking action against those living illegally in India. The Manmohan Singh government deported around 5,500 foreigners who were living in India without valid documents, whereas the present government has deported less than 1,000 foreign nationals in the last four years, he said. "Has the Modi government identified how many people are living in India in this way (illegally)? Has the Centre raised the issue before the concerned countries? The government should come out with a clarification," Malik said. "The BJP is trying to polarise people on religious lines to gain votes in elections," the NCP leader said. While police regularly take action against those living illegally in the country, parties such as the BJP and Shiv Sena raise the issue only when polls are around, he said. The publication of draft NRC in Assam has triggered a political firestorm over exclusion of over 40 lakh residents of the north-eastern state. The Congress' top leadership believes the BJP has created a myth of invincibility around Modi, and he can be defeated by having the right kind of alliances. Prime Minister Narendra Modi wont get a second chance in office if the Congress gets its alliance game right, assert top party sources. While the Congress is going to perform significantly better in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand and Punjab, the BJP will face significant losses in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Maharashtra. This will be due to alliances that the Congress will have in the states. If we have the right kind of alliances in the three states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Maharashtra, Modi wont be the prime minister for another term. He can become the prime minister if the BJP alone wins 230 to 240 seats, a top Congress source said. Congress alliance game -An alliance with the Samajwadi Party (SP) and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) in Uttar Pradesh is on the cards. -Co-ordination between like-minded parties is a must, and the Congress will align only with such parties. -With the RJD by its side, the Congress is also engaging in talks with parties in Bihar for alliance and seat-sharing. -In Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, the Congress is yet to finalise whether to have any alliance with the BSP or not. -The partys central leadership will take the final call on alliances based on its state units Pradesh Congress Committees (PCCs). -The partys short-term plan is to enter into alliances. -No alignment is possible with the Shiv Sena due to ideological differences. According to Congress sources, the party is in the final stages of discussion on an alliance with the Samajwadi Party (SP) and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) in Uttar Pradesh. Strategy to counter BJP-RSS combine -The role of the Congress will be to provide a platform to all Opposition parties, and unite them against the BJP-RSS combine. -It will seek to bring all non-BJP Opposition parties together and join hands with them to defeat Modi and the BJP. -The party will make efforts to strengthen its cadre. -It will attempt to come up with a new narrative based on the peoples reaction/anger over certain policies of the Modi government like demonetisation, GST, etc in the next three to four months. -The party will run an aggressive campaign against the Modi governments failures in certain sectors before the 2019 election. -It will seek to take up issues related to the youth, poor people, Dalits, tribals, minorities, unemployment, agrarian distress, price rise, small traders, labourers, etc. -The party will also spell out its vision on employment to youth, education, healthcare and agriculture. The Congress is focussing on strengthening its cadre ahead of Assembly polls and the 2019 Lok Sabha election. One of the biggest strengths of the BJP at the grassroots has been the cadre of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) that has an impact at the booth level. We want a certain number of dedicated party members to oversee the Congress organisation and strengthen it, rather than build a cadre similar to the RSS. The sole aim of the RSS is to capture institutions systematically from the army, Supreme Court, Election Commission to important government organisations. This is a threat to institutional structures. The Congress cant have such a system, the party sources claimed. The partys top leadership believes that the BJP has created a myth of invincibility around Modi, and he can be defeated by having the right kind of alliances and strategies. A large section of people, comprising the poor, tribals, Dalits, minorities, farmers and small traders are unhappy and disturbed by some of Modis policies. There is visible anger amongst the people. While the two crore jobs promised by the prime minister have not been provided, there have been more job losses. The Congress will give a direction to these sentiments of distressed sections of society, a top party source said. The second Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting headed by party president Rahul Gandhi will discuss some of these issues on Saturday, besides the issues related to the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and the Rafale deal. This will be the second meeting after reconstitution of the CWC under Congress president on 17 July. The first meeting was held on 22 July. During its first CWC meeting, the Congress had authorised Rahul to decide on alliances with like-minded parties to prevent the BJP from returning to power in 2019. The Congress has been looking at state-specific alliances across the country to form a combined front against the NDA for the 2019 elections. However, during the first week of July, the party was confronted with massive rumblings within its Bengal unit, during which the state leadership was bitterly divided over alliance options. Similarly, an alliance with the BSP in Rajasthan had got stuck after the partys Rajasthan leaders strongly opposed the move. The final decision on alliances will be based on the feedback and reports from our state units. Instead of depending on the BJPs failure, the Congress will provide its own vision on various issues and sectors, the Congress source said. The Congress' stance on Friday was in contrast to its attitude in Parliament and outside for the last four days, when it sought to berate the NRC process. A belated realisation seems to have dawned on the Congress leadership that its strident opposition to the National Register of Citizens in Assam including the process of identification, disenfranchisement and possible deportation of illegal immigrants is turning out to be politically counterproductive to it, and beneficial to the BJP. The Congress' stance on Friday was in marked contrast to its attitude in Parliament and outside for the last four days, when the party along with the Trinamool Congress indulged in competitive shrillness to berate the NRC process. The manner in which the debate was shaped by the Opposition including the Congress, TMC, RJD, SP, BSP, Left Front, DMK, JD(S) and others ensured that although the NRC exercise was limited to Assam, it evoked strong public opinion across the country. This handed over the nationalism plank framed in terms of the interests of Indians as against illegal Bangladeshi immigrants to the BJP on a platter. It may influence the minds of a large number of voters throughout the country. It is suspected that over the years, illegal Bangladeshi migrants have spread to different parts of the country, not just in eastern and north India but even in Kerala. Consider the contrast between the positions the Congress has taken in the past four days, and the one is taking now. On Wednesday afternoon, Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu placed on record that home minister Rajnath Singh had made himself available in the House to respond to the concerns of the Opposition, but Singh was not allowed to speak. On Friday, after four days of disruption in the Upper House, the home minister was finally allowed to speak on the NRC issue. Rajnath Singh gave a detailed account of the historical and judicial context in which the current exercise of preparing the NRC draft is being undertaken. During this, he stated a point over which the Congress had a serious objection the mentioning of Rajiv Gandhi, and the 1985 Assam Accord signed in his presence. The Assam Accord had mentioned the issue of taking action to expel foreigners who entered the state illegally. Singh mentioned that the Manmohan Singh-led government had taken a tentative step towards updating the NRC in 2005, but later shelved the idea. The home minister presented the same facts as BJP chief Amit Shah, albeit in a different tone and tenor. It should be recalled that Shah had said that the NRC is the soul of the Assam Accord signed by Rajiv Gandhi, but only the current government had the guts to go ahead with it. In response to this statement, Congress MPs protested and disrupted the proceedings of the House. The Congress had even sought an apology from Shah for making a reference to Rajiv Gandhi, and demanded that his remarks about the former prime minister be expunged. The party's argument was that it was an insult to all prime ministers from Rajiv Gandhi onwards. It is intriguing as to why the Congress sought an apology from Shah and demanded the deletion of his remarks on Rajiv Gandhi from the records. The role of all individuals in the 1985 Assam Accord is a matter of recorded history. The Congress, in a change of strategy on Friday, fielded speakers from Assam to give short speeches in response to the home minister's statement, and seek 'clarifications.' There has been a clear division of opinion over the issue between the Congresss Assam unit and the central party leadership. When Assam chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal held an all-party meeting, the Congress had approved of the exercise. In the Rajya Sabha, Ripun Bora and Bhubaneshwar Kalita of the Congress (both from Assam) sought to give credit to Rajiv Gandhi and subsequent Congress governments for the NRC. They endorsed the home minister's contention that the Narendra Modi government was committed to take this exercise to its logical conclusion. Bora said that Rajiv Gandhi 'understood the danger to the people of Assam' from illegal immigrants. Anand Sharma and Ghulam Nabi Azad, too, spoke in the House, but their participation was not consequential. In the Lok Sabha, the Congress fielded Gaurav Gogoi, the son of three-time chief minister Tarun Gogoi. The latter has expressed support for the NRC, and has claimed that it was his brainchild. However, it seems that the president of his party, Rahul Gandhi, had not been listening to voices from Assam thus far. The Congresss changed position on the NRC would make Amit Shah smile. His stand has been vindicated. In its upcoming Congress Working Committee (CWC) meet on 4 August, the party hopes to leverage the NRC issue to its advantage With less than a year to go for the General Election, the National Register of Citizens (NRC) has emerged as a boon for the Opposition to take on the BJP. Whether it succeeds or not, only time will tell. In its upcoming Congress Working Committee (CWC) meet on 4 August, the party hopes to leverage the issue to its advantage. NRC is likely to be the key agenda at Saturday's CWC meet. "NRC is going to be the main agenda at the CWC meeting on Saturday, because it's the most important issue in the country right now. The way the Centre has initiated the process in Assam, has badly affected a large number of people who belong to the state and are not outsiders. We have been told that indigenous people have been affected including the tea plantation labourers in large numbers," a Congress leader told Firstpost. After reconstituting the CWC under Congress president Rahul Gandhi on 17 July, the first meeting was held on 22 July at Parliament Annexe building. Among the barrage of issues flagged for the upcoming meeting, NRC will play a crucial role for the party to garner support from the Opposition block in building consensus for a united Opposition ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. "The NRC was aimed at reflecting the aspirations of Assamese people and not as a tool to divide society, which the BJP government is making it out to be," said AICC communication in-charge Randeep Singh Surjewala. The Congress will leave no stone unturned in whipping up the issue. The CWC meet will discuss ways on how to proceed with the NRC issue, the other political parties with whom it can join hands and the modus operandi to be adopted both inside and outside Parliament to put pressure on the Narendra Modi-led government at the Centre. The move is also significant after Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief Mamata Banerjee met Rahul and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi along with other Opposition party leaders on Wednesday in New Delhi, to discuss the NRC of Assam and the possibility of Opposition parties fighting the 2019 Lok Sabha elections together against the BJP. As an aside, it was almost a week ago that the Congress had expressed its willingness to support Mayawati, Mamata or any other candidate not backed by the RSS/BJP for the prime ministerial post in the upcoming Lok Sabha election. Prior to that, the Congress had announced that Rahul would be its PM candidate. Mamatas visit to Rahul and Sonia is also significant in this backdrop. The Congress is likely to discuss possible alliances in poll-bound states in the CWC meet. "The NRC will have repercussions on our relations with neighbouring country Bangladesh and will also lead to a humanitarian crisis. This is not an issue on which politics should be played. The Government of India must call a meeting of leaders of all political parties and must inform all about the steps it proposes to take on the situation. People and families should not be separated, nor should people be taken to any camps," senior Congress party leader and MP Anand Sharma had said on Tuesday. Other issues on CWC meeting agenda Besides the NRC, the other issues to be discussed in the meeting are related to upcoming Assembly elections in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, the growing incidences of lynching, the economy and rising prices of essential commodities like LPG. Rahul had called for an emergency meeting of top Congress leaders from Madhya Pradesh including Kamal Nath, Jyotiraditya Scindia and Digvijaya Singh at his residence on 31 July. In the same meeting, besides chalking out poll strategy to be adopted ahead of the Assembly elections, the Congress president finalised his poll campaigning plan for Madhya Pradesh. He will start his campaigning from the holy town of Omkareshwar in Khandwa district after paying a visit to the Jyotirlinga dedicated to Lord Shiva. The party will also discuss issues affecting the lives of common people in the country. "Discussions are likely to take place on inclusiveness a factor the Congress strongly believes in. Another important issue is the plight of tribals, Dalits, backward sections and women," a party leader said. Strengthening of the party's organisational structure from village-level to blocks, to districts and Pradesh committees (state-level) and to the AICC level will be a point of discussion. "The aim is to strengthen the Congress at the grassroots and convey partys policies and plans across the verticals," the leader added. Mehbooba Mufti's warning comes days before a Supreme Court hearing, scheduled for 6 August, on petitions challenging the validity of Article 35A of the Constitution, which grants special rights and privileges to the state's residents. Srinagar: Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti on Friday said fiddling with the state's special status would have "catastrophic ramifications" for the entire country. Her warning comes days before a Supreme Court hearing, scheduled for 6 August, on petitions challenging the validity of Article 35A of the Constitution, which grants special rights and privileges to the state's residents. "Today people cutting across party lines and other affiliations are united in their fight against dilution of Article 35A. As I have already stated before, fiddling with Jammu and Kashmir's special status will have catastrophic ramifications for the entire country," Mufti said. Article 35A, which was incorporated in the Constitution by a 1954 Presidential Order, also denies property rights to a woman who marries a person from outside the state. "My father (former chief minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed) took great pride in the special status that Jammu and Kashmir enjoys under Article 370. He would often mention that while people of the state have made great sacrifices for larger goals, we need to safeguard what we already have," the PDP president wrote on Twitter. Protests by the separatists, business and trade bodies and civil society organisations have rocked the Valley over the past few days against petitions demanding that Article 35A be repealed. The separatists have called for a two-day strike on 5-6 August over the issue. The meeting is being held after many Congress MLAs announced last week that they would resign from the Maharashtra Assembly to put pressure on the government to accede to the demand for reservation for Maratha community. Mumbai: Congress president Rahul Gandhi has called a meeting of senior party leaders from Maharashtra on 8 August to discuss the ongoing agitation of the Maratha community for reservation, a party source said on Friday. The meeting will be held in Delhi, said a senior Congress leader in Mumbai. The agitation of the politically influential Maratha community has put the BJP-led state government on the back foot, with protests taking a violent turn in many parts of the state. Many Congress MLAs had announced last week that they would resign from the Assembly to put pressure on the government to accede to the demand. State Congress chief Ashok Chavan had said the decision in this regard would be taken after a discussion with the party's central leadership. The Maratha community constitutes about 30 percent of the state population. Elections to the Maharashtra Assembly are due in 2019. The Lok Sabha unanimously passed the Constitution (123rd Amendment) Bill, 2017 on Thursday, making the National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC) a constitutional body and granting it complete powers to safeguard the rights and interests of Other Backward Classes (OBC). The Lok Sabha unanimously passed the Constitution (123rd Amendment) Bill, 2017 on Thursday, making the National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC) a constitutional body and granting it complete powers to safeguard the rights and interests of Other Backward Classes (OBC). The bill, which was passed with all 406 members presented in the House voting in favour of it, brings the NCBC on par with the National Commision for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) and the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST). After a debate that lasted for nearly five hours, the Bill which was pitched as an "alternative amendment" was passed with two-third majority, superceding the amendments adopted by the Rajya Sabha. The Indian Express reported that RSPs NK Premachandran pointed out that this was the first time that an alternative amendment was brought in the Lower House. During the debate, several members demanded a census to ascertain the population of OBCs while some others pressed for making public the socio-economic survey of 2014, according to The Economic Times. Last year, the Rajya Sabha had made amendments like the increase of the three-member NCBC committee to five members to provide representation to a woman and a person from a minority community. It also mandated that the five members be from OBC communities. An amendment that was voted out by the Lok Sabha was to give the states a significant role in making recommendations to the list of OBC. However, Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Thaawarchand Gehlot, who piloted the bill, assured the House that states will continue to have the right to prepare the state list, but if they want a certain community in the Central list, the Commission will take the final decision. Gehlot also said that the suggestion for religion-based reservation in the composition of the commission was unconstitutional, Hindustan Times reported. Gehlot also said that a committee under Justice G Rohini had been set up to examine sub-categorisation of OBCs. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was present during the voting, congratulated social justice and empowerment minister Thawar Chand Gehlot for successfully piloting the bill. The passage comes a day after the Union cabinet approved a bill to amend the Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act to restore the original provisions of the law. The move followed widespread protests by Dalits groups, Opposition parties and the ruling BJPs own allies over the watering down of some of its provisions. Constitutional status to NCBC The NCBC is a body set up under the National Commission for Backward Classes Act, 1993. Before the amendment, it had the power to examine complaints regarding inclusion or exclusion of groups within the list of backward classes, and advise the Central government in this regard. According to PRS Legislative, the bill seeks to establish the NCBC under the Constitution, and provide it with the authority to examine complaints and welfare measures regarding socially and educationally backward classes. The Constitution Amendment Bill states that the President may specify the socially and educationally backward classes in the various states and union territories. He may do this in consultation with the governor of the concerned state. However, a law of Parliament will be required if the list of backward classes is to be amended. Modified functions of the NCBC The duties of the NCBC now include: Investigating and monitoring how the safeguards provided to the backward classes under the Constitution and other laws are being implemented; Inquiring into specific complaints regarding violation of rights; and advising and making recommendations on the socio-economic development of such classes. The Central and state governments will be required to consult with the NCBC on all major policy matters affecting the socially and educationally backward classes. PRS Legislative reported that the NCBC is set to have the powers of a civil court while investigating or inquiring into any complaints. These powers include: Summoning people and examining them on oath; requiring production of any document or public record; receiving evidence. National Commission for Backward Classes Act, 1993 Section 3 of the Act provides that the Commission shall consist of five Members, comprising of a Chairperson who is or has been a judge of the Supreme Court or High Court; a social scientist; two persons, who have special knowledge in matters relating to backward classes; and a Member-Secretary, who is or has been an officer of the Centre in the rank of a Secretary. A day after Parliament was repeatedly disrupted over the National Register of Citizens (NRC) draft, the issue is again likely to come up before both Houses on Friday. A day after Parliament was repeatedly disrupted over the National Register of Citizens (NRC) final draft in Assam, the issue is again likely to come up before both Houses on Friday. A ruckus in the Rajya Sabha forced an early adjournment on Thursday, as Trinamool Congress members trooped into the Well of the House and prevented Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Amit Shah from speaking. The TMC members were demanding a reply from Home Minister Rajnath Singh on the NRC debate. As the protests continued, Naidu then adjourned the House, saying, "Everyday it has become a fashion. Let the country see what is happening here.... You do not want to discuss even farmers' issue." Though it's unlikely that the Parliament has heard the last of this issue, business in both the Houses of the Parliament is likely to be dominated by other issues as well such as MSP, detention of TMC MPs in Silchar, etc. Following are the issues likely to come up for debate in Parliament today: NRC: After a TMC delegation was detained in Assam's Silchar district on Thursday, the party's leaders have been demanding a statement from Rajnath on the issue, further alleging manhandling of party MPs as well. Though Naidu gave an assurance that the home minister would give a reply, the TMC members continued their protest. Naidu also recalled that senior Congress leader Anand Sharma had also suggested that the parliamentary affairs minister should talk to Opposition parties and the home minister on the issue. It remains to be seen if the issue continues to rage on Friday as well. MSP: On Thursday, the Rajya Sabha was scheduled to take up a short-duration discussion on the "recent increase in minimum support price (MSP) for Kharif crops and challenges in agriculture". Amit Shah was expected to address the issue during his speech to the House, but it didn't come up for discussion owing to repeated disruptions, but it's likely to come up for debate on Friday. The TMC and BJP members had clashed on this issue as well with West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi of "misleading" the people about increasing the MSP of kharif crops. The Union Cabinet had earlier approved a hike in the MSP for all 14 kharif crops, including paddy. "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 per cent, which is totally false," Banerjee had said while speaking inside the West Bengal Legislative Assembly. TMC may move privilege motion: A report on The Asian Age said the Trinamool Congress may move a privilege motion in the Lok Sabha on Friday against the detention of its MPs in Assam. The Trinamul Congress delegation, consisting six MPs, one MLA and one minister from West Bengal, left for Silchar but has allegedly been manhandled and detained at the airport. The issue of detention of the TMC members was first raised in the Lok Sabha by party leader Saugata Roy on Thursday, who said, "I will move a privilege motion against the Assam government." BJP issues a whip to its MPs: The BJP has issued a three-line whip to its Lok Sabha MPs, asking everybody to be present in the House on Friday, for the "passage of important bills". Among the bills likely to come up for consideration are the OBC Commission and National Medical Commission Bill. As per a report on PRS Legislature, the National Medical Commission (NMC) Bill sets up a 25-member commission, which will regulate medical education and practice. It will determine fees for up to 40 percent seats in private medical institutions and deemed universities. However, as reported by The Quint, several doctors have criticised the bill and called it "anti-people and anti-poor", and said it would "cripple" the medical profession. With inputs from agencies Prime Minister Narendra Modi thanked the people of Maharashtra on Friday for their continued 'faith' in the BJP following the party's win in two civic polls. New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi thanked the people of Maharashtra on Friday for their continued "faith" in the BJP following the party's win in two civic polls. The BJP scored a big win in the Sangli municipal elections by defeating the Congress-NCP alliance and also swept the Jalgaon civic body in Maharashtra where it trounced the Shiv Sena. "Impressive victories for @BJP4Maharashtra! Great performance in Jalgaon and outstanding win in Sangli. I thank the people of Maharashtra for the continued faith," he tweeted. "I also appreciate the hard work of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Raosaheb Danve and the entire team of Maharashtra BJP," the prime minister added. BJP president Amit Shah also hailed the win. Congratulations to CM Shri @Dev_Fadnavis, State President Shri @raosahebdanve and karyakartas of @BJP4Maharashtra unit for this landslide victory in Jalgaon and Sangli-Miraj-Kupwad municipal corporations. I thank people of Maharashtra for their unwavering trust in the BJP. pic.twitter.com/M036TYAeuQ Amit Shah (@AmitShah) August 3, 2018 "This continued support for BJP in Maharashtra reflects people's desire for a better quality of life, being delivered by the state government led by CM Fadnavis, and Modi government's commitment to take Maharashtra to greater heights," he said. As many as 16 parties including Samajwadi Party (SP), the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and the Trinamool Congress (TMC) came together on Monday to raise concern against electronic voting machines (EVMs). As many as 16 parties including Samajwadi Party (SP), Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and Trinamool Congress (TMC) came together on Monday to raise concern against electronic voting machines (EVMs). The parties approached the Election Commission (EC) and demanded that till all concerns over the use of EVMs are addressed, elections should only be held using ballot papers. They told the EC that lack of trust among parties regarding the electronic devices is too deep-seated and pervasive. After that, the EC reportedly told them that it would convene an all-party meeting to discuss the issue. The Opposition has often over the past attributed the Bharatiya Janata Partys (BJP) victories in state assembly elections to EVM tampering. Though the demand for ballot boxes has brought most of the Opposition parties together there are some which are not supporting this demand like the AIADMK, the Telangana Rashtriya Samithi (TRS) and the Biju Janata Dal (BJD). Till the time the issue of EVM tampering and malfunction is addressed and a system of tamper-proof EVMs is technologically established, to the satisfaction of all the political parties, the forthcoming elections should be conducted under the old paper ballot system only, the parties said in a joint memorandum to the Election Commission. Paper ballots are a permissible mode of balloting accepted worldwide, and the discretion of the Election Commission under Section 61A should be exercised only after all issues are addressed by it to the satisfaction of all political parties, the memorandum stated, as reported by The Indian Express. The Opposition delegation was led by Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad and included leaders such as CPMs TK Rangarajan, SPs Naresh Aggrawal, BSPs Satish Chandra Mishra, Trinamool Congresss Saugata Roy and Mukul Roy, JD(U)s Ali Anwar, NCPs Majeed Memon, CPIs D Raja and the DMKs Tiruchi Siva, the report said. However, it was TMC chief and West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee who met the Congress leaders on Monday to consolidate the Opposition's stance on the issue. She acknowledged the need for a grand alliance against the BJP and said that EVMs may be the first step towards such an issue-based collaboration, the report said. EVM is the next big issue for us. We want to revert to the ballot system, TMCs floor leader in the Rajya Sabha Derek OBrien announced in the Parliament on Thursday. This is not an issue of just one party. All like-minded parties are playing as a team to make this happen, he said. The parties are expected to further file a fresh appeal with the EC over the next week to consider an immediate switch to ballot papers. Meanwhile, for its part, the EC has maintained that EVMs are tamper proof, and that VVPATs provide an additional layer to guarantee that voting is accurately captured. It has also repeatedly urged parties to refrain from expressing doubts about their efficiency. In a political resolution adopted by the Congress at its 84th plenary session in March, the party had urged the EC to revert to ballot papers instead of EVMs. There are apprehensions among political parties and common people over the misuse of EVMs to manipulate the election outcome contrary to the popular verdict. To ensure the credibility of the electoral process, EC should revert to the old practice of paper ballot, as most major democracies have done, it said. Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Sanjay Singh has been tasked to draft the points of contention with the help of TMC MP Subrata Bakshi. The AAP was among the first parties to cast doubts about EVMs after the 2017 Punjab Assembly elections. Earlier, Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray too had demanded that the 2019 Lok Sabha election should be conducted using ballot papers instead of EVMs. However, Rajya Sabha MP and head of BJPs media cell Anil Baluni said that Opposition parties only complain about EVMs when they lose elections. They do not make a hue and cry when they win an election conducted through EVMs. The problem, actually, is not with the EVM but with the intention of these parties", he was quoted as saying by The Hindustan Times. In July 2017, during an all-party meeting, EC had announced that all future elections would be conducted with EVMs coupled with VVPATs. And since then, the Chief Election Commissioner OP Rawat has made public statements ruling out a reversal of the decision, asserting that the new EVMs have been designed with more stringent checks to rule out tampering or manipulation. With inputs from agencies In the Lok Sabha, Congress MP Vincent Pala raised concerns about illegal influx in Meghalaya due to the release of NRC draft in Assam. 'Due to uncertainty of implementation of NRC, there is a fear in Meghalaya that those unrecognised in Assam will go to Meghalaya. Therefore, I urge the central government to protect Meghalaya to avoid imbalance,' he said. Auto refresh feeds The National Medical Commission Bill, Banning of Unregulated Deposit Schemes Bill, and the National Sports University Bill are the bills listed for discussion in the lower house of the Parliament on Friday. TMC MP Saugata Roy has moved an adjournment motion in Lok Sabha over the detention of the eight-member TMC delegation at Silchar airport on Thursday, reported ANI. The Trinamool Congress delegation, consisting six MPs, one MLA and one minister from West Bengal, left for Silchar but was allegedly manhandled and detained at the airport. Chair M Venkaiah Naidu said that he has received a privilege motion notice and asked the concerned members to respond before bringing into House. In response, TMC MP Derek O'Brien said that two TMC members were arrested for defying Section 144 in Silchar. Naidu asked MPs to cooperate and ensure the smooth running of the House. He clarified the to establish legacy, documents such as land records, life insurance policy etc. can be submitted to prove their residence. "This entire process of preparing the NRC, it has taken place under the Supreme Court's supervision. For further work, the court has already given directions. In a time bound manner, the government is committed to identify genuine Indians. It is a fair, objective process. There has been no discrimination. People will also get a chance to file their claims and objections and even then, if their names are not featured on the final NRC, they can approach the Foreigners' Tribunal. There will be no coercive action taken," he said. "I have seen that whenever national pride, security and sovereignty is presented before the House, there is always unity," Home Minister Rajnath Singh said in the Rajya Sabha. Regarding the NRC final draft, Singh reiterated that it was not the final list. "According to the Assam Accord, signed in 1951, NRC was prepared then. Since 1979 to 1985, former PM Rajiv Gandhi had put a deadline to identify illegal foreigners. In 2005, under Manmohan Singh's government, it was again taken up. In Assam, 2,500 NSKs have been set up for NRC," Singh said. He clarified that 40 lakh persons have been left out in the final draft, not families, as mentioned by Opposition leader Ghulam Nabi Azad. "Every citizen will get equal opportunity to prove their residency in due process. NRC is related to our national security. But there will be no discrimination and unnecessary harassment will not take place. We are committed to take the exercise to its logical conclusion," said Singh. Elaborating on the Assam NRC row, Home Minister Rajnath Singh said in the Rajya Sabha, "Some people are trying to communalise and internationalise the issue (NRC). Peace, harmony and public harmony will be maintained. The Centre has deployed forces as requested from the state government." Responding to Rajnath Singh's address in the Rajya Sabha over the NRC final draft, Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad said India's soveriegnty and integrity cannot be compromised. "The government should have a database. We cannot leave open borders but ex-defence servicemen have not been included in the final draft. It is a dichotomy what Singh says over the "fair and objective process". The home minister should admit that there are flaws in the process." Calling it an "undeclared emergency", Banerjee said that restricting one's movements was an indication of it. "Are you afraid of the Opposition now? We condemn the actions of the police. We expected the Centre to take the appropriate steps but nothing has been done." Speaking on the Assam NRC issue, TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee in the Lok Sabha said, "80-85 percent of the 40 lakh people left out in the NRC final draft list, they are Bengalis. When the eight-member TMC delegation reached Silchar airport, they were detained under Section 151. It was made clear by the team that they were going there to conduct an assessment. The women were manhandled by the Assam Police. It was shown on every channel. A citizen of India has every right to move anywhere in India. It is a malafide action." He also asked for a statement from Home Minister Rajnath Singh on the issue. In his reply to members on the National sports university, Union minister Rajyavardhan Singh said that the BJP government has increased the stipend for sportspersons from a yearly amount of Rs 850 to a monthly stipend of Rs 1000. He also said that the government has collaborated with private institutes to improve infrastructure for sports training. The Lower House is deliberating upon the Private Members Bills. As many as 100 such bills are listed to be introduced today, including key bills seeking to abolish death penalty in India, prohibit cow slaughter, population control etc. Sinha said that in the past, despite criticism of political ideologies and public policies, the Tresury and Opposition benches maintained the parliamentary bonhomie. However, today disruptions have become far commoner than mature debates. Sinha said that the MPs must introspect on the increase in parliamentary disruptions and ensure that the House runs smoothly. Making his first ever speech in the Upper House, Rakesh Sinha spoke about the disruptions in House while reflecting upon the history of parliamentary culture. Sinha said that the Rajya Sabha MPs do not face the burden of facing the elections and hence can function with a slightly long-sighted perspective as compared to the Lower House. He, however, expressed dissatisfaction on continued disruptions in the proceedings of the House. "We may even function for all the 365 days. But what if members disrupt everyday. Aren't we responsible for the disruptions we witnessed in the last three-four days," he said. "Vincent Pala's (who proposed the bill) wish is that this bill will strengthen the council bodies, butthere is a need to decentralise the system to successfully implement this. Centre should empower states where sixth schedule is still applicable," he said. BJP MP Jagdamika Pai The pace at which women are progressing, the Centre's decision have become women-centric. Be it PMAY or Saubhajya yojana, we have tried to empower women. In North East, there are women who are bringing medals for India. Congress MP Vincent Pala raised concerns regarding illegal influx of people in Meghalaya due to the release of NRC draft in Assam. "Due to uncertainty of implementation of NRC, there is a fear in Meghalaya that those unrecognised in Assam will go to Meghalaya. Therefore, I urge the central government to protect Meghalaya to avoid imbalance," he said. The Lower House is deliberating upon the Private Members Bills. As many as 100 such bills are listed to be introduced today, including key bills seeking to abolish death penalty in India, prohibit cow slaughter, population control etc. Sinha said that in the past, despite criticism of political ideologies and public policies, the Tresury and Opposition benches maintained the parliamentary bonhomie. However, today disruptions have become far commoner than mature debates. Sinha said that the MPs must introspect on the increase in parliamentary disruptions and ensure that the House runs smoothly. Making his first ever speech in the Upper House, Rakesh Sinha spoke about the disruptions in House while reflecting upon the history of parliamentary culture. Sinha said that the Rajya Sabha MPs do not face the burden of facing the elections and hence can function with a slightly long-sighted perspective as compared to the Lower House. He, however, expressed dissatisfaction on continued disruptions in the proceedings of the House. "We may even function for all the 365 days. But what if members disrupt everyday. Aren't we responsible for the disruptions we witnessed in the last three-four days," he said. The Rajya Sabha took up special mentions in the House. Special Mentions allow members to raise an issue of public importance in the House, which may or may not come up for discussion under various legislative debates. The Lok Sabha has taken up the private member bill for discussion. The House is debating on the Sixth Schedule to the Constitution (Amendment) Bill, 2015, which was proposed by Vincent Pala. The bill seeks to amend the Constitution grant more powers to the District Councils and Regional Councils. "Vincent Pala's (who proposed the bill) wish is that this bill will strengthen the council bodies, butthere is a need to decentralise the system to successfully implement this. Centre should empower states where sixth schedule is still applicable," he said. BJP MP Jagdamika Pai The pace at which women are progressing, the Centre's decision have become women-centric. Be it PMAY or Saubhajya yojana, we have tried to empower women. In North East, there are women who are bringing medals for India. Congress MP Vincent Pala raised concerns regarding illegal influx of people in Meghalaya due to the release of NRC draft in Assam. "Due to uncertainty of implementation of NRC, there is a fear in Meghalaya that those unrecognised in Assam will go to Meghalaya. Therefore, I urge the central government to protect Meghalaya to avoid imbalance," he said. Monsoon Session of Parliament latest updates: In the Lok Sabha, Congress MP Vincent Pala raised concerns about illegal influx in Meghalaya due to the release of NRC draft in Assam. "Due to uncertainty of implementation of NRC, there is a fear in Meghalaya that those unrecognised in Assam will go to Meghalaya. Therefore, I urge the central government to protect Meghalaya to avoid imbalance," he said. The Lok Sabha passed the National Sports University Bill, 2018. The Bill seeks to establish a National Sports University in Manipur. The foundation stone for the university was laid by the Prime Minister, it plans to run two courses. Demanding a hike in budgetary allocation for sports in India, political parties such as Congress, TRS and TMC extended their support to the National Sports University Bill, 2018 and said such institutions should be set up all over India. The Lok Sabha in Parliament decided to skip lunch on Friday and Chair Pralhad Joshi continued the discussion on the National Sports University Bill, 2018, which was introduced by Union minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore on Wednesday. Speaking in the Lok Sabha, Home Minister Rajnath Singh said that on the basis of intelligence inputs in Assam, the state authorities detained the members at the Silchar. "District administration requested them with folded hands and said it was not safe for them to go out. There was a little roughing up at the airport. At 1.55 pm, they reached the airport and were told to go back. They began arguing with the security officials. They were arrested under Section 151 CrPC. They sent to Kolkata and New Delhi after 7 am on 3 August." Crying afoul over the detention of TMC delegation in Silchar, Assam on Thursday, TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee in the Lok Sabha in Parliament said they were "manhandled" by the Assam Police and called it an "undeclared emergency". Responding to Rajnath Singh's address in the Rajya Sabha over the NRC final draft, Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad said India's sovereignty and integrity cannot be compromised. "The government should have a database. We cannot leave open borders but ex-defence servicemen have not been included in the final draft. It is a dichotomy what Singh says over the "fair and objective process". The home minister should admit that there are flaws in the process." Responding to Home Minister Rajnath Singh's clarifications over the NRC issue, TMC leader Derek O'Brien said that communal disharmony is being spread following the the Assam NRC drama in Silchar. Elaborating on the Assam NRC row, Home Minister Rajnath Singh said in the Rajya Sabha that it was a "fair and objective" process and reiterated that the list was merely a draft, and not the final one. "This entire process of preparing the NRC, it has taken place under the Supreme Court's supervision. For further work, the court has already given directions. In a time bound manner, the government is committed to identify genuine Indians. It is a fair, objective process. There has been no discrimination. People will also get a chance to file their claims and objections and even then, if their names are not featured on the final NRC, they can approach the Foreigners' Tribunal. There will be no coercive action taken," he said. Loud protests are disrupting proceedings in Lok Sabha in the Parliament over the detention of the TMC delegation in Silchar. TMC MPs changed slogans even as other MPs continued asking questions during the Question Hour. The Parliament is likely to be dominated by issues such as MSP for Kharif crops, detention of TMC MPs in Silchar etc. in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha on Friday. After a TMC delegation was detained in Assam's Silchar district on Thursday, the party's leaders have been demanding a statement from Rajnath on the issue, further alleging manhandling of party MPs as well. Though Naidu gave an assurance that the home minister would give a reply, the TMC members continued their protest. One can expect unruly scenes in the Parliament on Friday, a day after an eight-member Trinamool Congress (TMC) delegation was prevented from meeting people in Silchar whose names were left out of the final draft of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam. Protests over Assam NRC disrupts Rajya Sabha proceedings The issue of Assam's NRC on Thursday rocked the Rajya Sabha, amid vociferous protests by TMC members, as the House failed to complete a discussion on the issue and a reply on it by Home Minister Rajnath Singh. Trinamool Congress members forced an adjournment of the Rajya Sabha for the day just after 2 pm, amid strong protests by them over the issue. The House had witnessed an adjournment in the morning too. Soon after listed papers were laid after the House assembled in the morning, Congress members created an uproar insisting on removal from the records certain remarks made by BJP chief Amit Shah during the debate on the NRC on Wednesday. Senior Congress MP Anand Sharma raised a point of order and insisted on removal of Shah's comments. Several other Congress members were also on their feet to support Sharma. Leader of Opposition and senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad too said that the record of proceedings of the House must be looked into. Sharma said Shah, during his speech on the NRC debate, had termed all prime ministers in office after late Rajiv Gandhi as "bujhdil' (coward). In an apparent jibe on the ruling Bhartiya Janata Party, he said one of the prime ministers, Atal Bihari Vajpayee belonged to the BJP. Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu assured Sharma that he would go through the records and asked Shah to resume his statement, which he had not been able to complete on Wednesday as the House was adjourned midway due to uproar. As Shah rose to continue his statement, there were protests from Congress and some other Opposition MPs too joined them. Naidu said it seemed some members were "not interested" in the discussion and warned Sharma that he would be named. He also advised members to maintain decorum and cooperate for orderly function of the House. The Congress MP said he would go out of the House. To this, Naidu said, "You go". However, Sharma stood up only to resume his seat. As some Opposition members were still on their feet, Naidu adjourned the House till noon. The House reassmbled at noon and took up the Question Hour, which went on virtually without any hitch till the lunch break. When the House reconvened at 2 pm after the lunch break, Sukhendu Shekhar Roy of the Trinamool Congress stood up and raised a point of order as BJP President Amit Shah was asked to conclude his speech. Naidu responded to the point of order, saying he has allowed Shah to complete his speech. Roy said "if any member who is so called upon does not speak, he shall not be entitled except with the permission of the Chair. Here, in this case, one honourable member has already spoken. How can he speak twice? There is no provision in the rules." Soon thereafter, Trinamool Congress members stormed the Well of the House raising slogans, with Naidu asking them to go back to their seats, saying he has allowed Shah to conclude his speech. However, the BJP chief was unable to speak amidst the slogan shouting and disruption. Naidu then said that the conduct of the protestors was unbecoming of Parliamentarians. "There seems to be a system, that you spoke, you had your say, it has gone on record, now you come and disrupt the House. So you don't want to hear the reply," Naidu said, asking Shah again to speak. But the BJP leader said if his speaking caused "so much fear, he can let go of the opportunity" to enable Naidu to run the House. "I know why they (opposition) do not want me to speak," requesting Naidu to ask the Home Minister to make a statement. Then Naidu asked the Home Minister to reply to the debate. However, the TMC members who were shouting slogans from the Well remained unrelenting. Amid the unabated slogan shouting and disruption, Rajnath Singh sought the Chair's permission to table his entire speech, saying that some members did not wish to hear the reply to the discussion on the NRC. "As some of the members do not want the debate to continue and are not willing to hear the reply of the Home Minister, I would like to thank the Home Minister for continuously coming here for three days," Naidu said and then adjourned the House for the day. Lok Sabha passes Bill to give NCBC constitutional status On Thursday, a crucial Bill to provide constitutional status to the National Commission for Backward Classes was passed unanimously by the Lok Sabha today with over two-third majority. The House passed the Constitution (123rd Amendment) Bill 2017, superseding the amendments by the Rajya Sabha, with all 406 present voting in favour after an almost five-hour debate in which 32 members participated. The passage of this major legislation comes ahead of the general election due early next year. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was present during the voting, congratulated Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Thaawarchand Gehlot for successfully piloting the Bill. During the debate on the Constitution (123rd Amendment) Bill 2017, several members demanded a census to ascertain the population of other backward classes (OBCs) while some others pressed for making public the socio-economic survey of 2014. Over two-thirds majority voted in favour of the Bill, which is a necessity for amending the Constitution. The amendments moved by BJD's Bhratruhari Mahtab were however rejected by 302 voting against it and 84 in favour. Replying to the debate, Gehlot said the government was committed to the upliftment of the downtrodden and backward classes of the society. He said the Union Cabinet had on Wednesday decided to amend the SC/ST Act to further strengthen the law to protect their rights. Citing various other steps taken by the government in this regard, he said a committee under Justice G Rohini has been set up to examine sub-categorisation of Other Backward Classes. He said that while framing the rules, the government will ensure that one of the members of the Commission is a women. Gehlot said that states will have their own list of OBCs and can incorporate any caste into the OBC list. However, he added that they will have to approach the union government for inclusion in the central list. The Lok Sabha had on 10 April last year passed the legislation and sent it to the Rajya Sabha. On 31 July last year, the Upper House passed the Bill after incorporating certain amendments moved by the Opposition and returned it to the Lok Sabha for ratification of the amendments. The Bill provides for granting of constitutional status to the National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC) on par with the National Commission for Scheduled Castes and the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes. It states that the President may specify the socially and educationally backward classes in the various states and union territories. He may do this in consultation with the governor of the concerned state. The duties of the NCBC include investigating and monitoring how safeguards provided to the backward classes under the Constitution and other laws are being implemented and probe specific complaints regarding violation of rights. Under this measure, the NCBC will have the powers of a civil court while probing any complaint. With inputs from PTI Some Rajya Sabha members expressed concern over the frequent adjournments and disruptions and said the loss of working hours should be compensated either by adding more hours that day or by working on additional days during a session. New Delhi: Expressing concern over the decline in the number of days of Parliament's functioning, Rajya Sabha members on Friday sought extending the sittings to a minimum of 120 days a year, along with the working hours by starting the proceedings an hour early at 10 am. Some members expressed concern over the frequent adjournments and disruptions and said the loss of working hours should be compensated either by adding more hours that day or by working on additional days during a session. The members expressed their opinion during a debate on a private member's legislation brought by Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) member Naresh Gujral. The Parliament (Enhancement of Productivity) Bill 2017, among other things, seeks to establish an effective system to prevent and address the decline in productivity of Parliament due to disrupts by an appropriate legal framework. During the debate, some members also opined that the salary and allowances of members who disrupt proceedings, should be deducted on that particular day. Gujral, while moving the bill for consideration and passage, said, "We have seen that over the years, now Parliament hardly meets 70 days in a year. "Earlier, when Rajya Sabha started to meet in 1952 after Independence, Parliament would meet for over 100 days and gradually with period of time, successive governments have made sure that the duration of the sessions gets reduced." He said the bills are piled up and public which spends lots of money to run this institution, face inconvenience. "We are not meeting the way we should be. Members are disrupting Parliament and one feature of my bill is that if the proceedings are disrupted, then automatically the number of hours lost in disruption should get added to the session," he said, adding that it would make the government more accountable. In western democracies, Parliament meet almost six months a year, Gujral said, adding that the Parliament in India should meet at least four to five months in a year. "At least, we should make sure that it should not be less than 120 days," he said, adding that small parties, which have issues to raise, suffer as they do not get enough time. Supporting the bill, Congress member Jairam Ramesh said the Rajya Sabha must have a system of a special session of 15 days, in which all parties should discuss important national issues. In the 1950s, Parliament used to meet over 125 days, which has started declining progressively. "Over the last decades, the average is less than 70 days. One of the reasons for the decline is that whoever is in government, would like to minimise the time taken by Parliament," Ramesh said. Another reason for the decline, according to Ramesh, was the system of Standing Committees, which was instituted in 1993. "Even if you add the time of Standing Committee and the House, the average is somewhere close to 90 days which is much lower than in the 1950s and 1960s," the Congress leader said. "If the Lok Sabha is not able to meet 100 days, the Rajya Sabha should meet for 100 days," Ramesh said, adding that a Lok Sabha MP has to cater his constituency and may not be able to attend 100 days but Rajya Sabha members have no such compulsions. "We must have a special session of 15 days a year in which no government business is transacted, but the views raised by various parties, big and small, is taken up for discussion," he said. Suggesting extension of the working hours of Parliament, Ramesh said "why should we start at 11 am? Around the world, Parliament sitting starts at 9.30 or 10 am. When the half of the day is over, we come to Parliament," he said suggesting that Rajya Sabha members should start at 10 am. The BJP ally said those who posed a threat to the country's security must be thrown out and the infiltrators in Kashmir must be eliminated. The party said abolition of Article 370 of the Constitution, which gives special status to Jammu and Kashmir, was as much a nationalistic work as implementing the NRC list. Mumbai: The Shiv Sena today came out in support of the Modi government over the draft National Register of Citizens (NRC), but asked whether the Centre also had the courage to ensure the "ghar wapsi" of displaced Kashmiri pandits. The BJP ally said those who posed a threat to the country's security must be thrown out and the infiltrators in Kashmir must be eliminated. The party said abolition of Article 370 of the Constitution, which gives special status to Jammu and Kashmir, was as much a nationalistic work as implementing the NRC list. "The BJP is working hard to throw out the 40 lakh infiltrators in Assam. Driving out such illegal immigrants is a patriotic work and we congratulate the central government on it. Illegal residents, whether they are Bangladeshis, Sri Lankans, Pakistanis or Rohingya Muslims of Myanmar, they must be thrown out of the country," the Sena said in an editorial in its mouthpiece 'Saamana'. "If what is happening in Assam now had happened in Kashmir as well, people across the country would have hoisted the saffron flags of Hindutva atop their houses," it added. The release of the final draft of the NRC in Assam has triggered a massive political firestorm with both the ruling BJP and the Opposition, led by the Congress, trying to corner each other. Names of over 40 lakh people in Assam have been excluded from the NRC, prepared following a long-drawn process to identify people living in the northeastern state illegally. While the opposition parties have accused the BJP of making Indian citizens refugees in their own country, the saffron party said national security was its top priority and the opposition was spreading misinformation. "The issue of national security is not only restricted to the 40 lakh infiltrators in Assam. The situation in Kashmir is worsening day by day. There is more threat from Pakistan, where military rule is imminent under the leadership of Imran Khan. "Forty lakh illegal foreign residents in Assam have changed the geography, history, and culture of that state. The same is happening in Kashmir. Will the government show the courage of ensuring the 'ghar wapsi' (return) of 1.5 lakh displaced Kashmiri pandits the same way it is throwing out the illegal citizens in Assam?" the Sena asked. The Uddhav Thackeray-led party stated that the issue of Kashmiri pandits was not just about Hindutva, but it was important in terms of national security and the Hindu culture. "Hindus were driven out of Kashmir using terrorism. The Modi government should have rolled out the red carpet for the Kashmiri pandits. But instead of doing that, the current dispensation has pulled the rug from under their feet," it said. "Former Prime Ministers Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi or Manmohan Singh did not promise to abolish Article 370 from the Constitution as they were weak-natured. But after Narendra Modi came to power, he promised to abolish Article 370 and hoist the tricolour in Kashmir," it said. "Abolishing Article 370 is as much a nationalistic work as the implementation of the NRC. Modi should be congratulated for taking up the issue in Assam, but he should also act against the infiltrators in Kashmir, those burning the national flag and waving Pakistani flags there," the Sena said. Bihar deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi asserted that with the case having been handed over to the CBI and the Supreme Court having taken suo motu cognizance of the matter, there was no scope left for politics. Patna: Bihar deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi on Friday sharply criticised the leader of Opposition in the state Assembly Tejashwi Yadav for his decision to stage a dharna in New Delhi on Saturday over the Muzaffarpur shelter home sexual abuse scandal. The senior BJP leader asserted that with the case having been handed over to the CBI and the Supreme Court having taken suo motu cognizance of the matter, there was no scope left for politics and the proposed dharna at Jantar Mantar will "only bring shame to Bihar". Yadav on Thursday announced his decision on Twitter to stage a dharna at Jantar Mantar on 4 August and according to party sources, he may be joined by Congress president Rahul Gandhi at the sit-in protest. Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal had also hinted at the possibility of his participation by retweeting a journalist's post to the effect. Meanwhile, Yadav put out a fresh tweet on Friday calling his proposed protest "rage against rape" and appealed to the people to support the protest. "...let us shine a light on the epidemic that is corroding our national pride. Join us at Jantar Mantar for a candle light march in support of the Muzaffarpur rape victims," Yadav tweeted. Sushil Modi said the actions taken after the matter surfaced leave no scope for politics. "The state government has handed over investigation of the Muzaffarpur shelter home case to the CBI and the Supreme Court, having taken suo motu cognisance, is determined to bring the guilty to justice. This leaves no scope for politics," Sushil Modi tweeted. "Still, if Tejashwi Yadav wants to stage a dharna at Jantar Mantar, then he will only bring shame to Bihar. His recent bicycle rally on the issue of shelter home scandal was a complete flop", the deputy chief minister added. He also pointed out "the state government had itself initiated the process of social audit of all shelter homes and short stay homes in the state by the Tata Institute of Social Sciences. Based on its report, the government had itself got an FIR lodged in the case". "Before the case was handed over to the CBI, ten people had been arrested and charge sheet filed against them in court. Now a request will be made to the high court for monitoring of the investigation. The Opposition has played no role in bringing justice to the aggrieved girls", Sushil Modi said. Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar has also expressed remorse over the sexual abuse of girls at the state-funded shelter home in Muzaffarpur, saying those guilty of transgressions would not be spared. According to a TMC source, the party is likely to meet members of the delegation, which had gone to Silchar, over the weekend to assess the situation and may intensify protests inside and outside Parliament on Monday. New Delhi: The Trinamool Congress (TMC) on Friday said it plans to intensify the protests against the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam, asserting that the Union home minister's statement accusing TMC leaders of creating an "unruly situation" at the Silchar airport was "dissatisfactory". TMC leaders are expected to meet over the weekend to finalise a plan of action for the coming week. "The statement of Home Minister Rajnath Singh is completely unacceptable. We expected that the Centre will intimate us on its own and take appropriate action. Nothing was done. We are completely dissatisfied with his statement. Over the weekend, we are going to chalk out our plan of action for Monday," a senior TMC leader said. Meanwhile, senior members of the TMC have been called back to Kolkata, where the party will observe "black day" on Saturday and Sunday. According to a TMC source, the party is likely to meet members of the delegation, which had gone to Silchar, over the weekend to assess the situation and may intensify protests inside and outside Parliament on Monday. The party today staged protests in both Houses of Parliament over the detention of some of its leaders in Assam's Silchar on Thursday, over which the Lok Sabha was adjourned briefly. Though TMC members had demanded a statement from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Singh stated in the Lower House that since there were prohibitory orders in Assam, state officials had "requested" TMC leaders to return from the airport itself. The party had moved Privilege Motions in both Houses of Parliament against the director general of police and the chief secretary of Assam regarding the issue. While in the Rajya Sabha, the notice of Privilege Motion given by TMC member Santanu Sen was being examined, the motion moved in the Lok Sabha by Saugata Roy was rejected. The Speaker, however, had allowed TMC member Kalyan Banerjee to speak on the issue. Assam Trinamool Congress (TMC) president Dwipen Pathak and two other party leaders resigned in protest against party supremo Mamata Banerjee's opposition to the final draft of the NRC Guwahati: Assam Trinamool Congress (TMC) president Dwipen Pathak and two other party leaders resigned Thursday in protest against party supremo Mamata Banerjee's opposition to the final draft of the NRC, which has evoked a sharp reaction from different parties and organisations in the state. Pathak's resignation came within hours of a TMC delegation arriving at the Silchar airport in the Bengali-dominated Barak valley at Banerjee's instructions and being stopped from exiting it by the police. Diganta Saikia, a TMC leader from Golaghat and who was among the three to resign, even threatened to file a case against Banerjee for taking an anti-Assamese stand. The ruling BJP as well as other parties in Assam said the TMC had no existence in the Barak valley. Pathak, a former MLA from Hajo, told reporters here that he had apprised the party leaders of the "ground realities" in Assam after the publication of the final draft of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and urged Banerjee not to send the delegation to the north-eastern state now. "The party did not pay heed to my suggestion and refused to understand the ground situation here. In this backdrop, it is not possible for me to remain in a party that does not value the Assamese sentiment," Pathak, who was a TMC MLA from 2011 to 2016, said. "The TMC has no existence in Assam," he added. TMC leader Pradip Pachani of Sibsagar and Saikia resigned, saying they could not remain members of a party that wanted to compromise the identity of the indigenous Assamese people. The TMC delegation that arrived at Silchar was restricted to the Kumbhirgram airport as the district administration did not allow the leaders to enter the town, where prohibitory orders under Section 144, CrPC, were in force since last night. Effigies of Banerjee were burnt in Charaideo and Sonitpur districts in the Brahmaputra Valley by students' organisations, who warned the TMC supremo and her party not to "meddle in Assam". Banerjee's effigies were burnt by the Asom Jatiyatabadi Yuva Parishad, Asomiya Yuva Sanmilani and All Tai Ahom Students' Union, the police said. Congress MLA from the Karimganj (North) constituency in Barak valley Kamalakhya De Purkayastha spoke against the turning away of the TMC delegates at the airport. "The TMC has many wrong notions about the NRC and they (delegates) should have been allowed to come here, so that their misconceptions about the draft were cleared," he told PTI. "We do not want the prevailing peace in Barak Valley to be disturbed at any cost. But turning the TMC delegates away from the airport was not a right thing to do," he said. Most political parties in the Barak valley too maintained that there was no sense of panic among the people and that Banerjee was "trying to use the issue to gain a political entry to Assam". State Forest Minister Parimal Suklabaidya, who represents the Dholai constituency in the valley, said Banerjee was trying to "mislead and create confusion here, but the people have ignored it". "She has no idea about the ground realities in Assam and is trying to complicate the issue.... The TMC has no existence in Barak Valley and they are trying to use the NRC to make an entry as well as gain political mileage," he added. Former BJP MP Kabindra Purkayastha said, "We are at a loss to understand why the TMC delegation wants to come to Assam when the people are not complaining." There was no confusion or panic among the people as they were aware that they could make claims and seek corrections to the NRC, he said, adding that moreover, the TMC should be aware that the NRC was updated under the Supreme Court's supervision and the government had no hand in it. A senior police officer said the situation in the Barak Valley and the rest of Assam was peaceful and no NRC-related incident was reported so far. "The people of the state are aware that this is not the final NRC list, but its final draft," he added. tech2 News Staff It would seem that Nokia 6.1 Plus, which has been announced in the European markets and also in China, could soon be making its way to India. This information comes from a recent tweet by Nokia's Indian Twitter handle about an upcoming exclusive event for Nokia fans. Now while the name Nokia 6.1 Plus is not mentioned anywhere in the tweet, a recent support page for the device has gone live in the country. The tweet asks Nokia fans to name their favorite Nokia smartphone experience and they could stand a chance to get exclusive access to the next launch event.. All the Nokia fans out there tell us your favorite Nokia smartphone experience and stand a chance to witness the next exclusive launch event. Click the link below to participate and stay tuned for more! https://t.co/uJpt3Onj7w pic.twitter.com/yrFkgnqpAE Nokia Mobile India (@NokiamobileIN) August 1, 2018 In China, the Nokia 6.1 Plus has been launched as the Nokia X6 and it would seem that as India is also an important market for India, it would make sense of HMD Global to unveil the phone here. There is also the possibility that Nokia may not launch the Nokia 6.1 Plus, but organize the launch of the Nokia 5.1 and Nokia 3.1 in India. But in all likelihood, if a support page for the Nokia 6.1 Plus has gone up, there is a strong chance we might see it in the next HMD Global launch event. Most probably this event will take place in August or early next month. We shall keep you updated as soon as the story develops. The Nokia X6 or the Nokia 6.1 Plus features a 5.8-inch 19:9 ratio FHD+ display with a resolution of 2280x1080 pixels and a display notch. The smartphone is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 processor, which is accompanied with 4 GB of RAM and 32 GB of internal storage in one variant, and 6 GB of RAM and 64 GB of memory on the other. Both models come with support for microSD card to expand the internal storage tech2 News Staff On 2 August 2018, Apple made history by becoming the first public company worth $1 trillion. Hours after reaching the milestone, the companys CEO Tim Cook sent out memos to his more than 1,20,000 employees, thanking them for getting the company to the mark. In the memo, which was obtained in full be Reuters, Tim Cook however clarifies that, while the $1 trillion mark is a milestone, it is not something the company focuses on. He writes that the financial returns are a simple result of the companys innovation. Today Apple passed a significant milestone. At our closing share price of $207.39, the stock market now values Apple at more than $1 trillion. While we have much to be proud of in this achievement, its not the most important measure of our success. Financial returns are simply the result of Apples innovation, putting our products and customers first, and always staying true to our values. Cook reminds his employees in the memo that Steve Jobs founded this company with the aim of solving the biggest challenges, and that even after this milestone, the companys focus needs to remain on that. One reader said the M.Zuiko ED 25mm /1.2 PRO is the equivalent of an /2.4 lens. No, it isn't. It's an /1.2 lens. F-number is the ratio of the system's focal length to the diameter of the entrance pupil. It's a quantitative measure of lens "speed," i.e., the amount of light that passes through the lens. There is no such thing as f-number "equivalency" (and Earth is not flat, and I don't care what the Internet says to the contrary about either of these issues). Other readers said it is really a wide-angle lens. Nope again, because angle-of-view descriptor words take into account the format of the lens-sensor system for which the lens was designed. A 300mm plasmat used on an 8x10-inch view camera is not a super-tele or "long" lens just because it's 300mm in focal length. Like the 25mm Olympus, it too is a normal lens. Moving on.... Pinnacle Two readers (inadvertently) pointed out my deficiency as a blogger by mentioning the upcoming 15-element Pentax 50mm /1.4, which I have yet to write about (sorry). Robbie Corrigan said: "I wonder if this all kicked off with the misunderstood Pentax DA*55mm /1.4 for APS-C...more correction, more glass. [Here are my thoughts on that one MJ.] There is another behemoth in the 50mm class, the HD FA 50mm /1.4 with 15 elements in nine groups. Luckily Pentax have stated that they are not going for chart-test success but are chasing superior rendering. Saying that, while its rendering is gorgeous, with delicious transitions to out-of-focus and beautiful bokeh (to my taste at leastbokeh is a personal thing), resolution-wise it is no slouch. Here are the specs and here is the development story." Pentax Big Rig: FF, 36 MP, SotA lens. Shhh, nobody mention the size, weight, and cost compared to an LX with an SMC Pentax-M 50mm /1.4.... Thanks for the links Robbie. It's kind of amusing that on the "Development Story" page, they never give the names or positions of the interviewees. That's so Japanese...they just consider it impolite to make stars of individuals. The speakers are identified only by their last names and with the group rubric "section leaders." Well, at least there are (unidentified!) pictures of them. We ought to be grateful for the unapologetic mission statement, which, with its superlatives, is also somewhat uncharacteristic of the modesty of the Japanese: the person identified as Iwasaki states, "We did our very best, so [the lens] provides the highest optical performance to be found in a single-focus standard lens. ...We can't tolerate even a single specification that is inferior to those of competitive products." He says it's "a lens we consider the pinnacle of Pentax lenses." John Krumm has actually been using one (the new Pentax, not the Olympus, which we'll get to), and he's posted a gallery of samples. "I've been enjoying Pentax's brand new uber-50mm for the last week," he writes. "Alas, it only has 15 elements, but it makes up for it in sheer bulk. It's truly a massive 50mm /1.4. But I totally love it. Strange how things work out. Here's my gallery of assorted first day images." You'd think I'd have written about this lens, given that, at one point or another in my hobbyist career, I owned every single fast Pentax 50mm, all the way back to the M42 screwmount Super-Takumar of 1964. The HD FA is the latest in a long line I was once very familiar with. Speaking of pinnacles, our friend Geoff Wittig is susceptible, but likes Sigmas: "I will confess to having a serious weakness for such spectacular uber-lenses. I own a set of Sigma's beautiful 'Art' lenses, and they are optically wonderful. The 35mm /1.4 is probably the sweet spot, both crazy sharp and reasonably compact. The 85mm /1.4 is fabulous if...large...but the 135mm /1.8 is my favorite. Huge but still quite manageable, and my favorite portrait focal length. "I just broke down and bought their new completely over-the-top 105mm /1.4, and I'd have to say Sigma have jumped the shark with this one. Seventeen elements in 12 groups, and weighing in at a completely bonkers 3.62 lbs. (1.64 kg). Yes, it's crazy sharp with very little vignetting, and focus is surprisingly fast for the massive amount of glass moving around. But it's ludicrously ginormous, with a 105mm diameter front element. It has a tripod collar...and it really needs it; this beast is too heavy to handhold for more than 15 minutes at a time. On the bright side, Sigma cleverly machined an Arca-Swiss compatible dovetail into the tripod foot, so you don't have to buy a custom plate from Kirk or Really Right Stuff." The star of the show* At last wending our way to our putative subject, here are three comments from owners/users of the Olympus 25mm PRO: Zed Martinez writes: "I bought one to fill the 50mm-e slot in my line (originally the 17mm /1.8 and 45mm /1.8 for routine use, and the 75mm /1.8 for headshot work). I was intrigued at how over-designed it was, and I needed a good weather-sealed lens for the E-M1 Mark II and wasn't feeling the zooms (I like the DOF control better on the primes). In my (much more limited than most commenting on here) experience, it's a solid lens. "Flare is oddly minimal for the number of elements, and hard to invoke, though when you manage it it's a bit uninteresting aesthetically to my taste. Mostly some small ghosts and only with the hood off and trying on purpose did I bring in some veiling flare. "The bokeh is stellar, and it's very difficult to get even a hint of nervousness or busy-ness from it. The usual 'but it's like an /2.3' in full frame terms don't quite cut it for me here because I don't know how many times I've opened a file that looked like it was in perfect focus to notice that the DOF was still narrower than expected and that I had missed the target. I'll take that extra depth wide open, thank you, so long as the bokeh stays that smooth. Tonal transitions are very smooth as well, though the contrast seems dialed down a bit with them versus the /1.8 lenses. I'd say the real disappointment of it, if any, is that those 19 elements sorta kill the actual transmission, so, an /1.2 it may be but it only pulls shutter speeds like an /1.4 most of the time. "It's an interesting and hard-to-qualify lens. Every time I use it I think maybe in the quest to make it perfect Olympus lost some of the character the /1.8 primes have, and I always think to myself despite what I paid for the 25mm /1.2 I prefer the other two primes for their 'look.' And then I check Lightroom and I have as many photos I've kept from the 25mm /1.2 as from the other two smaller primes combined. Despite not preferring the 50mm-e view. I guess when it's good, it's very good, and what it does, it does well. I don't regret the money spent on it, anyway, but I can see how it's a hard sell against the 1240mm these days when, for that money, more people would want the zoom." Thanks Zed. Peter Wright writes: "I have had the Olympus 25mm /1.2 PRO for just over a year now. It came out at the same time as the 12100mm /4 PRO which has to be much more practical, and was/is much more popular. But me? I had to have the 19-element 25mm! (It's a weakness, but the weakness, as they say, is so strong!) It was as if some lens designer at Olympus had been simply told to pull out all the stops and make the best lens possible. I think they succeeded wonderfully! "I'm fortunate to also own the Leica Summilux 50mm /1.4 which I have now had for about four years and use on my digital Leicas. It also is a lens for the ages. Sometimes, when I look at my prints I can't tell whether I used the Olympus or Leica on their respective cameras, as they each have a similar character, and I need to consult the metadata to find out. "Interestingly, the Summilux is much smaller than the Olympus, in spite of having to cover a sensor that is four times the area that the Olympus needs to deal with. Of course the Summilux doesn't have autofocus, but I don't think that that accounts for the size difference. The Summilux is also about four times the price of the Olympus. These are two very different lenses that each achieve excellence in totally different ways. "Is it rational to own lenses like these? No. Does it make me a better photographer? No. Does it make me a happier photographer? You betcha!" We'll give Steve Biro the last word (although there are other good comments in the Comments section of yesterday's post): "Im not that big (pun intended) on uber primes, generally preferring smaller, lighter /1.8 and /2 glass. But, for some reason, I am now the owner of this 25mm /1.2 piece from Olympus. What I can tell you is that this lens delivers fabulous quality even when used wide open. And I can get that quality even when using it in poor light without a flash. Nuff said." (Actually, there's never enough said about camera lenses. What are we going to talk about when the only lenses anyone uses are in smartphone modules?) The whole rig counts Finally, Ken Tanaka, being perhaps too reasonable, writes: "In my experience and opinion Micro 4/3 sensors simply arent good enough to reward such a high financial and technical optical investment. Theyre 'good' sensors but havent really made much advancement since their introduction. Packaging (camera body styling) has been what this line is really all about. I enjoy my GX9 but it aint gonna be wearin' no 19-element lenses!" [I edited this because of what I thought were typos.... MJ.] Hate to say it but I kinda agree with Ken here. If you want to, of course, you should get the Olympus lens. Zed, Peter and Steve seem to like it, and there's nothing wrong with having the best toys (or, if there is, I'm certainly not the guy to talk you out of it). But if I were after the pinnacle of many-element lens performance I do think it would make more sense to get at least a full-frame camera of 24 MP or morewith "more" probably being more justifiable. Those Sigma ART lenses on Geoff's Canon 5DS or the HD FA 50mm on a K-1 Mark II, or Leica's 50mm Summilux-SL on an SL would make an over-the-top lens exercise more sensible. I'd go that route rather than getting the Olympus lens. ...But I'm still really GASsed out supine and stupid by the Olympus lens. I'll get over it. I'll tell you what I do wish, though...I wish Panasonic would fix the focus on my 20mm /1.7. Optically it's still one of my favorite lenses, but it's remarkably slow to focus, and the more time goes by the more I'm annoyed by it. That's a different post, however. And this one's long enough. Have a good one As usual I'm taking tomorrow (Saturday) off, and I'll have a nice announcement for Sunday to make up for last Sunday's depressed post. Thanks to everyone for their comments. Hope you have a nice weekend. Mike (Thanks to everyone) *I'm easily distra...hey look, a rabbit! Original contents copyright 2018 by Michael C. Johnston and/or the bylined author. All Rights Reserved. Links in this post may be to our affiliates; sales through affiliate links may benefit this site. B&H Photo Amazon US Amazon UK Amazon Germany Amazon Canada Adorama (To see all the comments, click on the "Comments" link below.) Featured Comments from: Huw Morgan: "Hi Mike, Isn't a 25mm /1.2 lens on Micro 4/3rds equivalent to an /2.4 lens on full-frame if you are talking about depth-of-field?" Mike replies: Sort of, but not really. First of all, d-o-f is a secondary effect or characteristic of aperture choice, not the primary thing being specified (the primary thing being specified is the diameter of the aperture opening relative to the optical system's focal length); so if one means "depth-of-field equivalency wide open," then it behooves the speaker or writer to specify so, each and every time he makes the claim, rather than just blithely stating that 2 = 4 or whatever and expecting people to nod in agreement. Second (and this is not well understood out there on the wilds of the Internet), depth-of-field is not a stable or measurable characteristic of a photograph. Optically it depends on the "acceptable circle of confusion," which is first of all a matter of taste and judgement...it means how much blur you'll accept before you consider it noticeable or objectionable. Some people are more sensitive to it than others. Other people simply have different standards. Next, blur depends on a number of factors not related to aperture choice: the resolution of the film or sensor (more resolution, less acceptable circle of confusion); the degree of enlargement, whether on screen on in a print; and the other optical characteristics of the lens contributed by the glass elements and the lens design. Let me see if I can explain each of these things by using somewhat extreme cases. For the first, let's return momentarily to film. Imagine that you have an extremely high-resolution, fine-grained film, and a low-resolution, coarse-grained film. Now you take two identical pictures with the same equipment using the same lens aperture and with the plane of focus in the exact same place. Let's call the plane of focus "0" and then imagine several more planes in back of it, progressively farther out of the plane of focus, which we'll label 1, 2, 3 and 4. With the fine grained film, you might be able to resolve 0 and 1 with the same level of apparent sharpness. The system resolution allows you to see that 3 and 4 actually show some blur. With the coarse-grained film, however, the resolution of plane 0 is not high. In fact, it's no better than it is for plane 4. So, in that image, sharpness or resolution will be the same for 0, 1, 2, 3, and 4, because it's limited not by the position of focus and the acceptable circle of confusion but by the resolution of the film. But the visual effect is of greater depth-of-field for the picture taken with the coarse-grained film; even the image objects at 4 look just as sharp as the image objects at 0. You can demonstrate the same effect by using a Photoshop filter. If the filter coarsens the system resolution, it will bring more of the image front-to-back into "best sharpness" for that image, making it look as if depth-of-field is different with and without the filter. A similar thing happens with degree of enlargement. I'll make a visual demonstration. Look carefully at this digital image I took a number of years ago of my friend Jim and his daughter: At this 400x600 pixel enlargement size, it's difficult to tell where the plane of focus is and whether both people are in focus (although I bet some of you are guessing correctly). But take a look at 100%: ...Not subtle at all. This is an extreme example, but generally the more you enlarge, the more the differences in d-o-f are emphasized. Small enlargements make it look like there's more d-o-f and large enlargements make it look like there's less. As a printmaker, I often told clients that "the negative won't stand enlargement past 8x10" or whatever, and in some cases what I was doing was simply making my own judgement call as to when the d-o-f insufficiencies began to call too much attention to themselves. (And of course we have further tricks to hide such discrepancies, whether under the enlarger or in Photoshop.) Even viewing distance from a print has an effect. Finally, the lens itselfits design and its aberrationshas an impact on apparent sharpness and hence on apparent d-o-f. What if one lens has extreme curvature of field and the other doesn't? The apparent d-o-f may be different. What if one lens has highly corrected spherical aberration and the other has undercorrected spherical aberration? The apparent d-o-f may be different. What if one lens is very sharp in the center and very soft in the corners and the other has lower center sharpness but is more even across the field? The apparent d-o-f may be different. What if one lens is soft wide open and the other isn't? The apparent d-o-f may be different. And so on, and so on. And one lens might simply have jarring, jangly bokeh that's hard to look at while the other one has smooth, dreamy bokeh that's a pleasure to look at, such that most viewers can take a lot more of the one than the other. Of course, larger formats make it easier to achieve less d-o-f if that's needed. Another way of saying that is that adequate d-o-f is harder to achieve with overly large formats. I'll repeat, though: depth-of-field in pictorial photography is a matter of creative judgement and not a property that is measurably stable across all lenses, such that one can meaningfully say "this is equivalent to that." Finally, there are just lots and lots of ways to manipulate d-o-f when you're shooting, most recently purely in software by using the "Portrait" setting on an iPhone. The format you choose certainly has an influence on the look of your pictures vis-a-vis the look you're after, and I'd never dispute that. We're always splitting differences, and adroit practitioners will alight where they're most comfortable. So when you say "/1.2 on Micro 4/3 is equivalent to /2.4 on FF," what you really mean is that /1.2 on Micro 4/3 has roughly similar apparent d-o-f wide open to a picture taken at /2.4 on FF, if the camera position and setup are the same, the lens's angle-of-view is the same, the lens designs are the same, the system resolution is the same, the degree of enlargement is the same, and the viewer's aesthetic standards for acceptable blur are the same...and by the way we're glossing over the little fact that the /1.2 lens lets about two more stops of light past its aperture opening. Achievable narrow d-o-f (seldom a virtue until lately, and, I might add, often overdone lately) has always been variable between formats, but never in history until about the 2000-aughts did anyone in photography ever use the locution that one f-number is equivalent tothe same asanother, while not even mentioning the fact that the lens speed of the two is not remotely the same even though the f-number number was primarily devised to signify lens speed in the first place. I don't know, are people talking about Fuji GF lenses in terms of their open-aperture d-o-f equivalents to FF? Fuji would probably like it if they would, because it would make all its GF lenses magically faster. And what's the FF "equivalent" d-o-f blur of a 300mm /5.6 plasmat on 8x10 wide open? From a wordsmithing standpoint, I'll say as a former editor that it's simply not correct to write "/1.2 on Micro 4/3 is equivalent to /2.4 on FF." It's wrong on its face. We should write, "With an /1.2 lens on Micro 4/3, d-o-f blur wide open might be expected to be roughly similar to d-o-f blur at /2.4 on FF, all else being equal...." Of course, as Ctein was wont to say, all else is never equal.... The above will have H>0 effect on this issue generally. And this was supposed to be my day off, dang it! No rest for the cranky! Jim Richardson: "I have yet to understand why lens equivalent fanatics feel obsessed with comparing the 'effective' f-stop of Micro 4/3 lenses versus their full frame counterpart, but do not feel the need to compare the effective f-stops of full frame lenses to medium format lenses. The same rules should apply, making the medium format lens have an ever faster equivalent f-stop. Yes?" Mike replies: Made me smile...your comment was the very first one I read after posting the above lengthy reply to Huw in which I asked the very same question. I really do want to know what the effective-equivalent people would calculate the FF-equivalent f-stop of the Fujifilm GF 110mm /2 to be. By their lights, that's one hell of a fast lens. [Jim is a National Geographic photographer, BTW. Here's his website, which has lots new since I last visited.] Jim R. replies to Mike: "I feel it is my duty to support anyone who is willing to get up on the soapbox about depth-of-field. We gotta stick together. (Oh, and thanks for mentioning my website. I never keep up as much as I should but, well, there it is.) And while we are ranting about depth of field let me offer this. I often teach students that one of the simplest ways to decrease the apparent depth-of-field (i.e. render the background blurry) is to kneel down. If you are photographing another person while standing up much of the frame area will only be a few feet behind the subject. If you kneel down much of the background picture area will now be out at the horizon, effectively at infinity. Voila! Less depth of field. I'm convinced this is also why pictures taken with twin lens reflex cameras had such blurry backgrounds: they were being shot from lower angles. (At least it worked that way for me using my dad's Zeiss Ikoflex when I was a boy photographer on the farm.) Mike replies to Jim R.: Well, of course, and it's probably why this nonsense frustrates me. Because comparing d-o-f for like-to-like shots with different equipment is just not how photographers see, or work, or conceptualize. We learn our equipment, and then we get the d-o-f we want, and if we're not getting what we want, we change something about the setupuse a longer lens or put the in-focus objects closer to the lens or whatever. It's not like there's one and only one picture in front of your eyes. Then if we're not within our own comfort range often enough, we change equipment. But for heaven's sake, there's no sense in redesigning the wheel and confusing people saying that /4 is equivalent to /8 when it's nothing of the sort...just say you'll have a generally easier time getting less d-o-f with larger sensors or film if it's what you want, and leave it at that. Jim Bullard: "I'm totally with you on /1.2 is /1.2. There is a group of photographers (mainly videographers I gather) who compare the light coming out of the back end of various lenses and then rate them with what they call 'T' stops or actual light transmission because there is light loss internally on some lenses so they claim those lenses are inaccurately labeled. It demonstrates a misunderstanding of how the f-stop rating is derived. It is just math, a simple ratio of aperture diameter at maximum aperture divided into the focal length when the lens is focused on infinity. A 1-inch opening on a 2-inch lens is an /2 lens. The actual light transmitted changes as you focus on anything closer, cutting it by up to 75% when the same lens is focused at 1:1 due to the law of inverse squares." Two different guys [comments paraphrased and summarized]: "Mike, you ignorant slut." [Note however the oblate ellipsoid image of the Earth rotating at the end of this antediluvian SNL clip. Did they know nothing way back then?! Ed.] Andy Munro: "Re your comments on the focus speed of the Panasonic 20mm /1.7. I have to agree. I owned one a long time ago and recently bought a copy of the updated version. I bought it as I wanted a pancake lens around 3540mm-e and I liked the original but the focus speed is annoying me more this time around." Mike replies: I think it's because we continually re-establish our expectations. I was never bothered by the focus speed of the 20mm on the old GF1. But on the GX8 it's so much slower than the focusing of the 1235mm that it bugs me. John Krumm: "Sure, feature me and then let it turn into an equivalency thread. :-) For those interested in my first day thoughts on the new Pentax 50mm, I have the same images on Pentaxforums, with commentary...I also have a post with a wide open snap-portrait of my daughter...where you can see it fails your 'soft' requirement. But of course the rest of her face is slightly out of focus so that does indeed soften...." Mike replies: Maybe that new Pentax 50mm will be the new King of Bokeh? Lovely. Reuters iPhone maker Apple has to date paid two-thirds of the 13 billion euros ($15.1 billion) which EU antitrust regulators said it owes Ireland in back taxes, the company said in a regulatory filing late on Wednesday. The European Commission in August 2016 ordered Ireland to recover the money from Apple because of an illegal tax deal which gave the company an unfair advantage in breach of the blocs state aid rules. The total amount to be repaid was calculated at 13 billion euros plus 1 billion euros in interest. As of June 30, 2018, 4.5 billion euros of the recovery amount was funded into escrow. Subsequent to June 30, 2018, the company has funded an additional 4.5 billion euros of the recovery amount into escrow, Apple said in its quarterly report. The money will remain in the escrow account pending appeals by Apple and Ireland against the Commissions ruling, which are expected to take several years. The EU competition enforcer has said it will drop its lawsuit launched against Ireland in October last year as soon as Apple pays up. Press Trust of India Google is bringing in India-specific features on Google Maps to address unique challenges and opportunities, a senior company official said. "Google Maps is not just about navigating from point A to B. We have been building for India, addressing the unique challenges and opportunities, with the sole aim of making Google maps more comprehensive, accurate and reliable," Google Maps for India, Program Manager, Anal Ghosh said. Ghosh talked about innovating features for India specifically. The two-wheeler mode in Google maps comes to India first as 70 percent of all the vehicles registered in the country are two-wheelers, he added. "Two-wheeler mode in maps shows trip routes that use shortcuts not accessible to cars, buses, and trucks. It also provides customized traffic and arrival time estimations," he said. Google Maps' transit feature provides details on trains, bus and metro routes. It shows schedules for roughly 12,000 Indian railways trains, apart from updated public transport information for bus and metro routes. "We are working closely with the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs. We have been working with them to add public toilets (on google maps) across different cities in the country," Ghosh said. The company has added public toilets on google maps in partnership with the government, the company said in a statement. "We have launched real-time buses in two cities--Kolkata and Surat. We are working to see how we can extend it to other cities as well," he added. tech2 News Staff Its been a couple of months since Google has been testing the Android P beta version, but there hasnt been any information about the date on which it will be finally released. Its developer preview was first released in the month of March this year, however, only for the Pixel smartphone owners. You can read our detailed review of the operating system here. While, Google had announced that the OS will roll-out this summer, from what a recent leak by a popular tipster Evan Blass looks like, it seems that Android Ps stable version will roll out on 20 August. He posted an image of an August 2018 calendar, with a P against 20 August in a tweet. This means two things, one that Google is soon going to announce the release of the much awaited operating system in the coming days, and two, that we will finally know what the P in Android P stands for. Google usually names every incremental version of Android after some kind of food item, the last version was called Oreo, and before that, Nougat, before that it was Marshmallow, Lollipop, KitKat, Jellybean and so on. For some time, Android P was believed to be called Popsicle or even Peppermint after Google hinted at it. It has also been rumoured to be named Pistachio. Could also be papad or pakoda, who knows. Were excited! If Evan Blasss claims are true, then it can be guessed that the Pixel, Pixel XL, Pixel 2, Pixel 2 XL and probably Nexus will get the updates at the same time. The other companies who have partnered with Google and run Android, like OnePlus, Nokia will also get their Android P updates some weeks after the official release of the software. Indo-Asian News Service After delivering more than 2500 kilograms of science and supplies, the SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft is set to depart the International Space Station (ISS) and return to Earth on Friday. The spacecraft will depart the ISS, carrying with it critical scientific research, at 10.07 PM IST and splash down in the Pacific Ocean at about 3:47 AM on Saturday, NASA said in a statement. The spacecraft will bring along science samples from human and animal research, biology and biotechnology studies, physical science investigations and education activities, the statement said. Dragon will also be returning a Latching End Effector that was removed from the station's robotic arm to be refurbished on Earth and returned to the orbiting complex as a spare. NASA will receive time-sensitive samples and begin working with researchers to process and distribute them within 48 hours of splashdown. Dragon was launched on 29 June on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida and arrived at the station on 2 July, for the company's 15th NASA-contracted commercial re-supply mission to the station. Expedition 54 Flight Engineer Serena Aunon, Chancellor of NASA, will monitor its departure as the spacecraft is released through ground-controlled commands. The ground controllers will use the space station's Canadarm2 robotic arm to detach Dragon from the Earth-facing side of the station's Harmony module and manoeuvre the vehicle into its release position. Dragon's thrusters will fire to move the spacecraft a safe distance from the station before SpaceX flight controllers in Hawthorne, California, command its de-orbit burn. US president Donald Trump has received an invitation to visit India, but no decision has been taken yet, the White House said on Thursday. Washington: US president Donald Trump has received an invitation to visit India, but no decision has been taken yet, the White House said on Thursday. "I know that the invitation has been extended, but I do not believe that a final decision has been made," the White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders told reporters when asked about reports that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has invited Trump to be the chief guest at the next year's Republic Day celebrations in New Delhi. She said US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Defense Secretary James Mattis would be headed to New Delhi soon for the first India-US 2+2 Dialogue with their Indian counterparts External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. "The 2+2 dialogue would begin discussion on the process of a presidential visit next year," Sanders said at daily press conference. The United States and India have a deep and strategic partnership and "we are going to continue to build on that partnership" and advance co-operation. "I think, you will see that in the meeting that would take place in September," Sanders said. Emmerson Mnangagwa called on Friday for Zimbabwe to unite behind him after he was declared winner of national elections. Harare: President Emmerson Mnangagwa called on Friday for Zimbabwe to unite behind him after he was declared winner of national elections, but the Opposition leader questioned the outcome and demanded "proper and verified" results be released. The election, the first since the army removed 94-year-old Robert Mugabe from office in November, passed off relatively smoothly, raising hopes of a break from a history of disputed and violent polls. But an army crackdown on Opposition supporters in which six people were killed revealed the deep rifts in Zimbabwean society that developed during Mugabes decades in power, when the security forces became a byword for heavy-handedness. After three days of claims and counterclaims, 75-year-old Mnangagwa a former spy chief under Mugabe secured victory. He polled 2.46 million votes against 2.15 million for 40-year-old Opposition leader Nelson Chamisa, the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) announced early on Friday. "This is a new beginning. Let us join hands, in peace, unity and love, and together build a new Zimbabwe for all," Mnangagwa said on Twitter. But his efforts to rehabilitate the image of a country synonymous with political repression and economic collapse were also undermined by a police raid in full view of media cameras on the headquarters of Chamisa's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC). Chamisa, who earlier accused the ZEC of trying to rig the vote, said on Friday it should release "proper and verified" results. "I thought the force of will would prevail over will of force," he said in a tweet, without elaborating. South Africa president Cyril Ramaphosa, current chair of the Southern African Development Community, urged all Zimbabweans to accept the poll results. The streets of the capital Harare were quiet early on Friday, with traffic thinner than usual. Water cannon and anti-riot police remained outside the MDC offices, a reminder of the clashes between opposition and the security forces this week. We were expecting that these elections will bring change because we are struggling. But as things stand, it will get worse, one taxi driver told Reuters near the MDC offices. Palestinian protests along the Gaza-Israel border have led to frequent clashes, with Israeli snipers firing on protesters burning tires and throwing stones. The leadership of Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas is to convene on Friday for a rare meeting, officials said, amid speculation of a long-term truce between the Gaza Strip's rulers and Israel. A senior Hamas source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the leadership would meet in the evening in Gaza City to discuss a number of issues, including a possible agreement. It will be the full first meeting of the movement's political bureau since talks held in Cairo in 2017, officials said. Among those attending will be Hamas's deputy leader Saleh al-Aruri, who crossed the border from Egypt on Thursday with eight other Hamas leaders based outside Gaza. Aruri, who lives in Lebanon and has never before visited Gaza as he is wanted by Israel, was given Egyptian and United Nations assurances over his safety, the Hamas source said. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday delayed a planned visit to Colombia amid speculation that a truce agreement could be reached within days. Such a deal would involve a long-term cessation of hostilities between Israel and Hamas in exchange for a significant easing of the Jewish states crippling economic blockade of Gaza, according to Hamas and UN officials. An agreement could allow international donors to fund a series of programmes including electricity and water network upgrades in Gaza. It could also cover a prisoner exchange with Hamas, which holds the bodies of two soldiers killed in a 2014 war, Israeli media say. With borders to both Egypt and Israel largely sealed in recent years, Gaza suffers from desperately high rates of poverty and unemployment. Israel insists its blockade is necessary to isolate Hamas, with which it has fought three wars since 2008. Critics say it amounts to collective punishment of the coastal territory's two million residents. Since 30 March, major Palestinian protests along the Gaza-Israel border have led to frequent clashes, with Israeli snipers firing on protesters burning tires and throwing stones. At least 157 Palestinians have been killed, while one Israeli soldier was shot dead. Palestinians have also flown balloons and kites attached to incendiary devices across the border, starting hundreds of fires inside Israel in recent months. The PML-N government had filed the treason case against the ex-army chief Musharraf over the imposition of extra-constitutional emergency in November 2007. Islamabad: A special court in Pakistan hearing the treason charges against former dictator Pervez Musharraf has scheduled the hearing of the high-profile case on 20 August, according to a media report. The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government had filed the treason case against the ex-army chief General Musharraf over the imposition of extra-constitutional emergency in November 2007. The bench that will hear the case will be headed by Lahore High Court (LHC) Chief Justice Muhammad Yawar Ali, Geo News reported. Musharraf, 74, who is currently residing in Dubai, has refused to return to Pakistan citing security reasons. The three-judge special court will hear the high treason case against Pakistan's president on 20 August, the report said. Last month, lawyer Akram Sheikh stepped down as the head of the prosecution team tasked by the government in 2013 to prosecute Musharraf. Sheikh was appointed as the head of the prosecution in the case, by the then-PML-N led government. Musharraf, the former army chief, was indicted in the case in March 2014 after he appeared before the court and rejected all charges. On 18 March, 2016, he left Pakistan for Dubai for medical treatment after his name was removed from the Exit Control List on the orders of the Supreme Court. A few months later, a special court had declared him a proclaimed offender and ordered the confiscation of his property owing to his no-show. Later, on the orders of the Supreme Court, Musharraf's passport and identity card were also cancelled since he failed to return to the country despite giving him a last chance. The legal experts believe that the treason case is a test for the upcoming government of Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), as one of the reasons of civil-military tussle was that the PML-N government had initiated the case against the former army chief. The PTI chief had vowed in November 2007 that his party would initiate proceedings against Musharraf over his unconstitutional acts but it has also been witnessed that the PTI has remained silent over the issue in the recent past. The number of crimes reported to police in South Korea has surged from around 1,100 in 2010 to more than 6,500 last year. Even a record heatwave will not keep Claire Lee from joining tens of thousands of South Korean women at a mass protest on Saturday against secretly filmed spycam pornography as anger over the issue swells, prompting national soul-searching. Since May, the monthly demonstration in Seoul has shattered records to become the biggest ever women's protest in South Korea where the global #MeToo movement has unleashed an unprecedented wave of female-led activism. The target of their fury is molka, or spycam videos, which largely involve men secretly filming women in schools, offices, trains, toilets and changing rooms and which are so prevalent they make headlines on a daily basis. "Entering a public bathroom is such an unnerving experience these days," Lee said, adding that she always looked around the walls to see if there were any "suspicious holes". "You never know if there's a spycam lens hidden inside... filming you while you pee", the 21-year-old student told AFP, saying she sometimes stabbed the holes with a pen to shatter any secret lenses or stuffed tissues inside them. The statistics are startling, with the number of spycam crimes reported to police surging from around 1,100 in 2010 to more than 6,500 last year. The offenders have included school teachers, professors, doctors, church pastors, government officials, police officers and even a court judge. In some cases, the victims' own boyfriends or relatives were responsible for the crimes, in a troubling reflection of South Korea's deep-rooted patriarchal norms. Fed up of living in fear, women are fighting back. More than 55,000 attended last month's protest in Seoul, according to its organisers, although police put the attendance at around 20,000. "The pent-up anger among women has finally reached a boiling point", one of the protest organisers who only identified herself as Ellin told AFP. Lucrative business Asia's fourth-largest economy takes pride in its tech prowess, from ultra-fast Internet to cutting-edge smartphones. But these advances have also given rise to an army of tech-savvy peeping Toms, with videos widely shared in internet chatrooms and on file-sharing sites, or used as adverts for websites promoting prostitution. Although all manufacturers of smartphones sold in the South are required to ensure their devices make a loud shutter noise when taking photos a move designed to curb covert filming many offenders use special apps that mute the sound, or turn to high-tech spy cameras hidden inside eyeglasses, lighters, watches, car keys and even neckties. A 43-year-old man was arrested last month for secretly filming occupants of Seoul motels for four years, installing ultra-mini lenses inside TV speakers and other equipment after posing as a guest. A police raid uncovered more than 20,000 spycam videos at his home. In June a 34-year-old man was arrested for secretly filming women inside toilets and selling thousands of videos online for up to $90 apiece. Justice is rarely served most offenders are fined or given suspended jail terms, which many women's rights groups decry as a mere slap on the wrist. Except, campaigners say, in the rare cases where the perpetrator is female and the victim male. The arrest in May of a woman who secretly filmed a male model posing nude at a Seoul art college, days after she shared the image online, was a catalyst for the unprecedented protests this summer. "The police have rarely responded when countless female victims asked for the immediate arrest of the offender", Seo Seung-hui, head of the non-profit Korea Cyber Sexual Violence Response Centre, told AFP. In this case, the suspect was paraded in front of television cameras while police raided her home to search for evidence. Authorities even launched a probe targeting those who shamed the male model online in an uncharacteristically swift response. "The women saw how quickly...the police responded to this rare case in which the victim was a man...such unfair treatment fuelled the recent wave of anger", Seo said. Campaigners have called for harsher punishments for those who film, distribute and view such images. They have also urged tougher regulations to restrict the sale of high-tech spycam equipment. But in a sign of the ugly fight ahead of them, many of the protesters at a recent rally kept their faces covered and declined to be photographed due to worries over personal safety, with previous participants becoming the targets of relentless online bullying. Despite their fears, they refuse to back down. "Seeing so many women gather together to speak up was a deeply empowering experience", protest organiser Ellin said. "We have power. Together, we can make change happen", she said. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met his Turkey counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu to stave off a diplomatic crisis over the detention of an American pastor in Turkey. Singapore: US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu on Friday in an attempt to stave off a diplomatic crisis between Washington and Ankara over the detention of an American pastor in Turkey. The United States is demanding the release of Andrew Brunson, who led a Protestant church in the Aegean city of Izmir, after he was placed under house arrest last week following nearly two years in jail on charges of espionage and supporting terror groups. The meeting came days after Washington hit two top Turkish officials with sanctions over Brunson's detention, prompting Ankara to threaten reciprocal measures. US State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said Pompeo and Cavusoglu had a "constructive conversation" on the sidelines of a regional meeting in Singapore. "They spoke about a number of issues... They agreed to continue to try to resolve the issues between our two countries," she said. Brunson, whose trial began in the spring, faces up to 35 years in jail if convicted. The State Department has said it continues to favour a diplomatic approach, but Nauert told reporters earlier this week "this has gone on for too long", referring to Brunson's detention. Pompeo and Cavusoglu spoke by phone on Wednesday as the US announced sanctions on Justice Minister Abdulhamit Gul and Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu. The US claims both men played a major role in the arrest and detention of the pastor. President Donald Trump, Vice President Mike Pence and Pompeo have made Brunson's release a priority. His detention has fuelled a bitter diplomatic feud between Turkey and the US, whose relations have already deteriorated in recent months over the Syrian conflict. The standoff appears to be one of the most serious crises between the two NATO allies in modern history, along with the rows over the 1974 Turkish invasion of Cyprus and the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq. Brunson was initially detained in October 2016 during Turkey's crackdown following an attempted putsch. He stands accused of carrying out activities on behalf of two organisations Turkey considers terror groups. One is led by the US-based Muslim preacher Fethullah Gulen, who Ankara says was behind the failed coup, while the other is the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). The pastor denies the charges and his defence team argues the case is built on questionable witness statements. His next hearing is set for 12 October. Attorney Kay Bacchus-Browne made a case for the proper gathering of forensic evidence and its use in matters before the court. Veteran criminal lawyer and New Democratic Party Senator Kay Bacchus-Baptiste has called out the States Prosecution Services for failing to ensure that they have and can rely on forensic evidence in many criminal cases . Because of this, she said, there has been far less conviction than there could/should have been. Speaking at a NDP press conference last Tuesday at Democrat House, Murray Road, Bacchus-Baptiste declared that in many of the cases in which she has been involved, the prosecution has failed wholly to make use of forensic evidence. "They may come, yes, they mark out the scene, take exhibits, etc., etc., and nothing happens to them or they send them away and you never get a report, even ballistics report. Long ago you used to get more reports from experts matching ballistics the evidence with the gun, etc., etc, . You hardly get back reports now, said the experienced lawyer. "They are trying to base their evidence on beating a confession out of the defendants or hoping they have enough witnesses who would have seen (what transpired), she added. According to the Senator, in most cases, there is nobody there to give eye witness evidence. "The forensics in St. Vincent is sadly lacking; even a simple thing as taking photographic evidence. You would be surprised how many police cases . They bring the photographer, they take the photos and when you get to court, you never see the pictures; either they are over-exposed , they are not good or they never even bother to produce the photographs.. and finger printing is a thing of the past, said Bacchus- Browne. Something drastic must be done to correct this issue, Bacchus Baptiste urged. (KH). The schools in Chilas town, about 130-kilometre from Gilgit, were targeted late on Thursday night by the militants who set them on fire and damaged school property across Diamer district, police said. Karachi/Islamabad: Twelve schools, half of them all-girls', have been burnt down by unidentified militants in coordinated attacks in Pakistan's restive Gilgit-Baltistan, triggering protest by local residents who sought safety for educational institutions which are often attacked by terrorists, officials said on Friday. The schools in Chilas town, about 130-kilometre from Gilgit, were targeted late on Thursday night by the militants who set them on fire and damaged school property across Diamer district, police said. Superintendent of Police Diamer Roy Ajmal told media that the 12 schools were targeted by rebels who fled after the attack. "Police have launched probe and security forces are searching for the culprits in the area," he said. Commissioner Diamer region Abdul Waheed Shah said no proof of a bomb attack on any school had been found so far. Officials also said that some of the schools attacked by the miscreants were still under construction. Following the attacks, local residents staged a protest at Siddique Akbar Chowk demanding the arrest of culprits and seeking safety for educational institutes which are often targeted by the militants. No one has claimed responsibility for the attacks. However, the Taliban militants have attacked hundreds of schools in north-western Pakistan in the past. Girls's schools are often attacked in the northern areas of Pakistan. In December 2011, at least two girls' schools were partially damaged in low-intensity explosions in Chilas. Earlier that year, unidentified assailants had also blown up two girls' schools. In 2004, girls' schools in Chilas came under a string of attacks. Nine schools of which eight were girls' schools were attacked and destroyed in five days in the area in February. Terrorists have also blown up educational institutions in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA). According to a report, about 1,500 schools have been destroyed in the tribal belt during the last 10 years. Nobel Prize winner and education activist Malala Yousafzai was also shot by the Taliban in 2012 for advocating girls' education in the Swat Valley. In 2017, the Human Rights Watch (HRW) in its report stated that attacks by the Taliban and other militant groups disrupted the education of hundreds of thousands of children, particularly girls, in Pakistan. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says North Korea is far from living up to its pledge to denuclearise and remains in violation of numerous UN Security Council resolutions. Singapore: US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said North Korea is far from living up to its pledge to denuclearise and remains in violation of numerous UN Security Council resolutions. Speaking Friday before he attends an Asian security forum with North Korea's foreign minister, Pompeo told reporters in Singapore there was "still a ways to go before" achieving the goal of ridding the North of its nuclear weapons. Pompeo's comments came after the White House announced Thursday that President Donald Trump received a new letter from North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and responded quickly with a letter of his own. The correspondence, following up on their Singapore summit in June, came amid fresh concerns over Pyongyang's commitment to denuclearisation despite a rosy picture of progress painted by Trump. Pompeo has taken the lead in negotiations with the North, having traveled to Pyongyang three times since April and accompanied Trump to the summit, will be in the same room on Saturday as his North Korean counterpart at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations annual regional forum. A separate meeting between the two was possible, but not confirmed, according to State Department officials. "Chairman Kim made a commitment to denuclearise," Pompeo told reporters accompanying him to Singapore from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. "The world demanded that (he) do so in the UN Security Council resolutions. To the extent they are behaving in a manner inconsistent with that, they are in violation of one or both the UN Security Council resolutions, we can see we still have a ways to go to achieve the ultimate outcome we're looking for." On Thursday, Trump tweeted his thanks to the North Korean leader "for your nice letter I look forward to seeing you soon!" Thank you to Chairman Kim Jong Un for keeping your word & starting the process of sending home the remains of our great and beloved missing fallen! I am not at all surprised that you took this kind action. Also, thank you for your nice letter - l look forward to seeing you soon! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 2, 2018 The White House did not provide details on the specific content of the letter from Kim, received Wednesday, or of Trump's reply. White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said the letters addressed their commitment to work toward North Korea's "complete denuclearisation." Sanders said no second meeting is "locked in" as a follow-up to the Singapore summit in June, but they remain open to discussions. Trump in his tweet expressed gratitude to Kim "for keeping your word" on the return of the remains of more than 50 American service members killed during the Korean War. Vice-President Mike Pence and US military leaders received the remains in Hawaii during a somber ceremony on Wednesday. The latest letter from Kim arrived on the heels of concerns over North Korea's ballistic missile program and commitment to denuclearisation. Senior Trump administration officials have urged patience, cautioning that the process of denuclearising North Korea and removing the threat of its long-range missiles will take time. Trump has sought to show progress from his June 12 summit with Kim. He said during a Tuesday rally in Tampa, Florida, that the US was "doing well" with North Korea and noted the return of detained Americans and Pyongyang's ceasing of nuclear testing and missile tests. "A lot of good things are happening. No tests. No rockets flying. But we'll see what happens," Trump said. US officials have been closely watching North Korea's willingness to abandon its nuclear ambitions. The Washington Post on Tuesday reported that US intelligence officials suspect that North Korea is continuing to build new missiles in the same research facility that manufactured the country's ballistic missiles capable of reaching the United States. The Post also reported that North Korean officials have talked about how they plan to deceive the US about the size of their arsenal of missiles and nuclear warheads and facilities. By Nathan Layne and Sarah N. By Nathan Layne and Sarah N. Lynch ALEXANDRIA, Va. (Reuters) - Prosecutors on Thursday pressed their bank and tax fraud case against Paul Manafort, presenting testimony and documents to try to prove U.S. President Donald Trump's former campaign chairman deceived his lead bookkeeper and a bank about his finances. On the trial's third day, the prosecution pivoted away from describing Manafort's lavish lifestyle, focusing instead on the nitty-gritty details of actions they believe underpin the charges against him of bank fraud, tax fraud and failing to report foreign bank accounts. Prosecutors have attempted to portray Manafort as a tax cheat and a liar who hid much of the $60 million he earned from political work for pro-Russian politicians in Ukraine by stashing it in undisclosed overseas accounts. The trial is taking place in a federal court in Alexandria, Virginia, outside Washington. Manafort, 69, faces 18 charges in the first trial stemming from Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation of Russia's role in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Manafort has pleaded not guilty to all the charges. Manafort's lead bookkeeper Heather Washkuhn, who oversaw Manafort's business and personal holdings, testified that she thought she had complete knowledge of his financial affairs but that she was unaware of his holdings outside of the United States. Washkuhn, managing director of the accounting firm Nigro Karlin Segal Feldstein & Bolno, said Manafort was "very detail-oriented" and "approved every penny" the firm paid from his personal account. Prosecutors presented evidence that Manafort emailed a doctored profit-and-loss statement to a Chicago bank from which he was seeking a loan. They showed jurors an email from Washkuhn to the bank showing that, through Nov. 20, 2016, his business had a net loss of $1,116,497. They then displayed another email they said Manafort sent to an executive at the bank with a profit-and-loss statement for September 2016 attached. The document stated that Manafort's consulting firm had a net income of $3,011,952. Washkuhn said she did not produce the latter document. Vendors who provided luxury good and services to the Manafort family testified Wednesday and Thursday that they often received overseas wire transfer payments from a variety of companies such as Peranova Holdings Limited, Global Highway Limited and Lucicle Consultants Limited. Washkuhn testified on Thursday that she had no idea any of those entities were owned or controlled by Manafort. Mueller has pursued a 14-month investigation of Russia's role in the 2016 U.S. presidential election and potential coordination between the Trump campaign and Moscow, though none of the charges against Manafort involve that issue. KEY WITNESS TO TESTIFY Greg Andres, a member of Mueller's team, confirmed on Thursday that the prosecution will call Manafort's former business partner Rick Gates as a witness, a day after prosecutors suggested they might not. "We have every intention of calling him as a witness," Andres said. Gates pleaded guilty to making false statements after being indicted by Mueller. Defence lawyers have painted Gates as an untrustworthy business partner who embezzled funds from Manafort's consulting firm. As part of his guilty plea, Gates acknowledged routinely dealing with accountants in the preparation of Manafort's tax returns and misleading them with false information, although he said he did so with Manafort's knowledge. Manafort routed millions of dollars to the United States by putting it in real estate, and spending it on expensive suits, cars and home renovations, according to prosecution witnesses. Prosecutors said Manafort evaded taxes through this scheme. Five of the 18 counts he faces relate to filing false tax returns. On Thursday, the jury heard from Joel Maxwell of a Florida-based company that installs lighting, audio visual equipment and automation systems for homes that did work for Manafort. Maxwell testified that some of the Manafort invoices shown to him from prosecutors appeared to be have been forged. Michael Regolizio, of a landscaping firm in the Hamptons on New York's Long Island, also testified that a Manafort invoice was phoney, listing an incorrect address and an altered version of his company's name. Regolizio said he was paid about $450,000 between 2010 and 2014 for work for Manafort, and that the money was paid via a money transfer from Cyprus. Two witnesses - an executive at an upscale clothier and a retired general contractor - testified on Wednesday that invoices purporting to be bills from their companies to a company tied to Manafort appeared to be fake. It was unclear who created the invoices or how they were used. As he did on Wednesday, U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis warned prosecutors against focusing too much on Manafort's lifestyle. "It kind of engenders some resentment against rich people," Ellis said, expressing concern about displaying photos exhibiting Manafort's wealth. Mueller has indicted or secured guilty pleas from 32 people and three companies. Trump has called Mueller's investigation a witch hunt and on Tuesday called on Attorney General Jeff Sessions to end it. (Reporting by Nathan Layne in Alexandria, Virginia; Additional reporting by Susan Heavey and Karen Freifeld; Writing by Warren Strobel; Editing by Will Dunham) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. Over the past decade, Russia and Pakistan have been building a relationship which was in cold storage. The growing bonhomie is reflected in several significant initiatives taken by Moscow in recent years. In a far-reaching development for Indian interests in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR), Russia has signed an agreement with Pakistan for naval cooperation. The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the two countries was signed during a recent visit of Pakistan's Vice Admiral Kaleem Shaukat to Russia. During his meeting with RussianNavy'ss Commander-in-Chief, Admiral Vladimir Ivanovich Korolev at Saint Petersburg, issues pertaining to bilateral naval collaboration and security environment in the IOR were discussed. The naval cooperation agreement comes close on the heels of an accord between Moscow and Islamabad in April this year to increase cooperation in the training of armed forces personnel in the naval field and the conduct of a wide range of joint military exercises. Relations between Russia and Pakistan are being developed on the basis of mutual benefits and convergence of interests. With Washington suspending and curtailing military aid to Pakistan, a continuation of collaboration with Moscow is going to be pivotal for Pakistan. India has been reasonably concerned over Russia's growing fondness for Pakistan, particularly in the defence field as most of India's military equipment is of the Russian origin. The warming up of Russia-Pakistan ties is a quite recent phenomenon. A visible tilt can be seen in Russian foreign policy towards Pakistan for some time now, with Moscow making concerted efforts to build strong ties with Islamabad. Pakistan is being recognized by Kremlin as a vital ally in the peaceful settlement of Afghan conflict. It needs to be recalled that former Soviet Union's support for Afghanistan on the Pashtunistan issue had ensured that the Pakistani leadership entertained deep apprehensions for Moscow's intentions during most of the Cold War era. After Soviet intervention in 1979, Pakistan Army began to provide training and US-supplied weapons to various Mujahideen groups against the Soviet forces in Afghanistan. As a result, even after Russia overcame its past bitterness following the withdrawal of the Soviet forces from Afghanistan, Moscows ties with Islamabad remained a low key affair. Even after the disintegration of the USSR, Russia-Pakistan relations continued to be defined by Moscows traditionally sound ties with New Delhi. However, Pakistan has emerged as the new elephant in the room when it comes to India-Russia relations. Over the past decade, Russia and Pakistan have been building a relationship which was in cold storage. The growing bonhomie is reflected in several significant initiatives taken by Moscow in recent years. The 2010 Quadripartite Summit between Russia, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Tajikistan at Sochi was a significant development which provided an opportunity for Moscow to turn a page on its relations with Islamabad. In 2012, Pakistan's then army chief, General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, became the first military chief from Pakistan to visit Moscow. While Moscow's relations with New Delhi are an outcome of a long evolution, its ties with Islamabad mark a sea change. The two countries did not have much depth in their ties, barring some exceptions. However, Moscow's decision in 2014 to lift its arms embargo against Pakistan had changed this. It was done to sell military helicopters to Pakistan, followed by other systems. During the first visit of a Russian defence minister to Pakistan in November 2014, both the countries signed a military cooperation agreement. In June 2015, Pakistan's then army chief, General Raheel Sharif, visited Russia and met top Russian leadership. A deal for the purchase of Mi-35M assault helicopters in August 2015 was signed, and Pakistan finally received four helicopters in August 2017. This is a historic first, given Pakistani reliance on American military equipments for over six decades. The first Russia-Pakistan counter-narcotics exercise was held in October 2014 followed by a second exercise in December 2015. The first-ever Russia-Pakistan joint military exercise was held in the Pakistani province of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa in September 2016. Indias discomfort over these military exercises was evident given that Indian troops were also participating in military exercises with Russia at the time. Moreover, at a moment when New Delhi was spending huge diplomatic capital in trying to isolate Pakistan after the Uri terror attacks, coping with fresh political violence inside Kashmir, Russia's reluctance to postpone its military exercise with Pakistan due to Indian sensitivities clearly indicated a fundamental shift in Moscows approach to South Asia. The only concession that India received from Russia was a change in the venue: the military exercises were originally scheduled to take place in Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK). The special forces of Russia and Pakistan conducted a two-week joint counter-terrorism exercise in September-October 2017. Asserting that Russia's 'trust-based' relations with India would not be diluted by Moscow's growing ties with Islamabad, President Vladimir Putin told in an interview in June 2017 that there is no other country in the world, other than India, with which Russia has such deep cooperation in delicate areas including missile technology. But Putin also sidestepped a question on Kashmir, saying it was up to India to assess whether Pakistan was fuelling terrorism in Kashmir. He also praised Pakistan by asserting that I believe Pakistan is taking immense steps to stabilize the situation in the country. Anyone familiar with the evolution of Indo-Russian ties would understand the importance of the Kashmir issue in the bilateral relationship. During the Cold War, it was Moscow that often bailed New Delhi out of tricky situations by vetoing UN Security Council resolutions amidst the Anglo-American manoeuvres. Pakistan provides a potential market for Russian weapons which is a huge incentive for Moscow as Russian economy is heavily dependent on arms exports. At present, the amount of Russian military equipment supplied to Pakistan is still very small and Islamabad does not have the financial wherewithal to make big-ticket purchases from Moscow. Pakistan's bloated military is not only unsustainable but it also presently lacks the resources to invest financially for purchase of highly advanced military systems for future. But given an obsessive anti-India strand in Pakistan's strategic culture, Pakistan's military establishment can be expected to indulge in any economic adventurism. Negotiations for the purchase of Russian Su-35 fighter jets are in their early stages, and Pakistan has already expressed its desire to acquire T-90 tanks from Russia as part of a long-term deal. Russia and Pakistan continue to work closely in Afghanistan to challenge the US and, this effectively translates into supporting the Afghan Taliban with greater vigour. Recently, the intelligence agencies of Russia, China, Iran and Pakistan held an important meeting in Islamabad to discuss measures against the threat of the Islamic State (IS) terrorists in Afghanistan. But what is really disturbing is that neither Afghanistan nor India was part of this discussion. Moreover, this Islamabad meeting did not take place under the banner of Regional Anti-terrorism Structure (RATS) of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), as all four countries are either member (Russia, China and Pakistan) or observer (Iran). What prevented Russia from holding the meeting under the banner of the SCO? The US has sought to expand its relations with India as there has been a convergence of interests between the two on many issues. New Delhi has also been keen to deepen its strategic partnership with Washington. Since 2008, the US has sold India $15 billion worth of arms. The Pentagon recently renamed US Pacific Command as US Indo-Pacific Command to reflect Indias growing role in the Indo-Pacific region. But despite American efforts to convince India not to make defence deals with Russia, the Modi government has decided to go ahead with its purchase of the Russian-made S-400 advanced air defence system, and the deal is expected to be announced before an annual summit between Modi and Putin. Therefore, there is an urgent need to resist the temptation of making the debate less about India resisting under the US pressure and more about safeguarding Indias strategic interests. If India has to break the current stagnation in its ties with Russia, Moscow must also do the same. Jeopardising Indian interests by emboldening Pakistans recklessly ambitious military establishment is not the best way forward. Wilayat Khan Ahmadzai, head of the Gardez public health department, confirmed the attack and fears over mounting casualties. 'We have received 60 wounded worshippers and four dead at the civilian hospital in Gardez,' said Ahmadzai. Khost: A suicide attack struck a Shiite mosque in eastern Afghanistan on Friday targeting worshippers during weekly prayers, with officials warning of multiple casualties in the latest incident to hit the minority. "A suicide blast took place inside a Shiite mosque in the city of Gardez of Paktia province. There are casualties from the blast, but we don't know how many for now," General Raz Mohammad Mandozai, provincial police chief of Paktia, told AFP. Wilayat Khan Ahmadzai, head of the Gardez public health department, confirmed the attack and fears over mounting casualties. "We have 20 people killed and around 50 others were wounded," General Raz Mohammad Mandozai, provincial police chief of Paktia province, near the Pakistan border, told AFP. A second official said there were at least 70 dead and wounded in the attack. The attack comes as urban areas across Afghanistan have been rocked by an increasing number of attacks in recent months, with both the Islamic State (IS) and Taliban insurgents targeting security forces and government installations. The Taliban has not claimed a major attack in a city for weeks as it comes under increased pressure to agree to peace talks with the Afghan government. But IS has carried out multiple attacks in the eastern city of Jalalabad and the capital Kabul in recent months, targeting everything from government ministries to a midwife training centre. Last month an IS suicide bomber blew himself up near Kabul international airport, killing 23 people including AFP driver Mohammad Akhtar. The increased attacks come as US and Afghan forces intensify ground and air offensives against IS, and the Taliban step up their turf war with the group. BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian state media said late on Thursday that air defences had destroyed a 'hostile target' west of the capital Damascus. 'Our air defences confronted a hostile target and destroyed it west of Damascus,' the state news agency SANA said, quoting a military source. BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian state media said late on Thursday that air defences had destroyed a "hostile target" west of the capital Damascus. "Our air defences confronted a hostile target and destroyed it west of Damascus," the state news agency SANA said, quoting a military source. Forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad have recovered the bulk of the country from rebels and militants after more than seven years of civil war, helped by Russian air power and Iran-backed militias. Israel, concerned that Iran's growing presence in Syria poses a threat to its security, has struck dozens of Iranian and Iran-backed positions in Syria over the course of the seven-year conflict. An Israeli military spokeswoman declined to comment on the SANA report. On Thursday Israel said it killed Islamic State insurgents who approached its border after being squeezed out of southwestern Syria by Syrian forces. (Reporting by Ali Abdelaty in Cairo, Mayaan Lubell in Jerusalem and Lisa Barrington in Beirut; Editing by Mark Heinrich) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. UN is poised to back last month's US proposal with guidelines to aid organisations and governments to apply for sanctions exemptions for North Korea. United Nations: The UN Security Council is poised to back a US proposal aimed at removing some of the hurdles that tough sanctions on North Korea have thrown up in the way of delivering humanitarian aid, according to documents obtained by AFP. North Korea's humanitarian crisis has left about 10 million people nearly half of the population undernourished, according to UN officials, who have reported a drop in food production last year. UN resolutions specify that sanctions should not affect humanitarian aid but relief organisations argue that strict trade and banking measures are creating bureaucratic obstacles and slowing down the flow of vital supplies. A US proposal put forward last month would provide clear instructions to aid organisations and governments to apply for UN sanctions exemptions for North Korea, according to the text seen by AFP. After weeks of negotiations, the UN sanctions committee is expected to give final approval to the new guidelines on Monday. Once approved, a notice will be sent to the UN's 193 member-states by the committee "to provide a clear explanation of its comprehensive humanitarian exemption mechanism" which will "improve the delivery of humanitarian assistance to Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK)," according to the documents. The move comes as the United States is calling for maximum pressure to be maintained against North Korea to compel Kim Jong-un to follow through on his pledge to denuclearize the Korean peninsula. After Russia and China urged the council to ease sanctions, US Ambassador Nikki Haley said the United Nations should not do "one thing" until North Korea takes action to dismantle its nuclear and missile programs. A US official said the guidelines would ensure that "only critical, life-saving humanitarian activities needed in North Korea can continue" and that requests for exemptions will undergo a detailed review. "The United States has been very clear that we will continue to enforce the current sanctions until we achieve the final, fully verified, denuclearization of North Korea," said the official, speaking on background. Asked about the new guidelines, a Dutch official, speaking as the chair of the sanctions committee, said: "We want to make clear that this is about easing the process, not about easing the sanctions." The Security Council last year adopted three rafts of sanctions targeting North Korea's economy in response to Pyongyang's sixth nuclear test and a series of ballistic missile launches. Those sanctions ban North Korea's exports of raw commodities while severely restricting imports of a range of goods and supplies of oil vital for the country's military. The measures have had a chilling effect, with UN agencies and aid organisations struggling to find partners willing to deal with the bureaucratic red tape from the tight sanctions regime on North Korea. "Economic sanctions are not supposed to have an impact on impartial humanitarian action. But they do. They have unintended consequences," said Simon Schorno, the head of aid operations for the International Red Cross in Asia. "We haven't seen the guidelines yet but we have been promised that they will speed up procedures, exemptions, and generally make processes run smoother. We're hopeful that the guidelines will make carrying out our work easier," he said. At a UN meeting last month, North Korean Deputy Ambassador Kim in Ryong complained that deliveries of medical equipment such as X-ray machines, anti-malaria insecticides and reproductive health kits had been held up for months. Kim said humanitarian aid was being "politicised" and argued that denying assistance to North Koreans in need was a violation of human rights. The United Nations is also facing a major funding shortfall for its aid operations in North Korea. An appeal for USD 111 million in funding for food, medicine and other basic needs for six million North Koreans has so far raised only USD 12 million 10.9 per cent of the total amount needed. Only four countries have come forward with donations: Switzerland, Sweden, Canada and France. The US Congress passed a Russia sanctions bill last year, but some lawmakers chafed at what they saw as President Donald Trumps reluctance to implement it. Washington: Republican and Democratic US senators introduced legislation on Thursday to impose stiff new sanctions on Russia and combat cybercrime, the latest effort by lawmakers to punish Moscow over interference in US elections and its activities in Syria and Ukraine. The bill includes restrictions on new Russian sovereign debt transactions, energy and oil projects and Russian uranium imports, and new sanctions on Russian political figures and oligarchs. It also expresses strong support for NATO and would require that two-thirds of the Senate to vote in favour of any effort to leave the alliance. Russian markets reacted quickly to the measure, with the rouble slumping toward two-week lows. The current sanctions regime has failed to deter Russia from meddling in the upcoming 2018 midterm elections, said Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, one of the measures lead sponsors. Earlier this week, Graham had told reporters he planned a sanctions bill from hell to punish Russia. Congress passed a Russia sanctions bill last year, but some lawmakers chafed at what they saw as President Donald Trumps reluctance to implement it; he signed it only after Congress passed it with huge majorities. Several provisions of the measure introduced on Thursday sought to toughen that law. Democratic Senator Bob Menendez said the administration had not fully complied with those sanctions. This bill is the next step in tightening the screws on the Kremlin and will bring to bear the full condemnation of the United States Congress so that Putin finally understands that the US will not tolerate his behaviour any longer, Menendez said. Republicans and Democrats united last month in repudiating Trumps failure to publicly condemn Russian President Vladimir Putin for interfering in the 2016 US elections. Still, Congress failed to pass anything before lawmakers left Washington for their weeks-long summer recess. The latest measures prospects were not immediately clear. It would have to pass both the Senate and House of Representatives and be signed by Trump to become law. Aides to the Senates Republican majority leader, Mitch McConnell, referred questions about the bill to the Senate Banking Committee. A committee spokeswoman said she had no details on what measures the panel might consider. McConnell said last month that Senate committees should hold hearings on legislation to stop Russia from future election meddling. Both the Banking and Foreign Relations Committees have since scheduled hearings relating to Russia. By Joe Brock and MacDonald Dzirutwe HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabwe President Emmerson Mnangagwa, a former spy chief installed after Robert Mugabe's removal in a November coup, closed in on victory on Thursday in an election marred by the deaths of six people in an army crackdown on opposition protests. With nine of the southern African nation's 10 provinces declared, 75-year-old Mnangagwa had 2.15 million votes against 1.93 million for 40-year-old opposition leader Nelson Chamisa. Before the results announcement, both men had expressed confidence in victory, and international observers urged speedy release of the outcome to avoid further violence after clashes between security forces and opposition supporters By Joe Brock and MacDonald Dzirutwe HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabwe President Emmerson Mnangagwa, a former spy chief installed after Robert Mugabe's removal in a November coup, closed in on victory on Thursday in an election marred by the deaths of six people in an army crackdown on opposition protests. With nine of the southern African nation's 10 provinces declared, 75-year-old Mnangagwa had 2.15 million votes against 1.93 million for 40-year-old opposition leader Nelson Chamisa. Before the results announcement, both men had expressed confidence in victory, and international observers urged speedy release of the outcome to avoid further violence after clashes between security forces and opposition supporters. The election, the first since the army's removal of 94-year-old Mugabe, passed off relatively smoothly but its aftermath revealed the deep rifts in Zimbabwean society and the instinctive heavy-handedness of the security forces. On Thursday, troops cleared the streets of the capital, despite calls from foreign governments and international organisations for calm and for political leaders to show restraint. Police then sealed off the headquarters of Chamisa's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) before storming the building and arresting 16 people. The search warrant said they were looking for unlicensed firearms, grenades and stones. CLASHES Coupled with video of soldiers opening fire on unarmed demonstrators on Wednesday, the raid does serious damage to Mnangagwa's efforts to rehabilitate the image of a country synonymous with political repression and economic collapse. Questioning the independence of the judiciary, Chamisa said he was reluctant to go to court to challenge the results, saying this would be "going into the lion's den". "We are not about to be a meal for lions," he told reporters, alleging that Mnangagwa's ruling ZANU-PF party had rigged the poll but without providing any concrete evidence. Wednesday's crackdown by the army crushed the last vestiges of euphoria that followed its removal of Mugabe in November and fuelled suspicions that the generals who launched the coup remained Zimbabwe's de facto rulers. In Harare, the contrast could not have been starker with November, when hundreds of thousands filled the streets, hugging soldiers and celebrating their role in ousting Mugabe, the only leader Zimbabwe had known since independence in 1980. "They are showing their true colours now. We thought they were our saviour in November but they fooled us," said newspaper vendor Farai Dzengera, saying that the brief dream of an end to decades of repression was over. "What can we do? ... They run this country." Before the police stormed the MDC headquarters, Secretary General Douglas Mwonzora said 27 party workers carrying out voter tabulation were locked inside its offices by officers who had sealed off the building. "We will not recognise that search warrant because they want to plant evidence. They want to disrupt our results tabulation process, thats all," he said. Police denied the allegation. "The police are there to do their job," police spokeswoman Charity Charamba said. Nearly all shops in downtown Harare were shuttered and the normally bustling pavements quiet the day after the bloodshed. Mnangagwa's spokesman, George Charamba, insisted that Thursday was a normal working day. "They must go about their business as always," he said on state television. ARMY IN CHARGE Wednesday's violence and the use of soldiers to control the capital confirms suspicions that the generals who ousted Mugabe - including army chief-turned vice-president Constantino Chiwenga - are firmly in charge, analysts said. "Deployment of troops reveals the uncomfortable truth that, eight months after Mugabe was ousted, the army remains the pre-eminent political force," said Piers Pigou, a Zimbabwe expert at the International Crisis Group think-tank. The election was supposed to confirm the legitimacy of the post-Mugabe government and allow Harare to renew ties with the international community. This in turn would have allowed it to start unlocking the donor funding and investment needed to get its economy - at independence, one of Africa's most vibrant - back on its feet. Instead, observers from the Commonwealth, a group of mainly former British colonies that Mnangagwa had hoped to rejoin, did not mince words in condemning the military's conduct. "We categorically denounce the excessive use of force against unarmed civilians," former Ghanaian president John Mahama said on behalf of the Commonwealth. The United Nations and European Union both urged restraint, while Britain, a supporter of the "new" post-Mugabe Zimbabwe, said it was "deeply concerned" by the violence. China said however it believed the election had generally been orderly. Mnangagwa, a long-term Mugabe aide nicknamed 'The Crocodile', offered his condolences to families of the victims of the crackdown and said those responsible would be brought to justice. (Additional reporting and writing by Ed Cropley and James Macharia; Editing by James Dalgleish) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. Apple is fined $145 million by the jury in San Diego over infringing two WiLan patents relating to wireless communications technology, WiLan, a unit of Quarterhill Inc. Apple, on the other hand, confirmed that it plans to appeal. The company earlier rejected claims of infringement in pre-trial filings. Going back in time, US jury in 2013 ruled in favor of Apple in a separate litigation in which WiLan had sought $248 million in damages. So, this isnt the first time both the companies are entering the patent war. WiLan was founded back in 1992. There is no further information about the fine, so it needs to be seen what happens next. Source Senior Magistrate Rickie Burnett is not pleased that the absence of conviction records delays sentencing. by Hayden Huggins Senior Magistrate Rickie Burnett has stressed the significance of providing the Court with conviction records. Burnett made the point during a sitting of the Kingstown Magistrates Court on Monday. He was presiding over a matter in which 31-year-old Alanzo Bailey of Green Hill pleaded guilty to attempted burglary and damage to property, committed between June 11 and 12, 2018. However, when the issue of sentencing arose, the Court heard that while Bailey had previous convictions, his conviction sheet was not before the Court. Burnett, seemingly displeased, questioned whether he was supposed to sentence Bailey without scrutinizing his conviction sheet. "The record of the defendant is one of the things the Court would have to consider in determining the appropriate sentence for him, he explained. "If I am to go on and sentence him without his record, and he appeals, what am I going to tell the Appeal Court? Burnett questioned rhetorically. "I know how the Court of Appeal operates, and I am guided by it, he added. The matter was stood down to have Baileys conviction record produced in Court. When the hearing resumed, it was revealed that Bailey had 14 previous convictions for various offences, including theft, attempted burglary, criminal trespass and breaching a Court Order. There have been several instances before this one, in which conviction records were not before the Court, to assist Magistrate in sentencing. In a case as recent as July 17, there were no previous convictions before the Court for 23-year-old Kendol Moses, who had pleaded guilty to stealing a bottle of Sunset Strong Rum from Randys Supermarket, July 16. However, when questioned by the Senior Magistrate, Moses admitted that he had a damage to property conviction about two years ago, for which he was fined $350. There have also been instances in which conviction records were not up to date. By Trend Singaporean President Halimah Yacob met with Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi here on Thursday, promising to deepen bilateral cooperation, Xinhuareported. Halimah Yacob noted that Singapore and China have enjoyed friendly ties and bilateral cooperation in various fields has yielded fruitful results. She hoped that the two countries would explore new ways of expanding the mutually beneficial cooperation and speeding up the talks on bilateral free trade agreement. Wang Yi, for his part, said this year marks the 40th anniversary of China's reform and opening-up as well as late Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping's visit to Singapore, adding that Singapore has made contributions to China's reform and opening-up in different stages. Wang said China appreciated the fact that Singapore was among the earliest countries to actively support and respond to the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative. He expressed the belief that China and Singapore's commitment to building the Belt and Road together would not only open up new prospects for the bilateral relations, but also inject new impetus into Singapore's development. The Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development has expanded its Tajer Abu Dhabi license package by opening it up to all GCC nationals and UAE residents and increasing the number of eligible activities to 1,057 commercial activities. The Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development (ADDED) has expanded its Tajer Abu Dhabi license package by opening it up to all GCC nationals and UAE residents and increasing the number of eligible activities to 1,057 commercial activities, all exempted from having a physical presence or an office. ADDED also expanded the legal formats accepted under Tajer Abu Dhabi license to three: Establishment and one-person company for Emiratis and GCC nationals, and limited liability company for residents in partnership with Emiratis. The move is aligned with the recent economic initiatives of Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, and Chairman of the Executive Board of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, that include multiple initiatives to improve the ease of doing business in the Emirate and support entrepreneurs, SMEs and the private sector. Tajer Abu Dhabi was originally launched by ADDED late last year allowing Emiratis to establish businesses in 100 different business activities without the need of physical presence. The electronic service also sped up the licensing process with licenses granted in only two steps; entering data and paying fees after a review of the application. Saif Al Hajeri, chairman of The Department of Economic Development - Abu Dhabi, said: "Our goal is to improve the ease of doing business in Abu Dhabi, especially for entrepreneurs and SMEs, which are a key engine of the national economy and have been identified as one of the most important strategic drivers of future growth. "Tajer Abu Dhabi allows them to start their businesses at a much lower cost since they no longer have to invest in office space and all the associated costs. This will allow them to focus both time and money at the important early stages of their business into growth and innovation, further increasing their contribution to the economy." ADDED's Abu Dhabi Business Centre has prepared the Golden Package of Tajer Abu Dhabi to include commercial activities under seven categories, namely: Business and Contracting; Commerce; Services and Operations; Consultancy and Design; Transportation and Management; Sales and Maintenance; and productive local families. The package also helps businesses on social media grow and develop as the license allows them to transact as an entity and therefore export and import, open bank accounts and work with government entities. Al Hajeri added: "We have expanded the beneficiaries of Tajer Abu Dhabi as a result of the high demand it has witnessed from Emiratis in its first phase. During that phase, we successfully issued 1800 licenses within six months, which represents around 20 per cent of total economic licenses issued in the Emirate during the same period." TradeArabia News Service Saudi Electricity Company (SEC) recently conducted inspections of newly-completed power projects around Makkah and Madinah as part of its Hajj season preparations, said a report. SEC engineers and technicians have carried out the maintenance and safety programme for the generation plants in preparation for the Hajj season. They provided a sufficient number of units to cover the expected maximum loads. The projects under inspection included 13 transmission as well as various distribution projects aimed at meeting pilgrims utility needs during the Hajj season, reported Arab News, citing a senior official. "Various electrical projects were planned by the end of last years Hajj season and were established over the past months through Saudi competence and expertise and the companys distinguished personnel," remarked Ziad bin Mohammed Al Shiha, the chief executive of SEC. Al Shiha also visited the SECs offices in Mina, Arafat and Muzdalifah, and discussed details of plans for this years Hajj season with the companys officials. "They are a part of the companys strategy to check the reliability of the electrical services in all the sites," he added. Aster DM Healthcare, a leading private healthcare services provider in GCC and an emerging player in India, announced today that it has performed Asias first liver transplant using Normothermic Machine Perfusion, a process which can keep a liver alive outside the body for up to 24 hours by maintaining it at body temperature. The surgery, considered the next important step forward in liver transplantation, was successfully performed at Aster CMI Hospital in Bangalore using OrganOx Metra device technology. Aster CMI has become the first hospital in India and the wider Asia region to use the perfusion technique as part of its standard clinical practice which allows physicians to test how well a liver is functioning before a transplant, boosting the chances that the procedure will be a success, said a statement from Aster. The announcement comes at a time when the demand-supply disparity in India for organ transplant remains a critical issue, which is primarily attributed to lack of awareness and infrastructure. Furthermore, the organ transplant success rate in India is low compared to developed nations in the West, and often this is due to the functionality of organs deteriorating during the preservation stage that lasts up to 12-14 hours, it said. Ashwath, a 53-year-old patient who was suffering from end-stage liver disease, received the liver transplant. Dr Sonal Asthana, senior hepatobiliary and transplant Surgeon at Aster CMI Hospital, said: Livers are usually stored in ice and preservation solution in a small sized box, where they can be kept for 12 to 14 hours before transplant. Sometimes, those less suitable for transplant do not survive the cold and begin to deteriorate, and this severely impacts the success rate of the organ transplant. The introduction of normothermic machine will change the way we preserve organs and allow us to check the functionality of organs before transplantation. Also, organs which are donated in far off parts of the country can now be transported to transplant centres and utilised safely. The new device has created a system that allows blood to circulate through the liver. When the organ is in the device that mimics the body, doctors can monitor the blood flow and letting out bile and can better tell how it might work in a patient. The technology has only been available in Europe and the US so far. Dr Rajiv Lochan, senior consultant, hepato-pancreato-biliary & transplant surgery, Aster CMI Hospital, said: This new technology essentially allows for the liver to be kept alive and warm outside the human body, for us to test it to ascertain its health. In Ashwaths case, it was important to reduce the preservation time to a minimum as he had previous operations on his abdomen, that would have resulted in a long operation time to remove the old liver and the liver graft could have deteriorated while being preserved in cold preservation fluid, which is the currently practiced traditional method of organ preservation. In addition, these livers can be treated to make them better while on the machine and numerous studies of these techniques are being performed. This new technology of machine perfusion is exciting and will indeed change the Liver transplantation landscape not only in India but across the world. The Integrated Liver Care medical experts at Aster Hospitals specialise in all aspects of liver care such as liver transplantation, liver anaesthesia, and liver pathology among others. The team has special training and extensive experience resulting from a collective expertise of over 2,000 liver transplants and over 4,000 major liver and pancreatic surgeries in major hospitals around the world, said the statement. TradeArabia News Service Uber introduces Safety Kit feature to its mobile app for Indian users News oi-Karan Uber brings Safety Kit features for its Indian customers. Here is the detailed report on the new feature. Do you feel unsafe while travelling during the night on an Uber? If yes then this new addition will give you some confidence. Uber seems to be serious about the safety of its Indian passengers. The company has added a slew of features to its mobile app, which is a part of something called Safety Kit. Uber has introduced this feature first in the United States and after the successful rollout, the company is bringing the feature to its Indian users. According to Uber, users can access the Safety Kit directly from the home screen of their app from the moment the driver accepts the trip. The company believes that these features will reflect its concerns about the passengers' safety. Here's how the Safety Toolkit works on the Uber app Safety Centre: All travellers can get to security tips that have been designed in the organization with law authorization. This is likewise space where Uber tells its customers about its procedure for driver screening, protection assurance, and other guidelines. Trusted Contacts: Now passengers will be able to share their trip status with up to five trusted contacts from their contact list. Moreover, users can also modify the setting to share the trips, night-time only trips or none at all. This will ensure the privacy of the user and will keep everyone up-to-date about the real-time location of the cab. Emergency Button: Physical emergency button has been a part of the cab service in India for a long time. However, the company has included the button within the Safety Toolkit section of the app also. This will allow the user to activate the emergency button directly from the app in an emergency situation. In addition to all this, Uber will continue to track the rides via GPS and will interlink it with safety apps of the local police authorities of with its own rescue team. On the other side, Ola has implemented this feature long back on its app. It good to see that Uber has also introduced these features for the safety of its passengers in India. Best Mobiles in India Facebook, To stay updated with latest technology news & gadget reviews, follow GizBot on Twitter YouTube and also subscribe to our notification. Allow Notifications Apple isn't the first company to hit 1 trillion dollar valuation News oi-Vivek PetroChina is the first Trillion Dollar company Apple reached the 1 trillion dollar valuations and it is the first US company to do so. However, it is not the first global company. In fact, PetroChina was the first brand to reach 1 trillion dollar valuation, which hit the market cap of 1 trillion dollars in 2007 itself. However, as the oil prices collapsed and the financial crisis went down-hill, the company value came down to less than $260 billion in 2008. Apple, the trillion dollar company Coming to Apple, it is the first public company and currently the only company with a trillion dollar valuation. As of Thursday, one Apple share is being valued at $207.39. The stocks have been gaining value since Tuesday (1st of August 2018) and on Thursday, Apple became the first brand to reach this milestone getting ahead of brands like Amazon and Microsoft. Originally, the company Apple was co-founded by Steve Jobs in his Garage as a personal computer's company and Steve Jobs launched the first iPhone in 2007 and the company never looked back in terms of technology and innovation. Currently, Apple makes a whole eco-system of devices including macs, iPhone, iPads, airpods, earpods, smart speakers, and more. The major revenue generator comes from iPhones. The Apple iPhones come with premium features and everything found on the device is either designed or manufactured by Apple and probably, Apple is the only smartphone maker which has its own team to design processor, OS, display tech, and design. Apple iPhone X In 2017 September, Apple launched the most anticipated Apple iPhone X (pronounced as iPhone Ten) with a premium all glass-steel design offering features like wireless charging support and water resistance. The iPhone X is also the first smartphone from the company to replace the Touch ID with Face ID to offer added security and protection to the smartphone. The Apple iPhone 10 also normalized the concept of the notch, as most of the Android smartphone manufacturers are now launching a smartphone with a notch. Do note that, the Apple iPhone X is the most expensive iPhone launched, with a starting price of $999 and in India the iPhone price goes up to Rs 1,00,000 or more for the higher storage variants. The company is now expected to launch three new iPhones in September 2018 (next month), where the brand is expected to launch three new iPhones. Going by the leaks and renders, the company is all set to launch at least 3 iPhones. Apple iPhone 9, Apple iPhone 9 Plus and the Apple iPhone XI. Best Mobiles in India Facebook, To stay updated with latest technology news & gadget reviews, follow GizBot on Twitter YouTube and also subscribe to our notification. Allow Notifications Ai Ringtone The ZenUI 5 on the ZenFone 5z is filled with Ai centric features. If you enable Ai Ringtone feature, then the smartphone will automatically set the ringtone volume depending on the external factors. To enable this feature go to Settings > Advanced > Ai features > Ai ringtone Ai Charging The Ai Charging will adjust the charging speed of the smartphone by trickling with voltage, which will help the smartphone to offer extended battery life. If you charge your smartphone overnight, then this will improve the battery health of the smartphone. To enable this feature go to Settings > Advanced > Ai features > Ai charging Zenimoji This is similar to the Animoji on the Apple iPhone X. This feature will replicate the facial expressions on an animated character, which can be shared to near and dear ones. To enable Zenimogi go to Settings > Advanced > ZeniMoji Game Genie If you are a gamer, then using the option Game Genie, one can record and stream the live gaming actions to the various social media platforms. To enable Game Genie go to Settings > Advanced > Game Genie One hand mode This feature will shrink the display of the smartphone to enable one hand operation, which will increase the productivity of the device. To enable One hand mode go to Settings > Advanced > One hand mode Twin Apps Using this feature, one can use two WhatsApp or Instagram accounts on a single device without using any third party services. To enable Twin Apps go to Settings > Advanced > Twin Apps Free 100 GB space on Google Drive This feature will offer free 100 GB cloud storage from Google for free of cost (for 1 year). This space can be used to store digital data across the devices. To enable this feature login to your Gmail account and open Google Drive and select Redeem the offer Setup Face Unlock Just like the most of the modern smartphones launched in 2018, the Asus ZenFone 5z supports Face Unlock, which is being achieved by the front-facing camera to add an extra layer of security to your smartphone. To setup Face Unlock go to Settings > Security & lock screen and add your Face Data Battery Saver This is one of the best features that we discovered on the Asus ZenFone 5z. This feature will be useful when the device gets low in battery, as using different battery modes users can increase the standby time of the smartphone. To enable battery saver go to Settings > Battery > PowerMaster Beauty Live This feature can be used to improve the quality of the live videos on any platform like Facebook and YouTube. To enable this feature go to Settings > Advanced > BeautyLive Conclusion These are some of the simple tricks and tips to improve the overall experience of the Asus ZenFone 5z. Google Maps will display Public toilets along with real-time bus transit information soon News oi-Sandeep Sarkar The company has launched the real-time busses in Kolkata and Surat currently. Google Maps is one of the best navigation apps available in the market. The web mapping service from Google offers panoramic views of streets, satellite imagery, real-time traffic conditions and various other features that make it easy for us to navigate and reach the desired destination. Google had introduced a new feature called the motorcycle or the two-wheeler mode exclusively for the Indian consumers back in December last year. However, the company later extended the service to other Asian countries including Hong-Kong, Indonesia, Myanmar and Malaysia and others. Now, as per a Google executive, the company is expected to introduce more features for the Google Maps specifically for the Indian users soon. The company executive had also shared some details related to some of the few projects that are in development and are currently under the testing phase. These India-centric features are expected to make the lives of Indian consumers simpler and will allow them to have a premium experience while using the service. It is being reported that the tech giant is currently working towards the addition of the public toilets in the Google Maps. The public toilet feature will be available across different cities in India. Google is also planning to expand the new feature to other regions of the country and is seeking help from the government authorities for the same. The new feature is being introduced in India to tackle the public urination and defection issue that has been a menace for quite long. Also read, Google releases Chrome 69 Beta with new features like notch support and more Anal Ghosh, Program Manager (Google Maps for India) mentioned it to the Economic times that"We are working closely with the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs. We have been working with them to add public toilets (on Google Maps) across different cities in the country". "Google Maps is not just about navigating from point A to B. We have been building for India, addressing the unique challenges and opportunities, with the sole aim of making Google maps more comprehensive, accurate and reliable" The other India-specific feature being tested currently for the Google Maps is the real-time bus transit information tool. The company has launched the real-time busses in Kolkata and Surat currently. A Google executive said that "We are working to see how we can extend it to other cities as well". However, there is no specific detail revealed by the company related to the availability of the real-time bus transit feature and the public toilet feature. We will keep you posted with the information on the same. Best Mobiles in India Facebook, To stay updated with latest technology news & gadget reviews, follow GizBot on Twitter YouTube and also subscribe to our notification. Allow Notifications Google might be working on a censored news app for China besides Search News oi-Sandeep Sarkar The new censored version of the news app will be similar to the ByteDance's Toutiao which is a popular news app in China. Recently it was reported that Google is working towards developing a censored version of the Google Search for the Chinese consumers. It was also being said that the tech giant has been working on the conditions given by the Chinese government and is also following the censorship guidelines in the country. Now, some new reports suggest that besides developing a censored version of the Google search, the company is also likely to develop a dedicated app for reading news which will also be a censored version of the app. The reports come from The Information and it suggests that the news discovery app will follow the Chinese censorship regulations. It is being reported that Google has been working on this plan since 2017 while trying to bring the Chinese regulators on board. The new censored version of the news app will be similar to the ByteDance's Toutiao. The Toutiao is one of the most used news app in China. See also, Google said to be working on a censored version of 'Search' for China It is also being reported that the app will be developed in China itself so that it can comply with the country's censorship regulations. The news app will also utilize AI along with some special algorithms which will suggest the stories to the consumers. This could be a challenging task for the tech giant as it will have to work rigorously to select the content that complies with the Chinese censorship policies. Google will need to monitor the content regularly so that it doesn't get its app banned in China. It is also expected that the news app will go live before the search app. However, some trade conflicts between the US and China is resulting in the delay of the app's availability. The tech giant is said to have "struggled to further engage" the Chinese regulators for the censorship due to these trade tensions between both the countries. Hence, it is not clear as to when this app will be made available for the users in China. It would be worth the wait to see how Google comes with a solution for this and release its apps that comply with the Chinese censorship guidelines and how well it holds up in the Chinese market. Best Mobiles in India Facebook, To stay updated with latest technology news & gadget reviews, follow GizBot on Twitter YouTube and also subscribe to our notification. Allow Notifications Facebook teams with Asian College of Journalism to curb the spread of fake news in India News oi-Sandeep Sarkar The scholarship which is being offered by the Facebook will support five students from the ACJ in the careers including print, new media, radio, and TV. Facebook has been experiencing a tough time to fend off the spread of fake news on its platform. Not only Facebook but some other social media apps have been experiencing a tough time to fight the spread of fake news on their platforms. This already has led to many public lynching in India and is a serious concern that needs to be addressed. Following this, the social media giant has expanded its fight against the fake news to 14 different countries. Facebook has also made an announcement earlier that it will increase the scope of the fact-checking program in terms of geography and technology. Now, in an effort to curb the spread of fake news on its platform and provide high-quality journalism in India, Facebook has made an announcement on Thursday that it has partnered up with Chennai-based Asian School of Journalism (ACJ). As a part of the company's Journalism Project that was announced last year to develop high-quality journalism around the world, the new partnership will also offer a scholarship programme at the Asian School of Journalism. Also read, Facebook to take on Musical.ly with its Music Talent feature Campbell Brown, Facebook's Global Head of News Partnerships said, "The association with ACJ reflects our commitment to support the journalism ecosystem by training future journalists." Facebook has around 270 million users in India, and with the new partnership with the Asian School of Journalism it will b able to train the journalism student on fact-based and high integrity journalism in this digital era, Facebook further mentioned in a statement. Apart from the collaboration, the scholarship which is being offered by the Facebook will support five students from the ACJ in the careers including print, new media, radio, and TV. Facebook has further mentioned that it will be extending its collaboration with BOOMLive which is a Mumbai-based independent digital journalism initiative. BOOMLive is also a certified by the Poynter Institute which is an international fact-checking network. See also, Facebook might deploy 7500 content reviewers to curb objectionable content 24 x 7 Facebook is also planning towards strengthening its work and partnership around news literacy in India. The company has plans to further expand it across the local languages, Journalists, partner newsroom along with some fact checkers to develop an informed community. Facebook's Journalism Project will also serve as a hub that will promote high-quality journalism on its platform along with its collaboration with the news publishers and fact-checking organization around the world. Best Mobiles in India Facebook, To stay updated with latest technology news & gadget reviews, follow GizBot on Twitter YouTube and also subscribe to our notification. Allow Notifications UAE-based telecom firm Etisalat completed the sale of its stake in Thuraya Telecommunications company for Dh137 million ($37 million) to Star Satellite Communications, a media report said. The stake has been sold to Star, a subsidiary of Al Yah Satellite Communications Company (Yahsat), after the latter acquired no less than 75.001 per cent in Thuraya, reported Emirates news agency Wam, citing a statement from Etisalat to the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange. The final value of the share stood at $0.0553, accounting for $37 million of total Dh 137 million, Etisalat indicated. Star, a special purpose vehicle owned by Al Yah Satellite Communications (Yahsat), acquired the stake after receiving regulatory approvals, and meeting condition of Yahsat "acquiring at least 75.001 per cent ownership in Thuraya," Etisalat said. In April, Etisalat signed an agreement with Star to sell its 28.042 per cent stake in Thuraya Telecommunications Company. Air Force charts course for next generation ISR dominance By Secretary of the Air Force Public Affairs / Published August 02, 2018 Washington, D.C. (AFNS) -- Today the Air Force released the Next Generation Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance Dominance Flight Plan, an encompassing strategy about how the service maintains and enhances decisive advantage amidst the reemergence of great power competition and rapid technological change in the digital era. "We're the best in the world," said Lt. Gen. Dash Jamieson, Deputy Chief of Staff for ISR. "And in this realm, if you're not first, you're last. This flight plan informs how we continue to be the best." Driving the strategy are three pathways: pursuing disruptive technologies and opportunities; using multi-role, cross-domain ISR collection capabilities to bolster readiness and lethality; and investing in the foundational capabilities of people and partnerships to drive culture change. Supporting these pathways are ten lines of effort, each with an associated annex. The pathway to disruptive technologies and opportunities, for instance, is supported by advancements in Machine Intelligence (MI), new approaches to leveraging data, and agile capability development. Each line of effort has an implementation plan with goals and corresponding benchmarks. Some of the goals include: operating a data-centric enterprise, fielding new technology development from idea to execution via DevOps, and transitioning industrial-age constructs into digital-age approaches. The associated benchmarks will shape implementation over the course of the next decade. "We need to balance our ISR portfolio to meet the challenges of a highly contested environment," said Jamieson. "The future will consist of a multi-domain, multi-intelligence, government/commercial-partnered collaborative sensing grid. It will be resilient, persistent, and penetrating to support a range of options across the spectrum of conflict." Because of the scope of the Flight Plan, such collaboration and partnership is essential. Strengthening partnerships with allies, industry, academia and the other military services will be required to fully realize the plan. It will come down to people. "Airmen will always be our asymmetric advantage," said Chief Master Sgt. Mark Allen, senior enlisted advisor to the Deputy Chief of Staff for ISR. "Empowering them with next-generation technologies to repurpose, retool, and automate is crucial to evolving our capabilities and our culture for future conflicts." Such a culture will be more collaborative, enable rapid acquisition and fielding of capabilities, and embrace MI to create decision advantage and inject chaos into adversaries' decision-making. "We will match the innovative spirit of our Airmen with new ways of doing business," said Jamieson, "And that business is winning our nation's wars." The Next Generation ISR Dominance flight plan pathways and their lines of effort are: 1. Pursuing disruptive technologies/opportunities - Machine Intelligence - Data Strategy - Agile Capability Development 2. Using multi-role/cross-domain ISR collection to bolster readiness/lethality - High Altitude assets - Penetrating, Persistent, Multi-role capabilities - ISR from/for Space Operations - Publically Available Information - ISR from/for Cyberspace 3. Investing in foundational capabilities to drive culture change - Human Capital - Partnerships The unclassified version of the flight plan and annex summaries may be found here: https://www.af.mil/Portals/1/documents/5/isrflightplan.pdf. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address U.S. Army Europe Teams Up With Georgia, Other Partners for Exercise Aug. 2, 2018 By Army Staff Sgt. Tamika Dillard U.S. Army Europe VAZIANI TRAINING AREA, Georgia -- More than 3,000 participants from 13 allied and partner nations gathered here yesterday for the opening ceremony of this year's Exercise Noble Partner. Noble Partner 2018, which runs until Aug. 15, is a Georgian armed forces and U.S. Army Europe-led exercise in its fourth iteration. It's intended to support and enhance readiness and interoperability among forces of the United States and Georgia, and other participating nations and regional partners during a multinational training operation. Countries involved in this year's exercise include the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Lithuania, Estonia, Poland, Norway, Turkey, Ukraine, Azerbaijan and Armenia. Senior officials and leaders addressed the importance of the multinational exercise and partnership during the opening ceremony. "Your participation in these exercises is a guarantee of stability and peace," Georgian President Giorgi Margvelashvili said. "Today our unity, friendship and common aims are to protect peace, well-being and good health of our citizens. Your contribution to the strength of our states is colossal." He went on to say that through these exercises, the partnerships will advance Georgia's defense capabilities and ensure security in the region. This year the exercise supports the training of the Georgian armed forces' mechanized and special operations forces, U.S. regionally aligned forces, the U.S. Army, and National Guardsmen from the state of Georgia as part of the State Partnership Program. Valuable Security Cooperation Relationship Air Force Gen. Joseph L. Lengyel, chief of the National Guard Bureau, said this year's Noble Partner exercise offers him an excellent opportunity to reaffirm the great value of the security cooperation relationship that has existed for almost 25 years between the nation of Georgia and the U.S. Georgia National Guard. "This enduring partnership, based on mutual respect and common interests, has enhanced the capacities of our respective militaries and deepened our understanding and friendships between the U.S. and Georgia," Lengyel said. "Our partnership has expanded to focus more on combat-centric readiness as demonstrated by exercises like this. This exercise should lead to a better understanding of how we exercise, how we operate and how we work together toward a greater security cooperation effort." To demonstrate interoperability, readiness, capabilities and partnership, U.S. soldiers from the 2nd Cavalry Regiment and German Bundeswehr 39th Panzergrenadierbataillon exited two Georgia Army National Guard UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters to simulate air assault operations on a notional objective. "The U.S. is proud to be a strategic partner with Georgia and every nation present here at this exercise," Lengyel said. "We look forward to continuing our commitment into the future." NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address 'Strength through partnership': Noble Partner 18 kicks off multi-nation exercise in Europe By Staff Sgt. Tamika Dillard August 2, 2018 VAZIANI TRAINING AREA, Georgia -- More than 3,000 participants from 13 allied and partner nations gathered here Aug. 1 for the opening ceremony of Exercise Noble Partner 18. Noble Partner 2018 is a Georgian Armed Forces and U.S. Army Europe-led exercise in its forth iteration. The exercise is intended to support and enhance readiness and cooperation between Georgian forces, participating nations, regional partners and the United States. Countries involved in this year's exercise include the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Lithuania, Estonia, Poland, Norway, Turkey, Ukraine, Azerbaijan and Armenia. Noble Partner 2018 will be conducted at Vaziani and Camp Norio training areas in Georgia, Aug. 1-15. In attendance for the opening ceremony were Georgian President Giorgi Margvelashvili, Prime Minister of Georgia Mamuka Bakhtadze, Chairman of the Parliament of Georgia Irakli Kobakhidze, Minister of Defence of Georgia Levan Izoria, Chief of General Staff Maj. Gen. Vladimer Chachibaia, the U.S. Charge d'Affaires H.E. Elizabeth Rood and Chief of the National Guard Bureau Gen. Joseph Lengyel. Senior officials and leaders addressed the importance of the multinational exercise and partnership. "Your participation in these exercises is a guarantee of stability and peace," Margvelashvili said. "Today our unity, friendship, and common aims are to protect peace, well-being, and good health of our citizens. Your contribution to the strength of our states is colossal." He went on to say that the partnerships between the nations, through these exercises, will advance Georgia's defense capabilities and ensure security in the region. This year the exercise supports the training of the Georgian Armed Forces mechanized and special operations forces, U.S. regionally-aligned forces, and the U.S. Army and Air National Guard from the state of Georgia as part of the National Guard's State Partnership Program. "This exercise [Noble Partner 18] offers an excellent opportunity for me to reaffirm the great value of Georgia and the United States' State of Georgia National Guard's security cooperation relationship, now almost 25 years old," Lengyel said. "This enduring partnership, based on mutual respect and common interests, has enhanced the capacities of our respective militaries and deepened our understanding and friendships between the U.S. and Georgia. "Our partnership has expanded to focus more on combat centric readiness as demonstrated by exercises like this," Lengyel continued. "This exercise should lead to a better understanding of how we exercise; how we operate and how we work together toward a greater security cooperation effort." To demonstrate the seamless partnership between their countries, Soldiers from 2nd Cavalry Regiment and German Bundeswehr 39th Panzergrenadierbataillon exited two Georgia Army National Guard UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters to simulate air assault operations on an notional objective. "The U.S. is proud to be a strategic partner with Georgia and every nation present here at this exercise," Lengyel said. "We look forward to continuing our commitment into the future." NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Kuwait - Munitions Media/Public Contact: pm-cpa@state.gov Transmittal No: 18-16 WASHINGTON, AUG. 2, 2018 -- The State Department has made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale to Kuwait of various Mk- series munitions for an estimated cost of $40.4 million. The Defense Security Cooperation Agency delivered the required certification notifying Congress of this possible sale today. The Government of Kuwait has requested to buy one thousand twenty (1,020) Mk-82 500 lb. bombs, one thousand two (1,002) Mk-83 1000 lb. bombs and six hundred (600) Mk-84 2000 lb. bombs. Also included in the sale are general purpose bomb components and fuzes, support and test equipment, publications and technical documentation, personnel training and training equipment, transportation, facilities and construction, U.S. Government and contractor technical and logistics support services, and other related elements of logistic and program support. The estimated cost is $40.4 million. This proposed sale will contribute to the foreign policy and national security of the United States by helping to improve the security of a regional partner which is an important force for political stability and economic progress. The proposed sale will improve Kuwait's capability to meet current and future threats within the region. Kuwait intends to use these munitions with its current fleet of F/A-18 aircraft. Kuwait will have no difficulty absorbing these munitions and support into its armed forces. The proposed sale of this equipment and support will not alter the basic military balance in the region. The U.S. Air Force will award contracts when necessary to provide the defense articles ordered if items ordered are not available from U.S. stock or are considered lead-time away. There are no known offset agreements proposed in connection with this potential sale. Implementation of this proposed sale will not require the assignment of additional U.S. Government or contractor representatives to Kuwait. There will be no adverse impact on U.S. defense readiness as a result of this proposed sale. This notice of a potential sale is required by law and does not mean the sale has been concluded. All questions regarding this proposed Foreign Military Sale should be directed to the State Department's Bureau of Political Military Affairs, Office of Congressional and Public Affairs, pm-cpa@state.gov. -30- NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Victims of Saudi-led attack on Al-Hudaydah hit 52 IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency Tehran, Aug 2, IRNA -- Yemeni sources announced in a latest report that the number of victims of the Saudi-led coalition's attack on a hospital and fish sellers market in Al-Hudaydah Port reached 52. Concurrent with Saudi-led coalition's attack on Al-Thawra Hospital, fish sellers market was also bombed, as a result of which 40 civilians were also wounded. Given the scale of the attacks, casualties are projected to rise. Earlier, Yemeni local resources announced that Al-Hudaydah Hospital in west of Yemen came under attack by the Saudi fighters, which killed 26 and wounded 35. Yemeni Health Ministry spokesman Yousof al-Hazeri said that ambulances and rescue and relief automobiles were deliberately targeted by the Saudi fighters. Al-Hudaydah Port is the only crossing for humanitarian aid to the war-torn country, as 70 percent of foodstuff and pharmaceutical aid enter the country via the port. Yemen's defenseless people have been under massive attacks by the coalition for the past three years but Riyadh has reached none of its objectives in Yemen so far. Since March 2015, Saudi Arabia and some of its Arab allies have been carrying out deadly airstrikes against the Houthi Ansarullah movement in an attempt to restore power to fugitive former president Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi, a close ally of Riyadh. Over 14,000 Yemenis, including thousands of women and children, have lost their lives in the deadly military campaign. 8072**1396 NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address The finale of RIMPAC in Southern California Navy News Service Story Number: NNS180802-03 Release Date: 8/2/2018 8:32:00 AM By Cpl. Jacob Pruitt July 17, 2018 (NNS) -- It was no ordinary amphibious assault as Canadian soldiers jumped out the back of assault amphibious vehicles (AAV) operated by U.S. Marines of 3rd Assault Amphibian Battalion. The AAVs mimicked splashing out of a naval vessel and swiftly brought the soldiers to the beachfront. The Canadian soldiers conducting the attack are Van Doos from the Royal 22e Regiment and their mission was to clear the combat town located at Red Beach, a training area aboard Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California, July 13, 2018. The Canadian soldiers trained alongside U.S. Marines at Camp Pendleton for weeks as part of Rim of the Pacific, or RIMPAC, exercise. During this final training day, U.S. Marines with 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, practiced defending the beach while fortified in the steel buildings throughout the combat town. The U.S. Marines and Canadian soldiers relied on the skills and tactics learned throughout RIMPAC to complete this culminating exercise. "This was a once in a lifetime training opportunity," said Canadian Army Lt. Mark Latremouille, a platoon commander with 2nd Battalion, 22e Regiment. "Fundamentally a lot of [what] we do is the same, but training opportunities like this beach assault and the Infantry Immersion Trainer, which we completed earlier in the exercise, really push[ed] us and taught us some hard lessons that needed to be learned. I'm glad that working with our partner nations and getting to share tactics and knowledge has made us better, more efficient soldiers." RIMPAC provides a unique training opportunity that strengthens international maritime partnerships, enhances interoperability and improves the readiness of participating forces for a wide range of potential operations. After landing on the beach, Canadian soldiers proceeded to secure a foothold on the beachhead before advancing to the combat town to conduct room clearing. "This training went very well, not only for my guys but the Canadians as well," said U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Killian Shelton, a platoon sergeant with 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment. "We set up an urban defense while they conducted an amphibious assault. Both sides were adapting to the opposing team's strategies and learning from prior mistakes in real time." Both forces demonstrated immense skill and tactical acumen as they carried out their respective missions. Throughout the Southern California portion of RIMPAC, the U.S. Marines, Canadian soldiers and Mexican marines demonstrated the robust capability, adaptability, and partnership, forging unbreakable bonds that will last a lifetime. "It has been a pleasure working with our Canadian and Mexican partner forces," said Sgt. Maj. Daniel E. Mangrum, sergeant major, 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit. "By the end of the exercise, we've gotten to see some of the bonds and friendships that training like [RIMPAC] facilitates. From a distance it's hard to tell where our Marines ended and our partner nations began, the way our forces merged into a seamless fighting force for this training and the way they treated each other was a great thing to get to be a part of." The Southern California portion of RIMPAC 2018, which spanned from June 27 to July 15, has come to a conclusion for the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit and its subordinate elements of the Marine Air-Ground Task Force, however the bonds made will last each service member a lifetime and the tactics shared will make each participating member more capable and adaptable to respond to crisis. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Israeli Head of Naval Operations Visits USS Bonhomme Richard during RIMPAC Navy News Service Story Number: NNS180802-08 Release Date: 8/2/2018 12:53:00 PM By Mass Communications Specialist 2nd Class William Sykes July 21, 2018 (NNS) -- The amphibious assault ship USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD 6) welcomed Israeli Navy Rear Adm. Ido Ben-Moshe, head of naval operations, for a ship's tour, July 18, during the Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) 2018 exercise. Rear Adm. Cedric Pringle, commander, Expeditionary Strike Group (ESG) 3, held an office call with Ben-Moshe, along with Israeli Navy Capt. Amir Gutman, Cmdr. Omer Segev, and Lt. Cmdr. Ran Koval followed by a tour highlighting LHD capabilities. The tour included a trip to the pilothouse, debark control, medical spaces and the ship's well deck. Each location, presented by a subject matter expert, highlighted different aspects and capabilities of their workcenter. While touring the ship, Pringle and Ben-Moshe discussed utilization of amphibious ships and their future in the world's navies. Both agreed on the importance of operators being involved when it comes to ship design. "It takes so long to design and build a ship," said Pringle. "Therefore, it would be very beneficial to use the experience of those who have operated and maintained the ships, so they may collaborate with design engineers in creating a better ship. The engineers may have the technical knowledge, but they lack the experience that Sailors have to make those designs practical." Ben-Moshe concurred, stating that the Israeli Navy has been incorporating similar ideas when designing and building their ships in order to make them more effective for the user. "In Israeli ships, you will find that it's not the engineers who control the design, but the sailors," said Ben-Moshe. "For example, in order to build a bridge, you must have been working on the bridge for a while. You can't do it just from plans as an engineer." The tour concluded at the quarterdeck, where Ben-Moshe presented Pringle with a commemorative challenge coin. Bonhomme Richard recently completed its transition to San Diego, California, as part of a homeport change, where it is scheduled to undergo upgrades to operate the F-35B Lightning II. Bonhomme Richard is currently serving as the Combined Task Force (CTF) 176 flagship during the exercise. RIMPAC 2018 is a biennial multinational exercise designed to strengthen operational readiness and improve multinational interoperability. Twenty-five nations, 46 ships, five submarines, and more than 200 aircraft and 25,000 personnel are participating in RIMPAC from June 27 to Aug. 2 in and around the Hawaiian Islands and Southern California. The world's largest international maritime exercise, RIMPAC provides a unique training opportunity while fostering and sustaining cooperative relationships among participants critical to ensuring the safety of sea lanes and security on the world's oceans. RIMPAC 2018 is the 26th exercise in the series that began in 1971. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Dutch UUV team supports mine warfare mission in RIMPAC SOCAL Navy News Service Story Number: NNS180802-11 Release Date: 8/2/2018 1:06:00 PM By Lt. Andrew Thompson NAVAL BASE POINT LOMA, Calif. (NNS) -- A six-person team of mine countermeasures (MCM) experts from the Royal Netherlands Navy (RNLN) partnered with the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) coastal defence vessel HMCS Whitehorse (MM 705) to search for training sea mines during the Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise in the Southern California (SOCAL) area of operations. The RNLN team embarked HMCS Whitehorse to form a highly adaptive and flexible mine hunting task element from July 3 to 27. Working together, the teams were able to simultaneously launch three REMUS 100 Unmanned Underwater Vehicles (UUV) to scan the ocean floor using state-of-the-art sonar technology, searching for mine-like shapes in support of the larger Combined Task Force (CTF) 177's mine warfare mission during the exercise. "RIMPAC is a really special training opportunity for us. We get to work with partners from around the world; countries that we often do not work with back in Europe," said RNLN Lieutenant Maurice van Ginneken, the UUV team commander. "We embark ships, operate from land bases, or deploy from whichever platform is available to execute the mission. In this case, we embarked HMCS Whitehorse, which was very suitable for this kind of operation." The RNLN UUV team concentrated solely on mine hunting, while the HMCS Whitehorse crew provided the infrastructure and security that allowed the UUV operators to maintain their focus. The team carefully planned each UUV mission in full consideration of the maritime security environment. Once complete, the UUVs were recovered from the water and the sonar imagery was downloaded for analysis. After a full post-mission analysis, the operators generated a list of coordinates for contacts that resemble sea mines. The contacts were then shared with the wider Combined Task Group (CTG) 177.2, one of two MCM Task Groups within CTF 177, for further prosecution by clearance divers from a Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN) Clearance Diving Team (CDT) or a Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) Explosive Ordnance Disposal Team (EODT). RIMPAC SOCAL's mine warfare training environment allowed the RNLN team to finalize a shift in UUV leadership responsibility from the explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) community to the MCM community in their home country. Three members of the six-person team who participated in RIMPAC will go on to operate and grow the UUV mission within the Dutch MCM community. The combined Dutch-Canadian team contributed reliable mine clearance efforts as part of the CTG 177.2, led by the U.S. Navy's Commander, Mine Countermeasures Squadron (MCMRON 3). The MCM elements in CTG 177.2 also included RCN coastal defense vessel HMCS Yellowknife (MM 706), Helicopter Mine Countermeasures Squadron Fourteen (HM-14), and the U.S. MCM ship USS Ardent (MCM 12). CTF 177, led by U.S. Navy Rear Adm. Dave Welch, commander, Naval Surface and Mine Warfighting Development Center (SMWDC), and the U.S. Navy's Global Mine Warfare Commander, is comprised of 26 units with approximately 1,100 personnel representing the United States, Australia, Canada, England, Japan, the Netherlands and New Zealand. It is conducting mine warfare operations in support of RIMPAC. Twenty-five nations, 46 ships, five submarines, and 200 aircraft and 25,000 personnel are participating in RIMPAC from June 27 to Aug. 2 in and around the Hawaiian Islands and Southern California. The world's largest international maritime exercise, RIMPAC provides a unique training opportunity while fostering and sustaining cooperative relationships among participants critical to ensuring the safety of sea lanes and security of the world's oceans. RIMPAC 2018 is the 26th exercise in the series that began in 1971. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address SPAWAR Aims to Increase Speed to Capability at Trident Warrior 2018 Navy News Service Story Number: NNS180802-12 Release Date: 8/2/2018 1:11:00 PM By Elisha Gamboa, Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command Public Affairs SAN DIEGO (NNS) -- Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command (SPAWAR) worked directly with the fleet to increase the speed at which new and emerging technologies are put into the hands of the warfighter during Trident Warrior 2018 (TW18) June 18 through July 31. In its 16th year of execution directed by SPAWAR, Trident Warrior is an annual large-scale, at-sea field experiment where the Navy identifies warfighting capability gaps and provide innovative solutions in an operational environment. SPAWAR scientists and engineers joined multiple Navy organizations at TW18, to work alongside Sailors during experimentations of more than 28 key maritime initiatives, focused on the rapid development and deployment of new capabilities and innovative technologies to aid maritime forces in key domains of warfare - air, land, sea and cyber. "Our Navy and our nation are experiencing an unprecedented degree of competition in the maritime environment," said SPAWAR Commander Rear Adm. Christian Becker. "Trident Warrior is one effort to increase the pace of technology delivery, ensuring U.S. interests are protected around the world, and allowing us the ability to compete and win today, tomorrow and in coming decades." During the event, SPAWAR experimented with a variety of technologies, including warfare systems, cybersecurity capabilities, and network and communication capabilities. The Program Executive Office for Command, Control, Communications, Computers and Intelligence (PEO C4I) led a command and control experimentation effort conducting four sets of tests, one of which included testing a new suite of artificial intelligence technologies. Directed toward supporting the Composite Warfare Commanders and the Tactical Flag Command and Control watch floor, the test provides assessment and prediction tools to evaluate the operational environment in real time. Additionally, SPAWAR executed the CyberSafe initiative, where multiple organizations conducted experimentation scenarios using integrated forces afloat, aloft and ashore. The experiment's purpose was to evaluate tactics, techniques and procedures designed to provide the fleet with enhanced cyber resiliency during a cyber-attack. "We conducted more than 30 hours of testing over six days with approximately 80 observation logs collected," said Richard Weiss, Trident Warrior focus area lead for CyberSafe. "The experiment successfully assessed a network conditions construct for use as a warfighting tool to enable all levels of naval forces to protect designated mission capabilities and respond to compromised mission systems." SPAWAR also worked alongside Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory during the testing of Light Fidelity (Li-Fi), a next generation secure mobile networking technology that transmits data over commercial light-emitting diode lighting infrastructure that creates Li-Fi hotspots for internet/intranet network connectivity that is identical to Wi-Fi. "Li-Fi testing was conducted aboard USS Carl Vinson," said Mark Steers, Trident Warrior focus area lead for Li-Fi. "Over the course of three days of flight ops with over 100 recoveries and catapult launches, the experiment determined the operational impact of real flight operations. The test concluded that despite the significant shock, vibration and noise of the flight operations occurring on the flight deck above, there was no measurable negative impact on the wireless communication link." Experiments were conducted on board and in coordination with more than 20 Navy platforms including USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70), USS Lake Champlain (CG 57), USS Dewey (DDG 105), USS Sterett (DDG 104), USS Halsey (DDG 97) and the experimental medium-displacement unmanned surface vehicle (MDUSV), known as Sea Hunter. "It is paramount to never lose sight of who our customer is at the end of the day, and that is the fleet." said Daniel Hallock, Trident Warrior deputy director. "We shouldn't do development in a bubble. Our research and development efforts need to be exposed to the end users early and often to ensure we're providing relevant technologies and solutions." TW18 participants included organizations such as SPAWAR Systems Center Pacific, PEO C4I, Naval Air Systems Command, Naval Sea Systems Command, the Naval Research Laboratory and the Office of Naval Research. "Trident Warrior is a command agnostic event," said Cdr. Ed DeWinter, TW18 director and Navy Warfare Development Command liaison to Commander, U.S. Third Fleet. "We want the best practices and technologies available to assist the warfighter regardless of government origin. We cast a wide net encompassing all science and technology organizations within the Navy, the Department of Defense and with our coalition partners." Additionally, the SPAWAR Reserve Program had a number of reservists providing their expertise to support the event. "Trident Warrior puts emerging technologies and doctrine in the hands of the fleet for evaluation in an operational environment," said Lt. Constantine Farah, a SPAWAR reservist supporting TW18. "During testing of these technologies, SPAWAR reservists were able to provide relevant skills and insight to enhance Navy cyber warfare capabilities from seabed to space." TW18 was conducted in and around the Hawaiian Islands and off the coast of Southern California, in conjunction with the Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) 2018. RIMPAC is the world's largest international maritime warfare exercise that helps participating nations foster and sustain the cooperative relationships that are critical to ensuring the safety of sea lanes and security on the world's oceans. "It is fiscally prudent to incorporate Trident Warrior experimentation into the RIMPAC," said Capt. Chris Sund, experimentation and innovation director, Commander U.S. Third Fleet. "By conducting experimentation concurrently with RIMPAC, the Navy doesn't incur additional costs associated with scheduling assets and forces for the sole purpose of experimentation." Next year's event is scheduled for July-August, 2019 off the coast of southern California. Participants will take what they learned this year and apply it to new developments and experiments in an effort to speed the development and deployment of warfighting technologies. SPAWAR identifies, develops, delivers and sustains information warfighting capabilities supporting naval, joint, coalition and other national missions. SPAWAR consists of more than 10,000 active duty military and civil service professionals located around the world and close to the fleet to keep SPAWAR at the forefront of research, engineering and acquisition to provide and sustain information warfare capabilities to the fleet. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address At least 55 Yemenis killed in Saudi strikes on hospital, fishing harbor in Hudaydah Iran Press TV Thu Aug 2, 2018 06:03PM At least 55 people have been killed after warplanes of the Saudi-led military coalition hit a hospital and a fishing harbor in Yemen's western province of Hudaydah. Yemen's Health Ministry said the Thursday brutal strikes also left at least 130 wounded, some in critical condition. Yemen's Arabic-language al-Masirah television network, citing its correspondent, reported that Saudi-led jets struck al-Thorah Hospital in the provincial capital Hudaydah and a fishing port in the province almost simultaneously. According to the correspondent, the death toll was expected to rise due to the magnitude of the airstrikes, particularly on the hospital. The report also said that the attacked hospital had launched an urgent appeal for Yemeni citizens to donate blood. On Wednesday, at least nine fishermen were killed after Saudi-led warplanes targeted their ship off the coast of Hudaydah. 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 former Yemeni President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, a staunch ally of Riyadh, and crush the popular Ansarullah movement. The offensive initially consisted of a bombing campaign, but was later coupled with a naval blockade and the deployment of ground forces into Yemen. The imposed war, however, has so far failed to achieve its goal, thanks to firm resistance mounted by Yemeni troops and Houthi fighters in defense of the city. The war was also launched despite warnings that it would compound the impoverished nation's humanitarian crisis. The Yemeni Ministry of Human Rights announced in a statement on March 25 that the war had left 600,000 civilians dead and injured until then. 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 need of food aid, including 8.4 million threatened by severe hunger. Several 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. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address UK-based Lux Assure, a specialist in the provision of chemical monitoring and management solutions, has appointed Saudi Arabia-based First Style Establishment for Trading to represent the company in the kingdom. First Style is a leading supplier focused in oil and gas, electricity, and petrochemical sectors. The company will act as a sales agent for Lux Assures corrosion management products, CoMic and Ommica, to existing and potential customers in the region, said a statement from the company. Emma Perfect, chief executive officer, Lux Assure said: We are delighted to announce this agency agreement with First Style. This relationship means we will be able to better serve our clients in Saudi Arabia, allowing them straight-forward access to our cutting-edge technologies, she said. We are committed to growing our business in the Middle East and believe First Style is ideally placed to help us do so, through its excellent network and marketing and logistics expertise, she added. Nasser Al-Jumaid, chairman of First Style, said: Breaking into the Saudi Arabian market is an exciting step forward in Lux Assures growth, and we are delighted to have been appointed on behalf of the company. We look forward to representing Lux Assures innovative technologies to our ever-expanding client base, he said. Lux Assures flagship products were successfully deployed in Saudi Arabia for the first time in 2017. One project saw Lux Assure utilise its Ommica MEG (mono-ethylene glycol) in water analysis kit, to evaluate the efficacy of a MEG regeneration unit. Ommica is a detection kit designed for use on or offshore to determine the concentration of methanol or MEG in oil or water. The presence of these chemicals in hydrocarbon fluids can reduce the quality and value of produced fluids. Traditionally, testing for these chemicals involves sending samples offsite to a third-party lab which is costly and causes delays in receiving results. Perfect continued: Securing this deployment was a significant achievement for us. Were pleased to see our products and services recognised by a major operator which is seeking a more cost-effective, accurate and timely solution. CoMic, our innovative technology for monitoring the functional dosage of corrosion inhibitor within a system, was also trialled in the region at the end of 2017 and we are looking forward to building our client base and portfolio in the area with the support of First Style, she added. Both technologies have been successfully deployed across the global oil and gas industry, delivering cost-effective and accurate results in the field, protecting and extending the lifetime of critical assets and enabling informed decision making. CoMic and Ommica together represent a revolution in monitoring and managing difficult-to-detect chemicals in hydrocarbons, condensates and water, specifically the thermodynamic hydrate inhibitors and corrosion inhibitors used to protect oilfield assets, on and offshore, it stated. TradeArabia News Service NATO troops partaking in major drills in Georgia Iran Press TV Thu Aug 2, 2018 08:12AM Thousands of NATO troops are taking part in large-scale military drills in Georgia, as relations between Moscow and the US-led military alliance continue to be strained. Georgia started hosting the two-week war games on Wednesday, with more than 3,000 troops from 13 countries including the US, France, Germany, the UK, and Turkey at the Vasiani and Camp Norio training centers near the capital, Tbilisi. "The scenario of the combined multinational exercise includes command and field training with live fire, engagement of maneuver and combat support elements in defensive and offensive operation," Georgia's Defense Ministry said in a statement. The drills are "yet another proof of the growing support which Georgia has from its strategic partners, NATO's member states," it added. This year marks the fourth time Georgia has hosted the drills known as the Noble Partner exercises and comes just a few days before the 10th anniversary of its war with Russia. The two neighbors fought a war in August 2008 over the breakaway Georgian region of South Ossetia. Moscow continues to garrison troops there and supports another separatist region, Abkhazia, recognizing both regions' independent status. Speaking at the opening ceremony of the drills, Georgian President Giorgi Margvelashvili accused Russia of occupying part of his country. "Today, you are standing on the territory of a country 20 percent of which is absolutely illegally occupied by our neighbor Russia. But you are standing on the soil of the country whose soldiers are standing next to you and who will peacefully restore the territorial integrity of this country," he said. Russian officials have yet to comment on the drills, but in previous years, Moscow had warned that the war games could destabilize the region, a charge denied by Georgian officials. Russia is also conducting its own military exercises simultaneously in the North Caucasus region, which borders Georgia. The Russian drills kicked off on August 1 and are set to continue until August 15. Georgia, a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia, is not a member of NATO but contributes to the NATO Response Force (NRF). Russia is generally unsettled by NATO's move eastward, considering it a threat to its security. In recent years, NATO has staged multiple war games near Russia's western borders, arguing that it intends to protect its members in Eastern Europe against the so-called "Russia threat." Moscow dismisses the allegations that it poses a threat to regional countries and says the US-led bloc is creating Russophobia. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Israel tightens embargo on Gaza, halts fuel shipment Iran Press TV Thu Aug 2, 2018 08:08AM Israel has once again banned the entry of gas and fuel into Gaza as the regime puts more pressure on the already-besieged coastal enclave under the pretext of fiery kite protests by Palestinians there. The Israeli minister of military affairs, Avigdor Lieberman, on Wednesday ordered a freeze on all fuel and gas shipments into Gaza through the Kerem Shalom crossing, the main point of entry of international aid into the strip, until further notice. Lieberman claimed the decision aimed to stop the Palestinian protesters from setting balloons on fire and flying them into the Israeli-occupied territories. "The return of the Kerem Shalom Crossing to full operation is dependent upon a total end to the balloon launches and clashes" near the fence separating Gaza from the Israeli-occupied lands, his office said. Israel had also halted the flow of fuel, gas and commercial goods into Gaza in July, but later rescinded the measure. Flying kites and balloons has become a new mode of resistance since Palestinians began their weekly protests near Gaza's border on March 30. The protests peaked on May 14, when some 40,000 Gazans protested along the fence on the same day that the US opened its embassy in Jerusalem al-Quds in a provocative move. Israeli snipers and special troops have shot and killed nearly 130 peaceful Palestinian protesters, sparking international outcry over the disproportionate use of force. Israeli officials have tried to put a criminal spin on the protests, claiming that kites and balloons launched by Palestinians have burned thousands of acres of farmland, forests and nature reserves in the regions around the Gaza Strip. Israel's deadly tactics in confronting weekly Friday protests have drawn international condemnations. The Gaza Strip has been under an Israeli siege since June 2007. The blockade has caused a decline in the standards of living as well as unprecedented levels of unemployment and unrelenting poverty. Under the blockade, Gaza, which hosts some two million Palestinians, has suffered an economic and humanitarian crisis. The United Nations has warned that the overall conditions could render the territory "uninhabitable" by 2020. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address U.S. Senate Sends Trump Bill Enabling Him To Waive Russian Military Sanctions RFE/RL August 02, 2018 The U.S. Senate 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. The Senate's 87-10 vote sends the bill, which was passed last week by the House of Representatives, to the White House, where President Donald Trump is expected to sign it. U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis sought the Russian-sanction-waiver authority, which was approved as part of a massive defense bill, saying it would help countries like India that had close ties with Moscow in the past but were now trying to "pull away from the Russian orbit." Mattis in a letter to Congress last 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 purchasing weapons from sanctioned Russian defense and intelligence organizations 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. During debate on the Senate bill, Senator Robert Menendez, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said he was concerned that the waiver provision will undermine U.S. efforts to crack down on Russia. 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 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 Delhi 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 are currently 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 the S-400 missile-defense system 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 Senate-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. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has warned that Turkey will seek international arbitration if the United States refuses to deliver F-35 fighter jets that Ankara has already purchased. With reporting by AP, AFP, dpa, and Reuters Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/senate-sends- trump-bill-enabling-him-waive-russian-military-sanctions-turkey-f-35 -fighter-jets-delivery-barred/29406269.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. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Arab Coalition's Airstrike on Hospital in Yemen's Hodeidah Kills 42 - Reports Sputnik News 21:36 02.08.2018 DUBAI (Sputnik) - The Arab coalition carried out an airstrike on a hospital in the Yemeni Red Sea port of Hodeidah, killing 42 people, Al Masirah reported on Thursday. According to the pro-Houthi Al Masirah broadcaster, more than 20 bodies of victims were transported to a military hospital. A spokesperson for the Houthi Healthcare Ministry said that the airstrike targeted ambulance cars at the entrance of the hospital. "The airstrikes were carried out on ambulance cars at the entrance to the Al Thawra hospital. All the victims were civilians," the spokesperson told the Al Jazeera broadcaster. The Al Thawra hospital reportedly called on local residents to help those injured by donating blood. On June 13, the Yemeni government forces, backed by the Saudi-led coalition, launched an offensive to seize the port of Hodeidah from the Shia Houthi rebels. The operation continues despite the UN warnings of a possible humanitarian catastrophe. Last week, UN Special Envoy Martin Griffiths held talks with the Houthis in the Yemeni capital of Sanaa, but failed to persuade the rebels to withdraw from al Hodeidah. Yemen has been engulfed in an armed conflict between the government headed by President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi and the Houthi movement for several years. The Saudi-led coalition of mostly Persian Gulf nations has been carrying out airstrikes against the Houthis at Hadi's request since March 2015. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address China Wants to Exclude US From War Games With ASEAN in Disputed Area - Reports Sputnik News 18:17 02.08.2018(updated 20:09 02.08.2018) The past few months have reportedly seen Beijing building military facilities and deploying defense systems on the disputed Spratly Islands in the South China Sea, which are also claimed by Taiwan, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam. China and the 10 countries from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have agreed on regularly conducting joint military exercises, which should not involve countries from outside the region, the AFP news agency cited the code of conduct's proposed text as saying. "We believe that without any disturbances from the outside, code of conduct consultations will accelerate," Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi pointed out. He praised "leapfrog progress in advancing ASEAN-China relations from quantity to quality," adding that the first China-ASEAN maritime drills are due to be held in October 2018. Wang was echoed by Singapore's Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan, who touted the draft code of conduct as a "major achievement". "The code of conduct is meant to [] ensure that peace, stability, and confidence are built up so that we can continue to make collective progress between ASEAN and China while we take time to resolve the territorial disputes," he said on Thursday. In this context, AFP quoted Hoang Thi Ha, of the ASEAN Studies Centre in Singapore, as saying that Beijing's proposal to exclude outside countries "is obviously targeted at the US, which has been dominating the waters of the Western Pacific and the South China Sea in particular." Ha stressed that Beijing is apparently sending a "subtle message to the world that ASEAN and China could work together and things are progressing well, hence there is no need for external involvement in the South China Sea issue." In early June, Lt. Gen. He Lei, vice president of the People's Liberation Army's Academy of Military Science, made it plain that China has a sovereign right to deploy its forces and equipment in the Spratly Islands and that "anyone who criticizes China's actions is trying to interfere in its domestic affairs." The statement came after US Defense Secretary James Mattis lambasted Beijing for building up a military presence on the disputed South China Sea islands. Earlier, two US warships had reportedly conducted a freedom of navigation operation (FONOP) near the Paracel Islands, claimed by China, in the South China Sea. The Chinese Defense Ministry condemned the operation, claiming that the warships had violated Chinese sovereignty and undermined strategic mutual trust, peace and security in the South China Sea. The Spratly Islands are a disputed group of islets, cays and reefs, which are claimed by countries including China, Taiwan, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam as part of their territory. In the past several years, China has devoted extensive resources to reclaiming many of these reefs from the sea and forming artificial islands, which has added to the debate about sovereignty over the region. ASEAN includes Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address US to Cut Troops Fighting al-Qaeda in Africa to Focus on Russia, China Reports Sputnik News 15:46 02.08.2018 The US elite Special Operations Forces are deployed in about 12 African nations, including Cameroon, Niger and Somalia, where they help local authorities combat terrorist groups such as al-Qaeda* and its affiliate al-Shabab. The Pentagon is considering mulling a substantial reduction of the US forces in Africa, CNN cited several US defense sources as saying on Thursday. The plan, which was submitted to chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Joseph Dunford, specifically stipulates drawing down US Special Operations Forces in Africa, which are tasked with tackling terrorist groups in more than ten African countries, including Somalia, Cameroon and Niger. US Africa Command believes that the planned reduction is in line with the Trump administration's new defense strategy, which focuses on containing Russia and China "as opposed to counterterrorism missions", according to the sources. At the same time, Pentagon spokesperson Maj. Sheryll Klinkel said that it is still unclear whether Secretary of Defense James Mattis will give the go-ahead to the plan. "No decisions or changes have been made yet to the forces operating in Africa. The Department consistently reviews plans, operations and military investments across the globe to develop the best options that address the constantly evolving threat to US national interests," Klinkel pointed out. In April, the commander of US special operations in Africa, Maj. Gen. Marcus Hicks, told CNN about the unstable security situation in the continent's West, pledging to help local authorities "degrade the enemies that we share in common." "The al Qaeda- and ISIS-inspired threats in the Lake Chad Basin and here in the Sahel are very real and continue to grow in strength," Hicks warned. In late January, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Strategy Elbridge Colby told reporters that the new US National Defense Strategy does not seek to stoke confrontation with either Russia or China but recognizes that competition exists between these countries and the United States. US Defense Secretary James Mattis unveiled the strategy in a speech on January 19, when he stressed that its primary focus had shifted from fighting terrorism to great power competition, primarily with Moscow and Beijing. "Al-Qaeda, a terrorist group banned in Russia Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Vietnam's Su-22 Crash Could Be Caused by Upgrade Made in Ukraine - Source Sputnik News 13:42 02.08.2018 MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The crash of Soviet-designed Su-22 jet of Vietnamese military that occurred in late July could have been caused by the upgrades made in Ukraine, an informed source from Vietnam told Sputnik Thursday. The jet crashed in the north of Vietnam last Thursday, killing two pilots. "The reason of the crash is probably the fact that the aircraft was upgraded in Ukraine in 2007 and was being serviced by non-authorized Ukrainian companies," the source said. Su-17/22 is a variable-sweep wing fighter. These aircraft, originally developed by the JSC Sukhoi Company (thenSukhoi Design Bureau) in the 1960s, are currently operated by military in Angola, Iran, Poland and Vietnam. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Israel Reimposes Fuel Embargo on Gaza to Stop Palestinian Attacks - Ministry Sputnik News 10:50 02.08.2018(updated 10:51 02.08.2018) TEL AVIV (Sputnik) - Israel tightened the blockade of the Gaza Strip by introducing for an indefinite period of time a ban on the deliveries of fuel to the territory in response to Palestine's ongoing airborne arson attacks, the Israeli Defense Ministry said on Thursday. "[Israeli] Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman ordered to ban for an indefinite period the transportation of petroleum and gas via the Kerem Shalom check point to the Gaza Strip from now on [August 2]. The decision has been taken in connection to the continued arson terrorism and clashes on the border," the ministry's statement read. In early July, the Israeli authorities already imposed embargo on deliveries of any fuel to the Gaza Strip, but then lifted it after the number of Palestinian attacks reduced. The Israeli authorities have been trying to put an end to the disturbances on the Israeli-Gaza border, caused by continued shelling and the launch of arson balloons by Hamas militants into the Israeli territories, using economic sanctions against the movement and threatening to launch a new large-scale offensive against it. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address China, Southeast Asian Nations Agree to Draft of Conduct Pact in South China Sea By VOA News August 02, 2018 China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations have approved a draft of a proposed agreement to prevent fighting in the disputed South China Sea. China and the 10-nation bloc, which includes four claimants involved in the territorial dispute, have been engaged in sporadic negotiations for years to craft a "code of conduct" aimed at preventing violent outbreaks in the region. Singapore Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan said Thursday, at the start of the annual meeting of top diplomats from China and the association's member nations, the development is a "milestone." Chinese counterpart Wang Yi said approval of the draft was "good news" and a "breakthrough." China has transformed seven disputed reefs into man-made islands replete with three runways, surface-to-air missiles and other weapons systems. Without naming China, ASIAN foreign ministers cited Beijing's actions, saying in a statement they "took note of the concerns expressed by some countries on the land reclamations in the area, which have eroded trust and confidence, increased tensions and may undermine peace, security and stability in the region.'' China has responded to criticism for militarizing the strategic waterway by claiming it has the right to build on its territory and defend them at all costs. In addition to China and Taiwan, ASEAN members Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam have had claims in the South China Sea, a pathway for much of the commerce and oil that help bolster Asia's bustling economies. U.S. military ships and jets patrol the waters, a presence that Washington maintains is designed to promote freedom of navigation and overflight. China contends, however, the United States is meddling in Asian affairs. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address UN to Convene Yemen Peace Talks in Geneva By VOA News August 02, 2018 The United Nations special envoy to Yemen is planning to invite the warring parties to Geneva next month to discuss a framework for peace talks. Martin Griffiths told the Security Council that "a political solution" to end the war in Yemen was "available," and urged world powers to support the new push for peace negotiations. Griffiths said the Sept. 6 talks "will provide the opportunity for the parties, among other things, to discuss the framework for negotiations, relevant confidence-building measures and specific plans for moving the process forward." His announcement came just hours after the Saudi-led coalition conducted airstrikes Thursday in the rebel-held port city of Hodeida, killing at least 28 people and wounding at least 70. The airstrikes took place close to the city's main public hospital situated near a popular fish market, Yemeni medical officials said. The last attempt at peace talks for Yemen broke down in 2016. A proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran has been raging in Yemen since 2015, when a Saudi-led military coalition intervened to restore the internationally recognized government and push back the Iran-backed Houthi rebels. The war has claimed more than 10,000 lives and left millions of people on the brink of starvation. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Global travel prices are expected to rise sharply in 2019, with hotels going up 3.7 per cent, and flights 2.6 per cent, driven by a growing global economy and rising oil prices, according to an industry forecast. Airfares are likely to become more expensive due to rising oil prices, the competitive pressure from the shortage of pilots, potential trade wars and increasing fare segmentation to improve yield. In some countries, including New Zealand, India, Germany, Chile and Norway, airfares are expected to rise by more than 7 per cent, said the annual Global Travel Forecast released by Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) and Carlson Wagonlit Travel (CWT). Hotel rates in 2019 will also rise, driven by the overall increase in air travel, which will fuel demand for rooms. Hotel prices are expected to rise by over 5 per cent in Asia and Europe, by 2.1 per cent in North America and to fall by 1.3 per cent in Latin America. "While most major markets appear to be trending in the right direction, downside risks remain for the global economy given the rise of protectionist policies, the risk of stoking trade wars and Brexit uncertainty, said Michael W. McCormick, GBTA executive director and COO. - TradeArabia News Service Militant Groups Look to Exploit Somaliland-Puntland Tensions By Ibrahim Ahmed August 02, 2018 As fighting and fiery rhetoric increase between the Somali region of Puntland and the self-declared independent state of Somaliland, some analysts fear that Islamist militant groups may try to exploit any instability to plant deeper roots in the area. "Our concern is that were there to be a direct conflict between Somaliland and Puntland, the security forces will be preoccupied with that, and would not be in a position to contain Al-Shabab or the Islamic State," says E.J. Hogendoorn, deputy director of the Africa Program at the International Crisis Group. "Obviously, this will give them the chance to expand their reach," he told VOA. Sool and Sanaag Somaliland and Puntland have had a long-running dispute over the provinces of Sool and Sanaag, which run from the Gulf of Aden all the way to the eastern borders of Ethiopia. Violence erupted again this January when Somaliland troops attacked and captured the town of Tukaraq, which headquartered a customs station for Puntland. The Somaliland attack on Tukaraq was carried out while President Mohammed Abdullahi Farmajo of Somalia was visiting Puntland, in what the ICG described as a "warning from Somaliland to the Somali government against getting involved in the contested areas." Ali Ibrahim, a development expert working with an International NGO in Somalia, said it is hard to determine the strength of the sides in the disputed region. "Both sides claim they are stronger, well-armed, and have the necessary skills to defend their 'land'," Ibrahim said. Shabab, IS have toeholds Although Puntland and Somaliland have enjoyed relative peace and security compared to the rest of Somalia, there are pockets where al-Shabab and the IS faction are present and continue to threaten and attack security forces, mostly in Puntland. On July 20, al-Shabab seized the small town of Af Urur, 95 kilometers south of the coastal city of Bosaso, in Puntland. The town has been a scene of previous heavy fighting between the terror group and Puntland security forces, including the attack of June 10, 2017, described as the deadliest on security forces since Puntland's founding in 1998. "There's a mountain range that kind of basically spans this region, called the Galgala Mountains, in which there's been an al-Shabab faction for quite some time," said the ICG's Hogendoorn. "As far as we know, they do operate within this region. And, depending on whether you consider it to be Somaliland or Puntland areas, this is an issue." The Islamic State in Somalia, which broke away from al-Shabab, is reported to have presence along the coastal region of Puntland. "ISIS in Somalia doesn't control any territory, but maintains influence and a very small presence in northern Puntland," said U.S. Air Force Major Karl Wiest, spokesman of U.S. Africa Command. In May of this year, IS fighters attacked a Puntland army base near the town of Qandala on the Gulf of Aden. They had taken over Qandala twice in 2016 and 2017 before been driven out by Puntland forces. "These groups [al Shabab and Islamic State] are a threat to peace and stability of Somaliland and Puntland," said Ibrahim. "Direct Threat" The United States has been actively working with the Somali government to try and degrade the terrorist threats from all parts of Somalia. "These violent extremist organizations pose a direct threat to Americans, our allies, and interests in the region," Major Wiest told VOA in a written response. Over the past seven years, the U.S. has carried out many drone strikes against terrorist targets in Somalia, most notably killing al-Shabab emir Ahmed Godane in 2014. One of those targeted in Puntland last year was IS faction leader Sheikh Abdulkadir Mumin. Although regional leaders told VOA that Mumin escaped alive, several militants were killed. Over the weekend, a joint delegation of the East African bloc IGAD and the U.N. Mission in Somalia visited both Puntland and Somaliland in an effort to ease the tension around Tukaraq and prevent a full blown war between the two states. "If that happens, the terror groups will get an upper hand to grow, peace and stability will be compromised [and] political and economic instability [will ensue]," said Ibrahim. According to Crisis Group's Hogendoorn, involving the different clans in addressing the threat of jihadi expansion in the area, is a more durable solution.. "What is necessary is for the governments, both federal and state level, to find more of an accommodation with different clans that currently support Al-Shabab and Islamic State," Hogendoorn said. "And, were these clans to join with the government in opposing Al-Shabab and Islamic State, that will be a much more durable solutionthan any kind of foreign military operation." NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Intelligence, Security Officials Warn Of Russia's 'Pervasive Methods' To Weaken, Divide U.S. Mark Najarian August 02, 2018 WASHINGTON -- Leaders of the U.S. intelligence and security community told a briefing at the White House that Russia is continuing to use "pervasive methods" to exploit and intensify differences in U.S. society and that they remain concerned about U.S. election security. "We continue to see a pervasive messaging campaign by Russia to try to weaken and divide the United States," Dan Coats, the director of national intelligence, said on August 2. "Our focus here today is to simply tell the American people we acknowledge the threat, it is real, it is continuing, and we're doing everything we can to have a legitimate election that the American people can have trust in." "The intelligence community continues to be concerned about the threats of upcoming U.S. elections, both the midterms and the presidential elections of 2020," Coats added. Coats' comments came during an unannounced joint briefing with other intelligence agency leaders, including FBI Director Christopher Wray and national security adviser John Bolton. U.S. President Donald Trump has consistently played down reports of Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election and has repeatedly rejected conclusions of the intelligence community that the Kremlin's efforts were done to benefit him during the election. Most Democrats and even some Republicans have accused Trump and his administration of not doing enough to prevent Kremlin interference in the upcoming November midterm elections. Bolton, however, praised Trump's efforts, saying the president has directed a "vast, government-wide effort" to protect U.S. elections from interference, whether by Russia or any other country. "We're throwing everything at it," Coats added. "The president has specifically directed us to make the matter of election meddling and securing our election process a top priority." The briefing came hours after an influential bipartisan group of U.S. senators introduced a package of measures designed to protect "American security from Kremlin aggression" amid concerns about the integrity of upcoming U.S. elections. The bill introduced on August 2 represents at least the fourth piece of legislation circulating in Congress that would punish Russia for its alleged interference in U.S. elections, along with its aggression in Ukraine and Syria, and other "malign" activities. According to a statement issued by the senators, new sanctions in the legislation would target "political figures, oligarchs, and family members and other persons that facilitate illicit and corrupt activities, directly or indirectly, on behalf of [Russian President] Vladimir Putin." With reporting by CNN, AP, Reuters, The New York Daily News, and AFP Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/intelligence-security -officials-warn-of-russia-s-pervasive-methods -to-weaken-divide-u-s-/29407572.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. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Tajik Police Appear To Keep Lid On Reporting About Suspects In Deadly Attack On Cyclists Pete Baumgartner, RFE/RL's Tajik Service August 02, 2018 Days after a deadly attack on a group of foreign cyclists in a remote region of Tajikistan, information remains scarce on the possible road to radicalization of the suspects -- at least some of whom were said to have died in a shootout with security police and subsequently turned up in a video pledging loyalty to the militant group Islamic State (IS). And Tajik authorities, who have publicly blamed not IS but a banned Islamic political party, appear eager to keep it that way. An RFE/RL correspondent was detained by security forces on August 1 during a reporting trip to the southern town of Norak, the hometown of two of the suspects, and interrogated before having his electronic materials deleted and being forcibly taken to the capital, Dushanbe. No legal grounds were given for the erasing of the materials, which included audio recordings of relatives and a former teacher of the suspects. In the brutal July 29 attack on the foreigners, a car rammed into the group of cyclists before multiple attackers emerged from the vehicle and stabbed survivors, killing two Americans, a Swiss, and a Dutch national. Three other foreigners were injured in the attack before the assailants sped off. IS claimed responsibility for the deadly incident and released a video showing five men -- at least some of whom appeared to resemble four men identified by Tajik officials as suspects killed in a confrontation with security forces -- pledging allegiance to IS's leader. But the government has clung to its assertion that the ringleader was an "active member" of the Islamic Renaissance Party of Tajikistan (IRPT), which was Central Asia's only registered Islamic political party until the Tajik government banned it in 2015. It had tens of thousands of members when it was outlawed, and has since been labeled a "terrorist" organization by Dushanbe. The RFE/RL correspondent, Orzu Karim, had conducted interviews with relatives of two of the government suspects and a former teacher in Norak before being stopped by security officials on August 1. Karim identified himself as a reporter before the nearly two-hour police questioning. After his video camera and audio recorder were confiscated, police erased Karim's interviews and drove him the 90 or so minutes to Dushanbe without letting him gather up his belongings at a nearby hotel. Neither would they allow Karim to be taken to his hometown, which lies the opposite direction from Norak. Karim reported seeing one foreign journalist and two Tajik reporters being similarly questioned at the police station, although he was initially unable to contact them to hear their accounts of being in custody. Authorities there have waged numerous campaigns to discourage young people from turning to radicalism, particularly in the face of figures suggesting that hundreds of young Tajiks were joining IS to help wage war in Syria and Iraq. But the attack this week on the cyclists on a road near the Pamir Highway was the first of its kind on foreigners in Tajikistan, which borders Afghanistan, China, and fellow post-Soviet republics Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan. Post-Soviet Central Asia's poorest country, Tajikistan's politics have been dominated since 1992 by President Emomali Rahmon. Rahmon's administration on August 1 announced the creation of a "tourist police" corps to ensure "public order and the security accompaniment of tourists" as well as to "prevent crime" generally. Official Tajik statements have all but ignored any IS component in the attack in favor of initial suggestions that members of the technically defunct IRPT were involved. Some IRPT leaders have been jailed on charges that rights groups have publicly questioned, while others have fled to exile and continue to urge international support for removal of Tajikistan's ban on the party's activities. With reporting by RFE/RL Tajik Service correspondent Khiromon Bakoeva. Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/tajik-police-cyclist- attack-journalists-harassed/29407351.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. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Iran Protests 'False' Claims Over Tajikistan Attack On Foreign Cyclists RFE/RL's Tajik Service August 02, 2018 The Iranian government has summoned the Tajik ambassador to Tehran to protest allegations linking Iran to an attack that killed four foreign cyclists in Tajikistan. The Iranian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that it summoned Ambassador Nematullo Emomzoda on August 1 to convey Iran's "strong" protest over "false and unfounded" claims made by the Tajik government. The attack on a group of foreign cyclists on a remote mountain road on July 29 claimed the lives of two Americans, a Dutchman, and a Swiss citizen. Three other foreigners -- one Dutch, one Swiss, and one French -- were injured. The Islamic State (IS) has released a video of what it said were the attackers pledging allegiance to the extremist organization. However, the Tajik Interior Ministry on July 31 accused the banned Islamic Renaissance Party of Tajikistan (IRPT) of being behind an attack. The group denied the allegation as "baseless and irrational." The ministry also said that the attackers were led by an "active member" of the IRPT who "underwent training in Iran." The authorities offered no immediate proof of the claims. Iranian officials told the Tajik envoy in Tehran that showing "indifference" to and "tolerance" of Sunni extremists would undermine peace, stability, and security in the region, Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qasemi said on August 1. Human rights groups have condemned Tajikistan's treatment of the IRPT, which was branded a "terrorist organization" and banned in 2015 after the government accused it of plotting a failed coup. Relations with Tehran are tense. Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-protests- false-claims-over-tajikistan-attack-on- foreign-cyclists/29406822.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. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address UN-backed meeting of African States targets terrorism, violent extremism 2 August 2018 - Regional security topped the agenda of a United Nations-backed joint summit on Central and West Africa searching, among other things, for a practical approach to fighting terrorism. In a statement issued on Thursday through his Deputy Spokesperson, Farhan Haq, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres commended the Central and West African regions for the successful Joint Summit of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) on Peace, Security, Stability and the Fight against Terrorism and Violent Extremism, which took place on Monday in Lome, Togo. "The Secretary-General welcomes the renewed commitment of ECCAS and ECOWAS member States to strengthen cooperation on key peace and security challenges and is particularly encouraged by the decision to sign a Criminal Cooperation Agreement by the end of 2018 and to establish a ministerial committee to monitor implementation of the Summit decisions," said Mr. Haq. The UN chief also welcomed the decision of the Heads of State and Government from the two regions to hold consultations in the margins of the African Union summit in January, "and to meet every two years to review implementation of the decisions contained in the Lome Declaration adopted at the Joint Summit." "The Secretary-General reiterates the commitment of the United Nations to continue to promote inter-regional cooperation and support the implementation of the decisions adopted by the ECCAS-ECOWAS Summit," the statement concluded. A region on the edge In July, Mohamed Ibn Chambas, the Special Representative for West Africa and the Sahel (UNOWAS), updated the Security Council on the "volatile security situation." Citing the spillover of the Malian crisis into Burkina Faso and Niger, and the widespread violence by non-state armed groups throughout the region, he noted that "the complexity of recent attackshas had a devastating impact on local communities." In mid-June, Francois Lounceny Fall, the Special Representative and head of the UN Regional Office for Central Africa (UNOCA), told the Council that the scourge of terrorism and violent extremism continued to affect all Central Africa and divert government resources from development programmes to security operations. "Boko Haram and the Lord's Resistance Army have not stopped their deadly attacks on civilians, committing egregious human rights abuses and causing countless victims," he said, referring to the main armed groups active in the sub-region. In the Summit's final communique, the Heads of State and Government committed to cooperate in conflict prevention, promoting peace and stability in both regions through establishing and strengthening early warning and rapid response crises mechanisms. They also committed to strengthen cooperation on insecurity, with the ECOWAS Commission president and ECCAS Secretary General to negotiate among the regional States on procedures for mutual legal assistance and judicial cooperation. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address US Security Chiefs Express Alarm About Election Meddling By Steve Herman August 02, 2018 Top U.S. national security leaders made a rare joint appearance in the White House briefing room Thursday to express concern about efforts by Russia and potentially others to meddle in upcoming elections here, and to reassure the public that strong countermeasures are being taken. "We continue to see a pervasive message campaign by Russia to try to weaken and divide the United States," said the director of national intelligence, Dan Coats, adding that he was aware "Russia is not the only country that has an interest in trying to influence our domestic political environment." Coats said President Donald Trump "has specifically directed us to make the matter of election meddling and securing our election process a top priority." FBI Director Christopher Wray, Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen and Army General Paul Nakasone, who is head of the National Security Agency, also appeared at Thursday's briefing. As they spoke, a letter national security adviser John Bolton sent to five senators of the opposition Democratic Party was released outlining the Trump administration's "extensive, historic actions" taken to "ensure the integrity of our elections and defend against foreign malign influence." The letter specifically mentioned actions taken against the Russian government, companies and individuals. Russia "stepped up their game big time in 2016," said Coats, noting their activities currently were not at that level. Investigations continue Wray warned, however, "Any moment is just a moment before the dial can be turned up." He also revealed that FBI field offices across the country were investigating election interference, and he stated that adversaries were "manipulating news stories and spreading disinformation." The FBI director said "progress is being made" concerning foreign influence campaigns on social media networks, and that the bureau had partnered with the private sector in this effort. Top social media companies have received classified briefings so they can better monitor their own platforms, according to Wray. Nielsen, during her turn on the podium, warned, "Our democracy itself is in the crosshairs," noting that the U.S. government had seen a willingness and a capability on the part of the Russians to hack into voter rolls, voting machines and other elements of election infrastructure. Asked whether authorization had been granted by the president to take action to counter online attacks by foreign elements, Nakasone, who also heads the U.S. Cyber Command, declined to give a direct response, saying, "We're not going to accept meddling in the election." Intense scrutiny "Clearly, the White House and Trump are under heavy pressure on how seriously they are taking the whole issue," Paul Pillar, a former senior CIA officer now with Georgetown University, told VOA. But that criticism is likely to continue. "On an issue of central importance to American democracy, that's integral to American democracy, our leader, the president of the United States, is not out in front making these statements himself," Pillar said. "I think that is a very important and significant lack." While Trump repeatedly has wavered on clearly blaming Moscow for interference in the election that he won, those at the White House lectern on Thursday left no doubt about their conclusion on Russia's meddling. Trump has said he discussed the issue with Russian President Vladimir Putin at their summit in Helsinki last month. During a joint news conference following their talks, the U.S. president sided with the Russian president's denial that Moscow had meddled in the 2016 election to try to help Trump win. After returning to widespread criticism, Trump backtracked on the comments and said he accepted the conclusion by U.S. intelligence agencies that Russia did interfere in the election. "I think the president has made it abundantly clear to everybody" in the government who oversees election security, said Bolton, that "he cares deeply about it and that he expects them to do their jobs." Special counsel Robert Mueller has been investigating Russia's election meddling, as well as whether there were links between Moscow and Trump's 2016 campaign. Trump has repeatedly referred to the probe as a "witch hunt." VOA National Security Correspondent Jeff Seldin contributed to this report. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Air Mobility Command Chief Looks Toward Supplying Forces From Space Aug. 2, 2018 By Jim Garamone DoD News, Defense Media Activity WASHINGTON -- Deliveries from space are going to happen, and the Defense Department must be ready to capitalize on the capability when it happens, the commander of the Air Force's Air Mobility Command told the Defense Writers Group here today. Air Force Gen. Carlton D. Everhart II said he is looking to space to enhance the American military's global mobility and move at the speed of war. Air Mobility Command needs rapid access to space, the general said, and he is working with private corporations to examine the ways forward. "I just had a visit with SpaceX and Virgin Orbital," he said. "They tell me they can get around the globe in 30 minutes with a Big Falcon Rocket." Using the rocket, the command could deliver 150 metric tons for less than the cost of a C-5 Galaxy transport jet delivery, he said. Space is a new frontier for transportation, and private companies are developing technologies that are driving the costs of launches down, the general said. "What happens if we pre-position cargo in space?" he asked. "I don't have to use terrestrial means [to deliver it]. I can position it in space and have an automatic vehicle go up and come back down. "I want to get around the globe quickest so I can affect that adversary," he continued. "It is in its infancy stages, but I want to put mobility people in Space Command so they can learn space and I want space folks in Mobility Command. If we don't do this and we stay in the air domain, Air Mobility Command will become irrelevant." Concepts Ready in Five Years The general said he believes that the concepts can be ready within the next five years. "Within five years after that, it will be happening," he told the defense writers. AMC has a future concept section that is looking closely at the capability, Everhart said, and Air Force personnel are already looking to develop a concept of operations for mobility in space. Air Mobility Command is an integral part of U.S. Transportation Command and is a crucial enabler for all services and combatant commands. The United States is a superpower because the American military can deploy anywhere in the world and sustain those forces. Air Mobility Command is a $46 billion enterprise with 1,100 aircraft and 124,000 total- force airmen, including civilians. "The world is our [area of responsibility]," the general said. The big grey planes with the American flag on the tail are a visible sign of U.S. capabilities, Everhart said. "I call it grey-tail diplomacy," he added. "The American flag on the tail tells our friends we're there to help and tells our enemies to watch out." NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Swedish Government Approves Purchase of US Patriot Missile System Statement Sputnik News 18:39 02.08.2018 STOCKHOLM (Sputnik) The Swedish government announced in a statement on Thursday the decision to approve the purchase the US Patriot air defense missile system. "Today, the government decided to authorize the armed forces to purchase a new medium-range air defense system. At the same time, the government decided to allow the Defence Materiel Administration of the armed forces to conclude an agreement with the United States on the purchase of the US Patriot air defense system," the statement for the media read. The government noted that the United States had offered Sweden to buy four Patriots and two types of missiles, as well as the technical equipment. Deliveries are expected to take place between 2020 and 2025. Earlier reports suggested that the deal would be worth at least $1.14 billion. Despite Sweden is not a part of the NATO, it has close relations with the alliance and recently has been increasing its armed forces. After in 2017, Romania became the 14th nation to buy the missile delivery system, Sweden and Poland joined the list. Sweden started talks over the purchase, initially worth around 10 billion crowns last November. The Patriot is a long-range, all-altitude, air defense system capable of countering tactical ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, and advanced aircraft. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address India Successfully Tests Home-Grown Low Altitude Ballistic Missile Interceptor Sputnik News 16:17 02.08.2018 After almost 20 years of efforts, India's Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) has developed both high-altitude and low-altitude missiles which can purportedly intercept medium-range ballistic missiles traveling at speeds of Mach 3 to 8. New Delhi (Sputnik) India has successfully test-fired its own Advanced Air Defense (AAD) supersonic interceptor missile, designed to destroy incoming low-altitude ballistic missiles at a range of 15-25 kilometers. DRDO scientists, in the presence of Indian Army officials, successfully executed the trial mission in which the AAD accurately shot down a simulated target, a defense official told the media. "This was the first time when the AAD missile was fired against multiple targets simulated electronically by the mission team. The missile attacked one after choosing it from a bunch of targets," the defense official said. The endo-atmospheric missile, capable of intercepting incoming targets at an altitude of 15 to 25 kilometers, successfully destroyed the incoming missile. All the mission objectives were successfully met, he added. The missile was flight tested from Abdul Kalam Island, home to the Indian military's principal missile test facility, off the coast of Odisha in the Bay of Bengal at about 11.25 am (Indian Standard Time). The missile is 24.6 feet long and is equipped with a state-of-the-art navigation system. It is a single-stage, solid fuel, rocket-propelled guided missile that can track its target independently. Nirmala Sitharaman, India's Defense Minister, congratulated the defense scientists for this successful test-mission. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address India Working on Augmenting Power of Electric Propulsion for Heavier Satellites Sputnik News 14:45 02.08.2018(updated 14:46 02.08.2018) Over the last five years, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has performed 26 launch vehicle missions, putting 28 Indian satellites, and 202 foreign satellites in orbit. Although ISRO has gained recognition for launching small satellites, it lacks the ability to launch communication satellites heavier than 4 metric tons. New Delhi (Sputnik) The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has started work on developing an electric propulsion system (EPS) with a higher thrust level, which can reduce the dependence on chemical propellant, the Indian government said on Wednesday. Unlike chemical propulsion, electric propulsion is not limited in energy and can send a spacecraft further out at a low-level thrust with very little mass. "ISRO is working on Electric Propulsion System (EPS) which can reduce the dependence on chemical propellant. A 4-ton satellite with EPS can do the work of a 6-ton satellite with the same efficiency. In addition, it will also have avfew extra years of life compared to chemical propulsion," Jitendra Singh, Minister of State for Space, informed India's parliament on Wednesday. Currently, ISRO is dependent on foreign facilities located in Ariane, French Guiana, to launch heavier satellites. "The EPS system was the first (trial) drone South Asia Satellite (SAS) GSAT-9 launched in the year 2017 and is working satisfactory," Singh added. Sources told Sputnik that ISRO is striving to increase the thrust level of electronic propulsion that presently hovers at below 300 millinewtons With this low thrust level, any spacecraft will have to wait up to 6 months to slowly reach its destination. Presently, the chemical propulsion used by the ISRO provides 440-Newton thrust, which sends the satellite to the final destination within a few days. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address BY TCN News: The National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam had earlier released its first report on December 31, 2016, in which 1.9 crore of 3.29 crore applicants were declared as Indian citizens leaving out 1.39 crores. And now the second report released today July 30th has declared another 2.89 crores names excluding nearly 40 lakhs Indian citizens. This report and the move by the current government to render people whose domicile has been in the state of Assam from several decades as stateless and non citizens has been condemned by several political and non political groups across India. Support TwoCircles The Indian American Muslim Council (IAMC), an advocacy group based in the United States that works safeguarding Indias pluralist and tolerant ethos has condemning the NRC report has called for the immediate suspension of the National Registry of Citizens, until irregularities are corrected and the exclusion of four million people from the list is set right. The Bengali speaking Muslim community in Assam has now become the worst victim of this mass disenfranchisement and has been accused of being infiltrators, although they are Indian citizens. International bodies such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch as well as civil society institutions across India have expressed concern about the process that could render the four million people stateless. It is possible that the process will arbitrarily deprive people, who have lived in India for decades, of their nationality, Amnesty said in a statement. The fact that this is an exercise in subversion of democracy and has a clearly bigoted, discriminatory agenda is reflected in the exclusion of the relatives of the former President of India, said Mr. Ahsan Khan, President of IAMC. The entire program should be suspended until the criteria for exclusion are clearly defined, added Mr. Khan. Excluding the relatives of former President of India Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed in the list and including them among those at risk of becoming stateless exposes the true motive of the Government which is to target religious minorities and render them stateless. The IAMRC also pointed out the start difference in attitude of the Indian Government in welcoming the Hindu migrants from Bangladesh and its openly hostile attitude to Rohingya refugees. Human rights activist Suhas Chakma has also condemned the NRC report and dubbed it as the biggest exercise for disenfranchisement in human history. IAMC has called on the central government not to allow religious differences to define the socio-political landscape of the country, where something as basic as a citizens right to be called a citizen of the country is arbitrarily snatched away. Marking 91st birthday, PLA marches into new era of reform, capacity building People's Daily Online (Xinhua) 07:16, August 02, 2018 BEIJING, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- Under southern China's scorching sun, marines climb high walls with their bare hands and crawl under barbed wire nets, with referees carefully timing them. Three squads of Chinese marines won the top three positions among 13 teams from five countries in an obstacle course contest, the first event of the "Seaborne Assault" competition of the International Army Games, held in the southeastern city of Quanzhou Monday. "Military exchanges like this will enhance and improve our training, management, and education," said Kong Jun, commander of Marine Corps of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy. "We will try new ways to strengthen our exchanges with our foreign counterparts." The marine division was added to the PLA in the 1950s and then reinstated in the 1980s. The PLA started with about 20,000 soldiers in the eastern city of Nanchang in an armed uprising on Aug. 1, 1927, and has grown to around two million servicemen and women in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Rocket Force, and other services. Growing from a revolutionary army that fought against foreign invaders and for the liberation of Chinese people and the nation, the PLA is taking a "crucial leap" in the new era from being simply large to being strong. "We will make it our mission to see that by 2035, the modernization of our national defense and our forces is basically complete; and that by the mid-21st century our people's armed forces have been fully transformed into world-class forces," said President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of Central Military Commission (CMC), in the report to the 19th CPC National Congress. Under China's national defense policy which is defensive in nature, the PLA faces the complex task of reforming itself to be more loyal, disciplined and combat-capable in peacetime. INSTITUTIONAL, TECHNOLOGICAL REFORM In July this year, the PLA started recruiting "civilian personnel" to attract talent that are urgently needed. The recruitment drive, approved by the CMC, is the first of its kind since deeper reform was introduced to the national defense and armed forces in late 2015. Under the reform, military organizations were revamped, and the joint combat command mechanism was improved. The four military headquarters -- staff, politics, logistics, and armaments -- were reorganized into 15 agencies, while the seven military area commands were regrouped into five theater commands. In the meantime, the percentage of land forces' personnel among the entire PLA was cut to less than half for the first time, and the new Rocket Force and the Strategic Support Force were established. The number of PLA officers was also reduced by 30 percent, and hundreds of generals switched posts. The PLA also saw rapid technological upgrading. In the past five years, China's first domestically built aircraft carrier was launched; new transport aircraft and stealth jets were commissioned; and the latest missiles were unveiled. In July last year, Xi reviewed a massive military parade in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, attended by more than 12,000 service personnel with advanced weapons including stealth fighters and nuclear missiles on display. In April, he reviewed the PLA Navy in the South China Sea, the largest of its kind in the People's Republic of China since its founding in 1949. More than half of the vessels attending the review were commissioned after the 18th CPC National Congress in 2012. "In just a few years, the PLA has been deeply transformed," said He Xiaoming, daughter of He Long, late PLA Marshal who commanded the Nanchang Uprising. With enhanced strategic and combat capacity, the PLA not only effectively defends China's national interest but also plays an active role in international peacekeeping and humanitarian operations, contributing to regional stability and world peace. POLITICAL, DISCIPLINARY BUILDING Strengthening political loyalty has repeatedly been stressed over the past five years, with measures adopted to ensure the Party's leadership and nurture the faith and integrity of officers and soldiers. After the 19th CPC National Congress in October last year, the CMC released a guideline on the deep and comprehensive implementation of the system by which the chairman of the CMC has overall responsibility for the army. According to the guideline, China's military should use Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era as their guide, fully implement Xi's thinking on strengthening the military and follow the absolute leadership of the CPC. "With the system, the Party and the country can never end up in a mess, the army can always stay united, and conspirators will never find an opening," said Zou Yan, a 103-year-old veteran. Since the 18th CPC National Congress in 2012, more than 100 PLA officers at or above the corps-level, including two former CMC vice chairmen, have been investigated and punished. A new disciplinary commission and a commission for political and legal affairs were set up under the CMC on the orders of Xi, and more than 40 military statutes and regulations were adopted in a bid to preserve exemplary PLA conduct, strict discipline, and high morale. Servicemen and women, including high-ranking officers, have not only been under tighter scrutiny over their integrity, but also been closely supervised regarding their competence. On June 19, watched by over 3,600 officers and soldiers, the commanders of 13 army groups of the PLA were reviewed by the army command and experts from military academies regarding their leadership. "Each generation of servicemen has their own missions and responsibilities. Now the historical responsibility of building a strong military falls on our shoulders," said Wang Rui, a squad leader of the 74th Army Group of the PLA. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address China 'fully prepared' for US threats to escalate trade war: Commerce ministry Iran Press TV Thu Aug 2, 2018 02:31PM China says it is "fully prepared" for the US threats to escalate the ongoing trade war between Washington and Beijing, stressing it will have to fight back to protect its dignity and the interests of its people. The Ministry of Commerce of the People's Republic of China made the comments in a statement released on Thursday as the administration of US President Donald Trump has already sought to increase pressure on China for trade concessions by proposing a 25-percent tariff on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports. It added that Beijing upheld the use of dialogue in a bid to settle disputes but noted that equal treatment and keeping to promises "are pre-requisites for dialogue." US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said on Wednesday that Trump had ordered a higher 25-percent duty on Chinese products from a previously proposed 10 percent, because Beijing has resisted Washington's demands and has introduced retaliatory tariffs on American goods. Meanwhile, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said at a regular news briefing that Washington's efforts to "blackmail" Beijing would not succeed. "We would advise the United States to correct its attitude and not try to engage in blackmail. This won't work on China," Geng said, adding, "Secondly, we would advise the US side to return to reason, and not blindly let emotions affect their decisions, because in the end this will harm themselves." Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi also said that tariffs would not resolve the trade imbalances that Washington claim exist between the world's two largest economies, urging the White House to "calm down" and listen to the voice of the international community. Wang, speaking on the sidelines of a meeting with Southeast Asian foreign ministers, stressed that pressure from the US would have no impact on any trade negotiations. Washington imposed 25-percent duties on $34 billion of imports from China in early July, as a first step in a possible series of increases that Trump says could affect up to $550 in Chinese imports. Beijing, for its part, announced that its tit-for-tat duties had taken effect on $34 billion of US goods that included soybeans and electric vehicles. It also blasted American unilateralism and filed a complaint with the World Trade Organization against the new US-proposed tariffs. China warned the US that it would have no choice but to take "necessary countermeasures" against Washington. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address 'China to join exercises involving US off Australia' Iran Press TV Thu Aug 2, 2018 07:21AM Australia says China's navy will participate in military exercises to be conducted by 26 countries off Australia's northern coast later this month but would not take part in the live-fire drills of the war games. "China is expected to participate in a range of activities including passage exercises, inter-ship communications and replenishment activities and sea-training maneuvers," Australian Defense Minister Marise Payne said in a statement on Thursday. The naval exercises, being hosted by Australia, also include Canberra's major ally the United States, which has been at odds with Beijing on an array of issues. Washington excluded Beijing from its military training drills around Hawaii back in May in response to what the White house perceives as China's alleged militarization of islands in the South China Sea. "There are no plans for China to participate in live-fire activities," Payne further said, without giving more details, but she added that the participating countries had "built a productive defense relationship that... facilitates transparency and builds trust." Relations between Beijing and Canberra also took a dive in December last year when Turnbull expressed concerns about "Chinese influence" in Australia's domestic politics. Beijing at the time summoned Australia's ambassador to China to protest the allegation. Canberra further infuriated Beijing when it passed a raft of laws aimed at thwarting alleged Chinese influence in Australia's domestic affairs and also over China's purported assertiveness in the South China Sea. Bilateral relations were further damaged in January when a senior Australian minister called Chinese infrastructure projects in the Pacific "white elephants," prompting Beijing to file a formal diplomatic protest. Furthermore, Australia has offered diplomatic support to US "freedom of navigation" voyages through the South China Sea which anger Beijing and its own vessels encountered Chinese warships there in April. However, Australia stuck with an invitation it had sent to China last September for participation in the upcoming drills, potentially a sign that Canberra is not interested in further escalation. The exercises are scheduled to be held in strategic waters north of Darwin, where a decision to lease the city's port to a Chinese company drew a sharp rebuke from Washington, even though the Chinese Landbridge Group ultimately acquired a 99-year lease on the port. The drills will run to mid-September. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Chinese Analogue to Russian Kinzhal Cruise Missile Allegedly Spotted in Testing Sputnik News 18:06 02.08.2018(updated 18:08 02.08.2018) Federation of American Scientists' Nuclear Information Project director Hans Kristensen has pointed to the recent testing of what he believes may be a new Chinese nuclear-capable air-launched anti-ship missile. A modified Xian H-6K strategic bomber, (a license-built version of the Soviet Tupolev Tu-16 bomber) may have conducted testing of a new hypersonic missile, Kristensen wrote in his Twitter account, citing the account of a reliable Chinese military aviation enthusiast and researcher. The bomber, believed to belong to the People's Liberation Army Air Force's 10th Bomber Division flying out of Anqing, reportedly successfully test-fired the air-launched hypersonic missile, whose payload can presumably include both a conventional and nuclear charge. Earlier this year, US military intelligence told media that the PLAAF conducted at least five flight tests of the CH-AS-X-13, a two-stage solid-fuel ballistic missile with a 3,000 km range. The missile is believed to be a light-weight composite materials-based variant of China's DF-21 medium range ballistic missile. US experts believe the missile, which is capable of reaching US soil, will be ready for deployment by 2025. But observers say the missile may also be a CJ-10K, a second-gen Chinese land-attack missile derived from the Kh-55, a Soviet-Russian cruise missile introduced in the 1980s and acquired by China from Ukraine in the 1990s. China began the deployment of the CJ-10K in the 2000s. Last month, the Russian Defense Ministry confirmed that the Kinzhal, a new Russian air-launched maneuverable hypersonic cruise missile, had been tested aboard the Tupolev Tu-22M3 strategic bomber. The missile has already been deployed, and has seen extensive flight training aboard the MiG-31BM supersonic interceptor aircraft, which can carry a single Kinzhal. The Russian president revealed the missile's existence in a speech to lawmakers in March, citing it and other new missile technology as a means to guarantee Russian security following the US withdrawal from the ABM Treaty and NATO's expansion along Russia's borders. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address High-Speed Rail Brings Autonomy Fight to Hong Kong Courts By Suzanne Sataline August 02, 2018 Come October, weeks after a new high-speed train hurtles down from mainland China, Hong Kong's High Court will be busy hearing challenges concerning the new station. Five petitioners say a new law gives China unconstitutional control over a slice of Hong Kong soil because it allows Chinese immigration and border agents to enforce mainland law in the territory for the first time since the handover from British rule in 1997. With such sweeping authority, critics say, the law means there is nothing to stop Beijing from grabbing more Hong Kong land, under the guise of protecting national security. The law's passage was a stinging defeat for pro-democracy activists and marked a major setback in their quest to establish Hong Kong's autonomy and ensure its civil rights. It was the latest blow in four years of frustrations and fury for pro-democracy activists. Legal challenges Earlier this year, many say they were enraged by what they say was pressure applied by Beijing on Hong Kong lawmakers to approve the so-called joint checkpoint plan for the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong express rail. Officials, including Hong Kong chief executive, Carrie Lam, defending the move by saying that granting mainland immigration and border agents the right to check passengers in Hong Kong would speed their travels. "That opens the floodgates, definitely, to Beijing's further encroachment to Hong Kong's higher degree of autonomy," said Alvin Leung, a Hong Kong lawmaker who, like his fellow democratic activists, voted against the law. "It opens the floodgates for Beijing to sideline the local government's authority in the name of convenience." Members of the city's pro-democracy camp and the Hong Kong Bar Association said the law that gives mainland officials unconstitutional authority because it essentially ceded Hong Kong territory, in this case, a quarter of the terminal, to China, even though Article 18 of the territory's constitution bars Chinese law from being used in Hong Kong aside for laws requiring national security and emblems such as the national flag. The city's High Court is scheduled to hear five legal challenges to the law beginning in October, weeks after the rail link begins running. The petitions all argue the border plan is unconstitutional. But the challenges to overturn the law face a tough journey. Tian Feilong, a mainland legal scholar, argues that Hong Kong courts have no right to review a decision made by China's top legislature. Beijing pressure Hong Kong activists, lawyers and human rights workers say the city's civil freedoms have withered since 2014 when the National People's Congress Standing Committee's white paper clarified that the special territory did not enjoy autonomy. "The central government has the power of oversight over the exercise of a high degree of autonomy in the HKSAR," the paper reads. That paper, and a subsequent one that sharply restricted democratic elections granted by the region's constitution, triggered a 79-day street occupation when tens of thousands of demonstrators sought democratic elections. The government was not swayed. Indeed, through the courts, the legislature and the media, Beijing has wounded the pro-democracy camp, some activists say. Major protests in 2014, 2015 and 2016 galvanized residents, especially the young. But Beijing would not negotiate with them and then issued new rules that pushed candidates and lawmakers from office, while the Hong Kong government prosecuted more than 100 protesters and the courts created tough restrictions on protesters. This year's annual July 1 march drew a defiant but much smaller contingent than in past years. Activist Leung Kwok-hung, a former lawmaker known as "Long Hair," said that as more residents feel powerless to confront Beijing's authority, a growing apathy endangers the prospect of the movement's success. "We are not entitled to ask any questions about the decision of the standing committee of the People's Congress of the PRC," he said. Leung was one of four legislators expelled from office last year by a judge after the national legislature set new standards that made his official oath illegal. Some residents feel "you don't ask questions, since Hong Kong belongs to China. So, whatever Chinese authorities say, you have no more say," he added. Other developments also worry some lawyers and human rights activists. Old laws Judges have used interpretations of old colonial legislation to imprison former lawmakers and activists who have protested Beijing's policies. At the same time, British officials were among those who criticized Hong Kong judges who sentenced two activists to prison last month. One of those activists, Edward Leung, a former legislative candidate who advocated for Hong Kong's independence, was sentenced for what police say was a riot in 2016. Although he pleaded guilty to what was his first offense, Leung received six years behind bars, a sentence that has been criticized by many lawyers, scholars and officials. More than 100 protesters face prosecution based on a British colonial-era law deployed after 1967 street riots. Officials in Hong Kong and Beijing have dispatched more messages to urge the city's residents to stop referring to the territory as a separate entity with an autonomous government, an image Beijing itself promoted especially before Britain's 1997 handover. In recent years, however, China has asserted its role much more clearly. At a research conference in July, Wang Zhenmin, chief of China's legal department of the liaison office in the city, said that the nation will inevitably impose national laws and its constitutional system on Hong Kong. "Any matters that the [Hong Kong] Basic Law did not regulate, the relevant regulations in the [Chinese] constitution will be applicable to Hong Kong automatically," Wang said. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Trump receives a 'nice letter' from North Korean leader Iran Press TV Thu Aug 2, 2018 05:13PM The White House says US President Donald Trump has received a new letter from North Korean leader Kim Jong-un about their June 12 summit in Singapore. In an early Thursday morning tweet, Trump called it a "nice letter". White House spokesperson Sarah Huckabee Sanders said President Trump received the letter on Wednesday. "A letter to President Trump from Chairman Kim was received on August 1," said Sanders. "The ongoing correspondence between the two leaders is aimed at following up on their meeting in Singapore and advancing the commitments made in the US-DPRK joint statement," Sanders said in a statement, using an acronym referring to the formal name of North Korea. However, Trump and the White House did not reveal more details about the letter. Trump and Kim met on June 12 in Singapore, the first between a sitting US president and a North Korean leader, and signed a joined document, committing to establishing new relations and achieving peace on the Korean Peninsula. Before the summit, the Trump administration said denuclearization should start "without delay," and after the meeting, it spoke of the process starting "very quickly." So far, however, no concrete progress has been reported and Pyongyang has complained the Americans are making unilateral demands. Kim, prior to the meeting, said that the two leaders had "decided to leave the past behind" and that "the world will see a major change." Trump said he had formed a "very special bond" with Kim and that Washington's relationship with Pyongyang would be very different. However, Trump on June 22 declared North Korea an "unusual and extraordinary threat" to the US as he acted to maintain harsh economic sanctions against Pyongyang. "The existence and risk of proliferation of weapons-usable fissile material on the Korean Peninsula and the actions and policies of the Government of North Korea continue to pose an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States," Trump said. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Trump Receives Another Letter From North Korean Leader - White House Sputnik News 17:32 02.08.2018(updated 21:51 02.08.2018) WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - US President Donald Trump has received another letter from North Korean leader Kim Jong-un as a follow-up to their summit in Singapore in June, White House spokesperson Sarah Sanders said on Thursday. "A letter to President Trump from Chairman Kim was received on August 1. The ongoing correspondence between the two leaders is aimed at following up on their meeting in Singapore and advancing the commitments made in the US-DPRK joint statement," Sanders said. Trump responded to Kim's letter and the White House will deliver his letter shortly, Sanders said. As Sarah Huckabee Sanders noted, the US was open to discussions of setting up a second meeting between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. "There is not a second meeting that is currently locked in or finalized. We're certainly open to that discussion, but there isn't a meeting planned," Sanders said when asked if plans exist for a second meeting between Trump and Kim following their first summit meeting in Singapore on June 12. The first letter was received by US President Donald Trump in July: with it, the North Korean leader predicted that "epochal progress" in promoting bilateral ties would "bring our next meeting forward." On Wednesday, Trump thanked Kim in a Twitter message for sending back to the United States the remains of US soldiers killed in the 1950-1953 Korean War. Trump also said he is looking forward to meeting Kim again soon. The historical and long-anticipated meeting between the two leaders took place in Singapore on June 12. They signed a joint declaration pledging to rid the Korean peninsula of nuclear weapons and recover Korean War dead. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Trump Receives Letter from North Korea's Kim By VOA News August 02, 2018 The White House says President Donald Trump has received a letter from North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, following up on the two leaders' June summit in Singapore. "A letter to President Trump from Chairman Kim was received on August 1. The ongoing correspondence between the two leaders is aimed at following up on their meeting in Singapore and advancing the commitments made in the US-DPRK (North Korea) joint statement," Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement. At the summit, the two sides pledged to work toward toward the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. But a document signed by Kim and Trump did not include details of how and when North Korea would denuclearize. Earlier Thursday, Trump had thanked Kim "for your nice letter," adding that "I look forward to seeing you soon." In the same tweet, the U.S. leader also thanked Kim for transferring presumed remains of soldiers killed in the Korean War His comments came hours after Vice President Mike Pence presided over a ceremony in the state of Hawaii marking the repatriation of the 55 sets of remains to U.S. soil. Pence said Trump secured a commitment from Kim during their June summit to return the remains of U.S. service members who were killed in the 1950-53 war. About 7,700 U.S. soldiers are listed as missing from the conflict, and 5,300 of the remains are believed to still be in North Korea. "Some have called the Korean War the forgotten war," Pence said. "But today we prove these heroes were never forgotten. Today our boys are coming home." The remains are being sent to Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency for forensic analysis in order to try to determine their identities. A U.S. defense official told VOA that North Korea has provided almost no information to help identify the individuals, and that the process could take months or years to complete. A total of 17 United Nations member countries fought on behalf of South Korea during the war. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address US Exempts India From Sanctions Over Purchase of Russian S-400s - Reports Sputnik News 21:19 02.08.2018 New Delhi reiterated Thursday that it would not recognize sanctions imposed by entities apart from the United Nations, and vowed to continue cooperation with Russia in a broad range of diverse sectors amid US threats to penalize countries which do business with Moscow. US Congress has passed its 2019 National Defense Authorization Act, granting India a waiver against punitive sanctions on countries who do business with the Russian defense industry, the Times of India has reported. The bill, which now heads to President Trump's desk for signature, grants India a waiver under section 231 of the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act, a 2017 law drafted in response to Russia's alleged (and as yet unproven) interference in the 2016 US presidential election. Joshua White, a former US National Security Council senior official, told the India's PTI news agency that the CAATSA waiver "should provide ample flexibility for New Delhi to proceed with the purchase of the Russian S-400 system." "The legislative language is designed to look very tough, as though Congress is tightening its secondary sanctions on countries that procure Russian equipment. In reality, the language contains loopholes that benefit India," White explained. India indicated this week that it has no plans to axe its S-400 deal with Russia, and announced plans to send a delegation of senior military officials to Washington to hear out the US's concerns, which Delhi has dismissed as "groundless." The US earlier voiced concerns that its military platforms could be hacked if they were used alongside Russian equipment. Russia and India reached the final stage of talks on a $6 billion deal for the delivery of S-400s to New Delhi last month, with India set to become the third buyer of the advanced air defense system after China and Turkey. The 2019 NDAA calls on US allies and partners to reduce their inventory of Russian-made defense equipment, including advanced weaponry, and demands certifiable steps confirming these reductions. US Secretary of Defense James Mattis warned last month that excessive US pressure on its allies and partners would leave some countries "with no other option than to turn to Russia" for its defense needs. On Thursday, Indian Minister of State for External Affairs V.K. Singh indicated that New Delhi had no plans to curtail cooperation with Moscow, including in the fields of economic, scientific, technological, energy and cultural cooperation, as well as banking. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address India Successfully Tests Technology Enabling Deck Landing of Fighter Aircraft Sputnik News 17:26 02.08.2018(updated 17:27 02.08.2018) India has claimed it will soon start carrier compatibility trials before the home-grown LCA prototype touches down on the deck of the Navy's aircraft carrier. New Delhi (Sputnik): India has joined the select club of countries that have the capability of landing fighter aircraft after the home-grown light combat aircraft (LCA) project crossed a major milestone on Thursday, with the successful execution of the hook-wire system which slows down the fighter jet to allow it to smoothly land on aircraft carriers. The LCA Naval Prototype 2 safely executed the first contact of the arrestor hook system with arresting wire at moderate taxiing speeds on location at the Shore Based Test Facility, INS Hansa in Goa, according to state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL) that designed and developed the aircraft. "This is the first of a series of engagement planned at proving the arrestor hook capability," T Suvarna Raju, CMD-HAL said in a statement. The LCA touched a speed of approximately 60 knots before it was brought to a quick halt through the hook-wire combination. Meanwhile, the fighter jet, which was once considered as a dead project after the Indian Navy rejected it in 2016, is expected to successfully demonstrate the 'touch-and-go' landings by the end of this year. This would ensure the ability of the jet to operate safely off the deck of India's only operational aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya. HAL hopes that the two LCA-Navy prototypes will begin flight-tests such as landing, refueling and taking off by the end of 2019. "Carrier Compatibility trials (CCT) of the naval aircraft are slated to be carried out at shore-based test facilities, built at Indian Naval Base Goa. The CCT involves completion of extensive shore-based trials before embarking on actual deck. This trial is the stepping stone towards completion of CCT trials of LCA Navy," HAL said in a statement. The Air Force variant of the LCA has been named Tejas and is already operational. The air force has placed a requirement of an additional 83 Tejas. The present air variant is capable of undertaking air defense operations and conventional ground attack with heavy bombs. But, the naval version of the LCA had received a major setback when in December 2016, Indian Navy Chief Admiral Sunil Lanba had rejected the jet in the form it was at that time. The Navy then issued a request for information to buy 57 new fighters to supplement the Russian-built MiG-29Ks that it presently operates. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address By Auqib Javeed, TwoCircles.net Srinagar: The recent amendment of the Public Safety Act (PSA)- which allows the state to detain any person without trial under a period of six months, in the state of Jammu and Kashmir has evoked strong resentment from both the mainstream and separatist leadership including the general masses. The State Administrative Council (SAC) headed by Governor NN Vohra approved the deletion of Section 10 of the PSA that pertained to the shifting of any detainee outside J&K. Support TwoCircles On July 31, Vohra through a notification, a copy of which is with Twocircles.net, amended the Act by removing a legal provision that bars sending prisoners detained under the PSA to detention centres outside the state. The notification reads that, amendment has been made in section 10 Act VI of 1978 and in Section 10 of Jammu and Kashmir Public Safety Act, 1978; the provision thereto shall be omitted. Section 10 of the PSA reads, Any person in respect of whom a detention order has been made under Section 8 shall be liable to detained at such place which the government may decide provided the detainees who are permanent residents of the state are not lodged in jails outside the state. The amendment is seen as a tough measure to regulate the protests in Kashmir. The move, which is being termed as a measure that would put prisoners through harsh conditions, has drawn censure in the state. Earlier, PSA provided that the detainees who were permanent residents of J&K could not be lodged in jails outside the state. Given the deadly assaults on Kashmiri detainees outside the state, the amendment has caused anxiety in the valley especially among the families whose kin have been booked under the notorious law. Over the years, under this law, thousands of people, mostly political activists, have been taken into preventive custody and kept in jails without trial for many years. Tariq Ahmad Dar, who was acquitted of all charges in 2005 Delhi serial bomb blasts case on Feb 24, 2017, while talking to TwoCircles.net says under the said proposal, if victims or accused are lodged in outside state prisons, it would be great injustice with them and their families. It will be very difficult for family members to meet their kin and for the detainee as well, said Tariq who spend 12 years in New Delhis Tihar Jail. My family suffered a lot particularly my wife who was pregnant at the time of my arrest, I saw my daughter for the first time last year, Tariq added. He is of the view that current amendment will be disastrous for those whose family members would be detained under this Act. Mohammad Hussain Fazili, another ex-detainee who was also acquitted after 12 years for his alleged involvement in the same case (Delhi serial blasts in 2005) echoes the same view. He says, at the end family members suffer, and its very tough for a Kashmiri to fight a case in any other state of India, it would be better if the government could detain the accused in their home state. Noted lawyer and founder of the Jammu Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society (JKCCS) Parvez Imroze believes that the Act was amended to break the will of people. The act is itself a draconian law and now the government has made it harsher by amending it so that any protesting student or a Youth can be detained and lodged in any part of India without any trial, he said. The basic purpose of the amendment is that they (Government) want the accused to be lodged in a place where it would be difficult for him to communicate with his family members and lawyer, Imroze added. Separatist leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq termed the amendment to the PSA as anti-human and against the basic principles of humanity. He said scores of Kashmiri political prisoners have already been shifted to jails outside the state and the new law is aimed at shifting the remaining prisoners which are against the Supreme Court of India ruling that says prisoners facing trial be lodged in jails closer to their homes. National Conference leader Ali Muhammad Sagar said that this decision would send imprisoned under trials away from their families and would further add to the sense of isolation that the people felt. This is an unfortunate and unacceptable decision that National Conference opposes unequivocally and unambiguously. We appeal to the Honourable Governor to reconsider this decision of the SAC, he said. Sagar said the SAC State Administrative Council should repeal the decision and restore the provision in the Act at the earliest possible instance. Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Spokesperson Rafi Ahmed Mir while talking to Twocircles.net said that it is a not a pro-people move and the decision taken in State Administrative Council is against the policy of his party. Whosoever is being detained under PSA should be lodged in State Jails so that their family members could meet them easily, Mir said adding asked the Governor Administration to reconsider his decision. J&K High Court Bar Association (JKHCBA), Srinagar, described the amendment as Politically motivated and termed it as an act to terrorise, torture and humiliate the freedom loving people of Kashmir by threatening them to get them lodged in jails outside the state, The J&K Public Safety Ordinance 2011 maintained that no resident of J&K detained under the PSA could be shifted to a jail outside the State. Amnesty International in 2011 has described the PSA as a lawless law. In its report A Lawless Law: Detentions under the Jammu and Kashmir Public Safety Act, the organisation documents how the PSA is used to secure the long-term detention of individuals against whom there is insufficient evidence for a trial. India Facing Shortage of Junior Leadership in Military Ranks Sputnik News 17:25 02.08.2018(updated 20:03 02.08.2018) Given its fragile border with China in the east and Pakistan in the west, India is wise to maintain one of the world's largest armies. However, with the waning popularity of armed forces careers, India is facing a serious crunch of junior leadership in the military. New Delhi (Sputnik): The Indian army is currently facing a shortage of 7,298 officers. The Indian Navy has an authorized strength of 11,352 officers but has only 9,746, which is 1,606 less than the sanctioned number. Even the Air Force is short 192 officers, the country's Defense Ministry informed Parliament on Thursday. "As on January 1, 2018, the authorized strength of the Army was 49,933 but it has 42,635 officers, which is 7,298 short of sanctioned strength," Subhash Bhamre, Minister of State for Defense said. The defense ministry has claimed it has undertaken a number of measures including career fairs, exhibitions, media campaigns, etc. to encourage the youth to join the Armed Forces. But army veterans say that the government lacks the proper strategy to lure the youth. "The main problem is that each unit in field areas presently has only 12-14 officers instead of the sanctioned 21-22, while in peace stations it is only 9-10 officers. For the last several years, the government has taken a number of steps such as improving promotion prospects, making short service commission more lucrative and providing housing for married officers. However, much more needs to be done. The other steps are merely publicity measures," Major General (Retd) R K Arora told Sputnik. Arora is of the opinion that the shortage of new recruits has increased stress level among existing officers, thus adversely affecting their competency. "Deficiency is at the Lieutenant, Captain and Major levels. These are the officers who are leading the counter-insurgency operations but the shortage of these officers is adversely affecting their leadership quality, combat level and increasing the stress level among officers," Arora added. Another former Indian army officer, Major General (Retd) G. D. Bakshi opines that today young people have various other lucrative career opportunities. "The fact is that at present, there are various job opportunities for the young people in India. Now people want to work in comfort; in air-conditioned offices. We don't get a high salary in the armed forces; but there was a way of life, attitude, a sense of pride, a nationalist sentiment which has always propelled the youth to join the forces. But the new generation has nothing to do with it. They are highly materialistic. It is a fact that the choice of the armed forces as a career has decreased over the years," Major General (Retd) G D Bakshi told Sputnik. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address UK Heathrow Staff Claims to Intercept Shipment of Missile Warhead Parts for Iran Sputnik News 18:45 02.08.2018(updated 19:13 02.08.2018) MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The UK Border Force at London's Heathrow airport said on Thursday it had thwarted an alleged attempt to send missile warhead components to Iran. According to the border force, the suspicious items were found upon inspection in the freight set to be flown off from the airport. "We had a couple of O rings that we identified. O rings are pieces of rubber that go between tubes to stop leakage to seal them. They can be used in oil, but they can also be used for warheads and the like. Our staff stopped them from going to Iran," Monique Wrench, the UK Border Force's deputy director at Heathrow, told the Evening Standard. According to Wrench, the equipment looked like it was intended for an oil refinery. "But the dots don't quite join up here," the official said, adding that the investigation was launched into the issue. Any transactions on selling missile-related equipment or technology to Iran are prohibited under UN Security Council resolution 1737 adopted in 2006 over proliferation risks of Iran's nuclear program. The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, also known as the Iran nuclear deal, which presupposes lifting of some anti-Iranian trade restrictions, does not nullify sanctions related to the missile production. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address 'Either Everyone Sells Oil Through Strait of Hormuz or No One Does' Iranian MP Sputnik News 14:52 02.08.2018(updated 14:53 02.08.2018) Iran has moved naval forces into the Strait of Hormuz, the source of 20% of the world's oil, in a display of force aimed showing its ability to shut down the artery. The move follows Tehran's adoption of a strategy of 'smart economic resistance' aimed at disarming US sanctions. Sputnik spoke to specialists about the details of Tehran's approach. The 'smart economic resistance' strategy, announced by Vice-President Eshaq Jahangiri last month aims at staving off the consequences of the US "economic war against Iran." According to the senior official, Tehran has "drawn up the necessary mechanisms" and "planned for the worst case scenarios" to disarm the effects of US sanctions. Speaking to Sputnik Persian, Seyed Hossein Naghavi-Hosseini, spokesman of the Iranian parliament's commission on national security and foreign policy, confirmed that one of the points of Tehran's 'smart economic resistance' strategy will be the tit-for-tat closure of the Strait of Hormuz to American oil tankers if Iranian oil exports are threatened. "Iran has access to the Persian Gulf, the Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf of Oman. It would be illogical if the other countries in this region could sell their oil, while Iran could not," the politician said. "Iran's strategy here is as follows: either everyone sells their oil, or no one does. Iran has the capability to do this and the Americans know this," Naghavi-Hosseini stressed. Furthermore, the lawmaker noted, Iran, enjoying some of the richest reserves of oil and gas in the world and serving as a "strong player" on the global energy market, can develop partnerships with major world economies, from Southeast Asia and Latin America to India and Africa, with whom Tehran "could easily cooperate" to take much of the sting out of US sanctions threats. Last month, Vice-President Jahangiri noted that the country has some $200 billion worth of oil and gas projects at the ready for Iranian and foreign companies to take advantage of. Two Elements to 'Smart Economic Resistance' Hoshayr Rostami, an independent economist and analyst at Canadian financial consulting firm Finapath, told Sputnik Persian that Iran's geostrategic location is an advantage which allows it to resist American pressure. In Rostami's view, there are two ways to implement the strategy of 'smart economic resistance'. First, the country's leadership must come to rely more on non-oil revenues, specifically taxation, since this does not fall under sanctions. The analyst pointed out that in the past year, government revenues from taxation already topped revenues from oil sales. Along with oil and natural gas, Iran is also a major exporter of plastics, chemicals, iron and steel, fruits and nuts, fertilizers, salts, copper and aluminum. Secondly, Rostami noted, it's necessary for Tehran to streamline public spending and subsidies in order to adjust to any difficulties which may arise. "Current costs and government spending are very high. These expenses need to be structured," he said. As far as President Trump's threats of reducing Iranian oil exports "to zero," Rostami pointed out that Iran can respond to such threats by putting pressure on large companies working with the US. "In making such statements, Trump is seeking to exert psychological pressure on Iran and to create economic disarray. There have already been cases in the past, such as the oil-for-food program in Iraq, which was approved in accordance with UN resolutions; the idea that the United States wants to bring the export of Iranian oil down to zero unilaterally is something very difficult to accomplish and impossible to enforce," the analyst stressed. "It's also necessary to take Iran's geopolitical position into account. For example, the president's words that if we cannot sell our oil, other countries will face difficulties in the Strait of Hormuz this is something that's difficult to accomplish technically. But if US sanctions lead to a reduction of our revenues, then we must make use of economics to compensate for the loss of revenues caused by sanctions," Rostami concluded. Escalating Tensions Tensions between Tehran and Washington escalated dramatically in May after President Trump withdrew the United States from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the landmark nuclear deal which promised Iran sanctions relief in exchange for a halt to the country's alleged nuclear program. Washington has begun reintroducing sanctions in several waves, including restricting Iran's purchase of US dollars (a major currency used for world trade), and threatening to bring exports of Iranian crude oil down "to zero" by sanctioning companies doing business with the Islamic Republic. The latter target companies around the world, including the US's European allies, which have begun to withdraw their investments in Iranian oil. US sanctions on companies which purchase Iranian oil are set to go into effect in November. This week, President Trump said that bilateral talks between Washington and Tehran may be imminent. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif dismissed the overture, insisting that Iran was "not North Korea" and that "threats, sanctions and PR stunts won't work." Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address U.S. Senators Blast Russia, Prepare 'Crushing' Measures Against 'Kremlin Aggression' Mark Najarian August 02, 2018 WASHINGTON -- An influential bipartisan group of U.S. senators has introduced a package of measures designed to protect "American security from Kremlin aggression," including new financial sanctions and a "strong statement of support" for NATO. The bill introduced on August 2 represents at least the fourth piece of legislation circulating in Congress to punish Russia for its alleged interference in U.S. elections, its aggression in Ukraine and Syria, and other "malign" activities. "The current sanctions regime has failed to deter Russia from meddling in the upcoming 2018 midterm elections," Republican Senator Lindsey Graham said in a statement introducing the bill. "Our goal is to change the status quo and impose crushing sanctions and other measures against [President Vladimir] Putin's Russia until he ceases and desists meddling in the U.S. electoral process, halts cyberattacks on U.S. infrastructure, removes Russia from Ukraine, and ceases efforts to create chaos in Syria," Graham said. According to a statement issued by the senators, new sanctions would target "political figures, oligarchs, and family members and other persons that facilitate illicit and corrupt activities, directly or indirectly, on behalf of Vladimir Putin." The bill would also require a report to be assembled on the personal net worth and assets of Putin, who many say has amassed great amounts of wealth as the Russia leader. U.S. President Donald Trump has faced widespread criticism over his handling of a summit last month with Putin, with critics charging he did not challenge the Russian leader over alleged election meddling and other global issues. Throughout his presidency, Trump has expressed his desire for better relations with Russia, and with Putin in particular, despite criticism that he has been too quick to go along with Kremlin policies. Trump has denied the allegations and said he has been tougher on Russia than any previous president. Since the summit, 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 Russia's future," Graham and Democrat Robert Menendez said in a joint statement on July 24 as they disclosed initial plans for the legislation. Along with Graham and Menendez, Democrats Ben Cardin and Jeanne Shaheen and Republicans Cory Gardner and John McCain introduced the legislation on August 2. Called the Defending American Security from Kremlin Aggression Act of 2018, it includes "comprehensive legislation that will increase economic, political, and diplomatic pressure" on Russia in response to its "malign" activities. "The sanctions and other measures contained in this bill are the most hard-hitting ever imposed -- and a direct result of Putin's continued desire to undermine American democracy," Graham said. The senator said he agreed with recent comments by Trump's director of national intelligence, Dan Coats, that "warning lights are blinking red when it comes to Russian meddling in the 2018 election." Menendez said Putin "continues to pose a growing threat to our country and allies" and criticized the White House for lack of action. "While Congress overwhelmingly passed a strong set of countermeasures last year, unfortunately, the administration has not fully complied with that legislation," he added. He said the legislation is aimed at "tightening the screws on the Kremlin and will bring to bear the full condemnation of the United States Congress so that Putin finally understands that the U.S. will not tolerate his behavior any longer." The legislation also declares a "strong statement of support for NATO" that would include a requirement of a two-thirds vote of the U.S. Senate before the United States could leave the Western military alliance. Many U.S. political and military leaders, along with foreign allies, have criticized Trump's tough stance toward NATO allies and have expressed fears he might move to pull the country out of the alliance. The bill would also increase U.S. defenses against illegal cyberactivities and secure U.S. voting systems amid allegations that Russia interfered in the 2016 U.S. presidential election and fears it will meddle in the upcoming November midterm vote. It is not certain if the legislation will pass the Senate and House in its current form. However, the Senate has passed similar tough measures against Russia with overwhelming support. The White House did not immediately comment specifically on the proposed legislation. But hours later, the director of national intelligence, Dan Coats, told a briefing at the White House that Russia is continuing to use "pervasive methods" to exploit and intensify differences in U.S. society and that the intelligence community remains concerned about U.S. election security. "We continue to see a pervasive messaging campaign by Russia to try to weaken and divide the United States," Coats told the joint briefing with other intelligence agency leaders, including FBI Director Christopher Wray and national security adviser John Bolton. Coats said he would support any type of measure, including sanctions, to send a message to Russia to get them to change their behavior. Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/u-s-senators-blast- russia-prepare-crushing-measures-against- kremlin-aggression-/29407414.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. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Favorable Attitudes Toward U.S., EU On The Rise In Russia, Levada Poll Finds RFE/RL August 02, 2018 A new poll shows the number of Russians who view the United States and European Union favorably has dramatically increased since May. The poll, released on August 2 by the independent Russian pollster Levada Center, says 39 percent of respondents described their impressions of the United States as "mainly good," while in May this year that number was 18 percent. Also, the number of Russians who described their impressions of America as "very bad" dropped from 29 percent in May to 12 percent, the poll shows. Russians' view of the EU has improved as well, according to the Levada poll. Forty-two percent of the participants in the poll said they have a "very good" or "good" impression of the EU, compared to 28 percent in May. The number of those who had a "bad" or "very bad" impression of the 28-member bloc dropped from 55 percent in May to 33 percent in July. Sixty-eight percent of respondents said they support a dramatic improvement in Russia's ties with the West, up from 58 percent in March, while 21 percent were in favor of isolation and confrontation with the West -- down from 30 percent in March. Some 1,600 people in 136 towns and cities across Russia's 52 regions participated in the July 19-25 poll. Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/favorable-attitudes- toward-u-s-eu-on-the-rise-in-russia -levada-poll-finds/29407171.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. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Syria air defenses destroy 'hostile target' near Damascus Iran Press TV Thu Aug 2, 2018 09:05PM Syrian air defenses have destroyed a "hostile target" near the capital Damascus, state media say. "Our air defenses confronted a hostile target and destroyed it west of Damascus," Syria's official news agency SANA reported late on Thursday, quoting a military source. No further details about the incident were immediately available, but Israel has carried out similar attacks over the past months. Last week, Israeli military forces targeted a Syrian Air Force fighter jet over the Golan Heights as it was flying in Syria's airspace and conducting a series of airstrikes against the positions of foreign-sponsored Takfiri militants in the occupied territories. In mid-July, Israel targeted a Syrian military site in the Aleppo countryside in a missile attack causing structural damage. Earlier that month, the Syrian military said it had repelled an Israeli attack on Syrian army positions in the country's Quneitra province near the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. Back on May 10, Israel conducted what it called its most intensive airstrikes on Syria in decades. According to Russia's Defense Ministry, Israel used 28 warplanes in its airstrikes and fired 70 missiles. Both Damascus and Moscow said the Syrian army managed to shoot down over half of the missiles. The Tel Aviv regime, at the time, claimed that its assault was in response to a barrage of 20 rockets fired from Syria at Israeli military outposts in Golan. Damascus has on multiple occasions denounced the Israeli regime's aggression and warned about the "dangerous repercussions" of such assaults on its territory. Tel Aviv is also widely believed to have been providing weapons to anti-Damascus militants as well as medical treatment to Takfiri elements wounded in Syria inside the occupied Golan Heights. In recent weeks, the Syrian army has been making significant territorial gains against terrorists in the country's south. Militants have been handing over their heavy weapons to Syrian government forces and leaving the region in negotiated surrender deals. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Russian FM: Need for 'final blow' to terrorists in Idlib Iran Press TV Thu Aug 2, 2018 02:39PM Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov says the counter-terrorism fight in Syria is not over yet and it is necessary to eliminate militants in the country's northwestern Idlib Province. "The work [in Syria] is in full swing, a lot is yet to be done. At the same time, it is necessary to deal a final blow to terrorists near Idlib, which still remain there," Lavrov said while speaking on the sidelines of the 51st Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) ministerial meeting in Singapore on Thursday. Elsewhere in his remarks, the Russian minister said only the Syrian people were entitled to determine the fate of their country, not external players, whose meddling in the war-torn state's affairs was "counterproductive." Lavrov said that based on the UN Security Council Resolution 2254 only the Syrians should decide the future of their homeland and that Syria's unity and independence should be preserved. The top Russian diplomat also criticized attempts by external players to determine Syria's future and form of government. "There are some external players who would prefer to decide everything for the Syrians but it is the Syrian people who should rule the country, determine its form of government and write a constitution. We do not support such attempts as we consider them to be counterproductive," he said. Lavrov further stressed that Russia, as a member of the Astana peace process, had put forward an initiative for the establishment of a Syrian constitutional committee. "It is not easy work but we will continue to help compile a member list that the government and other members of the constitutional committee will accept," he said. Recently, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad told Russian media that Damascus' next priority would be retaking Idlib. Syrian army advances against terrorists Separately on Thursday, Russia said Syrian troops had managed to wrest control over three southern provinces and the border zone with Jordan. "Syrian forces, supported by Russian aviation, liquidated Daesh and former al-Nusra groups and retook control of Suwayda, Dara'a and Quneitra," Russian army General Sergei Rudskoy said at a briefing in Moscow. He also praised the "unique operation" that led to the liberation of "3,332 square kilometers" of Syrian territory from the grip of Takfiri terrorists. The Syrian government, he said, "entirely retook control of the border between Syria and Jordan." In recent weeks, the Syrian army has been making significant territorial gains against terrorists in the country's south. Militants have been handing over their heavy weapons to Syrian government forces and leaving the region in negotiated surrender deals. Assad said on Wednesday that the final victory over terrorism is close thanks to the sacrifices of the Syrian army forces. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Israel's Lieberman admits Assad back in charge in Syria Iran Press TV Thu Aug 2, 2018 01:19PM Israeli minister of military affairs has admitted that the government of President Bashar al-Assad is regaining control of the Syrian territory and that stability is returning to the occupied Golan Heights. The situation in Syria is returning to how it was before the conflict began in 2011, Avigdor Lieberman told reporters on Thursday while visiting Israeli military positions near Tzefat. "From our perspective, the situation is returning to how it was before the civil war, meaning there is a real address, someone responsible, and central rule," he said. Backed by its allies, namely Iran and Russia, the Syrian government has stepped up its gains against foreign-backed Takfiri terrorist groups on several fronts. Israel is especially concerned about Syria's advances against militants in the south near the occupied territories in Golan. Tel Aviv has recently beefed up its military presence on the occupied side of Syria's Golan Heights, deploying more military equipment and forces to the region. The regime has also increased its aerial assaults against the Syrian army in what is widely viewed as an attempt to prop up anti-Damascus terrorists. Elsewhere in his remarks, the Israeli minister of military affairs stressed that the residents of the occupied Golan should be less wary of a potential flare-up in the region. "It is also Assad's interest, because he understands what will happen if it does not return to the previous situation and I assume that he will make his own decisions," Lieberman added. He also claimed that Israel does not "interfere or intervene in Syria's internal affairs," adding, however, "this is provided that all three points that are important to us are fulfilled." The Israeli minister urged Damascus to observe the 1974 armistice, not allow Iran to use the Syrian territory as a front against Israel and not become a transit point for alleged arms deliveries to Lebanon's Hezbollah resistance movement. "We are not looking for friction, but we will know how to respond to any provocation and any challenge," Lieberman said. Israeli strike kills 7 in Golan Shortly after the remarks, the Israeli military said it had carried out an airstrike on Syria's Golan Heights, killing seven people. It further claimed that the victims were Daesh elements who sought to attack an Israeli target. Israeli army spokesman, Ronen Manelis, said the victims had come as close to 200 meters to the border with the occupied lands. Russia deploys military police to Golan Additionally on Thursday, Russia said it had deployed its military police to the Golan Heights. A senior Russian Defense Ministry official told a news briefing in Moscow that the military police had begun patrolling Golan and planned to set up eight observation posts in support of UN peacekeeping efforts. "Today, UN peacekeepers accompanied by Russian military police conducted their first patrols in six years in the separation zone," Sergei Rudskoi said, adding, "With the aim of preventing possible provocations against UN posts along the 'Bravo' line, the deployment is planned of eight observation posts of Russia's armed forces' military police." He, however, noted that the Russian presence in Golan was temporary and that the observation posts would be handed over to Syrian government forces once the situation stabilized. Israeli PM cancels Colombia visit In another development on Thursday, an Israeli official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had cancelled a planned trip to Colombia due to the situation around the Gaza Strip. Netanyahu was due to travel to the Latin American country on August 6-9. Tensions have been running high near the Gaza fence since March 30, which marked the start of a series of protests, dubbed "The Great March of Return," demanding the right to return for those driven out of their homeland. The Gaza clashes reached their peak on May 14, on the eve of the 70th anniversary of Nakba Day (the Day of Catastrophe), which coincided this year with the US embassy relocation from Tel Aviv to the occupied Jerusalem al-Quds. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address '100 Daesh terrorists in Syria flee toward Jordan border' Iran Press TV Thu Aug 2, 2018 09:14AM At least 100 members of the Takfiri Daesh terrorist group have fled from Syria's southwestern province of Dara'a toward Jordan's border areas after losing ground to advancing Syrian army troops, a monitor says. The so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported the development on Thursday, adding that the Daesh terrorists had escaped from the Yarmouk Base in in Dara'a toward the villages of Beit Ara and Koya, located in the vicinity of Jordan's border. The report added that the terrorists were using local inhabitants of the rural areas as human shields against alleged airstrikes by the Syrian military. It further said that dozens of Daesh terrorists had already surrendered to Syrian government troops, and some 30 others had been executed by the terror outfit itself. The government has been making swift advances in the southern and southwestern regions of Syria. President Bashar al-Assad said earlier in the week that final victory over terrorism was close thanks to the sacrifices of the Syrian Armed Forces. In recent weeks, the Syrian army has been trying to wrest control of the southern provinces of Dara'a and Quneitra, which border the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. Takfiri militants have been handing over their heavy weapons to Syrian government forces and leaving the region in negotiated surrender deals. The full liberation of both Dara'a and Quneitra by Syrian government forces would cut the much-reported collaboration between Israel and the anti-Damascus militants operating in the two regions. Syria has been gripped by foreign-backed militancy since March 2011. The Syrian government says the Israeli regime and its Western and regional allies are aiding Takfiri terrorist groups wreaking havoc in the country. But that conflict is winding down as the Syrian central government reasserts its control over the country. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address U.S. defense act backs strengthening Taiwan's combat readiness ROC Central News Agency 2018/08/02 10:39:00 Washington, Aug. 1 (CNA) The U.S. Senate passed an annual defense policy bill Wednesday for fiscal year 2019, which includes provisions supporting the strengthening of Taiwan's armed forces. The National Defense Authorization Act cleared the Senate 87-10, after the House of Representatives passed the bill in identical form July 26. It will become law after being signed by U.S. President Donald Trump. Section 1257 of the bill requires the secretary of defense to conduct a comprehensive assessment of Taiwan's military assets, particularly its reserves, and provide recommendations to improve the efficiency, effectiveness, readiness, and resilience of Taiwan's self-defense capability. It also requires the secretary of defense to submit a report to the appropriate congressional committees not later than one year after the date of the enactment of the law. The report should contain a plan for the United States, including the use of appropriate security cooperation authorities, to expand senior military-to-military engagements and joint training by the United States Armed Forces with Taiwan's military, and support U.S. foreign military sales and other equipment transfers to Taiwan, particularly for developing asymmetric warfare capabilities, according to the bill. Section 1258, meanwhile, expresses the sense of Congress that the Taiwan Relations Act and the "Six Assurances" are both cornerstones of U.S. relations with Taiwan. It states that the United States should strengthen defense and security cooperation with Taiwan to support the development of capable, ready and modern defense forces necessary for Taiwan to maintain a sufficient self-defense capability. The United States should strongly support the acquisition by Taiwan of defensive weapons through foreign military sales, direct commercial sales and industrial cooperation, with a particular emphasis on asymmetric warfare and undersea warfare capabilities, consistent with the Taiwan Relations Act, the bill stipulates. It also says the United States should improve the predictability of arms sales to Taiwan by ensuring timely review of and response to requests of Taiwan for defense articles and defense services. It recommends that the secretary of defense promote policies concerning exchanges that enhance the security of Taiwan, including opportunities for practical training and military exercises with Taiwan, and exchanges between senior defense officials and general officers consistent with the Taiwan Travel Act. It also calls for an expansion of U.S.-Taiwan cooperation in humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, and urges the secretary of defense to consider supporting the visit of a U.S. hospital ship to Taiwan as part of the annual "Pacific Partnership" mission in order to improve disaster response planning and preparedness, as well as to strengthen cooperation between the U.S. and Taiwan. (By Chiang Chin-yeh and Y.F. Low) Enditem/J NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Returning to nuclear energy 'specious,' 'outworn': president ROC Central News Agency 2018/08/02 17:30:02 Taipei, Aug. 2 (CNA) President Tsai Ing-wen () rebuffed Thursday the argument that Taiwan should continue to use nuclear energy until the renewable energy industry matures, saying that Taiwan will not face power shortages after it goes nuclear-free by 2025. Recently, some supporters of nuclear power have expressed doubt as to whether renewable energy will become a viable alternative source of energy and have advocated the continued use of nuclear energy, Tsai said. Addressing an international forum on new energy, she described that argument as "specious" and "outworn" compared to advanced concepts in energy development. Tsai's remarks came two days after former President Ma Ying-jeou () and former Premier Jiang Yi-huah () urged the public to support two referendum petitions that seek to reject Tsai's policy of decommissioning all Taiwan's nuclear reactors by 2025. "After 2025, when Taiwan has no nuclear-generated power in its energy-mix portfolio, we won't encounter any electricity supply problems," Tsai said. Under the Tsai administration's energy transition plan, by 2025, 20 percent of the nation's power will be supplied by green energy, mainly based on solar and wind power, 30 percent by coal-fired power plants and 50 percent by liquefied natural gas-fired generators. According to Taiwan Power Company, nuclear power in 2017 accounted for 9.3 percent of Taiwan's total electricity generation, compared with 39.2 percent from coal, 38.6 percent from natural gas, 4.8 percent from oil and 4.9 percent from renewables. "The transition will make our energy system more advanced, resilient and efficient," Tsai said. She said that increasing the proportion of renewable energy is not something that can be achieved at a stroke, but noted that Taiwan has made progress in recent years. "Scorching weather has pushed electricity consumption to record levels recently, but the operating reserve margin has been maintained at about 6 percent, partly contributed by solar energy. A few years from now, wind power will be a main source of renewable energy," she went on. Tsai said she is confident that Taiwan will succeed in its energy transition because the plan has brought many people on board to boost the development of green energy. One of the two referendum proposals endorsed by Ma and Jiang ask whether the fourth nuclear power plant, which was mothballed in 2014 -- when they were in office -- amid concern among the public over nuclear safety, should be activated for commercial operations. The other referendum proposal is about whether Article 95-1 of the Electricity Act, which will phase out nuclear power plants by 2025, should be abolished. The article was amended in January last year, about six months after Tsai took office. (By Shih Hsiu-chuan) Enditem/J NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Turkey vows retaliation against US sanctions over jailed pastor Iran Press TV Thu Aug 2, 2018 05:15PM Turkey has vowed to take retaliatory measures against the United States after Washington slapped two Turkish ministers with sanctions over the trial of a jailed American pastor in the Anatolian country. In a statement on Thursday, the Turkish Foreign Ministry warned the White House that the move "will greatly damage constructive efforts" to settle outstanding issues and that Ankara would surely retaliate. "Without delay, there will be a response to this aggressive attitude that will not serve any purpose," it further said. Tensions between the two NATO allies have heightened over Turkey's detention on alleged terror charges of American pastor Andrew Brunson, who was in custody for 21 months in a Turkish prison until he was transferred to house arrest last week. The American pastor, who has lived in Turkey for more than two decades, was ordered by a Turkish court to wear an electronic bracelet at all times. The court also prevented him from traveling outside of the country. On Wednesday, the White House announced that it was imposing sanctions on Turkish Justice Minister Abdulhamit Gul and Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu. The sanctions involve freezing any property or assets on the US soil held by the two ministers. The sanctions also prevent American citizens from doing any business with the two ministers. It had been unprecedented for the US so far to slap a NATO ally with sanctions. In a separate statement, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, who is set to meet his American counterpart Mike Pompeo in the coming days, also warned that the provocative move "will not go without response." Brunson, 50, was indicted by a Turkish court on charges of having links with the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) militant group and the movement of the US-based opposition cleric Fethullah Gulen, whom Ankara accuses of having masterminded the July 2016 coup attempt against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Brunson has already denied the charges, calling them "shameful and disgusting." If evangelical pastor is found guilty, he will face up to 35 years in jail. US President Donald Trump has repeatedly demanded Brunson's release and said on Twitter last month that the pastor's detention over terrorism and espionage charges was "a total disgrace." He also called the prisoner "a great Christian, family man and wonderful human being." Additionally on Thursday, Turkey's Treasury and Finance Minister Berat said the US sanctions were unacceptable and would have limited impact on the Turkish economy. He added that Ankara's priority was to settle the issue with Washington through dialogue and diplomacy. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - August 2, 2018) - Intercontinental Gold and Metals Ltd. (TSXV: ICAU) (the "Company") announces that it is late in filing its annual financial statements (the "Financial Statements") and management discussion and analysis ("MD&A") for the year ended March 31, 2018 on the prescribed deadline of July 30, 2018. The Company has made an application with the applicable securities regulators under National Policy 12-203 Cease Trade Orders for Continuous Disclosure Defaults ("NP 12-203") requesting that a management cease trade order be imposed in respect of this late filing rather than an issuer cease trade order. The issuance of a management cease trade order generally does not affect the ability of persons who have not been directors, officers or insiders of the Company to trade in their securities. The Company has been unable to complete the required filings due to lack of response from certain suppliers, banks and individuals in Bolivia in supplying the requisite confirmation letters to the auditors of the Company. As a result of these delays, the Company requires additional time to procure the necessary documentation to complete the Financial Statements, MD&A and audit. The Company anticipates that it will resolve the issue and file the Financial Statements and MD&A on or prior to September 2, 2018. The Company confirms that it will satisfy the provisions of the alternative information guidelines under NP 12-203 by issuing bi-weekly default status reports in the form of news releases for so long as it remains in default of the filing requirements to file its financial statements and MD&A within the prescribed period of time. The Company confirms that there is no other material information relating to its affairs that has not been generally disclosed. About Intercontinental Gold and Metals Ltd. Intercontinental Gold and Metals Ltd. is a Next Generation Metals and Mining Company providing leverage to commodity prices, exploration and development success and significant growth potential for our stakeholders. Our physical commodities marketing and trading operations provide insights in global primary supply and demand trends that in turn create a strategic and competitive advantage investment and expansion opportunities on a global basis. The Company generates revenues from the purchases and sales of gold and silver (accounted for as revenue). Cost of sales is measured at the fair value of the precious metals purchased and inventory sold, which is purchased at a competitive discount from licensed artisanal and small gold miners (ASGM) in Latin America (LATAM). ASGM supply supports a sustainable revenue generation model. We are unique being the only publicly listed company servicing the LATAM ASGM market. ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS INTERCONTINENTAL GOLD AND METALS LTD. Gorden Glenn President & Chief Executive Officer For further information, please contact; Investor Relations at 647-985-2785 or Barry Mire, Renmark Financial at 514-939-3989 Forward Looking Statements The Statements included in this press release concerning predictions of economic performance and management's plans and objectives constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Forward-looking statements may include estimates, plans, opinions, forecasts, projections or other statements that are not statements of fact. Although the Company believes that expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to have been correct. The Company cautions that actual performance will be affected by a number of factors, many of which are beyond the Company's control, and that future events and results may vary substantially from what the Company currently foresees. 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. Uprooted Palestinians are at the heart of the conflict in the M.E Palestinians uprooted by force of arms. Yet faced immense difficulties have survived, kept alive their history and culture, passed keys of family homes in occupied Palestine from one generation to the next. It's hard to overstate the significance of President Donald Trump's decision to impose sanctions on Turkey's justice and interior ministers over the detention of American pastor. It's the first time the U.S. has imposed sanctions on government officials of a NATO ally.Let that sink in. A little more than a month ago, Turkish military officers showed up at a Texas airbase for a formal ceremony marking the sale of F-35A stealth aircraft. U.S. pilots fly missions out of Turkey's Incirlik airbase against targets in Syria. In July, Turkish leaders met with other allies in Brussels for the NATO summit. Now the U.S. is treating Turkey like it's Iran. The reason for this sudden turn in U.S.-Turkish relations is Andrew Brunson. He is the American evangelical pastor arrested in 2016 on allegations that he was part of the failed military coup that summer. The charges against him are risible, relying on secret witnesses and conspiracy theories. The prosecutor for example notes that Brunson appeared in a photograph wearing a yellow, red and green scarf, the colors favored by a Kurdish terrorist group. And while Brunson's freedom is a worthy goal, there is a greater risk in the Trump administration's approach to achieving it. By negotiating for the release of Brunson, the U.S. is teaching Turkey that Iranian-style hostage diplomacy works. The situation unraveled last week after a judge released Brunson from prison, but ordered him to remain under house arrest. Trump believed he had a deal with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan that involved a state-run Turkish bank, Halk Bankasi, which allegedly evaded U.S. sanctions on Iran's nuclear program. As my Bloomberg colleague Benjamin Harvey detailed this week, in exchange for Brunson's freedom the Trump administration was going to recommend a lenient fine against Halkbank, and to send one of its executives who is currently in a U.S. jail back to Turkey to serve out the remainder of his sentence. However, U.S. officials tell me, Trump personally surmised that Erdogan wasn't going to make good on the deal, hence yesterday's sanction announcement. And this gets to the second problem. Brunson is only one hostage the Turks currently have. There is also Serkan Golge, a Turkish-American NASA scientist who was also arrested on charges of being in on the 2016 coup. In 2017, the Turks arrested two local employees of U.S. diplomatic missions in Turkey. Would Trump allow things to go back to normal with Turkey if Brunson were released but Golge and the Turkish citizens remained in prison? Besides, Brunson is just a pawn in a bigger game. The Turks allege that a cleric named Fethullah Gulen, who was once Erdogan's closest political partner, orchestrated the attempted 2016 coup. Gulen has been in self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania since 1999 and secured a U.S. green card in 2001, straining Turkish-American relations for two decades. While the Turks demand he be extradited, U.S. officials say they have yet to present any compelling evidence of his complicity in the failed putsch from 2016. That said, Turkey has not limited its hostage-taking to Americans. According to a report from the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, the Turks have arrested 30 Western nationals for taking part in the failed coup. Aykan Erdemir, an author of that report, told me Turkey's hostage diplomacy was a symptom of the bigger problem of Erdogan's slide toward authoritarianism. "The issue is much larger than Pastor Brunson, it's also much larger than the hostages," he said. "This is a NATO member-state that is drifting away from the alliance and its values." Erdogan has been gradually consolidating power and criminalizing his opposition for years. This trend accelerated after the failed coup. In addition to purging thousands of alleged Gulenists from the civil service, Erdogan's government has launched a campaign to go after the coup plotters abroad. In April, Turkey's deputy prime minister said in a television interview that Turkish agents in 18 countries had brought back 80 individuals connected to the coup. This trend has also manifested itself through Turkey's foreign policy. Erdogan has moved closer to Russia, which controls much of the airspace in neighboring Syria. Even though Turkey and Russia have technically been on opposite sides of that civil war, the Turks have nonetheless entered into agreements to purchase Russian air defense systems and a nuclear power plant. The Erdogan government says it won't adhere to new sanctions the U.S. will implement in November against banks and businesses that purchase Iranian oil. Trump is within his rights to offer leniency to Turkish banks and other blandishments in negotiations with Erdogan. The problem is that when he does so to free American citizens, he is creating the same kind of moral hazard Ronald Reagan's envoys established with Iran, when they traded arms for hostages. The Iranians have been taking Western captives ever since. Trump knows this moral hazard well. He campaigned against the Obama administration's cash payment to the Iranians ahead of the release of U.S. prisoners in 2016. That's why Trump must be mindful that his efforts to free Brunson don't encourage Turkey to take more hostages in the future. - - - Eli Lake is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering national security and foreign policy. He was the senior national security correspondent for the Daily Beast, and covered national security and intelligence for the Washington Times, the New York Sun and UPI. By Vasia Orion | Published on 2018/08/02 After torturing us with motion posters from "The Guest - Drama" on social media, OCN has finally dropped a proper first teaser for the upcoming exorcism-themed drama. The video shows us an eerie, but imposing Korean shamanistic ritual, before it teases us with a glimpse of leads Kim Dong-wook, Kim Jae-wook and Jung Eun-chae. Advertisement The three play a psychic, a priest and a detective who will join hands in solving crimes committed by strange powers throughout Korean society. I assume that previously released character information is still accurate, but I do wonder whether there's a supernatural element to this drama or not. Perhaps that question will be part of the mystery? I'm ready to give "Entourage" writers Kwon So-ra and Seo Jae-won a clean slate for a fresh start at this, and I hope that they and PD Kim Hong-seon-I will make the best of this interesting premise and sweet cast. I can't wait to see more promotional material from "The Guest - Drama", which is now confirmed to premiere at 23:00 KST on September 12th. Written by: Orion from 'Orion's Ramblings' Published on 2018/08/02 | Source Song So-eun (Lee Yoo-young) found out about Han Kang-ho's (Yoon Si-yoon) good deed on the latest episode of the SBS drama "Your Honor". Advertisement Chief Sin (Jung Min-sung) went to Song So-eun and said, "My father and I made false statements as we were fooled by Lee Ho-seong (Yoon Na-moo). We will tell the truth at the trial even if we get punished for it and fight till the end". He then took out a present or Han Kang-ho and Song So-eun. She refused and said they weren't allowed to accept, but Sin said, "I wanted to give him a shirt, but I bought socks instead because of the Kim Young-ran Law". He offered her the present again, but she refused. Sin said, "The male judge gave me money. He told me not to worry about the cost of living and to fight to the end. He said he was giving me half of what he had. Please tell him I will work hard to pay him back". Song So-eun gave the present to Han Kang-ho who complained that it was too small of a present, but excited to see it. Song So-eun asked him to have a beer with her. Representatives of Montanas U.S. senators said they missed on an opportunity to require Amtrak to restore ticket agents to some stations where the National Passenger Rail Corp. had eliminated them, but they are working on another opportunity. I will keep doing everything I can to restore the Amtrak staffing cuts in Havre and Shelby, Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., told the Havre Daily Thursday. Washington needs to stop undermining rural communities and start investing in our transportation infrastructure. A well-staffed Amtrak is good for Havre and good for businesses across the Hi-L... By Emily Mayer The results of the survey conducted by the Montana State Council of Defense for the purpose of federal government aid to farmers was released in the August 3, 1918, edition of The Havre Plaindealer. The aid was for farmers who had sustained loss due to drought, and Montana Senator Walsh secured $5 million for the cause. Two thousand farmers crammed Fort Assinniboine the week before for a farm picnic and presentations on various experiments done on dryland farming. Of course, the war over there as well as making sure the home front had food was foremost on everyone... Buster Cleveland, 14, from Dells, Wisconsin, dances with other youth during the grand entry into Rocky Boy's Youth August 2, 2018. The youth powwow at Rocky Boy's Indian Reservation kicked off Thursday, welcoming kids and adults from across the country and Canada to celebrate youth during Rocky Boy powwow week. The youth powwow was held in conjunction with the Rocky Boy's 54th Annual Celebration, taking place at the powwow grounds for children and youths 3 and older to dance, eat, see relatives, celebrate and learn about the culture. "The children are the holy ones," Joe Tohonnie Jr., a member of the Apache Crown Dancers, told the crowd as the Apache Crown Dancers danced to bless the youth powwow. He added that chil... Promises are important, at least thats what we tell our kids. In Montana and around the country, there are groups advocating that we break the promises made to our American Indian friends and neighbors. These groups, which form the anti-Indian movement, represent a systematic effort to deny legally-established rights by terminating American Indian sovereignty and culture. They feed on the publics lack of knowledge regarding treaty rights and the negative stereotypes directed at American Indians. They strive to create fear and rancor, especially in white communities on or near reservat... Indeed, organisational agility has proven to have a significant impact on employee engagement, retention and the bottom line. The top employers also demonstrate an open mindset to innovation and technology, and equip leaders to be successful in changing environments. The 2018 Aon Best Employers are: BPAY Group Coca-Cola Amatil New Zealand Colliers International Eden Brae Homes Employsure FedEx Express (New Zealand) Four Square (Foodstuffs North Island Ltd) Geeves Scaffolding Ltd Peoplecare Health Plush Sofas Prospa SEEK Limited Wood & Grieve Engineers Woods Z Energy Lucy Lithgow, BPAY Group general manager, people and culture, said that to be named as an Aon Hewitt Employer of Choice for 2018 is testament to the great company culture and how it contributes to organisational success. TIGHT LABOR MARKET: Area has 2 jobs for every worker When Publix holds a jobs fair this weekend, the Florida-based supermarket chain will find that its hunting in a sparse field. The tight labor market is changing the landscape for manufacturing, public employment and health care, with employers having to be more creative and in many cases more generous in the chase for workers. Publix hopes to hire dozens of workers during a job fair from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday, Saturday and Sunday at Mountain Lodge on Upward Road. We have a tremendous number of people looking for workers and we dont have many people, said Scott Adams, who directs the NC Works Career Center at Blue Ridge Community College. If you remember back to 2009 and 2010 when everything was not good, here at the NC Works Center in Henderson County, we were averaging about 80 to 90 people a day coming to the Career Center. We are averaging now about 50 a week. Thats an incredible drop in not a whole of time. The four-county region made up of Henderson, Buncombe, Transylvania and Madison counties has the lowest unemployment rate of any region across the state, at 2.9 percent (compared to the Rocky Mount Metropolitan Statistical Area, at 5.8 percent, and statewide rate of 3.7 percent). Buncombe has maintained the lowest unemployment rate of any county in the state for 40 consecutive months, and is now at 2.8 percent. Henderson County, at 3.1 percent, is tied for the third lowest rate. In the past year, employers added 2,700 jobs in the four-county metro region, said Nathan Ramsey, who heads the Mountain Area Workforce Development Board. There are about twice as many job openings as there are job seekers, he said. Were seeing lots of different strategies to help employers meet workforce needs. Certainly wage growth is a part of that. Manufacturing is strong, health care is strong, hospitality, tourism, construction pretty much all across the board employers are hiring right now. Its a challenging time for all of us but its a good problem to have. Asheville nationally known The overall popularity of the region, manufacturing growth and health care jobs are all contributing to the jobs boom. No. 1, I think that the Asheville area having become more nationally recognized both in tourism and people liking the town has affected all of us, Adams said. No. 2, weve always been a heavy manufacturing county but I think the increase in the Greenville-Spartanburg area in the automotive industry has led to a tremendous number of manufacturers who support that industry moving to this area. Thats where were seeing a lot of the jobs. Health care keeps growing, hospitality keeps growing and manufacturing weve seen growth in all those areas. Like Publix, manufacturers have been holding job fairs to try to fill positions on the factory floor and other positions. Everybodys looking, Adams said. Wilsonart had one last week. Theres a lot of that going on. Pardee Hospital announced last week that it was holding a job fair to hire nurses pitching a sign-on bonus for the hardest-to-hire shifts. Nursing positions are always in demand, Hope Reynolds, vice president for Human Resources at Pardee, said in an email answer to the Lightnings questions. Pardee has offered sign-on bonuses for several years now which has helped us tremendously in reducing the number of open RN positions; however, night shift positions continue to be a challenge. The hospital has offered sign-on bonus for inpatient nursing positions of $5,000 for a while and recently saw the need to double that, to $10,000, for night-shift RNs. We conduct and participate in Job Fairs regularly as they have proven to be very successful for us in selecting many qualified candidates, Reynolds said. The on-site job fair for nursing is 8-11 a.m. and 3-7 p.m. Aug. 16 at Pardee. The hardest positions to fill are night shift RNs, certified medical assistants and certified central sterile technicians. The easiest? Customer services representatives, who staff the front desk. We receive more applications for this position than any other position, Reynolds said. In July alone we received 148 applications for CSR. County bonuses? Like Pardee, Henderson County is looking at bonuses to recruit for certain positions. Unlike Pardee, the countys never offered them before. Administrators brought up the idea during a senior staff meeting, County Manager Steve Wyatt said. The big challenge now is hiring candidates with basic law enforcement training for some 14 new school resource officer positions. Weve actually had pretty good success with that, Wyatt said. Its a very tight labor market and were competing. Usually our jobs require a certificate or a professional licensure, including those in the health and social services fields, paramedics and law officers. You dont want to be in a place where theres high unemployment, he said. Theres a lot of opportunity for employment in Henderson County and thats a good thing. It does create challenges because we have to compete and that means money and that makes it more expensive. We negotiate salary more now than we did in the past. Hendersonville City Manager John Connet said the city has more openings than it has had in the past and its seeing resignations of city workers who have gotten more work in their moonlighting work than they could do part-time. The county school is system is facing a typical shortage. Weve always had a shortage of bus drivers, said Scott Rhodes, chief human resources officer for the school system. Teacher assistants those havent been difficult for us to hire for. We have struggled with before-school and after-school teachers and also our cafeteria staff. Insurance and benefits that come along with it, a lot of times thats the draw. We dont have a lot of openings (for teachers). It really just depends on what the subject, Rhodes added. This year we had a difficult time filling Spanish classes and other times weve had difficulty hiring math teachers. Weve got a very well respected school system across the state. People want to come work here and they know theyre going to be treated well. Companies examine labor market Instead of assuming the workers will be here when they come, prospective manufacturing prospects are looking at labor first, said Brittany Jones Brady, president of the Henderson County Partnership for Economic Development. Its definitely changed the world of economic development, she said of the countys jobless rate, which economists consider full employment. Its becoming more workforce development. Were seeing projects now that are looking at the area are considering workforce before they look at a site, so were doing some pretty deep labor dives before we would really study a site very heavily. Before you could look at your labor pool, companies are looking deeper at your unemployment rate and theyre trying to extract information out of your demographics to determine what the true labor pool is. Which pushes us to focus more on workforce strategies, partnering with the college, looking at transferrable skills, looking at underemployed and underserved populations to determine what our labor pool really is that can fill that pipeline. Although the higher unemployment rate in rural Eastern North Carolina may signal a bigger available workforce, Brady says thats not the only factor manufacturers look at. Theres a certainly an attraction to be at areas with a larger population and a higher unemployment rate, she said. However, a company that desires to be in our area are going to try to find a way to make it work. We have some favor because we do have workforce strategies. Those programs include the Made in Henderson County program, which promotes career opportunities in industry to county high school students and a strong partnership with BRCC. In April, the Partnership, BRCC and NC Works held a job fair aimed at high school seniors and the general public. The fair placed 5 percent of the 285 open positions, which Brady described as a good outcome. Now that students have graduated were seeing more of placements happen, she said. The Partnership encourages employers to be as creative and as generous as possible. We have seen some unique sign-on bonuses, she said. We had one company a few years ago that realized a sign-on bonus wasnt enticing but a sign-on (bonus) for a new Play Station was. Theres different types of sign-on bonuses deployed. Weve seen the entry level rise. One company announced it was going to start entry-level workers at $12 an hour. Well, Chick-Fil-A is at $12 an hour, too, she said. You have to look across sectors and what the value of your employees is. In the long run its a cost savings. Youve got to get creative now. No ones sitting on the sidelines waiting for a job. The Partnership continues to focus on the countys 140 existing manufacturers, too, which Brady describes as putting family first. When you hit where we are right now (in a booming economy) theres the argument that you put the brakes on and you dont recruit but theres also discussion of a recession in a year or two, she said. So we continue to be aggressive and move forward, because the economys not going to stay like this. In this economy, were doing more of the workforce strategy whereas in 2007 we were doing more of the recruitment strategy. Adams, the NC Works director, sees the trend continuing. You look at the projections the state has for the growth in this region, people are going to move here, he said. This is not going to stay a small place I dont think. Around 400,000 passengers are expected to jet off on holiday from Dublin Airport this weekend - a 4pc increase on last year's August bank holiday figures. A vast number of travellers are setting off for their summer holiday on the busiest weekend of the year with 2,780 flights arriving and departing across the weekend. Dublin Airport communications manager Siobhan O'Donnell said: "Large numbers are expected to travel through the airport this weekend, so we're advising passengers to go directly to security screening once they have checked in. "Both terminals have a wide variety of restaurants and shops beyond the security screening area." Procedures Airport management have asked that passengers familiarise themselves with security screening procedures and prepare in advance to allow swifter movement to departures. Expand Close Hubert and Julia Brzozowski (3) meet the deer in the Phoenix Park / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Hubert and Julia Brzozowski (3) meet the deer in the Phoenix Park "The addition of 14 new routes and services to our route network this year, coupled with extra frequencies on 39 existing routes, has contributed to the increase in passenger numbers," Ms O'Donnell added. In the first half of 2018, 855,000 extra passengers made their way through Dublin Airport, with passenger numbers up 6pc to just over 14.7 million in the six months to the end of June. Passengers have been advised to check which terminal their flight is departing from before leaving home; to arrive at the terminal building at least 90 minutes before their flight , and to check baggage regulations at dublinairport.com before setting off for the airport. Meanwhile, the great heatwave we enjoyed last month may be over, but experts are advising the public not to pack away the sun cream until after the bank holiday weekend. Met Eireann forecaster Joanna Donnelly said that a blast of rain early this morning in Leinster was expected to depart and conditions would brighten as warmer temperatures prevailed. Temperatures will rise to 24C today with the highest in Munster and Leinster. Other areas will experience conditions of around 20C. "Saturday looks like it will be drier but actually a little bit fresher because we have got something of a slight change of air mass. So, a slightly cooler day, but it is still pleasant though," she said. There will be light winds and it will be mostly dry, with temperatures reaching between 19C and 22C, so there will be a good degree of sunshine. Sunday will be similar to Saturday, but temperatures will be up again to about 24C. Phenomenal "It looks like there could be some rain on Monday, but then becoming mostly dry again, with temperatures reaching 20C in the south-east of the country, but more typically 17C to 18C," she said. "We are not getting anything like a heatwave. That was one particular weather event; now we are into what we would call generally Irish good summer weather. It has been a phenomenal summer." The tens of thousands of people flying out from airports around the country to sunnier climes are being warned to be mindful of a blistering heatwave in the Iberian Peninsula. Ms Donnelly said the area could be in for dangerous conditions this weekend when temperatures are expected to be over 40C with the possibility of 50C inland in parts of Portugal and Spain. Cavan man Christopher Byrne was on day trip to Dublin An out-of-work groundskeeper who threw a street sign on to the ground and used profane language during a disturbance had been in Dublin for the day and drank too much, a court has heard. Christopher Byrne (28) was standing in the middle of a street in the city centre when gardai approached him. Judge Bryan Smyth fined him 200 when he appeared before Dublin District Court. Byrne, of Rahardrum Lane, Virginia, Co Cavan, pleaded guilty to using threatening, abusive and insulting words or behaviour with intent to provoke a breach of the peace. The court heard the incident happened on Middle Abbey Street in the north of the city last June 14. Gardai went to the scene and saw a large number of people had gathered and the defendant was standing in the middle of the street. Agitated Byrne was "fairly agitated" and was using profane language, a garda witness told the court. He was seen picking up a shop sign and throwing it on to the ground, causing the crowd to move away. The officer agreed with def-ence solicitor Amanda Connolly that the accused had been apologetic afterwards. He had previous convictions for offences including breach of the peace. Byrne had suffered a bereavement in recent years, Ms Connolly said. At the time of the public order incident he was "up in Dublin for the day" and had too much to drink. Byrne had worked as a groundskeeper but was now in receipt of social welfare and seeking work, the court heard. The judge convicted him and gave him six months to pay the 200 fine. Irish-based Ryanair pilots have announced their fifth one-day strike. The pilots, who are striking today, confirmed they will refuse to work from 1am on August 10. Ryanair pilots from Belgium and Sweden have already announced a strike on the same date. German pilots union VC has supported the industrial action, while pilots in the Netherlands have done likewise, though what action will be taken by either has yet to be revealed. The news comes as talks between the two parties made little progress. Pilots have made 11 demands on issues including the allocation of transfers, leave and promotions. Demands Expand Close Michael O'Leary / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Michael O'Leary "For over a month, the union has said that industrial action is likely to continue until there is substantial movement on the pilots' reasonable demands for an agreement on a fair and transparent approach to base transfers and related matters," a statement from the union Forsa said. Ryanair, whose chief executive is Michael O'Leary, condemned the strike announcement. "Forsa again rejected Ryanair's repeated offers to meet to resolve this dispute on Tuesday next," it said. "Ryanair has already published details of Forsa's 11 requirements, nine of which have been agreed." The company said the gap between both sides was "narrow" as it had already agreed to most of the pilots' requirements. It said the offer to meet was now pointless and it would notify another 3,500 Irish passengers of 20 further flight cancellations. Bala Chaturdashi in Nepal is held at Pashupatinath temple and at the Gujeshwari temple near Pashupatinath temple. Here is the story of Bala Chaturdashi observed in Nepal. It is observed on the fourteenth day of the dark moon in November- December. Long long ago there lived a trader named Bala Nanda. One day he came to Arya Ghat, a cremation ground, to attend the last rites of one of his relative. The people set the body on fire and sat to eat the ceremonial food. Suddenly, there was a small explosion in the pyre and a small piece of flesh fell into the plate of Bala Nanda. Nobody noticed it and Bala Nanda ate the small piece of flesh. Soon Bala Nanda turned into a demon with silver head and from that day started consuming human flesh. The demon was called Balasur and he roamed Arya Ghat searching for dead bodies. Soon people stopped taking dead bodies to the ghat and approached the King of the region. The King appointed, Brisha Singh, an old friend of Balasur to kill the demon. The demon was very happy to see his old friend and invited him. Brisha Singh took advantage of friendship and killed Balasur. The King and the people were happy. But Brisha Singh could never get over the guilt and he started meditating Lord Shiva in the jungle of Shlesmantak. After a prolonged tapsya Lord Shiva appeared before him. He asked for the moksha of Balasur. Lord Shiva asked Brisha Singh to scatter seven varieties of grain on the jungle of Shlesmantak to get rid of the sin of cannibalism on Balasur. Less than 30% of the worlds researchers are women, and only 18.5% in South and West Asia, UNESCO data shows. Where are these missing women? Although girls do well in school, and do enrol in the social sciences at university, their share declines rapidly at the post-graduate levels of education needed for research careers. They also face hurdles in the labour market across cultures, from hiring to promotion and tenure. Does it matter that women are underrepresented? Yes. Research quality suffers when womens contributions are excluded from key decisions such as choice of research topic, data collection or interpretation of results. It is also unjust: women cannot study or explain many of the worlds most pressing problems, despite being disproportionately affected by them. Womens participation in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) research tends to be low and improving gender equality in the scientific workforce is increasingly topical. No wonder Melinda Gates, who got her own start in tech, advocates for more women in the hard sciences. One may think that women do better in social science research. Truthfully, we dont know exactly. We suspect the worst, for the same reasons that women are missing from across the research profession as a whole. There has been no systematic way to count women in social science research, globally. A new effort to assess research systems by country the Doing Research programme does this partly, using an assessment matrix adaptable for gender. Such efforts will make it less difficult to track, with reliable and comparable data, womens contributions, especially in developing countries. Stories of womens capabilities in social science research are often undocumented. Kanchana Wickramasinghe, an economist at the Institute of Policy Studies in Sri Lanka, researched climate insurance for dry zone farmers, and her recommendations were included in the countrys budget proposal last year. A prize from the Japanese government, awarded through a global development research competition, enabled her to conduct this outstanding research, which she continues to pursue. The Global Development Network includes women in its programmes, spanning 141 developing countries. But even for an organisation dedicated to research in developing countries, including more women is a serious challenge. Only 32% of the networks 4,000 plus grantees are female. This is better than the global figure of 28.8%, but we work hard to improve it. At a recent international conference we hosted on Science, Technology and Innovation for Development, someone remarked, Not another Manel! A manel is an all-male panel of experts, and the word really hurt. Manels mirror real life. Qualified women researchers in senior positions, who are well published and globally mobile, are hard to find. While the hunt continues, agencies recognise that equal opportunities for women cannot simply pop into existence. Upstream measures such as gender inclusive higher education or bringing up boys to value female perspectives and work are needed, requiring a multitude of actors. In the meantime, much can be done within the research arena. Institutional measures help level the playing field for women. While research careers can offer more flexibility to women than corporate life, transparency and monitoring of gender specific data, and reviewing hiring and promotion policies to include more women, especially in senior roles, are critical. Governments and funding institutions must actively and systematically earmark funding and training programmes to support women researchers. Women in research face biases against hiring them, or the research they produce. They also lack role models and supportive research institutions. Surveys in South Africa, Latin America and even the UK have shown that young women researchers need mentors who are like them, and do not relate as well as to senior, white, male mentors. Womens time or travel constraints can limit their multicountry or multisector work, meaning that they publish less, affecting both tenure and career progression. Learning from good examples, such as the Organization for Women in Science for the Developing World, Grupo Sofia set up in Peru, and the Association for the Advancement of African Women Economists, is key. Mainstreaming gender perspectives into institutional operations is urgent, including systematic tracking across disciplines and countries. After all, the sustainable development targets focus on gender equality through a dedicated goal and as an integral part of most other development goals. Ramona Angelescu Naqvi and Madhuri Dass Woudenberg work at the Global Development Network, a public international organisation, New Delhi The views expressed are personal It has taken the Pakistani military a full year to complete the soft coup it launched when it used a pliant judiciary to oust an elected prime minister. The military-engineered election outcome in favour of Imran Khan came virtually on the anniversary of Nawaz Sharifs removal from office. What happened to Sharif is likely to happen to any PM that seeks to assert civilian control over a praetorian military. In fact, no PM has been allowed to complete a full five-year term. When a PM falls foul of the deep state, the judiciary, opposition and bureaucracy are used to smear the leaders reputation and oust him or her. Every PM has been thrown out on charges of corruption and incompetence. Pakistans Supreme Court hanged one elected PM in 1979, ousted another in 2017 and legitimised every military coup. Sharif was ousted without a trial, let alone a conviction. Turning natural justice on its head, the Supreme Court first pronounced him guilty of corrupt practices on the basis of the report of a military intelligence-associated joint investigation team and then ordered his trial post-ouster. The Sharif removal anniversary last Saturday was a reminder that Prime Minister Narendra Modis surprise Lahore visit proved very costly for the now-jailed Sharif and for India, with the Pakistani military responding with a series of daring terrorist attacks on Indian security bases, from Pathankot to Uri and Nagrota. Modis visit sealed Sharifs political fate, with the subsequent Panama Papers leak providing the perfect pretext for ousting him. For India, this is not just a cautionary tale but a sobering lesson that policy made on the fly increases the odds of a boomerang effect. So does diplomacy seeking to befriend Pakistans civilian government in the hope of both offsetting Pakistani militarys implacable hostility to India and driving a wedge between civilian and military authorities. Such diplomacy has repeatedly recoiled on India. Didnt Atal Bihari Vajpayee ride a bus to Pakistan and then publicly bewail that his bus got hijacked and taken to the Kargil battlefield? The latest election has changed little in Pakistan, a country still struggling to be at peace with itself. The Pakistani military will remain the puppet master calling the shots from behind the scenes, with Imran as its newest puppet. The military didnt just stack the electoral odds in Imrans favour; it did practically everything to put him in power. It took the general election to literally mean that it was to be run by the generals. The EU team found the voting well conducted and transparent but cited restrictions on freedom of expression and unequal campaign opportunities. Former Indian chief election commissioner SY Quraishi, however, gave the polls a clean chit. It was the militarys brainchild to bring into the political mainstream the terrorists and militants assisting its belligerent India policy and Afghanistan meddling. In the election, not all the Islamists and militants fared badly. One militant group, Tehreek-i-Labbaik, garnered nearly two million votes. Even in the case of the terrorist-affiliated groups that were routed, the military has largely succeeded in its objective of mainstreaming them. The terrorists conversion into politicians means not just that they no longer are pariahs; their increasing political footprint in the coming years will likely extend Pakistans jihad culture to the polity. The military has actually scored a double win. The next PM is a supporter of the military-backed jihadists and Islamists. Imran, long ridiculed as Im the Dim for his lack of intelligence, has morphed into a religious zealot who plays the blasphemy card and whose party brass includes hardcore extremists like Ijaz Shah, an ex-ISI officer and handler of Hafiz Saeed, Mullah Omar and Daniel Pearls murderer. Shah, now in Parliament, also helped hide Osama bin Laden. Make no mistake: After this contrived election, Pakistan seriously risks slipping deeper into a jihadist dungeon. Its exploding population, resource pressures, a pervasive lack of jobs, high illiteracy and fast-spreading jihadism create a deadly cocktail of internal disarray. Caught in mounting debt to China, it now needs an international bailout. Successive Indian governments have failed to develop a clear strategy to deal with this Mecca of terrorism. Indias policy pendulum on Pakistan actually swings from one extreme to the other from vowing a decisive fight to making schmaltzy overtures. While Washington has cut off security assistance to Pakistan and periodically slaps new sanctions on Pakistan-based terrorists, India is loath to back its rhetoric with even modest diplomatic sanctions or by leveraging the Indus Waters Treaty, the worlds most generous water-sharing arrangement. All talk and no action, by undermining Indian deterrence, has invited continuing cross-border terrorism. Today, instead of rushing to engage Imran, New Delhi should let the new leader establish his bona fide intentions for combating terrorism. Tellingly, in his victory speech, he called Kashmir the core subject but evaded the central issue for India, Afghanistan, the US and Pakistans own future tackling and terminating the presence of terrorist groups on Pakistani soil. Brahma Chellaney is a geostrategist and author The views expressed are personal Dhritiman Chatterjee began his acting life with director Satyajit Rays Pratidwandi (1970). He has played lead roles in many of the films by Satyajit Ray and Mrinal Sen, the greats of Bengali art-house cinema, but has preferred to do cinema alongside a parallel career in advertising and documentary-making.Rarely a part of mainstream Tollywood or Bollywood, his filmography is short, staggered but significant. He plays Professor Shonku based on Rays iconic character. Kabir (2018), Pink (2016), The Man who Knew Infinity (2015), are some of his latest films. Some of the Bollywood films Chatterjee has interesting cameos in are Black in which he plays Rani Mukherjees father and Agent Vinod where he plays Sir Metla, an Indian-origin British Lord. What are you looking for when you take up a role? What I am looking for has changed over the years. When I started out the lines between parallel and commercial cinema were defined. Because I started with parallel cinema, my affinity was for social and political cinema. Acting is also a question of interpretation even if it is a role that comes from literature. If its a character from literature -- the way Professor Shonku is -- the audience already has an idea about it so the challenge is whether you follow that impression or do something completely new with it. When I played a psychologist in [Aparna Sens] 15 Park Avenue, I needed to know the professional life of the character so I observed professionals in that field. I saw that when a psychologist interacts with the patient, he is neutral, his profile does not project his personality so as not to prompt or intimidate the patient. Your first film, Satyajit Rays Pratidwandi, had you play a youth from the lower income group being interviewed for a job, and being rejected. I still remember thinking something is out of sync, the actor has such a posh accent, no one else in the boys family has it The accent did come up for discussion at some point but it was my first film and Mr Ray thought that to fiddle with it and to deliberately sound middle class can be tricky. In [Aparna Sens] 36 Chowringhee Lane, where Jennifer Kapoor plays an Anglo-Indian teacher, she was high-pitched so as to do an Anglo-Indian accent but if you listened closely and I did, as I had a role in the film, sometimes the accent would drop. Dhritiman Chatterjee in his first film, Pratidwandi. (File photo) The script must be of help to the actor in deciding the broad outlines of his personality. The script does tell you a bit. The script of Pink told me which way I was to go as the judge arbitrating the rape case, but as an actor I shouldnt from the start make it obvious to the audience. To observe the behaviour of a judge in court, I spent a day at a lower court in Calcutta. Satyajit Rays illustrations were quite a guide-map for Soumitra Chatterjee to play Feluda. Is it the same for you with Professor Shonku? Professor Shonku, remember, was written in the form of a diary, its a collection of letters. From a letter, it is relatively difficult to form a physical idea of the man so the personality of the professor stays in the background. So the stories dont give you a clue about interpretation. This gives the actor autonomy, makes my job easier. The overall challenge was how to portray a scientist who is eccentric and quirky, and make him not outlandish but out of the ordinary. You have worked with Ray and you are flagging off a new cult character of his with his son, Sandip Ray. But the worlds of both Feluda and Professor Shonku are very male worlds. Sandip is schooled in his fathers way of doing things. He is meticulous in the way he plans the work and the control over various aspects of the film.... And Sandip is trying to turn one or two of the characters in the story into female ones. So there will be a diversity of faces in the film. Kapil Sharmas fans would be pleased to learn that their favourite comedian is hale and hearty. A fan club of his shared a picture of the popular TV comedian posing with his dog. Latest pic of @KapilSharmaK9 with his pet Cheeku, the tweet said. In the picture, a slightly heavier Kapil can be seen smiling at the camera, holding his dog up to his face. He is wearing a plain T-shirt and a blue cap. He appears to be sitting on an ornate chair. Latest pic of @KapilSharmaK9 with his pet Cheeku isn't it cute ? #KapilSharma pic.twitter.com/1GT1Bdupee Kapil Sharma FC (@KapilFans) July 31, 2018 Kapils public sightings have decreased significantly since his very public meltdown, which he attributed to being overworked, but was also speculated to be because of a rumoured alcoholism. Kapil was previously spotted in early July, shopping at a grocery store in Amsterdam. The picture triggered a lot of fans take to Twitter expressing concerns over his health. The actor also returned to Twitter days before he returned to Mumbai in July. Kapil also accepted that his weight has increased, but he is looking forward to making some positive changes to his lifestyle. With Bulging Belly, Sunken Eyes, #KapilSharma Looks Unrecognizable As He Walks Into A Supermarket In Amsterdam - https://t.co/3lwXh7dhS1 pic.twitter.com/OOSjhGWaGI MovieTalkies.com (@MovieTalkies) July 5, 2018 Kapil had quit Twitter and left the country days after his meltdown on Twitter. The actor had also filed suits against a journalist and his former producer Preeti Simoes. In April this year, Kapil returned to the small screen with a new show titled, Family Time With Kapil Sharma. The launch of the show was accompanied by news of cancelled shoots. Sources said that Kapil cancelled shoot with Rani Mukerji at the last minute. The new show, too, was soon cancelled after three episodes. Follow @htshowbiz for more Karwaan Director - Akarsh Khurana Cast - Irrfan Khan, Dulquer Salmaan, Mithila Palkar Rating: 4/5 There is an early scene in Karwaan in which Irrfan Khan - or Irrfan, as he insists on being called and credited - subtly sets the tone for the film we are about to see. Its set in a lonely dhaba, late at night, when even the hungry are fast asleep. It is an important scene, in which pivotal decisions are made and everyone - the actors and the audience - is required to be on their toes. Dulquer Salmaan is making a phone call, and hes absolutely killing it - hes emotional, vulnerable and relatable. Hes pacing about with a worried look on his face, unsure of what the future holds. But in the background, noticeably out of focus, is Irrfan. Hes sitting on a chair, alone, lit with the murky amber that can only be found at dusty roadside eateries. He isnt speaking. He isnt moving. He isnt even blinking. And yet, its impossible to take your eyes off him. That, in essence, is the overwhelming emotion that Karwaan leaves you with. As much as it is a story about fathers and their children, and as much as it is a story about Dulquers character, Avinash -- Irrfan is on a different plane altogether, operating with such virtuosic exuberance that is difficult to admire the many other achievements of this film. Watch the Karwaan trailer here He plays Shaukat, a fast-talking streetwise smartass, who fits comfortably into his compendium of characters - a lovable oaf with a heart of gold. Such is the electricity of his scenes that it almost seems as if Irrfan, in a fit of inspiration, came up with his own lines after having been thoroughly disappointed by the ones handed to him. Fate brings Shaukat and Avinash to that dhaba - theyre friends, before you begin to wonder - but it is their inherent decency that sends them on a life-altering journey of self discovery. Avinash is experiencing the fallout of a life unfulfilled, hopelessly working at a soul-sucking corporation -- the sort of place that has the words Dont complain, unemployment feels worse printed in large, bright letters on its walls. He once used to be a bright young man, an artist with ambition. But now he has lost all feeling. He quietly soaks in his boss bullying, he cant muster the courage to talk to the girl he has a crush on, and he has all but abandoned his dreams of becoming a photographer. Then, one night, alone in his apartment, he receives a phone call. His father is dead, the chirpy lady on the other end tells him. A road accident, she says. Avinash can collect the body from the airport, and have a great day ahead. But in a darkly humorous mix-up, the wrong body is delivered to Avinash. His fathers body is in Kochi, with a kindly woman who informs him that he must travel all the way - Avinash is in Bengaluru - to pick him up. The circumstances are difficult, and goodwill for Irrfan has never been higher. So for help, and transport, he turns to Shaukat. Together, they embark on a long and gorgeous road trip across south India, making a quick pit-stop at a boarding school to pick up Tanya, the teenage daughter of the lady theyre supposed to meet. Shes played by Mithila Palkar, who is remarkably resilient, despite the famous and formidable talents of her co-stars. But as terrific as she is - and as frighteningly brilliant as Irrfan is - Karwaan is very much a Dulquer Salmaan vehicle, forgive the pun. He has an effortless charm about him, a warm presence that is perfectly tempered by Irrfans rather flamboyant style and Mithilas adorable Manic Pixie Dream Girl act. And as someone who isnt necessarily all that familiar with his work - Karwaan is Dulquers first Hindi movie, he is a Malayalam film star - it does make me want to discover his other films. Karwaan is popular Malayalam star Dulquer Salmaans first Hindi film. His character certainly has the more fleshed out arc, amplified by the rather difficult relationship he had with his father. But as much as Avinash hated him, hes driven by a sense of unspoken duty, and fuelled by his fear of one day turning into the man himself. There is very little to fault with Karwaan, which has been directed with surprising tenderness by Akarsh Khurana, who has also penned the lyrics to several songs on the eclectic soundtrack (which is quite incredible, by the way). It is shot with an unusually painterly eye by Avinash Arun, and besides an unnecessary romantic subplot, has only one awkward aspect that needs to be addressed. The film has a Malayali playing a Kannadiga, a Marathi playing a Malayali, and then there is Irrfan doing whatever the hell hes doing. And yet, they all speak in Hindi. I havent yet decided if this is a testament to Indias multiculturalism or a vague head bob in the face of it. Karwaan evokes a strong sense of place, thanks to an eclectic soundtrack and stunning cinematography. Karwaan arrives at a rather complicated time, a realisation that is made all the more upsetting by the films overarching theme of life and death, and particularly the scene in which Shaukat is introduced. With characteristic theatricality, he says, Hume zinda dafan kar diya yeh soch ke ke hum mar jayenge (they buried me alive thinking that Id die). This translation is quite literal - apologies for that - but its worth noting the lines subtext. By talking about the hardships of his life, and his unstoppable survival instinct, it is almost as if Shaukat is mocking death, taunting it for being a weak opponent. It is, of course, a cruel twist of fate that this line has taken on new meaning in light of recent events. But theres strength to be derived from Shaukats words, and hed be the first one to boast that theyre almost poetic, wouldnt you say? Follow @htshowbiz for more The author tweets @RohanNaahar Mulk Director - Anubhav Sinha Cast - Rishi Kapoor, Ashutosh Rana, Rajat Kapoor, Taapsee Pannu Rating - 3/5 Mulk is a film you really want to like. It is an important film in a disturbing time; a voice of reason in chaos. It has strong performances Rishi Kapoor as Murad Ali Mohammed, a Muslim patriarch fighting for the dignity of his family; Taapsee Pannu as Aarti Malhotra, Murads daughter-in-law, who argues their case in court; Rajat Kapoor as an anti-terror cop. It attacks Islamophobia by arguing against the common prejudices. It counters propaganda of hate efficiently with facts and emotion. It is also true to its context. The sets of the film dont lie. The police stations, courtrooms and streets transport you small-town Uttar Pradesh. But there is a crucial element of storytelling missing surprise. In this 140-minute courtroom drama set in Varanasi, every situation seems to have been engineered to say the right things. And theres nothing you havent heard before. Rishi Kapoor plays Murad Ali Mohammed, a Muslim patriarch fighting for the dignity of his family. Like a lot of stories burdened with a purpose, Mulk is a slow starter. It takes us to the mansion of a Muslim family in Varanasi, ahead of a party. The characters are introduced with humour and warmth in an attempt to make them endearing, but despite the acting prowess of Kapoor and Neena Gupta, who plays his wife, the script gives them and us little to work with. Scenes like that of a Hindu neighbour who likes to try non-veg dishes when visiting, intended to be funny, fall flat and contrived. The narrative gathers pace and flesh in the courtroom. Ashutosh Rana plays an Islamophobic public prosecutor to perfection and youre on the edge of your seat with apprehension as he makes his opening statement. Pannu and Kapoor arguing on behalf of the family are strong too. This film takes an important step in defining terrorism and underlining the differences between a suspect and a criminal. It succeeds in intent and purpose, but sadly fails when it comes to storytelling. The police, on Thursday, arrested three men for allegedly assaulting a 22-year-old Muslim man, keeping him hostage and chopping off his beard in Khandsa earlier this week. The accused also allegedly called the complainant Pakistani, the police said. A video of the incident was also circulated on the social media. The accused were identified as Gaurav alias Tedha, Nitin Kumar and Ikhlash, a barber. They were produced before the court and sent to judicial custody, the police said. The police said that Gaurav and Nitin are friends and are history sheeters. They have been booked earlier also for disturbing public peace and fighting with people, the police said. The complainant, Jafruddin, who runs a small dhaba in Sector 29 near IFFCO Chowk, also suffered minor injuries during the incident. He said he was forced to cut his beard and called a Pakistani on Tuesday when he had gone to buy vegetables from near Khandsa Mandi. He was accompanied by his cook, Ibrahim. Jafruddin lodged a complaint with the police late Wednesday night following which a case was registered at Sector 37 police station under sections 295A (hurting religious sentiment), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 34 (common intention)and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code on Thursday. On July 31 at around 6pm, Jafruddin and Ibrahim had gone to the Khandsa Mandi to purchase vegetables for dinner. The two, who hail from Badali village in Nuh district, around 81 kilometers from Gururgam, visited the market thrice every day, but this was the first time they were targeted, Ibrahim said. I wanted to get my hair cut. So, we went to a roadside salon near the mandi. Two people were already inside the shop and were getting their beards and hair cut. One of the miscreants, after getting his shave asked me to cut my beard. When I refused saying that it was a religious practice, they started abusing me. They held both my hands and forced the barber to shave off my beard. Though the barber initially refused, they threatened him and assaulted me multiple times, Jafruddin said. The victim said they tried to escape, but Gaurav and Nitin held them hostage. The barber and I got scared after one of the miscreants took out the knife and said that he will shave off my beard himself. The barber requested him to put the knife away and said he would comply, the victim said. I was frightened after the incident as they threatened to kill me if I was seen in the area again. I got upset and left for my village. On Wednesday, I narrated my ordeal to my family members and they discussed the matter with the village panchayat after which we called the Gurugram police and reported the matter, Jafrudden said. Sumit Kuhar, deputy commissioner police(DCP) crime said, The incident took place on Tuesday evening and we received a complaint a day after. We also received a video of the incident. We formed teams and identified the miscreants within two hours. The team of Sector 37 police arrested the accused from Khandsa, Kuhar said. This week, as is quickly becoming a regular feature in North America, a group of protestors gathered outside a City Hall to chant slogans against the flow of illegal immigrants across the border. This, however, wasnt in the United States, but in the township of Markham, abutting Canadas largest city, Toronto. The refrain was one that has been chorused in many cities in recent times. Say No to Illegal Border Crossers read one banner. However, before you think of White nativists, this was headlined in Ming Pao Daily News Toronto. And that was exactly the demographic of the protestors, as Chinese-origin crowds held signs like Save Markham. Their objection was to a proposal to house some of those described with politically correct flourish as irregular immigrants, who have been pouring in to Canada, across its porous border with America, in the backwash of measures instituted by the Donald Trump administration. A tweet by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in January 2017, hashtagged #WelcomeToCanada, counterpointing Trumps restrictive policies, may have partly caused the influx. But the Markham protest underscores a curious aspect of the anti-immigrant sentiment that has gripped much of North America. Newer immigrants cohorts are just as unwelcoming to those they consider interlopers. There are plenty of reasons for that stance, including the usual biases of race and religion. But theres the underlying grouse against a system that appears to offer a free pass to those simply stepping over a border, as against those who have paid their dues and earned the points required for residency. This phenomenon could also have led to a higher percentage of Indian Americans, and even Hispanics, turning out for Trump in the 2016 Presidential election than they did for Mitt Romney, Barack Obamas Republican challenger, in 2012. That grudge is evident in the US. The immigration system, definitely broken, isnt getting fixed as its held hostage by those lobbying for the undocumented to be regularised. In fact, some Indian-origin Americans have even been at the forefront of the attempt to alter the work visa regime, which they complain is being gamed by some Indian companies. Theres a deep divide developing along these lines, and one that may prove difficult for the governments in Ottawa or Washington to deal with. After all, as weve seen recently in Assam, immigration-related policies cause serious schisms, and make for political capital that feeds in to vote banks. But the Markham episode points to yet another facet of this dividing line. The anti-immigrant protestors were mostly older, and they were countered by a smaller group, including younger Chinese Canadians, evidencing the fact that those from the second and 1.5 (not born in but raised in the country) generations are often more liberal in this matter. Many new immigrants are also activists for a freer and more mobile paradigm, pointing to the fact that blurred lines persist within immigrant communities, mirroring the borders they are for or against. Anirudh Bhattacharyya is a Toronto-based commentator on American affairs The views expressed are personal Emphasising that benches and the Bar are two sides of the same coin, Uttarakhand high court Chief Justice KM Joseph said on Friday that without a well-equipped and well-read bar, judges wont be able to perform their duty effectively. As a cradle for the judiciary, he said, the Bar should continuously equip itself with reading, with so many law reports getting published these days and so many branches of specialisation out there in the domain of law. Unless and until the lawyers equip themselves and come prepared, cases wont be decided fast. If the lawyers come prepared, then there will be no reason for adjournments, justice Joseph said while addressing the Uttarakhand High Court Bar Association, which invited him after the news broke that government had decided to clear his name for elevation to a Supreme Court judge. He said he was recently at a conference in Delhi where the issue of pendency of cases was raised. Everybody agreed that the issue of arrears cannot be solved without the active and effective involvement of the bar. Justice Joseph said the bar must assert itself before the courts. I dont think any judge has a problem with this. This bar is only 18 years old and it has a long way to go. After 30 to 40 years, later generations of lawyers will look towards you and as such you have greater responsibility to lay foundations of a strong and vibrant bar here. And it is from the bar that you get good judges, he said. He said Uttarakhand bar members were well behaved and they never gave him ground for any complaint. You all say that I have succeeded in giving patient hearing to lawyers in cases. It is duty of every judge to give a proper hearing. It is the right of every lawyer to demand a patient and sufficiently long hearing so that the facts of the case can be kept before the court. About the problems he faced in discharge of his duties here, justice Joseph said it was mainly the problem of getting translations (most government documents and FIR copies are in Hindi here). I realised that to insist on translations of all documents will take time. In many cases, it hampered my decision-making process considerably, he said. Unless translations are made available to the chief justices coming from outside, the decisions will get held up unnecessarily. If translations are not there, the matters will get again and again adjourned. Justice Joseph said he had come here on July 31, 2014 and it has been an unusually long stint for him from Gods own country to Dev Bhoomi. And it is truly a Dev Bhoomi in every sense of the word. The bounty of nature, the people here are simple in ways, everything comes from the heart, nothing is made up when they interact with me. They are blunt and fair. And that is how it should be, he said. Ultimately what is important is truth; truth is supreme. And we are trying to pursue truth and in the court of law we should not forget truth. Justice Joseph said he considers Uttarakhand as his second home. The problems of Uttarakhand will also remain with me. In whatever way I can help in solving problems when I am in Delhi, I will certainly do. A 22-year-old BTech graduate was arrested for allegedly conning the delivery boy of a wristwatch worth Rs 90,000, which he had ordered online as a surprise gift for his girlfriend, police said on Thursday. Police recovered the watch and a Hunk motorcycle that the man had used in the crime. They said the man had planned to gift the watch to his girlfriend on her birthday. Deputy commissioner of police (North) Nupur Prasad said Vaibhav Khurana, a resident of Delhis Model Town, wanted to impress his girlfriend by gifting her an expensive wristwatch. However, he did not have the money to buy the same. He then hatched a plan to order the watch through an e-commerce site, con the delivery boy and then walk away with it , said DCP Prasad. According to the DCP, on July 23, Khurana ordered a Rado wristwatch priced Rs 90,000 which was available on the website for Rs 67,000. He tendered a false address somewhere in Civil Lines. When the delivery boy, Kalipada Sahu, contacted Khurana on the mobile number through which the order was booked to confirm his availability and to confirm the address where the delivery was to be made, Khurana asked Sahu to meet him elsewhere. Khurana asked Sahu to meet him outside the Kashmere Gate Metro station. The two met there and Khurana tricked Sahu into accompanying him on his bike to Civil Lines, saying he would collect the order and pay the money at home, said Prasad. Police said Khurana took Sahu outside a house at Rajpur Road in Civil Lines, which was not his home. He asked Sahu to ring the door bell while Khurana allegedly left with the bag containing the delivery box on the pretext of parking his bike. Sahu then approached the Civil Lines police and filed a case. During the probe, an investigator said, the mobile number that Khurana used for booking the order was found registered in the name of Virender Nath Shukl from Delhis GTB Nagar. Shukl was questioned and his claim that he was no more using the mobile number was found to be true. We then analysed the call details of the mobile number and identified some frequently contacted numbers. One of the numbers was of a woman in Model Town. We contacted her and she told us that the number belonged to her boyfriend Vaibhav Khurana, the officer said, adding Khuranas home was raided and the stolen watch and the bike were recovered. Khurana completed his BTech course from Indraprastha University and is employed as a supervisor in a hotel in Gurugram. His father is a property dealer. A 58-year-old man, who the police said was partially visually impaired, died after he fell on the tracks and was crushed by a train at Mandi House Metro station on Friday evening. The incident, which took place during peak traffic hours in the evening, delayed Metro services for over an hour, Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) officials said. Delhi Police officials said the man, identified as Vinod Kumar Pathak, fell on the tracks around 7.35pm, and came under an incoming train from Yamuna Bank going towards Dwarka Sector-21. Police officials said the Pathaks family members told them he suffered from partial visual impairment. The CCTV footage shows the man appeared to be walking on the platform towards the train with no sense of his surroundings. Initially it seemed like a suicide attempt, but the man seems to have slipped from the platform and fallen. Initial findings seem to show that he had some partial visual impairment. The CCTV footage has also corroborated that, said a senior police official privy to the investigation. Official said Pathak was rushed to Ram Manohar Lohia hospital where he was declared dead on arrival. No suicide note was recovered from him. We are not striking down any possibilities as yet. These are just the initial findings, the official added. DMRC officials said the man was crushed under the train. His body was fished out of the second passenger car near the fourth door. The train had run over his body, the official said. A 25-year-old womans body was found in an almirah at her home in north-east Delhis Gokalpuri on Thursday afternoon, police said. Her feet were tied using a rope and marks on neck suggested she was strangulated, said an investigator. Though her clothes were found intact, the police have not ruled out sexual assault before the murder. The police have detained a local resident, who had called the police to inform about the murder. According to a police officer, the caller is a married man with four children, but while calling police he said that his wife had been murdered and stuffed in the almirah. The woman lived in a one-room set in Chand Bagh in Gokalpuri where she had moved less than a year ago. She worked as a data operator at a private firm in east Delhi. The murder came to light around 2.30 pm on Thursday when police received the call about the death. We reached the spot to find the womans body stuffed in the middle rack of a small steel almirah that had a few clothes, said an investigator. The body had begun decomposing and it appears she was killed at least 36 hours before we got to know of the murder, said the officer. The police immediately detained the man who had informed about the death. He has been repeatedly changing his statements, drawing our suspicion. He first called us to say the woman murdered is his wife, but later said he only knew her as a friend, said the officer. The police are probing the nature of relationship between the dead woman and the detained man even as it has emerged that the duo was often seen quarrelling. Though police said he was the prime suspect in the murder, he was yet to be arrested until late Thursday night. Atul Kumar Thakur, deputy commissioner of police (north-east), said a murder case has been registered at Gokalpuri police station. The University Grants Commission (UGC) has recommended the HRD Ministry to grant deemed university status to the Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC). The institute, one of the prestigious journalism schools in the country which functions under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, offers diploma courses in journalism, advertising and public relations. The UGC had last year formed a four-member committee headed by BK Kuthiala, the vice-chancellor of Makhanlal Chaturvedi University, Bhopal, to analyse the proposal by the IIMC. Based on the committees recommendation and inspection teams feedback the UGC has recommended that the ministry should issue a Letter of Intent (LoI) to the journalism school under the De Novo category. The status will enable the institute to grant degrees instead of diplomas, a senior UGC official said. De Novo refers to an institution which focuses on teaching and research in emerging areas of knowledge. The idea to grant deemed university status to the IIMC is not a new one. The Information and Broadcasting Ministry had also approved the plan in 2016. The IIMC has expanded from two campus in Delhi and Dhenkanal to six campuses across the country - Jammu, Amravati, Kottayam and Aizawl - over the last five years. During a review of higher education institutes by the Niti Aayog in June, it was recommended that the IIMC be merged with either Jawaharlal Nehru Universitys Centre for Media Studies or Jamia Millia Islamias AJK Mass Communication Research Centre. However, the institute as well as the information and broadcasting and the HRD ministries had rejected the idea. (This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.) Every year, a large number of students do not get selected in the top few after attempting the JEE or NEET exams. This year, out of the 11.5 lakh students who attempted JEE Main, only 2.2 lakh were selected for JEE Advanced. When it came to NEET, close to 13 lakh students battled it out for approximately 60,000 seats in government colleges. JEE and NEET are only held once a year on a single day. This has turned out to be a disadvantage for students. As a student, you could either fall ill, face personal issues, have difficulty in commuting to the centre, or it can simply not be your day. Your mindset and performance on one day should not have such a large impact on your future. However, due to the high volume of students, the HRD ministry and education bodies cannot hold exams through the year like GMAT and other international exams. To make things easier, the HRD ministry has decided that both exams will be held twice a year on multiple days. From 2019, JEE will be held in January and April and NEET in February and April. Along with this, the HRD ministry has announced a few other changes. These are: 1. The first sessions of the exams (January and February) will be held in the computer-based format. 2. This year, a small percentage had opted for the computer-based format, while most preferred the pen and paper format. This might be because a large portion of our youth does not have access to computers. To help make the transition easier, the HRD ministry may hold the exams in the pen and paper format as well for this year. 3. Earlier, the HRD ministry had said it will hold the test in the online mode. However, it understands that rural areas may have internet connectivity issues and thus changed it to a computer-based mode. Each paper will be downloaded on computers before the exam so that it does not hinder a students performance. 4. There have been speculations about having a unique question paper for every student. Some students feel that they will not have an equal opportunity as one paper could be easier than another. However, the HRD ministry has said that these papers will be created using scientific methods and psychometric testing theories. All the papers will have a similar level of difficulty. This also means that students will focus more on understanding the syllabus instead of solving previous years question papers. It will reduce the chances of paper leaks as well since the state of the art security software and encryption will be used. 5. CBSE will not be conducting these exams any more. They will be conducted by the newly formed National Testing Agency (NTA). However, JEE Advanced will be continued to be conducted by the IITs. 6. Students can choose to appear for either exam or even both. If you have appeared for both exams, only the best score is considered. The HRD ministry understands that all students will not be able to use a computer with equal ease. To ensure that computer skills are not a barrier, they will introduce 3,000 practice test centres across the country, especially in rural areas. Students can visit these centres and practice taking the exam for one hour. The ministry is also planning to launch a mobile app to help students locate and register for the centres closest to them. It is clear that this move will change how Indias toughest exams are perceived. There are no changes in syllabus for these exams, but the sheer opportunity to appear for them twice in a year will make them easier for students. (Ratrey is the vice-president (educational content) at Toppr.com. Views expressed here are personal.) At least 10 workers were killed and several others injured in a massive explosion of detonators in a stone quarry in Andhra Pradeshs Kurnool district on Friday. The incident happened at around 8.30 pm in private stone quarry belonging to Srinivasa Chowdary at Hathi Belagal village of Aluru block, district officials said, confirming the deaths. The impact of the explosion was so massive that huge blocks of stone from the quarry flung into air and fell on a workers shed in which nearly 30 labourers were taking rest after the day-long work. The explosion resulted in eruption of flames from the quarry that spread to the surroundings, setting afire three tractors, a truck and another shed, which got completely gutted. It also caused deafening sounds and triggered tremors in the nearby villages, causing cracks in several houses, forcing villagers to run out of their homes in panic. As per the latest reports, eight bodies were taken out of a shed. Some more people were believed to be crushed under the stone blocks. The injured were shifted to Aluru government hospital immediately. All the workers are said to be from Odisha. Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu expressed grief over the mishap and asked Kurnool district authorities to rush to the spot to oversee relief operations. YSR Congress party president Y S Jaganmohan Reddy and Jana Sena Party chief Pawan Kalyan expressed shock over the incident and conveyed their condolences to the bereaved families. Pawan appealed to the government to take action against illegal quarry owners. Six leaders of the Trinamool Congress, part of a delegation to review the National Register of Citizens in Assam, on Friday returned to Kolkata from Silchar in the northeastern states Cachar district after spending Thursday night in detention at the airport, a senior official said. Six of the eight members have left by the morning Air India flight, Cachars deputy commissioner S Lakshmanan, who stopped the delegation from getting out of the airport on Thursday showing them the prohibitory orders, said. There was chaos at the airport on Thursday as the members of the Trinamool delegation entered into an altercation and a scuffle with the police and other district officials. Trinamool leader alleged they were assaulted by the police and Assam police chief Kuladhar Saikia accused the delegation of attacking his departments personnel. The ruling party in West Bengal protested their detention, calling it super emergency. The Trinamool leaders had arrived in Silchar to take stock of the situation after the NRC draft was published on Monday and excluded 4,07,707 applicants. Arpita Ghosh and Mamata Bala Thakur, members of Parliament, have decided to stay back for the time being and are likely to take a flight to Delhi via Guwahati later in the day. According to a senior Assam police official, they are trying to convince both the MPs to either take a flight to Kolkata or take the next flight to Delhi from Guwahati as soon as they land. The four-hour lag between the Silchar to Guwahati flight and the subsequent Guwahati to Delhi flight has the police worried. Officials of the district administration said they had given them an option to stay at the guest house at NIT in Silchar, which they refused. It is a house arrest kind of a situation for us, said Ghosh. After a day in Silchar, where the delegation was scheduled to meet people who have been excluded from the NRC, they were supposed to go to Guwahati. They have told us that we cannot go to either Silchar and Guwahati and meet people, said Ghosh. We objected to certain things that the district officials were doing. They stopped us without any order. Section 144 was not in place inside the airport. Is this a democracy or a fascist state? she asked. Cachars superintendent of police Rakesh Roushan said they have received a complaint alleging assault by two policewomen, who were injured in the scuffle with the delegation. We are examining the complaint and decide if it merits an FIR, said Roushan. Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra was accused of assaulting and injuring a police constable. A video tweeted by news agency ANI showed Moitra pushing constable Rubi Rani Das and shouting as the policewoman pleads with her with folded hands. A photo showed Das with bandages later. Ghosh, however, claimed that the charges of assault are baseless. It is an eyewash. They made the woman officials get these bandages on orders of the senior officials, she said. Uttarakhand High Court has struck down a state government rule denying leave to women employees for the birth of their third child as unconstitutional and said it was against the letter and spirit of the Constitution that calls for just and humane conditions of work and maternity relief. The court said the second provision of Fundamental Rule 153 of the Uttar Pradesh fundamental rules, as adopted by Uttarakhand, goes against a central act as well as the Article 42 of the Constitution. This proviso is contrary to Section 27 of the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961. Section 27 of the Act, 1961 does not prohibit, in any manner, to grant of maternity leave to a female government servant, who has already two children at the time of submission of an application for maternity leave, after giving birth to a third child, the single bench of Justice Rajiv Sharma ruled. Justice Sharma gave the directions while hearing a writ petition of Urmila Masih, who had applied for a maternity leave for almost six months in 2015. The court issued the orders on July 30 but its copy was made available on Thursday. The court directed the state government to provide leave to Masih, who belongs to Haldwani in Nainital district and works as a nurse at a government hospital, within six weeks. Justice Sharma said the legal issue raised in the petition was exclusively decided by the Punjab and Haryana High Court in 2011 in its judgment in the case of Ruksana vs State of Haryana & others in a similar case. He said the Punjab and Haryana High Court held that the act does not restrict the benefit of maternity leave beyond the birth of two children, adding that such a restriction imposed under the rules is contrary to Section 27 of the Act and cannot sustain in the eyes of law. With the HCs landmark decision, she will now get the salary for the leave she had availed in 2015 when maternity leave was denied to her. And all women who were being denied the maternity leave for their third child will now get leave benefit, Masihs lawyer Sanpreet Singh Ajmani said. The Maternity Benefit Act, 1961, protects the employment of women during the time of her maternity and entitles her full paid absence from work to take care of her child. It is applicable to all private and government establishments, employing 10 or more people. An amendment to the maternity benefit act was passed in the Rajya Sabha in August 2016 and in the Lok Sabha in March 2017, and received an assent from President of India in March 2017, with its provisions coming into effect from April 1, 2017. The amendment increased the duration of paid maternity leave available for women employees from the 12 weeks to 26 weeks and in case of women, who are expecting their third child, the duration of paid maternity leave was fixed at 12 weeks. Illegal immigration is an emotive issue in Indias northeast and the publication of the complete draft of Assams National Register of Citizens (NRC) has reinforced the fear of the outsider in the entire region. The NRC draft, which seeks to prove citizenship and weed out illegal immigrants, didnt include names of over 40 lakh of the total 3.29 crore residents of the state who had applied for inclusion. The final list will be released at a later date once all claims and objections of those left out are settled, but states in the region bordering Assam are already jittery about the possible fallout. Arunachal Pradesh All Arunachal Pradesh Students Union (AAPSU), the states apex student body, on Thursday issued a 15-day ultimatum to people who are not Arunachal Pradesh Scheduled Tribe residents without valid documents to leave the state by August 16. Indian citizens need to have an inner line permit (ILP) to visit or stay in the state, which borders China, and foreigners need to have a restricted area permit (RAP). Wary about the presence of illegal migrants in Arunachal Pradesh following the publication of NRC complete draft on Monday, the student body will launch an Operative Clean Drive from August 17 against Indians and foreigners staying in the state illegally. We surveyed the border areas of the state and found that nearly 50,000 people, many whose names didnt appear in the NRC first draft released on December 31 last year, have entered illegally in the past three to four months, said Tatung Taga, AAPSU convenor. Since there are restrictions for entry into our state and presence of illegal migrants could create law and order problems, we are requesting them to either get ILPs before the deadline or leave Arunachal Pradesh, he added. Manipur The BJP-led government in the state constituted two committees, at the state and districts levels, on Thursday to monitor the entry or presence of illegal immigrants in the state following the publication of the final draft of NRC for Assam. Chief minister N Biren Singh informed in a hurriedly called press conference that the committees will initiate steps for verification of illegal immigrants in the state with immediate effect. The state government has also opened a police check post at Imphal airport since Monday to prevent entry of illegal migrants. Similar steps have also been taken at entry points like Jiribam, Mao and Tamenglong railhead, Singh said. Nagaland Likewise, the home department in neighbouring Nagaland has issued an advisory to municipal, town and village committees to keep a tab on the entry of people from outside the state following the NRC draft publication. Since there are restrictions on entry to Nagaland, similar to Arunachal Pradesh, the government wants residents to promptly notify the district and police administration about unusual influx of outsiders. The states Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party-led government, of which Bharatiya Janata Party is also a part, is thinking of conducting an NRC for the state as illegal migrants are becoming a major issue. Similar demands to conduct NRC of residents are also coming from Tripura and Meghalaya. Meghalaya In Meghalaya, a delegation of Khasi Students Union (KSU) met deputy chief minister Prestone Tynsong on Wednesday and sought an NRC like exercise for the state to protect the rights of the indigenous tribes. On Tuesday, a day after the NRC draft was made public, KSU activists set up three check gates at areas bordering Assam to detect illegal immigrants and prevent their entry to the state. Reports say nearly 1,000 people with questionable antecedents were detected. The check gates have since been dismantled, but the administration is maintaining strict vigil at border points against infiltrators. Tripura In Tripura, while chief minister Biplab Deb has ruled out the need for NRC, the BJP-led governments ally, Indigenous Peoples Front of Tripura (IPFT), wants such an exercise to be conducted. We observe August 23 every year as the day to reiterate our demand for a separate Tipraland. This year, at a grand rally to mark the day at Khumulwung, we will also press for NRC in our state, IPFT vice-president Ananta Debbarma said while speaking to the Hindustan Times. Significantly, North East Students Organisation (NESO), the regions biggest student body wants NRC to be extended to all states in the northeast. We desire that NRC should be extended to all northeastern states. We have seen the quantum of the problem in Assam and this should not spill over to other states, NESO chairperson Samuel Jyrwa said while speaking to HT. (With inputs from David Laitphlang in Shillong, Sobhapati Samom in Imphal and Priyanka Deb Barman in Agartala) A Bangladeshi national disguised as a Sikh to rob a pawn shop here has been arrested, Singapore police said on Thursday. Sheikh Md Razan, 29, who was working as a construction worker previously and had overstayed since last December, was arrested on Wednesday evening. Razan, wearing a pink turban, entered a ValueMax pawn shop outside Boon Lay Mass Rapid Transit station at about 4.30pm on July 28 armed with a knife and a replica of a gun, which later turned out to be made of plastic. Pawn shop is a business establishment common for exchanging jewellery for cash here. On barging in the shop, he demanded that the shops employee hand over to him all the cash and jewellery. When the employee refused, the man allegedly said he would blow up the shop, claiming he had an explosive device. He then allegedly threw the object onto the counter and fled without taking any items. The workers immediately threw the object out of the shop and called the police. No one was injured in the incident. The object contained electrical components. After the foiled robbery attempt, the suspect allegedly went to an apartment block in the industrial district of Jurong West, in the vicinity of the train station left his backpack, discarded his clothing and turban behind the potted plants outside a residence. The items, along with a chopper, were found in the backpack behind the plants. A few hours later, when a resident noticed the backpack, the police was alerted. This gave a clearer picture of what Razan looked like, the police said during a press conference. Deputy commissioner of police and director of the criminal investigation department Florence Chua said the suspect was quite surprised when he was caught. He didnt think we had caught on to his disguise, she said. The suspect is expected to be charged in court on Friday. Actor Salman Khan on Friday filed a plea in the district and sessions court in Jodhpur, seeking permanent permission to travel abroad. The court will hear the application on Saturday. The actors counsel Mahesh Bora told the sessions court that the chief judicial magistrate court sentenced Salman to five years in jail on April 5 in connection with the 1998 blackbuck poaching case. He had moved an appeal before the sessions court, which on April 7 suspended the sentence and asked the actor not to leave the country without its permission. Bora said Khan is an actor and his profession demands him to travel abroad frequently, and cited the interests of other stakeholders. Bora said even in the past, Khan was allowed to go abroad while on bail or on suspended sentence, on as many as 100 occasions by the trial court and 33 times by the high court and requested the court to give permanent permission for the actor to travel abroad. An appeal against the actors five-year sentence was been heard on Friday. Bora argued that in the two other cases of poaching Chinkaras, the Rajasthan high court had acquitted Salman and most of the witnesses and documents of the case are common in the blackbuck poaching case. In the case, the high court had considered some of the witnesses and documents not to be trustworthy, but the CJM court did not give the benefit of doubt due to the unreliability of these witnesses and documents, while sentencing Khan. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has formally initiated a fresh process of seeking extradition of fugitive diamond traders Mehul Choksi and his nephew Nirav Modi, from Antigua and Barbuda and the UK respectively. Both Modi and Choksi have been accused by the state-owned Punjab National Bank of defrauding it to tune of around Rs 14,000 crore. Both of them left India in the first week of January and have not returned to the country despite summons from the investigating agencies and courts. We have submitted an extradition request to the ministry of home affairs and it has been further forwarded to the ministry of external affairs for sending to the government of Antigua and Barbuda, said a CBI official who spoke on condition of anonymity. India was informed last month that Choksi is in the Caribbean nation and has also taken up Antiguan citizenship. On Nirav Modi, minister of state for external affairs VK Singh informed the Rajya Sabha in a written reply that an extradition request had been received in the MEA from the MHA. The request has been sent by a Special Diplomatic Bag to the High Commission of India (HCI), London for onward transmission to UK authorities, said Singh in the reply submitted on Thursday. The CBI and the ED suspect that Nirav Modi is in the UK or in Belgium where he has substantial business interests. Meanwhile, the Congress alleged that shocking details emerging from Antigua had exposed the complicity and connivance of the Modi government in Choksis escape. The government dismissed the claim. Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala was reacting to media reports quoting Antiguan authorities saying Indian agencies provided no adverse information on Choksi when the Caribbean country conducted a background check on him. MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar clarified that when the NOC (no-objection certificate) was issued, there was no police case against Choksi. Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee may be cosying up to the Congress high command in Delhi but the party chief in West Bengal has launched an all out attack against her. Days after she met Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, West Bengal Congress chief Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury called the Trinamool Congress chief a chameleon and accused her of hankering after the prime ministers post. In a no-holds-barred attack on the West Bengal chief minister, Chowdhury alleged that Banerjee is acting like a Trojan Horse and trying to divide a united opposition by floating the idea of a federal front, and urged leaders of various parties not to trust her. Her single objective is to be the prime minister of India. She is hankering after the post of prime minister. She is having a Devegowda-syndrome and Gujral-syndrome, he said. Chowdhury also accused Banerjee of trying to finish and eliminate the Congress in West Bengal on one hand and seeking the partys support for the next Lok Sabha elections on the other. She is nothing but a chameleon who is changing her colours. She is an unreliable, unpredictable politician and Congress and other leaders should not trust her at all, he said. Mamata Banerjee is a dictator and is now trying to project herself as a female monk. She is trying to eliminate the Congress in West Bengal by not allowing us to either vote or stand in elections and our leaders are put behind bars. It seems that doing politics in Bengal is a crime, he said adding we are the victims of politics of elimination in the state. The PCC chief, who has been a staunch Mamata-baiter, said she is trying to extract as many seats as possible in Bengal so that she can stake her claim for the prime ministers post in the next Lok Sabha elections. Chowdhury said Banerjee is thinking that she will become the prime minister with the support of the other opposition parties and that is why she is declining to offer the Congress any seats in Bengal. He said at a time when Rahul Gandhi is talking of uniting the entire opposition, Mamata Banerjee is trying to create a divide in the opposition ranks by talking of a third front. She is only trying to suit herself, he said. Accusing Banerjee of adopting double standards, the Congress leader said on one hand she is talking of 40 lakh people who were left out in Assam-NRC, on the other she is putting up barricades on the state borders. He also recalled how Mamata Banerjee moved an adjournment motion in Parliament in 2005 against illegal immigrants in Bengal and demanded she clarify her stand on the issue. Banerjee yesterday met leaders of various parties in the national capital including UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Congress president Rahul Gandhi as part of efforts to forge an anti-BJP front . We discussed the political situation. We discussed how the opposition can together take on the BJP because it knows that it will not come back to power, she had said after the nearly 30-minute meeting with the Gandhis. Banerjee said she also discussed the NRC issue as 40 lakh people have not been included in it and genuine voters have been kept out. The Congress is vehemently opposed to the idea of holding simultaneous Lok Sabha and assembly elections as it is against the basic structure of Indian federalism, the opposition party told the Law Commission on Friday. The party maintained that ending or extending terms of assemblies was also against the basic structure of Indian federalism. Senior Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge, P Chidambaram, Kapil Sibal, Abhishek Manu Singhvi, Anand Sharma and JD Seelam met the commission to articulate their partys stand on holding simultaneous polls in the country. On behalf of the Congress, Singhvi made the main presentation. Political parties are divided on the issue. While the Bharatiya Janata Party, Shiromani Akali Dal, All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, Samajwadi Party and Telangana Rashtra Samithi have supported the proposal, the Congress, Trinamool Congress, Aam Aadmi Party, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, Telugu Desam Party, Left parties and Janata Dal(Secular) have opposed it. The Law Commission has been holding consultations on the governments concept of one nation, one election. Last month, Singhvi told a news conference that the idea of simultaneous elections was a constitutional perversity and preposterous. The proposal of simultaneous election dressed up with fancy phrases such as one nation, one election is antithetical to democracy. It is nothing but another example of authoritarian and dictatorship he had said then. Indias global economic clout manifested itself at the BRICS summit in South Africa last week when Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan focused almost exclusively on bilateral economic relations in a hour-long meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on July 27, according to people familiar with the happenings at the meeting. The Turkish presidents focus during the meeting was in stark contrast to his comments during his previous visit to India in May 2017 when he spoke on Kashmir and on Indias NSG membership. The bilateral meeting, sought by Erdogan, was held over dinner before Modi departed for India. According to three South Block officials who spoke on condition of anonymity, the meeting with Erdogan was fruitful and the Turkish President didnt raise any of the contentious issues. Last year, President Erdogan ruffled diplomatic feathers even before he started his trip to India by advocating multilateral dialogue to settle the so called Kashmir question and recommending that Pakistan should also be given entry into the NSG club at the same time as India. This time, however, President Erdogan refrained from any political discussion and instead was in favour of Turkish companies investing in India. According to officials, he was all for increasing bilateral trade and avoided speaking about the politics of South Asia. According to the South Block officials, the current state of US-Russia relations and its fallout on India was the focus of the discussion between Prime Minister Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin during the summit. The bilateral meeting in South Africa lasted one hour forty minutes, the three officials said, and Prime Minister Modi reassured Russia that India didnt want to leave its old partner out in the cold. The officials added that the two leaders share a special relationship and said that they spoke till 4 in the morning last June, in a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the International Economic Forum meeting in St Petersburg. The officials said that Prime Minister Modi also met with Chinese President Xi Jinping and that the leaders veered from the written text of the discussion to discuss areas of bilateral cooperation over any confrontation or difference. A controversy has erupted in UPs Shahjahanpur district after Congress and some residents of Dhaka Ghanshyam village alleged that a Gandhi statue had been painted in a shade of saffron, a colour associated with BJP. However, the district administration dismissed the claim, saying the colour on the statue installed at a government school in the village was not saffron, but creamy yellow, and it had been painted three years ago, not recently. A group of people of Dhaka Ghanshyam village on Thursday alleged that the statue, which was originally white, was recently painted in a shade of saffron by people who wanted to propagate a particular ideology, and demanded action against them. A delegation led by district unit president of Congress Kaushal Misra also met the district magistrate Amrit Tripathi, demanding immediate action against the miscreants. However, in a written explanation to the Puvaya sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) Satyapriya Singh, village head Gayatri Jaiswar denied the allegations and said that the statue was painted three years ago in creamy yellow colour and had not been repainted since then. The statue, which is located in front of a primary school, was last painted three years ago by the then-headmaster of the school. It has not been repainted since then. The allegation that it has been painted in saffron colour is false, she said. Maintaining that the colour of the statue was creamy yellow, the SDM said he would review the statements of both the sides. An inquiry will be carried out into the allegations. We have also sought some inputs from local police and other government officials. A decision will be taken after looking into the claims of all the parties, he said. Responding to the administrations assertion, the Congress leaders said if that was the case then the matter would have come to light earlier and not yesterday. Misra said ruling party members were behind the incident as they are using it to divert public attention from pressing issues. Congress party members in Lucknow and Delhi have been apprised of the matter. The incident comes after the secretariat annexe building, Haj House and a police station in Lucknow and a statue of Dr BR Ambedkar in Badaun were painted in saffron. The statue of Ambedkar in Badaun was repainted in blue after protests by local BSP leaders. (With PTI inputs) Goa government is planning to revive a provisions of the Portuguese era mining legislation which granted concessions for an indefinite period in a bid to restore mining in the state stalled by the Supreme Court. A resolution to be effect is likely to be passed in the Goa assembly on Friday. Goas mining leases were granted as concessions in perpetuity by the colonial Portuguese government beginning in the 1930s. Twenty six years after Goa became part of India, the Central government through the Goa Daman and Diu (Abolition of Concession and Declaration as Mining Leases) Act, 1987, converted all mining concessions with effect from 1961, when Goa became part of India, into mining leases which expired in 2007. The Goa government now plans to ask parliament to amend the Goa Daman and Diu (Abolition of Concession and Declaration as Mining Leases) Act restoring the concessions. Goa chief minister Manohar Parrikar wants the Centre to amend section 2 of the Act, which enforced the law retrospectively, so that the shift from the Portuguese legal regime to the Indian system be delayed ex post facto. The amendment would be the only lasting solution to the mining issue, Parrikar said on Wednesday, to build political consensus on the issue. Most of the political parties have supported Parrikar on the issue in the assembly. The Goa Assembly on Friday will discuss a resolution requesting the Centre to amend the Goa Daman and Diu (Abolition of Concession and Declaration as Mining Leases) Act. The Goa Mining Peoples Front has been seeking the amendment saying that it was the quickest way to resume mining. Under the colonial mining laws, titles of concessions were granted in perpetuity and were recognised as a patrimonial right The abolition Act in 1987 led to problems for the mining industry in Goa, president of the forum Puti Gaonkar said. Under the present MMDR Act as amended in 2015, mining leases have to be granted through a process of auction. However, Parrikar had said that auctioning the leases was not a viable option as the Goas low grade ore, fetches a low price in the international market and leaves very little margin for the miners after extraction and transportation costs are accounted for. The Mining Engineers Association of India (MEAI) also said that auction is not a viable option and amending the law was the only practical solution. T Victor, former president of the MEAI T Victor recently said that amending the 1987 Act Goa would help ensure quick resumption of mining activity in Goa. If that is done, tomorrow mining can be started, he said. The SC had also struck down the environmental clearances after the Central government appointed MB Shah committee had claimed that the leases in Goa violated green norms. Claude Alvares, director of Goa Foundation on whose petition mining leases were cancelled by the Supreme Court, said that the governments plans seem speculative. Right now they are only talking about it. Once they do it, then we will know what exactly they are doing and accordingly we can challenge it (in the court), Alvares said, adding that proposals being made for revival of mining will not survive judicial scrutiny or review. Legal expert advocate Cleofato Almeida Coutinho said it was within the powers of Parliament to amend the Act but the questi-ons remained was whether it was the right thing to do. Under the present Mines and Minerals Development Act (MMDR) they are supposed grant mining leases through auction, he said and added that by bringing the amendment, the government was going against its own principle of making maximum money through auction. It is through backdoor granting of leases to the same people whose time is over, he said. Mining in Goa is open cast involves excavating large gaping holes in the earth completely hollowing out hills resulting in a large amount of rejects mountains of which dot Goas mining hinterland even though the second is among the biggest contributor to the state Gross Domestic Product (GDP), higher than the tourism sector, which accounts for about seven percent, according to Goas government data book on economy. On the other hand, the MB Shah committee said that illegal mining in Goa had caused irreversible and irreparable damage to the biodiversity, wildlife, environment and ecosystem, especially in the eco-sensitive zone of the Western Ghats in Goa. Mining has also caused water scarcity in the affected areas as the ore is often located below the water table and can be reached only through pumping the water out, according to information placed before the HC by local activists. While banning mining in Goa in this February, a Supreme Court bench of justices Madan Lokur and Deepak Gupta had observed: Rapacious and rampant exploitation of our natural resources is the hallmark of our iron ore mining sector - coupled with a total lack of concern for the environment and the health and well being of the denizens in the vicinity of the mines. The sole motive of mining lease holders seems to be to make profits (no matter how) and the attitude seems to be that if the rule of law is required to be put on the backburner, so be it. Tech giant Google said on Friday that it was responsible for a coding flaw that caused a defunct Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) helpline number to mysteriously appear in the contact lists of mobile phones running on its Android operating system. The clarification came hours after a social media storm against UIDAI, with users blaming the agency, which oversees the Aadhaar identification system, for pushing the information to their devices without their consent. Our internal review has revealed that in 2014, the then UIDAI helpline number and the 112 distress helpline number were inadvertently coded into the SetUp wizard of the Android release given to OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) for use in India and has remained there since, a Google spokesperson said. We are sorry for any concern that this might have caused, and would like to assure everyone that this is not a situation of an unauthorised access of their Android devices. The flaw did not mean any data of users had been compromised, the spokesperson added. Earlier in the day, the UIDAI and telecom operators said they were not responsible for the number being fed to peoples phones . UIDAI has reiterated that it has not asked or advised anyone including any telecom service providers or mobile manufacturers or Android to include 18003001947 or 1947 in the default list of public service numbers, a statement by the agency said, referring to the number that Twitter users found under the name UIDAI on the contact list of their devices. Throughout Friday, UIDAI was among the top five trending topics on Twitter, with nearly 2,000 posts on the issue by evening. Helpline numbers can be pre-programmed into mobile devices by operators, device makers or developers of the devices operating system. Mobile operators denied programming the UIDAI number, according to a statement by the Cellular Operators Association of India. Two Twitter users indicated the responsibility could lie with Google. Arnav Gupta, an Android application developer, and Kingsly John who described himself as someone who comments on mobile-developer issues were among the first to spot the issue. The number does not exist on a fresh install before the device connects to the Internet. So it is coming from the Internet, and not present in the OS itself, Gupta tweeted first, after which John experimented with his phones to ascertain how the number found its way into contact lists. At present, it is definitely Google which is adding the entries, John told Hindustan Times, explaining that he noticed the number even on personal computers emulating an Android device. UIDAIs Aadhaar project has been criticised by activists as a threat to peoples privacy for its ability to create exhaustive profiles of individuals by potentially being able to trace crucial information like phone calls and banking transactions. A five-judge bench of the Supreme Court is due to deliver a verdict on a clutch of 27 petitions challenging the constitutional validity of Aadhaar. After nearly four months of uncertainty, the government has finally decided to clear Uttarakhand Chief Justice KM Josephs name for elevation to the Supreme Court. People familiar with the matter confirmed this, stating that the issue of Justice Josephs seniority as compared to other judges has been resolved. Two other names that of Justices Indira Banerjee and Vineet Sharan were also cleared for appointment by the law ministry. Justice Joseph will take oath after fellow judges Banerjee and Saran, making him junior to them in the Supreme Court. This move paves the way for the appointment of three new judges to the top court, which currently has nine vacancies against a total strength of 31 judges. Although Justice Josephs name was sent to the law ministry by the Supreme Court collegium in January, a letter written by law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad to Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra in April sought that the recommendation be reconsidered. The government claimed that Justice Joseph was not senior enough, and his elevation will result in Kerala having two judges in the Supreme Court going against the principle of regional representation. The Opposition criticised the governments move, stating that it only wanted judges that favour its policies. The file was returned to the government on July 16, with the collegium reiterating that Joseph was indeed its choice for the apex court. It also contained two fresh recommendations. The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government has withdrawn its controversial proposal to create a Social Media Communication Hub (SMCH) for monitoring online data, the Supreme Court was told on Friday. Attorney general KK Venugopal, appearing for the government, informed a bench led by Chief Justice Dipak Misra that the government did not propose to go ahead with its request for proposal (RFP) floated in April for the supply of software for the project. He added that the government had decided to review the policy. The government had come under severe criticism for its move, not just from the opposition parties, but also the SC which, two weeks ago, termed the move as creating a surveillance state. The proposal came under challenge before the top court by Trinamool Congress legislator Mahua Moitra on June 18. The court had, on the last hearing, sought Venugopals assistance on the issue. During the previous hearing , Justice DY Chandrachud had noted: If the government is seeking to monitor every single tweet and WhatsApp message that is sent, we will be moving towards becoming a surveillance state. In Fridays hearing, Venugopal informed the bench that the government was taking advantage of Justice Chandrachuds remarks from the last hearing. After taking the AGs stand on record, the bench disposed of Moitras petition. In her appeal, Moitra had alleged that monitoring of activity on social media was akin to personal surveillance of citizens by the state. She said that through the hub, the government intended to collect and analyse digital and social media content. She asked the court to stay the entire project on the grounds that it would violate an individuals right to privacy. The government was trying to monitor social media content of individuals by tracking their Twitter, Facebook and Instagram accounts and their emails, Moitra contended. The Broadcast Engineering Consultants India Limited (BECIL) a Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) had floated the tender inviting bids for supply of software for the project. According to the RFP document, a technology platform was needed to collect digital media chatter from all core social media platforms as well as digital platforms such as news, blogs. The platform was expected to provide automated reports, tactical insight and comprehensive work-flows to initiate engagement across digital channels. Under the project, media persons were to be employed on contractual basis in each district to be the eyes and ears of the government and provide real-time feedback from the public on government policies on the ground. They were to also follow the news trending in their respective areas. India and the US have moved a step closer to resolving their outstanding trade issues, with India considering accepting some US demands regarding medical devices and electronics (IT) products. An announcement is likely before the so-called two-plus-two talks between the two countries scheduled to be held in New Delhi on September 6. According to two people familiar with the matter who briefed Hindustan Times separately, India and the US have discussed medical devices, dairy, and IT products, the three areas where US President Donald Trump was keen India make some concessions. In medical devices, for instance, India is veering around to the US view of capping trade margins for some products, instead of outright price controls. In early 2017, India had capped prices of products such as stents, affecting large US multinationals such as Abbot and Boston Scientific, which even considered withdrawing products till India said there was no such provision. Indias medical devices market is estimated to be as big as $5 billion. In dairy, the two people, neither of whom wished to be identified, said there is unlikely to be much progress because the US dairy industry uses bonemeal as part of cattle feed and this means the milk and milk products are non-vegetarian. Given the cultural issues, this is a deal-breaker for India, one of the two people added. HT learns that India even rejected a US proposal to mark these dairy products with a brown dot to show that they were non-vegetarian. In IT products, India has been insisting that US products meet Indian standards as laid down in the Compulsory Registration Scheme for IT products. The US argument is that its products already meet much more stringent US standards and that Indias insistence introduces more bureaucracy and complexity into what should be a straightforward import. India may rationalise this scheme, the first person explained. India also plans to delay the imposition of retaliatory duties on US goods, news agency Reuters said quoting a commerce ministry spokesperson, in order to allow time to resolve disputes that worsened after President Donald Trump imposed tariff hikes on steel and aluminium. The commerce ministry has suggested to the department of revenue to amend the notification for extension of retaliatory measures for 45 days. To be sure, it isnt clear if there has been any breakthrough in resolving the issue of US tariffs on steel and aluminium products from several partners including India, and the latters retaliatory tariffs on 29 US products. They were previously set to kick in from 4 August. The breakthroughs have been made possible after several rounds of talks, the two people said. Mark Linscott, Assistant US Trade Representative for South and Central Asian Affairs, and Santosh Sarangi, joint secretary in the ministry of commerce, were involved. Earlier this week, the first person said, Indias commerce minister Suresh Prabhu spoke to US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer. The talks come around the same time as, although they are not connected to, the US granting India the important STA-1 status reserved largely for Nato member countries, thereby making it possible for the country access to the latest US defence equipment and technologies. In 2017, total bilateral trade in goods grew 9.7% to $74.3 billion in 2017 over 2016, of which US exports to India were $25.7 billion, and Indias exports to the US, $48.6 billion. The US trade (in good) deficit with India diminished 6.4% to $22.9 billion in 2017 from $24.5 billion. The US services trade deficit with India was $5.6 billion in 2017, up 7.4%. Total bilateral trade in services at $51.8 billion grew 11.5%. US services exports to India were $23.2 billion and Indian services exports to the US were $28.7 billion. The US has been working to reduce its overall trade deficit. On Wednesday, the US Congress also provided a waiver for India from sanctions against countries importing arms from Russia. In the course of the dispute over the three main issues, the US said in April it was reviewing Indias Generalized System of Preferences based on concerns related to market access. In June, India threatened to take this issue to the World Trade Organization if the GSP benefits were withdrawn and also urged the US to continue with these. An analyst, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that with the main reason for the US review of Indias GSP status being complaints from the medical devices and dairy industry, the resolution of at least some of the issues could mean Indias status is no longer under threat. Actor-politician Kamal Haasan on Friday said his party Makkam Needhi Maiams (MNM) was ready for the Lok Sabha polls, but it was left with very few options for alliance because of its strong stance on anti-corruption. Our party Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) is ready for polls. Our party is clear with its ideology of scam-free governance, and this leaves MNM very few alliance choices, Kamal Hassan told reporters in Chennai. His remarks on alliance comes a day after AIADMK rebel leader TTV Dhinakaran said that his Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK) was ready to tie up with the Congress if the national party walked out of alliance with the DMK. When asked whether MNM was ready for local body polls, Kamal Haasan said his party will decide after discussing the matter with senior party members. Meanwhile, TN chief electoral officer, Satyaprata Sahoo announced that bye-elections to Thiruparankundram assembly constituency will be held soon. The demise of the AIADMK MLA A K Bose on Thursday created a vacancy in the Assembly. According to sources in the state election commission, poll officials in Tamil Nadu are likely to go ahead with the electronic voting machines (EVM) for the bypoll and next years Lok Sabha elections. Tamil Nadu, which has 39 Lok Sabha seats, will prefer EVMs, and the state public election department has just begun the awareness campaign in this regard, a senior state official said, ruling out possibilities of reverting back to the ballot paper voting system. The Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) has been demanding the paper ballot system. However, majority of regional parties are comfortable with the EVMs, the official said. Two women artistes, who are members of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artistes (AMMA), on Friday filed a petition in Kerala high court seeking a woman judge in the actress abduction and assault case, although the victim opposed the move. Actors Rachana Narayankutty and Honey Rose filed the petition as the court was about to take up a plea of the accused actor Dileep seeking a probe by the CBI. However, the victim opposed the latest move of AMMA saying she doesnt need anybodys help in the case. She said she was not a member of AMMA and suspected a ploy to delay the trial. She had already moved a petition in the high court, with a plea to appoint a woman judge. The state government opposed Dileeps demand to change the public prosecutor and said that an accused cant dictate which agency should probe the case against him. The actress was allegedly abducted and assaulted by a gang in a moving car in February 2017. They set her free after three hours, but threatened to circulate a video of the assault if she approached the police. However, she filed a complaint the same day. Dileep, who is accused of plotting the abduction and sexual assault of the actress in an alleged act of vengeance using a gang, was arrested five months later. He was expelled from AMMA soon after his arrest and but he was taken back last month, which led to the resignation of three actresses, including Parvathi. A six-member Kerala police team on Friday left for Jalandhar to question Bishop Frank Mullakkal , who is accused of sexually abusing a nun. The team, led by Vaikom deputy superintendent of police K Subhash, made a stopover in Delhi to question a woman who had filed a counter-complaint against the nun, accusing the 43-year-old of having an affair with her husband, officials familiar with the matter said. A six-member team led by deputy superintendent of police, K Subhash will first meet a Delhi-based woman who filed a complaint against the nun before proceeding to Jalandhar, police sources said. She had filed a counter-compliant against the nun, saying the latter had an alleged affair with her husband that spoiled her family life. An FIR was registered against bishop Mullakkal on June 30 based on the nuns complaint that she was sexually abused 13 times between 2014 and 2016. Later police also recorded her statement before a magistrate. She had also undergone a medical test. However, the bishop had denied all the charges, saying he was targeted for taking action against her for financial irregularities and he also filed another case saying, he was being threatened by her family members. In Kerala, justice Sunil Thomas recused himself from hearing a petition for a court-monitored probe filed by the Catholic Reformation Movement. The judge did not cite any reason for this. The reformist group questioned the delay in arresting the bishop and sought enough protection to the complainant. Many including CPI(M) veteran V S Achuthanandan have criticised the delay in acting against the bishop even a month after the case was filed. Last week a priest was arrested after an audio clip in which he was purportedly heard threatening an acquaintance of the victim to withdraw the complaint surfaced. Meanwhile, Kerala Catholic Bishop Conference president Archbishop Soosa Pakiam exhorted the clergy to go an extra mile to restore the trust of believers. Sanctity is uppermost for the clergy and everyone is obliged to protect this. Priests and nuns should be role models of simplicity and sanctity, he said while addressing a religious meet in the state capital. Without mentioning any case, he said of late clergy was in the news for bad reasons. Police on Friday lodged an FIR against seven persons including five juveniles for allegedly gang-raping a 13-year-old girl in her village, about nine kilometres from Chaibasa in Jharkhands West Singhbhum district. One of the five juveniles involved in the incident was apprehended and sent to remand home while the rape survivor was sent for medical tests, police said. The incident, which took place on July 26, came to light on Thursday after the girls family approached the police. We have lodged FIR under the relevant sections against two adults and five juveniles after preliminary investigation confirmed the heinous crime. We apprehended an accused juvenile on Thursday and based on his statement we succeeded in identifying others. The girl has been sent for medical tests today while the juvenile has been sent to the remand home, said Digvijay Singh, officer-in-charge, Chaibasa muffasil police station. Singh further said raids were on to nab other six named in the FIR while investigation was on to collect evidence. As per the complaint, the girl had gone to graze cattle on July 26, when youths from neighbouring village allegedly gang-raped the girl. They then threatened the girl of dire consequences to keep her mouth shut. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Brajesh Thakur, the main accused in the case involving sexual abuse of girls at a Muzaffarpur shelter home, ran an organized sex racket with links stretching as far as Nepal and Bangladesh to win favours in terms of government funds and orders, according to a report of the Muzaffarpur police. The report was prepared before the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) took over the probe last week. The report states that Thakur has a string of non-government organsiations (NGOs), with his relatives or other pliable staff manning key positions, and set out to amass wealth in connivance with senior government officials and bankers. He enjoyed huge clout flaunting his status as journalist, which became evident when he was handed over the responsibility to run Sahara old age home in Samastipur on the recommendation of government officials, despite not conforming to the provisions laid down in the advertisement , the report adds. Hindustan Times has seen copy of the report. The report says that the Bihar state Aids Control Society (BISACS) too asked one of Thakurs NGOs to run a scheme, choosing it without due process, including placing an advertisement. There is suspicion that Thakur managed to get the scheme at one place by providing girls to corrupt BISACS officials, the report adds. The report has also pointed to the complicity of Madhu Kumari, who is wanted in the case and is absconding. Madhu was the main worker for Brajesh. She was earlier into the flesh trade. Thakur used her to good effect to reach out to the red light area at Chaturbhuj Sthan in Muzaffarpur and made her the main pointsperson for an organization, Vama Shakti Vahini, on paper, the report says. It further adds that using his clout, Thakur managed two more BISACS schemes at Muzaffarpur and Bettiah. The real work of these projects was to push minor and helpless girls into flesh trade, instead of the mandated job of bringing sex workers to the mainstream. It needs to be investigated and all the office-bearers should be arrested, the report adds. The report claims that Thakurs flesh trade racket had links with prospective customers as far as far as Nepal and Bangladesh. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) searched the premises of a former Manipur minister and sitting member of the state assembly in connection with its probe into missing pistols from the state armoury. Ngamthang Haokip, whose house was searched in the Manipur capital Imphal, represents Saitu assembly constituency in the state assembly and was also a minister in the earlier Congress government led by Okram Ibobi Singh. But now he has shifted allegiance to the BJP which is in power in the state. Earlier this week, the agency had searched premises of another MLA Yamthong Haokip in connection with the case. The agency suspects that the missing arms and ammunition from the state armoury was actually stolen and later made its way to Manipuri insurgent groups. We have searched the premises of Ngamthang Haokip as it is suspected that he too might have received pistols that were stolen from the state armoury. We have recovered cash and letter pads of a Manipuri insurgent group from his premises. The MLA is not in town and we have been told that he is Bengaluru for some treatment, said a senior NIA official requesting anonymity. During the search at Yamthong Haokips premises ,one of the pistols missing from the state armoury was recovered. Yamthong Haokip too won on Congress ticket but now, he partially supports the BJP government led by N Biren Singh. The agency was entrusted with probe into disappearance of 56 pistols and 58 magazines from the weapon store located within the premises of 2nd Manipur Rifles Battalion. The weapons and ammunition went missing between September, 2016 and early 2017. We are yet to confront the Saikul MLA with the recovery made from his premises as he too has got himself admitted in a hospital in the national capital, said the NIA official. Both Ngamthang and Yamthang could not be reached for comments. The government has sent a request to the UK for extraditing fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modi, who is wanted in the Rs 13,500 crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud case, parliament has been informed. An extradition request has been received in the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) for the extradition of Nirav Modi from the UK, Minister of State for External Affairs VK Singh told the Rajya Sabha on Thursday. The request has been sent by a Special Diplomatic Bag to the High Commission of India (HCI), London for onward transmission to the UK authorities, he said. Singh said that the MEA revoked the passport of Modi as per the provisions of Section 10(3)(c) of the Passports Act, 1967, on February 16, 2018. This information was conveyed to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for onward transmission to the Interpol, he said. He also said that the Ministry has no means to verify the travels, if any, of Nirav Modi, and the passport used for such travels by him. Nirav Modi along with his uncle Mehul Choksi of the Gitanjali group are being probed in the fraud scam by the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate (ED). The ED had, on May 24 and May 26, filed prosecution complaints or charge-sheets against Choksi and Modi. The court has taken cognizance of the charge-sheets and issued non-bailable warrants against both of them. On request of the ED and the CBI, the Interpol had earlier issued Red Corner Notice against Nirav Modi on July 2. Nirav Modi left India along with his family in the first week of January, weeks before the scam was reported to the CBI. His wife Ami, a US citizen, left on January 6 and Choksi on January 4. Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar on Friday termed the alleged rapes committed at a government-funded girls shelter in Bihars Muzaffarpur as a matter of shame. We are shamed by such an incident occurring in our state. The CBI probe into the case should be monitored by the high court, he said. Over 30 girls were allegedly raped and tortured at the shelter home in Muzaffarpur district. With a medical board of the Patna Medical College Hospital (PMCH) confirming that a majority of the inmates were sexually abused, Kumar is under intense pressure to act against the culprits. Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav has even accused the ruling JDU-BJP government of shielding the culprits. We will stage a dharna against the heinous institutional mass rape in Muzaffarpur, sponsored and protected by the Nitish Kumar government, at Jantar Mantar on August 4. Request everybody to attend, the RJD leader tweeted recently. The owner of the girls shelter, Brajesh Thakur, is said to have political connections. On Thursday, the Supreme Court banned the media from using photographs of the victims even if they have been blurred. It also asked the media to refrain from interviewing the girls because they should not be compelled to relive their trauma repeatedly. The Tata Institute of Social Sciences had uncovered the sexual abuse scam while performing a social audit of 110 institutions across Bihar in May. The CBI took over the case a few days ago. The initial response of the Congresss central leaders against the final draft National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam has made the partys state leadership fear that the party might have played right into the hands of its rival the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), a section of local leaders told HT. The Congress top brass had sharply criticised the citizens registry on the day of its publication, July 30, for leaving out names of over four million applicants, subject to further scrutiny. There were disruptions in both houses of Parliament. In Rajya Sabha, the Congress, along with most of the main Opposition parties, walked out in protest. Briefing the media, Congress spokesperson Anand Sharma had questioned the credibility of NRC. I must say I was a little uneasy about the initial response. But ultimately, what are we trying to say? We are not at all opposed to NRC. The NRC is our baby. But it is a defective baby. We will have to correct it, said Pradyut Bordoloi, the Congresss state vice-president for Assam. Assam has witnessed large-scale migrations from Bangladesh, with which it shares a 267km border. Natives want illegal migrants rooted out. The NRC is a database registry of all Indian citizens in Assam. It aims to filter out so-called foreigners and is being finalised under the Supreme Courts watch. Some local Congress leaders, from district-level upwards to state-level, said they fear the partys leadership in New Delhi overreacted. Such a messaging gives the BJP scope to say we are against the NRC although we brought the NRC, said another leader, who represents Assam on the Congresss all-India committee. He requested anonymity. The Assam BJP has deployed spokespersons and television panellists to criticise the Congress stance. When the entire state has accepted it, people are peaceful and calm, the Congress has committed a blunder again by questioning the very credibility of NRC, which is Supreme Court-monitored, said the BJPs Assam unit vice-president, Manoj Ram Phookun. The terms of citizenship in Assam were written into an agreement, the so-called Assam Accord, signed on August 14, 1985 by the then Rajiv Gandhi-led Congress government with the All Assam Students Union (AASU). It was the culmination of a six-year agitation led by the student body against illegal settlers. According to the pact, anybody who can prove that they or their families were in Assam prior to midnight of March 24, 1971 would be deemed a citizen. Bordoloi said NRC was never a part of the Assam Accord. It was suggested by us, by the (previous) Congress government on May 2, 2005 during tripartite talks involving the state government and the AASU in which former PM Manmohan Singh was present, he said, adding: AASU gratefully accepted it. In 2007, a state-level cabinet sub-committee held discussions on it, he said. In June 2010, the Tarun Gogoi-led Congress government started a pilot project in two districts Barpeta and Chaigaon to vet citizenship and update the citizens registry, first compiled manually in 1951, the year of Indias first census. The Supreme Court (which was already hearing a petition on illegal migrants) endorsed the NRC and thats how it came into the picture, Bordoloi said. Despite this background, the BJP has got a handle to take on the Congress and local leaders are trying counter it. Many MPs overreacted because 40 lakh (four million) is a huge number. Genuine citizens, both Hindus and Muslims, have got left out due to some improper documentation, said Sujit Kumar Das, the president of the Congresss Chirang district unit. On July 31, attacking the Congress and the Opposition, BJP president Amit Shah described the NRC as the soul of the Assam accord. Shah said there will be further re-verification, amendments and hearings and that this 40 lakh (four million) figure is not final. Things arent easy for the BJP-led state government either. The name of Pradip Talukdar, a caste Hindu Assamese farmer from Batakuchi village in Chaigaon, an area 50 km east of Guwahati, is missing from the NRC. He said the government must include him and all other Assamese like him. Otherwise, it will be bad for the BJP. The head of the Congresss Lakhimpur district unit, Joy Prakash Das said: People will understand our stand. No name of genuine citizens can be left out. Amit Shahs statement that all these 40 lakh are intruders has offended the people. The Congress has now asked all its district units to offer free legal help to genuine citizens in filing appeals. India will bring up proposed changes in the US immigration policy, including eligibility for Green Cards and various American visas, at the two-plus-two dialogue between the foreign and defence ministers of the two countries in September, people familiar with the Indian agenda for the talks said. A total of 306,601 applications filed by Indian nationals for a Green Card under the Employment-Based Preference Category are pending approval with the US authorities, the latest available data show. Employment-Based Preference Category is the most important category for Green Card (permanent residency) applicants from India. The number of pending applications filed by dependent family members of the primary applicants under the Employment-Based Preference Category is not known. A US Green Card is much sought after by the Indians. The latest available data shows that in 2016, 64,687 Indians received a Green Card, slightly higher than the 64,116 who were given permanent residence by the US in 2015. The number has varied over the years. For example, in 2014, 77,908 Indian nationals got a Green Card, as against 68,458 who did so in 2013. The number stood at 66,434 in 2012. The data are from the US Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS). We understand that no comprehensive changes have been made by the US administration in recent times to the framework for issuance of green cards to foreign nationals. And in August last year, the USCIS announced that it would expand in-person interviews for the applicants, explained an Indian official who follows the issue. He said it is a fact that several proposals are under consideration in the US for reforming the immigration policy, including the eligibility for Green Cards, and there is nothing India-specific in any of this. Changes are being proposed both by the legislative and executive wings of the US government to the visa system. In the current US Congress, seven Bills relating to the H-1B visa programme have been introduced by individual Congressmen and Senators. So far, none of these Bills have been passed. H1 B is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ graduate-level workers in speciality occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise in specialised fields. On the executive side, President Donald Trump passed an order titled Buy American and Hire American in April last year. The executive order requires the US Administration to suggest reforms to the H-1B visa programme. This process is still underway. What also made lot of Indians complain to Indian missions and the ministry of external affairs is the stricter enforcement mechanism for abuse of visa programmes. India has raised the issue with the US at various meetings. We have been saying that the mobility of skilled workers to the US has been a mutually beneficial partnership which should be nurtured. Indian professionals have contributed to the growth and development of the US economy and helped it retain its competitive edge, said another official. Issue of visas is a sovereign right of countries,former foreign secretary Lalit Mansingh said . He added: But India and US have long been engaged in ensuring that movement of people is a mutually beneficial process. Indian workers helped the US economy immensely and the two countries have enough avenues between them to discuss and find a solution to these issues. Bill to restore original SC/ST Act tabled in Lok Sabha A Bill to overturn a Supreme Court order which had laid down certain safeguards in SC/ST law to prevent atrocities against people of scheduled castes and tribes was introduced in the Lok Sabha today. The bill rules out any provision for an anticipatory bail for a person accused of atrocities against SC/STs, notwithstanding any court order, while it also provides that no preliminary enquiry will be required for registering a criminal case and an arrest under this law would not be subject to any approval. Read more TMC dissatisfied with Rajnaths statement The statement of Rajnath Singh is completely unacceptable. We expected that the Centre will intimate us on its own and take appropriate action. Nothing was done. We are completely dissatisfied with his statement. Over the weekend, we are going to chalk out our plan of action for Monday, a senior TMC leader said. Rajnath Singh had accused the TMC leaders of creating an unruly situation at the Silchar airport on Thursday. National Sports University Bill passed Bill to establish a National Sports University in Manipur to promote sports education passed by Lok Sabha, as several members sought the inclusion of sports as part of a comprehensive education curriculum. Nirav Modi extradition request sent to Indian high commission in UK: VK Singh Minister of state for external affairs VK Singh informs Rajya Sabha that the request to extradite fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modi from the United Kingdom to India had been sent to the High Commission of India in London. On Trai chief controversy, govt says Aadhaar safe When asked about Trai chiefs data being available online after he gave out his Aadhaar number, law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad says the core Aadhaar data bank is completely safe, as asserted by UIDAI. Lok Sabha briefly adjourned Lok Sabha briefly adjourned following protests by TMC members over detention of its leaders in Assams Silchar. Congress says national security of utmost importance Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad says he wants to make it clear national security is of utmost importance... But if NRC is a fair and objective process, then why are genuine citizens not listed in the registry. What is Indias stand on refugees? What is Indias stand on refugees fleeing persecution, asks Swapan Dasgupta, political commentator and MP (nominated). TMCs questions government on NRC The home minister must clarify if he approves the different statements on NRC, says Derek O Brien. Decision on NRC update taken by Manmohan Singh, home minister says Procedure of #NRC started in 1985 through the Assam accord when the late Rajiv Gandhi ji was the PM. The decision to update was taken by Dr.Manmohan Singh ji in 2005: HM Rajnath Singh in Rajya Sabha #NRCAssam pic.twitter.com/EJRg367Ey4 ANI (@ANI) August 3, 2018 No one will be discriminated against: Rajnath Singh NRC is related to national security. We are committed to take it to its logical conclusion. But I want to assert that no one will be discriminated against in the process. It is a fair process: Rajnath Singh. Attempt to create fear condemnable: Rajnath Some people with vested interests have used the issue to further their propaganda. It is an attempt to create communal disharmony. Attempts to create an atmosphere of fear are condemnable, Rajnath Singh says in Rajya Sabha. Rajnath Singh addresses Rajya Sabha over NRC Home minister reiterates the NRC is a draft and not the final list. The process is completely fair and allegations are unfounded. All applicants can file claims on legal terms. I am repeating again, there will be no coercive action against anyone, he says Protests by Trinmool Congress MPs TMC leaders protest in Lok Sabha over the detention of its delegation at Silchar airport. A private members bill that sought to increase the hours and the minimum number of days for which the upper house functions in a year was presented in the Rajya Sabha on Friday. The Parliament (Enhancement of Productivity) Bill, 2017 moved by Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) MP Naresh Gujral sought to provide for the establishment of an effective system to prevent and address the decline in productivity of Parliament on account of disruptions of sittings. It sought an appropriate legal framework to fix the minimum number of days in a year for which Parliament shall be in session. It also proposed introduction of special session in addition to the existing three sessions, as compensation for the hours unutilised because of disruptions. Moving the Bill, Gujral said the idea behind the bill was that over the years Parliament meets for hardly 60-70 days in a year. Gujral said when the Rajya Sabha started meeting in 1952, the Parliament would meet for 100 to 113 days, but, gradually, over the period of time, successive governments made sure that the duration of the session reduced. Naturally, as a result, Bills are piled up, action is not taken and public is caused inconvenience, he said, adding: But successive governments--very frankly, whichever Government is in power and, today, of course, we are sitting with the Government--dont want to be held accountable. Parliament is an accountability forum. So I would urge upon all my fellow Members and the Government to make it official so that the Parliament meets, to my mind, for, at least, four to five months in a year. At least, we should make sure that it is not less than 120 days. Gujral also said that MPs from smaller parties often do not get a chance or adequate time to raise issues because of the duration of the sessions. The Bill was supported by Congress Jairam Ramesh who said the suggestion that both Houses should meet for a minimum of 100 days in a year is acceptable. He, however, suggested that even if Lok Sabha is not able to meet for a 100 days, Rajya Sabha should meet for that long. The Congress MP also suggested a special session when no government business is transacted so that MPs from smaller parties can raise issues. We must have 15- day session in a year in which no government business is transacted, but the issues raised by different parties, not just big parties like ours but small parties like SAD, AAP or YSRCP who may have two, three or four members, but whose issues may be very important which get drowned out because of the ruling party or the main opposition party, he said. There are currently no rules for fixing the minimum duration of sessions, supporting the move to introduce at least 100 days. BJP MP Ashok Bajpai said newer members of the House get little time to participate in discussions. He said people who keenly follow the proceedings in the Upper House are disappointed when the house is adjourned. Vijaisai Reddy of the YSR Congress said the argument that parliamentary standing committees take up time is not acceptable. It should be imperative for Parliament to function for 120 days, he said. Discussion on the Bill will be resumed next week. Osmania University, which was the hotbed of the movement for separate a Telangana state between 2009 and 2014, is all set to witness a major political activity after a gap of more than four years. Congress president Rahul Gandhi, who will be on a two-day visit to Telangana on August 13 and 14 to kick-start the partys campaign for the next elections, is expected to address a students rally on the 100-year-old campus on August 14 and seek their support to the party. On Friday, Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee president N Uttam Kumar Reddy held a meeting with OU students joint action committee representatives to discuss the arrangements to be made for Rahuls meeting with students. We will seek permission from the police and also the OU authorities for a meeting with thousands of students in front of the historic Arts College building. If it is not possible, we shall have to make arrangements for an interaction with select group of students at the University auditorium, a PCC spokesman said. Students of OU under the banner of OU Students JAC fought a bitter battle during the movement for separate Telangana state. While some students committed suicide on the campus for the sake of a separate state, others braved lathi-charge and arrests during the movement. However, after the formation of Telangana in June 2014, the students of OU felt neglected. They turned hostile towards the Telangana Rashtra Samithi government led by chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao for not addressing the issue of rampant unemployment and fulfilling the promise of filling up vacant government posts, besides not lifting cases filed against hundreds of students who took part in the agitation. In December 2017, when the students tried to take out a rally for jobs, the police thwarted their attempt and arrested scores of students. In May 2015, too, Rahul was expected to address a rally of students on the OU campus, but the plan was dropped as police refused permission. Last year, OU authorities issued a circular banning all kinds of political meetings on campus. Telangana Congress leaders are upbeat over Rahuls proposed tour to Telangana on August 13 and 14, for the first time after taking charge as the party president. Rahul will participate in the Praja Chaitanya Bus Yatra in Ranga Reddy district and address a public meeting. He will interact with the party functionaries and cadre in Hyderabad, PCC chief Uttam Kumar Reddy said. Rajasthans home minister Gulabchand Kataria said on Friday the state government has prepared a blueprint to prevent the rising lynchings by mobs that include identifying sensitive areas, increasing the presence of the police and name nodal officers. The Bharatiya Janata Party in the state has faced renewed criticism after a 29-year-old man was allegedly beaten to death late in July by suspected cow vigilantes in Alwar district, where three people engaged in the cattle trade have been killed since April last year. A team of informers will be prepared to enable the police to respond quickly to the possibility of mob lynching in remote areas. The way to do this is to increase the police mobility in remote areas and for that, we will soon be issuing 700 motorcycles, Kataria told the Hindustan Times. Then, the police officials have been asked to increase the vigilance and take preventive steps to ensure that such incidents do not take place ... Its important is to establish a proper channel of communication between the people in remote areas and the police, he added. Police have admitted they made a mistake in handling the case after local officials were accused of taking Khan to the hospital nearly three hours after they found him. They were also accused of taking him to the police station initially and beating him up. The states home department has issued an advisory to the police asking them to identify sensitive zones at the village level where such incidents have taken place in the past and increase patrolling there. The advisory said district superintendents of police (SPs) should be made nodal officers to keep an eye on such incidents and that officers of the level of deputy superintendents of police will assist them. The nodal officer will hold monthly meetings with local intelligence officials and police stations in-charge to take stock of the situation. The police will also keep an eye on the social media and take action in case of rumour mongering. The advisory also states that police will have to register a first information report promptly and present a challan in a time-bound manner in case of any incident of mob lynching. The director general of police (DGP) and additional director general of police (crime) have been asked to seek a review from nodal officers through video conferencing once a month. 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. The Centre expressed concern at the incidents of violence by mobs in some parts of the country on July 23, two days after Khan was lynched. It issued an advisory to state governments urging them to take effective measures to prevent incidents of mob violence and lynching and to take stringent action as per law. The State Governments have been advised to implement the directions issued in the matter by the Supreme Court on July 17, 2018, it said. Data compiled by the central ministry of home affairs show 45 people have been killed in 40 cases of mob lynchings across nine states between 2014 and March 3, 2018. The figures have gone up since then. Girijesh Dinkar has fought cases in the Jaipur district and sessions court for years, but she was stunned by what took place this April 2. Hundreds of her fellow scheduled caste (SC) and scheduled tribe (ST) lawyers marched around the narrow lanes of the court, chanting their slogans. Supreme Court order wapis lo, jab tak chand suraj rahega, baba tera naam rahega (Take back the Supreme Court order; till the sun and moon exist, so will your name Baba (BR Ambedkar). The provocation for the protest was an order passed by the Supreme Court on March 20, banning automatic arrests and registration of criminal cases under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, a legislation meant to protect the marginalised communities from abuse and discrimination.The apex court order unleashed anger across the country that culminated in a Bharat Bandh on April 2 as tens of thousands of Dalits officers, professionals, doctors and lawyers took to the streets. The protests showed the country that we Dalits wont tolerate everything, Dinkar said It is good that the protests happened. The protests shook the government, as Dalit parliamentarians, even those from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), called for action. The Centre filed a review petition in the SC and on Wednesday approved a bill to be tabled in Parliament to effectively reverse the courts judgment. But the fight against centuries-old prejudice, often with very poor results, hangs in the balance no matter what happens with the law. In 2016, the last year for which data is available, the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) recorded the national rate of conviction under the SC/ST Act stood around 16%, plummeting to around 3% for states such as Karnataka. This rate has consistently slipped since 2010, an HT analysis reported in April. Why, then, has the act come to represent Dalit assertion? The answer, says Rahul Singh, a Delhi-based lawyer with the National Campaign on Dalit Human Rights (NCDHR), lies in the symbolic power of the law. The act represents a shift in power and that is why it is so important to SC/ST, even if its implementation is flawed. This is why upper castes hate it so much and why Dalits find it so empowering. False cases The problems with the act can be summed up in a single provision of the law, section 3.1 (X), which says insult or humiliation of a SC/ST person in public view is punishable with jail between six months and five years. In the experience of activists and academics, this is one of the most-frequently invoked sections in the law, even in cases involving more serious crimes such as murder or rape. A study done in 2015 by the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) in Rajasthan, which reported the highest rate of crime against SC/STs that year, showed more than 77% of police final reports only mention this section, and another national report by the NCDHR showed this section was being applied even in rape and murder cases and that it was by far the section used most often. And most of these cases never reached the court, or resulted in acquittal. The police didnt know anything about the act and would often not file an FIR if derogatory words (needed to prove humiliation under the section) was not mentioned by the victim, said Manjula Pradeep, an academic and activist from Gujarat. Why does this happen? A string of recent studies list three factors: Public perception of the law based on incorrect interpretations of police procedure, old-fashioned logistical challenges, and the most important: attitudes and prejudices. The first can be explained by examining what a false case under the law is. The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) recorded more than 5,000 false cases in 2016, a statistic the top court mentioned in March to conclude the law was being misused. In a 2014 paper published in the Economic and Political Weekly, TISS professor Sthabir Khora explained cases are labeled as false by police, not courts, after a probe is shut and a final report is written. That a case is false is the polices opinion and therefore cannot be the final word in fact, a complainant can go to court and get a case reopened after it has been declared false. Khora, who studied final reports filed under the SC/ST Act and section 498A of the Indian Penal Code popularly known as the anti-dowry law, found an overwhelming number of final reports under the SC/ST Act labeled as false while the same under the anti-dowry code as mistake of fact or galatfahmi. In subsequent interviews, station house officers revealed they closed reports as galatfahmi to shield women from further prosecution, which is permissible if the case is labeled false. No such consideration appeared to be at play in the SC/ST cases. Moreover, the Rajasthan study found the rate of final reports in SC/ST act consistently 20 percentage points higher than that under the IPC. More than 50% of complainants in the Rajasthan study didnt even know their cases were declared false. If a case is labeled false, the police can charge those who filed the complaint to prevent future iterations of the same. But only in 10% of the cases, police recommends action. Does it not prove police bias in labeling false cases? he asked. Infrastructure Another problem is the challenge of special courts and police stations. The government was mandated to set up exclusive special courts, but several states have just designated usual sessions court as SC/ST courts. Fourteen states have set up exclusive courts in 44% of the districts, according to the 2016 report of the Union social justice ministry. The lack of exclusive courts adds to the pendency of cases that stood at 129,000 at the end of 2016, according to the latest round of the NCRB data. The NCDHR study found many cases ran for more than a decade. At the Jaipur exclusive special court, the special public prosecutor Anil Singh Solanki said the oldest case was pending since 2008 and that the court didnt transact much business between 2013 and 2015 due to lack of a judge. The Jaipur court, housed in a room the size of the average living room in a two-bedroom apartment, hears not just cases under the SC/ST act but also under other special laws, such as the Protection of Children From Sexual Offences (Pocso) act. This is a norm not just in Rajasthan but across several states. For example, the trial of self-styled godman Asaram was conducted in an SC/ST court because the case was lodged under Pocso. Inadequate infrastructure of police compounds the problem. An ongoing study by the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI) found a 37% shortfall in personnel in special police stations in Madhya Pradesh, set up to deal with caste crimes, and only around 16% of the staff in 12 districts, interviewed by CHRI, were scheduled castes. Battling biases The third, and possibly most important, are prevailing prejudices against the Act in particular and SC/ST complainants in general. Two studies done by the Union social justice ministry, one in 2005 and the other in 2015, found many judges thought the law is being misused and therefore were lukewarm about conviction, and favoured reduction of charges. In fact, the 2005 study by the Union social justice ministry said 85.7% of non-SC/ST judges, who form the majority of judges in the country, thought some sections of the law are not serious and dont deserve heavy punishment. The same situation exists with the police. Upper-caste prejudice among police makes them anyway think such cases are fake, so they never do much. They think only untouchability is a caste-based crime, not murder or rape. The little-educated Dalit victims are intimidated, adds Dinkar, who herself fights cases under the SC/ST law. Moreover, Pradeep addded, invoking the wrong sections also weakens a case for example, it becomes almost impossible to prove intent, and that the crime occurred in a public space, mandatory under Section 3.1 (X) because no one comes forward to say they witnessed the crime. We found that the perception among the higher rungs of the police was that small things were being unnecessarily escalated under the act, and that many complaints werent serious. The perception of the law was found to be more favourable among lower constabulary, said Devyani Srivastava, a senior programme officer at the CHRI. In addition, many government prosecutors believe cases of murder and rape are not caste-mediated, and only land disputes and physical violence are. The special public prosecutor of Jaipur, Anil Singh Solanki, told me that Dalits are used as shield in cases of rivalry among upper castes. And for greed of the compensation, many will file cases of rape, he added. Experts say this is a self-fulfilling cycle. Ramadu Sreepati, a professor at the Centre for Study of Social Exclusion and Inclusive Policy at the University of Hyderabad, said police bias ensures complaints are not taken seriously and, hence, lighter sections are invoked. Singh added inadequate police staffing ensured shoddy investigation that often resulted in a final report calling the case false and in courts, cases stretched for years as witnesses recant and pressure builds on the complainant to withdraw. So, when the case finally collapses, it strengthens the popular narrative that the law is misused and births a new cycle. Laws meant for the poor are usually sloppily drafted but this act was an exception with its careful wording. But the law has been destroyed by executive, police and judiciary, added Sreepati. Thus, in the absence of fundamental changes, the Act is likely to remain hobbled in implementation, and function more as a symbolic source for strength for SC/ST communities. The rain has died down. Like the rest of Varanasi, Mukti Bhavan, the lodge for salvation seekers, is also fragrant with an overpowering earthy scent. Drops of water trickle down pipes. The sound of traffic is audible again in the bustling street where the Bhavan, a more than 60-year-old structure, with its wrought iron gate, arches and tin mailbox, stands as a reminder of a bygone era . Bhairav Nath Shukla, the Bhavans manager for the last 40 years, has been silent while the rain was falling, and now, sitting on a wooden chair in his room, he seems even more distant, staring through the window into the bazaar beyond the lodges campus, which is coming back to life after the downpour. His is an unshaven, stern face with deep lines and almost unblinking eyes, framed by grey, cropped hair. Dressed in a clean, ironed dhoti-kurta, he seems the living embodiment of the lodge that he takes care of. In the Hindu belief system, dying in Kashi, the older part of Varanasi city, along the banks of Ganga, is associated with moksha or mukti liberation from the cycle of life and death. Elsewhere in traditional India, the cremation ground is outside of the town, for it is polluted ground. Here, however, the cremation grounds are in the midst of a busy city, adjacent to the bathing ghats, and are holy ground, for death in Kashi is acclaimed by the tradition, as a great blessing. Dying here, one gains liberation from the earthly round of samsara, Diana L Eck, professor of Comparative Religion and Indian Studies at Harvard University, writes in her book Banaras: City of Light. A Place To Die In 1958, industrialist Vishnu Hari Dalmia set up Mukti Bhavan for those who wanted to die in peace in Kashi. Mukti Bhavan, set up by industrialist Hari Dalmia in 1958. (Sanchit Khanna/HT PHOTO) Let us see. Someone may come to check in now, says Shukla in a matter-of-fact tone. Shukla hosts people when they are close to death. He allocates one of the 10 rooms in the Bhavan to them and supervises the transition from material to immortal. He has done this more than 12,000 times. A son got his father here thinking that he would fulfill his fathers wish. The son died here and the father lived on. Matters of life and death are beyond our control, he says, face stoic, as if he has seen it all. The last time someone occupied a room in the lodge was more than two months ago. The nayee peedhi (the younger generation), people of your age, have got too busy to get their parents here. It is okay. They will reap what they are sowing, says Shukla, putting a pile of hard-bound registers, smelling of seepage, on the table next to his chair. Come, all the visitors details are here. He brushes the dust off a register with the palm of his hand, opens it, moves his forefinger over handwritten details of visitors, and starts murmuring the names. This register is Shuklas mirror to the past. You see this one? he points to an entry. He was a Naxalite. First, he came with a young man. After two days, an entire battalion landed here. They would often talk to me. Like all rebels, they tried to justify their actions, said that they had taken up arms because they were left with no other choice. They spoke of the injustices done to them. I suggested that they surrender to the authorities. Obviously, they were not going to listen to me. After the first one died, they all left. Bhairav Nath Shukla has been the manager of Mukti Bhavan for 40 years. (Sanchit Khanna/HT PHOTO) He continues to turn the pages of the register. This one was in a hurry, he recounts a second tale. He was upset when his father did not die within 15 days and they both had to go back home in Gaya. I could see that the father was going to live for at least another five years, he says, clearly bewildered by the sons attitude. The stay at Mukti Bhavan is free. The visitor must have an attendant, and can take a room for a maximum of 15 days, after which Shukla decides whether to extend the stay or not depending on the persons health and the availability of rooms. These prerequisites are unique to Mukti Bhavan though. Other facilities meant for moksharthis have different terms and conditions. The Move To Kashi Take Kasivas Bhavan, for example. It is home to GVSP Kumar, 65, and his wife E Usha Bala, 62. They make for a picture-perfect couple. It almost seems as if they got married last week. They complete each others sentences; Usha pats Kumar's white shirt to remove specks of dust that only she can see; Kumar ensures that this interview does not disturb Usha's schedule. Both of them opted for voluntary retirement from the Hyderabad education department in 2007, and became regular visitors at Kashi's Annapurna temple. During one of the visits in 2015, temple officials asked them if they would be interested in contributing money ( 5 lakh) for one of the rooms in the then under-construction Kasivas Bhavan for people who wanted to spend their last years in Kashi. The donor had the option of taking possession of the room or giving it to the temple trust. They agreed to take the room. When they visited the small campus, on an incline, around 50 steps away from Mukti Bhavan, they decided to live there for the rest of their lives. Kumar works pro bono in Kashi Vishwanath Temples hundi (donation) section. Usha is learning Carnatic music at Banaras Hindu University and does Telugu-English translation in her free time. There is still a lot of life left in both of us. If you think we have given up, that is not the case, says Kumar, laughing. It is good if we happen to die here. But we dont lose our sleep thinking about it. The couple wants to use their resources to set up a music college. They have not decided where. Moksha On Their Minds Mast raho (just chill) is the idea that has helped Gulab Bai, 76, during her 20-year stay at Mumukshu Bhavan, a landmark near the iconic Assi Ghat. Spread over four acres, the campus has a secondary school, temple, resthouse for travellers and a 60-room section for salvation-seekers. Gulab Bai, 76, has been living at Mumuksha Bhavan in Varanasi for 20 years. (Sanchit Khanna/HT PHOTO) Gulab Bai is animated for her age. Her eyes widen in her round, full, wrinkled face every time she is talking to someone. She sits on a cot in her room, ears pricked, as if she doesnt want to miss out on any activity outside. This is my world, she says, walking around her room, which is a study in balance amid chaos. There are large, laminated posters of Shiva, Saraswati and Krishna pasted on a wall. A French window near the foot of the cot has been converted into a prayer section. A bunch of clothes hang on a plastic string above the headrest. Fruits and vegetables, kept in polythene bags, hang on a thick string fastened at two ends on walls. The paint on the walls is peeling. Gulab Bais children three sons, a daughter, eight grandchildren live in Delhi. Her husband was an employee with the Indian Railways. Together, she says, they went to all the holy shrines in the country. Moksha is nowhere else but here, she says in her sharp voice. After her husband died following a prolonged illness more than 20 years ago, she told her sons to arrange for her stay in Kashi because she wanted to get rid of the cycle of birth and rebirth. She has no friends, keeps to herself, and has grown disillusioned over the years. If I am good to people, they will exploit me. These days, you never know, she says. Your Delhi is worse. You saw how Handa murdered that woman? I watched it on a news channel, she says, sounding horrified, discussing the case in which an Army Major killed a colleagues wife in Delhi in June. No one is safe. Gayatri Devi, 76, with her daughter Veena (Sanchit Khanna/HT PHOTO) At the other end of the corridor, just as 76-year-old Gayatri Devi is getting ready for her siesta, her daughter, Veena, knocks at the door. Veena is married and lives in Varanasi. Eight years ago, when her mother, who was then living in Delhi, expressed the desire to attain moksha, Veena made a few enquiries and discovered that a room was available in Mumukshu Bhavan. She visits her mother at least twice a week. She has not visited Delhi even once since she shifted here. Her biggest fear is to die outside Kashi, says Veena. I came here expecting that there would be pooja path (prayers) all through the day, and it would be a conducive atmosphere to die in peace. Nothing of that nature happens here. Everybody is busy back biting, complains Gayatri Devi. The Business Of Death Once upon a time, it was difficult to identify moksha seekers in Kashi. They were part of the crowd and were not segregated as visitors or guests in hotels where people check in to die. Veteran journalist Amitabh Bhattacharya comes from a family of musicians and philosophers that has been living in Varanasi for 23 generations. The septuagenarians speech is an exercise in filling pauses. With his partially rusted metal frame glasses, mouth full of paan and slow walk, he seems frozen in time even as Varanasi moves on. When Bhattacharya was a young man, he remembers that neighbourhood families would host salvation seekers including beggars and widows in their last days. It was a common occurrence. Back then, he says, there were no separate facilities for them. He or she could be anyone; your co-passenger in a cycle-rickshaw or the person eating next to you in a restaurant. Now they have shrunk to a few lodges on the banks of the Ganga, he says. Bhattacharya wonders if any of the inmates in these lodges will get moksha. You have to detach yourself from worldly affairs to get attached to Kashi. People in these facilities spend their days on their iPhones. You think they will get salvation? he asks in a dismissive tone. With a sense of loss, he adds, Salvation has become a business now. It suits both the moksharthi (salvation seeker) and the person offering the accommodation. Whats more, the same courtyard can be booked for marriage functions. What can you and I do? The Supreme Court refused to interfere with Delhi high court (HC) verdict granting anticipatory bail to Karti Chidambaram, son of former union minister P Chidambaram in the INX Media case. We do not find any reason to interfere with the high court order, said a bench of justices AK Sikri and Ashok Bhushan, declining to accept the Central Bureau of Investigations (CBI) plea to set aside the pre-arrest bail order in Kartis favour. On additional solicitor general (ASG) Tushar Mehtas insistence, the court noted that the observations made by the HC judge shall not influence other proceedings. Mehta illustrated how the judge had commented on the statement given by Indrani Mukherjea, co-founder of INX media, who is also facing charges of murdering her daughter. Karti has been charged for alleged financial irregularities related to INX Media. Both Chidambaram and Karti have denied all the allegations made by the CBI, as well as the Enforcement Directorate (ED). Mehta also questioned Kartis bail also on the grounds that he had invoked the concurrent jurisdiction of the trial court as well as the HC. Kartis lawyer, senior advocate Kapil Sibal, rebutted Mehtas argument and said there is a judgement that concurrent jurisdiction of the trial court and high court can be invoked. Meanwhile, the same bench gave relief to Nalini Chidambaram, wife of P Chidambaram, against whom the ED issued summons in connection with its money laundering probe into the Saradha ponzi scam. Home minister Rajnath Singh on Friday accused Trinamool Congress (TMC) leaders of creating an unruly situation at the Silchar airport and insisted that they had been detained in view of intelligence inputs received by the Assam government. The government of Assam had some information and based on intelligence inputs... In view of the prevailing law and order situation and so the situation does not deteriorate, Trinamool MPs were detained at the Silchar airport, Singh told the Lok Sabha. Since prohibitory orders had been enforced in Assam, he said state officials had requested Trinamool MPs to return from the airport itself. Six Trinamool Congress MPs -- Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, Arpita Ghosh, Mamata Thakur, Ratna De Nag, Sukhendu Sekhar Ray and Nadimul Haque -- were detained at the Silchar airport on Thursday while attempting to visit Assam following the publication of the final draft of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) that excluded four million residents. The home minister maintained that the MPs were extended all courtesies, and since there was no return flight to Kolkata or Delhi from Silchar, the MPs spent the night at the airport guest house. The kind of respect that should be shown to a public representative, similar respect was shown to Trinamool MPs. With folded hands the district magistrate requested them to return. But without paying heed to the request, the MPs got into shoving in which two women security personnel also got hurt, he said. The Trinamool leaders had earlier alleged that the detention and manhandling of their party colleagues at the Silchar airport showed there was an undeclared emergency in the country. Trinamool Congress member Kalyan Banerjee said citizens of India have right to move around anywhere in the country and these MPs had categorically assured the state government officials at the Silchar airport that they will not hold any public meeting. Banerjee asked the government if it was nervous because of the united force of the Opposition in the run-up to the 2019 general elections. Parliamentarians have been deprived of the right to assess the situation arising in the country. There was no injunction or interim order passed by the Supreme Court that political meetings cannot be held in Assam, he said. Bijoya Chakravarty of the BJP accused the Congress of putting the NRC in cold storage and alleged that Trinamool MPs went to Assam only to create tension and violence in the state. Nothing can be more dangerous than West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjees statement that there will be bloodshed and civil war in Assam, she said. Earlier, the Trinamool MPs disrupted proceedings in the Lok Sabha over the issue, prompting Speaker Sumitra Mahajan to adjourn the House for 10 minutes during question hour. Dissatisfied with the home ministers statement, TMC members later said their party plans to intensify the protests against the NRC in Assam. Bengal BJP leaders took out a procession in Kolkata on Thursday to demand a citizenship-screening exercise akin to that of Assam, spurring chief minister Mamata Banerjee to warn them against touching anybody in the state. A delegation led by BJP state president Dilip Ghosh also submitted a memorandum in this regard to governor Keshari Nath Tripathi. Bengal BJP leaders including party womens cell president Locket Chatterjee demanded at the rally that Banerjee allow the National Register of Citizens (NRC) exercise in the eastern state. The chief minister should clarify if she stands for the citizens of Bengal or its illegal immigrants. Let people coming from outside Bengal provide documents that can establish their citizenship rights. The documents will be checked, and it will be decided whether they are eligible to stay here or not. But the chief minister is trying to mislead people with her vote-bank politics, alleged Chatterjee. Banerjee was quick to respond with a challenge of her own. Who are they? Let them touch anyone and they will see the consequences, she told mediapersons after landing at the Kolkata airport. She had just returned from a two-day trip to New Delhi. The chief minister alleged that the BJP was trying to bring about an emergency-like situation across the country. That is why our delegation to Assam was stopped and manhandled at Assams Silchar airport. Members of the team, which had some woman leaders too, were assaulted despite the Union home ministers assurance. During the riots at Asansol in Bengal this April, a BJP delegation from Delhi breached prohibitory orders under Section 144 to visit affected areas. But we did not arrest or stop them. Then why were our delegation members heckled when they only wanted to meet the common people in Assam? she asked. Incidentally, Banerjee had thrown a similar challenge at Narendra Modi while he was campaigning in Bengal before the 2014 Lok Sabha polls. The BJP leader, who went on to become the countrys prime minister, had said that Bangladeshis who cross over to West Bengal would be sent back. Ghosh said he raised the issue with Tripathi during their meeting on Thursday. We told the governor that we want the chief minister to stop saying that the NRC will lead to a civil war. We also requested the governors intervention to prevent Trinamool leaders from making trips to Assam, where the NRC issue has not triggered any violence. The Assam police did the right thing by stopping the Trinamool delegation at the airport, he added. The state BJP president said his party was in favour of granting citizenship to Hindus from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan who had migrated to India due to oppression. The delegation also told the governor that the party was not in favour of a state assembly resolution aimed at renaming West Bengal as Bangla. We told the governor that the name West Bengal should be retained, and he should intervene in the matter, said Ghosh. Incidentally, none of the three BJP legislators in the assembly including Ghosh had objected to the resolution when it was passed last week. Downing Street was sent into a tizzy when it was informed in July 1990 that former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher was surprised and distressed that then Congress party president Rajiv Gandhi did not contact her during his stopover in London in March that year. A confidential document declassified and released by the National Archives reveals Downing Street and CD Powell, Thatchers private secretary, were puzzled by a letter from Congress leader K Natwar Singh, seeking to clear a misunderstanding about Gandhis brief stopover en route to India from Namibia. Singh informed Thatcher that Gandhi wanted to speak to her but his efforts to reach her were unsuccessful. Indias then deputy high commissioner Salman Haider was informed by her office she was out of London and not reachable. I thought this very odd and asked the detective who was attached to Mr Gandhi, if he, on his network, could contact someone on your security staff so that Mr Gandhi could talk to you. His very polite answer was that he could not do so. That was that, Singh wrote. The letter Natwar Singh wrote to Margaret Thatcher to clarify the misunderstanding. (HT Photo) Powell noted on Singhs letter that he forwarded to Thatcher: I am afraid we are puzzled by this. Did you express surprise and distress as reported? We have no record of the telephone calls in question. (It was the day of the German seminar). Thatcher, who had close personal relations with Gandhis mother, former prime minister Indira Gandhi, responded to Powell in her handwriting: Yes I wrote to the High Commissioner. This suggested her letter to the then envoy Kuldip Nayar may not have gone through the usual official channels. Singh informed Thatcher he and his aides had more success in reaching the then leader of opposition, Labours Neil Kinnock, who was in Dublin on the day, but called Gandhi minutes before the group left for the airport to board the flight to India. This letter needs no acknowledgement. I just wanted to put the record straight because Mr Gandhi and I hold you in high esteem, Singh wrote. The BJP has selected a famous temple in each of seven divisions of the state from where chief minister Vasundhara Raje will take out Rajasthan Gaurav Yatra. The chief minister will also take blessings of prominent saints revered by communities, party sources said. The yatra will be flagged off by BJP president Amit Shah from Charbhuja temple, dedicated to Lord Vishnu, in Udaipur division. In Bharatpur division, the chief minister will launch her yatra from the famous Ganesha temple. Located in Ranthambore Fort in Sawai Madhopur district, the Trinetra Ganesha temple is the oldest temple of the Elephant God in Rajasthan. The yatra from Jodhpur division will commence from the Tanot Mata temple at a village in Jaisalmer district bordering Pakistan, the sources said. In Bikaner division, the BJP has selected Salasar Balaji temple dedicated to Lord Hanuman. In Kota, Raje will commence her yatra from the Keshoraipatan. The town is famous for temple of Keshav Rai Ji Maharaj or Lord Vishnu. The temple, which lies on bank of the Chambal River, is known for its unique architecture and sculptures. In Jaipur division, the yatra will start from the famous Paplaj Mata temple in Lalsot. People believe that water from a kund (small tank) located in this temple has miraculous curing properties. Raje will commence the last leg of her yatra in Ajmer division from the famous Brahma temple located in Pushkar, the sources said. Raje will visit 165 assembly constituencies travelling about 6054 km during her statewide yatra. The yatra will culminate in Ajmer division on September 30. During the 40-day-long yatra the CM will take 18 days break in phases depending upon administrative work and festivals. Raje has always made it a point to visit at least one temple during her Jan Samwad events in districts. The CM has held such meetings in more than 50 assembly constituencies across 16 districts in the state. Not all her temple visits are always fruitful. In January this year, she had launched her campaign for the by-elections in Ajmer with a visit to Masaniya Bhairav Dham temple in Rajgarh and also took blessings of saints. The BJP lost in Ajmer and Alwar Lok Sabha seats, and Mandalgarh assembly seat. Congress president Rahul Gandhi, who had visited temples in Gujarat in the run-up to the assembly elections, is also planning to visit famous temples in Rajasthan during his visit next month. A day before chief minister Vasundhara Raje is set to start her 40-day Rajasthan Gaurav Yatra, state Congress president Sachin Pilot asked why should the public bear the expenditure for an electoral campaign. Referring to a government order dated August 1, Pilot said the public works department (PWD) has been directed to arrange tent, sound system, dais, and so on for the meetings Raje will address during the yatra (rally) starting from Saturday from Charbhuja Nath temple in Rajsamand district. The Congress will ask a question daily for 40 days, which the CM has to reply, he said, adding the BJP government in Rajasthan has no accountability, dialogue (with people) and never given a satisfactory reply. BJP leaders, such as home minister Gulab Chand Kataria and state party chief Madan Lal Saini, have reportedly said that the yatra is organised by the BJP, Pilot told newspersons at the Pradesh Congress Committee office. Our first question is -- Why is public money being used for BJPs meetings? Who has given them permission to use public exchequer and how far is it justified morally and legally? The Rajasthan Congress had alleged that the beneficiaries of welfare schemes invited to the July 7 rally of the Prime Minister were BJP workers and supporters. The Congress had accused the government of misusing machinery and resources for the party event. Pilot said the CM has not only dishonored the public mandate but betrayed it. After the formation of the BJP government in Rajasthan, the ruling party lost a majority of bypolls to the Lok Sabha, assembly, and panchayati raj institutions. The BJP stands exposed as people have assessed its rule, he said. Now that the BJP lost recent Lok Sabha and assembly bypolls in the state, under pressure from Delhi they are taking out Rajasthan Gaurav Yatra, he claimed. People and the Congress are asking -- of 620 promises made before elections, how many are fulfilled? Pilot claimed the yatra would not have any impact as 7 crore people of Rajasthan has no interest left in having a dialogue with Raje. Rajes statement that mob lynching incidents are increasing because of unemployment shows the BJPs distance from people. Raje should ask her party MLA Gyan Dev Ahuja if his statements are uniting or breaking society, Pilot said, adding another BJP union minister is linking lynchings with PM Modis rising popularity. Congress does not wish to politicise the issue as it is related to humanity, and raised it in parliament. It is BJP which is doing politics in name of cow and temple but was exposed when thousands of cows died at shelters, he said. Leader of Opposition Rameshwar Dudi said the BJP in its close to five-year tenure in the state has misused peoples money. Even this yatra is funded from the public exchequer. He said, Farmers are committing suicide; loan waiver is only for those taken from cooperative banks and not nationalised banks. The government is all set to sell Kota and Chabbra thermal plants. Four people were injured in a minor stampede on Friday morning during a pharmacists registration drive held at Veena Nagar in Mulund (west). The incident occurred after hundreds of young pharmacists and their parents turned up outside the office building of the Maharashtra State Pharmacy Council, located on the fourth floor of R-square on LBS Road. All candidates who have a diploma or degree from pharmacy colleges in Maharashtra that are approved by the Pharmacy Council of India are required to register themselves from August 7. The online process of registration of pharmacists was to begin on August 7, and the council was conducting a registration and verification drive in their office as well, said Shripad Kale, senior police inspector, Mulund police station. Up to 250 to 300 freshly qualified pharmacists have been turning up daily, but on Friday, the numbers went up to 800, which led to chaos. Around 9.15am, the building gates were still closed and there was a crowd when it started raining. Students and parents started running for cover to a small shed so that the documents dont get damaged, and it led to a stampede, Kale said. While three people suffered minor injuries and were discharged after treatment, one person has sustained injuries in his ear and has been hospitalised. He may have to undergo a surgery, said a police official, requesting anonymity. The police have deployed personnel at the council following the incident. More details awaited. With the win in Jalgaon and Maratha stronghold Sangli-Miraj-Kupwad civic bodies, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) continued its electoral victory juggernaut in the state, emerging the face of the urban mandate in Maharashtra, despite the ongoing agitation for reservation that put the BJP-led government on the back foot. The BJP now has control over 14 of the 27 big cities in the state and has captured most of the states urban political space. The results of the two civic bodies declared on Friday indicate the BJP continues to find acceptability among voters in the face of several agrarian protests and caste agitations that have beset the Fadnavis government this year. The results are a cause for worry for not just the Opposition, Congress-Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), but also the Shiv Sena. The win in Sangli in western Maharashtra, a traditional bastion of the Congress-NCP, comes even as both the parties struck an alliance for the civic polls to counter the BJP. The alliance was led by Congress legislator and education baron Vishwajeet Kadam, son of former senior Congress leader Patangrao Kadam, and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) state president Jayant Patil. The BJP win here comes as a surprise, especially in the backdrop of the Maratha protests, given the community has a strong presence in Sangli and Miraj. And, it has led to speculation that the aggressive protests could have led to caste polarisation with Other Backward Classes, Scheduled Castes, Jains and Brahmins voting in favour of the BJP. The caste polarisation owing to Maratha protests is also one of the reasons behind our loss, said a senior Congress leader, who did not want to be named. Not all political observers agree with this analysis. This new wave of Maratha protests was too fragmented to lead to negative voting. I dont think Marathas voted en bloc against the BJP. Other castes may have voted in favour of BJP, but we cant look at this victory through the caste prism. It is also to be seen in the light of anti-incumbency against the Congress that had ruled the civic body for years and perhaps not delivered as much, said political analyst Surendra Jondhale. Both the Congress and NCP blamed BJPs money power as one of the main reasons for their electoral defeat. The BJP denied this. The voters list was manipulated in a big way and money power was used by the BJP to wrest Sangli, alleged NCP spokesperson Nawab Malik. We systematically worked to win Sangli and focused solely on the development plank. It helped that the Congress has controlled the civic body for decades, but had done little to improve the civic infrastructure for citizens. The image of our CM worked for the party, said Neeta Kelkar, BJPs vice-president and local leader. The main takeway is that with Sangli, BJP controls four of the five civic bodies in the sugar belt of western Maharashtra, so far controlled by co-operative doyens from the Congress and NCP. Both the Congress and NCP were counting on winning back the lost space in western Maharashtra in 2019, especially in the light of agrarian crisis and the Maratha protests. These parties will now have to head to the strategy room to re-think these political calculations. The Jalgaon win has a lesson for the Shiv Sena given the partys tally fell to 13 in 2018 from 33 in 2013. There was no need to give the anchor to Suresh Jain, who is in the twilight of his political career. And, the party should realise that not having an alliance with the BJP will come at a cost in the 2019 polls, said a BJP leader. The win in this north Maharashtra city is also a plus for water resources minister Girish Mahajan, who has been caught in a bitter leadership tussle with senior BJP leader and former revenue minister Eknath Khadse over this region. With Mahajan, Fadnavis aide winning the Jalgaon civic body, so far seen as Khadses home turf, the latter now faces a political challenge. Khadse has been upset with Fadnavis after his ouster from the state cabinet over charges of graft in a land deal in 2016. Deepak Mankar, the then Congress leader hit the headlines around 12 years ago, when his supporters ransacked former member of Parliament Suresh Kalmadis car inside Congress Bhavan. Mankar, who wanted to be the chief of Congress city unit, was denied the post leaving his supporters angry. Since then, Deepak Mankar has hogged the limelight several times, mostly for the wrong reasons. Every time, Mankar aspires to make it big in politics, he manages to grab the media attention for criminal cases against him. One such case came up this week when Mankar was arrested under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) after he surrendered before police after the Supreme Court rejected his plea for anticipatory bail. He was initially booked for abetment to suicide of a city-based land dealer in June. Known for his muscle power, crowd-gathering skills and voters mobilisation, Mankar was once a serious political player, described in political circles as the right hand man of Kalmadi. His ambitions, however, faced major hurdles along the way, according to acquaintances who have known him for years. In 2009, Mankar had declared 12 criminal cases against him when he unsuccessfully contested Assembly polls from Kothurd. In 2014 Assembly polls, while contesting from Kasba peth, Mankar mentioned only three criminal cases against him in his affidavit. He started his political carrier as a Congress party worker in Narayan peth, Mankar switched sides multiple times. Currently serving as corporator from the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), Mankar, who also served as deputy mayor during 2012-14, was in the race to become the partys city unit chief. The latest case of suicide of a realtor crushed his hopes. While there are cases against him, he has been acquitted in some of them. In the present case, it is difficult for anyone to understand why police have slapped MCOCA against him, said Ankush Kakade, spokesperson of NCP. Besides politics, Mankar mainly deals in land-related transactions, said another close acquaintance. Always surrounded by at least 20 to 30 youths, Mankar is seen as a strong man in politics. He may have been active in land dealings, but he is not a criminal as is being projected, said Congress corporator Abhay Chhajed. This is the fourth time Mankar has been sent behind bars in the last few years. Earlier, the Pune crime branch had arrested Mankar in 2009 for allegedly trying to grab land. Later, he was acquitted in the case. His close aids say every time Mankar aspired for key posts, he was being implicated in criminal cases. BOX Deepak Mankar has declared Rs 70.85 crore property in the asset declaration form while contesting to the Assembly election in 2014 and his maximum property is in land. In 2009, Mankar declared assets worth Rs 13.39 crore. In the same year, he declared 12 criminal cases against him, but in 2014, there were only three. Mankar helps several Ganesh mandals in the city. Following his surrender, Ganesh mandal workers are worried about getting donations for their mandals. Twelve schools, half of them all-girls, have been burnt down by unidentified militants in coordinated attacks in Pakistans restive Gilgit-Baltistan, triggering protest by local residents who sought safety for educational institutions which are often attacked by terrorists, officials said today. The schools in Chilas town, about 130-kilometre from Gilgit, were targeted late last night by the militants who set them on fire and damaged school property across Diamer district, police said. Superintendent of Police Diamer Roy Ajmal told media that 12 schools, half of them girls school, were targeted by rebels who fled after the attack. Police have launched probe and security forces are searching for the culprits in the area, he said. Commissioner Diamer region Abdul Waheed Shah said no proof of a bomb attack on any school had been found so far. Officials also said that some of the schools attacked by the miscreants were still under construction. Following the attacks, local residents staged a protest at Siddique Akbar Chowk demanding the arrest of culprits and seeking safety for educational institutes which are often targeted by the militants. No one has claimed responsibility for the attacks. However, the Taliban militants have attacked hundreds of schools in north-western Pakistan in the past. Girlss schools are often attacked in the northern areas of Pakistan. In December 2011, at least two girls schools were partially damaged in low-intensity explosions in Chilas. Earlier that year, unidentified assailants had also blown up two girls schools. In 2004, girls schools in Chilas came under a string of attacks. Nine schools of which eight were girls schools were attacked and destroyed in five days in the area in February. Terrorists have also blown up educational institutions in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA). According to a report, about 1,500 schools have been destroyed in the tribal belt during the last 10 years. Nobel Prize winner and education activist Malala Yousafzai was also shot by the Taliban in 2012 for advocating girls education in the Swat Valley. In 2017, the Human Rights Watch (HRW) in its report stated that attacks by the Taliban and other militant groups disrupted the education of hundreds of thousands of children, particularly girls, in Pakistan. This is the story of a drug dog with a bounty on its head. Sombra, a six-year-old German shepherd, has helped Colombias police detect more than 2,000 kilos of cocaine hidden in suitcases, boats and large shipments of fruit. But as the dog sniffs her way toward record cocaine interdictions, she has also become the latest target of Colombias most powerful drug gang. Colombian police recently revealed that the Gulf Clan, a cartel that boasts its own guerrilla army, has offered a reward of $7,000 to whoever kills or captures the savvy hound. The threat prompted officials to relocate Sombra whose name in Spanish means Shadow from a busy port on Colombias Caribbean coast to the capital city, where she now uses her extraordinary talent to sniff through suspicious cargo at Bogotas El Dorado International Airport. After her six hour shift is over, Sombra is transported in a van with tinted windows back to her kennel. She is usually accompanied by two armed guards. We are responsible for her safety, said officer Jose Rojas, Sombras 25-year-old handler. Sombras detective work is needed now more than ever as Colombia wrestles with soaring coca production that is testing traditionally close relations with the United States. A recent White House report found the amount of land where peasants and drug traffickers harvest the plant used to make cocaine rose 11 percent in 2017 to 209,000 hectares (516,450 acres), despite $10 billion in U.S. counter-narcotics work. President Trumps message to Colombia is clear: The record growth in cocaine production must be reversed, warned Jim Carroll, deputy director for the drug policy office. President-elect Ivan Duque is promising a tougher approach to speed up eradication with strategies that could include aerial spraying and the use of drones. But even with advanced technology, experts say on-the-ground detective work like that performed by Sombra is critical. Some of Sombras recent busts include uncovering over five tons of Gulf Clan cocaine destined for Europe and concealed in crates of bananas. Officers also credit her incredible nose with more than 245 drug-related arrests at two of Colombias biggest international airports. Her sense of smell is far beyond that of other dogs, Rojas said. Drug cartels like the Gulf Clan have taken note. After learning there was a price on Sombras head, Colombias national police director ordered her to be transferred to a new post earlier this year, according to local news reports. Investigators uncovered the threat against Sombra through an intercepted phone call. Sombra the German shepherd has become the terror of criminal organizations, a recent story in Colombias El Espectador newspaper proclaimed. On a typical day, Sombra is up by 6 a.m. and shuttled from a kennel to work at El Dorado airport inspecting packages and cargo. With her neon reflective vest, pointy ears and gaping mouth, she looks more like a beloved family pet than a veteran drug-sniffing police dog. Since she was transferred in January, the canine sleuth has sniffed thousands of pounds of cocaine out of the dark, helping her handlers find the drug hidden in boxes full of sneakers and wooden necklaces. A few months ago, the tenacious hound also detected 77 kilos of cocaine placed deep inside an industrial machine. The work is risky: Colombias national police estimates theyve lost at least 1,800 officers over the past two decades and a number of dogs to the war on drugs. Some officers were killed by hitmen acting on the orders of drug traffickers, while others died in attacks like bombings on police stations. Several dogs have been killed while helping officers eradicate coca crops. Sombras victories have turned her into somewhat of a media darling, and as she struts around Bogotas airport with her handler, fans occasionally stop her for a selfie. Rojas said the star-like attention hasnt gotten to Sombras head. Sombra in comparison to other dogs is much easier to work with, he said. She understands orders. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Keith Vaz, the longest-serving British MP of Indian-origin, has been accused by a former clerk in the House of Commons of bullying, a charge he strongly denied on Wednesday after the person went on BBC to narrate her difficulties while working with him. Jenny McCullough, who was the clerk to the influential home affairs committee, of which Vaz was chairperson in 2008, alleged that he harangued her and told her she was poor at her job because she was not a mother. This was after she questioned his conduct during a taxpayer-funded trip to Russia. Vaz resigned from the committee in 2016 following a sting operation by a tabloid into his alleged hiring of male prostitutes. According to McCullough, after an opulent unscheduled dinner with unknown politicians during the trip, she raised concerns over who was paying for the event and was subjected to a tirade from Vaz in a hotel lobby in Kiev: He told me that I wasnt capable of serving the committee because I wasnt a mother. All I knew was, it wasnt normal to be harangued about my fertility status in the reception of a hotel room, at public expense, in front of my colleague on the team. She further alleged in the report by BBC Newsnight that Vaz, the long-standing Labour MP from Leicester East, subsequently subjected her to continued personal criticism and made jokes about whether she posed a security threat because of her Northern Irish background and accent. The programme alleged that Vaz invited staff from an Indian restaurant in London which he frequented for a trip to Bangladesh. Newsnight claimed the committee clerks discovered that the men were joining the trip when they boarded the plane. Vazs representatives said he could not recall whether any British Asian restaurateurs joined the trip, but said it would not be surprising because the committees remit included the issue of facilitating entry into the UK for individuals in the catering industry. A representative responded to McCulloughs charges by saying: No complaint or allegation of this nature has ever been brought to his attention. Our client had considered that he and Ms McCullough had previously had a good working relationship, and had always considered her to be very effective as a clerk. (Vaz) did not berate Ms McCullough at any stage, whether before, during or after the Russia trip, nor did he at any time insult her maternal status. The representative added, Furthermore, our client finds the allegation that he would make insulting jokes about anyone on the basis of race extremely offensive (and) would never trivialise a persons ethnic background. The House of Commons said in a statement: We are aware that in the past the House has not had a robust process in place to deal with instances of bullying and harassment. We are confident that our new independent complaints and grievance policy will mean that allegations can be dealt with effectively and sensitively. A suicide blast struck a Shia mosque in eastern Afghanistan Friday as it was crowded with worshippers for weekly prayers, killing 29 people and wounding dozens in the latest attack on the minority. Officials have said they fear the death toll could rise after the assault, the latest targeting civilians who have borne the brunt of the violence in Afghanistans long conflict. A suicide blast took place inside a Shiite mosque in the city of Gardez of Paktia province, General Raz Mohammad Mandozai, provincial police chief of Paktia near the Pakistan border, told AFP. We have 20 people killed and around 50 others were wounded. All the victims were worshippers as they were busy offering Friday prayers when they were killed. Mandozai added that at least two attackers opened fire on the crowd before detonating explosives, and said there may have been more than one suicide blast. Abdullah Hasrat, the Paktia governors spokesman, gave a slightly higher death toll of 22, warning that it could rise. The head of Gardezs public health department Wilayat Khan Ahmadzai said that more than 70 people had been killed and wounded, with many rushed to the citys civilian hospital. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack. It comes as urban areas across Afghanistan have been rocked by an increasing number of attacks in recent months, with both Islamic State (IS) and Taliban insurgents targeting security forces and government installations. The Taliban has not claimed a major attack in a city for weeks as it comes under increased pressure to agree to peace talks with the Afghan government. But IS has carried out multiple attacks in the eastern city of Jalalabad and the capital Kabul in recent months, targeting everything from government ministries to a midwife training centre. Last month an IS suicide bomber blew himself up near Kabul international airport, killing 23 people including AFP driver Mohammad Akhtar. The uptick in violence comes as US and Afghan forces intensify ground and air offensives against IS, and the Taliban step up their turf war with the group. Earlier this week more than 150 IS fighters surrendered in northern Afghanistan -- in a move that Afghan security forces and the Taliban hailed as the end of the extremist group in the north of the country. Afghan civilians have taken the brunt of the gruesome war that began after the 2001 US-led invasion uprooted the Taliban regime. Insurgent attacks and suicide bombs were the leading causes of civilian deaths in the first half of 2018, a recent UN report showed. The total number of civilians killed was 1,692, the highest number for the period since the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan began keeping records in 2009. Another 3,430 people were wounded, the report added. Press Release 3 August 2018 Leading accommodation provider Oaks Hotels & Resorts, a division of Minor Hotels, has officially completed the acquisition of its newest property, Oaks Resort & Spa Hervey Bay on Queensland's magnificent Fraser Coast. In a deal brokered by leading accommodation specialist Resort Brokers, Oaks Hotels & Resorts now holds the hotel management rights of the iconic property (formerly Oceans Resort & Spa Hervey Bay), which has enjoyed a rich history as one of the region's premier and most sought after resorts in this destination. Local industry heavyweights have been quick to pledge their support and embrace the acquisition, commenting that the backing of an established international hotel operator will be a 'major shot in the arm' for the Resort and greater Fraser Coast district in terms of tourism growth. General Manager of Fraser Coast Tourism & Events, Martin Simons, said, "The former-Oceans property has been a pace-setter in the local region. Its acquisition by a prominent industry authority such as Oaks Hotels & Resorts - with a portfolio of over 50 properties across Australia and overseas - will deliver major benefits to the Fraser Coast in terms of networking and marketing opportunities." Broker Glenn Millar, who handled the management rights sale, said Resort Brokers had worked closely with Oaks Hotels & Resorts and Minor Hotels over a number of years, sourcing quality properties in key locations to support the group's growth plans. "It is especially pleasing to see this premium property acquired by such a top-flight operator with Australia-wide and global marketing power," Mr Millar said. His sentiments are shared by local community members and current unit owners, who agree the confidence demonstrated by Oaks Hotels & Resorts in the region will be immensely beneficial. "Following a successful business transformation by outgoing hotel managers Chris and Olivia Taylor, the Resort is on an upward trajectory to continue its strong performance into the future. Underpinned by booming tourism numbers to the area, the transition under Oaks Hotels & Resorts is certainly exciting," said Mr Leigh Bennett, current unit owner and former body corporate representative. Located on Charlton Esplanade in the charming coastal township, Oaks Resort & Spa Hervey Bay commands a prime beachfront position, with uninterrupted views across the Bay and out towards the World Heritage-listed Fraser Island. Featuring 130 guest rooms in a combination of one, two and three bedroom self-contained suites, plus a selection of split-level three bedroom penthouses, the Resort is perfectly suited to travelling families, groups and couples seeking a central location with the luxury of space in the renowned seaside holiday hub. Typical of the Oaks Hotels & Resorts brand, guest rooms are generously sized and open-plan, and feature full kitchens, separate laundries, spacious living and dining areas, king-size beds, and ocean or pool-facing balconies. Resort facilities include two central lagoon-style pools (one of which is heated), a timber leisure deck, children's 'splash' zone, communal barbequing facilities, a well-equipped gymnasium, and onsite day spa featuring six treatment rooms. Guests will relish the convenience of the Resort's two onsite restaurants, Bayswater Bistro & Bar and Salt Cafe, offering delicious all-day dining options in a relaxed, waterfront setting. The Resort also lends itself to weddings, conferences and events, with three multipurpose function venues located onsite. The grand Ballroom caters for up to 180 guests sit-down style, while the Fraser and Bryce Boardrooms present as the ideal space for more intimate occasions. Commenting on the acquisition, outgoing General Manager and Director of Oceans Resort & Spa, Chris Taylor, said the property is now primed to operate as a thriving tourism asset. "We are very proud of what we have achieved in building our business into what it is today for the good of the owners and investors, our valuable employees, and the whole of the Fraser Coast," said Mr Taylor. "The Resort has grown into a community and welcome place for tens of thousands of tourists from all over the world every year. Oaks Hotels & Resorts is poised to take this property to the next level of growth, and have immense international and local resources to achieve this." To celebrate its debut on the Fraser Coast, Oaks Resort & Spa Hervey Bay is offering an 'Opening Special' package for travellers, starting from $169 per night* and including a complimentary bottle of wine and box of chocolates on arrival. Travellers who also enter the 'MYOAKS' promo code at the time of booking will unlock a host of exclusive member only benefits. For more information please visit: https://www.oakshotels.com/oaks-resort-and-spa-hervey-bay/offers/opening-special Opinion Article 3 August 2018 There are plenty of industries that appear to be slowing down in the world today. Hospitality is not one of them. According to last year's global travel report by the research firm Deloitte, global bookings surpassed AUD $2.1 trillion in 2017, with continued growth projected through 2018 and beyond. Influential factors include greater competition amongst airline companies, a renewed focus on face-to-face business meetings, and a growing preference for experiences over things. Advertisements More bookings though lead to more competition. Whilst this is great for the Trivagos of this world, it is a double-edged sword for travelers because too many options can be frustrating. A 2015 report from Kayak claimed that one in four Australians spend as much time researching and booking holidays as we do on the holidays themselves. Observations like this have led to a lively discussion on the merits of limiting consumer choice. Well, travelers aren't the only ones with difficult choices to make. As new hotels are designed and built throughout Australia and the world, their ownership groups must face the critical task of choosing a hotel operator. There are many operators to choose from, especially in bigger markets - and the choice you make will have far-reaching effects. After all that planning, who will shoulder the responsibility of delivering a quality guest experience? How can we be sure that the chosen operator will add maximum value in today's marketplace? And do we even need one? Here are a few things that merit closer scrutiny. Can the operator fend off competitors? An operator won't add maximum value for the owner unless it skillfully navigates the competitive landscape. This implies industry-leading marketing, an ongoing awareness of what your direct competitors are doing, and an uncompromising commitment to the best possible guest experience. Competing in the market today demands nothing less. Are they skilled at negotiating rates with OTAs and suppliers? The big hotel chains are moving to reclaim the booking process, but OTAs still own a massive percentage. Our process for choosing an operator should include careful scrutiny around that operator's ability to negotiate the best rates from OTAs, as well as from brick-and-mortar travel agencies and other hospitality suppliers. How does the operator approach this area of the business, and what is their track record with other hotels under their management? A strategy for increasing direct bookings over time is also vital. It is unlikely that many operators will be able to exceed the numbers coming via OTAs but a good operator stays on top of market trends and actively seeks maximum leverage in the booking process. Do they provide robust structure, systems and procedures? This blog often reiterates the centrality of the guest experience; but how are exceptional guest experiences made? We need a healthy and vibrant work culture, which leads to happier employees and better interactions with guests. We also need efficiency and orderliness, from the big picture right down to the smallest details of daily operations. An operator that truly adds value will have robust structures, systems and procedures that define back-of-house operations and allow the hotel to thrive as a cohesive whole. And most importantly, they will promote a culture of service that permeates throughout the whole organization. Can they demonstrate stable financials? Unless this is the first hotel this operator will ever manage (in which case, proceed with extreme caution!), financial performance should be easy to scope out. A strong operator uses the hotels already in their portfolio to demonstrate healthy operational margins. The 'how' and 'why' of these margins is equally important. A good operator demonstrates solid financials not only through operational efficiency and accounting, but through the work culture and guest experience they generate. Holistic symmetry between owners and operators For owners of new or renovated hotels, putting a property in the hands of an operator can be as daunting as it is necessary. An organised and informed decision - one that gives credence to the areas discussed here - will go a long way toward finding an operator that adds value. There are other factors in play, and not all of them are quite so tangible. There is even the question of whether or not we even need an operator but that is worthy of another article altogether. Assuming that you don't want to operate yourself, the challenge lies in finding an operator that ticks the right logistical and financial boxes, while also understanding and embodying your vision. This kind of holistic symmetry between owners and operators is not a luxury in the 21st century travel market - it's an absolute necessity. Opinion Article 3 August 2018 The election on 30 July 2018 is one of the most important elections in the country's democratic history, with 23 candidates and 55 parties contesting the presidential election. This is the first time since 1980 that Robert Mugabe's name didn't feature on the ballot paper after he was forced from power during a bloodless military coup in November 2017. The importance of the election is not lost on the electorate, with voters queuing to cast their vote. The current president and ZANU-PF leader, Emmerson Mnangagwa and Nelson Chamisa, head of the Movement for Democratic Change Alliance are widely seen as the top challengers. While presidential results would be announced only towards the end of the week, there is a likely chance that the contest goes into a run-off in September if no candidate is able to secure more than 50% of the votes. Irrespective of the result, the new government/president will have the responsibility of building up the economy which is not going to be an instant fix. The country, which is under severe external debt, needs to be able to gain access to credit. The government would need to create favourable policies, stamp out corruption and create/revive its own currency. One of the major plans for the new government should be to restore financial and political stability by involving its skilled workforce in national building programmes and schemes. More than 3 million Zimbabweans are estimated to be living outside their country, having left the country for better economic prospects during the last two decades. This accomplished workforce with their experience of living abroad would certainly play a crucial role in the rise of Zimbabwe if they were to return to their country. A phase of restoring confidence among its citizens and the international community could usher an era of increased domestic and foreign investment and growth which perhaps has remained stunted for a better part of two decades; and tourism can play a massive role in this effort. Tourism policies and infrastructure can create massive opportunities for an economy, not only through job creation and direct/indirect income from tourism activities but also creating opportunity for interaction and business avenues. As per WTTC, while the direct contribution of travel and tourism to Zimbabwe's GDP was 3.5%, the total contribution of Travel & Tourism to GDP (including wider effects from investment, the supply chain and induced income impacts) was over 8% in 2016 and 2017. Most travel Itineraries in Southern Africa do not explore Zimbabwe's tourist attractions beyond the famed Victoria falls. Zimbabwe which has abundant natural attractions such as Nyanga National Park, Matopos National Park, Hwange National Park, Lake Kariba, The Great Zimbabwean Ruins, Chinhoyi Caves and so on need to be promoted and established into itineraries and tourism circuits. A masterplan for all these destinations with emphasis on airlines, connectivity, hotels and tourism infrastructure/activities should be conceived with the aim of enhancing the tourist's experience and increasing length of stay in the country. The government would need to invest into building a long-term tourism policy for preservation and conservation while providing incentives for private investments. We at HVS are keen to see democracy win and look forward to the government policy on travel and tourism - 'Blessed be the Land of Zimbabwe' Performance 3 August 2018 HENDERSONVILLE, Tennessee -- The U.S. hotel industry reported positive year-over-year results in the three key performance metrics during the week of 22-28 July 2018, according to data from STR. In comparison with the week of 23-29 July 2017, the industry recorded the following: Occupancy: +1.3% to 78.5% Average daily rate (ADR): +2.9% to US$135.94 Revenue per available room (RevPAR): +4.2% to US$106.66 Among the Top 25 Markets, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania-New Jersey, registered the largest increase in RevPAR (+17.7% to US$110.67). San Francisco/San Mateo, California, posted the largest lift in ADR (+15.2% to US$292.75) and the second-highest rise in RevPAR (+16.6% to US$281.18). Houston, Texas, experienced the largest increase in occupancy (+9.6% to 67.8%), which drove the third-highest jump in RevPAR (+16.3% to US$67.97). Overall, 18 of the Top 25 Markets registered an increase in RevPAR. Miami/Hialeah, Florida, reported the steepest decrease in RevPAR (-6.4% to US$134.24), due in part to the largest drop in ADR (-2.3% to US$163.08). Occupancy in the market fell 4.2% to 82.3%. St. Louis, Missouri-Illinois, experienced the largest decline in occupancy (-5.3% to 78.3%) and the second-largest decrease in RevPAR (-5.8% to US$89.64). Performance 3 August 2018 PORTSMOUTH, NH -- According to the second quarter construction pipeline trend report by Lodging Econometrics (LE), the top five markets with the largest hotel construction pipelines are: New York City with 169 projects/29,365 rooms; Dallas with 156 projects/18, 908 rooms; Houston with 150 projects/16,321 rooms; Nashville with 123 projects/16,392 rooms; and Los Angeles with 121 projects/18,037 rooms. The five top markets with the most projects currently under construction are New York City with 101 projects/17,108 rooms, Dallas with 47 projects/6,350 rooms, Nashville with 43 projects/7,005 rooms, Houston with 40 projects/4,738 rooms, and Atlanta with 28 projects/3,387 rooms. In the second quarter, Nashville has the largest number of new projects announced into the pipeline with 13 projects/1,351 rooms, followed by Los Angeles with 12 projects/1,845 rooms, New York City with 11 projects/1,075 rooms, Houston with 11 projects/909 rooms, and Dallas with 10 projects/1,229 rooms. If all of the projects in their pipelines come to fruition, these leading markets will increase their current room supply by: Nashville 38.2%, Austin 29.3%, Fort Worth 28.5%, San Jose 25.3%, and New York City 25.2%. Hotels forecast to open in 2018 are led by New York City with 45 projects/7,762 rooms, followed by Dallas with 33 projects/ 3,813 rooms, and then Houston with 27 projects/3,114 rooms. In 2019, New York is forecast to again top the list of new hotel openings with 52 projects/7,356 rooms while, at this time, Dallas is anticipated to take the lead in 2020 with 40 projects/4,943 rooms expected to open. It's safe to say Mac Miller has had a pretty rough past 6 months or so. From breaking up with his girl Ariana Grande, whos now already engaged to Pete Davidson, to getting arrested for a DUI just days later in May, the Pittsburgh native has endured a lot of personal tribulations in the recent months, but now hes ready to channel that energy & feelings into his music. After weeks of promotion, which included hearing songs like Self Care & Whats The Use? Mac decides to come through today and release his 5th studio album called Swimming. The follow up to 2016s The Divine Feminine finds Mac jumping on all 13 tracks by himself as he tackles production from the likes of Carter Lang, DJ Dahi, ID Labs, Nostxglic, Pomo & Tae Beast, among others. You know I went on a journey with it like any record. And it took a long time for me to even figure out what it was, Mac said. Usually I finish a record and the next week I know exactly what Im doing next. Thats how it usually goes, and thats why Ieve been able to come every year. But this time it took me a while to figure out what I wanted to say, what kinds of music I wanted to make and it was just a lot of experimenting. Available now on iTunes, fans can stream the anticipated project via Apple Music/ Spotify. Hit play and let us know what record youre feeling the most? In celebration of the Puma Suedes 50th anniversary, PUMA has tapped into creatives, designers, and artists, including The Weeknd, to put their spin on the iconic sneaker. The Suede 50 PUMA x XO collab is a remix of the iconic silhouette, as The Weeknd pays homage to the legendary sneaker by delivering a mid-cut boot with a military feel. Available in three colorways, the contemporary design goes laceless, instead opting for buckle straps that wrap around the toe and ankle of the shoes. Additional details include a 19 which sits at the center of one tongue and 68 at the other, as a nod to the year the Puma Suede was born. The black boot features a fully monochromatic plush Suede atop a speckled gum sole. The "Glacier Gray" rendition includes silver metallic buckles on the straps and a gray speckled sole, and the black and white boot features a black suede upper wrapped in white straps and metallic black buckles, accompanied by a thick, white sole with black speckles. The Weeknds collaborative PUMA Suede is set to release on August 11. Glenn Jacobs, more commonly known as WWE superstar Kane, has won an election to become the next mayor of Knox County in Tennessee, and it wasn't all that close. According to reports, The Big Red Machine secured nearly two-thirds of the more than 80,000 total ballots cast, a much easier victory than his primary win over fellow Republican Brad Anders, who fell short by just 23 votes. Jacobs, 51, has been a resident of Tennessee for more than 20 years. In addition to competing in the WWE during that time, Jacobs and his wife operate a local insurance and real estate company, according to ESPN. While Kane is officially slated to take over as mayor of Knox County on September 1, he has not ruled out a return to the ring in the future. Over the course of his decorated WWE career that started in the early 1990s, Kane has held nearly every title including World Heavyweight Champion, Intercontinental Champion, Tag Team Champion and Hardcore Champion. His most recent WWE appearance came at the Extreme Rules PPV last month, where he teamed up with Daniel Bryan against Smackdown Live Tag Team Champions, The Bludgeon Brothers. Four times the value of Chevron. Five times Coca Cola. Nearly 10 times General Electric. As Apple on Thursday became the first U.S. company to top $1 trillion in value an amount higher than the gross domestic product of most nations it prompted a reckoning on how the old economy has yielded to the new. Our economy has become dependent upon innovation as a source of growth, said William Lee, chief economist at the Milken Institute, a nonpartisan think tank. The iPhone, in other words, has proved mightier than cars or planes at least in investors eyes. The Cupertino companys milestone, powered by strong sales figures Tuesday for products including the $999 iPhone X, also reflects just how far Apple has come. Two decades ago, it was hurting. On Dec. 31, 1997, the stock opened at a split-adjusted 47 cents, as the company, founded in 1976, struggled to reprise its early success selling popular computers. That year, co-founder Steve Jobs returned to Apple. Under his leadership, Apple began its turnaround with a series of popular products, including the iMac, iPod, iPhone and iPad. These devices, theyre the linchpin of the economy, said Ken Rosen, chairman of the Fisher Center for Real Estate and Economics at UC Berkeley, who owns Apple products. The telephone looks like a minor experiment compared to this. Apple has also had a tremendous impact on the Bay Area. It recently opened its futuristic headquarters in Cupertino, and it is expected to employ about 24,000 people in the city of 60,000 by 2020 a reflection of the outsize influence the industry exercises in the region. Rosen estimates that tech companies account for about 70 percent of the demand for office space in the Bay Area. The downside is were loaded on one big industry, he said, adding that he expects to see a correction in tech stocks within the next three years. Were going to have some indigestion. Gene Munster, a managing partner at the venture capital firm Loup Ventures, said that when he started covering Apple in 2004, he didnt think it would get to this point. In December 2005, the iPod introduced in 2001 made up roughly half of Apples revenue, and today it is less than 1 percent, he said. The iPhone has taken the iPods place in many homes. The iPhone all but destroy(ed) the iPod business, Munster said in a research note. This illustrates whats most impressive, the companys ability to rapidly innovate. More Information Apple by the numbers Starting price of iPhone X: $999 Apple valuation at market's close: $1,002,000,000,000 iPhones sold in 2017: 216,756 Worldwide employees: 123,000 (as of Sept. 2017) See More Collapse Apple is not the first company to surpass the trillion-dollar mark. In November 2007, PetroChina was valued at more than $1 trillion on the Shanghai stock market. Analysts at the time said it was boosted by rising oil and gas prices, according to the Guardian. PetroChina slipped below the $1 trillion mark roughly a year later to less than $260 billion, according to CNBC, citing Bloomberg data. Apple certainly could too. Apples valuation is remarkable, said Moodys Analytics Chief Capital Markets Economist John Lonski, and likely to raise a few eyebrows (on) the sustainability of that type of valuation. Apple is in a fast-changing industry, he said, and investors have come to expect that the hits will keep on coming, which is a speculative view. Apple did not return a request for comment. Perhaps because of its success, the company remains under pressure to come out with more popular products. In its most recent quarter, iPhones represented 56 percent of sales. The number sold rose only 1 percent compared with a year earlier, but the money coming in from iPhones rose 20 percent to $29.9 billion, boosted by the expensive iPhone X, which starts at $999 and began selling in November. Despite the high stock price shares closed Thursday at $207.39, up about 3 percent some analysts remain bullish. After the company brought cash it had held overseas back into the United States, prodded by President Trumps more lenient corporate tax policies, it began buying back more of its shares, a move that could help keep the stock price stable, analysts said. CEO Tim Cook, who took over the company shortly before Jobs death in 2011, said in a call with investors on Tuesday that he sees the market for smartphones as remaining really healthy. He said the iPhone X shows that when the company delivers innovative products, the smartphone category can be a really good business. Apple is also continuing to invest in areas such as augmented reality and original video content, which could play a larger role in its business. Some analysts are bullish about Apples efforts to woo more subscribers to its services, because Apple customers tend to spend more money on apps than those who own Android smartphones. Its a monumental metric to pass a trillion, said Daniel Ives, head of technology research for GBH Insights. It just speaks to the consumer empire that Jobs, Cook and Cupertino have built. Chronicle staff writer Roland Li contributed to this report. Wendy Lee is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: wlee@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @thewendylee Purple martins are going home to Brazil after spending spring and summer in North America to breed in the colonial nest boxes that people hoist up for them year after year. Except, they didnt colonize my martin house. And, as Ive heard, they didnt colonize houses many of you provided. I have no explanation for why they bypassed my perfectly situated nest box nor why they may have bypassed yours. A few juniors, aka juvenile males, poked around my nest box in June. Maybe theyll remember it when they come back as breeding adults next year. But Ill let bygones be bygones and enjoy the huge numbers of purple martins flying at sunset in wave after wave to roost in clumps of trees or along power lines, usually around shopping centers. Some of you have told me about purple martins roosting in your neighborhoods. Thats not surprising because martins, both in Texas and across the eastern half of North America, began their long journey southward in mid-July. Migratory populations have since been congregating at communal roosting spots around Houston. Mary Anne Weber of the Houston Audubon Society estimates that 400 to 1,000 martins are roosting at the Fountains Shopping Center in Stafford. More Information Purple Martin Watch Events What: Houston Audubon Society hosts a purple martin watch party. Bring lawn chairs and umbrellas, and look for Houston Audubon's Birdmobile near trees between Old Navy and Stein Mart. When: 7:30 p.m. Tuesday and Aug. 25 Where: Fountains Shopping Center, 12634 Fountain Lake Circle, Stafford Information: Free and open to all ages; houstonaudubon.org. Report large martin roosts by email to birds@houstonaudubon.org See More Collapse Houston could become as famous for its purple martin roosts as Louisianas Lake Pontchartrain Causeway, where hundreds of thousands of the birds assemble every summer. The assembling behavior of migratory martins at late summer roosting spots is called staging, as though gathering at a flight terminal before takeoff. But the reason martins stage in ginormous communal groups isnt precisely known. Perhaps its because martins are inherently communal birds, breeding in colonies and roosting in large flocks at their winter home in Brazil. Another reason for communal roosting could be safety. For example, large, closely grouped roosting flocks make it hard for predators, like owls, to pick off any one bird. Martins gathering in large roosts are arriving just in time to feast on our burgeoning late-summer insect population thats bugging pardon the pun our neighborhoods. The birds take off from their roosts at daybreak to feast on insects all day long. Note that males are glossy purple all over, whereas females and juveniles have splotchy pale bellies. Purple martins will stick around a few weeks while chowing down insects to increase body fat, which will energize their flight across the Gulf of Mexico and their arduous odyssey to Brazil. Email Gary Clark at Texasbirder@comcast.net A SWAT team on Thursday night came up empty-handed after searching the Westbury home of Joseph James Pappas II, the man accused of killing Dr. Mark Hausknecht last month in a bold killing in broad daylight at the Texas Medical Center. A neighbor initially called police around 9:15 p.m. after spotting someone in the area who looked like the wanted man. Deputy constables with Precinct 5 responded and didn't find the suspected killer - but they spotted a gate open and a light on at his home, so they called Houston police to take the lead. Officers set up a perimeter and SWAT methodically searched the home sometime before midnight, clearing the building with the help of a robot. "For the safety of everybody here in this neighborhood, we wanted to make sure that potentially the suspect had not found a way to come back to this house and gain entrance," said Houston police Executive Assistant Chief Matthew Slinkard. "That was not the case - the entire residence has been cleared and searched and it is safe at this point." Although the supposed sighting that sparked the SWAT scene turned out to be a false alarm, Slinkard stressed the need for help from the public in tracking down the alleged killer. "We are still working round the clock on this," he said. "We need the public's help; we need the media's help." At this point, Slinkard said, there's no indication Pappas fled the country. "We still believe that we have a great likelihood of identifying this suspect somewhere locally," he said. "We still need all the help that we can get from the community." SOLD ITEMS: Houston doctors accused killer shed possessions before Medical Center slaying Now Playing: Houston police have identified the suspect in the slaying of Dr. Mark Hausknecht as 65-year-old Joseph James Pappas, Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo said. Video: Houston Police Department The late-night scene came one day after police raided the house in the 5000 block of Stillbrooke, searching for the former lawman believed to be behind the July 20 slaying. The morning of the killing, the renowned cardiologist was biking to work near the intersection of Main and Holcombe when the gunman passed him from behind. Two blocks later, the shooter turned around on his 10-speed Schwinn bike and fired at least twice. The doctor went down immediately, and the shooter rode off northbound. For nearly two weeks, the case baffled police, who offered few details except a steady trickle of images and surveillance footage from the moments before the attack. Crime Stoppers offered a $5,000 reward that netted several workable tips - but it wasn't until a Monday night video release that police got the tip they needed. A caller alerted police to a possible connection to Pappas, whose mother was one of Hausknecht's patients. Roughly two decades ago, she died on the operating table. "It appears that this may have been a 20-year-old grudge that this man held," Chief Art Acevedo told reporters. It's not clear why he apparently waited so long to seek revenge. Shortly after zeroing in on their suspect, police got a warrant for Pappas' arrest and searched his home. But by then, he'd already left. The front room of his house was largely empty, though authorities recovered a gun, ammunition and multiple holsters. It's not clear what information linked Pappas to the slaying, but Acevedo said police "absolutely" believe he's the killer. Investigators also said Pappas may be suicidal, and should be considered armed and dangerous. Two weeks after the slaying of a prominent Houston cardiologist, prosecutors on Thursday charged Joseph Pappas with murder in connection with the July crime. Detailed charging documents released Friday offer new insight into the case that baffled police, after a gunman on a bicycle repeatedly shot Dr. Mark Hausknecht in broad daylight by the Texas Medical Center. Now Playing: The suspect police believe murdered George H.W. Bush's former doctor may have a hit list. Video: Buzz 60 The morning of the slaying, the 65-year-old physician was riding his bike on his way to work, according to charging documents. An unknown man started riding behind him in the 6800 block of Main Street, then followed the doctor for miles before passing him just before 9 a.m. and turning around to open fire. "The unknown male did not stop and rode his bike away from the scene," police wrote in court documents describing the shooting as a "targeted attack" based on the "deliberate manner" in which the suspect started shooting "without provocation" before fleeing. BEFORE SLAYING: Houston doctor's accused killer shed possessions The killing baffled investigators for days. But on Tuesday, police got a tip from a woman who knew the man now charged in the killing. After tracking her down and interviewing her, police learned that she was concerned that her neighbor, Joseph "Joey" Pappas looked like the man shown in surveillance footage released that day. The woman and another neighbor told police where he lived in Westbury, according to court documents, and said that he usually rides his bike with a "full" backpack - like the one described by police in earlier media releases. Investigators checked home ownership records and found Pappas owned the house in question, in the 5000 block of Stillbrooke. That same day, police also spoke to a family friend of the suspected killer and learned the man had threatened suicide in a text message. He'd also apparently sent the title to his vehicle and deed for his home to the family friend's mother, claiming he had a terminal illness. Worried about his well-being, the mother drove over to Pappas' home and tried to get police to come for a welfare check. But once she got there, the woman found out that police had already shown up and come back empty-handed. RECENT CONTACT: Ohio woman reveals conversations with suspect in Houston doctor's killing So the mother went into the home and made a quick welfare check herself. Once she spoke to investigators in the case, though, police went back to the home and made entry. They didn't find Pappas, but instead found a home seemingly set up for a stand-off. Immediately inside the front door was a piece of metal positioned as a buttress, guarding the front door against any forced entry, police said. In the main living area was just one piece of furniture - a chair sitting directly in front of the window, according to charging documents. In the kitchen, was a "Last Will and Testament" of Joseph Pappas. The garage housed the man's vehicle, where the backseat had been taken out. Also in the garage were three boxes of .22-caliber ammunition. Back inside the house, investigators uncovered more clues. At the home office printer, police found what appeared to be a draft of a proposed police report with a sticky note on the front bearing the words "HPD theft." The text referenced the theft of a 10-speed Schwinn supposedly stolen between July 19 and July 25. A search of the house did not turn up the bicycle, and police realized Pappas had never filled out an online police report regarding the alleged theft. It is not unusual, police said, for suspects in crimes to report vehicles as stolen afterward, often in an attempt to distance themselves from the case. After authorities collected the evidence and released the suspect's image and information about his potential motive - a 20-year-old grudge - the Harris County District Attorney's Office filed a murder charge on Thursday. Pappas is still at large and may be suicidal. Authorities say he should be considered armed and dangerous. The first wife and daughter of a 60-year-old Conroe man convicted last week of capital murder in two 2012 honor killings took the witness stand Friday, and both testified he raped them and subjected them to years of persistent, brutal abuse. Ali Mahwood-Awad Irsans eldest daughter said she married out of desperation in 1999 to get out of his house only to learn after her father drugged her and shipped her off to his homeland in Jordan that her father had shot and killed her new husband. Irsans first wife and his daughter, who is set to resume testimony on Monday, are expected to be the last two prosecution witnesses in the penalty phase of his Houston capital murder trial. The state is presenting the case to jurors that because of his history of violence, Irsan should be sentenced to death, rather than life in prison without parole for planning the 2012 shooting deaths of another son-in-law and another daughters close friend. Now Playing: FOX 26 News Reporter Damali Keith Video: Fox 26 Houston Last week, a Harris County jury took a little more than a half hour to find Irsan guilty of the so-called honor killings of Coty Beavers, 28, and Gelareh Bagherzadeh, 30. Prosecutors said the slayings where orchestrated by Irsan to restore the family honor after his daughter, Nesreen Irsan, left home and married a Christian man. Halting, tearful testimony Friday about rapes and attempted murders brought several people in the courtroom gallery to tears. A female juror held her head in her hands. Irsan showed little reaction, besides occasionally shaking his head in denial. GUN IN SHOWER: Relatives of honor killing victims fearful in wake of 2012 slayings When Irsans daughter came off the witness stand for the day, relatives of her slain husband and those of the two 2012 fatal shooting victims lined up to hold and hug her. The first witness to take the stand was Irsans first wife, Robin Dahl, who told the jury that on the day she met the defendant in 1979 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, he raped her. Irsan took her home, compelled her to marry him and in the ensuing 16 years of marriage in the Midwest, Texas and Jordan, he beat her, threatened her with guns, knives, a rope and a chain saw which she understood he intended to use to cut her into pieces and bury her remains in the backyard, she said. Dahl also told jurors Irsan tried to poison her with cyanide tablets. An FBI agent previously testified that the investigation came to halt after Irsan prevented Dahl from speaking to officials. Dahl testified that Irsan also aimed a gun at her genitals and used stun guns on their children. After the couple had four daughters together, Irsan brought a new wife from Jordan into their home and began severely abusing the second wife as well. Dahl, who is blind and was escorted to and from the witness stand, gave jurors a vivid account of what went on behind closed doors for years while they lived in remote homes, where she was cut off from contact from local friends and family members back in Minnesota. She testified that her vision was already significantly impaired when at 17 she met Irsan, then 23, at a community college where she was working on her GED. That same day, in 1979, he raped her in a muddy area outside a building. He pulled me out back and it was all muddy, she recalled. He pulled me through the mud and he raped me back there. She fled the area, she said, but he followed her home on the bus. When she arrived at a friends house, he was waiting and raped her a second time after she left the home. He pressured her to walk with him to a local mosque and took her behind a nearby house. He pulled my pants down and he took his belt and he put it above my head and he did it again. He raped me again, Dahl said. Irsan brought her to his home, and ultimately forced her to marry him in a Muslim ceremony. They were married a second time before a justice of the peace with her mother and brother present. Dahl told the jury she didnt feel comfortable telling her family about the rapes or her fear of the man she was marrying. Dahl, who was born in the U.S., testified that she understood that Irsan hoped to become a citizen so he could get a job. In the following years, Dahl said her husband subjected her to severe verbal, emotional and physical abuse and didnt want her to work or finish her education, so she stayed at home. She said the abuse got worse as the years went by. He struck her in the kneecaps with table legs, scraped her face with a knife and tried to hang her when she refused to fast during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. I wouldnt fast so he said, Im going to hang you in the bathroom. He put a rope around my neck and tried to hang me, she said. But she resisted. When he bought a chain saw, she worried he would use it to cut her up, because, He was always saying he was going to bury me in the backyard. Dahl said she fled to a battered womens shelter and to a psychiatric unit to get away from him. When she left, he wouldnt let her talk to her children, returning unopened the birthday and holiday cards with nasty messages written on them. Dahl and Irsans eldest daughter Nesemah, who grew up in Texas and Jordan, then took the stand for about two hours, describing what she called a miserable life at her fathers home where he repeatedly brutalized her mother. She testified that after she was sexually assaulted as a young child by her fathers brother in Jordan, her father treated her like she had disgraced the family. When he caught her wearing makeup in eighth grade, her father pulled her out of school and beat her. When he saw she had shaved her legs, he beat her with a 2-by-4. She was supposed to be homeschooled, but no one taught her anything. Instead her father expected her to cook, clean and take care of the kids. When Irsan brought home a second wife, he gave her electric shocks with a device he set up and instructed Nesemah to sit on her back while he tied the woman up with rope. And then he beat his wife with a 2-by-4. He would sit her in restraints for days, she testified. She would be tied up in in the bedroom. She tried to run away almost every day. She would climb out the window. He would go out, have make us him go out with him to go look for her. When Nesemah told her father she wanted to accept a marriage proposal from Amjad Alidam, a former friend of his, she said, He hit me on my face and my arms and he tried to choke me. He said I was trying to disgrace him. She reported the assault to police. She then left town with Alidam, and they got married in Dallas, she said. The marriage effectively lasted just a few days. After the couple returned to Montgomery County, her father confined Nesemah to his home, drugged her and sent her to Jordan, according to her testimony. While in Jordan, her father berated her about having sex and dishonoring him. He took his highly medicated daughter to a rented room and raped her, she testified. I was in the bed and he came behind me and he said, This is something normal. This is what dads do. He flipped me over and he raped me, she said, wiping her eyes. He then told her to take a bath and he tried to drown her in the tub, she told jurors. She fought back and sustained a head injury, she testified. RELATED: Honor killings defendant in Houston death penalty trial had shank & smuggled drugs in jail He wanted to make it look like it was a suicide or an accident, but he couldnt because there was a big bulge on my head, she said. She later overheard her father telling her grandparents that her new husband had been shot to death. A neighbor testified previously that Irsan bragged that he got away with murder in 1999 when he killed Alidam, apparently avoiding criminal charges by planting a gun on the dead mans body and claiming self-defense when authorities arrived. A prosecutor asked how Nesemah felt when she overheard the news. It made me feel guilty, because if it was not for me running away it would not have happened, she said. gabrielle.banks@chron.com twitter.com/gabmobanks The day before he biked into the middle of the Texas Medical Center and allegedly shot and killed a prominent Houston cardiologist, Joseph James Pappas II signed his Westbury home over to an Ohio woman, records show. Months before that, the 62-year-old real estate broker and former lawman appeared to be divesting himself of his other possessions, including furniture, firearms and tactical equipment. It is unclear if the man accused of killing renowned Houston cardiologist Dr. Mark Hausknecht simply was broke or erasing his life, sources close to the investigation said Wednesday. FORMER DEPUTY CONSTABLE: What we know about the suspect in the Houston doctor slaying Now Playing: Houston police have identified the suspect in the slaying of Dr. Mark Hausknecht as 65-year-old Joseph James Pappas, Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo said. Video: Houston Police Department The suspected killer, whom law enforcement sources say could be suicidal, remained at large Thursday nearly two weeks after the July 20 shooting. Police said the motive for the killing likely stemmed from a grudge Pappas held against Hausknecht, after his mother died under the doctors care 20 years earlier. On Thursday, Hausknechts relatives asked for the publics help finding Pappas. The Hausknecht family is very grateful for the diligent hard work and professionalism of the Houston Police Department and all the other agencies, organizations and countless individuals who have contributed to the identification of Joseph James Pappas as the suspect in the murder of Dr. Mark Hausknecht, the family said, in an emailed statement. The family urges that if you know anything about the possible whereabouts of the suspect, please contact Houston Police Department as soon as possible. While it is not clear what prompted Pappas to act last month, he appears to have started offloading furniture online as far back last October, listing an antique desk for sale on the neighborhood-focused social media site Nextdoor.com. On a now-deleted account, he typically posted about lost dogs and dead cats. In January, he started listing dozens of items on Armslist.com and another firearms forum, ranging from a case feed assembly, two shell plates to a round counter to a metal work bench. On Greensheet, he listed a treadmill. Five days after the killing, a seller using the same phone number Pappas listed posted ads for two tactical vests, a Smith & Wesson .38-caliber revolver, a $4,500 semi-automatic FN rifle, two sets of ballistic door panels for a Crown Victoria and a box of ammunition. All told, the items were valued at thousands of dollars. It is not clear whether any of them sold or whether either firearm may have been the murder weapon. When police entered the home on Stillbrooke early Wednesday, they found ammunition, a gun and multiple holsters. The front room had been almost entirely cleared out. It looks like the guy was trying to get rid of his worldly possessions, said a source familiar with the investigation. Three days after the shooting, and after hed signed over the deed to his house, Pappas summoned a courier service to file the deed with the Harris County Clerks Office. Joe Donaldson, the courier who picked up the deed, said Pappas seemed anxious, glancing up and down the street as he handed over the documents. He was very nervous, opened the door a crack, Donaldson said. I thought, This was strange. Pappas called Donaldson several times after that to check on the status of the deed, which was being conveyed to the Ohio woman, who appears to be a notary public. Is it filed yet? Is it there yet? Donaldson recalled him saying. Donaldson wondered if Pappas was planning to kill himself. Its not normal for people to be so antsy about transferring a property, Donaldson said. It just indicated he was premeditating this before it ever happened. Other elements of Pappas life continued to come into focus as police kept up their search for his whereabouts, even as they acknowledged that the possibility he may have taken his own life. Records from the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement show Pappas worked as a deputy constable with the Harris County Precinct 2 Constables Office from 1983 to 1986, and at Precinct 7 from 1986 to 1995. From 1995 to 2013, he worked as a reserve deputy, first at Precinct 7 and then returning to Precinct 2. Reached by phone on Thursday, former Precinct 2 Constable Gary Freeman described Pappas as unassuming and very professional. I never had any complaints about Joey, Freeman said. Pappas often drove for his father, Joseph James Pappas, who had served as former chief deputy at the constables office years before under then-Constable George Larkin and who kept his license with the department as a reserve deputy, as well. Its just mind-boggling, I was really surprised when (Precinct 2 Chief Deputy Jerry) Luman called me and told me Joey was a suspect in this, Freeman said. Luman said that after Constable Chris Diaz was sworn in to office in early 2013, the department asked all its deputies and reserve deputies to re-apply for their positions. Pappas never turned in an application, he said. Before Pappas entered law enforcement, he was an employee at Mitchell Energy Corporation until 1984, according to court records. Pappas lost his job at Mitchell after he was forced out of the Houston Oil Scouts Association, an industry membership group. In 1986, Pappas sued the association, arguing that by kicking him out, the group wrongfully interfered with his employment and got him fired from his job at Mitchell. In court documents, he said that he was pushed out of the association because he failed to heed directions to avoid contact with the Internal Revenue Service concerning compliance with IRS regulations. He also accused an association leader of threatening him. Ultimately, a jury found that Oil Scouts Association had not interfered with Pappas employment, records show. Records filed at the Harris County Clerks office show that, in addition to his work as peace officer, Pappas registered several businesses that included an academy for concealed handgun training, a couple of dental clinics, and two organizations identified as Westbury Area Residents for Responsible Flood Control and Westbury Property Owners for Responsible Flood Control. All of the assumed name listings have expired. For nearly two weeks, the Hausknecht case stymied investigators, who combed through tons and tons of surveillance footage of the moments before, during and after the brazen July 20 killing. Hausknecht was biking to work in his scrubs during the morning rush hour, passing by the intersection of Main and Holcombe when a man on a 10-speed Schwinn bicycle passed him from behind just before 9 a.m. Two blocks later, the other rider turned and fired at least twice. The doctor a famed physician who once had treated former President George H.W. Bush went down immediately. The gunman rode off to the north, disappearing into morning traffic. Aside from offering up a trickle of surveillance footage and the tantalizing hint that the attack likely was targeted, authorities remained tight-lipped about their investigation. On Monday, one of those videos helped break the case after a tipster alerted police to a possible connection to Pappas, whose mother died on the operating table under Hausknechts care roughly two decades ago. It appears that this may have been a 20-year-old grudge that this man held, Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo told reporters. Police eventually learned that Pappas had texted someone, indicating he wanted to kill himself. Officers showed up at his home late Tuesday for a welfare check, but Pappas was not there. They returned around 4 a.m. Wednesday with a pair of warrants one to search the house and another to arrest Pappas for murder. Again, Pappas was not home, but investigators said they did find evidence tying him to the killing. ON HOUSTONCHRONICLE.COM: Slain Houston doctor remembered at memorial service On Thursday, friends and neighbors in the Westbury area said they still were in shock. Pappas, whom many knew as Joey, was a quiet, nice man who mostly kept to himself, they said. Joe Duce, who lives across the street from Pappas, was getting home from a vacation in New Mexico when he saw the police commotion. He checked the news. Oh my God, thats our neighbor, he remembered thinking. Duce said he never got the sense that Pappas was harboring such an intense grudge. To carry that with you for 20 years is hard enough, he said. But to throw your life away like that, just to get revenge. At the Texas Medical Center, Hausknechts slaying had some colleagues on edge. Dr. Neal Kleiman, who worked closely with Hausknecht as medical director of the catheter lab at the DeBakey Heart and Vascular Center at Methodist, said the grudge-motivated incident is making people at the hospital more vigilant. Its definitely spooked people here, said Kleiman. You think of this as a very protective environment, but this was definitely a reminder that were very vulnerable. Stephen Paulsen and Todd Ackerman contributed to this report st.john.smith@chron.com samantha.ketterer@chron.com keri.blakinger@chron.com Heart Failure For most common heart surgery, St. Luke's has been among the nation's worst. Hospital leaders say their latest numbers are better. Heart Failure For most common heart surgery, St. Luke's has been among the nation's worst. Hospital leaders say their latest numbers are better. Published on Friday, Aug. 3, 2018, at 12:30 p.m. Even as the federal government prepares to cut off funding to Baylor St. Luke's Medical Center's poorly performing heart transplant program, the Houston hospital has continued to promote itself as a national leader in cardiac surgery. But the declines at St. Luke's have not been limited to transplants, a continuing investigation by the Houston Chronicle and ProPublica has found. About the series This story is the result of a collaboration between the Chronicle and ProPublica, an independent nonprofit newsroom based in New York. Mike Hixenbaugh is an investigative reporter for the Chronicle. Charles Ornstein is a senior editor at ProPublica. Trouble at St. Luke's The hospital and its legendary surgeon Denton Cooley performed some of the world's first heart transplants back in the 1960s. In recent years, though, it has had some of the worst heart transplant outcomes in the country. Click here to read the story. A medical mishap The call from St. Luke's came on the first day of 2018. Lee Lewis was finally getting a new heart. Three months and more than a dozen surgeries later, Lewis was dead. His widow documented his slow decline on Facebook. Click here to read the story. Help us investigate Are you an employee, patient or a family member of a patient at the Texas Medical Center? We'd like to hear from you about your experience. Please fill out this confidential questionnaire. In January, a leading group of surgeons rated St. Luke's as among the worst-performing hospitals in the nation for coronary artery bypass surgery, the most common open-heart operation and a key indicator of a cardiac program's overall quality. Four months later, the hospital's most-experienced bypass surgeon retired the latest in a series of major physician departures in recent years. Now, following news reports highlighting the plight of St. Luke's patients who died after heart transplants, family members of those who fared poorly after bypass operations are second-guessing their decision to seek care at a hospital regarded as one of the nation's best for heart surgery. Hospital officials acknowledge the poor bypass rating but say they have improved over the past year. Others, however, say publicly available statistics give reason for concern. "They need to get better," said Dr. Ashish Jha, the director of Harvard's Global Health Institute and an expert in hospital quality measures, after reviewing St. Luke's bypass outcome data and other measures that suggest care at the hospital has lagged in recent years. HEART FAILURE: At St. Luke's in Houston, patients suffer as a renowned heart transplant program loses its luster Of nearly 600 hospitals that voluntarily report surgical outcomes to the Society of Thoracic Surgeons, St. Luke's was one of 18 nationally to earn only one star for overall bypass quality, the group's lowest rating. Between the middle of 2016 and the middle of 2017, 19.3 percent of the 494 patients who underwent bypass operations at St. Luke's suffered major complications, including strokes, kidney failure, prolonged time on a ventilator and infections, according to the society's analysis, which is adjusted to ensure hospitals are not penalized for treating sicker patients. That's compared to a national rate of 11.3 percent. Among hospitals that performed at least 200 bypass operations, none recorded a higher rate of major complications than St. Luke's. The hospital also scored poorly toward the bottom nationally in the percentage of patients who received all of the recommended medications before and after bypass surgery, though the hospital contends the low rating was largely due to a recordkeeping deficiency that has since been corrected. "There are specific things that the cardiac surgery program could be doing better but clearly is not," said Jha, referring to the results from mid-2016 to mid-2017. He called STS the "gold standard" for analyzing heart surgery outcomes. Dr. David Berger, senior vice president and chief operating officer for Baylor St. Luke's, said changes have already been made. He shared data with reporters showing that the hospital's bypass performance improved in the final six months of 2017 and will no longer be ranked among the worst in the nation when the Society of Thoracic Surgeons releases updated data later this month. In an interview Thursday, Berger said the hospital has consistently performed well in what he maintained is the most important measure of a program's quality: the percentage of patients who are discharged from the hospital and survive at least 30 days after bypass surgery. At St. Luke's, 98 percent of patients survived at least a month after having a bypass in 2017, better than the national average of 97.5 percent, according to data provided by the hospital. LATEST: With federal sanction looming, St. Luke's pushed to help heart transplant patients transfer Berger also shared figures showing the hospital's major complication rate following bypass operations had improved somewhat in the final six months of 2017. However, the program's performance on this measure still ranked as one star out of three, statistically below that of other programs. "We agree that during that time period [mid-2016 to mid-2017] for the cardiac bypass program, we were in certain areas not operating to our potential," Berger said. "Currently we are providing safe and high-quality care, and we are continuing to improve our performance daily." Patients have long come to Houston from across the country for treatment at a hospital known for its affiliation with the Texas Heart Institute, the research nonprofit led by pioneering surgeon Denton Cooley until his death in 2016. In the 1960s and '70s, Cooley and his team turned St. Luke's into one of the busiest cardiac hospitals in the country, refining many of the surgical techniques in use today. That included coronary bypass, in which surgeons use vein grafts to create new routes around narrowed and blocked arteries, restoring sufficient blood flow to a patient's heart muscle. That history gave Lisa Blackmon-Jones comfort when her 73-year-old father checked into the hospital in need of a triple bypass in February. Blackmon-Jones, a nurse, had trained at St. Luke's in the 1980s and remembered scrubbing in with Cooley. "I was excited to take my dad to St. Luke's," Blackmon-Jones said. "I thought, 'Oh, yeah, they'll take care of him.' " Her father, Purnell Blackmon, a former Houston Metro bus driver, was discharged from the hospital without major complications after his surgery a successful outcome in the Society of Thoracic Surgeons' scoring system but he suffered numerous setbacks in the weeks that followed. He returned to St. Luke's multiple times with a high fever, low blood pressure, a severe infection and anemia, Blackmon-Jones said. He died at the hospital on April 25 after several days connected to a ventilator. "That's not at all what we expected when we took him there," said Blackmon-Jones, who complained about the quality of nursing care, poor communication from doctors and dirty hospital rooms. "This was St. Luke's," she said. "I thought they were supposed to be the best." *** The hospital's poor bypass rating came at the same time federal regulators were scrutinizing St. Luke's for worse-than-expected heart transplant outcomes. In July, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services formally notified the hospital it was cutting off funding to its heart transplant program on Aug. 17 because it had not done enough to correct problems that could endanger patients. The decision followed an investigation by the Chronicle and ProPublica that found an outsized number of St. Luke's patients died or suffered unusual complications after receiving new hearts. There have been other indicators that St. Luke's performance has fallen short of its reputation in recent years. Healthgrades, a company that rates hospitals based on federal data, reported in May that between 2014 and 2016, St. Luke's performed worse than expected in nine of 13 critical safety measures, including the rates of patients who emerged from surgery suffering from bloodstream infections, excessive bruising, a collapsed lung or respiratory failure. It also reported that a higher-than-average percentage of St. Luke's patients suffered complications after procedures to implant pacemakers and defibrillators. On the federal government's hospital quality website, St. Luke's is rated below average, two out of five stars. And in a survey of patients posted on the site, patients expressed misgivings about certain aspects of the care they received. Only 59 percent of St. Luke's patients reported that their room was always clean, compared to 75 percent nationally. Similarly, just 60 percent of St. Luke's patients said they always received help as soon as they wanted it, 10 percentage points below the national average. And in February, in a Harris County Medical Society survey of more than 2,000 doctors at 26 Houston-area hospitals, local physicians ranked St. Luke's at or near the bottom in virtually every category, including overall satisfaction, nursing staff levels, the quality of medical supplies and administrators' commitment to patient safety. These declines came after St. Luke's was purchased in 2013 by Catholic Health Initiatives, a Denver-based nonprofit chain burdened with billions of dollars in debt, and after the hospital entered into a joint-operating agreement in 2014 with its affiliate Baylor College of Medicine. Together, St. Luke's and Baylor are working to build a new medical campus, including a $916.8 million, 650-bed hospital to replace its aging facility in the Texas Medical Center. AT ST. LUKE'S: A heart transplant, a medical mishap and a drawn-out death Berger acknowledged that the hospital has lagged in various quality measures, but he said those were all based on "historical" data and do not reflect changes made by a new group of hospital leaders. He provided data from Premier Inc., a company hired by hospitals to track performance measures, showing a steady rise in quality and safety scores since the fall of 2016, when Gay Nord took over as St. Luke's president. Since then, Berger said administrators have invested additional resources in the hospital's quality department, strengthened its physician-leadership structure and worked with doctors and nurses to find ways to improve outcomes. These changes will be reflected once publicly available data catches up to the hospital's current performance, Berger said. "The issues that you're bringing to light focus on a period of time in the institution when there were some challenges," Berger said. "But I think our current data, which shows really excellent outcomes both from patient safety and from quality, would show that those issues are no longer pertinent. ... Those are historical issues." Berger acknowledged, and experts agree, that many factors beyond what happens in the operating room can contribute to below-average surgical outcomes. Poor nursing care, post-operative treatment, infection control and prescription drug management can drag down a hospital's numbers. Several top physicians left St. Luke's in recent years after raising concerns about the overall direction of the hospital, which has lost hundreds of employees to layoffs and attrition, some of them in nursing and medical support positions. Two months ago, the hospital's most senior cardiac surgeon, Dr. David Ott, turned in a three-sentence note announcing his retirement after 50 years at the Texas Medical Center, according to a copy of the letter obtained by reporters. More than a dozen surgeons perform heart bypasses at St. Luke's, but the note marked the end of an era. Ott, who replaced Cooley as the Texas Heart Institute's chief surgeon four years ago, has long been known as one of the nation's most experienced coronary bypass surgeons. Ott's resignation came the same day the Chronicle and ProPublica published their first story about problems plaguing the heart transplant program, though there's been no indication that this factored in his decision. In his letter, Ott said he was retiring before undergoing shoulder surgery. "While much has changed in the medical center," Ott wrote in the letter, "it remains true that caring for one's fellow man is one of the world's highest callings and something in which we can all take considerable pride." Berger said the hospital had anticipated Ott's resignation due to health problems and said he remains confident in the cardiac surgeons who perform bypass surgeries at the hospital. "We've recruited really outstanding cardiac surgeons during the period of time when Dr. Ott was winding down," Berger said. Ott did not reply to messages seeking comment for this story. *** Ernest Barnard, a 75-year-old resident of Cypress, checked into Baylor St. Luke's in the summer of 2016, feeling lethargic and struggling to catch his breath, according to his family. After three weeks at the hospital, family members said the medical team concluded Barnard needed a quadruple bypass to improve blood flow to his heart. The evening before surgery, his children brought him a treat, hoping to lift his spirits. "I'm a daddy's girl," Graciella Gonzalez said. "He asked for an ice cream ... so I went to the gift shop and got him an ice cream. And that was his last meal he ever had." For nearly two years, Gonzalez and her family have wondered went wrong. They kept friends and family members updated with regular Facebook posts during Barnard's two-month hospital stay, chronicling his slow decline in real time. After the initial bypass surgery on July 22, the surgeon told the family he had bypassed only three of four arteries, because the fourth had been too narrow, Gonzalez said. Otherwise, everything had gone well, she and other family members remembered the surgeon saying. Barnard never fully recovered. Barnard's family said they complained to the hospital multiple times about the quality and availability of nursing care, echoing the concerns of several other patients, nurses and other medical professionals interviewed by the Chronicle and ProPublica. They began taking pictures of what they saw and contemplated transferring him to another hospital. "You'd call the nurse on the phone, and it rings them, but then you wouldn't see them for hours and hours, so you'd have to call again," Gonzalez said. On Aug. 12, three weeks after the initial surgery, a surgeon reopened Barnard's chest after doctors noticed fluid leaking from his incision. They were worried it might be infected, Gonzalez said. After the surgery, she said doctors told the family there was no infection, which was a relief. They also told the family that the wiring holding Barnard's chest closed appeared to have come loose at some point after the initial surgery and had been fixed, Gonzalez said. The next time Gonzalez saw Barnard, she said he had a vacant look in his eyes, and she knew something was wrong. Days passed, but he did not wake up. Later, a brain scan revealed Barnard had limited brain function, Gonzalez said. He didn't regain consciousness. A week later, his family made the decision to withdraw life support. Nobody explained what went wrong, Gonzalez said. She and her family had serious concerns about the care her father received, but until they were contacted by reporters last month, they were unaware of the hospital's higher-than-average rate of complications following bypass surgeries during the time her father was a patient there. Family members said they filled out a form more than a year ago to obtain Barnard's medical records and have followed up several times, but as of Friday, they still have yet to receive them. A hospital spokeswoman said St. Luke's has no record of the request. Reporters presented St. Luke's officials with a consent forms signed by Barnard's widow, Noemi, authorizing the hospital to release medical records to journalists and freeing staff to answer questions about Barnard's care. As of Friday, they had not done so. Instead, the hospital issued a general statement on patient care: "Our goal every day is to ensure that each patient receives the care he or she needs with compassion and reverence and goes home as healthy as possible. Our hearts and prayers are with each family when this doesn't happen, and we are saddened by the passing of any patient while under our care." *** Poor performance in St. Luke's bypass program wasn't a one-time blip. Bypass outcomes began to slide in 2013, the same year the hospital was purchased by Catholic Health Initiatives, according to an analysis by MPIRICA Health Analytics, a company based in Washington state that grades hospitals and surgeons based on federal billing data. MPIRICA looked at how Medicare patients fared after bypass surgery, taking into account more than 500 possible risk factors. It looked at outcomes 90 days after patients were discharged, compared to 30 days after surgery for the Society of Thoracic Surgeons. In MPIRICA's credit score-like rating system, excellent outcomes are considered anything between 600 and 800, fair outcomes fall between 400 and 600, and anything lower is considered below average. In 2015 the most recent year analyzed the company rated St. Luke's bypass outcomes at around 300, the lowest of any hospital in Houston. A few other St. Luke's surgical programs received low marks in the analysis, while some were rated as excellent. St. Luke's officials called the company's analysis "incomplete" and "potentially misleading" because it focused only on Medicare patients and was based on publicly available billing data, rather than more granular information logged in confidential medical records. MPIRICA defended its analysis, saying researchers commonly use Medicare data to assess hospital outcomes. Shakil Haroon, the company's co-founder and CEO, said hospitals spend a lot of time and money marketing their reputations; his company digs into the data to determine if those reputations are justified. "It is extremely unlikely that what was observed at St. Luke's is an aberration," Haroon said. Larry "L.T." Thomas, 46, of Lake Charles, La., was among those who received a bypass at St. Luke's in 2015, the most recent year for which MPIRICA has released data. He died four months after surgery. Two years later, Thomas' surviving family members filed a lawsuit against the hospital in Harris County District Court, alleging that doctors and nurses made a series of mistakes during and after his surgery, resulting in major complications. According to the lawsuit and an expert opinion filed with the court, Thomas, a diabetic, suffered a spike in glucose levels in his blood during the surgery, prompting an anesthesiologist to give two doses of insulin to bring his blood sugar back within a safe range. This common intervention during surgery requires that a patient's glucose level be measured frequently afterward, according to the lawsuit, but St. Luke's staff failed to do that. TELL US YOUR STORY: Help us investigate care at the Texas Medical Center Dr. Duane Funk, a Canadian anesthesiologist, reviewed the case on behalf of the plaintiffs. His report, filed with the court last fall, said the initial dose of insulin given to Thomas during surgery was too large; the second came too soon. After surgery, Funk wrote, medical records indicated that physicians failed to to make staff in the intensive care unit aware of the insulin treatment. As a result, nursing staff did not check Thomas' glucose level until it became critically low and he began to have seizures, Funk wrote. Thomas suffered irreversible brain damage and never left the hospital, according to the lawsuit. Tim Riley, a Houston lawyer representing Thomas' surviving family members, declined to comment on the lawsuit, which is ongoing. Lawyers representing St. Luke's have denied any wrongdoing in court filings and have sought to have Funk's written testimony dismissed, arguing that he failed to articulate a clear breach in the standard of care provided to Thomas. St. Luke's officials did not answer questions from reporters about the case. *** Lisa Blackmon-Jones can't point to anything specific that led to her father's death following bypass surgery earlier this year, but like other families, she was disappointed with the care provided by St. Luke's. Lisa Blackmon-Jones talks about her father's after surgery care after a heart bypass surgery at St. Luke's in February on Friday, July 20, 2018, in Houston. Her father, Purnell Blackmon passed away a few months later.(Elizabeth Conley | Houston Chronicle) Doctors performed the triple bypass in February, and initially, Blackmon seemed to be doing well, his daughter said. The 73-year-old was discharged from the hospital in under two weeks, giving him hope he would soon regain enough strength to return to his daily routine of swimming laps with his daughter at the YMCA pool near his home in southeast Houston. But within a month, Blackmon was feeling worse than he did before the surgery, said his wife, Georgia Blackmon. He couldn't walk from the couch to the kitchen without growing winded; he needed a wheelchair to check the mail. Blackmon returned to St. Luke's multiple times in the weeks that followed, his wife said, and doctors ran a series of tests to try to figure out what was causing his low-blood pressure and anemia. They gave him antibiotics, believing he was suffering from an infection, according to family, but the drugs didn't seem to help. Blackmon's condition worsened dramatically during his final hospital stay in April, his family said. One day, family members said they found him gasping for air. His daughter-in-law another nurse told staff to get a doctor, family members said, and Blackmon was rushed to an intensive care unit and connected to a ventilator. Within days, family members said, Blackmon was suffering from kidney failure, his blood pressure was critically low and doctors had begun discussing plans for hospice. Georgia Blackmon signed a form allowing the hospital to share her husband's records and discuss his case with reporters. St. Luke's officials did not do so, instead referring to their general statement about the hospital's commitment to patient care. Blackmon died on April 25. A few weeks later, his daughter read news stories about troubles plaguing the heart transplant program at St. Luke's and reached out to reporters. "After everything," she said, "nobody could ever tell us what went wrong." Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly said that a brain scan had revealed that Ernest Barnard suffered a stroke. His family said the scan revealed he had limited brain function. Mike Hixenbaugh is a Chronicle investigative reporter focused on health care. He recently was awarded the Associated Press Media Editors storytelling award, is a four-time Livingston Awards finalist, and in 2018 was named Star Reporter of the Year for the state of Texas. Before joining the Chronicle in 2016, he was a reporter at The Virginian-Pilot in Norfolk, Va., where his work on the military and veterans affairs was co-published with ProPublica, NBC News and the Investigative Reporting Program at UC Berkeley. He graduated from the University of Akron in 2007, before going to work for newspapers in Ohio and North Carolina. Follow him on Twitter at @Mike_Hixenbaugh. Contact him at mike.hixenbaugh@chron.com. Charles Ornstein is a senior editor at ProPublica, overseeing its Local Reporting Network. From 2008 to 2017, he was a senior reporter covering health care and the pharmaceutical industry. Prior to joining ProPublica, he was a member of the metro investigative projects team at the Los Angeles Times. In 2004, he was a lead author on a series on Martin Luther King Jr./Drew Medical Center, a troubled hospital in South Los Angeles. The articles won the 2005 Pulitzer Prize for Public Service. He previously worked at the Dallas Morning News, where he covered health care on the business desk and worked in the Washington bureau. Ornstein is a past president of the Association of Health Care Journalists and an adjunct journalism professor at Columbia University. Follow him on Twitter at @CharlesOrnstein. Elizabeth Conley is an award-winning photojournalist who moved to Houston from Michigan in September 2016. A professional photojournalist for over 20 years, she still feels she has the best job in the world every time people let her share their stories. Not only was she part of the Chronicle staff covering Super Bowl, Harvey and the World Series, but she also received a three-week fellowship through the International Women's Media Foundation to cover the Great Lakes Region in Africa. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram, or reach out to her by email at elizabeth.conley@chron.com. Design by Rachael Gleason/Houston Chronicle Subscribe The Houston Chronicle is dedicated to serving the public interest with fact-based journalism. That mission has never been more important. Show your support for our journalism at HoustonChronicle.com/subscribe. *** Now Playing: Shaun Rabb reports. Video: Fox4 A federal judge has dismissed a 2017 lawsuit two rape victims filed against Houston's current mayor and police chief and five sets of predecessors for allowing a backlog of rape kits to accumulate over decades without being tested, arguing that failure ensured the plaintiffs' attackers were on the street when they otherwise could have been behind bars. Both women were raped by serial offenders whose DNA long had been in police databases, but who went unidentified until Houston paid two private laboratories to erase its backlog of more than 6,000 untested kits in 2013 and 2014. AUSTIN The majority of Texans support legal abortions, and if the Supreme Court were to leave abortion rights to the states, most Texans believe abortions should remain legal, according to a new poll released Thursday. A Quinnipiac University Poll shows that 62 percent of Texas voters agree with the Roe v. Wade decision, the landmark 1973 Supreme Court case that struck down abortion restrictions. But legal and political experts say those abortion protections may be at risk if Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, a conservative judge, is confirmed. If a more conservative Supreme Court were to overturn Roe v. Wade, 60 percent of Texans say abortions in the state should be legal in most or all cases. But there are deep divides between parties. More than half of Texas Republicans who answered the survey disagree with Roe v. Wade, while 30 percent of GOP voters support it. In a state where conservative Republicans have pushed in recent years to outlaw abortions altogether, the poll shows that only 11 percent of Texas voters support that position. The state has tried to ban the most common second-trimester abortion procedure and recently passed a law requiring health clinics to bury or cremate fetal remains following an abortion or miscarriage. Both laws are being challenged in court. In other results, 50 percent of Texans support Kavanaughs confirmation to the U.S. Supreme Court, where he could be a pivotal vote on the future of Roe V. Wade, while 33 percent oppose him. Nearly half of Texans said they do not feel Kavanaugh would make the Supreme Court too conservative, according to the pool. Women support Kavanaugh 42 percent to 39 percent, and men support him 59 to 26 percent. On the issue of immigration, the majority of Texans said it "was a bad policy and a violation of human rights" to separate children from their families at the border. At the same time, Texans were divided in their support of the Trump administrations zero-tolerance immigration policy, with 48 percent opposed and 47 percent in support. The poll has a margin of error of 3.5 percent. Researchers surveyed 1,118 Texans in late July. Mike Ward covers Texas politics, the governor and executive branch, criminal justice and ethics issues, and investigations for the Houston Chronicle, San Antonio Express-News and other Hearst Texas news organizations. He also co-hosts the leading Texas Take politics podcast. Reach him at Mike.Ward@Chron.com and follow him @ChronicleMike on Twitter. The word collusion probably wont come up in the Alexandria, Virginia, courtroom where Paul Manafort sweats out much of this and the next few weeks. Its possible, too, that Donald Trump wont be mentioned, at least not often. But make no mistake: Manaforts trial on bank- and tax-fraud charges, stemming from political consulting in Ukraine that predates his stint with Trumps 2016 campaign, has plenty to do with the president and plenty of potential to hurt him. Thats not just because Robert Mueller, the special counsel, is tightening the screws on Manafort in the hope apparently futile so far of extracting unrelated evidence against Trump. Its because Manafort is such a gilded, sordid reminder of the company that Trump keeps and of how he sees and navigates the world. Theyre like-spirited plutocrats. Fellow plunderers. As prosecutors lay out their case against Manafort, jurors will hear about a man whose vanity and thirst for splendor eclipsed any discretion about whom he joined forces with, where he had to travel to consort with them and how he conducted his business. Sound like any real estate tycoon you know? Theyll learn that in order to amass as much and live as large as he did, Manafort contrived ways to beat the system and fatten his winnings. Rules were for chumps who didnt have manses, suits, trinkets and gadgets like his, or so his thinking apparently went. Im acquainted with that philosophy, and so are you. Its shared by a certain orangey blowhard with aggressive lawsuits, convenient bankruptcies, stiffed creditors and phony philanthropy in his past. You could argue that yoking Trump to Manafort isnt fair, because Manafort also worked for other presidents and was officially employed by Trumps campaign for all of five months. My response would be: Michael Cohen. He and Trump were entwined for more than a decade. And hes another piece of amoral work: a dubiously gifted lawyer who secretly taped clients; a profane guardian of Trumps image who threatened detractors with intense pain and utter destruction; a smarmy fixer who used hush money to cover Trumps erotic tracks; an indefatigable scammer who sought to sell his access to the president to the highest bidders, domestic and foreign. A detailed report in The Times last May explored or, rather, marveled at Cohens shadowy financial deals, the riches that mystically materialized for him and the strange turns of his career. Strangest to me was that he at some point began carrying a licensed pistol in an ankle holster. I suppose thats how all the smart thugs keep their guns from ruining the silhouettes of their suits. Politicians before Trump have mingled with unsavory types, elevating the practical benefit above the reputational cost. Presidents before him have groomed attack dogs and invited swine and vultures in the door. But Trumps bestiary is different. More feral. More rabid. Mangier. The newspaper publisher to whom Trump is closest is David Pecker of the National Enquirer. Manafort took the reins of Trumps campaign from Corey (womp womp) Lewandowski, mocker of caged migrants and yanker of a female journalists arm. Such model citizens as Rob Goldstone and Sam Nunberg flitted around the operation, while such moral touchstones as Roger Ailes and Roger Stone muttered advice from the sidelines. Hovering over them all was the ghost of Roy Cohn. Trump met and courted the legendarily despicable lawyer early on and idolized him. When it came to ethics, Cohn was Trumps poster boy. Trump attracts pillagers, braggarts, hacks. Theyre in his past, his present, his family, his Cabinet. They confuse wealth with merit, glitter with character, and theyre all about fast lanes and short cuts, which is to say that theyre reflections of him. Manafort is the mirror extraordinaire. He made his fortune by holding his nose. His Washington lobbying and consulting firm represented what Betsy Woodruff and Tim Mak of The Daily Beast described as a rogues gallery of clients far away from D.C.'s genteel corridors of power: dictators, guerrilla groups and despots with no regard for human rights including one man responsible for mass amputations and another who oversaw state-sanctioned rape. Mueller filed court papers on Monday alleging that Manafort made more than $60 million consulting for pro-Russia politicians and political parties in Ukraine. To avoid taxes, he funneled the money illegally through offshore accounts, according to the criminal charges against him. That helped pay for a lavish wardrobe of custom suits, a dazzling collection of multimillion-dollar properties, such home improvements as a waterfall and a putting green, three Range Rovers (which are British-made, last I checked) and a Mercedes-Benz (German). So much for America First. He always put himself and his prodigious appetites first. That was the secret of his prosperity until it was the recipe for his doom. Trump has much the same disposition. Time will tell if he meets the same fate. Bruni is a New York Times columnist. Citizens have a fundamental right to petition their government, one of the oldest rights in our legal heritage. Not only is this right embedded in the First Amendment of our Constitution, it traces its lineage to the English Bill of Rights of 1689 and even so far back as the Magna Carta in 1215. The right to petition plays an important role in American history. The Declaration of Independence justified the American Revolution by observing that King George III had repeatedly disregarded petitions for redress of the colonists grievances. Because the right to petition is so integral to our democracy, I find the events currently between Mayor Sylvester Turners administration and the Houston firefighters very troubling. In fact, I find it appalling and just plain wrong. No matter how you feel about any issue, the government must never abridge the freedom of any citizen or group of citizens to properly petition their own government. Several City Council members , including me, recently called a special session to address placing the firefighter pay parity issue on the November ballot. The administration tried to spin this act as irresponsible and undemocratic. In fact, it was just the opposite. We have a ministerial duty, by law, to place the matter on the ballot. We have no choice, nor should we. The issue isnt about pay parity; rather, it is about clearly defining the roles and responsibilities of City Council with regard to citizens properly petitioning their government. Regardless of the administrations thoughts on firefighter pay parity, the petition cannot be ignored. My support for placing the pay parity issue on the ballot, even though I do not support the measure, is simple. I support the Constitution I support democracy and the right of each and every citizen to petition their government. Elected officials must acknowledge, recognize and respond to citizen petitions in a timely manner. There are two overwhelming reasons why I supported the special session. First, council members needed some surety that the measure and related ballot language was indeed headed for the November election. Second, council members needed to fully understand the process and timeline for petitions brought by citizens. This process should be consistent and not subject to the whims of the administration. Unfortunately, there was no set process and timeline for handling this petition. The administration purposefully delayed validating the petitions and refused to set aside necessary funds to do so. A judge had to step in to order the petitions validated by a date certain. If the city had a well-defined process for dealing with citizen petitions, lawsuits could have been avoided. Once petition signatures are counted and verified, there should be another period of time for the citys legal department to draft valid ballot language and submit it to City Council for review, comment and subsequent approval. The city of Houton is notorious for drafting faulty ballot language, as we have seen in recent years. In fact, the street and drainage program known as ReBuild Houston will go before voters for a second time since the original ballot language was successfully challenged in court. When ballot language is ruled invalid, it results in delays and great costs to the citizens and the city. The city is currently caught up in an argument about the cost of firefighter pay parity. We have the cart before the horse. First, City Council must approve putting the measure on the ballot. Then a discussion of its merits may ensue. Firefighters submitted their petition more than a year ago. Regardless of the monetary cost of the initiative proposed by the firefighters, if the administration insists on playing games, we will incur a much higher cost: the loss of our significant legal heritage, the loss of our democratic ideals and perhaps even our liberty itself.That is a cost with which we should all concern ourselves and which I am not willing to incur. I ask the administration to quit playing games with this petition. Lets do our job, get the measure on the ballot and have a concrete process in place for the next petition. Travis is city councilman for District G Page Content Montreal, 2 August 2018 ICAO and the Government of the Province of Quebec formalized a new agreement on 26 June 2018 covering the rights and privileges of the thousands of foreign diplomats who annually visit or maintain long-term Delegations at the UN agencys Montreal Headquarters. The new understanding was signed by the Secretary General of ICAO, Dr. Fang Liu, and by Quebecs Minister of International Relations and La Francophonie, Ms. Christine St-Pierre, at a special ceremony at ICAO. The President of the Council of ICAO, many Representatives on the Council of ICAO, including the Representative of Canada, were in attendance, as were the agreements principal negotiators Mr. Eric Theroux, Assistant Deputy Minister of Quebec for the Fight Against Climate Change, and Mr. Benoit Verhaegen, Senior ICAO External Relations and Legal Officer. Our Organization, its Member States, and the various categories of diplomatic and other senior officials who call Quebec their home, are very grateful for the immunities and other privileges you have extended to us by virtue of this new agreement, declared Secretary General Liu. As we now move forward together, into what should be an exciting but also demanding future for public sector leaders, ICAO and its important international community and guests will look forward to the productive partnerships and sustainable success that this new Understanding with Quebec will help us to establish. ICAO is the largest international organization in Quebec. For more than 70 years, it has evolved and developed in symbiosis with the city that has become its natural home: Montreal. Its presence in Montreal has contributed in attracting to the Quebec metropolis many international organizations and companies working in this sector. With nearly 200 companies, plus 40,000 high value-added workers and world-class research centres, ICAO contributes to the vitality of Montreal's aerospace cluster and to the Quebec economy. The conclusion of this new agreement with ICAO adds to the numerous efforts put forward by the Quebec government to attract and maintain international organizations on its territory, added Minister St-Pierre. ICAO has been Headquartered in Montreal since 1946. The Province of Quebecs longstanding support has facilitated the efforts of the Organization to foster the safe, secure and sustainable development of global civil aviation in ICAOs 192 member States. Resources for Editors About ICAO A specialized agency of the United Nations, ICAO was created in 1944 to promote the safe and orderly development of international civil aviation throughout the world. It sets standards and regulations necessary for aviation safety, security, efficiency, capacity and environmental protection, amongst many other priorities. The Organization serves as the forum for cooperation in all fields of civil aviation among its 192 Member States. How ICAO Works ICAO and Aviation Development Visit ICAO Contacts Anthony Philbin Chief, Communications aphilbin@icao.int +1 514-954-8220 +1 438-402-8886 (mobile) Twitter: @ICAO William Raillant-Clark Communications Officer wraillantclark@icao.int +1 514-954-6705 +1 514-409-0705 (mobile) Twitter: @wraillantclark LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/raillantclark/ Imperial Valley News Center Make Cars Great Again Washington, DC - During a visit to Detroit last year, President Trump announced his administration would assess and correct the current vehicle fuel-economy standards, which impose significant costs on American consumers and eliminate jobs. The administration is continuing to deliver on that promise. On Thursday the Transportation Department and Environmental Protection Agency are announcing a joint proposal to update the national automobile fuel-economy and greenhouse-gas standards to give consumers greater access to safer, more affordable vehicles, while continuing to protect the environment. The joint proposal lays out eight options for new national fuel-economy standards for model years 2021-26. All interested parties are asked to weigh in with their views. The goal is to get it rightto create one national standard that is technologically feasible and economically practicable, while promoting energy conservation, furthering other environmental goals, and preserving consumer choice. The administrations proposed option would lock in the 2020 standards until 2026, because the analysis of our agencies suggests that those standards strike the appropriate regulatory balance between vehicle improvements, environmental benefits and safety. There are compelling reasons for a new rulemaking. The standards implemented by the previous administration raised the cost and decreased the supply of newer, safer vehicles. The government also previously failed to conduct a midterm review in the manner promised. Customers preferences have also changed since the current standards were introduced. Read the full op-ed in The Wall Street Journal. Elaine Chao is the Secretary of Transportation. Andrew Wheeler is acting EPA Administrator. Imperial Valley News Center When to report a Personal Data Breach Washington, DC - Even before the European Unions General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) became enforceable on May 25th, the words personal data breach were enough to send shivers down to the spines of CIOs and CISOs the world over. While the public seems to be growing numb to the torrent of data breach news and notifications that have been coming their way (5,027 breaches compromising over 7.8 billion records in 2017), security professionals especially corporate ones are more sensitive than ever to the dangers of a personal data breach. And now with the GDPR enforceable, in addition to the potential loss of business and damage to reputation that could occur, there is also potential for steep fines, potentially up to 20,000,000 or 4% of total international revenue. That in turn has led to a major spike in self-reporting in the first month of GDPR enforcement, with 1,792 breaches self-reported to the UK Information Comissioners Office (the UKs Data Protection Authority) in June of 2018. Thats compared to just 367 breaches reported in April, the last full month before the GDPR went into effect. However, in a recent webinar, the ICOs head of Data Breach Reporting, Laura Middleton, cautioned that: not every personal data breach needs to be reported. So controllers should assess the likelihood and severity of risk to individuals before making that decision to report. So thats what were going to cover today: under the GDPR, what constitutes a personal data breach and when should you report one? Lets hash it out. Under the GDPR, what is a Data Breach? In many ways, the term Data Breach is probably not a broad enough descriptor. Just like with many American laws, the legal definition and the popular definition differ. For the sake of the GDPR, Personal Data Breach covers a range of data incidents, everything from accidental disclosure to deletion to an actual breach of security where information is stolen. Heres the official GDPR definition in Article 4(12): personal data breach means a breach of security leading to the accidental or unlawful destruction, loss, alteration, unauthorised disclosure of, or access to, personal data transmitted, stored or otherwise processed; Lets break that down a little bit. A breach of security in this sense doesnt have to be an attacker fighting through your defenses. A breach of security can occur as a result of something as simple as an employees mistake or a database error. The more important portion of this definition is the back half, which is fairly broad. And thats likely led to some over-reporting, where incidents that didnt rise to the level of needing to be reported were still documented with the ICO out of a sense of caution. But for the sake of clarity, lets define a GDPR personal data breach in our own laymens terms. A personal data breach occurs anytime, whether by accident or an act of malice by an attacker, a customers data is inadvertently destroyed, lost, altered or disclosed to the wrong party. Now, lets talk about what your responsibilities are for reporting a data breach under the GDPR. You have 72 hours to report a personal data breach after its discovered This is the biggest thing that you need to be aware of as you investigate any data incident and make a determination on reporting: you have 72 hours from the time you discover the issue. Now, with a true breach the average time it takes a company to detect it usually around 190 days. Some of the other data incidents that roll up under the GDPRs Personal Data Breach definition may take considerably less time to diagnose. Regardless of how long it takes for the problem to present itself, once its been discovered you need to document that down to the minute and from there you have three days to decide what you need to do. Heres how the GDPR lays out your responsibility in Article 33(1): 1In the case of a personal data breach, the controller shall without undue delay and, where feasible, not later than 72 hours after having become aware of it, notify the personal data breach to the supervisory authority competent in accordance with Article 55, unless the personal data breach is unlikely to result in a risk to the rights and freedoms of natural persons. 2Where the notification to the supervisory authority is not made within 72 hours, it shall be accompanied by reasons for the delay. As you can see from the definition, your company or organization is faced with a decision regarding the severity of the incident. And much like with determining your legitimate interests, the GDPR is essentially asking you to perform an analysis that weighs the risk to the rights of the data subject. To figure that out youre going to need to answer some questions, and it would be a good idea to document these as part of your investigation. What Happened? What kind of incident was this, did you leave an AWS bucket with all of your users financial data protected or did you just send the wrong customer the wrong email? How many people were affected? Is this a large-scale breach or is it limited to just a handful of people. Most literature around GDPR puts the cut off for large-scale at 500 data subjects. What personal data was compromised? Is this just a customers name and email address? Or is it more sensitive data like financial information or special categories of personal data? What is the risk to the affected data subjects? Worst case scenario, what could be done with this information to harm the data subject either financially, materially or reputationally? What caused this situation? Was it an attacker exploiting your security? Was this a technical mistake? Human error? How easily can this issue be remediated? Will this take months to fix or is this just a simple tweak? When will you be able to accomplish this? If you can answer those questions, you should be able to weigh what risks this personal data breach could pose to those affected and whether or not this incident rises to the level of reporting. When is Reporting a Personal Data Breach not necessary? Thats a decision that is entirely yours, one that should be made after considering all of the possible information regarding cause, size and scope. It would be irresponsible to make categorical suggestions here. But it should be pretty obvious once you investigate. Some of it also comes down to how cautious you want to be given the sizable penalties associated with messing this up. It all comes down to the risk posed to the data subject(s). If the breach is small, limited to a single data subject, and doesnt include passwords or financial data, you may be fine just documenting the situation and not reporting it. Or you might want to just play it safe and report it to your Data Protection Authority, anway. Regardless, you need to be documenting everything. And if you decide not to report an incident, make sure you document why you chose not to, including an exaplanation of why you dont feel this poses a significant risk to the data subject. What information should be included in a breach notification? Your breach notification is going to need to include all of the following information: A description of the personal data breach, including the categories and number of data subjects involved, as well as the types and quantity of records compromised. A name and contact information for either your registered Data Protection Officer or the individual heading up the investigation, someone who can be contacted for information. A description of the possible (and most likely) consequences of the compromise. A description of your investigation and any measures you have taken or will be taking to remediate the issue. If you dont have all of the information within the first 72 hours (when you are required to report), it can be provided in phases, as it becomes available, provided this is done in haste. Remember, transparency is important. If your supervisory authority doesnt think youre acting in good faith you will be penalized. So dont try to be sneaky or hide anything. Most Data Protection Authorities, at least at this point early on in the GDPR enforcement period have shown a willingness to work with companies and not be overly punitive. Theyre not trying to be adversarial, theyre just trying to make sure that peoples rights are respected. Who is my Data Protection Authority? Your relevant Data Protection Authority varies by country and region. This is probably something you should have already figured out, but in the event you need a refresher, heres a list of Data Protection Authority by country: For the United States, your Data Protection Authority is either the Department of Transportation of the Federal Trade Commission. You can check out the rest of the DPAs below: United States Federal Trade Commission 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20580 Telephone: (202) 326-2222 https://www.ftv.gov Department of Transportation 1200 New Jersey Ave, SE Washington, DC 20590 Telephone: (202) 366-4000 https://www.transportation.gov EUROPEAN UNION Austria Osterreichische Datenschutzbehorde Hohenstaufengasse 3 1010 Wien Tel. +43 1 531 15 202525 Fax +43 1 531 15 202690 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. http://www.dsb.gv.at/ Belgium Commission de la protection de la vie privee Commissie voor de bescherming van de persoonlijke levenssfeer Rue de la Presse 35 / Drukpersstraat 35 1000 Bruxelles / 1000 Brussel Tel. +32 2 274 48 00 Fax +32 2 274 48 35 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. http://www.privacycommission.be/ Bulgaria Commission for Personal Data Protection 2, Prof. Tsvetan Lazarov blvd. Sofia 1592 Tel. +359 2 915 3580 Fax +359 2 915 3525 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. http://www.cpdp.bg/ Croatia Croatian Personal Data Protection Agency Marticeva 14 10000 Zagreb Tel. +385 1 4609 000 Fax +385 1 4609 099 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. http://www.azop.hr/ Cyprus Commissioner for Personal Data Protection 1 Iasonos Street, 1082 Nicosia P.O. Box 23378, CY-1682 Nicosia Tel. +357 22 818 456 Fax +357 22 304 565 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. http://www.dataprotection.gov.cy/ Czech Republic The Office for Personal Data Protection Urad pro ochranu osobnich udaju Pplk. Sochora 27 170 00 Prague 7 Tel. +420 234 665 111 Fax +420 234 665 444 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. http://www.uoou.cz/ Denmark Datatilsynet Borgergade 28, 5 1300 Copenhagen K Tel. +45 33 1932 00 Fax +45 33 19 32 18 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. http://www.datatilsynet.dk/ Estonia Estonian Data Protection Inspectorate (Andmekaitse Inspektsioon) Vaike-Ameerika 19 10129 Tallinn Tel. +372 6274 135 Fax +372 6274 137 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. http://www.aki.ee/en Finland Office of the Data Protection Ombudsman P.O. Box 315 FIN-00181 Helsinki Tel. +358 10 3666 700 Fax +358 10 3666 735 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. http://www.tietosuoja.fi/en/ France Commission Nationale de lInformatique et des Libertes CNIL 8 rue Vivienne, CS 30223 F-75002 Paris, Cedex 02 Tel. +33 1 53 73 22 22 Fax +33 1 53 73 22 00 http://www.cnil.fr/ Germany Die Bundesbeauftragte fur den Datenschutz und die Informationsfreiheit Husarenstrae 30 53117 Bonn Tel. +49 228 997799 0; +49 228 81995 0 Fax +49 228 997799 550; +49 228 81995 550 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. http://www.bfdi.bund.de/ Germany splits complaints between different agencies: https://www.bfdi.bund.de/bfdi_wiki/index.php/Aufsichtsbeh%C3%B6rden_und_Landesdatenschutzbeauftragte Greece Hellenic Data Protection Authority Kifisias Av. 1-3, PC 11523 Ampelokipi Athens Tel. +30 210 6475 600 Fax +30 210 6475 628 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. http://www.dpa.gr/ Hungary National Authority for Data Protection and Freedom of Information Szilagyi Erzsebet fasor 22/C H-1125 Budapest Tel. +36 1 3911 400 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. http://www.naih.hu/ Ireland Data Protection Commissioner Canal House Station Road Portarlington Co. Laois Lo-Call: 1890 25 22 31 Tel. +353 57 868 4800 Fax +353 57 868 4757 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. http://www.dataprotection.ie/ Italy Garante per la protezione dei dati personali Piazza di Monte Citorio, 121 00186 Roma Tel. +39 06 69677 1 Fax +39 06 69677 785 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. http://www.garanteprivacy.it/ Latvia Data State Inspectorate Director: Ms Daiga Avdejanova Blaumana str. 11/13-15 1011 Riga Tel. +371 6722 3131 Fax +371 6722 3556 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. http://www.dvi.gov.lv/ Lithuania State Data Protection Zygimantu str. 11-6a 011042 Vilnius Tel. + 370 5 279 14 45 Fax +370 5 261 94 94 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. http://www.ada.lt/ Luxembourg Commission Nationale pour la Protection des Donnees 1, avenue du RocknRoll L-4361 Esch-sur-Alzette Tel. +352 2610 60 1 Fax +352 2610 60 29 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. http://www.cnpd.lu/ Malta Office of the Data Protection Commissioner Data Protection Commissioner: Mr Joseph Ebejer 2, Airways House High Street, Sliema SLM 1549 Tel. +356 2328 7100 Fax +356 2328 7198 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. http://www.dataprotection.gov.mt/ Netherlands Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens Prins Clauslaan 60 P.O. Box 93374 2509 AJ Den Haag/The Hague Tel. +31 70 888 8500 Fax +31 70 888 8501 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. https://autoriteitpersoonsgegevens.nl/nl Poland The Bureau of the Inspector General for the Protection of Personal Data GIODO ul. Stawki 2 00-193 Warsaw Tel. +48 22 53 10 440 Fax +48 22 53 10 441 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.; This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. http://www.giodo.gov.pl/ Portugal Comissao Nacional de Proteccao de Dados CNPD R. de Sao. Bento, 148-3 1200-821 Lisboa Tel. +351 21 392 84 00 Fax +351 21 397 68 32 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. http://www.cnpd.pt/ Romania The National Supervisory Authority for Personal Data Processing President: Mrs Ancuta Gianina Opre B-dul Magheru 28-30 Sector 1, BUCURESTI Tel. +40 21 252 5599 Fax +40 21 252 5757 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. http://www.dataprotection.ro/ Slovakia Office for Personal Data Protection of the Slovak Republic Hranicna 12 820 07 Bratislava 27 Tel.: + 421 2 32 31 32 14 Fax: + 421 2 32 31 32 34 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. http://www.dataprotection.gov.sk/ Slovenia Information Commissioner Ms Mojca Prelesnik Zaloska 59 1000 Ljubljana Tel. +386 1 230 9730 Fax +386 1 230 9778 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. https://www.ip-rs.si/ Spain Agencia de Proteccion de Datos C/Jorge Juan, 6 28001 Madrid Tel. +34 91399 6200 Fax +34 91455 5699 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. https://www.agpd.es/ Sweden Datainspektionen Drottninggatan 29 5th Floor Box 8114 104 20 Stockholm Tel. +46 8 657 6100 Fax +46 8 652 8652 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. http://www.datainspektionen.se/ United Kingdom The Information Commissioners Office Water Lane, Wycliffe House Wilmslow Cheshire SK9 5AF Tel. +44 1625 545 745 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. https://ico.org.uk EUROPEAN FREE TRADE AREA (EFTA) Iceland Icelandic Data Protection Agency Rauararstig 10 105 Reykjavik Tel. +354 510 9600; Fax +354 510 9606 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Liechtenstein Data Protection Office Kirchstrasse 8, P.O. Box 684 9490 Vaduz Principality of Liechtenstein Tel. +423 236 6090 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Norway Datatilsynet The Data Inspectorate P.O. Box 8177 Dep 0034 Oslo Tel. +47 22 39 69 00; Fax +47 22 42 23 50 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Switzerland Data Protection and Information Commissioner of Switzerland Eidgenossischer Datenschutz- und Offentlichkeitsbeauftragter Mr Adrian Lobsiger Feldeggweg 1 3003 Bern Tel. +41 58 462 43 95; Fax +41 58 462 99 96 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo at the Lower Mekong Initiative Ministerial Singapore - Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo Remarks at the Lower Mekong Initiative Ministerial: SECRETARY POMPEO: Good afternoon, everyone. Its my pleasure to chair this years Lower Mekong Initiative Ministerial Meeting. I appreciate you all being here today. Before we begin, on behalf of the United States, I first want to offer condolences to the people of Laos for the tragic dam breach. I know this is now affecting other countries as well, and we are expressing our condolence to each of them, the people of your countries, and we want you to know that we are glad to work with the Lao Government and others to provide international resolutions and relief as part of this effort. Our condolences also go to the victims of the recent flooding and landslides in Myanmar. Tragedies like this show the importance of working together and supporting each other. The Lower Mekong partner countries are important strategic partners for the United States of America. Our increased engagement in LMI has fueled sustainable development and strengthened ASEAN as an institution. Thanks to our teams, LMI has been increasingly responsive to the needs of this subregion, and so I want to commend each of you for your countries contributions. Creating equitable, sustainable, inclusive growth for the subregion not only contributes to ASEAN countries and ASEANs centrality, but also to a free and open Indo-Pacific. A year ago, together we began talking about streamlining the LMI to make it more responsive to the needs of the subregion. Today, with your approval of the restructuring, we will increase the effectiveness of our cooperation. Thailand and Cambodia have both stepped up, volunteering to be the first co-chairs alongside the United States for the two new pillars of the LMI, which will tap into our combined resources and expertise to help achieve our joint priorities. Allow me to highlight a few of our recent successes and new programs under the LMI. Our flagship education program, Connecting the Mekong through Education and Training, has given over 44,000 students access to opportunities to learn innovative skills in high demand in the private sector. Another training opportunity comes in the form of the U.S.-Singapore Third Country Training Program, which continues to strengthen ASEANs capacity to address modern challenges ranging from cybersecurity to waste management. Our U.S. Department of Agriculture will begin working soon with your governments, regional institutions, and increasingly with the private sector to include cooperation on seed trade in the Lower Mekong. Im also pleased to announce the upcoming launch of our Public-Private Partnership training program for the Lower Mekong government officials to strengthen capacity to develop commercially sound proposals for infrastructure investment. Im sure well start to see more of these public-private sector partnerships. The Mekong Water Data Initiative, which we approved at this meeting last year, is also elevating collaboration among the friends of the Lower Mekong and the Mekong River Commission on the regions most valuable natural resource. Later today, we will approve the non-binding joint statement on water data management to mobilize resources that can achieve better collection analysis and sharing of water data. The donor members of the Friends of the Lower Mekong are particularly supportive of this commitment as they understand how crucial water data is to mitigating risks related to floods and droughts. Through these and many other collaborative LMI partnerships, we can build a stronger and more resilient Mekong region together. At this time, Id like to thank the members of the media for their attention and kindly ask they depart so that we may continue our discussions. Bishkek demands from Minsk the extradition of fugitive Kyrgyz premier Daniar Usenov, who took refuge in Belarus. At home, the politician was sentenced in absentia to a life sentence for complicity in murder, abuse of office and other crimes during the April Revolution of 2010. Minsk claims it does not have such a citizen. Belarus more usually becomes a refuge of fugitive politicians who are being prosecuted in their home countries. In September, the Kyrgyz parliament intends to discuss the resurrection of the runaway prime minister and request his return to the homeland. The scandal with the ousted Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev, accused of the death of demonstrators during the riots on April 7, 2010, has not been forgotten yet. He found refuge in Minsk. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko warned the Kyrgyz authorities that he does not intend to extradite Bakiyev, since he is under the protection of Minsk. "All extradition requests are useless and humiliating for the interim government of Kyrgyzstan, Batko Lukashenko said at the time. All these years, Kurmanbek Bakiyev and his numerous relatives live peacefully in Belarus. Even his brother, ex-chairman of the State Security Service Zhanysh Bakiyev, who was sentenced by the Kyrgyz court to life imprisonment, also lives there. According to Belarusian experts, disgraced politicians of different countries often find refuge in Belarus. In particular, the former Minister of Defense of Ukraine, ex-ambassador to Belarus Mikhail Yezhel received the refugee status. He is tried in absentia in Kiev. Lukashenko offered to grant the political asylum to Yugoslav leader Slobodan Milosevic and Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein. Now it turns out that the Kyrgyz official Daniar Usenov also lives in Minsk. Daniar Usenov, appointed to the post of prime minister in 2009, fled from Kyrgyzstan along with his patrons, the Bakiyev clan. At the same time, the new government declared him internationally wanted, although the location was known. 5 years ago, the media reported his death. And here comes the miracle of resurrection! Unexpectedly, Belarusian TV aired a report on the construction of plants by the Belarusian National Biotechnology Corporation. Alexander Lukashenko attended the ceremony to start the construction of the plant with the heads of the Chinese CITIC Group. Some Daniil Uritsky, a citizen of Belarus, introduced himself as a director of the enterprise. He even showed his passport. Lukashenko noted that Uritsky drew $ 731 million to Belarus from Arab and Chinese investors. The public of Kyrgyzstan immediately recognized this man as a former Prime Minister Daniar Usenov. Mr. Uritsky told journalists about himself the following: "I heard that Daniar Usenov, the Prime Minister of the Kyrgyz Republic, died in 2013 in Malaysia." However, the deputy of the parliament of Kyrgyzstan, now inconsolable widow Dinara Isayeva, told the radio Azattyk that her ex-husband Daniar Usenov is on the photo from the opening ceremony. The Kyrgyz Foreign Ministry summoned the temporary charge d'affaires of the Republic of Belarus in Kyrgyzstan Sergei Ivanov. The reason was the participation of former Prime Minister of Kyrgyzstan Daniar Usenov under the name of Daniil Uritsky in the public events with the participation of representatives of the official authorities of the Republic of Belarus. In a note, send to Belarus, the Kyrgyz side expressed a protest to the fact that Daniar Usenov condemned for a life sentence in Kyrgyzstan lives and participates in various activities on the territory of Belarus, which is absolutely unacceptable. The Kyrgyz Prosecutor General's Office demanded an extradition of the criminal. And this is not the first time the Kyrgyz side demands extradition of its officials. The Prosecutor General's Office of Belarus, despite the convincing evidence, refused to extradite the former Kyrgyz prime minister, seeing in Bishkek's actions the political background. According to the Belarusian side, the petition for extradition is connected with his persecution on the basis of political convictions, " the comment of the Prosecutor General's Office of Belarus reads. The news attracted the attention of the Kyrgyz parliament deputies. Deputy Chairman of the International Affairs Committee Abdyvahap Nurbayev told Azattyk Radio (Kyrgyz service of Radio Liberty) that the issue of the fugitive Usenov will be discussed in the parliament. We have few agreements with Belarus. After the Bakiyevs departure, the relations worsened in some respects. But recently, the relations have improved. Now Daniar Usenov appears. in September, when we start working, we will consider this case. It may turn out he invests funds that he stole in Kyrgyzstan. We should get things straight, "Nurbayev said. Public figure Emilbek Kaptagaev wrote on his Facebook page that it is necessary to break off the relations with Belarus in connection with Daniar Usenov and other fugitives. In his opinion, the tough measures are necessary, not limited to the note sent by the Foreign Ministry of Kyrgyzstan. "We must move to a tough relationship with the state of Belarus, break all our diplomatic relations with it. We have no ties in the economic and other fields, we will buy tractors in other countries. If Belarus does not provide us with the dairy and other production, it will be more profitable for our producers. The appointment of Daniar Usenov as the head of a large enterprise belonging to the state by Alexander Lukashenko is considered as a disrespect of our country and people. If our demand results in a withdrawal from the EAEU, then we must take this step. The dignity of the country and people should be above all, " Kaptagaev wrote. Hrithik Roshan Reacts to Aryan Khan's Bail Denial, Says 'If These Are the Facts, It is Truly Sad' Its the little things when you fly. Especially when you fly economy class. Recently, I wrote about how Delta Air Lines is rolling out premium meal offerings on international economy flights: Prosecco to start. A three course dinner. Fancy plates and cutlery. Heck, even ice cream. It sounded good. And I wondered if this might mean other big U.S. carriers would have to improve economy class food to keep up. Well no. But yes. Well, sort of-;at least on American Airlines. The change theyre making at American is simple, but it does represent progress: They're letting you order and pay for a meal in economy class at the same time as you book your ticket. The option rolled out across their entire system this week, according to JT Genter, who wrote about this for The Points Guy. I might not have thought this was such a big deal until recently, when I learned what happened when you take a 2-year-old child on a 5-hour international flight-;and you presume incorrectly that youll be able to buy her lunch on the plane. It was a teachable moment. (It was actually only my second biggest travel-related mistake in the last few months.) So now, even though American Airlines ranked #7 out of 10 for families recently, I can imagine that this small advantage might weigh into my decision-making process. Business traveler or family traveler, it's no fun to learn that your airplane has already sold out of meals, or potentially worse, that the only thing left is a pathetically anemic BBQ sandwich. The choices Genter was given while booking a Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) to San Francisco (SFO) flight included a fruit and cheese plate, a chicken arugula wrap, or a turkey sandwich-;each offered for the not-totally-insane, considering prices of between $8.99 and $9.99. No, these arent exactly fine dining. And, of course there are restrictions, namely: You must order between 30 days and 24 hours ahead of time. So, I hope you can predict what youd like to eat for lunch a week from next Wednesday, for example. Your flight has to be at least three hours, and have a departure time between 9:45 a.m. and 8 p.m. You must be on a flight that does not otherwise have a meal provided in economy. But while it's a simple change, that's the point. Passengers have been nickel-and-dimed on so much lately in economy class. You've probably noticed that hiring for open positions these days feels harder than it ever has before. With the unemployment rate at a historic low--it fell to 3.9 percent in July--there are more open positions than there are job seekers for only the second time in the past two decades, according to the Labor Department. The percentage of American workers who quit their jobs is also up, reaching 2.4 percent in May, the highest level in 17 years. That means workers are increasingly switching jobs and feeling confident they can find a new job and perhaps get higher pay. "Candidates have all the power," said Josh Howarth, district president of the staffing firm Robert Half International. "Most good candidates have multiple opportunities they are considering." So how do hiring managers fill open positions with quality workers? Here are four tips for how to adjust your hiring practices in today's brutal job market. 1. Broaden your search. Finding the perfect candidate is a tall order, so business owners should be more flexible in their requirements for prospective hires, according to Howarth. Focus on finding people with strong personal skills or who match your firm's culture, instead of putting an emphasis on technical skills, which often can be acquired on the job. "If a company requires a degree, two rounds of interviews, and a test for hard skills, candidates can go down the street to another employer who will make them an offer that day," Amy Glaser, senior vice president of Adecco Group, a staffing agency with about 10,000 company clients in search of employees, told The Wall Street Journal. Glaser added that one in four of Adecco Group's employer clients have made extreme changes to their recruiting process since the start of 2018. For instance, some clients dropped drug tests or removed preferences for high school diplomas or higher degrees. 2. Study the competition. Make sure you know what other companies are offering potential employees, not just in salary but also in benefits and perks, Howarth says. Many businesses are offering flexible work schedules, the ability to work remotely, and access to wellness programs as a way to sweeten the deal. It's important for companies to recognize that such perks typically don't cost anything and can please employees without increasing the annual spending budget. However, you may need to be prepared to spend more on salaries. "Do your research and know what competitive firms are doing in those areas," Howarth says. "You have to pay competitive salaries if you want to land top talent." Compensation for workers rose to a nearly 10-year high in the second quarter, increasing by 2.8 percent year-over-year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Private industry, government, sales, transportation, and hospital compensation increased in the same time period. Additionally, analysts expect to see a 2.7 percent increase in hourly earnings in Friday's payroll report. 3. Sell yourself. When posting a job opening, don't focus solely on the position and required duties. Remember, candidates are likely facing a barrage of opportunities. Howarth recommends companies put an emphasis on the business and why people should choose to work there. "Sell the benefits of your organization so individuals who are looking into your opportunity aren't just reading about the responsibilities," Howarth says. "It should say why this company is great and why people want to work there." 4. Act quickly. A recent survey from Robert Half found that during a job search, candidates were most frustrated by the long waiting period before hearing a yes or no. Almost a quarter of respondents (23 percent) said they lose interest in the business if they don't hear back within one week, while about half of those surveyed said they lose interest if there's no status update one or two weeks after an interview. "If you want to land the best person, you need to move quickly," Howarth says. If you don't, your competitors will. Lady Gaga is leading tributes to model Rick Genest, who has been found dead aged 32. Genest was popularly known as "Zombie Boy", due to detailed bone and organ tattoos across his body, including skull-like features on his face. He modelled for French fashion designer Thierry Mugler, starred as the face of Jay-Z's Rock-A-Wear fashion label, and appeared in Vogue Japan. According to reports, Genest was found dead at home in Montreal, Canada. He is believed to have taken his own life, although this has not been officially confirmed. His friend Lady Gaga, who featured Genest in her video for the hit song "Born This Way" in 2011, said the loss is "beyond devastating". "We have to work harder to change the culture, bring mental health to the forefront and erase the stigma that we can't talk about it," she wrote on Twitter. "If you are suffering, call a friend or family today. We must save each other." Genest's management confirmed the news and said they were "shocked and pained" by his death. "Rico was loved by all those who had the chance to meet him and know him," they said in a tribute posted on Facebook. Notable deaths in 2018 in pictures Show all 65 1 /65 Notable deaths in 2018 in pictures Notable deaths in 2018 in pictures Stan Lee Spider-Man creator whose web of Marvel characters brought joy to millions died on 12 November, aged 95. The prolific writer-editor worked through the Second World War, transformed the struggling publisher and paved the way for the empire it is today Rex Notable deaths in 2018 in pictures Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha Billionaire businessman who helped bring the Premiership to Leicester City died on 27 October, aged 60. The media-shy but hugely popular Thai Bhuddist made his fortune in duty-free and was known for his love of football and polo Getty Notable deaths in 2018 in pictures Paul Allen Billionaire investor and philanthropist who co-founded Microsoft with Bill Gates died from non-Hodgkin lymphoma aged 65 on 15 October. Despite leaving the company in the early 1990s, he remained a powerful force in technology and charity work for decades Getty Notable deaths in 2018 in pictures Jamal Khashoggi Jamal Khashoggi was a well-connected, bilingual Saudi journalist who became a globally recognised symbol of press freedom and Middle East democratic aspirations during the 17 days he was officially missing. But he never lived to see the campaign by journalists, rights advocates and political leaders worldwide to draw attention to his disappearance and conditions for democracy advocates in Saudi Arabia. The Washington Post columnist had already died on 2 October under murky circumstances in his own nations diplomatic outpost in Istanbul, Saudi officials confirmed late on Friday. He was 59 AFP Notable deaths in 2018 in pictures James Lawton Passionate, devoted and fearlessly honest, James Lawton was a true giant of sports writing, he died on 27 September, aged 75. The Independents former chief sports writer was part of a golden era of writers who became integral in the sporting landscape through the power of their prose Notable deaths in 2018 in pictures Chas Hodges The musician Chas Hodges was best known as one half of the cockney rock duo Chas and Dave, he died on 22 September, aged 74. Hodges and Dave Peacock rose to fame in the English pop-rock band, known for their witty lyrics about living in London, in the 1970s. They had a string of hits, including "Rabbit", "Snooker Loopy" and "Ain't No Pleasing You" Getty Notable deaths in 2018 in pictures Judith Kazantzis Poet whose sense of injustice spanned Greenham Common and Guatemala died on 18 September, aged 78. Her aristocratic background notwithstanding, she was a Labour Party supporter through and through and her verse was packed with politics Getty Notable deaths in 2018 in pictures Arthur Mitchell Trailblazer of ballet who ran circles around racism in America died on 19 September, aged 84. He braved racist taunts for doing what he loved best dancing but once his talent was embraced by the great George Balanchine he was unstoppable Rex Notable deaths in 2018 in pictures Big Jay McNeely Saxophonist who revolutionised rhythm and blues as the King of the Honkers died on 16 September 16, aged 91. Whether bringing traffic to a standstill or playing his trademark ultraviolet horn, McNeely was a pioneer who brought showmanship to jazz Getty Notable deaths in 2018 in pictures Isabel Quigly Translator of Italian, Spanish and French literature died on 14 September, aged 91. An outstanding Cambridge scholar, she got a job at Penguin and went on to become a Booker judge and film critic for the Spectator Notable deaths in 2018 in pictures Fenella Fielding Carry On star who turned down a role in a Fellini film died on 11 September, aged 90. The actress, who started her career in 1952 and shot to fame with 'Pieces of Eight' and 'Hancock's Half Hour', was known for her husky voice, wicked humour and seductive eyelashes PA Notable deaths in 2018 in pictures Mac Miller Rapper who Trump called 'next Eminem' before he made his feelings known about the president died on 7 September, aged 26. Trump was denounced by the Black Lives Matter supporter as an egomaniacal, attention-thirsty, psychopathic, power-hungry delusional waste of skin and bones Getty Notable deaths in 2018 in pictures Burt Reynolds Charismatic star known for having fun both on and off the screen died on 6 September, aged 82. Reynolds was listed as Hollywoods top-earning box-office star five years running from 1978 to 1982 Getty Notable deaths in 2018 in pictures Alan Oakman England first-class cricketer who helped beat Australia at Old Trafford in the Fifties died on 6 September, aged 88. He was at his best on hard wickets against medium or fast-medium bowling when, using his immense reach, he would unleash a stream of majestic drives PA Notable deaths in 2018 in pictures Inge Borkh The opera singer who became a star of the stage in postwar Germany as Elektra and Salome died on 26 August, aged 97. With a powerful voice and commanding stage presence, she triumphed in portraying any number of tempestuous operatic heroines Getty Notable deaths in 2018 in pictures John McCain The war hero Republican whose last stand was against his party's own president died on 25 August, aged 81 Mr McCain was a principled conservative in the Senate, and once survived five years as a war prisoner. AFP/Getty Notable deaths in 2018 in pictures Uri Avnery Israeli journalist whose voice of dissent was radical until the end died on 20 August, aged 94. One of the first advocates of a two-state solution in Israel, he was shunned by the establishment whose unreason he was never afraid to call out Reuters Notable deaths in 2018 in pictures Hilary Lister Record-breaking sailor who made a splash in newspapers as she defied disability died on 18 August, aged 46. She risked her life and inspired awe as she refused to allow being quadriplegic to deny her the chance to chart the oceans PA Notable deaths in 2018 in pictures Kofi Annan Former UN secretary general and Nobel Peace Prize laureate died on 18 August, aged 80. The Ghanaian national was the first and only black African to be appointed as the worlds top diplomat, a tenure that saw him mediate in some of the biggest crises of the 21st century EPA Notable deaths in 2018 in pictures Aretha Franklin Queen of Soul who won 18 Grammys and sold 75 million records died on 16 August, aged 76. Regarded by many as the greatest singer of all time, Aretha Franklin bestrode 1960s and 70s R&B and sang at three presidents inaugurations AP Notable deaths in 2018 in pictures Atal Bihari Vajpayee Former prime minister of India who fuelled the nuclear arms race in south Asia died on 16 August, aged 93. Elected to the office three times, Atal Bihari Vajpayee transformed Indias economy and held together a fragile coalition of disparate political parties during his tenure Reuters Notable deaths in 2018 in pictures Arsene Tchakarian Last of WWIIs Armenian-led Manouchian network who fought the Nazis in France died 4 August, aged 101. He joined a band of immigrants from countries affected by Hitlers expansionism fighting for the French resistance AFP/Getty Notable deaths in 2018 in pictures Mary Carlisle Hollywood actress of the Thirties who was typecast as the blonde ingenue died on 1 August, aged 104. If her looks were a strength in helping her land roles at the outset of her career, they proved a weakness in the end as male producers failed to see beyond them Getty Notable deaths in 2018 in pictures Ellie Soutter Team GB snowboarder, Ellie Soutter, died on 25 July, aged 18. She secured Team GBs only medal at the European Youth Olympic Winter Festival in Turkey in 2017. She was was one of the countrys best up-and-coming snowboarders, competing in both snowboard cross and freeride Instagram/EllieSoutter Notable deaths in 2018 in pictures Mary Ellis WWII pilot, Mary Ellis, who survived crash landings and Nazi bombs died on 24 July, aged 101. At a time when women in the cockpit were frowned upon, Ellis made a name for herself flying Spitfires to RAF bases to help the war effort AFP/Getty Notable deaths in 2018 in pictures John Murray The stylish cricketer, John Murray, who rewrote the record books died on 24 July, aged 83. A wicket-keeper who enjoyed outstanding first-class career with Middlesex, spread over a quarter of a century Getty Notable deaths in 2018 in pictures Oksana Shachko The cofounder of feminist protest group Femen who put her body on the line for womens rights died on 23 July, aged 31. Regularly arrested and twice kidnapped, Oksana Shachko quickly drew worldwide attention for challenging all forms of patriarchy under the slogan I came, I stripped, I won AFP/Getty Notable deaths in 2018 in pictures Alene B Duerk Trailblazer who became the US Navys first female rear admiral died on 21 July, aged 98. She said checking released WWII PoWs for lice and diseases and taking requests for ice cream, scrambled eggs and ham was probably the most exciting experience of my whole career US Navy Notable deaths in 2018 in pictures Aiko Herzig-Yoshinaga Civil rights champion who sought redress for Japanese Americans interned during World War Two died on 18 July, aged 92. Among 120,000 people were displaced and sent to camps by the US during the war simply because of their Japanese heritage. Herzig-Yoshinagas diligence put a dark chapter of American history on record and led to reparations for those affected YouTube/Densho Notable deaths in 2018 in pictures Lord Carrington Last of Churchills cabinet, Lord Carrington, who resigned as Thatchers foreign secretary over the Falklands died on 9 July, aged 99. His warnings against the withdrawal of Britains sole patrol vessel in the South Atlantic went unheeded yet when the Argentine's invaded in 1982, it was he who fell on his sword Getty Notable deaths in 2018 in pictures Dame Gillian Lynne Ballerina and dancer, Dame Gillian Lynne, who revolutionised choreography died on 1 July, aged 92. Dame Gillian Lynne threw herself into dance during the war, and went on to inspire some of the West Ends biggest shows, including Cats and Phantom of the Opera Rex Notable deaths in 2018 in pictures Alan Longmuir The founding member of the Bay City Rollers died on 1 July aged 70. Huge in the 70s, the Bay City Rollers had a number of hit songs, including "Remember", "All Of Me Loves All Of You", "Shang-a-Lang" and "I Only Want To Be With You" Rex Notable deaths in 2018 in pictures Joe Jackson Tarnished starmaker, Joe Jackson, who drove his children to international success died on 27 June, aged 89. Collectively the Jacksons may have been the most prominent family in pop music history, but their fame came at the cost of family feuds Reuters Notable deaths in 2018 in pictures Leslie Grantham The former Eastenders star died on 15 June aged 71. Grantham starred as "Dirty Den", known so for his many affairs, who was the landlord of the Queen Vic for the first four years of the show, returning briefly in 2003 before being killed off on the show's 20th anniversary episode Rex Notable deaths in 2018 in pictures Dorothy Cotton Civil rights leader, Dorothy Cotton, and confidante to Martin Luther King died on 10 June, aged 88. A key figure in the fight for racial equality, Cotton led marches and headed an education programme that taught African Americans about their basic rights of citizenship Alamy Notable deaths in 2018 in pictures Eunice Gayson First Bond girl, Eunice Gayson, and originator of his most famous line died on 8 June, aged 90. Appearing alongside Sean Connery in Dr No, she would speak the immortal words: Trench. Sylvia Trench before Bond ever did Rex Notable deaths in 2018 in pictures Anthony Bourdain The celebrity chef from New York died on 8 June, aged 61. Anthony Bourdain made a career recommending food and restaurants for people - and he didnt shy away from letting people know when his hometowns food offerings werent up to par Getty Notable deaths in 2018 in pictures Maria Bueno Four-time Wimbledon winner, Maria Bueno, who became a Brazilian tennis legend died on 8 June, aged 78. The female tennis pioneer won seven Grand Slam singles and captured the worlds attention with her grace and style Getty Notable deaths in 2018 in pictures Peter Stringfellow Nightclub entrepreneur, Peter Stringfellow, who booked The Beatles and brought table-dancing to Britain died on 7 June, aged 77. His brand was synonymous with sex but in spite of the sleazy nature of his venues, he managed to maintain an upbeat, nice-guy reputation Getty Notable deaths in 2018 in pictures Kate Spade New York fashion designer Kate Spade died on 5 June, aged 55. Best-known for her popular line of handbags, the American designers products were among the most popular accessories in the designer market, competing with the likes of handbag giants Coach and Michael Kors AP Notable deaths in 2018 in pictures Philip Roth US novelist, Philip Roth, hailed as the greatest of his generation died on 22 May, aged 85. He became a literary star in the 1960s and continued to win awards and praise well into his later years with new, evocative works Rex Notable deaths in 2018 in pictures Ray Wilson England World Cup winner, Ray Wilson, died on 15 May, aged 83. A study in nimble poise and calm concentration, Wilson exuded style and efficiency, and although he shunned the limelight off the field, on it his voice could be heard constantly Getty Notable deaths in 2018 in pictures Tom Wolfe Audacious and inventive journalist and author, Tom Wolfe, who satirised the American pursuit of prestige died on 14 May, aged 88. His writing detailed the finer points of behaviour, trends, fashion and the pursuit of prestige that shaped the American social orderTom Wolfe signs copies of his novel 'Bonfire of the Vanities' in 1988 Rex Notable deaths in 2018 in pictures Margot Kidder Actor, Margot Kidder, who played Lois Lane opposite Christopher Reeve in Superman films died on 13 May, aged 69. She spoke out against the First Gulf War and campaigned for abortion rights but both her political activism and her acting career took a backseat to her struggles with mental health Rex Notable deaths in 2018 in pictures Tessa Jowell Former Labour cabinet minister, Tessa Jowell, who helped to secure 2012 London Olympics died on 12 May, aged 70. In a political career spanning more than four decades and as a minister in three Blair administrations, Jowell was a trailblazer for women in politics. Diagnosed with a glioblastoma in May 2017, a rare, high-grade tumour and malignant cancer that can spread quickly to other parts of the brain and spine, it came without warning and with none of the symptoms. Stoic, Jowell displayed passion, determination and a sense of mission, which had been the hallmark of her political career, in a bid to change the way cancer was dealt with PA Notable deaths in 2018 in pictures Verne Troyer The actor died on 21 April, aged 49. Widely known for his role as Mini-Me in Austin Powers, Troyer also appeared in the Harry Potter series Getty Notable deaths in 2018 in pictures Avicii The musician, whose real name is Tim Bergling, died on 20 April, aged 28. A pioneer of EDM, and one of the most successful DJs in the industry, the musician found crossover pop success with his 2011 track Le7els, which sampled Etta James, going platinum in the US and becoming a number one single internationally Getty Images for Clear Channel Notable deaths in 2018 in pictures Barbara Bush Barbara Bush, the matriarch of most powerful US first family in recent times died on 17 April, aged 92 AFP/Getty Images Notable deaths in 2018 in pictures Winnie Mandela The ANC activist died on 14 April, aged 81. Winnie fought tirelessly against apartheid in South Africa, becoming a figurehead for the movement while her husband Nelson was in prison AFP Notable deaths in 2018 in pictures Ray Wilkins International footballer, Ray Wilkins, who was handed the Chelsea captaincy at 18 died on 4 April, aged 61. Blessed with an adhesive touch and a calm temperament, Ray Wilkins went on to win the double with the Blues as assistant coach and was hailed as a gentlemen of the game Reuters Notable deaths in 2018 in pictures Stephen Hawking The theoretical physicist died at the age of 76, on 14 March. The iconic physicist is known as one of the greatest scientific minds in the history of the world, and worked to peer into the most mysterious parts of the universe. Hawking was known also for the accessible way in which he communicated those discoveries, with his work including A Brief History Of Time making its way into pop culture Getty Notable deaths in 2018 in pictures Marielle Franco The politician was brutally murdered in downtown Rio de Janeiro on 14 March, in what officials have concluded was a targeted political assassination. A black LGBT+ woman in a country notoriously dominated by racism, sexism and traditional religious dogma, she was raised in one of Rios largest, poorest and most violent slums, the Mare complex AP Notable deaths in 2018 in pictures Ken Dodd The comedy legend died aged 90, on 11 March. Sir Ken, famous for his epic stand-up shows which could go on for hours at a time, as well as his Diddy Men and tickling stick, died just days after leaving hospital Getty Notable deaths in 2018 in pictures Hubert de Givenchy The founder of the eponymous French fashion house died aged 91, on 10 March. In an impressive career that spanned more than five decades, Givenchy was renowned for dressing the likes of Jackie Kennedy, the Duchess of Windsor and Audrey Hepburn, his long-time muse Rex Notable deaths in 2018 in pictures Davide Astori The footballer died after a cardiac arrest aged 31 on 4 March. He was captain of Fiorentina, and an Italian international with 14 appearances for the national side Getty Notable deaths in 2018 in pictures Roger Bannister Athlete who broke four-minute mile, Roger Bannister, died on 3 March, aged 88. Sir Roger gave up running to pursue long and distinguished medical career AP Notable deaths in 2018 in pictures Sridevi Bollywood superstar, Sridevi, who starred in 300 films and was hailed as Indias Meryl Streep died on 24 February, aged 54. She started off as a child star of Tamil-language cinema and then got her big break in Bollywood where she established herself as a low-key legend AFP/Getty Notable deaths in 2018 in pictures Emma Chambers The British actress, best known for her roles in The Vicar of Dibley and Notting Hill, died aged 53, on 21 February. A statement from her agency said: Emma created a wealth of characters and an immense body of work. She brought laughter and joy to many, and will be greatly missed. Rex Notable deaths in 2018 in pictures John Mahoney The actor, famous for his role in long-running TV show Frasier, died at the age of 77, on 4 February. The British-born star was on the show for 11 seasons spanning from 1993 through to 2004 and his character, Martin Crane, is a fan favourite Getty Notable deaths in 2018 in pictures Mark E Smith The lead singer and the main artist behind The Fall, died aged 60, on 24 January. Famous for his acerbic wit, Smith was the ever present member in the band, going through over sixty members in the group's fourty year duration Notable deaths in 2018 in pictures Hugh Masekela The legendary South African jazz trumpeter and anti-apartheid activist died on 23 January at the age of 78 after suffering from cancer. Masekela, branded the father of South African jazz, died in Johannesburg after what his family described as a protracted and courageous battle with prostate cancer AFP/Getty Notable deaths in 2018 in pictures Jimmy Armfield The Blackpool legend and former England captain passed away, aged 82, on 22 January. The right-back played 627 matches for the Lancashire club between 1954 and 1971, and captained England 15 times in 43 appearances. He would later go on to manage Bolton Wanderers and Leeds United, before working as a pundit for the BBC for thirty years Getty Notable deaths in 2018 in pictures Ursula Le Guin The celebrated science fiction and fantasy author died at the age of 88, on 22 January. Among the authors best-known works are the 1969 science fiction novel Left Hand of Darkness, which explores themes of gender by featuring characters with no fixed sex, and the 1968 coming-of-age story A Wizard of Earthsea Getty Notable deaths in 2018 in pictures Dolores ORiordan The singer died on 15 January, aged 46. Born into a staunchly Catholic family, ORiordan was 17 when she responded to a press advert for a female vocalist to join The Cranberry Saw Us, comprising brothers Noel and Mike Hogan and Fergal Lawler, in 1989. Soon after she became lead singer, they became The Cranberries and cut a three-track EP on an independent label AFP/Getty Notable deaths in 2018 in pictures Cyrille Regis The former England footballer died from a heart attack aged 59, on 14 January. The ex-footballer, who scored 112 goals in 297 appearances for West Bromwich Albion, also turned out for Coventry City and Aston Villa in the top flight, as well as playing for Wolverhampton Wanderers, Wycombe Wanderers and Chester City in the later years of his career before retiring in 1996. Regis was a pioneer for black footballers in Britain Getty "We received the unfortunate news at the beginning of the afternoon and members of the team have come to support his family and relatives in this dark and difficult moment. "We want to present our deepest condolences... thank you zb for these beautiful moments in your company and for your radiant smile." If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health, you can call the Samaritans confidentially on 116 123 or visit mind.org.uk Carmen in the Cuban revolution: this new musical reframes the narrative of Bizets opera, with new rhythms in an orchestration by Hamiltons Alex Lacamoire. Its a fast-paced, high-energy staging, but what stands out is the richness of the performances with strong singing and sinuous dancing from an all-Cuban cast. Created by British director Christopher Renshaw, Carmen La Cubana follows a template set by Carmen Jones, Oscar Hammerstein IIs 1943 musical update. Though it has a new script, performed in Spanish, the tone recalls classic mid-century Broadway musicals. The show leaps briskly from hit songs to shimmying chorus numbers, the tireless dancers going from cigar-waving factory girls to a fantasy Havana nightclub. Tom Pipers fine set is a pillared courtyard suggesting decayed grandeur, but adapting quickly for different locations. Renshaw and co-writers Stephen Clark and Norge Espinosa Mendoza move the action to Cuba in 1958, where hero Jose serves in Batistas army while the rebels gather strength in the hills. Theres a new narrator, La Senora, who sets the scene and evokes Cubas santeria religion a clunky device, though Albita Rodriguez makes up for it with gutsy singing. Theres also an emphasis on misogynist culture, surely designed to emphasise Carmens independence and rebellion, but featuring too many sour jeers at her sexuality. 'Carmen la Cubana' at Sadlers Wells (Nilz Boehme) Luna Manzanares Nardo makes a seductive, powerful Carmen, with a smoky-toned voice and body language that radiates authority. Though the production gives her a prod towards self-sacrifice, her proud bearing underlines this Carmens need for freedom, her refusal to give way before Joses possessive violence. Saeed Mohamed Valdes sweet-voiced Jose shows the characters petulance as well as his ardour. Played by an onstage band, the musical arrangements by Lacamoire and Edgar Vero put new twists on Bizets celebrated score. The changes range from a light twist of colour to more radical shifts of rhythm, playful and unexpected. One of the most successful is "The Toreador Song", given fresh swagger. It also benefits from Joaquin Garcia Mejias, who sings with big, golden tone and carries himself with beaming presence, accepting onstage adoration as his natural due. The large cast move easily from song to movement, erupting into Roclan Gonzalez Chavezs explosive choreography. The dances include period social steps and acrobatic moves. Theyre a charismatic company, with supporting roles given charm and individuality. Until 18 August. Box office 020 7863 8000 Jennifer Aniston said she has been treated worse by some women than men in Hollywood, when asked about the #Me Too movement against sexual harassment and assault. The actress argued that men needed to be involved more in the debates that arose last October, after a series of sexual misconduct allegations were made against powerful men in Hollywood and a number of other industries. "Ive definitely had some sloppy moves made on me by other actors and I handled it by walking away," she said in an interview for the September issue of InStyle. "Ive never had anyone in a position of power make me feel uncomfortable and leverage that over me. In my personal experience, Ive been treated worse verbally and energetically by some women in this industry." Nevertheless, the Friends actress argued that the #MeToo movement is "long overdue." "But we also need to be better at listening to one anotherthat includes men. They need to be part of this conversation, the 49-year-old said in the interview with Molly McNearney, who is married to Jimmy Kimmel and is a friend of Aniston's. Aniston said she had received her "fair share of sexism in the media." "Women are picked apart and pitted against one another based on looks and clothing and superficial stuff. When a couple breaks up in Hollywood, its the woman who is scorned," she said. The woman is left sad and alone. Shes the failure. F that. When was the last time you read about a divorced, childless man referred to as a spinster?" Aniston has frequently been subject to tabloid magazines speculating about whether her decision not to have children stemmed from heartbreak over a divorce to fellow actor Brad Pitt in 2005 or because she was"committed to a career". The actress argued the "reckless accusations" were hurtful because "maybe [her] purpose on this planet isn't to procreate". Access unlimited streaming of movies and TV shows with Amazon Prime Video Sign up now for a 30-day free trial Sign up She said she had tried to remain "poised and balanced" while some areas of the press endeavoured to tell her story on her behalf. Aniston argued the assumptions about her were cast while being devoid of any real knowledge of her life. Challenging tabloid reports, Aniston insisted she was not heartbroken since splitting from second husband Justin Theroux in February. It's pretty crazy. The misconceptions are Jen can't keep a man, and Jen refuses to have a baby because she's selfish and committed to her career. Or that I'm sad and heartbroken," she said. "First, with all due respect, I'm not heartbroken. And second, those are reckless assumptions. No one knows what's going on behind closed doors. No one considers how sensitive that might be for my partner and me. "They don't know what I've been through medically or emotionally. Maybe my purpose on this planet isn't to procreate. Maybe I have other things I'm supposed to do?" Becoming the first trillion-dollar company is "not the most important measure" of Apple's success, Tim Cook has said. Apple finally broke through the record this week, after months of speculation about when the moment would come. It came off the back of a run of positive results, which pushed its share price over the all-important though mostly meaningless record. Mr Cook said that the huge market value was simply a result of the way that the company focused on its products, customers and company values. iPhone X on sale across the world: in pictures Show all 15 1 /15 iPhone X on sale across the world: in pictures iPhone X on sale across the world: in pictures iPhone X Launch People try the Animoji feature on iPhone X during its launch at the Apple store in Singapore Reuters iPhone X on sale across the world: in pictures iPhone X Launch Apple staff congratulate customers as they are of the first to enter Apple's Regent Street store AFP/Getty Images iPhone X on sale across the world: in pictures iPhone X Launch People queue outside Apple's Regent Street store AFP/Getty Images iPhone X on sale across the world: in pictures iPhone X Launch The new iPhone X EPA iPhone X on sale across the world: in pictures iPhone X Launch Customers line up to buy the new iPhone X in Hong Kong AP iPhone X on sale across the world: in pictures iPhone X Launch Customers sleep, while in line, before purchasing the iphone X in Australia Rex Features iPhone X on sale across the world: in pictures iPhone X Launch People queue outside Apple's Regent Street store in central London AFP/Getty Images iPhone X on sale across the world: in pictures iPhone X Launch Customers queue at Dubai Mall EPA iPhone X on sale across the world: in pictures iPhone X Launch Customers wait in line in Tokyo Getty Images iPhone X on sale across the world: in pictures iPhone X Launch A man gestures as he holds an iPhone X in Sydney EPA iPhone X on sale across the world: in pictures iPhone X Launch Customers wait outside an Apple store at Dubai Mall EPA iPhone X on sale across the world: in pictures iPhone X Launch Customers queue outside an Apple store in Dubai EPA iPhone X on sale across the world: in pictures iPhone X Launch The first purchasers of the iPhone X show off their boxed phones in Sydney EPA iPhone X on sale across the world: in pictures iPhone X Launch Dozens of customers queue as they wait to buy the new iPhone X in Cologne EPA iPhone X on sale across the world: in pictures iPhone X Launch Customers queue at the Apple store Schildergasse in Cologne EPA In a memo to Apple's more than 120,000 employees that was seen by Reuters, Cook called the valuation a "significant milestone" that gave the company "much to be proud of." But he said it should not be the Cupertino, California, company's focus. Recommended Everything we know about the new iPhone "Financial returns are simply the result of Apple's innovation, putting our products and customers first, and always staying true to our values," Cook said in the memo. With a closing price of $207.39 on Thursday, Apple became the first publicly listed U.S. company to ever reach $1 trillion in market capitalization. Apple's stock market value is greater than the combined capitalization of Exxon Mobil, Procter & Gamble and AT&T. It now accounts for 4 percent of the S&P 500. Cook had not previously publicly commented on the company's $1 trillion valuation. Apple was founded in the late 1970s by Steve Jobs and went public in 1980 after helping usher in the era of the personal computer. One of three founders, Jobs was driven out of Apple in the mid-1980s, only to return a decade later and rescue the computer company from near bankruptcy. In the two decades since, Apple has risen to become the most valuable company in the world by helping popularize yet another era in computing, the smart phone. The iPhone, introduced by Jobs in 2007, has sold more than one billion units. In his memo, Cook referred back to Jobs, who died in 2011. "Steve founded Apple on the belief that the power of human creativity can solve even the biggest challenges a and that the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do," Cook wrote in the memo. "Just as Steve always did in moments like this, we should all look forward to Apple's bright future and the great work we'll do together." Additional reporting by Reuters Saudi Arabian Oil Co. reduced monthly pricing to most markets as the worlds biggest oil exporter boosts supply to meet customer demand. As Bloomberg writes in the article Saudi Arabia Cuts Oil Pricing as It Boosts Supply to Meet Demand, Saudi Aramco, as the state-owned company is known, cut pricing for September shipments of all grades to Asia, its largest market. Aramco set the premium for Arab Light crude to Asia at $1.20 a barrel above the Middle East benchmark, it said Thursday in an emailed price list. The reduction of 70 cents for Arab Light was the second consecutive monthly cut for the grade and was 10 cents deeper than the median estimate of five traders in a Bloomberg survey. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries boosted output in July, led by near-record production from Saudi Arabia, while Russia pumped at levels not seen since it joined the groups effort last year to make coordinated global cuts. OPEC and its partners agreed in June to increase production, with the Saudi and Russian energy ministers saying it would add about 1 million barrels a day to the market. Aramco also cut September pricing for all grades to Northwest Europe and the Mediterranean. It raised all pricing to the U.S. Benchmark Brent crude fell 39 cents to $72 a barrel at 1:30 p.m. in London. Middle Eastern producers compete with cargoes from Latin America, North Africa, Russia and increasingly the U.S. for buyers in Asia. Companies in the Persian Gulf region sell mostly under long-term contracts to refiners. Most of the Gulfs state oil producers price their crude at a premium or discount to a benchmark. For Asia, the benchmark is the average of Oman and Dubai oil grades. By setting its official selling prices, or OSPs, either higher or lower from month to month, Aramco signals how strong or weak it views demand globally. Cutting prices can be seen as an indication that a country wants to supply more crude. The Saudi pricing is the first of the monthly releases by state oil companies in the region and most producers usually follow the kingdoms lead. Royal Bank of Scotland said on Friday that it will resume its dividend, paying out 2p per share to investors, subject to a $4.9bn (3.8bn) settlement with the US Department of Justice. The banks decision means the UK government, which owns 62 per cent of the lender after bailing it out during the financial crisis, will receive 150m. The group reported profit of 2bn for the six months to 30 June, down from 2.1bn in the same period of last year. However, profit for the second quarter was 96m, significantly ahead of analysts expectations of a 741m loss. Ross McEwan, RBS chief executive, said: We are pleased with the progress weve made in the first half of 2018 and see these as a good set of results in a more uncertain and highly competitive environment. We are also pleased to announce an intention to pay our first dividend in ten years, subject to a final settlement with the DoJ. RBS reached a legal settlement with the US in May, bringing an end to a long-running probe into the banks role in mis-selling mortgage-backed securities ahead of the 2008 financial crisis. Commenting on the settlement, David Madden, analyst at CMC Markets, said: Now that it appears that the dark cloud has lifted over the bank, investor sentiment could flourish. The settlement allowed the government to begin selling off its stake in RBS, although Labour criticised the Treasurys decision to offload a 7.7 per cent stake for 2.5bn representing a 2bn discount to the purchase price. However, Mr Madden said that while Westminster is still a major shareholder in the bank, at least its trimming its position. The share sale sends out a positive message about the financial health of the bank and the sooner it returns to private ownership, the sooner it can behave like a more capitalist company, he added. Meanwhile, RBS announced earlier this year that it will close 162 branches and cut hundreds of jobs across the UK, following a review of its NatWest and RBS networks. On Friday, Mr McEwan said: Our sector is undergoing significant change and we are positioning ourselves well to compete. We still have a lot more to do to achieve our ambition of being the best bank for customers in the UK and Republic of Ireland. However, with our major legacy issues largely behind us, we are able to fully focus on closing this gap. Shares in the bank were up 2.5 per cent in early trading. Elon Musk wants to go and live on Mars and he is not going to let new scientific findings stop him. The SpaceX and Tesla founder's dreams of terraforming and colonising Mars appeared to have come crashing to a halt this week, when scientists revealed a detailed study making clear there would not be enough carbon dioxide to create the atmosphere needed for humans. But Mr Musk has once again denied the findings of qualified experts and suggested that the new paper does not undermine his plan to go and live on the red planet. He is one of the many people to suggest that we need to look to live on Mars and that to do so we may have to terraform the planet by dropping a thermonuclear weapon onto it. Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Show all 30 1 /30 Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Solar Flare An image from Nasa's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) shows a 200,000 mile long solar filament ripping through the Sun's corona in September 2013 Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Nasa Celebrates 50 Years of Spacewalking For 50 years, NASA has been "suiting up" for spacewalking. In this 1984 photograph of the first untethered spacewalk, NASA astronaut Bruce McCandless is in the midst of the first "field" tryout of a nitrogen-propelled backpack device called the Manned Maneuvering Unit (MMU) Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space A Hubble Cosmic Couple The spectacular cosmic pairing of the star Hen 2-427 more commonly known as WR 124 and the nebula M1-67 which surrounds it ESA/Hubble & NASA Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Veil Nebula Supernova Remnant Nasa's Hubble Space Telescope has unveiled in stunning detail a small section of the Veil Nebula - expanding remains of a massive star that exploded about 8,000 years ago Nasa's most stunning pictures of space The Soyuz TMA-15M rocket launch The Soyuz TMA-15M rocket launches from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Monday, Nov. 24, 2014, carrying three new astronauts to the International Space Station. It also took caviar, ready for the satellite's inhabitants to celebrate the holidays Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Earth from the ISS From the International Space Station, Expedition 42 Flight Engineer Terry W. Virts took this photograph of the Gulf of Mexico and U.S. Gulf Coast at sunset Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Black Hole Friday Nasa celebrated Black Friday by looking into space instead sharing pictures of black holes Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space NuSTAR X-rays stream off the sun in this image showing observations from by NASA's Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array, or NuSTAR, overlaid on a picture taken by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Cassiopeia A c A false colour image of Cassiopeia A comprised with data from the Spitzer and Hubble Space Telescopes and the Chandra X-Ray observatory Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Orion Capsule splashes down The Orion capsule jetted off into space before heading back a few hours later having proved that it can be used, one day, to carry humans to Mars Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Earth Observations From Gemini IV in 1965 This photograph of the Florida Straits and Grand Bahama Bank was taken during the Gemini IV mission during orbit no. 19 in 1965. The Gemini IV crew conducted scientific experiments, including photography of Earth's weather and terrain, for the remainder of their four-day mission following Ed White's historic spacewalk on June 3 Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Frosty slopes of Mars This image of an area on the surface of Mars, approximately 1.5 by 3 kilometers in size, shows frosted gullies on a south-facing slope within a crater. The image was taken by Nasa's HiRISE camera, which is mounted on its Mars Reconaissance Orbiter Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Yellowstone from space NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman shared this image of Yellowstone via his twitter account Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Saturn This near-infrared color image shows a specular reflection, or sunglint, off of a hydrocarbon lake named Kivu Lacus on Saturn's moon Titan Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Worlds Apart Although Mimas and Pandora, shown here, both orbit Saturn, they are very different moons. Pandora, "small" by moon standards (50 miles or 81 kilometers across) is elongated and irregular in shape. Mimas (246 miles or 396 kilometers across), a "medium-sized" moon, formed into a sphere due to self-gravity imposed by its higher mass Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Solar Flare An X1.6 class solar flare flashes in the middle of the sun in this image taken 10 September, captured by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Large Magellanic Cloud galaxy An image of the Large Magellanic Cloud galaxy seen in infrared light by the Herschel Space Observatory. Regions of space such as this are where new stars are born from a mixture of elements and cosmic dust Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Mars Rover Spirit Nasa's Mars Rover Spirit took the first picture from Spirit since problems with communications began a week earlier. The image shows the robotic arm extended to the rock called Adirondack Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Morning Aurora From the Space Station Nasa astronaut Scott Kelly captured this photograph of the green lights of the aurora from the International Space Station Nasa/Scott Kelly Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Launch of History - Making STS-41G Mission in 1984 The Space Shuttle Challenger launches from Florida at dawn. On this mission, Kathryn Sullivan became the first U.S. woman to perform a spacewalk and Marc Garneau became the first Canadian in space. The crew of seven was the largest to fly on a spacecraft at that time, and STS-41G was the first flight to include two female astronauts Nasa's most stunning pictures of space A Fresh Perspective on an Extraordinary Cluster of Galaxies Galaxy clusters are often described by superlatives. After all, they are huge conglomerations of galaxies, hot gas, and dark matter and represent the largest structures in the Universe held together by gravity Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Hubble Sees a Galactic Sunflower The arrangement of the spiral arms in the galaxy Messier 63, seen here in an image from the Nasa Hubble Space Telescope, recall the pattern at the center of a sunflower ESA/Hubble & NASA Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Pluto image Four images from New Horizons Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI) were combined with colour data from the Ralph instrument to create this enhanced colour global view of Pluto Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Fresh Crater Near Sirenum Fossae Region of Mars The HiRISE camera aboard Nasa's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter acquired this closeup image of a "fresh" (on a geological scale, though quite old on a human scale) impact crater in the Sirenum Fossae region of Mars. This impact crater appears relatively recent as it has a sharp rim and well-preserved ejecta Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Hubble Peers into the Most Crowded Place in the Milky Way This Nasa Hubble Space Telescope image presents the Arches Cluster, the densest known star cluster in the Milky Way NASA & ESA Nasa's most stunning pictures of space An Astronaut's View from Space Nasa astronaut Reid Wiseman tweeted this photo from the International Space Station on 2 September 2014 Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Giant Landform on Mars On Mars, we can observe four classes of sandy landforms formed by the wind, or aeolian bedforms: ripples, transverse aeolian ridges, dunes, and what are called draa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Expedition 39 Landing A sokol suit helmet can be seen against the window of the Soyuz TMA-11M capsule shortly after the spacecraft landed with Expedition 39 Commander Koichi Wakata of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), Soyuz Commander Mikhail Tyurin of Roscosmos, and Flight Engineer Rick Mastracchio of NASA near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan (NASA/Bill Ingalls) Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Jupiter's Great Red Spot Viewed by Voyager I Jupiter is the largest planet in the solar system and perhaps the most majestic. Vibrant bands of clouds carried by winds that can exceed 400 mph continuously circle the planet's atmosphere Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Chandra Observatory Sees a Heart in the Darkness This Chandra X-Ray Observatory image of the young star cluster NGC 346 highlights a heart-shaped cloud of 8 million-degree Celsius gas in the central region The new paper, published in Nature Astronomy, looked to find whether there was enough carbon dioxide in the various pockets that have been identified on Mars to terraform the planet and give it a new atmosphere that could support us. It found that there was far from enough only a fiftieth of what is needed, and would only be able to raise the surface temperature by less than 10 degrees Celsius, the authors wrote. Recommended Elon Musk Twitter impersonators purged after bitcoin scam But Mr Musk said that the findings of the study were wrong and that there was more carbon dioxide waiting on Mars than the researchers had realised. "Theres a massive amount of CO2 on Mars adsorbed into soil thatd be released upon heating," Mr Musk wrote. "With enough energy via artificial or natural (sun) fusion, you can terraform almost any large, rocky body." After being questioned over that claim, Mr Musk linked to a 1993 research paper that explored the possibilities of creating an Earth-like environment on Mars. Someone claiming to be an author on that paper then joined the conversation, to suggest that Mr Musk is right and that Mars could still be terraformed using carbon dioxide from the soil. Scientists expect to learn much more about the soil, water and carbon dioxide on Mars in coming years, as yet more spacecraft head to the red planet. Leading British scientists, including two Nobel prize winners, have backed The Independents call for a referendum on the final Brexit deal, as the number of people signing the Final Say petition surged past 500,000. With the prospect of a no-deal Brexit looming, the scientists have joined a variety of politicians and organisations in supporting the case for a public decision on the final deal. Sir Paul Nurse, the Nobel prize winning geneticist; Sir Fraser Stoddart, a Nobel winning chemist; astronomer royal Lord Martin Rees; and renowned microbiologist Dame Anne Glover are among those backing the campaign. I am very concerned about what happens to research not just science but research in its broadest sense if we leave with a chaotic Brexit, with a no-deal scenario, said Dame Anne, the president of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. Recommended The British people must be given a final say on the Brexit deal Sir Paul Nurse, director of the Francis Crick Institute, agreed that a second vote on the terms of the deal is now necessary. Its essential we know there was misinformation and that people didnt understand the complexity, he said. We send the [European] Commission X and we get back from the Commission X plus Y ... it is the only part of the EU budget where we as a country make a profit. The estimates are that its in excess of 500m a year and it may be as much as 1bn. I think its wonderful that The Independent has put its head above the parapet and come out with this petition Sir Fraser Stoddart, Nobel Prize-winning chemist The backing of leading scientists follows that of the British Medical Association, which represents more than 160,000 doctors, and the National Union of Students, which represents 4.3 million students across the country, which have both signed up to the Final Say campaign. While science has taken a back seat in the public debate around Brexit, which has focused on topics like the economy and immigration, it is one of the areas that stands to lose most. Polling conducted by the Campaign for Science and Engineering (CaSE) in 2015 suggested more than 90 per cent of scientists agreed that EU membership is a major benefit to UK science and engineering. The Independents campaign, launched last Wednesday, is intended to appeal to both sides of the debate and hopes to win for the British people the right to make the final decision on the Brexit deal. Dame Anne said that when the first referendum took place people had no idea what Britain would look like outside the EU. 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 I think that was very unfair for voters, she said. There was so much misinformation that in order to safeguard the democratic process people should be able to have a vote on what is now apparent about leaving the EU. Astronomer royal and former Royal Society president Lord Martin Rees said if there is a substantial shift in public opinion there is indeed a case for a second referendum. Chemist Sir Fraser Stoddart added his voice in support of the campaign, which he hopes will bring some sense to the lunacy that currently pervades both major political parties. I think its wonderful that The Independent has put its head above the parapet and come out with this petition, he said. Theresa May has vowed to retain the UKs status as a world leader in research, but many are not convinced. There are lots of parts of our future economy that we were told would do just as well as now or even better but it has become clear since then that not all of those guarantees to keep things going stand, said Dr Mike Galsworthy, medical researcher and co-founder of Scientists for EU. Whether that is guaranteeing our full participation in the EU science programme or [nuclear agency] Euratom or all the investment structures like the European investment bank. One of the biggest issues is money, as a considerable chunk of the UKs research funding comes from programmes like the EUs flagship Horizon 2020 project. Whats most important is to be able to have at least 15 different nationalities in a large research group thats the way we do science, we do it at a global level, Sir Fraser said. Science is a family. They can shove 10 times the amount of money at the very narrow cultural situation in Britain that will evolve and they will still not succeed because many people, the very best people, will leave. The governments chief scientific adviser Dr Patrick Vallance has previously stated that if you want to be a successful country scientifically you have to be international, you cannot be parochial. Researchers have warned that by introducing barriers to top talent and participation in international study groups, British science will suffer. Polling by trade union Prospect showed nearly 70 per cent of EU scientists in the UK are thinking of leaving after Brexit. That is clearly a significant percentage, but what is particularly on our minds is that percentage has gone up consistently since the referendum which shows that all the government statements and ambitions so far have not resolved the uncertainty our members are feeling, said Prospects deputy general secretary Sue Ferns. Brexit: 10 of the most ridiculous headlines Show all 10 1 /10 Brexit: 10 of the most ridiculous headlines Brexit: 10 of the most ridiculous headlines The Sun, March 9 2016 This wholly false headline merited the first ruling by IPSO (the press regulator) under clause 1 of the revised Editor's Code of Practice. Clause 1 makes specific reference to newspapers printing "headlines not supported by the text" Brexit: 10 of the most ridiculous headlines Daily Mail, November 4 2016 In perhaps the most notorious front page of the past few years, the Mail derides the High Court judges who ruled that parliament must have a vote on whether to trigger article 50 and start the Brexit process Brexit: 10 of the most ridiculous headlines Daily Express, November 4 2016 In the Express' take on the same story, they manage to incorporate the Union Jack, allude to First World War propaganda, invoke memories of Churchill and, of course, state "Brexit means Brexit" Brexit: 10 of the most ridiculous headlines The Sun, March 29 2017 The Sun marked the day on which Mrs May triggered article 50 by projecting a huge and terrible pun on to the Cliffs of Dover Brexit: 10 of the most ridiculous headlines The Sun, April 4 2017 Referencing their notorious eurosceptic headline from 1990 (See: Up Yours Delors), the Sun stokes the flames of the brief Gibraltar dispute, a dispute in which Spain, the supposed aggressors, only joined to note that there was "no need for it" Brexit: 10 of the most ridiculous headlines Daily Mail, April 19 2017 This headline followed Mrs May's snap election announcement, which gave the Mail hope that dissenting opinions on Brexit would disappear Brexit: 10 of the most ridiculous headlines Daily Mail, December 14 2017 In recent months, the Mail has often forgone catchy headlines in favour of rambling rants, this is an early example aimed at Tory Brexit rebels Brexit: 10 of the most ridiculous headlines Daily Mail, January 31 2018 This headline (?) takes aim at the Lords over their repeated amendments to the EU Withdrawal Bill Brexit: 10 of the most ridiculous headlines The Sun, June 12 2018 On the day that the EU Withdrawal Bill is to be debated in the Commons, the Sun offers two choices to MPs, desperately including all conceivable imagery that might make Brits feel patriotic, which apparently includes the Loch Ness Monster Brexit: 10 of the most ridiculous headlines Daily Express, June 12 2018 On the same day, the Express lets MPs know what the consequences of the vote may be This is in part why the union, which represents more than 140,000 scientists, engineers and other specialists, has decided to back a second referendum. I expect that the woman or the man in the street thinks who the hell cares, its just research, it doesnt really bother me, said Dame Anne. But it should bother every one of us. If there is a no-deal Brexit, the UKs ability to collaborate with with European colleagues will be severely diminished if not completely cut off, at least for a short period of time, she added. We are very good at research and we quite rightly have a good international reputation, but if you look at where our high impact work is it is work done in collaboration with our partners in the EU. Sir Paul said: Science is exceedingly important to society as a whole. Driving the economy, improving quality if life, protecting health, protecting the environment all of these are public needs. We are introducing barriers to attracting high-quality people because the present visa system for outside the EU is utterly unsuited for purpose. We are seen by the rest of the scientific world as turning in on ourselves. The whole Brexit business has alienated the intellectual young in the country and I think that has been completely underestimated. Nasa has revealed the astronauts who will ride the first commercial capsules into space, with both SpaceX and Boeing hoping for a test flight of their pods by the end of this year or in early 2019. At a ceremony at Nasas Manned Spacecraft Centre in Houston, Texas, the US space agency showed off the nine individuals who will work with two commercial projects. Having an opportunity to introduce you to these American heroes is unique, said Nasa adminstrator Jim Bridenstine. Boeings first Starliner crew will include a former Nasa astronaut who commanded the last shuttle flight in 2011, Chris Ferguson, who is now a Boeing employee. The four other commercial crew members Eric Boe, Nicole Mann,Josh Cassada and Suni Williams are still with NASA. Meanwhile, SpaceXs demo mission 2 aboard its Crew Dragon spacecraft, which is targeted to launch in April 2019, will carry Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley. The first post-certification mission will be crewed by Victor Glover and Mike Hopkins. This is the stuff of dreams, said Mr Glover. In 2014, Boeing and SpaceX were awarded a combined $6.8bn in contracts from Nasa to develop spacecraft capable of flying crews to the station, the orbiting laboratory. Since 2011, the US had been relying on Russia for catching a ride. Before the event in Houston, Mr Bridenstine said it was an historic moment for the agency: We are going to launch American astronauts from American soil. Thats a big deal. NASAs New Planet Hunter: TESS The Washington Post said Gwynne Shotwell, the president of SpaceX told the crews on Friday: What a sacred honour this was to be part of this programme and to fly you. Thank you. We take it very seriously. We wont let you down. While SpaceX said it intended to start flying the crews by April of next year, Boeing has said only that it would fly Nasas astronauts by the middle of next year This is just the beginning of daring missions that this country is embarking upon, said Mark Geyer, director of the Johnson Space Centre. Its an exciting time for human space flight and an exciting time for our nation. A teenager who planned an Isis-inspired terror attack in London after being prevented from joining the terrorist group in Syria has been jailed for life. Safaa Boular was just 16 when she started the plot, and she is the youngest woman to be convicted of attempting an atrocity in Britain. She was jailed for a minimum of 13 years at the Old Bailey after a judge said she had been old enough to make her own decisions and still posed a high risk of harm to the public. Boular had discussed using guns and grenades to attack potential targets including the British Museum with her online boyfriend, who was an Isis fighter from Coventry. She originally hoped to marry Naweed Hussain in Raqqa but was prevented from travelling to the Isis stronghold by police, and became even more determined to carry out the atrocity after learning the 32-year-old been killed in an airstrike. Judge Mark Dennis QC said there was no proof of claims by the defence that Boular, now 18, had been deradicalised and no longer considered herself a Muslim. In my view theres insufficient evidence to say at this stage this defendant is a truly transformed individual ... her views were deeply entrenched, he told the court. However much she may have been influenced and drawn into her extremist mindset, it is apparent that she knew what she was doing and acted with open eyes. Safaa Boular, 18, plotted to launch a terror attack in Britain after being prevented from joining Isis in Syria (Metropolitan Police) Boular denied two counts of preparing acts of terrorism, by expressing intent to carry out a suicide attack for Isis in Syria, and then by plotting an atrocity in Britain, but was convicted in June. Judge Dennis said that it was only circumstance outside her control that have prevented the atrocities and said Boular was deeply committed to Isis ideology. Prosecutors had called for Boular to be jailed for life with a minimum term of 15 years, telling the Old Bailey she would have committed an attack if she were able to acquire weapons. But Joel Bennathan QC, for the defence, said the teenager had been groomed and radicalised by Hussain and others online and there was no real risk of her carrying out a terror attack because of stringent surveillance. Boulars plans were disrupted when she was charged with her earlier attempt to travel to Syria in April 2017, so she passed the torch to her older sister Rizlaine Boular. She and their mother, Mina Dich, have already been jailed for plotting a knife attack in Westminster, which they discussed with Boular over the phone from prison in code as an Alice in Wonderland-themed tea party. Metropolitan Police Deputy Assistant Commissioner Dean Haydon, the senior national coordinator for counterterrorism policing, said: All three women were filled with hate and toxic ideology and were determined to carry out a terrorist attack. Had they been successful, it could well have resulted in people being killed or seriously injured. But thanks to the work of the security services and counter terrorism police, their plans never came to fruition. Jailing Rizlaine Boular and Dich in June, Judge Dennis said the mother had played a significant role in radicalising both her daughters and bore a heavy responsibility for their actions. Rizlaine Boular first tried to join Isis in Syria in October 2014 but was stopped by Turkish police and sent home, and two years later prosecutors said her younger sister had developed an extremist mindset and commitment of her own. Naweed Hussain, a 32-year-old Isis fighter from Coventry, began a relationship with Safaa Boular when she was 16 and was later killed in an airstrike in Syria (Metropolitan Police) Boular was stopped by police as she returned from a family holiday in Morocco in August 2016 and investigation of her phone showed she had been viewing Isis propaganda, social media posts by the groups female members and training videos. When questioned, the teenager admitted having a network of up to 400 online friends from Isis, including a relationship established on Twitter with female Isis recruiter Umm Isa Al-Amriki when she was 15. After Boular told police she wanted to travel to Syria and marry Hussain, officers seized her passport and searched her family home but did not arrest her. But she and her sister were arrested just two days later after fleeing their home and being reported missing, but were released on bail. Recommended Woman who let friend practice for Isis terror attack at home jailed Although Boular was repeatedly brought back in for questioning, she continued to contact Hussain using a secret phone hidden inside a cushion and was not detained until April 2017. But spies had already intercepted Boulars conversations on the encrypted messaging app Telegram by posing as Isis operatives, having monitored her since she was stopped at Stansted Airport. Phone records show Boular and Hussain declared their love for each other when she was just 16 after two months of online conversations. They discussed departing the world holding hands wearing suicide belts and murdering Barack Obama, with Boular telling him: I want Jannah [paradise after death] so bad. The couple tried to marry on Skype in August 2016 but could not find anyone to perform the ceremony, but Boulars family considered her a widow after his death. Boular claimed during her trial that Hussain had groomed her, telling the jury she refused his three attempts to get her to attack the UK over Christmas 2016, Valentines Day and around her birthday in March last year. Rizlaine Boular, 22, took over her sisters terror plot after she was arrested and charged (Metropolitan Police) But prosecutors said that while Hussain who attempted to recruit other British women online had undoubtedly done much to encourage Boular in these plans, the intention underlying those plans was always hers. Her commitment to violence in the cause of Islamic extremism in general and Isis in particular was independent of him, Duncan Atkinson QC told the Old Bailey. After Boular learned Hussain had been killed in bombing on 4 April 2017 her determination was strengthened and she asked roleplayers for assistance in continuing their plan. He mentioned something about the British Museum and the tokarev [pistol] and pineapple [grenade], she told one spy. He told me that he knew brothers in the UK who were close to him, who would have dropped these off for me. Im not sure how and if I could get hold of these now ... Abu Usamah [Hussain] told me that all it takes was a car and a knife to get what I want to achieve. After Boular was detained for trying to travel to Syria on 12 April 2017, MI5 agents and counter-terror police also recorded conversations with her mother and sister that showed them taking on her bloody plans. They discussed the continued plot in code as a tea party and in one telephone call, Rizlaine Boular said she knew a few recipes for some amazing cakes for a proper like English tea party kind of thing. Boular suggested an Alice in Wonderland theme telling her sister: You can be the Mad Hatter cause your hairs crazy. Dich responded: That will be fun. Timeline: The emergence of Isis Show all 40 1 /40 Timeline: The emergence of Isis Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2000 Abu Musab al-Zarqawi (pictured here) forms an al-Qaeda splinter group in Iraq, al-Qaeda in Iraq. Its brutality from the beginning alienates Iraqis and many al-Qaeda leaders. Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2006 Al-Zarqawi is killed in a U.S. strike. Al-Zarqawis successor, Abu Ayyub al-Masri, announces the creation of the Islamic State in Iraq (ISI). Reuters Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2009 Still al-Qaeda-linked ISI claims responsibility for suicide bombings that killed 155 in Baghdad, as well as attacks in August and October killing 240, as President Obama announces troop withdrawal from Iraq in March. Getty Images Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2010 Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi becomes head of ISI, at lowest ebb of Islamist militancy in Iraq, which sees last U.S. combat brigade depart. Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2012 In Syria, protests (pictured here starting in Daree) have morphed into what president Assad labelled a real war with emergence of a coalition of forces opposed to Assads regime. Syria group Jabhat al-Nusra are among rebel groups who refuse to join, denouncing it as a conspiracy. Bombings targeting Shia areas, killing more than 500 people, spark fears of new sectarian conflict. Sunni Muslims stage protests across country against what they see as increasingly marginalisation by Shia-led government. AP Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2013 Al-Baghdadi renames ISI as the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, or Isis, as the group absorbs Syrian al-Nusra, gaining a foothold in Syria. In response, al-Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri (Bin Ladens successor) concerned about Isis expansion orders that Isis be dissolved and ISI operations should be confined to Iraq. This order is rejected by al-Baghdadi. AFP Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2014 - January Isis fighters capture the Iraqi cities of Fallujah and Ramadi, giving them base to launch slew of attacks further south. AP Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2014 - June Isis declares itself the Caliphate, calling itself Islamic State (IS). The group captures Mosul, Iraqs second largest city; Tal Afar, just 93 miles from Syrian border; and the central Iraqi city of Tikrit. These advances sent shockwaves around the world. Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2014 - June Around the same time Isis releases a video calling for western Muslims to join the Caliphate and fight, prompting new evaluations of extremists groups social media understanding. Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2014 - June Isis take Baiji oil fields in Iraq - giving them access to huge amounts of possible revenue. EPA Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2014 - August James Foley is executed by the group as concerns grow for second American prisoner, fellow reporter Steven Sotloff. AP Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2014 - August Obama authorises U.S. airstrikes in Iraq, helping to stall Isis along with action by Kurdish forces following the deaths of hundreds of Yazidi people on Mount Sinjar. Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2014 - September Isis release video showing Steven Sotloffs murder prompting Western speculation his executioner is same man who killed Mr Foley. EPA Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2014 - September Obama tells us that America will hunt down terrorists who threaten our country EPA Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2014 - September Isis release a video appearing to show David Haines, who was captured by militants in Syria in 2013, wearing an orange jumpsuit and kneeling in the desert while he reads a pre-prepared script. It later shows what appears to be the aid worker's body. Rex Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2014 - September Peshmerga fighters scrabble to hold positions in the Diyala province (a gateway to Baghdad) as Isis fighters continue to advance on Iraqi capital. AFP Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2014 - October Aid worker Alan Henning is killed. Self-imposed media blackout refuses to show images of him in final moments, instead focuses upon humanitarian care. AP Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2014 - October Isis raise their flag in Kobani, which had been strongly defended by Kurdish troops. The victory goes against hopeful western analysis Isis had overextended itself, while alienating much of the Muslim population through the murder of Henning. Victory causes fresh waves of Kurdish refugees arriving in Turkey. Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2014 - November American hostage, who embarced values of Islam, Peter Kassig and 14 Syrian soldiers are shown meeting the same fate as other captives. But intelligence agencies will be poring over the apparently significant discrepancies between this and previous films. Seramedig.org.uk Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - February Isis has released a video revealing the murder by burning to death of a Jordanian pilot held by the group since the end of December 2014. Reuters Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - February Isis militants have released videos which appear to show the beheading of Japanese hostages Haruna Yukawa and Kenji Goto. Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - February American aid worker, Kayla Mueller was the last American hostage known to be held by Isis. She died, according to her captors, in an airstrike by the Jordanian air force on the city of Raqqa in Syria, though US authorities disputed this. AP Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - February Isis militants have posted a gruesome video online in which they force 21 Egyptian Coptic Christian hostages to kneel on a beach in Libya before beheading them. Egypt vowed to avenge the beheading and launched air strikes on Isis positions. AP Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - February The British Isis militant suspected of appearing in videos showing the beheading of Western hostages has been named in reports as Mohammed Emwazi from London. Rex Features Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - March Isis triple suicide attack has killed more than 100 worshippers and hundreds of others were injured after the group members targeted two mosques in the Yemeni capital of Sanaa. AP Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - April Iraqi forces have claimed victory over Isis in battle for Tikrit and raised the flag in the city. EPA/STR Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - April Isis has claimed responsibility for a suicide bomb attack in Afghanistan that killed at least 35 people queuing to collect their wages and injured 100 more. EPA Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - April Isis media arm released a 29-minute video purporting to show militants executing Ethiopian Christians captives. The footage bore the extremist groups al-Furqan media logo and showed the destruction of churches and desecration of religious symbols. A masked fighter made a statement threatening Christians who did not convert to Islam or pay a special tax. Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - May Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of Isis has been "incapacitated" by a spinal injuries sustained in a US air strike in Iraq. He is being treated in a hideout by two doctors from Isis stronghold of Mosul who are said to be "strong ideological supporters of the group". Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - May Isis has also claimed responsibility for killing 300 of Yazidi captives, including women, children and elderly people in Iraq AP Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - May Isis attack on Prophet Mohamed cartoon contest in Texas was its first action on US soil. Two gunmen were shot and killed after launching the attack at the exhibition. Elton Simpson and Nadir Soofi have been named as the attackers at the Curtis Culwell Centre arena in Garland. Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - May Isiss deputy leader, Abu Alaa Afri, a former physics teacher who was thought to have taken charge of the deadly terrorist group, has been killed in a US-led coalition airstrike. Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - May US special forces have killed a senior Isis leader named as Abu Sayyaf in an operation aiming to capture him and his wife in Syria. Getty Images Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - May Iran-backed militias are sent to Ramadi by the Iraqi government to fight Isis militants who completed their capture of the city. Government soldiers and civilians were reportedly massacred by extremists as they took control and the army fled. Charred bodies were left littering the city streets as troops clung on to trucks speeding away from the city. Ramadi is the latest government stronghold to fall to the so-called Islamic State, despite air strikes by a US-led international coalition aiming to stop its advance in Iraq and Syria. AFP Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - May Isis rounded up civilians trapped in Palmyra and forced them to watch 20 people being executed in the historic citys ancient amphitheatre. The Unesco World Heritage site was overrun by militants, threatening the future of 2,000 year-old monuments and ruins. Thousands of Palmyras residents fled but many are still living within the city walls, while the UN human rights office in Geneva said it had received reports of Syrian government forces preventing people from leaving until they retreated from the city. Getty Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - May A group of Isis-affiliated fighters have captured a key airport in central Libya. The militants took control of the al-Qardabiya airbase in Sirte after a local militia tasked with defending the facility withdrew from their positions. Affiliates of Isis, already control large parts of Sirte, the birthplace of former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi and a former stronghold of his supporters. Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - June The US Air Force has destroyed an Isis stronghold after an extremist let slip their location on social media. According the Air Force Times, General Herbert "Hawk" Carlisle, commander of Air Combat Command, said that Airmen at Hulburt Field, Florida, used images shared by jihadists to track the location of their headquarters before destroying it in an airstrike. Reuters Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - June Kurdish forces captured a key military base in a significant victory in Raqqa as well as town of Tell Abyad. YPG fighters, backed by US-led airstrikes and other rebels, consolidated their gains, when they seized the key town on the Syria-Turkey border. They are now just 30 miles to the north of Raqqa and have cut off a major supply route deep inside Isis-held territory. Ahmet Silk/Getty Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - June Isis has released gruesome footage claiming to show the murder of more than a dozen men by drowning, decapitation and using a rocket-propelled grenade as it seeks to boost morale among its fanatical supporters. Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - June Isis has begun carrying out its threat to destroy structures in the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra, blowing up at least two monuments at the Unesco-protected site as Syrian government troops made advances on the Islamists positions. AFP Prosecutors said the conversations suggested the attack would have taken place on 27 April 2017, with Rizlaine Boular and her mother buying knives and driving around Westminster landmarks on a reconnaissance mission. They were arrested on that evening, after surveillance showed Rizlaine Boular had been practicing knife attacks with her friend, and armed police shot her as she screamed f*** you. Police uncovered a collection of Isis and al-Qaeda propaganda on devices belonging to the 22-year-old and her mother, including from jailed radical preacher Anjem Choudary. The pair pleaded guilty to preparation of terrorist acts, while friend Khawla Barghouthi, 21, admitted failing to alert authorities to the plot. It was foiled on the day Taliban bomb-maker Khalid Ali was arrested while walking towards the Houses of Parliament with three knives to deliver a message in an unrelated attack. Security services have been foiling terror plots at a rate of one a month since the Westminster attack in March 2017, and a record number of terror arrests are being made as the UKs threat level remains at severe. A farm where workers inflicted a string of torments on animals is a supplier to one of Britains biggest abattoirs that sells meat to major wholesalers. It also sells pigs to a local butcher prompting campaigners to say the footage proves it is a myth that locally bred meat means higher welfare. Video taken at the Bedfordshire farm revealed a litany of abuse that broke welfare regulations including: A worker swinging a tiny piglet by one leg and smashing its head against a wall Piglets teeth being clipped off without pain relief Pigs being illegally and repeatedly shocked with an electric prod in their sides and neck A piglet left frothing at the mouth on a pile of corpses Dozens of dead piglets littering the floor of the farrowing (birthing) shed as well as live piglets trapped in crates with dead siblings Pigs crammed into barren pens so small they are forced to lie on each other in the heatwave At least one creature suffering from a tumour or hernia Animal-welfare investigators uncovered the breaches of regulations at Rosebury Farm in Dunstable, Bedfordshire, which had passed five Red Tractor inspections this year including one last month all of which the farm had been alerted to in advance. Recommended Footage of wounded pigs raises questions over Red Tractor scheme But an unannounced inspection took place lafter the activists, from Animal Equality, disclosed the footage. The farm was then suspended. The activists' evidence showed how when piglets were slammed against a wall one continued to kick for at least 10 seconds, suggesting it died in extreme pain. Last month The Independent revealed how animals at a farm that had been inspected and authorised by Red Tractor officials were found to be suffering from painful, infected injuries. The practice of using an electric prod is restricted to extreme circumstances only under law. At Rosebury Farm in Dunstable workers were filmed using an electric prod to load pigs onto a lorry heading to an abattoir. The investigators trailed one lorry load of pigs from the farm to Cheale Meats in Essex, a slaughterhouse that supplies the biggest wholesalers in the UK. It is believed meat from Cheale ends up in major supermarkets. Another lorry went from the farm to Evans & Son, a traditional butchers in Bedfordshire that boasts of selling only local meat. Many consumers mistakenly believe that buying meat from a local butcher or farmers market means the animals had a better life. Toni Shephard Dr Toni Shephard, executive director of Animal Equality, said the investigation showed it was not true that local butchers or farmers' markets guaranteed better welfare. Animals were crammed in so tightly they were forced to lie on each other in soaring temperatures (Animal Equality / YouTube) She said: The sound of piglets heads being smashed against the wall, the cries of agony as their tiny teeth are clipped, and the terrified squeals of pigs being forced onto the slaughter truck with electric shocks could all be straight out of a horror film. Yet these harrowing scenes are from the much romanticised local, family farm producing British pork under the Red Tractor label. "Its time consumers were told the truth - labels and certificates do not prevent animals from suffering in the meat industry, but choosing from the ever-increasing selection of meat-free options will. Recommended Elephants poked with pointed sticks for UK tourists at Indian resort Veterinary expert Professor Andrew Knight from the University of Winchesters Centre for Animal Welfare also viewed the footage and confirmed that it showed inhumane handling and killing of piglets as well as excessive and inappropriate use of an electric prod likely to cause pain and fear. He said it was great to see the farm lose its Red Tractor accreditation "although other farms that have lost this have had it returned shortly afterwards." Amelia Womack, deputy leader of the Green Party, said the evidence showed self-regulation does not work and pre-announced inspections dont work. Animal Equality handed all its footage to Red Tractor and the governments Animal and Plant Health Agency. Recommended Pigs reared for supermarket Parma ham kept in squalid conditions The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs' code of conduct states: No person shall use excessive force to control animals...No person shall use any instrument which is capable of inflicting an electric shock to control any animal. It adds: The prohibition above shall not apply to the use of any instrument on the hindquarters of adult pigs which are refusing to move forward when there is space for them to do so, but the use of any such instrument shall be avoided as far as possible. Red Tractor chiefs say the scheme ensures food has been responsibly produced to some of the most comprehensive and respected standards in the world. A rigorous program of farm audits means that every farm that is Red Tractor-assured will receive a regular independent assessment to check that the animal welfare standards on farm match the requirements of the scheme, it claims. Jim Moseley, Red Tractors chief executive, said British farmers had lost out to foreign imports. We remain in a very competitive market and need to ensure that we dont inadvertently switch UK consumers to more imported product where standards can be very different, he warned. UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 20 October 2021 A wing surfer enjoys the strong winds as they surf in the sea off of Hayling Island in Hampshire PA UK news in pictures 19 October 2021 Actor Jude Law holds hands with Little Amal, a 3.5-metre-tall puppet of a nine-year-old Syrian girl, as it arrives in Folkestone, Kent, as part of the Handspring Puppet Company's 'The Walk' PA UK news in pictures 18 October 2021 A view over Southend-on-Sea in Essex, which is set to become a city in tribute to Sir David Amess MP, who spent years campaigning for the change Getty UK news in pictures 17 October 2021 Members of the Essex Bangladeshi Welfare Association pay their respects by floral tributes laid at the scene where Sir David Amess MP was killed at Belfairs Methodist Church, in Leigh-on-Sea Reuters UK news in pictures 16 October 2021 Boris Johnson, Sir Keir Starmer, Priti Patel and Lindsay Hoyle pay respects to Sir David Amess at Belfairs Methodist Church, in Leigh-on-Sea, the site of his death EPA UK news in pictures 15 October 2021 A person lays flowers at the scene near the Belfairs Methodist Church in Eastwood Road North, Leigh-on-Sea, Essex, where Conservative MP Sir David Amess has died after he was stabbed several times at a constituency surgery. A man has been arrested and officers are not looking for anyone else PA UK news in pictures 14 October 2021 A red deer stag during rutting season in Bushy Park, Richmond, south west London, which is home to over 300 red and fallow deer PA UK news in pictures 13 October 2021 Police officers detain a man as Insulate Britain activists block a roundabout at a junction on the M25 motorway during a protest in Thurrock Reuters UK news in pictures 12 October 2021 The aerial climate installation by Swiss artivist Dan Acher 'We Are Watching' is unveiled at Our Dynamic Earth in Edinburgh PA UK news in pictures 10 October 2021 A young girl is helped by a Border Force officer as a group of people thought to be migrants are brought in to Dover, Kent, following a small boat incident in the Channel. PA UK news in pictures 9 October 2021 People walk past a life-size sculpture of British singer John Lennon entitled "Imagine", by sculptor Lawrence Holofcener, displayed to mark what would have been the 81st birthday for the former member of the Beatles in Carnaby Street Reuters UK news in pictures 8 October 2021 WW II veteran, 96-year-old Lorna Cockayne, who served in the Women's Royal Naval Service (WRNS), popularly and officially known as the Wrens, as a Bletchley Park codebreaker, poses for a photograph with the Legion d'honneur after receiving it during a ceremony at the Pear at Parley in Ferndown, Bournemouth PA UK news in pictures 7 October 2021 British comedian Jo Brand poses with cut-out silhouettes representing women outside the Metropolitan Police headquarters New Scotland Yard, to highlight violence against women by male police officers or former police officers AFP via Getty UK news in pictures 6 October 2021 A protester, wearing a mask of Johnson, holds a sign reading Question it all on the final day of the Tory conference Getty UK news in pictures 5 October 2021 Members of Insulate Britain outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London, before a hearing over the injunction banning the environmental activists from blocking the M25 PA UK news in pictures 4 October 2021 A delegate passes a street cleaner on the second day of the annual Conservative Party Conference being held at the Manchester Central convention centre AFP via Getty UK news in pictures 3 October 2021 Margaret Thatcher-themed mugs for sale at the annual Conservative Party conference in Manchester EPA UK news in pictures 2 October 2021 A couple make their way through a flooded underpass in Bristol as a yellow weather warning for rain and wind is issued for parts of the UK Tom Wren/SWNS UK news in pictures 1 October 2021 A driver talks to members of the media after passing his HGV (Heavy Goods Vehicle) driving test at National Driving Centre in Croydon, south London AFP via Getty Images UK news in pictures 30 September 2021 The centrepiece One Thousand Springs by Japanese artist Chiharu Shiota is seen ahead of the beginning of the Japan Festival, a celebration of the countrys plants, art and culture running from 2-31 October, at Kew Gardens in London PA UK news in pictures 29 September 2021 The family of Betty Campbell unveil the bronze sculpture of her during the unveiling of the statue in Central Square, Cardiff, of Betty Campbell, Wales' first black headteacher PA UK news in pictures 28 September 2021 A sign referring to the lack of fuel is placed at the entrance to a petrol station in London AP UK news in pictures 27 September 2021 Police officers detain a protester from Insulate Britain occupying a roundabout leading from the M25 motorway to Heathrow Airport in London PA UK news in pictures 26 September 2021 Labour Party leader Sir Keir Starmer watches the Arsenal v Tottenham Hotspur match at The Font pub in Brighton PA UK news in pictures 25 September 2021 Scottish pro-independence supporters hold a march and rally outside the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh, Scotland Getty Images UK news in pictures 24 September 2021 Police officers remove two protesters from the top of a tanker, as Insulate Britain block the A20 in Kent, which provides access to the Port of Dover in Kent. The environmental activists have moved location after been banned from campaigning on the M25 motorway in London PA UK news in pictures 23 September 2021 Gabriella, the seven year old daughter of imprisoned British-Iranian Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, joins in a game on a giant snakes and ladders board in Parliament Square, to show the ups and downs of her mothers case to mark the 2,000 days she has been detained in Iran AP UK news in pictures 22 September 2021 A new sign hangs on the Millicent Fawcett statue after it was altered by CrackTheCrises coalition activists to highlight the climate crisis as a feminist struggle in Parliament Square in London EPA UK news in pictures 21 September 2021 Gabriella Diment prepares a monumental bronze patinated fibreglass wall sculpture depicting household cavalry soldiers on horseback which is expected to be sold for 12,000-18,000 when it goes up for auction at Summers Place Auctions in Billinghurst, Kent PA UK news in pictures 20 September 2021 Florist Judith Blacklock puts the finishing touches to a floral carousel installation in Halkin Arcade, which she has designed with Neill Strain for the Belgravia in Bloom festival, running from September 20-26, in London PA UK news in pictures 19 September 2021 Bubbles surround Manchester Uniteds Cristiano Ronaldo before the match against West Ham at London Stadium Action Images/Reuters UK news in pictures 18 September 2021 Children take part in the Settrington Cup Pedal Car Race as motoring enthusiasts attend the Goodwood Revival, a three-day historic car racing festival in Goodwood, Chichester, Reuters UK news in pictures 17 September 2021 Hugo, 7, from London rides past a 4x7 metre rainbow arch, made entirely of recycled aluminium cans, which has been installed by recycling initiative 'Every Can Counts', in partnership with The City of London Corporation in front of St Paul's Cathedral in London, to encourage members of the public to recycle their drinks cans ahead of recycling week, which starts on 20 September PA UK news in pictures 16 September 2021 Sheikeh MOhammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, leader of Abu Dhabi, leaves Downing Street after meeting with Boris Johnson PA UK news in pictures 15 September 2021 Children pose by ice sculptures depicting people collecting water by charity Water Aid to show the fragility of water and the threat posed by climate change in London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 14 September 2021 Heavy rain covers the A149 near Kings Lynn in Norfolk PA UK news in pictures 13 September 2021 Luke Jerram's 'Museum of the Moon' at Durham Cathedral PA UK news in pictures 12 September 2021 Inspirational young fundraiser Tobias Weller crosses the finish line, near his home in Sheffield, as he completes his latest epic feat where he swam and triked his way to the end of his awesome year-long Ironman Challenge. This is the third challenge Tobias, who has cerebral palsy and autism, has completed, raising more than 150,000 for his school and Sheffield Children Hospitals charity PA UK news in pictures 11 September 2021 British player Emma Raducanu, holds up the US Open championship trophy winning the women's singles final of the US Open in New York AP UK news in pictures 10 September 2021 People paddle board during a misty morning in Ullswater, the second largest lake in the Lake District, Cumbria PA UK news in pictures 9 September 2021 Troops from Wiltshire based 4 Armoured Close Support Battalion Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers during final inspection at Wellington Barracks in London, ahead of providing troops for the Queens Guard PA UK news in pictures 8 September 2021 Workers cross London Bridge during the morning rush hour in London Reuters UK news in pictures Mixing it up: Painting it up press view in London A gallery employee poses for photographers next to a painting entitled Prairie by British artist, Louise Giovanelli during the exhibition 'Mixing it up: Painting it up' at the Hayward Gallery in London EPA UK news in pictures 6 September 2021 Traders in the Ring at the London Metal Exchange, in the City of London, after open-outcry trading returned for the first time since March 2020, when the Ring was temporarily closed due to the pandemic PA UK news in pictures 5 September 2021 People enjoy the warm weather on Sandbanks beach, Poole PA UK news in pictures 4 September 2021 Demonstrators from Animal Rebellion and Nature Rebellion protest in Trafalgar Square in London. PA UK news in pictures 3 September 2021 South Africa's Ntando Mahlangu (centre) wins the Men's 200 metres T61 Final ahead of second placed Great Britain's Richard Whitehead at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games PA UK news in pictures 2 September 2021 A young common seal on the beach at Horsey Gap in Norfolk, as hundreds of pregnant grey seals come ashore ready for the start of the pupping season. PA UK news in pictures 1 September 2021 Goldfinches fighting over food in a garden in Strensham, Worcestershire PA UK news in pictures 31 August 2021 Gold Medallist Sarah Storey of Britain celebrates on the podium Reuters The farm was did not answer the phone when The Independent repeatedly tried to call, but Mr. Thorne, who runs it, told The Times: I apologise for my actions and accept that there were shortcomings in the way that I managed the farm. "The pigs have been my livelihood for the last 25 years so their welfare is of utmost importance to me. In future I will ensure that all staff including myself have the latest training and resource to be able to manage the farm in a way that the public would expect. Evans & Son butchers was closed today and not taking calls but it says on its website: We consider ourselves to be one of the premier butchers in the area due to the high standards we set ourselves and the exceptional quality of the meat we supply. The Independent has asked Cheale Meats whether it will continue accepting pigs from the farm but has not yet received a response. Theresa May appears to have slim hopes of achieving a Brexit breakthrough when she meets Emmanuel Macron at an island fortress off the French Mediterranean coast this evening. The two leaders will hold talks at the presidents summer retreat a location with links dating back to Napoleon Bonaparte as the UK desperately tries to rescue its spurned Chequers proposals. Ms May is expected to issue a Chequers deal or no deal message, insisting she cannot and will not compromise further on the package thrashed out in June, which sparked two cabinet resignations making crashing out without an agreement, with damage on all sides, the only alternative. London believes Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, is willing to be flexible and views Mr Macron as the next and probably toughest nut to crack. But the Elysee Palace has already ruled out Mr Macron breaking ranks to help the UK, insisting the meeting was not a negotiation and not a substitute for the negotiations, which are led by Brussels. The spokesperson said the president had full trust in the EUs chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, adding: Thats how it will remain. The Bank of England governor says a no-deal Brexit will mean higher prices and disruption to trade as we know it On Thursday, Mr Barnier insisted the EU would not soften its opposition to Chequers, warning those plans would undermine our single market which is one of the EUs biggest achievements. After the hastily arranged talks, Ms May and her husband Philip will join the president and his wife Brigitte for a private dinner. The two leaders are expected to make introductory remarks around 6pm, but there will be no press conference afterwards at which she would be questioned on any progress made. The setting of Fort de Bregancon should be idyllic, perched 35 metres above sea level on a small island and with a history stretching back centuries. According to the presidents official website, Napoleon made it his mission to improve the fort shortly after taking nearby Toulon during the French Revolution in 1793. 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 By the 1960s, the fort had again fallen into disrepair but was resurrected and restored to its former glory by a former French senator. However, Ms May will meet Mr Macron with the stark warning of the Bank of England governor about the consequences of a no-deal Brexit ringing in her ears. In a startling interview earlier today, Mark Carney warned that far from allowing Britain to thrive, as ministers claim it would mean higher prices and disruption to trade as we know it. He also urged the prime minister and other governments to do all things to avoid it while warning the chances were uncomfortably high. Plans for Jeremy Corbyn to deliver a major antisemitism speech at the Jewish Museum London have been dropped after talks between the Labour leaders team and the venue collapsed. Mr Corbyn had hoped to use the speech, to an audience of rabbis and other Jewish community leaders, to try to put an end to the antisemitism row engulfing his party. Representatives of Jewish community groups the Board of Deputies, the Jewish Leadership Council and the Community Security Trust were all due to be invited. Recommended Momentum activists accused in Labour antisemitism row The Independent understands that the museum entered talks with Labour having assumed that the organisations had all agreed to attend the event. However, when museum officials contacted them to discuss it, the groups said they had had no communication with Mr Corbyns team and knew nothing about the planned event. The museum had also faced a backlash from some members of the Jewish community after it said it would be happy to host Mr Corbyn providing the event was done carefully and sensitively. Stephen Pollard, editor of the Jewish Chronicle newspaper, tweeted: Cant think of a time when I have had so many emails and texts in so short a space of time from people all saying the same thing: if Jewish Museum hosts Corbyn next week they will never set foot it in again. In a statement, the museum said: The Jewish Museum London wishes to clarify that there are no plans for a Labour Party event to take place at the museum. A senior Labour source confirmed the event would not take place at the museum. Protests against Labour antisemitism Show all 14 1 /14 Protests against Labour antisemitism Protests against Labour antisemitism Protesters clashed during the demonstration Reuters Protests against Labour antisemitism Members of the Jewish community hold a protest against Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn and antisemitism in the Labour Party AFP/Getty Protests against Labour antisemitism Protesters hold placards and flags during a demonstration, organised by the British Board of Jewish Deputies for those who oppose antisemitism, in Parliament Square Reuters Protests against Labour antisemitism Hundreds of people gathered in Parliament Square to protest against antisemitism in the Labour Party EPA Protests against Labour antisemitism Labour MP Luciana Berger speaks during the protest PA Protests against Labour antisemitism A protester blows through a shofar during the demonstration Getty Protests against Labour antisemitism Members of London's Jewish community protest in support of Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn outside parliament EPA Protests against Labour antisemitism Labour MP John Mann speaks during a protest against antisemitism PA Protests against Labour antisemitism People protest against antisemitism in the Labour Party as Jewish community leaders have launched a scathing attack on Jeremy Corbyn, claiming he has sided with antisemites again and again PA Protests against Labour antisemitism Labour politicians Stella Creasy and Chuka Umunna leave after attending the demonstration Getty Protests against Labour antisemitism A pro-Jeremy Corbyn protester holds a placard during a counter-protest Getty Protests against Labour antisemitism A support of the Labour Party hold up a placard during the demonstration Reuters Protests against Labour antisemitism Jeremy Corbyn supporters during the demo Reuters Protests against Labour antisemitism A protester holds up a sign reading For the many, not the Jew AFP Mr Corbyns team are likely to attempt to find an alternative venue for the speech, which was provisionally scheduled to take place early next week. Some suggest the Labour leader could instead deliver a video message. The Labour leadership is trying to put a stop to a barrage of criticism over its handling of antisemitism in the party. The row reignited last month when Labour declined to adopt in a full an internationally recognised definition of antisemitism in its new code of conduct. It deepened after Peter Willsman, an ally of Mr Corbyn on Labours ruling executive, was recorded claiming the dispute was the result of Jewish Trump fanatics. Further reports in recent days have focused on the Labour leaders own historic comments about Israel and his attendance at an event that compared the Jewish state to the Nazis. Jeremy Corbyn has acknowledged Labour has a real problem with antisemitism as he attempted to defuse the row engulfing his party. The Labour leader admitted the party hasnt done enough to foster deeper understanding of antisemitism among members but vowed to root out anti-Jewish abuse. He told Labour antisemites: You are not my supporters and have no place in our movement. However, Mr Corbyn hit back at claims, made in a joint front page article by three Jewish newspapers, that a Labour government under his leadership would pose an existential threat to Jewish life in the UK, describing them as overheated rhetoric. Attempting to begin the process of rebuilding Labours relationship with the Jewish community, Mr Corbyn said he was confident a row over the definition of antisemitism in the partys new code of conduct can be resolved through dialogue with community organisations. Recommended Plans for Corbyn to give antisemitism speech at Jewish Museum collapse A dispute over the definition to be used in Labours new code of conduct reignited the row over antisemitism in the party last month, but the Labour leader insisted the party had been right not to adopt the internationally recognised International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition in full. Mr Corbyn used a newspaper article to break his silence on the antisemitism crisis gripping his party after a torrid week in which he came under sustained criticism for his handling of the issue. Writing in The Guardian, he said: I do not for one moment accept that a Labour government would represent any kind of threat, let alone an existential threat to Jewish life in Britain, as three Jewish newspapers recently claimed. That is the kind of overheated rhetoric that can surface during emotional political debates. But I do acknowledge there is a real problem that Labour is working to overcome. And I accept that, if any part of our national community feels threatened, anxious or vulnerable, not only must that be taken at face value but we must all ensure those fears are put to rest. He added: No one can, or should, try to dismiss or belittle the concerns expressed by so many Jewish people and organisations about what has been happening in the party I am proud to lead. He said a Labour government would take whatever measures are necessary to guarantee the security of the Jewish community and that he wanted Jewish people to feel at home in the Labour Party and be able to play their full part in our work. Protests against Labour antisemitism Show all 14 1 /14 Protests against Labour antisemitism Protests against Labour antisemitism Protesters clashed during the demonstration Reuters Protests against Labour antisemitism Members of the Jewish community hold a protest against Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn and antisemitism in the Labour Party AFP/Getty Protests against Labour antisemitism Protesters hold placards and flags during a demonstration, organised by the British Board of Jewish Deputies for those who oppose antisemitism, in Parliament Square Reuters Protests against Labour antisemitism Hundreds of people gathered in Parliament Square to protest against antisemitism in the Labour Party EPA Protests against Labour antisemitism Labour MP Luciana Berger speaks during the protest PA Protests against Labour antisemitism A protester blows through a shofar during the demonstration Getty Protests against Labour antisemitism Members of London's Jewish community protest in support of Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn outside parliament EPA Protests against Labour antisemitism Labour MP John Mann speaks during a protest against antisemitism PA Protests against Labour antisemitism People protest against antisemitism in the Labour Party as Jewish community leaders have launched a scathing attack on Jeremy Corbyn, claiming he has sided with antisemites again and again PA Protests against Labour antisemitism Labour politicians Stella Creasy and Chuka Umunna leave after attending the demonstration Getty Protests against Labour antisemitism A pro-Jeremy Corbyn protester holds a placard during a counter-protest Getty Protests against Labour antisemitism A support of the Labour Party hold up a placard during the demonstration Reuters Protests against Labour antisemitism Jeremy Corbyn supporters during the demo Reuters Protests against Labour antisemitism A protester holds up a sign reading For the many, not the Jew AFP Mr Corbyns article was criticised on social media after it emerged that chunks appeared to have been copied word for word from a piece he wrote for the London Evening Standard earlier in the year. The row over left-wing antisemitism deepened earlier in the week when an ally of Mr Corbyn on Labours ruling executive was recorded claiming Jewish Trump fanatics were behind the dispute. Mr Corbyn said he would work to ensure Labour members show a higher degree of empathy with the perspective of the Jewish community and, admitting that trust between the party and British Jews was at a low ebb, added: Driving antisemitism out of the party for good, and rebuilding that trust, are our priorities. He acknowledged Labour had been too slow in dealing with cases of antisemitism and said party leaders havent done enough to foster deeper understanding of antisemitism among members. Mr Corbyn said Labour staff had seen examples of Holocaust denial, crude stereotypes of Jewish bankers, conspiracy theories blaming 9/11 on Israel, and even one individual who appeared to believe that Hitler had been misunderstood. Speaking directly to antisemites in the party he said: Our party must never be a home for such people, and never will be. People who dish out antisemitic poison need to understand: you do not do it in my name. You are not my supporters and have no place in our movement. It is Labours responsibility to root out antisemitism in our party. Jeremy Corbyn ally, Peter Willsman, blamed 'Jewish Trump fanatics' for inventing Labour antisemitism The row over how Labour defines antisemitism in disciplinary matters seems certain to rumble on, with the Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP) set to force a vote of Labour MPs and peers on the issue when parliament returns in September. The PLP wants the IHRA definition adopted in full, putting it at odds with the partys executive committee, which backed plans to not directly include four of the IHRAs 11 examples of antisemitic behaviour. Paving the way for a partial U-turn, Mr Corbyn said he only had an issue with half of one example out of 11, which is an example stating it is antisemitic to suggest a state of Israel is a racist endeavour. He accepted the party was at odds with most of the Jewish community, including many Labour supporters on the matter, but said the example had sometimes been used by those wanting to restrict criticism of Israel that is not antisemitic. In one of the more controversial parts of his article, Mr Corbyn suggested it was wrong to suggest that anti-Zionism is racism, just as people in the past had been wrong to claim Zionism is racism. The Labour leader had been expected to deliver a speech next week in an attempt to defuse the antisemitism row but his team appear to have instead opted for a newspaper article. Labour sources would not confirm whether a speech is still being planned. A spokesperson for the Campaign Against Antisemitism dismissed the Guardian article as vague and meaningless. He said: There is no acknowledgement of his own role in this crisis. There is no apology for his antisemitic activity in the past, but he has hypocritically condemned as antisemitic behaviour that he himself has been guilty of. He has again preached to Jews that he is right to have rewritten the international definition of antisemitism. By his action over the years as well as by failing even now to take on board the full concerns of the Jewish community, we remain convinced that Jeremy Corbyn is an antisemite and under his leadership the once anti-racist Labour Party has become institutionally antisemitic and an existential threat to British Jewry. The 2018 Zimbabwe elections saw the country's president, Emmerson Mnangagwa, take a narrow victory while the country's opposition leader, Nelson Chamisa, declared "a day of mourning for democracy" after he rejected the results. It was the first time since the young country's establishment that Robert Mugabe had not appeared on the ballot, having been deposed in a bloodless coup in 2017. The countrys citizens were given an unprecedented opportunity for change and as the results came in it was Mr Mnangagwa, the ally turned enemy of Mr Mugabe, who took the victory. The opposition leader, Mr Chamisa, who received more than 44 per cent of the vote, said unverified fake results had been announced by the electoral commission, and called on the commission to release proper & verified results endorsed by parties. The level of opaqueness, truth deficiency, moral decay & values deficit is baffling. Mr Chamisa has led Zimbabwes Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) since the death of former leader Morgan Tsvangirai in February 2018. Born in 1978 in the former Rhodesia, he was just a baby when the nation of Zimbabwe was born. He was educated at the University of Zimbabwe and works as a lawyer in a Harare firm in addition to being a preacher. In 2007, he was attacked at Harare Airport during a crackdown on political opposition, and had his skull cracked. Aged 40, Mr Chamisa is almost half the age of Mr Mnangagwa, and a youthful charisma permeates his campaign useful in a country where more than half the population is under 25. His popularity is evident from his large rallies, to his Twitter account with almost 300,000 followers. His frequent use of the hashtag #GodIsInIt shows religion is never far away from his political ethos. Mr Chamisa is nevertheless gaffe-prone, and appears at times to be generous with the truth. Earlier this year he claimed Donald Trump had promised to inject $15bn (11.4bn) into the Zimbabwean economy if MDC won the elections. The US State Department said the statement was false. Campaigning on a platform to restore the country to its former glory, the website of Mr Chamisas MDC party promises a transformed Zimbabwe in respect of which strong institutions, big ideas and a functional state prevails over tyranny, autocracy, big men syndrome and fear. In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election Show all 55 1 /55 In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election People in Mbare celebrate after officials announced the re-election of President Emmerson Mnangagwa Getty Images In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election Supporters celebrate at the Harare International Convention Centre in the early hours Getty Images In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election People in Mbare celebrate Getty Images In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election People in Mbare celebrate Getty In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election Supporters sing and dance soon after the announcement EPA In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election Supporters sing and dance soon after the results of the Presidential elections were announced at the Harare International Convention Centre EPA In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election A vendor sells sponges near newspaper headlines on the streets of Harare AP In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election Supporters of the newly reelected Zimbabwe President Emmerson Mnangagwa celebrate in Mbare AFP/Getty Images In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election People in Mbare celebrate Getty Images In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election A man reads a Zimbabwean newspaper the day after the violence on the streets of Harare EPA In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election A soldier fires shots towards demonstrators AFP/Getty Images In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election A wounded man reacts at the sight of soldiers while taking shelter in a stall at a market in Harare AFP/Getty Images In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election Supporters of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change party (MDC) light a fire in the streets of Harare. Reuters In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election Soldiers open fire to disperse crowds of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change supporters outside the party's headquarters in Harare REUTERS In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election Opposition MDC party supporters hold a voting placard up high on a street in Harare AP In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election A supporter of Zimbabwean opposition MDC Alliance allegedly beaten up by soldiers sits with blood on his face as other protesters assist him AFP/Getty Images In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election A vendor scurries for cover with her wares as soldiers disperse demonstrators AFP/Getty Images In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election A wounded man hides under a tarpauling while the Zimbabwean Army patrols the streets of Harare AFP/Getty Images In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election Anti-riot police officers close the entrance to the Rainbow Towers, where the election results were announced in Harare Getty In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election Soldiers open fire on citizens REUTERS In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election Citizens run the Zimbabwean army during protests in Harare Reuters In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election Supporters of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change party (MDC) protest the result of the election, which they allege to be fraudulent Getty In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election Supporters of the opposition protest in the streets of Harare as police fire tear gas AP In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election A soldier assaults a man on the streets of Harare during protests AP In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election Zimbabwean anti riot police officers sit in a truck amidst protesters on the streets of Harare Getty In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election Citizens run from riot police amidst protests in Harare AP In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election Soldiers patrol the streets during protests in Harare Reuters In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election A Zimbabwean soldier beats a man on the streets of Harare Getty In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election A man lies dead after the Zimbabwean army shot at protesters in Harare Getty In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election A supporter of the opposition party protests in the streets of Harare Reuters In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election Zimbabwean soldiers beats an opposition supporter on the streets of Harare Reuters In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election Supporters of the opposition protest in the streets of Harare AP In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election Supporters of the opposition protest in the streets of Harare as police fire tear gas Getty In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election Supporters of the opposition burn a campaign banner of the ruling Zanu-PF party Reuters In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election A man casts his vote in Mbare, a suburb of Zimbabwean capital Harare Getty In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election A police officer keeps watch of queuing voters in Mbare Getty In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election Voters stand in line outside a polling station in Mbare Getty In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election Election officials remove political posters near a polling station on voting day Getty In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election Oppostion leader Nelson Chamisa arrives at a polling station in Harare Getty In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election Oppostion leader Nelson Chamisa casts his vote AP In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election Zimbabwean president Emmerson Mnangagwa arrives to cast his vote in Kwekwe Reuters In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election Zimbabwean president Emmerson Mnangagwa casts his vote AP In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election Voters stand in line outside a polling station in Kwekwe AP In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election A woman prays outside a polling station in Mbare Getty In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election Voters arrive at a polling station in Harare EPA In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election Former president Robert Mugabe prepares to cast his vote in Harare AP In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election A woman casts her vote in Mbare, a suburb of capital Harare Getty In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election A woman casts her vote in the township of Makokoba Getty In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election A police officer casts his vote in Mbare Getty In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election A woman prays near a polling station in Mbare EPA In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election A man casts his vote in Harare AP In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election Former president Robert Mugabe speaks at a press conference the day before the vote where he stated that he would not be voting for his former Zanu-PF party Reuters In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election A supporter of the opposition MDC party attends the final campaign rally in Harare on July 28 Reuters In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election Supporters of the opposition MDC (Movement for Democratic Change) party attends the final campaign rally in Harare on July 28 EPA In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election Supporters of the opposition MDC (Movement for Democratic Change) party attends the final campaign rally in Harare on July 28 EPA Mr Mugabe caused surprise during the election by refusing to back his own Zanu-PF party. He said, I must say clearly I cant vote for those who tormented me, no I cant. He later went further, and actually voiced his support for the young opposition leader. Nelson Chamisa seems to be doing well by his rallies, he said. He wants a legitimate government to be in power and an end to one brought about by military intervention. I would certainly wish to meet him if he wins. This has given fuel to supporters of Mr Mnangagwa, who have suggested some sort of pact has been made between Mr Mugabe and Mr Chamisa. Last week, Donald Trump and Jean-Claude Juncker surprised many people when they announced an agreement to seemingly avert the trade war that many people had been expecting. While Trump has hyped this as a major breakthrough, many people have been more sceptical. As John Springford, the deputy director of the Centre for European Reform told Money week (see Has the EU-US trade war really been cancelled?) the success of the deal is yet to be seen. After all, its not an agreement in itself, just an agreement to start talking about talks. It may have prevented Trump from escalating tariffs, but there are lots of reasons why it could go wrong: Trump hasnt ruled out following through on his threat to impose additional tariffs on European cars; and many European countries, especially France, are unenthusiastic about the wider deal that Juncker and Trump hinted at. All in all, things are still very shaky. Some optimists are arguing that the deal could lead to the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), being resurrected, but its far more likely that the ultimate result will be a simple free trade agreement that removes tariffs on industrial goods. France is opposed to any attempt to remove restrictions on agriculture, while the US is unlikely to open up its public procurement process. Similarly, its unlikely that well see any meaningful reductions in non-tariff barriers. The difference in regulatory philosophy between Europe and the United States are too different. Even if we do get an agreement it will take around 3-5 years to negotiate. So, will there be any winners from these talks, especially given that American and European tariffs are already quite low? Springford is a political analyst, not an investment adviser, so he wasnt able to give us any specific advice, but if his analysis is correct, it might be worth looking at the US car manufacturers Trumps decision to impose tariffs on steel and aluminium hurt them by pushing up the cost of key raw materials. So if the apparent detente between Brussels and Washington does lead to Trump revoking them, it could boost their margins. Springford also thinks that the deal is also positive in that it shows that Trump finds it difficult to act when the Republican Party and his businessman friends go against him. While the Republicans havent exactly stuck their necks out on the issue of trade, there have certainly been grumbles at his protectionist leanings. On the other hand, it might just be that Trump will re-focus his ire away from Europe and towards China rather than change his attitudes to trade more generally. This is good news for European firms, but bad news for Asian companies and those who have their production facilities in the Far East. The perception that Brussels has successfully faced Trump down marginally strengthens the hand of those who want Britain to remain in the customs union after Brexit. Still, the most likely outcome of the Brexit negotiations is that Britain and Europe agree a fudged political declaration which Theresa May could use to claim that she has got something similar to the Chequers deal. This would enable both sides to avoid a no-deal Brexit (the chances of which Springford puts at only 10%) and allow Britain to benefit from a transition period. However, this would only buy both sides another 18 months. After that, they would need to start transforming such a general and non-binding declaration into a proper exit agreement. With both sides still at loggerheads on a variety of issues, all bets are off with everything from a simple free trade agreement to a Norwegian style agreement still on the table. In fact, because both Parliament and the parties are still divided on Europe, Springford wouldnt be surprised if there wasnt another election next year to finally achieve a national consensus. Zimbabwe took its first steps into an uncertain future after the official end of the era of Robert Mugabe, following a landmark election, with flickering hopes of peace and stability, but also a great deal of trepidation about what may lie ahead. Emmerson Mnangagwa, once Mr Mugabes loyal ally who had played a key part in overthrowing Africas longest serving head of state, was declared winner in the presidential poll by a very narrow margin, avoiding a second round run-off against his chief rival, Nelson Chamisa, by 0.8 per cent after getting past the stipulated 50 per cent mark. As expected, Mr Chamisa rejected the outcome of the election, vowing to overturn it. His first reaction was however relatively restrained compared to the highly aggressive stance of the past. Twelve hours earlier he had warned of massive street protests raising fears of further violence after troops shot six people dead, and injured more than 30 in clashes with protestors on Wednesday. On Friday morning Mr Chamisa claimed in a tweet, that unverified, fake results had been announced by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC), a body he had regularly accused of being complicit in fraud with the ruling Zanu-PF party. The 40 year old leader of the opposition MDC (Movement for Democratic Change) demanded proper and verified results endorsed by parties and complained of a level of opaqueness, truth deficiency, moral decay and values deficit which is baffling. Although Mr Mnangagwas Zanu-PF had won the parliamentary poll by a significant margin, his personal win was far less emphatic, falling below the 53 to 55 per cent predicted by his supporters as well as foreign diplomats. His supporters, despite this, acclaimed his triumph. The 75-year-old, who had been acting president since Mr Mugabes overthrow last November tweeted he was humbled to be elected president. He added: although we are divided at the polls, we are united in our dreams. This is a new beginning, let us join hands in peace, unity and love to build a new Zimbabwe for all. The acrimony and suspicion which has marked the campaign was present right at the end, with the MDC chairman Morgan Komichi taking to the stage at the Zimbabwe Election Commission (ZEC) offices during the announcement of the result to claim the figures being presented were false. Mr Komichi was escorted out by security guards after protests from Zanu-PF ministers and officials present but not before he denounced Mr Mnangagwas victory as fake in front of a swathe of international media present to record the results. The elections are fraudulent; everything has been done illegally, he declared. The new president of Zimbabwe got early, and important, international endorsement of his win from the Chinese government, which had invested hugely in Zimbabwe. It said in a statement as a friendly nation to Zimbabwe we call upon relevant parties to put the interest of the country and the people first and respect the choice made by the Zimbabwean people. In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election Show all 55 1 /55 In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election People in Mbare celebrate after officials announced the re-election of President Emmerson Mnangagwa Getty Images In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election Supporters celebrate at the Harare International Convention Centre in the early hours Getty Images In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election People in Mbare celebrate Getty Images In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election People in Mbare celebrate Getty In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election Supporters sing and dance soon after the announcement EPA In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election Supporters sing and dance soon after the results of the Presidential elections were announced at the Harare International Convention Centre EPA In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election A vendor sells sponges near newspaper headlines on the streets of Harare AP In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election Supporters of the newly reelected Zimbabwe President Emmerson Mnangagwa celebrate in Mbare AFP/Getty Images In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election People in Mbare celebrate Getty Images In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election A man reads a Zimbabwean newspaper the day after the violence on the streets of Harare EPA In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election A soldier fires shots towards demonstrators AFP/Getty Images In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election A wounded man reacts at the sight of soldiers while taking shelter in a stall at a market in Harare AFP/Getty Images In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election Supporters of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change party (MDC) light a fire in the streets of Harare. Reuters In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election Soldiers open fire to disperse crowds of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change supporters outside the party's headquarters in Harare REUTERS In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election Opposition MDC party supporters hold a voting placard up high on a street in Harare AP In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election A supporter of Zimbabwean opposition MDC Alliance allegedly beaten up by soldiers sits with blood on his face as other protesters assist him AFP/Getty Images In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election A vendor scurries for cover with her wares as soldiers disperse demonstrators AFP/Getty Images In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election A wounded man hides under a tarpauling while the Zimbabwean Army patrols the streets of Harare AFP/Getty Images In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election Anti-riot police officers close the entrance to the Rainbow Towers, where the election results were announced in Harare Getty In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election Soldiers open fire on citizens REUTERS In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election Citizens run the Zimbabwean army during protests in Harare Reuters In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election Supporters of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change party (MDC) protest the result of the election, which they allege to be fraudulent Getty In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election Supporters of the opposition protest in the streets of Harare as police fire tear gas AP In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election A soldier assaults a man on the streets of Harare during protests AP In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election Zimbabwean anti riot police officers sit in a truck amidst protesters on the streets of Harare Getty In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election Citizens run from riot police amidst protests in Harare AP In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election Soldiers patrol the streets during protests in Harare Reuters In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election A Zimbabwean soldier beats a man on the streets of Harare Getty In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election A man lies dead after the Zimbabwean army shot at protesters in Harare Getty In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election A supporter of the opposition party protests in the streets of Harare Reuters In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election Zimbabwean soldiers beats an opposition supporter on the streets of Harare Reuters In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election Supporters of the opposition protest in the streets of Harare AP In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election Supporters of the opposition protest in the streets of Harare as police fire tear gas Getty In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election Supporters of the opposition burn a campaign banner of the ruling Zanu-PF party Reuters In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election A man casts his vote in Mbare, a suburb of Zimbabwean capital Harare Getty In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election A police officer keeps watch of queuing voters in Mbare Getty In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election Voters stand in line outside a polling station in Mbare Getty In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election Election officials remove political posters near a polling station on voting day Getty In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election Oppostion leader Nelson Chamisa arrives at a polling station in Harare Getty In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election Oppostion leader Nelson Chamisa casts his vote AP In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election Zimbabwean president Emmerson Mnangagwa arrives to cast his vote in Kwekwe Reuters In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election Zimbabwean president Emmerson Mnangagwa casts his vote AP In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election Voters stand in line outside a polling station in Kwekwe AP In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election A woman prays outside a polling station in Mbare Getty In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election Voters arrive at a polling station in Harare EPA In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election Former president Robert Mugabe prepares to cast his vote in Harare AP In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election A woman casts her vote in Mbare, a suburb of capital Harare Getty In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election A woman casts her vote in the township of Makokoba Getty In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election A police officer casts his vote in Mbare Getty In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election A woman prays near a polling station in Mbare EPA In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election A man casts his vote in Harare AP In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election Former president Robert Mugabe speaks at a press conference the day before the vote where he stated that he would not be voting for his former Zanu-PF party Reuters In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election A supporter of the opposition MDC party attends the final campaign rally in Harare on July 28 Reuters In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election Supporters of the opposition MDC (Movement for Democratic Change) party attends the final campaign rally in Harare on July 28 EPA In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election Supporters of the opposition MDC (Movement for Democratic Change) party attends the final campaign rally in Harare on July 28 EPA Cyril Ramaphosa, who became president of South Africa six months ago, called Mr Mnangagwa to express his commitment to working closely with the president-elect to enhance the historical political and fraternal relations which exist between South Africa and Zimbabwe, said a government spokesman in Pretoria. Mr Rampahosa urged the Zimbabwean opposition to use legal channels to raise objections to the election process. However, on the eve of the count, Mr Chamisa dismissed the idea of making a legal challenge to the election result, saying: that would be a slippery path. When you go into the court, you are going into the lions den. We are not going to be a meal for the lions. Mr Chamisa had warned that the public would take direct action and he would not be responsible for what may follow. "If they find that their vote has been ignored ... they did not vote for Emmerson Mnangagwa and they wil not accept him being imposed as the president. We do not control the people, they will do what they think is right, he said. The mood on the street was mixed between anger from those who felt the election had been hijacked and wanted action and others who were deeply apprehensive about repercussions of protests, especially after the killings two days ago. Outside Harvest House, the MDC headquarters, crowds gathered to await instructions from party chiefs. Goodman Panashe, 32, a polling agent in the election, had been chased and beaten by soldiers on Wednesday. Showing the weals on his arms and legs from sjamboks (leather whips), he exclaimed: Look what they did to me, they beat people, killed people. But we must not be afraid. We have a right to protest and we shall be doing so, they cannot stop us. His companion, Irvine Tinotenda, wanted to add: They can try to stop us, but this time it wont be so easy. We were with the police, who were fine, but that military unit was sent to attack us. The military took us by surprise, we are better prepared if that happens again. But others wanted calm. Idris Kudzai had driven to check on his electronics shop which had been locked up since Wednesday. I am not going to open again until I know that there is safety," he said. "I am losing money now, but you cannot get compensation from insurance companies for looting. I know some people are unhappy with the elections. But we must put that aside now and move on if we want the economy to succeed. Meanwhile, the confrontation between the government and MDC continued with police raiding the partys headquarters on Thursday, arresting people and taking away computers. The operation was part of a security crackdown following the clashes between the security forces and crowds protesting against the countrys election commission, to say that the ruling Zanu-PF party had won the parliamentary poll by a large majority. Mr Chamisa and other opposition leaders are being investigated according to a warrant, of suspected possession of dangerous weapons and encouraging public violence. But the real reason for the raid, Mr Chamisa said, was to remove evidence that his party has discovered of vote rigging by Mr Mnangagwas Zanu-PF. But dont worry, the evidence has already been taken to a safe house, he said. Close Zimbabwe election: Shots fired at protesting crowds in Harare as violence escalates Zimbabwes opposition leader, Nelson Chamisa, has declared "a day of mourning for democracy" after he rejected the results of an election which saw the country's president, Emmerson Mnangagwa, win a narrow victory. Mr Chamisa who received more than 44 per cent of the vote, said unverified fake results had been announced by the electoral commission, and called on the commission to release proper & verified results endorsed by parties. The level of opaqueness, truth deficiency, moral decay & values deficit is baffling. Six people have been killed amid an army crackdown on opposition supporters in the streets of the capital, Harare, where tanks rolled in to disperse rock-throwing demonstrators who were protesting alleged vote-rigging. Mr Mnangagwa said he was humbled by the victory and urged Zimbabweans to stay peaceful. He received 2.46 million votes against 2.15 million for Mr Chamisa, the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission announced early on Friday. This is a new beginning. Let us join hands, in peace, unity and love, and together build a new Zimbabwe for all, Mr Mnangagwa said. Please allow a moment for the live blog to load In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election Show all 55 1 /55 In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election People in Mbare celebrate after officials announced the re-election of President Emmerson Mnangagwa Getty Images In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election Supporters celebrate at the Harare International Convention Centre in the early hours Getty Images In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election People in Mbare celebrate Getty Images In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election People in Mbare celebrate Getty In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election Supporters sing and dance soon after the announcement EPA In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election Supporters sing and dance soon after the results of the Presidential elections were announced at the Harare International Convention Centre EPA In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election A vendor sells sponges near newspaper headlines on the streets of Harare AP In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election Supporters of the newly reelected Zimbabwe President Emmerson Mnangagwa celebrate in Mbare AFP/Getty Images In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election People in Mbare celebrate Getty Images In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election A man reads a Zimbabwean newspaper the day after the violence on the streets of Harare EPA In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election A soldier fires shots towards demonstrators AFP/Getty Images In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election A wounded man reacts at the sight of soldiers while taking shelter in a stall at a market in Harare AFP/Getty Images In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election Supporters of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change party (MDC) light a fire in the streets of Harare. Reuters In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election Soldiers open fire to disperse crowds of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change supporters outside the party's headquarters in Harare REUTERS In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election Opposition MDC party supporters hold a voting placard up high on a street in Harare AP In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election A supporter of Zimbabwean opposition MDC Alliance allegedly beaten up by soldiers sits with blood on his face as other protesters assist him AFP/Getty Images In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election A vendor scurries for cover with her wares as soldiers disperse demonstrators AFP/Getty Images In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election A wounded man hides under a tarpauling while the Zimbabwean Army patrols the streets of Harare AFP/Getty Images In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election Anti-riot police officers close the entrance to the Rainbow Towers, where the election results were announced in Harare Getty In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election Soldiers open fire on citizens REUTERS In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election Citizens run the Zimbabwean army during protests in Harare Reuters In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election Supporters of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change party (MDC) protest the result of the election, which they allege to be fraudulent Getty In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election Supporters of the opposition protest in the streets of Harare as police fire tear gas AP In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election A soldier assaults a man on the streets of Harare during protests AP In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election Zimbabwean anti riot police officers sit in a truck amidst protesters on the streets of Harare Getty In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election Citizens run from riot police amidst protests in Harare AP In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election Soldiers patrol the streets during protests in Harare Reuters In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election A Zimbabwean soldier beats a man on the streets of Harare Getty In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election A man lies dead after the Zimbabwean army shot at protesters in Harare Getty In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election A supporter of the opposition party protests in the streets of Harare Reuters In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election Zimbabwean soldiers beats an opposition supporter on the streets of Harare Reuters In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election Supporters of the opposition protest in the streets of Harare AP In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election Supporters of the opposition protest in the streets of Harare as police fire tear gas Getty In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election Supporters of the opposition burn a campaign banner of the ruling Zanu-PF party Reuters In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election A man casts his vote in Mbare, a suburb of Zimbabwean capital Harare Getty In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election A police officer keeps watch of queuing voters in Mbare Getty In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election Voters stand in line outside a polling station in Mbare Getty In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election Election officials remove political posters near a polling station on voting day Getty In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election Oppostion leader Nelson Chamisa arrives at a polling station in Harare Getty In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election Oppostion leader Nelson Chamisa casts his vote AP In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election Zimbabwean president Emmerson Mnangagwa arrives to cast his vote in Kwekwe Reuters In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election Zimbabwean president Emmerson Mnangagwa casts his vote AP In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election Voters stand in line outside a polling station in Kwekwe AP In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election A woman prays outside a polling station in Mbare Getty In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election Voters arrive at a polling station in Harare EPA In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election Former president Robert Mugabe prepares to cast his vote in Harare AP In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election A woman casts her vote in Mbare, a suburb of capital Harare Getty In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election A woman casts her vote in the township of Makokoba Getty In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election A police officer casts his vote in Mbare Getty In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election A woman prays near a polling station in Mbare EPA In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election A man casts his vote in Harare AP In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election Former president Robert Mugabe speaks at a press conference the day before the vote where he stated that he would not be voting for his former Zanu-PF party Reuters In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election A supporter of the opposition MDC party attends the final campaign rally in Harare on July 28 Reuters In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election Supporters of the opposition MDC (Movement for Democratic Change) party attends the final campaign rally in Harare on July 28 EPA In pictures: Zimbabwe votes in historic election Supporters of the opposition MDC (Movement for Democratic Change) party attends the final campaign rally in Harare on July 28 EPA The weeks events left many Zimbabweans with a sense of unease and questions about how different Mr Mnangagwa is from his predecessor and former mentor, longtime dictator Robert Mugabe, who stepped down in November under military pressure amid a ruling party feud after 37 years in power. The 75-year-old Mnangagwa has tried to recast himself as a voice of change, declaring the once-prosperous Zimbabwe is open for business and inviting the Western election observers who for years had been banned by Mr Mugabe. If this election is judged credible, it will be a big step towards the lifting of international sanctions on this southern African nation whose economy has long collapsed and whose reputation has suffered after years of repression of the opposition and allegedly rigged votes. So far international observers have issued mixed reviews, calling Mondays election peaceful and a break from the past but expressing grave concern about the militarys excessive use of force. They criticised the delay in releasing the results of the presidential vote, saying it raised concerns about possible manipulation. Harares roads were quiet and appeared to be free from troops on Friday. Water cannons and anti-riot police remained present at the headquarters of the main opposition party, a day after authorities raided it and made 18 arrests. Additional reporting by agencies Human remains in dozens of boxes given to the US by North Korea are "consistent with being Americans", a US scientist has said. John Byrd, director of the laboratory working on identifying the remains, made the comments based on initial examination but said they could not quickly be identified. Mr Byrd also noted it was too early to determine the number of people the remains amounted to, with US officials cautioning that little was known about the contents of the returned boxes. "What we saw were remains that were consistent with what we have found from the Korean War recoveries that weve done over the years, and we found remains that were consistent with being Americans," he said. Mr Byrd added that among the items shipped from North Korea was a single military tag; that persons family has been notified. The US scientist explained that the remains were "good candidates to be missing Americans from the Korean War." The 55 boxes were transported to a laboratory in Hawaii after arriving on US soil. Mike Pence participated in the ceremony held for the remains of service members who are killed in war. Some have called the Korean War the forgotten war', he wrote on Twitter. But yesterday, we proved these heroes were never forgotten... May God bless the memory of our fallen and their families. Chuck Prichard, director of public affairs for the Defense POW/MIA Personnel Accounting Agency, recently told Reuters that the identification process could in some cases take years. Problems such as inability to get DNA from bones and lack of a DNA reference sample from the family can be major stumbling blocks, Mr Prichard said. 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Dozens of goats have mysteriously descended upon a suburban town in Idaho, destroying lawns and chewing rose bushes to shreds. It was a scene of chaos and confusion: nearly 100 goats on a street in West Boise, Idaho on early Friday morning, calmly walking from one house to the next as they ate foliage and plants. Joe Parris, a local reporter for KTVB, described the situation in front of a front yard flocked by goats for the morning news: "This is just a bunch of goats that showed up in this neighbourhood here this morning no one is exactly sure where they came from." "They're just going yard to yard, eating everyones front lawn," he wrote on Twitter. West Boise animal control, which did not respond to enquiries, arrived to the scene with just one truck before heading back for more resources. The Boise police department appeared to be aware of the situation but did not respond to requests for comment. "Are you calling about the goats?" An officer asked when a reporter for The Independent contacted the department. Officers were not immediately available to provide details on the matter. By Friday afternoon, explanations surrounding the mysterious goats began to emerge. "The goats were originally brought to the neighbourhood as part of a 'rent a goat' service, an eco-friendly way to tackle weeds and pasture," a representative for the Idaho Humane Society told The Independent in a statement. "The goats had reportedly broke out of the pasture and began exploring the surrounding neighbours yards." The owner of the goats was not cited and the neighbours "seemed to appreciate the humour of having a large herd of goats in their yards for a short period of time," the representative added. However, Mr Parris tweeted that the party is over for the goats after a trucked owned by the company We Rent Goats arrived to pick up the animals. The goats were safely loaded back onto the truck, as children and other spectators looked on. We Rent Goats has been contacted for comment. The suspect in the fatal shooting of a Texas doctor has killed himself during a confrontation with local police, authorities said. Joseph Pappas, the man suspected of killing prominent Houston surgeon Mark Hausknecht, shot himself as two officers surrounded him on Friday morning, Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo told reporters. Officers cornered the 62-year-old after a city employee found his wallet on the ground and called the police. The suspect, who was wearing a bulletproof vest, refused to put his hands up when asked by the first officer on the scene, Mr Acevedo said. The arrival of a second officer may have prevented a shoot-out, he added. Recommended Suspected Houston serial killer Jose Gilberto Rodriguez arrested "You don't wear body armour when you're thinking of suicide," the police chief said. Authorities had been searching for Mr Pappas since Tuesday, when a tipster identified him from a surveillance video taken on the day of the shooting. The video showed a fellow cyclist shooting the doctor three times as he biked through the Texas Medical Centre, where he worked. The cyclist could be seen fleeing the scene after the shooting. Police believe Mr Pappas has held a grudge against Mr Hausknecht for 20 years, ever since his mother died on the doctor's operating table. Investigators said Mr Pappas a trained marksman and former Texas constable "painstakingly planned" the murder. World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty When police searched Mr Pappas' house earlier this week, they found "plenty of evidence that shows an extreme interest ... in the doctor," Mr Acevedo told CNN. It was then that they issued an arrest warrant. Days before the shooting, Mr Pappas reportedly transferred the deed to his home to a woman in Ohio. The woman, who had known Mr Pappas for 25 years, told the Ohio News-Herald that her daughter was set to meet Mr Pappas in Houston on 30 July. Instead, he texted her to say he was committing suicide. "Sorry for handling things this way," he said in the text, according to the paper. "House and property is now yours. Please make best use of it for you and [your daughter]." Mr Hausknecht, 65, was a well-known surgeon who previously served as former President George HW Bush's cardiologist. An obituary in the Houston Chronicle described him as a "voracious reader, pilot, chef, DIY repairman, beekeeper, recycler, urban gardener, cyclist and lover of music and the arts". "Patients from all walks of life felt a special bond with Dr. Mark," the obituary read. "Listening and taking the time to explain things to each patient, earned him their gratitude and affection." "He, in turn, felt honoured to be their physician." Evacuations are underway in a Virginia city after officials have warned a potential dam failure could flood the city by exceeding 17ft in seven minutes. According to the National Weather Service, a recent heavy rainfall amassing four to six inches has caused a dam in the city of Lynchburg to remain above its capacity. Although emergency personnel reported that the dam had not failed during the early hours of Friday morning, officials fear that more rain throughout the day and weekend could threaten a dam failure. Recommended Athens hit by flash floods after wildfires claim dozens of lives This remains a dangerous situation! said the National Weather Service report. Obey all orders by emergency personnel if instructed to evacuate the area downstream of the College Lake Dam. Emergency personnel added, the water depth in Lynchburg could exceed 17 feet in seven minutes". According to a CBS report, emergency personnel have since identified a list of 124 residences that need be evacuated as a precaution for potential dam failure. The Lynchburg sheriffs office identified a school gymnasium available to residents and their pets who had to evacuate their homes in a post published to Facebook. Heavy rain leads to flooding and landslides in Japan Show all 15 1 /15 Heavy rain leads to flooding and landslides in Japan Heavy rain leads to flooding and landslides in Japan People await resuce in Kurashiki, Okayama prefecture AP Heavy rain leads to flooding and landslides in Japan A car stands on its nose in Okayama prefecture as flooding hits Japan Getty Heavy rain leads to flooding and landslides in Japan A rescue helicopter is on the scene of a landslide in Iwakuni, Yamaguchi prefecture AP Heavy rain leads to flooding and landslides in Japan An emergency crew attends to a train that has been derailed by a tree on the tracks. Heavy rain has caused landslides in Saga prefecture AFP/Getty Heavy rain leads to flooding and landslides in Japan Kurashiki, Okayama prefecture AFP/Getty Heavy rain leads to flooding and landslides in Japan A car is trapped in mud flows in Saka, Hiroshima prefecture AFP/Getty Heavy rain leads to flooding and landslides in Japan Kurashiki, Okayama prefecture AFP/Getty Heavy rain leads to flooding and landslides in Japan Rescue teams transport people from the Mabi Memorial Hospital in Kurashiki, Okayama prefecture AFP/Getty Heavy rain leads to flooding and landslides in Japan Kurashiki, Okayama prefecture AFP/Getty Heavy rain leads to flooding and landslides in Japan Soldiers search for victims in Kurashiki, Okayama prefecture AFP/Getty Heavy rain leads to flooding and landslides in Japan A road is damaged in Kurashiki, Okayama prefecture AP Heavy rain leads to flooding and landslides in Japan Rescue teams attend to inpatients, staff and residents at the Mabi Memorial Hospital in Kurashiki, Okayama prefecture EPA Heavy rain leads to flooding and landslides in Japan Kurashiki, Okayama prefecture EPA Heavy rain leads to flooding and landslides in Japan Police clear debris in Kumano, Hiroshima prefecture AFP/Getty Heavy rain leads to flooding and landslides in Japan Residents take shelter in an evacuation centre in Kurashiki, Okayama prefecture AFP/Getty Please use caution and take evacuation orders seriously, another post from the office read. If you see rising water, do not attempt to cross it. Turn around, dont drown." AccuWeather Meteorologist Brett Rathbun said two neighbourhoods in Lynchburg, Timberlake and Forest, had experienced the heaviest rainfall since earlier in the week. More rain is expected across the area through Friday, which can keep the dam failure risk high," he added. Close Ex-Trump Campaign Chair Manafort's Court Arrival An accountant for Donald Trump's former campaign chairman Paul Manafort testified on Friday that she prepared his tax returns despite her concerns about the propriety of classifying money he transferred from overseas as loans. Judge TS Ellis asked the accountant, Cynthia Laporta, whether she was testifying under an immunity agreement with the government because she was concerned that she could be prosecuted. She answered, Correct. Ms Laporta testified she knew an accounting treatment for a loan was wrong when preparing Mr Manafort's tax return for 2014. I very much regret it, she told the courtroom. Her testimony came on the trial's fourth day as prosecutors sought to drive home their case that Mr Manafort tried to hide millions of dollars he earned working for pro-Russian politicians in Ukraine. Manafort, 69, has pleaded not guilty to charges of bank fraud, tax fraud and failing to disclose foreign bank accounts. Follow live updates from day four of the Manafort trial here: Please allow a moment for the live stream to load The trial in federal court in Alexandria, Virginia, is the first arising from Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation of Russia's interference in the 2016 US election. Both Ms Laporta and fellow accountant Philip Ayliff, her predecessor who handled Mr Manafort's tax filings at the firm KWC, testified that they had no knowledge that Mr Manafort controlled foreign bank accounts. Such accounts must be reported to tax authorities if they contain $10,000 or more. Ms Laporta said she asked Mr Manafort directly about any such holdings and was told there were none. Prosecutors have tried to make their case first by presenting testimony about Mr Manafort's lavish lifestyle and then detailing his financial dealings. Defence attorneys have signalled they will seek to blame the financial charges against Mr Manafort on his business partner Rick Gates, who was President Trump's deputy campaign chairman in the 2016 presidential election. The US Air Force failed to report a major meteor explosion near a military base in Greenland earlier this summer, leading to concern and confusion. The explosion contained 2.1 kilotons of force and occurred just above an early-warning radar at the Thule Air Force base in June, according to Hans Kristensen, the director of the Nuclear Information Project for the Federation of American Scientists. Mr Kristensen confirmed the explosion in a tweet on Wednesday, suggesting the meteor could have been mistaken by some as a Russian first strike. However, the US Air Force did not release a statement regarding the meteor, or even tweet about the phenomena. When contacted for comment, a representative for the secretary of the Air Force public affairs told The Independent: "Were not providing any comment on that, except that it didnt impact operations at Thule." Reporting meteor explosions is not typically a job of the Air Force, though it would be considered commonplace for any military branch to at least acknowledge an incident of this magnitude near one of its bases. The Thule Air Base public news site includes no information surrounding the meteor whatsoever, along with all other web domains associated with the base. Still, the incident was confirmed in part by data published by NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which showed an object travelling nearly 24.4 kilometres per second over Thule on 25 July around midnight. Martian meteorite 'Black Beauty' found in Sahara desert reveals history of Mars Had the space rock broken through the Earths atmosphere at a slightly different angle, there could have been potentially fatal consequences. For example, a large meteor struck Chelyabinsk, Russia in 2013, causing damage to nearly 7,000 buildings and injuring 1,500 people. Written in the skies: The truth behind 'Year of Meteors' Show all 5 1 /5 Written in the skies: The truth behind 'Year of Meteors' Written in the skies: The truth behind 'Year of Meteors' 385802.bin JUDITH FILENBAUM HERNSTADT Written in the skies: The truth behind 'Year of Meteors' 385798.bin AP Written in the skies: The truth behind 'Year of Meteors' 385803.bin AP Written in the skies: The truth behind 'Year of Meteors' 385801.bin AP Written in the skies: The truth behind 'Year of Meteors' 385804.bin Alamy It remains unclear why the Air Force did not release a statement regarding the meteor last month. The military branch contacted its space command during the incident, the Military Times reported in a piece debunking claims about the explosion. Those claims, which suggested the Air Force base was destroyed by the meteor, may have been exacerbated by a lack of public information surrounding the incident. The National Rifle Association (NRA) may be the most powerful gun lobbying group in the world. Each year, the organisation blocks significant gun control research and legislation in Congress, while influencing local and national elections through funding, media and outreach to its self-reported five millions members. This week, however, the NRA became the focus of a national news story not for falling prey to an alleged Russian spy, or failing to respond after a deadly mass shooting, two issues the group has recently endured about its supposedly dire economic state. The NRA claims to be in a severe financial bind caused directly by Andrew Cuomo, New Yorks Democratic governor, who launched an aggressive campaign demanding companies conducting business in his state to cut ties with the organisation. In its lawsuit against Mr Cuomo and the New York Department of Financial Services, the group alleges state officials sought to "deprive the NRA and its constituents of their First Amendment rights to speak freely about gun-related issues and defend the Second Amendment." Is the NRA really running out of money? In the complaint, the NRA describes its internal state of affairs as having virtually depleted all resources while heading towards bankruptcy. However, while the non-profit's multi-million dollar media entities might actually be in real jeopardy in the coming months, the NRAs foundation remains mostly intact. Despite having a track record of financial instability the group overspent by nearly $46m in 2016, according to a ProPublica investigation the NRA continues to maintain steady donations from its nationwide members. The organisation saw a spike in donations following the Parkland school shooting earlier this year, increasing by nearly 500 per cent from the week prior to the historic tragedy. NRA members destroy products of outdoor company that cut ties with the organisation In 2018, the NRA set fundraising records by garnering the most political donations of any group in a single month, according to Federal Elections Commission records. The NRA Political Victory Fund took in nearly $2.4m in the month of March alone, with the majority of those coming from small donors across the country. The reason why the NRA is sounding the alarm about its financial state is because it reportedly cannot find insurance companies to support its media components. The group said its media liability insurance coverage was ended shortly after Mr Cuomo began his campaign against the organisation adding that it fears other companies could soon cut ties as well. "The NRAs inability to obtain insurance in connection with media liability raises risks that are especially acute; if insurers remain afraid to transact with the NRA, there is a substantial risk that NRATV will be forced to cease operating," the court filings read, claiming Mr Cuomos actions "will imminently deprive the NRA of basic bank-depository services and other financial services essential to the NRAs corporate existence". Why is Andrew Cuomo at war with the NRA? Under Mr Cuomo, New York has continued becoming one of the most influential states enforcing successful gun control measures in the age of Donald Trump. But the fight between the Democratic governor and the NRA goes deeper than that financial regulators in New York were seemingly keen to crack down on the gun lobby after the NRA began providing illegal insurance coverage policies to its gun-carrying members in New York. The NRA established a program which would pay its members legal fees that were incurred by firing a gun, before the state determined the group unlawfully provided liability insurance to gun owners for certain acts of intentional wrongdoing. Students walk out of US schools to protest gun violence Show all 10 1 /10 Students walk out of US schools to protest gun violence Students walk out of US schools to protest gun violence Young people march from the White House to Capitol Hill while participating in the national school walkout over gun violence. EPA Students walk out of US schools to protest gun violence Thousands of local students march down Pennsylvania Avenue from the White House to the US Capitol during a nationwide student walkout for gun control. AFP/Getty Students walk out of US schools to protest gun violence A student has the words,'don't shoot,' written on her hands as she joins with other students at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School after walking out of their school to honor the memories of 17 students and teachers that were killed. Getty Students walk out of US schools to protest gun violence Students take part in a walkout at General McLane High School. AP Students walk out of US schools to protest gun violence Students from Harvest Collegiate High School stand in Washington Square Park in New York to take part in a national walkout to protest gun violence. AFP/Getty Students walk out of US schools to protest gun violence Students rally in front of the White House in Washington after walking out of school to protest gun violence in the biggest demonstration yet of the student activism that has emerged in response to last month's massacre of 17 people at Florida's Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. AP Students walk out of US schools to protest gun violence Airport High School juniors Tony LaFata, 16, left, and Noah Doederlein, 17, stands for a moment of silence during a walkout at General McLane High School. AP Students walk out of US schools to protest gun violence Young people rally on the West Front of the US Capitol to participate in the national school walkout over gun violence, in Washington. EPA Students walk out of US schools to protest gun violence Students from Passaic High School hold photos of some of the 17 victims killed at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. AP Students walk out of US schools to protest gun violence Students join hands as they take part in a student walkout in Lafayette. AP With an upcoming primary election against his celebrity progressive opponent Cynthia Nixon, Mr Cuomo appears to be taking a personal interest in the fight. "In New York, we won't be intimidated by frivolous court actions from a group of lobbyists bent on chipping away at common sense gun safety laws that many responsible gun owners actually support," the governors office said in a statement responding to the NRAs lawsuit. "I am proud of my 'F' rating from the NRA, and I will continue to do everything I can to keep New Yorkers safe." Does this have to do with recent gun violence in America? While the lawsuit in question doesn't directly correlate to an increase in mass shootings, public sentiment is growing increasingly frustrated with elected officials who have been unable to prevent or reduce violence. Following the Parkland shooting, the NRA became a contentious point of focus for Democrats, who demanded the organisation present Mr Trumps administration with solutions, as well as Republicans, who defended the group and its advocacy for the 2nd Amendment. Student survivors from the shooting urged to cut ties with the NRA, spurring announcements from over a dozen major companies saying they had done just that. Backlash to the increase in shootings have impacted elected leaders from both parties alike protests in Chicago this week demanded the citys Democratic Mayor Rahm Emanuel resign from his post over continued soaring gun violence and homicide rates, while the Florida student victims of the Parkland shooting aggressively lobbied against Republican officials in the state like Marco Rubio, who they said was not adequately protecting his constituents. The ongoing violence paired with campaigns like Mr Cuomos has not placed doing business with the NRA in a favourable light: activists have said the group has blood on its hands for the recent tragedies in Florida, Las Vegas and elsewhere. What comes next for the gun lobby group? The NRA which did not respond to enquiries is asking for an immediate injunction to prevent Mr Cuomo and other officials from "interfering with, terminating, or diminishing any of the NRAs contracts and/or business relationships with any organisations". But the governor is not letting up either, describing the lawsuit as a futile and desperate attempt to advance its dangerous agenda to sell more guns in his statement. It remains unclear whether other insurance companies will refuse to work with the NRA, though proper liability coverage is an essential necessity for any organisation with media properties. If the NRA is unable to locate other partners for insurance, it may be forced to close down NRATV, its streaming platform, along with other print publications, including its magazine. In short, it may be true that the NRA is suffering from financial instability. Whether any of that is directly caused by Mr Cuomos actions remains unknown. But one thing is for sure: the gun lobbying group is not going to suddenly disappear in the next several months or foreseeable future. For all intents and purpose, the NRA will continue finding ways to push its agenda for years to come, though perhaps not necessarily in the forms it is capable of today. Four cities and two people have sued Donald Trump and other government agencies, alleging the US presidents sabotaging of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) has violated the constitution. A lawsuit filed by Baltimore, Columbus, Ohio, Cincinnati and Chicago stated Mr Trump and his administration have waged a relentless campaign to undermine and ultimately nullify Obamacare. The suit alleges Mr Trump has violated the constitution by two counts: a violation of the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) and violation of the take care clause. The take care clause found in Article II of the US Constitution states that the president must take care that the laws be faithfully executed. Mr Trumps continual efforts to weaken the ACA and particularly after the GOPs failed effort to repeal it in Congress have been unlawful, the suit stated. Mr Trump has been vocal about his disdain for Obamacare and his plans to repeal the act since his presidential campaign in 2016. After taking office, Mr Trump has continued to publicly spread the same rhetoric saying he wants Obamacare to implode. The lawsuit cited a range of actions done on behalf of the Trump administration it deemed unlawful. In one example, it cited the administrations efforts to deter Americans from enrolling for insurance through Obamacare, by undermining a navigator programme. Trained individuals or organisations hired through the navigator programme help qualified people sign up for insurance through Obamacare. Last month, the Centres for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced it would cut funding for the program by more than 70 per cent. The plaintiffs also asserted Mr Trumps administrations efforts to undermine the ACA had in turn increased premium costs for ACA-compliant insurers. The suit cited the administrations neglect of overseeing insurance rate increases and sowing uncertainty in insurance markets, leading insurers to raise rates or exit the market, as examples of violations. Democracy Forward, an organisation that challenges unlawful actions and scrutinises executive branch policies, is representing two plaintiffs, married couple Steve Vondra and Bonnie Morgan, who are named in the lawsuit. Adam Grogg, Democracy Forwards lead litigator on the case, said Mr Trumps actions had real world consequences. We also care about real world consequences, its not only the rule of law thats an issue here, he told The Independent. As Trump himself has declared on so many cases, hes worked to sabotage a law. The lawsuit claimed Mr Vondra had not had health insurance since 2005 due to insurer discrimination against individuals with preexisting conditions. It was not until after ACA passed that Mr Vondra was able to purchase insurance on the individual exchange in 2016. The suit alleged, however, that Mr Vondra and his wife Ms Morgan would now have to spend nearly $55,000 annually combining premiums and annual deductibles before receiving benefits thanks to Mr Trumps efforts to sabotage the ACA. The suit also claimed Mr Trump and his administration had violated the APA, which governs the process in which federal agencies issue regulations. Earlier this spring, the Centres for Medicare and Medicaid Services issued a notice for payment parameters and benefits for next year, commonly referred to as the "2019 Rule". The lawsuit alleged that changes cited in the notice "lack adequate justification and, in some instances, violate the Affordable Care Acts text". "One thing they cant do violate laws that Congress has passed," Mr Grogg said. "What they're supposed to do is implement laws." Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Axar recently announced the administrations plans for short-term health insurance options, which can exclude preexisting conditions, among other coverages. Faces of Obamacare: The health scheme at the centre of the shutdown Show all 3 1 /3 Faces of Obamacare: The health scheme at the centre of the shutdown Faces of Obamacare: The health scheme at the centre of the shutdown obama.jpg Faces of Obamacare: The health scheme at the centre of the shutdown obama2.jpg Faces of Obamacare: The health scheme at the centre of the shutdown obama3.jpg Dr Leana Wen, Baltimore's health commissioner, said short-term health insurance options neglect a "host of preexisting conditions", including diabetes, cancer, prescription drugs and in a majority of cases substance abuse addiction. Ms Wen said that destabilizing ACA could mean that nearly 10,000 residents of Baltimore could go uninsured. "The health of individuals affects the health of a community," she said. She added, "Ive treated patients before and after the ACA, and I see what happens to people who had not had health care and got detected with cancer years later. People have life-threatening issues. These are [examples] of the human impact of lack of insurance." War correspondent Igor Rotar published the book titled 'Wars of a Collapsed Empire, from Gorbachev to Putin'. This is an eyewitness unique account of all armed conflicts in the the former Soviet Union since the Gorbachev era until the present. In terms of breadth of coverage - in time and location - there was no such book in Russian yet. In thirty years of work as a correspondent for Nezavisimaya Gazeta, Izvestia and many other Russian media outlets, as a member of public and human rights organizations, he traveled to almost all hot or potentially hot spots of the former Soviet Union and its environs. Rotar knows a lot, he saw a lot. So he decided to write this book to sum up what he saw. It's not a publicistic essay, not a scientific monograph, not a book of reference, not a literary-artistic essay which is popular among war correspondents, but a collection of sketches and thoughts. Although, according to the author, his book "enables selective reading" - someone will be interested in the chapter describing the war in Kosovo, someone will be interested in Chechnya - nevertheless, the order of the chapters in the book is not accidental. If Shakespeare is right, and all the world's a stage, then Rotar begins his narrative with the representation of the "actors" of the collapsed empires' wars, which, according to the author, despite their apparent radical differences, are similar to each other. Here is a story about the "dogs of war" - volunteers or mercenaries, about how nominal the difference between them is; about war journalists - which sometimes are very similar to volunteer mercenaries; about children and women in war; about the war of myths and stereotypes, which usually is the root cause of armed conflicts. A separate chapter is devoted to a nostalgia for the Soviet Union. A longing for a lost past ("We lived like in paradise and did not even understand it," the author cited an unknown old men from a Tajik mountain village) is an important element of human nature of people, who went through a very tough experience against their will. Then there are sketches from the zones of military conflicts. Donbass and Transnistria (the author considers them to be twin wars), the Caucasus, Abkhazia and the Chechen war that has changed Russia forever. "Immediately after the Russian troops entered Chechnya (during the first Chechen war), I disliked Jokhar Dudaev and generally supported the federals," Rotar wrote, as if not about himself, but about the entire Russian society that had experienced a similar evolution in relation to those events. "The thing is that I have visited Chechnya and it strike me as an extremely dangerous for Russia gangster enclave. It was not possible to defeat Dudayev with the help of the Chechens, so we will have to intervene," I reasoned. "Alas, a man is a subjective being, and my attitude to the federals changed dramatically after I was the object of targeted strikes by Russian bombers. Like the majority of journalists, I stayed at the French House hotel in Grozny. In the evening we had a glass of vodka saying: "I hope we will make it through this night." After about three minutes, the roar of bombers was heard: "Lord, please not us," each of us thought, holding his breath. Further, the book describes Central Asia with its complex present, past and possibly future hot spots - and the things seemingly not related to the affairs of the former Soviet Union: China, with its threat of Uygur separatism, the former country of Yugoslavia, and, which seems illogical at first glance, the United States. An empire, however evil it may seem, has extraordinary magnetism - it frightens and attracts at the same time. In this sense, the US empire differs little from the Soviet Union empire. The author tried to convey a sense of love/hate for the most unusual and most important of the existing empires, the American one, in his sketches about life in the United States. The apparent advantage of the book is the fact that it is easily readable. The author writes about what he saw, not bothering himself with complex stylistic refinements, which sometimes hides the intended meaning. Igor Rotar's book will be of interest not only to a sufficiently wide circle of specialists (political scientists, ethnologists, intelligence officers), but also to curious readers. The Trump administration is washing its hands of the migrant parents it deported after separating them from their children at the border, advocates have said. The administration has so far reunified some 1,800 of the families it separated under Donald Trump's "zero tolerance" immigration policy, pursuant to a court order stemming from an American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) lawsuit. But the government says more than 400 children remain in its custody, because their parents were deported before they could be reunited. On Thursday, the administration said the ACLU not the government should be responsible for tracking these parents down. Recommended More than 700 migrant children remain separated from their families [The government] basically washed their hands of the parents whove already been deported, said Jennifer Podkul, an attorney for Kids In Need of Defence (KIND), which is helping in the reunification effort. She added: Its absurd to demand that a private entity that relies on donations be responsible for cleaning up the governments mess. The administration said in court filings on Thursday that the ACLU should use its considerable resources and "network of law firms, NGOs, volunteers and others" to find the approximately 450 parents, using information from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Families belong together protests over Trump immigration policy Show all 8 1 /8 Families belong together protests over Trump immigration policy Families belong together protests over Trump immigration policy Mishawaka, Indiana AP Families belong together protests over Trump immigration policy Washington DC AFP/Getty Images Families belong together protests over Trump immigration policy New York Mayor Bill De Blasio speaks in Tornillo, Texas alongside the many other US mayors who have called for detained immigrant children to be reunited with their families AP Families belong together protests over Trump immigration policy Albuquerque Mayor Tim Kelle leaves a teddy bear as a gift for detained immigrant children in Tornillo, Texas AP Families belong together protests over Trump immigration policy Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan and Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti leave sandals as gifts for detained immigrant children in Tornillo, Texas AP Families belong together protests over Trump immigration policy San Diego, California EPA Families belong together protests over Trump immigration policy US embassy, Mexico City AFP/Getty Images Families belong together protests over Trump immigration policy San Diego, California EPA Government lawyers said the ACLU should be responsible for asking each parent to certify that they wanted their children returned to them. Only then, the government said, would it work with foreign governments to determine how best to complete reunifications. The ACLU pushed back on this plan in its own filings on Thursday. Attorneys said the Trump administration had created the family separation crisis itself, and should be the one to fix it. They added that the US government has far more resources than any group of NGOs. The lawyers added: Plaintiffs have made clear that they will do whatever they can to help locate the deported parents, but emphasise that the government must bear the ultimate burden of finding the parents. Screaming children heard crying for parents at US detention centre after being separated at border under Trump policy, in distressing audio recording Advocates say many of these parents were likely deported under duress or coercion. Members of KIND and other advocacy groups said they had heard of immigration agents forcing parents to sign deportation paperwork they did not understand. In other cases, they said, parents were told they could only be reunified with their children if they agreed to leave the country. The ACLU added that the government has refused to provide the information needed to track down the deported parents after they leave. Officials provided the ACLU with a list of addresses, lawyers said, but many of them contained only a city name. About 120 parents had no potentially viable address listed at all. The ACLU said the government had access to the deported parents phone numbers, but did not attempt to use them before the reunification deadlines. They called on the administration to provide as much information as possible, as quickly as possible. A spokesperson for US Customs and Immigration Enforcement said the agency had no comment besides the court filing. The final decision on who is responsible for finding these parents rests with US District Court Judge Dana Sabraw, who is scheduled to hold a conference call with the two parties on Friday afternoon. Meanwhile, KIND has launched its own initiative to aid in the reunifications, using its contacts with local civil society groups, governments, and intergovernmental organisations to help track down the deported parents. The group will provide these parents with free legal representation and mental health services, Ms Podkul said. A suspected Russian spy was reportedly caught after working at the United States embassy in Moscow for over a decade. The Russian woman had been hired by the US Secret Service and had access to the agencys intranet and email systems before her clearance was reportedly revoked in the summer of 2017. It would have potentially given her access to highly confidential material such as the schedules of the president and vice-president. The woman came under suspicion in 2016, during a routine security review by the US State Departments regional security office, The Guardian reports. She was found to be having regular and unauthorised meetings with members of Russias security agency, the FSB. A source told the paper her frequent contacts with the FSB gave her away... numerous unsanctioned meetings and communications. Russian spy investigation: CCTV shows two suspects near Zizzi restaurant The State Departments resident agents alerted the Secret Service in January 2017, The Guardian was told, and at least nine high-ranking Secret Service officials were made aware of the findings. The CIA and FBI were also conducting separate inquiries at the time, but the paper said the Secret Service failed to take the lead, allowing her to continue working until her security clearance was revoked shortly before the Kremlin demanded the expulsion of US embassy staff. The Secret Service is trying to hide the breach by firing [her], the source continued. The damage was already done but the senior management of the Secret Service did not conduct any internal investigation to assess the damage and to see if [she] recruited any other employees to provide her with more information. A senior administration official told CNN: We figure that all of them are talking to the FSB, but she was giving them way more information than she should have. Victory Day 2018: Russia commemorates end of Second World War Show all 24 1 /24 Victory Day 2018: Russia commemorates end of Second World War Victory Day 2018: Russia commemorates end of Second World War A legendary World War II era Soviet tank T-34 AP Victory Day 2018: Russia commemorates end of Second World War Russian President Vladimir Putin shakes hands with military personnel during the Victory Day parade at Red Square AFP/Getty Victory Day 2018: Russia commemorates end of Second World War Russian army MiG-29 jet fighters of the Strizhi (Swifts) and Su-30 jet fighters of the Russkiye Vityazi (Russian Knights) aerobatic teams fly in formation Reuters Victory Day 2018: Russia commemorates end of Second World War Russia's newest robotic complex Uran-9 takes part in the Victory Day military parade EPA Victory Day 2018: Russia commemorates end of Second World War Russian troops march during the Victory Day military parade AP Victory Day 2018: Russia commemorates end of Second World War Russian servicemen drive military vehicles during the Victory Day parade Reuters Victory Day 2018: Russia commemorates end of Second World War Russian servicewomen march at Red Square AFP/Getty Victory Day 2018: Russia commemorates end of Second World War Russian President Vladimir Putin and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attend the Victory Day military parade EPA Victory Day 2018: Russia commemorates end of Second World War Russian Msta S artillery vehicles AFP/Getty Victory Day 2018: Russia commemorates end of Second World War People carrying picturers of fallen soldiers queue to pay their respect at the Soviet War Memorial AFP/Getty Victory Day 2018: Russia commemorates end of Second World War Russia's new generation of strategic missiles Yars EPA Victory Day 2018: Russia commemorates end of Second World War Russian President and the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Armed Forces Vladimir Putin delivers a speech during the Victory Day military parade EPA Victory Day 2018: Russia commemorates end of Second World War Army ATV-1 during the parade Rex Victory Day 2018: Russia commemorates end of Second World War Russian military servicemen march during Victory Day parade in Moscow EPA Victory Day 2018: Russia commemorates end of Second World War Buk-M2 air defence missile systems parade through Red Square AFP/Getty Victory Day 2018: Russia commemorates end of Second World War A Russian World War II veteran is greeted by a young boy after the Victory Day military parade EPA Victory Day 2018: Russia commemorates end of Second World War Russian servicemen ride on a military vehicle Reuters Victory Day 2018: Russia commemorates end of Second World War Russian honour guards march AFP/Getty Victory Day 2018: Russia commemorates end of Second World War Russian President Vladimir Putin, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attend a wreath laying ceremony to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier after the Victory Day parade EPA Victory Day 2018: Russia commemorates end of Second World War EPA Victory Day 2018: Russia commemorates end of Second World War WWII veterans take part in celebrations marking the 73rd anniversary of the Soviet Union's victory over Nazi Germany during World War II AFP/Getty Victory Day 2018: Russia commemorates end of Second World War Russian President Vladimir Putin, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu take part in a wreath laying ceremony AFP/Getty Images Victory Day 2018: Russia commemorates end of Second World War Russia's Msta-S self-propelled howitzers during the Victory Day military parade EPA Victory Day 2018: Russia commemorates end of Second World War Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, right, toast during a reception after the Victory Parade AP While the US Secret Service did not deny the woman was a Russian mole, it downplayed her access to sensitive information, saying all foreign service nationals (FSNs) who provide services can be subjected to foreign intelligence influence. In Russia we explicitly expect FSNs to be subject to the influence or control of Russian Intelligence Services. As such, all FSNs are managed accordingly to ensure that US Secret Service and United States Government (USG) interests are protected at all times. As a result, the duties are limited to translation, interpretation, cultural guidance, liaison and administrative support. However, the potential breach was not reported to Congress, which is investigating Russian interference in the 2016 US election. A source told the paper: A government committee needs to investigate the Secret Service for hiding this breach. The US Congress is focusing on Russian hackers when it is possible that all of the information they needed to get into the system came from the internal breach in the Secret Service. Her activities of stealing and sharing information could shed more light on how the Russians were able to hack the 2016 presidential election office of the DNC [Democratic National Committee]. The Secret Service also said there was no correlation between the timing of the woman being fired and the closing of the Secret Service office in Moscow. The agency added: Reporting and/or questions regarding a potential security breach of US Secret Service systems, information or reporting is unfounded as FSNs work on, and support, only projects with the intent of providing and/or sharing the information with the Russian government in furtherance of Secret Service and USG interests. Regarding a post-termination review and/or agency concerns regarding any reason for the termination, it should be noted that the US Secret Service is not an intelligence gathering agency and relies fully on the appropriate USG entities to pursue those avenues as determined appropriate. British holidaymakers who rent mopeds or quad bikes abroad are risking death or life-changing injuries, ABTA has warned. The travel association has launched a campaign advising travellers to think twice before hiring mopeds whilst overseas, and to ride quad bikes only as part of an organised excursion. Last week 19-year-old Kieran Roche from Swindon died after a quad biking accident at the resort of Malia on Crete. Recommended Tributes paid to victims of quad bike crash that killed four Three other British holidaymakers, all women, were severely injured last month in quad bike accidents on another Greek island, Zante. Melanie Simmonds, now 32, suffered serious injuries in a quad bike accident in Greece in 2010, and underwent a series of operations over 14 months. She said: The reason that we hired the quad bike was to save money on taxis. One snap decision completely transformed my life. Quad bikes are heavy, dangerous and difficult to control. Since December 2017, four British travellers have been killed or maimed as a result of moped crashes in Thailand. Recommended How to stay safe on holiday according to a hostile environment expert ABTA estimates that one in 10 British holidaymakers hires a moped or quad bike whilst overseas a total of 4.5 million. For UK travellers between 18 and 24, the figure is one in seven. In recent years, quad bikes have become increasingly popular in Turkey and on the Greek islands, while hiring mopeds is now common among British travellers to Thailand and Vietnam. Whether in Europe or further afield, these vehicles give little protection in an accident, and riders are particularly vulnerable on the open roads, says ABTA. There are always safer alternatives to hiring mopeds and quad bikes, including hiring a car, taking a taxi or using public transport. It is also reminding holidaymakers of the limitations of travel insurance. Many standard policies do not cover quad bike and moped accidents, leaving seriously injured holidaymakers facing unaffordable medical bills. Nikki White, the associations director of destinations and sustainability, said: Every year people suffer serious injuries after hiring mopeds or quad bikes while on holiday. Many have little experience of using these vehicles and are also unfamiliar with the local roads and driving standards. Sir David Spiegelhalter, professor of the Public Understanding of Risk at the University of Cambridge, calculates that motorcycles are far more dangerous than bicycles, cars or walking. Per mile covered, trains and planes are far safe than other forms of transport. A 10-year-old disabled boy was left mortified after being asked to prove he had a disability on a recent Jet2 flight from Croatia to Leeds-Bradford airport. Jack Johnson of Wigan, Greater Manchester, who has Duchenne muscular dystrophy, reportedly was left humiliated and distressed by the experience, which was reportedly due to an administrative error. Jacks mother, Alex Johnson, told the BBC she was appalled by the way her son was treated at Split airport in Croatia on 31 July. Recommended Meet the woman making travel accessible for disabled people in India Despite experiencing no problems on the outbound flight, staff at Split airport did not have a record of Jacks disability and required two days notice for a motorised scooter to be loaded onto the aircraft. Mrs Johnson was then asked in front of her son: Do you have proof your son is disabled? She presented Jacks blue badge to Jet2 personnel. After a two hour wait, the family were finally allowed to board the aircraft. Mrs Johnson said that Jack had a complete meltdown the next day as a result of the trauma he experienced. Jack doesnt like any fuss or be made to feel different. He was so embarrassed, she said. I want lessons to be learned and all staff to get training to ensure this never happens again to another disabled person. They should be treated with dignity. Jack is the son of former Wigan Warriers, London Broncos, Castleford Tigers and Salford City Reds rugby league player Andy Johnson. While the family said they had made great memories on their trip, the experience at Split Airport ruined this for them. A spokesperson for Jet2 told The Independent: We are extremely sorry to hear of this experience, and we appreciate that it has been very distressing for Jack and his family. We have been in contact to unreservedly apologise for the upset caused, and we would like to reassure Jack, his family, and all our customers, that this is not our normal standard of service. Although this is an isolated incident, we have learnt a number of lessons and we are urgently reviewing all our procedures to ensure that this does not happen again. Halfway through the fourth one-day strike by pilots employed by Ryanair in Ireland, the airline has offered an olive branch to the union. Ryanair invited the Irish Airline Pilots Association (IALPA), which is involved in a dispute over seniority and base transfers, to third-party mediation. But even as the union welcomed the invitation as an unexpected and positive development, Ryanair was sending out notices to 3,500 passengers booked on flights next Friday, 10 August when the pilots plan their next one-day walk-out. Recommended Ryanair pilots prepare to strike across Europe in August Another 20 Ryanair flights between Dublin and airports in Britain have been cancelled, as a result of the fourth one-day strike by pilots based in Ireland. The airline said: We regrettably have cancelled just 20 (seven per cent) of our 300 planned flights to/from Ireland next Friday, 10 August. All 3,500 affected customers have already been notified by email/SMS earlier today (3 August) and will be readily re-accommodated (or refunded) on other Ryanair flights. Earlier, Ryanair accused the union of being determined to generate a dispute in order to justify repeated unnecessary strike action. But the airlines chief people officer, Eddie Wilson, said: Ryanair now feels the only way to introduce common sense is by way of third party mediation, and to this end is suggesting Mr Kieran Mulvey formerly of the Labour Commission and Workplace Relations Commission. His background and experience could be a positive influence. The union agreed, saying: Ryanairs announcement that it will accept independent third-party assistance in its dispute with pilots, which was made without preconditions, is an unexpected and positive development. Ryanair passengers told to claim compensation due to strike The union, which has been calling for third-party assistance for many weeks, will consult with its members in the company, and looks forward to talking to Kieran Mulvey about when a process could begin. More than 20,000 Ryanair passengers booked to fly next Friday, 10 August, have been notified about cancellations elsewhere in Europe. The airline has cancelled 104 flights to and from Belgium, and 22 services to and from Sweden. Passengers have been offered refunds or rebooking on other Ryanair flights. If travellers are delayed overnight as a result of cancellations, the airline must provide accommodation and meals. Ryanair has said: We have also been notified of possible strike actions by pilot unions in Germany and the Netherlands which we believe will be coordinated and occur on Friday 10 August. During July, Ryanair cancelled over 1,000 flights, affecting around 200,000 passengers. The majority of cancellations were due to industrial action by cabin crew and pilots. The Civil Aviation Authority has urged strike-hit passengers to claim cash compensation, though Ryanair insists the strikes are beyond it control. The airline also cancelled dozens of flights because of adverse weather and staff shortages at air-traffic control centres. Michel Barnier's comments that Brussels is "ready to improve" the text of the Irish backstop is part of a "conciliatory tone" towards Britain, according to senior Brexit sources. EU chief negotiator Mr Barnier yesterday signalled a willingness to be somewhat flexible in Brexit negotiations around the Northern Irish Border. Sources have indicated to the Irish Independent that any alterations will "not change the substance of the Irish backstop". Calling the issue "the biggest risk" caused by Brexit, Mr Barnier said he was "ready to improve" the text of the EU's version of the backstop. The EU published its interpretation of the plan last February, but it was roundly rejected by UK Prime Minister Theresa May and her government. It kept Northern Ireland within the regulatory area of the EU's customs union in the event that EU and UK fail to reach a trade agreement comprehensive enough to negate the need for a customs or regulatory border. Mrs May said the EU's proposal "annexed" Northern Ireland, and thereby interfered with the constitutional integrity of the UK. Subsequently in March, and in various recent speeches, Mrs May has reaffirmed Britain's commitment to a backstop, but said she would come up with her own legal definition of it. Mr Barnier said: "Since we will not know what the future relationship will bring by autumn 2018, we need to have a backstop solution in the withdrawal agreement. The UK agrees with this, and both the EU and the UK have said that a better solution in the future relationship could replace the backstop. Inadequate "What the EU has proposed is that Northern Ireland remains in a common regulatory area for goods and customs with the rest of the EU. We are ready to improve the text of our proposal with the UK." The British government issued a document in May which attempted to deal with preventing a hard Border in the case of no deal - effectively its backstop plan. However, it was deemed incomplete and inadequate as it did not address important single market regulations. A source said: "The backstop has to be all-weather, has to prevent a hard Border, no matter what, and is now even more important as time ticks on." In an newspaper article clearly aimed to cool Brexit brinkmanship, Mr Barnier also struck a positive tone about reaching a deal "unprecedented in scope and depth" around free trade with the UK. But he warned that UK proposals must not "undermine" the four pillars of the single market - free movement of goods, capital, services and labour, by seeking freedom only for goods. The British white paper, or 'Chequers' plan, submitted by Mrs May a number of weeks ago has been criticised by most EU observers and governments for trying to cherrypick and "undermine" the single market by seeking to access the single market on goods alone. Meanwhile, formal Brexit negotiations between the UK and Brussels have entered recess and will resume on August 15 and 16. The current deadline for the Irish backstop and the Withdrawal Agreement is late October. The CEO of Amerenco Solar, John Mullins, has said the first of the companys planned Cork solar farms could be operational by the end of next year The head of the Cork-based company planning to build a dozen solar farms across the county, including seven across the north and mid-Cork regions, has said he anticipated the first would-be fully operational by the end of next year. Plans by Amarenco Solar to build the facilities have been in limbo pending the outcome of deliberations on a subsidy scheme for renewable energy. However, news that the Renewable Electricity Support Scheme (RESS) had been given governmental approval has prompted Amarenco CEO, former Board Gais chief John Mullins, to commit to the commencement of the construction phase for the planned solar farms. The new scheme has been designed to diversify the State's renewable energy production and enhance Ireland's chances of meeting key EU targets. These include that 16 per cent of Ireland's energy needs to come from 'green' sources by 2020. The scheme has also been designed to ensure Ireland's contribution to achieving an EU-wide target of 32 per cent renewable energy by 2030. Under the scheme, which it is proposed will be funded through the Public Service Obligation Levy, regular auctions will be held to allow the State to take advantage of falling technology costs. Subject to EU approval, it is hoped that the first auction will take place around this time next year and will prioritise 'shovel-ready' projects. Expand Close The CEO of Amerenco Solar, John Mullins / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp The CEO of Amerenco Solar, John Mullins This will suit Amarenco as the company has already secured planning permission for 11 solar farms in Cork, including two in Castlelyons and at sites in Mallow, Kanturk, Whitechurch, Crookstown and Inniscarra. Each of them will incorporate around 22,200 photovoltaic panels on ground-mounted frames and once operational will generate five-mega-watts of power, enough to power approximately 1,000 homes, which will be fed back into the national grid. Mr Mullins said the announcement by the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment Denis Naughton that the scheme had been approved was "very welcome". "It now brings Ireland in line with most other European Union nations in terms of an official recognition of solar energy, which is the fastest growing renewable energy sector on the planet," said Mr Mullins. "Amarenco has been calling for this support for some considerable time, and we will now commence our preparatory work for the installation of solar farms to provide Ireland's electricity grid with much needed clean electricity," he added. It is believed that each solar farm will cost in the region of 7 million to build, with each one creating up to 40 jobs during the construction phase and a number permanent roles once they are up and running. The normal build time for each farm will be three months, with Mr Mullins saying "we expect to see our first one operational by the end of 2019". The Cork network of solar farms is not the only one planned by Amarenco, who aim to have similar facilities operational in Kerry, Waterford, Wexford, Carlow and Kilkenny by 2019. The company also operates five huge solar farms in France. 'If you told me where I'd be now, I would not have believed you," said Bob Etchingham (64) yesterday, as he reflected on the more than 25-year journey that since 1992 has seen Applegreen become a major forecourt retailer. "We've grown from one small service station in Ballyfermot to where we are today, and of course it's hugely satisfying," added the CEO, who had worked for 10 years with Esso before founding Applegreen. A year later, the Wexford native was joined by Joe Barrett (52), the group's chief operations officer. Mr Barrett had held roles with Tesco and John West Foods. It was to prove a hugely successful - and lucrative - partnership. The chain steadily expanded in Ireland before branching out to the UK and US. It floated on the stock exchange in 2015. Mr Etchingham and Mr Barrett now own a combined 52.5pc stake in the firm, worth 258.8m. The CEO owns 39.4pc and Mr Barrett 13.1pc. "It's been a phenomenal journey, probably helped by the fact that the industry was going through a period of very rapid change with major oil companies pulling back from the downstream retailing sector, leaving gaps for ambitious independents like us to move in and build," said Mr Etchingham. APPLEGREEN intends to boost its stake in UK motorway service operator Welcome Break to about 70pc within about six years, and will likely ultimately own it entirely, after sealing a transformational 440m deal. The Irish forecourt retailer has agreed to buy a 55.02pc stake in Welcome Break which has a portfolio of 24 motorway service stations, two trunk road service areas, and 29 travel hotels under the Ramada and Days Inn brands. They serve 85 million customers a year. Applegreen is buying the Welcome Break stake from a fund controlled by a small Dutch bank, NIBC. The stake being acquired represents the entire holding in Welcome Break owned by the NIBC fund. The other shareholder in Welcome Break is a London-based investment firm Arjun Infrastructure Partners. Under the terms of the deal, Applegreen initially acquires a 55.02pc stake in Welcome Break for 361.8m in cash. But it will then sell an 8.6pc stake to Arjun for 56.5m. As part of the deal, Applegreen will also transfer all its existing UK service area assets including motorway service areas in Northern Ireland to Welcome Break. That values the assets at 120m (135m), which will represent an equity stake in Welcome Break. Arjun will inject 80m (89.8m) into Welcome Break to pay back a chunk of junior debt attached to the business. It currently has net debt of 391.6m (439.7m). Welcome Break generated revenue of 723.4m (812.2m) in the year to 28 January, and earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (ebitda) of 66.4m (74.5m). Applegreen posted revenue of 1.4bn last year and adjusted ebitda of 39.8m. The mechanics of the entire transaction ultimately leaves Applegreen with a 50.01pc holding in Welcome Break, with equal board representation and operational control of the business. Applegreens chief financial officer Niall Dolan said that the deal effectively puts a 440m value on the Irish companys cash and asset element of the deal. The transaction is being funded by a mixture of equity and debt. Applegreen has pledged to raise at least 100m and up to 140m via an equity raise. It has also secured a 300m debt facility underwritten by Natwest Markets and Lloyds. That includes a 150m revolving credit facility, and 150m term loan. Applegreen CEO Bob Etchingham and chief operations officer Joe Barrett own a combined 52.5pc stake in the Irish forecourt retailer, which has a total of 343 sites across Ireland, the UK and the US. They have committed to subscribing to up to 30m of shares under the equity fundraising. But the actual amount they stump up can be scaled back at the sole discretion of the bookrunners. Speaking to the Irish Independent, Mr Etchingham declined to say whether he and Mr Barrett could ultimately end up subscribing to much less than 30m worth of shares in Applegreen as part of the equity raise. Its a matter really for the brokers, said Mr Etchingham, adding that there had been good investor reaction to the proposed equity raise. We see this as clear expression of the high degree of confidence we have in the deal. Us underwriting a significant chunk of the equity raise, if thats not required then the brokers may not call on all of it. However, he said that he and Mr Barrett are almost certainly likely to see their combined stake in Applegreen fall to below 50pc following the equity raise. That doesnt trouble us. We always envisaged that as the business grows that we issue more equity, we dilute it progressively over the years, he said. The head of Armenian Special Investigation Service Sasun Khachatryan confirmed that the chair of the Board of Directors at Open Society Foundations, David Khachatryan, is his brother. "Yes, David Khachatryan is my brother, but I am not commenting nonsense," News.am cited Sasun Khachatrayn as saying. As reported earlier, there were rumors over the links of the head of the Special Investigative Service Sasun Khachatryan with the Soros Foundation, since Khachatryan is the brother of David Khachatryan, the chair of the Board of Directors of the Open Society Foundations-Armenia. Shares in CRH were down 1.2pc in trading on the Irish Stock Exchange yesterday after the company announced that it had completed phase one of its share buyback programme. Between May 2 and July 31 this year Ireland's largest company repurchased 11.4m ordinary shares on the London Stock Exchange at an average discount of 0.5pc to the weighted average price, returning 350m in cash to its shareholders. CRH is planning a buyback of up to 1bn of its own shares over the next 12 months, in a proposal announced in April. The buildings materials group said that it will release details concerning subsequent phases of the share buyback programme in due course. Last month CRH announced that it had sold a DIY business for 510m. The Netherlands and Belgium-based DIY business, along with certain related property assets, was sold to Intergamma, a Dutch DIY franchise, along with a US real estate investor. Earlier this year the company announced the appointment of former Bank of Ireland CEO Richie Boucher to its board. A strong collection from designer Tommy Hilfiger drove sales and profits at the Irish unit of the fashion chain. Photo: Bloomberg Irish units of top US clothing brands Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger enjoyed increased profits and revenues last year. New accounts filed by Hilfiger Stores Ireland Ltd show that the business recorded a 27pc increase in pre-tax profits to 598,000 in the 12 months to the end of February 4 last. Revenues rose by 1.4pc, from 23.56m to 23.88m. According to the directors' report, the sales increase was driven "by a strong collection". The directors said "administrative expenses remained at a constant level due to the management of the cost base under increasing sales". The directors added that the next year will show a further growth in sales from continuing operations and concession opportunities. "In the years following the next year, the aim will shift from top line to bottom-line increase," they said. Numbers employed by the company last year increased from 199 to 216 with staff costs last year totalling 3.2m. The company's operating lease charges exceeded its wage costs with lease costs last year totalling 4.6m - a slight decrease on the 4.7m paid out in fiscal 2017. On February 4 last year, the company's shareholder funds stood at 2.8m. At Calvin Klein Stores Ireland Ltd pre-tax profits increased by 42pc to 139,931 in the 12 months to February 4. This followed revenues increasing by 13pc to 5.5m. The main activity of the firm is the operation here of Calvin Klein retail outlets, concessions and one full-price store. Revenues increased as a result of increased markdowns in the stores versus the prior year. Numbers employed rose from 43 to 49 with staff costs totalling 803,743. State spending in the first seven months of the year outpaced the level of revenues collected by 277m. That compared to a surplus of 3.366bn at the same time last year - although that included the proceeds from the sale of AIB shares. Stripping out the AIB deal, the Exchequer balance showed an underlying annual decrease of 210m in the period compared to the same point in 2017. That disimprovement was primarily due to higher spending. The Governor of the Central Bank warned last week that the Exchequer should be in surplus. Tax revenues of 29.7m were collected to the end of July, 5.5pc higher than a year earlier. However, total net voted expenditure to the end of last month was up 8.2pc in year-on-year terms. "The bigger picture is that buoyant tax revenues are being used to raise spending rapidly rather than to achieve a budget surplus, which the Government does now not expect to achieve until 2020," Davy Stockbrokers economist David McNamara said. "With external risks growing, hard choices should be made in the upcoming Budget to eliminate the deficit next year." That echoed the concerns raised by Central Bank Governor Philip Lane last month. He warned that the State's finances remain vulnerable including because of the high national debt built up during the financial crisis. Despite a stronger recovery than most of our European peers, Ireland has done less to future-proof the State finances and will be later in moving to a budget surplus, Governor Lane said. The latest Exchequer figures show tax revenues were ahead of target in July - 0.6pc above the so-called profile for the year. Income tax is in line with Budget targets and 6.8pc above the figures raised in 2017, although that's not as strong as the decline in unemployment might have predicted, analysts said. VAT receipts, another good measure of spending in the economy, were up 4.5pc. The latest figures confirm that corporate tax remains the outstanding over-achiever this year in terms of revenue raising. The take from tax on company profits was up 16pc on the same time last year at the end of July, and 10pc ahead of Budget targets. Corporation tax receipts have doubled since 2013, noted Peter Vale, a tax partner at Grant Thornton Ireland. The National Competitiveness Council warned this week that just 10 firms pay 40pc of corporation tax here. It reflects vast profits booked in Ireland, but has created a vulnerability for the State's finances. With corporate tax receipts proving unpredictable, Philip Lane called for Government to treat the unexpected levels being paid this year as a one-off windfall - to reduce debt or go to build up an exchequer surplus. He warned against the alternative course of treating the unexpected tax as income that will recur, and budgeting it into spending increases. The latest official figures show that caution is not reflected in Government. The items that feed into the general government balance are now 772m ahead of target, Davy's McNamara said. Current spending is now 74m above even this year's increased budget and there has been a 7.7pc rise in health spending and a 6.8pc increase in education spending this year, the latest figures show. The performance of Euronext was driven by the consolidation of Euronext Dublin Photo: Bloomberg Paris-based Euronext, which took over the Irish Stock Exchange earlier this year, has reported a 14.6pc increase in revenue to 157.3m in the three months to 30 June. The performance was driven by the consolidation of Euronext Dublin and a continued focus on costs, the company said in its second quarter results today. Euronext Dublin contributed 8.7m to the groups revenue during the three month period. Earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation, and amortisation at the group were 88.6m for the three months, a 12pc increase on the same period last year. However the groups earnings margin at 56.3pc, was down slightly on the second quarter of 2017. Group costs increased due to recent acquisitions, including Euronext Dublin and FastMatch, and transactions costs, however Euronext's core business costs down. "The second quarter saw the first contribution from Euronext Dublin, that diversifies our revenue profile, strengthens our listing franchise and positions Euronext as the world leading listing venue for debt," Stephane Boujnah, CEO and Chair of Euronext, said. "Our teams are now working on the integration that is progressing as planned." In June this year Deirdre Somers resigned as chief executive of the Irish Stock Exchange to be replaced by insider Daryl Byrne, in the biggest change to the group since it was acquired by Euronext earlier this year in a deal valued at 137m. This week Adrian Weckler looks at the list of sins Facebook is again having to answer for. Joined by political correspondent Laura Larkin and business editor Donal ODonovan, the panel assesses Facebooks excuses to an Irish government committee and looks at what might happen in the short term. Will there be a Digital Safety Commissioner? Will any political regulation actually materialise? And do people really care about all the hoopla around Facebook in the first place? The matter of a fresh tech bubble is also explored, partially triggered by Facebooks huge fall in valuation after its earnings report last week. But are todays tech companies really overvalued or is this just more doom-mongering by commentators hoping to be correct at some point? The panel looks at the companies involved and the basic factors that could prove or disprove the existence of bloated valuations. A spokesman for House of Fraser declined to comment on the report. Photo: Bloomberg Billionaire Philip Day is in the early stages of a potential bid for British retailer House of Fraser to save it from collapse, Sky News reported on Thursday citing sources. The news comes a day after a rescue deal for House of Fraser was thrown into doubt after C.banner cancelled planned fundraising for its deal to become a majority shareholder in the department store. Day could yet decide not to table a formal proposal to acquire House of Fraser depending upon due diligence and discussions with the company, Sky News said citing one source. A spokesman for House of Fraser declined to comment on the report and reiterated Wednesday's statement that talks about other possible sources of investment were ongoing and an update would be given when appropriate. A spokesman for Mr Day also declined to comment. The businessman's Edinburgh Woollen Mill Group owns brands including Peacocks, Jaeger, and Austin Reed. House of Fraser had agreed to close stores as part of the rescue deal, and in June creditors approved a restructuring plan which would see 31 of its 59 stores close early next year, leading to the loss of 6,000 jobs. A string of UK retailers have either gone out of business or announced plans to close shops in recent months as they struggle with subdued consumer spending, rising labour costs and higher business property taxes as well as growing online competition. (Reuters) Betting firm William Hill has swung to a half-year pre-tax loss of 819.6m from a profit of 93.1m a year earlier. That was against a 3pc rise in group net revenue to 802.6m over the half year to June 26. Its results were knocked by an 882.8m impairment charge on its retail operations, linked to the UK Government's decision to reduce the maximum stake on fixed-odds betting terminals from 100 to 2. "Regulatory change of this nature is unprecedented and its impact on customer behaviour will not be known until some years after implementation but we currently estimate this could reduce the retail division's annualised adjusted operating profit following mitigation measures by c70-100 million," the company said. Chief executive Philip Bowcock said: "William Hill has performed well during the first half of 2018 and, following major regulatory decisions in the UK and US, we now have greater clarity over the challenges and opportunities that lie before us. "During the first half, our online business continued to deliver double-digit growth. "In retail, we are beginning to put in place plans to mitigate the impact of the triennial review. "In the US, we have moved quickly following the repeal of PASPA as we grow into newly-regulating states. We will continue to invest in the US to ensure we are well-placed to capture the substantial potential available to us." Aer Lingus reported an operating profit of 104m in six months. Higher ticket prices and lower costs helped Aer Lingus-owner IAG to post a 6pc rise in quarterly profit and keep it on track for full-year growth. For the second quarter, IAG reported operating profit before exceptional items of 835m, slightly behind a consensus forecast of 848m, as disruption caused by French Air Traffic control strikes weighed. Unit revenue performance, which measures pricing, rose 2.9pc in the period, helped by strong demand in North America, Europe and Latin America. Revenue from Aer Lingus passengers was 867m in the six months to 30 June, with Aer Lingus reporting an operating profit of 104m in the six months. The improvement in the Aer Lingus performance was driven by strong passenger growth, according to the groups half year report. Commenting on the results, Aer Lingus CEO, Stephen Kavanagh, said that the airline has an ambitious flight path to be the leading value carrier across the North Atlantic. "This vision is enabled by a profitable, sustainable short-haul network; and is supported by a guest-focused brand and digitally-enabled value proposition." "Todays results are the latest manifestation of the airlines successful business model. A business model that has delivered accelerated growth, boosted traffic, created new Irish job opportunities and driven Irish tourism growth particularly from North America over the past number of years," Mr Kavanagh said. IAG, which also owns the Iberia, Vueling, British Airways and Level airlines, reiterated its outlook that it expected annual operating profit to be higher this year at current fuel prices and exchange rates. The company had cash of 8.1bn at June 30, up 202m on June 30, 2017. (Additional reporting from Reuters) Rob Lipsett's sister has opened up about her little brother entering ITV's Love Island this evening. Top model Roz Lipsett said that while viewers might want to see the 25-year-old fitness blogger hooking up with Camilla Thurlow, she believes that his dream woman is Montana Brown. The Miss Universe Ireland finalist (31) added that viewers shouldn't expect any saucy antics from the Rathgar native as he's a "good Catholic boy" who will be on his best behaviour on the show. "We're all very excited about it," she told Independent.ie. "The producers actually asked him to go into the show at the very start but he was just too busy with work and had a trip planned to Ibiza. He just didn't realise the popularity of the show, just how big it was and then he saw how much fun it was and it was a good way to meet someone. "Rob's a real relationship person. He's been single a few months and I think he's looking to date someone seriously. I would love him to date Montana. I absolutely love her because she's so fit. She looks after herself and she's also really funny. "I just think she seems like a really educated, nice girl and someone he would click with." She said that he's been single a few months since splitting with fellow fitness blogger Sarah Godfrey and is definitely not a player when it comes to the dating scene. He's also not a big boozer so don't expect to see him falling around the villa after one too many tipples. "He was telling me that they're actually really limited on alcohol. They're not allowed more than two drinks max every night. The producers want them to focus on looking good and finding love." Video of the Day One of Ireland's best-known fitness bloggers with over 261,000 followers on Instagram, Rob also has a successful fitness YouTube channel, with an impressive quarter of a million subscribers. He started his career in the fitness industry by creating a Facebook page to track his workouts and progress, before joining YouTube and Instagram in 2014. But he's not the only Irish face entering the show tonight, which is aired on ITV a day ahead of Ireland's 3e. Model Shannen Reilly McGrath, who's described as 'Dublin Barbie,' will be joining Rob and the 13 remaining contestants with hopes of making it to the final. Shannen (25) was a contestant in Miss Ireland 2014, and was announced as the new Cocoa Brown brand ambassador days before it was revealed that she would be entering the house. The Tallaght native is well-known in the Dublin modelling circle, and previously dated Big Brother star Bianca Gascoigne's ex CJ Meeks. Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and his U.S. counterpart Mike Pompeo met in Singapore today. The ministers have agreed to work closely to resolve issues between them. The sides held talks during the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) foreign ministers' meeting in Singapore, according to the source, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media. Cavusoglu, in comments to Turkish broadcasters, said he and Pompeo had also discussed potential joint steps the two countries could take regarding Syria's Idlib and Manbij. The two top diplomats frequently talk over the phone; last time that happened was on Wednesday upon the request of the U.S. side, which marked the fourth such conversation over the last 15 days, Daily Sabah recalled. Their talks came after Washington imposed sanctions on two of Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan's ministers over the trial of a U.S. pastor accused of backing terrorism. Turkey has said the sanctions are unacceptable. A 13-year-old boy has been released pending trial for the murder of Co Kildare schoolgirl Ana Kriegel, but has been ordered to comply with a bail supervision programme. The boy, who cannot be named because he is a minor, was the first to be charged with the murder of Ana (14) at Glenwood House, Laraghcon, Clonee Road, Lucan, on May 14, contrary to common law. Her body was found at the disused farmhouse three days after she was reported missing. The boy was charged and remanded in custody on May 25 but on Monday bail terms were set in the High Court. The teenager arrived on bail for his latest hearing at the Dublin Children's Court yesterday. He was accompanied by his father and grandfather, but did not address the court. A State solicitor told Judge Flann Brennan that the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) has issued a direction under Section 52.4 of the 2001 Children Act confirming the case will proceed. The Children Act is the legal framework of the juvenile justice system. The judge heard the case will be transferred to the Central Criminal Court once the book of evidence has been completed. Anastasia, known as Ana, who was adopted from Russia at the age of two, left her home in Leixlit about 5pm on May 14 but did not return. Her body was found at a disused farmhouse three days later. On July 12 last, a second 13-year-old boy was also charged with the girl's murder and he too was remanded to the Oberstown youth detention centre. He remains in custody and is due to face his next hearing on August 14 next. There has been no indication yet as to how either of them intends to plead. Ian Bailey arriving at the Four Courts with his partner Jules Thomas (Right) for a Court of Appeal hearing last year. Photo: Collins A lenthy Garda Siochana Ombudsman Commission (Gsoc) investigation has found no evidence of high-level corruption within the force in respect of the Sophie Toscan du Plantier murder investigation. The investigation by the policing watchdog was sparked by formal complaints from English poet and journalist Ian Bailey, his partner, Welsh artist Jules Thomas, and former west Cork shopkeeper Marie Farrell. However, Gsoc did raise "grave concerns" over changes to critical Garda reports in respect of the investigation into the killing of the French mother-of-one (39) at Toormore, outside Schull, in west Cork, on December 23, 1996. Ms du Plantier was found beaten to death on a laneway leading to her isolated holiday home just hours before she was due to fly back to Paris for Christmas. Gsoc focused its report concerns on what appeared to be deliberate changes to Garda documents including station records on progress into the major investigation. The Gsoc report, which was released last night, also revealed that pages were missing from a key document in respect of the murder investigation. This document was only ever in the possession of gardai. "The books are hard-backed in nature, A4 in size and the pages are retained in the book by way of a glued-in spine. "As a result it would not be possible for pages to simply fall out of the book by accident or for them to be removed - this would have to have been a deliberate act," the report warned. The Gsoc probe highlighted what it termed as a lack of administration and management oversight in terms of key aspects of the investigation. Other concerns were raised in terms of potential evidence in respect of the case which appeared to have gone missing since December 1996. However, the police said it did not find the Garda decision to question Mr Bailey to be unlawful or corruptly motivated. "A number of factors led to Ian Bailey being identified as a suspect at an early stage of the murder inquiry...his subsequent arrest and the arrest of his partner, Jules Thomas, therefore could not, as the complainants allege, have been construed as unlawful or illegal," it ruled. Witness Ms Farrell was a key witness in the investigation and Gsoc found no indication she had been intimidated or coerced by gardai into making specific statements. Gsoc stressed that, given the extent of the inquiry and its findings, no further action will now be taken. Last night, Mr Bailey declined to comment on the Gsoc report. His solicitor Frank Buttimer said they were not surprised by the outcome of the Gsoc investigation and it underlined their contention that the police watchdog was "a toothless body". Mr Buttimer said that Mr Bailey's time and co-operation with Gsoc appears to have been "a totally wasted exercise". "He is very disappointed," he said. Mr Bailey was twice arrested by gardai in respect of the du Plantier investigation in 1997 and 1998, but was released without charge on both occasions. The Manchester-born journalist has consistently maintained his innocence, and claimed that attempts were made to frame him for the killing. No one has ever been charged in respect of the killing, and the Director of Public Prosecutions has said there is now little likelihood of a prosecution. The French want Mr Bailey to face a murder trial in Paris over the death. Mr Bailey successfully fought extradition to France six years ago. But he stressed he believed the French would eventually attempt to try him in absentia under their Napoleonic Code. Convicted murderer Warren Dumbrell, who is serving a life sentence with his brother Jeffrey for the brutal stabbing of a father of six, has been granted a High Court declaration that his detention conditions have on occasion been breached. Dumbrell (44), who was described in a High Court hearing as a violent prisoner with a poor disciplinary record, has for a number of years been detained away from the mainstream prison population. For Dumbrell, formerly of Emmet Place, Inchicore, Dublin, the declaration by Ms Justice Miriam O'Regan will have little effect on his detention regime apart from being kept informed more often and in more detail as to the reasons behind his continued segregation. The Dumbrells were found guilty by a jury at the Central Criminal Court of the murder of 33-year-old Christopher Cawley who they chased in October 2006, trapped in a stairwell at Tyrone Place Flats, Inchicore, and repeatedly stabbed. Charges During Warren Dumbrell's High Court challenge against his detention conditions, it was revealed he had accumulated 51 discipline charges behind bars. Judge O'Regan noted in a reserved judgment that, although there was considerable controversy between the parties as to the circumstances of Dumbrell's incarceration, it did appear that for a long number of years he had been detained away from the mainstream prison population. The prison authorities had argued that this had arisen because of his behaviour which had deteriorated since 2015 and he had become more intimidating. Judge O'Regan granted Dumbrell a declaration that the prison had on occasion breached Rule 62 of the Prison Rules which, among other things, directed that a prison governor shall conduct a review not less than once in seven days to determine whether a direction limiting a prisoner's activities might be revoked and inform the prisoner of the outcome of such reviews. A lack of leadership is limiting the number of women in senior positions at third-level colleges, Higher Education Minister Mary Mitchell O'Connor has warned. Universities and other colleges have taken positive steps towards gender equality, but women continue to be under-represented in key roles, according to a new report by Higher Education Authority (HEA). Ms Mitchell O'Connor said only "very small steps" were being achieved. She called for "strong commitment and leadership" from college presidents in tackling the issue. This is the third annual gender report by the HEA. Overall, it found only "marginal improvement of 1-2pc", in the number of women holding senior positions, such as professorships. Across universities, 54pc of all staff and 45pc of academics are female, but they account for only 24pc of professors and 30pc of staff on salaries of more than 106,000. Gender breakdowns vary between the different higher education sectors, such as institutes of technology and other colleges, including teacher training, but continuing inequality is evident across the board. The report presents gender breakdown data under two broad headings: leadership, governance and management; and among professor, associate professor, senior lecturer and lecturer grades. In the past two years, five of the seven universities have gone from having no women on their executive management teams to meeting the target for a minimum 40pc female representation. However, NUI Galway, which has been embroiled in controversy over lack of promotions for women, and University College Dublin have not achieved the 40pc goal. Three out of the seven universities have reached the minimum 40pc female representation on their academic council and five out of seven on their governing authority. Eight of the 14 institute of technology governing authorities have achieved the minimum 40pc equal representation, while nine have at least 40pc women on their academic council. HEA chief executive Dr Graham Love said it was looking forward to the forthcoming Gender Taskforce Action Plan, to be published Ms Mitchell O'Connor, which will outline a key role for the HEA in ensuring the sector makes progress towards gender equality. Technological Higher Education Association chief executive Dr Joseph Ryan said his association would shortly be publishing a gender policy statement. Irish Federation of University Teachers general secretary Joan Donegan said that while the figures showed very gradual progression on equality, more robust progress was required. Brian O'Callaghan-Westropp and Zoe Holohan, who were on their honeymoon in Greece A priest and family friend of the tragic newlywed who perished in Greek wildfires has backed a new fundraising campaign to help the family. Brian O'Callaghan-Westropp had been on his honeymoon in Mati, east of Athens, when the fires broke out on July 23. His wife, Zoe Holohan, who works in the advertising department of the 'Sunday World', faces up to two months in hospital in Athens, where she is undergoing treatment. Mr O'Callaghan-Westropp's mother, Rosemary, had already suffered the loss of her only other child, Colin, in a motorbike accident in 1997 when he was just 21, and her husband died when the boys were young. Family friend Fr Shay Casey has endorsed the new fundraising page which has been set up to support her. The idea for the fundraising page came from a Navan-based company which wanted to do something to help after reading about the tragedy. The site has been set up with no fees or charges and all funds will go to Ms O'Callaghan-Westropp. It comes in the wake of a fake fundraising page being set up last week. Fr Casey said: "I would be most grateful to anyone who is able to make a donation." The page is being run in parallel with a separate donation page on the GoFundMe website, which was set up by Brian's college classmates, and is focused on providing support for his wife, Zoe. The Brian O'Callaghan-Westropp Memorial page had by yesterday afternoon raised 7,040. Mr O'Callaghan-Westropp was originally from Killaloe in Co Clare, but lived and worked in Dublin. The remains of Mr O'Callaghan-Westropp will be flown home when they are released by the Greek authorities. Fr Casey said: "It is hoped to hold a memorial service for Brian in Killaloe in the near future." To make a donation visit www.ecomm-pay.com/brian A talented hurler who lost his life in a road traffic incident last Friday in America has been remembered by his heartbroken friends and former team-mates at his GAA club in Dublin. David O'Beirne (23), who studied at UCD and worked in Trinity College, had been on holiday with friends in Austin, Texas, when he was hit by a truck while crossing an interstate highway. It appears he was then struck by another vehicle. Both drivers stopped and reported the incident to local police. They remained at the scene of the accident to co-operate with police investigating the incident. The collision is being treated as an accident. A book of condolences has been opened in David's memory at St Jude's GAA clubhouse in Templeogue and will remain open until Sunday. A former student of the local Mac Dara's school, David was believed to be on the first day of his holiday with friends when the tragedy happened. A statement from St Jude's GAA Club said: "It was with profound sadness and heartbreak that we learned of the tragic death of our club member David O'Beirne. "David was one of the nicest young men you could ever hope to meet at all at CLG Naomh Jude are devastated by his untimely passing. We would like to offer sincere condolences and our support to his parents Jimmy and Helen, brother Alan and sister Rachel, and all of of David's relatives and friends. You are in our thoughts and prayers." Funeral arrangements will be announced when David's remains are brought back home. The U.S. has been unable to persuade China to cut Iranian oil imports, according to two officials familiar with the negotiations, dealing a blow to U.S. President Donald Trumps efforts to isolate Iran after his withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear accord. Beijing has agreed not to ramp up purchases of Iranian crude, according to the officials. That would ease concerns that China would work to undermine U.S. efforts to isolate the Islamic Republic by purchasing excess oil. China - the worlds top crude buyer and Irans No. 1 customer - has said previously that it opposed unilateral sanctions and lifted monthly oil imports from the country by 26% in July. It accounted for 35% the Iranian exports last month, according to Bloomberg. Teams of U.S. officials have been visiting capitals around the world to try to choke off sales of Iranian oil by early November, when U.S. sanctions are due to snap back into effect. Assistant secretary of state for the Bureau of Energy Resources Francis Fannon was recently in China to discuss sanctions. THE clerical abuse crisis in the Catholic Church is entering an even more disturbing and disruptive chapter, former President Mary McAleese has warned. Speaking in Dublin last night, Dr McAleese said the resignation of Irish bishop Dr John McAreavey in March over his mishandling of child abuser Fr Malachy Finnegan, as well as the clerical abuse scandals in Chile, suggested that Pope Francis was facing a gargantuan endeavour. Dr McAleese also said the Popes forthcoming visit to Ireland may be something of a make or break moment for him. She was speaking at the launch of the book The Pope Francis Agenda, by Fr Donal Dorr, in St Patricks College Drumcondra. Citing veteran Vatican watcher Robert Mickens, she said he had noted that esteem and affection for Pope Francis was widespread in Ireland and that this was reflected in the interest in his visit and the large numbers planning to attend the papal Mass in the Phoenix Park. However, Mickens also warned: The majority of people in Ireland also give Francis low marks in his handling of the sex abuse crisis. Dr McAleese also highlighted the warning of the former editor of The Tablet, Catherine Pepinster, who said the Pope was failing to tackle the abuse issue. She also said that the abuse crisis now threatens to engulf his papacy and do lasting damage to Franciss own reputation. In an interview with RTEs Marian Finucane Show two weeks ago, Archbishop Diarmuid Martin said it would be important that the Pope address the issue of abuse because the wounds are there, and new wounds are emerging. Answer However, Dr Martin revealed on Wednesday that he had no definitive answer from the Vatican as to whether the Pope will or will not meet survivors of clerical abuse and abuse in Church-run institutions. Expand Close Pope Francis. Photo: Reuters / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Pope Francis. Photo: Reuters Responding to the archbishops comments, clerical abuse survivor Marie Collins told Today with Miriam OCallaghan that she believed the Pope should meet survivors, including representatives of the industrial schools, Magdalene laundries and mother and baby homes, as a recognition of those horrors. The revelations which had emerged since the last papal visit have been horrific, she said. Read More Ms Collins said the Vaticans curia have this idea, if we dont talk about this issue, there wont be any attention given to it. We dont want to do anything like have the Pope meet survivors because that will only bring the issue up in the media. Calling them delusional, she warned that ignoring an issue is not going to make it go away. At the World Meeting of Families, the Pope, she said, needed to commit to firm actions and say what was he going to do to stop this cancer in the Church. Meanwhile, elsewhere in her address last night, Dr McAleese took Pope Francis to task over his failure to reform the clearly unscientific Church teaching which says that homosexual acts are contrary to the natural law. She hit out at the judgmentalism of this teaching and the uncompromising harshness of the language which she said were not assuaged by Pope Franciss more conciliatory statements. The former head of state also accused Pope Francis of offering no coherent plan for the future inclusion of women beyond the sticking plaster of a few token mid-ranking appointments. Dr McAleese also rebuffed those in the Vatican who believed Ireland had abandoned its values to a selfish secularist mentality. A raft of road closures and parking restrictions is set to bring Dublin to a halt during the visit of Pope Francis later this month. Practically the entire city centre will be hit with hours of road closures from early on Saturday August 25, the day the Pontiff arrives. Expand Close Pope Francis / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Pope Francis And on Sunday August 26 road closures will stretch out to Ballyfermot, Cabra and Crumlin from as early as 6am and up until 11pm. While local access will be maintained as far as possible, intermittent temporary road closures may also be implemented by Gardai as necessary. Pope Francis will arrive in Dublin Airport at 10.30am on August 25. Dublin City Council is considering a request from the Office of Public Works for the road closures. On the Saturday more than 50 roads will be closed under the plans, with Bow Street, May Lane, Friary Avenue and New Church Street affected from 6am up to 5.15pm. This is to facilitate the Popes visit to the Capuchin Day Centre. From noon on the Saturday swathes of the city including Sean McDermott Street, OConnell Street, Abbey Street and Henry Street on the northside, and Westmoreland Street, Dame Street, Nassau Street and College Green on the south are set to be shut to traffic until late in the afternoon. Parking will also be suspended on streets within those areas, including the Sean McDermott Street / Cathal Brugha Street region, as well as Abbey Street. The Sunday road closures are due to come into operation from 6am and affect areas including the Old Naas Road, Bluebell Avenue, Kylemore Road, Ballyfermot Road and Chapelizod Road south of the city as well as Ballyboggan Road, Ratoath Road, Fassaugh Road north of the Liffey. Much of the quays will also be shut, including Burgh Quay, Aston Quay, Crampton Quay, Wellington Quay, Essex Quay, Wood Quay, Merchants Quay and Ushers Quay. Bridges along the Grand Canal from Blackhorse to Grand Canal Dock will also be subject to closure up until 11pm. Parking suspensions on the Sunday include Parkgate Street, areas of the North Circular Road near the Phoenix Park, Benburb Street and Infirmary Road. The last time such similar measures were adopted was for the Queen's visit to Ireland in 2012, followed by President Barack Obama's 12 hour stopover. After arriving in Dublin, the Pope will first travel to to Aras an Uachtarain to meet President Michael D Higgins. He will then transfer to Dublin Castle at noon, and later to the Pro Cathedral, and from there to the Capuchin day Centre for the homeless. On Saturday evening he will attend Croke Park for the Feast of Families celebration. On Sunday August 26 he will depart by plane for Knock in Co Mayo and visit the shrine there before coming back to Dublin and the Phoenix park that afternoon. Here, the 50,000 pilgrims expected to attend are being urged to use public transport to get to Knock - more than 45,000 have indicated they intend on using their car. Gardai have warned if this happens, they could be facing 12 km walk to get to Knock Shrine to see the Pontiff. Pope Francis will depart for Rome from Dublin Airport on Sunday evening. RYANAIR has proposed that a top industrial relations troubleshooter step in to end a row with its pilots who are on strike for the fourth time today. In a dramatic move, the airline has suggested that Kieran Mulvey the retired head of the Workplace Relations Commission is appointed to resolve the dispute. Ryanair has traditionally shied away from third party industrial relations intervention and recently told Independent.ie that it was not open to the prospect. In a statement, the airline called on Forsa to agree to the appointment as it faces escalating industrial action at home and abroad. Members of the Irish Airline Pilots Association division of Forsa are today holding a fourth strike and have announced a fifth will take place next Friday. They want a seniority system to give pilots with longest service first call on base transfers, holidays and promotions. Given the non-engagement by Forsa, and in particular the manipulation of the discussions by certain Aer Lingus pilots to ensure that no meetings take place, that unsuccessful strikes keep repeating, Ryanair now feels the only way to introduce common sense is by way of third party mediation, and to this end is suggesting Mr Kieran Mulvey formerly of the Labour Commission and Workplace Relations Commission, said Ryanair's Chief People Officer Eddie Wilson. His background and experience could be a positive influence. We now call on Forsa to accept Mr Mulvey as a third party mediator, an initiative Forsa has repeatedly called for in recent weeks. A Forsa spokesperson said Ryanairs announcement that it will accept independent third-party assistance in its dispute with pilots is an unexpected and positive development. It noted that it was made without preconditions. Senior Ryanair executive Kenny Jacobs had as late as this morning said Ryanair would only attend talks if the union called off its fifth strike. However, it has climbed down on this demand. The union, which has been calling for third-party assistance for many weeks, will consult with its members in the company, and looks forward to talking to Kieran Mulvey about when a process could begin, said the Forsa spokesperson. The scene of where Brendan Keogh was struck by a police vehicle Photo: Google Maps Brendan Keogh has died four months after being hit by a police vehicle An Irishman has died more than four months after he was struck by a police vehicle in Canada. Brendan Keogh (29) passed away on Wednesday morning at Dublin's Mater Hospital. Mr Keogh, who is originally from the village of Mullinalaghta in Co Longford, was walking along the busy intersection of Highway 99 and Garibaldi Way in Squamish town in Vancouver, British Columbia at around 10.30pm local time on March 13 when he was struck by an on-duty officer with the Lower Mainland Integrated Police Dog Services, who was driving an unmarked SUV. He was cared for in Vancouver General Hospital, before being transferred to the Mater Hospital earlier this summer, sadly he never regained consciousness. Local Fianna Fail Councillor PJ Reilly is a close friend of Mr Keogh's family and said everyone is devastated by the news. He told Independent.ie: "It's an awful tragedy, his parents Marian and Kevin and his two sisters flew to be by his beside in Canada and were then able to bring him home to Ireland to the Mater, he was also cared for in Cavan General Hospital for some time before before he was brought back to the Mater. Expand Close Brendan Keogh / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Brendan Keogh "There was a great hope and belief that he would make some sort of recovery but unfortunately it wasn't to be and he didn't survive." Cllr Reilly said that the community has been devastated by the news. "It's a very sad tragedy for his parents and sisters and also for the local area. "Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends and I would like to extend my deepest condolences to them." Mr Keogh's funeral is due to be held in Mullinalaghta on Sunday afternoon. Read More Canadian police watchdog The Independent Investigations Office (IIO) has confirmed that an investigation has been launched. The IIO said in a statement: "The Independent Investigation Office of B.C. has deployed investigators to a motor vehicle incident in Squamish involving a pedestrian. "Initial information provided to the IIO by the RCMP suggests that at approximately 10:30 pm on Tuesday March 13, 2018, an unmarked police vehicle was involved in a collision with the pedestrian at the intersection of Highway 99 and Garibaldi Way in Squamish. "Emergency Health Services attended the scene and the male pedestrian was transported to hospital with serious injuries." They said in an updated statement that they are hoping to speak to anyone who may have witnessed the crash. "The IIO has identified a potential key witness (driver and or occupants) of a small white hatchback vehicle turning right from Garibaldi Way (as seen in the photos) to merge with the southbound lane of Highway 99 at the same time as the unmarked police vehicle struck the pedestrian. "The IIO is asking for the driver of this vehicle and any potential occupants or other witnesses who may have seen, heard, or recorded the incident to contact the IIO Witness Line at 1-855-446-8477 or email info@iiobc.ca "The IIO is an independent civilian oversight agency of the police in British Columbia. It investigates all officer-related incidents that result in serious harm or death. It does not require any allegation of wrongdoing," the IIO spokesperson said. Presidential hopeful Gavin Duffy and his wife Orlaith Carmody enjoying ladies day at the Galway Races. Photo: Mark Condren A Fianna Fail TD paid almost 10,000 for public relations advice from presidential hopeful Gavin Duffy's company. Declan Breathnach has described himself as a "life-long friend" of businessman and 'Dragons' Den' star Mr Duffy. He has publicly declared that he is supporting Mr Duffy's bid for Aras an Uachtarain, breaking ranks with Fianna Fail's parliamentary party, which is backing President Michael D Higgins for a second term. The PR advice was provided by Mr Duffy's son Lorcan, who was working for his father's company Gavin Duffy & Associates. The company's website says it has "worked with Ireland's most influential leaders" and claims its expertise in business and communications "guarantees results, every time". Lorcan Duffy was seconded to Mr Breathnach's office for six months beginning at the end of April 2017. Mr Breathnach used his public representation allowance - a vouched payment available to TDs - to cover the cost of the work. Last night, Mr Breathnach told the Irish Independent he had sought advice from Gavin Duffy & Associates and this was offered through Lorcan Duffy. He said it was "legitimate and invoiced and totally above board". Gavin Duffy said the TD was invoiced 1,600 including VAT each month. That comes to 9,600 over six months. Asked if Mr Breathnach will play a part in his election campaign, he said that, as of yet, "there is no campaign", pointing out that he is still seeking the support of four local authorities to get on the ballot paper. "I am hoping people from all political parties and none will support me for president." Mr Duffy attended the Galway Races where he said he was open to the scrutiny he will face in the weeks ahead. "I am very conscious that I'm running for president. People need to know the character, the values and the integrity of the person who's running," he said. He added: "I do know there's nothing in my business dealings I'd be concerned about." Despite both coming from business and reality TV backgrounds, he believes he has little in common with US President Donald Trump. "I do not admire his politics and I admire less his business dealings," the 58-year-old said. Mr Duffy said he had received advice from former presidential hopeful and 'Dragons' Den' co-star Sean Gallagher, who came second in the race against Mr Higgins in 2011. "Sean didn't try to put me off it. What Sean said was because of my media experience and advising politicians, which I have done over the years, he said 'if there's one person that could pull it off, it might be yourself'. That was heartening to hear," he said. A fourth Labour Party councillor has called for Brendan Howlin to step down as leader. South Dublin County Councillor Pamela Kearns said Mr Howlin should step down in the interest of the party. "We suffered the worst election defeat in the history of our Party in 2016 and since then matters have gone from bad to worse. The failure to hold a leadership contest post General Election was immensely damaging to the morale of many Labour Party members. Our activists deserve better, she said. Brendan Howlin has served the country well and has been an excellent parliamentarian but I strongly believe that the time has come, in the interests of our party, for him to stand aside and facilitate a leadership election in which the entire membership can have their say, she added. Ms Kearns' call for Mr Howlin to resign follows demands from Laois councillor Noel Tuohy, Kerry Councillor Terry OBrien and South Dublin councillor Mick Duff. Wicklow local area representative Paul OBrien also called on the Labour leader to step aside. We have consistently polled well below our General Election result. Regrettably Brendan has not been able to reverse this negative trend and it is my belief that only a change of leadership and a fresh approach can unite the Party and achieve the momentum we need to move forward, Ms Kearns said. Sinn Fein must take its seats in the House of Commons and help minimise the impact of Brexit on Ireland, Fine Gael's spokesman on European Affairs has warned. Senator Neale Richmond repeated calls for the party's MPs to take their seats in Westminster, stressing that any Brexit deal must get through the House of Commons as well as the European Parliament. The spokesman for European Affairs in the Seanad warned: "Hiding beyond the mantra of abstentionism is no longer credible. It is not a sacred cow that is above analysis or indeed a change of opinion." Last week, Sinn Fein deputy leader Michelle O'Neill ruled out any change to the abstentionist policy, describing suggestions to the contrary as "a wee bit of nonsense". "The people of the North turned their back on Westminster," she added. Hammer But as pressure mounts over the impact that Brexit will have on the entire island, Mr Richmond (inset) used the Feile an Phobail event in West Belfast to hammer home the point. "Sinn Fein are in a unique position to materially influence the futures of all peoples on this island in the post-Brexit era," he said. "In having mandates to serve in both the European Parliament and the House of Commons, Sinn Fein representatives can stand up and be counted when it comes to minimising the damage of Brexit on the island of Ireland. "I make no apology for once again pointing out the gravity of the situation and the opportunity that lies before the seven Sinn Fein MPs, and indeed the four Sinn Fein MEPs, to be part of the meaningful Brexit vote," the senator added. He said that the recent votes on the withdrawal bill as it passed through Westminster had given us "a clear insight into the battle that lies ahead for any Brexit deal" and that Sinn Fein could make a marked difference. "Margins of three or four or five cannot be merely dismissed. "The voting to take place on any deal will be even more vital," he added. Sinn Fein is also under pressure on the matter of the Border, with leader Mary Lou McDonald contradicting herself earlier this week. Ms McDonald said that while the "dangers" posed by Brexit were present, it was not the time for a Border poll. But on Tuesday, Ms McDonald said that if there was to be a hard Brexit next year, the British government would have to hold a Border poll. Both Fianna Fail and Fine Gael seized on the apparent abrupt U-turn. Ms McDonald said: "The appetite for the unity debate is growing every day. "Sinn Fein wants to see a referendum as soon as possible. We want to build maximum consensus for unity and win that referendum." SHANE Ross has dismissed criticism of his proposed granny grant which would see a 1,000 payment given to grandparents who mind their grandchildren for ten hours a week. Speaking today the minister said he hasnt seen any push back at all over the proposals. However, one Fine Gael minister told the Irish Independent that the proposal was a mad proposal, and Opposition parties have also hit out at the idea which they say does nothing to alleviate the high cost of childcare faced by parents. However, Mr Ross defended the proposal as a novel idea. I havent seen any push back at all but what were pursuing this an idea, as a novel idea and were going to continue to push for this - an idea which I think recognises the role that grandparents play in childminding, he said. Its not something that Ive noticed any big push back on at all. The Independent Alliance minister said the scheme could be adapted and said there were a lot of issues to thrash out. Mr Ross also defended not having costed the idea after it was first tabled saying that he wanted it to be teased out in conjunction with the Department of Finance. Mr Ross estimates that the grant would cost around 71m based on an estimation that there are around 70,000 grandparents who would be entitled to the grant. However, senior officials in the department of Finance have suggested that the grant could cost many hundreds of millions of euro to introduce and administer. Ireland is set to benefit from a bumper staycation boost as thousands of people are ditching foreign breaks for a holiday at home. Hotels and B&Bs across the country were booked up last night, and there are few rooms to spare in some of the tourism hotspots. Eoghan O'Mara Walsh, chief executive of Irish Tourism Industry Confederation, said: "This bank holiday weekend will be a very busy one for domestic tourism. "There's a great deal of staycations and a lot of Irish tourists, from particularly Dublin, Limerick and Cork, who will set off into the regions and enjoy the good weather and what Irish tourism has to offer in terms of hotels and leisure." The tourism industry was worth 8.7bn last year. Thanks to the high temperatures across Ireland this summer, Mr Walsh predicted that this figure would be even higher. "When you have good weather, there's no better place to holiday than at home in Ireland, and this year people knew the country was having a great summer, so once we had the sunshine, there was a surge to staycation." Joe Dolan, a prominent hotelier and former president of the Irish Hotels Federation, who runs the Bush Hotel in Carrick-on-Shannon, Co Leitrim, said the State had invested a great deal in "making Ireland a destination for staycations". "There are new places to visit such as the Ancient East, and many tourism areas have been opened up that weren't really on the map before," Mr Dolan added. "There's now such a huge variety of places to visit in Ireland and festivals and activities are on everywhere." Killarney Plaza Hotel and Spa, in Co Kerry, reported being fully booked for the bank holiday weekend. Manager Danielle Mannix said that a number of rooms had been snapped up by travellers from Cork and Dublin, among others. Enda Kavanagh, CEO of Wexford Chamber of Commerce, agreed that thousands of people would be heading to the sunny south-east. "There's a hive of activity and very good vibes across Wexford in the sunshine. There's festivals and arts events. And people are going to be more inclined to relax and that is going to reflect in the marketplace. But we don't know to what extent we'll benefit just yet," she said. For those who are savvy and are trying to bag a last-minute break, Donegal may be an option. Gerry O'Donnell, at Fitzgeralds Hotel, in Bundoran, said: "I expect the weekend to be busy but much of our trade comes from Northern Ireland and they don't have a bank holiday this weekend." Istanbul polices anti-terror units detained a total of 38 foreign nationals today in simultaneous operations in the provinces 6 districts against ISIS. The suspects were planning terror attacks, according to local media. During the raids at 12 separate addresses across the city, the police also seized documents and digital materials. The detained suspects are being questioned at the police headquarters, Hurriyet Daily News reported. The number of mothers who breastfeed their baby following delivery at Dublins Rotunda has risen. Some 73 per cent of mothers initiated breastfeeding while at the hospital last year, according to the hospital. This has been hailed as a reassuring and positive step in the right direction. In recent years, Ireland has been found to have the lowest rate for breastfeeding in Europe. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, the majority of babies in Ireland were fed formula, and breastfeeding initiation rates at the Rotunda hospital were as low as 11pc. Master of The Rotunda Hospital, Professor Fergal Malone said today The Rotunda Hospital recommends breastfeeding because it is the best start in life for babies and is encouraging new mothers who might be experiencing any difficulties at home to contact the hospitals experienced lactation midwives. Some mothers find it difficult to establish a successful breastfeeding routine for a number of different reasons but with additional help, support and encouragement a number of these difficulties can be overcome. The Hospital is attributing this slow but steady increase in the number of mothers initiating breastfeeding to improved awareness and education and initial support from hospital staff. However, despite this increase, the percentage of mothers breastfeeding declines steeply within the first few weeks of a babys life, before breastfeeding is fully established. Professor Malone believes that his own hospital and all the maternity hospitals in the country have a crucial role to play in those first few weeks by offering women excellent post-natal support and guidance. He said: Ireland has a long way to go in boosting the long term rate of breastfeeding and while this is the responsibility of the maternity hospitals, it is also the responsibility of society as a whole. Some of the main reasons given for not continuing to breastfeed following the first few days and weeks include insufficient milk supply; fatigue; difficulty with breastfeeding technique; nipple pain and poor latch; lack of freedom; return to work; not wanting to breastfeed and embarrassment as a result of negative societal attitudes towards breastfeeding. According to the Rotunda hospital, dads, partners, friends and family can help breastfeeding mums by: Giving encouragement and support; Preparing drinks, snacks and meals. When dad returns to work, he can help mum by leaving out breakfast, water and other essentials she might need; Assisting with bathing and nappy changing; Helping out with housework, laundry, grocery shopping and cooking; Minding and entertaining older children; and knowing where to get breastfeeding information and support. Breastfeeding facts and stats: Children who do not breastfeed have a higher incidence and severity of many illnesses including respiratory tract and urinary tract infection, gastroenteritis, otitis media, diabetes, SIDS, and childhood cancers. Breastfeeding is a protective factor against obesity in children. The protective role of breastfeeding extends beyond childhood and prevents chronic diseases in adulthood including diabetes. It reduces risk of Type 1 and 2 diabetes. It reduces a mothers risk of breast cancer, ovarian cancer and diabetes. It is vital in preventing Necrotising Enterocolitis (NEC) in preterm infants, which is associated with increased morbidity and mortality and neurodevelopmental impairment. Taste the Atlantic is a new seafood trail on the Wild Atlantic Way Aisling Kelly, owner and manager of Sligo Oyster Experience. Irelands first oyster visitor centre. Photographer: Peter Grogan, Emagine. Fancy a snap-fresh taste of the Atlantic? Ireland's first 'Oyster Experience' has opened in Sligo town. Run by Aisling Kelly of WB's Coffee House as part of the new seafood tasting trail, Taste the Atlantic, the oyster trail and interactive visitor centre opened yesterday. The experience includes a walking tour followed by live oyster shucking demos and tastings, with Kelly describing "the sharp brine and rich finish of local Wild Atlantic Oysters" and their uniqueness to Sligo Bay. Bookings can be made for Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 5pm, with adult tickets costing 20pp, on sligooysterexperience.ie. The experience is funded under the Bord Iascaigh Mhara (BIM) administered Fisheries Local Action Group (FLAG) investment, and has received investment as part of BIM and Failte Ireland's Taste the Atlantic initiative. Expand Close Aisling Kelly, owner and manager of Sligo Oyster Experience. Irelands first oyster visitor centre. Photographer: Peter Grogan, Emagine. / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Aisling Kelly, owner and manager of Sligo Oyster Experience. Irelands first oyster visitor centre. Photographer: Peter Grogan, Emagine. Taste the Atlantic stretches from Inishowen in Co. Donegal to the aptly-named Oysterhaven Bay in Co. Cork, with 21 producers featured. The vision is to provide visitors the opportunity to explore, understand and get to know how the wild Atlantic waters influence the production and taste of some of Irelands seafood," says Jim OToole, CEO of BIM. "Its only the beginning," Kelly adds. "Im really looking forward to developing it further and introducing a whole new audience both locals and visitors to wild atlantic oysters and Sligo Bay. For more see tastetheatlantic.ie and sligofoodtrail.ie. Read more: Miss Universe Ireland 2017 Cailin Aine Ni Toibin, MUi Managing Director Brittany Mason and Steven Patch with Miss Universe Donegal Grainne Gallanagh who was crowned winner of Miss Universe Ireland 2018 at the Mansion House, Dublin walking away with over 40k in prizes. She will go on to represent Ireland in Miss Universe 2018 . The Miss Universe Ireland 2018 in association with Eleven Haircare which was held in the Round Room of Dublins Mansion House was hosted by Managing Director, Brittany Mason and MC, James Patrice. A host of well known faces stepped out on the red carpet at the glitzy bash. Picture: Brian McEvoy No Repro fee for one use Miss Universe Donegal Grainne Gallanagh was crowned the overall winner at last night's finals of the Miss Universe Ireland competition at Dublin's Mansion House. A host of former finalists turned up to cheer on the contestants, as well as a few familiar faces from TV. Expand Close Sybil Mulcahy at the final of Miss Universe Ireland 2018 in association with Eleven Haircare at the Round Room of Dublins Mansion House Picture: Brian McEvoy No Repro fee for one use / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Sybil Mulcahy at the final of Miss Universe Ireland 2018 in association with Eleven Haircare at the Round Room of Dublins Mansion House Picture: Brian McEvoy No Repro fee for one use Alannah Beirne, Roz Lipsett and Sybil Mulcahy all walked the red carpet at the event, putting on a stylish show before the big event. Miss Donegal, Grainne Gallanagh, who works as a nurse in London, was crowned the winner on the night, walking away with over 40,000 in prizes. Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Previous Next Close Miss Universe Ireland 2017 Cailin Aine Ni Toibin, MUi Managing Director Brittany Mason and Steven Patch with Miss Universe Donegal Grainne Gallanagh who was crowned winner of Miss Universe Ireland 2018 at the Mansion House, Dublin walking away with over 40k in prizes. She will go on to represent Ireland in Miss Universe 2018 . The Miss Universe Ireland 2018 in association with Eleven Haircare which was held in the Round Room of Dublins Mansion House was hosted by Managing Director, Brittany Mason and MC, James Patrice. A host of well known faces stepped out on the red carpet at the glitzy bash. Picture: Brian McEvoy No Repro fee for one use Roz Lipsett at the final of Miss Universe Ireland 2018 in association with Eleven Haircare at the Round Room of Dublins Mansion House Picture: Brian McEvoy No Repro fee for one use Niamh Kennedy at the final of Miss Universe Ireland 2018 in association with Eleven Haircare at the Round Room of Dublins Mansion House Picture: Brian McEvoy No Repro fee for one use Lisa Nolan at the final of Miss Universe Ireland 2018 in association with Eleven Haircare at the Round Room of Dublins Mansion House Picture: Brian McEvoy No Repro fee for one use Shannen Reilly McGrath at the final of Miss Universe Ireland 2018 in association with Eleven Haircare at the Round Room of Dublins Mansion House Picture: Brian McEvoy No Repro fee for one use Alannah Beirne at the final of Miss Universe Ireland 2018 in association with Eleven Haircare at the Round Room of Dublins Mansion House Picture: Brian McEvoy No Repro fee for one use Cathy O Connor at the final of Miss Universe Ireland 2018 in association with Eleven Haircare at the Round Room of Dublins Mansion House Picture: Brian McEvoy No Repro fee for one use Rob Lipsett and Roz Lipsett at the final of Miss Universe Ireland 2018 in association with Eleven Haircare at the Round Room of Dublins Mansion House Picture: Brian McEvoy No Repro fee for one use Rob Lipsett at the final of Miss Universe Ireland 2018 in association with Eleven Haircare at the Round Room of Dublins Mansion House Picture: Brian McEvoy No Repro fee for one use Graham Hastings and Amy Joyce Hastings at the final of Miss Universe Ireland 2018 in association with Eleven Haircare at the Round Room of Dublins Mansion House Picture: Brian McEvoy No Repro fee for one use Amy Joyce Hastings at the final of Miss Universe Ireland 2018 in association with Eleven Haircare at the Round Room of Dublins Mansion House Picture: Brian McEvoy No Repro fee for one use Sybil Mulcahy at the final of Miss Universe Ireland 2018 in association with Eleven Haircare at the Round Room of Dublins Mansion House Picture: Brian McEvoy No Repro fee for one use Naomi Ryan at the final of Miss Universe Ireland 2018 in association with Eleven Haircare at the Round Room of Dublins Mansion House Picture: Brian McEvoy No Repro fee for one use Megan Bollard at the final of Miss Universe Ireland 2018 in association with Eleven Haircare at the Round Room of Dublins Mansion House Picture: Brian McEvoy No Repro fee for one use Elana Archer at the final of Miss Universe Ireland 2018 in association with Eleven Haircare at the Round Room of Dublins Mansion House Picture: Brian McEvoy No Repro fee for one use Aisling Frawley at the final of Miss Universe Ireland 2018 in association with Eleven Haircare at the Round Room of Dublins Mansion House Picture: Brian McEvoy No Repro fee for one use Melanie Delaney at the final of Miss Universe Ireland 2018 in association with Eleven Haircare at the Round Room of Dublins Mansion House Picture: Brian McEvoy No Repro fee for one use Umit Kutluk at the final of Miss Universe Ireland 2018 in association with Eleven Haircare at the Round Room of Dublins Mansion House Picture: Brian McEvoy No Repro fee for one use Destiny Vaughan at the final of Miss Universe Ireland 2018 in association with Eleven Haircare at the Round Room of Dublins Mansion House Picture: Brian McEvoy No Repro fee for one use Christina Alcazar at the final of Miss Universe Ireland 2018 in association with Eleven Haircare at the Round Room of Dublins Mansion House Picture: Brian McEvoy No Repro fee for one use Courtney Farrell at the final of Miss Universe Ireland 2018 in association with Eleven Haircare at the Round Room of Dublins Mansion House Picture: Brian McEvoy No Repro fee for one use Sarah Lavin at the final of Miss Universe Ireland 2018 in association with Eleven Haircare at the Round Room of Dublins Mansion House Picture: Brian McEvoy No Repro fee for one use Aishah Akorede at the final of Miss Universe Ireland 2018 in association with Eleven Haircare at the Round Room of Dublins Mansion House Picture: Brian McEvoy No Repro fee for one use Brittany Mason at the final of Miss Universe Ireland 2018 in association with Eleven Haircare at the Round Room of Dublins Mansion House Picture: Brian McEvoy No Repro fee for one use Katherine Sweeney and Brian Davis at the final of Miss Universe Ireland 2018 in association with Eleven Haircare at the Round Room of Dublins Mansion House Picture: Brian McEvoy No Repro fee for one use Maire Wall and Sinead Hennessy at the final of Miss Universe Ireland 2018 in association with Eleven Haircare at the Round Room of Dublins Mansion House Picture: Brian McEvoy No Repro fee for one use Roseanne Mulhern,Demi Henderson and Amy Grant at the final of Miss Universe Ireland 2018 in association with Eleven Haircare at the Round Room of Dublins Mansion House Picture: Brian McEvoy No Repro fee for one use Maria Cremin at the final of Miss Universe Ireland 2018 in association with Eleven Haircare at the Round Room of Dublins Mansion House Picture: Brian McEvoy No Repro fee for one use The swimwear section at the final of Miss Universe Ireland 2018 in association with Eleven Haircare at the Round Room of Dublins Mansion House Picture: Brian McEvoy No Repro fee for one use The swimwear section at the final of Miss Universe Ireland 2018 in association with Eleven Haircare at the Round Room of Dublins Mansion House Picture: Brian McEvoy No Repro fee for one use The swimwear section at the final of Miss Universe Ireland 2018 in association with Eleven Haircare at the Round Room of Dublins Mansion House Picture: Brian McEvoy No Repro fee for one use The swimwear section at the final of Miss Universe Ireland 2018 in association with Eleven Haircare at the Round Room of Dublins Mansion House Picture: Brian McEvoy No Repro fee for one use The swimwear section at the final of Miss Universe Ireland 2018 in association with Eleven Haircare at the Round Room of Dublins Mansion House Picture: Brian McEvoy No Repro fee for one use Alannah Beirne and her mother Brenda Hyland at the final of Miss Universe Ireland 2018 in association with Eleven Haircare at the Round Room of Dublins Mansion House Picture: Brian McEvoy No Repro fee for one use Miss Universe Ireland 2017 Cailin Aine Ni Toibin (left) with Miss Universe Donegal Grainne Gallanagh (Right) who was crowned winner of Miss Universe Ireland 2018 at the Mansion House, Dublin walking away with over 40k in prizes. She will go on to represent Ireland in Miss Universe 2018 . The Miss Universe Ireland 2018 in association with Eleven Haircare which was held in the Round Room of Dublins Mansion House was hosted by Managing Director, Brittany Mason and MC, James Patrice. A host of well known faces stepped out on the red carpet at the glitzy bash. Picture: Brian McEvoy No Repro fee for one use Miss Universe Ireland 2017 Cailin Aine Ni Toibin (left) with Miss Universe Donegal Grainne Gallanagh who was crowned winner of Miss Universe Ireland 2018 at the Mansion House, Dublin walking away with over 40k in prizes. She will go on to represent Ireland in Miss Universe 2018 . The Miss Universe Ireland 2018 in association with Eleven Haircare which was held in the Round Room of Dublins Mansion House was hosted by Managing Director, Brittany Mason and MC, James Patrice. A host of well known faces stepped out on the red carpet at the glitzy bash. Picture: Brian McEvoy No Repro fee for one use The Gallanagh Family and friends from Buncrana in Donegal celebrate as Miss Universe Donegal Grainne Gallanagh was crowned winner of Miss Universe Ireland 2018 at the Mansion House, Dublin walking away with over 40k in prizes. She will go on to represent Ireland in Miss Universe 2018 . The Miss Universe Ireland 2018 in association with Eleven Haircare which was held in the Round Room of Dublins Mansion House was hosted by Managing Director, Brittany Mason and MC, James Patrice. A host of well known faces stepped out on the red carpet at the glitzy bash. Picture: Brian McEvoy No Repro fee for one use Ryan Coleman congratulates his girlfriend Miss Universe Donegal Grainne Gallanagh who was crowned winner of Miss Universe Ireland 2018 at the Mansion House, Dublin walking away with over 40k in prizes. She will go on to represent Ireland in Miss Universe 2018 . The Miss Universe Ireland 2018 in association with Eleven Haircare which was held in the Round Room of Dublins Mansion House was hosted by Managing Director, Brittany Mason and MC, James Patrice. A host of well known faces stepped out on the red carpet at the glitzy bash. Picture: Brian McEvoy No Repro fee for one use Ryan Coleman congratulates his girlfriend Miss Universe Donegal Grainne Gallanagh who was crowned winner of Miss Universe Ireland 2018 at the Mansion House, Dublin walking away with over 40k in prizes. She will go on to represent Ireland in Miss Universe 2018 . The Miss Universe Ireland 2018 in association with Eleven Haircare which was held in the Round Room of Dublins Mansion House was hosted by Managing Director, Brittany Mason and MC, James Patrice. A host of well known faces stepped out on the red carpet at the glitzy bash. Picture: Brian McEvoy No Repro fee for one use Patricia Gallanagh congratulates her daughter Miss Universe Donegal Grainne Gallanagh who was crowned winner of Miss Universe Ireland 2018 at the Mansion House, Dublin walking away with over 40k in prizes. She will go on to represent Ireland in Miss Universe 2018 . The Miss Universe Ireland 2018 in association with Eleven Haircare which was held in the Round Room of Dublins Mansion House was hosted by Managing Director, Brittany Mason and MC, James Patrice. A host of well known faces stepped out on the red carpet at the glitzy bash. Picture: Brian McEvoy No Repro fee for one use Miss Universe Ireland 2018 Judges with Miss Universe Donegal Grainne Gallanagh who was crowned winner of Miss Universe Ireland 2018 at the Mansion House, Dublin walking away with over 40k in prizes. She will go on to represent Ireland in Miss Universe 2018 . The Miss Universe Ireland 2018 in association with Eleven Haircare which was held in the Round Room of Dublins Mansion House was hosted by Managing Director, Brittany Mason and MC, James Patrice. A host of well known faces stepped out on the red carpet at the glitzy bash. Picture: Brian McEvoy No Repro fee for one use MUI Managing Director Brittany Mason with Miss Universe Donegal Grainne Gallanagh Miss Universe Donegal Grainne Gallanagh (Left) is crowned winner of Miss Universe Ireland 2018 at the Mansion House, Dublin walking away with over 40k in prizes. She will go on to represent Ireland in Miss Universe 2018 . The Miss Universe Ireland 2018 in association with Eleven Haircare which was held in the Round Room of Dublins Mansion House was hosted by Managing Director, Brittany Mason and MC, James Patrice. A host of well known faces stepped out on the red carpet at the glitzy bash. Picture: Brian McEvoy No Repro fee for one use Miss Universe Donegal Grainne Gallanagh (Left) is crowned winner of Miss Universe Ireland 2018 by Miss Universe Ireland 2017 Cailin Aine Ni Toibin at the Mansion House, Dublin walking away with over 40k in prizes. She will go on to represent Ireland in Miss Universe 2018 . The Miss Universe Ireland 2018 in association with Eleven Haircare which was held in the Round Room of Dublins Mansion House was hosted by Managing Director, Brittany Mason and MC, James Patrice. A host of well known faces stepped out on the red carpet at the glitzy bash. Picture: Brian McEvoy No Repro fee for one use Miss Universe Donegal Grainne Gallanagh (Centre) who was crowned winner of Miss Universe Ireland 2018 at the Mansion House, Dublin walking away with over 40k in prizes. She will go on to represent Ireland in Miss Universe 2018 . The Miss Universe Ireland 2018 in association with Eleven Haircare which was held in the Round Room of Dublins Mansion House was hosted by Managing Director, Brittany Mason and MC, James Patrice. A host of well known faces stepped out on the red carpet at the glitzy bash. Picture: Brian McEvoy No Repro fee for one use Miss Universe Donegal Grainne Gallanagh (Left) who was crowned winner of Miss Universe Ireland 2018 at the Mansion House, Dublin walking away with over 40k in prizes. She will go on to represent Ireland in Miss Universe 2018 . The Miss Universe Ireland 2018 in association with Eleven Haircare which was held in the Round Room of Dublins Mansion House was hosted by Managing Director, Brittany Mason and MC, James Patrice. A host of well known faces stepped out on the red carpet at the glitzy bash. Picture: Brian McEvoy No Repro fee for one use Miss Universe Donegal Grainne Gallanagh who was crowned winner of Miss Universe Ireland 2018 at the Mansion House, Dublin walking away with over 40k in prizes. She will go on to represent Ireland in Miss Universe 2018 . The Miss Universe Ireland 2018 in association with Eleven Haircare which was held in the Round Room of Dublins Mansion House was hosted by Managing Director, Brittany Mason and MC, James Patrice. A host of well known faces stepped out on the red carpet at the glitzy bash. Picture: Brian McEvoy No Repro fee for one use Miss Universe Donegal Grainne Gallanagh who was crowned winner of Miss Universe Ireland 2018 at the Mansion House, Dublin walking away with over 40k in prizes. She will go on to represent Ireland in Miss Universe 2018 . The Miss Universe Ireland 2018 in association with Eleven Haircare which was held in the Round Room of Dublins Mansion House was hosted by Managing Director, Brittany Mason and MC, James Patrice. A host of well known faces stepped out on the red carpet at the glitzy bash. Picture: Brian McEvoy No Repro fee for one use Miss Universe Donegal Grainne Gallanagh who was crowned winner of Miss Universe Ireland 2018 (Centre) with runners-up at the Mansion House, Dublin walking away with over 40k in prizes. She will go on to represent Ireland in Miss Universe 2018 . The Miss Universe Ireland 2018 in association with Eleven Haircare which was held in the Round Room of Dublins Mansion House was hosted by Managing Director, Brittany Mason and MC, James Patrice. A host of well known faces stepped out on the red carpet at the glitzy bash. Picture: Brian McEvoy No Repro fee for one use MUI Managing Director Brittany Mason with Miss Universe Donegal Grainne Gallanagh who was crowned winner of Miss Universe Ireland 2018 at the Mansion House, Dublin walking away with over 40k in prizes. She will go on to represent Ireland in Miss Universe 2018 . The Miss Universe Ireland 2018 in association with Eleven Haircare which was held in the Round Room of Dublins Mansion House was hosted by Managing Director, Brittany Mason and MC, James Patrice. A host of well known faces stepped out on the red carpet at the glitzy bash. Picture: Brian McEvoy No Repro fee for one use Steven Patch and MUI Managing Director Brittany Mason with Miss Universe Donegal Grainne Gallanagh who was crowned winner of Miss Universe Ireland 2018 at the Mansion House, Dublin walking away with over 40k in prizes. She will go on to represent Ireland in Miss Universe 2018 . The Miss Universe Ireland 2018 in association with Eleven Haircare which was held in the Round Room of Dublins Mansion House was hosted by Managing Director, Brittany Mason and MC, James Patrice. A host of well known faces stepped out on the red carpet at the glitzy bash. Picture: Brian McEvoy No Repro fee for one use / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Miss Universe Ireland 2017 Cailin Aine Ni Toibin, MUi Managing Director Brittany Mason and Steven Patch with Miss Universe Donegal Grainne Gallanagh who was crowned winner of Miss Universe Ireland 2018 at the Mansion House, Dublin walking away with over 40k in prizes. She will go on to represent Ireland in Miss Universe 2018 . The Miss Universe Ireland 2018 in association with Eleven Haircare which was held in the Round Room of Dublins Mansion House was hosted by Managing Director, Brittany Mason and MC, James Patrice. A host of well known faces stepped out on the red carpet at the glitzy bash. Picture: Brian McEvoy No Repro fee for one use She will go on to represent Ireland in Miss Universe 2018. Grainne is no stranger to beauty pageants, having previously been crowned Miss Donegal 2016, and she was also a Miss Earth NI runner-up. Expand Close Graham Hastings and Amy Joyce Hastings at the final of Miss Universe Ireland 2018 in association with Eleven Haircare at the Round Room of Dublins Mansion House Picture: Brian McEvoy No Repro fee for one use / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Graham Hastings and Amy Joyce Hastings at the final of Miss Universe Ireland 2018 in association with Eleven Haircare at the Round Room of Dublins Mansion House Picture: Brian McEvoy No Repro fee for one use As a nurse, she has progressed from emergency nursing to working in a womens health clinic. She has been raising awareness about womens health during her Miss Universe Ireland journey, and has raised funds for her local womens centre in Donegal. UFC fighter Conor McGregor and Conservative politician Jacob Rees-Mogg walk past one another in New York (Youtube: Adams Apple/Twitter: @adamglyn) Conor McGregor crossed from UFC to boxing in 2017 to fight Floyd Mayweather, but it seems politics and mixed martial arts are two things that probably dont go together. That much was clear when the Irish athlete was filmed by Adam Glyn exiting a hotel in New York recently. After signing a few autographs, the 30-year-old broke into a jog, running past Conservative politician Jacob Rees-Mogg in the process. Its fair to assume the two failed to notice or even recognise each other two very different worlds not exactly colliding, rather sliding past one another. The Conservative MP has recently been pictured enjoying the sights in the Big Apple, posting this photo to Instagram from the Empire State Building. McGregor was in New York in late July where he was sentenced to five days community service after pleading guilty to disorderly conduct following an incident in April, where video showed what appeared to be McGregor hurling an object at a bus full of fighters after a news conference for the UFC 223 event at Brooklyns Barclays Centre. They might have passed one another in the street, but dont expect to see these two together in the ring any time soon. Students from an international school in east China city Zhuji pray for the passengers onboard Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 by lighting candles on March 10, 2014 in Zhuji, China. The search for missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 cannot go on forever, Australia's deputy prime minister said, and discussions are already under way between Australia, China and Malaysia as to whether to call off the hunt within weeks. No trace has been found of the Boeing 777 aircraft, which disappeared a year ago this week carrying 239 passengers and crew, in what has become one of the greatest mysteries in aviation history. MH370 vanished from radar screens shortly after taking off from Kuala Lumpur, bound for Beijing, early on March 8. Investigators believe it was flown thousands of miles off course before eventually crashing into the Indian Ocean. Read More The search of a rugged 60,000 sq km (23,000 sq mile) patch of sea floor some 1,600 km (1,000 miles) west of the Australian city of Perth, which experts believe is the plane's most likely resting place, will likely be finished by May. Australian Deputy Prime Minister Warren Truss told Reuters that a decision would have to be taken well before then as to whether to continue into the vast 1.1 million sq km area around the primary search zone if nothing has been found. Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Previous Next Close Australian crews search for missing flight MH370 Planes and ships searched the southern Indian Ocean for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 Australian airman during the search for missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 British Navy ship HMS Echo joins the hunt for the lost Malaysian Airlines jet The shadow of a Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) P3 Orion maritime search aircraft can be seen on low-level clouds as it flies over the southern Indian Ocean looking for missing Malaysian Airlines flight MH370. Reuters Crew aboard the Australian Defence Vessel Ocean Shield move the U.S. Navys Bluefin-21 into position for deployment in the southern Indian Ocean April 14, 2014 to look for the missing Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 in this picture released by the U.S. Navy. Australia's deputy prime minister on May 29, 2014 said officials remained confident the missing Malaysia Airlines jet is somewhere in southern Indian Ocean despite searchers saying wreckage was not on the seabed in the area they had identified. The search was narrowed last month after a series of acoustic pings thought to be from the plane's black box recorders were heard near where analysis of satellite data put its last location, some 1,600 km (1,000 miles) off the northwest coast of Australia. Picture taken April 14, 2014. REUTERS/U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Peter D. Blair/Handout (MID-SEA - Tags: MILITARY TRANSPORT MARITIME) ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS PICTURE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. REUTERS IS UNABLE TO INDEPENDENTLY VERIFY THE AUTHENTICITY, CONTENT, LOCATION OR DATE OF THIS IMAGE. THIS PICTURE IS DISTRIBUTED EXACTLY AS RECEIVED BY REUTERS, AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS. NO SALES. NO ARCHIVES. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS Manhunt: HMS Echo is among the ships searching for plane. Photo: PA Boatswain's Mate, Able Seaman Morgan Macdonald observes markers dropped from a Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) P3K Orion during the continuing search for the missing Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 Phoenix International worker Chris Minor inspects the U.S. Navys Bluefin-21 autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) aboard the Australian Defence Vessel Ocean Shield before it is deployed in the southern Indian Ocean to look for the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 in this handout picture released by the Australian Defence Force April 15, 2014. A U.S. Navy underwater drone sent to search for a missing Malaysian jetliner on the floor of the Indian Ocean had its first mission cut short after exceeding its 4.5 km (2.8 mile) depth limit, Australian search authorities said on Tuesday.The launch of the Bluefin-21 autonomous underwater vehicle on Monday marked a new phase in the six week search for Malaysia Airlines MH370 which disappeared on March 8 and is presumed to have crashed thousands of kilometres (miles) off course with the loss of all 239 people on board. . REUTERS/Australian Defence Force/Handout via Reuters (MID-SEA - Tags: DISASTER MARITIME TRANSPORT SOCIETY MILITARY) ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS PICTURE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. REUTERS IS UNABLE TO INDEPENDENTLY VERIFY THE AUTHENTICITY, CONTENT, LOCATION OR DATE OF THIS IMAGE. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS. THIS PICTURE IS DISTRIBUTED EXACTLY AS RECEIVED BY REUTERS, AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS. NO SALES. NO ARCHIVES Crew aboard the Australian Defence Vessel Ocean Shield prepare to deploy the U.S. Navys Bluefin-21 autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) in the southern Indian Ocean to look for the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 in this handout picture released by the Australian Defence Force April 15, 2014. A U.S. Navy underwater drone sent to search for a missing Malaysian jetliner on the floor of the Indian Ocean had its first mission cut short after exceeding its 4.5 km (2.8 mile) depth limit, Australian search authorities said on Tuesday.The launch of the Bluefin-21 autonomous underwater vehicle on Monday marked a new phase in the six week search for Malaysia Airlines MH370 which disappeared on March 8 and is presumed to have crashed thousands of kilometres (miles) off course with the loss of all 239 people on board. REUTERS/Australian Defence Force/Handout via Reuters (MID-SEA - Tags: DISASTER MARITIME TRANSPORT SOCIETY MILITARY) ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS PICTURE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. REUTERS IS UNABLE TO INDEPENDENTLY VERIFY THE AUTHENTICITY, CONTENT, LOCATION OR DATE OF THIS IMAGE. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS. THIS PICTURE IS DISTRIBUTED EXACTLY AS RECEIVED BY REUTERS, AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS. NO SALES. NO ARCHIVES Australian Navy ships HMAS Perth (L) and Success (R), conduct a dual replenishment at Sea to receive fuel and stores from United States Navy Ship (USNS) Cesar Chavez, in the southern Indian Ocean as they continue to search for the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 in this handout picture released by the Australian Defence Force April 15, 2014. A U.S. Navy underwater drone sent to search for a missing Malaysian jetliner on the floor of the Indian Ocean had its first mission cut short after exceeding its 4.5 km (2.8 mile) depth limit, Australian search authorities said on Tuesday.The launch of the Bluefin-21 autonomous underwater vehicle on Monday marked a new phase in the six week search for Malaysia Airlines MH370 which disappeared on March 8 and is presumed to have crashed thousands of kilometres (miles) off course with the loss of all 239 people on board. REUTERS/Australian Defence Force/Handout via Reuters (MID-SEA - Tags: MILITARY TRANSPORT DISASTER MARITIME SOCIETY) ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS PICTURE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. REUTERS IS UNABLE TO INDEPENDENTLY VERIFY THE AUTHENTICITY, CONTENT, LOCATION OR DATE OF THIS IMAGE. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS. THIS PICTURE IS DISTRIBUTED EXACTLY AS RECEIVED BY REUTERS, AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS. NO SALES. NO ARCHIVES A robotic submarine was hauled back to the surface of the Indian Ocean as the search area for the missing Malaysian jet proved too deep for the craft. (AP/Australian Defence Force, Lt Kelli Lunt) The Royal Australian Navy ship HMAS Perth helps in the search for the missing jet in the southern Indian Ocean. Photo: Getty Images Co-pilot and Squadron Leader Brett McKenzie looks from the cockpit of a Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) P-3K2 Orion aircraft as they fly over the southern Indian Ocean, to continue the search for missing Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 April 13, 2014. Australian officials leading the search for a missing Malaysia Airlines plane in the southern Indian Ocean are weighing when to deploy an underwater robot to aid in the hunt, now in its sixth fruitless week. MH370 disappeared soon after taking off on March 8 from Kuala Lumpur bound for Beijing with 227 passengers and 12 crew on board, triggering a multinational search that is now focused on the Indian Ocean. Picture taken April 13, 2014. REUTERS/Greg Wood/Pool People take part in a special prayer for passengers onboard the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, at Kechara retreat centre in Bentong outside Kuala Lumpur April 13, 2014. The search for the missing jetliner resumed on Saturday, five weeks after the plane disappeared from radar screens, amid fears that batteries powering signals from the black box recorder on board may have died. Seargent Trent Wyatt looks out an observation window aboard a Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) P3 Orion maritime search aircraft as it flies over the southern Indian Ocean looking for debris from missing Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 April 11, 2014. Search and rescue officials in Australia are confident they know the approximate position of the black box recorders from missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott said on Friday. At the same time, however, the head of the agency coordinating the search said that the latest "ping" signal, which was captured by a listening device buoy on Thursday, was not related to the plane. REUTERS/Richard Wainwright/Pool / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Australian crews search for missing flight MH370 Discussions had already begun about what to do in that event, including the possibility that the search might be called off, said Truss, who is also transport minister. Read More "For many of the families onboard, they won't have closure unless they have certain knowledge that the aircraft has been located and perhaps their loved ones' remains have been recovered," Truss said in an interview. "We clearly cannot keep searching forever, but we want to do everything that's reasonably possible to locate the aircraft." Truss compared the search, already the most expensive of its kind, with another great mystery from an earlier era, the hunt for missing aviation pioneer Amelia Earhart, who disappeared in 1937 during an early attempt to circumnavigate the globe. Read More Four vessels owned by Dutch engineering firm Fugro , equipped with sophisticated underwater drones, have searched about 40 percent of the previously unmapped expanse of sea floor that has been designated the highest priority. DECISION TIME Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Previous Next Close The wife of a passenger aboard the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, holds a picture of her husband Daughter Michelle Gomes (L) and wife Jacquita Gonzales of in-flight supervisor Patrick Francis Gomes, who was aboard the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, comfort each other at their home in Kuala Lumpur. Zhang Yongli, whose daughter Zhang Qi was onboard Malaysian Airlines Flight MH370, looks at his daughter's toys as he poses for a picture. Zhang said this incident is disrupting the lives of he and his wife now. His wife sometimes roams several kilometers far from home because she cannot stand staying in their home from which her daughter is now absent. Zhiliang, whose fiancee who was onboard Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, shows an image on his mobile phone. His fiancee chose it for the reference to decorate their newly purchased house. Zhiliang said he will wait for his missing fiancee forever. They had planned to marry this year. Hu, whose son Zhao's whole family was onboard Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, 2014 wipes her tears as her granddaughter's framed picture is seen in the living room of her house. Hu said she had thought of committing suicide. She could not go back home for a while after the incident because she was afraid of entering the empty house which had been full of her 3 year-old granddaughter's lovely smile. A family member of a passenger onboard the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 cries as she gathers with others to pray at Yonghegong Lama Temple in Beijing. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon A family member of a passenger aboard the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 comforts another relative as they gather to pray at Yonghegong Lama Temple in Beijing. Sunday marks the 100th day that the flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing disappeared with 239 passengers and crew on board. / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp The wife of a passenger aboard the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, holds a picture of her husband Australia and Malaysia contributed to evenly split the costs, estimated at up to A$52 million ($40.5 million), but Truss warned that continuing the search beyond that area would be impossible without more international help. "We put in the amount of money that we believed was necessary to do this job well and thoroughly with the best available equipment," he said. "We have to make other decisions, then, about how long the search should continue." Read More Military radar showed the plane turned back across Peninsular Malaysia after contact with it was lost. A handful of faint "pings" picked up by a commercial satellite for around another six hours helped narrow down its likely final location. Martin Dolan, Chief Commissioner of the Australian Transport Safety Bureau which is leading the search, said he remained confident that the plane would be found in the remainder so-called "priority search area". If, however, the search has to be expanded into the much larger surrounding area, the costs could prove prohibitive. Read More "It's almost impossible to get your head around the scale of what's involved here," he told Reuters. "If you take the theoretical maximum of the possible area for the aircraft - 1.1 (or) 1.2 million sq km - you're talking about orders or magnitude in terms of cost and time above what we're currently doing, and that's something that governments will obviously have to bear in mind." Most of those on board the lost flight were Chinese or Malaysian. Read More Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said Australia, China and Malaysia had cooperated closely on the search. "The Australian side has put in a large amount of personnel and material resources and we are deeply grateful for their help," Hong said. "The search effort is still ongoing and we hope the relevant work will produce progress." The Malaysian government did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Loss-making Malaysia Airlines, whose fortunes worsened when another of its Boeing 777's was shot down over Ukraine on July 17, killing all 298 people on board, was delisted at the end of 2014 as part of a $1.8 billion government-led restructuring. Rounding out a bad year for Malaysian-affiliated carriers, an Indonesia AirAsia flight from Surabaya to Singapore crashed on Dec. 28, killing all 162 people on board It is perhaps the most English of English monuments. But a new study by Oxford University and University College London (UCL) suggests that Stonehenge was actually built by the Welsh. Although it was known the bluestones of the megalithic monument had been sourced from the Preseli Mountains in Wales, it was generally thought the builders travelled there from modern-day Wiltshire to get them. However, isotope analysis of the skulls of people buried at the 5,000-year-old Neolithic monument show unmistakable Welsh origins. Isotopes of elements occur everywhere in the environment, and those in the food we eat or the water we drink become incorporated into our tissue and bone. By looking at the different ratios it is possible to work out where and when a person lived based on their isotope make up. Professor Mike Parker Pearson, of UCL, who believes the whole monument may have once stood in Wales, said: "This is a really exciting discovery because it shows how far some of the Stonehenge people travelled. But what's really fascinating is that this date of around 3,000BC coincides with our radiocarbon dates for quarrying at the bluestone outcrops in the Preseli hills of Pembrokeshire. "Some of the people buried at Stonehenge might have even been involved in moving the stones - a journey of more than 180 miles (290km)." Little is known about the people buried at Stonehenge and archaeological analysis has largely focused on what the megalithic monument was used for rather than who built it. One of the problems is that many of the human remains were cremated, so it was thought isotope analysis would be impossible. However, new developments in archaeological analysis, pioneered by lead author Christophe Snoeck during his doctoral research at Oxford, showed cremated bone does still hold crucial information. Dr Snoeck said: 'The recent discovery that some biological information survives the high temperatures reached during cremation (up to 1,000C) offered us the exciting possibility to finally study the origin of those buried at Stonehenge." With permission from Historic England and English Heritage, the team analysed skull fragments from 25 individuals which were originally excavated in the 1920s from 56 pits inside Stonehenge, known as 'Aubrey Holes', which were named after the 17th-century antiquarian John Aubrey, who first spotted them. The research was published in the journal 'Nature Scientific Reports'. ( Daily Telegraph, London) Theresa May has met Emmanuel Macron for talks on Brexit as the clock ticks down for a breakthrough in the process. The British Prime Minister visited the French Presidents summer retreat in the south of France, breaking in to her own holiday in order to try to find support for her Brexit blueprint. Her visit to the Fort de Bregancon followed fresh warnings about the economic impact of the failure to reach a deal on the UKs departure from the European Union. Expand Close French President Emmanuel Macron invited Theresa May to his Fort de Bregancon retreat for talks (Sebastien Nogier/AP) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp French President Emmanuel Macron invited Theresa May to his Fort de Bregancon retreat for talks (Sebastien Nogier/AP) Bank of England governor Mark Carney warned that the possibility of a no-deal Brexit is uncomfortably high and will lead to higher prices. He said both the UK and EU should do all things to avoid a no-deal scenario. He added that the banks have done the stockpiling and the countrys financial system is in a position to be able to withstand a shock which could result from the UK leaving the EU without an agreement. Mr Carney, appearing on BBC Radio 4s Today programme, said: I think the possibility of a no deal is uncomfortably high at this point. Asked if no deal would be a disaster, Mr Carney said: It is highly undesirable. Parties should do all things to avoid it. Mark Carney, governor of the Bank of England, says the chances of a Brexit no deal is "uncomfortably high, and that such an outcome is "highly undesirable" #r4Today pic.twitter.com/7xbQyxvM1U BBC Radio 4 Today (@BBCr4today) August 3, 2018 Pushed on what no deal would mean for people, Mr Carney said disruption to trade as we know it before adding: As a consequence of that, a disruption to the level of economic activity, higher prices for a period of time. Our job at the Bank of England is to make sure those issues dont happen in the financial system so that people will have things to worry about in a no-deal Brexit, which is still a relatively unlikely possibility but it is a possibility, but what we dont want to have is people worrying about their money in the bank, whether or not they can get a loan from the bank whether for a mortgage or for a business idea and we have put the banks through the wringer well in advance of this to make sure they have the capital. Tory Jacob Rees-Mogg, leader of the European Research Group of MPs, dismissed Mr Carneys comments. Mark Carney has long been the high priest of project fear whose reputation for inaccurate and politically motivated forecasting has damaged the reputation of the Bank of England, he said. Mrs May cut short her break in the Italian Lakes a day early to attend the hastily-arranged talks with Mr Macron. After the Brexit discussions, Mrs May and her husband Philip will join Mr Macron and his wife Brigitte for a private dinner at the Mediterranean island hideaway. In a sign of the intensified diplomatic activity aimed at selling the Chequers Brexit plan, Mrs May also talked to European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker on Friday. The Prime Minister and the European Commission president discussed global trade and Brexit, EU officials said. A convicted gunman from the Greek far-left terror group November 17, which was behind the assassination of British military attache Brigadier Stephen Saunders, has been moved to a minimum-security prison in central Greece. Dimitris Koufodinas, 61, who is serving multiple life terms for a string of assassinations, was transferred from Korydallos prison near Athens to an agricultural prison in the central town of Volos. Such facilities are considered open prisons where inmates have greater freedom of movement within the grounds, which include fields and livestock units where they work. Koufodinas has admitted to membership of November 17, Greeces deadliest terror group, which killed 23 western diplomats and Greeks between 1975 and 2000, including Brigadier Stephen Saunders. He was arrested in 2002 and given 11 life sentences. In June, the US embassy in Athens issued a statement deploring a 48-hour furlough granted to Koufodinas after he held a two-week hunger strike over the initial denial of his request. Brigadier Saunders was shot dead in busy traffic in Athens in June 2000. He was November 17s last victim. The mother of Osama Bin Laden has said her son who was responsible for the 9/11 attack in New York was a good child until he was brainwashed at university. Bin Laden was responsible for ordering the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Centre in 2001 which took the lives of almost 3,000 people including tourists and members of emergency crews. Expand Expand Previous Next Close Osama Bin Laden, ex-leader of the al-Qaida terror group which was responsible for the 9/11 attack on the US Osama Bin Laden / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Osama Bin Laden, ex-leader of the al-Qaida terror group which was responsible for the 9/11 attack on the US Another 6,000 people were injured in the attacks which seen two passenger planes hijacked and flown into the towers in lower Manhattan. In a wide ranging interview with the Guardian, Alia Ghanem who is in her mid-70s now said her son was not to blame but that he was brainwashed by extremists while attending university in Saudi city Jeddah. Everyone who met him in the early days respected him. At the start, we were very proud of him. Even the Saudi government would treat him in very noble, respectful way. And then came Osama the mujahid. The people at university changed him, she said. He was a very good child until he met some people who pretty much brainwashed him in his early 20s. You can call it a cult. They got money for their cause. I would always tell him to stay away from them, and he would never admit to me what he was doing, because he loved me so much. Expand Expand Previous Next Close The World Trade Center south tower (L) bursts into flames after being struck by hijacked United Airlines Flight 175 French security services believe that Islamist terrorists are determined to carry out an attack in France on the scale of the Twin Towers attack in New York / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp The World Trade Center south tower (L) bursts into flames after being struck by hijacked United Airlines Flight 175 It never crossed my mind, she said of his radicalisation. We were extremely upset. I did not want any of this to happen. Why would he throw it all away like that? Bin Laden studied economics at King Abdulaziz University in Jeddah. Later he regularly got involved with fighting Russian occupation in Afghanistan, something he was commended and respected for by Saudi people. His half-brothers Hassan and Ahmad who share a mansion with their mother in Jeddah were also interviewed for the piece after they were given permission from the Saudi government who keep a close watch over the family. Ahmad admits Osamas mothers views are biased. It has been 17 years now [since 9/11] and she remains in denial about Osama. She loved him so much and refused to blame him. Instead, she blames those around him. She only the good boy side, the side we all saw. She never got to know the jihadist side. His half-brother Hassan says he was shocked, stunned by the events that occurred in September 2001 which led George Bush to declare a war on terror. It was a very strange feeling. We knew from the beginning [that it was Osama], within the first 48 hours. From the youngest to the eldest, we all felt ashamed of him, said Hassan. We knew all of us were going to face horrible consequences. Our family abroad all came back to Saudi. The family say they last saw him at his base in Afghanistan in 1999, two years before the deadly attack. In May 2011 under Obamas watch and after decade long search, Bin Laden was captured and killed by the US military at a base in Abbottabad Pakistan. His youngest son, Hamza has been branded a global terrorist by the US after pledging to avenge his fathers killing. Then the next thing I knew, Hamza was saying, I am going to avenge my father, I dont want to go through that again, said Hassam, who is Hamzas uncle. We thought everyone was over this, he says. I would tell him God guide you. Think twice about what you are doing. Dont retake the steps of your father. You are entering horrible parts of your soul. Turkey was yesterday drawing up retaliatory measures after Washington slapped sanctions on two Turkish ministers in one of the biggest crises between the two Nato allies in recent years. Tensions have soared over Turkey's detention on terror charges of American pastor Andrew Brunson, who was first held in October 2016 and was moved to house arrest last week. The sanctions targeting Justice Minister Abdulhamit Gul and Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu freeze any property or assets on US soil held by the two ministers, and bar US citizens from doing business with them. White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders told journalists both ministers had "played leading roles in the arrest and detention of Pastor Brunson", who led a Protestant church in the Aegean city of Izmir. The US Treasury implemented the sanctions under the 2016 Global Magnitsky Act, named after Russian lawyer Sergei Magnitsky, who died in a Moscow jail, and which allows the US to sanction foreign officials implicated in rights abuses. The Turkish foreign ministry warned that the move "will greatly damage constructive efforts" to solve outstanding issues and told Washington it would retaliate. "Without delay, there will be a response to this aggressive attitude that will not serve any purpose," it said. Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, who is set to meet US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in the next few days, also warned that the move "will not go without response". Hours before the sanctions were announced, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused Washington of showing an "evangelist, Zionist mentality". The standoff appears to be one of the most serious crises between Turkey and the United States in modern history, along with the rows over the 1974 Turkish invasion of Cyprus and the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq. The row over Mr Brunson escalated last week when US Vice President Mike Pence, like the pastor an evangelical Christian, said Turkey would face "significant sanctions" if this "innocent man of faith" was not freed. His language was immediately echoed by President Donald Trump, who had enjoyed a relatively warm relationship with Mr Erdogan and was even reported to have "fist-bumped" the Turkish president at a Nato summit last month. Tehran hopes Washington will listen to the international community and reverse its wrongdoings, linked to the pullout from the nuclear deal, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said. "The United States has unilaterally announced its pullout from the deal and also threatened to restart unilateral sanctions on Iran, which violates the related resolutions of the United Nations and is opposed by all parties," he said at the meeting with China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Singapore. "We hope that the United States would listen to the voices of the international community and reverse its wrongdoings," Xinhua cited Zarif as saying. The top Iranian diplomat said that Tehran is willing to continue safeguarding and implementing the deal and will continue to work with the parties concerned including China and European countries. In early May, a poll of New Hampshire Democrats was carried out asking primary voters in the bellwether state their preferred candidate for president in 2020. The frontrunner was neither Bernie Sanders nor Joe Biden, two of the favourites, but Elizabeth Warren, the 69-year-old Massachusetts senator who seems to have niggled Donald Trump more than any other politician. Ms Warren was backed by 26pc of respondents, 6pc more than the former vice president. Intriguingly she was backed by twice as many respondents as Mr Sanders, the supposed darling of the Democrat left. She has repeatedly denied that she is running for president, but commentators in the US are treating this with a pinch of salt. After all, Barack Obama swore blind that he had no interest in seeking the 2008 Democrat nomination. Facing re-election in the mid-terms, Ms Warren has insisted that she is only focused on retaining her Senate seat. Interviewed on 'Meet the Press', she evaded answering whether she would serve her full six-year term. Perhaps wisely she is keeping her powder dry for the time being, waiting to see how the race shapes up before deciding whether to make her move. Even though she would be 71 by the time of the next presidential election, she would still be several years younger than Donald Trump as well as Mr Biden and Mr Sanders. "I think she would be an excellent candidate," says Willy Ritch, a former congressional staffer on Capitol Hill. She is a woman, she is a populist. She is a hybrid of the Democrats' two leading candidates last time - Bernie and Hillary. "When I worked on the Hill there used to be a messaging meeting at 8am. I remember when she came to speak to us and everyone was blown away by how clearly she could describe the economic problems in a way that people could understand. "It is hard to think of anybody else who has been so unflinching in taking on Trump and he has just responded with petulant name-calling." Ms Warren's path from a registered Republican and law professor to a late-in-life left-wing politician has neither been easy nor devoid of controversy. Oklahoma-born, she married her high-school boyfriend Jim Warren at the age of 19 and had her first child, Amelia, when she was 22, dropping out of her studies at George Washington University. Two years later she went to law school, graduating just before the birth of her son, Alex. In 1980 she divorced Mr Warren, and six months later married Bruce Mann, a legal historian at the University of Connecticut. Ms Warren moved on to the University of Texas Law School in Austin, where she developed an interest in bankruptcy, researching why ordinary families faced financial collapse. In many cases, she found that people filing for bankruptcy were plunged into catastrophic debt not because of indolence or reckless spending, but because of life-changing events such as illness or being laid off. It was an academic interest which also appears to have driven Ms Warren leftwards. According to voting records, she was a registered Republican until 1996. Her first book, 'As We Forgive Our Debtors', won a major prize - the Silver Gavel Award - from the American Bar Association. But her work was challenged by Philip Shuchman, a Rutgers bankruptcy professor. His complaints of "repeated instances of scientific misconduct'' were dismissed by both the University of Texas and the National Science Foundation. That was not the only glitch in her upwardly mobile academic career. In 1987, she was hired by the University of Pennsylvania Law School and it emerged that she had listed herself as a minority in the Association of American Law Schools Directory. Successive universities have insisted that Ms Warren's assertion that she had some Native American ancestry played no part in her being hired. But it has been a gift for Donald Trump who scathingly dubs Ms Warren "Pocahontas" every time he mentions her - which is fairly often - on Twitter. By the time she ran for office, Ms Warren was already recognised as one of the country's leading bankruptcy experts. Charles Fried, who served as Ronald Reagan's Solicitor General and was a colleague of Ms Warren at Harvard, is an unstinting admirer of her work. "What people need to understand is that she is no socialist, she is not Bernie Sanders. She believes in the capitalist system, but like a good 19th-century liberal she believes capitalists and markets should not only be free, but honest. "She is very open to the ideas of moderate Republicans - like me." Should Bernie Sanders decide against running, then Ms Warren would be the likeliest candidate from the party's populist wing. "She is certainly smart enough, tough enough, disciplined and fearless - all pretty good traits to have as a presidential candidate," said Steve Jarding, a Democrat activist and professor at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. "Bluntly, my fear for her is that she can come off as a bit too steely and a bit cold. She needs to allow other dimensions of her personality to show through - laugh more, soften the edge she often carries. "In short, I believe she has work to do to make herself more likeable." ( Daily Telegraph, London) President Donald Trump reportedly said the Queen is a fantastic woman following their meeting at Windsor Castle (Chris Jackson/PA) Donald Trump is reported to have described the Queen as beautiful (Chris Jackson/PA) US President Donald Trump says reports stating he was 15 minutes late to meet the Queen of England was "fake fake disgusting news", adding that it was the queen who made him wait. He also dismissed claims that he overstayed his welcome during the royal encounter at Windsor Castle last month. Expand Expand Expand Previous Next Close The Queen waiting for Mr Trump to arrive (Ben Stansall/PA) Britain's Queen Elizabeth waits for U.S. President Donald Trump and the First Lady Melania Trump to arrive for tea at Windsor Castle Photo: REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque US President Donald Trump and the First Lady Melania Trump are met by Britain's Queen Elizabeth as they arrive for tea at Windsor Castle: Reuters/Kevin Lamarque / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp The Queen waiting for Mr Trump to arrive (Ben Stansall/PA) The comments came as Mr Trump renewed his campaign against the media at a Pennsylvania rally, during which he denounced the press for underselling his accomplishments and doubting his political rise. "I was asked to have tea with the Queen, who is incredible by the way. Incredible," Mr Trump told the crowd. "I was about 15 minutes early and I'm waiting with my wife and that's fine. Hey, it's the Queen, right? We can wait. But I'm a little early. Expand Expand Expand Previous Next Close US President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump met with the Queen on Thursday (Chris Jackson/PA) US President Donald Trump and the First Lady Melania Trump are met by Britain's Queen Elizabeth as they arrive for tea at Windsor Castle REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque US President Donald Trump and the First Lady Melania Trump are met by Britain's Queen Elizabeth as they arrive for tea at Windsor Castle: Reuters/Kevin Lamarque / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp US President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump met with the Queen on Thursday (Chris Jackson/PA) "And then here's the rest of the story. So they said I was late when I was actually early, number one. Number two, I guess the meeting was scheduled for 15 minutes and it lasted for almost an hour. The president overstayed! "So I was late and I overstayed. And honestly folks, it was such a beautiful, beautiful visit an afternoon but they can make anything bad because they are the fake, fake disgusting news." The president said he then went to have tea with the Queen. "And I didn't know this - it was supposed to last 15 minutes but it lasted like an hour. Because we got along. And she liked our first lady and our first lady liked her. "But we got along fantastically well. But the time went by - you know, sometimes you get along and the time goes by. "So here was the story by the fake news: The president was 15 minutes late for the Queen. Wrong. Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Previous Next Close President Donald Trump during a political rally, Thursday, Aug. 2, 2018, at Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza in Wilkes Barre, Pa.. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster) President Donald Trump pauses during a rally, Thursday, Aug. 2, 2018, at Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza in Wilkes Barre, Pa.. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster) President Donald Trump is cheered as he arrives for a rally, Thursday, Aug. 2, 2018, at Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza in Wilkes Barre, Pa.. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster) President Donald Trump arrives for a rally, Thursday, Aug. 2, 2018, at Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza in Wilkes Barre, Pa. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster) President Donald Trump waves to the cheering crowd as he arrives for a political rally, Thursday, Aug. 2, 2018, at Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza in Wilkes Barre, Pa.. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster) President Donald Trump speaks during a rally, Thursday, Aug. 2, 2018, at Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza in Wilkes Barre, Pa. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster) President Donald Trump speaks during a rally, Thursday, Aug. 2, 2018, at Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza in Wilkes Barre, Pa. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp President Donald Trump during a political rally, Thursday, Aug. 2, 2018, at Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza in Wilkes Barre, Pa.. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster) The president was speaking in Pennsylvania, a state he took from the Democrats in 2016 and that is home to a Senate seat he is trying to place in the Republicans' column this autumn. But the race between Republican Lou Barletta and two-term incumbent Democrat Bob Casey took a back seat to Mr Trump's invective against the media, which came amid a backdrop of antagonism to journalists from the White House and hostility from the thousands packed into a loud, overheated Wilkes-Barre arena. "What ever happened to the free press? What ever happened to honest reporting?" Mr Trump asked, pointing to the media at the back of the hall. "They don't report it. They only make up stories." He also tore into the media for diminishing what he accomplished at his Singapore summit with North Korea leader Kim Jong Un; he complained about the tough questioning he received in Helsinki when he met Russia's Vladimir Putin last month; and he began his rally speech with a 10-minute remembrance of his 2016 election night victory, bemoaning that Pennsylvania was not the state to clinch the White House for him only because "the fake news refused to call it". "They were suffering that night, they were suffering," he said of the election-night pundits. He then promised that the Keystone State would deliver his margin of victory "next time". "Only negative stories from the fakers back there," the president said. With each denunciation, the crowd jeered and screamed at the press in the holding pen. The inflammatory performance came hours after White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders refused to distance herself from Mr Trump's previous assertions that the media is the "enemy" of the American people. Pressed during a White House briefing on the issue, she said the president "has made his position known". In a heated exchange with reporters, she recited a litany of complaints against the press and blamed the media for inflaming tensions. "As far as I know, I'm the first press secretary in the history of the United States that's required Secret Service protection," she said, accusing the media of continuing "to ratchet up the verbal assault against the president and everyone in this administration". Although Mr Barletta's bid was an undercard to Mr Trump's main event, the president did bless the congressman's bid. Mr Trump, who has accelerated his campaign schedule in recent weeks to help the Republicans he favours in primaries and November's mid-terms, was the first Republican to win Pennsylvania since 1988. "For years and years, they said Republicans should win the state of Pennsylvania," he said. "It always got away. But we won the state of Pennsylvania." He and Mr Barletta, who is trailing by double digits in the polls, share hardline immigration views, and the president mocked Mr Casey with his own derogatory nickname, Sleeping Bob. But his focus was on defending his own accomplishments and beliefs. He pushed for tougher borders, defended his kid-glove approach to Mr Kim and Mr Putin, criticised the Democratic leadership of Charles Schumer and Nancy Pelosi, and raved about the booming economy, claiming his blue-collar supporters in states like Pennsylvania are the biggest beneficiaries. Special Counsel Robert Mueller indicated this week that he is willing to reduce the number of questions his investigators would pose to President Donald Trump in an interview, renewing negotiations with Mr Trump's lawyers about a presidential sit-down after an extended stand-off, according to two people briefed on the negotiations. The latest proposal by the special counsel comes as Mr Trump has stepped up his attacks on his investigation and Mr Mueller personally. For months, Mr Mueller has been seeking to question the president as part of his investigation into Russia interference in the 2016 campaign, which is also examining whether Mr Trump has sought to block that probe. In a letter, Mr Mueller's team suggested that investigators would reduce the number of questions about potential obstruction of justice they would ask in person and instead seek some answers in written form, according to one person. The special counsel is still seeking to press Mr Trump on topics related to obstruction, including some questions about the firing of then-FBI director James Comey, but not as many as Mr Mueller originally sought. The two sides have been at an impasse since March, when Mr Mueller raised the possible threat of subpoenaing the president. Earlier this summer, Mr Trump's legal team sought to set specific conditions on an interview and make central topics off limits - conditions they believed would be dealbreakers for the special counsel. Among them: that Mr Mueller not ask any questions about actions Mr Trump has taken as president, including his private discussions with Mr Comey. Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani said earlier this month that he believes such questions could unfairly expose Mr Trump to claims of perjury. Jay Sekulow, one of Mr Trump's attorneys, declined to comment on the new Mueller proposal and whether the Trump team might accept the offer. "There continue to be ongoing discussions," Mr Sekulow said. "Nothing's decided." Mr Giuliani told reporters in New Hampshire on Wednesday said that Mr Trump remains willing to be interviewed if the lawyers can agree on rules. "I'm not going to give you a lot of hope it's going to happen," he said on CNN. "But we're still negotiating." "He's always been interested in testifying," he added. "It's us - meaning the team of lawyers, including me - that have the most reservations about that." Peter Carr, a spokesman for the special counsel's office, declined to comment. In the wake of the proposal by Mueller's team, Mr Trump stepped up his assault on the special counsel investigation, tweeting on Wednesday that the Justice Department should shut it down. "This is a terrible situation and Attorney General Jeff Sessions should stop this Rigged Witch Hunt right now, before it continues to stain our country any further. Bob Mueller is totally conflicted, and his 17 Angry Democrats that are doing his dirty work are a disgrace to USA!" he wrote. When Mr Mueller first proposed a presidential interview in late December, Mr Trump was keen to do it. He told his lawyers he wanted to clear up any questions Mr Mueller had and believed he could put to rest questions about whether his campaign co-ordinated with Russia in the 2016 election. But Mr Trump's lawyers have been wary of a sit-down. Mr Giuliani has repeatedly warned that such an interview would expose Mr Trump to legal danger, saying that if Mr Trump made any misstep or if Mr Mueller later determined that other witnesses were more credible than Mr Trump about what he had said and done, the president could face accusations of perjury. Mr Trump's legal team earlier sought a deal in which the president could provide written answers to some questions. They also pressed Mr Mueller's investigators to demonstrate that they cannot obtain information without interviewing the president. ( Washington Post) North Korea is far from living up to its pledge to denuclearise and remains in violation of numerous UN Security Council resolutions, according to US secretary of state Mike Pompeo. Speaking before he attended an Asian security forum with North Koreas foreign minister, Mr Pompeo told reporters in Singapore there was still a ways to go before achieving the goal of ridding the North of its nuclear weapons. His comments came after the White House announced President Donald Trump had received a new letter from North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and responded quickly with a letter of his own. The correspondence, following up on their Singapore summit in June, came amid fresh concerns over Pyongyangs commitment to denuclearisation despite a rosy picture of progress painted by Mr Trump. Mr Pompeo has taken the lead in negotiations with the North, having travelled to Pyongyang three times since April and accompanied Mr Trump to the summit, and he will be in the same room on Saturday as his North Korean counterpart at the Association of South East Asian Nations annual regional forum. A separate meeting between the two is possible but not confirmed, according to State Department officials. Expand Close Mike Pompeo, centre, in Singapore with diplomats from Thailand, Vietnam,, Malaysia and Laos (Yong Teck Lim/AP) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Mike Pompeo, centre, in Singapore with diplomats from Thailand, Vietnam,, Malaysia and Laos (Yong Teck Lim/AP) Chairman Kim made a commitment to denuclearise, Mr Pompeo told reporters accompanying him to Singapore from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The world demanded that (he) do so in the UN Security Council resolutions. To the extent they are behaving in a manner inconsistent with that, they are in violation of one or both the UN Security Council resolutions, we can see we still have a ways to go to achieve the ultimate outcome were looking for. On Thursday, Mr Trump tweeted his thanks to the North Korean leader for your nice letter I look forward to seeing you soon! The White House did not provide details on the content of the letter from Mr Kim, received on Wednesday, or of Mr Trumps reply. White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said the letters addressed their commitment to work toward North Koreas complete denuclearisation. Ms Sanders said no second meeting is locked in as a follow-up to the Singapore summit in June, but they remain open to discussions. Today, the remains of U.S. service members were repatriated to the U.S. from the #DPRK. We owe a profound debt of gratitude to these fallen heroes and their families. Their sacrifices have not been forgotten. Chairman Kim is fulfilling part of his commitment to @POTUS. pic.twitter.com/mF9bcqiIZm Secretary Pompeo (@SecPompeo) August 1, 2018 Mr Trump in his tweet expressed gratitude to Mr Kim for keeping your word on the return of the remains of more than 50 American service members killed during the Korean War. Vice president Mike Pence and US military leaders received the remains in Hawaii during a sombre ceremony on Wednesday. Germanys highest court has thrown out a notorious elderly neo-Nazis case against her conviction for Holocaust denial, ruling that her activities are not covered by a constitutional guarantee of freedom of expression. In May, 89-year-old Ursula Haverbeck was taken to prison to begin a two-year sentence for incitement handed down last year by a court in Verden. Haverbeck has repeatedly said the Auschwitz death camp in Nazi-occupied Poland was just a work camp. She has been convicted several times but long avoided prison due to lengthy appeals. Expand Close Haverbeck claimed Auschwitz was a work camp (AP) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Haverbeck claimed Auschwitz was a work camp (AP) The Federal Constitutional Court said in its ruling that knowingly spreading proven falsehoods cannot contribute to forming opinions and as such is not covered by the freedom of opinion. It found that denying the Nazi genocide constitutes disturbing the public peace. Flowers are placed by portraits of slain journalists Alexander Rastorguyev, Kirill Radchenko and Orkhan Dzhemal, at the Russian journalists Union building in Moscow (AP) UN representatives are helping investigate the killing of three Russian journalists in Central African Republic (CAR), Moscow officials said. The reporters, named as Alexander Rastorguyev, Kirill Radchenko and Orkhan Dzhemal, were ambushed and killed on Monday outside the town of Sibut. They had been investigating a Russian private security company that was operating in CAR as well as Russian ties to the local mining industry. Expand Close The reporters had been working on an investigation into Russian private military contractors (AP) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp The reporters had been working on an investigation into Russian private military contractors (AP) The project was funded by exiled opposition figure Mikhail Khodorkovsky, a long-time foe of Russian president Vladimir Putin. Officials in CAR say the journalists were kidnapped by 10 men wearing turbans and speaking Arabic. Their bodies bore gunshot wounds. Russian Foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said four UN experts are assisting CAR authorities in investigating the attack. The Russian embassy is also involved. The journalists editors suspect the killings are linked to their work. He knows Indian Country Billie Sutton: Democratic for governorBy James Giago DaviesNative Sun News Today Correspondent RAPID CITYNow that the primaries are over, and the field for South Dakota governor is whittled down to two candidates, the authoritarian conservative, Kristi Noem , and the moderate progressive, Billie Sutton , folks in Lakota country might be wondering where the candidates stand when it comes to Indian issues. Traditionally, the South Dakota GOP has not been our friend. The one notable exception being the late George Mickelson, but the Democrats hardly get a pass in that regard. Blue Dog Democrats are keen to court GOP voters. They have to; they come from states with GOP majorities and win anyway on the force of their personality, past history, campaign organization and their ability to convince the Republican voter that they are not the dangerous liberal Democrat that conservatives traditionally fear. This means they cant support certain Lakota country issues, like return of the Black Hills, because to do so, would alienate the cross party support essential to getting elected, and especially, re-elected. They must mind their progressive manners, and not venture too far out on a limb to shake hands with tribal leaders. Billie Sutton dropped by the NSNT offices last Friday. We did not contact him, his campaign was gracious enough to proactively reach out. It is not surprising the Democrats would do so. A decade and a half back, Republican John Thune was favored to take the junior senator seat from Tim Johnson. Thune went to bed ahead, but after the Shannon County returns came in, he woke up a loser. The chairman of the Pennington County GOP had asked for more campaign funds for the reservation, he was turned down. Conventional perception was Indians would not vote, regardless of how heavily they voted Democrat. Courting them was considered a waste of time and money. Despite that history, at this point, the Noem campaign has not contacted NSNT for a similar interview. Sutton is perhaps the earthiest gubernatorial candidate in many decades. He was a rodeo star at the University of Wyoming, their all-time points leader. He subsequently reached a top 30 worldwide ranking on the PRCA pro circuit, but that career was cut tragically short in Minot, North Dakota, when his bronc flipped and paralyzed the then 23-year-old Sutton from the waist down. You have to be tough to be a rodeo cowboy, have to pick yourself up from the dirt and get back on ornery rodeo stock that does not want to cooperate in the slightest degree. But no cowboy is tough enough to get up from what happened to Sutton, and so Suttons rodeo career was over, and he knew the rest of his life would be spent in a wheelchair. Even in his wheelchair, were you to place Sutton in tall prairie grass ringed by craggy buttes, he would blend into the rugged landscape. Even though he is not an Indian, there is something earthy and authentic about Suttonhe seems indigenous to the sunbaked, snow-blown ranch country he was raised in. Tough cowboys are supposed to be gruff, strong and silent, with wire brush stubble on granite chins. Sutton is gentle and soft spoken, he communicates in simple, yet well considered language. The accident may have slowed him down, but a decade later, he is back in the saddle and ready to tackle a formidable conservative opponent in a conservative state. We did a rodeo tour with my sister, Sutton said. She wrote a song about me seven years ago, about my injury and accident, kind of how I fought through the adversity, and how I got to where I am today. Where Sutton is today, is just over three months from a general election that will decide our next governor. He is obviously fighting an uphill battle, but Sutton has been fighting that battle since that fateful day in Minot, and most of the hill is behind him. He is optimistic about the campaign to come. What weve found, he said, as we travel across the state, is people are ready for something different. They dont want Washingtons problems here in South Dakota, and a lot of people are upset with Congresswoman Noem, as to how the primary shook out. Ive picked up a lot of Jackley supporters since that time, and a lot of folks said that she really hasnt done anything in DC, and we dont think shes going to do anything as governor. One thing Sutton prides himself on is working with all parties concerned. Hes got a knack for it, and he knows how to stand for something on principle, yet compromise to get some good accomplished: I come from a Republican district and have gotten elected there, which has its own set of challenges similar to the make up of South Dakota. Ive been successful in reaching across the aisle to build consensus and support, and thats what Ive been able to do in this campaign as well. Born and raised in Burke, Sutton has spent his life in the heart of Indian country: Ive been fortunate to represent Native Americans throughout my eight-year legislative career, and its had a big impact on how I look at policy, and Ive worked really hard to build better lines of communication, and making sure we are focusing on issues that affect all South Dakotans, not just a select few. He is well versed on what the key issues are: Thats why I am such a strong supporter of health care, and better education, and better opportunities for economic development and work force development that really affect all of South Dakota, including our relatives in Indian country. When asked what the main problems Indian country faces, Sutton first mentioned meth and drug problems. His next concern is health care, but not just how it relates to the Indian Health Service (IHS): A big impact most people dont realize, is at the state level, and it relates to Medicaid expansion. Thirty to thirty-five percent of the Medicaid expansion population are Native American, that would be affected if we could expand Medicaid here in South Dakota. Ive been a big advocate for increased access to health care coverage, you know we almost got that deal done. Governor Daugaard was a proponent of it and I was a big fan as well, it didnt happen, but I hope to restart that conversation. Sutton has worked with Troy Heinert, a Rosebud tribal member to improve Indian education: (Heinert) has brought legislation that I have supported that gives more opportunities to teach in a culturally appropriate way. That has been really popular and I think it has been really successful. As far as the tribal economic woes are concerned, Sutton has plans to create better opportunity: Theres a real problem with access to investment capital on reservations. Thats something I am willing to look at from the Governors Office on Economic Development, and how we handle the funds available to help support some of these groups that want to develop their economy. Sutton feels another factor also contributes to economic stagnation: Some of it, too, is just the lack of awareness from folks about what is offered and what is possible on our reservations. I hope to increase the conversationsand not from a top-down State Governor approach, but from a collaborative approach between tribal government and state government and private sector businessabout how we solve some of the problems we have on the reservations. Noems approaches to Indian issues worry Sutton: Shes absolutely opposed to increased health care coverage when it comes to Medicaid. She has been very upfront about that. She has also stated she is not going to take a task force collaborative approach in how she governs. I think that is really problematic when you talk about building relationships in Indian Country." James Giago Davies is an enrolled member of the Oglala Lakota tribe. He can be reached at skindiesel@msn.com Copyright permission Native Sun News Today Join the Conversation Gurugram Police have arrested three men for allegedly confining a Muslim youth, shaving off his beard and calling him Pakistani. The three men arrested on Thursday include Ikhlash, a barber and two others identified as Gaurav and Nitin Kumar. Rejecting any communal angle to the incident, Police said the duo are known troublemakers who had a history of fighting with others and disturbing peace and have been arrested in the past too. These youths are not linked to any organisation but are known local miscreants. We will submit the chargesheet in the case at the earliest, DCP (crime) Sunit Kuhar told The Times of India. ANI According to police, the incident happened earlier this week when the complainant, Jafruddin Hamid, who runs a Dhaba in Sector 29 had gone to market to buy vegetables with his cook Ibrahim. When Ibrahim wanted to have a haircut the two went to a nearby barber shop where the two accused were already inside. As they waited for their turn, one of the accused began inquiring about Jafruddin's beard and asked him why wasn't he shaving it off. ANI When Jafruddin said he had the beard for religious reasons, the duo insisted that he shaved it off and forced him to sit on the chair, where his hands was tied and asked the barber to shave the beard. When the barber refused, they allegedly thrashed him and made him to shave of Jafruddin's beard at knife point. Jafruddin who suffered minor injuries in the assault filed a complaint at the Sector 37 police station on Wednesday on which the three, including the barber have been arrested under sections 295A (hurting religious sentiments), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 34 (common intent) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the IPC. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu held a meeting in Singapore yesterday in order to discuss bilateral and global issues. "Pressing issues concerning the development of bilateral relations and issues on the global agenda were discussed," Russia's Foreign Ministry said in a statement following the meeting held on the sidelines of the ASEAN events. Talks between the sides came amid rising tensions between Ankara and Washington in the wake of the United States decision to impose sanctions on the Turkish interior and justice ministers, TASS recalls. The Information and Broadcasting Ministry has asked the Ministry of External Affairs to raise "objections" against "improper depiction" of Jammu and Kashmir in the Tom Cruise-starrer "Mission: Impossible - Fallout", officials said. In a letter to the MEA, the I&B ministry said while it has been ensured that the Indian version of the film does not "violate the sovereignty and integrity of the country, it is apprehended that there is a possibility that the misrepresentation of an integral part of India might still be exhibited in the global version of the film". Twitter Indian version of the Christopher McQuarrie-directed Hollywood movie, which was released in India on July 27, had four cuts/modifications made by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), including removal of the term 'India-controlled Kashmir'. Further, the CBFC had also directed the film maker to remove the maps misrepresenting the boundaries of the Jammu and Kashmir from the film. The I&B ministry has asked the MEA to raise "objections against the improper depiction of the Jammu and Kashmir", officials said. While the I&B Ministry letter did not specifically mention with whom it wants the MEA to raise the 'objections', the External Affairs Ministry generally takes up matters with the concerned countries. In this case, the film has been produced in the US, while the parent firm of one of the producers is based in the Netherlands. Twitter Censor board chief Prasoon Joshi had said last week that "Kashmir" references from the move were asked to be "rectified or removed" as the integrity of India's borders is "non-negotiable". After the screening of the movie before its examining committee (EC), the CBFC had written to the I&B ministry that the EC noticed that the state had been "improperly depicted" in the dialogue and maps shown in the film. The CBFC also urged the I&B ministry to take up the matter with "appropriate authorities" regarding the global version of the movie, prompting the ministry to write to the MEA seeking action over the issue, officials said. Responding to the I&B ministry's letter of July 26, the MEA sought details of the company which produced the film and the country in which it is registered, the officials said, adding that the details have been submitted today. The accused, Jaffar Khan and Saahukar Khan, are being produced in court on Friday, August 3, 2018. (HT Photo ) Police officials arrested two of the eight accused in the incident on Thursday. A 22-year-old, Jaffar Khan and a 21-year-old, Saahukar Khan are among the two accused, residents of Maroda village in Nagina, Nuh. The accused are locals who already have a track record of criminal offences. Read More. Here's More Top News Of The Day: 1) Mehul Choksi Was Given Citizenship After Clearance From Indian Authorities, Says Antigua Adding a fresh twist to the citizenship row of fugitive diamond businessman Mehul Choksi, the Antigua government has said that he was given citizenship after "stringent background checks" and clearance certificate by Mumbai Police and the Indian External Affairs Ministry. Read More. 2)Delhi Court Sets Example, After Speedy Hearing Of Domestic Violence Case, Sends Judgement On WhatsApp In a first in the city, and perhaps in the country, a Delhi courts order set an example for speeding up the otherwise cumbersome legal process. While hearing a case of domestic violence, not only did the court pass an ex-parte order restraining the husband and his relatives from forcibly taking custody of his minor daughter from his estranged wife, but also directed that its order be communicated to them through WhatsApp. Read more. 3) Kerala Emerges As The Most Energy Efficient State In India, Andhra, Maharashtra, Punjab Among Other Top Performers Kerala, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Punjab have emerged as the top performers in the first ever State Energy Efficiency Index released by Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE). Read More. 4) UIDAI's Aadhaar Helpline Number Is Getting Mysteriously Added To Your Contact List And Nobody Knows How Amid all the debate and confusion about Aadhaar, and its data safety, thanks to TRAI Chairman RS Sharma's recent adventure on Twitter, now it has emerged that UIDAI's Aadhaar Helpline number is being automatically added to the contact list on people's phones. Read more. 5) After Outrage, Gurugram Police Arrest Three Men For Forcefully Shaving Off Muslim Man's Beard ANI Gurugram Police have arrested three men for allegedly confining a Muslim youth, shaving off his beard and calling him Pakistani. The three men arrested on Thursday include Ikhlash, a barber and two others identified as Gaurav and Nitin Kumar. Read More. The Vellore police on Wednesday arrested a 45-year old woman for biting off a part of her husbands penis during a scuffle with him after he caught her with her lover in Thuraimoolai village near Gudiyatham in Vellore district. The woman, Jayanthi, has been charged with attempted murder, a police officer said. Representational Image The incident happened in the early hours of Monday after which villagers took a bleeding Senthamarai and the severed part of his penis to Vellore Government Hospital and later to Rajiv Gandhi Government Medical College and Hospital in Chennai for advanced care. Senthamarai, 55, a farmer, and Jayanthi had taken part in a village temple festival on Sunday as part of the auspicious Aadi month festivities. Enraged, he threatened to make their illicit relationship public After the temple event, they went for a street play, the officer said. Around 1.30am Jayanthi slipped out of the crowd on the pretext of needing to relieve herself. When Jayanthi failed to return more than an hour later, a worried Senthamarai went in search of her. He later found her in a compromising position with another villager, Dhatchanamoorthi. Enraged, Senthamarai grabbed his wife and her lover and threatened to make their relationship public, the officer said. Noise from the festivities outside drowned out Dhatchanamoorthis cries for help. BCCL/Representational Image In the scuffle that ensued, Senthamarais dhoti fell off. Jayanthi, fearing she and her lover would be thrashed, wanted to escape before villagers reached the spot, he said. She bit his penis, severing part of it, and fled with her lover. Doctors at Vellore Medical College and Hospital provided Senthamarai with first aid before he was moved to Rajiv Gandhi Government Medical College and Hospital in Chennai. Senthamarais condition is said to be stable. Police tracked down Jayanthi by monitoring Dhatchanamoorthis cellphone. They registered a case under sections IPC Sections 294(b) (obscenity in public), 324 (causing hurt with dangerous weapons or means) and 307 (attempt to murder). As Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrives in the Russian city of Sochi for an informal summit with President Vladimir Putin, we analyse the significance of ties between the two countries. Russia has been a strong and time-tested partner of India. Both the countries have a long history of strong strategic, military, economic and diplomatic relationship. AFP The two nations have contributed towards the enhancement of cooperation in the fields of economics, politics, defence, civil nuclear energy, anti-terrorism co-operation and space. 1. The bilateral ties In October 2000, former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and President Putin signed the Declaration on the India-Russia Strategic Partnership, the first major political initiative signed between the two countries since the collapse of the Soviet Union. The declaration set the tone of ties between the two countries by the development of institutionalised dialogue mechanisms at various levels in order to strengthen bilateral interaction and follow up on activities related to cooperation in different areas. AFP 2. Moscow's increasing closeness to Islamabad As New Delhi warmed its ties with the United States, Russia started to increase its closeness with Pakistan as a counter-measure. In 2016, the two countries held their first joint military exercise, despite India's request to postpone due to the terrorist attacks in Uri. In 2015, Russia and Pakistan signed an inter-governmental agreement for the construction of a gas pipeline from Lahore to Karachi. China is one of the main and the most powerful allies of Russia and also India's arch-enemy Pakistan. A closer relationship will Pakistan is important for Moscow to increase its clout in the region. 3. Military partnership Russian hardware represented 62 per cent of the country's total weapons imports during the past five years, compared with 79 per cent in 2008-2012, the Stockholm Peace Research Institute said in a report last month. Some of Indias legacy weapons system are of Soviet and Russian origin and it needs to maintain defence ties with Moscow to keep them operational. BCCL/Representational Image 4. Economic partnership In December 2014, the two countries set a target of $30 billion bilateral trade by 2025. According to Russian Federal Customs Service data, bilateral trade during in 2016 amounted to $7.71 billion (decline of 1.5 per cent over 2015) 5. Nuclear energy Russia recognises India's need to develop nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. In December 2014, Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) and Russias Rosatom signed the Strategic Vision for strengthening cooperation in peaceful uses of atomic energy between India and Russia. Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant (KKNPP) is being built in India with Russian cooperation. Twitter 6. Space energy India-Russia partnership in space dates back to about four decades. The year 2015 marked the 40th anniversary of the launch of India's first satellite "Aryabhatt" on a Russian (then USSR) launch vehicle "Soyuz". Both sides are also exploring the possibility of cooperation in manned space flight. AFP Robbers stole exquisite jewels belonging to former Swedish monarchs Karl IX and Christina from a Swedish cathedral before fleeing in a speedboat, the police informed on Tuesday. Strangnas Cathedral located in Stockholm, is a royal place which contains burials of Charles IX of Sweden among other high-profile statesmen. The two thieves walked into the cathedral to steal a 17th century orb and two golden crowns which were put on display in a glass box. AP Visitors were inside at the time when the alarm went off as the burglars smashed the security glass and stole the artefacts. The burglary involved several thieves, the police further said. A witness told Swedish media that he was eating lunch when he saw two people running toward an open-topped motorboat in which they ran away. The items are a "national treasure" and hence "impossible to sell" because of their uniqueness and high visibility, Maria Ellior of the Swedish police's National Operations Department said. The theft would be logged at Interpol, enabling an international search. AFP Christofer Lundgren, dean of the Strangnas parish told Expressen that the three items that were stolen were a part of the the funeral regalia of the king and queen, and would have been buried with the monarchs. While the police said that they could not comment on the amount of the artefacts stolen, Lundgren said that the material value of these jewels were less important their cultural importance. The artefacts were a part of the national cultural heritage and the robbery was actually a theft of the Swedish society. In another crazy video that's gone viral, an aunty from Vadodara is seen showing off some 'swag' while grooving to Drake's smash hit 'In my Feelings.' The only thing about this video is that she got busted. Not literally, but police seem to be really miffed with this stunt. Not just the Gujarat police, but police across the country have issued a stern warnings against this challenge. On Wednesday the Vadodara Police appealed to the citizens to warn them against the challenge. The police issued the notification following Rizwana's viral video. Please dont get involved or become part of kiki challenge as it is harmful to yourself. Inform and aware your wards and colleagues about not to perform or accept kiki solo steps.#KikiChallenge#GujaratPolice Via Gujarat Police pic.twitter.com/1HIjrb6QBX Vadodara City Traffic (@TrafficVadodara) 31 July 2018 Kiki challenge requires the participant to alight from a moving car dance to the song and then climb back into the car. It might seem very easy, but a lot of people have gotten injured. Stay safe and just it's about time people gave this challenge a break! A team of UCLA electrical and computer engineers has created a physical artificial neural network a device modeled on how the human brain works that can analyze large volumes of data and identify objects at the actual speed of light. The device was created using a 3D printer at the UCLA Samueli School of Engineering. Numerous devices in everyday life today use computerized cameras to identify objects think of automated teller machines that can read handwritten dollar amounts when you deposit a check, or internet search engines that can quickly match photos to other similar images in their databases. But those systems rely on a piece of equipment to image the object, first by seeing it with a camera or optical sensor, then processing what it sees into data, and finally using computing programs to figure out what it is. The UCLA-developed device gets a head start. Called a diffractive deep neural network, it uses the light bouncing from the object itself to identify that object in as little time as it would take for a computer to simply see the object. The UCLA device does not need advanced computing programs to process an image of the object and decide what the object is after its optical sensors pick it up. And no energy is consumed to run the device because it only uses diffraction of light. New technologies based on the device could be used to speed up data-intensive tasks that involve sorting and identifying objects. For example, a driverless car using the technology could react instantaneously even faster than it does using current technology to a stop sign. With a device based on the UCLA system, the car would read the sign as soon as the light from the sign hits it, as opposed to having to wait for the car's camera to image the object and then use its computers to figure out what the object is. Technology based on the invention could also be used in microscopic imaging and medicine, for example, to sort through millions of cells for signs of disease. The study was published online in Science on July 26. This work opens up fundamentally new opportunities to use an artificial intelligence-based passive device to instantaneously analyze data, images and classify objects, said Aydogan Ozcan, the study's principal investigator and the UCLA Chancellor's Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering. This optical artificial neural network device is intuitively modeled on how the brain processes information. It could be scaled up to enable new camera designs and unique optical components that work passively in medical technologies, robotics, security or any application where image and video data are essential. The process of creating the artificial neural network began with a computer-simulated design. Then, the researchers used a 3D printer to create very thin, 8 centimeter-square polymer wafers. Each wafer has uneven surfaces, which help diffract light coming from the object in different directions. The layers look opaque to the eye but submillimeter-wavelength terahertz frequencies of light used in the experiments can travel through them. And each layer is composed of tens of thousands of artificial neurons in this case, tiny pixels that the light travels through. Together, a series of pixelated layers functions as an optical network that shapes how incoming light from the object travels through them. The network identifies an object because the light coming from the object is mostly diffracted toward a single pixel that is assigned to that type of object. The researchers then trained the network using a computer to identify the objects in front of it by learning the pattern of diffracted light each object produces as the light from that object passes through the device. The training used a branch of artificial intelligence called deep learning, in which machines learn through repetition and over time as patterns emerge. This is intuitively like a very complex maze of glass and mirrors, Ozcan said. The light enters a diffractive network and bounces around the maze until it exits. The system determines what the object is by where most of the light ends up exiting. In their experiments, the researchers demonstrated that the device could accurately identify handwritten numbers and items of clothing both of which are commonly used tests in artificial intelligence studies. To do that, they placed images in front of a terahertz light source and let the device see those images through optical diffraction. They also trained the device to act as a lens that projects the image of an object placed in front of the optical network to the other side of it much like how a typical camera lens works, but using artificial intelligence instead of physics. Because its components can be created by a 3D printer, the artificial neural network can be made with larger and additional layers, resulting in a device with hundreds of millions of artificial neurons. Those bigger devices could identify many more objects at the same time or perform more complex data analysis. And the components can be made inexpensively the device created by the UCLA team could be reproduced for less than $50. While the study used light in the terahertz frequencies, Ozcan said it would also be possible to create neural networks that use visible, infrared or other frequencies of light. A network could also be made using lithography or other printing techniques, he said. ### The study's others authors, all from UCLA Samueli, are postdoctoral scholars Xing Lin, Yair Rivenson, and Nezih Yardimci; graduate students Muhammed Veli and Yi Luo; and Mona Jarrahi, UCLA professor of electrical and computer engineering. The research was supported by the National Science Foundation and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Ozcan also has UCLA faculty appointments in bioengineering and in surgery at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. He is the associate director of the UCLA California NanoSystems Institute and an HHMI professor. Switch the Market flag Open the menu and switch the Market flag for targeted data from your country of choice. for targeted data from your country of choice. The 'Zhara-2018' festival in Baku became a model example of cooperation in the humanitarian sphere, the Russian Foreign Ministry's spokesperson Maria Zakharova said at the briefing, answering the question from a correspondent of Vestnik Kavkaza. "'Zhara-2018' is a perfect example of the real cooperation in the humanitarian sphere. It is an international festival, an international program, an international event that unites us and not divide us, which shows that our features should not cause differences and especially should not emphasize these differences, which would conduct some kind of watershed between us," she said. "Our differences can unite us. And we can use traditions, customs and our history just for the purpose of such unification. It seems to me that what I saw just confirms it," the diplomat noted. Maria Zakharova said that she was happy to visit the festival, where she was officially invited, and admitted that she did not even imagine the scope of this event. The International Musical Festival 'Heat-2018' (Zhara) was held in Baku at the beautiful Sea Breeze resort on the coast of the Caspian Sea on July 26-29. Overall, the operating profit for the first six months is slightly above the mid-point of our full-year target range, explained the German insurance giant in its latest financial results report. Lower income taxes compensated for the lower operating profit and non-operating result: net income attributable to shareholders was therefore stable at 3.8 billion. In fact, net income attributable to shareholders in the same period in 2017 was also 3.8 billion. Broken down in terms of operating profit per business segment, here are the numbers: Property-casualty 2.7 billion, up 0.9% Life/health 2.1 billion, down 6% Asset management 1.2 billion, up 7.9% The decline in life/health operating profit was attributed to unfavourable foreign exchange and a normalisation of the investment margin. Meanwhile the positive figures for property-casualty and asset management were due to a higher underwriting result and higher AuM-driven revenues, respectively. Total revenues rose 1.7% to 67.3 billion in the first half of the year, with increases seen in the three segments: property-casualty, up 2% to 30 billion; life/health, up 1.8% to 34.2 billion; and asset management, up 4.6% to 3.3 billion. We remain on track to meet our 2018 operating profit target, commented Bate. I am thankful for everyone on the Allianz team for making this happen across countries and companies. This makes me confident that we will achieve our three-year Renewal Agenda targets. Related stories: Allianz team colocates with strategic partner Allianz-owned insurer still working on Cyclone Marcus claims Discussions on auto insurance pricing and how to inject more fairness into the provinces rating system have been ongoing during the summer, added Byrne, and couldnt come any sooner for brokers. From a brokerage perspective, were at the front lines, said Shawn Fehr, IBABC board of directors president and commercial insurance broker at SeaFirst Insurance in Victoria. Were seeing customers daily coming in and theres a lot of concern about the directions the rate increases [are going in] and everyone knows its not sustainable, so were really working hard on trying to send the message that ICBC is on the right track and wanting to get to the promised land, whatever that is, with sustainability and affordability for everybody. Throughout the reform process, IBABC has worked to keep its members informed of progress being made so that its easier for a broker dealing with a client face-to-face to explain whats going on with their insurance, said Jeremy Lebsack, chair of IBABCs board of directors and director of operations for Waypoint Insurance Services. Having that foundation there and a full understanding for a frontline auto broker is key, he told Insurance Business. Its not all bad news for ICBC Byrne applauded aspects of the auto insurance system in the province that do work for drivers. Generally speaking, BC brokers and ICBC represent one of the most efficient auto billing insurance systems in the world, he said. We can insure anybody with any car in any place in the province in literally 10 minutes for auto-renewal, and only slightly more on a piece of new business. Private insurance markets really hum and haw about whos going to insure the so-so or worst drivers. Here, its universal and its almost automatic and, to that end, we want to see it succeed because really, its best for the consumer. Related stories: ICBC: 2017 saw a record-breaking 350,000 car collisions ICBC struggles with offensive vanity plates Also called active-assailant insurance, active-shooter insurance is considered gap coverage an insurance product designed to handle expenses not normally covered under general liability, such as funeral costs and death benefits. Annual premiums for such coverage costs from about $1,800 for $1 million for small school systems and about $175,000 for $20 million in coverage for larger ones. Death benefits are usually offered up to $250,000 per victim. It at least gives us some peace of mind that, in the event of horrible tragedy, we can begin to put things in place, Belpre City Schools treasurer Lance Erlwein told WSJ. The Belpre City Schools district in southeastern Ohio composed of 1,000 students - purchased an active shooter plan last year that includes a $25,000 death benefit per victim and trauma counseling. Fifteen years ago who would have ever thought you would need something like this. Its awful that schools have become the target, Erlwein added. While mass shooting events have gained notoriety in recent years, it has not deterred underwriters from offering protection to school districts. Since it started offering the coverage in 2016, Ohio-based McGowan Program Administrators has written more than 300 active-shooter/workplace violence policies for school districts, charter schools, private schools and universities across the US. A representative of the company confirmed with WSJ that it issued over 60 policies in July. Theres burgeoning demand for this product, explained University of South Carolina Risk and Uncertainty Management Center director Robert Hartwig. If youre a risk manager for a school district, you have to look at it with the same eye that you might look at coverage for a tornado. We live in a very litigious United States. Related stories: Insurance benefits highlighted after Capital Gazette shooting Service, security and the active shooter conundrum in hotels The year 2015 was a hard one for taco and burrito fast-casual chain Chipotle Mexican Grill. One outbreak after another first E. coli, then the norovirus and Salmonella, followed by a second round of E. coli resulted in the company closing dozens of its restaurants and, perhaps more importantly, losing its golden boy status among consumers around the world as a provider of healthy and safe meals made with responsibly-sourced ingredients. It had such a high reputational value in 2014 meaning by our metrics, it was ranked either number one or close to number one among the approximately 7,500 companies that we track, said Nir Kossovsky, CEO of Steel City Re, which provides reputation measurements, risk management, and risk transfer for corporations. In Chipotles case, the food safety issue became apparent. That is, the companys ability to manage food safety to the level expected by stakeholders was just not meeting it, and the stakeholders became disappointed. In a flash, customers went from expecting theyd be eating a delicious meal to fearing that theyd have unsavoury experiences post-burrito, which had economic consequences for the brand, according to a case study by Steel City Re. By October 2016, same store sales were down 20% and, in 2017, CEO and founder Steve Ells stepped down, demonstrating the importance of companies having dedicated strategies in place that focus on reputation maintenance. Reputation value is the value baked into a firm, baked into pricing, baked into employee behaviour, said Kossovsky. A firm with a good reputation will be able to charge a higher price point and they tend to sell more at a higher volume more rapidly. The decision cycle is faster, employees tend to work overall more efficiently and for a lower cost because you have less turnover, less internal friction. Reputational risk comes to life when a company goes from one state of being to another, where they suddenly have a lower value and lose all of the benefits of being a reputable brand. More firms are taking notice of the importance of the reputational peril. In 2012, Kossovsky said that two-thirds of companies were disclosing that risk, whereas today, 90% of public companies are doing so. Over that time, the awareness of the notion that political, economic, and social issues have bearing on a companys economic performance became progressively better appreciated by companies and of course, by their boards, he explained, though there is still a gap in how the risk is addressed. Very few of the firms noted that reputation loss was grounds for either a compensation claw back or more specifically, termination. Bringing attention to the risk in a filing isnt enough. In fact, if thats all a company does, they open themselves up further to potential damage from this peril. Those 90% of companies are actively creating a reputation problem for themselves by disclosing there is a reputational risk that theyre exposed to, said the Steel City Re CEO. The companies have created an implicit expectation by stakeholders that the companies are doing something about it. After all, theyre disclosing it in their SEC filings. By not laying out the strategy for mitigating risk, theyre effectively creating an expectations gap the risk, he told Insurance Business, which leaves directors and officers exposed because its on the record that they knew about the risk, and failed to create a plan for addressing it if things went south. Right now, a significant fraction of the public companies that have disclosed reputation risk as being material and substantial, but have not disclosed how its managed or how its overseen by the board, have effectively left themselves open to claims of lax governance and inadequate risk management. Related stories: CEO: Why reputational crises are surging Why are insurers stepping away from the NRA now? Fire officials say a worker making repairs to a building in Connecticut has suffered severe electrical burns. Fire Chief Paul Januszewski tells the New Haven Register the man was upgrading the North Haven buildings electrical system Wednesday when he was shocked by some devices. The man was transported to the Connecticut Burn Center at Bridgeport Hospital where he is listed in stable condition. Power has been shut off at the building, and Januszewski says electricians will inspect the scene to figure out what happened. Multiple agencies, including the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, are investigating. Information from: New Haven Register Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics Talent Connecticut A man driving a car at a Connecticut auto auction suffered a medical emergency, struck four pedestrians and crashed into another vehicle on Wednesday, sending six people to area hospitals, police said. The driver of the car, who was revived at the scene, and a male pedestrian who suffered multiple injuries including head trauma, were the most seriously injured. Three other pedestrians and a man in the other vehicle also were hospitalized, police said. The names and conditions of the victims were not immediately released. All of them work at the auction, authorities said. The accident happened shortly after 9:30 a.m. as people were viewing vehicles for sale at Southern Auto Auction in East Windsor, about 15 miles north of Hartford, Conn. At the time, several cars were being driven through viewing areas in adjacent bays. The pedestrians were struck outside the bay by a Buick sedan that was pulling out. The driver of that vehicle suffered some type of medical emergency, Detective Sgt. Matthew Carl said. He accelerated across the bays and hit four pedestrians and hit the side of the building, careened off the building, hit a vehicle coming out of one of the bays, careened off of that and ended up down into the backside of the parking lot in the woods line, Carl said. A police officer who was stationed at the auction helped revive the driver. An executive at Southern Auto Auction did not immediately return a message Wednesday. The accident came 17 years after a similar mishap in which 10 people were injured in a parking lot at Southern Auto Auction. A Chevrolet Monte Carlo went out of control when the accelerator got stuck, police said. In May 2017, a Jeep Grand Cherokee driven by a 76-year-old employee of the LynnWay Auto Auction in Billerica, Massachusetts, accelerated out of control on the auction floor, killing five and injuring seven. Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics Auto Connecticut Allianz SE said strong growth across its businesses lifted second-quarter profit as Europes largest insurer keeps the market waiting on any acquisitions it will undertake. The gains help keep Allianz on track to meet its full-year earnings targets, Europes biggest insurer said in a statement on Friday. Assets under management and margins grew at the Munich-based owner of Pacific Investment Management and Allianz Global Investors. Chief Executive Officer Oliver Baete said in the statement that hes confident the firm will meet its three-year growth target. Group operating profit grew to 3 billion euros ($3.5 billion), while net income fell 5.2 percent to 1.9 billion euros following the sale of a life portfolio in Taiwan. Allianz is targeting full-year operating profit of 11.1 billion euros plus or minus 500 million euros. While U.S. hurricanes and wildfires led to record payouts for insurers last year, the disasters prompted more customers to buy policies, lifting premium prices after several years of stagnation. Despite having large investment units in the U.S. and Europe, Allianz still gets the majority of its income from insurance. Allianz is exploring a number of potential acquisition targets as deal-hungry Chief Executive Officer Oliver Baete scans the market for growth. Bloomberg reported in June that potential targets range from Switzerlands Zurich Insurance Group AG and the U.K.s RSA Insurance Group Plc to Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. in the U.S. or, going further afield, assets in China. Operating profit at the asset-management unit, which comprises Pimco and AGI, increased by 11.6 percent in the second quarter. External managers decreased their allocation by 9.2 billion euros to the firm, while assets reached 1.46 trillion euros. PIMCO had third-party net outflows of 7.9 billion euros, mainly from one large institutional mandate, and AGI 1.3 billion euros, in part from fixed income and equity strategies. But currency effects boosted third-party assets by 53.8 billion euros and total assets reached a record for the company. Copyright 2021 Bloomberg. Topics USA Profit Loss Europe Allianz London Market Group (LMG) has appointed of Clare Lebecq as CEO. Lebecq, who will take on the role on a permanent basis, will start on Nov. 1 and replaces Chris Beazley, who will return to MS Amlin as CEO of their Swiss reinsurance operation at the end of August. In the interim period, the LMGs agenda will continue to be overseen by the board sponsors, the LMG said in a statement. Clare Lebecq is currently operations director at JLT Specialty, part of the Jardine Lloyd Thompson Group providing wholesale and retail insurance broking, risk management and claims consulting services. We are delighted that Clare is joining us and her understanding the market both operationally and from a distribution perspective, will provide the leadership and drive to help take our growth and modernization work forward, said Andrew Horton, chairman of the LMG. Chris has done a tremendous job over the last two years, including the successful launch of the London Makes It Possible campaign to articulate why businesses should look to London for their insurance, and the active engagement with government and Parliament to ensure the markets position is well understood through the Brexit process, he added. The LMG has become a strong force for cross market collaboration and action to resolve challenges faced by all market participants, said Lebecq. Its ability to speak with one voice on vital issues such as the UKs withdrawal from Europe and making London a more efficient place to do business has meant that there has been real progress in many areas, she added. I am delighted to be taking over from Chris, building on the great work he has led, and working with the market to help London maintain and build on its position as the undisputed global market for specialty commercial re/insurance. The LMG is a market-wide body, bringing together the specialist commercial re/insurance broking and underwriting communities in London. It is supported by the International Underwriting Association of London (IUA), Lloyds of London, the Lloyds Market Association (LMA) and the London & International Insurance Brokers Association (LIIBA). Source: London Market Group (LMG) Topics Excess Surplus London James Anderson has assumed the role of executive vice president and chief financial officer at Chicago-based commercial insurer CNA, effective Aug. 1. Anderson, who most recently served as senior vice president and head of Financial Planning & Analysis and Corporate Development, succeeds D. Craig Mense, who announced his retirement earlier this year. Anderson joined CNA in 2012 and has been a key member of the Finance leadership team since that time. He has proven himself an astute financial leader with a strong drive for results. Before joining CNA, Anderson spent nearly a decade in investment banking focused on the insurance industry, ultimately as a managing director at Macquarie Capital. That experience followed five years of consulting at Accenture. Source: CNA Ten years after faulty mortgages upended the global financial system, Wells Fargo & Co. agreed to pay $2.09 billion to settle a U.S. probe into its creation and sale of loans that contributed to the disaster. The long-anticipated penalty, announced Wednesday [Aug. 1], is in line with what some analysts had predicted and smaller than sanctions borne by some of the banks competitors. But the case offers a new look behind the scenes at decisions made inside one of the nations largest home lenders before the crisis and the evidence executives once saw of mounting trouble. Investors including federally insured financial institutions ended up suffering billions of dollars in losses on securities that contained home loans from Wells Fargo, the Department of Justice said in a statement announcing the accord. The probe focuses on debts in which borrowers were allowed to declare their incomes, without providing proof. Abuses in the mortgage-backed securities industry led to a financial crisis that devastated millions of Americans, Alex Tse, the acting U.S. attorney for the Northern District of California, said in the statement. Todays agreement holds Wells Fargo responsible for originating and selling tens of thousands of loans that were packaged into securities and subsequently defaulted. Astounding Results The firm set out in 2005 to double production of two types of risky mortgages, known as subprime and Alt-A. As part of the push, it loosened requirements for stated-income loans, the government said. Yet the banks sampling and testing of the debts showed signs that information submitted was too often inaccurate, investigators found. As the test results circulated within the bank, one employee in risk management called them astounding, the Justice Department said. Yet, the employee said, instead of reacting in a way consistent with what is being reported the bank was expanding stated-income lending. U.S. probes into banks lending practices before the crisis continue to roll on. Wells Fargos accord may ultimately mark the Justice Departments last multibillion-dollar penalty against a U.S. company for creating or selling crisis-era mortgages. Still, a number of overseas firms, such as UBS Group AG and HSBC Holdings Plc, have yet to resolve significant probes. Wells Fargo set aside funds for the settlement before midyear, it said in a statement. Shares of the bank pared earlier gains, but were still up 0.6 percent as of 4 p.m. in New York. We are pleased to put behind us these legacy issues regarding claims related to residential mortgage-backed securities activities that occurred more than a decade ago, Chief Executive Officer Tim Sloan said in the statement. The San Francisco-based lender has been signaling the settlements approach. In January, Chief Financial Officer John Shrewsberry told Bloomberg his firm would likely hash out terms this year. While he declined to discuss the potential cost, the firm took a $3.3 billion litigation charge late in 2017, mainly for mortgage-related issues. Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Elliott Stein had estimated the settlement for mortgage-backed securities could cost more than $2 billion. The governments complaint relies on the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery and Enforcement Act known as Firrea a law thats allowed authorities to sue banks years later over mortgages that burned federally insured financial institutions. U.S. investigators cited tests of Wells Fargo mortgages that compared them with borrowers tax filings, revealing that more than 70 percent of loans sampled had an unacceptable discrepancy between stated and actual income, according to the Justice Departments statement. Despite its knowledge that a substantial portion of its stated income loans contained misstated income, Wells Fargo failed to disclose this information, the Justice Department said. The bank even took steps to insulate itself from the risks posed by such loans, screening many of them out of its own portfolio and limiting its liability to third parties, the government said. Related: Copyright 2021 Bloomberg. Topics USA The NATO drills in Georgia result in bolstering military sentiments, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told the briefing. "We cannot agree with the statements of the Georgian Defense Ministry that these drills are aimed at providing security in the Black Sea region," she noted. "Stability and security mean constructive dialogue, not helicopters and tanks," the diplomat stressed. "It is clear that their current task is to project power pressure, chiefly over South Ossetia, Abkhazia and Russia." These exercises result in "bolstering military sentiments and the escalation of tensions," Zakharova noted. Moscow regrets that "Georgias neighbor countries were involved in these drills at various pretexts," the Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson concluded. The joint drills of the 13 members and partners of NATO dubbed Noble Partner 2018 kicked off on August 1 at the Vaziani Military Base in Georgia. According to the Georgian Defense Ministry, more than 3000 servicemen are taking part in these maneuvers. The scenario includes headquarters and field drills, field firing and the interaction between maneuver and combat elements. Genetic-testing companies that have decoded the DNA of millions just introduced new guidelines to protect data privacy. But those best practices failed to address a major concern: what happens to customers data that is shared for research with pharmaceutical giants, academics and others, often for a profit. Just how lucrative the business of genetic testing is came into light last week when British drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline Plc agreed to buy a $300 million stake in 23andMe Inc., gaining access to anonymized data with the hope of identifying new targets for drugs. That kind of data stripped of identifying details and aggregated isnt strictly subject to new rules in the guidelines unveiled this week. That means consumers will still have little way to know when and how their information is combed for research. This new policy is a positive step forward in the sense that its starting a conversation, said James Hazel, a researcher at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, who recently surveyed the privacy policies of 90 direct-to-consumer genetic-testing companies. The glaring gap is that it doesnt apply to de-identified genetic data. Amid increased public focus on privacy, the largest genetic-testing companies had already taken action for instance, by providing annual reports on requests from law enforcement. The new guidelines reflect those efforts. Important Step Its a really important step forward for the industry, to take a stand as an entire industry to say individual privacy is important to us, said Kate Black, 23andMes chief privacy officer. Ancestry and Helix, another DNA-testing company, echoed Blacks comments. This is really a jumping-off point, said Elissa Levin, Helixs director of clinical affairs and policy, who worked on the guidelines. We know privacy is a large issue. Under the guidelines, genetic-testing companies must obtain express consent before sharing an individuals data with third parties. They cant hand it over to employers, insurance companies, educational institutions, or government agencies without being legally compelled. That addressed mounting concerns that a company could share a customers information with the authorities an issue that became front and center in recent months after police combed an open-source genealogy websites to track down a suspect believed to be the Golden State Killer, a serial murderer and rapist who terrorized California in decades past. But most genetic-testing companies, like social networks before them, have also made a business out of DNA data collected from customers. They have partnerships with companies like Glaxo or Pfizer Inc., giving access to their trove of data for research. Typically, customers must opt in to having their data shared for research by signing separate consent polices. When shared for research purposes, the information is usually anonymized and aggregated. That data is exempt from transparency rules in the new guidelines, as the anonymity is supposed to protects customers. Without more insight into how consumer data is being anonymized, though, its difficult to tell how secure it really is, said Marc Beebe, senior director of strategic research, public imperatives, and corporate development at the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, a trade association. Fine Print For consumers, the risk of exposure is in the fine print. There is a very small chance that someone with access to the research data or results could expose personal information about you, 23andMe says in its policy. Some companies already pledge to provide additional insight. 23andMe, for instance, says it will notify customers should it seek to include their data in research on sensitive topics such as sexual orientation or drug use. The new industry guidelines, however, dont call for specific transparency in how research data is used. The best practices, developed with the help of Washington-based think tank Future of Privacy Forum, also suggest companies provide clear instructions on how to delete an account. Under federal law, a company that offers health-related DNA analysis cant delete genetic information. Three federal agencies the Food and Drug Administration, the Federal Trade Commission and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services have some oversight over the booming U.S. genetic-testing industry. The industry effort, said 23andMes Black, is an attempt to fill the void of a lack of clear legal standard. The guidelines could lead to more scrutiny from regulators. Generally speaking, if a company fails to keep their promises to consumers whether they made those promises in website privacy policies or by signing onto industry best practices they could be subject to FTC law enforcement action, said Juliana Gruenwald, a spokeswoman for the agency. While no policy could ever eradicate risks for consumers who agreed to give their DNA, the industry guidelines are attempting to address some of the biggest fears. They forbid marketing based on DNA data or require setting up instructions for what should happen to users data after they pass. What remains to be seen is whether this will be widely adopted in the diverse direct-to-consumer genetic-testing industry, said Hazel, the Vanderbilt University researcher. The industry leaders involved in producing this document, while certainly occupying a large market share, represent only a small fraction of the many companies offering these services. Copyright 2021 Bloomberg. A single personal electronic device that overheats and catches fire in checked luggage on an airliner can overpower the aircrafts fire suppression system, potentially creating a fire that could rage uncontrolled, according to new government research. Regulators had thought that single lithium battery fires would be knocked down by the flame-retardant gas required in passenger airliner cargo holds. But tests conducted by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration found the suppression systems cant extinguish a battery fire that combines with other highly flammable material, such as the gas in an aerosol can or cosmetics commonly carried by travelers. That could then cause an issue that would compromise the aircraft, said Duane Pfund, international program coordinator at the U.S. Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, speaking Wednesday at an aviation safety forum in Washington. PHMSA regulates hazardous materials on airliners along with FAA. The research highlights the growing risks of lithium batteries, which are increasingly used to power everything from mobile phones to gaming devices. Bulk shipments of rechargeable lithium batteries have been banned on passenger planes. The findings last year by the FAA prompted the government to advocate that the United Nations International Civil Aviation Organization call for a ban on electronic devices larger than a mobile phone in checked bags. That effort fell short, Pfund said. One way or another, we have to deal with these hazards, said Scott Schwartz, director of the Air Line Pilots Associations hazardous goods program. ALPA, the largest pilots union in North America, is holding its annual safety conference. ALPA hasnt taken a formal position on whether there should be a ban on lithium batteries in checked bags and some fear that many passengers would simply ignore it. At the very least, the union is seeking greater education campaigns so travelers are less likely to place spare batteries and electronics in their checked bags. While fires in carry-on items create their own hazards on flights, experience has shown that they can be extinguished with water. Crew cant reach bags in cargo areas during flight, so must rely on a planes fire suppression systems. The U.S. Homeland Security Department in June 2017 funneled more such electronics into cargo holds out of fears that electronics as small as a tablet computer could be used to hide terrorist bombs. The agency stopped short of a threatened ban on taking the devices into airline cabins, but required additional screening of electronics. The FAA hasnt imposed any new restrictions on what passengers may pack in checked bags. Last year, in a notice to airlines, it said they should conduct a safety study to determine what more they should do to limit the risks of battery fires in cargo areas. The FAA tests found that the anti-fire halon gas installed in airline cargo areas wouldnt extinguish a lithium battery fire, but it prevents the blaze from spreading to adjacent material such as cardboard or clothing. However, aerosol cans exploded in tests even after being bathed in the halon gas, the FAA found. There is the potential for the resulting event to exceed the capabilities of the airplane to cope with it, the FAA said in a notice to airlines last year. Copyright 2021 Bloomberg. Topics USA Aviation Alliant Insurance Services has added Georgia benefits veteran Josh Segars to its team in the Southeast. As senior vice president within the companys Employee Benefits Group, Segars will design and deploy customized employee benefits programs for Alliants growing regional client base. Segars joins Alliant with 22-years experience in customized employee benefits options. Prior to joining Alliant, Segars was senior vice president with a national insurance and employee benefits consulting firm where he serviced a diverse base of clients with regional and national operations. Segars will be based in the Alpharetta, Ga. office of Alliant. Headquartered in Newport Beach, Calif., Alliant Insurance Services, Inc. provides property and casualty, workers compensation, employee benefits, surety, and financial products and services to clients nationwide, including public entities, tribal nations, healthcare, energy, law firms, real estate, construction, and other industry groups. A Mississippi poultry supplier will pay $3.75 million to Hispanic workers, ending an eight-year legal fight. The Clarion Ledger reports Koch Foods of Mississippi LLC agreed to settle a lawsuit filed by 11 workers at its Morton plant, as well as one filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The lawsuits asserted Koch Foods subjected Hispanic and female employees to a hostile work environment and disparate treatment, and retaliated against complainants. The agreement was filed July 31 in federal court, and a judge signed off on a three-year consent decree. Koch Foods has agreed to take specific actions to prevent future discrimination, including training and creating a hotline. Koch Foods said in a statement that the allegations were fabricated in a bid to obtain work authorizations through a visa. Topics Lawsuits Mississippi No one was hurt when several cars on a freight train derailed in South Carolina. York County Emergency Management Director Chuck Haynes told news outlets that a Norfolk Southern train had several cars derail around 7 a.m. Wednesday east of Rock Hill near the Catawba River. Three of the cars overturned. Haynes said no environmental problems have been reported. A tanker that derailed was empty. He says crews were working to clear up the situation. York County sheriffs spokesman Trent Faris said most traffic was back to normal in about two hours. Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics South Carolina Trucking Los Angeles began accepting license applications from marijuana growers, manufacturers and testing companies this week, after months of delays that left many businesses in the states largest legal marketplace struggling to survive. The start of the process arrived with a mix of relief and anxiety from businesses that have been waiting since Jan. 1, when California broadly legalized cannabis for adults, to enter the legal economy. Weve been hanging on by the skin of our teeth, said retailer and cultivator Donnie Anderson, who has been paying thousands of dollars of rent for months on commercial space he hasnt been able to use without a cultivation license. Los Angeles was once expected to be a showcase for the states legal pot economy, but it has moved cautiously with licensing and its market has developed more slowly than in San Diego, Oakland and other major cities. So far, LA has only licensed about 150 retail shops, with the rest of the supply chain in limbo. Across the state, the effort to transform the long-established pot industry, much of it illegal, into a multibillion-dollar, regulated marketplace has been uneven at best. Illegal sales continue to flourish, undercutting legal shops, while there are widespread complaints about hefty taxes on purchases and growing. Local governments are permitted to outlaw commercial cannabis activity, so the availability of legal pot depends on where a customer is trying to make a purchase. Initial tax collections by the state fell far short of initial projections. Its also not clear when the first cultivation licenses for recreational pot will be issued by the city. LAs top pot regulator, Cat Packer, said last month the city didnt want to commit to a timeline because rules continue to change as the new system is refined. Industry insiders have warned that delays in licensing threaten the marijuana supply chain, which could collapse and leave store shelves depleted. Cannabis industry attorney Aaron Lachant said the slow pace of licensing has crimped supplies, leaving a relatively small number of cultivators and manufacturers supplying storefronts across the state. In Los Angeles, retailers have turned to Northern and Central California to bring in products from licensed operators. Under state law, licensed retailers can only do business with other licensed companies. Without licensed growers and manufacturers in LA, the retailers have had to figure out new supply relationships with licensees across the state, Lachant said. Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics Cannabis More than half of all Americans58%feel like they are not on track for retirement, according to a study from the National Institute on Retirement Security. A recent survey from the U.S. Government Accountability Office shows that 29% of Americans over age 55 have no retirement savings, either in the form of individual retirement plans, employer-sponsored 401(k)s, or defined benefit plans. These and a host of studies and surveys support what many Americans already know: The majority of us are financially unprepared for retirement. Many people who dont have the money to retire at home may look for alternatives. Some people might consider moving abroad where there is a lower cost of living and access to affordable healthcare. But where to go? We looked at data from Bankrate.coms Best and Worst States to Retire list to determine which states are the most expensive, taking into consideration each states cost-of-living rank as well as its tax-rate rank. We looked at the 10 worst (i.e., most expensive) states in each category, and found six that made top 10 appearances in both categoriesmaking them the priciest places to retire in, overall. Here's the roster, starting with the most expensive state. New York Cost-of-living rank : 50 (2nd highest) : 50 (2nd highest) Tax rate rank : 50 (highest) : 50 (highest) State income tax : 4.0% to 10.9% : 4.0% to 10.9% State sales tax : 4.0% (up to 8.875% total sales tax depending on the municipality) : 4.0% (up to 8.875% total sales tax depending on the municipality) Estate/inheritance tax: Yes/No New York has the highest cost of living in the U.S., behind only California. The states 12.97% total tax burden for 2019 (the most recent data available from The Tax Foundation, a private tax policy research organization) is well above the national average of 9.9%and is the highest in the country. Taxpayers paid $2,929 per capita in state and local taxes in 2016, and the top rate for capital gains is 31.5%, the second-highest rate in the U.S. (after California). State and local governments collect about $2,782 per capita in property taxes in 2016, the 5th highest in the nation. Connecticut Cost-of-living rank: 46 (5th highest) 46 (5th highest) Tax rate rank: 49 (2nd highest) 49 (2nd highest) State income tax: 3.0% to 6.99% 3.0% to 6.99% State sales tax: 6.35% (7.75% for certain luxury items) 6.35% (7.75% for certain luxury items) Estate/inheritance tax: Yes/No Connecticut is the 5th most expensive state in terms of cost of living. Its 2012 tax burden of 12.6% ranks 2nd highest in the nation, and taxpayers pay $7,869 per capita in state and local taxes. Property tax collections amount to about $2,726 per capita, which ranks 2nd nationally. Connecticut offers no exemptions or tax credits for most pensions or other retirement incomeincluding Social Security benefits (unless the taxpayers have a federal adjusted gross income of less than $50,000, or less than $60,000 for married taxpayers filing jointly). The exceptions are Railroad Retirement benefits and military pensions, which are both excluded from taxes. California Cost-of-living rank: 49 (2nd highest) 49 (2nd highest) Tax rate rank: 45 (6th highest rate) 45 (6th highest rate) State income tax: 1.0% to 13.3% 1.0% to 13.3% State sales tax: 7.25% 7.25% Estate/inheritance tax: No/no California has the 2nd highest cost of living and ranks 6th in terms of tax rates. The individual income tax top rate of 13.3% is the highest among states that impose an individual income tax. Its 2012 tax burden of 11% ranks 6th highest in the nation, and taxpayers pay $5,237 per capita in state and local taxes. State and local governments collect about $1,365 per person for property taxes. The state sales tax is 7.25% (the highest among the states mentioned here), and the combined rate in special city/county taxing districts can be as high as 9.75%. Although Social Security and Railroad Retirement benefits are exempt from taxes in California, all other sources of retirement income are fully taxed. The state has the highest capital gains tax rate in the country, topping out at 33%. New Jersey Cost-of-living rank: 43 (8th highest) 43 (8th highest) Tax rate rank: 48 (3rd highest) 48 (3rd highest) State income tax: 1.4% to 8.97% 1.4% to 8.97% State sales tax: 7.0% 7.0% Estate/inheritance tax: Yes/yes New Jersey has the 8th highest cost of living and the 3rd highest tax rate in the country. The states 2012 tax burden was 12.2%, and taxpayers pay $6,926 per capita in state and local taxes. Property tax collections are about $2,989 per person, which ranks 1st nationally. New Jersey is one of only two states that levy both an inheritance tax and an estate tax. While close relatives are generally excluded from the inheritance tax, other beneficiaries face tax rates ranging from 11% to 16% on inheritances over $500.The estate tax is set to disappear in 2018. Rhode Island Cost-of-living rank: 41 (10th highest) 41 (10th highest) Tax rate rank: 43 (8th highest) 43 (8th highest) State income tax: 3.75% to 5.99% 3.75% to 5.99% State sales tax: 7.0% 7.0% Estate/inheritance tax: Yes/no Rhode Island has the 10th highest cost of living in the country, and the 8th highest tax rate, even though it lowered its top income tax rate from 9.9% to 5.99% in 2011. The state had a 2012 tax burden of 10.8%, and taxpayers pay $4,998 per capita in state and local taxes. Property taxes are about $2,282 per capita, which ranks 6th nationally. Railroad Retirement benefits are exempt from taxes, and so are Social Security benefits if they fall below the applicable threshold ($80,000 for single filers and up to $100,000 for joint filers). Other retirement income is taxable at ordinary income tax rates. Vermont Cost-of-living rank: 42 (9th highest) 42 (9th highest) Tax rate rank: 41 (10th highest) 41 (10th highest) State income tax: 3.55% to 8.95% 3.55% to 8.95% State sales tax: 6.0% 6.0% Estate/inheritance tax: Yes/no Vermont has the 10th highest cost of living and 8th highest tax rate. Its 2012 tax burden was 10.3%, and taxpayers pay $4,557 per capita in state and local taxes. Property tax collections amount to about $2,331 per capita, which ranks 5th nationally. Vermont taxes most retirement income at ordinary income tax rates, including Social Security benefits, which are taxed up to 85% (in sync with the federal rate) of benefits. Railroad Retirement benefits are exempt. The Bottom Line Several states have tried to make their tax systems more appealing to retirees. Maine, for example, boosted the amount of pension income you can exclude from state taxes, and Nebraska increased its exemption for Social Security income. The federal exclusion for estate tax is currently $5.45 million, and both New York and Maryland are incrementally increasing their exemptions to match the federal amount. Whether you are concerned with making your money last longer during retirement or leaving more assets to your children, the local cost of living and tax rate may be an important consideration during retirement. Not that non-financial factorsyour interests, hobbies, comfort, health, and proximity to friends and familyaren't important when choosing a retirement destination. Just bear in mind that wherever you retire (be it in place, in another state, or abroad) can have a considerable impact on your finances, as well. Magna Cum Laude vs. Summa Cum Laude: An Overview Summa cum laude. Magna cum laude. Plain old cum laude. Collectively known as Latin honors, these three terms signify varying levels of high academic achievement. Latin honors are conferred at many colleges and universities in the United States and other parts of the world. Some U.S. high schools also offer them. Heres how they typically work in American academia: Summa cum laude is the prize granted at the pinnacle (think summit), awarded to a small fraction of college graduates each year. Magna cum laude comes next in prestige, followed by cum laude. Key Takeaways Magna cum laude and summa cum laude are distinctions awarded to high-achieving students at colleges. Magna cum laude is for students who have graduated "with great distinction," while summa cum laude is for students who have graduated "with the highest distinction." There is no universal standard for granting the honors, rather, it is up to each individual school, and in some cases, each school's individual department, to determine what constitutes the award. Magna Cum Laude For college graduates who havent managed to squeeze in a Latin course or dont have a Latin-English dictionary handy, the term is often loosely translated as "with great distinction." It stands above cum laude, which means "with distinction." It might be handed out to a student who has earned high grades or some other mark of academic achievement, but not the highest possible. Summa Cum Laude Like summiting a mountain, the student who has achieved summa cum laude has achieved "the highest distinction." This student has earned grades within the highest percentage of their school or department or has achieved some other metric that the school considers worthy of the highest recognition. The Latin word laude can also be translated as honor or praise, as in the English word laudatory. 1:30 Magna Cum Laude How Colleges Decide Which Distinction to Award There is no national standard for what it takes to qualify for these honors. Colleges and universities are free to set their own criteria. At the University of Pennsylvania, for example, students need a grade point average (GPA) of 3.8 or higher to graduate summa cum laude, 3.6 for magna cum laude, and 3.4 for cum laude. Ohio State Universitys College of Arts and Sciences sets the bars at 3.9, 3.7, and 3.5, respectively. Even the individual colleges or schools within a particular university sometimes have different requirements. For example, at the University of Michigans College of Engineering, graduates must have a GPA of at least 3.75 to qualify for summa cum laude, while Michigans Law School graduate needs a 4.0 to qualify for the same honor. Rather than using GPA, some colleges award Latin honors based on a students class rank. For example, New York University confers summa cum laude honors on the top 5% of its undergraduate class, magna cum laude on the next 10%, and cum laude on the next 15%, meaning that 30% of its graduates receive one of the three honors. At Northwestern Universitys Weinberg College of Arts & Sciences, summa cum laude goes to graduates in the top 5%, magna cum laude to the next 8%, and cum laude to the next 12%, for a total of 25%. In addition to the numerical requirements, some colleges have other criteria, such as faculty recommendations or a requirement that students complete a certain number of advanced courses and/or write an honors thesis. At many schools, academic or disciplinary infractions will disqualify students from receiving Latin honors, no matter how good their grades are. As a result of all of these factors, colleges and universities can vary widely in how many such honors they bestow on their graduates each year and how difficult or easy it is to obtain them. Some schools, such as Stanford University, dont offer Latin honors at all. Most do, however, have an alternative system, so that stellar students dont go unrecognized. Stanford, for example, awards a Bachelors Degree with Distinction to the top 15% of its graduating class based on their GPAs. Most colleges that offer Latin (or other) honors post information about their criteria on their websites, frequently in a section devoted to graduation or commencement policies. Special Considerations While Latin honors can look good on a diploma, college transcript, or resume, do they make any difference in real life? Two researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago, Pauline Khoo and Ben Ost, attempted to answer that question in a 2017 working paper titled The Effect of Graduating With Honors on Earnings. We find that obtaining honors provides an economic return in the labor market, but this benefit only persists for two years, they wrote. By the third year after college, we see no effect of having received honors on wages, suggesting that firms may use the signal for new graduates, but they do not rely on the signal for determining the pay of more experienced workers. They also found that the economic benefit applied only to students who had graduated from selective schools. Critics of Latin honors are less concerned with their potential post-graduation benefits than the unintended effect they may have on students while theyre still in school. A 2011 editorial in Harvard Universitys student newspaper, the Crimson, called for their abolition at the school, arguing that by rewarding students who achieve a minimum GPA across classes, the Latin honors system does more to discourage academic achievement than to encourage it. It encourages students to view classes outside of their concentration as a means to an end, the end being the highest possible grade, rather than an opportunity for intellectual exploration. Harvard, however, appears to have been unmoved by that argument and continues to award Latin honors as of this writing. Catch up on all the headlines this lunchtime... GET INFORMED ... IRELAND: GSOC investigation: Du Plantier evidence tampered with. IRELAND: List of closing post offices to be released at the end of August. IRELAND: Ryanair proposes third-party mediaton to 'introduce common sense'. IRELAND: Gardai investigating after five men found in the back of a truck in Laois. WORLD: Top German court throws out elderly neo-Nazis Holocaust denial appeal. BUSINESS: Ireland's breweries and distilleries see rise in visitor numbers. SPORT: People have a lot to say about the ad that got Phil Mickelson dancing. ... SOME DISTRACTION VIRAL: Could we see Michael Healy-Rae seated in the oval office in the near future? SHOWBIZ: RTE presenter Blathnaid Treacy announces engagement LIFESTYLE: Ask Audrey:Elocution advice from a Waterford woman is like hairstyle tips from Boris Johnson. US President Donald Trump commented one more time his recent meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Trump accused the media of mischaracterizing his meeting with Putin and said relations with Moscow were being hampered by special counsel Robert Mueller's probe into the 2016 election. "I had a great meeting with Putin. We got along really well," US Today cited the US President as saying. Trump said he was surprised by the coverage of the summit in Helsinki last month. Republican lawmakers said Trump was overly deferential toward Putin and they criticized him for appearing to accept the Russian president's denial that Moscow interfered in the 2016 election. The president later said that he misspoke. "Whatever happened to diplomacy?" Trump asked. "Whatever happened to honest reporting?" More than 2.5 million people visited brewery and distillery tourist attractions in Dublin last year. That is an increase of 6% compared to 2016, according to new figures from the Alcohol and Beverage Federation of Ireland. By Joe Leogue The European Commission is to bring forward grant payments to farmers and will relax greening rules on land, in a bid to help the agriculture industry through the current extreme droughts. The announcement comes as the Irish Farmers Association has called on retailers to cease playing with fresh food pricing and assist producers during this difficult period. The EC said farmers will be able to receive their direct and rural development payments in advance and will be granted more flexibility to use land that would normally not be used for production, in order to feed their animals. I am very concerned about these prolonged climatic developments, commissioner Phil Hogan said. I have been in contact with a number of ministers from affected countries to discuss the situation and get up-to-date assessments of its impact. The Commission, as always, is ready to support farmers affected by drought using a number of instruments, including higher advance payments, derogations from greening requirements and state aid. The Common Agricultural Policy already provides a safety net for farmers who have to deal with unpredictable events. I am encouraging all Member States to look into all possible actions and measures provided for in our legislation.[/qoute] Payments of up to 70% of the direct payment and 85% of payments under rural development to farmers will be brought forward from December to mid-October. Meanwhile, IFA president Joe Healy has said the minimal rainfall in recent days had done little to alleviate the stresses on farmers. He called on retailers to follow Musgraves lead after the retailer introduced supports that see its producers receive a price top-up per unit or per kg of vegetables sold to the company. We now urge all other retailers to extend the approach taken by Musgraves on field vegetables, to extend it to include other producers as such farmers producing fresh milk, Mr Healy said. Most retailers sell some fresh milk at prices as low as 65-67c/l, which is insufficient to cover the true cost of putting fresh milk on the supermarket shelf. Unsustainable discounting of fresh food is wrong at any time, but it is particularly damaging when farmers are facing weather-related massively increased feed expenditure. Teagasc has predicted that the feed requirement of dairy cows could this year cost 75% more than a normal year because of fodder shortages and the need to purchase additional fodder and feed. If retailers are serious about securing supplies of fresh food, especially vegetables and fresh milk, they need to shoulder their part of the responsibility for supporting producers in this exceptionally difficult year, and cease playing with fresh food pricing to gain short-term market share at farmers expense. The Government has been accused of hiding behind the women who have been impacted by the cervical cancer controversy. The health minister has moved to reassure women that everything that could possibly be done is being done in relation to the CervicalCheck scandal. Simon Harris said he is angry and upset that 37-year-old Limerick woman, Ruth Morrissey, who is undergoing cancer treatment, was forced to go to court this week. But solicitor, Cian OCarroll, who is representing a number of women impacted said: As long as the State continues with its current policy which is to push the women out front, then do the fighting for them while the State effectively hides behind them and says we cant do anything because our hands are tied, well then this will continue case after case. It comes after Taoiseach Leo Varadkar announced the appointment of High Court judge Charles Meenan to examine compensation options so the women affected by the cervical cancer controversy and their families do not have to go to court. Mr Harris said the Government responded in a heartfelt way in saying back in May that they didnt want anyone to have to take legal action, adding: We all promised that because thats what we wanted to happen. Who in their right mind would want to see a terminally ill person in court? Clearly we hit a roadblock, a very serious blockage, Mr Harris told RTE radio. But Labour Party health spokesman, Alan Kelly, said the minister and the Government needs to wise up and accept that some of the blame lies with them: Those at the centre of this issue know that these so-called roadblocks are of the Governments own making as they cant keep to their own word. The real roadblocks are the agencies of the State such as the State Claims Agency and the HSE who are showing a lack of empathy for these women and their families and chasing them through the courts when they could be dealt with in a more dignified way. Mr Harris said he hopes the proposals put forward by Judge Meenan within the next two months will develop a more compassionate redress system for women and their families. Nobody wants to see an adversarial system where women have to go to court. But he warned: This is more complex than a lot of issues because it is not just the State, the State can put its hands up on the non-disclosure issue, the State can admit liability, the State could possibly even compensate in relation to that but there is a big piece here in relation to whether there was negligence. We have to make sure that there is a way of establishing negligence because we cannot become probably the first country in the world to pay out on [cases within the] limitations. Mr OCarroll suggested that there has been a return to the line that women affected came within the margin of error, which, he said, is not the case. He said the 221 women involved and their families shouldnt be made to feel bad or in some way unworthy in looking for redress when theyve been so severely harmed and wronged. By Dan Danaher An Post says that, as part of its Post Office Transformation Programme and a 50m investment in the post office network, 161 postmasters have applied for the companys voluntary retirement package, resulting from the recent ground-breaking agreement with the Irish Postmasters Union (IPU). This will likely result in the closure of 161 post offices out of a network of 1,111. The list of post offices closing will be issued at the end of this month. Among the post offices due to close are a number in Co Clare: Doonbeg, Cooraclare, Cree, Lissycasey, Craggagh, Fanore, and Kilfenora. Cooraclare postmistress Geraldine Donnellan said she decided to take the retirement package with a heavy heart, having spent 30 years working in the delivery of postal services. Ms Donnellan said the business is no longer viable and she criticised the lack of Government action as additional services that had been promised for years, such as providing motor taxation, never came. She said: Young people are now doing their business online. I will miss my customers, and I have a huge fear of what will happen to the village when you see what happened to Mullagh village when the post office closed. Jack Horgan, who has been the postmaster in Cree for the last 33 years, is also taking the difficult decision to close his doors. There has been a post office in the village for 71 years. He believes the closure of rural post offices is part of Government policy. Lissycasey postmistress Mary Hanrahan, who has run the post office for 30 years, said she was left with no choice but to take the package as the business is no longer sustainable. She believes she was backed into a corner by An Post and the Government. I dont know if people fully realise the importance of supporting their local post office if they want it to survive, she said. We have been listening to promises of providing extra services in post offices for 10 years but it hasnt happened. I feel very sorry for some of my elderly customers. Kilfenora postmistress Marie Hogan admitted it was a very difficult decision to take the voluntary severance package after spending more than 18 years serving the community. Once this post office closes, patrons will have to travel to Corofin and Ennistymon for postal services. Craggagh postmaster Mick OToole described the closure as a very difficult decision for him. He plans to keep his shop open as long as it is viable and says rural services have to be supported if people want them to survive. Fianna Fail TD Timmy Dooley says it is disappointing that these post offices are closing at a time when the Governments promise of providing rural broadband is withering on the vine. Describing the closures as a huge body blow for rural Ireland, he criticised the Government for failing to protect rural services. A spokeswoman for An Post told The Clare Champion that An Post is committed to ensuring everyone will be served by at least one post office within 15km and that every community with 500 people will also have access to a post office. A 77-year-old man has been arrested in connection with the 1985 killing of exiled Seychelles politician Gerard Hoarau. The dissident was gunned down on his doorstep in Greencourt Avenue, Edgware, north London, on November 29, 1985. He was shot with a Sterling sub-machine gun. Scotland Yard announced yesterday that a suspect had been arrested at 9.50am in Antrim, Northern Ireland, on suspicion of conspiracy to murder. Officers from the Police Service of Northern Ireland assisted the operation and are now helping search his property. Several individuals were previously been arrested in connection with the 1985 assassination, but no charges followed. Three people were convicted of perverting the course of justice by meddling with the investigation in 1986, police said. The trail then went cold for decades, prompting a review in 2016 from which fresh lines of inquiry were established, according to the force. The man arrested yesterday had not previously been arrested as part of the investigation. He has been transported to a police station in south London for questioning. PA By Niall Murray, Education Correspondent Only marginal improvements are being made by third-level colleges in the number of women in top academic roles, latest Higher Education Authority (HEA) data show. Men still hold three-quarters of university professorships and two-thirds of posts as associate professor, despite 45% of all academic staff being women. The country has yet to see its first female university president, but two of the 14 institutes of technology (IoTs) are now led by women. Despite women holding more than two-thirds of lecturer grade posts at three colleges of education, nearly half of senior lecturer posts (47%) are held by male academics. Pay grades also reflect the promotions imbalance, with just 30% of those paid over 106,000 in universities being women, and only 17% of those at IoTs. The HEA said there has only been a 1% to 2% rise in the year to the end of 2017 in senior academic positions held by women. The Irish Examiners comparison of figures from 2013 to the end of 2017 shows that the proportion of university professors who are women rose from 19% to 24%. Females now account for 34% of associate professors, up from 26%, and senior lecturer posts held by women are up from 35% to 41%. The HEA pointed to a very slow rate of change internationally in addressing gender imbalance in higher education, particularly at professor level. But an action plan from a gender taskforce set up by Higher Education Minister of State, Mary Mitchell OConnor, is expected to take significant steps to accelerate improvements here. She said the steps so far are still very small, and third-level presidents need to show strong commitment and leadership if real progress is to be made. All seven universities have now achieved the minimum standard in an international award scheme that recognises efforts to address third-level gender imbalance. Trinity College Dublin and University of Limerick were given bronze Athena Swan awards in 2015, and the most recent recipients were NUI Galway and Maynooth University last November. All third-level colleges must hold this bronze award by the end of 2019 or they will no longer be eligible for funding from the countrys main research agencies. They will need a silver award, showing meaningful progress on gender initiatives, to qualify for research funding from 2023. HEA chief executive, Graham Love, said systematic barriers in higher education institutionsorganisation and culture mean that talent alone is not always enough to guarantee success. The universities data mask wide variations between colleges with 31% of ULs professors being women, it retains its leading position for professorial appointments. But while most universities show an increase in the proportion of female professors since the first data from the HEA in 2013, the situation has not improved at NUI Galway. Just 12% of its professors were female at the end of 2017, a fall from the 14% reported by the HEA for the end of 2013. The 17% of associate professors who are women is also significantly lower than at the other six universities. NUI Galway recently promoted four female academics to senior lecturer in its settlement of a long-running dispute over a promotion round in 2008 and 2009, which saw another matter resolved last year in the Workplace Relations Commission and a ruling against it in a 2014 equality case by botanist Micheline Sheehy Skeffington. At 43%, the proportion of NUI Galway senior lecturer posts held by women was second only to the figure at UL. By Sean ORiordan There has been an angry reaction to Bord Pleanalas decision to refuse planning permission for a major breakwater barrier to protect a harbour in West Cork. The planning appeals board has refused permission to Cork County Council to build the breakwater at Baltimore even though it acknowledged the local authority wanted to build it to improve safety for vessel users. On numerous occasions, vessels operating out of Baltimore have had to take shelter at Old Court, Union Hall, and Castletownbere, because Baltimore is too exposed to the elements. A number of years ago, the former harbour commissioners drew up plans for the defensive structure. The project was taken on by the county council when it took over the running of a number of smaller harbours in Cork. An Bord Pleanala accepted the principle of a need for the breakwater, but refused planning as its construction would result in the permanent loss of 1.57 hectares of marine and bay habitat in what is a Special Area of Conservation (SAC). In its decision, it quoted the conservation objectives set down by the National Parks and Wildlife Service. An Bord Pleanala said it could not be satisfied, given the submissions made by the Department of Culture, Heritage, and the Gaeltacht, that the proposed development would not result in the direct loss of this habitat and would, therefore, adversely affect the integrity of the site. Vincent ODriscoll, who has run ferries between Baltimore and Sherkin Island for nearly 40 years, described the decision as an absolute disgrace. He said the lack of shelter meant he and other vessel owners had to take shelter elsewhere for up to 60 nights a year, mainly during the winter. I have to go seven miles upriver and this has caused disruption to my service, said Mr ODriscoll. The fishing vessels have to move to Castletownbere or Union Hall. Fianna Fail councillor Joe Carroll, who was a member of the former Baltimore Harbour Board, said he was extremely disappointed with the decision. The main reason is the loss of habitat, he said. But if this situation was replicated along the west coast of France or Spain you wouldnt have any harbour development. The creation of the breakwater is vital for sheltering craft. This is a health and safety issue primarily. He added that, apart from the obvious health and safety issue, the lack of a breakwater would not encourage maritime tourism visits to the harbour village and the area around it. Yachting tourism is a big money-spinner and the Baltimore economy and that of the surrounding villages and towns could really benefit from it, said Mr Carroll. But you wont get these people coming here if there isnt a breakwater to protect their vessels. Director of US National Intelligence Dan Coats said that Russia is continuing to pursue its efforts to interfere in the US political system. "We continue to see a pervasive messaging campaign by Russia to try to weaken and divide the United States," Coats said from the White House briefing room. "The President has specifically directed us to make the matter of election meddling and securing our election process a top priority." "The intelligence community continues to be concerned about the threats of upcoming US elections, both the midterms and the presidential elections of 2020," CNN cited Coats as saying. Coats said that while Russian efforts to influence and drive a wedge in US democracy are "pervasive" and "ongoing," he said that US intelligence so far believes the Russian influence campaign is less robust than in 2016. "It is not the kind of robust campaign that we assessed in the 2016 election," Coats said. "They stepped up their game big time in 2016. We have not seen that kind of robust effort from them so far." By Aodhan O Faolain and Ray Managh A schoolteacher has asked the High Court for orders preventing the Teaching Council of Ireland notifying the National Vetting Bureau (NVB) of concerns that arose during an investigation into the teachers relationship with a former student. Mr Justice Michael Hanna heard the proposed notification arises out of the councils investigation into complaints about the teachers conduct towards a male student, who was 19 at the time. The allegations relate to incidents in November 2016 that the teacher allowed the student have alcohol while alone with him and that the teacher was under the influence of alcohol to the degree that he was incapable of discharging his duties. It was alleged that the teacher sent the student messages requesting him to retract information he gave the principal and An Garda Siochana after the school head expressly stated that no contact should be made. The council concluded that the public interest was served by requesting the teacher not to repeat the conduct. The teacher had undertaken to comply and apologised for any distress caused. The council had not proceeded with regard to allegations of the teachers alleged sexual impropriety, which he vehemently denies, towards the student. The teacher claimed in court that the council now intends to send a notification to the NVB, which is the Garda unit conducting vetting of persons to increase the protection of children and vulnerable persons through safer recruitment decisions. The teacher, who cannot be identified, claims the councils actions are a blatant breach of his rights, an attack on his right to earn a living, and a direct attack on his good name. He says it is not entitled to do this because the student was 19 and not a child at the relevant time. The council denies each allegation of wrongdoing made against it by the teacher. The teacher claimed it had acted in bad faith and that baseless allegations before it included sexual assault, providing drugs and alcohol to students, predatory behaviour, and emotional abuse. The council has claimed it was perfectly entitled to form a view that this material triggered its obligation to notify the NVB. It says that, under the National Vetting Bureau Act 2012, it is obliged to notify the bureau of its concerns arising out of an investigation into allegations and complaints of any alleged treatment of a former student by teachers and would notify the bureau unless restrained by the court. The teacher had been dismissed by the school for gross misconduct and, although that decision had been appealed, the matter had been settled before the appeal was determined. Following an application by the Teaching Council, the High Court also suspended his teaching registration, which was subsequently lifted. Last month the teacher secured a temporary injunction restraining the council from making a notification under the National Vetting Bureau Act. The council opposes the application and says the injunction should be discharged. The teachers application to keep the injunction in place until the matter has been determined came before Judge Hanna. He said the case should be heard as soon as possible and adjourned the proceedings to September for a full hearing. Sorting out Cork people for years... I havent stopped crying since I got back from Crookhaven on Monday. Every single woman there this year had a jaw-dropping set of new boobs, while I was forced to walk around with my three-year-old chin. In fairness to my Ken, he promised to go to Jersey in a few weeks and come back with enough cash in used 50s for a new nose. (Its entirely legit.) In the meantime, I was thinking nothing screams loaded on the Douglas Road more than a few days in the Bons. Unfortunately Im not sick, but do you have any pull in Bon Secours hospital to get in there for three nights? Monica, Douglas Road, Id be demanding a private room. So would anyone they put you in with. I asked my Posh cousin about this. She said the Bons has a room set aside for your situation. I said how does it work. She said the room is overlooking Sundays Well, so after 10 minutes in there the Douglas Road patient has to be admitted with a case of acute jealousy. (Dont they think of everything?) Ciao, I flew into Cork from Milan this morning. It was a beautiful flight, gained two new girlfriends, lost one when she spotted me coming out of the toilets with the other. (And they say air hostesses are supposed to be liberal.) Anyway, when we touched down I was surprised that all the locals on the plane started clapping. The woman next to me started sobbing a little, so I put my arms around her and said she was more beautiful than the Bay of Naples. She said Stall the ball Pervy Pedro, these are tears of joy, boy. Why do the Cork people clap like so? Benito, Milan. Its always a nervous time flying into Cork. (And not just because the runway is tighter than a Togher mams dress on communion day). One whiff of fog at Cork and you could be diverted to Shannon, which means a drive through Limerick, which this week means watching the locals dancing like monkeys because they finally won a match in Croke Park. #EasilyPleased Hello old stock. Hoggys wife stumbled on his hilariously complicated love life last week when she finally cracked his gmail password. (DirtyFilthyNorries2000. It would have been my first guess.) She said he either changes completely or shes out the gap, so I told her Id bring him to the Crawford yesterday for a bit of culture. What I didnt tell her is that they have an exhibition of nudes running at the moment. We toddled along and half of Cork Con was in there staring at people in the nip. (It was very like a party I went to in Kinsale.) Do you think this counts as art or is it pornography Reggie, Blackrock I have a sophisticated cousin, Pretentious Peadar. He got a degree in the History of Art because hes terrified of getting out of bed before 10:30. I referred your question on to him. He said it only counts as porn if you get turned on. I said the paintings are mainly of nude Irish people. He said thats definitely art. #NotGreatInTheNip Hello. I dont like to boast, but Im from one of the top fives families in Waterford. My daughter married a guy from Kanturk a few years ago; we were worried he was unsuitable until he showed us the paperwork for his illegal offshore accounts. (14 of them. #Bingo.) The problem is their two kids are being reared in north Cork, so instead of talking, they mutter like little goats. Ive tried mocking them to get them to speak properly, but no dice. What would you recommend? Rebecca, Passage Road, I dont like to boast but its one of the best areas in Waterford. Youre grand, thats not a boast. Its like saying you have the best dress sense in Cappoquin. (#LindaMartin1992.) Im usually slow to side with semi-literate north Cork bogmen, but Ill make an exception in this case, given where youre from. Sorry now, but taking elocution advice from a Waterford woman is like getting hairstyle tips from Boris Johnson. Cmere, whats the story with Grenagh? The old doll do be non-stop cribbing at me to move out there, because shes sick of living in the city. Her buddy do be living there and she says its wall to wall northsiders who moved out, so there do be no problem trying to make conversation with nobby southsiders. I said Id rather talk rugby to some Pres boy than live next door to some muck-savage who do be in love with his tractor. Whats the solution? Dowcha Donie, Blackpool. I passed this on to my cousin, the estate agent. He said hed have to check with the new office in his company that deals with Norries. I said why do you decide to keep them separate? He said, guess. I said the smell of Penneys perfume in the meeting rooms was upsetting the southside clients? He said yes. #IJustKnew Eoghan OSullivan explains just why Christy Moore rates Clonakilty alongside Carnegie Hall and Sydney Opera House. De Barras Folk Club is one of the institutions of Irish music. Situated in the heart of Clonakilty, it has brought international attention as well as a guitar festival to a town increasingly known for its musical heritage. Its no surprise that Noel Redding, one third of the Jimi Hendrix Experience, moved to West Cork in the 1970s and soon became engrossed in the music scene in Clonakilty. While some people come to the town for its food or nearby Inchydoney Beach, theres no doubt that for many, the thriving music scene is the big draw. The legend goes that everything was black and white in Clonakilty and then Noel and Carol, his partner, came and everything went to Technicolor. There was probably a spell there in the 80s where Noel was playing seven nights a week around Clonakilty, says Ray Blackwell, who runs De Barras Folk Club, the central hub of music in Clonakilty. More than anything, he was treated like a human, like a real person. Real long-lasting friendships beyond his musical legacy or what he did to contemporary pop culture. People actually really got on with him and liked him." "And that was part of the charm of Clonakilty, part of why its become such a great town over the last 20 or 30 years. De Barras has been a pub in one way or another for about 150 years, interspersing as a bakery and grocers along the way, as many pubs over the decades did. Rays parents moved back to Clonakilty and took over the bar on Pearse St during the recession of the early 1980s. Soon trad sessions were taking place in the snug just inside the door on the left with Noel Redding a regular player and musicians from all over the country calling down to join in. Soon, the Blackwells were expanding the pub, installing a folk club upstairs. The stage has moved around over the years and is now in the backroom of De Barras. Paddy Keenan, an uileann pipes player with the legendary Irish folk group the Bothy Band, was instrumental in setting up a Monday trad night in the 70s which is still going today. Paddy was one of the most amazing musicians who happened to end up in Clonakilty, says Ray Blackwell. Trad music is a part of all our makeup, whether we realise it or not. And were very proud of that. Christy Moore (he who famously said Theres Carnegie Hall, the Royal Albert, Sydney Opera House, then theres De Barras), his younger brother Luka Bloom, and their nephew Gavin Moore (who used to work in De Barras) are still all regulars there. The Hothouse Flowers have played here, as have the likes of Villagers, Lee Ranaldo from Sonic Youth, the legendary banjo player Pecker Dunne, Bastille, Sharon Shannon, Bell X1, Roy Harper, and many more not to mention the wealth of local talent coming through the folk club too, all of them mixing and learning from the older generation of musicians still playing and living in Clonakilty. The audience is discerning, but when they like you, they really like you. Christy Moore performing in De Barra's Folk Club, Clonakilty Whatever you might think yourself, theyre so discerning and know if something is good or not. Whatever type of music it is, a good band is a good band. The audience is the local bedrock, says Ray. Sitting Room SessionsM The Sitting Room Sessions take place every other Wednesday, attracting a diverse collection of musicians, John Spillane has had a residency at De Barras for around 15 years, performing on the first Thursday of every month, and then theres the Clonakilty International Guitar Festival. Run by a not-for-profit voluntary organisation of music lovers, beginning in 2005, De Barras acts as the hub of the festival, though gigs take place around the town, including in the butchers across the road. It grew out of the busking festival that was in the town. Rays father Bobby was key at the beginning, along with various others. Theyd have organised a lot of festivals in Clonakilty over the years, like the busking festival, says Ray. There was a history of festivals in the town, my father dragged me into it and threw me in at the deep end in the hope that itd keep me busy. It was great as they showed us how to start and where to go from there, they laid the foundation. The guitar festival has grown from a day and weekend-long affair into a full week of events in 2018, surviving and thriving during the recession. Running from September 17 to 23, this years lineup will include Glen Hansard, Joshua Burnside, the winner of the Northern Ireland Music Prize 2017, and a whole host of other acts. Most of the events are free, with only a handful ticketed. We always wanted to build it sustainably because we knew there wasnt going to be money in it and we wanted it to be a community event. Thats part of our manifesto we wanted to be accessible and open to everyone, says Ray. Guitar festival Clonakilty International Guitar Festival takes place September 17-23, 2018. Drug users are more blind now than ever before to the dangers of what they are putting into their bodies, An Garda Siochanas top expert on drugs has warned. Speaking ahead of one of the busiest festival weekends, Detective Sergeant Brian Roberts, said gardai undertake both overt and covert operations at festivals and warned those attending that there would be no tolerance of drugs. Det Sgt Roberts, from to the Garda Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau, said a State working group was for the first time examining measures aimed at reducing the harm posed by drugs at festivals, such as amnesty bins and drug testing. He said it was more likely that a pilot of an amnesty bin, where users can lawfully dispose of their drugs on entering a festival, would be tried first, as drug testing involved a lot of legal and ethical issues and would be a much bigger step. There is an ongoing campaign in Britain for drug testing facilities, fuelled by two drug deaths at Portsmouth festival last May. Groups such as the Ana Liffey Drug Project are calling for similar facilities here. The gardas comments follow the recent launch of a HSE harm reduction campaign in relation to cocaine on the back of increased usage, treatment data, and higher purity levels. The HSE previously warned about high dose batches of ecstasy in circulation and advised users to test a tablet by taking a quarter of it. Last month, customs and gardai seized 30kg of MDMA (ecstasy) powder, along with 20kg of ketamine, one of the biggest hauls of both drugs in years. Det Sgt Roberts told the Irish Examiner that drug users do not know what they are buying. The era we are in now is that when somebody takes a powder or a pill they genuinely dont know whats in it, he said. He said the European drugs agency is monitoring more than 700 new psychoactive substances which may be sold instead of, or mixed with, mainstream drugs, such as cocaine and ecstasy. Thats a public health concern, he said. People are more blind now than ever before in terms of the dangers of what they are putting into their bloodstream. He said the average strength of an ecstasy tablet is around 120mg, but it can range from 50mg to 300-400mg, the latter being extremely dangerous. Tests on the blue Punisher pills linked to the Portsmouth deaths suggested they had a strength over 330mg and these tablets have been reported in Ireland. Det Sgt Roberts said gardai deploy overt and covert operations at festivals and that some festivals could have 400 arrests, mostly for possession. The message is basically to make people aware that from a drugs perspective there is no tolerance of drug prevalence at these festivals, he said. Under the national drugs strategy, a working group is tasked with examining amnesty bins and drug testing.Det Sgt Roberts said they had people over to give presentations and the group was at the stage of examining international precedent. He said there were a lot of legal and ethical issues to consider with pill testing. He thought it was more likely that amnesty bins would be piloted first. Analysis: Drug warning as festival season hits peak There is no doubt that the strength of ecstasy pills has increased, with some dosages at extremely dangerous levels, writes Cormac OKeeffe. Thats the assessment of An Garda Siochanas leading expert on drugs. Detective Sergeant Brian Roberts said purity levels range dramatically and pointed out that a staggering number do not contain the ecstasy chemical, MDMA, at all. He also said that cocaine is back to a fair extent to pre-recession levels, but warned that other white powders, often more toxic, can either be sold instead of it or mixed in with it. Det Sgt Roberts, attached to the Garda Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau, was speaking as the busiest period in the summer festival season kicks off, with a host of major music events taking place. Drug organisations, medics, and police in Britain have been warning users about high-strength pills and powders after Tommy Cowan, 20, and Georgia Jones, 18, died at a music festival in Portsmouth at the end of May. This prompted a warning by the HSE about high-dose batches of ecstasy in circulation and advising users to test a tablet by taking a quarter of it and waiting at least two hours before using any more. The HSE has launched a similar harm reduction campaign on cocaine after increased usage and treatment data and higher purity levels. In an interview with the Irish Examiner, Det Sgt Roberts said there is no doubt that the strength of an averag ecstasy tablet has increased in recent years, but added that it could vary dramatically. The average strength in Ireland of an ecstasy tablet is 120mg [MDMA], but it can vary from 50mg to as high as 300-400mg dosage, which is an extremely dangerous dose, said Det Sgt Roberts. Tommy Cowan, 20, and Georgia Jones, 18, fell ill at Mays Mutiny Festival in Portsmouth. Both died in hospital Recently, the organisers of Parklife Festival in Britain put out a warning in relation to blue Punisher pills thought to have been linked to the Portsmouth festival deaths. After testing the substances potency, drug awareness project The Loop UK said that the pills had a strength over 330mg. These tablets have also been reported in Ireland. However, Det Sgt Roberts said that a high-strength pill with a certain logo can exist for a certain time, but that the same colour pill, with the same logo, may be low- strength the next week, making it impossible to predict the strength or purity of a given type of tablet. He said that Yellow Snapchat tablets were circulating a lot recently and he saw a lilac Hollow Jumbo pill for the first time. The European drugs agency, the EMCDDA, has warned that the MDMA strength of tablets has increased substantially in recent years. The Wedinos project in Wales, a University Hospital Llondough initiative which tests samples submitted to them, said there has been an increase in dosage and purity of substances, particularly MDMA pills. The Dutch Drugs Information and Monitoring System 2016 annual report, published last November, said the average dosage of MDMA in ecstasy pills rose from 123mg in 2012 to 156mg in 2016. Det Sgt Roberts said research by Wedinos also found 49% of tablets tested did not contain MDMA. Thats a staggering figure from our close neighbour that half of the tablets contain some other substance, he said, adding that tablets could contain PMMA, responsible for 18 deaths in the Republic and six in the North in 2015. He said that because PMMA takes a lot longer to take effect, people who think they have consumed MDMA but do not feel the effect can assume they are low-strength pills causing them to take another pill or double drop, posing a serious risk of overheating, respiratory failure, cardiac arrest, and death. Uncertainty with ecstasy tablets also applies to powder and to cocaine and amphetamine, he said. MDMA. File image. The danger with buying a stimulant white powder, like cocaine or amphetamine, is it turning out to be an NPS [new psychoactive substance] or has an NPS contained in the cocaine and it could be a much more toxic substance, said Det Sgt Roberts. He said the danger posed by not knowing what you are taking is graphically demonstrated in the tragic death in 2016 of 18-year-old Alex Ryan in Cork, who unwittingly took 25INBOMe, a powerful hallucinogenic. Concerns over the use of all of these drugs reach a height during the summer festival season, which is now hitting its busiest period. There are three festivals over this August bank holiday weekend: Indiependence in Cork; Castlepalooza, Co Offaly; and All Together Now in Co Waterford. Carl Cox plays at Ballinlough Castle, Co Westmeath, on August 25, and Electric Picnic is on the following weekend. Det Sgt Roberts said festival operators are keenly aware of their responsibilities to do everything they can to keep people safe and that gardai now have good co-operation with them. He said gardai deploy overt and covert operations at festivals and that the average Electric Picnic-type festival could have 400 arrests, mostly for drug possession. The message is basically to make people aware that from a drugs perspective there is no tolerance of drug prevalence at these festivals, said Det Sgt Roberts. He said gardai police drugs principally for public health concerns and added: Its to diminish that risk in terms of peoples health. He said that, on average, almost one person a day dies from drug poisoning. He said that under the national drugs strategy 2017 to 2025 a working group was tasked, for the first time, with examining amnesty bins and drug testing. Gardai are also concerned at a spate of large seizures of ketamine since March, with the biggest haul in years in Dublin when 20kg of the drug was seized, along with 30kg of MDMA. Ketamine is a powerful hallucinogenic used legally as an anaesthetic. Used illicitly, it is known as a dissociative drug, meaning the users can feel detachment from their own body and environment. After the haul, HSE expert Dr Eamon Keenan said there were reports of ketamine being used at festivals and being increasingly popular among young people. Det Sgt Roberts said there is huge concern at the trade in street pharmaceuticals, such as benzodiazepines and Z-drugs, either diverted from the legitimate trade or counterfeit. He said criminal gangs have realised the huge profit that can be made and gardai have uncovered tabletting facilities here. In relation to the super-strong synthetic opiate fentanyl, he said they are very conscious there is still a threat from it. It caused five deaths three in Dublin and two in Cork between April and July 2016, followed by a near fatality and a seizure, both in Dublin, in September, but has not resurfaced since. He said the drug is fatal in minute dosages and responsible for thousands of deaths in the US and Europe. Det Sgt Roberts said many people will continue to take drugs and that he and others need to be credible in their messages. Drugs are here to stay, he said. You need a credible argument that things are not like what they used to be. Look at this in terms of toxicity, the smallest amount is enough to kill you and you are taking that pill and you dont know whats in it. You dont need to make anything up. Information: drugs.ie A reworked plan is required to ensure public funding is spent on an authentic national maternity hospital in public ownership and under public control, writes Marie OConnor. The new National Maternity Hospital a private Catholic hospital governed by the hierarchy? The Religious Sisters of Charity have spent the last three years managing their departure from the Irish healthcare scene. Are they really relinquishing their hospitals, as claimed, or is a handover to the Hierarchy in contemplation? The plan for the National Maternity Hospital to be taken over by St Vincents Healthcare Group still stands, although nothing has been heard about it for over a year. In 2016, the NMH agreed to become a subsidiary of SVHG. The National Maternity Hospital even assented to a single system of governance for obstetrics and gynaecology across itself and St Vincents University Hospital, according to the Mulvey report. Game, set and match to the Religious Sisters of Charity, owners of the group. The NMH looks set to move into a strongly Catholic environment. The Religious Sisters of Charity have actively sought to inculcate their mission into staff. By 2005, more than a thousand hospital staff had attended SVHG courses in medical ethics. Services prohibited by Rome, such as sterilisation on demand, are not provided, understandably, in the nuns hospitals. Arrangements made by private Catholic health care facilities are a matter for themselves. But difficulties arise when public funding enters the picture. The State plans to invest 300m in a new build for the NMH, despite its planned status as a wholly-owned subsidiary of a private Catholic entity. Six months after the Mulvey report, to great fanfare, the nuns announced they were giving up their hospitals. Three weeks earlier, 1,500 people had demonstrated on the streets of Dublin against their planned ownership of the new NMH. As part of their offer to relinquish their hospitals, the nuns announced that they would give up their power to appoint board members. This suggests, of course, that current board members are congregational appointees. Congregational leader Sr Mary Christian also announced the setting up of an entity to take ownership of their facilities. SVHG chairman James Menton clarified that the company, St Vincents, would initially be made up of the SVH Group itself, or part of itself, with four board members (including the chair) slated to be involved. Sr Mary Christian also stated that reference to the nuns philosophy and code of ethics would be removed from the groups constitution, after their hospitals had transferred to St Vincents. Nevertheless, she reaffirmed the nuns dedication to preserving the legacy of their foundress, Mary Aikenhead, and expressed confidence the groups directors would do so. This was confirmed by the chairman, who reassured the public, and possibly the Papal Nuncio, that the SVHG board, management and 4,000 staff would continue to provide acute healthcare services in line with these values. So far, so unclear. Public juridical persons The new charitable entity, Menton said, will have few powers and it will be business as usual for the group. So why set it up in the first place? The obvious answer is that setting up St Vincents gave the impression that change was afoot, by enabling the nuns to announce that they are divesting themselves of their hospitals. However, establishing a new company also opens up new corporate possibilities. Could the new entity soon to own the NMH be subject to supervision by the Hierarchy? Since 1983, Canon Law has provided for the creation of Catholic corporations to ensure that the hospitals, schools and other facilities owned by religious orders are safeguarded in terms of ownership and ethos. The same board members may serve on both the ecclesiastical and civil entities. A system of reserved powers provides for congregational control. Although few have heard of them, public juridical persons, as they are known, have already been established in Ireland. (Public is a term of art here: in canon law, it refers to close regulation by the Hierarchy.) In Cork, to take one example, the Mercy University Hospital is owned by Mercy Care South, a charitable body under the Charities Regulator and a public juridical person under the Bishop of Cork and Ross. The hospitals former owners, the Sisters of Mercy, designed this dual corporate structure in 2016. It seems unlikely the Religious Sisters of Charity would not want to follow their example. They have already done so elsewhere. Archbishop Diarmuid Martin has repeatedly indicated that he does not wish to be involved in the running of the NMH. So, if St Vincents is being established as a Church corporation, the nuns will have to look to either the Vatican or the Irish Catholic Bishops Conference to supervise the laity chosen to govern in their stead. If the governing authority is the Vatican, it will require annual reports showing evidence of compliance with Church teaching. Smoke and mirrors What lies behind the smoke and mirrors? All we know at this point is that the Religious Sisters of Charity are set to spin off their hospitals to a new company, St Vincents, which to be set up by their own company, SVHG. Major known unknowns include whether the governance charter of St Vincents will require adherence in its hospital activities to the congregations ethos and charism. Again, taking the example of Mercy Care South, whether St Vincents will be incorporated as a civil company and as a Church entity obliged to adhere to Canonical Statutes and By-Laws is not known. This is a concern that was raised more than a year ago by Dr Peter Boylan. Such questions are legitimate, given the planned State funding of the new NMH. Lack of transparency, if not disingenuousness, has characterised the Governments handling of this issue to date, however. Two key aspects have been veiled. One is the proposed government funding of a private hospital in contravention of Government healthcare policy separating the public from the private. Peter Boylan The NMH will be answerable to St Vincents and the wider group, not the State, and the hospitals operational activities will continue to remain outside State control, as they are at present. The National Maternity Hospital launched a judicial review last January challenging a decision by the minister for health to order a Hiqa inquiry into patient safety issues. The inquiry was set up in the wake of the death of Malak Thawley, 34, whose aorta was accidentally torn during emergency surgery at the hospital in 2016 for an ectopic pregnancy. Last week, the chief medical officer, Dr Tony Holohan, told the High Court that the minister for health had to consider the governance arrangements of a new service [to be provided by the NMH at Vincents] in the light of his genuine concerns about the hospitals attitude to patient safety. The NMH, for its part, claims the minister acted outside his powers, given that there have already been three inquiries, and says a statutory inquiry would be highly disruptive and would undermine public confidence. The second feature that jumps out is the denominational aspect. It is preposterous to pretend, as the minister for health has repeatedly done, that the new NMH will be free of religious influence. The new NMH is set to become more Catholic, not less. In recent decades, the NMH has portrayed itself as a secular hospital while technically under diocesan control. Dr Tony Holohan The hospital is now quietly set to take its place as a new acquisition by a Catholic entity. Wholly owned subsidiaries are owned and controlled by their parent company. In this case, the parent (currently SVHG) is owned by a religious congregation, so, at a minimum, the new NMH may find itself governed by the Code of Ethical Standards for Healthcare, published in May by the Bishops Conference. It is clear the new national maternity hospital was never going to be either public or secular. The Government should, therefore, abandon its retrograde plan to fund a new build for a private, denominational entity, where womens right of access to a full range of services, including appropriate care in miscarriage, is likely be compromised. The minister has indicated the deal, on which he has sole sign-off, is progressing, but evidence given to the High Court last week shows the deal stalled last January, after the NMH launched its legal challenge to the minister. The current deadlock is an opportunity. Only public pressure will derail a deal that dovetails so well with vested interests. A new plan is now required, to ensure that public funding is spent on an authentic national maternity hospital in public ownership, and under public control. Marie OConnor is the author of Emergency: Irish hospitals in chaos Yerevan intends to nominate Lieutenant General Vagharshak Harutyunyan, who was Armenian defense minister (1999-2000), to the post of the secretary general of the Collective Security Treaty Organization, Interfax reported. Earlier, Armenia proposed its Collective Security Treaty Organization partners to embark on replacement of the secretary general of the organization. Yuri Khachaturov, CSTO secretary general, is charged with toppling constitutional order in collusion with other persons. Khachaturov was detained recently over the bloody events of March 1, 2008, but later he was released on an AMD 5-million bail. The likely successor of Khachaturov, Vagharshak Harutyunyan, worked on different positions in Armenias defense. After his conflict with Robert Kocharyan, who ruled the country from 1998 to 2008, broken over the terrorist act in the parliament in 1999, Harutyunyan was degraded from lieutenant general to major general, and then dismissed. I remember thinking then that if I never heard another word about clerical sex abuse if would be too soon. This followed a number of years of journalistic work trying to unearth the havoc that had been wreaked by Fr Sean Fortune in Wexford and before him Fr Brendan Smyth and a few others in between. Back then in the 1990s, it truly was a different Ireland. The notion of priests committing such depraved acts with children, and then being publically exposed for doing so, was utterly shocking. By now, weve heard so much about the sex abuse of children by priests that it continues to shock us, but equally, given our prolonged exposure to the facts, it has become a part of our national narrative. The human mind can only cope with so much empathising and its understandable, in many ways, that we would protect ourselves from prolonged acute exposure. In this way, when we hear that general term clerical sex abuse, we tend to veer away from mentally going into too much detail of what this means in actuality, thus blunting our response. Despite having reported on it extensively, and spoken to a number of victims, I do this myself. It is a horror that you can only bear in limited doses. But the victims do not have this luxury. They live every day with the reality of what was done to them and by whom. It is many years since I spoke to someone about their experiences of being abused but I can easily recall the details of the terror they felt, the bewildering confusion at what was actually happening, and that it was a priest that was doing it to them whether that had been rape, or to use that other graphic term, buggery, and the horrible physical pain of that, or being forced to perform oral sex or to engage in masturbation. Then there were the threats and inducements from the priest at what would happen if they told anyone about the abuse. The children often did not realise what exactly was being done to them, having no clue what sex was, but they knew exactly the trust and high esteem in which this man of the cloth would have been held by their parents. Some details that stick in my mind include the woman whose abuse began on the day of her First Holy Communion, the grown man remembering how he had turned his pajama bottom the wrong way round, with the opening at the back, in the tragically childish hope this might prove a barrier to the abuse that had begun the night before, or the man for whom the smell of this adult male priest was one of the dominant things that stuck in his mind to the present day. The other dominant aspect that remains with me was the utter and absolute determination of the Church to make it as difficult as possible, right down to lying blatantly and using every legal avenue available, to stop these people who had been abused from finding out the truth of what happened and why, and to get proper acknowledgement of their suffering. Their actions often resulted in priests who had been reported to Church authorities continuing to abuse children for years, sometimes decades, afterwards. This, of course, is an attitude and approach that was and is completely at odds with the teachings of the Church that are delivered off the altar every Sunday and will no doubt form a key part of Pope Francis message when he arrives in Ireland. Yes, this pope is a man who lives modestly, who speaks eloquently and importantly on issues such as poverty and the plight of refugees migrants and climate change, who has presented a more human face of the Catholic Church, stressing the importance of mercy. On a Sunday in the Vatican, as he ends his remarks with those gathered in St Peters Square, he tells the crowd, with his classic common touch: Have a good lunch, arrivederci. Ultimately, though, he continues the pattern of an institution unwilling to face the truth. Just days ago, the Pope accepted the resignation of an Australian archbishop, Phillip Wilson, who was convicted of covering up the sexual abuse of children the repeated abuse of two altar boys by a priest now deceased something which occurred only after mounting public pressure and included an intervention from the countrys prime minister. One victim, Peter Gogarty, wrote a letter to Pope Francis which was published in Australian media. From my own experience of listening to victims, his words eloquently summed up the lasting devastation of those who have been sexually abused by priests. Imagine, if you can, your own childhood, your Catholic upbringing, and the character-destroying belief that you were engaged in the worst of mortal sins. I am now 57 years old and continue to struggle with the burden forced upon me, Mr Gogarty wrote. In another recent high-profile move, the Pope accepted the resignation of the former archbishop of Washington 88-year-old Theodore McCarrick. In that case, apparently, it was an open secret in US church circles that McCarrick would invite seminarians to his beach house and then his bed. Despite this apparent knowledge and warnings being issued to the Vatican, he was still made a cardinal in 2001. There has been international media speculation that the accepting of these resignations were a house cleaning exercise in advance of the Popes arrival in Ireland, which, as the Chicago Tribune puts it, the scandal is likely to dominate the agenda, given Irelands devastating history with predator priests and the bishops who covered for them. In truth, rather than a spring clean, it is a defumigation that the Catholic Church needs when it comes to the sexual abuse of children by its priests and the subsequent orchestration by the Vatican of a cover-up. No wonder, then, that Colm OGorman described the Popes visit as particularly galling for people like him. Colm OGorman Colm was one of those abuse victims that I got to know during those long years of researching the story of Fr Sean Fortune and subsequently writing a book on it. Knowing what he went through, and how he subsequently worked so tirelessly to get answers from the Church, not just for himself but also on behalf of others, means my admiration for him is boundless. The charity which he established, One In Four continues to do invaluable work with survivors of sexual abuse. The notion that the Pope might squeeze in a meeting with survivors behind the scenes rather than it have it as a top priority from the beginning indicates how the old attitudes prevail. The rape of Irish children and the institutionalised cover up of that fact however hard the details are to listen to deserve top billing. Arts Artist Reopens Bleeding Wounds With Exhibition Inspired by 8888 Uprising Aung Kyi Soes images of the brutal crackdown Aung Kyi Soe describes the popular pro-democracy uprising in August 1988 as a scar. Scars remain even after wounds heal, he said. The 8888 Uprising will mark its 30th anniversary on Aug. 8. But Aung Kyi Soe still cannot forget the bitter experiences that have left him with emotional scars. The artist has brought those scars to the OK Art Gallery in Yangons Aung San Stadium to relive those dark days of suppression. Against a backdrop of images of newspaper pages from August 1988, Aung Kyi Soe has depicted hammers, sickles, peacocks, the flag of the Burma Socialist Programme Party, bayonets, students, monks and the crackdown. The artist said his paintings were influenced by Spanish artist Pablo Picassos Guernica, which is regarded by many art critics as one of the most powerful anti-war paintings in history. His works vividly portray the steely determination of the people of Myanmar to achieve democracy. Despite the bleeding wounds, people are raising their hands in defiance. Despite others being shot dead, despite others being killed with bayonets, despite others being shackled, they still demand democracy. Aung Kyi Soes subjects are usually political or involve social issues facing the country. The artist has so far held four solo art exhibitions. His paintings are particularly popular with foreigners. More than 10 of his works will be on display at the exhibition. They are available for prices ranging from US$1,000 to US$2,000. The exhibition will be held through Aug. 12. Asia Philippines Nabs Cleric Over Bomb Claimed by Islamic State Police officers patrol a street in Manila, Philippines, on July 2. / Reuters MANILA The Philippine military said on Thursday it has arrested a Muslim cleric who knew in advance about a bomb that killed 11 people on Basilan Island in an attack earlier this week that raised fears of Islamic State involvement. Acting on a tipoff, scout rangers raided the home of Indalin Jainul, alias Ustadz Abdulgani, 12 hours after Tuesdays bombing in Lamitan town. Informants told the army that the cleric, 58, knew the bomb would go off and had been helping foreign operatives reach Basilan from Malaysia, according to army spokesman Gerry Besana. A grenade was found at his home. Jainul is being charged with multiple murder and illegal possession of explosives. His family protested what they said were trumped-up charges. Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack, which killed five militia members, a soldier, and four civilians, including a child, calling it a martyrdom operation. The driver of a van carrying the device also died. He was believed to have detonated the device when questioned at the checkpoint. Defense and military officials dismissed the Islamic State claim as propaganda, with Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana describing the claim as just speculation. Basilan is a stronghold of the Abu Sayyaf, a group known for its banditry and kidnapping, though it has pledged loyalty to Islamic State. The attack came days after Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte made peace overtures towards the Abu Sayyaf, following his approval for an autonomy plan sought for decades by leaders of the regions Muslim minority. Vehicle bombings are rare in the Philippines, despite decades of separatist and Islamist violence that have destabilized the southern Mindanao region. Security experts say that although Islamic State has no known affiliate in the southern Philippines, it has ties with local extremists who have given refuge to foreign radicals, particularly from Malaysia and Indonesia. The scope of Islamic States influence became clearer last year when an alliance of black-clad fighters occupied Marawi City for five months, taking hostages, destroying churches and flying black flags in scenes reminiscent of Iraq and Syria. More than 1,100 people were killed. Asia Pompeo Takes Indo-Pacific Vision to Mahathir's Malaysia US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo arrives at Royal Malaysian Air Force base in Subang, Malaysia, on Thursday. / Reuters KUALA LUMPUR US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo began a four-day visit to Asia to promote a US vision of transparent, private sector-led investment with a stop in Malaysia, which has ordered a review of the sort of massive Chinese projects Washington questions. Pompeo arrived in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday evening en route to ASEAN regional meetings in Singapore. He will meet Malaysias 93-year-old prime minister, Mahathir Mohamad, on Friday morning to congratulate him on an unexpected May election victory that returned him to power on a pledge to clean up government. Mahathir had an often scratchy relationship with the United States and other Western countries while Malaysias longest serving prime minister from 1981 to 2003. However, though he often lambasted their supposed hypocrisy, underlying cooperation in areas ranging from business to security ran deep. Pompeo is the most senior US official to visit Mahathir since his election and will be looking to the present, a senior US State Department official told reporters traveling on Pompeos plane. He will congratulate Mahathir, the official said. Secretary Pompeo is arriving in Kuala Lumpur with 2018 in mind. Theres a long history in both countries. We have a comprehensive partnership with many areas of cooperation. He said the meeting would be an opportunity to talk about the Trump administrations Indo-Pacific strategy and a vision for an open, transparent, rules-based region that Pompeo outlined in a speech in Washington on Monday. US officials say the strategy does not aim to compete directly with Chinas massive Belt and Road Initiative, which involves dozens of countries in an estimated $1 trillion of mostly state-led infrastructure projects linking Asia, parts of Africa and Europe, but rather to offer a more sustainable alternative by encouraging private sector investment. This may strike a chord with Mahathir, who has called for the review of several projects signed by his predecessor, Najib Razak, who is under investigation in Washington over the scandal-ridden state fund, 1Malaysia Development Berhad. Mahathir has said Malaysia will renegotiate a $14-billion deal for a domestic rail project that is being developed by Chinese companies, saying the terms are damaging for Malaysia. He has canceled a high-speed rail link with Singapore for now. At the same time, he said his government would welcome investment from China or any other country if companies were willing to commit to projects that would create jobs for skilled workers in areas like technology and research and development. Perhaps less welcome for Mahathir, who is expected to visit China from Aug. 17 to 21, will be President Donald Trumps aggressive trade stance in Asia, which has seen him launch a trade war with China and take aim at allies and partners too. In line with our presidents objectives, its a trading relationship we are hoping can continue to be free and fair and we can bring about some balance to the trade deficit we have with Malaysia, the senior US official said. Murray Hiebert, a Southeast Asia expert at Washingtons Center for Strategic and International Studies, said Pompeos Kuala Lumpur stop would be largely a meet and greet to rekindle an old relationship. He says he wants to be more firm on the South China Sea and to renegotiate these projects with the Chinese and there might be some opportunity for the US; so I think Pompeo just wants to get a measure of the man and see what they can do. Malaysia is one of the several territorial rivals in the South China Sea, which China claims in its entirety. Among the security issues Pompeo is expected to discuss in Singapore and on a following stop in Indonesia are what Washington and its Asian allies see as Chinas excessive territorial claims. Burma Anti-Corruption Commission to Look into Decision to Drop Comedians Murder Case The suspects in the killing of Aung Yell Htwe arrive for a hearing at Thingangyun Township Court in Yangon on Jan. 18. / The Irrawaddy YANGON Myanmars Anti-Corruption Commission will look into allegations of corruption in the controversial decision to drop an investigation into the murder of Facebook comedian Aung Yell Htwe. In a statement issued Friday, the commission acknowledged that news reports had spread suggesting the case might have resulted from corrupt activity. The agency said the commisioners had unanimously agreed on Thursday to look into the case, before deciding whether there was sufficient evidence that violations of the Anti-Corruption Law had taken place to warrant an investigation. Under amendments to the Anti-Corruption Law passed in June, the commission can initiate investigations of civil servants widely suspected to be corrupt, and news reports of such suspicions can be taken into consideration. Three suspects in the fatal beating of Aung Yell Htwe were released on July 25 as the Yangon Eastern District Court accepted an appeal from the victims family asking to settle the case. According to leaked court documents that went viral online, Yangon Region Attorney General U Han Htoo approved the request from the victims family to drop the case, citing a lack of evidence implicating the accused. The release of murder suspects without any charges being filed led to a public outcry and prompted calls by lawyers, lawmakers and activists to investigate officials involved in the decision to drop the case. Lawyer U Htay told The Irrawaddy on Monday that approval from the court and from the Yangon attorney generals office were required to continue investigating the case under the Anti-Corruption Law. The commissions first announcement regarding the case was released after President U Win Myint met with Union Chief Justice U Htun Htun Oo, Union Attorney General U Tun Tun Oo and Anti-Corruption Commission head U Aung Kyi on Tuesday morning at the Presidential Palace in Naypyitaw. During the meeting, the President told the Union officials to investigate the reasons for the dropping of the case and to see that justice was served in accordance with the law. On Tuesday, the Yangon Region High Court summoned the three suspects Than Htut Aung (a.k.a Thar Gyi), Pyae Phyo Aung (a.k.a Aung Lay) and Kyaw Zaw Han (a.k.a Kyaw Zaw). Burma As She Was Dying, Maid Told Me She Had Been Tortured: Witness Theingi Su appears at the Yangon South District Court for a trial hearing in July 2018. / Thazin Hlaing / The Irrawaddy YANGONA prosecution witness in the trial of a woman accused of killing a domestic worker testified on Thursday that the victim had suffered serious injuries due to torture. Khin Thandar Oo (also known as Kayin Ma), 38, a mother of four, died shortly after being sent home by her employer, Theingi Su, the wife of a military officer, in May. Prosecution witness Daw Hla Hla Htay testified about the injuries she saw on Kayin Mas body, and said the victim told her she had been tortured. The witness testified that Kayin Ma showed [Daw Hla Hla Htay] her injuries and that there were other people who witnessed her injuries at that time, prosecution lawyer Daw San San Myint told The Irrawaddy. Kayin Ma was working at the quarters of the military officer of the Inn Daing armored battalion in Yangons Hlegu Township. She died within an hour of being sent home to Oh Po village in Twante Township by Theingi Su, on May 19, because she was ill. According to a post-mortem examination, the woman died of injuries to her intestines, and her death could have been averted if she had been hospitalized in time. Theingi Su was arrested for murder and is facing trial at the Yangon South District Court in Thanlyin Township. A member of Theingi Sus family threatened to sue reporters covering the trial. They cant do that. The press has a right to report the news, Daw San San Myint said. Reporters said they had been threatened with legal action by relatives of Theingi Su at previous hearings. When asked by the reporters if the court planned to take action over the threats, U Moe Wai, the courts information officer, said he could not comment because he did not have sufficient details. Starting with the previous hearing, the Yangon South District Court barred the press from taking pictures or making video recordings of Theingi Su. The ban came after the husband of Theingi Su sent a letter dated July 7 to the court, asking it to bar the press from photographing or recording her. U Moe Wai said the ban had nothing to do with the military officers request, but declined to explain further. Burma Five Die Following Coal Mine Explosion in Thit Chauk The bodies of five miners killed following a methane blast at a coal mine in Sagaing Divisions Kalaywa Township are recovered by rescuers on Aug. 3, 2018. / Sagaing Regional Information Page MANDALAYFive coal miners, including a Chinese technician, died of oxygen deprivation and four miners were injured when a coal mine collapsed near Thit Chauk village in Kalaywa Township, Sagaing Division, on Friday. According to police, the mine, operated by Shwe Pauk Pauk Co., a unit of Tun Thwin Coal Mining Co., collapsed at around at 2 a.m. Friday due to a methane gas explosion. The rescue team found the bodies of the five miners this afternoon, said the duty officer at Kalaywa Township Police Station. The bodies were retrieved from the mine and were en route to Kalaywa, he said. The victims were identified as: Chinese technician Kang Guang Qiang; Ko Myo Naing Win, Ko Nyan Phyo Oo and Ko Htein Lin from Yamethin Township; and Ko Zin Ko Oo from Magwe. Four people were injured trying to save the victims after the explosion occurred. They are being treated at Kalaywa General Hospital for minor injuries, the police officer said. Rescuers rushed to the mine in the morning after receiving word of the explosion in an effort to save the trapped miners, but the lack of oxygen in the mineshaft due to the methane gas blast proved fatal to the five, police told The Irrawaddy. We didnt receive news of the collapse until the morning, so the rescue effort was slightly delayed. But the lack of oxygen in the tunnel due to the gas explosion killed the trapped miners, the duty officer said. Authorities from Tun Thwin Coal Mining told The Irrawaddy that the company was cooperating with local authorities to investigate the incident and to provide for the injured and the dead miners families. What I know initially from my employees is that the oxygen pipeline ruptured, causing the miners inside the tunnel to die from a lack of oxygen, not [directly] from the explosion or the collapse of the tunnel, U Maung Maung Aung, the manager of Tun Thwin Coal Mining Co., told The Irrawaddy. We will cooperate with the local authorities to investigate the incident to ensure safety is improved in the future, he added. About six companies operate about 22 coal mines in the Thit Chauk Village area, including Htoo Mining Co. and Max Myanmar Mining Co. Most of the coal mined in this area is transported to cement factories in the Mandalay and Kyaukse regions. Mine collapses and related fatalities are nothing new to the Thit Chauk region, where mining began in 1956 under the Ministry of Mining. In the 1990s, coal mining in the area declined drastically, nearly dying out completely. Starting in 2005, however, the ministry began granting operating licenses to private companies and coal mining in the region picked up again. In 2012, mines in the Thit Chauk region produced about 87,000 metric tons of coal, according to ministry records. Burma Government Accepts Asean Offer of Flood Aid Flooding in Madauk in Bago Region on July 30. / Htet Wai / The Irrawaddy YANGONMyanmars minister of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement said the country would accept humanitarian assistance from Asean in response to an open letter from the secretary of the regional grouping stating that it was ready to provide relief assistance to Myanmar after massive floods swept through several regions and states. Secretary Lim Jock Hoi said in the letter addressed to Daw Aung San Suu Kyi that the Asean Coordination Centre for Humanitarian Assistance (AHA) and the Asean Secretariat in Jakarta stood ready to support the Myanmar government in its disaster response and humanitarian aid efforts. Since early last month, floods have hit nine states and regions, killing12 people and displacing almost 150,000. Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement Minister Dr Win Myat Aye told The Irrawaddy on Friday that Myanmar accepted the offer, which he said had been made in the spirit of Asean solidarity. The AHA will send assistance. Ambassadors from other Asean countries called me personally to offer their support, he said. On Friday, the AHA Centre handed over 12,000 portable solar lanterns as part of its initial batch of relief assistance to U Win Shwe, director of the Yangon Department of Disaster Management, under the Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement. Last year, the center provided humanitarian aid to displaced people in Rakhine State. Earlier this year, it provided technical assistance to help extinguish the landfill fire in Yangon. Myanmars International Cooperation Minister Kyaw Tin is currently attending the Asean Foreign Ministers meeting in Singapore. Burma Prosecutor, Defendant in U Ko Ni Murder Trial Squabble Over Insult Zeya Phyo arrives at Yangon's Northern District Court, where he is on trial in the murder case of U Ko Ni, on Thursday. / Htet Wai / The Irrawaddy YANGON A bitter argument broke out at Yangons Northern District Court on Thursday between a prosecutor and a defendant in the murder trial of prominent lawyer and legal adviser to the ruling National League for Democracy U Ko Ni, who was assassinated last year. The row erupted after prosecutor U Ne La called Kyi Lin, who fatally shot U Ko Ni outside Yangon International Airport in January last year, a yokel and the defendants scorned the lawyer, said another prosecutor, U Robert San Aung. Police procedure Section 138 allows shackling any dangerous criminal. So we asked the court to shackle [Kyi Lin at the trial]. Then [defendant] Zeya Phyo responded that we spoke nonsense even though we are lawyers, U Robert San Aung told reporters. He said they asked for the shackles because security arrangements were not very good at the court. I responded because they spoke indiscreetly in violation of the law even though they are lawyers. They still talk irresponsibly even though they are lawyers. I have a record of all the things they said. Sometime in the future I will take legal action against this, Zeya Phyo told reporters. At Thursday trial, another defendant, Aung Win Zaw, was cross-examined by U Ne La and Kyi Lins lawyer, U Kyaw Kyaw Htike. According to questioning based on CCTV records at the [Yangon] airport, it became clear that Aung Win Zaw watched U Ko Ni leaving [the airport]. He left shortly after U Ko Ni got out [of the airport]. This is one of the key findings of the case, said U Ne La. Aung Win Zaw also testified that he did not know the whereabouts of his brother Aung Win Khaing, who is believed to be the mastermind behind the assassination. He was last seen in Naypyitaw in February 2017. U Kyaw Kyaw Htike said he mainly asked why police requested that the court remand Aung Win Zaw only after he had been detained for three days. According to police accounts, he was held on remand only after he was detained for three days. I asked who had the authority to keep him in custody for three days. According to the law, no one shall be detained for more than 24 hours, U Kyaw Kyaw Htike told reporters. The Yangon Region High Court in June revised the charges against several of the defendants in the case. The court dropped charges relating to the import, export and possession of firearms against Aung Win Zaw. He is now facing charges of conspiracy to commit murder under Section 302 (1) (b) of the Penal Code along with Kyi Lin, who fatally shot U Ko Ni and taxi driver U Ne Win. Additionally, the charge against Zeya Phyo was changed from conspiracy to commit murder to aiding and abetting an offender. Kyi Lin is still facing a murder charge and a firearms charge. Another defendant, Aung Win Tun, is charged with harboring an offender under Article 212 of the Penal Code. The court granted him bail in March after he deposited 50 million kyats (about $37,300) to secure his release. Defense lawyers have appealed to the Union Supreme Court to revise the charges. It will deliver a ruling on the appeal on Aug. 22. Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko. Burma Thailand Seeks Norways Help to Develop Rakhine State Houses are seen in front of the buildings of the Chinese oil pipeline project (pink roof) on Madae Island, Kyaukpyu Township, Rakhine State, on October 7, 2015. / Reuters YANGON Thailands foreign minister sought Norways collaboration for a development project in Myanmars strife-torn Rakhine State during the 51st ASEAN Foreign Ministers Meeting in Singapore. Thailands leading research institute is already involved in ongoing efforts to recruit investors. Thailand expects Norway to join the project, which includes a public health plan, an infrastructure project, community-based development and a vocational education plan, Thai Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai told media after a sideline meeting with Norways foreign minister, Ine Marie Eriksen Sreide, according to a press statement on the ASEAN website. The project will support economic growth and benefit local residents as well as the government, Don said. Rakhine State is one of the poorest states in Myanmar, yet it is rich in natural resources and holds potential for successful investments in agriculture, fisheries and the energy sector. Many foreign companies have already invested in petroleum and off-shore natural gas production plants there. In Rakhine State, the Kyaukphyu Special Economic Zone is set to become an important port for the Belt and Road Initiative, Chinese President Xi Jinpings signature foreign policy project, which aims to build and improve trade and investment routes connecting China with 70 other countries. The Myanmar government and the Thai-based Institute of Business Economics Research and Development (IBERD) have been discussing a pilot plan to attract investors to the region and held a series of meeting in Naypyitaw last month. IBERD has offered to act as a consultant on development plans and economic opportunities between the government and interested developers. Myanmar Social Welfare Minister U Win Myat Aye, who is also chairman of the Committee for Implementation of the Recommendations on Rakhine State, told The Irrawaddy that Myanmar does not plan to rule out foreign support for Rakhine State. But he declined to confirm that Norway has been invited to the project. We decided to collaborate with all the alliance countries for Rakhine State, but we have an individual policy for each foreign country. We will accept each country in accordance with that countrys policy, said U Win Myat Aye. Norway has not expressed any opinion to media regarding Thailands invitation to collaborate on Rakhine State. Norway was one of the first members of the international community to contribute support to the ongoing peace process by financing development and humanitarian projects in ceasefire areas. Norwegian companies have expressed interest in Myanmars renewable energy sector. Recently, Norway has been putting more pressure on the Myanmar government to create the necessary conditions for the Rohingyas return to Rakhine State, from where nearly 700,000 of them have been driven out since military clearance operations took place in late 2017. The economic development plan aims to support the whole state, not only those affected by the conflict in Rakhine State. Whoever wants to invest in that area needs to focus on job opportunities for the local people, U Win Myat Aye said. According to U Win Myat Aye, the Rakhine Socio-Economic Development Implementation Committee has been working with an economics team from Thailand. Thailand also recently sent a team to Rakhine State to research investment opportunities. Thailand is interested in investments in fisheries and communication businesses. U Win Myat Aye said Thailand has already proposed some projects, but those projects wre still being analyzed. China and Japan have also offered to collaborate on economic development in Rakhine State, he said. Guest Column General Aung San and the Nations Development A statue of Gen. Aung San in Yangon / Myo Min Soe / The Irrawaddy July 2018 marked 71 years since General Aung San was assassinated. During these years, we had the AFPFL government, the caretaker government, U Nus Pyi Daung Su government, the revolutionary government, etc. All together, there were eight governments. All these governments performed homage-paying ceremonies at the Martyrs Mausoleum every year on July 19. It is however apparent that paying homage every year does not necessarily mean following the principles and programs of the national leader. The proof of this is that Myanmar, despite being one of the first countries in the region to attain independence, and in spite of its rich resources, presently belongs to the group of least developed countries in ASEAN, and in the world in general. This statement requires a review of the principles and the programs advocated by Gen. Aung San during his lifetime. These can be summarized as follows: During his university days, he tried to gain knowledge of politics and the requirements of the country. After leaving university, he joined the Do-Bama-Asiyone, the political organization fighting for the countrys freedom, and was fully engaged in the cause of the country. When World War II broke out, he risked his life and went abroad to form the Burma Independence Army (BIA). After the war, as the chief of the interim government, his priorities were: (1) national unity; and (2) national development. After 71 years, we find our countrys main requirements are the same two as existed in the time of Gen. Aung San. Regarding the task of national unity, the representatives of the defense forces as well as of the elected bodies of the government are ostensibly negotiating to achieve peace and tranquility for the country. Regarding development, U Aung San, during a short period of around eight months as the chief of the cabinet, initiated a development plan for the country with the objective of terminating the colonial economy and encouraging the development of the industrial sector. In 1945, Governor Reginald Dorman-Smith came back to Yangon with the Blueprint for Burma he and his exiled government had worked out in Simla during the war. This plan was to carry on with the 1935 Burma Constitution while separating the five states of Shan, Kayin, Kayah, Kachin and Chin from the Union. The people of the country and the AFPFL rejected Dorman-Smiths White Paper Plan. In September 1946, following the change in British government that brought Clement Attlee to power, the new governor, Hubert Rance, arrived and Bogyoke Aung San became the head of the cabinet. In this short period, the country saw the launch of its most important plan, the Sorrento Villa Plan, also known as the Economic Development for Burma plan. (Sorrento Villa is the building at the corner of Pyi Road and Hanthawaddy roundabout, presently known as the Sar-Pe-Baik Hman Building.) Bogyoke Aung San and later democratic governments understood the significance of the countrys long-term development plans and the requirement to develop the industrial sector of the country. This policy was adopted by U Nus AFPFL government, which applied measures to develop the industrial sector, and adopted a policy of export orientation and import substitution. Under this policy, the country exported textiles and processed foodstuffs starting from 1953 the first time in history that Myanmar exported industrial products. In recent years, we have had politicians who say publicly that Yangon shall reach the standard of Singapore in 10 years, or that Myanmar shall overtake Singapore in 20 years. It is astonishing how some responsible persons can make such statements without any basis. In the first place, we have 14 states and divisions and over 400 towns; any sensible person would ask, Is it fair and justified to have only Yangon be highly developed, from the standpoint of national unity? Additionally, there are several technical issues such as: In Yangon, only 30 percent of households receive water supplied from the YCDC; only 60 percent of households have electric meter boxes; around 50 percent of the areas in Yangon suffer from floods whenever there are heavy rains, and so on. It would take more than 10 years just to overcome these basic challenges. Yangon and Singapore have similar populations, of about 5.5 million. In terms of area, Yangon is over 300 sq. miles while Singapore is slightly smaller. Singapore has about 600,000 vehicles and Yangon about half that, and yet, in peak hours, it takes about three hours to drive from the western suburb of Hlaing Thaya to Sule Pagoda in the heart of Yangons CBD. Just to provide some sense of the time needed to develop city infrastructure, Singapore started with the construction of the MRT (Mass Rapid Transport) system in 1987. After 26 years, in 2013, only 40 percent, or 83 km, of the line was complete. At that time it was used daily by 1 million people. The whole 200 km was completed in 2016 and it now has 3.1 million passengers daily. Regarding the statement on Myanmar overtaking Singapore in 20 years, Myanmar is a country of 2,612,200 sq. miles, while Singapores area is 277 sq. miles slightly smaller than Yangons. Myanmar has a population of over 50 million and Singapore just over 5.5 million; the per capita GDP of Myanmar is around USD5,800, whereas Singapores per capita GDP is more than 15 times higher at USD87,900. Their circumstances and development levels are vastly dissimilar. Among ASEAN nations, more appropriate comparisons would be with Vietnam (per capita GDP USD6,400) or Laos (per capita GDP USD5,700). However, a much larger percentage of the population has electricity in Laos than in Myanmar. Even our immediate neighbor Thailands per capita GDP of USD17,000 is three times that of Myanmars. The attached table compares ASEAN nations development indicators. Per capita GDP is the most important figure for this purpose. However, the percentage of the population living below the national poverty line and percentage of households with electricity are also closely related to the countries general development. In general, statements on the countrys progress, like when and how the countrys GDP shall increase, issues on the industrial sector, on electrification, communication, unemployment, etc., should only be made based on scientific facts. Only the countrys long- and short-term plans can provide reliable and convincing information. Bogyoke Aung San started the countrys development plan during his eight months in office as the head of the cabinet. It is time for us to launch a comprehensive development plan a requisite for a country that has suffered five decades without parliamentary democracy. Water supply, drainage, roads, electricity, etc. are material and physical issues that can be solved within a few decades if there is money available, if we have Devas to help us with billions of dollars. Foreign companies can construct for us the underground trains, Yangons floods can be eradicated with underground drains and sluice gates, and so on. However, our problem is that we do not even have qualified engineers and technicians to maintain these modern systems. The main issue facing our country is comprehensive development the education, morals and attitudes of our people towards society and the environment. Every day we observe our people trying to get into buses without queuing, with no consideration for pregnant women, the elderly or the handicapped. Many drivers have no respect for the traffic rules; many of us chew beetlenut and have the habit of spitting, etc. Garbage being thrown out of very expensive cars straight onto the streets is a common sight; we can therefore conclude that material wealth cannot be equated with high cultural and educational standards. The citizens of Myanmar by tradition are polite and cultured people, but five decades under dictatorship, and living with the injustice and inequality, the corruption, the deprivation of such basic rights as the right to work and the right to education, etc., have created an attitude in many of our people of self-preservation: get oneself into the bus and get oneself moving as quickly as possible. This is reflected in our environment every day. It is time we started re-educating our people about our old traditions to respect the elderly, to give preference to the weak and the handicapped to begin a re-education process of the way we were. In summary, programs on education, civics and behavior-improvement should also be an integral part of the nations development plans. We should begin with such programs because education is the most important asset we can possess, and such programs are less costly than building new cities. Dr. Kyaw Lat is an architect and urban planner who has worked with the Department of Human Settlements and Housing Development, Ministry of Construction and the United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (Habitat). He was also a professor at Yangon and Mandalay Technological universities, professor at Cologne University of Applied Sciences, Germany, and finally before his retirement an advisor to the Yangon City and Development Committee from 2011 until 2016. Veeam APJ vice-president Shaun McLagan told iTWire that the company had seen a 46% growth in net new business over the last year in Australia and New Zealand, and had recently signed its 10,000th customer. Veeam co-chief executive and president, Peter McKay, said Veeam's experience was similar in other parts of the world. The company has more than 307,000 customers, and over the last two years has averaged 133 new customers a day. The enterprise market is Veeam's fastest growing segment, but the company is seeing good growth among midmarket and SME customers too. "There's no question that it [back-up] continues to be a hybrid discussion," McLagan said, whether that means backing up to, from or between clouds. Organisations are asking "what's the right location to be doing back-up?" While other companies are moving jobs out of Australia and New Zealand, Veeam was increasing its local headcount, said McLagan. There is "an excellent skill base in this region" and Veeam is achieving higher NPS numbers than its competitors. Veeam's software is the global leader for moving workloads to Azure and AWS, according to McKay. But that traffic isn't all one-way. McLagan pointed out that some Australian workloads were being moved back from the cloud to on-premises systems, with the decision being made on cost grounds. This pattern is similar to what happened with outsourcing, but more quickly, he suggested the "your mess for less" model didn't really work, and the pendulum has swung back more quickly with cloud workloads than it did with outsourcing. If you can run a workload better, more safely and more cheaply on premises, that's where it should be. It is also easier to derive value from data that's stored on premises, McLagan suggested. McKay said the experience in other parts of the world was similar. Using the cloud meant organisations could move more quickly, but it wasn't necessarily a cheaper approach. Cloud makes sense for some workloads, but the "cloud first" approach probably doesn't make sense as the decision should be made after consideration of the centrality of the data concerned. Wherever data is located, it still needs to be managed and backed up, McLagan said. McKay underlined that point, emphasising that it applies to SaaS: you can't rely on Microsoft to back up your Office 365 data, he said. Veeam recently launched Veeam Backup for Microsoft Office 365 v2, allowing SharePoint, OneDrive for Business and Exchange data to be backed up from Microsoft Office 365 to the public cloud (eg, AWS or Azure), a local service provider, or on-premises storage. A free three-month trial is available. Around four million Office 365 mailboxes are currently being backed up with Veeam, McKay said. The total amount of all data is doubling every two years, and it doesn't matter where it is stored in the data centre, IaaS, SaaS, endpoint devices and so on companies are increasingly reliant on this data and it needs to be protected and managed, and Veeam helps make that data always available and protected, he said. McKay spoke to iTWire while he was in Australia for the company's VeeamON Forum customer event in Sydney, which he described as "a good way to deliver the message" to local customers about the announcements made at VeeamON 2018 in Chicago in May, noting that around 500 people attended the Sydney event. A borough in Alaska, which has been reduced to using typewriters after a massive ransomware attack on its Windows machines, has begun a PR campaign to try and portray the dire situation it finds itself in as one that brings out the best in its people. Matanuska Susitna, a borough in the Anchorage Metropolitan Statistical Area with a population of just below 107,000, declared a disaster on Tuesday after it was hit by what Eric Wyatt, the IT director, claimed was a combination of the worst malware strains in the world. Its not in the video but they use Mcafee AV. They got infected with Emotet (which is all over USG systems - big issue) and then BitPaymer. Its unclear if Emotet was used to deliver BitPaymer. kevin (@GossiTheDog) 2 August 2018 Nearly all of the 500 workstations, running either Windows 7 or Windows 10, were affected and 120 of the 150 servers were hit as well. Wyatt said recovery would easily take three weeks. "All of the pieces of this are the absolute worst in the world and they've all been combined together and put on us," Wyatt said in a PR video put out by the borough. You know the Alaskan town reduced to typewriters by ransomware? Theyre on a PR blitz and have made a video of their recovery efforts and incident response: https://t.co/uom2AThfds kevin (@GossiTheDog) 2 August 2018 The borough's computers, servers, telephones and email exchange were hit by the malware which also affected the city of Valdez in the state. The email system, running on Microsoft Exchange, is said to be unrecoverable and will need to be rebuilt from scratch. The attackers used the Emotet loader and the BitPaymer ransomware and the borough said one person had also infiltrated the systems. "The cyber attack has caused major disruption in Borough services and loss of productivity, which may continue for a prolonged time," Assembly member Ted Leonard told a borough Assembly meeting, according to a report on Mashable. The borough was using McAfee's anti-virus software but it did not prevent the infection. Wyatt said in a report that the software did not have the necessary definitions to stop the attack. Also spinning the situation was Kurt Bunker, an IT contractor/consultant, who said: "I think the FBI was pleasantly surprised by how prepared the staff was and how well we had managed the data and the evidence. "Based on what we've set up, the type of documentation we put forward showing data flow, quarantine, clean, air-gapped environments, how we're moving the data, having a 30-day plan for how we're not only going to recover but maintain the data that could be cleaned and looked at later and also give the FBI what they need in a safe environment... "I think they were pleasantly surprised. They put a lot of confidence in us and that really goes to show what the staff is doing around here." According to Wyatt, the malware had lain dormant in the borough's systems since at least 3 May. "The FBI reports that the trojan (Emotet) and the worm (BitPaymer) will lay dormant for four to six weeks and then the Crypto Locker component is frequently launched on a Friday. "This happened in Valdez and there are reports that on Friday (27 July) multiple other locations in Alaska and around the US were hit." In "recognition of the global need for advanced cyber security", Box Hill Institute has developed "a Training Cyber Security Operations Centre that creates a realistic learning environment for effective training in incident response". The CSOC's launch was held on 2 August and "attended by cyber security industry representatives". Box Hill Institute chief executive Vivienne King said, The Commonwealth Governments Cyber Security Strategy states that strong cyber security is a fundamental element of Australias growth and prosperity in a global economy. Vital for national security, cyber security requires partnership between governments, the private sector, and the community. With the rapid increase in cyber-attacks and corresponding media coverage, this threat is current and skills are required to mitigate threats, King added. According to analysis by Accenture, the "average number of focused cyber attacks per organisation in Australia has almost doubled this year, yet only two thirds of companies are actively protecting against them". Australia has been facing a critical cyber security skills gap. However, recent State and Federal Government support, with industry and education collaboration led by Box Hill Institute, has produced "improved, standardised national training being implemented across Australia". Box Hill advises that its Training CSOC will "provide students with the opportunity to work in a simulated setting, designed by industry". "Throughout their education, cyber security students will have the opportunity to practice work specific skills in a real-world environment. "Graduates will benefit from academic and industry collaboration, including Melbourne-based internships, as well as exposure to international experience and cyber security industry connections. "The Training CSOC has been made possible by the State Governments continuing commitment to cyber security and the strong partnership between Box Hill Institute, other internationally accredited programs and, the Victorian based cyber security industry." The list of Box Hill's cyber security courses is here. The strong demand for cybersecurity talent has inspired many of the leading colleges and universities to develop new degree programs in the area. Many are offered online, so anyone seeking to enter the field or take their skills to the next level has access to quality security education. All of the programs listed here have career services focused on helping graduates find employment. We've also provided links for employers to learn more about how they can recruit from those programs. Trends in cybersecurity degree curricula Most of the undergraduate programs listed here cover cybersecurity basics, including pen-testing, network security, risk assessment and forensics. Some are designed to meet the Center of Academic Excellence (CAE) requirements set forth by the National Security Agency (NSA) and Department of Homeland Security (DHS). This program funds programs that provide training that the NSA and DHS deems necessary to reduce the vulnerability of the US information infrastructure. Several programs have concentrations in secure software development, covering state-of-the-art tools and development methodologies. Schools that offer development courses typically have concentrations in security ethics, too. Many of the graduate programs are designed with the assumption that its graduates could end up in management positions. You see courses and concentrations that have a business focus, teaching, for example, how to estimate costs, communicate with executive management, or plan a budget. Bachelors Programs American Military University The Bachelor of Science in Cybersecurity provides students with both theory and know-how required to strategically assess, plan, design, and implement effective cybersecurity defenses in the public and private sectors. Through this online IT bachelors program, students learn research, writing, math, and analytical skills, along with an in-depth understanding of cybercrime. Notable specialties: Coursework in AMUs bachelors degree aligns to the general objectives of the International Association of Computer Investigative Specialists (IACIS) certification and meets the topical requirements for the Department of Defense Directive 8570.1M Information Assurance Management (IAM) Technical I, Technical II, Technical III, Management I, Management II, and Management III categories. Location: Online I want to recruit from AMU I want to enroll at AMU Excelsior College Bachelors in Cybersecurity Degrees programs at Excelsior College will prepare you to protect critical information and cyber assets through organizational prevention, detection, countering and recovery methods. Excelsior's cybersecurity degrees are also aligned with the academic requirements for cybersecurity set by the National Security Agency (NSA) and Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Notable specialties: The program has two tracks to choose from: Bachelor of Science in Cybersecurity (Without Concentration) and Bachelor of Science in Cybersecurity (Cyber Operations). Location: Albany, NY I want to recruit from Excelsior College I want to enroll at Excelsior College Liberty University Liberty University created the Bachelor of Science in Information Technology with Data Networking and Security Specialization to help develop IT cybersecurity professionals. Liberty offers information systems (IS), IT, and computer science (CS) degrees that prepares students for the IT field, specifically related to cybersecurity. Notable specialties: Liberty offers three cybersecurity career paths: Security GRC: Get involved in the security governance, risk management and compliance (GRC) of an organization. Get involved in the security governance, risk management and compliance (GRC) of an organization. Security technology: Prepares students to provide a security architecture of the enterprise network and systems. The security architecture will be based on a risk assessment. Prepares students to provide a security architecture of the enterprise network and systems. The security architecture will be based on a risk assessment. Secure development: Prepares students to solve tomorrow's cybersecurity challenges. Location: Online I want to recruit from Liberty University I want to enroll at Liberty University Regent University The Bachelor of Science in Cybersecurity, offered online and on campus, prepares students to begin or advance technology and network security careers in government, military, manufacturing, service, education and other private, public and nonprofit sectors. The programs course work teaches students to create and execute a digital security strategy that supports and defends data resources managed by your employer. Notable specialties: Students learn how to gather data and evidence employed in prosecuting cybercrimes, and to develop security safeguards and disaster recovery plans; develop ethical, innovative and practical intelligence, and networking solutions based on strategic technology applications and data-driven assessments; and learn how to defend computer networks against attacks by worms, viruses and other criminal acts. Location: Virginia Beach, VA, and online I want to recruit from Regent University I want to enroll at Regent University Saint Leo University Online The BS Cybersecurity program in Saint Leos School of Business exposes students to the fundamentals needed for entry-level positions involving cybersecurity. Students will experience and learn security tools and technologies that are used by cybersecurity professionals in their daily work activities. This is done through a virtual lab environment where students have the unique opportunity to fully immerse themselves in a mock IT infrastructure and real-world software tools with realistic security scenarios. Notable specialties: The program introduces students to the principles of cybersecurity, penetration testing and ethical hacking, various computer and network protection controls, and managing the implementation and maintenance of security devices, systems, procedures and countermeasures. Location: Saint Leo, FL, and online I want to recruit from Saint Leo University I want to enroll at Saint Leo University Southern New Hampshire University The Bachelor of Science in Cybersecurity online program teaches skills to defend and protect networks and information systems. SNHU's online cybersecurity degree provide a foundation in computing and security principles, and hands-on critical application using industry standard tools. Notable specialties: SNHU offers a cybersecurity concentration: Secure Programming. It helps students gain a foundation in cybersecurity principles and practice; use industry-standard programming tools and methodologies to develop and assess software systems and programs; and determine appropriate models, methodologies, and strategies that maximize product quality and security within the software development lifecycle. Location: Online I want to recruit from SNHU I want to enroll at SNHU University of Arizona South The Cyber Operations, Bachelor of Applied Science program gives students extensive hands-on experience and develops the knowledge, skills and abilities necessary to succeed in defense, law enforcement and private industry. Notable specialties: This technical, interdisciplinary program offers two degree tracks: The Engineering Track is grounded in the computer science, networking and cybersecurity disciplines, and it conforms to the National Security Agency (NSA) Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Operations (CAE-CO) academic requirements for low level programming; software reverse engineering; operating system theory; secure software development and security analysis; mathematics and algorithms; networking; cellular and mobile technologies; cloud computing; offensive and defensive cyber operations; and cyber law, ethics and policy. The Defense and Forensics Track encompasses offensive and defensive cyber operations, cyber threat intelligence, malware analysis, networking and digital forensics. It conforms to the academic requirements for the NSA Centers of Academic Excellence in Cyber Operations (CAE-CO) and Cyber Defense (CAE-CD) for fundamental security principles, vulnerabilities and networking; digital forensics; offensive and defensive cyber operations; introduction to cryptography; probability and statistics; and cyber law, ethics and policy. Location: Online I want to recruit from University of Arizona South I want to enroll at University of Arizona South University of Illinois at Springfield In the UIS Bachelor of Science in Information Systems Security (ISS) program, students will learn the fundamentals of information security including design and implementation of secure systems, security assessment, and computer security ethics. The B.S. in ISS is offered in both on-ground and online formats. Notable specialties: Students will learn the fundamentals of information security including design and implementation of secure systems, security assessment, and computer security ethics. Location: Springfield, IL I want to recruit from UIS I want to enroll at UIS University of Maryland University College The UMUC BS Cybersecurity program offers an array of cybersecurity bachelor's degrees, master's degrees, and certificates in subjects ranging from digital forensics to cyber policy. Notable specialties: The UMUC Cyber Padawans competition team provides students with real-world experience and networking opportunities. Location: Largo, MD, and online I want to recruit from UMUC I want to enroll at UMUC Walden University The Criminal Justice: Computer Information Systems and Security bachelor of science program is designed to help students understand the technology infrastructure that underlies information systems. Students will learn to prevent information security network attacks; study criminal theories and behavior to discover the proper way to conduct a criminal investigation; explore standard operating procedures for identifying, planning for and responding to terrorist threats, and identify patterns and trends related to terrorism. Notable specialties: Course concentrations include: Computer information and security; criminal investigation; homeland security. Location: Online I want to recruit from Walden University I want to enroll at Walden University Western Governors University WGUs online B.S. Cybersecurity and Information Assurance degree program was designed with input from cybersecurity experts and leading IT employers to meet the most recent Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and National Security Agency (NSA) guidelines. Notable specialties: This degree program includes multiple industry-recognized certifications including those from CompTIA, CIW, EC-Council and ISC that are built into the curriculum and do not add time or cost. Location: Online I want to recruit from WGU I want to enroll at WGU Wilmington University The B.S. in Computer and Network Security program prepares who are capable of protecting networks from intrusion, protecting computers from viruses, and retrieving data as evidence from computers used in the commission of fraud and other corporate crimes. It has been designated as a National Center of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance/Cybersecurity through academic year 2021 by the National Security Agency and the Department of Homeland Security. Notable specialties: Gain the technical and forensic training to locate, recover, and analyze digital evidence with Wilmington University Digital Evidence Discovery and Digital Evidence Investigation certificates. These certificates offer forensic training for students to provide the skills to locate, recover, and analyze digital evidence. Location: New Castle, DE, and online I want to recruit from Wilmington University I want to enroll at Wilmington University Masters Programs Berkeley School of Information UC Berkeley School of Informations (I School) Master of Information and Cybersecurity (MICS) is an accredited program designed to train students with professional experience for a career in cybersecurity. Delivered online, MICS provides the technical skills and contextual knowledge students need to assume leadership positions in private sector technology companies as well as government and military organizations. Notable specialties: The leadership-focused interdisciplinary MICS curriculum teaches students how to develop solutions for complex cybersecurity challenges. Students will learn how to manage cyber risk in the service of strategic decision making. The MICS program offers students mastery of core technical skills and fluency in the business, political, and legal context for cybersecurity. Location: Online I want to recruit from Berkeley School of Information I want to enroll at Berkeley School of Information Boston University Metropolitan College The Master of Criminal Justice, Cybercrime Investigation & Cybersecurity Concentration allows students to develop competency and practical knowledge, enabling them to work with various issues related to cybercrime. Students who successfully complete the concentration are eligible to take the forensic examiner exams. BU offers both campus and online programs. Notable specialties: This program focuses on these skills: Insight into cybercriminology and legal practices, practical digital investigative knowledge, an understanding of the policies related to cybersecurity risk assessment, and a command of leadership theories and skills pertaining to the management of criminal justice organizations. Location: Boston, MA I want to recruit from Boston University I want to enroll at Boston University Columbia University in the City of New York / Columbia Engineering The Computer Science Master's Degree - Computer Security track is intended for students who wish to develop state-of-the-art knowledge of computer and network security technologies. Notable specialties: Required courses include: Operating Systems; Advanced Software Engineering; Network Security; Security Architecture and Engineering; Introduction to Cryptography; and Intrusion and Anomaly Detection Systems. In addition, students are required to choose courses from three groups, systems, theory and artificial intelligence and applications. Finally, two electives are required from an extensive list. Location: New York, NY I want to recruit from Columbia University I want to enroll at Columbia University George Mason University The MS in Management of Secure Information Systems (MSIS) provides a path to enhance students leadership career and be at the forefront of addressing cybersecurity challenges. Notable specialties: The MSIS program includes courses on financial management and accounting, networking principles, organizational behavior, and governance, regulation and compliance. Location: Fairfax, VA I want to recruit from George Mason University I want to enroll at George Mason University Harvard Extension School (HES) Harvard University The Cybersecurity Graduate Certificate allows students to build knowledge of the tools and protocols needed to navigate, use, and manage security technologies as well as gain insight into the legal, social, and political dynamics of the cyber universe. Notable specialties: Build an understanding of data network device and communications technology, architecture, and management. Develop knowledge of technical and organizational information security risks and communication tactics to mitigate these risks for both traditional and cloud-based environments. Learn to develop and articulate effective enterprise information security policies that address internal and external national and international threats. Gain insight into the strategies and protocols needed to secure and monitor computer networks in global organizations. Location: Boston, MA I want to recruit from HES I want to enroll at HES New York University The Master of Science in Cybersecurity Risk and Strategy is a one-year program for experienced professionals from a range of backgrounds who seek to deepen their understanding of cybersecurity risk and strategy. Cybersecurityboth prevention and responsefrequently requires coordination between public- and private-sector organizations and expertise in technology, law, and policy. NYUs program will create managers with the integrated expertise needed to play a leadership role in the field. Notable specialties: Spanning all three semesters is the Integrative Cybersecurity Management capstone, a team-based project that will allow students to demonstrate their ability to take an integrated view of cybersecurity risk and strategy. Working in groups, students tackle difficult challenges of technology, law, risk, and strategy. As students refine their projects, teams meet and discuss issues related to the capstone with the faculty or industry mentor. Location: Brooklyn, NY, and online I want to recruit from NYU I want to enroll at NYU Penn State University World Campus Penn States Master of Professional Studies in Information Sciences - Cybersecurity and Information Assurance incorporates real-world business issues and simulations. The program takes a multidimensional perspective on cyber-domains that is defined by using a socio-technical approach to generate solutions to complex problems. Notable specialties: Courses include two requirements: Web Fundamentals and Network Management and Security. Students may choose three from the following: Web Security and Privacy; Network Security; Computer and Cyber Forensics; Information Security Management; and Crisis, Disaster and Risk Management. Location: Online I want to recruit from Penn State University World Campus I want to enroll at Penn State University World Campus Syracuse University The Online M.S. in Cybersecurity prepares students to identify, prevent and counteract cybercrime. Syracuse University believes that it is insufficient for systems to be merely secure; they must also be assured. A secure system exhibits the traditional properties of confidentiality, integrity, and availability. An assured system is a secure system whose properties are verified or proven. Students in the M.S. in Cybersecurity program develop the expertise to design and develop secure, assured systems. Notable specialties: Curriculum focuses on five major objectives: Design of new systems that are inherently secure; protection of systems such as web, mobile, and critical infrastructures; systems assurance through application of mathematical logic; analysis and detection of malware and other cyberattacks; and data mining and anomaly detection to identify suspicious cyber behavior. Location: Online I want to recruit from Syracuse University I want to enroll at Syracuse University University of Maryland The Master of Engineering in Cybersecurity is offered in collaboration with Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Department of Computer Science, and the Maryland Cybersecurity Center. These cybersecurity engineering degree programs merge engineering applications with computer science principles. Notable specialties: The Maryland Cybersecurity Center takes a comprehensive approach to cybersecurity education, research, and technology development, stressing "more-than-tech," interdisciplinary solutions. The center brings together experts from computer science and engineering with colleagues from across campus to establish broad-based cybersecurity initiatives. Location: College Park, MD I want to recruit from UMD I want to enroll at UMD University of Massachusetts Lowell The Online Graduate Certificate Program in Cybersecurity addresses the growing demand for advanced-level studies in IT. Individuals interested in advancing their knowledge of network threats, data encryption, wireless network security, data authentication, data recovery and forensics, network architecture and emerging network technologies will benefit from this program. Notable specialties: The UMass Lowell program consists of four graduate online courses in network security, digital forensics, network infrastructures, and secure mobile networks. Offered through the University's Computer Science Department, this program differs from traditional graduate computer science courses in its focus on application-specific details, case studies and the operational framework required by today's IT professionals. Location: Lowell, MA, and online I want to recruit from UMass Lowell I want to enroll at UMass Lowell Utica College The Online Master of Science in Cybersecurity teaches students to proactively address ever-changing attack and infiltration techniques. Utica designed the program in response to calls from cybersecurity professionals for a graduate-level program that combines state-of-the-art practices in intelligence, forensics and cyber operations. The online M.S. in Cybersecurity offers students advanced knowledge and hands-on experience in intelligence, critical infrastructures, and investigative principles as they relate to cybercrime. Notable specialties: The cybersecurity program offers five specializations targeted to students with different interests in this field: intelligence, computer forensics, cyber operations, electronic crime, and malware analysis. Location: Online I want to recruit from Utica I want to enroll at Utica This story, "Top bachelors and masters cybersecurity degree programs" was originally published by CSO . SEP Interns Gain New Perspective on Careers and Community August 3, 2018 Ivana Valencia 21 spoke during Summer Enrichment Program graduation. BLOOMINGTON, Ill. This years 12 participants in Illinois Wesleyan Universitys Summer Enrichment Program (SEP) took away valuable insights into themselves, their peers and their potential careers, upon graduating from the program during a ceremony held Thursday, Aug. 2. Each year for the past two decades, a cohort of students from diverse, underrepresented backgrounds take part in the summer-long internship program at sites across the Bloomington-Normal area. Students develop hands-on experience in their field of study and explore themes of diversity in weekly group discussions and activities. I think the professional development is incredible, said Hanna Mesouani, assistant director of the Office of Diversity and Inclusion. This is the first time a lot of the students have had eight-hour work days, so its kind of cool for them to figure out their path. But, I think the most impactful thing about SEP is the way that individuals are navigating their own identity, but in a space that is encouraging of discomfort, encouraging of challenge, and encouraging of all of us to figure out each other as well. Quentin Jackson 21 spoke during Summer Enrichment Program graduation. The program began at IWU more than 20 years ago as a means to provide minority students with meaningful work experience. It has since expanded to include international students, who made up nearly half of this years cohort. One international student, Theo Bantas 21 (Bucharest, Romania) found herself interning at the McLean County Law and Justice Center for Illinois JusticeCorps. As a member of the Illinois JusticeCorps team, Bantas helped patrons without the means to hire legal representation navigate the judicial system. Throughout her internship, she also made connections with attorneys, clerks, judges and other professionals in the field. Interning with JusticeCorps was the perfect first step for me in becoming more familiar with the legal field, said Bantas, a pre-law philosophy and political science double major. While the chance to participate in a summer internship helped students like Bantas solidify their intended career paths, other experiences proved just as valuable in helping students discern which avenues to avoid. I had a great time at my internship, but being in a hospital is just not for me, explained psychology major Ivana Valencia 21 (Villa Park, Illinois), who interned at Advocate BroMenn Medical Center. Not only did Valencia spend time assisting nurses in her area of interest at the Mental Health Unit, but she also gained insight into the inner workings of a hospital as a whole by tackling various assignments in guest services, the emergency unit and other departments. Through hours of providing comfort to anxious families or attending to the needs of patients, Valencia learned that a hospital is not her best fit, but she did discover a passion for engaging one-on-one with a wide range of people. A group of 12 Illinois Wesleyan students graduated from the Summer Enrichment Program Aug. 2. I loved it, going to talk with patients, she said. I love understanding a person and the events theyve gone through during their life, how that has changed them and made them into the person Im meeting right now. Beyond professional experience, SEP aims to foster similar moments of self-discovery in its participants. During weekly Thursday meetings, guest presentations and bonding activities, the group explored their personal views on current social topics in a setting that promoted understanding and respect toward differing opinions. I think the personal development is incredible, Mesouani said. I dont think theres any other opportunity in a classroom or outside a classroom to get this deep with a room full of strangers. Valencia said joining the program was the best decision she has ever made in her life. It was fantastic. I learned so much about myself as well as the community I live in and how our generation is trying to create a new and better world, Valencia said. Being a minority at the moment, its difficult, especially in this climate. Not a lot of minorities get these opportunities. But with SEP, it brings these opportunities to amazing, smart, gifted students. The SEP class of 2018 included: Theodora Bantas 21, philosophy and political science double major, Bucharest, Romania Davida Boron 20, psychology major, Country Club Hills, Illinois Kaylan Boyd-Harris 19, business administration major, Calumet City, Illinois Patrick Capalad 19, political science major, Chicago Shaurya Gulia 19, finance and theatre arts double major, Kolkata, India Quentin Jackson 21, French & Francophone Studies and international studies double major, New Orleans Ziyan Sevyn Liu 19, computer science and physics double major, Beijing Jinyu Cathy Peng 19, interdisciplinary education studies major, Nanchang City, China Ngan Pham 19, biology major, Chicago Shaela Phillips 21, philosophy and political science double major, New Orleans Ivana Valencia 21, psychology major, Villa Park, Illinois Robin Williams 21, design, technology and entrepreneurship major, Chicago By Rachel McCarthy 21 State Farm Grant Empowers Student Research, University Programs August 3, 2018 BLOOMINGTON, Ill. Six Illinois Wesleyan University student research projects and two University programs have been funded using an award from the State Farm Companies Foundation. In addition to financially supporting The Multicultural Academic Achievement Recognition Ceremony and McLean County Associates scholarships, the State Farm Foundation is enabling IWU students to conduct research focused on innovation in science, business and community engagement. It is a bit crazy to think I am doing research as an undergrad, because research always seemed like something a brilliant adult with a Ph.D. did, said anthropology and biology major Lilia Garcia 21 (Addison, Illinois), who is studying the effect of antibiotic compounds on ESKAPE pathogens, a type of antibiotic-resistant bacteria commonly found in hospitals. From 1,800 combinations of harmless surrogate strains of ESKAPE pathogens and bacteria colonies from soil samples, Garcia has whittled the field down to six different types of bacteria that have inhibited or killed the ESKAPE surrogates by secreting a special compound. Through DNA sequencing, Garcia has already identified these bacteria, and now her challenge is to devise a way for the bacteria to consistently produce this compound that could hold answers to combating pathogens that scientists have worked to eradicate for years. Working with Lilia Garcia this summer has a been a wonderful experience, said Assistant Professor of Biology Loralyn Cozy, who has mentored Garcia throughout her research. This opportunity has been transformative for her. Business administration major Shelby Moore 19 (Englewood, Colorado) is working with the Illinois Small Business Development Center (SBDC) of McLean County at IWU to create an online business portal for McLean County entrepreneurs, which will serve as a database of information for starting, managing and expanding a small business. Doing so has involved substantial research on Moores part, both online and in-person with local business owners to understand their needs. The experience mentoring Shelby thus far has been very rewarding, said SBDC Director Karen Bussone. Providing clear expectations, teaching resilience, encouraging collaboration with stakeholders, incorporating routine checks for understanding, and fostering independence have truly enabled Shelby to reach her potential with the business portal project. Moore will present her research and the website to the SBDCs advisory board at the end of August, and uniquely, she will continue her research throughout her senior year in order to complete the project. I am very passionate about small business because most of my family runs their own businesses, so this research fellowship is everything I could have ever imagined and more, Moore said. Chemistry and mathematics major Zihan Ice Nie 19 (Shenzhen, China) is studying different aspects of how objects are constructed in combinatorics, a branch of mathematics. Her research builds off a previous project under the mentorship of Earl and Marian A. Beling Professor of Natural Sciences Tian-Xiao He, in which Nie showed how to construct the famous Girard-Waring identities by using recursive number sequences. For her current project, Nie has been building combinatorial structures called maximum packings with specific constraints put on them. It was not previously known whether or not these structures existed, but Nie has proved that all possible configurations exist. She exhibits a prime example of creativity in mathematics uncovering connections that were not previously known to exist, said He. The next phase of Nies project will involve searching for connections between matrices and the construction of these maximum packings. I have been working with Zihan throughout the past year on her research, said Assistant Professor of Mathematics Daniel Roberts, Nies faculty co-advisor. She put in a lot of the groundwork during the fall semester reading articles and getting a grasp on the techniques used in the field. She is wonderful to work with because she has such an active mind. Political science major Benjamin Nielsen 19 (Normal, Illinois) has taken on multiple projects for the West Bloomington Revitalization Project (WBRP). Chief among them is developing a building and conditions report on Bloomingtons west side, which Nielsen will submit to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in order to secure funding for that area. Nielsen will also oversee the installation of a community work space at the WBRP Tool Library, using his funding as Illinois Wesleyans 2018 Weir Fellow. Conducting research has been a fantastic experience at Illinois Wesleyan this summer, said Nielsen. As a local, I really am connecting with my work, because it is going to really create a positive impact in the community. Helping bring real money to real people is so satisfying, and I am enjoying every second of it. Isaac Simmons 20 (Peoria, Illinois) is also collaborating with the WBRP to research, design and implement a MicroLoan program, which will allow aspiring entrepreneurs of low or moderate incomes to start or expand their businesses in the west side of Bloomington. Unlike other loan programs, applicants will not be unduly penalized for low credit scores, and loan recipients will benefit from business management training and peer-to-peer mentorship. I cannot begin to explain how lucky I am to be handed this opportunity, said Simmons, a business administration and religion double major. In fact, if five years ago someone would have told me that I would be creating a MicroLoan Program, I probably would have laughed. Now, however, I can certainly imagine spending the rest of my career-life working in International MicroFinance Operations. Simmons has met with experts and local executives in economic and community development organizations in the area, including the IWU Action Research Center (ARC). Our board of directors is thrilled with both the quality of Isaac's work and how much progress he's made in helping us make this program a reality, said Bevin Choban 10, coordinator of the IWU ARC and Simmons supervisor. Overall, Isaac is a rock star. Sarah Pombar 20 (St. Charles, Illinois) and her faculty mentor Associate Professor of Chemistry Manori Perera are using the summer to construct an octopole, a device which can control the positioning of ions in a vacuum chamber when conducting research. The octopole and its circuitry is being built and tested based on Pombars designs. It has been an incredible experience to conduct research over the summer, Pombar said. I'm learning so much, and I'm enjoying what I'm doing. In astrochemistry, there is a significant lack of female representation, Perera explained. It is wonderful to have fellowships like this because the amount of work and the set of skills gained by Sarah Pombar will set her apart when she applies for Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REUs) next summer. It also provides her with the confidence she needs to be successful in a field where she is a minority. Also supported by the State Farm Foundation, the Multicultural Academic Achievement Recognition Ceremony is an annual event hosted by Illinois Wesleyan in collaboration with the Neighbor-to-Neighbor Educational Activity Club. The ceremony recognizes multicultural youth in grades five through 12 who have displayed outstanding academic achievement. Another recipient of State Farm Foundation funding, the Illinois Wesleyan Associates was formed in 1953 when State Farm officials Adlai H. Rust and Clarence W. Heyl brought together a group of local business and professional leaders interested in supporting private higher education and local McLean County students. In 2018, celebrating more than 65 years of service, the Illinois Wesleyan Associates launched a bold new financial aid initiative, The McLean County Scholarship Fund, which guarantees no less than $27,000 in scholarship support annually for McLean County students attending Illinois Wesleyan. The State Farm Companies Foundation was established in 1963 to provide support for key initiatives and scholarships, as well as associate-directed programs, including grants supporting volunteerism and matching gifts to charitable organizations, colleges and universities. By Rachel McCarthy 21 Register with JOC.com and receive 5 free pieces of content for the first thirty days. After thirty days, you will receive 3 pieces of content and after sixty days you will receive 1 piece of content. To receive full access, Subscribe Today . You can also subscribe to our daily newsletter. Register To continue using Jomashop.com (The online store to shop and buy watches, handbags, and fashion) Reddit Email 13K Shares The Turkish Press reports that the IYI Party is suggesting that the government seize the countrys Trump Towers and nationalize it. The threat shows the opposite of the emoluments problem Trump is liable to economic blackmail because he refused to put his wealth in a blind trust. Turks are angered because the Trump administration placed sanctions on Justice Minister Abdulhamit Gul and Interior Minister Suleymen Soylu, over the imprisonment of American Christian missionary Andrew Brunson. Brunson is accused, bizarrely, of being involved in the July 15, 2016 attempted military coup and of being a spy (Turkish president Tayyip Erdogan has become increasingly paranoid and authoritarian in the past three or four years). Although the response is a little unlikely to target the Trump properties in Istanbul, Turkey says it is preparing economic retaliation for the US sanctions. The feud has forced the Turkish lira down to 5 to the US dollar, a historic low. Turkey is a NATO ally, and it is unusual for the Department of the Treasury to place cabinet members in an allied country under sanctions. The US leases the crucial Incirlik Airbase from Turkey, and supplies most of Turkeys weaponry. A spokesman for the IYI Party, Aytun Cray, also called on President Erdogan to cancel an $11 bn purchase of US airliners. IYI is a rightwing secular nationalist party that hived off from MHP. Erdogan has come more and more into conflict with Trump as he has grabbed more power in Turkey. He objects to the US military alliance with Syrias leftist Kurds against ISIL, worried that US training and arming of the Kurds will spill back over onto southeast Turkey, which is heavily Kurdish and was the scene in the last third of the 20th century of an infamous dirty war between the Kurdistan Workers Party and the Turkish military. Erdogan insisted on taking Manbij, a north Syrian town that the Syrian Kurds liberated from ISIL with the help of US special forces embeds. They were forced out in the face of a Turkish military intervention in northern Syria, which has involved ethnically cleansing Kurds and replacing them with displaced Arab fundamentalists defeated by the al-Assad regime, who are allied with Turkey. Had the US and its Kurdish allies not blinked, the move could have led to an intra-NATO firefight for the first time in history. Erdogan is also extremely angry over Trumps recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. Erdogan is at least rhetorically a big supporter of the Palestinians, who claim east Jerusalem as their future capital. So far, the tensions between Washington and Ankara have been manageable, but there is always a danger of escalation when two former allies begin targeting one another. Featured Photo: POOL/AFP/File / Tatyana ZENKOVICH. US President Donald Trump and Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan met during a NATO summit in June. Advertisement By West Kentucky Star Staff Aug. 02, 2018 | MCCRACKEN COUNTY By West Kentucky Star Staff Aug. 02, 2018 | 06:08 PM | MCCRACKEN COUNTY A Paducah woman was arrested for stealing an automobile in Lone Oak on Wednesday. According to the McCracken County Sheriff's Office, they received a report that a vehicle had allegedly been stolen from a Lone Oak residence. Deputies located the vehicle parked at the Super 8 Motel on Hinkleville Road. Using video surveillance, they determined what room the driver of the car had entered. After obtaining a warrant Thursday, deputies found 30-year-old Michelle Mayes of Paducah in the room, along with additional evidence that indicated she had been in possession of the stolen vehicle. Mayes also had two active bench warrants for failure to appear in court. She was arrested on two counts of failure to appear in court and one count of receiving stolen property over $10,000, and taken to the McCracken County Regional Jail. Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - August 2, 2018) - Latin American Minerals Inc. (TSXV: LAT) (the "Company") is announcing the resignation of Greg Gibson from the board of directors of Latin American Minerals, effective August 1, 2018. The board of directors wishes to thank Mr. Gibson for his contribution to the company over the last two years About the Company Latin American Minerals Inc. is a mineral exploration and gold mining company which holds its core gold projects in Paraguay. Management has identified exploration targets at Independencia Mine, and six new gold zones on the Company's adjacent exploration claims, for drill testing. The current drill program is testing 10 priority targets with a primary focus on the Tacuru zone. This property package comprises the Company's 15,020 hectare Paso Yobai gold project. Qualified Person The scientific and technical information in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Jeremy Niemi, P.Geo., a Qualified Person under National Instrument 43-101. Mr. Niemi is Director, Exploration of the Company. For more information, please contact: Mathew Wilson, Mfin, CFA President and CEO Tel: 1-416-643-7630 E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Website: www.latinamericanminerals.com The Company's public documents may be accessed at www.sedar.com. For further information, please visit our website at www.latinamericanminerals.com or email us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. This news release contains certain "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities law. Forward looking information is frequently characterized by words such as "plan", "expect", "project", "intend", "believe", "anticipate", "estimate", "may", "will", "would", "potential", "proposed" and other similar words, or statements that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" occur. These statements are only predictions. Forward-looking information is based on the opinions and estimates of management at the date the information is provided, and is subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking information. For a description of the risks and uncertainties facing the Company and its business and affairs, readers should refer to the Company's Management's Discussion and Analysis. The Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking information if circumstances or management's estimates or opinions should change, unless required by law. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Not for distribution to U.S. Newswire Services or for dissemination in the United States. Any failure to comply with this restriction may constitute a violation of U.S. Securities laws. MONTREAL, Aug. 3, 2018 /CNW Telbec/ - SRG Graphite Inc. (TSXV: SRG) ("SRG" or the "Company") today announced that it has filed, on August 2, 2018, its National Instrument 43-101 ("NI 43-101") Preliminary Economic Assessment study ("PEA") for the development of its Lola graphite project in the Republic of Guinea, West Africa, on SEDAR, as reported in its news release dated July 10, 2018. Highlights of the Lola graphite PEA: Production of 50,200 tons of graphite concentrate per year over a 16-year mine life Capital costs of $105 million ("M") including contingency of $15M ("M") including contingency of Operational costs of $372 /tonne ("t") of concentrate and $130 /t of transport /tonne ("t") of concentrate and /t of transport Pre-tax NPV (8%) of $204M (post-tax NPV (8%) of $121M ) at an average sales price of $1,328 /t (post-tax NPV (8%) of ) at an average sales price of /t Project pre-tax IRR of 35% and post-tax IRR of 25% Finished grade of over 94% and up to 98% over all size fractions Strip ratio of 0.39 The NI 43-101 PEA was prepared by Montreal-based Met-Chem, a division of DRA Americas Inc. ("Met-Chem/DRA"). All dollar figures are in United States dollars. The Lola Graphite Project is under the direct supervision of Raphael Beaudoin, P.Eng., Dr. Marc-Antoine Audet, P.Geo, Ph.D (Geology) is the Qualified Person ("QP") as defined by National Instrument 43-101. The NI-43-101 Technical Report may be referenced on SRG's website at www.srggraphite.com and on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. About Met-Chem/DRA Met-Chem, a division of DRA Americas Inc., was originally established in 1969 as a consulting engineering company, headquartered in Montreal, and provides a wide range of technical and engineering services. Met-Chem is well recognized for its capabilities in mining, geology and mineral processing and has a talented team of engineering, technical and project management personnel with experience in North America, Latin America, Europe, West Africa and India. DRA is a multidisciplinary global engineering group that originated in South Africa and delivers mining, mineral processing, energy, water treatment and infrastructure services from concept to commissioning, as well as comprehensive operations and maintenance services for the mineral resources, water, agriculture and energy sectors. DRA has offices in Africa, Australia, Canada, China, India and the United States. ABOUT SRG SRG is a Canadian-based company focused on developing the Lola graphite deposit and the Gogota cobalt-nickel-scandium deposit located in the Republic of Guinea, West Africa. SRG is committed to operating in a socially, environmentally and ethically responsible manner. For additional information, please visit SRG's website at www.srggraphite.com. Neither the TSXV nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSXV) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation. All information contained herein that is not clearly historical in nature may constitute forward-looking information, including references to the plans and project of the Company such as proceeding with production at the Company's Lola Project, proceeding with exploration activities on its permits including Lola and Gogota. Generally, such forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would" or "might". Forward-looking information is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Forward-looking information is based on assumptions management believes to be reasonable at the time such statements are made. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such forward-looking information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking information. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Forward-looking information is given as of the date of this press release, and the Company does not undertake to update such forward-looking information except in accordance with applicable securities laws. Additional information on these and other factors that could affect SRG's operations and financial results are included in reports on file with Canadian securities regulatory authorities and may be accessed through the SEDAR website (www.sedar.com). NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO UNITED STATES NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES TORONTO, Aug. 02, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Arena Minerals Inc. (Arena or the Company) (TSX-V: AN) announces that it intends to complete a non-brokered private placement financing of units of the Company (the Units) at a price of $0.05 per Unit for gross proceeds of $2,000,000 (the Offering). Each Unit shall consist of one common share of the Company (a Common Share) and one common share purchase warrant (each whole warrant, a Warrant). Each Warrant entitling the holder to acquire one Common Share of the Company at $0.10 for a period of 36 months from the date of issuance. The Company intends to use the net proceeds of the Offering to fund potential future property acquisitions, continue the development of its Atacama Copper property located in the Antofagasta region of northern Chile, and for general corporate purposes. The Company may, subject to additional interest received, increase the size of the private placement. The Common Shares, Warrants and shares underlying the Warrants will be subject to a four month statutory hold period from the closing of the private placement. Closing of the transaction remains subject to the receipt of all regulatory approvals, including the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange. This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any securities in the United States. The securities referred to herein have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the 1933 Act), or any state securities laws and may not be offered or sold within the United States or to, or for the account or benefit of U.S. persons (as defined in Regulation S under the 1933 Act) absent such registration or an applicable exemption from such registration requirements. To view the website, please visit www.arenaminerals.com. In addition to featuring information regarding the Company, its managements and projects, the website also contains the latest corporate news and an email registration allowing subscribers to receive news and updates directly. About Arena Minerals Currently Arena Minerals has three properties under option covering approximately 326,000 hectares. All the properties are within the Antofagasta region of Chile, at low altitudes and within producing mining camps. The Company flagship asset is the Atacama Copper Property, consisting of 293,000 hectares of essentially undrilled ground in the heart of Chiles premier copper mining district. The Atacama Copper Property is adjacent to the Capricornio Property, forming part of a contiguous land package that can be worked in conjunction. In addition the Company also has the Pampas El Penon project which is less than 1 km from Yamanas Agusta Victoria project and 10 km from the El Penon mine. The Capricornio property hosts a district scale gold silver epithermal system virtually unexplored at depth and open on strike. The Pampas El Penon and Capricornio properties comprise Arena Minerals highly prospective gold properties within an active mining region. For more information, contact William Randall at (416) 309-2697. On behalf of the Board of Directors of Arena Minerals Inc. William Randall President, and CEO Cautionary Note Regarding Accuracy and Forward-Looking Information: This news release may contain forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking information includes, but is not limited to, statements, projections and estimates relating to the future development of any of the Companys properties, the anticipating timing with respect to the private placement financing, the ability of the Company to complete the private placement financing, the results of the exploration program, future financial or operating performance of the Company, its subsidiaries and its projects, the development of and the anticipated timing with respect to the Atacama project, the Capricornio project, and the El Penon project, and the Companys ability to obtain financing. Generally, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be taken", "occur" or "be achieved". The statements made herein are based on current expectations and assumptions that are subject to risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially because of factors discussed in the management discussion and analysis section of the Companys interim and most recent annual financial statement or other reports and filings with the TSX Venture Exchange and applicable Canadian securities regulations. Estimates underlying the results set out in this news release arise from work conducted by the previous owners and the Company. Forward-looking information is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information, including but not limited to: general business, economic, competitive, geopolitical and social uncertainties; the actual results of current exploration activities; other risks of the mining industry and the risks described in the annual information form of the Company. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward looking informationArena Minerals does not undertake to update any forward-looking information, except in accordance with applicable securities laws. Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Ex-rebel DR Congo leader Jean-Pierre Bemba on Thursday officially launched his bid for the countrys presidency, putting forward his candidacy for the long-delayed election in December. Another rival of long-serving President Joseph Kabila, opposition leader Moise Katumbi, was however barred from entering the country after saying he planned to return Friday to contest the election. Bemba filed his papers at the electoral commission offices in the capital Kinshasa, throwing down the gauntlet to Kabila, who has ruled for 17 years. I can confirm that I indeed had a voting card and I filed all the papers, Bemba said outside the electoral commission headquarters. Now it is up to the CENI (the national election board) to handle all the applications. For me, I have submitted the entire file, it is in order, he added. Bemba was accompanied by his wife and members of the Movement for the Liberation of the Congo (MLC), a former rebel group turned political party that Bemba founded. The 55-year-old, also a former DRC vice president, only arrived back in the country on Wednesday after 11 years abroad a decade of it behind bars. He was greeted by large crowds of cheering supporters, many of them chanting anti-Kabila slogans. The International Criminal Court (ICC) in the Hague acquitted Bemba of war-crimes charges in June. Uncertainty Analysts say his return has introduced even more uncertainty into an already volatile election process. Kabila was scheduled to stand down at the end of 2016 after his second elected term, technically the last permitted under the constitution. But he has stayed in office, invoking a constitutional clause enabling him to remain in power until a successor is elected. His time in charge has been widely criticised for rights abuses, corruption and incompetence. Bemba lost presidential elections to Kabila in 2006 and was later accused of treason when his bodyguards clashed with the army in Kinshasa. In 2007, he fled to Belgium, where he had spent part of his youth. He was then arrested in Europe on a warrant by the ICC for war crimes committed by his private army in the neighbouring Central African Republic from 2002-3, when its then-president Ange-Felix Patasse sought his help to repel a coup attempt. He was sentenced in The Hague in 2016 to 18 years before the conviction was overturned in June on appeal. The ICC declared Bemba could not be held responsible for crimes committed by his troops. The court is due to issue a ruling in a separate case, in which Bemba was sentenced to jail and fined 300,000 euros ($350,000) in 2017 for bribing witnesses during his main trial. But legal experts expect him to be released definitively if time spent behind bars is taken into account. Security risks Opposition leader Katumbi, who has been living in self-imposed exile in Belgium since May 2016 after falling out with Kabila, had planned to return Friday to his former stronghold of Lubumbashi but the citys mayor said he would be refused entry. If he does return, however, he faces possible arrest after being handed a three-year jail term in absentia in June 2016 in a case of alleged property fraud, charges he denies. A leader of Katumbis party, Ensemble, said there was concern about security risks in the light of events that occurred when Bemba returned to Kinshasa. There are risks of breakdowns which could put civilians and political figures such as Katumbi in danger, said Delly Sesanga, Ensembles secretary general. Aides to Katumbi had met earlier Thursday with United Nations officials to discuss his return, sources said. The UN peacekeeping mission to the DRC, MONUSCO, confirmed a meeting had taken place, in the context of its good offices in the country. But MONUSCO spokeswoman Florence Marchal added that its mission is not to ensure the protection of (individual) personalities. The DRC has never known a peaceful transition of power since it gained independence from Belgium in 1960 and some experts fear the current crisis may spiral into bloodshed. Two wars unfolded from 1996-97 and from 1998-2003 that sucked in other countries in central and southern Africa. Smaller, but still bloody, conflicts dog the centre and east of the vast country today. Advertisement By West Kentucky Star Staff Aug. 01, 2018 | MURRAY By West Kentucky Star Staff Aug. 01, 2018 | 09:48 AM | MURRAY Murray State University has announced plans to close all of its campus offices early on Friday due to the large number of visitors expected to attend NRA President Oliver North's speech Friday night at Lovett Auditorium on the University's main campus in Murray, as well as several associated protests. In a press release the school says it anticipates a large number of visitors on campus Friday attending and/or participating in the event sponsored by a non-University affiliated organization. In order to accommodate the increased number of visitors on campus, the University will be closing all offices from 3 pm to 9:30 pm this Friday. This closure includes all regional campuses in Paducah, Hopkinsville, Madisonville, Henderson and Fort Campbell. North is set to speak at 7 pm. Several groups are holding protests at the campus leading up to his speech. The University will resume normal operating hours at 8 am on Monday, August 6. On a related note, Murray State University Police released a statement Monday saying that the Federal Aviation Administration has established restricted air space on the campus on Friday from 3 pm until 10 pm. This means that owners and operators of unmanned aerial vehicles (drones), whether licensed or unlicensed, will not be able to operate them during that time. Violators will face criminal charges. This year 2,424 people will have the opportunity to get outside, many for the first time, and explore Americas waterways. The influx of participation is a result of the Paddle Nation Grant Program, an initiative connecting young people to their rivers, streams, lakes and oceans, funded by Outdoor Retailer, National Park Service and many paddle-sport manufacturers, retailers and stakeholders. Outdoor Chattanooga and Friends of Outdoor Chattanooga received $4,000 to support their work to engage inner city youth in the sport of kayaking and exploration of the Tennessee River Blueway. In coordination with Booker T. Washington State Park, a group of 15 inner city youth will meet once per week for five weeks to develop their kayaking skills in the parks swimming pool. After participants have completed the skill-building classes and have boosted their confidence in the water, they will embark on a 6-mile paddle trip that will showcase the connectivity of the Tennessee River Blueway, a National Scenic Riverway, and experience two State Parks in the Chattanooga-area. In addition, participants will receive their own personal life jacket and get access to Outdoor Chattanooga paddling trips. Terri Chapin, program coordinator with Outdoor Chattanooga, said, Im very excited that Paddle Nation has awarded our organization this grant. The funding will enable Outdoor Chattanooga to have a greater community impact. Im looking forward to working with the youth to get them excited about the various paddling opportunities in our area, especially the scenic Tennessee River Blueway. Unique in the outdoor industry, the Paddle Nation Grant Program was launched in 2012 with financial support and leadership from Outdoor Retailer and many companies in the paddle-sport industry, including Confluence Outdoor, Johnson Outdoors, Rutabaga Paddlesports, OARS, BIC Sports, Glenbrook, Advanced Elements, River Sport Outfitters and ACK. Leveraging this industry support, the National Park Service joined as a major funder in 2013, significantly expanding the grant program. Since 2012, 87 projects have been funded with more than $237,000 given to noteworthy projects. Working with nearly 60 different retailers, 16,170 individuals have gotten outside on waterways, including 11,021 youth. In total, 196,267 hours have been spent outside paddling. The Outdoor Foundation believes that bringing innovative outdoor projects to life will dramatically increase outdoor participation, said Ivan Levin, deputy director of the Outdoor Foundation. Through these Paddle Nation Grants, young people across the country will explore rivers, lakes and streams through a variety of activitiesresulting in a new generation of outdoor enthusiasts and environmental stewards. 2018 nonprofit grant recipients include: Baltimore Heritage Area Association, Inc.; Black Butte School; Colorado River School; Families in Nature; National Park Trust, Inc.; Outdoor Chattanooga and Friends of Outdoor Chattanooga; and Regional Fitness Center. 11 Shares Share Education can be expensive. Higher education can be even more costly. Even partial scholarships can be deceptive as one might opt for a more expensive school for the sake of redeeming free money. As a student, I had no financial understanding of return on investment when I was considering higher education. All in, I plowed through more than a quarter million dollars in my college and medical school after substantial scholarships and grants. And that was a long time ago. If you are finishing medical school today funded solely on loans, youll likely owe slightly south of $200,000 if you attend a private school, expect to add in another $100,000 to the tab. Fast forward to today. My medical school alma mater recently announced that it will become completely tuition/debt-free for all students. Thats right. Zilch. You dont have to be surviving on subsistence living either. No need to strategize on Public Service Forgiveness Loans either. If you are admitted, your education will be free. The cynical side of me says that the medical school did well for itself: Enough of its alumni have become hotshots so that its scholarship fund is big enough to fund its future graduates. Thats a nice pot of money, especially since tuition today is over $65,000 a year. Getting into medical school itself is challenging enough; going through it without paying a dime is like winning the lottery. The rarity of this windfall is akin to that of Qatar discovering oil and natural gas big. The motivation for a debt-free medical school The elimination of educational debt confers significant advantages for medical students. Remember the Hippocratic oath? It mentions nothing about prepayment, prior authorizations, Bugattis or care contingent upon reimbursement. We chose to become doctors in order to care for others. That is how medical education was intended. The reality, however, is that we also have to make decisions based on practicality. Imagine going through medical school supporting a family with 1.5 kids and studying nearly every waking moment of your day? Your spouse wants to go back to work, but you contribute nothing to the cost of daycare. Many medical students contact me simply to ask about the compensation and lifestyle of a particular specialty. Many of those students are drowning in debt. Youd better believe that if youre half a million dollars in the hole, you probably arent going to be tooting the virtues of pediatrics, no matter how much you love children. If you wipe out educational debt from the picture, you might be more inclined to choose a potentially less lucrative but more enjoyable career path for the long haul. Perhaps youd end up realizing your calling as a geriatrician and do great work for the elderly. Debt-free medical school lifts a psychological burden as well. As a medical student, I was always torn between budgeting my time and saving money. Do I study an extra hour and buy take-out for dinner, or do I need to sacrifice precious study time in order to cook dinner? Do I spend my Sunday mornings buying budget groceries for the week or enjoying my limited free time? Without the big price tag attached to medical education, we might even have happier students. A happier person makes a happier doctor. Do happier doctors make healthier patients? If you love what you do, youll likely be a better doctor. When educational debt is eliminated from the picture, society benefits from having a better doctor. Debt-free medical education is bad How can free ever be detrimental? Because free implies the absence of cost. Free is easy. Easy doesnt fire the synapses in our brains. And we all know that our brains need to fire in order to learn. Remember the college chemistry exam that you didnt study for because you thought the class was too easy? Youd bet your tail that you remembered to study for the rest of that semester. No matter how conscientious we try to be, human nature dictates that we are less alert if we are in a comfortable situation. Being in debt allowed me to understand the importance of finance and how much doctors are worth. Society does not value doctors adequately. It is appalling to compare my medical school experience with one of my friends business school experience. My research job the summer after my first year of medical school granted a $3000 stipend for three months of living expenses. My business school friend secured a two-month internship with a salary of $10,000 and free meals! Neither of us were truly viable in our respective professions as students, yet society was able to value a business trainee much higher than a healer in training. Would I have cared if medical school didnt come with a big bill? Maybe not. If werent already financially invested in medical school, I might have jumped ship straight to a business degree. Paying for medical school teaches you how much you are worth As service professionals, doctors exchange their skills and time for money. Fundamentally that is the only way that we are compensated (side hustles and real estate aside). Our earning power is limited by time. And health care is constantly devaluing our time. You dont earn more by spending an extra two hours of your day charting. Quality metrics are great in principle, but the goal of our profession is to provide emphatic expert care. I dont think that I would have such a profound opinion of the value of our medical skills if medical school did not come with a price tag. Knowing that I invested a significant portion of my youth and finances towards medical knowledge has allowed me to negotiate a fair salary for my time and experience. The cost of medical school teaches frugality After digging myself in a hole of student loan debt, I knew not to crank up my luxurious expenditures when I started making good money as an attending. I wanted no chance of reliving those days. Would I have become as conscientious about money if medical school were free? No way. Obviously, medical school debt isnt the only way to learn frugality, but medical students frankly dont have many opportunities to learn it. Most doctors never hold a real job before becoming a high-income doctor. Our training is arduous and takes many years. Sometimes the only thing that gets me through my long days of surgery is the thought of buying an overpriced outfit or car. What often reels me back to reality is remembering that medical school came with a big price tag that took a lot of effort and sacrifice to repay. Do you agree on the principles of a free medical education? Smart Money, MD is an ophthalmologist who blogs at the self-titled site, Smart Money MD. Image credit: Shutterstock.com 21 Shares Share Many people seem to believe that the Z-pak possesses magical qualities. Patients come in requesting it for the common cold, because it worked for them in the past. Not only do many believe it cures the common cold, but they think it can treat any infection. Have a urinary tract infection? Just ask your doctor to prescribe a Z-pak! Sniffles got you under the weather? Do the same! Anyone who believes these myths is setting themselves up for bigger problems down the road. A common cold is caused by a virus, typically a rhinovirus, that is not treated with antibiotics. In fact, antibiotics have no powers over any viruses, mythical or otherwise. The best treatment for viruses is best-rest, fluids, and symptomatic care. It will get better in 2-3 days whether or not a patient takes antibiotics or not. The Z-pak is not the best antibiotic for all bacterial infections. It may have worked great for your ear infection but will not do much for a urinary tract infection because this is caused by different types of bacteria. The choice of antibiotic should be targeted at the specific kind of bacteria causing an infection. Why should we care if someone takes a Z-pak if they dont really need it? Side effects. All medications have side effects. Some of them can be quite benign but some can lead to lethal consequences. Bacterial resistance. Bacteria can build resistance to antibiotics if they are used too often. Over time, those antibiotics stop working against those bacteria and stronger ones (which often have stronger side effects) are needed. Sometimes, patients need multiple medications thereby raising the chance of side effects as well as resistance to multiple antibiotics. If a patient takes antibiotics too often, they are more difficult to treat. We should reserve antibiotics for when they are needed. The rise of superbugs. The more we use antibiotics, bacteria mutate themselves to survive the attack. As they evolve, they become immune to treatment and we are left with bacteria that are difficult, or even impossible, to treat. Costs. Antibiotics can be quite expensive. Money spent on these medications when they are not needed are just a waste, for both patients and insurance companies. When insurance companies pay more for patients care, they turn around and raise the price of premiums and deductibles so we could argue that patients are the ones truly footing the bill when these medications are used needlessly. Complications. Certain other infections can arise due to the use of antibiotics. For example, C. diff., a bacteria that can cause deadly diarrhea results when an antibiotic wipes out normal gut flora and allows dangerous bacteria to take over. Many patients come to me requesting a Z-pak. When it is indicated, I prescribe it. But, sometimes I know it is unnecessary because they have a viral infection or other reasons. If I explain my reasoning well, patients accept my decision. Some will be convinced that they need that Z-pak and get angry. Some will leave my office and go down the road to the urgent care center and be given a prescription for a Z-pak. The problem we face is that there is poor communication. Patients sometimes dont understand the difference between viral and bacterial infections and we need to spend the time educating them. Many patients do understand the difference and we need to strive to help all patients understand. Physicians are under a great deal of pressure and often cave in when they know, for example, a Z-pak is not really needed because they want to make the patient happy. Yes, it is important to keep our patients satisfied, but not at the risk of causing them unneeded complications. Both doctors and patients need to work better to address treatment goals and understanding disease processes. Doctors need to open their ears and hear what their patients are telling them. Likewise, patients should listen to what their doctors are telling them and consider the explanation before dismissing them as not caring. Only when we work together can we tackle the increasing problem of antibiotic resistance and the rise of superbugs. Linda Girgis is a family physician who blogs at Dr. Linda. Image credit: Shutterstock.com More than 200 people turned out in Mullinavat Community Centre last night for a meeting over the impending closure of the local post office. It has been confirmed that Mullinavat Post Office will close its doors next week, August 8, with the postmistress availing of the voluntary retirement package negotiated between An Post and the Irish Postmasters Union (IPU). However, those attending last night's meeting said they would fight the planned closure. Speaking to the Kilkenny People following the meeting, local TD Bobby Aylward said there was strong sentiment on the matter in the community. "It was a very well-attended meeting," he said. "There's very strong feelings about the closure, it's a slap in the face for rural Ireland." READ MORE: SEVERAL LOCAL POST OFFICES UNDER THREAT Deputy Aylward said that An Post was unwavering in that the post office would not reopen or be given to another franchisee. He said the only remaining option was for independent assessors to look at the situation and consider any submissions/objections to the closure, and then make a recommendation to An Post. A committee has now been formed on foot of last night's meeting, and it intends to collect a petition. It's hoped this process will be completed in a fortnight. However, Deputy Aylward says An Post has made it clear it will not consider submissions until after the post office is closed. For more, see next week's Kilkenny People. Three Kilkenny-based students and emerging practitioners have been announced as recipients of the Design & Crafts Council of Irelands (DCCoI) Future Makers Awards & Supports, one of the largest prize-funded award programmes in Europe for students and emerging makers. Nicola Hutchinson, from Kilkenny, who is studying for a BA in Textile Surface Design at NCAD, was awarded with a Professional Development Support worth 500. Nicola emerged as an awardee from a record 191 applications for the support awards. Jeweller Sandra Hartwieg, originally from Wexford but now based in Kilkenny, was awarded Studio Support award worth 1,000. Sandras work was described by the judges as having been executed with a high level of craftsmanship. She graduated from DCCoIs Jewellery & Goldsmithing Course in 2017. Lily Read, a current student on the same course, was presented with the Design Award (1,000). Her work was described by the judges as geometric forms produced with power, balance and precision. Lily comes from Norwich in the UK and is currently residing in Kilkenny. The awards were presented at a ceremony in The Westbury, Dublin on Thursday, July 12. One of the largest prize-funded award programmes in Europefor students and emerging makers, the Future Makers Awards & Supports programme was established by DCCoI in 2009 to assist and invest in the next generation of Irish designers and makers at a key stage in their professional development. The Herald reports: A Murupara-based long-time educator has hit out at the Education Ministers decisions to close partnership schools in favour of special character schools. Pem Bird, who won the 2018 Matariki Award for contribution to education, said, in his opinion, Chris Hipkins actions were profoundly disrespectful. Its condemning these children to return to a system where Maori and Pasifika underachievement is chronic, intractable and systemic. Bird said partnership schools were making a positive difference for Maori and Pasifika students. Governments normally only close down failing schools those that are unsafe or have almost no-one wanting to go to them. This Government is closing down schools that are wildly succeeding with disadvantaged kids, and have huge waiting lists. In mainstream schools where 95 per cent of Maori are concentrated, they are routinely failed. According to figures issued by this Coalition Government, on an average school day around half of all Maori and Pasifika secondary school pupils are truant. Surely that isnt true! The data Ive seen is slightly different but still appalling: Only 55 percent of Maori students were regularly showing up and 57 percent of Pacific students. This is the state system that Labour wants to force the kids back into. Share this: Facebook Twitter LinkedIn More Reddit Pinterest Print Tumblr New Delhi [India], Aug 3 (ANI): The United States (US) ambassador to India, Kenneth Juster on Thursday tagged India and US as the "oldest" and "largest" democracies in the world. The US Embassy in India on Thursday hosted an event marking the 242nd Independence Day celebrations of the United States, which was on July 4. Minister of State (MoS) for Housing and Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri was the chief guest at the event. "One of the remarkable aspects of living in India is that you begin to appreciate this country's ancient roots. India's history is measured in centuries rather than years. In fact, you soon develop a sense of timelessness. So, celebrating July 4 and August 2 seems perfectly natural to those of us at the US Embassy and we feel you will feel that way as well. This is a very special event for the US embassy and we are honoured that you are here to share it with us," Juster said. "This is my first Independence celebration day as the US Ambassador to India. I can say on behalf of all of my colleagues and perhaps all of those in a diplomatic community that there is a feeling of great pride when you celebrate your national day while living in another country. What makes this particularly special for Americans living in India is that these two countries are the oldest and largest democracies in the world. We each are the essence of the diverse multicultural pluralistic societies. We share the values of individual freedom and economic opportunity," he added. The US envoy further went on to highlight more similarities between the two nations and invoked former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's words, "We (India and US) are natural allies." "And not many people may know this, but our two constitutions begin with the same three inspiring words, 'We the people.' The crucial importance of these words helps form the foundation of cooperation between India and US," he continued. "There are now millions of Indian-Americans, who have made incredible contribution to American society, who celebrate Independence Day on July 4 and to then exhibit the same pride six weeks later on August 15. That says it all. So whether you are American, Indian, Indian-American, you are a friend of US mission in India," Juster added. (ANI) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Astana [Kazakhstan], Aug 03 (ANI): External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Thursday interacted with the Indian community in Kazakhstan's Astana and said that from first Prime Minister of India, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru to Dr Manmohan Singh, nobody addressed the Indian community in other countries like the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government. "The attachment that this (Bharatiya Janata Party) government has with Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) was never seen before. From Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru to Dr Manmohan Singh, you would have never seen any Indian Prime Minister addressing NRIs in rallies," the External Affairs Minister said. "I have been told that Astana is the second coldest capital of the world, but the warmth of Kazakh people do not let you feel this chill," she added. Swaraj further said that the Centre and the External Affairs Ministry is serving Indian nationals 24x7. I have made a motto, 'Indian Embassy - Home away from home'. I thought it won't work if I will only say it. So, I myself took to Twitter to address people. We are available 24x7. You must have seen that once a tweet came from my side at 1 a.m. On another day I tweeted at 3 a.m," she said. Swaraj is currently on a three-nation visit to Central Asia region. After Kazakhstan, show will be visiting Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan. It should be noted that it is her first trip to these countries as External Affairs Minister. In the second leg of her visit, Swaraj will meet the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kyrgyz Republic Erlan Abdyldaev and also call on the leadership of the country. In the final segment of the trip, the Minister of External Affairs will visit Tashkent, Uzbekistan on August 4. The minister will also hold in-depth discussions with Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdulaziz Kamilov. Swaraj is also scheduled to address the ideologists and members of the Indian community in Uzbekistan. She will also offer tribute at the memorial of former Prime Minister of India late Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri. The visit to the three nations is aimed at enhancing engagement with this region which is India's extended neighbourhood. It will also provide an opportunity to hold in-depth discussions with the political leadership on a wide range of global, regional and bilateral issues and will advance India's growing engagement with the Central Asian Region. (ANI) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) United Nations, Aug 3 (AP) The UN envoy for Yemen has invited the warring parties to talks in September aimed at ending the three-year conflict, saying the pace of fighting has increased and "the Red Sea is now a theater of war." Martin Griffiths has told the Security Council that military experts say the rebel-held Red Sea port of Hodeida "has become the center of gravity of the war" and avoiding a battle for the port and the city "has a better chance of being resolved within a comprehensive political settlement." He said the time is long past to resume the political process, and after consulting the internationally recognised government and Houthi Shiite rebels he plans to invite them for consultations in Geneva on September 6, including to discuss a framework for peace negotiations. The Yemen conflict was sparked by the Houthi takeover of Yemen's capital Sanaa in 2014, which routed the internationally recognized government. A Saudi-led coalition allied with the government has been at war with the Houthis since 2015. More than 10,000 people have been killed in Yemen's civil war, which has displaced 2 million people and helped spawn a cholera epidemic. The conflict has created the world's worst humanitarian crisis with more than 22 million people 75 per cent of the population needing humanitarian aid, including 8.4 million who don't know where their next meal will come from, according to the United Nations. Griffiths has been leading efforts to prevent a full-scale coalition assault on Hodeida, which is responsible for more than 70 per cent of imports to Yemen and is a vital lifeline for a country already teetering on the brink of famine. UN director of humanitarian operations John Ging has told the council the conflict in Hodeidah "has escalated significantly," saying violence has forced more than 3,40,000 people from their homes across Hodeida governorate since June 1. In the latest escalation, he pointed to reports that the coalition conducted airstrikes yesterday around the entrance to one of the few functioning hospitals and an adjacent fish market in Hodeida city, which Yemeni medical officials said killed at least 28 people and wounded at least 70. Griffiths said the UN is still trying to avoid a battle for Hodeida, but while the gap between the Houthis and the coalition has been narrowed considerably, "I am concerned that Hodeida could be a flashpoint." "My concern is to avoid any action with dire humanitarian consequences, and ... those which may undermine the resumption of the political process in September," he has said. Griffiths called on the parties "to create a conducive environment to allow for this the happen," and he urged the Security Council "to resolve this conflict through negotiation rather than through military means." On a positive note, he has said that he was "greatly encouraged by the common desire of the parties to have prisoners of war released," adding, "I want to see this moving forward before we meet in Geneva." (AP) NSD (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt have been painting the town red (at least in Bulgaria) with their PDA. Ever since Ranbir made things official with his GQ interview about his relationship with Alia Bhatt, he has been rather openly romantic with her. Be it them attending events or weddings together or even wanderlusting across Bulgaria, they are pretty much open about their relationship. And a new clip to make us go weak in the knees is their latest picture from one of their Bulgaria escapades. The couple were clicked, with Ranbir's armed around Alia, while they had their chill sessions with their friends. The fan page has stated that the picture was taken last week when the clan went to celebrate Alia's friend and makeup artist Puneet B Saini's birthday. The couple, along with Amitabh Bachchan, is shooting for their upcoming period fantasy film, Brahmastra. Check out their adorable click from the birthday celebration: They sure don't mind being so vocal about their relationship. But turns out, a lot of Bollywood couples have been showing their romantic side (and not onscreen). Take Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone for example. Last night, the couple returned from their vacation, all hand-in-hand, being all cute. Earlier this week, we even saw Varun Dhawan and Natasha Dalal be all candid about their relationship status as they headed for a Victorian vacation in London. A picture of the couple cosying up in London also surfaced on social media. Basically, there is an abundance of celebrity couples in B-Town and we sure are loving this "love is in the air" phase (The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 03, 2018 11:51 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com). London, August 3: While the incoming Prime Minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan talks about friendship with New Delhi, the country's spy agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), is drawing up elaborate plans to embarrass India during the 71st Independence day functions in London. The ISI is using discredited Khalistani groups to further its agenda and backing them to organise pro-Khalistan rally in London. Sources revealed, a team from Pakistan, headed by Abas Rana is visiting Surrey and meeting pro-Khalistani groups to hold anti-India protests and raise Khalistan issue on the occasion. Sikhs for Justice, a pro-Khalistan group, revealed its plan for August 12 by holding a joint press conference with Kashmiri separatists in London. Pakistan-backed Kashmiri separatists in London are supporting the pro-Khalistani Sikhs for their so-called Referendum2020 for Khalistan. The Press Conference of World Kashmir Freedom Movement, Kashmir Patriotic Forum International and Overseas Pakistani Welfare Organisation was hosted by UK based known Khalistani activist Paramjeet Singh Pamma whom India tried to extradite from Portugal. "On August 12, we will unveil the case for Sikhs right to self determination as guaranteed in UN Charter and International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights", said Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, legal advisor of Sikhs for Justice. In furtherance of its campaign for non-binding Referendum 2020, Sikhs for Justice will hold "London Deceleration" on August 12 at Trafalgar Square. On the same day at Trafalgar Square, a large number of Indians living in UK will gather to celebrate 71th years of India's Independence. Lucknow, August 3: The intelligence wing of Madhya Pradesh police has issued an alert to Delhi and Uttar Pradesh police regarding a death threat to Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. According to a report published in News18, it is mentioned in the alter that the possible attack can even take place at Yogis Delhi residence. The alert also states that the security of the chief minister should be increased. According to the report, terrorists are planning an attack in Delhi and NCR region. The intelligence wing also hinted that the possible attack could be carried out by boys of a young age who could also target religious places. In the wake of Independence Day, the terrorists could also plan an attack on a large scale. After receiving the inputs, the security has also been tightened at the CM office in Lucknow and the officials responsible for Yogis security have also been alerted. A metal detector has been placed at the front door of the CM's office as a precautionary measure. In the last month, intelligence agencies also issued an alert regarding a possible attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi. (The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 03, 2018 05:55 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com). A Singaporean man has been fined for illegally importing and keeping tarantulas at his home. Tam Jiaming raised suspicions earlier this year in January when he tried to cross the border in his car from Malaysia to Singapore, the immigration and checkpoints authority said in a statement. The 34-year-old was fined S$12,800 after being caught at Tuas checkpoint with six live tarantulas in a bag. A routine check of the car found out the spiders in plastic containers on the car's backseat. An investigation at his residence found out 92 tarantulas. The creatures were confiscated and are now under the care of Wildlife Reserves Singapore. Tam was fined for illegally keeping in possession so many wildlife animals and using them for trade. Tarantulas are not approved to be kept as pets in Singapore and some are protected under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). When Tam was stopped for checks, he said he had nothing to declare, Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) and Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) said in a joint press release on Wednesday. In Singapore, if animals were subjected to unnecessary suffering, those accused may face an additional fine of up to S$10,000 and up to 12 months in jail. The bite of tarantula but is mildly venomous and does not cause any long-term damage to humans. (The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 03, 2018 09:24 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com). A team of surgical staff in San Jose de Capilla del Senor Hospital, in the district of Exaltacion de la Cruz, in Buenos Aires have been sacked for taking selfies mid-operation and posting them on social media. The images were taken during an operation and posted on the social media account of one of the surgeons. The photos show the medical team looking at the camera with their surgical masks and gowns on. Those suspended included a surgeon, an anesthesiologist, two surgical assistants and a surgical nurse. The photos were posted on surgeons Lorena Olguins social media account, although she wasnt the one to click pictures. Olguin has since apologised and told local media, I have been really affected by all of this. I would like to publicly apologise to the people of Capilla for having visually offended them with these images, it was not the intention of any of us that all this should happen. She further said, That day there were several surgeries, random photos were taken, there was talk of selfies, at no time did I pick up my mobile phone. I was operating, they said photo, I looked at the camera instinctively, later I liked the images, I uploaded them and now all this has happened, there is no way to justify it. Medical Staff Taking Selfies Mid-Operation, Lead to Suspension Surgeons sacked after taking selfies in mid-operation. (Bueno Aires Times) One of the photo shows three of them standing over the patient lying on the operating table, and another with the whole team showing the equipment used in the surgery and bits of gauze with blood on it. The Health Secretary of Exaltacion de la Cruz, Ricardo Algranti told the press that they have suspended all of those shown in the photo because they consider it irresponsible behaviour and the hospitals director immediately opened an administrative investigation into their actions. He further said, The legal department will determine the degree of responsibility of each of those who intervened and the sanction that is to be applied. According to the local health secretary, the intervention in which the selfie was taken was a gastrointestinal operation. He concluded by saying, Its all rather unseemly, an embarrassing situation, but an inescapable truth. (The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 03, 2018 04:39 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com). Kabul, August 3: At least 20 have been killed and more than 40 people have been injured in a suicide attack in Afghanistan's Gardez in the Paktia Province, according to media reports. Earlier, there were reports of 8 people getting killed in the attack and 12 were reported to have been injured in the attack but the number of casualties increased. It is also known now that there were two suicide bombers involved in the terrorist attack. News agency ANI, tweeted about the Afghanistan blast, as soon as word about the attack began spreading. Check the tweet below: #UPDATE Paktia Police Chief Raz Mohammad Mandozai says at least 20 people were killed, 40 others wounded in the suicide attack that targeted a mosque in Afghanistan's Gardez City: TOLO News https://t.co/tm6EoI5rnU ANI (@ANI) August 3, 2018 But with time, the casualties have been going up and now the death toll has touched 20 in Gardez explosion. Paktia Police Chief Raz Mohammad Mandozai has confirmed the news. At least eight people were killed and over 40 were injured after a roadside bomb blast hit a passenger bus in Afganistans western province of Farah in Kabul on July 31. A bomb blast at Kabul airport had killed more than 14 people, after Afghanistan's vice-president Abdul Rashid Dostum had returned to Kabul on July 23 from self-imposed exile. At least 19 were reported dead, including Hindus and Sikhs, in a bombing carried out by insurgents in Afghanistan's easternmost Nangarhar province on July 1. The blast happened at Mokhaberat Square, a cluster of buildings, which is located in the provincial capital of Jalalabad. According to the UN Mission in Afghanistan, more than 1,690 civilians have been killed and over 3,430 others injured in conflict-related incidents in the first half of 2018 in the war-torn Afghanistan. (The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 03, 2018 05:17 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com). UPDATE: Suspect in teen slaying grabbed gun, shot 3 in kitchen, cops say A 36-year-old man accused of fatally shooting a 16-year-old girl on Tuesday afternoon surrendered just before 9 p.m. Thursday to Allentown police to face charges, Capt. Glenn Grantiz said. Antwan Washington (Courtesy photo | For lehighvalleylive.com) Antwan Washington lived at 533 Harrison St., where police allege he shot three people about 5:15 p.m., killing Carolina Monsanto and wounding a 31-year-old woman with whom he was in a relationship and a 19-year-old man, police have said. Washington is charged with one count of homicide, two counts of attempted homicide and two counts of aggravated assault, records show. He likely will be arraigned overnight and held without bail due to the homicide charge. Granitz wouldn't say if Washington was accompanied by an attorney. The 31-year-old and the 19-year-old remained still stable at an area hospital and were expected to survive their wounds, Granitz said. Monsanto was a Dieruff High School student who "kept up with her grades and truly wanted to do something with her life," a friend said on Facebook. Tony Rhodin may be reached at arhodin@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyRhodin. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook. Court records reveal the events moments before a 16-year-old girl was shot to death, and two others were wounded, this week in Allentown. Antwan Washington (Courtesy photo | For lehighvalleylive.com) Suspect Antwan Jovan Washington, 36, surrendered to Allentown police Thursday night and was sent to Lehigh County Jail without the possibility of bail. He is accused of killing Carolina Monsanto, who would have been about to begin her senior year at Dieruff High School. Washington is also accused of shooting his 31-year-old girlfriend and a 19-year-old man identified by a neighbor as Monsanto's boyfriend. Allentown police responded about 5:15 p.m. Tuesday to the report of several people shot inside a home at 533 Harrison St., court records show. All three victims were taken by Allentown EMS to the hospital with gunshot wounds. Shot numerous times in the body, Monsanto was pronounced dead at 5:55 p.m. in the emergency department at Lehigh Valley Hospital, Salisbury Township. Lehigh County Coroner Scott Grim ruled Monsanto's death a homicide due to her wounds. The other victims remained hospitalized Thursday and were expected to survive, police said. Based on interviews with the survivors, police say, Washington entered the home and retrieved a handgun from the second floor, then shot all three victims in the kitchen area of the home. A neighbor told lehighvalleylive.com his wife entered the home after the gunfire to find the 16-year-old on the floor with a piece of chicken in her hand, prepared to be fried. The victims and neighbors dialed 911, as Washington fled, police said. He remained on he loose until Thursday. Washington was arraigned Thursday night before District Judge Ronald Manescu on a charge of homicide in addition to two counts each of attempted homicide and aggravated assault. Manescu tentatively scheduled a preliminary hearing for Washington on Aug. 9. The case is before District Judge David Howells Jr. A call for comment to Washington's attorney, Michael J. Donohue, was not immediately returned Friday. A neighbor had said Washington lived in the home where the shooting occurred, along with his girlfriend and their two young children. Court records list Washington as having no current address. A gofundme.com account is set up to try to help Monsanto's family with funeral expenses. Kurt Bresswein may be reached at kbresswein@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @KurtBresswein and Facebook. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook. A 64-year-old Monroe County woman was found in Bethlehem Township hours after she lit her Stroudsburg jewelry store on fire in February, authorities report. Mona Siwiec, of the 600 block of Laurel Lane in Ross Township, was charged Thursday with arson and six associated counts after a several-month investigation that included her saying at St. Luke's Hospital in Bethlehem Township that "I know I started the fire," court papers say. The fire, which was reported by alarm at 10:04 p.m. Feb. 3, heavily damaged the store at 611 Main St., which was one of nine businesses or storage rooms rented in the building, Stroud Area Regional police said. No one was in those locations, but four people had to leave upper floor apartments at 617 and 619 Main St., police said, leading to four counts against Siwiec of of reckless endangerment. Two firefighters were taken to a hospital for treatment of minor exertion injuries, but no residents were hurt, the fire department said. Siwiec was arraigned at 10 a.m. Thursday before District Judge Kristina Anzini and the $60,000 bail was posted in cash by Ronald Siwiec, court papers say. Her preliminary hearing is tentatively scheduled 10 a.m. Aug. 13 in Anzini's court in Stroudsburg. Her attorney Philip Lauer couldn't immediately be reached for comment. Sometimes it is difficult to fathom why people do the things they do. Solid police work and we are grateful an arsonist is behind the bars. Posted by Stroudsburg Fire Department on Thursday, August 2, 2018 The Stroudsburg Fire Department worked the blaze for hours. "Crews battled stubborn flames and prolonged cold, eventually getting the fire under control in the early morning hours," according to a post the next day on the fire department's Facebook page. Pennsylvania State Police Trooper Eugene Jeffers was brought in to look for the origin and cause of the blaze, police said. Store co-owner Ron Siwiec, while at the scene, said his wife Mona might be inside the store, police said. Officers couldn't reach her by phone but while Jeffers began to examine the outside of the building just before 3:30 a.m., he learned Mona Siwiec was at St. Luke's in Bethlehem Township, police said. She had been found covered in newspapers and an umbrella in the rear seat of her white 2009 Honda Accord in a restricted parking space outside the Bethlehem Township police headquarters, police said. When located by a township officer, she "appeared confused about why she was there, where she came from and who they could contact." The officer alerted Monroe County authorities and Siwiec was taken to the hospital, police said. While being treated, Siwiec several times told hospital personnel that she started the fire, police said. She told personnel that she lit three pieces of newspaper on fire and put them in three spots in the store, police said. During these statements she said she tried to put out the fire, repeatedly saying, "I had to start a fire to put out a fire," police said. She had two butane lighters with her at the hospital, police said. A Stroud Regional detective advised Siwiec of her rights and when Siwiec started talking, the detective told her she had to sign a waiver because her attorney wasn't present, police said. As Siwiec continued speaking, the detective told her that she believed Siwiec started the fire and if she wanted to talk, she could contact her, police said. That's when Siwiec yelled that she started the fire, police said. Tony Rhodin may be reached at arhodin@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyRhodin. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook. Emergency responders battle thunderstorms as they search the Delaware River for a male canoeist last seen around the old railroad viaduct between the Portland and Columbia areas of Northampton and Warren counties, respectively, after the craft capsized Aug. 2, 2018. Two others aboard the canoe were found safe on the Pennsylvania side. The threat of heavy rain continued the following day, as authorities were back out looking for the missing person. Robert Halberstadt | lehighvalleylive.com contributor By Kurt Bresswein | For lehighvalleylive.com A flash flood watch was in effect until 8 a.m. Saturday for the Lehigh Valley region, the National Weather Service said. A strong thunderstorm was moving northeast through the area about 1 p.m. Friday, expected to affect central Hunterdon, southwestern Warren, northwestern Bucks and southeastern Northampton counties, the weather service said. "Torrential rainfall is also occurring with this storm, and may cause localized flooding," the weather service said. "Do not drive your vehicle through flooded roadways." Don't Edit Don't Edit The flash flood watch was in place across eastern Pennsylvania, including Lehigh and Northampton counties. "The threat for flash flooding increases with subsequent rounds of locally heavy rainfall from showers and thunderstorms tonight into early Saturday morning," the watch states. "Heavy rainfall within a short period of time can lead to rapidly rising water and flash flooding, particularly in urban areas, along small creeks and streams as the ground is already very saturated due to recent heavy rains over the past two weeks." Emergency responders were continuing Friday to search for a male canoeist who went missing Thursday on the Delaware River between Knowlton Township in Warren County and Portland in Northampton County, Portland police Chief Robert Mulligan said. That boater was among three people in a canoe that capsized, and there were no life vests on board, Knowlton fire officials had said. Don't Edit An approved personal flotation device, according to the National Weather Service. National Weather Service | For lehighvalleylive.com Don't Edit The Delaware River was expected to rise high enough by 2 p.m. Friday to require all boaters on the river to wear an approved personal flotation device, the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area said. The threshold is 8 feet at the river's Montague gauge, the National Park Service said, noting river users can monitor levels via the federal Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Service website. "Once it hits that mark, wearing a properly-fitted, US Coast Guard-approved life jacket is mandatory at all times for all Delaware River boaters, including paddlers," the park said Friday. "Swimming is also prohibited due to increased hazards from high water." Don't Edit Don't Edit The rain comes as Musikfest gets underway Friday in Bethlehem and the Warren County Farmers' Fair wraps up its run Saturday, among events in the region. Fair organizers said Friday night's demolition derby was likely to be held, though lightning may suspend the action and force spectators from the stands. Don't Edit WATCH: Demolition derby pros brave big hits for bragging rights Don't Edit "Historically the derby has never been cancelled" the farmers' fair said on its Facebook page. "They run in the mud." Don't Edit FEST ON! Eastern PA Weather Authority has today's forecast. Posted by Musikfest on Friday, August 3, 2018 Don't Edit At Lehigh Valley International Airport, the National Weather Service was forecasting showers and thunderstorms likely Friday evening, mainly after 5 p.m. and again between 10 and 11 p.m. The chance for showers and thunderstorms was expected to continue mainly before 2 p.m. Saturday before a changeover to mostly sunny skies and a high near 88 at he airport. A slight chance for showers and thunderstorms was forecast to return between 7 p.m. Saturday and 2 a.m. Sunday at the airport. followed by a sunny day Sunday with a high near 90. Don't Edit Don't Edit Kurt Bresswein may be reached at kbresswein@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @KurtBresswein and Facebook. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook. Laois councillors are inviting candidates seeking nomination as the next President of Ireland, to come to Laois and pitch to them. Candidates who have announced their interest in running for President against Michael D Higgins, include Dragons Den businessman Gavin Duffy, Pieta House and founder Senator Joan Freeman and retired Aer Lingus employee Patrick Feeney. Last week Waterford County Council was the first in Ireland to hear their pitches. Candidates must have the backing of four county councils to qualify for nomination, and Laois councillors want to be among those making the decisions. Independent Cllr James Kelly from Mountrath has now proposed that they hold a special meeting to decide a candidate. Laois County Council should have a say in the nominations if approached by a candidate. I was contacted by two potential candidates, but one is not going forward now. My proposal is that when the date is announced, that this council meet within seven days to consider any candidates, make a decision and nominate somebody, he said. Former GAA President and Laois teacher Liam ONeill announced last week that after careful consideration he would not be putting himself forward for the job. Five suspected illegal immigrants jumped from truck in Laois After Portlaoise hospital's maternity unit went into meltdown in 2014 births plummeted and expecting parents understandably turned their back on the hospital in droves. At the peak of its activity annual births surged past 2,000. This plunged by well over a quarter after it emerged that babies died in the unit that should have lived. The unit's future was on the line in the aftermath of the crisis but a decision was reached not to shut down the unit. Instead a link was made with the Coombe Hospital in Dublin. Investment was made and staff were recruited. New tests, equipment and ways of operating were all introduced. By the end of 2017 the birth rate was 1,531, an increase of 3% with an attendance of 1,517 mothers, an increase of 2.4% on the previous year. It is the only maternity unit with significant increased activity. It is one of the busier units located in the smaller hospitals. The figures are, arguably, evidence of the extensive changes that have been implemented to make Portlaoise maternity unit safer than before. Key to the process is Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist, Dr Michael O'Connell. The Cork native has worked at the Coombe Womens and Infants University Hospital since 2004. He was appointed as Clinical Director for Integration for the Coombe and the Midland Regional Hospital Portlaoise in 2014. He does not have a clinical role and is based in Portlaoise two days a week. His job is to work with staff to develop Portlaoise's service and integrate with the Coombe. Dr O'Connell says the return of first time mothers to Portlaoise now represents nearly a third of all births, up from 20% during the crisis. It is a critical milestone for the unit. There seemed to be a lack of condfidence among first time mothers, but we have managed turn the trend on that - that is really important for a maternity unit. To be sustainable you need to be back in the 30% mark and we are back in that bracket. People have seen that we have made tried to institute changes that are very patient centred, he said. The added plus appears to be the link with the Coombe. Dr O' Connell says that the vast majority of women deliver in Portlaoise but they have the backup of expertise in Dublin if needed while their majority of their care, including delivery, is provided in Portlaoise. He said a restructure and streamlining of the early pregnancy unit has meant that a formal dating scan is offered to every woman between 9 and 12 weeks of pregnancy. What happens now is that when someone books with the hospital they have their history recorded by their midwife, they have a dating scan, booking bloods done. So, when they come and see the consultant three weeks later all that is done, he says. Added to this is availability of an anatomy scan which is available to less than half of pregnant women in Ireland. It is used to detect problems that could complicate pregnancy and delivery. With the Director of Midwifery Maureen Revells, a midwife was selected and trained in the Coombe to carry out anatomy scans in Portlaoise. In use since last December it has led to the transfer of two to three patients a month to the Coombe for specialist care. It is a good service and is working really really well. It is things like that, that have injected more confidence , says Dr O'Connell. The consultant said his arrival coincided with the publication of a number of critical reports on Portlaoise. We have learned from those reports and instituted all the recommendations of those reports. From that perspective people see that there is a move forward. They see that this unit is as good, if not better than most other units at this stage, he said. He said positive feedback on the service has reached a point where there are more than double the number of complimements to the review of complaints. He said the 'crisis' that engulfed the hospital forced an examination of how things could change whereby there was direct access to specialist care while developing services locally. The crisis brought about a new way of looking at thinking as opposed to the knee jerk reaction which would have been to close the place - a disaster - get rid of it and bring it all to the big centre, he said. He said a lot of what has happened in essence is the adoption of guidelines. In actual fact what we are trying to do is that the service you would get in the Coombe you will also get in Portlaoise and that is only right. It should be the same service you should get in any hospital, he said. Dr O'Connell attended a meeting with the now Taoiseach Leo Varadkar in 2015 in Portlaoise where many bereaved families told their stories. While I did want to learn from what happened in the past, I did not take any of those charts (of patients) and go through them in detail. My job was to learn from the past and look forward. I presented that to the families when the Minister met the families in the Killeshin Hotel. What I could add value to was to bring a confidence to the service, he said. He said he was struck by the impact of media coverage on staff but also the encouragement and welcome he received soon after he arrived in Portlaoise from local people who got to know who he was quickly. He said working in a community hospital such as Portlaoise can make a job difficult because you have to look patients in the eye in public if problems have happened. At the end of the day none of us come to work to cause a problem. Adverse things happen. They happen in Portlaoise, the Coombe and they will happen in the future, but what we are trying to do is minimise those risks and have systems that minimise those, he said. He said the corrected perinatal death rate in Portlaoise of two last year has dropped to 2 per year which is in line with HSE set standards. He says he does not minimise the impact of pregnancy loss but change has been instituted that has made a difference. He said two consultants and two neonatalogists work between both hospitals as well as a midwifery skills development manager. He said a lot of new staff have also come on board who have integrated well with older staff. As to the future Dr O'Connell is adamant there can be no sudden changes. We've got to provide a safe service. Whatever somebody in office (political) decides, that service can't just stop tomorrow. If they decided tomorrow that the service is not going to be offered here any longer then it will have to be offered someplace else. There is no capacity anywhere else at the moment. If they decided it was going to be offered in the Coombe - unless they build a new wing in the Coombe, we still have to provide a safe service here. I'll leave that for others to worry about. If that changes we will adapt what we are doing to change if we need to but, as we stand at the moment, we have a full maternity and gynaecology service and that is what we are doing, he said. Realistically, if we are to be very honest about it the national children's hospital is being built at the moment, the vast majority of any captial expenditure is going to that so there is not going to be capital expenditure to build a new wing on the Coombe, he said. Dr O'Connell said two alternative sets of plans have been drawn up for new outpatients departments beside Portlaoise hospital. The smaller of the two would be exclusively used for maternity services, costing 3 million. The bigger facility would be a new outpatients costing in the region of 15 million. We have agreement that that can go ahead but we don't have the funding. The funding is a big issue and at the end of the day, patient safety is critical. So, it would be unsafe for all of these women to go to the Coombe because it doesn't have the capacity, he said. He compares it to the situation in the midwest where two A&Es were closed without capacity being created in Limerick to accomodate the influx of patients. If we have learned anything we know that you can't force maternity services into a place that can't actually take capacity. You have to be very honest. If we can show that having a baby in Portlaoise is as safe as having a baby in the Coombe, the National Maternity Hospital or the Rotunda then it is sustainable. If we show that it is not, then it is not. That is the reality. The bottom line is would you want your wife coming here and and, at the moment, people are saying yes but that is because we have done a lot of work to make sure we have systems in place to make it extremely safe and any hint of an adverse outcome we look into in detail, he said. If he was to leave Portlaoise, Dr O'Connell believes that the systems are now in place to ensure that. My role is not to do the job, it is to facilitate it. That is what I have done. ,One of the big advantages when I came was that I was pushing against an open door, he said. Twenty-three young people from Kildare joined 250 other teenagers from India, the USA and Ireland in Kildare this week for Foroiges Leadership for Life Youth Conference. The conference, takes place throughout this week, from July 30 to today Aug 3, on the grounds of NUI Maynooth, and brings together teenagers to empower them to become leaders in their own lives. Paul OConnell gave a talk to the young people, as part of the Aldi guest lecture series, where he highlighted the importance of staying positive. Paul OConnell, Aldi Play Rugby Ambassador said God given talent is a myth, successful people work harder and smarter and thats how they achieve their goals. Its really important to keep positive. Dont let anyone say you cant do something. You have the capacity to work, train and do anything you put your mind to. It doesnt matter what it is, stay the course and be the person you want to be. Sean Campbell, CEO of Foroige, said These young people have come to this conference because someone in their lives saw their potential to lead, grow, develop and influence, whether that was a parent, Foroige youth worker, or teacher. Amongst other things, these teens will learn about resilience and perseverance this week, and further develop their ability to believe in themselves. Its more important than ever for these young people to realise that leadership is not about ego or personal advancement, its about showing the way and inspiring those around you to be the best that they can be. The conference offers these young people the fantastic opportunity of exploring their own unique set of leadership skills, whilst encouraging them to believe in their own ability to make real and powerful positive change in the world. The 250 delegates, aged 15 to 18, will graduate on Friday morning having completed various stages of the leadership programme. As part of the week-long conference, the delegates also met inspirational guest speakers Louise Foody, Director of Digital & Brand at Kingspan Group and Maria Walsh, former Rose of Tralee, entrepreneur, and broadcaster. Senator Joan Freeman, associated in the public mind with the Pieta House charity, has written to Kildare County Council members, to ask for a chance to address it on her bid for the Presidency of Ireland. On July 30, Kildare County Councillors said they are prepared to consider nominating a candidate for the Presidency of Ireland. Senator Freeman said in July 24 letter she wanted to meet the Council at the earliest opportunity so that she could assemble a comprehensive campaign to compete in the election. She said, however that candidates could not be formally nominated by a Council until the Presidential Order for the election is passed by the Government but noted that in 2011, that order was not passed until August 30 of that year, and the hands of candidates are tied until the order is passed. Senator Freeman said that without an indication of support from Councils it will be extremely difficult to raise the necessary finance and prepare a campaign if candidates had to wait until September 10. She asked for a special meeting to be held shortly to that she and others could make a case for a nomination before the formal Presidential Order by Government. Councillors have been advised by its executive that they cannot pass the resolution before the date of the making of the presidential order. Mayor, Sean Power (FF), said they would not block anybody and would facilitate requests. A free family event will take place at Ballynafagh Lake outside Prosperous on August 18. Johnny Magory Childrens Books have announced that it will host its second public Adventure Day during National Heritage Week 2018, which will take place from 18-26 August. This free family event will be held from 2-5pm and is building on the success of last years adventure walk. It includes a treasure hunt around the beautiful Ballynafagh Lake (outside of Prosperous) looking for all Johnny Magorys animal friends, a fishing demonstration, some healthy snacks and of course readings from The Adventures of Johnny Magory childrens book series by the author. SEE ALSO: 600,000 works to tackle longstanding Newbridge flooding and sewage problems Johnny Magory Books aim to educate and instil a sense of pride and passion in young children about Irelands heritage, wildlife and culture. Emma-Jane Leeson (founder and author of the Johnny Magory Books) said: I am so excited to host this fantastic event for the second year running. I am passionate about getting children outside and interested in the world around them. This years theme Sharing Stories is right up my street and the entire Heritage Week programme is a great opportunity to learn more about your local heritage and make connections with new people and stories. The theme of this years National Heritage Week is Sharing Stories. During the week-long celebration of Irelands heritage, communities across Ireland are encouraged to share heritage stories in new ways, with new people. Coordinated by the Heritage Council, National Heritage Week is Irelands most popular cultural event and this year more than 570,000 people are expected to participate in over 2,000 heritage events around the country. The aim of National Heritage Week is to build heritage awareness and appreciation while shining a light on the great work that is carried out in all communities in Ireland to preserve and promote our natural, built and cultural heritage. Chairman of the Heritage Council, Michael Parsons, said: Our cultural heritage belongs to everyone so we are encouraging everyone to get involved, to share a story and make a connection during Heritage Week. People of all ages will have ample opportunity to find out more about our nature, history and culture by taking part in tours, walks, talks, exhibitions, outdoor activities and much more. From wildlife boat tours to storytelling workshops for children, there is something for everyone to enjoy. Most Heritage Week events are family-friendly and free of charge so that our shared heritage can be accessed and appreciated by all. For a full listing of all National Heritage Week events around Kildare and around the country please go to www.heritageweek.ie TWO prison officers have been assaulted outside a courthouse in County Limerick while conveying a prisoner to court. The prison officers, a female and a male were assaulted in the incident, and were left with what are being called minor injuries after the July 13 assault outside Newcastle West court. It is understood that the female officer suffered broken or fractured ribs, and received treatment in hospital for her injuries. The van was parked on the street outside the court when it is believed that two to three males set upon the officers. Gardai are looking to establish whether those who carried out the assault are related in any way to the prisoner who was being conveyed by the two officers. The incident is still under investigation but no arrests have been made as of yet, according to a garda source. The injured female officer attended St Johns Hospital on the day of the incident and received treatment. She was not admitted for a long-term stay. The officers would have been part of an escort corps for prisoners, and would not be stationed within a specific prison. The same week, it emerged that assaults on prison officers by inmates have increased over the last three years but these figures do not represent assaults by non-prisoner assailants. At this years Prison Officers Association Annual Delegate Conference, in April, the associations outgoing president Stephen Delaney said that the assault of a prison officer was a rarity 30 years ago, and has now become the norm. The current amount and seriousness of assaults on our members is simply not acceptable or sustainable, he said. He outlined a series of assaults which have taken place nationally in the last year, including the sexual assault of a female prison officer. I am now calling on the Minister (for Justice) to announce an independent analysis of assaults on our members while at work, Mr Delaney said at the time. This analysis should lead to recommendations on how our members can experience a safe place of work. Surely this is not too much to ask in 2018. I appreciate that your advisers in the department will explain these assaults away as one of the risks of the job and they joined knowing about the possibility of assaults and you must reject these explanations out of hand. My members deserve and expect better, he added. IN response to requests from visitors and locals who repeatedly asked for a comprehensive guide to interpret the area, a new publication on Lough Gur is being launched this weekend. Titled This is Lough Gur, The Jewel of an Antique Land, the guide will be officially launched by professor of archaeology Rose Cleary in Reardons Bar, Holycross on Saturday at 7pm. The comprehensive volume includes history, archaeology, folklore, poetry and a number of time-honoured songs relating to Lough Gur. At present Lough Gur tour guides bring the landscape to life. However, local and international visitors sought a printed keepsake and reference point. Although the history and archaeology of Lough Gur can be found scattered in journals, articles and hidden within chapters of academic volumes this new publication is an easily accessible and complete guide for both the avid archaeologist and the curious guest. Historian Michael Quinlan described the guide as a record to treasure. He went on to state further that this book not only includes history and archaeology but the folklore, songs and poetry handed down through generations that is recorded forever more in this exceptional new publication. Editors Aine Barry, Brian Collopy, George Finch and Kate Harrold have worked for many months trawling through archives, referencing, cross checking and meeting with locals to ensure that a broad and extensive range of topics are covered. Whether your interest relates to the environment, geology, facts, figures, mythical creatures or the mysteries associated with the Great Grange Stone Circle this new publication offers a plethora of topics to explore. Choose to read from cover to cover or dip between the pages to uncover the unknown truths that will leave you wanting to read more, said a spokesperson. This is Lough Gur, The Jewel of an Antique Land which is priced at 15 is said to answer the long and burning question that everyone asks when they visit what is it about Lough Gur that makes it such a special place? As you leap from stories of Fer Fi King of the Fairies to accounts of how and why monumental and megalithic structures were built, it becomes clear that Lough Gur is hidden gem but not for much longer. With over 1,000 ancient sites in a 5km radius and recognised as the only site in Ireland where continuous habitation of mankind exists from the very beginning to modern day times, This is Lough Gur introduces you to the magic of this site of international significance as The Jewel of an Antique Land. We invite you to explore and understand through the verses and paragraphs weaved for your enjoyment. This new publication is dedicated to Michael Quinlan for his outstanding contribution to Lough Gur. A LANDOWNER who is planning to develop 46 houses in Croom has criticised Irish Water for a move which he claims could hold up his proposals. Con Duggan has secured planning permission to build two sets of houses, one 46, the other 20, on the edge of the village, and he also wants to develop a filling station and shops on his land. But he says this could be put in doubt due to a lack of water supply to the area and pre-planning demands from the water utility. Mr Duggan has developed two wells, which he says would provide enough water to supply Croom and all its hinterland and he is offering them to Irish Water for free. He said they have the capacity to service 184 extra homes. Irish Water, however, has confirmed it is pressing ahead with plans to pipe water in from Limerick City, a project which could take up to a 18 months to complete. The move has led to calls for Minister Eoghan Murphy to launch a probe into the matter. As far as I know, they have a number of wells which are dry or not sufficient. But this is idiotic, as my wells could provide 6,000 cubic metres of water a day. It doesnt need to be pumped from anywhere else in the network. The wells are drilled, tapped and lined, Mr Duggan told the Limerick Leader. Asked why he is willing to provide the use of the wells for nothing, he added: Natural resources belong to everybody. I am pro-progress. The new school is starting, there is a hospital extension. Being short-sighted is not going to solve anyones problem. The Killarney-based developer is being supported by local Independent councillors Richard ODonoghue, and John Gilligan, with the matter raised at the environmental committee meeting. It feels Irish Water are more interested in pumping our water from Limerick to Dublin, than they are in supplying water to the people of Limerick. They want to build a water tower outside Croom. But I cannot agree with the timings: at the moment, there are farmers and residents seeking water. He said Mr Duggans wells would give enough water to completely supply Croom and Banogue at its ease. This would speed the housing development, but it would also give unlimited water to Croom, to the hospital, to the new school, to everything. It would take everyone out of trouble, for a very small investment, Cllr ODonoghue added. Cllr Gilligan, who sits on the same committee, added: This is typical of how Irish Water works. They were not interested in this water supply. It seems all they are interested in is a huge gigantic project of taking water to Dublin. He called on Minister Murphy to launch an investigation into the matter. In a statement, a spokesperson for Irish Water said: We did assess a number of alternative options in this regard, including other borehole sources, but following careful consideration and analysis, [piping water from Limerick] has been selected as the best long-term solution to provide a sustainable future water supply for the area. Croom, which has an approximate population of 1,200, is currently supplied by a local well source. THE US Treasury Department is very sympathetic to the Irish cause when it comes to sanctions imposed on the parent company of Aughinish Alumina, it was stated this week. Last week, Clare-based Minister of State Pat Breen visited Washington DC with Newcastle Wests Minister of State, Patrick ODonovan, on a trade mission. The two junior ministers raised the Aughinish issue with the US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. Mr Mnuchin announced sanctions on its parent company, UC Rusal, in April. The sanctions were aimed at the companys majority owner, Oleg Deripaska, as well as a handful of other Russian oligarchs. The punitive sanctions were imposed during a series of scandals involving Russia, including alleged meddling in the US election and accusations about the poisoning of a former agent in Britain. Deripaska is known to have close ties to Russian president Vladimir Putin. The sanctions, which would come into effect after October, would have an adverse effect on the companys prospects, said Rusal. As well as the financial price, the company would also be banned from dealing with any American suppliers, customers or stakeholders, effectively becoming cut off from the US market altogether. It could also spell trouble for the some 450 jobs on the Limerick site, and 500 additional indirect jobs. But the sanctions could be avoided if Mr Deripaska relinquishes control over the company, which he holds through EN+. The company has made moves to limit his control in an attempt to appease the US. It emerged this week that an American lobbying company acting on behalf of Rusal lobbied the Irish Embassy in Washington, in an attempt to get the US to lift the sanctions on Aughinish. The Associated Press reported that diplomats from a number of countries with interest in the Rusal debacle were approached, including France, Germany, Jamaica, Australia and Sweden. The Limerick plant is the largest alumina refinery in Europe. Speaking to Clare FM, Minister of State Pat Breen said that he is optimistic about the firms future. The plant is very strategic, because Aughinish controls about 30 percent of the alumina in Europe alone, said Mr Breen. I had the French ambassador in to me about this. The alumina coming out of Aughinish is sold into Germany and France and is very important for the industries in those countries. On the representations made in Washington, the politician said that he and Mr ODonovan had a number of meetings on Capitol Hill and with the Treasury Department. Obviously I think the Irish voice has been heard. The embassy here has been working very hard, my own department has been working really hard on this, as well, he said. I think the Treasury Secretary, Mr Mnuchin, was very sympathetic to the Irish cause. I am optimistic indeed. We cant afford for this company to go out of business, he added. In the last week, CNN has reported that the US is looking into the possibility of lifting the sanctions altogether. DOZENS of fans of the late, great Terry Wogan were in Limerick this Friday to mark what would have been the TV and radio star's 80th birthday. Members of the Terry Wogan's Old Geezers and Gals (Togs) fan group descended on the life-size bronze statue at Harvey's Quay to raise a toast in honour of the man, who sadly died in early 2016. Around 30 people travelled from across Britain for a picnic beside the statue of Sir Terry a Freeman of Limerick owing to the fact he was born just off the Ennis Road. Helen Bach, from Hampshire, said: The Togs have gotten together at various times over the years and it just seemed the best place to come to was to celebrate with the statue. We raise a glass to him every year, but this seemed like an appropriate time as we miss him. It is the group's first visit back to the city since the statue was officially unveiled last year. During this visit, they also met Cllr Kieran O'Hanlon, who was the mayor who unveiled the memorial to the former Eurovision commentator. We have a Togs Facebook group with 1,000 members, and at least 300 talk every day about him. We very much support each other and still raise money or Children in Need and have get togethers in his name. He was funny, he was kind, he knew a lot of about music. He supported everything we did. He was just a really nice person, Helen added. On the menu this Friday were bananas, crisps, fruit, cake, prosecco, sparkling water - as well as cocktail sausages - or snorkers as Sir Terry preferred them to be called. Four U.S. holiday stamps for 2018 revealed: Weeks Most Read Apr 30, 2021, 5 AM The Hanukkah forever stamp for 2018 is based on a cut-paper design. It is planned as a joint issue with Israel. By Jay Bigalke Its time to catch up on the week that was in stamp-collecting insights and news. Linns Stamp News is looking back at its five most-read stories of the week. Click the links to read the stories. 5. History of the cartoon contest. The cartoon contest has run continuously for more than 30 years, first appearing in the Linns issue of Dec. 8, 1986. 4. Lithuanian Post puts 100 living Lithuanians on new issue: From famous Lithuanians to contest winners, the new issue seeks to unite people of Lithuanian descent all over the world. 3. Foil component to enhance U.S. Dragons stamp set: The four new U.S. Dragons stamps are offset-printed in panes of 16 with hot foil stamping. 2. President Trump calls for privatizing U.S. Postal Service: President Donald Trumps administration has called for privatizing the United States Postal Service. 1. Four U.S. holiday stamps for 2018 revealed: Forever stamps celebrating Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa are planned for 2018. Connect with Linns Stamp News: Sign up for our newsletter Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter As school returns to session, two Brainerd High School faculty members will be applying newfound knowledge and experience after participating in a summer externship program. BASFs Chattanooga sites on Amnicola Highway and Polymer Drive hosted Guidance Counselor Tereshkova Bonnick and College and Career Advisor Jaleesa Brumfield for a week-long immersion in advanced manufacturing. The externship is part of the Advanced Manufacturing Academy, a partnership between the Advanced Manufacturing Skills Internship Program at Chattanooga State Community College and the Tennessee Higher Education Commission. Summer Externships through AMSIP are designed to help our educators understand the amazing career opportunities we offer here in Hamilton County, said Cydnie Tate, AMSIP program manager at CSCC. Ms. Bonnick and Ms. Brumfield said they felt welcomed by the company and noted that the employees were engaging and thorough in their training. The week began with a safety orientation and review of personal protective equipment, then the educators shadowed various engineers and technicians to learn about their jobs and how BASF operates. The school counselors gained direct experience and knowledge of manufacturing, which they can share with students seeking careers in technology, said Robert Gagliano, site director at BASFs Chattanooga site. BASF works with Chattanooga State and Hamilton County Schools on science education programs to build awareness about our company and encourage the skill development necessary to support our future workforce. By the end of the week, Ms. Bonnick said she learned a great deal that she could share about BASF, and now has a better understanding of what students need to pursue a well-paying career in manufacturing. I asked the employees what skills the students would need and they responded with basic math, algebra and chemistry, said Ms. Bonnick. Paying attention to detail is also very important, along with flexibility, applying common sense and being able to troubleshoot problems by retracing their steps. Experience is the best teacher, said Ms. Brumfield. I plan on sharing the experience at BASF in a presentation I will prepare for my students. The message to them is you can be successful even if you dont go to a four-year college. You can succeed and move up in a company like BASF. For more information about BASF in Tennessee, visit http://www.basf.us/tennessee. Gold hunters in southern Russia might have been disappointed to learn that the speckled, yellow rock they uncovered was not a sizeable pebble of valuable metal. Instead, it was a rare piece of space-borne rubble containing a new mineral that had never before been seen on Earth. The mineral came from the Uakit meteorite, named for the Russian location where it was found. Scientists recently presented their discovery of the meteorite's new mineral, named uakitite, at the Annual Meeting of the Meteoritical Society in Moscow. The researchers found that more than 98 percent of the meteorite consists of kamacite, an alloy of iron and 5 to 10 percent nickel, that's formed in space and is found only in meteorites, which are rocks that fall from space to Earth's surface. The remaining 1 to 2 percent of the meteorite consists of just over a dozen minerals that, for the most part, are exclusively formed in space. On top of that, the composition of the extraordinary space rock suggests that it must have formed under brutally hot temperatures, well over 1,800 degrees Fahrenheit (1,000 degrees Celsius), the researchers said. [Fallen Stars: A Gallery of Famous Meteorites] The team examined the meteorite with powerful microscopes and identified uakitite as tiny grains no bigger than 5 micrometers about 25 times smaller than a fine grain of sand. The new mineral is so tiny that the scientists couldn't piece together all its physical properties. But they were able to determine that the mineral is structurally similar to two other space-borne minerals, carlsbergite and osbornite. These minerals are referred to as mononitrides because they contain a single nitrogen atom in their chemical formula. Mononitrides are very hard and are sometimes used as abrasive material, said Victor Sharygin, a geologist at the Institute of Geology and Mineralogy in Novosibirsk, Russia, and lead researcher on the discovery of uakitite. A few news publications have reported that uakitite is harder than a diamond, but Sharygin said that's not the case. In fact, he said, "the hardness of uakitite was not measured directly," because the grains were too small. Instead, the scientists estimated the hardness using synthetically produced vanadium nitride, a mineral that closely resembles uakitite. The researchers predicted that uakitite is between 9 and 10 on the Mohs hardness scale, meaning it's very hard a diamond falls at 10. But Sharygin explained that the Mohs scale has a wide range between 9 and 10. All mononitrides fall at this end of the scale, he said, "but their hardness is lower than [that of] a diamond." Sharygin said that synthetic boron nitride, another mineral produced at insanely hot temperatures, is likely the only mineral that comes close to being as hard as a diamond. Original article on Live Science. The modern-day Pygmy people of Flores, an island in Indonesia, are not related to the ancient "hobbits" who lived there tens of thousands of years earlier, a new study finds. Note the illustration of the modern Pygmy village (left), a modern Rampasasa Pygmy wearing the traditional head covering and clothing next to the face of a Homo floresiensis reconstruction (middle) and pygmy elephants (right) playing in the Liang Bua cave where the H. floresiensis fossils were discovered. Ever since finding the remains of the "hobbits" a small-statured species of ancient human on the island of Flores in Indonesia, scientists have wondered whether the modern Pygmy people who now call the island home were in any way related to them. Now, researchers have found that the answer is "no," the modern-day Pygmies on Flores are not related to the ancient hobbits, who go by the scientific name Homo floresiensis. While the genomes of modern Pygmy people on Flores have DNA sequences from other ancient human relatives the Denisovans and the Neanderthals they have "no evidence for gene flow with other archaic hominins," the researchers wrote in the study. [Image Gallery: A Real-Life Hobbit - Homo Floresiensis] Scientists initially discovered the remains of H. floresiensis in 2003 in the Liang Bua cave on Flores, according to a 2004 study in the journal Nature. The modern-day Pygmy people live just a stone's throw away, and consider the cave a sacred place, said study lead researcher Serena Tucci, a postdoctoral fellow of evolutionary biology at Princeton University. "The cave is a really important part of their life," Tucci told Live Science. "They believe the spirits of their ancestors live in the cave. It's not uncommon to findofferings of food in the cave. It's part of their culture." The Liang Bua cave, where remains of the so-called hobbits, scientifically known as Homo floresiensis, were discovered. This cave is a few miles from the village of Rampasasa, where modern-day pygmies live. (Image credit: Gludhug A. Purnomo; Pradiptajati Kusuma) After working and getting to know the Pygmies on Flores, the scientists began a collaboration with them eventually sequencing and analyzing the genomes of 32 adults in an effort to learn more about the Pygmies' genetic history. (To communicate, the scientists worked with two translators one to translate from English to Indonesian, and another to translate from Indonesian to the local language, Tucci noted.) However, because scientists haven't been able to isolate DNA found in the ancient bones of H. floresiensis, they weren't able to simply look for chunks of "hobbit" DNA in the modern Pygmies. Rather, they used a new technique developed in the lab of study co-senior researcher Joshua Akey, a Princeton University professor of ecology and evolutionary biology that looked for any archaic genetic sequences in the Pygmies' DNA that the researchers couldn't assign to a known ancient human species. The researchers found that the Flores Pygmies harbor about 0.8 percent Denisovan ancestry and have a little less Neanderthal ancestry than other East Asians do, Tucci said. But there were no chromosomal segments in the Pygmies' genomes that had unknown origins, meaning that the Pygmies don't appear to have any H. floresiensis in their ancestry, the researchers said. "Genetically, they're not so different from other populations in that part of the world," study co-senior researcher Richard Green, an associate professor of biomolecular engineering at the University of California, Santa Cruz, said in a statement. This finding adds "texture" to our understanding of ancient human species, said Mark Collard, chair of human evolutionary studies and a professor of archaeology at Simon Fraser University in Canada who wasn't involved with the study. "We seem to be looking at a scenario in which a population of modern humans left Africa around 100,000 to 70,000 years ago and began the process of colonizing Europe and Asia," Collard told Live Science in an email. But while these humans encountered and interbred with the Neanderthals and Denisovans, they did not mate with the hobbits, he said. [Photos: Earliest Known Human Fossils Discovered] "This implies that the migrating modern humans did not recognize the hobbits as potential mates and likely simply replaced them through direct or indirect competition," Collard said. Big and small The hobbits were much shorter than today's Pygmies. While H. floresiensis stood an average of 3 feet 5 inches (1.1 meters), Flores Pygmies are about 4 feet 9 inches (1.45 m) tall. It's possible that both groups became small due to the so-called island effect when certain animals evolve to be smaller over time (possibly because there is less to eat on an island, so it's advantageous to be small) and other animals evolve to be larger (perhaps because of the lack of predators), Tucci said. For instance, Flores once had dwarf elephants, and the island still supports giant rats (Papagomys armandvillei). A modern Indonesian is about 5 feet 2 inches (1.6 meters), a modern Pygmy living on the island of Flores is about 4 feet 10 inches (1.5 m) and Homo floresiensis stood about 3 feet 5 inches (1.0 m), the average height of an American 4-year-old child. (Image credit: Courtesy of Serena Tucci/Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University) The Pygmies' height does seem to be the result of this short-stature advantage. For example, the research team found that the Pygmies had a high prevalence of genetic variants associated with short height. In effect, this means that the Pygmies didn't become short because of genes from an archaic hominin. Instead, they likely shrank over time because of selective pressuresin their island environment. "It means that these gene variants were present in a common ancestor of Europeans and the Flores Pygmies," Green said. "They became short by selection acting on this standing variation already present in the population." Perhaps both the hobbits and the Flores Pygmies experienced "island dwarfing" due to the selective pressures on the island, the researchers said. "[But] I'm less convinced by this argument," Collard said. "Paleoanthropologists used to think that the hobbits are descendants of the large-bodied hominin species called Homo erectus, but recent work has challenged that hypothesis and suggested, instead, that the hobbits are the descendants of one of the small-bodied early hominin species," Collard said. "If the latter hypothesis is correct, then we may not be looking at a case of island dwarfing when it comes to the hobbits, at least not with respect to stature." The study was published online Aug. 2 in the journal Science. The researchers plan to return to Flores to share the results with the Pygmies who live there, Tucci said. "They were very excited about participating in the research," she said. "We are now working hard to organize a new expedition to bring the results back." Original article on Live Science. Four scientists made the case Aug. 1 to a panel of senators that Congress should continue to fund NASA's search for life beyond Earth. Only one of those scientists was affiliated directly with NASA, and the hearing touched on a broader range of scientific priorities for the agency and how to balance those with a limited budget. After opening statements, the hearing began with subcommittee chair Sen. Ted Cruz asking the panel flat out why we should search for life on other worlds. "I believe it's one of the big questions of all of humanity. This is how great nations make a mark it's by what they do for their citizens but also how they move history forward," Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator for the Science Mission Directorate at NASA, said. "This will be one of those questions, if answered, that will be remembered forever, because it will be a leap in not only understanding more about nature but a leap in understanding ourselves at a level we've never had in the past." [9 Strange, Scientific Excuses for Why We Haven't Found Aliens Yet] Other panelists echoed the emphasis on symbolism and inspiration rather than science directly. Sara Seager, a planetary scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, pointed out that most of the current senior researchers came of age during the moon landings. "Today, the equivalent of that is the search for life, and that public search and when we do discover it will inspire that next generation to go into technology," she said. But she was also careful to point to more-tangible benefits that could come from searching for life, regardless of whether we ever find it. She didn't promise specific technologies, but asserted that the scientific research would inevitably lead to benefits not yet expected. "It takes a ton of pure science research to come up with anything practical, things you could never invent if you set out to find something practical," Seager said, pointing to GPS technology, which began as a way to track satellites and was only later used for ground navigation, as an example. That emphasis on spin-off technology was a clear theme in the hearing, with senators pushing the scientists to explain how searching for life on other worlds could benefit humans on Earth. Meanwhile, the scientists offered an economic justification for the search as well as an intellectual one. "When we try to do things that are really hard, like we did at the time of Apollo, when you push yourself to answer the really tough questions, that's when you really push technology forward," Ellen Stofan, director of the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum and former chief scientist at NASA, said. "I would argue that when you push technology forward, you push your society forward, you push the economy forward." The panel also tried to convince the senators that the United States, specifically, is in a position to tackle the search for life and to welcome that search. "Thanks to decades of NASA spacecraft missions, we know how to take the next steps in the search for life at Europa, Enceladus and of course Mars, and eventually Titan," Stofan said. Seager quoted a passage by John Adams in which he expressed belief in life on other worlds long before science could prove such worlds existed. "Although we don't have evidence for life beyond Earth, we are the first generation with the capability to find it," Seager said, describing how the new Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite and the much-delayed James Webb Space Telescope will work together to identify planets around small, faint M dwarf stars. [NASA's New Planet Hunter Begins Its Search for Alien Worlds] Even admitting that such technology was still in the works, Seager emphasized that NASA is on track to develop those tools and shouldn't be distracted from that effort. She was talking about technologies meant to help scientists find what she called "a true Earth twin," a planet with a bright sun and an environment like our own. While most of the hearing's conversation focused on microbial life, the discussion did touch briefly on technologically advanced civilizations beyond our solar system. Senator Gary Peters of Michigan referenced the theoretical possibility of billion-year-old civilizations and asked whether we are even searching for life in the right way. Stofan elegantly directed the conversation back to exoplanet science and surveying our own neighborhood first. And, of course, the James Webb Space Telescope showed up in the discussion, with senators expressing the usual horror at the instrument's cost overruns and launch delays. The scientists all made the case, however, that the telescope was worth it. Email Meghan Bartels at mbartels@space.comor follow her @meghanbartels. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com. If you've ever stood in the totality of a solar eclipse, you've seen something astonishing: the full width of the moon's dark shadow blocking out the sun, perfectly encircled by the dim, wispy rays of the sun's corona. And if you've also stood outside during a lunar eclipse, you might know that the effect is somewhat less dramatic. As Earth's shadow falls on the moon, it quickly swallows the smaller orbiting rock. The effect of the moon glowing bloody red with Earth's refracted twilight is beautiful, but the effect doesn't fully convey the scale of the astronomical phenomenon at work in the same in-your-face way as happens during a solar eclipse. The moon, much smaller than Earth's shadow, never shows the whole thing on its surface. Australian amateur astronomer Tom Harradine took an impressive stab at solving that problem with a composite image posted to his personal Facebook page originally covered by Gizmodo and shared with Live Science. By carefully arranging several different photos taken during the July 27 lunar eclipse, the longest of the 21st Century, he revealed the full scale of the Earth's shadow in space. The effect is remarkably precise; the circular shadow that emerges in Harradine's image is 2.61 times the size of the moon in the image. That's true in real life. (Image credit: Tom Harradine) Astute eclipse-followers might remember that the moon doesn't actually spiral through Earth's shadow in the way it appears to in this image. Instead, this eclipse was so long in part because the moon passed straight through the center of the Earth's shadow, spending a long time in the darkness after entering on one end and leaving on the other. Harradine's composite image is thus a bit of an illusion, the result of not only compositing images but also carefully rotating them to fit. Still, the effect works because, in aligning each rotated image in the sequence according to the visible curvature of Earth's shadow, the combined moons form a full Earth umbra (shadow). The visible shadow is from one straight traverse of the moon, but it's more than enough in the way of raw material to create Harradine's stunning, educational result. Originally published on Live Science. Brock Meister, a 22-year-old from Plymouth, Indiana, sustained an "internal decapitation" injury during a car crash in January. Above, an X-ray of Meister's head and neck after he had surgery to place a skull plate, rods and spinal screws in the area to stabilize the injury. A young man in Indiana who beat brain cancer as a teen has defied the odds yet again by surviving an often-fatal injury called internal decapitation. The man, 22-year-old Brock Meister from Plymouth, Indiana, was in a serious car crash in January, during which his car hit an ice patch and flipped over. Meister's head smashed into his car window, causing him to be "internally decapitated," according to a blog post by Beacon Health System, the parent company of the hospital where Meister was treated. Internal decapitation means that the ligaments that attach a person's skull to their spine are severed. (The word "decapitation" is a bit of a misnomer, because the head is still attached to the body.) Brock Meister undergoing physical therapy. (Image credit: Courtesy of Beacon Health System) It's rare for doctors to see this injury in patients, in part because most patients with it die instantly or on the way to the hospital, Beacon Health System said. [27 Oddest Medical Cases] The injury is so serious, because when the ligaments in this area are severed, the head might move around more than it should, leading to damage in the lower brain stem, a vital area that controls breathing, Dr. Toba Niazi, a pediatric neurosurgeon at Nicklaus Children's Hospital in Miami, told Live Science in a 2016 interview. (Niazi was not involved in Meister's case.) Fortunately, one of Meister's friends held him down after the accident so Meister wouldn't try to stand up. When paramedics arrived at the scene, they worked to carefully to stabilize Meister and move him from the car to a stretcher so he could be transported. Meister was taken to Memorial Hospital of South Bend in Indiana. He was only the second patient ever brought to this hospital with internal decapitation, Beacon Health System said. Meister had surgery to place a skull plate, rods and spinal screws in his neck to stabilize the injury. Then, he needed to undergo rehabilitation therapy as well as wear a neck brace for months after the injury. Now, Meister still has some difficulties moving his right arm, along with pain in his lower extremities, and he continues to receive physical therapy. "It will take some time for the body to heal, and that can be a frustrating and painful process," said Dr. Kashif Shaikh, the Beacon Medical Group neurosurgeon who treated Meister. "But he is very young, has a great attitude, and he looks better and better each time I see him." Meister's mother, Jenna, said, "I truly know God was there that night [of the crash] and saved my child our boy is a miracle." Original article on Live Science. The Case Against Impeaching Trump By Alan Dershowitz Hot Books. 150 pp. $21.99 --- In the past year, three books have made the case that President Trump has committed offenses so dire that he might constitutionally be impeached and removed from office. The authors differ in how they approach the question: Allan J. Lichtman ("The Case for Impeachment") tackles it head-on; Laurence Tribe and Joshua Matz ("To End a Presidency") build a case against the president but caution against moving too hastily; Cass Sunstein ("Impeachment: A Citizen's Guide") weighs a range of hypotheticals but fastidiously refrains from mentioning Trump's name. Now comes Alan Dershowitz with his book "The Case Against Impeaching Trump." From the title, the reasonable reader might expect the former law professor - whose television appearances defending the president, or at least criticizing his detractors, have become increasingly unavoidable - to present a sustained response to the arguments of his fellow authors. This is true for roughly the first 30 pages. The rest of the 150-page book is bulked out by copies of Dershowitz's op-eds and columns, transcripts of his various television appearances, and - strangest of all - a series of his tweets. The result is a strange jumble that is less a legal argument against impeaching Trump and more a scrapbook of what Dershowitz has been up to for the past year. Dershowitz has lightly edited his short writings in the interest of linking them together into a volume. He refers to them here as "essays," which is something of an overstatement: Most are no more than two or three pages in length. (By my count, only one of the 28 pieces, in addition to the introduction, appears to have been written originally for this book.) Relatively few of them are about impeachment per se, and some have nothing to do with the Russia investigation at all. One, first published as a Wall Street Journal op-ed, was written in response to Trump's comments on the violence in Charlottesville. Some chapters involve reflections on evergreen topics - Dershowitz's desire for a nonpartisan congressional commission to investigate election interference, for example, and his belief that civil libertarians (except him) have sold out their ideals because they want to bring down the president. But others are so closely pegged to developments that were in the news when Dershowitz first penned them that they make for odd reading in the summer of 2018. In one piece, originally written in July 2017, Dershowitz points to the overturning of Sheldon Silver's corruption conviction to argue against "an extraordinarily broad definition of corruption capable of being expanded to fit nearly everything Trump has done." But Silver, former speaker of the New York State Assembly, was found guilty again on the same set of charges in May. This isn't necessarily fatal to Dershowitz's argument, but it's a glaring omission. To the extent that the body of the book speaks to any coherent theme, Dershowitz expresses consistent concern over alleged overreach on the part of the special counsel's office, as well as what he sees as a loss of civility in American political discourse. These two concerns often bleed into one another. A chapter on why Dershowitz distrusts allegations of Trump's "corrupt motive" in dismissing FBI director James Comey - something prosecutors would need to show in bringing an obstruction case - somehow transforms into a list of angry emails he has received for his defense of the president. The overall impression is that Dershowitz understands his own martyrdom (yes, there is mention of Martha's Vineyard, where, Dershowitz has argued, his friends now snub him) as a proxy for the supposed injustices of the Mueller investigation. But "McCarthyism," which Dershowitz likes to invoke, is a long way from the social opprobrium he claims to experience. Some of the writings Dershowitz includes speak to his theory that the president cannot obstruct justice solely by exercising powers within his constitutional authority. (So firing Comey could not in itself constitute obstruction, for example; firing Comey in exchange for a bribe could.) His is certainly a minority position, though it could be brought within the realm of reasonable disagreement by writers more careful and nuanced than Dershowitz. The same is true of the arguments set forth in the book's opening essay on impeachment. The Constitution mandates that a president may be impeached only for "high Crimes and Misdemeanors" - but what exactly does that mean? The vast majority of scholars and jurists who have tackled the topic have argued that while a criminal act may be an impeachable offense, an impeachable offense need not be a crime. Dershowitz takes the opposite approach, which, in combination with his limited reading of the obstruction statutes, has the effect of severely constraining the universe of offenses for which Trump could be removed from office. To Dershowitz's credit, he recognizes the bizarre outcomes his position would generate: Even if a hypothetical president chose to stand by while Vladimir Putin reclaimed Alaska as Russian territory, Dershowitz argues, that president could not be impeached. (Compare this with the constitutional scholar Charles Black, who in 1974 defined "high crimes and misdemeanors" as offenses that "corrupt or subvert the political and governmental process" and that are "plainly wrong in themselves to a person of honor." Handing over Alaska would seem to fall into this category.) What if the House were to impeach and the Senate to convict a president for an offense that was not itself a crime? In that case, Dershowitz argues, the Supreme Court would be constitutionally empowered to overturn the impeachment. Most scholars have rejected this argument on the grounds of absurdity; the exception is the scholar of impeachment Raoul Berger, whose detailed study of the matter is a far better introduction to the constitutional question than Dershowitz's glib treatment. The president, of course, is not going to read Berger's study of impeachment anytime soon. What he has done instead is tweet an endorsement of Dershowitz's "new and very important book ... which I would encourage all people with Trump Derangement Syndrome to read!" What is there to be said about the fact that the president of the United States is providing free advertising for a book that argues against his removal from the White House? What guidance, if any, can or should the Constitution provide at the point when the mismatch between man and office becomes so obvious as to be grotesque? There are serious questions to be asked about how to understand the relationship between Trump and the founding documents of this country, but Dershowitz is not serious about answering them. --- Jurecic is the managing editor of Lawfare. The Billionaire Raj: A Journey Through India's New Gilded Age By James Crabtree Tim Duggan. 408 pp. $28 --- India is shining, rising, thriving and, finally, arriving. In the decades after its economic liberalization in 1991, the narrative of boundless Indian growth became a global mantra. From Davos panels to magazine covers, the technology- and services-fueled boom in the world's largest democracy turned India into capitalism's wildest frontier. In his new book, "The Billionaire Raj," the Financial Times' former Mumbai correspondent James Crabtree provides an unsettling portrait of India's go-go 2000s. Across these pages, there are beachfront mansions, private yachts, imported supermodels and so many spectacular weddings. But instead of a raucous celebration of liberalization, Crabtree offers an exploration of the overnight ascent and dubious finances of India's new billionaire class. Raising cantilevered skyscrapers over slums and building fortunes on graft and kickbacks, the executives profiled in the book operate with the unobstructed swagger of robber barons. Crabtree's Indian story is a cautionary tale of globalization's excesses and the consequences for one of the world's most unequal societies. "The Billionaire Raj" - referencing the word once used to describe India's colonial masters - is also a portrait of a fragile democracy where the lines between politics and business have blurred to dangerous extremes. The India of today is led by a generation of "Bollygarchs" reveling in the pleasures and possibilities of rampant cronyism, financing campaigns, and even assuming political office. Crabtree's tale opens with a chase scene straight out of the "Fast and Furious" films. An Aston Martin crashes and skids off one of South Mumbai's busiest roadways, with its driver swept up by an accompanying motorcade and rushed behind the gates of Mumbai's most iconic private residence, a skyscraper palace glittering above the slums below. The car at the center of the crash, worth far more than most Mumbaikars would accumulate over several lifetimes, disappears, and the identity of the driver is never resolved. Stories of scams, scandals and erased crimes follow. The Trump administration's alleged excesses pale in comparison with the unchecked power of India's new tycoons, enmeshed in and protected by layers of political and economic influence. The foreign correspondent's memoir of an adventurous, exotic posting has become a kind of publishing standard. Awed by the drama of modern India, Crabtree joins tycoons on private jets, attends lavish parties and is charmed by the eloquent elites at the forefront of South Asia's gilded age. These chapters sometimes read a bit like repurposed articles and strung-together profiles. While Crabtree's book occasionally suffers from abrupt shifts in focus, it offers an excellent survey of India's economic and political transformation. In crisp language designed for a general reader, "The Billionaire Raj" provides an overview of just how India became the world's most coveted market after its independence from British rule. Gandhi's austere anti-colonial movement to shun materialism gave way to Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru's socialist, secular vision of a highly regulated market. The decades of stagnation and political crises that followed under Congress party rule opened the doors to the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), a pro-business Hindu nationalist party that found a way to combine the electoral power of majoritarian populism with the mantra of red-tape-burning deregulation welcomed by the country's business elite. For the international reader, whereas the 2000s featured celebratory tomes on the possibility and promise of "India shining," this past decade has inspired a darker library of the reality behind the gloss. Katherine Boo's "Behind the Beautiful Forevers," Rana Dasgupta's "Capital" and, in fiction, Aravind Adiga's Booker Prize-winning novel "The White Tiger" reveal the more pernicious forces of greed at play. In some of Crabtree's strongest reporting, he zooms in on the cultural dimension of that transformation, focusing on how capitalism and communalism were braided together to fuel Prime Minister Narendra Modi's historic victory in 2014 over the establishment Congress party. To students of President Trump, the cult of personality and social media savvy employed by Modi's supporters should seem eerily familiar. Modi arrived in New Delhi with a promise to clean up the country's rampant corruption, but as Crabtree writes, the results have been mixed at best. The cronyism, nepotism and excesses of India's billionaire class have continued, with newer dynasties joining the ranks of this small and powerful elite. Weak state institutions, crumbling regulations and a highly adaptive strategy for circumventing laws have left many of the government's chronic limitations in place, despite Modi's soaring rhetoric. Instead of extending opportunities across classes, where the BJP has been more successful is in forming a "thick identity" of Hindu supremacy. Anti-Muslim violence and fervent nationalism have boomed under BJP rule and ensured political spoils in a society where religion remains a potent force. In a book as ambitious as "The Billionaire Raj," there are bound to be omissions. There is too little attention paid to caste, gender and the environmental degradation facing many of India's teeming cities, and the narration is sometimes too narrowly confined to the chandelier-strewn ballrooms of the country's new palaces. Crabtree suggests that the only solution to the excesses of this gilded age rests in the promise of a progressive era. Despite his reservations about the BJP's Hindu nationalist impulse, Crabtree remains cautiously optimistic for India's future - with a demanding list of caveats: the strengthening of banking and financial regulations, an East Asian model of manufacturing-driven growth, and drastically needed investment in health care and education. Crabtree argues that with the passing of the current gilded age into a Roosevelt-style progressive era, India could take its rightful place in the story of great Asian transformations. Whether this is even remotely possible is dealt with in the classic journalistic exit strategy akin to the elusive "only time will tell." But the author's first-hand journey into the dizzying heights and distressing recesses of Indian capitalism is a worthy addition to modern India's story. It is a coming of age more complex and uncertain than globalization's loudest cheerleaders once suggested. For now, India's current rulers, its native-born billionaire raj, look set to maintain their reign. --- Qureshi is a writer and radio journalist. He lived in New Delhi from 2015 to 2017. The Perfect Weapon: War, Sabotage, and Fear in the Cyber Age By David E. Sanger Crown. 357 pp. $28 --- Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats does not pull his punches. In a recent congressional hearing, while most of the media was preoccupied with the latest Mueller indictments and the disastrous Helsinki summit, Coats issued a stark warning. Russian cyberattacks on U.S. democracy are continuing, he said - and we are doing little to counter them. Drawing an explicit comparison with the situation before the 9/11 terrorist attacks, he declared: "The warning lights are blinking red again." Coats' remarks probably came as little surprise to David E. Sanger, a national security correspondent for the New York Times. In his new book, "The Perfect Weapon," Sanger offers a panoramic view of the rapidly evolving world of cyber-conflict. He covers incidents from the covert U.S. cyber-campaign to sabotage Iran's nuclear program (a story we know about largely because of Sanger's diligent reporting) to Edward Snowden's epic heist of National Security Agency data. And yes, there's also plenty of background on Russia's active measures during the 2016 campaign. But there's also a wealth of gripping material on stories that have probably been missed by the broader public. Sanger reveals that Russian hackers penetrated super-secret Pentagon internal networks in 2008. How? By leaving USB drives spiked with malware lying around the public areas of a U.S. base in the Middle East. "Someone picked one up," Sanger writes, "and when they put the drive in a laptop connected to [a Pentagon-White House-intelligence network], the Russians were inside." (The Defense Department ultimately responded by sealing the USB ports on all of its computers with super glue.) Then-Deputy Defense Secretary William Lynn called it "the most significant breach of military computers ever." The Chinese get points for sheer subtlety. In 2010, Beijing hackers broke into a Google server that contained a database of orders to the company from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court. The Chinese knew precisely what they were doing: By accessing the FISA orders, they could tell which of their spies in the United States was on the radar of the FBI. In 2008, the Justice Department informed presidential candidate Barack Obama that the Chinese had penetrated his campaign's computers, apparently hoping to collect intelligence on his personality and future policies. Unlike the Russians in 2016, though, they kept the information for themselves. And then there are the North Koreans, who, as Sanger notes, have devoted a significant portion of their gross domestic product to the development of a highly effective cyber-army - giving them powerful capabilities completely out of proportion to their tiny economy. The investment has clearly paid off. In 2016, their hackers broke into the central bank of Bangladesh, making off with $81 million. That was well short of the $1 billion they were hoping for. Even so, as Sanger notes, "if it had been a physical bank heist, it would have been considered one of the largest and most brilliant in modern times." It all adds up to a persuasive argument for the truth of the book's title. Cyberthreats are so effective, in part, because they come in so many forms: One expert breaks them down into "vandals, burglars, thugs, spies, and saboteurs." Cyberwarriors can steal cash or sensitive information, surveil their enemies from a comfortable distance, blacken reputations, tamper with real-world machinery, or troll their opponents into silence. And they can do all this under the cover of anonymity. Attribution - the problem of figuring out who is behind that attack on your server or your bank account - remains one of the thorniest issues for defenders. When the movie studio Sony Pictures was devastated by hackers in 2014 after producing a film satirizing North Korea, the FBI immediately had good reason to suspect Pyongyang of orchestrating the attack. "But as President Obama's aides knew, suspecting was one thing. Proving it was another." Sanger says the intelligence community ultimately obtained the evidence it was looking for. The U.S. government hasn't publicly revealed what it knows - presumably because it doesn't want to betray its capabilities to the North Koreans. You'd think, after all this, that we would have learned our lesson. Yet the most disturbing theme of Sanger's book is the degree to which policymakers and the public remain oblivious to the threat. Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta's willingness to click on a fake Google message - actually a spear phishing attack from Russian military intelligence - shows that even well-informed people are soft targets. Our profound dependence on cybertechnology makes us all the more vulnerable, yet the overall level of U.S. cybersecurity, in both the private and the public domains, remains pathetic. Again and again, in Sanger's account, the United States experiences cybersecurity failures on a colossal scale. Take the catastrophic attack by the Chinese on the Office of Personnel Management that was discovered in 2015. The hack compromised a huge database containing a wealth of personal detail on some 22 million Americans, including those who had filed security clearances with the U.S. government, giving the Chinese valuable information on U.S intelligence operations. Yet the response was lackluster. The Obama administration never blamed Beijing. The biggest comedy of errors, though, involves Putin's assault on the democratic process in 2016. Though Obama did ultimately impose some sanctions and expel Russian diplomats, those moves seem to have had little effect. That the Russians are apparently continuing the same campaign today, as Coats has said, clearly owes a great deal to Obama's failure to retaliate decisively. (Some of his advisers suggested publicizing the details of Putin's overseas assets, for example, but this option was rejected.) Yet President Trump has now been in office for a year and a half, and he has shown little inclination to make up for Obama's mistakes. With Trump's blessing, Republicans in Congress have just refused to allocate additional funds to bolster the security of our electoral infrastructure ahead of the midterms. And The Washington Post recently reported that the National Security Agency and the Pentagon's Cyber Command have decided to join forces to prevent possible election tampering - despite the notable absence of any corresponding directive from the White House. And this is the main message that Sanger is trying to get across with his book: Our country is a big, fat, juicy cyber-target for our enemies. Yet we seem determined to avoid changing our collective ways. When will we finally wake up? The Race to Save the Romanovs: The Truth Behind the Secret Plans to Rescue the Russian Imperial Family By Helen Rappaport St. Martin's. 372 pp. $28.99 --- By the time he abdicated the Russian throne in March 1917, Czar Nicholas II was a pariah. There was his disastrous war with Japan in 1904; the 1905 Bloody Sunday massacre, when Czarist troops shot down unarmed workers; years of pogroms; and the catastrophe of World War I. Relatives warned of impending disaster and whispered of a possible coup. And his wife, Empress Alexandra, had become the most hated woman in Russia. Her political interference, autocratic views and embrace of the notorious Rasputin had damaged the prestige of the Romanov dynasty at home; abroad, many Allied governments wrongly thought that she sympathized with her cousin Kaiser Wilhelm II. A man who couldn't say no to his wife, and a woman viewed as a criminal lunatic: No wonder, when revolution came, no one wanted anything to do with the Romanovs. Nicholas and Alexandra belonged to an extended network of ruling royal cousins, yet as Helen Rappaport points out in "The Race to Save the Romanovs," the idea of granting asylum to the former Russian imperial family sent collective shudders through palaces across Europe. The problems were obvious: how to get them out of revolutionary Russia, how to pay for their upkeep, and how to deal with the political and social baggage accompanying their exile. A deep dive into archives and obscure sources, Rappaport's book exposes the feckless and ultimately futile ideas to rescue the imprisoned Romanovs that surfaced between Nicholas' abdication and the family's murder in the summer of 1918. What she found is "a tale of intriguing personal family relationships; internal and international political rivalries and prejudices; the vagaries of geography and the weather, and the logistical difficulties created by them; and, at its most basic level, a story of plain bad timing." In unraveling her story, Rappaport examines the various players: Russian monarchists, King George V, Kaiser Wilhelm II, King Alfonso XIII of Spain, the Danish royal family and fumbling diplomats. The efforts by Nicholas's former subjects were the most ill-considered: a handful of haphazard plots to rescue the Romanovs led by bungling and possibly dishonest partisans who seemed more intent on laying their hands on any Czarist fortune than helping the prisoners. None worked together, and rivalries and inept planning led to nothing. Much of the book focuses on the action - and inaction - of King George V; indeed, one gets the sense that Rappaport's intent is to rehabilitate the man often blamed for refusing to grant sanctuary to his Russian cousins. She chronicles the well-known story: how the British government offered the Romanovs asylum, and how the king became increasingly worried that their presence would lead to demonstrations against his own throne. "From the first," his private secretary Lord Stamfordham confided, "the King has thought the presence of the Imperial Family (especially the Empress) in this country would raise all sorts of difficulties." He feared that the exiled Romanovs "would undoubtedly compromise" his position. George pestered the Foreign Office with letter after letter until it finally caved to royal pressure and let the invitation wither away. There is no doubt that Stamfordham exaggerated the possible political dangers; aside from a few isolated rallies and newspaper articles, there was no great groundswell of British public opinion against the idea of asylum. But paranoia there certainly was: Fearing a republican backlash, the king changed the name of his royal house from the Germanic Saxe-Coburg-Gotha to the solidly English Windsor in the summer of 1917. Although there are hints about some later mysterious plots possibly backed by the British in 1918, such efforts came to nothing. In the end even Rappaport has to agree that George "may have been a moral coward" in forcing his government to abandon asylum. Scattered attempts by Danish diplomats and overtures made too late by King Alfonso of Spain went nowhere; after the brutal execution of the imperial family, King George blamed his cousin Kaiser Wilhelm II, who, he asserted, might have saved them if he "had only lifted a finger on their behalf." This retrospective passing of the royal buck wasn't fair: Although Rappaport plays down the kaiser's efforts, Wilhelm did make several attempts to save the former ruling family - and at a time when, unlike George's, his country was at war with Russia. Even after signing the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk with Lenin, the kaiser continued negotiations on behalf of the empress and her daughters. Rather than blaming King George for forcing his government to withdraw asylum, Rappaport's finely researched and elegantly written book asserts that "responsibility should be more widely, and equally, apportioned." It's a fair point. "The Race to Save the Romanovs" ends by asserting that even had asylum come, the "Imperial Family almost certainly would have refused to leave Russia under any circumstances, preferring to die together in the country they loved." In fact, within days of his abdication, Nicholas and Alexandra were quietly sorting their belongings and packing in anticipation of an English exile that would never come, thanks to their mutual British cousin. --- King is the author of "The Fate of the Romanovs" and "Twilight of Empire: The Tragedy at Mayerling and the End of the Habsburgs." Successful Completion of $1.8 Million Placement ------------------------------------------------------------------- Table 1: Proposed Drilling ------------------------------------------------------------------- Prospect Drill Type No of Holes No of Metres ------------------------------------------------------------------- Kat Gap RC 12 1,200m Lady Lila RC 5 360m Lady Magdalene RC 5 500m ------------------------------------------------------------------- TOTAL 22 2,060m ------------------------------------------------------------------- Perth, Aug 3, 2018 AEST (ABN Newswire) - WA-focused gold exploration and development company Classic Minerals Limited ( ASX:CLZ ) ("Classic", or "the Company") is pleased to announce that it has successfully completed a Placement ("Placement") to raise $1.8 million before costs. The raising received significant demand from new domestic and international shareholders and was managed by leading Perth and Sydney-based stock broking firms.Highlights:- $1.8 million raised via Placement to institutional and sophisticated investors located in Australia at $0.0045 per share- Strong demand from new major domestic institutional and high net worth investors- Funds will be used to progress upcoming drilling program at the Forrestania Gold Project- Further review of Fraser Range Nickel-Copper-Cobalt project in light of the nearby discovery made by famed prospector, Mark Creasy1. INTRODUCTIONThe Placement leaves Classic well positioned to commence an aggressive exploration and resource delineation drill program at its Forrestania Gold Project ("FGP").Classic CEO Dean Goodwin said:Following the outstanding results of our last drilling program, including multiple high-grade gold hits at Kat Gap and Lady Magdalene, we are very excited to be heading back to the FGP to undertake an aggressive follow up drill program. As you will see, this drill program is focussed more so on our 100% Kat Gap project which delivered outstanding results during the previous 2 drill campaigns and is shaping up to become a prolific shallow high-grade gold deposit with so much remaining upside potential. We have only tested 140m of 3.5km of potential strike along this granite-greenstone contact and intersected a new zone of mineralisation in the granite.We are also very happy to be continuing the extensional drilling at Lady Magdalene and Lady Lila which remain flagship assets in our FGP portfolio.The sustained exploration work at FGP would not be possible without the support and belief of our new shareholders and existing shareholders. We are pleased to note the participation of three leading stockbroking firms from Perth and Sydney.2. PLACEMENTThe Placement comprises the issue of 400 million fully paid ordinary shares ("Placement Shares") at an issue price of $0.0045 to institutional and sophisticated investors in Australia and internationally, raising $1.8 million (before costs).The Placement will raise approximately A$1.8m via the issue of 400m New Shares pursuant to the Company's existing placement capacity under ASX Listing Rules 7.1 and Resolution 15 from the Company's General Meeting dated 27 June 2018 The issue price of $0.0045 represented a 10% discount to the last closing price of $0.005 on Monday 30 July 2018. Placement Shares will rank equally with existing fully paid ordinary shares. Settlement of the Placement is expected to be completed before Friday, 10 August 2018.3. USE OF FUNDS - DRILLING PROGRAMFunds raised from the Placement will be used to fund exploration activities at the FGP and for general working capital.Following the encouraging results (see ASX announcement dated 24 July 2018) from its last program at Kat Gap and Lady Magdalene, the Company will be targeting these areas again with additional drilling. In addition, Classic will also be returning to Lady Lila to continue efforts to locate high grade mineralisation that has been missed by previous explorers.The Company plans to undertake the following drilling activities during August 2018:Lady Lila is a BIF hosted gold deposit that is similar in geological characteristics to Bounty and Blue Vein (held by KDR) which are prolific, high grade gold deposits in the region. Previous drilling by Classic at Lady Lila confirmed the existence of a thick, steep east dipping ore zone warranting additional follow up. The upcoming drill program (5 RC holes for 360m total) will focus on extending the mineralisation along strike and at depth.Kat Gap contains a shallow unmined gold deposit discovered in the 1990s, which was the subject of resource estimations and scoping study by Sons of Gwalia in 2003. High grade RC drill intercepts include 15 m @ 15.1 g/t Au from 39 m depth and 6 m @ 19.1 g/t from 17 m depth. The open-ended deposit lies within a 5 km long geochemical gold anomaly that has seen very little drill testing, and after the previous drill program just completed, Classic sees great potential for the discovery of a substantial shallow high-grade gold deposit within the Kat Gap project area and the upcoming program will be testing for extensions of the high grade system. Recent drill holes FKGRC006 - FKGRC010 (inclusive), FKGRC012, FKGRC013 and FKGRC015 all tested the main contact lode with hole FKGRC008 drilled close to the Proterozoic dyke. Better results from these holes included: 8m @ 19.05 g/t Au from 32m including 4m @ 28.80 g/t Au from 32m in FKGRC008; 12m @ 7.52 g/t Au from 39m including 2m @ 20.20 g/t Au from 48m in FKGRC006; 12m @ 5.39 g/t Au from 30m including 1m @ 20.80 g/t Au from 30m in FKGRC012 and 4m @ 9.53 g/t Au from 70m including 1m @ 26.60 g/t Au from 72m in FKGRC014.As part of the August drilling campaign, Classic has 12 holes planned at Kat Gap for a total of 1,200m.Lady Magdalene is a large, modestly graded deposit which appears to host high-grade, cross-cutting gold lodes within existing drill lines that are 100-200m apart (see ASX announcement dated 22 March 2018). Previous diamond and RC drilling (see ASX announcement dated 24 July 2018) successfully confirmed the existence of such lodes and the planned drilling will further test the extent of strike, dip and grade of these high grade cross-cutting lodes. During the most recent drill campaign at Lady Magdalene, Classic drilled 10 RC holes for 938m on two north-south oriented traverses, as opposed to all historical drilling which is east-west, in an attempt to locate east-west striking Lady Ada style high-grade cross-cutting quartz veins. Of the 10 holes completed, 3 intersected quartz veining in a potential east-west orientation. These holes returned high-grade results including: 1m @ 13.40 g/t Au from 64m in MARC058; 1m @ 9.36 g/t Au from 44m in MARC059 and 4m @ 3.90 g/t Au from 46m in MARC056. The 3 new cross-cutting quartz veins initially appear narrow but have the potential to thicken rapidly over short strike lengths similar to Lady Ada.As part of the August drilling campaign, Classic has 5 holes planned at Lady Magdalene for a total of 500m.4. INDICATIVE TIMETABLEEvent: Announcement of the Results of the Placement and Voluntary Trading Halt liftedDate / Time (AWST): Friday, 3 August 2018Event: Settlement of new shares issued under the PlacementDate / Time (AWST): Friday, 10 August 2018Event: Allotment and Trading of new shares issued under the PlacementDate / Time (AWST): Monday, 13 August 20181. The above timetable is indicative only and subject to change. Classic, in conjunction with the Lead Manager (Argonaut Securities Pty Ltd), reserves the right to amend any or all of these events, dates and times subject to the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth), the ASX Listing Rules and other applicable laws.5. RENEWED INTEREST IN THE FRASER RANGE PROJECTThe company intends to do an extensive review of its dataset for its Fraser Range project in light of the recent Nickel-Copper-Cobalt discovery made by renowned explorer Mark Creasy. Industry speculation is that the discovery could be at least one-third the size of the 2012 Nova-Bollinger discovery, acquired by IGO in its $1.8 billion acquisition in 2015 of Mark Bennett's Sirius Resources. The map below shows the proximity of Classics tenement to Creasy's new Nickel-Copper-Cobalt discovery. As can be seen, Classics tenement is within 8km of the new Creasy group discovery: (see link below)Classic's previous results at Fraser Range include.- Securing 28km strike across 84km2 on the Fraser-Albany complex belt- Located 40km North-East of Sirius' Nova -Bollinger Discovery- Shallow Drilling at Mammoth prospect intersected thick zones of mixed sulphides, Including visible nickel and copper sulphides- Disseminated, Blebby, Vein and Semi-Massive styles of sulphides.- Thickness up to 24m down-hole- Close to surface - from 25m to ~100m so far includingo FRRC040; 2m @1.025 Ni from 106mo FRRC039; 1m @ 1.4% Cu from 42m; ando FRRC036: 5m @ 0.1 co from 10m- DHEM and ground loop work has helped determine strike, depth extension and potential feeder structures at Mammoth- Conductor now drilled to over 240m in length and open- Mineralisation is sub vertical and plunges to the north eastThe Fraser Range tenement also includes the Alpha Copper Deposit Located 3km South West of Mammoth Ni discovery Including:- 1m of 1.95% Cu from 104m (FRRC001) (Discovery Hole)- 1m of 1.04% Cu from 27m (FRRC016) Within 5m at 0.47% Cu- 5m thick zone of 0.57% Cu (FRRC013)- 1m of 1.27% Cu from 36m (FRRC024) Within 2m at 0.795 Cu- Thicker zones from 2m-8m of copper mineralisation from 0.2% Cu to 0.70%- Copper occurs throughout the deposit and is open at North and South.In addition, Classic recently identified 300m of continuous surface cobalt mineralisation at its Rubys Reward prospect, 160km east-southeast of Kambalda in the Fraser Range region of Western Australia (see ASX announcement dated 18 April 2018).The assay results up to 0.14% cobalt were discovered following a review of the company's historical reports and data sets.A closed spaced geochemical sampling program will be undertaken at Rubys Reward in the near term. Classic will also undertake geological mapping and reconnaissance. Classic is excited about the potential of the Fraser Range tenement and the renewed exploration interest in the region.6. ABOUT THE FORRESTANIA GOLD PROJECTThe FGP Tenements (excluding Kat Gap and Lady Lila) are registered in the name of Reed Exploration Pty Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of ASX listed Hannans Ltd ( ASX:HNR ). Classic has acquired 80% of the gold rights on the FGP Tenements from a third party, whilst Hannans has maintained its 20% interest in the gold rights. For the avoidance of doubt Classic Ltd owns a 100% interest in non-gold rights on the Kat Gap and Lady Lila Tenements including but not limited to nickel, lithium and other metals.The FGP contains an existing Mineral Resource of 5.3 Mt at 1.39 g/t for 240,000 ounces of gold, classified and reported in accordance with the JORC Code (2012), with a recent Scoping Study (see ASX Announcement released 2nd May 2017) suggesting both the technical and financial viability of the project. The current post-mining Mineral Resource for Lady Ada, Lady Magdalene and Lady Lila is tabulated in link below.Additional technical detail on the Mineral Resource estimation is provided, further in the text below and in the JORC Table 1 as attached to ASX announcements dated 14th March 2017 and 21st March 2017.To view tables and figures, please visit:About Classic Minerals Limited Classic Minerals Limited (ASX:CLZ) is an exploration and development company focused on gold deposits in Western Australia's famous Goldfields region. In March 2017, Classic acquired the Forrestania Gold Project, with seven tenements stretching across 450km2. Strategically located in a very prospective region, the FGP is an underexplored package surrounded by multimillion ounce deposits such as Bounty (2Moz) and Yilgarn Star (1.5Moz). In early 1995, Brett Kavanaugh, a rising star in conservative legal circles, wrestled with one of the most inflammatory questions of the Clinton presidency: How did White House deputy counsel Vincent Foster die? It was an early career challenge for the man now nominated by President Donald Trump to the Supreme Court. And it spurred him to advocate for an aggressive investigation related to the president, something he now cautions against. Kavanaugh's revised thinking, as reflected in a 2009 law journal article, is that civil and criminal investigations "take the President's focus away from his or her responsibilities to the people." His argument has been cited as a factor that appealed to Trump as he faced a Supreme Court vacancy while dealing with an ongoing special counsel's investigation into Russian election interference. In early 1995, however, Kavanaugh offered his boss, independent counsel Kenneth Starr, the legal rationale for expanding his investigation of the Arkansas financial dealings of President Bill Clinton and his wife, Hillary, to include the Foster death, according to a memo he wrote on March 24, 1995. Kavanaugh, then 30, argued that unsupported allegations that Foster may have been murdered gave Starr the right to probe the matter more deeply. Foster's death had already been the focus of two investigations, both concluding that Foster committed suicide. "We are currently investigating Vincent Foster's death to determine, among other things, whether he was murdered in violation of federal criminal law," Kavanaugh wrote to Starr and six other officials in a memo offering legal justification for the probe. "[I]t necessarily follows that we must have the authority to fully investigate Foster's death." The four-page memo, obtained by The Washington Post from the Library of Congress, sheds light on how Kavanaugh's thinking evolved on the legal rights of sitting presidents. His handling of Starr's Foster probe helped elevate Kavanaugh's career, but the lengthy inquiry enabled conspiracy theories to flourish and add to the tumult of the Clinton presidency. Once the Foster matter was closed, Starr's office continued to investigate the Clintons and eventually veered into the president's relationship with White House intern Monica Lewinsky. Kavanaugh pursued the Foster inquiry at Starr's request, even though he and others in the office soon came to believe that Foster killed himself, according to two people who worked with him at the time. Ultimately, Kavanaugh's report in October 1997 affirmed earlier findings of suicide. The Foster component of Starr's investigation cost about $2 million and lasted three years. Foster's family expressed outrage that the Starr investigation enabled conspiracy theorists to "allow the American people to entertain any thought that the president of the United States somehow had complicity in Vince's death," Sheila Foster Anthony, Foster's sister, said the day the findings were released. She did not respond to a request for comment. Kavanaugh told CNN in a 1999 appearance that Starr's office probed "a lot conspiracy theories, a lot of controversy. He took the time and made the effort to turn over every stone, to find the truth." Kavanaugh declined to comment for this story. Starr told The Post in an interview he felt strongly that his office had a responsibility to resolve the Foster matter once and for all. The office was under intense pressure by conservative writers and members of Congress who wanted an independent body to explore the murder possibility. There was also debate within Starr's team about apparent oversights in the prior investigations. "We cannot have - especially since I was charged with the investigation - an unsettled set of conspiracy theories that go unaddressed," Starr said. "I viewed it as a matter of accountability, and also just for the good of the country." Kavanaugh's inquiry did not put the matter to rest, however. Questions about Foster's death continue to circulate today. During the 2016 presidential campaign, Trump himself called Foster's death "very fishy" during an interview with The Washington Post. "I will say there are people who continue to bring it up because they think it was absolutely a murder," the candidate said. --- Vincent Foster and Bill Clinton were childhood friends in Hope, Arkansas. Foster also became a friend and confidant of Hillary Clinton when they worked together at Little Rock's Rose Law Firm. With Bill Clinton's 1992 election, the couple persuaded Foster to take the job of White House deputy counsel. Foster quickly became disillusioned by Washington's partisan warfare and immersed in White House controversies, such as the firing of the travel office staff. On July 20, 1993, on what appeared to be a routine day, Foster left the White House and drove to Fort Marcy Park in Fairfax County, Virginia, neatly folding his coat on the passenger seat of his family Honda. He walked to a spot near a historic cannon, put the barrel of a .38-caliber revolver in his mouth and pulled the trigger, according to multiple investigations. Foster's death sparked intrigue. He had left no suicide note, but days after his death, a White House official found a torn-up piece of paper in which Foster listed things that were troubling him. "Here ruining people is considered sport," he wrote. U.S. Park Police officers were blocked when they went to the White House to retrieve his papers, one of the events that later spurred calls for a independent counsel. Law enforcement authorities soon concluded that Foster died by his own hand. To them, the evidence was clear: He was depressed. He held an old revolver in his hand, which was covered in gunshot residue. On Aug. 10, 1993, the Department of Justice, FBI and Park Police jointly announced their conclusion that the death was a suicide. Conservative talk show hosts and online activists branded the findings a sham. A theory surfaced that Foster knew too much about the Clintons' financial affairs, including a land deal in Arkansas known as Whitewater. Attorney General Janet Reno appointed Robert Fiske in January 1994 to independently examine Foster's death and other questions. His inquiry took five months, concluding that "Mr. Foster committed suicide at Fort Marcy Park." On the Senate floor, then-Sen. David Pryor, D-Ark., expressed relief that the matter was resolved. "I wonder what it would be like, Mr. President, had we kept on believing what some of the people on radio and television and in the news have stated," he said. But the investigation into the single gunshot wound was far from over. --- After graduating from Yale Law School and serving as a clerk for two federal judges, Kavanaugh took a fellowship at the Office of the Solicitor General of the United States, then held by Kenneth Starr. Later, Starr recruited Kavanaugh to his law firm, Kirkland & Ellis. But before Kavanaugh made a decision, Starr was named independent counsel and asked Kavanaugh to join him as associate counsel. Kavanaugh and his colleagues thought Starr's work would be over in a year or less, and Starr assigned him to the Foster matter. Mark Touhey, a prominent Washington lawyer who served as Starr's deputy, said Kavanaugh had all "the right credentials" and showed great promise, though he had much to learn about conducting an investigation. "Brett from the very beginning was somebody I could rely on, we could rely on, to dig in, get your hands dirty," he said. Touhey and a later Starr deputy, John Bates, now a U.S. District Court judge, both said Kavanaugh worked exhaustively, although he and some others in the office believed Foster had killed himself. "The conclusion was that Vince Foster had died from his own hand," Bates said. "There were a lot of outside forces, if you will, who were doubting it was a suicide, and the view was that we needed to do an extraordinary investigation . . . It took longer than it should have, probably." Starr told The Post that he urged Kavanaugh to pursue every lead and leave "no stone unturned." The office was also under pressure from the Clinton White House and its allies to stop investigating. They questioned Starr's jurisdiction to investigate Foster, saying the effort was only a ploy to dig more deeply into the Clintons. Kavanaugh's 1995 memo to Starr and others offered detailed reasoning for a fresh examination of Foster's death. Among the recipients was Samuel Dash, formerly the chief counsel to the Senate Watergate Committee, who was advising Starr's office. The Post located Kavanaugh's memo in Dash's papers. Kavanaugh argued that while Starr's appointment did not mention Foster, "we have received allegations that Mr. Foster's death [was] related to President and Mrs. Clinton's involvement" with financial investments Starr was tasked to investigate. He cited two theories - the allegation that Foster was murdered or killed himself because he knew too much about the Clintons' finances. Kavanaugh's memo said the claims justified continuing an investigation to "determine whether his death is in fact related to the subject matter of the appointment." Kavanaugh immersed himself in Foster's final days. He viewed photographs of the body, went with federal investigators to interview witnesses and walked the park grounds with a forensic expert. The bullet that ended Foster's life was never found. Among those pressing Starr's office was Christopher Ruddy, a journalist who wrote for conservative publications. Ruddy urged Starr's staff to label the Foster examination a "homicide investigation," according to files at the National Archives. In the fall of 1997, Ruddy claimed a coverup in his book, "The Strange Death of Vincent Foster." He criticized almost everyone involved, including Starr's office, claiming it never resolved the case. "With the 'investigations' of the Park Police, the FBI, Fiske, and Starr, this tiny square of land may yet become the symbol of a coverup conducted by people who have, with the help of the press, placed themselves above the law," Ruddy wrote. Ruddy, now the CEO of Newsmax and an informal adviser to Trump, declined to comment. --- Starr issued the report on Foster's death on Oct. 10, 1997, more than four years later. Its conclusion: Foster put a gun in his mouth and killed himself. A suicide expert quoted in the report said he had "100 percent degree of medical certainty" that the death was a suicide. Kavanaugh soon resigned from Starr's office and joined Kirkland & Ellis. But at Starr's request, he returned to the independent counsel's office to support an effort in the Supreme Court to obtain notes that Foster's lawyer made of a conversation with him just days before Foster's death. In his only Supreme Court appearance, Kavanaugh argued that the attorney-client privilege disappeared after Foster's death. The court disagreed, voting 6-to-3 against Kavanaugh and Starr. Kavanaugh stayed on to help Starr's investigation into Clinton's relationship with Lewinsky, which came to light in part because of Clinton's testimony in a civil suit brought by Paula Jones, who accused Clinton of harassment. Kavanaugh wrote a section of Starr's report dealing with the grounds for impeaching Clinton. After leaving Starr's office and serving in the George W. Bush White House, Kavanaugh was nominated by Bush for a seat on the U.S. Court of Appeals for District of Columbia Circuit. In his 2006 Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, he was asked by Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., to reflect on Starr's investigation. Kavanaugh testified that in retrospect, "it was probably a mistake" for Starr to take on additional lines of inquiry beyond his original mandate to look into the Clintons' Whitewater land deal and a small Arkansas savings and loan. He did not specifically mention the Foster matter. Kavanaugh went further in a 2009 article in the Minnesota Law Review. He said that Starr operated under a "badly flawed" law, "particularly to the extent to which it allowed civil suits against presidents to proceed while the President is in office." Kavanaugh, who served as Bush's associate counsel and staff secretary, said he came to believe that presidents are too busy to deal with civil lawsuits and criminal investigations, suggesting such matters be deferred until they leave office. He stressed that a malevolent president could still be impeached. Kavanaugh was proud of his work on the Foster case. "What's important in these investigations, however, is that the American people, at the end of the day, have confidence that the person was dogged at getting at the truth; that the person was not restricted by a narrow mandate . . . but the person really went after it hard. And that's what Judge Starr did in his investigation," he said on CNN in 1999. Starr said he is ultimately responsible for the length of the investigation. "That point has to be laid at my feet, not at Brett Kavanaugh's feet," Starr said. --- The Washington Post's Alice Crites contributed to this article. Strong results pave way to develop a diversified supply to the lithium-ion battery market Major Breakthrough to Process Third-Party Graphite Using Proprietary EcoGraf Technology Perth, Aug 3, 2018 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Kibaran Resources Limited (Kibaran or the Company) ( ASX:KNL ) is pleased to announce strong results from processing of third-party natural flake graphite sourced from Europe, Asia, the Americas, and Africa into spherical battery grade graphite using its proprietary eco-friendly EcoGraf purification process.Highlights- Kibaran's proprietary EcoGraf non-hydrofluoric purification process successfully applied to natural flake graphite product samples sourced from producers in Europe, Asia, the Americas and Africa to manufacture spherical battery grade graphite- Carbon purity of 99.95% delivered by EcoGraf from all samples- The results support the opportunity for Kibaran to establish a diversified battery graphite supply in addition to the development of its 60,000tpa Epanko Graphite Project and associated downstream processing in Tanzania- Demand among battery groups for ethically-produced raw materials is increasing and is expected to result in greater demand for eco-friendly products such as that produced using EcoGrafThe results are commercially important to Kibaran because they affirm the opportunity for the Company to develop a second revenue-generating arm in addition to its planned Epanko Graphite Project and associated downstream processing operation in Tanzania.This would entail a processing plant utilising EcoGraf being built in Europe to upgrade natural flake graphite from other miners to a product meeting battery grade specification for supply to anode manufacturers.All the samples evaluated during this test work program responded positively to the process, consistently delivering a graphite carbon content of at least 99.95% and demonstrating the effectiveness of the eco-friendly purification process across a range of feedstock sources.Existing feedstock to produce battery (spherical) graphite is typically of -100 mesh sizing, with 94-96% carbon content, which is readily available as a fines product from a range of existing graphite producing facilities.The development of EcoGraf battery (spherical) graphite products is timely given growing awareness for 'Ethical' material sourcing from customers and major battery groups. This includes the treatment of waste water, disposal of residues and storage of tailings.EcoGraf has met the specifications of the leading battery groups and is being recognised as an eco-friendly and competitive alternative to existing battery graphite supply.As previously reported (refer ASX Announcement 4 July 2018) Kibaran has been undertaking a pilot plant test work program in Germany and evaluating the performance of various existing supplies of natural flake graphite products during the EcoGraf purification process and the influence of regional geology on the production of spherical graphite for lithium-ion battery applications.The previous work included the identification, procurement and standardisation undertaken to achieve a common flake distribution and carbon grade. Based on the positive results, the Company has commenced a comprehensive assessment of the product samples, with the results to be incorporated into planning for the proposed expansion of the pilot plant and commercialisation.The pilot plant testing of global natural flake graphite samples is being conducted in parallel with the Epanko graphite downstream optimisation program, that is nearing completion and will be reported shortly.To view figures, please visit:About Kibaran Resources Ltd Kibaran Resources Limited (ASX:KNL) is a resource company focused on fast-tracking development of its advanced Epanko Graphite Project into production. With major project development milestones achieved Epanko is rapidly moving forward to becoming a long-term stable supplier of premium quality large flake graphite for the growing graphite market. LYNCHBURG, Va. - A dam that was in danger of collapsing and flooding a significant portion of this city was deemed stable Friday after more than 150 people were evacuated, officials said. Engineers in Lynchburg said College Lake Dam was holding steady, and city officials said those who evacuated might be able to return to their homes Saturday after more storms pass. "We are pretty confident at this point that the dam is stable and safe," said Timothy Mitchell, director of the city water agency. Inspectors will maintain a round-the-clock watch on the structure in coming days, Mitchell said, and workers on Saturday will clear storm debris from a spillway to take pressure off the dam. A decision on when to allow residents to return to their homes will be made after that, Mitchell said. Water from days of heavy rain topped the structure near the University of Lynchburg on Friday, triggering the city's emergency response plan and the late-night evacuation of houses in creekside neighborhoods. The 1930s-era structure is on a state list of high-hazard dams, but inspectors found little significant structural damage and no water coming through the base of the earthen barrier. Officials said they already were considering proposals to update or replace the structure, which they said does not meet modern safety standards. The dam is owned by the city, and College Lake, the body of water behind it, is owned by the University of Lynchburg. On Friday morning, city spokeswoman LuAnn Hunt said the area had received between 5 and 7 inches of rain since Thursday evening. She said the last major inspection of the dam was in 2014, when a flood plan was created for the area. The city planned to further stabilize the dam by opening a sluice gate to reduce the water level. Residents downstream on Blackwater Creek might see "slightly increased stream levels," city officials said. James Long was at work at a pipe manufacturing plant in Lynchburg on Thursday when word came that everyone should leave the area. Just before 11 p.m., he headed to his home on Hill Street, also in the flood zone, where his wife and six children were sleeping. But before he could get there, the family was awakened by police officers at the front door, advising them to get out of the neighborhood as soon as possible. Officers directed them to a bus waiting down the street, but Mary Wieberg decided to wait for her husband's return in their only vehicle. "We appreciated the offer, but when it's your family on the line, you want it in your own hand," Long said. By midnight, the family was setting up in the gymnasium of E.C. Glass High School, a short distance from - but well uphill of - the suspect dam. On Friday, they spent the long rainy afternoon in the echoing gym, waiting for the all-clear. "It's not very comfortable," said Wieberg, who had left her medications and a breathing apparatus behind, "but my kids are safe, and that's all I care about." WASHINGTON - The family of Bijan Ghaisar, the 25-year-old accountant shot dead by two U.S. Park Police officers in November, filed suit against the U.S. government Friday seeking $25 million in damages and an end to the eight-month wall of silence erected by federal authorities investigating the case. The suit outlines not only the pursuit and fatal shooting of Ghaisar in a residential neighborhood in Fairfax County, Virginia, but also alleges insensitive treatment of his family by the Park Police in the hours and days immediately after the event. Park Police did not notify Ghaisar's parents of the shooting for more than five hours after it had happened, and they would not allow the Ghaisars to spend more than 10 minutes per hour with their mortally wounded son, the suit alleges. The family says when a doctor arrived to examine Ghaisar for organ donation, the Park Police denied him access, declaring the brain-dead man "under arrest" and his body "evidence." The Park Police have refused to identify the officers involved in the shooting, and they are currently assigned to administrative duties, Sgt. James Dingeldein said. The federal government is sued as the entity that controls the Park Police. Dingeldein said in a statement that Park Police were aware of the lawsuit but had been advised not to comment on pending litigation. After three days of investigation, the Park Police handed the case over to the FBI, which also has declined to discuss the case. Virtually all of the details of the case have been provided by Fairfax County police, which had an officer join a Park Police cruiser in a pursuit of Ghaisar. The Fairfax officer's in-car video camera was on, ultimately capturing the entire shooting episode at Fort Hunt Road and Alexandria Avenue in the Fort Hunt neighborhood. It was released in January over the Justice Department's objections. At a Friday news conference, Roy Austin Jr., a lawyer for the Ghaisar family, called the lack of information provided by authorities "cruel and unheard of." "The family simply wants justice for the killing of their son and brother," Austin said. The lawsuit was filed in federal court in Alexandria. The investigation into the shooting, however, is being overseen by the U.S. attorney in Washington in conjunction with the civil rights division of the Justice Department. The Justice Department has not explained why the U.S. attorney in Alexandria was recused from the case. The suit provides a detailed chronology of events before and after the shooting, except for the names of the officers who fired the shots. Ghaisar lived in Tysons Corner, Virginia, was single with no children and no criminal record. He worked for his father's accounting firm after graduating from Virginia Commonwealth University and Langley High School. Ghaisar was scheduled to meet his father, James, at the family's McLean, Virginia home for dinner at 8 p.m. Nov. 17. But at 7:30 p.m., he was headed away from McLean, south on the George Washington Memorial Parkway in Alexandria City when he apparently stopped his green Jeep Grand Cherokee in a lane of traffic. The Jeep was hit from behind by a Toyota Corolla driven by an Uber driver with a passenger in the back. A report of the incident obtained by The Washington Post shows that the Uber driver called 911 to report having been in a collision and that the other driver had pulled away without stopping or speaking to him. An alert was broadcast for Ghaisar's Jeep, with a "BIJAN" vanity license plate. Several minutes later, south of Alexandria, Ghaisar's Jeep was spotted by a Park Police officer, who began pursuing it with lights and siren on. A Fairfax County officer saw the two vehicles travel past on the parkway and joined the pursuit. Ghaisar soon stopped in the right lane of traffic, where there is no shoulder on the parkway. The Park Police cruiser also stopped, and an officer ran out of the car and pointed a gun at Ghaisar through the driver's window, the video released by Fairfax police shows. Ghaisar drove off, and the Park Police officer slammed the side of Ghaisar's car with his fist as it pulled away. The chase proceeded at 57 mph, the Park Police officer radioed to Fairfax dispatchers, slightly above the 50-mph speed limit there. Ghaisar pulled off the parkway at West Boulevard Drive and stopped. The Fairfax video shows the Park Police officers running to the Jeep again with guns drawn, and again Ghaisar pulls away. Ghaisar's Jeep, the Park Police car and the Fairfax police car then sped on Alexandria Avenue, now off the parkway in Fairfax County. Park Police have jurisdiction in much of Northern Virginia under state law, not just the parks. The Ghaisars' lawsuit, filed by attorneys Austin and Thomas G. Connolly, notes that Park Police are not authorized to pursue a car into another jurisdiction unless a felony is involved, and the collision caused little or no damage. It's not known whether the Park Police officers knew that or knew Ghaisar's role in the collision. Ghaisar's Jeep stopped at Alexandria Avenue and Fort Hunt Road. The video shows the Park Police car being parked directly in front of the Jeep to keep the driver from fleeing again. The two officers jump out of their car with guns drawn. When Ghaisar's Jeep starts to slowly roll around the Park Police car to the right, the video shows the officers opening fire, eventually firing nine shots in three bursts, ending with Ghaisar's Jeep on its side in a ditch at the intersection. Ghaisar's family said he hated guns and was not armed. They said he was shot four times in the head and once in the wrist. He survived for 10 days after the shooting, and for 10 hours even after he was taken off a respirator, before dying on Nov. 27. The family told The Post that Park Police would not allow them to touch Ghaisar during the three days he was guarded by that department's officers. "When you shoot and kill a person, you are shooting and killing an entire family and community," Negeen Ghaisar, Bijan's sister, said during Friday's news conference. "The United States Park Police murdered my family as I knew it when they killed my brother, and I need them to understand the gravity of that," she added. The lawsuit also notes a lack of information from any federal source from the start. It was while sitting in a hospital waiting area 12 hours after the shooting that the Ghaisars learned that the Park Police had fired the shots. Park Police Chief Robert MacLean met with the family two days after the shooting to offer his condolences but no information about what had happened. MacLean has not spoken publicly about the incident. More recently, the FBI returned to the Fort Hunt Road intersection in an apparent re-creation seven months after the shooting. The Ghaisars learned of that from social media. "Everything about this case," the suit states, "from the chase, to the shooting, to the subsequent treatment of the family, has been cruel." Andrea Rosenthal has a son at a university. She's a supportive and experienced mom, no more than that. She rejects any suggestion that she's a helicopter parent, a negative label for people who go too far to help their kids. But the mother from Fairfax County, Virginia, also knows a great deal about higher education, and thinks college parents should not cut themselves off from what is happening. The advice she has been giving online to parents at the university her son attends is so good I want to share it, because it shows how parents can help their kids without overdoing it. About 3 million people will start at U.S. colleges in the fall, one of the great challenges of their lives. Rosenthal's suggestions are geared toward students majoring in STEM - science, technology, engineering and math. I never took such subjects in college except for a celestial navigation course that essentially required no work. Rosenthal recommends that students: 1. "Avoid drinking and video games. Those two habits combined with being away from home can be very distracting." 2. "Don't underestimate the time it takes to do well in math. There is a lot of self-teaching. The professor goes over the concept and presents a simple example, but the real learning comes when the student has to figure out the homework. . . . Do the problem again and again until it is really understood so when the test comes and there is a variation in the problem, it is immediately recognized." 3. "Do EVERY homework problem, even the ungraded ones." 4. "Realize that many exams are too long to complete in the time given. Get stuck on a question and you're sunk. Practice doing the easy ones first, then going back to the harder ones." 5. "Go to office hours for every professor, early on, whether you need help or not. When you DO need help, it's not the first time going. . . . It's a great way to develop relationships, so when an internship requires a recommendation, you have someone to ask." 6. "Don't be so fast to drop a class at the first bombed exam. Students panic. Go to office hours and understand why the grade was low. . . . One bad test doesn't mean you will not pass the class." 7. "Don't miss the withdrawal date if there really is a disaster." 8. "Don't buy into 'Cs get degrees.' They do NOT get internships. Some Cs are fine, but aim higher." 9. "Remember that the semester is finite. Sometimes you have to skip something to focus on studies." 10. "Be prepared for week 4 of school. Professors tend to give their first exams at the same time." 11. "Eat well, sleep, wash hands, wipe down doorknobs. Dorms are a germ factory." And for parents she recommends: "Don't fall for this kind of thinking: 'He's an adult now. You shouldn't be involved in that. Fly little birdie! He can learn only if he fails.' Nonsense. There are plenty of ways to learn besides failing. We all rely on each other. I remind my husband of things all the time, and he reminds me. . . . If you want to remind, give advice, even nag a little, don't let anyone else make you feel you shouldn't. Trust your instincts." My view is: Shunning video games and drinking may be too hard. But her recommendation to parents is very wise, even if controversial. It may sound as though she is defending helicopter parenting, but she doesn't think so and neither do I. A 2007 study of 9,162 students by the National Survey of Student Engagement found that those whose parents were often in contact and frequently intervened on their behalf were more satisfied with their college experience and gained more in areas such as writing and critical thinking than other students. We ought to consider redefining helicopter parenting. As Rosenthal says, we all need help sometimes. What's wrong with giving somebody, particularly your own child, a hand? Nearly a year after a gunman in Las Vegas carried out the deadliest mass shooting in modern American history, police say they have concluded their investigation without being able to determine what motivated the massacre. The Las Vegas police announced this on Friday, just two months before the first anniversary of the Oct. 1, 2017, attack that killed 58 people and injured hundreds more at a country music festival on the Las Vegas Strip. Officials said Stephen Paddock fired from his 32nd-floor suite at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino for more than 10 minutes before turning one of his guns on himself. In a 181-page report released Friday, police said that while searching for a possible motivation they scoured Paddock's financial history, explored his movements and actions leading up to the shooting and spoke with his girlfriend, ex-wife, relatives and doctor. "What we have not been able to definitively answer is why Stephen Paddock committed this act," Sheriff Joe Lombardo said at a news briefing before the report was made public. The report includes details about Paddock's financial status, noting that it declined before the shooting. It also states that many people described him "as a narcissist [who] only cared about himself." His girlfriend, who was interviewed by investigators, said Paddock did not talk about gun control or express any racial bias. She also said that he did not discuss politics besides expressing that he was unhappy with the Obama administration "and was happy when President Trump was elected," believing he would "do something to stop illegal immigration," the report stated. No other reference to politics is made in the police report. She also noted that during a September 2017 stay in the Mandalay Bay, Paddock was "constantly looking out the windows of the room" overlooking another concert venue. While investigators were unable to determine a motive, they did find "certain indicators of intent shown by Paddock," the report concluded. Among those are his reservations for a hotel in Chicago overlooking the Lollapalooza music festival and a reservation during another open-air music festival in downtown Las Vegas. Paddock's Internet search history showed he had explored open-air concert venues and Las Vegas SWAT tactics. Lombardo described the report as final, though he later referred to it as a "living document" and said new information could arise. He also reiterated that police believe Paddock acted alone and said that they do not anticipate charging anyone else. The FBI, which took the lead in collecting evidence and provided other support to the investigation, also plans to issue its own report discussing Paddock's psychopathology, Lombardo said. A spokeswoman for the bureau said that report is set to be released later this year. Police have said they did not know what motivated the gunman. Authorities have said that he spent considerable time preparing for the attack, amassing weapons and ammunition, and sought "to thwart the eventual law enforcement investigation" that would follow. While many rampage attackers leave behind explanations for their violence, Paddock left behind no manifesto or suicide note, authorities said. This lack of an answer can gnaw at those who survive such violence, said Megan Greene, who survived the Las Vegas attack. "Not knowing is probably the worst part of all of it," Greene said in an interview earlier this year. "The big question is just why, and not having that answer just keeps you in this constant loop of questioning all of the actions of that day." Before releasing the report Friday, the Las Vegas police also released waves of documents, video clips and audio files relating to the shooting in response to a lawsuit filed by media organizations. These materials have included body camera footage from officers who entered the gunman's hotel suite to find him dead, shocked accounts from police responding to the shooting and horrified stories from people who survived the carnage of the attack. Nearly a year later, the shooting continues to reverberate through the lives of those who survived and many others who were impacted. Part of that is playing out in legal proceedings, as MGM Resorts International, which owns the hotel, filed lawsuits against more than 1,000 survivors to argue that it should not face any liability for the attack. As part of the lawsuit, the company is arguing that the shooting should be considered a terrorist attack, which could bolster its case that a federal law passed after the 9/11 attacks could limit their liability. The Las Vegas police report issued on Friday said that investigators found "no evidence of radicalization or ideology to support any theory that Paddock supported or followed any hate group or any domestic or foreign terrorist organization." Lombardo, the sheriff, said he recognizes that determining whether the shooting was terrorism depends on what definition a person uses. He also added that he had come to his own conclusion. "I would personally call it a terrorist act," he said. HARARE, Zimbabwe -- Emmerson Mnangagwa of Zimbabwe's ruling party was declared the winner early Friday morning of the country's first elections since the fall of authoritarian leader Robert Mugabe. But the opposition, which has accused the ruling party of vote rigging, has vowed to protest the result. According to the election commission, Mnangagwa narrowly avoided a runoff, winning 50.8 percent of the vote. His opponent, Nelson Chamisa of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), outperformed Mnangagwa in urban areas, particularly the capital Harare, where he won 71 percent. The count took almost four days to announce. On Wednesday, opposition protests against the delays turned violent, with some small groups moving around downtown Harare, looting and vandalizing. The military opened fire on the unarmed protesters, killing at least six people and injuring more. It remained unclear whether Mnangagwa played any role in their deployment. Mnangagwa's election comes at a critical juncture for Zimbabwe. Mugabe led the country for 37 years, and as his rule became increasingly repressive, it was isolated from the international community and plunged into economic crisis. For most of Mugabe's years in power, Mnangagwa was his right-hand man. But as Zimbabwe's condition worsened and Mugabe's unpopular wife, Grace, seemed poised to take over from her nonagenarian husband, some in his party turned against him. Mnangagwa, with the support of the military, forced Mugabe to resign in November and assumed the presidency. "This is a new beginning," Mnangagwa tweeted shortly after his victory was announced. In simultaneous parliamentary elections, the ruling party, ZANU-PF, also won a commanding two-thirds majority, giving Mnangagwa a broad mandate to govern. He campaigned on a message of transformation despite being so closely associated with the only leader independent Zimbabwe has ever had. Much of the change he has promised is predicated on the international community's stamp of approval. Zimbabwe desperately needs foreign investment, and flawed elections in the past have led to sanctions and reprieve. The United States and the European Union have been clear that a credible election is their foremost condition for the lifting of sanctions on various Mugabe-era officials and their family members, as well as for backing a bailout for Zimbabwe from the International Monetary Fund. International observers have expressed concerns with various aspects of the election, including widespread reports of voter intimidation and failure in some cases to post results outside polling stations once counting was completed. Election observers noted that the delays in the announcement of the results could damage the election's credibility. As the results were announced early Friday, two opposition spokesmen took over the microphone and said that the MDC "totally rejected" what they called "fake" results. Chamisa, the MDC's candidate, had been assuring his supporters of victory for weeks. On Thursday, large numbers of police patrolled Harare's streets, which were eerily empty. Almost all businesses were closed. Police cordoned off a large area of downtown surrounding the opposition MDC's headquarters. Late in the day, they presented a warrant to MDC staffers and searched the building looking for laptops and weapons but did not confiscate any items. After the MDC openly disputed the election results, more tension and confrontation was expected Friday. Earlier on Thursday, Chamisa made his first appearance in public since the vote took place, visiting a hospital where those injured in Wednesday's violence were being treated. He vowed to contest any results that did not match with what his party had independently tabulated. On Wednesday, he had criticized the election commission's delay in announcing a winner, tweeting, "The strategy is meant to prepare Zim mentally to accept fake presidential results." KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia - Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met Friday with Malaysia's newly elected leader, trying to promote U.S.-style development led by private-sector investment at a time when the government is reconsidering Chinese-financed projects favored by the previous ruling coalition. Neither Pompeo nor Prime Minister Muhathir Mohamad made any public remarks as they shook hands at Muhathir's office, where Pompeo's aides said he intended to congratulate the prime minister on his coalition's victory. Malaysia is Pompeo's first stop in a three-day trip to Asia in which he plans to press for continued sanctions enforcement against North Korea and provide assurances that Washington still values its ties in the region after withdrawing from the Trans-Pacific Partnership free-trade agreement. In a speech in Washington, D.C., on Monday, he reiterated the argument often made by Rex Tillerson, his predecessor, that China offers countries a poor deal because it primary provides loans, while the United States gives a more sustainable alternative through direct aid and private investment. Pompeo is the first senior U.S. official to visit Malaysia since surprise election results in May brought an opposition government to power pledging to tackle corruption. The election unseated decades of rule for the National Front coalition, in what has been heralded as one of the few and unexpected democratic victories in Southeast Asia. Pompeo met with the prime minister, a 93-year-old fiery politician who once again is leading Malaysia after a 22-year tenure as its helm from 1981 to 2003. Mahathir led the opposition coalition that now governs Malaysia, partnering with politicians who were locked up under the government he had led previously. He ousted Najib Razak, once his protege, who Mahathir believed had become corrupt and had an unchecked hold on power. Najib is under investigation in connection with the disappearance of billions of dollars from the state investment fund. Although Mahathir has long been a critic of the United States and the West - he has said that he is in no hurry to meet President Donald Trump, labeling him volatile - analysts say that his return as Malaysia's prime minister will benefit the nation's relationship with the United States. Pompeo's visit will allow the United States "to strengthen its relationship with Malaysia, unencumbered by Najib's corruption," said Ian Storey, a senior fellow at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore. Pompeo planned to talk with Mahathir about the Trump administration's Indo-Pacific strategy, with its vision for an "open, transparent, rules-based region" that Pompeo outlined Monday in his speech. "Secretary Pompeo is arriving in Kuala Lumpur with 2018 in mind," said a senior State Department official traveling with Pompeo. "There's a long history in both countries. We have a comprehensive partnership with many areas of cooperation." Malaysia's new government takes a critical eye toward China's state-backed projects, and that provides the United States with an opportunity. Before his trip, Pompeo announced $113 million in direct government investment to the Asia-Pacific region focused on technology, energy and infrastructure. It is an answer to China's Belt and Road Initiative, which has provided billions in funding for infrastructure and other big-ticket projects throughout the region. The plan Pompeo announced will more than double the U.S. government's development finance capacity, which could be provided as loans to private companies in the region. Under Malaysia's former government, China signed agreements for several infrastructure projects, including a rail and a pipeline. A number of these Chinese-backed projects - $23 billion worth - have now been suspended, as Mahathir's government questions their value and tries to tackle Malaysia's fiscal woes related to the corruption scandal. Later on Friday, Pompeo will travel to Singapore for a meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Also attending will be North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho, leading to speculation that the two may hold a private bilateral meeting to discuss stalled negotiations over Pyongyang's nuclear program. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif also will be in Singapore to sign a cooperation agreement with ASEAN, but State Department officials have played down the potential for any sideline talks with Pompeo. LONDON - Donald Trump wants the world to know that he didn't keep Queen Elizabeth II waiting. She was the one who was late. Trump's recent trip to Britain was eventful to say the least. Brits marked the occasion with mass protests and flew a giant orange inflatable baby alongside Parliament. But it was Trump's walk with the queen at Windsor Castle that really caused a stir. "Did Donald Trump just WALK IN FRONT OF THE QUEEN?" asked one observer. Yes, was the answer. Amid the fury at the eclipse, reports that Trump kept the queen waiting to meet him also circulated as footage of the 92-year-old monarch checking her watch ahead of their meeting was shared online. "Oh dear, she just looked at her watch. The Queen does NOT like tardiness, wrote Twitter user Patricia Treble - @PatriciaTreble - on July 13. At the time, the Daily Mail accused Trump of breaking royal protocol by forcing the world's longest serving monarch to wait in the heat for him to show up. Protective Brits took to Twitter to denounce Trump's actions, after all, you don't mess with their queen. Addressing a rally in Pennsylvania Thursday, Trump called out the reports that he had kept the queen waiting as "fake, fake disgusting news" and stated that the meeting was a "beautiful visit and afternoon." Trump began: "People call it Britain, they call it Great Britain, they used to call it England, " a comment that was mocked by some for being rather obvious. "I was asked to have tea with the queen, who is incredible by the way, incredible." Trump said as those in the crowd clapped and cheered. "I had landed and I'm on the ground and I'm waiting with the king's and with the queen's guards - wonderful people. "I'm waiting! I was about 15 minutes early and I'm waiting with my wife and that's fine. Hey, it's the queen, right? We can wait. But I'm a little early. So, I then go up and meet the queen and she is fantastic. We then go up and we have tea. And I didn't know this - it was supposed to last 15 minutes but it lasted like an hour. Because we got along. And she liked our first lady and our first lady liked her. "Here was the story by the fake news: The president was 15 minutes late for the queen....Wrong! Despite Trump's denial of his lateness, some weren't convinced. "WAIT. @realdonaldtrump is saying it's fake news he kept the Queen waiting and it was HER who was late? OH WOW. WOW. Mate, we WATCHED HER STANDING STARING AT HER WATCH," tweeted one user. "Does he know the event was televised live and he left a 92 year old woman standing in the heat?" questioned another. "WE ALL SAW THE NEWS CLIPS. You were LATE!!!" wrote one angry observer - using all caps for dramatic effect. --- Video Embed Code Video: At a Aug. 2 rally in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., President Trump said he arrived early for his meeting with Britain's Queen Elizabeth II, calling reports that he was late "fake news."(The Washington Post) Embed code: CHICO, Calif. - A winning Powerball ticket that matched five out of the six numbers was sold in Chico, according to California Lottery officials. According to an email sent by the agency, the winning ticket is worth $4,927,915 and it was sold at the Dukes Cork N Bottle Shop at 2360 Esplanade. The ticket matched the numbers: 5-38-22-58-32, missing only the red Powerball number 26. The owner of Dukes Cork N Bottle Shop will receive $24,639 for selling the ticket at their store. Lottery officials do not know who the ticket buyer is, because no one has claimed the prize. Since no one matched all six numbers in the August 1 drawing, the prize amount for Saturday's Powerball draw will now be $203 million instead of $187 million. A few weeks ago, during a campaign rally in Montana, President Donald Trump was praising the effectiveness of his sloganeering when he made a quick, unfortunate detour. "Thousand points of light?" he quizzed the crowd, referring to the phrase George H.W. Bush popularized to evoke the power of voluntary service. "I never quite got that one. What the hell is that? Has anyone ever figured that one out?" The remarks earned quick rebukes from an older generation of Republican stalwarts, not merely for the lack of respect they showed toward the ailing 94-year-old former president but for the insult to America's sacrosanct tradition of volunteerism. Even the Rev. Jesse Jackson, who had sought the Democratic nomination to run against Bush for president in 1988, rushed to defend the "points of light" phrase, explaining that it represented "a thousand ways people could serve and share." Trump's comments might have stung, but they should not have come as a surprise. That's because, since the beginning of the 2016 campaign and during the first years of his presidency - a period when presidents have traditionally promoted personal service and charitable effort to unify the nation - such themes have been almost entirely absent from Trump's public rhetoric. If he hopes to "make America great again," he's made it clear that acts of service and sharing won't play much of a role. His silence reflects a broader one: In today's GOP, high-profile public commitments to volunteerism are out of fashion. At least since the Progressive Era, the defense of voluntary service, of private associational activity in all its varied forms, and of charity and philanthropy has been a key conservative trope. Figures from Herbert Hoover to Richard Nixon to George W. Bush celebrated volunteerism for its own sake, and as an alternative to tax-funded public welfare. Sure, some of these politicians used a mollifying dose of Tocqueville to mask the severity of their regressive policies; after all, private charitable efforts have never been adequate to address the nation's most pressing social ills. But for many conservative luminaries, this "voluntarism fantasy," as the Roosevelt Institute's Mike Konczal has termed it, was not simply a ruse. It reflected a consistent ideological commitment, one that led its proponents, from Teddy Roosevelt onward, to champion the essential place of charitable and voluntary efforts and to propose means of encouraging them. But you don't see a vigorous embrace of that attitude from leading GOP officeholders today. And Trump and his supporters don't seem to mind. Ronald Reagan's speech accepting the Republican presidential nomination in 1980 was a typical paean to civic involvement. It pledged to restore "the American spirit of voluntary service, of cooperation, of private and community initiative." Once in office, Reagan established a White House Office of Private Sector Initiatives to help do so. George H.W. Bush went beyond hymning the "thousand points of light" to oversee the establishment of the Commission on National and Community Service. His son defined himself as a "compassionate conservative" on the campaign trail, promising billions to help charities serve "the least, the last and the lost," and he sought to make good on that vow in the White House with the creation of the Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives. Through such pledges, these presidents drew into their orbit, if sometimes only at the edges, a corps of policy advisers and intellectuals publicly committed to the volunteerist project. Often, the rhetoric outpaced reality - money and manpower were not always available for the GOP volunteerism cause. The party's enthusiasm for civil society generally took a back seat to the conservative priorities of shrinking government, lowering taxes, deregulating industry and boosting the military. So even while Reagan celebratedthe American tradition of "neighbor helping neighbor," the budget cuts he championed slashed federal support for many nonprofits at a moment when demand for their services was dramatically increasing. Some prominent advocates of civil society dismissed George H.W. Bush's efforts to promote community service as "voluntarism lite" that asked little of citizens and committed few resources. And the billions that George W. Bushpromised to foster charitable and community initiatives never fully materialized. In June 2001, tax incentives that had targeted charitable giving were stripped from a trillion-dollar tax cut bill to make way for the repeal of the estate tax. Meanwhile, according to the deputy director of Bush's faith-based initiative, the project floundered because it never had more than a "minimal" commitment from the president or "snoring indifference" from the rest of the GOP, and so couldn't overcome "knee-jerk Democratic opposition." Yet even such disappointments now hold a certain retrospective allure. That's because these days, the Republican leadership does not seem committed even to a show of support for volunteerism. At a recent event at the American Enterprise Institute, Marvin Olasky, the Texas writer and academic who helped sell "compassionate conservatism" to George W. Bush, lamented that while the acolytes of the conservative Gingrich Revolution in the 1990s publicly underscored the importance of community empowerment through the strengthening of civil society, the tea party movement has shown little interest in those ideas. That's true: Right-wing political rhetoric has recently focused almost entirely on the rollback of governmental authority without signaling support for the voluntary action that, Reagan argued, would fill the gap. As Trump's Montana remarks suggest, his White House has doubled down on that neglect. "Trump is a complete outlier in American history," notes John Bridgeland, who served as director of the White House Domestic Policy Council under George W. Bush and wrote a book that traces how presidents have promoted America's volunteerist tradition. "In the first years of presidents on both sides of the aisle, there's been a long tradition of awakening the nation to the recognition that it is through their [private] actions and through civil society . . . that they have the opportunity to serve." This would be an especially good time to get that message out: After a post-9/11 spike, volunteering rates for adults have declined over the past decade, dropping by more than two percentage points, to 25.5 percent, from 2006 to 2015, according to a recent study by the Do Good Institute. If themes of service and sharing haven't made it into Trump's public rhetoric, his first two budget proposals showed how little regard he has for the presidential tradition of boosting them. For instance, he's twice proposed eliminating the Corporation for National and Community Service, which houses the agency that administers AmeriCorps, among other programs, and has favored slashing funding to federal departments and agencies that channel billions to the nation's nonprofits - from organizations that provide affordable housing to those that support arts education to those that promote conservation. True, Congress ignored many of these suggested cuts when crafting its own budget. But lawmakers' support for volunteerism has been largely defensive and remedial; few aggressive legislative champions of civil society have emerged in recent years. (One exception might be Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, who spearheaded the Social Capital Project to measure declines in social cohesion and associational life in the United States over the past few decades. Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., is another.) The devaluation of volunteerism was on display during the debates over the tax bill passed in December by the GOP-led Congress. Leaders of the nonprofit sector from both the left and the right mobilized an aggressive lobbying effort to persuade lawmakers to extend the charitable deduction to all taxpayers, not just to itemizers. But the campaign fizzled on Capitol Hill, and the final Tax Cuts and Jobs Act contained provisions, such as the doubling of the standard deduction, that reduced tax incentives to give and that some analysts predicted would lead to dramatic drops in charitable giving. So far, it's unclear if these dire forecasts will be borne out - though preliminary signs are not especially encouraging. A recent report from the Fundraising Effectiveness Project, for instance, estimated that giving was down 2.4 percent in the first quarter of 2018, compared with the same period last year. One could forgive nonprofit leaders if they seemed demoralized after the tax bill's passage. It also featured other provisions that highlighted the contempt with which many lawmakers regard some of the nonprofit sector's most prominent institutions. The law, for instance, targets elite private colleges and universities (some 30 schools that have more than $500,000 in endowment per student, including Harvard, Yale, Princeton and Amherst, are now subject to a tax on their endowment income) and imposes excess-compensation taxes on nonprofit executives. In the bill, right-wing economic populism seems to have been directed almost entirely toward nonprofit institutions. Nonprofit leaders attributed these indignities to the sector's lack of influence with the GOP. As Diana Aviv, then chief executive of one of the nation's largest charities, Feeding America, explained, "We clearly didn't have the clout." They also reflect the marginalization of conservative and libertarian intellectuals and policy advisers like Richard Cornuelle, William Schambra and Stephen Goldsmith, who, in the past, made the case for volunteerism in the public square. But the diminished status of volunteerism isn't just a function of changing power dynamics within conservative circles. It's also a result of forces altering the entire political spectrum. One is an increased spirit of partisanship that has infiltrated the nonprofit sector, as it has nearly every other realm of American life. The past half-century has witnessed what the political scientist Jeffrey Berry calls an "advocacy explosion," a massive proliferation of private, professionalized, Washington-based nonprofit organizations specifically designed to shape national policy; these groups, some research suggests, have increased polarization. In the 1960s and 1970s, a handful of progressive advocacy organizations developed, dedicated to protecting environmental resources and promoting the rights of consumers, women and minorities. These in turn inspired conservative policy groups; the ensuing decades have produced a philanthropically funded partisan arms race, with each side appropriating the other's organizational innovations, such as the establishment of separate institutional arms to handle lobbying. This has made it increasingly easy to regard the nonprofit sector as a realm in which to seek partisan advantage and to settle partisan scores. In the deliberations over the tax bill, for instance, Republicans advocated weakening the Johnson Amendment, which since 1954 has prohibited charities from engaging in direct electioneering. They did not succeed, but they are still pushing for this change. (It is no mystery why why this nonprofit issue, one championed by the Christian right, is the only one that the president has taken up with enthusiasm: He sees civil society as another battlefield in an all-encompassing partisan war.) For the right, that political tribalism has been amplified by a long-running tension between conservative celebration of individual voluntary action and ambivalence toward nonprofit institutions. The latter was stoked when nonprofits went through an intensive bout of professionalization, beginning in the 1960s, largely as a means of securing government grants and contracts; many of the Great Society programs, for instance, were implemented through nonprofits. This funding surge contributed to what Irving Kristol lamented as the rise of a "new class" of professionals, who, allied with the "upper levels of the government bureaucracy," were supposedly hostile to capitalism and favored a more expansive welfare state. Conservatives increasingly characterized nonprofits as merely another special interest group "feeding at the public trough," in the words of former Heritage Foundation president Edward Fuelner. Conservative resentment helps to explain the endowment income tax on elite universities and the excise taxes on nonprofit pay above $1 million. True, the impulse to suppress volunteerism that threatens one's political interests isn't new: Federalists and Jeffersonians battled over the public charters and funding of charitable institutions. More recently, the Nixon and Reagan administrations sought to "defund the left," in the words of conservative activist Richard Viguerie, by targeting federal support of progressively aligned nonprofits. But unlike in the past, that impulse is now no longer counterbalanced by public exhortations to other forms of volunteerism or charity. Politics in the nonprofit world isn't the only problem; another is the blurring of boundaries between the nonprofit and for-profit sectors. Over the past decade, charities, their financial backers and their political sponsors (Democrats as well as Republicans) have increasingly been drawn to social entrepreneurs who sought to harness the power of the market for philanthropic ends - whether through promoting microcredit or through incentivizing the production of low-cost drugs for the developing world. These philanthrocapitalists have done significant good. Yet in the past, the distinction between nonprofit and private efforts helped voluntary associations publicly articulate their civic purpose. Those dichotomies are now less clear - and that purpose is harder to defend. Indeed, when the market is considered the most effective philanthropic instrument, it's easy for the championing of the free-enterprise system to serve as a substitute for the vigorous promotion of civil society. Progressives might be tempted to welcome the right's waning public support for volunteerism; perhaps stripping away the mask reveals Ayn Rand's leer behind Tocqueville's smile. That's an understandable response, given the chasm that's opened between conservative rhetoric and action on the issue. But it's flawed for two related reasons. First, it's too absolute a dismissal of conservatism's genuine attachment to volunteerism and of the possibility for bipartisan policies that could nurture it. Support for civil society represents a promising point of overlap between the anti-statist localism of the right and the grass-roots community empowerment of the left. Second, it fails to see the real advantages of the current empty bully pulpit.Given the toxicity of the political discourse Trump generates, if he did frequently invoke service and sharing, those concepts might become tainted during his administration. The fact that volunteerism isn't closely aligned with the "make America great again" agenda creates the space for lower-profile if significant work across the aisle. In late July, for instance, a bipartisan group of lawmakers in the Houseintroduced the Everyday Philanthropist Act, which would allow for the creation of "flexible giving accounts," a pre-tax payroll deduction for employee giving. Trump didn't comment on it. So maybe it's not so terrible that the president seems to care so little for the American tradition of neighbor helping neighbor. "The good news is that there are extremely visible and unprecedentedly strong efforts to promote civil society," notes John Bridgeland; they just aren't breaking through to the chyron on CNN. He points to the Service Year Alliance, an organization on whose board he serves, which is seeking to make a year of community service a common expectation for Americans; its grand ambition is to grow national service opportunities to 1 million positions by the nation's 250th birthday on July 4, 2026. The group's advisory leadership council contains a mix of Republican and Democratic luminaries - Condoleezza Rice and Madeleine Albright, Robert Gates and Jack Lew. After Trump's election, Bridgeland believed that the cause of national service could help bridge the political divide, "bringing people together in common purpose." He reached out to the Trump White House but had no luck piquing its interest. Bridgeland hopes to fill 100,000 service positions in the United States by next year. "I see more energy than ever in the civic and nonprofit sectors," he insists. "What we are lacking today is political leadership." It's a testament to our strange civic moment that those two statements are not necessarily at odds. - - - Soskis is a research associate in the Center on Nonprofits and Philanthropy at the Urban Institute and a co-editor of HistPhil. Senate Democrats will begin meeting with Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh to press him privately on releasing his papers, a senior Democratic aide said Friday, after Democrats had boycotted these sit-downs for weeks amid a document dispute with Republicans. Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., and Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California, the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, had held off scheduling the traditional one-on-one sessions as they tussled with Republicans over releasing documents from Kavanaugh's voluminous paper trail, primarily from his time in the George W. Bush White House. But Schumer and Feinstein will start meeting with President Donald Trump's pick to succeed retired justice Anthony Kennedy after the Senate returns from its truncated recess Aug. 15, a senior Senate Democratic aide said. They will press Kavanaugh on releasing his papers from his tenure as Bush's staff secretary - which Republicans argue are irrelevant in assessing his fitness to be a justice - and "question him about their contents." "In addition to questioning Judge Kavanaugh on health care, women's freedom, presidential power and other issues, Senate Democrats intend to demand that he call for and support the release of all of his files from his time in the Bush White House," the aide said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to freely describe party strategy. "Democrats will urge Judge Kavanaugh to ask the National Archives and President Bush to adhere to the same standard that was met for Justice [Elena] Kagan's confirmation." Republicans have agreed to release only papers from Kavanaugh's time as associate White House counsel, which span two of the five years he served under Bush. Democrats made a separate request to the National Archives to release the staff secretary records, but the Archives rebuffed their request in a letter dated Thursday. The Archives said only the chairman of a committee can make such a documents request. White House spokesman Raj Shah said Friday afternoon that Schumer and Feinstein have yet to schedule their meetings with Kavanaugh. Invites were sent to them more than three weeks ago. "While we look forward to potential meetings, both of these Democratic senators and many of their colleagues have publicly opposed Judge Kavanaugh's nomination," Shah said. He added that Democrats were "continuing to disingenuously demand millions of pages of documents from former President Bush that are irrelevant to evaluating the Judge's judicial thinking." Although most Democrats deferred to Schumer and Feinstein's boycott, there had been a handful of exceptions. Sen. Joe Manchin III, D-W.Va., up for reelection in one of the most Trump-friendly states, met with Kavanaugh for two hours Monday. Other red-state Democrats, Sen. Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota and Joe Donnelly of Indiana, have scheduled meetings with Kavanaugh for Aug. 15. On Friday, a spokesman for Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., said she would sit down with the Supreme Court nominee Aug. 21. McCaskill, another red-state Democrat up for reelection this fall, had faced criticism from GOP challenger Josh Hawley's campaign for not meeting with Kavanaugh. The National Archives has started reviewing Kavanaugh's documents from his time as associate White House counsel but said it won't finish going through all of them until late October. Still, Senate Republicans plan to go ahead with confirmation hearings in September, as a private legal team led by Bush's presidential records representative conducts a separate review of Kavanaugh's paperwork and provides them to the Senate. Schumer raised concerns Friday that this separate process means neither the public nor senators outside of those on the Judiciary Committee would be able to see Kavanaugh's records. "This unprecedented effort on the part of Republicans to keep hidden Judge Kavanaugh's records from the American public, and even the large majority of senators, is a new and astonishing level of secrecy," Schumer said in a statement. To make their case, Democrats pointed to a line in a letter from Bush's records team to the Judiciary Committee, saying they had no issue making the documents public but were temporarily providing the records on a "committee confidential" basis, pending input from the Archives. But a committee spokesman said Judiciary Republicans are actively working with officials representing Bush and the Archives to ensure the documents are made public as soon as possible. Meanwhile, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, and Feinstein jointly sent a request to the Archives on Friday for about 20,000 pages of Kavanaugh's records from his time working for independent counsel Kenneth Starr during the Clinton administration. The Archives has already released about 1,000 pages of the nominee's Starr papers in response to Freedom of Information Act requests from news organizations. A Texas man accused of fatally shooting a physician who treated former president George H.W. Bush has died in an apparent suicide, police said. Authorities said Friday that 62-year-old Joseph James Pappas killed himself as he was confronted by Houston police officers. For days, police had been searching for Pappas, who was charged in the July 20 killing of cardiologist Mark Hausknecht. The shooting took place as the doctor was riding his bike to work. "I think this case illustrates that with the cooperation and with the engagement between local law enforcement and the communities we serve, this is what we get - we get resolution, we get it quickly, and we get it before there's another loss of life," Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo said at an afternoon news conference about the case. Earlier this week, police said they were looking for Pappas, who was thought to be suicidal. "This man is dangerous, this man is capable, this man has some skills," Acevedo told reporters at the time, noting that Pappas probably had numerous firearms and that he had not been seen for days. Acevedo also said that Pappas had sent a suicidal text to an associate Tuesday night, which prompted police officers to search his home. The police chief said Pappas held a longtime grudge against the cardiologist, who had operated on his mother more than 20 years ago. She died on the operating table, Acevedo said. As The Washington Post previously reported, the shooting occurred July 20 when the gunman followed Hausknecht by bike as he rode to work at Houston Methodist Hospital. The gunman fatally shot the cardiologist, who was dressed in blue scrubs, twice in his torso less than one mile from the hospital. "There was a lot of planning that went into this," Acevedo said. "There was a lot of planning and, sadly, some skill." Hausknecht, who graduated from Baylor College of Medicine and then attended Johns Hopkins Hospital for his residency, was an internationally respected cardiologist. In 2000, Hausknecht treated Bush for heart problems, The Associated Press reported. "Mark was a fantastic cardiologist and a good man," Bush said in a statement last month. "I will always be grateful for his exceptional, compassionate care. His family is in our prayers." In a statement obtained by ABC affiliate KTRK, Georgia R. Hsieh, Hausknecht's wife, described the killing as "senseless," asserting that guns do not make Americans safer. "Now my family and I have joined the ranks of the tens of thousands of other grieving Americans who lose innocent loved ones each year," she said a day after her husband died. "So many have asked what can be done to help. While law enforcement has given you their focus on finding the criminal, I am asking you to use your vote and your voice to stem the tide of this growing public health epidemic." Republicans braced Thursday for a difficult, high-stakes campaign in the heart of Trump country as Tennessee Democrats nominated a popular former governor to run for the state's open Senate seat. The Associated Press projected a primary win by Phil Bredesen, who gives his party its best chance of statewide general election victory in more than a decade. He has presented himself as an affable centrist willing to work with President Donald Trump, and his presence on the ballot forces the GOP to play defense on its home turf as the party seeks to preserve a narrow 51-49 Senate majority. AP projected that the Republican nominee will be Rep. Marsha Blackburn, who is backed by Trump and has largely championed his agenda. The fall campaign will test the enduring appeal of Trump's brand of politics in a state that he won handily two years ago but historically has been dominated by more traditional Republicans such as Sen. Bob Corker, an outspoken critic of the president whose retirement opened up the seat. Republicans, who have sought to focus on ousting vulnerable Democrats in pro-Trump states, have grown increasingly worried about a Tennessee letdown. "We've just turned into a country where everybody stands on opposite sides of the room and shouts at each other," Bredesen, 74, said in a brief victory speech streamed live on Facebook. "I'd like to be part of the fix for that." Blackburn and her allies plan to try to pierce Bredesen's bipartisan image by highlighting his past support of Hillary Clinton and other national Democrats. This week, Blackburn signaled that she intends to soften her image, issuing a TV ad on the eve of the primary that featured family photos - and no mention of Trump. But in her victory speech Thursday night, she said Tennesseeans want a candidate who stands with the president, "to finish the agenda that they voted for when they elected him." Some Republicans expressed anxiety about the coming fight. "The only reason Democrats have a shot in Tennessee is Bredesen himself," said Steven Law, the president of American Crossroads, a conservative group. "Voters fondly remember his tenure as governor and he's proven himself to be a nimble and affable politician." Tennessee voters also picked nominees for governor on Thursday. Business executive Bill Lee topped five competitors to win the Republican nomination, AP projected. They included Rep. Diane Black, who became the fifth House Republican seeking higher office to lose in a primary this year. Karl Dean, a former Nashville mayor, was projected by AP to win the Democratic gubernatorial primary. In Black's district, which stretches to the north and east of Nashville and leans heavily Republican, the GOP nominee will be former state agriculture commissioner John Rose, AP projected. Rose broadcast ads showing him smiling behind the president at a rally. The Senate contest will be the most closely watched in November. Republicans are anxiously confronting the prospect that they have lurched too far to the right for the state's moderate voters, whom Bredesen is courting with a campaign carefully designed to appeal across party lines. "It's a very conservative state with a history of sending conservatives - but who tend to be reasonable - to state offices, whether it's governor or Senate. And they tend to traditionally reject radicalism," said Tom Ingram, a longtime friend and former political strategist for Corker. Limited public polling has shown Bredesen, who served as governor from 2003 to 2011, leading Blackburn. "I think Marsha's race is one of the closest Senate contests in the country," said Dan Eberhart, an oil industry executive who is raising money for several GOP Senate candidates, including Blackburn. "Bredesen is popular and has the money to run a strong campaign." Bredesen's status as a brand-name politician, coupled with limited familiarity with Blackburn outside her congressional district, which extends from the Nashville area to the south and west toward the Memphis region, presents a challenge, Republicans said. Jack Young, a Republican city council member and former mayor of Bristol, on the northeastern edge of the state, said that Republicans he has spoken with at coffee shops and local GOP meetings have expressed concern about whether Blackburn will win and are eager to help her. But they haven't seen much about her, Young said, a factor he attributed to the competitive governor's primary absorbing most of the attention. They ask, "Hey, what's going on with this?" he said of the Senate race. "I want to see more." Bredesen, who is personally wealthy, has hit the airwaves with television ads meant to endear him to centrist Republicans and Democrats. He has distanced himself from national Democrats, including Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., and declares that he is "not running against Donald Trump." "There are only so many people who are able to rise above some of the political back and forth, and he's just one of those rare people who can do that," said state House Democratic Caucus Chairman Mike Stewart. In one ad, Bredesen said he will work with the president where they agree but stand against him when his agenda hurts Tennessee. He singled out Trump's proposed tariffs as harmful to the state's automobile, farming and whiskey industries. Blackburn, who has been in the House since 2003 and was a state legislator before that, has mostly embraced Trump. She campaigned with him at a May rally in Nashville and emphasized her ties to him during the primary. One top Senate GOP strategist, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to candidly discuss strategy, said that Blackburn needs to make the race a choice between someone who will enthusiastically support Trump's agenda and someone who will constantly be torn between Trump and his Democratic bosses in Washington. Bredesen was the last Democrat to win statewide in Tennessee. He finished on top in all 95 counties in the state in a dominant 2006 reelection showing. The last Democrat to be elected to the Senate in Tennessee was Al Gore, who last won reelection in 1990, but then lost his home state in his failed 2000 presidential bid. State officials in both parties said they have observed Tennessee become more conservative since Bredesen's tenure. Trump won by 26 points in 2016. Republicans hold seven of the nine U.S. House seats and supermajorities in the state assembly. But there is some belief in both parties that there is an appetite for the more pragmatic, less hostile style of politician embodied by Corker and the state's other Republican senator, Lamar Alexander. Corker, who has been one of the Republican Party's most outspoken Trump critics, was slow to embrace Blackburn. His early praise of Bredesen and lukewarm posture toward Blackburn enraged her supporters and earned him a private warning from Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. Tennessee is one of only a handful of states that Democrats believe they can flip from red to blue in the battle for the Senate. On the whole, they are playing much more defense than Republicans, including trying to safeguard 10 incumbents in states that Trump won. Democratic strategists generally agree that any path to seizing the majority runs through Tennessee. Senate Majority PAC, the top Democratic super PAC, announced this week that the state was part of a $17 million investment to reserve time for television ads in six battleground races during August. National Republican leaders agree about the importance of Tennessee. McConnell named the state as one of nine that he believes will decide Senate control, in a May interview with The Washington Post. In the Senate contest, Democrats think they will need to perform well in suburban areas, which have shown the party promise in recent special elections elsewhere throughout the country. They will need Republicans statewide to cross over. Already, they have grown confident that is happening. "You just meet a lot of people who are Republicans but say quietly, 'I am going to vote for Bredesen,' " said Stewart, the state House Democratic Caucus chairman. "They treat it like an obvious proposition." --- The Washington Post's David Weigel contributed to this report. ISTANBUL - There is no end in sight to the vicious war in Yemen, to the blood-soaked battles or fickle airstrikes or waves of hunger and disease that stalk civilians even if they escape the bullets and the bombs. And yet, the death toll seems to stand still. For almost two years, a figure - 10,000 people - has been frequently cited by journalists and relief agencies to describe the number of civilian deaths in the conflict. The number was based largely on reports from Yemen's crippled health network and first mentioned by a senior United Nations official in January 2016. But in public discussion of the conflict, the number has never been revised, even as the war has retained its ruthless intensity. It is almost certainly conservative and possibly grossly underestimated, according to U.N. officials and analysts who study the conflict, with one independent estimate putting the total number of Yemenis killed in combat at nearly 50,000. The undercount would reflect in part the impossible task of tallying deaths in war zones, where parties to the hostilities provide exaggerated figures while independent monitors are stymied by the violence and shifting battle lines. For some of the same reasons, officials stopped releasing death tolls in Syria's civil war several years ago - but only after hundreds of thousands of deaths already had been counted, focusing international attention on the slaughter. In Yemen, though, the low death toll has reinforced a sense that the country's misery is ignored by the wider world. It is rarely covered in the media due to restrictions and difficulties traveling there, but also because of a reticence to explain the confounding array of actors and grievances attending a conflict in the poorest country in the Arab world. Yemen's civil war broke out in late 2014 after a rebel group, the Houthis, seized control of the capital and ousted the government, and the conflict intensified when a Saudi Arabia-led military coalition intervened to fight the insurgents. Fighting gripped Yemen's cities as the violence, along with a blockade imposed by the coalition, starved the country of imports of food, medicine and fuel. The latest battles have focused around Hodeidah, a port city on the west coast controlled by the Houthis. The port is the main entry point for food and aid supplies to Houthi-controlled areas. Relief agencies have warned that prolonged fighting there would be catastrophic for the more than 8 million Yemenis - a third of the population - already on the brink of famine, as well as hundreds of thousands of people who live in the city. Airstrikes carried out Thursday by the Saudi-led coalition near Hodeidah's main hospital killed at least 28 people, according to Yemeni medical officials, the Associated Press reported. The overall death toll may have reached alarming levels, according to one independent tally. Data collected by ACLED, a group that studies conflicts, puts the death toll at nearly 50,000 people in the period between January 2016 and late July 2018. That number includes combatants but excludes people not directly killed during the fighting - thousands of civilians who have died of malnutrition or cholera, for instance. Last year, Save the Children estimated that 130 children were dying every day because of "extreme hunger and disease." ACLED is still tallying data from the first nine months of the conflict, when the fighting was most intense, meaning that the death toll is certain to rise, according to Andrea Carboni, who researches Yemen for the group. ACLED says it collects information from secondary sources, corroborates it multiple times and uses the most conservative estimates when it comes to fatalities. Even then, he said, "Yemen has been very difficult." He said areas of the country are effectively a "black hole" for information. There are often lethal attacks where actual death tolls go unreported, so the group uses a standard estimate of 10 deaths for larger-scale events and three for smaller-scale ones. Although this approach could result in inflated tolls, he said the group's use of conservative figures and the likelihood it underestimates fatalities in some cases limit the chances of overstating the overall death toll. With the shortage of reliable data and of images and articles, the war has remained an abstraction in the international debate - reducing pressure on the combatants and their international backers to halt the fighting, said Scott Paul, a senior humanitarian officer at Oxfam America. The numbers matter, he said, because they could "bring the true scale and urgency of the 'world's biggest humanitarian crisis' into focus." The U.N. envoy to Yemen on Thursday invited the warring parties to meet in Geneva, in the latest international effort to halt the fighting after several failed previous attempts. Civilian casualties were highest at the beginning of the conflict, said Kiyohiko Hasegawa, a human rights officer with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. His office and other groups detected a pattern of deaths that has continued over the course of the war, in which the majority of civilians were killed by Saudi-led coalition airstrikes that struck homes, markets and schools. The coalition receives military support from the United States. At least 6,500 civilians - including 1,625 children - were killed between March 2015 and July 19, 2018, according to data collected by the U.N. human rights office. "Our figures are probably the most conservative because of the care that goes into verifying each casualty," Hasegawa said. The group's data is collected by 13 monitors around the country, who confirm names, ages, addresses and other facts about the victims before including them in the death toll. "We are not able to cover every single incident that happens in Yemen," he said. The World Health Organization, which also records deaths in the conflict, has estimated that 9,604 people were killed between March 2015 and the end of May 2018, but their figures, which do not differentiate between combatants and civilians, are also probably conservative. The source of their tally is Yemen's devastated network of health facilities - more than half of which are closed or only partially functioning. In many cases, the bodies of those killed in fighting in Yemen are never brought to a hospital. A reliable death toll is important because "in general, its good to know the human price of war," said Radhya Almutawakel, a co-chair of Mwatana, a Yemeni human rights group. But her group focused on documenting human rights violations rather than arriving at death totals. "It's not our job, and its impossible," she said, even for a group like hers with a large network of researchers in almost every region of Yemen. As she watched her country disintegrate and learned the names of Yemenis killed by torture, land mines and aerial bombs, a total seemed beside the point. "One story should be very alarming," she said, "but it's not the case." --- Video Embed Code Video: The Post's Sudarsan Raghavan visited Yemen in late May to report on what the United Nations describes as the world's most severe humanitarian crisis.(Sudarsan Raghavan,Joyce Lee,Ali Najeeb/The Washington Post) Embed code: WASHINGTON - The Affordable Care Act is surviving. Advocates say it could be thriving. Since President Donald Trump took office, the law has been under attack by the White House and the Republican Congress, both rhetorically and practically. Just Thursday night at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania, Trump boasted about gutting the ACA. Short of repealing the entire law, his administration has done a lot to contribute to its failure. And yet, despite their best efforts, enrollment in President Barack Obama's signature domestic program remained steady this year, proposed premium increases for 2019 in many markets are in the single digits and insurers that had previously left some marketplaces are reentering the individual exchanges. But advocates of the ACA still say it would be doing better were it not for the administration's systematic attempts to gut it. "Some people have been surprised that the increases are generally modest, given the steps the Trump administration and Congress have taken to undermine the ACA," Larry Levitt, senior vice president for health reform of Kaiser Family Foundation, told me in an email. "What that misses is that insurers are quite profitable in the individual insurance market right now, so they don't need premium increases in spite of repeal of the individual mandate penalty and expansion in loosely-regulated short-term plans. If not for those policy changes, we'd be seeing a lot of premium decreases right now." That's an argument Brookings Institute's Matt Fiedler makes in a new analysis of what the individual market would look like next year in a world where Republicans largely left the ACA intact. Fiedler has crunched some numbers for this hypothetical situation, which take into account his own estimates that insurers will see a considerable profit increase in 2019. In a "stable policy environment," he calculates average nationwide premiums would fall 4.3 percent next year. That is, if Congress hadn't eliminated the individual mandate penalty and the Trump administration hadn't extended the length of "short-term" plans that are cheaper but skimp on some benefits. Both actions are expected to spark fear in the market that healthier consumers won't buy insurance, driving up costs. Still, even with those policy changes, the individual market is chugging along. "This is exactly why I wrote this piece," Fiedler told me. "Because the experience would be so good this year if policy was stable, the difference between a 4.3 percent decline and what actually happens in 2019 ... we might end up in the single digits, but [premiums] are much higher than they could have been." Helping to keep alive the ACA are government subsidies ensuring coverage is affordable for most of the people buying insurance on the exchanges. As long as those stay in place, the law has a better chance of surviving. States have also been taking matters into their own hands by creating their own reinsurance programs that help them shoulder the higher costs of sicker patients, a subject I wrote about earlier this week. All is not rosy, however. Premium rates for 2019 will raise the cost of insurance for the tens of millions of people who purchase insurance from the individual markets but earn too much to get any government assistance. These people tend to be entrepreneurs or small-business owners. And research shows they've been dropping out of the marketplaces as insurance has become more costly -- and that even more are expected to flee now that the individual mandate is gone. Just taking into account the White House's decision this week to extend short-term plans, Linda Blumberg, a health-policy fellow at the Urban Institute, says her research shows that decision will cause 2.2 million fewer people to enroll in ACA-compliant plans in 2019. "I think [Republicans] are being quite successful. The ACA still stands and the subsidies still hold a lot of the subsidized people in place and that's really helpful. But the people hit the hardest are the people who have to pay the full cost [of insurance] themselves and the evidence so far is there has been significant decrease in [the] number of people buying without subsidies," Blumberg told me. She worries that short-term plans will be marketed like any other health coverage without full transparency that they offer much less. Even Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar, who has been extolling the virtues of allowing people to buy these cheaper plans, tweeted a warning that these plans are not for everyone: Blumberg warned that individuals may choose their plans based on their health status: healthy people could leave the marketplaces in favor of cheaper insurance, but return to an ACA plan if they get sick in the future. "These efforts are playing with fire on the long-term stability of the pools, which people with health problems really need," she said. It's with these considerations in mind that four cities, Columbus, Ohio; Baltimore, Maryland; Cincinnati, Ohio; and Chicago, as well as residents from Charlottesville, Virginia, are suing the Trump administration for its actions to weaken the ACA. They are asking the court to force the White House to restore funding for ACA advertising and the "navigator" programs that help promote enrollment, extend the 2019 enrollment period, and promote ACA-compliant plans over ones with less benefits. "The ACA has been more resilient than the administration would have hoped, but their efforts are taking a toll," Adam Grogg, senior counsel on the case, said. "When the ACA was faithfully implemented, it was functioning as Congress intended: to broaden access to affordable, comprehensive health insurance. The Trump Administration is trying to grind that progress to a halt." Maryland House Speaker Michael Busch, D, plans to lead an effort to enshrine a woman's right to terminate a pregnancy in the state constitution, joining leaders in a number of other states seeking to preempt any move by the Supreme Court to erode abortion protections. Busch said he will personally introduce and garner support for legislation asking voters to approve a constitutional amendment, probably in the next presidential election. An amendment would mean that even if the Supreme Court overturned its ban on state laws prohibiting abortion, no such legislation could be passed in Maryland. "If [voters] decide that this becomes part of the constitution, a woman's right to choose will never be debated, it will never be a bargaining chip" in the legislative process, Busch said Wednesday evening. States on both sides of the debate have taken action, anticipating that 45 years of abortion protections could evaporate under the next Supreme Court, with Justice Anthony Kennedy retiring and Judge Brett Kavanaugh nominated as his replacement. Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker, R, last week signed a bill repealing century-old laws that criminalized abortion there. West Virginia and Alabama each have initiatives on this year's ballot to clarify that their state constitutions do not protect the right to an abortion. Leslie McGorman, deputy director of policy for NARAL Pro-Choice America, said abortion-rights advocates are urging state leaders and political candidates nationwide to shore up state-level abortion protections now. "We're not comfortable taking a wait-and-see approach," McGorman said. "We absolutely have to take seriously the opportunity to extend protections. . . . We're really looking for other states to follow the lead of Maryland and Massachusetts." Abortion is expected to be a major topic at Kavanaugh's confirmation hearings. Advocates on both sides of the issue say that a strongly worded dissent Kavanaugh issued last fall, in a case involving a pregnant immigrant teenager in federal custody, indicates he would favor more abortion restrictions and might support overturning the federal protections that began with Roe v. Wade. Should Busch succeed in persuading three-fifths of each chamber of Maryland's General Assembly to approve the constitutional amendment next year, voters would see it on the 2020 ballot. "If the new makeup of the Supreme Court passes [abortion] decisions down to the states, you're going to have members on both sides either try to strengthen or weaken the law, and I just think that you don't want to get into those debates," Busch said. Nine other states already have abortion protections in their state constitutions, according to the Center for Reproductive Rights: Alaska, California, Florida, Iowa, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Montana, New Jersey and New Mexico. Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, R, who is running for reelection and personally opposes abortion, said he supports the effort to let voters decide. "We've got pretty tough laws already that protect the right to an abortion, and I promised four years ago that I wouldn't change any laws," Hogan said. "I don't know that [a constitutional amendment is] necessary, but if they want to put it on the ballot to let voters decide, that sounds like a great idea. I trust the voters of Maryland to make the right decision." Hogan's Democratic opponent, former NAACP chief Ben Jealous, said in a statement he supports the effort: "In the Trump era, Maryland's governor must have the courage to take every step possible to ensure a woman's right to choose is protected, and that reproductive health is never a political bargaining chip." Busch, who has led the House chamber since 2003, said the amendment would essentially insert Maryland's existing abortion statute into the state constitution. That law was approved in 1991 by the General Assembly. After anti-abortion groups petitioned it to a referendum, it passed with 61.7 percent of the vote. The law allows women to seek an abortion without interference from the state if the fetus is not viable outside of the womb. A woman may also terminate a pregnancy at any point if the fetus has a "genetic defect or serious anomaly" or if an abortion is necessary to protect the health of the mother. The influential Maryland Catholic Conference is likely to be the most powerful opponent of any constitutional amendment effort. The group's new executive director, Jennifer Briemann, declined to specify how the group would work to defeat it. Briemann said that "this effort seems misdirected at best"given the state's other needs, including increasing education funding, helping immigrant families and stemming violence in Baltimore. Busch, a Catholic, said he was confident he could muster the votes for a constitutional amendment from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle. He said he began pitching the idea to his leadership team late Wednesday but had not yet consulted Senate President Thomas Mike Miller, D. Miller, also a Catholic, was a key architect of a compromise that enabled Maryland's 1991 abortion protection statue. He did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday morning. Busch said he plans to formally introduce his constitutional amendment when Maryland's legislature returns to Annapolis in January. - The Post's Robert Barnes contributed to this report. SUTTER COUNTY, Calif. - The Butte Fire in Sutter County is nearly contained at 1,500 acres as of Thursday. This is just nine miles northwest of Yuba City, near Pass Road and West Butte Road on the south side of the Sutter Buttes. Evacuations have been lifted for the four homes that were under orders. Firefighters say there is no longer a threat to the community. I hope regular readers of this site will indulge a fairly extended incursion into a topic that, on the surface, is unrelated to autism but that connects at a deep level with our point and purpose. It concerns what I would call an analogous situation, and analogies sometimes have just as much power as direct argument and evidence. This piece is triggered by two articles written last week on The Huffington Post by Greg Mitchell, editor of Editor & Publisher magazine and nine books including Wrong for So Long: How the Press, the Pundits -- and the President -- Failed on Iraq. Greg is one of the really smart guys orbiting the media universe, and was among the first to raise questions about the weak and wobbly performance of the press in covering the so-called war on terror. My own experience with Greg comes from something he wrote in March 2004: My vote for Iraq reporter of the year goes to a low-profile journalist who did not cover the war itself and has never even been to Baghdad. His name is Mark Benjamin, 33, and he serves as investigations editor for United Press International out of Washington, D.C. E&P has documented his work since last autumn, and now the heavy hitters - The New York Times and The Washington Post - are following his lead, taking a long look at the forgotten American victims of the war: the injured, the traumatized, and the suicides. At that point, Mark and I were colleagues at UPI -- I was his editor on those stories, although we were first and foremost co-conspirators in trying to bring attention to the woeful way the military was treating its soldiers and veterans. We had already been working together a couple of years at that point, starting in early 2002 with an investigative series on an anti-malaria drug called Lariam. The Army invented it as older malaria pills were losing effectiveness during the Vietnam era, and rushed it onto the market with inadequate testing under a licensing deal with Roche. It didnt take long for the pharmaceutical version of sin in haste, repent at leisure effect to appear -- by the late 1980s, severe mental problems that included suicide and aggressive behavior were showing up in the military and also in the general traveling population, which was being prescribed Lariam as the new wonder drug. I wandered into this story in an odd but oddly powerful way -- two friends of mine took trips within a few months of each other, one to India, one to the Amazon, and returned to say that a malaria medication theyd taken had driven them crazy. I mean, really and truly crazy; psychotic; barking mad, as the Brits so vividly put it. I started reading up on this drug and found that the FDA, which approved it, and the CDC, which recommended it, and the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, which invented it, and Roche, which manufactured it, all backed it to the hilt. The malaria surveillance officer at the CDC attributed all the carping to travel stress that the Internet had fanned into some kind of urban myth about a wonderfully safe and effective drug. (All the Peace Corps kids who claimed it drove them crazy -- well, theyre an odd, hypersensitive, idealistic bunch, he claimed.) We werent buying it, and we wrote a long investigative piece for Newsday in 2002 that began: WASHINGTON, May 21 (UPI) -- Mounting evidence suggests the anti-malaria drug Lariam -- prescribed to Peace Corps volunteers, travelers and U.S. soldiers -- has triggered mental problems so severe that in a small percentage of users it has led to the ultimate side effect: suicide. We were right, and we were wrong: Suicide turned out NOT to be the ultimate side effect. The next month, three Special Operations soldiers who returned from Afghanistan to Fort Bragg, N.C., killed their wives and then themselves. This made big headlines -- was the war on terror and its new and stealthy nature driving our best troops over the edge? We had our own ideas, and we went down to Fort Bragg and talked to enough people to see a pretty clear pattern. These soldiers had messed-up marriages, yes, but they also had zero history of domestic violence, which almost always precedes domestic homicide. I remember standing in the back yard of one of these now-dead couples and talking to a friend of theirs who was cleaning out a shed that held fishing gear the father took on outings with his three sons (now dispersed to relatives in Ohio -- collateral damage that never gets written about). This friend said, yes, the soldier had taken Lariam and lots of it, and yes, he had been very strange since he came back -- jacked up was the quote I scribbled on my business card, the first overt sign that something was off kilter in these highly trained and seasoned soldiers. Other Special Ops families were talking openly about seeing similar behavior. They were concluding on their own -- no help from the Internet or prodding from the pesky press required -- that Lariam was behind the cluster of murder-suicides. We wrote about all that -- and wrote about it, and wrote about it some more, which is what you have to do if you want to break through the Gary-Condit-Craigslist-Killer static in this media day and age. For several weeks we piled up the evidence but our story just lay there, until our far bigger competition, the Associated Press, picked it up as their own (better to be copied than ignored). Suddenly, one morning, it was everywhere. CNN was running crawls about how the drug had been linked to suicide, about internal company documents discussing that fact (we had unearthed them in our original investigation, including a section titled Special Review: Lariam and Suicide, Suicide Attempt and Suicidal Ideation), and about how the Army itself was now going to do an investigation. Wow. Attention would be paid. But that was the problem, right there: The Army itself was going to do an investigation. The media was satisfied by this response and the story faded away; no one seemed to realize that the Army investigating a drug it invented, and rushed onto the market, and ordered its soldiers to take without proper warnings, might not be the most direct route to the truth. And remember, this was the summer of 2002; America had just won in Afghanistan in the wake of 9/11, and now the drums were beating for an invasion of Iraq before the WMD question mark turned into a mushroom cloud over Manhattan. Hoo-AH! Later that year, the Army Surgeon Generals Office -- the department directly responsible for the use of Lariam -- issued its report. I have to say it was the day I lost what remained of my naivete about government and drug safety and the mainstream medias ability to connect even two dots with a straight line. The report concluded there was no cluster of Lariam-related murder-suicides at Fort Bragg. They did this by expanding the parameters of the cluster they were examining. Besides the three Special Operations murder-suicides, there had been two other murders at Fort Bragg that summer of 2002 -- a cook stabbed his wife and set her trailer on fire in a jealous rage, and a wife got her boyfriend to murder her Army major-husband for the insurance money. The report lumped these in with the three Special Operations murder-suicides -- the ones people were concerned about -- and said, see, only three of these five had taken Lariam, so, voila, no cluster. This was jaw-droppingly, self-evidently bogus and cynical, but no one outside the world of those who had taken the drug and knew its effects (and a gutsy group called Lariam Action USA) bothered to question it. The Army leaked its report to USA Today, which in the short space it had to break the story could only report the facts as offered: An Army investigation of possible medical and behavioral causes behind a series of domestic killings and suicides at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, has ruled out the antimalaria drug Lariam, officials said. Speculation about possible explanations for the killings has run the gamut from the stress of combat to psychotic side effects from Lariam. Three of the four soldiers involved in the killings had recently returned from Afghanistan. What a relief -- Army rules out Lariam. On that day I felt a chill of isolation from mainstream journalism that has settled deep into my bones in the intervening years. (And I was an original editor at USA Today, which hurt even more.) Predictably, more mayhem ensued. By the summer of 2003, we were in Iraq, and tens of thousands of U.S. soldiers were taking Lariam (even though the CDC didnt recommend it for Iraq -- there was no malaria risk and other, older, safer drugs worked just as well). And, guess what, there was an immediate spike in the Army suicide rate. Once again, they did a study: A new Army report reveals that soldiers committed suicides at elevated rates during 2003, with those deployed to Iraq and Kuwait experiencing the greatest increase. And once again, the Army acquitted itself. We have no data that indicate that Lariam was a factor in any Army suicides in Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom (Afghanistan). Instead, the Army said, the deaths were linked to failed personal relationships, financial crises, legal difficulties and mental problems like depression and psychosis -- the same factors that trigger suicide in the general public, magnified by ready access to guns. ABL -- anything but Lariam. Which brings us back around to Greg Mitchell, who wrote two pieces in the last week about a soldier who killed herself in Iraq in 2003. With each new revelation on U.S. torture in Iraq, Afghanistan and Gitmo (and who, knows, probably elsewhere), I am reminded of the chilling story of Alyssa Peterson, who I have written about numerous times in the past three years but now with especially sad relevance. Appalled when ordered to take part in interrogations that, no doubt, involved what we would call torture, she refused, then killed herself a few days later, in September 2003. This rang a bell. I have long since tossed out boxes full of documentation about Lariam and the military (it was getting hard to get the car into the garage), but I still have the Roche internal safety reports from the 1990s where they catalog the reports of insanity, suicide and violence and pass it off as part of the decline in our social fabric. (Truly, they do! Their Special Review on suicides in previously well-adjusted travelers attributes the death to "the progressive break down of traditional values" and family structure, substance abuse and unemployment, not to Lariam use.) And I still have the folder in which I kept track of those suicides in Iraq. I dug it out last night. The first page lists 21 suicides in 2003. At the top of the page is a note to myself: Like Fort Bragg -- got caught in the headlights. By that, I meant that just as the murder-suicide cluster at Fort Bragg threatened to expose the widespread problems the drug was causing soldiers in Afghanistan, the suicide spike the next summer in Iraq showed the same thing was happening all over again. This time, though, it was worse, if one death can ever be said to be worse than another death. This time, the Army had fair warning, the media should have been alert, and soldiers didnt even need the drug in Iraq whereas there was a technical case for it in Afghanistan. In that folder, I listed OIF [Operation Iraqi Freedom] Suicides in calendar year 2003 and put a circle next to the name if they were in L unit -- a unit that took Lariam. Figuring this out was a tedious process -- I recall spending a good chunk of the summer of 2004 on this one task, because the Army Surgeon General had told Congress (under oath) that Lariam couldnt possibly be a factor because only four of the suicides occurred in units that were taking it. I counted at least 11 suicides in such units -- enough to fully explain the big increase in the suicide rate. After we wrote about that, the Army had to go back and quietly amend the surgeon generals sworn statement based on more complete information. (It was in fact another cluster-fuck, the Army manipulating epidemiology to mask malfeasance. The tactic was also evident in the case of a soldier who was airlifted out of Iraq that summer of 2003 in the midst of a complete psychotic break. He hanged himself at Walter Reed a short while later but was not counted as an Iraq war suicide; he was almost certainly a Lariam psychosis victim.) Looking at my list now, I see the first suicide occurs on April 13, 2003, about three weeks after the invasion of Iraq. Then they really take off in June, July and August -- just when the weekly load of Lariam toxicity would have peaked (it is fat soluble and settles in your brain and has a half-life -- the amount of time it takes half the drug to leave your body -- from hell). Then there is this entry: -- Sept. 15, Army Spc. Alyssa R. Peterson, 27, of Flagstaff Ariz. Died in Teafar, Iraq, from a non-combat weapons discharge. Assigned to C Company, 311th Military Intelligence Battalion, 101st Airborne (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky. I have the date circled. Its impossible to be sure at this point, but I assume that means I had connected Lariam to her unit, through what process I no longer recall. Of course, even if that is correct, it doesnt mean she actually took Lariam; even if she took it, that doesnt mean it affected her; even if she took it and it did affect her, that didnt mean she killed herself solely and proximately due to this drug rather than because of her concern about torture. But on that same list, I also note four other Iraq suicides in 2003 in soldiers who were either stationed at Fort Campbell or were part of the 101st Airborne Division headquartered there. In other words, it was another cluster. This confusion is just how the Army liked it -- they kept almost no records of who took the drug, let alone which units prescribed it, completely contrary to their own written regulations. They never bothered to find out retrospectively, to say the least,, and they did everything they could to obstruct those who were trying. A classic example: Mark Benjamin and I had put in a request to determine how many veterans of the Somalia conflict -- where Lariam was first used -- had subsequently committed suicide. We put that question to the VA in the form of a Freedom of Information request. I happen to know that a conversation took place inside the VA in which the person in charge of fulfilling that FOI request asked, Do we have that information? He was told, Well, not on one piece of paper, but all we have to do is push a button and the program will spit it out. The response: Well, then, we DONT have that information. Deny the request. As I said, I keep seeing stories like Greg Mitchells attributing suicides to all kinds of triggers -- and once again, Greg is a superb journalist, mining the facts he has to work with. But those facts, as theyve been filtered, fudged and filibustered over the past few years, may not comprise all the relevant data. Another and more bizarre instance is a cluster of suicides among Army recruiters in Texas that recently made news and was the subject of a Congressional hearing in which Army officials declared themselves gobsmacked, absolutely shocked -- shocked. Time magazine wrote a big piece about it April 13, promoted on the cover as The Tragic Tale of Army Recruiter Suicides. It goes five full pages, and starts with an anecdote about an Army staff sergeant who was exhausted and demoralized by his job as a recruiter and told a colleague, I had such a bad, long week, it was ridiculous. He hung himself in his garage. Time called recruiting perhaps the toughest, if not the most dangerous, job in the Army. Oh, for pitys SAKE! What about this stray fact mentioned in the next paragraph: Soldiers who have returned from tours in Iraq and Afghanistan now constitute 73% of recruiters, up from 38% in 2005. In other words, many if not most recruiters for the United States Army served in areas where the Army made them take a drug that can cause severe and long-lasting (lets call them what they are -- permanent) psychiatric problems, including suicide and aggression, and covered it up not once but twice. To review the official product label one last time: Mefloquine [the generic name] may cause psychiatric symptoms in a number of patients, ranging from anxiety, paranoia, and depression to hallucination and psychotic behavior. On occasions, these symptoms have been reported to continue long after mefloquine has been stopped. Rare cases of suicidal ideation and suicide have been reported though no relationship to drug administration has been confirmed. Note the bland phrase a number of patients. Believe me, if they could establish it was a SMALL number, they would say so. But they have no clue, in large part because they wont look, and the government and media wont make them. And maybe a link to suicide hasnt been confirmed, another artful phrase, but trust me, drug manufacturers do not warn of death on official product labels unless they well know it can happen, has happened, and will happen again, and the warning is needed to protect them in any ensuing legal action. What has happened here, in summary, is the bad guys won, and theyre still winning. Because of the cover-ups and misdirection committed by Army medical doctors -- a direct violation of their oath to put patients first and do no harm -- we find ourselves discussing how being an Army recruiter is the hardest and most dangerous job in the military, and how its perfectly logical to kill yourself after a bad, long week, and how failed personal relationships, financial crises, legal difficulties and mental problems like depression and psychosis are picking off our soldiers faster than Iraqi snipers, and how the breakdown of traditional values is causing travelers to kill themselves, and how Alyssa Peterson committed suicide because of Army torture tactics she abhorred. Were right back where I started, when the head of malaria surveillance at the CDC said those Peace Corps volunteers were, frankly, a little weird. Well, were not quite where we started. Ive learned a little more about science and its methods since I worked on the Lariam story, and now I know why this whole episode has gone on so long: Entia non sunt multiplicanda sine necessitate. Allow me to translate this epigram attributed to philosopher and theologian William of Occam centuries ago: Entities must not be multiplied unnecessarily. This is the law of ontological parsimony that -- allow me to translate further -- means, in essence, the simplest explanation for unusual phenomena is the one that should be studied first, and either disproven or embraced, before more complicated theories -- ones that require more facts and theories, more entities -- are embraced. In practice, it means that if the Army gave a drug that can cause psychosis, suicide and homicide to tens of thousands of soldiers, and those effects can persist long after they stop taking it, and we observe a pattern of psychosis, suicide and homicide in those soldiers, some of it quite persistent, we need to check that correlation out pretty carefully. I said this is a case where the bad guys won, but I should point out the following dispatch from Stars and Stripes last month: The Army has dropped Lariam the drug linked to side effects including suicidal tendencies, anxiety, aggression and paranoia as its preferred protection against malaria because doctors had inadvertently prescribed it to people who should not take it. Lariam, the brand name for mefloquine, should not be given to anyone with symptoms of a brain injury, depression or anxiety disorder, which describes many troops who have deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan. The Armys new choice for anti-malarial protection is doxycycline, a generic antibiotic. In areas where doxycycline and mefloquine are equally efficacious in preventing malaria, doxycycline is the drug of choice, Army Surgeon General Lt. Gen. Eric Schoomaker said in a memo dated Feb. 2. So no more Lariam and no one accountable -- just the death and destruction it caused our Army and the mayhem it will wreck on our veterans. Maybe Eric Shinseki, who spoke truth to power as Army chief of staff and lost his job over it before the Iraq war, and is now head of the VA, ought to check it out. After our Lariam investigation and Marks stellar work on the mistreatment of Iraq vets, we went our own ways, Mark to Salon, where he continues to do the best work on veterans problems of any reporter in the country (he broke the Walter Reed story, of which The Washington Posts Pulitzer Gold Medal investigation was derivative -- better to be copied than ignored). I took the drug angle, looking more deeply into whether the same kinds of conflicts, self-dealing and media blindness we saw with Lariam could be playing out on an even bigger and more catastrophic stage -- autism. Ill let you be the judge of that. -- Dan Olmsted is Editor of Age of Autism. For the past few years, Carroll County Public Schools has asked for additional funding in its budget to repurpose several teaching positions to behavioral specialists. But despite the countys overall funding for public schools increasing, shortfalls in meeting the Board of Educations total funding request have left those positions from becoming a reality. July 22, 2018, Carroll County (MD) Times: Editorial: Getting to root of behavioral issues in elementary school students In fiscal 2018, the district covered costs for 136 special needs students in residential, private day or collaborative programs -- about 25 more students than during the prior year. Special education costs contributed to a nearly $4 million school budget deficit in Methuen last year. Last week, the House approved spending $500 million over the next five years to help districts better cover the costs of special education and employee health care. At the same time, lawmakers opted to study the issue of helping English language learners and poorer students. Heres a sample of whats happening from my site, Loss of Brain TrustChildhood Lost over the past week. So while districts spend millions on security and hiring more staff to make schools safer, the special education numbers keep on growing and that means higher costs too. Its abundantly clear that sending your child to school today involves a risk. Teachers face the real threat of violence from their students. The media off-handedly tells us that one in every 5 kids has a mental illness. (No explanation given. Its just the way it is.) Teachers need to worry every time they walk into a classroom. They better be prepared for the worst. Teachers are being trained to recognize possible perpetrators among their students. News reports tell us about districts screening students for mental health issues, hiring more social workers, counselors, psychologists, and partnering with local mental health agencies. By Anne Dachel School districts are working on their budgets, and they have to deal with some huge money issues. First of all, security is foremost in the minds of the people running our education system. They have to be proactive, doing everything possible to prevent another tragedy like the Parkland from happening in their schools. The need for these behavioral specialists has been fueled by anecdotal evidence, according to CCPS officials, that behavioral problems are on the rise, particularly at the early elementary school level. July 22, 2018, Minneapolis Star Tribune: Washington, Ramsey county schools to boost mental health help for preteens Schools in Washington County and parts of Ramsey County are intensifying efforts to help preteens struggling with stress and anxiety, which can lead to more serious mental health problems if not treated. Two new grants will bring therapists into middle schools in those two east metro counties. Last week, Youth Service Bureau was awarded $50,000 from the Andeavor Foundation for an initiative to create safer schools. The funds will be split between the South Washington School District and the North St. Paul-Maplewood-Oakdale School District. Sherman said plans are in the works to bring a therapist into the schools once a week in addition to offering educational opportunities for parents to learn to recognize signs of mental illness. July 23, 2018 (UK) Schools Week: Sadiq Khan urged to intervene over Londons special needs timebomb The mayor of London Sadiq Khan is under pressure to take action over the capitals special needs timebomb. The London Assemblys cross-party education panel, which holds the mayor to account on policy matters, said Khan should lobby the government for more high needs funding for the capitals schools, more flexibility over finances for local authorities, and support for more special free schools. In 2017, around 204,000, or 14 per cent of all pupils in London had some level of special educational need or disability. This is 20 per cent more than ten years ago, and thousands more places for SEND pupils will be needed in the coming years, politicians have warned. , warns that funding has not kept up with demand. July 23, 2018, (UK) Education Executive: Report highlights severe lack of school places for Londons SEND children https://edexec.co.uk/report-highlights-severe-lack-of-school-places-for-londons-send-children/ Research by the London Assembly Education Panel highlights the issues surrounding children with SEND and their education in the capital city. There are over 200,000 children and young people in London with some level of special education need; the last decade has seen a 20% increase in this area, with the various needs becoming increasingly complex. July 23, 2018, (UK) Evening Standard: Severe pressure on schools as number of pupils with most complex needs rises by fifth London schools are coming under severe pressure trying to deal with increasing numbers of children with special educational needs, a damning report warns today. The number of children with the most complex needs is growing, but head teachers are not getting enough money to help them properly, according to a London Assembly report. July 23, 2018, Salt Lake Tribune: This Utah school district plans to have a full-time psychologist in each of its 36 elementary schools by fall The district intends to be one of the first in Utah to have a full-time psychologist in each of its 36 elementary schools. Its school board approved the mental health initiative last month as part of a $710 million budget, which includes more staff and training for students at all of its schools, including 10 middle schools and eight high schools and technical schools. July 23, 2018, Waco, TX, Central Texas Proud: Belton ISD hiring three new employees to improve school safety The Belton Independent School District is hoping to improve school security with three new employees. "Safety and security of our students is our highest priority," says Superintendent Susan Kincannon. The school board budgeted for two coordinators for safety and emergency preparedness. They are also adding someone to design and implement a social emotional program to support students. "We want our parents to have the confidence and our students to have the confidence that their schools are safe," Kincannon said. July 23, 2018, (UK) Northern Echo: Mental health first aid courses planned for Newton Aycliffe http://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/local/southdurham/16371847.mental-health-first-aid-courses-planned-for-newton-aycliffe/ The Mental Health First Aider youth course was delivered at The Work Place, on Aycliffe Business Park, at the end of last month. Designed to equip participants to support young people, the session was oversubscribed by interested school staff and individuals who work with or support young people. The next course running in September is also already fully booked but more dates are now being planned. Helen Dent, the course trainer on behalf of Mental Health First Aid England, said: We must acknowledge that more than three young people in every classroom will have a diagnosed mental health disorder. We must become pro-active and begin to address issues at early stages to prevent this figure from rising. July 23, 2018, CBS12, Wichita, KS: Partnership helps Wichita school district place greater emphasis on mental health The district, with help from a $1 million grant, will team up with Comcare and launch a pilot program to target students who need help. The mental health intervention pilot program is aimed at children who may have experienced a crisis or are showing signs of adverse behavior. Starting this school year, more than 20 Wichita public schools will have direct access to mental-health services provided by Comcare. July 23, 2018, NBC7, Tallahassee, FL: Florida students will have to report if theyve accessed mental health services In addition to increasing funding for mental health screenings, part of a new law passed in the wake of the tragedy requires school districts to ask students to report if theyve ever received mental health services. July 23, 2018, Park City, UT, NPR: Wasatch School District Communications Director Focuses On Safety, Literacy And Teacher Compensation School Resource Officers, secure entryways and an additional Psychologist will be in place by the start of school in August And the final piece of it is of course, mental health. And they have hired another full time body to ensure theres as much availability for resources for the students as possible because mental health is equally a part that is recognized as school safety. July 24, 2018, (UK) E. Anglican Daily News: Read how a Suffolk school is leading the way in pupil mental health A Suffolk school is being held up as a shining example after greatly improving the mental health of pupils by employing its own clinical psychologist. Thurston Community College [high school] is one of the first schools in the country to invest in a full-time psychologist. July 24, 2018, Pittsburg Morning Sun: USD 250 bond projects on schedule http://www.morningsun.net/news/20180724/usd-250-bond-projects-on-schedule Many projects at USD 250 are underway and are nearing completion. What was once an autotech classroom is now multiple rooms for people with various special needs. This includes safe rooms, which are padded to keep the students safe and a sensory room for students with autism. July 25, 2018, (UK) Schools Week: First school mental health support teams will be set to work by the end of 2019 New mental health support teams will start working with schools by the end of 2019, the government has confirmed. Ahead of their official response to a consultation on children and young peoples mental health, the Department for Education and Department of Health have announced they will proceed with plans to employ thousands of extra staff to support the schools community. However, the timeframe for the scheme has again come under fire, after it was confirmed that it will reach a maximum of 25 per cent of the population by 2023. July 25, 2018, Burlington (VT) Patch: Burlington School Department Goes $1.7 Million Over Budget Burlington Public Schools overspent its budget by $1.7 million, or about 3.3%, in 2017-18. The school department will ask Town Meeting for the funding to make up the deficit. About $600,000 was for special education transportation costs, while another $200,000 came for a stipend for tutoring. The district also went $220,000 over its budget for substitute teachers and incurred higher-than-expected maintenance expenses. Superintendent Eric Conti disclosed the overspending at Tuesday night's school committee meeting. Conti attributed the problem to rising special education transportation costs, which in previous years had been covered from operating funds. But over time the deficit has built up and that option is no longer feasible. "No one likes to go to town meeting to ask for money," Conti said. "This is a problem, I don't want to say it is not, but I do think it's occurred because of significantly increasing costs in special education we've been trying to cover a bunch of ways, and I think it's just caught up with us over time." "No one likes to go to town meeting to ask for money," Conti said. "This is a problem, I don't want to say it is not, but I do think it's occurred because of significantly increasing costs in special education we've been trying to cover a bunch of ways, and I think it's just caught up with us over time." July 25, 2018, Leavenworth (KS) Times: Commission discuss proposal for school mental health initiative County commissioners reached a consensus Tuesday to have staff look into a possible ballot question regarding a tax increase for a mental health program for schools. July 25, 2018, (UK) Independent: Government attacked over child mental health plan and told it is sleepwalking into deepening crisis The government has been accused of sleepwalking into a deepening crisis on child mental health and attacked for its flagship plans to improve it. Hundreds of mental health workers will be trained to work in and near schools from the end of next year to help boost young peoples wellbeing, after the government confirmed plans will go ahead. July 26, 2018, (New Zealand) Scoop: School leaders report high levels of violence Senior primary school leaders are reporting high levels of violence in their schools, with 38% experiencing threats of violence in 2017, and 41% being subjected to actual physical violence. July 26, 2018, Pasadena News Now: Pasadena Unified Contends with Ballooning Special Education Costs About 25% of the Districts budget funds programs for just 16% of its students While the Pasadena Unified School District continues working to make cuts to reign in multi- million-dollar budget shortfalls projected over the next few years, its increasingly struggling to fund special education, as both the costs, and the share of the costs that the District is responsible to pay, rise year-over-year. July 26, 2018, (UK) Daily Echo: Groundbreaking ceremony takes place at Springwell School in Thornhill CONSTRUCTION has started on 5.3m [$7M US] expansion to a Southampton primary school which will provide extra place for pupils with special education needs (SEN). July 26, 2018, Kansas City Star: Reducing anxiety, raising grades: therapy dogs bring a calm to KC-area schools From there her mission took off. With permission from her middle school principal, Slaven joined the growing trend of Kansas City area school educators who are bringing therapy animals into schools. July 26, 2018, Waltham (MA) Wicked: How Waltham schools respond to challenge of youth suicides Approximately one Waltham High School student in 23 has tried to commit suicide, and nearly one in 14 Waltham middle school students has, according to data from the citys most recent Youth Risk Behavior Survey July 27, 2018, India, New Indian Express: [12.5%] One in eight kids may have neuro disorders in India NEW DELHI: Almost one in eight Indian children between the ages of 2 to 9 years, may have at least one neurodevelopmental disorder (NDD) such as epilepsy, speech and language disorders and intellectual disability, an assessment of children from across the country has found. July 27, 2018, KELO FM Radio, Sioux Falls, SD: A few special education students can have big impact on a school district budget Legislators serving on the Extraordinary Cost Fund for Special Education committee heard from school officials at their meeting in Pierre this week. The committee is looking at the numbers of students, and the costs involved in local districts providing those extra educational programs. Jamie Herman, superintendent in the Kadoka District, says they are having to place more students out of their district. July 27, 2018, (UK) Romford Recorder: Havering schools issue almost 1,500 exclusions, latest figures reveal http://www.romfordrecorder.co.uk/news/education/havering-schools-issue-more-than-1-000-exclusions-1-5625565 State-funded primaries, secondaries and special schools in Havering issued a total of 1,432 fixed period exclusions punishing 879 youngsters out of a total 39,958 by telling them to stay away from school for a set length of time. There were 248 short term exclusions issued for attacks on pupils and 192 for threatening adults. Of the outer London boroughs Enfield issued the most (2,951) with Kingston upon Thames issuing the least, 380. Nationally, fixed term and permanent exclusions have risen over the last five years from 7,616,870 in 2012-13 to 8,025,075 last year. As a result students with behavioural, mental health or special educational needs failed to get the support they required, Mr Powell-Davies said. July 27, 2018, Decatur, IL, NBC17: Accused Mattoon High School shooter due in court MATTOON, Ill- A teenager accused of firing gunshots at Mattoon High School is due in court. The teen is scheduled for a hearing that will determine the next step in the process. He is accused of targeting a female student and opening fire in the cafeteria when she did not show up to lunch on Sept. 20. One person was shot, but recovered. A psychiatrist told the court before the teen is very ill, has depression, oppositional defiant disorder, and a history of violent and dangerous behavior. Math teacher Angela McQueen is credited with tackling the teen and subduing him in the cafeteria, preventing anyone else from being harmed. July 28, 2018, (UK) Isle of Wight County Press: Isle of Wight school dog Poppy receives top award STUDENTS aren't the only ones achieving at St Georges School. School dog Poppy who has been supporting students at the special school for three years, helping to boost their self esteem, reduce anxiety and comfort them when they are upset has been awarded 'Pets as Therapy' status. July 28, 2018, (Ireland) Donegal Democrat: Back to School 'Quiet Night' at McElhinneys in Ballybofey McElhinneys Ballybofey have announced plans for a Back to School Quiet Night which will take place in the Kids Department from 6:30pm on Wednesday, August 8. The evening is planned to be autism-friendly and suitable for children with disabilities, or for children who would simply prefer a quieter and more calm shopping experience. July 28, 2018, South Bend (IN) Tribune: Kids with autism could find residential care in South Bend Joshua Smith is getting calls from families in other states. He said it points to the need not just here, but in the Midwest for the residential care that his company would provide for kids with autism and other developmental and intellectual disabilities. The beds havent even opened, said Smith, whos CEO of the for-profit firm Riverbend Behavioral Health. In January, it began a small school and outpatient therapy center for autism in the same three-story building, the former Madison Center Childrens Hospital at 701 N. Niles Ave. It would serve ages 6-21 when their behavior becomes too difficult for their families to manage or when they are a danger to others or themselves, Smith said. Youths would stay an average of 90 to 180 days, though it could be more or fewer, while both the youth and family learn better ways to cope. DCS and juvenile justice centers could refer several of the kids. You will notice that whats happening in the U.S. is mirrored by whats happening in the U.K. More and more programs and funding are needed to address behavioral needs and special education. Schools today resemble mental health clinics more than they do academic institutions. Just as the July 26th story from the U.K. demonstrates, school will soon be choosing between regular ed and special ed. News Shopper: Greenwich Council considers free school bid amid pressure for places Councillors have debated bidding for a new specialist free school in Greenwich to deal with increasing pressure for pupil places. Its estimated there will need to be about 200 more special needs places available for pupils by 2022. The councils top team met to discuss plans to deal with growing pressure for school places in the borough. Council leader Dan Thorpe and the cabinet agreed to a U-turn on the planned expansion of Boxgrove Primary School in Abbey Wood, which was first touted in 2013, and to use the funds for that to instead increase provisions for SEND (special educational needs) pupils there. The council also considered bidding to the Department of Education to build a new special educational free school. David Gardner, cabinet member for education, said demand has to be met through free schools and academies, despite the councils opposition. A number of heads have said to me that students they have need to be in special schools but there are not the places for them, Cllr Gardner said. That line, There are not the places for them is whats coming for every school district. Anne Dachel is Media Editor for Age of Autism. Her site, Loss of Brain Trust is a compendium of the radical changes in school around the world. 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 Harris County grand jury on Friday indicted the French chemical company Arkema and two executives for the "reckless" release of toxic chemicals during Hurricane Harvey last August, a move that alarmed industry leaders and surprised environmental advocates. The company, CEO Richard Rowe and plant manager Leslie Comardelle put residents and first responders at risk when the Crosby plant caught fire as Harvey dumped record rainfall on the Houston area, according to the Harris County District Attorney's office. "As the hurricane approached, Arkema was more concerned about production and profit than people," said Alexander Forrest, chief of the District Attorney's environmental crimes division. ARKEMA DOCUMENTS: Planning, mechanical failures led to Harvey chemical fires The last time a chemical company faced criminal charges for a major incident in Texas was 2005, when an explosion at BP's Texas City refinery killed 15 workers and injured almost 200. BP paid $50 million in fines for the incident but no one from the company served prison time. Arkema called the criminal charges filed against it "astonishing" and pledged to fight them vigorously. "There has never been an indictment like this in Texas or any other state," Arkema attorney Rusty Hardin said. "It would set an ominous precedent if a company could be held criminally liable for impact suffered as a result of the historic flooding of Hurricane Harvey that no one, including Harris County itself, was prepared for." But federal documents showed Arkema wasn't even prepared for a much smaller flood, despite being partially located in a floodplain. BEFORE THE STORM: Arkema officials were warned of flood risks a year before Harvey The company's emergency plan provided little direction to employees on how to handle major floods, and as a result, it couldn't keep combustible organic peroxides cool. Its main power transformers and backup generators were not high enough off the ground. Neither was its backup liquid nitrogen cooling system. And Arkema's last line of defense failed when water inundated the fuel tanks that power freezer trucks. Over the next week, nine trailers of organic peroxides erupted in flames, sending pillars of fire and thick plumes of black smoke into the air. More than a half dozen first-responders were sickened, according to civil suits filed against the company. A federal Chemical Safety Board investigation said Arkema was warned of flood risks a year before Harvey hit by its insurer at the time. Prosecutors say the disaster could have been prevented. The grand jury charged Arkema, Rowe and Comardelle with reckless emission of an air contaminant under the Texas Water Code. The charge carries a penalty of up to five years in prison for the individuals, and a fine of up to $1 million for the corporation. Rowe and Comardelle are expected in court Monday. Rowe became the CEO of Arkema's North America division in 2015. He's worked with the company for the last 16 years. Comardelle has worked for Arkema more than 25 years. He was part of the ride-out crew that tried to prevent the release. Comardelle's lawyers, Paul Nugent and Heather Peterson, said their client acted heroically and committed no crime. Rowe's attorney, Tim Johnson, called the charges "baseless." Hardin, Arkema's attorney, said it would be hard for any reasonable person to call the company's actions criminal. The American Chemistry Council called the charges alarming and unreasonable. Criminal charges following chemical incidents are rare in Texas. A 2013 explosion at an Air Liquide facility in La Porte killed one worker and severely burned another. The company was not fined by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration or by the Environmental Protection Agency. The Chemical Safety Board did not investigate the incident. No criminal charges were filed. An explosion of improperly stored ammonium nitrate in 2013 at West Fertilizer Company in West, Texas, killed 15 people. Officials with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives believed arson started the fire but no criminal charges were filed. When a 2014 leak of methyl mercaptan killed four workers at a DuPont plant in La Porte, again, no criminal charges were filed. But on Friday, Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg said she'd go after companies who pollute. Environmental advocates applauded her actions. "I hope these kinds of criminal charges will really get the attention of not just Arkema but the industry more broadly," said Luke Metzger, executive director of the advocacy group Environment Texas. "They can't play fast and loose with safety standards and the protection of the public." The last victim among the five young adults found dead in a San Marcos apartment building gutted by fire has been identified, officials said this afternoon. Belinda Moats, 21, of Big Wells, was positively identified through DNA analysis, a spokeswoman for the city of San Marcos said. Moats had been missing since the fire erupted at 4:27 a.m. July 20. The other four victims found dead in the burned rubble at Iconic Village Apartments were Dru Estes, 20, of San Antonio; Haley Michele Frizzell, 19, of San Angelo; David Ortiz, 21, of Pasadena; and James Miranda, 23, of Mount Pleasant. Autopsy results revealing how the victims died are still pending, said Maggie Moreno, Hays County Justice of the Peace Precinct 1, Place 2. Related: Victim's family sues San Marcos apartment owners after fatal fire All five victims had been living or staying in second-floor apartments in Building 500 at Iconic Village, 222 Ramsay St., about two blocks from the Texas State University campus. Moats, a former Texas State student, had to interrupt her studies when her family could no longer afford the tuition. She was working at a Sonic drive-in and trying to save money with hopes of returning to school. Moats was the first in her family to attend college and loved to read, her father, Thomas Moats, said in an interview with the San Antonio Express-News last week. Her dream job was to work in a book store, he said. Belinda Moats loved living in San Marcos and would routinely walk to and from work because she didnt have a car, her father said. She had declined her fathers offer to let her borrow a car so she would have transportation. Related: Investigators say they've determined the origin of fatal San Marcos apartment fire My daughter was walking to work a mile a day, Thomas Moats told the Express-News last week. She never complained. She was an angel, a pure soul She never bothered anybody. She never got in trouble in school. I dont think she ever got in trouble for anything. Peggy OHare 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. | pohare@express-news.net | Twitter: @Peggy_OHare Who doesn't love a good cocktail? They're delicious, and enjoying one with friends is a great way to enjoy some social time. Maybe, however, you'd like to rise above the occasional cocktail drinker. It's not that you drink a lot, but when you do, you are very discerning. You've taken your love of cocktails to an art. You're a true connoisseur. As a connoisseur, you might have a hard time finding ways you can take your love of cocktails to the next level. You've already tried all the great bars in town, and you know all their specialty cocktails. What can you do next? Here are a few things you can try if you want to enjoy cocktails even more than you already do: Get New Flavourings You have a bar full of alcohol and mixers already stocked at home. You can make just about any drink that any person can name. If you want to take your creations to the next level, you should try out some new flavorings. Imagine creating a pumpkin spice daiquiri or an espresso martini. With the right flavorings, it's just a matter of adding a syrup or liqueur to the drink and getting a whole new flavor that you'll love. Experiment with different flavorings, mixes, and combinations of liquors to create a whole new cocktail that you and your friends will love. You might even create the next Appletini! You won't make millions, but you'll certainly get a lot of social cred. Learn How to Make Fun New Cocktails Maybe you're not ready to start experimenting with your own cocktails. Or maybe you've just hit a creative block, and you need to focus on mixing someone else's creation instead for a while. Learning how to make some fun new cocktails can get you out of your creative rut and inspire you for your own future creations. You can also try some cocktails you may not have tried yet, and you can have fun with your friends. Don't know where to start? Try a theme, like National Unicorn Day or even something more basic like the Fourth of July. If you Google cocktails for these holidays or for themed parties, you are sure to find plenty of great ideas and many cocktails you didn't know about before. Host a Cocktail Party What better way to show off your cocktail mixing skills and to share your love of the drink than to host a cocktail party for your closest friends? Take advantage of the opportunity to really show off your skill. Choose a selection of the drinks you're most proud of being able to make. Including some classics as well as some of your own creations. Make sure there is a mix of drinks that are easy to make, as well as a few that are complicated. If all the drinks are overly involved, you won't have time to make them for everyone. You'll feel rushed and stressed out. Be sure to offer plenty of appetizers or other small plates that will go well with the cocktails and will help dull the effects of the alcohol. You don't want everyone to leave the party tipsy. Host a Mixing Contest If you love cocktails, chances are good that you have friends who love them, too. Why not host a friendly challenge to see who can make the best? You can have it in your house and hold small contests to see who can make the best Manhattan, who can make the best cocktail with a certain flavoring, or who can come up with the best original cocktail. You can make things even flashier if you have moves--spinning the bottles or using flames, just like in the Tom Cruise movie. A love of cocktails isn't just a love of drinking. If you're a true connoisseur, try these suggestions for taking that love to the next level and enjoying your hobby even more. Show others what there is to love about cocktails and share this hobby. Author Bio Judy Leesis a super-connector with Photographers In Islamabad who helps businesses find their audience online through outreach, partnerships, Photography, branding and networking. He frequently writes about the latest advancements in digital marketing, digital photography. Sydney Lakhani, the 15 year old girl who disappeared on Tuesday 24th of July has still not been found. Parents and friends of the missing teenager have just entered a second week on worry and uncertainty ever since the fruitless search for the young girl began. Parents and friends have been relentlessly putting up posters of hoping for the best outcomes. The missing girl was last seen taking her dog for a walk in the Coxwell and Cosburn Avenue areas at about 6pm on that Tuesday. The dog, which appears to be the only trace left behind by the girl, was later found tied to a tree in the same neighborhood and there was no sign of the teenage girl around.This clue obviously provides another complex puzzle for this police to solve. Her parents say she has gone missing in the past but never for this long. The fact that she has been missing in the past makes this even a more puzzling case for family, friends and investigators. According to the report on CP24, Her distraught mother has come out to speak on the issue, She went out for a walk with the dog and we have not seen her since. her mother Nishad thad said, She can be anywhere across the GTA, and we request the support of the community, Nishad Lakhani said.Our heart aches for you Sydney, wherever you are, whoever has her, please bring her home, her father Shams Lakhani said. The girl has been described to be wearing purple hair, which might most likely be in a bun; she weighs 160 pounds and is about five-feet-three inches tall. Police has appealed to anyone with information to call police at 416-808-5400 or 416-808-5500. Similarly a five year old boy in Brampton who went missing has been later found close to the train tracks having been inflicted with a life threatening injury by his abductor. Police said the child was last seen in his room around 2 a.m. Thursday in the area of McHardy Court and McMurchy Avenue just south of Queen Street West. According To police reports, the boy, who has not gone missing before, was found around 7 a.m. near train tracks not far from his home. The police said the dog was located after a dog led search, and they had called the paramedics due to the state in which they found the little boy. Police are yet to divulge the exact condition of the boy or the circumstances that led to his discovery. According to reports on Globalnews.com, twenty-eight-year-old Dyon Smart, who neighbors identified to Global News as the boyfriend of the childs mother, was arrested and charged with attempted murder, aggravated assault, failure to comply with recognizance and breach of a probation order. He appeared in a Brampton court Thursday afternoon for a bail hearing. Authorities said the boys mother woke up to find her son missing with their front door open. The boy was reported missing at 6:06 a.m., police said. For so many vital reasons, Texas needs to be healthy. Simply, our well-being isnt just about feeling good today its about the future of Texas. Studies show that health indicators are strongly tied to our states economic development, global competitiveness and security. Thats the theme to be explored at the Texas Lyceum public conference to be held Aug. 17 at the Tobin Center for the Performing Arts. More than 300 of the states business, political and health care leaders will be participating in the daylong conference titled Code Blue! The State of Texas Healthcare. The event, spearheaded by the premier nonprofit, nonpartisan leadership organization in Texas, will serve as a gathering of thought leaders on these important state and national issues. Those members will also emphasize inclusive participation from private- and public-sector stakeholders (conference registration is at www.TexasLyceum.org). By every measure, Texas claims many of the worst indicators of the well-being of its inhabitants in the nation. Chronic diseases, a great many of them preventable, impact every segment of our state population, some far more than others. Education, income, location and race are all factors in the suffering caused by chronic illnesses such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, asthma and cancer. Today, the work of public health officials is largely focused on identifying the risk factors for these chronic diseases. Were finding, more and more, that ZIP code is more important than genetic code in this regard. A primary goal of the Texas Lyceum conference will be to inform lawmakers of the pressing health care issues that may come up in the 2019 legislative agenda. With that in mind, the conference will be taking a close look at the results of the 12th annual Texas Lyceum Poll, which presents a snapshot of where Texans stand on a variety of health care issues. What evolves out of the discussions in San Antonio, which will include some of the states pre-eminent minds, will be an action plan aimed at making this state healthier. The Texas Legislature convenes only five months later. Its the reason we are calling the theme of our conference Code Blue, which is what we say when a patient is in need of resuscitation or immediate medical attention. That describes where Texas is at the moment. Tough questions and answers will need to be formed in addressing how our minority populations, faced with inequitable challenges in living conditions, financial capability and health care options, can be better served moving forward. This will influence the landscape economically, as well. Every metric shows that a healthier populace equates to a healthier bottom line for everyone, from households to businesses to state coffers. For instance, community health is going to determine what jobs were going to attract to this state. Employers, time and again, show they will locate where employees are mentally and physically capable. Employers will choose to go to healthier communities, outside the state if necessary, that have that workforce readiness. Or youll find communities or states having to incentivize companies to come anyway. If, on the whole, a community is healthier and more dynamic in the workplace, things like aggressive tax abatements wouldnt have to exist. Those abatements mean fewer tax dollars for a variety of public services. At the 32nd Texas Lyceum public conference this month, well work on solutions that shift the spotlight onto awareness, education, promotion and, someday, the elimination of the preventable impacts that cause chronic diseases. The discussion, it is hoped, will evolve into proactive messaging for our Legislature and eventual seismic change. That will effectively reduce the burden of chronic disease in this state. And that will be a healthier outcome for everyone. Dr. Esteban Lopez, marketing president and chief medical officer at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas, and Casandra Matej, president and CEO of Visit San Antonio, are co-chairs of the 32nd Texas Lyceum public conference. Brad Morrison, CEO of Innove, is president of Texas Lyceum. Lone Pinon | Acoustic Conjunto from New Mexico Homegrown Concerts from the Library of Congress, Co-sponsored by the American Folklife Center August 1, 2018, 12:00 PM, No Tickets Required Coolidge Auditorium Lone Pinon is an acoustic conjunto from Northern New Mexico whose music celebrates the diversity and integrity of their region's cultural roots. Using violins, accordion, quinta huapangera, bajo sexto, guitarron, tololoche, and vocals in Spanish, English, Nahuatl, and P'urepecha, the group has revived and updated the Chicano stringband style that once flourished in New Mexico, bringing a devoted musicianship to Northern New Mexican polkas and chotes, virtuosic Mexican huapango and son calentano, and classic borderlands conjunto. The oldest strands of New Mexican traditional music dwindled in the 1950s when New Mexico was rapidly assimilated into the American economic and cultural environment. But traces of these traditions remain in recordings, photos, and the living memory of elders. The musicians of Lone Pinon--Noah Martinez, Jordan Wax, and Leticia Gonzaleslearned from elder musicians, who instilled in them a respect for continuity and an example of the radicalism, creativity, and cross-cultural solidarity that has always informed folk music. In 2014, they formed Lone Pinon to strengthen the oldest strands of New Mexico string music through relationships with elders, study of field recordings, and connections to parallel traditional music and dance revitalization movements in the US and Mexico. Their active repertoire reflects the complexity of this musical landscape and includes twin-fiddle traditions from South Texas, Tohono O'odham fiddle tunes from Arizona, early conjunto accordion music, contemporary New Mexican rancheras and canciones nortenas, orquesta tejana, New Mexican and Mexican swing, huapangos huastecos from the Mexican Huasteca region, and several styles of music from Michoacan: son calentano and son planeco from the southern lowlands and son abajeno and pirekuas from the P'urepecha highlands. For one Longford man, its a trip he has looked forward to for the last six years and this year, it seems, will be no different as he loads up his truck for the annual trip to Belarus which begins this week. Local man Eoin McGinnity has been travelling to the poverty stricken area in conjunction with the charity Chernobyl Aid for the last few years, but this year he is travelling alone with his daughter by his side and its a journey he does not take for granted. The lorry he is driving which took off from Longford on Tuesday, will travel to Belarus via Poland and is packed with all the essentials the community there needs including clothes, toys, footwear and other essentials. Normally I do this trip with Chernobyl Aid, but this year myself and my daughter are heading off on the trip, Eoin told the Leader, before pointing out that he has been inundated with donations from local people. The generosity of people is heartwarming and I want to thank everyone who has supported the cause in any way. Meanwhile, Eoin plans to drop his cargo off once he arrives and then spend a few days visiting the orphanages and chatting with the local people. Being no stranger to the area, he has built firm friendships with many of the natives over the years and they are, no doubt, looking forward to seeing him again. I plan to stay around for a few days; we will visit a few places while we are there and I also plan to check-in at the orphanages, he added. Ive been going to Belarus for the past six years and it is a cause that is close to my heart; it is a very different place to Longford and when I come back after the trip I am always very grateful for my lot!. Read Also: Longford Rose's 'emotional' trip to orphanage in Belarus A County Longford man, who was knocked down and critically injured after being struck by a police vehicle in Canada earlier this year, has died. Mullinalaghta native Brendan Keogh passed away on Wednesday morning (August 1), some four months after sustaining serious injuries following an incident on March 13 last in Squamish, about 60km north of Vancouver. 29-year-old Mr Keogh, a former student at Cnoc Mhuire in Granard, was walking along the intersection of Highway 99 and Garibaldi Way in the bustling town of Squamish when he was struck by an unmarked Police SUV. The officer, attached to the Lower Mainland Integrated Police Dog Services, had been on duty at the time. That resulted in Canadian police watchdog The Independent Investigations Office (IIO) launching an investigation into the circumstances behind the incident. The former Dundalk IT student's parents Kevin and Marian, and two sisters, Niamh and Aine, flew out to Canada to be by his side, while back at home, two prayer services were held in Mullinalaghta's St Columba's Church. Mr Keogh had been living in the Canadian province of British Columbia for a year and had been working at local bar and restaurant the Howe Sound Inn up until the time of the incident. The well liked and much respected north Longfordian was flown home to Ireland a number of weeks later where, it was hoped, he would continue his rehabilitation. News of his passing, however, has been greeted with shock and much anguish within the tight knit community of Mullinalaghta. "It is very sad to hear that Brendan has passed away," said local Cllr PJ Reilly. "It's very tough on his parents Kevin and Marian and two sisters as it is for the local community." Mr Keogh's family expressed thanks to Vancouver General Hospital, Cavan General Hospital and the Mater Hospital, Dublin for the care they afforded him since the accident. He will lie in repose at Our Lady's Manor Nursing Home, Edgeworthstown on Saturday, August 4 from 4pm until 7pm. Funeral Mass takes place on Sunday, August 5 in St Columba's Church, Mullinalaghta at 2pm with burial immediately afterwards in local cemetery. House private please. Sympathy is extended to his parents Marian and Kevin, sisters Niamh and Aine, brother in law Colm, uncles, aunts, cousins and a large circle of friends, R.I.P. Looking to stay up to date about all of the news stories and local headlines that are important to Long Islanders? We've rounded up the top coverage for all of the important topics from multiple sources around Long Island, so you can be sure you've got the most recent update on the top stories for Long Island. Have an idea for a news story? Email us at news@longisland.com Columnists Press Releases BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee has chosen Whitney Baume as director of contract development and standards. She will lead efforts to ensure information flows efficiently between BlueCross and medical providers who are initiating or renewing contracts with the company. Ms. Baumes team will ensure that provider contracts and network participation standards remain current and compliant with all applicable legislative and administrative guidelines. Before joining BlueCross, Ms. Baume served as general counsel for Trivium Healthcare, where she was responsible for negotiating contracts, establishing policies and procedures and overseeing all legal and compliance concerns. "She has in-depth experience with the rules and policies of health care regulatory agencies," officials said. Whitneys considerable experience in contract negotiation, regulatory compliance and leading teams makes her an excellent fit for this position, said Stacy Eiselstein, vice president of provider network operations for BlueCross. We are excited to have her join the BlueCross family. Ms. Baume earned a bachelors degree from the University of Colorado and a law degree from the University of Oregon. She is a member of the American Bar Association and the Tennessee Bar Association. Local News, Crime By Long Island News & PR Published: August 03 2018 Jose Franco-Martinez, 53, allegedly murdered his ex-girlfriend, DA Singas said. Jose Franco-Martinez of Elmont, 53, was arraigned for the alleged June 17 murder of his ex-girlfriend. Mineola, NY - August 3, 2018 - Nassau County District Attorney Madeline Singas announced that an Nassau County District Attorney Madeline Singas announced that an Elmont man has been arraigned on grand jury indictment charges for the June 17 murder of his ex-girlfriend at Belmont Racetrack. Jose Franco-Martinez, 53, was arraigned today before Supreme Court Justice Angelo Delligatti on charges of Murder in the Second Degree (an A-I Felony) and Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Fourth Degree (an A misdemeanor). The defendant was remanded and is due back in court September 5. If convicted of the top count, he faces 25 years to life in prison. This defendant allegedly drove from Kansas to brutally murder Maria Larin, his ex-girlfriend, and an innocent mother, as she worked with horses at the Belmont Stakes racetrack, DA Singas said. Im grateful to Belmont staff and security for their quick action to stop and apprehend this alleged killer and my heart goes out to her family as they grieve this unspeakable loss. DA Singas said on June 17 Maria Larin was working as a hot walker inside the stall area of Barn 61 at Belmont Racetrack, walking hot horses to help them cool down after racing. As she worked, the defendant approached and allegedly stabbed her multiple times all over her body with a silver kitchen knife . To intervene, Larins co-worker, who saw the incident happen, picked up a shovel and hit the defendant in the head with it, but the defendant still managed to run away. After a brief chase, security staff from the New York Racing Association apprehended him and called police. During the chase, Franco-Martinez allegedly threw the knife into the bushes. Franco-Martinez, who previously worked as a hot walker at Belmont, allegedly become angry with Larin after she ended their romantic relationship. On June 16, he allegedly paid an acquaintance to drive him from Kansas, where he was working, to New York to allegedly murder the victim on June 17. Senior District Attorney Stefanie Palma of DA Singas Major Offense Bureau is prosecuting this case. The defendant is represented by Dana Grossblatt, Esq. Local News, Crime, Politics By Long Island News & PR Published: August 03 2018 The RAVE App is critical in response to active shooter situations. Uniondale, NY - August 3, 2018 - Nassau County Executive Laura Curran this week joined Minority Leader Kevan Abrahams, Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder and Karen Farrell , Nassau County Executive Laura Curran this week joined Minority Leader Kevan Abrahams, Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder and Karen Farrell , Uniondale Public Library Administrator, to announce that 54 libraries county-wide will have the RAVE Panic Button System installed in their facilities. Too often we see the headlines of active shooter events, said County Executive Curran. In fact, according to Gun Violence Archive, a total of 188 mass shooting incidents have occurred as of July 23 of this year. One is too many. The RAVE App is critical in response to active shooter situations and will protect patrons while generating a faster response to emergencies. The RAVE Panic Button System does not replace 911 but will assist greatly with response time and essential monitoring of the situation. Our public educational resources where residents gather to learn and expand their horizons can be targets for those who are trying to infringe on our freedoms, said Minority Leader Abrahams. Library officials should have the technology at their fingertips to notify law enforcement of any emergency at their facility. This is a great initiative for the County that shows we are moving forward in efforts to protect our communities. The RAVE application will assist the Nassau County Police in the event of an incident which requires emergency response by its police officers and medics, said Nassau County Commissioner of Police Ryder. When a school or library can immediately contact the police, it can decrease our response time which will be of great benefit when seconds are crucial. The RAVE system is technology that has recently been implemented in many Nassau County school districts. Under the leadership of Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder, the county has been proactive in securing new districts for use of the RAVE system as well as creating a new active shooter policing strategy. Upon activation via a RAVE panic button the PD can respond but also see the events within a location to determine the safest and fastest action to save lives. Our goal is to expedite communication and the ability to monitor an event to minimize casualties and effectively end the situation, said County Executive Curran. The cost is $450 per location. Kanye West has officially changed his name to 'Ye' The rapper was given the tick of approval by a judge earlier today to change his name to 'Ye' with no middle or last name. SPRINGFIELD -- MGM Springfield will donate up to $25,000 each to Head Start and Square One, two local organizations that serve children, from any net gaming profits received at the casino on two test dates ahead of its Aug. 24 opening. There will be live gambling by invited guests, including friends and associates of MGM Springfield and casino laborers, on Aug. 16 and Aug. 20, to allow regulators to test the gaming equipment and operations, officials said. The Massachusetts Gaming Commission approved the testing dates. Guidelines include that MGM must have a certificate of occupancy from the city, and it will be allowed to switch currency for chips, can process currency, can operate its gaming machines and can serve alcoholic beverages in compliance with its license terms and conditions. MGM officials said that none of the net profits from the test days will go to MGM Springfield. Up to $25,000 will go to each of Holyoke Chicopee Springfield Head Start and Square One, and any additional profits from those two days will go to charities to be determined, officials said. Head Start provides early childhood services for children and families. Square One provides early education and care programs. A new WBUR poll of voters in Massachusetts's 7th congressional district shows that Rep. Mike Capuano has a 13 point lead against his opponent Boston City Councilor Ayanna Pressley. The poll conducted by Mass. Inc. surveyed 403 "likely voters" in the district, which encompasses parts of Boston, Cambridge, Milton and all of Chelsea, Everett, Randolph, and Somerville. "We're also still seeing the dynamic where Ayanna Pressley is running about even or even perhaps slightly ahead in Boston, where Michael Capuano polls such strong support in surrounding communities that that's enough to give him a solid edge in the race," Steve Koczela, president of the MassINC Polling Group, told WBUR. Capuano's lead has remained steady since the group's last survey in February. But Pressley has a significant pull among non-white voters and voters between ages 18-49. Forty-nine percent of non-white voters polled said they supported Pressley, while 31 percent supported Capuano. Among white voters, Capuano had 60 percent support compared with Pressley's 25 percent. "What typically happens in primaries is they are pretty low-turnout affairs," Koczela told WBUR, "and we see that although this district is majority-minority, in the past the majority of voters who have turned out for primaries have been white and they tend to skew much older." Voters were also asked about national politics an immigration. Most of the people polled - 69 percent - said President Donald Trump should be impeached. When asked who would make a good democratic speaker of the House, should the Democrats win back the house, 48 percent of those polled said it should not be Nancy Pelosi. Asked about Immigration and Customs Enforcement, 64 percent of those polled said the agency should be reformed while 21 percent said it should be abolished. Civil rights activists and faith leaders who want to rename Faneuil Hall say the City of Boston is ignoring its black residents in refusing to consider the change. About 30 protesters, mostly people of color, marched from Park Street to the historic meeting house asking Boston Mayor Marty Walsh to "have the hearing" about renaming the hall, which currently honors an 18th-century slave trader. The group would like to instead honor Crispus Attucks, a black man who was the first casualty in what would become the Revolutionary War. Bill Owens, the first black man to be elected to the Massachusetts State Senate, said he saw this as a chance for reparations. Not in dollars, but in symbolism, he said. "Here is a real opportunity for this mayor to take a leadership role in showing people the necessity for reparations all over the world," he said. "We're not here looking for money. We're looking for justice. We're looking to rectify the past." Faneuil Hall is a grand meeting house and is a part of the state's revolutionary roots. It's been the site of political rallies and speeches since the 1700s. It's where Samuel Adams rallied Bostonians to support independence and George Washington celebrated the first Independence Day. Its speakers have included Frederick Douglass, Susan B. Anthony, Ted Kennedy and Barack Obama. But the building was funded by and named for Peter Faneuil, one of the richest merchants in the 18th century, who made his fortune trading sugar, and molasses, and people, according to historical accounts. About a year ago - in the wake of the deadly rally in Charlottesville Virginia and the removal of a Confederate statute - Kevin Peterson held his first press conference outside Faneuil Hall. Peterson, who is the founder of the New Democracy Coalition said he's been "met with silence" from Walsh and all of the city councilors since. Over the last year, Peterson and his supporters have sent letters to Walsh, City Council President Andrea Campbell and the other members of the council. Peterson shared copies of the letters with MassLive and a city hall employee confirmed their receipt. No one has responded to Peterson, the city hall employee said. Now, Peterson is calling for a boycott of all stores in the hall and adjoining Quincy Market. The hall is one of the most visited attractions in the country and draws more than 18 million people per year. "I'm embarrassed to say....on this issue the mayor does not talk to black people," Peterson told MassLive. Protestors request hearing on name change for Faneuil Hall. Peter Faneuil is not a good man. Posted by MassLive on Thursday, August 2, 2018 A spokeswoman for Walsh's office said: "we have no comment on the letter." She pointed to the mayor's previous statement on the suggestion: "If we were to change the name of Faneuil Hall today, 30 years from now, no one would know why we did it. Not many people know about the history of that man." He continued: "What we should do instead, is figure out a way to acknowledge the history so people understand it. We can't erase history, but we can learn from it." Peterson said the mayor is suppressing the voice of black people living in Boston who "disproportionately suffer in this city." Mike Maloney, an independent candidate for Suffolk County District Attorney who attended the protest, said he the name change is an obvious choice. "What I see going on here is the perpetuation of slavery," Maloney said. "It's what I see it every day in court." Robert Percy and Andrea Kingsley, a couple visiting from Oregon, happened upon the protest. They both agreed the name of the hall should be changed. Any confusion could be cleared up with a plaque, Percy said. "You know there were hundreds of thousands of slaveholders," he said. "But slave trader...that's another thing. That's a creepy, creepy background." Peterson said though he can only speculate, he thinks people are hesitant to rename the historical site because it challenges their beliefs about the country. "You can't say Faneuil Hall is the cradle of liberty knowing that its very bricks were financed by the sale of a slave boy," he said. "It's a contradiction. People have a hard time dealing with that." Boston plans to begin phasing in body-worn cameras for its police department after a report found the devices led to slightly fewer complaints against officers and reports of officer use of force. Democratic Mayor Marty Walsh released the report Thursday and said the city is in talks with police unions about the cameras' implementation. His office says money in this year's budget will pay for up to 400 cameras. The report from Northeastern University researchers examined a yearlong test of the cameras by comparing a group of officers who wore the devices to a group that didn't. The researchers said cameras provided "small but meaningful benefits to the civility of police-citizen encounters." They said the officers who wore the cameras had 15 fewer complaints and reported nine fewer use of force incidents. LONGMEADOW - One resident was displaced in a house fire caused by a suspected lightning strike during heavy thunderstorms Thursday. Fire Chief John Dearborn initially was responding to an alarm, believed to have been set off by a power surge, at small business complex at the corner of Maple and Shaker Roads. When he was there he spotted smoke and flames coming from the neighboring home at 888 Shaker Road. "I was walking around and I saw the house on fire. It was fortunate I saw it," he said. He said he called for firefighters to respond shortly before 5 p.m. and soon afterward the department began receiving other calls from neighbors who saw smoke. "I don't know what we saw, we saw orange, and it sounded like gunshots. We heard three bangs and then we saw smoke," said Vanessa Chiarella, a neighbor. She called 911 to report the fire. The fire was mostly confined to the attic but there is water and smoke damage throughout the house. It took firefighters about 15 minutes to extinguish the flames, Dearborn said. No one was home when the fire started and there were no injuries while firefighters were putting out the fire, he said. "It was pretty labor-intensive because we had to pull down the ceilings," he said. The state fire marshal's office will assist in investigating the cause of the fire. The damage to the home is estimated at $70,000, he said. About 25 firefighters responded, including off-duty Longmeadow firefighters. Firefighters from East Longmeadow and North Thompsonville in Enfield, Connecticut, also assisted. Agawam sent an ambulance crew. The Shaker Pines Department, also in Enfield, assisted by answering an estimated 10 calls for problems that came to the Longmeadow Fire Department during the afternoon thunderstorm, Dearborn said. The heat and humidity made it even more difficult to fight the fire, especially since it was in the attic. Armata's supermarket, which is across the street from the house, provided a shopping cart with water to ensure the firefighters were hydrated, Dearborn said. "They are a good neighbor," he said. Shaker Road near the intersection of Maple Street remains closed at this time. BELCHERTOWN - There is controversy about clear-cutting many acres of trees to make them happen, but three proposed solar farms could net the town nearly $6 million over a 20-year period, data provided by the selectmen's office shows. The projects are expected to generate a total of 18 megawatts, should the Planning Board approve site plans for them and other permitting requirements. Three solar farms already online -- a 5.4-megawatt project off Route 181, a 1.5-megawatt facility on Ware Road and a 1.25-megawatt operation on Springfield Street -- will bring revenue totaling $1.8 million over a 20-year period, Town Administrator Gary Brougham said in an interview last week. Brougham said that as a condition for site plan approval, solar farm operators must agree to payment in lieu of taxes arrangements, or PILOTs. Brougham said the amount translates to about $13,150 per megawatt. Each year 2 percent interest is added to the PILOT for smaller projects, and 2.2 percent is added annually for larger projects, such as the three now under consideration. Two new projects, at 7.3 megawatts each, are proposed on land owned by W.D. Cowls Inc. on North Street and Gulf Road. Brougham said Cowls owns more than 1,000 acres in town and has experts in managing and sustaining forested lands. The North Street proposal would be built and operated by Sycarpha Solar LLC. The Gulf Road facility would be built and operated by Blue Wave Solar. Meanwhile, Borregos Solar is seeking the Planning Board's approval for a 3.4-megawatt project on Franklin Street. The three solars farms would provide "substantial financial benefit to the town," Brougham said. The North Street and Gulf Road sites are about 100 acres combined and the Franklin Street site is about 20 acres. It was unclear how much of that land would be cleared for the proposed solar farms. More than 200 citizens concerned about the impacts of solar farms signed a petition recently calling for a special Town Meeting. The meeting, set for Aug. 20, will include three articles related to solar farm regulations, clear-cutting of trees to build them and the PILOT process. At a Belchertown Planning Board meeting on July 10, Ken Elstein, a leader of the group of citizens seeking review of solar farm zoning bylaws, acknowledged that the three articles would not likely stop the three projects now under consideration. He is hoping the Planning Board will amend bylaws to more strictly limit solar facilities. "We would very much like the Planning Board ... to show leadership," Elstein said at the meeting. One article on the special Town Meeting warrant would restrict to four acres the amount of trees that could be cut for the construction of a solar farm. Planning Board Chairman James Natle told Elstein that, in the future, the board could look at projects that require "clear-cutting huge swaths of land." But board member Daniel Beaudette said property owners have rights to develop their land, and that if someone does not agree they have the option to purchase the land so that trees are not cut. "You want to come in and say it is a forest and it is going to stay a forest," Beaudette said at the meeting. "Your private property rights don't control their property rights," he said, adding:"What right do you have to tell a private landowner" what to do with their property? The Planning Board is scheduled to convene Aug. 14 to discuss the Franklin Street and Gulf Road solar projects. Proponents of the North Street project, to date, have not submitted an application to the board, although it has been discussed informally with town officials. The president of Cowls, Cinda Jones, was the driving force behind a 2012 initiative that created the largest protected, contiguous forestland in the state on the company's land. "The project protects in perpetuity 3,486 acres of working forest on and around Brushy Mountain in Leverett and Shutesbury, Massachusetts. It was named in honor of the late Paul C Jones, the 8th generation leader of W.D. Cowls," the company's website says. The Republican reported that part of the agreement involved the state obtaining a permanent conservation restriction on the land at a cost of $8.8 million. "There's a critical balance between conservation and development," Jones said at the May 2012 dedication. "You can't have one without the other." During the July 10 Belchertown Planning Board meeting, members told residents they may wish to take their concerns about solar projects to leaders in state government. "The Board also told the audience to call their state representatives. The tax incentives they are giving to these solar companies are driving a lot of these installation," minutes from the July 10 meeting say. WESTFIELD - One Stop Convenience is now open at 1056 North Road. The Patel family opened the store this month and are getting to know their neighbors. Sushilaben and Hasmukh "Harry" Patel and their sons Nirav and Ravi said they have been welcomed by customers and the community. "We already have some regular customers, and everyone is very friendly - it's a nice neighborhood," said Ravi, who lives in New York but is helping his family set up the shop. The store is drawing customers from Westfield, Holyoke, Southampton and Easthampton, said Ravi. Sushilaben and Harry Patel owned several convenience stores in Wilbraham but decided to retire two years ago. However, they saw the opportunity in the Westfield space, next to a Dunkin' Donuts, and decided to open another business. "Retirement was boring," Sushilaben said. The family owned their Wilbraham stores for 12 years and Ravi, Nirav and their sister grew up in the business. "Our first toy was a cash register," Ravi joked. Sushilaben Patel said their customers became friends and part of the family, something they hope happens in their Westfield store. Sushilaben and Harry Patel emigrated from India to New Jersey in the 1990s and opened a convenience store there before moving to Massachusetts to be closer to family. The store is open every day from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., but the Patels plan to adjust hours to meet customer needs. One Stop Convenience offers a variety of items, including groceries, dairy, lottery, household products, car items and more. "We have applied for a beer and wine license and hope that comes together soon," Ravi Patel said. The secret to the family's success is easy, he said: "Good customer service, a variety of products including fresh grocery items and cleanliness is key." Southeastern Hampshire and southeastern Hampden Counties are expected to experience torrential rainfall, hail and strong winds as a line of severe thunderstorms move through the area. A severe thunderstorm warning is in effect until 5:30 p.m. for parts of southwestern Massachusetts stretching from the eastern edge of Longmeadow through Ware, Palmer and Holland, the National Weather Service announced Thursday afternoon. "Large hail and damaging winds and continuous cloud to ground lightning is occurring with these storms," the NWS said in the warning. "Move indoors immediately. Lightning is one of nature's leading killers." Flash flooding is also a possibility as the storms move through the region. Haul up to .75 inches and 60 mph wind gusts are expected. Damage to trees and power lines is also likely. NORTHAMPTON -- The employee who called campus security on a black student earlier this week has been placed on leave while the school investigates the incident, a school official said Friday. The employee will be on leave until the conclusion of the school's external investigation into the incident, said Amy Hunter, interim director of Inclusion, Diversity and Equity, on the school's website. Oumou Kanoute, an undergraduate student working at the school over the summer, said in a Facebook post that she was on her lunch break when an officer arrived and asked what she was doing there. It was later revealed that the employee who called police on Kanoute had said she seemed "out of place." Kanoute has demanded that the school reveal to her the identity of the employee, and also asked that she be allowed to meet with the employee so that he or she can apologize. The school has launched an independent investigation into the incident and announced it will force its staff to undergo anti-bias training. NORTHAMPTON -- Smith College is investigating an incident in which a black student said she was questioned by campus police after someone called because, as she was eating lunch in a common area, she "seemed to be out of place." President Kathleen McCartney said Thursday she has apologized to the student and established an online forum to receive helpful comments from the community. Also, she said: every college staff member will be required to undergo anti-bias training, workshops on inclusion and topics of identity will be held for faculty and staff, and the college's Office of Inclusion, Diversity and Equity will work with campus police "to strengthen the protocols by which they triage, assess and respond to calls for assistance." "I look forward to partnering with you all in this work as we redress past wrongs and redouble our prevention efforts so that incidents like this never happen again. This work will take reflection and sustained commitment," McCartney said on the school's website. Oumou Kanoute, an undergraduate student working at the school over the summer, said in a Facebook post that she was on her lunch break when an officer arrived and asked what she was doing there. "All I did was be black," Kanoute said on Facebook. Kanoute said that she was "traumatized" by the incident and that it was outrageous police were called. "I am blown away at the fact that I cannot even sit down and eat lunch peacefully," Kanoute said on Facebook. The college has hired a "third-party investigator" to review the incident, McCartney said in the website statement addressed to students, staff and faculty. "Although privacy laws preclude Smith from making public personnel-related outcomes of any investigation, I commit to sharing with you any recommendations on policies, procedures or further community training that result," McCartney said. She apologized to Kanoute and assured her she was welcome "in all Smith spaces," the president said. "This painful incident reminds us of the ongoing legacy of racism and bias in which people of color are targeted while simply going about the business of their daily lives. It is a powerful reminder that building an inclusive, diverse and sustainable community is urgent and ongoing work," McCartney said. McCartney was eager to receive ideas from the community on the online forum, she said. "Members of the Smith campus community share a responsibility to ensure that each of us is safe and each of us is treated with respect. As president, I have made this work a priority," McCartney said. NORTHAMPTON -- Smith College has released the transcript of the call to campus police that led to an incident that the school's president has said is a reminder of the "legacy of racism" in the U.S. Oumou Kanoute, an undergraduate student working at the school over the summer, was eating lunch in a campus building Tuesday when an employee called campus security, stating she looked "out of place." This incident, the school's president Kathleen McCartney has said, is a reminder of "the ongoing legacy of racism and bias in which people of color are targeted while simply going about the business of their daily lives." The school said Thursday that it had hired an outside investigator to look into the incident and that mandatory anti-bias training would occur at the school. Kanoute, a rising sophomore, has made several demands of the school -- including that administrators reveal to her the identity of the person who made the call. So far the school has said that it would not reveal the identity of the staff member, though that staff member has been placed on leave for the duration of the college's external investigation into the incident. The transcript of the campus police call released Friday redacts the name of the staff member who made the call. "I was just walking through here in the front foyer of [REDACTED] and we have a person sitting there laying down in the living room area over here," the caller tells police. "I didn't approach her or anything but um he seems to be out of place..." The college posted the transcript on its website: NORTHAMPTON -- A black Smith College student who had to explain her presence in a campus common area says she will be "unable to move forward" until a list of "personal demands" are met, according to posts she made over social media. A campus security officer was called on Oumou Kanoute after a staff member claimed she "seemed to be out of place." Kanoute, a rising sophomore at the school, said Thursday night that while she appreciated the school's effort to deal with the incident, the process was so far "incomplete." Kanoute's Facebook post, time stamped at 7:39 p.m., came several hours after the college released a statement in which President Kathleen McCartney expressed the "deepest" of apologies to the student, announced that the school would hire an investigator to look into the incident, and would enforce new anti-bias training for its staff. The college's statement - along with a letter from @presmccartney and a list of frequently asked questions regarding the July 31 call to campus police - can be viewed at https://t.co/M7KRskRJI2. Smith College Tweets (@smithcollege) August 3, 2018 Kanoute said that the school should be "intentional" about dealing with the incident involving her. "To Smith College: I recognize and appreciate the effort that you all continuously put into inclusion on this campus. However, we must be intentional about addressing this racist incident and systemic racism on campus. Your response has been helpful, but it is incomplete," the student wrote. I'm using this status to make a few statements after everything that happened over the last 24 hours. To the media: Do... Posted by Oumou Kanoute on Thursday, August 2, 2018 "I will be unable to move forward from this incident without the following personal demands," Kanoute wrote. Those demands included that administrators give Kanoute the "name of the employee" who called security, as well as being given a "private conversation between me (Kanoute), that employee, and the administration focused on reconciliation and acknowledgement of this wrongdoing from the employee and the college." Kanoute also wrote that she wanted an "apology from the school and the employee during that meeting" and that the apology should precede any decision as to whether or not there should be "punishment for this outrageous and racist act." The school, as per its policy, has said that it would not release the identity of the staff member who called security on Kanoute. The incident has garnered international news coverage and spawned widespread support for Kanoute on social media. Kanoute further said that she and her family appreciated support from the surrounding community. "To family, friends, classmates, alumnae, and allies: Thank you for your support, well wishes, and positivity. My family and I will continue to need your energy, prayers, support, and vibes as we resolve this incident," Kanoute said. Smith has declined to give further details about the incident, citing its investigation. Kanoute has not responded to The Republican's requests for comment. SPRINGFIELD - City firefighters extinguished an early morning car fire in Six Corners that destroyed a vehicle and caused $15,000 damage to two adjacent buildings. The fire at 22 Greenacre Square was determined to be intentionally set by the city Arson and Bomb Squad, said Dennis Leger, aide to Fire Commissioner Bernard J. Calvi. The fire was reported just before 4 a.m. It is the third car fire in two days that was found to be arson. Two cars were set on fire at 4:30 a.m. Wednesday in front of 131 Dresden Street in the city's Upper Hill neighborhood. Leger said investigators feel the most recent fire is not connected to the earlier one. At the Greenacre address, firefighters found a 2003 Lincoln Aviator in flames. Temperatures from the flames were so strong that a garage at 18 Greenacre and the front of 22 Greenacre each sustained heat damage, Leger said. Anyone with information about the fires is asked to call the arson squad at 413 787-6370. Those who wish to remain anonymous may text a tip via a cell phone by addressing a text message to "CRIMES," or "274637," and then beginning the body of the message with the word "SOLVE." SPRINGFIELD -- A new City Council committee will consider guidelines and regulations for recreational marijuana businesses in Springfield, addressing issues such as where they can be located, any caps on their number, city revenues and security. Council President Orlando Ramos on Friday announced the three-member subcommittee will be chaired by Councilor Justin Hurst and also include Councilors Kateri Walsh and Adam Gomez. Ramos said he believes a city ordinance for marijuana facilities can be finalized and approved by the full council by late September. The new committee will conduct open meetings and will encourage public participation at those meetings, councilors said. Voters statewide approved the sale of recreational marijuana in November of 2016, and it was signed into law by Gov. Charlie Baker in July 2017. Regulations were approved by the state Cannabis Control Commission in March of this year, with cities and towns able to impose additional local regulations. The Springfield City Council received draft regulations from the city's Planning Department and the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission in June. Around the same time, Ramos and all three members of the new City Council Committee on Marijuana Regulations were in Denver on a fact-finding mission about marijuana facilities there. Councilors said the Colorado trip and draft regulations will help in drafting a city ordinance on marijuana businesses. "So as you can see, this has been a very long process, and we received many questions from people asking about our regulations and timeline as to when the city of Springfield will be ready for recreational marijuana," Ramos said. "So today I'm here to announce the creation of a new subcommittee that will help us get to the finish line." Hurst said the committee will take a hard look at all factors "and we'll make the best decision that is in the best interest of the citizens of Springfield." The city has a moratorium in effect that blocks marijuana retailers through September. The moratorium can be extended. Although the Cannabis Control Commission has begun issuing licenses to recreational marijuana retailers elsewhere in the state, sales cannot begin until recreational marijuana testing labs are established. So far no labs have been proposed or approved. The Committee on Marijuana Regulations has its first meeting scheduled on Aug. 16 at noon at City Hall. A second meeting is scheduled Aug. 20 at 5 p.m. at City Hall. There will be a City Council Committee of the Whole meeting on Aug. 22 at 5 p.m. in which all councilors are invited to discuss the ordinance on marijuana establishments. Current plans call for a draft ordinance to be ready for Planning Board consideration on Sept. 19, and for a final vote by the City Council on Sept. 25. All meetings are open to the public. Hurst said that key considerations will include if there should be a cap on the number of marijuana facilities allowed in Springfield, and what types of buffers should be created, such as minimum distances from schools and residential buildings. Draft regulations from the Planning Department suggest a prohibition on marijuana establishments within 500 feet of any residence or residential district, and none within 500 feet of a school. There is also a proposed buffer of at least 500 feet between individual marijuana businesses. Ramos said he is not concerned that some communities are moving quicker than Springfield in adopting regulations and soliciting marijuana businesses. As Springfield is the third largest city in Massachusetts, it is a complex issue to provide local guidelines and regulations, he said. In Holyoke, a City Council committee is considering proposed companies and sites for recreational marijuana facilities. In Chicopee, the city has finalized guidelines and is accepting applications for marijuana retailers until Aug. 23. AMHERST -- University of Massachusetts police union members are raising concerns about UMass hiring unarmed security guards to patrol the newly acquired Mount Ida campus in Newton. But UMass officials said members of the Mount Ida campus community will be well protected by the private security as well as assistance from the Newton police. The Mount Ida campus will have a "small population of about 200 total staff and students on campus this fall as UMass Amherst begins operating the facility. Less than 100 students will be living on campus," UMass spokesman Edward Blaguszewski said in a statement. Internal Security Associates took over the 75-acre Newton campus Tuesday. UMass acquired the campus in April after a merger between Mount Ida and Lasell College fell through. Justin Green, president of New England Police Benevolent Association Local 190, in a press release said contracting unarmed private security guards is an unacceptable public safety risk. "(It's) an outrage to the UMass-Amherst police supervisors and officers," he said. With the Amherst campus operating Mount Ida, the same standard of police protection should be maintained there, he said. Union officials met with UMass officials to offer proposals, but the union said their ideas were rejected. Blaguszewski said UMass is very comfortable with Internal Security Associates, a private firm with a background in campus security, patrolling the Mount Ida campus and contacting Newton police if they need help. In a statement, he said UMass Environmental Health and Safety is using its emergency alerts system for the Newton campus. He said two full-time residential life staff will be working on the campus. UMass has hired Margolis Healy, a professional services company specializing in campus safety, security and regulatory compliance for higher education, to review security long term. "UMass police officials in discussions with union officials have offered the opportunity to its police officers to work straight time shifts at the Mount Ida campus, but no officer has expressed interest to date," he wrote. Green denies that campus police were offered straight time patrol shifts, but in an email said it would be "next to impossible to even think it would be possible to send officers or an officer down there on 'straight' time. This action would leave the Amherst campus with below minimum staffing. "(The union) recommended two officer patrols at the Mount Ida Campus and also advised management that we had officers in the department that would be willing to transfer down to Mount Ida on a permanent basis if and when they come up with or accept our proposal," he said. International Brotherhood of Police Officers Local 432B President Matthew Malo in the press release"We are deeply troubled by the flawed roll out of UMass-Amherst's security plans for the Mount Ida property. The administration has given little to no thought to the protection of the UMass students, faculty and staff at the Mount Ida campus," said . "UMPD is responsible for the welfare of the UMass community and the University's Mount Ida security plan is lacking to non-existent, it endangers the public." Worcester police have made an arrest in connection with the death of Marlene Bleau, the 38-year-old woman whose body was found by the water at Lake Park over the weekend. Joseph Dalrymple, 33, with a last known address of Shrewsbury, has been arrested for strangulation. He is expected to be arraigned in Worcester Central District Court on Friday. Dalrymple has a history of firearm and assault and battery charges, according to court records. Sources confirmed to MassLive that Dalrymple was arrested in connection with Bleau's death. Worcester police arrests log show he was booked Thursday just before 5 p.m. Bleau was found face down in the water by the shoreline near 295 Lake Ave. around 8 a.m. Saturday. Worcester police called the incident a possible drowning. The office of the Chief Medical Examiner is still working to determine an exact cause of death for Bleau. Bleau, a resident of Worcester, was known to frequent Lake Park over the past few months. Worcester police have asked anyone who saw Bleau driving her brown 2016 Volkswagen Jetta in the area of Lake Park before her death to contact detectives at 508-450-1470 or 508-799-8651. By Ben Hellerstein On July 31, legislators voted to increase renewable energy in Massachusetts, taking an important step toward cleaner air, healthier communities, and a safe future for our children. If signed by Governor Baker, this legislation will raise the portion of our electricity coming from renewable sources like solar and wind to 35 percent by 2030. It will also open the door to increasing energy storage, renewable heating, and other clean technologies. We can and should do much more. Several critical policies were left on the cutting room floor, such as eliminating arbitrary caps that are preventing families and businesses from switching to solar energy. And studies have shown that setting more ambitious clean energy targets -- like 50 percent renewable electricity by 2030 -- will yield major benefits to our environment, our health, and our economy. At the State House, we're seeing incremental progress on clean energy policy. But beyond Beacon Hill, clean energy is moving ahead by leaps and bounds, thanks to the efforts of local officials, business leaders, and ordinary citizens. Officials in Springfield have reduced energy consumption for municipal and school buildings by nearly 25 percent, saving more than $2.5 million per year on the city's energy bills. Over ten years, these energy-saving improvements will reduce global warming emissions by the equivalent of preserving 80 acres of forest. Amherst and Northampton officials have committed to a goal of powering their communities with 100 percent renewable energy. Amherst's Hitchcock Center for the Environment is among the first "living buildings" in Massachusetts, built to such a high standard of energy efficiency that it can be powered and heated entirely with rooftop solar panels. Local leaders are taking steps to reduce pollution from the transportation sector, including the addition of electric buses to the Pioneer Valley Transit Authority fleet and the launch of commuter rail service connecting Springfield and New Haven on the Hartford Line. Communities in other regions of Massachusetts are also going big on clean energy: * In New Bedford and on Martha's Vineyard, local residents are preparing to build Massachusetts' first offshore wind farm. In the coming years, offshore wind could provide enormous amounts of clean energy to Massachusetts -- up to 19 times as much electricity as the state consumes each year. * In Worcester, nonprofits like Dismas House are saving money on their electric bills by switching to solar, allowing them to invest more in serving their communities. * In the Berkshires, Pittsfield residents are investigating the potential for a downtown microgrid that would connect critical facilities like the police and fire stations with solar panels and energy storage, allowing these buildings to continue operating during power outages. Great Barrington is piloting a program to help residents switch to clean heating technologies like air source heat pumps. * In Cambridge, city leaders have come up with a detailed plan to reduce carbon emissions from all commercial, residential, and institutional buildings by 70 percent by 2040. These are just a few of the countless examples of clean energy leadership in towns and cities across the Commonwealth. All in all, solar energy has grown more than 240-fold in Massachusetts in the last 10 years, and we're poised to see similar growth in offshore wind, energy storage, renewable heating, and other technologies. State leaders should follow the example set by the communities they represent and adopt more ambitious clean energy policies. If Massachusetts is to remain at the forefront of the renewable energy transition, we need to set big goals and follow through with concrete action. That's why we recently released our 100% Renewable Energy Agenda, an ambitious policy roadmap to accelerate Massachusetts' progress on clean energy across all sectors. The agenda sets out dozens of recommendations for the winner of this fall's gubernatorial race to reduce energy consumption and transition to clean energy for electricity, transportation, and heating. In the Pioneer Valley and across the Commonwealth, we're seeing more and more signs that a future powered entirely by clean energy is possible. We're seeing widespread support from civic leaders and ordinary citizens for Massachusetts to go big on clean energy. We're seeing some action from officials at the State House, but we need to see a lot more. When the next legislative session kicks off in January, we're ready to work with legislators and the Governor to put Massachusetts on track to 100 percent renewable energy. Our health and our children's future depend on it. Ben Hellerstein is state director of Environment Massachusetts BOSTON -- Gov. Charlie Baker declined to allow a government retiree to work nearly full-time while collecting a pension. The Legislature, in its version of the state budget, tried to increase the number of hours a public retiree could work while still collecting their pension from 960 hours to 1,200 hours. The governor returned that provision with an amendment. When lawmakers ignored his amendment and sent the original provision back, Baker on Friday vetoed the bill. "While I support the idea of providing municipalities with increased flexibility to make appropriate staffing decisions, this legislation goes too far in allowing employees to work nearly full-time while collecting a pension without any corresponding changes to improve the current practice," Baker wrote in his veto letter. Gov. Charlie Baker on Friday vetoed a pilot program that would have given drivers a toll discount for traveling at off-peak hours. The Legislature, in its version of the state budget, passed a pilot program that would have reduced toll rates at certain times and locations to test whether congestion pricing could potentially reduce traffic. But Baker returned the proposal with an amendment turning it into a commission to study congestion. Baker said the Legislature was "putting the cart before the horse" by moving ahead with a plan before studying whether it might work. He said there were numerous issues related to congestion that should be looked at before deciding to test one method of easing traffic. The Legislature, in the final days of the session, rejected Baker's amendment and returned their original pilot program to his desk. In vetoing the bill, Baker wrote that lowering tolls on the few roads that actually have tolls "is not an effective response to road congestion, disadvantages those who must drive during the busiest times to get to work and school, and reduces the revenue available to maintain and upgrade those roadways." Baker wrote that he thinks it would be a more productive approach to traffic to continue improving the MBTA, finish the Green Line Extension, improve the performance of Regional Transit Authorities and invest in infrastructure that helps people walk and bike. "These steps will reduce roadway congestion by giving people better choices, not by raising the tolls [on] those who do not have good alternatives to driving at congested times," Baker wrote. Baker said he has instructed the Massachusetts Department of Transportation to complete an analysis within nine months of where and why congestion is getting worse in Massachusetts and what policies and programs should be put in place to address it. Because the formal legislative session has concluded, lawmakers can no longer override Baker's veto. BOSTON -- Gov. Charlie Baker on Friday vetoed a bill that would have lifted the welfare "family cap." The cap denies additional welfare benefits for children born while a family is already receiving welfare. "Eliminating the 'family cap' without making other accompanying changes to the TAFDC program could have the unwanted effect of reducing incentives for TAFDC recipients to go back to work," Baker wrote in his veto letter, using the acronym for the Transitional Aid to Families with Dependent Children program. The Legislature included the elimination of the family cap in its version of the state budget. Supporters of eliminating the cap say it denies additional money to families who need it, and it does not discourage women from having children while on welfare. Baker returned the family cap provision to the Legislature with an amendment. The amendment would have counted an adult's Supplemental Security Income when determining if a family is eligible for welfare. SSI is a federal payment given to severely disabled adults. Lifting the family cap would have expanded welfare benefits to an estimated 8,700 additional children. Counting SSI income in eligibility would have denied welfare benefits to approximately 5,200 children with a severely disabled parent, and another 2,100 children would lose part of their benefit. Baker said he wants to count SSI income in the same way as the state counts veterans' benefits or other types of income. Advocates for poor families called the SSI provision, which is similar to action the Patrick administration took in 2009, a "poison pill." Deborah Harris, a senior staff attorney at the Massachusetts Law Reform Institute, said Baker forced "an unconscionable choice" on the Legislature. In the final days of the legislative session, lawmakers again passed their bill lifting the family cap. They did not include Baker's amendment. Baker wrote in his veto letter that he believes elimination of the family cap must be done in conjunction with other reforms, like the SSI change that he proposed. Because lawmakers have concluded their formal sessions, they can no longer override Baker's veto. The next chance they will have to lift the family cap will be when they return to work in January. Harris and Naomi Meyer of Greater Boston Legal Services said in a joint statement that they are "extremely disappointed" in Baker's veto. "By choosing not to Lift the Cap on Kids, he has kept a law in place that harms vulnerable children and families in Massachusetts," they said. "The Commonwealth is enjoying a $2 billion budget surplus this year, surely we can afford to pay $100 a month in benefits for a child who has nothing." This story was updated with the comment from Harris and Meyer. Democratic gubernatorial candidates Bob Massie and Jay Gonzalez have many similar ideas. But with a month to go before the primary, they have also begun drawing distinctions between themselves, mainly about experience. The two debated Friday on a Boston Herald Radio show hosted by Kevin Franck. Franck worked for former Democratic gubernatorial candidate Setti Warren until Warren dropped out of the race. Massie, from the start, described himself as a government outsider. "I'm not a creature of Beacon Hill, not an establishment guy," Massie said. Massie has started companies related to corporate accountability and climate change. Gonzalez, a former health insurance executive, was former Gov. Deval Patrick's budget chief. Massie charged that Gonzalez's leadership has been "focused on the mechanics of the state" and dealing with the issues presented to him, while Massie is more focused on looking ahead with an ambitious vision. Gonzalez countered that he has an "ambitious, aspirational agenda," but his experience working for Patrick gives him the tools to deliver on that vision. "It won't matter what our aspirations are unless we deliver on it," Gonzalez said. "I'm better prepared to do that." Both Massie and Gonzalez support government-run, single-payer health care. Gonzalez said his experience as a former health insurance executive "gives me more credibility." "Most of what we did, like any health care system, was wasteful, valueless transactions," Gonzalez said, stressing the need to eliminate administrative costs. Massie responded that he is "skeptical" of Gonzalez's commitment to a single payer system. Massie said he has supported single-payer health care for 40 years. "I do have skepticism whether you can achieve it, since you've only favored it for a few months," Massie said. Gonzalez said he always favored single-payer health care, and he took the insurance job as a way to help low-income individuals access care. He said that work gave him insight into the ways in which the current system is "dysfunctional." Both Massie and Gonzalez said while the Massachusetts economy may appear to be doing well, many people are still struggling. Massie stressed the difficulty people are having affording housing and paying for higher education, while Gonzalez cited problems with the public transit system. Both Massie and Gonzalez said the state should take control of the commuter rail, which is currently run by an outside company, Keolis, through a state contract. "I fundamentally don't agree with a core public service like this that we should be privatizing it," Gonzalez said. Both candidates criticized Republican Gov. Charlie Baker repeatedly for what they characterized as a lack of leadership on a huge range of issues. Asked about the recent end to the legislative session, both candidates blamed the governor for not being more vocal on issues such as protecting immigrants, updating the education funding formula and taking more aggressive steps to promote clean energy usage -- even though it was the Democratic-led Legislature that failed to act. "This was an embarrassment we just saw," Massie said. "It came because the governor didn't say anything or exercise public leadership." "I agree with Bob this is largely a function of a lack of leadership on the part of the governor, who has not been pushing for anything," Gonzalez said. Baker did push for passage of an opioid bill, which is on his desk, and a housing bill, which lawmakers did not take up. The primary is Sept. 4. SPRINGFIELD -- Tahirah Amatul-Wadud, a Springfield Democrat running for the U.S. House of Representatives in Massachusetts' 1st Congressional District, spoke out this week against an Islamophobic flier targeting her campaign that has been sent to residents across Western Massachusetts. Amatul-Wadud, who will face off against U.S. Rep. Richard Neal in the Sept. 4 Democratic primary election, said she has heard from people inside and outside of the district who have received the two-sided mailer. The flier, which has reportedly been sent to residents in Pittsfield, Springfield, Greenfield and Florence, features a drawing on one side that appears to depict Amatul-Wadud holding a sign stating "Islam has nothing to do with it" and "Islamophobe racist bigot." The other side contends "elites, leftists, Islamists and mass media are in alliance to keep you in the dark," and questions Amatul-Wadud's background as a Council on American-Islamic Relations Massachusetts board member. Amatul-Wadud said there doesn't seem to be any "rhyme or reason" as to who has received the mailer, noting that some of the recipients hadn't even heard of her before. She said she's "disappointed," but not surprised to see such attacks surface. "It's a distraction. I want to get on to working with the people," she said in an interview. Amatul-Wadud said she believes there needs to be a broader conversation about religion and bigotry. "Let's talk about why a Muslim woman would be dragged and held responsible for groups that I have no affiliation with whatsoever and made to answer for that -- and why that's a double standard," she said. Shaun Kennedy, executive director of Jet-PAC -- a nonprofit that trains and supports Muslim candidates, including Amatul-Wadud -- argued that although the congressional hopeful is not first office seeker to be targeted for her religion, such attacks remain unsettling. "It's no longer surprising, but it's definitely unsettling -- especially in Massachusetts," he said in an interview. "We keep resting our laurels on the fact that it's a blue state, but it has the highest per capita rate of hate crimes. ... In spite of wanting to believe we're all progressive and share the same values, you see deplorable acts coming out more often. I think it's necessary to have a conversation about it, and a very careful conversation." Although other Muslim candidates in Massachusetts have faced similar attacks in recent election cycles, Kennedy said he found the flyer targeting Amatul-Wadud unique. "These are a little more deranged than usual," he said. "The letter -- the written out part -- that's very typical. ... But the drawing associated with it, the depiction of her or someone holding this picket sign and everyone asking questions, that's unusual. That strikes me as quite weird." John Robbins, executive director of Council on American-Islamic Relations Massachusetts, said his organization is "deeply disturbed" by the mailer. "This person clearly has some kind of issue with Muslims running for elected office," he said. "It's sad they try to stoke fears in the general public in this way." Robbins, who noted that Muslim candidates often face questions about their allegiance to the United States, said CAIR encourages Americans to reach out across the religious and political spectrum to get to know their neighbors. CAIR Massachusetts asked that anyone who received the mailers to save the envelopes they came in and to contact the organization, as well as their local post office, to help identify the sender. HONOLULU (AP) -- The U.S. military is beginning the painstaking process of analyzing remains from the Korean War now that they are back on American soil after having been handed over by North Korea last week. Vice President Mike Pence and the top commander of U.S. forces in Asia, Adm. Phil Davidson, received the remains contained in 55 caskets during an emotional and solemn ceremony Wednesday after the caskets arrived by military cargo jets from South Korea. "They were husbands and fathers, brothers and neighbors -- long gone, but never lost to the memory of their loved ones," Pence said during the ceremony at a military base in Hawaii. The homecoming comes 65 years after an armistice ended the conflict and after President Donald Trump received a commitment from North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, at their June summit in Singapore, for their return. Trump, in a tweet Wednesday night, thanked Kim "for keeping your word & starting the process of sending home the remains of our great and beloved missing fallen! I am not at all surprised that you took this kind action." Each container was covered in an American flag and carried off the aircraft by one Marine, one sailor, one soldier and one airman. The troops carefully set each box on risers inside a hangar as Pence stood watching with his hand over his heart. Davidson saluted. Some of the invited guests wiped tears from their eyes during the procession. The homecoming comes 65 years after an armistice ended the conflict and weeks after President Donald Trump received a commitment from North Korean leader Kim Jong Un for their return. The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency will take the remains to a lab on the base where forensic anthropologists will study bones and teeth to identify their race, gender and age. Scientists will extract DNA and compare it to DNA samples collected from families of troops still missing from the war. The agency usually also relies on any items that may have been found with remains like uniforms, dog tags and wedding rings to identify remains. But North Korea only provided one dog tag with the 55 boxes it handed over last week. It could take months or years to determine their identities. "Some have called the Korean War the 'forgotten war.' But today, we prove these heroes were never forgotten," Pence said. "Today, our boys are coming home." The U.S. military believes the bones are those of U.S. servicemen and potentially servicemen from other United Nations member countries who fought alongside the U.S. on behalf of South Korea during the war. Australia, Belgium, France and the Philippines have yet to recover some of their war dead from North Korea. "Whosoever emerges from these aircraft today begins a new season of hope for the families of our missing fallen," Pence said. "Hope that those who are lost will yet be found. Hope that after so many years of questions, they will have closure." There are 7,699 U.S. service members listed as unaccounted for from the 1950-53 Korean War, of which about 5,300 are believed to have died on North Korean soil. The remainder are those who died in South Korea but have not been recovered; those who died in air crashes at sea or on ships at sea, as well as a number who are believed to have been taken to China. During his summit with Trump, Kim also agreed to "work toward complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula" in return for Trump's promise of security guarantees. Trump later suspended annual military drills with South Korea which North Korea had long called an invasion rehearsal. But Trump now faces criticism at home and elsewhere that North Korea hasn't taken any serious steps toward disarmament and may be trying to buy time to weaken international sanctions against it. North Korea halted nuclear and missile tests, shut down its nuclear testing site and began dismantling facilities at its rocket launch site. But many experts say those are neither irrevocable nor serious steps that could show the country is sincere about denuclearization. North Korea may want to use the remains' return to keep diplomacy with the United States alive and win a reciprocal U.S. concession. Experts say the North likely wants a declaration of the end of the Korean War as part of U.S. security assurances. An armistice that ended the Korean War has yet to be replaced with a peace treaty, leaving the peninsula in a technical state of war. North Korea has steadfastly argued its nuclear weapons are meant to neutralize alleged U.S. plans to attack it. President Donald Trump has indicated he is interested in sitting down for a formal interview with special counsel Robert Mueller. Trump believes cooperating with the Mueller investigation will ultimately clear him and his campaign of any wrongdoing. Trump's lawyers have been discouraging him from taking the meeting, worried he could open himself up to various legal problems if he testifies. The president's allies are also concerned that any interview will be nothing more than a "perjury trap." What do you think? PERSPECTIVES Trump has reiterated numerous times, since the investigation started, his willingness to sit down with the special counsel. The Hill quoted Trump in January saying: Trump has frequently stated he feels the investigation is getting in the way of his ability to govern and a swift conclusion would allow him to better focus on that mission. The New York Times reported that Mueller has provided Trump's lawyers with an extensive list of questions he wants to ask the president. The list covers topics that range from Trump's involvement with former national security adviser Michael Flynn: To what Trump thought of former FBI Director James Comey: With such a wide variety of questions, Trump's lawyers and adviser worry he could find himself in a "perjury trap" where he incriminates himself for other crimes. Trump frequently tweets about his lack of involvement with Russian interference or any wrongdoing involving his campaign. Why not share that information in an official capacity with the special counsel? .....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 While Trump believes testifying will bring the investigation to a quick and definitive conclusion, legal experts worry any information he shares could actually fuel further investigations. Per the New York Times: The Tylt is focused on debates and conversations around news, current events and pop culture. We provide our community with the opportunity to share their opinions and vote on topics that matter most to them. We actively engage the community and present meaningful data on the debates and conversations as they progress. The Tylt is a place where your opinion counts, literally. The Tylt is an Advance Local Media, LLC property. Join us on Twitter @TheTylt, on Instagram @TheTylt or on Facebook, we'd love to hear what you have to say. BOSTON -- U.S. Rep. Michael Capuano, D-Somerville, and Boston City Councilor Ayanna Pressley will go head-to-head on an array of issues Sunday as they take part in their first televised debate ahead of next month's Democratic primary. WCVB Channel 5 Boston's "On The Record" will air the congressional debate featuring the longtime congressman and his Democratic challenger at 11 a.m. on Sunday, the station announced this week. The Democrats, who are looking to represent Massachusetts' 7th Congressional District in Washington, are expected to square off on topics ranging from immigration to foreign policy involving Russia and North Korea, as well regional issues like opioid abuse and local transportation infrastructure. Ed Harding and Janet Wu served as moderators for the debate, which WCVB taped Thursday. It's Sunday broadcast will come just weeks before voters are set to head to the polls in Massachusetts' Sept. 4 primary. The race between Capuano, who is serving his 10th term on Capitol Hill, and Pressley, the first black woman to serve on the Boston City Council, has garnered national attention in the wake of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's upset victory in New York's Democratic primary. Despite such attention, a WBUR poll of Massachusetts 7th Congressional District voters released Friday gave Capuano a 13-point edge over his challenger. MassINC Polling Group President Steve Koczela told WBUR that the survey's margin was largely unchanged from February, where Capuano held a 12-point lead over Pressley. Koczela added that while Pressley "is running about even or even perhaps slightly ahead in Boston," Capuano polls strong enough in surrounding communities to hold a solid lead in the contest. The poll, however, noted that Pressley could edge out the incumbent in the primary if non-white and younger voters -- demographics where she leads Capuano -- turn out on Sept. 4. No Republicans have made the ballot for Massachusetts' 7th Congressional District race, according to Secretary of State William Galvin's office. Massachusetts' 7th Congressional District includes parts of Boston, Cambridge and Milton, as well as the cities of Chelsea, Everett, Randolph and Somerville. Global Cervical Dystonia Market Overview Cervical dystonia is a neurological movement disorder associated with involuntary movement of neck. It is also known as spasmodic torticollis. As per study it was estimated that women are more prone to get this disorder. Premium Sample Report Available @ https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/1416 That being said, there are few hurdles in the growth of this market such as high cost involved in the research and development leading to the increased cost of the drug, less awareness about the severity of the condition in developing and under developed regions. These factors hinder the cervical dystonia market growth. Global cervical dystonia market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 5% during forecasted period 2017-2023. Global Cervical Dystonia Market Market Scenario Cervical dystonia is a rare disease also known as spasmodic torticollis. It is one of the painful chronic neurological movement disorder causing the neck to turn involuntary to any of the direction. It is a rare disease. The major driving factors for the market for cervical dystonia is increasing aging population across the globe. Females are more likely to be get affected by cervical dystonia. On other hand success rate of the treatment and increasing cost of the treatment is the major cause for restraining the growth of cervical Dystonia market. Global Cervical Dystonia Market Regional Analysis Americas has the largest cervical dystonia market. Increasing people suffering from cervical dystonia in America has help to increase the market in this region. Beside this, rise in neurotoxin market, increase in treatments for muscle movement disorders and increasing aging population in this region has fuelled the growth of this market in American region. Due to a huge aging population in Canada the market is developing at a significant rate in this region. As per study, women are more prone to cervical dystonia than men. Europe has the second largest market which majorly contributed by UK, Germany and France. Well-developed healthcare sector, improved infrastructure and increase in healthcare spending have increased the market in this region. Asia Pacific is expected to be the fastest growing region for the cervical dystonia market. Asia Pacific is the developing region and a huge population base in this region is the major factor for the growth of the market. Beside this continuous development in healthcare sector and increasing aging population in Asia Pacific has provided fuel for the growth of the market. India and China are the major market of the cervical dystonia. Due to less development in medical and healthcare sector, Middle East and Africa region contributes least in the cervical dystonia market at present. Global Cervical Dystonia Market Competitive Analysis The global market consist of players such as ALLERGAN (Ireland), Solstice Neurosciences LLC (U.S.), Ipsen Biopharmaceuticals Inc. (France), Merz Inc (U.S.), US WorldMeds, LLC (U.S.) Addex Therapeutics (Switzerland), Revance Therapeutics, Inc.(U.S.), and many other. These are some of the prominent players at the forefront of competition in the global cervical dystonia market and are profiled in MRFR Analysis report. The global cervical dystonia market is a dynamic market with number of drugs and therapies available in the market. There are few number of companies involved in the development of the drugs which are now widely used all across the world for the treatment of cervical dystonia. There are great developments happening in cervical dystonia therapeutics space. Revance Therapeutics Inc. in 2016 initiated a Phase II study of RT002 for the treatment of cervical dystonia. The Company completed its Phase II program recently. In November 2017, the company announce the completion of its Phase II program with a positive results. The company now plans to carry out Phase 3 Program for RT002 Injectable to treat Cervical Dystonia. ALLERGAN has introduced BOTOX (onabotulinumtoxinA) for treatment of cervical dystonia. It is prescribed to 16 and older people suffering from cervical dystonia. It is an intramuscular drug. Solstice Neurosciences LLC has introduced MYOBLOC (rimabotulinumtoxinB), which was the first FDA-approved treatment for cervical dystonia. It is used for the treatment of cervical dystonia in adults to reduce the severity of abnormal head position and neck pain associated with cervical dystonia. Ipsen Biopharmaceuticals Inc. a French company introduced Dysport (abobotulinumtoxinA) for the treatment of adults with cervical dystonia. TABLE OF CONTENTS 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 DEFINITION 1.2 SCOPE OF STUDY 1.2.1 RESEARCH OBJECTIVE 1.2.2 ASSUMPTIONS & LIMITATIONS 1.2.2.1 ASSUMPTIONS 1.2.2.2 LIMITATIONS 1.3 MARKET STRUCTURE: 2 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 2.1 RESEARCH PROCESS: 2.2 PRIMARY RESEARCH 2.3 SECONDARY RESEARCH: 3 MARKET DYNAMICS 3.1 DRIVERS 3.2 RESTRAINTS 3.3 OPPORTUNITIES 3.4 MACROECONOMIC INDICATORS 4 MARKET FACTOR ANALYSIS 4.1 PORTERS FIVE FORCES MODEL 4.2 BARGAINING POWER OF SUPPLIERS 4.3 BARGAINING POWER OF BUYERS 4.4 THREAT OF NEW ENTRANTS Major TOC Continued! Get Exclusive Discount @ https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/check-discount/1416 About US: Market Research Future (MRFR), enable customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services. Contact Us: Market Research Future Office No. 528, Amanora Chambers Magarpatta Road, Hadapsar, Pune 411028 Maharashtra, India Phone: +1 646 845 9312 Email: sales@marketresearchfuture.com Executive Summary A comprehensive research report created through extensive primary research (inputs from industry experts, companies, stakeholders) and secondary research, the report aims to present the analysis of Global Gastrointestinal Endoscopy Devices Market By Product Type (Hemostasis Devices, Capsule Endoscopes, G.I Videoscopes, Biopsy Devices, ERCP Devices), By End User (Hospitals, Clinics and Others), By Region (North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Rest of the world) and By Country (U.S, Canada, Germany, U.K, Japan, China, India and Brazil). According to research report Global Gastrointestinal Endoscopy Devices Market: Analysis By Product Type (Hemostasis Devices, Capsule Endoscopes, G.I Videoscopes, Biopsy Devices, ERCP Devices), End-User (Hospitals, Clinics, Others), By Region, By Country (2018 Edition) Forecast to 2023, global market is projected to display a modest growth represented by a CAGR of 6.82% during 2018 2023. Over the recent years, global gastrointestinal endoscopy devices market has been witnessing growth, on account of several driving factors including rising incidence of chronic gastrointestinal ailments, increasing healthcare awareness amongst consumers, flourishing market for minimally invasive procedures, new device approvals along with increasing health expenditure in developing countries. Moreover, ongoing demographic shift towards geriatric population with significant population suffering from inveterate ailments, is expected to propel the demand for gastrointestinal endoscopy devices. In this research report, the market is segmented on the basis of product type as well as end user. By product type, the segment of GI videoscopes is predicted to hold its dominant position in the market. Amongst the regions, North America accounts for the largest regional share in the global gastrointestinal endoscopy devices market in 2018. However, Asia Pacific is predicted to advance at the highest rate. Presence of vast consumer base, particularly in emerging nations such as China and India, in addition to growing per capita expenditure on healthcare is likely to drive the regional market. The report titled Global Gastrointestinal Endoscopy Devices Market: Analysis By Product Type (Hemostasis Devices, Capsule Endoscopes, G.I Videoscopes, Biopsy Devices, ERCP Devices), End-User (Hospitals, Clinics, Others), By Region, By Country (2018 Edition) Forecast to 2023 has covered and analyzed the potential of global gastrointestinal endoscopy devices market and provides statistics and information on market size, shares and growth factors. The report intends to provide cutting-edge market intelligence and help decision makers take sound investment evaluation. Besides, the report also identifies and analyses the emerging trends along with major drivers, challenges and opportunities in the global gastrointestinal endoscopy devices market. Additionally, the report also highlights market entry strategies for various companies across the globe. Scope of the Report Global Gastrointestinal Endoscopy Devices Market (Actual Period: 2013-2017, Forecast Period: 2018-2023) Gastrointestinal Endoscopy Devices Market Size and Growth: By Value By Product Type Hemostasis Devices, Capsule Endoscopes, G.I Videoscopes, Biopsy Devices and ERCP Devices: By Value By End User Hospitals, Clinics and Others: By Value Request Sample Report at https://www.wiseguyreports.com/sample-request/3318857-global-gastrointestinal-endoscopy-devices-market-analysis-by-product Regional Markets North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and Rest of the World (Actual Period: 2013-2017, Forecast Period: 2018-2023) Gastrointestinal Endoscopy Devices Market Size and Growth: By Value By Product Type Hemostasis Devices, Capsule Endoscopes, G.I Videoscopes, Biopsy Devices and ERCP Devices: By Value. By End User Hospitals, Clinics and Others: By Value Country Analysis U.S., Canada, Germany, U.K, Japan, India, China and Brazil. (Actual Period: 2013-2017, Forecast Period: 2018-2023) Gastrointestinal Endoscopy Devices Market Size and Growth: By Value By Product Type Hemostasis Devices, Capsule Endoscopes, G.I Videoscopes, Biopsy Devices and ERCP Devices: By Value. By End User Hospitals, Clinics and Others: By Value Other Report Highlights Market Dynamics Drivers and Restraints Market Trends Company Share Analysis SWOT Analysis Porter Five Force Analysis Supply Chain Analysis Policy and Regulatory Landscape Company Analysis Medtronic, Stryker Corporation, Boston Scientific Corporation, CONMED Corporation, Olympus Corporation, Cook Group Incorporated, Fujifilm Holdings, Congentix Medical, US Endoscopy and PENTAX Medical. Table of Contents Research Methodology Executive Summary Strategic Recommendations Gastrointestinal Endoscopy Devices Outlook Global Gastrointestinal Endoscopy Devices Market: Growth and Forecast Global Gastrointestinal Endoscopy Devices Market: Segment Analysis Global Gastrointestinal Endoscopy Devices Market: Regional Analysis Global Gastrointestinal Endoscopy Devices Market Dynamics Global Gastrointestinal Endoscopy Devices Market Trends Porter Five Force Analysis SWOT Analysis Supply Chain Analysis Policy and Regulatory Landscape Competitive Landscape Company Profiles About Us: Wise Guy Reports is part of the Wise Guy Research Consultants Pvt. Ltd. and offers premium progressive statistical surveying, market research reports, analysis & forecast data for industries and governments around the globe. Contact Us: NORAH TRENT sales@wiseguyreports.com Ph: +1-646-845-9349 (US) Ph: +44 208 133 9349 (UK) Posted on: August 3, 2018 1:33 PM [Episcopal News Service, by David Paulsen] The Revd Carren Sheldons evening on 26 July was supposed to go something like this: Evening Prayer, dinner, compline, sleep. But after dinner, she returned to All Saints Episcopal Church in Redding, California, to find the neighbourhood on the brink of disaster. Heat, wind and bizarre weather patterns fuelled the sudden advance of a growing wildfire. The sky was orange, and the wind was blowing cinders and ash, Sheldon told Episcopal News Service by phone. The power was out, and the traffic was gridlocked. It was apparent that it was time to gather the irreplaceable records of the church and flee. The church was evacuated along with most of that section of Redding, a town of about 92,000 people in Northern California. The blaze, known as the Carr Fire, has consumed more than 100,000 acres, destroyed more than 1,000 homes and killed at least six people as of 1 August. And this fire is just one of more than a dozen major wildfires that California authorities are working to contain and extinguish, from the Oregon state line to San Diego County. The Carr Fire still is considered only 30 per cent contained, but it no longer is threatening the neighbourhood around All Saints, enabling Sheldon to return and reopen the church 1 August. As interim rector, she has spent the past week checking on parishioners safety and providing pastoral care to church members and neighbours, several of whom have lost their homes or are just beginning to assess the damage. Sheldon also has been in regular contact with the Diocese of Northern Californias Disaster Response Team, which is supporting All Saints and the smaller congregations south of Redding that are affected by two large fires near the Mendocino National Forest. Members of those congregations, too, have been displaced or are helping with the emergency response. As Californias annual wildfire season expands outside of its normal months and the fires grow hotter and larger, the dioceses Disaster Response Team has had the unwanted but valuable experience of responding to several large fires in recent years. The teams priority in each case is to reach out to Episcopalians affected by the fires while also establishing local churches as resources for communities dealing with heartbreaking devastation. For us its, how do we help [the churches] to be a community centre for so many people who are displaced and traumatised? said Kati Braak, director of operations, who helps coordinate the Disaster Response Team. That cup of coffee, the WiFi, a prayer those things go a long way in helping the surrounding communities find some stability. . . These dont have to be big things. The Carr Fire came within three or four blocks of All Saints but caused no damage to the church other than dropping a layer of ash on the ground that had to be cleaned up before the building could reopen. The typical Sunday attendance at All Saints tops 100, but on 29 July, parishioners had to find other options for worship. Some joined St James Lutheran Church in Redding, and others travelled to St Michaels Episcopal Church in Anderson, California. Northern California Bishop Barry Beisner, in a video message to All Saints on 28 July, said he and Episcopalians church-wide are mindful of the great challenges that you face, the great struggle that you face. We will be praying for you, Beisner said. We watch, wait and pray together, and were prepared, once the time for watching and waiting is done . . . we will support you and help you and work together with you for as long as needed. We are with you. Christ is with you. We are one in him. Even before last weeks evacuation, the church was serving as a gathering place for Redding residents threatened by the fire. Now that the church has reopened, Sheldon is offering the church, the largest community facility in that part of Redding, as a resource for organisations that need a place to stage relief efforts. Some of support provided by the diocese has taken the form of money raised through its standing Disaster Relief Fund. A diocesan newsletter reported 28 July that the fund paid for $1,500 [USD, approximately 1,154 GBP] worth of Target and Safeway gift cards that Sheldon is distributing to those in need. An additional $5,000 will cover other fire-related needs. Braak said much of the support the diocese provides is guidance on how congregations can partner with other local organisations in matching resources to the needs in the community. The diocese receives similar support from Episcopal Relief & Development, which also distributes financial assistance through emergency grants that the diocese is requesting. Were called by God to care for the whole community, Braak said. Sheldon feels that calling too. A natural disaster of this scale makes clear that a church is a community, not just a building. We are in the very early stages of this, Sheldon said. With the air still thick with smoke, she and other community leaders are just beginning to assess the needs of the community and determine how to help. At the same time, some members of All Saints live west of Redding and had to evacuate homes still in or near the fire zone. Those people are still very much in harms way, and there are a lot of people in our congregation who cannot get back into their homes, she said. The threat also remains for Episcopalians living in the area of the two Mendocino Complex fires. St Johns Episcopal Church in Lakeport is located directly east of one of those fires, which has covered more than 30,000 acres and was only 38 percent contained as of 1 August. Ten homes have been destroyed, and more than 12,000 structures are threatened. Deborah Smith, senior warden at St Johns, also works with the Red Cross and has been on the front line of the emergency response in that area. I . . . have been working as a shelter manager, first in Kelseyville and then in Lower Lake when we had to move the shelter when Kelseyville went under mandatory evacuation, Smith told ENS in a brief written message late 31 July. Other congregation members have faced evacuations as well, including the church organist and his family, according to a Facebook post. The other Episcopal congregation in the region, Holy Trinity Episcopal Church to the west in Ukiah, is farther away from the two Mendocino Complex fires but still affected. John Day, priest-in-charge, reported intermittent power outages 30 July in a news release about hosting a camp next week for 50 children traumatised by the fires. The Mendocino Complex fires, for now, are located in mostly unincorporated areas, and the Episcopal congregations nearby are smaller. The situation there is different from what people in Redding face with the Carr fire, Braak said, but the church maintains a similar focus on community outreach. Sheldon lives in a part of Redding that did not need to evacuate, so she has spent the past week in the city checking on people by phone, email and text messages. She has visited people staying in shelters or at the homes of neighbours. There is a great need for pastoral care in a time of disaster, she said. Its heartbreaking. Its heartbreaking. And its also what Im called to do, Sheldon said. Its hard, but its important. And its a blessing to be able to do it. Skin cancer is the uncontrolled development of anomalous skin cells. It happens when unrepaired DNA harm to skin cells (frequently caused by bright radiation from daylight or tanning beds) triggers transformations, or hereditary imperfections, that lead the skin cells to duplicate quickly and frame threatening tumors. According to the skin cancer foundation each year in the U.S. more than 5.4 million instances of nonmelanoma skin disease are dealt with in more than 3.3 million people. Every year, there are more new instances of skin cancer than the joint number of tumors of the breast, prostate, lung and colon. In the vicinity of 40 and 50 percent of Americans who live to age 65 will have either basal cell carcinoma or squamous cell carcinoma. Basal cell carcinoma (BCC) is the most widely recognized type of skin cancer. More than 4 million cases are analyzed in the U.S. each year. Squamous cell carcinoma is the second most prevalent type of skin cancer. More than 1 million cases occur in the U.S. each year. Actinic keratosis is the most widely recognized pre-cancer; it affects more than 58 million Americans. Around 90% of non-melanoma skin tumors are related to exposure to bright (UV) radiation from the sun. The yearly cost of treating skin malignancies in the U.S. is assessed at $8.1 billion: about $4.8 billion for non-melanoma skin growths and $3.3 billion for melanoma. The exposure of human skin with the UV rays is considered to be one of the major causes of skin cancer. There are several factors that are driving the market such as rising incidences of skin cancer, hereditary causes including genetic disorder, utilization of combined therapy. The major factor that drives the market is that when the sun rays that is the ultra violet rays comes in contact with skin may cause skin cancer. The skin cancer diagnosis and therapeutics market has been segmented as by type, by treatment, by diagnosis, by stages and by end user. On the basis type the market has been bifurcated as Actinic Keratoses (AK), based cell carcinoma (BCC), squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), Melanoma. According to the therapy the market has been bifurcated as chemotherapy, targeted therapy, immunotherapy, radiotherapy, freezing, scraping and others. Based on diagnosis the market has been bifurcated as CT-scan, X-rays, dermatoscopy, sentinel lymph node biopsy, blood test and others On the basis of end user, the market has been bifurcated as multispecialty hospitals, cancer research centers and clinics. Geographically, the worldwide skin cancer diagnosis and therapeutics showcase is divided into North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and the Rest of the World., Asia Pacific market is considered to be the fastest growing market globally. The rise in the number of cancer patients in the APAC region is considered to rise eventually enabling the skin cancer diagnosis and therapeutics market to grow. The North America and Europe are considered to be the dominating markets due to various factors such as high healthcare expenditure, development in the technology, support from government, rise in the key players and various other factors. The key players in the skin cancer diagnosis and therapeutics market Include Bristol Myers Squibb Co., Aqua Pharmaceuticals LLC, AstraZeneca, GlaxoSmithKline, and so on. MARKET SEGMENTATION: Global skin cancer diagnosis and therapeutics market is segmented on the basis of, type, by therapies, by diagnosis, by end user and regional outlook Global Skin Cancer Diagnosis and Therapeutics Market Research and Analysis, by Type Global Skin Cancer Diagnosis and Therapeutics Market Research and Analysis, by Therapies Global Skin Cancer Diagnosis and Therapeutics Market Research and Analysis, by Diagnosis Global Skin Cancer Diagnosis and Therapeutics Market Research and Analysis, by End User Global Skin Cancer Diagnosis and Therapeutics Market Research and Analysis, by Region The Report covers: Comprehensive research methodology of global skin cancer diagnosis and therapeutics This report also includes detailed and extensive market overview with key analyst insights. Exhaustive analysis of macro and micro factors influencing the market guided by key recommendations. Analysis of regional regulations and other government policies impacting the global skin cancer diagnosis and therapeutics Insights about market determinants which are stimulating the global skin cancer diagnosis and therapeutics Detailed and extensive market segments with regional distribution of forecasted revenues. Extensive profiles and recent developments of market players. Request Sample Report at https://www.wiseguyreports.com/sample-request/3186925-global-skin-cancer-diagnosis-and-therapeutics-market-research Table of Content REPORT SUMMARY MARKET OVERVIEW AND INSIGHTS MARKET DETERMINANT MARKET SEGMENTATION COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE REGIONAL ANALYSIS COMPANY PROFILES About Us: Wise Guy Reports is part of the Wise Guy Research Consultants Pvt. Ltd. and offers premium progressive statistical surveying, market research reports, analysis & forecast data for industries and governments around the globe. Contact Us: NORAH TRENT sales@wiseguyreports.com Ph: +1-646-845-9349 (US) Ph: +44 208 133 9349 (UK) by Sara Guaglione , August 3, 2018 Davler Media Group has acquired Staten Island Parent, joining its portfolio of publications for New York-area parents, visitors and the LGBTQ community. The monthly has a circulation of 30,000. The 30-year-old Staten Island Parent will become a part of Davlers NYMetroParents division. The division was established in 2006 with the purchase of four local parenting magazines: Big Apple Parent, Brooklyn Parent, Queens Parent and Westchester Parent. Davler believes the acquisition solidifies the media company's role to help "parents and families, and the advertisers that want to connect with them, stated David L. Miller, CEO of Davler Media Group. We have had a long-running relationship with the Staten Island Parent team, working to cross-sell advertising and other marketing opportunities, Miller added. Founding publisher and editor-in-chief Roselle Farina-Hecht will remain in her position. Most of Staten Island Parents staff will continue at the publication, too, Miller stated. advertisement advertisement Staten Island has been experiencing growth in many areas, which has increased the need for the parenting community to be kept informed, updated and connected, Farina-Hecht noted. Davler's network now includes eight regional monthly magazines and five digital properties, including NYMetroParents.com, the newborn and toddler-focused Mommybites and event planning hub Mitzvah Market. It also hosts 20 live events each year. The company claims it reaches over 1 million tristate area families each month. In March, Davler Media Group bought Metrosource, the second-largest LGBTQ publication in the U.S. Later that year, it launched Exuberance, an LGBTQ-focused spinoff of the publishers luxury design and lifestyle title New York Spaces. by Karlene Lukovitz @KLmarketdaily, August 3, 2018 A new SunnyD campaign its first national ad campaign since 2015 marks a shift to targeting Gen Z tweens and teens, ages 13 to 18. The brand, which traditionally has targeted the mothers of children and young teens, has seen sales decline in recent years as consumers have increasingly turned to low- and no-sugar beverages. A 6-ounce serving of SunnyD (originally Sunny Delight) offers 100% of the recommended daily Vitamin C intake, but about 10 grams of sugar, or nearly 28 grams of sugar per 16-ounce serving. The drink, which comes in about 15 flavors, contains high fructose corn syrup, sucralose, and artificial flavors and colors, and contains 2% or less of concentrated fruit juices, according to the ingredients information in its website. The brand which also has a new logo and website and revamped social channels will run the new campaign across national and local TV, national Hispanic TV, cinema, streaming video and paid social platforms including MTV, VH1, Spotify, Pandora, YouTube, Hulu, Bravo, Lifetime, Unimas and Galavision. Media Storm handled media. advertisement advertisement The creative, from the independent agency Terri & Sandy, features a new brand tagline, Boldly Original. The high-energy spots (anthem video below) and digital content, directed by Brazilian directing team Alaska, show a diverse group of teens and tweens drinking SunnyD in between activities ranging from acrobatics to robot-building. The videos are backed by an original track from DJ Kass, whose Scooby Doo Pa Pa went viral on YouTube earlier this year. The campaign includes :60, :30, :15 and :06 spots and behind-the-scenes interviews with the featured teens, plus companion interactive digital and social content created by SFG, and PR and influencer marketing programs managed by 360PR. SunnyDs sales declined from nearly $292.8 million to $188.8 million between 2005 and 2014, according to Euromonitor International data cited by The Wall Street Journal, in reporting Sunny Delight Beverages acquisition by private-equity firm Brynwood Partners in early 2016. The company was merged into Brynwoods Harvest Hill Beverage Company, which produces Juicy Juice, Little Hug and Dailys Cocktails. Launched by Florida-based Doric Foods in 1963, the brand was acquired by Procter & Gamble in 1989, and sold to J.W. Childs Associates LP in 2004, which later sold it to Brynwood. by Wendy Davis @wendyndavis, August 3, 2018 Twitter, Facebook and Google are asking a court to refuse to revive a lawsuit accusing them of helping to spread terrorist propaganda. The companies argue that a trial judge correctly ruled that they didn't cause the shooting, and that the Communications Decency Act generally protects tech platforms from civil lawsuits based on crimes committed by users. "This suit was not brought against anyone involved in committing the attack," the companies write in papers filed Wednesday with the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. "Instead, Plaintiffs brought the action against Twitter, Google, and Facebook -- operators of global Internet platforms that are used by people across the world to send and share hundreds of millions of messages, Tweets, videos, and other posts on myriad topics." The lawsuit stems from a shooting in July 2016, when Micah Johnson killed five police officers in Dallas. Rick Zamarripa, the father of one of the officers who was killed, and Demetrick Pennie, a police officer who responded to the shooting and subsequently suffered emotional distress, sued Twitter, Facebook and Google. advertisement advertisement Zamarripa and Pennie alleged that the terrorist group Hamas spread propaganda on the tech companies' platforms, and that Johnson was "radicalized" partly as a result of that material. U.S. Magistrate Judge Joseph Spero in the Northern District of California dismissed the case last December. Zamarripa and Pennie appealed that decision in June. They argue that the lawsuit should be reinstated for several reasons, including that it should have been under the "Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act" -- a federal law that enables people to bring civil suits against anyone who provides "material support" to terrorists. They argue that the anti-terrorism law creates an exception to the Communications Decency Act's immunity provisions. Twitter, Facebook and Google dispute that interpretation. They argue that Congress didn't indicate any intention to override the Communications Decency Act's protections when enacting the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act. Earlier this year, the 9th Circuit sided with Twitter in a similar dispute. In that matter, family members of two people killed in a terrorist shooting -- Lloyd Carl Fields, Jr. and James Damon Creach -- sued Twitter for allegedly supporting ISIS by allowing members to create accounts on the service. The appellate judges ruled that the family members couldn't proceed because they didn't show that Twitter directly caused the shooting. A chemical pregnancy is one that results in very early pregnancy loss, usually in the first few weeks. Doctors call it a chemical pregnancy because levels of the hormone human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) are initially elevated enough to produce a positive result on a pregnancy test but dip again before a doctor can see the gestational sac on an ultrasound. Many women may not even know that they have experienced a chemical pregnancy if they are not regularly taking pregnancy tests. In this article, learn more about chemical pregnancies, including the signs and symptoms, causes, and outlook. Signs and symptoms Share on Pinterest A negative pregnancy test after a positive one may be a sign of a chemical pregnancy. The clearest indication of a chemical pregnancy is a positive pregnancy test result that is followed by a negative one. These tests can take place either at the doctors office or at home. A chemical pregnancy does not always cause symptoms. If it does, they may include: mild spotting a week before an expected period abdominal cramping, which is usually mild vaginal bleeding that occurs close to the time of an expected period or shortly afterward Advances in pregnancy tests mean that women can now identify pregnancies as early as the first day of embryo implantation. However, research shows that up to 25 percent of pregnancies result in miscarriage before a woman has any pregnancy symptoms or misses a period. The symptoms listed above can also occur with a healthy, ongoing pregnancy. If a woman believes that there are any issues with her early pregnancy, she should talk to a doctor. A chemical pregnancy does not usually require medical intervention or treatment. Causes and risk factors It is not always possible to determine the exact cause of a chemical pregnancy. However, potential causes or contributing factors may include: Chromosomal abnormalities : Irregularities in chromosomal arrangements may prevent the fetus from developing. Chromosomal abnormalities are the leading cause of early pregnancy loss. : Irregularities in chromosomal arrangements may prevent the fetus from developing. Chromosomal abnormalities are the leading cause of early pregnancy loss. Advanced maternal age : Women aged 35 or older may find it more difficult to get and stay pregnant. : Women aged 35 or older may find it more difficult to get and stay pregnant. Insufficient hormone levels : The body needs higher levels of certain hormones, such as progesterone, to support the growth of the fetus. : The body needs higher levels of certain hormones, such as progesterone, to support the growth of the fetus. Low body mass index (BMI) : Women who are underweight according to their BMI are more likely to have an early miscarriage. : Women who are underweight according to their BMI are more likely to have an early miscarriage. Uterine abnormalities: The presence of uterine fibroids or irregularities in the uterine lining can prevent the embryo from implanting in the uterus. How soon can a woman get pregnant again? Share on Pinterest Pregnancy is possible almost immediately after an early pregnancy loss. Most women can attempt to get pregnant again almost immediately after an early pregnancy loss unless a doctor advises otherwise. According to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, it is possible to ovulate and become pregnant again as soon as 2 weeks after an early pregnancy loss. If a woman has experienced a chemical pregnancy in the past, this does not mean that she will have difficulty conceiving in the future. In fact, a chemical pregnancy means that an embryo reached the preimplantation phase of development. This is a positive sign that a woman could get pregnant in the future. According to older research , women who had a chemical pregnancy in their first IVF cycle were more likely to have a successful pregnancy in a subsequent IVF cycle than women who did not become pregnant during the first cycle. Help after a chemical pregnancy Pregnancy loss at any stage can cause grief, anxiety, and stress. A woman should not hesitate to seek care from a doctor, counselor, or support group. They can also consider online support groups. It is crucial to remember that nobody is to blame for a chemical pregnancy. A person with a history of pregnancy loss can still go on to have a healthy pregnancy and birth. Actors are often blamed for charging a hefty fee for a movie. Some even blame that due to this, producers often make less profit or at times, end with up nothing. Khans in B-town often charge an exorbitant amount of some hundred crores and that is something which will never change. The bigger the star, the bigger is their fee. However, contrary to the ongoing canon, not many know that Aamir Khan has actually stopped charging a fee for his movies. Talking in a media interaction, Aamir revealed, Actually I don't charge a fee. People don't know that, but it has been years since I have stopped charging a fee. Wonder how he makes those big bucks then? Twitter It all started when Shabana Azmi, who was sitting in the audience at the event, took the chance and asked him about stars demanding 80 per cent as their fee, and that how can one make a successful film with just 20 per cent left in hand. Quite a valid question we must say, got us thinking as well. To which Aamir explained, that his way of earning money is different. He doesn't charge a single penny until the makers have recovered all their costs of making of the film, including promotions to the producer's profit. Twitter Revealing his model he said, if the film fails, he gets nothing and if it is successful, he has a higher profit share. The actor said he has always ensured that his producers earn money, as it helps secure his career and film choices. I think the script is the foundation. I ensure that once I love the story and the film is in the making, people who are investing money should not face loss. I don't allow the producer to shoulder the responsibility alone. My first rupee comes to me when the film's cost is recovered in every aspect, after the producer's and everybody else's money is recovered. That's the model I work with, and I take a higher cut in the percentage because I am risking my time on that, and I think producers are happy with that too, he added. Twitter He firmly believes that this is the best model that works for his movie. Explaining further he said, If a producer is not losing money, it is but obvious that he will sign me for the next film. That is why I always ensure that if I am signed in a film, there is no loss." The first time Aamir tried this model was in 2001 during the making of 'Lagaan'. Since that film was one of the expensive films of that time, and was breaking a lot of rules of mainstream Indian cinema, that is why I felt the importance of taking the responsibility. When I come on board, producers and financiers do not question me on the subject I chose for a film because they trust me, they have faith in me. That is why I want to ensure the profit." Twitter Now, that's not just an interesting but a very smart business model as well. Clearly, he is called 'Mr. Perfectionist' for a reason. He makes sure that making money is a win-win situation for both the actor, the maker and other people involved in the movie making. Sounds fair. On the work front, Aamir is busy with the work of his upcoming film 'Thugs of Hindostan'. The film, also stars Amitabh Bachchan, Katrina Kaif, and Fatima Sana Shaikh and is scheduled to release on Diwali 2018. Posted on: August 3, 2018 11:50 AM A rare medieval Bible has been returned to Canterbury Cathedral, the mother church of the worldwide Anglican Communion, some 500 years after it was removed. The Lyghfield Bible named after the 16 Century monk who once owned it was amongst a number of items removed from the cathedrals monastic library at the time of the reformation. The monastic community at Canterbury was one of many which were dissolved on the orders of Henry VIII as he attempted to assert his authority over the newly independent Church and plunder its assets. The 690-leaf volume was purchased last month from a private seller at a specialist sale of manuscripts in London. The purchase was funded in part through a 96,000 grant from Britains National Heritage Memorial Fund (NHMF) and further funding from the Friends of the National Libraries, the Friends of Canterbury Cathedral and a private donation. The purchase of the Lyghfield Bible and its return to Canterbury Cathedral means that the rare manuscript will remain in the UK. The Lyghfield Bible was written in the latter 13th century on high quality parchment or vellum which is almost tissue-like in quality, Canterbury Cathedral said. The fine Latin script and extensive and very fine illumination (decoration) was probably produced in Paris, one of the medieval centres for this type of work. The Bible is pocket-sized and as such was designed for personal use, possibly whilst travelling. The volume formed part of the collection of the medieval monastery of the Cathedral in the 16th century, but may well have been in Canterbury well before that time. The cathedrals library and book collection were dispersed following the disbanding of the monastic community, with many volumes destroyed or taken apart for the reuse of their materials. Just 30 volumes of the original library remain at the cathedral. The Lyghfield Bible is the only complete Bible from the medieval book collection which is now at the Cathedral and is part of a collection which is inscribed on the Unesco UK Memory of the World Register. It is said to be the finest example of a complete illuminated book from that collection. The Lyghfield Bible returns to Canterbury Cathedral much to the delight of (left to right) Canon Librarian, the Revd Tim Naish, Head of Archives and Library Mrs Cressida Williams and the Dean of Canterbury, the Very Revd Robert Willis. Photo: Canterbury Cathedral The Head of Archives and Library at the cathedral, Cressida Williams, commented: We are very grateful to the support from funders. It is of the utmost significance to us to have here in our collections a copy of the core Christian text which was owned by one of the last monks of the medieval monastic community. The Bible bears witness to the upheavals of the reformation, a time which defined what the Cathedral is today, and will have a key role in telling visitors our story. The former government minister who now serves as chair of the NHMF, Sir Peter Luff, said: Not only an incredibly rare book directly linked to one the most turbulent periods of British history, the Lyghfield Bible is also exquisitely beautiful. We at the National Heritage Memorial Fund agreed it was imperative it should be saved for the nation and returned home to Canterbury where its important story can be told to future generations of visitors, pilgrims and students. The cathedral plan to display the Bible in a new exhibition area being developed at the Cathedral as part of The Canterbury Journey project. Indonesian state mining and manufacturing firm Inalum is set to complete the purchase of 51% of Grasberg copper mine later this year, buying out Rio Tintos 40% shareholding and paying current majority holder Freeport for the remainder.But a joint venture deal struck between Freeport and Rio Tinto in 1995 means that Freeport will have ownership of the entirety of Grasbergs copper output through to 2023, according to production forecasts made by the company.Under the deal, which lasts until 2041, Freeport takes home 100% of all copper produced at Grasberg up to an agreed level every year, at which point Rio Tinto receives 40% of all extra material mined. In mid-2022 and onward, the deals structure dictates that Freeport and Rio will share all output in a 60-40% split.Rio received a paltry 6,000 tonnes of copper from Grasberg in 2017, a year in which the worlds second largest copper mine produced 446,000 tonnes.The framework of this 23-year-old deal will continue under the new ownership, Freeport executives said in an earnings call on Thursday July 26.The economics of the Rio Tinto deal [mean the] joint venture will carry forward under the new structure. So there's a certain quantity of metal as you know that is 100% for PT-FI's [Freeport Indonesia] interest and then the increment produced above that is shared, Freeport chief financial officer Kathleen Quirk said on an earnings call with analysts.The existing shareholders of PT-FI would continue to have the 100% of specific volumes whenever they're produced. And currently that's expected to be produced by the end of 2022, Quirk said.Rio Tinto confirmed to Metal Bulletin that under current agreements, the first full year of a 40% share would come in 2023.The Inalum takeover comes at a time when Grasberg is set to transition from an open-pit to underground mining; output will take a drastic hit in 2019 and 2020.This means that under the joint venture offtake share, Inalum will not receive Grasberg copper tonnages until 2022 and not meaningful amounts until 2023, because the mine is expected to be producing under the offtake threshold until this date.The economics of the Rio Tinto JV will be replicated and incorporated in a new shareholders agreement. This will result in FCX and the other current 9.36% shareholder of PT-FI retaining the cashflows that they would have been entitled to under the current structure, Freeport-McMoRan spokesman Erik Kinneberg said in a statement to Metal Bulletin.Rios share of Grasberg copper was set up to guarantee over $100 million of investment per year to help underwrite the development of underground mining there.Originally the 60-40% split was set to come into play in 2019, before the move underground was delayed, in part due to the Indonesian governments growing ambitions to take control, embodied by repeated delays in granting export permits.Its good for Freeport, because you have the same amount of cashflow coming in, a Canadian equities analyst who declined to be named told Metal Bulletin.However, Freeport told analysts yesterday that access to the DMLZ mining shaft, a key component in Grasbergs underground transition, is becoming more difficult due to hard rock and seismic activity.The current projections on mine production mean that when the more equitable offtake split comes into play, Freeport will maintain its high level of copper concentrates production due to markedly higher output at Grasberg.But in a scenario where delays push deep ore mining back to later years, Freeport could be left having to a smaller share of smaller Grasberg tonnage and less ability to dictate annual copper concentrate treatment charge negotiations, which it traditionally leads.The question now is if there are some issues with the DMLZ, does that mean that Freeport loses out? the analyst said.As part of the deal to take on Grasberg, Inalum bought Rios shares in the mine, some of Freeports and also became a minority shareholder of PT Freeport, allowing it to take a financial benefit while ensuring Freeport does not dilute its ownership more than necessary.Indonesia hopes that by ensuring the long-term future of Freeports investment in Grasberg, it will finally ensure the country has a second copper smelter that is built within the next five years, ensuring it domestically captures as much of the copper value chain as possible. Freeport gained a gross income of $1 billion from Grasberg in the first half of 2018 and, with the mine expected to last for at least another two decades, both companies will benefit from its expansion in the future.Indonesia will just have to wait a little while longer. Posted on: August 3, 2018 12:37 PM Christian leaders in Zimbabwe have appealed for calm in the country following post-election violence in which at least three people have been killed. Life is more important than everything else, the Zimbabwe Council of Churches said on its Facebook page. Let us desist from acts of violence. Official results from Mondays poll the countrys first without Robert Mugabe in almost four decades gave President Emmerson Mnangagwa from the Zanu-PF 2.46 million votes (50.8 per cent); and MDC opposition leader Nelson Chamisa 2.15 million votes (44.3 per cent). Chamisa has said that the MDC intend to launch a legal challenge against the official results. Yesterday, ZCCs President Bishop Lazarus Mpande Khanye joined Archbishop Thomas from the Catholic Bishops Conference at a press conference in which they called on church leaders to responsibly influence values that guide people into peaceful conduct. They also encouraged continual call on to God for peace to prevail in the nation. Tonight, we note with sadness the recent violent development that is unfolding in our dear country, Bishop Lazarus said. It is clear that there is a section of our population which is dissatisfied with the way the election has been handled. This has resulted in several incidents of violence being reported in some parts of Harare. As bishops and church leaders we re-emphasise that key to the gospel of Jesus Christ is the development of peace, peace, and peace. Our nation, having been through similar incidents in the past, we cannot allow ourselves to undergo another period of violence. I know wish to make clear that violence wont get us anywhere. Yesterday, in a message on its Facebook page, the ZCC said: Peace is the fundamental block in nation building. Violence only leaves the nation in pieces. Let us unite for peace in peace. The tension and talent at a professional talent audition have always made a great scene for movies and theater. In A Chorus Line, it forms the heart of a crowd-pleasing musical as 17 dancers vie for the chance of a lifetime. Todd L. Underwood, choreographer and director of a new version of the musical at Ivoryton Playhouse, said the production is using a smaller cast due to the size of Ivorytons stage, which starts out at 40 feet but angles in after about 10 feet back. Underwood said that while the dancing is so iconic, other venues can do the original 1970s choreography of the show, but he will tailor it to the Ivoryton stage without losing the spectacle. I just decided to stay within the essence of what the original choreography was and put my own spin on it. That means it will be very 70s jazz-based, 70s social dance-based and just really trying to highlight the story, highlight the lyrics with the choreography. Underwood said while he normally doesnt direct, he enjoys the challenge. But when hes not directing, he enjoys working with directors to see what their process is; its always a great learning experience for me because I get to see a different way into a situation. A Chorus Line with songs such as What I Did for Love, One, I Hope I Get It by Marvin Hamlisch, was a fast hit, winning nine Tony Awards and the 1976 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. It succeeds in telling the story of glory and grind in showbiz because it began as a workshop with actual dancers telling their stories (some of whom performed in the resulting musical). Underwood said he began dancing in college after growing up in small-town Tuscumbia, Alabama. He laughs heartily when we joke that Alabama is where we would expect a New York choreographer to originate. Thats the sort of experience that you hear in the show. Someone is from Missouri, someone is from North Carolina. I mean, the great thing about theater is all of the participants are from everywhere from the smallest towns to the largest cities. More Information Ivoryton Playhouse, 103 Main St., Ivoryton. Wednesday, Aug. 8 through Sept. 1. 7:30 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, 8 p.m. Saturaday, Wednesday and Sunday at 2 p.m. $55-$20. 860-767-7318. ivorytonplayhouse.org See More Collapse The original Broadway production ran for 6,137 performances, becoming the longest-running production in Broadway history until surpassed by Cats in 1997. I think whats so charming about the show is that people who have no relationship with what it means to be an actor and what it takes to go through the audition process ... putting yourself out there and making yourself vulnerable ... get to see a bit of (actors) personal story and where they began, said Underwood, and how they got the spark to do theater and how they got from that moment to auditioning for what is supposed to be one of the greatest Broadway musicals ever. The new production stars a dozen Ivoryton regulars in the cast (including Andee Buccheri, Stephanie Genito and Jared Starkey), joined by 10 first-timers at the playhouse. So what can a viewer who maybe hasnt seen A Chorus Line expect at Ivoryon in this show? In addition to seeing the inner workings of what is considered the first step in casting a show, you also get to see some incredible singing, some incredible acting, said Underwood. You get to hear peoples lives put on the line. And also youre going to see some wonderful... performers... dancing their hearts out, singing their hearts out, really bringing this story to the front. jamarante@nhregister.com; @Joeammo on Twitter HADDAM The vehemence and public outcry generated by the towns third in command again cast itself onto the national stage Thursday when First Selectman Lizz Milardo made a guest appearance on Fox & Friends. Milardo, a Republican, responded to the ongoing ruction sparked when Democratic Selectman Melissa Schlag knelt for the second time in two weeks when the Pledge of Allegiance was recited at the Board of Selectmen meeting. Schlag said she did so for a number of reasons, including President Donald Trumps meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin the same day Schlag initially took a knee, and the immigration crisis at the Texas border, where more than 2,000 children were initially detained. Since then, many have been reunited with their families, but scores of other children remain confined, according to news reports. Schlag wrote a two-page letter July 20, which she posted on Facebook under the title Dear America, justifying her position. She listed a number of other reasons for her stance in the missive. On Monday, Schlag knelt on two knees, hand over her heart, prompting the bottled-up fury and frustration of her detractors who filled the Haddam Volunteer Fire Co. bay to shout the Pledge. The meeting was moved to the station because it holds nearly 300 people, Milardo said Monday. I have no intention of resigning. Something that was a silent 10 seconds has blown up across the world, and it doesnt need to be this difficult to get your point across, Schlag said during a segment on The Colin McEnroe Show on WNPR this week, Kneeling as an Act of Protest. The Fox & Friends show hosts asked Milardo to react to Schlags statement to a friend as the Board of Selectmens meeting wrapped up Monday night. Schlags remarks that the town is fascist and racist were caught on an 11-second, widely circulated video. Melissa is vindictive, and if you dont agree with her, she dismisses it, and she doesnt think twice about going on social media and calling people out, Milardo told Fox & Friends, adding that the controversy is not about party affiliation Republicans vs. Democrats. Shes been trying to turn it into that. This is a patriotic issue. This is something where we represent the town you dont have to like the president, you dont have to go by what he has to say, but were a nation, and we should all be able to come together and have that level of respect, Milardo said on the TV segment. Milardo wasn't available for comment before press time due to work obligations. Schlag, acknowledged she did voice that opinion about a fascist and racist town while under great stress following an hour-long public session she described as a stoning. However, Schlag said, she has always put Haddam first and has worked tirelessly for the town for years. I take great offense to Mrs. Milardos statements, and she clearly doesnt see the racism and fascist ideals among some in our quaint little town that we must all work hard to address. For 10 seconds of a private protest, I was met with caustic attacks at a meeting where veterans told me I urinated on the graves of dead soldiers, booed their own pledge, and yelled at another veteran to get out when he defended my right to kneel, Schlag said. Wednesday, Schlag offered an apology and challenge to her champions and detractors on the You Live in Haddam If Facebook page. Schlag apologized for making it seem like I thought all of Haddam was racist and fascist. That could not be further from the truth. However, there are strong veins of fascism (forced patriotism) and racism running deep in Haddam, she said earlier this week. Even on this (Facebook) page, I allow comments that I find disgusting. I have been sexually and verbally abused, and berated, and threatened over the past two weeks. This is not Haddam. This is not America. But it can be. We can do better, Schlag said. Milardo said her community is very upset, and she has been fielding calls and emails about Schlags actions since July 16. I got a call from a veteran who said hed rather not have me say the Pledge of Allegiance before the meeting than have to sit and watch her take a knee, she said. He was crying. It was very upsetting. Schlag said she has been viciously attacked online. There is no place in our little town for such racist statements or words. The problem is not with my kneeling, the problem is that (Republican gubernatorial candidate) Tim Herbst, (Republican state Sen.) Art Linares, and now Mrs. Milardo are using Haddam as a political chew toy. This issue has been on Fox & Friends five times enough is enough. Lets move on to actually work on issues that are important to Haddam, Schlag said. As part of her apology, Schlag said, she never intended her words fascist and racist to be directed at the entire town. Milardo said Schlags harsh criticism put her over the top. When I heard her say the town, because some of the residents disagreed with her, they were labeled as fascist and racist. And thats wrong. Managing Editor Cassandra Day can be reached at cassandra.day@hearstmediact.com or Twitter @cassandrasdis. The sediment under a lake in Mexico contains some of the long-sought answers to the mystery of the Mayan demise. Ancient Mayans, primarily concentrated in what is now the Yucatan Peninsula, were among the most advanced civilizations of their time. Mayans were some of the first to build cities. They used astronomy to advance agricultural production, and they created calendars and used advanced mathematics. But despite all of their progress, the Mayan empire, built over thousands of years, may have crumbled in just a few hundred. Scientists have several theories about why the collapse happened, including deforestation, overpopulation and extreme drought. New research, published in Science on Thursday, focuses on the drought and suggests, for the first time, how extreme it actually was. While analyzing sediment under Lake Chichancanab on the Yucatan Peninsula, scientists found a 50 percent decrease in annual precipitation over more than 100 years, from 800 to 1,000 A.D. At times, the study shows, the decrease was as much as 70 percent. While the drought was previously known, this study is the first to quantify the rainfall, relative humidity and evaporation at that time. It's also the first to combine multiple elemental analyses and modeling to determine the climate record during the Mayan civilization demise. Climate scientists commonly use sediment cores to determine the conditions of the past, like geological time capsules. Each layer of sediment buried deep underground contains evidence of rainfall, temperature and even air pollution. Via chemical processes and interactions, the climate conditions are "recorded" in the surface soil at the time, and eventually buried. Scientists can bore a deep core of dirt, and carefully analyze it layer by layer, year by year to reconstruct a timeline. For this study, scientists painstakingly examined the layers of mud and clay in the cores from under Lake Chichancanab. During dry periods, the lake volume would have shrunk, said Nick Evans, a graduate student studying paleoclimatology at Cambridge University and first author of the study. As the water evaporated, lighter particles would have evaporated first, leaving behind heavier elements. If the drought was intense and long-lasting, gypsum crystals formed and incorporated existing lake water directly into their structure. The "fossil water" inside the crystals allowed Evans and his co-authors to analyze the properties of the lake water during each period. "It's as close as you'll ever get to sampling water in the past," Evans said. The chemical composition of the fossil water indicated periods of drought in the Mayan timeline, and revealed how long and intense this particular drought was. Many theories about the drought triggers exist, but there is no smoking gun some 1,000 years later. The drought coincides with the beginning of the Medieval Warm Period, thought to have been caused by a decrease in volcanic ash in the atmosphere and an increase in solar activity. Previous studies have shown that the Mayans' deforestation may have also contributed. Deforestation tends to decrease the amount of moisture and destabilize the soil. Additional theories for the cause of the drought include changes to the atmospheric circulation and decline in tropical cyclone frequency, Evans said. Matthew Lachniet, a professor of geosciences at the University of Nevada Las Vegas, who was not involved in the study, said the quantification of the drought is important because it illustrates the power of natural climate variability alone. "Humans are affecting climate. We're making it warmer and it's projected to become drier in Central America," Lachniet said. "What we could end up with is double whammy of drought. If you coincide drying from natural causes with drying from human causes then it amplifies the strength of that drought." Evans and his team hope their research will help archaeologists understand how the ancient drought may have impacted Mayan agriculture at a critical time in their history. Currently, vast areas of North America, northern Africa, the Middle East, Southwest Asia and most of Australia are in significant drought, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Global Drought Information System. Sociopolitical research suggests that drought may cause war, famine and large human migrations. And many countries affected lack the resources to cope. "Drought does have the potential to be a driving force for a lot of the issues that can cause civilization stress," Evans said. He noted, though, that today's globalized economy and modern technology have the potential to prevent a Mayan-style, world-ending drought. Probably. Ronald McDonald House Charities of Greater Chattanooga recently added six new members to the board of directors. The new board members include: Dr. Dave Bhattacharya, pediatric surgeon with University Surgical Associates and medical director for Pediatric Trauma at Childrens Hospital at Erlanger; Sallie Brooks, director of Marketing and Tax Account for Miller and McPhail, CPA ; Kim Coffey, pediatric physical therapist and owner of Pediatric Physical Therapy Services; Betsy Conroy, a full-time mom and active volunteer in the Chattanooga community; Charles Gilbreath, labor and employment attorney at Chambliss, Bahner & Stophel; Nicole Jeppesen, CPA and senior manager at LBMC; Ken Jones, manager at EPB Fiber Optics and Geographic Information System group; Melissa McKown, recently retired from teaching elementary school after 35 years and active volunteer in the Chattanooga community; and Christy Ramirez, community outreach director, licensed funeral director for Chattanooga Funeral Home and a Chattanooga Chamber of Commerce ambassador. RMHC of Greater Chattanooga is fortunate to have this exceptional group of individuals join our board of directors this year, shared Jane Kaylor, RMHC president and CEO. Their skills and expertise in the fields of medicine, technology, finance, law, marketing and education strengthen our board and bring different perspectives at a time in the life of our organization when additional opportunities for service to the community are on the horizon. We are honored that they have chosen us. The board of directors is the governing body for the local chapter of Ronald McDonald House Charities of Greater Chattanooga and is responsible for overseeing all major decisions and serves as ambassadors of the House. Short bio of board members: Dr. Dave Bhattacharya provides surgical care to newborn babies with prenatal developmental issues and teenage victims of trauma. He is an active member in the community serving on the board of the Erlanger and Childrens Hospital foundation and was recently appointed to the board of Chattanooga Prep. Sallie Brooks has been working in public accounting for 26 years. Beyond wanting to make an impact in the community, Ms. Brooks has a personal connection to RMHC. In 2001, she stayed at RMHC after her daughter was in a car accident that rendered her a paraplegic. Kim Coffey is a pediatric physical therapist and owner of Pediatric Physical Therapy Services. She is serving for the second time on the RMHC of Greater Chattanooga board and is excited to continue her support in this way. Betsy Conroy is the definition of a "mompreneur." She chose to step back from a career in pharmaceutical sales after her second child was born. She currently serves on the board of Girls Inc. as secretary and chair of their advancement committee. In addition, she and her kids serve weekly as volunteers at RMHC. Charles Gilbreath is an advisor for employers and defends them in litigation as necessary. Through legal guidance, he helps to ensure that Chattanooga-area employers are compliant with Tennessee and Federal Regulations. Hes overjoyed by the chance to help RMHC continue to provide their services and continue to grow within the community. Ken Jones has an important responsibility with his job in designing and maintaining to serve their clientele. He has set a personal and professional goal to work with organizations that impact kids, foster entrepreneurship and allows the community to develop into a model for others to follow. RMHC provides him with a conduit to be a strategic part of helping kids and their families. Melissa McKown is involved in many community endeavors as labors of love and helping children in some way. McKowns mother was on the first RMHC of Greater Chattanooga board and it was instilled in her to give back and pay it forward. She is honored to serve on the board just like her mother did. Christy Ramirez works with people daily from organizations across the city on projects to benefit the community. Ms. Ramirez has the privilege to compassionately serve families through her work and has also been able to observe firsthand the impact RMHC has with families and its community. Nicole Jeppesen is a CPA and senior manager in the LBMC Tax practice. As shes settled into her job, and her family into the community, she was looking for opportunities to become more involved with a charitable organization. When she heard that RMHC was looking for a new treasurer, I thought that sounded like a good way to use her time and talents for others. Jimmy Scotchie, chairman, board of directors, shared this quote from Tom Brady, I just love working hard. I love being a part of a team; I love working toward a common goal. This quote seemed very appropriate to RMHC of Greater Chattanooga as we welcome the new board members to the team. I look forward to getting to know each of them as we work toward a common goal. One story is about Melissa Schlag and the controversy over her kneeling during the pledge of allegiance. Another story is about Tim Herbst and the gubernatorial candidates willingness to drag Haddams first selectwoman for political gain. But the real story is about Herbst siding with Russia. He didnt mean to. I hope not. Maybe he did. We'd better get to the bottom of this. Like many Americans, Melissa Schlag, a Democrat, was outraged by the sight of President Trump throwing his country under the bus, as a conservative pundit put it. This was in Helsinki, Finland, standing next to Russian President Vladimir Putin. The president last month said he took the enemys word over that of U.S. officials bound by oath to defend the United States. They said Russia attacked us in 2015. Putin said nope, didnt do it. Trump said OK. To Schlag, this was a moment of betrayal. On July 16, at a Board of Selectmen meeting, she quietly protested by kneeling during the Pledge of Allegiance. Im pretty sure no one outside of Haddam would ever have heard the name Melissa Schlag, or that she kneeled, had Herbst not been running fourth in the race for governor of Connecticut to party-endorsed candidate Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton and two former Democrats. Far behind and against the odds, Herbst recognized an opportunity to stoke the rage lobes of Republican voters while bettering his chances in the run-up to the Republican Partys primary next week. So he got on Fox News to blast Schlag and demand her resignation. This was the beginning of the controversy you have heard, the one about Schlag and the question of kneeling during the pledge, or the national anthem, and whether thats an act of love or hate of ones country. Its a stupid debate, not least because it cant be settled. Its stupid, because very few people cared before Herbst went on Fox News, at least they didnt care enough to travel all the way to Haddam to condemn Schlag to her face. They only care now because Herbst, who has nothing to do with Haddam and likely never will, attacked Schlag on Fox in order to get more attention, and more primary votes. To her immense credit, Schlag stood her ground during a town meeting Monday, as did many commendable residents. Together, they defended her, and anyones, right to speak freely and dissent. Yes, many there called the flag sacred and accused Schlag of disrespecting the sacrifice of veterans. But in attendance were veterans who said they served to protect her right. I love Connecticut Yankees! Lost in the fray, though, is the substance of Schlags protest that Trump sided with the enemy. This is key, but something that does not help Herbst. It hurts him. Or should. In attacking Schlag, Herbst inadvertently (I think) defended the president, which is to say, defended the fact that Trump took Putins side against his own country. Now, I dont know about you, but that looks to me like Herbst is taking Putins side, too. Looks can be deceiving, so we better get to the bottom of this, applying as much scrutiny as we did in the Schlag case. A new story, or the real one, Id say, is this: Does Herbst side with Russia? John Stoehr is the publisher of the Editorial Board, a newsletter about politics. He lives in Westville. The remains returned by North Korea are possibly those of Army troops who fell in the brutal 1950 battle at the Chosin Reservoir, Pentagon POW/MIA officials said Thursday. The returned remains are associated with the fight at what was called the "Frozen Chosin" for the sub-zero temperatures in which Marine and Army units fought their way out of encirclement by Chinese forces and were evacuated by sea, said Dr. John Byrd, a forensic anthropologist. Byrd, who went to Wonsan in North Korea last week as part of the team that brought back the remains, said he was told by North Korean officials that the remains were recovered from the village of Sin Hung-ri on the east side of the reservoir. Marines fought on the west side of the reservoir, "and the east side -- that's where the Army was," said Byrd, laboratory director of the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA). At a Pentagon briefing with retired Air Force Maj. Gen. Kelly McKeague, the DPAA director, Byrd said his initial examination of the remains, and his discussions with the North Koreans, led him to believe that further analysis will show that the remains are those of Americans. In addition, the 55 transfer cases handed over by the North Koreans contained equipment associated with the American military, such as boots, canteens, buttons and buckles, Byrd said. There also was one dog tag, he added. He declined to disclose the name on the tag but said two family members had been notified and are expected to be in the Washington, D.C., area next week with family groups for a detailed briefing from DPAA on the next steps in identifying the remains. Byrd said the 55 transfer cases brought by two Air Force C-17s to Hickam Air Force Base in Hawaii could represent more than 55 individuals, due to remains possibly being mixed. "You should not assume one box is one person," he said. "We couldn't be sure how many individuals were in each box." McKeague said that DPAA has a DNA database from 92 percent of the families of the estimated 7,700 U.S. service members still listed as missing from the 1950-53 Korean War and DNA comparisons with the remains from the 55 cases would begin shortly. He said samples from the remains would be sent to the Armed Forces Identification Laboratories at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware to begin the DNA process. "Where we have compelling DNA matches, identifications could come quickly," McKeague said, but he and Byrd also cautioned that the process could take years. Identifications could also come quickly if teeth are found among the remains, McKeague said. "We could immediately compare dental records," he said. Another method of identification was through chest x-rays that were on file for those who served in the Korean War, McKeague said. He said that DPAA has chest radiographs for about three-quarters of the missing from the Korean War. The key to identifications from chest X-rays was the clavicle, or collarbone, said Chuck Prichard, a DPAA spokesman. Clavicles are unique to each individual, "as unique as a fingerprint," he said. McKeague said he was "guardedly optimistic" that North Korea would agree to the return of more remains and also to joint recovery operations with the U.S. at former battlefields and prison camps. Byrd cautioned that, "at this point, at least, there's no way to tell" how many more sets of remains the North Koreans might already have in their possession. -- Richard Sisk can be reached at richard.sisk@military.com. This article by Jeff Schogol originally appeared on Task & Purpose, a digital news and culture publication dedicated to military and veterans issues Lance Cpl. Vasillios Pistolis -- who reportedly belonged to a Neo-Nazi group and assaulted protesters while marching with white supremacists last year -- has officially been kicked out of the Marine Corps. Pistolis had been sentenced to 28 days' confinement, reduction in rank to E-1, and forfeiture of two-thirds pay for one month after being found guilty at a June 19 summary court-martial of failure to obey an order or regulation and making a false official statement. The former Marine was separated on July 11, the day he got out of the brig, said Marine Corps spokesman Maj. Brian Block. "He is not a Marine anymore," said Block, who was unable to say what type of discharge Pistolis received due to privacy act restrictions. Pistolis had been assigned to Combat Logistics Battalion 8, Combat Logistics Regiment 2, 2nd Marine Logistics Group, at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. ProPublica reported in May that Pistolis was a member of Atomwaffen Division, a neo-Nazi group, and had marched in the Aug. 12, 2017, "Unite the Right" rally in Charlottesville, Va. A news photographer captured a picture of Pistolis beating a protester with a wooden flagpole, and he reportedly bragged online about assaulting another protester, Emily F. Gorcenski. When ProPublica tweeted on Wednesday that Pistolis had been separated, Gorcenski responded by tweeting: "Bye Nazi." The Marine Corps makes clear that any Marines will be separated if the Corps confirms that they are members of or associated with any hate groups. Two Camp Lejeune Marines, Sgt. Michael Chesny and Staff Sgt. Joseph Manning, were separated after being arrested in May 2017 for flying a white supremacist banner at a pro-Confederate rally in North Carolina. Former Marine recruiter Dillon Ulysses Hopper is reportedly the leader of the white supremacist group Vanguard America. And James Alex Fields Jr., who only spent four months with the Army before being kicked out, was arrested and charged with second-degree murder for allegedly killing a woman at the Unite the Right rally by ramming his car into a crowd of protesters. "We are seeing more cases involving hate groups," said Daniel Conway, a former Marine captain who is now a civilian attorney who represents service members. "I don't think there's an organized presence. But social media allows impressionable young men to associate with various groups that advocate divisive and hateful messages. Some of the groups operate under the veil of veterans organizations." Regardless of the causes, he added, hate group activity in the services is "a growing problem." More articles from Task & Purpose: Marines Are Finally Getting Their Hands On The Carl Gustaf Bazooka Army Is Eyeing A New Submachine Gun For Personal Security Report: The Army Is Embracing Drug Waivers To Help Fill Its Ranks The Defense Department has an ambitious plan to bring home and identify more remains of service members missing from the Korean War, assuming that the fraught negotiations on North Korea's disarmament and sanctions relief make progress. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Friday that the talks had made little headway since the June 12 Singapore summit at which North Korean leader Kim Jong Un reportedly pledged to U.S. President Donald Trump that he would dismantle his nuclear weapons and missile programs. "Chairman Kim made a commitment to denuclearize," Pompeo told reporters traveling with him to Singapore for a meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). However, "We can see we still have a ways to go to achieve the ultimate outcome we're looking for," Reuters quoted Pompeo as saying. DoD officials and family group advocates have long argued that remains recoveries should be dealt with as a humanitarian issue apart from other considerations, but security concerns have trumped repatriations in the past. The last joint recovery mission, with U.S. teams on the ground under the supervision of North Korea's People's Army, was in 2005. The administration of former President George W. Bush cut off recovery operations as North Korea pressed ahead with its nuclear and missile programs. Then-Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said at the time that he could not guarantee the recovery teams' safety. At a Pentagon briefing Thursday, retired Air Force Maj. Gen. Kelly McKeague, director of the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA), said the U.S. has a "sacred obligation" to pursue a full accounting of the estimated 7,700 U.S. service members still missing from the 1950-53 Korean War, including about 5,300 lost on battlefields, in prison camps or at crash sites in North Korea. The DPAA has a staff of about 720, but that number could expand if North Korea follows through on commitments made to Pompeo to consider a resumption of joint recovery operations, possibly in the spring, McKeague said. "We do know that, over the years, whether it's an agricultural project, a road being built or what have you, that the likelihood of recovering remains is fairly high," he said. The DPAA over the years also has developed detailed maps of former battlefields, prison camps and crash sites where recoveries are likely. Should North Korea agree to joint recovery operations, the U.S. teams would be unarmed, as they have been in the past, McKeague said. "Because the mission is considered humanitarian in nature, our teams do not deploy. Our military teams do not deploy in uniform, they carry no weapons and the host nation recognizes it as a humanitarian endeavor." In anticipation of more returns, McKeague and Dr. John Byrd, a forensic anthropologist and director of the DPAA's labs in Hawaii, said the agency is doubling the number of forensic anthropologists from five to 10 assigned to the Korean War Project team in Hawaii. The project is led by Dr. Jenny Jin, whose grandparents fled North Korea for Seoul during the war, McKeague said. "So we're going to essentially double the size of the project team, and their job is to manage the DNA sampling" from the remains in 55 transfer cases sent to Hawaii's Hickam Air Force Base on Wednesday for an "honorable carry" ceremony presided over by Vice President Mike Pence, Byrd said. McKeague and Byrd said the DNA samples would be sent to the Armed Forces Identification Laboratories at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware as the first step in the difficult process of matching them against the DPAA's DNA database from the families of the missing. Byrd led the U.S. team that went to Wonsan in North Korea last week to take custody of the transfer cases. He said it is impossible to tell at this point how many individuals are represented by the 55 cases, since the remains could be commingled. Initial indications are that the remains are possibly those of Americans who fell at the 1950 battle at Chosin Reservoir in North Korea, DPAA officials said. "So you can sum all that up to say that everything we saw was consistent with these remains, indeed, being from the Korean War, and consistent with these remains being good candidates to be missing Americans from the Korean War," Byrd said. One dog tag was found in the preliminary examination of the cases, McKeague said, which will be given to two relatives of the deceased service member to whom it belonged at a meeting with family groups next week in a Washington suburb. -- Richard Sisk can be reached at Richard.Sisk@Military.com. More members of the Coast Guard could be headed to the Asia-Pacific region and Africa next year as the service looks to ramp up missions in those parts of the world. The demand for Coast Guard services has never been higher, Commandant Adm. Karl Schultz said Wednesday during a Center for Strategic and International Studies event. That's likely to only increase in 2019 as combatant commanders look to Coasties to help solve complex problems in their areas of operation. "We're in discussion with Adm. [Phil] Davidson and the Indo-Pacific command," Schultz said. "There's a request for forces, and I think you will see some Coast Guard presence in that part of the world." There hasn't been a final decision on whether the Coast Guard will send a ship to the region, but Schultz said there's opportunity for his service to participate in theater security cooperation missions with local partners. Coasties have worked closely with Vietnam as that country established its own coast guard, and the commandant said there's room to do more of that in the region. "The Coast Guard could, I think, bring some unique capabilities in building partner capacity," he said. "... That's the INDO-PACOM commander's ultimate decision on utilization of the Coast Guard capability that I think you're likely to see in there in the coming calendar year." China has invested heavily it its coast guard, Schultz said, which has become the de facto enforcement arm in the South China Sea. As China builds up its navy and coast guard, and begins operating on new man-made islands, it's important for the U.S. to have a presence there too, he said. "Tempering that Chinese influence is absolutely essential," Schultz said. A Coast Guard medium-endurance cutter could also deploy to Africa next year. The Nigerian navy has old Coast Guard high-endurance cutters, so Schultz and Vice Adm. Scott Buschman, the Atlantic area commander, are interested with partnering with them along the African shoreline. "It's a way to work with the Nigerians, who have those former vessels that come out, and maybe do some exercises together to help them be more capable with the ships we gave them," Schultz said. Working with partners in the region responsible for protecting local fishing waters in places like Ghana and Senegal is also going to be increasingly important, he added. "When you really look at the potential surge in population on the African continent, those protein sources, which come from the ocean in large part, are going to be a big part of the conversation there in the coming decade," Schultz said. -- Gina Harkins can be reached at gina.harkins@military.com. Follow her on Twitter at @ginaaharkins. MIAMI -- More than 5 tons of cocaine seized in international waters off the Eastern Pacific Ocean from early June to mid-July was offloaded by the crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Hamilton Wednesday in Port Everglades. The drugs were seized during the interdiction of five suspected smuggling vessels and the recovery of two floating bale fields found off the coasts of Mexico, Central and South America by the Coast Guard cutters Hamilton (WMSL-753), Alert (WMEC-630), and Venturous (WMEC-625). Hamilton was responsible for four cases, seizing an estimated 2,962 kilograms of cocaine. The cutter Alert was responsible for one case, seizing an estimated 2,253 kilograms of cocaine. The cutter Venturous was responsible for one case, seizing an estimated 616 kilograms of cocaine and 50 pounds of marijuana. "The men and women aboard Hamilton, and those on all of the cutters who intercepted these illicit drugs, epitomize excellence and dedication," said Cmdr. Eric Helgen, cutter Hamilton executive officer. "These cutter crews spend over half of the year deployed in the fight against transnational criminal organizations who spread misery throughout Central and South America. Without the service and sacrifice of our Coast Guard men and women, the criminals engaged in the transshipment of drugs like those on Hamilton's flight deck, would operate unchecked, ultimately threatening the safety and security of our borders." Numerous U.S. agencies from the Departments of Defense, Justice and Homeland Security cooperated in the effort to combat transnational organized crime. The Coast Guard, Navy, Customs and Border Protection, FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement along with allied and international partner agencies play a role in counter-drug operations. The fight against transnational organized crime networks in the Eastern Pacific requires unity of effort in all phases from detection, monitoring, and interdictions, to criminal prosecutions by U.S. Attorneys in districts across the nation. The Coast Guard increased U.S. and allied presence in the Eastern Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Basin, which are known drug transit zones off of Central and South America, as part of its Western Hemisphere Strategy. During at-sea interdictions in international waters, a suspect vessel is initially detected and monitored by allied, military or law enforcement personnel coordinated by Joint Interagency Task Force-South based in Key West, Florida. The law enforcement phase of counter-smuggling operations in the Eastern Pacific is conducted under the authority of the 11th Coast Guard District, headquartered in Alameda, California. The interdictions, including the actual boarding, are led and conducted by members of the U.S. Coast Guard. Helgen added, "The tremendous cooperation and partnerships with countries throughout Central and South America continue to make a lasting impact in this fight" The cutter Hamilton is 418-foot national security cutter homeported in Charleston, South Carolina. The cutter Alert is 210-foot medium endurance cutter homeported in Astoria, Oregon. The cutter Venturous is also a 210-foot medium endurance cutter homeported in St. Petersburg, Florida. Thule Air Base in Greenland is operating normally after reports that a possible meteorite exploded in the air above it, officials told Military.com on Friday. "There's been no impact to Thule Air Base," Air Force spokeswoman Capt. Hope Cronin said in an email. News outlets reported a meteorite exploded several miles from the base July 25 following tweets from space enthusiasts who tracked the explosion. "Meteor explodes with 2.1 kilotons force 43 km above missile early warning radar at Thule Air Base," tweeted Hans Kristensen, director of the Nuclear Information Project for the Federation of American Scientists. Kristensen this week tweeted about the event after a user, named "Rocket Ron," publicized that a "fireball was detected over Greenland on July 25, 2018 by US Government sensors." NASA, which tracks meteor, comet, asteroid and other space debris movements, confirmed these details. "Meteors of this magnitude or greater, caused by the impact of small asteroids (few meters in size) with Earths atmosphere, occur a few times a year," JoAnna Wendel, a NASA spokeswoman, said. "By comparison, the 2013 meteor over Chelyabinsk, Russia released over 200 times the energy of the Greenland meteor." Kristensen downplayed the idea that the explosion may have been something else -- for example, a Russian missile aimed at Thule, which operates the Upgraded Early Warning Radar (UEWR), formerly known as the Ballistic Missile Early Warning System. "We're still here, so they correctly concluded it was not a Russian first strike," Kristensen tweeted Wednesday. "There are nearly 2,000 nukes on alert, ready to launch," he added. Officials on Friday were not aware if the U.S. military launched intelligence, surveillance or reconnaissance aircraft or the WC-135 Constant Phoenix aircraft, known as the "nuke sniffer," in response to the blast. The blast was limited, Kristensen told Task & Purpose Friday, suggesting it was not a threat to the several hundred military and civilian personnel stationed at Thule, which is mostly underground. Thule, under Peterson Air Force Base's 21st Space Wing, 821st Air Base Group, operates and maintains missile warning and space surveillance systems and conducts "satellite command-and-control operations missions," according to the Air Force. "The group provides security, communications, civil engineering, personnel services, logistics and medical support to remote active-duty units in a combined U.S., Canadian, Danish and Greenlandic environment of approximately 550 military, civilian and contractor personnel," according to the group's Air Force page. -- Oriana Pawlyk can be reached at oriana.pawlyk@military.com. Follow her on Twitter at @Oriana0214 The Pentagon's watchdog agency criticized the Navy's management of a new mine detection system for its littoral combat ships, prompting a response from top naval leaders who defended the service's actions. Navy officials declared three of seven parts of its new mine countermeasures mission package had reached initial operating capability by summer 2017. That meant sailors were considered equipped and trained to conduct mission operations with three devices: the AN/ASQ235 Airborne Mine Neutralization System, the Airborne Laser Mine Detection System, and the Coastal Battlefield Reconnaissance and Analysis Block I system. When the Defense Department inspector general reviewed the three platforms, investigators found signs they weren't meeting requirements, according to a report issued last week. "We determined that the Navy declared IOC for the three [systems] ... prior to demonstrating that [they] were effective and suitable for their intended operational uses," the report states. The three systems under IG review included: The AN/ASQ235 Airborne Mine Neutralization System, or AMNS, reached initial operational capability in November 2016. It deploys expendable destructors from MH-60S helicopters. Those vehicles are controlled from a console while they ID mines. Once they do, warheads are detonated to destroy the mines. The Airborne Laser Mine Detection System, or ALMDS, which also works with MH-60S helicopters, detects near-surface mine threats using laser imaging. Like the AMNS, the ALMDS reached initial operational capability in November 2016. The Coastal Battlefield Reconnaissance and Analysis system, known as COBRA, detects minefields and other obstacles in surf and beach zones ahead of an amphibious assault. It can be integrated with the Navy's MQ-8 Fire Scout, an unmanned helicopter that can operate from ships. COBRA reached initial operational capability in July 2017. There were known performance problems with both the AMNS and ALMDS, the report states. Officials approved a plan to pursue initial operational capability to gather data and lessons learned. But the results of previous tests were used to justify it being rated mission capable before those performance problems were corrected, according to the report. Similarly, the director of the Expeditionary Warfare Division declared COBRA had reached initial operational capability to "avoid requesting a sixth change ... that would further delay the delivery of the system capabilities to the fleet," the report states. Because the mine countermeasures mission package relies on seven systems, each must "provide full capability and operate in conjunction with each other" to accomplish the mission, the inspector general found. If the Navy proceeds, sailors aboard the LCS and other platforms might receive gear that "cannot fully perform their mine detection and neutralization missions," according to the report. "This in turn could lead to degraded mission performance, delayed delivery of needed capabilities, and the need to pull those units off-line and spend additional money to correct shortcomings in the fielded units," the report states. The IG recommended that the Navy delay future procurement of the three systems until complete operational tests and evaluations demonstrate the systems are effective and suitable to support full-rate production. There were memos stating the ALMDS and AMNS had not yet executed the complete initial operational tests and evaluations, according to the report. The Navy also had not yet demonstrated that the COBRA Block I system was able to conduct its full portfolio of mission operations. "We disagree that the systems met the requirements for declaring IOC," the inspector general's office wrote. But Navy leaders hit back, challenging those findings. The assistant Navy secretary told the IG that all three systems "had met the requirements for the declaration of IOC as defined in their acquisition documentation." The ALMDS and AMNS had "completed and exceeded expectations" for testing required by the LCS mine countermeasures mission package, and the COBRA successfully completed its first round of initial operational tests and evaluations to meet the requirements for IOC, the assistant secretary told the IG. Inspectors then met with top Navy leaders to get an update on the three systems' development. The officials argued that having training squadrons use the systems is the best way to identify and correct performance gaps. The squadrons working with ALMDS and AMNS have not reported any problems, Navy officials said, according to the report. And shortcomings with the COBRA have been corrected. The inspector general's office still cautioned the Navy in its approach. "Entering full-rate production without demonstrating a system can perform as required may require costly retrofits to fix undiscovered system deficiencies," the report states. "In addition, the approach could also result in having to delay the planned decommissioning of legacy ships, helicopters, and associated equipment if deficiencies also render the new system unable to perform the full [mine countermeasures] mission set." The Navy must continually improve the ALMDS, AMNS, and COBRA Block I systems based on feedback from the fleet. The IG's office also requested that service leaders provide documentation that the Navy has corrected any performance deficiencies for the three systems and demonstrate progress toward achieving its full portfolio of mission operations, while mitigating the risk of costly retrofits. -- Gina Harkins can be reached at gina.harkins@military.com. Follow her on Twitter at @ginaaharkins. Key Select Mineral List Type Standard Detailed Gallery Strunz Dana Chemical Elements References Sort by Year (asc) Year (desc) Author (A-Z) Author (Z-A) Palache, Charles, Harry Berman & Clifford Frondel (1944), The System of Mineralogy of James Dwight Dana and Edward Salisbury Dana Yale University 1837-1892. John Wiley and Sons, Inc., New York. 7th edition, revised and enlarged, Volume I, 834pp.: 93. Brathwaite, R.L. and Christie, A.B. (2000) Deposit types and paleo-depth extents of Coromandel epithermal Au-Ag deposits in 2000 New Zealand Minerals & Mining Conference Proceedings Brathwaite, R.L., Mazengarb, C.M., Richards, L., Beetham, R.D. (2002) Ground collapses related to abandoned underground workings at Waihi, New Zealand. Simpson, M.P., Mauk, J.L. (2011) Hydrothermal Alteration and Veins at the Epithermal Au-Ag Deposits and Prospects of the Waitekauri Area, Hauraki Goldfield, New Zealand. Economic Geology, 106:6, 945-973. Oceangold (2015) NI43-101 Technical Report for the Waihi Gold Mine, 23 November 2015. External Links Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality Australian Plate Tectonic Plate New Zealand North Island Island This page contains all mineral locality references listed on mindat.org. This does not claim to be a complete list. If you know of more minerals from this site, please register so you can add to our database. This locality information is for reference purposes only. You should never attempt to visit any sites listed in mindat.org without first ensuring that you have the permission of the land and/or mineral rights holders for access and that you are aware of all safety precautions necessary. An operating gold mine, in the centre of the town of Waihi, located at the foot of the Coromandel Peninsula.Named after the Martha Lode which is an epithermal gold-silver orebody which is giant by world standards. This reef system is at least 1.6km long, 600m deep and up to 30m wide. This and other reefs and veins were extensively mined by the Martha Mines underground operation between the 1880s and 1952.However, many smaller veins stayed untouched and have been mined by open-pit methods since 1987. Rock with as little as one gram of gold per tonne can be mined economically using open pit modern technology. Similar reef systems are being mined at Favona and at Trio as underground operations. In 2014 it was announced that underground mining would begin on the Correnso deposit (so named for the presence of corrensite in the ore).In 1878, John McCombie and Robert Lee discovered gold at Pukewa (Martha Hill). The following year, William Nichol pegged the 5 acre claim over the prospector workings, named it Martha after one of his family members, and began underground mining. The first stamp battery was erected in 1882, near the No. 4 shaft and Junction Road. In 1890, the Waihi Gold Mining Company was formed in London to take over the mine. The Victoria battery was built by the company in 1897 at nearby Waikino, and a hydro electric power station was built at Horahora in 1913 to supply it and the mine with power. The Cornish pumphouse now seen next to the open pit was built in 1904, and moved to its present site in 2006.The Waihi Gold Mining Company continued to mine the deposit until 1952, employing on average 600 men, producing across this time 5.6 million ounces of gold, and 38.4 million ounces of silver, from 11 932 000 tonnes of ore. The underground workings extended to a depth of 600 metres. The mine closed in 1952, then subsequently some ground subsided on Martha Hill above the old Royal workings in 1961, 1999, and 2001.In 1976, the Waihi Mining and Development Ltd entered a joint venture with Amax Exploration New Zealand Inc to explore the deposit further. They were joined in 1985 by Goodman Mining, and United Gold Mines, and two years later these companies formed a new Waihi Gold Mining Company, and began an open pit development to access near surface ore.Newmont Mining Corporation took over the company and mine in 2002, and a name change occurred to the Newmont Waihi Gold Ltd in 2004. With the pit having a limited lifespan, the Favona underground portal was opened also in 2004, while the Trio deposit started in 2012, and the Golden Links/Correnso deposit started production in 2014. The company and mine was purchased by Oceanagold in 2015. Part of the northern side of the pit wall collapsed in 2015 and 2016.A short walk from the car park on Seddon Street in central Waihi leads to the Cornish pumphouse, interpretative signs, and view points over the open pit. Across the road is the Waihi Gold Discovery Centre, a high tech museum explaining the history of the area, and how gold is mined. Tours also go from the discovery centre visiting the new mine portal to the south-east, the processing plant, conveyor belt, and tailings area (no access is available to the pit due to its unstable nature).Gold-silver was formed during a Miocene volcanic period, where earthquakes formed fractures, as a conduit for geothermal fluids precipitating metals, and hydrothermal alteration of the host rocks producing a variety of other species. The host rocks are andesite, rhyolite and dacite, overlain by post mineralisation volcanic andesite and rhyolite volcanics, and sediments like ignimbrite, tephras, and lacustrine sediments.Mineralisation is controlled by the major north-east trending Waihi Fault, and Golden Valley Fault. There are four main quartz veins at Martha named Martha, Welcome, Empire and Royal, and two cross cutting veins called Edward and Albert. The main veins are enveloped by a stock work of subsidiary veins. Mineralisation extends 1600 metres along strike, up to 500 metres wide, and mined to a depth of 600 metres.The Martha deposit is a low sulphidation adularia-sericite epithermal quartz vein system, associated with north-east trending faults. The main Au-Ag ore is electrum, and associated with pervasive pyrite, and more minor sphalerite, galena, chalcopyrite. Silver is also found in acanthite, which is associated with pyrite and galena. Electrum is found as inclusions within the base metal sulphides. Gold is rarely visible. Base metal sulphides tend to increase with depth. The quartz veins range from chalcedonic to coarsely crystalline crustiform banded. Most ore is found in crustiform banded quartz, the veins also locally containing calcite, chlorite, rhodochrosite, and adularia.The andesite has been hydrothermally altered near the veins to quartz, albite, adularia, carbonate, pyrite, and smectite, chlorite, illite clays. Pyrite has broken down into limonite near surface.Subsidiary veins are found to the south-east by up to 3 kilometres distance, and has been the focus of more recent underground mining. Some of this is under houses of the Waihi town site. The north-south Correnso vein, has three west south-west extensions at its southern end called Union, Trio, and Amaranth. The northern section of the Correnso vein is cut by a barren structure, and gold values are lower, having been flooded by post mineralisation bands and lobes of low value quartz-calcite. Further east is the north north-east trending Favona vein, also being brought into production. The Cardinals announced today that two recently-designated relief pitchers have cleared waivers. Lefty Tyler Lyons was outrighted to Triple-A, while right-hander Greg Holland was given his release. Both of these hurlers were trimmed from the St. Louis roster during a pre-trade deadline bullpen purge. Clearly, neither performed to expectations this year. Lyons, 30, was one of the clubs most reliable relievers over the past few campaigns. But he dealt with injuries and struggled through 16 2/3 innings on the current season, allowing 16 earned runs on 24 hits. Though he looks similar in many respects over that short sample velocity, swinging-strike and strikeout rate Lyons has given up quite a bit of hard contact. Thats reflected in the .412 BABIP he surrendered, which could reflect some poor fortune and/or degradation in the quality of his work. As for Holland, he was off to a miserable start before hitting the DL for a hip impingement. Things were generally better upon his return: outside of one particularly awful outing, he allowed three earned runs and recorded 11 strikeouts in 11 frames. Still, its hard to fault the Cards for deciding theyd seen enough, especially after Holland turned in another poor outing in his last appearance with the team. He ended up with a 7.92 ERA in his 25 frames for the St. Louis organization, which is not at all what the team bargained for when it made a late strike that promised the veteran hurler $14MM this season. The remainder of that promise will stay on the Cardinals books, less any pro-rated portion of the league minimum he makes with another organization. A Grand Rapids Township landscaping business has been granted a special land-use permit that will allow it to remain open but will prohibit it from crushing concrete or asphalt after a one-year window to get rid of remaining materials. The township's action came after Township Treasurer David Van Dyke, who is also a developer of a subdivision going in near the east end of the Katerberg VerHage property, mailed out fliers to residents near the landscaping business, pointing out noise and zoning violations they had made. Katerberg VerHage, 3717 Michigan St. NE, has had a concrete and asphalt crushing operation on site, which the Grand Rapids Township zoning ordinance prohibits in any zoning district, according to Township Supervisor Mike DeVries. While Tom VerHage said he believes original complaints came about a year ago from a concerned citizen, VerHage said he noticed VanDyke's fliers after they were put in nearby mailboxes and had even had residents call and ask about them. VanDyke is also a member of the township Planning Commission. "It was just unfortunate the way things played out," Planning Commission Chairman Wayne Harrall said. "At the end of the day, regardless of who's building those houses, there's going to be people coming in." VanDyke was excused from the Planning Commission meeting on Tuesday, July 24, and recused himself from the vote on the new requirements for Katerberg VerHage. He did not respond to requests for comment. Prior to Tuesday's meeting, the township had been working with Katerberg VerHage on an application for a special land-use permit since mid-2017, according to DeVries. Among other requirements set by the Planning Commission are a three-year requirement to remove all prohibited materials from the site; allowance of storage bins for asphalt millings and aggregate material; a maximum pile height of 35 feet; a buffer of trees; and a new setback. VerHage said the business is currently exploring other options and sites for concrete and asphalt crushing. "We're just thankful it's over and hopefully we're on the straight and narrow again," VerHage said. Caledonia Township Clerk Jennifer Venema was recently named the 2018 Township Clerk of the Year by the Michigan Association of Municipal Clerks. Presented with the award by Secretary of State Ruth Johnson at a ceremony held during the annual MAMC Conference in Traverse City in June, Venema also received a special tribute recognizing her achievements from the state of Michigan signed by Gov. Rick Snyder; Lt. Gov. Brian Calley; Rep. Thomas Albert, R-Lowell; and Sen. Dave Hildenbrand, R-Lowell Township. "Ms. Venema has served our community with professionalism and respect for citizens and her fellow board members while taking on duties above and beyond her statutory obligations," Township Supervisor Bryan Harrison, who nominated Venema for the award, said. Clerk in Caledonia since February 2006, Venema handled election duties, maintaining the township's general ledger and overseeing five cemeteries on a part-time basis during her first couple years in office. Since 2008, when the position became full-time, she has taken on the added responsibilities of handling human resources, health and retirement benefits for township employees and information technology duties, including serving as the township webmaster. Venema also is the township's facilities management coordinator, a role in which she is responsible for managing all township properties, from overseeing needed repairs to drafting requests for proposals for various contracts. Additionally, she is the point of contact for all tax abatement inquiries and serves as Caledonia's Freedom of Information Act coordinator. A member of the International Institute of Municipal Clerks; the Michigan Association of Municipal Clerks, with which she currently serves as first vice president; the West Michigan Regional Clerks Association; and the Kent County Clerks Association, Venema has earned both her Certified Municipal Clerk designation and her Certified Michigan Municipal Clerk designation over time. On top of all of her other duties, she also is serving her fifth year as a commissioner of the Kent County Fire Commission, of which she is the current chair, and serves as the Zone 5 director for the Michigan Townships Participating Plan. "I am truly honored and humbled to have received this award (and) I consider it an honor and a blessing to serve my community as their clerk," Venema said. "I have a plaque in my office that I read every day. The last line of the poem on that plaque reads, 'It is my town and it is entitled to the best there is in me.' "I approach every day as clerk with that in mind. I am here to serve my community and to give them the best I have." YPSILANTI, MI - Four years after pleading guilty to operating a vehicle while impaired, a candidate for the Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners is facing new drunk driving charges. Janessa Williams, 27, is facing several charges stemming from a May 28 traffic arrest in Wayne County. In addition to being charged with being "super drunk," she faces felony child abuse charges for allegedly having two of her children in the vehicle, including her 5-year-old son and 9-year-old daughter, according to court records and the prosecutor's office. Williams stood mute at her arraignment on July 10, so the court entered pleas of not guilty on all charges, records show. Her case is due back in court on Tuesday, Aug. 7, which is the day of the primary election. Williams, a Democrat, is challenging Ricky Jefferson for his District 6 seat representing the Ypsilanti area on the county board. Cheryl Farmer, a third Democrat in the race, indicated in June she was ending her campaign for family reasons, but because she was past the deadline to withdraw, her name still appears on the ballot. Williams and her court-appointed attorney did not respond to requests for comment for this story. Records show Williams was sentenced to one year of probation and had to pay more than $1,500 in fines after an impaired-driving conviction in Romulus' 34th District Court in December 2014. That misdemeanor charge stemmed from an October 2014 traffic arrest in Van Buren Township. The new case against Williams is now pending in Wayne County Circuit Court, stemming from a May 28 traffic arrest in Highland Park. The incident happened a month after she filed to run for office. Williams is facing five charges, including one charge of operating a vehicle with a high blood-alcohol level, two charges of operating while intoxicated, and two second-degree child abuse charges, which are felonies carrying a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. She's charged with violating Michigan's "super drunk" law, with a blood-alcohol level of 0.17 or above, records show. A criminal background check through the Michigan State Police did not turn up any other arrests for Williams other than her 2014 arrest in Van Buren Township and her May 2018 arrest in Highland Park. Highland Park Police could not be reached for comment. No campaign or biographical information about Williams could be found online. She does not appear to have a campaign website and did not respond to the Vote411 Voter Guide questionnaire. When filing to run for office in April, she listed an apartment in Ypsilanti as her address. Jefferson, who was first elected to the county board two years ago, is seeking a second two-year term. He said he doesn't have an opinion on his opponent's criminal charges. Jefferson retired in 2009 after 32 years of working at the General Motors Powertrain plant at Willow Run. He then served on the Ypsilanti City Council from 2010 to 2014. He said he wants to continue his service on the county board for a number of reasons, including to make sure community mental health millage dollars are spent wisely. "Because the clients are having a lot of complaints about service, and the turnover for our workers who directly work with the clients is just crazy," he said. "And we want to try to make sure we get some type of crisis intervention for those who are stopped for criminal offenses or alleged criminal offenses, engaging with the sheriff or police." Jefferson also wants to see more attention placed on eastern Washtenaw County in terms of jobs and job training. "We have too many jobs that are not available for some of our residents in that area," he said. "They just need the training to get it, because there's a lot of high-tech coming through with the (American Center for Mobility) being involved. And of course the medical jobs on the west side with Ann Arbor, so we need more transportation for our workers to get to Ann Arbor." Jefferson said the Gelman dioxane plume and the NEXUS gas pipeline also are issues on his radar, along with the county budget. He said he wants to make sure programs through the county's Office of Community and Economic Development that help people in need, including Barrier Busters, continue to be funded, and he wants to see what the county can do to ensure access to early childhood education, especially in eastern Washtenaw. The winner of the Democratic primary in District 6 faces Republican Thomas Banks in the November election. More info MLive has partnered with the nonpartisan League of Women Voters of Michigan to provide information to voters. Check out the league's election guide at Vote411.org to find out more about candidates and proposals on the ballot. Additional election information from the nonpartisan CivCity Initiative in Ann Arbor can be found at AnnArborVotes.org. To find out where to vote and view what's on your ballot, go to the Michigan Voter Information Center website. ANN ARBOR, MI - A former University of Michigan pediatric doctor, fired and stripped of his medical license amid child sex and pornography allegations is in plea negotiations with federal prosecutors. A final pretrial hearing for Mark F. Hoeltzel, 46, was extended Thursday, Aug. 2, after prosecutors and defense council agreed they needed more time to negotiate a possible plea deal, records show. Facing seven felonies, Hoeltzel is charged with one count each of receiving child pornography, possession of child pornography, enticement of a minor, production of child pornography and three counts of transfer of obscene materials to a minor, records show. The charges stem from a federal investigation into alleged inappropriate conduct with patients while he worked in the UM's Pediatric Rheumatology Clinic in Ann Arbor, as well a doctor at a camp for children with arthritis. Hoeltzel has until his final pretrial hearing, Sept. 13, to negotiate and accept a plea with prosecutors, records show. A trial date will be set at the hearing if no deal is accepted by then. Hoeltzel currently is free on $10,000 bond. He faces up to 20 years in federal prison. Michigan Medicine took steps to protect its patients by removing Hoeltzel from patient care duties the day it was alerted of the investigation, UM Executive Vice President of Medical Affairs Marschall Runge previously said. The investigation into Hoeltzel began in 2017 after a former patient filed a complaint with the state Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs. Hoeltzel lost his medical license and his job as the state investigated claims he was intimate with the patient while at work. In December 2017, police executed a search warrant on Hoeltzel's Ann Arbor home and seized several items, including a flash drive that was later found to contain more than 100 images of child pornography. The images primarily consisted of minor girls with their genitals exposed, authorities allege. Federal prosecutors said Hoeltzel was investigated by UM police in Ann Arbor in 2006 after the mother of an 11-year-old girl reported him to authorities upon reading "inappropriate and flirtatious" Yahoo messages shared between the girl and doctor spanning back to 2004. Hoeltzel at that time was asked to take a "boundaries class," but he didn't lose his medical license, job or face criminal charges. ANN ARBOR, MI - The city of Ann Arbor is facing a new lawsuit over its attempt to sell the city-owned Library Lot for development and its attempt to change the wording of a ballot proposal. Local attorney Tom Wieder filed a 13-page complaint in Washtenaw County Circuit Court on Thursday, Aug. 2, on behalf of the Ann Arbor Central Park Ballot Committee, a citizens group behind the November ballot proposal for a downtown central park on the Library Lot. The complaint, now before Judge David Swartz, asks the court to declare the city's recently signed purchase agreement to sell the Fifth Avenue property to Chicago developer Core Spaces invalid, arguing it was never approved by the City Council. The City Council voted 8-3 to approve the $10 million sale of the lot in April 2017, after which the city and Core Spaces worked for more than a year to negotiate and finalize a purchase agreement. Some argue the finalized agreement should have come back for council approval, and if it did it likely wouldn't have had the eight votes needed at this time due to a change in the makeup of council. The newly filed complaint also asks the court to declare the extra wording that a majority of City Council members are trying to add to the November ballot proposal invalid under state law. The council voted 6-5 on July 2 to add 200-plus words of extra text as an "explanatory caption" for the park proposal, making arguments for selling the lot for a high-rise development instead. That extra wording is being contested and the matter has been under review by the state attorney general's office. Now the group behind the park proposal is also asking the court to intervene. The lawsuit names the city of Ann Arbor and City Clerk Jackie Beaudry as defendants. City Attorney Stephen Postema said he hadn't yet seen a copy of the complaint and didn't have comment at this time. The Library Lot is the parking lot atop the Library Lane underground parking garage along Fifth Avenue, just north of the downtown library. The city has been trying to facilitate a high-density development on it for about the past decade now. Core Spaces is proposing a 17-story high-rise with an outdoor plaza open to the public on the Library Lot. As tentatively planned, the building, known as the Collective on 5th, would include retail space on the ground floor, along with a hotel lobby, residential lobby and common area, office space on the second floor, 131 hotel rooms on floors three through six, 360 apartments on floors seven through 17, and a 12,000-square-foot plaza. Some of the ideas Core Spaces has for the outdoor plaza include an art sculpture, water feature, children's play area, splash pad, flexible activity area, removable stage for concerts, and a dining terrace. The developer and the city executed the purchase agreement for the property on May 31, one week after the city clerk notified a grassroots citizens group that its proposal seeking to halt the development had enough signatures to go on the November ballot. Two council members, Anne Bannister and Sumi Kailasapathy, also filed a lawsuit against the city and mayor on June 18, challenging the legality of the contract with Core Spaces. Closing on the sale hasn't happened yet and the lawsuit is pending. Wieder said the Central Park Ballot Committee felt the need for a second lawsuit seeking to invalidate the purchase agreement, even though the one from Bannister and Kailasapathy already is pending, because the group has a different interest and different standing. "The council members have one basis for being in court and we have a different one," he said, noting the Central Park Ballot Committee also is challenging the extra ballot wording in its complaint, so it was going to file its own lawsuit for that anyway. ANN ARBOR, MI - The University of Michigan is considering changing its practice of having its Board of Regents approve new investments, instead allowing financial administrators to make those decisions outside of public meetings. UM announced the proposed change in a press release on Thursday, Aug. 2, that recapped the findings of an independent review of the university's investment procedures. The review - conducted by accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers - found UM has "a meaningful series of controls in place" for $13 billion managed by the university's Office of Investments. Still, UM announced it will make improvements to its processes for disclosing conflicts of interest, documenting due diligence investigations and recording gifts to university officials. One of those procedural changes could include amending the current practice of presenting new investments to the Board of Regents during a public meeting to be approved before the investments are executed. UM says peer institutions do not do that, and it's more common for regents to annually approve the types of investments the university should make. The chief investment officer and chief financial officer would make decisions on individual investments, which would be reported to the Board of Regents during a public meeting after the fact. Regent Katherine E. White, chair of the Board of Regents' Finance, Audit and Investments Committee, said the university "would consider amending its approach" to be more in line with common practices, according to a press release. Prior to hiring PricewaterhouseCoopers to review the Office of Investment's policies and practices, the UM Board of Regents completed its own review of the office's operations this spring. The move came after a Detroit Free Press investigation in January that showed executives at some of the nation's top investment firms donated hundreds of millions of dollars to UM while the university invested as much as $4 billion in those companies' funds. "The university, with rare exception, is functioning in accordance with a robust set of policies designed to assure responsible governance oversight of our investment activity," said President Mark Schlissel, in the press release on the PwC findings. "But we also know we can continuously improve and will proceed quickly to implement the recommendations." UM said it already has implemented or will implement procedural changes in the following areas, based on the finding of the regents' review and the PwC review: Governance: At least annually, the Board of Regents will approve allocation ranges for different type of investments, with a comparison of the current investment portfolio. PwC found the allocation of UM's long term portfolio did not comply with the allocation policy previously approved by the Board of Regents. Due diligence and documentation: The Investment Office has established a tighter timeline to document due diligence investigations of investment opportunities. The university also will refine its process for recording information from financial statements received from fund managers. PwC found two instances where meetings involving Investment Office staff were not documented until two to six months after the fact. The firm also found two errors in financial documents. PwC found one instance where an expense was not reported within the appropriate timeline and one instance where the wrong supervisor approved the expense. Also, university staff were reminded of the importance of properly recording information related to gifts sent to university officials, which is a leading practice for handling such gifts. A new process will require gifts to be sent to a central university location. In the eight-month review period, UM officials received 55 third-party gifts, generally consisting of bottles of wine or alcohol, perishable food and branded items from external investment managers, according to PwC. The gifts are typically donated to charity, raffled to Investment Office staff with proceeds going to charity or given to a staff member if the item could not be raffled. PwC found a handful of instances where third-party gifts were not logged within six months or details about the gift were missing or incorrect in the log. UM noted other opportunities for improvement in how follow-on investments are reported to the Board of Regents and in the working relationship between university personnel and those at the outside investment fund managers. Raymond Durham mugshot A mentally-ill Detroit man accused of killing one police officer and shooting two others in two separate incidents remains incompetent to stand trial, a judge found Friday. Michigan law allows the state 15 months to treat and rehabilitate an incompetent prisoner. If the 15-month deadline passes, the state must dismiss criminal charges. Raymond Durham, 62, is accused of shooting and killing Wayne State University Police Officer Collin Rose on Nov. 22, 2016, and two other Detroit police officers when they attempted to stop Durham while he was walking in Detroit on March 15, 2017. Durham was charged on March 17, 2017 with assault with intent to murder the Detroit police officers. He was charged with the murder of Rose on Aug. 1, 2018. With droopy eyelids, a shaved head and a mustache, Durham appeared before Wayne 36th District Judge Kenneth King for a competency review hearing Friday, Aug. 3, during which Wayne County Assistant Prosecutor Robert Donaldson announced the 15-month deadline had passed in relation to the case involving the shooting of two Detroit police officers. Donaldson said those charges, including two counts of assault with intent to murder, will be dismissed, and the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office intends to seek a court-ordered psychiatric committal for Durham. Meanwhile, Durham is still receiving psychiatric treatment at the Michigan Center for Forensic Psychiatry with authorities still working to rehabilitate him so that he is competent to stand trial for the killing of Rose. If Durham cannot be rehabilitated by Dec. 27, prosecutors will be forced to dismiss charges in that case as well. Doctor reports submitted to the judge said there is a high likelihood Durham's mental condition may improve to the point he can stand trial if he continues to receive psychiatric treatment. Durham's court-appointed attorney, Gabi Silver, says her client has been living at the psychiatric center, a lock-down facility, for over a year. "His language is a little bit easier to understand," Silver said after Friday's hearing. "Beyond that, he remains incompetent. He does not understand what's going on, he's not rationally able to assist in his defense, he's mentally ill and that's what the (competency) report found. "They're treating him. I mean look, some people don't ever regain competency and they're going to petition to have him committed civilly ... and maybe one day he'll get better and maybe he won't." He's "a sick man," Silver said. Once committed, Durham can be held in a treatment facility indefinitely. Collin Rose, courtesy police photo Police believe Durham shot Rose, a Wayne State University campus police officer, when he was stopped and questioned by the officer Nov. 22, 2016. Detroit Police Chief James Craig said Durham, months later, pulled a gun and fired on two Detroit police officers when they stopped him for questioning related to a narcotics investigation in March 2017. The chief later said DNA evidence linked Durham to the killing of Rose. Durham is scheduled to return to court on Nov. 5 for a competency review hearing. Rose's parents attended Durham's competency review Friday, but declined comment. One survived World War II. Another made it out of Vietnam. The third served his country during peace time. Most servicemen are sent off with gallant funerals in death, firing line salutes, a trumpet playing "Taps" and U.S. flag pageantry, but it wasn't looking like that would be the case for three Macomb County veterans who died over the last year. Their bodies instead lay in morgue freezers. No family or friends came to collect them. No one was planning a patriotic funeral on their behalf; that is, until the Macomb Veterans Action Collaborative, an agency that helps homeless veterans, linked up with Harold W. Vick Funeral Home in Mount Clemens, which was founded by a veteran in 1971. Michael Kolb, the funeral director, wants to help forgotten veterans by giving them a funeral and burial fitting for the service they provided the nation. U.S. Airman Second Class Gerald Suttkus, 81, a Detroit native living in Harrison Township, died at home on May 1. He served in the Vietnam War from 1959 until 1965. He later worked as a shipping clerk for a manufacturing company. Navy Seaman First Class Cyril Brown, 90, of Clinton Township, died Oct. 21, 2017 at Detroit Receiving Hospital. He served during World War II from June 1944 to June 1946. Thomas Novak, 59, of Warren, died in an area hospital died on April 25. He served as a private first class in the U.S. Army from 1975 to 1976. Nearly 100 strangers attended a combined funeral service for the veterans at Harold W. Vick Funeral Home on Thursday, Aug. 2. They got their gallant sendoff, complete with "Taps," a flag-folding ceremony and gun salute. They won't be buried in unmarked pauper graves, like so many other unclaimed dead, but instead alongside others who served in the military services at Great Lakes National Cemetery in Holly. Kolb, who's been a funeral director for 18 years, says the funeral home is reimbursed about a quarter of the actual cost of cremation, a memorial service, transport and interment. The funeral home receives nearly $800 in funds set aside by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services for indigent burials, and $170 reimbursed from the U.S Department of Veteran Affairs. So far, the funeral home has coordinated services for nearly 50 unclaimed veterans, and provided services for nearly 200 civilians facing similar circumstances. "I like doing this stuff, being a veteran myself," said Frank Newman, who attended the memorial ceremony Thursday. "It's kind of sad that they've been forgotten -- I don't know why nobody from their family has claimed them, or whatever -- but it's a sad commentary. "Somebody that served their country, they deserve respect and I think this is a nice way of giving some respect back to these people who've been forgotten by their families and to honor their service to this country." MLive photographer Tanya Moutzalias contributed to this story. MT. MORRIS TWP., MI - Emma Rose Bingaman hadn't seen a doctor in almost two years despite being born with medical issues. The girl, who was born at 27 weeks, had developmental delays and suffered from seizures, officials said. She died just two months short of her third birthday after investigators say she was the victim of extensive physical abuse committed by her parents, Destiny and George Bingaman. Now, investigators are trying to determine if there are other people who knew about what investigators and doctors have called one of the worst cases of abuse they have ever seen. George Bingaman, left, and Destiny Bingaman are shown in photos provided by the Genesee County Sheriff's Office. "What we're going to have to do is investigate. It's going to take a few days," said Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton. "There is potential criminal liability." Leyton refused to go into further detail. "We do know of a reason, but I think it would be improper for me to discuss it under the Michigan Rules of Professional conduct," Leyton said of the abuse. "Emma Rose was born at 27 weeks, you should know that. She had some developmental delays and we think that factored into the reason that she may have been singled out for the abuse. "It's difficult to know because after the child was born at 27 weeks, around the time she was age 1 she had some seizures. There was medical care at that time. The investigation reveals that after that there was no further medical care. So, for nearly two years she was not seen by a doctor." Both Destiny and George Bingaman face charges of felony murder, first-degree child abuse, torture and two counts of first-degree child abuse committed in the presence of another child in connection to Emma's death on Monday, July 30. Mt. Morris Township police Chief Terence Green said his department had no contact with the Bingamans until Destiny called 911 to their home on the 4000 block of North Elms Road to report her daughter had stopped breathing. The family had lived at that address for about a year and previously lived in Montrose Township, Green said. Whenever Emma would visit with extended family, investigators said, she would be dressed in long clothes that would cover dozens of bruises, bite marks, gouges and other evidence of the alleged abuse. "We don't believe they knew about it besides the husband," Green said. "We think they may have had suspicions, but nothing they could come in and make a complaint saying they believe Emma Rose was being abused." But police said they're still investigating and interviewing other family members. "If the baby's legs, arms and torso was always covered, they wouldn't be able to view those bruises," Green said. "This mom was a stay at home mom, so she didn't require a babysitter or childcare." However, concerns that others knew about the alleged abuse were raised by Genesee County Child Protective Services, which filed a petition July 30 after Emma's death in Genesee Family Court to terminate the parental rights to the couple's two other children. In the court filing, CPS claims it communicated with two relatives who admitted knowledge of the abuse and refused to act on the allegations. CPS directed questions on the case to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees the agency. MDHHS declined to comment on the specifics of the investigation. Leyton said he was aware of the CPS report and it would be investigated. Multiple options exist for family members or others in the community who suspect abuse. The YWCA in Flint serves people who are ages 12 and up who may be experiencing violence in any sort of intimate relationship, according to Ann Kita, counseling and outreach coordinator. Kita said alerting police could force involvement from law enforcement officials, but there are other options to help suspected abuse victims who are scared or may have other concerns about getting law enforcement involved. "It's complicated because there's a lot of minimizing that can take place by the victim," Kita said. "Once people go away, with all due respect, all hell can break loose." It is imperative that family and friends continue to show up and reach out to anyone who they think may be a victim of abuse as isolation is a potential warning sign that something may be wrong, Kita said. She also said asking people if they're OK and if they feel safe with someone who may be abusing them is a good place to start -- although Kita said victims probably won't speak up at first. "Just maintain contact," Kita said. "People become very frustrated because we always want to be a fixer. We want to empower the victims. For our community, I think we need to stay vigilant. To stay connected." Anyone can contact the YWCA's 24-hour crisis hotline confidentially at 810-238-7233. Destiny and George Bingaman face up to life in prison and are being held in the Genesee County Jail without bail after being arraigned Thursday in Genesee District Court. They have a probable cause conference scheduled for 1 p.m. on Aug. 16 in Genesee County District Judge Vikki Bayeh Haley. Neither has an attorney on file. Emma was found dead after paramedics responded July 30 to the 4000 block of North Elms Road in Mt. Morris Township and found Destiny Bingaman in the back room of the home doing chest compression on her daughter, according to documents filed by Child Protective Services in Genesee Family Court. Emergency responders scooped up Emma and took her to an ambulance, according to the court file. The girl appeared to have been deceased for a while because she had pale skin, dry eyes and was very cold to the touch, the court file said. The girl also appeared to have fingernail impressions all over her body - some of which had broken the skin and already scabbed over. She also had multiple bruises on her body and possible bite marks on her as well, according to the court file. Investigators said Emma also appeared to have a broken left femur because her leg was purple, red and swollen. The girl's parents told Genesee County Child Protective Services that the girl was last seen alive four minutes before they found her not breathing. However, the CPS filing says that claim was not consistent with the evidence. The girl was pronounced dead at Hurley Medical Center at 10:19 a.m. on Monday, July 30, from injuries consistent with child abuse and neglect, according to court records. A Hurley doctor told CPS that it was "one of the worst cases she has seen," court records show. Emma was estimated by a Hurley doctor to weigh less than 10 pounds and that her parents did not have an explanation for how the child got the injuries, according to the filing by CPS. Leyton said the other two children living in the home appear to be doing fine. The 4-year-old girl and a 1-year-old boy were removed from the home following a hearing on Monday, July 30, according to court records. They've been placed in temporary foster care, Leyton said. FLINT, MI -- The city's decision to no longer use hydro excavation when digging up water service lines will add an estimated $14.6 million in unnecessary expenses to the program, and the state is warning Flint it has no plan to foot the bill. Assistant Michigan Attorney General Richard S. Kuhl told attorneys for the city in a letter Wednesday, Aug. 1, that the decision to end the practice of excavation by using high-pressure water rather than traditional backhoe is "unreasonable" and urged officials to reconsider. Kuhl warned that the decision by Mayor Karen Weaver will drive costs for the program higher than allowed for in a settlement agreement between the city, state, Concerned Pastors for Social Action and others. On June 22, the city advised the state Department of Environmental Quality that it was stopping all hydro excavations because the practice may have missed water service lines that were thought to have been all copper but were later found to also contain galvanized steel or lead. Instead of hydro excavating holes around the service line to identify its composition, the city began ordering contractors to dig 10-foot-long excavations to determine what lines are made of, raising the estimated cost of excavations from $77 per residence to $1,703. Kuhl's letter says Flint cannot be reimbursed more than $5,000 for each excavation and replacement its contractors carry out without DEQ approval -- something it should not expect because "there is no measurable public health benefit to excavation versus hydro excavation. "(There is) no valid justification" for "incurring the roughly $14.6 million in additional costs," the letter says. MLive-The Flint Journal could not immediately reach Weaver, who previously compared the process of hydro excavation to Russian roulette, for comment immediately Thursday, Aug. 2. Weaver told members of the Flint Water Interagency Coordinating Committee in June that hydro excavation was causing some service lines that appeared to be copper to be misidentified because other materials were still hidden underground. City officials have never claimed publicly that its hydro excavation contractor did anything but carrying out the terms of its contract in performing its work. Before June, roughly 8,500 excavations had been performed as part of the service line replacement program -- nearly all by using high-pressure water and vacuums to expose lines in Flint. The state has been a booster of the efficiency of the practice and officials have said they expect it to be used across the state as water systems begin the process of replacing lead service lines in their own communities. In the weeks since Flint ended the practice, the DEQ has questioned Weaver about her concerns, and Kuhl's letter says state officials have concluded the city's changed policy does nothing to protect residents. "Any splice (with non-copper materials) outside the 10-foot excavation will be undetected," the letter says, and procedures requiring contractors to inspect service lines where it enters the home should already allow for identifying lead or galvanized material." Flint is using state and federal funds to excavate all non-copper water service lines in the city, infrastructure that was damaged during the Flint water crisis. As a part of the Concerned Pastors' settlement, the city is required to conduct 18,000 excavations and to replace any lead or galvanized service line by Jan. 1, 2020. The same settlement requires the state to provide $87 million to reimburse the city for costs associated with the work, and an additional $10 million is available if Flint's costs exceed $87 million. Under specified circumstances, the state could also be required to seek additional funds from the Legislature, but Kuhl warned, "If there is a perception that cost effective approaches were available to reach the same result but were not utilized by Flint, it will make any attempts to secure additional funds more difficult." Two communications companies plan to lay off more than 140 employees in the Grand Rapids-area, according to state filings. Teleperformance USA, based in Murray, Utah, will close its Cascade Township call center at 2680 Horizon Dr. SE, resulting in the elimination of 91 jobs, the company said in a letter to the Michigan Workforce Development Agency. They layoffs are expected to occur by Sept. 30. Mark Pfeiffer, the company's executive vice president of external communications, could not be reached for comment. Also laying off employees is Charter Communications, which by Aug. 9 expects to eliminate 51 employees at its facility at 3355 Walker Ave. in Walker. The entire facility will not close. In a letter to the state, the company said it's ending its residential sales support function at the facility. Charter spokesperson Bill Morand said half the 51 employees impacted by the change have been hired for other positions within the company. He said Charter is providing affected employees with "comprehensive severance benefits, including salary continuation, health insurance and outpatient services." "We continue to have a large presence in Southwest Michigan, including the greater Grand Rapids area, with hundreds of local employees, including around 130 local field technicians who perform installation and service calls in customers' homes and businesses, technicians who maintain and upgrade our network, and other staff," Morand said. GRAND RAPIDS, MI -- Kent County Health Department officials are reminding residents of the threat of West Nile virus after discovering mosquitoes carrying the disease this year. Three positive tests for mosquitoes carrying the virus have been reported in three zip codes -- 49548, 49507, and 49504 -- which cover areas of Grand Rapids, Kentwood, Wyoming and Walker. Adam London, administrative health officer at KCHD, said officials expect to find West Nile virus every year. They report data with appropriate municipalities so they can "make more informed decisions about mosquito control." West Nile virus is primarily spread by infected Culex mosquitoes. About 20 percent of people infected will notice symptoms, which include headache, body aches, joint pain and fatigue. Most people with the virus completely recover but fatigue can last for weeks or months, officials said. Approximately 1 in 150 infected people develop severe illness that can affect the central nervous system. In rare instances, the disease can lead to death, health officials said. In 2016, three people died in Michigan after being infected with West Nile virus. Last year, at least one Montcalm county woman died of complications from the virus. There is no vaccine or cure for West Nile, so it's best treated with prevention. The health department recommends people wear a mosquito repellent that contains 10-35 percent DEET, wear light-colored clothing, and stay indoors during dusk. Individuals can stop mosquitoes from breeding by removing or refreshing water in bird baths, children's wading pools and water bowls for your pets, and by keeping your lawn and shrubs trimmed. For more information, check out the health department's website. New York Democratic congressional candidate Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez whirled through Michigan last weekend, stopping for selfies, giving impassioned speeches and stumping for gubernatorial candidate Abdul El-Sayed. Ocasio-Cortez is a rock star in progressive circles, maybe only behind Bernie Sanders, who also endorsed El-Sayed and will rally his supporters this Sunday. She brought big ideas and fresh perspectives to a Democratic congressional primary in New York, toppling incumbent and longtime Congressman Joe Crowley. More progressive Democrats - like those who supported Bernie Sanders over Hillary Clinton in 2016 - are hoping Ocasio-Cortez's win is emblematic of a progressive wave that sweeps the country. It's a hopefulness that's focused all eyes on Michigan, where national groups have pegged El-Sayed's candidacy as a strong indication of where the future of the Democratic party lies. In conventional political thinking, the odds are stacked firmly against El-Sayed. He's consistently polled behind other Democratic gubernatorial candidates Gretchen Whitmer and Shri Thanedar, except in one poll released by his campaign. Both of his opponents outraised him in the most recent campaign finance reports. Traditional Democratic support has fallen solidly behind Whitmer. But nationally, he's become a light of hope for the progressive cause. And the poll numbers don't intimidate him. "The polling tells you nothing," El-Sayed said during a Flint stop with Ocasio-Cortez last weekend. "All I'm saying is you saw the excitement there, you saw the folks who turn out for this movement, and our job is to excite people to believe in their politics again." National help for El-Sayed El-Sayed's Flint event with Ocasio-Cortez drew more than 300 people in a standing-room-only crowd. One of them was Zach Goettel, 28, of Davison. He supported Bernie Sanders in 2016 and was excited to see Sanders endorse El-Sayed. What draws him to El-Sayed as a candidate is his more progressive views. "I like that he's really strong when he comes out and says he supports Medicare for all," Goettel said. Like Sanders did during the presidential election, El-Sayed has put out plans that favor of single-payer health care, affordable college and a $15 minimum wage. And while local residents packed the audience in Flint, national media packed the press box. It's a race that's attracted a lot of national attention -- The New York Times recently profiled the race's progressive dynamic, while stories from The Intercept and Huffington Post have lauded El-Sayed and portrayed Thanedar, who is also running from the left, as a fake progressive. His latest campaign finance report reflects a national enthusiasm for his campaign among an influential set; he counts Ben Affleck and Susan Sarandon among his donors. He's been endorsed by Our Revolution, a national group that "supports progressive champions," according to its website. People are watching the race to see if he pulls off the next upset like Ocasio-Cortez's, said Matt Grossmann, director of Michigan's State University's Institute for Public Policy and Social Research, who is currently on sabbatical. "It's a search around the country for similar type races, and honestly, it's sort of a sign that there aren't that many," Grossman said, pointing to El-Sayed's lackluster performance in the polls. And then there's the other problem: he's not the only candidate running as a progressive. Field full of progressives Every candidate in the race for the Democratic governor nomination identifies as a progressive. Every candidate supports increasing the minimum wage, increasing college affordability and addressing health care, though only two, El-Sayed and Thanedar, favor single-payer. Michigan Democratic Party Chair Brandon Dillon this week was dismissive of the notion that there was a progressive vs. establishment dynamic in the governor's race. "My stance is every single Democratic candidate running for governor is a progressive candidate," Dillon said. There's no guarantee Whitmer, widely considered the frontrunner, is susceptible to attacks from the left, said Grossman, because she's known as a liberal lawmaker. "It's not that she was hand-picked by people in a smoke-filled room, she won the support of Democratic interest groups and politicians in a slow process," Grossman said. House Democratic Leader Sam Singh, D-East Lansing, who is supporting Whitmer, hit back against the notion that Whitmer isn't the progressive in the race. "I think it's almost comical. She has been the progressive. She's been the person fighting in the trenches with us all along," Singh said. So why is everybody embracing the progressive label? Wayne State University Associate Professor of Political Science Jeffrey Grynaviski, who studies voter behavior and political parties, said the motivated base for progressives is millennials who feel economically disenfranchised. They went to college and took on student loans with the expectation they would get white-collar jobs, and instead find themselves under-employed and in debt. "I think a lot of the progressive ideals really resonate with that group of voters, because it's in their economic self-interest," Grynaviski said. But El-Sayed is confident in his ability to differentiate himself as the race's most progressive candidate. Going into the primary, El-Sayed is confident about his chances against Whitmer. Michigan is a progressive state, he said. "This state went for Bernie Sanders, then went for Donald Trump. What they don't have an appetite for is corporate-backed Democrats who give you nothing but the same," El-Sayed said. Progressives seek systemic change El-Sayed's candidacy isn't an anomaly nationally, and it's not an anomaly in Michigan. A number of candidates across the state are running on similarly progressive platforms. Laurie Pohutsky is running as a progressive for the 19th House District in Livonia, where she will compete in the Democratic primary against Dan Centers on Aug. 7. She's a scientist, woman and survivor of sexual assault - three groups of people she saw as being attacked on the national level after the 2016 election. So she decided to run for office herself. "The more I thought about it, the more I thought that the most meaningful thing I could do to make positive change was to actually run for office," Pohutsky said. It wasn't one candidate or platform that inspired her. It was the idea that the political system had strayed from putting people first. She's been knocking doors for more than a year and met people who had never had a politician come ask what their concerns were before. She met people who felt like the government wasn't working for them. "The most important thing to me that 'progressive' means is wanting government for the people by the people," Pohutsky said. She thinks progressives running all over the state have put the Michigan Democratic Party on notice. If they secure wins, she said, the Democratic establishment will know it needs to take its progressive members more seriously. A similar dynamic played out in the party's April endorsement convention, where Dana Nessel tapped into a progressive base to best Pat Miles, who was endorsed by the party's powerful labor caucus. But Grossman warned against the comparison, saying a party convention vote was "very different than winning a gubernatorial nomination with a public primary vote." But progressives are hoping it's not. They see the same energy and momentum that has preceded wins nationally. Ocasio-Cortez is confident that her victory is part of a larger trend. Asked when progressives would comprise the majority of the Democrats, Ocasio-Cortez was upbeat. "I think it's all possible this year and, you know, it all depends on midterm elections," she said. In Michigan, the Aug. 7 primary will be a big indication. LANSING -- Judge Rosemarie Aquilina denied a motion to disqualify herself from the Larry Nassar case in Lansing's Ingham County Circuit Court on Friday, Aug. 3. Nassar's attorneys allege Aquilina's support of the many victims in the case during and after the sentencing displayed bias. The Attorney General's office argued the judge was fair during the fact-finding portion of the court proceedings and only used strong language after Nassar's guilty plea. Judges are allowed to be the voice of the community and aren't constrained to using "tepid language" during the sentencing, prosecutors argued. "I followed the laws," Aquilina said after hearing arguments from both sides on the motion Friday. "I followed the rule. The sentence was fair." The matter will now go to Ingham County Chief Judge Richard Garcia, who will make a ruling on whether he believes Aquilina showed any bias against Nassar. It's unknown when that will occur. Nassar's attorney, Malika Ramsey-Heath of the State Appellate Defender Office, said she planned on filing the paperwork shortly after Friday morning's hearing. Ramsey-Heath said she still believes Aquilina showed bias against Nassar. While arguing the motion, she brought up the judge's recent posts on social media. "(The court) posted numerous articles glorifying the work that it did," Ramsey-Heath said. At one point in a Facebook comment thread, Ramsey-Heath alleges Aquilina was flippant about her treatment of Nassar. "This court (responded) with a laughing emoji," she said. Ramsey-Heath said Aquilina has also been pictured with some of the many victims in the Nassar case and has become something like an advocate and hero to them. Nassar's attorneys allege Aquilina has improperly attended events with people connected to the case and spoken to the media. "At this point, justice cannot be served," she said. Chief Deputy Attorney General Laura Moody argued that the comments being challenged came out after Nassar had already taken the plea deal. If there is anything extraordinary about the case, Moody argued, it's that Nassar may go down in history as one of the nation's worst serial sex offenders. The judge wasn't anti-Nassar as much as she was pro-survivor, Moody argued. Aquilina went through each allegation brought by the defense attorneys point by point for more than fifteen minutes. She said there was no stopping the media attention during the case. "I said the world was watching because I couldn't pretend there's no cameras in the courtroom," she said. At one point, Aquilina held up a large, stuffed binder and said that it contained all the media requests she's gotten since the case started. She says she declines the requests. "The media wants to talk to me," she said. "They have lots of questions. I can't answer them." As far as posting on social media, Aquilina told Nassar's attorneys that she was protected by freedom of speech. "Check out the Constitution," she said. Nassar's attorneys also allege he was beaten in a federal prison because of the judge's treatment. Aquilina questioned how that was in her power. "I had nothing to do with that," she said. "How I have that much power, that I do not know." Aquilina said she gave Nassar three opportunities to withdraw his plea and was more than fair while the case was going on. "He has buyer's remorse," she said about taking the plea. A separate motion to re-sentence Nassar was set to be argued before Aquilina on Aug. 10. That date will likely be rescheduled pending Garcia's decision. Similar motions are expected to be filed with the Eaton County Circuit Court. They had not yet been filed as of Friday morning. Nassar's attorneys can appeal the decisions all the way up to the Michigan Supreme Court. Nassar, a former doctor for Michigan State and the U.S.A. Gymnastics team, is serving 40-175 years in prison for sexual assault. It's not too late to vote by absentee ballot in the Tuesday, Aug. 7, primary election. In fact, Michigan's city and township halls are required to be open until 2 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 4, specifically to hand out and collect absentee ballots. Voters can fill out the ballot on the spot and hand it in, or take it home and return it. Absentee ballots must be turned in to their local clerk's office by 8 p.m. Tuesday. The deadline for obtaining an absentee ballot is 4 p.m. Monday, Aug. 6. However, ballots picked up on Monday from local clerks must be fill out and turned in immediately; they can not be taken home. Absentee ballots are available to voters: Age 60 or older. Who will be out of town Tuesday. Unable to get to the polls without assistance. Serving as an election worker. In jail or in prison awaiting arraignment or trial. The ballot includes candidates for governor, U.S. Senate, Congress and the Michigan Legislature. Some counties, townships, school districts and other governmental units also have tax and other proposals on the August ballot. If you need a voters' guide, MLive Media Group has partnered with the League of Women Voters of Michigan to provide candidate information and other voting resources to our Michigan readers via Vote411.org. A few additional points about the August primary: Individuals can vote in the Democratic or Republican primary, but not both The August election is vitally important in choosing new state legislators. You can check www.michigan.gov/vote to see if you're registered to vote Click here to see MLive stories on candidates and issues Other election stories: 4 Democrats compete to challenge Upton in 6th Congressional District Maturen faces challenger in GOP 63rd House District primary Several counties in the Upper Peninsula impacted by severe flooding in June will qualify for relief from the federal government following a disaster declaration issued by President Donald Trump this week. Trump's declaration, announced Friday morning, opens up federal funding for eligible nonprofits and local governments in Gogebic, Houghton and Menominee counties for emergency repairs to facilities damaged or destroyed by the floods that recently swept through the region. Federal funding will also be available for hazard mitigation measures statewide, according to a release from the White House. The presidential declaration doesn't include assistance for individuals and business, but the U.S. Small Business Administration is offering low-interest disaster loans to residents and businesses in the three counties affected. The declaration was initially requested by Lt. Gov. Brian Calley and supported by federal lawmakers in Michigan after state officials concluded results of a damage assessment conducted late last month warranted additional help from the federal government. Gov. Rick Snyder issued a state disaster declaration for Houghton and Menominee counties on June 18, and added Gogebic County to the declaration on June 21. "As Michiganders continue to recover from this devastating flood, we are exploring every avenue for assistance," Snyder said following the declaration. "This presidential declaration is an important step in providing additional aid to those communities affected by this disaster." On June 17, strong storms moved across the U.P., dropping seven to 10 inches of rain in several hours. It was enough water to damage roads and bridges in three counties, and as many as 60 sinkholes were reported across the Keweenaw Peninsula. During the flood, a large culvert washed out on M-26 between Tamarack and Dollar Bay. M-203 had multiple washouts and mudslides between Hancock and Calumet, with a large culvert washed out at Swedetown Creek. The road shoulders on U.S. 41 between Chassell and Houghton were also washed out in numerous places. Vice President Mike Pence will be returning to Michigan following the Aug. 7 primary for a rally hosted by the Michigan Republican Party. The "GOP Unity rally" will take place 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 8 at the Amway Grand Plaza Hotel in Grand Rapids. Tickets for the event will be distributed by the Michigan Republican Party. In a statement announcing the visit, Michigan Republican Party Chair Ron Weiser said Pence will be on hand to "rally our base, support our ticket and help Republicans across Michigan unite as we work toward victory in November." "Republicans are ready to unite and move forward, continuing to provide results for Michigan residents," Weiser said. Pence was last in Michigan on June 15 to tour a construction company in Rochester and attend a private campaign event for Attorney General and Republican gubernatorial candidate Bill Schuette. Both Pence and President Donald Trump endorsed Schuette in the Republican gubernatorial primary. In addition to Pence, the unity rally will feature appearances from Michigan's Republican candidates for governor and U.S. Senate that will be chosen by voters on Election Day. The Republican governor's race features Schuette, Lt. Gov. Brian Calley, state Sen. Patrick Colbeck and obstetrician Jim Hines. In the U.S. Senate race, veteran and businessman John James and businessman and economist Sandy Pensler are facing off for the chance to challenge incumbent Democratic U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow. MLive has partnered with the nonpartisan League of Women Voters of Michigan to provide candidate information and other voting resources to our readers. Visit Vote411.org to find out more about candidates and proposals on the ballot. Read other 2018 election stories. JACKSON, MI - For three hours on Thursday, more than 70 business and education leaders from across Jackson County put their heads together to discuss the area's future. Gathering in the Consumers Energy headquarters in downtown Jackson, attendees were given an in-depth look at the Marshall Plan for Talent by Ed Koledo, Talent and Economic Development Department of Michigan senior deputy for talent development. Spearheaded by TED, the Marshall Plan is dedicating $100 million to help reinvent Michigan's education system and "talent pipeline." The new program aims to tap into the nearly $49 billion in potential earnings available to the next generation of Michigan employees over the next five years. A primary goal of the Marshall Plan is to work with educators to better prepare students to fill the more than 811,000 career openings in Michigan between now and 2024, Koledo said. One solution is to reconfigure the current structure of Michigan classrooms to be more "competency-based." "If we don't come up with a system that teaches our students in a much quicker fashion, we're going to be training people for jobs that don't exist anymore," Koledo said. "Simply put, our schools and education systems haven't really changed in over 100 years, maybe longer. We're still in a system that takes farmers and makes them factory workers." Gov. Rick Snyder signed the plan into law in June, approving the investment and kickstarting the next phase: reaching out to business and education leaders to see how the improvements can be implemented. Among the many business leaders in the room was Dan English business services coordinator for Michigan Works! Southeast. English is excited to see what the Marshall Plan has in store for the community, especially since it has some money behind it, and isn't an "unfunded mandate." "It's long overdue," English said. "At Michigan Works!, we talk about being a demand-driven entity - (we ask) what businesses need, and then we try and accommodate that. I think the worlds of education and business need to be thinking along those lines, so this (event) was a great step in that direction, where we're all sitting in that room and talking to one another." The Jackson workshop on Thursday was one of several that will take place throughout Michigan this summer. JACKSON, MI - A fire damaged a house Friday morning on South Elm Street while the residents were visiting family in Florida. When firefighters arrived about 5 a.m. Aug. 3, they saw flames on the first floor of the house at 404 S. Elm Ave., near Plymouth Street. Acting Capt. Tim Gonzales said they made an aggressive interior attack and contained the fire to the first floor, the area of origin. The cause of the fire was under investigation. Arson has not been eliminated as a possibility, David Wooden, Jackson deputy chief, wrote in a message to a reporter. "We have no idea what happened," said Anna Ulch, whose brother John Ellithorpe lives in the home with his wife Christine and their son, 17, and daughter, 15. Ulch lives up the road and was awake and listening to a live scanner feed on YouTube. She heard her brother's address and thought: "Are you kidding me?" She had to call her brother, who is with their mother in Panama City, Fla. He and his family were not to return until Sunday. Ulch said she went to the house early Friday. "There was so much smoke." Hours later, Ulch was mostly concerned about three missing cats. "Them cats were like her children," she said of her sister-in-law. She planned to search for them and posted pictures on Facebook, and was glad she had been keeping the family's dogs. The family rented the house. The landlord was there Friday after the firefighters, from Jackson and Summit Township, had returned to their stations. He had to board up the home, lined with yellow tape. Burned debris littered the ground. Ulch said the owner assured her family he could try to find them an alternate place to stay. The home is uninhabitable, Gonzales said. The first floor has heat and fire damage. Smoke damaged the upper story. He believed it was salvageable and commended firefighters for the work they did to save it. Ulch said the family has only one income. Her brother works at Menards and her sister-in-law has some health issues. They brought little with them to Florida, where the weather is hot. "What a mess," she said. MUSKEGON, MI -- A nearly $3 million effort is underway to remove old sawmill debris from the bottom of Muskegon Lake and restore fish habitat, including that of endangered lake sturgeon. Almost 123,000 tons of mill debris will be removed as part of the Muskegon Lake Area of Concern Habitat Restoration project that began last week. The project, expected to conclude at the end of September, is intended to improve the lake-bottom habitat as well as "re-purpose" the logging-era wood debris being pulled from the bottom of the lake. The $2.8 million effort is funded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, through a partnership with the Great Lakes Commission. The project is being managed by the West Michigan Shoreline Regional Development Commission and monitored by the Grand Valley State University Annis Water Resources Institute. The project will restore 11.4 acres of open water and emergent wetlands. During the 1800s, 47 local sawmills operated along Muskegon Lake. Sawmill material would be dumped into Muskegon Lake, where it remains to this day. WMSRDC Program Manager Kathy Evans is the project manager for the restoration. "The goal for this project is to remove the submerged piles of wood," Evans said. "It will remove some of the wood in the area and that would restore habitat for native fish such as sturgeon. It will not harm habitat for other fish that are in the area. There will be still be plenty of structure and topography left." The project began about two years ago, with the testing of the benthos, or bottom habitat of the lake, Evans said. It was determined the area they are currently working on, located east of the Lakeside neighborhood,is one where the mill debris had harmed the lake's ecological quality. Another goal of the project is to get Muskegon Lake removed as a Great Lakes Area of Concern, Evans said. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency website, an area of concern is defined by "geographic areas designated by the parties where significant impairment of beneficial uses has occurred as a result of human activities at the local level." "We're confident that this area will definitely improve fish and wildlife habitat in Muskegon Lake," Evans said. "One of the species that we're targeting to improve habitat for is the lake sturgeon, which is an endangered species that uses Muskegon Lake and Muskegon river throughout different periods of the year." The prehistoric lake sturgeon, which can grow to 8 feet 300 pounds, were a dominant Great Lakes fish for thousands of years before logging, dam construction and excessive fishing eliminated about 99 percent of the fish from Lake Michigan and its tributaries. SAGINAW, MI -- Officials with the Saginaw Fire Department are responding to a report of smoking computer equipment at Covenant HealthCare in Saginaw. Covenant spokeswoman Kristin Knoll said some computer equipment -- a backup power supply for the hospital's data center -- was smoking in a non-patient area of the hospital, located at 515 N. Michigan Ave. As of about 1 p.m. Friday, Aug. 3, officials were not allowing anyone in the basement or on the first floor because of fumes, Knoll said, and dozens of people had congregated outside the building. The hospital's outpatient physical therapy clinic is located in the basement. By about 1:15 p.m., people were allowed to re-enter the building, Knoll said. Knoll said the second, third and fourth floors were not evacuated, as they were not affected by the fumes, and there was no fire damage to the building. NASA says that the Parker Solar Probe has passed its final inspections in the clean room as it inches closer to lifting off and becoming humanity's first-ever mission to "touch the sun." The U.S. space agency says in an update that the probe named for living astrophysicist Eugene Parker has a targeted launch date of the early morning hours of Aug. 11. The Parker Solar Probe will launch with the aid of a Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket from Space Launch Complex 37 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. Its 45-minute launch window will reportedly open at 3:48 a.m. Aug. 11. "This is an historic mission that will revolutionize our understanding of the Sun, where changing conditions can propagate out into the solar system, affecting Earth and other worlds," NASA says in its latest update. "Parker Solar Probe will travel through the Sun's atmosphere, closer to the surface than any spacecraft before it, facing brutal heat and radiation conditions -- and ultimately providing humanity with the closest-ever observations of a star." The mission's namesake received his bachelor's degree in physics from Michigan State University before earning his doctorate degree at Caltech. This represents the first time NASA has named a spacecraft for a living person. In 1958, Parker studied and proposed concepts of how stars and our Sun give off energy in what he called "the solar wind." He theorized an explanation of how the Sun's corona is hotter than the surface of the star itself, which is a theory NASA says it has continued to focus and study in what is known as heliophysics. "The solar wind fills our entire solar system. When gusts of solar wind arrive at Earth, they can set off dazzling aurora -- but also expose astronauts to radiation, interfere with satellite electronics, and disrupt communications signals like GPS and radio waves," the space agency explains in a previous news release. "The more we understand the fundamental processes that drive the solar wind, the more we can mitigate some of these effects." The Parker Solar Probe is said to be the size of a small car, and NASA says it will attempt to travel into the Sun's atmosphere, and face "heat and radiation unlike any spacecraft in history. The spacecraft has a "cutting-edge heat shield" that is made of two panels of superheated carbon-carbon composite sandwiching a 4.5-inch-thick carbon foam core. The space agency says the spacecraft will come within 4 million miles of the Sun's surface, and that it will "provide new data on solar activity and make critical contributions to our ability to forecast major space-weather events that impact life on Earth." The Parker Solar Probe is to have the ability to travel at 430,000 mph, which is fast enough to travel between Washington D.C. and Tokyo in less than one minute. -- Air India Air India's economy-class passengers on under hour-long flights could soon be served meal in boxes which can be collected right at the entrance as they board the plane, sources in the airline said. The boxes could contain dry fruits, cookies and bun in place of meals served in trays, they said, but added that the changes are yet to be finalised. The airline is working on the proposal. "The plan is to serve meal in boxes only on flights with a travel time of less than one hour. The advantage is that the food served will remain fresh and help the carrier check complaints about the quality of the food," a source said. The cash-strapped carrier had introduced all-vegetarian meal in economy class early last year. The sources, however, said the change is not aimed at pruning catering costs but to do away with certain catering tools to lighten the aircraft and save fuel. They referred to full service carrier Vistara which recently announced a new flying option, giving passengers the freedom to buy meals on board as with low-cost carriers. The proposed meal-in-box proposal by Air India comes at a time when the carrier is going through a turbulent period; losing approximately Rs 15 crore a day. As per its audited accounts, the airline's total cumulative losses stood at ?47,145.62 crore in the financial year 2016-17. In a written reply in Parliament this week, Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha said the government has no plans to exit the airline all together though it remains committed to disinvestment process of the national carrier. A Jet Airways passenger plane takes off from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in Ahmedabad Jet Airways has told its employees that it wont be able to operate beyond 60 days unless cost-cutting measures are put in place, The Economic Times reports. The cost-cutting measures include pay cuts, the report adds. The airline on Thursday said it is implementing various cost-cutting measures across sales and distribution, payroll and maintenance. We have been informed that the airline cannot run beyond two months and the management needs to cut costs through pay cuts and other means to ensure that it stays afloat. The airline did not inform us about this for all these years, which has dented the trust of employees in the management, a senior Jet Airways senior executive told the paper. Employees have been wondering how they should interpret the warnings. Some feel that the situation has been exaggerated to force some employees to leave voluntarily. Moneycontrol could not independently verify the news. Jet Airways has denied this story, calling it "incorrect" and "malicious". The rising cost of operations has forced the airline to consider drastic measures. In line with its stated focus of creating a healthier and a more resilient business, Jet Airways has been implementing several measures to help it reduce cost as well as realise higher revenues, for desired business efficiencies. Some of these include sales and distribution, payroll, and maintenance, among many others, Jet Airways said in a statement on Thursday. Jet Airways has already begun firing people from different functions and has asked people from the engineering department to leave, executives told ET. In the engineering department, the head of line for Delhi has been asked to leave. Job losses will start to happen in functions like cabin crew and ground handling, executives told the paper. Niti Aayog has advised that two state-owned hydel firms, SJVN and THDC India, could first look to buy stressed thermal power assets before taking up construction of new coal-based power capacities. The government think-tank has questioned the logic of the two public sector companies investing thousands of crores in new thermal capacities, an area hitherto unfamiliar to them, even as old ones lie stranded, an official familiar with the development told Moneycontrol. The government body has said that if these companies were so keen to set up thermal units, they could look at buying some distressed assets that are close to being or have already been hauled to the National Company Law Tribunal. The power projects under question are SJVNs twin units of 660 MW each at village Chausa in Bihars Buxar district and THDCs three units of 660 MW each at Khurja in Uttar Pradeshs Bulandshahar district. Niti Aayog wants the companies to reconsider setting up these new capacities for now and instead study such projects which are at an advanced stage and where a sufficient amount of money already lies invested. The government, with help from Power Finance Corporation and Rural Electrification Corporation, has identified projects totalling 25,000 MW as stressed and that need to be warehoused under an asset management firm. The projects involve an investment of Rs 1,80,000 crore. The asset management firm will grandfather the plants till demand for power picks up and the projects are healthy again. This would prevent such projects from going to the NCLT as a non-performing asset and thus save the capital including the creditors money locked in them. The two power projects have been work in progress for many years now. THDC and SJVN had in 2010 and 2013 respectively signed the memoranda of understanding for setting up these projects. As per todays estimates, each project will cost at least Rs 9,000 crore excluding the cost of setting up transmission lines and fuel expenses. Both the projects have secured most of the clearances. The Public Investment Board has also given its approval to invest the funds required for the projects. But Niti Aayog has raised these objections. It has not asked for scrapping the projects. What it is arguing is that when there are already capacities either lying idle or awaiting a developer, then it makes no sense for a renewable energy company to start a thermal project afresh, the official said. The projects can be taken up later when the issue of stressed assets has been resolved, the official said. Approvals by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs are awaited for both the projects. SJVN, formerly known as Sutlej Jal Vidyut Nigam Ltd, counts the Central and the Himachal Pradesh governments as 63.93 per cent and 26.85 per cent shareholders. The rest is with the public. THDCIL, formerly known as Tehri Hydro Development Corporation Ltd, is an unlisted 75:25 joint venture of Central and Uttar Pradesh governments. Coal India will supply the fuel for the SJVN project while THDC has been allotted the Amelia cola mine in Madhya Pradeshs Singrauli district for captive use. It remains to be seen if Niti Aayogs objections will further slow the already-delayed projects. Long-term power purchase agreements a key factor in ensuring the viability of any power project have already been signed for both the projects. Work on L&T's Hyderabad metro rail project may come to a standstill in the wake of the Finance Ministry declining further release of viability gap funding, according to a source familiar with the development. The ministry has cited an increase in the fares on the already-operating network for its refusal to release the additional funds. The Finance Ministry has said that under the Metro Act, further viability gap funding could not be provided as the concessionaire had raised the fares and thus needed no additional support. L&T has tried to argue that release of VGF has no relation to change in law as it is a contractual issue between the state government and the company, the official said. The engineering giant has also tried to argue that cost of inputs had significantly risen and the fare hike did not fully compensate this. L&T is setting up the 71.16-km-long metro rail network in Telanganas capital at an estimated cost of Rs 16,375 crore via its wholly-owned subsidiary L&T Metro Rail Hyderabad. A 30-km stretch of the metro is already operating and as of March 31, 81 percent of the total physical work had been completed, according to the companys 2017-18 annual report. L&T Metro Rail Hyderabad Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer K.V.B. Reddy has written to Chief Secretary of Telangana and Niti Aayog requesting their help in the matter, the source said. A mail sent to L&T seeking its comment on the matter remained unanswered. The capital structure of the project comprises Rs 11,478 crore in term loans, Rs 3,439 crore in equity and Rs 1,458 crore as viability gap funding from the Central government. The project achieved financial closure in March 2011. Till the end of March, Rs 1,204 crore had been received in viability gap funding which means Rs 254 crore are yet to be received on that account. As of now, L&T is asking for release of Rs 137 crore in VGF. An official told Moneycontrol that holding back the release of VGF is also delaying the release of Rs 320 crore in loans by the financial institutions. The second tranche of VGF amounting to Rs 117 crore has Rs 273 of debt attached to it which again will be released only after the second VGF is credited. In all, Rs 847 crore of funds are tied as of now to the finance ministrys decision. India is planning to set up a liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal in Myanmar as it looks to expand energy diplomacy in its neighbourhood, Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said today. The terminal to import super-cooled natural gas will be in addition to the similar facilities planned by Indian firms in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka as part of larger plan of energy connectivity in the South Asian neighbourhood, he said. Speaking at a seminar on 'Assessing India's Connectivity with Its Neighbourhood', Pradhan said Numaligarh Refinery Ltd (NRL) in Assam is exploring supply of diesel to Myanmar and is looking at options to build fuel storage and distribution sector in that country. "Indian Oil Corp (IOC) is also working with Myanmar companies in setting up LPG storage facilities and Petronet LNG is working on setting up an LNG terminal there," he said. He, however, did not give details. "India is working with Bangladesh in interconnecting gas grids and supplying diesel through pipelines," he said. Currently, Indian firms supply diesel through rail rake from Siliguri in Assam to Parbatipur in Bangladesh and are in the process of constructing a 130-km long product pipeline for uninterrupted supply. "Also, Indian companies are working on connecting India's gas grid with that of Bangladesh and supply gas for power generation at Khulna Power Plant," he said. "This will be an exemplary display of regional cooperation." Bangladesh is setting up an 800-megawatt (MW) power plant in the country's Khulna region, for which it has signed an agreement with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) for a USD 500 million funding. Pradhan said Petronet is also looking at building a 7.5 million tonne a year LNG import terminal in Bangladesh to feed that country's energy needs using imported gas. "In view of providing energy access to the north-eastern part of India, there are plans to import LPG in Bangladesh and transport through road/pipeline to the region while catering to the demand of Bangladesh," he said. In Sri Lanka, India is jointly developing Trincomalee oil storage tank farm and is also working on setting up an LNG terminal and a 500 MW LNG-fired power plant near Colombo. Also, there is a proposal to develop city gas distribution (CGD) and CNG market and infrastructure in Sri Lanka, he said. IOC Lanka, which is a subsidiary of IOC, has 43.5 per cent of the total fuel market share. "India is working with Sri Lanka on a proposal to set up a solar power plant at Sampur, which would be of 50 MW to begin with," he said. To Nepal, India presently supplies all of its petroleum product requirements through trucks. A pipeline for supply of petroleum products is under construction, which will ensure uninterrupted supply. "There are also discussions with Nepal on an LPG and Natural gas pipeline," he said adding Nepal has expressed interest in implementing free cooking gas (LPG) connection scheme for poor women on lines of the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojna (PMUY) to expand the coverage of LPG. "The Hydrocarbon Vision 2030 for North East India envisages a natural gas pipeline from Numaligarh towards Sittwe (in Myanmar) in different phases. The gas pipeline will open future possibilities of gas exchange and grid connectivity," he said. India supplies all of petroleum product needs of Bhutan, which too is planning to extend LPG coverage to 100 per cent of the population by sourcing supplies from the refineries in Assam, he said. To Mauritius, India supplies all its energy products. "Our (neighbouring) countries are considering the construction of a bunkering facility along with a jetty," he said adding Indian firms are working with Vietnam, the UAE and Oman for presence in upstream sector to produce oil and gas. "Regional integration through connectivity across all modes - physical, utilities-based and digital - among our countries in the immediate neighbourhood is one of the top priorities of our government. It is imperative that we, together as a group, address the weak links and overcome challenges," he said. The BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) region is abundant in energy resources such as hydropower, hydrocarbons, and renewables. "Since the region enjoys high insolation, it is appropriate that we consider the development of a common Solar Grid here," he said. Also, Bangladesh and Myanmar have large gas reserves which can be explored as alternate sources of gas supply. Similarly, Nepal and Bhutan have immense potential of hydropower, which is untapped due to the absence of a market that can create demand of this magnitude. On the other hand, India and Sri Lanka are net importers of energy like many other developing countries, he said. "The energy demand-supply sectors in Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, SriLanka, Thailand, Nepal and Bhutan offer a potential for regional resource cooperation, which could go beyond export-import trade relations and link the region in a Bay of Bengal Energy Community and thus contribute to the process of regional integration. "The key to developing such a community lies in identifying complementary conditions and the combination of inter related production characteristics among energy supply and demand sectors of these countries," he said. Pradhan called for reform and restructuring of the energy sector in each of these nations in such a way that the bloc becomes more competitive and efficient. The national energy systems -- gas and electricity networks -- in the South Asian countries are largely isolated from each other. Currently only India, Bhutan and Nepal trade electricity. In addition, India supplies some amount of power to Bangladesh. Demand for electricity in South Asia and particularly in Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal is growing rapidly which call for cooperation and trade that should eventually create one of the world's largest integrated energy market, he added. live bse live nse live Volume Todays L/H More When Karnal, a region in Haryana beat even metro centres to collect the highest premiums for Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) in the late 90s, all the senior management at the insurance behemoth sat up and took notice. Behind this was a senior divisional manager called Vijay Kumar Sharma. More than 20 years later, LIC will buy controlling stake in a large public sector lender. The man behind the deal is the same; this time he happens to be the LIC chairman. The Cabinet Committee of Economic Affairs (CCEA) on Wednesday approved LICs proposal to own controlling stake in state-owned IDBI Bank. The move paves way for LIC to acquire 51 percent in the public sector bank consequently taking the government's stake down from the current 80.96 percent to around 45 percent. When several questions over the deal and LIC's ability to help the bank clear out its non-performing assets arose, company insiders said Sharma was convinced that it would be a good investment opportunity. In fact, Sharma, who turns 60 this year, was among the first at LIC to dream of a banking licence as early as 2013 as the chief of LIC Housing Finance. It was Sharmas conviction that led to the proposal reaching the insurance regulators table. After getting a green signal from Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI), a go-ahead from the cabinet was the next step. With all the major hurdles cleared, it is only a matter of a few months that IDBI Bank will be a subsidiary of LIC. Early days at LIC Go-getter is a term that peers associate the 59-year-old who has spent 37 years at the insurer. A postgraduate in Botany from Patna University, Sharma joined LIC as a direct recruit in 1981. He moved across the country studying LICs different businesses and zonal business strategies, working his way up the ladder in areas spanning pension, group schemes and zonal operations. In 2007, he was elevated to the rank of executive director. The country was grappling with the lack of social security schemes and the Aam Aadmi Bima Yojana was launched for rural landless households. LIC was given the mandate for managing the project and Sharma led the charge. Sharma soon took the role of LICs zonal manager in-charge of the southern zone, and was able to turnaround the operations and make it the number one zone in terms of business in 2010. Move to LIC Housing Finance Sharma took charge of LIC Housing Finance, as Director and Chief Executive in December 2010. He was elevated to the post of Managing Director and CEO in March 2013. Considered an internal favourite, peers said that Sharma was an easy choice for the top post. This was a time when LIC Housing Finance was facing competition from large financial companies in the home loan segment. When he took over, LICs loan book was around Rs 46,400 crore. Under his leadership, this jumped by 80 percent to Rs 83,200 crore by mid-FY14. Till then, LIC HFL was considered a traditional player. Sharma took on the mandate of re-branding the entity and also improve the technological efficiencies of the entity. Under him, LIC HFLs net-worth more-than-doubled from Rs 3,390 crore from Q2FY11 to Rs 6,828 crore in Q2FY14 just before he moved back to LIC. Sharmas aspirations also grew larger. He wanted LIC HFL to become a bank. They did apply for a licence but were not granted permission to start banking operations. Back to home turf Sharma was appointed as LICs managing director in November 2013. Looking at the business strategies of the insurance company, he pushed the initiatives of financial inclusion and insurance products for BPL families. Less than three years since Sharma took up the MD post, a mini-crisis hit LIC. In June 2016, S K Roy resigned from the LIC chairman citing personal concerns two years before completing his tenure. Amid a volatile situation, Sharma was made the officiating chairman to assuage investor concerns. Being one of the largest investors in the equity markets with about Rs 50,000 crore being pumped into the equity markets every year, a headless LIC was not seen as a positive cue. Sharma was brought in to cool off the uncertainties that arose from Roy stepping down. Turnaround of LIC At the close of FY15, new business premium collections at LIC dropped 14 percent, whereas private life insurers had seen a growth of 18 percent. Questions were raised on the relevance of LIC in the market and whether it was losing steam in the wake of aggressive competition from private peers. Sharma officially took over as LIC chairman in December 2016 and proved critics and doubting Thomases wrong. The insurance company ended FY17 with a 27 percent growth in premiums, beating the private sector peers. The message was clear: LIC is not losing out soon. But company executives said that Sharma always regretted the fact that they werent granted a banking licence. Around the same time, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had said that they were open to considering a process of on-tap licences for interested entities. So all hopes were not lost. PIL against LIC Being a large entity, the decisions of LIC to invest in companies like ITC have been questioned. A public interest litigation was filed in the Bombay High Court saying that LIC being a life insurance company should not be investing in tobacco firms. Sharma defended the move saying this was a purely investment decision and that they have been investing in companies across sectors. Another area where Sharma has been prodded constantly is the perception that LIC is the bailout agency of the government. Be it large public issues by state-owned entities or any disinvestment in government entities, LIC has been a large player in such instances. Sharma, however, has consistently maintained that these are independent decisions by LIC based on the merits of the investee company. Meanwhile, outsiders maintain that most of the decisions are still dictated by the government. LIC has often been considered opaque with respect to investment decisions. While Sharma has made statements on a few occasions about them investing into certain sectors, a more transparent approach would be a welcome change. Until then, questions will loom large on the exact reasons why LIC buys a large chunk in all government-led company investments. IDBI takes centre-stage Early in FY19, a proposal had floated about IDBI Bank being put on sale. The government, on one hand, was looking to reduce its stake in the bank. On the other hand, sources said that they wanted to ensure that the bank was in good hands. As various structures and instruments were being discussed, LIC entered the fray. It was the much needed second chance for LIC to own a banking entity and acquiring a large bank meant that they did not have to start from scratch. LIC unions, on the other hand, have questioned the move. A senior union member said that this would mean that LIC is indirectly recapitalising an ailing bank. The unions have also maintained that this is detrimental to the policyholders, since the IDBI Bank buy is being made out of the premium money collected. "Sharma should have first brought all stakeholders on board, especially the unions, before making the proposal official. Without this, there is bound to be tough protests," said a senior company executive. While Sharma believed that the IDBI Bank deal was a win-win proposition for both LIC, the policyholders as well as the government; not everyone is convinced especially since IDBI Bank has issues of large bad loan. Unlike his predecessors who would not be very vocal about their decisions, his peers said that Sharma ensures that he is firm with his decisions, irrespective of whether everyone supports him or not. Private insurers have also suggested that LIC still gets preferential treatment and has been granted exceptions over and above the 15 percent investment limit. However, Sharma has defended this by saying that they are a large entity. All the past LIC chairmen have talked about the legacy of the institution and how it is distinct from the private sector peers, Sharma for the first time assured the market that they will bring down the stake in all entities to the 15 percent threshold. While this may not be the perfect solution, it has brought some temporary calm to the private sector. Will IDBI Bank see a turnaround? For the IDBI Bank deal, with the cabinet nod coming in, the last few procedural approvals from Securities and Exchange Board of India as well as RBI will be the last leg of the deal. Sharma, who still has three more years as chairman will be the sole responsible person for the banks turnaround as well. IDBI Banks net loss for the March quarter of FY18 widened to Rs 5,662.76 crore year-on-year (YoY) on weakening asset quality and rise in provisions. During the quarter under review, IDBI Bank's provisions for non-performing assets rose by 77.9 percent to Rs 10,773.30 crore as against Rs 6,054.39 crore in the year-ago period. A man who is called crisis manager by his LIC colleagues, Sharma will have to do a repeat of his past successes, and bring down the bad loans and get the bank back on track on the profitability front. How soon will he be able to do it? This is an answer that the market is seeking with bated breath. A farmer channels water to irrigate his wheat field on the outskirts of Ahmedabad, India, December 15, 2015. India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi will recalibrate budget priorities in 2016 to focus on social initiatives, such as the country's first major crop insurance scheme, while capping previously prioritised infrastructure spending, officials say. Modi splurged on roads and railways this year in a strategy to spur economic growth. But it came partly at the expense of federal programmes for farmers and the poor, suffering through back-to-back drought years. Picture taken December 15, 2015. REUTERS/Amit Dave - GF10000266582 With monsoon still in deficit, the overall sown area is 7.5 percent less than last year, which is likely to lead to lower production, a report said. Even as most parts of the country have received normal rainfall this week, on a cumulative basis, there is still a deficit of 7 percent, said a Care Ratings report. Amongst the regions receiving deficient rainfall, Rayalseema in Andhra Pradesh received the lowest rainfall, which was 43 percent below normal, it added. The north eastern regions continue to be affected by deficient rainfall, as the monsoon winds progress towards the north central belt. "This has led to lower cultivated area across almost all crop except sugarcane," the report said. Acreage for pulses is down by around 9 percent, compared with last year, while urad acreage has reduced by 16 percent following deficient rainfall in Andhra Pradesh (Rayalseema) for the past two weeks. Urad is one of the major crops produced in the Andhra region. Meanwhile, moong has recorded a positive acreage of higher by 3.8 percent compared with 2017. Also, the report said, farmers might have chosen to grow fewer pulses due to fall in prices in the last couple of years. Further, sowing for oilseeds this year is marginally lower by 1.2 percent, compared with 2017. Area sown for soya has been higher, which augurs well for the crop output. However, cheap edible imports from SAFTA members are likely to hurt domestic oil manufacturers and oilseeds producers. Sugarcane continued to register higher acreage compared with 2017. With the measures taken by the government to prevent sugar price from falling given the supply glut in the industry, arrears given to sugarcane farmers have sharply declined to Rs 16,000 crore, compared with around Rs 23,000 crore in May 2018. A Jet Airways passenger plane takes off from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in Ahmedabad live bse live nse live Volume Todays L/H More In its discussion with employees, the Jet Airways senior management, led by Chairman Naresh Goyal, has been at pains to explain the dire financial condition of the airline. The management cited an unexpected increase in the cost of fuel, erosion in market share and operational issues for the company's current condition, and has asked pilots and engineers to take a salary cut of 15 percent. Apart from Goyal, CEO Vinay Dube and Chief People Officer Rahul Taneja are also believed to have attended these meetings held in Mumbai and Delhi. Jet Airways has been losing market share to its peers. According to figures provided by the Directorate General of Civil Aviaiton, Jet Airways' market share in the domestic market had reduced to 15.4 percent by the end of 2017, from 15.6 percent at the start of the year. It may be have been a marginal fall, but in 2018, the fall has been more pronounced. By end of June this year, Jet Airways' domestic share had come down to 13.9 percent. Its low-cost arm Jet Lite also saw its market share fall to 1.6 percent at the end of June, from 2.4 percent at the end of December. The fall in market share has been accompanied by a rise in costs and operational issues. Wage bill Jet Airways' wage bill is among the highest in the industry, despite IndiGo now having the biggest human capital. While the airline's wage bill increased to Rs 2,801 crore in FY18, from Rs 2,604 crore a year earlier, that of IndiGo stood at Rs 2,366 crore, up from Rs 1,947 crore in FY17. The Naresh Goyal-promoted airline had a 16,558-strong staff, as on March 31, 2018, while IndiGo had 18,060 people on its payroll. "It is known that there is wide disparity in salary levels. While salaries of pilots and engineers in Jet are comparable to that in other airlines, there is a huge difference in the pay scale of cabin crew," says Mark Martin, Founder and CEO of Martin Consulting LLC, an aviation advisory and consultancy. "On an average, cabin crews in Jet Airways are paid more than double of what their peers in other airlines," Martin said. Apart from the higher wage bill, Jet Airways also pays more for fuel. While that may be because of the wide-body aircraft the airline flies, the higher rate of increase in cost of fuel, despite the fleet strength remaining the same, will be a matter of concern. The airline's fuel costs increased by 27 percent on year to Rs 6,953 crore in FY18. In comparison, IndiGo's fuel expense rose 22.4 percent to Rs 7,760 crore, despite the airline expanding its fleet from 131 aircraft to 159 during the fiscal year. Jet Airways' fleet remained unchanged at 112 planes. OTP Airlines take pride in putting up a good on-time performance (OTP), but Jet Airways has been trailing both IndiGo, and SpiceJet on that front. In some of the months, it was even behind Vistara. Jet Airways' OTP, and that of its low cost arm Jet Lite, stood at 78.8 percent in June, just above Vistara (78.2 percent) and way below IndiGo (84.1 percent) and SpiceJet (81.2 percent). The airline was found lagging behind its peers on other important parameters as well, including passenger load factor, with higher cancellation rates and a bigger incidence of passenger complaints adding to the problems. Experts like Martin, however, believe the recent induction of Boeing 737 Max in Jet Airways' fleet will have an impact. "The aircraft is leaner, burns less fuel, needs less maintenance and has longer maintenance intervals," Martin said. "The airline is committed to create a growth-oriented, sustainable future, and a revitalized guest experience armed with the addition of 225 B737 MAX fuel-efficient aircraft which will be inducted in its fleet over the next decade, and of which, 11 are slated to join within this financial year," Jet Airways said in a statement on Thursday night. But given that deliveries of these 225 aircraft have just started, it will be a few years before they have any significant effect on the company's financials. live bse live nse live Volume Todays L/H More Share price of world's largest forging company Bharat Forge rallied 5.4 percent intraday on Friday after the North America Class 8 truck orders hit all-time high in July 2018. Class 8 truck orders increased nearly 3-fold to 52,400 units in July, compared to 18,726 units in same month last year. The previous high was set in March 2016 (52,194 units). Month-on-month basis increase in sales was 24 percent. North America truck market contributes 12 percent to total revenue of the company. At 12:32 hours IST, the stock price Bharat Forge was quoting at Rs 649.50, up Rs 15.25, or 2.40 percent and Ramkrishna Forgings was up 1 percent at Rs 658.90 on the BSE. Jet Airways live bse live nse live Volume Todays L/H More Jet Airways shares fell around 7 percent on Friday as investors turned wary of reports of a financial crunch in the airline. The stock touched an intraday high of Rs 325 and an intraday low of Rs 301.25. In a statement issued to the media, the airline has said that some of the cost cutting measures include sales and distribution, payroll and maintenance, among others. Jet said that the airline management is in dialogue with key stakeholders to enlist their full support and cooperation for realising necessary savings. Earlier, reports had suggested that the private carrier has informed its staff that they will have to take up to cuts in their salaries as the cost of operations has increased due to rising crude oil prices and a falling rupee. According to a report by Financial Express, Jet's top management has pitched for a nearly 15 percent cut in their pilot's salary and a reduction in the number of leaves to reduce employee cost. The airline is meeting with their pilots in Delhi and Mumbai over two days for negotiating these terms. Jet Airways CEO Vinay Dube, along with EVP flight operations and engineering Nikhil Vaid and chief people officer Rahul Taneja, will be addressing the pilots. This will be followed by an open house to discuss the proposed salary cut with the representatives of the airline's pilot union, National Aviation Guild (NAG). The airlines has about 2,000 pilots and a workforce of 16,000. The move is a part of airline's strategy to reduce employee cost as Jet Airways has not posted a profit for the past 11 years, barring FY16 and FY17, but its employee costs have been on the rise. In FY18, the airline's employee cost stood at Rs 3174.22 crore, up from the Rs 3084.21 of FY17. In FY17 alone, employee costs shot up by a big margin of 21.79 percent from the Rs 2,532.33 employee expense in FY16, the report said. The stock has fallen around 10 percent in the past one month. The stock ended at Rs 308, down Rs 23.20, or 7 percent, on the BSE. live bse live nse live Volume Todays L/H More Shares of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) gained 3 percent intraday Friday as company posted better numbers in the quarter ended June 2018. The company has reported a rise of 4 percent in net profit for the June quarter at Rs 6,143 crore against Rs 5,915.2 crore during the previous quarter. The companys revenues rose 14 percent at Rs 27,212 crore against Rs 23,970 crore on a quarter on quarter basis. At the operating level, the company reported a jump of 29 percent in its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation at Rs 14,695 crore against Rs 11,382 crore. The operating margin has been reported at 54 percent against 47.4 percent QoQ. Brokerage: ICICI Securities | Rating: Buy | Target: Rs 227 Research house ICICI Securities has maintained buy call on ONGC and cut target to Rs 227 from Rs 234 per share. ICICI Securities cut volume and other income estimates and raised cost estimates. It also cut FY19 EPS estimate by 15 percent. Share price factors in the long-term oil price realisation of USD45/bbl, it added. Brokerage: Nomura | Rating: Neutral | Target: Rs 185 Nomura has maintained neutral call on ONGC with a target at Rs 185 per share. According to Nomura, the operational volumes were weak, particularly for oil and gas production was relatively weak in Q1. The near-term focus will be on stemming the decline in oil production, while continue to prefer OMCs over upstream, it added. Brokerage: JPMorgan | Rating: Overweight | Target: Rs 265 JPMorgan has maintained overweight rating on ONGC with a target of Rs 265. The company's net profit impacted by lower other income and higher tax. The debt for acquisitions has declined and should fall further and expect sequential pickup in crude production and full benefit of INR depreciation to flow, it said. Brokerage: CLSA | Rating: Buy | Target: Rs 240 CLSA has maintained buy on ONGC with a target price of Rs 240 per share. According to CLSA, higher-than-expected sales volumes and realisations drove a beat on revenues. While, EBITDA is above estimates and net profit is below estimates due to higher tax rates. ONGC is now the cheapest among global largecap E&P and buy it for attractive risk-reward, it added. The research house expect clarity on subsidy in 3 months which could be huge rerating trigger. Brokerage: Motilal Oswal | Rating: Buy | Target: Rs 219 Motilal Oswal has maintained buy call on ONGC with a target of Rs 219. The company's EBITDA is inline as there is no subsidy burden yet. The company's gas production and sales are up and expect gas production to increase 10% annually. The research house expect lower opex and higher realisations in absence of subsidy burden and company is on a strong footing. At 09:49 hrs Oil and Natural Gas Corporation was quoting at Rs 168.10, up Rs 2.10, or 1.27 percent on the BSE. Posted by Rakesh Patil live bse live nse live Volume Todays L/H More Share price of Reliance Industries added more than 1 percent in the early trade on Friday as company formed a partnership with SBI to offer digital banking and financial services to their customers. Jio and SBI are entering into a digital partnership aimed to increase SBIs digital customer base multi-fold, also the customers will benefit from Jio Prime, a consumer engagement and commerce platform from Reliance, company said in release. Reliance Brands, a subsidiary of the company, has purchased an additional 2.36 percent equity stake in Genesis Colors (GCL) for about Rs 9.89 crore, taking its total stake in GCL to 11.65 percent. No regulatory approvals were required for the said acquisition of shares. The investment does not fall within related party transaction and none of RIL's promoter/ promoter group/ group companies have interest in GCL. At 09:17 hrs Reliance Industries was quoting at Rs 1,181.20, up Rs 12.85, or 1.10 percent on the BSE. Disclosure: Reliance Industries Ltd. is the sole beneficiary of Independent Media Trust which controls Network18 Media & Investments Ltd. Posted by Rakesh Patil Motherson Sumi Systems | The stock closed at Rs 112.55 on November 5, 2020. Its 50-DMA: Rs 112.54, which was above their 200-DMA: Rs 100.61. live bse live nse live Volume Todays L/H More Auto component maker Motherson Sumi Systems today said it has completed the acquisition of interior components and modules manufacturer Reydel Automotive Group (Reydel) for USD 201 million (over Rs 1,300 crore). Motherson Sumi Systems (MSSL), flagship company of the Samvardhana Motherson Group (SMG), said this acquisition through its step down subsidiary Samvardhana Motherson Automotive Systems Group BV (SMRP BV) will bolster its offerings in the automotive interiors space. "SMRP BV has completed acquisition of Reydel Automotive Holdings BV and Reydel Automotive Management BV on August 2, 2018, at Amsterdam upon receipt of all acquisition related approvals," Motherson Sumi Systems said in a regulatory filing. Reydels interiors product portfolio includes instrument panels, door panels, console modules, decorative parts and cockpit modules. The company's global presence spans 20 plants and 16 countries, and is supported by a workforce of around 5,500 associates. Reydel's revenue for the year ended December 31, 2017, stood at USD 1,050 million. Shares of MSSL were trading 1.10 percent up at Rs 307.60 apiece on the BSE. live bse live nse live Volume Todays L/H More The Mumbai bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) admitted an insolvency resolution against apparel brand Provogue (India) Ltd, according to a report by Mint. Andhra Bank has filed the insolvency petition against the apparel brand, claiming dues of Rs 90 crore. The firm's total debt to all lenders, including IndusInd Bank, Corporation Bank, Punjab National Bank and SIDBI, adds up to Rs 228 crore. A division bench of Bhaskara Pantula Mohan and V Nallasenapathy named Jitendra Kumar Yadav as a resolution professional after admitting the company for corporate insolvency resolution process (CIRP), the report said. There is an admitted debt by Provogue and the companys account was declared a non-performing asset (NPA) in July 2017, Rohan Agrawal, counsel for Andhra Bank told the paper, adding that the petition deserves to be admitted. In FY18, the company posted a loss of Rs 154 crore on sales of Rs 91 crore. The firm's promoters Nikhil and Akhil Chaturvedi lost control of the company in 2016 to a group of lenders led by Andhra Bank, who acquired 51 percent in the company in exchange of debt for equity. The company is keen on a revival and the lenders are hoping for quick resolution due to good brand recall, Nishit Dhruva, a managing partner of law firm MDP and Partners, who was advising Andhra Bank in the case, told the paper. The resolution professional, however, feels that it may be too soon to say anything. Its too early to say anything but I am looking forward to a faster resolution in the case, Yadav told the paper. With Provogue joining the insolvency resolution, the number of companies seeking a loan resolution in bankruptcy courts from the textile and garment sector rises to four. Reid & Taylor India Ltd, Mandhana Industries and Alok Industries Ltd are already in various stages of insolvency resolution. Provogue, which started off primarily as a menswear fashion brand in 1998, now sells womenswear and accessories, including watches, footwear and sunglasses. At its peak in 2011, the company had 350 stores in 73 cities. The firm has its own garment manufacturing facilities in Daman and in Baddi, Himachal Pradesh. live bse live nse live Volume Todays L/H More Equity99's research report on Suryaamba Spinning Mills Incorporated in 1992, Nagpur based Suryaamba Spinning Mills Limited manufactures and sells synthetic blended yarns in India. The Company Manufactures Polyester and Polyester/Viscose Blended Yarn. The company also manufactures Synthetic Ring Spun Yarn for weaving, knitting, and embroidery and other industrial applications and specialized products according to customer requirements. An ISO 9001:2008 certified organization, Suryaamba is a state of art manufacturing unit located strategically at Nayakund, near Ramtek, District: Nagpur (Maharashtra). Its installed capacity is 62000 spindles. The company exports its products to the United States, Mexico, Italy, Germany, Spain, Portugal, Switzerland, Belgium, Turkey, Egypt, Morocco, Nigeria, Poland, Canada, Peru, Columbia, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Bangladesh, and South Africa. Outlook At CMP, the stock trades at a PE of just 14x on its EPS (TTM) of Rs.8. The stock is available at a discount compared to the Industry P/E of 21.32x, S&P BSE Small-Cap P/E of 103.53x and Nifty Small-Cap 250 P/E of 102x. Its market cap is just Rs.36 crore Vs. sales of Rs.152crore. Company has declared 10% dividend for FY18 after 2 years. Considering these factors, we recommend this stock for a long-term target of Rs.200. For all recommendations report, click here Disclaimer: The views and investment tips expressed by investment experts/broking houses/rating agencies on moneycontrol.com are their own, and not that of the website or its management. Moneycontrol.com advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions. Read More Representataive Image The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has recommended for the formation of a unit within the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) to promote the manufacture of domestic telecom equipment. In its release that gave out recommendations on promoting local telecom equipment manufacturing, TRAI recommended that the DoT unit would also be responsible for the "facilitation and monitoring of telecommunication equipment design, development, and manufacturing in the country." The long-term goal of these recommendations is to help achieve India net zero telecom imports by 2022. TRAI recommended the establishment of a Telecom Research and Development Fund (TRDF), with an initial corpus of Rs 1,000 crore. The fund should seek to promote research and innovation for the designing, manufacturing and testing domestic telecom equipment. Along similar lines, TRAI also recommended the formation of a Telecom Entrepreneurship Promotion Fund (TEPF) and a Telecom Manufacturing Promotion Fund (TMPF). The telecom regulator also called for the formation of a Telecommunication Equipment Development Board (TEDB) in the (DoT) for the speedier decision taking over the prospects of funding and the provision of incentives. To this extent, TRAI further recommended that all telecom products should be marked with their manufacturing origin. Products should be classified as either fully finished imported products or Indigenous products. TRAI suggested a further classification of indigenous products as Made in India Products, Designed In India or Designed and Made in India products. TRAI also recommended that universities and technical institutes should be identified and set up near existing telecom product development clusters. The universities should offer specialisations in telecommunication technologies and system design, and be equipped with telecommunication technology and systems design labs. The telecom regulator also called for the simplification of securing permissions for experimenting and testing with new technology. Acknowledging the role of intellectual property in the sector, it recommended the creation of patent information cells in leading universities and technical institutions to expand ones understanding about patent filing policies and procedures. TRAI also recommended an alternative dispute resolution framework for time-bound patent licensing disputes. The telecom regulator has earlier this week, gave its recommendations on the pricing of around 8644 MHz of telecom frequencies spectrum at an estimated base price of Rs 4.9 lakh crore. The Directorate General of Goods and Services Tax Intelligence has arrested the director of the upcoming film on Manmohan Singh, The Accidental Prime Minister, on fraud charges worth Rs 34 crore in Mumbai, The Indian Express reported. Vijay Ratnakar Gutte who is the son of sugar baron Ratnakar Gutte runs VRG Digital Corp Pvt Ltd. The firm has been accused of receiving fake invoices which involves GST of Rs 34 crore for animation and manpower services received from Horizon Outsource Solutions Pvt Ltd. Additionally, VRG Digital has also been accused of wrongly claiming a cash refund of Rs 28 crore from the government Central Value Added Tax credit received for these fake invoices, the paper reported. Moneycontrol independently could not verify the report. According to the documents, Vijay Gutte has been booked under Section 132 (1)(c) of the CGST Act for availing of input tax credit using invoice or bills which have been issued without any supply of goods or services. As per the Act, Gutte, if proven guilty, could be fined and imprisoned for up to five years. Outsource Solutions, the company which had issued the fraudulent invoices is embroiled in GST fraud of over Rs 170 crore. According to DGGSTI, the company had wrongly taken GST credit of Rs 80 crore from the government. Based on Sanjay Barus book and starring Anupam Kher in lead roles, The Accidental Prime Minister is Guttes directorial debut. Before this, he had produced three movies which include Emotional Attyachar, Time Bara Vait, and Badmashiyaan. Delhi Metro Magenta Line Delhi Metro authorities have taken action against the consultant and engineers involved in executing the Airport Express Metro Line for alleged lapses, including providing 'unfit' track fittings for the project, the government told Rajya Sabha today. In a written reply to a question, Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation has informed the ministry that the track fittings provided by concessionaire are "not fit" for trains to be run at more than 80 kmph, even though the prescribed limit on the metro line is 120 kmph. The DMRC, however, has informed the ministry that irregularities have not been found in the terms and conditions of the Delhi Airport Express Metro Line. "Delhi Metro Rail Corporation Ltd. has informed that accountability was fixed on the consultant, the civil contractor and DMRC officials who were involved in the execution of the project. "As an outcome, the consultant, who was the engineer for the project, forfeited the performance security of Rs 5.80 crore," Puri told Rajya Sabha in his written reply. He said the civil contractor was disqualified for participating in DMRC tenders, adding that the assistant engineer and deputy chief engineer for the project were taken up under the Discipline and Appeal Rules. "DMRC has informed that the prescribed speed of Delhi Airport Express Metro Line is 120 kmph. At present, there is no defect in the line except that the tract fittings provided by concessionaire are not fit for more than 80 kmph. "Accordingly, trains are being run at a maximum speed of 80 kmph," Puri said. Last month, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal demanded a CBI inquiry into the alleged "negligence and corruption" regarding the termination of the concession agreement of the airport line. In a letter to Puri, a copy of which was also sent to Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Kejriwal had said, "Given the alarming proportions of negligence and corruption, I would request you to entrust this case to CBI for expeditious investigations and prosecutions. Protests against demanding the scrapping of Article 35A by the Supreme Court, have intensified in Kashmir. About 200 members of the Jammu and Kashmir Trade Union staged a peaceful protest in Parimpora area. When was the law introduced? Article 35A was introduced in 1954 by the way of a Constitutional Order by the then President Rajendra Prasad on the advice of the Nehru government. To make any changes to the constitution or add a new law, the process prescribed by the constitution is to introduce the bill in the Parliament. However under Article 370(1) (d) the President is allowed make exceptions and modifications with the concurrence of the government of the state for the benefit of the subjects of the state of Jammu and Kashmir. What is the origin of the law? There was a protest by the Kashmiri Pandits against the appointment of people from Punjab in the states administration due to this Maharaja Hari Singh introduced a law in 1927, granting permanent citizens certain privileges. Post-independence Nehru had signed the 1952 Delhi Agreement with the Prime Minister of Jammu and Kashmir Sheikh Abdullah. The Delhi Agreement granted citizens of J&K citizenship under certain agreements between the centre and the state. What does Article 35A entail? Article 35A gives the J&K government the right to decide who qualifies as a permanent resident. The permanent resident is subject to some special rights. Only permanent residents can acquire land, settle, and get government jobs, scholarships in the state. The article also says none of the above laws can be held as void on the ground that it takes away the rights conferred on other citizens of the country. Current case being heard by the apex court A writ petition was filed by the NGO, 'We the Citizens' in 2014 demanding the scrapping of Article 35A. Another petition was filed by Charu Wali Khanna claiming that there is gender discrimination in Article 35A. What is the governments stand? The NDA led government has refused to stand by Article 35A. The Attorney General said that the matter is sensitive and required a larger debate. The former chief ministers of J&K Mehbooba Mufti and Farooq Abdullah have warned against the tampering of the law. Mufti even went as far to say that if Article 35A is struck down there will be no one to hold the tricolor in the state. Have there been cases against this law earlier? The Supreme Court has struck down three cases, demanding the scrapping of Article 35A, which claimed that it can only be introduced through the process prescribed by Article 368 i.e. by introducing the bill in the parliament. In the 1961 judgement, the court said that the word modification should be given the widest meaning in the context of the constitution. (With inputs from PTI) live bse live nse live Volume Todays L/H More India has asked Britain to extradite billionaire jeweller Nirav Modi, one of the main accused in the $2 billion loan fraud at state-run Punjab National Bank (PNB). Modi's whereabouts have been unknown since PNB in January said that two jewellery groups headed by Modi and his uncle, Mehul Choksi, defrauded the bank for years by raising foreign credit using fake guarantees. The international police agency Interpol last month issued a request to find and arrest Modi. But on Thursday, India's foreign affairs ministry told parliament it had sent an extradition request for Modi to Britain. It did not specify how it knew Modi was there. Modi and Choksi have denied wrongdoing. Lawyers for both could not be immediately reached for comment on Friday. The PNB fraud, dubbed as biggest in India's banking history, exposed shortcomings in the management of PNB and undermined confidence in India's state-run banking sector, which controls over two-thirds of the nation's bank assets. Mehul Choksi Indian agencies told Antigua there was no adverse information against Mehul Choksi when the Caribbean country did its background check on the fugitive billionaire before granting him citizenship in 2017, says a local media report in the Caribbean nation. Choksi's application for citizenship in Antigua in May 2017 was accompanied with clearance from the local police as required by norm, Antiguan paper the Daily Observer reported, citing a statement from the Citizenship by Investment Unit of Antigua and Barbuda. Choksi is one of the alleged masterminds of the USD 2 billion scam in state-run Punjab National Bank and uncle of fugitive diamantaireNirav Modi. "The said police clearance certificate from the Government of India, Ministry of External Affairs Regional Passport Office, Mumbai, certified that there was no adverse information against Mr. Mehul Chinubbhai Choksi which would render him ineligible for grant of travel facilities including visa for Antigua and Barbuda," the report said. The authorities in the island country did a thorough check on Choksi from open source global agencies, including the Interpol, that there was "no instance" of any derogatory information against him, it said. The Antiguan authorities, as part of their own checks, found two instances of SEBI (Securities and Exchange Board of India) action against Choksi's firms in 2014 and 2017 and sought more information on them, the report said. SEBI told authorities in Antigua that one case was "satisfactorily closed" and there was "insufficient evidence" to pursue the second matter, the Citizenship by Investment Unit said in the report published by the Daily Observer. The unit said if there was a warrant against Choksi when his application of citizenship was being processed, Interpol should have been informed about it and it should have been part of national criminal database. The Central Bureau of Investigation (SBI) has however said that no query from Interpol or Antiguan authorities was received in 2017 or earlier. Antiguan Citizenship by Investment Unit (CIU) press statement has been trashed by both CBI and the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI). Choksi had fled India on January 4 this year and took oath of allegiance in Antigua on January 15. His citizenship was cleared in November 2017. On January 16, this year, the USD 2 billion scam was detected by Brady House branch of Punjab National Bank, making it the biggest banking scam in the country. On July 29, 2016, Bengaluru resident Hari Prasad had informed the Prime Minister's Office about alleged nefarious activities of Choksi and his companies. In a recent response to a question by Congress leader Kapil Sibal, the Finance Ministry said in the Rajya Sabha that the PMO was "intimated" about the complaints regarding the PNB frauds in Public Sector Banks in 2016 and the matter was referred to it. "Ministry of Finance, vide Office Memorandum dated 1.3.2018, apprised PMO of action taken regarding the frauulent issuance of Letters of Undertaking in PNB," it said. The reply, however, did not make it clear whether the complaints referred to the Finance Ministry included Prasad's specific complaint against Choksi. Under the Citizenship by Investment Program of Antigua and Barbuda, a person can take their passport on a minimum investment of USD one lakh in the NDF investment fund. Choksi and his companies allegedly availed credit from overseas branches of Indian banks using the fraudulent guarantees of PNB given through letters of undertaking (LoUs) and letters of credit issued by the Brady House branch which were not repaid, bringing liability on the state-run bank, the officials said. An LoU is a guarantee given by an issuing bank to Indian banks having branches abroad to grant short-term credit to the applicant. RN Bhaskar Parliaments latest attempt to curb corruption actually creates a law that allows more bribe-taking. It may not appear to be the case at first, but a closer look shows how deceptive, and disappointing, the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act, 2018 is. Take the revised law first. On July 31, the President of India gave his assent to the piece of legislation under which bribe-givers can now be punished with a jail term of a maximum of seven years. The law earlier provided for imprisonment up to five years. The government has decided July 26, 2018, as the date on which the provisions of the Act shall come into force. The amendments also added that "No police officer shall conduct any enquiry or investigation into any offence alleged to have been committed by a public servant under this Act, where the alleged offence is relatable to any recommendation made or decision taken by such public servant in discharge of his official functions or duties, without the previous approval." But the law also says that such permission shall not be necessary for cases involving on the spot arrest of a person on the charge of accepting or attempting to accept any undue advantage for himself or for any other person. What the law actually protects First, on-the-spot convictions of bribery are very rare. In most cases, the bribe is paid to an intermediary, who could be a lawyer or a shopkeeper. It will be difficult to show the nexus; the only way it can be established is by first taking recordings of conversations (the voice samples may be disputed in court, or may be held inadmissible as it was done clandestinely, or could be thrown out on grounds of entrapment, the grounds on which the cash-for-voters case got scuttled by the courts, and the whistle-blowers were sent to jail instead). In most cases, the officer just refuses to clear a file till the right amount has been paid. Cautious officers will ask the money to be paid to a third party. On confirmation that the stipulated sum has been received, the work gets done. The file may relate to a matter that is perfectly legal, and no favours are being sought. But without the officers approval, the file cannot be cleared. It may relate to vehicle inspection, or building plan approval or just an income tax assessment. It could be an application for a birth or death or marriage certificate. These demands are always extortionate in nature. And the only chance that the bribe-giver has of exposing the bribe-taker is by going to the police. The new law tacitly warns him not to go and complain. Should he complain that he has given a bribe, he will land in prison first, because bribe-givers can now be imprisoned for a maximum period of seven years. The result, no bribe-giver will ever dare to register a complaint. Consequently, the new law protects the bribe-taker, because nobody can move against a public servant till permission is obtained from an appropriate authority. As a result, the bribe-giver will prefer to keep silent; the bribe-taker is emboldened to ask for more money because he may want to share a percentage of the spoils with the intermediary. What should the solution be? The government neednt have looked very far for a solution to the vexatious problem of bribery. It could have just read the seminal paper prepared by Kaushik Basu, former Chief Economic Advisor to the government of India. Basu authored the paper in 2011 titled Why, for a Class of Bribes, the Act of Giving a Bribe should be Treated as Legal. It is a document that every civic minded person ought to read, and it should be made compulsory reading for legislators whose job is to frame laws. It is a document for our judges as well, because it shows how feel-good laws actually turn out to be some of the most rotten ones. The document is important because it makes a very strong case for legalising the giving of bribes for a class of bribes. The paper puts forward a small but novel idea of how we can cut down the incidence of bribery. There are different kinds of bribes and what this paper is concerned with are bribes that people often have to give to procure things to which they are legally entitled. I shall call these harassment bribes, explains Basu. Basu makes a case that the giver of a harassment bribe should have full immunity from any punitive action by the state. Basu points out that in almost all cases of (harassment) bribe-giving, it is in the interest of the bribe-giver to have the bribe-taker caught. Since the bribe-giver will cooperate with the law, the chances are much higher of the bribe-taker getting caught. In fact, it will be in the interest of the bribe-giver to have the taker get caught, since that way the bribe-giver can get back the money he gave as bribe. Since the bribe-taker knows this, he will be much less inclined to take the bribe in the first place. This establishes that there will be a drop in the incidence of bribery. Thus, under the new law, every bribe-giver will try and keep some evidence a witness, a voice recording, a photograph, a video of the bribe being handed over. Once the work is done, the bribe-giver will then approach the authorities and seek redressal. He hopes for two things. First, to get some of his money back. Second, to penalise the person who demeaned him to a position of paying money to get something that was rightfully his. Shut up, and pay up The amended law does nothing of this kind. Instead the only amendment it makes is extending the prison term to a maximum of seven years. The earlier law provided for five years. It was just a waste of legislative time. It was an attempt to show to people that the government was tightening the laws, when actually it actually makes it more difficult for bribe-givers to come forth and lodge complaints against bribe-takers. Even in the past bribe-givers did not come forth with evidence. Now too, there will be few takers for this law. Moreover, the protection bribe-takers get of not allowing law officers to proceed against them unless sanction is given by competent authorities will embolden bribe-takers, unless of course they fall foul of these in power. Thus the new law ensures two things. First, it will encourage the bribe-taker to share his booty with those in power. That will ensure that permission to prosecute will not be forthcoming. Second, it will give the bribe-taker the comfort that no bribe-giver will dare complain. The bribe-giver goes to jail rightaway. The bribe-taker goes to jail only after consent to investigate is given by the competent authorities. Did someone talk about zero tolerance for corruption? Hah! Karti Chidambaram Nalini Chidambaram, a senior advocate and wife of former Union minister P Chidambaram, and her son Karti Chidambaram today got relief from the Supreme Court in Saradha chit fund and INX media cases respectively. The top court restrained Enforcement Directorate (ED) from taking any coercive action against Nalini Chidambaram in the Saradha chit fund case. It also refused to interfere with an order granting bail to Karti Chidambaram in the INX media case. A bench of justices A K Sikri and Ashok Bhushan issued a notice to the ED on a plea by Nalini Chidambaram challenging the dismissal of her plea by the Madras High Court against the summons issued in a case related to Saradha chit fund scam. It restrained the ED from taking any coercive action against Nalini Chidambaram in the case. Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for her, said that the issue was covered by apex court judgement. The bench said it was issuing a notice to the ED and seeking its reply in four weeks. In another case of Karti Chidambaram, the bench refused to interfere with the high court order granting bail to him, saying that in the question of liberty, the court did not usually go into technicalities. "By the impugned order the high court has granted bail to the respondent (Karti) herein. Insofar as grant of bail by the high court is concerned, we do not find any reason to interfere with the said order," the bench said and dismissed the plea of the CBI challenging the bail order. It, however, said, that the observations made by the high court "in the impugned order keeping in mind as to whether the respondent was entitled to bail or not and such observations shall not influence any other proceedings and all other proceedings shall be dealt with on its own merits". It left the question open, as to whether the accused could approach the high court for bail, invoking its concurrent jurisdiction, even when his bail application was pending before the trial court. The bench said, "It is not necessary to enter in this controversy in the present petition. Pending applications, if any, shall also stand disposed of". Additional Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the CBI, said this question of law had to be kept open as invoking powers of concurrent jurisdiction of the high court might be a case of "forum shopping". Sibal, appearing for Karti Chidambaram, said there was already a judgement in which concurrent jurisdiction of high court could be invoked. On June 25, the CBI had moved the apex court challenging the high court order granting bail to Karti Chidambaram. The probe agency claimed in its appeal that it was "impermissible in law" for the high court to entertain Karti Chidambaram's bail plea when an application seeking a similar relief was pending before the trial court. On March 23, a single judge bench of the high court granted bail to Karti Chidambaram, who was arrested on February 28 by the CBI, saying the relief should not be refused unless the crime was of the "highest magnitude" entailing "severe punishment". He was arrested from Chennai in connection with an FIR lodged on May 15 last year, which had alleged irregularities in the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) clearance given to INX Media for receiving funds of about Rs 305 crore from overseas in 2007 when his father was the Union finance minister. Both P Chidambaram and Karti Chidambaram denied all allegations made by CBI, as well as the Enforcement Directorate. The CBI initially alleged that Karti Chidambaram received Rs 10 lakh as bribe for facilitating the FIPB clearance to INX Media. It later revised the figure to USD 1 million. In Nalini Chidambaram's case, the Madras High Court had on July 10 dismissed against a single judge bench's order rejecting her plea challenging the ED summons. The high court had said that Section 50 (2) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) gave sufficient ammunition to an authority to summon any person whose attendance was considered necessary for the investigation. It had also rejected her contention that women could not be called for investigation out of their place of residence under CrPC Section 160, saying she was not entitled to invoke the section. The impugned notice was issued on finding certain new facts and contradiction in the statements given, which could not be satisfactorily explained by the authorised agent. The ED had issued the first summons on September 7, 2016, asking Nalini Chidambaram to appear before it at its Kolkata office. It subsequently issued a fresh summons after the single judge's order. She was allegedly paid a legal fee of Rs 1 crore by the Saradha group for her appearances in court and the Company Law Board over a television channel purchase deal. In the appeal, she contended that if the trend of summoning and calling advocates who were engaged by their clients for rendering professional services was not nipped in the bud, it might lead to "disastrous consequences". BJP president Amit Shah termed the passage of a bill, which seeks to grant constitutional status to the OBC commission, as "historic" and said it is a big step towards making an equitable society. In a series of tweets, he said it is a move towards creating a new India where all sections of society live with dignity and harmony. Hailing the Narendra Modi government for the bill's passage, Shah said it has always been the BJP's goal to create an egalitarian and just society as its mantra is 'sabka saath sabka vikas'. "This is a historic and big step of the Modi government for creating an equitable society," Shah said, adding the demand for such a bill had been pending for decades. The Constitution (123rd Amendment) Bill, 2017 which was passed in the Lok Sabha today seeks to grant the National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC) constitutional status at par with National Commissions for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (NCSC and NCST). It will now need to be passed by the Rajya Sabha before it is implemented. Prime Minister Narendra Modi The NCP attacked the BJP over the draft National Register of Citizens (NRC), saying the ruling party was exploiting the issue to polarise people. Maharashtra BJP spokesperson Nawab Malik also claimed that data shows that the previous UPA government was more sincere in taking action against those living illegally in India. The Manmohan Singh government deported around 5,500 foreigners who were living in India without valid documents, whereas the present government has deported less than 1,000 foreign nationals in the last four years, he said. "Has the Modi government identified how many people are living in India in this way (illegally)? Has the Centre raised the issue before the concerned countries? The government should come out with a clarification," Malik said. "The BJP is trying to polarise people on religious lines to gain votes in elections," the NCP leader said. While police regularly take action against those living illegally in the country, parties such as the BJP and Shiv Sena raise the issue only when polls are around, he said. The publication of draft NRC in Assam has triggered a political firestorm over exclusion of over 40 lakh residents of the north-eastern state. Prime Minister Narendra Modi Members of the BJP's SC and ST morchas greeted party president Amit Shah on the government's decision to bring a bill to restore the original provisions of a law on atrocities against these communities and said it underlined its resolve to working for their welfare. They claimed that while the Congress used the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe communities as a vote bank and did nothing for their welfare, the BJP-led government took a number of measures for their benefits. These communities were standing solidly with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the party said, accusing the Congress of running a disinformation campaign against the government. The bill approved by the Cabinet yesterday seeks to overturn a Supreme Court order which, Dalit groups have said, dilutes the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. Akhilesh Yadav The Public Works Department (PWD) on Thursday submitted a comprehensive report to the Uttar Pradesh government stating that damages worth Rs 10 lakh were incurred to a government building vacated by Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav. The report was filed in the light of UP Governor Ram Naik's plea to CM Yogi Adityanath asking the later to take strict action against his predecessor. According to a report in News18, the 266-page report highlights the myriad of damages including broken tiles, damaged swimming pool, missing bathroom fittings among others left behind by former CM Akhilesh Yadav. Yadav was ordered to vacate the government premises on June 2 after Supreme Court struck down an amendment in a state legislation which allowed former CMs to retain government accommodation even after their term was over. A chief minister was at par with a common man once his or her term ends, concluded a bench headed by Justice Ranjan Gogoi. The reports of the dire state of the government bungalow waged a war of words between BJP and Yadav, with the former claiming that it was an effort to malign his image citing hate and jealousy. I am being targeted as the BJP has a problem that SP and BSP are now in a coalition, Yadav had said. Yadav further claimed that the fittings that have been missing/ damaged were purchased by him. Taking conscience of Yadav's claim Health Minister (UP) Siddharth Nath Singh asked the SP chief to reveal the source of money spent on beautification of the government bungalow. "Where did he get the money from? Who gave it to him? He should respond before the income tax department asks him these questions, the state minister said. Mehul Choksi The Congress today alleged that "shocking details" emerging from Antigua have "exposed the complicity and connivance" of the Modi gvernment in the escape of fugitive billionaire Mehul Choksi to the Caribbean country. Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala was reacting to media reports quoting Antiguan authorities as saying that Indian agencies had no adverse information against Choksi when the Caribbean country conducted a background check on the PNB scam accused before granting him citizenship in 2017. "Loot and make them scoot is the prime policy of the the Modi government. The shocking details reveal how the Modi government enacted this mega scam," he said in a statement. Surjewala questioned why Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not raise the issue when he met his Antiguan counterpart Gaston Browne in April 2018. He also alleged that the Ministry of External Affairs issued a clean chit to Choksi when there were complaints pending against him. "Why did the CBI/ED not move the Interpol for a warrant against Mehul Choksi or provide the requisite evidence of criminal fraud against him? Is it not correct that this deliberate failure on part of CBI/ED in providing evidence to Interpol, led to Interpol giving a clean chit to Choksi?" he asked. The Congress leader sought to know why the Prime Minister's Office did not act or direct the External Affairs Ministry, Central Bureau of Investigation, Enforcement Directorate, Securities and Exchange Board of India, Serious Fraud Investigation Office etc. to take action on two complaints dated May 7 and May 26, 2015. "Why did not Prime Minister Narendra Modi raise the issue of citizenship during his meeting with Antigua PM Gaston Browne in April, 2018?" the Congress leader asked. Surjewala alleged the agencies under the Modi government enabled the "great escape" of Choksi. "Complicity and connivance of the Modi gvernment in the escape of Rs 23,484-cr PNB scam accused Mehul Choksi, better described by PM Narendra Modi's 'hamare Mehul bhai', has been exposed. "Shocking details from Antigua's Citizenship By Investment Unit have lifted the cover from the sins committed by every organ of the Modi government PMO, MEA, CBI, SEBI etc that facilitated and gave a 'clean chit' to the fraudster," he alleged. Surjewala said the development "also conclusively exposes the barrage of lies that ministers in the Modi government were trying to plant in the mainstream media". The Congress leader said Choksi left India on January 4, 2018 and was already a citizen of Antigua and Barbuda since November 2017 "which gives him a visa-free access to travel around 132 nations". live bse live nse live Volume Todays L/H More Mahindra & Mahindras second attempt at retailing SUVs in the US market has been challenged by Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA), which has filed a complaint alleging infringement of design by the Indian company. On August 1, FCA US LLC filed a complaint with the United States International Trade Commission alleging violations of section 337 of Tariff Act 1930 in which it claims that Mahindras off-road utility vehicle Roxor is a copy of the Jeep design IP. A mail sent to M&M remained unanswered at the time of publishing the article. In an earlier instance, M&M had planned to launch its SUVs in the US in 2009. But due to regulatory issues the launch never happened forcing its dealer partners in the US to file a law suit against the company in mid-2012. M&M also sells an electric scooter and a range of tractors in the US. Similar design language M&M manufactures the Roxor in India and exports it to US as knocked down kits which are then assembled at M&Ms manufacturing plant in Michigan for sale by dealers throughout the United States. Fiat Chrysler has termed Roxor sale as unlawful and unauthorized. To bolster its case, FCA has used some of the drive reviews published by media houses including the Wall Street Journal and The Detroit News, where they have mentioned about the Roxor design language being similar to that of Jeep. Mahindra NAs website show that they (Roxor) are a nearly identical copy of the iconic Jeepdesign and incorporate the Jeep Trade Dress and Jeep Design Marks. In fact, the Accused Product was [m]0deled after the original Willys Jeep and copied down to the undercarriage of the historic Jeep CJ, FCAs petition said. While one of the reviews mentioned that Mahindra has secured rights for using Jeep product designs. FCA has strongly denied this. Mahindra has no right to use the Jeep IP. FCA owns and retains full rights in the Jeep IP and has not granted a license to Mahindra to use the Jeep IP in any country, including the United States. FCAs predecessors did have prior dealings with Mahindra India, granting Mahindra India limited contractual rights to manufacture and/or sell Jeep branded components and products in India beginning in the 1940s. And none of those contracts at any time granted Mahindra India (or any other Mahindra entity) ownership rights over Jeep brand-related intellectual property. Nor did any of these past agreements grant any rights to manufacture, sell, or advertise vehicles, such as the Accused Products, incorporating the Jeep IP in the United States, FCA said. FCA claims that the boxy body shape with flat appearing vertical side and rear body panels ending at about the same height as the hood, substantially flat hood with curved side edges that tapers to be narrower at the front, trapezoidal front wheel wells with front fenders or fender flares that extend beyond the front of the grille, flat appearing grille with vertical elongated grille slots and a trapezoidal outline that curves around round headlamps positioned on the upper part of the grille, exterior hood latches and door cutouts above a bottom portion of the side body panels have been lifted from the Jeep IP. FCA also claims that the marketing activities used by M&M to promote the Roxor will cause confusion and deceive a potential customer into believing that the Roxor is a product associated with the Willys Jeep, one of the iconic models of Jeep. Mahindras marketing promotes the Roxor as being modeled on the Willys Jeepand FCAs predecessor vehicles, making it more likely that consumers will draw a false association between the Accused Products and FCA. Upon information and belief, respondents (M&M) infringement is willful in that respondents know that they do not have the right to use the Jeep Trade Dress in the United States. Respondents are further capitalizing on the goodwill and reputation associated with the Jeep Trade Dress, FCA stated in its petition. M&M launched the Roxor, an off-road but not street legal, SUV in March 2018 in the US. Priced at $15000 and powered by 2.5 litre, 4 cylinder diesel engine, the Roxor is based on the Thar with no doors and no hard top roof and without a windscreen. The Indian Penal Code's provision on adultery violates the fundamental Right to Equality as it treats married men and women differently, the Supreme Court said today. Terming IPC's Section 497 "manifestly arbitrary", a five-judge Constitution bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra said it treats a married woman as "chattel" because her relationship with a married man depends on the "consent or connivance of her husband". The bench, also comprising Justices R F Nariman, A M Khanwilkar, D Y Chandrachud and Indu Malhotra, which is hearing a petition challenging the constitutional validity of Section 497, was critical of a part of the provision stating that no offence of adultery is made out if a married woman enters into a sexual relationship with a married man with the consent of her husband. Section 497 of the 158-year-old IPC says: "Whoever has sexual intercourse with a person who is and whom he knows or has reason to believe to be the wife of another man, without the consent or connivance of that man, such sexual intercourse not amounting to the offence of rape, is guilty of the offence of adultery." "Definitely the matrimonial sanctity aspect is there, but the way the provisions are enacted or made run counter to Article 14 (Right to Equality of the Constitution)," the court said. The bench added that it would see whether the provision can stand the test of the Right to Equality on grounds like "discretion and manifest arbitrariness". Advocate Kaleeswaram Raj, appearing for petitioner Joseph Shine, an Indian living in Italy, referred to various facets of Section 497 and said the provision does not apply to a consenting sexual relationship between two unmarried adults and it treats married men and women differently with regard to their prosecution for adultery. He said married men can be prosecuted for the offence of adultery but this is not the case with married women and referred to various inconsistencies in the section. The apex court had yesterday commenced hearing on pleas seeking quashing of the adultery provision in the IPC on the ground that it only punishes married men for having extra-marital sexual relations with a married woman. On January 5, the apex court referred to a five-judge Constitution bench the plea challenging the validity of the penal law on adultery. The court had taken a prima facie view that though the criminal law proceeds on "gender neutrality", the concept was absent in Section 497. The apex court had also referred to its 1954 judgment, delivered by a five-judge bench, that had upheld the validity of Section 497 saying that it did not violate fundamental rights like Right to Equality. The top court had referred to societal transformation and concepts of "gender equity" and "gender sensitivity" and said affirmative rights have to be conferred upon women and earlier judgments needed to be examined by a larger Constitution bench. The top court had earlier observed that if the husband gives consent for sexual intercourse between his wife and another man, then it nullifies the offence of adultery and turns the woman into a commodity, which goes against the principle of gender justice and the constitutional mandate of Right to Equality. It had termed the provision "prima facie archaic" and said it was "tantamount to subordination of a woman where the Constitution confers equal status". US_China_Trade_Trade war_Tariff Beijing warned today it was prepared to impose new tariffs on $60 billion worth of US goods if Washington ups the ante in the escalating US-China trade war. The commerce ministry issued a statement saying the new duties would be applied if Washington pulled the trigger on President Donald Trump's threat to raise tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods. The statement said China reserves the right to apply "other countermeasures". "China always believes that consultation on the basis of mutual respect, equality and mutual benefit is an effective way to resolve trade differences," the ministry said. "Any unilateral threat or blackmail will only lead to intensification of conflicts and damage to the interests of all parties." The threat came a day after Chinese officials appealed for dialogue based on "mutual respect", with Foreign Minister Wang Yi urging the United States to remain "cool-headed". US officials said Wednesday that Trump had asked the US Trade Representative to consider increasing the proposed tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods to 25 percent from the planned 10 percent. Washington and Beijing are locked in battle over American accusations that China's export economy benefits from unfair policies and subsidies, as well as theft of American technological know-how. Trump has threatened to slap tariffs on virtually all of China's exports to the United States in the tit-for-tat trade conflict. 6 | Cisco (Image: Reuters) Cisco Systems Inc said on Thursday it would buy Duo Security, a venture capital-backed cyber security company, for $2.35 billion in cash, as part of its push to expand into a faster growing area of software than its core business. The deal is the biggest acquisition for Cisco since its $3.7-billion purchase of business performance monitoring software company AppDynamics last year, and its largest in the cyber security sector since its $2.7-billion takeover of Sourcefire in 2013. The deal is an example of "a move toward software and our shift to more recurring revenue with new subscription-based solutions," Robert Salvagno, head of Cisco's corporate development said on a conference call Thursday. Many companies are on the hunt for deals to expand their cybersecurity offerings as corporations want to bulk up their defences against a wave of cyber attacks by criminals, spies and hacker activists. Earlier this month, telecommunications firm AT&T Inc bought AlienVault, a cybersecurity provider for small and medium-size businesses. "Cisco is getting its act together in the cyber security market," Credit Suisse analyst Brad Zelnick said in a research note, noting that Cisco has acquired five security companies over the past three years. Cisco shares rose 1.6 percent at $42.54 on Thursday. The deal represents a rare multi-billion dollar exit for cybersecurity venture investors who have been pouring money at a record pace into a crowded market. There are over 3,000 cyber security companies with more than 400 being funded per year, according to advisory firm Momentum Cyber. One venture capital firm, Benchmark, saw a 20 times return on its early investment in the company, according to a source familiar with the matter. Benchmark declined to comment. Based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Duo had raised $119 million to date from investors such as Lead Edge Capital, Index Ventures, Workday, Redpoint Ventures and True Ventures. Duo's platform allows users to verify their identity with a two-step authentication process, a product that Cisco executives said was key as more of their customers are trying to securely connect to applications in the cloud. The deal, reported first by Reuters, is expected to close in the first quarter of Cisco's fiscal 2019. Cisco has been making efforts to transform itself beyond networking. Besides security, it is also focused on investing in what it calls the Internet of Things and cloud-based applications. Cisco was advised by Goldman Sachs and Barclays as well as the law firm Fenwick & West. Duo was advised by Qatalyst Partners and law firm Gunderson Dettmer. Ivanka Trump Donald Trump today tried to tamp down speculation of differences with daughter Ivanka over his remarks about the press by saying that it is the 'Fake News' and not the entire media that is the enemy of the people, hours after she distanced herself from the US president's comments. Trump has repeatedly criticised the media before and during his presidency. He has declared journalists to be "enemies of the people", drawing condemnation from across the political spectrum. During an event yesterday, when Ivanka was asked about her father's repeated accusation that the media is the "enemy of the people", she said, "No. I do not feel that the media is the enemy of the people." "I've received my fair share of reporting on me personally that I know not to be fully accurate, so I've had some sensitivity around why people have concerns and gripe, especially when they sort of feel targeted," Ivanka, who is also Trump's senior adviser, said. Her remarks were construed as her differences with the president on this issue. However hours later, President Trump took to Twitter to clarify the issue. "They asked my daughter Ivanka whether or not the media is the enemy of the people. She correctly said no. It is the FAKE NEWS, which is a large percentage of the media, that is the enemy of the people! (sic)," he tweeted. Asked at the White House briefing about Ivanka's remarks, press secretary Sarah Sanders refused to reject the president's statements that the media is the enemy of the people. "The president's rightfully frustrated; 90 per cent of the coverage on him is negative despite the fact that the economy is booming, ISIS is on the run, and American leadership is being reasserted around the world,"she said. When Acosta insisted her to express her views, Sanders said, "I'm here to speak on behalf of the president. He's made his comments." A few days back, Trump had called American journalists "unpatriotic" as he accused them of putting lives at risk by their reporting. "When the media - driven insane by their Trump Derangement Syndrome - reveals internal deliberations of our government, it truly puts the lives of many, not just journalists, at risk! Very unpatriotic!" he had said. He ramped up his attack on the media last night during a campaign rally by criticising the press as "fake, fake, disgusting news" and describing journalists in attendance as "horrible, horrendous people", despite UN experts' warning earlier in the day that his actions were putting journalists at risk. Heineken NV has struck a $3.1 billion partnership with a company that controls China's largest brewer, China Resources Beer Co Ltd, as the two firms seek to tap a growing thirst for premium brands in the world's biggest beer market. The deal will see Heineken, the world's No. 2 brewer, take a 40 percent stake in CRH Beer for HK$24.35 billion ($3.1 billion), giving the Dutch brewer a strong distribution network in China and greater access to one of the world's fastest-growing premium beer sectors. China Resources Enterprise, which owns CR Beer, will also buy 0.9 percent of Heineken shares for 464 million euros ($537.5 million). The combined transactions would result in a net investment of 1.9 billion euros ($2.2 billion) by Heineken, the two firms said in a joint statement. "We believe we can win together in this new era of the Chinese beer market, in which the premium segment will become increasingly important," said Chen Lang, chairman of China Resources Enterprise. "In Heineken we have found the perfect partner to achieve our ambitions in China and - as an international partner - to support us in growing our business outside China." The companies are conducting due diligence and will need anti-trust approval from China, according to a person with direct knowledge. The transaction is expected to complete by year-end, the person said. JP Morgan is advising Heineken, while China Resources has enlisted Nomura and UBS as advisors. The banks did not immediately comment. FROTHY GAINS Investors toasted the news, pushing shares of China Resources Beer up more than 10 percent to HK$39.15 in a flat broader market. "It is a win-win deal for both companies. CR Beer can, through the partnership, gain a great premium beer portfolio in the short run while the deal can accelerate the Chinese brewer to go overseas with its Snow brand in the longer run," said Linus Yip, chief strategist at First Shanghai Securities. He expects the deal will also help China Resources Beer expand its market share and give it a lead over Chinese rivals such as Tsingtao Brewery. The agreement comes as global beer giants such as Heineken, AB InBev and Carlsberg face fierce competition in emerging markets, touted as the growth engine for the world's biggest brewers. Reuters reported exclusively in March that China Resources Beer was in talks to acquire Heineken's China business as it looks to expand its footprint in the premium beer market. Heineken sells its premium lagers Heineken, Tiger and Sol in China, along with cheaper local brands Anchor and Hainan Beer. Beer consumption in China has declined since 2013 due to changing consumer tastes for alternatives like wine, but the premium beer category has grown by double digits annually since at least 2012, according to Euromonitor data. Growing demand for high-end beers from cosmopolitan Chinese consumers, who increasingly want more tailored and individual products, could help global brewing giants unlock higher profits in the world's largest beer market. As part of the deal, Heineken's existing China operations will be combined with those of CR Beer - maker of the best-selling Snow beer brand - and the Dutch brewer will license its Heineken brand in China, Hong Kong and Macau to CR Beer. Heineken entered China in 1983 but has struggled to set up a strong distribution network and to make a mark with its flagship Heineken lager, which lags far behind AB InBev's Budweiser in the premium market, analysts say. CR Beer's deal with Heineken follows its takeover in 2016 of SABMiller's 49 percent stake in its CR Snow venture for $1.6 billion. That acquisition helped the Chinese brewer turn around its business. Answer: Donald Trump. US President Donald Trump attracted a slew of accusations suggesting that he is out of touch with voters after he wrongly claimed that Americans need IDs to purchase groceries, during a rally in Florida on Tuesday. "You know, if you go out and you want to buy groceries, you need a picture on a card, you need ID," said Trump at a rally in Florida. Contrary to what he said, photo IDs are not required at US supermarkets unless you are purchasing alcohol or in some cases, for credit card purchases. Trump's blatant mistake caused a public outrage as critics started pointing out that the billionaire President is out of touch with the lives of ordinary people. In a freewheeling speech, Trump argued for a more stringent voting system which would not only mandate photo IDs for voters but also bar non-US citizens from voting in the Presidential elections. "In this country, the only time you don't need it (photo IDs) is when you want to vote for a President, a senator, a governor or a congressman. It's crazy. But we're turning it around," he said during the rally on Tuesday night. Only American citizens should vote in American elections, which is why the time has come for voter ID, like everything else, he added. Where on earth does @realDonaldTrump buy groceries?! (Just kidding, we all know he doesnt buy groceries) https://t.co/EPykNmxWmv August 1, 2018 Shortly after, his critics took to Twitter with some pointing out his billionaire privileges, while others took digs at his discontinued meat brand. Wow, never been shopping I guess, unless he is now planning extreme grocery vetting kathy gori (@kathygori) August 1, 2018 Less than two months after a landmark U.S.-North Korea summit in Singapore, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo flew back to the city state on Friday and said North Korea's continued work on weapons programmes was inconsistent with its leader's commitment to denuclearise. Pompeo was asked en route to Singapore about his statement in the U.S. Senate last month that North Korea was continuing to make bomb fuel and reports that North Korea, led by Kim Jong Un, was building new missiles. "Chairman Kim made a commitment to denuclearise," Pompeo told reporters. "The world demanded that they (North Korea) do so in the U.N. Security Council resolutions. To the extent they are behaving in a manner inconsistent with that, they are a) in violation of one or both the U.N. Security Council resolutions and b) we can see we still have a ways to go to achieve the ultimate outcome we're looking for." Pompeo thanked ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) at a meeting in Singapore for their efforts in strictly enforcing sanctions on North Korea. In a landmark summit with U.S. President Donald Trump in Singapore on June 12, Kim, who is seeking relief from tough sanctions, committed in a broad statement to work towards denuclearisation, but Pyongyang has offered no details as to how it might go about this. Pompeo told a Senate committee hearing on July 25 that North Korea was continuing to produce fuel for nuclear bombs in spite of its pledge. On Monday, a senior U.S. official said U.S. spy satellites had detected renewed activity at the North Korean factory that produced the country's first intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of reaching the United States. The Washington Post reported on Monday that North Korea appeared to be building one or two new liquid-fuelled intercontinental ballistic missiles at the research facility, citing unidentified officials familiar with intelligence reporting. North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho is also in Singapore and will attend the same regional meeting as Pompeo on Saturday, but the State Department has not said whether the two will meet. Pompeo, who has led the U.S. negotiating effort with North Korea, visited Pyongyang from July 5-7 for inclusive talks aimed at agreeing a denuclearisation roadmap. Pompeo said at the time he had made progress on key issues, only for North Korea to accuse his delegation hours later of making "gangster-like" demands. Trump hailed the Singapore summit as a success and even went as far as saying that North Korea no longer posed a nuclear threat, but questions have been mounting about Pyongyang's willingness to give up its weapons programmes. Trump has pointed to North Korea's freeze on nuclear and missile tests and its agreement to return remains of Americans killed in the 1950-53 Korea War. The White House said on Thursday that Trump had received a letter from Kim and had responded with a note that should be delivered shortly. But it said no second meeting was currently planned. Telugu Desam Party (TDP) MPs stage a protest demanding special status for the state of Andhra Pradesh, during the Monsoon session of Parliament, in New Delhi. (Image: PTI) Members of the military gesture to the photographer as they patrol the streets of the capital Harare, Zimbabwe. (Image: Reuters) An elderly couple being carried by the 'Kanwariyas' for pilgrimage during the holy month of Shravan, in Ghaziabad on Friday. (Image: PTI) President Donald Trump boards Air Force One in Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland, en route to a rally at Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza in Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania. (Image: PTI/AP) China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi, right, and Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif part after posing for handshake in a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the 51st ASEAN Foreign Ministers Meeting in Singapore, Friday. (Image: PTI/AP) Aerial view of containers at a loading terminal in the port of Hamburg, Germany. (Image: Reuters) Army daredevils perform stunts as part of rehearsals for the upcoming Independence Day functions, in Jabalpur on Friday. (Image: PTI) Israeli police scuffle with an ultra-Orthodox Jewish man as he takes part in a protest against the detention of a fellow community member who evaded a military draft order, in Jerusalem, Israel. (Image: Reuters) People cool off at the beach during the heat wave in the south-eastern coastal town of Benidorm, Spain. (Image: Reuters) Tesla Inc said on Wednesday that it would raise capital from Asian debt markets to fund the construction of its third "Gigafactory," which will be located in Shanghai and cost an approximate $2 billion. In the electric vehicle maker's second-quarter earnings statement, published after the market close, Chief Executive Elon Musk said that he expected much of the car assembly plant to be "funded through local debt." On the conference call following the earnings release he said: "For China I think our default plan will be to use essentially a loan from local banks in China and fund the (Gigafactory) in Shanghai with local debt." The carmaker said in July that it had agreed with the Chinese government to manufacture vehicles in Shanghai, the first of its so-called Gigafactories to be built outside of the United States. The capital expenditure cost of Gigafactory 3 is estimated to be $2 billion, Musk said on the conference call. Tesla will need to raise debt because manufacturing challenges have left the company with a shortage of cash. Analysts said they believed Musk is turning to Asian markets because it is unlikely he would have been able to secure the sort of favourable terms from U.S. bond investors he did for his $1.8 billion junk bond, issued in 2017 with a 5.3 percent coupon. "Given the Chinese new energy vehicle laws in place, I would expect the terms of the debt to promote an electric vehicle factory and battery factory to be more accommodating than the U.S. markets right now," said Jeffrey Osborne, managing director, sustainable energy and industrial technology at Cowen Inc. Tesla has been burning cash as manufacturing problems have been thwarting its ability to meet production targets for its Model 3 sedan. The company on Wednesday said it would build up to 55,000 Model 3s in the current quarter at a positive gross margin, buoying hopes that it may meet its goal of profitability and positive cash flow in 2018. Tesla ended the second quarter with $2.78 billion in cash after spending $610 million in capital expenses, while its negative free cash flow narrowed. Vehicles produced at Gigafactory 3 would enable Tesla to meet Chinese demand, said Musk in a letter to investors on Wednesday. The first cars are expected to roll off the production line in about three years, with construction beginning in the "next few quarters." Initial investment will not start in any significant way until 2019, he added. Alec Lucas: Investors looking for equity funds with resilient portfolios have two great options in Gold-rated American Funds American Mutual and Gold-rated American Funds Washington Mutual. Both have competitive fees and veteran managers who are skilled at using American Funds signature multimanager system, which divides each fund's asset base into separately managed sleeves of the overall portfolio. Other than high portfolio turnover, which is frowned upon, managers can run their sleeves in line with their own investment styles. Those styles, though, must adhere to each fund's mandate. Here, too, there are lots of similarities. Both funds have risk-averse mandates dating to the 1950s that also preclude investment in companies deriving most of their revenue from alcohol or tobacco products. Both funds focus on domestic, blue chip, dividend-paying firms, capping investment in nondividend payers at 5% of assets. Alex Lucas: Investors who have become accustomed to large-cap value stocks on average trailing their growth counterparts over the past decade would do well to recall that these stocks dominated the early 2000s and could well come back into favor again. The large-value Morningstar Category currently has 333 actively managed, U.S. open-end mutual funds. Only six receive a Morningstar Analyst Rating of Gold, and all six are open to new investors. These six funds are American Funds Washington Mutual, American Funds American Mutual, Dodge & Cox Stock, MFS Value, Diamond Hill Large Cap, and AMG Yacktman. These six funds share certain attributes that support their Gold rating. Each has veteran management and has at least one manager who invests more than $1 million alongside shareholders. Five of the six face lower fee hurdles than similarly distributed peers. AMG Yacktman is an outlier in this respect. Its $100,000 minimum investment level places it in the competitive large-cap institutional peer fee group, and as result its 0.71% expense ratio ranks as average. Millennials preference is for conforming loans (69% in June vs 68% in May). FHAs took a 27% share, down from 28% a month earlier but well above the 20% for borrowers of all ages. "As it remains a competitive, purchase-centric market, we will continue to keep a close eye on the purchase trends amongst Millennials," said Joe Tyrrell, Ellie Mae's executive vice president of corporate strategy. "This new generation of homebuyers wants the capability of an on-demand mortgage, and we are working to provide borrowers a convenient and secure digital mortgage offering that makes the homebuying process a seamless experience." Credit scores ticked higher Average FICO scores for Millennial borrowers across all loan types were up slightly from 721 in the March-May period to 723 in June. For purchases, the average FICO score was 746 for a conventional loan, 681 for an FHA loan and 744 for a VA loan. In June, the hottest housing markets for Millennials were primarily in the Midwest. The top markets by percentage of Millennial loans closed included Clarksburg, W.Va. (65%), Watertown, S.D. (65%), Boone, Iowa (64%), and Dickinson, N.D. (61%). China is proposing a 25 percent tariff on imports of U.S. liquefied natural gas as part of an escalating trade war, a move that could hinder an emerging industry that is attracting billions of dollars in investment to the the Gulf Coast. The retaliatory measure, first reported by Bloomberg, was proposed in response to the Trump Administration's recent threat to further increase tariffs on Chinese imports. Its the first time LNG has been ensnared in the trade war, and comes as Russia plans to begin pumping gas to China through its newly-built 2,500-mile (4,000 kilometer) Power of Siberia pipeline by the end of 2019. RELATED: Near record gas demand on U.S. power grid Billions of U.S. dollars may hang in the balance as Houston companies Cheniere and Tellurian Inc., as well as other developers, court utilities and state-backed companies in China to justify construction of more terminals to ship the super-chilled form of natural gas. At least in the short term any Chinese buyer looking for long term supply would have to drag their feet on signing a U.S. contract, Jason Feer, head of business intelligence at Poten & Partners Inc. in Houston, said by telephone. Cheniere, which became the first U.S. company to export LNG in 2016, earlier this year struck deals with state-owned China National Petroleum Corp. to ship 1.2 million tons of LNG a year under contracts that extend through 2043. China accounted for 13 percent of the exports from Cheniere's Sabine Pass terminal in Louisiana as of mid-June, based on ship-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg. The company's stock dropped as much as 7.7 percent after the report, the biggest one-day percentage decline since 2016, but recovered by mid-day, when it was down about 2 percent. Cheniere didn't immediately respond to requests seeking comment. The company recently gave the green light to expand its Texas export terminal thanks in part to the contract it signed earlier this year with China National Petroleum Corp., according to a company statement. Giles Farrer, research director for global gas and LNG supply for research firm Wood Mackenzie, said Chinese buyers are still signed up for U.S. LNG sales and purchase agreements that have yet to start. But he cautioned that such tariffs could render U.S. LNG "the marginal supply source into China" and restrict the market for developers seeking long-term contracts as they build new projects along the Gulf Coast and elsewhere. "Long-term market consequences are likely to be felt on new supply developments," he said. He noted that in 12 months prior to June, 42 LNG cargoes were exported to China from Cheniere's Sabine Pass terminal. China, during that period, was the second biggest export market for U.S. LNG after South Korea. Tellurian said earlier this year that more than 20 companies has expressed interest in investing in its proposed export terminal near Lake Charles, LA. Construction is expected to begin next year. In a statement, Tellurian chairman Charif Souki said he expects the proposed tariffs would not affect trade, but rather make natural gas more expensive for Chinese buyers. "American gas doesn't come with a 'Made in America' label on the molecules," he said. "I'm not sure how a tariff on a commodity works but we are watching in fascination." Tellurian's stock was down nearly 4 percent around mid-day. Two other Houston companies, Freeport LNG and Kinder Morgan, are scheduled to begin exporting LNG next year. Several others companies, including Next Decade LNG of The Woodlands, are expected to launch exports in the coming years. NextDecade in June announced it had hired a senior vice president for LNG marketing for China and Southeast Asia. The company, which is now building an export terminal in Brownsville, earlier this year opened offices in Singapore and Beijing. SOLD: Enbridge selling Houston gas processing business for $1 billion China has recently emerged as the worlds biggest importer of natural gas, topping Japan, as it aggressively moves to reduce its reliance on smog-inducing coal. With Chinas traditional suppliers in Central Asia unable to keep up with demand during the recent winter, Cheniere moved to help fill the gap. Since 2016, when its Sabine Pass export terminal opened in Louisiana, Cheniere had shipped about 50 supertankers filled with the super-chilled fuel to China as of the end of June, with the majority of it moving after the cold weather kicked in. Warren Patterson, commodity strategist for ING Bank NV, said he was quite surprised to see LNG show up on Chinas list. Given the transition we are seeing in China, with a move away from coal towards natural gas, I would have thought that the government would have wanted to ensure adequate supply, Patterson said in an email. CONSOLIDATION: Energy Transfer consolidating its $25 billion MLP Gas exports overall to China jumped 17 percent last year to 92 billion cubic meters, and theyre poised to hit 200 billion by 2025, according to Massimo Di Odoardo, vice president of global gas and LNG at Wood Mackenzie Ltd. in London. Material from Bloomberg was used in this report. Some babies born at Midland Memorial Hospital go home with a blanket and clothes, courtesy of Nifty Knitters for Newborns. Organizer Patsy Stevens moved to Midland last year and approached MMH about starting a group similar to one she was involved with in the Dallas area. She said hospital officials were thrilled to have the groups involvement. Nifty Knitters for Newborns began as a group of women from the churches of Christ and has expanded to the Midland Senior Center, at the invitation of director Linda Griffin. Its just a really good fellowship, Stevens said. We talk, and we work on (the clothes and blankets) and we laugh. Its really great. Stevens leads three knitting groups: one meets at her home, another meets at North A Church of Christ, and the third is at the senior center. The women make blankets, hats, booties, bibs and hair bands with flowers on them. Nifty Knitters provides about 100 packets a month and spends about $150 on supplies. The packet includes onesies from Carters, which donated 72 last year. With more than 200 babies born a month at Midland Memorial, the group relies on donations, which are accepted through a GoFundMe account. I think that just helping each other is important, Griffin said. We all need help at some point in our lives. We want to offer this service, especially since having a baby is a difficult transition for a lot of women. And just getting them something nice and saying, We support you and we want this new period in your life to better. I think that is going to bring a smile to their face -- that they know that someone is thinking about them. Griffin said she is pleased the centers sewing room is being used and the seniors look forward to meeting there on Fridays. Stevens said the women now have another place to go and spend time with friends. More Information To donate to Nifty Knitters for Newborns, go to gofundme.com/nifty-knitters-for-newborns. For more information, contact Linda Griffin at 681-7636 or lgriffin@seniorlinkmidland.org . See More Collapse (Nifty Knitters is) important to the community, because they help other people. (The group is) important to the women who are doing it, because it gives them purpose, Stevens said. I have had women come up to me with tears in their eyes and say, I am so glad you got me involved in this. It gives me a purpose. In Cerro Gordo, a town nestled in the Inyo Mountains of California, near Death Valley, there is a single saloon with swinging doors, two out-of-tune pianos and a mysterious bloodstain on the wall beneath three bullet holes. It is one of Brent Underwoods favorite places in the ghost town, and now that he owns it, he plans on sharing it with the world. (He is still trying to learn the story behind the bloodstain.) Friday, Underwood and his friend Jon Bier became the latest owners of Cerro Gordo, which translates to fat hill, after buying it for $1.4 million. They plan to restore the town while preserving its past, Underwood said, adding that they hope to attract a variety of visitors. He said they expected to spend about $1 million to get things started. Jake Rasmuson of Bishop Real Estate said that he received hundreds of inquiries after the sale was announced in early June. Twelve of the offers were serious, he said, noting that the original asking price was $925,000. RELATED: West Texas ghost town for sale for $1.75 million The previous owners of Cerro Gordo, who prefer to remain anonymous, are brothers who had inherited the town from their family, Rasmuson said. They felt it was the right time in their lives to sell the town, but they wanted to preserve its long history, he said. They felt that the offer from Underwood and Bier, while not the highest bid, aligned with their hope, Rasmuson said. The sellers really liked their vision, he said, adding that they closed the sale on Friday the 13th in true ghost town fashion. The town, which is about 200 miles north of Los Angeles, is just over 300 acres. It is known for its part in Wild West history and used to average about a murder a week during the 1870s, the height of the mining era, Rasmuson said. The property includes houses, an eight-bed bunkhouse, a church that also serves as a small theater, a general store and a museum. As with any credible ghost town, there have also been reported ghost sightings, he said. Underwood, 31, heard about the sale from a friend. As founder of HK Austin, a hostel located in Austin, Texas, he had been looking for other opportunities for a place that could combine his passions of hospitality and history. He researched the town and read books about its history. About three weeks ago, he flew out to meet with the owners and Rasmuson. He toured the town and met its current caretaker, Robert Desmarais, who will continue to live there as they restore buildings. In 1865 a man named Pablo Flores discovered silver at the site, near where Mexicans had been searching for precious metals, and he began mining operations there, according to the towns website. By 1869, the town became the largest producer of silver and lead in the state, until falling prices and setbacks ended most of the activity. RELATED: 21 terrifying photos of abandoned homes in Texas It was revived once more in the early 1900s, when high-grade zinc was excavated, and Cerro Gordo became the largest U.S. producer of zinc carbonates, according to the site. But by 1920, only about 10 men were employed by a Cerro Gordo mining company. By the 1950s, the town was largely abandoned. In the mid-2000s, the owner at the time tried to restore parts of the town with the help of volunteers. He also catered to large parties in the American Hotel, a two-story building attached to the saloon. Desmarais is currently the only resident in town, but Underwood said his plan is to soon make it comfortable enough for more groups to stay. He said that Desmarais had recently installed a water pump in the bunkhouse, which will be the first building restored. Some of the plans include creating a music studio within the bunkhouse for musicians and building an observation deck in the town, Underwood said. On the night they closed the deal, he said, he saw shooting stars in the clear skies. Underwood, who lives in Austin, plans on moving to Cerro Gordo in August, managing his hostel from afar as he and Bier restore the town. The first year will likely be a labor of love, he said. We might get quite a bit more done because theres not too many distractions when youre up miles away from anybody else, he said. From a balcony in the hotel, Underwood said, Mount Whitney is visible. On the other side of town, Death Valley National Park is within view. The saloon, with its wood stove and antique bottles, is an experience unique to the town, Underwood said. He said he hoped to attract both individual travelers and groups on retreats. You very much feel like youre back in time, he said. This article originally appeared in The New York Times. Erlanger Senior Director of Patient Access Misty Brackett, FACHE achieved becoming a fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives, a professional society for healthcare leaders.My commitment to the healthcare field has led me to become an ACHE Fellow, stated Ms. Brackett. In the constantly changing, fast-paced evolution of healthcare, I must ensure I can provide effective management skills, continued learning and my upmost commitment to ethics. As a FACHE, I am excited about the future opportunities to put my skills to use and help advance Erlanger in our commitment to compassionately care for people.By becoming an ACHE fellow and earning the distinction of board certification from ACHE, healthcare leaders demonstrate a commitment to excellence in serving their patients and the community, says Deborah J.Bowen, FACHE, CAE, president and CEO of ACHE."Fellow status represents achievement of the highest standard of professional development. To obtain fellow status, candidates must fulfill multiple requirements, including meeting academic and experiential criteria, earning continuing education credits, demonstrating professional/community involvement and passing a comprehensive examination. Fellows are also committed to ongoing professional development and undergo recertification every three years," officials said.Misty had made a personal commitment to lifelong learning and upholding the highest level of professional ethics, said Kevin M. Spiegel, FACHE, Erlanger president and CEO. She joins 14 other Erlanger leaders who have achieved board certification as healthcare executives and are now fellows in the American College of Healthcare Executives. (ANSA) - Naples, August 3 - A Senegalese street trader was shot in the leg by two strangers in Naples overnight, sources said Friday. The 22-year-old victim has a regular residence permit. The shooting took place in the Vasto quarter of Naples, near the central train station. WINCHESTER Learning a culture and sharing a culture are foremost in the mind of Kristen Russell of Alsey this month. Russell and her daughter, Kylie French, are hosting Kana Udea, a 14-year-old exchange student from Hyogo, Japan, from July 24 to Aug. 20. It helps our family better communicate with different language barriers, Russell said. Despite the fact that Kana has limited English language skills, we have still been able to explain what she needed to do for her county fair projects. Udea showed rabbits and chickens at this weeks Scott County Junior and 4-H Fair in Winchester. Using a translating device, Udea said she enjoyed showing the animals. Russell and her daughter, Kylie, will spend some of the next three weeks showing Udea some of the regions historic places, including Mark Twain sites in Hannibal, Missouri; the Gateway Arch in St. Louis; and Abraham Lincoln sites and the Illinois State Fair in Springfield. Our students expectations are that they become a part of our family and do the types of things we would normally be doing in the summer, Russell said. Russell, a local coordinator for the States 4-H Exchange Program, has hosted two female Japanese students the past two summers. After our first year of hosting in 2016, I wanted to be able to help bring the States 4-H Exchange Program to this area, she said. As a local coordinator, Russell finds families who are willing to host a foreign exchange student and helps the families complete the application process. Its a wonderful opportunity to be able to have someone from another country in your home, she said. We still keep in contact with our other two exchange students, so I feel like I have two other daughters in Japan. Greg Olson can be reached at 217-245-6121, ext. 1224, or on Twitter @JCNews_Greg. BLUFFS Scott County could be home to an ethanol plant within several years. Village board member Rita Brockway said she attended a meeting in which the possible plant was discussed. She said the discussion was positive and the operation could be built in Bluffs by 2020. Hennepin-based Marquis Energy LLC has been exploring the idea and only has to finalize permits to begin a two-phase process of building a plant, Brockway said. Phase 1 would require an estimated 300 construction jobs and the company would hire about 95 employees locally, she said. Mayor Linda Sapp said she contacted the mayor of Hennepin and said the information provided about how the plant affected the community was largely positive. Marquis Energy began in 2008 as an ethanol facility producing 100 million gallons a year and by 2015 was the largest dry-mill ethanol facility in the United States, according to the companys website. It has a production capacity of about 1 million gallons of fuel-grade ethanol a day. In addition to the Hennepin site, Marquis Energy has a facility in Necedah, Wisconsin. In other business, the village board approved fining those who break the nuisance ordinances. Sapp said the fines will give the village leverage and more to work with instead of placing a lien on property. The village will have a curbside pickup Monday of unwanted items. Tires, electronics and paint will not be accepted. The Bluffs picnic will be Aug. 18. The theme of the picnic is the Illinois bicentennial. Adam Withee, representing the firm Zumbahlen and Associates, gave board members an audit report. He told the board the general fund is in the positive but the sewer fund is of concern. TUNIS - Tunisia's anti-terrorism forces have arrested ''two terrorists in contact with another jihadist of Tunisian nationality residing in Germany, already arrested by German authorities with the charge of planning a terrorist attack'', the Tunisian interior ministry said in a statement. The ministry added that the first suspect arrested ''had unsuccessfully tried to join terror groups in Syria but he had nevertheless maintained contacts with the jihadist in Germany with whom he was planning to carry out simultaneous terror attacks with homemade bombs built in Tunisia and Germany''. The second suspect detained ''had pledged to create a fake passport for the terrorist residing in Germany to help him flee the European country after carrying out the attack'', the statement also said. Anti-terrorism prosecutors in Tunis have issued an arrest warrant against him for ''belonging to a terror organization''. RABAT - Flying to Morocco has never been so expensive or risky during the Festival of Sacrifice. A strike by pilots with national carrier Royal Air Maroc has led to the cancellation of more than 100 flights over the past two weeks, leaving more than 20,000 passengers grounded, mostly in France, Spain and Italy. Since July 18, when RAM pilots started striking, losses have been estimated at 20 million Dirham a day, or over 1.8 million euros. Low-cost companies are taking advantage of the situation: a one-way ticket from any Italian airport to Marrakech today costs more than 300 euros to go back to normal prices (120 euros) only after August 20, when the festival ends, while the average cost during the year is 40 euros. Local press reports said the situation is out of control. RAM pilots are asking for a salary increase of 15,000 Dirhams (about 1,400 euros); the CEO of the company Abdelhamid Abdou has tried to calm down the protest, organizing at the end of July a meeting with the union. But it was useless, as the pilots' association said there would be no discussion without a raise: ''We were flexible for years and we did not talk but the situation has become unbearable now''. The summer month that is traditionally the most profitable and crowded is at risk with tourists and Moroccans living abroad who usually join their family to celebrate the most important festival of Islam. Pilots, who are under stress due to long working hours and because they say they are understaffed, connect the crisis to the closure in 2014 of the RAM training center. The company since then has been forced to recruit pilots abroad at a much higher cost. The only response given by RAM was a competition launched on August 2 for 16 new pilots. The selection is scheduled in September. Ferguson Fire propgression map 8-3-18 View Photos This is Day 22 of the Ferguson Fire, more updates are here. Update at 6:40 p.m.: The Ferguson Fire burning in Mariposa County has jumped by 3,647 acres to a total of 77,207 and remains 41-percent contained this evening. The Mariposa Sheriffs Office has just issued a mandatory evacuation order for several areas along the Highway 140 corridor. They include: Cedar Lodge El Portal Trailer Court Incline Road (from Foresta Bridge to Clearing House) Rancheria Flat Government Housing Savages Trading Post Sheriffs officials require that residents use Highway 140 to Mariposa to leave the area. A Red Cross Shelter remains at the New Life Christian Fellowship located at 5089 Cole Road in Mariposa. Residents needing assistance with large animal evacuation should call the Mariposa County Sheriffs Office at 209-966-3615. Update at 11:45am: Park employees are being escorted out of Yosemite Valley, and it is related to the smoke, and not increased fire danger. Ferguson Fire spokesperson Jim Mackensen says, The park has decided to do a mandatory evacuation of all their personnel, other than essential personnel, due to the smoke impacts. They had a power failure. They have air-scubbers in all of their buildings for their employees, and since they lost power, they no longer have those. In an abundance of caution, and for the health and safety of all their employees, they are having them all leave. Mackensen emphasized, This evacuation is not due to the fire encroaching on the valley by any means. It is unclear how long Yosemite Valley will be evacuated, or what led to the power failure. Park employees are being escorted out via the Wawona exit. Original story posted at 7:30am: Mariposa County, CA The Ferguson Fire grew by 4,120 acres overnight and it is 41-percent contained. The latest size estimate is 73,560 acres. Despite the growth, crews are making good progress. On the north end of the fire, crews successfully conducted tactical firing operations toward the spot fire off Highway 120 north of the Merced Grove of Giant Sequoias. They also fired westward along Pilot Ridge toward the 13 Road to strengthen containment lines. Big Oak Flat Road in Yosemite remains closed from the Highway 120/Big Oak Flat entrance into the park to Crane Flat. East of the fire, crews connected a containment line to Wawona Road (Highway 41). They will now progress north along Wawona Road as part of a larger strategy to contain the fire spreading southeast between El Portal and Yosemite West. This morning at 6am a new incident command team took over operations, the California Interagency Management Team 3, led by IC Mark von Tillow. Areas of Yosemite National Park, like Yosemite Valley, Wawona Road and Hetch Hetchy will remain closed through the coming weekend. There are 2,845 firefighters assigned to the incident, 136 engines, 50 water tenders, 14 helicopters, 66 crews and 38 dozers. Click here to view a Ferguson Fire timeline. Sonora, CA Members of the local Lions Club will be at the Sonora Plaza Shopping Center on Mono Way this afternoon accepting donations to help victims of California wildfires. It will notably help those displaced by the Carr Fire near Redding that has burned over 138,000 acres and destroyed over 1,000 homes. Sonora Lions Club member Jim Gormely reports that the local branch is teaming up with other Lions Clubs across the region to collect needed items. They will be accepting items in the Sonora Plaza Shopping Center parking lot today, Friday, from noon-6pm. Click here to view a list of items organizers are hoping to collect. ISTANBUL - Turkish authorities will transfer 34,180 Syrian refugees from five camps in the south-eastern provinces of Gaziantep, Adiyaman and Mardin, to other structures that are closer to the border with Syria. The decision was announced by the migration office of Ankara to camp managers who will have to complete in the coming weeks the reallocation of refugees to the border provinces of Hatay, Kilis and Sanliurfa. The initiative is part of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's stated intention during the electoral campaign to ''make Syria safe, starting from areas close to the border, and facilitate the return home of all our guests'' from Syria. After 12 years in and out of court and juvenile facilities, a Laredo man has been indicted in the bloody slayings of two men and a boy that shocked Laredo in 1991. A Webb County grand jury indicted Miguel Angel Venegas Jr., 28, of Laredo on three counts of murder and one of theft in the Jan. 18, 1991, slayings. Venegas was 16 when he allegedly used a knife and an ax to kill James Smiley, a 33-year-old restaurant manager and Baptist youth counselor, and Ruben Martinez, 22, and Daniel Duenez, 14, two residents of Nuevo Laredo, Mexico. The indictment also alleges he stole Smiley's car. Venegas has been in some form of confinement since the slaying, except for two years after he escaped from a juvenile detention center at gunpoint in December 1993. He was recaptured in 1995 in Monterrey, Mexico, and imprisoned on his escape conviction until his recent move to the Webb County jail pending the murder case. Four times, prosecutors had persuaded state district judges to certify Venegas to stand trial as an adult, but a state appeals court struck down the first three certifications. Last year, the 4th Texas Court of Appeals in San Antonio affirmed a lower court's certification. A hearing on Venegas' case is set for March 5 before visiting state district Judge Fred Shannon. A co-defendant in the case, Miguel Martinez, 29, was convicted in 1992 of participating in the murders. He was 17 when he became the youngest person to be sent to Texas' death row, drawing international attention. A federal judge struck down the sentence, ruling that prosecutors presented insufficient evidence that he posed a continuing danger to society. The state commuted Martinez's sentence to life imprisonment in February 2002 _ on the condition that he testify against Venegas. A third teenager, Manual "Milo" Flores, son of state District Judge Manuel Flores, admitted supplying weapons and driving Venegas and Miguel Martinez to Smiley's neighborhood, but he was not charged. Reagor Dykes Auto Group filed for bankruptcy in Lubbock federal court Wednesday, a day after Ford Motor Credit Co. filed a lawsuit accusing the dealership of defaulting on over $40 million in vehicles. Reagor Dykes Auto Company, Motors, Imports, Amarillo, Plainview and Floydada filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy. Chapter 11 bankruptcy allows an individual or corporation to reorganize and restructure debt. The same locations were listed in the Ford lawsuit as being in default. In a statement, owners Bart Reagor and Rick Dykes said: "The Reagor Dykes Auto Group regrets that it became necessary this morning to seek legal protection for several of its dealerships due to a dispute with one of its lenders. We are doing everything in our power to work through the issues. We are eternally grateful for our loyal employees, customers and friends in Lubbock and the West Texas community." On Tuesday, Ford Motor Credit Co. filed a complaint and application for writ of sequestration against Reagor Dykes Auto Company, citing breach of agreements among other claims, according to the document filed in federal court. A hearing is set in federal court on Aug. 8. The court document states that during a June 2018 of inventory of the Reagor-Dykes Dealership, an initial analysis found that 147 of 150 vehicles sold by the dealerships were sold, on average, 55 days before the date upon which the dealerships paid them off. "As a result," reads the complaint, "the dealerships were able to delay making payments to Ford Credit for extended periods of time, well beyond the seven processing days permitted under their agreements with Ford Credit." The document also alleges the dealerships sold vehicles out of trust, having sold vehicles that were subject to Ford Credit's security interests without remitting proceeds of those sales to Ford Credit, reads the court document. The court document states a total amount of over $116 million is currently owed to Ford Credit. Amounts currently due are estimated to exceed $40 million. The auto group attempted to pay over $41 million, but the payment did not process for insufficient funds or because the auto group stopped the payment, according to the documents. Ford Motor Company awarded Reagor Dykes Ford in Lamesa and Plainview the President's Award in mid-July. The awards are given for customer service, satisfaction and overall experience. Bart Reagor founded Reagor Auto mall in downtown Lubbock in 2003. Partner Rick Dykes joined in 2006, according to their company website. Tunisia: 2 suspected jihadists arrested for planning attacks (ANSAmed) - TUNIS, AUGUST 3 - Tunisia's anti-terrorism forces have arrested ''two terrorists in contact with another jihadist of Tunisian nationality residing in Germany, already arrested by German authorities with the charge of planning a terrorist attack'', the Tunisian interior ministry said in a statement. The ministry added that the first suspect arrested ''had unsuccessfully tried to join terror groups in Syria but he had nevertheless maintained contacts with the jihadist in Germany with whom he was planning to carry out simultaneous terror attacks with homemade bombs built in Tunisia and Germany''. The second suspect detained ''had pledged to create a fake passport for the terrorist residing in Germany to help him flee the European country after carrying out the attack'', the statement also said. Anti-terrorism prosecutors in Tunis have issued an arrest warrant against him for ''belonging to a terror organization''. (ANSAmed). TEL AVIV - The Israeli army announced on Friday that it was closing a field hospital set up last year in the Golan heights in an Israeli enclave near the border to help Syrians in the area. A military spokesman said that it had been a humanitarian operation conducted alongside a US organization. ''Every day,'' the spokesman said, ''the Mazor Ladach clinic provided medical assistance to Syrian inhabitants of the area.'' A total of 6,800 people were treated at the hospital over the course of the year. However, after the advance of Syrian regime forces in the area, the Israeli army deemed it necessary to close the facilities and evacuate those running it. The Trump administration dropped a two-year-old accounting probe into Exxon Mobil Corp.'s valuation of its reserves and public disclosures about climate change, while inquiries by two Democratic-led states continue. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission sent a letter Thursday to Exxon saying investigators concluded they wouldn't recommend an enforcement action, the company said Friday. The probe started in 2016, during former President Barack Obama's administration. Exxon was alerted to the SEC's decision the same day the administration announced plans to roll back vehicle emission standards that were a signature environmental achievement of Obama. Democratic state attorneys general, led by California, promised a separate legal challenge. "As we have said all along, the SEC is the appropriate entity to examine issues related to impairment, reserves and other communications important to investors," Exxon spokesman Scott Silvestri said in an email. "We are confident our financial reporting meets all legal and accounting requirements." Other Investigations New York Attorney General Barbara Underwood and her counterpart in Massachusetts, Maura Healey, are still investigating whether Exxon's public statements about climate change misled investors. The company in March lost a lawsuit to block to probes, which it has called politically motivated. "Our investigation remains ongoing," Amy Spitalnick, Underwood's communication director, said in a statement. "We're gratified that multiple courts have now rejected Exxon's arguments regarding our investigation -- fully dismissing Exxon's lawsuit against our office, and ordering Exxon and its accounting firm to produce the documents we subpoenaed." The SEC letter to Exxon included a standard disclaimer that the decision shouldn't be seen as an exoneration and the probe could be reopened later, according to a person familiar with the matter. The probe was led by the agency's Fort Worth, Texas, office, while the decision to close the investigation was made at the SEC's headquarters in Washington, according to the person. SEC spokesman Ryan White declined to comment. The inquiries stem from larger questions about whether Exxon has for decades failed to alert investors about potential climate-change risks for a company with annual sales that could rival the world's top 50 national economies. "The Trump administration is full of gifts for the fossil fuel industry -- first an end to fuel-efficient cars and a day later a free pass on its funky climate accounting," said Bill McKibben, co-founder the environmental group 350.org, a regular critic of Exxon. A federal judge Friday refused to dismiss charges against ex-lawmaker Carlos Urestis co-defendant in a bribery and money laundering case set for trial in October. Lawyers for Lubbock businessman Vernon C. Farthing III in February had filed filed a motion to dismiss the governments case on various grounds, including that the conspiracy to commit bribery charge is barred by the statute of limitations. FRANKFURT, Germany Higher prices. Disrupted supply chains. Wavering exports. Those are some of the ways that some of Europes biggest companies have been affected by President Donald Trumps trade war, offering a preview of how tensions in global commerce could begin to ripple through the European economy. As companies like BMW, Siemens and Volkswagen reported otherwise solid earnings this week, they warned that Trumps aggressive stance on trade presented them with a host of new risks, which already could be acting as a drag on growth. The presidents tariffs have not just raised the costs of materials such as steel, they also have diverted trade worldwide and warped the complex global supply systems that businesses rely on. In Europe, there are signs of strain, which along with risks ranging from Britains withdrawal from the European Union to the excessive debt loads of Italy and Greece, are piling pressure on the regions economy. Beyond the direct effect of Trumps policies, surveys in both the United States and Europe show that businesses are nervous about the fragile detente reached in late July between Trump and the region he had referred to only a few weeks earlier as a foe. When managers are afraid, they might cancel or delay investments in new equipment or expansion, hurting companies like Siemens, the German industrial goods giant whose products include technology to operate factories or manage buildings. Joe Kaeser, the chief executive of Siemens, acknowledged a risk that all the noise will scare away the confidence of our customers. Investment is about trust, Kaeser said Thursday as Siemens reported a fall in quarterly profit that helped cause the companys shares to slump nearly 5 percent. It was, he added, about predictability. Even though the White House declared a truce with Brussels last week, U.S. tariffs on European steel and aluminum imports remain in effect. The Continent is also caught in the crossfire of a worsening trade dispute between the United States and China. European companies could suffer collateral damage in that battle BMW has already raised prices of SUVs exported to China from its factory in Spartanburg, South Carolina. The German automaker is passing on the added cost from tariffs that China imposed on U.S. products in retaliation for Trumps tariffs on Chinese goods. If the trade war continues, some companies may begin to move production to avoid paying the levies. BMW hinted as much Thursday, saying it could sidestep the tariffs by transferring some car production to China, though the company hasnt done so yet. BMW can react very quickly to changes in the market because of our flexible network, Harald Kruger, the chief executive of BMW, said during a conference call with reporters. Rival German carmaker Volkswagen, which reported a 7 percent increase in quarterly profit Wednesday, also warned that trade tensions could become a drag on sales and profit. Protectionist tendencies are escalating worldwide, Herbert Diess, the chief executive of Volkswagen, said at a news conference. This pessimism is affecting not just major companies, but the European economy broadly. The eurozone economy is slowing down, and evidence is growing that the trade war or anxiety about a trade war is one of the reasons. The currency bloc grew 0.3 percent in the second quarter of 2018, down from 0.4 percent in the first quarter, Eurostat, the European statistics agency, said Tuesday. Eurostat has not yet provided any underlying data to explain the loss of momentum. So far, the direct effects of Trumps steel and aluminum tariffs are limited, Johannes Bahrke, a spokesman for the European Commission, said Thursday. But, Bahrke said in a statement, trade protectionism is a serious downside risk for the global economic outlook. The tariffs that Trump imposed on European steel and aluminum dont amount to a lot of money, relatively speaking. They hit European exports worth about $8 billion annually, a substantial sum to be sure, but not enough to knock the economy off course. So far, corporate profits have not collapsed, but they are not growing very much either. BMW reported a 6 percent decline in quarterly profit Thursday, which it attributed mostly to increased spending on new technologies such as autonomous driving. Siemens said that profit from April through June fell 14 percent, in part because of a slowdown in the U.S. auto market. Gauges of the mood among European businesses, however, show a clear negative trend, one that could have an outsize impact on the regional economy. And if Europes economy suffers, so will the United States. Despite all the hostile rhetoric, the European Union and United States remain each others biggest trading partner. In the hard facts, hardly anything has changed, said Carsten Brzeski, chief economist for Germany and Austria at ING Bank. Rather, he said, trade tensions are a cloud of uncertainty hanging over Europe. For example, a survey published Thursday by the Ifo Institute, a Munich-based think tank, showed increasing gloominess among economists who work for European banks, companies, research institutes and government institutions. U.S. businesses are worried, too. A closely watched barometer of sentiment among U.S. managers dipped to a 12-month low Thursday. Concern about tariffs is an overwhelming concern, the Institute for Supply Management, which conducted the survey, said Thursday. There are other forces at work, as well, that are weighing on European growth, such as a stronger euro, which makes products manufactured in the eurozone more expensive in markets abroad. The damage from trade tensions would be much more substantial if Trump broke the cease-fire he reached in July with Jean-Claude Juncker, the president of the European Commission. The two leaders agreed to begin talks on an accord that would eliminate tariffs between the United States and the European Union. They also pledged not to take any measures against each other while the negotiations took place. That would seem at least to postpone moves by Trump to impose 20 percent tariffs on vehicles imported from Europe, which were worth $47 billion last year. But given Trumps history of making nice with foreign leaders one day then blasting them on Twitter the next, there is palpable nervousness about how long the truce will last. On Tuesday, representatives of Canada, Japan, South Korea and the European Union, all of which have large automobile industries, met in Geneva and discussed the Trump administrations effort to use national security as a justification to slap tariffs on imported vehicles. The meeting was a sign the auto-making nations continue to gird themselves for a resumption of hostilities, just in case. Even if Europe manages to stay relatively clear of any dispute over auto imports, its economy would be disrupted by escalating tensions between the United States and China. Carmakers and other manufacturers depend on complicated supply networks in which components often move across borders and continents multiple times. Both the United States and China are integral players in those networks. The global supply chains are deeply interconnected, Ralf P. Thomas, the chief financial officer of Siemens, said Thursday. Stable conditions are of utmost importance. For now, business leaders are hoping the cease-fire holds and negotiations between Brussels and the White House are successful. The trade situation is certainly volatile, Kruger, the chief executive of BMW, said Thursday. We hope that the talks continue in a constructive way. Levi Strauss, Yelp and Lyft are leading a coalition of 1,200 businesses and cities that are pledging not to discriminate against employees or customers based on race, sexual orientation, or other characteristics. Normally, making a promise to serve every customer might seem like a no-brainer. But the Open to All coalition is launching in a highly charged atmosphere, with florists refusing to provide flowers for gay weddings and stores turning away Muslim customers. On the same June weekend that White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders was asked to leave a Virginia restaurant because of her affiliation with President Donald Trump, a transgender woman was harassed by staff at a Washington restaurant for using the womens restroom. So it remains to be seen if the Open to All message on businesses Yelp pages or on stickers in their windows will calm frayed tempers or anger customers and businesses who might question its motives. Tia Agnew, co-founder and CEO of New Day Craft, an Indianapolis-based producer of mead and cider, is excited to put up her Open to All window sticker, which she says matches her personal and professional ethos. Shes not worried that it will be a turn-off to some potential patrons. All I can do is put our best foot forward and say, Hey, come on in and hang out, she said. But George Marinakos, the owner of The Exchange Saloon in Washington, isnt sold on the idea. His bar is near the White House, and he has served Sanders as well as members of the Obama administration. A chalkboard in front of the bar reads, Everyone welcome, but he thinks an Open to All sticker might raise questions. If he doesnt put it up, some people will wonder why; if he does, some people might not feel welcome because of what they interpret as a left-leaning message. Youre putting yourself in the position of being damned if you do or damned if you dont, he said. The Open to All coalition got its start late last year as the U.S. Supreme Court was preparing to consider the case of a Colorado baker who refused to bake a wedding cake for a gay couple because it violated his religious beliefs. The court ultimately ruled for the baker but didnt give businesses a blanket right to discriminate against gays. Calla Rongerude, Open to Alls campaign manager, said businesses were asking civil rights groups how to make it clear they would serve gays and other minorities. The cities of New York and Oakland, California, are also part of the coalition, as are 190 civil rights groups, organizations and faith groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union, the Interfaith Alliance, the Service Employees International Union and the NAACP. People have been really hungry to engage and let people know that theyre welcome, she said. Rongerude also says she doesnt think the campaign will face any backlash from conservatives. Having a business say, I am going to serve all of my customers on the same terms is inherently positive, she said. I think we want to get beyond the us versus them mentality. Everyone deserves to be treated with dignity and respect. Levi Strauss and Co. said it plans to display Open to All window stickers at nearly 200 U.S. stores and outlets. Yelp is adding a tab to its site so restaurants and other locations can note that they are Open to All. Owners will also have the option to leave that space blank or say the establishment is not open to all, said Luther Lowe, Yelps senior vice president of public policy. Yelp already bans speech on its site that attacks someone based on race, religion, sexual orientation and other traits. Up and down the company, these are issues that weve always leaned in on, Lowe said. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 outlaws discrimination in public places on the basis of race, color, religion, sex or national origin. But only 21 states and the District of Columbia ban discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. Rongerude said many businesses have gone further than the government. Uber, for example, includes sexual orientation, gender identity and marital status in its nondiscrimination policy. It dumped a Houston driver from its platform earlier this year after the driver made a gay couple get out of his car. Business really is in a unique place to lead right now, Rongerude said. But not every business contacted by Open to All plans to join the coalition. Target Corp., for example, said it wont join because it has a policy prohibiting third-party signs on its doors. Participants in the coalition risk turning off some customers. Mark McLean, a retired business owner and conservative blogger in Tennessee, says Open to All signs are divisive. He likens them to Gun-Free Establishment signs that infringe on gun owners rights. We cant govern how people think. Thats a dangerous slope to go down, McLean said. SHANGHAI For years, Starbucks was the undisputed king of coffee in China. It single-handedly created a market of coffee drinkers in a nation of tea lovers, cashing in on a wave of affluent Chinese who looked to Starbucks as an aspirational brand. The country quickly became the coffee chains second-largest market after the United States. But Starbucks dominance in China is increasingly under attack, as growth begins to slow and competitors aggressively target coffee drinkers. Starbucks executives have come under scrutiny for being slow to adapt to technological shifts and retail trends in the country, namely delivery. On Thursday, in a bid to revitalize its China operation, the company announced what it called a strategic new retail partnership with the Chinese tech giant Alibaba. The partnership will allow Starbucks to pilot delivery services next month with an Alibaba subsidiary, Ele.me, and establish what it called delivery kitchens in Alibabas Hema supermarkets. Starbucks will also integrate across Alibabas platforms to create a virtual Starbucks store so Chinese customers can have more personalized experiences, the two companies said. This is rocket fuel for our digital flywheel strategy in China, Kevin Johnson, chief executive of Starbucks, said Thursday at a news briefing in Shanghai. China is one of Starbucks most important markets, especially as the companys domestic one cools. It has raised prices to offset decreasing foot traffic into U.S. stores. And last week, Starbucks lowered its growth projections for the year. But the company has also recently seen sales in China drop. Same-store sales in the most recent quarter fell by 2 percent after increases in the previous two quarters. For Starbucks, analysts say the new retail is partly an attempt to fend off competition from Luckin Coffee, a Chinese startup. The company, which was started in Beijing in January with two stores, has since opened more than 800 branches in 13 cities around the country. Its co-founder, Guo Jinyi, has been vocal about the companys ambitions to surpass Starbucks. Starbucks has long been criticized as slow to adapt to digital trends in China; it came to mobile payments later than other brands and is starting delivery only now. At Starbucks, we feel that we need to earn our right to do delivery right, said Belinda Wong, chief executive of Starbucks China operation. Perhaps no phenomenon has created as much buzz for transforming the consumer experience in China than new retail. From Alibaba to JD.com, e-commerce companies are encouraging consumers to merge their offline and online shopping experiences by visiting brick-and-mortar stores but placing their orders online and finding out more information about their products through their smartphones. Jeffrey Towson, a private-equity investor and a professor of investment at Peking University who has been vocal about Starbucks failure to be nimble in adopting digital strategies, said Thursdays announcement could help Starbucks move beyond its traditional reliance on brick-and-mortar transactions. He added, This is really bad news for Luckin Coffee. Luckin is positioning itself as a mass-market alternative to Starbucks so it can win over customers willing to pay $3.50 for a latte 20 percent below what Starbucks charges. It offers customers discounts if they order more and is giving them half off food orders for the next five months. Customers can also choose whether they want to pick up their coffees at a store or have them delivered in 30 minutes. It is still too soon to say whether Luckin will succeed in a country rife with startups that burn through cash and go bankrupt overnight. And it can be hard to compete in the long run against the scale of a brand like Starbucks. Guo, Luckins co-founder, pointed out that Starbucks is not dominant in other countries like Canada, where there is Tim Hortons, and Britain, which is dominated by Costa Coffee. Each place has its own local brand, and these local brands are now the leaders, Guo said. I believe that in China, anything can happen in a place that is so conducive for innovation and entrepreneurship. In May, Luckin sued Starbucks, arguing that the U.S. chain had signed exclusive contracts with commercial property owners that barred other coffee shops from entering the space if a Starbucks was already there. Its not going to be easy to oust Starbucks, which has 3,400 stores in more than 140 cities in China and plans to nearly double that by 2022. Ben Cavender, senior analystof China Market Research, a consultancy based in Shanghai, estimates that Starbucks has a 70 percent share of the market, blazing past coffee chains like McDonalds McCafe and Costa Coffee. But the company must prove it can stay on the cutting edge. The challenge is that consumers are much pickier about the experience they get now; they have other good options that have standardized quality and potentially a more interesting environment, Cavender said. So Starbucks has to do a better job. Its not a clear win anymore. Johnson said that Starbucks began discussing partnering with Alibaba about a year ago. When asked about the competition posed by Luckin, Johnson said, I think certainly as people look at the market opportunity in China as it relates to coffee, we expect there will continue to be more competition. What Starbucks has going for it is a large following, especially in big cities like Beijing and Shanghai. On Tuesday, as the summer sun bore down on the trendy Sanlitun neighborhood of Beijing, customers lined up for coffees. Wang Qi, 25, who works in media, said she preferred Starbucks to Luckin because of the environment. You can sit down and have a proper cup of coffee, Wang said. Zhao Ting, who is also 25 and works in media, said, Everyone trusts this brand. But not everyone has remained loyal. Wang Shanshan, a 35-year-old who drinks coffee once or twice a week, said she had switched to Luckin because she thought its coffee tasted better than Starbucks. Plus, there are the discounts. They are giving one free if you buy two, five free if you buy five, Wang said. I think its pretty good. Earlier this summer, Chipotles new chief marketing officer outlined a lofty vision for the burrito-and-taco chain and the feelings it could one day evoke in consumers. Our ultimate marketing mission is to make Chipotle not just a food brand but a purpose-driven lifestyle brand, the executive, Christopher Brandt, said on an earnings call. By that, he added, he meant that Chipotle will become a brand that people want to know about, want to be a part of and want to wear as a badge. The same month, a release from Godiva noted the companys desire to be seen as a lifestyle brand by leveraging their culinary expertise to expand beyond chocolates. Pizza Hut, Blue Apron and IHOP have also described themselves as lifestyle brands. What does that even mean? Brands have long tried to persuade people that they represent something larger than the mere goods they sell. If you wanted to teach the world to sing in perfect harmony, as the 1971 jingle put it, you bought a Coke. More recently, the term lifestyle brand has attached itself to celebrity lines like Gwyneth Paltrows Goop and retailers like Ralph Lauren, which maintain a certain aesthetic across a range of products. Now, all kinds of companies are trying the strategy of using emotion and shared values to build relationships with consumers and to sell them more stuff. When you walk down the street with a Starbucks cup, it can be a badge for people, it says something about you, Brandt said in an interview. Thats when a brand transcends being a utility and becomes a more special, integral part of a consumers life. The ideal relationship between customer and brand, in this view, is almost personal. You kind of make an evolution from having fans of your brand to people being friends with the brand and inviting the brand in, wanting to see the brand do different things and talking to the brand in a different light, Brandt said. Not just I went to Chipotle. That said, trying to equate a fondness for burritos with something greater may cause more than a few eye rolls. When I hear people talk about lifestyle brands or societal brands or purpose-driven brands or what have you, its all marketing spin to me, said David B. Srere, chief strategy officer at Siegel+Gale, a brand consultancy. Any good brand should do all of those things. Still, there is a value to the mumbo jumbo, Srere said, adding, If calling it a lifestyle brand begins to move them and get the company to think differently about the brand and move to a more meaningful role, then thats fine. Blue Apron, the meal-kit company, is seeking a deeper connection with consumers, said its chief executive, Brad Dickerson. During a recent earnings call, he said that the company saw itself as a strong consumer lifestyle brand that reinforces our identity to not simply be a transactional e-commerce business, but play a more meaningful role in our customers lives. Blue Aprons marketing efforts have lately included pop-up events with cooking classes, movie screenings and chef panels in cities like Austin, New York and Seattle. Food, for a lot of people, is much more emotional now than it was maybe decades ago, Dickerson said in an interview. A lot of people are defining themselves to some degree on how they eat Im vegan, Im vegetarian, I only eat organic. Its so much more personal and emotional than it has been. The rise of lifestyle marketing ploys are largely the result of companies worrying about their brands fading into the background or losing customers in a crowded marketplace. Just being a functional brand is not enough anymore its very tough to differentiate yourself as a brand in the clutter we have out there, said Tulin Erdem, a professor of marketing at New York Universitys Stern School of Business. Godiva, the Belgian chocolatier founded in 1926, has also been trying to form a tighter bond with consumers. When we think about being a lifestyle brand, it really means meaningful connections with our customers through shared values, said Annie Young-Scrivner, Godivas chief executive. And how do we become a more intricate part of their lives? We want them to invite us in. Young-Scrivner believes that Godiva could have a role in peoples lives on a daily basis, if not more frequently. For example, the company would like people to stop in at one of its shops for coffee in the morning and a snack in the afternoon. And, ideally, that customer would see more in Godiva than just chocolate or caffeine. Young-Scrivner described this customer as someone who cares about quality ingredients and quality craftsmanship and preserving the heritage, a person who believes the company theyre buying from has tremendous values that are linked to themselves, and that were doing the right thing. Brands are playing the long game as they aim for hearts and minds. Its not an overnight thing to be a lifestyle brand, said Brandt, the Chipotle executive. You have to be consistent and find the messages that resonate with people and you have to do it over a period of time. He pointed to Chipotles recent initiatives to run ads on shows that generate chatter like Real Housewives and a sponsorship tied to Fortnite players. The journeys begun, but theres no finish line, he said. Well keep telling our message and championing what we think makes us special. A dead roach, flies in the kitchen, and rodent droppings were some of the violations city health inspectors observed during restaurant inspections this week, according to a new report. A total of 12 spots around San Antonio had a score of 89 or below, including popular places like Chick-Fil-A, McDonald's and Bill-Miller's Bar-B-Que. Dear Mr. Premack: Our parents owned several valuable real estate holdings. They both had poorly written wills, but the wills do identify us as the heirs. When mother died in 2014 her will was not probated by our father. Now our father has died. What course of action are we, the children, allowed under Texas law? ELC Whenever there are valuable assets, from owning a home to owning investment real estate or stocks, the owner(s) should have proper wills prepared by a qualified elder law attorney. Your parents owned several valuable properties and made wills which you identify as poorly written. If you, as a non-lawyer, can tell they are poorly written then the wills were probably not prepared by a lawyer at all. There is no use in scolding your parents as they cannot receive the message, but for others reading this: part of your responsibility as an adult is to prepare for your eventual death by having a properly prepared and valid estate plan. You ask what you, as the surviving children, can now do? First, Texas law imposes a four-year statute of limitations on the probate of a will. Your mother died in 2014. If she died before August 2014 then the statute of limitations has expired. If she died after August 2014 the window for probate of her will is still open. Whoever is named in the will as alternate executor (after your father, who was likely named as first choice for executor) should immediately meet with a qualified elder law attorney about probate of her will. If those four years and hence the statute of limitations have passed, still meet with a qualified elder law attorney. Her will might still be useable, but only under limited circumstances. Otherwise, when the statute of limitations passes you need to discuss the intestate passage of title to her half of their property and determine what legal steps may be adequate to establish who inherited when she died. At the same time, you should be discussing probate of your fathers will with the qualified elder law attorney. Probate of his will is well within the statute of limitations. Whoever is named as executor of his will can hire counsel to assist with the probate. Once the court has appointed the executor and issued letters testamentary, the executor has authority to fulfill the terms of your fathers will. All of your fathers debts and other claims against his estate must be settled, and mortgages may need to be paid or renegotiated. After his obligations have been met, then the remaining assets can be distributed according to the terms of his will which ideally says that the remaining assets should be distributed among the children. There were legal planning options which your parents could have utilized to avoid these legal entanglements. Some of their options were establishing a living trust, ensuring that they had updated and valid wills, utilizing survivorship agreements, or selling the properties prior to their deaths. Be sure that you and your siblings dont leave your own families with a similar mess; make your own binding estate plans as soon as possible. Paul Premack is a Certified elder law attorney with offices in San Antonio and Seattle, handling wills and Trusts, Probate, and Business Entity issues. View past legal columns or submit free questions on legal issues via www.TexasEstateandProbate.com or www.Premack.com. In todays Wall Street Journal I review the Public Theaters new Central Park production of Twelfth Night and a regional revival of Oliver! Heres an excerpt. * * * Rejoice greatly! The Public Theaters delicious new Shakespeare in the Park production of Twelfth Night, which Kwame Kwei-Armah and Shaina Taub have turned into something closely resembling a Broadway musical, is at least as good as any of the new musicals that have opened in the past decade, and better than all but a handful of them. Indeed, Ms. Taubs tuneful pop-soul score is reminiscent of a big-budget Disney show, only without the soul-shriveling slickness of a cold-hearted commodity musical like Frozen. While it wouldnt take much work to develop this Twelfth Night into a commercial show, the outdoor version has an unpretentious charm all its own. It got its start two years ago as one of the Public Theaters Public Works productions, in which civilians and professionals band together to create what Oskar Eustis, the Publics artistic director, calls radically inclusive shows that blur the line between community and fully professional theater. Id like to go into more detail about the show, a colorful modern-dress version that runs for 90 tightly packed, feather-light minutes, but I can do no more in this space than hint at its limitless pleasures Speaking of productions that deserve both a larger audience and a longer life, Goodspeed Musicals Oliver! fills the bill as abundantly as Twelfth Night. Lionel Barts ever-so-English stage version of Oliver Twist first came to Broadway in 1963 and ran there for nearly two years, after which Carol Reed turned it into one of the last high-budget movie musicals to whack the box-office gong. But Oliver! tanked when it returned to Broadway in 1984, closing after just 17 performances. Since then, professional American revivals have been comparatively scarce, so much so that Id never seen it performed live until I drove up to Connecticut to take a look at Rob Ruggieros new production. Mr. Ruggiero has a knack for fitting big musicals onto Goodspeeds tiny stage without breaking off the corners, but Oliver! is notable even by his own high standards. It is, in fact, one of the finest things Goodspeed has ever done, making a convincing case for a musical at which many musical-comedy buffs turn up their nosesand one that could be transferred to Broadway almost effortlessly. * * * Read the whole thing here. Excerpts from the original 2016 Public Works production of Twelfth Night: Excerpts from Goodspeed Musicals revival of Oliver!: DANBURY Authorities have yet to identify a man who jumped from a moving car Friday morning while traveling westbound on Interstate 84. Authorities said the man, who is in his 40s, was a rear passenger in a Kia Sorento that was moving along with the rest of traffic when he intentionally jumped from the vehicle. Police said it has yet to be determined why he jumped out of the car. STAMFORD A trial date has been set for the case of a Darien actor suing the man charged with attacking him with a beer glass in a bar nearly two years ago. Matthew Porretta, 53, of Darien, filed a civil suit last March against Christopher Aikler, 45, of Norwalk, and Steven J. Palmer, owner of Chez Ernies Cafe in Darien where the assault occurred. According to documents filed in state Superior Court in Stamford, the case is scheduled to go to trial in June 2019. According to police, Aikler struck Porretta in the face with a beer glass at the Tokeneke Road bar on Dec. 18, 2016. Police said Porretta did not provoke the attack, which caused him to fall backward onto a table. A Southbury man was also injured in the fight when he was punched in the face. Aikler was thrown out of the bar and left before police arrived, but met with officers investigating the incident a few days later. Aikler was later charged with second- and third-degree assault, as well as breach of peace. According to court documents, he is awaiting a trial date for the charges. Police said Porretta suffered cuts to his left eye and cheek, a facial fracture and injuries to his spine and nasal septum. He also needed emergency surgery to save his left eye and is still at risk of losing vision in the eye. Porretta said he did not know Aikler and only remembers waking up on the ground covered in blood. He said hes been left with scarring and has lost wages because of the incident. Porretta works as an actor and has appeared in the 1993 movie Robin Hood: Men in Tights. According to IMDB, his last role was in the TV series I Love You...But I Lied in 2016. According to court documents, Porrettas attorney, Michael Burrell, previously offered Aikler $800,000 to settle the claims. erin.kayata@stamfordadvocate.com; (203) 964-2265; @erin_kayata WASHINGTON - A 12-year-old girl visiting from China was abducted at Reagan National Airport, officials said Thursday while issuing an Amber Alert. Jinjing Ma is believed to have been abducted about 8:15 a.m., police said. Ma is 4-feet-11, about 90 pounds and has black hair and brown eyes. She was last seen at the Washington, D.C., airport wearing a white T-shirt, blue jeans and a black jacket, according to the alert. Ma was visiting from China as a part of a tour group that was sightseeing and looking at schools in the United States since July 26, authorities said. At some point, the child said she needed to use the restroom before meeting with an unknown middle-aged Asian woman. The woman helped Ma change clothes before they walked toward the "arrivals" area of the airport. Ma and the woman were later seen entering a white Infini vehicle with New York tags, David Huchler, chief of police for the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, said during a press conference Thursday afternoon. About 10 p.m. Thursday, MWAA authorities said in a statement that the agency believes that the missing child got into a white Infiniti QX70, a 2016 or 2018 model. Huchler said before the incident occured, the woman was seen with a male. Officials also think a man was driving the vehicle the child left in. He called the incident "very serious" and said officials do not yet know why Ma left the airport with the woman. MWAA is working with Virginia State Police, the National Center for Exploited Children and are attempting to contact the Chinese Embassy in the case, he said. "It's really important that the community recognizes this child may be in danger," Huchler said, urging those with information to contact authorities. Anyone with information is being asked to call the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority at 703-417-2400 or Virginia State Police at 1-800-822-4453. BEIJING - The Chinese government threatened Friday to dramatically escalate its economic standoff with President Donald Trump, vowing to impose tariffs on $60 billion in U.S. goods if the White House does not halt pending penalties on Chinese imports. The Chinese Commerce Ministry said in a statement it could add duties of 5, 10, 20 or 25 percent on 5,207 types of U.S. imports, while warning it could adopt further countermeasures at any time. Saying it was "forced to act," Beijing cast the move as a response to Trump's threat on Wednesday to raise a proposed tariff rate on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods from 10 percent to 25 percent. White House officials had hoped Trump's latest threat would frighten Chinese officials into negotiations, where Trump aims to secure more favorable terms for U.S. manufacturers in one of the world's largest marketplaces. But Beijing appears, instead, to be digging in with more retaliatory measures that experts believe could hurt the economies of both countries. China is threatening to impose the tariffs on a wide range of products, including chemicals, plastics and leather goods, according to business groups representing those industries. The escalating conflict between the White House and China shows no signs of abating. On Friday, Larry Kudlow, Trump's top economic adviser, warned China against pushing the president any further. He said the Chinese economy was not strong enough to withstand a lengthy fight. "The Chinese had better not underestimate the determination of President Trump to follow through and seek zero tariffs and nontariff barriers," Kudlow said during an interview on Fox Business Network. The Chinese "are not in good economic shape." The U.S. economy is heavily reliant on importing more than $500 billion in goods each year from China. Democrats and Republicans have complained that China's ability to sell goods in the United States at a lower cost than U.S. companies has put thousands of American firms out of business, costing manufacturing jobs and hurting the U.S. economy. The dynamic has proved difficult to change, given U.S. consumers' reliance on Chinese goods. Trump believes that the gulf between how much China exports to the United States and how much the United States exports to China reflects unfair trade practices, which he has vowed to address through penalties on imports and a range of other measures. There are signs that his approach is not working the way he intended. The U.S. government reported Friday that the gap between how much the United States imports from China and how much it exports reached a record level in the first six months of 2018. Business groups have alleged that the trade threats lobbed by both countries are hurting consumers and businesses but doing little to address the root causes of the imbalance, particularly as both countries have halted formal discussions. Friday's threat is the latest in a long list of actions and threats taken by both countries this year. Trump has imposed tariffs on Chinese steel and aluminum imports and another $34 billion in goods, mostly industrial equipment. China responded with tariffs on $34 billion in U.S. goods, including a wide range of agricultural products. That led Trump to begin planning new tariffs on $200 billion in additional Chinese goods, triggering China's new plan to penalize imports on $60 billion in U.S. goods. The threats and counterthreats have stirred increasing unease from U.S. business and farm groups, which argue that they are the ones losing money and business based on all the new restrictions. To try to quell outrage from farmers, Trump last week announced $12 billion in emergency aid, including direct payments, for farmers who are expected to lose orders based on increased tariffs from China. But this move did not satisfy many Republican lawmakers, who said it was unclear how the White House planned to ultimately resolve its differences with Beijing. And it is not clear whether normal diplomatic channels are working, either. Friday's new threat from Beijing came just after Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Singapore. But White House officials said formal talks between the countries have mostly lapsed as the economic restrictions have hardened. Lu Xiang, an expert on U.S.-China trade at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing, said the tensions have reached a "critical moment." "The trade war is a tactic by Trump, but if it eventually evolves into a strategic confrontation, the result will undoubtedly be disastrous," he said. Relations between the White House and China have soured in recent weeks after both sides had hoped that negotiations might settle differences. Trump has accused China of stealing U.S. intellectual property, manipulating its own currency and taking other steps that give its firms an unfair competitive advantage over U.S. companies. In fact, one reason the White House intensified its tariff threats this week is because some administration officials believe that China has intentionally allowed its currency to weaken in recent months, making it cheaper for its companies to export goods to the United States. Trump asked U.S. Trade Representative Robert E. Lighthizer in June to draft a plan for a 10 percent tariff on $200 billion in Chinese imports. China cannot match that dollar for dollar, but it vowed to fight back using "qualitative and quantitative" measures. The trade battle has business leaders on both sides worried about where this will end up. "I sense that we're seeing a hardening of attitudes on both sides," said Jacob Parker, vice president of China relations at the U.S. China Business Council. It's a "race to the bottom that will harm American consumers, farmers and U.S. industry." Parker added: "Enough is enough. It's time to stop imposing nonconstitutive tariff action and resolve the very real issues." In an effort to soften relations, Trump directed Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross to ease restrictions on ZTE Corp., a major Chinese telecommunications company that had been penalized for violating U.S. sanctions against Iran and North Korea and then lying to U.S. investigators about its actions. But that move, made in June, appears to have done little to help. Last month, China blocked American chipmaker Qualcomm from buying Dutch firm NXP in a regulatory step that some White House officials had hoped would be lifted. - - - Paletta reported from Washington. Luna Lin and Amanda Erickson in Beijing and Heather Long in Washington contributed to this report. SINGAPORE - Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Friday that "the clock had run" out for the Turkish government's imprisonment of Americans, including a pastor whose case has been a sore point between Ankara and Washington, and it is time to release them. Speaking to reporters aboard his plane en route to Singapore from Malaysia, Pompeo said he planned to raise the matter during a meeting with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on the sidelines of a conference of 27 Asian nations. Pompeo's three-day trip to Asia, including a stop at the ASEAN ministerial meeting in Singapore, is part of a U.S. effort to boost trade ties with the region, despite withdrawing from the Trans-Pacific Partnership free-trade agreement. Pompeo also plans to press for continued sanctions enforcement against North Korea. Pompeo met with Cavusoglu immediately after arriving from Malaysia. A State Department description over their conversation only said they addressed a number of issues, during a "constructive" conversation. The State Department has demanded Turkey release a number of American detainees, including Andrew Brunson, a pastor who has been detained almost two years, and Serkan Golgea, a Turkish-American NASA scientist, as well as three locally-hired employees of the U.S. missions in Turkey. All were taken into custody in the crackdown after a failed military coup in 2016. "Brunson needs to come home," Pompeo said he would tell Cavusoglu. "As do all the Americans that are being held by the Turkish government. It's pretty straightforward. They've been holding these folks for a long time. "These are innocent people," he added. "Pastor Brunson is an innocent pastor and they need to let him return to the United States, and they need to let our locally employed folks - everyone needs to be let out. That's the message. We are going to work to see if we can find a way forward - I am hopeful." Pompeo said the Turkish government is aware that U.S. patience with Turkey over the Brunson case is growing thin. "The Turks were well on notice that the clock had run and that it was time for Pastor Brunson to be returned," he said. "And I hope they'll see this for what it is, a demonstration that we're very serious. We consider this one of the many issues that we have with the Turks." After their meeting, Cavusoglu told Turkish television that he had reiterated Turkey's message that "threatening language and sanctions does not achieve anything," but still described the meeting as "constructive." "Of course you can't expect all issues to be resolved in a single meeting," he said. "But we have agreed to work together, closely cooperate and keep the dialogue in the coming period." Pompeo's trip began with a meeting Friday with Malaysia's newly elected leader, trying to promote U.S.-style development led by private-sector investment at a time when the government is reconsidering Chinese-financed projects favored by the previous ruling coalition. In a speech in Washington on Monday, he reiterated the argument often made by Rex Tillerson, his predecessor, that China offers countries a poor deal because it primarily provides loans, while the United States gives a more sustainable alternative through direct aid and private investment. Pompeo was the first senior U.S. official to visit Malaysia since surprise election results in May brought an opposition government to power pledging to tackle corruption. The election unseated decades of rule for the National Front coalition, in what has been heralded as one of the few and unexpected democratic victories in Southeast Asia. He met with Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, a 93-year-old fiery politician who once again is leading Malaysia after a 22-year tenure as its helm from 1981 to 2003. Mahathir led the opposition coalition that now governs Malaysia, partnering with politicians who were locked up under the government he had led previously. He ousted Najib Razak, once his protege, who Mahathir believed had become corrupt and had an unchecked hold on power. Najib is under investigation in connection with the disappearance of billions of dollars from the state investment fund. Although Mahathir has long been a critic of the United States and the West - he has said that he is in no hurry to meet President Donald Trump, labeling him volatile - analysts say that his return as Malaysia's prime minister will benefit the nation's relationship with the United States. Pompeo's visit will allow the United States "to strengthen its relationship with Malaysia, unencumbered by Najib's corruption," said Ian Storey, a senior fellow at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore. "Secretary Pompeo is arriving in Kuala Lumpur with 2018 in mind," said a senior State Department official traveling with Pompeo. "There's a long history in both countries. We have a comprehensive partnership with many areas of cooperation." Malaysia's new government takes a critical eye toward China's state-backed projects, and that provides the United States with an opportunity. Before his trip, Pompeo announced $113 million in direct government investment to the Asia-Pacific region focused on technology, energy and infrastructure. It is an answer to China's Belt and Road Initiative, which has provided billions in funding for infrastructure and other big-ticket projects throughout the region. The plan Pompeo announced will more than double the U.S. government's development finance capacity, which could be provided as loans to private companies in the region. Under Malaysia's former government, China signed agreements for several infrastructure projects, including a rail and a pipeline. A number of these Chinese-backed projects - $23 billion worth - have now been suspended, as Mahathir's government questions their value and tries to tackle Malaysia's fiscal woes related to the corruption scandal. Pompeo is in Singapore at the same time North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho, leading to speculation that the two may hold a private bilateral meeting to discuss stalled negotiations over Pyongyang's nuclear program. In his remarks to reporters on board en route to Singapore, Pompeo acknowledged the large amount of work that lies ahead before an agreement can be reached. "Chairman Kim made a commitment to denuclearize," he said of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. "The world demanded that he do so in the U.N. Security Council resolutions. To the extent they are behaving in a manner inconsistent with that, they are in violation of one or both the U.N. Security Council resolutions . . . we still have a ways to go to achieve the ultimate outcome we're looking (for)." Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif also will be in Singapore to sign a cooperation agreement with ASEAN, but State Department officials have played down the potential for any sideline talks with Pompeo. President Donald Trump may have squabbled with Western European leaders on a trip to NATO headquarters last month and cast the European Union as a "foe," but he displayed plenty of warmth for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. According to one account, Trump "fist-bumped" his Turkish counterpart when they met in Brussels, praising a leader known for his authoritarian style as someone who "does things the right way." But it seems that Trump and Erdogan are no longer on fist-bumping terms. On Wednesday, the White House announced it was preparing sanctions against Turkish Justice Minister Abdulhamit Gul and Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu for their roles in the continued detention of American pastor Andrew Brunson, whom U.S. officials say was arrested in 2016 on fictitious charges. The sanctions move was eye-catching, given the historic nature of the U.S.-Turkish relationship. The two countries are NATO allies, after all, and Turkey hosts American troops and aircraft at a strategic air base in the country's south. Although the sanctions are mostly symbolic - they target the U.S. assets of just two officials - the news still sent jitters through Turkey's stock market and caused the already enfeebled Turkish lira to plummet to new lows. But it wasn't altogether surprising. Brunson, who has lived and proselytized in Turkey for more than two decades, is a pawn in a much wider geopolitical game and is seen as a "hostage" by U.S. officials. He was arrested amid the vast purge in Turkey that followed a failed attempt to topple Erdogan's government in 2016. Turkish authorities accuse Brunson of complicity in the botched putsch - tens of thousands of Turks face similar charges - which he denies. Vice President Mike Pence, an evangelical Christian, has aggressively taken up Brunson's case, focusing on the pastor's religiosity. That emphasis is lamented by Turkey watchers in the United States, who wish the White House showed more interest in other political prisoners in the country. Trump, though, has hailed Erdogan's iron fist and indicated throughout his time in office that the Turkish leader is somebody with whom he could do business. Various accounts of recent rounds of diplomacy between Ankara and Washington suggest Erdogan and his lieutenants hoped to use Brunson as a negotiating chip in a legal battle over the evasion of U.S. sanctions on Iran by a state-run Turkish lender, Halkbank. "As of last week, the Americans thought they had a deal that would bring Brunson home," reported Bloomberg News. "In return for the release of evangelical pastor . . . the U.S. administration would recommend a lenient fine on Halkbank. The U.S. also offered to send Mehmet Hakan Atilla, a former executive at the bank who's been jailed in the U.S., back to Turkey to serve out the rest of his term." The White House had also compelled the Israeli government to release a Turkish citizen, Ebru Ozkan, arrested on suspicion of collaborating with the Islamist group Hamas. "Trump believed he had made a deal with the Turkish leader that included releasing Brunson in exchange for a Turkish woman being held in Israel on terrorism charges," my colleagues Karen DeYoung and Felicia Sonmez reported. But, according to Bloomberg News, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu upended the deal when he insisted that the Halkbank probe "be dropped" altogether. "Although [Ozkan] was released and deported to Istanbul, the Turkish court hearing Brunson's case agreed last week only to allow him to leave prison for house arrest while his trial continued," my colleagues reported. The White House has reason to feel aggrieved, but so do the Turks, who see themselves as once more victimized by an unreliable partner in Washington. Anti-American rhetoric has been a fixture of the recent years of Erdogan's presidency, animated by the United States' support for Kurdish factions in Syria and its accommodation of Fethullah Gulen, an aging cleric living in Pennsylvania who Ankara says was behind the 2016 coup attempt. The country's largely pro-Erdogan press rallied against the U.S. sanctions. A nationalist ally of the president's declared that Brunson should now be exchanged only for Gulen himself - a measure that would be rejected by Washington. A nationalist opposition party even suggested that the government seize the Trump Towers complex in Istanbul as retaliation. For its part, the Turkish Foreign Ministry on Thursday vowed an "equivalent response" to the sanctions, though it was not immediately clear what that might entail. Erdogan may relish this new opportunity to wrap himself in the flag and rail against a foreign adversary. "Turkey's president feels under siege. And with both the United States government and parliamentary opponents accusing him of corruption, he will continue his domestic crackdown and his anti-American rhetoric," wrote Nicholas Danforth, a Turkey expert at the Bipartisan Policy Center in Washington. "This is dangerous. Every newspaper closed or politician arrested, like every new diplomatic spat with the United States or Europe, will further strain Turkey's social fabric and weaken its economy." There was optimism that Trump's rise to the presidency would help revive relations with Turkey, but lawmakers and the foreign policy elite in Washington have irrevocably soured on Erdogan. "In Trump, Ankara once had a sympathetic ear. From the get-go, the U.S. president seemed eager to build a good relationship with Turkey's strongman leader," wrote Asli Aydintasbas for the European Council on Foreign Relations. "This accorded with the prevailing view of the foreign policy establishment in Washington, which continues to believe that it is important to keep Turkey anchored to the West. However, Erdogan's anti-Western rhetoric, poor human rights record, and decision to purchase Russian S-400 antiaircraft systems have all made it harder for American friends of Turkey to make the case for improved relations." Now "the Trump administration and Congress have exhausted their strategic patience; they are now postured to change their approach and take steps intended to inflict economic pain on a NATO ally of 66 years," wrote Amanda Sloat of the Brookings Institution. "There is still time for a diplomatic solution if both sides return to quiet talks rather than angry rhetoric." Those quiet talks may come sooner rather than later, given Turkey's faltering currency. "Erdogan cannot afford a full-blown crisis with the U.S. given the fragility of Turkey's economy," Wolfango Piccoli, of the consultancy Teneo Intelligence, told the Financial Times. "In the short term, the US sanctions can be used to rally support around the flag. But economic reality will soon kick in, forcing Erdogan to reconsider his defiant stance." CHAMPLAIN, N.Y. - Omer Malik knew he had to slip into Canada to avoid President Donald Trump's crackdown on undocumented immigrants. But the 19-year-old native of Afghanistan needed a friend to help guide him. He found that friend in a 66-year-old former French teacher, one of a number of people here in the Adirondack region who believe it's their duty to comfort and support those fleeing Trump's vision for America. As Malik dragged his suitcase toward the Canadian border, Janet McFetridge gave him two bags of potato chips, a knit hat and - what she considers her most important gift - a hug. Then she yelled across the thicket of cattails and flowering grasses that separated them from Quebec. "Hello," she called, alerting a Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer that Malik was about to illegally cross the border to claim asylum. "We got someone here." McFetridge is part of a loosely assembled network of progressive activists, faith leaders and taxi drivers who have mobilized to help undocumented immigrants cross the northern border. To some, they're selfless do-gooders ushering people to better lives. To others, they're perpetuating a problem that has debilitated Canada's immigration system. For centuries, residents note, towns in the Champlain Valley have been a path to security, serving as an escape route for people fleeing slavery, the Vietnam War draft and Central American wars. Now, when it comes to immigration, this GOP-friendly part of New York has become a hub of the resistance. "We view this as our Underground Railroad," said Carole Slatkin, an advocate who has helped immigrants traveling through Essex, New York, a town that was part of a major route for enslaved people. "While no one is being flogged, and no one is being sold, there is this sort of modern-day equivalent of feeling like people are in danger." Advocates say they try not to give direct advice to the immigrants, instead helping them find a place to rest or supplies to ease their journey. But the image of U.S. citizens supporting immigrants who make the trip is controversial in Canada, threatening long-standing, cross-border camaraderie. "To me, it's just being abusive," said Paul Viau, mayor of the township of Hemmingford, a Canadian farming community along the border. "There are people who sympathize with [the immigrants] and people who have a harder time with it. But no one appreciates that someone would pack them up and bring them to the border at an illegal crossing." Last year, as the Trump administration began enacting stricter policies against undocumented immigrants, Canada processed more than 50,000 asylum claims. That is more than double the claims made in 2016, according to Canadian government statistics. Many of those immigrants have been crossing at unauthorized locations, such as here on Roxham Road. Although the flow of asylum seekers into many Canadian provinces has slowed this year, there has been no letup into Quebec. From January through June, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police apprehended 10,261 people crossing the border illegally there. Last year, the police apprehended 18,836 people. The arrivals have sparked a backlash from segments of Canada's political system. In late June, Toronto Mayor John Tory warned that the influx of asylum seekers had overwhelmed that city's ability to care for them. "We have a problem, and we need help," Tory told Canadian reporters in a plea for more emergency housing. In Quebec, the leader of its nationalist party, Jean-Francois Lisee, has suggested constructing a wall along the southern border of the province. Roxham Road, a narrow paved road lined by horse farms and marshes, has served as a path recently for Palestinians, Colombians, Ghanaians, Nigerians, Haitians, Zimbabweans and Pakistanis, among others. After one taxi pulled up here, Fiyori Mesfin struggled to carry a car seat, stroller and two backpacks as she crossed the border with her two children, ages 1 and 3. Mesfin, 32, is a single mother from Eritrea who had been living for the past four years in Las Vegas. Her children are U.S. citizens. After she was recently denied asylum in the United States, Mesfin began to fear she could be deported or even separated from her children. So she flew to John F. Kennedy Airport in New York and then boarded a Greyhound bus for Plattsburgh, New York. "So now I am here just hoping it gets better," Mesfin said as she pushed the stroller, while trying to manage her toddler, toward Canada. Saman Modarage also had taken the bus. Modarage is a Sri Lankan native who fled his country in 2005 during a civil war. He had settled in suburban Washington and worked at a liquor store in Maryland. But Modarage, 51, decided to try to flee Maryland for Canada after he heard that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement was raiding and auditing Maryland convenience stores searching for undocumented employees. In a recent statement, ICE noted that it has opened nearly 6,100 worksite investigations and made more than 1,500 arrests from October through July - more than five times the number of arrests made in the previous fiscal year. "Donald Trump's administration has pushed me here," said Modarage, who arrived in Plattsburgh with two sets of clothing and $300. "All immigrants are under threat. . . . If I got deported, it would kill me." The flow of people illegally crossing into Canada from the United States has continued despite an agreement in 2002 between the countries that is designed to manage refugee movements. The Canada-U.S. Safe Third Country Agreement requires migrants to make an asylum claim in the first safe country they reach, unless they are minors or have family ties at their next destination. The agreement means many of those who try to cross from the United States into Canada at an official border station are turned away. But a loophole permits asylum claims to be made by individuals who enter Canada covertly, such as here on Roxham Road, about five miles west of the interstate. Crossing illegally at out-of-the-way sites has become the preferred method for undocumented immigrants in the United States as well as those in the country legally who see their chance of getting asylum or permanent residency dimming. Many take a bus from New York City to Plattsburgh, where waiting taxis transport them about 30 miles to the end of Roxham Road, a 100-yard dirt path into Canada. Federal officers stationed on the other side of the border immediately arrest those who cross illegally. But if the crossers have proper identification, no criminal history and are not otherwise considered a security threat, most are released within 72 hours, said Sylvain Thibault, a coordinator at Project Refugee, a Montreal-based humanitarian group. They then stay in a shelter, or with family or friends, while they await their hearing. They are also eligible for public assistance, health care and an opportunity to apply for a Canadian work permit. Canadian law dictates asylum hearings should be held within 60 days. But Paul Clarke, executive director of the Action Refugees Montreal, an advocacy group, said the government is so overwhelmed, it's now taking up to two years for cases to be heard. Last year, Canadian courts granted asylum in about 60 percent of cases, Clarke said. Canadian authorities have warned that far fewer of the most recent arrivals are expected to qualify. - - - McFetridge, the teacher turned activist, has lived in Champlain about five miles from the border for three decades. But she never paid much attention to it until after Trump's election, when she was looking for ways to convert her agony over his win into meaningful action. In March 2017, when she began hearing about an influx of immigrants into Canada, she decided to drive up to Roxham Road. The sight of people dragging luggage - and children - down "an isolated, lonely, country road" shook her. "I was just horrified that people were leaving the United States, where we have this idea of being a beacon of hope, for another country," she recalled. "At that point, I said, we can do something here, and I can at least give them a kind word, and recognize them as people by saying, 'I am sorry you feel you have to do this.' " McFetridge began showing up almost daily. Last winter, after realizing many asylum seekers were arriving without warm clothes, she began handing out coats and gloves. As the weather warmed, she transitioned her efforts to handing out snacks and toys to the children. McFetridge said she tries to avoid giving direct advice or material support to the refugees to avoid conflict with Canadian immigration authorities. But, she said, it's important for her to be there so people know they are not alone and can cross with a sense of safety. "I can tell them they are not going to be shot," she said. "They've asked me: 'Do I have to run? Are the police going to shoot me?' " McFetridge, who said she encounters dozens of asylum seekers on some days, keeps a log of those she encounters. ". . . Woman arrived by plane. 25 years in the US. Leaving son behind, degree in finance . . . Father stayed in taxi, sobbing as family left . . . Young adult - said she was bisexual & would be killed if returned to home country . . ." Although McFetridge is the most visible advocate, a broad array of community and faith organizations have also mobilized throughout the Champlain Valley to assist people who pass through. One organization that was formed to support refugees, Plattsburgh Cares, prints informational pamphlets about how to safely reach Roxham Road. Amid complaints from Canadian officials, the group stopped distributing the pamphlets this spring. It now relies on "word of mouth" to get information out, said Slatkin, 73, the woman in Essex. As they continue their efforts, the advocates draw comparisons to the stealth network of abolitionists used to help guide people who escaped to Canada in the 19th century. Of the estimated 100,000 enslaved people who fled the American South between 1810 and 1850, about 40,000 made it to Canada after being hidden in houses and churches along the way, said Don Papson, president of the North Country Underground Railroad Museum in Keeseville, New York. One of the major routes there ran through Champlain, about two blocks from McFetridge's house, he noted. Today, before asylum seekers arrive on Roxham Road, they must travel down North Star Road, believed to be named after the star that people who escaped slavery used to guide them toward freedom. Martha Swan, executive director of John Brown Lives, a humanitarian group based in Westport, New York, and named after the 19th-century abolitionist, said the region's "inspiring history" is what is causing more people to "summon the courage" to support refugees. She said interest in helping the refugees has grown considerably this summer because of outrage over Trump administration's policy of separating detained undocumented immigrants from their children at the U.S.-Mexico border. "You don't have to do anything extraordinary, necessarily, but you do have to bear witness and help where you can," said Swann, who recently helped a Nigerian woman make the trip from Los Angeles to the northern border. At the First Presbyterian Church in Plattsburgh, the congregation decided to convert a Sunday school room into a temporary shelter for use by asylum seekers who may become stranded. Stuart Voss, chairman of the church's refugee committee, said the church is reviving a role it played in the late 1980s when thousands of migrants from Central America traveled through upstate New York to reach Canada. Many spent an extended period of time in Plattsburgh - where they were fed, counseled and housed by local churches - while they waited for Canada to consider their asylum requests. But Voss, 75, said church members now believe they must be far more discreet in their efforts than they were 30 years ago. "We decided it wasn't the same situation as in 1986 to 1987 because there was no ICE back then, and it was just Border Patrol," said Voss, referring to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, which was created in 2003 in wake of 9/11. "Customs used to tell us, 'OK, as long as they are staying with you, you can help them out.' " In a statement, the Canadian police declined to comment on Americans' role in helping the refugees but said it added resources to the border and is confident it can meet the security and humanitarian challenge. In a separate statement, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency said it is "working to identify trends and patterns" of cross-border movement into Canada. Here along the border, the taxi drivers say they will continue transporting asylum seekers to the border. Although the drivers say they got into the business to make money - they charge $50 to $75 in fares for a one-way trip from the bus station - they say they now see it as their duty to give advice and to comfort and calm passengers. "They are scared. . . . They will ask me if American Border Patrol is going to be here, and how far they have to walk," driver Troy Gelwicks said after he recently dropped a Haitian family off at Roxham Road. "I say, 'You just have to walk 10 steps, and Canadian Border Patrol is very friendly.' " As she waved goodbye to Malik, McFetridge said she is also banking that Canada's government will continue to be more sympathetic than the Trump administration. "But you have to be realistic," McFetridge added. "It's not going to work out for everybody." Virginia on Thursday asked the Supreme Court to put on hold a lower court's decision that requires new sentences for Beltway sniper Lee Boyd Malvo, who was confined to life imprisonment for his deadly teenage rampage. The commonwealth said it wants the high court to overturn a decision by a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit in Richmond. But in the meantime, it asked the court to simply delay any resentencing process. "This case involves one of the most notorious serial murderers in recent history," Virginia Solicitor General Toby Heytens wrote in a petition to Chief Justice John Roberts, who hears emergency applications resulting from 4th Circuit decisions. "The issue presented by this stay application is whether Virginia will be required to commence (and potentially conclude) the process of resentencing Malvo - risking additional trauma to his numerous victims and their families and exposing the Commonwealth to significant cost - before" the Supreme Court can decide whether the 4th Circuit got it right. Malvo, now 33, was a 17-year-old when he and John Allen Muhammad committed what Heytens called "one of the most notorious strings of terrorist acts in modern American history." Between Sept. 5 and Oct. 22, 2002, Muhammad and Malvo killed 10 people and wounded others in sniper attacks in Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia. Muhammad was executed in 2009, but Malvo received sentences of life without parole in Virginia and Maryland. In June, a federal appeals court said Malvo must be resentenced because of a 2012 Supreme Court decision that declared unconstitutional mandatory life sentences for juveniles without the possibility of parole. Later, the high court ruled that its decision should be applied retroactively and said judges had to take into consideration a juvenile defendant's ability to change before imposing a life sentence. The court previously had ruled that juveniles were no longer eligible for the death penalty. Malvo's lawyers petitioned Virginia courts to reconsider Malvo's life sentences in light of the Supreme Court decisions. A three-judge appeals court panel unanimously threw out the life sentences Malvo received for his role in the shootings. Malvo was convicted by a jury in Chesapeake and pleaded guilty in a separate case in Spotsylvania County and received life sentences in both jurisdictions. But while the judges upheld Malvo's convictions, they ordered new sentencing hearings. The judges - Paul Niemeyer, Robert King and Albert Diaz - wrote that their conclusions were made "not with any satisfaction but to sustain the law." The ruling did not apply to the six life sentences Malvo received in Maryland after he pleaded guilty to murder in that state. A judge in Montgomery County upheld those sentences last year, concluding that the sentencing judge was not required by law to impose a sentence of life without parole. Roberts, the chief justice, could grant or deny Virginia's request to delay the resentencing process on his own or refer it to a vote of his colleagues. Virginia prosecutors tried unsuccessfully to get the 4th Circuit to put its ruling on hold to give the state time to appeal. Malvo's attorneys did not take a position on the request in their response filed with the court. The attorneys, Craig Cooley and Michael Arif, did not respond to requests for comment Thursday. Malvo is incarcerated at Red Onion State Prison in Wise County, Virginia. Two weeks after the slaying of a prominent Houston cardiologist, prosecutors on Thursday charged Joseph Pappas with murder in connection with the July crime. Detailed charging documents released Friday offer new insight into the case that baffled police, after a gunman on a bicycle repeatedly shot Dr. Mark Hausknecht in broad daylight by the Texas Medical Center. The morning of the slaying, the 65-year-old physician was riding his bike on his way to work, according to charging documents. An unknown man started riding behind him in the 6800 block of Main Street, then followed the doctor for miles before passing him just before 9 a.m. and turning around to open fire. "The unknown male did not stop and rode his bike away from the scene," police wrote in court documents describing the shooting as a "targeted attack" based on the "deliberate manner" in which the suspect started shooting "without provocation" before fleeing. BEFORE SLAYING: Houston doctor's accused killer shed possessions The killing baffled investigators for days. But on Tuesday, police got a tip from a woman who knew the man now charged in the killing. After tracking her down and interviewing her, police learned that she was concerned that her neighbor, Joseph "Joey" Pappas looked like the man shown in surveillance footage released that day. The woman and another neighbor told police where he lived in Westbury, according to court documents, and said that he usually rides his bike with a "full" backpack - like the one described by police in earlier media releases. Investigators checked home ownership records and found Pappas owned the house in question, in the 5000 block of Stillbrooke. That same day, police also spoke to a family friend of the suspected killer and learned the man had threatened suicide in a text message. He'd also apparently sent the title to his vehicle and deed for his home to the family friend's mother, claiming he had a terminal illness. Worried about his well-being, the mother drove over to Pappas' home and tried to get police to come for a welfare check. But once she got there, the woman found out that police had already shown up and come back empty-handed. RECENT CONTACT: Ohio woman reveals conversations with suspect in Houston doctor's killing So the mother went into the home and made a quick welfare check herself. Once she spoke to investigators in the case, though, police went back to the home and made entry. They didn't find Pappas, but instead found a home seemingly set up for a stand-off. Immediately inside the front door was a piece of metal positioned as a buttress, guarding the front door against any forced entry, police said. In the main living area was just one piece of furniture - a chair sitting directly in front of the window, according to charging documents. In the kitchen, was a "Last Will and Testament" of Joseph Pappas. The garage housed the man's vehicle, where the backseat had been taken out. Also in the garage were three boxes of .22-caliber ammunition. Back inside the house, investigators uncovered more clues. At the home office printer, police found what appeared to be a draft of a proposed police report with a sticky note on the front bearing the words "HPD theft." The text referenced the theft of a 10-speed Schwinn supposedly stolen between July 19 and July 25. A search of the house did not turn up the bicycle, and police realized Pappas had never filled out an online police report regarding the alleged theft. It is not unusual, police said, for suspects in crimes to report vehicles as stolen afterward, often in an attempt to distance themselves from the case. After authorities collected the evidence and released the suspect's image and information about his potential motive - a 20-year-old grudge - the Harris County District Attorney's Office filed a murder charge on Thursday. Pappas is still at large and may be suicidal. Authorities say he should be considered armed and dangerous. AUSTIN Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones wasnt in court Wednesday as his attorneys argued that the Infowars host who has called the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting a hoax didnt defame one victims parents who say theyve been tormented by his followers and forced to move seven times. The hearing included more than a half-hour of an Infowars episode played for a Texas judge, who at one point told onlookers to remain silent after some gasped when a lawyer for the parents said Infowars showed maps to the home of Veronique De La Rosa and Leonard Pozner. Their 6-year-old son, Noah Pozner, was among the 20 children and six adults killed in the Newtown, Conn., massacre. They have sued Jones for defamation in a case that centers on the host falsely claiming on Infowars that De La Rosa taped an interview with CNN in front of a studio green screen and not outside a town hall in Newtown. The lawsuit was filed in Travis County, where Jones media company is based. The parents contend that Jones had made them part of the Sandy Hook conspiracy in what is one of two defamation lawsuits that the Infowars host is trying to get thrown out this week. On Thursday, his attorneys will also ask for the dismissal of another case brought by a man falsely identified on the Infowars website as the gunman who killed 17 people at a Florida high school in February. Jones has since admitted the Sandy Hook shooting occurred; and his attorney, Mark Enoch, began the hearing by saying that his client wanted to reiterate the fact that he is sorry for their loss. But Enoch said the lawsuit doesnt rise to the level of defamation. Maybe its fringe speech. Maybe its dangerous speech, Enoch said after playing portions of an Infowars episode. But its not defamation. That is rhetorical hyperbole at its core. State District Judge Scott Jenkins has a month to decide whether to let the lawsuit proceed. De La Rosa and Pozner also didnt attend the nearly three-hour hearing, in which their attorney called claims that the CNN interview was taped monstrously stupid and said the family has been exposed to threats. A similar lawsuit against Jones has also been filed in Connecticut. Several families in that suit say Jones comments on Infowars have tormented them and subjected them to harassment and death threats by his followers, some of whom have accused them of being crisis actors. Jones has argued he was acting as a journalist. County Mayor Jim Coppinger and Sheriff Jim Hammond took solid election wins. However, County Commission veteran Joe Graham was toppled by newcomer David Sharpe, who received strong backing from the UnifiEd PAC. Incumbent Greg Martin won the District 3 commission race over Rosabelle Gorman. Former school board member Chip Baker defeated Elizabeth Baker for the District 2 seat being vacated by Jim Fields. The Republican advantage on the County Commission shifts from 7-2 to 6-3. State Rep. Marc Gravitt defeated Vickie Schroyer for register of deeds. Ms. Schroyer is a longtime employee. Pam Hurst is retiring. Mr. Sharpe said he had a strong pro-public education platform and waged a dominant grassroots campaign, personally knocking on more than 3,000 doors in neighborhoods across District 6. He gave this statement to supporters gathered at Big River Grille & Brewing Works in downtown Chattanooga on Election Night: I am humbled by the support we received from friends and neighbors all across District 6. I am proud of the campaign we ran and I want to thank each and every person who supported our effort. During this campaign I engaged with Democrats, Republicans, and Independents and they all agreed that we must make public education a true priority in Hamilton County. I am encouraged by the progress we have made during this campaign. I am incredibly grateful for the people in District 6 who have faith in my ability to address the issues we face head-on." Jonas Barriere of the UnifiEd PAC said, For too long, the words 'ensuring a quality education for all children' have been spoken and not followed up with actions. This election has shown that community engagement brings greater clarity and accountability in choosing elected officials who will take action. The majority of candidates for Hamilton County Mayor, Commission, and School Board ran to improve our schools and the voters of Hamilton County rewarded those who openly campaigned on improving public education. Now that the election is over, it is time to unite behind our newly elected officials and come together to improve public education for every child. Jim Coppinger said, "I would like to take a moment to thank all who voted in Thursdays election, our ability to vote is one of the most precious rights we have as citizens. "To those who supported me with a vote, you have my deepest appreciation. I will work hard over the next four years as we move forward to justify your belief in our vision. "To every resident of Hamilton County, I promise to continue to work every day to bring success to our county. We have worked hard to improve our education system, we have invested 38.5 million dollars new dollars in school funding since 20011. We have committed 252.1 million dollars in capital projects over the last seven and half years. Sixty-four percent of your county governments budget goes to education to train our young students for the jobs that we work every day to bring to this county. Our relentless effort to create new jobs, expand existing businesses and to make Hamilton County the community people choose to live, work, play and retire will continue. "We will maintain our disciplined, fiscal approach that allows us to have three AAA bond ratings that enable us to build new schools, plan for a new sewer treatment plant and embrace the growing population that is predicted for us over the next decade. I hope you will all join me as we work together every day to make Hamilton County an even better community, I do believe our best days are ahead of us." Aloyse Brown said as she conceded, This evening, our hard-fought and energetic campaign calling for change in Hamilton County has come to a close. While the end result was short of what we had hoped, I remain inspired by the endless possibilities for prosperity, equality, and opportunity that continues in our community. Jim Coppinger is a good and capable man, and a true son of Hamilton County. Tonight he has before him an incredible opportunity to seize this moment and further commit to public school success, government transparency, innovative policies, and a dynamic economy. To the citizens of Hamilton County, I call on all of us to remember that we can make a difference after elections are over, too. The same vision for a better Hamilton County that drew us to the voting booth this year should inspire us to stay involved, hold each other accountable, and sustain the spirit of our campaign. As Ive said many times over the last few months, there is no place in America better poised to give itself a better tomorrow than Hamilton County, Tennessee. I cant wait to see what we accomplish, together, in the next four years. From the bottom of my heart, thank you. Out of 196,864 eligible voters, 57,053 voted. County Clerk Bill Knowles was again the top vote-getter with 42,805. Trustee Bill Hullander received 40,750. Circuit Court Clerk Larry Henry had 39,490. Vince Dean, Criminal Court clerk, received 38,944. Juvenile Court Clerk Gary Behler had 38,574. County Clerk Knowles won re-election to his 12th four-year term. He thanked voters and said, With Almighty Gods help I will continue serving Hamilton County taxpayers to the best of my ability. County Mayor Jim Coppinger (R) 33576 Aloyse Brown (D) 22,045 County Commission District 2 Chip Baker (R) 4,355 Elizabeth Baker (D) 3,294 County Commission District 3 Greg Martin (R) 5,156 Rosabelle Gorman (D) 2,059 County Commission District 4 Warren Mackey (D) 2,535 Christopher Dahl (I) 565 County Commission District 6 David Sharpe (D) 3,439 Joe Graham (R) 2,710 Sheriff Jim Hammond (R) 34,650 Victor Miller (D) 20,761 Register of Deeds Marc Gravitt (R) 30,725 Vickie Schroyer (D) 23,310 Activists are calling for the San Antonio Aquarium to close the "touch pool" that Helen the horn shark was stolen from last Saturday More than 22,000 people have signed a petition on the website Care2 demanding the aquarium shut down the open-air pool where visitors, typically children, can touch animals like small sharks and bat rays. "Touch pools or touch tanks as they are often called are stressful for animals that would much rather steer clear of human contact," the petition said. "Aquarium-goers, especially children, are often rowdy and can cause the fish unnecessary stress. These animals require special conditions that do not include poking and prodding them." The petition comes just days after Helen was returned to the aquarium safe and sound. Antone Shannon was charged with felony theft after Leon Valley police said officers found the shark at his home. Shannon is accused of pulling her out of the tank, wrapping her in a blanket and hiding her in a stroller. RELATED: Suspect accused of stealing shark from San Antonio Aquarium is identified In response to the petition, the aquarium told mySA.com there are no plans to close the touch pool. "Our mission is to inspire the younger generation of ocean explorers and conservationists through education and a shared experience with live animals," the aquarium said in a statement. "With over 8,000 living animals representing habitats from the Oregon shores to remote Indonesian Islands, our hope is to instill respect and awe for our rich natural resources." The aquarium also said it does regular water testing and will remove animals from display if they appear to be disinterested in interacting with people. "We find that many more people are inspired after being able to physically interact with the animals and would like to invite anyone who questions their care and wellbeing to come out to our aquarium and check it out for themselves," the aquarium said. Chase Karacostas is a staff writer for mySA.com. | Chase.Karacostas@express-news.net | Twitter: @ChaseKaracostas A San Antonio married couple were among three people killed in a head-on collision Tuesday about an hour south of Abilene in Runnels County, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety. Officials said 22-year-old Taron Gipson of Calvert was driving alone in a 2018 Chevy Cruze on State Highway 158 when she veered off the roadway for unknown reasons. A man and woman were shot in their abdomens in the parking lot of a strip club in Von Ormy Friday morning, according to the Bexar County Sheriff's Office. Deputies said a dispute broke out around 3 a.m. outside the MGM Cabaret in the 13500 block of Interstate 35. Several people allegedly fled the scene immediately after the shooting. For two years, Kelly Hjorth did everything she could to track down the ex-husband accused of sexually assaulting her 10-year-old daughter in their San Antonio home. She filed a report with police, she posted pleas for help on Facebook and she never stopped searching for him. Earlier this year, Hjorth finally got some good news. A Facebook user reached out and told her the ex-husband, 38-year-old Bryan Belangeri, was dating his ex-wife in Colorado. READ MORE: Facebook user helps San Antonio police track down child sex crime suspect With the Colorado man's help, authorities arrested Belangeri on July 15 on suspicion of sexual assault of a child and family violence. He returned to Texas and was booked into the Bexar County Jail. "I felt relief," Hjorth said. "I felt like justice was going to be served for my daughter." But that feeling quickly faded. Despite Belangeri being labeled as a flight risk in his arrest warrant, he posted his $53,500 bail and was released just days after his arrest on July 21. "It's very frustrating. It's unbelievable. It's absurd is what it is," Hjorth said. Hjorth's daughter reported the abuse in the summer of 2016. Belangeri, who was working a job in Corpus Christi, denied the allegation when confronted by Hjorth and left the state, according to an arrest affidavit. "He had just got up and left," Hjorth said. Belangeri apparently only returned to San Antonio once in July 2016. Hjorth said Belangeri slashed her tires and ambushed her before taking off again, leading to the family violence charge he is facing. Hjorth said she was abandoned, forced to pay for both of their cars and raise the two children the couple had together. When she divorced him in 2017, she had to hire a lawyer on his behalf because he couldn't be tracked down, Hjorth said. "I was dealing with all of it at once," Hjorth said. When the Colorado man reached out to Hjorth about Belangeri, he indicated Belangeri went by a different name, "Jeff," according to the arrest affidavit. "(Belangeri) has shown himself to be a flight risk, has tried to assume new identity and is possibly around young children," detectives wrote in his arrest affidavit. RELATED: Bexar County deputy among 22 arrested or indicted on child sex crime charge in June It's unclear whether prosecutors pushed to keep him behind bars. The Bexar County District Attorney's Office did not return several requests seeking comments on the case. Belangeri's only bail condition is a no-contact order with Hjorth, records showed. "I don't feel that he should be out at all," Hjorth said. "He should be waiting (for trial) in jail. If he wasn't found, he'd still be living in Colorado and doing whatever he wants to and not worrying about what he did (to my daughter)." Victims of crime are entitled by law to receive notice about court proceedings and jail status changes of their offender if they request it from authorities. It's unclear whether law enforcement is required to relay the information, however. Victims of crime can register on www.vinelink.com to be notified of the status of their offender. More information on the program can be found on the Bexar County Sheriff's Office website. Fares Sabawi covers crime in San Antonio and Bexar County for mySA.com. Read more of his stories here. | fsabawi@mysa.com | Twitter: @FaresInSA A bowling alley and a Chick-fil-a on the Northeast Side were robbed within an hour of each other Friday morning, according to San Antonio police. At 5:50 a.m., two suspects broke into the Astro SuperBowl on Harry Wurzbach Road, police said. They held an employee at gunpoint, ransacked the place and tried to take the safe, authorities said. A man shot himself after fatally shooting a woman inside an East Side home early Friday morning, according to San Antonio police. Officers responded to the shooting around 12:41 a.m. in the 200 block of Sandmeyer Street. RELATED: Officials identify man killed in North Side home invasion ambush The woman, who police believe is in her 40s, was killed inside the home. Police believe the man then turned the gun on himself. He was taken to San Antonio Military Medical Center in critical condition. The shooting remained under investigation Friday. San Antonio police arrested a 16-year-old Thursday in connection to a fatal ambush inside a North Side home. Roy Ponce, 26, was shot in killed Monday night after returning to his house in the 2200 block of Basse Road around 11 p.m. READ MORE: Officials identify man killed in North Side home invasion ambush Police believe at least two assailants hid in Ponce's attic and waited for him to come home before shooting and killing him. The attackers fled in a car, but police later found two suspects in a nearby gas station. One of them, the 16-year-old, was suffering from a gunshot wound to his leg. On Thursday, a police spokesperson confirmed officers obtained an arrest warrant for the teenager, who was still hospitalized University Hospital. He is charged with capital murder. Investigators aren't finished with the case yet, however. The spokesperson said police know of other suspects involved and are still investigating the homicide. NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine admitted Thursday that the proposal to end federal funding for the International Space Station after 2024 may not be feasible. "There's still a lot to be determined," Bridenstine told a small group of reporters at Houston's Johnson Space Center on Thursday. "But it's important ... to start that conversation now." The 2024 cut off date was outlined earlier this year in President Donald Trump's fiscal year 2019 budget proposal for the space agency. In that plan, which still must be approved by Congress, commercial entities would take over operation of the station by 2025. SPACE CENTER HOUSTON: New scientist in residence hopes to inspire next generation with space tidbits in this HoustonChronicle.com report Bridenstine said Thursday some commercial companies already have expressed interest in this idea, and they're submitted plans to the agency on how to accomplish this feat. NASA personnel currently are reviewing them. "It sounds really difficult and it is, no doubt, really difficult, but there definitely is interest," he said. But "that doesn't mean it can be done and it doesn't mean it can be done in seven years." Congressional leaders have spoken out against this plan, and U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, a Republican from Texas, sponsored legislation extending the station's life until 2030. U.S. operations currently are scheduled to end by the end of 2024, but Congress can extend it past that date. And they have before The former Oklahoma congressman and Rice University graduate spoke to a select group of reporters Thursday ahead of a Friday event at Johnson naming the astronauts assigned to be the first humans to fly on commercial spacecrafts headed to space. The group announced Friday will be the first astronauts to launch from American soil since NASA's Space Shuttle program was shuttered in 2011. The Houston center is home to the nation's astronaut corps, where human space flight research and training take place. It is also home to the International Space Station's mission operations and the Orion program. The two spacecrafts, being built by Boeing and SpaceX, have been under development in partnership with NASA since 2014. Both companies have experienced delays in development, so much so that accountability organizations are worried that it could impact the country's access to the space station. U.S. astronauts currently rely on Russia to transport them to the space station from Kazakhstan, but that contract ends next year. Bridenstine said Thursday he is concerned about these delays, but NASA personnel are "working to make sure we don't have to be concerned about it." For example, he added, the agency is mulling whether to send U.S. astronauts to the station for longer periods of time to make the number of seats we have last until 2020. "Launching American astronauts from American soil for the first time since the retirement of the space shuttle is a really big deal for us and we are focused on that," he said. "We're committed to it, we're going to get it done." The whole idea behind heightened commercialization of Low Earth Orbit, where the space station flies, is to allow the space agency to go where commercial companies can't. "We want to enable NASA to use its resources to go further and do things that haven't been done before," Bridenstine said. "Do we want to use government resources in Low Earth Orbit for the next 20 years, or do we want to spend that money on new things." JAMES WEBB TELESCOPE: Unexpected cost increases could cause cuts to other programs New things like the $2.7 billion Lunar Orbital Platform-Gateway basically a mini-space station orbiting the moon where astronauts could live and work. The gateway was proposed in Trump's budget request, setting aside $504.2 million in the coming year to begin working on the foundation. Returning to the moon, and establishing a continued presence in it's vicinity, will help NASA get to Mars faster, Bridenstine said. The moon is the perfect place to test new technologies for the Mars trip because it is just three days away from Earth -- astronauts could return quickly if need be. Using current technology, a trip to Mars will take six to nine months. If something goes wrong on Mars, there may not be a return journey, Bridenstine added. "The way to get to Mars soonest is to prove out all technologies on the moon," he said. "The visionary goal is the 2030s to go to Mars, but putting that out as a specific time -- we just don't know what we don't know." Alex Stuckey covers NASA and the environment for the Houston Chronicle. You can reach her at alex.stuckey@chron.com or Twitter.com/alexdstuckey. There is no public policy argument for statewide candidates not to debate one another. Oh, sure, there are political reasons for incumbents to duck debates, and there is a long tradition of incumbents in Texas doing just that the concern being giving those pesky challengers attention and legitimacy. But in terms of honoring and informing voters, and doing what is right for the public, there simply is no debate. Having candidates debate is a good thing. This is true at the local level when mayoral and city council candidates spar over the issues and take tough questions, and its true at the presidential level before a national television audience. Unfortunately, a number of statewide incumbents are ducking debates this year. Not all. U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, a Republican and excellent debater, has agreed to five debates with his Democratic challenger, U.S. Rep. Beto ORourke, who has been a fundraising machine and wants six debates. Details are still being worked out, but these should be lively, engaging and informative events. Voters will come away with a much stronger sense of each candidates strengths and weaknesses. Bravo. Gov. Greg Abbott and his Democratic challenger, Lupe Valdez, the former Dallas County sheriff, sort of appear on their way to agreeing to at least one debate. This sets Abbott apart from other incumbents. Other statewide candidates are avoiding their opponents and the prospect of tough questions. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick had no problem debating former San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro on immigration in 2014, but they were not running against each other for office. Patrick has refused to debate Democrat Mike Collier, who holds an MBA and was a partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers in Houston. Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller has refused to debate his Democratic opponent, Kim Olson. Attorney General Ken Paxton has refused to debate Houston attorney Justin Nelson. And Land Commissioner George P. Bush is dodging a debate with Democrat Miguel Suazo. Cmon, candidates. Take the tough questions and spar with your challengers on policies and ideas. Its the right thing to do for voters and an important part of running for office. Is that really such a scary proposition? If it is, perhaps you should seek other work. I am shocked and dismayed with the the city of Austins Equity Office. The sheer audacity to suggest changing the capitals name eliminates any credibility the office had. This is the first step toward removing George Washington and others from our history because they were slave owners as well. The proposals to rename streets named after Confederates is, in itself, hypocrisy to the meaning of equity. Equity means if one group has something, the other should have something honoring a story or someone they feel is significant. By eliminating these streets, school names and statues, you are discriminating against descendants of these historic figures. Your silence is consent, allowing one minority to condemn, attack and ridicule another. Thats disgraceful. To create equity, you name new roads after underrepresented historical figures, build news schools and commission new memorials and statues for them. San Antonio has Navarro Street, named after Jose Navarro. His sons of Mexican descent fought alongside the Confederacy, yet no one has considered renaming it. De Zavala Road is named after the vice president of the Republic of Texas, whose children fought for the Confederacy and the preservation of the Alamo. Again, where is the outrage? Our grandparents made mistakes, yet we revere and adore them no less than they revered their grandparents, who were likely Confederate soldiers or patriots of the Texas Revolution. Ever since the people of the South were defeated, theyve became a docile, friendly people who dont want to make any trouble. And today, those meek and softhearted Southerners are asking for your help. Please take my suggestion to preserve the complete Texan history and legacy, while being inclusive to others and excluding none. Name new parks, new streets and schools after new noteworthy individuals so our history evolves but isnt amended or entirely eliminated. Christian Hilmar Lee Paid sick days Let me begin by saying that, as a very small (five-person) employer, I have always proudly offered paid sick leave, paid vacation and paid health insurance to my employees. In turn, we have standards for experience, behavior and performance that many applicants are unwilling to meet. Extending those benefits to any employee, regardless of skill or attitude, degrades our ability to compete for the best workers. But I am aghast at a legal system that allows one group of private citizens to demand direct payments from another. Mandating paid sick leave isnt a tax or a public entitlement. This is using the city government to confiscate funds from employers and hand them out simply because a lot of people would like to be on the receiving end. When the people find that they can vote themselves money, that will herald the end of the republic. Benjamin Franklin. John F. Dini, Hollywood Park Didnt sign up During the presidential campaign, Donald Trump vowed that Mexico would pay for the wall. But now hes threatening to veto the budget and shut down the government unless Congress budgets billions of our dollars to pay for the wall. Nobody signed on for this. Ken Phelps Too smart for mobs Re: Nazis revisited, Your Turn, July 22: Hugh Caddess mentioned Mobs organized and funded by George Soros. Soros has become a sort of bogeyman used by right-wing types to scare people. They did the same thing when Barack Obama was president claiming that he was going to take away peoples guns. I never participated in demonstrations, even when I was young, and I never believed that they changed anything, except perhaps the larger anti-Vietnam War ones, which got some politicians attention. Some smaller demonstrations do get TV coverage, but how many people would change their minds because of one? George Soros, however, is a shrewd businessman. I doubt that he would waste money funding a mob. He could exert influence through campaign contributions and hire lobbyists, as I would do if I had serious money. The people that I know who attend demonstrations do it because they feel passionate about issues nobody pays them. Caddess refers to another letter published on July 12 by Rick Garcia, suggesting that Garcia is a victim of a lot of socialist indoctrination. People these days often use the word socialism or its derivatives as an insult, with no idea of what the word means. Comparing Trump to Hitler requires thought, not name-calling. True, Trump scapegoats people, especially nonwhites, but to me, any resemblance to Hitler is superficial at best. Hitler believed the Germans were a master race and that they should conquer territory to the east, killing or enslaving the Slavic peoples there as well as Jews and other races considered undesirable, leaving land for Germans to colonize. From what I can ascertain, President Trump does not believe in anything other than Donald J. Trump. At heart, he is a showman, adept at telling people what they want to hear. There is, however, one resemblance. Trump used to claim he was smarter than his generals. Hitler must have felt the same he was the supreme leader of the Nazi military. Thomas L. Arnow Dozens of South Side businesses had their zoning changed against their will Thursday when City Council approved a proposal intended to encourage economic development around the mission World Heritage sites. Council and Mayor Ron Nirenberg voted 10-0 in favor of the proposal after nearly two hours of passionate testimony from about 30 South Side residents, roughly half in favor and half opposed. District 10 Councilman Clayton Perry was absent for the vote. The vote ended an arduous six-month process in which the city faced off against irate business owners who said the downzoning violated their property rights. In June, Zoning Commission recommended denying the proposal after a divided vote, raising concerns of government overreach. The proposal, led by the citys World Heritage Office, is intended to clean up the areas around the missions and clear the way for new development, especially the retail businesses such as coffee shops, restaurants and book stores that South Side residents say they need more of. After decades of neglect, the South Side is finally seeing significant new development with the 2015 World Heritage designation and the completion of the Mission Reach section of the River Walk. Its time the rich culture of the South Side make its stage debut, with storefronts that boast the talents of local artisans and restaurants that can offer tourists a unique taste of Native American cuisine, South Side resident Angela Menchaca said at the meeting. Most of the zoning changes have wide support, but business owners were up in arms over a part of the proposal that downzoned about 36 businesses to correct what many South Siders see as a glut of salvage yards, auto shops and motels on the Roosevelt and Presa Street corridors. Many of the businesses have operated on the South Side for decades. Dean Perry, who owns the Simons Transmission auto shop on Roosevelt, estimated that the downzoning will take away about a third of the uses he is allowed on his property, and will shrink the amount of allowed floor space by 55 percent. The city has told the property owners that their businesses will be grandfathered into the new zoning, meaning they could stay there indefinitely and could be sold or passed to relatives. But many of the owners simply dont trust the city. To read more about the controversial decision, see Fridays metro section or click here to visit our subscriber website, ExpressNews.com. Richard Webner is a staff writer in San Antonio. Read him on our free site, mySA.com, and on our subscriber site, ExpressNews.com. | rwebner@express-news.net | Twitter: @RWebner NRP Group is talking with the citys affordable housing nonprofit about building a 320-unit apartment complex on San Pedro Creek that would likely receive a full property tax exemption in return for setting aside units for low-income renters. The citys Zoning Commission will decide Tuesday whether to rezone 9.1 acres of land on Cevallos Street, next to the creek and a block away from Interstate 10, from industrial to infill development to make way for the complex. A site plan indicates the complex will feature five buildings and a dog park among several parking lots. - Orji Kalu, a former governor Abia, says President Buhari will win massively in the southeast - Kalu says projects embarked upon by the Buhari government in the region would make him win the votes of the people in the area - He says Buhari has done what Olusegun Obasanjo and Goodluck Jonathan could not do for the region Former governor of Abia state, Orji Kalu, has said that President Muhammadu Buhari will win over 75 percent of votes in the south-eastern part of Nigeria in 2019, as a reward for the landmark projects executed in the zone. Kalu said this on Thursday, August 2, at an expanded meeting of the executive members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) at the ward, local government and state levels in Igbere, Bende local government area of Abia. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Kalu said that Buhari had done for the zone what previous leaders, including former president, Olusegun Obasanjo and Goodluck Jonathan, could not do, especially on roads. READ ALSO: Bench warrant against INEC chairman "very curious" - Group The former governor reportedly cited the ongoing rehabilitation of the Enugu-Port Harcourt Expressway, Enugu-Onitsha expressway and the construction of the second Niger bridge as some of Buharis major projects in the region. He, however, said that the major challenge facing the zone include the deplorable state of roads and the issue of the second Niger Bridge. Kalu recalled that as the governor then, he had to dismantle all the toll gates in the state to protest federal governments neglect of the roads in the state, but expressed joy that Buhari had been able to address the problem. The former governor, however, decried the poor state of the Abia economy, citing the irregular payment of workers salaries and infrastructural deficit. He said that most of the ongoing road projects in the state were being done by the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC). Kalu further expressed optimism that APC would record landslide victory in Abia during the 2019 general elections. The party has the antidote against rigging and what it takes to win the polls at all levels in 2019. We will never allow anybody to rig us out of elections in Abia again. We shall match them force by force and money for money, he said as he urged the APC leadership not to be weighed down by the gale of defections from the party. According to him, defection is a personal decision. It is their decision to defect to other parties, but it is also our choice to remain in APC, he said stressing the need for APC to nominate credible candidates that would dislodge any opponent of its governorship candidates, in state and National Assemblies. The power to elect the party flag bearers is in your hands. Give us good candidates and we will match the powers-that-be in the state, any how they want it. PAY ATTENTION: Read the news on Nigerias #1 new app You should not vote for aspirants on sentiments. Vote for aspirants based on their track record and proven competence, he said. The report said at least 3,000 party members and supporters attended the meeting from across the state. They include: Senator Chris Adighije, Chief Mack Wabara, a former banker, Sampson Ogah, a former governorship aspirant of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 2015 and Chief Donatus Nwamkpa. Legit.ng earlier reported that after several weeks of speculation, Governor Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto state, on Wednesday, August 1, defected from the ruling. Nigeria News 2018: Here's What Saraki and Tambuwal's Defection Means for the APC | Legit.ng TV Source: Legit - The Legacy Initiative International, according to Kenny Martins, has some mandates geared at the unity of the country - Kenny Martins laments concerning how some supposed leaders in the country make hate speeches in the face of the challenges facing the country - Martins also lists those who have been contacted and who have given their endorsements Eminent Nigerians across the country have decided to lay aside their political, ethnic and religious differences with a primary mandate of rescuing the country from sliding into anarchy. Revealing this at a press conference, statesman Kenny Martins said it was time to redeem Nigeria and bring God into the equation, especially concerning the various challenges facing the country currently. Theres something missing in our equation. Why dont we bring God into our equation? Its redemption time," he told journalists in Lagos. Unveiling the state Legacy Initiative International, an organisation through which the mission is to be accomplished, the eminent Nigerians believe Nigeria's unity must be sacrosanct. READ ALSO: Bench warrant against INEC chairman "very curious" - Group While Chief Martins is the grand patron of the organisation, Bolaji Akinyemi, a respected Nigerian and co-chairman of the last constitutional conference, is its president. Nigeria must be redeemed with immediacy - Eminent Nigerians commence action plan Martins revealed that the leadership of the organisation had met with religious and opinion leaders including: Prophet TB Joshua of the Synagogue Church of All Nations, The Archbishop of the Catholic archdiocese of Lagos and that of Abuja; the Sultan of Sokoto; the Etsu Nupe; emir of Bida; the Prelate of the Methodist Church, Nigeria; the Primate of the Church Of Nigeria, Anglican Communion; the leader of the Christ Apostolic Church and that of the Living Faith Church, David Oyedepo. Others include the leader of NASFAT; the president Of CAN and its leadership, the head of the National Christian Elders Council; the president of the Christian Counsel of Nigeria; the leader Cherubim and Seraphim Church; the leader of the Celestial Church of Christ; the leader of the Trinity Church; the leader of the Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministry; the leader of Goodnews Miracle Church; the leader of The Redeemed Evangelical Mission (TREM); the senior special adviser to the president on media and publicity; three former presidents; many former and serving governors and senior legislators. Legit.ng reports that members of the group also include seasoned professionals from different backgrounds, top Nigerian women and some youths from all parts of the country. We also have members who are Nigerians living in the diaspora. Our diaspora members contribute to our debates through the social media. We also have functional offices in the United Kingdom and other European countries, while the United States and Canadian wings are fast coming up, he said. Apart from peaceful co-existence among Nigerians in the diaspora, our diaspora members have asked us to advocate that they should be allowed to vote during elections as many other countries allow their citizens in the diaspora to vote during general elections. Some members of the group. Credit: Legacy Initiative "In the case of the Nigerians diaspora vote, we understand that there is, in fact, a subsisting judgement of a Nigerian high court directing the appropriate agency to allow diaspora voting, which judgement is yet to be executed or complied with. The twin issues that Legacy has decided to focus its advocacy upon are not in the least exotic. These are hardcore issues that have prevented our country from developing as fast as it could have developed over the years. "The good news is that with the work of Legacy and the organisations that have pledged their support to it, the twin evils of ethnicity and religious intolerance will be drastically defeated and degraded in Nigeria, if l may use that contemporary terminology. READ ALSO: Top Abuja PDP chieftain decamps to APC with hundreds of members in Kuje "Our population of Muslims in Nigeria is more than the population of any other country in Africa. Also, our population of Christians in Nigeria is more than the population of any other country in Africa. Only Nigeria has the capacity to feed 200,000,000 people per year and still remain the largest economy in our continent. It is, therefore, a thing of regret that often times the narratives that we see and hear, even from very prominent Nigerians are issues that relate to hate speech and the proclamation of artificial fault lines like ethnicity and religious intolerance. We recognise the place of evangelism in every religion and the rights of believers to seek converts to their own sect or mission. What causes odium is not the genuine acts of winning converts but the deliberate denigration of a people or the use of vile language to describe their faith. At interpersonal levels, Nigerians of all faith and ethnicity love each other. We intermarry with each other, work in each others company and belong to similar social organisations. Nobody buys stuff from the market from only his faith group or ethnic group. Nobody goes to check the faith or ethnic origin of a bus driver before we hop into the bus. However, from time to time especially during the period of general elections, the colours of our fault lines become more prominent than ever. It is the problem of these fault lines and the hardships that they have brought to our country Nigeria that Legacy is determined with your support to address in a comprehensive manner, once and for all," he added while noting that the organisation understands the enormity of the task before it. He urged leaders in the country to channel their attention to the forthcoming election and ensuring a peaceful process that would bring about the right leadership. Kenny Martins after the press with some religious leaders at the event. Credit: Legacy Initiative He also listed security problems around the country with different brand names ranging from; farmer-herdsmen clashes, bandits-citizens clashes; militancy, and deliberate destruction of the country's economic infrastructure in some regions of the country. In his own address, Akinyemi revealed that Christianity teaches love and Islam teaches peace, yet both ideals are elusive in Nigeria. PAY ATTENTION: Read the news on Nigerias #1 new app Legacy International Initiative is much concerned about high scale of insecurity and lawlessness in the nation, which has led to wanton bloodletting and huge number of internally displaced persons. It is saddenning and disheartening that with the global reputation of the Nigerian nation as a highly religious country, the great percentage of our citizens alluded to the Islam and Christian faiths, yet the expected effect of the teachings of these religions is far-fetched, he said. Legit.ng earlier reported that the Nigerian Christian Elders Forum (NCEF) reportedly tabled a seven-point demand before the British government for the peaceful resolution of the entire sectarian crises threatening the stability and unity of Nigeria. Nigeria News 2018: Here's What Saraki and Tambuwal's Defection Means for the APC | Legit.ng TV Source: Legit Photo shoots is gradually becoming a trend among Nigerian ladies, there is no event that they wont walk into the studio to have their faces painted as they stand before the camera striking different poses. A beautiful Nigerian lady identified as Adaeze Nwaka has taken to her Facebook profile to share pictures from her shoot as she graduated from the university. Nwaka shared the pictures as the thanked God for sparing her life and protecting her all through her years in school. She disclosed that she spent about five years at Imo State University (IMSU). The young lady was not alone as she took the pictures with some of her female friends. Beautiful Nigerian lady shares photos as she graduates from Imo State University. Source: Adaeze Nwaka READ ALSO: Talented Nigerian artist Ayeola Ayodeji paints beautiful family portrait (photos) The pictures were shared with the caption: We started from the scratch but here we are isnt it Gods grace??.... 5yrs in school is by his mercies, I want to also use this medium to appreciate my parents, pls can someone help me and tell them that am now a graduate and there long awaiting expectation has come to pass...they are the best parents ever, I luv dem plenty there support and prayers really kept me to dis point and to all my friends and well wishers who supported me all through this race,am grateful is a graduation something....All thanks to God. See post below: PAY ATTENTION: Join Africa Love Aid today for your daily relationship tips and advice Looking at the pictures, the young ladies were dressed in matching jean trousers and white top. They all looked beautiful. Congratulations! Why do Single ladies prefer to date married men? (Nigerian Street Interview) | Legit.ng TV - on Legit.ng TV. Source: Legit - The founder of the controversial Gabola Church, Pope Tsietsi Makiti has dropped another bombshell - This time he announced he would be writing his own bible with chapters named after the kasi locations of their different branches in Uganda - The religious leader said he hopes his holy book would decolonise black people First, Tsietsi Makiti founded a church out of a tavern (local alcohol joint), then he went on to be ordained as a pope. Now, the religious leader plans to write his own bible. The Daily Sun reported that Pope Tsietsi Makiti announced he would be writing his own bible using the kasis where they have branches as the chapters' names. Although the bible has not been seen but Makiti has provided the news outlet with a few samples of the verses the holy book would incorporate. READ ALSO: Man who claims to be a pastor confesses to stealing goat in Anambra (photos) According to the report, Evaton North chapter 1 verse 1 reads: Leave every Gabola Church member to come to the first black African pope, equal to none, for the kingdom of God is for the ones like them. Now and forevermore, Hallelujah Amstel. Makiti has since the establishment of his church in 2017, upgraded his title from bishop to pope. In April the Gabola founder was ordained as the Pope of Africa in Evaton North. However, although his church grew rapidly in only a few months, exceeding 15,000 members, the South African Union Council of Independent Churches said the church was a cult and disgrace to the Christian faith. PAY ATTENTION: Join Africa Love Aid today for your daily relationship tips and advice Nigerian Pastor Reveals How He Got the Gift of Prophecy at a Young Age | Legit.ng TV - on Legit.ng TV. Source: Legit Newspaper - Benue state governor, Samuel Ortom, claims the IGP has ordered withdrawal of police from IDP camps - The Benue governor said he would be going to the camps to visit them to tell them to find alternative - According to him, the 200 million Governor Wike promised will be used to mobilise them Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue has raised allegation against the inspector-general of police, Ibrahim Idris, accusing him of withdrawing police personnel deployed to protect the Internally Displaced Persons in the state. Tribune reports that Ortom said on Wednesday, August 1, that there was fear in IDP camps as a result. He said the money Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers promised them is already in the account and will be used to mobilise the IDP. READ ALSO: Obasanjo remains one of Nigerias biggest problems, must be ignored - Soyinka, Falana The governor said: I have no control over them. I will be going to the camps to visit them to tell them to find alternative because there is no point in keeping them. The N200million Wike promised is in the account, I will use the money to mobilize them and whatever we get at the State Emergency Management Agency, SEMA will be distributed to them. Legit.ng had reported that the Peoples democratic Party's national chairman Uche Secondus on Wednesday, August 1, led some PDP governors and senators on a solidarity visit to Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue state following recent threats to impeach him. In a brief speech when they met Ortom at the Government House, Makurdi, Secondus described the impeachment plot initiated by eight members of the Benue legislature as an act of illegality, and urged Nigerians to rise against it. PAY ATTENTION: Install our latest app for Android, read best news on Nigerias #1 news app The House has 30 members; eight members cannot form a quorum to seat, much less plot an impeachment process," he said. Nigeria News: Will Senators, Lawmakers Defection from APC Change Power in 2019? on Legit.ng TV Source: Legit A popular man of God based in Rivers state has been reported dead. According to reports, Prophet ThankGod Abam was killed by gunmen who were suspected to be assassins. It was further reported that the general overseer of Intercessory Prayer Ministry was assassinated in his Port Harcourt residence just two days to his sons dedication. This was to take place on Sunday, August 5. One of his church members Nkiru Amaefula on Friday, August 3, took to her Facebook handle to pen down her heartbreaking tribute to he man of God. Prophet ThankGod Abam reportedly dies just 2 days to son's dedication. Source: Nkiru Amaefula READ ALSO: Man who claims to be a pastor confesses to stealing goat in Anambra (photos) Her post reads: Oh Jesus, this is just too much o... What a wicked world... Your child dedication is on Sunday 5th of August and now you are no more... They couldn't even let you dedicate your innocent little son...What did you do to them that they couldn't just forgive and give you second chance... Who will speak for the young generation ministers... Who will fight for us... I can't forget your simple life style... I can't forget the last time i saw you at dr pascal Good mother brutal how you were yabbing me with your jokes and everyone there that day chaiii... Why, why, why, why death... What a black Friday... A Mighty man has fallen... tears... My heart is broken down Jesus... RIP papa general de commanding commander prophet ThankGod AbamThankGod Abam Ubi till we meet again to depart no more... Just can't stop crying oooo. The world is wicked ooo... Chaiii. See post below: PAY ATTENTION: Best love tips and relationship advice on Africa Love Aid group! In other news, Legit.ng earlier reported that a man of God based in Uganda , Pope Tsietsi Makiti has finally revealed his plans to write his own bible. The prophet in his teachigs supports the consumption of alcohol as he preaches in a tavern (a local alcohol joint). RIP! Nigerian Pastor Reveals How He Got the Gift of Prophecy at a Young Age | Legit.ng TV - on Legit.ng TV. Source: Legit.ng - The scope of things have changed in favour of the alleged killers of late Adeniyi Aborishade, the PDP chairman in Apapa local council in Lagos - This was as the wife of the deceased political leader, Silifat Aborishade, appealed to the police command in the state to drop the charges against them on Thursday, August 2 - Aborishade said that the suspects were actually those who reported her husbands death at the Ilasan police station in the state Silifat Aborishade, the wife of a recently murdered Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)'s leader in Apapa, Lagos state, has appealed to the police to drop the criminal charges filed against some of her husbands alleged killers. Adeniyi Aborishade, the PDP chairman in Apapa local council, died in a hospital after sustaining gunshot injuries during a party meeting on Sunday, July 22, Premium Times reports. READ ALSO: APC senators, presidency plan to impeach Saraki and Ekweremadu - PDP alleges The police said a heated face off ensued during a PDP meeting in Eti-Osa local council between a faction loyal to Moshood Salvador, the states party chairman, and that of the local government chairman, Kehinde Fasasi. Salvador reported to newsmen that he had left the venue of the meeting before the shooting began. Recently, the police arraigned Salvador and Fasasi alongside nine other party leaders before a Yaba magistrate court on two counts of conspiracy and unlawful killing. The magistrate ruled that they be remanded in prison till Monday, August 27, the court await the advice of the Lagos state director of public prosecutions. In her letter addressed to the deputy commissioner of police in Lagos, Aborishade said five of the accused persons were, in fact, the complainants in the suit. The mentioned suspects included Fasasi; Amos Fawole, chapter chairman, Surulere local council; Rotimi Kujore, party chairman, chapter chairman, Lagos Island local council; Fatai Adele, chapter chairman, Mushin local council; and Ismaila Abiola, chapter chairman, Amuwo Odofin local council. Aborishade said: I wish to further state with emphasis that the five accused persons are not in anyway responsible for the death of my husband, they are the complainants that have now for reasons best known to the prosecution, turned into the accused/victims in this unfortunate situation. The news of the above named persons detention at the State CIID, Panti, Yaba, and subsequent conviction on charges of conspiracy/ murder came as an utter shock and surprise to me, as same appears hasty and laced with malice. She said that the five suspects were those who reported her husbands death at the Ilasan police station, and were referred to the state criminal investigation department at Panti where they were detained and later charged to court. Aborishade also said: I wish to state with emphasis that the 2nd-6th defendants are on the same camp with my husband till his demise as they are close friends and fellow chairmen of their respective local governments. She went on to reveal that her husbands injuries had been attended to at the hospital because one of the suspects, Fawole, who is a medical doctor, had provided her husbands medical history and also paid for his medical bills. She remarked: The 2nd-6th defendants are my late husbands helpers who did everything within their reach to save my husbands life and as a result do not deserve to be treated inhumanly like criminals which they clearly are not. PAY ATTENTION: Get the Latest Nigerian News Anywhere 24/7. Spend less on the Internet! Chike Oti, the Lagos police spokesperson, refused to comment on the development because the matter is no longer in the police station. Oti said: The matter is subjudice as it were and no comment can be made on the matter that is receiving the attention of the court. Earlier, Legit.ng reported that the PDP had reacted to the defection of 15 APC senators who defected to its fold on Tuesday, July 24. Legit.ng gathered that Senate president Bukola Saraki on Tuesday, July 24, on the floor of the Senate announced the defection of the senators from the ruling party to the PDP. In his twitter handle, the spokesperson of the PDP, Kola Ologbondiyan, described the defection as a boost for the party to win 2019 general elections. Nigeria News 2018: Buhari Reacts To APC Senators Betrayal | Legit.ng TV Source: Legit.ng By Lambert Strether of Corrente. Very patient readers, this is a initial cut. Now Im going to go back and finish up my post on the NHS by trashing squillionaire Richard Bransons Virgin, among other thing. Also, my n key is still differently abled, causig me screamig, tooth-gridig frustratio. has a letter frequecy of oly 6.749% ad it feels like fifty [sarl]. lambert UPDATE 5:45PM The final cut. A bit thin still, the best I can do, today. Now to urse my ijured idex figer. * * * Trade US slaps export controls on dozens of Chinese firms over threat to national security as trade tensions escalate [South China Morning Post]. I suppose, if it comes to that, Id rather send my personal data to Chinas organs of state security, via Huawei, than our own, if only because the Chinese have to reason to exploit it. Politics 2020 Joe Biden visit attracting more interest than expected [Chicago Sun-Times]. Oh. RussiaRussiaRussia: Russia attacked our country during the 2016 election and its clear they are continuing to attack us today. These attacks not only harm one of our most sacred democratic values, which is a free and fair election, but also our American identity. It must be taken seriously. Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) August 2, 2018 Anybody who experienced the 2016 Democratic primary has to snicker at our most sacred democratic values, which is a free and fair election. And whats with this our American identity thing? Sounds like a new buzzword. 2018 Thanks, Obama: Less than two weeks after it was discovered that @BuffyWicks has avoided paying taxes at her business in Oakland she lands an endorsement from @BarackObama. These are the values of the Democratic establishment San Francisco Berniecrats-Our Revolution (@sfberniecrats) August 1, 2018 Once again, the horrid Buffy Wicks. Its no coincidence that Obama endorsed Wicks and not AOC. He is hold on to your hats, here, folks kicking the left again. Party unity is for rubes! BFFs (Timotheus): Ka-ching. Ka-ching. And ka-ching. UPDATE Gen X and Millennials Unite [Counterpunch]. Whereas then-Senator Obama promised a post-baby boomer presidency, Senator Kamala D. Harris will in fact deliver it. What does that even mean? Heres what it means in the Harris/Brown administration visioned by the author: If floating Governor Hickenlooper as Chief of Staff helps to secure his purple mountains majesty, then Harris does it. If prominent House Dems, like Schiff or Castro, want the U.N. or National Security Advisor, done. If rational Republicans like Corker and Flake want ambassadorships, then Berlin and Madrid await. The mix of personnel is secondary to the larger aim: government that functions to address, analyze, and effectively pursue solutions to a panoply of vexing problems. Bold, probably experimental, solutions. Adam Schiff and, well, Raytheon. But Beyonce. So its pragmatic. HI-01: Im liking this guy: If Democrats agree that Trump is a dangerously unfit Commander-in-Chief, then why in Gods green Earth did some Democratic Congressmembers vote to boost his military might by $600b? We must lead with moral clarity. Kaniela Ing (@KanielaIng) August 1, 2018 OH-12: Ohios 12th District Race Tightens in Final Stretch of Special Election [Roll Call]. But all eyes are on the suburbs of Columbus, Ohio, for the next few days ahead of the last special election before the November midterms. This race for Ohios 12th District has followed the trajectory of other Trump-era special elections, with Democrat Danny OConnor, the Franklin County recorder, steadily closing the gap with the Republican nominee, state Sen. Troy Balderson. Republicans are pulling out all the stops here. Outside groups such as the Congressional Leadership Fund have been propping up the GOP nominee, as it has in other recent special elections. And the district has seen a steady stream of national GOP surrogates, to be capped off this weekend with President Donald Trump. After initially staying out of the race, Ohio Gov. John Kasich who used to hold this seat endorsed Balderson last week and cut an ad for the CLF backing him. OH-12: The Most Accurate Bellwether: GOP fears mount over Ohio special election [McClatchy]. A special election next week in Ohios 12th Congressional District is the last big electoral test before Novembers election, a showdown in a once deep-red suburban House seat that Donald Trump won just two years ago by 11 points. Now, however, both parties view the race between GOP nominee Troy Balderson and Democratic nominee Danny OConnor as a toss-up and thats a warning sign for GOP candidates already bracing for a difficult election environment, especially in suburban districts that will help determine control of the House this fall. MI Governor: Sanders to Rally for Abdul El-Sayed as New Poll Shows Tightening Democratic Primary Race in Michigan [Common Dreams]. On the heels of poll results showing progressive candidate Abdul El-Sayed is pulling ahead in Michigans Democratic gubernatorial primary race, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) announced he would rally voters in the state in support of El-Sayed this weekend. Sanders will speak at two rallies in Detroit and Ypsilanti on Sunday, promoting the former Detroit health directors support for a state-level Medicare for All program, promise of free college tuition for most state residents, and pledge to invest in renewable energy and green jobs. Sanders is the only U.S. senator whos endorsed El-Sayed ahead of the August 7 primary election. Dont get excited by one poll, though, especially one from an organizatio called Change Research. Could be a late rally by El-Sayed, but. NY Governor: Cuomo gives zero [family blogs]: This is what corruption looks likehttps://t.co/O5PQP5rb2o People For Bernie (@People4Bernie) August 3, 2018 My satrapy, leftist dogs! Down! Down! https://www.yahoo.com/news/senate-reelection-bid-heidi-heitkamp-lonely-north-dakota-democrat-charts-path-174242416.html The Liberal Democrats Have Lost Their Minds Love me, love me, love me. Presented without comment pic.twitter.com/C8GsAP07Zy Michael Tracey (@mtracey) August 2, 2018 Another liberal Democrat woman comedian follows Samantha Bees royal road to wealth and fame: To be clear: I like a lot of things about Bernie. But he brings out our worst 2016 selves, which was my point. Every dem I know wants single payer and loves AOC. Lets focus on moving forward. Also Bernie likes it in the box. I got him a heat rock and feed him lettuce Melinda Taub (@MelindaTaub) July 30, 2018 Again, party unity is for rubes. Squillionaires with bright ideas: Tom Steyer just told the crowd at #NN18 that he believes Democrats will win in Nov. An hour ago one-on-one he told me he was "absolutely not" confident the House would flip. MaryAlice Parks (@maryaliceparks) August 2, 2018 On the Koch Brothers v. Trump feud: A few observations about the Koch-Trump feud. /1https://t.co/XUDh0Pr8Zn Daniel Schulman (@DanielSchulman) August 2, 2018 Kayfabe? If so, whos the Face, and whos the Heel? Im not strong on conservative factions, so Id be interested in reader thoughts on this thread. Heres Why Marijuana Will Play a Major Role in the Next Two National Elections [Alternet]. Michigan will vote on a legalization initiative in November, and there will be efforts in Arizona and Ohio in 2020, the panelists said. But grassroots initiatives could also bubble up in places like North Dakota and Oklahoma, both of which saw serious efforts this year that will almost certainly not make the November ballot but do lay the groundwork for the next cycle. Vermont became the first state to free the weed via the legislative process (although it does not allow retail sales), but [National Cannabis Industry Association (NCIA) director of governmental relations Mike Correia] sketched out how the next couple of years could see Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, and Rhode Island fall in line behind it. By the time November 2020 rolls around, most of New England and the mid-Atlantic states could be legal, with Illinois and Michigan creating a major toehold in the heart of the Midwest. Donald Trump and the American Left [Rob Urier, Counterpunch]. As widely loathed as the Democratic establishment is, it has been remarkably adept at engineering a reactionary response in favor of establishment forces. Its demonization of Russia! has been approximately as effective at fomenting reactionary nationalism as Mr. Trumps racialized version. Lest this be overlooked, the strategy common to both is the use of oppositional logic through demonization of carefully selected others. This points to the most potent fracture on the Left, the question of which is the more effective reactionary force, the Democrats neoliberal nationalism or Mr. Trumps racialized version? As self-evident as the answer apparently is to the liberal / Left, it is only so through abandonment of class analysis. Race, gender and immigration status are either subsets of class or the concept loses meaning. By way of the reform Democrats analysis, it was the shift of working class voters from Barack Obama in 2012 to Donald Trump in 2016 that swung the election in Mr. Trumps favor. To the extent that race was a factor, the finger points up the class structure, not down. This difference is crucial when it comes to the much-abused white working-class explanation of Mr. Trumps victory. The Hunger for a Bold Socialism [Conor Friedersdorf (BWA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA!!!!), The Atlantic]. The conclusion: For now, their posture suggests a catchy counterargument for a market-oriented system with better checks on rent seeking and a strong safety net: Capitalism: Making peoples lives materially better is enough.' Which, in all fairness, is exactly the distinction between social democracy and democratic sociailism. Still, this whole unnaccountable bureacy thing. Verizon? The Pentagon? Will Tribalism Trump Democracy? [Patrick Buchanan, The American Conservative]. Today, a large share of the American people loathe who we were from the time of the explorers and settlers up until the end of segregation in the 1960s. They want to apologize for our past, rewrite our history, erase our memories, and eradicate the monuments of those centuries. The attacks upon the country we were and the people whence we came are near constant. And if we cannot live together amicably, secession from one another, personally, politically, and even territorially, seems the ultimate alternative. We is doing a lot of work here, but as far as outcomes, the reactioary mossbacked reprobate is onto something. One wonders if Buchanan could be converted to slicing things by class, rather than tribes. A Census Question That Could Change How Power Is Divided in America [New York Times]. Republicans officials, red states and conservatives behind a series of recent court cases have argued that districts historically allotted based on total population unfairly favor states and big cities with more undocumented immigrants, tilting power from states like Louisiana and Montana to California and New York. Congressional seats and state legislative districts should equally represent citizens or eligible voters, they say, not everyone. Until now, their arguments have faced a logistical challenge. The government doesnt currently count citizens as thoroughly as it does the total population, tallying every person on every block. Stats Watch Employment Situation, July 2018: Below consenus. Slowing job growth may be a welcome outcome given the risk that economic activity may be pressing up against capacity limits [Econoday]. The payroll breakdown is led by temporary help services. which indicates employers, stacked up with orders and backlogs, are scrambling to meet demand. Construction payrolls also stand out. Manufacturing payrolls rose more than double Econodays consensus with trade & transportation, reflecting strong activity in the supply chain Weakness in payrolls comes from mining and also government payrolls. Though the headline is softer than expected, this is yet another positive employment report that speaks to the strength of the labor market and the success, so far, of Federal Reserve policy. And: The internals generally look good, and the pace of year-to-date growth exceeds last year [Econoday]. The household and establishment surveys were not in sync. The year-to-date employment is running above the pace of last year. There were significant employment declines such as sporting goods stores. International Trade, June 2018: The nations trade deficit proved a little deeper than expected [Econoday]. Country data show a deepening deficit with China. Though deeper than expected in June, the nations trade deficit has been improving though the outlook, given tit for tats on tariffs, is uncertain. Purchasing Managers Services Index, July 2018: [B]elow expectations [Econoday]. [S]lowing in order growth may be a positive for this sample which appears to be approaching capacity limits. Business activity is at one the strongest rates in three years yet employment growth is being limited by lack of skilled labor. And: Both [PMI and ISM] services surveys are in expansion and their intensity of growth and general trends are similar this month [Econoday]. Institute For Supply Management Non-Manufacturing Index, July 2018: slowing is clearly the theme [Econoday]. Slowing is not only the theme of todays service reports but was also the theme of ISMs manufacturing report on Wednesday. The economy may have taken a breather in July which, given what appear to be approaching limits on capacity, could prove a long-term plus for the economy. Cheerleading? https://www.businessoffashion.com/articles/intelligence/the-startups-behind-new-yorks-retail-reawakening Retail: The Start-Ups Behind New Yorks Retail Reawakening [Business of Fashion (J-LS)]. Rebag is one of a number of small, online brands taking their place alongside the luxury establishment in haute shopping districts like Fifth Avenue and Melrose Avenue in Los Angeles. Until recently they would have been priced out of these areas. But landlords, who have seen vacant storefronts proliferate as the rise of online shopping triggers wave after wave of store closures, are increasingly willing to cut deals on even the most tony real estate. Both Yves and I have remarked on Manhattans vacant storefronts. Perhaps landlords threw in the towel? The Bezzle: My sentiments exactly; please just let me die pic.twitter.com/B4BdEqO14R Irene (@irene_koo) August 1, 2018 Will there be miniature submarines? UPDATE The Bezzle: MoviePass Played by Silicon Valleys Insane Rules [The New Republic]. MoviePass, whose subscribers pay a monthly fee to see an unlimited number of movies in most theaters in America, appears to be circling the drain. On Friday, the service temporarily shut down after the company ran out of cash MoviePass demise seemed inevitable, if only because of simple math. The company paid theaters full price for the tickets, but subscribers only paid $9.95 a month, so anyone who used MoviePass even once a month was costing it money. But MoviePass is not an anomaly. Many of the largest tech companies employ a similar strategy of burning cash in pursuit of rapid growth that could, theoretically, eventually be turned into profit. As the New York Timess Kevin Roose argued earlier this year, only somewhat hyperbolically, the entire economy is MoviePass now. Looking at tech peers in Silicon Valley (particularly Netflix, to which it was inevitably compared) it should be no surprise that MoviePass settled on a simple formula: Take money from venture capitalists, provide a below-market price for a popular service, and profit. Leaving open the question of why stupid money stays stupid for some firms, and not for others. Nice paper there for somebody. UPDATE The Bezzle: Blue Apron Shares Tumble on Decline in Revenue, Customers [Bloomberg]. The New York-based company said customers fell 24 percent in the second quarter, reversing gains made in the previous period. The number of people purchasing its signature boxes of food to make home-cooked meals dropped 9 percent from the first quarter to 717,000. The average order value also dipped from a year earlier to $57.34. Fewer customers led to a 25 percent decrease in revenue for the period ending June 30. Idea: Deliver on free scooters? UPDATE The Bezzle: The New Economys Old Business Model Is Dead [Foreign Policy]. The titans of the new economy are different from their predecessors in one very important way: They arent job creators at least not on a scale to match their dizzying growth in value. But the exponential difference between technology companies revenues and their payrolls probably wont last. The fact that they can have billions of users but only tens of thousands of employees is in part thanks to algorithms and machine learning, which have taken the place of many ordinary workers. It is also the result, however, of political decisions made back in the 1990s that freed these companies from regulation and those political decisions probably wont withstand increased scrutiny. As politicians and citizens get more worried about the behavior of technology giants, these companies are going to have to shoulder new regulatory burdens and will then have no choice but to hire many more people to manage them. In other words, the new economys old business model might be about to come to an end. I want to grow up to be a Moderator! (which is not such a bad ambition, especially as compared to I want to grow up to grow up to be a Regulatory Arbitrageur! Tech: Also my sentiments: Why Apple is worth $1 trillion pic.twitter.com/LuO4Tz5aKF Sophia (@SophiaCannon) August 3, 2018 UPDATE Tech: Yay Capitalism [No Mercy/No Malice]. According to a University of Chicago study, an iPhone was the single most accurate predictor of wealth. There is a positive correlation between your income and the likelihood you have an iPhone. So, just as driving a Ferrari says youre killing it, or have your priorities totally fucked up, or both, owning an iPhone is the easiest way to communicate your sexual strength. This ability to communicate better status is how a product that costs $370 to build sells for $999 which is amazing. Apples move from the tech sector (brain) to the luxury sector (genitals) has enabled it to reap unthinkable margins for a computer company. So Apples dongles are what? A return of the repressed, except in reverse? Gaia Index of all Iowa wildflower Wednesdays [Bleeding Heartland]. Lots of pictures by a very strong state-level blog. New study linking warming with disrupted Atlantic flow has scientists grumpy [Ars Technica]. Last week, Nature published a climate science study that reached a very surprising conclusionone that other climate scientists are taking issue with. Two other scientists penned a critical response and posted it at Real Climate the same day, outlining their issues with the studys findings. This kind of argument could be left to play out among scientists, but the BBC News covered the study without skeptical counterweight, so we thought it would be worth explaining what the arguments are about. Infinite are the arguments of mages. Even real mages! Our Famously Free Press Journalism unions: A statement from the Onion Inc. Union: pic.twitter.com/1cGsqz2DJZ Onion Inc Union (@OnionIncUnion) August 1, 2018 News of The Wired How the Keller Administration is Catalyzing Change in the Economy [City Alive (DK)]. From an interview with Sarita Nair, Chief Administrative Officer at the City of Albuquerque: Albuquerque can use our buying power to ensure local businesses are the providers of goods and services for the City, which will replace the millions of tax dollars currently sent to out-of-town vendors To increase access to these opportunities, all City community centers and libraries will have someone on staff who is trained on the process and is there to walk you through getting set up as a city vendor. The whole article is worth a read. The idyllic world of Farmers Markets. Thread: This is my 8th week repping the library at my towns farmers market and Ive picked up on an insane amount of vendor market drama/gossip. The politics, you guys! Tirzah Price (@TirzahPrice) August 3, 2018 Actually, I kinda like the picture of people of a gift economy where people are really passive-aggressive with each other. As opposed to a political economy where people go postal and start shooting everybody in sight. Genome Study Upends Understanding of How Language Evolved [Scientific American]. The evolution of human language was once thought to have hinged on changes to a single gene that were so beneficial that they raced through ancient human populations. the 2002 study has never been repeated. It was based on the genomes of only 20 individuals, including just a handful of people of African ancestry, says Atkinson: most came from Europe, Asia and other regions. She and her team have now re-examined the genes evolutionary history using a larger data set and a more diverse population.. They found that the signal that had looked like a selective sweep in the 2002 study was probably a statistical artefact caused by lumping Africans together with Eurasians and other populations. Piltdown Man in modern dress? * * * Readers, feel free to contact me at lambert [UNDERSCORE] strether [DOT] corrente [AT] yahoo [DOT] com, with (a) links, and even better (b) sources I should curate regularly, (c) how to send me a check if you are allergic to PayPal, and (d) to find out how to send me images of plants. Vegetables are fine! Fungi are deemed to be honorary plants! If you want your handle to appear as a credit, please place it at the start of your mail in parentheses: (thus). Otherwise, I will anonymize by using your initials. See the previous Water Cooler (with plant) here. Todays plant (Lee): Lee writes: This eye-catching bloom from a local park where I walk the dogs. I dont much about roses so I have no idea as to what variety this might be. * * * Readers: Water Cooler is a standalone entity not covered by the annual NC fundraiser. So do feel free to make a contribution today or any day. Here is why: Regular positive feedback both makes me feel good and lets me know Im on the right track with coverage. When I get no donations for five or ten days I get worried. More tangibly, a constant trickle of small donations helps me with expenses, and I factor that trickle in when setting fundraising goals. So if you see something you especially appreciate, do feel free to click the hat! To give more, click on the arrow heads to the right of the amount. Donate $25 $50 $75 $100 If you hate PayPal even though you can use a credit card or debit card on PayPal you can email me at lambert [UNDERSCORE] strether [DOT] corrente [AT] yahoo [DOT] com, and I will give you directions on how to send a check. Hopefully UK-savvy readers can opine as to why the Financial Times has gone soft in the head on its Brexit coverage this week. This matters because for the most part, the pink paper has been generally sound on Brexit, which is rare in the UK. It has also done important original reporting, such as flagging very early on how the UKs Customs IT systems would be unable to handle a Brexit and on the huuge number of international agreements that the UK would need to replace when exited them by virtue of leaving the EU. Admittedly, the Financial Times has run planted stories, like its occasional pieces of what City lobbyist are trying to get the Government to do, but its been pretty even handed in those write-ups. It has also run two, maybe three optimistic stories that seems out of synch with the trajectory of events, of the Ys, the EU is gonna be nice to the UK ilk, based on reports from EU diplomats. In one story, the Financial Times named their countries, and they were clearly too uninfluential and too few in number to make a difference. I debunked one in passing and ignored the others, in part because they werent given prominent placement. But the Financial Times has started pushing the line, hard, that the EU is going to give the UK concessions to get a withdrawal deal done, supposedly because EU leaders want to keep May in office as well as appease their business leaders. The newspaper published two articles in this vein this week, each as the lead story in the US edition. From Wednesdays piece, Brussels willing to accept fudge on vital Brexit pact: The EU is willing to fudge crucial Brexit negotiations and offer Britain a vague blueprint for future ties with the bloc if it helps Theresa May avoid a no deal outcome and win parliamentary backing for a withdrawal treaty. The development comes as the UK prime minister steps up talks with EU leaders, including a meeting with Frances Emmanuel Macron this week. Since the start of talks last year, Brussels, Berlin and Paris have stressed the need for a political declaration on future relations that would unambiguously make clear what kind of trade relationship the EU and the UK will have after Brexit. British officials are convinced that Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, is helping soften the EUs approach after a more positive meeting with Mrs May earlier this month. One UK official said the chancellor was ready to give Michel Barnier, the EUs chief negotiator, more freedom to close a deal. Translation: The Financial Times has decided to throw its institutional weight behind the Governments latest fantasy. The Guardian begged to differ on Thursday in German sources deny Brexit deal offer amid warning from pro-EU camp: Reports that Germany is willing to offer Theresa May a vague Brexit deal so as to prevent the UK crashing out of the EU with no deal have set alarm bells ringing among anti-Brexit campaigners in the UK and prompted denials from German sources German sources insisted that despite several reports from Brussels and EU officials, no instruction had been issued to the commission to back a vague blueprint, adding that clear guarantees about the planned future trading and security relationship would be required by Berlin. Note that most of the story was about the Remainers freakout if the rumors were true. And todays, headlined EU shows sign of softer position on Irish backstop. From the text: Michel Barnier, the EUs chief Brexit negotiator, declared in an article published in 20 newspapers across Europe that he was now willing to improve the text of his proposal for a so-called backstop solution to avoid a hard border on the island of Ireland. Mr Barnier also promised that the EU would seek a relationship with the UK that was unprecedented in scope and depth seen in London as a sign that Brussels may go beyond existing models of co-operation with third countries. This is sheer lunacy. I read a translated version of the Barnier op-ed in El Pais (hat tip Ignacio). He said absolutely nothing new. The Financial Times seems to have caught the Governments disease of hearing what it wants to hear. Richard North has ignored the Financial Times spin, deemed the UK to have gone past the point of no return on Brexit (which in pilot terms, means a crash or hard landing is baked in). Politico, which keeps close tabs on Brexit developments and hasnt found anything newsworthy in Mays grand tour, roused itself to issue what looks like a rebuttal of the Financial Times story. First from its daily European newsletter: THERESA MAY GETS A PRIVATE LESSON: British Prime Minister Theresa May has another chance to hear what the Continent has been telling her all along (including Germany, in which her government seems to have seen reason for fresh hope, judging from reports in the British press about a would-be Merkel about-face). May will meet Emmanuel Macron today at Fort de Bregancon, the French presidents holiday retreat. The EUs line has consistently been that a new, special, deep, unheard-of partnership with the Union is more than welcome as long as it doesnt harm the integrity of the single market (plus Britain caving on the backstop to avoid a hard border on the island of Ireland). Some say that with a friendlier tone than others, but the core message has never changed . Michel Barnier, for his part, said in the nicest way possible, in an opinion piece for a range of European newspapers, that the Chequers white paper wont fly as it currently stands. And from the Politico story Brexit deal off the menu at May-Macron summit: Theresa May can look forward to an excellent dinner at Emmanuel Macrons holiday pad, but she shouldnt expect a Brexit concession for dessert. there is little sign that the U.K.s latest round of grand tour diplomacy is shifting EU red lines. The only negotiation channel is through the EU Commissions Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier, said a senior European diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity Barnier is also showing no sign of softening in the summer heat. In an op-ed published Thursday and titled An ambitious partnership with the U.K. after Brexit, Barnier torpedoed Mays proposal on market access in the nicest way possible. It was the latest in the EU negotiators continuing effort to make clear that the core of Mays proposal is unacceptable to the EU27 without fully rejecting her white paper so completely as to potentially derail the talks or even imperil Mays government But most of Barniers piece was focused on the urgent need for a solution for Ireland and on why core aspects of Mays Chequers plan are unacceptable to Brussels because they threaten the integrity of the EU single market In Berlin too, there was no sign Thursday of a shift in mood music. Germanys outgoing top Brexit official, Peter Ptassek, tweeted out a link to Barniers op-ed, stressing what has been the EUs top priority in the Brexit negotiations since the start of the year: the need for a safeguard, or backstop, to prevent a hard border between Northern Ireland and Ireland. And officials expressed surprise that anyone on the U.K. side might have detected a shift in Angela Merkels tone on Brexit after her July 5 meeting with May in Berlin. There hasnt been any change whatsoever, a German foreign policy official insisted. The Guardian also saw the Barnier article as a slap to the UKs pig-headedness. From UKs Brexit proposals threaten future of EU, says Barnier: Michel Barnier has launched his own appeal for hearts and minds in Europe by warning that Theresa Mays Brexit proposals, put forward in the UK governments recent white paper, pose a threat to the future of the European single market. Barniers line is a familiar one in Whitehall, but the publication of his article is incendiary given the push in recent days by May and her cabinet to try and forge a new approach to the negotiations with the EU27 states. I read this differently. Barnier told May before she launched her charm offensive that her time would be better spent on going back to the drawing board. As we wrote last last week: On top of that, May plans to go over Barniers head to get him overruled. Barnier saw fit to clear his throat about that: Anyone who wants to find a sliver of difference between my mandate and what the heads of government say they want are wasting their time, quite frankly. Theresa May tried this stunt before (there have been so many Brexit twists and turns I cant recall over what) and it didnt work then. More important, Mays efforts to go mano a mano is hugely disrespectful to the EU. It isnt simply that shes trying to undermine Barnier. It is that the EU set forth at the end of April 2017 the guidelines for how the negotitions would be conducted, including the sequencing of issues. The UK grumbled a bit but did not attempt to renegotiate the EU deciding the shape of the table. That exercise included the EU27 giving Barnier his negotiating parameters. The only way to change that would be at an EU Council meeting. May acting as if she can get waivers by talking nice to a few head of state again demonstrates how the UK acts as if everything should be done to accommodate its whims and foibles. Barnier showed some pique in his earlier remark. It seems plausible that this article was meant as a passive aggressive slap at May, and that hed have the full support of the people who count in the EU27. But the bizarre articles in the Financial Times, apparently based on Government whisperings, show that UK officials are so thick, they dont even realize they are being dressed down. By Gaius Publius, a professional writer living on the West Coast of the United States and frequent contributor to DownWithTyranny, digby, Truthout, and Naked Capitalism. Follow him on Twitter @Gaius_Publius, Tumblr and Facebook. GP article archive here. Originally published at DownWithTyranny The legendary, pre-historic great flood of China, which was said to have lasted several generations. The flooded area to the east is roughly what is now called the North China Plain, one of two Chinese breadbaskets. Chinese civilization starts from this region. The smaller flooded area on this map is in the Sichuan Basin, Chinas other major growing region. (The circled area is thought to be the territory of Chinas first dynasty, the Xia, said to have rule there starting about 2200 BC.) Image credit: SY Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, link. Its common among a certain group of historians to call the 20th century the American century, named for the political superpower that dominated it. Americans especially revel in the phrase. The term [the American century] was coined by Time publisher Henry Luce to describe what he thought the role of the United States would be and should be during the 20th century. Luce, the son of a missionary, in a February 17, 1941 Life magazine editorial urged the United States to forsake isolationism for a missionarys role, acting as the worlds Good Samaritan and spreading democracy. He called upon the US to enter World War II to defend democratic values. Luces 1941 editorial closes this way: Throughout the 17th century and the 18th century and the 19th century, this continent teemed with manifold projects and magnificent purposes. Above them all and weaving them all together into the most exciting flag of all the world and of all history was the triumphal purpose of freedom. It is in this spirit that all of us are called, each to his own measure of capacity, and each in the widest horizon of his vision, to create the first great American Century. That was written before Pearl Harbor, but the phrase endured throughout the post-war world of American hegemony, as Luces dream of global freedom was snuffed out by America deliberately and repeatedly, in Guatemala, Iran, Vietnam, Chile and a dozen other countries so that American hegemony, not global freedom, could remain the order of the day. China, recovering from a century of humiliation and foreign domination, has risen fresh from its own colonial wounds and seeks to reverse American hegemony, to make the 21st century a Chinese century, an outcome Americans fear, of course, and the U.S. government claims to work to avoid. Americans should have no fear of a Chinese century. The one were in will not be a Chinese century, any more than it will be anyone elses. In fact, I can predict with confidence that unless this species gets global warming under control, China will not even be territorially intact by the end of the 21st century. (For the same reason its many mountain ranges neither will the United States.) Consider the North China Plain, one of Chinas two breadbaskets. As I wrote in 2015: In a world without a climate crisis, China will win economically. The U.S. has already, as part of an unspoken national economic policy, handed China control of the worlds manufacturing, in exchange for major additions to American CEO bottom lines, like Phil Knights at Nike. Put simply, U.S. national economic policy is to make China and Phil Knight rich at the expense of most Americans. Both China and Phil Knight have taken that deal. But in a world with a climate crisis, the North China Plain is at risk. If 45N latitude is roughly the cutoff for livability in the latter half of the 21st century (sorry, cant find the link), Beijing at 39N will boil, as will the North China Plain, directly south of that. The Guardian agrees, writing just recently: Unsurvivable heatwaves could strike heart of China by end of century. The deadliest place on the planet for extreme future heatwaves will be the north China plain, one of the most densely populated regions in the world and the most important food-producing area in the huge nation. New scientific research shows that humid heatwaves that kill even healthy people within hours will strike the area repeatedly towards the end of the century thanks to climate change[.] Bill McKibben responded, adding that the North China Plain, home to 400 million, will be essentially uninhabitable by centurys end without huge emissions cuts now. At just 50 meters above sea level, the North China Plain will also flood, as this National Geographic map, from their piece What the World Would Look Like if All the Ice Melted, illustrates: Asia after all the ice melts. Everything blue is water (click to enlarge). Chinas other breadbasket, the Sichuan basin, will likely fare no better, as it sits even further south. Climate models predict average temperature in the Sichuan Basin will increase 4C (7.6F) from the start of this century to the end, with an increase in the number of extreme heat waves of the kind were seeing this summer in the U.S. and elsewhere: Not only has Britain sweltered in the five-week heatwave that finally ended last Friday, record-breaking heat has subjectedNorway, Sweden and Finland to unheard-of temperatures above 32C, thats 90F, recorded 60 miles north of the Arctic Circle. Meanwhile in Ouargla, a Saharan desert city in Algeria, a temperature of 51.3C (124.2F) recorded on 5 July is thought to be the highest ever reliably measured in Africa. And so in Japan, and so in Greece, and so in Canada: all over the northern hemisphere, record-breaking heat. Theres more on the way. You cant grow much in that heat, and you cant grow anything if you cant work safely outside. There will be no Chinese century. Should we fail to bring our climate, and our billionaires, under the peoples control, this century will be no ones century at all, not even the billionaires. After all, those billionaires, far from planning our joint survival, are busy instead plotting their own escape. ADDED: I cant imagine why people who look into the future, seeing better smart phones, smarter door locks, driverless cars, the next big thing only bigger, dont see this, dont factor in the tsunami that even now wets their faces. But its clear they dont. I guess the day they do is the day we might make progress. Were certainly not making it now. Patient readers, Yves apologizes for slim pickings in the original posts department, and pleads the stresses of travel and eldercare. lambert Cat and hen form unlikely bond in face of Redding wildfire Los Angeles Times Decades-long investigation into Bermuda Triangle finally explains mysterious disappearances RT Too big to fail is alive and kicking The American Banker $50 a month for 1Mbps: How AT&T and Verizon rip off DSL customers Ars Technica Apples $1 Trillion Milestone Reflects Rise of Powerful Megacompanies NYT By Tripling Its Stock Buybacks, Apple Robs Workers And The Economy Forbes Korea moving to tax Google, Apple, Amazon Korea Times Rambus earnings approach sows confusion Francine McKenna, MarketWatch Subway Ridership Dropped Again in New York as Passengers Flee to Uber NYT. Neoliberal playbook. 3M Knew About Dangers of Toxic Chemicals Decades Ago The Investigative Fund Brexit UK farmers allowed to take more water from rivers as heatwave continues Guardian (KW) Syraqistan China? New Cold War Alleged Russian agents infiltration of GOP circles anything but subtle CNN. She tended to brag about her ties to Russian intelligence when she was intoxicated. Superb tradecraft! Trump Transition Big Brother Is Watching You Watch BitPaymer Ransomware Infection Forces Alaskan Town to Use Typewriters for a Week Bleeping Computer Health Care Democrats in Disarray More Ex-Prisoners Can Vote They Just Dont Know It The Marshall Project Judge Rules Albuquerque Civil Forfeiture Law Unconstitutional, Upholds Innocent Until Proven Guilty Forbes (JB). Guillotine Watch Why the super-rich are taking their mega-boats into uncharted waters Guardian (JT McPhee). JT McPhee: So they can enjoy the last bits of beauty and wildness before their business models burn them Yeah, plus theres not enough water on Mars for yachts. The booming business of luxury chicken diapers The Outline Tokyo Medical University discriminated against female applicants by lowering entrance exam scores: sources Japan Times Class Warfare Bullshit-sensitivity predicts prosocial behavior PLOS-One. n=1000+ The miracle of the United States Postal Service The Week Antidote du Jour (via): See yesterdays Links and Antidote du Jour here. The people of a rural parish near Carrick-on-Suir will celebrate Mass at a scenic Comeragh Mountains lake on Bank Holiday Monday close to where their ancestors worshipped in secret during Penal Times. Parishoners of Rathgormack and Clonea-Power Parish will hike up to the shores of Lough Mohra that lies under Knockanaffrin peak for the Mass celebrated by their parish priest Fr P J Fegan at 3pm on Monday. Fr Fegan said the Mass was being organised to mark the upcoming visit of Pope Francis 1 to Ireland and the Catholic Church's World Meeting of Families in Dublin, which the Pope will be attending. "My idea is for the parish to do something together to mark the occasion. Our ancestors were the ones who kept our faith going and we will be the people who pass on the faith to the next generation. He hopes the Mass will be a joyful and memorable event for the parish. Lough Mohra was chosen as the venue as a Mass rock is located in its vicinity. The rock was used as a place of worship for Catholics persecuted by the Penal Laws during the 18th century. Knockanaffrin literally translates as Hill of the Mass. Fr Fegan said it wasn't suitable to have the ceremony at the actual Mass rock as its location was too physically dangerous so they are celebating it at the lake side. Michael O'Donoghue of Rathgormack Ramblers hiking club will lead the pilgrimage walk from the R678 Rathgormack to Clonmel Road up to Lough Mohra. The hike will take approximately 45 minutes along a forestry track with the final ten minutes of the trek over a mountain path. Limited car parking will be available at the start of the forestry trail and the organisers are recommending that people car pool to get to the start point. A limited mini-bus service provided by Local Link Waterford is being organised for people wishing to attend the Mass who do not have transport or will find the walk difficult. A bus will depart Clonea Church at 1.30pm on Monday stopping at Rathgormack Community Centre to pick up more people at 1.45pm. Another bus point will be located at the start of the walk. To book a place on a bus, please contact the following: Mary Greene at (086) 2447768 or Maura Brunnock at (051) 646077 by today Wednesday, August 1. People attending the Mass are advised to wear suitable footwear and clothing and bring a bottle of water. They may also consider taking a small fold up chair or blanket if they wish to sit while at the lake. After the Mass, the congregation will return to Rathgormack Community & Hiking Centre where refreshments will be served. Irish Water is reminding customers throughout Tipperary to continue to conserve water as much as possible. As a result of the ongoing dry spell, water levels in many sources are lower than normal and it will take a sustained period of rainfall to replenish supplies. Irish Water and Tipperary County Council are continuing to monitor water sources across the county. A big emphasis is being placed on finding and fixing leaks to reduce any water losses through the network. We are asking the local community to help in terms of checking for internal leaks within the home and fix any dripping taps or leaking toilets. If people notice any leaks in the area, please notify Irish Water at 1850 278 278 or via the website www.water.ie, so that they can be fixed. Irish Water this week launched a public information campaign on the importance of continuing to conserve water. The average person uses 129 litres of water a day. However, new research shows that over 50% of those surveyed under-estimate average daily personal water usage by half. While recent rainfall has led to a slight recovery in water levels in surface water sources (rivers and streams), it will take sustained rainfall over many weeks and even months to fully replenish raw water levels in rivers, lakes and groundwater sources and treated drinking water levels in our storage reservoirs. In the meantime we all have a role to play in conserving water. Simple steps like taking a short shower instead of a bath, turning off taps and fixing leaks in outside taps or farm troughs all help to make a difference. We are also reminding people to report any leaks they see in the public network by calling 1850 278 278 or on the Irish Water website Any measures taken to reduce consumption, no matter how small, will help in terms of replenishing water supplies. We would like to thank the communities and businesses for every effort they are making to reduce their water consumption at this time. For more water conservation tips please see https://www.water.ie/conservation/ The appointment of Alan Quirke as the new Director of the South East Action Plan for Jobs (SEAPJ) has been announced by SEAPJ Chairman Frank ORegan. Alan currently works as an attache for the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport in Brussels. Prior to moving to Brussels Alan worked as Economics Manager for the Financial and Evaluation unit in the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport. Qualified with a Masters Degree in Economics, and with a Bachelor of Law from Trinity, Alan is an economist who has also worked with the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation in a range of areas including monitoring the Action Plan for Jobs as well as preparing papers and as secretariat in areas relating to economic recovery and job creation. Frank ORegan stated Alan is uniquely connected with the apparatus of government and will be well positioned to develop practical strategic priorities from which we can promote our region both at government and local level. Alan will move home to Enniscorthy with his family and will begin with the SEAPJ in October. Under Alans leadership the Directors role will be expanded to establish a South East Regional development office supported by the five local authorities. The goal of this office is to build on the significant progress that has been made to date in areas such as economic development, infrastructure promotion, and promoting the region. Since the Action Plan for Jobs programme began in Q1 2015, some 12,400 new jobs have been created and the unemployment rate has dropped by 4.5%. Fergal Hartley of Hartley People Recruitment carried out the thorough search for this appointment, and was aided by Seamus Kilgannon and other South East colleagues in the interview process, and we ended up with excellent candidates. We look forward to further success in the region with Alans support and leadership, and we wish him the best of luck in his new role, Frank ORegan said. (Natural News) In the United States, healthcare is not considered a right. If you seek medical attention, you must either pay out-of-pocket or follow the premium and deductible plan setup by your health insurance provider. A Medicare-for-all system, on the other hand, would cover all medical expenses for all citizens, as long as the government can collect enough money from taxpayers to pay for the rising costs. There would be no premiums, deductibles, or out-of-pocket costs, yet there would be a new, universal tax on everyones income. A Medicare-for-all system would re-distribute all healthcare costs to the taxpayers. Consumers, medical professionals, and pharmaceutical companies would naturally take advantage of this system, knowing that all costs would be guaranteed by the taxpayer pool. A Medicare for All system would immediately drive up demand for both important and unnecessary medical care. Increased access to healthcare services could help some people receive a proper diagnosis. This could help the person take the correct course of action to prevent suffering and premature death. However, increased access to healthcare also enables doctors to order unnecessary treatments or procedures and over-prescribe needless medications. (Related: Pharma drug side effects add nearly half a TRILLION dollars to U.S. health care costs each year.) Medicare-for-all system would only redistribute the rising cost of healthcare, giving Big Pharma a blank check According to the Koch-funded Mercatus Center, the total cost of a Medicare-for-all system to U.S. taxpayers would be approximately $33 trillion over a ten-year period. This system would add $3.3 trillion in deficit spending to the already bloated $4.407 trillion annual expenditures of the federal government. Implementing this system could practically double the tax burden on the Middle and working class. This new system wouldnt fix the costly problems within the medical system; it would exacerbate the problems and only re-distribute the bloated costs. A Medicare-for-all system would not make health care a right for everyone, as suggested by Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders. This system would burden the poor, working, and Middle class with outlandish taxes just so people could receive medical care. Once implemented, Big Pharma could take advantage of this system and bankrupt America, while pretending to give everyone a right to healthcare. The current system, dictated by health insurance companies, is unsustainable on a financial level too, but a Medicare-for-all system would be the quickest way to bankrupt the country, shackling everyone to runaway taxation and an inefficient system run by Big Pharma. . Would Medicare-for-all magically give people a right to healthcare or is it all a facade a cost redistribution scheme? Granted, if a Medicare-for-all system was put in place, then no one would have to worry about paying for health insurance anymore. There would be no monthly premiums or deductibles. Guaranteed access to medical technology and emergency medicine could save more lives, too, as long as wait times did not increase due to increased demand. If a person had severe pains coursing across their scalp, they could seek the help of a neurologist as soon as possible and get an MRI or angiograph, free of charge. If the imaging found a tumor or some swelling in the brain, the appropriate steps could be taken to save that persons life. In the current system, the same person, lacking funds, would more likely bear the pain until it was too late. Because the poor and working class cannot afford health insurance, they have less access to medical care. Those who can afford health insurance are given preferential treatment in medical care because the health insurance company covers much of the cost. People with health insurance receive prompt, thorough, and sometimes excessive care; whereas those without coverage are treated differently because medical professionals know that the person might not be able to pay for the care care that could save the persons life. If all men and women are created equal and endowed with the right to life, then why does our current medical system favor one persons life over another? Would a Medicare-for-all system fix this fundamental problem or would this taxation and cost redistribution scheme be more ineffective, causing longer wait times and allowing Big Pharma to further tax citizens and bankrupt the United States? To learn about the problems in medicine that are driving up costs, read BigPharmaNews.com. Sources include: ABCNews.go.com TheBalance.com USHistory.org DangerousMedicine.com (Natural News) As Google and its video platform YouTube stand accused of censoring and shadow banning conservative and pro-Trump content in the U.S., the social media behemoth is set to partner with the communist Chinese government to offer the Chinese people a censored search engine in the worlds most populous country. As reported by The Intercept, according to leaked documents, the China-market site will blacklist websites and search terms containing human rights, democracy, religion, and peaceful protest. Code-named Dragonfly, the project has reportedly been under development for nearly a year-and-a-half, launching in the spring of 2017. The development sped up after a December 2017 meeting between Google CEO Sundar Pichai and a top official from the Chinese government, according to internal documents, and interviews with some who are familiar with Dragonfly. The investigative news site noted further: Teams of programmers and engineers at Google have created a custom Android app, different versions of which have been named Maotai and Longfei. The app has already been demonstrated to the Chinese government; the finalized version could be launched in the next six to nine months, pending approval from Chinese officials. The planned move represents a dramatic shift in Googles policy on China and will mark the first time in almost a decade that the internet giant has operated its search engine in the country. At present, the current Google search function cannot be accessed by the vast majority of Internet surfers in China as it is blocked by Beijings so-called Great Firewall. But the app being built for the Chinese market by Google will fully comply with all of Beijings censorship laws and regulations against allowing citizens to access materials that the Communist Party has determined harmful to its leadership. Already the central government in Beijing has walled off access to certain subjects and materials otherwise available online. They include information about freedom of speech, political opponents, news, sex, and university studies. The Great Firewall also blocks access to any references to the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre, as well as references to dissidents and anti-communism. Access to books like George Orwells 1984 and Animal Farm have long been prohibited on Chinas social media platform Weibo. And Beijings censors also block access to Western social media like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, as well as American media including The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, reported The Intercept. (Related: China bribing U.S. universities to censor certain speech and PROMOTE Communism.) Profits over human rights Censorship in China is nothing new but keeping revolutionary ideas hidden from the Chinese people has been more difficult in the Internet and tech era. Firewalls are effective in China as well as laws forbidding access to certain information, which is one reason why its been difficult for Google to break back into the Chinese market. Google began operating a search function in the Chinese market in 2004, but by 2013 Chinas search market share had dropped to 1.7 percent after the company announced in January 2010 it was ceasing most operations in response to a Chinese-origin hack attack. Now, it appears as though the company and Chinas communist censors have found a way to reintroduce the search giant to Chinese consumers. The problem for Google is that the company claims it supports a free and open Internet and that may be true insofar as it goes, though the claim does not comport with its censorship of conservative and pro-Trump materials. Obviously, outright government censorship would not comport with that claim, either. But its all about money for the Left-wing corporation, CNN Tech reports: China has hundreds of millions of Internet users, many of whom are prolific online shoppers. When it comes to making a buck versus doing the right thing, it appears as though Google has made its choice. Dont get us wrong profit is a good thing. But China is a hostile revisionist power and theres no telling what Beijing will glean (steal/hack) from Googles technology suites. And then, of course, theres that abysmal human rights record. Read more about Googles censorship at Censorship.news. Sources include: Money.CNN.com TheIntercept.com NewsTarget.com (Natural News) It started off as a joke among conservatives. But so-called Trump Derangement Syndrome is actually a legitimate health condition, say psychiatrists and one that afflicts millions of Americans who obsessively hate the President. According to Elisabeth LaMotte, founder of the D.C. Counseling and Psychotherapy Center, Trump Derangement Syndrome is characterized by collective anxiety stemming from patients having a fear of the world ending, simply because Donald Trump is their President. Also known as Trump Anxiety Disorder, the condition has reportedly been on the rise ever since the 2016 presidential election. Mental health professionals all across the country are reporting unusually high levels of politics-related stress in their practices, and theres one major culprit: the mainstream media. Its maybe not surprising given the relentlessly negative headlines and politically divisive climate, says LaMotte, noting that the Trump-hating media is whats fueling this epidemic of Trump Derangement Syndrome. The conditions symptoms include a loss of control and helplessness, and fretting about whats happening in the country and spending excessive time on social media, she says. Clinical psychologist Jennifer Panning, the individual who coined the conditions alternate name of Trump Anxiety Disorder, says that intense consumption of media coverage of this presidency is making some peoples Trump-related anxiety worse. To see Trump Derangement Syndrome in action, check out the video clip below from Brighteon.com, which depicts Whoopi Goldberg, one of the hosts of the left-leaning babble-fest known as The View, becoming triggered and launching into a full-fledged tirade after being diagnosed with the condition by Judge Jeanine Pirro: Reuters: more than two-thirds of Americans somewhat rely on social media for news Concerning the leftist medias influence in the matter, statistics show that the more people consume anti-Trump news, the more likely they are to go politically crazy as Whoopi did above reiterating all sorts of nonsensical talking points and conspiracy theories about how Trump is a Russian agent who meddled along with Vladimir Putin to steal the presidential election from Hillary Clinton. Despite a total lack of evidence to support this hair-brained theory, many people with Trump Derangement Syndrome are totally convinced that Trump is a Kremlin spook, and that the election was tampered with due to the spread of fake news online. Whats interesting about these fake news claims of the left is the fact that its actually anti-Trump fake news thats fueling mass mental illness in our country in the aftermath of the election. Recent data put forth by Reuters found that nearly 70 percent of Americans at least somewhat rely on social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Snapchat for their daily news. A quick glance at whats showing up on these platforms these days offers some pertinent clues about why so many people now have Trump Derangement Syndrome, even as the President is working out positive policies that are resulting in more jobs for Americans, better pay, lower taxes, and overall improved quality of life. But to those with Trump Derangement Syndrome, the President is a rich white Hitler who worked with special agents to actually change votes. This was the claim of a recent opinion piece published by The Root, anyway, which lied to readers with claims that hackers changed votes in the 2016 presidential election. This article was later pulled after being proven a fraud but not before it was shared and re-tweeted by thousands of Trump haters who believed it was real. This is why some of them have become so unhinged that theyre now calling for public executions of Trump supporters. That is just one recent example of how the MSM (mainstream media), along with Democratic politicians, are using social media to incite and inflame liberals, using bogus news to misinform their followers, creating conditions where liberals are freaking out, which in turn stresses them out, and voila, Trump Anxiety Syndrome, aka Trump Derangement Syndrome, spreads, writes Susan Duclos for AllNewsPipeline.com. Read Insanity.news for more coverage of deranged responses to President Trump. Sources for this article include: AllNewsPipeline.com Brighteon.com NaturalNews.com (Natural News) Pigeons may be seen as a burden in urban areas because of their unhygienic habits. Contrary to this, experts believe that they could be of use as they could provide insights to fight disease brought about by water and air pollution. This was based on a study conducted by a team of researchers from the University of California. The research team aimed to determine if pigeons could identify areas which were high in lead pollution. Lead has been banned from products for decades as it adversely affects brain development. However, it is still present in the environment, especially in old painted street furniture, or childrens toys. In conducting the study, the researchers analyzed the blood levels of pigeons and children living in New York between 2010 and 2015. The findings of the study revealed that both birds and humans living in the same neighborhoods showed similar patterns of lead in their blood. The current study was presented at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in Austin, Texas. Rebecca Calisi-Rodriguez, one of the researchers, believes that pigeons are the best tool for keeping a watch on dangerous pollutants because they depend on human waste and inhibit the same areas as city dwellers. Thus, they are also exposed to the same contaminants as people living in cities. Moreover, the team said that pigeons walk on the same pavements, breathe the same air and eat the same food as humans. Pigeons have existed for ages in close proximity to us, eating the same food, drinking and being exposed to the same water sources, soil, air, pollution, said Calisi-Rodriguez, associate professor of neurobiology, physiology, and behavior of the University of California. Calisi-Rodriguez added that humans and birds have a very similar evolutionary history. The bodies of humans and birds also have a lot of similarities in terms of tissue form and function. As a result, they could help find toxic areas in the environment as well as understand how toxic substances affect biology. (Related: Pigeons found to have startling ability to build knowledge almost like humans.) So as you see, what we learn in birds can have far-reaching implications, she said. This is not the only study that turns to pigeons for insights. In a study carried out by researchers in Amsterdam in the Netherlands, it was found that lead levels in the blood in pigeons are associated with the heaviness of traffic. Furthermore, a study in Brazil showed that pigeons in a large city have higher concentrations of lead, chromium, and cadmium in their feathers in comparison to those from a less developed city. Are pigeons better multitaskers than humans? As mentioned earlier, pigeons and humans have a lot of similarities. One of these is that pigeons can multitask as fast as humans, and in some cases, they are even better, according to a study published in the journal Current Biology. A team of researchers from the Ruhr-University Bochum in Germany conducted similar behavioral tests on 15 humans and 12 pigeons. The study subjects were tasked to complete a multitasking exercise. First, the subjects to stop a current task and then switch to another task as fast as possible. The switching to the other task was done either at the same time the first task was stopped, or it was delayed by 300 milliseconds. Results revealed that both humans and pigeons slowed down by the same amount under double stress in the first task. In the second task, pigeons were able to switch to the second task at approximately 250 milliseconds faster than humans. The researchers believe that this is due to the fact that pigeons have a shorter distance between two nerve cells; thus, information is processed more quickly compared with humans. Find out more interesting news and studies about animals and their role in the ever-changing environment at Ecology.news. Sources include: Telegraph.co.uk TheGuardian.com ScienceDaily.com (Natural News) Recent research published in the Scientific Reports journal reveals that the brain waves of two people may readily match each other once they take part in a conversation. According to researchers at the Basque Centre on Cognition, Brain, and Language (BCBL), even normal everyday conversations may spur the brain waves of each speaker to work in unison. The research team enrolled 15 dyads of people of the same gender, but who were otherwise complete strangers, as part of the study. The groups were separated by a folding screen, which meant that the connection they shared was largely due in part to the communication they established. The dyads were then instructed to read a script and engage in a general conversation taking turns as both speaker and listener. The scientists performed electroencephalographs (EEGs) to examine the brain activity in the participants. They observed that the oscillations in the participants brains took place at the same time. According to the research team, the brain waves corresponding to the speaker and the listener appear to adjust based on the physical properties of the sound produced during a conversation. The experts explain that this mechanism creates a connection between the two brains, which in turn work together to allow communication to take place. It involves interbrain communion that goes beyond language itself and may constitute a key factor in interpersonal relations and the understanding of language. The brains of the two people are brought together thanks to language, and communication creates links between people that go far beyond what we can perceive from the outside, researcher Jon Andoni Dunabeitia explains in Agencia SINC online. Peoples brains also sync by merely being with each other A study in Current Biology has found that peoples brain waves display similar patterns when they appear to be more engaged with each other. The study has also shown that the brain waves exhibit the same patterns when people are in touch with the world around them. A team of researchers used portable electroencephalogram technology to simultaneously track and record brain activity from an entire class of high school students as part of the study. The scientists monitored the students brain activities daily throughout the whole semester. The researchers also asked the students how they liked each other and their teacher. Likewise, the experts asked the participants how much they liked group activities in general. The scientists performed novel analyses in order to determine how synchronized the students brains were, and whether they differed with class engagement and social dynamics. (Related: Peoples Brain Wave Patterns Mysteriously SYNC UP When They Are Near Each Other, Astonishing New Science Shows.) We found that students brain waves were more in sync with each other when they were more engaged during class. Brain-to-brain synchrony also reflected how much students liked the teacher and how much they liked each other. Brain synchrony was also affected by face-to-face social interaction and students personalities. We think that all these effects can be explained by shared attention mechanisms during dynamic group interactions, co-lead author Suzanne Dikker tells Science Daily online The researchers note that a phenomenon known as neural entrainment may play a central role in brain synchrony levels among the students. Your brainwaves ride on top of the sound waves or light patterns in the outside world, and the more you pay attention to these temporal patterns, the more your brain locks to those patterns. So, if you and the person next to you are more engaged, your brain waves will be more similar because they are locking onto the same information, Dikker explains. Sources include: ScienceDaily.com (Natural News) Many Americans continue to scoff at the notion that Trump Derangement Syndrome is a real thing, but you dont have to dig very far through the days news headlines to find evidence proving its existence. The latest example comes from Massachusetts, The Gateway Pundit reported Wednesday. Chloe Wright, 25, of Tauton, Mass., actually chased down a driver whose car bore a Trump bumper sticker and rammed it. The driver said he was almost hit when [she] rammed his car and hit his door, TGP reported. The Cape Cod Times noted further: A Taunton woman accused of intentionally driving into a mans car a month ago after becoming enraged by a Trump bumper sticker pleaded not guilty Monday in Barnstable District Court to a charge of assault with a dangerous weapon. Chloe Wright, 25, also faces charges of vandalizing property and leaving the scene of property damage. She was released on $1,250 bail and was ordered to stay away from the victim. The paper said that a man called Barnstable police on June 30 to report a hit-and-run. The man told officers who responded that he was stopped for a red light when a driver behind him Wright, allegedly began honking. According to the police report cited by the paper, the man simply continued driving after the light changed but the car that had been honking followed him still honking. When he stopped once again for a red light the driver then began shouting at him as well. The man told police he then thought perhaps something was wrong with the back of his car so he stepped out to take a look. When he did, he said the driver started shouting at him about a President Donald Trump bumper sticker on his vehicle. She said, You voted for Trump? I said yes. She called me a racist and several other names, the man wrote in a statement to cops. As he began recording the incident on his smart phone Wright drove around his vehicle which forced him to retreat into the opening of his vehicles driver side doorway. She then drove straight at him and struck the open door, he told police. She bent my door and I had to lean back to avoid getting hit. She also hit the side of my car, the man wrote in his statement. Wright then drove away. Its a real condition The smart phone recording shows the womans car, a gray Honda Civic, strike the mans open drivers side door. The mans girlfriend, in the car with him at the time, backed his version of events. Police traced the license plate of the Honda, captured in the video, to Wright. The man also identified a drivers license photo of Wright as his assailant. Now think for a moment. What else besides Trump Derangement Syndrome would make someone who otherwise may be perfectly rational and calm behave in a way that could potentially put them in jail perhaps for years? (Related: Rand Paul DEFENDS POTUS Trump against hysterical, dishonest MEDIA: Trump Derangement Syndrome is REAL!) Theres more evidence to support the conclusion that TDS is real. The Daily Caller reported late last month that therapists around Washington, D.C., are noticing a sharp increase in patients describing symptoms of TDS. There is a fear of the world ending, DC Counseling and Psychotherapy Center founder Elisabeth LaMotte told The DC, in reference to some of the presidents policies. Its very disorienting and constantly unsettling. She said one of her patients asked of Trump, Is he gonna blow us all up? The Urban Dictionary describes TDS as a mental condition in which a person has been driven effectively insane due to their dislike of Donald Trump, to the point at which they will abandon all logic and reason and ram peoples vehicles who have a Trump bumper sticker. Read more about the lunatic Left in the Trump era at Libtards.news. Sources include: DailyCaller.com TheGatewayPundit.com NewsTarget.com (Natural News) Nature is truly the gift that keeps on giving if people know how to make use of these gifts. One such example is tea. People consume it the world over, but there are still parts of the plant that are typically discarded and considered waste from the supply chain. However, seemingly useless and extraneous materials from tea production can still be reused in other ways. In particular, refused tea, the waste produced in the manufacture of black tea, can be used as an alternative food colorant in place of caramel black (E, INS 50), according to researchers from the University of Sri Jayewardenepura in Sri Lanka. Food colorants substances that are added to food and beverage to change their initial colors have been used for a very long time. This is done so that the food becomes more appealing than its original state: Experts have long understood that how a particular food item is perceived visually is an essential factor that can affect its overall viability in the market. If you give somebody a strawberry-flavored candy sweet, but it was colored green, they would find it very difficult to distinguish the flavor of the candy, according to Amandine de Santi, business manager of Naturex, in an article that appeared in FoodNavigator.com. By adding a red, people associate that with the strawberry flavor and it helps enhance the flavor. An example of a food color that is widely used is caramel. One of the oldest soluble food colors, caramel has been used in many food products such as those in baked goods, soybean sauces, ground sauces, soft drinks, ground molt, alcoholic beverages, and in gravies and vinegars. However, studies have indicated that beverages with the caramel black colorant are also exposed to 4-methylimidazole (4-MEI), which is described as a potential carcinogen, during the production process. For this study, the researchers aimed to create an alternative colorant for the color caramel using refused tea. In Sri Lanka, tea is the third-largest agricultural crop in the country, with annual production reaching up to 320 million kilograms. In particular, black tea is the leading export, accounting for 95 percent of tea in the country. The proper raw materials were selected, and color extraction and stabilization was done with carrageenan. The behavior of the extract was studied at different pH values, as well as concentrations, and its potential viability was compared with the current caramel color (E, INS 50). This was conducted using sensory evaluation tests and color comparison methods. The results noted that the initial pH level of the extract was 4.9; the color can be used in a wide range of pH levels, and in different concentrations. The food color can also be used from a Munsell color chart of 10YR 6/8 to 7.5YR 0.4/2 range, at different concentrations, without any difference between the developed color and the commercially available one. Also, the total polyphenol content of the product was 0.04718 milligrams per milliliter, and the primary flavor compounds included Trance-2-hexenal, Cis-3-Hexenol, Linalool, Methyl salicylate, 2-phenyl ethanol, and ?-ionone. The researchers concluded that the resulting food colorant from refused black tea has the potential to be used in the food industry. The main thrust of the study was to develop a product using refused tea as the main ingredient, and the food color is an important discovery since it can be manufactured with little cost in production. The authors wrote of the future benefits of the study: This will be a good opportunity to increase the national gross domestic product (GDP) while opening new markets as a tea-producing country. Learn about more scientific breakthroughs on food by heading to Science.news today. Sources include: Science.news IOSRJournals.org [PDF] FoodNavigator.com (Natural News) One of the biggest mistakes many of us make when it comes to our healthcare choices is to divide the pharmacy into two sections in our minds: the over-the-counter, no limits, safe section; and the behind-the-counter, must have a prescription, dangerous section. It is very easy to conclude that not needing a prescription for a chemical drug means its safe and shouldnt raise any red flags, but nothing could be further from the truth. There are some very dangerous medicines lurking in the over-the-counter section, as was confirmed again recently by a Danish study that found a link between the use of ibuprofen and a 31 percent increase in risk of cardiac arrest. As reported by Natural Health 365, ibuprofen is viewed by many as a harmless painkiller and is taken by upwards of 30 million people each day to fight pain, fever or inflammation. It is part of a group of drugs known as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), and the study, which was published in the European Heart Journal Cardiovascular Pharmacotherapy, found that some other drugs in this class are even more dangerous than ibuprofen. Diclofenac, for example, which is commonly used to treat the pain associated with arthritis, was found to increase the risk of cardiac arrest by a staggering 50 percent. Just because you dont need a prescription doesnt mean its safe NSAIDs relieve pain by blocking pro-inflammatory enzymes known as COX-1 and COX-2. While this suppresses the bodys natural inflammatory response, thereby relieving symptoms like pain, it does nothing to eliminate the cause of that pain. And since these drugs interfere with platelet aggregation, they increase the risk of blood clots, raise blood pressure, constrict arteries and increase fluid retention. It is this toxic combination of symptoms that can trigger cardiac arrest in those who use these drugs, even if they have only used them for a short time. (Related: Painkillers commonly prescribed for arthritis are more dangerous than previously believed, especially for heart patients.) A press release by the European Society of Cardiology explains how the researchers arrived at their findings: All patients who had an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest in Denmark between 2001 and 2010 were identified from the nationwide Danish Cardiac Arrest Registry. Data was collected on all redeemed prescriptions for NSAIDs from Danish pharmacies since 1995. These included the non-selective NSAIDs (diclofenac, naproxen, ibuprofen), and COX-2 selective inhibitors (rofecoxib, celecoxib). A case-time-control design was used to examine the association between NSAID use and cardiac arrest. A total of 28 947 patients had an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest in Denmark during the ten year period. Of these, 3 376 were treated with an NSAID up to 30 days before the event. Ibuprofen and diclofenac were the most commonly used NSAIDs, making up 51% and 22% of total NSAID use, respectively. Use of any NSAID was associated with a 31% increased risk of cardiac arrest. Diclofenac and ibuprofen were associated with a 50% and 31% increased risk, respectively. Naproxen, celecoxib and rofecoxib were not associated with the occurrence of cardiac arrest, probably due to a low number of events. Professor Gunnar H. Gislason, professor of cardiology at Copenhagen University Hospital, and the studys lead author, warned that this study is a stark reminder that these drugs are not harmless, and that allowing them to be sold over-the-counter, without a prescription, sends the wrong safety message to consumers. He added that NSAIDs should be avoided by patients who have cardiovascular disease or other risk factors, and should only be available at pharmacies, in limited quantities, and in low doses. Professor Gislason advises not exceeding 1,200mg of ibuprofen on any given day, and that the safest drug in this class is probably Naproxen. This is by no means the first study to point out the dangers of NSAIDs. Earlier studies have confirmed additional risks, including an increased risk of intestinal bleeding. It does remind us, however, just how much better it is to avoid chemical drugs and try to treat pain and inflammation with natural alternatives instead. Discover the latest breakthroughs in healthcare at Medicine.news. Sources include: NaturalHealth365.com TheGuardian.com ESCardio.org NaturalNews.com (Natural News) Americans have a little-known weapon at their disposal to shut down government tyranny in an instant, and its known as jury nullification. A recent episode of Sovereignty International, available for viewing at Brighteon.com, discusses jury nullification at length, revealing how the Founding Fathers incorporated this powerful tool of justice into the Constitution as a failsafe against totalitarianism. In a nutshell, jury nullification allows jurors everyday people like you and I to nullify court cases in which innocent people are being prosecuted for breaking unjust laws. One example of an unjust law is cannabis prohibition, an unconstitutional law that violates the natural right of Americans to use plants. There are many other examples of unjust laws red-light cameras that ticket drivers without a real-life officer present; property owners facing large fines or possible jail time for growing vegetables in their yards; and even capturing rainwater in barrels without permission. Pretty much any scenario in which a free individual is facing prosecution for a crime involving laws that are unjust or unconstitutional warrants jury nullification otherwise the police state will only continue to grow larger and more authoritarian. The state is indistinguishable from a criminal cartel, explains the Jury Nullification module at Brighteon.com. And jury nullification would put a stop to it. Watch the full video below: Nullify EVERYTHING and reign in shadow government tyranny Keep in mind that when talking about unjust laws, the concept is bipartisan. It doesnt matter if the sitting president is a Republican or a Democrat, the threat of injustice is always present and will always grow unless the people actively fight against it. Politics wont fix a system that is broken beyond repair, explains The Tenth Amendment Center, a strong advocate of jury nullification. No matter who sits in the White House, the shadow government will continue to call the shots behind the scenes Relying on the courts to restore justice seems futile Indeed, with every ruling handed down, it becomes more apparent that we live in an age of hollow justice, with government courts, largely lacking in vision and scope, rendering narrow rulings focused on the letter of the law. Though Supreme Court precedent establishes that Americans are sovereigns, and that their government works for them and not the other way around injustice is growing because the people refuse to reign it in. Its because of the ignorance and stupidity of the people, explains Sovereignty International about the reason why this country is in dire straits. Is the situation hopeless, though? Certainly not. The Tenth Amendment Center advocates for a policy of nullifying everything the rationale being that drastic measures are required during urgent times such as this. [I]f there is any means left to us for thwarting the government in its relentless march towards outright dictatorship, it may rest with the power of juries and local governments to invalidate governmental laws, tactics and policies that are illegitimate, egregious or blatantly unconstitutional, the Tenth Amendment Center explains. The group points to the infamous Malheur National Wildlife Refuge incident as recent evidence of the effectiveness of jury nullification. The Oregon jury involved with the case, if you missed it, ruled that the governments attempts to prosecute seven activists who staged the armed takeover were invalid, thus freeing them from potential jail time. Jury nullification works, says the Tenth Amendment Center. Imagine a world where the citizenry not the government or its corporate controllers actually calls the shots and determines what is just. This is where the power of jury nullification is so critical: to reject inane laws and extreme sentences and counteract the edicts of a profit-driven governmental elite that sees nothing wrong with jailing someone for a lifetime for a relatively insignificant crime. Be sure to watch the full video at Brighteon.com. Sources for this article include: Brighteon.com NaturalNews.com TenthAmendmentCenter.com (Natural News) The Left-wing hate and intolerance of POTUS Donald Trump and his supporters were bad enough as it was, but now its gotten to the point where it is affecting reasonable judgement and putting people at risk. In recent weeks an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Portland, Ore., which has become the West Coast epicenter of Trump Derangement Syndrome, came under siege by far-Left Occupy ICE demonstrators who set up a ramshackle tent city in an adjacent parking lot. The protesters blocked ICE employees from entering the facility for more than 30 days before federal police, dispatched to open the facility, cleared demonstrators out and began securing the premises. But a number of ICE employees have since reported being harassed and threatened with physical violence for which they called the Portland Police Bureau to lodge complaints. But cops never showed up to take their reports. Why? Because the department was ordered to stand down by Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler, who was quoted as saying by local media in June, I do not want the Portland Police to be engaged or sucked into a conflict. The policy being enacted by the federal government around the separation of very small children from their parents is an abomination, Wheeler tweeted. I want to be very clear I do not want the @PortlandPolice to be engaged or sucked into a conflict, particularly from a federal agency that I believe is on the wrong track, that has not fully lived American values of inclusion and is also an agency where the former head suggested that people who lead cities that are sanctuary cities like this one should be arrested. Thats exactly what should happen: Officials who protect and defend illegal alien criminals (and they are criminals by virtue of sneaking into the country illegally) and setting up sanctuary cities should be held legally accountable, even if voters back such policies. Federal law which supersedes state and local laws because of the Constitutions Supremacy Clause are clear on immigration. That previous administrations didnt fully enforce them was a choice of the president at the time. Constitutional violation POTUS Trump campaigned specifically on enforcing all immigration laws and has been attempting to do so. It doesnt matter whether local officials agree with that enforcement or the presidents overall immigration policies or not. Compliance is not supposed to be voluntary. (Related: Trump WARNS lawless Oakland mayor: Shes protecting criminals and were looking at responses.) As for the ordering of his department to stand down, a letter from attorney Sean Riddell to Wheeler accuses the mayor of violating the Fourteenth Amendments equal protection clause. Your current policy forbidding Portland law enforcement agencies from assisting employees of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency who request law enforcement assistance while at or away from work is a violation of the United States Constitutions Equal Protection Clause, the letter states, as The National Sentinel reported. We understand that you have a difference of opinion with the current President of the United States, and some of his policies, but we fail to see why targeting the employees of ICE and leaving them vulnerable to violence, harassment and even death furthers a legitimate government interest, Riddell wrote, adding that refusing to allow local police to protect ICE employees created a zone of terror and lawlessness. For years cities have been ignoring federal immigration law by creating sanctuary cities. Now local officials like Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf and Philadelphia Mayor Kenney, both Democrats, are going further: They are openly thwarting federal law enforcement efforts to locate, arrest, and deport anyone in the country illegally. They are looking at illegal immigration the way Abolitionists viewed slavery in the 18thcentury. The two have nothing in common but if the Left continues to thumb its nose at the Trump administration over this issue, theres a major showdown coming, and soon. Read more about rising civil discourse and conflict over this issue at CivilWar.news. J.D. Heyes is editor of The National Sentinel and a senior writer for Natural News and News Target. Sources include: DailyCaller.com WWeek.com TheNationalSentinel.com The Death Valley National Park in California turned up the heat in July, tentatively marking the hottest month ever in the history of the planet. Scientists are even concerned that because of the record-breaking average temperature, the valley could soon be uninhabitable for humans. A Record-Breaking Broil In The Death Valley Todd Lericos, a National Weather Service meteorologist, reveals in Phys Org that the month's average temperature at the Death Valley was 42.28 degrees Celsius or about 108.1 degrees Fahrenheit. The heat spiked during four consecutive days starting July 24, when the desert temperature hit a scorching 52.7 degrees Celsius or 127 degrees Fahrenheit. Death Valley broke its own record of 41.89 degrees Celsius or 107.4 degrees Fahrenheit that was set in July 2017. "It eclipsed the record by quite a bit," Lericos says. He added that the proclamation would need to be reviewed and confirmed before being officially recognized in the record books. Aside from breaking records for the average monthly temperature, Death Valley also holds the record for the highest temperature ever recorded at 56.67 degrees Celsius or about 134 degrees Fahrenheit on July 10, 1913. The Heat Of The Park May Become Too Much For People As July 2018 beat the previously held hottest month on record by a relatively large margin in Death Valley, it may signal a trend that could eventually make the park become uninhabitable. After all, even with the entire planet experiencing a temperature increase, the heat in Death Valley is still on the extreme end of the spectrum. [F]or all intents and purposes, large swaths of the tropics and subtropics (including Death Valley) are likely to become too warm for human habitation under continued business-as-usual warming of the planet," leading climate scientist Michael Mann, director of the Earth System Science Center at Penn State University, tells Huffington Post. Tourists Warned Of The Dangers Despite the unimaginable temperatures and the morbid moniker, the Death Valley remains a tourist draw with its breathtaking, striking contrasts: an endless expanse of arid land and snow-topped peaks, jagged rocks, and wildflowers in bloom. Tourists, however, are warned to be prepared for the scorching heat. They are advised to drink at least a gallon of water every day and keep extra water in their vehicles. Dressing with sun protection in mind is also extremely important, as well as limiting the time under the sun. Each traveler should also be conscious of their bodies, watching out for dizziness and other symptoms of heat illnesses. Star gazers can catch a glimpse of the most astounding meteor shower of the year on Aug. 11 to 13: the Perseids. The Perseid Meteor Shower The annual spectacle is expected to be extra spectacular this year due to the moonless skies during its peak. Sky watching enthusiasts can enjoy an unencumbered view of cosmic fireballs streaking overhead. "This year the moon will be near new moon, it will be a crescent, which means it will set before the Perseid show gets underway after midnight," Bill Cooke, a meteor expert from NASA, explains to Space.com. "The moon is very favorable for the Perseids this year, and that'll make the Perseids probably the best shower of 2018 for people who want to go out and view it." The peak of the Perseid meteor shower is visible from Aug. 11 to 13, but Cooke says he's more inclined to favor the night of Aug. 12 to 13 for a better show. However, either night is projected to be a dazzling display of meteors. During these nights, Earth will be passing through the densest part of the Comet Swift-Tuttle's path. This region is littered with the most dust and debris from the comet's orbit, which results in a high frequency of meteors visible in the nighttime sky. There will be about 60 to 70 meteors per hour during the peak nights. Cooke recommends taking in as much of the sky as possible to get the best Perseids experience. People are advised to find a dark spot in the suburbs or countryside. It takes a half an hour for the eyes to adjust to darkness, so patience is necessary. Other Sky Events This August While the Perseid meteor shower is likely the most awaited spectacle in August 2018, there are a few other notable events that sky-watching enthusiasts may enjoy. According to National Geographic, one of the cosmic sights that's visible from Earth this month is what's dubbed as the "cosmic teapot" on Aug. 8. Located at the heart of the Sagittarius constellation, this stellar pattern is shaped distinctly like a slightly tipped teapot. It's visible using a telescope or even binoculars in areas without light pollution. Also on Aug. 8, the glowing gas cloud known as Lagoon nebula in the Sagittarius constellation will also be visible using telescopes and binoculars. A few days later on Aug. 11, a partial solar eclipse will occur. Those who want a glimpse should step outside for the maximum eclipse at 5:46 a.m ET. The phenomenon will last for 3.5 hours and will be seen from Canada, Greenland, northern Europe, and northeast Asia. NASA has assigned the astronauts who will ride the first commercial capsules into orbit next year and bring human launches back to the U.S. Bay Area native Nicole A. Mann is among the first five astronauts that will join SpaceX and Boeing who are shooting for a test flight of their capsules to the International Space Station by the end of this year or early next, with the first crews flying from Cape Canaveral, Florida, by next spring or summer. Mann, born in Petaluma, attended attended Rancho Cotate High School in Rohnert Park. She also graduated from Stanford University in 2001 with a Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering with a specialty in Fluid Mechanics, according to NASA. She was selected to join NASA in 2013 and her upcoming trip will be her first time in space. Nine astronauts were named to ride the SpaceX Dragon and Boeing Starliner capsules five on the first crew flights and four on the second round of missions to the International Space Station. "For the first time since 2011, we are on the brink of launching American astronauts on American rockets from American soil," said NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine, who made the introductions at Johnson Space Center in Houston. U.S. astronauts now take Russian capsules to the space station, with NASA paying tens of millions of dollars per seat. Boeing's first Starliner crew will include a former NASA astronaut who commanded the last shuttle flight in 2011, Chris Ferguson, who's now a Boeing employee. The other commercial crew members are still with NASA. All have a military background. The seven men and two women pumped their fists in the air and gave thumbs-up as they strode onto the stage to cheers from the crowd. "As a test pilot, it doesn't get any better than this," Mann said. NASA has been paying billions of dollars to SpaceX and Boeing to develop the crew capsules to pick up where the shuttles left off, while also paying billions for cargo deliveries to the space station by SpaceX and Northrop Grumman. The cargo missions started in 2012. The crew missions have been delayed repeatedly because of the technical challenges and difficulties of making spacecraft safe for humans. Astronaut Doug Hurley, who will be on the first crew of the SpaceX Dragon, hinted at the delays when he noted, "The first flight is something you dream about as a test pilot, and you don't think it's ever going to happen to you. But looks like it might." "Oh, it better," Bridenstine chimed in. Besides Ferguson and Mann, the initial commercial crew members are: Eric Boe, Sunita Williams and John Cassada riding on Boeing. Robert Behnken, Douglas Hurley, Victor Glover and Michael Hopkins will fly with SpaceX. A bicyclist was killed following a collision involving a big-rig truck Thursday in Lafayette, police said. The incident occurred on the 1800 block of Reliez Valley Road. Officers initially responded to reports of a hit-and-run crash. When police arrived on scene they found an injured male bicyclist on the ground. He was transported to John Muir Medical Center, where he later died, authorities said. Police later located the truck and driver involved in the collision. Anyone who has information is asked to contact the Lafayette Police Department at 925-283-3680. What to Know A former Uber driver was found guilty of misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter for fatally striking a 6-year-old girl in 2013 Syed Abid Muzaffar, of Union City, struck Sofia Liu with his car around 8 p.m. on Dec. 31, 2013 The suit alleged he was viewing or interacting with his smartphone app for the company when the collision occurred A San Francisco Superior Court jury Thursday found a former Uber driver guilty of misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter for fatally striking a 6-year-old girl on New Year's Eve in 2013. Prosecutors said that 61-year-old Syed Abid Muzaffar, of Union City, struck Sophia Liu with his car around 8 p.m. on Dec. 31, 2013, at Polk and Ellis streets. Muzaffar, driving a Honda Pilot while working for the ride-hailing service Uber, struck Sophia as she walked with her mother and 3-year-old brother, who was in a stroller, in the crosswalk. The family members were injured in the collision, with her mother suffering a major injury; however, they survived. According to prosecutors, after striking Sophia, Muzaffar reversed and backed over her body. Following Sophia's death, Uber officials said that Muzaffar was not responding to a fare at the time of the collision and did not have a passenger in the car. Uber deactivated his account afterward. During the trial, Muzaffar's defense attorney Sliman Nawabi argued that the fatal collision did not occur as a result of distracted driving and that Muzaffar made a legal right turn from Ellis Street onto Polk Street on a green light. Muzaffar, however, was unable to see Sophia and her family, however, due to the A-pillar in his vehicle, which connects the windshield and passenger windows, creating a blindspot, Nawabi argued. "The blind spot was present up until a certain spot. He braked but it was too late," Nawabi said Wednesday. There were no records that showed he was on his phone at the time of the collision, according to Nawabi. Muzaffar, a father of four, was working on New Year's Eve for Uber in order to provide for his family, Nawabi said. "He recognizes the pain that Sophia's family has gone through, and he's always recognized it. At the same time, I think it's fair to say that he was disappointed (with the verdict). Our position was that this was an accident." Muzaffar had been out of custody during the trial. He's set to return to court for sentencing on Sept. 25. "We have a responsibility to each other when we get behind the wheel," District Attorney George Gascon said in a statement. "It's imperative that we all slow down and remain completely alert when operating a vehicle. Far too much is at risk, and our city is more congested than ever." "This family had their lives turned upside down," Assistant District Attorney Thomas Ostly said in a statement. "San Francisco's first responders came together that night to try and save this little girl, and many of them remain profoundly affected by Sophia's death." On behalf of Sophia's family, attorney Christopher Dolan filed a wrongful death lawsuit seeking damages from both Uber and Muzaffar. The suit, which was eventually settled for an undisclosed amount in 2015, alleged he was viewing or interacting with his smartphone app for the company when the collision occurred. According to Dolan, the suit was the first-ever wrongful death suit against Uber. As a result, Uber changed its policies to expand insurance coverage for crashes caused by Uber drivers even if there is no passenger in the car when the crash occurs, as long as the driver is logged into the company's app and available to accept rides, Dolan said. In a statement, Sophia's mother, Huan Hua Kuan said, "He did the crime. I'm glad the jury held him responsible and that justice will be done. I miss my daughter every day and nothing will bring her back." San Rafael police arrested a Mill Valley man Wednesday on suspicion of stealing merchandise from four supermarkets and drug stores in Marin County. Two of the thefts occurred in San Rafael, one in Mill Valley and one in Strawberry between May 31 and early July. The stolen merchandise was valued at $17,000, San Rafael and Mill Valley police said. The Marin County Sheriff's Office and Mill Valley and San Rafael police departments investigated the thefts. The stolen merchandise in San Rafael were items that could be resold, including $2,000 of Nicorette gum, according to San Rafael police Sgt. Lisa Holton. Mill Valley police Lt. Lindsay Haynes said $5,000 of household and personal items were taken from a Safeway store in Mill Valley. Police served a search warrant Wednesday at a residence on Meadow Drive in Mill Valley and arrested 27-year-old Hank Alexander Mulholland. He was booked in Marin County Jail on suspicion of two counts of burglary and one count of grand theft. A quantity of suspected fentanyl was found in the Meadow Drive residence, Mill Valley police said, and officers and detectives put on protective equipment to prevent accidental exposure to the drug that is lethal even in minute doses. Mill Valley police also found that a portion of the residence was being used as a child day care service, "Cozy Kid Care," without the knowledge, approval or proper permits of the city of Mill Valley. Police contacted the California Department of Social Services and the Mill Valley code enforcement department, which led to the immediate closure of the business. Mulholland was not running or in charge of the day care service that is now under investigation, Haynes said. "It wasnt part of my day care, my day care is fine everything is good," said owner of Cozy Kid Care, Mulholland's mother Betsy Mulholland. Mulholland said this afternoon she has had a state license for the day care center for 30 years, and was unaware she needed a city license. She said she applied for a city license Wednesday. She also said she had no idea about the alleged thefts, and her son was not living with her during the time they allegedly occurred. "The people that were living in the house were never really friendly with us so it just seemed odd that someone running the daycare would be unfriendly with neighbors," said neighbor Alison Vinoly. Photos from the daycares listing on Care.com show toddlers playing with toys and climbing a mini jungle gym. "The whole place is sort of a mess and it just seemed an odd place to run a day care," Vinoly said. Mulhollands husband is defending said Betsy did have a state license but she was not aware that she needed to have a license with the City of Mill Valley to run the day care. He says both parents are sorry they let their son Hank stay with them. "He was only here for a couple of weeks and unfortunately for everybody he was you know" Mulholland said. "So now he has time to reflect on his bad choice." Mulholland said her son was living in San Francisco and working as a restaurant server until April. He moved into her home about two and a half weeks ago, and he planned to move to Seattle, Mulholland said. She said her son was living in a back room of her house, and the day care center is located in the front of the residence. "There were no drugs in the house. They were found in a car down the street," Mulholland said. A specialized team from Menlo Park Fire Department and the Alameda County Sheriff's Office deployed drones over Redding Friday, an area badly scorched by the Carr Fire in Shasta County. The crews has plan to fly Public Safety Drones over the area throughout the weekend to officially document parts of the 125,000 acres -- an area larger than the city of San Jose -- burned so far by the Carr Fire. Carr Fire became the sixth most destructive fire in recorded California history after it destroyed over 1,000 homes and hundreds of other structures in Northern California. The Menlo Park Fire Department was one of the first fire departments to adopt drone technology back in 2014. It also used the drones to document the deadly October 2017 Tubbs Fire. The department's drones not only provide a 360 degree aerial view of the destruction, they also have thermal imaging cameras that will allow firefighters to see through smoke. The drones will also create high resolution and interactive maps of the area, helping homeowners to locate their property. The information will also be helpful to send to residents' insurance company, officials said. The Fire Captain said it is important to have complete information because it could speed up re-building process by allowing the city and county to prioritize how and where to begin reconstruction. Before sending firefighters on the ground into potential danger, the drones will help fire officials develop a strategy, officials said. They will be a huge asset to 200 firefighters who arrived in Mendocino and Lake counties Thursday. Between the Carr Fire near Redding and the Mendocino Complex Fires, there over 7,500 fire fighters working on containing these fires on the ground. Menlo Parks drone will help from above. Crews battling deadly Northern California wildfires braced for a weekend of windy, hot weather that could drive the flames into new areas and threaten more homes. The National Weather Service issued red flag warnings of critical fire weather conditions through Saturday night, saying a series of dry low-pressure systems passing through the region could bring wind gusts of up to 35 mph that could turn small fires or even sparks into racing walls of flame. "This is a particularly dangerous situation with extremely low humidity and high winds. New fires will grow rapidly out of control, in some cases people may not be able to evacuate safely in time should a fire approach," the weather service said in its bulletin for the Mendocino area north of San Francisco. As a precaution, new evacuations were called Friday for an area of Mendocino and Lake counties where week-old twin fires have destroyed 41 homes and threaten about 9,000 more. The fire has charred an area of the forested, rural area five times the size of San Francisco and is only 30 percent contained. Thousands of people remain evacuated. The fire remained several miles from the evacuated communities along the eastern shore of Clear Lake but "it looks like there's dicey weather on the way," California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection spokeswoman Jane LaBoa said. However, some days-old evacuations were lifted Friday in an area near Redding, where armies of firefighters and fleets of aircraft have been battling an immense blaze about 100 miles (160 kilometers) south of the Oregon line. Some areas on the fire's southeastern flank were reopened to residents. The Carr Fire was 39 percent contained after killing six people and incinerating 1,067 homes. The NWS & @CAL_FIRE Serious Accident Review Team (SART) are conducting a storm damage survey regarding the large fire whirl that occurred Thursday evening in Redding. Preliminary indicators placed max wind speeds achieved by the fire whirl in excess of 143 mph. #cawx #CarrFire pic.twitter.com/3iRX90lhLJ NWS Sacramento (@NWSSacramento) August 2, 2018 Gov. Jerry Brown was scheduled to visit the fire area in Shasta County on Saturday. The fire burned slowly for days before winds suddenly whipped it up last week and drove it furiously through brush and timber. The blaze burned so furiously on July 26 that it created a "fire whirl." The twirling tower of flame reached speeds of 143 mph (230 kph), which rivaled some of the most destructive Midwest tornados, National Weather Service meteorologist Duane Dykema said. The whirl uprooted trees and tore roofs from homes, Dykema said. The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, which uses acres to describe fire size, said the blaze had blackened nearly 206 square miles (533 square kilometers). In the Sierra Nevada, firefighters achieved 41 percent containment of a forest fire that has shut down Yosemite Valley and other adjacent portions of Yosemite National Park at what is normally the height of summer tourism. The fire had reached into remote areas of the country's third-oldest national park. Workers who live in Yosemite's popular Valley region were ordered to leave Friday because of inaccessible roads. California burning. These fires are frightening to watch, even from space. Here a shout-out from space to all firefighters on this planet, my former colleagues. Stay safe my friends! pic.twitter.com/y7PNmR006b Alexander Gerst (@Astro_Alex) August 3, 2018 The blaze has killed two firefighters. A new report says the first firefighter, a California bulldozer operator, nearly slipped off a steep mountain trail three times before his vehicle finally rolled into a ravine and fatally crushed him. Each earlier slip alone qualified as a "near miss" warning that the century-old mining trail could collapse, according to the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection's preliminary report. Braden Varney, 36, was working alone overnight July 14 fighting the wildfire while his assistant went to get a new hydraulic hose. Varney's radio wasn't communicating with headquarters, so his assistant relayed messages until they lost contact. The report says the death of the 10-year veteran highlights the need for better risk assessment, communication and supervision. China said Friday it is poised to impose retaliatory tariffs on $60 billion worth of U.S. imports, including coffee, honey and industrial chemicals, if Washington goes ahead with its latest trade threat. China's Finance Ministry accused the Trump administration of damaging the global economy after the U.S. proposed increasing duties on $200 billion of Chinese goods in the second round of a dispute over technology. "China is forced to take countermeasures," said a ministry statement. It said retaliatory duties of between 5 and 25 percent will be imposed on 5,207 products "if the U.S. side persists in putting its tariff measures into effect." Washington imposed 25 percent duties on $34 billion of Chinese goods on July 6 in response to complaints Beijing steals or pressures companies to hand over technology. Beijing retaliated by imposing similar charges on the same amount of U.S. products. White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters Friday that "instead of retaliating, China should address longstanding concerns about its unfair trading practices." A Chinese foreign ministry spokesman had earlier called on Washington to "come to its senses" and settle the dispute. Chinese leaders have offered to narrow their politically sensitive trade surplus with the United States by purchasing more American goods. But they have rejected changing technology development plans they see as a path to prosperity and global influence. There's no end in sight, and the dispute could chill global trade and economic growth. China's new threat targeting a smaller amount of U.S. goods reflects the fact that Beijing is running out of products for retaliation due to its lopsided trade balance with the United States. China's imports from the United States last year totaled $153.9 billion. After the earlier tariffs $34 billion of U.S. goods, about $120 billion is available for retaliation. The highest penalties on the new list would be imposed on honey, vegetables, mushrooms and chemicals, targeting farming and mining areas that supported President Donald Trump in the 2016 election. The new list includes products as varied as snow blowers and 3-D printers, suggesting Chinese authorities are struggling to find enough imports their own economy can do without. Beijing's earlier round of tariffs appeared designed to minimize the impact on the Chinese economy by targeting soybeans, whiskey and other goods available from Brazil, Australia and other suppliers. Trump initially proposed 10 percent tariffs on an additional $200 billion of Chinese imports, but he told trade officials this week to consider raising that to 25 percent. It will be September at the earliest before the U.S. decides whether to impose those tariffs. Chinese authorities warned earlier that if the dispute escalated, they would adopt unspecified "comprehensive measures." That prompted concern among American companies that retaliation might expand to disrupting their operations in China. The United States and China have the world's biggest trading relationship but official ties are increasingly strained over complaints that Beijing's technology development tactics hurt American companies. Trump's tariffs target goods the White House says benefit from industrial policies such as "Made in China 2025," which calls for developing Chinese competitors in robotic, artificial intelligence and other fields. The dispute is part of broader U.S. complaints about global trading conditions that have prompted Trump to raise duties on steel, aluminum, washing machines or solar panels from Canada, Europe, Japan and South Korea. A spokesman for China's foreign ministry appealed to Washington to negotiate but could not confirm reports the two sides were setting up talks. "We urge the United States to come to its senses, correct its erroneous acts and create the necessary condition for a proper settlement as soon as possible," spokesman Geng Shuang said. Trump campaigned on a promise to bring down America's massive trade deficits by renegotiating trade agreements and getting tough on countries like China that sell the U.S. far more than they buy from it. But the U.S. Commerce Department reported Friday that the American trade deficit climbed to $46.3 billion in June from $43.2 billion in May. The deficit in goods trade with China also rose. So far this year, the trade gap is up more than 7 percent from January-June 2017. As she campaigns throughout the Merrimack Valley, MA-3 candidate Juana Matias sees a lot of herself in the people she meets. An immigrant from the Dominican Republic, she arrived in the country with her family in 1992 speaking no English. Growing up in Haverhill, Maassachusetts, a shadow day at the court system in that city planted the dream of becoming a lawyer and giving back to her community. "That's how I went on to college and then law school, always hoping that I would use my career, my energy and my commitment to address the inequities that I saw," Matias said. In 2016, that desire to give back gave Matias the idea to run for state representative from Lawrence against a three-term Democratic incumbent. "Everyone told me that there was no chance of me winning and that I should wait my turn," she said. Matias went on to win at age 28, and now, just two years later, she is confident she can win the Congressional seat being vacated by the retiring Niki Tsongas. "It's not about an age. It's about when are you ready to be a voice for others," she said. If she wins, two issues will top her agenda -- the first is education, with a focus on excellent public schools and affordable college. "I'm grateful for the person I've become through my education. But it was at a high cost," she explained. "I will be in debt for the rest of my life." Secondly, Matias will focus on health care. She points to her father's pancreatic cancer diagnosis. "Here we were, concerned while my father was being given a diagnosis of six to nine months, about whether we were going to be able to afford his health care," she said. As for the most difficult part of the race, Matias doesn't hesitate. "It's about how much money can you raise. I think it's disgusting," she said. Matias is the only Latina among the 12 candidates running in the 3rd district and the only one from Lawrence. The race could be won with just 10,000 to 20,000 votes. Checks have been sent out to more than 900 Illinois workers to cover back pay owed since 2011. Comptroller Susana Mendoza said the checks were issued to Department of Public Health workers. Mendoza said the department is the first state agency to issue vouchers to her office, enabling the money to be paid. "As soon as other agencies submit vouchers, we will get the back pay checks out quickly," she said. Gov. Bruce Rauner's office said some agencies are working through "technical issues" to get the back pay out. "Our intention is to have all the issues resolved and have all the vouchers delivered for payment next month," said Patty Schuh, Rauner spokeswoman. "We are working to get employees the money they are due as quickly as possible." Other agencies that will be issuing back pay are the Corrections, Juvenile Justice, Human Services and the Natural Resources departments, according to the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. State lawmakers included $63 million in Illinois' current budget to take care of the back wages, which they described as the state's oldest outstanding bill, The Springfield State Journal-Register reported. Both parties supported including the money. Former Gov. Pat Quinn said in 2011 that the state couldn't pay a 2 percent raise to the workers because lawmakers didn't appropriate enough money. About 24,000 state workers are owed pay dating back to 2011. Some of those workers have since retired. Thousands of Chicago-area homeowners will be receiving a refund on their property taxes without filing any paperwork, the Cook County treasurer announced Friday. Roughly $19.5 million total will be returned to around 53,000 homeowners via check or credit because of changes in exemptions, or property tax benefits, in effect for the bill that was due Aug. 1, according to Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas. About 36,000 homeowners who paid online or by check will receive a credit to their bank or credit card accounts by Aug. 15, Pappas said in a statement. An additional 15,000 who paid through a bank/mortgage escrow account will be mailed a refund check by Oct. 15, according to the treasurer, while 2,000 homeowners who paid in cash will be mailed a refund application by Aug. 15 to ensure the proper party receives the refund. Homeowners can check if they are entitled to a refund on the Cook County Treasurer's website by clicking the purple box on the homepage that reads "Your Property Overview," then searching by address or Property Index Number (PIN). Letters detailing information on the property tax cuts and how to receive them will be mailed to all eligible homeowners by Aug. 9, Pappas said. The refunds were a result of legislation passed by the Illinois General Assembly that increased exemptions for homeowners and senior citizens, according to the treasurer. Bishop Timothy Doherty, who presides over the diocese of Lafayette, Indiana, is calling for a public inquiry on all Catholic bishops in the wake of the Cardinal Theodore McCarrick scandal. Doherty is the chair of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops' Child and Youth Protection Committee. He wrote in an op-ed appearing in the Aug. 5 edition of the Lafayette diocesan newspaper "The Catholic Moment" that general prayers and apologies are necessary, but not sufficient. McCarrick, the former cardinal and retired archbishop of Washington, D.C., has been ordered by Pope Francis to maintain a life of prayer and penance until a canonical trial for accusations of sexual abuse. Hes the first American cardinal to be stripped of his title. Doherty said in his column that the McCarrick allegations renew the need for public inquiry about all of us bishops," adding that he is trying to frame his disgust, anger and sorrow in some graced way. While Doherty said the McCarrick allegations surprised him, there is evidence that various people made allegations and had reported them in the United States and in Rome. What has gone wrong? We deserve to find out. If the news is damaging ,we have to hope it will damage and then help to correct an allegedly corrupt process." Doherty adds it is not impossible for the U.S. Conference of Bishops to hire an outside investigator to look in to the McCarrick allegations, noting the USCCB did so in 2002. Dohertys comments are in stark contrast to Chicagos Cardinal Blase Cupich, who replied by email to several questions from NBC 5, but has refused interview requests. He spoke at a conference on the death penalty this week, entering through a back stairway and again refusing any media questions. Cupichs printed answers said he was not aware of the McCarrick allegations, adding, I believe he should be held accountable and I have nothing to add since this matter belongs to the oversight of others but in general Ive always supported making people accountable. Bishop Doherty, raised in Rockford, Illinois, has a doctorate in Christian ethics from Loyola University and a graduate of St. Mary Seminary in Mundelein. What to Know President Emmerson Mnangagwa was declared the winner of a tight election, in Zimbabwe's first vote since the fall Robert Mugabe The peaceful vote had turned deadly when the military fired on protesters 48 hours later "The level of opaqueness, truth deficiency, moral decay & values deficit is baffling," opposition leader Nelson Chamisa said Zimbabwe's opposition leader forcefully rejected the election win of President Emmerson Mnangagwa as fraudulent, a vote "stolen from the people." Zimbabwe's closely-watched elections began with Monday's peaceful vote but turned deadly 48 hours later when the military fired on protesters and six people were killed. Friday morning three truckloads of police, with shields and batons, tried to disperse about 100 local and international press gathered to hear Chamisa. With cameras recording their every move, the police eventually pulled back, allowing Chamisa to give a blistering denunciation of Mnangagwa's win. "We won this election," asserted Chamisa, who said that rigging gave Mnangagwa victory. He declared "a day of mourning ... for democracy." Chamisa, who received over 44 percent of the vote, alleged violence and harassment against his supporters and manipulation of the election results. He said his opposition party has evidence of vote-rigging but that the electoral commission "didn't want to listen to us." There was a subdued reaction to Mnangagwa's win, marked by the apprehension that remained in Harare after the army rolled in with tanks on Wednesday to disperse rock-throwing demonstrators who denounced Mnangagwa and alleged vote-rigging in the country's first vote after the fall of longtime leader Robert Mugabe. The military were not visible on Harare's streets on Friday. Water cannons and police remained present, however, at the headquarters of the main opposition party, a day after authorities raided it and made 18 arrests. Mnangagwa, Mugabe's former enforcer and confidante, said he was "humbled" by the victory and in a Twitter post urged Zimbabweans to stay peaceful. The opposition said it will challenge in court the results of the election, which Mnangagwa won with just over 50 percent of the vote. Opposition leader Nelson Chamisa, who received more than 44 percent of the vote, said on Twitter that "unverified fake results" had been announced by the electoral commission. The commission "must release proper & verified results endorsed by parties," he tweeted. "The level of opaqueness, truth deficiency, moral decay & values deficit is baffling." In a brief moment of drama shortly before the commission announced the winner in Friday's early hours, two agents for Chamisa's Movement for Democratic Change party took the stage and told waiting journalists that they "totally reject" the results and said they had not signed them as required, in protest. Police escorted them from the room. The week's events left many Zimbabweans with a sense of unease and questions about how different Mnangagwa is from his predecessor Mugabe, who stepped down in November under military pressure amid a ruling party feud after 37 years in power. The 75-year-old Mnangagwa has tried to recast himself as a voice of change, declaring that the once-prosperous Zimbabwe is "open for business" and inviting the Western election observers who for years had been banned by Mugabe. If this election is judged credible, it will be a big step toward the lifting of international sanctions on this southern African nation whose economy has long collapsed and whose reputation has suffered after years of repression of the opposition and allegedly rigged votes. So far international observers have issued mixed reviews, calling Monday's election peaceful and a break from the past but expressing grave concern about the military's "excessive" use of force. They criticized the delay in releasing the results of the presidential vote, saying it raised concerns about possible manipulation. Anxious Zimbabweans waited to see what would happen next. In Kuwadzana, a poor suburb outside the capital where groups of youths overnight sang and chanted MDC slogans before results were announced, it was silent. One street vendor in the capital, Roy Mukwena, said Mnangagwa "won by force. No, I'm not happy, just because these elections were not free and fair." Some, however, were content to move on and deal with the new leader. "Yeah, I think he's the right man. Because he has been there for quite some time and he knows where the weaknesses are," said a 29-year-old clerk who gave his name only as Eddy. "He has the experience from ... previous government. So he knows how to maneuver all the problems we have. I just hope he will do well." What to Know Vice President Mike Pence had offered support for Diane Black. The president had stopped short of endorsing Black, despite keeping her by his side and praising her during events. Businessman Bill Lee won a bruising GOP primary for Tennessee governor Thursday. He mostly stayed out of the fray while other opponents savaged each other in attack ads. Lee billed himself as the race's only conservative outsider and emphasized his Christian faith. "I am someone who is not a politician, but I do have a vision for Tennessee to lead the nation," Lee told supporters during his victory speech. The field also included U.S. Rep. Diane Black, who began the campaign as the favorite and got the endorsement of Vice President Mike Pence but stumbled to a third-place finish. No Democrat has won statewide here since former Democratic Gov. Phil Bredesen was re-elected governor in 2006, when he clinched all 95 counties. It's been an even longer drought in the Senate, with the last Democratic victor former Vice President Al Gore in 1990. Meanwhile, Bredesen and Republican U.S. Rep. Marsha Blackburn disposed of minimal opposition in their primary elections for a critical U.S. Senate seat, kicking off what's expected to a bruising, expensive fight that could determine Democrats' chances of overturning the 51-49 Republican Senate majority. Polls have indicated a close contest to replace retiring Republican Sen. Bob Corker. A general election win would be historic for Blackburn, who would become the first female U.S. senator ever elected in Tennessee. Former Nashville Mayor Karl Dean won the Democratic primary for the governor's seat, defeating state House Minority Leader Craig Fitzhugh after outspending him $4.4 million to $984,800. Taking a page from Bredesen's playbook, Dean has touted himself as a leader who can break down partisan barriers and make divided government work during divisive political times. He told his supporters Thursday he intended to run a positive race focused on jobs, affordable health care and good education. Bredesen, who remains popular, would again need to peel off support from moderate Republicans and independents. He is pledging to work across party lines, saying he will support Trump on policies that are good for the state, and oppose him when they aren't. He thanked his supporters Thursday night and vowed to be "the best damn senator you ever sent up to Washington." Blackburn is a strong Trump backer in a state that voted for the president by 26 percentage points in 2016. She has run in support of Trump's agenda, including his wall-building immigration crackdown and his U.S. Supreme Court pick, Brett Kavanaugh. "We know what Tennesseans say that they want to see in their next senator is somebody who is going to stand with President Trump to finish the agenda that they voted for when they elected him and sent him to Washington," she told her supporters, some of whom were wearing T-shirts emblazoned "Marsha Marsha Marsha." Blackburn has billed herself as a "hardcore, card-carrying Tennessee conservative" from the outset of her campaign. She has benefited from center-stage appearances alongside Trump and Pence in public events and fundraisers in Tennessee. Pence and Trump have already attacked Bredesen, saying he's too liberal for Tennessee and would fall in line with Democratic Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. Bredesen has countered that his record as governor shows he's an independent thinker who won't cave to party leaders. Bredesen has criticized Trump's tariff policies, which threaten an estimated $1.4 billion in Tennessee exports, according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, a longtime Republican ally. The exports are linked to more than 850,000 jobs in the state related to farming, steel, baked goods, car manufacturing, whiskey distillers like Jack Daniel's, and more, the chamber said. Blackburn has expressed "grave concern" about the tariffs, but said she appreciates the administration's goal of punishing bad actors like China. She asked the commerce secretary to reconsider broad tariffs to avoid harm to Tennessee's economy. Blackburn has opposed Corker's proposal to require a congressional vote on tariffs issued in the name of national security, a move that fellow Tennessee GOP Sen. Lamar Alexander supports. Tennessee has a history of electing centrist senators. Corker, for one, has further complicated the race by saying he's supporting Blackburn but won't actively campaign against Bredesen, whom he has called a friend. Corker also has very publicly tussled with Trump, once saying he had turned the White House into an "adult day care center," with the president tweeting in response that Corker "couldn't get elected dog catcher in Tennessee." Corker endured booing at a Trump-Blackburn rally in Nashville this spring. Heading into July, Blackburn maintained an early 2-to-1 cash advantage over Bredesen, with $7.3 million in her bank account. But Bredesen would be one of the wealthiest members of Congress if elected and has already loaned $3.5 million of his own money to his campaign. What to Know Russians bankrolled thousands of fake political ads during the 2016 elections and Facebook sought to ensure that wouldn't happen again Online ads are not required to disclose who pays for them, so it's harder to evaluate who pays for them Now, anyone can try to buy a political ad on Facebook and it's up to the company to enforce its rules With less than three months to go before the midterm elections, Facebook is enforcing strict new requirements on digital political ads. Among other things, they force political ad buyers to verify their identities by receiving mail at a known U.S. address. Facebook credits the system with catching at least one ad from a fake, and possibly Russia-connected, Facebook page that it discovered trying to sow political discord ahead of the U.S. midterm elections. But how does the system enforce these rules? How does it even define a political ad, particularly when a computer is making that judgment? And did any ads evade Facebook's detection before it discovered a new set of fake and possibly Russia-linked pages this week? Here are some questions and answers on how political ads work on Facebook. Learn more about how people like you are targeted with political ads on Facebook and the biggest advertisers on the site. WHAT WAS THE PROBLEM WITH POLITICAL ADS? After revelations that that Russians bankrolled thousands of fake political ads during the 2016 elections, Facebook and other social networks faced intense pressure to ensure that doesn't happen again. Unlike political ads on television, online ads are not required to disclose who pays for them, making it harder to evaluate their message. And it makes it much easier for people to disguise their true motives when buying political ads. WHAT DID FACEBOOK DO? Last fall, Facebook announced that it will verify political ad buyers in federal elections by requiring them to confirm their names and locations. Political ads must also carry a "paid for by" disclosure. Facebook will also archive all political ads for the public, including the details of how they were targeted. The company defines a political ad as any advertisement related to U.S. elections, such as those referencing current or former candidates, political parties, political action committees or ballot measures. It even includes "get out the vote" drives. In May, the company expanded the requirements to cover U.S. ads that touch on polarizing issues such as gun control and abortion rights. But defining what counts as an issue ad isn't always easy. For example, both education and immigration can be political issues but ads for universities or immigration lawyers generally are not. So Facebook produced a list of "top-level issues" that, if mentioned in an ad, subject it to closer scrutiny. These topics range from specifics like taxes and terrorism to broad issues such as health, poverty and "values" (which Facebook does not define). HOW DOES FACEBOOK ENFORCE THIS? Anyone can try to buy a political ad on Facebook; it's up to the company to enforce its rules. After an ad is submitted through Facebook's automated system, the company reviews its images, text, the audiences it targets, and the Facebook page it aims to promote. (In a political context, that page might extol a candidate, blast a disfavored policy or solicit donations.) For example, Facebook says it looks at ads as well as their landing pages to see if they mention current or former political candidates, in which case the ads are flagged as political and require additional verification to run. Such reviews are carried out by both humans and automated systems. Facebook declined to explain how they divide up that work. ARE THERE ADDITIONAL RULES? Yes. Facebook also requires that a political ad buyer must be an "administrator" on the page promoted by the ad. So if Alia Upright is running for Congress, no one can run an ad promoting Upright's Facebook page unless they're listed as an administrator. In the case of political and issue ads, ad buyers must also verify their identity and U.S. mailing address. That starts with submitting a government-issued ID and the last four digits of their social security number. Once that's verified, Facebook will mail a postcard to their address with a special code to be entered online. CAN PEOPLE CHEAT? Facebook says its systems are working. While the fake pages it disclosed Tuesday spent about $11,000 to run roughly 150 ads, it says most of these ads ran before its new rules were in place. Facebook says that one fake page, called Resisters, attempted to run an ad after the rules went into effect but was denied by its system. Political consultant Beth Becker, who owns Becker Digital Strategies, welcomes the added accountability, but says the new rules don't actually fix the problems they address. For instance, she notes, there's nothing to stop unscrupulous but verified people from serving as "cutouts" to run ads for others who don't meet Facebook's requirements. "I think these are band-aids that look pretty to people don't know the systems or understand the social media ecosystem," Becker said. WHAT ELSE CAN GO WRONG? Sometimes Facebook's systems misfire and identify clearly non-political ads as political for instance, when it took down ads for Bush's baked beans because it contained the word "Bush." Media organizations have also had their ads flagged when they promoted news stories about political candidates or important issues. Such problems can present huge issues for fast-moving political campaigns, many of which depend on Facebook advertising. If ads or the pages that sponsor them are suddenly flagged at crucial times in a close election say, the week absentee ballots are mailed out "that would be devastating," says Matt Shupe, a GOP consultant. Beardsley Zoo in Bridgeport is doing its part to cut down on waste by abandoning plastic straws. The zoo recently launched its campaign by replacing plastic straws with paper ones. The zoo is using biodegradable food containers in place of plastic boxes as well. Beardsley Zoo Director Gregg Dancho said eliminating single-use waste is important to the Bridgeport zoo because it's a conservation-focused organization. Dancho said the zoo is proud of the initial steps it's taken to cut down on waste that can harm birds and marine mammals. Cities like Seattle and San Francisco have moved to ban plastic straws and containers. Starbucks, Marriott, Hilton, Hyatt and American Airlines have announced plans to stop using straws as well. A Guilford-based moving company is under investigation by the U.S. Department of Transportation after a dozen people with ties to several different moving companies around the country were indicted for conspiring to defraud customers, according to the U.S. Attorneys Office in Cincinnati, Ohio. Kathleen Thoburn told NBC Connecticut she hired Flagship Van Lines, which is based in Guilford, on June 8, signing a binding estimate for $2,475 and putting down a 25 percent deposit. She said they gave her a two-day window for pick-up. They called me the evening of July 10 and they said they would be coming at eight in the morning July 11, so I was able to get my building maintenance manager to open up the freight elevator early for me that morning, Thoburn explained. She said the movers packed up her things and told her they would arrive in Albany in about a week. Kathleen said she started calling after a few days for an update and heard nothing. They never answered their phone. You always got either one of two people. One guys name was Ian and the other one I dont recall, but it was the same exact voicemail and they said they would get back to you. She said when she finally heard from someone after about two weeks, they couldnt give her any information about her belongings. She then contacted the Guilford Police Department, which is assisting the U.S. Department of Transportation with a criminal investigation. The minute I said Flagship Van Lines she said Im going to have to stop you right there because were getting a lot of calls, Thoburn said. The Better Business Bureau told NBC Connecticut it has received more than 40 similar complaints concerning Flagship Van Lines in the last two months. The business has an F rating on their site. After we see a pattern of complaints like this, we do reach out to that place of business, and we have not heard back from them yet, said Luke Frey with the BBB. After several failed attempts to contact Flagship Van Lines via telephone and email, NBC Connecticut went to the business, which was closed in the middle of the day. Earlier this week, the U.S. Attorneys Office in Cincinnati, Ohio said it believes there are more than 900 victims around the country of what they are calling a scheme, which includes: After the customers agreed to hire the moving companies, employees of the moving companies would allegedly load the customers goods onto the truck and then bump the price of the movethe moving companies would allegedly refuse to give back the household goods until customers paid the inflated prices. Thoburn said when the movers arrived for pickup she ended up paying more than the agreed upon price. She said she is trying to stay optimistic but not holding out hope that her things will be delivered. The bottom line is things are just things, and they didnt take your family. They didnt take your children. They didnt take your pets, anything very, very special, so if you treat it sort of like a natural disaster, I think that will get people through, she said. According to the Connecticut Office of the Secretary of the State, Flagship Van Lines filed a name change to Blessed Movers LLC on July 20. The BBB is urging people with a similar experience with the company to call the Inspector Generals Fraud Hotline at 1-800-424-9071. A Hartford police officer was charged with disorderly conduct in East Windsor Wednesday and has been suspended with pay, according to police. The arrest report says East Windsor police arrested 45-year-old James Guzie on Wednesday after his wife went to police and reported that he assaulted her. She told police that he had taken her cell phone and refused to give it back. She said Guzie had keys in his hand and pushed her when she tried to get the phone back, causing an abrasion to the left side of her stomach, according to the arrest report. When the woman tried to get the phone again, Guzie pushed his elbow into her chest, according to police. Guzie was charged with disorderly conduct. Hartford police said Guzie has been on the force for seven years and he has been suspended with pay in accordance with internal administrative procedures. He is due back in court on Aug. 22, according to online court records. NBC Connecticut is proud to partner with the Connecticut Conference of Independent Colleges to host a Republican primary debate in the race for governor. The Republican candidate forum took place Monday, Aug. 6 at 7 p.m. at Fairfield University. You will be able to watch the debate streaming live on nbcconnecticut.com, in our free NBC CT app and on our NBC Connecticut Facebook page. NBC CT Political Reporter Max Reiss will be a panelist at the forum. If you are watching online, you are encouraged to use the hashtag #CCICdebate to participate in the social media conversation. For tickets to attend in person, click here. Eva Bermudez Zimmerman clearly arrived at NBC Connecticut with a plan to use her opponents experience and past as a weapon against her, knowing Susan Bysiewicz would attempt to turn it into an asset. Just minutes into the debate. Bermudez Zimmerman criticized Bysiewicz, a former legislator and secretary of the state, for previous votes on budget she cast. "Unfortunately, Susan, when she served in the state legislature she voted nearly every single year to defer pension payments which have brought us here right now to the fiscal crisis that we currently have. She even called Bysiewicz a coward, at one point. Susan Bysiewicz is the endorsed Democrat running for the number two job in state government. She won the partys support at the state convention in May, while the 31-year-old Bermudez Zimmerman was successful in achieving a position on the August primary ballot. Bermudez Zimmerman is a union organizer who was born in Hartford and currently lives in Newtown where she served out a term on the town council after being appointed to the seat. Bysiewicz harped on her career experience as reason Democratic voters should support her in the August primary. She said the party and the state need someone who knows how to run major state agencies alongside the governor. The lieutenant also has the role of stepping up if a governor can't serve and that's important to take into consideration, Bysiewicz said. Between 1945 and 2004 six lieutenant governors have stepped up into that important role and I'm ready on day one. I've not only worked in the legislature but I ran a very large state agency." The two candidates differed on tax policy, with Bysiewicz not committing to raising taxes as a response to the states budget deficits, while Bermudez Zimmerman said the state must impose higher taxes on big box and chain stores as a way to raise revenue. The two candidates did agree that legalizing the recreational use of marijuana is a good idea, not only for revenue purposes, but they each cited data from Colorado suggesting that opioid related deaths decreased at the same time cannabis was legalized there. Bermudez Zimmerman has the support of labor unions around the state, and shes picked up the support of the American Federation of Teachers in Connecticut. Bysiewicz has picked up the support more than 50 local chief elected officials. Bermudez Zimmerman's lack of political experience did show during one point in the debate. She said her time in Washington was spent as an intern researching legislation, and not the staff member in the office of former Rep. Charles Rangel that she described herself as earlier in the campaign. Nevertheless, she said the experience of being in Washington as the nation dealt with a financial crisis was beneficial. Im proud of the work I did, she said. Bysiewicz leaned on her time working in private practice to help small businesses thrive in Connecticut, a point she made multiple times. "Our economy is in need of revitalization and I've been on the front lines of that for the past six years so I think public and private sector is important to this critical role in state government." This was the only debate between the two candidates. A man injured in a crash with Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott in January 2017 is "only very reluctantly" filing a $1 million lawsuit against the player for damages. The man's lawyer told NBC 5 his client has ongoing medical issues from the crash and is suing for $1 million to cover the costs associated with his care. The crash happened at about 7 a.m. on Jan. 11, 2017, near the intersection of Gaylord Parkway and the Dallas North Tollway, as Elliott was on his way to practice at The Star just before the playoffs were to begin. According a police report, Elliott ran a red light striking Ronnie Hill in the passenger side of his BMW 7 series. A man injured in a crash with Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott in January 2017 is "only very reluctantly" filing a $1 million lawsuit against the player for damages. Both vehicles had to be towed from the scene. Initially, it was described as a fender bender but the crash caused $33,000 in damage to Hills vehicle and ended up being written off as a total loss, according to a lawsuit filed Thursday afternoon. Hills attorney, Quentin Brogdon said both airbags in Elliotts Yukon SUV deployed. According to the lawsuit, Hill "suffered, and continues to suffer serious, life-altering injuries and damages." The lawsuit is seeking $1 million. Texas is not a "direct action" state, so drivers are not allowed to sue another drivers insurance company directly. They must sue the driver individually instead. "Zeke Elliott, to his credit, admitted at the scene that he ran the red light. Zeke Elliott, as far as we know, has not impeded in any way the agreed resolution or settlement of these legal claims," said Brogdon. According to a crash report obtained from the Texas Department of Transportation, Elliott told police he accidentally ran a red light and struck the other driver. Brogdon said Hill is a big fan of the Dallas Cowboys, and Zeke Elliott, so he filed the lawsuit "only very reluctantly." Almost two years have now passed and theres been more than enough time and more than enough information provided for this claim to get resolved, Brogdon said. Elliott's attorney released a statement to NBC 5 Thursday afternoon saying... "This lawsuit - stemming from a 2017 car accident - is between the plaintiff and Mr. Elliott's insurance company. Mr. Elliott was only named personally because Texas is not a "direct action state" - which means that a claimant cannot file directly against the insurance company but must first name the individual insured (Elliott) in order to trigger the insurance coverage. That is exactly what occurred here. We expect Mr. Elliott's insurance provider to step in accordingly and handle the matter appropriately." Lawsuit Crash Report Alberto Herrera could tell something wasn't right when the Aeromexico plane he was traveling aboard took off from Mexico Tuesday. "After the plane takes off we start hitting a lot patchy, patchy, really hard turbulence," he told NBC 5 Wednesday. "You can feel the wind and you can feel the hail hitting the airplane like at maximum speed. Its kind of like we hit the storm, that hail storm, right at its peak so the wind was insane." Herrera was among several from Chicago onboard the flight that crashed in the northern Mexican state of Durango while en route to Mexico City. Officials said 85 people were injured on that plane. "You say a little prayer and you hope for the best and you hope you said 'I love you' to the loved ones you left behind here in Mexico and in Chicago," Herrera said. All 103 people on board made it off the plane. After the crash, Herrera said he was joined by fellow passenger Rev. Esequiel Sanchez, from The Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe church in Des Plaines. "I asked him if he was hurt. He said he had broken his arm and I asked him if I could help him, if he needed a splint. He said no and then we said a prayer for everybody on board," Herrera said. "There was like 20 of us, we didnt know if everybody got out we were just hoping for the best that everybody got out." Sanchez was among those taken to the hospital where his condition has stabilized. "He sustained some injuries but we are grateful to learn he is alert and resting," the Archdiocese of Chicago said in a statement. "We pray for Fr. Sanchez and everyone affected by this plane crash." The civil defense office of Durango state said the plane landed in a field near the airport for the state capital, also named Durango. The agency published photos of a smoking but seemingly relatively intact plane lying on its belly in a field. Lines of ambulances were waiting at the accident site. Officials said 49 people had been hospitalized most with minor injuries. The pilot suffered the most serious injury, a cervical lesion that required surgery. Some people had burns on a quarter of their bodies, said Durango state Health Ministry spokesman Fernando Ros. The plane tried to take off from Durango city in a severe storm Tuesday. Passenger Dorelia Rivera, of Elmwood Park, told NBC 5 she thought "why in the world are we even taking off. Within a couple minutes the plane just started shaking, she said from a hospital in Durango. We heard a loud noise behind usand the next thing we knew it was starting to smoke and fire. She said people were clamouring to get off the plane. She grabbed the only two things she could: her daughters hand and the medicine the child needs to stay alive, she said. Somebody literally pushed her back so they could get through, Rivera said. But she doesnt blame the person, she added. Other members of her group suffered burns and broken bones, she said. Rivera was one of nine passengers from Chicago on the flight. Gerardo Ruiz Eparza, head of Mexico's Transport Department, said that "the plane fell upon takeoff." He said there were 97 passengers and four crew members aboard. The National Rifle Association is accusing New York state of "blacklisting" the organization, costing it "tens of millions of dollars" this year and potentially making it "unable to exist as a not-for-profit or pursue its advocacy mission." The Second Amendment advocacy group says in a lawsuit that the state is hindering its fundraising efforts and cutting it off from insurance providers and "other financial services essential to the NRAs corporate existence and its advocacy mission, NBC News reported. And yet the NRA appears to remain at the peak of its powers, able to mobilize its millions of members to support state and federal political candidates who share its gun-rights agenda. It spent heavily on President Donald Trumps 2016 campaign, and now has an avowed supporter in the White House. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said late Friday the state is filing a motion to dismiss the lawsuit, The Associated Press reported. What to Know Pastor Andrew Craig Brunson is being tried on espionage and terror-related charges, which he and the U.S. government have denied The Trump administration slapped sanctions on Turkey over the pastor's case this week, and Pompeo has been pressing for his release Turkey has rejected U.S. demands, saying the government won't back down, along with vowing to retaliate for the sanctions U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo pressed Turkey on Friday for the release of a detained American pastor whose case has led the Trump administration to hit senior Turkish officials with sanctions and badly strained ties between the NATO allies. Pompeo also said he would be seeking the release of several local employees of the U.S. diplomatic missions in Turkey. Just two days after the administration slapped sanctions on Turkey's justice and interior ministers over the case of Andrew Craig Brunson, Pompeo met with Turkish Forreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on the sidelines of a Southeast Asian security conference in Singapore. Ahead of the meeting, Pompeo said Brunson's case would be high on his list of items to discuss with his Turkish counterpart. He defended Wednesday's sanctions as a sign of how seriously the administration takes Brunson's case. "The Turks were on notice that the clock had run out and it was time for Pastor Brunson to be returned and I hope they'll see this for what it is: a demonstration that we're very serious," he told reporters aboard his plane as he flew to Singapore from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. "We consider this one of the many issues that we have with the Turks," Pompeo said. He did not elaborate but Washington and Ankara have been at odds over numerous matters, including Turkeys' continued detention of three Turkish employees of the U.S. consulate in Istanbul, as well as military activity in northern Syria and Turkey's plans to purchase an advanced air defense system from Russia. "Brunson needs to come home as do all the Americans being held by the Turkish government," he said. "Pretty straightforward. They've been holding these folks for a long time. These are innocent people." Brunson is being tried on espionage and terror-related charges, which he and the U.S. government vehemently deny. Last week, President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence threatened to impose sanctions on Turkey if Brunson was not immediately released. They said his recent transfer from prison to house arrest was not enough. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has rejected the U.S. demands, saying his government won't back down and is willing to "go its own way" if the U.S. acted. The Turks have also vowed to retaliate for the sanctions "without delay." The Turkish foreign ministry called the sanctions a "disrespectful intervention in our legal system" that would harm "the constructive efforts toward resolving problems between the two countries." Speaking to Turkish journalists after his meeting with Pompeo, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu described their discussion as "extremely constructive" and said the two would continue to work toward resolving disputes between the two countries. "We repeated to them that nothing can be achieved through threatening language and sanctions and we believe that this was well understood," Cavusoglu said. Brunson, 50, was arrested in December 2016 following a failed coup on charges of "committing crimes on behalf of terror groups without being a member" and espionage. Although he was released to home detention, he faces a prison sentence of up to 35 years if he is convicted on both counts at the end of his ongoing trial. The evangelical pastor, who is originally from Black Mountain, North Carolina, has lived in Turkey for 23 years and led the Izmir Resurrection Church. Under the sanctions to be imposed by the Treasury Department, any property, or interest in property, belonging to Justice Minister Abdulhamit Gul or Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu within U.S. jurisdiction would be blocked. Americans would generally be prohibited from doing business with them. Erdogan has denied speculation that there had been an agreement to swap Brunson for Turkish citizens being held abroad, particularly 27-year-old Ebru Ozkan. Ozkan had been detained by Israel on terror-related charges, but was deported to Turkey this month. The Turkish leader previously connected Brunson's return to the U.S. to the extradition of Fethullah Gulen. Ankara blames Gulen for the coup attempt, while the cleric denies involvement. Erdogan has also warned that Turkey would seek international arbitration if the United States refused to deliver F-35 fighter jets in retaliation. A year removed from working as a barista at a Bronx coffee shop, New York Democratic congressional nominee Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez hosted a fundraising luncheon in downtown Los Angeles on Thursday for her New York congressional campaign. Ocasio-Cortez was in Northern California Tuesday as part of her third trip outside of New York in three weeks. She began her day in Stockton, meeting with Mayor Michael Tubbs, two days before his 28th birthday. "We talked about the similarities between her district and Stockton, about increasing opportunity, and basic income," Tubbs tweeted, referring to his city's privately funded Stockton Economic Empowerment Demonstration pilot program, which will provide at least 100 residents with a guaranteed income of $500 per month for 18 months. "We also talked about the inspiration provided by Dr. King's ideology." Ocasio-Cortez then "sat down with Walmart & Toys R Us workers to talk about the path forward for retail labor in the US," she tweeted. Ocasio-Cortez hosted two fundraisers in San Francisco later Tuesday. The 28-year-old self-described democratic socialist defeated 10-term incumbent Joe Crowley in the June 26 Democratic primary in New York's 14th Congressional District, which consists of portions of the New York City boroughs of the Bronx and Queens. Crowley is the chair of the House Democratic Caucus, the fourth-highest ranking position in House Democratic Leadership. Ocasio-Cortez is virtually certain to be elected in November in the overwhelmingly Democratic district, which would make her the youngest woman elected to Congress. She will turn 29 on Oct. 13. Ocasio-Cortez's platform includes supporting "Medicare For All," abolishing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, making public colleges and trade schools tuition-free and reforming "campaign finance laws that undermine democracy for the benefit of corporate interests." After graduating cum laude from Boston University's College of Arts and Sciences in 2011 with a bachelor's degree in economics and international relations, Ocasio-Cortez worked as a bartender and a waitress in New York City; established a publishing firm, Brook Avenue Press, that specializes in children's literature that portrays the Bronx in a positive light. She was also an educator. Ocasio-Cortez worked as an organizer for Sen. Bernie Sanders 2016 presidential campaign. What to Know A 12-year-old girl was abducted from DCA airport Thursday morning. She was visiting from China. She was found in Queens, NY, Friday, officials said. Authorities said she is safe and with her parents. A 12-year-old girl who left Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport with an unknown woman has been found safe in New York City, officials said Friday. "We are pleased to share that Jinjing Ma has been found and is safe," the Reagan Airport tweeted. Jinjing Ma was reported missing Thursday from Reagan Airport in D.C. and was located Friday in Queens. The Washington Airports Authority said in a statement that Ma was found "safe and in the custody of her parents." Ma, who is visiting the U.S. from China, was reported last seen at the airport at 8:15 a.m. Thursday. Her tour group had visited multiple cities in the country, and after spending a night in D.C., they arrived at the airport for the next leg of their journey. Authority police Chief David Huchler said at a news conference Friday that the girl excused herself to go to the bathroom Thursday after getting her passport at Reagan Airport. He said the girl met a woman, changed clothes and got into an SUV with New York tags. Huchler said a couple had earlier approached Ma while her tour group was at the World Trade Center. He said there appeared to be a link between that couple and the people she met at the airport. Investigators previously said Ma was abducted. They later called her a "critical missing juvenile." Investigators said there appeared to be some familiarity between Ma and the couple, but they didn't know what they said or whether they knew each other. Police didn't say when the New York encounter occurred. It's not clear if the woman who approached Ma at Reagan National Airport was the woman who approached her in New York. Police believed Ma and the woman left the airport in a white 2016 or 2018 Infiniti QX70 with New York plates. A man was driving. Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority released photos Thursday, including the following photo of a woman and a man arriving at the airport's ticketing and departures level. Another photo showed the woman with the girl. Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority A witness told police he may have seen the woman meet up with Ma in New York and give her food. Police said they were working to contact Ma's grandfather, who lives in China, and reaching out to her relatives who live in the U.S. What to Know The man accused of killing a 29-year-old Queens nurse found naked and strangled with her teeth knocked out said he has voices in his head "I really liked her. I didn't want to kill her," Danueal Drayton, who met her on a dating app, said from his jail cell in California Drayton was captured in LA and had another woman captive; authorities are looking into whether he may be connected to more cases Only weeks before a Queens nurse was killed, left naked in a blanket with her teeth knocked out in her own bedroom, and another woman was sexually assaulted on the opposite side of the country, a New York judge released the suspect without bail in a separate strangulation case. The judge didn't know Danueal Drayton had a violent criminal history involving women. The freeing of Drayton on July 5 has outraged the nurse's family and frustrated prosecutors. They and Drayton's defense lawyers believe he would still be behind bars on the Long Island strangulation charge if they and the judge had known about his rap sheet in Connecticut. His record in New York was clean. "You can't let a person like this walk out of jail ... free without a bond," Kenneth Stewart, whose daughter, Samantha, was found dead in her Queens apartment on July 17, told reporters last week. "My daughter would be living today." A court spokesperson says there was no way the judge could have known. "It would have been impossible for the judge at that time to foresee the allegations that are presently unfolding and coming to light with regard to this defendant," Daniel Bagnuola, director of the office of community relations with the Nassau County court, said in a statement. Authorities say Drayton, 27, from New Haven, Connecticut, claims to have killed at least five women in his home state and in New York. He said he met some victims on the Tinder dating app. Police are trying to confirm if his statements are true. He was arrested last week in Los Angeles after police say he raped a woman who he met during an Uber ride. He pleaded not guilty. He told the Daily News in a chilling jailhouse interview that voices in his head made him kill Stewart. He also recalled choking the two other women in Los Angeles and New York. A spokesman for Nassau County District Attorney Madeline Singas said her office is now reviewing why Drayton's Connecticut criminal record, which was available in a national database, was not presented to Judge Erica Prager before she freed him on his own recognizance. Nassau County prosecutors had sought $7,500 bail for Drayton after he was charged with choking his ex-girlfriend last month. Judge Scott Fairgrieve set bail at $2,000 on July 1 and Drayton was detained. "The bail set by Judge Fairgrieve should have been continued at $2,000 bond or $1,000 cash, and Mr. Drayton would have continued to be held in jail," the DA's spokesman, Brendan Brosh, said in a statement. "The prosecutor on July 5 detailed serious threats made by the defendant to the victim, and noted that he had slashed the tires on her car." Prager did not return a message seeking comment. Lawyers with the Legal Aid Society of Nassau County, who are representing him in the strangulation case, had asked Prager for a bail reduction and did not know at the time about his Connecticut record, which includes a nonfatal strangulation, unlawful restraint and violating protective orders. "If (Prager) had that information, she probably would have made a different determination on the bail," said N. Scott Banks, chief attorney for the Legal Aid Society of Nassau County. It's not clear what the procedures are in New York for checking the National Crime Information Center database for defendants' criminal histories in other states, and Brosh couldn't immediately say. New York courts spokesman Lucian Chalfen only said judges have wide discretion in setting bail. Drayton also slipped through the cracks in Connecticut, where his probation officer tried multiple times to find him after he disappeared in late May and missed required meetings. He was on probation for misdemeanor harassment. Connecticut officials were never informed of his June 30 arrest in New York and obtained an arrest warrant for him on July 26, according to the Connecticut Judicial Branch. Court records obtained by The Associated Press show Drayton was sentenced to three years in prison in 2013 for beating and choking his girlfriend in East Haven and violating a protective order "He started pummeling me in my face!" the girlfriend told police. "Swing after swing after swing to the point my body went into shock. ... He grabbed me from behind and started strangulating me with his arms and within seconds I passed out." He got out of prison in November 2014 and began serving probation. Seven months later, he was arrested again for holding another woman against her will in Waterbury, and got another three-year prison sentence. He got out on probation in April 2017. He was arrested again in February by New Haven police for sending threatening messages to a male friend. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to a year of probation in March. Connecticut prosecutor Sean McGuinness declined to comment on the 2018 harassment case. New York Police Department Chief of Detectives Dermot Shea said Thursday that Drayton has been speaking with investigators in California and has said things that would lead them to believe he's responsible for other crimes in New York City. Nothing Drayton has said regarding those alleged crimes has been verified by NYPD investigators. "We are very interested in the history of Mr. Drayton," Shea said. "We have resources devoted to really following up on his past. What could we learn? What other victims may there be?" What to Know A 12-year-old girl was abducted from Reagan Airport in Washington D.C. Thursday morning, and got into a car with NY plates, police say. She's believed to be in a white Infiniti SUV with New York plates with a woman and man. The FBI is involved in the search. Virginia police say the child is in extreme danger. UPDATE: Girl Who Vanished from D.C. Airport Found Safe in New York City A 12-year-old girl visiting the United States from China was abducted by a woman at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on Thursday morning, and the two were seen entering a car with New York license plates, officials say. The girl, JinJing Ma, is believed to be in "extreme danger," Virginia State Police said in a statement announcing an Amber alert in their search for her. The FBI is involved in the investigation, and state police said they are contacting the Chinese embassy. The Amber alert has not yet extended to New York, however. Ma was last seen at the airport at 8:15 a.m. She was traveling with a group of students touring U.S. schools, and at some point, the girl said she was going to use the bathroom. It wasn't until the group was going to check in at security that another student in the group told chaperones that she was missing, according to police. It appears the girl met with a middle-aged woman, who also was visiting from China, police said. The girl and the woman both changed clothes, walked to the arrivals area of the airport and disappeared out of the view of security cameras. MWAA They are believed to be riding in a white Infiniti SUV with New York plates that a man is driving. Authorities are trying to identify the exact plate number with video enhancement. "We don't know the exact circumstances as to why the child left with this female," David Huckler, chief of police for Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, said at a news conference. "The child appears to have left without any force, she entered the vehicle without any force. We're still very concerned because we don't know the reason why this child left with the female." A witness told police he may have seen the woman meet up with Ma in New York and give her food. It wasn't immediately clear if Ma and the woman were traveling in the same tour group. Virginia State Police Ma stands 4-foot-11 and weighs 90 pounds. She has brown eyes and black hair. She was last seen wearing a white T-shirt, jeans and a black jacket. The woman, whose name police did not release, stands 5 feet tall and was wearing a black dress. Anyone with information on either person should call 703-417-2400 or 800-822-4453 immediately. The NYPD Transit Special Victims Squad is making it their mission to stop predators on the citys subway system. Marc Santia reports in an I-Team exclusive. What to Know A United Express jet at Newark Liberty International Airport being pushed back from its gate by a tug struck a service truck, a source says The impact caused the vehicle to flip over with the driver inside, an airport source tells NBC 4 The driver was transported with an injured arm to a local hospital A United Express jet at Newark Liberty International Airport that was being pushed back from its gate by a tug struck a service truck, causing it to flip over with the driver inside, an airport source tells NBC 4. The incident occurred around 11:40 a.m. Friday near Gate 26 in Terminal A of the airport. According to the FAA, the ExpressJet Airlines Flight 4080, an Embraer E145 aircraft, was scheduled to depart for Richmond, Virginia. The jet aircraft involved had 47 people aboard the plane, along with two pilots and one flight attendant, according to United. The airline says none of the people on the plane were injured. The passengers retured to the gate, where they deplaned normally. Port Authority Police Aircraft Rescue Fire Fighter (ARFF) Unit responded and rescued the driver from the truck. The driver was transported to Beth Isreal Hospital in Newark with an injured arm, the source says. It is unclear if the vehicle was a food service truck belonging to its in-house catering operation. The incident is under investigation by the FAA and United. What to Know A Queens man is accused of conning a 101-year-old neighborhood friend into transferring the deed of his home into his name, authorities said Ricardo Bentham, 58, was charged Thursday with second-degree grand larceny and other crimes His next court appearance is scheduled for Aug. 21; If convicted, Bentham could face up to 15 years in prison A Queens man is accused of conning a 101-year-old neighborhood friend into transferring the deed of his long-time home into his name, authorities announced. Ricardo Bentham, 58, was charged Thursday with second-degree grand larceny, second-degree criminal possession of stolen property, second-degree criminal possession of a forged instrument and first-degree offering a false instrument in connection to the alleged crime which took place in 2017. According to Queens District Attorney Richard Brown, who called the incident "troublesome," Bentham submitted a quitclaim deed to be filed with the city on Oct. 5, 2017. The document allegedly stated that 101-year-old Woodrow Washington was transferring ownership of his home, which was valued at more than $50,000, to Bentham for $0. According to the complaint filed, the centenarian did not realize anything was wrong until he received a letter from the Department of Finance saying that the deed to his home was transferred to Bentham. An inquiry conducted with the New York City Automated Register Information System alleged revealed that the document filed has the signature of Washington with a notary stamp and signature of a notary. According to prosecutors, Washington claimed the signature was his, but was adamant that he never signed any documents in front of a notary. Theodore White, a 93-year-old notary, who was questioned by authorities, allegedly said he often signed documents brought to him by Bentham because he trusted him. However, White said the document bearing his signature was missing the notary seal, which he always added to a document, prosecutors say. Washington allegedly identified Bentham as a neighborhood friend who offered to help him collect rent from his tenants and said he recalled signing documents that Bentham brought to his residence and that some of the forms were blank. Bentham was released on his own recognizance. His next court appearance is scheduled for Aug. 21. If convicted, Bentham could face up to 15 years in prison. Attorney information for Bentham was not immediately clear. What to Know NJTransit cancelled at least 20 trains across its network during the rush hour Friday morning The railroad blamed both safety work and an elevated level of crew absences "We're getting killed," one agency source said of the situation There are bad commuting days, and then there's what NJ Transit riders had to deal with on Friday. Between 5 a.m. and 10 a.m., NJ Transit announced the cancellation of at least 21 trains on at least five different lines, including 10 trains on the Morris & Essex line and another six on the Montclair-Boonton line. "We're getting killed," one NJ Transit source told News 4 New York Friday morning. In a series of tweets responding to angry customers, NJ Transit blamed two factors: construction work to install Positive Train Control safety systems, and a "higher-than-usual number of crew absences." By 4 p.m., the total cancellations rose above 30, the majority on the Morris & Essex line. NJ Transit suspended M&E service in both directions between Summit and Dover, and Gladstone service between Summit and Murray Hill, due to a downed tree on wires near Summit. Buses coming out of the Port Authority Bus Terminal were subject to 30-minute delays. Furious riders took to social media to condemn the agency. Hello, The number of annulments is due to several factors, including the installation and testing of PTC equipment which requires dedicated train crews to perform required testing and program support, and a higher-than-usual number of crew absences. -TB NJ TRANSIT (@NJTRANSIT) August 3, 2018 For the latest regional transit updates, scroll below: A family is splitting in two in Florida, where the wife of a former Marine and Iraq War combat veteran is being deported after exhausting all her appeals. Tears flowed as Alejandra Juarez checked in for her flight to Mexico Friday at Orlando International Airport. Her husband Cuauhtemoc Temo Juarez, a naturalized citizen, had written a letter to President Donald Trump, who he had voted for, requesting help, Stars and Stripes reported. It was delivered through his congressman, Democratic Rep. Darren Soto. Alejandra Juarez said that if she could talk with Trump, she'd ask how he could let this happen, since her husband served the United States and Trump "always says he loves the military and he's doing everything for the military." There is an immigration policy for military members and their families called "parole in place," NBC News reported. The Citizen and Immigration Services website says they provide discretionary options such as parole in place or deferred action on a case-by-case basis. The 39-year-old woman lived in the U.S. for 20 years without trouble until a traffic stop in Davenport, Florida, exposed her legal status. Afterward, she regularly checked in with U.S. Immigration and Customs officials, which typically went after higher-priority targets like people with criminal records. Temo didn't figure his vote for Trump would affect them personally. That was before the enforcement of Trump's "zero tolerance" policy toward illegal immigrants. Alejandra Juarez raised two American citizen daughters, ages 16 and 8, with her husband, a naturalized citizen who runs a roofing business. The older daughter, Pamela, cursed at the immigration agency before her mother checked in for her flight, saying, "My mom is a good person. She's not a criminal." For now, Alejandra Juarez was traveling by herself. After she is settled, younger daughter Estela will join her. Temo Juarez will care for Pamela in Florida and pay the bills. "My husband fought for this country three times. The administration, yourself, you think you are punishing me. You're not just punishing me," she said, referring to her family. "I hope this make him happy. Perhaps we will forgive him." Alejandra Juarez petitioned to become a citizen in 2001, but was rejected because she was accused of making a false statement at the border when she sought asylum in 1998, said her attorney, Richard Maney. Asked about her citizenship, she had told authorities she had been a student in Memphis, Tennessee for a short time, and border officials apparently thought she was falsely claiming to be an American citizen, the attorney said. U.S. Rep. Darren Soto, D-Fla., who couldn't get the votes in Congress for legislation to allow Juarez to remain, called her situation disgraceful. "We're not going to give up," he told her with a hug at the airport. "It's an absolute disgrace by the Trump administration to be deporting a patriotic spouse," Soto said. "Her husband, Temo, served in the Marines ... while she was at home on the home-front, raising two young women. What justice does this serve?" Alejandra Juarez ultimately decided to "self-deport" to Mexico, rather than turn herself in to be detained and then deported. After 20 years in the United States, she no longer has family or friends in the country, so she chose Merida, a city in the Yucatan where a small community of deported military spouses might help her. Emotionally spent, she wiped her own tears behind sunglasses and stroked Pamela's hair while gripping Estela, who stood by her side. Temo Juarez said he preferred not to talk before they were all escorted through security for their final goodbyes. The "Manhattan Madam" who said she provided prostitutes to New York's rich and famous, including Gov. Eliot Spitzer, has met with a member of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's team, a source with direct knowledge told NBC News. Kristin Davis, 41, told NBC News in July that someone in Mueller's office called her attorney to ask her to speak to investigators, and that she believed it was because of her ties to former Trump adviser Roger Stone. She could not be reached for comment Friday, nor could her attorney, Michael Rossetti. A spokesman for Mueller's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Davis has previously said that she couldn't have worked on Trump's presidential campaign and has no information about it because she was in prison during much of that time. What to Know The president lashes out at news outlets and individual reporters, accusing them of spreading "fake news" his term for stories he dislikes At a press briefing Thursday, Sarah Sanders refused to distance herself from Trump's assertion that the media is the "enemy" of the people She recited a litany of complaints against the press and blamed the media for inflaming tensions in the country White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders on Thursday refused to distance herself from President Donald Trump's assertions that the media is the "enemy" of the American people. Pressed during a White House briefing on the issue, Sanders said Trump "has made his position known." In a heated exchange with reporters, she recited a litany of complaints against the press and blamed the media for inflaming tensions in the country. "As far as I know, I'm the first press secretary in the history of the United States that's required Secret Service protection," she said, accusing the media of continuing "to ratchet up the verbal assault against the president and everyone in this administration." CNN's Jim Acosta, who has become a lightning rod for anti-media sentiment and was loudly heckled during a Trump rally in Florida on Tuesday night, implored Sanders to break from the president, who first decried the press as the "enemy of the American people" last year. "I think it would be a good thing if you were to say right here at this briefing that the press, the people who are gathered in this room right now ... are not the enemy of the people," Acosta said, adding: "All the people around the world are watching what you're saying." Sanders, appearing to read from prepared remarks, responded with a critique of the press for resorting "to personal attacks without any content other than to incite anger." "The media has attacked me personally on a number of occasions, including your own network, CNN," she told Acosta. She also cited the comedian who performed at the annual White House Correspondents' Association dinner, saying the comic was brought in "to attack my appearance and call me a traitor to my own gender." Acosta later walked out of the briefing in protest. Another reporter quickly filled his seat. The exchange came hours after the president's eldest daughter and adviser, Ivanka Trump, broke with her father at an event hosted by Axios, and said that she does not view the news media as "the enemy of the people." "I've certainly received my fair share of reporting on me personally that I know not to be fully accurate. So ... I have some sensitivity around why people have concerns and gripe, especially when they sort of feel targeted. But no, I do not feel that the media is the enemy of the people," Ivanka Trump said. The president tried to minimize the divide in a tweet later Thursday. "They asked my daughter Ivanka whether or not the media is the enemy of the people. She correctly said no. It is the FAKE NEWS, which is a large percentage of the media, that is the enemy of the people!" he wrote. The president regularly lashes out at news outlets and individual reporters, accusing them of spreading "fake news" his term for stories he dislikes. His attacks have drawn rebukes from free press advocates, human rights experts, professional journalism associations and the publisher of The New York Times, who said this week that he took Trump to task for "deeply troubling anti-press rhetoric" that is "not just divisive but increasingly dangerous" when the two met privately at the White House this month. The tensions have been especially acute at Trump's rallies, where his supporters often jeer at, curse and harass reporters working in a closed-off media pen. On Thursday night, thundering that the media is the "fake, fake disgusting news," President Donald Trump unleashed a torrent of grievances at a Pennsylvania campaign rally in which he cast journalists as his true political opponent. "Whatever happened to the free press? Whatever happened to honest reporting?" Trump asked, pointing to the media in the back of the hall. "They don't report it. They only make up stories." With each denunciation, the crowd jeered and screamed at the press in the holding pen at the back of the arena. The rally came at a perilous time for Trump, who the day before bluntly declared his attorney general should terminate "right now" the federal probe into the campaign that took him to the White House, a newly fervent attack on the special counsel investigation that could imperil his presidency. What to Know U.S. intelligence and homeland security officials raised alarms about potential efforts to influence the 2018 and 2020 elections They tried to reassure the American people they are doing everything in their power to address the threat Beyond Russian social media campaigns to influence voters, lawmakers are wondering how to bolster election infrastructure in the states Responding to wide-ranging criticism that it lacked a clear national strategy to protect U.S. elections, the Trump administration put on a show of force Thursday and said the president had directed a "vast, government-wide effort" to safeguard a cornerstone of American democracy. John Bolton, the national security adviser, also wrote in a letter to Senate Democrats that "President Trump has not and will not tolerate interference in America's system of representative government." The warning to American adversaries came as top U.S. intelligence and homeland security officials raised alarms about potential efforts to influence the 2018 and 2020 elections. Homeland security chief Kirstjen Nielsen said: "Our democracy is in the crosshairs." "We continue to see a pervasive messaging campaign by Russia to try to weaken and divide the United States," Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats said. Their rare appearance during a White House briefing came as a display of resolve, weeks after Trump publicly undermined the conclusions of American intelligence agencies regarding Russian interference. After suffering a bipartisan outcry, Trump later said he accepted those findings. Along with National Security Agency Director Paul Nakasone and FBI Director Christopher Wray, they appeared together at the White House on Thursday to try to reassure the American people they are doing everything in their power to address the threat. "We're throwing everything at it," Coats said. But later Thursday, at a rally in Pennsylvania, Trump again referred to the "Russian hoax." "In Helsinki, I had a great meeting with Putin," he said. "We discussed everything I had a great meeting. We got along really well. By the way, that's a good thing, not a bad thing. That's a really good thing. Now we're being hindered by the Russian hoax. It's a hoax, OK? I'll tell you what, Russia's very unhappy that Trump won, that I can tell you." Nakasone, who is also the commander of the U.S. Cyber Command, said the command and the NSA are both tracking a wide range of foreign cyber adversaries and "are prepared to conduct operations against those actors attempting to undermine our nation's midterm elections." Nakasone did not divulge details of the U.S. cyber playbook or say what U.S. responses might have already taken place, saying the operations are sensitive and require confidentiality to achieve success. "I won't discuss the specifics, except to state that our forces are well-trained, ready and very capable," he said. At one of his confirmation hearings in March, Nakasone said his role was to provide a series of cyber options that might be used as a deterrent to Russian meddling, but he told Congress then that cyber or military options might not be the most effective. "In fact, it may be less effective than other options that might be considered," he said. Asked specifically if he had been ordered or authorized to conduct any offensive cyber operations in response to foreign meddling in the U.S., Nakasone offered a vague response. "So my guidance and the direction from the present secretary of defense is very clear, we're not going to accept meddling in the elections. And it's very unambiguous." Nielsen, Wray and Nakasone had all gathered earlier this week in New York City with leaders of top finance, energy and telecommunications companies for a cybersecurity summit, where they spoke of the urgent need for a collective, collaborative approach to security. At the event, Nielsen said the cyber threat now exceeds the danger of a physical attack against the U.S. by a hostile foreign group. Wray told reporters that compared to 2016, in 2018 "we are not yet seeing the same kind of efforts to specifically target election infrastructure," but that other efforts to influence public opinion continue. He added that the FBI has active investigations on foreign influence across all 56 of its field offices. "Make no mistake, the scope of this foreign influence threat is both broad and deep," he said. But Nielsen said U.S. agencies have "seen a willingness and a capability on the part of the Russians" to attack U.S. election infrastructure. On Capitol Hill, lawmakers in both parties have pushed election security toward the top of the fall agenda amid heightened concerns about interference by Russians and others in the midterm elections. Both Republicans and Democrats have criticized the administration's response as fragmented, without enough coordination across federal agencies. And with the midterms only three months away, critics have called on Trump to take a stronger stand. Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia, the ranking Democrat on the Senate intelligence committee, questioned whether Trump was serious about countering Russian interference. "Glad to see the White House finally do something about election security even if it's only a press conference," Warner tweeted. "Now, if only it was actually backed up by anything the president has said or done on Russia." Bolton said Thursday that Trump is "leading unprecedented action to punish Russia" for its efforts to disrupt American elections. What to Know A freight train car derailed in an underground tunnel near Philadelphia's Eakins Oval Friday morning. No injuries were reported and no leaking took place, firefighters said. The derailment blocked the tunnel but didn't effect traffic on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway above. One car of a freight train derailed in an underground tunnel near Philadelphia's Eakins Oval Friday morning. Wheels on one car of a Norfolk Southern train came off the track in the CSX rail tunnel that goes under the Benjamin Franklin Parkway near Paines Park skate park before 8:30 a.m., the Philadelphia Fire Department said. The rail car remained upright, Norfolk Southern said in a statement to NBC10. No injuries were reported and there was no hazmat situation as no hazardous materials leaked, firefighters said. No word yet on what caused the derailment. Traffic along the nearby parkway continued to move as crews examined the scene. Philadelphia firefighters could be seen examining from above rail cars that stuck out of the tunnel. Firefighters gave the all clear around 9 a.m. but the train remained stuck in the tunnel. "Safety is our highest priority as we work with CSX to restore train service through this area," Norfolk Southern said. Correction: This story has been updated to reflect that it was a Norfolk Southern freight train using CSX tracks. What to Know A Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, jury has found Lawrence Crawley guilty of first-degree murder in the August 2018 killing of Angela Maya Stith. Crawley repeatedly stabbed and ran over Stith during a dispute in the parking lot Vector security in Whitemarsh Township. Crawley faces a mandatory life sentence without the possibility for parole when he is sentenced later this year. A Philadelphia man accused of having stabbed and run over his ex-girlfriend in the parking lot of her suburban workplace has been convicted of first-degree murder. Jurors deliberated for about two hours Thursday before convicting Lawrence Crawley, 34, in the death of 33-year-old Angela Maya Stith. Crawley, who did not take the stand, faces a mandatory life prison term without possibility of parole when he is sentenced April 3. Montgomery County prosecutors said Crawley smashed the window of the victim's car at the Whitemarsh Township parking lot in August 2018, then caught her as she fled and stabbed her repeatedly. They say he then drove a sport utility vehicle over her repeatedly as co-workers rushed to try to help. Angela Maya Stith Crawley was arrested by state troopers in Somerset County several hours later after authorities allege he tried to kill himself by lighting himself on fire with gasoline. He spent days in intensive care after his arrest. Prosecutors said Crawley had stalked Stith in the weeks before her death after she broke up with him in a text message. Hours before the attack, they said, Crawley's attempt to buy a gun was blocked after a background check indicated a restraining order had been filed against him in Florida. Crawley was also convicted of making false statements when trying to purchase a firearm. Montgomery County District Attorney's Office Defense attorney Carrie Allman argued against the idea that her client intended to kill the victim, saying he was completely out of control. Allman, who declined comment after the verdict, said the maximum charge should be third-degree murder. Relatives of the victim wept and hugged each other after the verdict. District Attorney Kevin Steele said the case was one of the worst he had seen, calling it the face of domestic violence," and vowed to seek additional prison time above the mandatory life term. Every day that we can get on this defendant will be deserved," he said. The wife of a former Marine and Iraq war veteran is set to be deported on Friday unless President Donald Trump intervenes, NBC News reported. Alejandra Juarez, 39, entered the U.S. illegally from Mexico, escaping violence in her home country. She married Cuauhtemoc Juarez in Florida, and they have a 9-year-old daughter and a 16-year-old daughter, both born in the U.S. Juarez, who describes himself as a conservative who voted for Trump, wrote the president a letter asking for a reprieve, according to Stars and Stripes. There is an immigration policy for military members and their families called "parole in place." The Citizen and Immigration Services website says they provide discretionary options such as parole in place or deferred action on a case-by-case basis. Alejandra checked in regularly with immigration authorities, during the Obama administration, and says she was always told she is not a criminal and has nothing to worry about. But now, with Trumps zero tolerance immigration policy, few exceptions are made for unauthorized immigrants even in cases when a crime has not been committed. A U.S. teenager living in Tijuana is in the custody of the federal government and facing prison time and $1,000,000 fine for the cargo found hidden in a vehicle he was driving across the U.S.-Mexico border. Cristian Araujo Aguirre, 19, was arrested Wednesday at the San Ysidro Port of Entry, south of San Diego. U.S. Custom and Border Protection officers say they found 11,490 fentanyl pills, 61 pounds of methamphetamine and 14 pounds of heroin inside the vehicle Aguirre was driving. The heroin was hidden in the firewall and the methamphetamine packages were in the doors and a quarter panel, officers said. Two bags and the box of pills found in a hidden storage compartment were designed to look like oxycodone, complete with the M30 marking on the pills. However, officers say the pills tested positive for fentanyl. Fentanyl is 50 to 100 times more powerful and deadly than morphine, according to the San Diego County Medical Examiners Office. Aguirre has made one appearance in San Diego's federal court and prosecutors requested that he be held in custody based on flight risk. His detention hearing is scheduled for August 7. A 31-year-old man pleaded guilty in June to selling the substance that led to a Poway man's death. It was the first death connected to fentanyl to be prosecuted by the San Diego County District Attorney's Office. San Diego police say their crime lab was experiencing such an increase in opioids, they had to outfit it with new equipment to keep lab technicians safe. [[479527493,C]] No directive issued to telcos or phone makers: UIDAI Telecom operators body COAI in a statement said that the inclusion of a certain unknown number in the phonebooks of various mobile handsets is not from any telecom service provider. New Delhi: There was hysteria on social media on Friday after a French security expert who identifies himself with pseudonym Elliot Alderson revealed on Twitter that UIDAIs toll free helpline number was saved by default in the contact list of many mobile phones. After this there was a Tsunami of tweets with people checking their phone and surprised to find UIDAI number pre-stored in their contact list without their knowledge. UIDAI number was mainly pre-stored on mobile phones running on Googles Android software. This led to apprehension of snooping, hacking and violation of privacy of individuals. However, UIDAI in a statement said that it had not asked or communicated to any manufacturer or service provider for providing any such facility whatsoever. UIDAI has reiterated that it has not asked or advised anyone including any telecom service providers or mobile manufacturers or Android to include 18003001947 or 1947 in the default list of public service numbers, it said. It is emphasised that the said 18003001947 is not a valid UIDAI toll free number and some vested interest are trying to create unwarranted confusion in the public. Our valid toll free number is 1947 which is functional for more than the last two years, added UIDAI. Soon, Twitter users pointed out that in some phones even 1947 number was pre-stored. Telecom operators body COAI in a statement said that the inclusion of a certain unknown number in the phonebooks of various mobile handsets is not from any telecom service provider. Emails sent to phone manufacturers by this newspaper on whose devices the UIDAI number was allegedly pre-stored did not elicit any response till late evening. When Indian Cellular Association (ICA), apex body of the mobile manufacturers was contacted by this newspaper it refused to comment on issue. ICAs members include Apple, Vivo, Huawei, Lava, Micromax, Lenovo, Motorola, Xiaomi, LG, Sony, Karbonn, TNS (Nokia), HTC and Gionee among others. People noticed that the UIDAI number is saved by default on their phone: UIDAI: This is not me! Telecom providers: No, this is not us! Do I have to ask to Harry Potter if he magically added this number to people phones?, tweeted Mr Alderson after UIDAI statement. Some Twitter users claimed that it appears that Android adds these entries for Made in India phones. Hi @UIDAI, Many people, with different provider, with and without an #Aadhaar card, with and without the mAadhaar app installed, noticed that your phone number is predefined in their contact list by default and so without their knowledge. Can you explain why?, tweeted Mr Alderson on Thursday after which the controversy erupted This contention issues has broken just days after TRAI chairman R.S. Sharma gave out his Aadhaar number on Twitter challenging all those who question it, to prove how does having the number can be misused to cause someone harm. What to Know The government said last week that it had returned all 1,800-plus children to parents and sponsors "eligible" for reunification But it said more than 700 adults were not eligible because they were in their home countries or had been released from immigration custody The Trump administration and the American Civil Liberties Union on Thursday revealed widely divergent plans on how to reunite hundreds of immigrant children with parents who have been deported since the families were separated at the U.S.-Mexico border. President Donald Trump's administration puts the onus on the ACLU, asking that the organization use its "considerable resources" to find parents in their home countries, predominantly Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras. The U.S. Justice Department said in a court filing that the State Department has begun talks with foreign governments on how the administration may be able to aid the effort. The ACLU, which sued on behalf of separated parents, called for the government to take "significant and prompt steps" to find the parents on its own. "Plaintiffs have made clear that they will do whatever they can to help locate the deported parents, but emphasize that the government must bear the ultimate burden of finding the parents," the ACLU said in a filing, pinning blame for "the crisis" on the administration and arguing it has far more resources. A decision on how to bridge the differences falls to U.S. District Judge Dana Sabraw, who has ordered that more than 2,500 children be reunited with their families. He was scheduled to speak with both sides in a conference call Friday. As of Wednesday, 410 children whose parents were outside the country were in the custody of the U.S. Health and Human Services Department. The ACLU said it takes "a degree of detective work" to track down contact information for deported parents, some of whom may be hiding from persecutors. The group said the government provided home-country addresses in U.S. immigration databases with no useful information for about 120 parents. Other addresses had limited use for example, some had "calle sin nombre" ("street without a name") or six addresses connected to one Honduran child, all in the Mexican city of San Luis Potosi. The proposals from both sides come a week after a court-imposed deadline to reunite more than 2,500 children who were separated from their families at the border. The administration also asks that the ACLU consult each deported parent to determine if they wish to waive their right to be reunified with their child, a scenario that may occur if the parent wants the child to remain in the U.S. The U.S. would work with foreign governments "to determine how best to complete reunifications." The ACLU proposes that parents who want their children sent back home be reunited within a week and that those who want to return to the U.S. to pick up their kids be permitted under humanitarian parole, with round-trip transportation paid for by the government. There are also differences about how to locate parents who were released in the U.S., but they appear less stark. The administration says it will meet with the ACLU to discuss what information it can provide, while the ACLU requests specific details ranging from last known phone number and copies of birth certificates as well as volunteers to help find the parents. The government said last week that it had returned all 1,800-plus children to parents and sponsors who were "eligible" for reunification. But it said more than 700 adults were not eligible because they were in their home countries, have been released from immigration custody, had red flags for criminal records or other reasons, chose not to be reunited, or were still being reviewed. On Wednesday, it said the number of reunified children neared 2,000 and nearly 600 remained separated, mostly because their parents. Sabraw ordered the government to submit written updates every Thursday, indicating he plans to keep a close watch on the still-separated families. Each update will be followed by a telephone call the next day with both sides. In late June, Sabraw set deadlines of July 10 to reunify dozens of children under 5 with their families and July 26 to reunify children 5 and older. A 911 call at a sprawling Air Force base on Thursday sent armored vehicles and unmarked police cars rushing to a medical center where people hid behind locked doors until authorities determined there was no threat. During an extensive search after the call, a security team member shot through a locked door while checking rooms throughout the hospital, according to officials at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. The call came during a training exercise that included an active shooter scenario in another area of the base at least a half-mile away, said Daryl Mayer, a base spokesman. So far, it's not clear why the 911 call was made from inside the base or whether it was prompted by the training exercise, he said. Security team members involved in the training don't fire blanks and use guns that clearly aren't real, Mayer said. Initial tweets from the base and authorities saying security forces were responding to an active shooter report set off a scare at Wright-Patterson, which is Ohio's largest single-site employer with more than 27,000 civilian employees and military personnel. Some workers said via Twitter that they were locked down and hiding in their offices. Within about two hours, service members and medical workers began leaving the hospital with their hands in the air and stood outside the building. The base's commander, Col. Thomas Sherman, said security forces stopped their training exercise and responded to the hospital after the 911 call. After security searched the hospital, which had been on lockdown, they determined there had been no active shooter. "I wouldn't say anything went wrong in this case," Sherman said, adding that there will be an investigation into the entire response. Wright-Patterson first tweeted that emergency units responded to a "reported incident" around 12:40 p.m. An hour later, they said it was a reported active shooter incident and personnel were instructed to shelter in place. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives along with the Ohio State Highway Patrol and local police sent crews to the base, which was the site where the Dayton Peace Accords were finalized in 1995, an international peace agreement that ended the war in Bosnia. In June 2017, a mistaken report of a shooter prompted the lockdown of Travis Air Force Base in California in the midst of an emergency training exercise. The base ordered people to shelter in place and lock their doors and windows. Gates were closed for more than an hour before the all-clear was given at the site 45 miles (72 kilometers) northeast of San Francisco. Virginia's attorney general has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to block an order granting a resentencing for Washington, D.C., sniper Lee Boyd Malvo. Attorney General Mark Herring's application for a stay was filed Thursday. Herring previously announced he would ask the high court to review a June ruling by the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that said Malvo should be resentenced in Virginia under the Supreme Court's new rules for punishing juveniles. Herring argues Malvo's sentence already complies with those rules. Malvo was 17 when he and John Allen Muhammad fatally shot 10 people in the Washington area in 2002. Muhammad was executed. Malvo got several life terms, including four in Virginia. The filing calls Malvo "one of the most heinous murderers" in Virginia's history. Tiny, fraudulent Amazon charges added up to hundreds of dollars for customers of one of the nation's largest banks. Sisters Iysha and Sheyna Burt both shop on Amazon. I was a Prime member, so it was shipped for free and it was so quick, and I could just get on my computer and get whatever I needed that quick, Iysha Burt said. Recently, her sister saw a friend's Facebook post warning about unauthorized Amazon charges on Wells Fargo accounts. The Burts both have Wells Fargo debit cards. And I said to my sister, 'Hey, wonder if that's a thing we should check,' and she checked, and sure enough, she found hundreds of dollars, and I thought, 'Oh, maybe I should check,' and I found almost $200 worth of these little, teeny charges you would never notice, Sheyna Burt said. The Burts each had unauthorized charges to Amazon dating back months. They called Wells Fargo immediately, canceled their cards and started to spread the word. Everyone in my social circle, when I brought this issue up, they all said, 'Well, wait a minute, I have a charge,' and, 'Wait, I saw some charges, too,' and they just thought nothing of it because they, too, purchase things from Amazon all the time, Iysha Burt said. Wells Fargo and Amazon said they are working together to address the issue and believe it has been fixed. "This unfortunate experience is debit card fraud, Wells Fargo said. No Wells Fargo systems or accounts have been breached." The bank wouldn't say how many customers were affected, but it appears limited to Virginia customers. Wells Fargo reimbursed Sheyna Burt more than $150 and Iysha Burt about $350, though she had lost about $500. The banks police is to only reimburse fraudulent transactions that occur in the first 60 days, but Amazon agreed to reimburse Iysha Burt for the charges the bank did not. Wells Fargo did not discuss the details about the fraud or the specific actions they've taken to protect the effectiveness of its security measures. The banks advice is to keep a close eye on your accounts and report the first sign of anything suspicious. If you were careful and you looked at your checking account and you reconciled it like you're supposed to, you would notice it, Sheyna Burt said. Reported by Susan Hogan, produced by Meredith Royster and edited by Perkins Broussard. What to Know The professor is reportedly being held in a military-run hotel in Jinan He has been critical of the country's communist leadership U.S. Rep. Chris Smith from New Jersey issued a statement Thursday calling for the professor's immediate release The whereabouts of a Chinese professor known for his critical views of the government remained unknown Friday, two days after police interrupted his radio interview with U.S. government broadcaster Voice of America. Sun Wenguang was speaking to the network on Wednesday night when he says half a dozen officers barged into his apartment in the eastern city of Jinan. He can be heard exclaiming that "I have my freedom of speech" just before the line went dead. VOA said the former Shandong University physics professor had not responded to attempts to contact him, but that sources it did not identify said he was being held in a military-run hotel in Jinan. Calls Friday to the Jinan police publicity office rang unanswered. An official who refused to give his name at the publicity department of the Communist Party Committee of Shandong University said he was not aware of the incident. Sun, 84, has long been critical of China's Communist leadership, most recently protesting China's vast expenditures on development projects abroad at a time when many Chinese remain poor. That's seen as a knock on President and party leader Xi Jinping's signature "Belt and Road" initiative that has earmarked an estimated $1 trillion for ports, power plants and other projects linking China to parts of Asia, Europe, Africa and beyond. The initiative has recently run into headwinds as the countries involved balk at the massive debts they stand to incur. Before the line went dead, Sun can be heard saying "throwing money around like this is of no benefit to our country and society." Sun was also an early co-signer of "Charter 08," a call for democratic reform whose co-author, Liu Xiaobo, won the Nobel Peace Prize but died last year while serving a sentence for subversion. Sun's views have brought official retribution ranging from a seven-year prison sentence to being denied a passport and having his pension cut. Responding to Sun's apparent detention, U.S. Rep. Chris Smith from New Jersey issued a statement Thursday calling for the professor's immediate release. "The Chinese and American people must continue to work toward a day when someone like Prof. Sun can openly share his opinions, via a free press, without fear of reprisal," Smith said. New Hampshire Senate Democratic leader Jeff Woodburn's name will remain on the ballot next month, even if he resigns following his arrest on domestic violence charges. Woodburn was arrested Thursday and is now facing nine charges, including simple assault, domestic violence, criminal mischief and trespassing. The New Hampshire Attorney General's Office says on several different occasions since last summer, Woodburn allegedly hit his partner in the stomach, bit her hand and forearm, threw water at her and broke into her home. Woodburn has been facing bipartisan calls for his resignation following his arrest. Outside of his Whitefield home on Friday afternoon, he told NBC10 Boston's Katherine Underwood how he plans to deal with the charges against him. "This is going to be in court and I am looking forward to telling my side of the story. Until then, I can't comment," said Woodburn. The Senate Minority Leader said he plans to fight the accusations against him. Colleagues who know Woodburn well say the accusations are out of character. "I think I was shocked and devastated by the news," said House Minority Leader Steve Shurtleff. "Completely unexpected." Shurtleff joined Gov. Chris Sununu and lawmakers from both parties calling for Woodburn to resign immediately. "This is a very serious matter," Shurtleff said. Most Granite Staters NBC10 Boston spoke with agreed that Woodburn should step down. "It's completely unacceptable," said Ben Garfield of Bow. Others said the three-term senator deserves his day in court. "Until he's proved guilty, I think he should keep doing his job," said Jerry Chauvette of Concord. Woodburn is out of jail on bail until his Aug. 20 arraignment. When he was asked about the calls for his resignation, he said he hasn't decided. Should he resign, Woodburn's name will remain on the Sept. 11 primary ballot. The secretary of state's office says names can only be removed in limited circumstances, including death, serious illness or moving out of a district. Woodburn doesn't face a primary challenger. What to Know Joseph Dalrymple, 33, of Shrewsbury, was arrested Thursday in connection with the death of 38-year-old Marlene Bleau Bleau was found face down shortly after 8 a.m. Saturday in Lake Quinsigamond in Worcester Her death was originally believed to have been an accidental drowning but is now considered suspicious The man charged in connection with a Massachusetts womans death that was originally believed to have been an accidental drowning was ordered held without bail at his arraignment Friday. Joseph Dalrymple, 33, of Shrewsbury, was arrested Thursday for the suspicious death of 38-year-old Marlene Bleau of Worcester. Bleau was found face down shortly after 8 a.m. Saturday in Lake Quinsigamond in Worcester. Bleau's cause of death has yet to be determined. However, Dalrymple has been charged with strangulation or suffocation. The relationship between the suspect and Bleau is unclear. Prosecutors said Dalrymple was seen on surveillance video with Bleau Friday night and several witnesses identified him as the man she was with. "He made several admissions including the fact that he had been with the victim in this case late in the evening the night before she was found deceased and information relating to having sexual intercourse with the victim, said Assistant District Attorney John Malander. Deborah Christensen, Bleau's mother, spoke with NBC10 Boston after Friday's arraignment in Worcester District Court. She said she and her daughter didn't always see eye-to-eye, but she loved her very much. "I was kind of numb when I first found out when we thought she had drowned," she said. "Then I went to being sad when we made the funeral arrangements. And then I'm just - excuse my French - pissed." She said her daughter had been going through a rough time of late, but didn't want to get into specifics. Court documents show that this isn't Dalrymple's first run-in with the law. He was charged with assault and battery in 2010 in connection with an incident involving his girlfriend of over three years. Those charges were later dismissed. Dalrymples close friend and former neighbor, Michael Greenwich, says Dalrymple is a father to a young boy and confirmed hes only had minor run-ins with the law in the past. "You know getting in trouble, beating up people and stuff like that, but other than that hes a good kid, hes a real good kid, he just happened, you know, you get mixed up with the wrong crowd and you end up doing the wrong things," Greenwich said. "If he took her life and it's proven that he took her life, they should take the rest of his, because she isn't going to get to live the rest of hers," Christensen said. Dalrymple is scheduled to return to court on Aug. 8. Information about his attorney was not immediately available. GOP governor candidate Bill Lee was piling up big numbers in Hamilton County. The successful businessman and first-time politician was declared the winner statewide. He recently received the local backing of former Congressman Zach Wamp and his son, Weston Wamp. Karl Dean won in Hamilton County and was declared the winner on the Democratic side by a wide margin. Mr. Lee said, "Today is a victory for Tennesseans who want an outsider, for people who want Tennessee not only to be an even better place to live for six and a half million people, but for Tennessee to lead the nation. Tonight, we celebrate, but tomorrow we get back to work. in 95 Days Were going to finish this campaign the way we started it: 95 Counties. Thank you for believing in us. See you soon. Mr. Lee is chairman of Lee Company, a family-owned construction, facilities, and home services company with offices and operations throughout Middle Tennessee, Northern Alabama, and Southern Kentucky. Lee Company employs more than 1,200 people and has annual revenue in excess of $220 million. In addition to his work with Lee Company, he is also active in Triple L Ranch, a fourth-generation family farm, which operates a 1,000-acre, 400-head Hereford cattle operation, providing natural beef to farmers markets and farm to table restaurants throughout Middle Tennessee. Former Nashville Mayor Dean had an overwhelming victory with close to 80 percent of the vote. He said he enters the general election "with strong momentum, as evidenced by recent finance reports and public polling that showed him in the lead in both fundraising and voter support." After speaking with his primary opponent by phone, Mr. Dean took the stage at an election night party to thank his supporters "and highlight the importance of staying focused on the issues that matter to Tennesseans." He said, "I am honored to be the Democratic nominee for governor, but we still have a lot of hard work ahead of us. The next three months we will be solely focused on listening to voters in all 95 counties. Candidate Dean went on to describe "how his pragmatic leadership that brought Nashville into the economic boom its experiencing today can be replicated statewide." He stated,Tennessees best days are still ahead of us but to get there we have to focus on the issues that matter: providing a good education for our kids, having good jobs to pay the bills and having access to affordable healthcare when we need it. These are not Democrat or Republican issues, these are Tennessee issues. And, I believe that if we have the confidence to invest in ourselves we can build a great state the same way we rebuilt a great city. Governor Bill Haslam said, "Congratulations to Bill Lee on winning the Republican nomination for Tennessee governor. Bill is a man of strong faith and character, and I know he will lead Tennessee in the right direction. He has long been a supporter of Tennessees business-friendly environment, and he is committed to the education and development of the states workforce. Bill has demonstrated that he will put the needs of Tennesseans at the forefront of any decision he makes as governor of our great state." Tennessee Republican Party Chairman Scott Golden said, "We congratulate Bill Lee on his victory tonight as the Republican nominee for governor, and we commend the other candidates on a hard-fought race. Bill has the experience, skills, and temperament to be a terrific governor, and he will unify Republicans ahead of the general election victory this November. We look forward to working with Bill across the state to ensure he is the 50th Governor of Tennessee." He also said, "Tonight was a historic night for the Republican Party in Tennessee. Through our Red to the Roots program, we have elected more Republicans across the state than ever before in Tennessees history, including nine new county mayors and six new sheriffs. And we nominated two incredibly strong statewide candidates in Marsha Blackburn for Senate and Bill Lee for Governor. "The energy is there for Republicans with more voters turning out in 2018 than the last open primary for governor in 2010. Tonights results are proof that up and down the ballot Tennesseans are recognizing the positive results of Republican solutions and leadership, from the courthouse to the White House." Republican Bill Lee 15,323 Diane Black 8,657 Randy Boyd 5,221 Beth Harmwell 5,071 Kay White 116 Basil Marceau 106 Democratic Karl Dean 14,300 Craig Fitzhugh 4,095 Mezianne Vale Payne 2,077 In Bradley County it was: Republican Bill Lee 6,214 Diane Black 3,007 Randy Boyd 2,248 Beth Harmwell 2,190 Kay White 55 Basil Marceau 38 Democratic Karl Dean 1,417 Craig Fitzhugh347 Mezianne Vale Payne 200 Dutta is known for his war films Border, LOC Kargil, and Refugee. Veteran filmmaker JP Dutta, who last directed Umrao Jaan in 2006, is back in the directors chair with the film Paltan. He says that he was born to make films. I was born to do this job. For me, happiness lies in making films. When I am not making films, I am sad. Its something when, after years of living your life, you suddenly realize what your calling is. I think I'm meant to do this to immortalise our soldiers. Dutta is known for his war films Border, LOC Kargil, and Refugee. His upcoming film Paltan is based on the Nathu La and Cho La military clashes that took place along the Indo-Chinese border in October 1967. A while ago, it was believed that Abhishek Bachchan, who was launched by the filmmaker in Refugee, would be a part of Paltan. But the actor later decided to back out of the project. Ask Dutta about Jr Bachchans reason for quitting, and he says, Please go, speak to the Bachchans, and let me know. Because I dont know either. Paltan, featuring Arjun Rampal, Jackie Shroff, Gurmeet Choudhary, Shraddha Kapoors brother Siddhanth, Harshvardhan Rane, and Sonakshi Sinhas brother Luv, is scheduled to hit silver screens on September 7. The Opposition parties attacked the government over the incident and sought a high level probe. She claimed that she was not given water for two-and-a-half-hours despite her being a diabetic. (Representational image) Lucknow: An FIR has been registered against six people, including two village heads, for allegedly denying drinking water to a woman dalit officer. A deputy chief veterinary officer posted in Kaushambhi had alleged that she was denied drinking water because of her caste at Ambawa Poorab village in Manjhanpur block. The officer, Dr Seema, said she had gone to the village on the directions of the DPRO to review developmental works. She claimed that she was not given water for two-and-a-half-hours despite her being a diabetic. I was told to visit the village only after contacting DPRO Ravi Dutt Mishra and BDC (block development chief) Tiwari. They behaved very abnormally with me, and when I asked for water, I was not given water for two-and-a-half-hours by six people sitting there. I am a diabetic. My arms and limbs started trembling and I had to rush out from there, she said. She further said that she was told that the bottle would get spoiled if she drink water from it and would have to be thrown away. She alleged that when she sought water from the villagers, village head Sampat and the DPRO gestured them not to give her water. An FIR under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act has been registered against heads of Ambawa Poorab village and Bhaila Makdoompur village, Saibasa village head Ansar Ali, district panchyat member Jhallar Tiwari, District Panchayati Raj Officer (DPRO) Ravidutt Mishra, and Rajesh Singh at Manjhanpur police station. SP Kaushambi Pradeep Gupta said that the matter is being thoroughly probed and strict action will be initiated against those found guilty. The Opposition parties attacked the government over the incident and sought a high level probe. D04 The Center for Disease Control (CDC) has warned the general population against reusing condoms after washing. Their tweet comes after a spark of fear of antibiotic resistant sexually transmitted infections. The experts say that condoms are meant to be used as barrier contraceptives and also protect both sexual partners against sexually transmitted infections such as syphilis, gonorrhoea, chlamydia etc. Reusing condoms after one use by washing them renders them ineffective the experts say. The CDC tweeted in July, We say it because people do it: Dont wash or reuse #condoms! Use a fresh one for each #sex act. Dr. Elizabeth Torrone, an epidemiologist at the CDCs Division of STD Prevention explained that reusing condoms is a form of its incorrect use and reusing these reduces their protective effects by causing them to slip, break or leak. Image Credit: Lemon Tree Images / Shutterstock Condoms are meant to protect against unwanted pregnancy and STIs and breakage or leakage of condoms cannot protect an individual from any of these she said. Reusing a condom after a wash would also mean putting it on unrolled and wet. This would be anyway be quite a difficult task say experts and is most likely to lead to breakage. The washed condom with its weakened latex may be more likely to tear say experts. Another reason why used condoms need to be thrown away include emergence and rise of super gonorrhoea infections or gonorrheal infections that are resistant to the commonly used antibiotics. These strains can cause severe illnesses that are difficult to treat and may become potentially lethal. According to the CDC statistics from 2017 only around one third of Americans use condoms and even fewer use them correctly. An older study from 2012 in the journal Sexual Health found that 1.4 to 3.3 percent of the participants in the study were reusing a condom at least twice during a sexual encounter. The study from University of Kentucky was a general estimation of the situation among the general population. The CDC data show that there are over two million cases of chlamydia, gonorrhoea and syphilis recorded in 2016 and this makes right condom use even more imperative. Apart from using condoms for one time sexual encounter, the experts also recommend not storing condoms in wallets and be aware of their expiration dates. Further not more than one condom must be used at a time. Scientists have discovered a new type of cell in the human respiratory tract called the pulmonary ionocyte, and linked it to lung function decline in cystic fibrosis. Image Credit: Montoro et al. Nature 2018 Pulomonary ionocytes make up about one percent of the cells in the lung and are thought to be responsible for cystic fibrosis, the incurable multiorgan disease which affects more than 70 000 people around the world. The cell resembles an ionocyte, a type of cell found in the gills of freshwater fish and the skin of frogs which control salt levels within the bodies of these animals. Pulmonary ionocytes are rich in CFTR gene expression and their number is related to the level of activity of this gene. The greater the number of pulmonary ionocytes, the higher the level of CFTR activity. Until now, it was thought that CFTR is expressed at low levels in ciliated cells, a type of cell which is common within the airway epithelium. Mutations in CFTR are linked to the occurrence of cystic fibrosis. What is CFTR? Pulmonary ionocytes express the CFTR gene at a higher level than any other cell. The CFTR (cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator) gene encodes the cellular protein that operates to transport chloride ions across the cell membrane, a process which is crucial for normal cell secretory activity. CFTR mutations cause the mucus in the respiratory tract and pancreas to become thick and tenacious. This accumulates to cause frequent and repeated blockage and infections of these organs, producing damage and eventual failure. In one of the studies, when the function of these cells was disrupted, the resulting changes mirrored those found in cystic fibrosis, which shows their importance in the regulation of ion traffic at the cell surface. Aron Jaffe, one of the leaders of the second study "A single-cell atlas of the airway epithelium reveals the CFTR-rich pulmonary ionocyte", pointed out that the results obtained by both teams could help develop more successful therapies for cystic fibrosis, such as increasing CFTR activity by boosting the pulmonary ionocyte number in lung tissue. Making sense of the airway Both studies used single cell sequencing technology to analyze thousands upon thousands of cells taken from the human and mouse airway individually. The teams built up a genetic catalog of lung cells, known and unknown, by cell type, cell states, frequency and location. One team used an innovative method, Pulse-Seq, to identify the common lung cell progenitor called the basal cell and the cells developing from it. The other team used InDrops , a technology produced by HMS, to follow the transitional cell states occurring during the regeneration process after cell injury. The studies also traced cell populations which express certain genes linked to specific diseases. For instance ciliated cells which are linked to a gene associated with asthma were traced, and tuft cells were examined, some of which recognize the presence of chemicals in the respiratory tract while others respond by the development of inflammation. The data are starting to change the way we think about lung diseases such as cystic fibrosis and asthma." Jayaraj Rajagopal, Co-Author One team was from Harvard Medical School (HMS) and the Novartis Institutes for Biomedical Research (NIBR) while the other was led by scientists also from HMS but working at Massachusetts General Hospital, along with others at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. Both studies were recently published in Nature. A study led by Queen Mary University of London has shown that people exposed to levels of air pollution that are well within UK guidelines have structural changes in the heart that are similar to the remodeling seen in the early stages of heart failure. Image Credit: Toa5 / Shutterstock As reported in the journal Circulation, Professor Steffen Petersen and colleagues studied data available for approximately 4,000 participants in the UK Biobank study who provided information on their lifestyle, health history and residential location. They also had their blood tested and underwent health scans including an MRI scan to measure heart size, weight and function. Although most participants did not live in major cities, a clear association was observed between living near busy roads and exposure to nitrogen oxide (NO2) or PM2.5 (small air pollution particles) and the development of larger heart ventricles, structural changes that are also seen in the early stages of heart failure. The higher the level of exposure to the pollutants, the more significant the structural changes were. For every 10 additional g per cubic metre of NO2 and every additional 1 g per cubic metre of PM2.5, the increase in heart size was about 1%. Worryingly, the average annual exposure to PM2.5 was 8 to 12g per m3, which is well within the UK governments guideline of 25g per m3. The World Health Organisation (WHO) guideline is 10ug per m3. The average annual exposure to NO2 was 10-50g per m3, which is approaching and above both the WHO and the UK government guidelines of 40g per m3. The British Heart Foundation, which part-funded the study, wants to ensure that the public's heart and circulatory health is key to discussions taking place ahead of the UK Governments consultation on their draft Clean Air Strategy, which closes on 14th August. Henipaviruses are among the deadliest viruses known to man and have no effective treatments. The viruses include Hendra, lethal to humans and horses, and the Nipah virus, a serious threat in East and Southeast Asia. They are on the World Health Organization Blueprint list of priority diseases needing urgent research and development action. Now Monash University's Biomedicine Discovery Institute (BDI) researchers have identified a new mechanism used by Henipaviruses in infection, and potential new targets for antivirals to treat them. Their findings may also apply to other dangerous viruses. The research was published today in Nature Communications. A collaboration of scientists, led by Monash BDI's Dr Gregory Moseley, found that Henipaviruses hijack a mechanism used by cells to counter DNA damage and prevent harmful mutations, important in diseases such as cancer. Dr Moseley said it was already known that the viruses send a particular protein into a key part of a cell's nucleus called the nucleolus, but it wasn't known why it did this. He said the researchers showed that this protein interacted with a cell protein that is an important part of the DNA-damage response machinery, called 'Treacle'. This inhibited Treacle function, which appears to enhance henipavirus production. (Treacle is, incidentally, involved in a craniofacial disorder called Treacher Collins syndrome, aired in the popular US movie Wonder in 2017.) "What the virus seems to be doing is imitating part of the DNA damage response," Dr Moseley said. "It is using a mechanism your cells have to protect you against things like aging and mutations that lead to cancer. This appears to make the cell a better place for the virus to prosper," he said. According to Dr Moseley, it is possible that blocking the virus from doing this may lead to the development of new anti-viral therapies. Both Hendra and Nipah, which spread from bats to other animals and humans, emerged in the 1990s; Hendra in an outbreak in Brisbane in 1994 and Nipah in Malaysia in 1998. The viruses, which share outcomes including inflammation of the brain and severe respiratory symptoms, have since caused multiple outbreaks of disease. Nipah has killed several hundred people, including at least 17 people in the Indian state of Kerala in June. "Nipah is not so important in Australia but it's the one people are concerned about internationally," Dr Moseley said. "Like Ebola, if you get a really big outbreak and it's not containable, it could be disastrous," he said. He said the study's findings add insights into how viruses behave more generally. "We identified a new way that viruses change the cell, by using the very same machinery that the cell normally uses to protect itself from diseases like cancer," he said. "This seems to be heading towards exciting possibilities about what viruses might be doing," joint first author, Dr Stephen Rawlinson said. "We are now trying to work out exactly how changing the DNA damage response through Treacle is useful to this and other dangerous viruses," he said. Researchers have discovered a new nuclear medicine test that could improve care of patients with type 1 diabetes. The new positron emission tomography (PET) imaging method could measure beta-cell mass, which would greatly enhance the ability to monitor and guide diabetes therapies. This study is reported in the featured article of the month in The Journal of Nuclear Medicine's August issue. According to the American Diabetes Association, approximately 1.25 million American children and adults have type 1 diabetes. Jason Bini, PhD, at the Yale University PET Center in New Haven, Connecticut, explains the significance to patients of being able to track their beta-cell mass: "Beta-cell mass includes both functional and non-functional beta cells. Many indirect methods to measure beta-cell function are influenced by factors such as glucose and insulin levels and are not able to measure non-functional (dormant) beta cells that may be responsive to treatments. This work is important for patients because uptake of a radiotracer measured on a PET scan could guide treatment options. For example, if a patient has low beta-cell function with high signal in the PET scan, this could represent a patient with dormant beta cells that could respond to a treatment targeting existing cells. If a patient has low beta-cell function and low signal in the PET scan (very few viable or dormant beta cells present), that individual may be a candidate for beta-cell transplantation." Beta cells and neurological tissues have common cellular receptors and transporters, so, the Yale researchers screened brain radioligands for their ability to identify beta cells. Then, 12 healthy control subjects and two subjects with type 1 diabetes mellitus underwent dynamic PET/CT scans with six tracers. The dopamine type 2/type 3 (D2/D3)-receptor agonist radioligand carbon-11 (11C)-(+)-4-propyl-9-hydroxynaphthoxazine (PHNO) was the only radioligand to demonstrate sustained uptake in the pancreas with high contrast versus abdominal organs such as the kidneys, liver, and spleen. The results provide preliminary evidence that 11C-(+)-PHNO is a potential marker of beta-cell mass with 2:1 binding of D3 receptors over D2 receptors. While further research is needed before clinical application, 11C-(+)-PHNO is a promising way to differentiate the beta-cell mass of healthy individuals from those with type 1 diabetes mellitus, as well as track and guide therapies for diabetes patients. Bini also points out, "These findings could facilitate development and wider dissemination of novel imaging methods in molecular imaging and nuclear medicine to assess receptor/enzyme pharmacology in diabetes and other endocrine disorders." 2005 video shows Mamata taking contradictory position on Bangladeshi migrants. New Delhi: Trinamul Congress chief and West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee may be leading the so-called crusade against the ongoing exercise of updating the National Register of Citizens in Assam to weed out illegal migrants and predicting a blood bath and civil war over the issue, but a Lok Sabha recording of how she had made exactly the opposite argument in 2005 has gone viral on the YouTube. Ms Banerjee had then claimed that illegal migrants from Bangladesh had spelt disaster for West Bengal, which was then under the Left party rule. The BJP is expected to tear into Ms Banerjees opportunistic and contradictory stand on the basis of the video, which has now gone viral. The BJP has asked its social media team to circulate the video and also engage the partys supporters in highlighting how Ms Banerjee is now taking a contradictory stand on the same issue for appeasement and votebank politics. Ms Banerjee, who was a BJP ally in 2005 had flung papers at the then Lok Sabha deputy Speaker Charanjit Singh Atwal after she was not allowed to raise the issue of illegal migrants in West Bengal and then walked out in a huff. Another recording shows Ms Banerjee vociferously supporting the then Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee while he was speaking against the migrants. Ms Banerjees contradictory stand on the issue was highlighted by senior BJP leader and Union minister Arun Jaitley, in his blog on Wednesday. Mr Jaitley had mentioned how Ms Banerjee had in 2005 asserted that The infiltration in Bengal has become a disaster now... I have both the Bangladeshi and the Indian voters list. This is a very serious matter. I would like to know when would it be discussed in the House?. In his blog, Mr Jaitley reminded her that Indias sovereignty is not a plaything and sovereignty and citizenship are the soul of India not the imported votebanks. Incidentally, for the TMC, its stand on the NRC issues have led to a rebellion within the party with its Assam unit chief Dwipen Pathak and some other senior leaders quitting the party and accusing the central leadership of trying to malign Assams image. Mr Pathak also accused the TMC supremo of misusing the issue for TMCs political existence in West Bengal. However, Ms Banerjee and her party now claim that the NRC has led to forceful eviction and that people have become refugees in their own state and slammed the Centre for trying to divide states. Objecting to her statement that the NRC will drive out Bengalis from Assam, Mr Pathak said that her statement was meant to create disturbance. GamesRadar+ is supported by its audience. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Learn more Taapsee Pannu, Rishi Kapoor's 'Mulk' banned in Pakistan New Delhi : Pakistan has banned Taapsee Pannu and Rishi Kapoor starrer Mulk, said the filmmakers. Films producer Deepal Mukut said in a statement, "We are disturbed by this prejudiced verdict and its such an irony because our film talks about this very prejudice. We urge the Pakistani Censor Board to reconsider their decision. They will realise how essential it is to the well-being of the human race across the world." The film revolves around a family whose members are alleged to have created a terror plot. The family becomes a pariah overnight in the society and the country. Rishi Kapoor plays the familys patriarch who approaches a court to fight this prejudice and is represented by his daughter-in-law, played by Taapsee Pannu. Taapsee plays a Hindu girl who is married into the family. The two fight to restore the name of their family and break the label that has led to them losing everything. In India, the film is set to release on Friday (August 3) while it has already garnished good reviews by the critics. Canberra : One of Australia's biggest supermarket chains was on Friday charged with the death of a man who was run over after falling asleep in a loading dock. The driver of a truck hit the 47-year-old man while leaving the loading dock of a Woolworths store in Darwin in October 2016, reports Xinhua news agency. The driver was subcontracted to a Victorian-based transport and warehouse company. NT WorkSafe announced on Thursday night that both companies have been charged with failing to comply with a health and safety duty. Both companies face a maximum penalty of A$1.5 million Australian ($1 million) if found guilty. Woolworths, the second-largest company in Australia, said in a statement that it was currently reviewing the matter, and as it is before the courts, "it would be inappropriate for us to make any further comment in relation to the tragic circumstances of this matter". Harare : Zimbabwe's incumbent leader Emmerson Mnangagwa narrowly won the nation's presidential election on Friday as the ruling party garnered a two-thirds majority in parliament in the first vote since the fall of long-time ruler Robert Mugabe. The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) announced that Mnangagwa, 75, received 2,460,463 votes, representing 50.8 per cent of the total votes, reports Xinhua news agency. His biggest rival, Nelson Chamisa from opposition MDC Alliance, received 44.3 per cent of the vote. The other 21 presidential candidates shared the remaining votes. Mnangagwa said he was "humbled" by his win. "Though we may have been divided at the polls, we are united in our dreams," he tweeted. "This is a new beginning. Let us join hands, in peace, unity and love, and together build a new Zimbabwe for all." Mnangagwa is Zimbabwe's second executive president after Mugabe, 94, who assumed the position in 1987. The election took place on Monday but opposition supporters protested in Harare over alleged vote-rigging, which led to six deaths on Wednesday, the BBC reported. The elections were the first since Mugabe was ousted last November. They were intended to set Zimbabwe on a new path following Mugabe's repressive rule. It is also the first time in 16 years that the Zimbabwe government allowed European Union, Commonwealth and US election monitors into the country. More than five million people were registered to vote in Monday's poll, and there was a turnout of 70 per cent. Astana : India and Kazakhstan agreed to strengthen cooperation in the areas of trade and defence and security following delegation-level talks headed by Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Kazakh Foreign Minister Kairat Abdrakhmanov here on Friday. "We covered the full range of bilateral, regional and global issues of mutual interest," Sushma Swaraj said while addressing the media following the meeting. "We took stock of progress in our bilateral relations," she said. Noting that both India and Kazakhstan have developed multifaceted cooperation in all areas of bilateral and multilateral relations and are strategic partners since 2009, she said New Delhi seeks to consolidate and further strengthen its friendly relations with the Central Asian nation. "I discussed with Foreign Minister Abdrakhmanov our interest to partner with Kazakhstan to explore markets for new products, diversifying from the trade in traditional products to inject fresh impetus to the trade between the two countries," Sushma Swaraj said. "There is immense potential to be tapped in sectors like agricultural products, food processing, pharmaceuticals, energy and chemicals." Kazakhstan is India's largest trade and investment partner in Central Asia. Bilateral trade between the two countries stood at $642.42 million in 2016-17. Cumulative investments from India into Kazakhstan and from Kazakhstan to India from 2005 to 2016 amounted to $244 million and $83.09 million respectively, according to figures provided by the Indian External Affairs Ministry. Sushma Swaraj also said that India has keen interest in improving connectivity with the Central Asian region. "In December 2017, India acceded to TIR convention and in February 2018, India joined the Ashgabat Agreement," she said. "The International North South Transport Corridor (INSTC) is gaining momentum and the member states are working together to popularise the corridor." The Transports Internationaux Routiers (TIR) Convention is a multilateral treaty that seeks to simplify and harmonise the administrative formalities of international transport. The Ashgabat Agreement is a multimodal transport agreement between India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Oman, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. Sushma Swaraj also said that she and Abdrakhmanov expressed their interest to further strengthen defence cooperation between the two sides "based on solid foundation that we have in place". "Our defence and security sector cooperation has intensified in the last two years," she said. "Kazakh Armed Forces Unit underwent training on peacekeeping operations in India and presently a mobile training team from the Indian Army is training Kazakh personnel in Almaty." Pointing out that both countries have growing cooperation in capacity building, Sushma Swaraj said: "Kazakhstan's professionals and students have been attending courses on scholarships in India every year under ICCR (Indian Council for Cultural Relations) and ITEC (Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation) programme in a wide range of disciplines." She also stressed on enhancing people-to-people contact and promoting tourism between the two countries. Following the delegation-level talks, Sushma Swaraj called on Kazakh Prime Minister Bakytzhan Sagintayev. "Good exchange of views on strengthening cooperation in trade and investment, ICT, joint film production, tourism and people-to-people contacts," Indian External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar tweeted following the meeting. Sushma Swaraj arrived here on Thursday on the first leg of her three-nation Central Asian tour that will also see her visiting Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan. She interacted with members of the around 7,000-strong Indian community in Kazakhstan soon after her arrival. Tehran : Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Thursday that he has no plan to meet US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in Singapore. The two will take part in the 51st session of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) foreign ministers meeting underway in Singapore, Xinhua reported. "Meeting for the sake of meeting means nothing. The Americans have to show that the meetings will lead to agreements that will be respected," Zarif was quoted by the official IRNA news agency as saying. "Today even the U.S. allies cannot trust the commitments made by Washington," he said. The Iranian foreign minister ruled out any dialogue with the US under pressure and threats. Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has also dismissed any possibility for holding negotiations with the US to settle the dispute over the 2015 Iranian nuclear deal. "We cannot rely on the American words and even their signature, therefore, negotiations with them are fruitless," Khamenei said. US President Donald Trump, who decided to quit the nuclear deal in May, this week offered to meet and talk with Iranian leaders to resolve the rising tensions following a war of words and military threats between the two sides. The bench said it would see whether the provision can stand the test of the right to equality on grounds like discretion and manifest arbitrariness. New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday said that there is no rational basis in the adultery law and called the penal provision which requires a woman to have her husbands consent to indulge in adultery as manifestly arbitrary, discriminatory and suffering from gender bias. A five-Judge Constitution Bench, headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra, said, If there is consent of husband, then there is no adultery, which is absurd. This is another indicator of gender bias. If sexual freedom is a fundamental right then why should adultery remain a criminal law for man alone. If adultery has its basis in woman being a property of man then Section 497 of IPC is discriminatory, he said. The bench said it would see whether the provision can stand the test of the right to equality on grounds like discretion and manifest arbitrariness. The bench, which also included Justices Rohinton Nariman, A.M. Kanwilkar, D.Y. Chandrachud and Indu Malhotra, also questioned the logic behind punishing only the man, treating him as an accused and not the woman by treating her as a victim when both the partners derive equal benefit. The court made these initial observation during the hearing on petitions challenging the validity of IPC Section 497 punishing only the man in adultery cases. Arguments will continue on August 7. Adultery law reduces woman into a chattel. There is no crime if a woman has an extramarital relationship with the consent or connivance of her husband. Are women the chattels of their husbands? asked the court. Justice Malhotra said, If there is consent of husband, then there is no adultery which is absurd. This is another indicator of gender bias in that woman is considered chattel. Justice Chandrachud told counsel Kaleeswaram Raj, appearing for petitioner Joseph Shine, Each partner to a marriage is equally responsible to keep the sanctity of marriage intact. If a married woman has sexual intercourse with a married man other than her husband, why should the man alone be punished when woman too is equal partner to the crime? Such a distinction appears manifestly arbitrary. Justice Chandrachud cited a situation where a woman has been staying away from her estranged husband for years. If a woman then has a sexual intercourse with some other man, will it still lead to prosecution under Section 497 on a complaint by her estranged husband? This provision is peculiar as there is no offence if sexual intercourse is done by a man with anothers wife with the consent or connivance of that womans husband, he added. The judge pointed out that the governments rationale that this provision will protect sanctity of marriage doesnt look sound. Sanctity of marriage is gone even when a married man has sexual intercourse with an unmarried woman but thats not a crime. It is a crime only if a man has relations with a married woman and the husband of the woman complains. The judge remarked that sanctity of marriage goes out of the window in such situations but the legislature has criminalised only one instance, he said. CJI Misra, however, drew the distinction between adultery as a criminal offence and as a civil wrong which has been used as a ground for seeking divorce in matrimonial disputes. The apex court said, As far as criminalisation or decriminalisation of adultery as an offence is concerned, it is in one compartment. Adultery cannot cease to be a ground for seeking divorce by estranged couple in a court of law. On arbitrariness test, the fact that husbands connivance will not make it a crime is manifestly arbitrary, the bench said. Section 497 of the 158-year-old IPC says, Whoever has sexual intercourse with a person who is and whom he knows or has reason to believe to be the wife of another man, without the consent or connivance of that man, such sexual intercourse not amounting to the offence of rape, is guilty of the offence of adultery and shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to five years, or with fine, or with both. In such case the wife shall not be punishable as an abettor. The CJI said, This provision grants relief to the wife by treating her as a victim. It is also worthy to note that when an offence is committed by both of them, one is liable for the criminal offence but the other is absolved. It seems to be based on a societal presumption. A counsel appearing for a petitioner submitted that the apex court had upheld this provision in three judgments, yet it needed a re-look in the context of developments in the society. He argued that Section 497 of the IPC is prima facie unconstitutional on the ground that it discriminates against men and violates Article 14, 15 and 21 of the Constitution. He said Section 497 of the IPC indirectly discriminates against women by holding an erroneous presumption that women are the property of the men. Senior counsel Meenakshi Arora traced the genesis of the provision and submitted that the provision was introduced when woman was treated as the property of the husband. Justice Nariman observed that Lord Macaulay (author of IPC) himself did not want to include this provision in the penal code. Sorry! This content is not available in your region The case of multiple child rapes in a shelter home in Bihars Muzaffarpur hit headlines a few days ago. New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday expressed serious concern over growing incidents of child rape and banned electronic media from putting up images of minor girls, who were allegedly raped, even in morphed or blurred forms. A bench of Justices Madan B. Lokur and Deepak Gupta, which is already seized of issues relating to observation homes, took a suo motu cognisance of the rape incidents after receiving a letter from Patna highlighting the plight of girls in Muzaffarpur shelter home for destitutes, where dozens of inmates were sedated and raped. The bench also barred the media from conducting any interviews with the minor victims. The Supreme Court bench agreed to look into the issue of preventing the victims from being harassed and traumatised by all authorities, including the police and media. It also issued a notice to the Centre seeking its response. The bench also sought explanation from Nitish Kumar-led Bihar government and the women and child development ministry as to why neither of the two took action to stop minor girls from being raped in shelters home in Muzaffarpur. Over 40 minor girls and boys have been raped and sodomised over the last five months in multiple shelter homes in Bihars Muzaffarpur. The case of multiple child rapes in a shelter home in Bihars Muzaffarpur hit headlines a few days ago. Officials and employees of a childrens home run by Seva Sankalp Evam Vikash Samiti have been accused of mentally, physically and sexually abusing children at this shelter home. Girls between the age of 7 and 17 years have alleged that they were raped and sexually assaulted in the shelter home. Most of these girls suffer from speech-impairment, were given sedatives with dinner and then raped at night. Many of the girls were missing and its alleged that those who resisted were killed. A local NGO, Seva Sankalp and Vikas Samiti run the shelter home. Brajesh Thakur who ran the NGO has since been arrested. The Bihar government has already handed over the probe to the CBI. The matter came to light after a social audit report of Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) alleged that 42 girl inmates of the Muzaffarpur Balika Grih had allegedly been sexually assaulted. The inmates were allegedly beaten up or drugged before being sexually abused. Eom. D03 Rijiju hits back, says Cong chief ignorant of facts. New Delhi: Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Thursday criticised external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj, saying that the minister had buckled and prostrated herself in front of Chinese power. Mr Gandhis remarks on Twitter comes a day after Ms Swaraj informed Parliament that the stand-off between Indian and Chinese forces in Doklam was sorted out by diplomatic maturity without losing any ground and that status quo in the region was being maintained. In his Tweet, Mr Gandhi remarked that it was amazing how a lady like Sushmaji has buckled and prostrated herself in front of Chinese power. Absolu-te subservience to the leader means our brave jawan has been betrayed on the border. However, minister of state for home Kiren Rijiju also took to Twitter and reacted to Mr Gandhis comments, This tweet is one classic example of how Rahul Gandhiji is not only ignorant of facts but depicts how he takes political soundbites as more important than national interest. Dont some senior Congress Ex-Ministers brief him about sensitivities? In his tweet, Mr Gandhi also tagged a media report about US Congresswoman Ann Wagner claiming that China had quietly resumed its operations in the Doklam region. The US Congresswoman had also stated that neither India nor Bhutan tried to stall Chinas activities in the Doklam region. However, New Delhi had rejected these claims. Ms Swaraj had also informed the Lok Sabha that the main objective of the informal summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Wuhan a few weeks ago was aimed at ensuring that there was mutual comfort, mutual understanding and mutual trust between the two leaders. All these three objectives, Ms Swaraj added, had been achieved. Ms Wagner had made these claims during a hearing of the Congress US House Foreign Affairs Sub-Committee for Asia and the Pacific last week. BROOKFIELD The trial between the Board of Education and former Superintendent Anthony Bivona has been postponed until November. Jury selection was originally scheduled to be held on Tuesday, but has been pushed out to Nov. 28. A trial management conference is planned for Nov. 14. Attorneys for the board and Bivona did not return requests for comment about why the trial was postponed. But a few of the witnesses on the Board of Educations side had scheduling conflicts, according to the latest trial management report. Bivona sued in August 2015 after the Board of Education fired him in October 2014, accusing him of poorly overseeing the districts finances. During Bivonas time as superintendent, two staff members were accused of stealing thousands of dollars from the schools. The trial has been delayed several times. At one point, the case had been scheduled to go to trial in April 2017, according to court records. Bivona claims he had no knowledge that Art Colley, the former school finance director, had taken money from the student activity fund for his personal use. But the board has maintained it had just cause to fire him. Both sides plan to call various former board members and district officials as witnesses during the trial, according to a list filed in court. Witnesses for Bivona include Ed Arum, the finance director who replaced Colley, Genie Slone, who served as assistant superintendent during Bivonas tenure and acting superintendent when he was placed on leave, Charles Manos, retired special education director, Ron Jaffe, former board member, and Thomas Jokubaitis, a consultant with Cooperative Educational Services. Most of the witnesses on the boards side are former members, including Scott McCarthy, Paul Checco, Susan Queenan, Victor Katz and Harry Shaker. When it comes to the question of liberty, the courts do not go into technicality, a bench of Justices A K Sikri and Ashok Bhushan said. The SC said it is not interfering with the bail granted to Karti Chidambaram, but was leaving the question of law open -- on whether he can approach the high court when his application for bail was already pending before the trial court. (Photo: File | PTI) New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday declined to interfere with a Delhi High Court order granting bail to Karti Chidambaram, son of former union minister P Chidambaram, for alleged financial irregularities in the INX Media case. When it comes to the question of liberty, the courts do not go into technicality, a bench of Justices A K Sikri and Ashok Bhushan said. The bench said it is not interfering with the bail granted to Karti Chidambaram, but was leaving the question of law open -- on whether he can approach the high court when his application for bail was already pending before the trial court. Additional Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), said this question of law has to be kept open as invoking powers of concurrent jurisdiction of the high court may be a case of "forum shopping". Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Karti Chidambaram, said there is already a judgement in which concurrent jurisdiction of high court can be invoked. On June 25, the CBI moved the apex court challenging the high court order granting bail to the businessman. The CBI claimed in its appeal that it was "impermissible in law" for the high court to entertain Karti Chidambaram's bail plea when an application seeking a similar relief was pending before the trial court. On March 23, a single judge bench of the high court granted bail to Karti, who was arrested on February 28 by the CBI, saying the relief should not be refused unless the crime was of the "highest magnitude" entailing "severe punishment". Karti Chidambaram was arrested from Chennai in connection with an FIR lodged on May 15 last year, which had alleged irregularities in the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) clearance given to INX Media for receiving funds of about Rs 305 crore from abroad in 2007 when his father P Chidambaram was the finance minister. Both P Chidambaram and his son have denied the allegations made by the CBI, as well as the Enforcement Directorate. OXFORD Frank and Elizabeth Harden spent their lives building an art collection of pieces that spoke to them a mix of originals and master copies from American and European artists. The 200 or so paintings, etchings and drawings are yellowed from the resin varnish Frank Harden added, as well as darkened with cigarette smoke and soot from a malfunctioning furnace. But Harrybrook Park officials are working to restore the artwork so visitors at the Harden House Museum at the park can see the pieces how the couple did. Frank Harden, owner of Acheson Harden Handkerchief Factory, died in 1965, leaving the couples 48-acre property and weekend home to New Milfords residents. Im really excited that one piece of Harrybrooke that people havent been exposed to is being restored and now people are being introduced to the Hardens and their story through the home, said Bill Buckbee, the museum and parks executive director. Buckbee wanted to restore the paintings when he became executive director three years ago, but had to repair the building and park first. We couldnt move on to the paintings until we were structurally ready, he said. So far, two James Gale Tyler paintings of schooners have been restored thanks to a $1,500 grant from the New Milford Commission on the Arts. Tyler was a well-known marine painter from New York in the late 1800s and early 1900s. The work was completed by Yost Conservation in Oxford. The company was started by Tom Yost in 1989 and consolidated into one operation in Oxford in 1999. Yost and his staff of six conserve and restore 80 to 100 paintings each month, helping out historical societies and small museums, such as Harrybrooke, while also working for private collectors and galleries. Yost said the two Tyler pieces were among the darkest hes worked on. He said the varnish was applied thickly and so the painting was very yellow under the other pollutants. The painting was so dark, you could barely see it all, Yost said. They dont get much darker than that. Yost said oil paint hardens as it ages, making it resilient to cleaning agents, allowing Yost and his staff to use a water-based cleaner to remove the pollutants and then a solvent to remove the varnish, revealing the original colors. The painting is then touched up and a synthetic varnish was added. The edges of the painting and the frame were also repaired. It took about three weeks to a month to complete. Its little bits of time over a long period of time, Yost said. Yost is working with Buckbee to conserve three more paintings and hopes to do more. Buckbee has applied for other grants and is also asking anyone interested in preserving the art to send donations to the park. He said its hard to determine the total cost to restore the pieces because each one requires different restoration work but estimates it will be about $125,000 to restore the entire collection. Hes currently having three paintings restored with an $8,000 grant. Its very eclectic, he said of the collection, adding they purchased what they liked and didnt focus on particular artists. There are some repeats though. The Hardens worked with Alvin Lee, a master copier at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, who painted the Hardens portraits and did several of their master copies, which are high-quality recreations of masterpieces. This is a time from before you could buy a poster, Buckbee said. The couple also had three Tyler paintings, none of which are included in any of the artists collections. Theyve been authenticated as originals by appraisers and art historians, leaving Buckbee to suspect the Hardens and Tyler knew each other because they traveled in the same circles. Buckbee said he will always have a connection with the larger Tyler painting because it was the first painting restored. He said it was an emotional experience to see the painting how it looked when Frank Harden first hung it as the focal piece in the living room. All of the paintings are displayed how the Hardens hung them, though Buckbee said hes hoping to have an art show to bring out other pieces from storage. People can see the art at the house on weekends and through scheduled private tours. kkoerting@newstimes.com; 203-731-3345 Political newcomer Jahana Hayes has taken the lead in the fundraising battle over front-runner Mary Glassman with 10 days until the Democratic primary for Connecticuts 5th District. Three GOP candidates are preparing for their own Aug. 14 primary, but with less money than the Democrats. Hayes, the 2016 National Teacher of the Year who supervises professional development at Waterbury public schools, had $359,000 to spend at the end of July, compared to Glassmans $124,000, according to the candidates latest filing with the Federal Election Commission. Hayes raised $165,000 in the first four weeks of July, compared to Glassmans $77,000, which included a $30,000 loan Glassman made to her campaign, finance disclosure statements show. That brought the total Hayes has raised since announcing her run for Congress in May to $461,000, compared to Glassmans $457,000. A Hayes advisor said the campaign will use the money for advertising, mailings, and direct voter contact, including knocking on doors. We are pushing every single day to raise as much money as we can to pour into this momentum, Meghan Scanlon said. We are going to use all of this to let people know who she is and why she is running. Glassman, a former longtime first selectman of Simsbury who won the party endorsement at the May convention, is encouraged by the support she is seeing from 5th District Democrats, her campaign said. Marys a local candidate, running a local race, fueled by local support, said Jackie Primeau, a Glassman campaign spokeswoman. An overwhelming 85 percent of the funds (are) raised from right here in Connecticut and from actual voters in the 5th District. Glassman and Hayes, who have ads running on Facebook and CNN, are vying to replace U.S. Rep. Elizabeth Esty, a three-term Democrat who dropped plans for re-election after admitting she covered up an office abuse scandal. Republicans see an opportunity to break into Connecticuts all-Democratic congressional delegation with Esty and her $1.5 million out of the race. Retired Southbury psychologist Ruby Corby ONeill has raised the most at $120,000, but that figure includes $81,000 in loans that she made to her campaign, according to her FEC filing. She had $56,000 to spend at the end of July. Watertown businessman Rich Dupont has raised $93,000 since he announced his run with $45,000 coming from a personal loan. Dupont has $36,000 to spend. Front-runner Manny Santos had not filed a financial disclosure form for July by Friday. He has raised $23,000 through June and had $5,000 to spend at the start of July. Esty meanwhile has been returning money to disappointed supporters. She refunded $350,000 in April, May and June. Esty, who still had $1.1 million in campaign money at the start of July, said she will wait until after the November election to decide what to do with leftover money. rryser@newstimes.com 203-731-3342 NEW MILFORD For Stephen Tracy, serving as New Milfords interim superintendent will be like coming home. Tracys first superintendent gig was in New Milford he led the district from November 1985 to October 1993 and he lived in the town with his wife and children for 18 years. I remember it as wonderful, welcoming community (with) lots of opportunities for children and young people, and a very strong expectation on the part of parents that we would deliver a quality education and their children would be well cared for, he said. I remember that very fondly. The Board of Education appointed Tracy at a special meeting Thursday night to lead the district as the board looks for a full-time superintendent to replace Josh Smith, who is taking the superintendent job in Region 15. Smith announced in July that he would leave New Milford, a district he has worked at for seven years, serving as the full-time superintendent since 2016. Tracy said the board is still working out when he will start the job. We are pleased that Dr. Tracy will be returning to New Milford, Board Chairman David Lawson said in a release. He brings a very strong skill set and has the experience to lead the district in this time of transition. Tracys career began in Lakeland Public Schools in New York, where he worked as a history teacher. He then served as assistant superintendent in Farmington before becoming New Milfords superintendent. Tracy also worked as the senior vice president at Edison Schools from October 1993 to September 2007, in addition to serving as Derbys superintendent from 2008 to July 2012. He then become superintendent for Unified District 2, which educates students in foster and residential care in the state, until June 2015. Most recently, he acted as interim superintendent in Fairfield and New London. During Tracys tenure in New Milford, the district brought computers into the schools, something that is now viewed as ho-hum, he said. Back in those days, that was seen as innovation, Tracy said. But what does not change is the importance of young people getting opportunities and a first rate education. Tracy is not planning any major shakeups as he steps into the role. As an interim, I think the key obligation is to support the principals and the teachers and to sustain the work theyre already doing, he said. This is not an assignment where one is expected to change the world because by definition this is temporary. Only a handful of teachers and staff are still around from his time in New Milford, so he plans to get to know his employees. I need to sit down with teachers, teacher leaders and school principals and, as quickly as I can, get a sense of the good work theyre doing and how I can support it, Tracy said. According to reports, Choksi fled India on January 4 this year and took oath of allegiance in Antigua on January 15. New Delhi: Antigua has claimed it was told by Indian agencies that there was no adverse information against Punjab National Bank (PNB) scam accused Mehul Choksi when it did a background check on the fugitive billionaire before granting him citizenship in 2017, a local media report in the Caribbean nation has said. India swiftly set the record straight, saying that the police clearance certificate (PCC) was issued to Choksi by passport office, Mumbai, for Antigua and Barbuda on March 16, 2017, since at that time there was a clear police verification report (PVR) available on his passport. There was nothing incriminating or adverse against Choksi at that time since the scam surfaced later. In another important development, Indian government sources said New Delhi is sending an extradition request on Choksi to Antigua. The request for Choksis extradition comes close to a request sent to the United Kingdom for extradition of another PNB scam-accused jeweller Nirav Modi. The government informed Parliament that two Red Corner Notices have been issued against Modi by the Interpol. In Choksis case, while the Antiguan authority responsible for grant of investment-linked citizenship named the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) as one of the Indian agencies that gave a him a clearance, the Indian securities market regulator rejected the claim. Sebi has neither received any request from the Citizenship by Investment Unit (CIU) of Antigua for updates on any investigation nor provided any such information to CIU, the regulator said. According to reports, Choksi fled India on January 4 this year and took oath of allegiance in Antigua on January 15. His citizenship there was cleared in November 2017. According to news agency reports, Choksis application for citizenship in Antigua in May 2017 was accompanied with clearance from the local police as required by norms, said Antiguan newspaper the Daily Observer, citing a statement from the Citizenship by Investment Unit of Antigua and Barbuda (CIU). Choksi is one of the alleged masterminds of the $2 billion scam in the state-run Punjab National Bank (PNB) and uncle of fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modi. The said police clearance certificate from the government of India, ministry of external affairs regional passport office, Mumbai, certified that there was no adverse information against Choksi which would render him ineligible for grant of travel facilities including visa for Antigua and Barbuda, the Antiguan media report was quoted as stating. The authorities in the island country did a thorough check on Choksi from open source global agencies, including the Interpol, that there was no instance of any derogatory information against him, it added. The Antiguan authorities, as part of their own checks, found two instances of Sebi action against Choksis firms in 2014 and 2017 and sought more information on them, the report further said. It further quoted CIU as claiming that the Sebi had told authorities in Antigua that one case was satisfactorily closed and there was insufficient evidence to pursue the second matter. As per the Antiguan media report, the CIU has said if there was a warrant against Choksi when his application of citizenship was being processed, Interpol should have been informed about it and it should have been part of national criminal database. Under the Citizenship by Investment Program of Antigua and Barbuda, a person can take their passport on a minimum investment of $100,000 in the NDF investment fund. The report in Antiguan media have sparked a political slugfest with the Congress alleging that detail emerging from the Caribbean nation have exposed the complicity and connivance of the Modi government in Choksis escape. Congress communications chief Randeep Singh Surjewala said, Loot and make them scoot is the prime policy of the Modi government. The shocking details reveal how the Modi government enacted this mega scam. He added, Why did the CBI/ED not move the Interpol for a warrant against Mehul Choksi or provide the requisite evidence of criminal fraud against him? Is it not correct that this deliberate failure on part of CBI/ED in providing evidence to Interpol, led to Interpol giving a clean chit to Choksi? According to reports, on January 16 the $2 billion scam was detected by the Brady House branch of PNB in Mumbai, making it the biggest banking scam in the country. Choksi and his companies allegedly availed credit from overseas branches of Indian banks using the fraudulent guarantees of PNB given through letters of undertaking (LoUs) and letters of credit issued by the Brady House branch which were not repaid, bringing liability on the state-run bank, officials had said. An LoU is a guarantee given by an issuing bank to Indian banks having branches abroad to grant short-term credit to the applicant. CBI sources said the agency has cited three grounds on the basis of which Choksi can be extradited to India to face trial. They said the agency has underlined the principle of reciprocity where fugitives can be exchanged between two countries as and when required, principle of dual criminality which states that the alleged charge on the fugitive should be an offence in both the countries, and the United Nations Convention against Corruption to which both Antigua and India are signatories. The UN Convention urges its signatory nations to cooperate in matters pertaining to corruption, they said. Meanwhile, in the Nirav Modi case, minister of state (MoS) for external affairs Gen. (retd.) V.K. Singh informed Parliament, An extradition request has been received in the ministry of external affairs from the ministry of home affairs (MHA) for the extradition of Modi from the United Kingdom (UK). The request has been sent by a special diplomatic bag to the high commission of India, London, for onward transmission to the UK authorities. D01 WILTON For one day in August, Allens Meadows will be transformed into a Shangri-La for foodies. The Trackside Teen Center will host the towns first-ever Food Truck Festival from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 12. The festival will feature 23 trucks, featuring everything from barbecue to seafood and pizza to pierogies, as well as a dozen craft vendors. Local food truck favorites like Melt Mobile, College Creamery, Pierogies on Wheels and other vendors from as far as Hartford will be in attendance to meet attendees cravings. Click through the slideshow to see participating food trucks. More Information Craft Vendors Painted Cookie Crystal Jewelry Name-It Creations Younique Skincare Little Red Pennies Jewelry Confidently Posh Skincare Signature Style Tammyscraftydesigns Teachart2me Custom Built Inc. Creatively Yours Sharp Ideas 40hourARTweek See More Collapse We tried to get a little bit of everything, food from all across the board. With the selection we have, people will surely find something to satisfy them, said Mark Ketley, Tracksides executive director. In addition to an expansive selection of food, there will also be craft beer and wine available courtesy of Bumskis Mobile Beer & Wine Bar. As attendees are grubbing, they will also be treated to the sounds of live music. Local musician Joan Wallace, who runs Acoustic Wilton and performs for the annual Wilton Rocks for Food event, has scheduled a full day of musical acts. The acts include artists from Ridgefield, New Canaan and Wilton, including Joni and the Keepers, Swing 42 and Captain Obvious. The festivities will also include something for the children too, with inflatable bounce houses and water slides for youngsters. We wanted to have a little something for people of all ages, Ketley said. The idea for the food truck festival came as volunteers discussed new ways to make up cash that has been cut from the Trackside Teen Centers budget. Over the past two years, the Trackside Teen Centers budget has been cut by almost $56,000. Someone just mentioned casually, How about if we got a couple of food trucks to do something, and from there it just morphed into this idea for a food truck festival, Ketley said. All money made during the festival will go directly to maintaining Tracksides programming, Ketley said. Individuals, businesses and sponsors interested in participating or volunteering can reach out to Trackside by calling 203-834-2888. In December 1980, Apple had its IPO. They were not allowed to sell in Massachusetts because they were deemed to be too risky. At end of the day, the stock had increased in value by almost 32% to close at $29, leaving the company with a market value of $1.778 billion. Apple is now worth over $1 trillion. This was an increase of over 500 times from the end of trading on its first day. As Apple passes $1 trillion, you may recall that in 1980, Massachusetts barred sales of the IPO, deeming them too risky. pic.twitter.com/w3AjVPyhbu CNBC's Fast Money (@CNBCFastMoney) August 2, 2018 Other nations know SpaceX has won but the USA could build a lead in space sustainable to 2100 Every other Space Agency in the world knows that SpaceX has won with reusable rockets. All of the existing non-reusable rockets cannot compete. The Japanese, Chinese, Europeans and Russians know that SpaceX is going to take all of the commercial space launch. SpaceX already has over half of the commercial space launch. The US just needs to kill Space Launch System (SLS) and put the $4 billion per year into incentivizing more flights of SpaceX rockets. The US could redirect the SLS money to just purchase SpaceX BFR flights and put up thousands of people into space, build a gigawatt of space-based solar power and establish lunar bases and space mining. This would give the US a lead in space that could be sustained until 2100. In the meantime, SpaceX has proved out first-stage rocket reuse. SpaceX is developing systems to recover the fairings and the second stage. SpaceX should have the 150-ton capacity fully reusable BFR ready in 4 to 5 years. Now if the US helped purchase the first 12 launches of each SpaceX BFR the costs per kilogram would drop below $200 per kilogram. $200 million worth of SpaceX BFR launches for each new BFR would probably be enough. $4 billion per year worth of Space Launch System budget would support about 20 new SpaceX BFRs per year. A fleet of 100 SpaceX BFRs would come from $20 billion. This is five years of Space Launch System. Space Launch will not even have its first three tests flights after spending another $20 billion. Build the first large solar space power generation system. Do not beam power to the ground. Use a gigawatt of power to industrial space. The 1954 airline industry was moving 5 million tons miles per year. The 2003 airline industry was moving 5 billion ton miles per year. Right now the space industry is launching about 500-700 tons per year. The US spends $60 billion per year on NASA, military and intelligence space programs. This means over $1.8 trillion over 30 years is what would be the expected budget. There is also the commercial space industry and international space efforts. Putting the $4 billion per year that is being wasted on Space Launch System towards building a gigawatt of Space Based Solar power and the first large space station. The International Space station cost over $100 billion. The cumulative budget put into the space shuttle program was over $200 billion. Build a Space construction colony and hotel Orbital Assembly and the Gateway Foundation are working on a reasonable set of plans and steps to build a space station that is 488 meters in diameter. The initial hub would be 78 meters wide. The National Space Society has the goal of 100-meter wide space station that weighs 8500 tons. It could house 500 people. In the NSS Space Settlement as Easier Way, there are Kalpana One space stations which at 450 meters in diameter and 224 meter in width would weigh 170,000 tons and could have about 8000 colonists. I had described how if 160 double sized Kalpana space stations were built then 2.5 million people could be housed in space. 2.5 million people is the population of the USA in 1776. The Orbital Assembly videos describe a pathway that would lead to the first large 18000 person colony. Orbital assembly describes a reasonable system of welding modular segments and then using flying space drones and crawling space drones to move pieces into place and to further weld segments together. They have selected the main construction material of magnesium nanocomposite for lightweight and strength. There have already been tests of electron beam welding. They want to use seven layer bora silica glass for the windows. This was used for the ISS (International Space Station) capola window. Icarus Interstellar had a proposal for 10,000 person worldship. The habitation ring of the ship design could have Bigelow Aerospace inflatable modules attached to a basic frame. The proposed worldship had 40 modules that were 120 meters by 155 meters. Two Bigelow BA2100 modules that are already designed could be used and provide more space than the space station. Bigelow has 2100 cubic meter modules designed that are 18 meters by 12 meters. Cruise ship rooms are about 60 cubic meters. A Bigelow BA2100 module could have 15 rooms each. Half the space used for hallway and other purposes. 100 BA2100 modules could comfortably hotel about 1,500 people. Less room is needed for temporary stays than for long-term colonization. The first megabase would be for a more crude hotel and to house people to work on industrializing space. A SpaceX BFR could launch two BA 2100 modules at a time. The bigelow modules are built on the ground and would only need to be attached to a rotating frame. About 8 SpaceX BFR launches could be sufficient for an initial 150 person rotating station. Ten SpaceX launches would provide a 150 person station with one gravity from rotation. Those could be the subsidized launches to get the flight rate up to support lower cost. Three such stations could be built per year including supporting the cost of Bigelow modules. Priorities would be to establish better in space construction and in space assembly. The SpaceX BFR seems like it might be ready by 2023. This will likely be ahead of proven large-scale space construction is established. The beams and materials for construction can thus be brought up with SpaceX BFR cargo delivery. Moon landings over 50 years ahead of other nations The moon landings were over 50 years ahead of other nations. Matching Skylab took over 45 years for China to match. If SpaceX succeeds with the BFR it will take 15-40 years for other nations to match it. China is working on a plan that with no schedule slippage would match the BFR in 2040. If the US presses the BFR advantage to leap ahead with a gigawatt of space-based solar power and the first 1000 people in space colonies and space hotels before 2030, then it would be past 2050 for countries to catch up to that point. Constantly pushing ahead and the US can ride this lead until 2100. This is like the multi-decade dominance of commercial aviation the US had with Boeing and the other aviation companies. The US had the latter half of the 20th century as its own for space and this was from what was done from 1960-1975. The US then coasted and squandered the lead. The US has another chance and not just lead but fully open space and get more out of it than what was contributed by commercial aviation. It not just leading by being the tallest midget or the fastest turtle. Boeing 747 and B52s Over 1500 Boeing 747s were built. The US also had a sixty year lead with the B52 bomber. Chinas newest heavy bombers cannot match the range and payload of the B52. The US did not just build one or two. The US built 744 of B52s. B52s were also built by Boeing. Hundreds of SpaceX BFR (civilian and military) could follow what the Boeing 747 and Boeing B52 were. The US has had a twenty-year lead fall into its lap with SpaceX and the BFR. Now just use it to build. Get there in large numbers, settle and build The prairie schooners were used to settle the western US from 1820-1840. By July 2017, when the state was starting the fiscal year without a budget, Angela Serrano had been living at the state-supported Careways Shelter for Women and Children in New Haven for four months. Serrano was shocked to find herself there when just a few short years ago she had a career, a mortgage and the comforts of middle class life. The shelter, at that time housing 10 families near New Havens historic Wooster Square neighborhood, would be closed by September. The nonprofit group running Careways couldnt afford to keep it open while state aid was tied up in budget deliberations but Serrano, 46, was able to secure an apartment in New Haven for herself, her 17-year-old son and a 9-year-old grandson. After a futile search for a job there, Serrano found work as a health care aide in Trumbull. She started night classes at Gateway Community College in New Haven at the end of May in hopes of earning her EMT certification the ticket, she hopes, to a better-paying, more stable job. But despite the progress she has made, Serrano and others like her share a sinking feeling that the state, by some measures the nations richest, is not working for them. Its a feeling she shares with other working-class Americans who cant understand why the current economic prosperity seems to be passing them by. Everything feels like a struggle. Serrano commutes a half-hour in the used car she bought, but the job in Trumbull pays $12.30 an hour, more than many of the available jobs in New Haven. Her state rental assistance ran out in April, so Serrano has been cobbling together overtime to make up the difference. She doesnt think her two-bedroom New Haven apartment, behind an alley and up two flights of stairs, is worth the nearly $1,000 a month she pays. But rent is high all over the state, and its a quiet place to read and write, with a park around the corner for her grandson. I focus on my home, Serrano said. With everything Ive endured, its important to me. Serranos daily struggles are symptoms of a state in crisis. For decades, Connecticut coasted fat and happy off defense firms, insurance companies, and a handful of super-rich financiers who came for the manicured lawns and to escape higher taxes in New York and New Jersey. But the good times have ended, and Connecticut has been caught flat-footed. Blue chip companies like General Electric have either left or are threatening to leave. A yawning budget deficit continues to loom over the state, amplified by some of the nations most glaring economic inequality. Towns like Greenwich, Westport, New Canaan and Darien share few priorities with Hartford, New Haven and Bridgeport. The states political leaders must choose between what seem like equally rotten options: cut services, and push more burden onto the urban poor, or hike taxes, and risk repelling both the suburban rich who pay much of the freight and new businesses that might consider moving here. Put simply, Connecticut is in a bind with precious little room to maneuver. Connecticuts troubles are extreme but hardly unique. The recovery that has entrenched the state into the haves and have-nots has been unequal in other regions as well from Florida to California and down to Texas. As the stock market climbs but wages remain relatively flat, the state serves as a troubling bellwether of national priorities that seem to favor wealth creation for the few before investments in the broader economy. From factories to finance, Connecticuts early reputation was built on the reliable bedrock of manufacturing. The states industrious citizens made hats in Danbury, and forged brass in Waterbury; nearly every Wiffle Ball in the world still comes from Shelton . Samuel Colt invented and produced his Colt revolver in Hartford, and defense contractors like Remington Arms which once employed 17,000 turned Bridgeport into a boom town. More Information Part 1 The Center for Public Integrity is an investigative news organization that gives voice to the public and sparks change by going behind closed doors to reveal abuses of power in Washington. Its mission is to serve democracy by revealing abuses of power, corruption and betrayal of public trust by powerful public and private institutions, using the tools of investigative journalism. For more about The Center for Public Integrity, visit https://www.publicintegrity.org/ Part 1 The Center for Public Integrity is an investigative news organization that gives voice to the public and sparks change by going behind closed doors to reveal abuses of power in Washington. Its mission is to serve democracy by revealing abuses of power, corruption and betrayal of public trust by powerful public and private institutions, using the tools of investigative journalism. For more about The Center for Public Integrity, visit https://www.publicintegrity.org/ See More Collapse Over time, the states economy followed a familiar path, drifting away from manufacturing as companies found it cheaper to operate elsewhere. Remington fled Bridgeport for Arkansas by 1988, leaving behind a fire-prone empty building on Barnum Avenue. Not to worry, though. Defense contractors like Sikorsky Aircraft, insurance firms like Aetna in Hartford and white-collar behemoths like General Electric some lured with tax breaks kept the state humming and obscured looming challenges. More than 400 hedge funds managing over $750 billion between them now call the state home. The state doled out incentives like a $35 million economic package to AQR Management of Greenwich and a $22 million economic development grant to Bridgewater Associates of Westport, the largest hedge fund in the world, in 2016. And that worked. For a while. But the Great Recession hit the state with frightening force. Connecticuts economic output has contracted since 2008, and the population has shrunk to 3.588 million, about 14,000 fewer residents than its 2013 peak. General Electric left Connecticut for Boston in 2016, and earlier this year MassMutual announced it would close an office in Enfield that employs 1,500 people. The companies said they couldnt attract young talent wanting an upscale urban lifestyle to troubled cities or placid suburbs. Whats left: a bifurcated economy that produces wealth but doesnt spread much of it out. Read Part 2 in this continuing series Tuesday, when The Center for Public Integrity takes a deeper look into Connecticuts split economy. Hearst Connecticut Media is publishing the series online and in print over the coming week. For more about The Center for Public Integrity, visit https://www.publicintegrity.org/ MILFORD Its not often that the first topic in a state of the city speech is bird droppings, but such was the case Thursday as Mayor Ben Blake told his audience that Canada geese are despoiling much of the city, particularly the downtown business district. One great big obstacle amidst our flock of successes is the Canada goose, Blake, a Democrat, told a crowd of about 100 business leaders at the Milford Yacht Club for the Chamber of Commerce sponsored event. My office receives more feedback about goose poop than just about any other matter of city business. He said that City Hall was just about at wits end over the influx of the non-migratory Canada goose. As unbelievable as it sounds, one of Milford's greatest problems is the challenge we face from Canada Geese which are wreaking havoc in our parks and public spaces, Blake said. I'm ready to call President Trump and ask that he refocus priorities from building a wall between the United States and Mexico, and instead look to our northern border and build a wall to keep out the Canada geese. Part of the problem stems from one of Milfords successes, Blake said. The city has just completed a long and expensive dredging project involving three downtown ponds in which 15,000 cubic yards of muck was hauled away; much of that sediment was in the form of goose excrement, officials say. But, aside from that headache, the mayor said that the city was flying high and has seen advancements in its grand list in recent years, and approved tax cuts albeit small ones for three consecutive years. We've grown our tax base to over $6.7 billion, and we now have the largest grand list in New Haven County and one of the top ones in the state, he said. Our taxpayers have now experienced back-to-back-to-back tax cuts, three consecutive decreases no other town in the state can boast this experience. But Anthony Giannattasio, a Republican alderman from District 1, said that the tax cuts were largely the result of cost-savings that those on his side of the aisle put forth. Were the ones the came up with those spending cuts, said Giannattasio, who is also a candidate for the 14th District State Senate seat. Blake also said the city is moving forward to create an under- and above-ground parking facility downtown where the Corner Convenience store used to be 325 spaces in all. A small supermarket would also be on that site, too, he said, according to the plan being considered by City Hall. The added parking would help buoy the shops and restaurants in the center of town, he said. jburgeson@ctpost.com Ajit Jogi, who was a Congress Working Committee (CWC) member, later formed his regional party. Bhopal: Former Odisha chief minister Ajit Jogi on Friday received a jolt with 40 workers of his newly-floated regional party switching over to the Congress. Significantly, majority of 40 workers of Janata Congress Chhattisgarh (JCC), floated by Mr Jogi after he broke away from Congress two years ago, hailed from Bilashpur districts Pendra area in Chhattisgarh, considered his bastion. The activists joined Congress in presence of Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader and Mr Jogis bete noir T.S. Singh. Forty workers of JCC joined Congress on Friday. This clearly indicates erosion of base of Mr Jogi in Pendra area, a senior Congress leader from Chhattisgarh told this newspaper. Incidentally, Mr Jogis wife Renu, a sitting Congress MLA, is currently representing Kota (ST) Assembly constituency and the couples son Amit, also a sitting MLA, has been elected from the neighbouring Marwahi (ST) Assembly seat in the last polls. Both the constituencies fall under Pendra region. Mr Jogis son Amit, who was elected as a Congress candidate in 2013 Assembly elections, was expelled from the party a couple of years ago in the wake of the allegation of his involvement in the reported fixing of an Assembly by election in the state. Mr Jogi, who was a Congress Working Committee (CWC) member, later formed his regional party. D04 DANBURY A lawsuit alleging a handcuffed prisoner was pepper-sprayed and beaten to death by correctional officers earlier this year at a Newtown prison is expected to be filed in state court. The suit, brought by Lynnette Richardson on behalf of JAllen Jones, will name 10 correctional officers it accuses of participating in the events that led to Jones death. WEST HAVEN Its that time of year, West Haven kids and parents: the Westies on Wheels bus is coming to a neighborhood near you on Thursday, Aug. 9. The bus (four buses, actually) will bring school supplies and other necessities, especially for needy kids, to four locations in West Haven to help families get ready for the new school year that starts later this month. The Westies on Wheels bus is an initiative bringing West Haven Public Schools staff directly to students to ensure theyre prepared for classes this fall. Buses will be at the following locations on Thursday in each case from 4 to 6 p.m.: Meadow Landing Apartments, 397 Meadowbrook Court. The Housing Authority office, 15 Glade St. More News What to pack for your first year in a college dorm Forest Elementary School, 95 Burwell St. The Savin Rock Conference Center, 6 Rock St. Were giving out backpacks and thousands of dollars in school supplies, said West Haven High School Assistant Principal Dana Paredes, one of the organizers. Anyone with questions can e-mail wow@whschools.org. The outreach effort began four years ago as a way to help West Haven students, especially those in need, get ready for the first day of school, which this year is Aug. 27, school officials said. Its also a way to make a direct connection with school families who may have questions about academic programs, special education or new student registration. A report card or similar proof of residency is required. Backpacks will be given out while supplies last, and a child must be present to receive one. Check www.whschools.org for more information. Organizers earlier in the summer collected donations of scissors, markers, colored pencils, rulers and folders and any other supplies or monetary donations people might be willing to contribute and are now seeking donations for next years event. To donate, email Paredes at dana.paredes@whschools.org, WHHS science teacher Lauren Kozlowski at lauren.kozlowski@whschools.org, or West Haven High School English teacher Melanie Deninger at melanie.deninger@whschools.org. A report from Dursoo said that the militants had been trapped inside a private house and that the clash erupted at 9.15 am on Friday. The house suffered extensive damage during the fire fight, the report said. (Representational Image) Srinagar: Two militants allegedly associated with Lashkar-e-Tayyaba (LeT) and an Army jawan were killed and a policeman was injured in a fierce gunbattle in Dursoo village outside Jammu and Kashmirs north-western town of Sopore on Friday. The killing of the militant duo sparked protests in the area, forcing the authorities to use force against stone-pelting mobs and also snap Internet services. Meanwhile, a Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) jawan and a special police officer of the J&K police were injured in a grenade explosion in southern Anantnag district. LeT has owned responsibility for carrying out the attack. The police identified militants slain in Dursoo fire fight as LeTs Riyaz Ahmed Dar and Khursheed Ahmed Malik and the soldier as Sawar Vijay Kumar. SSP Sopore Javaid Iqbal said that the security forces launched a search operation at Dursoo in Dangiwacha area of Sopore late Thursday night after receiving credible inputs about the presence of militants in the village. While the search operation was underway an effort was made to persuade the hiding militants to surrender but they were unrelenting and fired up on the search party initiating a gunfight, he said. In the ensuing encounter both the militants were killed, the officer said, adding that the per preliminary investigations revealed that they were local Kashmiris belonging to the LeT. The official said that an Army jawan and a policeman were injured during the clash and that the former succumbed to his injuries in a Srinagar hospital. A report from Dursoo said that the militants had been trapped inside a private house and that the clash erupted at 9.15 am on Friday. The house suffered extensive damage during the fire fight, the report said. Amid heightening tensions and protests by surging crowds, the authorities ordered closure of all educational institutions in Sopore and surrounding areas. All of Washington is waiting with bated breath to find out whether the Mueller investigation will provide evidence proving that the Trump campaign colluded with Russia. So far, Exhibit A against President Trump is the meeting Donald Trump Jr., Jared Kushner and Paul Manafort had with a group of Russians claiming to have dirt on Hillary Clinton. That meeting should never have happened. When you get an email offering to provide very high level and sensitive information from the Crown prosecutor of Russia that could incriminate Hillary Clinton and is part of Russia and its governments support for Mr. Trump you dont reply by saying I love it. You call the FBI. The president claims he did not know about the meeting. His former lawyer, Michael Cohen, says he did. Whether he knew is beside the point. Senior officials of his campaign were willing to accept help from Vladimir Putin; they were saved only because the meeting was a bust. The Russians didnt end up providing any dirt. But as bad as the Trump Tower meeting was, it took place at the request of the Russians. They were the ones who approached the Trump campaign, not the other way around. By contrast, the Clinton campaign proactively sought dirt on Trump from Russian government sources. They did it through cutouts. In April 2016, Clinton campaign lawyer Marc Elias retained opposition research firm Fusion GPS to compile incriminating information on Trump. Fusion GPS in turn hired Christopher Steele, a former British MI6 operative with sources among Russian government officials. The result was the salacious dossier, whose sources included a senior Russian Foreign Ministry figure and a former top level intelligence officer still active in the Kremlin. Steeles work was paid for by Clintons presidential campaign and the Democratic National Committee. That means a paid agent of the Clinton campaign approached Russian officials for damaging material on Trump. Clinton claims she did not know about Steeles work. It doesnt matter. Imagine if Michael Cohen, or another lawyer paid by the Trump campaign and Republican National Committee, had hired a former British spy with campaign money to collect dirt on Clinton from Russian intelligence and foreign ministry officials. Do you think that everyone in Washington would be saying: Theres no evidence Trump knew, so no big deal nothing to see here? Of course not. Moreover, Clinton officials have defended Steeles actions. Brian Fallon, Clintons campaign spokesman, has said he would have volunteered to go to Europe and try to help Steele and would happily have spread dirt obtained from the Russians. Opposition research happens on every campaign, he told The Post. He also said: I am damn glad [Elias] pursued this on behalf of our campaign and only regret more of this material was not verified in time for the voters to learn it before the election. In other words, I love it. We also know that the Democrats covered up their involvement. The dossier was published by BuzzFeed in January, but it was not until Oct. 24, 2017 more than nine months later that Americans learned it was the DNC and the Clinton campaign that paid for it. If it did nothing wrong, why did Team Clinton leave Americans in the dark about its involvement for so long? Lets be clear: None of this excuses the Trump campaigns reprehensible behavior in accepting a meeting with Russians claiming to be government agents offering dirt on Clinton. Muellers investigation is not a witch hunt. If Mueller finds that anyone on the Trump campaign entered into a criminal conspiracy with Russia, they should go to jail. Furthermore, none of this calls into question the intelligence communitys assessment that the Russians wanted Trump to win something Putin publicly confirmed in his Helsinki news conference with Trump. But the intelligence community assessment also found that the Kremlin expected Clinton to win. The Russians are not stupid. They were preparing for the prospect of a Clinton presidency, and they played both sides. Thats why millions of dollars in Russian cash were sloshing around Clinton World including $500,000 Bill Clinton received for a Moscow speech from a Russian investment bank with links to the Kremlin. Russia continues to pose a threat. Their goal, according to our intelligence community, was not just to help Trump but also to undermine public faith in the US democratic process. They are playing a long game. If we are to counter the Russian threat, we need to understand its complexities and that mean we have to look beyond Trump. Courtesy of the Washington Post. We welcome your opinions at Chattanoogan.com. Email to news@chattanoogan.com. We require your real first and last name and contact information. This includes your home address and phone number. We do not post the contact information, but need it for verification. There is no word limit, but if your article is too long you may lose your reader. Please focus more on issues than personal attacks. NRC process fair, no Indian will be left out, says Rajnath Singh. New Delhi: The government on Friday accused vested interests of trying to create an atmosphere of fear and communal disharmony on the social media over the National Register of Citizens in Assam and pledged that there will be no discrimination in finalising it. The NRC was released on Monday. Replying to a short duration discussion on the Assam NRC draft issue in Parliament on Friday, home minister Rajnath Singh gave an assurance that the names of no Indian citizen would be left out of the NRC and that the entire process was fair and objective. On the Trinamul Congress allegation that its members faced mistreatment at Silchar airport, Mr Singh accused the TMC MPs of creating an unruly situation and said that they had been detained there in view of intelligence inputs received by the Assam government on the law and order situation. The process is fair and transparent. We are doing everything according to the guidelines laid down by the Supreme Court. Every step is being followed, Mr Singh said in a statement in the Rajya Sabha. He added there will be no discrimination or any needless harassment in finalising what he asserted was only a draft list. I assure everyone that no Indian citizen will be left out. There is absolutely no need to worry. He also promised no coercive action would be taken against those left out of the National Register of Citizens. The TMC, meanwhile, said it planned to intensify its protests against the National Register of Citizens in Assam, and said Mr Singhs statement accusing TMC leaders of creating an unruly situation at Silchar airport was dissatisfactory. The statement of home minister Rajnath Singh is completely unacceptable. We expected that the Centre will intimate us on its own and take appropriate action. Nothing was done. We are completely dissatisfied with his statement. Over the weekend, we are going to chalk out our plan of action for Monday, a senior TMC leader said. D01 The man accused of killing a 20-year-old romantic rival in 2017 and dumping his body in the woods has been indicted on murder, kidnapping and weapons charges. Alan McGinnis, 27, is accused of stabbing a sleeping Cody MacPherson in a home in Pemberton Township, throwing him in the trunk of a borrowed car and hiding his body in Colliers Mills Wildlife Management Area in Jackson. McGinnis did this after asking his cousin to borrow a shovel, authorities allege. MacPherson's skeletal remains were found in March, and McGinnis was arrested and ordered held in jail in April. MacPherson, a father of one who had recently moved to the area from Indiana, was dating a young woman whom prosecutors say was also dating McGinnis and a third man. McGinnis is the father of her two children. Ocean County Assistant Prosecutor Michael Weatherstone said at an April court hearing that there were numerous people who had information implicating McGinnis in the death, but they covered for McGinnis and did not speak up until seven months later because they feared him. During that seven months, MacPherson's family, friends and other volunteers continued searching for him, after he was reported missing Sept. 24, 2017. But after his remains were discovered and search warrants were executed at the Pardee Boulevard house where the stabbing allegedly occurred, witnesses changed their stories. Several said McGinnis confessed the crime to four people the next morning, saying he did it because he felt MacPherson was a bad influence on the mother of his kids. Alan McGinnis, 27, left, at an April hearing in Ocean County Superior Court. Cody MacPherson, 20, right, in a photo from Facebook. (File photos) A 20-page probable cause statement authored by New Jersey State Police summarizes the allegations against McGinnis, and describes a love triangle and a night of drinking that turned to murder. Police said that McGinnis was staying at the Pardee Boulevard home of the mother of his children and other family members - a house owned by a Kathleen Huertas. McGinnis had told police he was aware his children's mother was sexually involved with him and MacPherson, but he wasn't upset by it. On Sept. 23, the night MacPherson disappeared, he'd been drinking at the house with McGinnis and the woman they were both seeing. McGinnis said he went to bed and Huertas initially told police she saw MacPherson leave. But after MacPherson's body was found, Huertas told police that McGinnis became angry that night because her daughter announced she would only be intimate with MacPherson in the future. The woman's sister eventually told police that sometime later, McGinnis announced his intention to kill MacPherson and then stabbed him in the throat and abdomen as he lay sleeping on a couch. He half-carried MacPherson outside, called for the keys to Huertas' car, and drove off with MacPherson, she told police. According to Weatherstone, McGinnis drove to his cousin's home, about a mile from where MacPherson's body was found, and knocked on the window. Weatherstone said the cousin reported McGinnis said something to the effect of, "Hey, do you have a shovel? I have a body in the trunk." McGinnis hid the body under branches and later took the Huertas' surveillance system to the woods and burned it, along with a knife, MacPherson's cell phone and clothes, Weatherstone alleged. Huertas was charged with hindering apprehension in October when she told police McGinnis was not in the house, but he was then found hiding in a closet. It was downgraded to a disorderly offense and conditionally dismissed in February, court records show. Rebecca Everett may be reached at reverett@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @rebeccajeverett. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips A second woman has died after a dump truck crashed into the van in which she was a passenger, police said Thursday. Evelyn Miller, 78, of Burlington City, was taken to Capital Health Regional Medical Center following the accident and died Wednesday morning, according to a release from the Burlington City Police. Her fellow passenger, Maryann Mullica, 69, of Burlington City, was taken to Lourdes Medical Center following the accident, where she died, police said. The driver of the van was also taken to Capital Health Regional Medical and is in stable condition, the release said. The crash took place just before 11 a.m. near the intersection of Route 130 and Columbus Road. Police have not said how the crash occurred but said the driver of the dump truck, who was identified only as a 56-year-old Philadelphia man, remained on the scene and was "cooperative with investigators." The dump truck is owned by J.F. Huebner & Sons, Inc. of Philadelphia, police said. No one has been arrested or charged following the crash but that investigators are "awaiting test results, reviewing videos and analyzing evidence," according to the release. Anyone who witnessed the crash may contact Sgt. David Matthews at 609-386-0262 ext. 232. Chris Sheldon may be reached at csheldon@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @chrisrsheldon Find NJ.com on Facebook. Rep. Leonard Lance, R-7th Dist., has a message for Trenton: Hands out of the cookie jar. For more than a decade, New Jersey has been one of the nation's chief scofflaws in diverting funding intended for its 911 system. Each year, the state collects about $130 million through a monthly $0.90 tax charged to everyone who owns a mobile phone. But of the nearly $2 billion that's been taken from taxpayers since 2004, only $350 million has actually gone toward maintaining and upgrading the system. "Lawmakers in Trenton raided the fund set aside to improve the 9-1-1 system and left the account penniless - leaving public safety threatened and taxpayers on the hook," Lance said. "Members of the Communications and Technology Subcommittee are seeking to end this practice." In July, Lance introduced "The 911 Fee Integrity Act," a bill that would empower the federal government to crack down on states diverting funding dedicated to the 911 system for other purposes. For its part, New Jersey has long argued that it does not divert funding and the disbursement of the funding is in line with the law's initial intent. Gov. Phil Murphy has yet to take a a position on the issue, and the governor's office did not return requests for comment. In 2016, an NJ Advance Media investigation found just 15 percent of the funding collected by the tax had been used on the 911 system. The state has since more than doubled the annual funding to the system, from about $13 million to just over $30 million, but 77 percent of the funding still goes toward other areas of the budget. And the dozens of local 911 call centers that form the backbone of the state haven't seen a dime from the fund in more than a decade. A package of bills introduced in the state Legislature earlier this year seeks to address this. The latest bills (A2371, A3742) would require the hundreds of 911 call centers in the state to be equipped with NextGen 911 within three years. The upgrade, estimated at nearly $100 million, would be paid for through an additional 9 cents charged to every monthly phone bill, bringing the total service fee to 99 cents. But absent a constitutional amendment, legislators would not be able to guarantee the additional funding would actually go toward the system. A constitutional amendment was proposed in 2016 but stalled. Enter Lance, who said he was tired of waiting for the state to come up with a fix itself. "I do not believe Trenton will solve this on its own," Lance, a former state assemblyman, said with a chuckle. "I think this has teeth and would certainly be a step in the right direction." Stephen Stirling may be reached at sstirling@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @sstirling. Find him on Facebook. A 45-year-old high school teacher was shot to death in East Orange early Friday, authorities said. Kofi A. Owens, of Newark, was struck by gunfire on South 16th Street around 1 a.m. the Essex County Prosecutor's Office said in a statement. He was pronounced dead at 1:18 a.m. Kofi A. Owens A 25-year-old man also shot is in stable condition. South 16th Street straddles the East Orange-Newark border. Owens was a teacher at STEM Academy in East Orange, a magnet school for students in grades 6 through 12. "Mr. Kofi Owens was a dedicated employee who worked in the school district for over 10 years," East Orange superintendent Dr. Kevin West said in a statement. "He was well-respected by his colleagues and students. Our thoughts and prayers are with his friends and family." East Orange mayor Ted Green also offered condolences. "I am extremely saddened to learn of the tragic death of Kofi Owens, a beloved and well-respected teacher and mentor in our East Orange School District. My deepest sympathy goes out to his family and all of those who will feel the loss throughout our community," Green said in a statement. "This type of violence will not be tolerated in our city, and we are working aggressively with all law enforcement agencies to ensure that those responsible are swiftly brought to justice using every means necessary." Born in Brooklyn, New York, Owens moved to East Orange when he was 12, according to an online bio. He graduated from Essex County Vocational Technical School's North 13th Street campus before going on to obtain a bachelor's degree from Bloomfield College. He has been a teacher in East Orange since 2006, most recently working as STEM Academy's technology coordinator. No arrests have been made and the investigation is continuing. Anyone with information is asked to call the prosecutor's office tips line at 1-877-847-7432. Students took to social media to post remembrances of their former teacher. Damn u always tired to get me out the streets and make me see how bright my future was. And I finally took your advice... Posted by Alquan Amons on Friday, August 3, 2018 Everytime I would see Mr. Owens id always be like Kofi... and he greeted me with nothing but Joy. Lol he would always tell me how I needed to become a Lawyer or an advocate lol look at me now man #restinpeace Posted by Joys Strength on Friday, August 3, 2018 Jeff Goldman may be reached at jeff_goldman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JeffSGoldman. Find NJ.com on Facebook. In what appears to be one of at least two such cases in New Jersey this year, a Newark woman has been jailed on accusations she allowed an infant to ingest a fatal dose of both legal and illegal drugs. Chaintae Gardner. (Essex County Prosecutor's Office) The arrest of Chaintae L. Gardner, 38, followed the May 13 death this year of a 1-year-old child in 200 block of 14th Avenue in Newark, according to Essex County Prosecutor's Office records. During a June 7, 2018, hearing in Superior Court in Newark -- audio of which was reviewed by NJ Advance Media -- an assistant prosecutor told the judge Gardner had admitted to investigators that she gave the infant adult cough medication while he was temporarily in her care. Gardner was not the child's biological mother, attorneys said in court. Further toxicology tests, the prosecutor said, revealed the presence of cocaine and what a preliminary screening of the child's blood indicated was methadone. Gardner now faces charges of aggravated manslaughter, endangering the welfare of a child through drug use and strict liability for a drug induced death, according to court records. During the June hearing -- to decide whether she stayed jailed pending trial -- Gardner's court-appointed attorney argued the court was still awaiting medical reports and autopsy results, and that she had only been taking care of the child for a small period of time prior to the child's death. Judge Ronald D. Wigler ultimately granted the state's motion for continued pre-trial detention, calling Gardner's case "a very, very disturbing set of circumstances." A 34-year-old South Brunswick woman was arrested in June on similar allegations stemming from the death of her 2-year-old son, whom authorities said had ingested methadone. The Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office said the methadone had been prescribed to the defendant in that case. In the Newark case, the prosecutor's office said Gardner, who has been jailed at the Essex County Correctional Facility since her arrest, acknowledged going to a methadone clinic while the infant was in her care. The state Public Defender's Office, which is representing Gardner in the case, did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday on the charges against her. Court records show Gardner's case has been referred to a grand jury. Thomas Moriarty may be reached at tmoriarty@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at @ThomasDMoriarty. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips A New Jersey police officer under investigation for the fatal shooting of an alleged shoplifter has been accused of excessive force in the past. Philly.com reports that at least two women have filed complaints against Deptford Police Sgt. Kevin Clements, who fatally shot LaShanda Anderson. Police had responded to a shoplifting incident in June. Authorities say Anderson tried to run over two officers with her car as she fled. Clements fired his weapon striking Anderson twice. A woman Clements had pulled over on suspicion of driving intoxicated settled a civil lawsuit against the officer for $20,000 after she says she was thrown to the ground during the arrest. Another woman alleged the officer punched her in the face while dispersing a crowd at a bar. Phone numbers listed under Clements' name had been disconnected Thursday. Elnardo Chandler, 29. JERSEY CITY -- The detention hearing for Bruce Stewart, one of two men charged with beating a man to death in Jersey City last month, has been pushed back to next week. Stewart, 24, of West New York, made his first court appearance on Tuesday afternoon via videolink from Hudson County jail, where a detention hearing was set for today. However, the hearing was rescheduled for Wednesday. A judge will determine whether Chandler should stay in custody throughout the course of his prosecution or be released pending trial. Stewart is charged with reckless manslaughter in the death of 29-year-old Glen Mackie, of Jersey City, on July 6. Authorities said an arrest warrant has also been issued for 29-year-old Elnardo Chandler, of Jersey City, who is also being charged with reckless manslaughter in Mackie's death. Police responding to Lexington Avenue at 12:15 a.m. on the report of a street fight on July 5 found Mackie, 29, unresponsive on the sidewalk, suffering from a head wound. He was taken to Jersey City Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead on July 6. A witness told police that Mackie was on Lexington Avenue between Kennedy Boulevard and Bergen Avenue when he was punched in the back of the head by Chandler, the criminal complaint states. Surveillance video from the area showed that Mackie was then tackled to the ground by Bruce "Billy Bob" Stewart and "stomped" on by Chandler, the criminal complaint alleges. Authorities arrested Stewart on Monday, but are still searching for Chandler. The Hudson County Prosecutor's Office said that Chandler should not be approached by members of the public. All information will be kept confidential. Anyone with information as to the whereabouts of Chandler is asked to contact the HCPO's Homicide Unit at 201-915-1345 or leave an anonymous tip on the HCPO's official website. Corey W. McDonald may be reached at cmcdonald@jjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter @coreymacc. Find The Jersey Journal on Facebook. 20-year-old wife of hotelier was raped after the accused hit her husband and locked him inside his vehicle. The woman was robbed and raped by a waiter and his friends, while her husband was beaten up. (Representational Image) Mumbai: In a shocking incident of crime against women, an eight-month-old pregnant woman was allegedly gangraped by eight men in Tasgaon area in Maharashtra's Sangli on July 31. According to reports, the 20-year-old woman, along with her hotelier husband, had gone to a Turchi Phata in Tasgaon for a business meeting. The woman was robbed and raped by a waiter and his friends, while her husband was beaten up. According to reports, one of the accused, identified as Mukund Mane, had called the victim's husband to Turchi Phata claiming that he knew of someone who would be willing to take that job and asked him to bring Rs 20,000 as an advance payment for them. When the couple reached the location, Mane and his friends started hitting them with pipes and sticks, robbed them of the cash and gold ornaments. Later they tied up the man and locked him inside his vehicle and then allegedly gangraped the woman. The attackers also warned them against informing the police claiming "they were locally very influential and nobody would listen to them". The couple later managed to reach the Tasgaon police station and registered a complaint. The woman has named four of the eight accused - Mukund Mane, Sagar, Javed Khan and Vinod in her complaint. No arrests have been made so far. Taking serious note, Maharashtra State Commission for Women Chairperson Vijaya Rahatkar has written to the Sangli Superintendent of Police to personally look into the case and submit a detailed report on the same. In doing our genealogical research, sometimes we have to look at the bigger picture, at things that may not be direct genealogy, but rather at things like the news, economy and sociology our ancestors lived in to understand how they lived. As I've written in the past, this is more on the family history side of things rather than the genealogical side but is no less important to get a true picture of our ancestors' lives Recently, a colleague of mine found a website that may be able to help researchers understand their families' living conditions at the end of the Great Depression. Mapping Inequality is a website offered by the University of Richmond which holds the records of the Home Owners Loan Corporation, a Depression-era organization that was part of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal. HOLC's mission was to help people in danger of losing their homes due to the country's economic downturn to refinance. It was also, according to some historians, the beginning of "redlining," the practice of denying financial and insurance services to the poor and minority residents of those areas. HOLC oversaw the creation of a series of maps of more than 250 American cities. In New Jersey, the areas covered are Hudson, Bergen and Essex counties and the areas in and around Trenton and Camden. The cities are broken up into smaller, color-coded districts and given a "security grade": In descending order they are green, the so-called "best" area, grade 1; blue, grade 2; yellow, grade 3 and red, grade 4. Also on the site are short area descriptions which correspond to the districts. These descriptions give information on the various types of housing within the district: House type and size, necessity of repair, average home prices and rents. Also, the percentage of "foreign families" and their nationalities and African-American families. In Hudson County, there were no green areas and blue was the top of the line locally, such as the areas around Bentley Avenue and Sherman Place in Jersey City, the bluff in Weehawken and part of North Bergen's Racetrack Section and the area around Park Avenue, next to what is now James J. Braddock Park. The remainder of Hudson was yellow or red. Like where my family lived. At the time the HOLC maps were created, my mother was growing up, living with her (mostly) Italian family in what is now West New York's Second Ward. It was as red as a ripe San Marzano tomato even though they didn't perceive it as bottom of the line living conditions. It's also the area I would grow up years later. What's really disturbing are the comments left on some of the descriptions. For one section of West New York, part of the description titled "shifting or infiltration" reads, "Italians are gradually replacing the better class as the latter move elsewhere." With comments like these, it's easy to see how these documents were used in redlining. There's plenty to be learned from looking through these documents and I highly suggest reading through the accompanying materials. One thing to be learned from this is that no matter where your ancestors came from, how hard they worked or how quickly they learned English, they were discriminated against all the same. It's all laid out on the HOLC maps in black and white. And red and yellow. EDITOR'S NOTE: Danny Klein is a librarian at the Jersey City Free Public Library's New Jersey Room and a founding member of the Hudson County Genealogical and Historical Society. He can be reached at hudsongenealogy@gmail.com or @HudsonGenealogy on Twitter. HOBOKEN The City Council unanimously approved a resolution on Wednesday urging the county freeholders to terminate its recently renewed contract with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, citing the lack of "meaningful open dialogue" before the agreement was approved. The city's council is the first in the county to express official displeasure with the freeholder board for voting July 12 to renew the ICE contract, which allows federal immigration officials to house immigrant detainees at the county jail in Kearny. Immigrant detainees make up about 60 percent of the jail's roughly 1,200-inmate population. Hoboken Councilwoman Emily Jabbour told The Jersey Journal she is "strongly opposed to the manner in which this matter was handled in terms of process and the total lack of public input." The freeholders approved the contract by a 5-2 vote at an afternoon meeting after the public had been told the vote would be postponed. The ICE contract has put the Democrats who run the county in a pickle. Nationwide, the party's base of liberal voters has been outspoken in its criticism of the immigration agency, especially since the Trump administration implemented a "zero tolerance" policy in April that saw immigrant parents being separated from their children at the border. Here in Hudson County, more than 40 percent of the population is foreign born. But the ICE contract is lucrative for the county, which expects to bring in $19 million this year for housing immigrants at the jail. ICE pays the county $120 per immigrant daily. The agreement with ICE, which is effective Jan. 1, 2018 and runs for "the longest period of duration allowed by law," appears to permit the county to cancel with 60 days' notice. Reached by phone, Freeholder Chair Anthony Vainieri, who voted in favor of the contract, initially told The Jersey Journal he did not want to comment on Hoboken's resolution. Vainieri, of North Bergen, then called back to say that if the contract were severed, the amount of lost revenue would lead to a $2.4 million increase in Hoboken's share of the county budget. "So if the mayor and their council want to go back to their constituents and explain where we're going to come up with $2.4 million, we can talk," he said. The increase for Jersey City, whose mayor, Steve Fulop, has also publicly called for the county to terminate the contract, would be $4.4 million, Vainieri said. Jabbour said Vainieri's comments indicate he "would rather take blood money than to demonstrate fiscal responsibility." She added that it is "appalling" Vainieri would use the budget as an excuse, noting that he joined four other freeholders in awarding themselves a 2.5 percent pay raise after they renewed the ICE contract. "The fact that the freeholder chair is taking a humanitarian issue and distilling it into a matter of money is disgusting," she said. "The tone of this response demonstrates a total lack of understanding about the concerns raised in the very text of the resolution regarding the inhumane conditions at the Hudson County Correctional Facility." County Executive Tom DeGise has argued that, while he disagrees with Trump on immigration, it's better for detained immigrants to be placed in Kearny rather than be sent farther from their families and attorneys. Vainieri said the freeholders have not discussed terminating the contract. He said it may come up at Tuesday's freeholder caucus. Terrence T. McDonald may be reached at tmcdonald@jjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter @terrencemcd. Find The Jersey Journal on Facebook. The Secaucus school district has spent at least $22,000 on attorneys' fees trying to fire its former high school principal, lawyers' invoices for the first six months of 2018 show. Also, the attorneys' bills for the district have skyrocketed this year, the invoices, obtained by The Jersey Journal, show. The district spent slightly more than $105,000 on attorneys last year and this year it had spent more than $92,000 through June 30, according to the invoices, which were obtained through an Open Public Records Act request. Of the $92,576 spent in 2018, $22,316 was related to Secaucus High School principal Robert "Dr. Bob" Berckes, who has been in the position for eight years. For the same period in 2017, the district spent $45,483, records show. Berckes and an assistant principal, Jeffrey Case, were suspended in April over the handling of a student who was found to have a small amount of marijuana and a pocket knife in his possession. Last month it was learned that the district was proposing tenure charges against the principal. Berckes has said that he and Superintendent Jennifer Montesano agreed on a five-day suspension and a police officer stationed at the school told the principal to flush the drugs down a toilet. Berckes said the following day Montesano became upset over the way the incident and he and the assistant principal were suspended with pay. Montesano has declined to comment on the incident. An investigation by the Hudson County Prosecutor's Office determined that the actions by those involved in the incident did not rise to the level of criminality. In late June Berckes' attorney, David Castellani, filed a notice of tort claim for a lawsuit against the district. The board approved Berckes' transfer to the Clarendon School, but at the same time it appointed Danielle Garzon, the district supervisor of elementary education and testing, as acting principal. The district's current contract with Fogarty and Hara calls for the district to pay an hourly rate of $175 for a partner or $155 for an associate working on school matters. There is no cap on the amount the law firm could be paid in a school year. In May and June of 2018 the district paid more than $44,000 in attorneys fees, compared to $21,700 for the same two months last year. Mayor Michael Gonnelli on Friday reiterated statements he made to the board at recent public meetings. "I'm concerned about the whole issue," said Gonnelli, who had warned the board that legal fees and the cost of possibly losing a lawsuit filed by Berckes would hurt the district. "I don't know why (the superintendent and the board) are doing what they are doing. ... The entire town, except a few people, is behind Dr. Berckes." The legal bills also revealed that the decision to file tenure charges against Berckes was made on or before May 7. A May 7 entry in the attorneys' invoice is categorized as "review documents in anticipation of filing tenure charges" against Berckes. A May 8 entry is described as "... developing areas for the tenure charges." School board members will meet Monday, Aug. 6, at 6 p.m. to approve or reject the tenure charges. The meeting is not open to the public. New Jersey's top elected officials want the Federal Communications Commission to reverse the renewal of a local television station's license, saying the network has failed to meet its obligation to serve the North Jersey community. In an Aug. 2 letter to FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, U.S. Sens. Robert Menendez and Cory Booker implored the agency to revisit its July 12 order renewing the license of Secaucus-based WWOR-TV. Menendez says the station has not provided "meaningful" news coverage since it shut down its New Jersey-based news operation in 2013. "The FCC grant of this renewal raises a serious question as to what a concerned local citizen would have to demonstrate for the FCC to deny a license renewal based upon the inability of WWOR (or any other station) to serve its local community consistent with its license obligations." WWOR and its parent company, Fox Television Stations, did not return messages seeking comment. A spokesman for the FCC said the agency is reviewing the letter, but declined to comment further. The New Jersey senators say WWOR, the state's only commercial, high-power broadcast television station, replaced its previous newscasts in 2013 with "Chasing New Jersey," a TMZ-style program that airs weeknights at 11 p.m. on My9NJ and 1:30 a.m. on Fox 5. The program, which has since been rebranded as "Chasing News," covers a smattering of local and national stories. But Menendez and Booker allege WWOR has not operated in accordance with a 1982 federal law mandating the license holder for WWOR "devote itself to meeting the special needs of its new community (and the needs of the Northern New Jersey area in general)." In describing the station's purported failure to meet those needs, the senators' letter also noted studies that examined the quantity and quality of New Jersey content aired by the station. "For more than a decade, WWOR has failed to live up to its obligations to the people of New Jersey. And we believe that in renewing this license, the FCC has failed to live up to its statutory obligations," the senators wrote to Pai. Menendez and Booker asked that Pai reverse the July 12 decision to renew the station's license. While renewals typically occur every eight years, Menendez's office said the FCC will next examine WWOR's license in 2023. The senators were also critical of the FCC for questioning whether WWOR should have to comply with the special New Jersey service obligations stipulated by law. The federal commission simply raised that question in its July 12 order to renew the WWOR license but did not provide a judgement. "We do not reach this question today, however, as the parties have not raised it, and because we conclude, in any event, that WWOR has complied with its service obligation in connection with the present applications," the FCC wrote. BAYONNE -- The man who apparently changed his mind halfway through a bank robbery has been arrested, authorities said. Edison R. Greene, 43, of Jersey City, was arrested Thursday by Bayonne police detectives and members of the FBI Fugitive Task Force, and charged with last week's attempted heist, police said. Authorities say on July 27 Greene walked into the Valley National Bank on Broadway near 24th Street just after 2 p.m. and passed a note to the teller demanding her to give him "all the money." But the 43-year-old then grabbed the note back as the teller was reading it, and instead, decided he would try and open an account, police said. The man was met by another employee at the bank's customer service platform, but he didn't have the proper identification to open an account. He went to another bank employee, while the teller informed the customer service representative of his note, authorities said. The customer service representative then confronted Greene and escorted him out of the bank. Police and bank security were notified, but Greene fled the area, cops said. Greene was taken into custody in the area of the Salem-Lafayette housing complex in Jersey City and charged with robbery. In 2012, Greene was arrested after allegedly trying to carjack two women in Jersey City. He eventually pleaded guilty to third-degree criminal attempt and was sentenced to three years in prison, records indicate. Corey W. McDonald may be reached at cmcdonald@jjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter @coreymacc. Find The Jersey Journal on Facebook. The Bayonne Energy Center, a gas-fired power generation facility that sends energy to New York City, is set to be sold for roughly $900 million in cash. Macquarie Infrastructure Corp.(MIC), a publicly traded company managed by Australia's largest investment bank, Macquarie Group Ltd., announced this weekend that it was selling the power generation facility, which sits on the Peninsula City's eastern-most shoreline on Constable Hook. The company is selling the facility for $900 million in cash and assumed debt to NHIP II Bayonne Holdings LLC, MIC announced Sunday. The company in 2016 announced it was expanding the Bayonne site after making several nearby land purchases. That expansion was completed earlier this year and allowed MIC to increase the total megawatt generation from 512 megawatts to 644 megawatts. While an incandescent light bulb uses between 60 and 100 watts, one megawatt is equal to a million watts. The Bayonne facility powers at least 500,000 homes in New York City. "Having completed various capacity and capability expansion projects at BEC, we concluded that this was an appropriate time to sell the facility and redeploy the proceeds to address strategic priorities including strengthening our balance sheet," said Christopher Frost, chief executive officer of MIC. MIC, the parent company of International-Matex Tank Terminals (IMTT), said in a release that it "anticipates using part of the net proceeds of approximately $650 million... to reduce debt... at the Company's IMTT business." IMTT, a bulk liquid storage and handling facility located at 250 E. 22nd St., has more than 600 storage tanks. Located at the intersection of the Kill Van Kull and Upper New York Harbor, the complex also has truck- and rail car-loading facilities. The transaction is expected to be closed sometime in the fourth financial quarter (October to December), pending approvals from the New York Public Service Commission and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. The facility was built in 2012 and sends power to New York City through a cable running from Bayonne -- beneath the New York Harbor -- to a substation in Brooklyn. The power plant was originally built as part of a $400 million joint venture between Hess Corp. and an affiliate of ArcLight Capital Partners to "serve New York City's power needs without taxing the energy grid in New Jersey," The Jersey Journal reported. The city, under then-Mayor Mark Smith, gave final approvals for the facility in 2009 and awarded the site a 30-year tax abatement. The site was purchased by MIC in 2015 for $720 million. At the time of the tax abatement vote, city officials said the abatement would generate $45 million in revenue for the city over the next three decades. The facility pays a little more than $1.66 million to the city annually from both the PILOT fee and an administrative fee: $1,588,445 from the abatement tax and $77,520 in administrative fees, according to the city spokesman Joe Ryan. The facility comprises approximately 12 jobs, according to Ryan, although it is unclear if those jobs are held by city residents. Two people kidnapped a woman from a Robbinsville home Sunday and held her handcuffed in a vehicle as police chased them along several roads in two counties, authorities said. The domestic incident ended in Trenton, where state troopers stopped the car, arrested the kidnappers and rescued the woman from the ordeal, officials and court documents say. Anthony Santoro, 44, of Robbinsville, and Jamie McLean, 43, of Pemberton Township face numerous charges including kidnapping, criminal restraint and aggravated assault for abducting the woman from the home on Robbinsville-Allentown Road. Robbinsville police did not identify the victim since the incident is domestic in nature. The incident started at about 7 p.m., when police received a panic alarm notification from the home, Robbinsville police Lt. William Swanhart said. When a police officer neared the house, he heard a woman's screams coming from a vehicle and saw what appeared to be a struggle, Swanhart said. The officer turned around to pull the car over, but it sped away, Swanhart said. The vehicle continued into Hamilton, with police in pursuit, and then back to Robbinsville, where police lost sight of it, Swanhart said. Robbinsville police alerted area police and New Jersey State Police troopers spotted the vehicle on Interstate 195 west at about 7:50 p.m., state police spokesman Lt. Ted Schafer said. Troopers pursued the vehicle, which exited onto the New Jersey Turnpike south, then exited that highway at exit 7, and headed north on Route 206 in Bordentown and back into Hamilton along South Broad Street and then into Trenton, Schafer said. During the pursuit, troopers reported seeing a woman in the back seat of the car, popping up and down and appearing to be in distress, according to State Police audio recordings NJ Advance Media listened to. Troopers pursued the car through numerous streets in Trenton before it stopped at Hamilton Avenue and Chambers Street, where officers arrested Santoro and McLean and freed the woman, authorities said. Court documents show Santoro and McLean allegedly handcuffed the woman when taking her from the home, and Robbinsville police later found a stun gun in the home, for which Santoro is charged with possessing. Santoro and McLean are scheduled to appear in court on Friday. Kevin Shea may be reached at kshea@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @kevintshea. Find NJ.com on Facebook. The case was resolved more than a decade ago. A young seminarian from the Archdiocese of Newark alleged he had been abused in 1988 by two transitional deacons at St. Benedict's Parish in Newark. The allegations were deemed "credible" by the Archdiocese of Newark's Review Board, but that they could not be substantiated. So the Rev. Desmond Rossi said he agreed to a settlement with the archdiocese in 2004, for about $35,000, to cover the cost of counseling, and put it in the past. But with the recent surfacing of allegations of sexual abuse against former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, who had once been the the archbishop of the Newark Archdiocese, Rossi asked the church to reopen the case he brought so many years ago. On Thursday, Cardinal Joseph Tobin, the head of New Jersey's largest Catholic diocese, agreed to take another look at the matter, which involves a still-active priest who is in ministry in New Jersey. Archdiocese spokesman Jim Goodness, who would not identify the priest accused in the case, said the cardinal agreed to honor the request, which will be referred to the Archdiocese Office of Canonical Affairs. Rossi, who left the priesthood for several years and the returned, where he is now a priest in the Albany Diocese, said he received a call informing him of the decision earlier in the day. "I expected it, to be honest," he said. "It's the right decision, if we're looking for all the facts." Rossi, who shared letters from the archdiocese when he filed his complaint, recalled the incident in an interview. "I wanted it to go away," he said. Rossi, who is originally from New Jersey and grew up in Garwood, said he had sought to become a priest because he had felt a strong sense of spirituality from an early age. "The church has always been a strong part of my life," he remarked. While at St. Benedict's, Rossi said he was assaulted at the rectory after a night of drinking by two transitional deacons, which is a step in the ordination process. He said one of the men threw him onto the bed and began kissing him. The other tried performing oral sex on him. "I weighed 140 pounds," Rossi said. He was traumatized by the events, but did not immediately come forward. When he did, the archdiocese did not take action. "I went before the review board. It was found credible, but nothing happened. They tried to turn it on me," he said. When he finally sought out a lawyer, he was advised that the statute of limitations on criminal charges had already expired. Finally he just sought to be reimbursed for counseling. He was offered $35,000 and he agreed to take it. A 2003 letter he received from the law firm representing the archdiocese outlined not a settlement of the matter, but rather a "charitable payment and release." While he spoke of a number of encounters with McCarrick that he described as "creepy," Rossi said he was never victimized by the cardinal. But the events of recent weeks that led to the cardinal's resignation from the College of Cardinals because of sexual abuse allegations gave Rossi a renewed sense to come forward, especially with one of his own alleged abusers still in the ministry.The other alleged abuser has since died, he said. "I decided I just can no longer stay quiet and afraid," he said. Ted Sherman may be reached at tsherman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TedShermanSL. Facebook: @TedSherman.reporter. Find NJ.com on Facebook. A meeting between Sikhs and a New Jersey radio station whose hosts made racist remarks about state Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal won't happen next week. The meeting probably won't happen until the fall, according to Megan Daly, spokeswoman for United Sikhs, a nonprofit advocacy organization. Grewal, who is a Sikh, was repeatedly referred to as "turban man" during the "Dennis & Judi Show" last week on NJ 101.5-FM. Daly said Thursday the organization had hoped to get the hosts and station employees together next week for discussions on sensitivity. The meeting was to take place at a temple in Glen Rock where Grewal is a member. But schedulers with the attorney general's office have said it doesn't look like their reps can attend next week and pushed a meeting date into fall, Daly said. As of Friday afternoon, no date had been set. "We had hoped for next week, but we understand people are busy," Daly said. "We're working with (the AG's) schedulers." On Friday, a spokeswoman for Grewal said he would not attend a meeting with the radio hosts. "The Attorney General has moved on from this incident and is focused on the work of the state," Communications Director Sharon Lauchaire said in an email. "As a result, he does not believe that his presence at any particular event with the radio hosts is necessary, but he appreciates their interest in learning more about the Sikh religion and hopes that this can serve as a teachable moment for the hosts and others," Lauchaire said. NJ101.5 hosts Dennis Malloy and Judi Franco repeatedly referred to Grewal as "the guy with the turban" and "turban man" during their afternoon show on July 25. They have since apologized and were suspended for 10 days. Ron deCastro, the station's president and chief revenue officer, said Friday the station is working with two outside organizations to fine-tune its "implicit bias training" program for employees. "We continuously do these trainings," deCastro said, adding that after the incident with Malloy and Franco he decided to customize the program a bit. As for the Glen Rock meeting, deCastro said Malloy, Franco and other employees are open to meeting with United Sikhs about any concerns they have. However, any type of sensitivity training is done in-house, he added. "We're open to discussions," deCastro said. "We're open to meet with anybody at almost any time to discuss any issues." The radio chief said United Sikhs had not contacted him about a meeting date. Anthony G. Attrino may be reached at tattrino@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyAttrino. Find NJ.com on Facebook. A state appellate panel this week upheld a lower court ruling that Seaside Heights was within its authority to swap 1.3 acres of public beach for an antique carousel long associated with the borough, after the beloved but unprofitable merry-go-round's owners had threatened to get rid of it. Ruling on a complex deal that's also the subject of a separate probe by federal prosecutors, the three-judge panel also unanimously ruled that a state agency, the New Jersey Statehouse Commission, likewise had acted properly when it allowed the carousel's owners to dedicate 67 acres of wetlands located elsewhere in Ocean County as permanent open space in order to offset the public's loss of the beach property. A new section of Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, with a new roller coaster, built on a borough beach lot swapped for a vintage carousel. The 108-year-old carousel had been owned by the Storino family, which operates the Casino Pier boardwalk amusement park, where the intricately-crafted and brightly-colored carousel had been a popular local attraction since 1932, before its appeal began to fade. Seaside Heights Mayor Anthony Vaz, who voted to approve the swap as a borough councilman in 2014, welcomed Monday's ruling while criticizing the suit to block the swap, which was filed by a local business owner and two open space groups. "It's nuts, it's just a waste of time and money," Vaz said. The lawsuit was filed in 2016 by Three Brothers from Italy pizzeria owner Stephen Melvin - who were later joined in the suit by the American Littoral Society and New Jersey Conservation Foundation - asserts the swap violated state Green Acres rules protecting publicly financed open space from falling into private hands. Melvin's lawyer, James Curry, Jr., said the case was too important to let the decision stand, and that he would recommend to the plaintiffs that they petition the New Jersey State Supreme Court to hear the case. "We have 20 days," to file the petition, Curry said. "You can't give away public trust property." Apart from the lawsuit, the carousel swap has been under investigation by federal prosecutors in the U.S. Attorney's Office in Newark, which issued a June 20 subpoenaed for borough documents related to the deal, Vaz and other local officials have acknowledged. "I have not heard a word since," Vaz said on Thursday. To this day, he added, "I don't know what they were looking for." Borough Attorney George Gilmore did not respond to a request for comment. A spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's office, Matt Reilly, issued a statement Thursday sticking to his office's long-standing policy, "to never confirm or deny the existence of any investigation." Jean Cipriani, a partner of Gilmore's who is handling the lawsuit against the borough, said the unanimous appellate decision indicated the strength of Seaside Heights' and the Statehouse Commission's positions. Cipriani said the borough would continue to defend the deal if necessary in higher courts. Cipriani also said Seaside Heights remained committed to a provision of the deal calling for construction of a boardwalk pavilion to house the carousel and begin operating it within three years of the Statehouse Commission's 2016 approval of the swap, which would be about one year from now. Under the provision, the Storinos also gave the borough a .75-acre vacant lot on the inland side of the boardwalk for the carousel's new location, near its old spot. Like so much along the Jersey shore, the swap can trace its origins to Superstorm Sandy in late 2012, which washed away much of the original Casino Pier and left its old roller coaster, the Jet Star, wading in several feet of water just off shore, an iconic image of the superstorm's destruction. Acquiring the beach property adjacent to Casino Pier allowed the Storinos to replace its lost pier space far more cheaply by building above dry sand rather than over water, where the lost portion of the pier had stood. Last year, after the swap was finalized, the Storinos completed the pier replacement space, where a new roller coaster and a new Ferris wheel now rumble and twirl above the beach. Steve Strunsky may be reached at sstrunsky@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @SteveStrunsky. Find NJ.com on Facebook TMC supremo acting like 'Trojan Horse' and trying to divide 'united opposition' by floating idea of federal front, said Bengal Cong chief. West Bengal Congress chief Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said Mamata Banerjee is nothing but a 'chameleon' who is changing her colours. 'She is an unreliable, unpredictable politician and Congress and other leaders should not trust her at all.' (Photo: ANI/Twitter) New Delhi: A day after Mamata Banerjee met Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, West Bengal Congress chief Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury called the Trinamool Congress supremo a "chameleon" and accused her of hankering after the prime minister's post. In a no-holds-barred attack on the West Bengal chief minister, Chowdhury alleged that Mamata Banerjee is acting like a "Trojan Horse" and trying to divide a "united opposition" by floating the idea of a federal front, and urged leaders of various parties not to trust her. "Her single objective is to be the prime minister of India. She is hankering after the post of prime minister. She is having a 'Devegowda-syndrome and Gujral-syndrome'," he said. Chowdhury also accused Mamata Banerjee of trying to "finish" and "eliminate" the Congress in West Bengal on one hand and seeking the party's support for the next Lok Sabha elections on the other. "She is nothing but a chameleon who is changing her colours. She is an unreliable, unpredictable politician and Congress and other leaders should not trust her at all," he told PTI. "Mamata Banerjee is a dictator and is now trying to project herself as a female monk. She is trying to eliminate the Congress in West Bengal by not allowing us to either vote or stand in elections and our leaders are put behind bars. It seems that doing politics in Bengal is a crime," he said adding "we are the victims of politics of elimination in the state". The PCC chief, who has been a staunch Mamata-baiter, said she is trying to extract as many seats as possible in Bengal so that she can stake her claim for the prime minister's post in the next Lok Sabha elections. Chowdhury said Mamata Banerjee is thinking that she will become the prime minister with the support of the other opposition parties and that is why she is declining to offer the Congress any seats in Bengal. He said at a time when Rahul Gandhi is talking of uniting the entire opposition, "Mamata Banerjee is trying to create a divide in the opposition ranks" by talking of a third front. "She is only trying to suit herself," he said. Accusing the West Bengal chief minister of adopting "double standards", the Congress leader said on one hand she is talking of 40 lakh people who were left out in Assam-NRC, on the other she is putting up barricades on the state borders. He also recalled how Mamata Banerjee moved an adjournment motion in Parliament in 2005 against illegal immigrants in Bengal and demanded she clarify her stand on the issue. Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday met leaders of various parties in the national capital including UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Congress president Rahul Gandhi as part of efforts to forge an anti-BJP front. "We discussed the political situation. We discussed how the opposition can together take on the BJP because it knows that it will not come back to power," she had said after the nearly 30-minute meeting with the Gandhis. Mamata Banerjee said she also discussed the NRC issue as 40 lakh people have not been included in it and "genuine voters have been kept out". You're a state employee who has legitimately used up all your allotted leave time - now where do you turn? In New Jersey, you turn to colleagues, who under state policy are permitted to donate some of their own unused days to help see you through the crunch. The longstanding arrangement has been a boon for workers who have exhausted not only their accrued sick and vacation time, but also their administrative leave. A bill working its way through the state Legislature would codify that policy into law, making it easier to donate days to a pregnant co-worker, for example, or someone who is grappling with an overwhelming health crisis. The beauty of the legislation, which cleared the Senate recently by a decisive 33-0 vote, is that in addition to supporting fellow employees, it also helps government workers build a sense of shared commitment and teamwork. Senate Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg (D-Bergen) is the primary sponsor. As the bill is crafted, state workers would be required to have at least one year of continuous service under their belts to qualify for donated leave. The recipient must be suffering from a catastrophic illness or injury, be providing long-term care for an ill or injured family member, or be in the process of donating an organ. Employees who fit these requirements could receive a total of 260 donated sick or vacation days, with no more than 30 of them coming from one worker. Anyone who has been disciplined for chronic absenteeism or lateness within the previous two years would not be eligible. For their part, donors must have at least 20 days of accrued sick leave and 12 days of accrued vacation left after their donation. This is designed to prevent the benefactor from being caught with no recourse if he or she becomes ill down the road. A welcome element in the legislation will benefit pregnant workers. Currently, an expectant mother is eligible to receive donated leave if she needs to be out of work for at least 60 days. Weinberg's bill reduces that number to 30 days. The outspoken advocate for women's health has been seeking for many years to transform the current policy, established as a rule by the state Civil Service Commission, into law. The political climate under Phil Murphy seems conducive to the move. The first-year governor has already signed bills regarding gender pay equity and sick-leave rules, while the Legislature also appears poised to adopt a broader and more expansive sick-leave policy. One word of caution, however, if and when the bill passes: An effective mechanism is needed to prevent workers from being pressured or even bullied into donating their sick days if they choose not to. Nothing would turn the whole idea of teamwork upside down faster. Bookmark NJ.com/Opinion. Follow on Twitter @NJ_Opinion and find NJ.com Opinion on Facebook. A cold, refreshing drink of iced tea allegedly turned into a horror scene for a Totowa woman who has filed a lawsuit saying she found a dead rodent in the bottom of her Arizona can. According to the suit, Samantha Corrado bought the drink at the CVS on Union Boulevard in Totowa on August 22, 2016, took it home and put it in her refrigerator. After the beverage got cold, she drank all of it -- then noticed that the can felt heavier than an empty can should, the suit says. When she looked inside, she saw the dead rodent and became ill, according to the lawsuit. The episode left Corrado with gastrological, psychiatric and psychological injuries, according to an 11-page lawsuit filed in Passaic County Superior Court last month. It names more than a dozen defendants, including the Arizona Beverage Company, Whitlock Packaging Corporation, and CVS. The rodent, the lawsuit alleges, entered the can either at the facility where it was produced, or at the Wharton bottling facility where it was filled with the drink by Whitlock Packaging. Whitlock Packaging is now owned by Refresco. A spokeswoman for Refresco said that the the company is investigating the incident. "We take seriously any allegation about the quality of a product that might've been produced in one of our facilities," said Kim Wawro, senior communications manager. "And we remain committed to the highest quality standards for all the products we manufacture." The lawsuit accuses the companies of six legal counts: product liability, negligence, gross negligence, willful and wanton misconduct, reckless misconduct, intentional misconduct and breach of contract. Corrado is demanding compensatory and punitive damages, interest and legal fees. Calls to her attorney were not returned. A spokesman for CVS, Mike DeAngelis, said the company is "not aware of any such incident as described in this suit's allegation." Arizona Beverage Company did not respond immediately to a request for comment. Allison Pries may be reached at apries@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @AllisonPries. Find NJ.com on Facebook. WASHINGTON -- Following President Donald Trump's much-derided meeting with Vladimir Putin, U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez and colleagues of both parties introduced legislation to impose new sanctions on Russia. The Defending American Security from Kremlin Aggression Act would require a two-thirds Senate vote to leave NATO; set up an Office of Cyberspace and the Digital Economy within the State Department to address cyberattacks; make it a crime to electronically target power plants, dams and other infrastructure. The bill also would allow the Justice Department to file charges for hacking voting system used in federal elections; and require title insurance companies to provide details on those buying high-priced residential real estate. "Vladimir Putin continues to pose a growing threat to our country and allies," said Menendez, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. "This bill is the next step in tightening the screws on the Kremlin and will bring to bear the full condemnation of the United States Congress so that Putin finally understands that the U.S. will not tolerate his behavior any longer." Congress overwhelmingly passed a Russian sanctions bill last year by veto-proof margins, forcing Trump to sign the measure, but the administration has not carried out several provisions, said Menendez, D-N.J. They included imposing sanctions on oil products and financial transactions, and restrictions on deals with Russia's intelligence and defense sectors. Besides Menendez, sponsors include Republicans Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Cory Gardner of Colorado and John McCain of Arizona, and Democrats Ben Cardin of Maryland and Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire. Menendez is one of several senators of both parties who have gone after Trump and administration aides following the president's closed-door meeting with Putin in Helsinski, Finland, on July 16. After the meeting, Trump appeared to side with Putin over his own intelligence agencies, which have concluded that Russia intervened in the 2016 U.S. presidential election on his behalf. Trump, standing alongside Putin, said: "I have great confidence in my intelligence people, but I will tell you that President Putin was extremely strong and powerful in his denial." A day later, he said, "I accept our intelligence community's conclusion that Russia's meddling in the 2016 election took place. Could be other people also; there's a lot of people out there." At a campaign-style rally in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, on Thursday, Trump insisted that he "had a great meeting with Putin" and rejected the findings of American intelligence when he said, "Russia is very unhappy that Trump won." Jonathan D. Salant may be reached at jsalant@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JDSalant or on Facebook. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook. State Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin said Friday he's not on board with the state Senate president's approach to stripping Gov. Phil Murphy of his sole constitutional power to certify state revenues. "For now ... we're not prepared the move the amendment," Couhglin said on WCTC 1450-AM with Bert Baron. State Senate President Stephen Sweeney wants to go to the voters this fall to ask them to support such a constitutional amendment, and he has bipartisan support in the Senate. Under the current system, the governor has final say over estimating how much money the state can expect to collect in any given year, and in turn, in estimating how much money the state has to spend. The governor's authority caused the Democrat-controlled New Jersey Legislature distress during this year's budget negotiations. Murphy, a Democrat, argued then that the Legislature's projections were too high and would force him to slash hundreds of millions of dollars in spending. Sweeney, D-Gloucester, would amend the state Constitution to turn over that power to a three-person panel to include the state treasurer, the finance officer in the nonpartisan Office of Legislative Services, and a third agreed-upon member. He's argued the practice of certifying state revenues has become overly politicized and manipulated by governors of both parties to serve their interests, and consensus certifications will "stop the gaming." Coughlin, D-Middlesex, confirming suspicions that the Assembly's own inaction signaled a lack of support from the speaker, said on 1450 AM that he has "not yet been convinced that doing it by constitutional amendment is the best way." He said he's not opposed to a system of consensus revenue estimating, he doesn't plan to schedule a vote on the amendment. He said on the radio show he'd like to look at alternative methods. "Personally, I am always a little concerned about amending the Constitution," Coughlin said. "I think that's something we should do sometimes. There are times to do that, but I think that's a weighty decision, and I'm not ready." Murphy's administration opposes the measure. His treasurer, Elizabeth Muoio, warned it would undercut the state's system of checks and balances. Samantha Marcus may be reached at smarcus@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @samanthamarcus. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook. WASHINGTON -- President Donald Trump arrived in Bedminster Thursday evening for what could be an almost two-week vacation from the nation's capital. Air Force One landed at Morristown Airport at 9:25 p.m., according to White House pool reports. His schedule for Friday includes no public activities. Trump's arrival followed a campaign-style rally in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, one of the states he carried when he won the presidency in 2016. Thank you Pennsylvania. I love you! https://t.co/qoswnBZb3f Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 3, 2018 The White House has not publicly disclosed how long Trump will be in Bedminster, though the Federal Aviation Administration issued a temporary flight restriction for the area through Aug. 13. Trump will depart temporarily on Saturday to attend another campaign-style rally, this one in Ohio in advance of next week's special election to fill a U.S. House seat. Looking forward to being in the Great State of Ohio on Saturday night where I will be campaigning hard for a truly talented future Congressman, @Troy_Balderson. See you all then! Tickets: https://t.co/8UOykaI8uf pic.twitter.com/jHdtAy5fgj Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 2, 2018 It is the second straight year Trump is spending part of August in New Jersey. Jonathan D. Salant may be reached at jsalant@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JDSalant or on Facebook. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook. Update: Michelle Ayala organizing a "nurse-in" at Franklin Pond in support of breastfeeding on Saturday, and will be bringing her daughter, Daisy. A mom of three is speaking out after a municipal employee called the cops because she was breastfeeding her 2 1/2-year-old daughter on a Franklin Borough beach. Michelle Ayala said the officer who responded to Franklin Pond on Tuesday sided with her, since New Jersey law permits breastfeeding in public, and politely thanked her before leaving. Michelle Ayala at the Franklin Pond beach in Franklin Borough, Sussex County (Photo by Rob Jennings / NJ Advance Media for NJ.com) Ayala, though, said the incident left her shaken. "I just think it's a normal, natural thing, nursing a child -- whether she's one, or 2, or newborn -- and I don't think it's offensive," said Ayala, 36, a Verona native who moved to Franklin Borough in 2013. The World Health Organization says that exclusive breastfeeding is recommended for up to 6 months of age, with continued breastfeeding along with appropriate complementary foods up to two years of age or beyond. Asked about the incident on Thursday, Franklin Borough's municipal attorney, John Ursin, said he views it as a "opportunity for education and counseling" about the law. "I think that a situation like this is a good reminder to all about the rights of a breastfeeding mother. I was glad that the Franklin police handled it well, reinforcing the breastfeeding mother's right to breastfeed where she needs to," Ursin said. Ayala said it was not her first time breastfeeding Daisy, her youngest child, at Franklin Pond, and that until Tuesday no one had objected. She said her two other children -- Sean, 8, and Michael, 7 -- were swimming when a borough employee working the concession stand asked her to "not nurse on the beach." Ayala said that, when she refused, the woman threatened to called the police -- and promptly did. The Franklin Police Department is in the same complex as the pond, and Ayala said an officer arrived in under 10 minutes. "At this point, Daisy was no longer nursing because of all the noise. She was playing in the sand," Ayala said. According to Ayala, the officer defended her legal right to breastfeed and sympathized with her situation. The employee did not return a phone call on Thursday and Franklin police did not provide a report on the incident. Ursin said that the employee had been responding to a complaint from someone else on the beach. At some point on Tuesday, Franklin Borough Administrator Alison McHose -- until 2015, a member of the N.J. Assembly -- got involved, first by talking with Ayala on the phone and later during a followup visit to the beach. Ayala said McHose declared her support for breastfeeding, but said she needed to do a better job covering up at the beach and that officials did have the right to remove her, depending on the circumstances. "She was trying to be friendly about it," Ayala said. McHose was not in her office on Thursday afternoon when a reporter visited the municipal building and did not respond to a request for comment. She did release a statement to the New Jersey Herald, saying, in part, "we regret the situation made any of the guests feel uncomfortable and are using this as an opportunity to remind all involved of a woman's right to breastfeed under New Jersey law." Franklin Councilwoman Dawn Fantasia said that additional guidance to municipal employees might be in order. "I think we can use this as a learning experience," said Fantasia, who won the Republican primary for Sussex County freeholder in June. "There are breastfeeding laws in place for a reason. Any female is entitled to breastfeed their child," Fantasia said. Rob Jennings may be reached at rjennings@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @RobJenningsNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook. A New Jersey National Guardsman charged with taking pictures up women's skirts at a Utah mall in June has been charged with doing the same thing at a Target in Union Township last week. Stephen Grogan, 41, of Branchville, was in Utah for military training when he was caught using his phone to take "upskirt" pictures of women at a shopping mall in Salt Lake City on June 9. A woman noticed him "kneel down beside her and put a camera under her skirt with the camera lens turned upward," Utah police said. One victim posted the man's picture on Facebook. Police tracked Grogan to a nearby military base and he confessed to taking pictures up "multiple girls'/women's skirts," Utah's Deseret News reported. And he admitted that he'd previously taken photos up female's skirts in New Jersey. Union Township police said Friday were unaware of what Grogan might have been referring to in his June statements to Utah police, but they arrested him July 27 after an incident at a Target on Route 22. Union police say they were called to the store at 11:45 a.m. last Friday, July 27 by a security officer who saw a man squatting near female shoppers with his phone in his hand. The man had left the store, but the security employee followed the suspect to the parking lot and described his car to Union police. Officer Dan Teleposky was heading to the store, driving west on Route 22 when he saw the car heading east and swung around and pulled Grogan over in a Walmart parking lot, police said. Teleposky's investigation led to Grogan's arrest on a felony charge of invasion of privacy. Police found the victim, a 24-year-old woman, still at Target. She was unaware she's been photographed, police said. Grogan, who Union police list with a Dingmans Ferry, Pennsylvania address, was later set free with an Aug. 13 court date in Union County Superior Court. Union Detective Ken Gruener continues to investigate Grogan's actions, police said. Kevin Shea may be reached at kshea@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @kevintshea. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Three people were injured early Friday morning in a one-vehicle crash in Washington Township, Warren County, township police report. The crash was reported at 1:56 a.m. after a northbound silver Nissan Versa sideswiped a utility pole on Changewater Road just past Asbury Anderson Road East, then went off the right side of the street and hit a tree before snapping a utility pole, according to police Lt. John Kaufmann and a witness account. Casey Guilfoyle, 18, of Lebanon Township, was behind the wheel and Pamela Hurst, 20, and Shelbie Hurst, 21, both of Washington, were her passengers, Kaufmann said. Guilfoyle and Shelbie Hurst were taken by the Washington Rescue Squad and Hunterdon Medical Center paramedics to Morristown Medical Center. Hampton Rescue Squad took the Pamela Hurst to Hackettstown Medical Center. A requested helicopter couldn't fly due to weather conditions, Kaufmann confirmed. The road was closed for five hours after the wreck and Warren County's crash investigation team was called in, Kaufmann said. Wires were down and JCP&L and Comcast responded, Kaufmann and the witness said. Township police continue to investigate and no citations have been issued, Kaufmann said. Police were also assisted by the township fire department and Lebanon Township police, Kaufmann said. Rich Maxwell contributed reporting for this post. Tony Rhodin may be reached at arhodin@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyRhodin. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook. Construction on American Song, one of two modern riverboats set to debut in New Orleans over the next year, is nearly complete. The 190-passenger riverboat owned by American Cruise Lines this week sailed from its outfitting basin at Chesapeake Shipbuilding in Salisbury, Maryland to the yard's outfitting bulkhead, where it will receive final touches, according to a news release. It will sail its inaugural Mississippi River cruise from New Orleans in October. American Song is one of two new, top-of-the-line riverboats being built by American Cruise Lines, both of which will launch in New Orleans. American Harmony, its sister ship, is currently under construction and will go into service on the Mississippi River in 2019. American Song will sail from New Orleans through the end of this year before it relocates to the Pacific Northwest in 2019. American Cruise Lines already offers Mississippi River cruises, though on traditional paddlewheel boats with updated equipment and interiors. American Song and American Harmony have a new design that eliminates the paddlewheel and adds luxury features, including new grand suites with 900 square feet of private space, large windows and a wraparound balcony. The boat's bow is designed to open, allowing a rotating and retractable gangway to extend from the boat. Of the boat's 102 staterooms, the grand suite is the most expensive, running more than $9,000 for a seven-night cruise from Memphis to New Orleans. American Cruise Lines' old-style paddlewheel boats will continue sailing from New Orleans as well. The company also plans to have two paddlewheel boats operating from New Orleans by October -- America, a 185-passenger boat, and Queen of the Mississippi, a 150-passenger boat. American Song's inaugural cruise departs New Orleans on Oct. 6. A Huntsville, Ala., police officer was indicted Friday (Aug. 3) on a murder charge in the fatal shooting of a 49-year-old man during a mental health call, AL.com reported. Officer William Darby was charged in the killing of Jeffrey Parker, who was suicidal and in possession of a gun when he called police on April 3. Three officers arrived and talked briefly with Parker at the scene, commanding him to drop the gun. Parker did not drop the gun and Darby shot him, AL.com reported, citing the Huntsville Police Department as its source. The department cleared Darby about a month after the incident, which was captured on body camera footage, AL.com reported. Although he was initially placed on administrative leave, Darby later returned to work. At a news conference on Friday, Huntsville police Chief Mark McMurray said Darby is "by no means a murderer." He also criticised the NDA government for taking this decision without holding any public discussion. New Delhi: Lok Sabha MP from Hyderabad and president of All India Majlis-e-Itteh-adul Muslimeen (AIMIM) Asaduddin Owaisi on Thursday gave a notice for moving an adjournment motion in the Lower Ho-use, claiming that the government was taking a hasty decision by agreeing to participate in the upc-oming 2+2 dialogue with the United States (US). Mr Owaisi, who wrote to Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan for moving the adjournment motion, alleged that the Centre was willingly relinquishing sovereignty to a foreign nation and compromising national security by agreeing to sign a Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement (COMCASA) with the US during the 2+2 dialogue. He further said that by sealing the deal with the Trump administration, the government will breach Indian laws and will also give US military access to Indian military communication systems and its data. The agreement allows unfettered American access into encrypted Indian military communication systems and sharing of that data with others. Moreover, it allows US inspectors to visit Indian bases physically and inspect the transferred equipment. Finally, the agreement supersedes Indian law and this is a blatant compromise of the nations sovereignty, the MP said in the letter to the Speaker. He also criticised the NDA government for taking this decision without holding any public discussion. It has to be noted that previous governments in the last fifteen years have refrained from signing this agreement, being aware of its implications. That this government has decided to sign such an agreement with massive national security and sovereignty issues without any public discussion or feedback is shocking, Mr Owaisi wrote. The motion was, however, not admitted by the Speaker. After putting up his hands to surrender to police and being read his rights, the man accused of shooting two people on Bourbon Street early Friday (July 27) told the arresting officer, "Ain't nobody gon run up on me," an apparent reference to one or both of the men New Orleans police say he had just shot. Booking documents for Aaron Hill, 26, also state Hill told the arresting officer, "F---, I hope that dude don't die," before NOPD transported Hill to NOPD's 8th District station for questioning. Hill later told the same officer he shot in self-defense. The NOPD summary of Hill's arrest says the statements he made to the arresting officer were captured on a detective's body-worn camera. Police responded to the shooting shortly before 5 a.m. near the intersection of Bourbon and Conti streets. One of the wounded men was shot seven times and was in critical condition on Friday, the NOPD documents state. The other man was struck once in the leg. Officers working a detail in the 900 block of Conti Street heard the gunshots and ran toward them, the document states, then saw a man, who they later learned was Hill, running past them. One of the detectives told him to stop, police say, but he kept running north on Conti. NOPD Detective Elliot Gray got out his vehicle and chased the man on foot and saw the man "clasping his waistband, holding an unknown object." Gray told Hill to raise his hands, but he refused, the report says, so Gray drew his service gun and commanded him to stop, "at which time the subject complied, stopped fleeing and raised his hands causing a firearm he was holding in his waistband to fall to the ground." Another officer handcuffed Hill while Gray "maintained his cover," before officers seized the gun. The Glock Model 27 had been reported stolen out of East Baton Rouge Parish, the NOPD document says. Top stories in New Orleans in your inbox Twice daily we'll send you the day's biggest headlines. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up NOPD arrested Hill on charges of two counts of aggravated battery, possession of a weapon by a convicted felon and illegal possession of a stolen firearm. He was on parole Friday at the time of his arrest for a previous conviction for felony possession of heroin and has a number of other convictions for drug-related offenses. While being placed in a police car to be transported, the document states, Hill told Gray the person he shot approached him with a gun, "and in defense of his life he shot at the victim first." The shooting was captured on surveillance video, the NOPD document states. The video shows Hill walking in the direction of the men who were shot before he "retrieves a firearm from his front waistband and begins firing, striking two victims." An Orleans Parish Magistrate Commissioner on Friday afternoon found probable cause to hold Hill on the charges and set his bond at a total of $210,000. The Orleans Public Defender's Office, which typically does not comment on open cases, was appointed to represent him. Friday's shooting was the first of two shootings in the French Quarter in less than a week. A man was shot dead early Thursday (Aug. 2) in the 200 block of Decatur Street. Police arrested James Nero, 21, in the homicide, which NOPD 8th District Cmmdr. Nicholas Gernon described as a "workplace dispute." The family of Jeremiah Lee gathered on a clear Thursday evening (Aug. 2) in Taylor Park, Lee's three young children wearing T-shirts emblazoned with their late father's nickname, "Zippa," one of his little girls smiling for a camera as she clasped a balloon. Dozens more of Lee's relatives -- his siblings, mother, grandmother, uncles, cousins -- his friends, and other supporters, many of them also wearing shirts bearing his name and grasping balloons, also collected in the park to celebrate Lee's life. "He was a good kid," Lee's uncle, Darryl Hill, said as he waited just outside of the park for his nephew's vigil to begin. "The publicity that got out on him was so bad. He has family, too." The 28-year-old Lee, also nicknamed "Jay," was gunned down Saturday night, one of three people killed in a mass shooting outside of a strip mall in the 3400 block of S. Claiborne Avenue, according to New Orleans police. Seven others were wounded in the gunfire and have since been released from the hospital. In the aftermath of the shooting, Lee's family has not only suffered the agony of losing a loved one to violence, but also grappled with the kind of media attention generated by a mass shooting -- and a public portrayal of their relative that is hurtful and, according to relatives, inaccurate. Investigators have described the mass shooting as "likely gang-related" and Lee as the man targeted by the two gunmen when they fired into the crowd. Lee's family has said the 28-year-old was not actively involved in any gang -- a statement echoed by other family members Thursday evening. Hill said the family chose Taylor Park as the setting for the vigil because Lee grew up in the area and family members have regularly gathered for years in Hill's home, formerly his parents' home, nearby. "He wasn't no gangster out here," Hill said. Top stories in New Orleans in your inbox Twice daily we'll send you the day's biggest headlines. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up Thursday evening, the Rev. Robert Brown with Ray Avenue Baptist Church urged the crowd to "praise God for every wonderful moment" with Lee instead of his violent end. "Let's not allow his life to be defined by this moment," Brown said to heavy applause. New Orleans City Councilman Jay H. Banks also decried the violence, stressing that no one deserves the kind of death inflicted Saturday night. "We've got to get past the point where we're having these kinds of events," Banks told the crowd. "None of this killing is good. There is no good killing, period. You can't say that somebody is more wrong than somebody else so it's okay for them to have been murdered like this. None of this is good." Banks, whose District B includes the area where the shooting occurred, implored those gathered to help stop the city's cycle of retaliation. "It is not worth the pain and the suffering that we're causing to each other," Banks pleaded. "I'm gonna ask y'all, please let this go. Whoever did this, turn yourself in--and whoever might be thinking of getting even, please let that go. This needs to stop." The shooting also killed Taiesha Watkins, 27, of Houston and Kurshaw Jackson, 38, of Central City. A New York City police union bought a full-page ad in the Friday (Aug. 3) edition of The Times-Picayune blasting Mayor Bill de Blasio for attending a political conference in New Orleans, while cops there continue to work without a contract. The New York Daily News reports that members of the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association will be in New Orleans to protest in person. The ad features a photo of de Blasio that has been edited to show him wearing a purple, green and gold jester's hat and laying on a pillow. "NYC police officers are 365 days OUT OF CONTRACT because Mayor De Blasio has checked out of running NYC and checked into a NEW ORLEANS hotel," the ad reads. "Mayor de Blasio ... WAKE UP & DO YOUR JOB! Pay NYC cops fairly NOW!" New York's mayor is in New Orleans for the Netroots Nation conference, a meeting of progressive-minded political figures. The conservative New York Post referred to the event as a "lefty gathering" in an editorial that points out de Blasio was able to use the trip to get out of jury duty. The police union also plans to put the ad image on mobile billboards that will circle near the Morial Convention Center, according to the Daily News. Read the complete New York Daily News story. Two Mandeville residents were booked on drug possession and child endangerment charges after authorities said they drove to Tangipahoa Parish with a 3-year-old child to purchase heroin. Christie Woodruff, 27, and Francisco Kellis, 24, are facing charges of cruelty to a juvenile, child desertion, illegal use of a controlled dangerous substance in the presence of a person under the age of 17 and child endangerment, the Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff's Office reported Friday (Aug. 3). The incident unfolded Wednesday night when deputies responded to an emergency medical call at Hoppin Harley's Gas Station on Louisiana 1065 in the Natalbany community. When deputies arrived, they discovered a woman, later identified as Woodruff, being treated for what appeared to be a drug overdose, according to the Sheriff's Office. Woodruff was transported to North Oaks Medical Center in Hammond while Kellis and Woodruff's 3-year-old child remained at the gas station. During an investigation, deputies learned that Woodruff and Kellis had traveled from Mandeville to Natalbany to purchase heroin, which they subsequently consumed in the presence of the child, who was in the back seat of their vehicle, the Sheriff's Office reported in a news release. Kellis was arrested at the scene and Woodruff was booked after being released from the hospital. The child, who was reported to be in good health, was turned over to family members, authorities said. With the clock ticking Tuesday toward a shutdown of the National Flood Insurance Program, several senators still had holds on legislation to extend the program. But Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy persuaded them to lift their holds and let the Senate vote. The extension passed overwhelmingly. The senators who had holds on the bill -- Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania, Mike Lee of Utah and Tom Cotton of Arkansas - still voted against the extension, along with nine others. But they didn't prevent the vote. And the NFIP has four more months of life. The extension will take us to Nov. 30, the end of hurricane season. That is a relief, but this cycle of short extensions is not healthy. This is the seventh time in the past year that Congress has extended the NFIP for a few months. The program has lapsed briefly during that time, but thankfully that didn't happen this week. Homeowners and businesses shouldn't have to worry about whether they depend on their coverage during a disaster. And there are thousands of home closings pending every month that need flood insurance for the sales to be finalized. Congress should be ashamed for leaving constituents hanging this way. The House passed a five-year extension for the NFIP last year that included changes to the way the program is run. But the Senate hasn't voted on that bill or on its own flood insurance reform bills. Pretty much everyone agrees that the NFIP, which has been running a deficit since Hurricane Katrina and the levee breaches did so much damage in 2005, needs to be strengthened. But there's no agreement on how to do that. Louisiana Sen. John Kennedy, a Republican from Madisonville, also sees a lack of interest in a long-term solution. "There's just not the sense of urgency that I think my colleagues should have," he said in May. "It's just very easy to roll the program over. There's just this tendency to say, 'I don't want to think about it now'." Sen. Kennedy is a cosponsor on a reform bill introduced last year by Sen. Bob Menendez, a New Jersey Democrat. That legislation would reauthorize the flood insurance program for six years. It would limit annual premium increases to 10 percent, increase investment in mitigation, improve mapping, cap compensation for companies that write flood premiums and redo the claims process. Sen. Cassidy and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, a New York Democrat, introduced legislation in June 2017 to extend the flood insurance program for 10 years. Their bill maintains grandfathered rates to protect policyholders who've followed FEMA's rules, adds private coverage options, increases funding for flood mitigation and includes high-tech mapping to better assess risk. Now that the extension has passed, Rep. Steve Scalise plans to bring together a group of House and Senate members in September to get agreement on a long-term extension. Congress has four months to do that before the program expires. Rep. Scalise laid out a list of what a reform package must include: affordable premiums, policies that encourage private insurers to offer coverage, better mapping and mitigation programs and a grandfather provision. The changes must be fair to policyholders and taxpayers. With all the bills circulating in the Senate, that shouldn't be hard to come up with. The 5 million people who count on the flood insurance program need a long-term renewal next time, not another four months. The exercise is as old as the Republic, but the first thing you need to understand about redistricting is that hot-water cornbread is as ubiquitous in north Louisiana as etouffee is in the south, says Rick Gallot, the Ruston Democratic representat Named in honor of native New Orleanian Louis "Satchmo" Armstrong, Satchmo Summerfest presented by Chevron got off to a strong start at its opening reception, Aug. 2 at the Omni Royal Orleans. The ballroom was full of festival fans, many of whom had come from the opening of the Professor Longhair Centennial Exhibition at the New Orleans Jazz Museum, where the three-day (Aug. 3-5) festival takes place offering seminars inside, while stages outside will feature New Orleans favorites such as Soul Rebels, Bonerama, Irma Thomas, Robin Barnes and the Fiyabirds, Jeremy Davenport, Ellis Marsalis, and Ashlin Parker Trumpet Mafia. It is these last two musicians, Marsalis and Parker, who along with the New Orleans Musicians' Clinic and Assistance Foundation's Bethany Bultman who were honored at the reception with the Spirit of Satchmo Awards due to their contributions to the music community. Before and after the awards ceremony presided over by Norman Robinson, John Boutte performed to an enthralled crowd who was ready to get their folding chairs or dancing shoes out for the festival - produced by French Quarter Festivals -- starting today (Friday). ******* To reach Sue Strachan, send an email to socialscene@nola.com or call 504.450.5904. Find her on Twitter and Instagram as @suestrachan504, with the hashtag #nolasocialscene. Visit her on Facebook. And, come back to NOLA.com/society for more New Orleans area event and party news and photos. HMD may be set to open up shop in the US, with the Finnish OEM said to be sending out ads for a number of job positions based in the US. This move may mean we get to see more of the company's high-value devices in the US soon. 4 Reviews , News , CPU , GPU , Articles , Columns , Other "or" search relation. 3D Printing , 5G , Accessory , AI , Alder Lake , AMD , Android , Apple , ARM , Audio , Business , Camera , Cannon Lake , Cezanne (Zen 3) , Charts , Chinese Tech , Chromebook , Coffee Lake , Comet Lake , Console , Convertible / 2-in-1 , Cryptocurrency , Cyberlaw , Deal , Desktop , E-Mobility , Exclusive , Fail , Foldable , Gadget , Galaxy Note , Galaxy S , Gamecheck , Gaming , Geforce , Google Pixel , GPU , How To , Human 2.0 , Ice Lake , Intel Evo / Project Athena , Internet of Things (IoT) , iOS , iPad Pro , iPhone , Jasper Lake , Lakefield , Laptop , Launch , Linux / Unix , Lucienne (Zen 2) , MacBook , Mini PC , Monitor , MSI , OnePlus , Opinion , Phablet , Radeon , Renoir , Review Snippet , Rocket Lake , Rumor , Ryzen (Zen) , Science , Security , Single-Board Computer (SBC) , Smart Home , Smartphone , Smartwatch , Software , Storage , Tablet , ThinkPad , Thunderbolt , Tiger Lake , Touchscreen , Ultrabook , Virtual Reality (VR) / Augmented Reality (AR) , Wearable , Windows , Workstation , XPS , Zen 3 (Vermeer) Ticker HMD released its first device over a year ago at the start of 2017. The company has grown in leaps in bounds since then, growing its market shares in various domestic markets to impressive extents. In spite of all this growth, HMD has yet to fully make a move into the US smartphone market. Until now, that is, as new word claims the Finnish OEM may finally be set to open up shop in the land of the free. According to the source report, HMD has listed job openings on its LinkedIn page for the positions of Product Lead, E-Commerce Lead, and Technical Account Manager, all of which are positions based in the US. Expressing his pride over the same, megastar Big B said, "Fashion just got fancier." The Bachchan family has flaunted designs of Monisha Jaising on several occasions in the past. (Twitter Screengrab/ SrBachchan) Mumbai: After trying her hands on acting, Sweta Nanda Bachchan is all set to add another feather to her hat, by bringing up her fashion line in collaboration with designer Monisha Jaising. Expressing his pride over the same, megastar Amitabh Bachchan said, "Fashion just got fancier." "'MxS' - luxury pret label; born from a partnership between two unique and creative minds, Monisha Jaising and Shweta Bachchan Nanda. Fashion just got fancier And a father filled with pride," Amitabh tweeted on Thursday. The Bachchan family has flaunted designs of Monisha Jaising on several occasions in the past. Earlier, Shweta made her screen debut alongside her megastar father in an advertisement for a jewellery brand. However, the ad was later withdrawn after legal action was threatened against them for portraying bank employees in a negative light. In the commercial, Big-B is seen visiting a bank with his daughter to return the extra amount of pension he received, where he is met with an unprofessional and non-cooperative employee, who suggest him to keep the additional amount. The advertisement series caused huge outrage among the banking community across the country, which accused the jewellery brand of creating a distrust among the public in the banking system. Meanwhile, the 75-year-old 'Piku' star is currently shooting for 'Brahmastra' alongside Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt. U.S. Steel. General Motors. AT&T. Exxon Mobil. Small potatoes. Apple on Thursday reached a milestone that these icons of capitalism never dreamed of: a market value of more than $1 trillion. That landmark is the result of an extraordinary corporate success story. In a span of just 21 years, a near-bankrupt computer maker evolved into the most valuable publicly traded company in the United States, pushing the tech industry away from big, bulky machines and producing some of the worlds most popular consumer products, like the iMac, the iPod and the iPhone. Apples products have reshaped swaths of everyday life. Apples new 13-figure valuation highlights how a group of enormous companies has come to dominate the United States economy. Today, a smaller cluster of American companies commands a larger share of total corporate profits than since at least the 1970s. The impact of this phenomenon has been clear in the stock markets, where a band of household-name companies led by Apple, Amazon, Facebook and Google has fueled the nine-year bull market, the second-longest behind the rally that ended in 2000. Their successes also are propelling the broader economy, which is on track for its fastest growth rate in a decade. The company had longstanding ties to leaders in both China and the United States. Its executives have struck business deals with former Gov. Jeb Bush of Florida as well as the family of the former Chinese prime minister Wen Jiabao, according to records obtained by The New York Times. But global regulators started to ask questions about its debt-fueled buying binge, as well as its ownership structure. Like other large Chinese conglomerates, HNA is a vast network of public and private companies, subsidiaries and affiliates under a single corporate umbrella. In the United States, regulators asked HNA about its links to the Chinese government, according to court documents. HNA has since reversed course, selling off billions of dollars in assets and restructuring its operations. The company also realigned its management team after the death of its co-chairman Wang Jian, who the company says fell off a wall in a tourist accident in the south of France in early July. Mr. Tan was recently named head of HNA International, a post formerly held by Mr. Wang, while Mr. Yang is stepping down as president of HNA Group North America with plans to leave the company. The problem with HNA is not that theyre a Chinese company. Its about transparency, said Derek Scissors, a scholar at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington. They say, Who is HNA? No one knows who owns this company. Submitting to Cfius After the election of Mr. Trump, Mr. Scaramucci started laying the groundwork to sell SkyBridge, a New York firm that invests clients money in hedge funds. Mr. Scaramucci, a former Goldman Sachs executive who had served as a Trump campaign adviser, was positioning himself for a role in the administration and wanted to be free of potential conflicts. In December 2016, he hired Greg Fleming, a respected investment banker, to find a buyer for the firm. Within weeks, Mr. Scaramucci said, there were four bids, although he wouldnt identify the other potential buyers or the price HNA agreed to pay. Jim Acosta, the square-jawed CNN correspondent, has stood out among the White House press corps for his impassioned on-air monologues about the importance of the First Amendment. During a tense White House briefing on Thursday, he challenged the press secretary, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, to disavow President Trumps description of journalists as the enemy of the people. Ms. Sanders declined to do so, saying she had been personally attacked in the media and had faced threats since starting her job. Opinions on the exchange varied. Many liberals praised Mr. Acosta for confronting Ms. Sanders, particularly after he had faced vitriol from Trump supporters at a Florida rally on Tuesday. Many conservatives knocked Mr. Acosta as a biased showboat. And some of his rival White House reporters rolled their eyes. Mr. Acosta, a CNN veteran, is used to it. Since last January, when the president-elect shouted him down at a news conference, Mr. Acosta, 47, has been a featured player in the Trump v. Media battle royale. The president, no fan of CNN, has called Mr. Acosta a real beauty and refused to take his questions last month during a session with reporters in Britain. For the second time in less than a year, Norman Seabrook, the former longtime president of New York Citys correction officers union, went on trial on federal corruption charges. And like Mr. Seabrooks first trial, which ended in a mistrial in November, this one may hinge on the credibility of the governments key witness, Jona S. Rechnitz a point that prosecutors and the defense harped on during their opening statements on Thursday. Mr. Rechnitz, a wealthy real estate scion, had helped to orchestrate a bribery scheme and testified against Mr. Seabrook. One juror in the first trial described Mr. Rechnitz, who pleaded guilty to a fraud conspiracy charge, as a straight-up liar. Margaret Lynaugh, one of Mr. Seabrooks lawyers, said in her opening statement that the case should be called Jona Rechnitz versus Norman Seabrook. INTERNATIONAL An article on Thursday about lobbying efforts by the Chinese telecommunications company ZTE misstated Senator Tom Cottons position on the easing of sanctions against the company. Mr. Cotton was a sponsor of a provision that would have restricted ZTEs ability to do business in the United States. He was not a strong voice in favor of easing the sanctions. The article also referred incorrectly to the circumstances surrounding a $2,000 campaign contribution to Representative Ed Royce during this election cycle. The firm made the contribution months before he said he would not seek re-election this fall; it is not the case that the firm made the donation recently in spite of his announcement. An article on Wednesday about Virgin Galactics new launch site in Italy misidentified the United States agency that oversees aviation. It is the Federal Aviation Administration, not the Federal Aviation Authority. NATIONAL An article on Monday about a $100 billion high-speed rail project in California misstated the surname of a professor of public policy at Stanford. He is Joe Nation, not Joe Nathan. BUSINESS DAY An article on Thursday about personalized text messages from political campaigns misspelled the surname of the communications director for Stacey Abrams, a Democrat running for governor of Georgia. She is Priyanka Mantha, not Matha. A 73-year-old Aurora, Colo., man who fatally shot a naked intruder who broke into his home, only to be killed by one of the police officers who responded, may not have heard orders to put down his gun because of a hearing impairment, the police said Thursday. Early Monday morning, Aurora police officers approached a home in the northern part of the city where they believed an intruder was trying to drown an 11-year-old child, Police Chief Nicholas Metz said at a news conference. Officers heard gunshots from inside the home, and as they stood by the front door, they saw Richard Black Jr., a resident of the home, with a gun in one hand and a flashlight in the other, he said. Mr. Black, known as Gary, did not obey at least five commands to drop his gun, Chief Metz said. As he walked toward them, an officer fired four times, fatally shooting Mr. Black. We dont know why, but for whatever reason, Mr. Black did not drop the gun, Chief Metz said. He said the family had told him that Mr. Black had a significant hearing impairment from his time in the military, and it was possible he may not have heard the officers orders. INTACH has profiled over a 100 heritage sites in this area, each of which offers a unique insight into the life of people. A walk around this village is like travelling back in time. Dotted with havelis and mansions with different architectural styles from Islamic and Rajasthani to Portuguese, Italian and Belgian, Garli, nestled in the Dhauladhar range in Himachal Pradeshs Kangra valley, is one of Indias most unusual villages. A treasure trove of heritage buildings, Garli was declared a heritage village along with its sister village Pragpur, in 2002. But it is only now that it is gaining renewed interest among people who are reaching here to have a dekko from far and beyond. Why, you may ask? Because a couple of residents here have converted their homes into tourists resorts. So unlike before when you didnt have a decent place to stay or eat even if you wanted to explore this place, you have nice hotels, like Naurang Yatri Niwas and Chateau Garli, offering all modern amenities amidst village environs. On an earlier trip to Palampur, I had heard about Garli and its heritage value but could never go there. Recently, when a friend told me about Chateau Garli, I decided Garli it would be this time. Before you get mistaken let me tell you, Chateau Garli is the ancestral home of Yatish Sud, constructed over a 100 years ago, in 1921, by his grandfather Lala Mela Ram Sud, which Yatish has converted into a boutique resort. Incidentally, Lala Mela Ram Sud is the same man who accompanied Mahatma Gandhi to the Viceregal Lodge in Simla for signing the Gandhi-Irwin pact. Yatish very proudly, and rightly so, tells us this, pointing to the picture of his grandfather, Mahatma Gandhi and Mahadev Desai coming out of the Viceregal Lodge (now the Indian Institute of Advanced Study) in Shimla after the Gandhi-Irwin Pact. The photograph adorns the wall of the reception room at Chateau Garli. Garli was, and it still is, dominated by the Sud clan from Rajasthan who came to Garli in the 19th century after travelling extensively across the world to establish a trading village and built homes in European styles. Since the Suds had travelled extensively during the British Raj, they were exposed to different cultures, and thats the reason you see such a rich mix of architectural styles. While most of the original residents have moved out, either for jobs or better living conditions, their houses remain. Most of the homes are in a dilapidated condition, abandoned by their owners, but each of these has an innate charm that draws you. The detailed woodwork, stunning facades and the clearly visible European influence in the architecture awes you. For those who want to study architecture, town planning, anthropology, culture and art, this place can offer many an insight. INTACH has profiled over a 100 heritage sites in this area, each of which offers a unique insight into the life of people. Though almost every house has a gabled roof and slate shingles, gothic windows, jharokhas, brick jaali work, huge arches and imposing doors, the elaborate woodwork is different in each. Perhaps the builders wanted to outdo each other in beauty. This shows our ancestors were very house proud, says Yatish. And these houses even have names like Santri Wali Kothi (because it has statues of two santris (guards) on the roof), Raeeso Wali Kothi (because of the opulent murals and Rajasthani motifs on the walls), Mystery House (nobody knows why) and Bhagwan Niwas (after the name of the owner). Garli is a small village, and two days are enough to explore its nooks and crannies, its allies and wooded areas. But that doesnt mean, this is all that there is. Making Garli as your boarding and lodging place, you can visit other heritage sites like Masrur Rock Temples and Kangra Fort. And if you are interested in Tibetan art and culture, you may visit Norbulingka Institute. The institute, with its lush green environs, is dedicated to preservation of the Tibetan culture in its literary and artistic forms. Kangra Fort Kangra Fort also called Nagarkot or Kot Its an hour and a half from Garli. The fort stands majestically on the top of a hill from where you can view the entire valley. Built by a Katoch king around 1500 BC, it is the largest and one of the oldest forts in the country, and stands at the confluence of two rivers Banganga and Manjhi. It was destroyed in 1905 quake that hit Kangra valley; only one intricately carved wall of the Laxmi Narayan temple within the complex escaped destruction. The fort is spread over an area of around four km and is guarded by high walls and ramparts. It has seven doors, and many stone-carved temples in the large courtyard. These include Ambika Devi temple, Shitlamata temple, Lakshmi Narayan temple and a Jain temple. Also a must visit is the Maharaja Sansar Chand Katoch Museum that tells the history of Kangra Fort. It is run by the royal family of Kangra and has scores of photos, artifacts and sculptures that tell the story of the times gone by. One main attraction of the fort are its 21 treasure wells, each 4m deep and 2.5m in circumference. History says Sultan of Ghazni looted eight wells. Locals say the rest of the treasure wells are full of riches, though there is no proof of that. The entry fee is Rs 150 for Indians and Rs 300 for foreigners. A leading Democratic legislator in New Hampshire was arrested on Thursday on charges of domestic violence and assault. The legislator, Jeff Woodburn, is the minority leader in the State Senate. He is up for re-election this fall, but officials on both sides of the aisle called for him to resign shortly after his arrest. Mr. Woodburn is accused of assaulting a woman by throwing a cup of water at her, striking her in the stomach and biting her hand and forearm, according to a news release from Gordon J. MacDonald, the states attorney general. Mr. Woodburn is also accused of entering the womans residence and damaging her property, and was charged with criminal mischief and criminal trespassing. The news release described the woman as an intimate partner. In an emailed statement, Mr. Woodburn said he intended to fight the charges in court. This afternoon, I learned that a warrant had been issued for my arrest, he said in the statement. I voluntarily responded to the police station, cooperated with law enforcement during the booking process, and was released. WASHINGTON The Commerce Department said on Thursday that it would proceed with tariffs on Canadian newsprint, a blow to an already-struggling American newspaper industry. The tariffs are somewhat lower than what the department initially imposed, offering publishers a small reprieve. The agency said it would cap the tariffs at 16.88 percent, down from 22 percent, and apply them to just one Canadian manufacturer, Catalyst Paper Company. But the Commerce Department said it would also impose tariffs of up to 9.81 percent on several Canadian paper companies to counter subsidies that those manufacturers receive from the government. While the tariffs are not as severe as many in the industry had feared, much of the damage has already been done. The higher tariffs went into effect in January, after the Commerce Department issued a preliminary decision siding with a paper company in Washington State, which accused Canadian manufacturers of unfairly benefiting from government subsidies that allowed them to sell newsprint at artificially low prices. In response, newspapers across the country, already struggling to maintain their bottom lines, have cut staff members and reduced their print offerings. The Tampa Bay Times and The Salt Lake Tribune have both blamed tariffs for layoffs. The Tampa Bay Times, which won two Pulitzer Prizes in 2016 for local and investigative reporting, laid off 50 employees directly as a result of the tariffs in April, its chairman and chief executive officer said in a statement. The Robesonian newspaper in Lumberton, N.C., said recently that it would no longer be able to print the Sunday comics. ALEXANDRIA, Va. A day after describing in detail how millions of dollars in payments from Ukrainian oligarchs enabled Paul Manafort to live in luxury through 2014, federal prosecutors outlined on Thursday how his financial fortunes reversed so sharply in subsequent years that he made his Manhattan condominium available on Airbnb. Witnesses for the prosecution in the fast-moving tax and fraud trial, which got underway on Tuesday, said Mr. Manafort, a former campaign chairman for President Trump, went from snapping up lizard- and ostrich-skin jackets worth at least $15,000 to skipping payments on more than $1.1 million in bills. His solution, they said, was to seek bank loans based on financial statements that falsely showed his debt-ridden political consultancy firm was awash in cash. The testimony fleshed out how Mr. Manaforts finances were altered by the loss of his main client, Viktor F. Yanukovych, the leader of Ukraine. Mr. Yanukovych was ousted from power in 2014 after a popular uprising and fled to Russia. Mr. Manafort, a veteran Republican operative and lobbyist, advised Mr. Yanukovych for a decade, earning tens of millions of dollars in fees. By 2016, when he re-entered American politics by joining Mr. Trumps campaign, his financial troubles had grown acute. I hope Im wrong. But I think well see attacks on campaigns in which the Russians in particular have already stolen information, said Eric Rosenbach, an intelligence veteran and cybersecurity expert at Harvard Universitys Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs. Nationally, the two major political parties stepped up security after the 2016 breach of computers at the Democratic National Committee and Hillary Clintons presidential campaign. Voting machines, often described as old, insecure and lacking a paper trail, are more secure than widely understood. Four in five Americans vote on machines that incorporate paper ballots or backups. Many state voter-registration databases also have been hardened against outside attack since 2016. While it is possible to hack voting devices to rig an election, experts say, intruding into enough of them to change the outcome would be extremely difficult. How are ballots being secured? Election officials and the Department of Homeland Security set up a council to coordinate the response to threats, and the department offers security scans, equipment and other services to election officials nationwide. Top state election officials are gaining security clearances to see and assess threats, and in February, all 50 states and more than 1,000 localities opened a center to exchange data. Virtually every state has taken steps to lock down its election processes. A public-private committee has also approved a new standard for voting equipment that will significantly improve security. More voting machines than ever have verifiable paper backups, and nearly all should have them by 2020, said David J. Becker, the director of the Center for Election Innovation and Research. States also are adopting more advanced auditing techniques for vote counts. What are intelligence agencies doing? The most important work the intelligence community has done, according to current and former officials, is to penetrate foreign networks and spy on Russian groups conducting the attacks. The agencies have also monitored networks in the United States to try to detect information campaigns as they begin. They are gathering intelligence, said Michael Sussmann, a former Justice Department official who is now a partner at Perkins Coie. They are trying to figure out what our adversaries are planning and what is being done. That includes penetrating foreign networks and other kinds of spying they do. And they are doing surveillance on U.S. networks to detect influence of all kinds. Tennessee Republicans chose Bill Lee, a wealthy businessman who has never served in elected office, as their nominee for governor on Thursday, spurning a conservative candidate who eagerly sought but only glancingly received the support of President Trumps White House. Mr. Lee prevailed in a field of six candidates, The Associated Press reported, after a primary campaign that collectively cost Republicans about $46 million and previewed an autumn of political turbulence. He will face Karl Dean, a former Nashville mayor who easily won the Democratic primary, in the race to succeed Gov. Bill Haslam, a term-limited Republican. Looking back, I never could have imagined that the road would lead here, Mr. Lee, appearing visibly surprised after a victory that followed a late surge in the polls, said Thursday night. Although Tennessee is a conservative state that Republican presidential nominees have carried since 2000, Democrats believe they have recruited their strongest candidates in more than a decade. Both parties are preparing to spend millions of dollars on the campaigns for governor and an open Senate seat. During the rally, supporters gleefully booed at every dig at the so-called fake news, laughing and jeering as Mr. Trump recalled conversations with his wife, Melania, about anticipating positive coverage, only to be disappointed by what he deemed to be critical headlines. They can make anything bad because they are the fake, fake disgusting news, the president said. And he was prepared to list his grievances. He interrupted a 10-minute recollection of his 2016 election night victory to complain that the news networks had intentionally delayed results, claiming that Pennsylvania had been deprived of its chance to take credit for clinching his Electoral College victory. He found fault with the coverage of his meeting with Kim Jong-un, the leader of North Korea, after which Mr. Trump claimed that the North had ceased nuclear testing and had finally returned the remains of American soldiers killed during the Korean War all thanks to his diplomacy, he said. (Despite his assurances, the country has continued testing, and it is unclear if and how the remains were properly identified.) He mocked criticism of his passive demeanor in his meeting with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia in Helsinki, Finland, telling the crowd that a good relationship with the Russian president was to be celebrated. (Thats a good thing folks, not a bad thing, he said to applause.) What came to be known simply as Turkish cymbals were assimilated by European orchestras and, in the first half of the 19th century, into new military and wind band styles that thoroughly integrated West and East. Meanwhile, the janissaries, having assassinated one too many sultans, were outlawed and executed in 1826 as were their mehter musicians. The Zildjians lost a significant portion of their market. Avedis II built a 25-foot schooner to transport the first cymbals physically bearing his familys name to London for the Great Exhibition, the first worlds fair, in 1851. His brother Kerope assumed the company helm in 1865, establishing a line of instruments named K Zildjian in several sizes and thicknesses that are still prized by percussionists today. Those old Ks which possess the sound of two gladiator swords meeting, in the words of Armand Zildjian, Craigies father can be heard in the Philadelphia, Cleveland and Metropolitan Opera orchestras, among others. Gregory Zuber, the Mets principal percussionist, said, Its a tradition thats been handed down from player to player and that can be heard in the tremendous, exposed crashes that heighten the drama of the 19th-century operas. In America other musical forms began to shape, and be shaped by, the cymbals evolution. Avedis III, a Boston candy maker who left Turkey before the Armenian genocide, was reluctant to take over the family business when it was thrust upon him by his uncle Aram in 1927. But he changed his mind after checking out the growing dance band scene: I saw the possibility that even if there wasnt a market we could create one, he recalled in a 1975 interview with The Armenian Reporter. According to Jon Cohans book Zildjian: A History of the Legendary Cymbal Makers, drum shops and catalogs in the 1920s were likely to carry only so-called Oriental cymbals, American ones made of brass and nickel silver, and the weighty Ks from Constantinople. Avedis III sought out swing drummers, like Gene Krupa, and learned that they preferred Turkish cymbals but wanted them to be thinner and more responsive paper thin, as Krupa put it. Its really just a show about 20-somethings, living in the world right now, she added. In a joint phone interview from the shows Montreal set, Ms. Dee, 24, Ms. Fahy, 28, and Ms. Stevens, 25, took a break from production on Season 3 of The Bold Type to reflect on the shows depiction of female friendship, the relevance of womens magazines and the challenges they and their characters share. These are edited excerpts from the conversation. What are the shows goals, when it comes to presenting female friend groups? KATIE STEVENS: I think that we just show women supporting each other, and thats been always very true of my friendships. I just think its great for young girls to see girls uplifting each other, rather than tearing each other down. MEGHANN FAHY: Yeah, I agree with Katie. [Such conflict] makes for really good drama, which I think is why we see that a lot in TV and film. But I think whats interesting about The Bold Type is that we have good people on the show, and so the drama doesnt really exist between them. It exists around them. AISHA DEE: Also, we need to support each other to keep fighting the patriarchy, like theres no way to do it on your own. You need the help of your friends to get through it, so I hope that people watching are also kind of inspired to be their own advocate and be their friends advocates. What does the magazines fashion closet, where the girls gather to give each other advice, represent? AMSTERDAM Astrid Holleeder is a household name here in the Netherlands. If youve never heard of her, thats about to change. Ms. Holleeders memoir, Judas: How a Sisters Testimony Brought Down a Criminal Mastermind, will be released in the United States and Britain this month. It tells the story of her life as an unwilling confidante to her brother, Willem Holleeder, a notorious Dutch crime boss, with flashbacks to their childhood in a home with an alcoholic and abusive father. The book opens in 1996, when her brother-in-law, Cor van Hout, was shot several times in an attempted murder, while her sister, Sonja, and their 2-year-old son, Richie, were in the car. They all survived, but Mr. van Hout was murdered in 2003, gunned down while standing outside a Chinese restaurant. As the story unfolds, it becomes clear to Ms. Holleeder that her brother, Willem, whom she calls Wim, ordered the hit. She is roiled by emotion as she comes to this understanding, especially because their sister and nephew were in the car. Mr. van Hout was Wims best childhood friend, and his co-conspirator in the 1983 kidnapping of the Dutch beer millionaire Freddy Heineken and his driver, for which they were both sentenced to 11 years in prison. Subscribe: iTunes | Google Play Music | How to Listen While reporting for her new book, Dopesick: Dealers, Doctors, and the Drug Company That Addicted America, Beth Macy saw the dramatic toll of the opioid crisis up close and personal. You had farmers, coal miners, 75-year-old grandfathers selling everything they had, she says on this weeks podcast. Weve lost 300,000 people in the last 15 years to drug overdose deaths. Were going to lose that many in the next five. And theres been little urgency from the federal level. Image Also on this weeks episode, Lovia Gyarkye talks about Chibundu Onuzos Welcome to Lagos; Jennifer Schuessler discusses a controversy in the world of poetry; Alexandra Alter has news from the publishing world; and Gregory Cowles, Tina Jordan and John Williams talk about what people are reading. Here are the books discussed in this weeks What Were Reading: Ninety-Nine Glimpses of Princess Margaret by Craig Brown We would love to hear your thoughts about this episode, and about the Book Reviews podcast in general. You can send them to books@nytimes.com. The 22-yr-old accused, who wanted to surprise his girlfriend on her birthday, was nabbed by the police using his call data record. The stolen Rado watch and a motorcycle used in commission of the crime was recovered from him, officials said. (Representational image) New Delhi: A 22-year-old man was arrested for allegedly stealing a branded watch worth Rs 90,000 to gift his girlfriend, police said on Friday. The accused, identified as Vaibhav Khurana, is a BTech graduate and works as a supervisor at a hotel in Gurugram, they added. The stolen Rado watch and a motorcycle used in commission of the crime was recovered from him, officials said. On July 23, a complainant informed the police that an unknown customer had booked a ladies Rado watch worth Rs 90,000, which was available for Rs 67,000 after discount, using a mobile phone. The complainant, a delivery executive, alleged that when he reached gate no.3 of the Kashmiri Gate Metro Station to deliver the consignment, he met the alleged customer who then took him on his motorcycle on the pretext of paying him, Deputy Commissioner of Police Nupur Prasad said. On reaching an apartment in north Delhi's Civil Lines area, the accused tricked him into going up to the door and ringing the doorbell, while he managed to flee from the spot on the motorcycle with the complainant's bag containing the watch, he said. During investigation, ownership and call record details of the mobile number which was used to book the watch was scanned and the number was found to be registered to Virender Nath. On interrogating Nath, police found out that he was not using the number anymore. While examining the call detail records, it was learnt that a woman frequently placed calls to the number. On quizzing her, police came to know that the number was being used by her boyfriend Vaibhav Khurana, Prasad added. Subsequently, Khurana was arrested. During investigation, the accused disclosed to police that he wanted to give a surprise gift to his girlfriend so he hatched the conspiracy to steal the watch, she said. Who does what? Readers usually wonder about the mechanics of smoothly successful collaborations like that of Jonathan Kellerman and his son, Jesse. There are no psychologically wounded children in A MEASURE OF DARKNESS (Ballantine, $28.99), which would tip us to the hand of Kellerman pere. But a loving exchange between a college student and his grandmother (a homemade coconut cake as a reward for a quick visit) suggests a more youthful sensibility. As for the keen sense of drama, it must be a genetic trait. Clay Edison, an Oakland, Calif., coroners investigator, makes a point of performing his sleuthing duties with patience and diplomacy. Sensitive to both the living and the dead, hes gentle as he lifts the body of a transvestite dressed as an angel onto a gurney, noting that she felt like nothing, like the body of a bird, hollow bones and down. Her death was the result of a party that got way too wild and claimed six casualties, one of whom is found in a shed by the meat people, as the coroners crew refer to themselves. This Jane Doe really gets to Edison, who shudders at the sadness of dying alone and unknown. Unlike most crime writers (not to mention most of their readers), who revel in the bloody aftermath of a violent encounter, the Kellermans show compassion for the survivors, including conscientious officials like Edison. Deep down, we know were powerless, he admits. All of us, however, would like to imagine that were contributing in some small way to keeping the world orderly. Then comes along a stark reminder to the contrary. Edison makes it his business to identify Jane Doe, find her killer and restore the dignity shes been denied. Explore the New York Times Book Review Want to keep up with the latest and greatest in books? This is a good place to start. Learn what you should be reading this fall: Our collection of reviews on books coming out this season includes biographies, novels, memoirs and more. See whats new in October: Among this months new titles are novels by Jonathan Franzen, a history of Black cinema and a biography by Katie Couric. Nominate a book: The New York Times Book Review has just turned 125. That got us wondering: What is the best book that was published during that time? Listen to our podcast: Featuring conversations with leading figures in the literary world, from Colson Whitehead to Leila Slimani, the Book Review Podcast helps you delve deeper into your favorite books. The mans got his flaws. (A silk scarf decorated with a pattern of human skulls might not have been such a great birthday present for his wife.) But hes got heart, caring not only for the lonely dead but for the cops, their living advocates: I knew what it was like to live with victims to have them take up residence in your head, nameless, insistent; to carry on a conversation no one else can hear. Except us. CITY OF DEVILS The Two Men Who Ruled the Underworld of Old Shanghai By Paul French 299 pp. Picador. $28 Shanghai in the 1930s. Anyone familiar with detective novels or noir cinema knows exactly what that phrase means: smoke-filled nightclubs, back-alley gambling houses and dark, seedy opium dens, all frequented by a motley assortment of Chinese mobsters, White Russian emigres, fugitive criminals of all nations and at least one gorgeous femme fatale with a past. Designated an international treaty port after the 19th-century Opium Wars, Shanghai eventually became a kind of global melting pot of the Seven Deadly Sins what one writer called a tawdry city of refugees and rackets largely controlled by foreigners determined to fleece the town of every copper yuan or Mexican silver dollar it could yield. By the 1930s, Shanghai was the fifth-largest city in the world and, to hear some tell it, a corrupt and drug-addled place like no other. Image Just how much of this notorious reputation is historical fact and how much is Hollywood (or neocolonialist) fantasy is hard to say, and City of Devils, Paul Frenchs new narrative history of the city, is not likely to clear matters up. Though the book shows signs of being exhaustively researched, much of the material, by the authors own admission, has been freely embroidered. City of Devils is based on real people and real events, French writes in his preface, but because of the sub rosa nature of the episodes described, assumptions have been made. Translation: Details have been invented. Even reproductions of newspaper articles have been punched up with one or two minor additions in the interest of advancing the narrative. And since French includes no endnotes or even a list of sources, its impossible to know just where the facts end and the folklore begins. METAMORPHICA By Zachary Mason 282 pp. Farrar, Straus & Giroux. $26. We are living in an age of great cultural interest in ancient myths, including TV dramas (Troy: Fall of a City), literary retellings (Neil Gaimans compelling Norse Mythology), novels that reinvent myth in a modern context (Kamila Shamsies brilliant Home Fire) and novels set in the classical past (Madeline Millers moving Circe). In times of sweeping change, myths provide a way of thinking about big questions like transformation, power, agency and responsibility, and these ancient stories have the great advantage, in a polarized, partisan age, of being ecumenical: They belong to none of us, and to us all. For Zachary Mason, a computer scientist as well as the author of three works of fiction, ancient myth is an opportunity to explore the emptiness of life and the infinite variety of narrative. His 2010 book, The Lost Books of the Odyssey, was a sequence of cleverly Borgesian short stories that imagined variations within the framework of the Homeric poem. The title of his new work, Metamorphica, nods to Ovids Metamorphoses, and Ovid bookends the collection. In the first story Ovid begs to trade anything, everything for literary immortality. The final piece returns to Ovid, now in exile on the Black Sea, writing a letter to Emperor Augustus to plead for a repeal of his sentence. The letter gets soiled, slashed, mildewed and translated into multiple languages, until the false and worthless letters are as numerous as the grains of sand in a desert. None reach within even a thousand miles of Rome, where, in any case, the emperor would probably not open them. The piece is a fable about bad postal service and the difficulties of communicating before email and video chat. But it also offers one of many variations on Masons central theme: Where we may expect to find meaning, there is none. The lesson can feel profound or sophomoric, depending on how much patience you have for this kind of thing. Image Mason takes the memorable female characters of classical myth goddesses, prophets, rape victims, noble heroines, killers of family members, witches, Amazons, adulteresses and athletes and turns them into ciphers. He reduces the number of rapes; Persephone, Daphne and Thetis, for example, are willing participants in their liaisons. But he also reduces female agency to more or less nothing. Helen is a phantom, alienated from her own story. Daphne is not an emblem of poetic inspiration, but an ordinarily pretty girl, replicated throughout eternity as an endless sequence of equally ordinary pretty girls. Eurydice, the beloved of Orpheus, is less a lover than a trope of literature. Clytemnestras triumphant slaughter of her daughter-killing husband fades into nothing. Athena, a terrifying military goddess, becomes a needy girl with a crush on Odysseus. A Muslim woman can have a British court dissolve her religious marriage even if the union was not registered with the civil authorities, a judge said, in a ruling with potential implications for the rights of thousands of women. [The New York Times] Swedens highest peak lost its title after a week of record heat. A month ago, the southern peak on the Kebnekaise mountain soared to 2,101 meters, or 6,893 feet, above sea level. By Tuesday, it had dropped to 2,097 meters. [The New York Times] An Ernest Hemingway story is in print for the first time. In 1956, Hemingway wrote five short stories about World War II, only one of which had been published until now. [The New York Times] Extreme heat is expected for large parts of Southern and Western Europe this weekend, with temperatures in Spain expected to reach up to 48 degrees Celsius, or 118 Fahrenheit. [The Guardian] Archaeologists in Cologne, Germany, have discovered the foundations of the oldest known library in the country, dating to A.D. 2. It probably housed as many as 20,000 scrolls. [BBC] Smarter Living Tips for a more fulfilling life. A grand jury has indicted a chemical manufacturer and two of its leaders, saying they were responsible for a plant in Texas recklessly releasing a toxic cloud during Hurricane Harvey last year, officials said Friday. The company, Arkema North America, its chief executive, Richard Rowe, and the manager of its plant in Crosby, Tex., Leslie Comardelle, were indicted, according to a statement from Kim Ogg, the district attorney in Harris County. The indictment charged that they all had a role in the chemical release, which risked serious harm to residents and emergency responders, the statement said. Prosecutors maintain the release was preventable. Chemicals at the plant had to be kept frozen to avoid bursting into flames, but temperatures increased after floodwaters knocked out power. As a result, the chemicals exploded on Aug. 31 and Sept. 1, 2017. Beijing did not really have the option of responding dollar for dollar because China simply does not buy that much from the United States. China sells goods each year to the United States worth nearly four times as much as it buys. But Chinese officials have suggested in recent weeks that if the United States proceeds with tariffs on a very wide range of Chinese goods, then Beijing may also retaliate against the Chinese-owned operations of big American companies. From Apple to General Motors, a long list of large American enterprises have transferred extensive operations to China and could be vulnerable to any response from Beijing. The iPhones, Chevrolets and other products manufactured and sold in China by American companies are mostly designed in the United States, and the Trump administration has declared various Chinese industries to be threatening American national security, illegally copying foreign intellectual property or causing widespread job losses in the United States. China has denied violating international trade norms. Chinas latest threat on trade came at the end of a day during which Beijing also allowed its currency, the renminbi, to slide further against the dollar in foreign exchange markets. The currency is allowed to trade in a daily range set by the central bank. Chinas central bank has now let the currency slip almost 9 percent since mid-April, when it took less than 6.3 renminbi to buy a dollar. A weaker renminbi makes Chinese exports more competitive in foreign markets, while making imported goods more expensive within China. Government advisers and analysts have said that the government is not deliberately driving the currency down against the dollar to derive a trade advantage, but is being led instead by traders in currency markets, who are increasingly worried about Chinas slowing economy and huge debt burden. By adding the option of 25 percent tariffs, however, the Trump administration would have an extra weapon in case the renminbi falls further and gives Chinese exporters an added advantage. Good Friday morning. Want this in your inbox every morning? Sign up here. Apple is worth $1 trillion. Its not all good news. In 1997, Apple was on the verge of bankruptcy. On Thursday, it became the first publicly traded American company to be worth more than $1 trillion. (Heres animated context for the number.) Jack Niclas of the NYT explains how the ascent was driven by rapid innovation, a series of smash-hit products and the creation of a sophisticated, globe-spanning supply chain that keeps costs down while producing enormous volumes of cutting-edge devices. Tim Cook, the companys C.E.O., called it a significant milestone, but not the most important measure of success. But Shira Ovide of Bloomberg Opinion argues that slowing iPhone sales growth and shrinking margins could mean Apples value is overblown. Changes are giving Apple a fundamentally different financial look, she writes, and investors havent yet been forced to confront how much this altered Apple should be worth. Smart donors have been playing timing games with the charitable deduction for a long time, said Roger Colinvaux, a tax professor at the Catholic University of Americas Columbus School of Law. In this case, he potentially gets a very large deduction and gives nothing away. Thats a disturbing public policy issue. On Reddit, Mr. Woodman suggested that his wealth was reaching charities: The Foundation has gone on to fund causes supporting women and children and will continue to do so!!!! Just how much money has gone to which organizations, of course, remains a mystery. Wall Street Fees When it comes to D.A.F.s, the United States tax code rewards the promise of good intentions. Wealthy donors including many of the Silicon Valley billionaires who have asked the public to trust them with their digital lives pledge to distribute their funds to charity once they get their tax break. But in the absence of rules requiring donors to give their money away, it is hard to know what public good comes in exchange for those lucrative write-offs. Skeptics see a system ripe for abuse. Donors might wait years to engage in meaningful philanthropic activity, or decide to simply leave the fund for their children to manage. Weve put this rule in place that says you get maximum tax benefits when you make a donation, said Ray Madoff, a professor at the Boston College Law School and a vocal critic of donor-advised funds. But you dont have to do anything with it. Ms. Norley of Fidelity Charitable argues that on balance, account holders are generous. At her organization, roughly a quarter of the assets held in D.A.F.s have been distributed to nonprofits in each of the past two years. Other sponsor organizations report similar distribution rates. Yet such statistics can be skewed. In many instances, these figures include transfers from one D.A.F. to another. In the most recent fiscal year, for instance, Vanguard Charitable sent more than $15 million from its D.A.F.s to Fidelity Charitable. Sponsor organizations say this is simply a matter of wealthy donors adjusting their accounts. But it also creates the illusion of meaningful philanthropic activity where there is none. The Securities and Exchange Commission has ended an investigation into Exxon Mobils policy of not writing down the value of its oil reserves to account for the risk that future climate change regulations might pose to the company. The commission informed Exxon of its decision in a letter on Thursday, saying that it did not intend to pursue enforcement action against the company at this time. The inquiry, which began in January 2016, focused on how Exxon calculated the potential costs of complying with regulations meant to limit greenhouse gas emissions. Such regulations could force fossil fuel companies to keep oil, natural gas and coal in the ground. Scott Silvestri, an Exxon spokesman, said in a statement that the company had cooperated fully with the investigation, producing more than 4.2 million pages of documents. Mr. Silvestri reiterated the companys position that its handling of the information at issue was appropriate. In 1983, Ms. Greenfield matriculated at Harvard, where her parents had studied, and where she encountered both Mr. Evers and a student body of immense privilege. While traveling around the world her junior year, studying film and anthropology, Ms. Greenfield met the pioneering French photographer Jean Rouch, who is credited with helping invent the style known as cinema verite, and after returning to Cambridge she changed her major to visual studies. Ms. Greenfield then trained under Barbara Norfleet, who in the mid-1980s released All the Right People, a book of reportage photography focusing on East Coast elites. At the time, such creatures would mostly appear in staged portraits or respectfully edited party pictures, but Ms. Norfleet wanted to capture them and their rituals in the wild. I realized the rich were, in many ways, this undercover group, Ms. Greenfield said. Thats hugely important, because they have so much influence. Encouraged by Mr. Evers, who had been hired at Columbia Pictures, Ms. Greenfield applied to film schools a few years after graduation, but she wasnt admitted anywhere. She concentrated on still photography, earning assignments with National Geographic. Her first project, about a Mayan tribe in Mexico that her mother was studying, was spiked. But after rereading Less Than Zero, Bret Easton Elliss 1985 novel of California excess, she pursued an idea about her own native culture: a portfolio chronicling Crossroads and other deluxe schools, where students attended five-figure bar mitzvahs, drove Range Rovers and cavorted with celebrity progeny like Kate Hudson. Ms. Greenfield turned the resulting images into her first monograph, Fast Forward, which earned her gallery representation and the attention of magazine photo editors. She traveled to the wealthy suburb of Edina, Minn., to record popular cliques enamored with Abercrombie & Fitch; and to Milan, where white teenage boys had co-opted the bandannas, baggy jeans and aesthetics of American gang culture. One fellow photographer told Ms. Greenfield that she ran the risk of pigeonholing herself, but she ultimately decided to keep peeling back that onion, she said. Her pictures, relying on candy colors, awkward compositions and voyeuristic access, synced with the work of other rising photographers in the 1990s, including David LaChapelle and, a bit later on, Ryan McGinley. They also drew the attention of Sheila Nevins, the former HBO documentary president. In 2002, she hired Ms. Greenfield to make her first feature-length film, Thin, an unrelenting account of four patients at an eating-disorder treatment center in Coconut Creek, Fla. To call any of Ms. Greenfields portrayals flattering would be inaccurate. (Ms. Siegels husband sued the director for defamation after the The Queen of Versailles was released, but the director won $750,000 in legal fees after an arbitrator ruled that everything in the film was true.) And she seems to have a knack for convincing people to be radically, unappealingly honest. Her subjects must find that cathartic. Many have agreed to sit with her repeatedly over the years, including for Generation Wealth, and Ms. Greenfield has stayed close with several of them, even those shes captured in harsh light. A speeding truck rammed into a Kanwar camp in northeast Delhi's Nand Nagri and ran over the man. The camp was empty and there were no other person was injured. (Representational image) New Delhi: A security guard was killed after a truck rammed into a Kanwar camp in northeast Delhi's Nand Nagri on Thursday morning, the police said. The deceased was identified as Avdhesh Kumar Mishra who worked as a security guard at a camp. On Thursday morning, a speeding truck rammed into the camp and ran over Mishra, they added. The camp was empty and there were no other person was injured. Mishra was rushed to a hospital where he was declared brought dead. The accused driver was arrested and the truck seized. Local state and municipal governments are also adopting financial incentives to entice workers to move or return to their rural roots. Colorado Jump Start is a state-run program that waives income taxes for those who relocate to rural areas of the state for four years. Businesses that locate in distressed areas can obtain relief from a range of state and local taxes for up to four years. Kansas has a two-pronged approach. It has declared 77 counties as rural opportunity zones, and workers relocating to any of those areas may qualify for help with student loan repayment up to $15,000 or may be eligible for a state income tax waiver up to five years. Vermont recently enacted legislation to pay up to $10,000 for those relocating to the state who work remotely for companies based elsewhere. Longer term, both private companies and state and local governments are focusing on training, whether on site or by partnering with local secondary schools as well as nearby colleges. Determining that curriculum can be difficult, said Christopher Chung, the chief executive of the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina. Industry often evolves faster than education providers. As a result, theres always a lag in what industry needs and what the education system is cranking out, he said. Theres also the risk that the training is too general for a skilled pool, John Molinaro, the chief executive of the Appalachian Partnership for Economic Growth, based in Ohio, said. He advocates for so-called upskilling where current employees are trained to take on more sophisticated work. For students, the training can be high tech. In Campbell County, Tenn., for example, students don technical gear and use tools to learn welding skills with a twist: Their initial introduction is through a virtual reality computer program, said the deputy mayor, Andy Wallace. Companies are also taking chances on candidates who lack experience. Several years ago, Sheldon Burslie, now 28, moved away from his Twin Cities roots with his young family. Although he had neither a college degree nor a manufacturing background, Alexandria Industries hired him and provided technical, as well as leadership, training. Six years in, he has been promoted and plans to stay until I retire. Environmental and conservation groups, which have fought to preserve the 19-million-acre refuge for decades, say that seismic testing, not to mention eventual drilling and production of oil and gas, could irreversibly alter the 1002 Area and potentially affect the habitat and behavior of caribou, polar bears and other animals there. Theres not a lot in here that you can look at and feel good about, said Kristen Miller, conservation director of the Alaska Wilderness League, referring to a plan for testing in the 1002 Area put forth this year by a s eismic services company, SAExploration, and two Alaska native corporations. That plan proposes that testing begin this winter, when ice and snow provide some protection to the tundra, and resume, if necessary, the following winter. In addition to special trucks that vibrate the ground, the effort would include movable fuel tanks as well as housing and other facilities for two crews of 160 workers each. In the plan, the company said it and its partners were dedicated to minimizing the effect of our operations on the environment. By producing three-dimensional images of the subsurface, the testing would help oil companies determine whether there are enough reserves to make it worth buying leases to drill in the area. The plan drew criticism from the United States Fish and Wildlife Service when it was first put forth in May. But another agency of the Interior Department, the Bureau of Land Management, will review the plan and decide whether to allow testing. Lesli Ellis-Wouters, a bureau spokeswoman, said that SAExploration had been asked to provide more information. The approval process includes conducting an environmental assessment, a less-thorough appraisal than an environmental impact statement, or E.I.S., although the bureau can require an E.I.S. later if the initial review finds the work could result in significant impacts. WASHINGTON President Trumps proposal this week to weaken fuel-efficiency standards for cars and light trucks could be his most consequential climate-policy rollback yet, increasing greenhouse gas emissions in the United States by an amount greater than many midsize countries put out in a year. Assuming the plan is finalized and survives legal challenges, Americas cars and trucks would emit an extra 321 million to 931 million metric tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere between now and 2035 as a result of the weaker rules, according to an analysis by the research firm Rhodium Group. A separate estimate by the think tank Energy Innovation pegged the number even higher, at 1.25 billion metric tons. To put that in context, the extra pollution in 2035 alone would be more than the current annual emissions from countries like Austria, Bangladesh or Greece, the Rhodium Group analysis found. How big a deal is that for global warming? The Trump administration claims it is negligible. By 2100, officials argued in their proposal, concentrations of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere would only be 0.65 parts per million higher under the rollback than they would be if the stricter Obama-era rules had stayed in place. (Current levels in the atmosphere are around 410 parts per million.) Kristin Davis, a Manhattan woman renowned for running a high-end New York City escort service a decade ago, met on Wednesday with investigators from the office of the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, according to two people familiar with the matter. Ms. Davis, who was known for years in New York Citys tabloids as the Manhattan Madam, told The New York Times last month that she was contacted in late July by Mr. Muellers office, which was seeking to serve her a subpoena as part of its investigation into ties between Russia and President Trumps campaign. Ms. Davis said at the time that she had no idea what Mr. Muellers team wanted to know from her, insisting she did not believe it was related to her former prostitution business. The subject of her interview this week with the special counsels office remained unclear, but one possible line of inquiry was her long association with Roger J. Stone Jr., a veteran political consultant and Trump adviser who has become a focal point for Mr. Muellers investigators. Mr. Stone, a self-described dirty trickster with a career in politics reaching back to the Nixon administration, was in contact with Guccifer 2.0, an online figure that Mr. Muellers team has said was controlled by Russian military intelligence officers. Guccifer 2.0 was instrumental in helping WikiLeaks distribute stolen emails and other internal political documents that proved damaging to Hillary Clintons presidential bid and to the Democratic Party. Kristin Davis is a longtime friend and associate of mine, Mr. Stone said in a statement issued Friday afternoon. She knows nothing about alleged Russian collusion, WikiLeaks or any other impropriety related to the 2016 election, which I thought was the subject of this probe. Nearly 600 children remain in government custody, including 410 who have had a parent deported, according to the filing. More than 300 are from Guatemala and another 100 are from Honduras. The rest are from El Salvador, Brazil and Romania, among other countries. The children from New York are among the first to be reunited with deported parents. They include Filomena, who turned 6 while in federal custody in New York, and who was described by the consul general of Guatemala, Nivia Rosemary Arauz Monzon, as a small girl with pigtails who, although she understands Spanish, mostly remains silent. Filomenas father, Nazario Jacinto Carrillo, is a farmer in Guatemala. His lawyers said he chose to be deported after he was separated from his daughter in May when they illegally crossed the border because like many in his position he believed deportation would be the fastest way to be reunited with her. He was wrong. He is relieved that he will have her back soon, said his immigration lawyer, Erika Pinheiro, who is based in Los Angeles. Nazario and his daughter have been separated for months, even though they had three attorneys working on their cases since before Nazario was deported. The path to get the eight children on a plane to Guatemala was one with many obstacles. Over the course of this process, some children with deported parents have given caseworkers and lawyers enough information to locate their families, such as memorized phone numbers, according to Catholic Charities, which was charged with providing legal services for the hundreds of separated children sent to New York. For others, lawyers and volunteers searched for parents using public records, then turned to officials and nonprofits in the home countries. Once it was clear that the families wanted the children returned, and the government would not drop its deportation case against the children, the swiftest path toward getting them back home was what is known as a voluntary departure order, according to Anthony Enriquez, the director of the unaccompanied minors program for Catholic Charities. According to the defense motion, the woman sent Mr. Weinstein hundreds of emails after March 18, 2013, the day prosecutors say Mr. Weinstein forced her to have sex with him. I hope to see you sooner rather than later, one email to him on April 11, 2013, read. The next day she wrote, I appreciate all you do for me, it shows. On April 17, she wrote, It would be great to see you later and catch up. Five months later, the woman sent an email that read: Miss you Big Guy. Mr. Weinsteins attorney said in the motion that it appeared the woman wanted the relationship to be deeper, and highlighted an email on Feb. 8, 2017, in which the woman, referred to in court records as CW-1, wrote, I love you, always do. But hate feeling like a booty call. :). In another email exchange, the woman was making arrangements to link up with Mr. Weinstein one evening in 2014. She told the movie producer that she could see him, adding that her mother was with her and would love to meet him. Over the years, the woman also emailed Mr. Weinstein asking that he sponsor her for a club membership in SoHo, and help her with car problems and wrote about a search for permanent housing. Mr. Brafman said in the court papers that in late May he sought to delay the grand jury proceedings in order to obtain copies of the emails, which were being held as evidence in a bankruptcy proceeding in Delaware involving Mr. Weinsteins company. Mr. Vances office, he said, turned down the request and pushed ahead a grand jury vote on the indictment. Of all the offices she has sought Ms. Teachout also ran for Congress in the 19th District, upstate, two years ago, losing in a tight race to the Republican John Faso the office of attorney general is closest to her experience. A specialist in antitrust law and corruption, she has been advising the attorneys general in Washington and Maryland in their emoluments lawsuit against Donald Trump. On July 25, the federal judge overseeing the case ruled that it could go forward and cited Ms. Teachouts work in the opinion. From the moment that Mr. Trump became president, Ms. Teachout has been talking about the possibility in her mind, the absolute certainty that his financial involvements with foreign state-controlled companies are in violation of the emoluments clause of the Constitution, which prohibits public servants from accepting anything of significant value from a foreign power without the clear consent of Congress. Seventy-two hours after Mr. Trump became president, she and other lawyers filed a federal lawsuit against him on these grounds. Before Mr. Schneidermans fall, Ms. Teachout had twice pushed him to go after the president on emoluments, she told me in her campaign headquarters in East Harlem one afternoon. He didnt do it. Of all the candidates running for attorney general in the Democratic field they include New York City public advocate Letitia James, who has the governors endorsement and the backing of the state party apparatus; Congressman Sean Patrick Maloney; and Leecia Eve, an upstate lawyer and former adviser to Hillary Clinton Ms. Teachout is running the loudest, most aggressive campaign. She also has 120 active volunteers absorbed from Alexandria Ocasio-Cortezs blockbuster primary campaign. Several days ago, in response to a report in The New Yorker magazine about sexual harassment at CBS, Ms. Teachout stood outside the networks headquarters and talked about how, if elected, she would investigate companies within her jurisdiction and hold them accountable for failures to protect victims of sexual harassment. Times Up means going after institutions, she said. She was distressed that the networks chairman, Les Moonves, had not been suspended. You cant uncover the truth when people are scared of retaliation. As she did when she ran for governor, she is focused on corruption in Albany, on the ways that it has played out in the lives of ordinary people, driving inequality, and now she is emphasizing the links between that culture of corruption and the sexual harassment that has plagued the state capital. This article is part of the Opinion Today newsletter. You can sign up here to receive the newsletter each weekday. For goodness sake, stop obsessing over the white working class. Most white voters who have abandoned the Democratic Party arent coming back. Its time for the party to realize this and to focus on its natural constituencies: African-Americans, Latinos, Asian-Americans and college-educated whites. This is an increasingly popular view on the left. I also think its wrong, as regular readers of this newsletter may know, and I want to highlight two excellent new debunkings. One is the latest episode of The Wilderness podcast, from the former Obama speechwriter Jon Favreau. He gets the right balance: Democrats should neither compromise on civil rights nor abandon the entire white working class. Here is one telling statistic: More than one-third of the votes that Barack Obama received in 2012 came from whites without a college degree. Obama still lost this group, badly, to Mitt Romney. But he did well enough to win the election. In 2016, Hillary Clinton fared worse among non-college whites and lost the election. One reason, unfair as it may be, is that this demographic group has outsize power in the Electoral College. 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. I especially like the argument for a muscular multiracial populism by Heather McGhee of Demos during the podcast. PARIS I want to go there before things change is a phrase I hear often from friends considering a trip to Cuba. But change has been underway for over a decade, from the day Raul Castro became president after his brother Fidel fell ill in 2006. Since then, private property and self-employment have been legalized; tourism has boomed, benefiting thousands of Cubans who rent out rooms or serve meals in their apartments; and a lively art scene has sprouted in Havana, where artist-run spaces host exhibitions and lectures. Reforms have been slow and gradual, but they have added up over the years and have transformed the country: The economic despair of the 1990s, when the collapse of the Soviet Union and the loss of its aid plunged the country into the worst recession in its history, has been left behind, and many Cubans, especially those who are self-employed, now enjoy a modest prosperity. Cuba is now a very different country than it was in 2006. To acknowledge these changes, former president Raul Castro supported the constitutional change. The Cuban legislature approved a draft in July, and it will now be submitted to a national referendum. A new constitution is much needed; the current version, written under Soviet tutelage, dates from 1976 and sets building a Communist society as the nations main goal. The new version eliminates this phrase, though it continues to define the country as a socialist state governed by the rule of law. There are other substantial innovations: It legalizes private property and introduces a juridical framework for foreign investment. While Cubans have been allowed to buy and sell their primary residence since 2011, the new text recognizes private and personal among other forms of property, including socialist, belonging to the people, cooperatives and mixed. It also creates the position of prime minister, who will share power with the president. Other clauses, more attuned to 21st-century problems, affirm Cubas respect for international law, repudiate terrorism, condemn nuclear proliferation and ban the use of the internet to destabilize sovereign nations. An article on environmental protection emphasizes the need to fight global warming. Pope Franciss condemnation of capital punishment is simple and unambiguous: It is inadmissible. No exceptions for especially heinous crimes; no loopholes allowing execution when other lives might be in jeopardy, as in past Catholic teachings. No, declared the pope; state-sanctioned killing is always an unjustifiable attack on the dignity of human life, its always wrong. That it is. It is an arbitrary and hugely expensive barbarism whose victims in the United States are often black, poor or mentally disturbed and sometimes innocent. Over the past 45 years, when 1, 479 people were executed in this country, 162 people sentenced to death have been exonerated. All the arguments for executing criminals have been debunked: It is useless as a deterrent and it does not save lives by getting rid of murderers. Many countries, including nearly all Western democracies with the shameful exception of the United States, have rejected it. Since his election to the papacy five years ago , Francis has introduced a less formal, more pragmatic and progressive approach to his ministry, taking strong stands on issues like climate change and consumerism. His approach has often drawn criticism from Catholic conservatives, and the new teaching on the death penalty is bound to generate a heated debate indeed it already has on what it means for Catholic judges and politicians in the United States. The churchs new position on the death penalty carries no formal punishment for defying it, but in eliminating any ambiguity it does compel Catholic officials at least to find concrete reasons to not abide by it. Four Supreme Court justices are Catholic, as is Brett Kavanaugh, President Trumps nominee for the court; among governors, Pete Ricketts of Nebraska, a Catholic and staunch supporter of the death penalty, has already declared that he will not block an execution scheduled for this month . Ghosh said the Trinamul Congress politicised the NRC issue by sending the TMC delegation to Assam. Kolkata: Condemning West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjees civil war remark over publication of National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam, West Bengal BJP President Dilip Ghosh on Thursday alleged that she was trying to create unrest in both the states. Ms Banerjee was unnecessarily instigating the people of Assam and Bengal, who, otherwise, have been living in peace, he claimed. A day after the complete draft of NRC was released in Assam, Banerjee, who is also the Trinamul Congress chief, said the list could lead to bloodbath and civil war-like situation in the country. The draft, released on July 30, included the names of 2.89 crore people out of the 3.29 applicants. Over 40 lakh applicants did not make it to the citizenship register. The CM on Thursday sent a TMC delegation to assess the situation in Assams Cachar district in the wake of NRC publication, but the authorities there stopped the team from leaving the Silchar airport, citing prohibitory orders, under Sec 144 CrPc, in the region. Mr Ghosh said the Trinamul Congress politicised the NRC issue by sending the TMC delegation to Assam. She (Mamata) sent delegation of her party leaders in an attempt to create unrest in Assam. We deplore this move and have duly informed the Governor about it, he told reporters outside Raj Bhavan. The Centre had already tabled a bill in Parliament to provide to citizenship to minorities from Bangladesh, Pakistan, Afghanistan, but there, too, the TMC, along with the Congress and the CPI(M), prevented BJP president Amit Shah from speaking on the issue, Mr Ghosh stated. Talking about the TMC allegations of maltreatment at Silchar airport on Thursday, the state BJP president said, The footage from the airport shows that no one was mistreated. Mostly female police officers, deployed at the airport, were seen stopping the members from entering the state. The ruling party members were trying to malign the Assam government for no reason, Mr Ghosh said Not a single stone has been hurled in Assam and no one was rendered homeless, contrary to the reports by a section of media, he told reporters. Alleging that members of the delegation also resorted to theatrics, he said, Some of them were seen playing kabaddi with police. The TMC team should be served tea at the airport and deported back to Kolkata at the earliest. Asked if the phones of TMC MPs were confiscated by police at Silchar, Mr Ghosh said the footage aired by TV channels in Bengal was made available by the delegation members. They (TMC members) are sending footage from the airport to the TV channels. This shows their phones have not been seized, he explained. Mr Ghosh also recalled that BJP delegations, led by MPs and MLAs, were prevented from visiting Basirhat, Baduriar and Dhulagarh areas after violence broke out in those areas. The TMC is talking about threats to democracy even when they had prevented us from visiting riot-hit areas in Bengal, he said. Claiming the mask of TMC had come off, Mr Ghosh said, the partys movements in Delhi and Assam have revealed their true colour. Talking about the errors that slipped into the NRC draft, the BJP state president said there was always scope for rectification. There can be some mistakes in preparing a list of this magnitude. The Assam government had sent names of 1,20,000 people to the West Bengal government for verification, but the ruling dispensation could provide inputs for only 15,000 Bengalis, he claimed. Mr Ghosh also asserted that one crore Bangladeshi infiltrators were currently residing in West Bengal, which shares 2217-km-long border with Bangladesh and 262-km border with Assam. These infiltrators are rupturing the social fabric of the state and eating into the employment opportunities of Bengal youths, he said. Asked if an NRC exercise would begin in West Bengal, Mr Ghosh said, We are not taking any initiative immediately. We will undertake it at an appropriate time. Earlier on Thursday, the state BJP took out a rally in the city, led by senior leader Locket Chatterjee, demanding deportation of illegal Bangladeshis. K09 It wouldnt last. In the summer of 2000, he crashed again. In the last six years of his life, he would check into mental hospitals and endure two rounds of electroshock therapy. Mr. Styrons story mirrors the larger trends in American mental health over the past few decades. During the exuberance of the 1990s, it seemed possible that drugs would one day wipe out depression, making suicide a rare occurrence. But that turned out to be an illusion. In fact, the American suicide rate has continued to climb since the beginning of the 21st century. We dont know why this is happening, though we do have a few clues. Easy access to guns is probably contributing to the epidemic: Studies show that when people are able to reach for a firearm, a momentary urge to self-destruct is more likely to turn fatal. Oddly enough, climate change may also be to blame: A new study shows that rising temperatures can make people more prone to suicide. With suicidal depression so widespread, we find ourselves needing new ways to talk about it, name its depredations and help families cope with it. Mr. Styrons mission was to invent this new language of survival, but he did so at high cost to his own mental health. When he revealed his history of depression, he inadvertently set a trap for himself. He became an icon of recovery. His widow, Rose Styron, told me that readers would call the house at all hours when they felt suicidal, and Mr. Styron would counsel them. He always took those calls, even when they woke him at 3 in the morning. When he plunged into depression again in 2000, Mr. Styron worried about disappointing his fans. When he crashed, he felt so guilty because he thought hed let down all the people he had encouraged in Darkness Visible, Ms. Styron told me. And he became painfully aware that if he ever did commit suicide, that private act would ripple out all over the world. The consequences would be devastating for his readers, some of whom might even decide to imitate him. And so, one dark day in the summer of 2000, he wrote up a statement to be released in the event of his suicide. I hope that readers of Darkness Visible past, present and future will not be discouraged by the manner of my dying, his message began. It was an attempt to inoculate his fans from the downstream effects of his own self-destruction. By now, it almost passes without comment that the president of the United States not only violates the ground rules of his own meetings with the press, but also misrepresents the substance of the conversation. Also nearly past comment was the presidents remark, in a follow-on tweet, that the media were very unpatriotic for revealing internal deliberations of our government that could put peoples lives at risk. Thats almost funny considering that no media organ has revealed more such deliberations, with less regard for consequences, than his beloved WikiLeaks. What cant be ignored is presidential behavior that might best be described as incitement. Maybe Trump supposes that the worst hes doing is inciting the people who come to his rallies to give reporters like CNNs Jim Acosta the finger. And maybe he thinks that most journalists, with their relentless hostility to his personality and policies, richly deserve public scorn. Yet for every 1,000 or so Trump supporters whose contempt for the press rises only as far as their middle fingers, a few will be people like my caller. Of that few, how many are ready to take the next fatal step? In the age of the active shooter, the number isnt zero. Should that happen when that happens and journalists are dead because some nut thinks hes doing the presidents bidding against the fifth column that is the media, what will Trumps supporters say? No, the president is not coyly urging his supporters to murder reporters, like Henry II trying to rid himself of a turbulent priest. But neither is he the child who played with a loaded gun and knew not what he did. Donald Trumps more sophisticated defenders have long since mastered the art of pretending that the only thing that matters with his presidency is what it does, not what he says. But not all of the presidents defenders are quite as sophisticated. Some of them didnt get the memo about taking Trump seriously but not literally. A few hear the phrase enemy of the people and are prepared to take the words to their logical conclusion. Is my caller one of them? I cant say. But what should be clear is this: We are approaching a day when blood on the newsroom floor will be blood on the presidents hands. Then theres the matter of the seemingly stellar second-quarter increase in gross domestic product of 4.1 percent. That also requires context. For one thing, quarterly numbers can be volatile, and the most recent figure includes an unusual number of special factors. Notably, there are the tax reductions and spending increases concocted by the Trump administration and Congress, which added an estimated 0.8 percent to quarterly G.D.P. growth while more than doubling next years federal deficit to nearly $1 trillion. Another one-time event propping up growth is the rush by farmers to export more soybeans, particularly to China, before July 6, the date when tariffs on soybeans went into effect. That accounted for about 0.6 percent of the growth in the second quarter, according to Pantheon Macroeconomics, a research firm. Without these extraordinary interventions, the underlying rate of economic expansion in the second quarter of this year was about 2.7 percent, according to calculations by the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, a fiscal policy research and advocacy group. Moreover, that 4.1 percent number isnt heroic. During the Obama presidency, the economy produced four quarters of growth that were higher. And the consensus among private and government forecasters is that the G.D.P. growth rate is likely to ebb quickly, once tariffs are actually in effect and the tax cut gains are all realized. Goldman Sachs, for example, forecasts that the annualized growth rate will fall to 3.3 percent in the third quarter and then taper down to 1.5 percent by the end of 2019. Beyond all the facts and figures, lets not forget that the Trump administrations policies have done little for the average worker. Mr. Trumps tax cut delivered 84 percent of its benefits to business and to individuals with incomes above $75,000 a year. A typical middle-income worker will get a $930 reduction in his taxes this year, half of which will be consumed by higher gasoline prices. Thats the key lesson from all these numbers: Whatever claims Mr. Trump may make about the economy as the midterm elections approach, most Americans have yet to experience any improvement in their economic well-being. And theres little sign of that sorry situation changing. In fact, it could even get worse. Each week, technology reporters and columnists from The New York Times review the weeks news, offering analysis and maybe a joke or two about the most important developments in the tech industry. Want this newsletter in your inbox? Sign up here. Hello readers! This is Erin Griffith, one of the newest members of The Timess tech team. Im taking over the start-up and venture capital beat, which judging from conversations on the V.C. summer party circuit consists entirely of scooters, cryptocurrency and SoftBank. While I plan to venture far beyond that, Im now prepared for the inevitable day that SoftBank puts scooters on the blockchain and I get to write about all three at once. This week, though, I just needed to worry about SoftBank. Every SoftBank investment can make waves because of the size of the companys ambitions. SoftBanks $100 billion Vision Fund is larger than the total amount invested by all venture funds in the United States in 2017. The deals are so large, start-ups can now can ask themselves: I.P.O. or SoftBank? That firepower is why SoftBanks name tends to strike fear, envy and longing into the hearts of investors and start-up chief executives. Some investors accuse the Vision Fund of distorting the funding market by inflating start-up valuations. Masayoshi Son, SoftBanks C.E.O., has been called a one-man bubble maker. Some founders are desperate to get access to the companys Scrooge McDuck pool of money. But others charge that the fund, which invests a minimum of $100 million per deal, is pushing companies to take on capital they may not want or need out of fear. (Dara Khosrowshahi, Ubers C.E.O., once said he did a deal with the firm because hed rather have SoftBanks capital cannon behind him, rather than pointed at him.) Good morning. (Want to get California Today by email? Heres the sign-up.) President Trump has taken one of his strongest shots yet at California, as the White House on Thursday unveiled its proposal to throttle back President Barack Obamas regulations on planet-warming vehicle tailpipe pollution including a plan to revoke Californias right to set its own standard. The administrations proposal, jointly published by the Environmental Protection Agency and the Transportation Department, would roll back a 2012 rule that required automakers to nearly double the fuel economy of passenger vehicles to an average of about 54 miles per gallon by 2025. It would halt requirements that automakers build cleaner, more fuel-efficient cars, including hybrids and electric vehicles. The new proposal would freeze the increase of average fuel economy standards after 2021 at about 37 miles per gallon, while challenging a legal waiver granted to California under the 1970 Clean Air Act and now followed by 13 other states that lets those states set more stringent pollution standards than the federal governments. Gov. Jerry Brown did not mince words in his response: For Trump to now destroy a law first enacted at the request of Ronald Reagan five decades ago is a betrayal and an assault on the health of Americans everywhere, he said. In the report, Ms. Danley explained that she met Mr. Paddock while she was working as a high-limits casino host. At first, their relationship was romantic, but she said she noticed a decline in his affection that she believed to be linked to his health. He had bad headaches, she said, was sensitive to chemical smells and would not shake hands with people. He often wore cotton gloves. He was not religious, she said, and would often say things like, Your God doesnt love me. In the months before the shooting, Mr. Paddocks interest in guns intensified and packages began arriving almost daily. Ms. Danley occasionally accompanied him to the gun store or shooting range. But the report concludes that Danley believed Paddocks new found interest in guns was merely a hobby. Mr. Paddock paid for Ms. Danley to see her family in the Philippines before the attack, wiring her a total of $150,000 during the trip, which was meant to pay for a house there. Ms. Danley told investigators she was worried Mr. Paddock was trying to set her up there before breaking up with her. They rarely spoke by phone during the trip, and Mr. Paddock became evasive every time Ms. Danley asked where he was. On Sept. 27, Mr. Paddock asked her over email if she wanted to stay longer. She replied she was ready to come home, according to the report. Several days later, she was on her way to dinner with her sister in Manila when someone called to say they should return home. When they walked into the house, Ms. Danley saw her drivers license photo on television and learned she was a person of interest. On Friday, Sheriff Lombardo said that Ms. Danley is not under investigation. The report also summarizes interviews with several employees of the resort, including valets, bellmen, room service attendants and security officers. Each of the employees said there had been nothing remarkable about Mr. Paddock in the days leading up to the shooting. LINCOLN, Neb. When Nebraska lawmakers defied Gov. Pete Ricketts in 2015 by repealing the death penalty over his strong objections, the governor wouldnt let the matter go. Mr. Ricketts, a Republican who is Roman Catholic, tapped his family fortune to help bankroll a referendum to reinstate capital punishment, a measure the states Catholic leadership vehemently opposed. After a contentious and emotional battle across this deep-red state, voters restored the death penalty the following year. Later this month, Nebraska is scheduled to execute Carey Dean Moore, who was convicted of murder, in what would be the states first execution in 21 years. The prospect has renewed a tense debate in a state that has wrestled with the moral and financial implications of the death penalty for years, even before the 2015 attempt to abolish it. Protesters have been holding daily vigils outside the governors mansion to oppose Mr. Moores execution. Complicating matters, Pope Francis this week declared that executions are unacceptable in all cases, a shift from earlier church doctrine that had accepted the death penalty if it was the only practicable way to defend lives. Coming only days before the scheduled Aug. 14 execution here, the popes stance seemed to create an awkward position for Mr. Ricketts, who is favored to win a bid for re-election this fall. A Kobach candidacy, while pleasing to his partys most conservative core, would energize liberals and moderates in the two House districts up for grabs. Paul Davis, the likely Democratic nominee in one open House district, a liberal enclave encompassing Topeka and Lawrence, said a Kobach nomination could turbocharge their turnout efforts. For Democrats here, Kobach is seen as an even bigger lightning rod than Brownback, Mr. Davis said. In an interview, Mr. Colyer, the current governor, warned that nominating Kris would bring a lot of risk because of his unpopularity with the general electorate, citing polls that show Mr. Kobach behind the potential Democratic nominee while trumpeting his own very broad appeal. And, without prompting, he cited the importance of protecting the two House seats. But Mr. Kobach argued that midterm elections are determined by which candidate can most effectively motivate the ideological base of the party, and he said that was him. Colyer cant motivate anybody to turn out, said Mr. Kobach. Thats not his forte. The intraparty clash here illustrates the divisions between those Republican Party leaders who may have been more comfortable in the pre-Trump era such as Mr. Colyer, a well-to-do and mild-mannered plastic surgeon and those suited for the incendiary and racially-tinged politics of the moment, like the hard-charging Mr. Kobach. But Kansas Republicans have been practicing fratricide since long before Mr. Trump descended an escalator at Trump Tower to declare his candidacy. The moderate-versus-conservative split, once rooted in a divide over abortion rights, has allowed Democrats to win the governorship over the years even as the states voters have sent an unbroken line of Republicans to the Senate since 1932. Two youth care workers at Arizona shelters for migrant children have been charged with sexually assaulting immigrant teenagers, according to court records. They are the latest claims of abuse at government-contracted shelters that have a key role in the Trump administrations hard-line immigration crackdown. On Tuesday, the police in Phoenix arrested Fernando Magaz Negrete, 32, on charges of sexual abuse and child molestation after he was seen kissing and fondling a 14-year-old girl in June, the authorities said. That arrest came a day after federal prosecutors detailed their case against another youth worker, Levian D. Pacheco, 25, who is H.I.V. positive and is accused of groping six teenage boys and performing oral sex on two others at a detention center from late August 2016 through July 2017. While the men worked at separate facilities, both centers are operated by Southwest Key Programs, a Texas nonprofit that has received at least $955 million in federal contracts since 2015 to provide shelters and other services to immigrant children in federal custody. The contractor is one of the largest operators in the highly secretive, billion-dollar business of housing, transporting and watching over migrant children in federal custody on the southern border. President Trumps policies on immigration, including the administrations now-defunct family separation policy, have provided a financial boon to contractors like Southwest Key Programs. The contractors have also come under increased scrutiny for their treatment of immigrants, prompting a top government official on Tuesday to defend the detention centers for families as more like a summer camp. Accused also snatched mobile phone while performing stunts. MUMBAI: Four persons were arrested in connection with a robbery and performing stunts putting the life of themselves and others at risk in broad daylight on Thursday. The accused had made a video while snatching a cellphone from a commuter at Guru Tegh Bahadur (GTB) Nagar while on a running train and performing stunts on July 30. The video went viral and later the Wadala Government Railway Police (GRP) tracked the four accused. The arrested accuseds are Mohammad Ali Amir Ali Shaikh alias Mamma (19), Mohammad Jaiyaid Shaikh (19), Rohit Gajanan Chaurasiya (20) and Shehbaj Mohammad Javed Khan (18), who are school dropouts. The GRP has registered a case under sections 394 (voluntarily causing hurt in committing robbery) and 34 (Acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention) of Indian Panel Code (IPC) and section 37 (1) of the Maharashtra Police Act. The accused were sent to police custody till August 4 by a court. According to the GRP, three teams have been formed to track down the accused. The teams went to various places of the city. Mohammad Jaiyid Shaikh is a resident of the Mumbra, while other three accused were from Kasaiwada in Kurla. The persons have been performing the stunts between Chunabhatti and Guru Tegh Bahadur (GTB) Nagar on July 30 during 1.30 pm to 1.40 pm. As the train depart from GTB, one of them is shouting Lelo and Lelo mobile and later one robbed a mobile from the standing passenger at GTB Nagar. Taking a cognisance of the viral video, the GRP headquarter have directed to Wadala GRP search for them. A GRP official said that three teams have been sent to search in Mumbra, Kurla, Chunabhatti and GTB Nagar as the video was viral in this region. All four have been detained in late night on August 1. BUENOS AIRES The driver took copious notes. In cheap spiral notebooks commonly used by schoolchildren, the driver, Oscar Centeno, meticulously recorded a decades worth of trips hauling bags of cash to be delivered to government officials from businessmen who had been awarded large government contracts. Now eight of Mr. Centenos notebooks are at the heart of a large-scale corruption investigation unveiled this week as the authorities carried out dozens of raids, arrested 16 people and continued to seek two others, rattling the political and business elite of a nation where corruption has seldom led to meaningful punishment. Some Argentines have compared the case to the so-called Car Wash investigation in neighboring Brazil, which revealed how graft had infused the countrys political system and led to the conviction of more than 100 people, including former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva of Brazil. Most of those implicated in Argentinas notebook case so far are close allies of former President Nestor Kirchner and his wife and successor, Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, whom prosecutors described as the leaders of a wide-ranging conspiracy. Ms. Carvalho first attempted to terminate the pregnancy by swallowing an entire pack of hypertension pills. When that didnt work, she stuck a knitting needle in her uterus. By early May, when she was nearly four months pregnant, she sought the services of an underground abortion provider, who inserted a stalk of castor-oil plant into Ms. Carvalhos uterus, according to the police report, which included an affidavit from the woman who administered the procedure. Ms. Carvalho was instructed to remove the plant by pulling on a thread attached to it. But the thread came undone and the stalk remained inside her. As an infection took hold, she lay in a tiny bedroom in an aunts home. By the third night, when the aunt, Maria Aparecida Barbosa, went into the room to give her niece a blanket, the young womans lips were purple. I think Im dying, she told her aunt. By the time Ms. Carvalho arrived at the hospital, the infection had entered her bloodstream. Estimates of the number of abortions performed in Brazil each year range from 500,000 to 1.2 million. Each year, more than 250,000 women are hospitalized as a result of complications from abortions, according to the Brazilian Health Ministry. In 2016, the last year for which official figures were available, 203 women died as a result of botched abortions. Providing medical care for them has cost the government more than $130 million over the past decade. Wealthy and middle-class women can have safer abortions by traveling abroad or resorting to medical professionals willing to perform them. Poor women, many of whom are black, make up a disproportionate number of those who die, become ill or get prosecuted as a result of the procedure, according to researchers, activists and public defenders. Livia Casseres, a public defender in Rio de Janeiro who is among those who will argue before the court, said that Brazils overwhelmingly male, and increasingly conservative, politicians had shown little interest in womens reproductive rights. KHOST, Afghanistan At least 29 people were killed when suicide bombers disguised in womens clothing stormed a Shiite mosque in eastern Afghanistan during Friday Prayer, officials said, the latest in a series of bloody attacks on the countrys Shiite minority. Two male attackers, wearing full-length burqas to hide explosive vests and automatic weapons, entered the mosque in the city of Gardez in Paktia Province, first firing at the worshipers and then detonating the vests, according to the Afghan police. The spokesman for the Paktia police, Sardar Wali Tabasoom, said that guards had been posted at the mosque because of fears of such an attack. But the attackers used the burqas to get close, then shot the guards, he said. Abdullah Hasrat, the spokesman for the governor of Paktia Province, said that 29 people were killed and 81 others wounded. TBS, a television network, cited an unnamed former university admissions official as saying the practice was commonplace among medical schools and that administrators did not see anything wrong with it. A university spokesman declined to comment. The revelations triggered an outpouring of criticism online about gender inequality in Japan. Those who decided this system never faced problems of balancing housework and child care with a job, Keiko Ota, a lawyer, said on Twitter. You got away without doing all that housework and were able to concentrate on just your job thanks to whom? Can you dare say with whom you left your own children? Mizuho Fukushima, a lawmaker with the Social Democrat Party, said the schools practice was clearly a violation of constitutional protections against discrimination. This is just unacceptable, she tweeted. Work-style reform for doctors and child care support should be carried out. The reported discrimination at Tokyo Medical University, a prestigious private school, came to light in an internal investigation following the arrest last month of two university officials. The officials are accused of bribery, alleged to have guaranteed admission to a bureaucrats son in exchange for state funding, Kyodo News reported. The allegation that womens test scores were manipulated has cast a sharp light on Prime Minister Shinzo Abes efforts to advance the economic empowerment of women, a policy known as womenomics. Japan has lagged behind other developed nations on female participation in the workplace. This has been blamed, in part, on traditional hiring practices that emphasize lifelong employment with a single company. Japanese companies typically require long hours, which clashes with cultural expectations that women are responsible for the bulk of housekeeping and child-rearing responsibilities. SINGAPORE Declaring that the clock had run out, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo urged Turkey on Friday to free an American pastor imprisoned on espionage charges, in a case that had spurred United States to impose sanctions against two top Turkish government officials. Mr. Pompeo discussed the case of the evangelical pastor, Andrew Brunson, with Turkeys foreign minister, Mevlut Cavusoglu, on the sidelines of a Southeast Asia security conference in Singapore, after previously pressing the case at least three times by phone. Mr. Brunsons imprisonment has threatened to plunge fraught relations with Turkey, a vital NATO ally, into crisis. The Turks were well on notice that the clock had run out and that it was time for Pastor Brunson to be returned. I hope theyll see this for what it is: a demonstration that were very serious, Mr. Pompeo told reporters before the meeting, during the short flight from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore. ZOUR MAGHAR, Syria On the eastern bank of the Euphrates River, Kurdish militiamen aligned with American troops burrow into sandbagged positions and eye their foes across the water. On the other side, Arab rebels backed by Turkey shoot at anyone who nears the river. For millenniums, the Euphrates has given farmers in the village of Zour Maghar water to irrigate fields of wheat, eggplant and sunflowers. Generations of families have sprawled on its banks for picnics, the older children teaching the younger to swim. But after seven years of war, the river that has fed life in Syrias parched east has become a hostile front, separating warring sides as it travels north to south. Deprived of its water, families have fled Zour Maghar, abandoning their mud-brick homes and leaving their fields idle. Ive seen some stuff in my time. I have followed politics for many years. Im retired, Im a realist and a Vietnam veteran, pretty much in that order. Im not an alarmist or a conspiracy theorist. That said, I have never in my life been so concerned about the future of this Republic. Politics was once a legitimate contest of ideas, put forth by political figures who were sincere, ... (click for more) Party got a clear majority inspite of the ongoing Maratha protest. Mumbai: The ongoing Maratha agitation and farmers agitations notwithstanding, the BJP swept the Sangli-Miraj-Kupwad corporation polls, defeating both the Congress and NCP. With Sangli being a Maratha stronghold, it looked like the situation would go against the state government due to the Maratha stir however the BJP got a clear majority. Revenue minister Chandrakant Patil took the lead in the Sangli-Miraj-Kupwad elections, resulting in BJP defeating the Congress and NCP. Interestingly, Sangli has always been a Congress-NCP stronghold, with former minister and state president of the NCP, Jayant Patil, hailing from there. Due to the Maratha agitation, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis could not attend campaigning and hence, his video message was circulated at the last moment. Still, the BJP managed to get a clear majority. A senior BJP leader said that the Maratha issue was unable to politically damage the BJP. The BJP also swept the Jalgaon municipal corporation polls for the first time, ending the reign of former minister Suresh Jain. Mr Jain was with the Shiv Sena but got elected as an independent and enjoyed a stronghold on the Jalgaon municipal corporation for 35 years. This time around, Mr Jain was defeated by the BJP. Irrigation minister Girish Mahajan led the elections even as senior leader and former minister Eknath Khadse was kept away by the BJP. Mr Mahajan told The Asian Age, We have asked people to vote for the development of Jalgaon. We will end corruption in the corporation, clean the city and settle loans of the corporation. People have supported us. Meanwhile, the Congress and NCP did not get a single seat. NCP in particular lost eight out of its 13 corporators who joined the BJP after declaration of elections. The Sena got just 13 seats while the MIM bagged three seats for the first time. We have asked people to vote for development of Jalgaon, we will end the corruption in the corporation, clean the city and settle down the loans of the corporation. We received peoples support in return, said Mr Mahajan. Mr Fadnavis and party president Raosaheb Danve congratulated all party. The incident took place during a pharmacists registration drive. MUMBAI: Four persons were injured in a minor stampede Friday morning during a pharmacists registration exercise organised at Veena Nagar, Mulund (west). The stampede took place after hundreds of young pharmacists and their parents gathered outside the office of Maharashtra State Pharmacy Council, located on the fourth floor of R-Square, LBS Road. Those with a diploma or degree from state pharmacy colleges approved by the Pharmacy Council of India are required to register themselves from August 7. The council conducted a registration and verification drive at its office, according to the Mulund police. The police said that while about 300 pharmacists had been turning up at the venue daily, on Friday, nearly 800 turned up, resulting in chaos. Shripad Kale, senior police inspector, Mulund police station, told The Asian Age, The online process of registration of pharmacists was supposed to begin on August 7, and the council conducted a registration and verification drive at its office. In the midst of the drive, it started raining, leading to panic. At around 9.15am, the building gates were still closed, but there was a crowd outside and it started raining. The students and their parents started running for cover to a small shed so that the documents wouldnt get damaged which led to the stampede, said Kale. While four people suffered minor injuries and were discharged after treatment, one person sustained injuries to his ear and has been hospitalised. He may have to undergo a surgery, said a police official, requesting anonymity. Dr Sandeep U. from privately-run said, Aaditya Shingale (20) has been admitted in the emergency ward and his condition is stable. Police has been deployed at the council following the stampede. Authorities in Entebbe municipality have decried the increasing theft of lightning conductors in government schools. Lightning conductors are devices used on electric power systems to protect the insulation and conductors of the system from the effects of lightning. The conductors prevent the flow of a lightning strike in a building where it is installed protecting it from damage. The conductors were installed in eleven primary and secondary schools in the municipality. Conductors in some schools have been stolen However, the conductors in Kigungu, Lugonjo and Manyago primary schools have been stolen leaving school children vulnerable to lightning. Monica Sarah Nabirye, the assistant education officer in the municipality says that since the area is rocky and close to Lake Victoria, it is dangerous for schools to remain without lightening conductors. Nabirye indicated that currently, all schools have been tasked to employ security guards to protect the conductors from theft. A lightning conductor costs a minimum of Shs 20 million. The town clerk, Charles Magumba says that municipality has secured Shs 1.2 billion discretionary development and equalization grant to renovate schools and install lightning conductors in the affected schools. During the second week of last years O-level examinations, images of leaked question papers for biology, chemistry and christian religious education were splashed all over social media hours before candidates began writing exams. Police swung into action and made several arrests across the country. YUDAYA NANGONZI reports on the progress of actions taken so far. Preliminary findings from the ongoing joint probe by police and exams body, Uneb, reveal that some of the papers were shared on WhatsApp. In other cases, several individuals were found vending hard copies of the papers in schools while others were caught cheating inside examination rooms. As he released O-level results in February, Uneb executive secretary Dan N. Odongo noted that candidates were mainly assisted by third parties inside exam rooms. Other forms of malpractice such as collusion, and smuggling of unauthorised materials into the exam rooms were also reported but less common, he said. Uneb executive secretary Dan N. Odongo Majority cases of malpractice were reported in science subjects with biology being the most affected with 39.7 per cent of the cases. It was followed by physics, chemistry and mathematics. Out of the 14 affected districts, each had a suspect teacher. Nine suspects jumped police bond and criminal summons have been issued against them, while other cases are ongoing in various courts. In May, the parliamentary committee on education reported that Odongo had told MPs that penalties prescribed for offenders under the Uneb Act were not punitive and deterrent enough. The board submitted its proposals for amendment of the law to cabinet and is waiting for the outcome of that intervention. Meanwhile, the deputy police spokesman Patrick Onyango has told The Observer that investigations are still ongoing. It takes time to get the source of information that has been shared via WhatsApp. Our upcountry Information Officers only rely on cybercrime units located at police headquarters in Naguru, Onyango said. WAKISO On October 18, 2017 at around 2pm, the police divisional crime intelligence officer in Entebbe received information from an administrator at Entebbe Parents SS that there were people at the school office vending UCE examinations. Police rushed to the school and caught Daniel Ebonyu and Jackson Onyang, both teachers at Gateway primary school in Entebbe. They informed police that they were sent by David Okiror, a teacher in Lira district. According to sources, each paper sold for Shs 500,000. Okiror had sent the mathematics paper to Ebonyus WhatsApp number. Ebonyu and Onyang were arrested. During interrogation, they linked investigators to Morris Ogwang, Richard Okelle and Fredrick Dong. All the five suspects have since been charged with conspiracy under case number CRB 995/2017, which is ongoing at Entebbe. Okiror, the alleged prime suspect, is still at large. NAKASEKE The following day (October 19) at Kimuna SS in Nakaseke, a 17-year-old candidate (names withheld) was found with a question paper during biology practicals. When asked by a Uneb scout where he got it, the student cited his biology teacher, Nicholas Kibirige. Sources say Kibirige was closely monitoring the interrogation of the student and soon vanished. The student was, however, allowed to continue with the exam. This case is still under inquiry as reference number SD 18/19/10/2017. BUNYANGABU On October 22, 2017, investigations found that Derrick Kiwanuka told Allan Samuel Wafula, a teacher at Kibitto SS in Bunyangabu district, that he had examination answers. Kiwanuka allegedly sent to Wafulas WhatsApp number history papers I, II and III. It was later discovered that Kiwanuka and Wafula got to know each other between 2014 and 2015 while teaching in Mukono. Two days later, police also arrested Justus Musinguzi who was trying to sell the same papers in the district. Rachael Nagawa and Godfrey Businge were also arrested. All five suspects appeared in court on November 20, 2017 before being remanded. They were released on bail on November 22 but have since vanished. AMURIA On October 20, the regional CIID officer of East Kyoga received information from whistleblowers that Samson Eyumu, the head teacher of Amuria High School, was involved in exam malpractice. It was discovered that Eyumu used his phone to send the Geography I paper, which he had received a few minutes past midnight of that day, to a WhatsApp group titled: Association of Secondary School Teachers of Teso (ASSHU). When his phone was checked, it was discovered that he had deleted the messages. He declined to speak when asked about the source of the paper. He was arrested and taken to court. Six months later on April 19, 2018, the case was dismissed for want of prosecution. An offence of revealing contents of examination materials and computer misuse had been preferred against him. SERERE In Serere, two cases of exam malpractice are under investigation; being in possession of exam material (CRB 1285/2017) and impersonation, both under reference 1275. On October 26 during Chemistry II exam, Sam Aleleu, a teacher at Kamod SS, was found in possession of a Chemistry paper. Aleleu told a Uneb chief scout deployed at the school that he had received the paper after midnight on October 25, 2017. He didnt say who sent the paper. He was arrested. Case is still ongoing in Serere court. Meanwhile, on October 20, 2017, an individual not registered for Uneb exams was discovered by a chief scout and the deputy head teacher of Kadungulu SS, Samson Watson Ewana, sitting Geography I on behalf of a registered candidate. This case is ongoing. IGANGA With 16 cases, Iganga has the highest number of suspects. In fact, Odongo told journalists last year that the epicentre of the leaks was Iganga. It is also here where the area supervisor and a scout in Busesa connived. The scout confessed to receiving Shs 1 million by unnamed persons to surrender keys to the storage room. On October 31, 2017, a Uneb chief scout arrested a candidate found with answer papers for Physics II at Bugweri College School. The student was allowed to sit all papers before being handed over to Busesa police post. He was taken to court but has since jumped bail. In another case, Odongo tipped off police, leading to the arrest of 13 people, namely; Isaac Baguma, Alex Nakibinge, Ismael Isanga, Fredrick Dongo, Ivan Kalyesubula, Gilbert Luyima, Patrick Mutyaba, Simon Lubandi, Nathan Busolo, Henry Katono Tosaaga, Jonathan Musumba, Hassan Waiswa and Ben Bella Oding. Waiswa appeared in court on June 13, 2018 but is currently out on bail. Criminal summons have been issued for Lubandi, Busolo, Katono and Oding who remain at large. Dongo, Kalyesubula and others appeared on May 30, 2018 and are out on bail. At Iganga Girls SS, Uneb chief invigilator Wilson Byakuno, entered the examination room during an Economics paper with a mobile phone contrary to the rules. All exhibits were removed by scouts and handed over to police. Byakuno and Charles Wakasa were arrested. The accused later jumped bond. HOIMA Police arrested Fred Jalameso, a teacher at Hilltop SS in Hoima, on November 3, 2017. His phone showed he had received Geography and History examination papers via WhatsApp. The source of the leak was Bomthon Mayanja, a teacher at Byenkya SS. Seven other people were arrested, including; Brian Rugadya, a teacher at Victorious PS Hoima, Jalameso, Fred Samuel (teachers at Byenkya SS) and Samuel Ogema, George Obeti, John Bosco Ojuka and Moses Mulindwa all teachers at St Jude PS, Hoima. Their case is still ongoing. KALUNGU Police is said to have been tipped off by a Uneb staff that somebody had approached a scout at St Thereza Girls SS in Kalungu to allow candidates cheat in exchange for Shs 2 million. Godfrey Mulema, a teacher at St Thereza, was arrested at Villa Maria guesthouse while giving Shs 2m to the scout. LUWERO In the first week of November, Odongo learned that the head teacher of Kakungulu Memorial SS in Bombo, Sayidi Musisi, was involved in examination malpractice. Investigations began and four people were arrested. These are Dominic Bizibu, Ismail Bogere, Alex Wandera and Peter Ssemuddu. The case came up for hearing on June 14, 2018 and all the four were charged with examination malpractice and conspiracy. NAKASONGOLA Following the arrest of Sayidi Musisi and four others in Luweero, the same information was used in the arrest of Joseph Lwanga, Benard Bandikubi and Wandera for the second time, who was previously arrested in Luweero. All the three appeared on different days in court and are still on remand in Nakasongola prison. KAMPALA In the same week of November after the arrest of Musisi in Luweero, four other suspects were arrested in Kampala. They are Sulaiman Mubiru, Abel Opiyo Okello, Dominic Bizibu and Brian Mwesizi. All appeared in court on January 12, 2018 and got bail. MUKONO On November 8, 2017, Nelson Tumwizire, a teacher at Seeta HS Green Campus in Mukono and St Juliana Gayaza, was picked by police. On interrogation, he denied having access to Uneb examination papers but led detectives to Wilfred Ssentongo, a director of studies (DoS) at St George SS Mukono and Yona Mutahi, also a DoS at Mpoma Royal College. After investigations, seven people namely Ssentongo, Mutahi, Betty Nakato alias Liz, Willy Kamudde, Martin Wampoko, Benard Lubega and Benard Kalungi were detained. KAMWENGE Three cases of examination malpractice at O-level and PLE were compiled from this district. On November 2, 2017 at around 11am, while at Kamwenge Modern PS, two invigilators; Juliet Ayebare and John Arinaitwe (both teachers at Kimuli PS) were found with mobile phones in examination rooms. They were arrested by a Uneb scout and handed over to police. On April 27, 2018, the accused were convicted and sentenced to a fine of Shs 50,000 each and exhibits of their phones were destroyed. On November 3 at Rukunyu PS in Kamwenge, two schools were sitting at the same centre: Rukunyu PS and Grand Relief Preparatory PS. Roseline Kayesu, head teacher at Grand Relief and James Kwerwanaho, a centre supervisor, were caught by a district monitor in an examination room with science textbooks in the presence of Vincent Bwambale, a Uneb scout. Police arrested Kayesu, Kwerwanaho, Bwambale and Edward Mushakamba. Their case is still in court. MITYANA In Mityana, malpractice cases were only recorded during PLE examinations. On day one of the exams [November 2], candidates of Habubu Islamic Centre sat for their exams at Mityana Public School. It was discovered that a 16-year-old female S2 student of King Faisal SS Buuye was sitting exams for a 13-year-old. Similarly, a male 16-year-old S2 student of Kikumbi SS was sitting exams for another P7 candidate. Both were former pupils of Hababu Islamic Centre and were arrested. nangonzi@observer.ug Police in Jinja is investigating circumstances under which Nima Sosipateri, a lecturer of Uganda Technical College, Elgon branch died at Savers guest house in Bugembe town, Jinja district. Nima had gone to Jinja to supervise Nyiro Hanington, a student from the college who was completing his internship in Jinja town. His body was found lying naked on the floor of his room. Nima Sosipateri was found dead in a guest house According to Patrick Nabongo, the director of Savers guest house, Nima had rented the room for the past three days and never complained of any illness. "Nima has been our good customer and for the past three days he has stayed here, he had not complained of any illness and his death has come as a shock," Nabongo says. Phinehas Kidiba, the brother to deceased, says that Nima told him on his mobile phone Wednesday to inform his family that he was tired and was not going to return home. The Vatican said Thursday Pope Francis has asked the church to change its teachings to reflect his view that the death penalty should be inadmissible. The new language in the Catechism of the Catholic Church says the death penalty was long considered an appropriate response to certain crimes in order to protect the public, but that now there is "an increasing awareness that the dignity of the person is not lost even after the commission of very serious crimes." Pope Francis The text says there are more effective detention systems that "do not definitively deprive the guilty of the possibility of redemption." It further says the Catholic Church teaches the death penalty is an attack on a person's dignity, and that the church "works with determination for its abolition worldwide." Ousted president Robert Mugabe Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) has declared incumbent President Emmerson Mnangagwa the winner of Monday's general election. According to ZEC chairperson, Justice Priscilla Chigumba, Mnangagwa got 50.8 per cent (2,460,463) of the vote while opposition and MDC Alliance candidate Nelson Chamisa got 44.3 per cent (2,147,436 votes). According to the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission, there was a large turnout in most provinces and huge number of rejected ballots. Mnangagwa became president after President Robert Mugabe was forced to resign by his own ruling party, ZANU-PF and the military in November last year. Release and announcement of Monday's results was delayed by at least a day, leading to violent clashes between police and protestors, who were demanding to know who will be the country's next leader. At least six people were killed during the clashes according to Zimbabwe police spokesperson Charity Charamba. Following the violent clashes in the capital, Harare between protesters and police, President Mnangagwa declared a state of emergency and invoked a law formally calling on the army to help maintain order. Mnangagwa called for an independent investigation of the violence while stressing the need for the nation to move forward together. We believe in transparency and accountability, and those responsible should be identified and brought to justice, he wrote on Twitter. It is also more important than ever that we are united and commit to settling our differences peacefully and respectfully, and within the confines of the law. Mnangagwa said his government has been in communication with opposition leader Chamisa to discuss ways to immediately diffuse the situation. Chamisa and his opposition Movement for Democratic Change party have alleged cheating in the election and say Chamisa won the vote. ZANU-PF party also won majority of parliamentary seats - taking 109 of 210 available. Election office protests Wednesdays violence happened after about 150 demonstrators gathered outside the offices of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission. Police tried to disperse the protesters using water cannon and tear gas. Protesters threw rocks in their direction and started fires in the street. Then the army appeared, in armored personnel carriers on Harares main boulevard, and overhead in a helicopter. VOA saw five armored vehicles with mounted high-caliber weapons, navigating around large rocks that littered the road. Gunfire echoed in the distance. VOA saw three soldiers beating a young man with batons; other witnesses reported seeing one man shot dead and a woman face-down on the pavement, a bullet hole in the middle of her back. Protesters did not give their names, but had plenty to say. You see, they are using military! How can a general be a president? That government is full of military personnel! shouted one young man. Chamisas spokesman, Nkululeko Sibanda, rejected an accusation from Mnangagwa that the opposition was responsible for the violence. President Nelson Chamisa has not ordered any guns on the street. So he cannot be accused of being violent, because he has put no guns on the street, Sibanda said. He said the opposition has serious doubts about official results that show the ruling ZANU-PF party is winning control of parliament and has suspicions about the delay in the presidential results. How do we have results from a place that has no telephone line first before we have results from Harare central? he said. Harare is an opposition stronghold. Inside the headquarters of ZEC, international observers aired their concerns, with the EU and American observer missions voicing worry over subtle intimidation ahead of the vote and noting that the longer the results take, the more tense this wounded nation will be. Former Ethiopian prime minister Hailemariam Desalegn urged ZEC to conclude the electoral process in a speedy manner in accordance with the law. We also urge other stakeholders, particularly political party leaders and their supporters, to continue to maintain peace and refrain from acts that might undermine the integrity of the process or threaten the peace and stability of the country. Mnangagwa has promised to restore the nations fractured international relations. Butterfield Evans and Assocs. is representing the Tokyo-based Institute of Cetacean Research before the Trump administration and Congress on Japanese whaling policy. Japan wants to resume commercial whaling, which was banned by the International Whaling Commission in 1986. The IWC did grant Japan the right to conduct "scientific whaling," which the country claims is needed to gauge whether the whale population is stable enough to resume a commercial hunt. The IWC allowed Japan to kill 333 Antarctic minke whales last year. The meat was sold for human consumption. Australia's ABC News reported Aug. 2 that Japan will propose to restructure the IWC at its September meeting in Brazil to pave the way for the reintroduction of commercial whaling. Japan's lead IWC negotiator, Joji Morishita, will chair that meeting. Australia's government plans to fight the Japanese push. Ian Butterfield oversees the ICR effort, which began June 1 and runs through March 31. He's a former consultant at the Livingston Group, international government affairs director at Westinghouse Electric and member of the foreign policy team at the Heritage Foundation. This weekend, DID Electrical Tullamore is continuing to celebrate its 50th year in business with a massive 50th anniversary sale. The Irish owned family business is delighted to reward their customers, including in Tullamore. They are the masters of everything electrical, from washing machines to TVs; smartphones to coffee machines. The 50th Anniversary Sale concludes this weekend and there are some fantastic savings to be had in store. Speaking about the celebrations, Darren Hardiman, Head of Operations, Marketing & E-Commerce DID Electrical said, Were incredibly proud of our roots as an Irish family business, one that has grown to become a family of over 250 people working across the country every day of the week to find the perfect technology and home appliance solutions for our fantastic customers." "It has always been our commitment to be there in the moments that matter for our customers, and were incredibly grateful for the loyalty they have shown us in return," he added. As Ireland has changed and grown in the past half century, DID has too - and we remain committed to always delivering the best value, service and experience for our customers. We have been lucky enough to be a part of our customers lives, often for generations of the same families, and we are looking forward to being part of the next 50. See did.ie/birthday-sale and sign-up to the DID family or contact your local DID store to secure an invitation to these events. You can find out more about the DID Electrical Store in Tullamore, including opening times and contact details, as well as the 50th anniversary sale by clicking here. More rain in store as IMD puts Bengaluru on yellow alert Karnataka school reopening date for 1-5th std revealed: When will offline classes begin for primary kids? Karnataka local body polls: Local leaders to take call on alliance with JDS Bengaluru oi-Chennabasaveshwar By Chennabasaveshwar Bengaluru, Aug 3: A day the Election Commission announced dates, the Congress party left the option to form alliance with Janata Dal (Secular) to local leaders in the upcoming local body elections. Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) decided to leave it to local leaders to decide on tie-up with JD(S) in local body election. The KPCC asked the local Congress leaders to have tie-up with secular forces. Janata Dal Secular (JDS), which is in allaiance with the Congress, yet to break silence over the matter. The State Election Commission has announced election date for 105 local bodies. The voting will take place in two phases. The Election Commission will issue the notification on August 11. Twenty-nine Nagarasabhas, 53 Purasabhas and 23 Town Panchayats will go to polls. For the first time EVMs will be used in the voting. The last date for filing of the nomination is August 17. Voting will be held on August 29. Counting of votes will be held on September 1. For more Bengaluru news, Click here For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Friday, August 3, 2018, 13:16 [IST] Protect country without worry, Modi govt will take care of your families: Amit Shah to troops Amit Shah spends night at CRPF camp in Pulwama; says will see a peaceful J&K 'in our lifetime' J-K cops detain 6 over derogatory video after Pakistan's victory against India in T20 match Balkanisation of India: Lt. Gen would look to further bolster Operation Tupac in Kashmir Terrorist who was going to kill shopkeeper in J&K gunned down 2 CRPF personnel injured in grenade attack in Anantnag India oi-Chennabasaveshwar P By Chennabasaveshwar Anantnag, Aug 3: Two security personnel have been injured in a grenade attack on CRPF party deployed at State Bank of India branch at Lal Chowk in Anantnag on Friday. Security forces have cordoned off the area. In a separate incident, terrorists barged inside a branch of JK Bank in Karpan area of Shopian district and looted cash, also snatched a 12 bore rifle from the private security guard deputed at the branch. Police investigation underway. Two security personnel receive minor injuries in a grenade attack on CRPF party deployed at State Bank of India branch at Lal Chowk in Anantnag; Area cordoned off. (Visuals deferred by unspecified time) #JammuAndKashmir pic.twitter.com/QLy10m1l4w ANI (@ANI) August 3, 2018 Islamabad, Beijing, Moscow are all persuaded that the Taliban will have to be part of the solution in Afghanistan. The proliferation of punditry on Imran Khans emergence in Pakistan is in inverse proportion to any information available to the media on what, if any, appraisals have been made in South Block. In the absence of any hard information, the pundits are flying Basant kites in overcast monsoon conditions. Never, in my decades of journalism, has New Delhi been so short on information. But it is infra dig for pundits to betray a lack of information, knowledge or wisdom. So they pop up on every TV channel, look penetratingly into the camera and blurt out the earth-shaking truth: We have to watch the Pakistan Army! The Pakistan Army, meanwhile, is playing the monkey between two cats the United States and China. With Donald Trump and his Deep State apparently engaged in a savage fight to the finish, the balance of advantage must be seen to be with China. But the Chinese themselves are keeping their fingers crossed on the China-Pakistan economic corridor where India, at US prodding, may play the spoiler. Meanwhile, there are reports that thousands of Pakistan students, who in the past would have been westward bound, have entered Chinese schools of learning. Who knows, this may be the thin end of the wedge. To block this hemorrhage, President Trumps minions have rushed in to block any IMF relief to Pakistan and, to multiply the effect, raised India to almost Nato-level partner. In his first press conference, Imran Khan painted China in glowing colours as a role model. Those who know Imran are quite firm that the new Prime Minister will be pragmatic. He will not seek to impose a moral code on his armed forces. But he will draw some very firm red lines and these red lines will stretch from Pakhtunkhwa right through Afghanistan, the arena of his political baptism and purgatory. That is where he cannot be seen to be striking deals. His political turf will turn to ash if he does. The Punjabis among the peaceniks and the media are experiencing a reversal they have lost all their contacts across the border. This is a pity because he should not be seen with the traditional Pathan-Punjabi prism. The brunt of the blowback from the Afghan war was borne by the Pathan region, true, but it was a national catastrophe. The crest that Imran rode was precisely this all Pakistans anger at the Army fighting Americas war against the people it had trained as jihadis to expel the Soviet Union from Afghanistan. Over 40,000 Pakistanis were killed by the Pakistan Army and American drone attacks in these operations. Let me fast forward to the latest American debacle in Syria and its possible impact on the AfPak region. Ever since the Russians landed in Syria to fight terrorism, the US-Israel-Saudi bluff has been called. They armed and financed Jabhat al Nusra, Al Qaeda and worse, but their town criers amplified these rogue elements as the Free Syrian Army. When almost all the mercenary Islamists had been caught with their trousers down, the existential question arose: what to do with trained terrorists? When animal lovers in Britain forced an end to the traditional fox hunt, the impulse reached Indias southern hill station of Ootacamund too. The same question arose: what to do with hundreds of pedigree hounds? Good sense dawned, and the canines were kept in a deluxe kennel, then distributed among dog lovers. But what do the trainers do with terrorists, trained and tested in action, who have not only tasted blood but have begun to love it? Trained terrorists can only have one use as assets against any Muslim society which the trainer wishes to destabilise Afghanistan, Xinxiang, the Caucasus and so on. I can quote at least two recent US Presidents to prove my point. In an interview to Thomas L. Friedman of the New York Times in August 2014, President Barack Obama made a startling admission. Asked why he had not ordered air attacks against the Islamic State, when it first reared its head, Mr Obama said: That would have taken the pressure off Nouri al Maliki, Iraqs stubbornly anti-American Shia PM. In other words, the ISIS advance from Mosul to Baghdad was facilitated to oust Nouri al Maliki, an outcome the US was excitedly waiting for. Mr Maliki had to be punished for the affront of not signing the status of forces agreement with the US. Eventually Mr Maliki was shown the door. After having been briefed by the intelligence agencies, candidate Donald Trump told Jake Tapper of CNN: Where do you think have billions of dollars worth of arms and cash gone in the course of our involvement in Syria? To the extremists, of course, I believe so. He has not budged from this position. What should worry Imran Khan is the next stage the transfer of trained terrorists from Syria to northern Afghanistan. Irans Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei told a Friday congregation in Tehran on January 30. The US transfer of ISIS terrorists to Afghanistan is aimed at creating a justification for its (US) continued presence in the region. More recently, Russias deputy foreign minister Morgulov Igor Vladimirovich told a high-powered gathering at the Raisina Dialogue in New Delhi: ISIS fighters were being flown to northern Afghanistan. The Afghan airspace is under the control of the US and the government in Kabul. So who is responsible? Mr Vladimirovich asked. Islamabad, Beijing, Moscow are all persuaded that the Taliban will have to be part of the solution in Afghanistan. Will Washington, for that reason, pit itself on the opposite side? This will enflame anti-Americanism in the AfPak region. Remember, Recep Tayyip Erdogan rode a wave of popularity when he blocked US troops marching to Iraq in 2003 through Turkish territory. Israel attacked Mavi Marmara, a Turkish flotilla, on May 31, 2010 which aimed to provide relief to Gaza. Mr Erdogans tough anti-Israel stand further boosted his popularity sky high. This was the beginning of the powerful Turkish Army losing power to the civilian authority. Imran Khan considers Mr Erdogan as his role model. Do you get me? Bulandshahr violence: Armyman accused of cop's murder handed over to UP police, denies involvement Lashkars propaganda module had plans of intimidating people in every J&K district J&K: Top LeT terrorist who was involved in attack on a merchant's family gunned down 2 militants killed, Army jawan martyred in Sopore encounter India oi-Chennabasaveshwar By Chennabasaveshwar Sopore, Aug 3: Two terrorists have been gunned down by security forces in an encounter in Drusu village in Sopore on Friday. Army Jawan Sawar Vijay Kumar, who was injured in the encounter, succumbed to his injuries. DGP Jammu and Kashmir Police Shesh Paul Vaid said two bodies of terrorists were recovered from the encounter site. Two bodies of terrorists recovered from encounter site in Sopore, operation concluded. Shesh Paul Vaid (@spvaid) August 3, 2018 The encounter happened a day after the government forces killed two militants who had snatched a rifle from the forces on Tuesday. The police said the militants were travelling in a car when it was asked to stop at a checkpoint. As the driver of the car got down to register his identity in a log book, the police said the militants in the car fired on the forces and they fired back in which both the militants were killed at the Khumriyal area of Lolab. Fake: This is not an image of a protest in Assam against Bangladesh violence 6 TMC leaders leave Assam after overnight detention India oi-Chennabasaveshwar By Chennabasaveshwar Silchar, Aug 3: Six Trinamool Congress leaders leave Assam after overnight detention at Silchar airport on Friday. Two others to leave later in the day. The Cachar district DC told PTI about the development. A delegation of eight TMC leader -six MPs and two MLAs- were detained at the Sichar airport in Assam. The party members had alleged that they were manhandled at the airport. The delegation reached Assam on Thursday to assess the situation in the state in the wake of the publication of the complete draft of the NRC. SS Roy, TMC MP, said, "77 passengers in the same aircraft were allowed to move out. Only 6 of us were not allowed. We had to cancel our public meeting. We just wanted to have on-the-spot study of the situation." For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Friday, August 3, 2018, 9:41 [IST] Advani, Kanshi Ram and Pranab Mukherjee likely to get Bharat Ratna India oi-Vinod By Vinod New Delhi, Aug 3: When the highest civilian award for the distinguished services of the country Bharat Ratna will be announced by the government this year, some interesting names are likely to figure in it. The other interesting aspect is that the government might announce four names altogether which will be the first in the history of Bharat Ratna as maximum three nominees are awarded in a year which was started in 1954. Sources informed that the government might confer Bharat Ratna on former deputy Prime Minister Lal Krishna Advani, one of the most respected Dalit icons after B R Ambedkar, Kanshi Ram, former President of India Pranab Mukherjee and one more name to be conferred from the south India. Demand of Bharat Ratna for Kanshi Ram was doing rounds from very long for his services to the uplift of the Dalit community. The former President has been considered for his long and outstanding contribution for the polity of country and so has been the case with Advani. Bharat Ratna to Dalit icon Kanshi Ram will help the BJP government to reach out to them when there is a lot of acrimony in the community against the BJP. Similarly Pranab Mukherjee's honour will help the BJP in West Bengal. Bharat Ratna is conferred on people in recognition to their exceptional service, contribution, performance of the highest order without distinction of race, occupation, position or sex. Earlier the award was limited to achievements in the fields of arts, literature, science, and public services, but the government expanded the criteria to include any field of human endeavour in December 2011. Recommendations for the Bharat Ratna are made by the Prime Minister to the President, with a maximum of three nominees being awarded per year but it is being said that this year it is going to be four. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Friday, August 3, 2018, 18:27 [IST] American authors come up with their book on the RSS India oi-Vinod New Delhi, Aug 3: The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) not only evokes interest of the people in the country but it generates inquisitiveness and interests among western scholars and academic. The book called 'The RSS: The View To the Inside' is a testimony to the fact that an American scholar Walter K Andersen and an Indian American Sridhar D Damle has come up with this book. The book is about the growth of the RSS especially in the recent time and many other such factors about the organisation. Andersen is an American academic who had taught comparative politics at the College of Wooster before joining the United States State Department as a political analyst for South Asia specializing in India and Indian Ocean affairs. He was an adjunct professor at The American University in Washington, DC. Both the authors, Andersen and Damle wrote another book on the similar subject called 'The Brotherhood in Saffron: The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and Hindu Revivalism' which is called an authoritative, detailed examination of the RSS, including its early growth in the pre-independence period, its organization, the function of its various officers and the evolution of its ideology. Damle is known to be an expert on the right wing politics. He is also working on myths about Vinayak Damodar Savarkar. He is of the opinion that there are lots of miscommunications about Veer Savarkar and to prove his point he has collected lots of research paper not only from Indian libraries including Nehru Memorial Library, Andaman and many other such places but also from the British libraries in London. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Friday, August 3, 2018, 21:12 [IST] Bangladeshis living illegally in Karnataka will be deported without fail: Parameshwar India oi-Madhuri Bengaluru, Aug 3: Karnataka, Deputy Chief Minister, Dr. G Parameshwar has said that strict action would be taken against those illegal immigrants in the state. Speaking to reporters in Bengaluru, Parameshwar said that they have undertaken a drive to identify such persons and action would follow. We are looking at all persons who have come to Karnataka from abroad, not just the Bangladeshis. We have taken up a drive and recently 100 African students who did not have valid documents have been deported, the Deputy CM also added. Bangladeshis living illegally in Karnataka will be deported without fail, says @DrParameshwara pic.twitter.com/We53dJ0x2S Madhuri Rao (@theredditgirl) August 3, 2018 To a question on what action was being taken against the Bangladeshis, he said that the state would surely act against them in case they are found to be living illegally in India. He said that if they do not have the required papers or other valid documents, the state would not hesitate in acting against them and also deporting them. Many more leaders are in contact with me: Tejashwi Yadav after former MLA rejoins RJD from JD(U) RJD's Tej Prataps latest fit of sulk seems over, wishes CM's chair for brother Tejashwi Yadav Bihar shelter home case: Rahul Gandhi, Kejriwal likely to join Tejashwi's protest in Delhi India oi-Deepika By Deepika Patna, Aug 3: RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav will stage a demonstration at the national capital in protest against "heinous institutional mass rape in Muzaffarpur" on Saturday. Tejashwi will be accompanied by Congress President Rahul Gandhi, Delhi Chief Arvind Kejriwal at the Jantar Mantar. Meanwhile, Trinmool Congress has also extended support for the protest. Yadav, who is the leader of the opposition in the state assembly, urged "all to attend" the dharna at Jantar Mantar on Saturday, August 4. "Against heinous institutional mass rape in Muzaffarpur sponsored and protected by Nitish government, we will stage a dharna on Saturday, August 4 at Jantar Mantar. Request all to attend", the RJD heir apparent tweeted. Yadav has been attacking the Nitish Kumar government over the Muzaffarpur shelter home scandal involving sexual abuse of more than 30 girls. Although it was not known which other parties or leaders would be joining the proposed dharna, party sources said Yadav was likely to rope in Congress president Rahul Gandhi with whom he has come to share a good rapport in recent times. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal may also make an appearance at the RJD leader's dharna as he retweeted a post by a journalist which read "so @ArvindKejriwal will also join the Muzaffarpur rape protest organized by @yadavtejashwi at Jantar Mantar". For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Friday, August 3, 2018, 15:17 [IST] Bihar court's unique condition to rape accused to get bail: Wash clothes of 2000 women Bihar judge who asked molestation accused to wash clothes of 2000 women restrained from work Not giving up demand for special status for Bihar: Chief Minister Nitish Kumar Covid test must for those visiting Bihar from other states during Diwali, Chhath Bihar By-polls: Lalu Yadav to campaign for RJD candidates on Wednesday to ensure 'visarjan' of Nitish Kumar BPSC Civil Services Exam 2018 notification released, how to apply before Aug 20 India oi-Chennabasaveshwar By Chennabasaveshwar New Delhi, Aug 3: The BPSC Civil Services Exam 2018 notification has been released. The same is available on the official website. The registration process commences today and will go on till August 20. Important dates: Registration starts- August 3 Registration ends- August 20 Online payment starts- August 3 Online payment ends- August 24 Online application process ends- August 31 Important links: Important notice: http://bpsc.bih.nic.in/Advt/64CCE(PRE)-Important-Notice.pdf Advertisement: http://bpsc.bih.nic.in/Advt/64CCE(PRE)-Advertisement.pdf Instructions to fill online application: http://bpsc.bih.nic.in/Advt/64CCE(PRE)-Instructions-for-Applying-Online.pdf Official website: http://bpsc.bih.nic.in Qualification: Candidate should be a graduate or equivalent from any recognised institution or university How to apply for BPSC Civil Services Prelims 2018: Go to bspc.bih.nic.in Click on BPSC Civil Services Prelims Exam 2018 Read instructions carefully, find out if you are eligible Click on online application and fill up form Register if you are a first time user Enter all the required details Fill in all details, upload photo etc Take a printout For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Friday, August 3, 2018, 11:14 [IST] You have right to protest not right to block roads: SC to farmers Centre wants SC verdict limiting powers to promote SC/ST employees in govt offices re-examined India oi-Vicky Nanjappa New Delhi, Aug 3: The Centre has told the Supreme Court that reservation was given to the SC/ST community to right a wrong they suffered for more than 1,000 years. Atrocities on them continue, even today, Attorney General, K K Venugopal representing the Centre said. He said that the SC's 2006 judgment in the Nagraj case virtually stopping reservation in promotion for SC/ST employees requires re-consideration. Once an ST/ST, the backwardness is presumed and there was no need to find quantifiable data to find out whether backwardness continued with the SC/ST employees, he also said. A five judge Bench headed by Chief Justice of India, Dipak Misra asked the Centre to prove why the Nagraj ruling asking states to get quantifiable data first to prove backwardness before granting reservation in promotion is wrong. The Centre said that in promotions too the SC/ST together must account for 23 of every 100 promotions in a year, failing which the affirmative action would remain an illusion. Justice Misra said that reservation in promotion for SC/ST in government services comes with certain qualifiers under Article 16(4). Government can only give accelerated promotion if there is quantifiable data as per the Nagraj verdict. The CJI further said that the Nagraj verdict says accelerated promotion to SC/ST persons to be given by state if they are inadequately represented. It is necessary for overall efficiency of administration and it needs to be based on quantifiable data, the CJI also said while quoting the 2006 verdict. The Centre however opposed the fact that the Nagraj verdict limits the state's power to promote SC/ST government officers by introducing qualifiers like backwardness, inadequate representation and overall administrative efficiency. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Friday, August 3, 2018, 15:17 [IST] Delhi could face power crisis, says Arvind Kejriwal in letter to PM Modi Centre has again denied permission to Delhi govt to implement ration delivery scheme: AAP Delhi: Fire breaks out at Justice Kurian Joseph's official residence India pti-PTI New Delhi, Aug 3: A fire broke out at Supreme Court judge Kurian Joseph's official residence in Lutyens' Delhi, the police said on Friday. A call was received about a fire at Joseph's bungalow around 10 pm yesterday and two firetenders were rushed to the spot, a senior Delhi Fire Service officer said, adding that it was doused within 25 minutes. Joseph's bungalow is located on Tughlak Road. The fire started in the prayer room, which is located next to the bedroom, said a senior police officer. A burning candle had fallen on a piece of cloth triggering the fire. After smoke was seen emanating from the room, the police and the fire department were alerted. PTI Mehul Choksi gets bail by Dominica HC, can travel to Antigua for medical treatment Details from Antigua expose complicity of Modi govt in escape of Choksi: Congress India pti-PTI New Delhi, Aug 3: The Congress on Friday alleged that "shocking details" emerging from Antigua have "exposed the complicity and connivance" of the Modi gvernment in the escape of fugitive billionaire Mehul Choksi to the Caribbean country. Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala was reacting to media reports quoting Antiguan authorities as saying that Indian agencies had no adverse information against Choksi when the Caribbean country conducted a background check on the PNB scam accused before granting him citizenship in 2017. "Loot and make them scoot is the prime policy of the the Modi government. The shocking details reveal how the Modi government enacted this mega scam," he said in a statement. Surjewala questioned why Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not raise the issue when he met his Antiguan counterpart Gaston Browne in April 2018. He also alleged that the Ministry of External Affairs issued a clean chit to Choksi when there were complaints pending against him. "Why did the CBI/ED not move the Interpol for a warrant against Mehul Choksi or provide the requisite evidence of criminal fraud against him? Is it not correct that this deliberate failure on part of CBI/ED in providing evidence to Interpol, led to Interpol giving a clean chit to Choksi?" he asked. The Congress leader sought to know why the Prime Minister's Office did not act or direct the External Affairs Ministry, Central Bureau of Investigation, Enforcement Directorate, Securities and Exchange Board of India, Serious Fraud Investigation Office etc. to take action on two complaints dated May 7 and May 26, 2015. "Why did not Prime Minister Narendra Modi raise the issue of citizenship during his meeting with Antigua PM Gaston Browne in April, 2018?" the Congress leader asked. Surjewala alleged the agencies under the Modi government enabled the "great escape" of Choksi. "Complicity and connivance of the Modi gvernment in the escape of Rs 23,484-cr PNB scam accused Mehul Choksi, better described by PM Narendra Modi's 'hamare Mehul bhai', has been exposed. "Shocking details from Antigua's Citizenship By Investment Unit have lifted the cover from the sins committed by every organ of the Modi government PMO, MEA, CBI, SEBI etc that facilitated and gave a 'clean chit' to the fraudster," he alleged. Surjewala said the development "also conclusively exposes the barrage of lies that ministers in the Modi government were trying to plant in the mainstream media". The Congress leader said Choksi left India on January 4, 2018 and was already a citizen of Antigua and Barbuda since November 2017 "which gives him a visa-free access to travel around 132 nations". PTI The stock added about $6.27 billion in market capitalization and gave the company a valuation of $57.35 billion. Tesla becomes the most valuable US automaker. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File) Shares of Tesla Inc jumped more than 12 per cent on Thursday after the company convinced investors that it was able to yield positive cash flow and turn a profit, and Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk apologized for past incendiary remarks. The stock added about $6.27 billion in market capitalization and gave the company a valuation of $57.35 billion, vaulting it past General Motors Co to make it the most valuable US automaker. Musk in a conference call on Wednesday, addressing the companys largest quarterly loss to date, said the electric car maker would not need to raise more cash and that capital expenses would be slightly below $2.5 billion in 2018, lower than most analysts estimates. But it was his remorse for prior remarks to analysts that highlighted the call. Previously, he insulted some analysts - turning off investors and shareholders, and knocking $2 billion off the companys market cap. I would like to apologize for being impolite on the prior call. Honestly, I think there is really no excuse for bad manners. I was kind of violating my own rule in that regard, he said. In the previous quarter, Musk called questions posed by two analysts boring and boneheaded, and refused to answer them. This quarter, not only was Musks tone non-confrontational, but he apologized to both analysts. Musk displayed a noticeably more muted tone, opening the Q&A with an apology for his behaviour last quarter, and answering questions with few fireworks, said Bernstein analyst Toni Sacconaghi, who was one of the analysts targeted by Musk. Shares of the company were up 12.2 per cent to $337.68. Tesla ended the second quarter with $2.78 billion in cash after spending $610 million in capital expenses. Barclays analysts suggested Tesla tapped into the credit line for $458 million, which boosted its end-of-quarter cash reserves. On Wednesday, Musk reiterated a target of producing 6,000 Model 3 sedans per week by late August. After Tesla produced 5,000 per week in July following several delays in reaching that target, analysts were concerned whether it could maintain the production rate. After three quarters where investors have been in the dark with respect to estimating Model 3 volumes and margins, Q2 felt like there might finally be some light at the end of the tunnel, Evercore analysts wrote. Come Q3, we may even be able to see the end of the tunnel, or Elons Production Hell. Tesla had a record loss of $718 million in the second quarter, but investors and analysts focused on the positives, and more importantly on Musks behaviour on the conference call. At least three brokerages raised their price targets and one upgraded the stock to outperform from perform. The eccentric billionaire has been a lightning rod for controversies. Most recently he ran into trouble for abusing a British caver who helped rescue 12 boys from a flooded Thailand cave. (Source) 'Didi is chameleon', says Bengal Congress chief India oi-Chennabasaveshwar By Chennabasaveshwar Kolkata, Aug 3: West Bengal Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhary hit back at Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for her double speak over the issue of illegal migrants. Adhir Ranjan Chowdhary, said, " Mamata Banerjee has been assuring she will provide shelter to those who will be thrown out of Assam. But, she has sealed Assam-Bengal border, so that none could enter Bengal. Such double standards will add difficulty for those 40 lakh people." "Mamata Banerjee is agitating as 40 lakh people are left out. In 2005, Didi had brought adjournment motion against illegal migrants by warning of disastrous consequences in India if they are not thrown out. She changes tracks like chameleon, " Chowdhary said. Mamata Banerjee, the Chief Minister of West Bengal is leading from the front to oppose the NRC in Assam. She had even said that those whose names are not in the final draft are welcome to her state. However this was not her stance 13 years back. In 2005, Mamata had sought for a discussion on a very serious matter. She had come up with two sets of papers on illegal immigration from Bangladesh. She was however denied permission to speak on the subject. What followed was Mamata losing her cool, tearing up the papers and throwing it towards the deputy speaker of the Lok Sabha, Charanjeet Singh Atwal. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Friday, August 3, 2018, 11:33 [IST] Escape of Lashkar terrorist Naveed Jutt: NIA reveals how the plan was executed India oi-Vicky Nanjappa New Delhi, Aug 3: The National Investigation Agency on Friday filed a chargesheet against four persons in connection with the escape of Lashkar-e-Tayiba terrorist Naveed Jutt from the Sringar hospital. The NIA chargesheeted Mohammad Tika Kha, Shakeel Ahmad Bhat, Syed Tajmul Islam Kirmani and Mohammad Shafi Wani. Jutt it ay be recalled had escaped after attacking a police escort party on February 6 2018, when he was being taken for medical examination at the Shri Maharaja Hari Singh Hospital in Srinagar. Two police personnel were killed in the incident. The NIA found that it was a well planned criminal conspiracy. Investigation revealed that the accused conducted meetings in the Central Jail, Srinagar on different dates before the incident and a comprehensive plan was made to effect the escape Jutt. As per the plan, the accused conducted a detailed recce of the SMHS Hospital as well as routes to be followed before and after the action. They also arranged vehicles and weapons to be used in execution of the plan. During investigation, accused the four persons mentioned in chargesheet were arrested. Jutt alias Abu Hanzalla is still absconding. Further investigation is still on. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Friday, August 3, 2018, 16:55 [IST] Extradition of Mehul Choksi to begin soon as CBI gets confirmation, he has not fled to Antigua India oi-Madhuri New Delhi, Aug 3: Amidst reports that fugitive businessman Mehul Choksi leaving Antigua, the Central Bureau of Investigation has managed to confirm that he is very much in that country. The CBI got confirmation from the authorities in Antigua that Choksi is in their country. Further CBI sources tell OneIndia that the extradition process would begin soon. The communication was received by the CBI in response to their queries seeking whereabouts of Choksi after news of his presence in Antigua surfaced. The CBI in its communication sent to Antiguan authorities last week cited a diffusion notice issued by Interpol against the fugitive businessman and sought details of his movement and his present location, the officials said. Choksi had taken the citizenship of Antigua in November 2017, and oath of allegiance on January 15 this year, the officials said. No adverse comments against Mehul Choksi when he was granted Antigua citizenship The officials said that after getting the confirmation, the agency is likely to move an extradition request through the External Affairs Ministry and may not wait for a Red Corner Notice as the application is still pending with Interpol. The Citizenship by Investment unit of Antigua and Barbuda had told local newspapers that Choksi's citizenship application was granted after "robust due diligence" and "international investigation" by "reputable agencies", including the International Criminal Police Organisation and the CARICOM Implementing Agency for Crime and Security (IMPACS). The CBI, the nodal agency of India for Interpol, said no information regarding background checks of Choksi was sought from it by the international agency. "The Interpol has not sought any information related to Choksi from the CBI in the last three-four years," CBI spokesperson Abhishek Dayal had said. Under the Citizenship by Investment Program of Antigua and Barbuda, a person can take their passport on a minimum investment of USD one lakh in NDF investment fund. He escaped India in the first week of January and took the oath of allegiance in Antigua on January 15, they said, adding that the next day the scam blew up. Choksi's actions show that he had planned in advance his escape and subsequent life knowing that the scam would blow up after the retirement of PNB employee Gokulnath Shetty, who was helping him with renewal of letters of undertaking, the officials said. Choksi allegedly swindled Rs 7,080.86 crore, making it possibly the biggest banking scam in the country, the agency had said. An LoU is a guarantee given by an issuing bank to Indian banks having branches abroad to grant short-term credit to the applicant. Choksi and his companies allegedly availed credit from overseas branches of Indian banks using the fraudulent guarantees of PNB given through LoUs and letters of credit issued by the Brady House branch which were not repaid, bringing the liability on the state-run bank, the officials said. ( With agency inputs) Despite highest disruptions since 2014, here's the list of bills passed in Parliament Explained: Why is raining so much in October despite the monsoon being over Flood in Assam: Death toll rises to 41 India oi-Chennabasaveshwar By Chennabasaveshwar New Delhi, Aug 3: Eight districts of Assam inundated due to floods and more than one lakh people are affected. The death toll has increased to 41. According to Assam Disaster Management Authority, the flood situation remained grim as the mighty Brahmaputra and its tributaries were flowing above the danger mark. More than 5,000 hectares of agricultural land have been inundated. There were reports of embankments, roads, bridges and other infrastructure being damaged in Lakhimpur, Kamrup Metropolitan, Sivasagar and Sonitpur districts, reported PTI. On the other hand, Nagaland chief minister Neiphiu Rio sought immediate central assistance to tide over the crisis in his state. In a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi yesterday, Rio said it was becoming difficult for his administration to maintain adequate supply of essential commodities, including petroleum products, in district headquarters as stocks have depleted and connectivity via land route was severed at some places. Flooded Yamuna Children look at the flooded Yamuna river as its water recedes, in New Delhi on Wednesday, Aug 1, 2018. PTI Yamuna river in Mathura A view of a colony flooded by the Yamuna river, in Mathura on Thursday, Aug 2, 2018. PTI Flooded colony Children ride a cart as they move through a flooded colony, inundated by the Yamuna river, in Mathura. PTI Flood-affected village People shift from the flood-affected Numaligarh village in Golaghat district of Assam, on Thursday, August 2, 2018. PTI Submerged houses Partially submerged houses seen during flood after monsoon rainfall, in Golaghat on Thursday, Aug 2, 2018. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Friday, August 3, 2018, 15:04 [IST] By being placed third on seniority list, here is what Justice Joseph has missed out Friction over? Centre clears Justice Josephs name as SC judge India oi-Vicky Nanjappa New Delhi, Aug 3: Removing a major friction point between the legislature and judiciary, the government is said to have cleared the Collegium's decision to elevate Uttarakhand HC Chief Justice K M Joseph to the Supreme Court. The government is also said to have cleared the names of Justice Indira Banerjee, Madras High Court, Chief Justice and Orissa HC CJ, Justice Vineet Saran as SC judges. The elevation of Justice Joseph whose name was cleared by the Collegium on January 10 had become a major friction point between the SC and government. Two days after the decision of the Collegium was made, four senior most judges addressed a press conference criticising the functioning of Chief Justice of India, Dipak Misra. The Centre had in April returned the file and objected to the elevation of Justice Joseph citing lack of seniority. The Centre had said that his name had figured at 42 in the all-India seniority of judges list and such an elevation would supersede many and demolish legitimate expectations of HC judges to be appoint to the SC. Following this there was wide speculation that the name of Justice Joseph had been rejected because as Uttarakhand CJ, he had struck down imposition of President's rule in the state by the BJP led NDA government in 2016 after dismissing the Harish Rawat led Congress government. Rawat government was later re-instated after the SC intervened and ordered a floor test. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Friday, August 3, 2018, 5:50 [IST] Covid test must for those visiting Bihar from other states during Diwali, Chhath Bihar By-polls: Lalu Yadav to campaign for RJD candidates on Wednesday to ensure 'visarjan' of Nitish Kumar Girls appeared scared, had suggested that shelter home be vacated': Bihar Child Rights commission India oi-Vikas By Vikas Patna, Aug 3: The Bihar shelter home rape case is getting murkier with the head of Bihar state commission for protection of child rights, Harpal Kaur, saying that she had recommended that the shelter be vacated as the girls were kept in very poor conditions. The girls alleged that not just visitors but Brajesh Thakur, owner of the shelter home, also used to sexually abuse the girls. Harpal Kaur, the head of Bihar state commission for protection of child rights, said that they had sent reminders as well but nothing happened. Recalling her visit to the shelter home, Kaur said that she hadn't felt right about it. "51 girls were staying in a small premises with no education or health facilities. The girls appeared scared. We had submitted a report to social welfare Department suggesting that the shelter home should be vacated," Kaur told news agency ANI. "I visited shelter home in 2017, saw girls were kept locked inside a room. When I questioned why the girls were kept locked, I was told the girls run away so they have to be kept locked," she added. At the home in Muzaffarpur, girls - one as young as seven - were drugged, raped, forced to sleep naked and scalded with boiling water by its politically connected owner and its staff, a police charge-sheet revealed. Ten people, including owner Brajesh Thakur, have been charged in the document that detailed a network of police, politicians, administration and criminals exploiting and torturing the girls. Under opposition attack on a government-run shelter home in Bihar where over 30 girls were raped and tortured, Nitish Kumar today broke his silence and described the case as "shameful", promising strict, uncompromising action. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Friday, August 3, 2018, 19:27 [IST] Akshaya Tritiya 2021: Check the auspicious date and timings here to buy gold in your city Mandatory gold hallmarking comes into force today: What you should know Gold smuggling racket busted on Indo-Myanmar border India oi-Madhuri Aizwal, Aug 3: Security forces seized 217 kg of gold and arrested five Myanmarese nationals from near the Mizoram-Myanmar border in Champai district, police said. The five Myanmarese nationals were arrested yesterday from Vaphai village in the district for allegedly smuggling gold bars worth around Rs 927 lakh, they said. The gold and the arrested persons were handed over to the officials of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence in Champhai town, the police added. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Friday, August 3, 2018, 12:24 [IST] INX Media Case: SC declines CBI's plea to cancel Karti Chidambaram's anticipatory bail India oi-Deepika By Deepika New Delhi, Aug 3: The Supreme Court on Friday refused to interfere with the anticipatory bail granted to Karti Chidambaram, the son of former Union minister P Chidambaram by the Delhi High Court in an alleged money laundering case related to INX Media. SC Bench led by J AK Sikri refused to interfere with Delhi HC's observations and said, "We do not find any reason to interfere with the HC order but the observations can't be used by anyone in any case." When it comes to the question of liberty, the courts do not go into technicality, a bench of Justices A K Sikri and Ashok Bhushan said. The bench said it is not interfering with the bail granted to Karti but was leaving the question of law open -- on whether he can approach the high court when his application for bail was already pending before the trial court. Additional Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the CBI, said this question of law has to be kept open as invoking powers of concurrent jurisdiction of high court may be a case of "forum shopping". Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Karti, said there is already a judgement in which concurrent jurisdiction of high court can be invoked. On June 25, the CBI moved the apex court challenging the high court order granting bail to Karti. The probe agency claimed in its appeal that it was "impermissible in law" for the high court to entertain Karti's bail plea when an application seeking a similar relief was pending before the trial court. On March 23, a single judge bench of the high court granted bail to Karti, who was arrested on February 28 by the CBI, saying the relief should not be refused unless the crime was of the "highest magnitude" entailing "severe punishment". Karti was arrested from Chennai in connection with an FIR lodged on May 15 last year, which had alleged irregularities in the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) clearance given to INX Media for receiving funds of about Rs 305 crore from overseas in 2007 when his father P Chidambaram was Union finance minister. Both Chidambaram and Karti have denied all allegations made by CBI, as well as the Enforcement Directorate. The CBI initially alleged that Karti received Rs 10 lakh as bribe for facilitating the FIPB clearance to INX Media. It later revised the figure to USD 1 million. Jaitley to return as Finance Minister this month India oi-Madhuri New Delhi, Aug 3: Arun Jaitley will return as the Union Finance Minister later this month after a three month long hiatus. Media reports while quoting sources said that he would be back in at his North Block office this month. Jaitley had undergone a renal transplant in mid-May. Reports also said that his office is being renovated and sanitised so that he is protected against infection. The three month quarantine period prescribed by doctors ends in the mid of August. Jaitley who was lying low for sometime has recently been active on Twitter and his blog. He has been writing on various issues such as GST. In his absence the ministry was handled by Railway Minister, Piyush Goyal. PM Modi launches Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission: What we know about the scheme, so far? Karunanidhi laid to rest with full-state honours at Marina Beach India oi-Oneindia Staff By Oneindia Staff Chennai, Aug 8: DMK patriarch and five-time Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Muthuvel Karunanidhi was finally laid to rest on Wednesday alongside Jayalalithaa, DMK founder CN Annadurai and MGR at Marina beachfront in Chennai as a sea of humanity bid him a tearful farewell. He was buried with full state honours next to his mentor and former chief minister C N Annadurai at the Marina beach. No Hindu rituals were performed as Karunanidhi was a self-proclaimed atheist and rationalist. Karunanidhi's son M K Stalin received the national flag wrapped around his father's body. Other family members including the leader's wife Rajathi Ammal, other sons and daughters showered flower petals at his feet. Draped in a tricolour, the five-time chief minister was taken for his burial in an open procession. A sea of supporters were lined up along the route to catch a final glimpse of the departed leader and chanted slogans for their Thalaivar. The last journey of 'Kalaignar' Karunanidhi began at 4:00 pm. The 94-year-old Dravidian icon, who was affectionately called as Thalaivar and Kalaignar, had breathed his last at Kauvery hospital after fighting for life for 11 days. He had been battling age-related ailments for a long time. Earlier today, leaders from across the country, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress president Rahul Gandhi, came to Chennai to pay their last respects to the doyen of Tamil Nadu politocs who breathed his last at Kauvery hospital in Chennai on Tuesday. Several Chief Ministers and political leaders paid tribute to late DMK chief M Karunanidhi at the Rajaji Hall here today. Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy, Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan, Telangana CM K Chandrasekhar Rao, CPI(M) general secretary Prakash Karat, former chief ministers of Kerala and Uttar Pradesh, Oommen Chandy and Akilesh Yadav respectively, among other leaders paid homage to the departed leader. Here are the Highlights: DMK working president MK Stalin said in an interview that DMK supremo Karunanidhi's health is stable and that doctors are monitoring his condition at the hospital. Actor Vijay meets DMK leader MK Stalin at Kauvery hospital where former Tamil Nadu CM M Karunanidhi is undergoing treatment Chennai: Actor Vijay meets DMK leader MK Stalin at Kauvery hospital where former Tamil Nadu CM M Karunanidhi is undergoing treatment pic.twitter.com/CxRFxzKYOz ANI (@ANI) August 1, 2018 Rajnikanth meets Karunanidhi. On July 31, Congress president Rahul Gandhi met Karunanidhi and wished him a speedy recovery. I wanted to come and see M Karunanidhi Ji. He is a tough person, I met him & he is stable. Sonia ji has sent her best wishes and regards to the family: Rahul Gandhi Congress President Rahul Gandhi to travel to Chennai today to meet DMK chief M Karunanidhi who is admitted to Kauvery Hospital. Stalin says Karunanidhi's condition is stable and that the veteran leader continues to remain under keen observation of doctors. Representatives of Sri Lanka President, Maithripala Sirisena, visited Kauvery hospital to meet former Tamil Nadu CM M Karunanidhi. They submitted a letter from Sirisena to DMK working President MK Stalin wishing speedy recovery to Karunanidhi. NCP leader Sharad Pawar visited Chennai's Kauvery hospital today. He met M K Stalin and Kanimozhi and inquired about the Karunanidhi's health. Supporters of DMK chief M Karunanidhi pray at his residence in Coimbatore where he used to reside in 1945. He is currently admitted in Chennai's Kauvery hospital. Visuals from outside Kauvery Hospital in Chennai where DMK Chief M #Karunanidhi is undergoing treatment #Visuals from outside Kauvery Hospital in Chennai where DMK Chief M #Karunanidhi is undergoing treatment. #TamilNadu pic.twitter.com/ious2kR6GT ANI (@ANI) July 30, 2018 DMK supremo Karunanidhi is fighting with Yaman (the God of death) but he will return victorious, said MDMK general secretary Vaiko Kaveri after visting him at Kauvery Hospital on Monday. Isha Yoga founder and spiritual guru Jaggi vasudev also visited DMK chief Karunanidhi at the Kauvery Hospital on Monday, News18 Tamil reported. AIADMK member Nanjil Sampath and famous Tamil poet Vairamuthu visited DMK chief Karunanidhi in Kauvery Hospital on Monday, according to local media reports. E Palaniswami met Karunanidhi in ICU. He said that the DMK chief is doing fine and a team of expert doctors team is monitoring him, according to reports. DMK volunteers need to maintain peace and cooperate with the police, MK Stalin requests to supporters. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister E Palaniswami and and deputy chief minister O Panneerselvam have arrived at the Kauvery hospital to enquire about M Karunanidhi's health, according to sources. DMK workers continue to gather outside Kauvery Hospital in Chennai where DMK Chief M Karunanidhi is undergoing treatment. According to Thanthi TV, DMK chief Karunanidhi's daughter Kanimozhi who had stayed at the hospital overnight has said that he is doing good and his well-wishers and party workers should be "brave" in these testing times. DMK workers continue to gather outside Kauvery Hospital in Chennai where DMK Chief M #Karunanidhi is undergoing treatment. pic.twitter.com/Y98hwdh0RZ ANI (@ANI) July 30, 2018 A DMK worker died of a heart attack in Thiruvarur on Sunday morning after hearing about the deteriorating health of party veteran M Karunanidhi. Another DMK worker, Raju, committed suicide by hanging himself on Sunday, according to local media reports. The security was beefed up both at the hospital and Karunanidhi's residence on Sunday. DMK leader A Raja, in an address to people outside Kauvery Hospital in Chennai, asked not to believe in rumours. Raja said, "Karunanidhi is responding well to treatment". A massive crowd has gathered outside Kauvery hostpital and a tight security has been put in place. Some reports had earlier said that Karunanidhi's condition was upgraded to 'very critical' from 'critical'. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister E Palaniswami, who was in Salem, has reportedly cancelled all his meetings and rushed for Chennai. Leaders cutting across party lines are arriving at Kauvery hospital. Massive crowds have gathered outside the hospital. People are shouting slogans "Long live Kalaignar". MK Stalin issues statement over M Karunanidhi's health condition,states 'There was unexpected setback in his health but after intense medical care,he's normalising.Doctors' team is continuously monitoring him.Appeal to cadres to not indulge in violence or disturb police or public pic.twitter.com/1tsAoUF4mU ANI (@ANI) July 29, 2018 Karunanidhi was admitted to the Hospital in a critical condition around 1.30 a.m. on Saturday after his blood pressure began to fall. He was rushed to the hospital in an ambulance past Friday midnight from his Gopalapuram residence. Former BJD leader Bijayant Jay Panda earlier called on M Karunanidhi at Kauvery hospital today and wished for the DMK president's speedy recovery. "I came here to convey my best wishes for Karunanidhi Ji's speedy recovery. He has played a tremendous role in social transformation and economic development of the nation. I met MK Stalin, Kanimozhi and other DMK leaders," Panda told ANI after meeting. Vice President Venkaiah Naidu earlier today met the DMK Chief at Kauvery hospital where Karunanidhi is admitted following a drop in blood pressure. The crowd stayed put outside the hospital even past midnight. Despite assurances that Karunanidhi was recovering, the crowd refused to disperse. Anna University has announced that there has been no holiday declared for its constituent colleges. BJD leader Bijayant Jay Panda calls on M Karunanidhi. Vice President Venkaiah Naidu meets DMK Chief M Karunanidhi at Kauvery hospital where the former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister was admitted following a drop in blood pressure. DMK supporters gathered outside Chennai's Kauvery hospital, where DMK Chief M Karunanidhi was admitted following drop in blood pressure. Police personnel have cordoned off for the entire area for general public. Karunanidhi's condition has hogged attention over the past couple of days, with political leaders from across the spectrum lining up to visit him. Vice President Venkaiah Naidu will meet Karunanidhi at the hospital on Sunday. Former Tamil Nadu chief minister and DMK patriarch M Karunanidhi's health condition continues to remain stable with ongoing active medical support, said the latest bulletin issued by Kauvery Hospital in Chennai. The hospital statement said, "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 & treated by the panel of expert doctors in the Intensive Care Unit." Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman meets DMK's MK Stalin at Chennai's Kauvery hospital to inquire about M Karunanidhi's health condition Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad visits Karunanidhi at Kauvery Hospital TN CM E Palainiswami's statement: Karunanidhi was not feeling well & was undergoing treatment at home. Now, he is being given the best treatment at the hospital. Our ministers had met MK Stalin and inquired about his health. He will recover soon. If necessary we are willing to provide any help with medical aid. He is better. His blood pressure has stabilised: DMK leader Kanimozhi on DMK President M Karunanidhi's health condition. Tamil Nadu Governor Banwarilal Purohit met MK Stalin at Kauvery Hospital, where DMK President M Karunanidhi was admitted late last night. DMK supporters continue to gather outside Kauvery Hospital, where DMK President M Karunanidhi is admitted. Tamil Nadu governor Banwarilal Purohit visits DMK President M Karunanidhi at Kauvery Hospital who was admitted to the hospital late last night following a drop in blood pressure. MK Stalin arrived at Kauvery Hospital, where DMK President Karunanidhi is admitted following a drop in blood pressure. DMK supporters gathered outside Kauvery Hospital, where DMK President is admitted. Karunanidhi, 94, was admitted in the Intensive Care Unit of Kauvery Hospital at 1:30 am. After the hospital informed that Karunanidhi was responding to treatment, the crowd started to disperse. His family members including Stalin and former Union Minister Dayanidhi Maran too left the hospital. 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 the panel of experts," the hospital said. 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. Hundreds of party cadres and well-wishers have gathered at the hospital. Security beefed up in and around the area. Slogans like "Long Live Kalaignar Karunanidhi" rent the air. Earlier in the day, Kauvery hospital in Chennai released a medical bulletin stating that Former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK patriarch M Karunanidhi's health had deteriorated and a team of medical experts were treating him for fever due to urinary tract infection and had kept him under observation for 24 hours. "There has been a decline in the health of DMK president M Karunanidhi's due to age-related ailments. He is being treated for fever due to urinary tract infection. He is being given hospital level treatment at home," a medical bulletin released by the Kauvery Hospital said. Given his condition, the team of doctors attending to him has recommended the restriction on visitors. DMK working president and Karunanidhi's son, M K Stalin, told that the veteran leader is recovering steadily as his fever is coming down. News agency ANI quoted him as saying "he (M Karunanidhi) is recovering steadily as his fever is coming down." Stalin was made the party's working president in 2016 after Karunanidhi retreated from the mainstream politics. He tweeted: "I am thankful to Rahul Gandhi, SitaramYechury & D Raja for calling to inquire about Thalaivar Kalaignar's health. The concern and wishes from everyone will surely aid @kalaignar89's recovery and we hope he will be able to meet everyone soon." On behalf of the DMK, I thank @rashtrapatibhvn & @PMOIndia for their enquiries about @kalaignar89's health. I am extremely grateful for their offers of help. Thalaivar is getting the best medical care and treatment. We hope he will recover soon and thank everyone in his own words M.K.Stalin (@mkstalin) July 27, 2018 Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said that he spoke with Karunanidhi's son M.K. Stalin, who is the Leader of Opposition, and daughter Kanimozhi and enquired about the veteran leader's health. "I pray for his quick recovery and good health," wrote Modi on Twitter and added that he has offered any assistance required. Also, President Ram Nath Kovind spoke to Karunanidhi's family members, President's office tweeted, "Spoke to Thiru Karunanidhi's family members on the phone and inquired about his health. Wishing the former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, a veteran of our public life, a quick recovery." Spoke to Thiru Karunanidhis family members on the phone and inquired about his health. Wishing the former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, a veteran of our public life, a quick recovery #PresidentKovind President of India (@rashtrapatibhvn) July 27, 2018 Arpudhamaal, the mother of Perarivaalan who is accused in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, visited Gopalapuram to meet Karunanidhi. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee took to Twitter to wish for Karunanidhi's speedy recovery. MK Stalin took to Twitter to thank PM Narendra Modi and Congress President Rahul Gandhi for enquiring about Karunanidhi's health. Senior Congress leader Ashok Gehlot took to Twitter to wish Karunanidhi a speedy recovery. Union Minister Pon Radhakrishnan said that meeting MK Stalin & Kanimozhi, he was apprised that Karunanidhi's health is improving and that PM Modi spoke to them inquiring about his health. Karunanidhi's house has been flooded with party workers today after Kauvery Hospital stated a "slight decline" in his health Thursday night. Stalin's estranged brother and former union minister M K Alagiri arrived at the residence along with his son Durai Dayanidhi. Tamil Nadu BJP president Tamilisai Soundararajan said, "Kalaignar should get back to active life and that is my prayer. He presided over my marriage..." Among other visitors were, MDMK chief Vaiko, Tamil Nadu BJP chief Tamilisai Soundararajan, CPI leader D Pandian and Tamizhaga Vazhvurimai Katchi leader Velmurugan who enquired about his health from family members and Stalin. "Such fever after a tracheostomy procedure is usual. Stalin told me that he is fine. I am confident that he will bounce back with the same magnetic voice," Vaiko told reporters. Karunanidhi completed 50 years as party chief today and the DMK had planned to celebrate it by distributing sweets and welfare assistance. Leaked information suggests that Google could release the first public build of Android P in the next few weeks. Google has been rigorously testing Android P since the beginning of this year. In the guise of developer builds, Google has essentially given us a preview of what this years major Android update could bring to our smartphones. If you have been impatient to try out the new Android, albeit in a stable and secure build, then this news could excite you Android Ps first public build could be out by August 20. Before you get all hyped out, do note that this isnt an official announcement from Google. Popular tipster Evan Blass has obtained leaked information from his sources deep in the industry and is expecting Google to release Android P for the consumers. Of course, in usual Google style, Android P will only grace the Nexus and Pixel devices at launch, before other manufacturers release it on their supported devices. However, several other manufacturers, including OnePlus, Nokia, Vivo and others have been a participant in the Android P Beta program and its expected that the supported devices could get the official build of Android P soon after the Pixel devices get the update. If the rumour turns out to be true, then Google should unveil the final name for Android 9.0, which has been known as Android P until now. Going by the convention, Google will hunt for a well-known desert name starting with P. Our guesses are on Android Popsicle or Android Peppermint. Last years Android 8.0 was christened as Oreo, which is the popular cream biscuit from Cadbury. What do you think will be the name for Android 9.0? Let us know. Disclaimer: The above report is completely based on online rumours and leaks from the respective sources. These views and opinions do not necessarily represent those of Deccan Chronicle and/or other staff and contributors to this site. (source) This celeb lost her own home in California wildfires but she has come to peoples rescue Charge sheet filed in connection with death of 23-yr-old Unnao rape victim who was set ablaze Kerala rape case: Now victim says sex with Catholic priest was consensual India oi-Madhuri Thiruvananthapuram, Aug 3: In a major setback to the prosecution in the rape case against a Kerala Catholic priest, the victim who is the prime witness in the case and her mother who is a second witness have turned hostile. She stated in court that the sex with Robin Vadakkuncheril was consensual and she also wanted to marry him. Further she also told the POCSO court at the time of the incident, she was not a minor. According to special prosecutor, Beena Kaliyath, she had also told the court that she was not under threat and claimed that she had attained the age of consent, when the incident happened. The prosecution has chargesheeted Vadakkuncheril and nine other in the case, which was reported last year. With the victim backtracking, the court has now declared her hostile. Further the victim's mother who was the second witness in the case also turned hostile. The mother too told the court that her daughter was not a minor at the time of the incident. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Friday, August 3, 2018, 10:17 [IST] You have right to protest not right to block roads: SC to farmers Live streaming of SC proceedings should be done in constitutional and socially important matters:CJI India oi-Vicky Nanjappa New Delhi, Aug 3: The Supreme Court has observed that live streaming of proceedings could be done for constitutional matters. The court is hearing a petition that sought for live streaming of judicial proceedings. A Bench headed by Chief Justice of India, Dipak Misra said that live streaming of SC proceedings could be done for constitutional matters and social matters with constitutional importance. Further hearing on the matter would resume on August 17. The Centre was asked by the court to file guidelines in two weeks. The petitioners too were asked to submit their suggestions to the Attorney General, K K Venugopal. On the earlier date of hearing, the Centre had said that it supported live-streaming of court proceedings in the Supreme Court. It should start with the court of the Chief Justice, Venugopal said. He further said that the government is in favour of the idea and that modalities could be devised to suit the needs. It can be done on a pilot basis and should begin in the CJI's court, he also added. He further said that live streaming should first be confined only to matters heard by the Constitution Bench. These matters are of great interest to lawyers, law interns and others. There could be screens installed in the court premises as well to enable lawyers and law interns to watch. The petitioner in the case, Indira Jaisingh said that certain safeguards need to be in place so that the clips are not commercially exploited or misused. The Supreme Court has sought the assistance of the Attorney General of India on a petition that seeks live streaming of proceedings of the Constitution Bench in cases having national importance. In her petition, Jaisingh said that the norm world over was to allow proceedings to be recorded. She further added that some judges on the Constitution Benches were reluctant about this as it would capture every sentence in the banter between judges and advocates which were merely a way to elicit responses and not a sign of how the judge would finally decide the case. She however added that there were different methods to resolve such reluctance and also listed the methods that courts globally had adopted. Some courts allow publication after a gap of 30 minutes, some ban recording of proceedings only in trial courts as that would compromise witnesses, some give edited versions of the proceedings, some record the proceedings but do not air it in public, some give out transcripts of proceedings, she also said in her petition. Maharashtra Civic Polls Results: BJP registers thumping win from both Jalagaon and Sangli India oi-Deepika By Deepika Mumbai, Aug 3: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Friday won both Jalgaon and Sangli civic polls. Celebrations began outside BJP office in Mumbai as the results were announced. Out of the 78 seats in the Sangli-Miraj-Kupwad Municipal Corporation (SMKMC), the BJP won 41 seats, NCP won 15 and Congress won 2. Shiv Sena drew a blank while others won 2 seats. Out of the 75 seats in Jalgaon Municipal Corporation (JMC), the BJP won 57 while Shiv Sena won 15. The Congress and the NCP could not win a single seat while others won 3. As many as 754 candidates contested for 153 seats in these two cities un municipal elections. The civic poll comes amid strained relationship between the ruling BJP and its ally Shiv Sena. Experts believe that Friday's civic polls results could further impact their ties. Meanwhile, Congress and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) had announced an alliance before the elections to take on the saffron surge in Maharashtra. Jalgaon, in North Maharashtra, is home turf of BJP heavyweights Eknath Khadse and Girish Mahajan, while Sangli, in Western Maharashtra, is native place of state NCP president Jayant Patil and Congress leader Vishwajit Kadam. With these elections, the BJP has made a bid to expand its base in Sangli district, once considered a stronghold of the Congress and the NCP. In 2014, the BJP bagged the Sangli Lok Sabha seat, while in the assembly polls (held in October 2014), the party got four seats. The NCP bagged two assembly seats in the district, while the Shiv Sena and Congress won one each. In Jalgaon, the BJP ranks have been uneasy over the party's collaboration with local strongman Suresh Jain, a former MLA who spent time in jail on corruption charges, for the polls, a party source said. A BJP source said the party has given a substantial number of tickets to close associates of Jain. "For 25 to 30 years, the BJP took on the corruption of Suresh Jain, who was also jailed for more than three years. The BJP gave tickets to his associates. People want to know if the allegations of corruption levelled by the BJP against Jain still remain," said a source. Yet, the BJP looks set to retain power in the civic body, he said. The polls to the Jalgaon and Sangli-Miraj-Kupwad civic bodies in Maharashtra witnessed an average turnout of 58% on Wednesday. According to election authorities, the Sangli-Miraj-Kupwad Municipal Corporation (SMKMC) in western the part of the State recorded an estimated 60% turnout while the Jalgaon Municipal Corporation (JMC) in the northern part recorded 55%. There are 451 candidates in the fray for the 78-seat SMKMS and 303 for the 75 seats in JMC. There were 4,24,179 eligible voters for the Sangli civic body and 3,65,072 for the JMC. A total of 1,013 polling booths were set up in the two cities and nearly 5,800 election staff deployed, said State Election Commissioner J.S. Saharia. The counting is to take place on Friday. The term of the Sangli corporation ends on August 13, while that of the JMC on September 19. Nirav Modi in UK: India makes formal request for extradition India oi-Vicky Nanjappa New Delhi, Aug 3: Nirav Modi, the main accused in the PNB scam became the 29th fugitive India has asked to be extradited from the United Kingdom. India has sent to its High Commission in London a formal request for the government of UK to extradite Nirav Modi. The request will now be forwarded to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office of the UK Government. Minister of State for External Affairs, V K Singh informed the Rajya Sabha that the request for extradition had been sent to the High Commission of India in London. The request has been sent by a special diplomatic bag to the High Commission of India, London for onward transmission to the UK authorities, Singh said. He further added that two Interpol Red Corner Notices had been issued against Modi. The track record of extraditions from the UK have not been exactly good for India. Since 2002, India has made 29 such requests of which 9 have been rejected. Further the UK court also declined to issue arrest warrants in three cases. The remaining 15 cases, which includes that of Vijay Mallya's is pending. Samirbhai Vinubhai Patel is the only fugitive whom the UK extradited to India in the past 16 years. Nirav Modi left India on January 1 2018, while another co-accused and his uncle Mehul Choksi suspected to be in Antigua fled the country on January 4. Choksi, it may be recalled obtained a citizenship of Antigua and Barbuda in November 2017, much before the scam broke out. The passports of both Modi and Choksi had been revoked by the MEA on February 16 2018. No adverse comments against Mehul Choksi when he was granted Antigua citizenship India oi-Madhuri New Delhi, Aug 3: There was no adverse information against fugitive businessman Mehul Choksi at the time he was granted citizenship, Antigua has said in a statement. "The said police clearance certificate from the Government of India, Ministry of External Affairs Regional Passport Office, Mumbai, certified that there was no adverse information against Mehul Chinubbhai Choksi which would render him ineligible for grant of travel facilities including visa for Antigua and Barbuda," the statement read. Choksi along with Nirav Modi are wanted in the Rs 14,000 crore PNB scam. Choksi was granted Antigua citizenship in November last year. He left India in the first week of January and took an oath of allegiance as a citizen of Antigua on January 15. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Friday, August 3, 2018, 11:25 [IST] You have right to protest not right to block roads: SC to farmers No social media hub, Govt tells SC as it withdraws notification India oi-Vicky Nanjappa New Delhi, Aug 3: The Union Government has withdrawn a notification proposing to create a social media hub. This was submitted before the Supreme Court by Attorney General, K K Venugopal. It may be recalled that the decision to set up the hub had come under severe criticism with many alleging that it would be used as a tool to monitor the social media activities of citizens. Venugopal told the Bench that the Centre is withdrawing the notification proposing to create a social media hub, for a complete review of the policy on this issue. The decision was challenged by Trinamool Congress MLA, Mohua Moitra, who had alleged that it was a tool being create to create a 360 degree profile of those who make noise on the social media on important issues. Last month the court had taken a strong note of the Information and Broadcasting Ministry's decision to set up a social media hub for monitoring online data, observing that it would be "like creating a surveillance state". The court said the government wanted to tap citizens' WhatsApp messages. "The government wants to tap citizens' WhatsApp messages. It will be like creating a surveillance state," the Bench said. Senior advocate A M Singhvi, appearing for Moitra, said the government had issued a request for proposal and the tender would be opened on August 20. "They want to monitor social media content with the help of this social media hub," he said. On June 18, the court refused to accord urgent hearing on the plea seeking to stay a central government move to set up a 'Social Media Communication Hub' that would collect and analyse digital and social media content. Counsel for Moitra had said the government was trying to monitor the social media content of individuals by tracking their accounts such as those on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, and their e-mails. Recently, the Broadcast Engineering Consultants India Limited (BECIL), a Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) under the Ministry, floated a tender to supply a software for the project. "A technology platform is needed to collect digital media chatter from all core social media platforms as well as digital platforms such as news, blogs... In a single system providing real-time insights, metrics and other valuable data," the tender document says. Under the project, media persons would be employed on contractual basis in each district to be the "eyes and ears" of the government and provide real-time updates from the ground. The tender document says the platform is expected to provide automated reports, tactical insights and comprehensive work-flows to initiate engagement across digital channels. "The platform maybe used to disseminate content and hence, should support publishing features," the document says, adding the platform needs to power a real-time New Media Command Room," according to the tender document. It should also help the Ministry to understand the impact of various social media campaigns conducted on Centre-run schemes, it says. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Friday, August 3, 2018, 12:38 [IST] NRC row: India is not 'Dharmashala', says Raman Singh India pti-PTI Raipur, Aug 3: Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh today said that the issue of National Register of Citizens (NRC) for Assam should not be hyped up as India was not a "dharamshala" (guest house) where foreigners would keep on infiltrating. He told reporters in Durg district that those who could not prove their nationality should leave the country. "There is no need to hype up the issue. Is our country a dharmashala that foreigners will keep on infiltrating," he said, when asked to comment on the issue. "Anybody comes here and start living. They must be dragged out, and for this purpose only such persons have been identified (in Assam)," he said. He said the exercise was the result of an eight-year-long protest by the Assamese youth. "The Supreme Court had formed a committee which was constituted during the Congress' rule...Today, the matter is being twisted," he claimed. "Either these 40 lakh people (who were excluded from the NRC) who have come from outside should prove their nationality or go back from where they have come," the chief minister said. PTI You have right to protest not right to block roads: SC to farmers Recruitment of contractual teachers not at par with regular teachers India oi-Vikas By Vikas New Delhi, Aug 3: The Centre told the Supreme Court that the procedure followed for the recruitment of contractual teachers in Bihar was not at par with the mode followed to recruit the regular teachers. The Ministry of Human Resources Development submitted an additional affidavit before a bench of Justices A M Sapre and U U Lalit and said that no competitive examination was conducted for the recruitment for contractual teachers. "Procedure followed for the recruitment of Niyojit (contractual) teachers is not at par with the mode followed to recruit the regular teachers. There was no competitive examination conducted for the recruitment of Niyojit teachers. Niyojit teachers have not undergone any examination or selection process evaluating their respective merits," the Centre said. The affidavit also pointed out that the contractual teachers were appointed by civic bodies but the regular teachers were appointed by the state Education Department. "The Niyojit teachers are the employees of local body institutions i.e. Panchayati Raj institutions/Urban local bodies zila parishad whereas the employer of the regular teachers is the state Education Department," the affidavit said. The Centre also opposed the argument that some of the Niyojit teachers have minimum qualifications as prescribed by NCTE including Teachers Eligibility Test (TET) and said that the same cannot be treated at par with any recruitment exam being conducted for appointment of teachers. "Passing TET and having minimum academic qualification as prescribed by NCTE makes a candidate eligible for appointment as a teacher, however, it cannot be taken as a right to be appointed as a teacher," the Centre said. The Centre had on July 21 supported the Bihar government's stand in opposing 'equal pay for equal work' for contractual teachers in the state, appointed under a 2006 law, saying they were not equal to those appointed before the law was enacted. The Centre had said that the state government has tried to create a balance between the larger public interest and the claim of pay parity between the previous state government teachers and Panchayat teachers. It had also contended that "there cannot be a claim of parity between a dying cadre and a permanent alive cadre when the state has taken a conscious decision to adopt new service condition rules for newly-appointed panchayati raj teachers." It had said that pursuant to the court's directions on January 29, an expert committee of three chief secretary rank officers was constituted to examine the feasibility of grant of improved pay package to the contractual teachers. It had proposed about 20 per cent hike in their existing pay structures subject to their clearing a special exam. However, the Centre had also said that it would have serious financial ramification for the state and the country and identical claims will be made in other states and UTs where the teachers were being recruited through different modes and salary structures. The contractual teachers in Bihar were appointed on fixed salary under the 2006 rules called the 'Niyojit Shikshak Niyukti Niyamawali'. The court had on March 16 directed the Centre and the state government to chalk out a joint plan for bearing expenses so that contractual teachers in the state get equal pay for equal work as per the Patna high court's judgment. The high court had on October 31 last year, had ruled that contractual teachers were eligible to get equal pay for equal work while declaring state's 2006 rules unconstitutional under Article 14 of the Constitution. The high court had pulled up the state government saying if peons in Bihar schools would draw salary more than the contractual teachers even after 20 per cent increment to them, better shut the schools. Bihar Secondary Teachers' Struggle Committee and Bihar Madhyamik Shikshak Sangh, along with nine other individual petitioners, had moved the high court on the issue. The state government had moved the court against the HC judgment. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Friday, August 3, 2018, 11:30 [IST] RRB recruitment 2018: 30,000 vacancies to be added by Railways, details here India oi-Deepika By Deepika New Delhi, Aug 3: As part of the RRB Recruitment 2018, the Indian Railways is likely to add over 30,000 ALP, Technician vacancies. This comes as good news for those candidates who have applied for a job in the Railways. The Railway Recruitment Board will confirm this development through a notification on the official website. In the CEN 01/2018, the number of vacancies advertised for ALP and Technicians was 26,502. These vacancies are likely to be increased by more than double to 60,000 vacancies. The details for the same will be published on the RRB website and candidates should keep visiting the official website for the same. Ministry of Railways notified that it may increase the number of vacancies for ALP and Technicians. Earlier, the total number of vacancies was 90,000 including the vacancies advertised in both CEN 01/2018 and CEN 02/2018 and more than 25 million had applied for the jobs. As per data released by Ministry of Railways, for a single seat, one candidate shall have to compete with 279 other candidates. With the increase in the vacancy, the competition for one seat will decrease significantly. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Friday, August 3, 2018, 10:59 [IST] The woman, a Russian national, was hired by the Secret Service and came under suspicion following a routine security sweep. The woman had access to the Secret Service's intranet and email systems, the reports said, giving her a window into potentially sensitive data including the schedules of the US president and vice president. (Photo: AFP/File) Washington: A suspected Russian spy worked at the US embassy in Moscow for a decade before being quietly dismissed last year, reports said Thursday. The woman, a Russian national, was hired by the Secret Service and came under suspicion following a routine security sweep carried out by the State Department, according to sources quoted by the Guardian, which broke the story, and CNN. The probe found she was having regular unauthorized meetings with the main Russian intelligence agency, the FSB. "We figure that all of them are talking to the FSB, but she was giving them way more information than she should have," an official told CNN. The woman had access to the Secret Service's intranet and email systems, the reports said, giving her a window into potentially sensitive data including the schedules of the US president and vice president. But "she did not have access to highly classified information," the source told CNN. The Guardian meanwhile reported the Secret Service attempted to contain the embarrassment by letting her go when Russia ordered the removal of 750 personnel from the American embassy during a diplomatic spat that followed allegations of Moscow's interference in the 2016 US presidential election. "The Secret Service is trying to hide the breach by firing [her]," a source told the British newspaper. "The damage was already done but the senior management of the Secret Service did not conduct any internal investigation to assess the damage and to see if [she] recruited any other employees to provide her with more information." Queried by AFP, the US State Department said they were looking into the report but do not comment on intelligence matters. Relations between the US and Russia have been particularly fraught since the election of Donald Trump, despite the president's personal warmth with his counterpart Vladimir Putin. The Cold War era rivals are also deeply divided on issues ranging from the conflict in Syria to the annexation of Crimea from Ukraine and the Iran nuclear deal. Sena backs Centre on NRC, seeks 'ghar wapsi' of Kashmiri pandits India pti-PTI Mumbai, Aug 3: The Shiv Sena on Friday came out in support of the Modi government over the draft National Register of Citizens (NRC), but asked whether the Centre also had the courage to ensure the "ghar wapsi" of displaced Kashmiri pandits. The BJP ally said those who posed a threat to the country's security must be thrown out and the infiltrators in Kashmir must be eliminated. The party said abolition of Article 370 of the Constitution, which gives special status to Jammu and Kashmir, was as much a nationalistic work as implementing the NRC list. "The BJP is working hard to throw out the 40 lakh infiltrators in Assam. Driving out such illegal immigrants is a patriotic work and we congratulate the central government on it. Illegal residents, whether they are Bangladeshis, Sri Lankans, Pakistanis or Rohingya Muslims of Myanmar, they must be thrown out of the country," the Sena said in an editorial in its mouthpiece 'Saamana'. "If what is happening in Assam now had happened in Kashmir as well, people across the country would have hoisted the saffron flags of Hindutva atop their houses," it added. The release of the final draft of the NRC in Assam has triggered a massive political firestorm with both the ruling BJP and the Opposition, led by the Congress, trying to corner each other. Names of over 40 lakh people in Assam have been excluded from the NRC, prepared following a long-drawn process to identify people living in the northeastern state illegally. While the opposition parties have accused the BJP of making Indian citizens refugees in their own country, the saffron party said national security was its top priority and the opposition was spreading misinformation. "The issue of national security is not only restricted to the 40 lakh infiltrators in Assam. The situation in Kashmir is worsening day by day. There is more threat from Pakistan, where military rule is imminent under the leadership of Imran Khan. "Forty lakh illegal foreign residents in Assam have changed the geography, history and culture of that state. The same is happening in Kashmir. Will the government show the courage of ensuring the 'ghar wapsi' (return) of 1.5 lakh displaced Kashmiri pandits the same way it is throwing out the illegal citizens in Assam?" the Sena asked. The Uddhav Thackeray-led party stated that the issue of Kashmiri pandits was not just about Hindutva, but it was important in terms of national security and the Hindu culture. "Hindus were driven out of Kashmir using terrorism. The Modi government should have rolled out the red carpet for the Kashmiri pandits. But instead of doing that, the current dispensation has pulled the rug from under their feet," it said. "Former Prime Ministers Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi or Manmohan Singh did not promise to abolish Article 370 from the Constitution as they were weak-natured. But after Narendra Modi came to power, he promised to abolish Article 370 and hoist the tricolour in Kashmir," it said. "Abolishing Article 370 is as much a nationalistic work as the implementation of the NRC. Modi should be congratulated for taking up the issue in Assam, but he should also act against the infiltrators in Kashmir, those burning the national flag and waving Pakistani flags there," the Sena said. PTI UPSC Recruitment 2018: Centre fixes upper age limit, cut-off date decided India oi-Deepika By Deepika New Delhi, Aug 3: The central government on Thursday decided the upper age limit for Civil Service Examination (CSE) 2018 and fixed at 32 while for those of the reserved category candidates it is relaxable. Union Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh in Rajya Sabha said, "The upper age limit as on 01.08.2018 for Civil Services Examination (CSE) 2018 is 32 years. This upper-age limit is relaxable for reserved category candidates." Singh refuted the theories which were revolving around the examination and rejected reports of unfair treatment being meted out to some candidates. Singh said, "The rule is equally applicable to all the candidates. Therefore the question of being unfair to some does not arise." In a written reply to a question by Rajya Sabha, the Union Minister was further quoted saying, "As per the guidelines issued by the Department of Personnel & Training (DoP&T) on crucial date for determining age limits for competitive examination conducted in parts by the UPSC/SSC vide OM No. AB.14017/70/87-Estt.(RR) dated 14th JULY, 1988, the cutoff date for Civil Services Examination is decided." He further clarified that the rule is equally applicable to all the candidates and no question of being unfair to some arise. The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) every year conducts the Civil Services Examination (CSE) every year across the country. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Friday, August 3, 2018, 11:20 [IST] Fake: This is not an image of a protest in Assam against Bangladesh violence What is 1985 Assam Accord? India oi-Chennabasaveshwar By Chennabasaveshwar New Delhi, Aug 3: The Assam Accord (1985) was a Memorandum of Settlement (MoS) signed between representatives of the Government of India and the leaders of the Assam Movement in New Delhi on 15 August 1985. The accord brought an end to the Assam Agitation and paved the way for the leaders of the agitation to form a political party and form a government in the state of Assam soon after. What, Why and How of Assam Accord 1985: Government have all along been most anxious to find a satisfactory solution to the problem of foreigners in Assam. The All Assam Students Union (AASU) and the All Assam Gana Sangram Parished (AAGSP) have also expressed their keenness to find such a solution. The AASU through their Memorandum dated 2nd February 1980 presented to the late Prime Minister Smt. Indira Gandhi, conveyed their profound sense of apprehensions regarding the continuing influx of foreign nationals into Assam and the fear about adverse effects upon the political, social, culture and economic life of the State. Being fully alive to the genuine apprehensions of the people of Assam, the then Prime Minister initiated the dialogue with the AASU/AAGSP. Subsequently, talks were held at the Prime Minister's and Home Minister's level during the period 1980-83. Several rounds of informal talks were held during 1984. Formal discussions were resumed in March, 1985. Keeping all aspects of the problem including constitutional and legal provisions, international agreements, national commitments and humanitarian considerations, it has been decided to proceed as follows: Foreigners Issue 5.1 For purposes of detection and deletion of foreigners, 1.1.1966 shall be the base data and year. 5.2 All persons who come to Assam prior to 1.1.1966, including those amongst them whose names appeared on the electoral rolls used in 1967 elections shall be regularised. 5.3 Foreigners who came to Assam after 1.1.1966 (inclusive) and upto 24th March 1971 shall be detected in accordance with the provisions of the Foreigners Act, 1946 and the Foreigners (Tribunals) Order 1964. 5.4 Names of foreigners so detected will be deleted from the electoral rolls in force. Such persons will be required to register themselves before the Registration Officers of the respective districts in accordance with the provisions of the Registration of Foreigners Act, 1939 and the Registration of Foreigners Rules, 1939. 5.5 For this purpose, Government of India will undertake suitable strengthening of the government machinery. 5.6 On the expiry of a period of ten years following the date of detection, the names of all such persons which have been deleted from the electoral rools shall be restored. 5.7 All persons who were expelled earlier, but have since reentered illegally into Assam shall be expelled. 5.8 Foreigners who came to Assam on or after March 25, 1971 shall continue to be detected, deleted and practical steps shall be taken to expel such foreigners. 5.9 The Government will give due consideration to certain difficulties expressed by the AASU/AAGSP regarding the implementation of the Illegal Migrants (Determination by Tribunals) Act, 1983. Safeguards and economic development Constitutional, legislative and administrative safeguards, as may be appropriate shall be provided to protect, preserve and promote the culture, social, linguistic identity and heritage of the Assamese people. The Government take this opportunity to renew their commitment for the speedy all-round economic development of Assam, so as to improve the standard of living of the people. Special emphasis will be placed on education and science and technology through the establishment of national institutions. Other Issues 8.1 The Government will arrange for the issue of citizenship certificates in future only by the authorities of the Central Government. 8.2 Specific complaints that may be made by the AASU/AAGSP about the irregular issuance of Indian Citizenship Certificates (ICC) will be looked into. The international border shall be made secure against future infiltration by the erection of physical barriers like walls, barbed wire fencing and other obstacles at appropriate places. Patrolling by security forces on land and rivering routes all along the international border shall be adequately intensified. In order to further strengthen the security arrangements, to prevent effectively future infiltration, an adequate number of check posts shall be set up. 9.2 Besides the arrangements mentioned above and keeping in view security considerations, a road all along the international border shall be constructed as to facilitate patrolling by security forces. The land between the border and the road would be kept free of human habitation, wherever possible. Riverine patrolling along the international border would be intensified. All effective measures would be adopted to prevent infiltrators crossing or attempting to cross the international border. Restoration of Normalcy It will be ensured that relevant laws for prevention of encroachment of government lands in tribal belts and blocks are strictly enforced and unauthorized encroachers evicted as laid down under such laws. It will be ensured that the relevant law restricting acquisition of immovable property by foreigners in Assam is strictly enforced. It will be ensured that Birth and Death Registers are duly maintained. The All Assam Students Union (AASU) and the all Assam Gana Sangram Parishad (AAGSP) call off the agitation, assure full co-operation and dedicate themselves towards the development of the country. The Central and the State Government have agreed to: review with sympathy and withdraw cases of disciplinary action taken against employees in the context of the agitation and to ensure that there is no victimization; frame a scheme for ex-gratia payment to next of kin of those who were killed in the course of the agitation; give sympathetic consideration to proposal for relaxation of upper age limit for employment in public services in Assam, having regard to exceptional situation that prevailed in holding of academic and competitive examinations, etc., in the context of agitation in Assam; undertake review of detention cases, if any, as well as cases against persons charged with criminal offences in connection with the agitation, except those charged with commission of heinous offences; consider withdrawal of the prohibitory orders/ notifications in force, if any The Ministry of Home Affairs will be the nodal Ministry for the implementation of the above. (Assam accord 1985 draft. Courtesy: http://www.satp.org) Yogi Adityanath cabinet in Uttar Pradesh to be expanded Yogi Adityanath to be UP CM face in 2022 assembly poll: state BJP chief UP govt denies permission to Congress delegation led by Rahul Gandhi to visit Lakhimpur Kheri Why UP was lagging behind and thrown into fire of riots: Yogi explains Faizabad railway station to be known as Ayodhya Cantt Yogi Adityanath's security beefed up India oi-Vikas By Vikas Lucknow, Aug 3: The Uttar Pradesh police has beefed up Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's security. Reports say that the security was increased after inputs from Madhya Pradesh Police's intelligence department. Following the alert, UP police has beefed up security around Yogi Adityanath's Lucknow bungalow. "There is no specific reason for this and is also a part of our drill. On basis of threat perception we increase the security of VVIPS," Praveen Kumar Tripathi, UP police's IG Law and Order, said news agency ANI. The Madhya Pradesh police has reportedly issued an advisory to UP police and Delhi Police. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Friday, August 3, 2018, 20:31 [IST] Afghanistan: 8 killed, 12 wounded as explosion hits Gardez city International oi-Madhuri Kabul, Aug 3: Eight people were killed and 12 were injured after two explosion hit a Shiite mosque in Gardez city of Paktia province, eastern Afghanistan on Friday. Meanwhile, a number of casualties not clear yet. Local officials confirmed the incident and said preliminary reports indicate a suicide attack has taken place inside a mosque. The officials are saying that a number of people have also been killed or wounded in the attack inside the Imam Zaman mosque. Those inside the mosque were doing the Friday prayers. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Friday, August 3, 2018, 15:56 [IST] UP B.Ed JEE Exam to be held on July 30 Priyanka Gandhi Vadra to reach Lucknow on July 16; Key meetings scheduled in Delhi before visit Members of farmers' body detained in Lucknow for trying to burn effigies of PM Modi, Shah Lucknow: Three-storey building collapses in Ganeshganj area Lucknow oi-Madhuri Lucknow, Aug 5: Two people were injured after a three storey Building collapsed in Ganeshganj area in Lucknow following heavy rainfall. Two people injured. Rescue operation underway. The incident took place at 8:45 pm on Thursday evening. The injured woman was rushed to the hospital, where she is being treated. The police are now trying to remove the rubble, but as per sources no more people are there under the rubble. Local administration officials have reached the incident site and efforts are underway to clear the debris. Reports suggest that the building collapsed at around 8:45 am on Friday. There were five members in the family but at the time of the incident, one two were present inside the house. For More Lucknow News, Click Here For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Friday, August 3, 2018, 11:56 [IST] Mumbai: Railway authorities auction goat to recover fine Mumbai oi-Chennabasaveshwar By Chennabasaveshwar Mumbai, Aug 3: Railway authorities in Mumbai were caught in an unusual situation when they caught ticketless traveller. In a bizarre incident, the Railway staff had to auction off the traveller to recover the cost of the fine. The traveller was a goat abandoned by her human companion. According to Zee news report, the authorities received reports that a passenger on a train was travelling with a goat, which is not permitted under the Railway's rules. The man was confronted by a ticket collector at the Masjid Station of the local railway. The man, who was travelling without ticket, abandoned the goat at the railway station. Railway authorities realised that the man was not going to come back to collect the goat. Hence, they decided to auction the goat. They dold goat for Rs 2500 over 10 percent of the fine which is Rs 256. For more Mumbai news, Click here For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Friday, August 3, 2018, 12:42 [IST] Pawan Singh's Bhojpuri song Bin Bhole Ke Sawan goes viral again As they began the demanding journey, the Bhojpuri song Bin Bhole Ke Sawan, featuring Pawan Singh and Akshara Singh in the music video, went viral all over again. Blaring music is not uncommon during the almost two-week long procession, and from the looks of it, this song will be very popular with the devotees this year. In Meerut, non-veg food joints turn veg for kanwariyas For the ongoing Kanwar Yatra, owners of over a dozen non-vegetarian food outlets in the Ghantaghar locality of Meerut have started selling paneer biryani. Reports say that they have even put up banners saying that the decision has been taken for the Shravan month when Hindus don't eat meat, and to honour the kanwar yatris. Delhi Police issues advisory for Sharavan Shivratri The Delhi Traffic Police have put in place elaborate arrangements to segregate the movement of Kanwariyas and other road users and to minimise inconvenience to the general public and devotees. The devotees and road users are advised to follow the traffic rules and obey the directions of policemen on duty. During the period of Kanwaria movement, traffic violations will be checked by on the spot prosecution. Bihar: JDU MLA Bima Bharti's son found dead on railway track in Patna Patna oi-Deepika By Deepika Patna, Aug 3: The son of Bima Bharti, a Janata Dal (United) lawmaker, has been founded on a railway track in Patna. Two of his friends have been taken into custody, police said. Bharti is the sitting MLA from Rupauli constituency in Bihar's Purnea district. 21-year-old Deepak Kumar had left his residence last night along with a couple of his friends. Next morning, his body was found close to the railway track in front of the Nalanda Medical College Hospital (NMC hospital) in Patna by some locals, who then informed the police, Senior Superintendent of Police, Patna, Manu Maharaj said. He said injury marks were noticed on Deepak's head and thigh and the body has been sent for post-mortem. The senior police official said two of Deepak's friends -- Roshan and Mrityunjay -- who are said to be known to the family as well, have been taken into custody and were being interrogated. The two have claimed that after having dinner together last night, Deepak had left and they had assumed that he had reached home safely. Meanwhile, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who is also the national president of JD(U), visited Bharti's residence and consoled the bereaved family members. In January 2015 she allegedly helped her husband escape from jail. For more Patna news Click Here Xuecheng is member of top political advisory body and head of govt-affiliated Buddhist Association of China. It is the latest case of high-profile individuals being accused of sexual misconduct in China. (Photo: AFP | Representational) Beijing: Chinas highest ranking Buddhist monk who is governments political advisor has been accused of sexually harassing and assaulting nuns at a monastery in Beijing. According to a report, Xuecheng, abbot of Longquam temple in Beijing has denied all the allegations of harassment and assaulting in the garb of religious teachings. Xuecheng is a member of Standing Committee of the 13th National Committee of Chinese Peoples Political Consultative Conference which is the top political advisory body and the head of the government-affiliated Buddhist Association of China. Xianjia and Zianqi, two monks of Longquam temple submitted a report to public security department (police) stating that Xuecheng sexually harassed several nuns, including sending illicit messages to them and forcing them to have sexual relations with him. According to the report by the monks alleged that Zuencheng manipulated his disciples. The report was leaked online on Wednesday. The two monks started investigating after a nun showed them Xuechengs texts with sexual content. Investigations began into the case when the two monks submitted their report. According to Global Times, the temple said the two monks have forged materials, distorted facts and spread false information that has misled the public. Global Times when contacted experts from public scrutiny ministry to confirm about the messages, it stated that the messages showed Xuecheng tempted, threatened at least six nuns to have sex with him, out of which four capitulated to his requests. It is the latest case of high-profile individuals being accused of sexual misconduct in China. by Vladimir Rozanskij At least 800 militants or more are taking positions in Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. Tajikistan is protected by Russian soldiers; Uzbekistan has the best and most experienced army in the region; Turkmenistan is the weakest state. Most of the fighters in Syria came from Central Asia, particularly from Kyrgyzstan. Moscow (AsiaNews) - According to statements by US vice-president Michael Pence, the "Islamic State" (SI) no longer exists and the Caliphate is now completely disintegrated. Yet there are important signals on the strengthening of ISIS in Central Asia and especially in Tajikistan. It is true that in Syria and Iraq, where for years Islamic radicals had their bases and controlled over half of the territory, there remains only small scattered and insignificant instances. At present, on paper, the arrangement of forces in Syria and Iraq sees only a couple of small conurbations of the once powerful Isis, and they are destined to surrender. According to the US military, in both countries in recent years the terrorists have lost 98% of the areas under their control, and continue to withdraw until their eventual disappearance. Yet the Isis fighters have not disappeared. According to the Turkish newspaper Khaber-turk, Isis is threatening the Caucasus and Central Asia: "The terrorists have focused mainly on the Afghan-Tajik border," correspondents refer to the Ankara army. Al Jazeera TV has also reported on the threat of Islamists in Central Asia, according to which survivors of the Isis forces from Syria and Iraq have moved to Afghanistan, and are trying to strengthen their positions. Since the last reconstruction, the IS forces have regrouped mainly in the Afghan province of Badakhshan, on the border with Tajikistan. It is difficult to say how many Islamic soldiers are in those parts. According to US sources, there are about 800 people, but the Afghan security services assure that they are much more. IT is believed that the terrorists are moving on o the various countries of Central Asia from this area. The three countries that directly border Afghanistan are the former Soviet republics of Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, and these would be the most at risk of Islamist infiltration. The most protected are the Uzbeks, whose border with Afghanistan is rather impervious, and can only be crossed through the Hairabad bridge; moreover, the Uzbek army is currently the strongest in the region. In Tajikistan the situation is much more critical: the army and the government of the country are very weak, the Afghan border is much more permeable. In favor of the Tajiks there would however be a contingent of 5 thousand Russian soldiers, with an entire base of Putin's army, stationed in the country to keep it under control for years. The Russians are currently carrying out border control work, at the explicit request of the Tajik president Emomali Rakhmon in his last meeting with Vladimir Putin. According to current estimates, Turkmenistan is suffering most from all the infiltration of Isis. The country is very closed and isolated, and does allow the broadcasting of much information outside. According to experts, the Turkmen armed forces are very fragile, ill-equipped and still linked to the old Soviet systems of war management, without recent practical experience of resistance to external invasions. Central Asia, moreover, is the native region of most Isis fighters; according to unofficial estimates, several hundred soldiers had arrived in Syria and Iraq from Turkmenistan, as well as from Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. The largest contingent, close to a thousand terrorists, seems to have come from Kyrgyzstan, where religious fanatics are active mainly in the cities of Osh and Jalal-Abad, on the border with Uzbekistan. A first Isis terrorist action in Tajikistan was claimed on July 31. Two days earlier, seven foreign tourists suffered an attack in the Danghara region, 150 km from the capital Dushanbe. Two Americans, one Swiss, one Dutchman were killed; three other tourists were wounded. The group had been overtaken by a car and then attacked by armed men. More and more reports suggest that Google is developing a search engine for the Chinese market that can blacklist words unwelcomed by the Communist Party. IT giant insiders say employees are angered by managements decision. For a human rights advocate, profits before human rights will hand the Chinese government a victory." Beijing (AsiaNews) IT giant Google is developing a search engine for the Chinese market, able to blacklist words deemed undesirable by Chinas Communist Party, The Intercept news website has reported. Some Google insiders have confirmed the rumours, saying that some employees are angry about managements decision. One is said to have quit so as to have nothing to do with the project. Code-named Dragonfly, the project includes applications that can block websites and search terms like human rights and religion. Other sensitive terms for the Communist Party like Tibet, Xinjiang, Liu Xiaobo or Dalai Lama may also be automatically censored. Chinese state-owned Securities Times has denied reports about Googles search engine. However, insiders familiar with the censored version of the search engine told major news agencies that the project was well underway. "We provide a number of mobile apps in China, such as Google Translate and Files Go, help Chinese developers, and have made significant investments in Chinese companies like JD.com," a Google spokeswoman said. "But we don't comment on speculation about future plans." Dragonfly appears to have begun in the spring of 2017 after Google's CEO Sundar Pichai met a Chinese government official. Google is for everyone, Pichai had said in 2016 speaking about the Chinese market. We want to be in China serving Chinese users. At present, Google, aka Big G, has about 700 employees and three offices in China, even its main product, its search engine, cannot be used in the country. For Patrick Poon, a researcher with human rights group Amnesty International, it will be a dark day for internet freedom if Google has acquiesced to China's extreme censorship rules to gain market access. "In putting profits before human rights, Google would be setting a chilling precedent and handing the Chinese government a victory." In the past, Google and to some extent Microsoft had set themselves apart for taking a stand in favour of democracy against certain national governments. With respect to China, they criticised on several occasions Communist Party's censorship and defended the human rights of their Chinese employees and collaborators. For UN envoy Martin Griffith a "political solution" is possible, but world powers must support it. The war has already killed 10,000 people. At least 22 million people, 75% of the population, are in great need. More than 8 million people suffer from hunger. A solution is also needed for the port of Hodeida. New York (AsiaNews/Agencies) The United Nations has invited warring sides in Yemens civil war for talks on 6 September in Geneva to discuss a framework for negotiations to achieve peace in a country where eight million people are suffering from hunger. Speaking yesterday to the Security Council, UN envoy Martin Griffiths said that "a political solution" to end the war was "available". He urged world powers to support the new push for peace talks. Since 2015, Saudi Arabia has led a military campaign against the Houthi, a group demanding greater power sharing. The Saudis accuse the Houthi of being backed by Iran. The United Nations had already tried peace talks in 2016 but its efforts quickly failed. The war has left nearly 10,000 people dead and unleashed what the United Nations describes as the world's worst humanitarian crisis. More than 22 million people 75 percent of the population are in dire need of aid. The city of Hodeida, on the Red Sea, has been latest flashpoint. Controlled by the Houthi, it is one of the ports where humanitarian aid goods are unloaded. Saudi Arabia has tried to take it, but has been criticised by various humanitarian agencies. Bombing in the city has intensified in past week after Riyadh accused the Houthi of attacking with Iranian help two of its oil tankers in the waters of the Red Sea. Griffith said he is trying to negotiate an agreement on the port city that wold place it under UN control to ensure the flow of aid. The Yemeni conflict has been exacerbated by the rivalry between two regional powers, Saudi Arabia and Iran and their international backers. The United States, along with France and Great Britain, supports the Saudi coalition; Russia has sided with Iran. Pope Francis and the apostolic vicar of southern Arabia, Mgr Paul Hinder, have repeatedly called for peace and dialogue to end the suffering of the population. Laos will provide visa-on-arrival to travelers from Sri Lanka from Aug. 1, the foreign ministry said in a statement Thursday. Sri Lankan citizens holding valid travel documents could apply for visa-on-arrival at the international border check points of the Lao Peoples Democratic Republic, the foreign ministry said. Currently, Sri Lankans can travel without pre-approved visas to Singapore, Indonesia and Maldives. (Xinhua) Swiss Market Remains Far Off, with Local Commitment to Implementation in Doubt Published August 3, 2018 by Lee R Highly protective policy highlights the most recent regulation proposal submitted in Swiss parliament. Switzerland has revealed new plans for blocking online gambling from offshore operators that put full-scale implementation over a year off at best. Long and Winding Road The changes were discussed at iGB Live Amsterdam by Planzer Law partner Dr. Simon Planzer. The co-leader of the European and Swiss facing law firm called the latest legislative developments in Switzerland indicators of a long road to developing an online gambling framework. Planzer clarified at the conference that despite the Swiss Parliaments recent approval of the Money Gaming Act (MGA) in 2017, the new online gambling laws could still take years to implement. The Latest Proposals The latest developments are in reference to a June 10th referendum which calls for increased restrictions that include a blanket ban on online services offered by international operators. The new legislation was put forth as a result of the Swiss governments finding that citizens spend some CHF250m ($253m; 189m) annually on unregulated foreign betting sites. Opposition Critics of the bill point out that the move designed to increase tax revenues from iGaming would initially at least cost the government far more due to stipulations that raise the threshold on taxable winnings from 1,000 Swiss francs to one million. In public vote, this and concerns regarding online censorship nonetheless fell by the wayside, with most of the vote in ultimately supporting the new gambling act at the rate of 72.9%. Local Forecast With the laws over a year off at earliest, it looks as if the Swiss market will remain isolated from iGaming for 2019. For now, residents of Switzerlands residents will be able to gamble online at sites offered by the countrys 21 land-based casinos, which until now have been land-based only. Blacklisting Unlicensed in Switzerland, international operators will be subject to blacklisting as enforced by government firewalling, a measure decried by net-neutrality and anti-censorship groups within the country as Europes most restrictive online-gambling framework. More Restrictions MGA provisions include mandate a tightly monitored ring-fenced regime; caps on the number of licenses weighted in favour of Swiss gambling enterprises; online betting and gambling licenses certified directly by the Swiss government; stricter internet and banking restrictions via IP blocks; bans on third-party marketing; limits on banking transactions; and added taxes beyond the current 20% rate. The Swiss Market Despite these unsightly adjustments, the Swiss market is going to remain highly attractive to operators. The low 8.5 million population and high liquidity of the region ensures so, driven by the highest revenue median per adult in the world. Cantons Still to Speak The bright spot for operators looking to gain entry more rapidly to Switzerland is that iGaming regulation structure and policy implementation is ultimately not the governments decision, but left in the hands of each of Switzerlands 26 cantons to approve. Resistance from the Cantons could still lead to significant changes in the final Switzerland iGaming draft, conceivably in operators favour by making the Switzerland market more hospitable sooner. The Takeaway In an economy that is already sustaining large concentrations of wealth, maybe the Swiss government doesnt care to encourage foreign entrants to access the coffers of its citizenry and banks. In less than a week, it's likely that Tennessee will perform a legally sanctioned, premeditated killing of one of its citizens. Meanwhile, Pope Francis just announced the Catholic Church now opposes the death penalty under all circumstances. The Pope said the death penalty violates the Gospel and amounts to the voluntary killing of a human life, which is always sacred in the eyes of the creator. Billy Ray Irick is scheduled to be put to death by "lethal injection protocol" at the Riverbend Maximum Security Facility on Aug. 9, unless Governor Bill Haslam grants clemency, or there is another delay. The last time the state of Tennessee performed a court sanctioned killing was 2009. There are over 60 Tennessee inmates on death row, so now's a good time to take another look at this taxpayer funded folly. First, there's the ethical question. Is it right to take a life? Why don't persons who oppose abortion see the inconsistency of supporting the death penalty? Is it humane? Over two-thirds of the countries on earth have abolished it. The U.S. is one of five countries in the world responsible for most of these premeditated killings, along with North Korea, China, Iran and Yemen. And within the U.S.,Tennessee is one of only 31 states where it is legal. Killing some innocent defendants is an unavoidable consequence. Over 150 people in the U.S. have been exonerated from death row since 1973, (many with DNA evidence) prior to their execution. We may never know how many innocents have actually been put to premeditated death by mistake. The death penalty is arbitrary and unfair. Almost all death row inmates could not afford their own attorney at trial. Local politics, the location of the crime, plea bargains and pure chance make it a lottery of who lives and who dies. Since the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty in 1976, about 80 percent of all executions have taken place in the South (about 35 percent in Texas alone). Then there are practical questions. From a taxpayer's perspective, it costs less to keep a convicted murderer locked up for life than it does to legally kill them. And there is no good evidence that the death penalty reduces murder rates or acts as a deterrent for crime in general. In April 2012, The National Research Council concluded that studies claiming that the death penalty affects murder rates were fundamentally flawed because they did not consider the effects of noncapital punishments and used incomplete or implausible models. A 2009 survey of criminologists revealed that over 88 percent believed the death penalty was not a deterrent to murder. FBI data showed that the 14 U.S. States without capital punishment in 2008 had homicide rates at or below the national rate. Regarding the specifics of the process in Tennessee: This killing likely will involve the use of the sedative midazolam in an attempt to cause unconsciousness, and potassium chloride to stop his heart from beating. A third drug (pancuronium) may be used to cause muscle paralysis and to stop breathing. This three drug protocol has been challenged as resulting in an experience of "torture". In a five to four decision in 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court case (Glossip v. Gross) ruled that midazolam can be used as the first drug in a three drug protocol. The dissenting justices argued that there was no evidence that midazolam would cause deep, coma-like unconsciousness required where a state intends to cause death with painful drugs. Midazolam has been used in prior botched execution attempts where observers stated the victim did not seem fully unconscious. If Tennessee wishes to continue killing, our legislature should modify the process to include euthanasia by nitrogen gas - inert gas asphyxiation. In this method, the condemned is sealed in an airtight chamber pumped full of nitrogen. The prisoner would detect no abnormal sensation while breathing the odorless, tasteless gas and would not undergo the painful experience of suffocation which is caused by a buildup of carbon dioxide in the blood, not lack of oxygen. The process is very rapid and there is no evidence that it is painful. Matthew Hine, M.D. * * * Mr. Hine, Billy Ray Irick openly confessed to raping 7-year-old Paula Dyer while she was unconscious from blunt force trauma before she was murdered by asphyxiation. I cant even imagine the sheer pain and fear this young girl suffered before she was murdered as these thoughts are inhumane. And you want to compare his rights to those of an unborn child? Irick lost his human rights due to his inhumane torture and killing of a child and the death penalty is not even just punishment for this man. You, sir, need to have your head examined for even trying to make a comparison between the two. Chris Morgan * * * While there is always much to be said about cruel and unusual punishment by learned, introspective and well-spoken members of our society (discounting the knee-jerk liberal anti-everything adherents), capital punishment is not only needed in America, it needs to be more consistent and wide-spread. Only 60 death row inmates in Tennessee? Its sad there are so few when so many are deserving of it. While I agree that nitrogen asphyxiation may be a more humane means of execution, the fact that it is faster and easier should play a larger role in a bigger picture. And once sentence has been passed, humanity has nothing to do with it. What makes Dr. Hine more worthy of supplanting his pacifist views on the punishment of capitol offenders than you or I? What I find heinous is allowing dangerous and socially pathological offenders 30 years on death row to get their just reward. Execution only after dozens of useless and needless appeals is a waste of time, energy and monetary outlay. Personally, I feel it is the offender who made the ultimate decision for capital punishment when the crime was committed. I have found few if any believable mitigating circumstances. Pacifists like Dr. Hine would probably note that many murders take place in a one time act of heightened emotional state, probably never to occur again. On the contrary: murder is murder, death is death, culpability should be inescapable, unless Dr. Hine is on your sentencing jury. Only 60 death row inmates? With all the hard-drug pushers meting out poison multiple times each hour, certainly a majority of them are deserving an immediate appointment with God. Habitual drunk drivers, nationally, kill well-over three times as many people each year than were killed at Pearl Harbor or 9-11. I dont see any national referendum placing tighter restrictions on these miscreants. Yes, capital punishment is not only needed but required. Tennessee needs more of it without feather-bedding the legal profession with so many loopholes for appeal. Ethics, personal feelings, mitigating circumstances are all slippery slopes that result in failing to do what is right, needed and lawful. For me, shirking social responsibility in the name of pacifism is an unswallowable stone. If the measure of a society is based on its mercy, then society has ventured far enough. Dave Fihn * * * I do not wish to debate the death penalty with you.But an example of your wrong headed conclusions follows. The death penalty when carried out does in fact deter the murder from ever murdering again. Pete Clark * * * Dr. Hine, I have never actually studied the pros and cons of capitol punishment. After reading your article, I spent some time looking at writings from both sides of the issue. What I definitely saw was that some of the findings regarding capitol punishment you have listed are actually due for more study in order to be validated. I am not a physician but I do have some relevant experience from the victim end of murder cases. During my tenure at Erlanger Medical Center one of my radiology duties was to perform series of x-rays on suspicious deaths and known murders. During that time the Chattanooga Police did not have their own forensics center. Since Erlanger was the county hospital, it fell to the morgue and pathologists there to examine suspicious deaths, etc. The most horrible of circumstances surrounding death passed in front of my eyes and through my hands. I cannot elaborate here or my writing will not be published. I remember each and every case and have experienced vivid dreams on many occasions. Suffice it to say that if I remember these cases over a period of 38 years, they were beyond any measure of human morality. A jury looks at an accused murderer after they have been scraped clean, nicely dressed, and had a "makeover". The jury hears about the crime and they may see pictures of the victim and or the murder scene. It is quite different from standing next to the victim in a morgue and hear the pathologist describe the death. It is different when you overhear detectives sharing observations from the crime scene soon after a murder. I could care less what other countries do in regards to capitol punishment. I am not a Catholic but I do respect those who are. Unfortunately they have ignored Old and New Testament warnings about those who do evil and the justness of the man whose sword administers punishment for that evil. I have always wondered about the drugs used for lethal injection. The cocktail seems unduly complex and cases were cited where the administration was not calculated properly. Another problem is that some lethal injections were halted because they could not locate veins due to the prisoners size or previous IV drug abuse history. We all know that there are many ways to provide quick executions, but not all of them lend themselves to an audience. I can say that nothing I read changed my mind about capitol punishment. When a person or persons step outside of known humane actions, they give up the right to a humane death or treatment in my opinion. Ted Ladd * * * I used to support the death penalty but am now against it because punishment should be swift. In many cases it takes years to actually convict someone and a ridiculous amount of time to actually carry out a sentence, 20-30 years or more in most cases. The cost of putting someone to death is higher than life in prison given all the legal challenges. Lock them up in a supermax prison, throw away the key, and never mention their name again. Jerry Hickey * * * If, in fact, the Pope believes the death penalty is wrong in all cases why is he still protected by armed guards? What is the purpose of being protected by armed guards if the guards don't plan on carrying out the death penalty if need be? When he dismisses his armed guards I might take him seriously. Until then I could care less what he thinks on this subject, and most subjects, for that matter. Mike Lynn Matthias Knab, Opalesque: In a new research paper from Morningstar published today, Jason Kephart and Maciej Kowara put alternative funds to the test. Though still relatively new, few alternative mutual funds have conferred meaningful diversification benefits in recent years, and the last five years have been one of the worst periods for alternative strategies since 1983. According to their research, the plight of the alternative strategies is due primarily to two factors: stock and bond market returns, and rising correlations. In the new research paper, "Liquid Alternatives Have Yet to Prove They Belong in Portfolios," the senior Morningstar analysts ran a test to evaluate whether liquid alternative funds would have improved the risk-adjusted returns of a well-diversified 60/40 portfolio of stocks and bonds. This framework for evaluating alternative funds builds upon the Morningstar Style Box for alternative funds, which makes it easier for investors to gauge a funds' diversification characteristics. Until relatively recently it has been beneficial to add at least some hedge-fund exposure to the traditional allocation, as evidenced by the fact that the traditional portfolio's Sharpe ratio rose after adding an allocation to the HFRI Index. It's only in the past 10 years that the benefits of using hedge fund strategies have basically vanished. Two factors went against hedge fund strategies in recent years There are two factors that have gon...................... To view our full article Click here Currently: Long Looking to: Hold for 61,600 As of 3/21/21 @ 10:08pm EST: 56,590 LAST WEEK: We suggested buying BTCUSD from last weeks levels down to 47,352 with stops below 43,016 and with an upside target of 64,600. UPDATE: Bitcoin is setting up to trade around within a range from 53,500 to 61,600 in the short-term. Look to buy BTCUSD at 54,850 and sell it at 61,600 in the short-term. We would then look to re-buy it down at 53,500 and sell it at 64,000. Currently: Cash Looking to: Buy @ 108.337 As of 3/21/21 @ 9:21pm EST: 108.857 LAST WEEK: We suggested buying dips in USDJPY to 108.337 and holding for a run up to 111. We suggested honoring stops on longs on a close below 107.75. UPDATE: The USDJPY is up early on Monday after trading sluggishly all last week. We still feel the cross will trade down to 108.337 (or lower). No changes to last weeks trade recommendations. Would you like to know how many people have read this article? Or how reputable the author is? Simply sign up for a Advocate premium membership and you'll automatically see this data on every article. Plus a lot more, too. An Allegory for Our Time To preserve and expand its power, America's power elite, hugely outnumbered, must keep the massive but powerless, subjugated and exploited public at bay. It does so in myriad ways. One is to divide and conquer the public. Perhaps the oldest means of doing this was to have written the U.S. Constitution and then years later to have created multiple political parties to confuse and distract the public. Another is to impose a police state that takes no prisoners. Another is to spin the legacies of US presidents whose behavior was so odious and heinous that to leave it bare and open to the public would likely cause a revolt. Another is to create foreign enemies to stoke fear and the revenue draining national security budget. Another is to create an open-door immigration law to further diversify the nation as well as to gain cheap labor. Yet another, more relevant to the allegory to be told, is to barrage the public daily with corporate mainstream media's propaganda and untruths about any prominent politician who does not fall meekly in line with the power elite's imperialistic agenda. That brings us to the current U.S. president, Donald J. Trump, the only US president in America's history to challenge the corpocracy's power elite. There isn't one aspect of his domestic or foreign policy views and actions that have not come under withering attack from those who are fearful of America's corpocracy crumbling. Consider his seeking to localize more and globalize less America's economy. If I were to pick two of the corpocracy's strategies that have turned America into a third world country in terms of quality of life conditions for the citizenry they would be globalization and a burgeoning war budget. Consider his seeking to end America's open-door immigration policy, one that I have already mentioned that serves only the power elite. Consider his seeking detent with Russia and North Korea, enemies created by his predecessors solely by and for America's power elite. In short, Trump goes against the grain of the corpocracy. He's not really one of its members. He is the only US president never to have previously held public office, which means he wasn't groomed in a poisonous crucible spewing out corruptible politicians. He made his fortune in the real estate industry, one of the least injurious of the major industries such as the war industry. In other words, despite his wealth and position, he senses and is trying to be responsive to the needs, despair and misery of Joe and Jill America, which brings us now to the allegory. I got it in an e-mail from a friend who tells me the author is unknown. Here it is. The Racoon Story "If you really want to know how the majority of people feel? And this applies to both Democrats and Republicans; read below, it says it all. You've been on vacation for two weeks, you come home, and your basement is infested with raccoons. Hundreds of rabid, messy, mean raccoons have overtaken your basement. You want them gone immediately. You call the city, 4 different exterminators, but nobody can handle the job. But there is this one guy and he guarantees you to get rid of them, so you hire him. You don't care if the guy smells, you don't care if the guy swears, you don't care if he's an alcoholic, you don't care how many times he's been married, you don't care if he has a plumber's crack, you simply want those raccoons gone! You want your problem fixed! He's the guy. He's the best. Period ! Here's why we want Trump, yes, he's a bit of an ass, yes, he's an egomaniac, but we don't care. The country is a mess because politicians suck, the Republicans and Democrats can be two-faced and gutless, and illegals are everywhere. We want it all fixed! We don't care that Trump is crude, we don't care that he insults people, we don't care that he has changed positions, we don't care that he's been married 3 times, we don't care that he fights with Megyn Kelly and Rosie O'Donnell, we don't care that he doesn't know the name of some Muslin terrorist. This country is weak, bankrupt, our enemies are making fun of us, we are being invaded by illegals, we are becoming a nation of victims where every Tom, Ricardo, and Hasid is a special group with special rights to a point where we don't even recognize the country we were born and raised in; "AND WE JUST WANT IT FIXED" and Trump is the only guy who seems to understand what the people want. We're sick of politicians, sick of the Democratic Party, Republican Party, and sick of illegals. We just want this thing fixed. Trump may not be a saint, but he doesn't have lobbyist money holding him; he doesn't have political correctness restraining him; all you know is that he has been very successful, a good negotiator, he has built a lot of things, and he's also not a politician, he's not a cowardly politician. And he says he'll fix it, and we believe him because he is too much of an egotist to be proven wrong or looked at and called a liar. Also, we don't care if the guy has bad hair. We just want those raccoons gone, out of our house, NOW. The raccoons have got to go." End of story. Next Page 1 | 2 (Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher). Would you like to know how many people have read this article? Or how reputable the author is? Simply sign up for a Advocate premium membership and you'll automatically see this data on every article. Plus a lot more, too. From Common Dreams Everything the Trump administration does is geared toward intimidation and war. Last week, on July 26, the United States House of Representatives passed the 2019 National Defense Authorization Act, which will then go on to the U.S. Senate and finally to the U.S. president. It is worthwhile to note that 139 Democrats, including the entire Democratic Party leadership, voted for this bill. This Act provides the U.S. government with $717 billion for a year's military spending. This is $100 billion more than was spent last year (which is itself more than half of the annual Chinese military budget). No country spends money on its military like the United States. It's not long now before the annual U.S. military budget will cross the $1 trillion mark. In fact, many suggest that if the covert parts of the budget--for the CIA, for military intelligence, for the National Security Agency and for the ongoing wars--are added in, the $1 trillion threshold has already been crossed. Jack Ma, the Chinese billionaire, recently told CNBC that the United States has wasted $14 trillion over the past 30 years in its many, many wars. A modest estimate suggests that the U.S. war on Afghanistan -- which is ongoing since 2001 -- has itself cost over $1 trillion. After all this time and money, and after all the human suffering, it is now certain that the United States, Imran Khan's government in Pakistan and the Chinese will seek a compromise with the Taliban. Ma's statement about "waste" should be taken very seriously. A foreign policy that sows disorder and chaos, which increases human suffering, is a waste -- regardless of the benefits it might produce for the arms dealers. This week, on July 30, the United States' military's African Command (Africom) admitted that it was flying armed drones out of a U.S. base in Niamey, Niger's capital. Africom's spokesperson Samantha Reho said that the government of Niger gave the U.S. permission to do so in November 2017, and that the U.S. began to fly these armed drones in early 2018. There was no admission that the U.S. has fired any of these drones. Very soon, these lethal drones will move from Air Base 101 in Niamey to the newly constructed Air Base 201 in Agadez. This new base is one of the largest drone bases in the world. The drones from here can travel from one end of West Africa to cover most of North Africa. Another U.S. drone base in Djibouti is able to send its lethal machines across East Africa and deep into Central Africa. In sum, with these two bases, the U.S. is able to strike targets across most of the African continent. All this with no debate in the U.S. Congress and with little care for the sensibilities of the African people. The question of sensibility should not be sniffed at. In late March, the government of Ghana signed a military agreement with the United States. Ghana's military would get a paltry $20 million to train its troops, while the U.S. would get access to Ghana's airports and to Ghana's radio spectrum and the U.S. would be able to bring in military hardware duty-free. Eager to set up a military base in Ghana, the U.S. miscalculated the residue of anti-colonial sentiment in the country. This sentiment is the reason why the U.S. African Command is based in Stuttgart, Germany, rather than in any African country. No leader can afford to be seen to allow the United States to encroach so brazenly on the sovereignty of an African country. It is important to underline the fact that no U.S. command headquarters is located outside Western Europe and the United States. The Southern Command, which oversees U.S. military operations in Latin America, was based in Panama from 1963 to 1997. Now it is based in Doral, Florida, having been ejected by the governments that followed the ouster of the old CIA asset Manuel Noriega. The Central Command headquarters, which monitors and directs U.S. operations in the Middle East, is located 200 miles north in Tampa, Florida. The headquarters of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, which oversees operations in Asia, is located in Hawaii. The people of Africa, Asia and Latin America do not want the United States' footprint to be placed so heavily on their soil. It is one thing to have to tolerate bases and joint exercises. It is another to allow the full weight of U.S. imperialism on one's soil. There's an old adage: if you have a hammer, everything looks like a nail. The sheer scale of the U.S. military arsenal gives its political leaders a rush. They feel that they can intimidate the rest of the planet to suit their needs. Peace does not define U.S. foreign policy. Everything is geared toward intimidation and war. Here's a scanner of recent maneuvers by the Trump administration that are contrary to a policy of peacemaking. Korea. A great feat of humanity pushed the two Koreas to renew their dialogue toward a normal future. The United States has consistently attempted to spoil this process, with Trump being churlish about the good feeling between the North's Kim Jong-un and the South's Moon Jae-in. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is on a march across Southeast Asia, pushing ASEAN countries to continue to sanction North Korea despite the consensus within ASEAN to lighten the burden on the North as a way to open the road to peace. The United States indicated that North Korea is continuing with its missile program, just when senior military leaders of the North and South met at the border on July 31. These mischievous statements by the U.S. did not deter the Koreans. Lieutenant General An Ik San of North Korea and Major General Kim Do-gyun of the South continued with their dialogue. Artillery will be withdrawn from the shore of the West Sea and military exercises will cease. "The people of the North and South regard our talks as important," said Lieutenant General An. The military leaders are committed to peace and do not want Korea to be the battlefield for U.S. aggression. Iran. On July 22, Trump woke up and wrote a tweet in all caps -- "NEVER, EVER THREATEN THE UNITED STATES AGAIN OR YOU WILL SUFFER CONSEQUENCES THE LIKES OF WHICH FEW THROUGHOUT HISTORY HAVE EVER SUFFERED BEFORE." Threats of this kind are routine. The Iranian leadership shrugged them off. In the military spending bill that just passed the U.S. House of Representatives, there is a sentence that bears notice: "Nothing in this act may be construed to authorize the use of force against Iran." But in another part of the act, there is license for the Trump administration to pursue cyber-war against Iran, North Korea, Russia and China. The bill gives Trump carte blanche to escalate against these four countries. These are the dramatic threats. In the shadows linger worse atrocities that have become normal. The U.S. drone base in Salak, in the north of Cameroon, houses a Rapid Intervention Battalion -- a Cameroonian detachment, which has been filmed executing civilians. Last year, the Intercept reported that U.S. operatives of one kind or another had tortured prisoners at this base. There is no human rights agenda here. The United States claims that it requires such a massive military and deployment in places such as Niger because of the threats not only to the U.S., but to the world. In the belt of countries that make up the Sahel region of Africa -- with Niger at their center -- there is a claim made by the West of the threats of al-Qaeda and other assorted groups. Many of these groups are indeed a threat to the people of the region, but many of them are also merely gangsters (al-Qaeda is largely a smuggler of cigarettes and weapons across the Sahara Desert). The real threats that have brought in the United States and France are elsewhere. It is worthwhile to make a list of these (based on my reporting from last year). Next Page 1 | 2 (Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher). Would you like to know how many people have read this article? Or how reputable the author is? Simply sign up for a Advocate premium membership and you'll automatically see this data on every article. Plus a lot more, too. Image Deleted Because Wiki Page Empty or Removed Image t a Florida campaign rally on July 31, President Donald Trump informed the crowd, by way of promoting voter ID laws, that "if you go out and you want to buy groceries, you need a picture on a card. You need ID." Twitterverse mockery ensued, mostly to the effect that Trump has little experience with the real world in which no, normal people generally do not need photo ID to buy milk, bread, and the latest edition of The National Enquirer at one's local supermarket. Maybe Trump is out of touch, but many of his hecklers are too. More disturbing than the drive for laws to address the nearly non-existent phenomenon of voter fraud is the degree to which most Americans take current ID requirements -- many of which didn't exist even a couple of decades ago -- for granted. These days, it's difficult if not impossible to board an airplane (or get an Amtrak train or Greyhound bus ticket) without displaying a government-issued identification card. Of course, you need a government-issued driver's license to operate a car. Prefer to walk or ride with a friend? In many states, you're required to produce ID documents on demand if a police officer claims "reasonable suspicion" that you've committed a crime (including "loitering"). If you'd like to accept a job and an employer would like to hire you, you must present one or more government-issued identification papers for submission to US Citizenship and Immigration Services. Yes, you're required to present government identification papers to open a bank account as well. Over the last few decades, the US has effectively re-created the Soviet Union's old "internal passport" system. Your rights to move about, to work, to conduct your financial affairs, and in general just to live your life, are subject to the government's demand that you prove your identity at any time and for any reason. America survived for exactly a century without any such thing as "photo ID" -- the 1876 Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia required all exhibitors and staff to carry a "photographic ticket" produced by Canadian photographer William Notman. It wasn't until well into the 20th century that most Americans started carrying a government driver ID with a photograph on it (you didn't even need a passport to enter or leave the US until after World War 2), and not until near the end of that century that ID requirements started spilling into every corner of our lives. In fact, prior to 9/11, most "conservatives" opposed most national ID schemes on perfectly reasonable privacy grounds. Their increasing embrace of an all-encompassing surveillance state, including everything from imposing "REAL ID" standards on the states to conscripting employers as unpaid immigration police informants, is a sad indicator of how far they've strayed from even minimal respect for freedom and privacy. The scandal isn't that Trump doesn't know ID isn't required to buy groceries. It's that he, and most politicians of both major parties, think ID should be required for pretty much everything. And that Americans aren't resisting the idea. Would you like to know how many people have read this article? Or how reputable the author is? Simply sign up for a Advocate premium membership and you'll automatically see this data on every article. Plus a lot more, too. See original here By Ted Vaill (Image by Cagle Cartoon) Details DMCA President Trumputin (of the Electoral College of the United States of America) has just pronounced that the Mueller investigation must end as it is "staining our country." Sir, or Donald, or Trumputin, whatever you are called, YOU are the one staining our country, with your tweets and treasonous conduct and coverups. You and your borderline-Alzheimers "advisor" Rudy Giuliani have been ejaculating "whiffle dust" everywhere to create confusion in the media (which you call "fake news") as to what is going on. This is what is going on, and what will happen soon... The Paul Manafort trial has begun, involving his greed and money laundering and criminal conduct in the Ukraine and other sleazy corners of the world. It has little or nothing to do with the Russian interference in the 2016 Presidential election; Mueller will charge Manafort and many other American traitors with these crimes soon. Further efforts will be made to get an interview with Don Trump this month, but it will not happen. His lawyers are deathly afraid that his big mouth and ego will trap him into lies under oath; it has come out that our Dear Leader has averaged 16 lies a day since he was inaugurated, or 4,229 in all. But he might be called before a Grand Jury sometime in the near future. How would you deal with that one, Justice Kavanaugh? August is usually a quiet month in Federal Government Land. Everyone takes a vacation (except maybe the Senate, who have to fund the federal government for the next fiscal year beginning October 1, 2018, and deal with the Kavanaugh nomination, hoping for a vote before the Supreme Court reconvenes that very day). But Mueller and his team will be busy in August, combing through the million pages of documents and tapes collected from Trump's master fixer Michael Cohen, and perhaps having discussions with him about what they (or their U.S. Attorney friends in New York City) have found. My prediction: by early September, 2018, Michael Cohen will have flipped and pleaded guilty to certain federal crimes, his sentencing held in suspension as he cooperates with Mueller to implicate Trumputin in the collusion, obstruction of justice, money laundering and emoluments criminal charges which will be forthcoming. One point which needs to be made clearly: Giuliani and Trumputin keep bloviating that "collusion" is not a crime. True, it is not spelled out as a crime in the U.S. Code, but "conspiracy" is. 18 U.S. C. Section 371 states as follows: "If two or more persons conspire to commit any offense against the United States, or to defraud the United States, or any agency thereof in any manner or for any purpose, and if any one or more of such persons do any act to effect the object of the conspiracy, each shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than five years, or both... One example given is that if you agree to drive the getaway car in a bank robbery, and are apprehended with your fellow bank robbers on your way in the car to the bank with all the weapons, ski masks and other accouterments used to rob the bank, you are guilty of participating in a conspiracy to commit a federal crime (robbing a bank), even though you never actually reached the bank. The crime is based on your 'intent,' and that intent is clear." Likewise, it was the intent of Donald Trump, Jr., Jared Kushner, and Paul Manafort to violate U.S. law by conspiring with a foreign power (Russia) to interfere in the 2016 Presidential election by holding the June, 2016 meeting with the four Russian spies in Trump Tower in New York City, one floor below Donald's office, in order to get "dirt" on Hillary Clinton. And the person who was "driving the car" to this meeting, figuratively speaking, was the President of the Electoral College of the United States, who gave the go ahead to hold the meeting, boasted about it publicly before it happened (by stating that he would hold an important news conference about Hillary Clinton early the next week), received a report of the meeting immediately after it happened, and directed the cover-up story regarding the meeting after it became public (that it was only about adoption of Russian children). This was a conspiracy, and a federal crime... Just after Labor Day, starting September 4, 2018, the Congress will be back in session from their August slumber, grand jurors will have returned home from their August vacations, and Mueller and his staff will be ramping up for the Fall fun they will lay upon us. Mueller will take a few days in early September to add to and clean up some of the indictments he has obtained from the grand jury. On Friday, September 14, 2018, massive indictments of all of Trumputin's associates who participated in any way in the criminal conspiracy to assist the Russians in causing him to be elected President of the United States, in obstructing justice, in laundering Russian money, and in violating the Emoluments Clause of the Constitution, will be revealed publicly. "It's Mueller Time." The indictments will be breathtaking in their scope: his family members Ivanka Trump, Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump, and Jared Kushner, his loyal (and disloyal) aides Paul Manafort, Hope Hicks, Kellyanne Conway, Steve Bannon, Roger Stone, Stephen Miller, former Senator and AG Jeff Sessions, and many others, some of whose names have not yet surfaced, and Congressmen Devin Nunes and Dana Rohrabacher, his Russia-lovers in Congress who have carried his water. And Mueller will name three unindicted co-conspirators -- President Donald J. Trump, Vice President Mike Pence, and Russian President Vladimir Putin. If I am wrong, I will travel to Russia to apologize personally to Dictator Putin for my mistakes. Or rather, I will send my cranky Uncle Eddie in my place. Would you like to know how many people have read this article? Or how reputable the author is? Simply sign up for a Advocate premium membership and you'll automatically see this data on every article. Plus a lot more, too. Immigrant prisoners forced to choose between separation from kids or indefinite detention together, as government prepares military bases for concentration camps The whole world watched in horror in June as the Trump/Pence regime showed what "zero tolerance" looks like in the hands of sadistic, cold-blooded fascists. The images of terrified immigrant children torn from parents who'd just been arrested at the U.S.-Mexico border were seared into the minds and hearts of people everywhere. Protest in San Francisco, June 30, 2018 (Image by RCP Publications) Details DMCA Faced with a mounting international political crisis, Trump issued an executive order on June 20 saying that the Department of Homeland Security would "maintain custody of immigrant families" while waiting for their cases to be heard in court, a process that can take months or longer. In other words, rather than separating families, they would hold the entire family in detention indefinitely. Days later, a federal court ordered the government to reunite the families they had torn apart--beginning with the 100 infants and toddlers under the age of five they had taken away. What was revealed through all this is that the monsters running the U.S. government do not give a damn about the lives they are destroying. They do not even have the records needed to reunite many of the children with their parents. The parents of 38 of the 100 children can't be found because they were either deported or were released and can't be located. Now the government admits the parents of at least 450 children were deported back to their home countries without their children, and with no way to reunite them. And as of July 26, the court-ordered deadline for reuniting the families, the government said they still had in custody 711 children who had been separated from their parents. It has been the law since the 1980s that the government cannot forcibly hold children in detention facilities beyond 20 days. But a July 9 ruling by a federal judge said that "parents may also affirmatively waive [give up] their children's rights to prompt release and placement in state-licensed facilities." What this means is that the government can arrest parents with their children, and hold them together in custody for up to 20 days. At that time the parent(s) must choose: to be separated from their children, and watch them be released and put into a state facility or turned over to a sponsor or to waive the child's right to be released and keep the child with them in the detention camp indefinitely. Internment (Concentration) Camps for Undocumented Immigrants Days before issuing the June 20 executive order, Trump declared: "The United States will not be a migrant camp and it will not be a refugee holding facility. Not on my watch." But the reality is that it could become a land of concentration camps for immigrants. Trump's executive order also authorized Secretary of Defense James Mattis to "take all legally available measures to provide to the Secretary, upon request, any existing facilities available for the housing and care of alien families, and shall construct such facilities if necessary and consistent with law." The military has been called upon to provide 20,000 spaces to hold immigrant families on military bases. Three bases in Texas--the Army's Fort Bliss and the Air Force's Dyess and Goodfellow--have already been inspected for "fitness" by the Department of Health and Human Services. Little Rock Air Force Base in Arkansas is also being considered. If the plans to use these military bases move ahead, it would not be the first time that U.S. imperialism has put people in this country in concentration camps in massive numbers. In 1942, the U.S. rounded up and imprisoned in concentration camps 120,000 citizens and immigrants of Japanese ancestry on the West Coast for four years, even beyond the end of U.S. involvement in World War 2. Slamming the Door on Asylum Seekers On June 11, Trump's attorney general, Jeff Sessions, declared that he was eliminating two huge categories for political asylum that many of the refugees have sought refuge under: domestic violence and gang violence. It was not until 2014 that the highest U.S. immigration court--the Board of Immigration Appeals--decided that women who are victims of severe domestic violence in countries like Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras can be eligible for asylum as a specific category of victims of persecution. Sessions just spit on this ruling, and 30 years of precedent along with it, knowing full well that thousands of women in fear for their lives because of domestic violence will be forced to return to their countries of origin, possibly facing death. And Sessions' declaration that those fleeing gang violence in countries like Guatemala--especially teenage men and women, who face persecution by gangs and their ultimatums to join or die--are ineligible for asylum will be a death sentence to thousands of these youths if they're forced to return. In short, far fewer asylum seekers will be granted a "credible basis for asylum," and far more will be deported, far more quickly. This regime is perfectly willing to force thousands and thousands of refugees to their deaths, in the name of cutting the "backlog" of those awaiting asylum hearings. Don't be fooled by the Trump/Pence regime's seeming "fits and starts" in ratcheting up the extremely vicious persecution of immigrants. They are putting into place and acting on their fascist plans. And Trump and Sessions have systematically poisoned the atmosphere toward immigrants--demonization to the point where the most ugly government actions (and those by the "unofficial" fascist forces being mobilized by this regime) against not only undocumented immigrants but all immigrants are being grotesquely justified. This is a key and leading edge of the fascist agenda of open white supremacy and ugly "make America great again" chauvinism. The question that must be raised--and answered with the truth--is: Why are so many thousands of people putting their lives and those of their children on the line to make the dangerous trek across the border into a country where they are treated as criminals? Because they are desperate to flee the hellish situation created in their countries BY the U.S. imperialists. The great majority of immigrants now being put into the detention (concentration) camps are poor people from Central America. In the 1970s and 1980s, U.S.-backed reactionary regimes and wars drove hundreds of thousands from their homes in Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras. Many came to the U.S., where the youth found themselves in inner cities gutted of worthwhile jobs, at the same time as police terror and mass incarceration were being ramped up under the "war on drugs." This situation, along with the dog-eat-dog morality of capitalism, stoked the huge growth of gangs in places like Los Angeles, and many people driven from Central America became caught up in this. Then when the U.S. deported thousands of these same Central American youths in the name of a "war on gangs," they were forcibly sent to devastated countries they hardly knew. The "gang culture" that began in the U.S. was taken into these situations, and took root in ugly ways in the crowded and extremely poor and devastated Central American barrios. And this has had huge impact on the small and already impoverished countries, where much of the countryside had been laid to waste and the economies ruined. Continued U.S. intervention has served to keep a series of reactionary client regimes in power. Horrific gang violence, including battles among different sections of the police and armed forces allied with various gangs, has brought many among the masses of people to feel that their only hope for survival is to flee to the U.S. and seek asylum. These are the people that the U.S. rulers, with the fascists now at the top, are treating like animals. Next Page 1 | 2 (Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher). Quicklink Not Found Sometimes, authors delete their quicklinks after publishing them. To see if the quicklink was renamed or re-published, please click here. Would you like to know how many people have read this article? Or how reputable the author is? Simply sign up for a Advocate premium membership and you'll automatically see this data on every article. Plus a lot more, too. From Truthdig The crew of the littoral combat ship USS Coronado (LCS 4) successfully performs a live-fire demonstration of a Kongsberg Naval Strike Missile off the coast of Southern California. (Image by (Naval Warriors / Flickr Creative Commons)) Details DMCA On July 22, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo addressed a crowd of Iranian-Americans, giving voice to a new American policy on Iran that seeks to undermine the legitimacy of the Iranian government. It would also strangle Iran's economy through the reimposition of economic sanctions that had been set aside when Iran and five other Western nations, including the United States, came to an agreement in 2015 over Iran's nuclear program. According to this agreement, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA, Iran accepted sanctions on its nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions. When President Trump withdrew from the JCPOA in May, he promised to reimpose sanctions that had been approved by Congress, including those targeting Iran's sale of oil. The goal of the Trump administration, Pompeo told the crowd, was to "get [Iranian oil] imports as close to zero as possible" by this November. Pompeo's address did not go over well in Tehran. Addressing a gathering of Iranian diplomats, Iran's President Hassan Rouhani asked, "Is it possible that everyone in the region sells their oil and we stand idly by and watch? Do not forget that we have maintained the security of this waterway [Strait of Hormuz] throughout history. We have historically secured the route of oil transit. Do not forget it." Approximately 18.5 million barrels of oil a day transit through the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow channel of water separating Iran from Oman. The loss of this oil to the global economy would be devastating. On July 5, Rouhani commented on the American plan to shut down Iran's oil imports, saying, "The Americans say they want to reduce Iranian oil exports to zero. ... It shows they have not thought about its consequences." While Rouhani had remained silent about what those consequences would be, Qasem Soleimani, the commander of the Quds Force of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, made it clear that Iran would close the Strait of Hormuz to all oil traffic. "America should know that peace with Iran is the mother of all peace, and war with Iran is the mother of all wars," Rouhani said, warning the American president not to "play with the lion's tail, this would only lead to regret." President Trump's response, delivered via Twitter the next day, caught the attention of the world. 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! On July 24, the Iranian Armed Forces chief of staff, Maj. Gen. Mohammad Bagheri, responded to Trump's threats. "As the dominant power in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz, [Iran] has been the guarantor of the security of shipping and the global economy in this vital waterway and has the strength to take action against any scheme in this region," Bagheri said. "As our president correctly pointed out, the enemies, particularly America, whose centers of interest are within reach of the visible and hidden defense forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran, should not play with the lion's tail," the Iranian general said, "because they will receive a strong, unimaginable and regrettable response of great magnitude in the region and the world." That same day, President Trump addressed a gathering of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, seemingly a perfect venue for offering a bellicose response to the Iranian threats of action. Instead, the president offered up a fig leaf of sorts. "We'll see what happens," Trump said, "but we're ready to make a real deal, not the deal that was done by the previous administration, which was a disaster." The seesawing rhetorical game of threat and counterthreat being played by Trump seems reminiscent of a similar approach taken late last year and early this year with North Korea over its nuclear and ballistic missile programs. Last August, responding to North Korean threats to test missiles capable of reaching the United States, Trump had declared that North Korea "best not make any more threats to the United States," saying that if North Korea disregarded him, "They will be met with fire and fury like the world has never seen." Trump later went on to famously belittle North Korea's leader, Kim Jong Un, as "little rocket man," while Kim in turn responded by calling Trump a "dotard" and a "warmonger" whose true nature was that of a "destroyer of the world peace and stability." In June, Trump and Kim held a summit in Singapore, where they discussed the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula. Many observers believe that Trump is reaching back to his North Korean playbook in engaging in the current hostile exchange with Iran. Iran, however, is not North Korea. What follows are major reasons why Trump is wrong if he thinks Iran will accede to his demands that it renegotiate a nuclear agreement with the United States to replace the JCPOA. Next Page 1 | 2 (Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher). Would you like to know how many people have read this article? Or how reputable the author is? Simply sign up for a Advocate premium membership and you'll automatically see this data on every article. Plus a lot more, too. By Dave Lindorff F-35, mankind's most costly weapon at $1.5 trillion, and 40 Dem senators just voted to fund it (Image by usafa.af.mil) Details DMCA Democrats in the US Senate showed themselves to be just another war party this week, with 40 of their number out of 47 voting to pass a record $717-billion military budget for FY 2019. Only seven Democrats (Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey, D-MA, Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, D-OR, Kamala Harris, D-CA, Dick Durbin, D-IL, and Kirstin Gillibrand, D-NY) and independent Bernie Sanders, who caucuses with the Democratic Party, voted against the bill (Sen. Angus King, an independent from Maine who also caucuses with the Democrats, neutralized Sanders' vote by voting for the measure). For those who may have hoped that perhaps the growing number of self-described "democratic socialist" candidates running for seats in Congress might call out this war-mongering by the Democratic Party establishment, there was just silence. Sen. Sanders, to be sure, said he would vote against the bill, but he didn't say he was doing that because he thought it was an outrageous amount of money to spend on war and preparations for war. In fact, he prefaced his opposition by saying, "I support a strong US military." Rather, as he always does, Sanders decried the "waste, fraud and mismanagement" in the Pentagon budget, instead of the reality that virtually the entire budget, representing two-thirds of all federal discretionary spending, is a waste. The sad truth is that when it comes to Democratic candidates running openly wearing a "democratic socialist" label, including Sanders, the standard-bearer for this newly popular identity, there is a sort of fraud being perpetrated on the public. Most such candidates, including Sanders, simply won't talk about US imperialism, hegemonism and about the need to slash the grossly outsized US military budget, which surpasses the budgets of nations with the next ten largest militaries. Why does this matter? Because when progressive Democrats, and especially those who call themselves "democratic socialists" (implying that somehow straight-up "socialists" might not be sufficiently democratic!), espouse popular socialist programs like Medicare for All, expanded and enhanced Social Security benefits, free public college for anyone who wants to get a higher degree beyond high school, a guaranteed job for all, paid maternity/paternity leave, etc. -- all worthy and popular ideas -- they open themselves up immediately to charges by Republicans and by conservative and establishment liberal Democrats that they won't be able to pay for those programs, or that they'd have to rise taxes to pay for them. And those charges are justified, because most of those so-called progressive, and even "democratic socialist" candidates, tacitly or, in Sen. Sanders' case even overtly support, fundamentally, the US military and most of America's militaristic foreign policies and actions abroad -- the majority of which are in flagrant violation of international law and have nothing to do with national defense" For the rest of this article by DAVE LINDORFF in ThisCantBeHappening!, the uncompromised, collectively run, six-time Project Censored Award-winning online alternative news site, please go to: www.thiscantbehappening.net/node/3938 IoT Sensors Market - Propells By Application as Consumer Electronics, Healthcare, Automotive, Industrial, Building Automation, and Retail etc https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=9428 https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/iot-sensors-market.html https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/report-toc/9428 www.transparencymarketresearch.com Internet of Things (IoT) is a network that is embedded with sensors, electronics, network connectivity, and software enabling physical objects to gather and exchange data. As IoT rises into dominance, sensors are playing a pivotal role for measuring the physical quality of objects and enumerating it into a value, which can be read by another device or user.Obtain Brochure For Latest Technology Advancements@IoT devices are equipped with sensors which are capable of registering changes in pressure, temperature, motion, light, and sound. In the physical world, more and more objects can now communicate with each other through embedded IoT sensors, actuators, and tags.Obtain Report Details@The global IoT sensors market is expected to be the spectator of widespread growth over the upcoming years due to the rising market for smart devices and wearable and also due to the stable development of smaller, inexpensive, and smarter IoT sensors.Download TOC@The increasing demand for IoT sensors in real time applications, placement of Ipv6, and compassionate rehe sourcefulness provided by governments are further anticipated to fuel the demand for the IoT sensors due to swift development of the healthcare infrastructure worldwide.About UsTransparency Market Research is a next-generation market intelligence provider, offering fact-based solutions to business leaders, consultants, and strategy professionals.Our reports are single-point solutions for businesses to grow, evolve, and mature. Our real-time data collection methods along with ability to track more than one million high growth niche products are aligned with your aims. The detailed and proprietary statistical models used by our analysts offer insights for making right decision in the shortest span of time. For organizations that require specific but comprehensive information we offer customized solutions through adhoc reports. These requests are delivered with the perfect combination of right sense of fact-oriented problem solving methodologies and leveraging existing data repositories.Contact UsState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesUSA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite: Global Direct Drive Wind Turbine Sales Market Report 2018: ENERCON, GE Renewable Energy, Siemens, VENSYS Energy, ABB, AVANTIS Energy https://www.researchmoz.us/enquiry.php?type=S&repid=1866676 https://www.researchmoz.us/global-direct-drive-wind-turbine-sales-market-report-2018-report.html/toc http://bit.ly/1TBmnVG https://marketsizeinfo.blogspot.in/ Researchmoz added Most up-to-date research on "Global Direct Drive Wind Turbine Sales Market Report 2018" to its huge collection of research reports.This report studies the global Direct Drive Wind Turbine market status and forecast, categorizes the global Direct Drive Wind Turbine market size (value & volume) by key players, type, application, and region. This report focuses on the top players in North America, Europe, China, Japan, Southeast Asia India and Other regions (Middle East & Africa, Central & South America).The wind is one of the cleanest sources of power generation. Wind turbines are used to harness the energy from the wind. The harnessed power from the wind is used to generate electricity. The wind power is directed to rotate turbine blades that are fixed to a rotor; the rotor is connected to the main shaft that spins a generator to create electricity.Better technological advances and the rise in R&D is expected to increase the demand fordirect drive turbines, which in turn will propel the growth of the global direct drive wind turbine market in the next few years. One of the latest trends gaining traction in this market is the rising support of government policies to promote the usage and generation of energy from wind. Wind is considered to be one of the cheapest renewable energy sources compared with other similar energy sources such as solar, nuclear, and even natural gas. Governments worldwide are realizing the potential and long-term benefits of using the wind energy. To induce growth in the wind energy sector, governments are setting up favorable policies to help establish and sustain the wind power against cheaper alternatives. Feed-in tariffs (FITs) are being provided in almost all countries with wind power installations. Moreover, to increase healthy competition, auctions are being held for upcoming wind power installations. With countries increasing their investments in infrastructures to connect wind power to the grid, the market share of the direct drive wind turbine market is expected to grow over the forecast period.The direct drive wind turbine market is highly competitive with major manufacturers competing based on price, quality, and market presence. At present, the market is well diversified with the presence of international and regional players. manufacturers are increasing their focus on R&D to reduce the cost and improve the durability of windturbine components. This will intesify the competion in the market primarily in terms of profit making. To gain a competitive advantage, companies are adopting acquisitions and partnerships as key strategies along with effective product launches. Leading companies are aggressively enhancing their capabilities to acquire a larger market share through joint ventures, memorandum of understanding (MoU), and acquisitions.To Get Sample Copy of Report visit @APAC is going to dominate the direct drive wind turbine market during the forecast period. This dominance can be attributed to the increasing energy demand, due to the rising global population and the enhanced standard of living. China and India account for most of the installations in the region. This high rate of adoption in these countries is driven by high wind energy potential and strong government support. Also, South Korea is expected to contribute to the market growth through its offshore wind energy programs. Plans directed at tappingoffshore wind resourcesin APAC countries, especially China and Japan, will also boost the growth of the direct drive wind turbine market in the region.The global Direct Drive Wind Turbine market is valued at xx million US$ in 2017 and will reach xx million US$ by the end of 2025, growing at a CAGR of xx% during 2018-2025.The major players covered in this reportENERCONGE Renewable EnergyGoldwind Science and TechnologySiemensVENSYS EnergyABBAnhui Hummer DynamoAVANTIS EnergyBora EnergyFoshan Ouyad ElectronicLeitner AGMerventoQingdao Hengfeng Wind Power GeneratorQingdao Richuan Precision MachineryReGen PowertechXEMC WindpowerGeographically, this report studies the key regions, focuses on product sales, value, market share and growth opportunity in these regions, coveringUnited StatesEuropeChinaJapanSoutheast AsiaIndiaWe can also provide the customized separate regional or country-level reports, for the following regions:North AmericaUnited StatesCanadaMexicoAsia-PacificChinaIndiaJapanSouth KoreaAustraliaIndonesiaSingaporeRest of Asia-PacificEuropeGermanyFranceUKItalySpainRussiaRest of EuropeCentral & South AmericaBrazilArgentinaRest of South AmericaMiddle East & AfricaSaudi ArabiaTurkeyRest of Middle East & AfricaOn the basis of product, this report displays the production, revenue, price, market share and growth rate of each type, primarily split intoType IType IIOn the basis on the end users/applications, this report focuses on the status and outlook for major applications/end users, sales volume, market share and growth rate for each application, includingOffshore applicationOnshore applicationThe study objectives of this report are:To analyze and study the global Direct Drive Wind Turbine sales, value, status (2013-2017) and forecast (2018-2025);To analyze the top players in North America, Europe, China, Japan, Southeast Asia and India, to study the sales, value and market share of top players in these regions.Focuses on the key Direct Drive Wind Turbine players, to study the sales, value, market share and development plans in future.Focuses on the global key manufacturers, to define, describe and analyze the market competition landscape, SWOT analysis.To define, describe and forecast the market by type, application and region.To analyze the global and key regions market potential and advantage, opportunity and challenge, restraints and risks.To identify significant trends and factors driving or inhibiting the market growth.To analyze the opportunities in the market for stakeholders by identifying the high growth segments.To strategically analyze each submarket with respect to individual growth trend and their contribution to the marketTo analyze competitive developments such as expansions, agreements, new product launches, and acquisitions in the marketTo strategically profile the key players and comprehensively analyze their growth strategies.In this study, the years considered to estimate the market size of Direct Drive Wind Turbine are as follows:History Year: 2013-2017Base Year: 2017Estimated Year: 2018Forecast Year 2018 to 2025For the data information by region, company, type and application, 2017 is considered as the base year. Whenever data information was unavailable for the base year, the prior year has been considered.Key StakeholdersDirect Drive Wind Turbine ManufacturersDirect Drive Wind Turbine Distributors/Traders/WholesalersDirect Drive Wind Turbine Subcomponent ManufacturersIndustry AssociationDownstream VendorsTable of ContentsGlobal Direct Drive Wind Turbine Sales Market Report 20181 Direct Drive Wind Turbine Market Overview1.1 Product Overview and Scope of Direct Drive Wind Turbine1.2 Classification of Direct Drive Wind Turbine by Product Category1.2.1 Global Direct Drive Wind Turbine Market Size (Sales) Comparison by Type (2013-2025)1.2.2 Global Direct Drive Wind Turbine Market Size (Sales) Market Share by Type (Product Category) in 20171.2.3 Type I1.2.4 Type II1.3 Global Direct Drive Wind Turbine Market by Application/End Users1.3.1 Global Direct Drive Wind Turbine Sales (Volume) and Market Share Comparison by Application (2013-2025)1.3.1 Offshore application1.3.2 Onshore application1.4 Global Direct Drive Wind Turbine Market by Region1.4.1 Global Direct Drive Wind Turbine Market Size (Value) Comparison by Region (2013-2025)1.4.2 United States Direct Drive Wind Turbine Status and Prospect (2013-2025)1.4.3 Europe Direct Drive Wind Turbine Status and Prospect (2013-2025)1.4.4 China Direct Drive Wind Turbine Status and Prospect (2013-2025)1.4.5 Japan Direct Drive Wind Turbine Status and Prospect (2013-2025)1.4.6 Southeast Asia Direct Drive Wind Turbine Status and Prospect (2013-2025)1.4.7 India Direct Drive Wind Turbine Status and Prospect (2013-2025)1.5 Global Market Size (Value and Volume) of Direct Drive Wind Turbine (2013-2025)1.5.1 Global Direct Drive Wind Turbine Sales and Growth Rate (2013-2025)1.5.2 Global Direct Drive Wind Turbine Revenue and Growth Rate (2013-2025)Get Complete TOC With Tables and Figures @2 Global Direct Drive Wind Turbine Competition by Players/Suppliers, Type and Application2.1 Global Direct Drive Wind Turbine Market Competition by Players/Suppliers2.1.1 Global Direct Drive Wind Turbine Sales and Market Share of Key Players/Suppliers (2013-2018)2.1.2 Global Direct Drive Wind Turbine Revenue and Share by Players/Suppliers (2013-2018)2.2 Global Direct Drive Wind Turbine (Volume and Value) by Type2.2.1 Global Direct Drive Wind Turbine Sales and Market Share by Type (2013-2018)2.2.2 Global Direct Drive Wind Turbine Revenue and Market Share by Type (2013-2018)2.3 Global Direct Drive Wind Turbine (Volume and Value) by Region2.3.1 Global Direct Drive Wind Turbine Sales and Market Share by Region (2013-2018)2.3.2 Global Direct Drive Wind Turbine Revenue and Market Share by Region (2013-2018)2.4 Global Direct Drive Wind Turbine (Volume) by Application3 United States Direct Drive Wind Turbine (Volume, Value and Sales Price)3.1 United States Direct Drive Wind Turbine Sales and Value (2013-2018)3.1.1 United States Direct Drive Wind Turbine Sales and Growth Rate (2013-2018)3.1.2 United States Direct Drive Wind Turbine Revenue and Growth Rate (2013-2018)3.1.3 United States Direct Drive Wind Turbine Sales Price Trend (2013-2018)3.2 United States Direct Drive Wind Turbine Sales Volume and Market Share by Players (2013-2018)3.3 United States Direct Drive Wind Turbine Sales Volume and Market Share by Type (2013-2018)3.4 United States Direct Drive Wind Turbine Sales Volume and Market Share by Application (2013-2018)Continue...About ResearchMozResearchMoz is the one stop online destination to find and buy market research reports & Industry Analysis. We fulfill all your research needs spanning across industry verticals with our huge collection of market research reports. We provide our services to all sizes of organizations and across all industry verticals and markets. Our Research Coordinators have in-depth knowledge of reports as well as publishers and will assist you in making an informed decision by giving you unbiased and deep insights on which reports will satisfy your needs at the best price.For More Information Kindly Contact:ResearchMozMr. Nachiket Ghumare,Tel: +1-518-621-2074USA-Canada Toll Free: 866-997-4948Email: sales@researchmoz.usFollow us on LinkedIn @Follow me on @ Security Robots Market 2018 Key Countries Analysis By Elbit Systems, L3, DJI, Northrop Grumman, QinetiQ, Knightscope, Leonardo, Lockheed Martin and Others Security Robots https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/865 https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/check-discount/865 https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/security-robots-market-865 Global Security Robots Market by Type (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle, Unmanned Underwater Vehicle, Unmanned Ground Vehicle), Application (Explosive Detection, Patrolling & Surveillance, Rescue Operations, Firefighting, Others) Component (Guidance, Navigation, and Control System, Propulsion System, Camera System, Frame, Other Payloads) and Region - Forecast to 2027The global market for security robots is projected to reach a valuation of USD 3,359.2 million during the forecast period (2018-2027), proclaims Market Research Future (MRFR) in a meticulously researched report. A robust security system requires efficiency and round-the-clock service that security robots can easily provide; a reason that can boost the global market with a staggering CAGR of 7.93% during the forecast period.Get Sample Report @Security robots are machines capable of enforcing the security within complexes and compounds without the need for human supervision. It acquires and collects data via radars, infrared devices, and thermal sensors. The global security robots market is predicted to experience a 7.93% CAGR during the assessment period (2018-2027), as per an in-depth report by Market Research Future (MRFR). Rise in geopolitical tensions can induce market demand over the forecast period.The sharp rise of adoption rates of unmanned systems by military and defense forces is projected to fuel market growth in the foreseeable future. Emergence of hybrid unmanned systems is likely to open up prospects for the market. Furthermore, increase in defense budgets of developed nations can open up opportunities for the market.Governments are awarding contracts to private players for upkeep and maintenance purposes. This is evident by with the deal signed between the U.K. Department of Defense and Thales Group to support its unmanned aircraft system unit, the Watchkeepers. Technological advances in sensors, miniaturization of components, and investments in surveillance robots can bolster market growth over the forecast period.Players CoveredElbit Systems Ltd. (Israel), L3 Technologies, Inc. (U.S.), DJI (China), Northrop Grumman Corporation (U.S.), QinetiQ Group plc (U.K), Knightscope, Inc. (U.S.), AeroVironment, Inc. (U.S.), Leonardo S.p.A (Italy), ReconRobotics, Inc. (U.S.), and Lockheed Martin Corporation (U.S.), are eminent names profiled in in the security robots market report.The report offers comprehensive profiles on these market players and assesses their current standing in the security robots market. Company history coupled with annual turnover, segmental share, SWOT analysis, growth strategies, new product launches, mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activities, and latest R&D initiatives are outlined in the report.Get Attractive Discount @Segment OverviewBy type, the security robots market comprises unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), unmanned ground vehicle (UGV), and unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV). The UAV segment is expected to acquire the largest market share by 2027. This can be attributed to its use in surveillance and reconnaissance missions and protect the borders of respective nations.Security robots are utilized in applications such as patrolling & surveillance, rescue operations, firefighting, explosive detection, and others. The patrolling & surveillance segment is touted to generate significant market demand by 2027. UAVs are used in patrolling duties and assist in enforcing security in compounds, government complexes, and military bases. The segment can witness a surge in demand galvanized by the rise in terrorist activities.Components of these robots such as frames, camera systems, guidance & navigation control system, propulsion systems, and other payloads are discussed in detail. Among these, the propulsions system segment will be the largest and the camera system segment can grow at a rapid pace till the end of the forecast period. Developments in technologies to harness solar energy to power these robots can propel the growth of both of these segments.The segments and sub-segments covered in the report are analyzed under five major regions North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific (APAC), and the Middle East and Africa (MEA), with respective country-level market sizing. The standard definition of security robot is included in the report for a comprehensive understanding of the market. The report discusses and interprets the current trends and future opportunities of the market by delivering an unbiased growth assessment.Regional AnalysisGeographically, the market covers North America, Europe, Asia Pacific (APAC), the Middle East & Africa (MEA), and Latin America.North America commands almost 41% of the market share. Multiple terrorist attacks have galvanized the need for security robots for tackling such menaces. The U.S. is investing heavily in the sector to maintain a better security system, and the latest technological achievements can help the market project a stellar CAGR of 8.01% during the review period.Europe has the second largest market. The region is replete with major industrial manufacturers of the latest technologies which are boosting the market and is expected to propel the sector with a CAGR of 6.70%. However, stringent regulations could prove to be market deterrents.The APAC can project the fastest CAGR of 9.76 % in the foreseeable future. Rising terrorist attacks, infiltration, illegal immigration, and criminal activities have persuaded countries such as China, India, and Japan into adopting this technology and the market is experiencing the boons of it.Browse Complete Report@Ask for your specific company profile and country level customization on reports.About Market Research Future:At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.MRFR team have supreme objective to provide the optimum quality market research and intelligence services to our clients. Our market research studies by products, services, technologies, applications, end users, and market players for global, regional, and country level market segments, enable our clients to see more, know more, and do more, which help to answer all their most important questions.Market Research FutureMagarpatta Road, Hadapsar,Pune - 411028Maharashtra, India+1 646 845 9312Email: sales@marketresearchfuture.com Animal Feed Additives Market 2024 Top Key Player Analysis Novus International, DSM, Kaesler Nutrition, Kemin, Cargill and ADM https://www.marketstudyreport.com/request-a-sample/467620/ https://www.marketstudyreport.com/check-for-discount/467620/ https://www.marketstudyreport.com https://www.marketstudyreport.com/blog/ Market Study Report adds 2017-2024 global Animal Feed Additives market report that offers an exhaustive coverage of the industry with brief analysis, data charts, figures, statistics that help take business decisions, company profiles and more.Animal Feed Additives Market is likely to generate over USD 25 billion by 2024; according to a new research report.Growing consumer demand for meat products as a source for protein and nutrients along with rising concern towards livestock health & safety should drive animal feed additives market demand. These products act as catalyst preventing diseases, improving weight gain, digestion, conversion rate and overall health.Rising concerns towards disease outbreaks in livestock suffering from swine flu, bird flu, infections and avian influenza should drive animal feed additives market demand. Increasing concern for safety and quality of meat & meat products should prompt growing demand for specialty additives adding to global demand.U.S. animal feed additives market should grow significantly at a rate of over 3% by 2024 due to strong demand for quality & safe meat products. Stringent food & safety regulations pertaining to standardized meat and milk products along with ban on meat and bone meal should amplify regional product demand.Pigment animal feed additives market should gain about 4.5% during projected timeframe. Its ability to improve palatability and appeal to improve feed efficacy should drive industry . Growing industrialization of pork, aquaculture and poultry business on a global scale should drive product demand.Request a sample of this premium report at:Enzymes animal feed additives market should create revenues over USD 750 million by 2024 owing to the exceptional ability to convert nutrients into energy. It breaks down feed into smaller components by binding into the feed substrates improving productivity and livestock health, thus driving animal feed additives market.Germany animal feed additives market should grow significantly during forecast timeframe due to raising living standards along with spurring meat demands from packaged food sector. High economic standards coupled with busy working schedule should further strengthen demand for packaged food implying animal feed additives market growth.Animal feed additives market demand from pet food applications should surpass 160 kilo tons by 2024. Pets needs nutrition & special care for strengthening their joints, improving metabolism, and protecting hair & skin coats. Vitamins, pigments, flavors, antioxidants and probiotics are the prominently used in pet food. Vitamins helps to enable in maintaining body functions and provides essential nutrients needed for growth of pet animals.Global animal feed additives market share is moderately fragmented with market players including Novus International, DSM, Kaesler Nutrition, Kemin, Cargill and ADM. Companies focus in developing application scope for products along with expanding production capacity through mergers, acquisitions and partnerships. It also helps them expand their product marketing reach to various other regions.Request a discount on standard prices of this premium report at:Table of Content:Chapter 1 Methodology & Scope1.1 Research Methodology1.1.1 Initial data exploration1.1.2 Statistical model and forecast1.1.3 Industry insights and validation1.1.4 Definition and forecast parameters1.2 Data Sources1.2.1 Primary1.2.2 SecondaryChapter 2 Executive Summary2.1 Animal feed additives industry 3600 synopsis, 2017 - 2024Chapter 3 Animal Feed Additives Industry Insights3.1 Industry segmentation3.2 Industry landscape, 2013 - 20243.3 Industry ecosystem analysi3.3.1 Vendor matrix3.3.2 Distribution channel analysis3.3.2.1 Collaborations/Partnerships3.3.2.2 Distributors3.3.2.3 Technology providers3.4 Regulatory landscape3.4.1 U.S.3.4.2 Europe3.4.3 China3.5 Pricing analysis3.5.1 Regional pricing3.5.1.1 Vitamins pricing analysis3.5.1.2 Amino acids pricing analysis3.5.1.3 Probiotics pricing analysis3.5.1.4 Antioxidants pricing analysis3.5.1.5 Enzymes pricing analysis3.5.1.6 Flavors pricing analysis3.5.1.7 Pigments pricing analysis3.5.1.8 Sweeteners pricing analysis3.5.2 Cost structure analysis3.6 Industry impact forces3.6.1 Growth drivers3.6.1.1 Asia Pacific: Increasing meat and meat products consumption3.6.1.2 Europe: Antibiotics ban3.6.1.3 North America: Favorable regulatory norms in the U.S3.6.1.4 Increasing livestock disease outbreaks3.6.2 Industry pitfalls & challenges3.6.2.1 Stringent feed additives registration and labeling standards3.6.2.2 Risk associated with endotoxins in animal feed additives produced by fermentation processAbout Us:Marketstudyreport.com allows you to manage and control all corporate research purchases to consolidate billing and vendor management. You can eliminate duplicate purchases and customize your content and license management.Contact Us:Market Study Report4 North Main Street,Selbyville, Delaware 19975USAPhone: 1-302-273-0910US Toll Free: 1-866-764-2150Email: sales@marketstudyreport.comWeb site:Blog: Kinesiology Tape Market 2018 Global Analysis, Opportunities, Industry Applications, Key Developments And Forecast To 2023 https://www.wiseguyreports.com/sample-request/3319126-world-kinesiology-tape-market-by-product-type-market https://www.wiseguyreports.com/reports/3319126-world-kinesiology-tape-market-by-product-type-market World Kinesiology Tape MarketExecutive SummaryKinesiology Tape market research report provides the newest industry data and industry future trends, allowing you to identify the products and end users driving Revenue growth and profitability.The industry report lists the leading competitors and provides the insights strategic industry Analysis of the key factors influencing the market.The report includes the forecasts, Analysis and discussion of important industry trends, market size, market share estimates and profiles of the leading industry Players.Request a Sample Report @The Players mentioned in our reportKT TAPEPerformTexMuellerKinesio TapingSpiderTechStrengthTapeLP SupportTowatek KoreaKindmaxRockTapeAtex MedicalHealixonK-activeTERA MedicalMedsportNitto DenkoDL Medical&HealthMajor MedicalRaphaelSockoGSPMEDGodlishaGlobal Kinesiology Tape Market: Product Segment AnalysisRoll FormPre-cut ShapeGlobal Kinesiology Tape Market: Application Segment AnalysisAchilles tendonitisPlantar fasciitisJumpers knee (PFS)ACL/MCL issuesRotator cuffGroin and hamstring pullsGlobal Kinesiology Tape Market: Regional Segment AnalysisUSAEuropeJapanChinaIndiaSouth East AsiaTable of Content-Key Points CoveredChapter 1 About the Kinesiology Tape Industry1.1 Industry Definition and Types1.1.1 Roll Form1.1.2 Pre-cut Shape1.2 Main Market Activities1.3 Similar Industries1.4 Industry at a GlanceChapter 2 World Market Competition Landscape2.1 Kinesiology Tape Markets by Regions2.1.1 USAMarket Revenue (M USD) and Growth Rate 2013-2023Sales and Growth Rate 2013-2023Major Players Revenue (M USD) in 20182.1.2 EuropeMarket Revenue (M USD) and Growth Rate 2013-2023Sales and Growth Rate 2013-2023Major Players Revenue (M USD) in 20182.1.3 ChinaMarket Revenue (M USD) and Growth Rate 2013-2023Sales and Growth Rate 2013-2023Major Players Revenue (M USD) in 20182.1.4 IndiaMarket Revenue (M USD) and Growth Rate 2013-2023Sales and Growth Rate 2013-2023Major Players Revenue (M USD) in 20182.1.5 JapanMarket Revenue (M USD) and Growth Rate 2013-2023Sales and Growth Rate 2013-2023Major Players Revenue (M USD) in 20182.1.6 South East AsiaMarket Revenue (M USD) and Growth Rate 2013-2023Sales and Growth Rate 2013-2023Major Players Revenue (M USD) in 20182.2 World Kinesiology Tape Market by TypesRoll FormPre-cut Shape2.3 World Kinesiology Tape Market by ApplicationsAchilles tendonitisPlantar fasciitisJumpers knee (PFS)ACL/MCL issuesRotator cuff2.4 World Kinesiology Tape Market Analysis2.4.1 World Kinesiology Tape Market Revenue and Growth Rate 2013-20182.4.2 World Kinesiology Tape Market Consumption and Growth rate 2013-20182.4.3 World Kinesiology Tape Market Price Analysis 2013-2018Chapter 3 World Kinesiology Tape Market share3.1 Major Production Market share by Players3.2 Major Revenue (M USD) Market share by Players3.3 Major Production Market share by Regions in 2018, Through 20233.4 Major Revenue (M USD) Market share By Regions in 2018, Through 2023Chapter 4 Supply Chain Analysis4.1 Industry Supply chain Analysis4.2 Raw material Market Analysis4.2.1 Raw material Prices Analysis 2012-20184.2.2 Raw material Supply Market Analysis4.2 Manufacturing Equipment Suppliers Analysis4.3 Production Process Analysis4.4 Production Cost Structure Benchmarks4.5 End users Market AnalysisContinuedComplete Report Details @Wise Guy Reports Is Part Of The Wise Guy Consultants Pvt. Ltd. And Offers Premium Progressive Statistical Surveying, Market Research Reports, Analysis & Forecast Data For Industries And Governments Around The Globe. Wise Guy Reports Features An Exhaustive List Of Market Research Reports From Hundreds Of Publishers Worldwide. We Boast A Database Spanning Virtually Every Market Category And An Even More Comprehensive Collection Of Market Research Reports Under These Categories And Sub-Categories.Wise Guy Research Consultants Pvt LtdOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, HadapsarPune - 411028Maharashtra, India Thrombosis Drugs Market Set to Record Exponential Growth by 2026 End https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/thrombosis-drugs-market.html https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=46293 https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=D&rep_id=46293 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com Transparency Market Research (TMR) titled Thrombosis Drugs Market Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecast, 20182026. According to the new report, the global thrombosis drugs market was valued at approximately US$ 20,012 Mn in 2017. It is projected to expand at a CAGR of more than 9.5% from 2018 to 2026.The report suggests that the rise in geriatric population, which is more susceptible to thrombosis events, globally, is likely to boost the demand for thrombosis drugs during the forecast period. North America and Europe are likely to dominate the global thrombosis drugs market due to increase in awareness and rise in focus of key players on the development of new drugs in the market in these regions. Increasing penetration and rising prevalence of thrombosis events in emerging markets such as Japan, Hong Kong, and Taiwan are likely to boost the thrombosis drugs market in Asia Pacific at a CAGR of 9.0% from 2018 to 2026.Obtain Report Details @Expansion of the Generic Drugs Industry to Hamper the MarketThe generic drugs industry has witnessed significant expansion in the last few years. Branded drugs of molecule such as heparin consistently lose market share due to the availability and continuous launch of generic version of the drugs. For example, recently, in January 2018, Aurobindo Pharma launched fondaparinux sodium injection, a generic version of Arixtra brand, which is utilized to prevent deep vein thrombosis, after its patent expired.Low Molecular Weight Heparin to Lose Market ShareThe report offers detailed segmentation of global thrombosis drugs market based on drug class, indication, and distribution channel. Based on drug class, the factor Xa inhibitor drugs segment is estimated to account for a large share of the global market by the end of the forecast period. This is due to the increase in utilization of factor Xa inhibitor drugs for their advantages such as no drug monitoring is required after intake.Moreover, several studies have proved that factor Xa inhibitor drugs are effective in both deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism and help reduce the rate of hospitalization after usage. The low molecular weight heparin segment is anticipated to lose market share during the forecast period, and is expected to decline from 14.7% held in 2017 to reach 5.9% by 2026. Patent expiry, availability of generic drugs, and increased preference toward oral formulation of drugs from injectable dose are factors that are likely to hamper this segment.Request for Sample Copy of Report @Pulmonary Embolism: Top Indication of Thrombosis DrugsIn terms of indication, the pulmonary embolism segment is projected to hold for a dominant share of the global thrombosis drugs market by the end of the forecast period. The segment is likely to expand at a CAGR more than 10.0% from 2018 to 2026. Most companies are focused on developing low-cost drugs to serve the large pulmonary embolism patients pool across the globe; therefore, the pulmonary embolism segment is likely to account for a dominant share of the market.For example, the U.K-based pharmaceutical company, AstraZeneca, is developing a drug candidate called Brilliant Thales for the indication of cardiovascular events. The atrial fibrillation segment accounted for more than 27.0% share of the global thrombosis drugs market, in terms of value, in 2017. It is anticipated to expand at a substantial pace during the forecast period. The segment is likely to gain market share marginally to reach 27.8% by 2026.The Market in North America to Expand at a Considerable Pace and Create Incremental OpportunityIn terms of value, North America held a major share of the global market in 2017. This is due to the high health care expenditure and rise in awareness about the advantages of new oral anticoagulant drugs formulation in the U.S. Furthermore, several players such as Johnson & Johnson and Exithera Pharmaceutical have increased investment in research & development to develop advanced drugs to treat thrombosis. Thus, the presence of these players is projected to propel the thrombosis drugs market in North America at a rapid pace during the forecast period. Increase in incidence of age-related chronic conditions such as cancer and neurological illnesses increases thrombosis events in Asia Pacific.Moreover, improving economic conditions, rise in spending power, and better access to health care service fuels the market in Asia Pacific. Economic growth in countries such as Brazil is increasing research & development activities and expenditure on treatment in Latin America. These factors are likely to propel the thrombosis drugs market in Latin America. It is expected to expand at a CAGR of 9.0% from 2018 to 2026.Enquiry for Discount on this Report @Bayer AG, Aspen Pharmacare Holdings Limited, and Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH to Dominate the MarketThe report also provides profiles of leading players operating in the global thrombosis drugs market. These include GlaxoSmithKline plc, Baxter International Inc., Johnson & Johnson, Sanofi, Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, AstraZeneca plc, and Pfizer, Inc. Expansion of product portfolio through developing new products or by acquisition and licensing agreement to develop products is a key strategy adopted by several key players. For instance, in 2015, Isis Pharmaceuticals, Inc., entered into an exclusive license agreement with Bayer HealthCare to develop and commercialize ISIS-FXIRx for the prevention of thrombosis. Other key players are also adopting such strategies.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company providing business information reports and services. The companys exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trend analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.Contact UsTransparency Market ResearchState Tower,90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite: Toluene Market Smart Strategies of the Research and Development Process Toluene Market- Allied Market Research https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/request-sample/1983 https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/purchase-enquiry/1983 www.alliedmarketresearch.com Toluene Market Report, published by Allied Market Research, states that the toluene market was valued $16,597 million in 2016, and is projected to reach $23,393 million by 2023, growing at a CAGR of 5.0% from 2017 to 2023. The benzene & xylene segment held more than half of the total market share in 2016.Toluene is produced in the process of manufacturing saccharin, antiseptics, and paint thinners. It is also employed in making perfumes, antifreeze dyes, and medicine and is utilized to produce the polymers that create plastic and nylon. It is naturally found in coal tar and is a byproduct of gasoline and coke. The primary sources of toluene are the industries that manufactures and use it in production. The industries that manufactures toluene and further use it in production are oil refiners, chemical industries, rubber manufacturers, pharmaceutical industries, metal degreasing, printing, manufacturers of paints, varnishes, and lacquers. In addition, toluene is extensively manufactured by the process of catalytic reforming and account for half of the global production volume. Furthermore, coke oven light oil (COLO) and steam cracking of naphtha represents an opportunistic source for toluene from coal processing into coke.Early buyers will get 20% customization on this report researchCurrently, the global toluene market witness numerous opportunities, owing to rapid increase in development of petrochemical industry in Asia-Pacific and LAMEA. Toluene has numerous commercial & industrial applications and is a solvent in paints, lacquers, thinners, glues, correction fluids, and nail polish removers, and is used in the printing and leather tanning processes. Toluene is used as a fullerene indicator, and is a raw material for toluene diisocyanate. It is used as a solvent in carbon nanotubes, such as fullerenes. Moreover, biological usage of toluene, such as in biochemistry experiments that includes breaking or disrupting red blood cells in order to extract hemoglobin acts as a factor that boost the market development.Request sample PDF brochure at:The benzene & xylene segment, accounted for more than half share, in terms of volume, in 2016. Moreover, increase in demand for toluene and the polyester sector is expected to result in higher volumes of toluene being converted into mixed xylenes & para-xylene. However, decrease in demand for fossil fuels in industrialized nations and increase in trend toward the consumption of bio-based fuels, such as ethanol is expected to restrict the market growth to some extent.Key Findings of the Toluene Market :In terms of value, the benzene & xylene derivative type is anticipated to show the highest growth rate of 5.2% during the analysis period.Asia-Pacific is projected to maintain its lead throughout 2023, and is projected to grow at a CAGR of 5.3%, in terms of value.The drugs segment occupied nearly half of the total market in 2016.Germany occupied nearly one-third of the total Europe toluene market in 2016.In terms of value, Japan is expected to grow at a CAGR of 4.3% from 2017 to 2023.Do purchase inquiry at:In 2016, Asia-Pacific accounted for more than half of the total toluene market, and are expected to continue this trend, due to increase in demand for toluene in petrochemical and oil & gas industries, specifically in China, India, Japan, Brazil, and other developing countries.The major companies profiled in the report include ExxonMobil Chemical, Sinopec, Shell, Reliance Industries, ConocoPhillips, Valero Energy, BASF, BP Chemicals, China National Petroleum, and Mitsui Chemicals.About UsAllied Market Research (AMR) is a full-service market research and business-consulting wing of Allied Analytics LLP based in Portland, Oregon. Allied Market Research provides global enterprises as well as medium and small businesses with unmatched quality of "Market Research Reports" and "Business Intelligence Solutions. AMR has a targeted view to provide business insights and consulting to assist its clients to make strategic business decisions and achieve sustainable growth in their respective market domain.We are in professional corporate relations with various companies and this helps us in digging out market data that helps us generate accurate research data tables and confirms utmost accuracy in our market forecasting. Each and every data presented in the reports published by us is extracted through primary interviews with top officials from leading companies of domain concerned. Our secondary data procurement methodology includes deep online and offline research and discussion with knowledgeable professionals and analysts in the industry.Contact:Shriram Dighe5933 NE Win Sivers Drive#205, Portland, OR 97220United StatesToll Free: +1-800-792-5285UK: +44-845-528-1300Hong Kong: +852-301-84916India (Pune): +91-20-66346060Fax: +1855550-5975help@alliedmarketresearch.comWeb: Hyperpigmentation Disorders Treatment Market to Register a Stout Growth by 2026 Eend https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/hyperpigmentation-disorders-treatment-market.html https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=46644 https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=D&rep_id=46644 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com Transparency Market Research (TMR) has published a new report titled Hyperpigmentation Disorders Treatment Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecast, 20182026. According to the report, the global hyperpigmentation disorders treatment market was valued at US$ 3,947.3 Mn in 2017 and is projected to reach US$ 7,225.6 Mn by 2026, expanding at a CAGR of 7.2% during the forecast period from 2018 to 2026. The report suggests that augmented adoption of lasers in hyperpigmentation disorders treatment, decrease in social taboos boosting acceptance of pigmentation disorders treatment measures, increase in prevalence of pigmentation related disorders, rise in awareness about skin rejuvenation, improving lifestyle, and increasing disposable income are likely to drive the hyperpigmentation disorders treatment market from 2018 to 2026.Despite its considerable patient population globally, the hyperpigmentation disorders treatment market has often been overlooked and has remained stagnant for the past few decades, with no novel drugs entering the arena. The lack of dedicated research programs has been attributed to pharmaceutical companies viewing topicals, the mainstay of hyperpigmentation disorders treatment therapy, as being inexpensive with a poor return on investment. Instead, the market has shifted towards reformulations of existing products and/or fixed-dose combination therapies. Examples of the latter include combination products by key dermatology players, such as Galdermas Tri-Luma (fluocinolone acetonide/hydroquinone/tretinoin).Obtain Report Details @Innovative products in hyperpigmentation disorders should focus on cost-effectiveness, potential to improve compliance. The biggest unmet needs in hyperpigmentation disorders include the need for new and innovative products, for improved compliance, and for less expensive products relative to existing therapies. Historically, pharmaceutical companies have been reluctant to enter the hyperpigmentation disorders market due to the poor return on investment in this competitive landscape. This attitude has inhibited progress toward developing disease-modifying agents, and agents with more long-lasting effects. However, the hyperpigmentation disorders treatment landscape is expected to change in the near to long term, with the use of laser and phototherapy, and additional companies involved in research for innovative acne products.The report offers detailed segmentation of the global hyperpigmentation disorders treatment market based on treatment type, disease indication, end-user, and region. In terms of treatment type, the topical drugs segment is estimated to account for a large share of the market. An increasing number of patients with hyperpigmentation disorders are visiting dermatologists, and topical drugs are being prescribed to these patients.Topical Drugs to Account for Major ShareThe topical drug segment is expected to account for a leading share of the market in 2026. The segment is also likely to expand at a rapid pace during the forecast period. Rapid growth in the incidence rate of hyperpigmentation disorders across the globe will lead to an increased number of patients who will undergo diagnosis in the form of topical drugs and chemical peel, as well as treatment using techniques such as laser and phototherapy. This will in turn increase the uptake of hyperpigmentation disorders treatment, thereby driving growth of the market.Request for Sample Copy of Report @Market in Asia Pacific to Expand at a Significant PaceAsia Pacific held a prominent share of the global hyperpigmentation disorders treatment market in 2017. The hyperpigmentation disorders treatment market in Asia Pacific is expected to expand at a rapid pace mainly due to improving health care infrastructure, rising private and public investment in life science research, and technological advancements in countries such as China and India. Less competition in Asia Pacific is encouraging a large number of dermo-cosmetics companies to enter the market. U.S. market has witnessed significant technological advancements, as clinics come with laser and phototherapy treatment.In addition, a large number of market players in the U.S. are focusing on R&D to introduce improved products. Moreover, high awareness about latest health care technologies and high demand for safe and hyperpigmentation disorders products, services and devices to boost the hyperpigmentation disorders treatment market in North America. Favorable reimbursement policies in the region also enable patients to avail of the best of health care facilities.Key Players such as ALLERGAN, Galderma S.A., and SkinCeuticals to Lead the MarketThe report also provides profiles of leading players operating in the global hyperpigmentation disorders treatment market. They include include Bayer AG, ALLERGAN, Galderma S.A., SkinCeuticals, Pierre Fabre, EpiPharm AG, RXi Pharmaceuticals Corporation, Obagi Cosmeceuticals LLC, and Vivier Pharma. Corporate trend is the strategic acquisition of key dermatology products by Big Pharma. A notable event in 2009 involved the acquisition of Stiefel, a leading dermatology company, by GSK for $3.6 billion.Enquiry for Discount on this Report @About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company providing business information reports and services. The companys exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trend analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.Contact UsTransparency Market ResearchState Tower,90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite: CBRN Defense Market 2018 Key Countries Analysis By Alfred Karcher, Bruker, Cherming group, Smiths Detection, Battelle, Rheinmetall, Thales and Elbit CBRN Defense https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/1296 https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/request-toc/1296 https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/cbrn-defense-market-1296 Global CBRN Defense Market by Purpose (Detection, Protection, Decontamination and Simulation & Training), by Application (Military and Civil Law Enforcement), and by Geography (North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa, and South America) - Forecast To 2023The global CBRN Defense market is expected to grow at a CAGR of around 5% during 2016-2021. This growth is driven due to significant demand and procurement of CBRN defense in military and civil law enforcement applications.Get Sample Report @As per the MRFR analysis, an increased investment in CBRND is one of the key drivers for global CBRN Defense market. The challenges associated with the market are defense budget cuts, threat of extremist attacks, its severe impact on environment, and threat to national security would hamper the market growth.This report includes a study of strategies of major market players in the Global CBRN Defense Market include Alfred Karcher, Bruker Corporation, Chemring Group, Elbit Systems and Smiths Detection. The other prominent vendors include AirBoss of America Corporation, Battelle, Bioquell, Rheinmetall AG and Thales Group.Regional AnalysisThe nuclear attack in Japan (Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August, 1945) during the World War II and the nuclear test explosions (in the Soviet Union in 1949, U.K. in 1952, France in 1960, and China in 1964), had fatal impact. Thus, International Court of Justice declared the use of nuclear weapons as illegal and contrary to international law, in 1996. In the same year, the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) was signed at the United Nations (UN), by the U.S., Russia, China, France, and the U.K., which concluded on banning the nuclear test explosions.The upgrades planned in North America and Europe and threats of terrorism from hostile neighboring regions such as Middle East and Asia Pacific are driving the global CBRN defense market and is expected to grow during the forecast period.Construction of 60 reactors are carried out over 13 countries, which includes China, Bangladesh, India, Poland, Russia, South Korea, Taiwan, Turkey, and the UAE.U.S, in particular, makes the largest investments in its nuclear warheads, globally. In 2015, the U.S. Army is estimated to have over 7,100 nuclear warheads, with more than 4,700 warheads assigned for use in military vehicles.Both Washington and Moscow signed the chemical weapons convention (CWC) of the 1990s, which forbid the use, production, and stockpiling of chemical weapons. The process of safe disposal of the chemicals and munitions took over 20 years.Get Complete TOC @There are still more than 3,000 tons of chemical weapons left in the U.S., stored at two remaining facilities at Pueblo in Colorado, and Bluegrass in Kentucky. In 2015, the officials plan to destroy the major store in Pueblo, which has 2,600 tons of mustard blister chemicals stored in liquid and projectile form. The process is expected to be completed in four years. Additionally, 523 tons of mustard agent, VX, and sarin nerve agents are stored in the Bluegrass plant in Kentucky. Officials predict that destroying that arsenal, which is slated to start in 2020, will be completed in 2023.Moreover, in 2013, the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for eliminating the Syrian army's stockpiles of poison gas. Such progresses in the anti-CBRN and anti-WMD warfare would boost the development of the market, simultaneously.This research report provides detailed insights, into various levels of analyses such industry analysis, market share analysis leading market players and their profiles. This report also helps in studying the target segments by providing views on emerging & high-growth segments and market conclusion. Together the market data comprise and discuss with the basic assessments on the competitive scenarios & strategies, of the Global CBRN Defense market, including the high-growth regions, countries and their political, economical and technological environments. Furthermore the project report also provides views over the historic market values as well as, pricing and cost analysis of the same.Ask for your specific company profile and country level customization on reports.Intended Audience Government Policy maker Consultants SuppliersBrowse Complete Report@About Market Research Future:At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.MRFR team have supreme objective to provide the optimum quality market research and intelligence services to our clients. Our market research studies by products, services, technologies, applications, end users, and market players for global, regional, and country level market segments, enable our clients to see more, know more, and do more, which help to answer all their most important questions.Market Research FutureMagarpatta Road, Hadapsar,Pune - 411028Maharashtra, India+1 646 845 9312Email: sales@marketresearchfuture.com Express Delivery Market 2022 Future Dynamics, Emerging Trends by Top Brands - A1 Express, KY Express, SF Express, EMS, YT Express, STO Express, Yunda ReportsWeb http://www.reportsweb.com/inquiry&RW00011083676/sample http://www.reportsweb.com/buy&RW00011083676/buy/3300 http://www.reportsweb.com/global-express-delivery-market-size-status-and-forecast-2022 Global Express Delivery Market Size Status and Forecast 2022The New Report "Global Express Delivery Market Size, Status and Forecast 2022 Report 2017" published by ReportsWeb, covers the market landscape and its growth prospects over the coming years. The report also includes a discussion of the key vendors operating in this market.This report studies the global Express Delivery market, analyzes and researches the Express Delivery development status and forecast in United States, EU, Japan, China, India and Southeast Asia. This report focuses on the top players in global market, likeUnited Parcel Service (UPS), FedEx, Deutsche Post DHL, TNT, United States Postal Service (USPS) , Aramex, Deppon, A1 Express, KY Express, SF Express, EMS, YT Express, STO Express, YundaRequest a Sample atMarket segment by Regions/Countries, this report coversUnited StatesEUJapanChinaIndiaSoutheast AsiaMarket segment by Type, Express Delivery can be split intoB2BB2CC2CMarket segment by Application, Express Delivery can be split intoOnline TradingOffline TradingPurchase Complete Report atKey Point from Table of Contents:1 Industry Overview of Express Delivery2 Global Express Delivery Competition Analysis by Players3 Company-Top Players) Profiles4 Global Express Delivery Market Size by Application-2012-2017)5 United States Express Delivery Development Status and Outlook6 EU Express Delivery Development Status and Outlook7 Japan Express Delivery Development Status and Outlook8 China Express Delivery Development Status and Outlook9 India Express Delivery Development Status and Outlook10 Southeast Asia Express Delivery Development Status and Outlook11 Market Forecast by Regions and Application-2017-2022)12 Express Delivery Market Dynamics13 Market Effect Factors Analysis14 Research Finding/ConclusionBrowse Complete Report atContact Information:Call: +1-646-491-9876Email: sales@reportsweb.comReportsWeb.com is a one stop shop of market research reports and solutions to various companies across the globe. We help our clients in their decision support system by helping them choose most relevant and cost effective research reports and solutions from various publishers. The market research industry has changed in last decade. As corporate focus has shifted to niche markets and emerging countries, a number of publishers have stepped in to fulfil these information needs. We have experienced and trained staff that helps you navigate different options and lets you choose best research solution at most effective cost.505, 6th floor, Amanora Township,Amanora Chambers, East Block,Kharadi Road, Hadapsar, Pune-411028 Butyl Adhesive Market Analysis 2018 2023 Leading Prominent Players - Vinati Organics Ltd., ADCO Global, Bostik SA, Royal Adhesives & Sealants, General Sealants, Anabond Butyl Adhesive Market to See Major Positive Changes in the Market Structure in the Forecast Period https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/4164 https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/butyl-adhesive-market-4164 Butyl Adhesive Market OverviewThough Butyl Adhesives are particularly new technology, the demand for the market has demonstrated a significant pace of traction over the years. Market focused reports linked to the chemicals & materials industry among others of late have been made accessible by Market Research Future which issues reports on this industry. The market is anticipated to grow with an unmatched CAGR percent in the duration of the forecast period.Receive a Sample Report @Growing Butyl Rubber in adhesive uses is one of the key causes of the copolymers progress. Furthermore, the emergent transportation sector and investments in construction are anticipated to grow its demand over the period of the next seven years and open up new prospects. Rising demand from packaging and paper industry for products such as cartons, tapes, bags, etc. have given way to the unparalleled growth of the industry while opening up new avenues for expansion. The superior properties of Butyl Adhesives such as exceptional resistance to high durability, weather and sunlight, resistance to aging and heat have made it suitable for end use in a number of industries.Industry SegmentsThe Butyl Adhesive Market is segmented on the basis of end use industry and region. The end use industry has segmented the market into paper & packaging, woodworking, building & construction, automotive, and others. As Butyl Adhesives are resistant to air and water and highly resistant to alkali and UV rays, thus extensively used in the end use industries. By region, the market segmentation includes Europe, Latin America, North America, Asia Pacific and Middle East & Africa.Detailed Regional AnalysisThe regions such as Asia Pacific, Europe, Latin America, North America, and the Middle East & Africa are a part of the Butyl Adhesive Market globally. The Asia Pacific region is projected to develop at an incremental CAGR in the forecast period owing to mounting demand from end use industries such as woodworking, building & construction and automotive. The demand for Butyl Adhesive is expected to surge in emerging countries such as China, India, Vietnam, Bangladesh and Japan owing to increasing construction activities and development of woodworking industry. China is anticipated to be a major market in terms of consumption. Moreover, cheap labor charge, ease of accessibility to raw material, and growing development strategies to achieve the demand for Butyl Adhesives due to the developing applications which are the vital factors for regional market growth. The Middle East & Africa region is projected to observe considerable growth in the forthcoming years. This factor is credited to the rising development activities in the commercial and residential sector together with the growing demand for VOC free adhesives, especially in countries such as United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia.The North American market is likely to observe stable development in the use of Butyl Adhesive over the forecast period. The U.S. is foreseen to be the biggest Butyl Adhesive Market in the region followed by Mexico and Canada. The Latin American countries like Argentina and Brazil, are also expected to observe stable growth owing to modest demand from packaging and woodworking industries. The European region is foreseen to be the second biggest market after the Asia Pacific region in the consumption of Butyl Adhesive. The European nations such as UK, France, Germany, and Italy are contributing to the regional market development owing to the occurrence of a large number of manufacturing companies in the region.Global Competitive AnalysisThe market has ushered in a new period of growth as the market is constantly in a state of mutability. The ripple effects of this growth have altered the competitive landscape of the market. Localization is among of the more favored trends for expanding the market share of the competitors in the market. The potential strategy of each player in the market involves a certain degree of innovation in the product offerings to increase the possibilities for development, particularly in the forecast period. The chances for increasing revenue inflow in the business are expected to multiply through the forecast period. The intensifying interest in diversification within the business has indirectly allowed the businesses to utilize several situations obtainable in the market.The noteworthy competitors in the Butyl Adhesive Market comprise of ADCO Global, Bostik SA, Vinati Organics Ltd., Royal General Sealants, Adhesives & Sealants, Anabond, and others.Access Sample Report @About Market Research Future:At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.MRFR team have supreme objective to provide the optimum quality market research and intelligence services to our clients. Our market research studies by Components, Application, Logistics and market players for global, regional, and country level market segments, enable our clients to see more, know more, and do more, which help to answer all their most important questions.Contact:Market Research Future+1 646 845 9312Email: sales@marketresearchfuture.com Know about the future of Urea Formaldehyde Resins Market and what makes it a Booming industry according to following research report: 2018-2025 Urea Formaldehyde Resins Market https://www.reportsmonitor.com/request_sample/6298 https://www.reportsmonitor.com/report/6298/Urea-Formaldehyde-Resins-Market Urea-formaldehyde (UFR) resin is non-transparent thermosetting or plastic resin. It is also known as urea-methanal owing to its overall structure and common synthesis pathway. UFR is a blend of urea and formaldehyde and being synthetic, the odorless material is typically used in surfaces, MDF, adhesives, and molded projects. In addition, it is also applied in gluing wood together, as in plywood, and in the production of electrical appliances such as desk lamps. Various end-use sectors make use of UFR as it offers high performance, extended tensile strength, scratch resistance, less water absorption, extra flexibility, high heat distortion temperature, large surface hardness, and increased reactivity comparatively at a low cost.Despite its advantages, formaldehyde emissions (FE) originated from either composite products bonded by UFR or UFR resin itself is considered to leave a bad impact on human health, especially in the indoor environment. To lower the FE, the mole ratio of formaldehyde/urea is lowered during the synthesis of the UFR resin.Download PDF Sample with Popular Trends @Growth Affecting Factors:Increasing demand for economical, sustainable, and superior quality resins and adhesives in electrical appliances, as well as automobile, boosts the overall growth of the urea formaldehyde market. Increase standard of living, rising demand for mat roofing application, surging requirement for wood-based products and rapidly establishing industrialization collectively propels the market growth. However, toxic emissions created by formaldehyde and implementation of government legislation promoting sustainable products instead of urea formaldehyde has been the major inhibitor of the market that might restrict further market expansion.Regional Analysis:On the basis of regional segmentation, the global urea formaldehyde market is segmented into North America, Asia-Pacific, Europe, and Latin America, the Middle East & Africa. The growth of urea formaldehyde market in Europe and North America is significant owing to the existence of a large number of market key players. Nonetheless, a release of harmful toxic emissions has led various countries such as U.S. and Europe to put UFR production under regulations and enacted upon government regulations on the usage of urea formaldehyde. Emerging economies, especially regions of Latin America and Asia-Pacific, are anticipated to be the fastest growing regions in terms of incremental opportunities for generating huge revenue. Countries such as India, China, and Malaysia with high GDP growth rate and amendment in the economy possess the substantial potential to capture a larger share of the market. Besides, high consumption of UFR, owing to constant burgeoning growth in infrastructure and furniture sector, pertaining to growing population and China exporting finished wood products globally fuels the expansion of the market. In addition, extended economic crises coupled with high manufacturing cost in developed regions of Europe has resulted into shifting of urea formaldehyde market to Asia-Pacific.Know More | Full Report Link @Competitive Landscape:The global urea formaldehyde market is highly scattered in various regions including huge market players and some local vendors. A number of key vendors are emphasizing on innovations to maintain their position in the market. The companies are highly spending in research and development to improve the emission issues regarding the usage of urea formaldehyde.Global Urea Formaldehyde Market SegmentationBy ApplicationsElectrical AppliancesAutomobilesHome AppliancesAgricultureOthersBy End-UserAdhesivesParticleboardRoofing MatsPlywoodOthersBased on region:North AmericaU.SCanadaMexicoEuropeSpainU.KGermanyFranceItalyRest of EuropeAsia pacificChinaIndiaJapanSouth KoreaAustraliaRest of Asia pacificLAMEABrazilArgentinaSaudi ArabiaSouth AfricaRest of LAMEAMarket Key Players:BASF SEAdvachem SAThe Dow Chemical CompanyDuPontMomentive Specialty ChemicalsAshland Inc.Sova Chemicals Co.SADEPAN CHIMICAOman Formaldehyde Chemical Company L.L.C.Asta ChemicalsAbout Us:Reports Monitor is a market research and consulting company that provides syndicated research reports, customized research reports, and consulting services. To help clients make informed business decisions, we offer market intelligence studies ensuring relevant and fact-based research across a range of industries including Healthcare, Technology, Chemicals, Materials, and Energy. With an intrinsic understanding of many business environments, Reports Monitor provides strategic objective insights.We periodically update our market research studies to ensure our clients get the most recent, relevant, and valuable information. Reports Monitor has a strong base of analysts and consultants from assorted areas of expertise. Our industry experience and ability to zero-in on the crux of any challenge gives you and your organization the ability to secure a competitive advantage.Contact Us:Mr Jay MatthewsDirect: +1 513 549-5911 (U.S.)+44 203 318 2846 (U.K.)Email: sales@reportsmonitor.com ESI Group Limited Hong Kong, Thinks Ant Financial Will Take The Top Step www.//esigl.com Chinas online payment giant Ant Financial Services Group announced the latest $14 billion fundraising equipped it with enormous resources for global expansion.The financing came ahead of a widely expected IPO of the Alibaba-affiliated company. Reuters reported that Ant Financials IPO in Hong Kong and the mainland is expected the early part of next year.The latest financing pushed the companys valuation above $151 billion. The companys value has more than doubled since Ant Financial raised $4.5 billion in 2016, according to media reports.Brian Wu of ESI Group said Without offering discounts to international investors, Ant Financial kept a pace of financing every 10 months on average since July 2016. Unlike the previous two rounds led by domestic and state-backed investors, the latest funding round mainly involved leading overseas investors as the company seeks to strengthen its position in the global market.The funding includes a U.S. dollar tranche backed by Singapores sovereign wealth fund GIC Pte. as well as Warburg Pincus, the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, Silver Lake and Temasek Holdings Pte.Funds and accounts advised by T. Rowe Price Associates Inc., the Carlyle Group, Janchor Partners Ltd., Discovery Capital Management LLC, Baillie Gifford & Co. and Primavera Capital Ltd. also invested in the company.Domestic investors primarily consisted of existing shareholders. We are happy to say we have negotiated a position to offer our clients Says Wu of ESI Group.Ant Financial, which spun off from Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. before the e-commerce giants 2014 listing in New York, runs Chinas largest online payment platform, Alipay. Its business also include micro lending, credit rating, wealth management and an online-only bank.Ant Financial will use the new funds to bolster its global expansion and investment in financial technology, Jing said. Ant Financial will cooperate with local partners and coordinate with Alibaba in overseas markets, he said.Jing, who succeeded Lucy Peng as the companys executive chairman in April, sets high goals for Ant Financial. The companys revenue from overseas may surpass revenue at home in the long run as global users will reach 2 billion with 200 million small and medium sized companies, Jing said without giving a timeframe.Alipay now has about 870 million annual active users globally with 520 million in China, according to a company fact sheet.Barclays estimated that Ant Financials total revenue will increase to $33.5 billion in 2021 from $8.9 billion last year.Ant Financial will also shift its main business to technology services and away from payments and consumer finance, Jing said.Technology services will make up 65% of Ant Financials revenue in 2021, compared with an estimated 34% in 2017, making it the biggest revenue source. Jing declined to disclose details but said technology is already accounting for a majority of the companys revenue.The shift came as Chinese authorities have become increasingly wary of systemic risk brought about by financial holding companies conglomerates running various types of financial services. Ant Financial today serves more users than some of Chinas largest banks, which themselves are considered systemically important global financial institutions by the Financial Stability Board, an international body that monitors the global financial system.We pay high attention to risk management, Says Brian Wu of ESI Group. Ant will have a strong future in Hong Kong MarketsOur CompanyESI Group Limited, founded in 2006, today we manage over $1.5 billion for clients across 90 relationships. Today, ESI Group Limited combines respect for the traditions of wealth management with a contemporary investment philosophy, creating a dynamic approach to investing and wealth counsel that is intelligent, aligned, and assured.Thoughtfulness, accessibility and individualized client service are paramount to our success. We are privately held , totally independent and aligned with your interests.The mission of ESI Group Limited is to generate superior portfolio returns for our clients over their investment horizon. In this pursuit, we leverage our investment experience, independent research and disciplined investment process throughout all market conditions. Client value and satisfaction are achieved with the highest level of integrity, honesty and trust.Landmark North39 Lung Sum Avenue,Sheung Shui, Hong Kongadmin@esigl.comhttps:+852 9193 0752 Dialysis Products and Services Market is Projected to Soar at a Value CAGR of 5.90% from 2014 to 2020 transparency market research https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=3026 https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=3026 https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=D&rep_id=3026 https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com Fresenius SE & Co. KGaA and Baxter International Inc. are the leading players in the global dialysis products and services market, according to Transparency Market Research. The two companies collectively held a 64.5% share in the global dialysis products and services market in 2013 and are likely to remain dominant over the coming years as well. Apart from these two, Nikkiso Co. Ltd., Nipro Corporation, Rockwell Medical Technologies, Inc., NxStage Medical, Inc., and Kawasumi Laboratories, Inc. are some of the other key players in the dialysis products and services market.Increasing Prevalence of Diabetes a High-impact Driver for Dialysis Products and Services MarketThe increasing prevalence of diabetes across the world is the most important factor driving the demand for dialysis products and services. Complications from diabetes often result in renal failure, which necessitate the use of dialysis products and services; diabetes is one of the leading causes of end-stage renal disease. The high prevalence of diabetes in the populous Asia Pacific market thus presents an opportunity for the dialysis products and services market.The increasing geriatric population around the world is another leading contributor to the increasing demand for dialysis products and services. Several bodily systems start to degenerate with aging, and renal failure or ailments are common among the elderly. Many elderly patients also prefer dialysis services over kidney transplants, which has also driven the demand for dialysis products and services.Request A Sample Of Report @Government Support Could Erode Revenues of PlayersDue to the increasing need for dialysis products and services, several governments have increased their reimbursement support to the process in recent years. This has made dialysis products and services easier to avail for an increasing part of the global population. In the promising Asia Pacific market, Japan and South Korea are among the leading providers of reimbursement for dialysis products and services.Request Brochure @The overall increase in the government support to the healthcare sector in emerging economies is likely to make dialysis products and services cheaper and more easily accessible in the coming years.Hemodialysis Products and Services to Retain DominanceOf the two types of dialysis, hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis, the former is set to continue its dominance in the global dialysis products and services market in the coming years. By service type, in-center dialysis is more popular than home-based dialysis, while geographically, North America is the leading contributor to the global dialysis products and services market. In the coming years, developing economies such as India, China, Brazil, and South Korea are likely to be important for the global dialysis products and services market.The global dialysis products and services market is estimated to be valued at US$115.4 bn by 2020. The information presented in this review is based on a Transparency Market Research report, titled, Dialysis Products and Services Market Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast, 2013 2019.About UsRequest For Discount On This Report @About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.Each TMR syndicated research report covers a different sector such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals, energy, food & beverages, semiconductors, med-devices, consumer goods and technology. These reports provide in-depth analysis and deep segmentation to possible micro levels. With wider scope and stratified research methodology, TMRs syndicated reports strive to provide clients to serve their overall research requirement.Contact Us90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite: Autoclave Market Intelligence with Competitive Landscape By 2023 | STERIS, Panasonic Biomedical, Benchmark Scientific, Astell Scientific Ltd, Cisa Production and Priorclave Ltd Autoclave Market https://www.crystalmarketresearch.com/report/autoclave-market https://www.crystalmarketresearch.com/report-sample/HC01541 https://www.crystalmarketresearch.com/send-an-enquiry/HC01541 Industry Outlook and Trend Analysis:The Global Autoclave Market has encountered significant development in the recent years and is foreseen to witness tremendous growth in the following years. The Increasing requirement for sterilized supplies and equipment from the healthcare industry is boosting the market for autoclave globally. The healthcare industry is anticipated to develop steadily over the forecast period bringing about an augmented requirement for autoclave in the following years. Furthermore, rising number of healthcare facilities and expansion of current facilities will boost the market for autoclave amid the estimate time frame.For more information, click on the below link @The Autoclave Market is segmented as follows-By End User:Pharmaceutical and healthcareAerospaceOthersCompetitive Insights:The leading players in the market are STERIS, Panasonic Biomedical, Benchmark Scientific, Astell Scientific Ltd, Cisa Production and Priorclave Ltd. The worldwide autoclave market is exceedingly competitive and commanded by the best players in the market. These merchants have a solid worldwide existence with support centres around the world, enabling them to obtain a bigger market proficiently.Table of Contents:1.Introduction2.Executive Summary3.Market Overview4.Autoclave Market, By End User4.1.Introduction4.2.Global Autoclave Sales, Revenue and Market Share by End User (2014-2017)4.2.1.Global Autoclave Sales and Sales Share by End User (2014-2017)4.2.2.Global Autoclave Revenue and Revenue Share by End User (2014-2017)4.3.Autoclave Market Assessment and Forecast, By End User, 2014-20234.4.Pharmaceutical and healthcare4.4.1.Market Assessment and Forecast, By Region, 2014-2023($Million)4.5.Aerospace4.5.1.Market Assessment and Forecast, By Region, 2014-2023($Million)4.6.Other End Users4.6.1.Market Assessment and Forecast, By Region, 2014-2023($Million)To be continued...Get Sample Copy of the Report here @Regional Outlook and Trend Analysis:North America is anticipated to be the leading market in the following years. Aside from the critical investments made in the United States, the development of this market will be driven by interests in research facilities from Chile, Brazil, and Columbia. Also, the ascent in the quantity of hospital-acquired diseases has brought about stringent sanitation and safety directions in North America, which will prompt an expansion in the interest for autoclaves in healthcare facilities in the following years.Key Growing Factors:An extensive research study on the Market, and its entire ecosystem, describes the market trends, drivers, restraints and opportunities of the Autoclave Market.We provide you the longest possible market segmentation based on type of products, procedures and geography and describe the market share region wise.The Autoclave Market Report gives a bird eyes view on the competitive landscape which includes mergers and acquisitions, collaborations, market strategies, and new product launches.Research Methodology:We utilize both essential and in addition optional research for our market overviews, gauges and for creating estimate. Our research process commence by analyzing the problem which enable us to design the scope for our research study. Our research process is uniquely designed with enough flexibility to adjust according to changing nature of products and markets, while retaining core element to ensure reliability and accuracy in research findings. We understand both macro and micro-economic factors to evaluate and forecast different market segments.What our Autoclave Market Report offers:Autoclave Market share assessments for the regional and country level segments.Autoclave Market share analysis of the top industry players.Strategic recommendations for the new entrants.Strategic recommendations in key business segments based on the market estimations.Competitive landscaping mapping the key common trends.Company profiling with detailed strategies, financials, and recent developments.Supply chain trends mapping the latest technological advancements.Ask Questions to Expertise at @About Crystal Market Research:Crystal Market Research is a U.S. based market research and business intelligence company. Crystal offers one stop solution for market research, business intelligence, and consulting services to help clients make more informed decisions. It provides both syndicated as well as customized research studies for its customers spread across the globe. The company offers market intelligence reports across a broad range of industries including healthcare, chemicals & materials, technology, automotive, and energy.Contact Us:Judy304 South Jones Blvd, Suite 1896,Las Vegas NV 89107,United StatesToll Free: +1-888-213-4282Email: sales@crystalmarketresearch.com Chinese Fibromyalgia Market Growth Analysis 2018 with Pivotal Players as Pfizer, GlaxoSmithKline, AstraZeneca, Roche, Astellas Pharma, etc. by 2022 Market Research Future https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/5630 https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/enquiry/5630 https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/check-discount/5630 Chinese Fibromyalgia Market Report is added on MarketReseacrhFuture.com and it analyzes the worldwide Segmentation and Sub Segmentation. Covered all the information with Top Industry Players, Major Drivers and Mega Trends. Outlet till 2022.Chinese Fibromyalgia Market Scenario:Fibromyalgia syndrome co-exists with other painful conditions, such as migraine and other types of headaches, temporomandibular joint disorders, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), and interstitial cystitis. The treatment of fibromyalgia includes both targeted and symptomatic approach. Till date, there are only three FDA approved drugs for the fibromyalgia treatment, i.e., Lyrica (PFIZER), Cymbalta (Eli Lilly and Company), and Savella (Allergan plc). However, there are few other drugs prescribed by physicians to control the symptoms of fibromyalgia such as pain relievers, muscle relaxants, and traditional Chinese medicine. The Chinese fibromyalgia market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 18.7% during the forecast period 2017-2022.Get Premium Sample copy atGrowing geriatric population, increasing cases of rheumatic diseases, growing awareness among the population, and rising incidences of traumatic stress and road accidents are the key factors driving the Chinese fibromyalgia market. According to a study published in the Arthritis Care & Research journal in 2017, fibromyalgia and related symptoms worsen the functional status of individuals with rheumatoid arthritis. Around 15%-30% of patients with rheumatic disorders have co-morbid fibromyalgia syndrome.Key Players:PfizerGlaxoSmithKlineAstraZenecaRocheAstellas PharmaEli Lilly and CompanyJohnson & Johnson ServicesSANOFI and others.Regional AnalysisSouth Central China accounted for the major share of the market owing to the rising prevalence of fibromyalgia in this region. Rising cases of chronic rheumatic diseases are also capable of fuelling the fibromyalgia market in China. Prevalence of rheumatoid arthritis is around 0.35%, with the significantly higher rate in Northern China as compared to the Southern part.Have Any Query, Ask to Expert atThe rising healthcare expenditure is also propelling the growth of the market. In China, the total expenditure on health per capita in 2014 was USD 731, as per the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2015. The health expenditure in China grew at a rate of 11.6% per year, suggested by a study published in BMC Health Services Research journal in 2017. This rate is much faster than the growth of the countrys economy, i.e., 9.9% per year.Segment:The Chinese fibromyalgia market is segmented on the basis of diagnosis, treatment, and end-user.On the basis of the diagnosis, the market is classified into laboratory evaluation and presence of central sensitization.On the basis of the treatment, the market is segmented into targeted treatment and symptomatic treatment.On the basis of the end-users, the market is segmented into hospitals, clinics, diagnostic centers, and others.Major TOC of Chinese Fibromyalgia Market Research Report- Forecast to 2022:1 Report Prologue2 Market Introduction3 Research Methodology4 Market Dynamics5 Market Factor Analysis6 Chinese Fibromyalgia Market, By Diagnosis7 Global and China Fibromyalgia Market, By Treatment8 Chinese Fibromyalgia Market, By End Users9 Chinese Fibromyalgia Market, By Regions10 Competitive landscape11 Company Profiles12 Conclusion13 AppendixGet Stunning Discount atAbout Market Research Future:At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.ContactMarket Research FutureOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, Hadapsar,Pune 411028Maharashtra, India+1 646 845 9312Email: sales@marketresearchfuture.com Accelerating at 6.0% Iraq Edible Oils and Fats Market to Grow Due to Demand for High Quality Edible Oil https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=14888 https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/edible-oils-fats-market.html http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com According to a market study by Transparency Market Research, the Iraq edible oils & fats market is predicted to be worth US$2.3 bn by the end of 2025, rising at 6.0% CAGR between 2017 and 2025. The demand in the market was valued at US$1.4 bn in 2017. Vis-a-vis revenue, vegetable & seed oil product segment holds prominence in the Iraq edible oils & fats market. The segment is anticipated to hold the leading 51.3% of the overall market by 2025. Among the key regions, Baghdad is predicted to retain its dominance in the overall market through 2025.In a highly consolidated business landscape, top five companies in the Iraq edible oils & fats market hold 70% of the overall market, states Transparency Market Research (TMR) in a new report. Marsan Gida San Ve Tic A.S. the holding company which owns five brands in the edible oil and fats category is a key factor for its high market share. Heavy investments for research & development, joint ventures, and mergers and acquisitions have been key competitive strategies adopted by key players in this market. Expanding production facility in cost-effective regions has also been on the growth chart of leading players in the Iraq edible oils & fats market.Request For Report Brochure For Latest Industry Insights @Political Instability and Weak Economic Growth Challenges MarketOn the downside, political disturbances and economic upheavals are a key restraint to the growth of Iraq edible oils & fats market. Weak economic condition of large population along with rising population living below the poverty line due to the ongoing conflict have been the reasons International Monetary Fund has provided grant.Moreover, high costs of extraction of various types of cooking oils is restricting the entry of new players. This is slowing the growth of Iraq edible oils & fats market.Obtain Report Details @Substantial R&D to Develop High Quality Products to Benefit MarketPrimarily fuelling the Iraq edible oils & fats market is increasing demand for high quality edible oil. High quality edible oils are rich in vitamin E, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids, and omega-3. They have a high smoking point which helps retain nutritional value at higher temperatures. To cater to this demand, large companies involved in the production of edible oils in the country are engaged in research and development to manufacture high quality products. These companies are also making efforts to develop edible oils & fats for health savvy consumers.The increasing consumption of processed food which are mainly oil based has also been a key factor behind the growth of Iraq edible oils & fats market. Changing lifestyle and changing eating habits are fuelling demand for ready-to-eat packaged food. This is favoring the growth of Iraq edible oils & fats market.The growth of the tourism sector holds potential for the growth of Iraq edible oils & fats market. Due to decades of war, closed regimes, and recurrent political instability the Iraqi tourism sector is currently underdeveloped and neglected. However, as political stability and economic development gains momentum, Iraq has the potential to emerge as a global tourist destination. Long considered a destination for pilgrims, leisure tourism is pacing up albeit in low numbers. This is likely to indirectly benefit the edible oils & fats market.Apart from this, rising population leading to the increase in per capita consumption of edible oils is spiking the growth of Iraq edible oils & fats market. This, along with increasing disposable income of consumers which has led to increased spending on dining out and purchase of ready-to-eat foods.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is leader in analytics, research, and advisory services for Fortune 500 companies, scores of high potential startups, and financial institutions. Our success stories have proven why we are a preeminent provider of cutting-edge syndicated and customized research services. Leverage the best of our seasoned research analysts who hold a keen interest and enviable expertise of almost 4 million hours in global, regional, and local market intelligence.Contact UsTransparency Market ResearchState Tower,90 State Street, Suite 700,Albany, NY - 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite: Furniture and Furnishing 2018 Global Market Key Players Ashley Furniture Industries, IKEA, Steelcase, Williams-Sonoma, Rooms To Go Analysis and Forecast to 2025 Furniture and Furnishing Market https://www.wiseguyreports.com/sample-request/3319766-global-furniture-and-furnishing-market-research-report-2018 https://www.wiseguyreports.com/reports/3319766-global-furniture-and-furnishing-market-research-report-2018 www.wiseguyreports.com WiseGuyRerports.com Presents Global Furniture and Furnishing Market Research Report 2018 New Document to its Studies DatabaseThis report studies the global Furniture and Furnishing market status and forecast, categorizes the global Furniture and Furnishing market size (value & volume) by key players, type, application, and region. This report focuses on the top players in North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, South America, and Middle East & Africa.Furniture refers to movable objects intended to support various human activities such as seating (e.g., chairs, stools, and sofas), eating (tables), and sleeping (e.g., beds). Furniture is also used to hold objects at a convenient height for work (as horizontal surfaces above the ground, such as tables and desks), or to store things (e.g., cupboards and shelves). Furniture can be a product of design and is considered a form of decorative art. In addition to furniture's functional role, it can serve a symbolic or religious purpose. It can be made from many materials, including metal, plastic, and wood.The home furniture segment accounts for the largest revenue share due to the evolution of flat-pack and RTA furniture. To cater to the rising demand, the vendors in the market are focusing on manufacturing flat-pack furniture for medium-price segments and solid wood furniture targeted at the high-end market.This market study estimates that in terms of geographic regions, APAC will be the major revenue contributor to the market. This is mainly due to the increasing spending capacity of the end users. Additionally, the growth of the developing countries in the region that will stimulate the demand for modern furniture, will also fuel the markets growth prospects.The global Furniture and Furnishing market is valued at xx million US$ in 2017 and will reach xx million US$ by the end of 2025, growing at a CAGR of xx% during 2018-2025.The major manufacturers covered in this reportAshley Furniture IndustriesIKEASteelcaseWilliams-SonomaRooms To GoTJXHerman MillerHNI CorporationOkamura9to5 SeatingClarinCreative WoodKimball InternationalRequest For Sample Report @Geographically, this report studies the key regions, focuses on product sales, value, market share and growth opportunity in these regions, coveringNorth AmericaEuropeChinaJapanSoutheast AsiaIndiaOn the basis of product, this report displays the production, revenue, price, market share and growth rate of each type, primarily split intoBathroom FurnitureBedroom Furniture and MattressesKitchen FurnitureLighting FixtureOffice FurnitureOutdoor FurnitureTables and ChairUpholstered FurnitureOtherOn the basis of the end users/applications, this report focuses on the status and outlook for major applications/end users, consumption (sales), market share and growth rate for each application, includingHome ApplicationOffice ApplicationOtherThe study objectives of this report are:To analyze and study the global Furniture and Furnishing sales, value, status (2013-2017) and forecast (2018-2025).Focuses on the key Furniture and Furnishing manufacturers, to study the sales, value, market share and development plans in future.Focuses on the global key manufacturers, to define, describe and analyze the market competition landscape, SWOT analysis.To define, describe and forecast the market by type, application and region.To analyze the global and key regions market potential and advantage, opportunity and challenge, restraints and risks.To identify significant trends and factors driving or inhibiting the market growth.To analyze the opportunities in the market for stakeholders by identifying the high growth segments.To strategically analyze each submarket with respect to individual growth trend and their contribution to the marketTo analyze competitive developments such as expansions, agreements, new product launches, and acquisitions in the marketTo strategically profile the key players and comprehensively analyze their growth strategies.Complete Report Details @Table Of Contents:1 Furniture and Furnishing Market Overview1.1 Product Overview and Scope of Furniture and Furnishing1.2 Furniture and Furnishing Segment by Type (Product Category)1.2.1 Global Furniture and Furnishing Production and CAGR (%) Comparison by Type (Product Category)(2013-2025)1.2.2 Global Furniture and Furnishing Production Market Share by Type (Product Category) in 20171.2.3 Bathroom Furniture1.2.4 Bedroom Furniture and Mattresses1.2.5 Kitchen Furniture1.2.6 Lighting Fixture1.2.7 Office Furniture1.2.8 Outdoor Furniture1.2.9 Tables and Chair1.2.10 Upholstered Furniture1.2.11 Other1.3 Global Furniture and Furnishing Segment by Application1.3.1 Furniture and Furnishing Consumption (Sales) Comparison by Application (2013-2025)1.3.2 Home Application1.3.3 Office Application1.3.4 Other1.4 Global Furniture and Furnishing Market by Region (2013-2025)1.4.1 Global Furniture and Furnishing Market Size (Value) and CAGR (%) Comparison by Region (2013-2025)1.4.2 North America Status and Prospect (2013-2025)1.4.3 Europe Status and Prospect (2013-2025)1.4.4 China Status and Prospect (2013-2025)1.4.5 Japan Status and Prospect (2013-2025)1.4.6 Southeast Asia Status and Prospect (2013-2025)1.4.7 India Status and Prospect (2013-2025)1.5 Global Market Size (Value) of Furniture and Furnishing (2013-2025)1.5.1 Global Furniture and Furnishing Revenue Status and Outlook (2013-2025)1.5.2 Global Furniture and Furnishing Capacity, Production Status and Outlook (2013-2025)2 Global Furniture and Furnishing Market Competition by Manufacturers2.1 Global Furniture and Furnishing Capacity, Production and Share by Manufacturers (2013-2018)2.1.1 Global Furniture and Furnishing Capacity and Share by Manufacturers (2013-2018)2.1.2 Global Furniture and Furnishing Production and Share by Manufacturers (2013-2018)2.2 Global Furniture and Furnishing Revenue and Share by Manufacturers (2013-2018)2.3 Global Furniture and Furnishing Average Price by Manufacturers (2013-2018)2.4 Manufacturers Furniture and Furnishing Manufacturing Base Distribution, Sales Area and Product Type2.5 Furniture and Furnishing Market Competitive Situation and Trends2.5.1 Furniture and Furnishing Market Concentration Rate2.5.2 Furniture and Furnishing Market Share of Top 3 and Top 5 Manufacturers2.5.3 Mergers & Acquisitions, Expansion.7 Global Furniture and Furnishing Manufacturers Profiles/Analysis7.1 Ashley Furniture Industries7.1.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.1.2 Furniture and Furnishing Product Category, Application and Specification7.1.2.1 Product A7.1.2.2 Product B7.1.3 Ashley Furniture Industries Furniture and Furnishing Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2013-2018)7.1.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.2 IKEA7.2.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.2.2 Furniture and Furnishing Product Category, Application and Specification7.2.2.1 Product A7.2.2.2 Product B7.2.3 IKEA Furniture and Furnishing Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2013-2018)7.2.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.3 Steelcase7.3.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.3.2 Furniture and Furnishing Product Category, Application and Specification7.3.2.1 Product A7.3.2.2 Product B7.3.3 Steelcase Furniture and Furnishing Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2013-2018)7.3.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.4 Williams-Sonoma7.4.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.4.2 Furniture and Furnishing Product Category, Application and Specification7.4.2.1 Product A7.4.2.2 Product B7.4.3 Williams-Sonoma Furniture and Furnishing Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2013-2018)7.4.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.5 Rooms To Go7.5.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.5.2 Furniture and Furnishing Product Category, Application and Specification7.5.2.1 Product A7.5.2.2 Product B7.5.3 Rooms To Go Furniture and Furnishing Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2015-2018)7.5.4 Main Business/Business OverviewContinued.CONTACT US:NORAH TRENTPartner Relations & Marketing Managersales@wiseguyreports.comPh: +1-646-845-9349 (US)Ph: +44 208 133 9349 (UK)ABOUT US:Wise Guy Reports is part of the Wise Guy Consultants Pvt. Ltd. and offers premium progressive statistical surveying, market research reports, analysis & forecast data for industries and governments around the globe. Wise Guy Reports features an exhaustive list of market research reports from hundreds of publishers worldwide. We boast a database spanning virtually every market category and an even more comprehensive collection of market research reports under these categories and sub-categories.Address:WISE GUY RESEARCH CONSULTANTS PVT LTDOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, HadapsarPune - 411028Maharashtra, India Bioanalytical Services Market 2018-2025 | Demand, Technology, Innovation & Top Manufactures Research like (Covance, ICON plc, Pharmaceutical Product Development, Eurofins Scientific, KCAS et al.) Bioanalytical Services Market https://www.orianresearch.com/request-sample/582950 https://www.orianresearch.com/enquiry-before-buying/582950 https://www.orianresearch.com/checkout/582950 www.orianresearch.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/company-beta/13281002/ Bioanalytical Services Market 2018 Global Industry research report represents the historical overview of current market Situation and forecast 2018-2025. Additionally, this report gives Bioanalytical Services Market size, trends, share, growth, and cost structure and drivers analysis. The Bioanalytical Services industry report has studied key opportunities in the market and influencing factor which is useful to the business.Get Sample Copy of this Report atThe Global Bioanalytical Services market 2018 research provides a basic overview of the industry including definitions, classifications, applications and industry chain structure. The Global Bioanalytical Services market analysis is provided for the international markets including development trends, competitive landscape analysis, and key regions development status. Development policies and plans are discussed as well as manufacturing processes and cost structures are also analyzed. This report also states import/export consumption, supply and demand Figures, cost, price, revenue and gross margins.Complete report on Global Bioanalytical Services Industry 2018 Market Research Report is spread across 146 pages and provides exclusive vital statistics, data, information, trends and competitive landscape details in this niche sector. Inquire more or share questions if any on this report @Analysis of Bioanalytical Services Industry Key Manufacturers: Covance, ICON plc, Pharmaceutical Product Development, Eurofins Scientific, KCAS, Charles River Laboratories International, Intertek Group plc, Euro Diagnostica AB, InVentiv Health Clinical, Cambridge et al.Key segments covered in this report:Geography segment, end use/application segment and competitor segment. The key countries in each region are taken into consideration as well, such as United States, China, Japan, India, Korea, ASEAN, Germany, France, UK, Italy, Spain, CIS, and Brazil etc. For end use/application segment, this report focuses on the status and outlook for key applications. End users also can be listed.With tables and figures helping analyze worldwide Global Bioanalytical Services market, this research provides key statistics on the state of the industry and is a valuable source of guidance and direction for companies and individuals interested in the market.For competitor segment, the report includes global key players of Bioanalytical Services Market as well as some small players. The information for each competitor includes: Company Profile Main Business Information SWOT Analysis Sales, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin Market ShareMajor chapters covered in Bioanalytical Services Market Research are:Chapter 1 Executive SummaryChapter 2 Abbreviation and AcronymsChapter 3 PrefaceChapter 4 Market LandscapeChapter 5 Market Trend AnalysisChapter 6 Industry Chain AnalysisChapter 7 Latest Market DynamicsChapter 8 Trading AnalysisChapter 9 Historical and Current Bioanalytical Services Market in North America (2013-2018)Chapter 10 Historical and Current Bioanalytical Services Market in South America (2013-2018)Chapter 11 Historical and Current Bioanalytical Services Market in Asia & Pacific (2013-2018)Chapter 12 Historical and Current Bioanalytical Services Market in Europe (2013-2018)Chapter 13 Historical and Current Bioanalytical Services Market in MEA (2013-2018)Chapter 14 Summary for Global Bioanalytical Services Market (2013-2018)Chapter 15 Global Bioanalytical Services Market Forecast (2019-2023)Chapter 16 Company ProfilePurchase Direct Copy atFew Points from List of Tables and Figures:Table Abbreviation and Acronyms ListTable Research Scope of Bioanalytical Services reportTable Primary Sources of Bioanalytical Services reportTable Secondary Sources of Bioanalytical Services reportTable Major Assumptions of Bioanalytical Services reportTable Bioanalytical Services ClassificationTable Bioanalytical Services Applications ListTable Drivers of Bioanalytical Services MarketTable Restraints of Bioanalytical Services MarketTable Opportunities of Bioanalytical Services MarketTable Threats of Bioanalytical Services MarketTable Key Raw Material of Bioanalytical Services and Its SuppliersTable Key Technologies of Bioanalytical ServicesTable Cost Structure of Bioanalytical ServicesTable Market Channel of Bioanalytical ServicesTable Bioanalytical Services Application and Key End Users ListTable Latest News of Bioanalytical Services industryTable Recently Merger and Acquisition List of Bioanalytical Services industryTable Recently Planned/Future Project List of Bioanalytical Services industryContinuedAbout UsOrian Research is one of the most comprehensive collections of market intelligence reports on the World Wide Web. Our reports repository boasts of over 500000+ industry and country research reports from over 100 top publishers. We continuously update our repository so as to provide our clients easy access to the worlds most complete and current database of expert insights on global industries, companies, and products. We also specialize in custom research in situations where our syndicate research offerings do not meet the specific requirements of our esteemed clients.Contact UsRuwin MendezVice President Global Sales & Partner RelationsOrian Research ConsultantsUS: +1 (832) 380-8827 | UK: +44 0161-818-8027Email: info@orianresearch.comWebsite:Follow Us on LinkedIn: The Taiwanese Desktop PC Industry, 2Q 2017 Analysis & Forecast 2021 Desktop PC, Desktop PC Market, Desktop PC Market Growth, Presses Release, Desktop PC Manufacturers, Desktop PC Status, Desktop PC http://www.wiseguyreports.com/sample-request/3253671-the-taiwanese-desktop-pc-industry-2q-2017 https://www.wiseguyreports.com/reports/3253671-the-taiwanese-desktop-pc-industry-2q-2017 http://www.wiseguyreports.com Description:The report found that the Taiwanese desktop PC industry grew slightly in the first quarter of 2017, with shipment volume of about 12.0 million units. Fueled by the rollout of new gaming models from ASUS and MSI and the increasing share of high-end models, Taiwanese desktop PC ASP (Average Selling Price) decline managed to slow down in the first quarter of 2017. Nevertheless, the industry is anticipated to have witnessed year-on-year and sequential declines in the second quarter of 2017, traditionally the weak season for desktop PCs, but is forecast to resume growth in the third quarter of 2017.Request For sample Report @Table of ContentsTaiwanese Desktop PC Shipment Volume, 2Q 2015 4Q 2017Taiwanese Desktop PC Shipment Value and ASP, 2Q 2015 3Q 2017Taiwanese Desktop PC Manufacturer Volume Ranking, 2Q 2015 1Q 2017Taiwanese Desktop PC Manufacturer Tier Position, 2Q 2015 1Q 2017Taiwanese Desktop PC Shipment Volume by Tier, 2Q 2015 1Q 2017Taiwanese Desktop PC Shipment Share by Tier, 2Q 2015 1Q 2017Taiwanese Desktop PC Shipment Volume by Maker, 2Q 2015 1Q 2017Taiwanese Desktop PC Shipment Share by Maker, 2Q 2015 1Q 2017Taiwanese Desktop PC Shipment Volume by Assembly Level, 2Q 2015 1Q 2017Taiwanese Desktop PC Shipment Share by Assembly Level, 2Q 2015 1Q 2017Taiwanese Desktop PC First Tier Makers Shipment Volume by Assembly Level, 2Q 2015 1Q2017Taiwanese Desktop PC First Tier Makers Shipment Share by Assembly Level, 2Q 2015 1Q 2017Taiwanese Desktop PC Second Tier Makers Shipment Volume by Assembly Level, 2Q 2015 1Q 2017Taiwanese Desktop PC Second Tier Makers Shipment Share by Assembly Level, 2Q 2015 1Q 2017Taiwanese Desktop PC ASP by Assembly Level, 2Q 2015 1Q 2017Taiwanese Desktop PC Shipment Volume by Assembly Location, 2Q 2015 1Q 2017Taiwanese Desktop PC Shipment Share by Assembly Location, 2Q 2015 1Q 2017Taiwanese Desktop PC Shipment Volume by Shipment Destination, 2Q 2015 1Q 2017Taiwanese Desktop PC Shipment Share by Shipment Destination, 2Q 2015 1Q 2017Taiwanese Desktop PC First Tier Makers Shipment Volume by Shipment Destination, 2Q 2015 1Q 2017Taiwanese Desktop PC First Tier Makers Shipment Share by Shipment Destination, 2Q 2015 1Q 2017Taiwanese Desktop PC Second Tier Makers Shipment Volume by Shipment Destination, 2Q 2015 1Q 2017Taiwanese Desktop PC Second Tier Makers Shipment Share by Shipment Destination, 2Q 2015 1Q 2017Taiwanese Desktop PC Shipment Volume by Business Types, 2Q 2015 1Q 2017Taiwanese Desktop PC Shipment Share by Business Type, 2Q 2015 1Q 2017Taiwanese Desktop PC Shipment Volume by Customer Portfolio, 2Q 2015 1Q 2017Taiwanese Desktop PC Shipment Share by Customer Portfolio, 2Q 2015 1Q 2017Intelligence InsightResearch Scope & DefinitionsContinued . . .For Detail Report :About Us:Wise Guy Reports Is Part Of The Wise Guy Consultants Pvt. Ltd. And Offers Premium Progressive Statistical Surveying, Market Research Reports, Analysis & Forecast Data For Industries And Governments Around The Globe. Wise Guy Reports Features An Exhaustive List Of Market Research Reports From Hundreds Of Publishers Worldwide. We Boast A Database Spanning Virtually Every Market Category And An Even More Comprehensive Collection Of Market Research Reports Under These Categories And Sub-Categories.CONTACT US:NORAH TRENTPartner Relations & Marketing Managersales@wiseguyreports.comPh: +1-646-845-9349 (US)Ph: +44 208 133 9349 (UK)Wise Guy Reports is part of the Wise Guy Research Consultants Pvt. Ltd. and offers premium progressive statistical surveying, market research reports, analysis & forecast data for industries and governments around the globe.Office No.528,Amanora Chambers,Magarpatta Road,Hadapsar,Pune-411028. Central Processing Units (CPUs) Market Technology Analysis and Top Comapnies | Intel, AMD, Samsung, VIA, ARM Holdings, Broadcom, Cyrix | Forecast 2018-2023 Central Processing Units (CPUs) Market https://www.orianresearch.com/request-sample/591980 https://www.orianresearch.com/enquiry-before-buying/591980 https://www.orianresearch.com/checkout/591980 www.orianresearch.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/company-beta/13281002/ The Global Central Processing Units (CPUs) Market based on huge statistical study of industry analysis, size, share, growth, trends, top manufacturing company analysis till forecast period. This report is about key driving factors, risks, and opportunities with its impact by geographical area. This scenario and future prospects of the sector has also been studied in-detailed in this report.Get Sample Copy of this Report @Central Processing Units (CPUs) Market holds a huge statistical study. The primary objective of Central Processing Units (CPUs) report is to analyze the current and future Opportunities to clarify the upcoming investment in the market. Central Processing Units (CPUs) Market report also offers updates on size, share, growth and application of product in the global and regional Central Processing Units (CPUs) market till forecast period.Top Key Players analyzed in Global Central Processing Units (CPUs) Market are - Intel AMD Samsung VIA ARM Holdings Broadcom Cyrix Freescale Complete report Central Processing Units (CPUs) Market spreads across 117 pages profiling 23 companies and supported with tables and figures, Enquire this Report @Development policies and plans are discussed as well as manufacturing processes and cost structures are also analyzed. This report also states import/export consumption, supply and demand Figures, cost, price, revenue and gross margins.Market Segment By Type - BGA CSPMarket Segment By Application Personal Computer Server Portable Computer OthersGet direct copy this report @The main contents of the report including: Central Processing Units (CPUs) MarketSection 1: Product definition, type and application, Global market overview;Section 2: Global Market competition by company;Section 3: Global sales revenue, volume and price by type;Section 4: Global sales revenue, volume and price by application;Section 5: United States export and import;Section 6: Company information, business overview, sales data and product specifications;Section 7: Industry chain and raw materials;Section 8: SWOT and Porter's Five Forces;Section 9: Conclusion.ContinueList of Tables and FiguresAbout UsOrian Research is one of the most comprehensive collections of market intelligence reports on the World Wide Web. Our reports repository boasts of over 500000+ industry and country research reports from over 100 top publishers. We continuously update our repository so as to provide our clients easy access to the world's most complete and current database of expert insights on global industries, companies, and products. We also specialize in custom research in situations where our syndicate research offerings do not meet the specific requirements of our esteemed clients.Contact UsRuwin MendezVice President Global Sales & Partner RelationsOrian Research ConsultantsUS: +1 (832) 380-8827 | UK: +44 0161-818-8027Email: info@orianresearch.comWebsite:Follow Us on LinkedIn: Rising Demand for Bio-based Fertilizers and Pesticides to Fuel Global Neem Extracts Market https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=2049 https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/neem-extract-market.html https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com The global neem extracts market has a fragmented vendor landscape on account of the presence of a large number of unorganized companies across the globe, observes Transparency Market Research in a recent report. However, a large share of the total global number of leading neem extract exporters are located in India. Domicile to over 150 small- and mid-sized companies operating in the neem extract sector, India holds a strong position in the global neem extract market and is expected to remain one of the key hubs for the overall development of the global neem extracts market in the near future.Download PDF Brochure @However, these companies collectively account for a nominal share of the overall market and companies with advanced equipment for operations such as de-pulping, disinfecting, drying, extraction, and storage overshadow. Some of the leading companies in the global neem extracts market are Parker India Group Pvt. Ltd., Neeming Australia Pvt Ltd., Fortune Biotech Ltd., GreeNeem, P J Margo Pvt Ltd, E.I.D Perry India Ltd., and Prithvi Exports.In one of its recent reports, Transparency Market Research estimates that the global neem extracts market will exhibit a promising pace of expansion in the near future and rise from an opportunity of US$706 mn in 2015 to US$1,126.8 mn by 2019.Read Report Overview @Asia Pacific Market to Present Considerable Growth OpportunitiesIn terms of application, the chemical and fertilizers segment accounted for the dominant share in the global market, representing an opportunity of US$498.79 mn in 2015. With rising focus on the use of bio-based fertilizers and several regulations arresting the growth of synthetic fertilizers working in favor of the bio-based fertilizer sector, the segment is likely to remain the key consumer of neem extracts in the near future, representing a revenue opportunity of US$768.14 mn by 2019.From a geographical standpoint, the market in Asia Pacific accounts for the dominant share of the overall market. The regional market overshadows other regions as the plantation of neem is majorly restricted to the South Asian region and there has been an ever-increasing demand for neem extracts in bio-based fertilizers, pesticides, and natural and herbal products across countries such as India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Nepal, and Bangladesh in recent years.Neem is a popular medicinal herb and is extensively used in a vast array of applications ranging from natural skin care to pest control. The increasing side effects of chemical-based skin care products has awakened the consciousness of the people towards the use of safer, milder, and nature-based ingredients. Therefore, as the preference for nature-based products penetrates deeper in the psyche of the worldwide population, the global market for neem extracts is expected to gain traction.The demand for neem-based anti-aging and anti-acne skin care products has been rising of late. Growing geriatric population across several regions of the world has been responsible for the exploding demand for neem-based face washes, creams, gels, and lotions. Numerous soaps, hand washes, and oral care products such as toothpastes also use neem as a core ingredient. The market for neem extracts is being driven by increasing consumer base, high disposable incomes of the people, and growth of the cosmetics industry.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.US Office ContactTransparency Market Research90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite: U.S. Quick Service Restaurant Ecosystem Market to Grow due to Rising Digital Platforms https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=2495 https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/us-quick-service-restaurant-market.html https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com The U.S. quick service restaurant (QSR) ecosystem market is highly fragmented, with the top four companies accounting for less than 20% of the market in 2012, states a new report by Transparency Market Research. These are Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., Panasonic Corporation, LG Display Co. Ltd., and NEC Display Solutions Ltd.A TMR analyst says, A focus on developing innovative display devices for business expansion is the key growth model that top companies in the U.S. quick service restaurant ecosystem are adopting. Panasonic Corporation, for instance, has focused on introducing innovative devices to help its customers expand their business. In January 2014, the company introduced curved display and ultra high HD display to take their customers business to a new level.Download PDF Brochure @Business growth by means of new product development is another key growth model that key vendors in this market are focused on. This involves the utilization of hi-tech features to extend an immersive and impactful in-store experience for customers. Key vendors in the U.S. QSR ecosystem market are also focused on portfolio expansion in a bid to provide differential offerings to customers.Big Data Analysis Aid Comprehend Customer Purchasing Behavior for Quick Service Restaurants to Rectify Service LoopholesAn increasing shift towards data-centric business models that helps optimize business processes is the foremost factor driving the U.S. QSR ecosystem market, points out a TMR analyst. This involves monetization of data captured by wired or wireless point of sale (POS) systems and kiosks systems. The use of such business models facilitates restaurants to track purchased and canceled items at point of sales. For example, McDonalds is continuously carrying out big data analysis to address flaws in the drive-thru experience.Obtain Report Details @The increasing need to provide an altogether new experience for customers is also boosting the growth of the U.S. QSR ecosystem market. This is because the increasing number of quick service restaurants has heightened competition, thus has put digital technology at the center stage to deliver a highly satisfying experience for customers.Use of Digital Technologies Lacks Human Element for Two-way Communication A Key RestraintIncreased automation using technology lacks human interpretation skills, which is challenging the growth of the U.S quick service restaurant ecosystem market, says a TMR analyst. This is because self-service machines require customers to type the query, which increases the chances of mistakes, thus receiving zero or too many results in response. Moreover, personalized services can go a long way in building customer relationships. The use of digitization lacks this.The high price factor of QSR ecosystem devices is also challenging their adoption, especially among small-scale restaurants. For instance, the usage of digital signage systems involves a high cost of installation and maintenance as compared to black menu boards.The U.S. quick service restaurant ecosystem market is expected to be worth US$7.32 bn by 2019. The hardware component segment was the largest with 79.2% of the market in 2012. Within hardware, kiosks that are equipped with cloud technologies will display the highest growth rate in the coming years. Point of sale hardware equipped with innovative features such as inventory management and cloud-based reporting will also contribute substantial revenues to the U.S. quick service restaurant ecosystem market.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.US Office ContactTransparency Market Research90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite: Gaming Peripheral Market Is Thriving Worldwide with Mad Catz Interactive Inc., Razer, SteelSeries Gaming Peripheral Market https://www.htfmarketreport.com/sample-report/1276056-china-gaming-peripheral-market-1 https://www.htfmarketreport.com/enquiry-before-buy/1276056-china-gaming-peripheral-market-1 https://www.htfmarketreport.com/buy-now?format=1&report=1276056 https://www.htfmarketreport.com/reports/1276056-china-gaming-peripheral-market-1 HTF MI recently introduced China Gaming Peripheral Market study with in-depth overview, describing about the Product / Industry Scope and elaborates market outlook and status to 2023. The market Study is segmented by key regions which is accelerating the marketization. At present, the market is developing its presence and some of the key players from the complete study are Corsair Components, Logitech International S.A., Mad Catz Interactive Inc., Razer, SteelSeries, Sony, Microsoft, Cooler Master, Kingston & Gioteck etc.Request Sample of China Gaming Peripheral Market Report 2018 @:This report studies the China Gaming Peripheral market size, industry status and forecast, competition landscape and growth opportunity. This research report categorizes the China Gaming Peripheral market by companies, region, type and end-use industry.Browse 100+ market data Tables and Figures spread through Pages and in-depth TOC on " Gaming Peripheral Market by Type (Controllers, Headsets, Keyboards, Mouse & Others), by End-Users/Application (Commercial & Personal), Organization Size, Industry, and Region - Forecast to 2023". Early buyers will receive 10% customization on comprehensive study.In order to get a deeper view of Market Size, competitive landscape is provided i.e. Revenue (Million USD) by Players (2013-2018), Revenue Market Share (%) by Players (2013-2018) and further a qualitative analysis is made towards market concentration rate, product/service differences, new entrants and the technological trends in future.Enquire for customization in Report @Competitive Analysis:The key players are highly focusing innovation in production technologies to improve efficiency and shelf life. The best long-term growth opportunities for this sector can be captured by ensuring ongoing process improvements and financial flexibility to invest in the optimal strategies. Company profile section of players such as Corsair Components, Logitech International S.A., Mad Catz Interactive Inc., Razer, SteelSeries, Sony, Microsoft, Cooler Master, Kingston & Gioteck includes its basic information like legal name, website, headquarters, its market position, historical background and top 5 closest competitors by Market capitalization / revenue along with contact information. Each player/ manufacturer revenue figures, growth rate and gross profit margin is provided in easy to understand tabular format for past 5 years and a separate section on recent development like mergers, acquisition or any new product/service launch etc.Market Segments:The China Gaming Peripheral Market has been divided into type, application, and region.On The Basis Of Type: Controllers, Headsets, Keyboards, Mouse & Others.On The Basis Of Application: Commercial & PersonalOn The Basis Of Region, this report is segmented into following key geographies, with production, consumption, revenue (million USD), and market share, growth rate of Gaming Peripheral in these regions, from 2013 to 2023 (forecast), covering North America (U.S. & Canada) {Market Revenue (USD Billion), Growth Analysis (%) and Opportunity Analysis} Latin America (Brazil, Mexico & Rest of Latin America) {Market Revenue (USD Billion), Growth Share (%) and Opportunity Analysis} Europe (The U.K., Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Poland, Sweden & RoE) {Market Revenue (USD Billion), Growth Share (%) and Opportunity Analysis} Asia-Pacific (China, India, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, Rest of Asia) {Market Revenue (USD Billion), Growth Share (%) and Opportunity Analysis} Middle East & Africa (GCC, South Africa, North Africa, RoMEA) {Market Revenue (USD Billion), Growth Share (%) and Opportunity Analysis} Rest of World {Market Revenue (USD Billion), Growth Analysis (%) and Opportunity Analysis}Buy Single User License of China Gaming Peripheral Market Report 2018 @Have a look at some extracts from Table of ContentIntroduction about China Gaming PeripheralChina Gaming Peripheral Market Size (Sales) Market Share by Type (Product Category) in 2017Gaming Peripheral Market by Application/End UsersChina Gaming Peripheral Sales (Volume) and Market Share Comparison by Applications(2013-2023) table defined for each application/end-users like [Commercial & Personal]China Gaming Peripheral Sales and Growth Rate (2013-2023)Gaming Peripheral Competition by Players/Suppliers, Region, Type and ApplicationGaming Peripheral (Volume, Value and Sales Price) table defined for each geographic region defined.China Gaming Peripheral Players/Suppliers Profiles and Sales DataAdditionally Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and Competitors list is being provided for each listed manufacturersMarket Sales, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2013-2018) table for each product type which include Controllers, Headsets, Keyboards, Mouse & OthersGaming Peripheral Manufacturing Cost AnalysisGaming Peripheral Key Raw Materials AnalysisGaming Peripheral Chain, Sourcing Strategy and Downstream Buyers, Industrial Chain AnalysisMarket Forecast (2018-2023)........and more in complete table of ContentsBrowse for Full Report at:Thanks for reading this article; you can also get individual chapter wise section or region wise report version like North America, Europe or Asia.HTF Market Report is a wholly owned brand of HTF market Intelligence Consulting Private Limited. HTF Market Report global research and market intelligence consulting organization is uniquely positioned to not only identify growth opportunities but to also empower and inspire you to create visionary growth strategies for futures, enabled by our extraordinary depth and breadth of thought leadership, research, tools, events and experience that assist you for making goals into a reality. Our understanding of the interplay between industry convergence, Mega Trends, technologies and market trends provides our clients with new business models and expansion opportunities. We are focused on identifying the Accurate Forecast in every industry we cover so our clients can reap the benefits of being early market entrants and can accomplish their Goals & Objectives.Craig Francis (PR & Marketing Manager)HTF Market Intelligence Consulting Private LimitedUnit No. 429, Parsonage Road Edison, NJNew Jersey USA 08837Phone: +1 (206) 317 1218sales@htfmarketreport.com Research On Automotive Hybrid Fuel Sensors Market Demand ,Production, Sales, Consumption Status and Forecast to 2023 Automotive Hybrid Fuel Sensors,Automotive Hybrid Fuel Sensors industry,Automotive Hybrid Fuel Sensors market https://www.reportsandmarkets.com/sample-request/global-and-chinese-automotive-hybrid-fuel-sensors-industry-2018-market-research-report https://www.reportsandmarkets.com/check-discount/global-and-chinese-automotive-hybrid-fuel-sensors-industry-2018-market-research-report https://www.reportsandmarkets.com/checkout?currency=one_user-USD&report_id=2304538 www.reportsandmarkets.com SynopsisThe Global and Chinese Automotive Hybrid Fuel Sensors Market Research Report 2018 is the latest comprehensive analysis document assists the reader to build effective business strategies and various market elements driving the popularity of automotive hybrid fuel sensors.The report offers vital insights on every market segment in terms of market size analysis for automotive hybrid fuel sensors across the different regions.Request For Sample Report :Although market statistics information to gain the changing dynamics and future of the global automotive hybrid fuel sensors market.Manufacturers and Suppliers that are listed in the reportMahleHellaContinentalDelphiRegions CoveredNorth AmericaEuropeChinaJapanMiddle East & AfricaIndiaSouth AmericaProduct TypesDiesel EngineGasoline EngineEnd-User ApplicationsPassenger VehicleCommercial VehicleRequest For Discount :The Key Points in the Automotive Hybrid Fuel Sensors Market Report will Enrich your Decision-Making Capability The report examines the global and chinese market for automotive hybrid fuel sensors and acquaints readers with data related to revenue updates, volume and predicted expansion rate of the global automotive hybrid fuel sensors market from (2018 -2023). The report gives extensive exploration of market dynamics and factors influencing the growth of the global automotive hybrid fuel sensors market. The competitive analysis of the top market players will provide a competitive edge to clients in the automotive hybrid fuel sensors business. The report examines high growth segments in the market and clarifies best invest areas for stakeholders in the global automotive hybrid fuel sensors market. The automotive hybrid fuel sensors report is an essential tool for analyzing the market potential, drivers, latest market trends, opportunities and challenges, automotive hybrid fuel sensors market threats and risks. The report also covers demand and supply side of the automotive hybrid fuel sensors market across the globe.Key StakeholdersAutomotive Hybrid Fuel Sensors ManufacturersAutomotive Hybrid Fuel Sensors Distributors/Traders/WholesalersAutomotive Hybrid Fuel Sensors Subcomponent ManufacturersIndustry AssociationDownstream VendorsBuy Full Report :Reasons for Buying this Report: This report provides pin-point analysis for changing competitive dynamics It highlights significant changes in the dynamics of the market It gives future perspective regarding different factors driving or restraining market growth It shows a technological growth map over time to understand the industry growth rate It provides forecast analysis of the Automotive Hybrid Fuel Sensors Marketbased considering how the market is predicted to growKey questions answered in this report- What will the market size be in 2023 and what will the growth rate be?- What are the key market trends?- What is driving this market?- What are the challenges to market growth?- Who are the key vendors in this market space?- What are the market opportunities and threats faced by the key vendors?- What are the strengths and weaknesses of the key vendors?MethodologyResearch methodology is based on extensive primary and secondary research. Primary research includes in-depth interviews with industry experts, vendors, resellers and customers. Secondary research includes RNM Platform, industry publications, company reports, news articles, analyst reports, trade associations and the data published by Government agencies.You can request one free hour of our analyst's time when you purchase this market report. Details are provided within the report.About Us:Reports And Markets is part of the Algoro Research Consultants Pvt. Ltd. and offers premium progressive statistical surveying, market research reports, analysis & forecast data for industries and governments around the globe. On ReportsAndMarkets.com you will find all the globally available market research and company reports from well-respected market research companies, all leaders in their field. Reports And Markets is totally independent and serves its customers by providing the most reliable market research available, as we understand how important this is for youContact UsSanjay JainManager - Partner Relations & International Marketinginfo@reportsandmarkets.comPh: +44-020-3286-9338 (UK)Ph: +1-214-377-1121 (US)Ph: +91-703-049-0292 (IND) Aramid Fiber Market 2024: Key Players are DowDuPont, Hyosung, Yantai Tayho Co., Kolon Industries Inc., Huvis Corporation, Kermel https://www.gminsights.com/request-sample/detail/812 https://www.gminsights.com/industry-analysis/aramid-fiber-market https://www.gminsights.com/inquiry-before-buying/812 https://www.gminsights.com A rather disputable terrain in itself, undoubtedly, aramid fiber market has carved out a unique place in the polymer realm in the recent years. Encompassing a massive application spectrum, the business space is characterized by string of regulations, and has gained prominent traction essentially on account of the products deployment in ballistic protection. However, its application in tire and rubber reinforcements would indeed require a special footnote, given that the products exceptional durability and high performance make it an inevitable material to be used in the automotive and plastics sectors.Citing an instance, recently in the first quarter of 2018, Nokian Tyres P.L.C. installed its aramid sidewall technology in its cargo and van tire range to keep the tires stable and enable it to bear impacts, depressions, and cuts much more efficiently, so that the vehicles would find it easier to navigate poorly constructed roads. Indeed, Nokians initiative is among the many moves undertaken by aramid fiber market players to increase the application scope of the product in domains apart from protective wear for the defense sector.Sample copy of this report @Teijin Aramid, conceptualized as Teijin Ltd., the Japanese holding company of Teijin Group, had come to the fore in 2000, when the firm took over the production and sale of Twaron fibers. Currently, the company is one of the most pivotal players of aramid fiber market with four highly innovative aramid brands. Whats more, the firm has been consistently involved in highly ambitious expansions and product development strategies, further strengthening its scope in aramid fiber industry while simultaneously contributing toward the massive expansion of this business sphere.In the year 2016, Teijin launched two fabrics the Technora and Twaron para-aramid fibers, in adherence to the Japan Cabinet Offices new regulations, in order to protect evacuation shelters and lodges from volcanic fragments. Indeed, this launch has massively empowered Teijins stance in aramid fiber market, given how crucial these fibers are in the production of shielding products and protective clothing, amidst the globally rising incidences of warfare and political conflicts.Teijins product launch has also seemingly had an impact on para aramid fiber market, that secured the dominant position in the business in 2016, with a valuation of more than USD 2 billion. With a robust rise in the demand for protective vehicle armor, bulletproof clothing, helmets, and the like, para aramid fiber industry share is expected to increase further in the years ahead.Browse Complete Summary of this report @The year 2017 witnessed Teijins involvement in a plethora of projects, right from capacity expansions to increased product development for stipulated contracts. The company added a new production line in Japan, at the Technora aromatic polyamide fiber production facility to manufacture aramid fibers incorporated with excellent resistance to chemicals, fatigue, impact, and moisture and high tensile strength. These fibers are likely to find extensive applications in such as reinforcement material across the automotive, industrial, and oil & gas sectors, thus enlarging the expansion scope for Teijin. With the extensive commercialization of these fibers, it is most probable that the product spectrum of aramid fiber market will witness a dynamic transformation of sorts over 2016-2024.In September 2017, the aramid fiber industry giant announced that it plans to supply its patented para-aramid fiber, Twaron to the solar-powered vehicles that are being manufactured conjointly by the University of Michigan and the KU Leuven teams contending in Bridgestone World Solar Challenge. Teijins move further endorses its product range in myriad applications, not only strengthening its position in aramid fiber market, but also enabling the firm to expand its reach across numerous geographies.Make an inquiry for purchasing this report @One of the pivotal restraints that aramid fiber market has been encountering is the high manufacturing cost. In a bid to combat the price fluctuations, aramid fiber industry players periodically hike the product price to cope up with the increasing R&D expenditure. Say for instance, Teijin, in the year 2014, upscaled the prices of its patent Twaron fibers by 7% in order to do justice to its planned investments in sustainable manufacturing methodologies in addition to retaining its current partnerships with leading players.It is imperative to mention however, that aramid fiber market boasts of a slew of potential growth grounds for business expansion. A favorable regulatory spectrum, incidentally, is one of the major factors contributing toward the growth of this business sphere. Citing an instance, the OSHA has mandated specific norms with regards to occupational safety that are certain to impel the sales of protective clothing.Partial Chapter of the Table of Content:Chapter 3. Aramid Fiber Industry Insights3.1. Industry segmentation3.2. Industry size and forecast, 2013 20243.3. Industry ecosystem analysis3.3.1. Vendor matrix3.3.1.1. List of key manufacturers/suppliers3.3.1.2. List of key customers3.3.2. Distributor channel analysis3.3.3. Profit margin3.3.4. Value addition at each stage3.4. Industry impact forces3.4.1. Growth drivers3.4.1.1. Protective measures requirement led by rise in asymmetric warfare3.4.1.2. Growing demand in automotive and aerospace applications3.4.1.3. Potential alternative for asbestos and steel3.4.2. Industry pitfalls & challenges3.4.2.1. Higher production cost3.5. Regulatory trends3.5.1. U.S.3.5.2. Europe3.5.3. China3.6. Pricing analysis3.6.1. Regional pricing3.6.2. Product pricing3.6.3. Cost structure analysis3.7. Innovation & sustainability3.7.1. Technology landscape3.7.2. Patent landscape3.8. Growth potential analysis3.9. Porters analysis3.10. Competitive landscape, 20163.10.1. Strategy dashboard3.11. PESTEL analysisChapter 4. Aramid Fiber Market, Product By Application4.1. Aramid fiber market share by product, 2016 & 20244.2. Para aramid4.3. Meta aramid4.4. CopolyamideChapter 5. Aramid Fiber Market, By Application5.1. Aramid fiber market share by application, 2016 & 20245.2. Safety applications5.3. Optical fibers5.4. Frictional materials5.5. Tire reinforcement5.6. Rubber reinforcement5.7. Electrical insulationAbout 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.Contact UsArun HegdeCorporate Sales, USAGlobal Market Insights, Inc.Phone: 1-302-846-7766Toll Free: 1 888-689-0688Email: sales@gminsights.comWeb: Wind Energy Equipment Logistic Market | A.P. Moller-Maersk, DB Schenker, Deutsche Post DHL Group, BDP International, DSV, Expeditors International| Business Opportunity During 2018 2025 Global Wind Energy Equipment Logistic Market 2018 https://www.orianresearch.com/request-sample/515110 https://www.orianresearch.com/enquiry-before-buying/515110 https://www.orianresearch.com/checkout/515110 www.orianresearch.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/company-beta/13281002/ Wind Energy Equipment Logistic Market 2018 Research Report presents a widespread and fundamental study of latest industry trends in the global and regional markets on all critical parameters which include technology, growth, share, profit, price, and competition. Furthermore, this system offers various rewards and recognition program such as peer recognition and employee nomination programs for managers and employee referrals.Get Sample Copy of this Report -The Global Wind Energy Equipment Logistic market 2018 research provides a basic overview of the industry including definitions, classifications, applications and industry chain structure. The Global Wind Energy Equipment Logistic market analysis is provided for the international markets including development trends, competitive landscape analysis, and key regions development status. Development policies and plans are discussed as well as manufacturing processes and cost structures are also analyzed. This report also states import/export consumption, supply and demand Figures, cost, price, revenue and gross margins.Complete report on Global Wind Energy Equipment Logistic Industry 2018 Market Research Report is spread across 94 pages and provides exclusive vital statistics, data, information, trends and competitive landscape details in this niche sector. Inquire more or share questions if any on this report @Global Wind Energy Equipment Logistic market competition by top manufacturers, with production, price, revenue (value) and market share for each manufacturer; the TOP PLAYERS including A.P. Moller-Maersk DB Schenker Deutsche Post DHL Group BDP International DSV Expeditors International The report also focuses on global major leading industry players of Global Wind Energy Equipment Logistic market providing information such as company profiles, product picture and specification, capacity, production, price, cost, revenue and contact information. Upstream raw materials and equipment and downstream demand analysis is also carried out. The Global Wind Energy Equipment Logistic market development trends and marketing channels are analyzed. Finally the feasibility of new investment projects are assessed and overall research conclusions offered.With tables and figures helping analyze worldwide Global Wind Energy Equipment Logistic market, this research provides key statistics on the state of the industry and is a valuable source of guidance and direction for companies and individuals interested in the market.Order a copy of Global Wind Energy Equipment Logistic Market Report 2018 @Market segment by Regions/Countries, this report covers United States EU Japan China India Southeast AsiaMarket segment by Type, the product can be split into Road Sea Air RailMarket segment by Application, Wind Energy Equipment Logistic can be split into Heavy Equipment Manufacturing Mining Renewable Energy Construction OtherMajor Points from Table of Contents:1 Industry Overview of Wind Energy Equipment Logistic2 Global Wind Energy Equipment Logistic Competition Analysis by Players3 Company (Top Players) Profiles3.1 A.P. Moller-Maersk3.1.1 Company Profile3.1.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.1.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.1.4 Wind Energy Equipment Logistic Revenue (Million USD) (2013-2018)3.1.5 Recent Developments3.2 DB Schenker3.2.1 Company Profile3.2.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.2.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.2.4 Wind Energy Equipment Logistic Revenue (Million USD) (2013-2018)3.2.5 Recent Developments3.3 Deutsche Post DHL Group3.3.1 Company Profile3.3.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.3.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.3.4 Wind Energy Equipment Logistic Revenue (Million USD) (2013-2018)3.3.5 Recent Developments4 Global Wind Energy Equipment Logistic Market Size by Type and Application (2013-2018)5 United States Wind Energy Equipment Logistic Development Status and Outlook6 EU Wind Energy Equipment Logistic Development Status and Outlook7 Japan Wind Energy Equipment Logistic Development Status and Outlook8 China Wind Energy Equipment Logistic Development Status and Outlook9 India Wind Energy Equipment Logistic Development Status and Outlook10 Southeast Asia Wind Energy Equipment Logistic Development Status and Outlook11 Market Forecast by Regions, Type and Application (2018-2025)12 Wind Energy Equipment Logistic Market Dynamics13 Market Effect Factors Analysis14 Research Finding/Conclusion15 AppendixMethodologyAnalyst IntroductionData SourceContact Us:Ruwin MendezVice President Global Sales & Partner RelationsOrian Research ConsultantsUS: +1 (832) 380-8827 | UK: +44 0161-818-8027Email: info@orianresearch.comWebsite:Follow Us on LinkedIn:About Us:Orian Research is one of the most comprehensive collections of market intelligence reports on the World Wide Web. Our reports repository boasts of over 500000+ industry and country research reports from over 100 top publishers. We continuously update our repository so as to provide our clients easy access to the world's most complete and current database of expert insights on global industries, companies, and products. We also specialize in custom research in situations where our syndicate research offerings do not meet the specific requirements of our esteemed clients. Saudi Arabia Water Heater Market 2018 Notable industry players market include A.O. Smith, Rheem Manufacturing, Bradford White, Saudi Ceramics, Bosch, Ariston, Ferroli, Rinnai, Viessmann, Vaillant amongst others https://www.gminsights.com/request-sample/detail/2669 https://www.gminsights.com/inquiry-before-buying/2669 https://www.gminsights.com https://gminsights.wordpress.com http://algosonline.com/news The Saudi Arabia water heater market has vastly benefited from the economic and infrastructural boom resulting from the kingdoms oil-derived wealth. A majority of the cities in the country are undergoing massive transformations, incorporating modern building techniques and energy competent structures to outfit a multitude of utilities, serving to a varied demographic. The geographical positioning of Saudi Arabia has permitted the effective harnessing of solar energy, while hydro and oil & gas driven power plants supply low cost electricity to most of the region. Subsequently, solar and electric water heaters form the crux of the Saudi Arabia water heater industry. Availability of sufficient sources to deliver heated water for residential purposes has captured the attention of many international brands, coercing them to enter the market. Further, the application of heated water in commercial establishments such as office spaces, shopping malls, stadiums and hotels aided Saudi Arabia water heater market to procure a remuneration of over USD 450 million in 2017.Increasing population has a direct impact on the energy and utility demands of any country. Reports estimate that the population of Saudi Arabia will reach to about 39.1 million by 2030 as compared to approx. 33.5 million today, signifying the potential of the Saudi Arabia water heater market through the next decade. As the countrys populace is experiencing lifestyle transitions and moving to bigger residences, water supply will be the most instigating factor for government initiatives aimed at delivering cost-effective services to the public. The country has limited access to fresh water and in the process of countering this obstacle has become the worlds largest supplier of desalinated water, using various methods to distill seawater.Get a Sample Copy of this Report @To indicate the influence of water supply on the Saudi Arabia water heater industry, Energy Recovery, Inc. announced in March this year that the company has been awarded a USD 10.1 million contract for supplying its advanced pressure and pump technologies to water projects in the country. These will be installed at several desalination facilities and will produce up to 470,000 cubic meters of water per day. Such progressive ventures ensure that the countrys inhabitants as well as industries are provided with adequate water supply, maintaining a lucrative future for the Saudi Arabia water heater market.Water heaters and water heated steam have extensive domestic applications such as cooking, cleaning, bathing, space heating and industrial uses in paper manufacturing, food processing, waster water management, among others. A key perspective with regards to the Saudi Arabia water heater market is delivering the power generated from multiple sources to the end user. Due to globalization and a collective awareness of environmental issues, people have become more conscious and are preferring cleaner and more energy-efficient appliances.As of late, Saudi Arabia has been making strides towards shifting from its fossil fuel based development to a different energy pathway. A record states that the greatest solar resources in the world extends from the Sahara desert to northwestern Saudi Arabia. The kingdom is set to be a prominent user of solar power, with a solar radiation of up to 2,550 kWh/m2 and currently in a phase of expanding its harness capacity. Until now solar heating and cooling were uncommon in the country but last year a new housing program introduced by the government added solar water heating to the list of suitable technologies, propagating the solar heaters segment within the Saudi Arabia water heater market.Make an inquiry for purchasing this report @Demonstrating the advancements in Saudi Arabia water heater industry, the kingdom had presented to the world a landmark institution, not only in terms of cultural evolution but also infrastructural significance. The Princess Noura bint AbdulRahman (PNBAR) University near Riyadh is the largest university for women in the world and constitutes a blend of modern and traditional architecture. However, a relatively important feature of the university is the solar water heater built for it, which is the biggest solar thermal power plant of its kind in the world. It comprises of a 36,305 m2 collector surface with the solar panels being mounted on the roof. Superior in dimensions and clearly more difficult to implement than residential water heaters, the achievement still denotes a milestone for the Saudi Arabia water heater market. The project is a prime example of large-scale commercial utilization of water heaters outside resorts and business towers.Saudi Arabia is undertaking huge steps to realize its Saudi Vision 2030 which involves developing renewable energy source and providing products that help reduce energy wastage and cost. Following the initiative, industry leaders such as Saudi Ceramics, Rheem manufacturing, A.O. Smith, Bosch, Ariston and Bradford White have established strong distribution networks and affordable, energy-efficient products in the country. With more advancements in heating technologies expected, owing to a swell of regulatory obligations, the Saudi Arabia water heater market is estimated to surpass USD 500 million by 2024.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 researchContact Us:Arun HegdeCorporate Sales, USAGlobal Market Insights, Inc.Phone: 1-302-846-7766Toll Free: 1-888-689-0688Email: sales@gminsights.comWeb:Blog:Explore Our Blog @ Digital Health Monitoring Market Growth Analysis by Manufacturers, Regions, Type, Application & Fitness and Wellness Services by Top Key Players Analysis Medtronic, Cisco, Diversinet, Cerner Corporation, Qualcomm, AT&T Global Digital Health Monitoring Market http://databridgemarketresearch.com/request-a-sample/?dbmr=global-digital-health-monitoring-devices-market http://databridgemarketresearch.com/toc/?dbmr=global-digital-health-monitoring-devices-market http://databridgemarketresearch.com/inquire-before-buying/?dbmr=global-digital-health-monitoring-devices-market Digital Health Monitoring Industry 2018 Global Market research report provide detailed analysis of growth factors of the Digital Health Monitoring industry as well as it gives analysis the market share, trends, size and forecast until 2025 . The Digital Health Monitoring industry report has studied key opportunities in the market and influencing factor which is useful to the business.Consumers get control of the device and the continuous data management, provided with miniaturization, portability, its wireless component, noninvasive body sensors, and integration with the smartphone, decreasing the physician vists for regular checkups.To get more information, Ask for Free Sample Report @:Global Digital Health Monitoring Market is predictable to reach USD 254.7 billion by 2024 from USD 19.8 billion in 2016, growing at a CAGR of 38.8% in the forecast period 2017 to 2024. The new market report contains data for historic years 2015, the base year of calculation is 2016 and the forecast period is 2017 to 2024.Digital health monitoring market is segmented into 5 geographical regions, North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, South America and rest of the world. The geographical regions are further segmented into 24 major countries such as U.S. Canada, Mexico, Germany, France, U.K., Belgium, Switzerland, Belgium, Turkey, Japan, China, Singapore, Brazil, India, Russia, South Africa and many others. U.S. is expected to dominate the market due to the rising acceptance of consumer based healthcare monitoring and awareness among its population.Overview:By Product Type1. Devices (Blood Pressure Monitors, Blood Glucose Monitors, ECG, Oximeters, Peak Flow Monitors, Multi Parameter Monitors, Sleep Apnea Monitors, Neurological Monitors, Others)2. Software (Healthcare Apps, Chronic Disease Apps, Personal Health Apps, Others),Services (Remote Monitoring, Consultancy Services, Treatment Services, Fitness and Wellness Services, Others)To understand Table of Content, Figures and Tables Click Here @Major Manufacturers Analysis: Medtronic, Inc., Apple, Inc., Sanofi, Mobisante, Inc., AirStrip Technologies, Inc., AliveCor, Inc., LifeWatch AG, Nike Inc., Koninklijke Philips N.V., Johnson & Johnson, Jawbone, Omron Corporation, Withings, Among OthersKey questions answered in this report1. What will be the market size in 2024 and what will the growth rate?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?Any Specific Requirements? Questions? Ask to Our Industry Expert @Note: If You Have Any Special Requirements, Please Let Us Know And We Will Offer You The Report As You Want.About Data Bridge Market Research:Data Bridge Market Research set forth itself as an unconventional and neoteric Market research and consulting firm with unparalleled level of resilience and integrated approaches. We are determined to unearth the best market opportunities and foster efficient information for your business to thrive in the market. Data Bridge endeavors to provide appropriate solutions to the complex business challenges and initiates an effortless decision-making process.Contact:Vishal DixitData Bridge Market ResearchTel: +1-888-387-2818Email: sopan.gedam@databridgemarketresearch.com Digital Broadcast and Cinematography Cameras 2018 Global Market Key Players IARRI, Sony Corp, Panasonic Corp, Grass Valley USA LLC, Hitachi LtdN.V. Digital Broadcast and Cinematography Cameras Market 2018 https://www.orianresearch.com/request-sample/590725 https://www.orianresearch.com/enquiry-before-buying/590725 https://www.orianresearch.com/checkout/590725 www.orianresearch.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/company-beta/13281002/ Digital Broadcast and Cinematography Cameras Market 2018 Industry Research Report is a professional and in-depth analysis of key business trends and covers the present scenario and growth prospects of the Global Digital Broadcast and Cinematography Cameras Materials in the market for 2018-2025. This report provides a unique tool for evaluating the Market, highlighting opportunities, and supporting strategic and tactical decision-making.Get Sample Copy of this Report The Global Digital Broadcast and Cinematography Cameras market 2018 research provides a basic overview of the industry including definitions, classifications, applications and industry chain structure. The Global Digital Broadcast and Cinematography Cameras market analysis is provided for the international markets including development trends, competitive landscape analysis, and key regions development status. Development policies and plans are discussed as well as manufacturing processes and cost structures are also analyzed. This report also states import/export consumption, supply and demand Figures, cost, price, revenue and gross margins.Complete report on Global Digital Broadcast and Cinematography Cameras Industry 2018 Market Research Report is spread across 116 pages and provides exclusive vital statistics, data, information, trends and competitive landscape details in this niche sector. Inquire more or share questions if any on this report @Global Digital Broadcast and Cinematography Cameras Market competition by top manufacturers, with production, price, revenue (value) and market share for each manufacturer; the TOP PLAYERS including:- ARRI Sony Corp Panasonic Corp Grass Valley USA LLC Hitachi Ltd Blackmagic Design Pty. Ltd Canon Inc JVCKENWOOD Red.com Inc Silicon Imaging Inc Aaton Digital SAThe report also focuses on global major leading industry players of Global Digital Broadcast and Cinematography Cameras market providing information such as company profiles, product picture and specification, capacity, production, price, cost, revenue and contact information. Upstream raw materials and equipment and downstream demand analysis is also carried out. The Global Digital Broadcast and Cinematography Cameras Market development trends and marketing channels are analyzed. Finally the feasibility of new investment projects are assessed and overall research conclusions offered.With tables and figures helping analyze worldwide Global Digital Broadcast and Cinematography Cameras market, this research provides key statistics on the state of the industry and is a valuable source of guidance and direction for companies and individuals interested in the market.Order a copy of Global Digital Broadcast and Cinematography Cameras Market Report 2018 @On the basis of product, this report displays the production, revenue, price, and market share and growth rate of each type, primarily split into 2K 4K 8K OthersOn the basis of the end users/applications, this report focuses on the status and outlook for major applications/end users, consumption (sales), market share and growth rate for each application, including Cinematography Live Production News & Broadcast ProductionMajor Points from Table of Contents:Global Digital Broadcast and Cinematography Cameras Market Professional Survey Report 20181 Industry Overview of Digital Broadcast and Cinematography Cameras2 Manufacturing Cost Structure Analysis of Digital Broadcast and Cinematography Cameras3 Technical Data and Manufacturing Plants Analysis of Digital Broadcast and Cinematography Cameras4 Global Digital Broadcast and Cinematography Cameras Overall Market Overview5 Digital Broadcast and Cinematography Cameras Regional Market Analysis6 Global 2013-2018E Digital Broadcast and Cinematography Cameras Segment Market Analysis (by Type)7 Global 2013-2018E Digital Broadcast and Cinematography Cameras Segment Market Analysis (by Application)8 Major Manufacturers Analysis of Digital Broadcast and Cinematography Cameras9 Development Trend of Analysis of Digital Broadcast and Cinematography Cameras Market10 Digital Broadcast and Cinematography Cameras Marketing Type Analysis11 Consumers Analysis of Digital Broadcast and Cinematography Cameras12 Conclusion of the Global Digital Broadcast and Cinematography Cameras Market Professional Survey Report 2017MethodologyAnalyst IntroductionData SourceAbout Us:Orian Research is one of the most comprehensive collections of market intelligence reports on the World Wide Web. Our reports repository boasts of over 500000+ industry and country research reports from over 100 top publishers. We continuously update our repository so as to provide our clients easy access to the world's most complete and current database of expert insights on global industries, companies, and products. We also specialize in custom research in situations where our syndicate research offerings do not meet the specific requirements of our esteemed clients.Contact Us:Ruwin MendezVice President Global Sales & Partner RelationsOrian Research ConsultantsUS: +1 (832) 380-8827 | UK: +44 0161-818-8027Email: info@orianresearch.comWebsite:Follow Us on LinkedIn: Global Automotive Inductive Wireless Charging Systems Market Research, Size, Share Analysis by Manufacturers, Regions, Type and Application to 2023 Automotive Inductive Wireless Charging Systems https://www.researchreportsinc.com/sample-request?id=24142 https://researchreportsinc.com/enquiry?id=24142 https://researchreportsinc.com/checkout/?add-to-cart=24142&&attribute_pa_choose-license=single-user&&quantity=1 Global Automotive Inductive Wireless Charging Systems Market Research, Size, Share Analysis by Manufacturers, Regions, Type and Application to 2023Global Automotive Inductive Wireless Charging Systems market Report by Material, Application, and Geography Global Forecast to 2022 is a professional and in-depth research report on the worlds major regional market conditions,Download Free Sample:Focusing on the main regions (North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific) and the main countries (United States, Germany, United Kingdom, Japan, South Korea and China).The report firstly introduced the Automotive Inductive Wireless Charging Systems basics: definitions, classifications, applications and market overview; product specifications; manufacturing processes; cost structures, raw materials and so on.Ask For Customized Report:Then it analyzed the worlds main region market conditions, including the product price, profit, capacity, production, supply, demand and market growth rate and forecast etc. In the end, the report introduced new project SWOT analysis, investment feasibility analysis, and investment return analysis.Buy now:The report includes six parts, dealing with:1.) Basic Information;2.) Asia Automotive Inductive Wireless Charging Systems Market;3.) North American Automotive Inductive Wireless Charging Systems Market;4.) European Automotive Inductive Wireless Charging Systems Market;5.) Market Entry and Investment Feasibility;6.) Report Conclusion.Research Reports Inc. is one of the leading destinations for market research reports across all industries, companies, and technologies. Our repository features an exhaustive list of market research reports from thousands of publishers worldwide.Contact Us:DavidSales Manager,US / Canada Toll Free: +18554192424UK: +4403308087577Email: sales@researchreportsinc.com Heat Exchanger Market Size, Growth Strategies In-depth Study and Forecast to 2023 | Top Key Players: Southern Heat Exchanger, Danfoss A/S , SPX Corporation , Xylem Inc. https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/2963 https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/heat-exchanger-market-2963 https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/check-discount/2963 Heat Exchanger Market Overview:-Heat exchange is an important unit operation that contributes to efficiency and safety of many processes. Heat transfer operations, of heat from one medium to another, holds high significance in industries such as chemicals, food, waste recovery, oil & gas, and others. Heat exchanger is a device that transfers thermal energy between one fluid to another fluid or solid surface and fluid, which are originally at different temperatures and are in thermal contact. The objectives served by heat exchangers include overheating prevention in power generation facilities, waste heat recovery, air cooling, general heat transference, and others.Get Sample Report @Increase in demand for heat exchangers, owing to power requirement for commercial and non-commercial purposes, and increase in population and economic growth in the developing nations are some of the factors driving the market growth. Moreover, technological development in heat exchanger and growth in HVACR (Heating Ventilation Air Conditioning and Refrigeration) process equipment are pushing the market towards growth. Recent study shows that emerging trends in HVAC and its applications, have a direct impact on the dynamics of the heat exchanger industry, such as the development of waste heat recovery heat exchangers and the introduction of exhaust gas recirculation coolers. However, fluctuating prices of raw material acting as a major barrier to the growth of the heat exchanger market.Leading Key Players:-The major player operating in the market of global heat exchanger are Alfa Laval AB (Sweden), Kelvion Holdings Gmbh (Germany), Southern Heat Exchanger (U.S.), Danfoss A/S (Denmark), SPX Corporation (U.S.), Xylem Inc. (U.S.), API Heat Transfer Inc. (U.S), Gunter AG & Co. KG (Germany), Sierra S.p.A (Italy), and Hamon & Cie International SA (Belgium), Koch Heat Transfer Company (U.S.), and Hughes Anderson Heat Exchangers (U.S.).Market Segmentation:-The heat exchangers market is segmented on the basis of type, application, and region. Based on the type, the market is further segmented into shell & tube, plate, regenerative, and air cooled. Amongst these, shell & tube heat exchanger is dominating the market share due to its competitive advantages such as relatively high efficiency, huge potential for heat transfer, low-pressure drops, easy maintenance and repair, reduced wear-outs, and erosion prevention. Besides the shell & tube heat exchangers are economically feasible over regenerative and air cooled heat exchangers and possess better drainage properties. On the basis of application, the heat exchangers market is further classified into chemicals, oil & gas, power generation, HVACR, food & beverages, and others. Chemicals segment hold the largest market share in the heat exchangers market due to their high importance in reaction systems, which involve reactors, purification systems, and distillation columns. Oil & gas industry also holds strong market share, owing to refineries drawing out advantage from different boiling points of different end products of crude oil.Heat exchanger industry is expected to have a huge number of advancements over the forecast period owing to continuous developments in end-use industry coupled with rising demand from industries in the end use sector. The market is also expected to have high expansion activities by multinationals and well-established companies.Browse Complete Report @Global Heat Exchanger Market Analysis:-Europe region is capturing the largest market share of heat exchanger market owing to robust presence in plate & frame heat exchangers with respect to demand as well as production capacity. Moreover, heating demand from the region due to the cold weather condition drives the market for heat exchangers.Asia-Pacific is anticipated to witness sharp expansion and developments in heat exchanger market as compared to other geographical regions, mainly by virtue of growing industrialization and increasing demand from developing nations like China and India. China is likely to register huge developments in its heat exchanger market due to growing demand from chemical as well as refrigeration industries.Major Points of Table Of Content:-1 Executive Summary2 Scope Of The Report2.1 Market Definition2.2 Scope Of The Study2.2.1 Definition2.2.2 Research Objective2.2.3 Assumptions2.2.4 Limitations2.3 Research Process2.3.1 Primary Research2.3.2 Secondary Research2.4 Market Size Estimation2.5 Forecast ModelCheck Discount @3 Market Landscape3.1 Porters Five Forces Analysis3.1.1 Threat Of New Entrants3.1.2 Bargaining Power Of Buyers3.1.3 Bargaining Power Of Suppliers3.1.4 Threat Of Substitutes3.1.5 Segment Rivalry3.2 Value Chain/Supply Chain Analysis4 Market Dynamics4.1 Introduction4.2 Market Drivers4.3 Market Restraints4.4 Market Opportunities4.5 Market TrendsContinued............About Market Research Future:At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.MRFR team have supreme objective to provide the optimum quality market research and intelligence services to our clients. Our market research studies by products, services, technologies, applications, end users, and market players for global, regional, and country level market segments, enable our clients to see more, know more, and do more, which help to answer all their most important questions.Contact:Market Research Future+1 646 845 9312Email: sales@marketresearchfuture.com How Small-to-Medium Enterprise (SME) insurance in UK, Market will grow in the Coming year? Players evolve: Aviva, NFU mutual, Direct line Small-to-Medium Enterprise (SME) insurance https://www.htfmarketreport.com/sample-report/1274579-global-uk-sme-insurance-market-size-study-by-line-of-business https://www.htfmarketreport.com/enquiry-before-buy/1274579-global-uk-sme-insurance-market-size-study-by-line-of-business https://www.htfmarketreport.com/buy-now?format=1&report=1274579 https://www.htfmarketreport.com/reports/1274579-global-uk-sme-insurance-market-size-study-by-line-of-business HTF Market Intelligence released a new research report of 80 pages on title 'Global UK SME insurance Market Size study, by line of business (personal liability, cyber insurance, cargo insurance, property insurance, public liability insurance), by number of employees (insurance for 1-9 employees, insurance for 10-49, insurance for 50-249), by distribution channel (agency, broker, direct writing), and by Regional Forecasts 2017-2025' with detailed analysis, forecast and strategies. The study covers key regions that includes North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, Rest of the World and important players such as AXA, Overview, Financial (Subject to Data Availability), Product Summary etc.Request a sample report @Global UK SME insurance Market to reach USD XXX billion by 2025.Global UK SME insurance Market valued approximately USD XXX billion in 2016 is anticipated to grow with a healthy growth rate of more than XX% over the forecast period 2017-2025. Key factors which gives growth to the UK SME insurance market are With insurers increasingly seeking to grow their share of the SME market competition, farther advances in technology have allowed for products to become more specialized, allowing for niche markets to be targeted more accurately. Brokers have remained the most used channel when purchasing insurance, yet their share of the SME market has decreased significantly in 2017 according to the results of our 2017 UK SME Insurance Survey.The objective of the study is to define market sizes of different segments & countries in recent years and to forecast the values to the coming eight years. The report is designed to incorporate both qualitative and quantitative aspects of the industry within each of the regions and countries involved in the study. Furthermore, the report also caters the detailed information about the crucial aspects such as driving factors & challenges which will define the future growth of the market. Additionally, the report shall also incorporate available opportunities in micro markets for stakeholders to invest along with the detailed analysis of competitive landscape and product offerings of key players.Get Customization in the Report, Enquire Now @The detailed segments and sub-segment of the market are explained below:By line of business : Personal liability Cyber insurance Cargo insurance Property insurance Public liability insuranceBy number of employees: Insurance for employees 1-9 Insurance for employees 10-49 Insurance for employees 50-249By Distribution channel: Agency Broker Direct writingBy Regions:North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, Rest of the WorldBuy this report @Furthermore, years considered for the study are as follows:Historical year 2015Base year 2016Forecast period 2017 to 2025Target Audience of the Global UK SME insurance Market in Market Study: Key Consulting Companies & Advisors Large, medium-sized, and small enterprises Venture capitalists Value-Added Resellers (VARs) Third-party knowledge providers Investment bankers InvestorsCompanies Mentioned in the ReportAXA, Overview, Financial (Subject to Data Availability), Product Summary, Recent Developments, Aviva, NFU mutual, Allianz, Direct line, Hiscox, Zurich, AATABLE OF CONTENTSChapter 1. Global UK SME insurance Market Definition and Scope1.1. Research Objective1.2. Market Definition1.3. Scope of The Study1.4. Years Considered for The Study1.5. Currency Conversion Rates1.6. Report LimitationChapter 2. Research Methodology2.1. Research Process2.1.1. Data Mining2.1.2. Analysis2.1.3. Market Estimation2.1.4. Validation2.1.5. Publishing2.2. Research Assumption....ContinuedView Detailed Table of Content @Thanks for reading this article, you can also get individual chapter wise section or region wise report version like North America, Europe or Asia.HTF Market Report is a wholly owned brand of HTF market Intelligence Consulting Private Limited. HTF Market Report global research and market intelligence consulting organization is uniquely positioned to not only identify growth opportunities but to also empower and inspire you to create visionary growth strategies for futures, enabled by our extraordinary depth and breadth of thought leadership, research, tools, events and experience that assist you for making goals into a reality. Our understanding of the interplay between industry convergence, Mega Trends, technologies and market trends provides our clients with new business models and expansion opportunities. We are focused on identifying the Accurate Forecast in every industry we cover so our clients can reap the benefits of being early market entrants and can accomplish their Goals & Objectives.Craig Francis (PR & Marketing Manager)HTF Market Intelligence Consulting Private LimitedUnit No. 429, Parsonage Road Edison, NJNew Jersey USA 08837Phone: +1 (206) 317 1218sales@htfmarketreport.com Peripheral Artery Disease Market 2018 - Major Participants: Johnson & Johnson, Medtronic, Sanofi S.A., Abbott Laboratories, Bayer etc. Peripheral Artery Disease Market https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/1540 https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/check-discount/1540 https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/enquiry/1540 The Peripheral Artery Disease Market is growing mainly due to rising prevalence of arterial diseases. According to a recent study report published by the Market Research Future, the peripheral artery disease market is booming and expected to gain prominence over the forecast period. The market is forecast to demonstrate a spectacular growth by 2023, surpassing its previous growth records in terms of value with a striking CAGR during the anticipated period (2018 2023).Get Sample Report @Peripheral artery disease, also known as peripheral vascular diseases or peripheral Occlusive diseases, is a narrowing of the peripheral arteries due to deposition of plaque or cholesterol on the walls of artery. The most common symptoms of the disease includes painful cramping in hip, thigh or calf muscles, coldness in lower leg or foot, Hair loss or slower hair growth, no pulse or a weak pulse in legs or feet, sores on toes, feet or legs, and erectile dysfunction in men. Peripheral artery disease is mostly caused by atherosclerosis in the peripheral arteries. In atherosclerosis, plaque becomes brittle, and triggers clot formation which further narrow the artery, or completely block it.Notably, rising research and development expenditure is the primary driver for peripheral artery disease market. In the year of 2016, the R&D expenditure in the Pharmaceutical Industry was EUR 35000 million, suggested by European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Association. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the per capita national health expenditures in 2015 was amounted to be USD 9,990 and total national health expenditure was USD 3.2 trillion. It is also reported that out of total national health expenditures in the US, prescription drugs 10.1% share.Other push factors such as, rising prevalence of arterial diseases, and related complications, increasing awareness among the people, changing reimbursement policies, and growing geriatric population are also fuelling the growth of the market. As per the Pacific Bridge Medical, the government of China partially reimburses the cost of many drugs, provided the drug is in the list of Chinas National Reimbursement Drug List (NRDL) which was first published in 2000. According to the Indian Brand Equity Foundation (IBEF), in 2016 the generics market of India stood at USD 26.1 billion.Despite these drivers, presence of misbranded and spurious drugs, risk of infections, and side effects associated with treatment options are expected to hinder the growth of the market.Global Peripheral Artery Disease Market was $ 2.23 billion in 2016 and is expected to reach at $ 3.47 billion at CAGR of 6.5 % during forecasted period of 2017-2023.Get Discount on Report @Global Peripheral Artery Disease Market - Competitive AnalysisThe peripheral artery disease market is currently dominated by various players. Due to rising research and development expenditure various existing and new marketers are continuously coming up with advanced drugs to control this condition. The global peripheral artery disease market is currently dominated by numerous players.Abbott is one of them by holding a strong share in the market. The company is a global leader that develops and manufactures pharmaceuticals and medical products. In 2017, the company entered into an agreement with Roxwood Medical for U.S. product distribution, and completed the acquisition of St. Jude Medical. In the year 2014, Abbott acquired Topera, Inc., a private, venture-backed medical device company to expand the catheter business. The significant strategies adopted by company is to merge with other market players to expand their portfolio in different business sectors, and to receive product clearance approval from government bodies.Medtronic is another renowned market player in peripheral artery disease market. Medtronic is one of the world's largest standalone medical equipment development company. The company offers a distinct portfolio of products such as Euphora Semicompliant Balloon Dilatation Catheter, NC Euphora Noncompliant Balloon Dilatation Catheter, NC Sprinter RX/ OTW Noncompliant Balloon Dilatation Catheter, and others.Global Peripheral Artery Disease Market - Key PlayersJohnson & Johnson (U.S), Medtronic (Ireland), Sanofi S.A. (France), Abbott Laboratories (U.S), AstraZeneca Plc. (UK), Boston Scientific Corporation (U.S), Angioscore, Inc. (U.S), Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (US), Betagenon AB (Sweden), Proteon Therapeutics, Inc. (US), Merck & Co., Inc. (US), Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals (Germany), Symic Bio, Inc. (US), CardioVascular BioTherapeutics, Inc. (US), nGes MG, Inc. (Japan), TheraVasc Inc. (US) and many more.Global Peripheral Artery Disease Market - Regional AnalysisOn regional basis, Global Peripheral artery market is segmented as North America, Europe, Asia Pacific and Middle East and Africa. Due to a huge people suffering from major or minor peripheral disease problem helps to increase the market of North America. North America has the largest market for peripheral artery disease. Due to increasing obese and diabetic patients the demand for the drugs of the peripheral artery diseases increases. Huge population in Asia pacific region and the swift development in this region has attracted many of the manufactures to develop their market in this region. This region has the highest growth rate for this market.Global Peripheral Artery Disease Market - SegmentationGlobal Peripheral artery disease Market is segmented into types of devices which includes Stents, angioplasty balloon catheters, Drug-Eluting Balloons, Atherectomy devices and other. Stents is further sub segmented into balloon-expandable and self-expandable. Atherectomy devices are further sub segmented into rotational, orbital, laser and directional.By drugs they are segmented as Lipid-lowering drugs, blood pressure lowering drug, glucose regulating drug, clot preventing drug and other. By types of diseases they are segmented as Blood Clotting Disorders, Lymphedema, Atherosclerosis and OtherTo Know More Enquire @Major Table of ContentChapter 1. Report PrologueChapter 2. Market Introduction2.1 Definition2.2 Scope of the Study2.2.1 Research Objective2.2.2 Assumptions2.2.3 LimitationsChapter 3. Research Methodology3.1 Introduction3.2 Primary Research3.3 Secondary Research3.4 Market Size EstimationChapter 4. Market DynamicsContinued.About Market Research Future:At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.In order to stay updated with technology and work process of the industry, MRFR often plans & conducts meet with the industry experts and industrial visits for its research analyst members.Contact:Market Research FutureOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, Hadapsar,Pune 411028Maharashtra, India+1 646 845 9312Email: salesteam@marketresearchfuture.com Variable Frequency Drive Market Size and Share | Global Industry Strategic Assessment of Evolving Technology, Trends and Next Generation Industry analysis by 2023 https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/2440 https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/variable-frequency-drive-market-2440 Variable Frequency Drive Market Overview:-With increasing demand for the appliances owing to rising infrastructure and buildings, the demand for energy efficient devices has increased. Besides, governments in various nations are promoting energy efficiency through technologically advanced devices and cutting cost for energy. For an instance, in 2015, China government has enacted Energy Efficiency Leader Scheme, which aims to provide incentives to those manufacturers, or builders that exceed efficiency benchmarks that are already set by China Energy Label. This will increase the market size of energy efficient systems and thus, variable frequency drive market will be benefitted.Get Sample Report @Variable frequency drive (VFD) is a power electronic device that is capable of regulating the speed of an alternating current motor, by adjusting the frequency along with the voltage of the electrical power, supplied to that motor. With the help of VFDs the otherwise high power consuming appliances and motors can save energy. VFD is mainly used in high voltage alternating current devices, which do not require continuous flow of current, and there is high requirement for speed control. The main advantages of VFD include, energy savings, low motor starting current, managing devices at various speeds, easy installations, operations at high power factor, and others.The global variable frequency drive market is expected to expand at 6.3% CAGR during the forecast period.Rising industrialization and increasing construction of infrastructure and buildings are factors that drive the market for VFD. In the developing countries such as India, Indonesia, China, Nigeria, South Africa, there is high demand for infrastructure to meet the demand for industrialization and urbanization. This has resulted into higher FDI investments in infrastructure projects. According to IBEF, in India, total foreign direct investment in the construction sector including infrastructure sector reached USD 12.3 billion by the end of 2017. Along with this, there has been high demand for VFD owing to energy efficiency, which has been mandatory for manufacturers, offices, industries and commercial buildings.Leading Key Players:-The key players of global variable frequency drive market are ABB Ltd. (Switzerland), Siemens AG (Germany), Rockwell Automation, Inc. (U.S.), WEG (Brazil), Yaskawa Electric Corporation (Japan), and Eaton Corporation Plc. (Ireland). General Electric (U.S.), Emerson Electric Co. (U.S.), Hitachi, Ltd. (Japan), Mitsubishi Electric Corporation (Japan), Schneider Electric (U.S.), and Honeywell International (U.S) are among others.Market Segmentation:-VFD market is segmented on the basis of type, application, end-use, and region. On the basis of type, the market is segmented as AC, DC, and Servo. AC segment is dominating the market due to their high efficiency, longer lifespan and lower maintenance cost. By application, the variable frequency drive market is segmented as pumps, fans, compressors, extruders, and others. Amongst, these, the compressors segment is expected to dominate the market owing to increasing use of refrigeration systems, which is driven by expanding food & beverage industry. The variable frequency drive market, based on end-use, is segmented as oil & gas, industrial, infrastructure, power generation, and others. The infrastructure segment is anticipated to capture the largest market size, due to increasing urbanization and smart cities projects from the growing nations. For an instance, in the Middle East region, the smart cities projects are enhancing, thus, increasing the variable frequency drive market, which is widely used in district cooling and centralized HVAC applications.Browse Complete Report @Global Variable Frequency Drive Market Analysis:-The VFD market is expected to expand at a phenomenal pace during the forecast period owing to automation in power industry and increasing infrastructure sector. Asia Pacific region is expected to dominate the market share in the variable frequency drive market. China, India, South Korea, Japan, and Indonesia are the fastest growing nations, which are the largest markets for infrastructure and industrial sectors. Industries including oil & gas, metals, and mining are adopting the drives to reduce the energy consumption and to limit the CO2 emission. The Middle East region will follow the Asia Pacific region in variable frequency drive market by virtue of rising construction industry. In Europe region, the progressing automotive sector is expected to lead the market growth.About US:-MRFR team have supreme objective to provide the optimum quality market research and intelligence services to our clients. Our market research studies by products, services, technologies, applications, end users, and market players for global, regional, and country level market segments, enable our clients to see more, know more, and do more, which help to answer all their most important questions.Contact: -Market Research Future+1 646 845 9312Email: sales@marketresearchfuture.com Cement Tiles Market 2018-2023 | Global Key Player; Lafarge, GranitiFiandre S.p.A., Ultra Tile, Ross Roof Group, Harmouch, Avente Tile, Villa Lagoon Tile, Vande Hey Raleigh Mfg., Inc., Boral and Uni-Group https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/4754 https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/cement-tiles-market-4754 https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/enquiry/4754 Market Synopsis:Cement tiles, are handmade colorful tiles, used for roofing and floor coverings, have been the best material of choice in last few decades for in residential and non-residential infrastructure. Due to their availability in various shapes, sizes, textures, colors and glazing options, they are increasingly being used in residential, commercial as well as industrial buildings. They can be used anywhere, including floors, walls, fireplace surrounds, pools and patios and building facades. The lightweight, ultra-thin with anti-bacterial properties are becoming an excellent choice for hotels, hospitals, pharmaceutical industries, where hygiene is a primary concern. They are modern enhancements in construction. Technology in construction industry is advancing. Thus, it has been forecast that modern technology in accordance with advance manufacturing technique will certainly bring a wider scope in the technological trends for cement tiles. The global cement tiles market is expected to be driven by their high demand in construction, owing to the unmatched properties.Cement Tiles are also known as hydraulic tiles and concrete tiles. However, it is the hard tile surface covering, and other characteristics that may make them unsuitable in certain locations. Moreover, they require a significant expenditure of energy and carbon dioxide to be manufactured, which act as barriers for the growth of the market.The global cement tiles market is a very dynamic market, and is expected to witness high growth over the forecast period. Focus on construction and infrastructural development makes cement popular among manufacturers. Due to this, there is sustained growth in housing sector, government emphasis on infrastructure, and exceeding demand in cement industry, which results in improved efficiency, transportation and logistics. Tiles are inorganic, non-metallic materials that are made by the infusion of intense heat. Factors such as durability, and ease of maintenance of ceramic tiles, increasing popularity and the rise in the number of hospitals, laboratories, and residential buildings. The market is expected to reach at CAGR of ~4.12% between 2017 and 2023.Get Sample Copy @Cement Tiles Global Market - Competitive AnalysisCharacterized by the presence of several well-established and small players, the global Market of Cement Tiles appears to be highly competitive. Well established players incorporate acquisition, collaboration, partnership, expansion, and product launch in order to gain competitive advantage in this market and to maintain their market position. These key players compete based upon pricing, and services. Vendors operating in the market strive to deliver the best quality products and services based on innovative technologies, and best practices. These Key Players make a substantial investment for R&D and to secure a guaranteed resource for the customers. Cement Tiles market demonstrates a high growth potential which is likely to attract many entrants to the market resulting in to intensified competition further.Flat TileConcrete tiles are the most economical and durable roofing material in the market. It gets stronger with age and continues to harden, especially with sun exposure. The benefits of concrete tiles are its color longevity, and flexibility. It come in the widest range of colors and profiles, as well as it has the ability to update the look with a simple re-coat. Cement tiles are segmented on the basis of type as S Tile, corrugated tile and flat tile. Flat Tiles are gaining popularity due to the crisp and clean appearance that perfectly complements both, traditional and modern architecture.Access Report Details @Ask for your specific company profile and country level customization on reports. Lafarge (France) GranitiFiandre S.p.A. (Italy) Ultra Tile (India) Ross Roof Group (New Zealand) Harmouch (Egypt) Avente Tile (U.S.) Villa Lagoon Tile (U.S.) Vande Hey Raleigh Mfg., Inc. (U.S.) Boral (U.S.), and Uni-Group (U.S.).This research report provides insights, on various levels of analysis such as industry analysis, and market share analysis for the leading players along with their profiles. It also helps in studying the target segments by providing views on emerging & high-growth segments. The market data comprises the basic assessment of the competitive scenarios & strategies in the global Cement Tiles market, including high-growth regions and/or countries, and political, & economic environments. The project report, further, provides views on both the historical market values and pricing & cost analysis.Industry NewsIn June 2017, Soci, has unveiled an extensive new tile launch and line extensions more than doubling the companys most popular porcelain lines. The new product lines include a unique cement series with striking patterns, exquisite waterjet mosaic line extension and nine versatile large-format porcelain collections that feature fix industrial cement looks, two wood looks, a terracotta look and a crisp 3-D textured look.In November 2015, Building material maker Prism Cement Ltd has acquired a 50% stake in Coral Gold Tiles Pvt Ltd. The acquisition will increase Prism Cements tile business capacity to 58 million square metres a year from 54.5 million square metres.In October 2015, Mumbai based cement tile manufacturing firm Bharat Flooring and Tiles Private Limited is planning to acquire an old tile manufacturing unit in Morbi area. The company anticipates the acquisition in Gujarat to cost around Rs 25-30 crore.In February 2018, New York Cement Tile, a prominent luxury cement tile company based in New York, is announcing the launch of a new collection of hand-made tiles, named "Geometrika.Cement Tiles Market - SegmentationGlobal Cement Tiles Market is segmented in to two key dynamics for an easy grasp and enhanced understanding.Segmentation:Based on type, the market has been segmented S Tile, Corrugated Tile, Flat Tile.Based on application, the market has been segmented into Residential, Commercial, Industrial.Segmentation by Regions: Comprises Geographical regions - North America, Europe, Asia Pacific and Rest of the World.Regional AnalysisMarket Research Future analysis shows that the global market of cement tiles is estimated to grow at USD billion by the end of year 2023. In terms of geography, Asia Pacific accounted for a major market share, will continue to dominate the market in the forecast period. This is because of the growth in construction industry, and rapidly rising urban population. Moreover, Governments focusing on housing and infrastructure development, with initiatives such as rural employment guarantee, and low cost housing in urban & rural area under schemes, fuel the cement market demand.Do Enquiry and Ask Question to our Researcher @About Market Research Future:At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.MRFR team have supreme objective to provide the optimum quality market research and intelligence services to our clients. Our market research studies by Components, Application, Logistics and market players for global, regional, and country level market segments, enable our clients to see more, know more, and do more, which help to answer all their most important questions.Contact:Market Research FutureOffice No. 524/528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, HadapsarPune - 411028Maharashtra, India+1 646 845 9312Email: sales@marketresearchfuture.com Slip Additives Market Key Players Analysis 2018 to 2025 BASF, Lubrizol, PMC Biogenix Inc, Croda International, Emery Oleochemicals, Honeywell, Evonik Industries Slip Additives Market https://databridgemarketresearch.com/request-a-sample/?dbmr=global-slip-additives-market https://databridgemarketresearch.com/toc/?dbmr=global-slip-additives-market https://databridgemarketresearch.com/inquire-before-buying/?dbmr=global-slip-additives-market Data Bridge Market Research published a new industry research that focuses on Slip Additives Market and delivers in-depth market analysis and future prospects of Global Slip Additives Market. The study covers significant data which makes the research document a handy resource for managers, analysts, industry experts and other key people get ready-to-access and self-analyzed study along with graphs and tables to help understand market trends, drivers and market challenges. The study is segmented by By Type (Fatty Amides, Erucamide, Oleamide, Stearamide, Waxes & Polysiloxanes), Carrier Resin (LDPE, LLDPE, HDPE, PP), Application (Packaging, Non-Packaging) Geography (North America, South America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Middle East And Africa).Download PDF Sample Copy of Report @Major Players - BYK Additives & Instruments , Lonza Group , Wacker Chemie AG, Abril Industrial Waxes Ltd, PCC Chemax, Inc., Arkema SA, Akrochem Corporation, Ferro Corporation, Faci SAP, Michelman, Inc., Munzing Chemie GmbH, Struktol Company of America, LLC and many more.Regional Analysis - North America South America Europe Asia-Pacific Middle East & AfricaTo Avail 10% Discount On This Report Mail Us on :-sopan.gedam@databridgemarketresearch.comDefinition -Slip additives substances are the sort of fatty amides which are most broadly used to keep up the nature of substrates. These additives have wide range of applications in plastic packaging and paints & coating industries. Erucamide is a sub segment of fatty amide which is estimated to account for the largest share in 2017. There is a high growth of slip additives market due to their cost effectiveness, availability of raw materials easily and processing of polymer resin for different packaging applications. According to Freedonia Group, the US surfactant market reached to USD 14.8 billion and would grow by 3.5% in 2018. It was driven by construction, oil & gas and personal care industries, with paints and coating industry. Recently Daystar acquired Emerald performance material specialities and polymer additives and nitrile business groups. According to Daystar report, it was found that the demand for waxes and additives has consistently increased in volume of printing and packaging applications in 2017. Thus, these factors would affect the growth of this market.Overview -Global Slip Additives Market is expected to reach USD 284.15 million by 2025, from USD 212.5 million in 2017 growing at a CAGR of 5.2% during the forecast period of 2018 to 2025. The upcoming market report contains data for historic year 2016, the base year of calculation is 2017 and the forecast period is 2018 to 2025.Download Detailed TOC @Reason to Buy- Save and reduce time carrying out entry-level research by identifying the growth, size, leading players and segments in the Global Slip Additives Market.- Highlights key business priorities in order to assist companies to realign their business strategies.- The key findings and recommendations highlight crucial progressive industry trends in the Global Slip Additives Market, thereby allowing players to develop effective long term strategies.- Develop/modify business expansion plans by using substantial growth offering developed and emerging markets.- Scrutinize in-depth global market trends and outlook coupled with the factors driving the market, as well as those hindering it.- Enhance the decision-making process by understanding the strategies that underpin commercial interest with respect to products, segmentation and industry verticals.Buy this research report @About Us:Data Bridge Market Research set forth itself as an unconventional and neoteric Market research and consulting firm with unparalleled level of resilience and integrated approaches. We are determined to unearth the best market opportunities and foster efficient information for your business to thrive in the market. Data Bridge endeavors to provide appropriate solutions to the complex business challenges and initiates an effortless decision-making process.Data Bridge adepts in creating satisfied clients who reckon upon our services and rely on our hard work with certitude. We are content with our glorious 99.9 % client satisfying rate.Contact:Data Bridge Market ResearchTel: +1-888-387-2818Email: sopan.gedam@databridgemarketresearch.com E-prescribing Market the Fastest Moving Digital Revolution in Healthcare Industry | It's a Game Changer for Surescripts, eClinical Works & Allscripts Insight 2018-2023 https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/5604 https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/check-discount/5604 https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/enquiry/5604 E-prescribing or electronic prescribing is a technology that helps in the generation and electronic transmission of prescriptions from a physician to pharmacists. E-prescribing helps in improving the safety and quality of patient care and enable access to patient history to ensure better care.The global e-prescribing systems market is estimated to register a healthy growth. The market is majorly driven by the increasing government initiatives and incentive programs to improve quality of healthcare, to cut healthcare cost, and reduce prescription errors. Additionally mandate healthcare programs and projects in the developed countries are propelling the growth of the global e-prescribing systems market.The Global E-Prescribing systems market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 21% during the forecast period.Get Exclusive Sample Copy @Market Segmentation of E-Prescribing Systems Market:The global E-prescribing systems market is segmented on the basis of system type, mode of delivery, by component, and end users. On the basis of the system type, the market is segmented as Stand-alone system, and Integrated system. On the basis of mode of delivery, the market is segmented into Cloud-based, Web-based, and on-premise. On the basis of by component, the market is segmented into Software, Hardware, and Services. On the basis of end user the market is segmented into Hospitals, Clinics and Pharmacy.Leading players in E-Prescribing Systems Market: Aprima, Cerner Corporation, eClinicalWorks Practice Fusion, Inc eMDs, Inc Surescripts Allscripts iMedX Inc Athena health Inc Henry Schein e-prescribeRegional Analysis of E-Prescribing Systems Market:The Americas dominate the global e-prescribing systems market owing to the rising government initiatives and funding. North America holds the largest market share owing to increasing adoption of healthcare management softwares, increasing government initiatives, and extensive use of healthcare IT for patient engagement and administration. Additionally, the mandatory implementation of E-Health Record (EHR), and expansion of Healthcare IT in hospitals and clinics are propelling the growth of this market. For instance, the Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs launched by government has enforced healthcare providers to implement e-prescribing systems.Europe accounts for a healthy market share due to factors such as rising healthcare networks, and healthcare related projects. Growing healthcare expenditure and infrastrurture is driving the e-prescribing systems market in Europe. For instance, adoption of the European Patient Smart Open Services in 2013, has led to electronic submission of patient summaries and prescription. Additionally, according to Eurostat, Germany incurred healthcare expenditure over EUR 321 billion in 2014. Germany, France, and the U.K hold a significant share in the market due to the increasing demand for technologically advanced devices and demand for reduction in prescription errors.Asia Pacific is the expected to register the fastest growth rate for the e-prescribing systems market. Factors such as rising demand for software solutions for patient management, growing emphasis of medical records to enhance patient safety. Additionally, growing demand to reduce human errors and frauds with rising need for new technology is fuelling the growth of electronic medical records. India and China are the major contributors to the market growth due to the rapid development of healthcare sector, increasing healthcare expenditure in these regions, and increasing demand for diagnostic services.On the other hand, the Middle East & Africa is expected to witness limited growth due to limited access to the healthcare resources and lack of awareness. In the Middle East, the growth of the market is driven by increasing healthcare infrastructure and demand for enhanced patient safety.Get Amazing Discount @Some of Major Table of Content for E-Prescribing Systems Market:Chapter 1. Report PrologueChapter 2. Market Introduction2.1 Definition2.2 Scope of the Study2.2.1 Research Objective2.2.2 Assumptions2.2.3 LimitationsChapter 3. Research Methodology3.1 Introduction3.2 Primary Research3.3 Secondary Research3.4 Market Size EstimationChapter 4. Market Dynamics4.1 Drivers4.2 Restrains4.3 Opportunities4.4 Challenges4.5 Macroeconomic Indicators4.6 Technology Trends & Assessment4.5 Macroeconomic IndicatorsTOC Continued.!Have a question Ask to our Experts @About US:Market Research Future (MRFR), enable customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.Contact Us:Market Research FutureOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, Hadapsar,Pune - 411028Maharashtra, IndiaPhone: +1 646 845 9312Email: sales@marketresearchfuture.com Global Industrial Robotics in Electronic and Electrical Market Forecast 2018-2025 : ABB, Adept Technology, Fanuc, KUKA, Yaskawa Electric https://www.qyresearchreports.com/sample/sample.php?rep_id=1866534&type=S https://www.qyresearchreports.com/report/global-industrial-robotics-in-electronic-and-electrical-sales-market-report-2018.htm https://reportanalysis.blogspot.in Qyresearchreports include new market research report Global Industrial Robotics in Electronic and Electrical Sales Market Report 2018 to its huge collection of research reports.This report studies the global Industrial Robotics in Electronic and Electrical market status and forecast, categorizes the global Industrial Robotics in Electronic and Electrical market size (value & volume) by key players, type, application, and region. This report focuses on the top players in North America, Europe, China, Japan, Southeast Asia India and Other regions (Middle East & Africa, Central & South America).There are six main types of industrial robots: cartesian, SCARA, cylindrical, parallel, articulated and collaborative robot. However, there are several additional types of robot configurations. Each of these types offers a different joint configuration.The electronics and semiconductor industry has emerged as an important sector for robotics. While automotive applications still constitute the lions share of robotics, the volume of robots sales to the electronics and semiconductor industry is shooting up.Get A Free access TO Report Sample :The global Industrial Robotics in Electronic and Electrical market is valued at xx million US$ in 2017 and will reach xx million US$ by the end of 2025, growing at a CAGR of xx% during 2018-2025.The major players covered in this reportABBAdept TechnologyFanucKUKAYaskawa ElectricApex Automation and RoboticsAurotekAxiumBaumannDaihenFinsarKawasaki RoboticsGeographically, this report studies the key regions, focuses on product sales, value, market share and growth opportunity in these regions, coveringUnited StatesEuropeChinaJapanSoutheast AsiaIndiaOn the basis of product, this report displays the production, revenue, price, market share and growth rate of each type, primarily split intoArticulated robotCartesian robotSCARA robotCylindrical robotParallel RobotsCollaborative RobotsObtain Report Details @On the basis on the end users/applications, this report focuses on the status and outlook for major applications/end users, sales volume, market share and growth rate for each application, includingMaterial handlingWelding and solderingDispensingAssembling and disassemblingThe study objectives of this report are:To analyze and study the global Industrial Robotics in Electronic and Electrical sales, value, status (2013-2017) and forecast (2018-2025);To analyze the top players in North America, Europe, China, Japan, Southeast Asia and India, to study the sales, value and market share of top players in these regions.Focuses on the key Industrial Robotics in Electronic and Electrical players, to study the sales, value, market share and development plans in future.Focuses on the global key manufacturers, to define, describe and analyze the market competition landscape, SWOT analysis.To define, describe and forecast the market by type, application and region.To analyze the global and key regions market potential and advantage, opportunity and challenge, restraints and risks.To identify significant trends and factors driving or inhibiting the market growth.To analyze the opportunities in the market for stakeholders by identifying the high growth segments.To strategically analyze each submarket with respect to individual growth trend and their contribution to the marketTo analyze competitive developments such as expansions, agreements, new product launches, and acquisitions in the marketTo strategically profile the key players and comprehensively analyze their growth strategies.In this study, the years considered to estimate the market size of Industrial Robotics in Electronic and Electrical are as follows:History Year: 2013-2017Base Year: 2017Estimated Year: 2018Forecast Year 2018 to 2025For the data information by region, company, type and application, 2017 is considered as the base year. Whenever data information was unavailable for the base year, the prior year has been considered.Key StakeholdersIndustrial Robotics in Electronic and Electrical ManufacturersIndustrial Robotics in Electronic and Electrical Distributors/Traders/WholesalersIndustrial Robotics in Electronic and Electrical Subcomponent ManufacturersIndustry AssociationDownstream VendorsAbout Us:QYResearchReports.com delivers the latest strategic market intelligence to build a successful business footprint in China. Our syndicated and customized research reports provide companies with vital background information of the market and in-depth analysis on the Chinese trade and investment framework, which directly affects their business operations. Reports from QYResearchReports.com feature valuable recommendations on how to navigate in the extremely unpredictable yet highly attractive Chinese market.Contact Us:1820 AvenueM Suite #1047Brooklyn, NY 11230United StatesToll Free: 866-997-4948 (USA-CANADA)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Email: sales@qyresearchreports.comBlog: Internet of Things (IoT): Technology, Outlook & Significance 2017 Reportsweb http://www.reportsweb.com/inquiry&RW0001741274/sample http://www.reportsweb.com/inquiry&RW0001741274/buying http://www.reportsweb.com/internet-of-things-iot-technology-outlook-and-significance-2017 ReportsWeb.com published Internet of Things Market from its database. The report covers the market landscape and its growth prospects over the coming years. The report also includes a discussion of the key vendors operating in this market.Publisher's "Internet of Things (IoT): Technology, Outlook & Significance 2017", report analyzes industry opinion on the implementation status of IoT technology or platform, and the challenges of adopting IoT solutions over the next two years. This report also examines executive opinions with regards to technology solutions needed for the implementation of IoT, and business advantages through IoT solutions. This report provides information about projected investment in IoT solutions over the next two years and key industries that are likely to implement IoT solutions within their organizations. Additionally, the report provides information categorized by region and turnover.Survey results reveal that the majority of executives indicated that they are aware about IoT and it is applicable for them. Wi-Fi, mobile computing, and network sensors are crucial for organizations to implement IoT. Executives highlighted that only minor improvement is required in the security program to handle the adoption of IoT, rather than a major overhaul. Deployment of IoT solutions is also helping organizations to track the delivery, inventory, and personnel and infrastructure management. Business benefits such as process automation, profitability enhancement and optimum utilization of workforce is also being achieved by deployment of IoT solutions. Moreover, organizations expect security concerns and privacy issues to pose challenges to the implementation of IoT solutions over the next three years.Request a Sample Report@Report Scope:- Maximum number of organizations are targeting efficient tracking of delivery, inventory and personnel through the deployment of IoT solutions- The majority of executives with business operations in the Rest of the World anticipate IoT solutions will improve optimum utilization of workforce- Logistics, and manufacturing are expected to record significant implementation of IoT over the next two years- Overall, 37% of respondents who operate in Asia-Pacific project planned investment of US$50,000-US$249,999 on IoT solutions over the next two years- The majority of executives from Asia-Pacific expect interoperability concerns as the biggest challenge to implementing IoT solutions.What else does this report offer?- Level of Understanding: examines prevailing understanding of IoT solutions globally- IoT solutions and organizational objectives: determines goals which organizations intend to achieve through deployment of IoT solutions- Potential business gains using IoT solutions: ascertains business benefits that organizations are aiming to achieve through IoT solutions- Potential business gains using IoT solutions: ascertains business benefits that organizations are aiming to achieve through IoT solutions- Investments in IoT solutions: highlights projected investments in IoT solutions over the next two years- Potential business gains using IoT solutions: ascertains business benefits that organizations are aiming to achieve through IoT solutionsReasons to buy:- The report provides information about technology solutions needed for the implementation of IoT projects, and allows readers to make effective business decisions- The report helps readers to strengthen strategic framework by understanding the business benefits to be achieved through IoT solutions- Suppliers will be provided information about challenges anticipated by organizations regarding the implementation of IoT solutions over the next two years- The report highlights projected investment on IoT solutions over the next two years. This will help organizations to allocate budget towards IoT implementation and business expansion- The report helps executives plan their adoption of IoT solutions by providing expected timeframes for implementation.Inquire before Buying@Companies Mentioned:United Parcel Service (UPS)Alex and AnimDHL Trend ResearchCisco Consulting ServicesTable of Contents:IntroductionDefinitions and abbreviationsMethodology and sample sizeRespondent profileImplementation and understanding: IoT solutionsLevel of awareness about IoTAdoption of IoT technology within organizationsTechnology solutions crucial for supporting IoTEvaluation of security program capability to handle IoT adoptionOrganizational objectives and business benefits using IoT solutionsOrganizational goals through IoT installationBusiness advantages through IoT solutionsKey adoption areas, projected investment and implementation concerns: IoT solutionsKey implementation areas for IoT over the next two yearsPlanned investment on IoT solutionsPotential concerns towards IoT adoptionAppendixFor more information about this report@About ReportsWeb:ReportsWeb.com is a one stop shop of market research reports and solutions to various companies across the globe. We help our clients in their decision support system by helping them choose most relevant and cost effective research reports and solutions from various publishers. We provide best in class customer service and our customer support team is always available to help you on your research queriesPune:505, 6th floor, Amanora Township,Amanora Chambers, East Block,Kharadi Road, Hadapsar, Pune-411028 Global Fire Protection Equipment Sales Market : Industry Size, Share, Growth, Forecasts 2018 https://www.marketresearchreports.biz/sample/sample/1866633 https://www.marketresearchreports.biz/reports/1866633/global-fire-protection-equipment-sales-market-research-reports https://www.marketresearchreports.biz/reports/1866633/global-fire-protection-equipment-sales-market-research-reports/toc https://www.marketresearchreports.biz/ Latest industry research report on: Global Fire Protection Equipment Sales Market : Industry Size, Share, Research, Reviews, Analysis, Strategies, Demand, Growth, Segmentation, Parameters, ForecastsThis report studies the global Fire Protection Equipment market status and forecast, categorizes the global Fire Protection Equipment market size (value & volume) by key players, type, application, and region. This report focuses on the top players in North America, Europe, China, Japan, Southeast Asia India and Other regions (Middle East & Africa, Central & South America).Fire protection is the study and practice of mitigating the unwanted effects of potentially destructive fires.Request Sample Copy of the Report @As the industrial sector in emerging economies flourishes, the number of casualties caused by fire accidents have been escalating. Loss of life and property caused by fire accidents is not uncommon. As an attempt to reduce the number of casualties caused by fire accidents worldwide, the installation of fire protection has been increasingly acknowledged. All these factors have stoked the growth of the market.Asia Pacific is likely to emerge with significant opportunities. The growth in this region is chiefly driven by extensive industrial and urbanization activities in countries such as Japan, India, and China. Growing awareness about ensuring safety of people, in public places in particular, has been leading to increasing installation of fire protection equipment. The expanding retail and IT sector in India is exhibiting growing demand for fire protection equipment. Moreover, the growth in this region will be backed by large oil refineries, biotechnology ventures, automobile, petrochemical complexes, steel, food and beverages, and oil and gas sectors.The global Fire Protection Equipment market is valued at xx million US$ in 2017 and will reach xx million US$ by the end of 2025, growing at a CAGR of xx% during 2018-2025.The major players covered in this reportHoneywellJohnson ControlsRobert BoschSiemensTycoNapco SecurityCooperADT Security ServicesANAFBritannia FirePotter RoemerHiren Industrial CorporationLarsen ManufacturingIFSESupremexTian GuangIowa Fire Equipment CompanyNaffcoILT Industrie-LuftfiltertechnikGeographically, this report studies the key regions, focuses on product sales, value, market share and growth opportunity in these regions, coveringUnited StatesEuropeChinaJapanSoutheast AsiaIndiaWe can also provide the customized separate regional or country-level reports, for the following regions:North AmericaUnited StatesCanadaMexicoAsia-PacificChinaIndiaJapanSouth KoreaAustraliaIndonesiaSingaporeRest of Asia-PacificEuropeGermanyFranceUKItalySpainRussiaRest of EuropeCentral & South AmericaBrazilArgentinaRest of South AmericaMiddle East & AfricaSaudi ArabiaTurkeyRest of Middle East & AfricaOn the basis of product, this report displays the production, revenue, price, market share and growth rate of each type, primarily split intoExtinguisherFire HydrantRespiratorOtherOn the basis on the end users/applications, this report focuses on the status and outlook for major applications/end users, sales volume, market share and growth rate for each application, includingMunicipal Fire ServiceIndustrialCommercialResidentialOtherComplete Report Details @The study objectives of this report are:To analyze and study the global Fire Protection Equipment sales, value, status (2013-2017) and forecast (2018-2025);To analyze the top players in North America, Europe, China, Japan, Southeast Asia and India, to study the sales, value and market share of top players in these regions.Focuses on the key Fire Protection Equipment players, to study the sales, value, market share and development plans in future.Focuses on the global key manufacturers, to define, describe and analyze the market competition landscape, SWOT analysis.To define, describe and forecast the market by type, application and region.To analyze the global and key regions market potential and advantage, opportunity and challenge, restraints and risks.To identify significant trends and factors driving or inhibiting the market growth.To analyze the opportunities in the market for stakeholders by identifying the high growth segments.To strategically analyze each submarket with respect to individual growth trend and their contribution to the marketTo analyze competitive developments such as expansions, agreements, new product launches, and acquisitions in the marketTo strategically profile the key players and comprehensively analyze their growth strategies.In this study, the years considered to estimate the market size of Fire Protection Equipment are as follows:History Year: 2013-2017Base Year: 2017Estimated Year: 2018Forecast Year 2018 to 2025For the data information by region, company, type and application, 2017 is considered as the base year. Whenever data information was unavailable for the base year, the prior year has been considered.Key StakeholdersFire Protection Equipment ManufacturersFire Protection Equipment Distributors/Traders/WholesalersFire Protection Equipment Subcomponent ManufacturersIndustry AssociationDownstream VendorsAvailable CustomizationsWith the given market data, QYResearch offers customizations according to the company's specific needs. The following customization options are available for the report:Regional and country-level analysis of the Fire Protection Equipment market, by end-use.Detailed analysis and profiles of additional market players.Request For TOC Report @Table of ContentsGlobal Fire Protection Equipment Sales Market Report 20181 Fire Protection Equipment Market Overview1.1 Product Overview and Scope of Fire Protection Equipment1.2 Classification of Fire Protection Equipment by Product Category1.2.1 Global Fire Protection Equipment Market Size (Sales) Comparison by Type (2013-2025)1.2.2 Global Fire Protection Equipment Market Size (Sales) Market Share by Type (Product Category) in 20171.2.3 Extinguisher1.2.4 Fire Hydrant1.2.5 Respirator1.2.6 Other1.3 Global Fire Protection Equipment Market by Application/End Users1.3.1 Global Fire Protection Equipment Sales (Volume) and Market Share Comparison by Application (2013-2025)1.3.1 Municipal Fire Service1.3.2 Industrial1.3.3 Commercial1.3.4 Residential1.3.5 Other1.4 Global Fire Protection Equipment Market by Region1.4.1 Global Fire Protection Equipment Market Size (Value) Comparison by Region (2013-2025)1.4.2 United States Fire Protection Equipment Status and Prospect (2013-2025)1.4.3 Europe Fire Protection Equipment Status and Prospect (2013-2025)1.4.4 China Fire Protection Equipment Status and Prospect (2013-2025)1.4.5 Japan Fire Protection Equipment Status and Prospect (2013-2025)1.4.6 Southeast Asia Fire Protection Equipment Status and Prospect (2013-2025)1.4.7 India Fire Protection Equipment Status and Prospect (2013-2025)1.5 Global Market Size (Value and Volume) of Fire Protection Equipment (2013-2025)1.5.1 Global Fire Protection Equipment Sales and Growth Rate (2013-2025)1.5.2 Global Fire Protection Equipment Revenue and Growth Rate (2013-2025)2 Global Fire Protection Equipment Competition by Players/Suppliers, Type and Application2.1 Global Fire Protection Equipment Market Competition by Players/Suppliers2.1.1 Global Fire Protection Equipment Sales and Market Share of Key Players/Suppliers (2013-2018)2.1.2 Global Fire Protection Equipment Revenue and Share by Players/Suppliers (2013-2018)2.2 Global Fire Protection Equipment (Volume and Value) by Type2.2.1 Global Fire Protection Equipment Sales and Market Share by Type (2013-2018)2.2.2 Global Fire Protection Equipment Revenue and Market Share by Type (2013-2018)2.3 Global Fire Protection Equipment (Volume and Value) by Region2.3.1 Global Fire Protection Equipment Sales and Market Share by Region (2013-2018)2.3.2 Global Fire Protection Equipment Revenue and Market Share by Region (2013-2018)2.4 Global Fire Protection Equipment (Volume) by Application3 United States Fire Protection Equipment (Volume, Value and Sales Price)3.1 United States Fire Protection Equipment Sales and Value (2013-2018)3.1.1 United States Fire Protection Equipment Sales and Growth Rate (2013-2018)3.1.2 United States Fire Protection Equipment Revenue and Growth Rate (2013-2018)3.1.3 United States Fire Protection Equipment Sales Price Trend (2013-2018)3.2 United States Fire Protection Equipment Sales Volume and Market Share by Players (2013-2018)3.3 United States Fire Protection Equipment Sales Volume and Market Share by Type (2013-2018)3.4 United States Fire Protection Equipment Sales Volume and Market Share by Application (2013-2018)About usMarketResearchReports.biz is the most comprehensive collection of market research reports. MarketResearchReports.Biz services are specially designed to save time and money for our clients. We are a one stop solution for all your research needs, our main offerings are syndicated research reports, custom research, subscription access and consulting services. We serve all sizes and types of companies spanning across various industries.ContactMr. NachiketState Tower90 Sate Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-621-2074Website:Email: sales@marketresearchreports.biz Global Industrial Robotics in Electronic and Electrical Sales Market : Industry Size, Share, Growth, Forecasts 2018 https://www.marketresearchreports.biz/sample/sample/1866534 https://www.marketresearchreports.biz/reports/1866534/global-industrial-robotics-in-electronic-market-research-reports https://www.marketresearchreports.biz/reports/1866534/global-industrial-robotics-in-electronic-market-research-reports/toc https://www.marketresearchreports.biz/ Latest industry research report on: Global Industrial Robotics in Electronic and Electrical Sales Market : Industry Size, Share, Research, Reviews, Analysis, Strategies, Demand, Growth, Segmentation, Parameters, ForecastsThis report studies the global Industrial Robotics in Electronic and Electrical market status and forecast, categorizes the global Industrial Robotics in Electronic and Electrical market size (value & volume) by key players, type, application, and region. This report focuses on the top players in North America, Europe, China, Japan, Southeast Asia India and Other regions (Middle East & Africa, Central & South America).There are six main types of industrial robots: cartesian, SCARA, cylindrical, parallel, articulated and collaborative robot. However, there are several additional types of robot configurations. Each of these types offers a different joint configuration.The electronics and semiconductor industry has emerged as an important sector for robotics. While automotive applications still constitute the lions share of robotics, the volume of robots sales to the electronics and semiconductor industry is shooting up.Request Sample Copy of the Report @The global Industrial Robotics in Electronic and Electrical market is valued at xx million US$ in 2017 and will reach xx million US$ by the end of 2025, growing at a CAGR of xx% during 2018-2025.The major players covered in this reportABBAdept TechnologyFanucKUKAYaskawa ElectricApex Automation and RoboticsAurotekAxiumBaumannDaihenFinsarKawasaki RoboticsGeographically, this report studies the key regions, focuses on product sales, value, market share and growth opportunity in these regions, coveringUnited StatesEuropeChinaJapanSoutheast AsiaIndiaWe can also provide the customized separate regional or country-level reports, for the following regions:North AmericaUnited StatesCanadaMexicoAsia-PacificChinaIndiaJapanSouth KoreaAustraliaIndonesiaSingaporeRest of Asia-PacificEuropeGermanyFranceUKItalySpainRussiaRest of EuropeCentral & South AmericaBrazilArgentinaRest of South AmericaMiddle East & AfricaSaudi ArabiaTurkeyRest of Middle East & AfricaOn the basis of product, this report displays the production, revenue, price, market share and growth rate of each type, primarily split intoArticulated robotCartesian robotSCARA robotCylindrical robotParallel RobotsCollaborative RobotsOn the basis on the end users/applications, this report focuses on the status and outlook for major applications/end users, sales volume, market share and growth rate for each application, includingMaterial handlingWelding and solderingDispensingAssembling and disassemblingComplete Report Details @The study objectives of this report are:To analyze and study the global Industrial Robotics in Electronic and Electrical sales, value, status (2013-2017) and forecast (2018-2025);To analyze the top players in North America, Europe, China, Japan, Southeast Asia and India, to study the sales, value and market share of top players in these regions.Focuses on the key Industrial Robotics in Electronic and Electrical players, to study the sales, value, market share and development plans in future.Focuses on the global key manufacturers, to define, describe and analyze the market competition landscape, SWOT analysis.To define, describe and forecast the market by type, application and region.To analyze the global and key regions market potential and advantage, opportunity and challenge, restraints and risks.To identify significant trends and factors driving or inhibiting the market growth.To analyze the opportunities in the market for stakeholders by identifying the high growth segments.To strategically analyze each submarket with respect to individual growth trend and their contribution to the marketTo analyze competitive developments such as expansions, agreements, new product launches, and acquisitions in the marketTo strategically profile the key players and comprehensively analyze their growth strategies.In this study, the years considered to estimate the market size of Industrial Robotics in Electronic and Electrical are as follows:History Year: 2013-2017Base Year: 2017Estimated Year: 2018Forecast Year 2018 to 2025For the data information by region, company, type and application, 2017 is considered as the base year. Whenever data information was unavailable for the base year, the prior year has been considered.Key StakeholdersIndustrial Robotics in Electronic and Electrical ManufacturersIndustrial Robotics in Electronic and Electrical Distributors/Traders/WholesalersIndustrial Robotics in Electronic and Electrical Subcomponent ManufacturersIndustry AssociationDownstream VendorsAvailable CustomizationsWith the given market data, QYResearch offers customizations according to the company's specific needs. The following customization options are available for the report:Regional and country-level analysis of the Industrial Robotics in Electronic and Electrical market, by end-use.Detailed analysis and profiles of additional market players.Request For TOC Report @Table of ContentsGlobal Industrial Robotics in Electronic and Electrical Sales Market Report 20181 Industrial Robotics in Electronic and Electrical Market Overview1.1 Product Overview and Scope of Industrial Robotics in Electronic and Electrical1.2 Classification of Industrial Robotics in Electronic and Electrical by Product Category1.2.1 Global Industrial Robotics in Electronic and Electrical Market Size (Sales) Comparison by Type (2013-2025)1.2.2 Global Industrial Robotics in Electronic and Electrical Market Size (Sales) Market Share by Type (Product Category) in 20171.2.3 Articulated robot1.2.4 Cartesian robot1.2.5 SCARA robot1.2.6 Cylindrical robot1.2.7 Parallel Robots1.2.8 Collaborative Robots1.3 Global Industrial Robotics in Electronic and Electrical Market by Application/End Users1.3.1 Global Industrial Robotics in Electronic and Electrical Sales (Volume) and Market Share Comparison by Application (2013-2025)1.3.1 Material handling1.3.2 Welding and soldering1.3.3 Dispensing1.3.4 Assembling and disassembling1.4 Global Industrial Robotics in Electronic and Electrical Market by Region1.4.1 Global Industrial Robotics in Electronic and Electrical Market Size (Value) Comparison by Region (2013-2025)1.4.2 United States Industrial Robotics in Electronic and Electrical Status and Prospect (2013-2025)1.4.3 Europe Industrial Robotics in Electronic and Electrical Status and Prospect (2013-2025)1.4.4 China Industrial Robotics in Electronic and Electrical Status and Prospect (2013-2025)1.4.5 Japan Industrial Robotics in Electronic and Electrical Status and Prospect (2013-2025)1.4.6 Southeast Asia Industrial Robotics in Electronic and Electrical Status and Prospect (2013-2025)1.4.7 India Industrial Robotics in Electronic and Electrical Status and Prospect (2013-2025)1.5 Global Market Size (Value and Volume) of Industrial Robotics in Electronic and Electrical (2013-2025)1.5.1 Global Industrial Robotics in Electronic and Electrical Sales and Growth Rate (2013-2025)1.5.2 Global Industrial Robotics in Electronic and Electrical Revenue and Growth Rate (2013-2025)2 Global Industrial Robotics in Electronic and Electrical Competition by Players/Suppliers, Type and Application2.1 Global Industrial Robotics in Electronic and Electrical Market Competition by Players/Suppliers2.1.1 Global Industrial Robotics in Electronic and Electrical Sales and Market Share of Key Players/Suppliers (2013-2018)2.1.2 Global Industrial Robotics in Electronic and Electrical Revenue and Share by Players/Suppliers (2013-2018)2.2 Global Industrial Robotics in Electronic and Electrical (Volume and Value) by Type2.2.1 Global Industrial Robotics in Electronic and Electrical Sales and Market Share by Type (2013-2018)2.2.2 Global Industrial Robotics in Electronic and Electrical Revenue and Market Share by Type (2013-2018)2.3 Global Industrial Robotics in Electronic and Electrical (Volume and Value) by Region2.3.1 Global Industrial Robotics in Electronic and Electrical Sales and Market Share by Region (2013-2018)2.3.2 Global Industrial Robotics in Electronic and Electrical Revenue and Market Share by Region (2013-2018)2.4 Global Industrial Robotics in Electronic and Electrical (Volume) by ApplicationAbout usMarketResearchReports.biz is the most comprehensive collection of market research reports. MarketResearchReports.Biz services are specially designed to save time and money for our clients. We are a one stop solution for all your research needs, our main offerings are syndicated research reports, custom research, subscription access and consulting services. We serve all sizes and types of companies spanning across various industries.ContactMr. NachiketState Tower90 Sate Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-621-2074Website:Email: sales@marketresearchreports.biz Single regulator for e-commerce sector will boost travel e-commerce industry in India up to 30% in next 5 years: Travel Unravel New Delhi, 3rd August, 2018: Travel Unravel Holidays Private Limited, a travel e-commerce player, has welcomed the government move to form a single regulator for e-commerce sector.Speaking on the development, Saurabh Sharma, Director, Travel Unravel Holidays Private Limited, said, This move will organize the entire travel space, which eventually will help everyone in the chain especially the end consumer. The single e-commerce regulator will ensure one umbrella that will drastically reduce the multiplicity of compliance and authorities to deal with, offering seamless business ecosystem.Additionally, it will prevent monopolistic tendencies of big players to usurp the market and infuse competitiveness and fair play in the travel business, he said.Single regulator for e-commerce sector will boost the travel e-commerce industry in India by 30% in next 5 years. Also, with this move, if implemented and executed well, we expect that travel and tourism share in GDP will grow by 1% in next 5 years, said Saurabh.Further Sharma demanded, The move of single e-commerce regulator must also include guidelines for the products offered and pricing, which will benefit the consumers, eventually. However, in todays e-commerce industry where a huge foreign investment is eyeing to tap the market, high competition and high marketing cost also means some companies will inescapably demand adjustment of the product basket.Commenting on the government intent for e-commerce and social media firms to exclusively store customer data locally, Sharma said, Its a great move as it will bring much needed transparency in the travel and tourism sector and address the privacy issues of business as well as customers. Additionally, it will also encourage local companies to innovate and explore their potential within their own country, inviting more competition and thus evolution of better products. Also, it will help the government to keep a check on airlines quarterly or yearly functions and reports, enabling enhancement in the working of e-travel industry and boosting confidence of future travellers.Additionally, the consumer feedback will drastically improve, which will be a great mover for the industry to leap frog. Also, the companies in travel business will need to adhere to the GDPR regulations, so that it is easier to implement the data protection policy in India verses our competitors, especially global ones, Sharma opined.The travel and tourism industry contributed a total of 208.9 billion U.S. dollars to GDP in India in 2016 this refers to approximately 9.6 percent of Indias total GDP, as per reports in the public domain. India had the second highest total tourism GDP contribution in Asia- Pacific, behind China in 2016. The industry also has a substantial effect on employment in India.As per reports, the travel and tourism sector provides employment to around 41.6 million people annually. The number is expected to rise by 2 per cent annum to 52.3 million jobs by 2028 in India. Will the favouring government policies and encouraging ecosystem, the potential of industry is set to only grow, said Saurabh.---------------- Travel and tourism share in GDP is expected to grow up by 1% in next 5 years- Policy to curb monopolistic tendencies of big players, encouraging competitiveness and transparency in the marketLexicon Public Relations & Corporate Consultants (P) Ltd14 Community Centre, East of Kailash, New Delhi - 110065, IndiaPh: +91 11 4803 5550 Plant Asset Management (PAM) System: Market 2018 Segmented by Manufacturers (ABB, Emerson, Honeywell, Rockwell Automation, Siemens, Applied Material, Yokogawa, Endress+Hauser, IFS) and Forecasts to 2025 Qy Research Groups https://www.qyresearchgroups.com/request-sample/1018749 https://www.qyresearchgroups.com/send-an-enquiry/1018749 https://www.qyresearchgroups.com/check-discount/1018749 Plant Asset Management (PAM) System Market Analysis to 2025 is a specialized and in-depth study of the Plant Asset Management (PAM) System industry with a focus on the global market trend. The report aims to provide an overview of global Plant Asset Management (PAM) System market with detailed market segmentation by product/application and geography. The global Plant Asset Management (PAM) System market is expected to witness high growth during the forecast period. The report provides key statistics on the market status of the Plant Asset Management (PAM) System players and offers key trends and opportunities in the market.Plant Asset Management (PAM) System Market Players: ABB Emerson Honeywell Rockwell Automation Siemens Applied Material Yokogawa Endress+Hauser GE Digital Hitachi IBM IFS Petrofac SAP Schneider ElectricGet Sample Copy of This Report Now @Market segment by Type, the product can be split into Ordinary Management System Special Management SystemMarket segment by Application, split into Government Unit Factory Commercial Company OtherMajor regions are as follows: United States Europe China Japan Southeast Asia IndiaThe report provides a detailed overview of the industry including both qualitative and quantitative information. It provides overview and forecast of the global Plant Asset Management (PAM) System market based on product and application. It also provides market size and forecast till 2025 for overall Plant Asset Management (PAM) System market with respect to five major regions, namely; North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific (APAC), Middle East and Africa (MEA) and South America (SAM), which is later sub-segmented by respective countries and segments. The report evaluates market dynamics effecting the market during the forecast period i.e., drivers, restraints, opportunities, and future trend and provides exhaustive PEST analysis for all five regions.Inquire before Buying @Also, key Plant Asset Management (PAM) System market players influencing the market are profiled in the study along with their SWOT analysis and market strategies. The report also focuses on leading industry players with information such as company profiles, products and services offered, financial information of last 3 years, key development in past five years.Reason to Buy- Highlights key business priorities in order to assist companies to realign their business strategies.- The key findings and recommendations highlight crucial progressive industry trends in the Plant Asset Management (PAM) System market, thereby allowing players to develop effective long term strategies.- Develop/modify business expansion plans by using substantial growth offering developed and emerging markets.- Scrutinize in-depth global market trends and outlook coupled with the factors driving the market, as well as those hindering it.- Enhance the decision-making process by understanding the strategies that underpin commercial interest with respect to products, segmentation and industry verticals.Inquire for Discount @Contact Us:Call: +1-888-236-2744Email: sales@qyresearchgroups.comAbout Us:QY Research Groups is a company that simplifies how analysts and decision makers get industry data for their business. Our unique colossal technology has been developed to offer refined search capabilities designed to exploit the long tail of free market research whilst eliminating irrelevant results. QY Research Groups is the collection of market intelligence products and services on the Web. We offer reports and update our collection daily to provide you with instant online access to the world's most complete and current database of expert insights on global industries, companies, products, and trends.Room B1510, Shiji Kemao Building,No.66 Zhongguancun East Road,Haidian District, Beijing,100190, China. Laboratory Information Management Systems (LIMS) Market Demand, Top Key Players Analysis | LabWare,LabVantageSolutions,Abbott,Core,LabLynx,Labworks | Business Opportunity During 2018 2025 Laboratory Information Management Systems (LIMS) Market 2018 https://www.orianresearch.com/request-sample/500041 https://www.orianresearch.com/enquiry-before-buying/500041 https://www.orianresearch.com/checkout/500041 www.orianresearch.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/company-beta/13281002/ Laboratory Information Management Systems (LIMS) Market Research Report 2018 provide detailed analysis of Growth Factors of the Laboratory Information Management Systems (LIMS) industry as well as It gives analysis the Market share, Latest trends, Size and Forecast until 2025 . The Laboratory Information Management Systems (LIMS) industry report has studied key opportunities in the market and influencing factor which is useful to the business.Get Sample Copy of this Report -Laboratory Information Management Systems (LIMS) market 2018 research provides a basic overview of the industry including definitions, classifications, applications and industry chain structure. The Global Laboratory Information Management Systems (LIMS) market analysis is provided for the international markets including development trends, competitive landscape analysis, and key regions development status. Development policies and plans are discussed as well as manufacturing processes and cost structures are also analyzed. This report also states import/export consumption, supply and demand Figures, cost, price, revenue and gross margins.Complete report on Global Laboratory Information Management Systems (LIMS) 2018 Market Research Report is spread across 92 pages and provides exclusive vital statistics, data, information, trends and competitive landscape details in this niche sector. Inquire more or share questions if any on this report @Global Laboratory Information Management Systems (LIMS) market competition by top manufacturers, with production, price, revenue (value) and market share for each manufacturer; the TOP PLAYERS including LabWare, Inc. (U.S.) LabVantage Solutions, Inc. (U.S.) Abbott Informatics (U.S.) Core Informatics, LLC (U.S.) LabLynx, Inc. (U.S.) Labworks, LLC (U.S.) The report also focuses on global major leading industry players of Global Laboratory Information Management Systems (LIMS) market providing information such as company profiles, product picture and specification, capacity, production, price, cost, revenue and contact information. Upstream raw materials and equipment and downstream demand analysis is also carried out. The Global Laboratory Information Management Systems (LIMS) market development trends and marketing channels are analyzed. Finally the feasibility of new investment projects are assessed and overall research conclusions offered.With tables and figures helping analyze worldwide Global Laboratory Information Management Systems (LIMS) market, this research provides key statistics on the state of the industry and is a valuable source of guidance and direction for companies and individuals interested in the market.Order a copy of Global Laboratory Information Management Systems (LIMS) Market Report 2018 @On the basis of product, this report displays the production, revenue, price, market share and growth rate of each type, primarily split into By Component By DeliveryOn the basis of the end users/applications, this report focuses on the status and outlook for major applications/end users, consumption (sales), market share and growth rate for each application, including Pharmaceutical Biotech Chemical Agriculture Oil & GasTable of Contents:Global Laboratory Information Management Systems (LIMS) Market Research Report 20181. Industry Overview of Laboratory Information Management Systems (LIMS)2. Global Laboratory Information Management Systems (LIMS) Competition Analysis by Players3. Company (Top Players) Profiles4. Global Laboratory Information Management Systems (LIMS) Market Size by Type and Application (2013-2018)5. United States Laboratory Information Management Systems (LIMS) Development Status and Outlook6. Europe Laboratory Information Management Systems (LIMS) Development Status and Outlook7. China Laboratory Information Management Systems (LIMS) Development Status and Outlook8. Japan Laboratory Information Management Systems (LIMS) Development Status and Outlook9. Southeast Asia Laboratory Information Management Systems (LIMS) Development Status and Outlook10. India Laboratory Information Management Systems (LIMS) Development Status and Outlook11. Market Forecast by Regions, Type and Application (2018-2025)12. Laboratory Information Management Systems (LIMS) Market Dynamics13. Market Effect Factors Analysis14.AppendixAuthor ListDisclosure SectionResearch MethodologyData SourceAbout Us:Orian Research is one of the most comprehensive collections of market intelligence reports on the World Wide Web. Our reports repository boasts of over 500000+ industry and country research reports from over 100 top publishers. We continuously update our repository so as to provide our clients easy access to the world's most complete and current database of expert insights on global industries, companies, and products. We also specialize in custom research in situations where our syndicate research offerings do not meet the specific requirements of our esteemed clients.Contact Us:Ruwin MendezVice President Global Sales & Partner RelationsOrian Research ConsultantsUS: +1 (832) 380-8827 | UK: +44 0161-818-8027Email: info@orianresearch.comWebsite:Follow Us on LinkedIn: Biorefinery Market Trends Landscape 2025 | Services Company, Inc., and Du Pont De Nemours https://www.tmrresearch.com/sample/sample?flag=B&rep_id=3545 https://www.tmrresearch.com/sample/sample?flag=T&rep_id=3545 https://www.tmrresearch.com/biorefinery-market Global Biorefinery Market: OverviewThe global market for biorefinery has been expanding at a sturdy rate over the past decade and is expected to attract commendable demand over the forthcoming years. Biorefineries are sometimes called as environment-friendly power houses because they convert biomass into usable power. Furthermore, the emission from the conversion of biomass into power is also minimal which is beneficial for the environment. A thermal reactor is used to fractionate the biomass into linear and sequential patterns through steam hydrolysis. biorefineries have become central units for heat generation and production of electricity in rural areas. Furthermore, the government has been assisting the biorefineries in their region which has skyrocketed demand within the global market. Biorefineries produce several components that can be used as raw materials in other industries including bio enzymes, adhesives, polymers, and fibers. The energy requirements of a number of households are expected to be resolved once bio refineries take swing across regions. Moreover, the demand within the global market for bio refineries is also driven by the assistance provided by governments and other public sector entities across the globe.Request Sample Copy of the Report @The global market for biorefineries has been segmented based on the following parameters: feedstock, product, application, and region. Each of these segments give a widespread purview of the global market.The report is a succinct analysis of the forces that have shaped the global market for biorefineries. Moreover, the opportunities that float in the market have been juxtaposed with the restraints to balance the stakes within the market. Regional analysis of the global market for biorefinery has also been covered within the report.Global Biorefinery Market: Key Trends and OpportunitiesDespite the paced growth of technologies across the globe, the problem of uniform electric supply still remains a huge challenge. Hence, the ability of biorefineries to convert biomass into electricity has given an impetus to the growth of the global market. The strict rules stipulated by the government with regards to the burning of bio fuels have brought biorefineries to the fore. This has also been a major driver of demand within the global market for biorefinery and has aided the growth of the global market. Biotechnologists and chemists across the globe have been popularising bio-fuels which has given a boost the demand within the global market. Besides this, the developing countries have become ardent consumers of biorefineries due to their inability to go for high-end options. However, the investment required to set up a biorefinery is extremely high, and this could also hamper market growth.Request TOC of the Report @Global Biorefinery Market: Regional OutlookThe availability of biomass plays the most important role in deciding the lucrativeness of a biorefinery. Hence, regions with substantial amount of biomass are expected to be at the forefront of growth in the global market. The market in North America has been growing at a decent rate due to the emergence of several new and advanced biorefineries. Furthermore, the abundant availability of biomass across Asia Pacific has contributed to thr growth of the global market.Global Biorefinery Market: Competitive LandscapeThe market players are expected to concentrate on procuring raw materials at a swift pace in order to cater to the ever-expanding demand for power. Some of the key players in the global market for biorefinery are Bayer Material Science LLC, Dominion Energy Services Company, Inc., and Du Pont De Nemours.Read Comprehensive Overview of Report @About TMR ResearchTMR Research is a premier provider of customized market research and consulting services to business entities keen on succeeding in todays supercharged economic climate. Armed with an experienced, dedicated, and dynamic team of analysts, we are redefining the way our clients conduct business by providing them with authoritative and trusted research studies in tune with the latest methodologies and market trends. Our savvy custom-built reports span a gamut of industries such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals and metals, food and beverages, and technology and media, among others. With actionable insights uncovered through in-depth research of the market, we try to bring about game-changing success for our clients.Contact:TMR Research,3739 Balboa St # 1097,San Francisco, CA 94121United StatesTel: +1-415-520-1050Email: sales@tmrresearch.com Global Contact Center Analytics Market Trend Analysis by 2025: Cisco Systems, Inc., Genpact Limited, Verint Systems Inc. https://www.qyresearchreports.com/sample/sample.php?rep_id=1862764&type=S https://www.qyresearchreports.com/report/global-contact-center-analytics-market-research-report-2018.htm http://www.qyresearchreports.com https://studyanalyst.blogspot.in Qyresearchreports include new market research report "Global Contact Center Analytics Market Research Report 2018" to its huge collection of research reports.This report studies the global Contact Center Analytics market status and forecast, categorizes the global Contact Center Analytics market size (value & volume) by manufacturers, type, application, and region. This report focuses on the top manufacturers in North America, Europe, Japan, China, and other regions (India, Southeast Asia, Central & South America, and Middle East & Africa).On-premises deployment model has higher adoption than the on-demand deployment model leading. It is majorly deployed by large enterprises owing to various factors, including reduced initial price, data security, higher customization options, and control over the implementation process.The global Contact Center Analytics market is valued at xx million US$ in 2017 and will reach xx million US$ by the end of 2025, growing at a CAGR of 15.5% during 2018-2025.The major manufacturers covered in this report-Cisco Systems, Inc.-Genpact Limited-Verint Systems Inc.-8x8, Inc.-Genesys-Oracle Corporation-Mitel Networks Corporation-SAP SE-Nice Ltd.-Enghouse Interactive-Five9, Inc.-CallminerEnter your information below to receive a free sample copy of this report @We can also provide the customized separate regional or country-level reports, for the following regions:-North America-United States-Canada-Mexico-Asia-Pacific-China-India-Japan-South Korea-Australia-Indonesia-Singapore-Rest of Asia-Pacific-Europe-Germany-France-UK-Italy-Spain-Russia-Rest of Europe-Central & South AmericaOn the basis of product, this report displays the production, revenue, price, market share and growth rate of each type, primarily split into-On-Premises-On-DemandRead Complete Table of Content @On the basis of the end users/applications, this report focuses on the status and outlook for major applications/end users, consumption (sales), market share and growth rate for each application, including-Automatic Call Distributor-Log Management-Risk and Compliance Management-Real-time Monitoring and Reporting-Workforce Optimization-Customer Experience ManagementThe study objectives of this report are:To analyze and study the global Contact Center Analytics capacity, production, value, consumption, status (2013-2017) and forecast (2018-2025);Focuses on the key Contact Center Analytics manufacturers, to study the capacity, production, value, market share and development plans in future.Focuses on the global key manufacturers, to define, describe and analyze the market competition landscape, SWOT analysis.To define, describe and forecast the market by type, application and region.To analyze the global and key regions market potential and advantage, opportunity and challenge, restraints and risks.To identify significant trends and factors driving or inhibiting the market growth.To analyze the opportunities in the market for stakeholders by identifying the high growth segments.About Us:QYResearchReports.com delivers the latest strategic market intelligence to build a successful business footprint in China. Our syndicated and customized research reports provide companies with vital background information of the market and in-depth analysis on the Chinese trade and investment framework, which directly affects their business operations. Reports from QYResearchReports.com feature valuable recommendations on how to navigate in the extremely unpredictable yet highly attractive Chinese market.Contact Us:1820 AvenueM Suite #1047Brooklyn, NY 11230United StatesToll Free: 866-997-4948 (USA-CANADA)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Web:Email: sales@qyresearchreports.comBlog: Global Fruit Processing Equipment Market Research Report 2018-2025 | Bertuzzi, Bhler, FENCO Food Machinery, Turatti Group https://www.qyresearchreports.com/sample/sample.php?rep_id=1866597&type=S https://www.qyresearchreports.com/report/global-fruit-processing-equipment-sales-market-report-2018.htm https://reportanalysis.blogspot.in Qyresearchreports include new market research report Global Fruit Processing Equipment Sales Market Report 2018 to its huge collection of research reports.This report studies the global Fruit Processing Equipment market status and forecast, categorizes the global Fruit Processing Equipment market size (value & volume) by key players, type, application, and region. This report focuses on the top players in North America, Europe, China, Japan, Southeast Asia India and Other regions (Middle East & Africa, Central & South America).Fruit processing equipment is used to process fresh fruits into several products including fruit juices, fruit powders, fruit squash, canned fruits, jams, jellies, frozen fruits, dried fruits, and others Growing opportunities for expansion of fruit processing sector is one of the primary growth factors for the fruit processing equipment market. Developing countries that are agriculture-based offer high growth prospects for the fruit processing industry. For instance, regions such as Ethiopia which are major exporters of fresh fruits to the EU and the Middle East, due to their favorable climate for horticulture offer high growth potential for this market. Similarly, the fruit processing industry in South Africa produces high-quality and niche fruit-based products such as canned fruits. Also, regions such as Azerbaijan and Chile are contributing extensively to the growth of the fruit processing sector, fueling the growth of the juice processing machine market.Get Free PDF for more Professional and Technical insights @The Americas will be the major revenue contributor to the juice processing machine market throughout the forecast period. This region witnesses growth due to the growing population, expanding fruit processing industry, and the increasing number of strategies implemented by vendors. Also, the rising demand for canned fruits will drive the need for canned fruit processing equipment, owing to their ease of use, increased shelf life, and concentrated flavor.The global Fruit Processing Equipment market is valued at xx million US$ in 2017 and will reach xx million US$ by the end of 2025, growing at a CAGR of xx% during 2018-2025.The major players covered in this reportBertuzziBhlerFENCO Food MachineryTuratti Group...Geographically, this report studies the key regions, focuses on product sales, value, market share and growth opportunity in these regions, coveringUnited StatesEuropeChinaJapanSoutheast AsiaIndiaWe can also provide the customized separate regional or country-level reports, for the following regions:North AmericaUnited StatesCanadaMexicoAsia-PacificChinaIndiaJapanSouth KoreaAustraliaIndonesiaSingaporeRest of Asia-PacificObtain Report Details @On the basis of product, this report displays the production, revenue, price, market share and growth rate of each type, primarily split intoPre-Processing EquipmentProcessing EquipmentWeighing, Packaging, and Handling EquipmentOn the basis on the end users/applications, this report focuses on the status and outlook for major applications/end users, sales volume, market share and growth rate for each application, includingFruit Juice, Fruit Powder, and Fruit SquashJams and JelliesFrozen and Dried FruitsCanned FruitsThe study objectives of this report are:To analyze and study the global Fruit Processing Equipment sales, value, status (2013-2017) and forecast (2018-2025);To analyze the top players in North America, Europe, China, Japan, Southeast Asia and India, to study the sales, value and market share of top players in these regions.Focuses on the key Fruit Processing Equipment players, to study the sales, value, market share and development plans in future.Focuses on the global key manufacturers, to define, describe and analyze the market competition landscape, SWOT analysis.To define, describe and forecast the market by type, application and region.To analyze the global and key regions market potential and advantage, opportunity and challenge, restraints and risks.To identify significant trends and factors driving or inhibiting the market growth.To analyze the opportunities in the market for stakeholders by identifying the high growth segments.To strategically analyze each submarket with respect to individual growth trend and their contribution to the marketTo analyze competitive developments such as expansions, agreements, new product launches, and acquisitions in the marketTo strategically profile the key players and comprehensively analyze their growth strategies.In this study, the years considered to estimate the market size of Fruit Processing Equipment are as follows:History Year: 2013-2017Base Year: 2017Estimated Year: 2018Forecast Year 2018 to 2025For the data information by region, company, type and application, 2017 is considered as the base year. Whenever data information was unavailable for the base year, the prior year has been considered.Key StakeholdersFruit Processing Equipment ManufacturersFruit Processing Equipment Distributors/Traders/WholesalersFruit Processing Equipment Subcomponent ManufacturersIndustry AssociationDownstream VendorsAbout Us:QYResearchReports.com delivers the latest strategic market intelligence to build a successful business footprint in China. Our syndicated and customized research reports provide companies with vital background information of the market and in-depth analysis on the Chinese trade and investment framework, which directly affects their business operations. Reports from QYResearchReports.com feature valuable recommendations on how to navigate in the extremely unpredictable yet highly attractive Chinese market.Contact Us:1820 AvenueM Suite #1047Brooklyn, NY 11230United StatesToll Free: 866-997-4948 (USA-CANADA)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Email: sales@qyresearchreports.comBlog: Global Onshore Oil and Gas Pipeline Market Outlook 2018-2025: JFE,Jindal SAW Ltd,EUROPIPE Group https://www.qyresearchreports.com/sample/sample.php?rep_id=1866772&type=S https://www.qyresearchreports.com/report/global-onshore-oil-and-gas-pipeline-market-professional-survey-report-2018.htm http://www.qyresearchreports.com https://studyanalyst.blogspot.in Qyresearchreports include new market research report "Global Onshore Oil and Gas Pipeline Market Professional Survey Report 2018" to its huge collection of research reports.This report studies the global Onshore Oil and Gas Pipeline market status and forecast, categorizes the global Onshore Oil and Gas Pipeline market size (value & volume) by manufacturers, type, application, and region. This report focuses on the top manufacturers in North America, Europe, Japan, China, India, Southeast Asia and other regions (Central & South America, and Middle East & Africa).Pipelines associated with the oil and gas business are utilized to transport a multitude of commodities such as crude oil, natural gas, and refined products over various distances. Onshore pipelines are constructed over land and may even stretch across different countries. Onshore pipelines may either be laid underground or above ground. Crude oil and natural gas are found in rock formations in the earths crust. The depths at which oil and gas reservoirs occur can vary from a few meters to more than 40,000 feet. The valuable petroleum resources are extracted by drilling through the surface to the depths where the resources occur.The leading companies own the advantages on better performance, more abundant products types, better technical and impeccable after-sales service. Consequently, they take the majority of the market share of high-end market. Looking to the future years, the slow downward price trend in recent years will maintain. As competition intensifies, prices gap between different brands will go narrowing. Similarly, there will be fluctuation in gross margin.Significant and lasting barriers make entry into this market difficult. These barriers include, but are not limited to: (i) product development costs; (ii) capital requirements; (iii) intellectual property rights; (iv) regulatory requirement; and (v) Transitions unfair methods of competition.Despite the presence of competition problems, due to the global recovery trend is clear, investors are still optimistic about this area, the future will still have more new investment enter the field. Even so, the market is intensely competitive .The study group recommends the new entrants just having money but without technical advantage and upstream and downstream support do not to enter into this field.Get Complimentary Research Summary Of The Report:The major manufacturers covered in this reportEVRAZBaoji Petroleum Steel PipeJFEJindal SAW LtdEUROPIPE GroupEssar SteelJiangsu Yulong Steel PipeAmerican SpiralWeld Pipe Company, LLCZhejiang KinglandTenarisShengli Oil & Gas PipeCNPC Bohai Equipment ManufacturingCHU KONG PIPEWe can also provide the customized separate regional or country-level reports, for the following regions:North AmericaUnited StatesCanadaMexicoAsia-PacificChinaIndiaJapanSouth KoreaAustraliaIndonesiaSingaporeSpainRussiaRest of EuropeCentral & South AmericaBrazilObtain Table of Content @On the basis of product, this report displays the production, revenue, price, market share and growth rate of each type, primarily split intoERW PipesSSAW PipesLSAW PipesBy Application, the market can be split intoCrude Oil TransmissionNatural Gas TransmissionRefined Products TransmissionThe study objectives of this report are:To analyze and study the global Onshore Oil and Gas Pipeline capacity, production, value, consumption, status (2013-2017) and forecast (2018-2025);Focuses on the key Onshore Oil and Gas Pipeline manufacturers, to study the capacity, production, value, market share and development plans in future.Focuses on the global key manufacturers, to define, describe and analyze the market competition landscape, SWOT analysis.To define, describe and forecast the market by type, application and region.To analyze the global and key regions market potential and advantage, opportunity and challenge, restraints and risks.To identify significant trends and factors driving or inhibiting the market growth.About Us:QYResearchReports.com delivers the latest strategic market intelligence to build a successful business footprint in China. Our syndicated and customized research reports provide companies with vital background information of the market and in-depth analysis on the Chinese trade and investment framework, which directly affects their business operations. Reports from QYResearchReports.com feature valuable recommendations on how to navigate in the extremely unpredictable yet highly attractive Chinese market.Contact Us:1820 AvenueM Suite #1047Brooklyn, NY 11230United StatesToll Free: 866-997-4948 (USA-CANADA)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Web:Email: sales@qyresearchreports.comBlog: Non-plastic Punnets Market to Reap Excessive Revenues by 2028 https://www.factmr.com/connectus/sample?flag=B&rep_id=1399 https://www.factmr.com/connectus/sample?flag=T&rep_id=1399 https://www.factmr.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/factmr/ Non-plastic Punnets Market: OverviewNon-plastic punnets are used in the retail industry to pack fruits, vegetables, etc. Punnets are basically small baskets used to keep fresh produce. They can either be used with or without a lid. Each punnet has small holes carefully positioned to ensure the product can breathe once contained inside. Lids are placed on the punnet for protection or for retail purposes. Non-plastic punnets refer to punnets made from paper, corrugated cardboard, molded fiber and pulp. Non-plastic punnets offer a replacement to polystyrene or plastic punnets. Non-plastic punnets are preferred due to their rigid quality and high recyclability. Non-plastic punnets are biodegradable and are available in numerous sizes. They are available in various capacities such as 100gm, 250gm, 300 gm etc. Non-plastic punnets provide extreme protection solution to the food contained inside it, and they include properties such as water resistance, barrier coatings and rigidity. Non-plastic punnets are easy to use and stack. Non-plastic punnets are suitable for food contact.Non-plastic Punnets Market: DynamicsNon-plastic punnets are made from corrugated cardboard and are recyclable. They are designed to meet the requirements of supply chain as the produce reaches its destination in an optimal condition. Non-plastic punnets are small in size, which minimizes the storage space. Punnets are highly preferred when it comes to the packaging of fruits and vegetables. The factors driving the growth of the non-plastic punnets market are their recyclable nature, optimum protection, strength, stability and water resistant nature of boards. Another major factor is that their usage allows green tax savings in some countries. In October 2017, a new environmentally friendly form of packaging was introduced by Waitrose, an online grocery provider. The company came with a new form of non-plastic punnet that uses tomato leaves to package tomatoes. This form of packaging was created using a latest technology that joins dried tomato leaves and cardboard pulp. Non-plastic punnets are easy to use, they require less storage space and the less transportation cost. Non-plastic punnets are available in digital printing, which allows companies to use them as a platform for brand advertising. Non-plastic punnets come with high-quality prints, which enhance consumer appeal in retail environment leading to increase in sales. Inserts made of printed solid cardboard are laid in the punnets underneath the produce, which provide useful information and advertising.Request For Brochure @Non-plastic Punnets Market: SegmentationThe non-plastic punnets market can be segmented based on material type, capacity, end use and region.By material type, the non-plastic punnets market is segmented as:Corrugated CardboardPaperMolded fiberPulpBy capacity, the non-plastic punnets market is segmented as:50-100gm100-200gm200-500gmOthersBy end use, the non-plastic punnets market is segmented as:FruitsVegetableMeatNon-plastic Punnets Market: Regional OutlookFresh food packaging protects food products from environment conditions and physical damage. It provides consumers with information regarding the ingredients, nutritional values and most importantly it protects the food as per the determined standards. The non-plastic punnets market is expected to grow in accordance with the fresh food packaging industry. With the increasing awareness regarding global warming and other environmental issues, the packaging industry is opting for eco-friendly packaging solutions such as non-plastic punnets packaging. Increase in the demand for packaged fresh food will facilitate the growth of the non-plastic punnets market during the forecast period. Asia Pacific is expected to be the most attractive regional market for fresh food packaging, in view of the increase in demand for fresh produce. This will eventually lead to the growth of non-plastic punnets market in Asia Pacific. Western Europe followed by North America, are the other prominent regions projected to hold a promising share in the global non-plastic punnets market due to the evolving lifestyle of consumers and increasing environment awareness.Request Report TOC @Non-plastic Punnets Market: Key PlayersExamples of some of the key players operating in the global non-plastic punnets market are -Smurfit KappaLC Packaging International BVColruyt GroupKinyi molded-pulpSchumacherGulf East LLCCiesse PaperT&B containersProduce PackagingThe research report presents a comprehensive assessment of the market, and contains thoughtful insights, facts, historical data, and statistically supported and industry-validated market data. It also contains projections using a suitable set of assumptions and methodologies. The research report provides analysis and information according to market segments such as geography, function, and animal type.The report covers an exhaustive analysis on:Market SegmentsMarket DynamicsMarket SizeSupply & DemandCurrent Trends/Issues/ChallengesCompetition & Companies InvolvedTechnologyValue ChainRegional analysis includes:North America (U.S., Canada)Latin America (Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Peru)Western Europe (Germany, Italy, France, U.K, Spain, BENELUX, Nordic, Eastern Europe)CIS and RussiaAsia-Pacific (China, India, ASEAN, South Korea)JapanMiddle East and Africa (GCC Countries, South Africa, Turkey, Iran, Israel)The report is a compilation of first-hand information, qualitative and quantitative assessment by industry analysts, and inputs from industry experts and industry participants across the value chain. The report provides an in-depth analysis of parent market trends, macro-economic indicators, and governing factors, along with market attractiveness as per segments. The report also maps the qualitative impact of various market factors on market segments and geographiesAbout Fact.MRFact.MR is a fast-growing market research firm that offers the most comprehensive suite of syndicated and customized market research reports. We believe transformative intelligence can educate and inspire businesses to make smarter decisions. We know the limitations of the one-size-fits-all approach; that's why we publish multi-industry global, regional, and country-specific research reports.Fact.MR11140 Rockville PikeSuite 400Rockville, MD 20852United StatesEmail: sales@factmr.comWeb:Follow us in Linkedin: Factoring: Market 2018 Global Analysis By Top Key Players Deutsche Factoring Bank, Eurobank, HSBC Group, Mizuho Financial Group, BNP Paribas Qy Research Groups https://www.qyresearchgroups.com/request-sample/1028405 https://www.qyresearchgroups.com/send-an-enquiry/1028405 https://www.qyresearchgroups.com/check-discount/1028405 Factoring Market Analysis to 2025 is a specialized and in-depth study of the Factoring industry with a focus on the global market trend. The report aims to provide an overview of global Factoring market with detailed market segmentation by product/application and geography. The global Factoring market is expected to witness high growth during the forecast period. The report provides key statistics on the market status of the Factoring players and offers key trends and opportunities in the market.Factoring Market Players: Deutsche Factoring Bank Eurobank HSBC Group Mizuho Financial Group BNP Paribas ...Get Sample Copy of This Report Now @Market segment by Type, the product can be split into Domestic Factoring International FactoringMarket segment by Application, split into Large Enterprises Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs)Major regions are as follows: United States Europe China Japan Southeast Asia IndiaThe report provides a detailed overview of the industry including both qualitative and quantitative information. It provides overview and forecast of the global Factoring market based on product and application. It also provides market size and forecast till 2025 for overall Factoring market with respect to five major regions, namely; North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific (APAC), Middle East and Africa (MEA) and South America (SAM), which is later sub-segmented by respective countries and segments. The report evaluates market dynamics effecting the market during the forecast period i.e., drivers, restraints, opportunities, and future trend and provides exhaustive PEST analysis for all five regions.Inquire before Buying @Also, key Factoring market players influencing the market are profiled in the study along with their SWOT analysis and market strategies. The report also focuses on leading industry players with information such as company profiles, products and services offered, financial information of last 3 years, key development in past five years.Reason to Buy- Highlights key business priorities in order to assist companies to realign their business strategies.- The key findings and recommendations highlight crucial progressive industry trends in the Factoring market, thereby allowing players to develop effective long term strategies.- Develop/modify business expansion plans by using substantial growth offering developed and emerging markets.- Scrutinize in-depth global market trends and outlook coupled with the factors driving the market, as well as those hindering it.- Enhance the decision-making process by understanding the strategies that underpin commercial interest with respect to products, segmentation and industry verticals.Inquire for Discount @Contact Us:Call: +1-888-236-2744Email: sales@qyresearchgroups.comAbout Us:QY Research Groups is a company that simplifies how analysts and decision makers get industry data for their business. Our unique colossal technology has been developed to offer refined search capabilities designed to exploit the long tail of free market research whilst eliminating irrelevant results. QY Research Groups is the collection of market intelligence products and services on the Web. We offer reports and update our collection daily to provide you with instant online access to the world's most complete and current database of expert insights on global industries, companies, products, and trends.Room B1510, Shiji Kemao Building,No.66 Zhongguancun East Road,Haidian District, Beijing,100190, China. Hybrid Seeds Market Analysis 2018, Major Key Players Reviews Monsanto Company, Dow Agro Sciences LLC, Syngenta AG, Advanta Limited, Land O Lakes Inc., Takii & Co.,Ltd., Biostadt India Limited, Etc. https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/5015 https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/hybrid-seeds-market-5015 Market Definition:Hybrid seeds are produced by out-breeding natural crops. These seeds are produced through repeated self-pollination of parent plants. These seeds enhance the characteristics of subsequent plants, as they offer better yield, and disease resistance which helps in overall crop productivity.Market Scenario:Leading seed companies are focusing more on R&D for higher yield, disease free, and stress tolerant crops. Innovations and upgrading technology have been the principles of the research wing. Through extensive research, the companies are developing hybrid seeds. These high quality seeds with extraordinary yield help to achieve targets more efficiently. Thus, extensive investments have been made in the field of research and technology to enhance product range, and simultaneously provide new hybrids suited for expanding market needs.Continuously evolving technology has spurred the most important change in the farming practices. Uprising technological advancement in the agricultural science and seed industry has enabled the farmers to engage in effective productivity management. The increasing awareness about hybrid seeds has not only resulted in the increased use of hybrid seed, but also increase in awareness regarding the potential crop yield in the developing nations. Global hybrid oilseed and grain seed industry is experiencing an increase in the new biotech traits and new product registrations, which proves to be one of the key driving elements.Get a Sample Report @Key Players:Some of the key players profiled in the global hybrid seeds market: E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company (U.S.), Monsanto Company (U.S.), Dow AgroSciences LLC (U.S.), Syngenta AG (Switzerland), Advanta Limited (India), Land O Lakes Inc. (U.S.), Takii & Co.,Ltd. (Japan), Biostadt India Limited (India), Beijing Dabeinong Technology Group Co Ltd (China), Henan Goldoctor Seeds Co. Ltd. (China)Segments:Hybrid seeds are segmented on the basis of crop type, which includes cereals & pulses, fruits & vegetables, oilseeds, and others. Among all, the fruits & vegetables segment is dominating owing to increased demand for various types of fruit & vegetable seeds.Hybrid seeds are segmented on the basis of seed treatment, which includes treated, and untreated. Among both, untreated hybrid seed is dominating. The foremost reason for this growth is its use in organic farming because they are not treated with any physical, chemical, or biological methods.Hybrid seeds are segmented on the basis of distribution channel, which includes direct to farmers, through cooperative, and through mediators. Among all, direct to the farmers distribution channel is dominating the market.Access Report Details @Regional Analysis:The global hybrid seeds market is segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and rest of the world (RoW). North America is dominating the hybrid seeds market. This is attributed by the increasing consumption of hybrid seeds due to the increasing population and demand for new and enhanced agricultural products.Additionally, the major key players are actively involved in research & developments to develop products in compliance to North American regulations for hybrid seeds. Furthermore, in Asia Pacific region, India accounts for a major market share owing to increasing demand for fruit & vegetable crops.About Market Research Future:At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.ContactMarket Research FutureOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, Hadapsar,Pune - 411028Maharashtra, India+1 646 845 9312Email: sales@marketresearchfuture.com The public is invited to worship at Metro Tab Church on Sunday at 10:30 a.m. The message preached by Dr. Steve Ball, senior pastor will be part two of "Access". The children's ministry is called Metro Kidz and the staff would love to host your kids as well. Metro Tab Church is a multicultural and non-denominational ministry, and is at 2101 West Shepherd Road. You can also view live at www.metrotab.net. Automotive Under the Hood Composites Market is Likely to be a US$ 6.7 Billion Opportunity in 2023 https://www.stratviewresearch.com/345/Automotive-Under-the-Hood-Composites-Market.html https://www.stratviewresearch.com/345/Automotive-Under-the-Hood-Composites-Market.html https://www.stratviewresearch.com/market/report/Automotive-Transportation.html Stratview Research announces the launch of a new research report on Automotive Under the Hood Composites Market by Vehicle Type (Passenger Car, LCV, and M&HCV), by Application Type (Air Intake Manifold, Radiator End Tank, Engine Cover, Engine Oil Pan, Ducts, Charge Air Cooler, and Others), by Resin Type (PA Composites, PP Composites, PBT Composites, PPS Composites, and Others), by Process Type (Injection-Molded Composites, Blow-Molded Composites, and Others), and by Region (North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and Rest of the World), Trend, Forecast, Competitive Analysis, and Growth Opportunity: 2018-2023.This market report, from Stratview Research, studies under the hood composites market in the global automotive industry over the trend and forecast period of 2012 to 2017 and 2018 to 2023, respectively. The report provides detailed insights on the market dynamics to enable informed business decision making and growth strategy formulation based on the opportunities present in the market.Automotive Under the Hood Composites Market: Research HighlightsComposites have been a game changer in the automotive industry for meeting the challenging requirements of the industry, such as improving fuel economy and reducing carbon emissions. Today, composites are found in almost all major application areas including under the hood, exterior, and interior. Under the hood is the biggest application area, accounting for nearly 40% of the total automotive composites market. Components located at under the hood areas are prone to higher temperature and pressure as compared to the interior and exterior automotive components. This is leading to the entry of high-performance composites for under the hood components in the industry.As per Stratview Research, the automotive under the hood composites market is likely to grow at an impressive growth rate over the next five years to reach US$ 6,667.3 million in 2023. The global auto industry has efficaciously been ushering in a new era of lightweight vehicles with a meticulous investment into composite components in under the hood areas that can address the changing business requirements in the most effective manner. All the major automakers have vigorously been incorporating composite components in their mass-selling vehicle models with the purpose to improve the overall fuel efficiency of vehicles.The author of the report cited that passenger car is expected to remain the growth engine of the global automotive under the hood composites market during the forecast period of 2018 to 2023. Increasing production of passenger cars coupled with increasing penetration of composites in passenger cars is likely to elevate the demand for under the hood composites in the passenger car segment in the foreseeable future.As per the study, air intake manifold is likely to remain the largest application of composites in under the hood market during the forecast period. It is also the largest thermoplastic composite component in the automotive industry. However, charge air cooler (includes end caps and end tanks) is likely to be the fastest-growing component in the market during the same period.Register here for a free sample of the detailed reportBased on the resin type (PA, PP, PBT, PPS and Others), PA (Polyamide) is expected to remain the largest resin type in the market during the forecast period. Major under the hood composite components, such as air intake manifold, radiator end tank, and engine cover, are largely made with PA composites only, PA6 and PA66 being the major resin grades.In terms of region, Asia-Pacific is likely to remain the largest automotive under the hood composites market during the forecast period. The region is the largest automobile producer accounting for more than 50% of vehicles produced worldwide. China and India are the growth engines of the regional demand for automobiles as well as composites for under the hood applications. North America and Europe are also likely to generate sizeable growth opportunities in the coming five years.Major automotive component manufacturers for under the hood applications are Aisin Seiki, Calsonic Kensai, Denso Corporation, MAHLE GmbH, Mann+Hummel, Magneti Marelli, and Rochling Group. Development of lightweight composite components and forming strategic alliances with the automakers are the key strategies adopted by the major players to gain a competitive edge in the market.Report FeaturesThis report provides market intelligence in the most comprehensive way. The report structure has been kept such that it offers maximum business value. It provides critical insights on the market dynamics and will enable strategic decision making for the existing market players as well as those willing to enter the market. The following are the key features of the report:Market structure: Overview, industry life cycle analysis, supply chain analysisMarket environment analysis: Growth drivers and constraints, Porters five forces analysis, SWOT analysisMarket trend and forecast analysisMarket segment trend and forecastCompetitive landscape and dynamics: Market share, product portfolio, product launches, etc.Attractive market segments and associated growth opportunitiesEmerging trendsStrategic growth opportunities for the existing and new playersKey success factorsThis report studies under the hood composites market in the global automotive industry and has segmented the market in five ways, keeping in mind the interest of all the stakeholders across the value chain. Following are the five ways in which the market is segmented:Automotive Under the Hood Composites Market, By Vehicle TypePassenger Car (Regional Analysis: North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and RoW)Light Commercial Vehicle (Regional Analysis: North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and RoW)Medium- & Heavy-Duty Commercial Vehicle (Regional Analysis: North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and RoW)Automotive Under the Hood Composites Market, By Application TypeAir Intake Manifold (Regional Analysis: North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and RoW)Radiator End Tank (Regional Analysis: North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and RoW)Engine Cover (Regional Analysis: North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and RoW)Engine Oil Pan (Regional Analysis: North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and RoW)Ducts (Regional Analysis: North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and RoW)Charge Air Cooler (Regional Analysis: North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and RoW)Others (Regional Analysis: North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and RoW)Automotive Under the Hood Composites Market, By Resin TypePA Composites (Regional Analysis: North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and RoW)PP Composites (Regional Analysis: North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and RoW)PBT Composites (Regional Analysis: North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and RoW)PPS Composites (Regional Analysis: North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and RoW)Others (Regional Analysis: North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and RoW)Automotive Under the Hood Composites Market, By Manufacturing Process TypeInjection-Molded Composites (Regional Analysis: North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and RoW)Blow-Molded Composites (Regional Analysis: North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and RoW)Others (Regional Analysis: North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and RoW)Automotive Under the Hood Composites Market, By RegionNorth America (Country Analysis: The USA, Canada, and Mexico)Europe (Country Analysis: Germany, France, The UK, Russia, Italy, Russia and Rest of Europe)Asia-Pacific (Country Analysis: China, Japan, South Korea, India, and Rest of Asia-Pacific)Rest of the World (Country Analysis: Brazil, Argentina, and Others)About Stratview ResearchStratview Research is a global market intelligence firm providing wide range of services including syndicated market reports, custom research and sourcing intelligence across industries, such as Advanced Materials, Aerospace & Defense, Automotive & Mass Transportation, Consumer Goods, Construction & Equipment, Electronics and Semiconductors, Energy & Utility, Healthcare & Life Sciences, and Oil & Gas.We have a strong team of industry veterans and analysts with an extensive experience in executing custom research projects for mid-sized to Fortune 500 companies, in the areas of Market Assessment, Opportunity Screening, Competitive Intelligence, Due Diligence, Target Screening, Market Entry Strategy, Go to Market Strategy, and Voice of Customer studies.Stratview Research is a trusted brand globally, providing high quality research and strategic insights that help companies worldwide in effective decision making.2nd Floor, Crystal Tower, Telibandha, Raipur, Chhattisgarh 492001Stratview ResearchE-mail: sales@stratviewresearch.comDirect: +1-313-307-4176 Advanced Gas Generators Market: Caterpillar, Cummins, Kohler Power, Generac, Waukesha https://www.marketresearchreports.biz/sample/sample/1866750 https://www.marketresearchreports.biz/reports/1866750/global-advanced-gas-generators-sales-market-research-reports/toc https://www.marketresearchreports.biz/ MarketResearchReports.Biz has recently announced the Latest industry research report on: "Global Advanced Gas Generators Market" : Industry Size, Share, Research, Reviews, Analysis, Strategies, Demand, Growth, Segmentation, Parameters, Forecasts.This report studies the global Advanced Gas Generators market status and forecast, categorizes the global Advanced Gas Generators market size (value & volume) by key players, type, application, and region. This report focuses on the top players in North America, Europe, China, Japan, Southeast Asia India and Other regions (Middle East & Africa, Central & South America).Gas generator is a device used to generate power. The most important part, gas turbine, is a type of internal combustion (IC) engine in which burning of an air-fuel mixture produces hot gases that spin a turbine to produce power.Request Sample Copy of the Report @Europe is expected to be the largest advanced gas generators market with UK, Russia and Germany as major consumers. High cost of power generation coupled with improved natural and biogas distribution channels may be attributed for high product demand in the region. Asia Pacific and Middle East & Africa are expected to witness high growth over the forecast period owing to shifting industrial preference towards cleaner and sustainable power generators. This is further supported by increasing consumer disposable income coupled with favorable government initiative in economies including India, China, Japan and UAE.The global Advanced Gas Generators market is valued at xx million US$ in 2017 and will reach xx million US$ by the end of 2025, growing at a CAGR of xx% during 2018-2025.The major players covered in this reportCaterpillarCumminsKohler PowerGeneracWaukeshaClark-EnergyCentral Maine DieselBriggs & Stratton Power EquipmentIngersoll Rand Energy SystemsYamahaDoosan Portable PowerBryan Power Generation Solutions GroupGeographically, this report studies the key regions, focuses on product sales, value, market share and growth opportunity in these regions, coveringUnited StatesEuropeChinaJapanSoutheast AsiaIndiaWe can also provide the customized separate regional or country-level reports, for the following regions:North AmericaUnited StatesCanadaMexicoAsia-PacificChinaIndiaJapanSouth KoreaAustraliaIndonesiaSingaporeRest of Asia-PacificEuropeGermanyFranceUKItalySpainRussiaRest of EuropeCentral & South AmericaBrazilArgentinaRest of South AmericaMiddle East & AfricaSaudi ArabiaTurkeyRest of Middle East & AfricaOn the basis of product, this report displays the production, revenue, price, market share and growth rate of each type, primarily split intoGas Generators Rated 1.00 to 2.00 MWGas Generators Rated 2.00 to 10.00 MWGas Generators Rated More Than 10 MWOn the basis on the end users/applications, this report focuses on the status and outlook for major applications/end users, sales volume, market share and growth rate for each application, includingPower PlantOil and Gas IndustryIndustrial CompaniesRequest For TOC Report @The study objectives of this report are:To analyze and study the global Advanced Gas Generators sales, value, status (2013-2017) and forecast (2018-2025);To analyze the top players in North America, Europe, China, Japan, Southeast Asia and India, to study the sales, value and market share of top players in these regions.Focuses on the key Advanced Gas Generators players, to study the sales, value, market share and development plans in future.Focuses on the global key manufacturers, to define, describe and analyze the market competition landscape, SWOT analysis.To define, describe and forecast the market by type, application and region.To analyze the global and key regions market potential and advantage, opportunity and challenge, restraints and risks.To identify significant trends and factors driving or inhibiting the market growth.To analyze the opportunities in the market for stakeholders by identifying the high growth segments.To strategically analyze each submarket with respect to individual growth trend and their contribution to the marketTo analyze competitive developments such as expansions, agreements, new product launches, and acquisitions in the marketTo strategically profile the key players and comprehensively analyze their growth strategies.In this study, the years considered to estimate the market size of Advanced Gas Generators are as follows:History Year: 2013-2017Base Year: 2017Estimated Year: 2018Forecast Year 2018 to 2025For the data information by region, company, type and application, 2017 is considered as the base year. Whenever data information was unavailable for the base year, the prior year has been considered.Key StakeholdersAdvanced Gas Generators ManufacturersAdvanced Gas Generators Distributors/Traders/WholesalersAdvanced Gas Generators Subcomponent ManufacturersIndustry AssociationDownstream VendorsAvailable CustomizationsWith the given market data, QYResearch offers customizations according to the company's specific needs. The following customization options are available for the report:Regional and country-level analysis of the Advanced Gas Generators market, by end-use.Detailed analysis and profiles of additional market players.About usMarketResearchReports.biz is the most comprehensive collection of market research reports. MarketResearchReports.Biz services are specially designed to save time and money for our clients. We are a one stop solution for all your research needs, our main offerings are syndicated research reports, custom research, subscription access and consulting services. We serve all sizes and types of companies spanning across various industries.Contact UsState Tower90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-621-2074Website:Email: sales@marketresearchreports.biz High Performance Fluoropolymer Market by Top Key Players Solvay (Belgium), 3M (U.S.), DuPont (U.S.), Shamrock Technologies (U.S.), The Chemours Company (U.S.), DAIKIN INDUSTRIES, Ltd. (Japan), AGCCE (U.K) High Performance Fluoropolymer https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/4238 https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/high-performance-fluoropolymer-market-4238 High Performance Fluoropolymer Market Overview to 2023High Performance Fluoropolymers are fluorocarbons containing polymers with exceptionally high performance material characteristics. They exhibit superior properties such as excellent chemical resistance at elevated temperature, high electrical insulation, and superior mechanical & thermal stability which makes it suitable for numerous end use industries such as aviation & automobiles, electrical & electronics, industrial processing, medical among others.Get your sample @High Performance Fluoropolymer Market- Top 10 Global key Players & Their StrategySome of the prominent players operating in the High Performance Fluoropolymer Market are Solvay (Belgium), 3M (U.S.), DuPont (U.S.), Shamrock Technologies (U.S.), The Chemours Company (U.S.), DAIKIN INDUSTRIES, Ltd. (Japan), AGCCE (U.K), Gujarat Fluorochemicals Ltd. (India), Hubei Everflon Polymer CO., Ltd. (China), Shanghai 3F New Materials Co., Ltd.(China) among others.High Performance Fluoropolymer Market 2018 to 2023 focus on business Intelligence for revenue-generating processes, market research future illustrated some of the typical ways that is used to improve key revenue generation processes. Fundamentally, High Performance Fluoropolymer market analysis, new technology, scope, stake, progress, trends and opportunities are about using detailed and specific business information about client.Target Audience during forecast periodHigh Performance Fluoropolymer manufacturersTraders and Distributors of High Performance FluoropolymerProduction Process IndustriesPotential InvestorsRaw Material SuppliersNationalized LaboratoryBrowse complete report now @Competitive AnalysisThe MRFR studies the key developments adopted by the companies between 2011 and 2016. Players in this market adopted various strategies to expand their footprint and augment their market share. The key strategies followed by most companies in the global high performance fluropolymer market were agreements and collaborations, mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures and expansion.Segmentation AnalysisBased on application, the market is segmented into coatings & liner, mechanical parts & component, film, additives, and others. On the basis of end use industries, the market is categorized into aviation & automobiles, electrical & electronics, industrial processing, medical and others. On the basis of regions, the market is segmented into Asia Pacific, Europe, Latin America, North America, and the Middle East & Africa.Regional AnalysisThe demand for High Performance Fluoropolymer is anticipated to surge in emerging economies such as China, India, and Vietnam due to growing automobile production and sales. Moreover, ease in availability of raw material, relatively cheap labor cost, and implementation of new development strategies to fulfil the demand for High Performance Fluoropolymer in the increasing applications are the important factors for the regional market growth.At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.In order to stay updated with technology and work process of the industry, MRFR often plans & conducts meet with the industry experts and industrial visits for its research analyst members.WantStats Research and Media Pvt. Ltd.Office No. 528, Amanora ChambersPune - 411028, Maharashtra, India Respiratory Drugs and Devices Market 2018 - Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Strategies and Forecast to 2023 Global Respiratory Drugs and Devices Industry https://www.wiseguyreports.com/sample-request/3204436-global-respiratory-drugs-and-devices-market-research-and-forecast-2018-2023 https://www.wiseguyreports.com/reports/3204436-global-respiratory-drugs-and-devices-market-research-and-forecast-2018-2023 https://www.linkedin.com/company/wise-guy-research-consultants-pvt-ltd-?trk=biz-companies-cym Global Respiratory Drugs and Devices IndustryNew Study On 2018-2023 Respiratory Drugs and Devices Market Global Key Player, Demand, Growth, Opportunities And Analysis Forecast Added To Wise Guy Reports DatabaseRespiratory Respiratory Drugs and Devices market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 7% for the forecasted period of 2018-2023. The market is driven by growing prevalence of respiratory diseases and disorders. There is been constant growth in the number of cases asthma and COPD. Asthma and COPD account for approximately 60% of the respiratory Respiratory Drugs and Devices market. An aging population and major lifestyle changes have led to rise in respiratory diseases. Habits such as overeating, smoking, lack of exercise and other major lifestyle changes are causing respiratory diseases. Cases of the respiratory disorder are also on a rise in new-born.Try Sample Report @Respiratory Respiratory Drugs and Devices companies are concentrating on developing new products. Companies are expanding their product portfolios and increasing their R&D budget. Major respiratory devices include therapeutic devices such as masks, ventilators, humidifiers, positive airway pressure devices and other devices. Other respiratory devices include diagnostic and monitoring devices and consumables and accessories meters. Respiratory drugs segmented on the basis of route of administration and drugs class.For Related Reports: Medical Devices IndustryThe regional outlook of global respiratory Respiratory Drugs and Devices market includes: North America, Europe, APAC, and Rest of the world. North America is the leading market. The market is expected to grow at a stable CAGR. North American market is driven by high sales of branded drugs and a high number of patient diagnosed and treated for respiratory diseases. North American marker is followed by Europe, Asia Pacific and Rest of the world. Asia Pacific market is expected to have highest CAGR amongst all regions for the forecasted period of 2018-2023. APAC market is driven by growing aging population with respiratory disorders. Pollution and lifestyle changes are also driving the APAC market.Key Companies in the global respiratory Respiratory Drugs and Devices market include GE Healthcare, Philips Healthcare, Roche, Merck & Co., GlaxoSmithKline, Baxter International, and 97 others.Market SegmentationGlobal respiratory Respiratory Drugs and Devices market by therapeutic devicesGlobal respiratory Respiratory Drugs and Devices market by respiratory drugsGlobal respiratory Respiratory Drugs and Devices market by end usersRESEARCH METHODOLOGYThe market study of respiratory Respiratory Drugs and Devices market is incorporated by extensive primary and secondary research conducted by research team at OMR. Secondary research has been conducted to refine the available data to breakdown the market in various segments, derive total market size, market forecast and growth rate. Different approaches have been worked on to derive the market value and market growth rate. Our team collects facts and data related to the market from different geography to provide a better regional outlook. In the report country level analysis is provided by analyzing various regional players, regional tax laws and policies, consumer behavior and macro-economic factors. Numbers extracted from Secondary research have been authenticated by conducting proper primary research. It includes tracking down key people from the industry and interviewing them to validate the data. This enables our analyst to derive the closest possible figures without any major deviations in the actual number. Our analysts try to contact as many executives, managers, key opinion leaders and industry experts. Primary research brings the authenticity in our reports.Secondary sources include:Financial reports of companies involved in the marketAuthentic Public DatabasesWhitepapers, research-papers and news blogsCompany websites and their product catalogue.The report provides in-depth analysis on pricing, market size, intended quality of the product preferred by consumers, initial norms and vehicle segment. The report will serve as a source for 360-degree analysis of the market thoroughly integrating different models such as PEST analysis, Porter five analysis delivering insights into the market for better business decisions.THE REPORT COVERS:Comprehensive research methodology of Global respiratory Respiratory Drugs and Devices Market.This report also includes detailed and extensive market overview with Analyst insights & key market trends.Exhaustive analysis of macro and micro factors influencing the market guided by key recommendations.Analysis of regional regulations and other government policies impacting the Global respiratory Respiratory Drugs and Devices Market.Insights about market determinants which are stimulating the Global respiratory Respiratory Drugs and Devices Market.Detailed and extensive market segments with regional distribution of forecasted revenues.Extensive profiles and recent developments of market players.For Detailed Reading Please visit WiseGuy Reports @Some points from table of content:1. REPORT SUMMARY1.1. RESEARCH METHODS AND TOOLS1.2. MARKET BREAKDOWN1.2.1. BY SEGMENTS1.2.2. BY GEOGRAPHY1.2.3. BY STAKEHOLDERS2. MARKET OVERVIEW AND INSIGHTS2.1. DEFINITION2.2. ANALYST INSIGHTS & CURRENT MARKET TRENDS2.2.1. KEY FINDINGS2.2.2. RECOMMENDATION2.2.3. CONCLUSION2.3. GAP ANALYSIS2.4. HISTORICAL ANALYSIS2.5. CURRENT MARKET TRENDS2.6. REGULATIONS2.6.1. TAX LAWS2.6.1.1. UNITED STATES2.6.1.2. EUROPEAN UNION2.6.1.3. CHINA2.6.1.4. INDIA2.6.1.5. REST OF THE WORLD2.6.2. DRUG AND DEVICE REGULATIONS2.6.2.1. UNITED STATES2.6.2.2. EUROPEAN UNION2.6.2.3. CHINA2.6.2.4. INDIA2.6.2.5. REST OF THE WORLD2.7. RESPIRATORY DISEASES2.7.1. ASTHMA2.7.2. COPD (CHRONIC OBSTRUCTIVE PULMONARY DISEASE)2.7.3. CYSTIC FIBROSIS2.7.4. CHRONIC BRONCHITIS2.7.5. EMPHYSEMA2.7.6. ALLERGIC RHINITIS2.7.7. OTHER3. MARKET DETERMINANT3.1. MOTIVATORS3.1.1. PREDOMINANCE OF CHRONIC RESPIRATORY DISEASES SUCH AS ASTHMA3.1.2. OVERGROWING GERIATRIC POPULATION BASE ARE MORE PRONE TO RESPIRATORY DISEASES3.1.3. CHANGING LIFESTYLE COUPLED WITH RISE IN OBESITY3.1.4. INNOVATIONS AND DEVELOPMENT OF NEW PRODUCTS3.2. RESTRAINTS3.2.1. REIMBURSEMENTS AND STRICT GOVERNMENT REGULATIONS IN EMERGING MARKETS3.2.2. HIGH PRICE3.2.3. LIMITED AWARENESS AND AVAILABILITY IN EMERGING MARKETS3.3. OPPORTUNITIES3.3.1. GROWING DEMAND FOR REMOTE MONITORING AND HOME CARE PRODUCTS3.3.2. EMERGING MARKETS4. MARKET SEGMENTATION4.1. RESPIRATORY RESPIRATORY DRUGS AND DEVICES BY PRODUCT4.1.1. RESPIRATORY THERAPEUTIC DEVICES4.1.1.1. RESPIRATORY POSITIVE AIRWAY PRESSURE DEVICES4.1.1.1.1. RESPIRATORY CONTINUOUS POSITIVE AIRWAY PRESSURE (CPAP) DEVICES4.1.1.1.2. RESPIRATORY AUTOMATIC PAP (APAP) DEVICES4.1.1.1.3. RESPIRATORY BI-LEVEL PAP (BPAP) DEVICES4.1.1.2. RESPIRATORY MASKS4.1.1.2.1. RESPIRATORY NASAL MASKS4.1.1.2.2. RESPIRATORY FULL-FACE MASKS4.1.1.2.3. RESPIRATORY NASAL PILLOW MASKS4.1.1.2.4. RESPIRATORY ORAL MASKS4.1.1.3. RESPIRATORY VENTILATORS4.1.1.3.1. RESPIRATORY ADULT VENTILATORS4.1.1.3.2. RESPIRATORY INFANT/NEONATAL VENTILATORS4.1.1.4. RESPIRATORY NEBULIZERS4.1.1.5. RESPIRATORY HUMIDIFIERS4.1.1.5.1. RESPIRATORY HEATED HUMIDIFIERS4.1.1.5.2. RESPIRATORY PASSOVER HUMIDIFIERS4.1.1.6. RESPIRATORY OXYGEN CONCENTRATORS4.1.1.6.1. RESPIRATORY FIXED OXYGEN CONCENTRATORS4.1.1.6.2. RESPIRATORY PORTABLE OXYGEN CONCENTRATORS4.1.1.7. RESPIRATORY INHALERS4.1.1.7.1. RESPIRATORY DRY POWDER INHALERS (DPIS)4.1.1.7.2. RESPIRATORY METERED DOSE INHALERS4.1.1.8. RESPIRATORY REUSABLE RESUSCITATORS4.1.1.8.1. RESPIRATORY ADULT RESUSCITATORS4.1.1.8.2. RESPIRATORY INFANT/NEONATAL RESUSCITATORS4.1.1.9. RESPIRATORY NITRIC OXIDE DELIVERY UNITS4.1.1.10. RESPIRATORY OXYGEN HOODS4.1.2. RESPIRATORY DIAGNOSTIC AND MONITORING DEVICES4.1.2.1. RESPIRATORY PULSE OXIMETERS4.1.2.1.1. RESPIRATORY PULSE OXIMETER SENSORS4.1.2.1.2. RESPIRATORY PULSE OXIMETER EQUIPMENT4.1.2.2. RESPIRATORY CAPNOGRAPHS4.1.2.3. RESPIRATORY GAS ANALYZERS4.1.2.4. RESPIRATORY SPIROMETERS4.1.2.5. RESPIRATORY POLYSOMNOGRAPHY (PSG) DEVICES4.1.2.6. RESPIRATORY PEAK FLOW METERS4.1.3. RESPIRATORY CONSUMABLES AND ACCESSORIES METERS4.1.3.1. RESPIRATORY DISPOSABLE MASKS METERS4.1.3.2. RESPIRATORY DISPOSABLE RESUSCITATORS METERS4.1.3.3. RESPIRATORY TRACHEOSTOMY TUBES METERS4.1.3.4. RESPIRATORY NASAL CANNULAS METERS4.1.3.5. RESPIRATORY OTHER CONSUMABLES AND ACCESSORIES METERS4.2. RESPIRATORY RESPIRATORY DRUGS AND DEVICES BY RESPIRATORY DRUGS4.2.1. RESPIRATORY DRUGS BY ROUTE OF ADMINISTRATION4.2.1.1. ORAL RESPIRATORY DRUGS4.2.1.2. INJECTABLE RESPIRATORY DRUGS4.2.1.3. INHALABLE RESPIRATORY DRUGS4.2.2. RESPIRATORY DRUGS BY DRUG CLASS4.2.2.1. ANTICHOLINERGICS4.2.2.2. ANTIHISTAMINES4.2.2.3. BETA2 AGONISTS4.2.2.4. ANTIASTHMATIC COMBINATIONS4.2.2.5. CORTICOSTEROIDS4.2.2.6. LEUKOTRIENE INHIBITORS4.2.2.7. MAST CELL STABILIZERS4.2.2.8. PHOSPHODIESTERASE 4 (PDE4) INHIBITORS4.2.2.9. BRONCHODILATORS4.2.2.10. DECONGESTANTS4.2.2.11. EXPECTORANTS4.2.2.12. OTHER RESPIRATORY DRUGS4.3. RESPIRATORY RESPIRATORY DRUGS AND DEVICES BY END USERS4.3.1. HOSPITALS4.3.2. HOME CARE4.3.3. OTHER END USERS5. COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE5.1. KEY STRATEGY ANALYSIS5.2. KEY COMPANY ANALYSIS6. REGIONAL ANALYSIS6.1. NORTH AMERICA6.1.1. UNITED STATES6.1.2. CANADA6.1.3. REST OF NORTH AMERICA6.2. EUROPE6.2.1. UNITED KINGDOM6.2.2. FRANCE6.2.3. GERMANY6.2.4. ITALY6.2.5. SPAIN6.2.6. REST OF EUROPE6.3. ASIA PACIFIC6.3.1. INDIA6.3.2. CHINA6.3.3. JAPAN6.4. REST OF THE WORLD7. COMPANY PROFILES7.1. ASTRAZENECA7.2. ADAMIS (ADMP)7.3. ADS BIOTECHNOLOGY7.4. AIR LIQUIDE7.5. ALIOS BIOPHARMA INC.7.6. ALUNG TECHNOLOGIES7.7. ALVOGEN7.8. ANAXSYS7.9. APPLIED BIOCODE INC7.10. APTIMMUNE BIOLOGICS INC7.11. APTUIT7.12. ARADIGM7.13. AROS PHARMA APS7.14. ARROW THERAPEUTICS, LTD.7.15. AVITA MEDICAL7.16. BAXTER INTERNATIONAL7.17. BAYER AG7.18. BEXIMCO PHARMACEUTICALS LTD7.19. BIOMARCK PHARMACEUTICALS, LTD7.20. BIOXYDYN LIMITED7.21. BOEHRINGER INGELHEIM7.22. CAPELLON PHARMACEUTICALS, LTD.7.23. CHART INDUSTRIES7.24. CHIESI FARMACEUTICI S.P.A7.25. CIRCADIANCE7.26. CIRCASSIA.7.27. CIVITAS THERAPEUTICS, INC.7.28. COMPUMEDICS LIMITED7.29. COVIDIEN PLC7.30. DAINIPPON SUMITOMO PHARMA CO., LTD.7.31. DRAGER MEDICAL GMBH7.32. EDIMER PHARMACEUTICALS7.33. EDIXOMED LTD.7.34. ENANTA PHARMACEUTICALS7.35. FARON7.36. FISHER AND PAYKEL HEALTHCARE CORP. LTD7.37. GE HEALTHCARE LIMITED7.38. GECKO HEALTH INNOVATIONS, INC.7.39. GILBERT TECHNOLOGIES7.40. GILEAD SCIENCES, INC.7.41. GLAXOSMITHKLINE7.42. GRIFOLS7.43. H&T PRESSPART7.44. HAMILTON MEDICAL AG7.45. INVACARE CORPORATION7.46. MERCK AND CO.7.47. MERIDIAN BIOSCIENCE7.48. METHAPHARM7.49. MICROBOT MEDICAL7.50. MYLAN7.51. NABRIVA THERAPEUTICS7.52. NEPHRON PHARMACEUTICALS CORPORATION7.53. NOVABIOTICS7.54. NOVALUNG7.55. NOVARTIS AGContinued.For more information or any query mail at sales@wiseguyreports.comAbout UsWise Guy Reports is part of the Wise Guy Consultants Pvt. Ltd. and offers premium progressive statistical surveying, market research reports, analysis & forecast data for industries and governments around the globe. Wise Guy Reports understand how essential statistical surveying information is for your organization or association. Therefore, we have associated with the top publishers and research firms all specialized in specific domains, ensuring you will receive the most reliable and up to date research data available.Contact Us:Norah Trent+1 646 845 9349 / +44 208 133 9349Follow on LinkedIn: Marine Engine Fuel Injection System Market: Rolls-Royce, Woodward, Caterpillar, MAN https://www.marketresearchreports.biz/sample/sample/1866785 https://www.marketresearchreports.biz/reports/1866785/global-marine-engine-fuel-injection-market-research-reports/toc https://www.marketresearchreports.biz/ MarketResearchReports.Biz has recently announced the Latest industry research report on: "Global Marine Engine Fuel Injection System Market" : Industry Size, Share, Research, Reviews, Analysis, Strategies, Demand, Growth, Segmentation, Parameters, Forecasts.This report studies the global Marine Engine Fuel Injection System market status and forecast, categorizes the global Marine Engine Fuel Injection System market size (value & volume) by manufacturers, type, application, and region. This report focuses on the top manufacturers in North America, Europe, Japan, China, India, Southeast Asia and other regions (Central & South America, and Middle East & Africa).The common rail system, as the name suggest, is a system which is common for every cylinder or unit of the marine engine. Marine engines of the early times had a fuel system, wherein each unit had its own jerk pump and the oil pressure was supplied through the jerk pumps.In the last several years, the development of marine fuel injection system industry is steady. Growth of the shipbuilding industry and increasing international maritime trade are the major factors driving the market. Moreover, stringent emission norms imposed by International Maritime Organization would also boost the demand for new marine fuel injection.Request Sample Copy of the Report @Commercial vessel applications have the most powerful and high capacity marine engines compared to other applications. Commercial vessels contribute about 59% to the global marine fuel injection system market in 2016, followed by inland waterways vessels and offshore support vessels. With rise in international sea borne trade, the demand for commercial vessels is increasing, driving the marine fuel injection market. Meanwhile, as China, South Korea, Japan, and Indonesia are the major manufacturing countries of commercial vessels; the demand for fuel injection systems is more in these countries.Due to the stricter emission policies, High Press Common Rail Injection System is the more and more popular due to the sufficient burning. The market share of common rail injection system was about 52.6% in 2016 and the figure is expected to be higher in the next several years.The global Marine Engine Fuel Injection System market is valued at xx million US$ in 2017 and will reach xx million US$ by the end of 2025, growing at a CAGR of xx% during 2018-2025.The major manufacturers covered in this reportRolls-RoyceWoodwardCaterpillarMANYanmarCumminsLiebherrBoschDelphiGeographically, this report studies the top producers and consumers, focuses on product capacity, production, value, consumption, market share and growth opportunity in these key regions, coveringNorth AmericaEuropeChinaJapanIndiaSoutheast AsiaOther regions (Central & South America, Middle East & Africa)We can also provide the customized separate regional or country-level reports, for the following regions:North AmericaUnited StatesCanadaMexicoAsia-PacificChinaIndiaJapanSouth KoreaAustraliaIndonesiaSingaporeRest of Asia-PacificEuropeGermanyFranceUKItalySpainRussiaRest of EuropeCentral & South AmericaBrazilArgentinaRest of South AmericaMiddle East & AfricaSaudi ArabiaTurkeyRest of Middle East & AfricaOn the basis of product, this report displays the production, revenue, price, market share and growth rate of each type, primarily split intoPump-Line-Nozzle SystemCommon Rail SystemOther Injection SystemBy Application, the market can be split intoCommercial VesselsInland Waterway VesselsOffshore Support VesselsRequest For TOC Report @The study objectives of this report are:To analyze and study the global Marine Engine Fuel Injection System capacity, production, value, consumption, status (2013-2017) and forecast (2018-2025);Focuses on the key Marine Engine Fuel Injection System manufacturers, to study the capacity, production, value, market share and development plans in future.Focuses on the global key manufacturers, to define, describe and analyze the market competition landscape, SWOT analysis.To define, describe and forecast the market by type, application and region.To analyze the global and key regions market potential and advantage, opportunity and challenge, restraints and risks.To identify significant trends and factors driving or inhibiting the market growth.To analyze the opportunities in the market for stakeholders by identifying the high growth segments.To strategically analyze each submarket with respect to individual growth trend and their contribution to the market.To analyze competitive developments such as expansions, agreements, new product launches, and acquisitions in the market.To strategically profile the key players and comprehensively analyze their growth strategies.In this study, the years considered to estimate the market size of Marine Engine Fuel Injection System are as follows:History Year: 2013-2017Base Year: 2017Estimated Year: 2018Forecast Year 2018 to 2025For the data information by region, company, type and application, 2017 is considered as the base year. Whenever data information was unavailable for the base year, the prior year has been considered.Key StakeholdersMarine Engine Fuel Injection System ManufacturersMarine Engine Fuel Injection System Distributors/Traders/WholesalersMarine Engine Fuel Injection System Subcomponent ManufacturersIndustry AssociationDownstream VendorsAvailable CustomizationsWith the given market data, QYResearch offers customizations according to the company's specific needs. The following customization options are available for the report:Regional and country-level analysis of the Marine Engine Fuel Injection System market, by end-use.Detailed analysis and profiles of additional market players.About usMarketResearchReports.biz is the most comprehensive collection of market research reports. MarketResearchReports.Biz services are specially designed to save time and money for our clients. We are a one stop solution for all your research needs, our main offerings are syndicated research reports, custom research, subscription access and consulting services. We serve all sizes and types of companies spanning across various industries.Contact UsState Tower90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-621-2074Website:Email: sales@marketresearchreports.biz Bioabsorbable Stents Market 2018 - Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Strategies and Forecast to 2023 Global Bioabsorbable Stents Industry https://www.wiseguyreports.com/sample-request/3186876-global-bioabsorbable-stents-market-research-and-forecast-2018-2023 https://www.wiseguyreports.com/reports/3186876-global-bioabsorbable-stents-market-research-and-forecast-2018-2023 https://www.linkedin.com/company/wise-guy-research-consultants-pvt-ltd-?trk=biz-companies-cym Global Bioabsorbable Stents IndustryNew Study on 2018-2023 Bioabsorbable Stents Market Global Key Player, Demand, Growth, Opportunities and Analysis Forecast added to Wise Guy Reports DatabaseBioabsorbable Stents Market are defined as medical devices that are implanted into the blood vessels or other internal ducts for the treatment of blocked vessels or arteries. It is typically made up of metal mesh and remains in the body permanently or until removed via surgical intervention. A biodegradable stent on the other hand is made of biological material, which is dissolved or absorbed in the body. These stents eliminate the requirement of surgery to remove stents. Bioabsorbable stents are generally made up of metals (such as iron, magnesium and zinc) or polymers. They are widely used in the treatment of coronary artery diseases (CADs) and peripheral diseases. Increasing prevalence of these diseases are estimated to augment the growth of the market.Try Sample Report @Globally, the geriatric population is increasing very rapidly giving indirect boost to the bioabsorbable stent since older population are prone to hear diseases. According to WHO, in 2015, the total number of geriatric population across the globe was estimated to be around 900 million, up from 524 million in 2010. It is further estimated to reach 1.5 billion by 2050. These are the major factors that are indicating the increasing geriatric population across the globe. People aged more than 65 are more prone to CAD and other chronic diseases due to their weak immune system. Therefore, increasing geriatric population is estimated to augment the growth of the bioabsorbable stents market.The global bioabsorbable stents market has been bifurcated into North America, Europe, APAC and Rest of the World. North America is estimated to be the dominating region in the global bioabsorbable stents market followed by Europe. Increasing geriatric population along with the unhealthy lifestyle are estimated to be the major factors that are backing the growth of the market. Whereas, APAC has been estimated to be the fastest growing region during the forecast period. Rapidly developing healthcare infrastructure, medical tourism, and growing geriatric population are some of the major factors that are driving the growth of the bioabsorbable stents market in the region. The companies contributing into the growth of the global bioabsorbable market includes Abbott Vascular, Amaranth Medical Inc., Arterical Remodeling Technologies, and Arterius Limited.Research MethodologyThe market study of Bioabsorbable stents market is incorporated by extensive primary and secondary research conducted by research team at OMR. Secondary research has been conducted to refine the available data to breakdown the market in various segments, derive total market size, market forecast, and growth rate. Different approaches have been worked on to derive the market value and market growth rate. The OMR team collects facts and data related to the market from different geographies to provide a better regional outlook. In the report, country level analysis is provided by analysing various regional players, regional tax laws and policies, consumer behaviour and macro-economic factors. The numbers extracted from Secondary research have been authenticated by conducting proper primary research. It includes tracking down key representatives from the industry and interviewing them to validate the data. This enables the analysts to derive the closest possible figures without any major deviations in the actual number. Our analysts try to contact as many executives, managers, key opinion leaders and industry experts to get first-hand information. Primary research brings authenticity to our reports.Secondary sources include: Financial reports of companies involved in the market Whitepapers, research-papers and news blogs Company websites and their product catalogue forward looking statements from key playersThe report is intended for hospitals, diagnostic centres, and government organizations for overall market analysis and competitive analysis. The report provides in-depth analysis on pricing, market size, and intended quality of the product preferred by consumers. The report will serve as a source for 360-degree analysis of the market thoroughly integrating different models such as PEST analysis in delivering insights into the market for better business decisions.Market Segmentation1. Global Bioabsorbable Stents Market by Material2. Global Bioabsorbable Stents Market by Drugs3. Global Bioabsorbable Stents Market by ApplicationsTHE REPORT COVERS: Comprehensive research methodology of Global Bioabsorbable Stents Market. This report also includes detailed and extensive market overview with Analyst insights & key market trends. Exhaustive analysis of macro and micro factors influencing the market guided by key recommendations. Analysis of regional regulations and other government policies impacting the Global Bioabsorbable Stents Market. Insights about market determinants which are stimulating the Global Bioabsorbable Stents Market. Detailed and extensive market segments with regional distribution of forecasted revenues. Extensive profiles and recent developments of market players.Some points from table of content:CHAPTER 1. REPORT SUMMARY1.1. RESEARCH METHODS AND TOOLS1.2. MARKET BREAKDOWN1.2.1. BY SEGMENTS1.2.2. BY GEOGRAPHY1.2.3. BY STAKEHOLDERSCHAPTER 2. MARKET OVERVIEW AND INSIGHTS2.1. DEFINITION2.2. ANALYST INSIGHTS & CURRENT MARKET TRENDS2.2.1. KEY FINDINGS2.2.2. RECOMMENDATION2.2.3. CONCLUSION2.3. PATENT ANALYSIS2.4. REGULATIONS2.4.1. UNITED STATES2.4.2. EUROPEAN UNION2.4.3. CHINA2.4.4. INDIA2.4.5. REST OF THE WORLDCHAPTER 3. MARKET DETERMINANT3.1. MOTIVATORS3.1.1. RISING PREVALENCE OF CORONARY ARTERY DISEASES & PERIPHERAL ARTERY DISEASES3.1.2. TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCEMENT AND DEVELOPMENT OF NEW TECHNOLOGIES (DEVELOPING STENTS FASTER RESPONSE TIME AND BETTER RADIAL FORCE)3.1.3. COST EFFICIENCY OF THE TREATMENT3.1.4. GROWING AGING POPULATION3.1.5. RISING INCIDENCE AND PREVALENCE RATE OF OBESITY3.2. RESTRAINTS3.2.1. PRESENCE OF ALTERNATIVE PRODUCTS3.2.2. HIGH RISK OF COMPLICATIONS3.2.3. SLOW ADOPTION RATE OF STENTS IN DISEASE MANAGEMENT3.3. OPPORTUNITIES3.3.1. GROWING DEMAND FROM EMERGING COUNTRIES3.3.2. STRONG PRODUCT PIPELINE3.3.3. RISING HEALTHCARE EXPENDITURE IN EMERGING ECONOMIES3.3.4. GROWING DISPOSABLE INCOME IN APAC REGIONFor Detailed Reading Please visit WiseGuy Reports @CHAPTER 4. MARKET SEGMENTATION4.1. GLOBAL BIOABSORBABLE STENTS MARKET BY POLYMER TYPE4.1.1. POLY (L-LACTIC ACID) PLLA4.1.2. TYROSINE POLYCARBONATE POLYMER4.1.3. POLY(CAPROLACTONE) (PCL)4.1.4. POLY (ANHYDRIDE ESTER) SALICYLIC ACID4.2. GLOBAL BIOABSORBABLE STENTS MARKET BY DRUGS4.2.1. LIMUS BASED DRUGS4.2.2. PACLITAXEL4.3. GLOBAL BIOABSORBABLE STENTS MARKET BY APPLICATIONS4.3.1. CORONARY ARTERY DISEASES4.3.2. PERIPHERAL ARTERY DISEASES4.3.3. OTHERS4.4. GLOBAL BIOABSORBABLE STENTS MARKET BY END USER4.4.1. HOSPITALS4.4.2. RESEARCH CENTERS4.4.3. CARDIAC CENTERS4.4.4. OTHERSCHAPTER 5. COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE5.1. KEY STRATEGIES5.2. KEY COMPANY ANALYSISCHAPTER 6. REGIONAL ANALYSIS6.1. NORTH AMERICA6.1.1. UNITED STATES6.1.2. CANADA6.1.3. REST OF NORTH AMERICA6.2. EUROPE6.2.1. UNITED KINGDOM6.2.2. FRANCE6.2.3. GERMANY6.2.4. ITALY6.2.5. SPAIN6.2.6. REST OF EUROPE6.3. ASIA PACIFIC6.3.1. INDIA6.3.2. CHINA6.3.3. JAPAN6.4. REST OF THE WORLDCHAPTER 7. COMPANY PROFILES7.1. ABBOTT LABORATORIES INC.7.2. AMARANTH MEDICAL INC.7.3. ARTERICAL REMODELING TECHNOLOGIES7.4. ARTERIUS LIMITED7.5. BIOTRONIKContinued.For more information or any query mail at sales@wiseguyreports.comAbout UsWise Guy Reports is part of the Wise Guy Consultants Pvt. Ltd. and offers premium progressive statistical surveying, market research reports, analysis & forecast data for industries and governments around the globe. Wise Guy Reports understand how essential statistical surveying information is for your organization or association. Therefore, we have associated with the top publishers and research firms all specialized in specific domains, ensuring you will receive the most reliable and up to date research data available.Contact Us:Norah Trent+1 646 845 9349 / +44 208 133 9349Follow on LinkedIn: H1N1 (Swine Flu) Vaccination Market to Reach at a Highest CAGR of 17% With Top Key Players Baxter International Inc., GSK, CSL, MedImmune, Merck, Novartis, Sanofi Pasteur, NOVAVAX INC, Zydus Group, Crucell, and More https://databridgemarketresearch.com/request-a-sample/?dbmr=global-h1n1-swine-flu-vaccination-market https://databridgemarketresearch.com/toc/?dbmr=global-h1n1-swine-flu-vaccination-market https://databridgemarketresearch.com/inquire-before-buying/?dbmr=global-h1n1-swine-flu-vaccination-market https://databridgemarketresearch.com/speak-to-analyst/?dbmr=global-h1n1-swine-flu-vaccination-market http://databridgemarketresearch.com/reports/global-innovation-management-market/ Global H1N1 (Swine Flu) Vaccination Industry 2018 Market Research Report focuses on price, sales, revenue and growth rate of each type, as well as the types and each type price of key manufacturers, through interviewing key manufacturers. Second on basis of segments by manufacturers, this report focuses on the sales, price of each type, average price of Credit Insurance, revenue and market share, for key manufacturers.The Global H1N1 (Swine Flu) Vaccination Market is expected to reach USD 8.26 billion by 2025, from USD 0.6 billion in 2017 growing at a CAGR of 17% during the forecast period of 2018 to 2025. The upcoming market report contains data for historic year2016, the base year of calculation is 2017 and the forecast period is 2018 to 2025.For In depth Information Get Free Sample Copy of this Report@Global H1N1 (Swine Flu) Vaccination Market, By Treatment type (influenza, meningococcal, cervical cancer, pneumococcal, hepatitis, measles, mumps, rubella), End User (Hospital, Clinics), Geography (North America, South America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Middle East and Africa) Industry Trends and Forecast to 2025Complete report on Global H1N1 (Swine Flu) Vaccination Market Research Report 2018-2025 spread across 350 Pages, profiling Top companies and supports with tables and figuresMarket Definition: Global H1N1 (Swine Flu) Vaccination MarketSwine flu is an infection caused by H1N1 virus, also known as swine flu virus. In 2009, H1N1 had spread rapidlyaround the world, so the World Health Organization called it a pandemic. The H1N1 virus mainly affects the respiratory system including nose, lungs and throat of the infected person. H1N1 virus can be classified on the basis of antigenicity of its surface glycoproteins neuraminidase and hemagglutinin. Vaccine, suspension of weakened, killed, or fragmented microorganisms or toxins or of antibodies or lymphocytes is administered primarily to prevent disease. The market for H1N1 flu is growing tremendously due to increased awareness. For instance, according to centers for disease control and prevention, in 2009 during pandemic approximately 60.8 million cases, 274,304 hospitalizations and 12,469 deaths occurred due to H1N1 swine flu. There have been tremendous technological advancements in the field of vaccination in the last decade. For instance, in 2006, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services awarded $1 billion in funding to a number of vaccine makers, including GlaxoSmithKline, Novartis, and MedImmune, to develop alternative production methods.Key Questions Answered in Global H1N1 (Swine Flu) Vaccination Market Report:-Our Report offers:- What will the market growth rate, Overview and Analysis by Type of Global H1N1 (Swine Flu) Vaccination Market in 2025? What are the key factors driving, Analysis by Applications and Countries Global H1N1 (Swine Flu) Vaccination Market? What are Dynamics, This Overview Includes Analysis of Scope, and price analysis of top Vendors Profiles of Global H1N1 (Swine Flu) Vaccination Market? Who are Opportunities, Risk and Driving Force of Global H1N1 (Swine Flu) Vaccination Market? Who are the opportunities and threats faced by the vendors in Global H1N1 (Swine Flu) Vaccination Market? Business Overview by Type, Applications, Gross Margin and Market Share What are the Global H1N1 (Swine Flu) Vaccination Market opportunities, market risk and market overview of the Market?Request for Detailed TOC:Top Key Players: Baxter Healthcare GlaxoSmithKline CSL Medimmune (Astra Zeneca) Merck & Co. Inc Novartis Sanofi Pasteur Sinovac Hualan Biological Engineering Co. Novovax Commonwealth Serum Laboratories Zydus Cadila Panacea Biotec Shanghai Institute Of Biological Products Sinovac Biotech LTD Butantan Institute Cantacuzino Institute Of Sera And Vaccine Changchun Institute Of Biological Product Crucell N.V. Denka Seiken Co Ltd. Green Cross Corp. Glaxosmithkline Plc amongst others.Key Reasons to Purchase: To gain insightful analyses of the market and have comprehensive understanding of the Global H1N1 (Swine Flu) Vaccination Market and its commercial landscape. Assess the H1N1 (Swine Flu) Vaccination production processes, major issues, and solutions to mitigate the development risk. To understand the most affecting driving and restraining forces in the H1N1 (Swine Flu) Vaccination Market and its impact in the Global market. Learn about the market strategies that are being adopted by leading respective organizations. To understand the future outlook and prospects for Global H1N1 (Swine Flu) Vaccination Market.Avail 10% Instant Discount on Purchase of This Report Mail @ sopan.gedam@databridgemarketresearch.comMajor Market Drivers and Restraints: Cost of H1N1 Vaccine Vaccine awareness Side-effects of vaccine Availability of substitute treatment Limited consumer segments Ease in administrationKey Insights in the report: Historical and current market size and projection up to 2025 Market trends impacting the growth of the global H1N1 (Swine Flu) Vaccination market Analyze and forecast the H1N1 (Swine Flu) Vaccination market on the basis of services, end-user, and services Trends of key regional and country-level markets for processes, derivative and application Company profiling of key players which includes business operations, product and services, geographic presence, recent developments and key financial analysisKey Developments in the Market: January 2010: The World Health Organization defended itself against allegations it overhyped the dangers of H1N1 under pressure from vaccine manufacturers at a hearing of the Council of Europes health committee. October, 2009: Baxter International (U.S) got approval from European Commission (EC) for marketing authorization of CELVAPAN H1N1 pandemic vaccine using Baxters Vero cell technology. CELVAPAN H1N1 is the first cell culture-based and non-adjuvant pandemic influenza vaccine to receive marketing authorization in the European Union.Inquire Before Buying @Customize report of "Global H1N1 (Swine Flu) Vaccination Market" as per customers requirement also available.Market Segmentations:Global H1N1 (Swine Flu) Vaccination Market is segmented on the basis of Treatment Type End User GeographyMarket Segmentations in Details:By Treatment Type Influenza Meningococcal Cervical Cancer Pneumococcal Hepatitis Measles Mumps RubellaBy End User Hospital ClinicsBy GeographyNorth America U.S. Canada, MexicoEurope Germany France United Kingdom Italy Spain Russia Turkey Belgium Netherlands Switzerland Rest of EuropeAsia-Pacific Japan China South Korea India Australia Singapore Thailand Malaysia Indonesia Philippines Rest of Asia PacificSouth America Brazil Rest of South AmericaMiddle East & Africa South Africa Saudi Arabia UAE Rest of MEACompetitive Analysis: Global H1N1 (Swine Flu) Vaccination MarketThe global H1N1 (swine flu) vaccination market is highly fragmented and the major players have used various strategies such as new product launches, expansions, agreements, joint ventures, partnerships, acquisitions, and others to increase their footprints in this market. The report includes global H1N1 (swine flu) vaccination market for global, Europe, North America, Asia Pacific and South America.Speak to Author of the report @Other ReportGlobal Innovation Management Market Industry Trends and Forecast to 2024Global Innovation Management Market, By Geography; Type (Software, Services); Organization Size (Large Enterprises, Small & Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs)); Deployment Model (On-premises, Cloud); Application (Product Research & Development Platforms, Marketing, Design, Idea Platforms, Collective Intelligence & Prediction Platforms, Human Resource & Freelancers Platforms); Vertical (Banking, Financial Services, Insurance, IT, Media & Communication Technology, Aerospace & Defense, Public Sector & Education, Healthcare & Pharmaceuticals, Retail & Consumer Goods, Automotive & Manufacturing, Transportation & Logistics) Industry Trends and Forecast to 2024Report Access:About Data Bridge Market Research:Data Bridge Market Research set forth itself as an unconventional and neoteric Market research and consulting firm with unparalleled level of resilience and integrated approaches. We are determined to unearth the best market opportunities and foster efficient information for your business to thrive in the market. Data Bridge endeavors to provide appropriate solutions to the complex business challenges and initiates an effortless decision-making process.Contact:Data Bridge Market ResearchTel: +1-888-387-2818Email: sopan.gedam@databridgemarketresearch.com Artificial Intelligence Chipsets Market 2018-2023|Major Players-IBM Corp. (U.S.), Microsoft Corp. (U.S.), Google Inc. (U.S.), FinGenius Ltd. (U.K.), NVIDIA Corporation (U.S.), Intel Corporation (U.S.) and General Vision, Inc. (U.S.) Artificial Intelligence Chipsets Market https://www.orianresearch.com/request-sample/592002 https://www.orianresearch.com/enquiry-before-buying/592002 https://www.orianresearch.com/checkout/592002 www.orianresearch.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/company-beta/13281002/ Artificial Intelligence Chipsets Market 2018 Report offers an intrinsic and described analysis of Artificial Intelligence Chipsets industry which helps company businessperson, industry investors, and industry participants with diligent intuition to enable them make informed integral decisions regarding the opportunities in the world Artificial Intelligence Chipsets market.Get Sample Copy of this Report at Artificial Intelligence Chipsets Industry Research Report provides important statistics, analytical and comparative data to give a complete understanding of the market Size, Share, Growth, Rising Trends, Sales Revenue, Sales Volume, Price, Cost Structure and Cost Margin analysis.The report provides a basic critique of the industry including objective research, operations and industry upstream and downstream chain structure. The Artificial Intelligence Chipsets industry analysis is provided for the international market including development antiquity, cutthroat landscape scrutiny and key regions evolution stature.Analysis of Artificial Intelligence Chipsets Market Key Companies - IBM Corp. (U.S.) Microsoft Corp. (U.S.) Google Inc. (U.S.) FinGenius Ltd. (U.K.) NVIDIA Corporation (U.S.) Intel Corporation (U.S.) General Vision, Inc. (U.S.) Complete report on Artificial Intelligence Chipsets Industry report spread across 99 pages, profiling 10 companies and supported with tables and figures available. Enquire more @This report focuses on Capacity, Sales Revenue, Volume, Price, Cost and Margin, as well as the each type price of key manufacturers, through interviewing key manufacturers. On basis of segments by manufacturers, this report focuses on the sales, price of each type, average price of Artificial Intelligence Chipsets, revenue and market share, for key manufacturers.Market Segment By Region / Countries this report covers:- North America (U.S., Canada, Mexico) Europe (Germany, U.K., France, Italy, Russia, Spain etc) South America (Brazil, Argentina etc) Middle East & Africa (Saudi Arabia, South Africa etc)Market Segment By Type this report covers:- Deep Learning Robotics Digital Personal Assistant Querying Method Natural Language ProcessingGet Direct Copy of this Report @Market Segment by End-User / Application this report covers:- Retail Transportation Automation Manufacturing OthersThe report spotlights on global major leading industry participants with information such as company portraits, product snaps and specification, scope, production, price, revenue and contact information. Upstream raw materials, equipment and downstream consumers analysis is also carried out. Whats further, the worldwide Artificial Intelligence Chipsets industry development trends and marketing carriers are analyzed.With the list of tables and figures the report provides key statistics on the state of the industry and is a valuable source of guidance and direction for companies and individuals interested in the market.Major Points from Table of Contents -1 Market Definition2 Global Markets by Vendors3 Global Markets by Type4 Global Markets by End-Use / Application5 Global Markets by Regions6 North America Market7 Europe Market8 Asia-Pacific Markets9 South America Market10 Middle East & Africa Market11 Market Forecast12 Key ManufacturersAbout UsOrian Research is one of the most comprehensive collections of market intelligence reports on the World Wide Web. Our reports repository boasts of over 500000+ industry and country research reports from over 100 top publishers. We continuously update our repository so as to provide our clients easy access to the world's most complete and current database of expert insights on global industries, companies, and products. We also specialize in custom research in situations where our syndicate research offerings do not meet the specific requirements of our esteemed clients.Contact Us:Ruwin MendezVice President Global Sales & Partner RelationsOrian Research ConsultantsUS: +1 (832) 380-8827 | UK: +44 0161-818-8027Email: info@orianresearch.comWebsite:Follow Us on LinkedIn: Refurbished Medical Devices Market 2018 - Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Strategies and Forecast to 2023 Global Refurbished Medical Devices Industry https://www.wiseguyreports.com/sample-request/3186879-global-refurbished-medical-devices-market-research-and-forecast-2018-2023 https://www.wiseguyreports.com/reports/3186879-global-refurbished-medical-devices-market-research-and-forecast-2018-2023 https://www.linkedin.com/company/wise-guy-research-consultants-pvt-ltd-?trk=biz-companies-cym Global Refurbished Medical Devices IndustryNew Study on 2018-2023 Refurbished Medical Devices Market Global Key Player, Demand, Growth, Opportunities and Analysis Forecast added to Wise Guy Reports DatabaseIncreasing adoption of low cost refurbished equipment, rising demand in emerging economies due to budget constraints, increasing privatization of healthcare sector, rise in sales due to online marketing are the key factors that driving the market. The global refurbished devices market is segmented into type of devices, application and end user. The type of devices segment bifurcated into operating room equipment and surgical devices, patient monitors, defibrillators, medical imaging devices and other devices. The application segment is bifurcated into cardiology, neurology, endoscopy and other applications. The end user segment is bifurcated into hospitals and private clinics. Quality issues such as safety and efficacy, stringent government policies for uses of refurbished devices are restraining the market growth. Focus on high quality compliance of refurbished equipment as a competitive advantage is the opportunity of the market.Try Sample Report @Global Refurbished Medical Devices market is bifurcated geographically into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific and Rest of the World. Increasing adoption of low cost refurbished equipment in the U.S. has further boosted the growth of the market in North America. The rapidly developing economies of Asia Pacific are projected to witness the highest growth rate during the forecasted period. The growth in the APAC market is backed by the budget constraints of private hospitals within the countries. Along with it, rise in sales due to online marketing is helping in the growth of the Asia Pacific Refurbished Medical Devices market. The report includes detailed market overview, market determinants, company profiling, sector analysis, market segmentation, geographical analysis, patent analysis, strategic recommendations, key company analysis, gap analysis, key findings, market estimations, market insights, analyst insights and predictive analysis of the market.The key players of Refurbished Medical Devices include GE Healthcare, Philips Healthcare, Siemens Healthineers, Stryker Corp. and others. Product launch, merger & acquisition and partnerships are some of the key strategies adopted by the market players and sustain and capture the major market share in the refurbished medical devices market.Research MethodologyThe market study of Refurbished medical devices market is incorporated by extensive primary and secondary research conducted by research team at OMR. Secondary research has been conducted to refine the available data to breakdown the market in various segments, derive total market size, market forecast and growth rate. Different approaches have been worked on to derive the market value and market growth rate. Our team collects facts and data related to the market from different geography to provide a better regional outlook. In the report country level analysis is provided by analyzing various regional players, regional tax laws and policies, consumer behavior and macro-economic factors. Numbers extracted from Secondary research have been authenticated by conducting proper primary research. It includes tracking down key people from the industry and interviewing them to validate the data. This enables our analyst to derive the closest possible figures without any major deviations in the actual number. Our analysts try to contact as many executives, managers, key opinion leaders and industry experts. Primary research brings the authenticity in our reports.Secondary sources include:Financial reports of companies involved in the marketWhitepapers, research-papers and news blogsCompany websites and their product catalogue.Supplier Websites such as Alibaba, amazon for pricing analysis.The Report is intended for Medical OEM manufacturers, medical device parts manufacturer, Investing companies for overall market analysis and competitive analysis. The report provides in-depth analysis on pricing, market size, intended quality of the product preferred by consumers, initial norms and vehicle segment. The report will serve as a source for 360-degree analysis of the market thoroughly integrating different models such as PEST analysis, Porter five analysis delivering insights into the market for better business decisions.Market Segmentation:Global Refurbished Devices market is segmented on the basis of regional outlook and following segments:Global Refurbished Medical Devices Market Research and Analysis, by TypeGlobal Refurbished Medical Devices Market Research and Analysis, by ApplicationGlobal Refurbished Medical Devices Market Research and Analysis, by End UserGlobal Refurbished Medical Devices Market Research and Analysis, by RegionThe Report covers:Comprehensive research methodology of Global Refurbished Medical Devices Market.This report also includes detailed and extensive market overview with key analyst insights.Exhaustive analysis of macro and micro factors influencing the market guided by key recommendations.Analysis of regional regulations and other government policies impacting the Global Refurbished Medical Devices Market.Insights about market determinants which are stimulating the Global Refurbished Medical Devices Market.Detailed and extensive market segments with regional distribution of forecasted revenues.Extensive profiles and recent developments of market players.Some points from table of content:CHAPTER 1. REPORT SUMMARY1.1. RESEARCH METHODS AND TOOLS1.2. MARKET BREAKDOWN1.2.1. BY SEGMENTS1.2.2. BY GEOGRAPHY1.2.3. BY STAKEHOLDERSCHAPTER 2. MARKET OVERVIEW AND INSIGHTS2.1. DEFINITION2.2. ANALYST INSIGHT & CURRENT MARKET TRENDS2.2.1. KEY FINDINGS2.2.2. RECOMMENDATION2.2.3. CONCLUSION2.3. REGULATIONS2.3.1.1. UNITED STATES2.3.1.2. EUROPEAN UNION2.3.1.3. CHINA2.3.1.4. INDIAFor Detailed Reading Please visit WiseGuy Reports @CHAPTER 3. MARKET DETERMINANT3.1. MOTIVATORS3.1.1. INCREASING ADOPTION OF LOW COST REFURBISHED EQUIPMENT3.1.2. RISING DEMAND IN EMERGING ECONOMIES DUE TO BUDGET CONSTRAINTS3.1.3. INCREASING PRIVATIZATION OF HEALTHCARE SECTOR3.1.4. RISE IN SALES DUE TO ONLINE MARKETING3.2. RESTRAINT3.2.1. QUALITY ISSUES SUCH AS SAFETY AND EFFICACY3.2.2. STRINGENT GOVERNMENT POLICIES FOR USES OF REFURBISHED DEVICES3.3. OPPORTUNITY3.3.1. FOCUS ON HIGH QUALITY COMPLIANCE OF REFURBISHED EQUIPMENT AS A COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGECHAPTER 4. MARKET SEGMENTATION4.1. GLOBAL REFURBISHED MEDICAL DEVICES MARKET, BY TYPE4.1.1. OPERATING ROOM EQUIPMENT AND SURGICAL DEVICES4.1.1.1. ANESTHESIA MACHINES4.1.1.2. OPERATING TABLES4.1.1.3. OPERATING LIGHTS4.1.1.4. SURGICAL LIGHT SOURCES4.1.1.5. SURGICAL MICROSCOPES4.1.1.6. MEDICAL GAS EQUIPMENT4.1.1.7. OTHERS4.1.2. DIAGNOSTIC/IMAGING4.1.2.1. MRI4.1.2.2. CT SCANNERS4.1.2.3. ULTRASOUND SYSTEMS4.1.2.4. OTHER (X-RAY MACHINES, PET/CT, C-ARM, MAMMOGRAPHY)4.1.3. PATIENT MONITORS4.1.3.1. ECG4.1.3.2. FETAL MONITORS4.1.3.3. PULSE OXIMETERS4.1.3.4. OTHERS4.1.4. DEFIBRILLATORS4.1.5. OTHER DEVICES4.2. GLOBAL REFURBISHED MEDICAL DEVICES MARKET, BY APPLICATION4.2.1. CARDIOLOGY4.2.2. NEUROLOGY4.2.3. ENDOSCOPY4.2.4. OTHER APPLICATIONS4.3. GLOBAL REFURBISHED MEDICAL DEVICES MARKET, BY END USER4.3.1. HOSPITALS4.3.2. PRIVATE CLINICSCHAPTER 5. COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE5.1. KEY COMPANY ANALYSIS5.2. KEY STRATEGY ANALYSISCHAPTER 6. REGIONAL ANALYSIS6.1. NORTH AMERICAN6.1.1. UNITED STATES6.1.2. CANADA6.2. EUROPE6.2.1. U.K6.2.2. GERMANY6.2.3. ITALY6.2.4. SPAIN6.2.5. FRANCE6.2.6. ROE6.3. ASIA PACIFIC6.3.1. INDIA6.3.2. CHINA6.3.3. JAPAN6.3.4. ROAPAC6.4. REST OF THE WORLDCHAPTER 7. COMPANY PROFILES7.1. 3KRF7.2. AGITO MEDICAL A/S7.3. ADVANCED MICRODERM, INC7.4. BLOCK IMAGING INTERNATIONAL7.5. BIOMEX7.6. DRE MEDICALContinued.For more information or any query mail at sales@wiseguyreports.comAbout UsWise Guy Reports is part of the Wise Guy Consultants Pvt. Ltd. and offers premium progressive statistical surveying, market research reports, analysis & forecast data for industries and governments around the globe. Wise Guy Reports understand how essential statistical surveying information is for your organization or association. Therefore, we have associated with the top publishers and research firms all specialized in specific domains, ensuring you will receive the most reliable and up to date research data available.Contact Us:Norah Trent+1 646 845 9349 / +44 208 133 9349Follow on LinkedIn: BTS Antenna Market 2018 Global Analysis,Research,Review,Applications and Forecast to 2023 BTS Antenna Industry https://www.wiseguyreports.com/sample-request/3318863-global-bts-antenna-market-by-manufacturers-countries-type https://www.wiseguyreports.com/enquiry/3318863-global-bts-antenna-market-by-manufacturers-countries-type WiseGuyReports.Com Publish a New Market Research Report On BTS Antenna Market 2018 Global Analysis,Research,Review,Applications and Forecast to 2023.BTS Antennas are components to facilitate the functioning of BTS (Base Transceiver Station Antenna), which focuses electromagnetic energy (RF) in a particular direction. BTS is a piece of equipment that facilitates wireless communication between user equipment (UE) and a network. UEs are devices like mobile phones (handsets), WLL phones, and computers with wireless Internet connectivity. The network can be that of any of the wireless communication technologies like GSM, CDMA, wireless local loop, Wi-Fi, WiMAX or other wide area network (WAN) technology.Scope of the Report:This report studies the BTS Antenna market status and outlook of Global and major regions, from angles of players, countries, product types and end industries; this report analyzes the top players in global market, and splits the BTS Antenna market by product type and applications/end industries.At present, in the foreign industrial developed countries the BTS Antenna industry is generally at a more advanced level, the world's large enterprises are mainly concentrated in the North America, Europe, etc. Meanwhile, foreign companies have more advanced equipment, strong R & D capabilities; the technical level is in a leading position. But foreign companies manufacturing cost is relatively high, compared with Chinese companies, the manufacturing cost is competitive disadvantage, as the Chinese BTS Antenna production enterprise technology continues to improve, their share in the international market is increasing, competitiveness in the international market gradually increase.Much more companies getting into the BST antenna industry and the market are much scattered. Key players in BTS antenna market include Huawei, CommScope, Comba Telecom, Kathrein,Amphenol, Tongyu, Mobi, RFS, Shenglu, Rosenberger, Laird, Kenbotong, Alpha Wireless etc.With the rapid growth of the national economy as well as the rapid development of downstream industries, Chinese BTS Antenna market demand is exuberant; provide a good opportunity for the development of BTS Antenna market and technology.The global BTS Antenna market is valued at 4020 million USD in 2017 and is expected to reach 6150 million USD by the end of 2023, growing at a CAGR of 7.3% between 2017 and 2023.Get a Sample Report @For more information or any query mail at sales@wiseguyreports.comThe Asia-Pacific will occupy for more market share in following years, especially in China, also fast growing India and Southeast Asia regions.North America, especially The United States, will still play an important role which cannot be ignored. Any changes from United States might affect the development trend of BTS Antenna.Europe also play important roles in global market, with market size of xx million USD in 2017 and will be xx million USD in 2023, with a CAGR of xx%.Market Segment by Companies, this report coversHuaweiCommScopeComba TelecomKathreinAmphenolTongyuMobiRFSShengluRosenbergerLairdKenbotongAlpha WirelessMarket Segment by Regions, regional analysis coversNorth America (United States, Canada and Mexico)Europe (Germany, France, UK, Russia and Italy)Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, Korea, India and Southeast Asia)South America (Brazil, Argentina, Colombia)Middle East and Africa (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, Nigeria and South Africa)Market Segment by Type, coversSingle-band BTS AntennaMultiple-band BTS AntennaMarket Segment by Applications, can be divided intoNetworkCommunicationAsk Query @Table Of Contents Major Key Points1 BTS Antenna Market Overview1.1 Product Overview and Scope of BTS Antenna1.2 Classification of BTS Antenna by Types1.2.1 Global BTS Antenna Revenue Comparison by Types (2017-2023)1.2.2 Global BTS Antenna Revenue Market Share by Types in 20171.2.3 Single-band BTS Antenna1.2.4 Multiple-band BTS Antenna1.3 Global BTS Antenna Market by Application1.3.1 Global BTS Antenna Market Size and Market Share Comparison by Applications (2013-2023)1.3.2 Network1.3.3 Communication1.4 Global BTS Antenna Market by Regions1.4.1 Global BTS Antenna Market Size (Million USD) Comparison by Regions (2013-2023)1.4.1 North America (USA, Canada and Mexico) BTS Antenna Status and Prospect (2013-2023)1.4.2 Europe (Germany, France, UK, Russia and Italy) BTS Antenna Status and Prospect (2013-2023)1.4.3 Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, Korea, India and Southeast Asia) BTS Antenna Status and Prospect (2013-2023)1.4.4 South America (Brazil, Argentina, Colombia) BTS Antenna Status and Prospect (2013-2023)1.4.5 Middle East and Africa (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, Nigeria and South Africa) BTS Antenna Status and Prospect (2013-2023)1.5 Global Market Size of BTS Antenna (2013-2023)2 Manufacturers Profiles2.1 Huawei2.1.1 Business Overview2.1.2 BTS Antenna Type and Applications2.1.2.1 Product A2.1.2.2 Product B2.1.3 Huawei BTS Antenna Revenue, Gross Margin and Market Share (2016-2017)2.2 CommScope2.2.1 Business Overview2.2.2 BTS Antenna Type and Applications2.2.2.1 Product A2.2.2.2 Product B2.2.3 CommScope BTS Antenna Revenue, Gross Margin and Market Share (2016-2017)2.3 Comba Telecom2.3.1 Business Overview2.3.2 BTS Antenna Type and Applications2.3.2.1 Product A2.3.2.2 Product B2.3.3 Comba Telecom BTS Antenna Revenue, Gross Margin and Market Share (2016-2017)2.4 Kathrein2.4.1 Business Overview2.4.2 BTS Antenna Type and Applications2.4.2.1 Product A2.4.2.2 Product B2.4.3 Kathrein BTS Antenna Revenue, Gross Margin and Market Share (2016-2017)2.5 Amphenol2.5.1 Business Overview2.5.2 BTS Antenna Type and Applications2.5.2.1 Product A2.5.2.2 Product B2.5.3 Amphenol BTS Antenna Revenue, Gross Margin and Market Share (2016-2017)2.6 Tongyu2.6.1 Business Overview2.6.2 BTS Antenna Type and Applications2.6.2.1 Product A2.6.2.2 Product B2.6.3 Tongyu BTS Antenna Revenue, Gross Margin and Market Share (2016-2017)2.7 Mobi2.7.1 Business Overview2.7.2 BTS Antenna Type and Applications2.7.2.1 Product A2.7.2.2 Product B2.7.3 Mobi BTS Antenna Revenue, Gross Margin and Market Share (2016-2017)ContinuedFor more information or any query mail at sales@wiseguyreports.comABOUT US:Wise Guy Reports is part of the Wise Guy Consultants Pvt. Ltd. and offers premium progressive statistical surveying, market research reports, analysis & forecast data for industries and governments around the globe. Wise Guy Reports features an exhaustive list of market research reports from hundreds of publishers worldwide. We boast a database spanning virtually every market category and an even more comprehensive collection of market research reports under these categories and sub-categories.Office No.528,Amanora Chambers,Magarpatta Road,Hadapsar,Pune-411028. Agricultural Lubricants Market with Top Competitors like ExxonMobil, Shell, Chevron, INEOS, Total, The Lubrizol Corporation, FUCHS PETROLUB Group, Phillips 66, and Global Forecast to 2024 https://databridgemarketresearch.com/request-a-sample/?dbmr=global-agricultural-lubricants-market https://databridgemarketresearch.com/toc/?dbmr=global-agricultural-lubricants-market https://databridgemarketresearch.com/inquire-before-buying/?dbmr=global-agricultural-lubricants-market https://databridgemarketresearch.com/speak-to-analyst/?dbmr=global-agricultural-lubricants-market http://databridgemarketresearch.com/reports/global-innovation-management-market/ The Agricultural Lubricants market research report also explores future trends for supply, demand and market growth rate, market size, prices, trading, competition and value chain as well as Key Players of the Agricultural Lubricants industrys information with forecast from 2017 to 2025.The Global Agricultural Lubricants Market accounted for USD 1.20 billion in 2017 and is projected to grow at a CAGR of 4.6% during the forecast period of 2018 to 2025. The upcoming market report contains data for historic years 2015, 2016, the base year of calculation is 2017 and the forecast period is 2018 to 2025.For In depth Information Get Free Sample Copy of this Report@Global Agricultural Lubricants Market, By Type (Mineral Oil Lubricants, Synthetic Lubricants, Bio-Based Lubricants), By Application (Engines, Gear & Transmission, Hydraulics, Greasing, Implements) By Geography (North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Europe, South America, Middle East and Africa) Industry Trends and Forecast to 2025Complete report on Global Agricultural Lubricants Market Research Report 2018-2025 spread across 350 Pages, profiling Top companies and supports with tables and figuresKey Questions Answered in Global Agricultural Lubricants Market Report:-Our Report offers:- What will the market growth rate, Overview and Analysis by Type of Global Agricultural Lubricants Market in 2025? What are the key factors driving, Analysis by Applications and Countries Global Agricultural Lubricants Market? What are Dynamics, This Overview Includes Analysis of Scope, and price analysis of top Vendors Profiles of Global Agricultural Lubricants Market? Who are Opportunities, Risk and Driving Force of Global Agricultural Lubricants Market? Who are the opportunities and threats faced by the vendors in Global Agricultural Lubricants Market? Business Overview by Type, Applications, Gross Margin and Market Share What are the Global Agricultural Lubricants Market opportunities, market risk and market overview of the Market?Market Definition: Global Agricultural Lubricants MarketAgriculture lubricants are the lubricants used for the agricultural machinery. The lubricants used help in the proper functioning of the machinery and reduce the wear and tear caused due to friction. There is a growing demand for agricultural lubricants in engines, gear & transmission, hydraulics, greasing and implements, which is expected to be one of the major drivers of the market over the next seven yearsRequest for Detailed TOC:Top Key Players: ExxonMobil Corporation Shell Chevron INEOS Total Chevron BP P.L.C. The Lubrizol Corporation Fuchs Petrolub Phillips 66 Company Exol Lubricants Witham Oil and Paint Rymax Lubricants Cougar Lubricants International Schaeffer Manufacturing Co. Pennine Lubricants Frontier Performance Lubricants Unil Lubricants Repsol Lubitec Callow Oils Dyade Lubricants Normac Oils many more.Key Reasons to Purchase: To gain insightful analyses of the market and have comprehensive understanding of the Global Agricultural Lubricants Market and its commercial landscape. Assess the Agricultural Lubricants production processes, major issues, and solutions to mitigate the development risk. To understand the most affecting driving and restraining forces in the Agricultural Lubricants Market and its impact in the Global market. Learn about the market strategies that are being adopted by leading respective organizations. To understand the future outlook and prospects for Global Agricultural Lubricants Market.Avail 10% Instant Discount on Purchase of This Report Mail @ sopan.gedam@databridgemarketresearch.comKey Insights in the report: Historical and current market size and projection up to 2025 Market trends impacting the growth of the global Agricultural Lubricants market Analyze and forecast the Agricultural Lubricants market on the basis of services, end-user, and services Trends of key regional and country-level markets for processes, derivative and application Company profiling of key players which includes business operations, product and services, geographic presence, recent developments and key financial analysisMajor Market Drivers: Increasing labor cost and low availability of agriculture labor Increasing mechanization in the agricultural industry Subsidies for agricultural equipmentMarket Restraint: High cost of synthetic and bio-based lubricantsInquire Before Buying @Customize report of "Global Agricultural Lubricants Market" as per customers requirement also available.Market Segmentations:Global Agricultural Lubricants Market is segmented on the basis of Type Application GeographyMarket Segmentations in Details:By Type Mineral Oil Lubricants Synthetic Lubricants Bio-Based LubricantsBy Application Engines, Gear & Transmission Hydraulics Greasing Implements.By GeographyNorth America U.S. Canada, MexicoEurope Germany France United Kingdom Italy Spain Russia Turkey Belgium Netherlands Switzerland Rest of EuropeAsia-Pacific Japan China South Korea India Australia Singapore Thailand Malaysia Indonesia Philippines Rest of Asia PacificSouth America Brazil Rest of South AmericaMiddle East & Africa South Africa Saudi Arabia UAE Rest of MEACompetitive Landscape: Global Agricultural Lubricants MarketThe global agricultural lubricants market is fragmented with the presence of a large number of players across different regions. These major players have adopted various organic as well as inorganic growth strategies such as mergers & acquisitions, new product launches, expansions, agreements, joint ventures, partnerships, and others to strengthen their position in this market.Speak to Author of the report @Other ReportGlobal Innovation Management Market Industry Trends and Forecast to 2024Global Innovation Management Market, By Geography; Type (Software, Services); Organization Size (Large Enterprises, Small & Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs)); Deployment Model (On-premises, Cloud); Application (Product Research & Development Platforms, Marketing, Design, Idea Platforms, Collective Intelligence & Prediction Platforms, Human Resource & Freelancers Platforms); Vertical (Banking, Financial Services, Insurance, IT, Media & Communication Technology, Aerospace & Defense, Public Sector & Education, Healthcare & Pharmaceuticals, Retail & Consumer Goods, Automotive & Manufacturing, Transportation & Logistics) Industry Trends and Forecast to 2024Report Access:About Data Bridge Market Research:Data Bridge Market Research set forth itself as an unconventional and neoteric Market research and consulting firm with unparalleled level of resilience and integrated approaches. We are determined to unearth the best market opportunities and foster efficient information for your business to thrive in the market. Data Bridge endeavors to provide appropriate solutions to the complex business challenges and initiates an effortless decision-making process.Contact:Data Bridge Market ResearchTel: +1-888-387-2818Email: sopan.gedam@databridgemarketresearch.com Global Blood Pressure Monitoring Devices Market 2018 - Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Strategies and Forecast to 2023 https://www.wiseguyreports.com/sample-request/3186946-global-blood-pressure-monitoring-devices-market-research-and-forecast-2018-2023 https://www.wiseguyreports.com/reports/3186946-global-blood-pressure-monitoring-devices-market-research-and-forecast-2018-2023 https://www.linkedin.com/company/wise-guy-research-consultants-pvt-ltd-?trk=biz-companies-cym Global Blood Pressure Monitoring Devices IndustryNew Study On 2018-2023 Blood Pressure Monitoring Devices Market Global Key Player, Demand, Growth, Opportunities And Analysis Forecast Added To Wise Guy Reports DatabaseThe blood pressure monitoring devices market is anticipated to witness an impressive growth rate with a CAGR of 10.5% during the forecast period. Major factors that fuel the growth of the global blood pressure monitoring devices include increase in the number of cases of the hypertension and cardiovascular diseases in people.Increase in geriatric & obese population, rising awareness toward health in developing economies are likely to act as high impact rendering drivers for the global blood pressure monitoring devices market. In the recent years, it has been observed that the number of patients getting diagnosis across the globe is increasing for cardiovascular diseases and checking, & maintaining the blood pressure is the basic need to cure these diseases. However, fluctuation of readings in digital devices will be a challenge for the market during the forecast period. The reason for impacting the growth of the market will be declining price of blood pressure monitoring devices. An expertise is needed in checking blood pressure through mercury sphygmomanometer. However, government regulations and investments are expected to drive the growth of monitoring devices market in a positive direction.The global blood pressure monitoring devices market is geographically segregated into Europe, North America, Asia Pacific and Rest of the World (RoW). In the current scenario, North America dominates the global blood pressure monitoring devices market. The main factor of dominance is well established healthcare infrastructure, high diagnosis rate of the patients and growth in the chronic diseases due to the changing lifestyle of the people in the region. Europe is also estimated to show a positive growth rate in the blood pressure monitoring devices during the forecast period.Try Sample Report @APAC is anticipated to be fastest growing region mainly due to countries such as Japan, China, and India. China and India are the most populous countries in the world and high rate prevalence of the CVD can be observed in both the countries in the recent years and is expected to be same during the forecast period. Increasing investment by manufacturers, increasing awareness, rising purchasing power, rapidly improving healthcare facilities, and rising number of undiagnosed & untreated cases of high BP are key factors attributing to this regional market growth.Key players of blood pressure monitoring devices market are A&D Medical, American Diagnostic Corp., Bosch + Sohn GmbH U. CO. KG, Briggs Healthcare, Inc., Contec Medical Systems Co., Ltd., Covidien PLC, and GE Healthcare Ltd. The market players are adopting the strategy of tie-ups with universities and research institutes for increasing their market share across the globe. The report covers overview about the companies, their recent product launches, merger with another firms, acquisition by the company, and disinvestment of the company. The report includes detailed market overview, market determinants, company profiling, sector analysis, market segmentation, geographical analysis, patent analysis, strategic recommendations, key company analysis, key findings, market estimations, market insights, analyst insights and predictive analysis of the market.MARKET SEGMENTATION:Global Blood Pressure Monitoring Devices Market is segmented on the basis of technology, application, component and regional outlook.Global Blood Pressure Monitoring Devices Market Research and Analysis, By Device TypeGlobal Blood Pressure Monitoring Devices Market Research and Analysis, By End User ApplicationGlobal Blood Pressure Monitoring Devices Market Research and Analysis, By End User ApplicationGlobal Blood Pressure Monitoring Devices Market Research and Analysis, By RegionTHE REPORT COVERS:Comprehensive research methodology of Global Blood Pressure Monitoring Devices Market.This report also includes detailed and extensive market overview with key analyst insights.Exhaustive analysis of macro and micro factors influencing the market guided by key recommendations.Analysis of regional regulations and other government policies impacting the Blood Pressure Monitoring Devices Market.Insights about market determinants, which are stimulating the Blood Pressure Monitoring Devices Market.Detailed and extensive market segments with regional distribution of forecasted revenues.Extensive profiles and recent developments of market players.For Detailed Reading Please visit WiseGuy Reports @Some points from table of content:1. REPORT SUMMARY1.1. RESEARCH METHODS AND TOOLS1.2. MARKET BREAKDOWN1.2.1. BY SEGMENTS1.2.2. BY GEOGRAPHY1.2.3. BY STAKEHOLDERS1.2.4. EXCEPTIONS2. MARKET OVERVIEW AND INSIGHTS2.1. DEFINITION2.2. ANALYST INSIGHTS & CURRENT MARKET TRENDS2.2.1. KEY FINDINGS2.2.2. RECOMMENDATION2.2.3. CONCLUSION2.3. REGULATION2.3.1.1. UNITED STATES2.3.1.2. EUROPEAN UNION2.3.1.3. CHINA2.3.1.4. INDIA3. MARKET DETERMINANT3.1. MOTIVATORS3.1.1. INCREASING HYPERTENSION3.1.2. INCREASING GERIATRIC & OBESE POPULATION3.1.3. RISE IN AWARENESS & DIAGNOSIS OF THE PEOPLE3.1.4. ADVANCEMENT IN BLOOD PRESSURE MONITORING DEVICES TECHNOLOGY3.1.5. INCREASE IN CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASES3.1.6. INCREASING TREND POC (POINT OF CARE) DEVICES MONITORING DEVICES3.2. RESTRAINTS3.2.1. FLUCTUATIONS OF READINGS IN DIGITAL DEVICES3.2.2. NEED OF EXPERTISE IN MERCURY SPHYGMOMANOMETER3.2.3. HEARING IMPAIRED CANT USE MERCURY SPHYGMOMANOMETER3.2.4. DECLINING PRICE OF BLOOD GLUCOSE MONITORS DEVICES3.3. OPPORTUNITIES3.3.1. EMERGING DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY IN MONITORING DEVICES4. MARKET SEGMENTATION4.1.BLOOD PRESSURE MONITORING BY DEVICE TYPE4.1.1. MERCURY SPHYGMOMANOMETER4.1.2. ANEROID SPHYGMOMANOMETERS4.1.3. DIGITAL DEVICES4.1.3.1. FINGER TYPE4.1.3.2. WRIST TYPE4.1.3.3. ARM TYPE4.2. BLOOD PRESSURE MONITORING DEVICES BY ACCESSORY TYPE4.2.1.1. BLOOD PRESSURE CUFFS4.2.1.2. MANOMETERS4.2.1.3. VALVES AND BLADDERS4.2.1.4. OTHERS4.3. BLOOD PRESSURE MONITORING BY END USER4.3.1.1. HOSPITAL4.3.1.2. PERSONAL USE/ HOMECARE4.3.1.3. LABORATORY4.3.1.4. OTHER5. REGIONAL ANALYSIS5.1. NORTH AMERICAN5.1.1. UNITED STATES5.1.2. CANADA5.2. EUROPE5.2.1. UK5.2.2. GERMANY5.2.3. SPAIN5.2.4. FRANCE5.2.5. ITALY5.2.6. REST OF EUROPE5.3. APAC5.3.1. CHINA5.3.2. JAPAN5.3.3. INDIA5.3.4. REST OF APAC5.4. REST OF THE WORLD6. COMPANY PROFILES6.1. A&D MEDICAL6.2. AMERICAN DIAGNOSTIC CORP.6.3. BOSCH + SOHN GMBH U. CO. KG6.4. BRIGGS HEALTHCARE, INC6.5. CONTEC MEDICAL SYSTEMS CO., LTD6.6. COVIDIEN PLC6.7. GE HEALTHCARE LTD6.8. GF HEALTH PRODUCTS INC.6.9. HICKS THERMOMETERS LIMITED6.10. KONINKLIJKE PHILIPS N.V6.11. MASIMO CORPORATION6.12. MICROLIFE AGContinued.For more information or any query mail at sales@wiseguyreports.comAbout UsWise Guy Reports is part of the Wise Guy Consultants Pvt. Ltd. and offers premium progressive statistical surveying, market research reports, analysis & forecast data for industries and governments around the globe. Wise Guy Reports understand how essential statistical surveying information is for your organization or association. Therefore, we have associated with the top publishers and research firms all specialized in specific domains, ensuring you will receive the most reliable and up to date research data available.Contact Us:Norah Trent+1 646 845 9349 / +44 208 133 9349Follow on LinkedIn: Tumor Ablation Market Explore Growth Analysis 2018-2024 by Top Player: Misonix, BVM Medical Limited, AngioDynamics, COMSOL Inc, EDAP TMS, HealthTronics, Inc. Global Tumor Ablation Market Industry Trends and Forecast to 2024 https://databridgemarketresearch.com/request-a-sample/?dbmr=global-tumour-ablation-market https://databridgemarketresearch.com/inquire-before-buying/?dbmr=global-tumour-ablation-market https://databridgemarketresearch.com/toc/?dbmr=global-tumour-ablation-market Data Bridge Market Research recently introduced Global Tumor Ablation Market study with in-depth overview, describing about the Type/Industry Scope and elaborates market outlook and status to 2024. The market Study is segmented by key regions which is accelerating the marketization. At present, the market is developing its presence and some of the key players from the complete study are Medtronic, Boston Scientific Corporation and Abbott along with others such as Galil Medical Inc., Perseon Corporation, NeuWave Medical, Inc., Koninklijke Philips N.V., INTIO Inc., Mermaid Medical A/S, SonaCare Medical, LLC, DFINE, Inc., Misonix, BVM Medical Limited, AngioDynamics, COMSOL Inc, EDAP TMS, and HealthTronics, Inc.Download PDF Sample Copy of Report @Regional analysis includes: North America Europe Asia-Pacific South America Middle East and AfricaTo Avail 10% Discount On This Report Mail Us on :-sopan.gedam@databridgemarketresearch.comMarket Segments: On the basis of type, the market is segmented into three major segments which include tumor ablation systems, image guidance products, and accessories. On the basis of cancer type, the market is segmented into eight major segments which include liver cancer, brain cancer, lung cancer, bone cancer, kidney cancer, pancreatic cancer, breast cancer and others. Based on mode of treatment, the global tumor ablation market is segmented into surgical, laproscopic and percutaneous. On the basis of end users, the market is segmented into hospital, oncology clinics, and others.To Buy Complete Report Click Here @Reason to Buy- Save and reduce time carrying out entry-level research by identifying the growth, size, leading players and segments in the Global Tumor Ablation Market.- Highlights key business priorities in order to assist companies to realign their business strategies.- The key findings and recommendations highlight crucial progressive industry trends in the Global Tumor Ablation Market, thereby allowing players to develop effective long term strategies.- Develop/modify business expansion plans by using substantial growth offering developed and emerging markets.- Scrutinize in-depth global market trends and outlook coupled with the factors driving the market, as well as those hindering it.- Enhance the decision-making process by understanding the strategies that underpin commercial interest with respect to products, segmentation and industry verticals.Download Detailed TOC @Note: If you have any special requirements, please let us know and we will offer you the report as you want.About Us:Data Bridge Market Research set forth itself as an unconventional and neoteric Market research and consulting firm with unparalleled level of resilience and integrated approaches. We are determined to unearth the best market opportunities and foster efficient information for your business to thrive in the market. Data Bridge endeavors to provide appropriate solutions to the complex business challenges and initiates an effortless decision-making process.Data Bridge adepts in creating satisfied clients who reckon upon our services and rely on our hard work with certitude. We are content with our glorious 99.9 % client satisfying rate.Contact:Data Bridge Market ResearchTel: +1-888-387-2818Email: sopan.gedam@databridgemarketresearch.com Clinical Trials Market Size by End-user & Region, Key Players: PAREXEL, LabCorp, ICON plc, Novo Nordisk, Covance. Clinical Trials Market https://databridgemarketresearch.com/request-a-sample/?dbmr=global-clinical-trials-market https://databridgemarketresearch.com/inquire-before-buying/?dbmr=global-clinical-trials-market https://databridgemarketresearch.com/reports/global-clinical-trials-market/ Clinical Trials Market analyses the current industry situations on a large scale to provide the Clinical Trials Market developments, market size and progress estimates. The main element details related to Clinical Trials Market essential market segments, opportunities and Clinical Trials Market constraints are presented in this report. Further, this report lists the product definition, applications, Clinical Trials Market scope, and major product manufacturing regions. An extensive view of Clinical Trials industry major manufacturers and Clinical Trials supply & demand scenario are covered deeply. This kind of record comprehensively analyses the present Clinical Trials Market segments as well as the rising segments which can anticipate the forecast Clinical Trials Market development.Clinical Trials Market is expected to reach USD 1.76 billion by 2025, from USD 1.04 billion in 2017 growing at a CAGR of 6.7% during the forecast period of 2018 to 2025. The upcoming market report contains data for historic year 2016, the base year of calculation is 2017 and the forecast period is 2018 to 2025.Get Free Sample Report@Some of the major players operating in the global Clinical trials market are:- Clinipace Worldwide, LabCorp, Eli Lilly and Company, ICON Plc., Novo Nordisk,Parexel, Pfizer Inc., Pharmaceutical Product Development, LLC, IQVIA, Roche Holding, Ranbaxy Laboratories, Ltd., Sanofi Aventis A.S. and Roche Group., Aaipharma Services Corp, Accell Clinical Research LLC, Aptiv Solutions, Chiltern International Limited , Congenix, Covance Inc., Ecron Acunova Ltd, Eurotrials, Medpace Inc, Pharmanet Development Group, PRA International, Siro Clinpharm PVT. LTD among others.Clinical Trials Market Competitive Analysis:The global clinical trials market is highly fragmented and the major players have used various strategies such as new product launches, expansions, agreements, joint ventures, partnerships, acquisitions, and others to increase their footprints in this market. The report includes market shares of Clinical trials market for global, Europe, North America, Asia Pacific and South America.Customization With Discount Available On This Report @Major Market Objectives: Demand for clinical trials in emerging markets High R&D spending of the pharmaceutical industry Increasing prevalence of diseases Focus on rare diseases and multiple orphan drugs in pipeline Lack of skilled clinical research workforce Regulatory quality in emerging markets Stringent regulations for patient enrolmentClinical Trials Market Segmentation: The global clinical trials market is segmented based on phase, design and geographical segments. On the basis of phase, the market is classified into Phase I, Phase II, Phase III and Phase IV. On the basis of design, the market is segmented into treatment studies, observational studies. The treatment studies are further sub segmented into randomized control trial, adaptive clinical trial and non-randomized control trial. The observational studies segment is further sub segmented into cohort study, case control study, cross sectional study, ecological study Based on geography, the market report covers data points for 28 countries across multiple geographies namely North America & South America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and, Middle East & Africa. Some of the major countries covered in this report are U.S., Canada, Germany, France, U.K., Netherlands, Switzerland, Turkey, Russia, China, India, South Korea, Japan, Australia, Singapore, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and, Brazil among others.Key Developments in the Market: In March 2016, AAIPharma Services Corporation, which is a leading provider of custom development and manufacturing services for the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries, announced its new identity as a leading contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) with expanded capabilities and capacity, the organization to now be known as Alcami In July2018, Boehringer Ingelheim and Lilly announce Tradjentas CARMELINA cardiovascular outcome trial meets primary endpoint. The company announced the positive top-line results from the trial, which evaluated the impact of treatment with Tradjenta compared with placebo on cardiovascular safety on top of standard of care.Report Brief Focus On:Clinical Trials Market, By Phase (Phase I, Phase II, Phase III, Phase IV), Design (Treatment Studies, Observational Studies), By Geography (North America, South America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Middle East and Africa) Industry Trends and Forecast to 2025Note: If you have any special requirements, please let us know and we will offer you the report as you want.Read More About This Report@About Data Bridge Market Research:Data Bridge Market Research set forth itself as an unconventional and neoteric Market research and consulting firm with unparalleled level of resilience and integrated approaches. We are determined to unearth the best market opportunities and foster efficient information for your business to thrive in the market. Data Bridge endeavors to provide appropriate solutions to the complex business challenges and initiates an effortless decision-making process.Contact:Data Bridge Market ResearchTel: +1-888-387-281Email: sopan.gedam@databridgemarketresearch.com Isoprene Market to grow at CAGR of 4.5% from 2017 - 2022 https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/isoprene-market.html https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=30326 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com A marked presence of several large-scale producers and big chemical companies make the global isoprene market intensely competitive, finds Transparency Market Research (TMR). These players are based in various developing and developed nations, majorly in Russia, China, Japan, Netherlands, and the U.S. Leading companies enjoying a stronghold in the global market include Ajinomoto Co. Inc., Bridgestone Corporation, GlycosBio, DuPont, Braskem, Petroleum Pte Ltd., Fortrec Chemicals And Petroleum Pte Ltd., and Nizhnekamskneftekhim. Some other players exhibiting a prominent presence in the market include Finetech Industry Ltd., SIBUR, Shandong Yuhuang Chemical Group Co. Ltd., Ningbo Jinhai Chenguang, Haihang Industry Co. Ltd., JSR Corporation, LyondellBasell Industries N.V., ZEON Corporation, Kuraray Co. Ltd., Royal Dutch Shell Plc, and The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company.Read Report Overview @Top players are actively pursuing product differentiation strategy to remain at the forefront. To this end, several prominent ones are also engaging in strategic collaborations. In addition, a number of producers and manufacturers are focusing on backward integration in a move to stay ahead of their competitors, observes TMR. They are also strengthening their distribution channels to consolidate their shares in the coming years. Several big players are striving for adopting advanced production technologies in order to showcase their might in the global landscape. The influx of new entrants is likely to up the level of competition over the years.The global isoprene market is projected to rise at a healthy clip over the forecast period from 2017 to 2022. A substantial chunk of global demand for isoprene is projected to come from the automotive industry.Broadly, the key product types of isoprene comprise polymer grades and chemical grades. Of these, the polymer grade segment leads accounting for the major share in 2017 and is anticipated to hold 55.0% share of the global isoprene demand by 2022 end. The segment is projected to touch a valuation of US$1,477.4 million by the end of the assessment period.Regionally, the North America is expected to collect the leading revenue by being the most lucrative market. The opportunities in the regional market is expected to touch a valuation of US$761.5 million by 2022 end. Meanwhile, Asia Pacific is projected to rise at an attractive pace, garnering a CAGR of 5.1% during 20172022. The region accounts for an extensive demand for isoprene coming from the automotive industry, primarily in China and India.Widespread Applications in Making Tires and Industrial Rubber Boost MarketThe global isoprene market is driven primarily by the burgeoning end-use applications in making tires, adhesives, and industrial rubber. The widespread use of isoprene in making synthetic rubber is attributed to a wide variety of performance characteristics, such remarkable flexibility similar to natural rubber, strength without odor, and the ability to confer outstanding durability to the end products. On account of these attractive properties, isoprene finds substantial use in making various automotive parts apart from tires, such as fuel hose, engine mounting, mud flap, suspension bush, exhaust rubber hangers, and floor mats. This is accentuating the market. The rapid strides being experienced by the automotive industry in several emerging economies, notably in Asia Pacific, is a noteworthy trend providing a robust thrust to the growth of the global isoprene market. The swift pace of urbanization in developing regions is likely to bolster the demand for SUVs and sedans among upwardly mobile populations, thereby catalyzing the demand for isoprene in several end-use applications.Request to view Sample Report:Thriving Automotive Industry in Emerging Economies to Create Vast Lucrative AvenuesApart from a wide range of rubber-based applications, the global isoprene market is also benefiting copiously from its use in making medical equipment and footwear.However, several stringent regulations imposed on the rubber industry in favor of the use of natural rubber, which is likely to stifle the demand for isoprene. The fluctuation in the prices of raw materials used for isoprene production, especially crude oil prices, is a crucial factor hindering the growth of the market to an extent. Nevertheless, the market are expected to get a robust push from a burgeoning automotive industry and the growing popularity of low-rolling resistance tires in various parts of the world. Advancements in production technologies bode well for the market over the forecast period.Transparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company providing business information reports and services. The companys exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trend analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.TMRs data repository is continuously updated and revised by a team of research experts so that it always reflects the latest trends and information. With extensive research and analysis capabilities, Transparency Market Research employs rigorous primary and secondary research techniques to develop distinctive data sets and research material for business reports.Transparency Market ResearchState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite: World Engineering Plastic Market by Application ( Automotive Industry, Electronics Industry, Building Materials, Packaging industry, Others), by Product and by Manufacturer- Growth, Trends Forecast 2023 Reports Monitor https://www.reportsmonitor.com/request_sample/46831 https://www.reportsmonitor.com/check_discount/46831 https://www.reportsmonitor.com/report/46831/Engineering-Plastic-Market https://www.reportsmonitor.com/buyNow/46831 Engineering Plastic Market Research Report 2023The report has been compiled through extensive primary research (through interviews, surveys, and observations of seasoned analysts) and secondary research (which entails reputable paid sources, trade journals, and industry body databases). The report also features a complete qualitative and quantitative assessment by analyzing data gathered from industry analysts and market participants across key points in the industrys value chain.REQUEST A FREE SAMPLE @The Engineering Plastic market Report provides a detailed analysis of the Engineering Plastic industry. It provides an analysis of the past 5 years and a future forecast till the year 2023.It also studies the future market trends in the global market. It studies the market by the various parameters such as sales, volumes, and the revenues. It also gives us an insight in the Engineering Plastic industry and is also making strategic decisions. It is also prepared with a view to understand the current market trends, opportunities and global analysis in the market.For your understanding and application wise distribution, the consumption figures are also given. With the important data of supply and consumption the gap between both the parameters is explained in detail. It also provides a detailed overview of the competitive landscape and also analysis the gross market landscape. It also studies the sales, production revenue market price also the import and export value and the trending section of the Engineering Plastic market report.This Write up presents in detail analysis of Engineering Plastic Market especially market drivers, challenges, vital trends, standardization, deployment models, opportunities, future roadmap, manufacturers case studies, value chain, organization profiles, Sales Price and Sales Revenue, Sales Market Comparison and strategies.The research covers the current market size of the Global Engineering Plastic Market. The Engineering Plastic market can be split based on Major Players, product types and major applications.Top manufacturers, with production, price, revenue (value) and market share for each manufacturer; the top players including such as Hosaf, Indorama.The in-depth information by segments of Engineering Plastic market helps monitor future profitability & to make critical decisions for growth. The Engineering Plastic report will the intensive investigation of the key business players to get a handle on their business routes in which, yearly income, organization profile and their commitment to the Global Engineering Plastic piece of the overall industry.CHECK DISCOUNT FOR THIS REPORT @The Engineering Plastic Market, presents critical information and factual data about the Global Engineering Plastic Market providing an overall statistical study of this market on the basis of market drivers, market limitations, and its future prospects. The widespread Global Engineering Plastic opportunities and trends are also taken into consideration in Engineering Plastic industry.Engineering Plastic Market On the basis of product, this report displays the production, revenue, price, market share and growth rate of each type, primarily split into ABS, PC, PMMA, POM, PA, PET.Engineering Plastic market On the basis on the end users/applications, this report focuses on the status and outlook for major applications/end users, sales volume, market share and growth rate for each application, including Automotive Industry, Electronics Industry, Building Materials, Other Application, Packaging industry.All aspects of the Engineering Plastic industry report are quantitatively as well as qualitatively assessed to study the Global as well as regional market comparatively. The basic information such as the definition, prevalent chain and the government regulations pertaining to the Engineering Plastic market are also discussed in the report.Geographically, this report studies the top producers and consumers, focuses on product capacity, production, value, consumption, market share and growth opportunity in these key regions, coveringUSA, Europe Union, Japan, China, India, South East Asia.Some points from TOC:Global Engineering Plastic Market Size (Sales Volume) Comparison by TypeGlobal Engineering Plastic Market Size (Sales Volume) Market Share by Type (Product Category) in 2018Global Engineering Plastic Market Size (Value) Comparison by RegionGlobal Engineering Plastic Market Competition by Players/SuppliersGlobal Engineering Plastic Sales (Volume) and Revenue (Value) by Type (Product Category)ContinuedBrowse full Report Description and TOC @The report answers several questions about the Engineering Plastic market. These questions include:What will be the market size of Engineering Plastic market in 2023?What will be the Engineering Plastic growth rate in 2023?Which key factors drive the Engineering Plastic market?Who are the key market players for Engineering Plastic?Which strategies are used by top players in the Engineering Plastic market?What are the key market trends in Engineering Plastic?TO BUY THIS REPORT @Thanks for reading this article; you can also get individual chapter wise section or region wise report version like Asia, United States, Europe.About UsReports Monitor is a market research and consulting company that provides syndicated research reports, customized research reports, and consulting services. To help clients make informed business decisions, we offer market intelligence studies ensuring relevant and fact-based research across a range of industries including Healthcare, Technology, Chemicals, Materials, and Energy. With an intrinsic understanding of many business environments, Reports Monitor provides strategic objective insights.Contact Us- Office C & D - 4th Floor, Siddhi Towers, NIBM Road, Pune 411048, Maharashtra, India Strategic Assessment of Bioelectronics Market by Research Cosmos Bioelectronics Market https://www.researchcosmos.com/reports/global-bioelectronic-market-research-and-forecast-2017-2022/6508668 https://www.researchcosmos.com/request/global-bioelectronic-market-research-and-forecast-2017-2022/6508668 https://www.researchcosmos.com/inquire/global-bioelectronic-market-research-and-forecast-2017-2022/6508668 Market OverviewBioelectronics is a rising branch of restorative science managing joined utilization of the standards of science and electrical designing. This is a significant field in medication and has prompted the improvement of indispensable gadgets, for example, the fake pacemaker and the plenty of therapeutic imaging gadgets that are accessible today. Since power is a noteworthy piece of the human body's working system, the bioelectronics field holds a considerable measure of guarantee in the coming years.Browse More information @The significant instruments of bioelectronics are neural systems, bioelectromagnetics, mechanical technology, sensors, and so on. Despite the massive commitment bioelectronics is making to the field of the drug even in its initial days, its part in social insurance is required to develop greatly in the coming years, influencing such unique medicinal claims to fame as spinal wounds and vision issue. Broad R&D into bioelectronics will likewise enable the rising home wellbeing to mind market by empowering nearby determination effortlessly. Aside from restorative and life sciences look into, bioelectronics is likewise utilized as a part of natural checking, with a request from the last anticipated that would increment quickly in the coming a long time because of developing affirmation of the peril of an Earth-wide temperature boost.Drivers and RestraintsThe essential driver of the global bioelectronics market is, normally, rising interest from the social insurance segment. Because of the expanding pervasiveness of a few neural and heart maladies, the interest in bioelectronics gadgets and innovation has shot up. The tumor is another inexorably common ailment driving the interest for bioelectronics universally. The higher exactness offered by bioelectronics items in the examination with the customary diagnostics apparatuses is one of the central point driving the global bioelectronics market.The rising interest for customized prescription and home care is additionally a noteworthy driver of the bioelectronics market. Associated to telehealth and telemonitoring advancements, bioelectronics frames a significant piece of the system required to screen patients in such cases. Sensors created by bioelectronics look into are fundamentally ascending sought after, driving the global bioelectronics market.Request For Sample @The popularity of implantable restorative gadgets, including indispensable gadgets, for example, ear inserts, gastric inserts, and pacemakers is another factor boosting the development prospects of the global bioelectronics industry. Since a considerable lot of these inserts have crucial significance to their clients or are essential for their clients to complete everyday exercises, the interest for these and other implantable gadgets is relied upon to ascend in the coming years, driving the global bioelectronics market.Then again, the absence of high-determination imaging innovation in remote territories and the mind-boggling expense of cutting-edge bioelectronics items are the two noteworthy restrictions following up on the bioelectronics market. The determination of therapeutic imaging gadgets is a profoundly investigated theme in the cutting edge world and is required to be consistently made strides. The high expenses of bioelectronics items could likewise level out with developing an interest in the coming years.Regional OverviewEurope is at present driving the global bioelectronics market, with the Asia Pacific and North America tailing it nearly. Europe has been a noteworthy center point for bioelectronics and other medicinal research for quite a long while, and the early appropriation and advancement of bioelectronics items has helped support the interest for the same. The European market is required to stay in the number one spot in the coming years, while North America, and the U.S. specifically, is relied upon to gain fast ground.Key playersMajor bioelectronics market players incorporate Bioelectronics Corporation, Danaher Corporation, Medtronic, Roche, Siemens AG, and Beckman Coulters.Make an Inquiry before buying @About Us:Research Cosmos is an aggregator of syndicated and bespoke market research, business intelligence and consulting services on gamut of sectors across the globe. Were associated with world renowned publishers who when combined, serve hundreds of fortune listed companies and publish wide range of insightful reports which cover nook and corner of every industry vertical.Contact Us:Company: Research CosmosContact: Dani RodriguezPhone: +1 888 709 8757Email: dani@researchcosmos.com Cleanroom Apparel Market Size, Share, Trends Analysis Report By Product, By Application, By Region And Global Forecast 2018-2023 Cleanroom Apparel Market report https://www.upmarketresearch.com/home/requested_sample/627 https://www.upmarketresearch.com/buy/Global-Cleanroom-Apparel-Industry-Market-Analysis-Forecast-2018-2023 https://www.upmarketresearch.com/home/enquiry_before_buying/627 www.upmarketresearch.com UpMarketResearch offers a latest published report on Global Cleanroom Apparel Market Industry Analysis and Forecast 2018-2023 delivering key insights and providing a competitive advantage to clients through a detailed report. The report contains 126 pages which highly exhibits on current market analysis scenario, upcoming as well as future opportunities, revenue growth, pricing and profitability.The Report published on UpMarketResearch.com about Cleanroom Apparel Market is spread across 126 pages and provides newest industry data, market future trends, allowing you to identify the products and end users driving Revenue growth and profitability. The industry report lists and studies the leading competitors, also provides the insights with strategic industry Analysis of the key factors influencing the market.Cleanroom Apparel market research report delivers a close watch on leading competitors with strategic analysis, micro and macro market trend and scenarios, pricing analysis and a holistic overview of the market situations in the forecast period. It is a professional and a detailed report focusing on primary and secondary drivers, market share, leading segments and geographical analysis. Further, key players, major collaborations, merger & acquisitions along with trending innovation and business policies are reviewed in the report. The report contains basic, secondary and advanced information pertaining to the Cleanroom Apparel global status and trend, market size, share, growth, trends analysis, segment and forecasts from 2018 - 2023.The scope of the report extends from market scenarios to comparative pricing between major players, cost and profit of the specified market regions. The numerical data is backed up by statistical tools such as SWOT analysis, BCG matrix, SCOT analysis, PESTLE analysis and so on. The statistics are represented in graphical format for a clear understanding on facts and figures.The generated report is firmly based on primary research, interviews with top executives, news sources and information insiders. Secondary research techniques are implemented for better understanding and clarity for data analysis.Get Sample Report @The report for Cleanroom Apparel market industry analysis & forecast 2018-2023 is segmented into Product Segment, Application Segment & Major players.Region-wise Analysis Global Cleanroom Apparel Market covers: North America Europe China Japan Southeast Asia IndiaThe Major players reported in the market include: 3M Alpha Pro Tech DuPont Kimberly-ClarkGlobal Cleanroom Apparel Market: Product Segment Analysis Gloves and Sleeves Hoods and Beard Covers Overshoes and OverbootsGlobal Cleanroom Apparel Market: Application Segment Analysis Medical Industry Semiconductor IndustryThe Report covers in-depth analysis as follows: Chapter 1 Cleanroom Apparel Market Overview Chapter 2 Global Economic Impact on Cleanroom Apparel Industry Chapter 3 Global Cleanroom Apparel Market Competition by Manufacturers Chapter 4 Global Cleanroom Apparel Production, Revenue (Value) by Region (2013-2018) Chapter 5 Global Cleanroom Apparel Supply (Production), Consumption, Export, Import by Regions (2013-2018) Chapter 6 Global Cleanroom Apparel Production, Revenue (Value), Price Trend by Type Chapter 7 Global Cleanroom Apparel Market Analysis by Application Chapter 8 Global Cleanroom Apparel Manufacturers Analysis Chapter 9 Cleanroom Apparel Manufacturing Cost Analysis Chapter 10 Industrial Chain, Sourcing Strategy and Downstream Buyers Chapter 11 Marketing Strategy Analysis, Distributors/Traders Chapter 12 Market Effect Factors Analysis Chapter 13 Global Cleanroom Apparel Market Forecast (2018-2023)Buy this report@Global Cleanroom Apparel Market Industry Analysis and Forecast 2018-2023 report helps the clients to take business decisions and to understand strategies of major players in the industry. The report also calls for market-driven results deriving feasibility studies for client needs. UpMarketResearch ensures qualified and verifiable aspects of market data operating in the real-time scenario. The analytical studies are conducted ensuring client needs with a thorough understanding of market capacities in the real-time scenario.Key Reasons to Purchase: To gain insightful analyses of the market and have a comprehensive understanding of the Global Cleanroom Apparel Market Industry Analysis and Forecast 2018-2023 and its commercial landscape Learn about the market strategies that are being adopted by your competitors and leading organizations To understand the future outlook and prospects for Cleanroom Apparel market industry analysis and forecast 2018-2023.For more information@Customization of the Report:UpMarketResearch provides free customization of reports as per your need. This report can be personalized to meet your requirements. Get in touch with our sales team, who will guarantee you to get a report that suits your necessities.About UpMarketResearch:UpMarketResearch () is a leading distributor of market research report with more than 800+ global clients. As a market research company, we take pride in equipping our clients with insights and data that holds the power to truly make a difference to their business. Our mission is singular and well-defined we want to help our clients envisage their business environment so that they are able to make informed, strategic and therefore successful decisions for themselves.Contact Info:Name: Alex MathewsEmail: Alex@upmarketresearch.comOrganization: UpMarketResearchAddress: 500 East E Street, Ontario, CA 91764, United States Global Emergency Stretcher Market Worth USD 1720 million Global Emergency Stretcher Market https://www.researchcosmos.com/reports/global-emergency-stretcher-market-trends-competitive-dynamics-and-key-growth-opportunities-2015-to/717724650 https://www.researchcosmos.com/request/global-emergency-stretcher-market-trends-competitive-dynami/717724650 www.researchcosmos.com Global Emergency Stretcher Market View:An emergency stretcher is an equipment utilized for moving patients requiring restorative consideration who can be conveyed by at least two individuals. A wheeled stretcher is outfitted with variable stature outlines, wheels, tracks, or slides.The global emergency stretchers market is driven by an increment in the number of street mischances over the globe. Furthermore, the surge in progressions in innovation, for example, mechanization in emergency stretchers, supplements the market development. Be that as it may, the absence of basic honesty in the emergency stretchers could prompt unintended patient wounds; in this way controlling the market development. Additionally, mechanical progressions are relied upon to offer lucrative open doors for the market development soon.Browse details of research report developed on Global Emergency Stretcher MarketThe gloabl emergency stretchers market is sectioned in view of composing, end client, and district. In light of the sort, it is grouped into a wheeled stretcher, collapsing and bin stretcher, and emergency vehicle stretcher. In light of the end client, it is partitioned into walking helps, network first guides, healing centers, and others. Geologically, it is investigated crosswise over North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and LAMEA.By geographical regions, the Global Emergency Stretcher Industry is generally fragmented into a topographical region, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and the Asia Pacific. The Worldwide market stays in its explorative stage in the greater part of the areas anyway it holds the promising potential to thrive relentless in returning years. The real company's fund in Emergency Stretcher market is settled in Canada, U.K, The US, India, China and some more nations of Asia Pacific region. Thus, Asia Pacific, North America, and Western Europe are measurable to persist half of the pieces of the pie, set up together in returning years.Avail Sample Market Brochure of the report for more information, Get a Copy @With the slowdown of world economic growth, the Emergency Stretcher industry has likewise endured a specific effect, yet at the same time kept up a generally hopeful development, the previous four years, Emergency Stretcher market size to keep up the normal yearly development rate of 4.90% from 1230 million $ in 2013 to 1420 million $ in 2016, Market examiners trust that in the following couple of years, Emergency Stretcher market size will be additionally extended, we expect that by 2021, The market size of the Emergency Stretcher will achieve 1720 million $.The key players working in the worldwide emergency stretchers market are Ferno, Byron Group Holdings, ZhangJiaGang RongChang Machinery Manufacture Co. Ltd., Hebei Pukang Medical Equipment Co. Ltd., GIVAS s.r.l., Zhangjiagang New Fellow Med Co. Ltd., Junkin Safety Appliance Company, Me. Ber. s.r.l. Unipersonale, Stryker Corporation, and Sidhil Ltd.About Us:Research Cosmos is an aggregator of syndicated and bespoke market research, business intelligence and consulting services on a gamut of sectors across the globe. Were associated with world-renowned publishers who when combined, serve hundreds of fortune listed companies and publish a wide range of insightful reports which cover nook and corner of every industry vertical.Contact:Kevin StewartGlobal Sales ManagerResearch Cosmoskevin@researchcosmos.com+1 888 709 8757 4G Equipments Market to Witness Huge Growth by 2025: Key Players - Huawei Technologies Co Ltd, ZTE Corp, Cisco Systems, Inc., Alvarion Ltd, Nokia Siemens Networks, Fujitsu Ltd 4G Equipments Market https://www.htfmarketreport.com/sample-report/1284719-global-4g-equipments-market-6 https://www.htfmarketreport.com/enquiry-before-buy/1284719-global-4g-equipments-market-6 https://www.htfmarketreport.com/buy-now?format=1&report=1284719 https://www.htfmarketreport.com/reports/1284719-global-4g-equipments-market-6 https://www.linkedin.com/company/13388569/ https://www.facebook.com/htfmarketintelligence/ https://twitter.com/htfmarketreport https://plus.google.com/u/0/+NidhiBhawsar-SEO_Expert?rel=author HTF MI recently introduced Global 4G Equipments Market study with in-depth overview, describing about the Product / Industry Scope and elaborates market outlook and status to 2025. The market Study is segmented by key regions which is accelerating the marketization. At present, the market is developing its presence and some of the key players from the complete study are Huawei Technologies Co Ltd, ZTE Corp, Cisco Systems, Inc., Alvarion Ltd, Nokia Siemens Networks, Fujitsu Ltd, HP Co, Alcatel-Lucent, Genband Inc., Nortel Networks Corp, Samsung Group, Redline Communications, Datan Mobile Communications Equipment Company, Airspan Networks, Inc., NEC Corp etc.Request Sample of Global 4G Equipments Market Insights, Forecast to 2025 @:This study also analyzes the market status, market share, growth rate, future trends, market drivers, opportunities and challenges, risks and entry barriers, sales channels, distributors and Porter's Five Forces Analysis. The 4G Equipments market was valued at Million US$ in 2017 and is projected to reach Million US$ by 2025, at a CAGR of during the forecast period. In this study, 2017 has been considered as the base year and 2018 to 2025 as the forecast period to estimate the market size for 4G Equipments. The following manufacturers areThis report studies the Global 4G Equipments market size, industry status and forecast, competition landscape and growth opportunity. This research report categorizes the Global 4G Equipments market by companies, region, type and end-use industry.Browse 100+ market data Tables and Figures spread through Pages and in-depth TOC on " 4G Equipments Market by Type (LTE & Wi-max), by End-Users/Application (Mobile Phones, Logistics, E-commerce & Smart-phones), Organization Size, Industry, and Region - Forecast to 2023". Early buyers will receive 10% customization on comprehensive study.In order to get a deeper view of Market Size, competitive landscape is provided i.e. Revenue (Million USD) by Players (2013-2018), Revenue Market Share (%) by Players (2013-2018) and further a qualitative analysis is made towards market concentration rate, product/service differences, new entrants and the technological trends in future.Enquire for customization in Report @Competitive Analysis:The key players are highly focusing innovation in production technologies to improve efficiency and shelf life. The best long-term growth opportunities for this sector can be captured by ensuring ongoing process improvements and financial flexibility to invest in the optimal strategies. Company profile section of players such as Huawei Technologies Co Ltd, ZTE Corp, Cisco Systems, Inc., Alvarion Ltd, Nokia Siemens Networks, Fujitsu Ltd, HP Co, Alcatel-Lucent, Genband Inc., Nortel Networks Corp, Samsung Group, Redline Communications, Datan Mobile Communications Equipment Company, Airspan Networks, Inc., NEC Corp includes its basic information like legal name, website, headquarters, its market position, historical background and top 5 closest competitors by Market capitalization / revenue along with contact information. Each player/ manufacturer revenue figures, growth rate and gross profit margin is provided in easy to understand tabular format for past 5 years and a separate section on recent development like mergers, acquisition or any new product/service launch etc.Market Segments:The Global 4G Equipments Market has been divided into type, application, and region.On The Basis Of Type: LTE & Wi-max.On The Basis Of Application: Mobile Phones, Logistics, E-commerce & Smart-phonesOn The Basis Of Region, this report is segmented into following key geographies, with production, consumption, revenue (million USD), and market share, growth rate of 4G Equipments in these regions, from 2013 to 2023 (forecast), covering North America (U.S. & Canada) {Market Revenue (USD Billion), Growth Analysis (%) and Opportunity Analysis} Latin America (Brazil, Mexico & Rest of Latin America) {Market Revenue (USD Billion), Growth Share (%) and Opportunity Analysis} Europe (The U.K., Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Poland, Sweden & RoE) {Market Revenue (USD Billion), Growth Share (%) and Opportunity Analysis} Asia-Pacific (China, India, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, Rest of Asia) {Market Revenue (USD Billion), Growth Share (%) and Opportunity Analysis} Middle East & Africa (GCC, South Africa, North Africa, RoMEA) {Market Revenue (USD Billion), Growth Share (%) and Opportunity Analysis} Rest of World {Market Revenue (USD Billion), Growth Analysis (%) and Opportunity Analysis}Buy Single User License of Global 4G Equipments Market Insights, Forecast to 2025 @Have a look at some extracts from Table of ContentIntroduction about Global 4G EquipmentsGlobal 4G Equipments Market Size (Sales) Market Share by Type (Product Category) in 20174G Equipments Market by Application/End UsersGlobal 4G Equipments Sales (Volume) and Market Share Comparison by Applications(2013-2023) table defined for each application/end-users like [Mobile Phones, Logistics, E-commerce & Smart-phones]Global 4G Equipments Sales and Growth Rate (2013-2023)4G Equipments Competition by Players/Suppliers, Region, Type and Application4G Equipments (Volume, Value and Sales Price) table defined for each geographic region defined.Global 4G Equipments Players/Suppliers Profiles and Sales DataAdditionally Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and Competitors list is being provided for each listed manufacturersMarket Sales, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2013-2018) table for each product type which include LTE & Wi-max4G Equipments Manufacturing Cost Analysis4G Equipments Key Raw Materials Analysis4G Equipments Chain, Sourcing Strategy and Downstream Buyers, Industrial Chain AnalysisMarket Forecast (2018-2023)........and more in complete table of ContentsBrowse for Full Report at:Thanks for reading this article; you can also get individual chapter wise section or region wise report version like North America, Europe or Asia.About Author:HTF Market Report is a wholly owned brand of HTF market Intelligence Consulting Private Limited. HTF Market Report global research and market intelligence consulting organization is uniquely positioned to not only identify growth opportunities but to also empower and inspire you to create visionary growth strategies for futures, enabled by our extraordinary depth and breadth of thought leadership, research, tools, events and experience that assist you for making goals into a reality. Our understanding of the interplay between industry convergence, Mega Trends, technologies and market trends provides our clients with new business models and expansion opportunities. We are focused on identifying the Accurate Forecast in every industry we cover so our clients can reap the benefits of being early market entrants and can accomplish their Goals & Objectives.Contact US :Craig Francis (PR & Marketing Manager)HTF Market Intelligence Consulting Private LimitedUnit No. 429, Parsonage Road Edison, NJNew Jersey USA 08837Phone: +1 (206) 317 1218sales@htfmarketreport.comConnect with us at Plain Bearing Market Insights, Status and Forecast 2018-2023: Leading Players - NTN Corporation, SKF Group, Schaeffler Technologies Ag & Co. Kg, Timken Company, THK Co. Plain Bearing Market Insights https://www.htfmarketreport.com/sample-report/1049059-global-plain-bearing-market-7 https://www.htfmarketreport.com/enquiry-before-buy/1049059-global-plain-bearing-market-7 https://www.htfmarketreport.com/buy-now?format=1&report=1049059 https://www.htfmarketreport.com/reports/1049059-global-plain-bearing-market-7 https://www.linkedin.com/company/13388569/ https://www.facebook.com/htfmarketintelligence/ https://twitter.com/htfmarketreport https://plus.google.com/u/0/+NidhiBhawsar-SEO_Expert?rel=author HTF MI recently introduced Global Plain Bearing Market study with in-depth overview, describing about the Product / Industry Scope and elaborates market outlook and status to 2023. The market Study is segmented by key regions which is accelerating the marketization. At present, the market is developing its presence and some of the key players from the complete study are NTN Corporation, SKF Group, Schaeffler Technologies Ag & Co. Kg, Timken Company, THK Co., Ltd., NSK Ltd., Minebea Mitsumi Inc., RBC Bearings Incorporated, SGL Group, GGB Bearing Technology, IGUS, Kashima Bearings, Inc., Boston Gear LLC, Thomson Industries, Inc., Zollern GmbH & Co. Kg & PBC Linear etc.Request Sample of Global Plain Bearing Market Professional Survey Report 2018 @:The global Plain Bearing market is valued at million US$ in 2017 and will reach million US$ by the end of 2025, growing at a CAGR of during 2018-2025.This report studies the Global Plain Bearing market size, industry status and forecast, competition landscape and growth opportunity. This research report categorizes the Global Plain Bearing market by companies, region, type and end-use industry.Browse 100+ market data Tables and Figures spread through Pages and in-depth TOC on " Plain Bearing Market by Type (Journal, Linear, Thrust, Angular Contact & Others), by End-Users/Application (Automotive, Machinery & Equipment, Aerospace & Defense & Others), Organization Size, Industry, and Region - Forecast to 2023". Early buyers will receive 10% customization on comprehensive study.In order to get a deeper view of Market Size, competitive landscape is provided i.e. Revenue (Million USD) by Players (2013-2018), Revenue Market Share (%) by Players (2013-2018) and further a qualitative analysis is made towards market concentration rate, product/service differences, new entrants and the technological trends in future.Enquire for customization in Report @Competitive Analysis:The key players are highly focusing innovation in production technologies to improve efficiency and shelf life. The best long-term growth opportunities for this sector can be captured by ensuring ongoing process improvements and financial flexibility to invest in the optimal strategies. Company profile section of players such as NTN Corporation, SKF Group, Schaeffler Technologies Ag & Co. Kg, Timken Company, THK Co., Ltd., NSK Ltd., Minebea Mitsumi Inc., RBC Bearings Incorporated, SGL Group, GGB Bearing Technology, IGUS, Kashima Bearings, Inc., Boston Gear LLC, Thomson Industries, Inc., Zollern GmbH & Co. Kg & PBC Linear includes its basic information like legal name, website, headquarters, its market position, historical background and top 5 closest competitors by Market capitalization / revenue along with contact information. Each player/ manufacturer revenue figures, growth rate and gross profit margin is provided in easy to understand tabular format for past 5 years and a separate section on recent development like mergers, acquisition or any new product/service launch etc.Market Segments:The Global Plain Bearing Market has been divided into type, application, and region.On The Basis Of Type: Journal, Linear, Thrust, Angular Contact & Others.On The Basis Of Application: Automotive, Machinery & Equipment, Aerospace & Defense & OthersOn The Basis Of Region, this report is segmented into following key geographies, with production, consumption, revenue (million USD), and market share, growth rate of Plain Bearing in these regions, from 2013 to 2023 (forecast), covering North America (U.S. & Canada) {Market Revenue (USD Billion), Growth Analysis (%) and Opportunity Analysis} Latin America (Brazil, Mexico & Rest of Latin America) {Market Revenue (USD Billion), Growth Share (%) and Opportunity Analysis} Europe (The U.K., Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Poland, Sweden & RoE) {Market Revenue (USD Billion), Growth Share (%) and Opportunity Analysis} Asia-Pacific (China, India, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, Rest of Asia) {Market Revenue (USD Billion), Growth Share (%) and Opportunity Analysis} Middle East & Africa (GCC, South Africa, North Africa, RoMEA) {Market Revenue (USD Billion), Growth Share (%) and Opportunity Analysis} Rest of World {Market Revenue (USD Billion), Growth Analysis (%) and Opportunity Analysis}Buy Single User License of Global Plain Bearing Market Professional Survey Report 2018 @Have a look at some extracts from Table of ContentIntroduction about Global Plain BearingGlobal Plain Bearing Market Size (Sales) Market Share by Type (Product Category) in 2017Plain Bearing Market by Application/End UsersGlobal Plain Bearing Sales (Volume) and Market Share Comparison by Applications(2013-2023) table defined for each application/end-users like [Automotive, Machinery & Equipment, Aerospace & Defense & Others]Global Plain Bearing Sales and Growth Rate (2013-2023)Plain Bearing Competition by Players/Suppliers, Region, Type and ApplicationPlain Bearing (Volume, Value and Sales Price) table defined for each geographic region defined.Global Plain Bearing Players/Suppliers Profiles and Sales DataAdditionally Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and Competitors list is being provided for each listed manufacturersMarket Sales, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2013-2018) table for each product type which include Journal, Linear, Thrust, Angular Contact & OthersPlain Bearing Manufacturing Cost AnalysisPlain Bearing Key Raw Materials AnalysisPlain Bearing Chain, Sourcing Strategy and Downstream Buyers, Industrial Chain AnalysisMarket Forecast (2018-2023)........and more in complete table of ContentsBrowse for Full Report at:Thanks for reading this article; you can also get individual chapter wise section or region wise report version like North America, Europe or Asia.About Author:HTF Market Report is a wholly owned brand of HTF market Intelligence Consulting Private Limited. HTF Market Report global research and market intelligence consulting organization is uniquely positioned to not only identify growth opportunities but to also empower and inspire you to create visionary growth strategies for futures, enabled by our extraordinary depth and breadth of thought leadership, research, tools, events and experience that assist you for making goals into a reality. Our understanding of the interplay between industry convergence, Mega Trends, technologies and market trends provides our clients with new business models and expansion opportunities. We are focused on identifying the Accurate Forecast in every industry we cover so our clients can reap the benefits of being early market entrants and can accomplish their Goals & Objectives.Contact US :Craig Francis (PR & Marketing Manager)HTF Market Intelligence Consulting Private LimitedUnit No. 429, Parsonage Road Edison, NJNew Jersey USA 08837Phone: +1 (206) 317 1218sales@htfmarketreport.comConnect with us at Payments Landscape in Colombia-Opportunities and Risks to 2022 | Bancolombia, Davivienda, BBVA, Banco Bogota, Banco Agrario De Colombia, BCSC Banco Caja Social ReportsWeb http://www.reportsweb.com/inquiry&RW00012150955/sample http://www.reportsweb.com/inquiry&RW00012150955/buying http://www.reportsweb.com/payments-landscape-in-colombia-opportunities-and-risks-to-2022 Publisher's "Payments Landscape in Colombia: Opportunities and Risks to 2022", report provides detailed analysis of market trends in the Colombian cards and payments industry. It provides values and volumes for a number of key performance indicators in the industry, including payment cards, cash, direct debit, and cheques during the review-period (2014-18e).The report also analyzes various payment card markets operating in the industry and provides detailed information on the number of cards in circulation, transaction values and volumes during the review-period and over the forecast-period (2018e-22f). It also offers information on the country's competitive landscape, including market shares of issuers and schemes.Get PDF Brochure atThe report brings together Publisher's research, modeling, and analysis expertise to allow banks and card issuers to identify segment dynamics and competitive advantages. The report also covers detailed regulatory policies and recent changes in regulatory structure.This report provides top-level market analysis, information and insights into the Colombian cards and payments industry, including--Current and forecast values for each market in the Colombian cards and payments industry, including debit and credit cards.-Detailed insights into payment instruments including cash, direct debits, payment cards, and cheques. It also, includes an overview of the country's key alternative payment instruments.-E-commerce market analysis and payment methods.-Analysis of various market drivers and regulations governing the Colombian cards and payments industry.-Detailed analysis of strategies adopted by banks and other institutions to market debit and credit cards.Companies Mentioned:BancolombiaDaviviendaBBVABanco BogotaBanco Agrario De ColombiaBCSC Banco Caja SocialBanco AV VillasBanco PopularColpatria MultibancaCitibankItauUnibancoBanco Falabella,DE OccidenteBanco GNB SudamerisTuyaVisaMastercardAmerican ExpressDiners ClubMake an InquiryScope-There is a growing preference for online and digital banking in Latin American markets including Colombia. Bancolombia, for instance, in March 2016 introduced its digital-only app-based bank Nequi in Colombia. Using the app, consumers can conduct basic financial services including opening a savings account, fund transfers, cash withdrawals at ATMs, and QR-based instore payments. To further enhance the security on the app, in August 2016 Nequi introduced mobile biometrics authentication. This allows consumers to login to the app via facial recognition technology. The bank had opened more than 20,000 accounts by January 2017 and plans to take this number to 650,000 by the end of 2018.-The emergence of contactless technology has also supported the growth of card-based payments. Colombian consumers are increasingly embracing contactless wearables, thereby transforming the payments market. In July 2016, Banco de Bogota introduced a mobile token for the Apple watch. To use the service, consumers need to link their Apple watch with the downloaded Token Movil Banco de Bogota app. Then, via the token code generated in the app, consumers can conduct money transfers and payments using their watch. More recently, in 2017 Bancolombia via its mobile app also introduced financial functions for Apple and Android wearables.-Alternative payments are gradually gaining prominence in Colombia, with banks and payment solution providers launching and improving their services. In January 2018, Bancolombia updated its mobile wallet (previously introduced in September 2015) to include biometric identification. Using the service, users can access their wallet through fingerprint identification, making it more secure and convenient. As of January 2018, the wallet has a consumer base of 200,000 individuals. Previously, in September 2016, BBVA Colombia introduced its BBVA Wallet which allows users to make contactless mobile payments of up to COP42,000 ($14.08) without the need to authenticate transactions with a PIN.Reasons to buy-Make strategic business decisions, using top-level historic and forecast market data, related to the Colombian cards and payments industry and each market within it.-Understand the key market trends and growth opportunities in the Colombian cards and payments industry.-Assess the competitive dynamics in the Colombian cards and payments industry.-Gain insights into marketing strategies used for various card types in Colombia.-Gain insights into key regulations governing the Colombian cards and payments industry.For More Information about This Report:Contact Us:Call: +1-646-491-9876Email: sales@reportsweb.comReportsWeb.com is a one stop shop of market research reports and solutions to various companies across the globe. We help our clients in their decision support system by helping them choose most relevant and cost effective research reports and solutions from various publishers. We provide best in class customer service and our customer support team is always available to help you on your research queries.Pune, India Insomnia Market Major Trend Asia Pacific Healthy Evolving Growth Rate | By Types of Therapy Drug Formulation, Capsules, Tablet, Diseases - Forecast Up To 2023 Insomnia Market https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/619 https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/asia-pacific-insomnia-market-619 https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/check-discount/619 Market Research Future Present the Premium Report Insomnia Market Research Report- Asia Pacific Forecast to 2023 Provide In-depth Market Segmentation and Sub Segmentations and also To Provide Competitive Landscape and Key Players in the MarketAsia Pacific Insomnia Market - ScenarioInsomnia is the most common sleep disorder. It involves disturbance in the sleep or trouble in falling asleep or waking up too early in the morning. The exact cause is still a mystery. Insomnia can be exist alone or conjugated with the other psychiatric problems.Premium Sample Report Available @It is most common is women and mostly occur in young age. Conditions like pregnancy, postpartum and menopause can increase the severity of insomnia in the patients. Asia Pacific insomnia market is driven by increasing number of the number of patients suffering from sleep disorders due to adoption of alcohol, caffeine and tobacco by a huge number of population. Many research has explain that psychological and behavioural factor are responsible for causing insomnia. Increasing workload and stressful modern life has increase the demand for the sleeping pills.Asia Pacific Insomnia Market - SegmentationAsia Pacific insomnia market has been segmented on the basis of types of therapy which comprises pharmacological therapy and non-pharmacological therapy. Pharmacological therapy is further segmented into benzodiazepines, non-benzodiazepines, melatonin receptor agonists and other. Non pharmacological treatment are further segmented into relaxation therapy, cognitive behavioural therapy, sleep hygiene education, stimulus control, paradoxical intention and other. By drug formulation they are segmented as capsules, tablet and others. On the basis of type of disease they are poor quality of sleep, sleep maintenance and other.Asia Pacific Insomnia Market Key PlayersTakeda Pharmaceutical Company (Japan), Pfizer, Inc. (US), Eisai, Co. (Japan), Merck & Co Inc (US), Sanofi (France), GlaxoSmithKline Plc. (UK), Meda Consumer Healthcare Inc (US), Care Fusion Corporation (US), Pernix Therapeutics (US), Purdue Pharma L.P. (US), Consumer Healthcare Inc. (Canada), Dainippon Sumitomo (Japan), ECR Pharmaceuticals (US), Johnson & Johnson (US), Astellas (UK), Biocodex S A (France), Neurim (Switzerland), Flynn Pharma (UK).Asia Pacific Insomnia Market - Intended AudienceManufacturing and packaging industries.Insomnia devices and drug manufacturersInsomnia devices and drug suppliersBiotechnology CompaniesBio-Pharmaceutical CompaniesResearch and Development (R&D) CompaniesGovernment Research LaboratoriesMedical Research InstituteAsia Pacific Insomnia Market - Study ObjectivesTo provide the detail overview of market.To provide In-depth market segmentation and sub segmentations.To provide insights about factors affecting the market growthTo provide country level analysis of the market with respect to the current market size and future prospectiveTo track and analyze competitive developments such as joint ventures, strategic alliances, mergers and acquisitions, new product developments, and research and developments in the Asia Pacific insomnia market.Browse Complete Report @Asia Pacific Insomnia Market - Regional AnalysisOn regional basis, Japan accounts the largest share in the Asia Pacific insomnia market. 1 in every 5 people in japan is suffering from acute or chronic symptoms of insomnia. In Japan insomnia is the major problem than anxiety and depression. India and China are also contribute major share in the market. Approximately 5% of total Indias population is suffering from insomnia. This increasing number of people suffering from insomnia is the major driving factor for the market in Asia Pacific region.TABLE OF CONTENTS1 INTRODUCTION1.1 DEFINITION1.2 SCOPE OF STUDY1.2.1 RESEARCH OBJECTIVE1.2.2 ASSUMPTIONS & LIMITATIONS1.2.2.1 ASSUMPTIONS1.2.2.2 LIMITATIONS1.3 MARKET STRUCTURE:2 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY2.1 RESEARCH PROCESS:2.2 PRIMARY RESEARCH2.3 SECONDARY RESEARCH:3 MARKET DYNAMICS3.1 DRIVERS3.2 RESTRAINTS3.3 OPPORTUNITIES3.4 MACROECONOMIC INDICATORS4 MARKET FACTOR ANALYSIS4.1 PORTERS FIVE FORCES MODEL4.2 BARGAINING POWER OF SUPPLIERS4.3 BARGAINING POWER OF BUYERS4.4 THREAT OF NEW ENTRANTSMajor TOC Continued!Get Exclusive Discount @About US:Market Research Future (MRFR), enable customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.Contact Us:Market Research FutureOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, Hadapsar,Pune - 411028Maharashtra, IndiaPhone: +1 646 845 9312Email: sales@marketresearchfuture.com Payments Landscape in Vietnam-Opportunities and Risks to 2022 | VietinBank, ACB, BIDV, DongA Bank, Agribank, Vietcombank, NAPAS ReportsWeb http://www.reportsweb.com/inquiry&RW00012150957/sample http://www.reportsweb.com/inquiry&RW00012150957/buying http://www.reportsweb.com/payments-landscape-in-vietnam-opportunities-and-risks-to-2022 Publisher's "Payments Landscape in Vietnam: Opportunities and Risks to 2022", report provides detailed analysis of market trends in the Vietnamese cards and payments industry. It provides values and volumes for a number of key performance indicators in the industry, including payment cards, credit transfers, direct debit, and cheques during the review-period (2014-18e).The report also analyzes various payment card markets operating in the industry and provides detailed information on the number of cards in circulation, transaction values and volumes during the review-period and over the forecast-period (2018e-22f). It also offers information on the country's competitive landscape, including market shares of issuers and schemes.Free | Get PDF Brochure atThe report brings together Publisher's research, modeling, and analysis expertise to allow banks and card issuers to identify segment dynamics and competitive advantages. The report also covers detailed regulatory policies and recent changes in regulatory structure.This report provides top-level market analysis, information and insights into the Vietnamese cards and payments industry, including--Current and forecast values for each market in the Vietnamese cards and payments industry, including debit and credit cards.-Detailed insights into payment instruments including credit transfers, direct debits, payment cards, and cheques. It also, includes an overview of the country's key alternative payment instruments.-E-commerce market analysis and payment methods.-Analysis of various market drivers and regulations governing the Vietnamese cards and payments industry.-Detailed analysis of strategies adopted by banks and other institutions to market debit and credit cards.Companies Mentioned:VietinBankACBBIDVDongA BankAgribankVietcombankNAPASPayPalVisaMastercardAmerican ExpressMake an InquiryScope-To increase the scope of banking services, banks in Vietnam are going digital. In June 2017, TPBank partnered with Scale360, a UK-based fintech company, to launch digital branches branded as LiveBank across the country. Unlike a traditional bricks-and-mortar branch, LiveBank is based on mobile and video banking. Customers can open accounts, apply for loans, and perform transactions by themselves or under the guidance of an agent over video. Meanwhile digital-only bank Timo was launched in March 2016. Account holders are offered banking services including a payment account, a savings account, a debit card, a Mastercard Platinum credit card, loans, and money transfers.-Vietnamese banks are supporting growth in the banked population by expanding their services to remote locations. Agribank initiated the mobile van banking project. From January 2018 the bank launched a fleet of 68 mobile banking vans in 62 provinces. The vans can provide the majority of banking products and services, including account opening, debit card issuance, payments and deposits, loan processing, overseas remittances, and insurance.-In November 2017 the State Bank of Vietnam passed new regulations on credit cards, restricting their use for ATMs withdrawals. Cash withdrawals using credit cards were caped at VND5m ($220.16) in local currency and VND30m ($1,320.97) in foreign currency. In January 2013 the central bank passed regulation allowing card issuers to charge a fee of VND1,000 ($0.04) per ATM transaction, which rose to VND2,000 ($0.09) per transaction in 2014 and VND3,000 ($0.13) per transaction in 2015. These initiatives are expected to reduce consumers' dependence on cash and promote electronic payments.Reasons to buy-Make strategic business decisions, using top-level historic and forecast market data, related to the Vietnamese cards and payments industry and each market within it.-Understand the key market trends and growth opportunities in the Vietnamese cards and payments industry.-Assess the competitive dynamics in the Vietnamese cards and payments industry.-Gain insights into marketing strategies used for various card types in Vietnam.-Gain insights into key regulations governing the Vietnamese cards and payments industry.For More Information about This Report:Contact Us:Call: +1-646-491-9876Email: sales@reportsweb.comReportsWeb.com is a one stop shop of market research reports and solutions to various companies across the globe. We help our clients in their decision support system by helping them choose most relevant and cost effective research reports and solutions from various publishers. We provide best in class customer service and our customer support team is always available to help you on your research queries.Pune, India Global Aerospace Floor Panels market Inside Analysis For 2018: 2024 https://www.marketstudyreport.com/request-a-sample/1206944/ https://www.marketstudyreport.com/check-for-discount/1206944/ https://www.marketstudyreport.com https://www.marketstudyreport.com/blog/ This global Aerospace Floor Panels market report studies the industry based on one or more segments covering key players, types, applications, products, technology, end-users, and regions for historical data as well as provides forecasts for next few years.The report on aerospace floor panels market is a comprehensive study of the latest trends and opportunities prevalent across this business sphere. The research is meticulously segmented in terms of the aircraft, aerospace floor panels, and geographies. In addition to the pivotal contenders that are a part of the competitive spectrum of this space, this report essentially forecasts aerospace floor panels market to traverse alongside a stable and profitable growth path in the ensuing years.The report commences with a specific set of driving forces that basically stimulate aerospace floor panels market trends and characterizes the strategic landscape. Further on, the section also enumerates the constraints and challenges that are inhibiting the aerospace floor panels market growth.Request a sample on standard prices of this premium report at:The aircraft landscape of aerospace floor panels market has been fastidiously categorized into further sub-segments. Further on, aerospace floor panels landscape is inclusive of Nomex Honeycomb, Aluminum Honeycomb etc. The report vividly portrays the current market estimates, forecast valuation, trends, and drivers of each of the various subsegments.The competitive landscape of aerospace floor panels market including companies such as Rockwell Collins, EFW, The Gill Corp, Avcorp Industries, Zodiac Aerospace, Nordam Group, EnCore Group, Aim Altitude, EURO-Composites and Advanced Custom Manufacturing has been extensively highlighted in the report. The document entails the strategic outlook, product portfolio, financials, and a business overview of each of the companies in explicit detail. A SWOT analysis of the prominent contenders has also been included to ensure convenient decision-making for potential stakeholders.Request a discount on standard prices of this premium report at:The report has also segmented aerospace floor panels market concisely in terms of the regional spectrum. The geographical landscape includes North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, Middle East & Africa. According to the report, aerospace floor panels will witness substantial remuneration in the ensuing years across these regions, with major progressions anticipated in leading segment portfolios.Report ContentChapter 1. Methodology and Scope1.1. Methodology1.1.1. Initial data exploration1.1.2. Statistical model and forecast1.1.3. Industry insights and validation1.1.4. Definition and forecast parameters1.2. Data Sources1.2.1. Secondary1.2.2. PrimaryChapter 2. Executive Summary2.1. Aerospace floor panels industry 360 degree synopsis, 2013 - 20242.1.1. Business trends2.1.2. Aircraft trends2.1.3. Aerospace floor panels trends2.1.4. Distribution Channel trends2.1.5. Regional trendsChapter 3. Aerospace Floor Panels Industry Insights3.1. Industry segmentation3.2. Industry landscape, 2013 - 20243.3. Industry ecosystem analysis3.3.1. Component Suppliers3.3.2. Manufacturers3.3.3. Profit margin analysis3.3.4. Distribution channel analysis3.3.5. Vendor matrix3.4. Technology Landscape3.5. Regulatory landscape3.5.1. North America3.5.2. Europe3.5.3. Asia Pacific3.5.4. Latin America3.5.5. MEA3.6. Pricing analysis3.6.1. By region3.6.1.1. North America3.6.1.2. Europe3.6.1.3. Asia Pacific3.6.1.4. Latin America3.6.1.5. MEA3.6.2. Cost structure analysis3.7. Industry impact forces3.7.1. Growth drivers, by region3.7.1.1. North America3.7.1.2. Europe3.7.1.3. Asia Pacific3.7.1.4. LATAM3.7.1.5. MEA3.7.2. Industry pitfalls & challenges3.8. Innovation & sustainability3.9. Growth potential analysis, 20173.10. Competitive landscape, 20173.10.1. Top players overview3.10.2. Key stakeholders3.10.3. Strategy dashboard3.11. Porter's analysis3.12. PESTEL analysisMarketstudyreport.com allows you to manage and control all corporate research purchases to consolidate billing and vendor management. You can eliminate duplicate purchases and customize your content and license management.Market Study Report4 North Main Street,Selbyville, Delaware 19975USAPhone: 1-302-273-0910US Toll Free: 1-866-764-2150Email:sales@marketstudyreport.comWebsite:Blog:Connect with us:Google+ | LinkedIn | Twitter Architectural Guide Monterrey www.dom-publishers.com www.gisela-graf.com Monterrey is known as the city of the mountains, in reference to its privileged location at the foothills of the Sierra Madre. The city, founded in the north-east of Mexico in 1596, remained dormant until the turn of the 20th century, when it went through a period of rapid industrial growth that transformed it into a prosperous city. Today, Monterrey is an important metropolis brimming with culture, education, and business.In the Architectural Guide Monterrey, Celia Esther Arredondo Zambrano and Carsten Krohn explore how the citys architecture contributed to this transformation. The city needed to accommodate a rapid population growth from one to four million residents, particularly in the last 50 years. Nonetheless, Monterrey is still considered to be among the cities in Mexico with the highest living standards.This volume is structured geographically and presents 100 buildings in the Monterreys historic centre as well as a number of other districts in the city. It presents Monterreys colonial origins ever present in the Barrio Antiguo and the breweries and foundries that played a central role in the citys industrialisation. The book also explores how the spirit of modernity is reflected in the works of several famous Mexican architects such as Mario Pani, Enrique de la Mora, and Luis Barragan and finally arrives at the rapid growth of residential, corporate, and commercial developments currently taking place, with designs by internationally renowned architects such as Nicholas Grimshaw, Tadao Ando, Norman Foster, Zaha Hadid, and Alejandro Aravena.This architectural guide is bilingual, featuring texts in both Spanish and English. It is the second architectural guide by DOM publishers on Mexico, following the publication of the guide on Mexico City. Further titles on Latin America include guides on Brazil, Caracas, Havanna (all in English) as well as Chile (German).Celia Esther Arredondo Zambrano Carsten KrohnArchitectural Guide Monterrey134 245 mm, 208 pages240 pictures, softcoverISBN 978-3-86922-620-0. Spanish / EnglishEUR 28,00 / CHF 34,80July 2018. DOM publishers, BerlinThe Architectural Guides by DOM publishers are handy travel companions for readers interested in architecture and culture. Projects are carefully selected and researched to make each individual book a ready work of reference, while background information and attractive design inspire armchair travellers to imaginary journeys. In 2014, the series was awarded with the Iconic Award by the German Design Council, and in 2016 with the German Design Award Special. Further information:gisela graf communications supports publishers, museums and institutions specialising in architecture, design or art, with professional press and PR work, also on an international level.Communications Individual concepts and texts for media relationsConnections Media contacts, interview arrangements, events anything that brings people and subjects togetherCorrections Editing and copy editing of texts and specialised publications, catalogues and brochuresgisela graf communicationsGisela GrafSchillerstr. 20D 79102 FreiburgT +49 761 791 99 09F +49 761 791 99 08contact@gisela-graf.com Hydrocephalus Market 2018 Grow with Leading Key Vendors as HLL Lifecare Limited, Christoph Miethke GmbH & Co. KG, Codman &Shurtleff, Inc., DePuy Synthes , Integra LifeSciences Corp https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/1719 https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/hydrocephalus-market-1719 https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/check-discount/1719 Market Research Future recently introduced Global Hydrocephalus Market study with in-depth overview, describing about the Product / Industry Scope and elaborates market outlook and status to 2022. The report also provide detail analysis of the market structure along with forecast, market size & share, various segments and growing trends of the bottled water industry.Market ScenarioHydrocephalus is a medical condition, characterized by a build-up of cerebrospinal fluid within the brain, causing an expansion of brain-ventricles. Thus, the brain size increases in this disease and post ill effects include developmental and physical disabilities, the decline in memory, and others. The increasing prevalence of hydrocephalus and the rising demand for minimally invasive surgery are the major drivers for the market growth. According to a study published in the Gerontology and Geriatric Medicine Journal in 2016, the prevalence rate of normal pressure hydrocephalus varies from 0.3% to 3.0% in patients who age 65 years or more. Additionally, the rising per capita healthcare expenditure and rising pediatric population boost the market growth. According to the Hydrocephalus Association in 2015, approximately one in every 1,000 infants is estimated to be born with the disease. However, factors such as lack of awareness and the high cost of therapeutic surgery followed by the related risks of meningitis, seizure, and others are estimated to restrain the market during the forecast period.Get Premium Sample Copy @Market SegmentationThe global hydrocephalus market is segmented on the basis of type, diagnosis, treatment, and end user.On the basis of type, the market is segmented into congenital hydrocephalus, compensated hydrocephalus, normal pressure hydrocephalus, and others. On the basis of diagnosis, the market is categorized into neurological exam, lumber test, brain imaging, and others. The lumber test segment is sub-segmented into lumbar puncture, lumbar drainage test, and others. The brain imaging segment is sub-segmented into ultrasound, Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), Computerized Tomography (CT), and others. On the basis of treatment, the market is segmented into surgery, diuretics, and others. The surgery segment is sub-segmented into shunt surgery, Endoscopic Third Ventriculostomy (ETV), and others. The diuretics segment is sub-segmented into acetazolamide, furosemide, and others. On the basis of end-user, the market is segmented into hospitals and clinics, diagnostic centers, and others.Market Regional AnalysisThe Americas dominates the global hydrocephalus market owing to the rising prevalence of hydrocephalus, the presence of a well-developed healthcare sector, and major market players within the region. Additionally, the growing pediatric population and rising healthcare expenditure boost the market growth. On a regional basis, the Americas is divided into North America and South America. North America is estimated to lead the market due to the presence of developed economies such as the US and Canada within the region. On the other hand, South America is estimated to be the fastest growing region for the market.Europe stands second in the global hydrocephalus market. This can be due to the increasing availability of funds for research, a huge patient population, and a well-developed healthcare sector. Additionally, the increasing pediatric population provides favorable backgrounds for the market growth within the region. The child population, aging in between 0 to 14 years is estimated to increase from 17.6% of the total population in 2013 to 18.4% of the total population by 2020. Regionally, Europe is divided into Western Europe and Eastern Europe. Eastern Europe is the fastest growing region, and Western Europe is estimated to lead the market.Obtain Report Details with Technological Advancement @Asia Pacific is estimated to the fastest growing region for hydrocephalus market. This can be attributed to the presence of developing economies such as India, China, and Australia besides others and a developing healthcare sector within the region. According to the Brain Foundation, each year in Australia, one in every 1,000 children is born with hydrocephalus. Additionally, the increasing healthcare expenditure and the increasing government support fuel the market growth.The Middle East and Africa holds the least market share owing to the low per capita healthcare expenditure and stringent government policies, especially within the African region. On the hand, the Middle East holds a majority of the market due to a well-developed healthcare sector and huge healthcare expenditure by developed economies such as Kuwait, Qatar, Dubai, and others within the region.Market Key playersHLL Lifecare Limited (India), Christoph Miethke GmbH & Co. KG (Germany), Codman &Shurtleff, Inc. (U.S.), DePuy Synthes (U.S.), Integra LifeSciences Corp (U.S.), Medtronic (U.S.), SOPHYSA Inc. (France), RAUMEDIC AG (U.S.), Spiegelberg GmbH & Co. KG (Germany), Tokibno Co. Ltd. (Japan), Vittamed (U.S.), others.Major Points form TOC for Hydrocephalus Market Research Report Forecast to 2022Chapter 1. Report PrologueChapter 2. Market IntroductionChapter 3. Research MethodologyChapter 4. Market DynamicsChapter 5. Market Factor AnalysisChapter 6. Global Hydrocephalus Market, By TypeChapter 7. Global Hydrocephalus Market, By TreatmentChapter 8 Global Hydrocephalus Market, By End UserChapter 9. Global Hydrocephalus Market, By RegionChapter 10. Company LandscapeChapter 11. Company ProfilesChapter 12. MRFR ConclusionChapter 13. AppendixGet Excusive Discount @About US:Market Research Future (MRFR), enable customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.Contact Us:Market Research FutureOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, Hadapsar,Pune - 411028Maharashtra, IndiaPhone: +1 646 845 9312Email: sales@marketresearchfuture.com The Insurance Industry in Togo Key Trends and Opportunities to 2022 | Groupement Togolais d'Assurances Vie, Nouvelle Societe Interafricaine D'Assurances, Saham Assurance, Sunu Assurances IARD-Togo ReportsWeb http://www.reportsweb.com/inquiry&RW00012150973/sample http://www.reportsweb.com/inquiry&RW00012150973/buying http://www.reportsweb.com/the-insurance-industry-in-togo-key-trends-and-opportunities-to-2022 "The Insurance Industry in Togo, Key Trends and Opportunities to 2022", report provides detailed analysis of the market trends, drivers and challenges in the Togolese insurance industry.It provides key performance indicators such as written premium and claims during the review period (2013-2017) and forecast period (2017-2022).The report also analyzes distribution channels operating in the segment, gives a comprehensive overview of the Togolese economy and demographics, provides detailed information on the competitive landscape and profiles of insurers operating in the country. The report also includes details of insurance regulations and recent changes in the regulatory structure.Free | Get PDF Brochure atThis report provides in-depth market analysis, information and insights into the Togolese insurance industry, including--The Togolese insurance industry's growth prospects by segment and category-A comprehensive overview of the Togolese economy and demographics-Details of the competitive landscape in the Togolese insurance industry-The various distribution channels in the Togolese insurance industry-Details of regulatory policy applicable to the Togolese insurance industry-Analysis of natural hazards in the Togolese insurance industry.Companies Mentioned:Groupement Togolais d'Assurances VieNouvelle Societe Interafricaine D'AssurancesSaham AssuranceSunu Assurances IARD-TogoGroupement Togolais d'Assurances (GTA-C2A)Sunu Assurances Vie TogoNouvelle Societe Interafricaine D'AssurancesBeneficial LifeAllianz Togo AssurancesFidelia AssurancesOgar Assurances Togo SaKey Findings-In April 2018, Conference Interafricaine des Marches d'Assurances (CIMA) issued a regulation amending provisions on reserve requirements for life insurers.-Effective March 2018, the Togolese council of ministers issued a decree making Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) insurance brown cards mandatory for all vehicle owners, in addition to motor third party liability (MTPL) policies.-Due to the rise in mobile penetration, MNOs are playing an instrumental role in the development of microinsurance.-The Togolese general insurance segment is highly price competitive, due to the large low income population.Make an InquiryScope-This report provides a comprehensive analysis of the insurance industry in Togo.-It provides historical values for the Togolese insurance industry for the report's 2013-2017 review period, and projected figures for the 2017-2022 forecast period.-It offers a detailed analysis of the key segments in the Togolese insurance industry, with market forecasts to 2022.-It covers an exhaustive list of parameters, including written premium and claims.-It analyzes the various distribution channels in Togo.-It profiles the top insurance companies in Togo and outlines the key regulations affecting them.Reasons to buy-Make strategic business decisions using in-depth historic and forecast market data related to the Togolese insurance industry and each segment and category within it.-Understand the demand-side dynamics, key market trends and growth opportunities in the Togolese insurance industry.-Assess the competitive dynamics in the Togolese insurance industry.-Identify the growth opportunities and market dynamics in key segments.-Gain insights into key regulations governing the Togolese insurance industry and their impact on companies and the industry's future.For More Information about This Report:Contact Us:Call: +1-646-491-9876Email: sales@reportsweb.comReportsWeb.com is a one stop shop of market research reports and solutions to various companies across the globe. We help our clients in their decision support system by helping them choose most relevant and cost effective research reports and solutions from various publishers. We provide best in class customer service and our customer support team is always available to help you on your research queries.Pune, India Waste Water SCADA Market 2018 Latest Trends and Future Scope with Top Key Players- Iconics, Semaphore, Trihedral, Yokogawa, Thales Group, Siemens, Ruekert Mielke, Honeywell, Evoqua, Hitachi, SES Waste Water SCADA https://www.qyresearchgroups.com/request-sample/987423 https://www.qyresearchgroups.com/check-discount/987423 The report gives the clear picture of current Waste Water SCADA Market scenario and the predicted future of the industry. The report focuses on the basis of market drivers, restraints, growth, trends and forecast for the period of 2018-2025. In addition, the report also maps the market performance by value chain analysis which will help in better product differentiation along with the analysis of each segment in terms of opportunity, market attractiveness index and growth rate.The report Waste Water SCADA Market by Key players highlights the essential market dynamics of Waste Water SCADA Market sector. The efficiency of this segment has been studied deeply along with the noteworthy challenges and forthcoming growth opportunities and prospective. The report focuses in decision making abilities and supports to make effective counter strategies in order to achieve competitive advantage. Current market scenario of the segment and forecasts of the market situation have also been bounded in this market report.QY Research groups can be relied upon for the most updated and in depth information of the title Global Waste Water SCADA Market this is estimated by experts to develop at the most elevated CAGR amid the estimate time frame 2018-2025.Get your Sample Report Copy @The major manufacturers covered in this report Iconics Semaphore Trihedral Yokogawa Thales Group Siemens Ruekert Mielke Honeywell Evoqua Hitachi SES RACO Manufacturing and EngineeringGeographically, this report studies the top producers and consumers, focuses on product capacity, production, value, consumption, market share and growth opportunity in these key regions, covering North America Europe China Japan Southeast Asia IndiaOn the basis of product, this report displays the production, revenue, price, market share and growth rate of each type, primarily split into Water Distribution SCADA Wastewater Collection SCADA Wastewater Treatment SCADA OtherOn the basis of the end users/applications, this report focuses on the status and outlook for major applications/end users, consumption (sales), market share and growth rate for each application, including City Village OtherGet the best Discount in the market here @This market is segmented by Types and Applications. It provides a profound study of the leading players in the market and the prevailing regions in the business, thereby benefiting new entries in the business by proving the most updated insights of the market.At QY Research Groups we render the most authentic and elaborate information for the utmost benefit of our clients.About Us:QY Research Groups is a company that simplifies how analysts and decision makers get industry data for their business. Our unique colossal technology has been developed to offer refined search capabilities designed to exploit the long tail of free market research whilst eliminating irrelevant results. QY Research Groups is the collection of market intelligence products and services on the Web. We offer reports and update our collection daily to provide you with instant online access to the world's most complete and current database of expert insights on global industries, companies, products, and trends.Contact Us:Call: +1-888-236-2744Email: sales@qyresearchgroups.comRoom B1510, Shiji Kemao Building,No.66 Zhongguancun East Road,Haidian District, Beijing,100190, China. PMMMNMTT Banasthali FDP Prof OP Yadav North Dakota State University USA Talks on Robust Design PMMMNMTT Banasthali FDP Prof OP Yadav North Dakota State University USA Talks on Robust Design http://www.banasthali.org/ http://www.banasthali.org www.facebook.com/Banasthali.org Faculty Development Centre at Banasthali organized a one week Faculty Development Program under Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya National Mission on Teachers and Teaching (PMMMNMTT) on the theme Interdisciplinary Dimensions of Chemical Engineering during 21 27 July 2018. Chemical Engineering Department Banasthali facilitated the program with Prof BR Natarajan as Coordinator, Prof Satish Shukla as Convenor and Mr Deepak Kumar as Co Convenor.PMMMNMTT is a path breaking scheme launched by the Ministry of Human Resource Development MHRD, Government of India. Only top ranking institutions in India today have been identified under PMMMNMTT as Centre of Excellence in Curriculum and Pedagogy to facilitate the professional and personal development of teachers which is vital for achieving the goals of quality education. It is a matter of great pride that Banasthali which is worlds largest fully residential womens University with Quacquarelli Symonds QS Four Star Ranking and Diamond Status is one such centre for Faculty Development.Chemical Engineering is undoubtedly a highly interdisciplinary field of study concerned with materials and processes at the heart of a broad range of technologies. The theme attracted faculty members from diverse disciplines and 30 participants registered for the program which was inaugurated by Shri Amit Kumar Scientific Officer F Nuclear Power Corporation of India NPCIL Rawatbhata Rajasthan on 21 Jul 2018 with a talk on Challenges in Nuclear Power Technology.It is well known that a system (product or process) is ROBUST if it performs properly to Customer Satisfaction in a wide range of conditions. Robust product design is a concept from the teachings of Dr. Genichi Taguchi, a Japanese quality guru and is defined as reducing variation in a product without eliminating the causes of the variation, i.e. making the product or process insensitive to variation.On 23 July 2018, Prof Om Prakash Yadav who holds PhD Industrial Engineering from Wayne State University and presently Interim Chair Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering at North Dakota State University NDSU USA gave a talk on Robust Design. Prof Yadavs Research interests include Quality and Reliability Engineering; Robust Product / Process Design, Concurrent Engineering; TQM, Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma Methodologies; Production & Operations Management; Optimization Techniques; Supply-Chain Management; Fuzzy Logic and Neural Networks; Quantitative Analysis of Operations Management.Before joining NDSU, he was a senior reliability engineer at Ford Motor Company and faculty at Malaviya National Institute of Technology, Jaipur (India) which is his Alma mater too. He has served as Associate Editor, Guest Editor, and Editorial Board Member of several international journals. He is actively involved in organizing several international level conferences and currently serving as Management Committee member of Reliability & Maintainability Symposium. Dr. Yadav has published over 100 journal and conference paper articles and delivered several invited keynote talks around the world in many international conferences and symposiums. He has conducted several training programs and workshop for professionals in both India and USA. He is a member of American Society of Quality, Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers, and Society of Reliability Engineers.Participant Shri Ashok Yadav who is also MNIT Jaipur alumnus welcomed Prof OP Yadav with a colorful bouquet and Prof Natarajan honored him with a Banasthali unique tradition Khadi Garland. Prof Satish Shukla presented a glittering memento to Prof OP Yadav on behalf of the host institution.Prof Yadav went around the campus and was highly impressed with the infrastructure and had words of high praise for the automation department with state of the art facilities under the leadership of Prof Shaily Sharma. He also visited the art gallery Kala Mandir as well as library and spent time glancing through the original copy of the constitution of India preserved there. Prof Yadav addressed the students of chemical engineering and urged them to be dreamers performers and achievers in coming times.Prof OP Yadav also interacted with Vice Chancellor Prof Aditya Shastri and offered to collaborate with Banasthali for furthering the cause of women education and expressed his desire to take a girl engineer from Banasthali with Electronics background to work on a research project at USA. His visit is truly unforgettable for Banasthali.For more details about Banasthali seeAbout Banasthali: The Institution which is also the largest fully residential womens university in the world has played a big role in revolutionizing womens education in the country for the last eight decades with a belief that there is a tremendous role of higher education in empowering the women. Banasthali has scripted numerous success stories in a wide range of fields, and stands tall among the citadels of learning in India today. Team Banasthali with Vice Chancellor J C Bose Memorial Award for eminent scientist recipient Prof Aditya Shastri a highly acclaimed alumnus of BITS Pilani, SUNY State University of New York Stony Brook and MIT USA is indeed racing forward to be the very best among global women universities. It is a matter of pride that NITI Aayog had selected Banasthali along with ISB CCMB in Top 10 to host Atal Incubation Centre. Proud to be Banasthali alumni who call themselves as Banasthalites can be found in all latitudes, longitudes and altitudes in all walks of life across the globe.Banasthali UniversityP.O. Banasthali VidyapithRajasthan 304022Phone 91 1438 228456 / 228341Email: info@banasthali.ac.inWebsite:Facebook: Wireless Display Market 2018 Top Vendors are Amazon, MICROSOFT, CAVIUM, GOOGLE, Lattice Semiconductor, BELKIN INTERNATIONAL INC., APPLE INC., ACTIONTEC ELECTRONICS INC., Netgear, Silicon Image Inc. Global Wireless Display Market ? Industry Trends and Forecast to 2025 http://databridgemarketresearch.com/request-a-sample/?dbmr=global-wireless-display-market https://databridgemarketresearch.com/inquire-before-buying/?dbmr=global-wireless-display-market The Global Wireless Display Market is highly concentrated to a few big players and rest to local players who cater to domestic markets only. Intel Corporation dominates wireless display market, accounting for the highest market share in 2017, followed by Qualcomm Inc. and Roku Inc. Other players in this market include Amazon, MICROSOFT, CAVIUM, GOOGLE, Lattice Semiconductor, BELKIN INTERNATIONAL INC., APPLE INC., ACTIONTEC ELECTRONICS INC., Netgear, Silicon Image Inc., Airtame Inc., and Splashtop Inc. among others holds 7.0% of the global wireless display market in 2017.Get Exclusive Sample Copy @Global Wireless Display Market By Offering {Hardware (Standalone, Brand Product Integrated),Software}, By Application {Consumer, Commercial (Corporate & Broadcast, Digital Signage, Education, Healthcare, Government}, By Technology Protocol (Wireless HD, Miracast, Wi-Fi display, Airplay, Google Cast, DLNA), By Geography (North America, South America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Middle East & Africa)- Industry Trends and Forecast to 2025Global Wireless Display Market is expected to reach USD 5,623.3 million by 2025 from USD 2,530.0 million in 2017, at a CAGR of 10.6% in the forecast period 2018 to 2025. The new market report contains data for historic years 2016, the base year of calculation is 2017 and the forecast period is 2018 to 2025. Hardware market with highest market share has the largest market segment in wireless display market.Intel Corporation:Founded in 1968 and headquartered in California, U.S., manufacturer and a markets computer, different communications platforms and networking. It operates through Internet of Things Group, Intel Security Group, Client Computing Group, Client Computing Group and many other segments. Its platform are utilized in 2 in 1 systems, desktops, wireless and wired connectivity products, wireless and wired connectivity, smartphones, enterprise, notebooks and many others.Recent Developments:On September, 2012, Intel corporation launched new wireless display 3.5 will support Miracast which would allow the content to directly pass from one device to another using a Wi-Fi connection.Qualcomm Inc.:Founded in 1985 and headquartered in California, U.S., a developer and a manufacturer of digital communication products. It operates in three segments such as Qualcomm Technology Licensing (QTL), Qualcomm CDMA Technologies (QCT) and Qualcomm Strategic Initiatives (QSI). It also provides products and services related to mobile health, push-to-talk services and the software products. Qualcomm CDMA Technologies (QCT) offers system software and integrated circuits related to CDMA, technologies for the utilization in wireless networking, voice and data communications, application processing, multimedia and others.Recent Developments:On January, 2012, Qualcomm Inc. introduced first generation of Wi-Fi Display- connectivity technology solutions which permits users to share content wirelessly among tablets, smartphones, computers, TVs and others.Roku Inc.:Founded in 2002 and headquartered in California, U.S, works on a TV streaming platform which permits the users to access and ascertain variety of movies, live sports, news, music, TV episodes and others. It offers streaming media players as well as accessories in order to access Its TV streaming. It sells and manufactures advertising products such as videos ads, audience development promotions, brand sponsorships along with sells channel through remote control.TABLE OF CONTENTS1) Introduction2) MARKET SEGMENTATION3) Market OverviewDriversRestraintsOPPORTUNITIESCHALLENGES4) EXECUTIVE SUMMARY5) Premium insights6) Global Wireless Display Market, By Offering7) Global Wireless Display Market, By Application8) Global Wireless Display Market, By Technology Protocol9) Global Wireless Display Market, By Technology ProtocolOverviewNorth AmericaEuropeAsia-Pacificsouth AmericaMiddle East and Africa10) Global Wireless Display Market, Competitive Analysis11) Company profilesMICROSOFT,CAVIUM,GOOGLE,Lattice Semiconductor,BELKIN INTERNATIONAL INC.,APPLE INC.,ACTIONTEC ELECTRONICS INC, many moreInquire Regarding This Report @About Data Bridge Market Research:Data Bridge Market Research set forth itself as an unconventional and neoteric Market research and consulting firm with unparalleled level of resilience and integrated approaches. We are determined to unearth the best market opportunities and foster efficient information for your business to thrive in the market. Data Bridge endeavors to provide appropriate solutions to the complex business challenges and initiates an effortless decision-making process.Contact:Data Bridge Market ResearchTel: +1-888-387-2818Email: sopan.gedam@databridgemarketresearch.com Liposuction devices Market Size by End-user & Region, Key Players: AMD Global Telemedicine, Inc., Genesis Biosystems, Erchonia Corporation, Cynosure, Cutera, Inc., Bruker. Liposuction devices Market https://databridgemarketresearch.com/request-a-sample/?dbmr=global-liposuction-devices-market https://databridgemarketresearch.com/speak-to-analyst/?dbmr=global-liposuction-devices-market Liposuction devices (fat removal device) market accounted to USD 7.1 billion in 2016 growing at a CAGR of 9.5% during the forecast period of 2017 to 2024. The upcoming market report contains data for historic years 2015, the base year of calculation is 2016 and the forecast period is 2017 to 2024.Get Free Sample Report@Liposuction Devices Major Market Competitors:Some of the major players operating in liposuction devices market are- Alma Lasers, Ambicare Clinics, Bruker Corporation, Cutera, Cynosure Inc., Erchonia, Genesis Biosystems, AMD Global Telemedicine, Invasix Aesthetic Solutions, Sciton Inc., Solta Medical among othersMarket Analysis:The liposuction devices market is highly fragmented and is based on new product launches and clinical results of products. Hence the major players have used various strategies such as new product launches, clinical trials, market initiatives, high expense on research and development, agreements, joint ventures, partnerships, acquisitions, and others to increase their footprints in this market. The report includes market shares of liposuction devices market for global, Europe, North America, Asia Pacific and South America.Liposuction Devices Market Major Drivers and Restraints: Increasing obesity population Increasing aesthetics consciousness Growing technological advancement in liposuction devices Weak Reimbursement PoliciesTo Avail 10% Discount On This Report Mail Us on:- sopan.gedam@databridgemarketresearch.comLiposuction Devices Market Segmentation:By Product Type the market for liposuction devices is segmented in to: portable liposuction surgery devices, stand alone liposuction surgery devices.By technology the Liposuction Devices Market is segmented in to: suction-assisted liposuction, power-assisted liposuction, water jet assisted liposuction devices, twin cannula-assisted liposuction, radio frequency assisted liposuction devices, tumescent liposuction, aspirator devices, laser assisted liposuction devices, ultrasound assisted liposuction device, and other liposuction devices.On the basis of end-users the liposuction devices market is segmented in to: hospitals, ambulatory centers cosmetics surgical centers.On the basis of geography, liposuction devices market report covers data points for 28 countries across multiple geographies such as: North America & South America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Middle East & Africa.Some of the major countries covered in this report are U.S., Canada, Germany, France, U.K., Netherlands, Switzerland, Turkey, Russia, China, India, South Korea, Japan, Australia, Singapore, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, and Brazil among others. In 2017, North America is expected to dominate the market.Report Brief Focus On:Liposuction Devices Market, By Product Type (Portable liposuction surgery devices, Stand alone liposuction surgery devices), By Technology (Suction-Assisted Liposuction, Power-Assisted Liposuction, Water Jet Assisted Liposuction Devices, Twin Cannula-Assisted Liposuction, Radiofrequency Assisted Liposuction Devices, Tumescent Liposuction, Aspirator Devices, Laser Assisted Liposuction Devices, Ultrasound Assisted Liposuction Device, Other Liposuction Devices), By End Users (Hospitals, Ambulatory Centers, Cosmetic Surgical Centers), By Geography (North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Europe, South America, Middle East and Africa) Industry Trends and Forecast to 2024Note: If you have any special requirements, please let us know and we will offer you the report as you want.Customization With Discount Available On This Report, Mail Us @About Data Bridge Market Research:Data Bridge Market Research set forth itself as an unconventional and neoteric Market research and consulting firm with unparalleled level of resilience and integrated approaches. We are determined to unearth the best market opportunities and foster efficient information for your business to thrive in the market. Data Bridge endeavors to provide appropriate solutions to the complex business challenges and initiates an effortless decision-making process.Contact:Data Bridge Market ResearchTel: +1-888-387-281Email: sopan.gedam@databridgemarketresearch.com Polymerase Chain Reaction Consumables Market Revenue to Reach Around US$ 639.89 Million by 2026 https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=43652 https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=D&rep_id=43652 https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/report-toc/43652 https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/ Transparency Market Research (TMR) has published a new report titled Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) Consumables - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecast, 20182026. According to the report, the global polymerase chain reaction (PCR) consumables market was valued at US$ 434 Mn in 2017 and is projected to expand at a CAGR of 4.8% from 2018 to 2026. The report suggests that increase in use of polymerase chain reaction consumables in quantification of plant mutations and genetically modified organisms, assessment of bacterial and viral loads and absolute pathogen counts, quantification of NGS libraries, and detection of cancer in body fluid and stool DNA are likely to drive the polymerase chain reaction consumables market from 2018 to 2026.Request for the Sample Report @The molecular diagnostic industry has emerged as a major driver of development in PCR technology-based amplification techniques. The demand for greater efficiency and productivity in the pharmaceuticals industry has led to the growth of the polymerase chain reaction consumables market. PCR technologies have been used to identify and analyze potential drug targets due to the introduction of personalized medicine. Other major factors driving the polymerase chain reaction consumables market include enhanced automation, rise in demand for analysis technologies, research-intensive investment by various biotechnological companies, and wider application areas of PCR technologies.The report offers detailed segmentation of the global polymerase chain reaction (PCR) consumables market based on product and end-user. In terms of product, the PCR tubes segment is anticipated to have high share due to high adoption of PCR tubes in research and academic institutes as well as clinical diagnostic laboratories and hospitals.The research and academic institutes segment is expected to account for a leading share of the market in 2026. The segment is also likely to expand at a rapid pace during the forecast period. PCR has become a functional tool in the mainstream life sciences and chemistry disciplines. Its applications range from molecular genetics to microbiology assays and are expanding beyond traditional areas. The clinical diagnostic labs and hospitals segment accounted for over 24.3% market share in 2017. The combination of exceptional specificity and sensitivity, low contamination risk, and low detection time has made PCR technology a better alternative to culture- or immunoassay-based testing methods for diagnosing various infectious diseases.Request for Discount @North America held a prominent share of the global polymerase chain reaction (PCR) consumables market in 2017. The market has witnessed significant technological advancements, as companies have introduced newer PCR technologies and protocols. In addition, a large number of market players in the U.S. are focusing on R&D to introduce applications that would expand the use of PCR in new areas such as next-generation sequencing (NGS). Moreover, high awareness about latest health care technologies and higher purchasing power and affordability are anticipated to boost the PCR market in North America. Favorable reimbursement policies in the region also enable patients to avail of the best of health care facilities.The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) consumables market in Asia Pacific is expected to expand at a rapid pace mainly due to improving health care infrastructure, rising private and public investment in life science research, and technological advancements in countries such as China and India. Less competition in Asia Pacific is encouraging a large number of instrument manufacturers to enter the market. QIAGEN established its Asia regional headquarters in Shanghai, China, in 2006. Presently, the company has a strong base in Asia Pacific, primarily in China, Singapore, Japan and India.The report also provides profiles of leading players operating in the global polymerase chain reaction (PCR) consumables market. They include Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc., Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd., Inc., Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., Qiagen N.V., Merck KGaA, Agilent Technologies, Inc., Eppendorf Group, 4titude, Corning Incorporated, and Greiner Bio-One International GmbH.Request for Report TOC @About UsTransparency Market Research is a global market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. Our experienced team of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information.Our data repository is continuously updated and revised by a team of research experts, so that it always reflects the latest trends and information. With a broad research and analysis capability, Transparency Market Research employs rigorous primary and secondary research techniques in developing distinctive data sets and research material for business reports.Contact UsTransparency Market Research,90 Sate Street, Suite 700,Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite: Global Blood Pressure Monitoring Devices Market 2018 - Schiller, Bosch + Sohn, Microlife, Vasomedical Global Blood Pressure Monitoring Devices Market https://bit.ly/2MgmPMN https://bit.ly/2AzorQA www.accordmarket.com Global Blood Pressure Monitoring Devices Market 2018 Analysis Report audits a Market Regions, Product Categories, with Sales, Business Revenue, Goods cost, Blood Pressure Monitoring Devices piece of the overall industry and Growth patterns, concentrating on driving Blood Pressure Monitoring Devices industry players, showcase size, request and supply examination, utilization volume, Forecast 2018 to 2022.The major regions present in the continents like United States, Germany, Japan and China and their contribution to global Blood Pressure Monitoring Devices market is elaborated in this research document. In next section, the report discusses industry policies and plans, cost structures, the outline of Blood Pressure Monitoring Devices market globally, manufacturing processes. The growth rate exhibited by Blood Pressure Monitoring Devices market based on consumption ratio, consumer volume, market gains is included in this report.Get Free Sample Copy of Report Here:Top Manufacturers Analysis of Global Blood Pressure Monitoring Devices Market :-A&DWelch AllynSunTech MedicalSpacelabs HealthcareSchillerBosch + SohnMicrolifeVasomedicalMeditechRiesterMindraySuzukenHINGMEDGeratherm MedicalHONSUNNorditalia GroupAmerican DiagnosticBeurerI.E.M GmbHPulse MetricThe Global Blood Pressure Monitoring Devices report gives a thorough situation of the present and gauge Blood Pressure Monitoring Devices showcase procedures, improvement methodologies and development openings. Starting a discussion on the contemporary condition of Blood Pressure Monitoring Devices showcase, the report extra dissects the market powerful moving each area begun in it.Inquire Before Buying @The report additionally concentrates the Blood Pressure Monitoring Devices bits of knowledge of the organizations and suggestions that will help the perusers to have progressive learning of the Blood Pressure Monitoring Devices showcase.A principal diagram of the Blood Pressure Monitoring Devices market is introduced to the perusers with the assistance of market definition, order, different applications, and production network examination. The Blood Pressure Monitoring Devices report covers the investigation of conventional and the developing markets. The report more expresses the Blood Pressure Monitoring Devices showcase rivals, their business profiles, freshest news, their piece of the overall industry, developing arrangements and methodologies, client volume and creating strategies.All in all, it is an exhaustive research report which will help perusers to break down the possibility of interest in Blood Pressure Monitoring Devices advertise.About UsAccord Market offers elevating market research globally. We have collection of various syndicated reports of different categories. Accord Market provides you to best services, weather youre searching for new trends in market or competitive scenario in emerging market.Customers can buys different reports across various categories such as Chemical and Material, Biotechnology, Healthcare, Food and beverages, Automobile and various sectors. Our Website offers safe and secure online ordering experience, convenient payment options.Contact UsFrank ValadezS no. 72/1/A/6, Floor No. 1,Harikrishna Building, Samarth Nagar,New Sanghvi, Pune-411027 India.Phone: +91-8149441100Email id - sales@accordmarket.comWebsite - Automotive Fuel Transfer Assemblies Market Key Players, Supply Chain and Analysis to 2018-2028 https://www.factmr.com/connectus/sample?flag=B&rep_id=1246 https://www.factmr.com/connectus/sample?flag=T&rep_id=1246 www.factmr.com/ www.linkedin.com/company/factmr/ Global Automotive Fuel Transfer Assemblies Market: OverviewAutomotive fuel transfer assemblies are used for improving the fuel system availability and safety during the transmission of fuel to the combustion unit of an automotive engine. A fuel pump transfer assembly is mounted in a fuel tank for sending fuel to a fuel injector, which includes a driving means for supplying a driving force for sending or returning fuel. With increasing temperatures and increasing electronic controls, the need for efficient coolants is also increasing. For the lower temperature range, companies are producing advanced multi-layer tubing, and for the higher temperature range, they provide hybrid lines consisting of steel tubing with high-performing lightweight fluorocomp hoses. Automotive fuel transfer assemblies play an integral role in running any vehicle smoothly. These fuel transfer assemblies assist the engine in running as estimated under a wide range of driving conditions and rates of fuel consumption. As the demand for automotive components is surging in developing countries such as India, China, Brazil, Japan, and others, governments are undertaking many initiatives to increase the sales of these components. Technological developments in this niche, but significant products with the highest penetration rate in a vehicle is expected to enhance the growth of the automotive air fuel transfer assemblies market.Global Automotive Fuel Transfer Assemblies Market: DynamicsDrivers:Rates of fuel consumption and high efficiency are some of the major drivers for the growth of the automotive fuel transfer assemblies market. The ability of these fuel transfer assemblies to transfer a constant pressurized fuel supply to the fuel injection from the fuel tank on the engine is escalating the demand for automotive fuel transfer assemblies. The growing demand for passenger vehicles with technological advancements is spurring market growth. The growing automotive industry and demand for auto components are expected to support the growth of the automotive fuel transfer assemblies market.However, the low replacement rate of fuel transfer assemblies in vehicles restrains the growth of the global automotive fuel transfer assemblies market.Get Brochure of The Report:Global Automotive Fuel Transfer Assemblies Market: SegmentationThe global automotive fuel transfer assemblies market is segmented on the basis of product type, vehicle type, and sales channel.On the basis of product type, the automotive fuel transfer assemblies market is segmented as:Brake LineFuel LineOil LineTwin TurboEmission Control LineValve Actuation LineAir Compressor LineCoolant EGR, Turbo, Doser, InjectorCoolant Engine, Air CompressorOn the basis of vehicle type, the automotive fuel transfer assemblies market is segmented as:Passenger VehiclesLight Commercial VehiclesHeavy Commercial VehiclesLuxury VehiclesOn the basis of sales channel, the automotive fuel transfer assemblies market is segmented as:OEMsAftermarketGlobal Automotive Fuel Transfer Assemblies Market: Region-wise OutlookNorth American countries such as the U.S. and Canada are expected to show vigorous growth in the automotive fuel transfer assemblies market, owing to the large number vehicles production in these countries. The same perspective holds true for European countries such as Germany, Spain, and France. These countries exhibit high potential growth in the automotive fuel transfer assemblies market, due to escalating vehicle sales and a renewed interest in electric vehicles. India and China are expected to forefront the growth of the market in the Asia Pacific region, due to the major contribution of these two economies in the automotive industry. The aftermarket segment of the automotive fuel transfer assemblies market is expected to increase in the MEA region, due to the augmented demand for luxury vehicles in this region. Japan is also expected to show high potential for the market, due to the presence of a large number of OEMs in the country. The automotive fuel transfer assemblies market in the Latin America region is expected to experience slow growth, due to the decline in automotive industry in the regions largest economy, Brazil, but is projected to pick up steam in the latter stages of the forecast period.Global Automotive Fuel Transfer Assemblies Market: Key ParticipantsKey market participants of the global automotive fuel transfer assemblies markets are the following:Robert Bosch GmbHAkron Polymer ProductsHutchinsonATS Automation Tooling Systems IncKongsberg AutomotiveJalex automotive Pvt. Ltd.The research report presents a comprehensive assessment of the market, and contains thoughtful insights, facts, historical data, and statistically supported and industry-validated market data. It also contains projections using a suitable set of assumptions and methodologies. The research report provides analysis and information according to market segments, such as geography, application, and industry.Request Report TOC@The report covers an exhaustive analysis on:Market SegmentsMarket DynamicsMarket SizeSupply & DemandCurrent Trends/Issues/ChallengesCompetition & Companies InvolvedTechnologyValue ChainRegional analysis includes:North America (U.S., Canada)Latin America (Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Peru)Western Europe (Germany, Italy, France, U.K, Spain, BENELUX, Nordic,Eastern Europe (CIS and Russia)Asia-Pacific (China, India, ASEAN, South Korea)JapanMiddle East and Africa (GCC Countries, South Africa, Turkey, Iran, Israel)The report on the automotive fuel transfer assemblies market is a compilation of first-hand information, qualitative and quantitative assessment by industry analysts, and inputs from industry experts and industry participants across the value chain. The automotive fuel transfer assemblies market report provides an in-depth analysis of parent market trends, macro-economic indicators, and governing factors, along with market attractiveness as per segment. The automotive fuel transfer assemblies market report also maps the qualitative impact of various market factors on market segments and geographies.Report Highlights:Detailed overview of parent marketChanging market dynamics in the industryIn-depth market segmentationHistorical, current and projected market size in terms of volume and valueRecent industry trends and developmentsCompetitive landscapeStrategies of key players and products offeredPotential and niche segments, geographical regions exhibiting promising growthA neutral perspective on market performanceMust-have information for market players to sustain and enhance their market footprintAbout FactMRFactMR is a fast-growing market research firm that offers the most comprehensive suite of syndicated and customized market research reports. We believe transformative intelligence can educate and inspire businesses to make smarter decisions. We know the limitations of the one-size-fits-all approach; that's why we publish multi-industry global, regional, and country-specific research reports.Contact UsFactMR11140 Rockville PikeSuite 400Rockville, MD 20852United StatesEmail: sales@factmr.comWeb:Follow Us on Linkedin: Lignosulfonates market 2018 Top Key Players LignoTech, Tembec Inc., Nippon Paper Industries Co., Ltd., Burgo Group S.p.A., Domsjo Fabriker AB and Qingdao New World Material Co Lignosulfonates market https://www.gminsights.com/request-sample/detail/786 https://www.gminsights.com/inquiry-before-buying/786 https://www.gminsights.com http://algosonline.com/news Lignosulfonates market is projected to reach over USD 973 million by 2024 according to this new research report.Several physical and chemical properties of lignosulfonates make them suitable to be used in the construction industry. The construction industry has been steadily growing due to the economies heading at a fast pace.Request for a sample of this research report @The infrastructural development has given boost to the construction industry which will be a driving force for the product market. The use of the product as plasticizers in cement admixtures will give a boost to the industry.The demand for commercial feed will positively influence the product market. The nutritional content of animal feed is enhanced with the use of the product which will accelerate the growth of the market. Livestock farmers have shifted their focus to pelletized feed for animals which will supplement the product market.Make an Inquiry for purchasing this report @The demand for the product in oil & gas industry will fuel the growth of the product market. The use of the product for regulating the parameters of drilling fluids will give an impetus to the product market. The products use as a dust control agent will also drive the product market. It is environment friendly which will further augment the products demand.Many substitutes pose a threat to the product market. Few of them are sulfonated melamine formaldehyde, polycarboxylic ether and sulfonated naphthalene formaldehyde. Presence of various animal feed binders such as bentonite, urea-formaldehyde, clay, etc. may leave a negative impact on the product industry.The U.S. dominated the market in terms of revenue, which will continue to grow owing to the rise in demand for feed additive. The construction industry in Japan, India and China has been continuously evolving, which will create a sprouting demand for lignosulfonates during the forecast period. The exploration of oil wells has considerably increased in Middle East & Africa which will create new avenues for the product market. The escalating demand for oil well additives will propel the market growth.The product market is relatively consolidated. Some of the major companies present in this industry are Flambeau River Papers, Tembec Inc., Domsjo Fabriker AB, Borregaard LignoTech, Sappi Limited, Nippon Paper Industries Co., Ltd., Burgo Group Spa, Qingdao Newworld Material Co Limited, Shenyang Xingzhenghe Chemical Co., Ltd. and Green Agrochem.Market share calculation in this report is not done based on companies covered in it. The calculation of Lignosulfonates market share is done based on a regional approach and countries covered. On request, additional companies can be covered as well as regional data for particular country / countries can be provided.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: Heavy Vehicles Suspension Anti-vibration Components Market To Benefit from Increased Global Uptake of 2018-2028 https://www.factmr.com/connectus/sample?flag=B&rep_id=1248 https://www.factmr.com/connectus/sample?flag=T&rep_id=1248 www.factmr.com/ www.linkedin.com/company/factmr/ Heavy Vehicles Suspension Anti-vibration Components Market: OverviewAnti-vibration mounts or anti-vibration mountings help prevent the vibrations produced by vehicles while they are in motion. These devices are also called vibration isolation mountings, vibration isolation devices and isolator mountings. They are manufactured by companies in conformation with the standards and guidelines of the automotive industry. By absorbing the vibrations, these automotive anti-vibration mountings reduce the effect of the running engine, thereby ensuring smooth humming. Heavy vehicle suspension anti-vibration components are specially designed and manufactured to lower the potentially irritating noise resulting from the operation of vehicles, industrial equipment and engines. Different vibration isolator mounts available in the market are made from superior-quality material such as rubber, and are widely used in all vehicles around the world. Vibration from machines has led to different problems, such as machine life reduction, noise generation and vibration transmission, hence, anti-vibration components play a vital role in vehicles.Heavy Vehicles Suspension Anti-vibration Components Market: Dynamics:The growing demand for Heavy Vehicles Suspension Anti-vibration Components can be attributed to their ability to reduce noise, which enables workers to operate vehicles without any problems. Vibration caused by the engine of a vehicle is likely to cause vehicle failure, malfunctioning of parts and the like, and the usage of heavy vehicle suspension and anti-vibration components is necessary to prevent these problems. The current trend of using advanced technology and equipment for better results is likely to increase the demand for advanced Heavy Vehicles Suspension Anti-vibration Components during the forecast period.However, the increasing adoption of electric vehicles is expected to restrain the growth of the global heavy vehicles suspension anti-vibration components market. Moreover, the rising trend for repair rather than replacement is also likely to act as a major restraint.Get Brochure of The Report:Heavy Vehicles Suspension Anti-vibration Components Market: Segmentation:The Heavy Vehicles Suspension Anti-vibration Components market can be segmented on the basis of product type, vehicle type and end use.On the basis of product type, the heavy vehicles suspension anti-vibration components market can be segmented as:Stationary installations anti-vibration mountsMobile installations anti-vibration mountsSensitive Equipment anti-vibration mountsTransit Protection anti-vibration mountsVehicles anti-vibration mountsEngine mounts, cab mounts,ROPS cage rubber mountsHeavy duty anti-vibration mountsOff highway vehicle mountsVibratory screen mounts, largeEngine mounts,Public service vehiclesOn the basis of vehicle type, the heavy vehicles suspension anti-vibration components market can be segmented as:Passenger vehicleLight commercial vehicleHeavy commercial vehicleOn the basis of sales channel, the heavy vehicles suspension anti-vibration components market can be segmented as:OEM heavy vehicles suspension anti-vibration componentsAftermarket heavy vehicles suspension anti-vibration componentsHeavy Vehicles Suspension Anti-vibration Components Market: Region-wise Outlook:The growing automotive market in countries, such as India and China, makes Asia Pacific one of the fastest-growing markets for heavy vehicles suspension anti-vibration components. China and India markets are prominently credited to escalate the heavy commercial vehicles for on-road as well as off- road applications. An increase in the manufacturing of heavy vehicles in North America is anticipated to fuel the demand for heavy vehicles suspension anti-vibration components in this region. In Europe, the high demand for next-generation vehicles, such as long-range electric vehicles, is also expected to boost the market share of heavy vehicles suspension anti-vibration components in this region in the coming years. Latin America and Middle East & Africa are anticipated to witness lucrative growth in heavy vehicles suspension anti-vibration components over the forecast period. The growth of heavy vehicle suspension and anti-vibration mounts is high in the Middle East market. The market in Japan is also expected to exhibit high potential due to the presence of a large number of OEMs in the country.Heavy Vehicles Suspension Anti-vibration Components Market: Key Participants:Some of the key market participants of Heavy Vehicles Suspension Anti-vibration Components Market areZone Industrielle du CoutalContiTech AGUnited Rubber Industries (I) Pvt. Ltd.TalbrosHendrickson USA, L.L.C.Wheels India LimitedJ M Suspension ComponentsGuangdong Fuwa Engineering Group Co., Ltd.York Transport Equipment (Asia) Pte Ltd.The research report presents a comprehensive assessment of the heavy vehicles suspension anti-vibration components market and contains thoughtful insights, facts, historical data and statistically supported and industry-validated market data. It also contains projections using a suitable set of assumptions and methodologies. The research report provides analysis and information according to market segments such as geographies, application and industry.Request Report TOC@The report covers exhaust analysis on:Market SegmentsMarket DynamicsMarket SizeSupply & DemandCurrent Trends/Issues/ChallengesCompetition & Companies involvedTechnologyValue ChainRegional analysis includes:North America (U.S., Canada)Latin America (Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Peru)Western Europe (Germany, Italy, France, U.K, Spain, BENELUX, Nordic,Eastern Europe (CIS and Russia)Asia-Pacific (China, India, ASEAN, South Korea)JapanMiddle East and Africa (GCC Countries, South Africa, Turkey, Iran, Israel)The report is a compilation of first-hand information, qualitative and quantitative assessment by industry analysts, inputs from industry experts and industry participants across the value chain. The report provides in-depth analysis of parent market trends, macro-economic indicators and governing factors along with market attractiveness as per segments. The report also maps the qualitative impact of various market factors on market segments and geographies.Report Highlights:Detailed overview of parent marketChanging market dynamics in the industryIn-depth market segmentationHistorical, current and projected market size in terms of volume and valueRecent industry trends and developmentsCompetitive landscapeStrategies of key players and products offeredPotential and niche segments, geographical regions exhibiting promising growthA neutral perspective on market performanceMust-have information for market players to sustain and enhance their market footprintAbout FactMRFactMR is a fast-growing market research firm that offers the most comprehensive suite of syndicated and customized market research reports. We believe transformative intelligence can educate and inspire businesses to make smarter decisions. We know the limitations of the one-size-fits-all approach; that's why we publish multi-industry global, regional, and country-specific research reports.Contact UsFactMR11140 Rockville PikeSuite 400Rockville, MD 20852United StatesEmail: sales@factmr.comWeb:Follow Us on Linkedin: Pressure Sensitive Adhesives Market to increase at a CAGR of 5.6% through 2017 to 2026 https://www.factmr.com/connectus/sample?flag=S&rep_id=441 https://www.factmr.com/connectus/sample?flag=RM&rep_id=441 https://www.factmr.com/ A new Fact.MR research report has slated the global market for pressure sensitive adhesives to record a steady 4.9% CAGR, in terms of volume, over the forecast period (2017-2026). Pressure sensitive adhesives sales across the globe are estimated to exceed US$ 71,000 Mn in revenues by 2026-end.Growing Demand for Flexible & Convenient Packaging Solutions creating Huge Demand for Pressure Sensitive AdhesivesRapid population expansion worldwide has led to a robust demand for food, which in turn has provided an impetus to the food packaging industry. Currently, it has been witnessed that changes in the urban lifestyle have prompted use of packaged food across the globe. In addition, recent rise in the household income has boosted packaging industry, on account of expected demand for advanced flexible packaging of products such as snacks, poultry, meat, fish, and pet food. Utilization of peel-off lids and microwavable pouches as flexible packaging products are likely to gain momentum owing to changing consumer lifestyles. With rising demand for flexible and convenient packaging solutions, customers are continuously seeking easy to open, lightweight and high quality packing materials. Pressure sensitive adhesives have been deemed to be the most appropriate for such uses and therefore will gain a tremendous surge in demand in the foreseeable future.Request Report Sample @Well-established vendors in the global pressure sensitive adhesives market are focusing on extending their market presence across several regional locations across the globe. These vendors are also focusing on enhancing their product portfolios for meeting rising end-user demands. Few vendors in the global pressure sensitive adhesives market are making enormous investments in research & development activities in a bid to sustain in the constantly changing landscape of the market. Leading manufacturers are entering into collaborations for producing low-cost, versatile, and eco-friendly products, meanwhile adhering to government norms for staying competitive in the market.5 Key Takeaways from Fact.MRs Report on Pressure Sensitive Adhesives Market for Forecast Period 2017-2026 (In Terms of Volume)Sales of pressure sensitive adhesives will remain the largest in Asia-Pacific excluding Japan (APEJ), accounting for nearly half share of the market by 2026-end. Sales of pressure sensitive adhesives in APEJ will register the highest CAGR through 2026.Sales of Pressure sensitive adhesives will also remain high in North America and Europe, collectively estimated to reach approximately 25,000 Mn sq. m by 2026-end.Acrylic will continue to be the top-selling resin type in the global pressure sensitive adhesives market. However, sales of rubber are projected to reflect a relatively higher CAGR through 2026.Based on backing material, sales of polypropylene will remain considerably larger than those of paper, polyvinyl chloride, and other backing materials combined. Polypropylene sales are projected to hold over three-fifth volume share of the market by 2026-end.Tapes are expected to remain the largest application of pressure sensitive adhesives, trailed by labels. Sales of pressure sensitive adhesives in these two applications are collectively projected to hold over four-fifth share of the market by 2026-end. Pressure sensitive adhesives will register the fastest sales expansion in medical and graphic films applications through 2026.Request Report Methodology @Product innovation will continue to be the most widely adopted development strategy among companies in the global pressure sensitive adhesives market. Key players in the market have been concentrating on establishment of their already existing products coupled with the development of new, competitive and innovative products. Leading players in the market are also focusing on acquiring smaller players to increase their product portfolio and expand their market reach. Key market participants that the Fact.MRs report has profiled include Scapa Group PLC, Exxon Mobil Corporation, Lohmann GmbH & Co.KG, BASF SE, LINTEC Corporation, Nitto Denko Corporation, Tesa SE, and 3M Company.About Fact.MRFact.MR is a fast-growing market research firm that offers the most comprehensive suite of syndicated and customized market research reports. We believe transformative intelligence can educate and inspire businesses to make smarter decisions. We know the limitations of the one-size-fits-all approach; that's why we publish multi-industry global, regional, and country-specific research reports.Fact.MR11140 Rockville PikeSuite 400Rockville, MD 20852United StatesEmail: sales@factmr.comWeb: Contraceptive Drugs Market trend 2018 | SWOT Analysis by Global Industry Revenue | Changing Lifestyle and Increase in Lifestyle Disorders Favor the Growth Says MRFR Contraceptive Drugs Market https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/1276 https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/contraceptive-drugs-market-1276 https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/check-discount/1276 Market Research Future Published a Premium Research Report on Contraceptive Drugs Market Research Report - Forecast till 2023 Market Analysis, Scope, Stake, Progress, Trends and Forecast to 2023.Global Contraceptive Drugs Market - ScenarioBirth controls are been used since ancient times but the safe and effective methods are introduce and available from 20th century. Contraceptive drugs are used to prevent the unwanted pregnancy by blocking the normal process of ovulations or by altering the process which support the fertilization of egg.Get Premium Sample Report @Global contraceptive drugs market is driven by increasing need of population controls and increasing prevalence of sexually transmitted diseases. Necessity of avoiding the unwanted pregnancy especially in the teenage women and increasing awareness among peoples also contributed in the growth of the market. Contraceptive pills is the third most widely used contraceptive method. Beside this cultural and religious opposition in developing countries is also responsible for hindering the market.The global market for contraceptive drugs is expected to reach US$ 22.15 billion by the end of the 2023 with a CAGR of 6.5%.Global Contraceptive Drugs Market - Key PlayersMerck & Co., Inc (US), Pfizer Inc (US), Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (Israel), Bayer AG (Germany), Allergan plc. (Ireland), Janssen Global Services llc. (US), Mankind Pharma Ltd. (India), Piramal Enterprises Ltd (India), Reckitt Benckiser Plc (UK), Church & Dwight (US), The Female Health Company (US), Mayer Laboratories (US), Cooper Surgical (US).Global Contraceptive Drugs Market - SegmentationGlobal contraceptive drugs market is segmented on two category type and end user. On the basis of type they are oral contraceptive, injectable and other. Oral contraceptives are further sub segmented into combined oral contraceptive pills and progestogen-only pills. On the basis of end user they are segmented as hospitals, clinics and others.Global Contraceptive Drugs Market - Intended AudienceResearch and Development (R&D) CompaniesContraceptive drugs manufacturersMedical Research LaboratoriesAcademic Medical Institutes and UniversitiesGovernment and Independent Research LaboratoriesContract Research Organizations (CROs)Global Contraceptive Drugs Market - Study ObjectivesDetailed overview of global contraceptive drugs market.Detail analysis of global contraceptive drugs market with all possible segmentation and key player of market.Detailed analysis of the historical and forecasted market on the basis of factors like- price analysis, supply chain analysis, porters five force analysis etc.To track and analyze competitive developments such as joint ventures, strategic alliances, mergers and acquisitions, new product developments, and research and developments in the global contraceptive drugs market.Detail analysis on the possible segments and sub segments of the market. And regional analysis of the market- America, Europe, Asia Pacific and Middle East and Africa.Insights on the major countries/regions in which this industry is flourishing and to also identify the untapped regions which could be the potential markets in futureBrowse Complete Report @Global Contraceptive drugs Market - Regional AnalysisThe market of contraceptive drugs is much higher in the Americas region owing to increasing awareness among the people and high incidence rates of abortion. According to the report published by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 2015, around 229,715 babies were born from women aged between 15 to 19 years.Europe is also considering the huge market for contraceptive drugs players, owing to the increasing government support and awareness about healthcare industries, and well developed technology. Moreover, companies from these region are more into export to the developing region which increase the market share around the globe.Asia Pacific and the Middle East and Africa region are considering the big market. Whereas country like India and china of Asia Pacific region are considering fastest growing region due to the high rate of incidence of teen pregnancy. According to WHO, adolescent birth rates is 45 births per 1000 women in South-Eastern Asia and 7 births per 1000 women in Eastern Asia. Additionally they are open to adopt new treatment option from a developed country, this gap between the developed and developing countries will present significant growth opportunities for the contraceptive drugs market players in the coming years.MAJOR TABLE OF CONTENTS:1 INTRODUCTION1.1 DEFINITION1.2 SCOPE OF STUDY1.2.1 RESEARCH OBJECTIVE1.2.2 ASSUMPTIONS & LIMITATIONS1.2.2.1 ASSUMPTIONS1.2.2.2 LIMITATIONS1.3 MARKET STRUCTURE:2 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY2.1 RESEARCH PROCESS:2.2 PRIMARY RESEARCH2.3 SECONDARY RESEARCH:3 MARKET DYNAMICS3.1 DRIVERS3.2 RESTRAINTS3.3 OPPORTUNITIES3.4 MACROECONOMIC INDICATORS4 MARKET FACTOR ANALYSIS4.1 PORTERS FIVE FORCES MODEL4.2 BARGAINING POWER OF SUPPLIERS4.3 BARGAINING POWER OF BUYERS4.4 THREAT OF NEW ENTRANTSMajor TOC Continued!Get Exclusive Discount @About US:Market Research Future (MRFR), enable customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.Contact Us:Market Research FutureOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, Hadapsar,Pune - 411028Maharashtra, IndiaPhone: +1 646 845 9312Email: sales@marketresearchfuture.com Cerebral Balloon Angioplasty & Stenting Systems Market Forecast by 2025 : Top Players Like Medtronic, Terumo, Penumbra, Microport Scientific Corporation Cerebral Balloon Angioplasty & Stenting Systems Market https://www.marketexpertz.com/sample-enquiry-form/15281 https://www.marketexpertz.com/checkout-form/15281 https://www.marketexpertz.com/industry-overview/cerebral-balloon-angioplasty-stenting-systems-market The latest report, Cerebral Balloon Angioplasty & Stenting Systems market enables stakeholders to gain insights into their potential consumers to construct more effective marketing strategies for the forecast period, 2018 to 2025. With an exclusive coverage of the top vendors, the study enables business owners to know more about the local market and locate potential consumers.Now you can download the FREE Sample Copy of Cerebral Balloon Angioplasty & Stenting Systems Market Report @Market Segment on the basis of Top Manufacturers - Stryker Corporation, Johnson & Johnson, Medtronic, Terumo, Penumbra, Microport Scientific Corporation, Abbott Vascular, W. L. Gore & AssociatesThe research further examines and provides data on the market by type, application and geography interspersed with illustrations and other graphical representations. The market analysis not only determines the attractiveness of the industry but also the evolving challenges and opportunities and their association with the weaknesses and strengths of prominent market leaders. Most importantly, the document empowers business owners to seek information about potential consumers and where they can find them. Apart from this, the literature sheds light on how major vendors operating in the Cerebral Balloon Angioplasty & Stenting Systems market are making the best use of their marketing campaigns.Order a copy @Market Segment on the basis of Product, the report covers: Carotid Artery Stents Embolic Protection SystemsMarket Segment on the basis of application, the report covers: Hospitals Clinics Ambulatory Surgical UnitsKey Topics Covered: Cerebral Balloon Angioplasty & Stenting Systems Market Overview Global Cerebral Balloon Angioplasty & Stenting Systems Market Competition by Manufacturers Global Cerebral Balloon Angioplasty & Stenting Systems Capacity, Production, Revenue (Value) by Region (2013-2018) Global Cerebral Balloon Angioplasty & Stenting Systems Supply (Production), Consumption, Export, Import by Region (2013-2018) Global Cerebral Balloon Angioplasty & Stenting Systems Production, Revenue (Value), Price Trend by Type Global Cerebral Balloon Angioplasty & Stenting Systems Market Analysis by Application Global Cerebral Balloon Angioplasty & Stenting Systems Manufacturers Profiles/AnalysisComplete report is available now @The study segments the complete Cerebral Balloon Angioplasty & Stenting Systems market on the basis of different application, end-use, end-user, and production capability. From a business standpoint, the industry has been thoroughly examined across various countries located in North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and others. The size of the industry for the forecast period 2018 - 2025 is evaluated on the basis of current sales figures and past financial report can be used to forecast the future sales.About US:Planning to invest in market intelligence products or offerings on the web? Then marketexpertz has just the thing for you - reports from over 500 prominent publishers and updates on our collection daily to empower companies and individuals catch-up with the vital insights on industries operating across different geography, trends, share, size and growth rate. There's more to what we offer to our customers. With marketexpertz you have the choice to tap into the specialized services without any additional charges.Contact US:40 Wall St. 28th floor New York CityNY 10005 United Statessales@marketexpertz.com+1-800-819-3052 Electrical House (E-House) Market Demand, Remarkable Developments and Top Key Players Analysis: Powell Industries.(US), Elgin Power Solutions (US) |Business Opportunity During 2018-2025 Global E-house Market Industry Trends and Forecast to 2025 https://databridgemarketresearch.com/request-a-sample/?dbmr=global-e-house-market https://databridgemarketresearch.com/toc/?dbmr=global-e-house-market https://databridgemarketresearch.com/inquire-before-buying/?dbmr=global-e-house-market Electrical House (E-House) Industry 2018 Market Research Report focuses on price, sales, revenue and growth rate of each type, as well as the types and each type price of key manufacturers, through interviewing key manufacturers. Second on basis of segments by manufacturers, this report focuses on the sales, price of each type, average price of Credit Insurance, revenue and market share, for key manufacturers.The Global E-house Market is expected to reach USD 1.70 billion by 2025, from USD 1.02 billion in 2017, growing at a CAGR of 6.6% during the forecast period of 2018 to 2025. The upcoming market report contains data for historic year 2016, the base year of calculation is 2017 and the forecast period is 2018 to 2025.For In depth Information Get Free Sample Copy of this Report @Global E-house Market, By Type (Fixed E House, Mobile Substation), By Application (Industrial (Metals & Mining, Oil & Gas), Utilities), By Geography (North America, South America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Middle East and Africa) Industry Trends and Forecast to 2025Complete report on Global Electrical House (E-House) Market Research Report 2018-2025 spread across 350 Pages, profiling Top companies and supports with tables and figures.Market Definition:E-house, also known as power house, is defined as plug-and-play solution which provides electrical power. There are various advantages of e-house such as it is quick and easy to install on site. Its durability provides insulated protection to equipment thus reducing work of civil engineers .Parnis Manufacturing (Pty) Ltd (Johannesburg) company manufactures e-house which is fully equipped with electrical substations and is constructed using insulated steel panels. It is designed in such a way that it provides the best customized solutions. In 2017, according to the article published by industrial buyer online, Parnis Manufacturing (Pty) Ltd Company obtained a contract to fabricate modular electrical houses (e-house) intended for a mine in Africa . Moreover, Siemens AG (Germany) company also manufactures e-house which helps in cost optimization for investment and operation with a range of more than 20% of less cost. It also maintains time efficiency up to range of 50%. Hence, due to increase in manufacture of e-house provided by company such as Parnis Manufacturing (Pty) Ltd (Johannesburg), Siemens AG (Germany) will get affected by increasing demand of global e-house market in future.Key Questions Answered in Global Electrical House (E-House) Market Report:-Our Report offers:- What will the market growth rate, Overview and Analysis by Type of Global Electrical House (E-House) Market in 2025? What are the key factors driving, Analysis by Applications and Countries Global Electrical House (E-House) Market? What are Dynamics, This Overview Includes Analysis of Scope, and price analysis of top Vendors Profiles of Global Electrical House (E-House) Market? Who are Opportunities, Risk and Driving Force of Global Electrical House (E-House) Market? Who are the opportunities and threats faced by the vendors in Global Electrical House (E-House) Market? Business Overview by Type, Applications, Gross Margin and Market Share What are the Global Electrical House (E-House) Market opportunities, market risk and market overview of the Market?Request for Detailed TOC @Top Key Players: Electroinnova Instalaciones y Mantenimientos SL (Spain) WEG (Brazil) TGOOD Global Ltd.(Hong Kong) Powell Industries.(US) Elgin Power Solutions (US) MEIDENSHA CORPORATION (Japan) Matelec (Lebanon) Aktif Group (Turkey) PME Power Solutions (India) EKOS Group (Turkey) Efacec (Portugal) Among others.Key Reasons to Purchase: To gain insightful analyses of the market and have comprehensive understanding of the Global Electrical House (E-House) Market and its commercial landscape. Assess the Electrical House (E-House) production processes, major issues, and solutions to mitigate the development risk. To understand the most affecting driving and restraining forces in the Electrical House (E-House) Market and its impact in the Global market. Learn about the market strategies that are being adopted by leading respective organizations. To understand the future outlook and prospects for Global Electrical House (E-House) Market.Avail 10% Instant Discount on Purchase of This Report Mail @ sopan.gedam@databridgemarketresearch.comDrivers and Restraints: Increased usage of e-house in Middle East & Africa region Easy installation of e-house in a narrow or limited space Economical and provides flexible solutions High cost in maintenance of e-houseMarket Segmentation:Based on type: Fixed E-House Mobile SubstationOn the basis of application: Industrial UtilitiesIndustrial is further sub segmented into: Metals & Mining Oil & GasBased on geography: North America South America Europe Asia-Pacific Middle East & AfricaCompetitive Analysis:The global e-house market is highly fragmented and the major players have used various strategies such as new product launches, expansions, agreements, joint ventures, partnerships, acquisitions, and others to increase their footprints in this market. The report includes market shares of e-house market for global, Europe, North America, Asia Pacific and South America.Order a copy of Global Electrical House (E-House) Market Report 2018 @About Us:Data Bridge Market Research set forth itself as an unconventional and neoteric Market research and consulting firm with unparalleled level of resilience and integrated approaches. We are determined to unearth the best market opportunities and foster efficient information for your business to thrive in the market. Data Bridge endeavors to provide appropriate solutions to the complex business challenges and initiates an effortless decision-making process.Contact:Data Bridge Market ResearchTel: +1-888-387-2818Email: sopan.gedam@databridgemarketresearch.com Offshore Mooring System Market to Reach US$1.1 bn by 2021 owing to Introduction of Technologically Advanced Products https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/offshore-mooring-system-market.html https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=3756 www.transparencymarketresearch.com/ A new Transparency Market Research report states that the global offshore mooring system market stood at US$0.93 bn in 2014 and is predicted to reach US$1.1 bn by 2021. It is predicted to expand at a CAGR of 3.60% from 2015 to 2021. The title of the report is Offshore Mooring Systems Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast 2015 - 2021.View Report Preview:According to the report, the market for offshore mooring systems is propelled by the rising subsea production and exploration and the consistent introduction of technologically advanced products. In addition, factors such as the growing demand for energy and the rise in the prices of gas and oil have also stimulated the growth of the offshore mooring systems market. In addition, the lucrative high-investment areas of the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America have also impacted the market positively. On the other hand, the soaring costs involved in developing the infrastructure of offshore mooring systems may impede the growth of the market in the coming years.The report segments the market on the basis of type, application, anchorage, and geography.On the basis of type, the market for offshore mooring systems is segmented into taut leg, catenary, semi taut, spread mooring, single point mooring, and dynamic mooring. Amongst these, the segment of catenary systems is at present the most commonly used mooring system utilized in shallow waters. Conventional catenary systems, on the other hand, cannot be used in deepwater facilities.In terms of application, the market is segmented into spar platforms, tension leg platforms, semi-submersible platforms, production, storage, and offloading (FDPSO), floating production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) vessels, floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) vessels, and others. Amongst these, FPSOs are being highly demanded owing to them being economical as compared with permanent platforms. Additionally, other benefits associated with the use of FPSOs such as quick offloading and storage are also fuelling their demand within the offshore gas and oil production industry.In terms of anchorage, the offshore mooring systems market is segmented into suction anchors, drag embedment anchors, and vertical load anchors. Amongst these, to carry on ultra-deepwater drilling, suction anchors have proven to be cost-effective and safe globally. In terms of geography, the report segments the market for offshore mooring systems into Europe, North America, the Middle East and Africa, Latin America, and Asia Pacific. Amongst these, the region of Asia Pacific emerged as the prime offshore mooring systems market in 2015. This is due to the promising performance of the market in the emerging nations of Japan, Indonesia, China, and Australia.Request to view Sample Report:According to this report, the chief players operating in the offshore mooring systems market are MODEC Inc., SBM Offshore N.V., Delmar Systems Inc., Mampaey Offshore Industries B.V., and BW Offshore Ltd., among others.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.Our data repository is continuously updated and revised by a team of research experts, so that it always reflects the latest trends and information. With a broad research and analysis capability, Transparency Market Research employs rigorous primary and secondary research techniques in developing distinctive data sets and research material for business reports.Contact UsTransparency Market Research90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite: Lip Balm in France Market 2018 Analysis By Key Players Mentholatum, Maybelline, Nivea, Kiehl, MAC, DHC, SHISEIDO Lip Balm in France Market https://www.wiseguyreports.com/sample-request/3016934-france-lip-balm-market-report-2018 https://www.wiseguyreports.com/enquiry/3016934-france-lip-balm-market-report-2018 WiseGuyReports.Com Publish a New Market Research Report On Lip Balm in France Market 2018 Analysis By Key Players Mentholatum, Maybelline, Nivea, Kiehl, MAC, DHC, SHISEIDO.The Lip Balm industry has also suffered a certain impact, but still maintained a relatively optimistic growth, the past four years, Lip Balm market size to maintain the average annual growth rate of 6.42% from 512 million $ in 2014 to 617 million $ in 2017, The analysts believe that in the next few years, Lip Balm market size will be further expanded, we expect that by 2022, The market size of the Lip Balm will reach 824 million $.Get a Sample Report @For more information or any query mail at sales@wiseguyreports.comThis Report covers the manufacturers data, including: shipment, price, revenue, gross profit, interview record, business distribution etc., these data help the consumer know about the competitors better.Besides, the report also covers segment data, including: type segment, industry segment, channel segment etc. cover different segment market size, both volume and value. Also cover different industries clients information, which is very important for the manufacturers.Sections:-Section 1: FreeDefinitionSection (2 3): 1200 USDManufacturer DetailMentholatumMaybellineNiveaKiehlMACDHCSHISEIDOLancomeSection (4 5 6): 1200 USDProduct Type Segmentation (Organic Lip Balm, Inorganic Lip Balm, , , )Industry Segmentation (Lip balm for women, Lip balm for men, Lip balm for baby, , )Channel (Direct Sales, Distributor) SegmentationContinuedAsk Query @Table Of Contents Major Key PointsSection 1 Lip Balm Product DefinitionSection 2 France Lip Balm Market Manufacturer Share and Market Overview2.1 France Manufacturer Lip Balm Shipments2.2 France Manufacturer Lip Balm Business Revenue2.3 France Lip Balm Market OverviewSection 3 Manufacturers Who Have Lip Balm Business in France Introduction3.1 Mentholatum Lip Balm Business Introduction3.1.1 Mentholatum Lip Balm Shipments, Price, Revenue and Gross profit 2014-20173.1.2 Mentholatum Lip Balm Business Distribution by Region3.1.3 Mentholatum Interview Record3.1.4 Mentholatum Lip Balm Business Profile3.1.5 Mentholatum Lip Balm Product Specification3.2 Maybelline Lip Balm Business Introduction3.2.1 Maybelline Lip Balm Shipments, Price, Revenue and Gross profit 2014-20173.2.2 Maybelline Lip Balm Business Distribution by Region3.2.3 Interview Record3.2.4 Maybelline Lip Balm Business Overview3.2.5 Maybelline Lip Balm Product Specification3.3 Nivea Lip Balm Business Introduction3.3.1 Nivea Lip Balm Shipments, Price, Revenue and Gross profit 2014-20173.3.2 Nivea Lip Balm Business Distribution by Region3.3.3 Interview Record3.3.4 Nivea Lip Balm Business Overview3.3.5 Nivea Lip Balm Product Specification3.4 Kiehl Lip Balm Business Introduction3.5 MAC Lip Balm Business Introduction3.6 DHC Lip Balm Business IntroductionSection 4 France Lip Balm Market Segmentation (Product Type Level)4.1 France Lip Balm Market Segmentation (Product Type Level) Market Size 2014-20174.2 Different Lip Balm Product Type Price 2014-20174.3 France Lip Balm Market Segmentation (Product Type Level) AnalysisSection 5 France Lip Balm Market Segmentation (Industry Level)5.1 France Lip Balm Market Segmentation (Industry Level) Market Size 2014-20175.2 Different Industry Price 2014-20175.3 France Lip Balm Market Segmentation (Industry Level) AnalysisSection 6 France Lip Balm Market Segmentation (Channel Level)6.1 France Lip Balm Market Segmentation (Channel Level) Sales Volume and Share 2014-20176.2 France Lip Balm Market Segmentation (Channel Level) AnalysisSection 7 Lip Balm Market Forecast 2018-20227.1 Lip Balm Segmentation Market Forecast (Product Type Level)7.2 Lip Balm Segmentation Market Forecast (Industry Level)7.3 Lip Balm Segmentation Market Forecast (Channel Level)ContinuedFor more information or any query mail at sales@wiseguyreports.comABOUT US:Wise Guy Reports is part of the Wise Guy Consultants Pvt. Ltd. and offers premium progressive statistical surveying, market research reports, analysis & forecast data for industries and governments around the globe. Wise Guy Reports features an exhaustive list of market research reports from hundreds of publishers worldwide. We boast a database spanning virtually every market category and an even more comprehensive collection of market research reports under these categories and sub-categories.Office No.528,Amanora Chambers,Magarpatta Road,Hadapsar,Pune-411028. AWS Managed Services Market to gain CAGR of 13.9% from 2018 to 2026 https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=45759 https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/report-toc/45759 https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/aws-managed-services-market.html http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com http://www.techyounme.com/ According to a new market report published by Transparency Market Research titled AWS Managed Services Market Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecast, 20182026, the AWS Managed Services market is expected to reach US$ 1,789.3 Mn by 2026. The market is projected to expand at a CAGR of 13.9% from 2018 to 2026. According to the report, the AWS Managed Services market is expected to be influenced by a range of factors such as rising number of AWS customers and increasing importance of AWS MSP status.Additionally, multiple initiatives carried out by government bodies for adoption of cloud is projected to boost the AWS Managed Services market during the forecast period. For instance, more than 2000 government agencies from various regions are using Amazon Web Services to power the cloud momentum. Furthermore, in February 2018, United States DoD (Department of Defense) signed a US$ 950 Mn cloud agreement with AWS partner REAN Cloud LLC.Get PDF Sample of Report @Operations services are expected to be more lucrative for the AWS Managed Services marketIn terms of services type, the AWS Managed Services market is bifurcated into advisory services, cloud migration services, and operations services. The advisory services segment is likely to expand at a significant CAGR of more than 15% during the forecast period. This expansion is due to the increasing adoption of AWS customers, which generates the need for consulting services for optimal functioning and identifying workloads for cloud migration.However, the operations services segment is estimated to hold a prominent share of the market during the forecast period. The operational activities involved in the process such as ongoing infrastructure operations, access management, security management, change management and incident management are contributing to the significant share held by the operations service segment.Download TOC@Market in North America to expand at a significant CAGR during the forecast periodNorth America is expected to hold substantial share of the global AWS Managed Services market during the forecast period. Expansion of the market in the region is primarily due to the significant adoption of AWS in multiple industry verticals in the region. For instance, Utah, the U.S.-based online clothing and outdoor recreation gear retailer Backcountry.com and another platform Motosport.com was looking for migration to cloud in order to save on operational costs. 1Strategy, an AWS advanced consulting partner, assisted Backcountry with AWS Migration Acceleration Program (MAP), which after a few months achieved 100% reduction in hardware-related and capitalized expenses and 25% reduction in operational expenses.Similarly, Remitly, Inc., a digital money transfer platform based at Washington, U.S., was looking to make changes in their Amazon Web Services (AWS) infrastructure, which is expected to handle their rapidly changing capacity demands at a rapid pace, 1Strategy planned and executed Remitlys database migration from Amazon RDS MySQL to Amazon Aurora.Preview Report @Accenture plc., DXC Technology Company, Rackspace Inc., Capgemini, and Slalom LLC. are some of the major players operating in the AWS Managed Services market, profiled in this study. Details such as financials, SWOT analysis, business strategies, recent developments, AWS certified professionals and other such strategic information pertaining to these players have been duly provided as a part of company profiling. Various market players are establishing partnerships, entering into strategic M&As, and expanding in order to enhance their AWS Managed Services offerings worldwide.For instance, In November 2017, Rackspace completed the acquisition of New Jersey, U.S.-based Datapipe. Datapipe is a leading information technology company that engages in managed hosting, and provides cloud computing services globally. This has helped Rackspace to become a prominent provider of managed public cloud services across all major public cloud platformsAbout UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company providing business information reports and services. The companys exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trend analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.TMRs data repository is continuously updated and revised by a team of research experts so that it always reflects the latest trends and information. With extensive research and analysis capabilities, Transparency Market Research employs rigorous primary and secondary research techniques to develop distinctive data sets and research material for business reports.ContactTransparency Market ResearchState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:Research Blog: Cell Cycle Analysis Market 2021 Top Key Players are Becton, Dickinson and Company, Merck & Co., Inc., Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc., Danaher Corporation, GE Healthcare, Agilent Technologies, Inc., Olympus Corporation and More Cell Cycle Analysis Market https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/673 https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/check-discount/673 https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/enquiry/673 MarketResearchFuture.com Recently Added Premium Research Reports on Cell Cycle Analysis Market Research Report - Global Forecast to 2021 Which Gives in-depth Analysis of Regional data with Size and Share of Top 10 Players in the Globes.Global Cell Cycle Analysis Market - Competitive AnalysisBecton, Dickinson and Company (U.S.), Merck & Co., Inc. (U.S.), Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc. (U.S.), Danaher Corporation (U.S.), GE Healthcare (UK), Agilent Technologies, Inc. (U.S.), Olympus Corporation (Japan), PerkinElmer, Inc. (U.S.), Promega Corporation (U.S.), Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (U.S.), Miltenyi Biotech (Germany), and Nexcelom Bioscience LLC. (U.S.)Get Sample Copy @Global Cell Cycle Analysis Market - OverviewCell cycle analysis is commonly used in biomedical research studies and clinical diagnosis. It helps in distinguishing cells that are in different phases of cell cycle and used to determine the cellular response to biological stimulations and various drug. Cell cycle analysis traditionally carried out though the sensitive fluorescence detection methods such as flow cytometry and laser scanning cytometry. The growing awareness and the increased adoption of the cell cycle analysis instruments among the research and academic institutes has upsurged the growth of the market.The global cell cycle analysis market is growing at a very reasonable pace. According to a recent study report published by the Market Research Future, The global cell cycle analysis market is booming and expected to gain prominence over the forecast period growing rapidly. The market is forecasted to demonstrate a spectacular growth by 2021, surpassing its previous growth records in terms of value with a prominent CAGR during the anticipated period (2017 2021).The cell cycle analysis market is expected to grow at high growth rate due to corporate & government support in cell-based researches, high prevalence of chronic genetic diseases, growing healthcare industry and increasing medical spending, rising incidence of cancer, and technologically advancements. However, high prices of automated cell cycle analysis instruments, and reluctance among researchers to use advanced cell cycle analysis techniques may restrict the growth of this market. Furthermore, the instruments used in cell cycle analysis are relatively expensive, and large in size. It also requires a considerable amount of maintenance, which is less likely to be feasible for small research groups. Hence, it is difficult for the small research group to access to this equipment when required quick diagnostic results on site. Also, reluctance among researchers to use advanced cell cycle analysis techniques is another growth barrier for the market.Get Exclusive Discount @For instance, companies like in March 2016, Thermo Fisher has completed its anticipated acquisition of Affymetrix. This will give Thermo Fisher an expanded antibody portfolio that will strengthens its leadership in the biosciences space, as well as new genetic analysis capabilities to better serve clinical and applied markets.Moreover, in April 2016, Genomix Nutrition also acquired San Antonio Nutrigenomic laboratory for genetic testing. This acquisition will help the company to deliver quicker test results to patients. It will also improve operational efficiencies, ensuring that the companys nutrigenomic tests remain affordable and accessible to patients and providers.Additionally, September 2017, Miltenyi Biotec has launched MACSQuant X a benchtop instrument that gives you all the flexibility and is easy to use. It is a new product in field of fully automated high-throughput flow cytometry analysis.Furthermore, in September 2016, Nexcelom Bioscience, a leading provider of cell counting and analysis products for biomedical research and the biopharma industry, has released the addition of a 5th channel available as an option on the Celigo image cytometer. This will help the company to strengthen its market share in the global market.TABLE OF CONTENTS1 Introduction1.1 Definition1.2 Scope Of The Study1.2.1 Research Objectives1.2.2 Assumptions & Limitations1.3 Market Structure2 Research Methodology2.1 Research Process2.2 Primary Research2.3 Secondary Research2.4 Forecast Model3 Report Excerpt4 Forecast Indicators4.1 Introduction4.2 Growth Drivers4.2.1 Corporate & Government Support In Cell-Based Researches4.2.2 High Prevalence Of Chronic Genetically Diseases4.2.3 Growing Healthcare Industry & Increasing Medical Spending4.2.4 Rising Incidence Of Cancer4.2.5 Technologically Advancements4.3 Growth Barriers4.3.1 High Prices Of Automated Cell Cycle Analysis Instruments4.3.2 Reluctance Among Researchers To Use Advanced Cell Cycle Analysis Techniques4.4 Market Opportunities4.4.1 Growing APAC Market4.4.2 Rising Stem Cell Research4.4.3 Rising Cancer Researches4.5 Macroecnomical Indicators Toc Continued!Ask Query @Market Research Future (MRFR), enable customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.Market Research FutureOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, Hadapsar,Pune - 411028Maharashtra, IndiaPhone: +1 646 845 9312Email: sales@marketresearchfuture.com Floating Production Systems Market are expected to represent the highest growth rate In Global https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/floating-production-system-market.html https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=1982 www.transparencymarketresearch.com/ A new market research report published by Transparency Market Research, titled Floating Production Systems Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast, 2013 - 2019, presents a detailed overview of the floating production systems market, its growth drivers and restraints, as well as its segmentation. Analyzing the market for developmental trends of the past, the report also presents a forecast of the markets state over the years between 2013 and 2019. As per the report, the global floating production systems market, which was valued in 2012 at US$12.6 bn, is expected to expand and reach a value of US$38.7 bn by 2019.View Report Preview:As per the report, deep water discoveries and increase in subsea drilling activities in the oil and gas industry in the Asia Pacific and Rest of the World have boosted the market for floating production systems. As per the statistics mentioned in the report, the Rest of the World market led the global floating production systems market in 2012, with the highest contribution in revenue. Additionally, Rest of the World has the highest demand for floating production systems, and will continue to dominate the market in the forecast period. However, factors such as tedious maintenance of these systems and the high installation costs of the systems could curb the growth of the floating production systems market.There are primarily four types of products marketed under floating production systems: FSO, SPAR, TLP, and FPSO, out of which FPSO is expected to rule the market for floating production systems, since several companies use FPSO to extract crude oil or for offshore drilling activities. Since multiple tasks can be performed by FPSOs, it is the most preferred choice for the offshore drilling sector. Both FSO and FPSO help in reducing the operational costs by eliminating the need for pipeline infrastructure to transport the crude oil from one place to another.TLP and SPAR are used in case the drilling site experiences high waves, causing huge vibrations, thus proving to be a hindrance in drilling operations. The use of SPAR and TLP helps eliminate these kind of vibrations, making the drilling operation smoother and efficient for a long time. Major utilization of TLP and SPAR is done in Africa and Brazil, due to the large number of drilling activities carried out in these regions. Moreover, the report forecasts that over 80 offshore drilling projects will be carried out in these regions in the coming years, thus propelling the market for SPAR and TLP.Since a large number of oil reserves in Europe are located in offshore regions such as the Norwegian Sea and the Barents Sea, steady growth of the floating production systems market is expected in these regions. Due to the growing population and heavy industrialization, Asia Pacific and North America are anticipated to witness growth of the market for floating production systems.Request to view Sample Report:Some of the major companies listed in the report are Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. Ltd, Bumi Armada Berhad, Malaysia Marine and Heavy Engineering Berhad, Keppel Offshore & Marine Ltd, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd, SBM Offshore N.V., Samsung Heavy Industries Co. Ltd, Teekay Corporation, Technip S.A., and Worley Parsons Limited.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.Our data repository is continuously updated and revised by a team of research experts, so that it always reflects the latest trends and information. With a broad research and analysis capability, Transparency Market Research employs rigorous primary and secondary research techniques in developing distinctive data sets and research material for business reports.Contact UsTransparency Market Research90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite: Increase in Penetration of Digital Television Worldwide is driving the Global Conditional Access System Market https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=1438 https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/conditional-access-system-market.html https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com According to a new market report published by Transparency Market Research, the global conditional access system market was valued at US$ 2,694.9 Mn in 2016 and is expected to expand at a CAGR of 6.9% from 2018 to 2026 to reach US$ 5,381.2 Mn by the end of the forecast period. According to the report, North America was a significant contributor, in terms of revenue, to the conditional access systems market in 2016. With high adoption of advanced services such as high definition (HD) television, internet protocol television (IPTV), and others, North America is expected to maintain its dominant position in the market throughout the forecast period.Request a PDF Brochure with Future Analysis @Increase in Penetration of Digital Television Worldwide is driving the Global Conditional Access System Market:Increase in penetration of digital television worldwide is a major factor expected to fuel the expansion of the conditional access system market across the globe. The conditional access systems market is primarily dominated by pay television (TV) subscribers, who account for more than 70% of the total market revenue. Conditional access systems are used to provide content security for digital television service providers and are located within receivers at consumers end. This makes digital television a prominent factor responsible for the expansion of the conditional access systems market.Thus, the demand for conditional access solutions is expected to rise substantially with an increase in penetration of digital television worldwide. Furthermore, the transition from analog to digital television services is a significant factor boosting the penetration of digital television globally. With a transition to digital television across the globe, the demand for interoperable set-top boxes (iSTB) is expected to increase substantially in the coming years, thereby fueling the conditional access systems market.Conditional Access System Market: Scope of the ReportThe global conditional access systems market is segmented based on solution, application, and geographic regions. Based on solution, the global conditional access systems market is classified into smartcard-based CAS and card-less CAS. In 2017, the smartcard-based CAS segment accounted for a significant market share, in terms of revenue, of the global conditional access systems market. Smartcard-based CAS is the traditional solution based on smartcards, which are installed on consumers receiver devices. Card-less CAS accounted for a lower share of the market in 2017. However, due to low operational costs and enhanced security offered by these solutions, the demand for card-less CAS is anticipated to rise at a rapid pace during the forecast period.Browse Market Research Report @Furthermore, in terms of application, the global conditional access systems market is categorized into television broadcasting services, Internet services, and digital radio broadcasting services. In 2017, the television broadcasting services segment accounted for a prominent share of the global conditional access systems market. This was primarily due to high penetration of digital television in North America, Western Europe, and other developed regions across the world. The television broadcasting services segment is estimated to maintain its dominant position with a healthy expansion rate. This is primarily due to increase in adoption of digital television in Asia Pacific, South America, Europe, and other developing regions.About TMRTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company providing business information reports and services. The companys exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trend analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.Contact TMR90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite: Light Engine Market: Global Opportunity in Industry will be US$ 6,380 Mn by 2026 https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=41897 https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/report-toc/41897 https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/light-engine-market.html http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com http://www.techyounme.com/ The global light engine market is prognosticated to expand at a significant pace within the forecast period from 2018 to 2026, at a steady CAGR of 9.61%. The global light engine market is foreseen to keep on being influenced due to various factors for example, increase in adoption of LED lighting all over the world. Moreover, various government regulations imposed regarding energy saving and adoption of LED is another contributing factor in the growth of global light engine market.Based on application, the residential segment is foreseen to increase the revenue by the end of forecast period, due to rise in urbanization and increase in number of smart cities across the globe. Thus, increased adoption of LED lighting in residential segment is a propelling factor behind the high demands.Besides, various initiatives taken by the government in order to spread awareness about using LED and discarding conventional lamps is one more reason behind the surge in demand for light engine in commercial sector during 2018 to 2026.Get PDF Sample of Report @Various Government Initiatives to Fuel Overall Market DemandMoreover, the rise in usage of flexible light engines in commercial and residential area is also leading to the expansion of the market in coming years. Additionally, the extensive usage of round or linear light engine in areas such as industrial, commercial, and residential is also fueling the overall demand in the market. Furthermore, horticulture and automotive industries are using rigid light engines. Also, LEDs are being used in street lights, which is acting beneficial for light engine market, globally.Regionally, North America is anticipated to account for a major market share of the light engine market within the forecast period. This is as a result of the presence of various well-settled organizations in the region. In addition, the region is experiencing increased rate of adoption of light engine due to consistent advancement in technology, along with several initiatives by the governments of several countries.Download TOC@Rise in Population to Contribute in Rise in Market Growth Due to Wide Adoption of LEDApart from North America, another key region accounting for substantial share in the market is Asia Pacific. Nations such as Japan, China, and India are foreseen to hold an important place in the market growth. However, the factors supporting the growth in the region is same, such as rise in initiatives by the government, encouraging the population to use LED lightings.Preview Report @According to the Street Light National Program by Indian government, in 2017, around 21 lakh LED lights were installed in India. Such efforts are anticipated to boost the light engine market in the Asia Pacific region. Nevertheless, rise in population in China, coupled with adoption of LEDs,is likely to play a major role in market growth.Some of the key players in the market are OSRAM Licht Group, Philips Lighting Holdings B.V., Fulham Co., Inc., MaxLite, Inc., Tridonic, General Electric Company, Fusion Optix, Inc., Thomas Research Products, Cree Inc., and RS Components Pty Ltd.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company providing business information reports and services. The companys exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trend analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.TMRs data repository is continuously updated and revised by a team of research experts so that it always reflects the latest trends and information. With extensive research and analysis capabilities, Transparency Market Research employs rigorous primary and secondary research techniques to develop distinctive data sets and research material for business reports.ContactTransparency Market ResearchState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:Research Blog: Telecom Order Management Market is likely to be worth US$4.05 bn by the end of 2025 https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=39074 https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/report-toc/39074 https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/telecom-order-management-market.html http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com http://www.techyounme.com/ Thanks to the increasing trend of digitization, the global market for telecom order management is witnessing a remarkably high growth. The rising number of connected devices across the world, coupled with a surge in order management complexities, is fueling the demand for effective telecom order management solutions, reflecting greatly on the markets growth. However, the hesitation among enterprises in taking up new technologies may limit the demand for these solutions in the years to come.In 2016, the global telecom order management market was worth US$1.91 bn. Expanding at a healthy CAGR of 8.80% between 2017 and 2025, the opportunity in this market is likely to reach US$4.05 bn by the end of 2025. The constant advancements in next-generation telecom order management solutions will support the market considerably in the near future.Get PDF Sample of Report @On-premise Segment to Continue LeadingMajorly, the global market for telecom order management is analyzed on the basis of the type of the deployment, component, and the geography. Based on the deployment type, the market is segmented into on-premise deployment and cloud-based deployment. Among the two, the on premise segment is holding the leading position at present. However, various telecom service providers, especially the small and medium enterprises, are looking for cloud-based deployment, owing to the rising number of connected devices.Based on the component, the market is divided into solution and services. Currently, the solution segment is dominating and analysts expect it remain on the top with a share of nearly 68% by the end of 2025. However, the service segment is likely to register the growth at a higher pace than the solution segment in the near future.Download TOC@Increasing Demand for Customer Retention to Aid North America in Retaining DominanceIn terms of the geography, the global market for telecom order management is segmented into North America, the Middle East and Africa, Asia Pacific, South America, and Europe. Among these, North America has been leading the global market since the last couple of years, thanks to the increasing demand for customer retention, shrinking revenues and extremely competitive space. Researchers expect this regional market to continue its leading streak, acquiring a share of nearly 38% in the global market by the end of 2025.The growth of the North America market for telecom order management is attributed to increasing awareness regarding the benefits that telecom order management solutions offer, such as the aid in timely order fulfillment required for early revenue realization and the improvement in end user satisfaction.Preview Report @Among other regional markets, Asia Pacific is expected to report a significantly high-paced growth at a CAGR of 9.40% between 2017 and 2025. The rapid digitization and the increasing cloud penetration across the region are expected to be the main factors behind the growth of Asia Pacific telecom order management market.Some of the leading players in the global market for telecom order management are Ericsson AB, Amdocs Corp., Cerillion Plc, IBM Corp., ChikPea Inc., Comarch SA, Fujitsu Ltd., Neustar Inc., Pegasystems Inc., and Oracle Corp. The market demonstrates a competitive business landscape and the scenario is expected to remain so over the next few years.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company providing business information reports and services. The companys exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trend analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.TMRs data repository is continuously updated and revised by a team of research experts so that it always reflects the latest trends and information. With extensive research and analysis capabilities, Transparency Market Research employs rigorous primary and secondary research techniques to develop distinctive data sets and research material for business reports.ContactTransparency Market ResearchState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:Research Blog: Digital Printing and Dyeing Machines Market 2018 Global Analysis By key Players Alliance Machines Textiles, Cubotex, FLAINOX, Loris Bellini, Mimaki Digital Printing and Dyeing Machines Market https://www.wiseguyreports.com/sample-request/3307574-global-digital-printing-and-dyeing-machines-market-research-report-2018 https://www.wiseguyreports.com/reports/3307574-global-digital-printing-and-dyeing-machines-market-research-report-2018 Digital Printing and Dyeing Machines Market 2018Wiseguyreports.Com adds Digital Printing and Dyeing Machines Market Market Demand, Growth, Opportunities, Analysis of Top Key Players and Forecast to 2025 To Its Research Database.Report Details:This report provides in depth study of Digital Printing and Dyeing Machines Market using SWOT analysis i.e. Strength, Weakness, Opportunities and Threat to the organization. The Digital Printing and Dyeing Machines Market report also provides an in-depth survey of key players in the market which is based on the various objectives of an organization such as profiling, the product outline, the quantity of production, required raw material, and the financial health of the organization.This report studies the global Digital Printing and Dyeing Machines market status and forecast, categorizes the global Digital Printing and Dyeing Machines market size (value & volume) by manufacturers, type, application, and region. This report focuses on the top manufacturers in North America, Europe, Japan, China, and other regions (India, Southeast Asia, Central & South America, and Middle East & Africa).The global digital printing and dyeing machines market is highly dependent on the global textile trade dynamics. The growing global population coupled with improving economic conditions is a major driver that is likely to increase the appetite for essential commodities including textiles.One of the primary drivers for this market is the rise in the demand for textiles from the automotive sector. Textiles that are used for automotive applications are often referred to as automotive textiles. Nearly two-third of the automobile textiles are used for interiors such as carpets, seat covers, roof and door liners.The increasing demand for automobiles, particularly in APAC, is fuelling the growth of this industry. Moreover, increasing disposable income and improving standard of living in emerging markets such as China and India are resulting in the high demand for automobiles, which, in turn, will augment growth in the automotive textile industry in the coming years.The global digital printing and dyeing machines market is highly fragmented due to the presence of several manufacturers. The market is dominated by the established manufacturers as they hold major parts of their respective markets. Also, these manufacturers have a wide geographical presence with a large number of manufacturing facilities in various regions of the globe. To gain a competitive advantage, manufacturers are focusing on the development and introduction of innovative products in the market.The major manufacturers covered in this reportACME MACHINERY INDUSTRYAlliance Machines TextilesCubotexFLAINOXLoris BelliniMimakiHGS MachinesKornit DigitalReggiani MacchineZimmer AmericaKonica MinoltaJ. Zimmer MaschinenbauMS Printing SolutionSPGPrintsExpand SystemsAtexco (Hangzhou Honghua Digital Technology Stock)Durst PhototechnikEpsonSHIMA SEIKIMTEX SolutionsFUJIFILM DimatixRicohRequest a Sample Report @Geographically, this report studies the top producers and consumers, focuses on product capacity, production, value, consumption, market share and growth opportunity in these key regions, coveringNorth AmericaEuropeChinaJapanSoutheast AsiaIndiaWe can also provide the customized separate regional or country-level reports, for the following regions:North AmericaUnited StatesCanadaMexicoAsia-PacificChinaIndiaJapanSouth KoreaAustraliaIndonesiaSingaporeRest of Asia-PacificEuropeGermanyFranceUKItalySpainRussiaRest of EuropeCentral & South AmericaBrazilArgentinaRest of South AmericaMiddle East & AfricaSaudi ArabiaTurkeyRest of Middle East & AfricaOn the basis of product, this report displays the production, revenue, price, market share and growth rate of each type, primarily split intoSmart textilesNormal textilesOn the basis of the end users/applications, this report focuses on the status and outlook for major applications/end users, consumption (sales), market share and growth rate for each application, includingPrinting machinesDyeing machinesKey StakeholdersDigital Printing and Dyeing Machines ManufacturersDigital Printing and Dyeing Machines Distributors/Traders/WholesalersDigital Printing and Dyeing Machines Subcomponent ManufacturersIndustry AssociationDownstream VendorsIf you have any special requirements, please let us know and we will offer you the report as you want.Complete Report Details@Major Key Points in Table of Content:Global Digital Printing and Dyeing Machines Market Research Report 20181 Digital Printing and Dyeing Machines Market Overview1.1 Product Overview and Scope of Digital Printing and Dyeing Machines1.2 Digital Printing and Dyeing Machines Segment by Type (Product Category)1.2.1 Global Digital Printing and Dyeing Machines Production and CAGR (%) Comparison by Type (Product Category)(2013-2025)1.2.2 Global Digital Printing and Dyeing Machines Production Market Share by Type (Product Category) in 20171.2.3 Smart textiles1.2.4 Normal textiles1.3 Global Digital Printing and Dyeing Machines Segment by Application1.3.1 Digital Printing and Dyeing Machines Consumption (Sales) Comparison by Application (2013-2025)1.3.2 Printing machines1.3.3 Dyeing machines1.4 Global Digital Printing and Dyeing Machines Market by Region (2013-2025)1.4.1 Global Digital Printing and Dyeing Machines Market Size (Value) and CAGR (%) Comparison by Region (2013-2025)1.4.2 North America Status and Prospect (2013-2025)1.4.3 Europe Status and Prospect (2013-2025)1.4.4 China Status and Prospect (2013-2025)1.4.5 Japan Status and Prospect (2013-2025)1.4.6 Southeast Asia Status and Prospect (2013-2025)1.4.7 India Status and Prospect (2013-2025)1.5 Global Market Size (Value) of Digital Printing and Dyeing Machines (2013-2025)1.5.1 Global Digital Printing and Dyeing Machines Revenue Status and Outlook (2013-2025)1.5.2 Global Digital Printing and Dyeing Machines Capacity, Production Status and Outlook (2013-2025).7 Global Digital Printing and Dyeing Machines Manufacturers Profiles/Analysis7.1 ACME MACHINERY INDUSTRY7.1.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.1.2 Digital Printing and Dyeing Machines Product Category, Application and Specification7.1.2.1 Product A7.1.2.2 Product B7.1.3 ACME MACHINERY INDUSTRY Digital Printing and Dyeing Machines Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2013-2018)7.1.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.2 Alliance Machines Textiles7.2.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.2.2 Digital Printing and Dyeing Machines Product Category, Application and Specification7.2.2.1 Product A7.2.2.2 Product B7.2.3 Alliance Machines Textiles Digital Printing and Dyeing Machines Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2013-2018)7.2.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.3 Cubotex7.3.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.3.2 Digital Printing and Dyeing Machines Product Category, Application and Specification7.3.2.1 Product A7.3.2.2 Product B7.3.3 Cubotex Digital Printing and Dyeing Machines Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2013-2018)7.3.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.4 FLAINOX7.4.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.4.2 Digital Printing and Dyeing Machines Product Category, Application and Specification7.4.2.1 Product A7.4.2.2 Product B7.4.3 FLAINOX Digital Printing and Dyeing Machines Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2013-2018)7.4.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.5 Loris Bellini7.5.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.5.2 Digital Printing and Dyeing Machines Product Category, Application and Specification7.5.2.1 Product A7.5.2.2 Product B7.5.3 Loris Bellini Digital Printing and Dyeing Machines Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2015-2018)7.5.4 Main Business/Business OverviewContinued.Contact Us:NORAH TRENTPh: +1-646-845-9349 (US)Sales@Wiseguyreports.ComPh: +44 208 133 9349 (UK)ABOUT US:Wise Guy Reports is part of the Wise Guy Consultants Pvt. Ltd. and offers premium progressive statistical surveying, market research reports, analysis & forecast data for industries and governments around the globe. Wise Guy Reports features an exhaustive list of market research reports from hundreds of publishers worldwide. We boast a database spanning virtually every market category and an even more comprehensive collection of market research reports under these categories and sub-categories.ADDRESS:WISE GUY RESEARCH CONSULTANTS PVT LTDOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, HadapsarPune - 411028Maharashtra, India Digestive Health Food and Drinks Market 2018 Global Analysis By key Players Clover Industries, Danisco, Danone, General Mills, Nestle Digestive Health Food and Drinks Market https://www.wiseguyreports.com/sample-request/3291975-global-digestive-health-food-and-drinks-market-research-report-2018 https://www.wiseguyreports.com/reports/3291975-global-digestive-health-food-and-drinks-market-research-report-2018 Digestive Health Food and Drinks Market 2018Wiseguyreports.Com adds Digestive Health Food and Drinks Market Market Demand, Growth, Opportunities, Analysis of Top Key Players and Forecast to 2025 To Its Research Database.Report Details:This report provides in depth study of Digestive Health Food and Drinks Market using SWOT analysis i.e. Strength, Weakness, Opportunities and Threat to the organization. The Digestive Health Food and Drinks Market report also provides an in-depth survey of key players in the market which is based on the various objectives of an organization such as profiling, the product outline, the quantity of production, required raw material, and the financial health of the organization.This report studies the global Digestive Health Food and Drinks market status and forecast, categorizes the global Digestive Health Food and Drinks market size (value & volume) by key players, type, application, and region. This report focuses on the top players in North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, South America, and Middle East & Africa.The major manufacturers covered in this reportClover IndustriesDaniscoDanoneGeneral MillsNestleYakult HonshaAttune FoodsArla FoodsBifodanBioCare CopenhagenBioGaia ABChr. HansenDaflornDeerland EnzymesGanedenInstitut Rosell-LallemandLallemandWinclove ProbioticsRequest a Sample Report @Geographically, this report studies the top producers and consumers, focuses on product capacity, production, value, consumption, market share and growth opportunity in these key regions, coveringNorth AmericaEuropeChinaJapanSoutheast AsiaIndiaWe can also provide the customized separate regional or country-level reports, for the following regions:North AmericaUnited StatesCanadaMexicoAsia-PacificChinaIndiaJapanSouth KoreaAustraliaIndonesiaSingaporeRest of Asia-PacificEuropeGermanyFranceUKItalySpainRussiaRest of EuropeCentral & South AmericaBrazilArgentinaRest of South AmericaMiddle East & AfricaSaudi ArabiaTurkeyRest of Middle East & AfricaOn the basis of product, this report displays the production, revenue, price, market share and growth rate of each type, primarily split intoProbioticsPrebioticsFood enzymesOthersOn the basis of the end users/applications, this report focuses on the status and outlook for major applications/end users, consumption (sales), market share and growth rate for each application, includingDairy productsBakery and cerealsNon-alcoholic beveragesOthersKey StakeholdersDigestive Health Food and Drinks ManufacturersDigestive Health Food and Drinks Distributors/Traders/WholesalersDigestive Health Food and Drinks Subcomponent ManufacturersIndustry AssociationDownstream VendorsIf you have any special requirements, please let us know and we will offer you the report as you want.Complete Report Details@Major Key Points in Table of Content:Global Digestive Health Food and Drinks Market Research Report 20181 Digestive Health Food and Drinks Market Overview1.1 Product Overview and Scope of Digestive Health Food and Drinks1.2 Digestive Health Food and Drinks Segment by Type (Product Category)1.2.1 Global Digestive Health Food and Drinks Production and CAGR (%) Comparison by Type (Product Category)(20132025)1.2.2 Global Digestive Health Food and Drinks Production Market Share by Type (Product Category) in 20171.2.3 Probiotics1.2.4 Prebiotics1.2.5 Food enzymes1.2.6 Others1.3 Global Digestive Health Food and Drinks Segment by Application1.3.1 Digestive Health Food and Drinks Consumption (Sales) Comparison by Application (20132025)1.3.2 Dairy products1.3.3 Bakery and cereals1.3.4 Non-alcoholic beverages1.3.5 Others1.4 Global Digestive Health Food and Drinks Market by Region (20132025)1.4.1 Global Digestive Health Food and Drinks Market Size (Value) and CAGR (%) Comparison by Region (20132025)1.4.2 North America Status and Prospect (20132025)1.4.3 Europe Status and Prospect (20132025)1.4.4 China Status and Prospect (20132025)1.4.5 Japan Status and Prospect (20132025)1.4.6 Southeast Asia Status and Prospect (20132025)1.4.7 India Status and Prospect (20132025)1.5 Global Market Size (Value) of Digestive Health Food and Drinks (20132025)1.5.1 Global Digestive Health Food and Drinks Revenue Status and Outlook (20132025)1.5.2 Global Digestive Health Food and Drinks Capacity, Production Status and Outlook (20132025).7 Global Digestive Health Food and Drinks Manufacturers Profiles/Analysis7.1 Clover Industries7.1.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.1.2 Digestive Health Food and Drinks Product Category, Application and Specification7.1.2.1 Product A7.1.2.2 Product B7.1.3 Clover Industries Digestive Health Food and Drinks Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (20132018)7.1.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.2 Danisco7.2.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.2.2 Digestive Health Food and Drinks Product Category, Application and Specification7.2.2.1 Product A7.2.2.2 Product B7.2.3 Danisco Digestive Health Food and Drinks Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (20132018)7.2.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.3 Danone7.3.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.3.2 Digestive Health Food and Drinks Product Category, Application and Specification7.3.2.1 Product A7.3.2.2 Product B7.3.3 Danone Digestive Health Food and Drinks Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (20132018)7.3.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.4 General Mills7.4.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.4.2 Digestive Health Food and Drinks Product Category, Application and Specification7.4.2.1 Product A7.4.2.2 Product B7.4.3 General Mills Digestive Health Food and Drinks Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (20132018)7.4.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.5 Nestle7.5.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.5.2 Digestive Health Food and Drinks Product Category, Application and Specification7.5.2.1 Product A7.5.2.2 Product B7.5.3 Nestle Digestive Health Food and Drinks Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (20152018)7.5.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.6 Yakult Honsha7.6.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.6.2 Digestive Health Food and Drinks Product Category, Application and Specification7.6.2.1 Product A7.6.2.2 Product B7.6.3 Yakult Honsha Digestive Health Food and Drinks Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (20132018)7.6.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.7 Attune Foods7.7.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.7.2 Digestive Health Food and Drinks Product Category, Application and Specification7.7.2.1 Product A7.7.2.2 Product B7.7.3 Attune Foods Digestive Health Food and Drinks Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (20132018)7.7.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.8 Arla Foods7.8.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.8.2 Digestive Health Food and Drinks Product Category, Application and Specification7.8.2.1 Product A7.8.2.2 Product B7.8.3 Arla Foods Digestive Health Food and Drinks Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (20132018)7.8.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.9 Bifodan7.9.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.9.2 Digestive Health Food and Drinks Product Category, Application and Specification7.9.2.1 Product A7.9.2.2 Product B7.9.3 Bifodan Digestive Health Food and Drinks Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (20132018)7.9.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.10 BioCare Copenhagen7.10.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.10.2 Digestive Health Food and Drinks Product Category, Application and Specification7.10.2.1 Product A7.10.2.2 Product B7.10.3 BioCare Copenhagen Digestive Health Food and Drinks Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (20132020)7.10.4 Main Business/Business OverviewContinued.Contact Us:NORAH TRENTPh: +16468459349 (US)Sales@Wiseguyreports.ComPh: +44 208 133 9349 (UK)ABOUT 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Ltd. and offers premium progressive statistical surveying, market research reports, analysis & forecast data for industries and governments around the globe. Wise Guy Reports features an exhaustive list of market research reports from hundreds of publishers worldwide. We boast a database spanning virtually every market category and an even more comprehensive collection of market research reports under these categories and sub-categories.ADDRESS:WISE GUY RESEARCH CONSULTANTS PVT LTDOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, HadapsarPune - 411028Maharashtra, India Top 5 Dominating Key Players in India Aerospace Coating Market by 2023 india aerospace coating market https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/request-sample/4697 https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/purchase-enquiry/4697 https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/india-aerospace-coating-market https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com India aerospace coating market was valued at $80 million in 2016, and is projected to reach $130 million by 2023, growing at a CAGR of 7.2% from 2017 to 2023. The solvent based coatings segment accounted for more than 60% share of the India aerospace coating market in 2016.Get sample copy for industry insight:Aerospace coatings manufacturers and research institutions are investing significantly to develop environment-friendly and nonhazardous aerospace coatings. Moreover, technological advancements are expected to enhance the performance of aerospace coatings, making them superior to conventional VOC-contained aerospace coatings.Top Dominating Key Players: Akzonobel N.V. BASF SE Henkel AG Hentzen Coatings, Inc. IHI Ionbond AG Mankiewicz GEBRAerospace coatings is a high-performance coating material applied on the metal surface of aircraft to provide protection against corrosion, ultraviolet rays & solar heat, climatic stress, and fog. Moreover, these coatings are applied to aircraft surface, engines, fuselage components, wings, propellers, landing gears, interiors, and other components to reduce the overall weight of the aircraft and minimize CO2 emissions. The growth of the India aerospace coating market is majorly driven by development of the aviation industry. Moreover, advancement in the field of chromo-free technology is the major factor boosting the growth of the market.Make purchase enquiry:In addition, growth in the civil aviation sector due to development of new airports and air services propels the market growth. Furthermore, the demand for high-quality paints & coatings for use in aircraft is on a constant increase, which has led to development in the technologies used for manufacturing aerospace coatings. Nano-coatings are witnessing increased popularity, as they resist drag, dirt, stain, and are widely utilized for retaining shiny colors for a longer period. Thus, increase in use of nanotechnology in paint and coatings industry is anticipated to offer growth opportunity for the market.The India aerospace coating market is segmented based on resin type, technology, user type, end user, and application. In terms of value, polyurethane resin generated the highest revenue in 2017, and is anticipated to maintain its dominance during the forecast period. High resistance to ultraviolet rays, abrasion, staining, and chemicals fuels the adoption of polyurethane resins. According to technology, the solvent-based coating accounted for a share of 60% of the market in 2017, in terms of volume. By user type, the India aerospace coating market is segmented into original equipment manufacturer and maintenance, repair, and overhaul. Original equipment manufacturer garnered about 73.19% of the market share by value in 2017, and is projected to exhibit prominent growth rate, owing to surge in use of chromium-free product. Depending on end user industry, the commercial aviation generated the highest revenue of $42.62 million in 2017.According to Onkar Sumant, Manger, Chemical and Material at Allied Market Research, Aerospace coatings manufacturers and research institutions are investing significantly to develop environment-friendly and nonhazardous aerospace coatings. Moreover, technological advancements are expected to enhance the performance of aerospace coatings, making them superior to conventional VOC-contained aerospace coatings.Access full summary:Key Findings of the India Aerospace Coating Market: In terms of volume, polyurethane accounted for share of nearly 59.13% in the India aerospace coating market in 2017. Exterior application is anticipated to grow with the highest CAGR throughout the forecast period. In terms of value, commercial aviation accounted for 49.45% of the India aerospace coating market in 2017. The polyurethane resin segment is anticipated to grow at the highest rate in the India aerospace coating market during the analysis period.About UsAllied Market Research (AMR) is a full-service market research and business-consulting wing of Allied Analytics LLP based in Portland, Oregon. Allied Market Research provides global enterprises as well as medium and small businesses with unmatched quality of "Market Research Reports" and "Business Intelligence Solutions. AMR has a targeted view to provide business insights and consulting to assist its clients to make strategic business decisions and achieve sustainable growth in their respective market domain.We are in professional corporate relations with various companies and this helps us in digging out market data that helps us generate accurate research data tables and confirms utmost accuracy in our market forecasting. Each and every data presented in the reports published by us is extracted through primary interviews with top officials from leading companies of domain concerned. Our secondary data procurement methodology includes deep online and offline research and discussion with knowledgeable professionals and analysts in the industry.Contact:Shriram Dighe5933 NE Win Sivers Drive#205, Portland, OR 97220United StatesToll Free: +1-800-792-5285UK: +44-845-528-1300Hong Kong: +852-301-84916India (Pune): +91-20-66346060Fax: +1855550-5975help@alliedmarketresearch.comWeb: Global Security System Integrators Market growing at CAGR of 8.9% till 2024 - Cisco, IBM, Accenture, Cognizant, Deloitte, FireEye, Inc., McAfee, Wipro Limited, VANDIS, Integrity360 Global Security System Integrators Market http://databridgemarketresearch.com/request-a-sample/?dbmr=global-security-system-integrators-market https://databridgemarketresearch.com/inquire-before-buying/?dbmr=global-security-system-integrators-market The Global Security System Integrators Market accounted for USD 8.92 billion in 2017 and is projected to grow at a CAGR of 8.9% during the forecast period of 2017 to 2024.Download PDF Sample Report @Some of the major players in global security system integrators market are Cisco Systems, HPE, IBM, Accenture, Cognizant Deloitte, Fireeye, Mcafee, HCL Technologies, Deloitte, Wipro, Vandis, Innovative Solutions, Integrity360 and Anchor Technologies among others.Major Market Drivers and Restraints: Increasing digitalization Growing complication with respect of mergers and acquisition, globalization and many more. Absence of skilled cybersecurity professionals and security solution vendors Inventions regarding internet of things (IOT) Struggle faced during the business expansionFor Customized Reports and Discounts, Mail us @ sopan.gedam@databridgemarketresearch.comGlobal Market Segmentation of Security System Integrators MarketOn the basis of security type, the Global Security System Integrators Market is segmented into application security, network security, data security, endpoint security, business continuity and disaster recovery, risk and compliance managementApplication security is sub segmented into identity and access management, web filtering and application whitelisting. Network security is sub segmented into distributed denial of service mitigation, firewall, vulnerability management and firewall. Data security is sub segmented into data loss prevention and encryption and tokenization. Endpoint Security is sub segmented into security information and event management, security analytics and antivirus or anti-malware.On the basis of end users, the global security system integrators market is segmented into aerospace and defense, it & telecom, government, manufacturing, banking, financial services, and insurance, manufacturing, energy and utilitiesOn the basis of geography, the global security system integrators market report covers data points for 28 countries across multiple geographies such as North America, South America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and Middle East & AfricaSome of the major countries covered in this report are U.S., Canada, Germany, France, U.K., Netherlands, Switzerland, Turkey, Russia, China, India, South Korea, Japan, Australia, Singapore, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, and Brazil among others.Inquiry before buying atCompany Landscape of Security System Integrators MarketThe global security system integrators market is consolidated due to the presence of limited number of players concentrated in few countries. These major players have adopted various organic as well as inorganic growth strategies such as mergers & acquisitions, new product launches, expansions, agreements, joint ventures, partnerships, and others to strengthen their position in this market.About Data Bridge Market Research:Data Bridge Market Research set forth itself as an unconventional and neoteric Market research and consulting firm with unparalleled level of resilience and integrated approaches. We are determined to unearth the best market opportunities and foster efficient information for your business to thrive in the market. Data Bridge endeavors to provide appropriate solutions to the complex business challenges and initiates an effortless decision-making process.Contact:Data Bridge Market ResearchTel: +1-888-387-2818Email: sopan.gedam@databridgemarketresearch.com Veterinary Antibiotics Market Pegged for Robust Expansion by 2024 https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=14705 https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/veterinary-antibiotics-market.html http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com Mounting concerns over antibiotic resistance in humans and increasing demand for meat, milk, and eggs will continue to influence discussion on veterinary healthcare. While the US, Canada, and countries in Western Europe have some of the strongest animal healthcare standards backed up by strong legislation developing countries are also joining the fray with government support and legislation witnessing an uptick in recent years.The global Veterinary Antibiotics Market is currently valued at nearly US$ 35 billion, and is expected to witness steady growth rates in the next decade. However, there are a plethora of changes currently underway in this highly lucrative market that can have an impact on the stakeholders. Among rising concerns on the effect of long-term antibiotics use, many farm- and pet-owners are making the shift to vaccines. The move is being supported by veterinary healthcare activists. In view of anticipated growth of the veterinary vaccines market, which is estimated to reach $9.5 bn by 2020, Elanco LLC (Eli Lilly & Co.) recently opened a 48,000-square-facility in Indianapolis. The facility is expected to focus on developing vaccines for farm animals, which according to estimates total 70 billion. However, antibiotics arent expected to disappear anytime soon, as they remain a credible method of disease prevention and management around the globe. The global veterinary antibiotics market is expected to witness moderate growth during the forecast period 2016-2024.Impact of FDA Regulations on Animal Antibiotics MarketThe U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has been working on regularizing the use of antibiotics in veterinary healthcare. From defining medically significant antibiotics in 2003 to setting up the Veterinary Feed Additive (VFA) rule, the FDA is keeping a strict watch on the non-prescribed use of antibiotics in animal feed. The VFD final rule, which will come into effect from January 1, 2017, makes it mandatory to present a prescription to a veterinarian for buying a feed containing a covered antibiotic. Although these regulations are anticipated to serve well in the long-term, they can stymie demand for veterinary antibiotics in the short-term.Request to View Brochure of Report -Europe Planning to Tighten its Grip on Veterinary AntibioticsThe proposed European Union regulation that governs the use of antibiotics on animals can also have an impact on sales in Europe. The proposal focuses on collecting, compiling, and reporting antibiotic use in animal feed and for disease mitigation. Regulatory authorities in Europe have been monitoring the state of veterinary healthcare and in 2015, EFSA, ECDC, and EMA concluded, in a joint report, that certain antimicrobials were associated with resistance to these antimicrobials in humans and animals.While demand for antibiotics in developed countries may decline in the future, manufacturers can look to consolidate their position in developing regions, where regulations on use of antibiotics arent as stringent as they are in the U.S. and Europe. The Asia Pacific veterinary antibiotics market is expected to grow at a higher CAGR than North America and Europe markets, owing to laxer regulations.Commonly used antibiotics in animal healthcare include tetracyclines, penicillin, and cephalosporins. These antibiotics have remained sought-after owing to their easy availability and low cost. According to a report by FDA, sales of veterinary antibiotics in the U.S. increased by nearly 23% between 2009 and 2014. The staggering growth is another key factor that has brought the alleged antibiotic abuse into limelight in the U.S.Veterinary Antibiotics Market: Key PlayersThe key players in the veterinary antibiotics market are Bayer Animal Health, Phibro Animal Health Corp.,Merial, Ceva Sante Animale S.A., Bioniche Animal Health, Fort Dodge Animal Health, Elanco Animal Health, Merck Animal Health, Virbac Animal Health, Zoetis, Inc., and Novartis Animal Health.View Report -About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.US Office Contact90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite: Fibromyalgia Treatment Market to Record Sturdy Growth by 2027 https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=22697 https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/fibromyalgia-treatment-market.html http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com Fibromyalgia disorder is characterized by musculoskeletal pain along with characteristics of fatigue, sleep disorders, memory and mood issues, irritable bowel syndrome, headaches, depression, and anxiety. It is believed that fibromyalgia alters the pain sensations mechanism controlled by the brain. An individual with fibromyalgia also can have symptoms such as tension headaches, migraine, temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorders. Symptoms of fibromyalgia can be gradually accumulated with the time, or it can be done by some external factors such as physical trauma, infection, psychological stress, and surgery. However, the real cause of fibromyalgia is still unknown. Prevalence of fibromyalgia is more common in women than in men, and it can be nine times higher in women compare to men.Fibromyalgia Treatment Market: Drivers and RestraintsFibromyalgia Treatment Market is expected to witness high growth over the forecast period as the number of trauma cases and surgeries are increasing across the globe. Although there is no cure for fibromyalgia, however, some drugs in fibromyalgia treatment are used to reduce the symptoms of fibromyalgia such as narcotic and non-narcotic analgesics, anticonvulsants, antidepressants, and muscle relaxants. As fibromyalgia associated with age, increase in geriatric population across the globe is also a factor to increase in the prevalence of fibromyalgia, which in turn, likely to boost the growth of fibromyalgia treatment market. Fibromyalgia is hard to diagnose as most of the symptoms are associated with other diseases as well, which in turn lower the diagnosis rate of patients having fibromyalgia in turn hampering the growth of fibromyalgia treatment market. Fibromyalgia treatment Combination therapies to treat fibromyalgia has many side effects and can cause severe damage to the patients. Also, other indications such as diabetes, kidney problem, heart disease can lead to severe damage to the patients if these drugs are used in fibromyalgia treatment. These factors are expected to hinder the growth of fibromyalgia treatment market over the forecast period.Request to View Brochure of Report -Fibromyalgia Treatment Market: OverviewFibromyalgia is diagnosed with the chronic pain symptoms at tender points, a person has fibromyalgia if he or she has pain in at least 11 of 18 specific tender point sites. However, fibromyalgia treatment involves the high rate of chances of misdiagnosis if the individual does not meet the criteria of ACR. The introduction of new drugs is expected to boost the growth of fibromyalgia treatment market over the forecast period. Most of the drugs in fibromyalgia treatment are prescribed as off-label as these drugs available for other indications in the market such as including antidepressants, opioids, anti-epileptics and muscle relaxants. According to the European Network of Fibromyalgia Associations (ENFA), around 14 million people are affected in Europe by fibromyalgia and approximately 400 million people globally. Along with drug therapies, fibromyalgia treatment includes aerobic exercise which is also recommended to lower the pain and relieve the stress in fibromyalgia patients.Fibromyalgia Treatment Market: Region-wise OutlookThe fibromyalgia treatment market covers the market scenario for North America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Asia-Pacific excluding Japan, Japan, Latin America and MEA. There are very few players with approved drugs in the fibromyalgia treatment market giving opportunities for emerging players for market entry. U.S. is the biggest market for fibromyalgia treatment. As North America is strong in terms of international company presence and also active research and development investments coupled with an increase in healthcare expenditure, the North America fibromyalgia treatment market contributes maximum revenue share in global fibromyalgia market. With the increasing number of approvals for new drugs in future, fibromyalgia market is expected to grow faster in developed and emerging economies.Fibromyalgia Treatment Market: Key Market ParticipantsSome of the participants in fibromyalgia treatment market include Daiichi Sankyo, Eli Lilly, Innovative Med Concepts, Pfizer, Theravance Biopharma, Forest Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Innovative Med Concepts, Meiji Seika Pharma, and Tonix Pharmaceuticals. The fibromyalgia treatment market is competitive in nature as many generic drugs are available and used as off-label. Leading companies in fibromyalgia treatment are focusing on various new drug development and expanding their operation in the new countries for maintaining their foothold in the fibromyalgia treatment market.View Report -About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.US Office Contact90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite: Business Intelligence (BI) Market Outlook to 2025 - Datawatch, Microsoft Corporation, Microstrategy, Inc., Oracle Corporation, Panorama, Pentaho, SAP SE https://www.researchnreports.com/request_sample.php?id=65941 https://www.researchnreports.com/ask_for_discount.php?id=65941 https://www.researchnreports.com/enquiry_before_buying.php?id=65941 www.researchnreports.com Research N Reports market research analyst predicts the global BI market to grow at a CAGR of around +10.2% during the forecast period. The growing adoption of data analytics by organizations worldwide is a key driver for the growth of this market. The majority of corporate data sources include data generated from enterprise applications along with newly generated cloud-based and social network data. BI tools are useful in the retrieval and analysis of this vast and growing volume of discrete data. They also help optimize business decisions, discover significant weak signals, and develop indicator patterns to identify opportunities and threats for businesses.The increased acceptance of cloud BI solutions by SMEs is also boosting the growth of this market. The adoption of cloud services allows end-users to concentrate on core activities rather than managing their IT environment.For Sample duplicate of this report:Some of the key players in global Business Intelligence (BI) market include Information Builders, International Business Machines Corporation, Datawatch, Microsoft Corporation, Microstrategy, Inc., Oracle Corporation, Panorama, Pentaho (A Hitachi Company), Qlik Technologies, SAP SE, SAS Institute, Sisense Inc., Tableau Software, Tibco Software, and Yellowfin International Pty Ltd.Business Intelligence (BI) showcase has been examined as far as all parameters, for example, applications, sorts, items and numerous other. Every last information prompting development or fall of the separate fragments have been clarified. Whole production network as for Business Intelligence (BI) advertise is contemplated top to bottom and is passed on in the most exhaustive way that is available. The reasons there will be an expanding pattern to this market are examined and are expounded. Main thrusts, restrictions and openings are given to help give a superior photo of this market speculation for the gauge time of 2018 to 2025.Avail discount on this report:This report is a full examination which incorporates item compose, applications, organization, verticals, innovation and local divisions. To pick up a reasonable comprehension of the breakdown of the Business Intelligence (BI) showcase, the report additionally audits the execution of it's in the market situation, control. The report gives insights to each key fragment of the worldwide Business Intelligence (BI) advertise keeping in mind the end goal to reveal insight into the advancement designs displayed by the market. Most recent figures showing the execution of the Business Intelligence (BI) showcase are given in detail in the report keeping in mind the end goal to give a granular photo of the market's most recent conditions. An entire investigation of the aggressive scene of the worldwide Business Intelligence (BI) showcase have been given, introducing bits of knowledge into the item portfolio, money related status, mergers and acquisitions, and the SWOT examination.The United States Business Intelligence (BI) Market's position is legitimize and fortified by various archives and studies. Regardless of whether it maintains its position or not, is to be solid disapproved by the market patterns and its Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR). At all be the situation, there's little difference against its achievement.Major Points Covered in Table of Contents:1 Industry Overview2 Manufacturing Cost Structure Analysis of Business Intelligence (BI) Market3 Technical Data and Manufacturing Plants Analysis4 Production Analyses of Business Intelligence (BI) Market by Regions, Technology, and Applications5 Sales and Revenue Analysis of Business Intelligence (BI) Market by Regions6 Analyses of Business Intelligence (BI) Market Production, Supply, Sales and Market Status 2018-20257 Analysis of Business Intelligence (BI) Market industry Key Manufacturers8 Price and Gross Mar Business Intelligence (BI) Analysis9 Marketing Traders or Distributor Analysis of Business Intelligence (BI) Market10 Development Trend of Business Intelligence (BI) Market industries 2018-202511 Industry Chain Suppliers of Business Intelligence (BI) Market with Contact Information12 New Project Investment Feasibility Analysis of Business Intelligence (BI) Market13 Conclusion of the Business Intelligence (BI) industry 2018 Market Research ReportFor more enquiry:Research N Reports is a new age market research firm where we focus on providing information that can be effectively applied. Today being a consumer driven market, companies require information to deal with the complex and dynamic world of choices. Where relying on a sound board firm for your decisions becomes crucial. Research N Reports specializes in industry analysis, market forecasts and as a result getting quality reports covering all verticals, whether be it gaining perspective on current market conditions or being ahead in the cut throat Global competition. Since we excel at business research to help businesses grow, we also offer consulting as an extended arm to our services which only helps us gain more insight into current trends and problems. Consequently, we keep evolving as an all-rounder provider of viable information under one roof.Sunny Denis(Sales Manager),(Research N Reports)10916, Gold Point Dr, Houston, TX, Pin - 77064,+1-8886316977,sales@researchnreports.com Clinical Laboratory Services Market Poised to Achieve Significant Growth by 2024 Clinical Laboratory Services Market, Clinical Laboratory Services Market Study, Clinical Laboratory Services Market Size, Clinical https://www.marketstudyreport.com/request-a-sample/467838/ https://www.marketstudyreport.com/check-for-discount/467838/ https://empowerednews.net/author/gminsights/ https://www.marketstudyreport.com https://www.marketstudyreport.com/category/news-releases/ http://reports.algosonline.com/ Market Study Report recently introduced new title on 2018-2024 Global Clinical Laboratory Services Market Report that provides an in-depth overview of industry and competitive landscape, covering multiple market segments and elaborates market outlook and status to 2024.Clinical Laboratory Services Market will exceed USD 342 billion by 2024. Stand-alone laboratories segment held USD 83.3 million revenue in 2017, due to rising infectious diseases and growing initiatives by prominent industry players to set labs. In the U.S. as per CDC data in 2015 nearly 16.8 million people visited physician offices for infectious as well as parasitic diseases thus, contributing to segmental growth.This report focuses on the top Manufacturers and players in global market are given bellow:-Abbott Laboratories, Arup Laboratories, Charles River Laboratories, Fresenius Medical Care (Spectra Laboratories), Fullerton Health, Genoptix Medical Laboratory, Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings (Labcorp), Neogenomics Laboratories (Clarient), Opko Health (Bioreference Laboratories), Qiagen, Quest Diagnostics, Sanofi Genzyme, Siemens, Sonic Healthcare, and Synlab (Labco)Request a Sample of this premium Research Report@Growing R&D investments for introducing innovative solutions that includes accuracy of analysis, real-time results, automation throughput, outcome assessment of laboratory tests will drive clinical laboratory services market growth during the forecast timeframe.Escalating prevalence of target diseases and growing initiatives by organizations to control these target diseases should impact positively on clinical laboratory services industry growth. According to the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) around 43.9% U.S. adult population will have cardiovascular disease by 2030. This should offer immense business growth opportunities over the forecast period.Clinical Laboratory Services Market Size By Test Type (Human & Tumor Genetics, Clinical Chemistry, {Routine Chemistry Testing, Specialized Chemistry Testing, Therapeutic Drug Monitoring (TDM) Testing, Endocrinology Chemistry Testing, Other Clinical Chemistry Testing} Medical Microbiology & Cytology, Other Esoteric Test)By Service Provider (Hospital-Based Laboratories, Stand-Alone Laboratories, Clinic-Based Laboratories)Industry Analysis Report, Regional Outlook (U.S., Canada, Germany, UK, France, Spain, Italy, Japan, China, India, Australia, Brazil, Mexico, South Africa, Saudi Arabia)Application Potential, Competitive Market Share & Forecast, 2018 - 2024Request a Discount on standard prices of this premium Clinical Laboratory Services Market Research Report@U.S. clinical laboratory services market is anticipated to grow at 6.7% over the coming years. Escalating prevalence of cardiovascular disease and diabetes coupled with presence of major industry players in the country will upsurge the revenue size. As per CDC National Diabetes Statistics report around 30.3 million individuals of different age groups had diabetes in 2015; this accounts for nearly 9.4% of the U.S. population.India clinical laboratory services market held USD 7.2 million in 2017 as a result of rising awareness among individuals thus surging number of early disease diagnosis. Availability of advanced testing solutions should further boost industry growth.Prominent business players are focusing on strategic acquisition and partnerships. Introduction of innovative solutions in clinical laboratory services should favor industry growth over the forecast period. Companies existing in industry are emphasizing on acquisition and collaborations to upsurge their revenue share in the clinical laboratory services market. For instance, in June 2018, Neogenomics Laboratories collaborated with Pharmaceutical Product Development to provide fully integrated molecular testing solutions to pharmaceutical and biotechnological clients. This collaboration will allow company to meet increasing worldwide client requirements.More Report At:About Us:Marketstudyreport.com allows you to manage and control all corporate research purchases to consolidate billing and vendor management. You can eliminate duplicate purchases and customize your content and license management.Market Study ReportThe Green Suite #4594,Dover, DE 19901United StatesPhone: 1-201-355-0868US Toll Free: 1-866-764-2150Email:sales@marketstudyreport.comWebsite:News:More Report at: Aircraft Thrust Reverser Market 2018 Key Players: Safran S.A., Nordam, UTC Aerospace Systems, Triumph Group, GKN Aerospace and Spirit AeroSystems Aircraft Thrust Reverser Market https://www.gminsights.com/request-sample/detail/2311 https://www.gminsights.com/inquiry-before-buying/2311 https://www.gminsights.com/industry-analysis/aircraft-thrust-reverser-market http://freeautomotivenews.com www.gminsights.com Market Overview:-Global Aircraft Thrust Reverser Market is anticipated to exceed USD 2.2 billion over the forecast timeframe. Increasing demand of products offering superior safety to the airplane during aborted takeoff and landing will drive industry growth. Implementation of aircraft thrust reverser provides supplementary force particularly on wet, icy and slippery runways. Growing demand for commercial airplane can be credited to increasing air passengers, infrastructure development and price affordability.Cascade is estimated to continue its dominance over the forecast study frame. The demand can be credited to growing installation in advanced new generation airplanes. Bucket aircraft thrust reverser is likely to exhibit growth at over 4% from 2017 to 2024. Shifting trends towards replacing the conventional air fleet with advanced aircraft will boost the product demand.Request For Sample Copy Of This Report @Top Key Players:-The key players of global Aircraft Thrust Reverser Market are Safran S.A., Nordam, UTC Aerospace Systems, Triumph Group, GKN Aerospace and Spirit AeroSystems.Market share calculation in this report is not done based on companies covered in it. The calculation of aircraft thrust reverser market share is done based on a regional approach and countries covered. On request, additional companies can be covered as well as regional data for particular country / countries can be provided.Regional Segmentations:-In 2016, North America aircraft thrust reverser market led by the U.S. contributed over 55% of the business share. The dominance can be credited to notable deliveries from the manufactures coupled with superior demand for single aisle airplanes in the region. The U.S. exports for airplanes and spacecraft accounted over USD 130 billion in 2015.Europe led by France, UK and Germany will witness significant growth in the exports over the forecast timeframe. Germany, UK and France collectively contributed around USD 115 billion in 2015. Stringent airline safety regulations in the region will positively drive the product penetration. Obligatory implementation, narrow and widebody airplane will support the aircraft thrust reverser market share.Asia Pacific led by Japan, India and China will witness robust growth up to 2024. This can be attributed to high demand for single aisle & widebody, proliferating passenger traffic, and regional deliveries. Growing population coupled with affordable air tariffs are the prime factors supporting the industry growth. Developing GDP, affordability, industry consolidation and stable economic performance will positively drive the aircraft thrust reverser market from 2017 to 2024.Make an inquiry before buying this report @Major Points of Table Of Content:-Chapter 1. Methodology and Scope1.1. Methodology1.1.1. Initial data exploration1.1.2. Statistical model and forecast1.1.3. Industry insights and validation1.1.4. Scope, definition and forecast parameters1.2. Data Sources1.2.1. Primary1.2.2. SecondaryChapter 2. Executive Summary2.1. Aircraft thrust reverser industry 3600 synopsis, 2013 - 20242.1.1. Business trends2.1.2. Product trends2.1.3. Aircraft trends2.1.4. Manufacturing Process trends2.1.5. Mechanism trends2.1.6. Regional trendsChapter 3. Aircraft Thrust Reverser Industry Insights3.1. Industry segmentation3.2. Industry landscape, 2013 - 20243.3. Industry ecosystem analysis3.3.1. Suppliers3.3.2. Manufacturers3.3.3. Profit margin analysis3.3.4. Distribution channel analysis3.4. Pricing analysis3.4.1. By region3.4.1.1. NA3.4.1.2. Europe3.4.1.3. APAC3.4.1.4. LATAM3.4.1.5. MEA3.5. Cost structure analysis3.6. Technology landscape3.7. Regulatory landscape3.7.1. U.S.3.7.2. EU3.7.3. China3.8. Industry impact forces3.8.1. Growth drivers3.8.1.1. North America3.8.1.2. Europe3.8.1.3. Asia Pacific3.8.1.4. LATAM3.8.1.5. MEA3.8.2. Industry pitfalls & challenges3.9. Innovation & sustainability3.10. Aircraft and spacecraft export by region3.11. Aircraft backlog by region3.12. Growth potential analysis3.13. Porter's analysis3.14. Competitive landscape, 20163.14.1. Company market share analysis3.14.2. Strategy dashboard3.15. PESTEL analysisBrowse Full Report @Electric aircraft thrust reverser market is likely to exhibit gains at 5.5% over the forecast timeframe. The product offers reduced weight owing to eliminating implementation of corrosive heavy fluids. Industry players are developing electric thrust reverser for airplane fleet. In 2016, hydraulics accounted for major share of aircraft thrust reverser market. The dominance can be credited to simplified installation and functioning of the system.About Global Market Insights:Global Market Insights, Inc., headquartered in Delaware, U.S., is a global market research and consulting service provider; offering syndicated and custom research reports along with growth consulting services. Our business intelligence and industry research reports offer clients with penetrative insights and actionable market data specially designed and presented to aid strategic decision making. These exhaustive reports are designed via a proprietary research methodology and are available for key industries such as chemicals, advanced materials, technology, renewable energy and biotechnology.Contact Us:Arun HegdeCorporate Sales, USAGlobal Market Insights, Inc.Phone: 1-302-846-7766Toll Free: 1-888-689-0688Auto Blog:Email: sales@gminsights.comWeb: Global Root Beers Market Competitive Landscape & Product Benchmarking, Market Demand, Strategy, Growth, Analysis, Size, Share, Outlook up to 2025 https://www.researchnreports.com/request_sample.php?id=6190 https://www.researchnreports.com/ask_for_discount.php?id=6190 Research N Reports has added a new report to its source. The report is titled Global Root Beers Market by Manufacturers, size, share, survey, intelligence, trends, strategy, research, report, analysis, forecast 2025 and accelerates a wide-ranging and focused look into this market. Market size is concluded through detailed study and examination through subordinate research. The numbers inferred from subordinate research is merged into the research report after validation of the market data approximations through various conferences and analyses conducted and collected from the industry and market specialists.Root beer is a beverage extracted from various roots, herbs, fruits and shells. It is traditionally made at home as a medicinal drink. The main ingredients used to make root beer are artificial sassafras flavors and sugar. Most root-root beers are carbonated soft drinks, usually sweet and bubbly. Root beer can be carbonated or non-carbonated.Get a Sample Report-Besides this, the specifications, applications, and products of the market, major competitors, sales location, and manufacturing base of each of the companies have been discussed in the report. Under geographical analysis, the report has explored key areas of the market such as import and export for the review period 20182025.Market Segmentation: The Root Beer market can be categorized by type, distribution channel and region. Depending on the type, the root beer market can be classified as alcoholism and non-alcoholism. Alcoholic root beer is gaining popularity in major markets such as North America. Based on distribution channels, the root beer market is divided into supermarket / supermarket, specialty liquor store, online, bar and nightclub. Of the rapidly growing distribution network, specialized liquor stores acquire major market shares followed by bars and nightclubs.Players in the Global Root Beers Market are consistently taking a stab at modernization. Innovation is being looked for after both in the engineering procedure and in terms of product features. The market is dynamic in nature and this is rousing testing prerequisites and additionally the development of superior hardware, promoting the development prospects of the market.Root beer markets can be classified based on the presence of alcohol. Most companies sell alcohol-free root beers in many parts of North America. Alcoholic beverages are also available. Root beer market is subdivided again based on the taste of root beer. There are other flavors that can be accessed from the market of root beer. Some of them are vanilla, wintergreen, cherry bark, licorice root, nutmeg, acacia, anise, molasses, cinnamon, sweet birch and nectar. Root beer market is also subdivided based on the presence of caffeine. Whether the root beer has caffeine or no caffeine. The Root Beer Market is segmented based on distribution channels such as supermarkets / supermarkets, specialty stores, liquor stores, online retailers, retail stores and department stores.Ask for Discount-This report explores the Root Beers in Global markets in North America Europe China Japan India and Southeast Asia and focuses on top makers in the global market including each manufacturer's sales pricing sales and market share.1. Black & White Restaurant2. Barqs3. Blue sky beverage company4. Thomas Kemper5. J & R Bottling6. Mug root beer7. Avita8. Joseph Hoover Brewing Company9. Guenergy10. HearthSong11. Sprecher Brewing Company12. Three olivesGlobal Root Beers Market Competitive Landscape & Product Benchmarking, Market Demand, Strategy, Growth, Analysis, Size, Share, Outlook up to 2025Chapter 1 Global Root Beers Market OverviewChapter 2 Global Economic Impact on IndustryChapter 3 Global Market Competition by ManufacturersChapter 4 Global Production, Revenue (Value) by RegionChapter 5 Global Supply (Production), Consumption, ExportChapter 6 Production, Revenue (Value), Price Trend by TypeChapter 7 Market Analysis by ApplicationChapter 8 Manufacturing Cost AnalysisChapter 9 Industrial Chain, Sourcing Strategy and Downstream BuyersChapter 10 Marketing Strategy Analysis, Distributors/TradersChapter 11 Market Effect Factors AnalysisChapter 12 Market Forecast.About Research N Reports:Research N Reports is a new age market research firm where we focus on providing information that can be effectively applied. Today being a consumer driven market, companies require information to deal with the complex and dynamic world of choices. Where relying on a sound board firm for your decisions becomes crucial. Research N Reports specializes in industry analysis, market forecasts and as a result getting quality reports covering all verticals, whether be it gaining perspective on current market conditions or being ahead in the cutthroat Global competition. Since we excel in business research to help businesses grow, we also offer to consult as an extended arm to our services which only helps us gain more insight into current trends and problems. Consequently, we keep evolving as an all-rounder provider of viable information under one roof.Contact:Sunny Denis(Sales Manager),(Research N Reports)10916, Gold Point Dr,Houston, TX, Pin 77064 Cyber Security Market Size worth $242.57 Billion by 2023 | CAGR: 15.19% | Global Key Players IBM, Cisco, Dell, Rapid7, Intel Security, Symantec Cyber Security Market https://www.marketprognosis.com/sample-request/15703 https://www.marketprognosis.com/buyReport/15703 https://www.marketprognosis.com/enquiry/15703 https://www.marketprognosis.com Marketprognosis.com Publish a New Market Research Report On Cyber Security Market - Growth, Trends, and Forecast (2018 2023) which contains global key players survey information and forecast to 2023.Overview of the Global Cyber Security Market:The Global Cyber Security Market was valued at USD 103.84 Billion in 2017 and is expected to reach a value of USD 242.57 Billion by 2023 at a CAGR of 15.19% over the forecast period of 20182023.Cyber threats are internet-based attempts to damage or disrupt information systems and hack critical information using spyware, malware, and phishing. Cybersecurity solutions help an organization to monitor, detect, report, and counter cyber threats to maintain data confidentiality.The adoption of cybersecurity solutions is expected to grow with the increasing penetration of internet among developing and developed countries. Also, the expanding wireless network for mobile devices has increased data vulnerability making cybersecurity an integral part of every single organization across the world.Get a Sample Copy of this Report @North America is expected to retain its position as the largest market for cybersecurity solutions, over the forecast period. The strong presences of several market incumbents, coupled with recent security threats in the region, are expected to drive the adoption of these solutions further. According to the recent annual budget plans of Trump government, the United States government has earmarked more than USD 19 billion for cybersecurity-related initiatives. This was majorly due to the increasing number of cyber-attacks in the nation.The total number of cybersecurity incidents reported by federal agencies in the United States has drastically increased from 5,503 in 2006, to 77,183 in 2015. In 2016, the United States businesses sector was estimated to have recorded the highest number of data breaches ever, constituting about 45% of the total data breach incidents reported in the country, followed by medical/healthcare sector at 35%, and education sector at 10%. Such high levels of data breach activities are forcing the North American countries to strengthen their security systems, allowing huge opportunities to the cybersecurity market.Purchase this report online with Top Key Players Analysis and List of Tables & Figure @Major Key Players:1 IBM Corporation2 Cisco Systems, Inc.3 Dell Technologies, Inc.4 Rapid7, Inc.5 Intel Security6 Check Point Software Technologies Ltd7 Symantec Corporation and MoreThis 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?Any Query? Ask to our Expert @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 Cyber Security Market.Table of Contents:1 Introduction2 Executive Summary3 Cyber Security Market Overview4 Market Dynamics5 Cyber Security Market Segmentation6 Vendor market Share Analysis7 Cyber Security Market Company Profiles8 Cyber Security Market Investment Analysis9 Cyber Security Market Future OutlookAbout 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 Global Release Cables Market Growth, Trends, Opportunity, Analysis and Forecast to 2022 Profiling Top Companies Like HI-LEX, Kongsberg, Dura, CMA, Chuhatsu, GEMO, L&P Automotive Group, Dorman, Infac Corporation https://www.researchnreports.com/request_sample.php?id=70073 https://www.researchnreports.com/ask_for_discount.php?id=70073 www.researchnreports.com The market research report helps analyze the Release Cables market on a global basis and also offers forecast and statistics in terms of revenue for the anticipated forecast to 2022. This research study offers a detailed overview of the market dynamics that are expected to affect the overall industry in the coming few years. In addition, the study explains the impact of the key factors on the development and growth of the global Release Cables market through the forecast period. Promising opportunities in the global Release Cables market have also been mentioned in the study.Major key players profiled in this report are:HI-LEX, Kongsberg, Dura, CMA, Chuhatsu, GEMO, L&P Automotive Group, Dorman, Infac Corporation etc.Get sample copy of this report:The major geographical regions which include, North America, Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East & Africa and Latin America are studied. Top manufacturers from all these regions are studied to help give a better picture of the market investment. Production, price, capacity, revenue and many such important data is being discussed with precise data.Most important data include the key recommendations and predictions by our analysts, intended to steer a strategic business decision. The company profiles section of this research service is a compilation of the growth strategies, financial status, product portfolio, and recent developments of key market participants. The report provides detailed industry analysis of the global Release Cables Market with the help of proven research methodologies such as Porters five forces. The forces analyzed are bargaining power of the buyers, bargaining power of suppliers, threat of new entrants, threat of substitutes, and the degree of competition.In order to give a clear view of Release Cables market, competitive landscape has been gauged and mentioned along with value chain analysis. Current and introduced research and development projects has been delivered in this particular report.Avail discount on this report:Table of ContentsGlobal Release Cables Market Research ReportChapter 1 Global Release Cables Market OverviewChapter 2 Global Economic Impact on IndustryChapter 3 Global Market Competition by ManufacturersChapter 4 Global Production, Revenue (Value) by RegionChapter 5 Global Supply (Production), Consumption, ExportChapter 6 Production, Revenue (Value), Price Trend by TypeChapter 7 Market Analysis by ApplicationChapter 8 Manufacturing Cost AnalysisChapter 9 Industrial Chain, Sourcing Strategy and Downstream BuyersChapter 10 Marketing Strategy Analysis, Distributors/TradersChapter 11 Market Effect Factors AnalysisChapter 12 Market ForecastAbout Research N Reports:Research N Reports is a new age market research firm where we focus on providing information that can be effectively applied. Today being a consumer driven market, companies require information to deal with the complex and dynamic world of choices. Where relying on a sound board firm for your decisions becomes crucial. Research N Reports specializes in industry analysis, market forecasts and as a result getting quality reports covering all verticals, whether be it gaining perspective on current market conditions or being ahead in the cut throat Global competition. Since we excel at business research to help businesses grow, we also offer consulting as an extended arm to our services which only helps us gain more insight into current trends and problems. Consequently, we keep evolving as an all-rounder provider of viable information under one roof.Contact:Sunny Denis(Sales Manager),(Research N Reports)10916, Gold Point Dr,Houston, TX, Pin 77064,+1-8886316977,sales@researchnreports.com, Security Screening Systems Industry Market In-depth analysis To 2023 Top key players https://www.researchnreports.com/request_sample.php?id=221723 https://www.researchnreports.com/ask_for_discount.php?id=221723 www.researchnreports.com Security screening involves scanning of individuals and their belongings to avoid economic, financial, and personal losses at various places. In this report, the security screening market has been segmented on the basis of products, applications, and geography. Scanning of people and their belongings is done on a large scale at airports due to the large numbers of people passing through airports every day. The products involved in security screening are X-ray imaging systems, explosive trace detectors, electromagnetic detectors, and biometric systems.Human operators play a key role in the detection process by examining X-ray images, resolving metal detector alarms, conducting body scans, conducting physical searches of baggage, and maintaining order at screening checkpoints. X-ray imaging systems are in great demand in the market as they focus on detecting metal on the persons and in their baggage. Explosive trace detectors are used to detect explosives of small magnitude. The detectors are more in demand at airports and other vulnerable areas; these are considered to be susceptible to acts of illegal intrusion.For Sample Copy of this report:Biometric technology is an advanced technique for the identification of humans, based on their characteristics such as face, fingerprint, iris, voice, and retina. Biometric technologies are being widely accepted and adopted in various civil and commercial applications; including ATMs, and border security, military, and private sectors. This technology is also very popular because of the biometric characters such as face, fingerprint, and hand; moreover, it cannot be lost, stolen, or easily forged.North America is the largest market for security screening products as a large number of airports and shopping malls are located in this region. The APAC region is expected to grow rapidly due to the rapid growth of infrastructure in countries such as India, China, and Japan. The players involved in the development of security screening-based semiconductor market include American Science and Engineering, Inc. (U.S.), Digital Barriers Plc. (U.K.), Implant Sciences Corp (U.S.), Magal Security Systems (Israel), OSI Systems Inc. (U.S.), Smiths Detection, Inc. (U.S.), Aware Inc. (U.S.), Argus Global (Australia), and Analogic Corporation (U.S.).This study estimates the factors that are boosting the development of the global Security Screening Systems Industry market. On the basis of key principles segments such as end-users, application, product, technology, and region are surveyed comprehensively of the global Security Screening Systems Industry market. The thorough examination has been done in this report to bring about the share and position of global market. In the report, the complete analysis of the growth revenue is offered.Avail Discount on this report:The research report also mentions the innovations, new developments, marketing strategies, branding techniques, and products of the key participants present in the global Security Screening Systems Industry market. In this report for the future. The reports offer the opportunities and restraint that may hit in the future for the market players. Through this report, consumers can easily get the notion for their growth of global Security Screening Systems Industry products in the market.Research N Reports is a new age market research firm where we focus on providing information that can be effectively applied. Where counting on a legitimate board company for your selections will become critical. Research N Reports specializes in enterprise evaluation, marketplace forecasts and as a result getting great reports overlaying all verticals, whether be it gaining angle on modern market situations or being in advance inside the cut throat Global opposition.(Research N Reports)10916, Gold Point Dr, Houston, TX, Pin - 77064,Sunny Denis(Sales Manager),+1-8886316977,sales@researchnreports.com New Delhi, 3rd August, 2018: Travel Unravel Holidays Private Limited, a travel e-commerce player, has welcomed the government move to form a single regulator for e-commerce sector. Speaking on the development, Saurabh Sharma, Director, Travel Unravel Holidays Private Limited, said, This move will organize the entire travel space, which eventually will help everyone in the chain especially the end consumer. The single e-commerce regulator will ensure one umbrella that will We have recently published this report and it is available for immediate purchase. For inquiry Email us on: jasonsmith@marketreportscompany.com ********* This market study includes data about consumer perspective, comprehensive analysis, statistics, market share, company performances (Stocks), historical analysis 2012 to 2017, market forecast 2018 to 2025 in terms of volume, revenue, YOY growth rate, and CAGR for the year 2018 to 2025, etc. The report also provides By Ole Reissmann, Special to The Oregonian "I'm Bob Moore and that's me on the package." When you call Bob's Red Mill, the Milwaukie-based food company, you are greeted by his voice. And his smiling face, in wire glasses and a cap, graces every bag of flour. That's not going to change anytime soon. But a change is coming: 40 years after founding the company, Bob Moore, now 89 years old, is passing the CEO title to company veteran Dennis Vaughn. Moore's wife, Charlee, had come enjoy serving whole grains to her family in the early 1960s, the story goes. After Moore's father died of a heart attack at age 49, he then became convinced better nutrition, just as his family enjoyed, could have saved his dad. He experimented with stone-grinding flours and in 1974, the family started its first milling operation in Redding, California. But business was slow. Eventually, the couple moved to Portland in 1978, signing over the mill to one of their three sons. When they discovered an old mill in Milwaukie, about 50 bike-minutes from Downtown Portland, they couldn't help it and started what is now known as Bob's Red Mill Natural Foods. While recipes for Buckwheat Protein Pancakes and Gluten Free Dinner Rolls are now common, that wasn't the case back then. When the Moores began, they had little competition. There was more money to be made off Frosted Flakes then natural grains. But they were used to crushing grains slowly with large millstones and were not deterred. They were early to open an in-house lab and to offer gluten-free flour mixes. A fire destroyed the original Milwaukie mill in 1988, but the millstones were saved. Moore, then 60, rebuilt the mill and grew the business. Today the flours and grains have become a staple in supermarkets across the U.S., but also further afield in Japan and the Middle East. The packages are emblazoned with Moore's face: white beard, big wire glasses, white cap. The business has also grown at home: at the Milwaukie headquarters, visitors will find the iconic red mill, along with a restaurant, a bakery, and a shop selling artisan bread flour, sorghum, amaranth and the hundreds of other products. Today, more than 500 people work for the company and annual sales exceed $50 million. Since the Moores put up an employee stock ownership plan in 2010, employees own the company. "I may have given them the company,'' Bob Moore said at the time, "but the boss part is still mine." Now Dennis Vaughn becomes the new CEO. Vaughn joined the company in 1999 and is credited with product innovations and increased production. But Bob Moore is not out completely: He will stay on as president and will remind people that behind the brand, there is, in fact, a real Bob Moore. Several years ago, when she was a high school teacher, a new assistant principal at Ockley Green Middle School broke a rule, partly because Portland Public Schools wasn't vigilant about communicating and enforcing the standard. Twice, Regina Sackrider drank alcohol while on school field trips, first on an overnight stay and later when she ordered a drink with a meal. She didn't appear drunk and no one got hurt, state discipline records indicate. Both times she wasn't the only adult drinking. Portland Public Schools officials didn't feel the conduct merited action, but the state agency that licenses educators did after an investigator discovered the drinking while looking into an unrelated matter. The ensuing investigation found her guilty of unprofessional conduct. State regulators put her on probation for two years, but also granted her a little-known mercy: Her misconduct would stay secret. Since 2009, regulators have had the ability to punish educators in private as a way to give them a conditional second chance. This is done through an informal letter that goes only to the educator and the educator's employer. This method keeps secret from the public not only the conduct of the educator, but the actions of the educator's bosses. For example, the secret Teacher Standards and Practices documents that The Oregonian/OregonLive obtained detail not only Sackrider's mistakes but also reference "a lack of training and policy conformation on the part of the school district." Sackrider did not respond to The Oregonian/OregonLive's request for comment for this article. District spokesman Harry Esteve said by law Portland Public Schools cannot talk about these confidential letters but he said the district stands by Sackrider. The secrecy the state is allowed to afford educators may get greater scrutiny soon. Sackrider's own district already planned to lobby for changes to Oregon teacher discipline practices. A scathing report created in response to an Oregonian/OregonLive story has become a road map for those lobbying efforts. The story detailed how the district and state regulators helped Portland educator Mitch Whitehurst evade allegations of sexual misconduct Portland school board member Julia Brim-Edwards told The Oregonian/OregonLive this week that lobbying may expand to push for an end to secret punishments as well. State licensing officials say the informal letters are only intended for low-level offenses. Brim-Edwards said she sees challenging secrecy around teacher discipline as directly in line with the district's commitment to champion change in response to revelations about Whitehurst. Given that some violation must occur for a secret punishment to be meted out, "If the decision is made that significant discipline isn't warranted, parents and the school community should have the ability to see what the facts were," Brim-Edwards said. "I believe school communities are understanding." Leaders of the agency that licenses and disciplines teachers, the Teacher Standards and Practices Commission, liken the secret system to court diversion programs. But those programs operate much more openly. The fact that a person is subject to diversion, on what charges and with what conditions all are publicly disclosed. The commission votes publicly to grant a certain number of the private probations at most of its meetings. But only the number of secret punishments, not the offense, the employer or the educator, is revealed. "The fact is there are a lot of rules out there that it is possible for someone to violate,"said Alan Contreras, who chairs the state teacher licensing agency's educator discipline committee. "So people trip over things all the time." As for Sackrider, Esteve says Portland Public Schools weighs many factors when placing assistant principals, including prior performance, and is confident she will be an asset to her new school. "Her deep experience and background will provide students with support and guidance to help them succeed and prepare for high school," he said. Since 2015, 71 educators have been subject to the secret discipline, according to the agency. Trent Danowski, deputy director of the Oregon Teacher Standards and Practices Commission, says the light sanction is only handed out to educators who have committed an offense for which an educator would not be at risk of having his or her license suspended or revoked. Still, the law does not specify when the commission is allowed to use this tool with one exception; educators who have been convicted of a crime are not eligible. The type of cases which merit a secret response from the commission is something the commission decides in secret. Nothing in the law prevents the commission from using a secret informal letter to address cases that involve sexual misconduct concerns. While it may be hard to imagine someone would respond to allegations of sexual misconduct merely with an informal letter, that is exactly how a Portland Public Schools lawyer handled a 2001 complaint from a student who said Whitehurst told her he liked her pants because he felt it would be easy to yank down her zipper and have sex with her. The student also complained Whitehurst repeatedly asked to date her. The lawyer wrote that she found the student's statement that Whitehurst told her he wanted to take her to a hotel just as credible as his explanation that he'd only asked her for hotel recommendations. The lawyer decided, however, not to discipline Whitehurst. Instead, she helped his principal write him a short, consequence-free memo, documents show. That 2001 incident, unlike others involving Whitehurst, was reported to police and to the state licensing agency. At that time, agency officials did not interview the student and took no action against Whitehurst. More than a decade later, Whitehurst lost his license when a new, more rigorous investigation by the same agency found him guilty of sexual misconduct with them. By then, Whitehurst was also under scrutiny because he had been convicted for harassing a coworker. In 2009, when the law allowing secret discipline was proposed and passed, the commission gave lawmakers examples to illustrate when a private response would be useful. Those instances included if a teacher helped a student on a test and could benefit from test administration training, if a teacher struggled with substance abuse and could benefit from treatment, or if an educator snapped at a student and could use anger management courses. For Sackrider, the private letter meant she stayed off the state's list of problem teachers, avoided potential public scrutiny and quietly got past the ordeal. As she was coming off her probation period in 2014, she was promoted from a school-based job to a position as an equity trainer and program administrator in central office. She's worked for the district for 17 years. This school year she will go back to a school-based role, as one of three assistant principals at North Portland middle school Ockley Green. Any parent who looks her up will find her listed as an educator with a clean record. The Oregonian/OregonLive obtained the informal letter the commission sent to Sackrider, which contains a very limited summary of the investigation. The Oregonian/OregonLive was not able to obtain a copy of the commission's investigation report or notes. Those documents would provide greater context, but are not public record under the 2009 law. Had the commission used any other method to discipline Sackrider, those materials would be available to the public upon request. Oregon Education Association President John Larson said the option of a confidential letter prevents unnecessary litigation. A black mark on a teacher's record for a small, one-time mistake can ruin a talented educator's career, he said. Contreras said the method helps avoid drawn-out fights with educators and reduces what can be a crushing caseload. "We're not like the Supreme Court where we can say, 'This is trivial we're not going to hear this,'" Contreras said. "Being able to close out a lot of these low-end cases this way helps us deal with the nastier ones." Contreras is part of a volunteer commission of 17 appointed educators and members of the public that looks at cases after agency staffers have done an investigation. Staffers give the commissioners a recommendation based on evidence they find and negotiations with the educator. The commission can then follow that recommendation or not. Cases that the commission resolves with a private letter, Contreras said, tend to be ones where the mistake was an accident, isolated or has a fact-pattern that is "sufficiently tangled" so that it is unclear whether the educator erred because the rules and expectations weren't made clear by supervisors. Whether a secret letter lets the district off the hook too easily in cases where its oversight was a factor, Contreras said, is a "legitimate question." Commission Chair Heidi Sipe, superintendent of Umatilla schools, said if no children were harmed she tends to be more supportive of a lighter response. Some of the rules an educator could potentially break, for example, include quitting on short notice or not filing paperwork on time. There is one question Sipe said she always asks herself when evaluating a case: "How would I feel if this educator were teaching my child?" Bethany Barnes Email Bethany: bbarnes@oregonian.com I am confused on Gov. Kate Brown's position on the following: She is upset about splitting up illegal immigrants' families and wants them reunited. But her Department of Human Services removes children from their homes, places them in care facilities or foster homes and they end up dead? She is not supportive of sending the Oregon National Guard to guard the border. Yet she has no problem sending them to the Middle East to fight and possibly get killed, returning to their family in a body bag! Please, Governor, clarify! Robert Griffin, Newberg An Oregon State Police detective was concerned that three agents with the FBI Hostage Rescue Team weren't candid when he interviewed them less than two weeks after the fatal shooting of Robert "LaVoy" Finicum, the spokesman for the armed occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. It was the second time the agents talked to investigators and this time state police Det. Scott Hill aimed to find out who fired a bullet that had left a hole in the roof of Finicum's truck. Investigators had determined who fired other shots that day: three that hit Finicum's pickup as it raced toward a highway roadblock on Jan. 26, 2016, and three that killed Finicum as he left the truck and reached inside his jacket where he had a loaded gun. State police officers were responsible for all six of those, detectives found. Hill met with the FBI agents on Feb. 6, 2016, in the gym of the Burns middle school, the police command center during the refuge occupation. The supervisor who led the Hostage Rescue Team's blue unit - identified in court only as B.M. -- demanded that Hill question he and two other agents only as a group. Hill called the ultimatum "very odd,'' adding it wasn't something state police typically would do when investigating an officer-involved shooting. But he allowed it. He also acquiesced to their insistence not to record the interview. "If I didn't go along with their demand, they would not have given us any interview at all,'' Hill testified Thursday at the federal trial in Portland of indicted FBI agent W. Joseph Astarita. "I felt at that time an interview would be better than no interview at all.'' The government contends Astarita fired two bullets at Finicum's truck just before state police fatally shot Finicum. One hit the roof and the other missed. Astarita is accused of making false statements and obstruction of justice in denying that he took the shots. The trial is in its second week and is expected to last possibly another two. Testimony so far has revealed dramatic new details of what happened that day in accounts from state police and FBI agents who were there and the Oregon detectives tasked later with investigating the fatal confrontation. Defense attorneys are expected to present their side starting next week. During the February interview, Hill said FBI agent John Neidert was the only one of the three agents who could give his location at the moment Finicum swerved into a snowbank at the roadblock on U.S. 395 and then got out of his truck. Neidert had narrowly missed getting hit by Finicum having jumped in the snowbank to get away. Astarita and his boss, B.M., told Hill only that they were moving around the scene at that time and couldn't say exactly where they were standing, Hill said. Their answers were vague, he said. That was in contrast to Astarita's initial statement on the night of the shooting, Hill said. Astarita told Hill then that he had moved into a position to rescue Neidert, who had ended up in the snow behind the rear wheel of Finicum's truck. The three agents told Hill in the second interview that they were armed with Rock River Arms AR-15 platform rifles, loaded with .223-caliber rounds. Yet they couldn't provide the brand of the ammunition or the color of their casings, Hill said. Hill said it was very unusual that the highly trained, tactical federal agents wouldn't know their positions at the scene or the make and color of their casings. The interview lasted about 20 minutes, and Hill had shown the agents the FBI's aerial video that captured the shooting. In the first interview, Hill said the FBI also didn't want the interviews recorded. The FBI also didn't provide some of the agents' full names, he said. He was told the agents were witnesses to the shooting but hadn't fired their own rifles. Hill talked to Astarita for about 10 minutes in an old locker/storage room off the gym in the Burns middle school command post about 11 p.m. the night of the shooting, Hill said. Astarita was calm, relaxed and soft-spoken, he said. Astarita told Hill he had been standing on a small ladder beside the engine of an FBI truck in a V-formation in the northbound lane at the roadblock outside of Burns when Finicum's truck headed their way. Astarita believed Finicum was going to ram through the roadblock, so he ran to his left, the east side of the highway, Hill testified. Astarita said he watched his partner, Neidert, run in the opposite direction and thought he had gotten hit by Finicum's truck, according to Hill. Once Finicum's truck plowed into the snowbank on the west side of the road, Astarita said Neidert was still in the snow, lying on his back. Astarita told Hill that he saw Finicum get out of the driver's side door, Hill said. That's when Astarita said he moved toward Neidert to rescue him, Hill recounted. Astarita said he saw Finicum fall but didn't know who had shot him. Astarita described the encounter as a dynamic situation, that he had been moving around a lot and wasn't sure where he was at any point, except moving to rescue Neidert, Hill said. Neidert already testified that he got out of the snowbank and ran for cover on his own. Hill also went to Harney District Hospital where Ryan Bundy was taken by ambulance after Bundy reported getting hit while a rear passenger in Finicum's truck. Jurors were shown a photo of the bloody half-inch puncture wound in Bundy's upper right shoulder. Hill said whatever entered Bundy's arm wasn't removed at the hospital. Further testimony revealed that investigators found just two of the shell casings from the eight shots fired at the scene. That was in stark contrast to the multiple less-lethal cartridges that littered the highway lanes from 40mm pepper spray and rubber rounds fired at Finicum's pickup and windows, and three flash-bang grenades and two pins. State police officers who arrived later to investigate the shooting pushed FBI agents and state police SWAT officers on the scene out of the immediate area about 8:15 p.m. that night. Later, they walked through the scene in a shoulder-to-shoulder line, looking for bullet casings, even checking holes in the snow on the sides of the highway to see if any metal fragments may have popped down one, officers testified. It wasn't until the next day that state police and a Deschutes County sheriff's detective found two shell casings: one in the snow tracks after Finicum's truck was pulled from the snowbank and another located with a metal detector in those tracks that afternoon. State trooper Michael Mayer also testified that he helped the medical examiner's office examine Finicum's body at the scene. Mayer said he rolled Finicum's body to his right side and could see the handle of his pistol sticking out of the inside pocket in his coat. He said he later identified the gun as a loaded 9mm Ruger pistol that had one round in the chamber. Jurors also learned that it took some state police investigators a long time to respond to the shooting scene because they took a round-about route from John Day to avoid what they were told could be "armed supporters who could be a danger to us,'' said state police Detective Sgt. Javier Marquez Jr. Their alternate route added two hours to their drive, and they ended up arriving from Seneca off U.S. 395, about 45 miles north of Burns. In testimony Thursday afternoon, Charles McGinnis, who spent 11 years as the bureau's program manager for forensic science training for new agents at its Virginia academy, said he had Astarita in his class in 2005. McGinnis explained that he taught agents how to recognize evidence and the need to secure and protect a crime scene to ensure that nothing is lost, altered, moved or destroyed. McGinnis, in response to a prosecutor's questions, said agents shouldn't be wandering around the scene of a crime scene or officer-involved shooting. If there's any items that they deem they need to remove for their or others' safety, they should alert a team leader and alert investigators so any changes to the scene are documented, he said. Despite objections from Astarita's lawyers, prosecutors were allowed to show McGinnis the FBI's infrared aerial video that captured operators moving around the shooting scene after Finicum was killed on the night of Jan. 26, 2016. Sussman asked him if those actions are consistent with FBI protocol, and McGinnis said they were not. Even if Astarita's supervisor had instructed him to look around the scene for sensitive items, would that comport with FBI evidence gathering standards? McGinnis again said they would not. U.S. District Judge Robert E. Jones instructed jurors that they're not to assume the first lone figure in the infrared video is Astarita. That's something they'll have to decide themselves. -- Maxine Bernstein mbernstein@oregonian.com 503-221-8212 @maxoregonian The Oregon Department of Justice is investigating a former employee of the union that represents Oregon State Police troopers and sergeants, a union representative has confirmed. The union recently asked the state to review the former employees handling of the organization's finances, said Mark Banks, a sergeant who is president of the Oregon State Police Officers Association. Banks declined to identify the employee but said the person resigned May 31. Banks confirmed that the unions executive director, Darrin Phillips, resigned that day and is the only person to have resigned from the organization that month. Phillips, a former senior trooper and 29-year state police veteran, retired in December 2016. He was president of the union at the time of his retirement. He then became executive director of the association, a newly created post. A voicemail left on a number linked to Phillips in public records was not returned Friday. In a lengthy memo obtained Thursday by The Oregonian/OregonLive, union officials told members that earlier this year Banks discovered the organization's procedures for submitting work-related expenses had not been followed. The memo does not detail which procedures werent followed. The memo says Banks became aware of possible misuse of union funds and called an emergency meeting of the organizations executive committee. At some point after that meeting, the employee who later resigned turned in union-issued credit cards, according to the memo. The organization also stripped him of the ability to spend union money. In the meantime, Banks wrote to members, further investigation by myself and the treasurer resulted in a determination that criminal referral would be appropriate. The matter was then turned over to the Justice Department. An agency representative referred questions to the Marion County District Attorneys Office. Deputy District Attorney Paige Clarkson said the office is aware of the ongoing investigation, but she declined to comment. Banks this week issued a brief statement in response to questions about the investigation. He said he couldnt comment. I do not want to be perceived as trying to control the narrative or use the public arena in a manner that would interfere with an open and active investigation, he said. The state police union has 815 members, who include troopers, sergeants, dispatchers, evidence technicians, forensic scientists and trade and maintenance employees who work on state police vehicles. The organization has an annual budget of about $900,000. -- Noelle Crombie ncrombie@oregonian.com 503-276-7184 @noellecrombie The flags will fly at half-staff for the fallen farmer. John Ruby, 64, died battling July's Substation fire. A memorial service is set for Saturday in Dufur. On that day, Wasco County commissioners have called for lowering the flags at all county buildings. "It's to honor Mr. Ruby, his sacrifice and his family," Commissioner Scott Hege said. It's a difficult time, Hege said, for people around the north-central Oregon county along the Columbia River. Since the nearly 80,000-acre Substation fire, at least two more wildfires have raged near Dufur, the Long Hollow fire and the South Valley fire. "This area is really just struggling with tremendous loss of everything," Hege said. Yet many in The Dalles and surrounding areas have rallied around the Ruby family. A fund created for them through Columbia Bank has raised more than $10,000 so far. People have continued to mail cards for the family to the bank. "It definitely warms your heart to see that everyone is helping out the way they have," said Carmen Myers, the bank's branch manager in The Dalles. Ruby, a retired welder, lived in Mosier but died while working on a farm near Dufur, 15 miles south of the Dalles off U.S. 197. He was cutting a fire line for a neighbor's property when the fire overtook him. "It speaks volumes to him as a person and his character," Myers said. Whenever fires break out, farmers work selflessly to protect everyone's land, not just their own property, Hege said. That's just the type of man Ruby was, said Jason Olson, a friend and former coworker. "This world needs a lot more people like John Ruby who are not afraid to lend a hand to a neighbor," Olson said. He and Ruby worked together on and off for around 15 years. Olson is a welder and first met Ruby in 2000 while the two were helping put in the Alaska Airlines concourse at Portland International Airport. The last time Olson saw Ruby was nearly five years ago, but his lasting recollection is Ruby's easy smile and how he was always in a good mood, even at work. He was a friendly, jolly guy, Olson said. "He's just one of those people," Olson said, "that you look back, and you're glad you got to know." The memorial for Ruby will be 11:30 a.m. Saturday at Dufur School. Correction: An earlier version of this story had the incorrect county listed for Mosier due to an editing error. -- Sarah Verschoor sverschoor@oregonian.com | @SarahVerschoor An Oregon teen died after taking his grandparents' pickup truck and crashing into a tree, troopers say. Carter Worden, a 14-year-old from Toledo, crossed over the center line on Oregon 229 and hit a tree on the east side of the highway, according to the Oregon State Police. Authorities were called to the scene about 2:40 a.m. Friday. The teen lived with his grandparents and took the truck, a 2017 Chevrolet Silverado, during the night, troopers said. No other cars were involved in the crash, state police said in a news release, which cited a preliminary investigation. Toledo Jr./Sr. High School for students and others who needed support, according to its Facebook page. Boomer Nation, Im afraid I have some sad news to share with you. Last night we lost a member of the Boomer family,... Posted by Toledo Jr/Sr High Boomers on Friday, August 3, 2018 Jim Ryan MAMMOTH HOT SPRINGS, Wyo. An Oregon man who was caught on video harassing a bison in Yellowstone National Park was arrested in Glacier National Park in the third disturbance in less than a week at a national park, officials said Friday. Rangers looking for Raymond Reinke of Pendleton found him causing a disturbance Thursday evening at the historic Many Glacier Hotel in the popular Montana park, the National Park Service said. He remains jailed pending a hearing next week and has requested a court-appointed attorney. A message left at a phone listing for Reinke in Oregon was not immediately returned. Reinke, 55, had been cited for drunken and disorderly conduct in a third national park, Grand Teton, last Saturday and was released on $500 bond that required him to follow the law and avoid alcohol. Yellowstone rangers cited him three days later for not wearing a seat belt and noted that he appeared intoxicated, park officials said. They didn't know of Reinke's bond conditions at the time. Reinke was later cited after another Yellowstone visitor took video of him walking up to a bison in a roadway congested with stopped cars and waving his arms. The animal charges him a couple of times, but Reinke doesn't appear to get hurt. After the video gained attention online and Yellowstone rangers learned of Reinke's charges in Grand Teton, an assistant U.S. attorney asked that his bond be revoked. A warrant was issued for Reinke's arrest. He had told rangers he planned to travel to Glacier National Park. Rangers there were looking for his vehicle when they got a report about two guests arguing and creating a disturbance at Many Glacier Hotel. Rangers identified one of the guests as Reinke, who was sent back to Yellowstone and appeared in U.S. court Friday. Bison are a common sight in Yellowstone, and there were an estimated 4,816 of them in Yellowstone in August 2017, according to the park's website. Males weigh up to 2,000 lbs., and females weigh up to 1,000 lbs. The park advises visitors to stay at least 25 yards from bison, which "are unpredictable and can run three times faster than humans," according to the park's website. "Bison have injured more people in Yellowstone than any other animal," the website says. The Associated Press Jim Ryan of The Oregonian/OregonLive staff contributed to this report For 2 1/2 years, Oregon State Police successfully concealed the names of the two SWAT officers who fatally shot Robert "LaVoy" Finicum as authorities arrested leaders of the armed takeover of Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. But that ended this week when one of the names slipped out in court. A Lane County man is behind bars after authorities say he crashed a trio of weddings in Junction City on the same day, swiping cards stuffed with cash and other gifts from each of the couples. The suspect, Brian Keith Starr, 42, might have gotten away with it too, had the mother of one of the brides not snapped a photo of him at their reception Saturday. "Do any of our friends or family know who the guy in the blue shirt is? We do not recognize him," newlywed Janell Evenson wrote on her Facebook page this week. "We also do not have the gift bag in his hand, nor did we serve that type of drink." Evenson included the photo of a well-coiffed man in a button-down dress shirt and sunglasses, clutching the gift and can of Rolling Rock beer. The uninvited guest also appears to have a wedding band on his left hand. Friends of the bride quickly chimed in. "Wedding Crasher," wrote one of them. "It would have been a lot funnier if we didn't have our s--- stolen," Evenson replied. The bride's Facebook post and photo was shared hundreds of times on the social media platform. Starr soon emerged as the suspected thief not only at Evenson's wedding but at two others in town on the same day, said Lt. Carrie Carver, a spokeswoman for the Lane County Sheriff's Office. Investigators believe Starr, a Eugene resident, targeted another wedding in Junction City on July 15, Carver said. Deputies arrested the alleged wedding crasher late Thursday afternoon. He was lodged in the Lane County jail on on suspicion of first-degree theft, second-degree theft, third-degree theft, felon in possession of a weapon and unlawful possession of methamphetamine, records show. -- Shane Dixon Kavanaugh skavanaugh@oregonian.com 503-294-7632 || @shanedkavanaugh Three powerful landlord groups have joined to run what they say must be an all-out multimillion-dollar campaign to stop the Portland City Council and the Oregon Legislature from enacting "radical" tenant protections they say would jeopardize their livelihoods. That the gulf between landlords' desires and policymakers' plans is so wide reflects the tensions between tens of thousands of struggling renters around Oregon and the relatively few landlords that control their housing. The landlord industry groups, which have banded together under the name More Housing Now!, laid out their intended strategy in a letter and four-page brochure aimed at getting participants onboard that was obtained by The Oregonian/OregonLive. The materials, which are unusual because of their unflinching frankness, call out by name Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler and Commissioner Chloe Eudaly as the industry's primary foes. Michael Cox, Wheeler's chief of staff, said the mayor has "acted on many fronts" to boost housing availability. "But when it comes to their opposition to effective tenant protections, we couldn't disagree more," Cox said. Eudaly was unavailable for comment. Marshall Runkel, her chief of staff, said "calling each other names and throwing mud at each other is not going to make anything better on either side." More Housing Now! claims a ban on criminal background checks of tenants and limits on security deposits will be foisted on landlords if they don't fight back. Policies in the same vein as those are under consideration and likely to be proposed in the coming months, said a staffer to a Portland commissioner. The city Rental Services Commission, which devises rental regulations, will discuss the proposals this month. Outright rent control is unlikely to be proposed in the near term because it is banned statewide. Even if the Legislature lifted the ban, cities would be responsible for enacting their own rent control ordinances and would likely face intense pressure from landlords not to do so. The landlords' brochure takes pains to criticize the renter activists of Portland Tenants United, a group that was formed to help tenants oppose rent increases and evictions that has become known for its protests. The landlord group's handout asserts the tenant association "wields power over City Hall" and has "manipulated City Hall and the Legislature" into becoming anti-landlord. A message left with Portland Tenants United Thursday was not returned. Lobbyists hired by More Housing Now! will "fight activists and bureaucracy in City Hall and the Legislature," the brochure goes on to declare. But to succeed, it says, "we need YOU and your financial support. Because your livelihood is at stake." The group seeks to raise $2 million this year, the brochure states. Industry groups formed More Housing Now! in 2017 to oppose a bill in the Legislature that would have allowed municipalities to enact rent controls. The bill ultimately faltered in the state Senate. That later dealt a costly blow to Sen. Rod Monroe, D-Portland, a longtime legislator and landlord who lost his May primary election in a landslide to an insurgent candidate who ran on a pro-housing platform. The Monroe loss and the 2016 election of Eudaly, a tenants' advocate demonstrates that being too soft on renter protections holds political consequences in Oregon's most left-leaning parts. Yet More Housing Now! is pressuring policymakers to not ramp up their efforts to make renting easier, fairer or more tightly regulated. One of the More Housing Now! documents, a June 8 letter by Portland developer Tom Brenneke, says that that due to "threats surrounding our industry," landlords must launch a "consolidated effort to fight unnecessary and potentially crippling" regulations. What Brenneke warned of: a landlord registry, additional property inspections, limiting security deposits, prohibiting criminal records checks of prospective tenants and a ban on landlords evicting tenants for no reason. Of those concepts, only the registry has been adopted, and it is not fully effective until 2020. The other concepts do not exist yet as proposed state legislation or city ordinance. As a candidate, Eudaly was painted by landlords as extreme for supporting rent control. Since being elected, she has successfully secured a unanimous City Council vote to impose serious financial penalties for no-cause evictions and 10 percent rent hikes in Portland. Brenneke was not available for comment Thursday. But his letter makes landlords' position clear: lawmakers' interest in enacting additional tenant protections is "very bad" for his industry. "We must not allow them to go down this path," he wrote. -- Gordon R. Friedman 503-221-8209 Update: Portland mayor expresses "complete trust" in city police as volatile protests loom The president of the Portland police union says Mayor Ted Wheeler has "failed miserably" as police commissioner by appearing to allow "personal, political bias" to influence his decisions on public safety services. The message comes a week after Portland police disbanded an encampment outside a federal immigration building. In a statement Thursday on the Portland Police Association's Facebook page, Officer Daryl Turner said Wheeler can have personal political beliefs as mayor but not as police commissioner. Turner suggested a "trained, experienced, police executive" should be deciding daily policing decisions. "Our officers protect our communities and enforce the law irrespective of personal, political beliefs," the statement said. "Perhaps that is a lesson for the Police Commissioner." Wheeler's office didn't immediately respond to requests for comment. The police union president's statement is the latest development since the clearing of a 38-day encampment protest outside the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Building in Portland on July 25. Demonstrators camped out to protest the Trump administration's policy of separating migrant children from their parents at the U.S.-Mexico border. Federal officials closed the ICE building for eight days because of security concerns. Three days after protesters began camping outside the federal building, Wheeler tweeted that the family separation policy was ill-conceived, that the Portland protest seemed peaceful and he didn't want Portland police "to be engaged or sucked into a conflict, particularly from a federal agency that I believe is on the wrong track." Weeks later, Wheeler called for the protest to disband, saying he supported the cause but the encampment wasn't sustainable. Local police cleared people from the camp two days later. On Monday, the union representing ICE employees sent a letter to Wheeler claiming he banned Portland police from responding to 911 calls from federal officers during the demonstrations. The union said it left employees vulnerable to threats of violence and harassment. Wheeler said the next day that he ordered no such policy. On Wednesday, Portland Police Chief Danielle Outlaw said the police bureau told the Federal Protective Service during the protest that it would respond to their officers' emergency calls if their safety was at risk. Portland officers responded to 41 calls for service during the protest outside the ICE building, she said. Outlaw has previously said the bureau received a total of 76 calls during the encampment. It's not clear why police didn't respond to the other 35 calls for service or what all the calls were for. Portland police made no arrests during the demonstration outside the federal building. The police chief also said Wednesday that the bureau would review police reports and calls for service related to the encampment. Turner, in the police union statement, said it would be "certainly problematic and cause for grave concern," if the review uncovers "flawed policy direction" from Wheeler. -- Everton Bailey Jr. ebailey@oregonian.com 503-221-8343; @EvertonBailey Updated 12:45 p.m. The Portland Police Bureau is preparing for a potentially violent showdown between dueling demonstrators Saturday, with a ramped-up law enforcement presence and checkpoints throughout the main protest area to screen for weapons. Hundreds of people are expected to descend on downtown to oppose a march and rally organized by Joey Gibson and his right-wing group Patriot Prayer, which says it plans to bring supporters from around the country. Those active in the movement nationwide say Gibson's so-called "March For Freedom" may become the largest right-wing demonstration in the U.S. this year. Participants in Patriot Prayer events and antifascist activist have battled in the streets during numerous confrontations in Portland. A face-off between the rival factions in June ended with nine arrests, multiple people hospitalized and police declaring the violent scene a riot. "I continue to strongly reject the idea that violence or hate speech are legitimate means to a political end," Mayor Ted Wheeler said in a statement on Saturday's planned rally. "Chief [Danielle] Outlaw and I have serious concerns about the potential for violence at this weekend's demonstrations." "We don't want this here," Wheeler added. Demonstrators on Saturday will begin funneling into downtown by late morning and could remain in the area until 5 p.m., police and organizers said. Counter-protesters plan to rally at City Hall around 10:30 a.m. and then march to Tom McCall Waterfront Park, where Patriot Prayer will host its demonstration beginning at 12 p.m. "There will be a significant law enforcement presence in the area of the demonstration due to past threats and acts of violence," Portland police said in a statement Friday. The demonstrations may also cause traffic delays and interruptions downtown, and police encouraged road users to seek alternate routes. Police will have weapon screening stations at entrances to the waterfront and will have canines on scene that can detect explosives, according to the statement. Police also warned demonstrators not bring any weapon or items that could be used as weapons. However, individuals with a valid Oregon concealed handgun license will be able to possess their firearms on the waterfront, as permitted under state law. That prospect raised some concerns after Gibson earlier this week encouraged his supporters to do so. "Everyone should be carrying around guns at all times, especially in our situation," the Patriot Prayer leader said. -- Shane Dixon Kavanaugh skavanaugh@oregonian.com 503-294-7632 || @shanedkavanaugh A 33-year-old woman who killed her friend in a downtown Portland shooting in May had a murder charge against her dismissed and was sentenced to 100 days in jail Thursday after admitting to not having a concealed handgun license at the time. Sophia Adler told police she killed 28-year-old Gigi Pierce in self-defense during a fight on May 21 because Pierce was trying to stab her with a knife, according to the Multnomah County District Attorney's Office. Adler said she was scared when she saw the blade heading toward her face and shot Pierce while they were standing less than a foot away from each other. Adler fired her .45-caliber pistol while it was still hidden inside her purse. Pierce was found wounded on a sidewalk near Southwest Second Avenue and Ash Street and later died at the scene. She was a transgender woman who grew up in Boise, Idaho. According to the district attorney's office, a relative of Pierce during Thursday's hearing described her as talented with "so much potential." A Multnomah County grand jury declined to indict Adler on a murder charge in June, and she was accused of unlawful possession of a firearm, court records show. She pleaded guilty to that charge Thursday. Circuit Judge Patrick Henry also ordered Adler to two years of probation, to undergo drug, alcohol and mental health evaluations and to not contact Pierce's family without approval from her probation officer. Adler will receive credit for jail time she has already served. She is scheduled to be released August 16, jail records show. Adler's gun was legally bought, the district attorney's office said. It will be destroyed by authorities. Court documents show Adler reported had been living at a Salvation Army women's shelter less than a block from the shooting and been previously diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and schizophrenia. In a July 30 report from court staff, Adler reported being pregnant, admitted to using cocaine and methamphetamine the night she was arrested, had a history of drug abuse and that she had no prior treatment for alcohol or drug use. Her lawyer reported a representative at the Salvation Army said Adler would no longer be eligible to receive the group's services or return to the woman's shelter, the report said. According to the district attorney's office, a relative of Pierce's hoped Adler receives treatment and finds a home. -- Everton Bailey Jr. ebailey@oregonian.com 503-221-8343; @EvertonBailey Bird, one of three electric scooter rental programs participating in a four-month trial run in Portland, said Thursday it would give cities money to help build protected bike lanes. The company issued a statement saying it would give $1 daily to the city for every dockless scooter operating there. In Portland, the company is permitted to have up to 683 devices. It's not clear whether Bird's promise applies to the pilot period in Portland. A company spokesperson said Bird did not have any specifics at this time. The company also urged its competitors to give money to improve bike lanes. If Bird is planning on giving money to the city during the four-month trial, it could generate upwards of $80,000 for bike lane maintenance. Dylan Rivera, a Portland Bureau of Transportation spokesman, said Bird "has not discussed this potential fund with us in detail." But the city "welcomes private sector collaboration," Rivera said in an email, citing the agency's track record of working with private companies and nonprofits on the streetcar, aerial tram and Biketown projects. Bird's statement came one week into the company's Portland tenure. Bird and Lime scooters are rapidly expanding nationwide, offering a new transportation option that officials say is geared toward eliminating car trips and reducing carbon emissions. The scooter expansion has been met with both rejoicing and grumbling nationally, as some are thrilled with the zippy new transportation option while others see them as nuisances or safety hazards for pedestrians. Travis VanderZanden, a former Uber and Lyft official who founded Bird last year, said in a statement the company placed "safety above growth." The $1 per scooter pledge would go toward creating protected bike lanes, which offer a physical separation to give cyclists added distance from vehicle traffic, or other maintenance work to improve bike infrastructure. -- Andrew Theen atheen@oregonian.com 503-294-4026 @andrewtheen BEVERLY HILLS, California -- The man who got TV critics and reporters talking about "Peak TV" has updated his thoughts about the ever-increasing number of shows. Kicking off FX's day of panels at the Television Critics Association 2018 summer press tour, John Landgraf, CEO of FX Networks and FX Productions, said that his earlier estimates that Peak TV has peaked are wrong. Instead, networks and streaming services just keep cranking out the shows. Landgraf said 319 scripted series have been released so far this year, a 5 percent increase over last year at this point. With other networks and FX announcing new shows during the summer press tour, what Landgraf called the "insane volume" of original content shows no signs of slowing. "The Golden Age of television has become the Gilded Age of television," Landgraf said. As a result, Landgraf said, TV critics are more important than ever in helping viewers sort through the avalanche of shows. The glut of content is leading, Landgraf said, to "narrative exhaustion," with audiences so bombarded with stories, it's becoming difficult to surprise viewers. Of course, that doesn't mean FX didn't announce shows of its own. Here's a sampling: "Fargo" will return for a fourth season: The good news is that FX announced there will be a Season 4 of "Fargo" from executive producer/writer Noah Hawley. The even better news is it sounds really promising. Chris Rock will star, and here's the description, courtesy of FX: "In 1950, at the end of two great American migrations -- that of Southern Europeans from countries like Italy, who came to the US at the turn of the last century and settled in northern cities like New York, Chicago -- and African Americans who left the south in great numbers to escape Jim Crow and moved to those same cities -- you saw a collision of outsiders, all fighting for a piece of the American dream. In Kansas City, Missouri, two criminal syndicates have struck an uneasy peace. One Italian, one African American. Together they control an alternate economy -- that of exploitation, graft and drugs. This too is the history of America. To cement their peace, the heads of both families have traded their eldest sons. Chris Rock plays the head of one family, a man who -- in order to prosper -- has surrendered his oldest boy to his enemy, and who must in turn raise his son's enemy as his own. It's an uneasy peace, but profitable. And then the head of the Kansas City mafia goes into the hospital for routine surgery and dies. And everything changes. It's a story of immigration and assimilation, and the things we do for money. And as always, a story of basically decent people who are probably in over their heads. You know, 'Fargo.'" A premiere date wasn't announced, but look for "Fargo" Season 4 sometime next year. "Shogun" gets the remake treatment: James Clavell's novel, about an English sailor and his experiences in feudal Japan, will be remade as a 10-episode limited series. When the novel was made into a miniseries starring Richard Chamberlain in 1980, it was a TV sensation and helped make miniseries a hot format. Since then, miniseries went out of fashion, and now they're back, this time as limited series or anthologies, which are giving viewers some of the most exciting, creative TV available (see the previous three seasons of "Fargo," for example). In answering a question about the original's point of view being that of a western white man, Landgraf said the new "Shogun" production will take pains to avoid treating Japanese culture and characters like they're exotic, fetishizable subjects, and will include the perspective of several Japanese characters. More details about the new production: Andrew Macdonald, Allon Reich, Michael De Luca, and Michaela Clavell will serve as executive producers along with Tim Van Patten ("The Sopranos"), who will also direct several episodes of the series. Eugene Kelly and Ronan Bennett will write the series. The new "Shogun" will film on location in Japan and the U.K. "Devs": Another limited series, "Devs" comes from writer/director Alex Garland, and will star Sonoya Mizuno, Nick Offerman, Jin Ha, Zach Grenier, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Cailee Spaeny and Alison Pill in an eight-episode story about, as the press release says, "a young computer engineer, Lily Chan, (who) investigates the secretive development division of her employer, a cutting-edge tech company based in San Francisco, who she believes are behind the murder of her boyfriend." The series will premiere in 2019. Landgraf also said that FX will expand its programming from drama and comedy, by exploring late-night and reality genres. The network wlll, for example, partner with the New York Times on the docuseries, "The Weekly." Stay tuned for more news and notes from the TCA 2018 summer press tour. -- Kristi Turnquist kturnquist@oregonian.com 503-221-8227 @Kristiturnquist Peter Gudritz, Dow's associate director for the Office of the CEO and Executive Communications, has been selected by PRWeek as one of 2018's "40 Under 40," its annual list of leading communications professionals under the age of 40. Gudritz is responsible for advancing and protecting Dow's brand around the world by partnering with the company's CEO to implement high-quality external and internal engagements, message development on key corporate priorities and global trends, and general support for the Executive Leadership Team. He provides leadership in maximizing return on CEO-driven strategic partnerships and leads the team responsible for CEO digital presence. Reinhard and Sigrid Spittka of Midland are celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary. The former Sigrid Jaschinsky married Reinhard on Aug. 3, 1968, in Auburn at First Baptist Church. The couple has two children, Pastor Paul Spittka of Sapulpa, Oklahoma, and Nicole Abbott of Midland. They have five granddaughters, two grandsons, one great-granddaughter and two great-grandsons. Reinhard is a retired multicraftsman from The Dow Chemical Co. Sigrid is a retired elementary teacher from Midland Public Schools. How they met: Both of their families immigrated from Germany in 1952 and began attending Beaver Baptist Church where there was a German service. After totally ignoring each other most of their growing up years, they eventually realized the inevitable. A free website, called ElectionReporting, is dedicated to providing voters and members of the press with a simple, intuitive way to view election results. There are eight counties in Michigan that have this, including Midland and Isabella counties, said Midland County Chief Deputy Clerk John Keefer. After accessing the website, voters can click on Midland County to view election returns on an interactive map for the 16 townships in Midland County. We now have an interactive map that changes from one township to the next. It will tell you within those townships what percentage has already reported and provide updates on races, Keefer said. We get a lot of calls on election night. This gives people their information quickly and keeps us from answering a lot of calls. We have a lot of work to do on an election night, Keefer said. On election night, the polls close at 8 p.m. Keefer thought results would be online no later than 9 p.m. The last two elections, we have been fully recorded by 8:30 p.m., he said. The 2016 presidential election brought plenty of concern regarding security of election results. I am always asked, Can this be hacked? Keefer said. This is military grade encryption. However, Im a firm believer that, Where there is a will, there is a way. So, Im never going to tell anyone that they cant be hacked. Its a cellphone. Were very fortunate that ours is not built into the machine. Cellular modems for the Dominion ImageCast Precinct tabulators are stored in a drawer on the tabulator. After an election we roll the physical tape and then connect the modem to a phone here at (the Midland County Services Building), Keefer said. At that point, the results are open to the outside world stated Keefer. However, before attaching the modem, three copies of the results are printed: one each for the county clerk, township clerk and canvasser. Its important to keep the tape. Were never going to give that up. Between the tape and the ballots, you cant hack a piece of paper. Nobody has figured out how to do it yet, Keefer said. Besides the five countywide millages, voters in the following townships and cities also will be voting on various proposals. A levy of 1 mill equals $1 per $1,000 of taxable valuation. Coleman Area Library Voters will be asked to approve 1 mill for the Coleman Area Library to continue to operate and maintain the library and its services. If the 10-year millage is approved, the millage would raise $110,000 in the first calendar year. Coleman Community Schools Coleman Community Schools is asking voters to approve borrowing the sum of not to exceed $2,210,000 for the purpose of: remodeling, furnishing and refurnishing, and equipping and re-equipping school facilities. The additional 0.50 mill, or 50 cents per $1,000 of taxable valuation, would be levied beginning in 2019 for up to 17 years. Geneva Township Roads The millage renewal would allow Geneva Township to levy 1.25 mills, or $1.25 of $1,000 of taxable valuation, for the purpose of maintenance and improvement of roads in the township. The millage is for a period of four years (208-2021) and would provide an estimated revenue of $53,595 in the first year if approved. Jerome Township Fire Renewal Voters in Jerome Township will be asked to renew 1 mill for six years, 2018 through 2023, for the purpose of continuing to provide for the operation and maintenance of fire protection services and the addition of fire protection equipment. The millage would raise an estimated $158,945 in 2018. Jerome Township Fire Increase Jerome Township is asking voters to increase the expired 0.50 mill to 1 mill, or $1 per $1,000 of taxable value. If approved the millage would be for six years, 2018 through 2023, for the purpose of continuing to provide funding for replacement and addition of fire protection equipment and buildings. The increase would raise an estimated $158,945 in 2018. Porter Township Roads Residents of Porter Township are being asked to approve the existing 1 mill, $1 per $1,000 of taxable value, for a period of four years (2018 through 2021). The renewal is estimated to raise $37,766 for the purpose of maintenance and improvement of roads and public rights of way. Warren Township Fire Warren Township is asking residents to approve an increase of 0.75 mill (74 cents per $1,000 of taxable value) for the purpose of fire department operations and equipment funding. The estimated revenue of $46,324 in the first calendar year, would be disbursed to the Coleman Area Fire Board. To find your polling location and sample ballot, visit: https://bit.ly/1JK117m The following list includes recent reports from the Midland County Sheriff's Office and the Midland Police Department. Compiled by reporter Kelly Dame. Thursday, Aug. 2 1:17 a.m. - A motorist was arrested in the 1800 block of South Saginaw Road for drunken driving. 2:16 a.m. - A motorist was arrested for fourth-offense drunken driving and seventh-offense driving while license suspended at West Wackerly Street and Eastman Avenue. Officers also made a warrant arrest at the scene. Wednesday, Aug. 1 3:15 a.m. - Police investigated a parole violation in the 5200 block of Hedgewood Drive. 9:36 a.m. - Police investigated a case of fraud at a Thurlow Court address. 10:32 a.m. - Animal Control investigated a complaint about the well being of several dogs in Ingersoll Township. 10:33 a.m. - A deputy assisted Child Protective Services with a report of drug use at a Lee Township home. The suspect, a 27-year-old woman, was drug tested at the scene. 11:05 a.m. - A deputy went to East Saginaw Road and North Hope Road for a report of a suspicious man walking. The man, age 25, said he was homeless and needed to get to the M-30 Shell station. The deputy gave the man a ride and discussed shelter options. 12:25 p.m. - Animal Control was sent to a Larkin Township home for a report of a cat that was exposed to a bat. The bat was sent to be tested for rabies. 2:22 p.m. - Officers investigated a report of trespassing in the 100 block of East Main Street. 3:54 p.m. - Police investigated an ordinance violation in the 2800 block of Ronan Street. 5:12 p.m. - A deputy checked a report of a male riding a skateboard on M-20 near Coleman Road. The person was not found. 5:24 p.m. - Police investigated a hit and run crash in the 2700 block of Scott Street. 6:19 p.m. - A Porter Township home was broken into and property, valued at a total of $240, was stolen. 7:30 p.m. - A deputy was sent to check the well being of a 19-year-old woman in Larkin Township. The woman was found at a home in Midland, and was safe. 8 p.m. - A deputy was sent to U.S. 10 in Jerome Township for a report of a drunken driver. The vehicle was found on the highway in Midland, and the driver was sober. The driver was cited for no proof of insurance. 8:01 p.m. - Deputies were sent to check the well being of a Greendale Township man, 71. The man was not found at the home. A 26-year-old man at the home was arrested on warrants. Tuesday, July 31 1:47 a.m. - A motorist was arrested in the 1800 block of South Saginaw Road. 7:48 a.m. - Officers investigated a driver license violation at North Saginaw Road and Sturgeon Avenue. 10:59 a.m. - Police investigated a case of fraud in the 700 block of Jefferson Avenue. 12:20 p.m. - Police investigated a case of child neglect in the 1300 block of Illinois Street. 1:20 p.m. - A trash can was stolen from a Porter Township home. 1:54 p.m. - Gasoline, valued at $25, was stolen from a Village of Sanford gas station. 2:36 p.m. - Officers assisted probation agents in the 200 block of West Ellsworth Street. 3:21 p.m. - Police investigated a report of retail fraud in the 1900 block of South Saginaw Road. 5 p.m. - A 69-year-old woman with memory problems was reported missing from a Hope Township home. The woman was found and returned home before a deputy arrived at the home. 5:38 p.m. - A Mills Township man, 49, reported his identity was stolen and someone in a foreign country was trying to open accounts in his name. 6:14 p.m. - A deputy was sent to Lincoln Township for a report of a man walking back and forth on an overpass. The man's motorcycle had run out of gas and he was waiting for a friend to get fuel. 8:26 p.m. - A Midland man, 33, was arrested in Midland for retail fraud. The total value of the stolen items is $172.20. A report is being sent to the prosecutor for review. 10:06 p.m. - Deputies were called to a Midland Township home for a report of a couple arguing over pizza. 11:26 p.m. - A report of a Midland man, 50, violating a conditional bond is being sent to the prosecutor's office for review. 11:36 p.m. - A Homer Township man, 42, reported he was being harassed on Facebook. The man did not want the other person contacted. In good Mumford and Sons news, Tom Morello announced hed be releasing an album in October that features a whole host of superstar collaborations, including the bands titular member, Marcus Mumford. In bad Mumford and Sons news, an Instagram post from May has resurfaced online that shows Jordan Petersona controversial Canadian psychology professor, to describe him kindlyin-studio with the band. With Mumford and Sons at their London Studio A post shared by Jordan Peterson; (@jordan.b.peterson) on May 15, 2018 at 9:29pm PDT Peterson has come under fire for his ideas on political correctness, white privilege, feminism and gender identity. Hes made himself an alt-right favorite by refusing to acknowledge gender-neutral pronouns, dismissing white privilege as a Marxist lie and the oppression of women as an appalling theory, and questioning the viability of same-sex families. He also made the case for enforced monogamy as a remedy for male violence in a May New York Times interview. Petersons months-old Instagram post reads, With Mumford and Sons at their London studio, and its unclear why the Twitter world became privy to it on Thursday, but some fans of the band have threatened to never listen to their music again for appearing to support Peterson by having him to their studio and posing for a photo with him. Paste has reached out to the bands representatives for comment and will update the story with any response. In the meantime, check out a select few of Twitters responses to the controversy below. Jordan Peterson wouldve never hung with Mumford and Sons if they were called Mumford and Daughters. Really makes you think Larry Fitzmaurice (@lfitzmaurice) August 2, 2018 Jordan Peterson doing a photo op with Mumford and Sons is like the Yalta Conference for overconfident mediocre white dudes. Death Grips for Cutie (@dosboof) August 2, 2018 While the rest of the tech world was focused on Apples trillion-dollar march yesterday, Motorola was making history of its own. At a small event in Chicago, the company formerly owned by Google introduced the Z3, a 6-inch phone with a unique selling point: 5G networking. While the phone itself doesnt have a 5G modem built into it, Motorola promises that there will be a 5G Mod next year (those things that magnetically attach to the back of the phone) that will add a Snapdragon X50 modem to take advantage of the blazingly fast speeds that will accompany the launch of the first 5G networks in 2019. But while 5G might seem like a really good reason to run out and buy a Z3, dont be fooled. Here are five reasons you dont want to do that: The Z3 has last years processor Were more than halfway through 2018, but the Moto Z3 is still using last years Snapdragon 835 processor. Its not a terrible chip by any stretchask a Pixel 2 user if you dont believe mebut by the time the 5G Mod releases sometime next year, the Z3 will almost certainly be two generations behind, as Qualcomms newest chip is generally released in the first quarter of the new year. But even if you dont mind buying an outdated phone now, the slower chip is almost certain to cause performance issues once the 5G Mod comes around next year. Download speed is meaningless if your chip cant keep up, and that might be the reality with the Z3. Its Verizon only Like the Moto Z Force, the Z3 is a Verizon exclusive, so the 5G Mod will only work with Big Reds network. Thats fine, considering Verizon has the most ambitious plans for rolling out 5G. What might not be so fine is relying on Verizon to provide regular security and Android updates. And considering the bugs that are bound to accompany the 5G Mod when its finally able to be purchases, it might be a while before theyre all ironed out. We dont know how much the 5G Mod will cost This is the big question. While we know the phone costs $480 (which is an OK deal for a Snapdragon 835 phone), we dont know how much Verizon plans to charge for the Moto 5G Mod. And while many Mods are $100, dont expect the 5G one to come that cheap. Considering the Moto Insta-Share Projector is $300, the Verizons 5G Mod could cost as much as the phone, which probably isnt worth it. 5G will be a battery killer The Moto Z3 comes with a respectable 3,000mAh battery that should be plenty to get you through a full day. At least until the 5G Mod comes around. All that network speed is sure to be a drain on what will already be a 6-month-old battery. To compensate, Moto has built a 2,000mAh battery into the 5G Mod, but it remains to be seen whether that will be enough to power it though a full day of downloading and streaming. My moneys on no. 5G might not be available in your region The Verizon 5G rollout is still on track to begin later this year, with Sacramento, Calif., getting the first crack at the technology, followed by LA. But thats fixed, not mobile 5G. Its anyones guess as to when and where the first mobile 5G network makes its debut, so if youre buying the Z3 solely to be the first to get 5G, you may or may not be able take advantage of it. Good Friday Morning, Fellow Seekers. With the 2018 mid-term elections now less than 100 days away, there's no doubt that public interest is building in the biennial contests and that party loyalists are working to get as many people registered to vote as they can. As we noted last week, Pennsylvania leads the nation in the registration of 18-34 voters. The larger question of whether this critical bloc will turn out to vote remains, but as an early gauge of interest, the signs point that way. But where are Pennsylvania Republicans and Democrats making the biggest gains? For that, we turn to our old pal, Nick Field, former managing editor of PoliticsPA, occasional PennLive Opinion contributor and data-dude for insider site City & State PA. He ran the numbers, saving us a bit of heavy lifting when we have one eye on the weekend. Here's Field on the overall conditions on the ground: "Over the past 12 months, however, momentum has been on the Democrats' side. "For instance, , Democrats had 808,974 more registered voters statewide than the Republicans. Today their advantage is 812,451. "Last time, the GOP held every spot on the Top 10 list of gains. This time, . Back then, just three counties saw an increase in Democratic voters; now, there are 14 such counties. "The primary culprit seems to be enthusiasm. After all, there's nothing and the opposing party in Congress has picked up seats in nearly every since the Civil War." Now here's how things look, by the numbers. You can click through for expanded analysis from Field. 10. Monroe - R+1,364 9. Luzerne - R+1,482 8. Washington - R+1,540 7. Philadelphia - D+1,919 6. Lancaster - D+2,126 5. Bucks - D+2,408 4. Westmoreland - R+2,693 3. Chester - D+4,314 2. Delaware - D+6,329 1. Montgomery - D+7,078 A few observations: If there was any doubt, the Philadelphia suburbs are now reliably blue. And while Hillary Clinton may have underperformed there in 2016, voters are energized on behalf of several, key congressional races that could well tip the balance of power in the House. The list is also a reminder that the Southwest, once a Democratic, working class bastion, is now Republican country. We saw that in 2016. It's reinforced by the numbers here. But, dang, Lancaster? Some of that increase may well be driven by higher registration numbers in Lancaster city. But the county, while dominated by Republican politicians, now looks a tad more purple. Again, the larger question of whether this increase in registration numbers will equate to actual bodies in the voting booth in November won't be answered until Election Day. But as a barometer of voter enthusiasm this year, the numbers are a talker. The rest of the day's news starts now. Here's our dispatch from last night's Donald Trump rally in Wilkes-Barre, where the POTUS stumped for Lou Barletta, and took more than a few shots at Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa. Here's The Inquirer's take on things from Luzerne County last night. Here's a take from the Tribune-Review on the rally (via The Associated Press). Preservationists are working to block the demolition of a historic home in Pittsburgh's Squirrel Hill neighborhood, The Post-Gazette reports. Here's a pretty wild view for your #Harrisburg Instagram of the Day: With Labor Day looming, Philly's making it harder to get block party permits, WHYY-FM reports. Here's The Morning Call's take on the Trump rally. Heavy Rotation. And now you're up to date. It was a painful scene in the City of Brotherly Love, as an African-American baby doll was found hanging from a noose in a park in Philadelphia's Queen Village section on Thursday. Immediately, there were strong condemnations from the black community about this hateful depiction of black lynching. And both Philadelphia police and the media were all over the story. But as NBC-10 and 6ABC report, the whole thing was a prank by a group of young boys of different races, all under 13. And an African-American pastor who spoke with the children said they had no idea of the potent symbol of lynching they had created. The hanging doll was discovered Thursday afternoon in a tree at the Weccacoe Playground at 4th and Queen streets. Making things even more sensitive, the site is a former burial ground for Mother Bethel AME Church, one of the nation's original black congregations, NBC-10 reports. As a result, the display instantly angered many in the black community, including Rev. Mark Kelly Tyler, Mother Bethel AME's senior pastor, who called it a "hate crime," NBC-10 writes, adding: But with police and media on the scene, a group of boys -- all under the age of 13 and of mixed races -- walked up to NBC10 reporter Rosemary Connors and photojournalist John Panfile shortly after 6 p.m. Thursday and claimed they hung the doll. Tyler, the pastor, took the boys aside and let them explain why they decided to hang the doll. According to Tyler, the boys claimed they found the doll on the roof of a structure in the park and found it "creepy." "They thought like little boys [do], Let's use it to creep people out," Tyler said. "Later they found the noose, the hangman's noose, and thought better to put the noose around the baby doll's neck and just hang it in an area to scare people." "They had no idea about the historical legacy of lynching, what that image would do, the terror that it put into people," Tyler added. Tyler called Philadelphia Police Commissioner Richard Ross to share what the boys told him. Tyler said he was told surveillance video from the park appeared to corroborate the boys' story. "Unfortunately, this is a perfect storm. The wrong prank, the wrong place, the wrong time," Tyler said. People driving in New York along Route 11 between Tully and Preble have been calling and emailing public officials to protest a Nazi flag hanging on a utility pole in a driveway. More than 450 people have signed a Change.org petition urging Preble town officials to take action against the flag. "The flag has a bold swastika placed just slightly off-centered on the red, black, and white fabric with an iron cross in the top left corner,'' reads the petition. "It's one of seven variations of the Reichskriegsflagge -- the official name of the war flag used by German armed forces from 1867-1945 -- which was a symbol of Nazi Germany. Preble Town Supervisor Jim Doring said he's well aware of the flag. Several weeks ago, he approached the resident - Jody Fish - about taking the flag down, but he refused. Doring said Fish told him he'd take it down someday - but not that day. Fish told him he was flying it due to a dispute with a neighbor - and would remove it if Doring intervened. Doring said he told him that's not the town's role. Jody Fish, who owns the Nazi flag that hangs outside his home on Route 11 in Preble. Doring contacted National Grid because the flag is flying from a wire attached to the utility pole. National Grid also declined to remove the flag, Doring said, so he asked the town attorney for advice. Doring said he was told the town's hands are tied legally, as it is a private resident's property. Fish, the homeowner, told a Syracuse.com| The Post-Standard in an interview Thursday that he isn't a Nazi. He said he's being hacked electronically, and no one will help him. "It's a distress call,'' he said. "It's to get attention so I can tell people what's going on and that someone is hacking me." Fish said anyone who is upset about the flag can stop and talk to him. As soon as someone figures out who is hacking him and corrects it, he'll take down the flag, Fish said. Preble's Doring said he knows there is a petition out there and that people may show up demanding action at the next board meeting, but there's nothing the town can do. The meeting is at 7 p.m. Aug. 13 at the town hall, 1968 Preble Road. "It has all the neighbors and residents all riled up, as well as people who drive by,'' Doring said. '"People are just not accepting our answers that we can't do anything about it." Roy Gutterman, an associate professor in the newspaper and online journalism department at Syracuse University's Newhouse School, said the homeowner is within his rights. "This is private speech on private property, and it is certainly protected,'' he said. Gutterman said the issue has come up before with Confederate flags, but a Nazi flag is more unusual. Patterns of cover-up and criminality by pedophile priests and their supervisors have been documented in scores of Catholic dioceses worldwide. Now, ahead of a long-awaited grand jury report into clergy sex abuse across Pennsylvania, a major question remains: Is the 900-page report likely to contain new information about the scope of the problem pervading the church? Most definitely yes, say some expert observers. "The shock and surprise of what is revealed is never new, unfortunately," said Mitchell Garabedian, an attorney who represented hundreds of victims in lawsuits against the Archdiocese of Boston. "Is Rome going to be connected to this in any way shape or form, other than defrock papers, which speak to Rome's role?" In the Catholic Church, the defrocking of a priest is authorized by the pope. Garabedian's analysis is particularly intriguing considering the state of affairs across the church. Pope Francis is dealing with predatory priests and complicit bishops in Chile and the resignation of Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick, a prominent Vatican diplomat and former archbishop of Washington, D.C. McCarrick has been credibly accused of child sex crimes. The looming question for Garabedian ahead of Pennsylvania's report focuses on the possibility that it could provide a substantive connection between the Vatican and the way abusive priests were handled across six Pennsylvania diocese. The scope could include senior officials, such as the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the Vatican commission that reviews complaints of clergy sex abuse across the 1.2 billion-strong church. "What did the Congregation know outside the defrockment proceedings, which tell us a lot," Garabedian asked. "It puts Rome on notice that a priest is a pedophile. Why didn't they act to protect children once they received defrockment notices?" PennLive has in the past week made several attempts to speak to Archbishop Christophe Pierre, the Apostolic Nuncio. The Nuncio is the Vatican's ambassador to this country. Pierre's office said he is traveling abroad. In July, Attorney General Josh Shapiro, whose office led the investigation, sent a letter to Pope Francis, asking him for help in releasing the report. Shapiro asked the pontiff to encourage church officials here to stop trying to stall the report. Joe Grace, a spokesman for Shapiro's office, on Thursday confirmed that the attorney general had not yet heard back from the Vatican. According to court documents, the report will name more than 300 priests as having committed crimes against children. On Wednesday, Bishop Ronald Gainer released the names of 71 priests accused of molesting children in the Harrisburg Diocese. In a bold step, Gainer is also scrapping the legacy of his predecessors, with orders to remove the names of all men serving as bishops since 1947 from any diocesan property. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has ordered the Commonwealth to release the report to the public as early as next week, and no later than Aug. 14. Until then, Shapiro is prohibited from revealing its contents. Harrisburg diocese spokesman Mike Barley said Gainer, who has viewed the sealed report, is also not permitted to discuss it or how far it delves into how the church hierarchy handled sexual abuse accusations against clergy. Terence McKiernan, president of BishopAccountability.org, which tracks predatory priests, noted, "There is some mobility among the hierarchy between these dioceses." "Take Harrisburg Bishop [Ronald] Gainer, who started in Allentown. His predecessor started in Philly. [Nicholas] Dattilo began as a Pittsburgh priest. Each of these men who've run each diocese has his own career track that to some extent took them through other diocese." "Gainer has acknowledged that Harrisburg bishops had problems. We are going to learn a lot about how they handle these cases, but also learn perhaps even what problems sitting bishops had elsewhere. Even if the grand jury report is not drawing a connection among dioceses. The investigation into the church in Philadelphia documented many transfers of predatory priests across diocesan lines. "I'm interested in the transfer policy," McKiernan said. "We know from Philadelphia that Camden was a favorite place to send priests offenders. I wonder if we will see a lot of mobility of offenders within these six diocese. I think some of that is bound to come out, even if it's not their emphasis." Lynne Abraham, the former Philadelphia district attorney who led the benchmark investigation into the city's archdiocese, predicts that the report will provide a deeper, wider and longer scope of abuse than originally expected. Abraham's investigators went as far back as two cardinals - John Krol and Anthony Bevilacqua. "We could have gone back farther to [Cardinal Dennis] Dougherty but the volume of cases we would have discovered, plus the cases we already had, plus the inordinate amount of time it takes to do an investigation with the grand jury only sitting two days a week, is daunting and impossible," she said. "Besides, everyone was dead in those cases and spending time on cases of such a long ago time might have engendered just a yawn." She suspects that the Harrisburg diocese list of 71 priests accused of abuse may be longer than the one that Shapiro is preparing to release. "This is a very sick church which may only recover when it comes clean of its sordid past from top to bottom," Abraham said. "When I say top to bottom I mean all the way to the top, as there are so many high-ranking officials who not only lied and covered abuse stories up but also engaged in them too." If the adage about hindsight is true, then at the very least Shapiro should be able to glean what has worked in the past and what has not. McKiernan singles out Abraham's investigation into Philadelphia and work by New Hampshire prosecutors in the early 2000s, after the Boston scandal made headlines, that uncovered similar abuses in that state's Catholic Church. The New Hampshire report was an 8,000-page packet that included church documents dated with each case on a priest. "That was an exemplary report," McKiernan said. "I gotta believe Shapiro is aware of it. That's one advantage. Shapiro now has all this history to look at. He is in a position to be aware of best practices." McKiernan said 47 of the 71 names released Wednesday by Gainer were new to him. They were not names included in the database of predatory priests maintained by BishopAccountability.org. Gainer stressed that the list he released represents names of clergy historically accused -- and not necessarily credibly accused. Abraham assessed the toll of another censure on the Catholic Church: "Even though the church has lasted 2,000 years it is possible that if things keep going the way they are, the church may suffer blows from which they may not be able to recover," she said. The retired leader of the Catholic Diocese of Erie has dropped his objections to the release of the grand jury report on clergy sex abuse in the Erie diocese and five other Catholic dioceses statewide. According to a story on goerie.com, Bishop Donald W. Trautman was one of around a dozen individuals who filed objections to the report as it was written without addressing its claims. Attorney General Josh Shapiro on Friday confirmed that Trautman dropped his objections, which the bishop had filed with the state Supreme Court using the initials D.T. READ MORE: Six Catholic dioceses under investigation for possible child sexual abuse: The story so far "Bishop Donald Trautman withdrew his appeal, paving the way for the voices of victims from the Erie diocese to be heard and not subject to redaction," Shapiro said in a statement. "This was the right decision and should serve as a model for others who continue to fight the release of the report." The Supreme Court has ordered a redacted version of the report to be released between Aug. 8 and Aug. 14. Trautman's decision to withdraw his objections means that the redacted report will include his name and information about him. Trautman's response to the decision, which appears in full below, said that he "has always endeavored to put the needs and concerns of victims of abuse first and his complete record while in office proves this. Today he did that again, even though doing so required him to sacrifice his own personal rights." Among the major developments of the story surrounding the grand-jury report that have unfolded so far: Aug. 1: The Diocese of Harrisburg on Wednesday released a list of 71 priests and personnel members who had accusations made against them of child sexual abuse. July 31: The Rev. John T. Sweeney, of the Diocese of Greensburg, on Tuesday pleaded guilty to committing a sexual assault against a 10-year-old boy April 6: The Roman Catholic Diocese of Erie published a list of 34 priests and 17 lay people against whom credible accusations of sexual abuse or other inappropriate behavior have been leveled. 2018.08.03 Press Statement by PennLive on Scribd Cumberland County resident, Richard Marsich recently tied the yellow perch state record set by Trenton McCoy in January of 2017. Both record fish weighed in at two pounds, three ounces and were caught in the Fairfield Glade area of Cumberland County. Mr. Marsich caught his record while fishing with his son and said, We set out to bass fish. My son suggested trying to perch fish after hearing from a nearby angler about the presence of perch. After a short time of bottom fishing, Marsich felt a tug on the line and starting reeling. Marsichs son, Scott shared, The water was so clear, I could see the fish at about 12 feet down. Scott knew immediately that it was a perch and was excited by the size. Richard Marsich knew it was a nice fish, but didnt recognize that it could be a state record. Scott Marsich realized the potential and immediately looked up the record using his smart phone. Yellow perch are a considered an adaptable species and great table fare. They are not stocked by TWRA. However, many private lakes in the Fairfield Glade area have yellow perch. This fish can be found in the several reservoirs of the Tennessee River system. An average length of yellow perch in Tennessee is eight inches. With its 15 and seven eights inch length, father and son ended their bass trip early to search for certified scales on which to weigh the fish. After weighing the perch and contacting the TWRA, the Marsich family visited the Region III office to fill out the proper paperwork. The perch was reweighed and measured by reservoir biologists Mike Jolley. Mr. Jolley said, Its a beautiful fish and great to share in the excitement of a happy angler. More so, it touches all of us that a father and son were able to share this great experience. Richard Marsich has donated the fish for taxidermy to be added to the TWRA, regional office. As for father and son, they plan on continuing their fishing experiences and TWRA wishes them great success and many happy memories. Find more on state records at tnwildlife.org To the wish list of improvements to the Interstate 81 corridor through Cumberland County now add: * A full build-out of the Exit 49 (High Street) interchange near Carlisle to provide all-direction access to the interstate. A task force led by Cumberland Area Economic Development Corp. is recommending the Exit 49 improvements as the best way to improve current traffic flows and handle future development in Carlisle's eastern outskirts. It's not necessarily anyone's top priority, mind you; nor will it happen within the next four years - those planning and funding priorities are already set. Still, the planning can be a reward in itself. Cumberland County Director of Planning Kirk Stoner noted Thursday he's just asked, on behalf of county commissioners, for the Harrisburg Area Transportation Study to include the widening of I-81 to three lanes in each direction throughout Cumberland and Dauphin counties in its next regional transportation plan. If that moves forward, Stoner added, the smaller High Street interchange project could be in position now to be considered as part of the overall scope of such next-generation improvements to 81. The interchange is currently part of a split access to the interstate with nearly Exit 48 at York Road. At present, Exit 48 offers only an entrance onto I-81 South, and an exit off of I-81 North. Exit 49, meanwhile, has the entrance onto I-81 North, and an exit off I-81 South. The result is some drivers have to maneuver their way through a maze of local roads to get to their destination, depending upon whether they were north or southbound on the interstate. Even in the age of the GPS that can be confusing, traffic engineers note, and it leads to unintended traffic volumes in residential areas. Carlisle area officials have long believed the split access is especially confusing to one-time visitors to places like the Army Heritage and Education Center or the car shows at Carlisle Fairgrounds. Some also believe the existing set-up - which dates to the extension of I-81 into Cumberland County in 1962 - stunted potential development of the area. Traffic loads in the region will only be growing in the future, with projected further expansion of the Army museum, the build-out of the proposed 530-unit Heritage Village development off York Road, and a new connector road planned further east between York and Trindle Roads that will open another 250-acre area in South Middleton Township for development. The solution? The new study completed by Michael Baker International engineering firm calls for development of true four-way access at Exit 49, with a new off-ramp from I-81 North onto Trindle Road, and an on-ramp from Trindle to I-81 south. There are two ways to accomplish that: * A three-quarter diamond design that shows a new off-ramp from I-81 North built around the current looping northbound on-ramp from Trindle. Construction and design costs are estimated at $4.9 million, not including right-of-way acquisition costs for two new ramps. * A full-diamond interchange that would build the new off-ramp from I-81 North over the current on-ramp, with a new on-ramp to I-81 North off the north side of Trindle Road. This alternative has estimated costs of $4.1 million, plus right-of-way acquisition costs for three new ramps. Baker's engineers have concluded either option would improve traffic flows on York Road and nearby Fairview Street, Fairfield Street and Westminster Drive, as drivers will be able to head more directly to their destinations. The High Street interchange improvements scored significantly higher than other options when ranked on factors including traffic operations and safety, cost, impact on economic development potential and public feedback. Other options explored included: Building a new full interchange at Claremont Road. Creating a a dedicated connector road from the off-ramp of I-81 South at the Trindle Road, along the west berm of the highway to the York Road, across from its on-ramp to I-81 South. Building out the Exit 48 (York Road) interchange to provide four-way access to and from 81. The current plan calls for leaving Exit 48 as is. Stoner said the study group's steering committee - made up from representatives of each of the nearby municipalities and AHEC - will reconvene later this summer and explore best options to push the concept forward. Most likely, he said, that would likely involve trying to marry the project to broader I-81 issues. Cumberland commissioners have already attached their highest priority to widening the stretch from Exits 44 to 52, a major commercial freight artery citing ongoing safety and congestion issues. But, Stoner added, if dedicated funding for the interchange could be landed outside traditional highway dollars, that could accelerate the project. One outside possibility, he suggested, would be if the Army, considering the desire for smoother access to AHEC, decided to allocate funds in the Defense budget for an upgrade. Worshiping Mixed Mexico: Rebirth, Resurrection and Sacred Spaces Story and Photos by Lydia Carey Mexico's religious traditions showcase the country's incredible cultural blending, as well as its dark Colonial past. Before the suns rays can reach you on the west side of this massive structure you must make the icy climb up its 243 stairs. The cold, the altitude, and the early hour invade the lungs and oxygen comes in spurts. What I consider normal safety precautions when visiting an architectural monument are all but invisible as I climb the world's third largest pyramid, free to touch its stone and feel the energy of 2,000 years of history. It's the first day of spring. The beginning of that stretch towards longer, light-filled days as we inch toward summer. A day that would have normally passed me by except for the ritual recharging I have come to experience outside my adoptive hometown, Mexico City. Each year, thousands of locals, tourists, pilgrims, and practitioners arrive at daybreak to bask in the energy of the sun at the top of the Piramide del Sol (the Pyramid of the Sun) in Teotihuacan, the City of the Gods. These ancient ruins hold as much mystery today as when they were discovered by the Aztecs over 500 years ago. By then the site was already abandoned by its residents, a metropolis of 150,000 200,000 people that rivaled the size of Rome for the largest city of the ancient world. The Aztecs were so stunned by the glorious architecture that they insisted it must be the birthplace of the gods and they incorporated the city into their own creation myths. It became a sacred space for them. They believed that Teotihuacan was the birthplace of their current sun (the Fifth) and the moon, formed from the essence of the gods Tecuciztecatl and Nanahuatzin who threw themselves onto a burning pyre in order to bring light to the world. The story of these two gods penance, sacrifice, and rebirth might sound familiar, its much like the story of Jesus Christ and his death on the cross to save humankind. This days sun worship, like the Easter holiday that will take place in just a few days time (as well as the worldwide worship of Osiris, Dionysus, and Hun Hunahpa), is the worship of rebirth, resurrection, the coming of light after a time of darkness. A Spring Blessing Juan Manuel Sanchez Rameriz and a confederation of farmers from the surrounding communities are here to offer up a ritual of dance and prayers to the ancient Maya gods of spring. They will begin their own planting cycle in approximately one month (April 19th to the 23rd) and they bring seeds, earth, fruit, and shells to be blessed by the energy of their communion here. The dancers wear white, like many of the pilgrims at the pyramid on this day, and red bands wrapped around their foreheads and waists. We call the ancient path of our ancestors the camino rojo (red way), Rameriz tells me in explication, We are here to preserve their customs and culture. A woman named Lolis, also dressed in white, says her women's group is visiting from the city of Monterrey and that they have come to soak in the equinox light. You can simply feel the energy here, she tells me. It can help you change your perspective, help you to be reborn, to become a better human being. This is one of the few places sacred to the indigenous of Mexico that the Spanish colonialists didnt build over or demolish. As part of the Catholic strategy in the new world, thousands of churches and chapels were built atop locations spiritually important to the indigenous of Mexico. North of the citys center, the apparition of the Virgin of Guadalupe to indigenous peasant Juan Diego is said to have been atop a hill that was sacred to the Mexicas in worship of their goddess Tonantzin. There the Virgin spoke to Juan Diego in his native tongue and requested the local bishop build her a temple there. Each year on December 12th, millions of Catholic pilgrims walk down the churchs aisles on their knees, to the drum beat of the dozens of indigenous dancers performing in the outer plaza. Lolis tells me that she and her group were there just yesterday. She describes the overwhelming energy she felt in the church and the surrounding grounds. I ask them how they reconcile these two, what seem to me very distinct, belief systems. Easily, Socorro, another woman from the group tells me, These are our roots, they are part of our history as a people. As Socorro, Lolis and their friends raise their hands in offering to the sun, nearby families are led in prayers by their elders, tourists sit faces upturned to the sky, and religious pilgrims wearing identical garb worship the first rays of sunrise. People snap selfies, someone lights a stick of incense and a dozen hot air balloons float above our heads, but nothing disturbs the unified energy of hundreds of people sharing the same moment, hands upheld, petitioning the sun god for healing, love, peace, a bountiful spring, a spiritual rebirth. A Southern Syncretism A few months later I stand watching a woman in a striped orange and tan sweater light three candles, then 25 tinier ones behind those three, then 25 even skinnier in a row behind those. She sets the bottom of each candle over the flame of another just enough to soften the wax and then sticks them to the cement floor. As she chants she keeps one eye trained on her four-year-old who is running back forth across the churchs main altar, calling her for her attention. She prays until the small candles are almost out, then takes pox, a home-brewed moonshine made from corn, and sprinkles it over the flames. They crackle and sizzle. She takes the three front candles up to the main altar and then goes to the back of the church and starts all over again. I watch her cautiously from a distance. She is a local curandera, a healer who people come to for help curing illnesses and warding off bad spirits. Continue to Page 2 523 SHARES Facebook Twitter Whatsapp Pinterest Reddit Print Mail Flipboard Rudy Giuliani has come up with a new condition for special counsel Robert Mueller to meet in order for him to allow his client, President Donald Trump, to submit to an interview with Mueller and his team of investigators. President Trumps lawyer wants Mueller to promise to end his investigation within two months after an interview with the president. We got pretty close on the amount of time they would need to write a report, which roughly was about 60 days after they finished their investigation, Trumps lawyer Rudy Guiliani told TIME on Wednesday. In criminal proceedings, especially FBI investigations, it is extremely unusual for prospective witnesses (and possible subjects) to demand that conditions be met before they will give an interview to the investigators. Of course the special counsels investigation of the president is an extremely unusual situation. Giuliani knows he is playing with fire, because as a former U.S. Attorney he knows that the government has a great deal of power to compel people to talk to investigators in criminal proceedings. He knows that Mueller could issue a subpoena to Trump to force him to testify under oath. Giuliani, however, said a subpoena from Mueller would force them to go to court to fight it. But despite this, Giuliani keeps playing games with the special prosecutor, and he keeps doing it on television. Many people are wondering what Giulianis strategy is because nobody believes that he or his client can force Mueller to give in to their demands. Giuliani joined Trumps legal team in April and immediately predicted he would get Trumps case resolved very quickly, ending the Mueller probe. By attempting to link an interview with Trump to a specific end date for Mueller to submit his findings to the Department of Justice is Giulianis attempt to make the investigation end. After Mueller submits the special counsels report the next step is for Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein to decide what information to share with Congress and the public. Negotiations over the interview have been stalled because Giuliani has insisted that Mueller disclose all the authorizations hes been given by the Department of Justice. He has also demanded DOJ documents concerning an FBI informant who collected information about the Trump campaign in the summer of 2016. He has not been successful in getting the DOJ or the special counsel to agree to these demands. At this point, those two requirements seem insurmountable, Guiliani said. Wed have to see those before we would advise him on whether to testify or not. The latest demand also is probably insurmountable, and is not likely to result in a victory for the president. Nobody is sure if Giuliani thinks he has a viable legal strategy or if he is just playing the political game on television, and trying to sway public opinion. By Lawrence Hurley WASHINGTON (Reuters) Some records sought by U.S. senators about the prior White House service of President Donald Trumps Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh will not be available until the end of October, the U.S. National Archives said on Thursday, though it was unclear whether this would delay his confirmation process. The documents at issue, sought by Trumps fellow Republicans, relate to Kavanaughs service from 2001 to 2003 as a White House lawyer under Republican former President George W. Bush. Senate Democratic leaders have promised to fight Kavanaughs nomination, which requires Senate confirmation. National Archives General Counsel Gary Stern said in a letter to Republican Senator Chuck Grassley, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee that will hold confirmation hearings, that although some records could be produced earlier, a complete review would be completed by the end of October. Senate Republicans have yet to schedule a confirmation hearing for Kavanaugh. Taylor Foy, a spokesman for Grassley, said the senator still expects the hearing to take place in September. Any delay could mean that Kavanaugh, if ultimately approved by the Republican-led Senate, could still miss the Oct. 1 start of the Supreme Courts term and that the final confirmation vote could take place close to the Nov. 6 U.S. congressional elections. The documents could be produced earlier via a separate source: the Bush presidential library, which is conducting its own review. A person familiar with the process said that parallel review will be completed by mid-August. The documents being reviewed by the National Archives do not include papers related to Kavanaughs three years as staff secretary to the president, which Democrats have demanded. Democrats want to know about any involvement Kavanaugh may have had on controversial issues before the Bush White House such as policy toward torture, the Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, detention facility and other matters. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said Democrats also object to the Bush library, rather than nonpartisan archives officials, vetting the documents. This unprecedented process appears to be designed intentionally by Republicans to deny the Senate and the American people the information they need to evaluate this critically important nomination, Schumer said. Foy said 125,000 pages of the 900,000 in total pages have already been handed over to the committee. In the end, the committee will have reviewed significantly more records than ever before for a Supreme Court nominee, Foy said. (Reporting by Lawrence Hurley; Editing by Will Dunham) 151 SHARES Facebook Twitter Whatsapp Pinterest Reddit Print Mail Flipboard By Nathan Layne and Sarah N. Lynch ALEXANDRIA, Va. (Reuters) Prosecutors on Thursday pressed their bank and tax fraud case against Paul Manafort, presenting testimony and documents to try to prove U.S. President Donald Trumps former campaign chairman deceived his lead bookkeeper and a bank about his finances. On the trials third day, the prosecution pivoted away from describing Manaforts lavish lifestyle, focusing instead on the nitty-gritty details of actions they believe underpin the charges against him of bank fraud, tax fraud and failing to report foreign bank accounts. Prosecutors have attempted to portray Manafort as a tax cheat and a liar who hid much of the $60 million he earned from political work for pro-Russian politicians in Ukraine by stashing it in undisclosed overseas accounts. The trial is taking place in a federal court in Alexandria, Virginia, outside Washington. Manafort, 69, faces 18 charges in the first trial stemming from Special Counsel Robert Muellers investigation of Russias role in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Manafort has pleaded not guilty to all the charges. Manaforts lead bookkeeper Heather Washkuhn, who oversaw Manaforts business and personal holdings, testified that she thought she had complete knowledge of his financial affairs but that she was unaware of his holdings outside of the United States. Washkuhn, managing director of the accounting firm Nigro Karlin Segal Feldstein & Bolno, said Manafort was very detail-oriented and approved every penny the firm paid from his personal account. Prosecutors presented evidence that Manafort emailed a doctored profit-and-loss statement to a Chicago bank from which he was seeking a loan. They showed jurors an email from Washkuhn to the bank showing that, through Nov. 20, 2016, his business had a net loss of $1,116,497. They then displayed another email they said Manafort sent to an executive at the bank with a profit-and-loss statement for September 2016 attached. The document stated that Manaforts consulting firm had a net income of $3,011,952. Washkuhn said she did not produce the latter document. Vendors who provided luxury good and services to the Manafort family testified Wednesday and Thursday that they often received overseas wire transfer payments from a variety of companies such as Peranova Holdings Limited, Global Highway Limited and Lucicle Consultants Limited. Washkuhn testified on Thursday that she had no idea any of those entities were owned or controlled by Manafort. Mueller has pursued a 14-month investigation of Russias role in the 2016 U.S. presidential election and potential coordination between the Trump campaign and Moscow, though none of the charges against Manafort involve that issue. KEY WITNESS TO TESTIFY Greg Andres, a member of Muellers team, confirmed on Thursday that the prosecution will call Manaforts former business partner Rick Gates as a witness, a day after prosecutors suggested they might not. We have every intention of calling him as a witness, Andres said. Gates pleaded guilty to making false statements after being indicted by Mueller. Defense lawyers have painted Gates as an untrustworthy business partner who embezzled funds from Manaforts consulting firm. As part of his guilty plea, Gates acknowledged routinely dealing with accountants in the preparation of Manaforts tax returns and misleading them with false information, although he said he did so with Manaforts knowledge. Manafort routed millions of dollars to the United States by putting it in real estate, and spending it on expensive suits, cars and home renovations, according to prosecution witnesses. Prosecutors said Manafort evaded taxes through this scheme. Five of the 18 counts he faces relate to filing false tax returns. On Thursday, the jury heard from Joel Maxwell of a Florida-based company that installs lighting, audio visual equipment and automation systems for homes that did work for Manafort. Maxwell testified that some of the Manafort invoices shown to him from prosecutors appeared to be have been forged. Michael Regolizio, of a landscaping firm in the Hamptons on New Yorks Long Island, also testified that a Manafort invoice was phony, listing an incorrect address and an altered version of his companys name. Regolizio said he was paid about $450,000 between 2010 and 2014 for work for Manafort, and that the money was paid via a money transfer from Cyprus. Two witnesses an executive at an upscale clothier and a retired general contractor testified on Wednesday that invoices purporting to be bills from their companies to a company tied to Manafort appeared to be fake. It was unclear who created the invoices or how they were used. As he did on Wednesday, U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis warned prosecutors against focusing too much on Manaforts lifestyle. It kind of engenders some resentment against rich people, Ellis said, expressing concern about displaying photos exhibiting Manaforts wealth. Mueller has indicted or secured guilty pleas from 32 people and three companies. Trump has called Muellers investigation a witch hunt and on Tuesday called on Attorney General Jeff Sessions to end it. (Reporting by Nathan Layne in Alexandria, Virginia; Additional reporting by Susan Heavey and Karen Freifeld; Writing by Warren Strobel; Editing by Will Dunham) Editors Note: ICE denies hunger the strike by immigrants at Texas detention center. (Reuters) A group of immigrant fathers, recently reunified with their sons and detained in Texas, have gone on hunger strike to demand their release, an immigrant rights group representing them said on Thursday. The immigrants said they were being held at a detention center in Karnes, Texas, with no notification from U.S. authorities on their immigration status, the Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services (RAICES) said. It was not immediately clear how many fathers have joined the hunger strike, which began on Wednesday. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement did not comment on whether a hunger strike was taking place. ICE said in a statement it respected the rights of detainees to voice their opinion and would not retaliate in any way. We are desperate, we are tired of being incarcerated and we want to be released with our sons, read a letter to media from a detainee named Jorge read out on a conference call hosted by RAICES. The letter said it represented 400 families. U.S. President Donald Trump has made a hardline stance on immigration an integral part of his presidency and has promised to keep immigrants targeted for deportation locked up pending the outcome of their removal proceedings. Some 2,500 children were separated from their parents as part of a zero tolerance policy toward illegal immigration that began in early May. Many of them had crossed the U.S.-Mexican border illegally, while others had sought asylum. The U.S. government said last week it had reunited just over half of them. RAICES said some fathers were staging sit-ins at the Karnes County Residential Center, about 51 miles southeast of San Antonio and children were refusing to take part in school activities. Nearly 600 people were involved in protests, it said. Private contractor GEO Group Inc , which runs the Karnes County Residential Center, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Some fathers at the center said they were misled into agreeing to deportation as a condition of seeing their children again, RAICES said. Others said they had not been given the opportunity to apply for asylum. A federal judge in San Diego has placed an indefinite stay on deportations in response to a lawsuit by the American Civil Liberties Union. Male immigrants at Karnes, and women and girl immigrants detained in Dilley, Texas, are among migrants who were reunited last week and then detained, RAICES said. (Reporting By Andrew Hay; editing by Bill Tarrant and Grant McCool) 1.8k SHARES Facebook Twitter Whatsapp Pinterest Reddit Print Mail Flipboard While the political world is speculating on what incriminating evidence Robert Mueller has on Donald Trump, former Watergate prosecutor Nick Akerman said proof of the presidents guilt is staring us right in the face. According to Akerman, the long and ongoing negotiations between Mueller and Trump show that the president he knows hes guilty. There is no other way to interpret his behavior. If he was really innocent and he really had nothing to hide, he would have gone in there a long time ago, the ex-Watergate prosecutor said. Video: Despite what Trump says, former Watergate prosecutor Nick Akerman says there is no way the president wants to sit down with Robert Mueller. #ctl #p2 #Trump #Mueller #Russia pic.twitter.com/1F2GmpKc0w PoliticusUSA (@politicususa) August 2, 2018 Akerman said: The bottom line is he wants to meet with Mueller just like he wants to go in for a root canal. Theres no way he wants to do that. He knows that he cant go in. If he was really innocent and he really had nothing to hide, he would have gone in there a long time ago. What he has done is not the actions of somebody who is innocent and someone who has nothing to hide. He has done everything he can up to this point to avoid having to talk about this at all with the prosecutors. Trump will decide within 10 days whether to talk to Mueller According to a new report from Politico, Rudy Giuliani now says Trump will decide within 10 days whether he plans to sit down for an interview with Robert Mueller. But all of this gamesmanship the negotiations, the delays, the timelines speaks volumes about how terrified the president and his legal team are. Innocent people dont need to negotiate the terms of an interview with investigators, because innocent people have nothing to hide. They arent afraid to answer questions truthfully, because the truth is on their side. In the case of Trump, its clear he has plenty to conceal. Nowhere is that more obvious than his increasingly desperate efforts to negotiate his way out of a meaningful interview with special counsel Robert Mueller. 1.3k SHARES Facebook Twitter Whatsapp Pinterest Reddit Print Mail Flipboard Senate Democrats have announced a plan to force a vote on legislation that would kill Trumps junk insurance plans rule and protect coverage for people with preexisting conditions. The Senate Democrats announced their plan in a statement provided to PoliticusUSA: Senate Democrats announced plans to introduce new legislation today in accordance with the Congressional Review Act to overturn the Trump administrations final junk insurance plan rule, which expands so-called short-term health care plans that are not required to cover vital protections for people with pre-existing conditions, among other essential health benefits. According to experts, the administrations new rule would raise premiums and reduce plan choices for individuals with pre-existing conditions and employees in the regular insurance market and put insurance companies back in charge, allowing them to deny coverage to people with pre-existing conditions or refuse to cover other vital services like prescription drugs, maternity care, emergency room services, substance use disorder treatment and more. The Senate Democrats new resolution of disapproval, which is being led by Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), would rescind the Trump administrations rule and maintain these vital health care protections that Republicans in Congress and the administration are attempting to eliminate. Congressional Review Act (CRA) disapproval resolutions allow Congress to overturn regulatory actions taken by federal agencies with a simple majority vote in both chambers. In accordance with the Congressional Review Act, the Senators will formally introduce the resolution after the rule is submitted to both houses of Congress and published in the federal register and then force a vote within 60 legislative days. Earlier this year, Senate Democrats successfully passed a disapproval resolution under the CRA to protect net neutrality with bipartisan support. Senate Democrats are fighting to make sure that people can get quality, affordable health care instead of the junk that Donald Trump is trying to pass off as health insurance. Democrats are also battling to make sure that millions of Americans with preexisting conditions can keep their insurance coverage. Past polling has revealed that health care is the top issue on the minds of voters as they head to the polls. Republicans have an Obamacare problem, and Democrats are sending a loud message to voters that they are the party who will fight for your healthcare. For more discussion about this story join our Rachel Maddow and MSNBC group. 2.5k SHARES Facebook Twitter Whatsapp Pinterest Reddit Print Mail Flipboard Donald Trump was immediately scolded in 2015 when he announced his presidential candidacy by insulting Mexican immigrants as rapists. Over three years later, with his mental fitness deteriorating rapidly, Trump revisited those controversial remarks to say that he didnt go far enough. During a campaign rally in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, the president said that his initial characterization of immigrants from Mexico was peanuts compared to what turns out to be the truth. Video: Trump indicates that when he called Mexicans rapists, he thinks it was really peanuts compared to what turns out to be the truth. He then literally accuses visa lottery recipients of being murderers. pic.twitter.com/6rYfLicVko Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) August 2, 2018 As Aaron Rupar of ThinkProgress also noted, Trump went on to label visa lottery recipients as killers. During the same segment of his speech, Trump even imitated an MS-13 stabbing. Here is the president of the United States mimicking an MS-13 stabbing as part of his effort to smear immigrants as violent murderers pic.twitter.com/k8KMv44e8o Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) August 3, 2018 In Trumps initial remarks in 2015, he said, [Mexico is] sending people that have lots of problems, and theyre bringing those problems with us. Theyre bringing drugs, theyre bringing crime, theyre rapists, and some, I assume are good people. The speech was immediately panned largely because of his offensive characterization of immigrants but now, apparently, Trump regrets not being tougher. The presidents rhetoric is becoming more dangerous and divisive With Robert Muellers special counsel investigation continuing to intensify, Trump is becoming increasingly desperate. As a result, his rhetoric is becoming more dangerous and divisive. Whether its the disturbing language directed toward the media, his continued war against American institutions, or Thursdays insulting anti-immigrant rhetoric, Trump has gone so far off the deep end that he can no longer see the shore. With Mueller nipping at his heels, Trumps behavior suggests that he knows he is going down. Instead of going quietly, the president has chosen to burn the whole place down with him. 1.4k SHARES Facebook Twitter Whatsapp Pinterest Reddit Print Mail Flipboard According to a new bombshell report in BuzzFeed Donald Trump is so incompetent at operating the U.S. government that many of his employees are ignoring him, especially when he gives apparent orders to them using Twitter. Trump is reported to be so inept at achieving the most basic functions of his office that he has no idea what actions he needs to take through official channels. Instead, he thinks that by sending a tweet he has taken an official action, but thats not working out for him because most of his tweets are being ignored by everyone in the government. An example given by Buzzfeed was Trumps recent announcement that he had decided to withdraw the United States from the joint communique agreed to by the leaders at the G7 summit in Canada in June. At the summit he had initially signed on to the communique and told the leaders of the other countries that he was on board with it. Then, in a shock to everyone, he sent out a tweet while riding home on Air Force One, saying that he had decided to pull out because Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was mean to him. According to Buzzfeed: Since Trumps tweet, however, there has been no formal or official follow-up by the US on the presidents demand, the sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said. The White House and State Dept. are actively ignoring the tweets of the president. Its like theres a reality TV president, in his own bubble, thinking he controls stuff. Its like The Truman Show. The end result of this particular situation is that Trumps initial agreement to the joint communique from the G-7 still stands. His tweet got a lot of media coverage but it had no actual effect on anything. The same thing happened when Trump announced on Twitter that he was banning all transgender people from serving in the military. This created a media furor, and sent shockwaves through the Pentagon, as Trump had conferred with no one in military leadership about this action. Although the administration later issued an official memo concerning the policy announced in the tweet, implementation of the order was blocked in court. The judge ruled that the government hadnt provided any indication that the ongoing service of transgender people would have any negative effective on the military at all. And in that case no action was ever taken by anyone in the U.S. military or Department of Defense to implement Trumps announced policy. It was ultimately ignored completely. In another, more recent example Trump this week tweeted an order to Attorney General Jeff Sessions telling him to put an end to the Mueller probe. This tweet led to hundreds of hours of discussion on cable TV stations but by all reports has been completely ignored by the Attorney General. This new report from Buzzfeed makes it seem that Donald Trump really is play-acting at being president. He likes to tweet and fly around on his big plane to campaign-style rallies, but he doesnt like to do any actual work. This is both good news and bad news. The good news is that actual adults working in the U.S. government have the good sense to ignore Trumps most ridiculous orders. The bad news is that he is being used by far-right powers in the government whose agenda he is implementing, such as tax cuts for billionaires, trashing the environment, eliminating government regulations, and destroying the social safety net. Donald Trump thinks he is playing a president on TV, but it is now far past the time when he should leave office so our country can get a real president who will do things to really help the country. (Reuters) A group of immigrant fathers, recently reunified with their sons and detained in Texas, have gone on a hunger strike to demand their release, an immigrant rights group representing them. The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency said there had not been a hunger strike by residents of the Karnes County Residential Center, about 51 miles (82 km) southeast of San Antonio. On Aug. 2, a small group of fathers and their children (fewer than 50 total) staged a brief sit-in and expressed their concerns about their immigration cases, ICE said in a statement. The residents appreciated the information and dispersed. It was not immediately clear how many fathers were in the group. The immigrants said they were being held at the detention center with no notification from authorities on their immigration status, the Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services (RAICES) said. Fathers had staged sit-ins, children were refusing to take part in school activities, and some fathers had started a hunger strike, RAICES spokeswoman Jennifer Falcon said on a conference call with reporters on Thursday. The dads are on a hunger strike and they are refusing to obey any directions from ICE and GEO guards, she said, referring to private contractor GEO Group Inc which runs the center. The hunger strike was said to have begun on Wednesday. GEO did not respond to a request for comment. Asked later to respond to the ICE statement, Falcon told Reuters: Theres definitely a strike. She added that the group had audio recordings of the fathers saying they were on hunger strike. U.S. President Donald Trump has made a hard-line stance on immigration an integral part of his presidency and has promised to keep immigrants targeted for deportation locked up pending the outcome of their removal proceedings. Some 2,500 children were separated from their parents as part of a zero tolerance policy toward illegal immigration that began in early May. Many of them had crossed the U.S.-Mexican border illegally, while others had sought asylum. The U.S. government said last week it had reunited just over half of them. Fathers at the Karnes center said they were misled into agreeing to deportation as a condition of seeing their children again, RAICES said. Others said they had not been given the opportunity to apply for asylum. A federal judge in San Diego indefinitely suspended deportations last month. (Reporting by Andrew Hay; editing by Bill Tarrant, Grant McCool, Jason Neely) 2.4k SHARES Facebook Twitter Whatsapp Pinterest Reddit Print Mail Flipboard By Joey Roulette ORLANDO, Florida (Reuters) The U.S. government deported a Mexican woman on Friday who had lived in the country illegally for nearly two decades despite efforts by lawmakers to keep her in Florida with her husband, a Marine Corps veteran, and her two American children. Alejandra Juarez, 38, was joined by her family and her congressman, Darren Soto, at Orlando International Airport for tearful farewells before her flight back to Mexico. Juarez sought to illegally enter the United States in 1998 and was ordered to be removed, precluding her future chances at getting a visa or becoming a citizen, according to Soto and media interviews Juarez has given. She illegally re-entered the country in 2000, the same year she married Temo Juarez, a Mexico native who went on to serve in the war in Iraq with the U.S. Marines and is now a naturalized U.S. citizen. After being discovered in the country during a 2013 traffic stop, she had been required to check in every six months with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials. Her lawyers said to reporters she was only now being deported because of U.S. Donald Trumps zero tolerance policy on illegal immigration. ICE, which did not respond to questions on Friday, has said that Juarezs re-entry after her removal is considered a felony. Mr President, you deporting me is not going to hurt just me; youre making a veteran suffer, Alejandra Juarez said at the airport. You always say you love veterans. If you really love veterans, why didnt you pardon me? Her husband has told reporters that he voted for Trump in the 2016 election. Trumps Democratic predecessor, Barack Obama, was criticized by immigrant groups for deporting scores of non-citizen U.S. military veterans and for deporting immigrants whose only crime was re-entering the country after an earlier removal order. Under new guidelines issued by the Obama administration in 2014, however, Juarez was considered a low priority for removal, her lawyers said. Trump, a Republican, broadened ICEs focus within days of taking office in 2017, saying no immigrants should be considered exempt from law enforcement. Soto, a Democratic congressman, has sponsored a so-called private bill that would grant Juarez a visa if passed, a last-ditch, frequently unsuccessful recourse for immigrants who have exhausted other avenues. Juarez has said her youngest daughter, who is nine years old, will come to live with her in Mexico because her husband frequently travels for his work running a flooring business. (Reporting by Joey Roulette in Orlando; Writing by Jonathan Allen, Editing by Rosalba OBrien) Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Marina Zakharova said on August 2 that the reporters' bodies had gunshot wounds, but no apparent indication they had been tortured. Zakharova said the information came from the Russian embassy in the Central African Republic (CAR). According to local and Russian officials, the three Russian reporters were killed in an ambush earlier in the week outside the town of Sibut in the CAR. Zakharova did not provide any further details or any reference to an official CAR government statement. The CAR Communications Ministrys only statement, published on July 31 on Facebook, had no information about the condition of the bodies. VOAs French to Africa Service quoted Marcelin Yoyo, a member of Parliament from Sibut, where the journalists were killed. He said the Central African Gendarmerie went to the scene and the bodies were taken to a Sibut base of the UN mission, which also did not provide information about the bodies. Because Zakharovas statement signaled a denial of the rough treatment of the slain journalists, Polygraph.info decided her claim required scrutiny. But with no official forensic report yet available to the public, Polygraph.info finds Zakharovas comment to be unclear at this time. However, a local French-language news source in the CAR published a photograph of the bodies of two of the Russian journalists identifiable as Alexander Rastorguyev and Orkhan Dzhemal - laying in an open truck. In the photo, both bodies show multiple gunshot wounds, along with other wounds that do not seem to have been caused by bullets. Their T-shirts are bloodied and pulled up to their necks. Orkhan Dzemals T-shirt is visibly shredded in the back as if he was dragged over a rough surface. Both of journalists arms are lifted above their heads, and in Dzemals right hand there is a bundle of green grass squeezed in his fist. Polygraph.info has also obtained a high resolution image of the bodies of the slain journalists and sent the photo to several forensic experts for consultation. They asked to remain anonymous, saying their analysis cannot be considered fully accurate since it is only based on the photo. Still, their consensus view was that Zakharovas claim should be taken with a large grain of salt. Robert Schaefer: "I have seen torture" Retired U.S. Army Special Forces Lieutenant Colonel Robert Schaefer, a 30-year veteran and author of the bestselling book The Insurgency in Chechnya and the North Caucasus: From Gazavat to Jihad, told Polygraph.info that although he is not an expert, he has seen torture, and that a close look at the bodies makes the Russian story about the nature of the injuries highly suspect. According to Schaefer, the man in the front of the photo (identified as Alexander Rastorguyev) has blue lips and obvious blunt trauma - sometimes indication of a collapsed lung or too much fluid in the chest cavity due to blunt trauma such as been thrown off something and possible hitting a tree or being hit with a pipe. Schaefer says it doesn't look like they were dragged by vehicles because there isn't any road rash from sliding on concrete or asphalt and no tire marks indicating having been run over by vehicles. The man on the back of the picture (identified as Orkhan Dzemal) has a lot of blood on his shirt that looks like it came from side of head or neck. He had to be propped up in order for the blood to run down his shirt otherwise he would have bled out on the ground, said Schaefer. The sideways blood spatter/wipes on both their bodies isn't consistent with any normal gunshot wounds. And given the fact that the first man has blood running down the front of his chest and a laceration on his stomach and blood going from the center out makes it unlikely that all his injuries happened at the same time. Schaefer considers that the goal of whoever killed the journalists was not to question them for information, If they were interrogated, there would be wrist marks from being tied down or lacerations/bleeding on the face from being hit. However, the amount of grass that he is holding indicates that he was on the ground when he died and rigor mortis set in. Until there is verifiable information from the CAR government or the UN, the Polygraph.info verdict will remain as Unclear. That could be changed later. In our earlier fact checks we examined circumstances of the deaths of journalists who have died while investigating the activities of the Private Military Company Wagner, as well as Wagners connection to the Kremlin, and what Russia is not telling about the killing of the three journalists in CAR. Charleston, SC (29403) Today Showers early, becoming a steady rain later in the day. High 73F. Winds SE at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall possibly over one inch.. Tonight Thunderstorms in the evening will give way to partly cloudy skies overnight. Potential for severe thunderstorms. Low around 60F. Winds SW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 100%. As far as I have been able to determine from a modest amount of Googling, President Trump has never said that the press is the enemy of the people. On every occasion I am aware of, he has said that the fake news press is the enemy of the people, or specific Democratic Party news outlets like CNN are the enemy of the people. When he is riffing in public, Trump often speaks imprecisely, so it is possible that sometime, somewhere, he has said without qualification that the press is the enemy of the people. But I think anyone who pays attention knows that he is talking about the Democratic Partys press auxiliarythe New York Times, the Washington Post, CNN, MSNBC, the Associated Press, and so on. Earlier today, Resister Jim Acosta, who has devoted his life to scurrilous attacks on President Trump, demanded that Sarah Sanders disavow her boss by declaring that the press is not the enemy of the people. On such occasions, bitter partisans like Acosta always clothe themselves in the supposedly neutral garb of the journalist. At this point, I dont think anyone is fooled. Still, Sanders didnt respond as I would have. She didnt say that not all of the press consists of enemies of the people, but you, Jim, and CNN in general, are indeed in that category. Still, what she says is good. The Trump administration is engaged in an epic battle with the press barons who have tried to elect Democrats for as long as I can remember. Even if Trump and his staff dont always get everything right, at least they are fighting back against the powerful forces that are trying to destroy his administration. Here is todays exchange between Jim Acosta and Sarah Sanders: Heated exchange between Sarah Huckabee Sanders and @Acosta during Thursday's White House press briefing pic.twitter.com/EyBdG0UmV5 Mashable News (@MashableNews) August 2, 2018 My favorite section of the New York Times is the corrections column. Some of the papers errors expose a remarkable ignorance among reporters and editors about history, mathematics, science, literature and so on. This one is a little different. It illustrates how wildly off-base anonymously sourced insider journalism can be. The original Times story was about the sanctions that were imposed on ZTE, the Chinese telecommunications company: When the Chinese telecommunications company ZTE was hit with crippling United States sanctions in April, it chose a very American solution: It loaded up on Washington lobbyists. So Trump is right about the swamp? That isnt quite the lesson the Times drew. It used the occasion to bash Senate Republicans. The original version of the article said: Congressional aides said that some other Republican senators, including Tom Cotton of Arkansas and David Perdue of Georgia, were the strongest voices on the conference committee for easing penalties on ZTE. Congress didnt need to muddy the waters by halting the penalty, which could have negatively impacted ongoing negotiations pertaining to trade and sanctions enforcement, Mr. Perdue said in a statement. Notice the anonymous attribution to Congressional aides, who purported to know what went on in the conference committee. In normal life, we assume that anonymous assertions are unreliable and likely malicious. For some reason, many people seem to view newspaper stories based on anonymous sources as especially reliable. This story was a howler because Tom Cotton is, in fact, one of the foremost opponents of easing sanctions on ZTE. He co-sponsored an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act to impose sanctions on ZTE. His offices press release included this quote: Huawei and ZTE have extensive ties with the Chinese Communist Party, as well as a track record of doing business with rogue regimes like North Korea and Iran. So its only prudent that no one in the federal government use their equipment or services and that they receive no taxpayer dollars. Given their repeated violations of U.S. law, we cannot trust them to respect U.S. national security, and so its vital we hold them accountable and pass this amendment, said Senator Cotton. And he wrote a letter to the NDAA conference committee members urging them to reinstate sanctions against ZTE. The letter began: Dear Chairmen McCain and Thornberry, and Ranking Members Reed and Smith: We write to express our strong support for measures in the Senate-passed Fiscal Year 2019 National Defense Authorization Act (FY 2019 NDAA) that would reinstate U.S. government penalties against ZTE, a Chinese state-directed telecommunications company, and modernize the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS). As you begin deliberations over the final version of the FY 2019 NDAA, we request that you include these two measures. And this is Tom Cotton on the Senate floor: Just as our maximum-pressure campaign brought North Korea to the table, strengthening our sanctions on ZTE will show China that we are finally serious about stopping its theft of our intellectual property, preventing it from infiltrating our communications network, and from violating the privacy rights of our citizens. If we weaken sanctions against ZTE, we will signal to China, and to the rest of the world, that they can act contrary to our sanctions with impunity. So the Times story was, with regard to Senator Cottons position, the exact opposite of the truth. Further, Cottons support for sanctions against ZTE is well known. Any competent reporter who followed this issue at all closely should have known better. It was only after Cottons office educated the papers editors that the Times issued this abject correction yesterday. It corrected a second error as well: Correction: August 1, 2018 An earlier version of this article misstated Senator Tom Cottons position on the easing of sanctions against the Chinese telecom firm ZTE. Mr. Cotton was a sponsor of a provision that would have restricted ZTEs ability to do business in the United States. He was not a strong voice in favor of easing the sanctions. The article also referred imprecisely to the circumstances surrounding a $2,000 campaign contribution the firm Hogan Lovells made to Senator Ed Royce during this election cycle. The firm made the contribution months before he said he would not seek re-election this fall. Whether the Times is an enemy of the people is subject to debate, but when it publishes insider stories based on anonymous sources, paying no regard to easily available and commonly known information to the contrary, it is an enemy of the truth. UPDATE: One more thingthe Times is still wrong. Its correction refers to Congressman Ed Royce as Senator Ed Royce. So another red-faced correction presumably will be forthcoming. One wonders: are the Washington, D.C. political reporters for the New York Times below the national average in their knowledge of civics and current events? PR-Inside.com: 2018-08-02 21:51:02 A.M. Best Removes from Under Review and Upgrades Credit Ratings of The Warranty Group, Inc.s Insurance Subsidiaries A.M. Best Edin Imsirovic, +1 908 439 2200, ext. 5740 Senior Financial Analyst edin.imsirovic@ambest.com or Christopher Sharkey, +1 908 439 2200, ext. 5159 Manager, Public Relations christopher.sharkey@ambest.com or Alvise Argenton, +44 20 7397 0293 Senior Financial Analyst alvise.argenton@ambest.com or Jim Peavy, +1 908 439 2200, ext. 5644 Director, Public Relations james.peavy@ambest.com A.M. Best has removed from under review with positive implications and upgraded the Financial Strength Rating (FSR) to A (Excellent) from A- (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating (Long-Term ICR) to a from a- of Virginia Surety Company, Inc. (VSCI) (Chicago, IL). Concurrently, A.M. Best has removed from under review with developing implications and upgraded the FSR to A (Excellent) from A- (Excellent) and the Long-Term ICR to a from a- of London General Insurance Company Limited (LGI) and London General Life Company Limited (LGL). Both companies are domiciled in Surrey, U.K. and assessed together as the TWG Europe Limited (TWGE) rating unit. The outlooks assigned to these Credit Ratings (ratings) is stable. These rating actions follow the May 31, 2018 announcement by Assurant, Inc. (Assurant) (headquartered in New York, NY) [NYSE:AIZ] that it has completed the acquisition of TWG Holdings Limited and its subsidiaries (TWG), including VSCI, LGI and LGL, from TPG Capital. The ratings reflect VSCIs balance sheet strength, which A.M. Best categorizes as very strong, as well as its adequate operating performance, neutral business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management (ERM). The ratings also reflect VSCIs strategic importance to Assurant. From a strategic standpoint, VSCI strengthens Assurants position in the vehicle protection business in addition to enhancing its distribution platform. These positive rating factors are offset by the inherent credit risk associated with ceding significant portions of the business to non-rated, unauthorized captive reinsurers. The credit risk is somewhat mitigated by the use of collateral through letters of credit, trust accounts and funds held on recoverable balances. The ratings of LGI and LGL reflect TWGEs balance sheet strength, which A.M. Best categorizes as strongest, as well as its adequate operating performance, limited business profile and appropriate ERM. The ratings benefit from the companies strategic importance and expected integration within Assurant. In particular, A.M. Best expects TWGE to enhance Assurants scale in its niche vehicle protection segment, and deepen its geographical footprint in Europe. A.M. Best also expects TWGEs risk-adjusted capitalization to remain at the strongest level, underpinned by good internal capital generation and financial flexibility. An offsetting rating factor in the assessment of TWGEs balance sheet strength is the relatively small and diminishing size of its balance sheet, which exposes its risk-adjusted capitalization to potential volatility. The company has a track record of good underwriting performance, with a three-year average combined ratio of 95% (2015-2017). TWGE has a niche profile in the extended warranty and accidental damage segments across Europe that has a track record of good underwriting performance. A.M. Best expects premium volumes to decline over the medium term as the group protects its underwriting margin. An additional offsetting rating factor is TWGEs highly concentrated customer base. This press release relates to Credit Ratings that have been published on A.M. Bests website. For all rating information relating to the release and pertinent disclosures, including details of the office responsible for issuing each of the individual ratings referenced in this release, please see A.M. Bests Recent Rating Activity web page. For additional information regarding the use and limitations of Credit Rating opinions, please view Understanding Bests Credit Ratings. For information on the proper media use of Bests Credit Ratings and A.M. Best press releases, please view Guide for Media - Proper [..]. A.M. Best is a global rating agency and information provider with a unique focus on the insurance industry. Visit www.ambest.com for more information. Copyright 2018 by A.M. Best Rating Services, Inc. and/or its affiliates. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180802005 PR-Inside.com: 2018-08-03 01:56:59 Press Information Published by ACN Newswire +65 6304 8926 e-mail https://www.acnnewswire.com/ # 781 Words ACN Newswire+65 6304 8926 Selangor, Malaysia, Aug 2, 2018 - (ACN Newswire) - The Minangkabau people in Indonesia's West Sumatra practice a unique blend of culture and religion that could be making them more resistant than others to Islamic radicalism, according to a study published in the Pertanika Journal of Social Sciences & Humanities. Understanding what gives these people their resilience could help combat radicalism elsewhere.The Minangkabau are the largest ethnic group on Indonesia's island of Sumatra. They are the world's largest matrilineal society, where children take their mother's name, property is inherited by daughters, and the family home is formed of women, with husbands merely given visiting rights.Traditionally, the Minangkabau are animists, believing that living and inanimate objects and places all possess an element of spirituality. The culture also absorbed elements of Hinduism and Buddhism. When Islam arrived in West Sumatra in the 16th Century, the Minangkabau merged it into their existing culture rather than wholly replacing their long-standing traditions.Welhendri Azwar of The State Islamic University of Imam Bonjol Padang in West Sumatra says radicalism does not develop in the province because the local communities possess a self-defense mechanism rooted in their form of Sufi Islam. The Minangkabau's 'Tariqa' culture places emphasis on developing an inner spiritual experience that is then reinforced by following the teachings of Islamic Shariah law.Azwar reviewed the literature on Minangkabau's unique form of Islam and conducted focus groups and individual interviews to gain an in-depth understanding of this culture's resilience against radicalism.He found that the peaceful and pacifist Minangkabau Tariqa culture rejects violence and aggressive means of imposing ideology. Their strong attachments to local traditions and culture mean that they do not accept having their varied customs criticized by hardliners. Instead, they practice the parable: "Do not fight violence with violence, but welcome violence with friendliness." The Minangkabau's form of Islam also gives lots of room for open interpretation of religious text. This means that the rigid interpretations imposed by radical Muslims fail to gain a foothold amongst local communities.The Tariqa Sufi culture is largely based on the presence of a teacher who has students or followers. Tariqa teachers are known for their strong charismatic characters, with their students showing them respect and allegiance. The teachers thus have very strong standings within the community, with the Minangkabau basing many of their decisions on what they are told by their teachers. This keeps the Tariqa culture strong and resilient to outsider influence."This study highlights that combating radicalism in religion does not necessarily need a legal approach," writes Azwar. "It can be done through local wisdom; i.e. the potential and strength that exist in society can be harnessed to counter radicalism... The power of naturally formed 'immunity' arising from society can more effectively control and dampen, even kill, various forms of violence and ideology," Azwar concludes.For more information about each research, please contact:Welhendri Azwar, Department of Islamic Community Development, Faculty of Da'wah and Communication, The State Islamic University of Imam Bonjol Padang, West Sumatra, Indonesia, Email: welhendri_azwar@ yahoo.co.id About Pertanika Journal of Social Sciences & Humanities (JSSH)Pertanika Journal of Social Sciences & Humanities (JSSH) is published by Universiti Putra Malaysia in English and is open to authors around the world regardless of nationality. It is published four times a year in March, June, September and December. Other Pertanika series include Pertanika Journal of Tropical Agricultural Science (JTAS), and Pertanika Journal of Science & Technology (JST).JSSH aims to develop as a pioneer journal for the social sciences with a focus on emerging issues pertaining to the social and behavioural sciences as well as the humanities. Areas relevant to the scope of the journal include Social Sciences - Accounting, anthropology, Archaeology and history, Architecture and habitat, Consumer and family economics, Economics, Education, Finance, Geography, Law, Management studies, Media and communication studies, Political sciences and public policy, Population studies, Psychology, Sociology, Technology management, Tourism; Humanities - Arts and culture, Dance, Historical and civilisation studies, Language and Linguistics, Literature, Music, Philosophy, Religious studies, Sports.The journal publishes original academic articles dealing with research on issues of worldwide relevance. The journals cater for scientists, professors, researchers, post-docs, scholars and students who wish to promote and communicate advances in the fields of Social Sciences & Humanities research.For more information about the journal, contact:The Chief Executive Editor (UPM Journals), Head, Journal Division, UPM Press, Office of the Deputy Vice Chancellor (R&I), IDEA Tower 2, UPM-MDTC Technology Centre, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia. Phone: +603 8947 1622 | +6016 217 4050, Email: nayan@ upm.my Pertanika Journals website: http://www.pertanika.upm.edu.my/ Research paper: https://bit.ly/2MfBA2C Press release distributed by ResearchSEA for Pertanika Journal. PR-Inside.com: 2018-08-03 16:58:18 Press Information Published by ACN Newswire +65 6304 8926 e-mail https://www.acnnewswire.com/ # 482 Words ACN Newswire+65 6304 8926 Starting IoT business from Southeast Asia and the U.S.TOKYO, Aug 3, 2018 - (JCN Newswire) - KDDI CORPORATION and SORACOM Inc. ( soracom.io) have agreed to advance new IoT business operations by combining the SORACOM IoT telecommunications platform with the systems integration services offered by local KDDI subsidiaries worldwide. The two companies plan to begin offering IoT business services in Southeast Asia and the United States in July 2018, then to undertake a phased expansion to other regions.With 100 offices worldwide, KDDI has know-how in providing corporate customers in every country with ICT solutions. Since December 2016, SORACOM has been offering SORACOM Air for Cellular, which is now available in more than 100 countries and territories. IoT-adapted service functionality includes subscriber management (HLR/HSS), flexible fee structuring and line management making it free of charge when not in use. Chip-based SIM technology provides characteristics that are lacking in Air SIM designed for Japan.The service is already in use with the POCKETALK ultra-miniature translation device offered by SOURCENEXT Corp., and with Opendoor, the U.S. real estate platform.KDDI Singapore and KDDI America are now working with SORACOM companies and the SORACOM IoT telecommunications platform to provide services in Southeast Asia and the United States. The services support client business operations by providing new IoT solutions that include systems integration as well as a comprehensive range of functions necessary for IoT system construction and operation. Among these are transmission line management, device management, cloud connectivity, private network connections and more.By linking KDDI's IoT business infrastructure with SORACOM's telecommunications platform in this way, both companies will be able to make powerful progress in the construction of an IoT platform that works globally. They will also be able to apply their accumulated IoT/M2M knowledge and customer bases to build IoT business.As KDDI Group works to achieve our goal of integrating telecommunications and life design, we will contribute to our customers' business as a company that is always offering exciting new ideas and creating a new customer experience value.About KDDIKDDI is the second largest telecommunication service provider in Japan, offering both mobile and fixed-line communications. With its well-established base of over 50 million customers, and through mobile services and shops offering its "au" brand, KDDI is expanding its services into the "Life Design" business, which includes fintech, e-commerce and nationwide electric power utility services.KDDI ( www.kddi.com/english ) is today focused on creating smart infrastructure through IoT technologies and open innovation with partners and start-up companies in diverse industries. KDDI is accelerating the global growth of its telecommunications consumer business with operations in Myanmar and Mongolia, and in the global ICT business with the TELEHOUSE brand. KDDI (TYO:9433) is listed on the Tokyo stock exchange.This press release is an abridged translation of the press release announced in Japan. Zimbabwes opposition leader Nelson Chamisa on Friday slammed the fake resultsof the countrys historic election that returned incumbent President Emmerson Mnangagwa to power. The Zimbabwe Electoral Commissions scandal of releasing unverified fake results is regrettable, the 40-year-old leader of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) said on Twitter. ZEC denied our election agent access to results be4 announcement. ZEC must release proper & verified results endorsed by parties, Chamisa tweeted. Results released overnight Thursday gave Mnangagwa 50.8 percent of the vote and Chamisa 44.3 per cent. While Mnangagwa welcomed the results and called for peace, Chamisa rejected the outcome outright. The level of opaqueness, truth deficiency, moral decay & values deficit is baffling, the MDC leader said. During the televised presentation of the results, Chamisas spokesman attempted to give a speech but was heckled and booed offstage by locals who said they wanted to hear from the commission. Harare which voted heavily for Chamisa was quiet Friday with no signs of celebration. There had been an uneasy calm in the city since a brutal crackdown on protesters by security forces on Monday, in which six people were killed. The poll was the first in almost four decades without longtime leader Robert Mugabe on the ballot. Mugabe, 94, had grown increasingly unpopular for his repressive rule and the countrys economic malaise. He was ousted in a military coup in November and replaced by erstwhile ally Mnangagwa. This is a new beginning. Let us join hands, in peace, unity & love, & together build a new Zimbabwe for all! Mnangagwa tweeted after winning. (dpa/NAN) South Africas ruling African National Congress (ANC) on Friday voiced confidence in the Zimbabwean elections whose results were challenged by the Zimbabwean opposition. The ANC is confident the results of these elections are a reflection of the will of the people of Zimbabwe, ANC National Spokesperson, Pule Mabe, said in a statement. Invited by the Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF), the ANC sent a team to observe the elections, in which ZANU-PF won a majority of seats in the National Assembly with Emmerson Mnangagwa emerging as Zimbabweas new president. We want to take this opportunity to congratulate ZANU-PF for having won a majority of seats in the Zimbabwean national assembly. We also congratulate Mr Mnangagwa on his election as President of Zimbabwe, Mabe said. The Zimbabwean opposition has said the elections were fraudulent, illegal, illegitimate. Opposition leader, Nelson Chamisa, has vowed to challenge the election results. Six people have been killed in Zimbabwea in violence related to the elections. The ANC calls on all citizens of Zimbabwe, including opposition parties, to accept this democratic outcome, Mabe said, adding that the loss of life and violent outbreaks in the streets is regrettable. Democracy and the people of Zimbabwe have emerged as undisputed winners, Mabe said. The ANC urges the newly-elected leadership to pay focused attention on the socio-economic challenges that confront the people of Zimbabwe, said Mabe. (Xinhua/NAN) A run-off vote has been set for August 12 in Mali after neither incumbent Ibrahim Keita nor his arch-rival Soumaila Cisse managed to muster a majority in the first round of a tense but peaceful presidential poll. Mr Keita took 41.4 per cent of the vote in the first round against 17.8 per cent, for Mr Cisse, the minister for territorial administration, Mohamed Erlaf, announced in the capital Bamako late Thursday. Many of the eight million eligible voters cast their ballots on July 29 in spite of a volatile security situation in the countrys north and centre, where various Islamist and separatist groups regularly stage attacks. Isolated security incidents, however, prevented voting in 105 of the West African nations 23,000 polling stations, the ministry of territorial administration said. Mr Keitas popularity has plummeted since his election in 2013, but the 73-year-old has a good chance of winning a second five-year term in the run-off: No sitting president has ever lost an election in the former French colony. (dpa/NAN) Russias Foreign Ministry said on Friday a preliminary investigation showed that three Russian journalists were killed in the Central African Republic on July 30 by assailants who wanted to rob them. The three journalists, whose employer said they were investigating Russian mercenaries in the torn country, tried to resist their attackers when they were killed, spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said at a briefing in Moscow on Friday. Russian online news organization Investigation Control Centre (TsUR) said in a Facebook post the three journalists identified as Orhan Dzhemal, Alexander Rastorguyev and Kirill Radchenko were in the country on an assignment. Russias foreign ministry confirmed in a statement that three people with identification documents belonging to Dzhemal, Rastorguyev and Radchenko had been found dead and their bodies had been brought back to the capital Bangui. TsUR said the journalists had been investigating the activities of the so-called Wagner group, an organization of private military contractors which, people with ties to the group have told Reuters, carried out clandestine combat missions on the Kremlins behalf in eastern Ukraine and Syria. Local and international media have reported that Wagner operates in CAR since Russia delivered light arms to the countrys security forces this year and deployed hundreds of military and civilian instructors to train them. Reuters has been unable to verify the reports. Russian authorities deny that the Wagner groups contractors are carrying out their orders. Henri Depele, the mayor of the town of Sibut, around 200 km (125 miles) northeast of the capital Bangui, said the journalists were killed at around 10 p.m. (2100 GMT) on Monday. Their driver survived the attack. According to the drivers explanations, when they were 23 km from Sibut armed men emerged from the bush and opened fire on the vehicle. The three journalists died instantly, he said. TsURs statement said the journalists flew into Central African Republic last Friday and that its last contact with them was on Sunday evening. The organisation is financed by Mikhail Khodorkovsky, a former Russian oil tycoon who was jailed on corruption charges and now lives outside Russia. He is one of the most vehement critics of Russian President Vladimir Putin. TsUR has published a number of investigations alleging corruption by senior members of Putins entourage. Central African Republic has been ravaged by violence, often fought along religious lines between predominantly Christian and Muslim militia, since a 2013 rebellion overthrew then-President Francois Bozize. Most of the country is beyond the control of the Bangui government and a 12,000-strong U.N. peacekeeping mission has struggled to keep a lid on the violence. (Reuters/NAN) An Indian national and businessman has revealed that he left the United Kingdom to settle and do businesses in Nigeria because of tax reasons, a claim suggesting that Nigerias tax system is either more business friendly or easier to manipulate. Sanjeev Raj Kapoors declarations were contained in the information he provided to the infamous offshore provider, Mossac Fonseca, details of which were obtained recently by PREMIUM TIMES and its ICIJ partners. In 2016, details of the leaked Mossac Fonsecas database, known as the #PanamaPapers, shook the world as many notable figures, including Nigerians, were named in the infamous database. In the new records obtained by the ICIJ and shared with PREMIUM TIMES, Mr Kapoor, a businessman, disclosed that he lived in London for many years and moved to Lagos in Nigeria on April 5, 2013. I moved for tax reasons from England on 5th April 2013 and since then I have been both non-resident and non-domiciled in the United Kingdom, he said. I now spend less than 90 days in the UK. I now live permanently in Lagos, Nigeria. The businessman said he resides in Banana Island in Lagos, one of the most expensive real estate locations in Nigeria. According to details of his disclosures, the businessman has been working and residing in Nigeria since July 1978 a period of almost 39 years having arrived Nigeria when he was 22 years old and lived with his wife. In 1996 my wife and three children moved to London because my elder daughter was 12 years old and we had to move her into the British school system, he wrote in the disclosure. Since then for the last 16 years till 5th April 2013 I was between Lagos and London doing one month at a time in each place. On 5th April 2013 I have moved permanently to Lagos. Nigeria. Controversial Identity Mr Kapoor was compelled to supply the details while requesting for certificates of good standing and incumbency for his offshore shell company, Vital Asset Management Ltd. The company owns three flats in Dubai and the businessman wanted to open a bank account to lodge cheques issued to him by his tenants. But by its response, Mossac Fonseca was unconvinced that the businessman was not the individual identified in its due diligence searches as having been restrained from accessing the Indian securities market. Searches by Mossac Fonseca revealed that the Indian, also named Sanjeev Kapoor, was in addition barred from accepting any loans or deposits intended for share market from the public in January 2004. Mr Kapoor, however, disagreed vehemently with Mossac Fonseca, saying he was never at any time barred from the Indian stock market. He added that he was not the Sanjeev Kapoor identified by Mossac Fonseca in their searches. I can even give you a sworn affidavit that the Sanjeev Kapoor in your search is not me and for that matter I dont have any clue who it is, he wrote. The family name Kapoor is a very common name in india and a Sanjeev Kapoor is a very famous Chef in India. We all happen to be namesakes. Nautilus Trust ; from Circle Trust to New World Trust to Nautilus Trust and now to First Trustees have known me since 1982 which is 34 years. I started with them when they were called the Circle Trust then they merged and were called the New World Trust ; then they merged again to be called the Nautilus Trust then now they have merged once again to be called First Trust. They can also confirm that I have always only worked in Nigeria. Therefore and in conclusion I say that the Sanjeev Kapoor of Max Portfolios in Calcutta is not me and has nothing to do with me. Leaving UK, Settling for Nigeria Mr Kapoor co-owns a few businesses in Nigeria, including Vital Products Plc and West African Tobacco Ltd. He also has property investments in London and Dubai. Although an Indian national, he said he had never worked or done any business in India. Born in 1955 to Indian parents, he said he is a permanent resident in Nigeria and pays a lot of income tax to the Nigerian authorities since he opted to leave the UK because of tax issues. It is not immediately clear why Mr Kapoor chose to do businesses in Nigeria because of tax. A London-based journalist told PREMIUM TIMES that the reasons given might not be connected with the decision made. The UK tax authorities have considerably slashed company tax since 2008, he said. From April 1, 2015, there is a single Corporation Tax rate of 20 per cent for non-ring fence profits. There are also different rates for ring fence companies. Ring Fence companies are companies that make profits from oil extraction or oil rights in the UK or UK continental shelf. In 2015, the UK government in its Summer Budget announced legislation setting the Corporation Tax main rate (for all profits except ring fence profits) at 19 per cent for the years starting April 2017, 2018 and 2019; and at 18 percent for the year starting April 1, 2020. By 2016, the government had announced a further reduction of the Corporation Tax main rate (for all profits except ring fence profits) for the year starting April 1, 2020, setting the rate at 17 per cent. The Company Income Tax in Nigeria, however, has remained at 30 per cent. His business in the UK might be coming to a natural end or there may be a pressing need. UK company tax has reduced significantly from 28 percent in 2008 to 19 percent today, said the London-based journalist and due diligence expert. Business rates have gone up a lot in the UK recently. The UK also has all sorts of research and development allowances which business people like. In the UK it is relatively easy to set up businesses too. Mr. Kapoor could not be reached to comment for this story. He did not answer or return multiple calls made to his Nigerian and UK telephones. The wife of a slain Peoples Democratic Party leader in Apapa, Lagos State, Silifat Aborishade, has urged the police to drop the criminal charges filed against some of her husbands alleged killers. Adeniyi Aborishade, the PDP chairman in Apapa local council, died in a hospital after sustaining gunshot injuries during a party meeting on July 22. The police said a fracas had broken out during a PDP meeting in Eti-Osa local council between a faction loyal to Moshood Salvador, the states party chairman, and that of Kehinde Fasasi, the local government chairman. Mr Salvador told PREMIUM TIMES he had left the venue of the meeting before the shooting began. Last week, the police arraigned Messrs Salvador and Fasasi alongside nine other party leaders before a Yaba magistrate court on two counts of conspiracy and unlawful killing. The magistrate ordered that they be remanded in prison till August 27 to await the advice of the Lagos State Director of Public Prosecutions. In her letter addressed to the Deputy Commissioner of Police in Lagos, Mrs. Aborishade said five of the accused persons were, in fact, the complainants in the suit. The affected suspects include Mr Fasasi; Amos Fawole, chapter chairman, Surulere local council; Rotimi Kujore, party chairman, chapter chairman, Lagos Island local council; Fatai Adele, chapter chairman, Mushin local council; and Ismaila Abiola, chapter chairman, Amuwo Odofin local council. I wish to further state with emphasis that the five accused persons are not in anyway responsible for the death of my husband, they are the complainants that has now for reasons best known to the prosecution, turned into the accused/victims in this unfortunate situation, Mrs Aborishade said. The news of the above named persons detention at the State CIID, Panti, Yaba, and subsequent conviction on charges of conspiracy/ murder came as an utter shock and surprise to me, as same appears hasty and laced with malice. According to Mrs Aborishade, the five suspects were the ones that reported her husbands death at the Ilasan police station, and were referred to the State Criminal Investigation Department at Panti where they were detained and later charged to court. I wish to state with emphasis that the 2nd-6th defendants are on the same camp with my husband till his demise as they are close friends and fellow chairmen of their respective local governments, she added. She further stated that her husbands gunshot injuries had been attended to at the hospital because one of the suspects, Dr Fawole, who is a medical doctor, had provided her husbands medical history and also paid for his treatment. The 2nd-6th defendants are my late husbands helpers who did everything within their reach to save my husbands life and as a result do not deserve to be treated inhumanly like criminals which they clearly are not. When contacted, Chike Oti, the Lagos police spokesperson, declined to comment because the matter is no longer in the police station. The matter is subjudice as it were and no comment can be made on the matter that is receiving the attention of the court. The Chief of Army Staff, Tukur Buratai, has circulated a set of operational guidelines warning Nigerian Army commanders of grave consequences should they abandon their positions in the face of firepower from Boko Haram insurgents. The 180-word memo, sent to all commanders at all levels, formations and locations in the nine-year-long war against Islamist militants across Nigerias North-east, was a direct response to the recent killing and maiming of soldiers and officers by terrorists, amidst renewed fears of a resurgent Boko Haram. At least two officers and 43 soldiers have been killed in Boko Haram attacks on military targets between July 13 and 26, a shocking setback that sent the countrys top military brass seething, PREMIUM TIMES learnt. Recent occurrences in Operation Lafiya Dole where units abandon their positions cowardly in the face of action from Boko Haram terrorists without reasonable resistance is worrisome, Mr Buratai said in the July 27 memo to all commanders, adding that it portrayed them as incompetent and cowardly. It also has the potentials to rubbish all the laudable gains made in the war against Boko Haram Consequently, Mr Buratai, a lieutenant-general, said any commander who abandons his position in the face of enemy fire leading to avoidable death of troops and loss of equipment will be subjected to harsh punishments as enumerated in the Armed Forces Act. All should be reminded that the law recommended any officer or soldier found guilty of cowardly behavior shall on conviction by a court martial be liable to suffer death or any less punishment provided by the Act, depending on the circumstances of the case. Multiple military sources authenticated the document to PREMIUM TIMES, days after political activist Deji Adeyanju first disclosed its content to his followers on Twitter. A misplaced swagger A spokesperson for the Nigerian Army would not comment on the memo, but commanders and other soldiers on the field said they found it intimidating, distracting and disturbing. The troops, who spoke under strict anonymity to avoid being punished for unathorised interaction with the media, said Mr Buratai completely failed to discuss the real triggers of the recent killings of soldiers and the general resistance of Boko Haram fighters. Hes supposed to provide strategic intelligence to the troops, a commander said. But had severally informed them and the world that BH is completely defeated. Nigerien soldiers [Photo Credit: Wikipedia] The commander, who noted that Mr Buratai would likely start with officers found wanting in the recent attacks on a military base in Yobe and another in Jakana, Borno State, said the troops lacked adequate supplies. Between July 21 and 26, 17 soldiers were killed and 18 wounded in multiple Boko Haram attacks All the armoured vehicles and T72 tanks brought by former President Goodluck Jonathan (which this govt refused to sustain) have broken down and in a state of disrepair, the officer said. The officer said reinforcements for detachments under attacks are often late, when they come at all. This has led them having to beg for support from neighbouring countries. Imagine Cameroonian soldiers had to come 60 kilometres into Nigeria to support us in Sambisa, he said. We keep begging them to support us becuase they have the equipment that we dont have. Same thing being done with Chad at the Lake Chad region, it is really sad, the officer said before quoting the apocryphal saying that defines insanity as doing the same thing over and again while expecting a different result. Since July 13, at least 45 soldiers and commanders have been killed in confrontation with Boko Haram. The terrorists also stormed military brigades to kill troops and cart away equipment and supplies, including food items in large quantity. At least 50 were wounded in critical conditions. The sudden surge in attacks on troops followed months of remarkable drop in Boko Haram attacks on soldiers. While civilians were still being regularly killed, and some troops being lost in intermittent ambushes, whole-scale attacks targeting military formations and detachments were rare since the October 2016 killing of scores of soldiers in River Komadogou Yobe. Although military commanders and soldiers affected by the attacks at the time told PREMIUM TIMES inadequate supply of food, equipment and arbitrary deductions in their allowances were to blame, the Army launched a probe into the incident without disclosing its outcome. A few weeks after in December 2016, some soldiers attempted to lynch Victor Ezeugwu, the commander of Nigerian Army 7 Division headquartered at Maimalari cantonment, after he left them on the battlefront for two days without food supplies. In an incident as recent as last November, soldiers on the battlefront complained to PREMIUM TIMES they were going weeks without allowances, which they had long decried as inadequate in the circumstance. Another source said Mr Buratais apparently premature victory lap, largely drawn from the position of President Muhammadu Buhari, has given troops a false sense of the complexity of the war, as well as the timeline of the withdrawal. So, it is not only the problem about lack of food or equipment to fight Boko Haram or even the small allowances but everyone is relaxed that Boko Haram had been defeated, another military commander said. Striking Balance But Mr Buratais warning was silent on whether the troops would see an immediate improvement in their welfare, equipment and supplies and air support that would boost their morale on the battlefield. It only said that Section 47 of the Armed Forces Act would be activated against soldiers who retreat in the face of Boko Haram attacks. Although the section prohibited troops from abandoning their outposts in the face of enemy fire, it also contains clauses that allowed troops to preserve their lives under clear conditions. It shall be a valid defence under this section if the surrender or abandonment of a place, post or thing by a person charged with its defence is justified by reason of superior order, the utmost necessity such as want of provisions, water, logistic support, the absence of hope or relief, inability to offer further resistance or the certainty or extreme probability that no further efforts could prevent the place, post or thing falling into enemy hands, the law said. Boko Haram sect used to illustrate the story Security analyst Mukhtar DanIyan told PREMIUM TIMES the law was balanced enough and Mr Buratais threats would only further worsen the situation unless they are immediately reversed and the working conditions of troops prioritised instead. Mr Buratai is only following the footsteps of Alex Badeh who said they would kill troops who run from enemy fire and bury them on the field, the New York-based analyst said. That did not turn out well because it was not the best approach to take. It is still not the best approach to take now because we all know Nigerian soldiers are brave they want to fight to win, he said. But you cannot do that when you are facing superior firepower, that is a suicide mission. The expert said Nigerian soldiers are not contracted to die on the battlefronts but to help defend the territorial integrity of their fatherland from internal and external aggression. Nigeria is not Iran which found young persons and sent them to the battlefield and died during the Gulf War, he said. Our soldiers are supposed to help their country but they are not sent to deliberately die there. They are not getting the support they need to boost their morale and be successful. We can only hope that Mr Buratai would relax on his anger on his men because it is not going to make them fight hard, but would only demoralise them further, Mr DanIyan said. Experts also drew a connection between the harsh conditions troops face in the Boko Haram war and the growing rate of suicide amongst those deployed in the North-east. Last November, a captain on active deployment was gunned down by a sergeant. In June, another captain committed suicide after undergoing initial examination for mental health symptoms. The military said the incidences would be investigated, but it was unclear whether anything was done to forestall a repeat. Political and security analyst Chris Ngwodo told PREMIUM TIMES Mr Buratai should be interrogating the apparent and remote causes of the renewed Boko Haram exploits that suggested the insurgents have regrouped after months of relative success by the military. The narrative was that the war was being gradually won, Mr Ngwodo said. The issue is what has changed to create the kind of attacks that we are seeing now? What has changed that contributed to the low morale of our soldiers, who have been commended for their gallantry, he said. Why are they now being called cowards by their leadership? These are the issues that must be interrogated, the analyst said in Abuja. I do not think that is the most effect way of turning around the performance of the military in the North-east. The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), on Friday said that it had recovered more than 693 containers of power equipment abandoned at ports due to tariff. The Managing Director (MD) of TCN, Usman Mohammed, said this in a statement in Lagos. Mr Mohammed said that some of the power equipment had been auctioned by the Nigeria Customs Service, but said that TCN would had to go after the auctioneers to recover the containers. TCN still has over 200 other containers auctioned by the Customs outside the ports, he said. According to him, the recovery was achieved last week, as it revealed that some of the containers had been stranded at various ports for about 15 years. Mr Mohammed said: We were able to recover 693 containers as of last week, out of a total of 800 containers that have been in the ports. Some of these containers have been there for 15 years. Others have been auctioned and we had to trace the auctioneers to get the containers. The government is supporting us. And with the same way they are supporting us, I know that as government has beamed its searchlight on the distribution companies, they are going to solve the problems with power distribution, he said. Mr Mohammed said the government was set to solve the problems in the distribution arm of the power sector. He disclosed that the government had approved that the TCN anchor the N72 billion the Federal Government planned to invest in the 11 electricity distribution companies in Nigeria. Mr Mohammed said that the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola got the approval for the TCN to manage the N72 billion planned investment in the Discos. (NAN) A senator, Abdullahi Adamu (APC-Nasarawa), has faulted the defection of the President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki, from the All Progressives Congress (APC) to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Mr Adamu, who made this known in an interview with journalists in Abuja on Friday, said Saraki had stepped on banana peel and should be prepared to bear the consequences of his action. Messrs Adamu and Saraki, former political allies, have been antagonists since the former accused the senate president of working against the interest of President Muhammadu Buhari. Mr Saraki earlier in the week attacked Mr Adamu, saying he was a deceptive, manipulative and desperate liar. He feels the best way to play his self-survival game and ingratiate himself to the government in order to save his skin is for him to be seen to be fighting Saraki, even if that would require him to tell brazen lies and peddle mischief in his old age, Me Saraki said of the Nasarawa senator who had repeatedly criticised him. In his Friday statement on the senate president, Mr Adamu said, If Saraki knows political intricacies and the political terrain or the path where the banana peel in political landscape is, he will be more cautious. The way he is going now, he has obviously stepped on banana peel and only God knows how far he will slip. I will not pretend. I think he made a mistake and he took a wrong decision. He will have stories to tell along the line. It is not the best he could have done. He had a duty to his father to keep the flag of the family flying but the way he is going, I do not think he is doing that. He then urged Mr Saraki to step down to avert consequences, adding that he should honourably return the crown or be ready to bear the consequences. Mr Adamu, who heads a pro-Buhari Support Group in the Senate, vowed that with the defection, it would not be business as usual. He explained that the defection of Saraki and the other lawmakers is a game changer. Senator Abdullahi Adamu We expect them to do it amicably and peacefully. They should make sure they do not run away with our crown. If they think they will go and nothing will happen and that it will be business as usual, then they need to think again. I will not say whether we will take steps or not take steps. We hope that between now and resumption of Senate plenary, more events will unfold. We do not want to be in a hurry to speculate. The lawmaker, however, said that if Mr Saraki insisted on leading a Senate with majority of lawmakers from the APC, there would be repercussions. On the belief that Mr Saraki did not do anything constitutionally wrong by defecting, and that there was a precedence where former Speaker of House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal, defected but remained the Speaker, Mr Adamu said it will not happen this time. We are more educated on the rules now. On gale of defections from the ruling party, Mr Adamu said he would not want any member to leave the party again, noting, however, that it was a free world and everyone was at liberty to join the party of his or her choice. Apart from Mr Adamu, some other APC senators like Ali Ndume have also called for Mr Sarakis resignation. The APC National Chairman, Adams Oshiomhole, has also made a similar call. Mr Saraki, who Thursday attended a PDP executive council meeting in Abuja, has however insisted he would not resign. The APC would also face a herculean task to legally remove him from office based on the constitutional two-third requirement needed. Apart from enjoying the support of PDP senators, Mr Saraki also enjoys the support of many APC senators. The President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki, has called on members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to work together in defence of democracy and with the aim of providing good governance to Nigerians. He stated this at the 81st National Executive Council (NEC) meeting of the party, where he and some other defectors who recently moved to the PDP made their first appearance at their new party. He emphasised the need for inclusiveness, justice, equity and sacrifices in order to ensure that Nigerians feel the impact of the party in preparation for the 2019 general elections. For me, I am happy that I am back to the political party where I started. I am happy to see many of my colleagues here. Men and women, who have given me faith. Men and women, who make me to believe that there are still people of character. Many of you have made and are always ready to make sacrifices for this great party and for this nation, because you all want a better tomorrow. Now that this day has come, we have been brought together in unity, and we will forge ahead as one. Mr. Saraki who was crowned the leader of the PDP, being the highest public office holder in the party, urged members of the PDP NEC, to endeavour to acknowledge the contributions of every member of the party, regardless of who they are or where they stand. What we have learnt from history, and what we have continued to see, is that everyone is important on this journey that we are embarking, and no sacrifice is too much for us to make to reach that promised land. However, we will only reach that promised land when we see a greater tomorrow for our people, and for all Nigerians. Therefore, I want to make an appeal on behalf of all of us when we get back to our constituencies, please, let us continue to open our arms and receive the people who have the numbers that will give us victory come February 2019. This is because, we are all here to work towards a better and greater tomorrow on behalf of all Nigerians, Saraki said. He thanked the party for welcoming back himself, his state governor, Abdulfatah Ahmed; Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State; and Governor Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto State, back to the party. On behalf of all of us, those who have left, and are now happy to be back here, I want to assure you that we will work tirelessly to do what is right and put this country in the right situation. Mr Saraki also pledged to join others in the PDP towards making the nations democracy stronger, providing security, stronger economy and quality service delivery for the benefit of the people. The message that I would like to leave you all with, is: Let us all work together, so that this time, our sacrifice can truly be worth it for all our people. I thank you for how the warm reception you have given to us. We are grateful that you have received us into where we truly belong, he said. Nigerias Nobel Laureate, Wole Soyinka, on Thursday threw shades at former President Olusegun Obasanjo over the retired generals hijacking propensity. Mr Soyinka urged the ex-Nigerian leader to keep away from political movements put in place by patriots to restore Nigeria to the path of development. He said this at the launch of his book, Interventions VIII published by Book Craft, held in Lagos. Mr Soyinka warned Mr Obasanjo against associating with Nigerians preoccupied with plans to reposition the nation and put it on the path of progressive growth. He said, in reference to Mr Obasanjo: I have only one demand: Keep away from movements struggling to restore this country to the path of sanity and even moderate rectitude. End your hijacking propensity. The dramatist also denied online comments credited to him on the current defections by members of the Nigerian political class, especially in the ruling All Progressives Congress. He said, The business of fake news is becoming very alarming. The unscrupulous attachment of ones name with something which I had never said or even thought and the brazen imposition of ones identity on such outpouring is so canning, so dishonest. It is disgusting and cowardly. I want the press to be very alert to this and sensitise the public on such materials the way banks do. They should check any information properly before they make an industry out of total lies, he said. The literary icon also alluded to the fact that the Muhammadu Buhari administration is troubled by several acts of mis-governance and unforced errors. There are unforced errors and acts that are considered stupid. And failure to secure lives and languages of self-excusing which were condemned in the past but resurfacing all over the place, he said. Also, failure to exert authority when and immediately when due which led to the killings. There is a cheapening of lives. The value of lives in the last year or so, on a level we havent witnessed in the country for a long time; and that is one of the reasons it has become essential that we all embark on ground- clearing for a new generation of leaders. And to make sure that in the process, we dont bring back what we are just getting out from. That is one of the stupid acts that we could be held responsible for by the coming generation. The session was moderated by veteran journalist, Kunle Ajibade; human rights lawyer, Femi Falana; and columnist and Editorial Board chair of The Nation newspaper, Sam Omatseye. President Muhammadu Buhari will address the 73rd Session of the high-level General Debate of the UN General Assembly at the UN headquarters in New York on Tuesday, September 25. Mr Buhari would deliver Nigerias National Statement on the first day of the general debate of the General Assembly high-level events. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Nigerian leader has been placed as the number 20 on the list of the speakers out of the 193 world leaders that would address the Assembly. NAN also reports that he would deliver the address to the Assembly during the afternoon session on the first day between 8.00 p.m. and 9.00 p.m. (between 1.00 a.m. and 2.00 a.m. Nigerian time). The President of Brazil would be the first world leader to present his address to the 73rd session followed by the U.S. President, Donald Trump, the traditional second speaker, being the host country. Recall that during the 2017 Session of the General Debate of the Assembly, Buhari was the eighth speaker out of the 193 world leaders who addressed the Assembly. His address made it one of any Nigerian leaders earliest address at the annual general debate of the intergovernmental organisation. The 2018 General Assembly would be Mr Buharis fourth outing at the annual general debate of the Assembly since becoming president in 2015. The Nigerian leaders address during his first outing in 2015, in part, outlined his three cardinal agenda security, economy and anti-corruption. His two subsequent addresses in his outings in 2016 and 2017 also highlighted some of his achievements so far in these areas. The 73rd session of the Assembly would open on September 18, 2018, till October 5, while the General Debate would commence on September 25 to October 1. The session would be presided over by Maria Fernanda Espinosa Garces of Ecuador. The theme of the general debate would be, Making the United Nations Relevant to All People: Global Leadership and Shared Responsibilities for Peaceful, Equitable and Sustainable Societies. In accordance with rule 1 of the rules of procedure, the General Assembly shall meet every year in regular session commencing on the Tuesday of the third week in September, counting from the first week that contains at least one working day. (NAN) The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) on Friday said no fewer than 643 Nigerians voluntarily returned from Libya in the last five weeks. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Director General of NEMA, Mustapha Maihajja, made the disclosure while receiving a new batch of 166 returnees who arrived in Lagos on Thursday night. Mr Maihajja, represented by the South West Zonal Coordinator of NEMA, Yakubu Suleiman, said the Nigerians were assisted back by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM). According to him, the returnees arrived at the Cargo Wing of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos at 10.50 p.m. on Thursday night aboard a Libyan airline with registration number 5A-DMG. After profiling, the returnees were 66 female adults including three pregnant women, five female children and one female infant along with 83 male adults, six male children and five male infants, Mr Maihajja added. Mr Maihajja advised parents and guardians to desist from encouraging their children and wards from embarking on journey that will end up derailed the promising futures of the victims of trafficking. The NEMA boss said the appeal was due to the testimonies and confessions of the returnees and confirmations by most of the families that the victims came from. Mr Maihajja pointed out that the intended countries of destinations were no longer ready to accommodate migrants due to several socio-economic and security factors. There are unconfirmed reports of emerging trends of alleged human organ harvesting from irregular migrants who are alleged to be sold to harvesters. If this developments are real, then we must discourage irregular migrations in whatever forms, he said. Mr Maihajja emphasised that discouraging irregular migration and human smuggling could only be achieved by government and development partners with full cooperation of the parents and guardians. According to him, there is also the need to continuously create awareness and sensitise youths on dangers and and evils of human trafficking. He reiterated that the federal government would not relent in its efforts at creating conducive environment for every Nigerian to maximise his or her potentials in the progress and development of the nation. (NAN) A senator, Abu Ibrahim (APC-Katsina) has said peace will be elusive in the Nigerian Senate until its President, Bukola Saraki, relinquishes the position. In an interview with journalists on Thursday, Mr Ibrahim commended Mr Saraki for honourably leaving the All Progressives Congress(APC). However, he asked him to follow up with the next logical deed: by honourably resigning. I think it is commendable that he has left the party. He has chosen the path of survival because it is the issue of political survival not any thing for Nigeria. But next is for him to resign as Senate President, because by all conventions all over the world, the majority party produces the leadership; Senate President, the Majority Leader and others. Again, let him be gentleman enough and resign as Senate President. If he does not, we will never have peace in that Senate because it is absolutely clear that APC has majority to produce the leadership. Mr Ibrahim debunked claims that the PDP has the majority in the Senate with recent defections. I hear the PDP claiming majority, but it is crystal clear that APC has majority. We will have more members. We will conduct two bye-elections and we will have the two members. We also have some alliance with APGA. It is clear that APC has majority. APC with majority should produce the leadership in the Senate. 49 cannot produce the leadership. Saraki should resign as Senate President. Mr Ibrahim also debunked as unfounded an allegation that some senators attempted to break into the Senate chamber on Wednesday to reconvene plenary. How do you break into the chamber? If we like we can reconvene legally because it is legal for us to reconvene. We do not need to break into the chamber when we have the number. I will never subscribe to that.We can reconvene. The rules are there that if we are up to 30 we can reconvene. Sen. Abu Ibrahim Why should we break into the chamber when we can reconvene legally and do what we want to do. It is legal. I do not see why anybody should contemplate that we can break into the chamber. I do not know about it and even if I know about it, I will say it is unwise. However, if the leadership does not ask for peace, it will not get peace. Peace is a function of leadership. I have been in the Senate for about four times. I cannot allow anybody to manipulate me. I cannot take it. He further said: Nobody was elected as Senate President. We all came here as senators. So we have equal footing. We gave you leadership. If you fail to give us the right leadership and if majority of us dont want you any more, you have to leave. Saraki was elected by us. At any time majority of us say he should go he has to go. He said the APC has nothing to worry about some members leaving to team up with the PDP. There are some losses that will give you sleepless night. There are others that will not give you sleepless night. We have made our calculation and I am confident that we will not lose. For the past two years, Saraki has undermined the government. He has allowed frivolous motions to attack the president and the government. His continued stay as senate president did not augur well for the APC government. For somebody to be in the same party, same government and he did not see anything good in the president was disturbing. (NAN) A federal lawmaker, Aliyu Wamakko (APC, Sokoto North), has described Governor Aminu Tambuwals decision to leave the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), as his lifes worst decision. According to the Nation Newspaper, Mr Wamakko, made the statement during an interview aired on BBC Hausa Service Thursday. Mr Wamakko, a former Sokoto governor, reportedly said Sokoto state remained with President Muhammadu Buhari, and said Mr Tambuwals defection will be of no consequence. Governor Tambuwal defected on Wednesday to the PDP, his former party. Mr Tambuwal, who is said to be nursing a presidential ambition, called on Nigerians to vote out President Muhammadu Buhari in next years election. He said Mr Buhari has failed the nation as president. In his remark, Mr Wamakko, said while politics is always full of surprises, it was pitiable for a young man like Mr Tambuwal to make such a decision. He is a very promising young politician, with full potentials. But, may be something else is guiding his decision. This is the worst decision he has taken in his life. At his age, he should not be in a hurry. He is a fine young politician. I have a lot of respect for him. If he had taken the consideration of the people he is representing and the people of Sokoto State, he should not have gone into the PDP, the Nation quoted him saying. Mr Wamakko said if he had any issues with the APC, leaving the party would not be the ideal thing to do. He, however, maintained that the APC would remain in government in Sokoto and President Buhari would win the presidential election in the state. The senator also warned against rating the crowd that witnessed Mr Tambuwals defection as evidence of his popularity. Whatever crowd you might have seen or told, just take it as a mere story. As a matter of principle, it is not in my character to abuse people, but, what I am assuring is that Sokoto State is an APC state, he said. While hoping that Mr Tambuwal would rescind his decision and return to the APC, he described the recent defections from the party as an opportunity for stocktaking. Hence, it is coming out stronger. In the next few days or months, Nigerians would be surprised how the APC is going to fare, he said. Troops of 22 Brigade deployed in Operation LAFIYA DOLE have reunited children abducted two years ago by Boko Haram terrorists with their parents at Ngafure village in Dikwa Local Government Area of Borno State. The troops rescued the hostages, two boys and two girls, during a clearance operation at Maima village in Ngala Local Government Area of the State. A 36 hand grenade was also recovered during the operation. The rescued hostages are currently receiving medical attention at the military health facilities. The Nigerian Army in its statement restated its commitment in rescuing all the hostages held by the Boko Haram terrorists . Meanwhile, the Council of Ulamas Jamaatu Izalatil Bidah Wa Iqamatis Sunnah (JIBWIS) Nigeria Zone B Maiduguri, has called on Nigerians to support the Nigerian Armys efforts in combating terrorism in the North-east and other security challenges across the country. The National Secretary, Council of Ulamas, Ali Mustapha, made the pledge in Maiduguri when he led members of the Council on a courtesy visit to the Acting General Officer Commanding (GOC) 7 Division, Brigadier General Abdulmalik Biu in his office. He promised to provide vital information, education as well as preaching good ideals to all true Muslim faithful and other peace loving Nigerians at all times. He also stated that the council was in his office to show solidarity to him, officers and soldiers of the Nigerian Army for their focused and commitment towards ensuring security of lives and property in Borno State. The scribe assured the troops of prayers in all their engagements, adding that continuous prayers will be offered for restoration of peace, security and stability in Borno State and the entire nation. The council requested the Acting GOC to convey their profound gratitude to the Chief of Army Staff, Tukur Buratai, for his untiring efforts in the fight against Boko Haram Terrorists and commended the Army leadership for providing an open platform where all critical stakeholders can contribute in the fight to end the insurgency in the North East. Responding, the Acting GOC, Bulama Biu, thanked the council for the visit and their prayers. Army Unites Families of Rescued Hostages He promised the Nigerian Armys support to the council particularly in the area of collaboration towards ending the insurgency. The National Secretary was accompanied by Chairman B Zone Maiduguri, Isa Miko and other clerics of the council. Pan-African Financial Institution, United Bank for Africa (UBA) who recently clinched the Euromoney awards as the Best Digital Bank in Africa, is once again asserting itself as a pace setter, moving in leaps and bounds in unchartered territory. UBAs chat banker, Leo has launched in pilot mode on WhatsApp and will be fully available to customers by September 1st, 2018 With Leo now on WhatsApp, customers who are lovers of the app will be able to open new accounts, check their balances on the go and carry out basic banking services. Speaking about the launch of Leo on WhatsApp, Kennedy Uzoka, Group Managing Director, said: Our customers are at the heart of our business and we as a bank, are never relenting in matching our words with equal action. In todays fast paced world with demands for quick responses, our aim is to make banking seamless and effortless for our millions of existing and potential customers. Also speaking on the launch of Leo on WhatsApp, Group Head of UBAs Online Banking, Mr Austine Abolusoro, stated United Bank for Africa is a technology-driven institution with vast knowledge in the business that we do and Leo, being a tested dependable and intelligent personality, will replicate on WhatsApp, the success it has experienced on the Facebook Messenger platform. It is a solution that is from the customers standpoint, easy to use by anyone regardless of your demography. Leo is ready and waiting to help with any form of banking services continued Abolusoro. WhatsApp has been in existence for over 9 years, reaching more than 1.5 billion people in over 180 countries. The premium private chat platform has assured that there will be no spam messages as the development is to enable businesses serve their customers with useful and helpful information. Leo who is already present in over 12 African subsidiaries, including Nigeria, and available in three languages, will be fully rolled out to customers on WhatsApp in September 2018 with all its regular features and extended attributes for WhatsApp. UBA is one of Africas leading banks with operations in 20 African countries and in London and New York, with presence in Paris. Adjudged to be at the forefront of innovation and convenient banking, UBA is one of the first financial services institutions on the continent to deploy Finacle 10x, a new information technology platform that boosts its services and electronic banking channels. Today, UBA provides banking services to more than 15 million customers globally, through over a thousand touch points and other diverse channels. SOURCE: UBA Media Relations Unit The Niger State Governor, Abubakar Sani-Bello, has said that he has no plan to defect from the All Progressive Congress (APC) to any other political party. The governor made the clarification following the defection of some governors and members of the National Assembly to the opposition Peoples Democratic Party. Mr Sani-Bello, in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Jibrin Ndace, said he remained consistent in support of President Muhammadu Buhari-led government and committed to party ideals. Mr Sani-Bello said the ruling APC of which he is not only a member, but a strong stakeholder, remains the only political party to rescue Nigeria from the many wrongs of the past administration. In the last three years, we have shown commitment to the needs and aspirations of Nigerlites through restoration agenda predicated on agriculture, health, education, peace and security, youth and women empowerment and infrastructural development. We demonstrated through completion of abandoned and uncompleted projects by past administration that government is about the people. It is on this account that i seek to renew my mandate from Nigerlites. He stated that President Buhari is doing well in terms of infrastructural development in the state and the country; while the state government is fulfilling the yearning and aspirations of the people, hence there was no justification to defect. The governor listed some of the Buhari-led governments interventions in the state to state include the dredging and actualisation of Baro port, the dualisation of Minna-Suleija road, award of contract for construction of Bida-Agaie-Lapai-Lambata road as well as the immediate reconstruction of the collapsed Bridge along Kutigi Mokwa road among others. At various fora with stakeholders and political gladiators in the country, we have reechoed our loyalty to the party and will continue to remain supportive of president Buhari. President Muhammadu Buhari remains a stabilising factor in strengthening the nations unity. I and my colleagues have already set in motion a political.strategy to lead a successful campaign for President Muhammadu Buharis re-election. President Muhammadu Buhari means well for Nigeria. He is passionate about Nigeria that he forgets himself.He is not trying to decieve Nigerians, he is trying to get a great future for Nigerians. Gov Sani-Bello stated that he shared President Buharis vision for a new Nigeria through diversification and building beyond oil economy, increasing Internal Generated Revenue,IGR, completion of abandoned or inherited projects nation. The governor said there is no cause for apprehension because Niger State has remained predominantly an APC state and its political affiliation will continue to wax even stronger. The Kaduna State Police Command on Friday confirmed the arrest of two suspects in connection with the abduction of a Kaduna based Islamic scholar. Ahmad Algarkawy was abducted Thursday armed men on motorcycles at his farm in Kaduna. The police said the farm was located at Maguzawa village in Igabi Local Government Area of the state. The arrest was contained in a statement signed by the command spokeseprson, Muktar Aliyu, and made available to journalists. According to him, when police officers arrived the scene after a distress call was gotten, the hoodlums had already escaped with the victim. Kaduna Police command wishes to categorically state that, on 02/8/2018 at about 1340hrs a distress call was received that one Malam Ahmad Garko popularly known as Al-Garkawy went to his farm in Maguzawa village, Igabi LGA of Kaduna State was unfortunately intercepted by unknown armed men on motorbikes, alongside two others. On receipt of the call, teams of policemen immediately mobilised to the area but the hoodlums escaped with the victims. However, tactical units have been deployed. Two persons were so far arrested in connection of the case. Rescue mission remains the utmost priority. Investigation in progress, he said. Meanwhile, the Council of Imams and Ulamas, Kaduna State chapter, also released a statement Friday calling on the scholars abductors to release him. The scholars urged the federal government to with immediate effect bring an end to kidnappings and other crimes in the country. The statement was signed by the councils spokesperson, Abdullai Maikudi. The Council of Imam and Ulamas condemn in stronger terms the abduction of Shaikh Ahmad Algakawy and his students by some unknown terrorists. We call on federal government to bring an end to these bad eggs in the society with immediate effect, the statement said in part. The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) says its combat aircraft has killed several bandits during air attacks near Mashema village and at another location four kilometers Southeast of Yanwari, both in Zamfara. Ibikunle Daramola, NAF Director of Public Relations and Information, disclosed this in a statement on Friday in Abuja. On August 1, 2018, ground troops, while on clearance operations near Mashema, came into contact with a group of armed bandits at a location West of Mashema village and therefore requested for air support. Accordingly, a NAF Alpha Jet aircraft from Katsina and an Mi-35M from Gusau were scrambled. In close coordination with troops on the ground, the combat aircraft engaged the bandits location with rockets and cannons neutralising several of them and causing a few survivors to scamper into different directions. The two aircraft subsequently pursued the fleeing bandits and thereafter neutralised them in follow-up attacks. Similarly, while on armed reconnaissance on Aug. 2, 2018, a NAF combat helicopter located over twenty armed bandits dressed in black attire with stolen cattle in their custody, in an open field near Yankari and Hayin Alhaji villages. The bandits, a few of whom were mounted on motorcycles, began to disperse on hearing the sound of the helicopter but were engaged by the helicopters machine guns. Several armed bandits were neutralised in the air attack while a few survivors seen fleeing the location, were taken out in subsequent follow-up attacks, Mr Daramola said. He said that OPERATION DIRAN MIKIYA, which commenced on July 31 was an intensive air operation aimed at locating and neutralising armed bandits and other criminal elements in the North-West with a view to restoring normalcy in the affected areas. The Operation will be sustained, in coordination with sister Services and other security agencies, to stop killings, cattle rustling and other criminal activities. Accordingly, the NAF continues to solicit credible intelligence from locals, traditional rulers, local government chairmen and other government functionaries to facilitate the success of the operation, he said.(NAN) The candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party in the just concluded July 14 governorship election, Kolapo Olusola, has filed a petition at the governorship election tribunal against the results declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission, claiming that he was actual winner of the election. While filing the petition on Friday in Ado Ekiti, the deputy governor said he polled the highest number of lawful votes in the election. The results as declared by INEC showed that governor-elect, Kayode Fayemi, scored 197,459 to defeat Mr Olusola, who polled a total of 178,121 votes. Mr Fayemi had since received his certificate of return and would be sworn as governor on October 16, 2018 . Mr Olusola, in company of his running mate, Kazeem Ogunsakin, submitted the petition at the Election Petition Tribunal sited within the premises of the Ekiti State High Court at about 5.15pm. He said the governorship reign of Mr Fayemi would not last given the quality of evidence supporting his claims. According to Mr Eleka, as the deputy governor is popularly called, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Yusuf Ali, would head his legal team, among a retinue of counsel who would be representing him at the tribunal. In the over 700- page petition addressed to the tribunals secretary, Mr Olusola urged the tribunal to declare him the winner of the election. I am challenging the election results not out of desperation to be governor, but for reasons of future and posterity, and largely on behalf of the people of Ekiti, who were taken aback by the outcome of the election, he told journalists in Ado Ekiti, after filing the petition. Without doubt, the will of the people was subverted by those who have chosen to take Nigeria back to the dark days of ballot stuffing, ballot boxes snatching and outright falsification of election results and I believe they deserve to get justice. As law abiding citizens of our country, the only path of honour to take in a situation like this is the process that we have initiated today, to seek redress against the use of security forces and other instruments of the federal government to suppress the will of our people. Sadly, the desperation of the APC to take over all states in the country, especially those under governors like Dr. Ayodele Fayose perceived as uncompromising has destroyed all the gains made by the PDP government regarding free, fair and credible elections. The mood of Ekiti people when the beneficiary of the electoral robbery was declared winner and up till today is a pointer to the resolve of the people not to accept the subversion of their will and we have answered their calls to use the judiciary to get back their mandate. In doing this, we have presented overwhelming discrepancies in the results declared by INEC to the tribunal to adjudicate upon and I am confident that the popular mandate of the people of Ekiti will not go unrestored. I therefore want Ekiti people to keep hope alive, remain strong and resolute in their belief in God. A member of the legal team, Ola Olanipekun, shedding more light on the petition, said the petitioner had asked for an outright nullification of the election that produced Mr Fayemi and declare him the winner. By the time the hearing begins, we are going to prove cases of falsification of results, ballot snatching, ballot stuffing and use of powers to subvert the will of the people. By the time we do this, the whole world can judge who was the actual winner, he said. We are confident that justice will be done in this case, we are sure that our client shall get justice. However, the Director General of the Kayode Fayemi Campaign Council, Wole Olujobi, told PREMIUM TIMES that the PDP candidate had the right to seek redress at the tribunal, but added that the allegations raised by the PDP was spurious. According to him, the PDP were the ones engaged in vote buying and not the APC. The PDP is alleging that there was vote buying, but there are evidences that the PDP used even the state government account to pay money into the accounts of workers, pensioners and others prior to the election to secure their votes, said Mr Olujobi. So, I dont know what they are contesting. A number of workers have prepared themselves to testify at the tribunal that they received money from the PDP for votes. So I wish them well at the tribunal. 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. PV's Public Transportation System Renovations Stalled Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, Mexico - The renovation of the public transportation system in Puerto Vallarta has not advanced as expected due to unforeseen problems within the Transportes Unidos del Pacifico company, the firm that was contracted to operate the city's new bus system. According to the Vallarta Opina newspaper, on April 28, one of the bus company's principal owners was arrested for alleged cartel affiliations. He was subsequently jailed at the Puente Grande prison where, on July 11, he was found dead in his cell. In the absence of leadership, disagreements between the company's partners over how to implement the new system - replacing the old buses with new ones, the prepaid card system and changes in bus routes - has brought the modernization of the city's public transportation service to a screeching halt - or at least a significant slowdown. Some of the transportation service permit holders have opted to continue working in their usual manner, while others have joined the new program, which has resulted in the combination of old and new vehicles and payment systems that are causing so much confusion, frustration and annoyance for the thousands of people who use the city's public transportation system every day. While some of the 332 new buses have already hit the streets, the prepaid card system has not been fully implemented so fares must be paid with exact change; many of them don't have air-conditioning, and stops are not being announced in advance as promised. Meanwhile, it's business as usual for the old blue and green chatarrabuses, whose drivers continue the perilous practice of competing against each other for more fares by racing along the roadways at breakneck speeds. So, if you plan on taking a bus, be prepared to stand on a street corner with your fingers crossed and your pockets full of change. If you are lucky, a new air-conditioned bus will come along. If not, one of the old chatarrabuses will to get you to where you're going... at least for the time being. NEW YORK, Aug. 2, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- MBI Group, a full-service construction firm providing interior fit-outs and core and shell construction for corporate, educational, healthcare, hospitality, institutional, mixed-use, and retail facilities, is an approved contractor for Mount Sinai Health System. MBI Group was recently retained as part of a competitive bid process to construct multiple patient care spaces across its New York City network of hospitals. "MBI Group is honored to work on Mount Sinai's new medical and patient care spaces," stated Alex Getelman, Executive Managing Director of MBI Group. "As a premier hospital network, Mount Sinai sought a partner that could help them bring to life their vision of high-quality, patient-centric facilities. MBI Group has over 30 years of experience successfully constructing, renovating and building out medical interiors in New York City and beyond." MBI Group has recently completed several projects at The Brodsky Building located at 425 West 59th Street. These projects included the gut renovation of a full-floor Orthopedic Center on the 5th floor ; the completion of state-of-the-art Siemens MRI rooms on the 6th floor; and the Vascular Surgery Suite on the 7th floor. MBI Group is currently constructing the 8th floor for Mount Sinai Therapeutic Infusion Center in the Brodsky Building as well. In addition, MBI Group is completing construction of the 11th floor inpatient units at The Mount Sinai Hospital. About MBI Group : MBI Group is a full-service construction firm providing interior fit-outs and core and shell construction for corporate, educational, healthcare, hospitality, institutional, mixed-use, and retail facilities. Founded in 1987 , the firm is a certified minority-owned business (MBE) with a 30-year track record of success working for some of New York City's most prominent corporate, healthcare and educational clients. Today headed by Edward Campanella-Rodriguez, President, along with Alex Getelman, Executive Managing Director, the firm serves the tristate area and beyond from their Manhattan offices. For more information, please visit www.mbiny.com. SOURCE MBI Group Related Links http://www.mbiny.com BOSTON, Aug. 2, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Beacon Health Options (Beacon), the nation's leading behavioral health services company, announced today that Sherry Dubester, M.D., has been named Executive Vice President and Chief Medical Officer, effective immediately. In this role, she sets the roadmap and vision for Beacon's clinical strategy and policy, as well as heads the company's quality management program. She brings nearly three decades of experience in clinical strategy development and opioid management and treatment to Beacon. Most recently, Dr. Dubester led Anthem BlueCross BlueShield's EAP and behavioral health and clinical programs. "Having been both a practicing psychiatrist and health plan medical director, Dr. Dubester has strong leadership skills, extensive clinical expertise and a deep understanding of the behavioral health consumer. This range of experience positions her well to advance Beacon's care services and lead our team of clinical experts," said Beacon President and CEO, Russell Petrella, Ph.D. "Dr. Dubester's work will be instrumental in guiding the programming, delivery, and coordination of quality mental health care and substance use disorder services for the company's 40 million members. Ultimately, her leadership will fundamentally contribute to our mission of helping our members live their lives to the fullest potential." Dr. Dubester joined Beacon from Anthem BlueCross BlueShield (Anthem) after an 18-year career with the national health plan. Her most recent role at Anthem was Vice President, Health Solutions, responsible for commercializing a range of health products. Previously she served as Vice President, Behavioral Health and Clinical Programs, overseeing end-to-end management of Behavioral Health and EAP for more than 19 million commercial members. Earlier roles at Anthem included Regional Vice President and Medical Director for National Accounts and Staff Vice President, Clinical Strategy and Product Development. Prior to joining Anthem, Dr. Dubester was Executive Medical Director of Behavioral Health Services for Glens Falls Hospital in upstate New York. She began her career at National Jewish Health in Denver, where she led inpatient psychosocial services. Dr. Dubester earned her medical degree at the University of Pennsylvania. She completed her psychiatry residency at University of Colorado Health Sciences Center and a master's degree in Administrative Medicine at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. About Beacon Health Options Beacon Health Options is a behavioral health services company that serves 40 million individuals across all 50 states. We work with employers, health plans and government agencies to provide robust mental health and addiction services through innovative programs and solutions that improve the health and wellness of people every day. Beacon is a national leader in the fields of mental and emotional well-being, addiction, recovery, and employee health. Collaborating with a network of providers in communities around the country, we help individuals live their lives to the fullest potential. For more information, visit www.beaconhealthoptions.com and connect with us on www.facebook.com/beaconhealthoptions, www.twitter.com/beaconhealthopt and www.linkedin.com/company/beacon-health-options. SOURCE Beacon Health Options Related Links http://www.beaconhealthoptions.com TAMPA, Fla., Aug. 2, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- AquaVenture Holdings Limited ("AquaVenture") (NYSE: WAAS), a leader in Water-as-a-Service (WAAS) solutions, today announced that its management team will attend the following investor conferences: Canaccord Genuity 38th Annual Growth Conference August 9, 2018 Presentation August 9th at 12:30 p.m. Local Time Boston, Massachusetts RBC 2018 Global Industrials Conference September 5 6, 2018 Presentation September 5th at 2:10 p.m. Local Time Las Vegas, Nevada Raymond James North American Equities Conference September 11, 2018 London, England Members of the management team will be meeting with institutional investors at the Canaccord, RBC and Raymond James conferences. Investors who are interested in setting up a meeting may contact AquaVenture Investor Relations or their Canaccord, RBC or Raymond James conference representatives. About AquaVenture: AquaVenture is a multinational provider of WAAS solutions that provide customers a reliable and cost-effective source of clean drinking and process water primarily under long-term contracts that minimize capital investment by the customer. AquaVenture is composed of two operating platforms: Quench, a U.S.-based provider of Point-of-Use, or POU, filtered water systems and related services to approximately 40,000 institutional and commercial customers; and Seven Seas Water, a multinational provider of desalination and wastewater treatment solutions, providing more than 8.5 billion gallons of potable, high purity industrial grade and ultra-pure water per year to governmental, municipal, industrial and hospitality customers. Investor Contact: [email protected] 855-278-WAAS SOURCE AquaVenture Holdings Limited Related Links http://www.aquaventure.com KNOXVILLE, Tenn., Aug. 3, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- AtWork Group, a rapidly growing national staffing franchise, announced today that it has been ranked by Staffing Industry Analysts (SIA) as one of the Largest Staffing Firms in the United States in its 2018 annual report. Ranked by revenue, AtWork was listed at number 48 of 143 staffing firms that generated at least $100 million in U.S. staffing revenue for 2017. "AtWork is excited to be recognized by Staffing Industry Analysts once again as one of the largest staffing firms in the United States," said Jason Leverant, president and COO of AtWork Group. "Our continued growth is fueled by our mission, to be AtWork For You. This focus on service allows us to continually be recognized by our clients and job seekers for the outstanding experience that comes from working with our branches." "The 143 companies included in this year's report generated a combined revenue of $83.6 billion and had an estimated 58.6% of market share," said Barry Asin, president of SIA. "These organizations stand out for their sizeable operations, impressive achievements and as industry leaders in today's competitive and dynamic ecosystem." AtWork was recently ranked No. 88 in Entrepreneur Magazine's Franchise 500 ranking and No. 106 in their Fastest Growing Franchises ranking. The company was also ranked No. 18 in the Franchise Times Fast & Serious list, in addition to receiving a Franchise Times Top 200+ ranking five years in a row. In addition to this year's ranking as a largest staffing firm in the U.S., Staffing Industry Analysts (SIA) also recognized AtWork as being one of the fastest-growing staffing firms in the U.S. in 2017, and Inc. Magazine ranked AtWork on its Inc. 5000 annual list for the fourth consecutive year, placing the company at No. 2,790. For more information about franchise opportunities, visit www.atworkfranchise.com or call 888-553-1745. About AtWork Group AtWork Group is an award-winning and nationally-known franchisor of staffing services including AtWork Personnel Services, AtWork Medical Services, and AtWork Search Group under the umbrella of the AtWork Group. The company was founded in 1986, and today, AtWork has grown to be cited as one of Staffing Industry Analysts' top U.S. staffing firms. AtWork Group's remarkable growth is fueled by the vision of founders John and Glenda Hall: think ahead, create opportunity, give exceptional support to franchise offices, and always look for the better way, every day. For more information, visit www.atwork.com or call 800-383-0804. About Staffing Industry Analysts Founded in 1989, SIA is the global advisor on staffing and workforce solutions. Its proprietary research covers all categories of employed and non-employed work including temporary staffing, independent contracting and other types of contingent labor. SIA's independent and objective analysis provides insights into the services and suppliers operating in the workforce solutions ecosystem including staffing firms, managed service providers, recruitment process outsourcers, payrolling/compliance firms and talent acquisition technology specialists such as vendor management systems, online staffing platforms, crowdsourcing and online work services. SIA also provides training and accreditation with their unique Certified Contingent Workforce Professional (CCWP) program. Known for their award-winning content, data, support tools, publications, executive conferences and events, they help both suppliers and buyers of workforce solutions make better-informed decisions that improve business results and minimize risk. As a division of the international business media company, Crain Communications Inc., SIA is headquartered in Mountain View, California, with offices in London, England. SOURCE AtWork Group Related Links http://www.atwork.com GLEN MILLS, Pa., Aug. 3, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Axalta (NYSE: AXTA) recently hosted its Annual Business Council Symposium in Nashville, Tennessee. The three-day symposium, in partnership with Mike Anderson and Collision Advice, provides a forum for Axalta's regional Business Councils to collaborate and learn from industry experts, including automobile manufacturers, insurance companies, business management systems, and others. "Our customers' success depends on not only having an excellent paint system, but having the right tools and strategies in place across their business," said Troy Weaver, Vice President, Axalta North America Refinish. "When we partner with a body shop, we make a commitment to help them elevate business performance. That's why we created this network of industry peers and are happy to provide opportunities for them to learn, share, and hear from industry leaders like Mike Anderson. Customers who participate in our Business Councils gain the knowledge they need to make actionable plans for profitable growth." Axalta's 11 Business Councils, grouped by business size and philosophy, meet up to four times per year locally and once a year for the symposium. New council members are voted in by existing members to maintain high standards for ideas and accountability congruent with Axalta's value to perform better each day. Councils are available for independent body shops, multi-shop operators (MSOs), and more. The event culminated in an awards ceremony that recognized shops who display outstanding leadership and business performance based on a variety of key performance indicators. The most prestigious award, the Outstanding Legacy Member Award, was presented to Joe Amodei, Owner of The Collision Centers in New York for excellent business performance, inspiring leadership and support of his community and the industry. During the past 20 years, Joe has consistently grown his business by establishing a customer-focused culture that values quality repairs done right-first-time. As a member of the National Auto Body Council and the founder of the Driving4Change foundation, Joe is committed to the Recycled Rides program, which provides refurbished vehicles to deserving people who need transportation to better their lives. For Business Council program information and meeting schedule, contact your local Axalta Account Manager. For more information about Axalta, visit www.axalta.us. About Axalta Axalta is a leading global company focused solely on coatings and providing customers with innovative, colorful, beautiful and sustainable solutions. From light OEM vehicles, commercial vehicles and refinish applications to electric motors, buildings and pipelines, our coatings are designed to prevent corrosion, increase productivity and enable the materials we coat to last longer. With more than 150 years of experience in the coatings industry, the over 13,300 people of Axalta continue to find ways to serve our more than 100,000 customers in 130 countries better every day with the finest coatings, application systems and technology. For more information visit axalta.com and follow us @Axalta on Twitter and on LinkedIn. Axalta Coating Systems Contact 50 Applied Bank Boulevard Heidi Stilwell Glen Mills, PA 19342 D: +1 610 358 5353 USA [email protected] axaltacoatingsystems.com SOURCE Axalta Related Links http://www.axalta.com Democrats Abroad Costa Banderas August 2018 Events Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, Mexico - The Costa Banderas Chapter of Democrats Abroad Mexico continues in their efforts to register U.S. voters for the upcoming mid-term election on November 6, 2018. This month, they'll be hosting their first Barrio Block Party and offering free voter registration assistance on Wednesdays from 10:30 am to 12:30 pm at Daiquiri Dick's. If you can't make it to the local voter registration assistance booth, you can register online at VoteFromAbroad.org or fvap.gov. Fiesta en el Barrio Everyone is invited to attend our first-ever Barrio Block Party, to be held on Sunday, August 12, from 5:00 to 8:00 pm at the corner of Calles Emilio Carranza and Corona in El Cerro Barrio, above El Centro. Click HERE to see the event's location on Google Maps. Designed to build bridges between Vallarta's expat and Mexican communities, while encouraging dual Mexican-American citizens to register to vote, this family-friendly event will feature live music by Gilberto Luna & The Crazy Train, local food vendors, and fun activities to help expats and local Mexicans meet each other. If this first event is successful, we would like to help sponsor more block parties that support other neighborhoods in our community. And, speaking of community support, everyone is encouraged to bring an in-kind donation of notebooks, pens, pencils, rulers, erasers, crayons, colored pencils, or any other school supplies for local school children, to the August 12 event. Also, don't forget to bring your pesos - yummy locally-made foods will be for sale on-site and there are two nearby stores where you can buy drinks and other goodies. Parking is challenging, so we suggest Uber or Taxi service. SAN DIEGO, Aug. 2, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Aya Healthcare, the San Diego-based company transforming healthcare staffing and workforce solutions nationally, launched the Aya Healthcare Future Travel Nurse Scholarship this week which will award ten (10) $1,000 scholarships annually to nursing students. "Our focus is always on providing safe, effective positive patient care," said Aya Healthcare VP of Clinical Services, April Hansen. "We're thrilled to help nursing students reach their educational goals which will ultimately create better outcomes for patients and their families across the country." The program is open to eligible nursing students accepted or already enrolled at an accredited institution. The application deadline for 2018 scholarship awards is Friday, August 31, at 11:59pm PDT. For details, applicants should visit https://www.ayahealthcare.com/travel-nursing/future-travel-nurse-scholarship. "We want to be there for nurses throughout their entire nursing journey," said Amber Zeeb, VP of Employee Experience of Aya Healthcare. "We look forward to welcoming these students as Aya travelers if they want to explore travel nursing in the future." Aya is known for providing the best travel nursing experience in the industry. For the last two years, nurses have ranked Aya as the #1 travel nurse company in the country in a survey conducted by Healthcare Research and Analytics. About Aya Healthcare Aya Healthcare is reimagining healthcare staffing and workforce solutions in the United States. We are the largest privately held travel nurse and workforce solutions provider and deliver solutions for all aspects of healthcare staffing including locums, allied health and just-in-time local staff. The company continues to experience rapid growth as it reshapes the healthcare workforce landscape through its transformative use of technology including its cloud-based MSP solution and real-time Shifts app for per diem clinicians. Aya's platform provides access to one of the largest sources of contract clinicians in the country, which improves efficiency, increases quality and reduces costs for healthcare systems. To learn more about Aya Healthcare, visit www.ayahealthcare.com. Media Contact Erin Stafford Vice President of Marketing [email protected] Mobile: 714.351.3849 SOURCE Aya Healthcare Related Links http://www.ayahealthcare.com EDMONTON, Alberta, Aug. 2, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Project PoSSUM announced today that it had successfully completed a high-altitude research campaign to study noctilucent clouds using a CT-155 'Hawk' training aircraft, thanks to CAE, located at the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) 15 Wing at Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. Noctilucent clouds form approximately 50 miles above the Earth's polar regions and are believed to be sensitive indicators of climate change and good proxies of low-density atmospheres, such as on Mars. PoSSUM Scientist-Astronaut Candidate Capt. Theon Te Koeti (pilot, center), PoSSUM Executive Director Dr. Jason Reimuller (mission specialist, right), and PoSSUM Education Director Adrien Mauduit (canera specialist, left) conducted the high-altitude research using a CT-155 'Hawk' aircraft, thanks to CAE, as part of a recent collaboration between Project PoSSUM and the Royal Canadian Air Force 15 Wing at Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. (projectpossum.org) Dr. Jason Reimuller images noctilucent clouds from a CT-155 'Hawk' aircraft as part of a recent collaboration between Project PoSSUM and the Royal Canadian Air Force 15 Wing at Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. Flying at night and at high altitudes, noctilucent clouds reveal fine signatures of mesospheric turbulence which can't be discerned from the ground. PoSSUM is a nonprofit citizen-science astronautics research organization (projectpossum.org). PoSSUM Scientist-Astronaut Candidate Capt. Theon Te Koeti, PoSSUM Executive Director Dr. Jason Reimuller, and PoSSUM Education Director Adrien Mauduit conducted the high-altitude research from 29 June to 1 July, 2018 from the Edmonton International Airport. Three night flights were conducted to 45,000' altitudes to image fine structures of noctilucent clouds that the team hopes will reveal complex patterns of turbulence and instability in our upper atmosphere. The campaign extends upon research conducted by PoSSUM last July in High Level, Alberta where 17 PoSSUM members tested NASA-funded camera systems from a Mooney aircraft. This July, these cameras were successfully launched from Kiruna, Sweden as part of the NASA Science Mission Directorate's PMC Turbo balloon mission. Led by PoSSUM Chief Scientist Dr. Dave Fritts, PMC Turbo is the first dedicated mission exploring the small-scale dynamics of our mesosphere and the first balloon mission to employ balloon-borne lidar. PoSSUM will next analyze the imagery to determine if small-scale turbulence could be discernable from aircraft. Reimuller, a Co-Principal Investigator of PMC Turbo, served as Mission Specialist onboard the aircraft and operated a specialized camera system. Capt. Te Koeti, a NATO Flying Training in Canada (NFTC) Instructor Pilot and the executive officer for 2 CFFTS at 15 Wing, served as Pilot in Command. Mauduit, a professional astrophotographer and science communicator, served as camera specialist. This October, PoSSUM will return to Canada to evaluate prototype space suits in microgravity with the National Research Council in Ottawa. Eventually, the team plans to use next-generation suborbital spacecraft to build tomographic (3D) models of the mesosphere. PoSSUM ('Polar Suborbital Science in the Upper Mesosphere') is a non-profit research and education organization conducting upper-atmospheric and space technology research while communicating the science through educational outreach programs held at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Fla. Interested individuals should apply online at www.projectpossum.org. MEDIA CONTACTS Dr. Jason Reimuller, Executive Director, Project PoSSUM, Boulder, Colo.; 720-352-3227; [email protected] Capt. Jenn Halliwell, Wing Public Affairs Officer, 15 Wing Moose Jaw, Canadian Armed Forces; 306-631-0509; [email protected] SOURCE Project PoSSUM, Inc. Related Links http://www.projectpossum.org LAS VEGAS, August 3, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, the U.S Justice Department filed a notice of appeal seeking to preserve its "right" to seek a reversal of the dismissal by the Honorable Gloria Navarro of the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada of the supersedeas indictment which named Cliven Bundy and two of his sons, among other persons, as defendants following the successful standoff at the Bundy ranch a number of years ago. Larry Klayman, legal counsel for Cliven Bundy, upon learning of the government's notice of appeal, issued a statement on behalf of Mr. Bundy. Klayman is the founder of both Judicial Watch and Freedom Watch and a former federal prosecutor. He is a member of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit which will hear this appeal. The Ninth Circuit has already set a briefing schedule. Mr. Klayman had this to say: "My client and friend Cliven Bundy is confident that the Ninth Circuit will affirm Judge Navarro's dismissal. It was based on gross prosecutorial misconduct by the Office of the U.S. Attorney in Las Vegas, as well as lying and deceit by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Bureau of Land Management, all of which withheld and secreted exculpatory evidence that would have assured Mr. Bundy's and the other defendants' acquittal had the case been presented to the jury." "That the prosecutors who committed and furthered this gross prosecutorial misconduct would now seek to file a notice of appeal underscores that my once proud alma mater, the U.S. Department of Justice, has become the Department of Injustice. My client is confident that he will prevail yet again and that real justice will be done!" For more information contact [email protected] or call (424) 274-2579. Larry Klayman, Esq.Tel: 310-595-0800, Fax: 202-379-9289 Media Contact: Adrienne Mazzone, 561-750-9800 ext. 2270; [email protected] SOURCE Larry Klayman SANTA MONICA, Calif., Aug. 2, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- WHAT: Entravision Communications Corporation (NYSE: EVC), a diversified global media and advertising technology company serving Latino consumers, continues its effort to raise millions of dollars for Children's Miracle Hospitals network with its 11th annual, three-day Radiothon. Under the theme of "Un Million Para Los Ninos" (One Million for the Children), the Radiothon will help support 170 children's hospitals around the U.S. with promotions running on 34 of Entravision's owned and operated stations. For 72 hours, Entravision will leverage its top nationally recognized personalities including, radio talent from syndicated shows Erazno y La Chokolata, Alex 'El Genio' Lucas, El Show de Piolin, Armida y la Flaka, Mayra Berenice and Mid-Day with Carla La Plebe. WHEN: Thursday, August 2 to Saturday, August 4, 2018 WHERE: Entravision's 2018 Children's Miracle Network Radiothon will provide updates live across its social media channels, including a dedicated Facebook page exclusive to the event and web page www.unmillonparalosninos.com. WHY: "Last year, Entravision helped raise $3.2 million from its Radiothon event and we are grateful for this special partnership and for their amazing staff that's helping us make a difference in the lives of so many children. It's through their top talent and highly popular syndicated shows that we're able to reach the coveted Latino community whose donations help make miracles happen. We look forward to this year's Radiothon and hope for another year of success," said Danny Garcia, National Director Hispanic Media Partners, Children's Miracle Network. SOURCE Entravision Communications Corporation Related Links http://www.unmillonparalosninos.com/ HOUSTON, Aug. 2, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- EP Energy Corporation (NYSE: EPE) has scheduled a webcast at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time, 9:00 a.m. Central Time, on Friday, August 10 to discuss its second quarter 2018 financial and operational results. The company's second quarter earnings press release is scheduled to be issued after the New York Stock Exchange closes trading on Thursday, August 9, 2018. The webcast may be accessed online through the company's website at epenergy.com in the Investor Center. Materials to be discussed during the webcast will be available in the Investor Center. A limited number of telephone lines will be available to participants by dialing 888-317-6003 (conference ID# 6173767) 10 minutes prior to the start of the webcast. A replay of the webcast will be available through September 14, 2018 on the company's website in the Investor Center or by dialing 877-344-7529 (conference ID# 10122575). If you have any questions regarding the dial-in procedures, please contact Jordan Strauss at 713-997-6791. About EP Energy The EP Energy team is driven to deliver superior returns for our investors by developing the oil and natural gas that feeds America's growing energy needs. The company focuses on enhancing the value of its high quality asset portfolio, increasing capital efficiency, maintaining financial flexibility, and pursuing accretive acquisitions and divestitures. EP Energy is working to set the standard for efficient development of hydrocarbons in the U.S. Learn more at epenergy.com. Contact Investor and Media Relations Jordan Strauss 713-997-6791 [email protected] SOURCE EP Energy Corporation Related Links http://www.epenergy.com NEW YORK, Aug. 2, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Recent deaths and serious complications associated with the popular Brazilian Buttock Lift Procedure (BBL) have prompted five of the world's top plastic and cosmetic surgery-related organizations to come together to form an Inter-Society Gluteal Fat Grafting Task Force. The Task Force was formed to examine the causes behind these tragic incidences to try to prevent them from occurring through a variety of physician and patient safety education measures, including unprecedented research. The American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS/The Aesthetic Society), the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS), the International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ISAPS), the International Society of Plastic and Regenerative Surgeons (IPRES), and the International Federation for Adipose Therapeutics and Science (IFATS), have all recognized that the death rate for BBL Procedures (approximately 1/3,000) is the highest for any aesthetic procedure and accordingly, action must be taken now in order to prevent further tragedies from occurring. "We believe that it is essential for our organizations to come together to address the complication and death rate associated with an increasingly popular aesthetic procedure in order to change the course of these adverse events as much as is possible in the name of patient safety," states W. Grant Stevens, MD, President of the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery. In 2017, there were three deaths in the state of Florida alone from the BBL procedure. Consequently, the Task Force is ramping up its efforts to conduct further research and spread the word about best practices for the procedure to all physicians worldwide, regardless of their area(s) of expertise. To-date, the societies have reviewed autopsy reports that have made it evident that all deceased BBL patients have had specific findings in common, including: Fat in the gluteal muscles Fat beneath the muscles Damage to the superior or inferior gluteal vein Massive fat emboli in the heart and/or lungs Further, the Task Force has identified factors that added additional risk to the procedure as well as those that proved to be protective and/or preventative. These findings have led to the adoption of the following recommendations: Avoid injecting fat into the deep muscle. No deaths have occurred with fat found only in the subcutaneous plane (under skin but over muscle). Avoid gluteal veins and the sciatic nerve. Fat should only be grafted into the superficial planes with the subcutaneous space considered safest. Use a >4.1 mm single hole injection cannula and instrumentation that offers control, avoiding bendable cannulas and mobile luer connections. Vibrating cannulas may provide additional tactile feedback. Avoid downward angulation of the cannula. Position patient and place incisions to create a path that will avoid deep muscle injections. Maintain constant three-dimensional awareness of the cannula tip. Only inject when the cannula is in motion to avoid high pressure bolus injections. Consider pulmonary fat embolism in unstable intra- and post-operative patients. Review gluteal vascular anatomy and draw landmarks to identify and avoid injection into the pedicle. Include risk of fat embolism and surgical alternatives in the informed consent process. "These guidelines should be adhered to by anyone performing the BBL procedure in order to curtail complications as much as is possible," states Dr. Stevens. Additional research is being conducted in the form of more anatomic studies via cadaver labs, injectable dye studies with ultrasound and fiberoptic equipment, cannula testing, injection depth testing and specific site injection testing. Once those results are finalized, a comprehensive set of guidelines for the procedure will be submitted for publication in the major clinical journals. For any patients interested in the procedure, they should be advised to research board-certified plastic surgeons in their area that specialize in BBL and should ask to see before-and-after photos and ask for patient references. About the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery: The Aesthetic Society is recognized as the world's leading organization devoted entirely to aesthetic plastic surgery and cosmetic medicine of the face and body. It is comprised of over 2,600 Plastic Surgeons; Active Members are certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery (USA) or by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada and have extensive training in the complete spectrum of surgical and nonsurgical aesthetic procedures. International Active Members are certified by equivalent boards of their respective countries. All members worldwide adhere to a strict Code of Ethics and must meet stringent membership requirements. Visit our website: www.surgery.org Follow ASAPS on Twitter: www.twitter.com/ASAPS Become a fan of ASAPS on Facebook: www.facebook.com/AestheticSociety Check us out on Instagram: www.instagram.com/theaestheticsocietyasaps/ Read the latest news and learn about procedures: Smart Beauty Guide: www.smartbeautyguide.com Locate a plastic surgeon in your area: http://www.smartbeautyguide.com/select-surgeon Media contacts: Leigh Hope Fountain or Sarah Liburn (562) 799-2356 Email: [email protected] or [email protected] SOURCE American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery Related Links http://www.surgery.org Last year, China held a military parade in the Zhurihe training base modelled on real combat scenarios. The new J-20 fighter jet has been officially commissioned while, not long ago, two 10,000-tonne Type 055 missile destroyers were launched in Dalian. Every move China's military makes attracts the attention of the international community. It was only a few decades ago when the Chinese army was a rather isolated force with outdated management and training systems as well as a lack of sophisticated technology and weaponry. But what about China's military strength today? Why has it concerned the international community in recent years? Compared with the United States and other world-class military powers, there is still a gap, and the Chinese military has some clear shortcomings. Over recent years, China has carried out several rounds of military reform with a specific objective. That is to enhance the combat capacity and to build a modern military force fit for modern warfare as well as relevant army functions. In the mid-1970s, the Chinese army was a very large institution with a total number of 6.1 million people, with the ground force being absolutely dominant. Overstaffing was the biggest problem. In 1985, China passed its military reform plan and decided to cut the number of its troops by one million, which caused a stir in the world. This move has reduced the size of the army and improved its quality. In the ensuing years, China cut its troops by 500,000, 200,000 and 300,000 in 1997, 2003 and 2015 respectively, with the aim of improving the army's ability to conduct information-based operations and shift the army's focus from quantity and size to quality and efficiency, or in other words: "losing fat and building muscle." In the past two years, China's military reform has been particularly thorough, involving not only the army command and leadership systems, but also the regrouping of five theater commands. The PLA has also formed several new units, including the Rocket Force and the Strategic Support Force, and each theater command is designed to streamline joint operations between army, navy, air and rocket forces. The new structure has systematically reshaped the Chinese army, and thus has improved the PLA's flexibility and overall combat capability. On the other hand, the research and development and manufacturing of various kinds of advanced weapons and equipment in the new era has also highlighted China's resolve to build strong armed forces through science and technology. Building more efficient and modernized armed forces to match the scale of national development is needed to protect the achievements of China's reform and opening up in the past 40 years and its modernization drive. Today, China's military cooperation and exchanges with other countries continue to expand. By holding annual joint military exercises with Russia and other countries and carrying out patrol missions in the Gulf of Aden, the PLA is becoming an important force in maintaining world peace. China Mosaic http://www.china.org.cn/video/node_7230027.htm How has the Chinese army changed over 40 years? http://www.china.org.cn/video/2018-08/02/content_57968702.htm About China.org.cn Founded in 2000, China Internet Information Center (China.org.cn/China.com.cn) is a key state news website under the auspices of the State Council Information Office, and is managed by China International Publishing Group. We provide round-the-clock news service in ten languages. With users from more than 200 countries and regions, we have become China's leading multi-lingual news outlet introducing the country to the outside world. We are one of the country's authoritative outlets for government press releases and are authorized to cover various major events. "Live Webcast" is our online webcasting service to present State Council Information Office press conferences in both Chinese and English languages. We are reputed for timely and accurate delivery of news and information, and wide interactions with audiences. In addition, we are authorized to publish and live broadcast major events and press conferences of ministries, local government agencies and institutions as well as enterprises. In the era of mobile internet, we endeavor to create an array of products for mobile devices headed by the multilingual WAP platform and the mobile APP. We also use Chinese and international social media to publish information for different user groups. In the future, CIIC will continue to offer authoritative information about China, tell China's stories, voice China's opinions, and introduce a vivid, panoramic and multicultural China to the world through multi-language, multi-media and multi-platforms. SOURCE China.org.cn This agreement provides an accelerated pathway to admission and advanced standing in MUIH's Master of Nutrition and Integrative Health and Doctor of Clinical Nutrition programs for GW graduates with a Bachelor of Science in Health Sciences in Clinical Research Administration, Clinical Management and Leadership, or Clinical Health Sciences. In addition, graduates and current students in GW's Master of Science in Health Sciences' (MSHS) Integrative Medicine Programs who seek Certified Nutrition Specialist credentials may take up to nine credits from MUIH to become eligible for this certificate. "We are pleased to provide a pathway to advanced education in integrative nutrition for students and graduates of GW SMHS," says Christina Sax, Ph.D., provost and vice president for academic and student affairs at MUIH. "Our mutual commitment to evidence-informed curricula and clinical practices serves to strengthen the role of nutrition in the delivery of quality healthcare." "This partnership between GW and MUIH has been designed to provide students with the training they need to become leaders in the field of clinical nutrition," said Leslie Davidson, M.S.Ed., Ph.D., chair of the Department of Clinical Research and Leadership at GW SMHS. About Maryland University of Integrative Health (MUIH) MUIH is one of the nation's leading academic institutions for natural medicine. For nearly 40 years, MUIH has educated and informed practitioners and leaders in health and wellness through transformative and relationship-centered programs that draw from traditional wisdom and contemporary science. Progressive graduate degrees in a wide range of disciplines are offered both on campus and online. Visit www.muih.edu. About the GW School of Medicine and Health Sciences Founded in 1824, the GW School of Medicine and Health Sciences (SMHS) was the first medical school in the nation's capital and is the 11th oldest in the country. Working together in our nation's capital, with integrity and resolve, the GW SMHS is committed to improving the health and well-being of our local, national and global communities. smhs.gwu.edu MEDIA CONTACT: Susan Larsen [email protected] 410-888-9048 ext. 6763 SOURCE Maryland University of Integrative Health Related Links https://www.muih.edu DALLAS, Aug. 2, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Aprima Medical Software, a leading provider of innovative electronic health record (EHR), practice management (PM) and revenue cycle management (RCM) solutions for medical practices, is pleased to announce that Mike Davis, KLAS Arch Collaborative Ambassador, former Managing Vice President of Gartner's Healthcare Research & Advisory Service and former Executive Vice President of HIMSS Analytics, will be the keynote speaker at the Aprima 2018 User Conference, on August 17-19 at the Gaylord Texan Resort Hotel & Conference Center in Grapevine, Texas. In Davis's August 17th presentation, he will share key learnings from a comprehensive study of EHR best practices by the Arch Collaborative from KLAS Research, a leading independent research firm. Davis will reveal findings based on 600,000 data points collected from over 50,000 EHR users, including 20,000 physicians, that User Conference attendees can use to help drive their practices' improved success. The KLAS Arch Collaborative research study has identified common factors among provider practices that have achieved the greatest success with EHR deployments. Among the valuable insights of the study, Mike will share: Top predictors of users' success with EHRs How to make Aprima consistently valuable for clinicians The areas to target that most consistently increase user efficiency and EHR satisfaction During the keynote address, Aaron Gleave, KLAS Clinical Research Director will speak to the rigorous process of becoming Best in KLAS and the details about how Aprima won the 2018 Best in KLAS award in the Small Practice Ambulatory EMR/PM category (1-10 physicians). Participants in this year's Aprima User Conference can earn up to 15.5 Continuing Medical Education (CME) credits. They can also attend pre-conference Boot Camps on how to optimize their use of Aprima. Additionally, Diamond Sponsor Surescripts will be hosting a special Boot Camp that will discuss their capabilities that have been integrated in Aprima to help inform care decisions and improve outcomes at the point of care. There will also be special sessions on MIPS, care plan oversight, chronic care management, cyber security, protecting profits, and managing a practice's online reputation, among other topics. In addition, exhibitors at the User Conference will display a variety of products that extend Aprima's capabilities. "All Aprima customers can benefit from the information and education, including CME credits, that they will receive at our 2018 User Conference," said Michael Nissenbaum, president and CEO of Aprima. "By learning how to best use Aprima's features and listening to the exciting presentations by Mike Davis and others about EHR best practices, they will come away with new knowledge that will help them become more successful." Click here to learn more about Aprima and the 2018 Aprima User Conference. About Aprima Medical Software, Inc. Aprima provides innovative electronic health record (EHR), practice management (PM), population health and revenue cycle management (RCM) solutions for medical practices and has been named the 2018 Best in KLAS Small Practice Ambulatory EMR/PM (1-10 physicians). Aprima serves physicians in primary care and more than 70 specialties with a fast, flexible design that adapts automatically to a physician's workflow and sets the benchmark for ease-of-use, speed and flexibility. For two decades, the company has delivered quality solutions that have helped tens of thousands of users enhance patient care and satisfaction, as well as improve their practices' bottom lines. The Aprima EHR/PM solution sets the benchmark for ease-of-use, speed and flexibility, thanks to its single application, single database and customizable design that adapts automatically to individual physician workflows. Aprima has a proven track record of compliance with government initiatives, including the MACRA/MIPS program, has been awarded pre-validation status for NCQA PCMH recognition and won the Frost & Sullivan 2017 Award for Product Leadership . Based in Richardson, Texas, the company performs all development, support and implementation from within the U.S. To learn more about how Aprima can help your practice, please visit www.aprima.com, call us at 844 4APRIMA or email us at [email protected]. Media Contact: Aprima Contact: Joy Dinaro Judy Friedman Amendola Communications for Aprima [email protected] [email protected] 469.863.8307 847.809.0406 Aprima is a registered trademark of Aprima Medical Software. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. SOURCE Aprima Medical Software, Inc. Related Links http://www.aprima.com ARLINGTON, Va., Aug. 2, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Arlington, VA-based litigation and economic consulting firm, Monument Economics Group, has expanded operations to Philadelphia, PA. Monument's Philadelphia office is led by Alejandro Silva, MBA, who joins Monument as a Principal. Mr. Silva earned an MBA from UCLA's Anderson School of Management, where he was awarded the prestigious J. Fred Weston Award for academic excellence in finance. With more than 15 years of economic consulting expertise, Alejandro Silva has assisted major law firms and corporate clients in complex litigation by developing and applying economic and financial models. Mr. Silva's work has been used to analyze potential damages in a range of disputes, including antitrust, breach of contract, oil and gas royalties, and complex financial matters. Mr. Silva has assisted in development and preparation of expert testimony, including supervision and management of complex data analysis, especially for large transactional databases in antitrust. He has extensive experience in project management in litigation, including assisting counsel in analysis of damages for settlement, trial preparation, and strategic case issue. Mr. Silva has also provided expert analysis and opinions regarding occupancy tax losses to cities and states from alleged under-remittances from online travel companies. Monument's President, Dr. Russell Lamb said the firm's Philadelphia office will help it serve its extensive set of clients in the Philadelphia and New York regions, and tapped Mr. Silva to lead it to better serve its clients' economic consulting needs. Dr. Lamb noted: "Monument is very excited to open this office in Philadelphia as we have many existing relationships in the area. I have known Alejandro Silva for a decade and have found him to be a consultant and economist of the highest caliber. Alejandro is uniquely poised to further Monument's presence in Philadelphia, and with his exceptional leadership skills, I am confident in his success there." Monument Economics Group is a litigation and economic consultancy based in Arlington, Virginia, providing expert consulting and strategic advisory services to law firms and corporate and government entities in the United States and internationally. For more information, please visit www.megconsulting.com. SOURCE Monument Economics Group Related Links http://www.megconsulting.com WASHINGTON, Aug. 3, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- It seems to be the most popular rhetorical question posed by political pundits, cable news contributors, your coworkers, your friends, and even your Uber driver: when did we become so divided as a nation? In "The Red and The Blue: The 1990s and the Birth of Political Tribalism," MSNBC host and NBC News National Political Correspondent Steve Kornacki actually attempts to provide an answer and argues that, while the pressure had been building for decades, the final rupture that cracked our country in two can be traced back to one infamous date: November 7, 2000. On Friday, October 5 at 8:00 a.m., with the Midterms just one month away, Kornacki will appear at a National Press Club Headliners Book & Breakfast Event to explain how American ideology got split into pieces, and whether or not we can put the pieces back together again. Breakfast will be served in the club's Fourth Estate Room at 8:00 a.m., with remarks beginning at 8:30 a.m., followed by a question-and-answer session ending at 9:30 a.m. Kornacki will sign copies of his book after the program concludes. Tickets are $25 for Press Club members (Club members may purchase two tickets at this price) and $39 for the general public. When purchasing tickets for this event online, buyers will also have the option of purchasing copies of the book at check-out. To purchase tickets and copies of the book, please click here. Books will also be available for purchase at the event. Proceeds from book sales will benefit the non-profit affiliate of the Club, the National Press Club Journalism Institute, so we kindly ask that you leave all outside books and memorabilia at home. For all ticketing-related questions, please email [email protected]. Tickets must be paid for at the time of purchase. About the Author: Steve Kornacki is a MSNBC host and political correspondent he sits in the anchor chair weekly for the 4PM hour of MSNBC Live, and regularly fills in for Chris Matthews. He played a prominent role in MSNBC's coverage of the 2016 Presidential election, and has served as host of several other MSNBC programs including the Monday edition of "MTP Daily," and morning weekend program "Up with Steve Kornacki." Before he came to MSNBC, Kornacki wrote for the New York Observer, covered Congress for Roll Call, and was the politics editor for Salon. His work has also appeared in the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, New York Daily News, New York Post, Boston Globe, Daily Beast and at Capital New York. Contact: Lindsay Underwood, [email protected], (202) 662-7561 SOURCE National Press Club ITASCA, Ill., Aug. 2, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- In an effort to address the forecasted shortage of safety professionals in the workplace and bring awareness to careers in safety, the National Safety Council this year is awarding scholarships to seven students interested in the field. The 2018 scholarship winners are: Isabella Green of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Florida (Women in Safety Scholarship) of (Women in Safety Scholarship) Adam Klebba of Oakland University in Michigan ( Billy D. Young Memorial Scholarship) of in ( Memorial Scholarship) Salena Barnhill of Metropolitan Community College in Missouri (Congress & Expo Scholarship) of in (Congress & Expo Scholarship) Anna Breidt of the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology (Congress & Expo Scholarship) of the (Congress & Expo Scholarship) Thomas Coomes of the University of Central Oklahoma (Congress & Expo Scholarship) of the (Congress & Expo Scholarship) Susan Ronhaar of Oakland University in Michigan (Congress & Expo Scholarship) of in (Congress & Expo Scholarship) Leeroy Cienega of the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (Congress & Expo Scholarship) Each scholarship winner will attend the 2018 National Safety Council Congress & Expo in Houston, the world's largest annual event dedicated to workplace safety. In addition, Green will receive a $5,000 academic scholarship that is renewable for up to four years, and Klebba will receive a $2,000 scholarship. "We are thrilled to support future safety professionals by awarding these scholarships," said Deborah A.P. Hersman, president and CEO of the National Safety Council. "We must continually recruit and encourage the next generation of safety experts; they are the future of the profession." Scholarship winners will write about their Congress & Expo experience, as well as how the scholarship will benefit their career in safety or they can write about another safety-related topic. In addition, they will have the opportunity to partner with the Young Professional Division hosted by the Council to help guide their Congress & Expo experience. The seven scholarship winners were chosen via selection committee and join past recipients of National Safety Council scholarships. The Congress & Expo Scholarship was first awarded in 2017, while the Billy D. Young Memorial Scholarship funded by the Construction & Utilities Division was resurrected this year after having been awarded multiple years in the past. The Women in Safety Scholarship, which helps celebrate women in safety, was first awarded this year. Applications for 2019 scholarships can be submitted to the National Safety Council starting Oct. 1 and continuing through March 31. For more information, visit nsc.org/scholarships. About the National Safety Council The National Safety Council is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to eliminate preventable deaths at work, in homes and communities, and on the road through leadership, research, education and advocacy. Founded in 1913 and chartered by Congress, NSC advances this mission by partnering with businesses, government agencies, elected officials and the public in areas where we can make the most impact. Connect with NSC: Facebook Twitter LinkedIn YouTube SOURCE National Safety Council Related Links http://www.nsc.org SEATTLE, Aug. 2, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Outreach, the leading sales engagement platform, has acquired Sales Hacker, the world's top destination for all things sales innovation. The purchase of Sales Hacker - which provides webinars, conferences, online courses and original content to sales teams across the globe - signifies Outreach's dedication to providing sales reps with high-quality educational material and a community of innovators, solution providers and thought leaders focused on giving them a competitive edge. "Sales is the only profession where the score gets zeroed every few months, which means the best reps are always looking for new ways to stay fresh and attack the coming quarter," said Manny Medina, CEO, Outreach. "By providing relevant, unbiased and actionable content directly from seasoned practitioners, Sales Hacker plays a key role in helping today's reps understand the latest trends, get inside the mind of their buyer and ensure they are not left behind." In partnership with Outreach, Sales Hacker will eliminate sponsored content, freeing the organization to focus exclusively on providing the highest-quality content and professional development opportunities to sales teams. In addition, Sales Hacker founder and CEO, Max Altschuler, joins Outreach as Vice President of Marketing. "By joining the Outreach team, we now have the resources to extend our reach within the sales community and throughout the sales funnel," said Max Altschuler, founder and CEO, Sales Hacker. "We are wholly focused on preparing today's sales professionals for the new era of selling, including educating them on the exploding sales engagement category and how these technologies can improve their efficiency and help them meet their goals. As the top destination for sales trends and information, Sales Hacker runs multiple webinars each week, facilitates meetups in over 30 cities worldwide each year, organizes multiple sales conferences including Sales Machine and The Revenue Summit and serves 150,000 unique blog visitors each month. Sales Hacker is open to all vendors and industry thought leaders and welcomes a variety of points of view. Outreach, which has been recognized by Forbes as one of its "Next Billion Dollar Startups", supports more than 1,200 sales teams and 15,000 reps worldwide. About Outreach Outreach, the leading sales engagement platform, automates and prioritizes customer touch points throughout the sales process, resulting in increased productivity for sales teams. Thousands of customers rely on Outreach to transform the sales process, drive collaboration between sales and marketing, and deliver higher revenue per sales rep. Outreach is a privately held company based in Seattle, Washington. To learn more, please visit www.outreach.io. About Sales Hacker Sales Hacker is the world's top destination for all things sales innovation and sales acceleration. It provides readers with educational and actionable content they can leverage in their company today. The company consists of the online publication, Webinars, LinkedIn Community, Conferences, and Meet-ups worldwide. Media Contact: Jennefer Traeger Traeger Communications 720-988-6149 [email protected] SOURCE Outreach Related Links http://www.outreach.io BOCA RATON, Fla., Aug. 2, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Seeman Holtz Property & Casualty, Inc. is pleased to announce the acquisition of JEM Insurance Services, Inc, headquartered in Boca Raton, FL. JEM Insurance Services has been serving the South Florida area for over 13 years. They offer personal lines business services including auto, home, and personal property to protect individuals from the risks of everyday life. Led by Bryan Moura Santos and his team, JEM Insurance Services is one of Florida's fastest growing insurance agencies due to their commitment to excellence and dedication to customer care. This acquisition will strengthen Seeman Holtz Property & Casualty's foothold in their home state of Florida. Seeman Holtz Property & Casualty, Inc. continues to target high-quality independent agencies for geographic expansion and continued growth throughout the United States. With the addition of JEM Insurance Services, Seeman Holtz Property & Casualty, Inc. will continue to reach new and current clients by helping them protect their most important valuables with not only the right insurance but with the right service for each client. SHP&C offers: Homeowner's Policy Automobile Insurance Renter's Policy Private Client Umbrella Coverage Commercial and Employee Coverage Personal Liability Coverage Employee Benefits Human Resources Professional Liability Insurance Marshal Seeman, President of Seeman Holtz Property and Casualty, stated, "JEM Insurance Services is another example of a high-quality agency that we look to acquire. It's even more special because it happened to be around the corner from our corporate offices." Eric Holtz, Executive Vice President, and Chief Marketing Officer commented, "We are happy to have the JEM service team join our family and look forward to building upon their great work." About Our Company: The Seeman Holtz family of companies provides comprehensive financial and insurance advice to clients across the country. Contact: Eric Holtz Seeman Holtz Property & Casualty 844.255.6639 [email protected] SOURCE Seeman Holtz Property & Casualty, Inc. Related Links http://seemanholtzpc.com (Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/726753/L_Aquaculture_Tunisienne_Logo.jpg ) (Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/726754/SOKOTRA_Capital_Logo.jpg ) Founded in 1988 by Si M'hamed Driss, AT is the largest seabass and seabream hatchery and nursery in North Africa, with a current annual production capacity of 20 million fingerlings and 1,500 tons of fish per year, mainly seabass and seabream. AT has successfully served the local and export markets for seabass and seabream over the past 30 years and has an established reputation for delivering high quality fingerlings, backed by a skilled and dedicated management and operational team. With this acquisition, SOKOTRA Capital is reiterating its investment strategy focused on the highly promising agriculture and aquaculture sectors through the building of a portfolio of investments in these sectors, both in Africa and in South East Asia. Albert Momdjian, Founder and CEO of SOKOTRA Capital said, "We are extremely pleased with this acquisition. AT has a highly skilled team with extensive experience. Tunisia remains, and despite the recent challenges, a very attractive and friendly destination for foreign direct investments. We sincerely hope that this will be the start of a significant expansion for us, and for other investment firms, in Tunisia. We have very ambitious plans for AT and we hope to better service the local market in terms of fingerlings, but also to better position AT as a highly reliable producer of quality fingerlings to the rest of North Africa as well as, in due course, to the Mediterranean basin." "The agriculture and aquaculture sectors are of great importance to SOKOTRA Capital Ltd. It is all about efficiency and about feeding the growing population. The protein race has already started and we are very well positioned as a firm and as a team to benefit from it," added Albert Momdjian. Karim Garnaoui, CEO of AT said: "Today, and backed by the new investors, AT has the capacity to become one of the leading Mediterranean basin aquaculture companies. The in-depth knowledge of the industry, supported by the strong financial and strategic capabilities of the new investors, can only propel AT to become one of the best companies in the sector. This transaction has been successfully completed thanks to the professionalism, support and commitment of the SOKOTRA Capital team who have demonstrated on numerous occasions their technical and operational expertise in restructuring the company." "We are very pleased to pass the helm of AT to the SOKOTRA Capital led consortium and we do strongly believe in their capabilities to complete and further develop the vision of Si M'hamed Driss," stated Meriem Driss, one of the selling shareholders representatives. About L'Aquaculture Tunisienne http://www.aquaculturetunisienne.com/ About SOKOTRA Capital Ltd. http://www.sokotracapital.com Contacts: Albert Momdjian, [email protected] SOURCE SOKOTRA Capital Ltd. Sutton won the open point over dozens of candidates from a large field of dealer applicants from the Minneapolis metro area and Midwest. "I was honored to be considered and ecstatic to be selected," Sutton said. "I give all the credit to our outstanding group of current employees and our growing list of satisfied customers. Those positive shared experiences and our commitment to Honda will be the standard we bring to every working day in the Minneapolis community." Current plans call for more than 100 employees and an all-new $10 million facilityjust west of the McDonald's restaurant on Hanson Boulevard. The facility will open in early 2019 and will include a 61,000 square foot building with more than 800 vehicle parking spaces. The new dealership will be called Rapids Honda. A new automotive row is developing as Walser Auto Group is in the process of relocating a competing dealership just west of Sutton's all-new Honda Dealership. "Rapids Honda is honored to join the Honda community in Minneapolis. From Luther Brookdale Honda to Buerkle Honda to Walser Honda and all the other great Honda dealers in between--I know them and respect them all," Sutton said. Sutton also noted, "Rapids Honda, like all of the Honda dealers in Minneapolis, will be a part to the well-being of the city through job growth and by contributing to the community." One of Honda's top dealers, Sutton graduated from Michigan State University with a degree in Engineering. He also attended Ford Motor Company's Dealer Academy. A 25-year veteran of the automotive industry he started his business on Chicago's south side. His unique combination of engineering skills and entrepreneurial spirit have served him well as he continues to grow his family business. Sutton's charitable endeavors include heavy involvement in the community as a board member for the Ingalls Hospital Board, the Village of Matteson Economic Development Commission, and the Board of Governors for Opportunity International among many others. Among other interests, Sutton presently owns Dealerships in Chicago (Sutton Lincoln-Ford), Kenosha (Honda of Kenosha) and now Minneapolis (Rapids Honda). Sutton's General Manager in the new dealership, Roy Lacey, has decades of automotive experience in each of the aforementioned locations. An advocate for employees, customers and autos Lacey's operational expertise helps bring Sutton's dreams to life. Mr. Sutton said, "Roy is like family in the truest sense of the word. Our dealership's stay connected via our family roots and through Roy's efforts. We will continue our traditions of excellence in customer service and product support as we continue to grow." An informational website is in development. Additional details about the dealership will be found on their web page or on soon to be released social media pages. About Rapids Honda Rapids Honda will be located at the Gateway Commerce Center at Highway 10 and Hanson Boulevard in Coon Rapids, Minnesota. Rapids Honda is conveniently located in Anoka-Hennepin School District and proudly supports Anoka, Champlin and Coon Rapids, as well as Andover, Blaine, Brooklyn Center, Brooklyn Park, Dayton, Fridley, Ham Lake, Nowthen, Oak Grove and Ramsey The dealership will service and sell one of the largest selections of new and used Honda cars and trucks in Minnesota. SOURCE Honda Rapids SEATTLE, Aug. 2, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Tableau Software, Inc. (NYSE: DATA) today reported results for its second quarter ended June 30, 2018. "We saw strong customer demand for subscriptions in the second quarter, as shown by our 67 percent ratable license bookings mix," said Adam Selipsky, President and Chief Executive Officer of Tableau. "Our new Creator, Explorer and Viewer subscription offerings have made it even easier for our customers to buy and scale Tableau, as more and more organizations look to deploy self-service analytics with tailored solutions for every user." Financial Summary - ASC 606 (1) ASC 606 total revenue was $282.3 million . . Total annual recurring revenue was $697.7 million , up 44% year over year. , up 44% year over year. Subscription annual recurring revenue was $291.3 million , up 181% year over year. , up 181% year over year. ASC 606 diluted GAAP net loss per share was $0.15 . . ASC 606 diluted non-GAAP net income per share was $0.41 . Financial Summary - ASC 605 (1) ASC 605 total revenue was $243.6 million , compared to a guided range of $230.0 million to $240.0 million as provided during the Company's earnings call on May 2, 2018 . , compared to a guided range of to as provided during the Company's earnings call on . ASC 605 diluted GAAP net loss per share was $0.72 . . ASC 605 diluted non-GAAP net loss per share was $0.00 , compared to a guided range of $0.08 to $0.15 non-GAAP net loss per share as provided during the Company's earnings call on May 2, 2018 . Financial Results - ASC 606 (1) ASC 606 total revenue for the second quarter of 2018 was $282.3 million. Total annual recurring revenue increased 44% to $697.7 million as of June 30, 2018, up from $483.6 million as of June 30, 2017. Subscription annual recurring revenue increased 181% to $291.3 million as of June 30, 2018, up from $103.5 million as of June 30, 2017. ASC 606 GAAP operating loss for the second quarter of 2018 was $21.0 million. ASC 606 GAAP net loss for the second quarter of 2018 was $12.1 million, or $0.15 per diluted common share. ASC 606 non-GAAP operating income, which excludes stock-based compensation expense and expense related to amortization of acquired intangible assets, was $37.8 million for the second quarter of 2018. ASC 606 non-GAAP net income, which excludes stock-based compensation expense, expense related to amortization of acquired intangible assets and non-GAAP income tax adjustments, was $35.7 million for the second quarter of 2018, or $0.41 per diluted common share. During the second quarter ended June 30, 2018, Tableau repurchased 312,921 shares of its outstanding Class A common stock for a total of $30.0 million. As of June 30, 2018, the Company was authorized to repurchase a remaining $340.0 million of its Class A common stock under the previously authorized repurchase program. (1) Tableau adopted the new revenue recognition accounting standard Accounting Standards Codification ("ASC") 606 effective January 1, 2018 on a modified retrospective basis. Financial results for reporting periods during 2018 are presented in compliance with the new revenue recognition standard. Historical financial results for reporting periods prior to 2018 are presented in conformity with amounts previously disclosed under the prior revenue recognition standard ASC 605. This press release includes additional information to reconcile the impacts of the adoption of the new revenue recognition standard on the Company's financial results for the quarter ended June 30, 2018. This includes the presentation of financial results during 2018 under ASC 605 for comparison to the prior year. Financial Results - ASC 605 (1) ASC 605 total revenue for the second quarter of 2018 was $243.6 million, up 14% from $212.9 million in the second quarter of 2017. ASC 605 GAAP operating loss for the second quarter of 2018 was $66.1 million, compared to a GAAP operating loss of $44.9 million for the second quarter of 2017. ASC 605 GAAP net loss for the second quarter of 2018 was $59.6 million, or $0.72 per diluted common share, compared to a GAAP net loss of $42.5 million, or $0.54 per diluted common share, for the second quarter of 2017. ASC 605 non-GAAP operating loss was $7.3 million for the second quarter of 2018, compared to a non-GAAP operating income of $7.3 million for the second quarter of 2017. ASC 605 non-GAAP net loss was $0.3 million for the second quarter of 2018, or $0.00 per diluted common share, compared to a non-GAAP net income of $7.9 million, or $0.10 per diluted common share, for the second quarter of 2017. Recent Business Highlights Acquired Empirical Systems, Inc., a startup specializing in automated statistical analysis that originated at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Probabilistic Computing Project. Probabilistic Computing Project. Announced the appointment of Damon Fletcher as Chief Financial Officer. as Chief Financial Officer. Released Tableau 2018.2, which further opens Tableau's platform to developers with a new Extensions API and also includes Tableau Services Manager, which gives customers a direct way to manage their Tableau Server deployments. Hosted Tableau Conference Europe, with over 1,800 customers and partners in London for Tableau's largest international conference to date. Conference Call and Webcast Information In conjunction with this announcement, Tableau will host a conference call at 1:30 p.m. PT (4:30 p.m. ET) today to discuss Tableau's second quarter 2018 financial results. A live audio webcast and replay of the call, together with detailed financial information, will be available in the Investor Relations section of Tableau's website at http://investors.tableau.com. The live call can be accessed by dialing (866) 393-4306 (U.S.) or (734) 385-2616 (outside the U.S.) and referencing passcode 2667577. A replay of the call can also be accessed by dialing (855) 859-2056 (U.S.) or (404) 537-3406 (outside the U.S.), and referencing passcode 2667577. About Tableau Tableau (NYSE: DATA) helps people see and understand data. Tableau helps anyone quickly analyze, visualize and share information. More than 78,000 customer accounts get rapid results with Tableau in the office and on-the-go. Hundreds of thousands of people have used Tableau Public to share data in their blogs and websites. See how Tableau can help you by downloading the free trial at www.tableau.com/trial. Tableau and Tableau Software are trademarks of Tableau Software, Inc. All other company and product names may be trademarks of the respective companies with which they are associated. Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains, and statements made during the above referenced conference call will contain, "forward-looking" statements, which are subject to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including regarding the Company's continued transition to subscription and term licensing and its expected increase in demand for its products including its role-based subscription offerings and new product capabilities; continued product adoption, including strong subscription demand and annual recurring revenue growth; demand, adoption and deployment by enterprise customers, and the Company's ability to service, execute and grow that demand in the U.S. and globally; the willingness and ability of the Company's partners to sell its subscription offerings; customers' ability to easily scale the Company's products and broaden the deployment of analytics across their entire workforces with tailored solutions for every employee; the Company's research and development investments, costs, continued innovation and ability to timely release future products and features; the Company's leadership position in the sector and ability to address market opportunities as a visual analytics platform; the Company's expectations, quarterly and annual outlook and guidance regarding future operating results, including revenues, expenses and net income or loss, and future performance of key metrics; and the Company's stock repurchase authorization and timing and ability to repurchase shares of the Company's Class A common stock under its stock repurchase program. These statements are not guarantees of future performance, but are based on management's expectations as of the date of this press release and assumptions that are inherently subject to uncertainties, risks and changes in circumstances that are difficult to predict. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements include the following: customer demand for Tableau's products and services and customer response to its subscription offerings; risks associated with anticipated growth in Tableau's business and addressable market; competitive factors, including new market entrants and changes in the competitive environment, pricing changes, sales cycle time and increased competition; Tableau's enterprise sales execution and expansion and further transition to subscription and term licensing; Tableau's ability to attract, integrate and retain qualified personnel; general economic and industry conditions, including expenditure trends for business analytics and productivity tools; new product introductions and Tableau's ability to develop and deliver innovative, secure and high-quality products to customers' on-premise, public, private or hybrid cloud environments; Tableau's ability to provide high-quality customer service and support offerings; risks associated with international expansion and operations; macroeconomic conditions; market conditions; and the possibility that the stock repurchase program may be suspended or discontinued. These and other important risk factors are described more fully in additional documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including Tableau's most recently filed Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, Annual Report on Form 10-K and other reports and filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, and could cause actual results to vary from expectations. All information provided in this release and in the conference call is as of the date hereof and Tableau undertakes no duty to update this information except as required by law. Non-GAAP Financial Measures Tableau believes that the use of non-GAAP gross profit and gross margin, non-GAAP operating income (loss) and operating margin, non-GAAP net income (loss), non-GAAP net income (loss) per basic and diluted common share and free cash flow is helpful to its investors. These measures, which are referred to as non-GAAP financial measures, are not prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States, or GAAP. Non-GAAP gross profit is calculated by excluding stock-based compensation expense and expense related to amortization of acquired intangible assets, each to the extent attributable to the cost of revenues, from gross profit. Non-GAAP gross margin is the ratio calculated by dividing non-GAAP gross profit by total revenues. Non-GAAP operating income (loss) is calculated by excluding stock-based compensation expense and expense related to amortization of acquired intangible assets from operating income (loss). Non-GAAP operating margin is the ratio calculated by dividing non-GAAP operating income (loss) by total revenues. Non-GAAP net income (loss) is calculated by excluding stock-based compensation expense, expense related to amortization of acquired intangible assets and non-GAAP income tax adjustments from net income (loss). Non-GAAP net income (loss) per basic and diluted common share is calculated by dividing non-GAAP net income (loss) by the basic and diluted weighted average shares outstanding. Non-GAAP diluted weighted average shares outstanding includes the effect of dilutive shares in periods of non-GAAP net income. Non-GAAP financial information is adjusted for a tax rate equal to Tableau's estimated tax rate on non-GAAP income over a three-year financial projection. This long-term rate is based on Tableau's estimated annual GAAP income tax rate forecast, adjusted to account for items excluded from GAAP income in calculating the non-GAAP financial measures. To determine this long-term non-GAAP tax rate, Tableau evaluates a three-year financial projection that excludes the impact of non-cash stock-based compensation expense and expense related to amortization of acquired intangible assets. The long-term non-GAAP tax rate takes into account other factors including Tableau's current operating structure, its existing tax positions in various jurisdictions and key legislation in major jurisdictions where Tableau operates. The long-term non-GAAP tax rate applied to the three and six months ended June 30, 2018 was 20%. The long-term non-GAAP tax rate applied to the three and six months ended June 30, 2017 was 30%. Tableau applied these same non-GAAP tax rates to its financial results presented in accordance with ASC 606 and ASC 605. The long-term non-GAAP tax rates assume the Company's deferred income tax assets will be realized based upon projected future taxable income excluding stock-based compensation expense. The Company anticipates using the long-term non-GAAP tax rate of 20%, applied to the three and six months ended June 30, 2018, in future periods and may provide updates to this rate on an annual basis, or more frequently if material changes occur. Because of varying available valuation methodologies, subjective assumptions and the variety of equity instruments that can impact a company's non-cash expenses, Tableau believes that providing non-GAAP financial measures that exclude stock-based compensation expense allow for meaningful comparisons between its operating results from period to period. The expense related to amortization of acquired intangible assets is dependent upon estimates and assumptions, which can vary significantly and are unique to each asset acquired; therefore, Tableau believes non-GAAP measures that adjust for the amortization of acquired intangible assets provides investors a consistent basis for comparison across accounting periods. All of these non-GAAP financial measures are important tools for financial and operational decision-making and for evaluating Tableau's own operating results over different periods of time. Tableau calculates free cash flow as net cash provided by operating activities less net cash used in investing activities for purchases of property and equipment. Tableau considers free cash flow to be a liquidity measure that provides useful information to management and investors about the amount of cash generated by Tableau's business that can be used for strategic opportunities, including investing in Tableau's business, making strategic acquisitions, repurchasing Tableau's common stock and strengthening Tableau's balance sheet. All of Tableau's non-GAAP financial measures are important tools for financial and operational decision-making and for evaluating Tableau's operating results over different periods of time. Non-GAAP financial measures may not provide information that is directly comparable to information provided by other companies in Tableau's industry, as other companies in the industry may calculate non-GAAP financial measures differently. In addition, there are limitations in using non-GAAP financial measures because non-GAAP financial measures are not prepared in accordance with GAAP, may be different from non-GAAP financial measures used by other companies and exclude expenses that may have a material impact on Tableau's reported financial results. Further, stock-based compensation expense has been and will continue to be for the foreseeable future a significant recurring expense in Tableau's business and an important part of the compensation provided to its employees. Because of the significant impact of the adoption of ASC 606 on the Company's results of operations, non-GAAP financial measures for the three and six months ended June 30, 2018 (computed in accordance with ASC 606) are not as comparable to non-GAAP financial measures for the three and six months ended June 30, 2017 (computed in accordance with ASC 605). The presentation of non-GAAP financial information is not meant to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for the directly comparable financial measures prepared in accordance with GAAP. Investors should review the reconciliation of non-GAAP financial measures to the comparable GAAP financial measures included below, and not rely on any single financial measure to evaluate Tableau's business. Tableau Software, Inc. Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations (In thousands, except per share data) (Unaudited) Three Months Ended June 30, Six Months Ended June 30, 2018 2017 2018 2017 Revenues License $ 137,848 $ 103,296 $ 246,641 $ 200,540 Maintenance and services 144,441 109,584 281,855 212,246 Total revenues 282,289 212,880 528,496 412,786 Cost of revenues License 4,626 2,942 8,580 6,209 Maintenance and services 30,599 23,723 59,070 47,111 Total cost of revenues (1) 35,225 26,665 67,650 53,320 Gross profit 247,064 186,215 460,846 359,466 Operating expenses Sales and marketing (1) 144,150 124,160 282,556 242,178 Research and development (1) 94,033 81,067 187,538 165,369 General and administrative (1) 29,846 25,875 62,096 50,320 Total operating expenses 268,029 231,102 532,190 457,867 Operating loss (20,965) (44,887) (71,344) (98,401) Other income, net 6,866 4,029 8,328 5,254 Loss before income tax expense (benefit) (14,099) (40,858) (63,016) (93,147) Income tax expense (benefit) (2,033) 1,664 (4,478) 4,022 Net loss $ (12,066) $ (42,522) $ (58,538) $ (97,169) Net loss per share: Basic $ (0.15) $ (0.54) $ (0.72) $ (1.25) Diluted $ (0.15) $ (0.54) $ (0.72) $ (1.25) Weighted average shares used to compute net loss per share: Basic 82,247 78,511 81,647 77,966 Diluted 82,247 78,511 81,647 77,966 (1) Includes stock-based compensation expense as follows: Three Months Ended June 30, Six Months Ended June 30, 2018 2017 2018 2017 Cost of revenues $ 3,299 $ 2,790 $ 6,286 $ 5,367 Sales and marketing 22,150 18,526 42,165 36,618 Research and development 26,837 25,648 51,994 49,163 General and administrative 6,026 5,150 13,630 10,161 Tableau Software, Inc. Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets (In thousands) (Unaudited) June 30, 2018 December 31, 2017 Assets Current assets Cash and cash equivalents $ 611,091 $ 627,878 Short-term investments 301,054 226,787 Accounts receivable, net 170,907 203,366 Prepaid expenses and other current assets 115,605 30,514 Income taxes receivable 778 673 Total current assets 1,199,435 1,089,218 Long-term investments 89,991 148,364 Property and equipment, net 95,603 106,753 Goodwill 42,530 35,083 Deferred income taxes 4,072 5,287 Other long-term assets 41,626 14,090 Total assets $ 1,473,257 $ 1,398,795 Liabilities and stockholders' equity Current liabilities Accounts payable $ 3,829 $ 4,448 Accrued compensation and employee-related benefits 75,129 96,390 Other accrued liabilities 54,745 37,722 Income taxes payable 1,986 4,743 Deferred revenue 320,305 419,426 Total current liabilities 455,994 562,729 Deferred revenue 15,615 28,058 Other long-term liabilities 53,686 54,385 Total liabilities 525,295 645,172 Stockholders' equity Common stock 8 8 Additional paid-in capital 1,256,854 1,168,563 Accumulated other comprehensive loss (11,811) (11,991) Accumulated deficit (297,089) (402,957) Total stockholders' equity 947,962 753,623 Total liabilities and stockholders' equity $ 1,473,257 $ 1,398,795 Tableau Software, Inc. Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows (In thousands) (Unaudited) Six Months Ended June 30, 2018 2017 Operating activities Net loss $ (58,538) $ (97,169) Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash provided by operating activities Depreciation and amortization expense 19,050 23,837 Amortization of premiums on investments, net 137 Stock-based compensation expense 114,075 101,309 Deferred income taxes (3,965) 465 Changes in operating assets and liabilities Accounts receivable, net 31,490 72,493 Prepaid expenses and other assets (44,925) 19,519 Income taxes receivable (125) (97) Deferred revenue (3,893) 30,072 Accounts payable and accrued liabilities 8,663 (16,421) Income taxes payable (2,713) 523 Net cash provided by operating activities 59,256 134,531 Investing activities Purchases of property and equipment (11,076) (33,860) Business combination, net of cash acquired (10,947) Purchases of investments (156,591) Maturities of investments 139,685 Sales of investments 99 Net cash used in investing activities (38,830) (33,860) Financing activities Proceeds from issuance of common stock 25,581 21,646 Repurchases of common stock (60,013) (40,014) Net cash used in financing activities (34,432) (18,368) Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents (2,781) 1,884 Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents (16,787) 84,187 Cash and cash equivalents Beginning of period 627,878 908,717 End of period $ 611,091 $ 992,904 Supplemental Information Regarding Adoption of ASC 606 Tableau Software, Inc. Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations Reconciliation of the Impacts from the Adoption of the New Revenue Recognition Standard (In thousands, except per share data) (Unaudited) Three Months Ended June 30, 2018 2017 As Reported (ASC 606) Impacts from Adoption Without Adoption (ASC 605) As Reported (ASC 605) Revenues License $ 137,848 $ (15,267) $ 122,581 $ 103,296 Maintenance and services 144,441 (23,456) 120,985 109,584 Total revenues 282,289 (38,723) 243,566 212,880 Cost of revenues License 4,626 (91) 4,535 2,942 Maintenance and services 30,599 106 30,705 23,723 Total cost of revenues 35,225 15 35,240 26,665 Gross profit 247,064 (38,738) 208,326 186,215 Operating expenses Sales and marketing 144,150 6,352 150,502 124,160 Research and development 94,033 94,033 81,067 General and administrative 29,846 29,846 25,875 Total operating expenses 268,029 6,352 274,381 231,102 Operating loss (20,965) (45,090) (66,055) (44,887) Other income, net 6,866 118 6,984 4,029 Loss before income tax expense (benefit) (14,099) (44,972) (59,071) (40,858) Income tax expense (benefit) (2,033) 2,529 496 1,664 Net loss $ (12,066) $ (47,501) $ (59,567) $ (42,522) Net loss per share: Basic $ (0.15) $ (0.72) $ (0.54) Diluted $ (0.15) $ (0.72) $ (0.54) Weighted average shares used to compute net loss per share: Basic 82,247 82,247 78,511 Diluted 82,247 82,247 78,511 Six Months Ended June 30, 2018 2017 As Reported (ASC 606) Impacts from Adoption Without Adoption (ASC 605) As Reported (ASC 605) Revenues License $ 246,641 $ (18,394) $ 228,247 $ 200,540 Maintenance and services 281,855 (42,492) 239,363 212,246 Total revenues 528,496 (60,886) 467,610 412,786 Cost of revenues License 8,580 (143) 8,437 6,209 Maintenance and services 59,070 167 59,237 47,111 Total cost of revenues 67,650 24 67,674 53,320 Gross profit 460,846 (60,910) 399,936 359,466 Operating expenses Sales and marketing 282,556 10,959 293,515 242,178 Research and development 187,538 187,538 165,369 General and administrative 62,096 62,096 50,320 Total operating expenses 532,190 10,959 543,149 457,867 Operating loss (71,344) (71,869) (143,213) (98,401) Other income, net 8,328 80 8,408 5,254 Loss before income tax expense (benefit) (63,016) (71,789) (134,805) (93,147) Income tax expense (benefit) (4,478) 8,266 3,788 4,022 Net loss $ (58,538) $ (80,055) $ (138,593) $ (97,169) Net loss per share: Basic $ (0.72) $ (1.70) $ (1.25) Diluted $ (0.72) $ (1.70) $ (1.25) Weighted average shares used to compute net loss per share: Basic 81,647 81,647 77,966 Diluted 81,647 81,647 77,966 Supplemental Information Regarding Adoption of ASC 606 Tableau Software, Inc. Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets Reconciliation of the Impacts from the Adoption of the New Revenue Recognition Standard (In thousands) (Unaudited) June 30, 2018 December 31, 2017 As Reported (ASC 606) Impacts from Adoption Without Adoption (ASC 605) As Reported (ASC 605) Assets Current assets Cash and cash equivalents $ 611,091 $ $ 611,091 $ 627,878 Short-term investments 301,054 301,054 226,787 Accounts receivable, net 170,907 170,907 203,366 Prepaid expenses and other current assets 115,605 (85,423) 30,182 30,514 Income taxes receivable 778 269 1,047 673 Total current assets 1,199,435 (85,154) 1,114,281 1,089,218 Long-term investments 89,991 89,991 148,364 Property and equipment, net 95,603 95,603 106,753 Goodwill 42,530 42,530 35,083 Deferred income taxes 4,072 1,509 5,581 5,287 Other long-term assets 41,626 (24,972) 16,654 14,090 Total assets $ 1,473,257 $ (108,617) $ 1,364,640 $ 1,398,795 Liabilities and stockholders' equity Current liabilities Accounts payable $ 3,829 $ $ 3,829 $ 4,448 Accrued compensation and employee-related benefits 75,129 75,129 96,390 Other accrued liabilities 54,745 54,745 37,722 Income taxes payable 1,986 2,264 4,250 4,743 Deferred revenue 320,305 121,922 442,227 419,426 Total current liabilities 455,994 124,186 580,180 562,729 Deferred revenue 15,615 12,022 27,637 28,058 Other long-term liabilities 53,686 (775) 52,911 54,385 Total liabilities 525,295 135,433 660,728 645,172 Stockholders' equity Common stock 8 8 8 Additional paid-in capital 1,256,854 1,256,854 1,168,563 Accumulated other comprehensive loss (11,811) 411 (11,400) (11,991) Accumulated deficit (297,089) (244,461) (541,550) (402,957) Total stockholders' equity 947,962 (244,050) 703,912 753,623 Total liabilities and stockholders' equity $ 1,473,257 $ (108,617) $ 1,364,640 $ 1,398,795 Supplemental Information Regarding Adoption of ASC 606 Tableau Software, Inc. Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows Reconciliation of the Impacts from the Adoption of the New Revenue Recognition Standard (In thousands) (Unaudited) Six Months Ended June 30, 2018 2017 As Reported (ASC 606) Impacts from Adoption Without Adoption (ASC 605) As Reported (ASC 605) Operating activities Net loss $ (58,538) $ (80,055) $ (138,593) $ (97,169) Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash provided by operating activities Depreciation and amortization expense 19,050 19,050 23,837 Amortization of premiums on investments, net 137 137 Stock-based compensation expense 114,075 114,075 101,309 Deferred income taxes (3,965) 3,784 (181) 465 Changes in operating assets and liabilities Accounts receivable, net 31,490 31,490 72,493 Prepaid expenses and other assets (44,925) 45,078 153 19,519 Income taxes receivable (125) (270) (395) (97) Deferred revenue (3,893) 29,522 25,629 30,072 Accounts payable and accrued liabilities 8,663 8,663 (16,421) Income taxes payable (2,713) 2,263 (450) 523 Net cash provided by operating activities 59,256 322 59,578 134,531 Investing activities Purchases of property and equipment (11,076) (11,076) (33,860) Business combination, net of cash acquired (10,947) (10,947) Purchases of investments (156,591) (156,591) Maturities of investments 139,685 139,685 Sales of investments 99 99 Net cash used in investing activities (38,830) (38,830) (33,860) Financing activities Proceeds from issuance of common stock 25,581 25,581 21,646 Repurchases of common stock (60,013) (60,013) (40,014) Net cash used in financing activities (34,432) (34,432) (18,368) Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents (2,781) (322) (3,103) 1,884 Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents (16,787) (16,787) 84,187 Cash and cash equivalents Beginning of period 627,878 627,878 908,717 End of period $ 611,091 $ $ 611,091 $ 992,904 Non-GAAP Reconciliation Tables Tableau Software, Inc. Reconciliation of GAAP to Non-GAAP Financial Measures and Reconciliation of the Impacts from the Adoption of the New Revenue Recognition Standard (In thousands, except per share data) (Unaudited) Three Months Ended June 30, 2018 2017 As Reported (ASC 606) Impacts from Adoption Without Adoption (ASC 605) As Reported (ASC 605) Reconciliation of gross profit to non-GAAP gross profit: Gross profit $ 247,064 $ (38,738) $ 208,326 $ 186,215 Excluding: Stock-based compensation expense attributable to cost of revenues 3,299 3,299 2,790 Excluding: Amortization of acquired intangible assets 404 404 95 Non-GAAP gross profit $ 250,767 $ (38,738) $ 212,029 $ 189,100 Reconciliation of gross margin to non-GAAP gross margin: Gross margin 87.5 % 85.5 % 87.5 % Excluding: Stock-based compensation expense attributable to cost of revenues 1.2 % 1.4 % 1.3 % Excluding: Amortization of acquired intangible assets 0.1 % 0.2 % 0.0 % Non-GAAP gross margin 88.8 % 87.1 % 88.8 % Reconciliation of operating loss to non-GAAP operating income (loss): Operating loss $ (20,965) $ (45,090) $ (66,055) $ (44,887) Excluding: Stock-based compensation expense 58,312 58,312 52,114 Excluding: Amortization of acquired intangible assets 404 404 95 Non-GAAP operating income (loss) $ 37,751 $ (45,090) $ (7,339) $ 7,322 Reconciliation of operating margin to non-GAAP operating margin: Operating margin (7.4) % (27.1) % (21.1) % Excluding: Stock-based compensation expense 20.7 % 23.9 % 24.5 % Excluding: Amortization of acquired intangible assets 0.1 % 0.2 % 0.0 % Non-GAAP operating margin 13.4 % (3.0) % 3.4 % Three Months Ended June 30, 2018 2017 As Reported (ASC 606) Impacts from Adoption Without Adoption (ASC 605) As Reported (ASC 605) Reconciliation of net loss to non-GAAP net income (loss): Net loss $ (12,066) $ (47,501) $ (59,567) $ (42,522) Excluding: Stock-based compensation expense 58,312 58,312 52,114 Excluding: Amortization of acquired intangible assets 404 404 95 Income tax adjustments (10,956) 11,523 567 (1,742) Non-GAAP net income (loss) $ 35,694 $ (35,978) $ (284) $ 7,945 Weighted average shares used to compute non-GAAP basic net income (loss) per share 82,247 82,247 78,511 Effect of potentially dilutive shares: stock awards 3,878 3,925 Weighted average shares used to compute non-GAAP diluted net income (loss) per share 86,125 82,247 82,436 Non-GAAP net income (loss) per share: Basic $ 0.43 $ (0.00) $ 0.10 Diluted $ 0.41 $ (0.00) $ 0.10 Six Months Ended June 30, 2018 2017 As Reported (ASC 606) Impacts from Adoption Without Adoption (ASC 605) As Reported (ASC 605) Reconciliation of gross profit to non-GAAP gross profit: Gross profit $ 460,846 $ (60,910) $ 399,936 $ 359,466 Excluding: Stock-based compensation expense attributable to cost of revenues 6,286 6,286 5,367 Excluding: Amortization of acquired intangible assets 753 753 190 Non-GAAP gross profit $ 467,885 $ (60,910) $ 406,975 $ 365,023 Reconciliation of gross margin to non-GAAP gross margin: Gross margin 87.2 % 85.5 % 87.1 % Excluding: Stock-based compensation expense attributable to cost of revenues 1.2 % 1.3 % 1.3 % Excluding: Amortization of acquired intangible assets 0.1 % 0.2 % 0.0 % Non-GAAP gross margin 88.5 % 87.0 % 88.4 % Reconciliation of operating loss to non-GAAP operating income (loss): Operating loss $ (71,344) $ (71,869) $ (143,213) $ (98,401) Excluding: Stock-based compensation expense 114,075 114,075 101,309 Excluding: Amortization of acquired intangible assets 753 753 190 Non-GAAP operating income (loss) $ 43,484 $ (71,869) $ (28,385) $ 3,098 Reconciliation of operating margin to non-GAAP operating margin: Operating margin (13.5) % (30.6) % (23.8) % Excluding: Stock-based compensation expense 21.6 % 24.4 % 24.5 % Excluding: Amortization of acquired intangible assets 0.1 % 0.2 % 0.0 % Non-GAAP operating margin 8.2 % (6.1) % 0.8 % Six Months Ended June 30, 2018 2017 As Reported (ASC 606) Impacts from Adoption Without Adoption (ASC 605) As Reported (ASC 605) Reconciliation of net loss to non-GAAP net income (loss): Net loss $ (58,538) $ (80,055) $ (138,593) $ (97,169) Excluding: Stock-based compensation expense 114,075 114,075 101,309 Excluding: Amortization of acquired intangible assets 753 753 190 Income tax adjustments (14,840) 22,623 7,783 1,516 Non-GAAP net income (loss) $ 41,450 $ (57,432) $ (15,982) $ 5,846 Weighted average shares used to compute non-GAAP basic net income (loss) per share 81,647 81,647 77,966 Effect of potentially dilutive shares: stock awards 3,949 3,772 Weighted average shares used to compute non-GAAP diluted net income (loss) per share 85,596 81,647 81,738 Non-GAAP net income (loss) per share: Basic $ 0.51 $ (0.20) $ 0.07 Diluted $ 0.48 $ (0.20) $ 0.07 Six Months Ended June 30, 2018 2017 As Reported (ASC 606) Impacts from Adoption Without Adoption (ASC 605) As Reported (ASC 605) Reconciliation of net cash provided by operating activities to free cash flow: Net cash provided by operating activities $ 59,256 $ 322 $ 59,578 $ 134,531 Less: Purchases of property and equipment (11,076) (11,076) (33,860) Free cash flow $ 48,180 $ 322 $ 48,502 $ 100,671 Net cash used in investing activities $ (38,830) $ $ (38,830) $ (33,860) Net cash used in financing activities $ (34,432) $ $ (34,432) $ (18,368) Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents $ (2,781) $ (322) $ (3,103) $ 1,884 Tableau Software, Inc. Trended Metrics The following metrics are intended as a supplement to the financial statements found in this release and other information furnished or filed with the SEC. In the event of discrepancies between amounts in these tables and the Company's historical disclosures or financial statements, readers should rely on the Company's filings with the SEC and financial statements in the Company's most recent earnings release. Tableau intends to periodically review and refine the definition, methodology and appropriateness of each of these supplemental metrics. As a result, metrics are subject to removal and/or change, and such changes could be material. Q1`17 Q2`17 Q3`17 Q4`17 FY 2017 Q1`18 Q2'18 (Dollars in thousands) (Unaudited) Customer metrics Customer accounts (1) 57,000 + 61,000 + 65,000 + 70,000 + 70,000 + 74,000 + 78,000 + Customer accounts added in period (1) 3,300 + 4,000 + 4,100 + 4,700 + 16,100 + 3,900 + 4,100 + Deals greater than $100,000 (2) 294 372 337 590 1,593 301 436 Customer accounts that purchased greater than $1 million during the quarter (1,2) 10 15 13 27 13 22 Annual recurring revenue metrics Total annual recurring revenue (3) $ 439,001 $ 483,578 $ 526,211 $ 596,244 $ 596,244 $ 641,946 $ 697,700 Subscription annual recurring revenue (4) $ 71,950 $ 103,538 $ 139,210 $ 195,488 $ 195,488 $ 237,533 $ 291,292 Geographic revenue metrics - ASC 606 United States and Canada $ 167,799 $ 196,992 International $ 78,408 $ 85,297 United States and Canada as % of total revenue 68 % 70 % International as % of total revenue 32 % 30 % Geographic revenue metrics - ASC 605 United States and Canada $ 141,496 $ 146,102 $ 150,059 $ 168,116 $ 605,773 $ 154,443 $ 169,234 International $ 58,410 $ 66,778 $ 64,858 $ 81,240 $ 271,286 $ 69,601 $ 74,332 United States and Canada as % of total revenue 71 % 69 % 70 % 67 % 69 % 69 % 69 % International as % of total revenue 29 % 31 % 30 % 33 % 31 % 31 % 31 % Additional revenue metrics - ASC 606 Remaining performance obligations (5) $ 99,580 $ 114,523 $ 138,498 Additional revenue metrics - ASC 605 Ratable revenue as % of total revenue (6) 54 % 56 % 63 % 60 % 59 % 72 % 72 % Ratable license revenue as % of total license revenue (7) 19 % 23 % 34 % 34 % 28 % 54 % 56 % Services revenues as a % of maintenance and services revenue (8) 12 % 13 % 12 % 13 % 13 % 11 % 12 % Bookings metrics - ASC 605 Ratable bookings as % of total bookings (2) 55 % 61 % 65 % 70 % 64 % 72 % 76 % Ratable license bookings as % of total license bookings (2) 26 % 37 % 45 % 51 % 41 % 59 % 67 % Other metrics Worldwide employees 3,193 3,305 3,418 3,489 3,489 3,663 3,896 (1) Tableau defines a customer account as a single purchaser of its products. Customer accounts are typically organizations. In some cases, organizations will have multiple groups purchasing Tableau software, which count as discrete customer accounts. (2) These operating metrics are based on Tableau's definition of bookings, which is defined as the first year of contracted revenue only and does not include additional years beyond the first year unless a customer pays for those years up front. Bookings includes both new sales and renewals. Tableau's bookings may not be comparable to similarly named measures disclosed by other companies in the software industry. Bookings is not a measure of revenue or an indication of actual revenue results. Revenues ultimately recognized could be affected by a number of factors. License bookings include sales of software licenses and subscriptions to Tableau Online. Ratable bookings are sales transactions that result in revenues, which will be amortized over a period of time. (3) Tableau defines total annual recurring revenue ("Total ARR") as the annualized recurring value of all active contracts at the end of a reporting period. Total ARR includes subscription annual recurring revenue ("Subscription ARR") and the annualized value of all maintenance contracts related to perpetual licenses active at the end of a reporting period. (4) Tableau defines Subscription ARR as the annualized recurring value of all active subscription contracts at the end of a reporting period. Subscription ARR includes term licenses and renewals, subscription enterprise license agreements and Tableau Online subscriptions and renewals, and excludes distribution original equipment manufacturer ("OEM") license agreements and perpetual-style enterprise license agreements. (5) Remaining performance obligations represent amounts from contracts with customers allocated to performance obligations that will be satisfied at a later date. These amounts include additional performance obligations that are not yet recorded in the consolidated balance sheets. Remaining performance obligations presented under FY 2017 represents the balance as of January 1, 2018 upon adoption of ASC 606. These amounts do not include deferred revenue, which is already included within the consolidated balance sheets. (6) Ratable revenues were amortized during the respective periods. For example, sales of Tableau Online, as well as maintenance and support, are recognized ratably. Excluding the impacts of adopting the new revenue recognition standard, enterprise license agreements, on-premises term licenses and OEM license arrangements are also recognized ratably. (7) Ratable license revenues were amortized during the respective periods. For example, sales of Tableau Online are recognized ratably. Excluding the impacts of adopting the new revenue recognition standard, enterprise license agreements, on-premises term licenses and OEM license arrangements are also recognized ratably. (8) Services revenues were recognized upon delivery of professional services and training. SOURCE Tableau Software Related Links http://www.tableausoftware.com SALT LAKE CITY, Aug. 2, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Traeger Grills, inventor of the original wood pellet grill, today announced that it has partnered with Amanda Haas, bringing her unique style and approach to cooking to the Traeger community. Haas brings over a decade of culinary expertise, including time spent overseeing recipe development and testing as Williams-Sonoma's culinary director, as well as authoring several cookbooks. "We're always looking for partners that exemplify our company values, and when it comes to our value of bringing families together through food and cooking, Amanda was a perfect match," said Jeremy Andrus, Traeger Grills CEO. "She has so much experiencewith culinary development and cookbook writingand the Traeger community stands to learn a lot from her deep knowledge. We're looking forward to collaborating and expanding our brand to new audiences." Haas has hosted hundreds of cooking videos for Williams-Sonoma and spent more than a decade testing and developing recipes for over a dozen cookbooks. She is the author of two best-selling cookbooks, "Cooking Light Real Family Food" and "The Anti-Inflammation Cookbook: The Delicious Way to Reduce Inflammation and Stay Healthy." Her next title "The Vibrant Life: Eat Well, Live Well, and Love Your Midlife" will be released in early 2019 by Chronicle Books. In 2012, she was recognized for her work in MAKERS: Women Who Make America, a digital video and broadcast initiative with AOL and PBS that celebrates women who inspire change in the way we live. "This is an exciting opportunity and I'm thrilled to be partnering with Traeger," said Haas. "I've always loved working with food and the sense of community that comes with it, and I'm excited to represent an innovative and growing brand that aligns with those values. I can't wait to start working with the Traeger team to share my love of family cooking, healthy eating, and to show the community how easy it is to create meals on my Traeger, one recipe at a time." For more information about Haas and the Traeger team, visit www.traegergrills.com Follow Amanda on Instagram at @amandahaascooks. About Traeger Grills Traeger Grills, headquartered in Salt Lake City, has been revolutionizing BBQ grilling and outdoor cooking for 30 years with one simple, all-encompassing cooking solution. Traeger pellet grills use 100% all natural hardwood fuel to infuse food with flavorful smoke, making food taste delicious and most of all, memorable. As the inventor of the original and world's top selling wood-fired grill, Traeger utilizes wood-fired convection power to provide 6-in-1 versatility; grill, smoke, bake, roast, braise and BBQ meals to perfection every time. Visit www.traegergrills.com for more information and to purchase Traeger grills and accessories. Connect with Traeger Press Contacts Zachary Allen 801-461-9751 [email protected] SOURCE Traeger Grills Related Links http://www.traegergrills.com SEATTLE, Aug. 3, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- AB Aero Partners LLC is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Vince Martin as a new managing partner of AB Aero Partners. Mr. Martin is enjoying a successful 40-year career in aerospace with such companies as Cormer Aerospace, Magellan, Boeing, Precision Aerospace and recently in his own consulting company. Vince had several roles in his career including president of Cormer Aerospace, program manager/manufacturing engineering at Boeing, vice president of Precision Aerospace and business unit leader at Magellan. AB Aero Partners LLC Vince has a degree in Business (CIM), Project Management Professional designation (PMP) and a certificate in Manufacturing Engineering (CET) including Lean training in the U.K. and Japan. Vince's core expertise in manufacturing is composites, tooling, machining, special processes and assembly. Vince and his years of experience will be a welcome addition to AB Aero Partners' future growth. About AB Aero Partners LLC AB Aero Partners started in 2015 by Arne Thompson and Brian Retzloff in Washington State as a provider of business development and supplier management services to the aerospace and marine industries. AB Aero Partners focuses on composite tooling, structural and non-structural composite parts, 3D printing, machining, assembly, finishing and fulfillment. For more information, go to our website at http://abaeropartners.com/ or follow us on Facebook or LinkedIn. Media Contact: Arne Thompson Phone: 206.369.3049 Email: [email protected] SOURCE AB Aero Partners LLC Related Links http://abaeropartners.com Natalie Portman, Kermit the Frog, Martin Sheen, Paula Abdul, Sofia Carson and the Scott Brothers offer personal experiences to give 100,000 students the tools they need to better their communities and their own lives TORONTO, Aug. 2, 2018 /PRNewswire/ - Today WE, a family of organizations that makes doing good doable, announced a partnership with Omaze and a star-studded lineup of celebrities to help raise funds for WE Schools a year long service-learning curriculum that empowers young people, including underserved youth, to create meaningful impact locally and globally. In a series of video announcements, top stars including Natalie Portman, Kermit the Frog, Martin Sheen, Paula Abdul, Sofia Carson and Drew and Jonathan Scott, stars of HGTV's Property Brothers, are offering fans the chance to live their dream celebrity experiences, all in a bid to empower 100,000 students to engage in service. "We believe that these youth are the leaders of tomorrow," said co-founder of WE, Craig Kielburger. "We're so excited to have partnered with Omaze and some incredible celebrities who have offered their time to raise funds that will help give students the inspiration, mentorship, educational resources, tools and support they need to realize their potential and become the change-makers of their generation." To help get fans excited about these experiences, all of the stars participating created video announcements, letting fans know exactly what they can expect if they're the lucky winner. These experiences include: These campaigns will also be featured in the fourth annual WE Day Special, airing on ABC, Friday, August 17, 2018 at 8 p.m. ET/7 p.m. CT. The Special is a celebration of doing good, honoring youth and families across the country who are making a real impact in their communities and around the world, with the help of A-list celebrities and global thought leaders. A $10 donation on Omaze.com/WE provides fans the chance to win one of these epic experiences and supports this important cause. These campaigns close on September 20, 2018 at 11:59 p.m. PST. For more information on the partnership and to enter for your chance to win a celebrity experience that gives back to WE visit Omaze.com/WE. About the WE Day Special The WE Day Special is a national broadcast airing on ABC on August 17, 2018, at 8P ET/7P CT. WE makes doing good doable by supporting Americans who want to make a real impact in their communities and around the world. The WE Day Special is a celebration of next-level doing good, honoring youth and families across the country who prove that when they harness their belief, their passion and their energy, they are an unstoppable force for good. It features a star-studded lineup of chart-topping performers, iconic celebrities and inspiring young Americans, including host John Stamos, Jennifer Aniston, Dierks Bentley, The Chainsmokers, Will Ferrell, Whoopi Goldberg, Selena Gomez, Cyndi Lauper, JD McCrary, Dr. Phil, Martin Sheen, Lilly Singh, Founders of the #NeverAgain movement and organizers of The March for our Lives Jaclyn Corin and Cameron Kasky, and more. The WE Day Special is sponsored by title partner Allstate Foundation Good Starts Young, and is also sponsored by presenting partners Walgreens and Microsoft. Learn more at WE.org About WE WE Day is part of WE a family of organizations making doing good, doable. WE is made up of WE Charity, empowering domestic and international change, ME to WE, a social enterprise that creates socially conscious products and experiences to help support the charity, and WE Day, filling stadiums around the world with the greatest celebration of social good. WE enables youth and families to better the world supporting 7,200+ local and global causes by volunteering millions of hours of service, shopping daily with an impact, and raising millions of dollars that directly benefit their local communities and the world. Globally, WE teams in Asia, Africa, and Latin America have provided more than 1 million people with clean water, built 1,000 schools and schoolrooms overseas, and empowered more than 200,000 children with access to education. WE was founded more than 20 years ago by social entrepreneurs, brothers Craig and Marc Kielburger. Join the movement today at WE.org. About Omaze Omaze is an online fundraising platform that makes giving fun and easy by offering once-in-a-lifetime experiences and exclusive merchandise in support of critical causes. Our campaigns connect influencers, nonprofits and donors to create lasting impact, and have raised funds and awareness for over 350 charities with donations from over 180 countries. For more information, please visit omaze.com. SOURCE WE Charity FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., Aug. 2, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Last week, Clean PACE, a Florida-based non-profit created to independently review and assess Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) providers for consumer protections, announced Ygrene, a national leader in energy efficiency and resiliency financing in Florida, as the organization's first and only "Clean PACE Certified Partner." Since launching PACE in Florida in 2013, Ygrene's positive impact has been felt in over 150 Florida communities. Across the state, elected officials, realtors, research institutions and consumer groups are acknowledging that PACE is protecting consumers and improving communities across the state: Jeff Jones, Chairman, Clean PACE Board of Directors and President-Elect, Naples Area Board of Realtors: "We are pleased to award the first Clean PACE Certified Partner designation to Ygrene. In addition to meeting audit requirements, we found a culture of customer service and attention to detail that exceeded our expectations. Ygrene provides Floridians with an extremely valuable and reliable option for funding critical home improvements." Read more Adam Hasner, former Majority Leader of the Florida House of Representatives: "There will continue to be endless conversation and political debate about how to deal with hurricanes and severe storms. But one thing is certain: Florida leaders must empower our residents by providing options to affordably rebuild and strengthen their homes and businesses. Policymakers can do this by continuing to protect consumer choice and expanding access to PACE financing." Read more Jay Neal, President, Florida Association for Insurance Reform: "I applaud Ygrene for driving a program that is critical to how homeowners respond to extreme weather conditions and for adopting policies that protect consumers, hold contractors accountable, and provide communities with confidence to invest in their homes." Read more Martha Campbell, Manager, Rocky Mountain Institute: "We applaud the efforts of PACE industry stakeholders in developing robust program guidelines and independent audit processes, and support the industry's goal for these guidelines to be the standard across state and local governments." Read more Stephanie K. Mah, Director of Strategy and Research, and Phoebe Xu, Senior Vice President, Morningstar: "consumer advocacy remains at the forefront for residential PACE, and originators have been taking steps to address concerns. In some instances, originators have allowed modifications to the original terms of a PACE assessment, including changes to the coupon rate, term, and outstanding balance, as well as prepayment penalties." "Despite increased concerns over consumer protections, Morningstar believes recent initiatives aimed at improving such safeguards will help improve underwriting practices and result in a healthier industry overall for residential PACE." Read more Kroll Bond Rating Agency: "Over its ten years of existence, the PACE industry has undergone significant transformation. Greater focus on the consumer's ability to pay and improving consumer protection practices are also viewed as positive developments for the industry." Read more Kristine Isnardi, Vice Chair, Brevard County Commission: "[PACE is] giving people the power to assess themselves. I'm excited about this program. I think it's a great idea, and I think it gives more power to the homeowner. I've heard great things about this across the state." Read more Larry Sinewitz, Executive Vice President of BrandSmart USA upgraded the HVAC and lighting systems at Palmetto Bay, FL location: "PACE's credibility and proven track record make it the clear choice to upgrade our stores from both a business and an environmental perspective." Read more Nick Brousse, Project Manager, U.S. Green Building Council, on Journal of Structured Finance PACE study: "Although it has been widely understood that energy renovations add value to a property, this study confirms the added value of these projects often exceeds their total financing costs. As many in the green building industry have been proselytizing for years, going green delivers as many economic benefits as it does environmental." Read more Ygrene's ability to successfully navigate regulatory changes and leverage their strengths while growing their presence across Florida has contributed substantially to their progress. Ygrene is more committed than ever to expanding its PACE program to help more property owners meet their energy efficiency and resiliency goals. The full list of jurisdictions where Ygrene's PACE program has been approved can be found here. About Ygrene Ygrene is a national leader in residential and commercial energy efficiency and resiliency project financing. Founded in 2010, Ygrene's award-winning, privately funded Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) program is revolutionizing the home improvement industry, making it easier for property owners to invest in their futures and a healthier environment. Ygrene is delivering greater choice for home and business owners by providing accessible and affordable financing for energy efficiency, renewables, water conservation, storm protection and seismic upgrades. Recognized as one of the fastest growing asset classes in the country, PACE has proven to be a successful tool for supporting public policy initiatives, all without the use of public tax dollars or credits. To date, Ygrene has provided over $1 billion of private capital to more than 69,000 property owners in over 600 communities, creating thousands of jobs and investing millions into local economies across the U.S. While PACE programs are enabled by state legislation and must be approved by local governments, Ygrene is not a government program. Learn more at ygrene.com. SOURCE Ygrene Related Links http://ygrene.com WASHINGTON, Aug. 3, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is considering a proposal to eliminate passenger security screening at more than 150 small and medium-sized airports across the country a move the employees' union says could have grave consequences. The union representing Transportation Security Administration officers says a TSA proposal to eliminate passenger security screening at more than 150 small and medium-sized airports across the country would unravel years of security procedures put in place after 9/11. According to reports, TSA claims the move could save $115 million annually, but the plan has little regard for the safety of the flying public. The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), which represents more than 43,000 TSA officers nationwide, says saving money should be the least of the agency's concern. "Passenger safety, not saving a buck, should be our main priority," said AFGE TSA Council 100 President Hydrick Thomas. "Eliminating passenger screening functions at smaller airports is a recipe for disaster." Last year, TSA officers confiscated a record number of 3,957 firearms at checkpoints nationwide 84 percent of them loaded. TSA officers screen 2 million passengers, 1.3 million checked items, and 4.9 million carry-on bags every day. "TSA officers perform a critical task in keeping our country safe," says AFGE National President J. David Cox Sr. "Abolishing these screening functions would pose a major threat to our national security and unravel years of security procedures put in place after 9/11." "TSA was created to protect airline passengers after the horrific attacks on 9/11," says Thomas. "Removing federally trained screeners from these airports sends a message to the traveling public that we don't care about putting their lives at risk. Whether we're protecting 10 passengers or 10,000 passengers, we take our mission to protect the public very seriously." AFGE urges TSA to reject any proposal to eliminate screening functions at airports and make aviation safety a budgetary priority. "You can't put a price on safety. We're urging TSA to protect the flying public by keeping security checkpoints at smaller airports," says Cox. The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) is the largest federal employee union, representing 700,000 workers in the federal government and the government of the District of Columbia. For the latest AFGE news and information, visit the AFGE Media Center. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. SOURCE American Federation of Government Employees Related Links http://www.afge.org WASHINGTON, Aug. 3, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, the American Federation of Government Employees announced its endorsement of Dave Loebsack of Iowa for the U.S. House of Representatives for Iowa's 2nd District. "We're thrilled we're able to once again announce our support of Dave Loebsack as he runs for reelection this fall," said AFGE District 8 National Vice President Gregg James. "Dave has shown time and again how he supports federal workers, their rights, and a fair economy; and we're proud to stand by him today," he added. The American Federation of Government Employees, the nation's largest federal employee union, has endorsed Congressman Dave Loebsack of Iowa for the U.S. House of Representatives for Iowas 2nd District. "During his tenure in Congress, Dave has shown an extreme dedication to working people in Iowa, and has consistently scored high marks on our voter scorecard," said James. Adding, "Dave stood up against the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act because of how it would rob federal workers and agencies while rewarding big business, has staunchly opposed efforts to privatize Social Security, and ensures our nation's veterans get the care they have earned at the only healthcare system equipped for their needs the VA." Nearly 18,000 federal workers live in Iowa more than 11,000 of whom reside in the 2nd district supporting the military, caring for veterans, ensuring the safety of the flying public, and getting Social Security recipients their benefits accurately and on time. AFGE is the largest federal employee union in the country, representing 700,000 federal and D.C. government workers in all functions of government. District 8 has more than 10,000 dues-paying members in Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota. The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) is the largest federal employee union, representing 700,000 workers in the federal government and the government of the District of Columbia. For the latest AFGE news and information, visit the AFGE Media Center. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. SOURCE American Federation of Government Employees Related Links http://www.afge.org EMERYVILLE, Calif., Aug. 3, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Graduating doctors in the first class at a new medical college at the University of Houston will not be forced to go steeply into student loan debt like their peers. An anonymous donor donated $3 million so that all 30 students who will make up the first class in 2020 will graduate debt-free. Of the millions of Americans who graduate with student loan debt, doctors have the highest average debt of around $183,000. Because of their high earning potential,doctors have relatively low default rates, compared with the rest of Americans who struggle with student loan debt at much higher rates. American Financial Benefits Center (AFBC), a document preparation company that helps its clients apply for federal income-driven repayment plans (IDRs), encourages those who are not beneficiaries of anonymous donors writing checks for their college expenses to look into IDRs to potentially ease stress during repayment. "We celebrate any students that are able to leave college without student loan debt," said Sara Molina, manager at AFBC. "But, as our clients know, all of our efforts are in service of assisting them to possibly lower their monthly payments by helping them apply for and maintain enrollment in programs such as IDRs." The average cost of attending a four-year medical program at a public university is nearly $250,000, and it's even higher at private universities. The University of Houston will offer its program to the subsequent classes at substantially lower-than-average rates: about $25,000 per year, or about $100,000 to graduate. Though future doctors accumulate the highest levels of student loan debt, as has been documented, borrowers with lower debt have the highest default rates at well over 30 percent for those who owe only $1,000-$5,000. And, with current data showing that default rates are rising, a Brookings study has estimated that borrower default rates could approach 40 percent by 2023 for those most at risk. These figures do not portray a level playing field, with blacks with a bachelor's degree defaulting at nearly five times the rate of whites with a bachelor's degree. Though the first wave of University of Houston medical students will graduate debt-free, millions of Americans continue to suffer under the burden of student loan debt and, for them, IDRs may be their best option for moving forward with their lives. "It is indeed wonderful that someone was willing to step up and give $3 million dollars to support 30 doctors so that they would be able to go to college tuition-free," said Molina. "Though we can't erase our clients' debt, we can help them find the right repayment program for them, possibly reducing that monthly payment and allowing them to move forward in their lives." About American Financial Benefits Center American Financial Benefits Center is a document preparation company that helps clients apply for federal student loan repayment plans that fit their personal financial and student loan situation. Through its strict customer service guidelines, the company strives for the highest levels of honesty and integrity. Each AFBC telephone representative has received the Certified Student Loan Professional certification through the International Association of Professional Debt Arbitrators (IAPDA). American Financial Benefits Center Newsroom Contact To learn more about American Financial Benefits Center, please contact: American Financial Benefits Center 1900 Powell Street #600 Emeryville, CA 94608 1-800-488-1490 [email protected] Related Images young-doctors.jpg Young Doctors Credit: style-photographs/Bigstock image2.png Related Links AFBC home page SOURCE American Financial Benefits Center Related Links https://afbcenter.com "We're pleased to join the Binghamton business community and establish an office in this part of the country, welcoming 34 local area employees to the Renaissance family," says Robert P. Mulligan, President and Chief Executive Officer of Renaissance, and graduate of Binghamton University. "This new operation houses our group life, disability and accident insurance services, providing exciting opportunities for Renaissance to better serve brokers and employer groups across the country with a more complete range of ancillary insurance products." Situated along the scenic Chenango River in the heart of downtown Binghamton, the first-floor office space at 2 Court Street underwent a complete renovation. The state-of-the-art office features an open concept with glass walls and future accommodations for up to 60 employees. Services performed at the location include underwriting and administrative support in claims processing for group life, disability and accident insurance. There is also a sales office at the location. "We are so thrilled that Renaissance has chosen Binghamton to expand their business and has created a strong partnership with an existing business as a strong foundation," commented Greater Binghamton Chamber President and CEO, Jennifer Conway. "We are confident that Renaissance will find great success here. This is exactly the kind of business investment that we are looking for in Broome County, and we look forward to the future as we grow together." Earlier this year, Renaissance completed a joint agreement with a Binghamton-based insurance company to acquire its group life, disability and accident insurance division. Renaissance hired 34 of its employees, who bring significant talent and experience, as well as a solid knowledge of group life, disability and accident insurance, helping Renaissance to jump-start its new office in Binghamton. According to Donald J. Smith, Vice President of the Binghamton Operation, his team members' average length of insurance experience is 17 years. Renaissance is committed to having a positive impact on the communities where its employees and customers live. For example, the company has joined the Greater Binghamton Chamber of Commerce and was already a sponsor of the Binghamton Philharmonic's recent "Pops on the River." "We're excited about the momentum and being a part of the growth at Renaissance as well as the revitalization in downtown Binghamton," says Smith, who is also a graduate of Binghamton University. About Renaissance Renaissance Life & Health Insurance Company of America and Renaissance Life & Health Insurance Company of New York are part of a family of companies collectively operating under the holding company Renaissance Health Service Corporation. Founded in 1957, the family of companies has offices in Arkansas, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee and Texas. Collectively, the Renaissance companies cover 13.1 million people with annual paid claims of nearly $3 billion. Renaissance has an "A" rating from A.M. Best and offers nationwide ancillary benefit solutions for employer groups and individuals. Visit www.renaissancefamily.com. SOURCE Renaissance Life & Health Insurance Company of America Related Links http://www.renaissancefamily.com San Antonio, TX, Aug. 3, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Biglari Holdings Inc. (NYSE: BH.A; BH) announces its results for the second quarter and first six months of 2018. Biglari Holdings Inc.'s earnings for the second quarter and first six months of 2018 and 2017 are summarized below. To become fully apprised of our results, shareholders should carefully study our 10-Q, which has been posted at www.biglariholdings.com. (dollars in thousands) Second Quarter First Six Months 2018 2017 2018 2017 Pre-tax operating earnings (loss) $ 2,810 $ 586 $ (542) $ 2,781 Investment partnership gains (losses) (8,341) 37,238 (4,846) 12,270 Interest expense (2,898) (2,781) (5,652) (5,605) Income tax (expense) benefit 890 (13,917) 1,687 (4,141) Net earnings (loss) $ (7,539) $ 21,126 $ (9,353) $ 5,305 June 30, 2018 June 30, 2017 Class A equivalent shares outstanding 620,592 620,284 Analysis of Results: Investments held through investment partnerships affect our reported quarterly earnings based on their carrying value. We do not regard the quarterly or annual fluctuations in the partnerships' carrying values to be meaningful. Therefore, our operating businesses are best analyzed before the impact of investment gains. As a consequence, in the preceding table we separate earnings of our operating businesses from our investment gains. About Biglari Holdings Inc. Biglari Holdings Inc. is a holding company owning subsidiaries engaged in a number of diverse business activities, including media, property and casualty insurance, and restaurants. The Company's largest operating subsidiaries are involved in the franchising and operating of restaurants. All major operating, investment, and capital allocation decisions are made for the Company and its subsidiaries by Sardar Biglari, Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. Comment on Regulation G This press release contains certain non-GAAP financial measures. In addition to the GAAP presentations of net earnings, Biglari Holdings defines pre-tax operating earnings outside of the investment gains/losses of the Company. Risks Associated with Forward-Looking Statements This news release may include "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and other federal securities laws. These statements are based on current expectations and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ markedly from those projected or discussed here. Biglari Holdings cautions readers not to place undue reliance upon any such forward-looking statements, for actual results may differ materially from expectations. Biglari Holdings does not update publicly or revise any forward-looking statements even if experience or future changes make it clear that any projected results expressed or implied therein will not be realized. Further information on the types of factors that could affect Biglari Holdings and its business can be found in the Company's filings with the SEC. SOURCE Biglari Holdings Inc. Related Links http://www.biglariholdings.com NEW YORK, Aug. 3, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The Brain & Behavior Research Foundation has announced the winners of its 2018 Klerman and Freedman Prizes recognizing exceptional clinical and basic research. The prizes honor the work of outstanding researchers who have been supported by the Foundation's Young Investigator Grant Program. Christina M. Gremel, Ph.D., Byungkook Lim, Ph.D., Herbert Pardes, M.D., Ueli Rutishauser, Ph.D., Timothy Y. Mariano, M.D., Ph.D., M.Sc, and Albert R. Powers III, M.D., Ph.D. The grant program enables scientists who are early in their careers pursue innovative ideas in neurobiological and psychosocial research, gather pilot data and generate "proof of concept" for the early detection, treatment, prevention and cures for mental illness. The awards were presented by Dr. Herbert Pardes, President of the Foundation's Scientific Council, at a ceremony in New York City on July 27. The Klerman & Freedman Prizes are awarded annually on the evening before the Foundation's annual Scientific Council meeting. The group of 172 leading experts across disciplines in brain and behaviors research meets to discuss grant applications and recommend the most promising ideas to fund. Dr. Jeffrey Borenstein, President and CEO of the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation, said, "Since 1987, we have awarded more than $394 million to more than 4,700 scientists in more that 35 countries around the world, and we have seen great strides that have changed the lives of people living with mental illness. However, much remains to be learned, and through continued support for creative research and innovative approaches we envision a future in which we will fully unlock the mysteries of psychiatric disease." Five young scientists received recognition for their outstanding work in brain and behavior research. They are: 2018 Klerman Prizewinner for Exceptional Clinical Research Albert R. Powers III , M.D., Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Medical Director, PRIME Psychosis Prodrome Research Clinic, Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine , The Connecticut Mental Health Center In addition to treating patients who suffer from the earliest symptoms of psychosis, he uses computational approaches to understand how sensory systems might go awry to produce hallucinations and other psychotic symptoms. Assistant Professor, Medical Director, PRIME Psychosis Prodrome Research Clinic, Department of Psychiatry, , The Connecticut Mental Health Center In addition to treating patients who suffer from the earliest symptoms of psychosis, he uses computational approaches to understand how sensory systems might go awry to produce hallucinations and other psychotic symptoms. 2018 Freedman Prizewinner for Exceptional Basic Research Byungkook Lim, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Neurobiology, University of California, San Diego Dr. Lim's research investigates the neural circuitry behind stress-induced depression and autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Assistant Professor of Neurobiology, Dr. Lim's research investigates the neural circuitry behind stress-induced depression and autism spectrum disorder (ASD). 2018 Klerman Prize Honorable Mention Timothy Y. Mariano , M.D., Ph.D., M.Sc., Instructor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School , Brigham and Women's Hospital, Butler Hospital Dr. Mariano studies a type of noninvasive brain stimulation called transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) as a potential treatment for the emotional symptoms of chronic low back pain. Instructor of Psychiatry, , Brigham and Women's Hospital, Butler Hospital Dr. Mariano studies a type of noninvasive brain stimulation called transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) as a potential treatment for the emotional symptoms of chronic low back pain. 2018 Freedman Prize Honorable Mention Christina M. Gremel , Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Psychology, The Neurosciences Graduate Program, University of California, San Diego Dr. Gremel's lab examines the neural bases of goal-directed behavior. Assistant Professor of Psychology, The Neurosciences Graduate Program, Dr. Gremel's lab examines the neural bases of goal-directed behavior. 2018 Freedman Prize Honorable Mention Ueli Rutishauser , Ph.D., Associate Professor in Neuroscience, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles Dr. Rutishauser's laboratory investigates the neural mechanisms of learning, memory, and decision making. The Klerman and Freedman Prizes, awarded annually, are named for Gerald Klerman, M.D., and Daniel Freeman, M.D., neuropsychiatry pioneers who played seminal roles as researchers, teachers, physicians and administrators. The prizewinners are selected by the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation's Scientific Council. Dr. Herbert Pardes, President of the Scientific Council, Executive Vice Chairman of the Board of Trustees, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, and Professor of Psychiatry at Columbia and Weill Cornell Medical Schools, said, "The Klerman and Freedman prizes recognize innovative thinking and remarkable talent across the field of neuropsychiatry. Recognition for scientists early in their career helps them go on to receive further funding and is a precursor to further accomplishments. We applaud these researchers for their brilliant work, and we thank our generous donors who understand that support of brain and behavior research will continue to produce better treatment, and ultimately, cures and prevention for mental illness." For more information on the Klerman and Freedman prize winners and their research, visit: https://www.bbrfoundation.org/grants-prizes/klerman-freedman-prizes About the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation The Brain & Behavior Research Foundation awards research grants to develop improved treatments, cures, and methods of prevention for mental illness. These illnesses include addiction, ADHD, anxiety, autism, bipolar disorder, borderline personality disorder, depression, eating disorders, OCD, PTSD, schizophrenia, and suicide prevention. Since 1987, the Foundation has awarded more than $394 million to fund more than 4,700 leading scientists around the world, which has led to over $3.9 billion in additional funding. 100% of every dollar donated for research is invested in our research grants. Our operating expenses are covered by separate foundation grants. For more information, visit bbrfoundation.org. SOURCE Brain & Behavior Research Foundation Related Links http://www.bbrfoundation.org CHICAGO and ATLANTA, Aug. 3, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- As employers grapple with a highly competitive hiring environment that is causing prolonged job vacancies across the U.S., workers are reaping the benefits. According to CareerBuilder's Midyear Job Forecast, 63 percent of U.S. employers plan to hire full-time, permanent workers in the second half of 2018, up from 60 percent last year. A substantial percentage of employers hiring in the second half of 2018 are expecting to offer higher salaries and various perks such as signing bonuses, extra paid time off, free lunches and the ability to work remotely to attract and keep the talent they need. CareerBuilder logo (PRNewsfoto/CareerBuilder) "Low unemployment and increasing skills gaps continue to plague employers who are struggling to fill roles at all levels within their organizations," said Matt Ferguson, CEO of CareerBuilder. "Fifty percent of U.S. employers reported that it is taking them longer to fill jobs today compared to any other period of time a trend that is ultimately giving job seekers more leverage." The national surveys, which were conducted online by The Harris Poll on behalf of CareerBuilder from June 21 to July 15, 2018, included representative samples of 1,023 hiring managers and human resource managers and 1,014 full-time U.S. workers across industries and company sizes in the private sector. Compensation to Increase Across Job Levels Employers expect to provide a greater financial incentive to new workers and existing staff. Forty-five percent plan to increase starting salaries on new job offers in the back half of 2018; 23 percent of all employers plan to increase starting salaries by 5 percent or more. Fifty-eight percent of employers will increase compensation for current employees before year end, with 24 percent of all employers planning an increase of 5 percent or more on average. The study shows that compensation increases aren't limited to high-skill positions. Looking at a subset of human resource managers, 71 percent believe they have to pay entry-level workers more money because of tight talent pools. Hot Areas for Hiring From a functional standpoint, the top roles employers hiring in the second half of 2018 say they will be hiring include: Customer service 41 percent Sales 28 percent Information technology 22 percent Product development 16 percent Business development 16 percent Additional Trends to Watch Companies offering extra perks In an effort to draw in more applicants and, ultimately hires, employers hiring in the second half of 2018 said they would be highlighting different perks in their job offers: In an effort to draw in more applicants and, ultimately hires, employers hiring in the second half of 2018 said they would be highlighting different perks in their job offers: Casual dress code 36 percent Employee discounts 31 percent Ability to work remotely 25 percent Extra paid time off 22 percent Signing bonus 21 percent Free lunches 14 percent Gym memberships 12 percent Work from home Fridays 10 percent Daycare 8 percent More jobs getting technical Sixty-nine percent of employers said every job is essentially a tech job because every job has some technical component to it today. That sentiment is reflected in how employers recruit and interview for different roles. Sixty-nine percent of employers said every job is essentially a tech job because every job has some technical component to it today. That sentiment is reflected in how employers recruit and interview for different roles. Higher employee turnover With job growth continuing at a healthy clip, more than 1 in 5 workers (22 percent) reported that they are likely to change jobs in the second half of 2018. With job growth continuing at a healthy clip, more than 1 in 5 workers (22 percent) reported that they are likely to change jobs in the second half of 2018. Companies hiring for gigs Forty-one percent of employers plan to hire temporary or contract workers in Q3. While trending down from 50 percent last year, temporary or contract hiring continues to be a key way employer fill employment gaps and recruit permanent staff. Survey Methodology This survey was conducted online within the U.S. by The Harris Poll on behalf of CareerBuilder among 1,023 hiring and human resource managers ages 18 and over (employed full-time, not self-employed, non-government including 309 HR managers) and 1,014 employees ages 18 and over (employed full-time, not self-employed, non-government) between June 21 and July 16, 2018. Data for employers were weighted where necessary by company size and job level and data for employees were weighted where necessary by gender, age, race/ethnicity, region, income, education, and industry to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population. About CareerBuilder CareerBuilder is a global, end-to-end human capital solutions company focused on helping employers find, hire and manage great talent. Combining advertising, software and services, CareerBuilder leads the industry in recruiting solutions, employment screening and human capital management. CareerBuilder is majority-owned by funds managed by affiliates of Apollo Global Management, LLC and operates in the United States, Canada, Europe and Asia. For more information, visit www.careerbuilder.com. Media Contact Jennifer Grasz 773.527.1164 [email protected] http://www.twitter.com/CareerBuilderPR SOURCE CareerBuilder Related Links http://www.careerbuilder.com WASHINGTON, Aug. 2, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The Challenger Center and the McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center will participate in live calls with a NASA astronaut currently living and working aboard the International Space Station as part of NASA's Year of Education on Station (YES) next week. Each Earth-to-space call will air live on NASA Television and the agency's website. Following introductions by Challenger Center President and Chief Executive Officer Lance Bush, and a presentation by NASA Associate Administrator for Education Mike Kincaid, astronaut Ricky Arnold will talk with Challenger Center staff, educators and board of directors at 12:20 p.m. EDT Tuesday, Aug. 7. The event will take place at the Lockheed Martin Global Vision Center at 2121 Crystal Dr. in Arlington, Virginia. Media interested in covering the event should contact Lisa Vernal at [email protected] or 412-337-3880. Arnold will provide an update on filming of the first of Christa's Lost Lessons, a collaboration between NASA and the Challenger Center to bring the lessons of educator astronaut Christa McAuliffe to life. McAuliffe was NASA's first educator astronaut and participated in the Teacher in Space project. She died in the space shuttle Challenger accident in 1986. On Thursday, Aug. 9, Arnold will talk at 2:35 p.m. with students and the public at the McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center in Concord, New Hampshire, McAuliffe's hometown. Summer camp and homeschooled students between the ages of 5 and 14 will get the opportunity to ask Arnold about life aboard the space station. The McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center is located at 2 Institute Dr. Media interested in covering the event should contact Sarah Hoffschwelle at [email protected] or 603-271-7827 ext. 117. In-flight education downlinks are an integral component of YES, which provides extensive space station-related resources and opportunities to students and educators. Astronauts living in space on the orbiting laboratory communicate with NASA's Mission Control Center in Houston 24 hours a day through the Space Network's Tracking and Data Relay Satellites (TDRS). Follow the astronauts on social media at: https://www.twitter.com/NASA_astronauts See videos and lesson plans highlighting research on the International Space Station at: https://www.nasa.gov/stemonstation/ SOURCE NASA Related Links http://www.nasa.gov NEW YORK, Aug. 3, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- CommonBond, a leading financial technology company that helps students and graduates pay for higher education, today announces its second AAA-rated securitization from Moody's and DBRS. At $292 million of total collateral, the transaction is CommonBond's largest to date. The securitization was CommonBond's second of 2018 and seventh overall, bringing the company's total securitized loan amount to over $1.5 billion. A mix of new and pre-existing investors participated in the transaction. Goldman Sachs served as structuring agent, co-lead manager, book-runner, and co-sponsor for this securitization. Barclays, Citi, and Guggenheim Securities also served as co-lead managers and book-runners on the transaction. "Our recent securitization continues the company's track record of strong credit performance and consistent growth," said Sam Luk, head of capital markets at CommonBond. "We continue to generate high-quality assets, which has encouraged the expansion of our investor base. We also remain committed to serving as a programmatic issuer, and consistently providing best-in-class products to consumers, partners, and investors." Independent of this securitization, Moody's recently upgraded six senior tranches in three CommonBond securitizations to AAA ratings. Additionally, DBRS upgraded 12 tranches in four securitizations this spring. This securitization coincides with continued growth for CommonBond and its three business lines: loans for current students, refinance loans for graduates, and its CommonBond for Business student loan benefits platform for employers. The company announced a $50 million Series D equity funding round in March and has secured over $3 billion in lending capacity. Fast Company named CommonBond one of the World's 50 Most Innovative Companies for 2018. About CommonBond CommonBond is a financial technology company on a mission to give students and graduates more affordable, transparent, and simple ways to pay for higher education. The company offers refinance loans to college graduates, new loans to current students, and a suite of student loan repayment benefits to employees through its CommonBond for Business program. By designing a better student loan experience that combines advanced technology with competitive rates and award-winning customer service, CommonBond has funded over $2 billion in loans for its tens of thousands of members. CommonBond is also the first and only finance company with a "one-for-one" social mission: for every loan it funds, CommonBond also funds the education of a child in need, through its partnership with Pencils of Promise. For more information, visit www.commonbond.co. SOURCE CommonBond Related Links http://www.commonbond.co NOVI, Mich., Aug. 3, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Cooper-Standard Holdings Inc. (NYSE: CPS) will present at the 2018 J.P. Morgan Auto Conference on Thursday, Aug. 9 in New York City. The conference, which provides investors the opportunity to gain insight into a select group of automotive companies, will include presentations from more than 30 companies, as well as one-on-one meetings and panel discussions. Cooper Standard's Jeffrey Edwards, chairman and CEO, will discuss the Company's business, strategies and 2018 outlook at 8:40 a.m. ET. A link to the live webcast and presentation materials will be available on Cooper Standard's website at http://www.ir.cooperstandard.com/events. About Cooper Standard Cooper Standard, headquartered in Novi, Mich., is a leading global supplier of systems and components for the automotive industry. Products include rubber and plastic sealing, fuel and brake lines, fluid transfer hoses and anti-vibration systems. Cooper Standard employs approximately 32,000 people globally and operates in 20 countries around the world. For more information, please visit www.cooperstandard.com. CPS_F Contact for Analysts: Contact for Media: Roger Hendriksen Sharon Wenzl Cooper Standard Cooper Standard (248) 596-6465 (248) 596-6211 [email protected] [email protected] SOURCE Cooper-Standard Holdings Inc. Related Links http://www.cooperstandard.com VANCOUVER, Aug. 3, 2018 /PRNewswire/ - CRH Medical Corporation (TSX: CRH) (NYSE MKT: CRHM) (the "Company"), announces that it will participate in the 2018 Canaccord Genuity Growth Conference at the Intercontinental Hotel in Boston, Massachusetts. Edward Wright, Chief Executive Officer of the Company is scheduled to present on Thursday, August 9th at 9:00 am ET. The Company's CFO, Richard Bear, as well as Jay Kreger, President of CRH Anesthesia Management will also attend the event. For more details about the conference, please visit http://growthconference.canaccordgenuity.com About CRH Medical Corporation: CRH Medical Corporation is a North American company focused on providing gastroenterologists throughout the United States with innovative services and products for the treatment of gastrointestinal diseases. In 2014, CRH became a full-service gastroenterology anesthesia company that provides anesthesia services for patients undergoing endoscopic procedures in ambulatory surgical centers. To date, CRH has completed 18 anesthesia acquisitions. CRH now serves 43 ambulatory surgical centers in ten states and performs approximately 290,000 procedures annually. In addition, CRH owns the CRH O'Regan System, a single-use, disposable, hemorrhoid banding technology that is safe and highly effective in treating all grades of hemorrhoids. CRH distributes the O'Regan System, treatment protocols, operational and marketing expertise as a complete, turnkey package directly to gastroenterology practices, creating meaningful relationships with the gastroenterologists it serves. CRH's O'Regan System is currently used in all 48 lower US states. SOURCE CRH Medical Corporation Related Links www.crhmedcorp.com WASHINGTON, Aug. 3, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- It is the summer of 1859 and inside a small courthouse in Springfield, Illinois, a 22-year-old man named Peachy Quinn Harrison is on trial for murder. What might have been a quiet local case is suddenly thrust into the national spotlight when rising political star (and rumored dark-horse favorite for the presidency) Abraham Lincoln is hired to defend the young man. In "Lincoln's Last Trial: The Murder Case that Propelled Him to The Presidency," author and ABC News chief legal affairs anchor Dan Abrams throws the reader in the juror's seat and unravels the pivotal, high-stakes proceedings in a play-by-play of history that would rival today's most riveting courtroom dramas. Abrams will share "Lincoln's Last Trial" and why he believes this historic legal thriller is relevant today at a National Press Club Headliners Book Event on Monday, September 24. This event will take place at 6:30 p.m. in the Club's conference rooms and will feature a discussion with the author, an audience question-and-answer session, and a book signing. Tickets are $5 for National Press Club members and $10 for the general public. When purchasing tickets for this event online, buyers will also have the option of purchasing copies of the book at check-out. To purchase tickets and copies of the book, please click here. Books will also be available for purchase at the event. Proceeds from book sales will benefit the non-profit affiliate of the Club, the National Press Club Journalism Institute, so we kindly ask that you leave all outside books and memorabilia at home. About the Author Dan Abrams is the chief legal affairs anchor for ABC News and host of "Live PD" on the A&E cable network. Abrams got his start in cable news covering the OJ Simpson trial and the trials of Dr. Jack Kevorkian for Court TV. He moved to NBC News in 1997 and was eventually named Chief Legal Correspondent, and later, the host of his own show, "The Abrams Report," on MSNBC. Abrams served a brief stint as the General Manager of MSNBC before making the switch to ABC News in 2011. Abrams is also the Founder and CEO of Abrams Media, and has launched several successful websites including "Mediate." PRESS CONTACT: Lindsay Underwood, The National Press Club [email protected] (202) 662-7561 SOURCE National Press Club NEW YORK, Aug 3, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Dr. Steven Victor and ReGen Medical along with Emirates Hospital Jumeirah, an Emirates Healthcare Company, announced they have treated the first four patients with stem cell therapy. Caroline Stanbury was treated for rejuvenation, beauty and a damaged shoulder successfully. Emirates Hospital Jumeirah is the first to receive approval from the Dubai Health Authority and will be the first, through its partnership with ReGen Medical PC, to offer a range of specialty regenerative medical services in the UAE region. ReGen Medical Management ReGen at Emirates Hospital is certified for the medical tourism market and will operate under U.S. Federal Drug Administration (FDA) standards. ReGen will boast an international staff of physicians who are board-certified or board-eligible and experienced in administering the leading cellular therapies available to treat a variety of conditions. The staff will be led by board-certified physicians and ReGen Medical PC founder Dr. Steven Victor who has treated numerous patients for rejuvenation, beauty and diseases with unmet clinical needs. Steven Victor, M.D., ReGen Medical PC, said, "We are proud to partner with Emirates Hospital Jumeirah and the DHA and bring regenerative medicine and stem cell therapy to Dubai. The first four patients did extremely well and have reported successful outcomes. It was an honor to be able to treat Caroline Stanbury who is well-known worldwide and is a great ambassador for our cellular therapy." Caroline Stanbury, celebrity TV star and businesswoman, said, "After my stem cell treatment, I felt fabulous and needed less sleep and felt more alive. It's amazing - my hair is so much thicker and my nails stronger. Also, I look younger and my skin is improved. Also, I was able to go back to my normal routine immediately." The launch of ReGen at Emirates Hospital is one amongst the various initiatives being taken by Emirates Healthcare Company in its efforts to contribute to healthcare advancements in the UAE. Media Contact: Anna Rhodes Phone: 212-249-3050 Email: [email protected] SOURCE ReGen Medical Management DENVER, Aug. 3, 2018 /PRNewswire/ - Energy Fuels Inc. (NYSE American: UUUU; TSX: EFR) ("Energy Fuels" or the "Company"), today reported its financial results for the quarter ended June 30, 2018. The Company's quarterly report on Form 10-Q has been filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), and may be viewed on the Electronic Document Gathering and Retrieval System ("EDGAR") at www.sec.gov/edgar.shtml, on the System for Electronic Document Analysis and Retrieval ("SEDAR") at www.sedar.com, and on the Company's website at www.energyfuels.com. Unless noted otherwise, all dollar amounts are in U.S. dollars. Financial Highlights: At June 30, 2018 , the Company had $55.25 million of working capital, including cash and cash equivalents of $43.2 million and approximately 225,000 pounds of uranium concentrate inventory. , the Company had of working capital, including cash and cash equivalents of and approximately 225,000 pounds of uranium concentrate inventory. $26.9 million of total revenue was realized by the Company during the quarter, due primarily to the advancement of future deliveries under long-term contracts into the quarter. of total revenue was realized by the Company during the quarter, due primarily to the advancement of future deliveries under long-term contracts into the quarter. Primarily as a result of these high revenues, the Company reported net income of $7.1 million for the quarter. for the quarter. 500,000 pounds of U 3 O 8 deliveries were completed by the Company for the three months ended June 30, 2018 at an average realized price of $53.55 per pound. On April 1, 2018 , the Company delivered 400,000 lbs. of U 3 O 8 into long-term sales contracts at the price of $61.30 per pound, resulting in the receipt of over $24.5 million on May 1, 2018 . In addition, on June 15, 2018 the Company delivered 100,000 lbs. of U 3 O 8 into a spot contract at $22.57 per pound. O deliveries were completed by the Company for the three months ended at an average realized price of per pound. On , the Company delivered 400,000 lbs. of U O into long-term sales contracts at the price of per pound, resulting in the receipt of over on . In addition, on the Company delivered 100,000 lbs. of U O into a spot contract at per pound. Uranium production for our own account totaled 128,000 pounds of U 3 O 8 during the quarter, plus another 91,000 pounds of U 3 O 8 for the accounts of others. O during the quarter, plus another 91,000 pounds of U O for the accounts of others. The Company began fulfilling toll processing alternate feed contracts which are expected to result in approximately $7.1 million of revenue for 2018, including $3.8 million of cash and $3.3 million of uranium for the Company's account, of which $196,000 has been earned or recovered to date. Mark S. Chalmers, Energy Fuels' President and CEO stated: "The past quarter was extremely productive for Energy Fuels. We completed a large quantity of uranium deliveries, and as a result we are reporting a profit for the quarter. And, due to a number of factors discussed below, we have significantly improved our working capital position to over $55 million. "I am particularly excited about the progress of our Section 232 application and current vanadium opportunities. On July 18, 2018, the U.S. Department of Commerce ("DOC") initiated its investigation under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 in response to the Petition we and Ur-Energy filed in January 2018. The Petition seeks a remedy which would set a quota to limit imports of uranium into the U.S., effectively reserving 25% of the U.S. nuclear market for U.S. uranium production. The remedy, if granted, would be expected to bolster national defense, further global non-proliferation objectives, improve supply diversification for U.S. utilities and their customers, and strengthen the U.S. uranium mining industry. "As the only company currently capable of producing vanadium in North America, we are also very excited about our current vanadium opportunities. As previously reported, with spot prices nearing $20 per pound of V 2 O 5 , we have decided to resume vanadium production in 2018 by recovering solubilized vanadium from the White Mesa Mill's tailings and evaporation ponds. We expect to initially recover approximately 500,000 lbs. of V 2 O 5 in late-2018 or early-2019, and given favorable costs, recoveries, and then-prevailing market conditions, we expect to continue vanadium recovery in 2019, recovering up to approximately 4 million lbs. of V 2 O 5 over the life of the project. For longer term alternatives, we are evaluating other vanadium production opportunities, including the processing of previously mined uranium/vanadium stockpiles in the vicinity of the Mill, processing other vanadium-bearing streams, and, with improved uranium prices, the re-initiation of conventional uranium/vanadium mine production from certain of our mines that contain large, high-grade vanadium resources. "These opportunities are exciting because they provide us with unsurpassed optionality to increase uranium production as prices rise, as well as allow us to take advantage of the recent significant increases in vanadium prices. "Finally, we were able to significantly strengthen our balance sheet by joining the broad-market Russell 3000 Index during the Quarter. During the Russell rebalance period, we were able to raise significant cash, while our stock outperformed our peers. Inclusion in the Russell is expected to increase the Company's liquidity, visibility and exposure to key institutional investors. In addition, Energy Fuels has been able to maintain a very strong working capital position, and we intend to use some of these proceeds to repay all of our existing long-term Wyoming debt the third quarter of this year." Key Developments: On May 8, 2018, the Company announced that it intends to resume vanadium recovery operations at the Company's White Mesa Mill in 2018. The Company expects to recover significant quantities of currently dissolved vanadium from the tailings and evaporation ponds at the White Mesa Mill. On June 25, 2018, the Company announced that it had been added as a member of the broad-market Russell 3000 Index, as part of the 2018 Russell indexes reconstitution. Annual reconstitution of the Russell indexes captures the 3,000 largest U.S. stocks as of May 11, ranking them by total market capitalization. Membership in the Russell 3000 Index, which remains in place for one year, means automatic inclusion in the large-cap Russell 1000 Index or small-cap Russell 2000 Index, as well as the appropriate growth and value style indexes. On July 18, 2018, the Company announced that the Department of Commerce ("DOC") initiated an investigation into the effects of uranium imports on U.S. national security. The Company and Ur-Energy requested the investigation in their Petition for Relief under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962. The Company and Ur-Energy have proposed remedies that would reserve 25% of the U.S. nuclear market for U.S. uranium producers. Selected Summary Financial Information: $000, except per share data Three months ended June 30, 2018 Three months ended June 30, 2017 Results of Operations: Total revenues $ 26,973 $ 17,883 Net income (loss) attributable to the company 7,149 (4,470) Basic earnings (loss) per share 0.09 (0.06) Diluted earnings (loss) per share 0.08 (0.06) $000's As at June 30, 2018 As at December 31, 2017 Financial Position: Working capital $ 55,249 $ 33,296 Property, plant and equipment 31,416 33,076 Mineral properties 83,539 83,539 Total assets 202,776 185,338 Total long-term liabilities 44,477 45,701 Operations and Sales Outlook: The Company plans to extract and/or recover uranium from the following sources in 2018 (each of which is more fully described below): Nichols Ranch Project; Alternate Feed Materials (uranium-bearing materials other than conventional ores); and The recovery of dissolved uranium from the Mill's tailings management system that was not fully recovered during the Mill's prior thirty-plus years of operations ("Pond Return"). Our planned operations are expected to produce finished uranium in excess of our existing requirements under our final remaining sales contract. In addition, the Company has a long history of conventional vanadium recovery at the Mill when vanadium prices support those activities. The Company is currently expecting to resume vanadium recovery from pond solutions at the Mill later in 2018. The Company is also evaluating opportunities for copper recovery from our Canyon Project. Extraction and Recovery Activities - Overview The Company expects to produce a total of 460,000 to 520,000 pounds of U 3 O 8 in the year ending December 31, 2018, of which 171,000 pounds of U 3 O 8 were produced in the first six months of 2018. Extraction and Recovery - ISR Uranium Segment We expect production at Nichols Ranch to total 140,000 to 160,000 pounds in the year ending December 31, 2018, of which we recovered 82,000 pounds during the first six months of 2018. At June 30, 2018, the Nichols Ranch wellfields had nine header houses extracting uranium. Until such time as improvement in uranium market conditions is observed or suitable sales contracts can be entered into, the Company intends to defer further development of wellfields at its Nichols Ranch Project and to keep Alta Mesa on standby. Extraction and Recovery Milling Operations We expect to recover 320,000 to 360,000 pounds of uranium at the Mill during the year ending December 31, 2018 for our own account, of which we have recovered 89,000 lbs. to date in 2018. Of this material, approximately 145,000 pounds are expected to be from alternate feed materials and the remainder from Pond Return. In addition to the 145,000 pounds expected to be recovered from alternate feed materials, valued at $3.3 million, the Company expects to receive an additional $3.8 million in cash from processing fees, for a total expected value from alternate feed materials of $7.1 million during 2018, of which $196,000 has been earned or recovered to date in 2018. The Company is continuing to pursue other alternate feed material opportunities, some of which may result in additional value to the Company in 2018. The Company currently expects that planned processing activities will keep the Mill in operation through the end of 2018, and will generate positive cash flow as a result. The Company is also actively pursuing opportunities to process new and additional alternate feed sources, low-grade ore from third parties in connection with various uranium clean-up requirements, and further recovery of uranium from Pond Return. The Company also plans to recover vanadium from existing pond solutions in a manner similar to the way the Company has recovered uranium from those same solutions, and perhaps recover vanadium from other sources. Vanadium Recovery Vanadium is a metallic element that is used primarily as an additive to strengthen and harden steel and other high-strength alloys. In addition, the commercialization of grid energy storage systems, including vanadium redox flow batteries, is catalyzing growth in vanadium markets. In addition to its planned vanadium recovery from pond solutions at the Mill later in 2018 and in 2019, the Company is also reviewing the economics of processing certain previously mined uranium/vanadium ore stockpiles in the vicinity of the Mill and re-initiation of conventional mining at certain of its uranium/vanadium mines, as well as the recovery of vanadium alone, or in combination with uranium, from other potential vanadium-bearing streams, as market conditions may warrant. The goal of the Company's vanadium review is to better quantify near- and mid-term vanadium revenue streams, in light of recent increases in vanadium prices, while minimizing the risks of market fluctuations. Canyon Project At the Canyon Project, the Company plans to continue to carry out engineering, procurement and construction management activities in 2018, including additional bench and pilot plant scale metallurgical test work of the uranium/copper mineralization, as well as to pursue any additional permitting actions that may be required to recover copper at the Mill. The timing of our plans to extract and process mineralized materials from this project will be based on the results of this additional evaluation work, along with market conditions, available financing, and sales requirements. Other Operational Activities During the first quarter of 2018, the Company received amendments to its Plans of Operations to expand operations at its La Sal Uranium/Vanadium Project and its Daneros Uranium Project, both of which are currently on standby. The Company continues to selectively advance certain permits at its other major conventional uranium projects. The Company plans to continue the licensing and permitting of the Roca Honda Project, a large, high-grade conventional project in New Mexico, with the Record of Decision currently expected to be completed in 2019. The Company will also continue to evaluate the Bullfrog Property at its Henry Mountains Project. Expenditures for certain of these projects have been adjusted to coincide with expected dates of price recoveries based on our forecasts. All of these projects serve as important pipeline assets for the Company's future conventional production capabilities, as market conditions warrant. The Company will also continue to pursue additional cost cutting initiatives, including further reductions in the scope of certain development initiatives, reductions in corporate overheads, the potential sale or abandonment of certain non-core properties and the sale of excess mining equipment and other assets. Trade Petition In January 2018, the Company participated in the filing of a Petition for Relief with the U.S. Department of Commerce under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 (as amended) From Imports of Uranium Products that Threaten U.S. National Security (the "Petition"). The Petition describes how uranium and nuclear fuel from state-owned and state-subsidized enterprises in Russia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and China potentially represent a threat to U.S. national security. The Petition seeks a remedy which will set a quota to limit imports of uranium into the U.S., effectively reserving 25% of the U.S. nuclear market for U.S. uranium production. On July 18, 2018, the U.S. Department of Commerce ("DOC") initiated its investigation. Pursuant to Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 (as amended), starting on July 18, 2018, the Secretary of the DOC has 270 days to prepare a report to the President of the United States. Following receipt of the Secretary's report, the President then has 90 days to act on the Secretary's recommendations, and if necessary take action to "adjust the imports of an article and its derivatives" and/or pursue other lawful non-trade related actions to address the threat. It should be noted, however, that there can be no certainty of the outcome of the petition, and therefore the outcome of this process is uncertain. Sales of U 3 O 8 and other revenue update and outlook In the three months ended June 30, 2018, the Company completed deliveries of 500,000 pounds of U 3 O 8 at a weighted average price of $53.55 per pound. On April 1, 2018, the Company completed the delivery of 400,000 pounds of U 3 O 8 under two long-term contracts with a fixed price of $61.30 per pound, and on June 15, 2018, the Company completed the delivery of 100,000 pounds of U 3 O 8 under a spot contract at $22.57 per pound, where the price is based on the average spot price per pound of uranium for the five weeks prior to the date of delivery. In the final six months of the year, the Company expects to complete one delivery of 100,000 pounds of U 3 O 8 in Q4 under a contract, where the price is based on the average spot price per pound of uranium for the five weeks prior to the date of delivery. All of the deliveries completed were Company-produced pounds. In Memoriam: Stephen P. Antony (1950 2018) It is with deep sadness that the Company announces the passing of our former President and Chief Executive Officer, Stephen P. Antony. Mr. Antony was a key driving force behind the growth of Energy Fuels and was instrumental in creating what is today the largest uranium and vanadium producer in the United States. His vision was to consolidate the best uranium mines and production facilities in the United States. Under Mr. Antony's leadership, Energy Fuels acquired Magnum Uranium (2009), Titan Uranium (2012), Denison Mines' US Mining Division (2012), Strathmore Resources (2013), Uranerz Energy (2015), and Mestena Uranium (2016). Due in large part to Mr. Antony's foresight and passion, Energy Fuels now holds three uranium production facilities with over 12 million pounds of licensed capacity, the only near-term vanadium production facility in the United States, and a portfolio of producing and near-producing mines and mineral properties. The Company's Board, Management, and the entire Energy Fuels team will greatly miss Steve's intelligence, energy, integrity, and kindness. About Energy Fuels: Energy Fuels is a leading integrated US-based uranium mining company, supplying U 3 O 8 to major nuclear utilities. Its corporate offices are in Denver, Colorado, and all of its assets and employees are in the western United States. Energy Fuels holds three of America's key uranium production centers, the White Mesa Mill in Utah, the Nichols Ranch Processing Facility in Wyoming, and the Alta Mesa Project in Texas. The White Mesa Mill is the only conventional uranium mill operating in the U.S. today and has a licensed capacity of over 8 million pounds of U 3 O 8 per year. The Nichols Ranch Processing Facility is an ISR production center with a licensed capacity of 2 million pounds of U 3 O 8 per year. Alta Mesa is an ISR production center currently on standby. Energy Fuels also has the largest National Instrument 43-101 compliant uranium resource portfolio in the U.S. among producers, and uranium mining projects located in a number of Western U.S. states, including one producing ISR project, mines on standby, and mineral properties in various stages of permitting and development. The Company also produces vanadium as a by-product of its uranium production from certain of its mines on the Colorado Plateau, as market conditions warrant. The primary trading market for Energy Fuels' common shares is the NYSE American under the trading symbol "UUUU", and the Company's common shares are also listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the trading symbol "EFR". Energy Fuels' website is www.energyfuels.com. CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS This news release contains certain "Forward Looking Information" and "Forward Looking Statements" within the meaning of applicable securities legislation, which may include, but is not limited to, statements with respect to: production, revenue and sales forecasts; the ability of the Company to secure any new sources of alternate feed materials, land clean-up materials, or other processing opportunities at the Mill; whether all or a portion of any copper resource at the Canyon project can be recovered at the Mill or elsewhere; optionality, and the Company's ability and readiness to re-start or expand any of its existing projects to respond to any improvements in uranium market conditions; any expectations regarding vanadium production at the Mill and other opportunities; any expectations regarding keeping the Mill in operation through 2018 and the generation of positive cash flow from the Mill as a result; expected timelines for the permitting and development of projects; the Company's expectations as to longer term fundamentals in the market and price projections; any expectations as to expenditures and cost reductions; any expectations with respect to the repayment of outstanding indebtedness; expectations of the Company to become or maintain its position as a leading uranium company in the United States; any expected benefits from inclusion in the Russell indexes; and any expectations with regard to the outcome of the Section 232 investigation. Generally, these forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "expects" "does not expect", "is expected", "is likely", "budget" "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates", "does not anticipate", or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases, or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be taken", "occur", "be achieved" or "have the potential to". All statements, other than statements of historical fact, herein are considered to be forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements express or implied by the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements include risks associated with: production, revenue and sales forecasts; the ability of the Company to secure any new sources of alternate feed materials, land clean-up materials, or other processing opportunities at the Mill; whether all or a portion of any copper resource at the Canyon project can be recovered at the Mill or elsewhere; optionality, and the Company's ability and readiness to re-start or expand any of its existing projects to respond to any improvements in uranium market conditions; any expectations regarding vanadium production at the Mill and other opportunities; any expectations regarding keeping the Mill in operation through 2018 and the generation of positive cash flow from the Mill as a result; expected timelines for the permitting and development of projects; the Company's expectations as to longer term fundamentals in the market and price projections; any expectations as to expenditures and cost reductions; any expectations with respect to the repayment of outstanding indebtedness; expectations of the Company to become or maintain its position as a leading uranium company in the United States; any expected benefits from inclusion in the Russell indexes; any expectations with respect to the outcome of the Section 232 investigation; and the other factors described under the caption "Risk Factors" in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K dated March 9, 2018, which is available for review on EDGAR at www.sec.gov/edgar.shtml, on SEDAR at www.sedar.com, and on the Company's website at www.energyfuels.com. Forward-looking statements contained herein are made as of the date of this news release, and the Company disclaims, other than as required by law, any obligation to update any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, results, future events, circumstances, or if management's estimates or opinions should change, or otherwise. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, the reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The Company assumes no obligation to update the information in this communication, except as otherwise required by law. SOURCE Energy Fuels Inc. Related Links http://www.energyfuels.com KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, Aug. 3, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The economic progress of Malaysia and a growing number of high net-worth individuals in the country is leading to a steady growth in the demand for business aviation. This coupled with the regional dynamics of the industry, wherein existing hubs such as Singapore's Selatar airport and Hong Kong International Airport are giving preference to commercial flights, present an ideal moment for Malaysia to capitalise. As per a recent survey conducted by Frost & Sullivan among industry stakeholders in the Asia Pacific region, the Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah airport at Subang in Malaysia is the most favoured choice for the next business aviation hub in the region. "Subang is already the most frequently used business aviation airport in Malaysia and it has potential to develop even further," said Nishant Dey Purkayastha, Consultant at Frost & Sullivan. Frost & Sullivan estimates that the business aviation fleet owned and used by Malaysians, which stood at 51 jets in 2017, can potentially reach to 124 jets by 2030. "However, the industry has several roadblocks that need to be mitigated in order to realize the full potential. Regulatory issues related to registration, financing and cabotage policy are major roadblocks. For instance, only 30% of the fleet based out of Malaysia are registered in the Malaysian registry. The others are registered in other countries. This hampers the domestic charter industry as the internationally registered jets cannot be used for domestic operations. Other hurdles are in the form of infrastructure related issues and operational issues," said Nishant. The availability of a complete ecosystem, including charter operators, authorised maintenance centers, fixed-based operators and parking space, were key reasons that helped Singapore and Hong Kong to emerge as hubs for business aviation. "Subang currently does have a decent ecosystem, with some leading global names such as ExecuJet and Hawker Pacific, as well as established local players like Smooth Route, Sapura Aero and Redland Aviation. However, some aspects of the value chain such as painting and modifications, flight simulation and training, and parts distribution and logistics are missing. Malaysia will need to attract investments to fill up the gaps and complete the ecosystem," he added. Currently, Subang's annual business jet movement stands at around 3,200. The leading business aviation airports in Asia Pacific region are Beijing (9,000 movement), Hong Kong (7,250 movement), Shanghai (5,000 movement) and Singapore (4,900 movement). Subang's numbers are marginally ahead of Bangkok's Don Muang airport and Manila's Ninoy Aquino airport. As per Frost & Sullivan's analysis, if the issues in the ecosystem in Malaysia can be addressed, the annual business jets movement in Subang can potentially reach a figure of 9,299 by 2030. Business aviation sector's contribution to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Malaysia stands at 0.008% currently. On the other hand, developed countries such as the United States, Canada and United Kingdom typically have a contribution of around 0.20% of the GDP from the business aviation industry. This provides immense potential for the industry to grow in Malaysia and at the same time create jobs and contribute to the economy. Currently, the industry contributes approximately 96 million Ringgit to the annual GDP and provides 636 person-years of employment. In the best case scenario, this can potentially grow to 342 million Ringgit in GDP contribution and 1,546 person-years of employment by 2030. The development of the industry will require all the key stakeholders to work in tandem. While the Ministry of Transportation, the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM) and Malaysian Aviation Commission (MAVCOM) will have to take the lead to ease the regulatory hurdles, Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad will have to work in conjunction with agencies such as Malaysia Investment Development Authority (MIDA) to prospect and attract the right investors. Understanding the needs of the investors and coming with an appropriate investment package to seal the deals. Nishant added, "Thailand, Philippines and Indonesia are some of the other regional players that can potentially look to develop a business aviation hub. But Malaysia's existing ecosystem is more developed and the industry players seem to hold a more favourable view of Malaysia. However, delays in taking steps in the right direction might enable to competitors to catch up." About Frost & Sullivan For over five decades, Frost & Sullivan has become world-renowned for its role in helping investors, corporate leaders and governments navigate economic changes and identify disruptive technologies, Mega Trends, new business models and companies to action, resulting in a continuous flow of growth opportunities to drive future success. Contact us: Start the discussion. Contact: Melissa Tan Corporate Communications Asia Pacific P: +65 6890 0926 F: +65 6890 0999 E: [email protected] http://ww2.frost.com SOURCE Frost & Sullivan Related Links http://www.frost.com CHICAGO, Aug. 3, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Hub International Limited (Hub), a leading global insurance brokerage, announced today that it has acquired Southland Insurance Brokers Inc. (Southland). Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. With Ontario offices in Leamington, Tecumseh and Harrow, Southland has been providing customers in Windsor and Essex County with home, auto, travel and commercial insurance for more than 50 years. Southland offers a variety of specialized insurance programs for its clients and these programs will continue to diversify in the coming years. Southland will join Hub Ontario under the leadership of Rob Keilty, CEO of Hub Ontario. "Hub has a large practice in Southwestern Ontario and we are excited to expand our capabilities in the region with the acquisition of Southland," said Keilty. "Southwestern Ontario is an important area for economic development in Ontario and Hub Ontario is committed to growing our presence in this region. We are very happy to welcome the Southland team to the Hub Ontario family." "Our clients can continue to rely on our dedication to service that has earned us a reputation of a widely-respected insurance organization and community supporter," said Stephen Savage, President of Southland. "And they'll gain the added benefits and value from Hub's focus and willingness to invest in areas that help deliver the best products and services." About Hub's M&A Activities Hub International Limited is committed to growing organically and through acquisitions to expand its geographic footprint and strengthen industry and product expertise. For more information on the Hub M&A experience, visit WeAreHub.com. About Hub International Headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, Hub International Limited (Hub) is a leading full-service global insurance broker providing property and casualty, life and health, employee benefits, investment and risk management products and services. From offices located throughout North America, Hub's vast network of specialists provides peace of mind on what matters most by protecting clients through unrelenting advocacy and tailored insurance solutions. For more information, please visit hubinternational.com. CONTACT: Media: Marni Gordon Phone: 312-279-4601 [email protected] M&A: Clark Wormer Phone: 312.279.4848 [email protected] SOURCE Hub International Limited Related Links http://www.hubinternational.com ANDERSON, Ind., Aug. 3, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Italpollina, a world leader in the production of organic fertilizers, beneficial microbials and natural biostimulants has been named the recipient of the inaugural AgriBusiness Global Industry Impact Award for the biostimulant sector. Mr. Jon Leman, Commercial Vice President of Italpollina USA Inc., accepted the award on behalf of the company. The presentation of the award occurred at the culmination of the AgriBusiness Global Biostimulant CommerceCon event, which was co-located with the Trade Summit in Phoenix, Arizona. Jon Leman, commercial vice president for Italpollina USA, accepted the award on behalf of the company. In his acceptance remarks, Mr. Leman expressed appreciation on behalf of Italpollina and recognized the company's ownership, the Bonini family, for their "continued leadership in sustainable agriculture." Rebecca Bartels, business manager for Meister Media Worldwide and AgriBusiness Global, introduced the award. This prestigious recognition is presented to the company in the biostimulant sector who has leveraged product innovation that addressed the global biostimulant industry challenges and unique growth opportunities; successfully implemented a distribution strategy based on strategic partnerships, downstream value chain education, and key market identification and penetration; and executed a change-making marketing and communication campaign that took an emerging trend from a virtual unknown to a standard in the agribusiness marketplace. Judging was executed by a panel of experts comprised of the AgriBusiness Global Biostimulant CommerceCon supporting partner and association leadership, and AgriBusiness Global parent company Meister Media Worldwide marketing and communication executives. The prize awarded includes an integrated media package valued at nearly $25,000 USD. "We are delighted to present the AgriBusiness Global Industry Impact Award to Italpollina," said Eric Davis, managing director of the AgriBusiness Group, Meister Media Worldwide. "Italpollina illustrated a core commitment to education, communication, R&D and its distribution approach to ensure its biostimulant products are utilized effectively throughout the supply chain and with farmers around the world." Italpollina has a long history in advanced crop nutrition and has shown a continued commitment to innovation and sustainability. For more than 50 years, Italpollina has utilized science to enhance agriculture and develop solutions in a more natural way, and they have been recognized for their attention to human health and the protection of the environment with several important international certifications. The company is present in 80 countries and has grown to be a global leader in three proprietary technologies for the production of organic fertilizers, beneficial microbials and 100 percent vegetal-based biostimulants. Quality, innovation and respect for nature are the leading values of the company. And an uncommon focus on research and technology is at the center of what they do - as illustrated by two research and development centers, with a third, Italpollina Park, slated to break ground later in 2018 adjacent to the newly commissioned plant in Anderson. "We are very thankful and honored to be named the recipient of this important award that recognizes the most innovative aspect of our company - our commitment to research and the resulting new technologies for sustainable agriculture," said Luca Bonini, CEO of Italpollina. "We are optimistic as we look to the future knowing that the biostimulants of today are a bridge to future, even more exciting, technologies." About Italpollina Italpollina is a global leader in the production of organic fertilizers, 100 percent vegetal-based biostimulants and beneficial microbials. Its innovation has made Italpollina a worldwide leader operating in 80 countries with five production sites, two R&D centers and 14 commercial offices. Founded by Cav. Licinio Bonini in the 1970s, Italpollina focuses on a sustainable and natural approach to agriculture, maintaining human and environmental health as paramount a day closer to Nature. For more information, please visit www.Italpollina.com. Media Contact: MONICA JOHNSON | [email protected] | d. 1+770.337.3172 SOURCE Italpollina USA Inc. Related Links https://italpollina.com Here is the upcoming City Council agenda for Tuesday: I. Call to Order. II. Pledge of Allegiance/Invocation (Councilman Ledford). III. Minute Approval. IV. Special Presentation. V. Ordinances Final Reading: LEGAL a. An ordinance to amend the Charter of the City of Chattanooga, and all acts, ordinances, and other charter provisions amendatory thereof, pursuant to the provisions of Article XI, Section 9, of the Constitution of the State of Tennessee (Home Rule Amendment) so as to change the City Charter by amending Title 4, Chapter I, related to City Court by deleting Sections 4.1 through 4.9 and substituting in lieu thereof Sections 4.1 through 4.3. PUBLIC WORKS AND TRANSPORTATION Transportation b. MR-2018-114 Shannon Kelly-Chattanooga Engineering Group/John Wise-WiseProperties TN, LLC (Abandonment). An ordinance closing and abandoning a portionof the 200 block of Delawanna Terrace to allow for construction of a futuredevelopment, as detailed on the attached map, subject to certain conditions. (District1) (Recommended for approval by Transportation and Planning)c. MR-2018-105 John Sullivan (Abandonment). An ordinance closing and abandoningthe unopened and unnamed right-of-way between the 4300 block of Guild Trail andthe 4300 block of Ochs Highway to allow for construction of a retaining wall andadjustment of property lines, as detailed on the attached map, subject to certainconditions. (District 7) (Recommended for approval by Transportation andPlanning)VI. Ordinances First Reading:PUBLIC WORKS AND TRANSPORTATIONTransportationa. MR-2018-128 Collier Construction/ASTIR, LLC (Abandonment). An ordinanceclosing and abandoning a portion of the 1500 block of Sinclair Avenue at 1531Sinclair Avenue to allow for construction of a future development, detailed on theattached map, subject to certain conditions. (District 7) (Recommended forapproval by Transportation and Planning)b. An ordinance amending Chattanooga City Code, Part II, Chapter 11, Section 11-381relating to vending on public park property, and Chapter 20, Article VII, Sections20-146 through 20-153 relating to Mobile Food Units.VII. Resolutions:COUNCIL OFFICEa. A resolution authorizing the waiver of all fees for the 5K Walk/Run forLupus/Non-Profit Zia 1081 Order of Eastern Stars event at Blue Goose Hollow onSaturday, September 22, 2018, for the total amount of $1,000.00. (District 7)ECONOMIC AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENTb. A resolution authorizing the Mayor to enter into a Donation Agreement, insubstantially the form attached, with JWM Chattanooga, LLC for the acceptance ofthe donation of an approximately 1,471 square foot parcel located at 5061 SummitSpring Way, identified as Tax Map No. 131-099.12, on which a monument has beenerected with aPOLICEf. A resolution authorizing the Chattanooga Police Department, along with theHamilton County Sheriffs Department, to apply for the Fiscal Year 2018 EdwardByrne Justice Assistance Grant Program which runs from October 1, 2018 throughSeptember 30, 2021, through the Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs,for an amount of $92,420.00 for the Chattanooga Police Department, for an amountof $43,445.00 for the Hamilton County Sheriffs Department, for a total amount of$135,865.00.PUBLIC WORKS AND TRANSPORTATIONPublic Worksg. A resolution authorizing the Administrator for the Department of Public Works toenter into an agreement with HDR Engineering, Inc. for professional services relativeto Contract No. W-17-015-101, MBWWTP Tank Safety Upgrades, a Non-ConsentDecree Project, for an amount not to exceed $191,900.00. (District 1)(Non-Consent Decree)h. A resolution to approve Change Order No. 2 for Brown and Caldwell relative toContract No. W-12-021-101, South Chickamauga Creek 5 Sub-Basin SSES, aConsent Decree Project, for an increased amount of $25,560.00, for the revisedcontract amount of $1,100,192.50. (Districts 5 & 6) (Consent Decree)i. A resolution authorizing the award of Contract No. M-18-001-201 to West RoofingSystems, Inc. of Tunnel Hill, GA, Replacement Roofing System for Warner ParkMaintenance Building, in the amount of $42,975.00, with a contingency amount of$5,000.00, for an amount not to exceed $47,975.00. (District 8)j. A resolution authorizing the Administrator for the Department of Public Works toexecute a Consent to Assignment of all purchase orders for Vendor No. 867412 forAmec Foster Wheeler and Infrastructure, Inc. to Wood Environment andInfrastructure Solutions, Inc. relative to the described purchase orders.k. A resolution authorizing the Administrator for the Department of Public Works toexecute an agreement with Steven D. Billingsley d/b/a Billingsley Architecturerelative to Contract No. P-18-001-101, Limited Renovations at Police Annex, for anamount not to exceed $36,400.00.VIII. Purchases.IX. Other Business.1. Approval of certifications for new grocery stores wishing to sell wine:a. MACs Convenience Stores, LLC d/b/a Circle K 2803648, 5710 Lake ResortDrive (District 3)b. MACs Convenience Stores, LLC d/b/a Circle K 2803652, 4900 BrainerdRoad (District 6)2. Form-Based Code Appeals:a. Case No. 18-00012 - Tennessee Valley Credit Union - Barry Gilley -Construction Consultants, LLC, 101 West 20th Street (District 7)b. Case No. 18-00014 - J.W. Holdings, LLC - Adamson Developers, LLC, 1002E. 10th Street and 1006 Fairview Avenue (District 8)X. Committee Reports.XI. Recognition of Persons Wishing to Address the Council on Non-Agenda Matters.XII. Adjournment.TUESDAY, AUGUST 14, 2018CITY COUNCIL AGENDA6:00 PM1. Call to Order.2. Pledge of Allegiance/Invocation (Councilman Gilbert).3. Minute Approval.4. Special Presentation.PUBLIC HEARING - Deannexation of 6403 and 6403B Middle Valley Road5. Ordinances Final Reading:PUBLIC WORKS AND TRANSPORTATIONTransportationa. MR-2018-128 Collier Construction/ASTIR, LLC (Abandonment). An ordinanceclosing and abandoning a portion of the 1500 block of Sinclair Avenue at 1531Sinclair Avenue to allow for construction of a future development, detailed on theattached map, subject to certain conditions. (District 7) (Recommended forapproval by Transportation and Planning)b. An ordinance amending Chattanooga City Code, Part II, Chapter 11, Section 11-381relating to vending on public park property, and Chapter 20, Article VII, Sections20-146 through 20-153 relating to Mobile Food Units.6. Ordinances First Reading:ECONOMIC AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENTa. An ordinance amending Chattanooga City Code, Part II, Chapter 11, Article XVI,Section 11-456, relative to the Small Business Incentive Grant Program.b. An ordinance amending Chattanooga City Code Code, Part II, Chapter 11, ArticleXVIII, Sections 11-477 and 11-478, relative to the Innovation District Grant Program.PLANNINGc. 2018-133 John Cofer (R-1 Residential Zone to E-RD-2 Urban Edge ResidentialDetached 2 Stories Maximum). An ordinance to amend Chattanooga City Code, PartII, Chapter 38, Zoning Ordinance, so as to rezone property located at 722 SpearsAvenue, more particularly described herein, from R-1 Residential Zone to E-RD-2Urban Edge Residential Detached 2 Stories Maximum. (District 1) (Recommendedfor approval by Planning and Staff)d. 2018-137 Fickling & Company, Inc./Ross Rabun (Amend Conditions). An ordinanceto amend Chattanooga City Code, Part II, Chapter 38, Zoning Ordinance, so as toamend Condition No. 1 of Ordinance No. 13269 of previous Case No. 2017-184 onproperty located at 6038 Hixson Pike to require Type C Buffers, more particularlydescribed herein, subject to certain conditions. (District 3) (Recommended forapproval by Planning and Staff)e. 2018-118 Emerson Russell (R-1 Residential Zone to C-2 Convenience CommercialZone). An ordinance to amend Chattanooga City Code, Part II, Chapter 38, ZoningOrdinance, so as to rezone property located at 8430 East Brainerd Road, moreparticularly described herein, from R-1 Residential Zone to C-2 ConvenienceCommercial Zone, subject to certain conditions. (District 4) (Recommended forapproval by Planning and recommended for denial by Staff)2018-118 Emerson Russell (R-1 Residential Zone to C-2 Convenience CommercialZone). An ordinance to amend Chattanooga City Code, Part II, Chapter 38, ZoningOrdinance, so as to rezone property located at 8430 East Brainerd Road, moreparticularly described herein, from R-1 Residential Zone to C-2 ConvenienceCommercial Zone. (Applicant Version)f. 2018-140 Pat Neuhoff (R-4 Special Zone to C-4 Planned Commerce Center Zone).An ordinance to amend Chattanooga City Code, Part II, Chapter 38, ZoningOrdinance, so as to rezone part of a property located at 7502 Shallowford Road, moreparticularly described herein, from R-4 Special Zone to C-4 Planned CommerceCenter Zone, subject to certain conditions. (District 4) (Recommended forapproval by Planning and recommended for denial by Staff)2018-140 Pat Neuhoff (R-4 Special Zone to C-4 Planned Commerce Center Zone).An ordinance to amend Chattanooga City Code, Part II, Chapter 38, ZoningOrdinance, so as to rezone part of a property located at 7502 Shallowford Road, moreparticularly described herein, from R-4 Special Zone to C-4 Planned CommerceCenter Zone. (Applicant Version)g. 2018-132 Richard McCoy (Lift Conditions). An ordinance to amend ChattanoogaCity Code, Part II, Chapter 38, Zoning Ordinance, so as to lift Condition No. 1 ofOrdinance No. 11255 of previous Case No. 2001-193 off property located at 4411Jersey Pike and amending Condition No. 9, more particularly described herein,subject to certain conditions. (District 5) (Recommended for approval byPlanning and Staff)2018-132 Richard McCoy (Lift Conditions). An ordinance to amend ChattanoogaCity Code, Part II, Chapter 38, Zoning Ordinance, so as to lift Condition No. 9 ofOrdinance No. 11255 to allow height of 32.5 feet instead of 25 feet of previousCase No. 2001-193 off property located at 4411 Jersey Pike, more particularlydescribed herein. (Applicant Version)h. 2018-119 Patrick Moore (R-4 Special Zone to C-5 Neighborhood Commercial Zone).An ordinance to amend Chattanooga City Code, Part II, Chapter 38, ZoningOrdinance, so as to rezone property located at 4393 Benton Drive, more particularlydescribed herein, from R-4 Special Zone to C-5 Neighborhood Commercial Zone,subject to certain conditions. (District 5) (Recommended for approval byPlanning and recommended for denial by Staff)2018-119 Patrick Moore (R-4 Special Zone to C-5 Neighborhood Commercial Zone).An ordinance to amend Chattanooga City Code, Part II, Chapter 38, ZoningOrdinance, so as to rezone property located at 4393 Benton Drive, more particularlydescribed herein, from R-4 Special Zone to C-2 Convenience Commercial Zone.(Applicant Version)i. 2018-139 Junior Food Store/Kirby Yost (R-2 Residential Zone to C-2 ConvenienceCommercial Zone). An ordinance to amend Chattanooga City Code, Part II, Chapter38, Zoning Ordinance, so as to rezone property located at 6302 Highway 58, moreparticularly described herein, from R-2 Residential Zone to C-2 ConvenienceCommercial Zone. (District 6) (Recommended for approval by Planning andStaff)j. 2018-112 Crown Interiors/Shannon Kelly (R-1 Residential Zone to M-1Manufacturing Zone). An ordinance to amend Chattanooga City Code, Part II,Chapter 38, Zoning Ordinance, so as to rezone properties located in the 6200 block ofVance Road, more particularly described herein, from R-1 Residential Zone to M-1Manufacturing Zone, subject to certain conditions. (District 6) (Recommended fordenial by Planning and Staff) (Recommend for approval of a portion byPlanning and Staff) (Deferred from 7/10/18)2018-112 Crown Interiors/Shannon Kelly (R-1 Residential Zone to M-1Manufacturing Zone). An ordinance to amend Chattanooga City Code, Part II,Chapter 38, Zoning Ordinance, so as to rezone properties located in the 6200 block ofVance Road, more particularly described herein, from R-1 Residential Zone to M-1Manufacturing Zone. (Applicant Version)k. 2018-129 Danbury Properties ? Fidel Fonseca (R-1 Residential Zone to R-2Residential Zone). An ordinance to amend Chattanooga City Code, Part II, Chapter38, Zoning Ordinance, so as to rezone properties located in the 2900 block of 15thAvenue, more particularly described herein, from R-1 Residential Zone to R-2Residential Zone. (District 7) (Recommended for approval by Planning andStaff)l. 2018-130 Vincent E. Spann (R-1 Residential Zone to R-4 Special Zone). Anordinance to amend Chattanooga City Code, Part II, Chapter 38, Zoning Ordinance,so as to rezone property located at 3210 4th Avenue, more particularly describedherein, from R-1 Residential Zone to R-4 Special Zone, subject to certain conditions.(District 7) (Recommended for approval by Planning and recommended fordenial by Staff)2018-130 Vincent E. Spann (R-1 Residential Zone to R-4 Special Zone). Anordinance to amend Chattanooga City Code, Part II, Chapter 38, Zoning Ordinance,so as to rezone property located at 3210 4th Avenue, more particularly describedherein, from R-1 Residential Zone to R-4 Special Zone. (Applicant Version)m. 2018-134 Calvin Ball (R-1 Residential Zone to R-T/Z Residential Townhouse/ZeroLot Line Zone). An ordinance to amend Chattanooga City Code, Part II, Chapter 38,Zoning Ordinance, so as to rezone properties located at 1506 and 1510 East 12thStreet, more particularly described herein, from R-1 Residential Zone to R-T/ZResidential Townhouse/Zero Lot Line Zone, subject to certain conditions. (District8) (Recommended for approval by Planning and Staff)2018-134 Calvin Ball (R-1 Residential Zone to R-T/Z Residential Townhouse/ZeroLot Line Zone). An ordinance to amend Chattanooga City Code, Part II, Chapter 38,Zoning Ordinance, so as to rezone properties located at 1506 and 1510 East 12thStreet, more particularly described herein,, from R-1 Residential Zone to R-T/ZResidential Townhouse/Zero Lot Line Zone. (Applicant Version)n. 2018-142 Miken Development, LLC (M-1 Manufacturing Zone to UGC UrbanGeneral Commercial Zone). An ordinance to amend Chattanooga City Code, Part II,Chapter 38, Zoning Ordinance, so as to rezone property located at 1601 SouthHoltzclaw Avenue, more particularly described herein, from M-1 ManufacturingZone to UGC Urban General Commercial Zone. (District 8) (Recommended forapproval by Planning and Staff)o. An ordinance to amend Chattanooga City Code, Part II, Chapter 38, ZoningOrdinance, Article II; Article V, Sections 38-183, 38-203, and 38-263; and ArticleXVI, Sections 38-706, 38-725, and 38-736 relating to Home Occupation and CateringService.7. Resolutions:ECONOMIC AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENTa. A resolution declaring surplus of property located at 1001 Lindsay Street, Tax MapNo. 145D-X-005, and authorizing the transfer of the parcel to the ChattanoogaDowntown Redevelopment Corporation with the continuation of maintenance,janitorial, or related services as provided by employees of the City of Chattanooga fora period not to exceed nine (9) months. (District 8) (Deferred from 7/31/18)b. A resolution declaring surplus of property located at 274 E. 10th Street, Tax Map No.145E-C-003, and authorizing the transfer of the parcel to the Chattanooga DowntownRedevelopment Corporation with the continuation of maintenance, janitorial, orrelated services as provided by employees of the City of Chattanooga for a period notto exceed nine (9) months. (District 8) (Deferred from 7/31/18)c. A resolution declaring surplus of property located at 100 E. 11th Street, Tax Map No.145E-B-009, and authorizing the transfer of the parcel to the Chattanooga DowntownRedevelopment Corporation with the continuation of maintenance, janitorial, orrelated services as provided by employees of the City of Chattanooga for a period notto exceed nine (9) months. (District 8) (Deferred from 7/31/18)d. A resolution authorizing the Administrator for the Department of Economic andCommunity Development to enter into an agreement with Machinic, LLC owned byJason Kelley Johnson for conceptual design services for the Patten Parkway Artworkand Innovation District Artistic Plan, in the amount of $40,000.00.MAYORS OFFICEe. A resolution to confirm the Mayors re-appointments of Carl Levi and Daisy Madisonto the General Pension Board.f. A resolution to confirm the Mayors appointment of Carol White to the TreeAdvisory Commission.g. A resolution to confirm the Mayors re-appointments of Sally Wencel, Craig Walker,and Hill Craddock to the Tree Advisory Commission.h. A resolution to confirm the Mayors appointment of Brooke Bradley-King to the Beerand Wrecker Board for District 1 with a term expiring on July 31, 2021.POLICEi. A resolution authorizing the Chief of the Chattanooga Police Department to enter intoan agreement with Tritech Software Systems for annual support and maintenance ofthe RMS system for the period of July 1, 2018 through June 30, 2019, for an amountnot to exceed $264,598.54.j. A resolution authorizing the Chief of the Chattanooga Police Department to enter intoan agreement with Applied Concepts, Inc. for sixty-eight (68) stalker radars for trafficenforcement, for an amount not to exceed $114,499.76.k. A resolution authorizing the Chief of the Chattanooga Police Department to enter intoan agreement with Data Driven for Watson Field Reporting Support and Maintenancefor the period of July 1, 2018 through June 30, 2019, for an amount not to exceed$58,194.00.PUBLIC WORKS AND TRANSPORTATIONPublic Worksl. A resolution authorizing the Administrator for the Department of Public Works toenter into an agreement for the closure/post closure plan for the City of ChattanoogaSolid Waste Processing Facility with the State of Tennessee, Division of Solid WasteManagement, by deleting an amount not to exceed $36,480.79 and substituting inlieu thereof an amount not to exceed $37,137.44.m. A resolution to amend Resolution No. 29117, as adopted on July 25, 2017, relative tothe agreement for the closure/post closure plan for the City landfill with the State ofTennessee, Division of Solid Waste Management, by deleting an amount not toexceed $1,657,448.95 and substituting in lieu thereof an amount not to exceed$1,619,791.71.n. A resolution to amend Resolution No. 29118, as adopted on July 25, 2017, relative tothe agreement for the closure/post closure plan for the City landfill, LateralExpansion Area 3, with the State of Tennessee, Division of Solid WasteManagement, by deleting an amount not to exceed $7,572,618.31 and substitutingin lieu thereof an amount not to exceed $7,708,925.44.o. A resolution to amend Resolution No. 29119, as adopted on July 25, 2017, relative tothe agreement for the closure/post closure plan for the Summit Sanitary Landfill withthe State of Tennessee, Division of Solid Waste Management, by deleting an amountnot to exceed $1,848,183.34 and substituting in lieu thereof an amount not toexceed $1,710,409.68.8. Purchases.9. Other Business.10. Committee Reports.11. Recognition of Persons Wishing to Address the Council on Non-Agenda Matters.12. Adjournment. How Did the Oregon Coast Come to Be - and When? Updated Periodically By Oregon Coast Beach Connection Staff (Manzanita, Oregon) Look around the Oregon coast and you may wonder: how did all this come to be? Or for that matter: when? (Above: aerial view of Arch Cape). Its an insanely complex answer. But the shortest answer, arrived at by skipping over whole gobs of important stuff: probably about ten million years ago the shoreline that we know as the Oregon coast started to exist. But wait, theres more: ice ages came later and changed the ocean levels, drastically shifting things even more. Back and forth the coastline went. Before that, the continental plates had this coastline much farther east. Trying to figure out when the Oregon coast as we see it came to be is really quite the rabbit hole. There were times it looked similar to now. Then it shifted its look and layout quite a bit. Then it came back. Then it changed again. Its enough to even give Dr. Who a headache even with his/her time machine. Still, its fascinating beyond belief. Tom Horning, Seaside geologist and resident, points to a huge array of things going on. The continental plates shifted westward, just as a massive hole in the Earths crust (the same one that powers Yellowstone National Park) poured out lava flow after flow over some 300 miles and created the Columbia River and many of the headlands we now know. That was roughly 15 million years ago. Places like Tillamook Head or Neahkahnie Mountain were of this origin. Parts of Oregon rose and fell, then rose again, including the Coast Range. If you really want to trace the origin of this shoreline all the way back, you have to go as far as at least 270 million years ago when there were no continents. There was one massive continent known as Pangea, which began breaking up 200 million years ago. And thats only the most recent of such super continents. Yes, there were others. Horning said the earliest most recognizable version of the Oregon coast started happening about 190 million years later, after all the big lava flows had finished rampaging across the area. That was about 14 million years ago. Also around that time, the mudstones that make up the bottom of the beaches at places from Yachats up to Astoria came to be. Probably around 10 million years ago, the Coast Range as we know it had again become emergent and was rising faster than erosion was destroying it, Horning said. From then to the present, the shoreline has been approximately at its present position, except during pronounced Ice Age sea level changes of as much as 400 to 500 ft. Horning said that for much of the last two million years the continental shelf was getting flooded now and again, but mostly it was a coastal plain covered with spruce forests, lakes, and migrating sand dunes. The tricky, trippy part: the continental shelf hes referring to is the area where the water depths are now around 500 to 600 feet. Were technically living in a time that may be a bit unusual in the grand scheme of things. Ocean levels now are so high they cover the stretch of the continent some 500 feet up from where shorelines and beaches normally were. But for the past 2 million years, sea level has been lower than it is now and the shoreline has typically been very close to the edge of the continental shelf, or where water depths are near 500 to 600 ft., Horning said. 500 feet is the difference in height between Cape Foulweathers top point and the ocean, if you need to visualize it. Theres a lot more than this that went on to form what we know today, but continental drift is probably the largest factor. For instance, 70 million years ago the shoreline was around where Silver Creek Falls State Park is now. Horning said around 41 million years ago the great, big, nasty subduction zone (where all the earthquakes come from) finally arrived at its current spot some 200 miles or more off this coast. Before then it was much farther inland. Meanwhile, the prehistoric coastline kept marching westward. At 30 million years ago, the continental slope was lifted up above sea level and then sank back down about 18 million years ago or so. By about 15 million years ago only three million years later a whole lot of mudstones accumulated beneath the waves and built so high that the shoreline retreated back inland about 20 miles or more. Fast forward back again to two million years ago and as Horning previously said things began to look the way we know it. To sum it up: the shoreline itself was in approximately this spot about ten million years ago, whereas it had been farther east before that. But it was two million years ago before things mightve become recognizable to human eyes, if they could see then and now. Even so, lots has changed in 10,000 years and less. Ice ages came and went. Back about that time, a massive ice damn broke in what is now Montana and with it came hundreds of feet of water that carved out many of the landmarks we see in the Gorge, the Willamette valley, the Coast Range and even some of the beaches. As little as 3,000 years ago, there were massive dunes covering spots like Newports Yaquina Head which are now gone. 1200 short years ago the location of the Necanicum River in Seaside was likely (perhaps almost overnight) shifted a half mile to the north by a massive tsunami that struck back then. A mere 300 years ago the last enormous tsunami came through and left little ghost forests in river marshes (not the ghost forests on the beaches - those are a different origin). If you went back in time and tried to recognize landmarks, you might find it difficult. Never mind the lack of good morning coffee two million years ago. To add even more craziness to all this geologic haziness: the north Oregon coast is understood much more than the central and southern Oregon coast. Up north, much of the basalt rock and mudstones have been better preserved. From Lincoln County southward, scientists aren't as sure about what happened as often as up north. The south coast, however, is much older and much more of a mish mash; thoroughly complex. In a single beach there may be layers 50 million years old, another section 140 million years old, etc. An example: How Bandon's Face Rock Was Created A Wild S. Oregon Coast Geologic Tale. On top of it, various sections joined onto the south coast from elsewhere. As for other parts of the coast, the actual position of the shoreline is not so clearly understood, as uplift and erosion have destroyed the rocks that contain the evidence we need to interpret the environment of deposition, Horning said. Presumably, the shoreline was somewhere between the summit of the Coast Range and 20 miles west of the modern beach. Still a bit of a mystery. Oregon Coast Lodgings in this area - Where to eat - Maps - Virtual Tours = More Oregon Coast Geology MORE PHOTOS BELOW More About Oregon Coast hotels, lodging..... More About Oregon Coast Restaurants, Dining..... Coastal Spotlight LATEST Related Oregon Coast Articles Back to Oregon Coast Contact Advertise on BeachConnection.net All Content, unless otherwise attributed, copyright BeachConnection.net Unauthorized use or publication is not permitted LOS GATOS, Calif., Aug. 3, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Kyvos Insights, a big data analytics company, today announced they will host a webinar titled "How to Achieve Self-Service BI on Big Data in the Cloud at Massive Scale" on Friday, August 3, 2018 at 10:00 a.m. Pacific time, 1:00 p.m. Eastern time. The webinar will explore how to create a seamless architecture for business intelligence (BI) in the cloud. More and more organizations are increasingly moving their big data to the cloud for the efficiency, elasticity, and agility it offers, but many struggle with how to consume that data, act on the insights within it, and deliver business results through BI. Notably, for most organizations, BI is crucial to their big data efforts. A recent survey from Kyvos Insights found that 70 percent of enterprises consider business intelligence the most important big data use case. Presented by Ajay Anand, vice president of products and marketing at Kyvos Insights and Andrew Brust, analyst at Gigaom Research, the webinar will showcase how organizations can leverage their cloud investments to get actionable insights, determine if existing BI tools perform at scale, and learn how to enable existing BI tools to work seamlessly with big data regardless of whether it is in the cloud or on-premise. "As companies continue to transition to the cloud, they need to be cognizant of whether or not their BI tools are working to their full potential," said Ajay Anand, vice president of products and marketing of Kyvos Insights. "Specifically, this webinar will be of interest to those exploring the necessary steps they can take to build a self-serving BI platform for big data in the age of the cloud." To register for "How to Achieve Self-Service BI on Big Data in the Cloud at Massive Scale" visit: https://www.kyvosinsights.com/webinar-how-to-achieve-self-service-business-intelligence-on-bigdata-in-the-cloud-at-massive-scale/. About Kyvos Insights Kyvos Insights is committed to unlocking the power of big data analytics with its unique "OLAP on Hadoop" technology. Backed by years of analytics expertise and a passion for big data, the company aims to revolutionize big data analytics by providing business users with the ability to visualize, explore and analyze big data interactively, working directly on Hadoop. Headquartered in Los Gatos, California, Kyvos Insights was formed by a team of veterans from Yahoo!, Impetus and Intellicus Technologies. The company has partnered with companies including Cloudera, Hortonworks, MapR, Qlik and Tableau. For more information, visit www.kyvosinsights.com or connect with us on Twitter and LinkedIn. Media Contact: Ken Phillips LEWIS 781-418-2437 [email protected] SOURCE Kyvos Insights Related Links http://www.kyvosinsights.com Organised by UBM Asia Ltd., Taiwan Branch, Asia Agri-Tech Expo & Forum 2018 entered its second edition, showcasing innovative, eco-friendly and sustainable technologies and agrarian products. After a successful launch of its debut last September, there are more visitors coming from China, Japan, Malaysia and Thailand to look for the total solutions against extreme weather. About 4,000 people participated in the conferences over the 3 days, and the satisfactory response revealed the development of agriculture in the Asia-Pacific region is on urgent re-conversion. Ms. Sabine Liu, General Manager of UBM Taiwan, remarked on the overall success of the exhibition, "The manpower of agricultural industries is steeply decreasing, but the demand for food is dramatically rising. We believe innovative technologies and equipment will bring the solutions for food crisis, food safety and animal diseases." The practice to input IoT and bio technology into agriculture has been well developed in Taiwan. It is expected itself to become one of the agri-tech representative models in the future, said Ms. Liu. Precision agriculture is being the trend nowadays and leads the boost of greenhouse. Tatung Company and Hua Wang Ltd., are making ongoing efforts to change weather conditions in small spaces and helping farmers achieve steady yield and income. In addition, Seed & Seedling Pavilion promoted harvest performance of cruciferous vegetables, watermelons, cherry tomatoes and graft passion fruit seedlings. They feature better quality and greater survival of grafted plants, and are heat-, disease-, moisture-, and drought- resistant and tolerant. The exhibitors, Blutech and Fu Chen Automatic Control, expand IIoT market footprints on intelligent facility that helps monitor aquatic farming environment. "The purpose of smart farming is to reduce the cost of manpower, but increase yields. Unmanned fish farm is more than just an idea, it's now our task to work on AI-enabled system for smart aquaculture development," stated Deral Chen, CEO of Blutech. A simulated fish pond was set onsite of exhibition to reveal the working process and data collection from Blutech's smart products. Poultry equipment is another prime focus. Nabel's egg grading and packing systems are capable of inspecting microcracks at the surface of egg shells. The wide range of capacity from 10,000 to 240,000 eggs per hour is assured, said Nabel. On the other hand, Biogas Power Pavilion is very popular with its featured equipment of biogas desulfurization and purification. For animal disease prevention, Sunki Biotech introduced Serizawa Style Organic High Speed Disposal System WCC series to avoid the possible epidemic and infection risk from transportation of poultry dead bodies. There were 210 exhibitors and 400 booths hailing from 19 countries at the show. Attracted more than 25,000 visits, the second edition of the Agri-Tech Expo & Forum is highly satisfied commented by the combination of industry, official and university. At the close of the trade show, more than 1,500sqm has booked by current exhibitors, including Chung Hsi Chemical Plant, Wuli Agriculture Machine, Y-Fa Technology, Shiuh Ger, Buhler Taiwan, Fortune Biotech, Nabel, Emperor Penguin Ent, and Vetnostrum. The next edition of the Asia Agri-Tech Expo & Forum will take place in the end of October 2019 at Taipei World Trade Center, announced UBM Taiwan. About UBM Asia Asia Agri-Tech Expo & Forum is organised by UBM, which in June 2018 combined with Informa PLC to become a leading B2B information services group and the largest B2B Events organiser in the world. Please visit www.ubm.com/asia for more information about our presence in Asia. About news release, please contact Ms. Joy Chou For exhibitor inquiry, please contact Ms. Sophia Lu UBM Asia Ltd., Taiwan Branch TEL+886-2-2738-3898 FAX+886-2-2738-4886 Email[email protected] Website: www.agritechtaiwan.com SOURCE UBM Asia Ltd., Taiwan Branch Related Links http://www.ubmasia.com CHICAGO, Aug. 3, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The Treasurer's Office is refunding $19.5 million without any paperwork to about 53,000 homeowners in Cook County because of changes in property tax benefits, called exemptions, that took effect for the bill that was due August 1, 2018, Treasurer Maria Pappas said today. Here is the refund schedule: 36,000 homeowners who earlier this year paid by check or online will receive a credit to their bank or credit card accounts by August 15 15,000 homeowners who paid through a bank/mortgage escrow account will be mailed a refund check by October 15 2,000 homeowners whose taxes were paid in cash will be mailed a refund application by August 15 to ensure the proper party receives the refund Letters with details will be mailed by August 9 to all homeowners entitled to refunds. To see if you are entitled to a refund, visit cookcountytreasurer.com and take these steps: Select the purple box "Your Property Overview" Enter your address or Property Index Number (PIN) The refunds are due to legislation passed last year by the Illinois General Assembly that increased existing tax exemptions for homeowners and senior citizens. For thousands of homeowners, the exemptions not only eliminated any balance due August 1, but also created refunds for payments earlier this year. SOURCE Cook County Treasurer's Office Related Links http://www.cookcountytreasurer.com "We could not have asked for a better reception of Paris' new product line, ProD.N.A.," stated Adam Xavier, CEO of Hilton Lifestyle. "Paris stole the show with her charisma and true passion for skincare and love for her fans and supporters that came to meet her and get a first look at the product line. We truly appreciate the support of Cosmoprof North America, The PBA and our partners at the Kirschner Group for helping us with this successful launch." In an overwhelming positive response to the product launch at Cosmoprof North America, the company will be releasing product into the US retail market along with several countries throughout Europe and Asia by the end of 2018. ABOUT PRO D.N.A. ProD.N.A. features four products that are based upon a proprietary formulation trademarked, GenoMatrix. This advanced complex contains exclusive enzymes, found in microalgae from the Mediterranean Sea, that help support the body's natural DNA repair process and eliminate damage from UVA/UVB rays and other pollutants. The line is manufactured and packaged in Los Angeles and contains natural ingredients sourced from around the world. The products are available online from the Paris Hilton Skincare store and at select retailers both domestic and worldwide. ABOUT THE COMPANY Hilton Lifestyle Group is committed to developing innovative, natural skincare products while incorporating the founders' vision of a genuine and transparent consumer/company relationship. With the help of world-renowned chemists and biologists, Paris Hilton and a team of industry experts established the company in 2016 with the goal of formulating skincare products for ingredient-conscious consumers that deliver measurable results and support skin health from within. Hilton Lifestyle is a privately held company based in Los Angeles, California. For product information, visit: parishiltonskincare.com For distribution inquiries, contact: [email protected] SOURCE Hilton Lifestyle, LLC Related Links http://parishiltonskincare.com CHILLICOTHE, Ohio, Aug. 3, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Petland in Chillicothe has been matching the right pet with the right customer for more than 50 years. They are also helping support families who find the right pet at the Ross County Humane Society. Since March of 2016, any individual or family who has adopted a dog from the local humane society has received a $50 Petland gift card. As of August 1, Petland has redeemed more than $45,000 in those cards at the local stores on Bridge Street and Western Avenue. Ross County Humane Society In addition to this milestone, Petland Charities presented the Ross County Humane Society with $4,000 ($3,000 in June and $1,000 this month), from the round-up at the register program in the Chillicothe locations to help support their operations and their 4th annual Miles for Mutts Fun Trail Run/Walk on August 25th at Hopewell Mound Group. Petland is proud of its relationship with the Ross County Humane Society, maintaining a position on the board, and raising awareness through fundraisers and donation events. "We want families to find the right pet whether they visit Petland or a local humane society or shelter. If they adopt at the Ross County Humane Society, we can help make sure they get a great start with food, supplies or toys," said Petland Vice President Steve Huggins. Huggins also serves on the Ross County Humane Society Board. Customers receive their $50 gift card upon completion of their adoption paperwork at the Humane Society. The gift card program has been incorporated into Petland Charities, a 501c3, whose mission is to help support shelters and service animals. For more information, please contact Elizabeth Kunzelman at (740) 775-2464. Petland, Inc. is a franchise operation with quality, full service retail pet centers across the United States, Canada, China, Mexico, South Africa, Brazil and El Salvador. For more than 50 years, Petland Pet Counselors have been dedicated to matching the right pet with the right person and meeting the needs of both. To its customers who already have pets, Petland is dedicated to enhancing their knowledge and enjoyment of the human-animal bond. Petland was founded in 1967 and is headquartered in south central Ohio. For more information on Petland, visit www.petland.com. Media Contact: Elizabeth Kunzelman Director of Public Affairs, (740) 775-2464 SOURCE Petland Related Links http://www.petland.com IRVINE, Calif. and GLASTONBURY, Conn., Aug. 3, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- PowerGuard Specialty Insurance Services - a renewable energy program manager based in the United States - announced today the addition of warranty and service agreement specialist Dan Cantafi as the firm's Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing. He will be based in Glastonbury, CT and report to PowerGuard's Co-Founder, Mike McMullen and COO Scott Gunnison. Cantafi joins PowerGuard from The Warranty Group where he spent the past nine years as their Vice President of Sales, North America, and established key partnerships with eBay, Barnes & Noble, Haier, Motorola, Micro Center, Peloton, and Vizio. Cantafi previously spent six years as Director, National Sales at Service Net Warranty, delivering a full range of service solutions including warranty management administration, extended service programs, customer service support, service network management, claims processing services, and service contract underwriting. Said EPIC Holdings CEO John Hahn (a co-founder of PowerGuard), "Dan is a high energy professional and a top business development and relationship management specialist in the warranty space and we couldn't be happier that he has joined to represent and promote both PowerGuard and EPIC's recent acquisition, After Inc. This is a very exciting development for our clients and for our other business partners around the world." PowerGuard is the largest provider of an innovative 25-year, non-cancellable quality and performance guarantee solution to back up a solar module manufacturer's own warranty terms. Guaranteeing warranty terms through the use of insurance provides the certainty manufacturers and their customers seek, as well as long-term stability for the industry. The PowerGuard solution available through EPIC Insurance Brokers & Consultants and other top retail insurance brokers globally - provides certainty and security to the solar manufacturer's end customers, with warranty terms that are non-cancellable - surviving even insolvency and bankruptcy. Third-party rights to the policy in case the original solar manufacturer goes out of business are also offered, backed by the capital strength of top rated insurers. Dan Cantafi can be reached at: Phone: 949-224-1320. Email: [email protected] About PowerGuard Specialty Insurance Services: PowerGuard is a specialty renewable energy program manager specializing in the design and underwriting of unique insurance and risk management solutions for wind, solar and other alternative energy companies. PowerGuard's PowerClip warranty product is the most comprehensive contractual liability coverage available to renewable energy manufactures, project developers, power generation operators and the financial institutions who invest in them. www.powerguardins.com About After Inc.: Founded in 2005 as a subsidiary of Fulcrum Analytics, After Inc. was formally created in 2015 to offer the industry's most advanced warranty products and services. Clients include a number of the world's top brands, including Canon, Electrolux, Ford, Generac, Jaguar Land Rover, Polaris, and Seagate Technologies, Led by Chief Executive Officer Nathan Baldwin and Chief Technology Officer David King, After Inc. has four core product offerings: warranty marketing, warranty analytics, warranty administration and the After Protection Plan which includes data recovery services. www.afterinc.com About EPIC: EPIC is a unique and innovative retail property & casualty and employee benefits insurance brokerage and consulting firm. EPIC has created a values-based, client-focused culture that attracts and retains top talent, fosters employee satisfaction and loyalty and sustains a high level of customer service excellence. EPIC team members have consistently recognized their company as a "Best Place to Work" in multiple regions and as a "Best Place to Work in the Insurance Industry" nationally. EPIC now has more than 1,400 team members operating from 50 offices across the U.S., providing Property & Casualty, Employee Benefits, Specialty Programs and Private Client solutions to more than 20,000 clients. With run rate revenues greater than $400 million, EPIC ranks among the top 20 retail insurance brokers in the United States. Backed by Oak Hill Capital Partners, the company continues to expand organically and through strategic acquisitions across the country. For additional information, please visit https://www.epicbrokers.com/. *PHOTO link for media: Send2Press.com/300dpi/18-0803s2p-cantafi-300dpi.jpg This release was issued through Send2Press, a unit of Neotrope. For more information, visit Send2Press Newswire at https://www.Send2Press.com SOURCE PowerGuard Specialty Insurance Services Related Links http://www.powerguardins.com ONTARIO, Calif., Aug. 3, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Prime Healthcare, an award-winning national hospital system, announced today that it has resolved a civil qui tam (whistleblower) lawsuit by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) concerning Medicare inpatient admissions from January 2006 through September 2013 involving 14 of Prime Healthcare's California hospitals. The lawsuit also involved certain claims related to coding by a whistleblower. However, after extensive review, the government did not find merit in these claims and declined to intervene. This settlement resolves all claims raised in the matter. There was no finding of improper conduct or wrongdoing of any kind by Prime Healthcare. Prime Healthcare's exemplary record of clinical quality care was never in question. This matter dealt with the technical classification of the category under which patients were admitted and billed. Physicians, not hospitals, direct the level of care needed for their patients. Prime continues to support physicians in the care they determine is best. Prime Healthcare hospitals, employees and clinicians are nationally recognized for providing clinically excellent care. Prime is committed to defending the rights of patients to receive the highest quality care, and it has always supported the clinical decision making of physicians acting in the best interests of their patients. Prime Healthcare's Founder, Chairman, President, and CEO, Prem Reddy, M.D. stands with Prime Healthcare in support of this settlement and personally participated. Lawsuits related to inpatient admissions have become increasingly common among hospitals and health systems nationally. In 2016, the American Hospital Association (AHA) and the California Hospital Association (CHA) filed briefs in support of Prime Healthcare, stating the government's regulation of hospital admissions inappropriately challenged the clinical decisions of physicians. These briefs by the two largest hospital associations in the country called for reform of the government's standards related to inpatient admissions versus outpatient observation status. Medicare rules regarding inpatient admissions versus outpatient observation are complex. Medicare does not outline criteria for inpatient admission and instead leaves it to the sole discretion of the treating physician, the way it should be. Prime has always provided the level of care ordered by physicians for their patients. Medicare second-guesses the treating physician's decision regarding the level of care a patient needs, arguing that patients should be placed under a lower level of care as observation rather than inpatient care. If patients are admitted under observation, Medicare beneficiaries end up paying more out-of-pocket deductibles for outpatient observation as opposed to inpatient care. In addition, patients placed under observation status are not eligible for much-needed post-hospital care such as rehabilitation and skilled nursing care. Therefore, physicians should decide what level of care patients need. Those decisions should not be retrospectively second-guessed after that care was provided in order to save costs, and patients should not be burdened with bills and denied services. Prime will remain committed to defending patients' rights and physicians' decisions in the delivery of excellent care. Regarding the alleged coding issues, this is another mechanism to improperly recover monies under the pretext of "up-coding." Again, the government did not see merit in these allegations after extensive review and did not intervene. Treating physicians document the medical conditions of patients. Certified Medicare coders transcribe what is documented by physicians. Prime Healthcare has always put people first and determined that it was in the best interest of its patients, independent physicians, and employees to resolve this matter despite not agreeing that there was any truth to the allegations related to coding. As is customary with these types of settlements, Prime Healthcare entered a Corporate Integrity Agreement with the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General. "We are very pleased with the ultimate resolution of this lawsuit," said Joel Richlin, Prime Healthcare Deputy General Counsel. "Prime Healthcare will always support independent physicians who provide quality, compassionate care while fulfilling our mission to save hospitals, save jobs and save lives." Prime Healthcare will continue to provide services in accordance with the highest ethical, business and legal standards as it transforms hospitals across the United States. "We look forward to a strong period of growth while preserving vital community services and jobs throughout the nation," said Richlin. Prime Healthcare is an award-winning national hospital system with 45 hospitals providing nearly 45,000 jobs in 14 states. Fifteen of the hospitals are members of the Prime Healthcare Foundation, a 501(c)(3) public charity. Prime Healthcare and its hospitals have been recognized as among the "100 Top Hospitals" in the nation 42 times and among the "15 Top Health Systems" three times, and Prime is the only "Top 10 Health System" west of the Mississippi. About Prime Healthcare: Prime Healthcare is an award-winning national hospital system with 45 hospitals providing nearly 45,000 jobs in 14 states. Fifteen of the hospitals are members of the Prime Healthcare Foundation, a 501(c)3 public charity. Based in California and one of the largest hospital systems in the country, Prime Healthcare is committed to ensuring access to quality healthcare. Prime Healthcare and its hospitals have been recognized as among the "100 Top Hospitals" in the nation 42 times and among the "15 Top Health Systems" three times, and Prime is the only "10 Top Health System" west of the Mississippi. For more information, please visit www.primehealthcare.com. SOURCE Prime Healthcare Related Links http://www.primehealthcare.com ZAGREB, Croatia, August 3, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Leading 300 Entrepreneurs & Business Leaders Expected in This Adriatic Idyllic Vielle Ville 7-10 October 2018 Dubbed the SALT of European Venture Capital last year in Malta, the annual pilgrimage by leading entrepreneurs and business leaders to listen to breakthrough ideas, and entrepreneurs sharing their visions has come to Dubrovnik and is experiencing exceptional demand for the 4 day experience of seeing the best of Croatia and networking under the stars with the world's top entrepreneurs. More than 100 entrepreneurs and business leaders from Tokyo, Singapore, Hong Kong, Zurich, Milan, Paris, London, New York and San Francisco have registered for the Pre-Summit (VIP ticket) to date. The Follow The Entrepreneur Livestream in July 2017 reached an audience of 51,000. https://follow-the-entrepreneur.com/ - The Follow The Entrepreneur Summit is hosted by Julie Meyer, the CEO of Ariadne Capital Group Limited, ACGL, based in Malta, and EntrepreneurCountry Limited in the UK. To request an invitation, please email [email protected] Ariadne Capital Group Limited is the corporate headquarters and holding company for the Ariadne Group which announced its financial results earlier this year: https://prn.to/2MbSP4x. Ariadne Capital Limited, ACL is based in the UK and is not part of this group. Julie Meyer, the Secured Creditor in December 2017, decided to put ACL into Administration. ACL, a corporate finance firm, is not related to the Follow The Entrepreneur Summit, an events firm. Please find further statements from Julie Meyer regarding ACL and the departure from Malta on the http://www.ariadnecapital.com website. Ms Meyer has been given an honorary doctorate for her contribution to Applied Economics, an MBE (Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, by the Queen of England, one of the top 50 alumni of all time awards by INSEAD, her alma mater, where she sat on the Board of Directors for 6 years, and a Global Leader for Tomorrow Award from the World Economic Forum (Davos). Contact Julie Meyer [email protected] +44-(0)7908-881-603 SOURCE EntrepreneurCountry Global Limited PETALUMA, Calif., Aug. 3, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Keeping costs down in a business and maximizing profit falls to a business owner. A business owner may delegate certain tasks and expectations to employees, but the control over that still resides with the owner. Brandon Frere, successful entrepreneur and owner of several businesses, warns small business owners of the hidden costs of constantly training new employees. "A business owner has to be able to look at the bigger picture, looking at more than just the face-value facts, and figure out how things work. And then move things around to make them move the way you want," says Frere. A cycle of new employees means the obvious costs of hiring a new person, such as adding another person to the payroll and what not. If that new employee is replacing a previous employee, the costs may already be more or less factored in. A new employee may, for various reasons, cost a company less because of a lower paycheck than the previous, but that's just one upfront cost. Being new to a business means not running at optimal levels. In the case of a store, a new employee will take longer to put things away because they are not as familiar with the store. A more experienced employee will not only know better where items are to go, but will also have a better understanding of how a store runs in general. They will be able to more readily guide themselves through their work activities, which keeps things running more smoothly, and doesn't tie up another employee in training them. With the understanding that training employees has more than just an upfront cost, business owners may start thinking about how to keep employees around. Paying employees a living wage is a great starting point, but there are more factors to keeping an employee than just wages. A healthy work environment, with managers that get along with the employees under them, and features provided by the workplace that make them feel appreciated go a long way to getting employees to stick around. However, the cost of training new employees shouldn't have business owners feeling like they can't get rid of employees that are a detriment to a business. "Doing what is best for a business takes more thought and effort than anyone ever starts off envisioning. There's always something more to think about, just below the surface. Deciding when to hire and when to fire can be especially tough, but those are the kinds of decisions a business owner is going to have to deal with," says Frere. About Frere Enterprises Brandon Frere is an entrepreneur and businessman who lives in Sonoma County, California. He has designed and created multiple companies to meet the ever-demanding needs of businesses and consumers alike. His company website, www.FrereEnterprises.com, is used as a means to communicate many of the lessons, fundamentals and information he has learned throughout his extensive business and personal endeavors, most recently in advocating on behalf of student loan borrowers nationwide. As experienced during his own student loan repayment, Mr. Frere found out how difficult it can be to work with federally contracted student loan servicers and the repayment programs designed to help borrowers. Through those efforts, he gained an insider's look into the repayment process and the motivations behind the inflating student loan debt bubble. His knowledge of the confusing landscape of student loan repayment became a vital theme in his future endeavors, and he now uses those experiences to help guide others through the daunting process of applying for available federal repayment and loan forgiveness programs. FrereEnterprises.com Related Images image1.png training-time.jpg Training Time Mangostar/Bigstock.com Related Links Frere Enterprises SOURCE Frere Enterprises Related Links http://www.FrereEnterprises.com SAN DIEGO, Aug. 2, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- UE.co's "UE.co Platform" is a finalist in the 2018 SaaS Awards Program in the category "Best SaaS Product for Sales / Marketing." Hosting awards for excellence and innovation in The SaaS industry, the Software-as-a-Service Awards program accepts entries worldwide, including the US, Canada, Australia, UK, and EMEA. The SaaS Awards program is now in its third year of recognizing and celebrating innovation in software. UE.co's SaaS Product, "The UE.co Platform," is used by Enterprise-Level Corporations to gain granular insight into their marketing spend and lead performance. Using AI driven data, the UE.co Platform captures valuable, long-term customers by analyzing closed loop conversion data, prospect identification tools, and real-time price modeling. Jason Kulpa, Founder and CEO of UE.co, said: "For UE.co to be a finalist in The Best SaaS Product for Sales / Marketing speaks to our innovation and success in the global marketplace for SaaS-based solutions. We look forward to continually advancing The UE.co Platform in the coming years." SaaS Awards and Cloud Awards organizer Larry Johnson said: "All entrants demonstrated a considerable commitment to innovation in software solutions, and the finalist status itself is a huge achievement. With such a concentrated level of success in the shortlist, our judges have a significant task ahead of them to arrive at our final award winners." Final SaaS Awards winners will be announced on Tuesday, August 28, 2018, and the program will return in Spring 2019. Over 300 organizations entered, with international entries coming from North America, Canada, Australia, UK, Europe and the Middle East. To view the full shortlist, please visit https://www.cloud-awards.com/2018-saas-shortlist. [CONTACT DETAILS] For UE.co Laura Donaldson - Marketing Manager www.ue.co [email protected] For the SaaS Awards Larry Johnson 2018 organizer https://www.cloud-awards.com/software-as-a-service-awards/ [email protected] SOURCE UE.co Related Links https://ue.co CALGARY, Aug. 3, 2018 /PRNewswire/ - Second Quarter 2018 Financial Highlights Funds from operations were $188 million , in line with the same period last year; and , in line with the same period last year; and Free cash flow was $96 million compared to $30 million in 2017, a 220% increase. Year-to-Date 2018 Financial and Operating Highlights Free cash flow increased $209 million to $334 million compared to the same period last year; to compared to the same period last year; Net debt lower by $345 million in the first six months, resulting in Net Debt / EBITDA ratio of 3.0x in the first six months, resulting in Net Debt / EBITDA ratio of 3.0x Acquired two construction ready wind projects in the United States TransAlta Corporation ("TransAlta" or the "Company") (TSX: TA;NYSE: TAC) today reported second quarter 2018 financial results that demonstrate our progress of increasing free cash flow(1), improving operating performance, reducing corporate debt, and advancing the transition to clean power generation. Free cash flow was higher by $66 million and $209 million respectively, for the three and six months ended June 30, 2018. During the second quarter, all generating segments, except Canadian Coal, contributed cash flow in line with or better than last year. On a year to date basis, Canadian Coal benefitted from the one-time payment in the first quarter for the early termination of the Sundance B and C Power Purchase Arrangements ("PPAs"), as well as reduced capital requirements due to the retirement of Sundance Unit 1 and the mothballing of Sundance Units 2, 3, and 5. Strong contributions from our Hydro and Canadian Gas segments were driven by increases in prices for power and ancillary services in Alberta. Based on our outlook for the balance of the year, we are tracking to achieve the upper end of our free cash flow guidance of $300 million to $350 million. Our debt repayment strategy is progressing well, and we are ahead of plan in reducing net debt and strengthening our balance sheet. During the quarter we reduced net debt by an additional $63 million, bringing our total net debt reduction for the year to $345 million. Subsequent to the quarter we exercised the early redemption of our $400 million 6.40 per cent bond due in 2019 with the proceeds from our off-coal bond offering of approximately $345 million at a rate of 4.509 per cent. Since 2015 we have eliminated $1.2 billion in debt and intend to use our strong cash flow to finance the repayment of our next bond maturity due in 2020. "Cash flows were stronger than we expected for the first half of the year due to exceptional performance from the Alberta hydro assets," said Dawn Farrell, President and Chief Executive Officer. "Subsequent to the quarter, we retired our $400 million bond and now have one of the strongest balance sheets in the industry." Other Highlights Entered into a transaction to transfer the economic interest in the Lakeswind Wind Farm and solar projects located in Massachusetts , and ownership of the Kent Breeze Wind Farm, to TransAlta Renewables. The total purchase price for this transaction was $166 million , which includes the assumption of $62 million of tax equity and debt. , and ownership of the Kent Breeze Wind Farm, to TransAlta Renewables. The total purchase price for this transaction was , which includes the assumption of of tax equity and debt. Purchased and cancelled 587,300 common shares at an average price of $6.77 per share during the first half of the year through our Normal Course Issuer Bid which commenced March 14, 2018 . per share during the first half of the year through our Normal Course Issuer Bid which commenced . TransAlta's interest in TransAlta Renewables was reduced from approximately 64 per cent to 61 per cent as a result of TransAlta Renewables bought deal offering of 11,860,000 common shares, which were issued at $12.65 per share for gross proceeds of approximately $150 million . Subsequent Events Retired the previously mothballed Sundance Unit 2 due to its relatively short useful life, small size relative to other units, and the capital required to return the unit to service. Exercised the early redemption of the outstanding 6.40 per cent debentures due November 2019 for approximately $425 million funded through the proceeds of the July 20th, 2018 off-coal bond offering of approximately $345 million at a rate of 4.509 per cent per annum. Second Quarter 2018 Review by Segment Comparable EBITDA (in CAD$ millions) 3 Months Ended 6 Months Ended June 30, 2018 June 30, 2017 June 30, 2018 June 30, 2017 Canadian Coal 43 85 265(a) 176 U.S. Coal 18 34 45 44 Canadian Gas 62 57 127 145(b) Australian Gas 31 32 62 63 Wind and Solar 34 42 99 110 Hydro 49 28 66 42 Energy Marketing 8 12 17 8 Corporate (20) (22) (40) (46) Total Comparable EBITDA 225 268 641 542 a) Includes $157 million in compensation from the Balancing Pool for the early termination of the Sundance B and C PPAs. b) Includes $34 million payment from the OEFC relating to the settlement of an indexation dispute. Canadian Coal: Excluding the $157 million in compensation from the Balancing Pool for the early termination of the Sundance B and C PPAs, comparable EBITDA for the three and six months ended June 30, 2018 decreased $42 million and $68 million respectively, compared to 2017. Gross margin was negatively impacted by the expiry of the Sundance A PPA and the termination of the Sundance B and C PPAs. Excluding the in compensation from the Balancing Pool for the early termination of the Sundance B and C PPAs, comparable EBITDA for the three and six months ended decreased and respectively, compared to 2017. Gross margin was negatively impacted by the expiry of the Sundance A PPA and the termination of the Sundance B and C PPAs. U.S. Coal: Comparable EBITDA for the quarter decreased $16 million but was flat on a year-to-date basis, compared to 2017. The reduction in EBITDA during the quarter was primarily due to unfavorable mark-to-market positions on forward financial contracts. Comparable EBITDA for the quarter decreased but was flat on a year-to-date basis, compared to 2017. The reduction in EBITDA during the quarter was primarily due to unfavorable mark-to-market positions on forward financial contracts. Canadian Gas: Comparable EBITDA for the three months ended June 30, 2018 increased by $5 million compared to 2017, due to higher realized margins in 2018 and cost reduction initiatives. On a year-to-date basis, comparable EBITDA decreased by $18 million , mainly due to the $34 million contract indexation dispute settlement received in 2017, which was partially offset by higher margins received in 2018. Comparable EBITDA for the three months ended increased by compared to 2017, due to higher realized margins in 2018 and cost reduction initiatives. On a year-to-date basis, comparable EBITDA decreased by , mainly due to the contract indexation dispute settlement received in 2017, which was partially offset by higher margins received in 2018. Australian Gas: Comparable EBITDA for both the three and six months ended June 30, 2018 were in line with the same periods in 2017. The addition of South Hedland was largely offset by the loss of the contribution from the Solomon Power Station contract. Comparable EBITDA for both the three and six months ended were in line with the same periods in 2017. The addition of South Hedland was largely offset by the loss of the contribution from the Solomon Power Station contract. Wind and Solar: Comparable EBITDA for the three and six months ended June 30, 2018 were down $8 million and $11 million respectively, compared to 2017, mainly due to the recognition of unrealized mark-to-market losses this period partially offset by favourable pricing. Comparable EBITDA for the three and six months ended were down and respectively, compared to 2017, mainly due to the recognition of unrealized mark-to-market losses this period partially offset by favourable pricing. Hydro: Comparable EBITDA for the three and six months ended June 30, 2018 increased $21 million and $24 million respectively, compared to 2017, primarily due to an increase in revenues from ancillary services at higher market prices, which more than offset the lower generation. Comparable EBITDA for the three and six months ended increased and respectively, compared to 2017, primarily due to an increase in revenues from ancillary services at higher market prices, which more than offset the lower generation. Energy Marketing: For the three months ended June 30, 2018 comparable EBITDA was lower compared to the same period in 2017 due to less favourable market dynamics. Year-to-date, comparable EBITDA was up $9 million compared to 2017 reflecting a return to typical returns after weak performance in the first quarter of 2017. For the three months ended comparable EBITDA was lower compared to the same period in 2017 due to less favourable market dynamics. Year-to-date, comparable EBITDA was up compared to 2017 reflecting a return to typical returns after weak performance in the first quarter of 2017. Corporate: Our Corporate overhead costs of $20 million and $40 million for the second quarter and year-to-date respectively, were reduced by $2 million and $6 million , compared to 2017, due to lower incentive payments and cost reduction initiatives. Consolidated Earnings Review The net loss attributable to common shareholders during the second quarter of 2018 was $105 million compared to a net loss of $18 million in 2017. For the six months ended June 30, 2018, the net loss was $40 million compared to a loss of $18 million for the same period in 2017. The higher net loss in 2018 compared to 2017 was due primarily to lower comparable EBITDA and lower finance lease income related to the sale of the Solomon facility. Minimal planned major maintenance capital was invested during the first two quarters of 2018, resulting in total sustaining capital for the three and six months periods ending June 30, 2018 being $48 million and $70 million lower than the comparable periods in 2017, respectively. Total capital expenditures for the year are still expected to be in line with our previous guidance of $215 to $235 million. Operating Review Adjusted availability for the three and six months ended June 30, 2018 were 85.8 per cent and 90.1 per cent, respectively, compared to 84.0 per cent and 86.2 per cent for the same periods in 2017. The increase is primarily due to a reduction in the number of unplanned outages compared to the first half of 2017. Production for the three and six months ended June 30, 2018 decreased 2,509 GWh and 4,388 GWh, respectively, compared to 2017, despite higher availability, primarily due to the Sundance units becoming merchant, which resulted in less dispatching. Second Quarter and YTD 2018 Financial and Operational Highlights In $CAD millions, unless otherwise stated 3 Months Ended 6 Months Ended June 30, 2018 June 30, 2017 June 30, 2018 June 30, 2017 Adjusted availability (%)(2,3) 85.8% 84.0% 90.1% 86.2% Production (GWh) (3) 5,198 7,707 12,370 16,758 Revenue 446 503 1,034 1,081 Comparable EBITDA 225 268 641 542 Net Earnings (loss) attributable to common shareholders (105) (18) (40) (18) Funds from operations 188 187 506 389 Cash Flow from Operating Activities 104 63 529 344 Free Cash Flow 96 30 334 125 Net Earnings (loss) per common share attributed to common shareholders ($0.36) ($0.06) ($0.14) ($0.06) Funds from operations per share $0.65 $0.65 $1.76 $1.35 Free cash flow per share $0.33 $0.10 $1.16 $0.43 Dividends declared per common share $0.04 $0.04 $0.08 $0.04 Notes (1) These items are not defined under IFRS. Presenting these items from period to period provides management and investors with the ability to evaluate earnings trends more readily in comparison with prior periods' results. Refer to the Funds from Operations and Free Cash Flow and Earnings and Other Measures on a Comparable Basis sections of the Company's MD&A for further discussion of these items, including, where applicable, reconciliations to measures calculated in accordance with IFRS. (2) Availability and production includes all generating assets (generation operations and finance leases that we operate). (3) Adjusted for economic dispatching at U.S. Coal. TransAlta is in the process of filing its Consolidated Financial Statements and accompanying notes, as well as the associated Management's Discussion & Analysis ("MD&A"). These documents will be available today on the Investors section of TransAlta's website at www.transalta.com or through SEDAR at www.sedar.com and EDGAR at www.sec.gov/edgar.shtml. Conference call We will hold a conference call and webcast at 9:00 a.m. MST (11:00 a.m. EST) today, August 3, 2018, to discuss our second quarter 2018 results. The call will begin with a short address by Dawn Farrell, President and CEO, and Brett Gellner, Interim Chief Financial Officer, followed by a question and answer period for investment analysts and investors. A question and answer period for the media will immediately follow. Please contact the conference operator five minutes prior to the call, noting "TransAlta Corporation" as the company and "Sally Taylor" as moderator. Dial-in numbers Second Quarter 2018 Results: Toll-free North American participants call: 1-888-231-8191 Outside of Canada & USA call: 1-647-427-7450 A link to the live webcast will be available on the Investor Centre section of TransAlta's website at http://www.transalta.com/investors/events-and-presentations. If you are unable to participate in the call, the instant replay is accessible at 1-855-859-2056 (Canada and USA toll free) with TransAlta pass code 8876455 followed by the # sign. A transcript of the broadcast will be posted on TransAlta's website once it becomes available. About TransAlta Corporation: TransAlta owns, operates and develops a diverse fleet of electrical power generation assets in Canada, the United States and Australia with a focus on long-term shareholder value. We provide municipalities, medium and large industries, businesses and utility customers clean, affordable, energy efficient, and reliable power. Today, we are one of Canada's largest producers of wind power and Alberta's largest producer of hydro-electric power. For over 100 years, TransAlta has been a responsible operator and a proud community-member where its employees work and live. TransAlta aligns its corporate goals with the UN Sustainable Development Goals and we have been recognized by CDP (formerly Climate Disclosure Project) as an industry leader on Climate Change Management. We are also proud to have achieved the Silver level PAR (Progressive Aboriginal Relations) designation by the Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business. For more information about TransAlta, visit our web site at transalta.com. Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward Looking Information This news release contains forward looking statements, including statements regarding the business and anticipated financial performance of the Company that are based on the Company's current expectations, estimates, projections and assumptions in light of its experience and its perception of historical trends. In some cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as "plans", "expects", "proposed", "will", "anticipates", "develop", "continue", and similar expressions suggesting future events or future performance. In particular, this news release contains forward looking statements including, without limitation, statements pertaining to TransAlta's business and anticipated future financial performance; our strategy, including as it relates to increasing free cash flow, improving operating performance, reducing corporate debt and advancing the transition to clean power generation; our 2018 financial outlook, including expected free cash flow and achieving the upper end of our free cash flow guidance of $300 to $350 million; utilizing strong cash flow to finance the repayment of our next bond maturity due in 2020; and the acquisition and development of two construction ready wind farms in the US, including the satisfaction of the closing conditions pertaining to one of the wind farms. These forward-looking statements are not historical facts but are based on TransAlta's belief and assumptions based on information available at the time the assumptions were made. These statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated by the forward-looking statements. Some of the factors that could cause such differences include: operational risks involving our facilities; changes in market prices where we operate; unplanned outages at generating facilities and the capital investments required; equipment failure and our ability to carry out repairs in a cost effective and timely manner; the effects of weather; disruptions in the source of fuels, water or wind required to operate our facilities; energy trading risks; failure to obtain necessary regulatory approvals in a timely fashion; negative impact to our credit ratings; legislative or regulatory developments and their impacts, including as it pertains to the capacity market being developed in Alberta; increasingly stringent environmental requirements and their impacts; increased competition; global capital markets activity (including our ability to access financing at a reasonable cost); changes in prevailing interest rates; currency exchange rates; inflation levels and commodity prices; general economic conditions in the geographic areas where TransAlta operates; disputes or claims involving TransAlta or TransAlta Renewables, including those pertaining to South Hedland; and other risks and uncertainties discussed in the Company's materials filed with the Canadian securities regulatory authorities from time to time and as also set forth in the Company's MD&A and Annual Information Form for the year ended December 31, 2017. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which reflect TransAlta's expectations only as of the date of this news release. The financial outlook that is contained in this news release is being provided for the purpose of giving the reader information about management's current expectations and plans. TransAlta disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise these forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. Note: All financial figures are in Canadian dollars unless otherwise indicated. SOURCE TransAlta Corporation Related Links http://www.transalta.com The five days of Marine Week will feature hands-on displays, live demonstrations, time-honored traditions, musical performances and more at First Ward Park in uptown Charlotte. The public will have the opportunity to climb aboard state-of-the-art aircraft and ground equipment, work out with Marines, observe wreath laying ceremonies honoring Gold Star families, take in the sights and sounds of the Silent Drill Platoon and Marine Corps Band and visit a traveling replica of the Vietnam Wall. The week will culminate with a Marine Air-Ground Task Force (MAGTF) show, where troops will demonstrate the air, ground and logistical elements of combat at The Dirt Track at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord. All events, which are listed at www.usmarineweek.com, are free and open to the public. "More than 75 events are scheduled throughout Charlotte and Mecklenburg County, so there is truly something for everyone," Colonel Phares said. "Regardless of your age or interests, our team along with dozens of local partners have assembled a variety of activities that will allow everyone to immerse themselves in the Corps' mission and lifestyle." The Marine Corps developed Marine Week in 2006 to help connect with the American public in the central part of the country, since the branch is stationed primarily on the Atlantic and Pacific coasts. Previous host cities include Chicago, Boston, St. Louis, Cleveland, Seattle, Phoenix, Nashville and Detroit. "What an honor it is for Charlotte to host such a unique and prestigious event," said City of Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles, who presented a proclamation to the Marine Corps officially declaring Sept. 5-9 Marine Week in Charlotte. "Marine Week will provide Charlotteans with the unique experience to directly connect with hundreds of Marines, and I hope all our residents will take full advantage of this exciting opportunity." Mecklenburg County Commissioner Matthew Ridenhour, who was active in the Marine Corps for 11 years and served two tours in Iraq, shares in the enthusiasm for Marine Week coming to his hometown. "As a native Charlottean and Mecklenburg County Commissioner, I'm grateful that the Marines chose Charlotte for this year's event and are tapping into all the county has to offer including First Ward Park," he said. "And, as a Marine, I'm thrilled that my friends, family and constituents will have the chance to bond with the Corps that I know and love." Economic impact studies in both St. Louis and Nashville approximated $7 million was reinvested into the host cities as a result of Marine Week activities. The Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority commended the Marines for producing such an engaging public program that not only provides special experiences for attendees but also financially contributes to the community it visits each year. "We are fortunate to live in a city that attracts so many visitor-worthy draws like Marine Week," said CRVA Chief Executive Officer Tom Murray. "I know our residents and hospitality community will eagerly welcome these attendees into our city, and we'll all look forward to the engaging programming the Corps will have to offer while in Charlotte." About Marine Week Join the United States Marine Corps in Uptown Charlotte this September for a celebration of Community, Country and Corps. From Sept. 5 9, Marine Week Charlotte will feature hands-on displays, live demonstrations, time-honored Marine Corps traditions, musical performances and other events to showcase the history, military capabilities and community involvement of the Corps. For more information, go to www.usmarineweek.com. About the U.S. Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Nov. 10, 1775, and has been America's expeditionary force in readiness since. Marines are forward-deployed to respond swiftly and aggressively in times of crisis from the air, land and sea. Today, 188,000 Marines actively serve, and another 38,900 Marines are in the Reserves. SOURCE Marine Week Related Links http://www.usmarineweek.com FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., Aug. 3, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Victory Living Programs invites high school and college age students (14-21) with disabilities in South Florida to Job-A-Palooza, a professional development event to help high school and college students with disabilities prepare for future employment opportunities. Job-A-Palooza will take place on Thursday September 13, 2018 from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Broward College/North Regional Library (1100 Coconut Creek Blvd, Coconut Creek, FL 33066). The goal of Job-A-Palooza is to combat the high unemployment rate among individuals with disabilities in South Florida. According to the U.S Department of Labor as of April 2018, nationwide only 20% of individuals with disabilities over age 16 are employed, a minimal amount compared to individuals without disabilities (68.3%). "In short we want to bring the business community and peer mentors together to not only raise awareness but help students with disabilities get some real tactical work experience in a fun atmosphere," said Bobbi Wigand, Executive Director of Victory Living Programs. "We know these students can provide businesses and companies with a variety of necessary skills and we want to prepare them to take the next big step in their lives." This regional event calls for businesses across all industries, as well as peer mentors to help participants compete and gain new skills by completing job-related tasks. Businesses are encouraged to participate by providing tasks for the students to complete. Tasks can range from stuffing envelopes, to organizing digital files, folding clothes and anything in between. There is no cost for businesses to participate. Peer mentors, students without disabilities, age 16 to 21, will be matched with a student with a disability to assist them in learning and completing the tasks provided by the businesses. Students with disabilities who wish to participate must be age 14 to 21 and willing to learn new tasks. To learn more and to register before Friday, August 17, 2018 call (954) 616-1074, or visit http://bit.ly/VLPJobAPalooza18. Like what Victory Living Programs is doing? Show it by clicking here. About Victory Living Programs For the past four decades, Victory Living Programs has created supportive environments for thousands of people with disabilities. Based in warm and beautiful Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Victory Living Programs offers a premier supported living program that places clients in their own individual, luxurious apartments. In addition, Victory Living Programs offers an extensive array of programming to assist clients with securing and maintaining employment, learning new skills, volunteering in the community and socializing with their peers all of which make it possible to infuse independence in and transform the lives of people with disabilities. To learn more, visit www.victoryliving.org. Conceptual Communications, (954) 732-0754, [email protected] SOURCE Victory Living Programs Related Links http://www.victoryliving.org LEHI, Utah, Aug. 3, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Vivint Solar, Inc. (NYSE: VSLR), a leading full-service residential solar provider, today announced it is working with one of the largest homebuilders in the nation to install its solar energy systems on the homebuilder's new homes in Southern California. The collaboration is an integral part of Vivint Solar's strategic plan to help homebuilders meet California's upcoming mandate for rooftop solar installations on new homes. With more than 130,000 installations completed across the United States, Vivint Solar has a proven track record designing and installing solar energy systems to provide clean, renewable energy. The new homes in Southern California will be constructed with solar energy systems designed specifically for several of the homebuilder's models. Vivint Solar will offer multiple solar plans to homebuyers, who will have the opportunity to choose their preferred financing option. The solar energy systems will be interconnected to the utility grid and provide the potential for new homebuyers to begin saving money on their utility bills immediately. "As one of the country's largest residential solar providers, we are in the ideal position to lead the charge in delivering on California's mandate," said David Bywater, CEO of Vivint Solar. "We are proud to collaborate with one of the largest homebuilders in the country and look forward to creating a seamless experience for homebuyers in Southern California to adopt clean, renewable energy." California's building energy efficiency standards will require solar energy systems for new homes beginning in 2020. The California Energy Commission anticipates the overall impact of the new mandate will reduce greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to removing 115,000 fossil fuel cars. Learn more about Vivint Solar at www.vivintsolar.com/state/california. About Vivint Solar Vivint Solar is a leading full-service residential solar provider in the United States. With Vivint Solar, customers can power their homes with clean, renewable energy and typically achieve significant financial savings over time. Offering integrated residential solar solutions, Vivint Solar designs and installs the solar energy systems for its customers and offers monitoring and maintenance services. In addition to being able to purchase a solar energy system outright, customers may benefit from Vivint Solar's affordable, flexible financing options, power purchase agreements, or lease agreements, where available. For more information, visit www.vivintsolar.com or follow @VivintSolar on Twitter. Note on Forward-looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements as defined within the meaning of the federal securities laws, including statements regarding new home construction in Southern California and customer interest in residential solar. Forward-looking statements should not be read as a guarantee of future performance or results, and they will not necessarily be accurate indications of the times at, or by, which such performance or results will be achieved, if at all. These statements are based on current expectations and assumptions regarding future events and business performance as of the date of this press release, and they are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual performance or results to differ materially from those expressed in or suggested by the forward-looking statements, including but not limited to the risks set forth in the registration statements and reports that Vivint Solar files with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which are available on the Investor Relations section of its website at www.vivintsolar.com. Vivint Solar does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise. Press Contacts Helen Langan Senior Director of Communications 385-202-6577 [email protected] SOURCE Vivint Solar Related Links http://www.vivintsolar.com LOS ANGELES, Aug. 3, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Williams Data Management, Southern California's leader in Records Management, is pleased to announce the addition of ShredMyFiles.com, a Certified Mobile Document and Hard Drive Shredding service serving Southern California businesses. ShredMyFiles.com Mobile Shred Truck The ShredMyFiles.com addition comes as a response to the demand for certified and secure mobile shredding service. As businesses look for a secure way to destroy obsolete, redundant, or trivial files, they can rest assured that a licensed and bonded certified mobile shredding specialist will come to their place of business and shred those confidential files quickly and securely. "Shredmyfiles.com is the result of a vision to provide Southern California businesses with a reliable, friendly, and secure manner to destroy unwanted documents and media," Douglas Williams, President and CEO of Williams Data Management stated. "Ensuring the chain of custody of confidential information should be a top priority of any business, and ShredMyfiles.com helps do that with the destruction of confidential data and the provision of a Document of Destruction." About Williams Data Management Williams Data Management specializes in Data Lifecycle Management. Operating in the Records and Information Management industry, it has been serving businesses throughout Southern California since 1922. The company is committed to records management and offers full-service solutions, including physical and digital records storage, document scanning and indexing, certified document and hard drive shredding, product destruction, business continuity planning, and Information Governance programs. Williams holds numerous certifications for data compliance and destruction including SSAE16, NAID "AAA" Certification, and is a member of PRISM. For more information, visit www.williamsdatamanagement.com or call 888-478-FILE. About ShredMyFiles.com ShredMyFiles.com is a certified document and hard drive shredding service providing service to Southern California businesses. Powered by Williams Data Management, it serves more than 300 communities encompassing the Greater Los Angeles area, Orange County, and the Inland Empire. For more information, visit the Chamber's Web site at www.shredmyfiles.com, or call (844) 99-SHRED. Contact: Daniel Gomez Marketing [email protected] (888) 478-3453 SOURCE Williams Data Management Related Links https://www.williamsdatamanagement.com DALLAS, Aug. 3, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- WiseLift, designer of the most advanced lift chair, donated three WiseLift 450 models, valued at $7500, to Union Gospel Mission Dallas for use in their senior citizen and veteran's program. The therapeutic recliners offer independence for the disabled, elderly, and those experiencing medical issues by providing a smooth and stable transition from sitting to standing. With heat and massage capabilities, the WiseLift 450 models also function as the most comfortable sleeper chair. "We are very excited to have the opportunity to partner with UGM Dallas and provide support for the services they offer to the Dallas homeless community," stated Gregg Cohen, President of WiseLift. "The therapeutic lift chairs will be an incredible asset to clients who need additional support, assistance, and relief the heat and massage capabilities offer." Click here for photos and video "We are extremely grateful for the donation to our UGM Dallas Senior and Veterans' program ," stated Bruce Butler, CEO of Union Gospel Mission Dallas. "Many of the veterans who are clients at our facility struggle with pain from combat injuries. The ability to place the chair in multiple reclining positions, the stress relieving memory foam, and plush padding will give these veterans much needed relief. These chairs will provide comfort and relief not only for our veterans but also for our elderly clients." As a surge of Baby Boomers reach 65, the aging population means that 1 in every 5 residents will be of retirement age. WiseLift has designed a chair to provide independence for the disabled, elderly, and those with medical limitations. A unique feature to the WiseLift 450 is the full sleep capability enabling owners to elevate their feet above the heart while also relieving pressure on the lower back and increasing circulation. WiseLift chairs are versatile providing support for those recovering from an injury, relieving stress on the back and sore joints, and additional assistance for those suffering with arthritis. For more information on WiseLift, visit www.wiselift.com. For more information on Union Gospel Mission Dallas, please visit www.ugmdallas.org. Media Contact: Margaret McKoin, The Time Group [email protected] 817-403-0866 SOURCE WiseLift Related Links https://www.wiseliftchair.com After the completion of this Series B+ round, XPENG Motors will have raised RMB 6.2 billion in total for the entire Series B round, with total financing to date exceeding RMB 10 billion. At present, the valuation of XPENG Motors is close to RMB 25 billion. From Angel to Series B+ round, He Xiaopeng, Chairman and CEO of XPENG Motors, has always been the largest individual investor. "We will adhere to the path of independent innovation tailored to the China market and Chinese driving habits. Autonomous driving and intelligent connectivity are the core competence of XPENG Motors. Only by continuously creating long-term value for our customers and investors will our company grow bigger and stronger," He Xiaopeng, Chairman and CEO of XPENG Motors said. "XPENG Motors' model G3 will be released within this year and delivery will start from the end of this year. We are confident that we will deliver high-quality intelligent cars with high value-for-money to our customers." Fred Hu, Chairman of Primavera Capital Group and a world renowned economist said: "XPENG Motors is an important investment for Primavera Capital Group in the new energy vehicle sector. The technological innovation of the Internet and AI is reshaping the ecology of the automobile industry and will disrupt people's driving and traveling experiences. We are very much looking forward to partnering with XPENG Motors, and we believe that XPENG Motors has the potential to become the most prominent player in the electric vehicle industry." "My investment philosophy is to believe in entrepreneurship and entrepreneurs," said Richard Liu, founding partner of Morningside Capital. "We share He Xiaopeng's insights into the products and customers of the intelligent vehicle era, and believe that XPENG Motors is born with the new intelligent car manufacturing DNA. The rapid development of the company since its inception and its customer-oriented, prudent culture have strengthened our confidence. From Series A+ and B rounds to the current Series B+ round, Morningside Capital has continuously increased our investments into XPENG Motors." On January 29 this year, XPENG Motors announced in Hong Kong its Series B financing round of RMB 2.2 billion; in December 2017, the company announced its Series A0, A1,and A2 financing round; in May 2017, XPENG Motors received an investment of RMB 2.2 billion led by Ucar Capital, a fund established by Ucar Inc. In addition, XPENG Motors' individual investors include Fu Sheng, Cheetah Mobile Chairman and CEO; Yao Jinbo, founder and CEO of the online classifieds marketplace 58.com; Zhang Tao, founder of the local services review site Dianping; as well as Dai Kebin, founder and CEO of the job recruitment site Liepin.com, and other internet tycoons. G3 is a highly-appealing, high-quality and high-tech electric SUV. The design of G3 features sporty characters, with a shark-shaped front lip, lightsaber LED lights and integrated diamond matrix taillights. In addition, the G3 is equipped with the industry' first 360 roof camera, unique space-capsule-like cockpit, 20 smart sensors, as well as full-scenario autonomous parking and Level 2.5 autonomous driving technologies tailored to the driving environment in Asia. G3 is set to start official sales later in 2018 and its detailed specification and price to be announced then. Delivery will also start by the end of this year. In the meantime, XPENG Motors will build 150 supercharging stations across the country, and gradually open dozens of offline stores in first-tier cities. About XPENG Motors XPENG Motors was invested jointly by a number of Internet tycoons including He Xiaopeng, co-founder of the mobile Internet company UCWeb and former President of the Alibaba mobile business group; Li Xueling, founder of video-based social network YY Inc.; Gao Xiang, Founding Partner of Banyan Capital; and Wu Xiaoguang, a high-ranking management executive at Tencent Holdings Limited, in 2014. The company is also co-founded by Xia Heng, former Chief of new energy control system R&D at the GAC Group, and He Tao, Chief of the intelligent car and unmanned driving division at GAC. XPENG Motors is headquartered in Guangzhou, with its R&D, manufacturing, and marketing divisions in Beijing, Shanghai, Zhaoqing (Guangdong Province), and Silicon Valley (United States). XPENG Motors spent 10 billion yuan in building the Intelligent Science and Technology Park at the Zhaoqing New Zone and worked together with Haima Automobile on the intelligent production base in Zhengzhou, China. As of now, XPENG Motors has completed Series B+ round of financing with a total funding amount exceeding 10 billion yuan, and a current valuation of close to 25 billion yuan. For more information, please visit the official website of Xpeng Motors at: https://www.xiaopeng.com SOURCE XPENG Motors Related Links https://www.xiaopeng.com Sanaa, Aug 3 : At least 20 people were killed and 50 others injured on Thursday when a Saudi-led coalition airstrike hit a popular fish market in Yemen's Red Sea port city of Hodeidah, a medical official told Xinhua. The market is just about five meters away from the main gate of the al-Thawra Hospital, the official said by telephone on condition of anonymity. "At least 20 were confirmed killed in an initial toll and up to 50 others wounded in the airstrike," said the official. Many bodies and injured people were still trapped inside the market as the rescue teams could not reach the other side of the market because of the continuing air and sea bombardments, he added. The attack was the latest in a series of airstrikes launched by the coalition against Houthi targets in Yemen. Last week, a Saudi-led coalition airstrike killed at least five people of a family in the country's northern province of Saada. The impoverished Arab country has been locked in a civil war since the Houthi rebels overran much of Yemen militarily and seized all northern provinces in 2014, including the capital Sanaa. Saudi Arabia has led an Arab military coalition to intervene in the Yemen war since 2015 to support the government of exiled President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi. More than 10,000 Yemenis, mostly civilians, have been killed in the war, and about 3 million have been displaced. Tehran, Aug 3 : Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Thursday that he has no plan to meet US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in Singapore. The two will take part in the 51st session of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) foreign ministers meeting underway in Singapore, Xinhua reported. "Meeting for the sake of meeting means nothing. The Americans have to show that the meetings will lead to agreements that will be respected," Zarif was quoted by the official IRNA news agency as saying. "Today even the U.S. allies cannot trust the commitments made by Washington," he said. The Iranian foreign minister ruled out any dialogue with the US under pressure and threats. Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has also dismissed any possibility for holding negotiations with the US to settle the dispute over the 2015 Iranian nuclear deal. "We cannot rely on the American words and even their signature, therefore, negotiations with them are fruitless," Khamenei said. US President Donald Trump, who decided to quit the nuclear deal in May, this week offered to meet and talk with Iranian leaders to resolve the rising tensions following a war of words and military threats between the two sides. Media rights groups in Nigeria are condemning a bill that will regulate the practice of journalism in the West African country and media executives called on the Nigerian Senate to repeal the bill. Leading the charge were newspaper publishers, broadcasters, editors and journalists. Lukasz Stefanski via 123RF According to the Premium Times of Nigeria, the Nigerian Senate has pushed the Nigerian Press Council Amendment Bill through its second reading this year, eliciting widespread outrage from media practitioners who identified it as an attempt to revive some of the relics of dictatorship that freedom lovers thought modernisation and democracy had consigned to the dustbin of history.The Premium Times further reported that the controversial bill has been condemned as draconian, primitive and unconstitutional by the Newspaper Proprietors Association of Nigeria, the Nigeria Guild of Editors, the Nigerian Union of Journalists and the Broadcasting Organisation of Nigeria, all members of the Nigerian Press Organisation.The proposed bill is unconstitutional as it runs against the principles and tenets of the rule of law and is actually sub judice given that a case on the subject matter is still pending in the highest court of the land the Supreme Court in view of which the bill should not have been drafted in the first instance, the groups said in a joint statement to Premium Times.According to Nigerias Vanguard, the chairman of the Newspapers Proprietors Association of Nigeria (NPAN) and president of the Nigerian Press Organisation, Nduka Obaigbena, urged the Senate to borrow from best practices in other jurisdictions that have expressly provided for and guaranteed press freedom without any form of government interference.This Day in Nigeria also reported that the media stakeholders called on the Nigerian National Assembly to provide an enabling environment for the media to thrive in the exercise of its constitutional obligations as spelt out in Section 22 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) By passing laws that will promote transparency, accountability and open government, such as mandatory delivery of the State of the Nation address by the President, and State of the State address by the governor on specified days of the years.The media organisations also accused the government of seeking to indoctrinate Nigerians through the use and misuse of curricula in the training of journalists and usurping the powers of regulatory bodies in the education sector.The Bill seeks to create the impression that the Nigerian media community does not take the issues of ethics and self-regulation seriously, whereas the mechanisms actually exist, including the Code of Conduct for Journalists in Nigeria, the Ethics Committees of the NUJ and NGE, and the recently launched Nigerian Media Code of Election Coverage endorsed by stakeholders, it was further reported in This Day.Since 2015, the Muhammadu Buhari regime has been accused of attacking freedom of speech in Nigeria by trying to put measures in place to regulate the mainstream media, as well as social media activities.Additional sources: AllAfrica.com. Harare, Aug 3 : Zimbabwe's incumbent leader Emmerson Mnangagwa narrowly won the nation's presidential election on Friday as the ruling party garnered a two-thirds majority in parliament in the first vote since the fall of long-time ruler Robert Mugabe. The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) announced that Mnangagwa, 75, received 2,460,463 votes, representing 50.8 per cent of the total votes, reports Xinhua news agency. His biggest rival, Nelson Chamisa from opposition MDC Alliance, received 44.3 per cent of the vote. The other 21 presidential candidates shared the remaining votes. Mnangagwa said he was "humbled" by his win. "Though we may have been divided at the polls, we are united in our dreams," he tweeted. "This is a new beginning. Let us join hands, in peace, unity and love, and together build a new Zimbabwe for all." Mnangagwa is Zimbabwe's second executive president after Mugabe, 94, who assumed the position in 1987. The election took place on Monday but opposition supporters protested in Harare over alleged vote-rigging, which led to six deaths on Wednesday, the BBC reported. The elections were the first since Mugabe was ousted last November. They were intended to set Zimbabwe on a new path following Mugabe's repressive rule. It is also the first time in 16 years that the Zimbabwe government allowed European Union, Commonwealth and US election monitors into the country. More than five million people were registered to vote in Monday's poll, and there was a turnout of 70 per cent. Mumbai, Aug 3 : A Jet Airways Riyadh-Mumbai flight departed the runway after an aborted take off early on Friday, an official said here. The incident affected flight 9W523 with 142 passenger and seven crew members. There were no casualties or injuries. All aboard the Boeing B737-800 aircraft of the private carrier were safely evacuated and accommodated inside the terminal building. The airline is working out alternate travel arrangements for the passengers from Riyadh. Jet Airways has reported the matter to the India's Directorate General of Civil Aviation and is fully cooperating with all concerned authorities. It added that the airline's operations across the network, including its other services from and to Riyadh, remain unaffected. Canberra, Aug 3 : One of Australia's biggest supermarket chains was on Friday charged with the death of a man who was run over after falling asleep in a loading dock. The driver of a truck hit the 47-year-old man while leaving the loading dock of a Woolworths store in Darwin in October 2016, reports Xinhua news agency. The driver was subcontracted to a Victorian-based transport and warehouse company. NT WorkSafe announced on Thursday night that both companies have been charged with failing to comply with a health and safety duty. Both companies face a maximum penalty of A$1.5 million Australian ($1 million) if found guilty. Woolworths, the second-largest company in Australia, said in a statement that it was currently reviewing the matter, and as it is before the courts, "it would be inappropriate for us to make any further comment in relation to the tragic circumstances of this matter". Mexico City, Aug 3 : The Federal Police of Mexico has seized a shipment containing 120 kg of methamphetamine worth $76 million, destined for Australia, at the Mexico City International Airport. The National Security Commission (CNS) said that the cargo was found in the loading area for import and export goods at the airport on Thursday, Efe news reported. According to the CNS, a hundred packages "made of carbon paper, aluminium and transparent plastic" were found with approximately 120 kg of a granulated white powder, which bears characteristics of methamphetamine. The meth was hidden in computer equipment packages, which were destined for a suburb of Sydney, Australia. Mumbai, Aug 3 : Veteran actor and politician Shatrughan Sinha has congratulated actor Vidyut Jammwal for bringing honour and pride to India. He also says that it is a "proud moment" to be declared one of the top six martial artists around the globe. "Congrats Vidyut Jammwal, actor and martial arts artist for bringing honour and pride to India. Proud moment to be declared one of the six top martial artists around the globe by Looper a distinguished US platform list," Shatrughan tweeted on Thursday night. Looper, a US platform, recently released a list of top martial artists across the globe, and Vidyut has found a spot in the list. Calling it "outstanding" and a "proud moment", Shatrughan said that the "Commando 2" actor is the only Indian to make it to the list. "Outstanding, that you are the only Indian to have made it to this reputed honour as the rising star in action films across the world. Very well deserved and may you scale greater heights. Kudos! Proud moment!" wrote the 72-year-old actor-politician. On the work front, Vidyut has finished shooting for "Junglee", a film about a unique relationship between a man and elephants. Backed by Junglee Pictures, it is directed by Chuck Russell, who has helmed Hollywood films such as "The Mask", "Eraser" and "The Scorpion King". The film is slated to release on April 5, 2019. Los Angeles, Aug 3 : Actor Tim Allen has spoken out in defence of the actress-comedian Roseanne Barr he once knew. "I go away back with Rosie and that's not the Rosie I know," Allen, 65, told reporters on Thursday at the Television Critics Association's press tour when asked about Roseanne's firing from ABC in May over her racist tweet comparing Valerie Jarrett to an ape. "She was the most diverse and tolerant woman I've ever known for a long time. Whatever got in her head, isn't the Roseanne I know," reports people.com. "It's a very icy time. I'm a veteran comedian for 38 years and I've never seen it, like Lenny Bruce said at the Purple Onion, 'We've gone backwards.' There are things you can't say. There are things you shouldn't say. "Who makes up these rules? And as a stand-up comic, it's a dangerous position to be in because I like pushing buttons. It's unfortunate," Allen added. However, when it comes to ABC's decision to cancel Roseanne, Allen said, "They had to do what they had to do and it's their decision." In addition to being friends and fellow comedians, Allen can certainly relate to Barr considering his own conservative ABC show "Last Mind Standing", a series about a traditional American father and his family in Denver, Colorado, was cancelled after six seasons in 2017. "I've worked for ABC for yearsA I don't really believe it was a political decision. I think it was a financial decisionA I thought it was done very poorly, that's my point of view. I was heartbroken," Allen said on Thursday. Washington, Aug 3 : US President Donald Trump blasted the media and "fake news" at a rally in Pennsylvania after a row between the White House Press Secretary and a CNN reporter. The rally on Thursday night in Wilkes-Barre took place just hours after White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, at a press briefing, refused to say the media is not the enemy of the people after being pressed to make the statement by CNN reporter Jim Acosta. "Whatever happened to fair press? Whatever happened to honest reporting?" Trump asked, to which the crowd responded with boos and jeers, with some chanting "CNN sucks". The President cited multiple examples of what he called "fake news", including saying the "fake news refused to call" Pennsylvania for him during the 2016 presidential election, reports The Hill magazine. He dubbed journalists "horrible, horrendous people" and "disgusting". At the briefing, Sanders said: "I think the President has made his position known. "It's ironic, Jim, that not only you and the media attack the President for his rhetoric when they frequently lower the level of conversation in this country." Acosta walked out of after Sanders wouldn't make the statement. Seoul, Aug 3 : Samsung's website has leaked a picture of the upcoming Galaxy Note 9, which suggests the flagship smartphone will have 3.5-mm headphone jack, the media reported. The photo of the Galaxy Note 9 was first spotted by eminent phone leakster Evan Blass. "The image of the leaked upcoming device confirms the Galaxy Note 9 name -- not that, it would be anything else -- but gives us a clear look at its 3.5-mm headphone jack, rear-mounted fingerprint sensor, switched-up dual camera and upgraded S-Pen stylus," CNET reported late on Thursday. The marketing image of the device had the headline: "Say hello to super power". It invited users to pre-order and be "one of the first to experience it." However, the South Korean tech giant left the page up for several hours before taking it down, thus, ensuring its latest "accident" was there just long enough for everyone to see, according to the Forbes. The smartphone major showcased teaser videos for the upcoming device last week -- highlighting improved performances in terms of battery, storage capacity, and speed. Under the title "A lot can change in a day," the company advertised the showcase event slated for August 9 through three different video clips, each depicting everyday problems people face while using smartphones. Industry watchers expect the new Galaxy Note 9 to come with 4,000mAh battery and 512 GB data storage capacity, along with Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 and Exynos 9810 chipsets. Los Angeles, Aug 3 : "New Girl" star Lamorne Morris will join Vin Diesel in "Bloodshot". He will join the Sony Pictures film in the role of scientist Wilfred Wigans, who becomes Bloodshot's unlikely ally, reports variety.com. Toby Kebbell, Eiza Gonzalez, Michael Sheen, Sam Heughan, Talulah Riley and Alex Hernandez also star in the project, which will be directed by Dave Wilson. "Bloodshot", first published in 1992, centres on a mortally wounded soldier with powers of regeneration and meta-morphing made possible through nano-machines in his bloodstream. "Bloodshot" was created by Kevin VanHook, Don Perlin and Bob Layton for Valiant. Over its comic book run, "Bloodshot" totalled 110 issues with more than 7.5 million copies sold. Kolkata, Aug 3 : Despite challenges in procuring quality raw jute, exports of diversified products made of the golden fibre are expected to grow over 10 per cent to cross the Rs 600 crore mark in the current financial year, stakeholders say. "The trend of exports, as well as domestic consumption of jute diversified products, including floor coverings, hand and shopping bags, wall hangings, decorative fabrics and others have been encouraging. Last year, the export growth of these products was less than 10 per cent and, in the current fiscal, the exports are expected to grow by over 10 per cent," National Jute Board (NJB) Joint Director Susant Pal told IANS. According to NJB's latest data, the exports of value-added products stood at Rs 572.61 crore during the first 11 months of last financial year (2017-18), against Rs 590.95 crore in the entire 2016-17 fiscal. "Taking the average monthly exports during the last fiscal, the shipment of diversified jute products was estimated to cross Rs 600 crore and in view of the continued trend, the exports are likely to be well above that mark in 2018-19," another NJB official said. The data also suggested that products worth Rs 483.87 crore were shipped out in 2013-14 and this grew to Rs 562.4 crore in 2015-16. The United Kingdom and the United States have been the largest buyers of diversified Indian jute products. The two countries account for about 50 per cent share of total exports while exports to the European Union and the Middle East, as also Japan, are also growing; but in value terms, these are not so big, the official said. Among various diversified jute products, floor coverings have a share of about 45 per cent while hand and shopping bags constitute around 50 per cent share of total exports. In a bid to leapfrog the consumption of diversified jute products, particularly in the domestic market, the Centre has been emphasising on the use of technical jute textiles in large infrastructural projects like roads and river embankments, Pal said. The Standing Advisory Committee (SAC) on jute, at its 25th meeting, had suggested the reservation of jute sacking for packaging foodgrain should be reduced by a nominal five percentage points each year to bring the reservation level to 50 per cent by 2024-25 in view of the need to draw up a roadmap for diversification. "This recommendation was not approved by the Cabinet Committee of Economic Affairs because the gradual reduction in reservation of jute sacking bags for packing of food grains and sugar over the years could impact livelihood of four lakh farmers. "But the ministry has been pushing for diversification to reduce the industry's dependence on government orders of jute sacking," a Textiles Ministry official IANS on condition of anonymity. However, millers have been facing challenges in procuring raw jute for manufacturing value-added jute clothes which are being bought by small, micro and tiny units for producing diversified materials. "Quality raw jute is a must for diversified jute goods. However, 70 per cent raw jute produced in the country is of average to poor grade and is only suitable for production of coarser material like jute sacks. Interventions through projects like Jute I-Care have shown good results but have a limited reach so far," Sanjay Kajaria, former chairman of the Indian Jute Mills Association, told IANS. He said millers had no options but to import quality raw jute to produce value-added jute cloth (which are being used for diversified products). "Roughly, about 60 per cent of imported raw jute fibre is usually being used for making of these types of jute clothes. Moreover, capacity utilisation of producing these varies between 50-70 per cent depending on the availability of raw material," Kajaria said, adding that prices of these clothes swing widely, causing hardship to small producers of diversified products. Raw jute growers have also been pointing fingers towards jute-producing states for not giving prominence, like in the case of foodgrain, to the cultivation of this cash crop. Apart from the export market, according to producers of jute diversified materials, lack of awareness about jute products in the domestic market is one of the major barriers against the proliferation of such goods which are made of the natural fibre and it seemed nobody pays enough heed to the campaign against single-use plastic. "In overseas markets, jute-diversified products emerge as trendy and high-end products, while in India, particularly outside Bengal, people lack awareness about jute products," Jutify Lifestyle Promoter and Director Amrita Kajaria told IANS. (Bappaditya Chaterjee can be contacted at bappaditya.c@ians.in) South African shoppers, beset by a storm of rising prices, are making fewer trips to grocery stores and have dropped an unprecedented three grocery categories from their shopping basket. Wavebreak Media Ltd via 123RF Whats in and whats out? Upswing in branded retail This is according to the latest, which looks at shifts in consumer purchasing behaviour within 4,000 representative households across the country on a quarterly basis.Nielsen CPG client service director Kelly Arnold comments; Its no secret that South African consumers are experiencing a severe wallet squeeze thanks to a raft of rising costs including spiralling petrol and electricity prices, the implementation of sugar tax and a VAT increase to 15%. The effect that this has had on consumer behaviour is profound and were now clearly seeing shoppers jumping out of some categories and consolidating their spend.As the household basket has become more expensive, we have also seen consumers limiting the number of trips, to 60 trips a year on average, and the top up shop that used to be twice or three times a week has dropped to once every two weeks, with spend per trip now averaging at R210.Overall the volume of sales has grown by 2.8%, with the monetary value of sales growing at about 6.3%. That said, were simply not seeing massive growth with consumers shopping less and spending slightly less; although there are instances of upgrading to larger pack sizes which may be a contributory factor to the small levels of growth.Interestingly, the repertoire or number of stores that consumers visit has increased to 4.9 retailers a year. This is as extremely price-conscious consumers seek out deals, and are more prepared to shop around.Drilling down to category performance, Arnold reports that consumers now purchase around 68 categories per year. We have seen a move towards consumers spending more on dry groceries and perishables with staples remaining stable. The highest amount of spend is happening in frozen chicken and ready to eat cereals, sugar and UHT milk (a long-term trend) and canned meat. The latter might be because of the listeriosis crisis earlier this year which compelled many consumers to switch from cold meats.Looking at the specific categories that have experienced the biggest declines Household/Cleaning Goods which are no longer seen as a necessity have dropped by 6% and Beverages by 6%, with Carbonated Soft Drinks (CSDs) experiencing particularly negative performance. In this regard, contributing factors may well be the shift in volumes from 500ml to 450 ml size bottle within some of the top brands as well as an influx of other brands carving out a market share for themselves and now spreading their national footprint, explains Arnold.Thealso revealed a shift towards modern branded retail outlets away from independent retail within the LSM 1-6 market. The growth in usage of branded retail chains by this market could be due to the fact that more retail chains have opened stores in previously under-served areas with large, traditionally modern trade retailers having invested in this sector in the last two years. We also know that branded retail offers more competitive pricing and is therefore seen as less expensive, says Arnold.In contrast, higher LSM groups are increasing their spend in independent retail. The type of behaviour driving this trend is that higher LSM groups are going to branded retail for their big monthly shops and utilising independent retail outlets to do their more frequent top-up shopping. For example, Im on my way home to Soweto I stop at the taxi rank where there is a Spaza shop nearby, grab a couple of things as a top-up, resulting in LSM 7-10 spending more there, explains Arnold.To counter these trying times, retailers need to ensure they have the right composition of goods for their shoppers, at the right price given that positive price perception is extremely important for future success. Arnold stresses; Retail data has also never been more important in order to move past tough times and Nielsens broad reach means an unmatched national footprint allowing for not only accurate data but in-depth understanding and insights into what that data actually means. New Delhi, Aug 3 : Impractical Jokers, the well-known US comedy group, will bring their act to India next year and are looking forward to spreading laughter and happiness in the country with their live gig, says group member James Murray. "We are planning to come to India to perform live. It was supposed to happen this year and then the 'Impractical Jokers' movie got a green light, so we had to pause. We are going to tour Australia and India in one trip," Murray told IANS over the phone from Florida. "We were planning to do an episode on Australia and a tour, and then go to India and do several shows around the country. We had to pause that until next year because of the movie," he added. Murray says it is really an exciting moment for the New York-based comedy troupe, which also comprises Joe Gatto, Brian Q Quinn and Sal Vulcano. "I would love to be on stage and perform in front of thousands of Indian fans and make them laugh. It would be amazing." The New York-based comedy troupe, also known as The Tenderloins, caught the spiral of fame with the hidden-camera comedy reality TV series "Impractical Jokers". They use a combination of hidden microphones and cameras to dare each other to go out of the comfort zone and embarrass themselves. The show is aired in India on Comedy Central. Murray describes the show as a group of real-life best friends challenging each other. Before bringing his comedy tour to India, Murray will be visiting the country later this year for a wedding. And he is looking forward to experiencing all things "desi". "My college room mate was an Indian, my best friend is from India and I am coming to India for the first time later this year. In the next six months, I am coming to India twice. I have written one movie screenplay and it was about an American boy falling in love with an Indian girl and they get married in India. So, it has been been a part of my life forever," Murray said, explaining his bond with the country. "I am coming to India for his (friend's) wedding. I am very excited. I always wanted to visit the country. I don't know the specific details about where I will be going... Delhi or Mumbai." Then he will be back in December for his book "Awakened". "I wrote a thriller called 'Awakened' and Harper Collins is publishing it. I am going to India in the first week of December to launch the book in India and I am going to meet with people at Comedy Central as well." He has planned something special for his Indian fans during his work trip to India. "I am going to shoot some promos and commercials for them (Comedy Central). I am calling a party too for my Indian fans. No one knows it yet but I am very likely to throw two huge parties while in India for all the fans of Impractical Jokers." Before embarking on his Indian adventure, Murray, better known as "Murr", will be interacting with Indian fans through a Facebook live session by Comedy Central on August 3 as part of their Friendship Day celebrations. "We get a lot of fan mails from India. I think in the higher world most of our fans come from India... With the Facebook live, we will get to talk to them directly...I am so excited." (Sugandha Rawal can be contacted at sugandha.r@ians.in) Srinagar, Aug 3 : Two militants were killed and two security men injured on Friday in a gunfight in Jammu and Kashmir's Baramulla district. Police said that bodies of two militants were recovered from the site in Behrampora village and that the gunfight had now ended. "A soldier and a policeman were injured in this operation," a police officer said. "The injured have been shifted to hospital." Police said one of the slain militants belonged to Sopore area. Earlier, fresh firing started at the gunfight site when the security forces were carrying out searches to recover the bodies of the militants. The fighting broke out after security forces surrounded Behrampora village in Sopore area following information about the presence of militants. As a precaution, authorities have suspended mobile Internet services in the district. Also, educational institutions in Sopore town have been closed for the day. New Delhi, Aug 3 : The Lok Sabha was disrupted on Friday after protests by the Trinamool Congress (TMC) MPs over the detention of their leaders at Assam's Silchar airport. Shortly after proceedings began, the TMC lawmakers came to the well, protesting against the detention of their eight-member team, which had intended to launch a campaign against the National Register of Citizens (NRC) on Thursday. The protest was led by TMC's Kalyan Banerjee, who moved a privilege motion over the issue. The protesting MPs raised slogans like "We want justice". Telugu Desam Party (TDP) MPs also came into the well with placards, saying "Special Status for Andhra Pradesh". Speaker Sumitra Mahajan had adjourned the house briefly until 11.50 a.m. Mumbai, Aug 3 : Actress Shafaq Naaz will do an "important cameo" in the show "Kullfi Kumarr Bajewala". In the show, Kullfi is going to meet with an accident and will be rushed to a hospital. Shafaq will then enter the show as Dr. Niyati, who is idealistic. She is not supposed to operate without supervision but she risks her career to save Kullfi's life. "I have been roped in to play an important cameo in the show. I can't reveal much about the storyline but it will surely leave you on the edge of your seat. I always wanted to work with 4 Lions Films, this is like a dream come true," Shafaq said in a statement According to a source, she started shooting on Friday. Kochi, Aug 3 : A Kerala Police team left for Jalandhar on Friday to question a Catholic bishop accused of sexually abusing a nun. The six-member team led by Deputy Superintendent of Police A.T. Subhash, will first stop in Delhi to question a city-based couple who raised a complaint against the nun, according to informed sources. The team will then travel to the Punjab city where they will meet the accused, Franco Mulakkal, Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Jalandhar. The nun alleged in June that Mulakkal sexually abused her several times at a convent in Kuruvalangadu near Kottayam between 2014 to 2016. An FIR was registered against the bishop and a 114-page detailed statement was taken from the nun and other inmates of the convent. Mulakkal however, denies any wrongdoing. He told the Punjab media last month that he was waiting to meet the probe team formed after Kerala Police chief Loknath Behra reviewed the case. Statements were taken from the head of the Syro-Malabar Church Cardinal Mar George Alencherry and also a few other former nuns who were residents at the convent. Islamabad, Aug 3 : A special court in Pakistan on Friday scheduled the hearing of a high treason case against former President Pervez Musharraf for August 20. The case will be heard by a bench headed by Lahore High Court Chief Justice Muhammad Yawar Ali. The other members of the bench are Balochistan High Court Justice Tahira Safdar and Sindh High Court Justice Nazar Akbar, Geo News reported. The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government had filed the treason case against Musharraf over the President's imposition of extra-constitutional emergency in November 2007. Last month, lawyer Akram Sheikh stepped down as the head of the prosecution team tasked by the government in 2013 to prosecute Musharraf under Article 6 of the Constitution. The former Army chief was indicted in March 2014 after he made an appearance before the court, rejecting all the charges against him. On March 18, 2016, Musharraf left Pakistan for Dubai for medical treatment after his name was removed from the Exit Control List on the orders of the Supreme Court. A few months later, the special court declared him a proclaimed offender and ordered the confiscation of his property owing to his no-show. A year later, a special court restrained Musharraf's counsel from presenting his arguments, noting that it could not hear the lawyer of an absconder. In May 2017, Musharraf expressed, through a plea, his willingness to face the high treason trial under the Army's protection and on the assurance from the court that he would be given a safe passage to return to Dubai. The government had earlier requested the special court to proceed with the trial of the former military ruler in the high treason case. On orders of the apex court, Musharraf's passport and identity card were also cancelled since he failed to return to the country despite the last chance given to him for the purpose. San Francisco, Aug 3 : Microsoft's recently launched portable and affordable surface tablet "Surface Go" is now shipping. Starting at $399, the "Surface Go" features integrated kickstand, Windows 10 and a similar design to the Surface Pro. "The Surface Go, Microsoft's latest 2-in-1, is now shipping. It has all the hallmarks of a Surface tablet -- magnesium casing, fully adjustable kickstand, Windows Hello-compatible camera, and a keyboard connector," The Verge reported on Thursday. The device comes with a 10-inch display and weighs nearly 500 g. It supports inking with the Surface Pen, a 3:2 custom calibrated display, a built-in hinge with full friction and type and mouse input support with Microsoft's signature type cover. The lightweight device with a 4K monitor is powered by 7th generation Intel Pentium Gold Processor 4415Y, offering a nine hour battery life. Astana, Aug 3 : India and Kazakhstan agreed to strengthen cooperation in the areas of trade and defence and security following delegation-level talks headed by Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Kazakh Foreign Minister Kairat Abdrakhmanov here on Friday. "We covered the full range of bilateral, regional and global issues of mutual interest," Sushma Swaraj said while addressing the media following the meeting. "We took stock of progress in our bilateral relations," she said. Noting that both India and Kazakhstan have developed multifaceted cooperation in all areas of bilateral and multilateral relations and are strategic partners since 2009, she said New Delhi seeks to consolidate and further strengthen its friendly relations with the Central Asian nation. "I discussed with Foreign Minister Abdrakhmanov our interest to partner with Kazakhstan to explore markets for new products, diversifying from the trade in traditional products to inject fresh impetus to the trade between the two countries," Sushma Swaraj said. "There is immense potential to be tapped in sectors like agricultural products, food processing, pharmaceuticals, energy and chemicals." Kazakhstan is India's largest trade and investment partner in Central Asia. Bilateral trade between the two countries stood at $642.42 million in 2016-17. Cumulative investments from India into Kazakhstan and from Kazakhstan to India from 2005 to 2016 amounted to $244 million and $83.09 million respectively, according to figures provided by the Indian External Affairs Ministry. Sushma Swaraj also said that India has keen interest in improving connectivity with the Central Asian region. "In December 2017, India acceded to TIR convention and in February 2018, India joined the Ashgabat Agreement," she said. "The International North South Transport Corridor (INSTC) is gaining momentum and the member states are working together to popularise the corridor." The Transports Internationaux Routiers (TIR) Convention is a multilateral treaty that seeks to simplify and harmonise the administrative formalities of international transport. The Ashgabat Agreement is a multimodal transport agreement between India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Oman, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. Sushma Swaraj also said that she and Abdrakhmanov expressed their interest to further strengthen defence cooperation between the two sides "based on solid foundation that we have in place". "Our defence and security sector cooperation has intensified in the last two years," she said. "Kazakh Armed Forces Unit underwent training on peacekeeping operations in India and presently a mobile training team from the Indian Army is training Kazakh personnel in Almaty." Pointing out that both countries have growing cooperation in capacity building, Sushma Swaraj said: "Kazakhstan's professionals and students have been attending courses on scholarships in India every year under ICCR (Indian Council for Cultural Relations) and ITEC (Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation) programme in a wide range of disciplines." She also stressed on enhancing people-to-people contact and promoting tourism between the two countries. Following the delegation-level talks, Sushma Swaraj called on Kazakh Prime Minister Bakytzhan Sagintayev. "Good exchange of views on strengthening cooperation in trade and investment, ICT, joint film production, tourism and people-to-people contacts," Indian External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar tweeted following the meeting. Sushma Swaraj arrived here on Thursday on the first leg of her three-nation Central Asian tour that will also see her visiting Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan. She interacted with members of the around 7,000-strong Indian community in Kazakhstan soon after her arrival. Patna, Aug 3 : Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Friday said that no one will be spared in the rape of 34 minor girls at a shelter home in Muzaffarpur district. "I am ashamed of what happened in Muzaffarpur. I was pained by it," he said while speaking at a gathering here. "I can assure you that no one will be spared." He said the Central Bureau of Investigation was probing the case since it took over on Sunday. The Muzaffarpur horror came to light when the Bihar Social Welfare Department filed an FIR based on a social audit of the shelter home conducted by the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai. Jaipur, Aug 3 : Strict action will be taken against those found guilty of sexually abusing a minor student on the premises of Mayo college, Ajmer, state Woman and Child Welfare Minister Anita Bhadel said on Friday. Speaking to media, she said an unbiased probe has been initiated in the case to bring out true facts. The administration and the government both have taken this matter seriously, she added. According to information, a class XI student from Mayo scaled the wall of the institution to escape from seniors who allegedly tortured him. His family members lodged a police complaint on July 28,2018. Ajmer Superintendent of Police, Rajesh Singh, confirmed that the victim is a minor and the Alwar Gate police station (Ajmer) has registered the case against six students under POCSO Act and the investigation is in progress. All these students are from class XII, he confirmed. The victim has accused his seniors of beating him, sexually abusing him, forcing him to take non-vegetarian food and liquor, he said. According to sources, five of the six students are children of political leaders from Haryana, senior officials and businessmen. Meanwhile, NSUI students staged a massive protest outside the Mayo College on Friday against the school administration and burnt the effigy of the college director. How did the opening of No. 5 On Hudson come about? What have been some of your career highlights? How has winning Miss South Africa influenced your lifes direction? What are your thoughts on these sort of beauty pageants and competitions? In an age where we are trying to celebrate women from all walks of life, backgrounds, age, etc. is the beauty pageant concept still not too narrow in its scope on who can enter and how its judged? What women artists are you most excited about currently? What does Womens Month mean to you? How would you like to see the support of women in the arts progress? We got in touch with Sandy to chat career highlights, women in the arts, and beauty pageants.The opening of No. 5 on Hudson Art Galley came about while I was living in London and I developed an interest in the local and European art scene. Also having the time to start painting myself and attending art lessons stimulated my creative side, and then back in South Africa, enjoying the local representation of our artist community.My career highlights have been the winning of the Miss South Africa Crown in 1980, which led me on to model internationally, and to work in the world of fashion, events, and marketing. I became a fashion promotor for Truworths for three years, putting together and taking fashion shows around the country.I then had an event and image company called Image Incorporated that assisted women in business to market and upgrade their images. I started a decorating business called Lemon Tree Cottage in the Keith Kirsten Nurseries, specialising in high-end home accessories.I established Country Living South Africa, which grew into a well-known recognised brand, importing furniture and home accessories and franchising the stores. I also started Country Living Cafe, which was a successful stylish coffee shop concept as an addition to Country Living. Country Living received extensive media coverage and graced many decor magazine covers.I left SA to live in London and live partially in Cape Town now and have since opened No. 5 On Hudson.Winning the Miss South Africa title gave me an enormous amount of life exposure and opportunities that I otherwise would never have had. I learned public speaking, confidence, and general knowledge, it opened so many doors, so many opportunities and networks, and gave me a platform to promote my endeavours and I met a huge amount of incredible people through my journey. My experiences taught me valuable life lessons and Im grateful for the opportunities that Ive had as a result.The pageant, while still focused on the surface idea of beauty, does serve a purpose to draw attention to issues such as education and charities. It also sets a benchmark which may be unattainable to many young women, but Miss SA can be a role model to girls leading them in areas by example. So, a lot of responsibility lies with the winner to make sure her message is one of upliftment. It is judged not only on looks, but also intelligence, personality, and ability to carry the crown in a way as described above.There are too many amazing female artists to single out one. To be a successful artist, one must be incredibly disciplined, hardworking, and self-motivated.Womens Month is an opportunity to celebrate women across all divides and the amazing contribution they make to society. It is also an opportunity to draw attention to the plight of underprivileged, impoverished, and abused women and the discrimination of women in society.Women in the arts need to have the same recognition as their male counterparts and receive the same financial remuneration and have their contribution to the arts recognised. Kabul, Aug 3 : At least 15 people were killed and more than 50 others wounded after two explosions ripped through a mosque in Afghanistan's Gardez city on Friday. The blasts took place at 1.30 p.m. when people were offering Friday prayers inside Imam-e-Zaman Mosque in Police District 2 of the city, which is the capital of eastern Paktia province, a police officer told Xinhua news agency. "The preliminary information and initial findings of our police showed that two back to back blasts struck when people were inside the mosque. So far, we have no more details but the number of casualties may change as the victims were shifted to different hospitals across the city," the officer said. Security forces cordoned off the area for precautionary measures in Khowja Hassan neighbourhood mostly dominated by Shia Afghans. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack. London, Aug 3 : Newly-promoted English top-division club Fulham have signed defender Alfie Mawson from relegated outfit Swansea City. "The club is delighted to confirm the capture of Alfie Mawson from Swansea City for an undisclosed fee," it said in a statement on Thursday, adding that the 24-year-old has signed a four-year deal, which will tie him to Fulham until at least the summer of 2022, reports Xinhua news agency. Born just 15 miles away from Craven Cottage in Hillingdon, Mawson came through the ranks at Brentford, making his professional debut as a 19-year-old in the League Cup. Mawson played 44 more times for Swansea last season and scored three goals, including the winner against Liverpool, and his consistency saw him named in Gareth Southgate's senior England squad for the first time in March. Ghaziabad, Aug 3 : The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will take resort to communal issues in order to win the next Lok Sabha election, RLD Vice President Jayant Chaudhary said on Friday. The Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) leader told party members here that in the 2019 general election they would face a disciplined and financially rich BJP and its sister organisations. He asked his party workers to accept the challenge. Covering 40 districts as part of a "Pol Khol Dhava Bol" campaign, Chaudhary reached Ghaziabad on Friday. He said that while the RLD was concerned about farmers, the BJP wanted to rule the country by dividing it on communal lines. The RLD in May stunned the BJP by winning the Kairana Lok Sabha by-election in Uttar Pradesh. RLD's Tabbasum Hasan defeated BJP'd Mriganda Singh, daughter of then BJP MP Hukum Singh whose death led to the by-election. Chaudhary said that due to the step motherly treatment by the Modi government, 14,000-15,000 farmers were annually committing suicide in India. He called the BJP "a hypocrite party" and alerted his party workers to fight them on economic issues. The RLD leader started his "Pol Khol Dhava Bol" campaign from Agra and would conclude it at Baghpat in western Uttar Pradesh. New Delhi, Aug 3 : President Ram Nath Kovind will on Sunday visit Chennai, where DMK chief M. Karunanidhi has been hospitalised to enquire about his health. Karunanidhi was admitted to Kauvery Hospital on Saturday after a dip in his blood pressure and has since been under treatment. His condition is said to be stable now. The President will go to Chennai from Hyderabad where he will address the 7th Convocation of IIT-Hyderabad on Sunday, according to a Rashtrapati Bhawan release. On August 6, Kovind will inaugurate the 'Festival of Democracy' in Thiruvananthapuram to mark the conclusion of the diamond jubilee celerbations of the Kerala Assembly. The next day, the President will inaugurate the centenary celebrations of St Thomas' College in Thrissur. Bengaluru, Aug 3 : To provide relief to a choked Bengaluru busting at seams, Karnataka Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy on Friday told investors to set up their manufacturing units or services centres in tier-2 cities across the southern state. "I appeal to investors to locate their industries or services centres beyond Bengaluru in tier-2 cities like Mysuru, Hassan, Mangaluru, Hubballi, Belagavi and Kalaburagi for uniform development and job creation," Kumaraswamy told about 100 chief executives of the IT and biotech industry here. Interacting with the heads of IT and BT sectors at a meeting on the 21st Bengaluru Tech Summit (November 29-December 1), the Chief Minister said his government was committed to encourage investments and job creation in tier-2 cities and towns for all-round growth of the state. "I have committed to invest Rs 500 crore in the state budget for fiscal 2018-19 to set up skill development centres in tier-2 and tier-3 cities across the state for training our youth, graduating from higher secondary schools and colleges," he asserted. Assuring the state government's support to the captains of the industry, Kumaraswamy said he would set up a special cell in his office for speedy approvals and enhance the ease of doing business in the state. "As announced in the state budget on July 5, industrial clusters will be set up in some districts under the 'Compete with China' programme to make farm machinery at Bidar, solar equipment at Kalaburagi, electronic toys at Koppal, garments at Ballari and ALED bulbs unit at Chitradurga," said Kumaraswamy. As the state is well known for innovation hub, the state government will set up a Karnataka Innovation Authority through a legislation in the next assembly session to encourage innovation and entrepreneurship, including floating start-ups. State Major Industries, IT, BT, Science & Technology Minister K.J. George said on the occasion that the JD(S)-Congress coalition government would support the growth of IT and BT sectors in the state. State Social Welfare Minister Priyank Kharge said the state government would soon initiate a programme on rural entrepreneurship for uniform growth in the state. Karnataka IT vision chairman and Infosys co-founder S. Gopalakrishna, Additional Chief Secretary E.V. Ramana Reddy and IT & BT Principal Secretary Gaurav Gupta participated in the meeting. New Delhi, Aug 3 : Opposition leaders in the Rajya Sabha cutting across party lines on Friday expressed scepticism over the assurances given by Home Minister Rajnath Singh on the NRC updation process in Assam. Rajnath Singh had assured that the entire NRC process was transparent and the left out people from the final draft, published on July 30, were being provided a fair chance to prove their credentials. After the Home Minister had given his statement, Leader of Opposition in the upper House Ghulam Nabi Azad demanded to know as to how could so many people be left out of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) if there was no discrimination. "The Home Minister has said the process is entirely fair and objective. If that is so, how come persons like a former Indian Air Force personnel be left out. If the entire process has been fair, what is left to be done then," Azad asked. Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Derek O'Brien questioned the "dichotomy" over the statements made by the Union Home Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Chief Amit Shah. "This is classic double-speak. What is the real voice of the government? What Home Minister says here or what BJP President says outside?" O'Brien said. "What the Home Minister said just now in the House that communal disharmony is being spread. Yes Sir, it is being spread. But I want to ask the Home Minister, who is spreading disharmony?" the TMC leader said. Samajwadi Party leader Javed Ali Khan, too, asked how could people like former legislators and the family of former President of India Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed be left out of the NRC in Assam. Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) MP Majeed Memon demanded from the Home Minister as to what would happen to those who would be left out even after the revision of the list. Congress MP from Assam Ripun Bora argued that the guidelines for inclusion in the NRC should be "modified and simplified" and the last date -- September 27 -- for submission of claims needs to be extended. Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) member T.K. Rangarajan too asked for extension of the deadline so that people get sufficient opportunity. Members also expressed concern at the way some people and the media were already labelling the 40 lakh left out people as "infiltrators". Srinagar, Aug 3 : A teenager was hit by a bullet during clashes between civilian protesters and security forces on Friday in Jammu and Kashmir's Kupwara district. Police sources said Danish Ahmad, 16, was hit during post-Friday prayer clashes in Lolab area. "He has been shifted to a hospital," a police officer said. Islamabad, Aug 3 : Pakistan's anti-corruption body on Friday summoned Prime Minister in-waiting Imran Khan on August 7 in an ongoing inquiry against his alleged misuse of government's helicopters. The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief is accused of illegally using an Mi-17 and an Ecureuil helicopter belonging to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government for 74 hours, causing a loss of Rs 2.1 million to the national exchequer, the Pakistani media reported. In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, PTI has led the provincial government since 2013. A National Accountability Bureau (NAB) official said that statements of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Pervez Khattak and aviation authorities in the case have been recorded, Geo News reported. Khan had earlier said that the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government made it clear that there was never any personal or private use of government helicopters by him. He also said that NAB was "most welcome" to examine the issue. This is not the first time the accountability watchdog has summoned the 65-year-old politician. He was summoned in July as well, however, he skipped the July 18 hearing owing to "busy schedule". On January 29 this year, Geo News reported that the former Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government spent millions of rupees on Khan's use of the provincial government's helicopters. NAB chairman Justice (retired) Javed Iqbal in February directed the bureau to launch a probe against the PTI chief and the then Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister over the issue. Khattak has already appeared before NAB in the case. Khan is scheduled to take oath of office on August 11. Kolkata, Aug 3 : The ruling Trinamool Congress on Friday said the party would observe "black day" for the next two days in protest against the "manhandling" and harassment" of a party delegation at Assam airport on Thursday. Members of the delegation, who returned to the city on Friday morning, claimed they were treated like "infiltrators". The party delegation comprising six MPs, one West Bengal minister and one MLA was confined to a room at the Kumbhirgram airport in Silchar on Thursday on the ground that prohibitory orders under Section 144 were in force in Cachar district in Assam. "We condemn the incident. Our delegation had gone to meet the common people. But they were not only detained in the airport but also heckled and harassed. We will observe black day during Saturday and Sunday across districts and blocks," party's Secretary General Partha Chatterjee said. He said the exclusion of 40 lakh people from the list of the draft National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam was "politically motivated". "MPs are free to move, but they were not allowed to talk to the people. Had MPs been allowed to meet people, they could have got the opportunity to take stock of the situation and put across their suggestions to the Centre," state Minister Firhad Hakim said at the Kolkata airport after returning from Assam. Trinamool's Rajya Sabha MP Sukhendu Sekhar Roy, who was part of the delegation, said: "They were manhandling us and women members of our delegation were physically assaulted. We were treated the same way as infiltrators are. We were pushed back." Roy also took exception to Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh's statement in the Lok Sabha on Friday that the delegation was detained at the airport to maintain law and order in the north-eastern state. "How can six MPs, a minister and a MLA create trouble in a state?" Roy questioned. Another member of the delegation Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, also a Lok Sabha member, alleged that democracy was "under threat." "We wonder whether rule of law exists in the country. It appears that an undeclared emergency is on," she added. Islamabad, Aug 3 : Twelve schools, mostly all-girl institutions, were burnt down on Friday in Pakistan's Gilgit Baltistan region in a series of coordinated attacks by unidentified militants, police said. The attackers torched the schools between 2.30 a.m. and 3.00 a.m, said Abdul Waheed, the Police Commissioner of Diamer district where the attacks took place, the Pakistani media reported. "We don't really know who was behind it. A few people here are against girls' education but most people are for it. There may be one group or more behind it," Waheed said. Among the schools targeted, eight were government-run while the other four were run by non-profits in the remote and mountaineous region that borders Afghanistan, China and Jammu and Kashmir. The attackers also torched books, Superintendent Police (SP) Diamer Roy Ajmal told Dawn newspaper. There were between 200 and 300 girls enrolled in each school on an average, taking the total enrolment to around 3,500 in the area. The district had witnessed similar attacks between 2004 and 2011 and "has one of the lowest literacy rate in Gilgit Baltistan", said a police officer. A Human Rights Watch report last year said that between 2007 and 2015, there were 867 attacks against educational institutions in Pakistan that left 392 dead and 724 wounded. It added that repeated attacks against educational institutions were undermining the cause of education in the country, especially that of girls. Destruction of schools and attacks on teachers and students, especially girls, by Islamic insurgents are common in Pakistan, where around 23 million children are out of school. Nobel Prize winner and education activist Malala Yousafzai was shot by the Taliban in 2012 for advocating the education of girls in Swat valley. The attack on Yousafzai grabbed international headlines and highlighted the challenges facing girls' education in Pakistan. In 2014, a government report had said 47 per cent of women in Pakistan were illiterate. One third of the JSE-listed companies polled have cited the mandatory audit firm rotation (MAFR) rule as the primary reason why they have changed audit firms. Bernard Agulhas, CEO: IRBA Growth patten Since tracking audit firm rotations from January 2017, the Independent Regulatory Board for Auditors (IRBA) has found that a total of 12%, or 43, audit clients, have rotated their audit firms, with 33% (14) saying MAFR was the reason. Termination was given as the reason for 28% (12) of the rotations.We anticipated that there would be a number of early adopters following the issuing of the rule in June 2017. While we recognise that some of these early rotations citing MAFR may also have been driven by other concerns around KPMG, it is important to note that only five of the 14, which gave compliance with MAFR as the reason for seeking new auditors, were actually KPMG audits," says Bernard Agulhas, CEO of the IRBA.The third most cited reason was that the audit was put out to tender with 19% (8) of the rotations giving this as the primary reason for seeking a new auditor. While these companies did not specify that MAFR was a reason for rotating, at least in some of the cases it is likely that the effective date of 1 April 2023 for mandatory rotation of audit firms where tenure exceeds ten-years may have been a factor in the decision to put the audit out to tender early.During 2017, a total of 19 audits rotated, while in the first six months of 2018, this has shown growth of 26% to 24.If this pace of growth continues into the second half of the year we could see that as many as 36 audits have rotated by year end. The UK experience of audit tendering reflected a similar growth pattern on voluntary tendering ahead of the implementation date for mandatory tendering.Should we see a continued year on year doubling of the numbers of audits rotating, as companies pick up the pace to ensure that they get the auditor of their choice from first mover advantage, we could ultimately see as much of 74% of JSE-listed audits having rotated by 2020," says Agulhas.The remaining companies still to rotate at 2020 would likely be those which have until now routinely made use of several audit firms for other non-audit services. These companies must comply with cooling off provisions for conflicted auditors in terms of the Companies Act. It is therefore essential that companies which know that they will have to change auditors in 2023 have begun to address the cooling off periods for the audit firm which they may wish to engage at that time.From the UK experience, there is a significant learning curve for audit committees in this process, as few have experience of running an audit tender process. What the IRBA does caution against is audit committees which select new auditors on price alone without considering audit quality and the necessary competence and experience for the nature of the work. To assist audit committees, many of the larger audit firms have indicated that they have published, or intend to publish, audit firm transparency reports. Chennai, Aug 3 : Anna University Vice Chancellor M.K. Surappa on Friday said that the marks-for-money scam had been reported only from affiliated colleges, not from the varsity campuses. Surappa told reporters here that none of the varsity campuses was involved. The varsity has suspended its former Controller of Examination G.V. Uma, a Professor in the Department of Information Science and Technology, for the irregularities reported in the re-evaluation of engineering examination answersheets, officials said. Tamil Nadu Minister for Higher Eduction K.P. Anbalagan told reporters that evidence was being collected against the suspects. PMK founder S. Ramadoss has demanded a probe into the role of private engineering colleges as well as former Vice Chancellors and Education Department officials in the scam. Investigating a complaint regarding irregularities in the re-evaluation of answersheets, the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) had registered a case against seven varsity officials, including Uma. Uma was Controller of Examinations between 2015 and 2018. DVAC teams had also searched Uma's house here, apart from those of P. Vijayakumar and R. Shivakumar in Dindivanam and the office of Controller of Examinations on August 1. According to DVAC, students who had applied for re-evalution of answersheets paid Rs 10,000 per subject to get higher marks. In 2017, 302,380 students had applied for re-evaluation, of which 73,733 passed exams and 16,636 others improved their scores. Officials were accused of destroying original answersheets of students who had paid bribes. Shillong, Aug 3 : A National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) militant was gunned down on Friday by security forces in Meghalaya's East Garo Hills district, police said. Swift Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) police commandos raided a hideout of 10 NDFB cadres and several Garo miscreants in Tarasin village. As the commandos approached the village, they were fired upon, East Garo Hills police chief Ringrang Momin said. Koma Boro, a rebel from the anti-talk faction of NDFB, was killed in the retaliatory firing, he added. An AK rifle along with a magazine was seized from the deceased. New Delhi, Aug 3 : A 36-year-old Afghan national has been arrested here for his involvement in drug-peddling in the city, police said on Friday. An international drug syndicate was busted with his arrest as he informed police about the man who got him involved in the illegal business of drugs. According to police, two more men have been identified and the operation to nab them is underway. Mohammad Nadir Khadim, who is originally from Afghanistan, was arrested under the provisions of the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act on July 24 from Bhagat Singh Park, Malviya Nagar, Additional Commissioner of Police, Crime, Rajiv Ranjan said. The police officer said 2 kilos of heroin valued at Rs 4 crore was seized from his possession. He was staying in a rented accommodation at Hauz Rani, Malviya Nagar here. The accused told police that he used to visit India for treatment of Hepatitis B on medical visa. He first visited India in 2016, and then in February 2018. Recently, he came to India on June 21. About 15 days ago, he came in contact with a fellow Afghani, Mustafa, who is involved in smuggling heroin from Afghanistan and selling it in Delhi, Ranjan said. Khadim said Mustafa, who resides in Lajpat Nagar, lured him to this trade to make easy money and meet the huge expense of his treatment. Gardez (Afghanistan), Aug 3 : At least 35 people were killed and more than 70 others wounded after two explosions ripped through a Shia mosque in Afghanistan's Gardez city on Friday, the media reported. The blasts took place at 1.30 p.m. when people were offering Friday prayers inside Imam-e-Zaman Mosque in Police District 2. Gardez is the capital of eastern province of Paktia, a police officer told Xinhua news agency. Reports suggested two gunmen entered the mosque, opening fire on worshippers before detonating the explosives. The mosque building was severely damaged by the blasts. The bombers also used hand grenades during the attack, Paktia police chief was quoted as saying by TOLO News. Walayat Ahmadzai, head of provincial health department, confirmed the toll. "Several wounded people were shifted to a military hospital in Afghan Army's Corps 203 Thander for intensive treatment as the government-run hospitals were not able to provide treatment for all the victims," Ahmadzai said. He warned that the toll may go up as many of the wounded were in critical condition. At least 600 people were inside the mosque at the time of strike, TOLO said. Security forces cordoned off the area in Khowja Hassan neighbourhood mostly dominated by Shia Afghans. No group claimed responsibility for the attack. President Ashraf Ghani condemned the attack, calling it "inhuman". Over the past few months, Afghanistan has witnessed waves of terror attacks against Shia mosques mostly claimed by the extremist Islamic State outfit. In late March, one civilian was killed and nine others wounded after two IS gunmen attacked a Shia mosque in western Herat province. New Delhi, Aug 3 : The telecom industry has denied any role in the strange incident in which an old toll-free helpline number of UIDAI (Unique Identification Authority of India) got automatically stored on a large number of Android powered smartphones. The denial comes after smartphone users in India were startled on Friday as a toll-free helpline number of UIDAI, the implementation agency of Aadhaar number was found saved in their phonebooks. "The inclusion of a certain unknown number in the phonebooks of various mobile handsets is not from any telecom service provider," Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) said in a statement. Telecom companies, however, declined to comment on the matter and said that COAI's stand is the uniform stand of the industry. On Friday, thousands expressed anger through social media platforms on the "breach of privacy". "This is no joke as it is on my phone too. I didn't save this number. Check your phone asap, feeling worried," a user tweeted with a screenshot of the saved number. "How the hell this got into my phone book? If you can do this, then you can read and monitor my activities," another user tweeted. However, UIDAI said that the toll-free number --1800-300-1947 -- being reported to have been saved in the contact list of Android phones was outdated and invalid. "UIDAI's valid toll free number is 1947 which is functional for more than the last two years... UIDAI has not asked or communicated to any manufacturer or service provider for providing any such facility whatsoever," an official statement said. New Delhi, Aug 3 : Telecom operators will need more than 18 months to block pesky calls by fully implementing the amended regulations on unwarranted commercial calls and messages, Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) said on Friday. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has set a six-month deadline ending on December 16 for implementing the new regulations. According to Rajan S. Mathews, Director General of COAI, the cost involved in the process would be Rs 200-400 crore. The association would put forward their concerns to the regulator. "It's going to take a minimum of a year and a halfA by the time it's tested, verified and ready," Mathews said during an interaction with the media. Talking of blockchain or the distributed ledger technology prescribed by TRAI to identify and block unsolicited communication, he said the technology is totally new for the industry and even the likely providers such as IBM and Microsoft are not too sure of its viability. However, he said there are only a few companies including IBM and Microsoft who can come out with the required technology and processes. Talking of the impact on tariffs due to the high investments, Mathews said prices would largely depend on the market dynamics, but in normal economic sense such investments are likely to place a burden on the consumers. Guwahati, Aug 3 : Recalling that the per capita income of Assam was higher than the national average before independence, Assam Industries and Commerce Minister Chandra Mohan Patowary on Friday said the state government is committed to reopen all the trade routes to bring back economic prosperity to the state. Patowary said this while attending a workshop on 'Air Cargo Development - End to End Logistics Value Chain' held at a hotel and highlighted the fact that Assam provided the shortest route from India to Southeast Asia. He stressed that the Trilateral Highway, linking of the Brahmaputra up to Chittagong Port and access to the sea routes would boost trade and commerce activities in the region. "The Assam Government plans to connect seven capitals of Asean with Guwahati under the Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS) for which it has committed Rs 100 crore for the viability gap funding," said Patowary. The Minister called upon the farmers to switch to organic farming which fetches higher value in the market, thereby increasing their earnings manifold. The Assam Industrial Development Corp is working on an air cargo terminal for perishable cargo worth Rs 20 crore at LGBI Airport Complex, Borjhar, to support the farmers in exporting fresh horticultural produce, he said. Usha Padhee, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation, said that intra-connectivity in the northeastern India needed to be increased for which 42 airports of the region had been recognized under UDAN scheme. Mumbai, Aug 3 : Filmmaker Anubhav Sinha, whose "Mulk" has not been cleared for release in Pakistan, hopes the country's Prime Minister-in-waiting Imran Khan, being progressive, will make things better. "Mulk", says Sinha, is a love story between Hindus and Muslims. On the sidelines of a private screening of the film for the cast and crew here on Friday, Sinha spoke about the ban on the movie in Pakistan. He said: "I am surprised why my film is banned in Pakistan. I want the citizens of Pakistan to watch this film and judge if their government does not wish to be friends with us. "They do not want us to talk about harmony and co-existence because their kitchen runs on this issue, and people need to understand this. And I seriously want to know why this film is banned in Pakistan because in my film, there is no language issue, no religious issue, it doesn't talk badly about society and nothing wrong is said about Pakistan. "The film only criticises individuals, and if you cannot tolerate it, then I don't know, what to do." Calling Khan "quite a progressive man", Sinha said: "I am hopeful that he will work towards the betterment of things. My film is banned, nothing can be done right now, but if he can do something, I want him to reverse the ban. I think this film should be watched by Hindus and Muslims. The film talks about love." "Mulk" released in India on Friday, and he feels buoyed by the response. "I am getting great reviews. I am telling you, I have never ever received such great reviews in my life. People are giving me 4-5 stars. A lot of reviewers hold the opinion that every Indian should watch this film. It feels great. I hope the entire nation likes the film." The movie tells the story of a Muslim family trying to reclaim its lost honour. It features Taapsee Pannu, Rishi Kapoor, Rajat Kapoor, Ashutosh Rana, Neena Gupta, Prateik Babbar, Manoj Pahwa and Prachee Shah Pandya in important roles. New Delhi, Aug 3 : The government ordered inquiry into 87 real estate firms in the last fiscal and the first three months of current fiscal, Union Minister of State for Corporate Affairs P.P. Chaudhary told the Lok Sabha on Friday. During the year 2017-18 and till June 30, 2018, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs has ordered inquiry into 87 companies, inspection of books and papers in 17 companies and investigation in seven cases involving 149 entities including five Limited Liability Partnerships (LLPs) engaged in real estate activities, Chaudhary said. The Minister said the Companies Act, 2013 provides for details of compliances with respect to books of account and other matters of all categories and there are no separate provisions in the Act for real estate companies. The Companies Act, 2013 stipulates requirement of statutory audit and internal audit by the companies, he added. New Delhi, Aug 3 : The CBI has started probing the role of British political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica which is alleged to have illegally obtained data of Indians. "We recently received a reference from government to register a data mining case against Cambridge Analytica. The matter is being examined," said a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) official. He said the matter is being examined under the Information Technology Act 2000 as it is alleged that personal data from voters and Facebook users were compromised by Cambridge Analytica. "A formal case would be registered after the examination of documents and other things related to the matter," the official said. The CBI got the reference from Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology last month to probe the role of Cambride Analytica, said the official. Union Information Technology Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on July 26 had also informed the parliament that the government has ordered the CBI to probe and find out if the British company had violated Indian laws. The Minister told the Rajya Sabha that the firm denied that data of Indians were breached, but this was in contradiction of the information received from Facebook. As per the Minister, the Facebook had stated about the role of Cambridge Analytica in the data breach and promised to take various steps to ensure that such breach do not reoccur. About Cambridge Analytica, the Minister had said: "Cambridge Analytica, on the other hand, gave an initial response that the data of the Indians were not breached but this was not in conformity with what was reported by Facebook. It also did not respond to the subsequent communication, therefore it is suspected that Cambridge Analyitca may have been involved in illegally obtaining data of Indians which could be misused." The BJP and Congress have accused each other of using Cambridge Analytica's services, but both have denied any link to it. Cambridge Analytica -- a company owned by the hedge fund billionaire Robert Mercer -- declared bankruptcy this year following allegations that it used personal information harvested from 87 million Facebook accounts to help Donald Trump win the 2016 US presidential election. The firm is accused of mining personal information taken without authorisation in early 2014 to build a system that could profile individual US voters, in order to target them with personalised political advertisements. #Loeries2018: Joe Public on running for the creative future When you think of Loeries Creative Week, you're likely to picture glitzy award nights, networking with your industry colleagues over drinks in Durban and dancing the night away. If you work at Joe Public United, it's more likely a picture of sweat and the satisfaction of improving the country's creative future. Plus, they've challenged other agencies to join them in their quest. Image supplied. L to R: Chad Nelson, Eugene Nkundlande, Jarrod Pretorius, Wesley Wolf, Michelle Mckenna, Katlego Ditlhokwe, Chan-Yue Ma, Tshepo Mogorosi, Laurie Sloan, Dave McCullough, Jed Mowat. Missing: Matthew Quarta. While agencies across the country were putting finishing touches to their entries in gearing up for Loeries Creative Week 2018, taking place in Durban yet again, in just a few weeks time, the Johannesburg Joes have also been making sure they do their stretches and run in formation. Thats because they wont just hop on a plane to take their place in that dazzling Durban sun. Instead, the team of will be running the full route, in order to raise funds for education across the land. And yes, thats over and above the annual Joe Public Loeries ride along the promenade that attendees have come to love: Join us for the @joepublicunited annual bike ride, the #TourDeLoeries during #Loeries2018 Creative Week! pic.twitter.com/2sQTHexmZ6 Loeries (@loeries) July 26, 2018 Thats what I call a bunch of good sports. Their official We are taking the strides now to make sure that our learners have to take less steps to have a better future. We are running non-stop the 700km route from Joe Public in Johannesburg to the Loeries Awards in Durban from 15 to 17 August. The aim is to raise R280,000, which will go a long way towards keeping our children in school and giving them more opportunity to succeed post-matric for bursary applications, tertiary education, internships and employment possiblities. Inspirational stuff! Here, team Joe Public made up of Chad Nelson, Eugene Nkundlande, Jarrod Pretorius, Wesley Wolf, Michelle Mckenna, Katlego Ditlhokwe, Chan-Yue Ma, Tshepo Mogorosi, Laurie Sloan, Dave McCullough, Jed Mowat, and Matthew Quarta explains the concept of running to the Loeries, why its important to use the Loeries platform for more than just celebrating the regions top creative work, and how the rest of the industry can follow their example Talk us through how the concept of running to the Loeries came together. Talk us through how the concept of running to the Loeries came together. While agencies across the country were putting finishing touches to their entries in gearing up for Loeries Creative Week 2018, taking place in Durban yet again, in just a few weeks time, the Johannesburg Joes have also been making sure they do their stretches and run in formation.Thats because they wont just hop on a plane to take their place in that dazzling Durban sun. Instead, the team of will be running the full route, in order to raise funds for education across the land. And yes, thats over and above the annual Joe Public Loeries ride along the promenade that attendees have come to love:Thats what I call a bunch of good sports.Their official BackaBuddy post explains the love as follows:Inspirational stuff! Here, team Joe Public made up of Chad Nelson, Eugene Nkundlande, Jarrod Pretorius, Wesley Wolf, Michelle Mckenna, Katlego Ditlhokwe, Chan-Yue Ma, Tshepo Mogorosi, Laurie Sloan, Dave McCullough, Jed Mowat, and Matthew Quarta explains the concept of running to the Loeries, why its important to use the Loeries platform for more than just celebrating the regions top creative work, and how the rest of the industry can follow their example We wanted to do step in the shoes of our children, feel the discomfort and effort it takes to get somewhere for something better. As a number of us are going to the Loeries, it was a natural leap that we use the opportunity to do something meaningful as an agency and take an alternate route and do good at the same time. How exactly will the 700km run raise funds for education in South Africa? Explain the logistics of how the funds will be allocated. How exactly will the 700km run raise funds for education in South Africa? Explain the logistics of how the funds will be allocated. Amazing. Why is it important to use the Loeries platform to do more than just celebrate the regions top creative work? Amazing. Why is it important to use the Loeries platform to do more than just celebrate the regions top creative work? There is much we can do as an industry not just during Loeries but in South Africa to develop the natural raw talent in less privileged areas of society which currently has a huge gap in education. The Loeries offers the platform to talk about this, to work with innovators and businesses to change the way we educate and uplift. If we sort out education, we sort out poverty and crime in turn. How does that tie in with the current trend of purpose-driven marketing? How does that tie in with the current trend of purpose-driven marketing? How can the rest of the industry follow your example and do good rather than just blow their own trumpet? How can the rest of the industry follow your example and do good rather than just blow their own trumpet? What are you most looking forward to from Loeries Creative Week 2018? What are you most looking forward to from Loeries Creative Week 2018? Leigh Andrews' articles About Leigh Andrews Leigh Andrews AKA the Leigh Andrews AKA the #MilkshakeQueen , is former Editor-in-Chief: Marketing & Media at Bizcommunity.com, with a passion for issues of diversity, inclusion and equality, and of course, gourmet food and drinks! She can be reached on Twitter at @Leigh_Andrews Working closely with the two schools we sponsor through One School at a Time gave us an insight into the difficulties our children face just to go to school and then stay in school.The figurative journey they take through their school life is hard, to say the least. The effort to get to school day after day is even harder.So we looked at what we could do that took us out of our comfort zone and do something big enough that would garner enough support and make an actual difference to the One School at a Time projects.Were running on behalf of One School at a Time, a CSI initiative of Joe Public United that assists with the upliftment and advancement of high schools, in underprivileged areas within Johannesburg.The desired impact is to create a highly functional, quality education system within our targeted township schools, so that our students have more opportunity to succeed post-matric for bursary applications, tertiary education, internships and employment possibilities.Our primary objective of the project is to increase the schools matric pass rate as well as increase the quality of the pass rate and increase the number of distinctions of the matric learners by providing support and extra lessons programmes over the weekends and during the school holidays for all of our students throughout the year.Thats what we call Growth to the power of n or Growth. So basically, the funds raised go to One School at a Time, to be able to continue to facilitate these programmes for another year.Looking forward, we want to offer training in the creative field so that our children can leave school with some skills that would enable them to get work placements, start small businesses and uplift the community.As a creative communication industry, we have immense power at our hands to sway opinion, to plant an idea, to change something for the better. If we dont use our collective talents, were not earning our keep as it were, to society.We cannot only serve businesses, we must also serve the people who form part of our industry.Everything we do has to have a purpose. That purpose should not just be motivated by money but by doing actually good, making an actual difference.Otherwise, were just fooling ourselves and wasting a huge amount of time, energy and resources.The Loeries is not just about awards, but also the education and development of our youth.The purpose of this is sustainability. Not for us to use funds to offer a temporary solution, but for us to provide actual skills, knowledge and things that will last longer than most charity drives.The goal is to uplift education in South Africa, and by doing this we are uplifting a section which could create the difference of a handful of children going out and making a difference themselves at a later stage.Its good to allow one to blow their own trumpet and show what they are capable of, its the rallying cry for our peers to do more and do better.. But more importantly, to start creating real work that changes real lives in a real, tangible way. Not just for now, but for the future and for the upliftment of South Africa as a country.We, unfortunately, miss most of the creative week due to the run, but were looking forward to seeing all the incredible work thats been done from our region and obviously our teams on stage being rewarded for another year of incredible creativity. Chandigarh, Aug 3 : With women safety becoming a serious concern, a city start-up on Friday announced the first of its kind e-cab service in tri-city of Chandigarh, Panchkula and Mohali. The new all-women service is the first time in the region that will have dedicated women drivers for women commuters. The Future Cabs e-cab service will become operational from August 15. To mark Independence Day, the start-up has offered free rides to women commuters on the launch day. Rajat Luthra, Director Operations, Future Fiacre Pvt Ltd, said: "Future Cabs are the first company to provide e-cab services in the tri-city. The cab service will not only make travel cheaper but will also be offering better earnings to drivers. Interestingly, through a referral programme, drivers will be able to create their own fleet of up to 50 cars." Stressing on women security, he said: "Our services will not just rely on technology but also provide comfortable travel to women passengers who will be driven only by women, which will further ensure extra security to them. "Women travellers will through their mobile application have an option to summon cabs only with women drivers. However, to ensure earnings of women drivers are not affected, they would be allowed to pick up couples during the day time till 6 in the evening, after which only women passengers will be allowed," Luthra added. The mobile app will be programmed in such a manner that women drivers are not able to get requests from male passengers, which would depend on the profiles created by them when they log in to the app. Women drivers will, however, have the convenience to cancel any booking if they are suspicious or find out that a male member has booked the 'only woman cab'. "Future cabs will also have SOS feature where in panic situation by just click SOS button an emergency message will be flashed to user or driver's family and to our control room from where we can intimate about the situation to the police," said Avinasah Sharma, director. He said that the new service is all set to add to competition among the existing cab service providers in the city by offering lowest per kilometre charges as compared to other players in the industry. The cab services will be introduced in five more cities after Chandigarh, which would include New Delhi, followed by Mumbai, Surat and Kota, he added. Chennai, Aug 3 : Kamal Haasan is in a spot yet again, years after his Vishwaroopam-1 gave him a tough time. The sequel Vishwaroopam-2 is due to release on August 10, but Haasan faces trouble from a productuon company: it has taken Haasan to court over unpaid dues of Rs 7.75 crore. The Madras High Court on Friday directed the actor-turned-politician to file his reply by August 6 to the petition filed by Pyramid Saimira, a movie production company. The court issued a notice to the actor asking him to reply by August 6, the next date for hearing. Pyramid Saimira has alleged that Kamal Haasan owed it Rs.7.75 crore. The company says the dues cannot be recovered from the actor if Vishwaroopam-2 is allowed to release. According to the company, it had signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Raaj Kamal Films International -- Kamal Haasan is one of the partners -- for joint production of a Tamil movie Marmayogi. As per the MoU, Kamal Haasan had agreed to play a lead role in Marmayogi, pen the story, screenplay and dialogues. It is alleged that Pyramid Saimira paid Kamal Haasan Rs.10.9 crore in two instalments. The production company accused the actor of diverting the money for producing another of his movie. New Delhi, Aug 3 : The 'Jan Aushadhi' scheme launched in 2008 by the UPA government to sell low-cost generic medicines was re-branded twice by the Modi government in the last three years. Now the advertising and marketing of the flagship programme for the poor has taken a complete saffron and BJP hue -- literally. The saffron-hued logo of the scheme -- with Bha Ja Pa in Devanagari, also the short form for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Hindi -- stands out starkly. It can be seen on the website of the rebranded Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana (PMBJP) and packaging of the medicines sold at special outlets under the flagship programme of the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers. Earlier the packages carried the logo of the medicine manufacture -- Bureau of Pharma PSUs of India (BPPI) established in December 2008. "The packaging till last few months was not like this. Now it includes Bha Ja Pa in saffron colour," said a store owner selling generic medicines under the Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Jan Aushadhi Pariyojana (PMBJP). The scheme, originally launched as 'Jan Aushadhi' in 2008, was renamed in 2015 to Pradhan Mantri Jan Aushadhi Yojana by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Later in 2016, the scheme was again renamed to Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana (PMBJP). Earlier, when the name of the scheme was changed, its packaging remained the same. However, medicines sold under the scheme at specialised outlets come in new packages that has saffron writ large on its logo. IANS visited some PMBJP stores in Delhi and NCR to check packages of the medicines manufactured in 2016, 2017 and 2018. Those manufactured before January 2018 had the original logo of the scheme with only 'Jan Aushadhi -- Quality Medicines at Affordable Prices for All' written on the packs. But the medicines manufactured after January 2018 have the new logo and colour on their packages. The scheme was launched to make quality medicine accessible to all at an affordable price. The medicines are available at a 'Jan Aushadhi Medical Store', whose name has also changed to Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Kendra with a photo of Modi and the new logo. (Nivedita Singh can be contacted at nivedita.singh@ians.in) New Delhi, Aug 3 : The Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) on Friday said the proposed bandh on August 9 should be called off as the government has decided to restore the SC/ST Act to its original form. LJP termed its earlier demand for removal of NGT Chairman A.K. Goel "a non-issue". The LJP had earlier said the party-affiliated Dalit Sena would participate in the "Bharat bandh", called by several Dalit organisations for August 9 to press for restoration of the SC/ST Act. "The government has brought the bill to restore the SC/ST Act. So, we do not find any reason for a bandh on August 9," LJP Parliamentary Board Chairman and MP Chirag Paswan told reporters here. Chirag Paswan, who is son of Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan, also said that now his party would not pursue the demand of Justice Goel's removal as its concern was the order passed by him as Supreme Court judge, which had "weakened" the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989. "We do not have anything personal against him (Goel). We were against the order passed by him. Now that the government has made the order ineffective, the matter is over," he said. The Jamui MP said there were angry and negative sentiments among the SCs and STs after the Supreme Court on March 20 put a safeguard against the arrest of those committing an offence under the SCs/STs (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. "With the amendment bill, the government has fulfilled all promises it had made," he said. Chirag Paswan also thanked the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Central government for giving constitutional status to the National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC). Mumbai, Aug 3 : Jet Airways' scrip plunged on Friday following reports on the sustainability of the company even as the airline dismissed these as speculation. At the BSE, the company's scrip fell 7 per cent or Rs 23.20 per share to Rs 308 from its previous close of Rs 331.20 per scrip. The slump in the company's share price came after reports citing sources questioned the airline's sustainability in view of its financial woes. Later in the day, Jet Airways' CEO Vinay Dube said: "... recent media reports about the sustainability of the airline are not only factually incorrect, but also malicious. The airline would also like to deny any conjecture of a stake sale." "In line with the company's stated focus of creating a healthier and more resilient business, it has been implementing several measures to reduce costs as well as realise higher revenues, for desired business efficiencies," he was quoted as saying in a statement. "Some of these areas amongst others include, sales and distribution, payroll, maintenance and fleet simplification." Accordingly, the company has been in dialogue with employees and key stakeholders to implement cost reduction measures like pay cuts. "The dialogue with employees has been to apprise them of the challenges being faced by the aviation sector in India and by the company in particular, with an intent to enlist their full support and cooperation for realizing necessary savings across all business functions," he said. "Despite the high growth environment, the aviation industry is currently passing through a tough phase given a depreciating rupee and the mismatch between high fuel prices and low fares." Dubey pointed out that various transformation initiatives identified and under implementation by the company will help in addressing the current issues faced by it and the industry. "In fact, several transformation initiatives have already started to deliver positive results," he said. The company elaborated that it is committed to creating a growth-oriented and sustainable future. Currently, the airline is in the process of adding 225 B737 MAX aircraft which will be inducted into its fleet over the next decade, of which 11 are slated to join within this financial year. Panaji, Aug 3 : The Goa Assembly on Friday unanimously passed a resolution empowering the state government to urge New Delhi to amend a central legislation governing the mining sector, in a bid to resume mining operations in the state. All mining activity had been banned by the Supreme Court earlier this year. The private member's resolution moved by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Nilesh Cabral on Friday empowers the Goa government to request the Centre to appropriately amend the Goa, Daman and Diu Mining Concessions (Abolition and Declaration as Mining Leases) Act, 1987, which would make mining leases in Goa valid since 1987 when the act was actually promulgated and applied to Goa, rather than 1961. "We will take it up with the Centre," Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar, who is also the Minister for Mines, told the state assembly. The Chief Minister also said that he would be visiting Delhi soon to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi to find a solution to the vexed issue, as well as meet senior ministers concerned in the Union Cabinet. The mining issue has been hanging fire in Goa ever since the apex court banned extraction and transportation of iron ore from 88 mining leases from March, while also directing the state government to re-issue mining leases. The is second time in less than a decade that all mining activities in the state has come to a standstill. The 2012 ban was later lifted by the apex court in 2014, but the court was forced to impose the fresh restrictions while slighting the state government for messing up with the lease renewal processes. Before Goa was liberated by the Indian armed forces in 1961, mining leases in Goa were permanent concessions granted by the Portuguese colonists for exploration and exploitation. Once India took over the new colony though, the Central government via the Goa Daman and Diu (Abolition of Concession and Declaration as Mining Leases) Act, 1987, converted the same concessions into mining leases under the Mines and Minerals Development Act, 1954, making them valid for a fixed tenure, which lapsed in 2007. Though passed by Indian Parliament in the year 1987, in case of Goa, a late entrant into the Indian Union, the law was retrospectively brought into effect from 1961, the year Goa was liberated from Portuguese yoke. The Supreme Court in its February 2018 order, has now held that any mining carried out since 2007 was illegal. In his speech in the state assembly on Thursday, Parrikar has proposed an amendment to Section 2 of the Act, which is aimed at altering the retrospective date of conversion of concessions to leases from 1961 to 1987, the year when the law was actually passed in Parliament. The amendment, he said, would extend the validity of leases from 2007 to 2045. New Delhi, Aug 3 : Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday assured the Rajya Sabha that there will be no discrimination or harassment in the updation of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam and reiterated that the entire process has been fair and transparent. However, the opposition was not convinced with many MPs asking as to how come an overwhelming 40 lakh people - including former MLAs, defence personnel and those from prominent families - were left out. They also wanted to know the government's future course of action. Responding to a Short Duration Discussion on the issue in the Rajya Sabha, which saw disruptions and adjournments for a couple of days, the Minister said the Central and Assam governments are committed to adding the names of all genuine Indians in the list in a time-bound manner. He said some people with "vested interests" were trying to create an atmosphere of fear by spreading misinformation on the social media regarding the NRC in an attempt to "internationalise" the issue. This should not be done, he said. "I am reiterating that it is not the final NRC. It is just a draft NRC. Adequate opportunity will be provided to everyone for making claims and raising objections. Despite this, if anybody's name remains out of the list, he can approach the Foreigners Tribunal," Singh said. He also assured that there would be no coercive action against anybody in any situation, and added that the entire process was being carried out under Supreme Court's supervision. "There has been no discrimination, and there will be no discrimination," he said, pointing out that the decision to update it was taken in 2005 by the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. After the Home Minister had made the statement, Leader of Opposition in the Upper House Ghulam Nabi Azad demanded to know as to how could so many people be left out of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) if there was no discrimination. "The Home Minister has said the process is entirely fair and objective. If that is so, how come persons like a former Indian Air Force personnel is left out? If the entire process has been fair, what is left to be done then?" Azad asked. Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Derek O'Brien questioned the "dichotomy" over the statements made by the Home Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief Amit Shah. "This is classic double-speak. What is the real voice of the government -- What the Home Minister says here or what the BJP President says outside?" O'Brien said. Samajwadi Party leader Javed Ali Khan, too, asked how could people like former legislators and the family of former President of India Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed be left out of the NRC in Assam. Nationalist Congress Party MP Majeed Memon demanded from the Home Minister as to what would happen to those left out even after the revision of the draft list. Congress MP from Assam Ripun Bora argued that the guidelines for inclusion in the NRC should be "modified and simplified" and the last date -- September 27 -- for submission of claims needs to be extended. Communist Party of India-Marxist member T.K. Rangarajan too asked for extension of the deadline so that people get sufficient opportunity to get their names included. Members also expressed concern at the way some people and a section of the media were labelling the 40 lakh left-out people as "infiltrators". New Delhi, Aug 3 : Arunachal Pradesh Governor B.D. Mishra on Friday met Army chief General Bipin Rawat and discussed the recruitment of more youths from the frontier state in the armed forces. Mishra told the Army chief about the 'Pay Back to Society Group' promoted by him that aims to ensure that a larger number of youths from Arunachal Pradesh join the military. Gen Rawat expressed the hope that the state's youths will utilise the opportunities for Army recruitment and more and more youths will be motivated to join the armed forces. New Delhi, Aug 3 : A 36-year-old man accused of stealing another air passenger's bag at the international airport here was arrested within hours from Punjab, police said on Friday. Mandeep Singh, a school dropout who had arrived from Italy where he worked as a labourer, was arrested from his Moga residence within 24 hours of the theft on Thursday and the stolen bag containing electronic items and clothes was seized from him. "On Thursday, Sulabh Puri landed at the Indira Gandhi International Airport by an Air India flight from Colombo and complained to the security that one of his two bags was missing," Deputy Commissioner of Police Sanjay Bhatia said. Police registered a case and came across the suspect during scanning of the CCTV footage from the area. He was later identified as Mandeep Singh from his ticket details. Mandeep told police that when he stole the bag, it was lying unattended at the airport. Shillong, Aug 3 : Hynniewtrep Youth Council activists on Friday stormed the Meghalaya secretariat and staged a demonstration demanding introduction of the Inner Line Permit (ILP) system and preparation of a National Register of Citizens to detect illegal Bangladeshi immigrants residing in the state. The HYC activists staged a protest in front of the Mahatma Gandhi statue and shouted slogans demanding introduction of ILP and NRC. Chief Minister Conrad Sangma and his council of ministers were not present in the secretariat. But Chief Secretary Y Tsering and other government officials were there. However, the state police later pushed out the activists. "We need to express our anger to the government so that it wakes up to our demands for introduction of ILP and to conduct the NRC to detect illegal Bangladeshi immigrants in the state," HYC general secretary Roy Kupar Synrem said. Inner Line Permit is an official travel document issued by the Union government to allow inward travel of an Indian citizen into a protected/restricted area for a limited period. It is obligatory for Indian citizens from other states to obtain permit for entering into the restricted areas. Synrem said that the proposed entry and exit points to be set up by the Meghalaya government will not prevent illegal Bangladeshi immigrants entering the state as the authorities will ask only for the EPIC (electoral photo identity card) of the persons entering the state. "In Assam, the people listed in the EPIC did not have names in the NRC list. There is a high possibility of them to flee from there and settle in Meghalaya," Synrem said. On the proposed Citizenship Amendment Bill, 2016, the HYC said, "If this bill is passed most Hindus from Bangladesh will seek refuge in India and the indigenous people of Meghalaya will be overwhelmed." Meanwhile, the Meghalaya police admitted that there was a breach of security in the secretariat due to intelligence failure. "We had no intelligence inputs. It was only once these people have congregated I got information," Davies Marak, the district police chief of East Khasi Hills said. "They entered like normal people, they did not come in a group so our people did not know that they belong to the same group. After entering, they took out the placards," he said. The inaugural #sheinnovates Festival for Africa has reached our shores and will create a platform to inspire a new era of female innovation and the advancement of women and girls in technology and entrepreneurship. Closing the skills gap Creating platforms for female innovation Leading the charge in supporting female innovation The #sheinnovates Festival for Africa brings together some of the leading local, African and global voices in female innovation, entrepreneurship and technology through a series of talks, workshops and functions held over two days.The festival, taking place on 6 August 2018, includes sessions on 'Making innovation work for women and girls', 'Innovation with purpose', and 'Purpose-driven partnership', all aimed at breaking down barriers to the advancement of female-led innovation in the African and global economy.The #sheinnovates Festival for Africa will be held in Cape Town and is hosted by SAP Next-Gen in association with The Female Quotient and Startupbootcamp AfriTech. The initiative forms part of SAP's global commitment to ensuring women and girls across Africa are empowered to take advantage of the opportunities of the 21st century economy.Cathy Smith, managing director of SAP Africa, says closing the science, technology, engineering, and maths (STEM) skills gap for the next wave of female tech leaders and entrepreneurs will be essential to bolstering economic growth and further unlocking technologys capacity for social good."Our commitment to innovative practices that advance gender equality has given rise to several strong internal programs such as the Business Womens Network, an employee-driven network that provides opportunities for women to share their professional insight, support other women, and influence SAP on diversity issues. By supporting programs such as #sheinnovates, SAP endeavours to play a leading role in driving the diversity narrative beyond SAP to the broader ecosystem."#sheinnovates was founded under the UN Women's initiative Global Innovation Coalition for Change (GICC), a partnership between UN Women and key partners from the private sector, academia and non-profit sector that was launched in 2017. It aims to develop the innovation market to better support women and accelerate the process of gender equality and women's empowerment by building awareness of the potential of women-developed innovation; identifying key barriers to the advancement of women in the fields of innovation, technology and entrepreneurship; and working collaboratively to identify and address such barriers at an industry-wide level.Ann Rosenberg, senior vice president and global head of SAP Next-Gen, says the initiative is in line with SAP's global efforts to support the UN Sustainable Development Goals.By fostering a movement today to empower young women as purpose-driven leaders for the future, SAP Next-Gen is supporting SAPs commitment to the UN SDGs, including Goal 5: Gender Equality, said Rosenberg. SAP Next-Gen invites companies, academia, purpose-driven partners, tech community leaders, institutions, students, and citizens to join us to advance gender equality and inspire young women as purpose-driven innovators.As part of the #sheinnovates initiative, SAP Next-Gen in collaboration with The Female Quotient is establishing #sheinnovates Girls' Lounges at universities around the world. According to Rosenberg, the Girls' Lounges aim to encourage more young women to pursue STEM education and gain skills as next-generation purpose-driven innovators who can accelerate solutions to the UN Sustainable Development Goals.The #sheinnovates Festival for Africa is held in partnership with Startupbootcamp AfriTech, a Cape Town-based accelerator focusing on high-growth startups in blockchain, connected devices, payment solutions, capital markets and asset management, integrated supply chain, e-commerce, financial technology, retail technology, insurance technology, alternative financing, identity management, digital connectivity, data and behavioural analytics, and enabling technologies."As one of the most recognised and impactful accelerators on the African continent, Startupbootcamp AfriTech must lead the charge in supporting female entrepreneurs as they disrupt the status quo. We are passionate about joining the chorus of male voices supporting women in tech and we strive to embrace this approach in every element - including our team members, startups, and partners. Most recently, one of our 2017 Alumni, Pascale Henke of Brownie Points, was nominated as a Top 20 under 30 in Tech. We are also excited that two female founders, Tomilola Adejana from Bankly and Tebogo Mokwena from Akiba Digital have been selected for our 2018 programme," shares Philip Kiracofe, CEO of Startupbootcamp AfriTech.The #sheinnovates Festival will take place on 6 August 2018 at Startupbootcamp AfriTech in Green Point, Cape Town. Entry is free, but seats are limited.To register, go to #sheinnovates Africa Festival New Delhi: : Chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Friday launched a scathing attack on the BJP-led central government, accusing it of trying to scuttle the proposed bypass project at Keezhattur in Kannur district. The chief minister was particularly miffed with the centres bypassing the state to hold talks with Vayalkilikal, the collective of local residents at Keezhattur protesting against the bypass project. He took strong exception to union minister for road transport and highways Nitin Gadkari holding talks directly with Vayalkilikal, terming it wrong and a violation of the principles of federalism. In an obvious dig at union minister of state for tourism Alphons Kannanthanam, the chief minister said that a minister claiming to be from Kerala was also involved in undermining the states interests. A high-level committee meeting was held on Friday in New Delhi chaired by Mr. Gadkari in which Vayalkilikal took part. The union minister promised them that alternatives would be explored to the present alignment for the proposed bypass. The meeting also decided that an expert committee would be constituted to look at the technical aspects of the project and suggest alternatives. The CPI(M)-led state government had to virtually go hammer and tongs at the protestors to facilitate the NHAI authorities to fix the alignment for the bypass project. The central government had the other day freezed land acquisition proceedings for the construction of the NH bypass at Keezhattur following a report by the union ministry of environment and forests endorsing the concerns raised by the Vayalkilikal about the destruction the proposed bypass would cause to the paddy fields at Keezhattur. The local residents at Keezhattur had been protesting against the bypass project on the ground that it would endanger paddy fields. Bengaluru, Aug 3 : The 21st edition of the Bengaluru Tech Summit from November 29 to December 1 would focus on innovation and impact, an official said on Friday. "The summit has been instrumental in promoting the IT industry over two decades. The focus is on providing opportunities to drive innovation and promote entrepreneurship in new technologies, by convergence of software and hardware for connected devices," state IT Principal Secretary Gaurav Gupta told reporters at a preview of the event here. As the state's annual flagship event, the three-day summit in Bengaluru Palace in the city centre will focus on innovation and its impact. Home to about 4,000 tech start-ups, Bengaluru is the world's fourth largest technology hub after the Silicon Valley and Boston in the US and London in Britain, with one of the best start-up ecosystems. "Bengaluru has emerged as one of the global innovation hubs in the league of Tokyo in Japan, Silicon Valley in the US and Tel Aviv in Israel. The summit will provide a platform for knowledge sharing on emerging technologies like Artificial Intelligence, Robotics and Blockchain," said state Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy on the occasion. The state government has been instrumental in driving the IT, IT-enabled services and Electronics System Design and Manufacturing (ESDM) industries across the state over the years with policy initiatives, incentives and support infrastructure. "As torchbearer for the IT and BT (biotech) industries, Karnataka has been pioneering initiatives to develop expertise in key economic sectors. The event will provide an opportunity to the industry and its stakeholders to connect minds for growth," said state Industries Minister K.J. George. The summit will have multi-track conference, B2B expo, thought leaders conclave, IT export awards, Bengaluru tech exchange, show stoppers, product launch and global innovation zone and start-ups. "The summit holds a special relevance as we are focused on providing start-ups and entrepreneurs opportunities and ecosystem to help them thrive," state IT Vision group Chairman and Infosys co-founder S. Gopalakrishnan at the preview briefing. The conference will have 250 experts address 3,500 delegates and 300 exhibitors showcasing their technologies, products and services to about 11,000 visitors. "The event will also enable the IT industry stakeholders to leverage innovations and their spin-offs on enterprises and businesses worldwide," noted Gupta. Leading IT and electronics associations like Nasscom, IESA, TiE, ABAI and Data Security Council of India are partnering to co-host the mega event in this tech hub. Delegates and companies from Britain, Germany, Netherlands, Korea and Japan will also participate in the summit. New Delhi, Aug 4 : The extradition request for fugitive diamond merchant Mehul Choksi, who has secured an Atiguan passport and is living there, will soon be sent to the Caribbean country, the CBI said on Friday. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which is probing the Rs 13,500-crore banking fraud allegedly committed by the jeweller and his nephew Nirav Modi, said that its letter to get Choksi deported has been forwarded to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). The CBI sent on Monday the letter to the Union Home Ministry which in turn forwarded it to the MEA, an official said. In its request to the Home Ministry, the CBI said Choksi's extradition was being sought "on grounds of principle of reciprocity and dual criminality". A source revealed that the MEA has received the extradition request from the CBI and is currently in the process of conveying it to the authorities in Antigua and Barbuda. India and Antigua are signatory to the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) -- a multilateral treaty negotiated by the member-states of the United Nations and promoted by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, the CBI pointed out in its request. Choksi is said to have fled India on an Indian passport in the first week of January 2018. The Antiguan government is believed to have cleared his application for citizenship in November 2017, for which he may have paid around Rs 1.3 crore. He took the oath of allegiance as a citizen of Antigua on January 15. Days later, on January 29, the CBI filed a case and started investigating Choksi and Nirav Modi. New Delhi, Aug 3 : More than two lakh companies have been identified for not filing their financial statements for two consecutive years and therefore may be struck off, Union Minister of State for Corporate Affairs P. P. Chaudhary told the Lok Sabha on Friday. In the current fiscal, a total of 2,25,910 companies have been identified for action under Section 248 of the Companies Act, 2013 on the basis of non-filing of due returns for the financial years 2015-16 and 2016-17, the Minister said. Chaudhary said the Registrars of Companies (ROCs) will follow due procedure before striking off the names of these companies. Last fiscal, the government had identified 2.97 lakh companies which were not filing their financial statements or annual returns for a continuous period of two or more financial years. And, the RoC had removed the names of 2,26,166 companies as part of its crackdown on shell companies. The Central government has also ordered probe into the real ownership of 68 companies which deposited and withdrew funds in an exceptional manner from bank accounts during the demonetization period. In the last one year, 6,97,115 companies filed their financial statements, while 2,93,017 companies did not, informed the Minister. Ghaziabad, Aug 3 : Police here in Uttar Pradesh on Friday filed a FIR against striking lawyers for assaulting them even as a strike by advocates crippled the courts. The police registered the First Information Report lodged by Sub-Inspector Vipin Malik, who was thrashed by the lawyers in the court compound on Thursday. The FIR, which includes charges of attempt to murder, have been registered against 300 to 350 unidentified lawyers, Kavi Nagar police station SHO Pradeep Kumar Tripathi said. The owner of an eatery, Anil Mishra, also filed a complaint against a lawyer leader, D.C. Gautam, accusing him and three accomplices of attacking him. Gautam in turn filed a FIR against four police constables. In the meantime, two complaints have been filed by journalists who claimed they were beaten and taken hostage and their cameras were broken by the lawyers. The journalists filed the complaint to Senior Superintendent of Police Vaibhav Krishna. The journalists said they came under attack when they came to the court complex to cover the police-lawyer clash. They said the journalists virtually wanted to kill them but they were saved by the police personnel. Ghaziabar Bar Association President Anil Pandit said the lawyers would extend their strike to western Uttar Pradesh districts. New Delhi, Aug 3 : The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Friday said the police clearance certificate (PCC) issued to Mehul Choksi -- wanted in the Rs 13,500-crore Punjab and Sind Bank fraud and who has now taken citizenship in Antigua -- by the Regional Passport Office, Mumbai, "was as per extant instructions". In response to queries after the Antiguan government said that citizenship was granted to Choksi in the Caribbean nation after it received a PCC from the Mumbai passport office, Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said the PCC was issued on the basis of a clear police verification report (PVR) available on his passport. "All passport issuing authorities can issue a PCC if there is a clear PVR in the system," Kumar said. "In case there is no PVR, then a fresh PVR is obtained prior to issuance of a PCC," he stated. "As the PVR of Mehul Choksi was clear in the system at the time of issuance of PCC, the process followed by the Passport Office, Mumbai, was as per extant instructions." Kumar also said that the PCC was issued to Choksi for Antigua and Barbuda in March 2017. The Citizenship by Investment Unit (CIU) of Antigua and Barbuda, in a detailed statement said the Antiguan citizenship authority received the businessman's application in May 2017 with necessary documentary requirements, including a PCC. "The said PCC from the government of India, Ministry of External Affairs' Regional Passport Office, Mumbai, certified that there was no adverse information against Mehul Chinubbhai Choksi which would render him ineligible for grant of travel facilities including visa for Antigua and Barbuda," the CIU statement said. Jaipur, Aug 3 : In response to BJP's 40-day Rajasthan Gaurav Yatra starting from Saturday, the Congress has decided to raise 40 questions -- one question to be raised each day -- for Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje Scindia. "Our party will raise questions each day during the yatra which Raje would have to answer," said Sachin Pilot, Rajasthan Pradesh Congress Committee president, at a press conference. The much-hyped 'Rajasthan Gaurav Yatra' will be flagged off by party chief Amit Shah from Rajsamand situated near Charbhuja temple on Saturday. Pilot said despite the yatra being a political event, the government is seen spending tax payers' money on it. "We are keeping an eye on this political event as to when and where the government is using public money and machinery," he said. He said an per an order, the chief engineer of the Public Works Department has been told to make arrangements at various public meetings to be held during the yatra. Pilot said mob lynching was never heard of during Congress rule. "But now, Rajasthan is making continuous headlines for all the wrong reasons," he said. "The Chief Minister during the last 4.5 years did not meet people. She will have to answer those who have been awaiting fulfilment of promises she made during her last yatra in 2013," he said. Pilot disputed Raje's claim that her government has given employment to 15 lakh people. "She herself accepted the fact that cases like lynching are increasing due to unemployment in state," he said. Pilot said Congress chief Rahul Gandhi will be visiting the state soon. New Delhi, Aug 3 : The total gross non-performing assets (NPAs) of public sector banks quadrupled to Rs 8.45 lakh crore in the last four years, Union Minister of State for Finance Shiv Pratap Shukla told Lok Sabha on Friday. The aggregate gross NPAs of PSBs rose from Rs 2,16,739 crore on March 31, 2014 to Rs 8,45,475 crore on March 31, 2018, according to provisional data by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on domestic operations, Shukla said in his written reply. The minister, however, said the surge in total gross NPA was due to more transparent recognition of stressed assets as NPAs. The Asset Quality Review (AQR) carried out in 2015 for clean and fully provisioned bank balance-sheets had revealed high incidence of NPAs. Expected losses on stressed loans, not provided for earlier under flexibility given to restructured loans, were reclassified as NPAs and provided for expected losses, he said. As per global operations data of RBI, the gross advances of Scheduled Commercial Banks (SCBs) had risen from Rs 25 lakh crore as on March 31, 2008 to Rs 69 lakh crore as on March 31, 2014. Shukla said the main reasons for the spurt in stressed assets was due to aggressive lending practices, wilful default, loan frauds, corruption in some cases and economic slowdown. Further, the minister said the gross NPAs of six PSBs who have declared unaudited financial results for the first quarter of the current financial year has declined by Rs 4,464 crore as against their gross NPAs as on March 31, 2018. New Delhi, Aug 3 : Five criminals have been arrested on the charge of snatching Rs 44.5 lakh from two company employees on way to deposit the cash in a bank in Wazirpur last month, police said on Friday. A total of Rs 21.5 lakh was recovered from Saddam, Sandeep, Pawan Kumar, and Ilteza, who were arrested from different places in the city on Thursday night, and their accomplice Iqbal who was arrested on Friday, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Northwest) Aslam Khan said. Two countrymade pistols, a gold chain worth Rs 2.5 lakh and purchased from the robbed money and five mobile phones were also seized. On July 30, Tejpal Singh and Rajkumar Bhasin of Sanyog Enterprises Pvt Ltd in Nangloi area of west Delhi, were robbed of the cash when they were on way to the State Bank of India branch in Wazirpur. The robbers had fired at the two victims and driven off with their car, which was later abandoned. New Delhi, Aug 3 : Unknown persons hacked the website of Delhi University's Maharaja Agrasen College on Friday and posted "Pakistan Zindabad" slogan and a warning "stop killing Muslims". The website was hacked at 10.30 a.m and was not fully restored till 1 p.m, a college official told IANS. "Did you know why you got hacked? Stop killing Muslims. Give free rights to Kashmiris. Your credit cards, your bank accounts aren't secure. Ready to face us. "PS: We dumped the whole database and server too. Soon we will publish it. Pakistan Zindabad," read the message posted on the college's website by a hacker who identified as "Blackscorpian ProBro's". "We received a complaint in morning. We are investigating the matter now," Deputy Commissioner of Police (East) Pankaj Kumar Singh said. Silicon Cape launches their new Africa-first strategic membership plan to enable the accelerated inclusion of tech startups and grow the dynamism of the ecosystem. Image supplied. L to R: James Milne, Silicon Cape board member, Wesgro; Joslyn Links, Silicon Cape project administrator; Kerry Petrie, Silicon Cape, general manager; Boitumelo Menyatswe, Silicon Cape ecosystem manager; Sumarie Roodt, Silicon Cape chairperson, UCT and Zimkhita Buwa Silicon Cape treasurer, Britehouse Growing connections Financial independence and sustainability The focus of the strategic review that weve undergone was really about what is the more that we can do. And how can we do things better and how can we add more value. We have come so far as an organisation and as an ecosystem but there is always more that can be done and that is a very exciting space to be in. The development of the strategy required a rigorous process, including an extensive amount of consultation and research within the innovation ecosystem, states Dr. Sumarie Roodt, Silicon Cape chairperson. Silicon Cape, the organisation for supporting technology innovation and entrepreneurship in South Africa, launched their Africa-first 2021 Strategic Plan alongside a new membership model for those seeking to connect to the local and global tech scene.The strategy aims to connect stakeholders, amplify the stories of the continents tech innovators, advocate on behalf of the ecosystem as a collective and build bridges with other hubs in order to grow the continent.It is great to see the energy in what is developing here in this ecosystem in the Southern tip of Africa, the kind of entrepreneurs that are using this space to not only develop solutions and innovations for our region in Africa but using this region to develop innovations and solutions for the world, shares Alan Winde, the western cape minister of economic opportunities.Included in the strategy is a new membership model that aims to grow connections within the ecosystem, aligning tightly to the latest research from Endeavor Insight, which revealed the broader Cape Town as Africas Tech Hub. The report emphasised this success was directly linked to how well networked the ecosystem is and highlighted the critical role that continued connections between stakeholders plays in maintaining vibrancy.What we have seen from the Endeavour Report is that our ecosystems strength comes from our connections between the various stakeholders. Our community works hard to keep talking to each other, supporting each other and trying to leverage collective resources where possible. This speaks to Silicon Cape's success historically, but also, critically, informs our new membership model. The model is how we plan to grow and strengthen those connections to maintain the dynamism of the ecosystem, shares Kerry Petrie, general manager of the Silicon Cape Initiative.The new membership model offers different paid-for plans that provide local and global innovation stakeholders curated access to the ecosystem, access to resources and marketing opportunities on the Silicon Cape platform. Plans start at only R500.Membership also incorporates bespoke tech tours to highlight what key startups and innovation spaces are doing for visitors to the ecosystem. There is also a strong focus on building the networks for student entrepreneurship to capitalise on and accelerate the rising number of student ventures.Im very excited about the launch of the Silicon Cape membership model, states Xabiso Lombo, CEO and co-founder of Guardian Gabriel, As an aspiring entrepreneur and as a student entrepreneur I urge them to target entrepreneurs in universities because thats where the passion lies, thats where the spirit is, and this is the space I believe student entrepreneurs should be in. The network that is being created is of great value to student entrepreneurial spirit and can help them propel their entrepreneurial ventures into the world.As an NPO, Silicon Cape has created a model that benchmarks itself against international best practice that has been effectively used to achieve financial independence and sustainability.The shift away from a single source of corporate or government donor funding aligns to the strategic goal to stimulate inclusivity and ensures long-term financial sustainability for the same reason.Critically, the new model allows Silicon Cape to hold a closer working relationship with a wider range of stakeholders through clearly articulated relationships.Silicon Capes new Africa-first membership model launch gave them an opportunity to update their members on what they are doing in helping us create this amazing ecosystem, this tech innovative space, where we can do things in Africa for Africa, comments Winde.What stood out for me from the launch is how theyve come up with an innovative model where no one member can take an overbearing role in the organisation and I believe that in itself will be an innovative way in which business chambers and other sector bodies are going to look at the way they fund themselves. This is the most amazing way for government to become a member of an organisation like Silicon Cape.The 2021 Silicon Cape Strategy incorporates the inputs of ecosystem clusters post a series of Courageous Conversations to gain insights from innovation incubators, accelerators, enablers, service providers, funders and entrepreneurs.Undertaking such a review process requires a certain amount of boldness which we did not shy away from as an organisation these review processes are critical for any organisation such as ourselves in order to ensure relevancy and to add high impact value to the vibrant community we serve. We are showing the world that Cape Town in itself, and also as a gateway to Africa, is where you want to be! indicates Roodt. Sign up to Silicon Cape's membership network to indicate your interest. New Delhi, Aug 3 : The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has ordered an inquiry into allegations of mismanagement, flouting of rules and siphoning of funds against the management of Metropolitan Stock Exchange of India Ltd (MSEI), Parliament was told on Friday. In a written reply to a question, Minister of State for Finance Pon Radhakrishnan told the Lok Sabha that the government as well as the SEBI, the regulator for securities market in India, had received complaints from two whistleblowers about irregularities and fraud at MSEI. "The complaints have been examined in detail by SEBI and as an interim measure, directions have been issued to the governing board of MSEI, inter alia, to constitute a Committee of Public Interest Directors (PIDs) to examine all the allegations levelled by whistleblowers against the management of MSEI," he said. Radhakrishnan added that based on the recommendations of the committee, SEBI will take suitable action against the entities and persons found to be involved in the malpractices. In their complaints, the two whistleblowers levelled allegations against officials of the exchange, including the Managing Director and CEO, regarding mismanagement, flouting of rules and laws, personnel-related issues, and siphoning and misappropriation of funds. "MSEI has engaged the services of forensic auditor for the purpose of examination, including assessing the actual magnitude of fraud. Allegations against brokers are (being) separately looked into," the Minister said. "Further, the MD and CEO of MSEI has been directed to proceed on an indefinite leave to ensure fair and uninterrupted examination of the charges levelled in the complaints of the whistleblowers," he added. New Delhi, Aug 3 : Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Friday hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, alleging that his government gave a clean chit to fugitive diamond merchant Mehul Choksi and enabled him to obtain Antiguan citizenship. "In today's big news: India gave Mehul "Bhai" Choksi, Mr 56s 'suit-boot' BFF, a clean chit in Nov 2017, enabling him to obtain Antiguan citizenship. This "Bhai" looted PNB of 13,000 Cr., before scooting from India," said Gandhi on Twitter. "Here's a little video of Mr 56 with Mehul "Bhai" (quiet smiley)," he added attaching a video where Modi is seen praising Choksi. The extradition request for fugitive diamond merchant Mehul Choksi, who has secured an Atiguan passport and is living there, will soon be sent to the Caribbean country, the CBI said on Friday. The Central Bureau of Investigation is probing the Rs 13,500-crore bank fraud allegedly committed by the jeweller and his nephew Nirav Modi. It said its letter to get Choksi deported has been forwarded to the External Affairs Ministry. The CBI sent on Monday the letter to the Union Home Ministry which in turn forwarded it to the External Affairs Ministry, an official said. Kolkata, Aug 3 : A day after FIRs were lodged against West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee at various Assam police stations for 'inciting hatred', Trinamool Congress lawmakers on Friday filed police complaints against her Assam counterpart for harassing and manhandling a party delegation at Silchar airport. State assembly legislator Mohua Moitra registered a police complaint at Alipore police station, while Lok Sabha members Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar and Mamatabala Thakur recorded their complaint at the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International airport police station under the Bidhannagar Police commissionerate. The complainants alleged that the police "illegally detained", "manhandled" and "harassed" the eight-member Trinamool delegation at the behest of Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Thursday at Kumbhirgram airport. The visiting Trinamool team, comprising six MPs, one West Bengal minister and one MLA was confined to a room at the airport in Silchar on Thursday on the ground that Section 144 of the CrPC was in force in Assam's Cachar district. The Trinamool delegation was slated to participate in a convention at Silchar against the recently-released draft of National Register of Citizenship (NRC). On Thursday, cases were lodged against Banerjee in a number of Assam police stations for her remark that the NRC could lead to 'civil war' and 'bloodbath'. New Delhi, Aug 3 : India will appeal against a ruling by an international tribunal in favour of Reliance Industries (RIL) in a dispute over gas migration from fields operated by state-run explorer Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC), Union Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said on Friday. Last week, a three-member international arbitration tribunal rejected the government's $1.55 billion claim against RIL and held that the company could contractually produce and sell any gas that might have migrated from adjoining fields of ONGC into its area and Reliance was not obligated to seek prior government permission for doing so. "The government will certainly file an appeal against the arbitration award in the higher forum. It will be in the high court," Pradhan told reporters here on the sidelines of an event organised by industry body CII. By a majority vote last week, the arbitration panel held that the production sharing contract for the eastern offshore KG-D6 fields "does not prohibit but permits" RIL "to produce and sell gas which migrated into the sub-sea reservoir lying within (its) Contract Area from a source outside the Contract Area". He said the government had made a claim on Reliance and its partners based on the recommendation of the Justice A.P. Shah Committee that quantified the natural gas that had migrated to KG-D6 from neighbouring blocks of ONGC. The tribunal also awarded $8.3 million as compensation to the three partners in the operator consortium of the KG-D6 block, where RIL has 60 per cent interest, British major BP holds 30 per cent and Niko Resources of Canada the remaining 10 per cent. New Delhi, Aug 3 : The government has appraised Rs 2,919.55 crores for safe city project in eight cities under the Nirbhaya Fund, the Lok Sabha was informed on Friday. For the project, the maximum amount has been appraised for Bengaluru (Rs 667 crore) followed by Delhi (Rs 663.67 crore) and Chennai (Rs 425.06 crore). Rs 282.50 crore has been appraised for Hyderabad, Rs 252.00 crore for Mumbai, Rs 253.00 crore for Ahmedabad, Rs 181.32 crore for Kolkata and Rs 195.00 crore for Lucknow. "The plans for these city-level projects have been prepared in coordination with municipal corporations and police commissionerates of the cities. The objective is to make the cities safer for women by addressing different aspects such as street lighting, safer public transport, improved policing and others," Minister of State for Women and Child Development (WCD) Virendra Kumar said. Projects like enhancing safety of women in public places, dedicated women safety patrol vans equipped with dashboards for viewing live feeds, GPS tracking and others will cover about 3,700 locations in Delhi under the safe city project. New Delhi, Aug 3 : Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana leader and MP Raju Shetti on Friday introduced two Private Member's Bills in Lok Sabha seeking a loan waiver for farmers across the country and a guaranteed remunerative prices for agricultural commodities. Shetti is part of All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee (AIKSS)-- an umbrella body representing over 200 organisations in the country. These bills vetted by 21 political parties would mitigate the hardships of the farmers considerable if passed, Shetti said in a statement. "The country is going through severe agrarian crisis. The farmers cannot recover their input costs and their debt is increasing with every passing crop. When the farmers agitate for their rights, they are silenced with bullets," he said. The AIKSCC said the demands of loan waiver and remunerative prices were closely interconnected. "If the issue of remunerative prices alone is tackled without providing relief from indebtedness, the increased return will only go to pay back increasing loans," it said. "On other hand, if only loan waiver are provided without addressing the issue of remunerative prices, farmers will again, be pushed backed into the debt trap. Therefore, AIKSCC seeks the fulfillment of both demands at the same time." New Delhi, Aug 3 : The Telecom Regulatory Autority of India (TRAI) on Friday pitched for the creation of a Telecom Research and Development Fund (TRDF) with an initial corpus of Rs 1,000 crore to promote the indigenous telecom equipment manufacturing sector. "For promoting research, innovation, standardisation, design, testing, certification and manufacturing indigenous telecom equipment, TRDF, with initial corpus of Rs 1,000 crore, should be created," TRAI said in a recommendation report released on Friday. "Subsequently, setting up of Telecom Entrepreneurship Promotion Fund (TEPF) and Telecom Manufacturing Promotion Fund (TMPF) should also be considered." According to the report, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) should be mandated to monitor the progress of the local industry. "The progress of indigenous telecommunication equipment manufacturing m the country should be monitored m DoT at least at the level of Member, Telecom Commission," the report said in a report. The recommendations came after a consultation paper on the subject was issued on September 18, 2017. Chennai, Aug 4 : The Madras High Court on Friday ordered the Tamil Nadu government to suspend Justice R. Raghupathy Commission probing the alleged irregularities in construction of the new secretariat-cum-assembly complex here by the DMK government in 2011. The court also said the state government is not monitoring the functioning of various commissions. Ordering the suspension of the Justice Raghupathy Commission and stoppage of funds to it, the court directed the state government to take criminal action if there is proof of wrong-doing. The AIADMK government headed by late Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa had ordered the conversion of the secretariat-cum-assembly building into a speciality hospital. The AIADMK government also appointed the Justice Raghupathy Commission to probe irregularities in the construction. The DMK had challenged the proceedings of the Justice Raghupathy Commission. Propiteer have recently made two acquisitions in Ireland: the addition of the Ibis Dublin Hotel and the Nambarrie Tea Factory in Belfast takes Propiteers asset portfolio to over 500 million (c. 560.87 million) in development value encompassing the hotel, hospitality and property development sectors. [] The Committee to Protect Journalists has called on the Central African Republic, Russia, and the UN to investigate the deaths of three Russian journalists killed while on assignment in the Central African Republic (CAR). Flowers and photos of Aleksandr Rastorguyev, Kirill Radchenko, and Orkhan Dzhemal, are left at the journalist union building in Moscow. The Russian journalists were killed while on assignment in the Central African Republic. Credit: AP/Pavel Golovkin/CPJ. On July 31, local authorities alerted the United Nations (UN) mission in CAR, known as MINUSCA , that the bodies of three Caucasian males and a vehicle with bullet holes in it were found about 30 kilometers north of the northern town of Sibut, Vladimir Monteiro, spokesperson and head of media relations for MINUSCA, told CPJ.A statement from the Russian Foreign Ministry said the attack took place on July 30 and that identification papers found with the bodies identified them as freelance reporter Orkhan Dzhemal, documentary director Aleksandr Rastorguyev, and camera person Kirill Radchenko. A statement issued by the Moscow-based investigative media outlet The Investigations Management Centre (TsUR), financed by exiled Russian businessman Mikhail Khodorkovsky , said the journalists were on assignment for TsUR, investigating private Russian mercenaries, including a group known as Wagner, allegedly working in the Central African Republic. TsUR's chief editor, Andrey Konyakhin, told CPJ the journalists left Moscow on July 27, and that the last communication with them was the evening of July 29."Those responsible for the killing of Orkhan Dzhemal, Aleksandr Rastorguyev, and Kirill Radchenko must be brought to justice," Angela Quintal, CPJ's Africa program coordinator, said from Harare, Zimbabwe. "Authorities in the Central African Republic, the Russian government and the UN, should act swiftly to conduct comprehensive and transparent investigations into these deaths and ensure the killing of journalists, which is the most brutal form of censorship, is not permitted to take place with impunity."Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova told the state television station Rossiya 24 that embassy diplomats have identified the bodies and were working with local authorities to investigate the killing. She added that the men travelled to CAR as tourists and the embassy was not aware of their presence in the country. Zakharova said that authorities were working on transporting the bodies to Russia. The Russian Investigative Committee said in a July 31 statement that it has opened a criminal investigation into the killings.Dzhemal's wife, Irina Gordienko, told CPJ she had seen a photograph of the bodies, and that one of them belonged to her husband.Ange Maxime Kazagui, minister of communication and spokesperson for the CAR government, said that the journalists' driver, who survived after fleeing, told the government that the attackers did not speak in French or Sango, the other national language of CAR.Kazagui said that the journalists entered the country using tourist visas and had not registered for media accreditation. The government is cooperating with the UN and the Russian government to investigate the deaths, Kazagui told CPJ.Monteiro told CPJ that, contrary to frequent practice for press in CAR, MINUSCA had not been informed of the journalists' activities.At least one other journalist has been killed in CAR in relation to their work since CPJ began keeping records in 1992. Camille Lepage , a freelance French photojournalist, was killed in 2014 during an ambush on the troops with whom she was embedded. CAR has grappled with a humanitarian crisis caused in part by years of violence between rival militias, according to the UN Since 2013, ATMS CenGlobal has been an authorized reseller of the Georgia SoftWorks Telnet Server and SSH Server for Windows. ATMS CenGlobal is one of the leading providers of systems for Logistics and Transport in the UK, Middle East and Asia. ATMS CenGlobal has offices in Birmingham, UK, Dubai, UAE and Manila, Phillipines. As a major provider of logistics systems, their customers include many major retail, distribution and logistic organizations. They use Georgia SoftWorks to provide a user interface that is easy to use, light on bandwidth and that is portable across hundreds of different device types. We chose Georgia SoftWorks because it is one of the most well-established products in the marketplace, said Steve Cross of ATMS CenGlobal. We use GSW across our range of logistics solutions, including warehouse management, track and trace, delivery management, proof of delivery, customs management and freight management. Georgia SoftWorks is a software development company located in Dawsonville, Georgia that has received global recognition for the GSW UTS, their Telnet Server for Windows and SSH Server for Windows. The GSW UTS is used in the most rigorous and demanding industrial environments and has been named the most robust and reliable UTS on the market. Used across a variety of industries all over the world, the GSW UTS is excellent with mobile devices in RFID, RF Terminal, barcode scanners and other data collection environments. ATMS is a well-established company with a very knowledgeable team. We are proud to have them as a GSW Authorized Reseller and thank them for the past 5 years of partnership. We look forward to many more years working with them in the future, said Diane Sexton of Georgia SoftWorks. About Georgia SoftWorks: Established in 1991, Georgia SoftWorks is a privately held software development company recognized for creating high performance data communications, system and telecommunications applications. Georgia SoftWorks has obtained a worldwide presence with its industrial SSH/Telnet Server for Microsoft Windows. GSW's long-term commitment to SSH/Telnet has led to the pioneering of major features such as Session Shadowing, Session Monitoring, Graceful Termination, Automatic Logon, Logon Scripting and more recently Team Services technology which allows mobile device users to transfer, swap, share and recover mobile device sessions. GSW has also provided the very first SSH Server to provide Digital Certificate Authentication with a Internet Information Server (IIS) like certificate-to-user account mapping. This includes One-to-one and Many-to-one mapping methods and also supports certificate trust lists (CTL). URAC is the independent leader in promoting healthcare quality through leadership, accreditation, measurement and innovation. By achieving this status, Ardon Health has demonstrated a comprehensive commitment to quality care, improved processes and better patient outcomes. The URAC accreditation process demonstrates a commitment to quality services and serves as a framework to improve business processes through benchmarking organizations against nationally recognized standards. Ardon Healths URAC Specialty Pharmacy accreditation is effective from August 1, 2018 to August 1, 2021. Ardon Health was initially granted this accreditation in 2015. Ardon Health is committed to measuring ourselves against the most robust industry standards for quality, said Chandra Wahrgren, President of Ardon Health. Earning reaccreditation affirms that our patient-centered team of clinical pharmacy professionals is succeeding in Ardons mission to improve lives through the delivery high-quality, compassionate health care services. Its necessary for specialty pharmacies to provide a higher level of treatment for patients so desired outcomes are achieved. Ardon Health shows a dedication to patient education and safety through the recognition of quality it received with URACs independent accreditation, said URAC President and CEO Kylanne Green. With URAC accreditation, people know that Ardon Health strives to adhere to industry best practices. About URAC Founded in 1990, URAC is the independent leader in promoting healthcare quality through leadership, accreditation, measurement and innovation. URAC is a nonprofit organization using evidence-based measures and developing standards through inclusive engagement with a range of stakeholders committed to improving the quality of healthcare. Our portfolio of accreditation and certification programs span the healthcare industry, addressing healthcare management, healthcare operations, health plans, pharmacies, telehealth providers, physician practices, and more. URAC accreditation is a symbol of excellence for organizations to showcase their validated commitment to quality and accountability. About Ardon Health Ardon Health is a specialty pharmacy based in Portland, Oregon. Recognized as the 2017 National Association of Specialty Pharmacy (NASP) Specialty Pharmacy of the Year, Ardon provides a wide range of specialty medications and personalized patient care nationwide. While primarily serving the Pacific Northwest, the company is focused on optimizing patient outcomes through the delivery of high-quality, compassionate specialty pharmacy services to patients in all 50 states plus the District of Columbia. High-touch patient services include personalized patient care plans, medication therapy management, 24/7 pharmacist support, adherence and side effect management, refill reminders, free next-day shipping, benefit investigation, prior authorization support and financial assistance coordination. Ardons experienced clinical pharmacists have expertise in the treatment of numerous complex diseases and health conditions. Ardon is accredited for specialty pharmacy by both URAC and ACHC and holds ACHC Distinction in Oncology. For additional information about Ardon Health, please visit ardonhealth.com. ### Justin G. Fok A frequent inquiry we receive now is I was not selected. Where do I go from here? While it is certainly disheartening to learn that you were not selected for H-1B this year, there are alternatives that many clients dont know about. - Justin G. Fok The H-1B program allows companies in the United States to temporarily employ foreign workers in occupations that require the theoretical and practical application of a body of highly specialized knowledge and a Bachelors degree or higher in the specific specialty, or its equivalent. However, on May 16, 2018, the United States government completed its H-1B cap selection and has begun to mail rejection notices to those who did not make the H-1B lottery. Roughly 200,000 petitions are sent in for only 85,000 spots, said attorney Justin G Fok, who focuses on immigration law. A frequent inquiry we receive now is I was not selected. Where do I go from here? While it is certainly disheartening to learn that you were not selected for H-1B this year, there are alternatives that many clients dont know about. One of the most popular options is the O-1 visa, which is for people who are extraordinary in their fields, such as artists, entertainers, athletes, scientists, researchers, and business individuals. While the criteria to qualify can be difficult, many candidates who are qualified dont think to explore this option because O-1s are not well-known as H-1Bs, stated Fok. Another alternative is to work for a cap-exempt H-1B employer. Such employers can be institutes of higher learning such as colleges or universities, or non-profit research institutions. If an employer is considered cap exempt they do not use any 85,000 allotted visas once you are hired on H-1B, and thus you can work for your employer without needing to wait for the cap or go through the lottery system, noted Fok. Another alternative is the J-1 trainee visa. This visa is designed for students of all academic levels, trainees obtaining on-the-job training, teachers of primary/secondary/specialized schools, professors teaching or doing research at institutions for higher learning, and research scholars and trainees in the medical field/allied fields. There is roughly a 40% chance of being selected for an H-1B, concluded Fok. For those who didnt make it, its really heartbreaking because then they might not have a way to stay or work in the United States. Looking into H-1B alternatives is certainly something all rejected H-1B candidates should explore. About Justin G. Fok, The Law Offices of Justin G. Fok Justin G. Fok specifically focuses on employment and investment-based immigration. Practice areas of The Law Offices of Justin G. Fok include immigration and pre-immigration tax planning. For more information, please call (415) 780-9068 or visit http://www.jfoklaw.com. About the NALA The NALA offers small and medium-sized businesses effective ways to reach customers through new media. As a single-agency source, the NALA helps businesses flourish in their local community. The NALAs mission is to promote a business relevant and newsworthy events and achievements, both online and through traditional media. The information and content in this article are not in conjunction with the views of the NALA. For media inquiries, please call 805.650.6121, ext. 361. Congress must now consider whether to rebuild American infrastructure with 20th century solutions...or deploy the best materials available in the 21st century that last longer, require far less maintenance, and are easier to install. The American Composites Manufacturers Association (ACMA) is pleased to announce that both chambers of Congress have introduced new legislation that takes steps to comprehensively improve the resilience of our nation's energy grid, surface transportation and water infrastructure through the promotion of fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) composites and advanced materials. Known as the Innovative Materials for America's Growth and Infrastructure Newly Expanded, the new bill is designed to promote the increased use of innovative materials like fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) composites, as well as new manufacturing methods to speed up the deployment and extend the life of infrastructure projects. "As Congress and the Trump administration look for ways to modernize our national infrastructure network, composite materials have a number of advantages over legacy materials, which uniquely position our industry to deliver solutions to these major national priorities," said Tom Dobbins, ACMA President. "Congress must now consider whether to rebuild American infrastructure with 20th century solutions unable to deliver the performance needed to drive today's society and economy or deploy the best materials available in the 21st century that last longer, require far less maintenance, and are easier to install." ACMA applauds Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) and Cory Booker (D-N.J.) for introducing the bill in the Senate. ACMA also commends Reps. Barbara Comstock (R-Va.), Elizabeth Esty (D-Conn.), and David Cicilline (D-R.I.) for introducing the House counterpart legislation. Specifically, the bill calls for: Reforms to existing highway programs to incentivize the use of innovative materials Creation of an interagency task force for standards development for innovative composites Authorization of a new Innovative Bridge Program at the Federal Highway Administration and Innovative Water Infrastructure Program at the Environmental Protection Agency, as well as the creation of "Innovative Material Innovation Hubs" The introduction of the bill comes after months of advocacy by members of the composites industry and other groups. During this time, ACMA member companies met with Members of Congress to advocate for the benefits of composites, such as their corrosion resistance, ease of installation, extreme weather resilience and superior service life. During these meetings, ACMA helped congressional leaders understand the need for legislation that includes federal investment toward the study and deployment of projects that utilize cutting edge materials like FRP composites. #### About ACMA The American Composites Manufacturers Association (ACMA) is the worlds largest composites industry trade group. We are manufacturers, material and equipment suppliers, distributors, academia and end users, dedicated to growing the composites market. We serve our members and the industry by promoting the competitive advantage and versatility of composite materials. ACMA offers composites industry educational resources through our CAMX show, conferences and Certified Composites Technician (CCT) program. We develop standards and specifications that drive preference for the use of composites in place of traditional materials. We lead advocacy efforts via legislative and regulatory channels to achieve a more viable composites industry. Together, we are shaping the future of composites. Learn more at http://www.acmanet.org. Through the application of OHV technology, weve been able to make great strides in our efforts to support canola growers in Australia and other canola-growing regions. We are proud to partner with Corteva Agriscience to seek innovative solutions to challenging conditions worldwide. Corteva Agriscience, Agriculture Division of DowDuPont and Agriculture Victoria Services Pty Ltd. (AVS), the commercial arm of Agriculture Victoria, announced a license agreement for a novel source of blackleg resistance in canola (Brassica napus) developed by AVS using Optimum Haploid Value (OHV) technology. The OHV technology was developed under the long-standing and productive strategic collaboration between AVS and Corteva Agriscience. This announcement further illustrates the value of external collaborations to not only develop new tools and technologies but also their application to create novel sources of resistance. We look forward to rapidly enhancing our portfolio of integrated solutions for growers who continue to face increased blackleg pressure in their canola fields said Dr. Steven Webb, R&D director - External Technology at Corteva Agriscience. Through the application of OHV and genomic selection, AVS identified new sources of blackleg resistance for canola that will help combat a fungal pest that causes significant annual losses to canola growers. Per the agreement signed today, Corteva Agriscience will license the technology to begin testing and development using traditional breeding to incorporate the stronger blackleg resistance genetics into canola varieties sold under both the Pioneer and Nexera brands. Through the application of OHV technology, weve been able to make great strides in our efforts to support canola growers in Australia and other canola-growing regions. We are proud to partner with Corteva Agriscience to seek innovative solutions to challenging conditions worldwide stated Professor German Spangenberg, deputy secretary, Agriculture Research at Agriculture Victoria. Optimum Haploid Value (OHV) is a patent pending technology developed through a partnership by Dow AgroSciences (now part of the Agriculture Division of DowDuPont) and AVS to help select optimal parental lines and accelerate plant breeding across many crops, including canola. The OHV technology is an extension of genomic selection, an approach that uses genetic and phenotypic information from plant populations to predict the most productive parental lines, accelerating crop genetic improvement. OHV can shorten breeding cycles, provide accurate evaluation of plant performance at the seedling stage and give plant breeders the ability to evaluate a much larger number of plants without the need to grow them in the target environment. Licenses for OHV technology are available from Corteva Agriscience. Licenses for OHV blackleg resistance canola technology are available from AVS. About Corteva Agriscience, Agriculture Division of DowDuPont Corteva Agriscience, Agriculture Division of DowDuPont (NYSE: DWDP), is intended to become an independent, publicly traded company when the previously announced spinoff is complete by June 2019. The division combines the strengths of DuPont Pioneer, DuPont Crop Protection and Dow AgroSciences. Corteva Agriscience provides growers around the world with the most complete portfolio in the industry including some of the most recognized brands in agriculture: Pioneer, Encirca, the newly launched Brevant Seeds, as well as award-winning Crop Protection products while bringing new products to market through our solid pipeline of active chemistry and technologies. More information can be found at http://www.corteva.com. Follow Corteva Agriscience, Agriculture Division of DowDuPont, on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter and YouTube. About Agriculture Victoria Services Pty Ltd. Agriculture Victoria Services Pty Ltd ("AVS") is the commercial and intellectual property management arm of Agriculture Victoria and its Agriculture Victoria Research ("AVR") division in the State of Victoria, Australia # # # 8/3/18 All products, unless otherwise noted, denoted with , or are trademarks, service marks or registered trademarks of their respective companies. The print version will come out in September and we are looking forward to opening submissions for the next 5StarWines Grand Tastings also in September 5StarWines - The Book 2019 is a wine-guide showcasing all the wines selected at 5StarWines, the three day blind tasting where wineries that invested in the improvement of their products can receive feedback from a highly-qualified, international panel of judges. Wines were tasted blind by 95 wine professionals, including Senior General Chairman, Ian DAgata, General Chairmen Pedro Ballesteros Torres MW, Robert Joseph, and Bernard Burtschy. Putting all of these wines together into one wine guide has been a courageous project accomplished through the collaboration among Vinitaly, Veronafiere, Assoenologi and ICE-ITA (Italian Trade Agency). The cover of the wine guide with its stardust motif references the immensity of the wine universe and is an invitation to discover wines from many parts of the world. As Stevie Kim, Managing Director at Vinitaly International, explains, This wine guide comprises 625 excellent wines from all over the world. The purple (yellow for Wine Without Walls) star dust is the symbol of having all of those wines in your hands. The print version will come out in September and we are looking forward to opening submissions for the next 5StarWines Grand Tastings also in September. Italian wines shined brightly this year, showcasing Italys diversity from the North to the South. Winery of the Year - Gran Vinitaly 2018the maximum recognition for a producer who attained the best score with at least two different wineswent to Cantine del Notaio from the Basilicata region in Italy. Additionally, the best Italian wine with highest overall score went to Cantina Silvio Carta from Sardinia. Pedro Ballesteros Torres MW states, 5StarWines is a major tool for Italian producers to receive feedback on how the quality of their wines is perceived by top-level experts from all over the world. However, wines from outside of Italy ranked highly as well. Sudsteiermark Pradikatswein Riesling Trockenbeerenauslese 2013 by Lackner Tinnacher from Austria was chosen as one of the best sweet wines, and Champagne Brut Millesime 2008 by Chassenay dArce from France was chosen as the best sparkling wine. Wines that scored 90 points out of 100 were included in the guide. A special feature of the guide (and of the event) is Wine Without Walls, a section solely dedicated to wines either without added sulphites or wines with total quantity of sulphites (naturally produced and added ones) not higher than 50mg/l. Chaired by biodynamic wine expert Monty Waldin along with fellow judges Richard Kershaw MW, Christopher Barnes, Gill Gordon Smith, and Regina Lee, Wine Without Walls gives recognition to the growing importance and relevance of natural wines. The assessment criteria for the tasting were not numerical but rather descriptive and included, among others, liveliness, individuality, and sense of place. One of the delights of judging wines made by people working in tune with nature, rather than working against it, is that the wines show a brightness and levity which makes wine tasting a joy rather than a chore, states Monty Waldin, adding that as for the 2018 Wine Without Walls blind tasting, the panel of judges was unanimous in agreeing that the wines far exceeded their expectations in terms of quality, complexity and, most importantly, value. Upon the official online release of the wine guide, Maurizio Danese, President of Veronafiere explains that the online and print versions are part of a wider digital innovation strategy: The guide project is complemented by the agreement reached with Wine-Searcher, one of the world's most famous online wine search engines, to develop a catalogue of labels selected by 5StarWines. This is yet another contribution to the promotion of the selected wines, which, in this way, gain access to internationally renowned, high-visibility channels that are even used by final consumers. Giovanni Mantovani, CEO of Veronafiere, also shares an interesting insight about the impact of the 5StarWines selection: The big-data analysis for Vinitaly 2018 shows that the 10 most-visited exhibitors are all producers of wines selected by 5StarWines. For this reason, as of Vinitaly 2019, we intend to extend the range of digital services offered to these producers by introducing proximity notifications to selected buyers, semantic catalogue search tools, and analysis of social sentiment. The full content of 5StarWines - the Book 2019 is available here: http://www.5starwines.it/the-book-2/?lang=en. The print version will be released in September 2018, followed by the opening of registrations for the next edition of 5StarWines Grand Tasting. About: The grand Vinitaly 2019 will be held from April 7th to the 10th. Every year, Vinitaly counts more than 4,000 exhibitors on a 100,000+ square meter area and 130,000 visitors from over 140 different countries with more than 30,000 top international buyers. The premier event to Vinitaly, OperaWine (https://www.vinitalyinternational.com/?page_id=646) Finest Italian Wines: 100 Great Producers, which will be held on the 6th of April, one day prior to Vinitaly will unite international wine professionals in the heart of Verona, offering them the unique opportunity to discover and taste the wines of the 100 Best Italian Producers, as selected by Wine Spectator. Since 1998 Vinitaly International travels to several countries such as Russia, China, USA and Hong Kong thanks to its strategic arm abroad, Vinitaly International. In February 2014 Vinitaly International launched an educational project, the Vinitaly International Academy (VIA) with the aim of divulging and broadcasting the excellence and diversity of Italian wine around the globe. VIA this year launched the seventh edition of its Certification Course and today counts 151 Italian Wine Ambassadors and 11 Italian Wine Experts. Contact: Walter Gorra 604 W 12th Street Glenwood Springs, CO 81601 970-274-9248 waltergorra(at)gmail(dot)com waltergorrajazz.com Award-winning pianist and composer Walter Gorra launches the worldwide distribution of his first CD that blends United States Jazz with Afro-Cuban Music, Brazilian music and the music of South America. It took Gorra two years to produce the CD, but the release on Aug. 1 is the culmination of his being true to all of these influences. Gorra calls it a snapshot of his life. Denver jazz station KUVO/KVJZ 89.3 will air an interview and live performance with Walter Gorra and his quartet on August 17 at 2 p.m. hosted by KUVOs music director, Arturo Gomez. The last composition on the CD entitled Rumba Pa Senen is a Cuban Rumba dedicated to my grandfather, said Gorra. It combines the effects my Cuban and Honduran heritage have had on my musical identity with my memories of my grandfather. Earlier this year, Gorra was recognized at Dizzys Club Coca-Cola/Jazz at Lincoln Center as the winner of the prestigious DownBeat magazine winner of the Student Jazz Award for original composition for small ensemble. Originally from western Colorado, Gorra moved to New Jersey to pursue a masters degree in jazz composition and arranging at William Paterson University. Gorra has performed with NEA Jazz Master and 15-time Grammy Award winner Paquito DRivera at the KUVO Jazz studios in Denver. He has also played his original music and arrangements with his Colorado quartet at Denver jazz clubs, and performed at Dizzys Club Coca Cola, the Jazz Aspen Snowmass Festival, the Telluride Jazz Festival and the Puerto Rico Heineken Jazz Festival. Gorra, 24, graduated from the University of Colorado Boulder in 2017 with a masters degree in structural engineering, along with bachelors degrees in jazz piano and civil engineering. He creates and performs music because he finds it an even more powerful way to connect with others than words. The album features the Cuban Rumba, along with one Cuban Bolero and six original compositions played by Gorra and band members, Greg Tanner Harris, Gonzalo Teppa and Manny Lopez with guest artist Josh Quinlan on four of the tracks. As of Aug 1, the songs will also be available on iTunes, Apple Music, Spotify, Amazon and Google Play. -30- Enso Discoveries,LLC Scientific Advisors "The Chinese veterinary market is exploding!" Let Enso Discoveries, LLC help you navigate and enter the explosive Chinese Veterinary market! Chairman and CEO Derek Jiang, along with Co-CEO Jun Yang of LPET (E-Mall, Diagnostic Laboratory Services, and Software), are excited to announce an exclusive partnership with Enso Discoveries, LLC of Manhattan, Kansas. Chairman Jiang states that, We are very excited to have reached an agreement with Enso Discoveries, LLC and Patrick Farley, Enso CEO/President. LPET and Enso Discoveries, a fast growing Kansas biotech company, has been successfully doing business together in China with great success. Farley, Jiang and Yang have also spent much time in each others respective countries gaining a better understating of the explosive Chinese pet market and the opportunities that exist for American companies. Co-CEO Jun Yang says that, Patrick Farley has spent many years working internationally in the Veterinary field for world class companies like IDEXX Laboratories. We feel his successful International experience, along with the many relationships he has formed over the years, will help bring many new technologies and ideas to help LPET." Farley states that, with over 50 million pet owners and an explosive pet market anticipated to grow at 40% a year or more, it is an amazing time to enter China. Enso Discoveries brings a proven track record of setting up a successful business partnership in China and can now help other American companies navigate this process. Enso Discoveries is fully supported by LPET for this opportunity to work with you from start to finish. We can now help you understand why the many, not so good stories of the past, doing business in China, will be greatly mitigated by using Enso Discoveries to help walk you through the process. If you are interested in exploring this opportunity with the most recognized, successful, well-funded and professional B2B platform in China, please email Patrick Farley at Pfarley(at)Ensodiscoveries(dot)com http://www.ensodiscoveries.com Officials of the Boathouse Restaurant have filed suit, saying it should not have been punished by the Chattanooga Beer Board after some of its patrons had alcoholic beverages on the adjacent Riverwalk. Attorney Scott LeRoy, in a Chancery Court lawsuit, said the Boathouse has a lease signed by the city and county allowing its patrons to do so. He said Riverpark officials were aware of the lease. However, a park ranger apparently was not. The ranger cited the Boathouse to a June 7 meeting of the City Beer Board. The suit says Boathouse officials were told the matter would be taken care of and they would not have to be present. The Boathouse owners had scheduled an out-of-town trip for that date. However, the matter was called and the ranger testified. Beer Board members were upset that no Boathouse representative appeared and the restaurant was given the maximum penalty. The Boathouse said Riverpark officials agree that the restaurant was within its rights. However, there is no mechanism for the Beer Board to reconsider a case. The suit, which names the Beer Board and its individual members, asks that the penalty be dismissed. Founded over three decades ago, F&G Cranes has grown into an impressive and significant overhead crane manufacturer in Texas. Partnering with GH Cranes and Components in 2015 has forged the combined experience of two industry powerhouses, and F&G Cranes looks to the future with plans for additional expansion. Indeed, it appears the future is now for this company, as their expansion has already begun. This year saw new office locations both north and south of their home office, which is situated in the city of Terrell, just outside of Dallas, Texas. F&G Cranes has expanded southerly into Houston, as well as northerly into Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Company owners want to continue their record of stellar service and customer satisfaction throughout their expansion process. As such, they have hired a crane industry expert, Mr. Chris Keiser, as Service Manager. Mr. Keiser will head up the service department as the company continues to grow and will provide valuable insight and training to the multitude of new service technicians who will join the company in the near future. Since the companys inception, their lifting components have been installed in over 60 countries, providing solutions in virtually all sectors. Their products/services include: overhead bridge cranes, gantry cranes, jib cranes, hoists, runway systems, control/power bar systems, modernizations (on existing crane systems), repairs, parts, inspections and crane operator training. F&G Cranes anticipates a successful and continual upward and outward growth of their company throughout Texas, Oklahoma and Louisiana. About: Founded in 1987 by Mr. Gene Garrett, the F&G Industries Company began a partnership with GH Cranes and Components in 2015. The company is now known as F&G Cranes. Visit their website to learn more: https://www.fgcranes.com/ One of the worst injustices for a student, is to be forced to switch world languages in the middle of their learning track. Said Evan Erdberg, CEO of Proximity Learning Inc. It takes a progressive district to put students first and invest in virtual staffing. By Rimsha Syed Frisco ISD and k-12 virtual staffing company Proximity Learning Inc. (PLI) are pleased to publicize a partnership that will place the countrys best Mandarin, and American Sign Language, teachers in front of their students through interactive live curriculum for the next three years. Live, tele-conferenced-computer based instruction is on the frontier of forever altering the way students experience education, and PLI is able to do justice to Frisco ISDs mission of facilitating students who graduate with the skills they need to pursue their aspirations. PLI is recognized by leaders in the field for improving individual student achievement and success, boasting a 93% pass rate for courses. Frisco ISD is one of the fastest growing public school districts in the country, known for its small-schools they model and guide personalized learning environments to understand each childs unique needs. In order to accommodate a growing student population, a new high school is built nearly every year. By virtue of the premise of innovation and growth the district wanted to offer advanced Mandarin and ASL classes, but were unable to find qualified teachers required in every high school. Frisco ISD is unable to fill core subject positions or staff world language educators as quickly as schools are built. It is neither practical nor cost effective for Frisco to do so. In an effort to mitigate the challenge of faculty recruitment, the district heard about PLIs ability to connect master teachers with students. Moreover, PLIs reputation in providing virtual teachers, established in over 100 districts lead Frisco ISD to conclude that live instruction was the best academic option. Between PLIs flexibility and Frisco ISDs commitment to offer progressive education, a three year contract was signed on behalf of the district. Frisco ISD is now offering Level I - AP Mandarin and level I-III ASL courses in each of their nine high schools, ensuring all students can complete a full world language track. One of the worst injustices for a student, is to be forced to switch world languages in the middle of their learning track. Said Evan Erdberg, CEO of Proximity Learning Inc. It takes a progressive district to put students first and invest in virtual staffing. Students and parents are keen to call Frisco ISD home because of innovative programs, such as PLI, who prioritize the personal success of their students. In terms of adaptability, PLI affords students the opportunity to grow at their own pace and comfort level. Until the district solidified their partnership with PLI, the district was unable to offer advanced world language classes. As a consequence of Frisco ISDs relationship with PLI, the district continues to see a steep upward trajectory in enrollment in these live classrooms as well as positive student engagement and achievement. Frisco ISD: Frisco ISD serves over 700 students in each elementary school, roughly 800-1000 student in each middle school, and 2,100 students in each high school. The district currently enrolls more than 58,000 students in nine high schools, 16 middle schools, 40 elementary schools, and three special school programs. Frisco is located about 30 miles north of Dallas and encompasses 75 square miles. Learn more: https://www.friscoisd.org/ Proximity Learning Inc.: Proximity Learning Inc. is a Virtual K-12 Staffing company focused on ensuring every student has access to a master teacher to lead instruction no matter their location or financial situation. Proximity Learning services over 30,000 students annually boasting the highest quality teachers, most innovative virtual classrooms, and the reputation as a flexible learning solution to both public and private school districts. Learn more: http://proxlearn.com/. Taking the plunge in the North West Passage. There is a more ambitious way to experience Antarctica, crossing the Ross Sea all the way to New Zealand. Adventurous Globetrotters can explore the wildest regions on earth with new specials on polar cruises from Goway Travel. Goway is continuing its long tradition of connecting Globetrotters to the worlds most exciting and far flung destinations with new packages taking in the sights and wildlife of the Arctic and Antarctica. Taking advantage of modern technology, these cruise itineraries traverse some of the worlds most inhospitable environments, allowing their passengers to experience the rugged beauty in comfort. Antarctica is a dream cruise for many, and for most travelers, that means a short return cruise from the southern reaches of Chile or Argentina. There is however a more ambitious way to experience Antarctica, crossing the Ross Sea all the way to New Zealand. This itinerary visits bays and shores few Globetrotters will ever see, sharing the waters with Orcas, Minke Whales, and other wildlife. This is a rare travel opportunity with few departures, and must be booked well ahead. Until August 31, 2018, Goway is offering savings of up to US $1790 / CA $2330 on a 32-day voyage departing January 13, 2020. Less known even to the most adventurous travelers are the Arctic regions. While names like the Northwest Passage are steeped in myth, inspired by the first explorers to tame these frigid waters in their quest to find an alternative route between Europe and Asia, few people will ever sail these fabled waterways for themselves. Sailing up the west coast of Greenland, Globetrotters who make the trip will visit the rarely seen fjords and islands of far Northeastern Canada, where zodiac excursions will open up all this pristine Polar wilderness has to offer. Like the Ross Sea, the Northwest Passage is the kind of cruise people take once in a lifetime, and departures are strictly limited. There are however some last minute openings on a September 9, 2018 departure. Those who book this departure by August 24, 2018 will save up to US $16390 / CA $21307 per person, taking over 60% off the full price of this 17-day trip. Globetrotters wanting to tick the ultimate polar adventure off their list can sail from Scandinavia, bound for the North Pole itself. Goways North Pole: The Ultimate Arctic Adventure is an unforgettable 14-day cruise to the pole, departing from Helsinki, Finland. Two departures are scheduled for June, 2019. Since 1970, Goway has been providing unforgettable travel experiences to Africa, Asia, Australia, New Zealand, Central & South America, Idyllic Island destinations and Europe. Today Goway is recognized as one of North America's leading travel companies for individuals, families and groups to select exotic destinations around the globe. Goway has offices in Toronto, Vancouver, Los Angeles, Manila, and Sydney, Australia. For reservations and information, visit http://www.goway.com, or call 1-800-387-8850. Phil and Judy Schwallier of Sparta, MI, have been named 2018 Apple Grower of the Year by American Fruit Grower and Western Fruit Grower magazines. Phil and Judy Schwallier of Sparta, MI, have been named the 2018 Apple Grower of the Year by American Fruit Grower and Western Fruit Grower magazines, published by Meister Media Worldwide. The Schwalliers will receive the award during the USApple Outlook and Marketing Conference, August 23, in Chicago, IL. The Apple Grower of the Year award program, sponsored by Valent U.S.A., honors apple growers who have gone beyond the confines of the orchard and have, through their involvement and leadership, made a real impact on the apple industry. The Schwalliers were honored for having a tremendous impact on one of the premier fruit-growing regions of the U.S., Peach Ridge, a 160-square-mile area near Grand Rapids. Besides being fruit growers, each Schwallier has made a mark on the industry through other means, Phil as a long-time Michigan State University Extension advisor, and Judy for their successful farm market, Schwalliers Country Basket. The Schwalliers have led their fellow growers on the Ridge to adopt modern, high-density, intensively farmed orchards. Their contributions in modernizing the Michigan apple industry helped save it from a gloomy future in the processed apple market trying to compete with low-cost competitors such as China. Mark Mason, Tree Fruit Crop Manager at Valent U.S.A., says the award sponsor is honored to recognize the Schwalliers two individuals who have propelled the apple industry forward each season and have worked together as a team to build long-term success for their own operation, Schwallier's Country Basket. Through their involvement and leadership in the apple industry, Phil and Judy have demonstrated their hard work, loyalty, and devotion to apple growers and consumers everywhere, Mason says. We would also like to acknowledge Phil and his extensive research efforts on apples, particularly plant growth regulators. As an educator with Michigan State University Extension, Phil's work has influenced countless growers and their outlook on apple production." The Schwalliers are not the first couple to be chosen as Apple Grower of the Year. In fact, theyre not even the first from Michigan, as Harold and JoAnn Thome of Comstock Park, MI were chosen in 1992. One other couple has also received the award, Bill and Jeannette Evans of Yakima, WA, in 2014. Phil Schwallier, upon learning of the honor, was typically self-effacing. We are very humbled to have received such a prestigious award, and to be listed with those great fruit growers who have come before us. Never in our wildest dreams did we think we were that caliber. All that has been done to support us has been just overwhelming. We thank you so much for this award," he says. The Ridges informal headquarters is Schwalliers Country Basket. Its a farm shop Judy Schwallier has taken from a picnic table by the side of the road, to a must-visit recommendation by the Grand Rapids Chamber of Commerce. The Schwalliers were a popular choice, says David Eddy, Editor of American Fruit Grower and Western Fruit Grower, noting the Selection Committee reviewed many thoughtful nominations for the couple. It is with great pleasure we honor the Schwalliers for their contributions to the industry as Apple Grower of the Year, he says. Besides their long list of achievements, which is incredibly extensive, they are just really fine people, the salt of the earth. The president and CEO of the U.S. Apple Association, Jim Bair, says that welcoming attitude comes shining through. Phil Schwallier may be a university instructor, but he is as far from an Ivory Tower Academic as you can possibly get, and I mean that in the best way possible. As an Extension scientist he takes his vast knowledge of production, thinning, storage and IPM directly to the growers who can benefit from it, Bair says. More than that, as an apple grower himself he validates his advice in his own orchard and that adds credibility. The growers in his area are lucky to have him. About The Award The Apple Grower of the Year award is presented annually by American Fruit Grower and Western Fruit Grower magazines and honors apple growers who have gone beyond the confines of the orchard and have, through their involvement and leadership, made a real impact on the apple industry. American Fruit Grower and Western Fruit Grower are published by Meister Media Worldwide. About Meister Media Worldwide Empowering Global Agriculture Meister Media Worldwide, founded in 1932 with headquarters in Willoughby, Ohio, USA, produces integrated business solutions for worldwide specialized agriculture. A leader in the industry, the company provides information and networking opportunities to communities including fruits, nuts, and citrus; vegetables; cotton; ornamental horticulture; horticulture in Mexico; precision agriculture; custom application of crop inputs; and the manufacturing, formulation, and distribution of crop protection and plant health products in the U.S. and globally. Meister Medias stable now includes 12 major brands whose portfolios include print publications, digital products, conferences and tradeshows, and Connect hosted-buyer events. In addition, Meister Direct produces custom print and digital products, and strategic business development services from concept planning through development and delivery. Contact us at info@meistermedia.com. # # # __title__ "Growth in Latin American businesses is astonishing, and we are proud of the role we've played so far in making it easier for corporate, government and education organizations everywhere to connect with each other," said Sufian Munir, CEO, OneScreen. Collaboration solution manufacturer OneScreen, owned by US-based Clary Icon, has just announced that their second office in Colombia is now open for business. This office is located in the Antioquia region on the northern coast of Colombia. Antioquia has built a reputation as one of the leading tech hubs in South America, thanks to factors such as broadband adoption by 63 percent of the population, more than 43.9 million mobile connections, and at least 24 million mobile users. "Growth in Latin American businesses is astonishing, and we are proud of the role we've played so far in making it easier for corporate, government and education organizations everywhere to connect with each other," said Sufian Munir, CEO of OneScreen. "Our new office in Columbia is ideally positioned to provide our customers and strategic partners in the region with unmatched resources as we continue to expand our global market presence. Our goal is to help teams all over the world fine tune their operational efficiencies by deploying state-of-the-art technologies that bring people together in real-time." In Latin America, the challenges related to transportation, infrastructure, governmental oversight, and supply chains can be intense for organizations of any size trying to collaborate and communicate across regional or international boundaries. OneScreen was designed to smooth the friction points at these barriers by combining best-in-class video conferencing functionality with a range of unified communications solutions, supporting the virtual workplace or classroom of the future. OneScreen has made it possible for organizations to work smarter with virtual meetings or classrooms built on a framework of high-quality video. This reduces the operational burden of time-consuming, in-person business meetings and increases the opportunities for distance and blended learning options for educators. OneScreen facilitates active teamwork and incorporates the latest mobile technology, both hardware and software, into a single screen for bringing professionals, teams, teachers and students together. New OneScreen Office Address: Carrera 80 No. 48B-56, Medellin, Antioquia Colombia +57-3016477687 antioquia@claryla.com About OneScreen When collaboration technologies work together, organizations can realize the benefit of people working together. OneScreen hubware and software solutions facilitate the way collaborators need to flow between work tools and access a variety of content, data, and people to be continuously productive. Headquartered in San Diego, California, Clary Icon has offices in the United States, Pakistan, Colombia (now two!), Mexico and U.A.E. Learn more at OneScreenSolutions.com. Andrew Rayel & Garibay ft Jake Torrey, "Last Summer" (Armada Music) - cover art Andrew Rayel and Fernando Garibays expert production emphasize the guitar sequences so finely that the intimate sound of fingers gliding over acoustic guitar-strings feels like a secret between artist and listener. Smooth. Soulful. Solid. With vocals that flow like warm, thick honey, Jake Torreys singing voice is smoother than black lava stones worn velvety with time. Folksy, yet every ounce soulful, Torreys intonation draws you in. Andrew Rayel and Fernando Garibays expert production emphasize the guitar sequences so finely that the intimate sound of fingers gliding over acoustic guitar-strings feels like a secret between artist and listener. Andrew Rayel & Garibay ft Jake Torreys Last Summer (Armada Music) is out now. Milky and suave are operative words to describe Andrew Rayel & Fernando Garibay featuring Jake Torreys Last Summer. This pop song and it is very much a pop song, unlike the more underground electronic dance music Rayel has been known for is exquisitely balanced. The vocals, though sung delicately and with sensitivity, are lovingly placed up front in the mix. With Garibay on a song, the production is expected to be amazing. When the song enters the chorus and the bassline kicks-in, Last Summer really takes flight. The second verse builds with a finely syncopated beat and a stimulating bassline that differentiates it from the first verse. This song is a revelation. About Fernando Garibay Fernando Garibay, or simply Garibay, is a GRAMMY-winning American record producer and songwriter known for his work on The Fame Monster with Lady Gaga (winner of the Best Pop Vocal Album at the 53rd annual GRAMMY Awards in 2010), as well as for his work with U2, Kylie Minogue, Britney Spears, Whitney Houston, Shakira, Enrique Iglesias and others. Sitting atop a length discography and a number of international hit records including five U.S. #1 records and several Top 10 dance records on the Billboard charts Garibay is constantly pushing his own artistic boundaries as is seen by his recent collaborations with Armin van Buuren (I Need You featuring Olaf Blackwood) and more recently, with Andrew Rayel (Last Summer featuring Jake Torrey). About Andrew Rayel Hailed by Armin van Buuren as the future of trance music, Andrew Rayel (real name: Andrei Rata) is a classically trained electronic dance music DJ and producer from Moldova often referred to as the modern-day Mozart. As a DJ, Rayel exudes an unbridled enthusiasm for the music he plays and his onstage performances are electric and filled with physical energy. Drenched in a well-earned sweat after every set, Rayel earns his position as a bandleader, stirring up his crowds passion as much with his music selection as with his bodily vigor. He has DJd the worlds biggest festivals, including: Ultra Music Festival in Miami, TomorrowLand in Belgium and TomorrowWorld in Atlanta, Stereosonic in Australia, Global Gathering in the UK and other countries, Electric Daisy Carnival in Las Vegas, Electric Zoo in New York, Transmission Festival in various countries, Ministry of Sound in the UK, Dreamstate in San Bernardino, Electronic Family in Amsterdam, Zoukout in Singapore and Together Festival in Thailand. Rayel is a regular on the lineup at various ASOT stages around the world. Nightclub performances include: Marquee Nightclub & Dayclub in Las Vegas, Marquee and LAVO in New York, Academy in Los Angeles, Schimanski in Brooklyn, Ushuaia Beach Club in Ibiza, Zouk in Singapore and Kuala Lumpur, Escape in Amsterdam, New City Gas in Montreal, Ministry of Sound in London and countless others. Listen to Andrew Rayel & Fernando Garibay featuring Jake Torreys Last Summer, here: https://ARMAS1416.lnk.to/LS For information on Andrew Rayel, Paul Damixie, GATTUSO, MaRLo, Ice-T & Mr. X, Maro Music (Marek Walaszek), NKRIOT, Zander (Traveler), Brussels Airlines (proud partner of Tomorrowland), Ben Rauch, and artists like Armin van Buuren, contact EMILY TAN Media Relations (U.S.), +1(917) 318-3758, EmilyEmilyTan@aol.com. Follow EMILY TAN Media Relations on Twitter @EmilyEmilyTan and LinkedIn http://www.linkedin.com/pub/emily-tan/4/342/70b. 1 Oz Gold Bar Obverse On the obverse of the bar, the weight, the RMC logo, the purity, and refiners assayers stamp are polished to shine in contrast with a satin background finish. Republic Metals Corporation announces the release of its newly designed 1 oz gold bar. In the latest addition to Republics investment gold bullion product line, the new 1 oz gold bar is tailored to fit modern market tastes. The bar boasts a refreshed logo and a satin background finish. On the obverse of the bar, the weight, the RMC logo, the purity, and refiners assayers stamp are polished to shine in contrast with a satin background finish. Displayed on the reverse is an elegant repeating logo pattern with the words "Republic Metals Corporation" across the center. The 1 oz gold bar is equipped with anti-counterfeit features, including a laser-engraved unique serial number, certificate display assay card, and tamper-proof packaging. The serial number uniquely identifies each bar and can be used to help confirm authenticity. The packaging design protects the bar from physical damage and ensures that any attempt to open the packaging is evident. Click here to learn more. About Republic Metals Corporation Headquartered in Miami, Republic Metals was established in 1980 and has since grown to become one of the largest and most respected primary precious metals refineries in the world. Throughout its illustrious history, Republic Metals has displayed excellence in precious metals refining and minting in a manner that is considered environmentally friendly, as demonstrated through its long-standing ISO14001 registration. Republic Metals currently holds listings on the LBMA, Shanghai Gold Exchange, and COMEX with recognitions from the Responsible Jewellery Council and Conflict Free Smelter Initiative. As an LBMA-designated Responsible Gold and Silver Party, all business conducted by Republic Metals is performed in accordance with its stringent Patriot Act compliance and supply chain policies. Eric Rojek, Thrush Aviation V.P. of Sales & Marketing The aerospace industry benefits greatly from the depth of manufacturing capabilities in Georgia, said Eric Rojek. Capabilities that are not only vital to the success of our nation, but that allow us to continue building upon Georgias rich legacy of success in aviation. Understanding the impact that the aerospace industry has on manufacturing will be a key topic at the 2018 Georgia Manufacturing Summit. Held October 10th at the Cobb Galleria, this years breakfast Keynote Speaker will be Eric Rojek, Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Thrush Aircraft, one of the worlds largest manufacturers of agricultural aircraft. Mr. Rojek leads Thrushs global marketing strategy, communications, and brand positioning efforts. The aerospace industry benefits greatly from the depth of manufacturing capabilities in Georgia, said Eric Rojek. Capabilities that are not only vital to the success of our nation, but that allow us to continue building upon Georgias rich legacy of success in aviation. Headquartered in Albany, Georgia, Thrush Aircraft manufactures a full range of aerial application aircraft used in agriculture, forestry, and firefighting roles worldwide. Founded in 2003, Thrush is well-known for building the most durable aircraft in the aerial application industry, as well as the best flying from both pilot and operator perspectives. Today there are more than 2,200 Thrush aircraft operating in some 80 countries. This versatility is part of what has made Thrush a favorite of operators, both large and small. Major operators who rely on Thrush include such familiar names as Dole Fresh Fruit, Del Monte Fresh Fruit, Aerovic, FumiPalma, as well as many governments around the world. Thrush boasts a well-rounded management team with a wealth of experience in all areas of manufacturing, said Jason Moss, CEO of the Georgia Manufacturing Alliance the producer of the Summit. Their veteran labor force has aerial agriculture experience dating back to the mid-1960s, including all aspects of design, tooling production, planning, product manufacturing, and support. The 2018 Summit is expected to attract over 800 attendees from across the Southeast and will be focused on the Aerospace Industry. It is Georgias manufacturing event of the year and allows attendees to make face-to-face connections with other manufacturers, customers, service providers, and suppliers. In addition to the Keynote presentations, this years event will have over 30 of the top industry leaders provide educational workshops to discuss Disruptive Technologies, Financial Perspectives, International Manufacturing, Supply Chain Trends, and Workforce Development. About the Georgia Manufacturing Alliance: The Georgia Manufacturing Alliance (GMA) is a membership-based industry organization founded in 2008 to support Georgias manufacturing community. GMA provides monthly plant tours, educational sessions, tradeshows, and unique networking opportunities designed to help make profitable business connections for its members. The Georgia Manufacturing Directory, Georgia Manufacturing Summit, Georgia Manufacturing Calendar, and BuyFromGeorgia.com are additional resources produced by GMA. To learn more about the organization, membership, and upcoming events, please call 770-338-0051 or visit their website http://www.GeorgiaManufacturingAlliance.com. Tipton Communications, a marketing and public relations agency specializing in digital marketing, healthcare and employee communications, announced today that Denise Gonzalez-Walker has assumed a full-time role with the company as Magnet Document Review Manager. Tipton Communications has doubled its Magnet consulting staff this year alone. In her new role at Tipton, Denise will be tasked with analyzing and editing Magnet forms, particularly empirical outcome documents, for accuracy and consistency. Her work will help establish a strong direction for hospitals as they pursue the esteemed Magnet designation. Denise gained extensive experience with data-driven outcomes working as a program manager at the Harborview Injury Prevention & Research Center in Seattle, Washington. In her role there, she oversaw community-based research projects, co-authored peer-reviewed journal articles and collaborated with a wide range of people, from physicians and nurses to immigrant families. Denise also brings experience in journalism, eLearning and content marketing, with a passion for finding and sharing stories that make a measurable impact. We are thrilled to have Denise join our writing team, said Elizabeth Abrahams, Manager of Magnet Services at Tipton Communications. Her expertise in editing empirical outcome documents will most certainly help our clients achieve Magnet recognition. Working as a freelancer with Tipton, I was always impressed by the teams expertise and commitment to their clients success, said Denise. I am thrilled to now join the team in a more expanded role. About Tipton Communications Tipton Communications supports clients across the nation with award-winning business communications services, including employee communications, human resources communications, public relations, marketing communications, intranet and Internet design and development, graphic design and strategic communications planning. Tipton is also one of the fastest-growing providers of Magnet documentation support to the nations hospital and healthcare systems. For more information, please visit http://www.tiptoncommunications.com. Contact: Tipton Communications Ian Frazier 302.454.7901 Ian(at)tiptoncommunications.com eHuman Digital Anatomy recently collaborated with University of the Pacific Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistrys faculty to demonstrate the newest version of eHumans flagship product, 3D Tooth Atlas 9, which includes new cutting-edge Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality capabilities. These new features allow students to see anatomy interactively in 3D in order to better perceive spatial relationships and improve understanding. Tooth Atlas 9 became an instant hit among faculty and students in this demonstration, thanks to its unique features and important benefits. These technological advancements have led to most schools leaving the era of traditional textbooks to embrace eHumans cutting-edge interactive digital dental education software. We are excited to work with our academic partners to build and realize the next generation of dental education together, says Dr. Kevin Montgomery, CEO of eHuman. With this latest version of Tooth Atlas, we are applying new technologies like Virtual Reality to help students learn better, be more engaged, provide a deeper understanding and improved retention, and empower instructors to teach in new ways. Dr. Noelle Santucci, Course Director for Dental Anatomy and Dr. Bina Surti, Director of Technology at University of the Pacific Dugoni School of Dentistry stated, This technology fits our millennial students style of learning as they are excited to and easily assimilate new technology. As faculty, moving from a 2-dimensional PowerPoint presentation to 3-dimensional visualization of teeth engages students in the learning process and increases students understanding of tooth morphology. The application of this technology extends to other dental specialties including periodontology, endodontics, removable prosthodontics and oral surgery. The revolutionary 3D Interactive Tooth Atlas is a tool designed to be used by dental students, faculty members and practitioners around the world. The 3D Interactive Tooth Atlas has been integrated into the curriculum of more than 70% of North American dental schools and is currently in use throughout the international dental community as a state-of-the-art professional and patient education solution. Some of the new features of the Tooth Atlas 9 are: New Virtual Reality/Augmented Reality Mode Redesigned UI/UX Real-time custom model annotations More in-depth quizzes Refined images and more The product features 3D sections on Periodontology, Odontogenesis, Anthropology, Dental Embryology, and Clinical Access. The Clinical Access portal provides over 550 3D models of teeth of every anatomical variation, pathology, and developmental/evolutionary variation to provide superior understanding to facilitate patient and staff education. The company will continue working with students and faculty at UOP to test and improve the Virtual Reality/Augmented Reality Mode, which is a new feature in the newest version of the product. The new Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality feature along with a redesigned UI/UX to the web-based platform proves to be an innovative educational experience for users like no other. About eHuman: eHuman develops interactive, immersive, next-generation education applications that radically transform dental and medical education. Our award-winning, advanced learning technology empowers better understanding for educators, students, and practitioners alike. For more information and academic pricing, please contact: eHuman.com sales(at)eHuman.com 650-233-0200 The 2015 Edition certification demonstrates our leadership and commitment to usability, interoperability and to meeting our clients needs, says Dr. John Santmann, President of Wellsoft. Wellsoft Corporation, a Best in KLAS award-winning Emergency Department EHR provider, announced today that Wellsoft EDIS v11 has received 2015 Edition certification through the ONCs Health IT Certification Program, and is certified in accordance with the applicable criteria adopted by the Secretary of Health and Human Services. The certification designates that the software functionality enables eligible clinicians and hospitals to meet the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Promoting Interoperability policy requirements (previously called Meaningful Use), and to receive payments under federal EHR incentive programs including MIPS. According to recent data, just over 300 EHRs have passed the rigorous 2015 Edition certification criteria. Of the EHR vendors that are represented, Wellsoft is the only Emergency Department-specific vendor that has achieved 2015 Edition certification to date. One component of 2015 Edition certification necessitates EHR vendors to maintain a user-centered design approach and submit a summative usability report on their system. Based on this report, Wellsoft EDIS scored 84.6 out of 100 on the SUS (System Usability Score) making the system very usable and placing it above industry average. Additionally, this score outperforms all major competitors that included the SUS to date, including enterprise vendors that submitted usability reports for ED-specific modules. Usability is such a critical component of EHR adoption and success; however, it can be difficult for eligible clinicians and hospitals to assess on their own, said Michelle Knighton, Vice President of Federal Policy and Government Affairs at Wellsoft. Thats why the SUS score is such an important tool and guide for healthcare organizations that are evaluating different EHR options and we are thrilled Wellsoft EDIS has achieved such a superior score in comparison to other EHRs. The 2015 Edition certification demonstrates our leadership and commitment to usability, interoperability and to meeting our clients needs, says Dr. John Santmann, President of Wellsoft. Our clients are our top priority, and we are proud to offer them a solution that continues to be highly usable and is certified to meet quality reporting requirements for 2019 and beyond. Wellsoft EDIS version 11, a Health IT module, is 2015 Edition compliant and has been certified by an ONC-ACB in accordance with the applicable certification criteria adopted by the Secretary of Health and Human Services. This certification does not represent an endorsement by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. For details on the Wellsoft Certification, please visit: https://wellsoft.com/wp-content/uploads/Wellsoft-MU-2015-Edition-Website-Disclosures.pdf About Wellsoft Corporation Wellsoft Corporation, developer and provider of the industry-leading EDIS since 1988, offers comprehensive solutions for hospital Emergency Departments (enterprise-wide and single hospital implementations), Freestanding Emergency Centers, and Urgent Care clinics. Wellsoft EDIS is Best in KLAS in the Emergency Department segment and has ranked #1 in KLAS user surveys of EDIS time and again. Recognized for providing the most configurable and complete EDIS solution, Wellsoft works closely with each client to develop real-world EHR solutions for their Emergency Departments. For more information, please visit http://www.wellsoft.com. News From Bulgaria The introduction of the toll system will begin from 1 January 2019 AUTHOR: publics.bg From 1 January 2019 will begin the phased introduction of the toll-system in Bulgaria with the introduction of the "electronic vignette" for passenger cars, and from August trucks over 3.5 tons will also be charged. This is what a regional minister Nikolay Nankov said in a reply to a parliamentary inquiry, BGNES reports. Nankov furthermore explained that this electronic system will collect charges for the use of the national road network on a distance basis for vehicles with a total technically permissible maximum mass over 3.5 tons and on a time basis for passenger cars with a common technically permissible maximum mass up to 3.5 t (electronic vignette). "The contractor must build the system within 19 months. The first 7 months are mainly allotted for the design and construction of the system as well as for the initial testing of its individual components and in its entirety and for the remaining 12 months it is essential to demonstrate its functionality in a real working environment," said Nankov. He added that operating costs are expected to be between BGN 148 mln and BGN 253 mln. annually, depending on the way of charging and annual revenues will vary between BGN 661 million and BGN 1,483 million from 2019 onwards. "It should be noted that the real system will be operational in the second half of 2019, the starting point for reported revenue from collected fees is the beginning of 2020. Expectations are that the two systems will generate revenue of over BGN 800 million per year, which will allow more funds for road repairs. In the future, tolls will be based on an intelligent system in order to spread the costs more fairly between road users than on a "one-priced" basis. New technologies offer opportunities to achieve this goal, such as revenue collection at different prices from different types of vehicle and on different roads, and to apply the principle that the consumer pays and the polluter pays, so that those vehicles which are the most harmful roads to pay more. Also, the future approach will be flexible in terms of consumer growth, the use of the road network, and can help to introduce new services. The new toll collection model will be fully in line with EU legislation in this area, "the regional minister said. Nankov explained that the introduction of the toll system and the changes to the Roads Act will enable the proceeds of e-charging to be directed both to the rehabilitation and renewal of the existing infrastructure and to the construction of new road sections. "It is envisaged that 50% of the funds will be directed towards the construction of major roads, mainly in Northern Bulgaria, such as Hemus Motorway, Vidin-Botevgrad Speedway, Rousse Veliko Tarnovo Motorway, and the other 50% to the rehabilitation of the existing Republican infrastructure. At the present 8000 km of the republic roads are in poor condition We plan to repair the road network after 6-7 years After the renovation of the roads in need of repair, the revenues from the electronic charging will be used mainly for road maintenance," said the Minister, who also commented that state revenues from the sale of vignettes have so far been insufficient to meet the demands of the public for more modern, more comfortable and safer roads. Premium online access is only available tosubscribers. If you have an active subscription and need to set up or change your password, please click here New to PW? To set up immediate access, click here. NOTE: If you had a previous PW subscription, click here to reactivate your immediate access. PW site license members have access to PWs subscriber-only website content. If working at an office location and you are not "logged in", simply close and relaunch your preferred browser. For off-site access, click here. To find out more about PWs site license subscription options, please email Mike Popalardo at: mike@nextstepsmarketing.com. 8. Bomigo Bomigo is a town that most Ghanaians would fail to identify on a map if they were asked to. Bomigo is a very small town situated in the Keta District of the Volta Region. The town is surrounded by the salty waters of the Keta Lagoon. It is about 146 kilometres from Ho, driving to Keta, onwards to Anloga and to Atorkor, then branching to Tunu for an about 15 minutes journey by boat to Bomigo. Like other towns listed in this article, Bomigo has a very dark open secret: There are no female goats in the town. The town is populated by male goats only, which are able to reproduce and give birth to other male goats. It is currently unclear if this is due to a spirit or god imposing this anomaly o the land, or if it is a curse. This phenomenon has given the town a very mysterious theme and atmosphere. 7. Nkonya-Alavanyo Over a century ago, due to territorial disputes over which of the two towns a portion of land should belong to, the people of Nkunya and Alavanyo, both in the Volta Region, got into a tribal war that has lasted for over 100 years and claimed so many lives. Despite numerous interventions by governmental bodies and several cultural institutions to curtail the dispute, the citizens of both towns start fighting again every now and again and that revives the war all over again. This has made both towns and their environs a very scary and unsafe place to live, with citizens ever always fleeing to greener pastures. The government has on several occasions instituted curfews on the towns, which further restrict the activities of the citizens and makes their lives unbearable. Doctors, teachers and other public sector workers who are posted to the area often refuse to report to their posts or leave later on when the going gets too tough. 6. Kwame Nkrumah Circle This circle is named after the first President of the Republic of Ghana Dr. Kwame Nkrumah. It is a central point in Accra and life never stops here. Crime rate is on the high and it is presently facing a crisis involving drug gangs. Street crimes such as muggings and theft are also common, making this an undesirable destination for most people. And please, dont travel alone at night and be careful when buying valuable items like phones from hawkers. 5. Seva Seva is an Island located in the Keta Lagoon in the Volta Region of Ghana. This island is important as a bird watching site because it is a stop over point for many migratory birds. The town has many attractions such as the sandy beaches, general cleanliness and local story telling in Ewe. However, the town also has a very mysterious and superstitious cultural background. According to popular folklore, the stones on the beach of Seva cannot be carried across the sea to the mainland. The gods of the island simply will not allow it. Trying to defy the gods and carrying stones across the sea will have unfortunate consequences on anyone carrying out the act. 4. Sefwi Wiawso The Sefwi-Wiawso District is a district located in the Western Region of Ghana. Its capital is Wiawso, and It was elevated to the status of a municipal assembly in 2012. The town has been under constant media scrutiny due to the high levels of murder that take place there. These killings are often done for spiritual reasons. People killing relatives for blood and money rituals isnt unheard of in the town and new residents are often warned to be careful or stay away. 3. Ashaiman We wont say much about Ashaiman, well just give you a bit of friendly advice: If you ever find yourself in the Ashaiman area, be sure to lock your doors and keep your phones, purse and any other things you have on yourself safe. The streets of Ashaiman are filled with the most ruthless and hardened criminals who will rob you the instant you let your guards down. Ashaiman is also home to some notorious gangsters and thugs known in pidgin english as Kwashey boys. These kwashey boys may not even bother trying to rob you in secret, theyll just pull up on you with a gun and ask you to hand over your possessions. If you think you can outrun a bullet, go ahead and attempt an escape. 2. Nima In second position of our list of most scariest towns in Ghana is the notorious town of Nima. As one of the many Zongos in Ghana, Nima is infamous for being riddled with crime, violence and thug culture. In fact, some of the most popular lyrics about the town can be found in a song titled A Nima Mi Seh by Shatta Wale, a popular Ghanaian dancehall artist. In the now iconic song, Shatta sings about how life in the ghetto is .. You could find me inna di barracks. Alkayeeda youth control di shattas which translates to You could find me in the barracks, where alkayeeda youth control the streets. That line alone should tell you everything you need to know about Nima. There are definitely peaceful and non-violent people living in Nima and its environs, but the bad fruits give the whole town a bad name. 1. Nogokpo If you have any friends who hail from the Volta Region, then chances are, you have definitely heard of Nogokpo. Your friend(s) may even joke about sending you to Nogokpo when you wrong them. Nogokpo is a small village located in the Ketu-South Municipal of the Volta Region of Ghana along the TransWest African Coastal Highway. It is noted for its traditional and spiritual shrine. It has a shrine Nogokpo Shrine built during a misunderstanding between some people at Agbozume in the very olden days, in the early 1900s. The story goes that the spirit asked to be moved elsewhere for peace to prevail. The name Nogokpo means stay in peace and interestingly enough, Nogokpo is a very peaceful town. The actress is hopeful about settling down but cannot tell how soon that engagement will be. Speaking in an interview with Joy News Zynnel said she wants a big wedding but not sure of where to have it done. I definitely will want a big wedding, maybe a destination wedding as at now it is like 80% destination wedding, 20% having it here in Ghana but one thing I know for sure is I am going to do the traditional here and as for the white wedding, maybe I will do somewhere else, she said. READ MORE: Sarkodie is blessed to have Tracy and Titi look this awesome together When she was asked where she will prefer to have the big day, Zynnel, though, uncertain mentioned France as a likely choice. I have a couple in mind, I havent decided yet. France is a beautiful country, they have some many beautiful cities so maybe one of the cities in France, she noted. He seemed to wonder whether the foresight of the prophets cannot see the economic problems or challenges. In a Twitter post, he raises doubt about the credibility of men of God who only prophesy about death and negative things. He asks the prophets to pray to God to reveal to them how Ghana can fix its unemployment problem "Just noticed that God doesnt give the Prophets any info about banks I am shocked none of them saw this Banks collapse coming. Evidently God is more concerned about when celebrities will die. Hmmmm. Asem o,"he said. The collapse and merger of banks recently by the Bank of Ghana (BoG) is to clamp down on irregularities in the financial and banking sector. Only this week, the BoG forced the merger of five independent banks. The five banks in question are UniBank, The Construction Bank, The Royal Bank, Beige Bank and Sovereign Bank. They are to be known and called The Consolidate Bank. Welcome to the Pulse Community! We will now be sending you a daily newsletter on news, entertainment and more. Also join us across all of our other channels - we love to be connected! "I'm really concerned, I don't think you're eating," Kendall, told Kim. "You look so skinny," she added-to Kim's delight (she actually shrieked, saying "thank you"). Khloe chimed in, too, saying, "I've never seen a human being look as good. You are a walking Face Tune doll." (FYI: Face Tune is a photo editing app.) Kendall interrupted again, telling Kim her purse was as tiny as her. "Oh my god, the compliments!" exclaimed Kim, who later told her sisters that she's "not that skinny," saying she's down to 119 pounds (less with her hair extensions, she said). Clearly, all of this talk is incredibly insensitive-and possibly even damaging to those who have or are currently struggling with body issues and eating disorders. And fans (er, former fans?) were quick to tell Kim exactly how hurtful her negative body talk was: "Compliments on weight loss can be and are often problematic," says Claire Mysko, CEO of the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA). "We hear from many people-in fact most people who have struggled with eating disorders-have cited experiences where they have lost weight and been complimented, and this serves as fuel for their eating disorder. Its tough in a culture where weight loss is lauded and theres an assumption that weight loss is always a good thing." Many people on social media referred to Kim's comments as "triggering"-and they're not wrong. According to NEDA, a "trigger" is "defined as something that sets off cravings in recovering individuals." Those "triggers" can come in many forms, per NEDA, specifically while "recovering within a cultural climate of unhealthy attitudes towards food and exercise"-like hearing Kim's sister compliment her thinness, and her responding with joy. "Another piece of this thats concerning is the fact that the term 'anorexic' and the reference to anorexia [is used in a positive way]," says Mysko, who notes that 30 million Americans will struggle with eating disorders at some point in their lives. "Its a serious, life-threatening illness. It has the highest mortality rate of any psychiatric diagnosis, so to frame it in the context of a compliment is really quite concerning." Mysko says the fact that Kim mentioned a specific weight-particularly the fact that she seemed to use it as an argument that she isn't anorexic (and may even be on the heavier side)-is also worrisome. "If you have any tendency toward eating disorders, seeing a number of, 'this is how much I weigh,' it triggers an idea that, 'Well, this is what this person has, so Im going to try to get lower than that,' or, 'I'm not that sick because Im not there.'" Furthermore, you can't tell if someone has an eating disorder by knowing their weight alone. "People of all sizes struggle with eating disorders," says Mysko. "There is a stereotypical picture of someone whos extremely underweight, and some people get to that point. Most people who have eating disorders, you wouldnt necessarily know by looking at them that theyre struggling. So the idea of [Kim] using a number as a justification that she doesn't have an eating disorder-Im certainly not implying that she has an eating disorder, but its a problematic claim." Of course, Kim isn't the only person to use language that is potentially triggering. While she, Khloe, and Kendall's conversation is extreme-especially because they use the term "anorexic"-problematic language is basically impossible to avoid (and sometimes you might even find yourself using this type of language without even realizing it because it's become so normal). "Were so used to saying, 'Oh, Ive been so good this week,' or, 'Oh, I shouldnt have this much sugar,'" says Mysko. "Thats actually what I found to be very encouraging about the pushback on this," says Mysko. "People are starting to recognize that, 'Hey, maybe this kind of talk is maybe not so healthy and maybe kind of toxic.' ... Its all about challenging the conversations that happen that most people dont even take note of." Dr Obeng is facing a murder charge on one hand and another charge of practising medicine without lawful authority and operating an unlicensed health facility.But even though he has been granted bail in both cases, the Obengfo CEO is still yet to execute the bail terms.READ ALSO: Anas to get cancer soon - Kennedy Agyapong prophesies Reports indicate that Dr Obeng Andoh who appeared in respect of practising medicine without lawful authority and operating an unlicensed health facility was under police guard.Lawyer Kofi Bekoe, who held brief for substantive lawyer Dr Emmanual Morrison Ankrah in a brief interaction after the court sitting said, they are still working on executing the bail terms.The court presided over Her Honour Mrs Jane Harriet Akweley Quaye adjourned the case to August 27 to await the substantive judge who is currently on leave. Narrating the facts of the case, the police said a combined Police/Military team conducted an operation to rid the Tamale Metropolis of drug users and peddlers.At about 10pm when the team got to Gunayili, a suburb of Tamale, they were attracted to a drinking bar known as Fizzy's spot by a strong scent of cannabis, which was emanating from the back of the bar. The team surrounded the area and found the convict sitting with some male companions who were smoking a substance suspected to be cannabis.Upon seeing the security officials, the men took to their heels but the convict, who had a plastic bucket between her legs could not escape and was arrested.Upon her arrest, a search was conducted at the back of the spot and 75 parcels of cannabis, 15 sachets of tramadol and another quantity of cannabis wrapped in a polythene bag was found. Mr Nketia, who said the date is in line with the partys constitution, explained that: We have taken note of our constitutional requirement to choose our flag bearer 24 months before the next elections and the constitution, not having been amended yet, we can safely calculate our timelines from 7th December 2020, so that will bring us back to 7th of December 2018 for a choice to be made on who leads our party into the next general elections.Ordinarily, we would have concluded all the internal elections before opening the space for campaigning and declaration of intentions, but we realise that if we are to wait till we finish our elections by September, the time will be short for some aspirants, so on behalf of the national executive committee and on my own behalf as the Chief Executive of NDC, I wish to declare the campaign period for our presidential primaries officially opened with immediate effect. Citing the age-old proverb while addressing a conference of Internal Auditors, Nana Addo said "I am aware that you give a dog a bad name in order to hang it, but this dog will not be hanged." Whiles his opponent, Mahama in 2015 said he has become impervious to threats of strikes and demonstrations in Ghana and will not yield to any of such threats in the upcoming election year. Adopting what he calls a "dead-goat syndrome", he said he would not be hoodwinked by such strategies by workers. "I have seen more demonstrations and strikes in my first two years. I don't think it can get worse. It is said that when you kill a goat and you frighten it with a knife, it doesn't fear the knife because it is dead already. "I have a dead goat syndrome," he said. Following the collapse of five banks by the Bank of Ghana, Mahama appears to have stolen some of the limelight. Adongo, earlier in the week had accused the Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Attah and of working together with the BoG and the Security and Exchange Commission, to collapse banks that are competing with Databank in the financial sector. READ ALSO: NDC MPs deny grabbing Ghana Card An opinion which didn't go down well with Gabby, which he rebutted on Facebook saying: "Adongo, Im reliably informed, was a student of Ace Kojo Ankomah. Blame it on his teacher who failed to teach his student the difference between an investment bank and a universal or commercial bank. Blame Ace for not teaching Adongo that High Street banks, in fact, go to investment banks for money and that the two rather complement each other and are not straight competitors. However, Adongo insists his accusation stands and has cautioned Gabby to desist from exposing his ignorance. Below is the full response by Adongo to GabbyHon Isaac Adongo to Gabby Asare Ochere DarkoGABBY ASARE OCHERE DARKO MUST LEARN. A UNIVERSAL BANK IS INVESTMENT BANK, COMMERCIAL BANK AND DEVELOPMENT BANK ALL IN ONE.My attention has been drawn to a post attributed to Gabby Asare Ochere Darko to the effect that I dont know the difference between Investment Bank and a Universal or Commercial Bank. Given Gabbys limited knowledge and understanding of this subject, I initially wanted to ignore it but I realised he drew my respected former lecturer in company law at the University of Ghana, Ace Ankomah into the conversation who seemed to agree with him.Given the calibre and standing of Ace Ankomah and the weight his views carry in national discourse, I have been compelled to give some education to Gabby on Ghanas banking industry and to correct his jaundiced misconception.Gabbys difficulty is to do with his understanding about how a Universal Bank can be a direct competitor to his cousin Ken Ofori Attas Databank. He seems to think that Databank is an Investment Bank whilst Universal Banks are commercial Banks and are therefore not direct competitors, but only complement each other.Clearly, Gabby has no clue of the competition of his cousin's Databank. His understanding of the Banking industry takes the industry 30 years back.I will try as much as possible to explain this in the most basic terms to accommodate his limited knowledge and understanding of Banking. Why do we call our banks Universal Banks and not commercial or investment banks? Any average mind would have asked this basic question before rushing to show such crux ignorance.READ ALSO: Akufo-Addo said worse things to Mahama in opposition - Adongo Once upon a time, Ghanaian Banks were licenced on special lines. Thus, each Bank had a licence to pursue a specialised banking service. So we had banks licenced to do only Investment Banking whilst others were licenced to do commercial or Development Banking. In Ghana at the time, Merchant Bank, National Investment Bank and later Ecobank were licenced to do Investment Banking business and nothing more.Banks such as Ghana Commercial Bank (so-called to reflect this), Social Security Bank, Meridian BIAO, Standard Chartered and Barclays Banks etc were the commercial banks. The Bank for Housing and construction and Agricultural Development Bank were licenced for Development Banking.After several years of banking sector reforms, we agreed that all Banks could offer all these three banking services to improve profitability, access, coverage and a one-stop shop of banking services. As a result, BOG abolished the regime of special banking licences and converted to Universal Banking licences to mandate them to offer the complete bouquet of banking services.So Gabby Asare Ochere Darko should know that a Universal Bank is an Investment Bank, Commercial Bank and a Development Bank all rolled in one. This was part of the thinking in rebranding Ghana Commercial Bank and Agricultural Development Banks into GCB Bank and ADB Bank to reflect their new role as Universal Banks.I want to believe that I have simplified this to Gabbys limited understanding but let me draw his attention to a few examples of areas of direct competition between Universal Banks and Databanks operations and market.For example, when your Cousin Ken Ofori-Atta appointed the Universal Bank, Fidelity Bank to become the transaction advisor and sponsor of the failed Energy Bond, Fidelity was not engaging in commercial banking but investment banking in direct competition with Databanks niche market.Again, when your Cousin shamelessly conflicted himself by appointing Databank as his transaction advisor (Joint Book runner at BOG) together with IC Securities, Stanbic Bank and Barclays Banks, they were appointed to offer investment Banking services. As a matter of fact, they and other Universal Banks competed against Databank for that job.It is important to realise that a casual look at the Banks I have specifically mentioned in the list of collapsed banks belong to a group structure similar to Databank and Enterprise group.UT Bank, Beige Bank and Unibank all are also part of groups of companies. Each of these groups they belong run the same lines of Business as Ken Ofori-Attas Databank and Enterprise group. Officials began announcing the results late Thursday after a largely peaceful campaign that was marred by an outbreak of violence this week that claimed six lives in Harare, the capital. Opposition party leaders, who had accused election officials of trying to rob them of victory in Mondays voting, indicated that they would not accept the results. We will challenge the outcome through the courts, Morgan Komichi, the partys national chairman, told journalists. The oppositions response will greatly influence how the vote is assessed by Western election observers and governments, whose endorsement is necessary for the resumption of desperately needed economic assistance. The election underscored the painful process of emerging from 37 years of brutal rule under Mugabe. With Western observers still reserving judgment, it was not yet clear whether this election would pass the test and give Mnangagwa of the governing ZANU-PF party legitimacy as a democratically chosen leader. For most Zimbabweans, who had not known any other leader than Mugabe, his ouster last year had raised expectations of a new era. But the victory by Mnangagwa, who was Mugabes right-hand man and was behind some of his most repressive policies, underscored that power was passing from one ZANU-PF die-hard to another. Neither in Zimbabwe nor in the rest of southern Africa has a liberation party ever lost power. As the results were announced, soldiers fanned out throughout Harare to pre-empt protests. Mnangagwa, 75, won 50.8 percent of the vote compared with 44.3 percent for Nelson Chamisa, the leader of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change Alliance, election officials announced. A number of other candidates split the rest of the vote. Competing against a party with a history of rigging elections, Chamisa, 40, had cast doubt on the integrity of the electoral process even before Mondays vote. Chamisa had raised expectations of victory, leading many supporters to believe that anything but a win would be fraud. On Saturday, two days before the vote, he stated that a victory by Mnangagwa would be fiction even though a poll by Afrobarometer, a nonpartisan research organization, had reported Mnangagwa as slightly ahead. When opposition supporters began protesting Wednesday, Zimbabwes security forces responded with the brutality they had shown over the decades under Mugabe, apparently firing live ammunition to disperse protesters. Zimbabwe's national police spokeswoman, Charity Charamba, announced the arrests of 18 people in connection with the protests. We categorically denounce the excessive use of force against unarmed civilians and wish to urge all parties to exercise restraint, John Dramani Mahama, a former president of Ghana who led observers from Commonwealth nations, said in a statement Thursday. Mahama pointed to both the opposition and the government for the deadly violence this week. He expressed profound sadness at the outbreak of violence by supporters of the opposition and the excessive use of force by the security services. Supporters of the Movement for Democratic Change Alliance began holding angry protests Wednesday after their leader, Chamisa, proclaimed victory and accused election officials of manipulating the results, without offering any evidence. In addition, a top aide, Tendai Biti, accused the governing party in a news conference of plotting to assassinate him and Chamisa again without any evidence. Both Mnangagwa and Chamisa are power-hungry, said Kundai Chauke, a private-school teacher in Westlea, a middle-class neighborhood on the outskirts of Harare. They want power at any cost. You see Mnangagwa sent the army to kill protesters because he does not want them to disturb his power. Chamisa has had protesters on the streets because he wants their noise to help him take power. The events marred what had largely been a successful campaign season and vote in a country with a history of violent and fraudulent elections. In the months leading up to Mondays vote, the opposition was allowed for the first time to hold rallies in ZANU-PF strongholds. Observers from the European Union and the United States, barred for nearly two decades by Mugabe, were allowed to monitor the campaigning and voting. Although the governing party continued to use government resources like the state news media and the army to benefit its candidates creating what the European Union described as an unlevel playing field Zimbabweans grew excited and optimistic about the vote. In one of the largest turnouts in the nations history, more than 75 percent of registered voters cast ballots, election officials said. When I voted, I was so very excited thinking the elections will bring a difference, said Jessie Mhambo, a street vendor selling cellphone cards in Westlea. But now the same stress people had during Mugabe is back. There is no hope. We are stuck with our problems. Chamisa edged out rivals to take the reins of the main opposition party after the death in February of its longtime leader, Morgan Tsvangirai. Although the party was fractured, Chamisa, an energetic and powerful speaker, held scores of successful rallies across the nation. In a strange political realignment, Chamisa also spoke favorably on a few occasions of Mugabe, who had violently suppressed his party in the past. In 2008, Tsvangirai led in the first round of the presidential election but was forced to withdraw from a runoff after Mugabe unleashed security forces on opposition supporters. On Sunday, on the eve of the vote, Mugabe said he would vote against Mnangagwa and indicated his preference for Chamisa. Criticized by some of his supporters for his seemingly amicable ties with Mugabe, Chamisa held a news conference to distance himself from Mugabe and to deny accusations in the state media that his campaign had been financed by the former president. Mugabe, 94, was ousted in November by army leaders backing Mnangagwa. Although Mnangagwa had acted for decades as Mugabes right-hand man, including orchestrating vote-rigging in previous elections, he has become known as a pragmatist. He has courted Western governments and investors, declaring that Zimbabwe is open for business. But foreign investors and governments have reserved judgment, waiting for the outcome of the election. Zimbabwes economy collapsed after Mugabe encouraged the violent takeover of farms owned by white citizens in the early 2000s. Zimbabwe became a pariah in the West and was cut off from loans from the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. Western officials have said that they would consider the resumption of loans only after a credible election. The New York Times Kenyans are set to get a feel of the new Sh50 banknote after months of complaining of lack of enough banknotes which was hindering their daily business operations. The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) has said it will soon release a batch of new notes to replace the tattered Sh50 bank currency. CBK governor Patrick Njoroge told parliament on Thursday that the shortage will be resolved shortly. We will be releasing another set of notes from our stocks. We will release them right away, Mr Njoroge told the National Assemblys committee on Information, Communications and Technology (ICT). The Sh50 banknote is the lowest paper currency in Kenya and, as a result, the most used which may explain why it gets tattered and defaced quickly, the note is also extremely important in ensuring smooth business operations because lack of it risks clogging money circulation in the market. We have heard complaints of dirty notes. But the Sh50 note is the most popular banknote in the entire country. If you have Sh100, Sh200 and Sh500 and you want to buy something less than Sh50 from them, definitely the change will be Sh50, Sh150 and Sh450 respectively, Dr Njoroge said. The central bank governor had been invited by the committee to explain the role of the CBK in oversight of payment systems, including those provided by telecommunications providers. During the hearing, ICT committee chairman William Kisang sought to know why the regulator had delayed in printing new generation banknotes as provided for in the Constitution. Why have you taken too long to print new generational banknotes as envisaged in the Constitution. We have had complaints of shortage of Sh50 banknote and if there is, they are too old and tattered, Mr Kisang asked. Dr Njoroge told the legislatures that a legal suit filed against De La Rue, the company that won the Sh10 billion-a-year tender had delayed the printing and release of new look bank notes. We would have had new banknotes to replace the dirty ones but we have legal issues. We will have clean notes once this matter is determined in court, said Dr Njoroge. In June, British printer De La Rue, which mints Kenyan currency at its factory in Ruaraka, Nairobi, said the banknotes will have a new coat of varnish to reduce wear and tear and prolong their life in circulation. One African leader knows this too well having survived a life attempt through poisoning and forced to go to exile by one of Africas longest serving leaders. Zimbabwe President, Emmerson Mnangagwa while on a trip to neigbouring Namibia shared tips on how one can ascend to presidency like him. "First you need to be poisoned and you need to survive the poisoning," Mnangagwa told a group of Zimbabweans living in Namibia. Mnangagwa suffered poisoning at a rally organised in support of former president Robert Mugabe and his wife Grace in August last year. His supporters said at the time he had been deliberately poisoned by ice-cream from the first ladys dairy, a claim that infuriated the former first family. "Next, you need to become a border jumper he went on referring to own border run. After Mnangagwa was sacked by Mugabe on November 6, the former vice president skipped the country to neighbouring Mozambique, partly on foot and was ridiculed as a border jumper by Grace Mugabes political allies. Mnangagwa, who claimed there had been plans to eliminate him in Zimbabwe, later flew to South Africa, where he stayed until his return to Harare to take over the reins of power from Mugabe. Thirdly, you need people like (Sibusiso) Moyo somewhere," he added. The presidents reference to Major General Sibusiso Moyo is that for one to become president he needs brave and loyal lieutenants who are ready to put their lives on the line for them. On November 15, after the army had seized strategic locations of the country, Mr. moyo went on air and announced the military takeover on state ZBC TV. Had the coup not come to pass, security analysts say Moyo would have been the first person to be hanged. When Twaweza, a not-for-profit research firm, based in Tanzania embarked on a countrywide survey to determine the popularity of President John Magufuli never in their wildest did they knew it would be the last straw that broke the camels back and unleash governments security forces on them. Just days after unveiling the unpopular findings which revealed that President Magufulis popularity had plummeted by a massive 41 percent, just over two and half years into his presidency, their troubles started and by the look of things, it seems it will drag for quite a while just like the survey itself. According to the Twaweza survey; The Voice of Citizens, findings based on data collected from 1,241 respondents across Mainland Tanzania released last week, a majority of citizens felt they had less freedom now than three years ago when President Magufuli came to power. 64 per cent of citizens felt that freedom for political parties to hold rallies had been diminished and 62 per cent believed that the media too was intimidated to criticise the government and hold it accountable. Well above half of the citizens (54 per cent) felt not free to air their political views. 55 per cent of respondents endorsed President Magufulis performance compared to 96 per cent of ratings in 2016 and 71 per cent in 2017. On the question of political leanings, 58 per cent said they were affiliated to the ruling Chama Cha Mapunduzi (CCM), whose national chairman is the president. When the same question was asked in 2012, CCM attracted a following of 65 per cent signifying a 7 per cent drop, while CHADEMA, the main opposition party, got 26 per cent, with 4 per cent going to other parties. For their unpopular survey which cast the president in bad light, the government felt they had to be punished. Also read: Tanzania now wants to make President Magufuli a life president The government has confiscated the firms executive director Aidan Eyakuze passport and barred him from leaving the country. "They did not tell me what was the reason behind confiscating my passport and why they did not want me to travel outside the country," Mr. Eyakuze said during a press conference in Dar es Salaam on Friday. The governments agency, Commission for Science and Technology (Costech) followed suit and served the pollster with letters accusing it of conducting research without a permit and demanding a response on why disciplinary action should not be taken against it. It is not majority of Tanzanians however, as per the survey who are not fans of Mr. Magufuli. Early this year, Tanzanias opposition firebrand Tundu Lissu, who survived an assassination attempt, accused Magufulis administration of gross human rights abuses and shutting down democracy space in the East African nation. He described Tanzania as a land of horrors, and likened Magufulis regime with a skunk that should be isolated. A Kenyan politician, whom I will not name, warned us some years ago that this regime would commit terrible acts against the opposition should it sense defeat. Based on what is happening in my country right now, I can now confirm that he was right, he told journalists at his hospital bed. Once a darling of foreign investors President Magufuli has proven a headache for businesses and he is giving investors in the country sleepless nights with some even considering an exit. Africas richest man and Nigeria's Aliko Dangote didnt have any kind words for him either. Theyve scared quite a lot of investors and scaring investors is not a good thing to do, he said at the Financial Times Africa Summit in London. Once an investor complains the rest will run away, they dont even want to hear the details. He complained as he advised Mr. Magufuli to have a look at his policies. Femi Adesina, the presidential spokesperson said Nigerian Muhammadu Buhari has transmitted a letter to the National Assembly informing them of the vacation. In compliance with Section 145 (1) of the 1999 Constitution, a letter has been transmitted to the President of the Senate, and the Speaker, House of Representatives to that effect. While the President is on vacation, the Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo will be in an acting capacity as President. President Buhari will be in London for the holiday. Two months ago, President Buhari also visited London on a medical trip after spending over 5 months treating an undisclosed illness in 2017. His prolonged disappearance in 2017 prompted many to question his fitness to run one of the biggest economies in Africa. President Muhammadu Buhari is seeking re-election in 2019 general election under the ruling party, All Progressives Congress. The party has faced a series of defections in the last few weeks, losing key members to the opposition's Peoples Democratic Party. Huffington Post reports that the women and their allies were protesting against the ban on wearing face veils in public which just took effect. The ban, which was passed in May, took effect on Wednesday, August 1, 2018. Following this new law, first-time offenders face a fine of 1,000 kroner (around $150) while repeated offenses could lead to fines of up to 10,000 kroner (around $1,500) including a jail sentence of up to six months. Muslim women protest On the same day, the ban took effect, women took to the streets of the capital city of Copenhagen and Aarhus, Denmark's second-largest city. They marched from Norrebro to the Bellahoj police station on the outskirts of the city in order to show their condemnation of this new law, which many say goes against women's rights to freedom of expression and religion. At the protest, Reuters reports that many defied the new ban by wearing one of the prohibited veils - the niqab, which covers every part of the face apart from the eyes. The body-length burqa - a veil that covers the eyes with a mesh screen - was also spotted on some of the protesters. Others chose not to wear face veils. Despite the new law, Danish police say none of the protesters with face veils will be arrested as wearing a veil during a peaceful protest is exempt from the ban. Refusing to reveal the actor's name, Chukwuogo said the actor had called her two days before his shoot day to say he was in Brazil with the Ooni of Ife and wouldn't be available. At the time of his call, the location and his wardrobe - a total of five costumes - were already paid for and sorted out. The undisclosed actor allegedly ended the call, saying he was busy with the Ooni and would call back later. After Chukwuogo didn't hear from him, she eventually had to find a replacement, which cost her extra money. The filmmaker also said that it has been two month, and she is yet to get a refund from the popular actor. While the identity of the actor is unknown, the Ooni of Ife's last visit to Brazil was in June In June, the Ooni of Ile Ife and popular Nollywood actor, Saidi Balogun, paid a visit to Brazil. The visit was, according to Balogun during an interview with Potpourri in July, aimed at looking for ways to beautify the Yoruba culture. He also said that during their visit, they discussed a future partnership with the Brazilian government in shooting a movie that will promote the Yoruba culture. I travelled with the Ooni to Brazil to do some cultural things for African people over there, especially the Yorubas. Its like our father going there to unite them and bring them back to the roots," he told Potpourri. "We have about 400 deities in Yoruba land and 200 in Ife. In Brazil they worship Sango and some other gods; they even sing Yoruba songs. They sang the songs for us when we got there." The actor who was recently received an AMVCA nomination for his role in "Banana Island Ghost," said he was the first actor and movie producer to travel out with the Ooni. The Ooni took me there so we could look for ways to beautify our culture; so that both countries can work together. Movie makers there appreciate our culture. I was surprised to see how they love and embrace our culture. So we are trying to work together with the government to produce a movie in that regard, he said. Chukwuogo has refused to reveal the actor's name for legal reasons After sharing her story, quite a number of people encouraged the director to reveal the name of the veteran actor. But Chukwuogo didn't. According to her, it's for legal reasons. Chukwuogo's recent TV series, "Underbelly" In June, Chukwuogo completed shoot of her crime drama TV series, "Underbelly." The upcoming series stars popular Yoruba actor, Yomi Sodimu, Omozele Gabriel, Ijeoma Agu, Tope Tedela, Kunle Coker, Chioma Nwosu, Efa Iwara, Chinaza Ruby Akubueze among others. Update: The Afrobeat creator and human rights activist in an interview, several years during his struggle, said the whole idea about Africa must be represented in the music and in the art. He further said music in Africa can not be for enjoyment but has to be for revolution because the people are used to struggle for people's existence. "So I think as Africa is concerned, music can not be for enjoyment, music has to be for revolution where you walk with the people, like the people and doing your duty as a citizen, play music and act, do something about it, if you feel bad about it, do something about it." ALSO READ: 5 unforgettable Fela moments 21 years after his death The legendary musician also said, "If you are an English, music can be an instrument of enjoyment and you can sing about love or when you are going to bed next but in my own environment, my society is under development because of an alien system of government so there is no music for enjoyment, there is nothing like love so there is something that is struggle for people's existence. "So as an artist, politically, artistically, the whole idea about your environment must be represented in the music and in the art. So art is what is happening at the particular time of the peoples' development or under development." Lemi Gharioku, the man behind the art covers Lemi Ghariokwu designed 26 album covers for Femi Kuti, and he looks back on how he first met the Abami Eda in an interview with CNN. "I did the portrait [a portrait of Fela] and lo and behold he took me to Fela just like that," says Ghariokwu, "When he saw the portrait, Fela said, 'wow, God damn it'. It was the first time I heard these words. Fela loved the portrait so much and wrote me a cheque for N120, I used to earn N30 for my portrait work, but I rejected it. I said 'I don't want money, I give you the work from the bottom of my heart. He was very surprised so he tore up the cheque, took a sheet of paper and wrote 'please admit bearer to any show free of charge, that was my ticket to Kalakuta; that was the beginning", he concludes. Born Ukeleke Elumelu Onwubuya, the icon had slumped on the fateful day, and was rushed to a hospital in Ikoyi, where he was pronounced dead. A statement issued by the family reads, We wish to inform the general public that the Burial Ceremony for late Ras Kimono has been slated for the August 25. The program of the events leading to the funeral will be made available in due course. We wish to thank everyone who has individually and collectively supported us during these trying times and we pray the Almighty God to guide and protect us all. The burial will be coming two months after he passed away. In the same vein, members of the planning committee for the burial, which features his family members and industry colleagues, also announced plans to give him a befitting week-long funeral and hold an annual event in remembrance of his legacy.. The chairman of the planning committee, Mr Theophilus Ehizibue, said this at a press briefing on Tuesday. He also noted that the deceased would have marked 35 years on stage this year and the family has decided that there will be an annual event to celebrate him. Having played for 35 years on stage which co-incidentally is this year, the family and friends have decided that there will be an annual event to mark his remembrance, his personality, his kind of music and what he represents, Ehizibue said. The life and times of the great Reggae icon Ras Kimono, who was born in Delta State was already known in music circles as he was an ever present face at bars and clubs performing on a weekly basis as a member of the band, The Jastiz that had other talented acts like Amos McRoyJegg, Black Rice Osagie and Majek Fashek. For Ras Kimono, he was more than just an artist as through his music, which was greatly influenced by the hardship and inequality he witnessed, he became a voice for the people. While Rhumba Style was entertaining and one for the dance-floor, Under Pressure was his reflective state addressing situation within the polity under the military government of General Ibrahim Babangida. On August 2nd, the anniversary date, Simi, 30, posts a video memory from their wedding reception and writes: #TBT to the perfect day! 02.08.14. 4 years down, 1 baby and another one on the way! Happy 4th babe! "Through it all, youre still the one Ill choose to share this life with! Celebrating us today, always and forever! "#WeddingAnniversary #EverythingIsLove. Happy by & All of me by Of course, Dr. Sid also caught a special kinda love bug on the anniversary day, as he takes to Instagram with beautiful images from the ceremony, most notably a cute monochrome one in which he and his bride smile and look into each other eyes enchantingly. He also posts a clip which he captions, "#TBT tribute to my lovely wife @simiesiri & #marriage. It comes with ups and downs, but may we all find our #LastBusstop" The couple tied the knot at the Ikoyi Baptist Church in Lagos four years back, with a grand, celebrity-studded reception held at the Oriental Hotels in Lekki. According to a statement by the Director of Army Public Relations, Brigadier-General Texas Chukwu, troops of 22 Brigade deployed in Operation LAFIYA DOLE rescued the children, two boys and two girls, during a clearance operation at Maima village in Ngala local government area of the state. They were reunited with their parents at Ngafure village in Dikwa LGA of Borno and are currently receiving medical attention at military health facilities. Brig.-Gen. Chukwu also disclosed that a 36 hand grenade was recovered by troops during the clearance operation at Maima. The Nigerian Army restated its commitment to rescue all the hostages held by Boko Haram terrorists. Boko Haram menace Since the insurgency of the terrorist group escalated after a 2009 crackdown by the military, Boko Haram, chiefly under Abubakar Shekau'sleadership, has been responsible for the death of over 20,000 people and the displacement of more than 2.5 million scattered across Internally Displaced Person (IDP) camps across the country and its neighbours. According to a report by Channels TV, the president was accompanied to his aircraft by the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, the Minister of the FCT, Mohammed Bello and his Chief of Staff, Abba Kyari. With the president out of the country for 10 working days, vice president, Yemi Osinbajo, assumes his executive roles as Acting President. Buhari's London trips The last time the president was in London was on a medical trip on May 8, 2018, to meet with his doctor before he returned three days later. In 2017, President Buhari spent a combined 154 days in London on two separate medical visits to treat an undisclosed illness, prompting concerns about how fit he is for duty. Kalu said this at an expanded meeting of the executive members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) at the ward, local government and state levels in Igbere, Bende Local Government Area of Abia. He said that Buhari had done for the zone what previous leaders, including former President Olusegun Obasanjo and Goodluck Jonathan, could not do, especially on roads. Kalu cited the ongoing rehabilitation of the Enugu-Port Harcourt Expressway, Enugu-Onitsha Expressway and the construction of the second Niger Bridge as some of Buharis major projects in the South-East. The former governor, however, said that the major challenge facing the zone include the deplorable state of roads and the issue of the second Niger Bridge. He recalled as the governor then, he had to dismantle all the toll gates in the state to protest Federal Government neglect of the roads in the state, butexpressed joy that Buhari had been able to address the problem. The former governor, however, decried the poor state of the Abia economy, citing the irregular payment of workers salaries and infrastructural deficit. He said that most of the ongoing road projects in the state were being done by the Niger Delta Development Commission. Kalu expressed optimism that APC would record landslide victory in Abia during the 2019 general elections. The party has the antidote against rigging and what it takes to win the polls at all levels in 2019. We will never allow anybody to rig us out of elections in Abia again. We shall match them force by force and money for money, he said. He urged APC leadership not to be weighed down by the gale of defections from the party, saying that defection is a personal decision. It is their decision to defect to other parties, but it is also our choice to remain in APC. Kalu stressed the need for APC to nominate credible candidates that would dislodge any opponent of its governorship candidates, in State and National Assemblies. The power to elect the party flag bearers is in your hands. Give us good candidates and we will match the powers-that-be in the state, any how they want it. You should not vote for aspirants on sentiments. Vote for aspirants based on their track record and proven competence. In their separate speeches at the meeting, other stakeholders of the party commended Kalu for convening the meeting, saying that it had boosted unity and love within the party. They underscored the need for everybody member to be courageous and committed to deliver the party during the general elections. The participants stressed the need for the party to remain resolute and committed to achieve a landslide in 2019. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that no fewer than 3,000 party members and supporters attended the meeting from across the state. The minister made the call during a meeting with the World Banks Vice President for Africa, Mr Hafez Ghanem in Abuja. Adeosun said that the World Bank had enough expertise in the power sector to assist the Federal Government accelerate the reforms in the power sector. She said the need to accelerate the reforms in the power sector was one of the major priorities of the Federal Government, saying that this would help to boost the nations economy. One area where we are hoping to make a lot of progress is the power sector reform programme, which is extremely important for us as far as Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth is concerned. For us, its our number one priority at the moment and that is why we would like to leverage on the World Bank, its relationship and wealth of experience to move the sector foward, she said. The finance minister commended the World Bank for some of its intervention programmes in the country, particularly in its fiscal transparency and accountability project. Earlier, Ghanem said the objective of the World Bank for Africa is to stimulate growth in a sustainable manner. He, however, said owing to the importance of Nigeria within the continent, it was imperative for the bank to focus more on the country in order to achieve that objective. In the appeal, Yakubu is challenging the validity of the arrest warrant that was issued against him by the court. The appeal filed by Mr Adegbeoyega Awomolo (SAN), Counsel to the appellant, was made available to newsmen on Thursday in Abuja. The INEC boss maintained that he could not be arrested on the basis of a bench warrant that was legally defective. He urged the Court of Appeal to invoke its powers and void the arrest order made by Justice Stephen Pam. Pam had in a bench ruling on Wednesday ordered the Police to arrest and produce Yakubu in court on Aug. 8 to face contempt charges. The order followed Yakubus failure to honour a summons the court issued for him to appear in respect of a suit involving the Anambra chapter of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). The INEC chairman had between July 5 and July 10 allegedly failed to honour the courts summons to defend a contempt proceeding. The case was initiated against him by Mr Ejike Oguebego, the Chairman of PDP, and Mr Chuks Okoye, the Legal Adviser of the party, in Anambra. The High Court had ordered him to appear to show cause why he should not be committed to prison for refusing to recognise the Oguebego-led faction of the party in line with the judgment of the Supreme Court. The applicants had prayed the court to jail the chairman for disregarding the judgment. Yakubu, however, denied disobeying any order of court, adding that he was denied fair hearing by the trial court. The INEC boss said there was no evidence that any court summons was enrolled and served him. He argued that the lower court erred in law when it ordered that he should be arrested for allegedly disobeying its order. Aborishade in a letter addressed to the Deputy Commissioner of Police in Lagos, said five of the accused persons have nothing to do with the death of the late Adeniyi Aborishade. The late politician's wife stressed that the accused PDP chieftains, Kehinde Fasasi, Amos Fawole, Rotimi Kujore, Fatai Adele, and Ismaila Abiola, were joint complainants in the suit against suspected killers of her husband. Contents of Aborishade's letter to Dep Commissioner of Police As obtained from Premium Times, here are contents of the letter of Mrs Aborishade to the Lagos Deputy Commissioner of Police. I wish to further state with emphasis that the five accused persons are not in anyway responsible for the death of my husband, they are the complainants that has now for reasons best known to the prosecution, turned into the accused/victims in this unfortunate situation. ALSO READ: Police arrest 5 PDP chieftains over killing of LG Chairman in Lagos The news of the above named persons detention at the State CIID, Panti, Yaba, and subsequent conviction on charges of conspiracy/ murder came as an utter shock and surprise to me, as same appears hasty and laced with malice. I wish to state with emphasis that the 2nd-6th defendants are on the same camp with my husband till his demise as they are close friends and fellow chairmen of their respective local governments. The 2nd-6th defendants are my late husbands helpers who did everything within their reach to save my husbands life and as a result do not deserve to be treated inhumanly like criminals which they clearly are not. On Sunday, July 21, 2018, the Lagos State Police Command, said it detained five PDP chieftains in the state for interrogation over the killing of one Aborishade Adeniyi, Chairman , PDP Apapa Chapter. Mrs Osinbajo stated this at the 2018 Mothers Summit organised for women in Anambra by the wife of the state governor, Mrs Ebelechukwu Obiano, in Awka on Friday. She said that involvement of Nigerian women in politics was imperative in the light of strategic role of politicians in governance, saying politics is central to education and destiny of our children. She urged women to support the ambition of their fellow women, who possess ability to render meaningful service with integrity to the nation. Also speaking, Mrs Aisha Alhassan, Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, stressed the significance of women participation in governance, saying nothing was abnormal about women playing politics. Outside this country, women who are in politics are doing so much in effective management of their countries because women have been noted to be multi-talented and capable of managing both the home and office, she said. Alhassan advised women to brace up to the challenges of modern politics, saying if they suppress you the way they did to me in the past in Taraba still try again. Obiano explained that the summit marked the commencement of the annual Womens August meeting in the state, noting that it provided the opportunity for participants to brainstorm on topical issues. The Keynote Speaker, Mr Ekpoto Emmanuel, said development in Nigeria would require the involvement of women, who were ready to contribute their own quota to governance. Emmanuel also emphasised unity of purpose among women participating in politics and other sectors of the economy, while expressing regret that women most of the time frustrated the efforts of other women in getting elected into public offices. Mrs Ndidi Mezue, Commissioner for Social Welfare, Children and Women Affairs, urged the participants to provide the required synergy to surmount their challenges at all levels. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that wives of the governors of Enugu, Mrs Monica Ugwuanyi and her Delta State counterpart, Mrs Edith Okowa attended the summit with the theme: Sustaining Womens Participation in Politics. Mrs Buhari made the call in a statement by her Director, Information, Mr Suleiman Haruna, after a two-day high-level regional seminar on cancer awareness and advocacy held in Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso. The wife of the president, who emphasised the need to engage more women in the advocacy and fight against the deadly disease, urged participants to take pragmatic steps towards prevention. She said that cancer remained a major health challenge facing many countries, adding that Nigeria was investing a lot of human and material resources toward the management and prevention of the disease. Mrs Buhari told participants that the Nigerian government had earlier inaugurated the National Cancer Control Plan and that plan was aimed at guiding the implementation of control activities in the country. She expressed conviction that the plan would guide her pet project, Future Assured initiative, and other similar non-governmental organisations in their advocacy and other support activities. We have already engaged wives of governors of Nigerias 36 states for the purpose of cascading the campaign against cancer to sub-national levels in the last three years. We have conducted screening for cervical and breast cancers that have attracted thousands of women. Mrs Buhari said that Future Assured programmes, especially the medical outreaches and educational empowerment programme had benefitted thousands of women, children and youths. According to her, this is in line with the 2016 Istanbul Declaration on Cancer Prevention which indicated that the rising cases of cancer were attributable to poverty and lack of education In her remarks, the First Lady of Burkina Faso, Mrs. Sika Kabore, said that the seminar was the result of a long standing commitment to prevent cancer, especially among women, decrying the rising cases of death from the disease. Thousands of lives are lost to cancer every year and most of these deaths are coming from the developing world. She, therefore, stressed the need to protect the health of the citizenry to ensure the socio-economic development of the people. She noted that cancer is the second highest cause of maternal mortality affecting mostly women who only require information to prevent it. Mrs. Kabore said the seminar was a demonstration of a common commitment to fight cancer, especially among First Ladies. She urged the participants to intensify efforts at cancer prevention by advocating for strong public policy measures in their countries. Speaking at the Freedom Park in Lagos on Thursday, August 2, 2018, Soyinka cautioned the opposition parties in Nigeria against losing their grip to Obasanjo. Obasanjo isnt a stupid man but reads the wind and move in, Soyinka said. He is busy hijacking existing movements. And that is why I have warned many that have movement and that includes him, to be careful because he could hijack them. He frustrated June 12 and often put himself forward on any issue. He is welcome to reform and as his slogan maybe, the redemption process has started, he added. Soyinka berated Obasanjo for the treatment he meted out to Late Bola Ige over the power sector crisis. I was very involved in Bola Iges stint as the Minister of Power. After Ige died, Obasanjo claimed that the deceased never knew his left from his right, Soyinka said. "I found that statement unforgivable. He owes him for maligning him and sabotaging his genuine and structured efforts to transform the power sector of the country. I was here when Ige moved his office to Lagos to solve the power problem of Nigeria. He deliberately sabotaged the efforts of the late minister. Before Ige took office, he summoned a group of experts and mapped out strategy to transform the power sector. "But he was sabotaged from the inside because he begged me to persuade Obasanjo to remove Sulaiman Bello from office. This was the man he believed was used to sabotage his efforts and the consequence we are still suffering today. Obasanjo protected the saboteurs of the power sector and that is why I challenged him to engage me publicly. Soyinka maintained that he could not remember the good things Obasanjo did during his tenures as President. I dont remember the good he has done. It will be very difficult to find one. I cant remember one at this moment. There are many groups emerging with very good manifesto and it is a long time between now and next year. The field is widely open, he advised. The former spokesman the ruling party, who announced his resignation via his Twitter handle on Friday, August 3, 2018, was appointed a board chairman alongside 208 individuals for Government Agencies and Parastatals on December 29, 2017 by President Muhammadu Buhari. Bolaji Abdullahi explains why he resigned FG appointment Abdullahi explained why he resigned his appointment with a Federal parastatal which only lasted 215 days - counting from January 1, 2018. The former ThisDay Newspaper senior editor said his resignation is as a result of his decision to quit the ruling party, where he also served as the spokesman. He wrote: Following my resignation as National Publicity Secretary of APC and my decision to quit the party, I announced to the board this morning that I have resigned my appointment as Chairman, Nigeria Sugar Development Council. In his resignation letter as spokesman to the APC, Abdullahi had said he 'had to endure the flagrant usurpation of my role as the spokesman of the party in a manner that I consider unbefitting of a ruling party and inconsistent with my ethical standards.' ALSO READ: Bolaji Abdullahi dumps APC 24 hours after Saraki He further said "However, in a situation whereby my loyalty is constantly brought into question; my subordinates deployed to subvert my office; and my views constantly second-guessed on the basis of my political affiliation, it has become imperative for me to review my position." Abdullahi dumps APC hours after Saraki's exit from party Abdullahis exit from the APC comes barely 24-hours after Senate President Bukola Bukola Saraki on Tuesday, July 31, 2018. He is believed to be an ally of the Senate President. The APC spokesman had denied rumours of his defection from the APC on Tuesday. The court granted the application after hearing the submission of Abdulwahab Bamidele, counsel to Isola Balogun - Fulani (chairman Kwara APC), Chief Christopher Tunji Ayeni, (secretary Kwara APC), who are claimants /applicants in the suit number KWS /292/218 filed before the court of Justice TS Umar. Balogun Fulani and Christoper Ayeni had dragged the national chairman of the APC , Adams Oshiomhole and five others before the court on the purported dissolution of the Kwara APC executive committee by the NWC of the party. Other defendants /respondents in the suit include Mallam Mai Mala Binu, National secretary of APC, the party, APC NWC, INEC and Hon. Bashiru Bolarinwa (for himself and on behalf of members of the so- called or purported caretaker committee of Kwara state chapter of APC). Court reliefs The reliefs granted the applicants by the court include that "this honourable court restrains the members of the NWC of the third defendant or any person or officers of the third defendant purporting to act for the third defendant from dissolving or taking any action towards dissolving Kwara state executive committee of the third defendant represented by the chairman /applicant who are duly elected to office as members of the executive committee of the third defendant in Kwara state on May 19,2018, in accordance with the constitution of the third defendant pending the hearing and determination of the claimants /applicants motion on notice. "That this honourable court restrains the sixth defendant and other members of the so called or purported caretaker committee of Kwara state chapter of the APC from showing off or parading themselves or performing any function or duty specified for members of the executive committee of the third defendant either individually or collectively as members of the executive committee of members of caretaker committee of the third defendant in Kwara state pending the hearing and determination of the claimants claimants applicants /applicant motion on notice. "That the motion on notice is hereby adjourned to August 7, 2018 for hearing". Sadness over defections Meanwhile, the Ishola - Balogun Fulani led APC in Kwara state has expressed sadness over the defection of Senate President Bukola Saraki, Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed and other political leaders from its fold. In a press statement issued in Ilorin by its state publicity secretary, Alh Sulyman Buhari, the APC said that it believes the window of reconciliation isn't still closed. It added: "We are genuinely worried over the gale of defections that hit our party yesterday (Tuesday). The reason is simple. The Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki and the State Governor, Alhaji Abdulfatah Ahmed were the live-wire of the APC in Kwara state. "To their credit, the APC won virtually all available electoral positions across the 16 Local Government Areas of Kwara State. It's therefore very doubtful if this same feat could be replicated without them and other aggrieved party members in the party in the forthcoming elections. "It is on the basis of this that we, as legitimate and duly elected members of the State Executive Committee of the APC in Kwara call on President Muhammadu Buhari, our national chairman, Comrade Adams Oshiomole, and other national leaders of our party to urgently intervene in this imbroglio before it becomes irredeemable. Senator Akpabio met with Osinbajo at the Presidential Villa on Thursday, August 2, 2018, ignoring the PDP's National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting also taking place in Abuja at the same time. The former Akwa Ibom governor attended the Osinbajo meeting with fellow Akwa Ibom lawmaker, Senator Ita Enang (Itu/Ibiono Ibom - APC) who's President Muhammadu Buhari's senior special assistant on national assembly matters. The meeting lasted for about 1 hour 30 minutes and has fuelled reports that Akpabio is planning to defect to the ruling party after falling out with incumbent Akwa Ibom governor, Udom Emmanuel. Akpabio's potential defection would score some consolation points for the APC as the party has been hit with a wave of defections that has led to the loss of dozens of lawmakers, including Senate President, Bukola Saraki, three state governors and several state executives to opposition parties, mostly the PDP, in just one week. He commended APC members of the National Assembly from the state for remaining resolute in support of the party, and urged them to remain loyal party members. Al-Makura particularly thanked Sen. Abdullahi Adamu (Nasarawa West) and the two APC members of the House of Representatives for their commitment, seriousness and dedication to effective service delivery. He said that Nasarawa State would always support President Buhari, and assured the President of bloc votes in 2019. The governor said that the stakeholders meeting was convened to reaffirm commitment to the vision, mission and aspiration of the party, and lauded the stakeholders for their doggedness over time. The governor urged stakeholders to disregard speculations by people seeking to break the ranks of APC in the state, saying that the party was fully intact. The plot involves garnering the signatures constitutionally required to impeach the senate president and using law enforcement to smother whatever stands in the way, the sources enumerated. Saraki was never the APCs choice for the position of Senate President in 2015. However, the Kwara born politician joined forces with senators from the PDP and was elected senate president; whilst APC senators were locked in a strategy meeting with party godfather Bola Tinubu, hundreds of meters away from the national assembly complex. Saraki's deal with the PDP led to the emergence of Ike Ekweremadu as Deputy Senate President--much to the APC's chagrin. Saraki has never known peace sincehe defied and double crossed his party three years ago. He has been slammed with a slew of corruption charges and hes sometimes been treated as a pariah, as the APC took feeble steps to fix a badly damaged country. The senate president has maintained that his trials and travails have been politically motivated. Saraki finally rejoins old party Following a series of face-offs and cold wars with the APC hierarchy,Saraki announced his decision to return to the PDP on July 31, 2018. However, Sarakis insistence on staying on as senate president even though his new partythe PDPnumerically remains the minority in parliament, has set in motion a high powered plot to have him impeached. Last Wednesday, Punchquoted House Deputy Minority Leader, Hon Chukwuka Onyema (PDP) as saying that three APC senators in Ali Ndume, Abdullahi Adamu and Ovie Omo-Agege attempted to break into the senate chamber on Wednesday, August 1, 2018 but were prevented from doing so by security personnel. Onyema said the plan by the APC senators revolves around reconvening plenary before September and cooking up the figures constitutionally required to impeach Saraki as senate president. The APC requires two thirds majority of lawmakers (thats 76 senators) to be able to impeach Saraki in a 109 member senate. At the last count, the APC has 52 senators to PDPs 51.The APC believes that the two vacant seats in Bauchi and Katsina will eventually add to its numerical column. Already, some riot policemen have arrived. They will tell us what they are here to do when the senate is on recess. They want to repeat the Benue incident here, but we are ready to protect democracy, Onyema was quoted as saying by the daily. 'Illegal sitting' A Saraki ally and former spokesperson of the APC, Timi Frank, reminded the senators cooking up the plot that no other person can reconvene the senate except its presiding or principal officers. Frank said the Special Adviser to the president on national assembly matters (senate), Ita Enang was caught on video leading about 10 APC Senators, led by the Senate Leader Ahmad Lawan to meet with the president and to urge the president to provide them security to enable them forcefully open the doors of the senate chambers and conduct an illegal sitting. This, if allowed to happen, will not only represent a clear breach of the constitution but the height of illegality and impunity in this country. The APC senators are only interested in gaining access to the chambers to carry out a sinister motive against the presiding officers of the senate. Sokoto Governor Aminu Tambuwal who joined Saraki out of the APC this week, warned that attempts to unseat Saraki through the back door will be resisted by the PDP. "When I hear that some people are trying to break into the chambers of the senate to steal the mace and install a pseudo president of the senate, I wonder whether they actually know the rules of our democratic engagement. Its not a gestapo, we are in a democracy. If the senators have confidence in Bukola Saraki, they should continue to sustain him as president of the senate. And so be it with Mr. Speaker Dogara. So, nobody should be afraid. There is a process. And we must respect due process and rule of law. And Nigeria is not a banana republic. We will not take it from anybody. Let them hear it very clear. If you try it, we will march out our forces in this country and jam you", Tambuwal warned. 'Hand over the crown' However, APC Chairman Adams Oshiomhole has asked Saraki to relinquish the crown after jumping ship. According to Oshiomhole: The only thing is that there are other consequential issues that every man or woman of honour who had taken such decisions, would be expected to follow through. I mean, you should not collect a crown that belongs to a family and wear it on behalf of the family if for your personal reasons which he has enumerated, he has gone to another family. It is just a matter of honour to leave the crown in the house that the crown belongs to. As it stands even now, APC is still the largest party in the Senate. We have 53 senators, that is much more than PDP or APGA has. 'No peace in the senate if Saraki remains senate president' Senator Abu Ibrahim (APC) has also warned that there will be no peace in the senate until Saraki is removed as president of the upper legislative chamber. I think it is commendable that he has left the party. He has chosen the path of survival because it is the issue of political survival not anything for Nigeria, Ibrahim said. But next is for him to resign as senate president, because by all conventions all over the world, the majority party produces the leadership; senate president, the majority leader and others. Again, let him be gentleman enough and resign as senate president. If he does not, we will never have peace in that senate because it is absolutely clear that APC has majority to produce the leadership. If you fail to give us the right leadership and if majority of us dont want you any more, you have to leave. Saraki was elected by us. At any time majority of us say he should go, he has to go. The Senator representing Nasarawa state in the Senate, said Saraki has obviously stepped on the banana peel and has also made a mistake by taking a wrong decision in quitting the ruling party. Adamu made this known to journalists in Abuja, Nigeria's capital on Friday, August 3, 2018, in a statement. ALSO READ: Why I moved back to PDP - Saraki Saraki took a wrong decision - Adamu Adamu, in a statement attributed to him, the Senator further said, "The way he is going now, he has obviously stepped on the banana peel and only God knows how far he will slip. If Saraki knows political intricacies and the political terrain or the path where the banana peel in the political landscape is, he will be more cautious. The way he is going now, he has obviously stepped on banana peel and only God knows how far he will slip. I will not pretend. I think he made a mistake and he took a wrong decision. He will have stories to tell along the line. It is not the best he could have done. He had a duty to his father to keep the flag of the family flying but the way he is going, I do not think he is doing that. We expect Saraki to vacate the seat of Senate President - Adamu Adamu went further to urge Saraki to step down or expect consequences as his defection won't be business as usual. ALSO READ: Saraki describes Senator Abdullahi as Buhari's attack dog He said, He (Saraki) should honourably return the crown or be ready to bear the consequences. "We expect them to do it amicably and peacefully. They should make sure they do not run away with our crown. If they think they will go and nothing will happen and that it will be business as usual, then they need to think again. I will not say whether we will take steps or not take steps. We hope that between now and resumption of Senate plenary, more events will unfold. We do not want to be in a hurry to speculate. In a statement on Friday, August 3, 2018, Frank described the APC as a failed project. Frank who has been a critic of the Muhammadu Buhari-led government assured his supporters of his continued actions in defence of Nigerias democracy. The statement reads: I was one of the early joiners from the PDP, having been dissatisfied by the unsustainable trajectory of the last administration which I felt no longer possessed the political will to make Nigeria and her democracy reflect the lofty dreams of its founding fathers which among others was to unleash the untapped potentials of the Nigerian citizenry, especially her vibrant youth population ever eager to take their place in the economic and socio-political advancement of the country. My decision to join the APC then was based on its promise that things were going to change for the better. Regrettably however, rather than lead the country with egalitarian principles that would under-guide the nations quest for development and progress in the mould of her counterparts in the international community, the country has taken a deep plunge backwards under the leadership of the APC, with high level of tyranny, victimization, harassment, and political desperation, we thought had been consigned to the era of military dictatorship in the country, again rearing its odious head. Although, I am a direct victim of injustice and intolerance in the party but I continued to speak out because I have zero tolerance for injustice anywhere. While I consider the APC as a failed project, I am ready again to stoop and contribute my humble quota to the progress and development of this country by joining hands with progressive forces to rescue it from collapse, poverty, corruption, tyranny, ignominy and undemocratic leadership. Let it be clear that I am stepping aside from the APC to be the voice for the majority of voiceless Nigerians who daily suffer the bad policies and highhandedness of this administration. I want to continue my fight to ensure a better Nigeria, where injustice, corruption, killings and bloodletting will cease to exist. ALSO READ: 5 Reasons why the Senate President dumped APC for PDP I want to make it unequivocally clear that I am returning to continue my struggle against forces who are bent on ruining the economy and governance of this country through lack of vision, ineptitude, wickedness, and outright disregard for the welfare and security of the ordinary Nigerian. This I hope to do until Nigeria is rid of injustice, intimidation, political persecution, criminalization of all opponents of the ruling party, and open attacks using the nations security agencies. Nigerians need a voice to speak for them in this evil days and I want to be that voice." Frank also threw a sub at the APC chairman, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole. Besides, I want to put on record my deep respect for the former Governor of Edo State and National Chairman of the APC, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, especially during the days of his comradeship where he fought and got a new minimum wage for Nigerian workers under the Obasanjo administration. However, it is most unfortunate that Oshiomhole who was once a voice for the oppressed workers and masses in the country is today serving the worst party in the history of Nigeria. Even though my respected senior colleague in the struggle has chosen to turn a blind eye to the pathetic plight of the Nigerian workers, including governments refusal to accede to their request for a new minimum wage in the last three years, I will continue to speak for the voiceless in this country, he declared. "I would like to get my things in order. I would also like to leave reconciled with my foes," added the former president and Nobel Peace laureate who led the Solidarity movement that brought a peaceful end to communism in Poland. Asked by AFP Thursday for his motives for reaching out, Walesa denied that the move was linked to health problems on either side. He said he was guided by the Christian imperative of reconciliation. Kaczynski has yet to respond but the spokeswoman for his Law and Justice (PiS) party, Beata Mazurek, tweeted that "we can no longer take Walesa seriously" and refused all other comment. Walesa ended his message to Kaczynski saying: "If I did you wrong, then I ask for your forgiveness. As for me, I am able to forgive you and your late brother Lech for everything, even the lousiest thing you've ever done to me which was... the Kiszczak folder." The reference is to old allegations which resurfaced in 2016 that Walesa collaborated with the communist secret police in the early 1970s, something Walesa has long denied. Although both men fought Poland's communist regime, they later became bitter foes amid power struggles in the early years of Poland's democracy. "The animals retreat to colder places, both reindeer and sheep find refuge in tunnels and shaded areas to cool down," he said. Although this phenomenon is nothing new, it could be intensified by record temperatures in Norway's northernmost regions. The Norwegian Meteorological Institute posted a temperature of 31.2 degrees Celsius (above 88 Fahrenheit) on Wednesday in Finnmark, a major reindeer herding region located within the Arctic Circle. The region is so hot that it has experienced 12 "tropical" nights with evening temperatures above 20 degrees Celsius so far this year, according to the Norwegian Meteorological Institute. The Norwegian Public Roads Administration said no serious accidents involving animals have been reported yet but described the situation as "a challenge". But interior ministry spokesman Petar Lazarov insisted on Friday that "Slovak authorities did not intentionally participate in the abduction of a Vietnamese citizen abroad in any way." And he dismissed the Dennik N article as "a fabrication and sci-fi". The report quoted unnamed Slovak policemen as saying that "a seemingly drunk and bruised individual" joined the official Vietnamese delegation at Bratislava airport and boarded a Slovak government plane. The article, which was a collaboration with the German daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, also pointed out that Vietnamese Public Security Minister To Lam was visiting Slovakia at the time. On Friday, Slovak Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini said his government would fully cooperate with authorities to clarify the matter. "This is the only way to prevent damage to our country's good name," he told reporters. The kidnapped man, Thanh -- a fugitive Vietnamese state company official who had been seeking political asylum in Germany -- was walking in Berlin's Tiergarten park in July 2017 when he was dragged into a van in broad daylight and smuggled back to Vietnam. The German government was outraged and expelled two Vietnamese diplomats and summoned the ambassador several times. Vietnam has always insisted that Thanh returned voluntarily to face embezzlement charges. Thanh has since been sentenced to two life terms in Vietnam on charges of corruption during his time as the head of state-run PetroVietnam Construction, a subsidiary of the country's largest oil firm. Vietnam's communist government in charge since 2016 has taken aim at bankers, businessmen and politicians it accuses of mismanagement as it vows to stamp out corruption. The unprecedented anti-graft campaign has seen scores jailed, many previously thought to be untouchable in one of Southeast Asia's most corrupt countries. It said that about 10,000 people arrived for the start of the parade, setting off from a downtown Jerusalem park to march through nearby streets. Speaking to AFP at the starting point, opposition leader Tzipi Livni, of the centrist Zionist Union alliance, said: "I am here to send a message to the government that the state of Israel must be a state with values such as equality and freedom." Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu leads what is seen as the most right-wing government in Israel's history, which includes an ultra-Orthodox party that condemns homosexuality. Across the road a few dozen demonstrators gathered to protest against the parade and raised a banner in Hebrew reading: "No entry for this abomination to the Holy City." Police kept them away from the parade-goers and said no violent incidents were reported. "Weapons of all kinds, drones and all types of aircraft" were banned from the assembly point and from the parade route, police said. Officers questioned 41 people suspected of intending public disorder and arrested one person who was taken to a police station for further investigation. The city centre was closed to traffic and police said participants were subjected to security checks before being allowed to join the rally. 'Pride and Tolerance' Emily Matheys, a 21-year-old from the northern city of Haifa, said she joined the parade to march for "equality in all walks of life". "Mainly for me, as a transsexual woman, it comes to the most basic things like walking in the street without fearing for my life," she told AFP. In the 2015 attack, a 16-year-old girl was stabbed to death and five other people were wounded. The attacker was Yishai Shlissel, an ultra-Orthodox Jew, who is now serving a life sentence. Shlissel had spent 10 years in jail after a similar attack on the 2005 Jerusalem Gay Pride march, and had been released just three weeks before the event, leading to criticism of the police. The Jerusalem parade has taken on added significance since then, with many from outside the gay community joining the march in solidarity and to call for tolerance. Israel has the most open attitude to homosexuality in the Middle East, with a large and influential gay community. But conservative Jerusalem, which is sacred to Jews, Muslims and Christians, is far less gay-friendly than liberal Tel Aviv. Bisexual Jerusalem resident Doron Mosenzon, a participant in the parade, said sexual orientation was not subject to religious or cultural boundaries. "The gay community is everywhere in all populations -- religious, secular, Jews, Arabs, Christians -- we are part of everyone and we've been here forever, and we will continue to be here and fight for our place here," he said. This year's parade, the 17th annual Jerusalem march, is being held under the banner of "Pride and Tolerance". Organisers had said they expected a high turnout due to what they say is a groundswell of public sympathy for gay rights in the wake of a recent law denying surrogacy rights to same-sex couples. Yoni is the Sanskrit word for female genitals. Customers can now buy the beer and taste the 'essence' of good looking models at various pubs after its debut on July 28 in the city of Katowice. The brewery's website colourfully describes the sensations customers might expect from the beer saying: "Imagine the woman of your dreams, your object of desire. Her charm, her sensuality, her passion. Whispering "Now you can try how she tastes, feel her smell, hear her voice. "Now imagine her giving you a passionate massage and gently whispering anything you'd like to hear. "Now free your fantasies and imagine all of that can be encompassed in a bottle of beer." However, one of the first customers who tasted the beer, Grzegorz Majewski, was not over impressed, saying that at 25 zloty (5) a beer costs the same as a normal bottle of wine. Essence He said: "People will try it out of curiosity, but I don't think it will be a regular addition on the table for beer lovers." A promotional video made for the beer shows a large brown bottle with a sticker being peeled back showing a photo of a model in underwear with the name Pauline. The 29-year-old Australian climber that was trapped on Mt Aspiring near Wanaka has been rescued. Mike Daisley from the Mountain Safety Council joined Ryan Bridge on RadioLIVE Drive after Lieutenant Terry Harch was airlifted off the mountain and transported to Dunedin Hospital. Mr Harch was in a good condition but did have mild frostbite. "We'd be having a very different conversation hadn't it been for the absolutely relentless tenacity of the Search and Rescue teams" Mr Daisley told RadioLIVE. Despite being an experienced climber Mr Harch spent seven days on the mountain after he left his car at Raspberry Flat last Friday and walked into the area. He planned to summit the 3000m-high mountain solo and return on Sunday. Climbing, even experienced climbers, need to understand local conditions and local environment because often that experience doesn't translate from one place to another very well" said Mr Daisley. The Australian tramper has been found alive on Mount Aspiring and in relatively good health, despite slight frostbite to his extremities. Helicopters found the climber standing and waving on the mountain yesterday. Four rescue specialists stayed with the climber overnight. The climber, 29, had dug a shelter in the snow to survive. Rescue Coordination Centre NZs Neville Blakemore confirmed that the climber is now accompanied by the specialists who have provided him with fresh clothes, food, and healthcare. According to Mr Blakemore, the climber is an experienced mountaineer and a soldier in the Australian Army. I think hes probably called on all of this experience to get himself out of a very, very bad situation and survive as long as he has, he told RadioLIVEs Wendyl Nissen. But Mr Blakemore warned that the rescue mission isnt over yet. Weather conditions are unpredictable, so its unclear when the climber and rescuers will be airlifted off the mountain. The longer that guy stays on that mountain, the more chances that something may happen. We need to get him to medical attention straight away, he said. Two more specialists are at the nearby French Ridge Hut to monitor weather conditions. Listen to the full interview from Neville Blakemore above. The Long Lunch with Wendyl Nissen, 12pm - 3pm on RadioLIVE and streaming live to the rova app on Android and iPhone. RadioLIVE. A moving documentary celebrates the enduring legacy of Celia Lashlie, a passionate advocate for social interventions that equipped those long deprived of choice with the tools for responsible decision making. Amanda Millar, director joined RadioLIVEs Mark Sainsbury to discuss why she cares so deeply for Ms Lashlie and what she wants to achieve with her documentary. Ms Lashlie was New Zealands first female prison officer to work in a mens prison, and when she fell terminally ill she spoke with Ms Millar to create a documentary about her life. The film, Celia, premieres at the New Zealand International Film Festival three years after Ms Lashlie passed away. Ms Millar says interacting with Ms Lashlie was like a drug, you just wanted more. She didnt think shed have time get an interview with her let alone make an entire documentary. Making the documentary was so raw and so hard, and Ms Millar is hoping things will change as a result. Find out more information about the film festival here. Listen to the interview with Amanda Millar above. Morning Talk with Mark Sainsbury, 9am - 12pm Weekdays and streaming live on 'rova' channel 9 - available on Android and iPhone. RadioLIVE. RadioLIVE is pleased to announce that host Sarah Perriam has been named a finalist for this years Westpac Women of Influence Awards. Perriam is a co-host and executive producer of RadioLIVEs Rural Exchange, which airs 5-7am every Saturday and Sunday and is a voice for NZ farmers, intended to celebrate one of the backbone businesses of the nation. New Zealands most inspiring and successful women are nominated every year for the prestigious awards. The 2018 Awards have named 83 finalists across 10 categories, including arts & culture, community & not-for-profit, and business. Perriam has been named a finalist for the Awards rural category. Its crazy to think how in 12 months you can have such an influence on the biggest issues facing our economy when given the right platform, Perriam says. Timken Co has agreed to acquire linear guide, telescopic rail and linear actuator supplier Rollon Group from Chequers Capital and IGI Private Equity. Rollon has 600 staff and manufacturing sites in Italy, Germany and the USA. The debt-funded transaction is expected to close in late September. ITALY: FS Group freight subsidiary Mercitalia Rail announced on August 2 that it had put into service the first 33 of 240 steel coil wagons which it ordered from Greenbrier last year. In 2015, President Obama described the Nation as more than a magazineait's a crucible of ideas. If it was ever entitled to this descriptor, it isn't anymore. Academic identity politics may be importing an obsession with phantom victimhood into the business world and the media, but The Nation's editors are now taking aim at language itself, reducing the complexity of human communication to a primitive understanding of words. In late July, the magazine's poetry editors issued a groveling apology for a poem they had published earlier that month. How-To, by Anders Carlson-Wee, was an ironic critique of social hierarchies, couched as a manual for successful panhandling: If you got hiv, say aids. If you a girl,/say you're pregnant, the poem opened. It went on to suggest begging gambits for other presumed outsider groups, including the handicapped: If you're crippled don't/flaunt it. Let em think they're good enough/Christians to notice. The poem, in its entirety, reads as follows: If you got hiv, say aids. If you a girl, say you're pregnantanobody gonna lower themselves to listen & WASHINGTON -- Koreans have a saying that helps explain the recent upbeat exchanges between Washington, Seoul and Pyongyang: "Say pretty things to hear pretty things." Beyond the Trump White House, there remains much skepticism that North Korea will ever give up its nuclear weapons. Recent leaks about North Korea's continuing efforts to build its nuclear and missile arsenal underline this concern that President Trump made a sucker play in Singapore. But the public rhetoric from Washington and Pyongyang is warming, after a chill, and it's backed by some real moves to ease tensions. The latest sweet talk was President Trump's tweet Wednesday evening effusively thanking Kim Jong Un "for keeping your word" and returning remains of U.S. soldiers who died in the Korean War. Trump called it a "kind action" and enthused: "I look forward to seeing you soon." This week's most important conversation on Korea may have been the meeting between a North Korean and South Korean general at the border village of Panmunjom. This was the latest installment of a slow, steady process of engagement between the two Koreas that predates the Trump-Kim summit. The two generals discussed reducing weapons in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) and halting firing exercises and withdrawing artillery along the West Sea coast, according to South Korean reports. South Korea officials would like to turn the heavily mined DMZ into a weapons-free nature preserve as a symbol of progress. Trump gets the headlines when it comes to North Korea. But the real-driver may be inter-Korean contacts. Kim signaled in a Jan. 1 speech that he wanted to leverage his nuclear-weapons capability for economic development, and South Korean President Moon Jae-in responded boldly with his Olympic diplomacy. Trump embraced this opening, but he didn't create it. The Washington diplomatic mood has been spiking up and down like a fever chart in the nearly two months since the June 12 Singapore summit. American over-optimism about quick denuclearization (fueled by Trump) created frustration and disappointment when the North Koreans dragged their feet. U.S. pressure for faster progress brought North Korean protests at supposed "gangster-like tactics." The Korean fog has cleared, at least momentarily, because of a series of confidence-building measures by Kim that, while they don't move toward denuclearization, at least suggest good faith. The North Koreans last month dismantled rocket-testing and satellite-launch facilities, and then delivered the promised servicemen's remains. Washington wants to begin the denuclearization process with a detailed inventory of North Korean materials and sites. Pyongyang has delayed, at least publicly, seeking more American goodwill gestures. A key issue ahead for the U.S. and the two Koreas is a proposed joint declaration of the formal end of the Korean War. At their Panmunjom summit on April 27, Moon and Kim pledged this declaration before yearend. The U.S., so far, has resisted, wanting the North to deliver more on denuclearization. A formal declaration of the war's end would foster denuclearization "by alleviating the worries of North Korea over the security of its regime," argues a factsheet published by South Korea after the Panmunjom summit. Seoul believes that this declaration, perhaps co-signed by China, wouldn't affect the status of U.S. forces in South Korea. Indeed, Seoul argues that both North and South may privately agree on the utility of U.S. troops as a way of checking Chinese hegemony over the Korean Peninsula. South Korean Ambassador Cho Yoon-je explained the importance of the end-of-war declaration and other confidence-building measures as a bridge to denuclearization in an interview last week. "It is our firm belief that the enhanced exchange and communications between the two Koreas will help facilitate the denuclearization dialogue," he said. In other words, the path from Pyongyang to Washington may lead through Seoul. South Korea is also pushing for North Korea to work with the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank as a start toward gradual inclusion in the global economy. Cho told me that the IMF and the World Bank "would not only provide loans, but more importantly, also policy advice for economic transition." Again, the U.S. appears wary of making these concessionary gestures before North Korea takes verifiable steps toward dismantling its nuclear capability. On July 27, North Korea celebrated the anniversary of its "victory" in the Korean War. Former CIA analyst Robert Carlin notes that previously, the North had boasted that it defeated "U.S.-led imperialist aggressors." This year's statement just referred to "imperialists." In such small semantic changes, we see how large transformations could eventually be wrought. (c) 2018, Washington Post Writers Group WASHINGTON (AP) Gathering strength for a brutal trade war with China, the United States appears to be trying to patch things up with its friends. U.S. and Mexican negotiators are meeting in Washington Thursday and Friday to work on a rewrite of the North American Free Trade Agreement an effort that looked virtually dead a few months ago. And last week President Donald Trump announced a cease-fire in a potentially destructive dispute with the European Union over trade in cars, trucks and auto parts. Meanwhile, the Trump administration ratcheted up the pressure on China this week by proposing a doubling in tariffs on $200 billion in Chinese imports. Beijing has vowed to counterpunch with trade sanctions of its own. If youre going to take China on, youd better make sure youve shored up your base with your allies and made sure you kept other markets open, said Michael Camunez, president of Monarch Global Strategies consultancy and a former U.S. Commerce Department official. Trump campaigned on a vow to overhaul the 24-year-old NAFTA with Canada and Mexico, a pact he called a job-killing disaster. NAFTA did away with most barriers, including tariffs, on trade between the U.S., Canada and Mexico. Trump and other NAFTA critics say the agreement encouraged U.S. manufacturers to move factories and jobs south of the border to take advantage of lower-wage Mexican labor. He vowed to pull out of NAFTA if he couldnt a deal he liked. Talks on a new NAFTA began almost a year ago but got bogged down over the Trump teams insistence on measures that would discourage investment in Mexico and shift auto production to the United States. Momentum suddenly resumed after Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador won the Mexican presidential election last month and expressed support for overhauling NAFTA. The Mexican negotiators are hoping to reach an agreement this month with the United States, then bring Canada back into the negotiations. Canadas absence from this weeks talks raised suspicions that the United States was pursuing a divide-and-conquer strategy with its two trading partners, isolating Canada to pressure it into agreeing with whatever the U.S. and Mexico came up with. But David MacNaughton, Canadas ambassador in Washington, told the AP it made sense for the U.S. and Mexico to negotiate first: There are a couple of lingering issues between the U.S. and Mexico that need to be settled before we can move on, he said. The most obvious is Trumps push to require that autos contain more content made within the NAFTA trade bloc and specifically from countries that pay high wages (that is, not Mexico) to qualify for duty-free status under the agreement. But the two countries are whittling away at their differences. In June, Trump slapped taxes on imported steel and aluminum, hoping in part to pressure Canada and Mexico to agree to a NAFTA rewrite that was to his liking. But the two neighbors and other U.S. allies and trading partners have slapped back with tariffs of their own, often aimed at U.S. farmers who supported Trump in the 2016 election. The Mexicans, for example, targeted U.S. pork and cheese. The retaliation is beginning to take a toll. The Trump administration last week announced a $12 billion package to ease the pain on farmers. Daniel Ujczo, a lawyer with Dickinson Wright PLLC in Columbus, Ohio, said the U.S. has a big incentive to smooth over the differences with friendly countries and get the tit-for-tat tariffs removed. The faster we get a deal with Mexico, the faster that relieves pressure on farm country, he said. The Trump administration last week pulled back from the brink of a trade war with the European Union, suspending planned tariffs on European autos while it talks with the EU about tearing down trade barriers. As tensions with U.S. allies seem to ease, tensions with China are rising. On Wednesday, the Trump administration proposed hiking planned tariffs on $200 billion in Chinese imports to 25 percent from an originally announced 10 percent. The worlds two biggest economies are sparring over what Washington says are Beijings predatory tactics to obtain American technology. Deals with allies like the EU, Mexico and Canada could give the administration some breathing room on China and signal to the world that they arent looking to fight with everyone, said Christine McDaniel, senior research fellow at George Mason Universitys Mercatus Center. Throngs of men and women ventured into the forests of northeastern Cambodia in April, lured by a bumper crop of a rare tropical treat called samrong. After days of hiking through the wilderness, some of the travellers returned to their homes with a bounty of the wrinkled seeds, which fetch a high price as a special dessert or an ingredient in traditional Chinese medicine. But many soon fell ill. or successive administrations, inertia may have kept the flawed status quo of U.S.Turkey relations in place, but the train appears finally to be running out of track. It was bound to happen eventually, regardless of the Trump administration's just-announced decision to impose sanctions on two Turkish cabinet officials in response to Turkey's continued detention of an American pastor. And now it has: The final version of the 2019 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which passed the House last week and is set to come to a vote in the Senate in August, contains a handful of provisions that take aim at Turkey, which is officially a NATO ally but has come to resemble a frenemy at best over the past decade. Find a great selection of commercial real estate, manufactured homes, timeshares and more for Sale Buy real estate. Find a great selection of commercial real estate, manufactured homes, timeshares and more for Sale in US and Canada. Search Real Estate , We're sorry, this article is not currently available BRIDGEPORT - The call went out to the Police Department Thursday afternoon. Officers rushed to the Fairfield County Courthouse. Superior Court Judge Dale Radcliffe said he had enough of people making complaints to the Police Department of pending crime, only to be told to go to the court the next day and file for a civil protective order. He wanted Chief Armando Perez before him pronto. The last straw had been when a young woman tearfully told the judge Thursday that she had called 911 when a woman was breaking into her home and no officer came to her home. Its things like this that erode confidence in the Police Department, the judge said. Shortly after the call went out Deputy Police Chief James Baraja and a sergeant were standing before the judge. The woman, who was already in the courtroom, told the judge that shortly after 10 p.m. on July 10, she called 911 when a woman she is having a dispute with began yelling and pounding on her door, trying to get into her apartment. I told them what was going on but no one showed up, I told them she was trying to get in, the woman, whose name is being withheld, told the judge. She said she went to the Police Department the next day and spoke to a female officer on the front desk. I told her the lady was trying to break into my house but nobody came and she said, oh wow, the woman complained to Radcliffe. Still no report was made about the incident and instead, was told to go to court and get a civil protective order against the other woman. This is not the first instance of this type of thing, the judge told Baraja. There seems to be a reoccurring pattern of complaints being made to the Police Department and yet no responses are made, no report is made and the citizen, the city taxpayer, is told to go get a civil protective order the next day. Baraja responded that a report is mandatory in this type of situation and an arrest was a strong possibility if officers had responded. This is particularly disturbing because there was a call made when the incident was in progress, the judge added. There should be some policy in place because at the least what I heard could have been a disorderly conduct or a breach of peace arrest. Later, as he left the courtroom, Baraja admitted that mistakes were made. We are going to be looking into this, we are certainly going to make some changes, he said. Society to hold annual fundraiser LITCHFIELD Litchfield Historical Society will hold its annual fall fundraiser on Saturday, Sept. 15, 6-9 p.m., to benefit the organizations education mission. The event will be held in the newly opened Tapping Reeve Meadow, behind the Tapping Reeve House & Litchfield Law School. The evening will feature a signature drink provided by the Litchfield Distillery, live music from Switch Factory, and delectable small plate offerings from The Pantry. A special silent auction will help raise money for the education programs hosted by the historical society, including field trips from local schools, offsite programs for neighborhood partners, community events, monthly lectures and walking tours, and craft and game afternoons for families. The silent auction includes an exclusive 2-week stay at the private home of Alexander and Jo-Anne van den Berg-Ohms in Mensingeweer, Netherlands. The home sleeps 6 and comes with all the amenities needed to have a great visit to the Netherlands. Bidders can also enjoy a delicious lunch and informal discussion about Litchfield artist Adelaide Deming, while her work is on display for one day only at the home of Frank Fontana and Andrew Becker. Or attend a cocktail event at the Tallmadge House, with a presentation by Rachel Smith, a Tallmadge history expert from the office of the Connecticut State Historian at the University of Connecticut. Additional items will be included in the silent auction. Visit the Historical Societys website at www.litchfieldhistoricalsociety.org/fallfundraiser/ for more details. Tickets for the event start at $75 per person, and can be purchased in advance or at the door. To purchase tickets, call 860-567-4501 or email registration@litchfieldhistoricalsociety.org. For more information about this fundraiser, visit www.litchfieldhistoricalsociety.org/fallfundraiser/. The evening is sponsored by Torrington Savings Bank and Carmody Torrance Sandak Hennessey, LLP. The Litchfield Historical Society is located at 7 South St., Litchfield. The Litchfield Historical Society receives no funding from the town. In an effort to better serve our community, the Litchfield History Museum and the Tapping Reeve House & Law School offer free admission for all, sponsored by Ericson Insurance Advisors. Goshen Players schedule auditions for Almost, Maine GOSHEN The Goshen Players will be holding open auditions for its fall 2018 play, Almost, Maine written by John Cariani. The production will be directed by Joe Guttadauro. Auditions will be held Aug. 6, 8 and 9, 7-9 p.m. at Goshen Old Town Hall, 2 North St., at the Rotary Junction of Rts 4 & 63, Goshen. Those who would like to audition but cannot make the scheduled times should contact the director to make alternate arrangements. Production dates are Oct. 26, 27, Nov. 2, 3, 9 and 10 at 8 p.m. and Oct. 28 and Nov. 4 at 3 p.m. The Goshen Players are seeking 4 women ages 20-35 and 4 men ages 20-35. All roles are available. Some roles require physical action - being hit, falling, backward or forward roll. Be prepared to read from the script and participate in some theatre/improvisational games Rehearsals will be scheduled based on the availability of the actors and the Director. Rehearsals will be required in the evenings of the week of Oct. 14. Attendance will also be required at rehearsals on Oct. 21, 22, 23 and 24, with absolutely no exceptions. About Almost, Maine: A place thats so far north, its almost not in the United States. Its almost in Canada. And its not quite a town, because its residents never got around to getting organized. So it almost doesnt exist. One cold, clear, winter night, as the northern lights hover in the star-filled sky above, the residents of Almost, Maine, find themselves falling in and out of love in unexpected and hilarious ways. For information, email Director Joe Guttadauro at joeguttadauro@sbcglobal.net Adult summer reading program offered TORRINGTON The Torrington Library is hosting an adult summer reading challenge, running now through Aug. 31. Anyone can pick up a reading log at the library or visit the library website and print a reading log. Participating in the challenge is easy. For every 5 books read, you will receive 1 raffle ticket. For every Summer Music Series Event attended, you will receive 1 raffle ticket. The raffle will be pulled Sept. 10, and the winner will receive two, non-refundable or exchangeable tickets to The Midtown Men at the Warner Theatre on Friday, Oct. 12 at 8 p.m. Summer Music Series Events include The Music of Star Wars on July 26, 6:30 p.m. and the Summer Social, Aug. 2 at 6:30 p.m. Flower Power: Musical Presentation will be held Aug. 9, and The Elderly Brothers perform Aug. 16 at 6:30 p.m. Broadway Review with Keeley Cabaret will be held Aug.30 at 6:30 p.m. Visit the library website at www.torringtonlibrary.org for more information. Red Cross calls for blood donors An emergency blood shortage is prompting the American Red Cross to issue an urgent call for eligible donors of all blood types - especially type O - to give now and help save lives. The Red Cross escalated its call for blood and platelet donors after a difficult Independence Day week for donations. More than 550 fewer blood drives were organized by businesses and other community groups last week than during a typical week as individuals across the country celebrated the holiday and enjoyed summer activities. This could equate to as many as 15,000 fewer donations than needed, causing donations to now be distributed to hospitals faster than they come in. Each and every day, individuals across the country depend on blood and platelet donations for lifesaving treatments and emergency care, so its critical that people donate now to meet these needs, said Cliff Numark, senior vice president, Red Cross Blood Services. Whether youve never donated or give a couple of times a year, youre needed to give as soon as possible to help save patient lives. Yours may be the donation a patient is counting on. This need is especially critical for type O blood donors. Type O is the most in-demand blood type and often the first to be depleted from hospital shelves during a shortage. Type O negative is the universal blood type and what emergency room personnel reach for when there is no time to determine the blood type of patients in the most serious situations. Type O positive is the most common blood type and can be transfused to Rh-positive patients of any blood type. To schedule an appointment to donate, use the free Red Cross Blood Donor App, visit RedCrossBlood.org or call 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767). The Red Cross has added about 6,500 additional appointment slots at donation centers and community blood drives across the country over the next few weeks to accommodate more donors. Donation appointments and completion of a RapidPass online health history questionnaire are encouraged to help reduce the time it takes to donate. Mike Huckabee, the father of White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, tweeted an attack on a CNN reporter who aggressively questioned his daughter Thursday about whether she considers the media to be "the enemy of the people." In tweets starting Thursday afternoon, Huckabee, a former governor of Arkansas and former Republican presidential candidate, derided "little Jim Acosta," a White House correspondent for CNN. In one tweet, Huckabee referred to his daughter as "the WINDSHIELD" and Acosta as "the BUG." In another tweet, Huckabee wrote: "Jim Acosta suffers severe nose bleed from the elevation of his high horse. Taken to safe space and provided with Play Dough, a popsicle, pictures of a pony to color and a puppy." During a briefing at the White House on Thursday, Acosta repeatedly pressed Sanders to say that she does not agree with President Donald Trump's characterization of the media as "the enemy of the people," a description Trump has used repeatedly. More for you Sanders presents the official White House policy: The media is the enemy of the people Just hours before, Ivanka Trump, the president's daughter and a White House adviser, had said she doesn't view the press that way. Sanders declined to say the same thing, prompting Acosta to walk out of the end of the briefing. "I am totally saddened by what just happened," he wrote on Twitter. "Sarah Sanders was repeatedly given a chance to say the press is not the enemy and she wouldn't do it. Shameful." Trump later tweeted that his daughter was correct to say the media was not the enemy of the people. Rather, he said, it is "the FAKE NEWS, which is a large percentage of the media, that is the enemy of the people!" At a rally in Pennsylvania on Thursday night, Trump derided "the fake, fake disgusting news." In one of his tweets Thursday, Huckabee mentioned Sarah Jeong, a technology writer recently hired by The New York Times for a post on its editorial board. Jeong, an Asian American woman, has been under scrutiny for tweets in which she speaks sarcastically about white people. In one of his attacks on Acosta, Huckabee wrote that he realizes he's "as objective about @PressSec as @NYTimes new hateful, racist hire." BARKHAMSTED The Pleasant Valley Drive-In will hold a special car show Aug. 25 to benefit Special Wishes, a local organization that grants wishes to children with life-threatening illnesses or impending surgery. Joshua Roy was one of those children, and it is because of his chance to meet Jack Sparrow, played by the actor Johnny Depp in the Pirates of the Caribbean series, that he decided to hold the car show at the drive-in in his own home town. Roy, who is now 16 and entering his junior year at Oliver Wolcott Technical High School, loves old cars, and recently purchased his first vintage truck to restore. Roy and his parents, Melissa and Andre Roy, are looking forward to greeting what they hope will be hundreds of spectators and car owners to the drive-in later this month. They have set a goal of raising $6,000 to donate to Special Wishes. The younger Roy had to have open heart surgery when he was 5 a frightening challenge for him and his family. Joshua had to have open heart surgery to repair several holes in his heart and remove an obstruction, said his mother, Melissa Roy. He was born with defects in his heart, and because of that, an obstruction formed, so he needed surgery to repair those defects. Joshua Roys doctors were Dr. Sophia Grant of Litchfield Pediatrics, and now-retired Dr. Daniel Diana at Connecticut Childrens Medical Center. The surgery was conducted at the medical center in 2007 the same year his younger sister, Emily was born. Shes now 10, and has no health problems. We had her heart checked right away, his mother said. Joshua Roys heart surgery was a success. Hes doing great, Melissa Roy said. We just had his yearly checkup, and hes doing really well. But before the surgery in 2007, Melissa Roy wanted to do something special for her son. She first approached the Make-A-Wish Foundation, but was told that her son had to have the surgery first, before he could be considered. She heard about Special Wishes and called. They said, Of course, well do it, she said. I wanted his wish to be granted before the heart surgery, she said. I wanted him to enjoy himself. We filled out a form and Joshs doctor filled it out, because at that point he had monthly appointments, Melissa Roy said. Special Wishes got in touch with us right away. Meeting Jack Sparrow was a thrill beyond imagination for the young boy. Johnny Depp was great, Melissa Roy recalled. He goes to Disney quite frequently, and nobody knows if its him or not when he shows up in the costume. But it was him this time. Josh was terrified when they met, he was so nervous. But he got to meet Sparrow and Johnny Depp was the best guy ever. He never broke character at all, the whole time. When we first walked in at Disney, we were in this area behind the scenes, and all of a sudden, (Johnny Depp) peeks around the corner, and he started talking in character, Josh Roy said. For the now 16-year-old who is healthy and making his way through high school, his interests have changed. Hes enrolled in the automotive program and loves old cars, so much that he was able to purchase his first vintage auto, a 1961 Chevrolet pickup truck, in May. Its a classic I love it, he said with pride. Weve always said Josh is an old soul, his mother said with a laugh. He loves rock and roll, the classics ... and he loves old cars and trucks. So the car show was a perfect idea. Since his surgery and his wish being granted, Joshua Roy has annually taken part in some sort of fundraiser for Special Wishes. Theres an annual walk, and weve gone to different fairs and sold water at a booth, he said. There was a paint night fundraiser one year, and a Zumba night at the school in Barkhamsted, Melissa Roy said. But this is the big one, something Josh wanted to do himself. The fundraising goal of $6,000 is significant, since thats how much a special wish usually costs. We want to at least cover the cost of a wish, and hopefully well make more, Joshua Roy said. We have about 400 people interested in attending so far. Admission for spectators is free, and cars and trucks can enter for $10 each. Raffle tickets will also be available for purchase, the drive-ins concession stand will be open, and the first 25 entrants will receive swag bags of goodies from the car shows many sponsors. Well have trophies too, Joshua Roy said. Joshua Roys perspective on his heart surgery is very positive. I feel lucky, he said. I was with good people. They knew what needed to be done. The love for cars runs in the family. Melissa Roy drives a 2012 Mustang. The family also loves camping at Twin Oaks in New York, and enjoys going to car shows. My dad is a big classic car guy, Josh Roy said. He doesnt have one right now, but hes looking at a classic Mustang. Many local businesses have signed up to sponsor the show. To date, Platinum sponsors include Russs Septic Service, SCOPE Construction and SWELLS Car Wash. Gold sponsors include Reservoir Hounds, Doyle Medical supply, Collinsville Auto repair, Eastside Electric, White Pines Campsites, The Gosselin Family, Thomaston Savings Bank, Century Woodworking, LLC, Dan Pinton-State Farm, RivertonSelf Storage, Peter Bakker Agency, Martel Transportation, B&D Landscaping, LOWES, AA Transmission, Inc., and Events with A. STARR, LLC. Silver sponsors are Fireman's Fuel, Labrie Home Improvement, ABC Pizza, Turning Point realty, Riverton General Store, Northwest Insurance, LLC, Elite Roofing, Klebe Fuel, Kare Construction, Langer Farms, Becki Sartirana-Zumba, ASE Electric Co, TARGET and New Hartford Storage. If interested in sponsoring or donating to the car show, contact Josh Roy or his mother at pleasantvalleycarshow@gmail.com or visit their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/events/253679751845302/. To learn more about Special Wishes, visit www.specialwishes.org. Josh Roys Pleasant Valley Car Show runs from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., with a rain date of Aug. 26. The ruling Chinese Communist Party has announced a new ideological campaign targeting the country's intellectuals, particularly those who may not be "patriotic" enough. The campaign is based on remarks by President Xi Jinping on "carrying forward the spirit of patriotic struggle," state news agency Xinhua reported, citing a joint statement from the party's organization and propaganda departments. The campaign will seek to wage "unremitting struggle" among intellectuals so as to "strengthen unity," it said. In practical terms, all departments are being ordered to strengthen propaganda work, including "interpretation" of Xi's directives, by organizing study sessions for intellectuals, the agency said. Such sessions must "enhance the ideological identity, emotional identity, and value identification" of intellectuals in Xi's "new era of socialism with Chinese characteristics," the directive states. Individuals may also be singled out for such work, it said. Departments at all levels are required to submit concrete plans for the implementation of the directive, the report said. 'Brainwashing' A former propaganda department official who gave only his surname Wang told RFA that the directive is essentially an order to begin the mass "brainwashing" of China's intellectuals. "Chinese intellectuals are particularly hard to control," Wang said, in the wake of a lengthy article published by Tsinghua University law scholar Xu Zhangrun hitting out at the removal of presidential term-limits, meaning that Xi can carry on for his current term as president indefinitely. "Things are very chaotic in scientific and academic circles right now, and intellectuals and scientists in particular have benefited the least in the years since economic reforms began [in 1979]," he said. "Patriotic struggle means that they want them all to be singing from the same hymn sheet, and the struggle part means that tough times are coming," he said. Retired party school professor Du Guang said that it was hard to see how the directive could lead to anything useful. "It doesn't seem to state an aim, just a requirement, namely that intellectuals must be patriotic and they must struggle," Du said. "But intellectuals are already patriotic." "Ever since President Xi took power, we have seen his administration try to control too much as it is," he said. "Exactly how they plan to tighten existing controls still further is very hard to say." Following Mao's example Bao Tong, a former top aide to late ousted premier Zhao Ziyang, said the current regime is mimicking late supreme leader Mao Zedong in its approach to the party line. "If you live in China and you're not a party member, you might as well be a child," Bao wrote in a recent commentary broadcast by RFA's Mandarin Service. "You are expected to show your love and gratitude to the party with everything you've got, to fear the party, and to follow it without question, acting as its tool and as its cannon-fodder." "Why? Because the party has overturned a regime, fought a war, and killed a lot of people, as well as having a lot of its people killed," Bao wrote. "According to this logic of violence ... that qualifies it to rule over everything, as well as to occupy and dominate all [resources]." "Sixty years ago, Mao Zedong ... decreed that the party should be in charge of everything," he said. "The right to rule has been the spoils of victory for the Chinese Communist Party." Reported by Qiao Long for RFA's Mandarin Service. Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie. Sun Wenguang speaks to a reporter at his home in Jinan, Shandong province, in a file photo. An outspoken democracy activist and retired university lecturer who has repeatedly criticized the ruling Chinese Communist Party and President Xi Jinping has been detained by police. Former Shandong University lecturer Sun Wenguang, 84, was taken away by police who burst into his home and interrupted a live interview with Voice of America (VOA) TV on Thursday. As he began to answer a question about President Xi's overseas investment strategy, Sun was forced to break off as the police officers arrived at his home. "Here they are again, the police, seven or eight of them," Sun is heard saying on a recording of the interview. "You should listen up," he tells them. "Ordinary Chinese people are very poor, so we shouldn't be throwing our money at African countries; this won't help our nation." Shortly after that, Sun is forced to break off, however. "Let me tell you, it's illegal for you to come to my home," he is heard telling the police officers. "I have my freedom of speech!" Sun has been incommunicado since the incident. Calls to his phone were cut off before anyone answered, with indistinct voices in the background, or rang unanswered. Sun's friend Li Hongwei confirmed that he had been detained by police in Jinan, capital of the eastern province of Shandong. "I heard he was taken away by the Jinan police department at around 9:00 p.m. yesterday," Li said on Friday. Li said the detention was likely linked to the content of the VOA TV interview, but also recent articles that Sun had published online. "I heard that it was because of a few articles he wrote," he said. Li said Sun and his wife are now believed to be under residential surveillance at the Yanzi Resort in the hills outside Jinan. "His phone line is being monitored, as is mine," he said. "The Jinan municipal police department have him under round-the-clock monitoring and surveillance," he said. "Every time he is placed under residential surveillance, that's where they hold him." An officer who answered the phone at the police department at Shandong University, Sun's former employer, said they didn't know about his detention. "Everyone is on vacation right now, so we don't know anything about this," the officer said. Calls to the retirement office of the university, and to the nearby police station, rang unanswered during office hours on Friday. Government critics Jinan rights activist Cheng Yunqin confirmed that Sun is being held at an out-of-town guesthouse. "He and his wife were both taken away to the Yanzi Resort," Cheng said. "We can't get in touch with them. The police usually take over his cell phone in such situations." "Based on previous experience, I'd say he's probably safe, though." Journalist Liu Kaiming said the authorities are particularly keen to crack down on government critics who give interviews to overseas media. "It's actually very rare to hear of people bursting in when someone's giving an interview like that," Liu said. "There is now very, very little room for any kind of free speech, and a big threat to personal freedom [when people do speak out]." "People need to be very careful when giving overseas interviews," he said. Sun's outspoken views resulted in a jail term during the political turmoil and violence of the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976) under late supreme leader Mao Zedong. Sun was among countless intellectuals and professionals in that era locked up in "cow-pens" while their jobs were taken over by the "revolutionary masses." Reported by Wong Lok-to for RFA's Cantonese Service, and by Shen Hua for the Mandarin Service. Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie. The four-nation Mekong River CommissionVietnam, Cambodia, Laos, and Thailandwas established with the April 5, 1995 Agreement on Cooperation for Sustainable Development of the Mekong River Basin that established the MRC as a platform for regional cooperation among countries along the regions major river. As Laos continued to dig itself out from the July 23 failure of a dam in the Xe Pian Xe Namnoy hydropower project in Champassak province, Sidney Khotpanya conducted an interview by e-mail with Mekong River Commission Secretariat (MRCS), asking what caused the catastrophe which has killed more than 30 people and left 117 missing. RFA: What you think was the cause of the dam break in Laos? Did the dam break incident cause any transboundary impact [downstream]? MRCS: According to the official information we have received from the Government of Laos, we dont know yet what caused the dam to fail or break. The incident has not been well captured at this moment, although there has been speculation out there that it was because of this and that. But officially, no, we dont have the information yet. Further analysis based on the information taken from or provided by the site should be taken into account as this will shed some light on the cause. The Lao government has formed a national committee, one of whose tasks is to investigate the cause. The MRCS has offered assistance in this regard, especially in providing technical assistance through human resources to assist the investigation that is due to take place after the rescue and recovery process. But we wish to bring to your attention the recent Typhoon called Son Tinh which, from July 19-22, hit Vietnam and then caused extreme rainfall in Laos on July 22. This in turn created, according to our analysis of water levels on the Mekong mainstream, flooding in both Laos and the downstream countries of Cambodia and Viet Nam. So, in the case of flooding in Laos and Cambodia, our analysis using the Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR)[1] satellite imagery shows inundated areas and its situation caused by the collapsed saddle dam and flooded villages downstream as of 25 July 2018. In terms of water level rise, our monitoring station in Siem Pang district (in Stung Treng province of Cambodia) on the Sekong River, using the observed water level recorded automatically in 15-min interval, showed an increase by approximately more than four meters from 8.39 meters at 3:15 PM on 22 July to 12.47 meters at 2:00 PM on 27 July 2018. The increase happened due to heavy rain and later by large amount of water released from Saddle dam D. Our initial and preliminary analysis on the extent of the water level rise in Stung Treng due to the dam break indicates an approximately 20-cm incase compared to a normal condition. This is because water flows at Stung Treng are dominated by: The inflows from upstream of the Mekong River from Pakse of Laos; the inflows from the 3S area of Se Kong, Sesan and Srepok Rivers; and the catchment rainfall. Since the Stung Treng station is dominated by the upstream Mekong inflow, the direct inflow from Paske has a strong connection with its downstream part. If normal condition flow at Stung Treng was based on the actual flows at Pakse, the correlation between Pakse and Stung Treng was developed, and the increased volume during the dam break (critical condition) was calculated based on this correlation. RFA: Can the MRC do anything to prevent dam breaks from happening in the future? Does the MRC have any rules to protect dam break in the future? MRCS: There are two situations here for water infrastructure projects on (1) the mainstream of the Mekong River and (2) tributaries of the river. Under the 1995 Mekong Agreement, any member countries who wish to propose (large) projects on the Mekong mainstream must go through the MRCs prior consultation process. The prior consultation is part of the MRCs procedural rules on cooperation on water use of the Mekong mainstream: Procedures for Notification, Prior Consultation and Agreement (PNPCA). Under the Procedures, any infrastructural project using the mainstream water during the dry season within the same basin, as well as during the wet season between two basins, must undergo the prior consultation process. Applicable projects include large-scale irrigation and hydropower development which may cause significant impacts on the environment, water flow and quality of the Mekong mainstream. In the prior consultation process, with technical and administrative support from the MRC Secretariat, the notified Member Countries will review technical aspects of the project, assess any potential transboundary impact on the environment and livelihoods along the riparian communities, and suggest measures to address those concerns. The Member Countries aim to come to an agreement on how the consulted case should proceed. It is not meant to approve or disapprove the proposed project. This process normally lasts six months, but it could be extended further by the Joint Committee (implementing body of the organization) of the MRC. However, notified projects on Mekong tributaries, such as the Xe-Nam Noy Hydropower dam, are not required to undergo MRCs prior consultation process, including assessments. Projects on tributaries follow national laws and regulations. On top of that, the MRC has put in place a Preliminary Design Guidance for Proposed Mainstream Dam in the Lower Mekong Basin (PDG), which is to provide direction on performance targets, design and operating principles for mitigation measures, as well as compliance monitoring and adaptive management. One of the most important aspects is the dam safety measure that the PDG provides/recommends to developers. Although the PDG is advisory in nature, the intention is to provide developers of proposed dams on the lower Mekong mainstream with an overview of the issues that the MRC will be considering during the process of prior consultation under the 1995 Mekong Agreement. Responsibility for ensuring compliance with national standards and provisions of the 1995 Mekong Agreement remains with the project developers, though. With the PDG and PNPCA, developers and owners of dams can design them in a way that corresponds to and complies with dam safety standards. But gaps remain as these are applicable only to the projects on the mainstream, not on the tributaries. Nearly 200 Hindu families displaced by violence in western Myanmars Rakhine state last year will be resettled from refugee camps to a village outside of Maungdaw township in around two months, a camp leader said Friday. More than 1,200 Hindus are living in refugee camps in the townships of Maungdaw and Sittwe after fleeing Muslim insurgents from the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) who burned down their homes and killed members of their community in August 2017. Ni Maul, a Hindu social worker and community leader at the refugee camp in Maungdaw told RFAs Myanmar Service that officials from the townships general administrative office recently informed him that they are building homes for Hindu refugees near Aung Bala village, near Maungdaw. The foundations for 148 houses are done and another 42 houses will be also be built next to Aung Bala village, he said, adding that all 190 houses are for Hindu refugees. I believe the houses in Aung Bala village will be finished within two months, he said. He said the refugees are happy to leave the Maungdaw camp because they are currently struggling to survive. Only a third of the assistance needed by refugees in the Maungdaw camp is being provided by the government and donors, Ni Maul said. The Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement Department only began providing us with some weekly food rations about two months ago, and we must manage ourselves for the rest. Another Hindu community leader at the Maungdaw camp named Bu Hal Swe told RFA that the refugees feel safer relocating to a village far from where their homes were attacked. These Hindu refugees will not go back to their old villages because they are [majority] Muslim villages, he said. They were the minority group and all their houses were burned down by Muslims. So they will live in the houses in Aung Bala village, as it is far from the Muslims. His account could not be independently corroborated in the face of tight restrictions on media access to the conflict zone in Rakhine state. Phy Bwin, a Hindu refugee at the camp, said his house was burned down and several of her family members killed by Muslims during the violence last year. He told RFA that the refugees are living in poor conditions in the camp, and are having difficulty making ends meet. We have to work to survive, although we do get support from donors sometimes, such as baskets of rice, cooking oil and some soap each week, he said. Phy Bwin said that he used to earn money making jewelry to sell to dealers from Bangladesh, but they had stopped coming across the border since the violence occurred. He said he had heard that houses were being built for Hindu refugees in Aung Bala village, but that they were not for residents of his village. There are refugees from three or four villages living in this camp, but refugees from our village, called Lay Mine, are not in the list to go and live in the new houses in Aung Bala, he said. We dont know where we will have to go to live, he said. It seems we will have to continue staying in this camp for the time being. August violence Maungdaw, along with neighboring Buthidaung and Rathedaung townships, was the focal point of a brutal crackdown by the Myanmar military against Rohingya Muslims that began late last August following a deadly attack by the ARSA Muslim militant group. Thousands of Rohingya, who comprise the majority ethnic group in Maungdaw, were killed in the violence, and nearly 700,000 others fled to safety in neighboring Bangladesh where they live in sprawling displacement camps. Hindus and other non-Muslims residing in northern Rakhine at the time of the crackdown have accused members of ARSA, the militant group that conducted attacks on police outposts northern Rakhine on Aug. 25, of invading their villages and driving out or killing residents. In May, London-based rights group Amnesty International published a report which found that ARSA militants killed 53 members of the Hindu community in the Kha Maung Seik village tract on the same day that the attacks occurred and dumped their corpses in mass graves. Another 46 Hindus from neighboring Ye Bauk Kyar village who disappeared are believed to be dead. The militants also forced young Hindu women to convert to Islam and took them to a Muslim refugee camp in Bangladesh. Other Hindus fled to Bangladesh or to other parts of Rakhine state to escape the violence. As part of a repatriation program for those who fled to Rakhine state during the violence, Bangladesh in February sent Myanmar a list of 8,032 refugees who indicated that they wanted to return voluntarily to Rakhine state. So far, Myanmar officials have verified some 500 Rohingya refugees as eligible for return as well as about 400 Hindu refugees who also fled to Bangladesh from northern Rakhine and had been approved for return prior to the issuance of the list, Myint Thu, permanent secretary of Myanmars Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told RFA in April. According to Myanmar's 2014 census, Hindus make up only 0.5 percent of the country's population, whereas 88 percent of the people identify as Buddhist and 4.3 percent as Muslim. Reported by Min Thein Aung and Khet Mar for RFAs Myanmar Service. Translated by Khet Mar. Written in English by Joshua Lipes. Clint Powell interviewed Paul Grove, president and CEO of WTCI-PBS. They talked about the importance and history of PBS, how content is created, his road to Chattanooga, Clifford The Big Red Dog, fundraising, and political discourse in today's world. This episode is sponsored by JB Millworks and Team Montieth with Keller Williams. Listen to the interview here. A security officer holding a shield and baton guards a security post leading into a center believed to be used for re-education in Korla, Nov. 2, 2017. Up to 3 million residents of northwestern Chinas Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR), especially ethnic Uyghurs, may have been detained in political re-education camps or forced to attend education sessions for de-radicalization as of June, rights groups said Friday. Beginning in April 2017, Uyghurs accused of harboring strong religious views and politically incorrect ideas have been jailed or detained in political re-education camps throughout the XUAR, where members of the ethnic group have long complained of pervasive discrimination, religious repression, and cultural suppression under Chinese rule. Advocacy group China Human Rights Defenders (CHRD) and a partner NGO, Equal Rights Initiative, said Friday that in the southern XUAR alone some 660,000 rural residents of Uyghur ethnicity may have been detained in the camps, while another up to 1.3 million may have been forced to attend mandatory day or evening re-education sessions in their villages or town centers. The total number for the XUAR as a whole, including other ethnic minorities and city residents is certainly higher, the groups said. The new data, collected by CHRD and Equal Rights Initiative through interviews with dozens of Uyghur villagers in several counties of Kashgar (in Chinese, Kashi) prefecture between July 2017 and June this year, marks a stunning increase from previous estimates of how many people have been detained in the camps or forced to attend re-education sessions. Last week, an editorial in the Global Times dismissed international coverage of the re-education camps in the XUAR, which it labeled training institutes, saying western media outlets were incorrectly labeling them as detention sites and baselessly criticizing Chinas human rights. Aside from the brief mention in the article, China's central government authorities have not publicly acknowledged the existence of political re-education camps in the XUAR, and the number of inmates kept in each facility remains a closely guarded secret. But local officials in many parts of the region have in RFA telephone interviews forthrightly described sending significant numbers of Uyghurs to the camps and even described overcrowding in some facilities. Citing credible reports, U.S. lawmakers Marco Rubio and Chris Smith, who head the bipartisan Congressional-Executive Commission on China, said recently that as many as 500,000 to a million people are or have been detained in the re-education camps, calling it the largest mass incarceration of a minority population in the world today. Adrian Zenz, a lecturer in social research methods at the Germany-based European School of Culture and Theology, said the number could be closer to 1.1 million, which equates to 10-11 percent of the adult Muslim population of the region. Empty villages While conducting research, CHRD and Equal Rights Initiative said that interviewees consistently spoke of their villages and townships as being eerily empty, as a result of widespread efforts to round up ethnic minorities for re-education. One source told the groups on condition of anonymity, that entire villages in Southern Xinjiang have been emptied of young and middle-aged peopleall rounded up into re-education classes, and that only the elderly and the very docile are left. Based on their interviews, CHRD and Equal Rights Initiative found that, on average, nearly 13 percent of the residents of any villagewhich typically has a population of between 1,500 and 3,000had been detained in re-education camps, and that an average of 450 residents of any village were being forced to attend day/evening re-education sessions. The groups said that at least 30 percent of Southern Xinjiang rural Uyghur residents [are] forced into extrajudicial re-education programs, whether detained in camps or forced to attend sessions, based on their findings. They said that their sample is likely representative of the wider situation for rural areas throughout the greater southern XUAR considering the Chinese governments particularly harsh focus on that part of Xinjiang, noting that the sub-region had become the frontier of Beijings war on the three evils of terrorism, religious extremism, and separatism. Using the estimate of 10 percent of residents in the eight villages detained in re-education camps as a guide, we estimate that approximately 240,000 rural residents may be detained in re-education centers in Kashgar prefecture, and 660,000 in the larger Southern Xinjiang, the groups said. Similarly, applying the 20 percent estimate of villagers forced to attend day/evening re-education sessions, we estimate that possibly 480,000 rural residents in the Kashgar prefecture, and 1.3 million in the Southern Xinjiang sub-region, may have been forced to attend the day/evening sessions by mid-2018. But the groups suggested that the actual numbers must be higher, since they do not include estimates of urban residents and of members in other ethnic minorities, in Kashgar or the Southern Xinjiang sub-region. By applying their data at the local level to all of the XUAR, where more than 11.3 million Uyghurs make up around 48.5 percent of the population, the groups estimated that roughy 30 percent, or 3.3 million, may have been subjected to re-education, including about 10 percent, or 1.1 million, in detention camps and about 20 percent, or 2.2 million, in order day/evening re-education sessions. We must be cautious in making these global generalizations, given that the governments de-radicalization campaigns are mostly concentrated in Southern Xinjiang, they said. However, reportedly other ethnic minorities (besides the Uyghurs), in both rural and urban areas, and in Southwestern and other parts of Xinjiang, have also been forced to undergo de-radicalization re-education, so the numbers may not be inconceivable. The groups noted that on Aug. 10 and 13, the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) will examine whether China complies with its convention, and urged the committee to press Beijing to end the detention of ethnic minorities in the XUAR camps, as well as to report on the numbers of individuals held their or forced to attend re-education sessions. They also called on the U.N. for pressure on China to allow independent monitors into the XUAR to inspect the camps, remove any legal provisions that permit the de-radicalization or re-education of ethnic populations, and establish an independent mechanism to investigate torture and other forms of ill-treatment in the camps. Lastly, they suggested that governments in democratic countries use their own human rights tools, such as the U.S. Global Human Rights Accountability Actknown as the Global Magnitsky Actto sanction top Chinese officials responsible for mass extrajudicial incarceration, discriminately targeting Uyghur Muslims and other ethnic minorities in Xinjiang. Dolkun Isa, the president of the Munich-based World Uyghur Congress (WUC) exile group, told RFAs Uyghur Service on Friday that the international community must step up to halt what he called horrific crimes against humanity in Xinjiang, which Uyghurs refer to as East Turkestan. Sadly, the international community is still silent about Chinas atrocities against peaceful Uyghur people. If the world blinks, immense tragedy will surely befall on the Uyghur people, he said. The international community had come together as one after the World War Two to condemn the Holocaust and had pledged Never Again!promising that such ethnic cleansing and mass murders based on ethnicity, race and religion never happen again. Yet, we are witnessing the early signs of ethnic cleansing of the Uyghur people in their own homeland by the Chinese government, added Isa. Calls for action Last week, at a Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC) hearing in Washington, Ambassador Kelley Currie, a top official at the U.S. United Nations mission, called on the Chinese government to end its repressive policies in Xinjiang and to free all those arbitrarily detained. Currie said that the Chinese government is attempting to Sinocise religion in a campaign, the scope of which she called breathtaking. Commission Chairman Rubio called for U.S. corporations to stop selling China items that can be used for repression, including DNA technologies and video surveillance tools. And a growing number of lawmakers are urging U.S. President Donald Trumps administration to take action against China for its policies in he XUAR. Part of our role in Congress is to make sure that this doesnt get lost, that the president and those in the administration understand what is happening, Senator Randy Hultgren, another member of the CECC, told the British Broadcasting Corporation in a recent interview. But we have to do what we can do to make sure that China realizes that we in Congress are recognizing that what they are doing is wrong and it needs to stop, he said. When they are using these technologies to target religious faiths and persecute people of certain religious faiths not because they are a threat, but somehow they see this faith as a threat, thats whats wrong, and that is what goes directly against what China has signed on to with some of these international accords. Reported by RFAs Uyghur Service. Translated by Alim Seytoff. Written in English by Joshua Lipes. Pakistani police say at least 12 schools have been burned down in what officials suspect were coordinated attacks in the country's north. The attacks occurred early on August 3 in the Diamer district in the northern Gilgit-Baltistan region. There were no casualties because the schools -- half of them for girls only -- were closed at the time. No group claimed responsibility for the alleged arson attacks, although similar incidents in the past have been blamed on militants. Following the fires, residents staged a protest demanding the arrest of the culprits and greater safety for schools. Police have announced the launching of a criminal probe. Gilgit-Baltistan is a remote and mountainous area that borders Afghanistan, China, and the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir. Pakistan faces significant education challenges, with an estimated 25 million children out of school, according to Human Rights Watch (HRW). HRW said in a 2017 report that Pakistani militants have destroyed school buildings, targeted teachers and students, and terrorized parents into keeping their children out of school. Based on reporting by Dawn, Geo TV, and AP Afghan police say at least 25 people have been killed in twin suicide blasts at a Shiite mosque in southeastern Afghanistan. Raz Mohammad Mandozai, the police chief of Paktia Province, said two suicide bombers detonated their explosives inside the Khawaja Hassan mosque in the provincial capital of Gardez on August 3. Mandozai said the suicide bombers, who he said were disguised in burqas, first killed two security guards at the entrance of the mosque before firing on worshippers and detonating their explosives. Mandozai said at least 40 people were wounded in the attack and were rushed to nearby hospitals. Sardar Wali Tabasun, the police spokesman for Paktia Province, said the attack occurred after Friday Prayers. Officials warned that the death toll could rise. There was no immediate claim of responsibility, although similar attacks in the past have been claimed by the Islamic State (IS) extremist group, which has a presence in eastern Afghanistan. The Sunni extremist group has frequently targeted Afghanistans Shi'ite minority, which IS calls apostates. The stronghold of the IS group is in neighboring Nangarhar Province, which has been the scene of multiple IS attacks in recent months that have killed dozens. Many of those killed in the blasts in Gardez were Pashtun Shi'a, known as the Turi or Torai. Most Turi live in Pakistan's northwestern Kurram tribal district, while a smaller population lives in Paktia. The Turi have been targeted in both countries for decades by extremist groups, including the Afghan Taliban, the Pakistani Taliban, and Al-Qaeda. The attack in Gardez comes as U.S. and Afghan forces are intensifying ground and air offensives against IS, and the Taliban is stepping up its war with the group. Afghanistan has mostly avoided the sectarian violence that has hit countries such as Iraq, but there have been increasing numbers of attacks on Shiite targets in recent years. In April, IS militants claimed responsibility for an attack on a voter registration office in a heavily Shi'ite-populated area in the Afghan capital, killing 57 people and wounding over 100 others. According to the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, 161 people were killed and 257 others were wounded in 2017 in targeted sectarian attacks against Shi'ite places of worship or worshippers. With reporting by Reuters and AFP The mother of the late Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden has said in her first interview with Western media that her infamous son was "brainwashed" into a life of extremism. Alia Ghanem said in the interview published by The Guardian newspaper on August 3 that "the people at university changed him. He became a different man," referring to the time when bin Laden was in his early 20s and an economics student in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. She appeared to blame Abdullah Azzam, a Muslim Brotherhood member who became bin Laden's spiritual adviser at the university. Ghanem, speaking from the family home in Jeddah, said prior to that time, the future terror leader had been a shy and academically capable student. "He was a very good child until he met some people who pretty much brainwashed him in his early 20s," Ghanem said. "You can call it a cult. They got money for their cause," she said. "I would always tell him to stay away from them, and he would never admit to me what he was doing, because he loved me so much." The United States invaded Afghanistan in late 2001 because the Taliban-led government had protected Al-Qaeda and bin Laden, who organized the September 11, 2001, terror attacks in the United States that killed nearly 3,000 people. The Taliban was driven from power, and bin Laden, hiding in the northern Pakistani city of Abbotabad, was killed in a U.S. raid in 2011. Based on reporting by The Guardian, dpa, and the BBC Yusup Temerkhanov, a Chechen man who was convicted in the high-profile murder of former Russian Army Colonel Yury Budanov, has died while serving his sentence in a penal colony in Siberia, his lawyer says. Lawyer Roza Magomedova said on August 3 that her client died in a hospital in Omsk, where he had been rushed with heart problems. Temerkhanov was convicted in May 2013 of shooting Budanov and sentenced to 15 years in prison. Temerkhanov denied any involvement and pleaded not guilty. Budanov was killed in Moscow in June 2011, two years after his early release from prison, where he served eight years of a 10-year sentence for the March 2000 kidnapping and killing an 18-year-old Chechen woman, Elza Kungayeva. Despite his conviction, Budanov enjoyed broad support in Russia. But he was hated by many in Chechnya, including pro-Russian Chechens. Based on reporting by TASS and Interfax A Crimean Tatar activist set himself on fire in the Crimean capital, Simferopol, protesting plans by the Russia-imposed authorities to build apartment blocks on lands where Crimean Tatars houses now stand. The man -- identified as Vatan Karabash -- doused himself with gasoline and set himself on fire on August 3, shouting he was protesting "the authorities' lawlessness." Several bystanders quickly knocked Karabash to the ground and extinguished the flames. His condition was not immediately clear. On August 2, police dispersed activists protesting the plans to build in the Strelkovaya area near Simferopol. Russia-imposed authorities announced earlier this year that a new district to be called Crimean Rose would be developed there, including new apartment blocks for 9,000 families. Local Crimean Tatars fear their houses will be demolished to make way for the planned apartments. Crimean Tatars built homes in the area in the late 1980s and early '90s after returning from Central Asia, where they had been deported in 1944 by Soviet dictator Josef Stalin. The return of the Crimean Tatars to their historic homeland was not sanctioned by Soviet authorities, meaning many of the homes were built without official permission. The construction company Monolit that has been contracted to build the apartments said last month that "issues related to the legality of some houses raised in the area remain." Russia forcibly occupied and annexed Crimea in March 2014, a move condemned by some 100 countries at the United Nations as a violation of international law. The takeover of Crimea and Russian support for separatists in eastern Ukraine prompted the United States, the European Union, and others to impose sanctions on Russia. ALEXANDRIA, Virginia -- U.S. lawyers combed through years of business documents and income-tax returns for Paul Manafort, as they built their arguments that President Donald Trumps former campaign chairman committed tax evasion and fraud. On day four of Manaforts trial, prosecutors on August 3 grilled one of his long-time accountants on how Manafort reported and paid taxes on his income, much of which came from political consultancy work in Ukraine between 2010 and 2014. Manaforts trial, which is being held in U.S. federal court in Alexandria, Virginia, is the first arising out of Special Counsel Robert Muellers investigation into the interactions between Trump associates and Russian officials and agents. The 18 charges against Manafort predate his time managing Trumps presidential election campaign in 2016. Though the charges concern money earned from the work he did in Ukraine for former President Viktor Yanukovych, they do not directly deal with Russia, or with questions of Trump aides' dealings with Russian agents. Prosecutors have charged Manafort with 18 counts of bank fraud, conspiracy, tax evasion, and other charges related to earnings from his work in Ukraine for Yanukovych and his pro-Russia political group, the Party of the Regions. As he has every day since the trial began, Manafort sat quietly throughout the proceedings, dressed in a suit and tie. Assistant U.S. Attorney Uzo Asonye spent the first half of the August 3 proceedings walking Manafort's longtime accountant -- Philip Ayliff -- through years of tax returns and bookkeeping records. Among the allegations against Manafort are that he failed to disclose to the U.S. government the fact he had foreign bank accounts, some of which were allegedly used to hide income, and that he hid his ownership of foreign entities, many based in Cyprus, which he used to receive his Ukraine-related income. 'Lavish Lifestyle' Prosecutors had indicated that they planned to call Manaforts former deputy, Rick Gates, to testify on August 3, though it was unclear if indeed that would happen later in the session. The previous day, prosecutors called a series of witnesses -- including a suit tailor, a home renovator, a real estate agent, and a landscape designer seeking to demonstrate what they said was Manaforts lavish lifestyle, which was funded allegedly from wire transfers from offshore accounts. The transfers purportedly came from various shell companies -- mainly Cyprus-based -- that authorities say Manafort used to hide his income. Prosecutors have said they intend to complete their arguments as early as next week. Once that happens, Manafort's defense team will present its case to try and convince the jury of his innocence. If the trial continues quickly, it could wrap up before the second, more consequential, trial against Manafort is scheduled to being in September. That trial, in U.S. federal court in Washington, D.C., focuses on allegations that Manafort failed to register as a foreign agent when he was working for Yanukovych and his Ukrainian political party. While Manafort's is the first case that Mueller has brought to trial, the special counsel has charged 31 other people with dozens of offenses, including conspiracy, failure to register as foreign agents, and lying to federal law enforcement. That includes 12 Russian military intelligence officers who allegedly used hacking and other tools in attempts to sway the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Among those who have pleaded guilty to Muellers charges are Trump's first national security adviser, Michael Flynn. Trump has repeatedly attacked Muellers investigation, denying any effort by him or his associates to collude with Russian officials to sway the election. Moscow has accused U.S. authorities of mistreating a Russian woman jailed on charges of acting as an unregistered foreign agent for the Kremlin and called on international rights organizations to intervene. Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told reporters in Moscow on August 3 that Maria Butina is being kept in a cold cell in solitary confinement while officials are continually interrupting her sleep. She added, without providing evidence, that Butina is not receiving proper meals and is being deprived of fresh air. Officials from the Russian Embassy in Washington visited Butina in pretrial detention on July 26. U.S. officials did not immediately comment on Zakharova remarks, which follow several previous condemnations of Butinas arrest by Russian officials. Moscow has previously described Butina as a "political prisoner." Butina, 29, has been accused of attempting to infiltrate political groups, including the powerful National Rifle Association, to advance Russian interests while reporting back to a high-ranking official in Moscow in violation of a U.S. foreign-agent law. Butina is being held in Washington without bail after prosecutors argued that she was a flight risk. She has pleaded not guilty. Based on reporting by AP and TASS Add salty jokes about the Russian patriarch's luxury watch to the list of memes that could potentially lead to criminal prosecution in Russia. A Siberian man is under criminal investigation not only for racially and politically charged images he allegedly posted on social media, but also for one lampooning Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill for wearing a pricey wristwatch that was later clumsily airbrushed out of an official church photograph. Andrei Shasherin, 38, told RFE/RL by telephone on August 3 that he is suspected of hate speech and public actions aimed at "insulting believers' religious sensibilities" in connection with the images posted on the popular Russian social-networking site VKontakte. His public disclosure of the probe this week came after two fellow residents of Barnaul, 3,000 kilometers east of Moscow, drew nationwide attention by revealing that they faced charges over satirical memes they posted on their respective VKontakte accounts. The revelation of the Barnaul cases has heightened criticism of an escalating Russian crackdown on online speech in recent years that free-speech advocates say authorities are using to stifle dissenting voices and boost conviction rates. In one case, 19-year-old Daniil Markin faces up to five years in prison for disseminating hate speech with memes lampooning religion, including one likening the Jon Snow character from the hit HBO show Game Of Thrones to Jesus. In another, 23-year-old Maria Motuznaya faces up to five years in prison on hate-speech charges for VKontakte memes that authorities say are racist and denigrate religion -- including Russian Orthodoxy. 'Psychological Pressure And Brow-Beating' Shasherin, who says he is married and has a 5-year-old son, told RFE/RL that police raided his apartment at 6 a.m. on March 5 and kept him in handcuffs for six hours at the police station. He says police pressured him and threatened that he would go to prison if "I wouldn't sign a document saying I was the one who disseminated the images with the malicious intent of insulting people in various ways." Shasherin said he signed the document, without the presence of a lawyer, after two hours of "psychological pressure and brow-beating" by police, but that he recanted his testimony shortly thereafter. "The police can't guarantee that that court decision will be a fine or something else. That's the trick. They have a different job. Their job is to get the case to court," he told RFE/RL. The hate-speech charge that Shasherin says he is suspected of is punishable by up to five years in prison, while the law on publicly insulting believers' sensibilities can lead to imprisonment of up to one year. Shasherin has also been placed on the list of "terrorists and extremists" maintained by Russia's Federal Financial Monitoring Service, cutting off his access to his bank accounts. Lyudmila Ryazantseva, a spokeswoman with the Russian Investigative Committee in the Altai region, confirmed in a telephone interview with RFE/RL that Shasherin was under criminal investigation but said she could not immediately provide details about the case. Ryazantseva, however, pushed back against Shashaerin's claim that he was pressured into signing a confession. "I don't think anyone pressured him," she said. 'Do You Have The Time?' It was not immediately clear specifically which images Shasherin might be indicted for at the conclusion of the investigation. But in an analysis commissioned by regional investigators in his case, experts concluded that several of the 36 images they examined -- some of which featured Nazi imagery and allusions -- denigrated others based on race and religion. The groups disparaged in these images included natives of the Caucasus and Central Asia, Muslims, ethnic Russians, Russian citizens, communists, and Roma, according to the analysis, a copy of which was obtained by RFE/RL. The experts also concluded that the image skewering Patriarch Kirill over the luxury 30,000-euro Breguet watch he was photographed wearing "violates the norms of religious ethics" with its use of profanity. The cartoon in question features a replica of a 2009 photograph of Kirill wearing the watch, which was later airbrushed out. The doctored photo was published on the Russian Orthodox Church's website in 2012, but whoever manipulated the image forgot to erase the reflection of the timepiece on the polished table he was sitting at. In the cartoon included in Shasherin's case, Jesus is seen asking Kirill over his shoulder: "Do you have the time?" Kirill responds: "Jesus, f**k off." The analysis, which acknowledged the reference to the watch scandal, concluded that it was "unacceptable" to attribute such words to a "person who heads one of the Orthodox autocephalous churches, whose primary goal is the preservation of the Orthodox tradition of the worship of Jesus Christ." Shasherin told RFE/RL that he doubts the objectivity of the expert analysis commissioned by the investigation, but that his efforts to secure a second analysis in the case have been rebuffed by the court. While there have been Russians convicted and imprisoned for social-media posts deemed hate speech, no one has been imprisoned for publicly insulting religious believers' sensibilities since President Vladimir Putin signed the criminal statute into law in 2013. The handful of convictions under the law -- including that of Ruslan Sokolovsky, who was convicted last year in part for a video showing him playing Pokemon Go in a Russian Orthodox Church -- have resulted in either fines or suspended sentences. The law was part of what was widely seen as an effort by Putin to shore up support from conservative elements in Russian society after his return to the Kremlin in 2012 following his four-year stint as prime minister. A Russian film company is revisiting Moscow's history of involvement in the Balkan conflicts two decades ago as the Kremlin works to solidify and expand its influence and blunt Serbia's Western aspirations. Upgrade Vision film is ramping up final production for the 2019 release of what it calls a "heroic drama" titled The Balkan Line. It's a fictionalized account of a June 1999 standoff between a small contingent of Russian forces and their NATO counterparts at the Slatina air base at Pristina Airport in Kosovo. Support for Russian politics is growing in Serbian society, while some Serbs in the public sector have become the "bearers of the Russian idea" and aid in supporting positive perceptions of Russia's military, according to analyst Aleksandar Radic. "This is part of the Balkan atmosphere at the moment," he told RFE/RL. Longtime Russian ally Serbia has become a major target of the Kremlin's anti-Western operations in Europe. With Belgrade eyeing European Union membership, Moscow has played up their shared eastern Orthodox Christianity and deep cultural and historical ties. 'Russian Balkans Tour' In March, nearly two dozen members of the Russian nationalist motorcycle group Night Wolves visited Banja Luka, the administrative center of Bosnia's predominantly Serb entity, Republika Srpska, as part of what they called a "Russian Balkans" tour. The Balkan Line portends to be a further extension of that soft-power push by President Vladimir Putin. In June 1999, about 200 Russian soldiers entered Kosovo from Bosnia and seized the airport. Moscow was said to have been unhappy over not being given a leadership role in supervising any of the regions that Kosovo had been divided into. The move took NATO command by surprise and threatened to derail a fragile peace agreement while helping the Kremlin ensure that Russia had a role in the peacekeeping process. After several hours, the standoff ended with the Russians and Serbs being given control of the northern part of the former Yugoslavia's most sophisticated airports, while British troops manned the southern end. Serbia 'Strongly Impacted' Russia has been a staunch supporter of Serbia's refusal to recognize the sovereignty of Kosovo since the government in Pristina proclaimed independence in 2008. One of the authors of the film, who asked to not be identified because of the sensitive nature of the topic, told RFE/RL that, in the screenplay, "the emphasis is placed on the fact that Serbia is a strongly impacted party in the conflict." "Numerous events in Kosovo have been invented in order to boost the NATO bombing and this will be uncovered in the film," the writer added. The film, directed by Andrey Volgin and starring Yury Kutsenko, Anton Pampushnyy, and Gojko Mitic, is said to be supported financially by both the Serbian and Russian culture ministries. "Historians consider these events as the worst deterioration of relations between Russia and the West since the time of the Cuban missile crisis, " the Russian Culture Ministry said in a statement, though it did not confirm its support role for the film. "The Balkan Line talks about the operation, whose details are still not known to the public to this day." The film, part of which was filmed in Crimea, has already created a stir in the Balkans. Bosnian-born Serb filmmaker Emir Kusturica, who in 2016 was awarded Russia's Order of Friendship by Vladimir Putin, visited the set, raising eyebrows. Meanwhile, the Myrotvorets website, which reveals personal details of people it considers "enemies of Ukraine," has published the names of Serbs who were involved in the project, accusing them of participating in propaganda activities and the institutionalization of Russia's Crimean annexation. Hes the President of Rwanda and the current President of the African Union, feted by the Brookings Institute , one of the most venerable ideological pillars of US capital interests. So why is Paul Kagame manifesting more and more signs of paranoia? Lets consider just a few possibilities: Assassination rumors The Indian Ocean Newsletter reports that French intelligence warned Yoweri Museveni that Kagame was plotting to have his plane shot down over Rwanda, causing him to cancel a flight from Uganda to Burundi for a summit. If said plot had come to fruition, it would have been Kagames second presidential assassination by plane shoot-down over Rwanda. In 1994, his men shot down the plane carrying Rwandan Hutu President Juvenal Habyarimana and Burundian Hutu President Cyprien Ntaryamira from Arusha, Tanzania, to Kigali, Rwanda. That shoot-down triggered the infamous hundred days of ethnic massacres known as the Rwandan Genocide. Is the claim credible? No hard evidence has been proffered. The Indian Ocean Newsl etter is one of several regional reports included in Africa Intelligence Report, an online journal that describes itself as the first information site on Africa for a professional audience and charges substantial fees for all site access or per-article access. Credible or no, Kagame has his online attack dogs busy denying it. Are relations between Kagame and Museveni tense? No doubt about that. The two have been both partners and competitors in crime for many years, with recent emphasis on the competition. The most notorious moment of this partnership occurred in 2000 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where invading Rwandan and Ugandan forces fought each other over the gold and diamond smuggling trade. More recently Kagame has been in the habit of kidnapping or assassinating Rwandan refugees whom he considers his political enemies in Uganda, triggering Musevenis recent crackdown on Rwandan spies. Hes also been trying to force Rwandans whove crossed into Uganda fleeing famine to return home. He knows from firsthand experience that significant numbers of refugees outside Rwanda may return as an insurgency, maybe even an insurgency backed by Uganda, like his own. Speaking of insurgencies An armed insurgency against Kagame has been reported. All the Rwandan exiles that I know seem to believe this, but no one knows or wants to say how serious it might be. My own guess is that an insurgency could succeed only if significant numbers of Kagames own troops turned against him. He has been seen wearing a bulletproof vest in Rwanda. A video identified as Rwandan insurgents in training appeared on Facebook, where it had been viewed 13,000 times as of August 4. Political prisoner Victoire Ingabire in peril According to her political party, the United Democratic Forces of Rwanda, internationally celebrated Rwandan political prisoner Victoire Ingabire was moved into a cell with a former military officer whom she feared would kill her. The party said that the threatening cellmate has been removed for now. Ingabire attempted to run against Kagame in the 2010 presidential election but went to prison instead. The African Unions highest court, the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights, ruled that Ingabire should be freed because Rwanda denied her the rights guaranteed by the Rwandan Constitution, but the current President of the African Union scorns its highest court. In 2010, Victoire Ingabires courage radically changed international perception of the Kagame regime, exposing him as a totalitarian military ruler and war criminal. Congolese historian and activist Benedicte Kumbi Njoko calls her African sister a force of nature. Thousands of Rwandan churches and mosques shut down Kagame has shut down thousands of Rwandan churches and mosques during the first six months of this year. This is not a matter of rumor or speculation; its reported by Reuters, AP, the BBC, and Christian journals including Christianity Today, Baptist Press, Religion News Service, World Watch Monitor, and Christian Persecution News. One hundred twenty-three religious leaders have gone missing, pastors have been imprisoned, and Human Rights Watch has been expelled from the countryagain. Rwandas population of 12 million is roughly 60% Roman Catholic, 26% Protestant, 11% Seventh-day Adventist, and 3% Muslim, so its safe to say that the vast majority of those targeted are Christians of one sort or another. This has caused shock around the world, and in the US Senate and State Department, making it one of Kagames most puzzling paranoid expressions yet. Last week, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo appeared in the Senate, where Arizona Senator Jeff Flake asked him, The country of Rwanda, right now, and you may be familiar with this because of this weeks focus on religious freedom, has indicated a move towards severe restrictions on religious freedom, particularly from outside groups. What are the plans of the State Department to let them know that that is not in their interest or ours? Pompeo responded, Senator, I share your concerns. Ill need to get back to you in terms of what actions we think will fit. I know well call it out. I know well label it for what it is. We do need to see. It is tragic and anyway, I share your concerns. Its a huge challenge for us. Indeed. Rwanda has been a longstanding US ally, military proxy, and geostrategic lynchpin in East Africa, Central Africa, and the rest of the African continent. How will Christians and Christian Zionists react to this? Paul Kagame's Rwanda has been hand in glove with Israel ever since he seized power in 1994. Both claim victim's license to invade their neighborsCongo and Palestineand the US has staunchly supported that license politically, militarily, and financially. The US is Rwandas top bilateral donor Mike Pompeo attended last weeks Christian persecution exhibition in Washington, DC, which prominently featured the case of Rwanda, alongside those of Iraq, Syria, Iran, Turkey, Lybia, Sudan, Nigeria, and Pakistan. So did Sam Brownback, the Trump Administration official assigned to look after the interests of Christians around the world, although his actual title is Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom. The Kansas Republican extremist is the first Catholic to hold the position. He is also a prominent member of The Fellowship, aka The Family, which was the subject of Jeff Sharlets book The Family: The Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Power. Sharlet characterized Brownback himself as Gods Senator in a frightening 2006 Rolling Stone profile. David Himbara, former economic advisor to Paul Kagame, and Justin Bahunga, Spokesman for the Rwandan Democratic Forces, and others say that Kagame shut down the churches, using building code violations as an excuse, because they were the last spaces in Rwanda where people felt safe from his totalitarian grip. Wasnt this an extraordinarily foolish move, especially given the theocratic tendencies of the Trump Administration? Didnt Kagame know that even his staunchest defenders, Bill Clinton and Tony Blair, couldnt give this a positive spin? I asked David Himbara, who responded, Totalitarian regimes arent always smart. They tend to shoot first and ask questions after. Its hard to imagine the State Department and the Pentagon cutting Kagame loose while hes still of greater use than not, but how much longer will that be? And what will it take to tip the balance? Officials in Tajikistan have released the names of five men they say carried out a July 29 attack that left four foreign cyclists dead and three injured. The August 3 statement said that Hussein Abdusamadov -- who is accused of being the ringleader of the group -- was detained and the other four men were killed during a police operation to capture them on the night of July 29-30. Prosecutors identified the five suspects as Abdusamadov, Asomiddin Majidov, and Zafar Safarov from Panj District and two brothers from the town of Nurek, Asliddin and Jafar Yusupov. Ten residents of Nurek have also reportedly been detained in connection with the case. The officials said all five were members of the banned Islamic Renaissance Party of Tajikistan (IRPT), which the Tajik authorities have blamed for the attack. Officials said a video purportedly showing the men swearing allegiance to the Islamic State terrorist group was a ruse "with the aim to deflect suspicion from another terrorist organization," the IRPT, "which masterminded this act of terror." The IRPT leadership has called the authorities' claims "baseless and irrational," as well as "shameless and illogical slander." The attack on a group of foreign cyclists on a remote mountain road on July 29 claimed the lives of two Americans, a Dutchman, and a Swiss citizen. Three other foreigners -- one Dutch, one Swiss, and one French -- were injured. A U.S. citizen has been detained in Russia's Far Eastern region of Chukotka after apparently accidentally sailing across the Bering Sea in a small boat. Russian officials on August 3 reported that a U.S. citizen identified either as John Martin or John William had been boating on the Yukon River in Alaska when he ended up in the open sea and, after several days in bad weather, was washed up in Russia on August 1. He was reportedly in good health despite the ordeal. An unidentified Russian official told the TASS state news agency that Martin had not asked for political asylum, as earlier media reports had indicated. The Russian Foreign Ministry said the U.S. Consulate in Vladivostok had been informed of the incident. Based on reporting TASS, AP, and Interfax WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Treasury has targeted a Russian bank for "facilitating a significant transaction" on behalf of a person with ties to North Koreas banned weapons program. The Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) said on August 3 that it was adding Agrosoyuz Commercial Bank of Moscow to its list of sanctioned entities and persons for actions allegedly helping North Korea to evade United Nations Security Council sanctions OFAC said it was also designating Ri Jong Won, 48, a Moscow-based deputy representative of the previously sanctioned Foreign Trade Bank (FTB) -- described as North Koreas primary foreign-exchange bank -- along with two North Korean "front companies." "Today's action targets a Russian bank for knowingly facilitating a significant transaction on behalf of an individual designated for weapons of mass destruction-related activities in connection with North Korea," the OFAC statement said. The same day, the United States asked the United Nations Security Council's North Korea sanctions committee to list the same entities. To do so, all 15 Security Council members, including Russia, would have to agree. The U.S. Treasury statement said Russian-registered Agrosoyuz Commercial Bank conducted a financial transaction on behalf of Han Jang Su, the Moscow-based chief representative of Foreign Trade Bank (FTB), North Koreas primary foreign exchange bank. It noted that both Han and FTB had been previously designated by the United States. "Nevertheless, continuing into 2018, Russian bank Agrosoyuz continued to provide services to Han Jang Su, in violation of Russia's UN obligations," OFAC said. It said Agrosoyuz has had a "long relationship" with North Korea and has processed millions of dollars in transactions through accounts owned by North Korean banks. The statement said OFAC was also designating two associated FTB "front companies" Dandong Zhongsheng Industry & Trade Co. Ltd. and Korea Ungum Corp. "The United States will continue to enforce UN and U.S. sanctions and shut down illicit revenue streams to North Korea.Our sanctions will remain in place until we have achieved the final, fully-verified denuclearization of North Korea," Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said. OFAC sanctions generally aim to block any financial assets and property the companies and individuals might have within U.S. jurisdiction and forbid Americans from conducting transactions with them. The UN Security Council has set a series of sanctions aimed at eliminating important revenue streams for Kim Jong Un's government in Pyongyang. U.S. President Donald Trump has met with Kim and the leaders have expressed desires to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula. However, U.S. officials have has called on all countries to adhere to the UN sanctions until North Korea has completed verified denuclearization. A Ukrainian activist was released from a penal colony in Russia on August 3, after serving more than four years. Oleksandr Kostenko had been convicted by a court in Russia-annexed Crimea in 2015 for allegedly attacking security forces in Kyiv during protests in February 2014 in the Ukrainian capital against then-President Viktor Yanukovych, who was allied with the Kremlin. Kostenko and his supporters said Russia had no right to put him on trial. Russian authorities claimed jurisdiction, arguing one of the police officers allegedly injured by Kostenko had obtained Russian citizenship. Moscow granted Russian citizenship to dozens of Ukrainian riot police officers who were involved in the deadly standoff with unarmed protesters in Kyiv during the Euromaidan protests. Yana Goncharova of the RosUznik rights group posted photos of Kostenko after leaving the penal colony in the city of Kirovo-Chepetsk. Goncharova said in June that Kostenko had been placed in solitary confinement ahead of his scheduled August release. Goncharova also said Kostenko needed medical treatment for an arm that was broken during his arrest in 2015. Russia occupied and annexed Crimea from Ukraine in March 2014, triggering sanctions by the United States and European Union and condemnation by some 100 countries at the United Nations. A prominent U.S. lawmaker has said during a visit to Moscow that the United States needs to have more dialogue with Russia and keep communication lines open. "My goal in coming to Russia is to say that we want to have open lines of communication," Senator Rand Paul (Republican-Kentucky) told journalists after a meeting with members of the International Affairs Committee in Russia's upper chamber of parliament, the Federation Council, on August 6. "It does not mean that we have no differences, it does not mean that we will not, on occasion, have discussions back and forth where we disagree. But discussions are incredibly important, diplomacy is important," said Paul, a member of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations and a former presidential candidate. Paul was one of only two senators who voted against a major Russia sanctions bill in 2017 and has praised President Donald Trump's efforts to engage with Russia, vocally defending Trump when the president faced widespread criticism from U.S. lawmakers over his conduct at a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin on July 16 in Helsinki. During the meeting at the Federation Council, Paul said that the United States and Russia "need to have dialogue," adding that the former Cold War foes are "in close proximity" in many hotspots around the world, including in Syria. "I think it would be a very big mistake not to have open lines of communication," Paul said. "The world is a complicated place," he said. Trump has repeatedly said he wants to improve relations with Russia, which are severely strained. His summit with Putin in Helsinki was their first full-fledged meeting since Trump took office in January 2017. Konstantin Kosachyov, the chairman of the International Affairs Committee, said at the meeting with Paul that efforts to mend ties are hampered by sanctions the United States has imposed in response to Russia's interference in Ukraine, its alleged meddling in the U.S. 2016 presidential election, and other actions. "The sanctions definitely pose an obstacle to these relations, but they do not stop these relations in any way," Kosachyov said. Russian media also quoted Paul as saying that he invited members of the committee to Washington for talks. Paul and the Russian lawmakers discussed a possible joint meeting by the end of this year between the Senate Committee members and their Russian counterparts from the Council's Foreign Affairs Committee, Kosachyov was quoted as saying by state-run news agency TASS. "Of course, Mr. Paul is yet to discuss these ideas with his colleagues after returning to Washington," Kosachyov said. The information could not be immediately confirmed by U.S. officials. Based on reporting by AP and Interfax Russia is allowing thousands of North Korean laborers into the country and giving them new work permits in what U.S. officials say appear to be violations of UN sanctions, The Wall Street Journal reported on August 2. Over 10,000 new North Korean workers have registered in Russia since September, the paper said, citing records from the Russian Interior Ministry. The Wall Street Journal, citing U.S. officials, said Russia's actions appear to violate UN sanctions imposed in September, which barred governments from issuing new work permits to North Koreans, although they allowed some existing labor contracts to stay in place. The sanctions are aimed at reducing cash flows that North Korea uses to finance its weapons programs, thus putting pressure on Pyongyang to give up its nuclear weapons. North Korea has a guest-work program that primarily has sent workers to China and Russia with a mission of earning cash income that is sent back to Pyongyang, with the government keeping most of the earnings. Moscow and Beijing agreed to stop taking in new workers last year in what was seen at the time as a significant concession to U.S. demands for stricter sanctions on North Korea. But The Wall Street Journal said that Labor Ministry records it obtained showed that a minimum of 700 new work permits have been issued to North Koreans in Russia this year. United Nations officials are probing whether the sanctions, which allow only narrow exceptions, are being violated, The Wall Street Journal said. The Russian Foreign Ministry did not respond to a request for comment outside regular business hours. "It's absolutely clear that Russia needs to do more. Russia says it wants better relations with the United States, so Moscow should prove that by cooperating with us, not working against us, on this urgent threat to all nations," a U.S. State Department spokesperson told Reuters. "It is estimated that North Korean laborers in Russia send between $150 million to $300 million annually to Pyongyang. Now is the time for Russia to take action: Moscow should immediately and fully implement all the UN sanctions that it has signed onto," the State Department spokesperson said. On top of the possible labor sanctions violations, the United States recently charged that North Korea has exceeded the limits on oil products it was allowed to import this year under the UN sanctions. Washington brought its allegations of oil sanctions violations before the UN Security Council last month, but its attempt to get action on what it said were illegal transfers of oil to North Korean ships on the high seas was blocked by Russia and China. The labor and oil sanctions are part of a series of sanctions adopted by the Security Council last year that are aimed at eliminating important revenue streams for Kim Jong Un's government. With reporting by Reuters and The Wall Street Journal Editor's Note: To receive Steve Gutterman's Week In Russia each week via e-mail, subscribe by clicking here. Three seasoned journalists were shot dead as they were investigating Russian military contractors and mining interests far beyond the country's borders, while pension-reform plans put millions of people back home in a protest mood and exposed rifts in the ruling party. Here are some of the key developments in Russia over the past week, and some of the takeaways going forward. Killed In Africa Russian journalists who snoop around where the state and its allies don't want people snooping end up dead on occasion -- in some cases gunned down by attackers who make little effort to cover up the crime. That's what happened to Anna Politikovskaya, who was killed in her apartment building in central Moscow in 2006. It's also what happened late on July 29 to Orkhan Dzhemal, Aleksandr Rastorguyev, and Kirill Radchenko, who were shot dead on a road in the Central African Republic, nearly 6,000 kilometers from the Russian capital. Working with a media outlet established by Kremlin foe Mikhail Khodorkovsky, they were there to investigate the operations of ChVK Vagner -- a "private military company" said to be controlled by a businessman dubbed "Putin's chef" because of catering contracts with the Kremlin -- as well as Russia's interests in diamond, gold, and uranium mining. Of course, there are many ways a journey in an unfamiliar, violence-torn country can go badly wrong in an instant. But Andrei Konyakhin, the editor of Khodorkovsky's Investigation Control Center, isn't sure any of them explains the killings of three highly respected journalists whose deaths -- like Politkovskaya's and those of other reporters and activists whose work has challenged the Kremlin or those close to it -- have cast a pall over Russia and raised questions about the motive. "This was done in a very demonstrative fashion," the Associated Press quoted Konyakhin as saying. "If they could have just taken everything from them, why kill them?" he said, questioning why the attackers spared the journalists' local driver and did not cover their tracks. Death And Details When things like this happen, the Kremlin and its support system normally present a united front, with state officials, parliament deputies, and pundits conveying a common message in public statements and social media posts. This time, there are signs that not everybody is on the same page. In comments on August 1, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova made a point of saying that the stated purpose of the trio's trip to the Central African Republic was tourism, seeming to distance them from Moscow and take them to task for misstating the intent of the visit. Amid an outpouring of grief from friends and colleagues, the focus on that technicality didn't sit well with some Russians. Those who took issue included Leonid Slutsky, the chairman of the International Affairs Committee in the State Duma -- and hardly a Kremlin critic. Issues such as the purpose of the trip are "not very important now," Slutsky wrote in Instagram. "What's important is that Russian citizens have been killed," he wrote, adding that Russia "should follow the example of our 'strategic friends' from across the ocean: The United States does not leave the death of any of its citizens without consequences. No matter what country they were in and what political views they adhered to." Ruling Party Rifts Another issue that has exposed rifts in the ruling elite -- and may have long-lasting repercussions for Russia -- is the government's plan to raise the retirement age. A government-backed bill that has cleared the first hurdle in parliament would raise the retirement age to 63 for women by 2034 and to 65 for men by 2028. Currently, the retirement age is 55 for women and 60 for men. Two prominent Duma deputies from United Russia disobeyed what was reportedly an order to back the bill in the first of three votes on the pension-reform bill in the lower house. Conservative lawmaker Natalya Poklonskaya, who gained prominence as the chief prosecutor in the Russian-imposed government of Crimea after Moscow occupied and seized the Ukrainian peninsula in 2014, voted against the bill -- prompting a spat and speculation that she could face punishment. Sergei Zheleznyak skipped the July 19 Duma vote and was forced to resign as deputy head of the party's General Council. The bill passed easily, with every single "yes" vote cast by United Russia: an unusually monolithic display of displeasure from the other three parties in the Duma, which have been seen for years by many Russians as window-dressing -- a kind of loyal opposition that is part of Putin's system. Putin's Poll Problem Meanwhile, street protests over the pension reform plan persist. And while they may be smaller than the wave of demonstrations in 2011-12, which failed to stop Putin from returning to the Kremlin after a stint as prime minister, a survey by independent pollster Levada Center indicated the protest mood is growing. Poll results released on August 1 showed that 28 percent of Russians would take to the streets if protests against falling living standards and in defense of their rights were held in their hometown more than at any time since September 1998, in the midst of a devastating financial crisis. And despite elaborate efforts to shield Putin from political fallout from the planned retirement-age hikes, the unpopularity of pension reform appears to have rubbed off on the president. A July poll conducted by Levada put Putin's approval rating at 67 percent, the lowest in 4 years. The Most Extensive and Reliable Source of Information Related to the Mexican Drugs Cartels. You will not find this level of coverage anywhere else, join us! Send information, pictures or videos, you remain 100% anonymous. Envia fotos, videos, notas, enlaces o informacion todo 100% Anonimo. Want to be a contributor or citizen reporter for Borderland Beat? We love to have you in our team, send Sol Prendido or HEARST an email! WARNING: Posts may contain strong violent material, discretion is advised. COMMENTS: We do not publish all comments, and we do not publish comments immediately. Consumer protection says 15 tourist complaints lodged mostly against restaurants, timeshares Riviera Maya, Q.R. The Federal Consumer Protection Agency (Profeco) says that so far this summer, they have received 15 complaints against providers of tourist services, most of them timeshares. According to Marisol Huitron Rangel, subdelegate of Profeco for Solidaridad, of these, two of the complaints have already been reconciled in favor of the consumer. We have 15 complaints filed into this holiday operation of which we have managed to reconcile two in favor of the consumer, recovering just over 10,000 peso, he said. Huitron Range says the other consumer complaints include a clothing store, two restaurants, jewelry stores, a car rental company and a parking lot. The complaints were lodged regarding companies in Solidaridad, Tulum and Cozumel, he said. He explained that the restaurant complaints were for an attempted obligatory tip payment. Other complaints included information being posted in English when it must be posted in Spanish first, for a guarantee that was less than the legal mandatory 90-days as indicated by the Federal Consumer Protection Law and others, for not displaying prices. Huitron Rangel said that of the 15 filed complaints, seven were against timeshare companies for failing to honor the agreement that by law, the consumer has five days to cancel without penalty. For the two restaurant complaints, he says mandatory tip payments are not permitted and also cannot be suggested. He says that Profepa officials will continue with their summer holiday operation until August 19, where they will continue with their verification visits. Mexican marine rescues crew of four at Mahahual after motor fails Mahahual, Q.R. Two Italians and their dogs were rescued by local marine officials outside Mahahual Thursday after their boat motor failed. The Navy Secretariat of Mexico reported that naval personnel rescued two people who were aboard a sailboat that had problems in its propellant system. Marine personnel took to the sea in search of the small vessel. Photo: Navy Secretariat of Mexico The boat was located in the vicinity of Punta Xocox about 7 nautical miles off the shores of Mahahual. Mexican officials say they received the distress call for help from the boat who said their motor had failed. Mexican search and rescue were quick to leave their post in search of the crew of four due to oncoming bad weather. They were able to tow the boat safely to shore where all on board were reported to be in good health. The Navy Secretariat of Mexico recorded the quick rescue on video. In July, the Navy of Mexico off Isla Mujeres assisted in the escorting of an American sailboat to the island by a Panamanian vessel after the crew of two lost propulsion. New method of sargasso collection being implemented for Cancun, Riviera Maya Riviera Maya, Q.R. State governor Carlos Joaquin says that in the coming days, they will begin work to collect the sargasso within the sea, catching it before it lands on beaches. The seaweed will be caught in the sea through the placement of ecological fences similar to those used in oil spills. With the addition of specialized machinery, the seaweed will be collected offshore to prevent it from reaching land. Carlos Joaquin said that the work using the new method will begin in the next few days in Playa del Carmen and Cancun, as well as at the beaches of Mahahual, Tulum, Isla Mujeres and Puerto Morelos. The governor said that in addition to the sea collection, manual cleaning of the beaches will continue twice a day, adding that the arrival of the sargasso is expected to continue along coastlines facing east. He explained that A study of currents will tell us where to place these fences to prevent the sargasso from reaching the beaches, noting the ecological fences will be placed in the water using tugboats. The cost of the work comes from the federation, however, we are providing state support to get the work started. We are working on a federal agreement so that we can have joint resources to carry out the project that we hope solves this problem, Carlos Joaquin explained. Photo: riviera-maya-news.com He also said that there have been some universities in the United States, especially Galveston, that have been supporting the state government to determine where and how the sargasso comes from. Cozumel and Isla Mujeres have been the municipalities where the seagrass has been recorded in smaller quantities since the coasts go west, because the top of the sargasso arrives precisely toward the current, toward the east. He said that they have been looking for different solutions for this problem. Beyond the legal discussion about who should clean the beach, the state government has taken the initiative to clean them because tourism and work by Quintana Roo are involved, said Carlos Joaquin. He noted that over the last 45 days, between government workers and private companies and citizens, 120,000 cubic meters of seaweed has been collected on 38,000 linear meters of beach across seven municipalities. In July, Mexicos Cemex expressed interest in attempting to turn the unwanted seagrass into energy. Rotherham Borough Council's strategic director of regeneration Damien Wilson (right) and cabinet member for jobs and local economy Denise Lelliott are pictured with (from left to right) chief executive of United Caps Benoit Henckes, chief project officer Rony Van Regnmortel and plant director Paul Gorry. AN INTERNATIONAL bottle top firm capped its announcement of a 18 million investment in Rotherham by pledging to provide up to 100 jobs. United Caps which already manufactures in Belgium, Germany, France, Spain, Hungary, Luxembourg and Ireland will soon build its first UK plant at Dinnington. The factory, focusing on tops for drinks and dairy cartons, will start production late next year, creating 20 jobs. But chief executive Benoit Henckes said 80 more could be in the pipeline at the companys chosen site on the Dinnington Business Park, where the plant has room to grow up to four times the size. Mr Henckes, who met Rotherham Borough Council bosses and the Advertiser at Riverside House last Thursday to outline his plans, said Rotherham had been chosen as it ticked all the companys boxes. We had three criteria in choosing a site, he said. One is skilled labour, which gives the region a big advantage, with its Advanced Manufacturing Park. Number two was access to main roads and the area where most food production is taking place, near Leeds. We need to be close to our customers, who are food manufacturers and packers. The third thing is the cost of land, which is is quite expensive in the UK. But in Rotherham weve found a good balance on three criteria. United Caps will employ 20 skilled workers, with a range of specialisms, when it begins production. Its flexible production lines could be used to make any of the firms products, which include a pioneering metallic plastic created for an instant coffee brand. We will be hiring mainly skilled people some specifically in plastics, but also in robotics and general and engineering, said Mr Henckes. We will start by installing five or six production lines, planning to increase this number year on year with demand. As we approach ten production lines, we will look to buy another module (one of four sections) of the site. There is potential for up to 100 jobs, eventually. He added: Plastic is still very new as a material. We are still doing innovative things with it. When we opened our last production five years ago, people said what we did was not possible. We proved that it was and this will continue into the future. Cllr Denise Lelliott, the borough councils cabinet member for jobs and the local economy, said: This is another example of how were focused on growing the economy. We have a really good business team and a fantastic planning department whose message is: Come to Rotherham, its open for business. She added: We have worked closely with the Advanced Manufacturing Park for years and were working with the Sheffield City Region too. Then there is the higher education campus coming to Rotherham, which will focus on apprenticeships. This isnt a sign of things to come, but something which is already happening. Damien Wilson, strategic director of regeneration, said: Were the only place in South Yorkshire in the top ten fastest growing UK economies. This is only one of several projects being delivered by our excellent team. Weve got the private and public sector pulling in the same direction. Seen recently at The Monkwood pub, Rawmarsh, are the Class of 1975-1982 A SCHOOL reunion attracted ex-pupils from as far afield as New Zealand after a determined woman spent three years tracking people down via Facebook. Dawn Ingham (54), of Rawmarsh, left Haugh Road School, now known as Rawmarsh Community School, in 1980. Dawn managed to reunite around 63 of her former classmates and five teachers at The Monkwood pub, Rawmarsh, who had been at the school between 1975 and 1981. They included Chris Clapham, of Waitakere, New Zealand, who dropped in on the reunion while visiting relatives in the UK. Another ex-pupil who travelled a long way to the reunion was Debbie Rice, who lives in Kinross, Scotland. Dawn said: It was really nice that everyone made that effort. It was amazing because you see people now and you know their face. I asked people to send in photos of how they were at school. It was amazing because you get talking to them and its like they were at school yesterday. We were sharing lots of memories of what we had done. Dawn last organised a reunion in the early 1990s and is hoping to arrange another celebration in 2020 to mark 40 years since the class of 1980 graduated. Image credit: ZCDC The Zimbabwean government said it will soon commission a new plant for crushing and recovery of diamonds in Marange.Mines minister Winston Chitando was quoted by NewsDay as saying that the move would boost diamond output.The government-backed $80 million recapitalisation programme enabled the acquisition of mining equipment from Belarus.Meanwhile, the Zimbabwe Consolidated Diamond Company (ZCDC) chief executive officer, Morris Mpofu, said they were targeting to produce 3 million carats of diamonds this year.We have hit one million mark in the first four months of the year and we are targeting to produce about three million carats at the end of the year, up from 1, 8 million produced last year because we are set to start processing at a new conglomerate crushing and diamond recovery plant that was constructed in Marange, he was quoted as saying.The plant will have the capacity to crush 450 tonnes of ore per hour and this means it will have the capacity to produce 600,000 carats at full throttle annually, but we will start off at half our capacity. Gem Diamonds, which has a 70 percent stake in the Letseng mine, in Lesotho, has registered record rough tender revenues of $169.2mln from diamonds mined in the first half of its financial year, a 43 percent jump on the second half of 2017.The average price per carat of diamonds sold during the period leaped 33 percent to $2,742 from $2,061, it said.It recovered 10 diamonds greater than 100 carats over the period.Company chief executive Clifford Elphick said the improved recoveries combined with the discovery and subsequent sale of the 910 carat Lesotho Legend for $40 million last March had generated a strong financial performance for the first half.Meanwhile, Gem Diamonds said it had commenced a formal sale process for its Ghaghoo mine, in Botswana with initial non-binding offers having been received. Image credit: ALROSA ALROSA, the worlds leader in diamond mining, has sold at a public auction the Dynasty diamond a 51.38-carat round stone, the central diamond in the same-name collection. The total revenue from the sale of the Dynasty collection amounted to about USD 10 million.ALROSA held an auction for the sale of the Dynasty diamond at its own electronic trading platform on August 2, 2018. The Dynasty stone, a 51.38-carat traditional round brilliant-cut diamond, D color (colorless), VVS1 clarity (with no inclusions), is the purest of all large diamonds manufactured throughout the Russian jewelry history. Following the auction, it has officially become the most expensive stone ever sold by ALROSA.The Dynasty collection consisted of five diamonds manufactured from a 179-carat rough diamond. It took a year and a half to create the collection. The collection was manufactured by experts from the cutting and polishing division of the Company DIAMONDS ALROSA branch.In November 2017, ALROSA held the first auction for the sale of the collection. Four of five stones were sold at this auction, the excess of final prices over reserve prices averaged about 30%.We are happy to announce the successful sale of the whole Dynasty collection. For ALROSA it was the first experience of creating our own collection of diamonds, of a road show in different countries worldwide, and of the sale at an electronic platform. Today we can finally say that this experience has become a success for the Company. The total revenue from the sale of the Dynasty collection amounted to about USD 10 million, which is in line with our initial estimates. We will keep on working and introducing new diamond collections to the market, said ALROSA CEO Sergey IVANOV. Botswana Exporters and Manufacturers Association (BEMA) President Nkosi Mwaba has called upon the business community and government to offer unwavering support to local enterprises, before allowing foreign companies to fish in the local market. We need to unapologetically support, protect and develop local industries before rushing to conform to often unrealistic regional trade expectations, said Mwaba. The President argued that open market only favours already thriving economies not small and developing economies, where entrepreneurs compete with already established companies. The spirit of open borders is noble idea and works well in a perfect world with all things being equal. The truth is, we do believe in free trade and an open border system, but only if it is fair and only if it is aligned to the healthy development and growth of Botswana companies, Mwaba said. BEMA believes deliberate efforts to support local entrepreneurs will unearth local world-class companies and produce world -class products. We need to move away from the mindset where businesses and procuring entities find it okay to prefer foreign brands to our own, said Mwaba adding that uninterrupted and unlimited importation presents unfair competition. He called upon government to swiftly address issues of trade to allow local companies to grow before imports are allowed to flood the country. Let us grow in the spirit of putting Botswana first. Latest Statistics Botswana data indicate the countrys exports for May recorded an increase to P6, 553.1 million in which diamonds accounted for 91.0 percent of total exports, copper and nickel 0.1 percent, gold 0.6 percent iron steel and related products 0.2 percent, machinery and electrical equipment 2.8 percent, meat and meat products 1.1 percent, plastic and plastic products 0.4 percent salt and soda ash 1.0 percent textile 0.4 percent, vehicles and transport equipment 0.6 percent while other goods share was 1.9 percent. On the reverse side, the total imports value for May was pegged at P4, 127.8 million showing a decrease of 11.6 percent. Mwaba believes that supporting local companies could also curb the growing concern of upward spiraling unemployment numbers. According to BEMA, the country needs to generate momentum in its net exports and bring them to at least 15 percent of the annual GDP. Early this year government signed the Tripartite Free Trade Area (TFTA) Agreement which consists of 26 countries of the three Regional Economic Communities of Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), East African Commission (EAC), and the Southern African Development Community (SADC). Botswana becomes the 22nd country to append its signature to the agreement which aims to boost intra-African trade through the creation of a wider market, increased investment flows, enhanced competitiveness and development of cross-regional infrastructure. TFTA is expected to come into force in April next year, supporting efforts to achieve the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) which was launched this year. So far, other countries that have the agreement include Angola, Burundi, Comoros, Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Egypt, Kenya, State of Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Namibia, Rwanda, Seychelles, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, South Africa, eSwatini, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Loktantrik Janta Dal leader Sharad Yadav Loktantrik Janta Dal leader Sharad Yadav appealed to the Congress to take the lead in bringing together all opposition parties on a single platform to dislodge the BJP from power. Addressing a gathering here, he said the country was currently reeling under an "undeclared democracy" in the BJP rule. "It (defeating the BJP) will not happen without opposition unity. Those getting 31 per cent votes are ruling now because 69 per cent votes stood divided. The Congress is the biggest opposition party and it should take responsibility to bring all parties on a single platform," Yadav said while addressing the state-level Lokkranti Sammelan. The former JD(U) leader also hinted that parties in the proposed Third Front would forge an alliance with the Congress at the national level and in Madhya Pradesh, where assembly polls were due later this year. "We will have an alliance with the Congress at the national level and also make an effort to have a coalition here (in Madhya Pradesh)," he said in an interaction with reporters after the function. He was responding to a query whether the parties under the proposed Third Front would stitch an alliance with the Congress. Advertisement Cong should bring opposition parties together against BJP "An undeclared emergency is more dangerous than the declared one. At present, there is an undeclared emergency in the country," he said, alleging that the governments in Madhya Pradesh and Centre were spreading lies. He said every section of the society was suffering under the BJP-led central government which had caused the "maximum damage" to the country in just four years. Yadav appealed to the people to vote in the upcoming elections with an objective to save the country and the Constitution and not on the lines of caste and religion. He said the BJP under leaders like (former prime minister) Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Lal Krishna Advani was different from the present one under Prime Minister Narendra Modi. "It is time for the people to ask the government to fulfill the electoral promises made by them," the socialist leader said. Yadav slammed the Modi-led government over the "non-fulfilment" of the electoral promise of creating 2 crore jobs and for demonetising higher currencies. Advertisement Lal Krishna Advani Accusing the BJP of dividing the society, Yadav claimed, "Cows seem have become more important than their daughters and mothers." He alleged that the Madhya Pradesh government had "ruined" the Narmada and the Tawa rivers by allowing illegal mining. Taking a dig at Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan's "Jan Ashirvad (blessing) Yatra", Yadav dubbed the mass outreach campaign 'Jan Abhishap (curse) Yatra'. "The BJP rule has become an 'abhishap' (curse) for the common people," he claimed. Yadav said he had coined two slogans, "BJP Bhagao - Desh Bachao" and "Modi Hatao Samvidhan Bachao". Yadav claimed that 102 people had died in mob lynching incidents in the country under the BJP rule. Speaking on the occasion, Bahujan Sangharsh Dal (BSD) president Phool Singh Baraiya alleged, "Most of the slaughter-houses exporting beef abroad are run by Hindus." He dared the BJP governments to cancel the licenses of these facilities. Congress leader and former East Delhi MP Sandeep Dikshit and Communist leaders from Madhya Pradesh also attended the convention. Lok Sabha was adjourned briefly today The Lok Sabha was adjourned briefly today amid noisy protests by Trinamool Congress over detention of some of its MPs in Assam's Silchar yesterday. As soon as the House took up the Question Hour, Saugata Roy (TNC) said he has moved a notice for breach of privilege against the Assam Home Secretary and others for detaining MPs. Speaker Sumitra Mahajan said he can raise the issue after questions. Not satisfied, TMC members rushed to the Well raising slogans against the BJP government in the state and at the Centre. Speaker Sumitra Mahajan Advertisement They also demanded a reply from the prime minister. 'BJP ki tanashahi nahin chalegi' (BJP's dictatorship won't do) and 'Pradhan Mantri jawab do', Prashan Mantri kahan gaya' (PM give a reply and where is the PM) were some of the slogans being raised. Soon after the House was adjourned TMC member Idris Ali was taken ill and rushed to a hospital. Reporters outside Parliament House said he was being taken to an ambulance on a stretcher. Leader of Congress party in Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge supported the TMC, saying it is important to note that MPs were detained when Parliament session is on. The speaker said what the TMC members were doing was "not proper".TDP members, who had been demanding special category status for Andhra Pradesh by standing at their seats wearing yellow stoles, entered the Well. They, however, did not raise slogans. Mallikarjun Kharge supported the TMC Advertisement As the protest drowned the Question Hour, the Speaker adjourned the House for nearly 15 minutes till 11.50 AM. TMC members continued to protest after the adjournment. The Assam government had yesterday restricted eight members of a TMC delegation to the security area of the Silchar airport. The TMC delegation was in Assam to assess the situation in the wake of publication of final draft of the National Register of Citizens. The TMC had dubbed the detention of its delegation as a "super emergency" Letshego Botswana, a subsidiary of the pan-African group Letshego Holdings, is surging ahead with a multi-pronged strategy of financial inclusion, which among other things includes provision of financial services to micro to small enterprises and affordable housing financial solutions. The relatively new Chief Executive, Fergus Ferguson revealed this recently at a meet and greet session with the media. The confident Ferguson said there are various initiatives, which Botswana subsidiary has devised in a bid to help the unbanked, those seeking affordable housing as well as small entrepreneurs who are faced with lack of access to credit to expand their businesses. A few years ago, the Botswana Stock Exchange (BSE) listed group Letshego Holdings Limited, which Letshego Botswana is a unit of, piloted an initiative that is aimed at supporting small businesses, including those who have won supply contracts with the central government. So far nearly 100 companies under this category have been assisted. I think we are now at a point where we need to make a (final) decision on this initiative (of SMMEs funding since it is currently being piloted), noted Ferguson who was appointed in the position last November. He could not immediately state the value of loans disbursed to beneficiaries. Most SMMEs in Botswana are faced with challenges such as access to market, capital, mentoring and capacity. Letshego Botswana is currently exploring the possibility of partnering to mentor and capacitate SMMEs with government agencies such as Local Enterprise Authority (LEA). The latter was formed in 2004 tasked with enterprise development of SMMes. In other markets where Letshego Holdings operates such as in Kenya, Swaziland and Namibia, SME funding has managed to transform customers lives positively. Over the years, citizens have complained about lack of affordable financial solutions to those seeking property. The matter has been made worse by the fact that there are no regulations to residential property lettings or selling, leading to the sector depending mostly on demand and supply. However, we are working with the regulator on how best we can assist (in home ownership space), added Ferguson. The micro-lender is regulated by Non-Bank Financial Regulatory Authority (NBFIRA). The bank previously applied for a banking licence with Bank of Botswana-BoB but it was rejected without any public explanation. Meanwhile, Ferguson told the media that Letshego Botswana continues to contribute significantly to the group. According to information obtained from the Letshego website this Tuesday, the company (Letshego Botswana) now contributes over 40 percent to group assets and profits (of P6 billion and P1 billion respectively). In addition to formally employed individuals in the Government, parastatal and private sectors, we have made inroads into servicing the generally overlooked low to middle income mining sector employment force. We are furthering this inclusion drive by piloting a unique housing loan product that really does deliver affordable housing capability to our customer. The Botswana Exporters and Manufacturers Association (BEMA) has vowed to continue efforts to increase visibility for local products and manufacturing companies on the globe. Speaking at the launch of the second edition of the BEMA Directory, Nkosi Mwaba, President of the Association said the publication provides dynamic support for manufacturers and exporters but not just a platform to showcase products. In most cases, the market doesnt know who we are or where to find us. Our members often miss out on opportunities due to lack of information, said Mwaba. He further said the second edition of the BEMA Directory signals a very positive development in the drive to support the international orientation of Botswana firms. The Association says plans are in the pipeline to ensure that the directory is made available online to create more links between exporters and key buyers in the marketplace. I am convinced that the business world, exporters associations and all those bodies and organisations that are striving for an export business culture in Botswana will turn the directory into an important tool for the networking and marketing of Botswana products, Mwaba said. Commenting on the directory, BEMA board member, Sagren Munsamy expressed optimism that the product will prop up the countrys exports. Its going to take Botswana a step further, ensuring that BEMA is spoken about, said Munsamy. Meanwhile BEMA Chief Executive Officer, Mmantlha Sankoloba said the Association is working on a number of projects to ensure the sector is well represented. She said one of the projects is a television program to be aired on DSTV. The U.S. has experienced a disturbing increase in violent and unintentional injuries over the last few years, reversing positive gains made in the 1980s and 1990s, according to a new study from researchers at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus and Denver Health Medical Center. The study, published Wednesday in JAMA Surgery, examined the period between 2000 and 2016 and found that injury remains a leading cause of death in the nation. "All injuries from gunshot wounds to car accidents have been going up," said the study's senior author Dr. Angela Sauaia, MD, PhD, of the Colorado School of Public Health at CU Anschutz and CU School of Medicine. "We saw a distinct spike between 2014 and 2016 that we can't explain." Using a Centers for Disease Control data base known as WISQARS (Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System) the researchers showed that the jump in overall injuries from 2014-2016 reduced survival gains observed since 2001. "Black non-Latinos retained the highest rate of homicide fatality rates across the entire period, and suffered the highest increase of all racial/ethnic groups during the 2014-2016 period," the study said. "Similar patterns were observed for unintentional injuries and homicides." According to Sauaia, suicides appeared to increase steadily for white non-Latinos and black non-Latinos with a small but significant acceleration beginning in 2006. In comparison, white Latinos experienced a larger, significant increase in suicides starting in 2013. About half of suicides were firearm-related and those jumped from 2006 to 2016 after a six year decline. advertisement Two-thirds of homicides were firearm-related. "This subgroup observed the largest increase in the 2014-2016 period compared to all other injury mechanisms," the study said. Meanwhile, motor vehicle accidents also saw a serious increase from 2014-2016 following a decade of major declines. Overall, unintentional injuries spiked after 2014 for most age groups, except those 16 and younger. Sauaia, a professor of public health and surgery, said the reasons behind all of this defy easy explanation. She noted that 2014 saw significant civil unrest in the U.S., including violent demonstrations over racial issues. Questions also surround the role social media plays in distracting drivers and causing more accidents, she said. "What is disturbing to me is that we are talking about a major cause of death in our society and we have so little funding to do research for causes and solutions," she said. advertisement That doesn't mean nothing can be done. "There are some solutions we can start implementing. Regardless of where you stand on guns everyone agrees that children should not have access to loaded firearms," Sauaia said. "And why not include as part of primary care, educating patients on firearm safety?" As for motor vehicle accidents, she suggested that technology could be employed to make it more difficult to text and drive. "These growing rates warrant concerted, decisive efforts by academia, society and policy-makers to support trauma-focused research," the study concluded. The study's co-authors include Ryan Lawless, MD, of Denver Health Medical Center; Ernest Moore, MD, of the University of Colorado School of Medicine and Denver Health; Mitchell Cohen, MD, of the University of Colorado School of Medicine and Denver Health and Hunter Moore, MD, PhD, of the University of Colorado School of Medicine. The oldest living seeds found on Earth germinated after resting more than 30,000 years in Arctic soils. But in the humid tropics, seeds do not last. "A long-lived seed in the tropics is probably only a few decades old. This may not seem like much time, but it is critical to reestablish trees after deforestation and ensure species' survival," said Camilo Zalamea, post-doctoral fellow and lead author of a new paper in Ecology from the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) in Panama. Seeds of tropical pioneers, trees that reestablish a forest after logging, flood, drought or fire, need strategies to overcome the two challenges every seed faces: 1) stay alive until the right conditions to grow into a plant occur, and 2) avoid being eaten by predators and decayed by soil microbes. Although birds, bats or the wind can spread seeds from nearby forests, many of the seedlings that start a new forest emerge from seeds long buried in the soil -- that is, from the soil seed bank. "For the first time, we're making the connection between seed dormancy -- the characteristics that make it possible for a seed to wait until environmental conditions are suitable for growth, and seed defenses -- the characteristics the seed uses to avoid being eaten or decayed," said Jim Dalling, STRI research associate and professor at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. "Overall, pioneer tree species have three strategies to survive in the seed bank. Species that adopt one of these strategies share characteristics, or "seed-defense syndromes," Dalling said. "For example, some seeds may protect themselves physically by producing a very hard outer coat making it difficult for animals or microorganisms to reach the living tissues inside," said Zalamea. "Other seeds survive because they produce chemical compounds to deter predators and pathogens. And some seeds are short-lived, investing little in physical or chemical defenses, but may be protected by special microbes they select from soil." Defending seeds is expensive, requiring an investment of resources from the mother tree. For 16 of the most common pioneer tree species in Panama, the research team evaluated the seeds' physical defenses, asking: How hard is it to break the seed, how thick is the seed coat, how permeable is the seed coat and how heavy is the seed? They also evaluated the seeds' chemical defenses, by looking at the presence and abundance of protective chemicals and testing the toxicity of seed extracts. "We found that how much a seed invests in defending itself is directly related to the time it lasts in the soil," said Betsy Arnold, STRI research associate and professor at the University of Arizona. For example, seeds that are capable of persisting for long periods in the soil rely more on chemical defenses, whereas species with shorter persistence rely more on physical defenses. So this work helps resolve just how seeds can remain alive in the soil seed bank for months to years in tropical forests." Understanding how seeds evade or repel pests and diseases has broad application beyond tropical forests. Diseases of major seed crops -- rice, wheat and maize -- cost global agriculture billions of dollars a year in lost yield, and represent a significant threat to global food security. Nonetheless, remarkably little is known about how plants defend their seeds against enemies, or how seed defenses align with other properties of seeds. "In our study, we found that tropical pioneer seeds defend themselves using three different dormancy-defense syndromes; we hope that this information can be used to develop more effective practices for crop production and weed management, restoring natural vegetation, and to generate a better understanding of natural plant community dynamics," said Adam Davis, a scientist at the U.S. Department of Agriculture. This research was funded by grants from the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF DEB-1120205, DEB-1119758) and Simons Foundation. Buoyed by a favouring Court of Appeal ruling last week Friday, Botswana Public Officers Pension Fund (BPOPF) this week revealed they were surging ahead with their strategy to grow the Fund. This will involve giving citizen companies an opportunity to manage assets as well as explore Africa and China markets. BPOPF Principal Officer, Boitumelo Johnson appeared relieved after Court of Appeal President Justice Ian Kirby confirmed the appointment of a Statutory Manager for Capital Management Botswana(CMB), an entity that has been managing some of the Fund assets. BPOPF has fallen out with the former over several irregularities as well as alleged corruption by directors in executing their investment mandate. Now that CMB has been placed under statutory management, Johnson told the media that all their efforts will now be focused on ensuring that diversification of investment portfolio under the Investment Policy Statement (IPS) goes unhindered. The investment committee is expected to give the Fund the leeway to invest in China and other African markets, so as to spread risks and get maximum return on investments, all for the benefits of members, active, deferred and retired. Johnson speaks highly of China, which is under the Premiership of Xi Jinping. China is a unique market with many opportunities, said Johnson who was appointed the head to the countrys biggest fund in 2015. He said the good part about Chinese equity space is that there is limited external investment in their territories. Of course we will be entering the market with caution, noted Johnson. BPOPF will be thriving on the matured economy such as China, which is the worlds biggest economy after the United States of America (USA). In May 2018, International Monetary Fund (IMF) stated that, the Chinese economy will expand by 6, 5 percent this year, but warned that rapid credit growth and trade frictions could pose risks for the worlds second-largest economy. On other updates, the BPOPF boss announced that the Fund has injected P1 billion into two local companies under their incubation programme. Lighthouse Capital, a company owned by a local Bame Pule but based in Johannesburg, South Africa as well as Aleyo Capital has been given local mandates of P500 million apiece. Aleyo Capital is owned by former Botswana Development Corporations investment chief, Bafana Molomo. The BPOPF Chief stated that their expectation is that the two companies will be investing in the local economy. We want them to generate growth and help grow a good number of SMMEs, he said. BPOPF also confirmed they have not awarded a tender worth P500 million which is targeting the local listed equities. None of the locals met the requirements, said the BPOPF top executive without stating if they will re- issue the tender or not. There is another top priority for BPOPF especially after the Court of Appeal ruled out that, the Non-Bank Financial Regulatory Authority(NBFIRA) was right in appointing Peter Collins as Statutory Manager of CMB, a company which was given P400 million to invest in the local market by BPOPF. CMB and BPOPF are partners in Botswana Opportunities Fund, which in turn holds 40 percent of Bona Life though their partnership squabble is still before the arbitrators. Meanwhile, Botswana Guardian understands that BPOPF was expected to meet the Statutory Manager of CMB, Collins on Wednesday to discuss what steps to follow now that CMB, which has held over P400 million on behalf of the Fund, has been placed under statutory management. The Statutory Manager is expected to make a full report to the regulator. CMB has invested in local companies such as Cell City and Wilderness Safari although such investments have come under spotlight. As things stands, BPOPF is seeking to get back the over P400 million given the company once the statutory management is over. ASTANA (PTI): India and Kazakhstan on Friday agreed to further strengthen defence cooperation as External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj met the country's top leaders to discuss ways to consolidate the strategic partnership in areas like trade, energy, security and information technology. Swaraj is on a three-nation tour to Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan as part of India's efforts to boost strategic partnership with the resource-rich central Asian nations. She held delegation-level talks with her Kazakh counterpart Kairat Abdrakhmanov. The two leaders held a comprehensive discussion on deepening cooperation in trade and investment, defence and security, energy, Information and Communications Technology (ITC), pharma, capacity building and culture. Kazakhstan is India's largest trade and investment partner in Central Asia. She also called on Prime Minister of Kazakhstan, Bakytzhan Sagintayev and exchanged views on strengthening cooperation in trade and investment, ICT, joint film production, tourism and people-to-people contacts. Swaraj said during her meeting with Abdrakhmanov they discussed the full range of bilateral, regional and global issues of mutual interest. "We took stock of progress in our bilateral relations. India's relations with Kazakhstan are built on a strong foundation of centuries old historical and cultural ties. "Both India and Kazakhstan have developed multifaceted cooperation in all areas of bilateral and multilateral relations and are strategic partners since 2009," she said after her talks with her Kazakhstan counterpart," she said. Swaraj said during her talks with Abdrakhmanov she sought to consolidate and further strengthen India's friendly relations with Kazakhstan. "Both Foreign Minister Abdrakhmanov and I expressed our interest to further strengthen our defence cooperation based on solid foundation that we have in place. Our defence and security sector cooperation has intensified in the last two years," she said. Kazakh Armed Forces Unit underwent training on peacekeeping operations in India and presently a mobile training team from the Indian Army is training Kazakh personnel in Almaty. Swaraj siad India has emerged as the fastest-growing large economy in the world and is a global hub for manufacturing and innovation. "Under Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi's leadership, India has launched several flagship programme such as 'Make in India', 'Digital India', 'Clean India', Start up India, 100 smart cities etc. I shared with Foreign Minister Abdrakhmanov that there are many elements of Digital India programme that could be of interest to Kazakhstan for its own Digital Kazakhstan programme," she said. She also discussed with Abdrakhmanov India's interest to partner with Kazakhstan to explore markets for new products, diversifying from the trade in traditional products to inject fresh impetus to the trade between the two countries. There is immense potential to be tapped in sectors like agricultural products, food processing, pharmaceuticals, energy and chemicals, she said. The major products imported by India during 2016-17 were petroleum oils & oils obtained from bituminous minerals (64.5 per cent); radio active isotopes (18.5 per cent); asbestos (6.0 per cent), ferro alloys (3.9 per cent) and zinc (3.0 per cent). Major products exported to Kazakhstan were Pharmaceuticals and medical products, coffee and tea, machinery, apparel and chemical products. Cumulative investments from India into Kazakhstan and from Kazakhstan into India from 2005 -2016 amount to USD 244 million and USD 83.09 million respectively. As on March 1, 2017, there were 520 Indian companies registered in Kazakhstan, out of which 259 are operational. "India has keen interest in improving connectivity with this region. In December 2017, India acceded to TIR (Transports Internationaux Routiers) convention and in February 2018, India joined the Ashgabat Agreement. The International North South Transport Corridor is gaining momentum and the member states are working together to popularize the corridor," she said. On Wednesday, Swaraj praised the Kazakh people for their warmth in welcoming the Indian diaspora as she interacted with the Indian community living in the country. The Securities and Exchange Commission has obtained a preliminary injunction and continued asset freeze against Marianne Veronika Sandor, her husband Edward Michael Porrazzo, their company, Moddha Interactive, Inc., and Spar Street, who was an unregistered sales agent of Moddha Interactive. The SEC charged Sandor, Porrazzo, and Moddha Interactive on July 9, 2018, alleging that they conducted an offering fraud involving a purported valuable portfolio of patents for a supposed 3D technology that could be used with tablet devices. The complaint alleges that Sandor and Porrazzo stole hundreds of thousands of dollars in investor funds to support their lifestyle, and that Moddha Interactive paid over $200,000 in sales commissions to Spar Street, who illegally sold Moddha Interactive's shares to investors. The SEC's emergency action stopped the ongoing offering fraud. The preliminary injunction and continued asset freeze order, entered on July 25, 2018 by the Honorable Derrick K. Watson of the U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaii, preliminarily prohibited: Sandor, Porrazzo and Moddha Interactive from violating the antifraud provisions of Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder Street from violating the broker registration provisions of Section 15(a) of the Exchange Act All defendants from directly or indirectly participating in the issuance, purchase, offer, or sale of any unregistered securities offering. The court's preliminary injunctions will remain in effect until the conclusion of the litigation. The SEC encourages investors to check the backgrounds of people selling them investments by using the SEC's Investor.gov website to quickly identify whether the sellers are registered professionals. The Securities and Exchange Commission has obtained a final judgment against the research scientist who, according to the SEC, searched the internet for tips on avoiding the SEC's detection before placing one of his illegal trades and made approximately $120,000 through insider trading. In its complaint, filed on July 12, 2017, the SEC alleged that Fei Yan purchased stocks and options in advance of two corporate acquisitions based on confidential information obtained from his wife, an associate at a law firm that worked on the deals. According to the SEC's complaint, Yan then sold his holdings following public announcements that the issuers would be acquired by other companies. Yan then allegedly attempted to conceal his illegal activity by placing the illicit trades in a brokerage account bearing the name of his mother, who lives in China. Yan agreed to settle with the SEC and consented to the entry of a judgment permanently enjoining him from violating Sections 10(b) and 14(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rules 10b-5 and 14e-3 thereunder, and ordering him liable for disgorgement of $119,429, the payment of which is deemed satisfied by the forfeiture ordered in a parallel criminal case. Yan, who pled guilty in that case, is serving a 15-month sentence of imprisonment. The final judgment was entered on July 12, 2018 by the Honorable Paul G. Gardephe of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. The SEC's investigation was conducted by Joshua R. Geller, John Rymas, and Simona Suh of the SEC's Market Abuse Unit and by Jacqueline A. Fine of the New York Regional Office. The case was supervised by Joseph G. Sansone, Chief of the Market Abuse Unit. The SEC appreciates the assistance of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York, the Federal Bureau of Investigation's New York Field Office, and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. An arrangement of white flowers spelled out Nia at the foot of a white casket. Each letter shined in gold trim and sparkled under the church lights. Hundreds of people filled the Acts Full Gospel Church in Oakland, but it was mostly quiet until a voice called out, Say her name. And then came the chants, Nia Wilson. Family, friends and loved ones took turns saying goodbye to the 18-year-old woman who was slain July 22 in an unprovoked attack on a platform at MacArthur BART Station. They stood at the base of Wilsons open casket, where she lay covered by a lace veil adorned with white roses. I pray that justice will be served, in the name of Jesus, the pastor said at the beginning of the service. Wilson was remembered by relatives and friends as deeply spiritual, artistic, stylish and loving. Nia is the Swahili word for purpose, her family members said. She once saved a family member from choking and the incident inspired her to want to become a paramedic. She also considered enlisting in the military. Wilsons young niece shared a poem reminiscing of their time at Six Flags and taking photos together. Titi Nia, can I just see you one more time? the girl said tearfully. Can you promise to come visit me in my dreams? Let me know that everything is OK and by the grace of God, I will see you again. When it was Lahtifa Wilsons turn to speak, she stood on stage flanked by family members and promised to get justice for her sister. Lahtifa Wilson, 26, was with her younger sister at the time of the attack and was also stabbed. My Nias love so honest and true, Lahtifa Wilson said, her voice breaking as the tears came. Baby girl, shine bright, and big sister promises we will get justice for you. I love you. Lahtifa Wilson cradled her younger sister on the platform as the attacker fled. John Lee Cowell, 27, is charged with murder and attempted murder in the brutal stabbing of the two sisters. Police said Cowell wiped and disposed of the knife in a construction lot, where he changed his clothes and evaded capture for 21 hours before a BART passenger tipped off authorities to his whereabouts. He was arrested on July 23 at the Pleasant Hill BART Station. Police have not determined a motive for the attack, but many people following the case believe it was racially motivated and underscores the dangers young black women face in a biased society. Cowell is white and Wilson was black. In a letter shared at the funeral, U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Los Angeles, wrote that Wilsons slaying is a shame to the entire country. Deeply troubled individuals now have become more emboldened to act in an impulse of a personal prejudice against people of color, Waters wrote, leading to the increased reporting of African Americans to law enforcement for simply living while black. Waters called on law enforcement to conduct a thorough investigation into Wilsons murder to determine whether the attack was motivated by race and whether Cowell should face hate crime charges. Nias murder will not be in vain, Waters said. I hope you will take comfort in the work that many of us are doing today to protect our black girls. After her slaying, hundreds of people gathered at the MacArthur BART Station and held a vigil in honor of Wilson. A memorial on the ground level of the station has continued to grow. On Thursday, two teens arrived and added messages of support and love. They spelled out I love you and Nia with small tea candles. Their contribution added to the dozens of tall candles still lit from days before. By 11 a.m. Friday, hundreds of visitors started filling in the blue seats of the Oakland churchs main sanctuary. Some mourners honored Wilson by wearing white jean jackets and T-shirts that bore portraits of her with white angel wings. As family members filed into the sanctuary, attendees rose to their feet, clasping their hands. Some people raised their open palms to the ceiling. A man draped his arms around the woman standing next to him and patted her shoulder softly to the beat of the drums that were playing on stage. Every so often, he grabbed tissues from a nearby box and handed them to the woman, who silently dabbed the tears away from her eyes. He was crying too. Above her casket, photos of Wilson were projected onto the sanctuarys white walls with her name and the years of her short life, 1999-2018, underneath. Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts. U.S. Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Oakland, and Oakland city councilwomen Lynette Gibson McElhaney and Rebecca Kaplan joined the funeralgoers. Kaplan, draped in a rainbow embellished prayer shawl, told the audience to seek peace and justice in the face of violence. Let us lift up all of our young people, and to acknowledge that our black people are being subjected to a level of violence that is absolutely unacceptable and must be stopped, Kaplan said. Black women are killed at significantly higher rates than women of other races at a rate of 4.4 per 100,000 people versus all other races which had a homicide rate of 1 and 2 per 100,000 people, according to a report released in 2017 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Bishop Keith Clark took the mike and said he was not speaking as a preacher, but as a father. He told the crowd that when he learned of Wilsons death, he was angry. He refused to say the name of Cowell, only referring to him as a scrounge of a human being, joining other speakers who did not utter his name during the service. Whats her name? Clark asked the audience, the crowd screaming Nia Wilson, once again. N.I.A. We are: Now. In. Action, Clark screamed into the mike, prompting nearly every audience member to jump their feet and scream. . After the service, as mourners stepped outside, one of Wilsons former Oakland High teachers, Tara Asciutto, hugged several of her former students. She said she was there to stand up against injustice. She was also there for Wilson. She had a lot of tender sorrows, but such a bright, beautiful energy as well, said Asciutto, who added that she bonded with Wilson in a yoga class she taught. She was a brilliant writer. Her smile is just forever imprinted on my heart. Lauren Hernandez, Otis R. Taylor Jr. and Sarah Ravani are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. Email: lhernandez@sfchronicle.com, otaylor@sfchronicle.com, sravani@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @LaurenPorFavor, @otisrtaylorjr, @SarRavani San Francisco Mayor London Breed appointed Joaquin Torres on Thursday to lead the Office of Economic and Workforce Development, a city agency with broad responsibilities revolving around attracting businesses, running job-training programs for people facing barriers to employment and helping small entrepreneurs. Torres has been a deputy director with the office since 2013. He and another deputy director, Ken Rich, have been in charge since May, when Todd Rufo resigned to take a job at a consulting firm after leading the office for nearly six years. Torres is also president of the San Francisco Housing Authority Commission, a position hes held for five years. This is a critically important role for the economic future of San Francisco, and I am confident that Joaquins passion, energy and strong community ties make him the right person for the job, Breed said in a statement announcing the appointment. Torres noted that the agency, which has an annual budget of $64 million, is charged with expanding economic opportunities for lower-income San Franciscans and small businesses. Were living in very, very prosperous times here in San Francisco. At the same time, there are those who are not feeling the benefits of this strong economy, Torres said. He said he would commit to asking our department to continue challenging itself to meet the demands of our most vulnerable communities so they can benefit as well. Malcolm Yeung, deputy director of the Chinatown Community Development Center, worked with Torres and his staff on several Shop Chinatown initiatives to help merchants whose businesses were being disrupted by intensive development, including construction of the Central Subway. Yeung said Torres understood the nuances of Chinatowns needs. Joaquin was willing to work with us to invest in the programs that highlight the best of what we have in Chinatown, Yeung said. Dominic Fracassa Census controversy: San Francisco Mayor London Breed joined Assemblyman David Chiu and immigrant advocacy groups Thursday to urge city residents to oppose the Trump administrations intention to include a citizenship question on the 2020 census. The Commerce Department, which administers the nationwide head count every 10 years, announced in March that it would include a question about citizenship status on the upcoming census. Federal officials say they need citizenship data to enforce voting rights laws. Such a question hasnt appeared on a U.S. census since 1950. Democrats in California and other states with large numbers of foreign-born residents say the question will scare off some immigrants from participating in the census, resulting in an undercount. That would have broad ramifications because some federal aid is based on cities and states populations, and states representation in the House of Representatives is based on how many people live there. Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts. San Francisco is one of more than a dozen cities that have sued the Trump administration to try to keep the question off the census. State Attorney General Xavier Becerra also has filed suit. The Trump administration has decided to use the census ... as a tool for political gain, with dire consequences for California and the city of San Francisco, said Chiu, D-San Francisco. He called the citizenship question an attempt to undermine our democracy. Breed added, Lets be clear: The reason the Trump administration wants to include a question regarding citizenship on the census is to scare our immigrant communities. Chiu and Breed urged people to submit comments to the Commerce Department about the question before a federal deadline Tuesday. Dominic Fracassa Email: cityinsider@sfchronicle.com, dfracassa@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @sfcityinsider, @dominicfracassa San Francisco Mayor London Breed joined Assemblyman David Chiu and immigrant advocacy groups Thursday to urge city residents to oppose the Trump administrations intention to include a citizenship question on the 2020 census. The Commerce Department, which administers the nationwide head count every 10 years, announced in March that it would include a question about citizenship status on the upcoming census. Federal officials say the they need citizenship data to enforce voting rights laws. Such a question hasnt appeared on a U.S. census since 1950. Democrats in California and other states with large numbers of foreign-born residents say the question will scare off some immigrants from participating in the census, resulting in an undercount. That would have broad ramifications because some federal aid is based on cities and states populations, and states representation in the House is based on how many people live there. San Francisco is one of more than a dozen cities that have sued the Trump administration to try to keep the question off the census. State Attorney General Xavier Becerra has also filed suit. The Trump administration has decided to use the census ... as a tool for political gain, with dire consequences for California and the city of San Francisco, said Chiu, D-San Francisco. He called the citizenship question an attempt to undermine our democracy. Breed added, Lets be clear: The reason the Trump administration wants to include a question regarding citizenship on the census is to scare our immigrant communities. Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts. Chiu and Breed urged people to submit comments to the Commerce Department about the question before a federal deadline Tuesday. Email: cityinsider@sfchronicle.com, dfracassa@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @sfcityinsider, @dominicfracassa A former Uber driver who fatally struck a 6-year-old girl in a San Francisco crosswalk was found guilty of manslaughter Thursday in the 2013 New Years Eve tragedy that spurred changes for the ride-hailing company. Syed Muzaffar, 61, of Union City, was found guilty of misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter in the death of Sophia Liu after two days of deliberations by a San Francisco Superior Court jury. Muzaffar, who no longer drives for Uber, plowed into Sophia, her mother and 3-year-old brother as they crossed Polk Street near Civic Center around 8 p.m. Dec. 31, 2013. After hitting Sophia, Muzaffar reversed his vehicle back over her body before getting out, prosecutors said. We have a responsibility to each other when we get behind the wheel, District Attorney George Gascon said in a statement following Thursdays verdict. Its imperative that we all slow down and remain completely alert when operating a vehicle. Far too much is at risk, and our city is more congested than ever. No passengers were in Muzaffars Honda sport utility vehicle, but he was on the Uber platform when he turned onto Polk through a green light and struck the family, police said. Sophia died 30 minutes after being hit. Her mother and brother were injured and survived. San Franciscos first responders came together that night to try and save this little girl, and many of them remain profoundly affected by Sophias death, Assistant District Attorney Thomas Ostly said in a statement. Prosecutors charged Muzaffar with a misdemeanor after finding no evidence of gross negligence in the incident. He faces up to a year in jail at sentencing. Muzaffars attorney argued that a blind spot in the drivers vehicle prevented him from seeing the family when he struck them. Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts. The case exposed a gap in auto insurance coverage for Uber drivers, who at the time were not covered by the company when they had not yet picked up passengers. In 2014, Uber extended auto insurance coverage to working drivers whose vehicles have no other passengers. Lius family sued Uber and Muzaffar for wrongful death shortly after the crash. The case was settled for an undisclosed amount in 2015. Evan Sernoffsky is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: esernoffsky@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @EvanSernoffsky I went to the dark side the other day, a dangerous place thats helping to ruin our city. The type of place that could soon be banned. I had lunch at an employee cafeteria. A friend who works at a big tech company in Mid-Market and I had been saying we should get lunch for ages. But in the daily whirl of our busy lives, we never actually scheduled it. Until, that is, two San Francisco supervisors Ahsha Safai and Aaron Peskin proposed banning employee cafeterias in all future San Francisco development. Suddenly, employee cafeterias were a hot topic, and my curiosity was piqued. Would these facilities that nobody previously ever thought twice about join the list of items and activities San Francisco has banned evils such as free toys in Happy Meals, fur sales, plastic straws, flavored tobacco and sitting on the sidewalk? And foam pool toys, phone books and packing peanuts? And chocolate milk in schools, street chess and walking more than eight dogs at a time? What was so bad about these employee cafeterias to place them on that dastardly list? I was determined to find out. Sadly, I cant tell you which tech company I visited because I didnt prearrange it with the companys bountiful media team. I just went as a regular old friend, but was made, like all visitors, to sign a nondisclosure agreement because you never know what friends having lunch might be up to. Inside, it was like nothing Id ever seen. We occasionally get doughnuts at The Chronicle, and we get pizza on election night. But this was totally different. There were three identical buffet lines to accommodate the hordes, each one offering a variety of Chinese food options. Most days are themed, burgers and sushi being among the most popular. Gabrielle Lurie / The Chronicle There was a salad bar, lots of desserts and spa water in flavors including mint blackberry ginger and cucumber lemon. Both, the labels noted, were vegan, which was good because I dont like meat or milk in my spa water. You could also add chunks of pineapple or watermelon if the premade flavor concoctions werent complicated enough. There was also a coffee bar and a smoothie bar, the latter of which had trays of ready-to-go smoothies, including one with kale, spinach, avocado, mango and coconut water. They were also, the label helpfully noted, vegan. The idea of banning future versions of this lovely, yummy oasis in Mid-Market came up because tech employees supposedly cloister themselves inside and dont patronize neighborhood restaurants. I would cloister myself inside too if I had access to all that free, delicious food. We intended to spark a conversation, Safai explained. Im a city planner by trade, and I think about what makes for a healthy city. You start with some of the foundational principles, and one of them is small businesses are the backbone of a city. True. Thats why I recently wrote about small business owners feeling overwhelmed by the myriad quality-of-life issues just outside their storefronts, and often encroaching inside, such as dirty needles, drug addiction and severe untreated mental illness. City Hall hasnt done much to help those businesses, but then tackling major societal crises is harder than coming up with random bans. I asked whether Safai had other ideas for helping small businesses, including restaurants in Mid-Market, such as addressing the neighborhoods major quality-of-life issues. Maybe that would improve business? He said getting workers out of their offices to buy food would increase eyes on the street, and that would improve the conditions on our sidewalks. Yes, because neighborhoods with a lot of foot traffic such as Union Square have none of these problems. Peskin, who downplayed his role in this big brouhaha as being just Safais wingman, said, Getting folks out of those self-enclosed buildings and onto the streets will be remarkably helpful for Mid-Market. But if banning new employee cafeterias would be so beneficial to our city, why stop there? Why not abolish all the ones that exist already? The company I visited for lunch also offers acupuncture, chiropractic services, massages, a weight room and a yoga studio. Should those be banned so workers must patronize local yoga studios and gyms? Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts. At The Chronicle, many workers bring their lunch. Should that be banned so we have to go outside and buy food? Should office kitchens be banned so we cant reheat leftovers? Should catering what many tech companies without full cafeterias offer instead be banned? A new Change.org petition satirically takes it even further in ban-happy San Francisco. It calls for a prohibition on kitchens in supervisors homes so they, too, are forced to go outside and mix with the masses when they eat. Safai laughed good-naturedly at that idea and said that with two little kids, he and his wife buy plenty of burgers and chicken fingers from neighborhood restaurants. Jennifer Stojkovic, executive director of SF.citi, which advocates for tech companies at City Hall, said employee cafeterias offer high-quality, high-wage jobs in the food-service sector. She said one member company that is hoping to move to new office space, and thus would be prohibited from offering a cafeteria, would have to lay off 100 kitchen staff if the ban is approved by the Board of Supervisors. Yes, tech companies and their lavish perks can be kind of annoying to the rest of us. It is a little obnoxious that tech workers are drinking free spa water in an office above Market Street as people sit begging for change down below. But would banning cafeterias do anything about that? No. So how about reopening the community benefits agreements City Hall struck with the companies receiving the Mid-Market tax break and encouraging each one to close its cafeteria a couple of days a month? Stagger them so a different batch of tech workers is out and about on Market Street each day. Create a public awareness campaign encouraging tech workers to get outside their buildings and patronize other businesses. Organize pub crawls or other events that would lure people outside. But mostly, work on what matters. Like building housing much more quickly, including affordable housing, so everybody from a line cook to a tech worker can live here. Like cleaning our sidewalks so more people want to walk around our neighborhoods. Like moving homeless people into shelters and getting rampant injection drug use off our streets. You know, the stuff San Franciscans of all employment types actually care about and that will make our city better for everybody. San Francisco Chronicle columnist Heather Knight appears Sundays and Tuesdays. Email: hknight@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @hknightsf For decades, the 1971 glass cube at San Franciscos 345 Montgomery St. was the flagship retail location for Bank of America, which had its global headquarters next door. But the banks headquarters moved to North Carolina after a 1998 merger. It later closed the retail space. Next year, 345 Montgomery will see new life: Co-working company Spaces signed a 78,000-square-foot lease to occupy the entire building, which is in the midst of a $45 million top-to-bottom renovation. It is Spaces third and largest location in the city, after 95 Third St. and 1160 Battery St. It marks another expansion for the booming co-working industry, which charges office workers monthly fees for shared desks and private offices. Its also a sign of San Franciscos changing economy, where financial services companies are yielding to tech startups. Spaces and its sister brand, Regus, are owned by IWG PLC, the second-largest co-working operator by square footage in San Francisco, according to real estate broker Cushman & Wakefield. Tam Duong Jr./The Chronicle The 345 Montgomery location is a landmark opportunity for us and a chance to grab a spot in the center of the central business district, said Michael Berretta, IWGs vice president of network development for the Americas. The company plans to hold large public events at the location and will have access to an outdoor public plaza. The three-building former Bank of America complex is the citys second-most-valuable property based on taxes. Bank of America still retains a major presence in its former headquarters space at 555 California St., along with other financial firms such as UBS and Goldman Sachs. But in recent years, tech companies including Microsoft and the mobile game maker Supercell have opened offices. Its becoming more diverse, with tech, media along with the obvious financial services community, Berretta said. Its a really healthy mix, long term, for a city like San Francisco. Spaces members include tech companies as well as other industries, he said. Vornado Realty Trust owns 70 percent of the complex, and President Trumps company owns 30 percent, which has made it a target for protests. Were very proud that IWG selected this highly visible site to showcase its latest offering, David Greenbaum, Vornado New York division president, said in an earnings call Tuesday. He said the three buildings, which occupy 1.8 million total square feet, are fully leased. Through its broker, CBRE, Vornado declined to comment further. IWGs Regus brand has been in San Francisco for decades, but its been recently eclipsed in size by WeWork, the dominant player in the Bay Area and world. It leases 1.1 million square feet in San Francisco, or nearly three times as much as Regus and Spaces. WeWork is replacing a bank facility as well, leasing the entire Union Bank Building at 430 California St. in its biggest deal in the city. WeWork declined to comment. For sheer volume, WeWork is well ahead of the pack, but this location will absolutely give Regus and Spaces a more prominent presence here in San Francisco, said Robert Sammons, regional research director for Cushman & Wakefield. Berretta said IWGs longevity it was founded in 1989 as Regus gives it an edge. Our distinct advantage is we have customer relationships that go back 15 to 20 years or more, he said. The booming economy means multiple co-working companies can expand in the Bay Area and still attract members, who are attracted to the flexibility, said Ken Rosen, chair of the Fisher Center for Real Estate and Urban Economics at UC Berkeley. That is truly transforming the demand for office space. Increasing numbers of Fortune 500 companies want co-working space, Rosen said. They can plug and play, expand and contract, without a long lease commitment. Paul Chinn / The Chronicle But Rosen is pessimistic about the industrys prospects if the market cools. Companies such as WeWork and Spaces sign long-term leases but rely on short-term membership payments, which can fluctuate. Air Quality Tracker Check levels down to the neighborhood Ratings for the Bay Area and California, updated every 10 minutes When the downturn happens, theyre going to have difficulties, he said. Then well see a lot of bankruptcy. More Information San Francisco's largest co-working firms Company Square footage WeWork 1,170,200 Regus and Spaces 437,727 RocketSpace 138,436 Galvanize 68,405 Werqwise 45,031 Industrious 49,862 Hatch Today 41,079 Mindspace 36,111 Tech Space 25,086 Carr Workplaces 21,733 Source: Cushman & Wakefield See More Collapse Theres a precedent. IWG, then known as Regus, filed for bankruptcy protection in 2003 after the dot-com collapse. Its since recovered, and Berretta said the company will be more resilient in the next downturn. Its not all associated with one industry like the dot-com businesses, he said. Were now in a position to be successful in a variety of economies. Berretta said both Spaces and Regus are seeking to expand throughout the Bay Area. Despite the dramatic increase in total flex-space square footage in our fine city, demand still outweighs supply, so we should all expect more growth, said Tom Poser, a broker with JLL who represented Spaces. But the company is being picky about locations. The Bay Area in general is a market we want to be very careful in, said Berretta, citing the high rents and competition among tenants. We want to make a long-term decision here thats smart for us. Roland Li is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: roland.li@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @rolandlisf Thangam Debbonaire MP, the Member of Parliament representing Bristol West, visited CONNECTED Network Director, Professor Gary Foster, to find out more about the global project, which is based in her constituency at The University of Bristols Life Sciences building. The MP joined Professor Foster to view work in university laboratories, seeing first-hand some examples of the devastating impact that plant diseases has on food crops in Sub-Saharan African countries. Plant diseases significantly limit the ability of many countries to produce sufficient staple and cash crops such as cassava, sweet potato, maize and yam. The CONNECTED project focuses on addressing their spread by vectors insects that transmit a disease from one plant to another. The impact of the diseases includes: Poverty, malnutrition and food insecurity, caused by the limited production of a range of food crops cassava, sweet potato, maize and yam, for example. Economic and social development of the affected countries Migration - since insufficient food and crop-derived income can lead to people wanting to leave the country. Thangam Debbonaire MP said: From its Bristol base, the CONNECTED project is co-ordinating research work of global significance. With a growing global population and accelerating climate change, crop science is becoming ever more important. I was very pleased to see such cutting-edge work happening in my constituency. Professor Foster added: A number of scientific research projects have been undertaken in recent years in different parts of the world. There is a great deal of expertise in the field. It is vital to bring these experts together, creating more effective research communities. There needs to be a relentless focus on refining the most pressing research targets, ensuring academic excellence has maximum impact on the ground. This is what CONNECTED is working to achieve. We are encouraging new collaborations between scientists from a range of institutions across the globe, developing training programmes and offering opportunities for pump-prime research funding. By developing a network of world-class scientists and researchers we aim to produce a pipeline of innovative disease-control strategies that will improve food security for years to come. The CONNECTED network project is funded by a 2 million grant from the UK governments Global Challenges Research Fund, which supports research on global issues that affect developing countries. It is co-ordinated by Professor Foster from the University of Bristol School of Biological Sciences, long recognised as world-leading in plant virology and vector-transmitted diseases. In the projects first few months it has run two major international conferences: one in Bristol, UK, and one in Kampala, Uganda, drawing together scores of world-class researchers. Its growing network membership so far brings together hundreds of researchers from 34 countries. For more than four hours, no one heard from Braden Varney. The 10-year veteran of Californias firefighting force had been dispatched to bulldoze a firebreak on a precarious ridge near Marble Point in Mariposa County, an effort to contain the stubborn Ferguson Fire near Yosemite. It was before dawn on July 14, and the blaze that ignited a day earlier in Sierra National Forest was pushing toward the tiny town of Jerseydale. At first, California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection incident commanders didnt overthink the lapse in communication. The backcountry was remote and unreachable maybe Varney didnt have radio service. But at 8:47 a.m. a pilot sent to fly over Varneys last known location spotted his 42,000-pound bulldozer at the bottom of a 220-foot drop. Varney, 36, had become the first fatality in a perilous start to a wildfire season that would kill three more firefighters on active duty as well as four residents by the end of July. Little was known about Varneys accident until this week, when Cal Fire completed its Green Sheet, the agencys report on serious injuries and accidents. While the report does not assign blame, it lists more than a half-dozen safety concerns related to Varneys death and a list of lessons learned, suggesting that the accident could have been prevented. NOAH BERGER;Noah Berger / AFP / Getty Images Investigations into the deaths of the three other firefighters are ongoing, but together they have called into question how local and state agencies keep firefighters safe as resources are increasingly stretched thin by bigger and more explosive conflagrations. Conditions have been really extreme, said Michele Steinberg, manager of the wildland division for the nonprofit National Fire Protection Association. They make a more dangerous situation than firefighters might normally face. At night, on steep slopes, in extreme heat and wind, you have conditions where even the most fit individuals can get in trouble. Perhaps most striking in Cal Fires report was the finding that, over several hundred feet, Varneys bulldozer slipped partially off the hillside three times incidents so dangerous they would have been individually red-flagged as signs of potential road failure, the report said. The fourth slip was fatal, sending the bulldozer tumbling to the bottom of a ravine. The report notes that, in the future, fire supervisors need to maintain communication with crew members, plans should have tactical value, and working alone should be an anomaly, not the rule, suggesting that officials failed to check in with Varney and didnt establish a clear and safe mission. We are always looking for the common denominators in why there are fatalities on these incidents, said Cal Fire spokesman Jonathan Cox. Thats why our department evaluates how and why an incident happened, and if there are changes we need to make as a department. Varney was one of the first firefighters from Cal Fires Madera-Mariposa-Merced unit to arrive at the Ferguson Fire at 10 p.m. on July 13. At the time, the blaze had only swept across 50 acres, though the report notes that officials knew it had the potential to become a major fire. As of Thursday, nearly 20 days later, it had scorched more than 69,000 acres and was 41 percent contained, or surrounded by natural or carved-out firebreaks. Much of Yosemite National Park remained closed through at least Sunday, due to firefighting operations and smoke. Because of technical issues, the state report said, Varney couldnt communicate with the incident commander as he traveled the Hite Cove Trail to the Merced Rivers South Fork, where he planned to meet with other bulldozer operators. Instead, he had his swamper a heavy-equipment supervisor radio messages for him. Around 3 a.m., the report said, the swamper left Varney and traveled 2 miles to get a replacement hydraulic line after the bulldozer sustained a small leak. At 4:30 a.m., the swamper called Varney on the radio. He couldnt find the keys to get the spare part. It was the last time anyone communicated with Varney. Repeated radio calls after that failed. At 8:47 a.m., Varneys mangled bulldozer was found at the bottom of a ravine. It had plunged off the mining-era road, toppled several times over and crushed Varneys chest and neck, according to the report. By 9 a.m., the swamper had reached the ravine on foot, and Varney was confirmed deceased. It would take more than two days for Cal Fire to extricate his body. Fire Tracker Follow wildfires across the state Latest updates on wildfires burning across Northern and Southern California Due to the complexity of the bulldozer rolling down a hill, they have to bring in extrication equipment to remove portions of the bulldozer to get Braden free, Cal Fire spokesman Jeremy Rahn told The Chronicle at the time. He was a top-notch dozer operator. Varneys family members, in an email, remembered him for dying doing what he loved. He had operated his first snowplow at age 4 and shared a love of dirt, or grading, with his father, also a Cal Fire operator, and his 3-year-old son, Noah, who mastered the mini excavator last year. Varney also had a 5-year-old daughter, Maleah. Varneys death rattled the firefighting community, and more losses soon followed. Three more firefighters died in the Ferguson Fire and the Carr Fire in the Redding area, which became the sixth-most-destructive blaze in Californias history. Five firefighters have died this year in the state four on active duty and one during training and the fire season is just getting started. In 2018, five firefighters died, according to the National Wildfire Coordinating Group. In 2017, seven died. In 2016 and 2015, four died. Its just a real tragedy for the whole fire service because its such a family, said DeeDee Garcia, a spokeswoman for Cal Fire Local 2881, the union that represents the agencys firefighters. To have four already this year is rare. Its something we dont want. In April, an inmate firefighter died during a training hike. The Ferguson Fire killed Varney and Capt. Brian Hughes, 33, of the elite Arrowhead Hotshots, based in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, who was struck by a falling tree. The Carr Fire killed Redding Fire Department inspector Jeremy Stoke, 37, whose cause of death has not been released, and Don Smith, 82, a private contractor who perished when his bulldozer was overwhelmed by flames. Lizzie Johnson is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: ljohnson@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @LizzieJohnsonnn The San Francisco district attorneys office hosted a symposium Thursday at the Womens Building in the Mission District to focus attention on drug-facilitated sexual assault a controversial issue in the city after several women recently alleged their cases were not taken seriously. District Attorney George Gascon opened the two-hour event by emphasizing that more needs to be done to get justice for individuals who have been victims of alcohol- and drug-facilitated sexual assaults. He cited statistics from the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network, which reported the national average for prosecutors to file charges in sex assault cases is 19 percent. However, Gascon said, the San Francisco district attorneys office files charges in nearly 40 percent of sexual assault cases. Nevertheless, thats a far cry from where we need to be, he told a crowd of dozens, mostly professionals and advocates who work to reduce incidents of sexual assault. From 2015 to 2018, San Francisco had about 500 drug-facilitated sexual assault cases, said Dr. Luke Rodda, a forensic scientist for the medical examiners office. Most of those cases involved alcohol, he added. Advocates and victims have criticized the district attorneys office handling of sexual assault cases. In light of recent allegations, Supervisor Hillary Ronen introduced legislation to develop a city accountability office for how these cases are handled. Last week, the Board of Supervisors approved a plan to create the Office of Sexual Harassment and Assault Response and Prevention, which will operate under the oversight of the Human Rights Commission. The district attorneys office symposium was designed to help foster a conversation about trauma-informed care, investigation and prosecution of sexual assault involving intoxication. In my experience, when there was a case of drug-facilitated sexual assault, alcohol-facilitated sexual assault, or an assault with an acquaintance, the investigation tended to sort of shift, said Jane Anderson, a former prosecutor who works as an adviser for AEquitas, an organization that provides resources for attorneys prosecuting cases involving violence against women. Instead of doing the same level of investigation that we do in, say, a stranger rape, they sort of decided, OK, this is all going to come down to consent, and so I dont really need to do the rest of this because the semen is not going to prove consent or not consent, Anderson said. But I think thats a really big mistake that, around the country, jurisdictions are making. We dont want to miss out on our standard investigative techniques we would do in any other case. Speakers urged attorneys, family, friends and law enforcement to believe victims, and they emphasized the need to shift societal perceptions about the credibility of people who claim to be victims of drug-facilitated sexual assault. This is where we see an enormous amount of guilt and shame, said Dr. Gena Castro Rodriguez, chief of the Victim Services Division at the district attorneys office. You went out to have a social situation, not to have a rapist rape you. Particularly when I work with young people, this is an important point to make. Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts. One woman, with the support of an advocate from Communities Healing and Transforming Trauma Recovery Services, shared her story of trying to report her assault and the long road to finding support on the way to recovery. She did not want her name used, and The Chonicles policy is to not name victims of sexual assault. I had a not-pleasant experience with the police, with the district attorney, she said. I couldnt get out of bed, and I had to go repeat my story 10 times. That deterred me from wanting to keep going. I didnt feel much compassion. The young woman said that two years after her assault, she feels like shes still recovering. She called for improvements in the thoroughness of investigations and for greater attention to the moments between the reporting of a crime and charges being filed. I was made to feel bad, because Id been drinking, the young woman said. If people come to the police, (authorities should) say, Thank you for coming, thank you for sharing that. The littlest things go a long way. Erin Stone is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: erin.stone@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @erstone7 A man suspected of murdering a Concord resident in his home has been identified, officials announced Thursday. Concord police detectives believe Terrance Boyd Dixon, 55, murdered Michael Downie, 64, who was found dead in his home on the 1200 block of Pine Creek Way by friends on July 27, according to the Concord Police Department. There is a warrant for Dixons arrest, officials said. Police have not determined a motive for the slaying, but said the two men knew each other. Downies manner and cause of death have not been released by police. Detectives believe Dixon stole Downies blue 2013 Hyundai Veloster with California license plate 6ZHZ052. He is considered armed and dangerous. Dixon may have had recent contact with people in Brandon, Oregon, but police are unaware of his current location, officials said. He has a history of police contacts in California, Oregon, Washington and Nevada, according to the Concord Police Department. Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts. Anyone who sees Dixon or the vehicle can call their local police department or 911. Callers are advised not to approach Dixon. Those with information about Dixons death can contact Concord Police Detective Kevin Giacoletto at 925-671-3040. Anonymous callers may call the anonymous tip line at 925-603-5836. Lauren Hernandez is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: lauren.hernandez@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @LaurenPorFavor Commons Club San Francisco, the new restaurant within the citys forthcoming Virgin Hotels (250 Fourth Street), has tapped fine-dining chef Adrian Garcia to lead the kitchen. Garcia, whose track record includes stints at the Michelin-starred Quince and Benu, was last consulting for the new Stonemill Matcha bakery in the Mission. Carmen Elias would never have met the mayor two mayors, in fact if the city hadnt offered to help out her La Mejor Bakery. Now shes determined to return the favor, acting as a conduit between local government and her neighbors in the Mission. In her early 60s, Elias dark hair is streaked with blond highlights and her voice has retained the clear, melodic tone of a violin sonata. Social Security has begun sending her notices letting her know she could retire for the second time but she sets them aside, every year. The first time she retired was when she was 39. In 1993, the Bank of America, where Elias had worked since the age of 19, offered early retirement to anyone who had been with the company for 20 years. Her husband of 15 years had died four years before. She had no kids. She took the buyout. But what do you do with your life when you retire before 40? One of her fathers old co-workers suggested she take over a failing panaderia on 24th Street, not far from where she grew up. Yalonda M. James / The Chronicle Elias had moved to San Francisco in 1968 with her family, when her father, who was working for Marriott in Mexico City, was transferred to the U.S. He secured visas for his wife and children and rented a three-bedroom apartment in the Mission for $350 a month, if you can imagine. But he was soon forced to make that bargain this country forces on so many immigrants: To stay here you have to give up a lifetimes worth of professional achievements. From the office he returned to the trade he had practiced as a young man: baking pastries. Kings, La Victoria, Dominguez and other Mission shops all employed him before he died at the age of 52. His daughter had grown up around the panaderias but had never wanted to work in them. But she knew she was good with people. The family friend helped her recruit her fathers former colleagues to bake for her on their days off. In return, she named her new business after his: La Mejor. Buying the business took all her money. I only saw the check in my hand and then I had to give it away, she says now. The first two years, Elias made no money and couldnt afford to hire full-time staff. She would open the store at 5 oclock to catch the early-morning customers not served by the seven other neighborhood bakeries, take a few hours off in the middle of the day to sleep, then work until midnight to attract the bargoers. She dispensed trays worth of free cookies to bring them back. Around the time that business picked up, a 17-year-old who had just moved from Mexico applied for a job. I know everything about baking, Rigoberto Calzada told her. She hired him and for 20 years, until he opened his own bakery in San Bruno this spring, he was her only full-time baker. Yalonda M. James / The Chronicle Elias still comes in at 4 in the morning on weekdays to help the crew pull trays of breads and pastries from the ovens. A line of customers forms outside her door even before 5 a.m.: first, workers picking up tamales and savory breakfast sandwiches, then parents with their schoolchildren for pan dulce. Around 9, the computer people stop in for pre-work custard turnovers and slices of pumpkin-nut bread. Saturdays and Sundays, Elias says, are more relaxed. She only comes in for the late morning or afternoon. The middle of the day, before the afterwork rush for cookies and other sweets, is social hour at La Mejor. The paleta sellers park their carts outside for an hour before jingling their way back up Mission Street. Older men claim the tables for cups of weak coffee and cross-table gossip, which her full-time worker, Lisenia Chiquitita Rivera, stokes from behind the counter. Elias presides over the conversation. They want to know what has happened and they ask me, she says, so she makes sure to keep up on the days news, translating it into Spanish. About three years ago, after a rash of ADA-compliance lawsuits filed against small businesses in the Mission, the city reached out to her and her neighbors, offering grants and assistance. With the grant, Elias installed a new door and rebuilt the tables and coffee station in her narrow shop so wheelchairs could fit under them. In the process, she befriended Diana Ponce de Leon, Mission District point person for the citys Office of Economic and Workforce Development. The two struck up a relationship that Ponce de Leon considers familial. She calls me at least once a month to see how everything is going, Ponce de Leon says. She keeps her ear to the ground, if there are issues with small businesses, and lets me know whats happening. Yalonda M. James / The Chronicle Elias corner of the Mission is a small one, it turns out. She buys half of her supplies from local businesses cheese, plastic goods, produce and they return the favor. Most of her seven employees actually have jobs at nearby restaurants, taking extra shifts at La Mejor just as her fathers friends did 25 years before. Sometimes it feels like the same dollars circle around the neighborhood, she says. Food Guide Top 25 Restaurants Where to eat in the Bay Area. Find spots near you, create a dining wishlist, and more. The business owners all talk to one another about the rents, of course, tracking every hike and eviction. But recently, theyve been talking about immigration, too. Elias attended meetings the city held to educate the Mission about the prospect of Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids. The community was scared, she said. Maybe a lot of my customers dont have documents. She learned how to confirm that an ICE officers warrant is valid and memorized the emergency number to report violations 200-1548, she rattles off as proof. Then she made the rounds, sharing that news with her fellow businesses. Not all of them are Latino, but Saudi, Pakistani and Chinese, too. Its good if they know what to do or what not to do, she says. Not long after Elias regular phone calls to the city began, Mayor Ed Lee honored her as a Latino Heritage Business. He visited the shop a few times, often enough to pick a favorite cookie (pineapple and coconut). A photograph of the late mayor is now up on her wall, beside all her workers food-handling certificates and a small plaque reading God bless this business. Last year, then-acting Mayor Mark Farrell followed Lees path to La Mejor, stopping by to reassure her and other Mission businesses of San Franciscos commitment to its sanctuary city status. Elias likes Mayor London Breeds emphasis on cleaning up the sidewalks. She wouldnt say no to a visit from mayor number three. A more immediate reassurance arrived two weeks ago, not long after her birthday, when her neighbors delivered her favorite cake from Diandas Pastries on three days in a row. She asked her landlord on the phone if he would extend her lease when it expired again next year. Carmen, dont worry, he told her. Im going to give it to you for five years. Six more years! The news means she can relax, says the woman who works seven days a week. She can even joke about retiring for good, now that she knows she wont have to. Lets start with the good news, because theres less of it: The Spy Who Dumped Me is the comedy that proves that the special thing that Kate McKinnon has, the comic originality that has made her the best thing on Saturday Night Live, can translate onto the big screen. After Ghostbusters, there had been some question. Her overdone performance in that film was so extreme that one had to wonder if maybe she was a brilliant sketch artist, but unable to sustain a character over a full-length film. But in this movie shes a delight, finding opportunities for comedy whenever possible, yet easing up just enough to keep it real. But McKinnon, though paired with Mila Kunis, is really the only source for comedy in the entire film, or at least the only source for laughs. Director and co-writer Susanna Fogel invests the movie with an aura of high spirits, as if everything were hilarious. Meanwhile, people are getting killed all over the place, and the central characters are in constant peril. This kind of movie the action comedy is trickier than it seems because the goals are seemingly at cross-purposes. Viewers must be worried about the protagonists, even as they know the main characters are guaranteed to come out all right. They must take the action seriously enough to become absorbed in it, as well as to accept a hefty body count. Yet they have to maintain enough distance to accept the movie in comic terms. More Information The Spy Who Dumped Me Action comedy. Starring Mila Kunis and Kate McKinnon. Directed by Susanna Fogel. (R. 117 minutes.) See More Collapse The way to succeed is not to walk a thin line between comedy and drama but to go big in both directions that is, to make the comedy funny and yet to play it completely straight when presenting the dramatic circumstances behind the action. Once filmmakers understand that, they can sometimes even be funny and scary in the same moment, as when Dennis Farina, as a mob boss in Midnight Run, tells one of his men hes going to stab him in the head with a pencil. Ridiculous line, but you know this guys crazy enough to do it. The Spy Who Dumped Me takes the wrong approach by trying to split the difference. It is never remotely serious, and yet for the most part it isnt funny, either. The violence gives the movie a sour edge, because it feels as though its presenting death as a big joke. And that sourness affects the comedy. The result is a movie that feels cheerful and yet misguided and even slightly ugly; an exercise in genre without conviction, a title in search of a movie. But Kate McKinnon is still funny. Theres that. Justin Theroux is the spy, and Kunis is Audrey, the one who gets dumped (shes dumped before the movie starts). We see the spy, in an early scene, creating a bloodbath in some foreign country, but she has no idea that he does that sort of thing, until he comes back and tells her. Thats when people start shooting at her, too, and her friend Morgan (McKinnon), and the two women have to escape to Vienna to complete a mission. Theres a shootout in a cafe in Vienna thats about as bloody as the bar scene in Inglourious Basterds, but theres no tension in watching it. Its just unpleasant. Kunis is entirely wasted. Perhaps someone zanier in the role might have been better, but perhaps not. In any case, theres nothing funny about watching her get shot at. By the way, in an early scene, the McKinnon character meets a guy from Ukraine and asks him, Is it called Ukraine or the Ukraine? And the guy answers, Either. Thats bizarre for two reasons: The first is that only U.S.S.R.-nostalgic Russians refer to Ukraine as the Ukraine, because the implies that Ukraine is a region, not an independent nation. And the second is that Kunis is from Ukraine, so they had someone standing right there who knew that that was the wrong answer. Mick LaSalle is The San Francisco Chronicles film critic. Email: mlasalle@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @MickLaSalle The California Supreme Court has been without a seventh justice for more than 11 months, the longest vacancy in its history. Only Gov. Jerry Brown knows why, and hes not saying. In that time, the six justices three appointed by Brown, the other three by Republican governors have seen their workloads increase. Theyve delayed hearing cases in which theyre evenly divided, rather than having the deciding vote cast by a justice temporarily elevated from a lower court. The gap in the courts roster is even more striking because former Justice Kathryn Mickle Werdegar tried to avoid it. A moderate Republican appointed in 1994 by Gov. Pete Wilson, Werdegar announced on March 3, 2017, that she would be retiring on Aug. 31 of that year. It was an unusual amount of lead time that was intended to encourage Brown to keep the court at full strength. I really wanted to give the governor time to consider who he would like to name as a replacement ... to have a smooth transition, she told The Chronicle. Lacking a permanent member of the court is disruptive. Disruptive or not, the court has lacked a full roster of justices since Werdegars departure. Brown, in his public statements, has emphasized the significance of the choice but hasnt said why its taking so long. Asked this week about the prospects for a nomination, his spokesman, Evan Westrup, quoted what Brown had said in January: This is not something that I want to do too quickly. ... Ive appointed three. The fourth could be very decisive. Brown has until January, when he leaves office, to announce Werdegars replacement. It would mark the first time the court has had a majority of appointees chosen by a Democratic governor since 1986, when Chief Justice Rose Bird and Justices Cruz Reynoso and Joseph Grodin, all appointed by Brown, were denied new terms by the voters after a campaign that focused on their reversals of death sentences. The longest previous vacancy in the courts history was the nine months between the retirement of Justice Joyce Kennard and Browns appointment of Justice Leondra Kruger, who was seated in January 2015. Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye says the court has suffered a loss of productivity since Werdegars retirement and, without a tie-breaking vote, has tried to put off action on cases in which the six justices are deadlocked. Its difficult to operate without a seventh justice, she said in her annual meeting with reporters in December. She didnt identify the deadlocked cases. But one could be an important pension case on which Brown, despite his own deliberate pace, wants the court to act quickly. Last month, the governors office sent a letter to the justices asking for a hearing as soon as practicable on a challenge by unions to a law Brown signed that eliminated a retirement benefit for hundreds of thousands of state and local government employees. The law, which took effect in 2013, repealed a 10-year-old law that allowed employees with at least five years of service to purchase up to five years of additional credits before retiring. The 2013 law is intended to reduce increasing deficits in the state pension fund, but the unions contend the law violates California court rulings guaranteeing public employees the pension benefits in effect when they were hired. The court granted review of the case in April 2017 but has not scheduled a hearing. Other long-pending cases possibly being delayed by the vacancy include a privacy dispute over a state law that requires psychotherapists to contact police or child welfare agencies if their patients have viewed child pornography online, and a challenge to a San Francisco ordinance that allows the city, for aesthetic reasons, to prevent phone companies from installing wireless antennas on utility poles. Since Werdegars retirement, her seat has been filled by justices from state appeals courts, chosen in alphabetical order for the high courts hearings each month. That has raised the possibility that one of them could cast the deciding vote in a case with statewide impact. Its happened only once so far, in December, when the court voted 4-3 to give ailing patients the right to sue pharmaceutical companies for defective warning labels on generic versions of the drugs they manufacture. The courts regular justices split 3-3, and the outcome was determined by the vote of Justice Louis Mauro of the Third District Court of Appeal in Sacramento, an appointee of Republican former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. Historically, some of the courts most important cases have been decided 4-3, like the 2008 ruling striking down Californias ban on same-sex marriage a majority that included Werdegar and earlier decisions on funding and parental consent for abortions and the need for voter approval of new taxes. The scarcity of such rulings these days may partly reflect the absence of a seventh justice. It frustrates the judicial process because the court has to borrow temporary justices, which harms all of its performance metrics: cases accepted, time to decision, and number of opinions, said David Carrillo, executive director of the California Constitution Center at the UC Berkeley School of Law. The delay in nominating Werdegars successor also makes it virtually certain that the new justice will not appear on the ballot until 2022. Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts. Newly appointed justices normally face their first public retention vote on the same November ballot as the governors election. But the deadline to place candidates on this years ballot is Aug. 30, and it usually takes more than a month for a state Supreme Court nominee to be reviewed and considered for confirmation by the Commission on Judicial Appointments, a three-member body chaired by the chief justice. So Browns selection, if confirmed, probably wont face the voters for four years. That probably explains why the governor is taking his time, say some legal commentators. If he saw it as a possible controversial appointment that might be a distraction in the coming election, he might want to avoid that, said David Ettinger, a Los Angeles attorney whose At the Lectern blog tracks the states high court. Another possibility, Ettinger and other observers said, is that Brown is considering one of his legal advisers for the appointment but would rather keep the adviser around until his own term is nearly over. One name in the rumor mill is Josh Groban, Browns senior adviser on judicial appointments. Brown, who was once a law clerk on the state Supreme Court, has opened some new doors in his past judicial appointments. He named the courts first female, black and Latino justices during his first stint in office from 1975 to 1983, and also appointed the nations first openly gay and lesbian judges to trial courts in Los Angeles and San Francisco. More recently, he appointed James Humes and Therese Stewart as the first openly gay and lesbian justices on a California appellate court, both as members of the First District Court of Appeal in San Francisco. One of them could be promoted to the high court, and commentators made Humes an early favorite, noting that he served as a top legal aide during Browns tenure as both attorney general and governor. That speculation has lessened, Ettinger said, because if Gov. Brown was going to appoint Humes, why would he be waiting this long? On the other hand, he said, the governors office hasnt leaked any names or even indicated when an appointment might be announced. For everyone except Brown, Ettinger said, its all educated guesswork. Bob Egelko is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: begelko@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @BobEgelko General Motors Co is seeking an exemption to a 25 percent US tariff on its Chinese-made Buick Envision sport utility, the automaker said on Thursday, in a move to prevent the key model in the brands US lineup from becoming a victim of the US-China trade tensions. General Motors Co. displays its US version of the Buick Envision crossover, the first China-built car imported to the US by a Detroit automaker in Detroit, Michigan, US, January 10, 2016. [File Photo: VCG] The midsize SUV, priced starting at about 35,000 US dollars, has become a target for critics of Chinese-made goods, including leaders of the United Auto Workers union and members in key political swing states such as Michigan and Ohio. The Envision, assembled only in China, last year accounted for about 19 percent of Buick brand sales in the US. GM said in a statement that it filed the request on July 30 with the US Trade Representative. An official notice was posted on Thursday on the regulations.gov website, which is tracking requests for exclusions from the so-called Section 301 tariff on certain imported goods from China. GM, the largest US automaker, argued in its request that Envision sales in China and the US would generate funds to invest in our US manufacturing facilities and to develop the next generation of automotive technology in the US. GM said the vast majority of Envisions, about 200,000 a year, are sold in China. About 41,000 were sold last year in the US. Because of the lower US sales volume, assembly in our home market is not an option for the Envision, which competes with such mid-size crossover vehicles as the Jeep Grand Cherokee and the Cadillac XT5. GM has taken other steps to soften the blow of tariffs, which hit just as the automaker had lowered the price of the Envision to make it more competitive. Ahead of the July 6 start for higher import tariffs, GM shipped in a six-month supply of Envisions at the much lower 2.5 percent tariff rate. Envision sales from April through June plunged to just 7,000 vehicles, while inventories climbed to more than 13,000 vehicles at the end of June. At the current sales rate, the Envision supply should be enough to keep many dealers stocked through the end of the year. GM had lowered prices by as much as 2,500 US dollars on the 2019 models, which it started shipping in late April. That means Buicks 2,000 US dealers should have lower-priced Envisions to sell well into the fall. The previous price point was too high on the 2018 Envision, said Casey Clark, sales manager at Serra Buick GMC Cadillac in Washington, Michigan, in an interview. That put off some customers. With help from GM, Casey said, the mid-Michigan dealership has been able to offer hefty discounts on Envision of 5,000 US dollars and more. GM has announced no plans to stop US sales of the Envision or to relocate production of US-bound models to another plant outside China, a source familiar with the companys strategy said on condition of anonymity. GM has provided Buick dealers with incentives to keep Envisions in stock. These include financial offers to put Envisions into fleets of vehicles loaned to customers whose cars are being repaired, the source said. This year, GM plans to cut Envision imports to around 35,000 vehicles, more than half of which will be hit with the higher tariff, the source said. The Telecommunications Regulatory Board is hiring a consultancy firm to study the sector and map out control systems report CT. ADS Observation on the ground shows Mobile Financial Services (MFS) are gaining grounds in Cameroon with telecommunications companies registering several millions of users. Statistics from the Telecommunications Regulatory Board (TRB) show the early comers into the business, MTN and Orange, had bagged as many as 5.4 million users by the end of 2016; 2.8 million clients for Orange Money and 2.6 million customers for MTN Mobile Money. From 2011 when the mobile transactions were launched to 2014, the volume of financial transactions carried out on mobile accounts in Cameroon had already hit FCFA 72 billion. This far, partnerships have been signed with other financial institutions, bringing in new players such as Nexttel Cameroon, Afriland First Bank, UBA bank and Express Union, among others. The contribution of these services (currently regulated by the Banking Commission for Central Africa, COBAC) to the development of the digital economy cannot be undermined. They have facilitated online businesses, payment of bills, money transfer transactions, school fee payments and registration for examination, just to name but these. Despite the COBAC regulations at the regional level, there seem to be a growing need for local policies, especially as charges telecom companies levy on transactions appear to be set and modified depending on the whims and caprices of the companies involved. The TRB, in response to the seeming disorder is in the process of hiring a consultancy firm to complete a study on the development and regulation of mobile financial services in Cameroon. The findings of the study would give a clear picture of the Mobile Financial Services (MFS) available in the country, the value chain, the activities of companies in the sector, its risks to customers and the economy among other things, and propose an adequate statutory framework to control activities in the sector. Mobile money services provided by telecom companies enabling citizens to send, receive, and save money using their mobile phone is however only a subset of MFS. Other Mobile Financial Services include savings, loans, investments, insurance among others. MBOM Sixtus ESA/NASA/Hubble/New York Times Venus is closer and brighter, but Mars looms larger in our dreams and nightmares of extraterrestrial life. Our go-to aliens arent Venusians; theyre Martians. In our bizarre visions, they have built canals and cities, starred in schlocky sitcoms and movies, and stormed the White House and New Jersey. The advent of interplanetary exploration wasnt particularly kind to these fantasies, revealing as it did a frigid, airless, dusty world that made Earths harshest deserts seem hospitable. The Red Planet didnt look like any place for little green men. Perhaps thats why our favorite Martian today is still descended from Ray Bradburys earthling colonizers reflected in a Martian canal. Recent years have seen the likes of Elon Musk, Donald Trump and Matt Damon popularize narcissistic notions of making ourselves the Martians. Much of the heat thats gripped California and hastened the spread of deadly wildfires recently is due to a strange but familiar shift in the jet stream one thats haunted the West with threatening fire conditions in the past and could cause more hot, dry spells in the future, especially with a changing climate. The jet stream, the river of wind high above the Northern Hemisphere, has been weaker and wavier in the past few weeks, scientists say. Instead of pushing weather systems along as it usually does, its allowing the patterns to stagnate. Not only has this meant searing temperatures for the West Coast, where the hot spot of Death Valley averaged a record 108 degrees last month, but also for Scandinavia and Japan. Norway and Sweden flirted with a rare 90 degrees at the Arctic Circle this week, while the Japanese city of Kumagaya recently landed that nations highest-ever temperature: 106. Other places, such as the East Coast, have endured relentless rain, even flooding. Were seeing this mix of conditions across North America and Europe, but theyre all connected, said Jennifer Francis, a professor at Rutgers University who studies atmospheric circulation. The weather patterns are just stuck. Theyre trapped. Mark Ralston / AFP / Getty Images The shift in the jet stream thats driving the stagnation, say Francis and other climate scientists, is almost certainly tied to global warming. Its just one of the ways that climate change is probably contributing to the spree of fires in California that has killed eight people and destroyed more than 1,000 homes. Californias fire season, most fundamentally, is saddled with higher temperatures with or without a heat wave, scientists say. The greenhouse gases emitted from cars, power plants and factories, which trap sunlight and warm the atmosphere, have created baseline conditions that are more hospitable to wildfire. Water loss from soil and plants is generally up while snowmelt and river flows are down. A study last year by researchers at Columbia University and the University of Idaho found that human-caused warming was drying out forests so much that peak fire seasons across the West have expanded every year by an average of nine days since 2000. Other factors are influencing wildfire as well, making it difficult to always draw such precise conclusions about the role of climate change. The nations longtime policy of wildfire suppression, for example, has created a dangerous buildup of vegetation thats making fires more intense. Development in rural areas, meanwhile, is increasing the human toll. Nevertheless, climate researchers and fire experts agree that global warming is having an impact and that the impact will only grow. Across California this week, more than 12,000 firefighters were battling several major wildfires. The Carr Fire, in Shasta County, has already become the states sixth most destructive blaze, leveling 1,067 homes as of Friday. Temperatures were reported to be 113 degrees, at least 13 degrees above average for the week, when the fire tore into the city of Redding. The Ferguson Fire, to the south, has been burning along the western edge of Yosemite for weeks, prompting a rare shutdown of much of the national park. In nearby Fresno, the mercury has been at 100 degrees or higher every day since July 6, setting a mark for consecutive days of triple-digit heat. The weak and wavy jet stream behind Californias hot spell has taken hold before. The pattern was firmly established in 2003 when a heat wave killed tens of thousands in Europe, in 2010 when several hundred wildfires ignited in Russia and in 2011 when Texas saw its worst drought in state history. Research by Michael Mann, a climatologist and geophysicist at Penn State University, suggests that the change in the jet stream is partly the result of warming in the Arctic. When the Arctic gets hotter, the contrast in temperatures between northern latitudes and more southern latitudes is less. That variation causes a disturbance in the atmosphere that shifts the jet stream, Mann said. These factors work together to produce the sorts of persistent extreme weather events droughts, floods, heat waves, wildfires that were seeing across the Northern Hemisphere right now, Mann said in an email. Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts. He projects that stalls and swerves in the jet stream will happen more often with climate change. These patterns usually break down after a couple weeks, but they are increasing in frequency, he said. Manns findings have yet to become mainstream. But many are eager for more research to be done on the tie between global warming, particularly in the Arctic, and atmospheric fluctuations. Regardless of the jet streams influence, climate researchers are already drawing a connection and quantifying it between the current heat wave and climate change. The World Weather Attribution project, an international coalition of scientists, released a preliminary report last month saying that Europes scorching heat was twice as likely to have occurred because of human-caused warming. Michael Wehner, senior staff scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, did a similar computation for the heat in California. He concluded that 2 to 3 degrees of temperature could be chalked up to climate change. When youre really hot, he said, a little bit hotter makes it a lot worse in terms of human health and aggravating fire danger. Kurtis Alexander is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: kalexander@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @kurtisalexander For decades, the district south of downtown San Francisco and alongside the bay was known as Rincon Hill, South Beach or South of Market. This spring, it was suddenly rebranded on Google Maps to a name few had heard: the East Cut. The peculiar moniker immediately spread digitally, from hotel sites to dating apps to Uber, which all use Googles map data. The name soon spilled over into the physical world, too. Real estate listings beckoned prospective tenants to the East Cut. Even some news organizations referred to the vicinity by that term. Its degrading to the reputation of our area, said Tad Bogdan, who has lived in the neighborhood for 14 years. In a survey of 271 neighbors that he organized recently, he said, 90 percent disliked the name. The swift rebranding of the roughly 170-year-old district is just one example of how Google Maps has now become the primary arbiter of place names. With decisions made by a few Google cartographers, the identity of a city, town or neighborhood can be reshaped, illustrating the outsize influence that Silicon Valley increasingly has in the real world. The Detroit neighborhood now regularly called Fishkorn (pronounced FISH-korn), but previously known as Fiskhorn (pronounced FISK-horn)? That was because of Google Maps. Midtown South Central in Manhattan? That was also given life by Google Maps. Yet how Google arrives at its names in maps is often mysterious. The company declined to detail how some place names came about, though some appear to have resulted from mistakes by researchers, rebrandings by real estate agents or just outright fiction. In Los Angeles, Jeffrey Schneider, a longtime architect in the Silver Lake area, said he recently began calling the hill he lived on Silver Lake Heights in ads for his rental apartment downstairs, partly as a joke. Last year, Silver Lake Heights also appeared on Google Maps. Now for every real estate listing in this neighborhood, they refer to it, he said. You see a name like that on a map and you believe it. Before the internet era, neighborhood names developed via word-of-mouth, newspaper articles and physical maps that were released periodically. But Google Maps, which debuted in 2005, is updated continuously and delivered to more than 1 billion people on their devices. Google also feeds map data to thousands of websites and apps, magnifying its influence. In May, more than 63 percent of people who accessed a map on a smartphone or tablet used Google Maps, versus 19.4 percent for Chinese internet giant Alibabas maps and 5.5 percent for Apple Maps, according to comScore, which tracks web traffic. Google said it created its maps from third-party data, public sources, satellites and, often most important, users. People can submit changes, which are reviewed by Google employees. A Google spokeswoman declined further comment. Yet some submissions are ruled upon by people with little local knowledge of a place, such as contractors in India, said one former Google Maps employee, who declined to be named because he was not authorized to speak publicly. Other users with a history of accurate changes said their updates to maps take effect instantly. Many of Googles decisions have far-reaching consequences, with the maps driving increased traffic to quiet neighborhoods and once almost provoking an international incident in 2010 after it misrepresented the boundary between Costa Rica and Nicaragua. In Detroit, some residents have been baffled by Googles map of their city, which is blanketed with neighborhood monikers like NW Goldberg, Fishkorn and the Eye. Those names have been on Google Maps since at least 2012. Timothy Boscarino, a Detroit city planner, traced Googles use of those names to a map posted online around 2002 by a few locals. Google almost identically copied that maps neighborhoods and boundaries, he said down to its typos. One result was that Google transposed the k and h for the district known as Fiskhorn, making it Fishkorn. A former Detroit city planner, Arthur Mullen, said he created the 2002 map as a side project and was surprised his typos were now distributed widely. He said he used old books and his local knowledge to make the map, approximating boundaries at times and inserting names with tenuous connections to neighborhoods, hoping to draw feedback. I shouldnt be making a mistake and 20 years later people are having to live with it, Mullen said. Detroit officials recently canvassed the community to make an official map of neighborhoods. That exercise fixed some errors, like Fiskhorn (though Fishkorn remains on Google Maps). But for many districts where residents were unsure of the history, authorities relied largely on Google. The Eye and others are now part of that official map. In San Francisco, the East Cut name originated from a neighborhood nonprofit group that residents voted to create in 2015 to clean and secure the area. The nonprofit paid $68,000 to a brand experience design company to rebrand the district. Andrew Robinson, executive director of the nonprofit, now called the East Cut Community Benefit District (and previously the Greater Rincon Hill Community Benefit District), said the groups board rejected names like Grand Narrows and Central Hub. Instead they chose the East Cut, partly because it referenced an 1869 construction project to cut through nearby Rincon Hill. The nonprofit then paid for streetlight banners and outfitted street cleaners with East Cut apparel. But it was not until Google Maps adopted the name this spring that it got attention and mockery. The East Cut sounds like a 17 dollar sandwich, Menotti Minutillo, an Uber engineer who works on the neighborhoods border, tweeted in May. Robinson said his team asked Google to add the East Cut to its maps. A Google spokeswoman said employees manually inserted the name after verifying it through public sources. The companys San Francisco offices are in the neighborhood, and one of the East Cut nonprofits board members is a Google employee. Google Maps has also validated other little-known San Francisco neighborhoods. Balboa Hollow, a roughly 50-block district north of Golden Gate Park, trumpets on its website that it is a distinct neighborhood. Its proof? Google Maps. Dont believe us? its website asks. Well, were on the internet; so we must be real. Jack Nicas is a New York Times writer. gallery RENO A former Tesla employee at the electric car makers battery plant in Nevada is seeking at least $1 million in defamation damages after it accused him of sabotage, hacking into computers and stealing confidential information leaked to the media. Lawyers for Martin Tripp filed a counterclaim in federal court this week alleging any damages Tesla incurred were caused or contributed to by Teslas own negligence, acts or omissions. Tripp alleges that between $150 million and $200 million worth of battery module parts for Teslas Model 3 vehicle were incorrectly handled as scrap earlier this year. He said more than 700 dented and/or punctured battery modules were not discarded and instead were being shipped or were in the process of being shipped to customers. Tesla officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment from the Associated Press on Thursday. Tripp said he was recruited by Tesla, moved to Sparks, Nev., from Wisconsin and started working at the battery factory in October as a lead process engineering technician. He was fired June 19. Tesla filed suit against Tripp on June 20, three days after CEO Elon Musk warned employees of sabotage from within the company. In the months prior, Tripp witnessed several concerning business practices inconsistent with Teslas representations to investors and the general public, according to his counterclaim filed in U.S. District Court in Reno. Tripp said he repeatedly questioned supervisors about the large quantities of waste and scrap vehicle parts he observed lying haphazardly on the ground inside the Gigafactory, but his concerns were never addressed or resolved. Tripp said he emailed Musk directly about his concerns on May 16 before Musk was scheduled to visit the factory east of Sparks that night. Later that day, Tripp said his manager asked him to forward the email he sent to Musk, So that I can avoid getting fired tonight, according to the lawsuit. His counterclaim says a design engineer also told Tripp to clean up the production line area so Musk wouldnt see the mounds of scrap and waste lying on the ground, but Tripp declined to do so because he wanted Musk to see how the Gigafactory was actually being operated. He said he was reassigned to a different position the following day. Teslas original suit said Tripp admitted to Tesla investigators that he wrote software that transferred several gigabytes of data outside the company, including dozens of photographs and a video, according to the lawsuit filed Wednesday. Hacking software from Tripp also was running on three computer systems of other employees so that the data would be exported even after he left the company and so that those individuals would be falsely implicated, the lawsuit alleged. The suit said Tripp made false claims about the information he stole, including claims that Tesla used punctured battery cells in the Model 3, and claims about the amount and value of scrap material generated by Teslas manufacturing process. Some of the claims made it into media stories about the company, but media organizations are not identified in the lawsuit. Tripp, a former aviation electronics technician in the U.S. Navy who worked two decades in the electronic and engineering industries, said in his counterclaim he did not sabotage Tesla or its operations and his actions were necessary, reasonable and/or privileged. He acknowledged that he had made claims about the scrap and punctured battery cells being used in Model 3 vehicles. But he said he did not direct code changes to the Tesla Manufacturing Operating System under false user names or export large amounts of highly sensitive Tesla data as Musk had asserted. After he was reassigned to a new position, Tripp learned of and witnessed additional unnerving, dangerous and wasteful business practices, including employees systematically reusing parts and battery cells that had been previously discarded as waste, the suit said. The scrap problem dramatically increased in March, when Tesla initiated a company-wide effort to reach its publicized goal of producing 2,500 Model 3 vehicles per week, the lawsuit said. It said the production push with an objective of making 5,000 vehicles per week by July 2018 was known as the March to 2,500. Scott Sonner is an Associated Press writer. | BY Kim Shaw | Almost a decade after Alex Bogusky departed from US hot shop Crispin Porter + Bogusky, then one of the hottest creative agencies in the world, he is set to return, taking the title of chief creative engineer. In this new position, he will assume a leadership role in all aspects of the company, including creative direction, innovation, strategy, and talent. Bogusky will be working closely with CEO Erik Sollenberg, President Danielle Aldrich and Chairman Chuck Porter, to reimagine what the modern agency of today can be. Before leaving CP+B eight years ago Bogusky was one of the most revered creative directors in the world, known for Burger Kings Subservient Chicken and the anti-smoking Truth campaign, before he resigned saying he was done with the agency world. Says Bogusky: CP+B is in my blood, and MDC Partners continues to be the network where real innovation can thrive. The CP+B brand has always been all about redefining advertising, and the opportunity to remake what it means to be a top-tier creative agency is too compelling to pass up. The timing is right. This is a decisive moment for the future of the advertising industry. The needs of brands have changed, and its high time to reexamine the best creative approach to meet those needs. I think advertising agencies can benefit from the lean and agile practices that have revolutionized so many other industries. Says fellow co-founder Chuck Porter: Alex is the most original and innovative thinker I know: The last time Alex was here, we reinvented what it meant to be an ad agency, and I dont think theres ever been a time when the industry needs that more than right now. A hospital conference room is an unlikely place to assess a budding transportation revolution, but a team of San Francisco trauma specialists and researchers who gathered there sees its work as essential to ensuring the safety of residents in a city of high-tech guinea pigs. We dont know what we dont know, Dr. Catherine Juillard, a trauma surgeon at San Francisco General Hospital, said during the meeting in late June. After a brief absence, shared electric scooters will soon return to San Francisco, and the city and the doctors at the meeting want to track the injuries from skinned knees to head trauma that result from the scooters and other transportation options flooding the city. I can say that several years ago that I didnt see these types of injuries happening, and now I do, said Juillard, who is also a professor researching injury prevention at UCSF. But we have to do the hard work of looking at the data to determine if theres truly a trend. The concern began with the arrival of thousands of shared electric scooters this year. The pay-as-you-go vehicles unlocked for $1 with a smartphone app, and then 15 cents per minute turned pedestrians into urban adventurers whirring by at up 15 mph. After nearly three months, the city issued cease-and-desist orders that temporarily took the scooters off the streets, but theyre poised to return as soon as this month, when the city issues permits to as many as five scooter companies. The major companies say theyre paying attention to injuries and doing what they can to encourage riders to be safe. Bird, the segments biggest company, with scooters in more than a dozen cities and a value estimated at $2 billion, said it is forming a safety advisory council led by David Strickland, a former head of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Stricklands panel will focus on increasing the safety of people riding slow-speed electric scooters in a car-centric world, the company said. Bird said it supported the collection of data on injuries, in particular those caused by cars. Its not just the scooters that Juillard and her colleagues are worried about. During their first meeting, the team called out the possible transportation options it might see: electric bikes, mopeds and scooters, and then hoverboards, Segways and even unicycles. (Given its proximity to Silicon Valley, San Francisco has become a real-world test bed for all manner of transportation.) Juillard sees only the most banged up of accident victims, those who are rushed to the operating theater or admitted to the intensive-care unit. But Dr. Chris Colwell, the hospitals chief of emergency medicine, sees everything from bumps and bruises to life-altering head injuries, and safety concerns popped up almost as soon as the scooters did. Im quite confident that we were seeing five to 10 injuries from this a week, and Im probably underestimating that, Colwell said. We saw one or zero a month before the increase in electric scooters. Bird and two other companies, Lime and Spin, put thousands of scooters on San Franciscos streets this year in what Aaron Peskin, a member of the Board of Supervisors, called a strategy of ask for forgiveness, not permission. The exact number of scooters that hit the streets is hard to know, but Bird told the Wall Street Journal that its customers totaled 90,000 miles in the first three weeks in San Francisco. A few weeks later, the San Francisco supervisors unanimously passed the ordinance and issued cease-and-desist letters. The imminent return of the scooters to San Francisco, even in smaller numbers and in a limited one-year pilot, puts pressure on the doctors and public health professionals working on a taxonomy of e-vehicle types, sorting out shared and not shared, with or without a helmet, severity of the injury, and so on. The ideal is to be ready with standardized data-collection instruments when the pilot rolls out, said Megan Wier, an epidemiologist with the San Francisco Department of Public Health. With the clock ticking, Wier and her colleagues combed through months of police and hospital records to help inform the classifications. But she believes the most useful injury patterns will emerge only after a data schema is established and the scooters return to San Francisco. In the Legislature, there is a movement to loosen some regulations on the scooters. Assembly Bill 2989 would relax helmet requirements, stipulate that only riders under 18 need to wear protective headgear and allow electric scooters to be used freely on streets with speed limits up to 35 mph, rather than the current limit of 25 mph. Bird, which has pushed hard for the bill, pointed out that adults riding electric bicycles are not required to wear a helmet. The company said it had passed out some 40,000 free helmets to its riders, but nonetheless felt the bills passage would provide riders with more consistent ridership rules. Euwyn Poon, president of Spin, another scooter company, said it was sensible to allow electric scooter users to ride without a helmet, even on streets with higher speed limits. Our users prefer the convenience of riding a very short distance on a scooter without a helmet, Poon said. He acknowledged that the majority of riders disregarded safety guidance. Our focus is on educating users as much as possible, Poon said. Thats the extent of what we can do. Peskin called the bill terrible public policy that would risk safety. Still, he said he understood that the city needed to do something about pollution and congestion. If used properly, electric scooters may very well be part of the transportation solution, he said. And if used wrongly, theyre a hazard. Peskin said he is impressed by new safety measures proposed in some of the permit applications. One company offered to include a helmet with each scooter, and another offered to require users to submit a selfie while wearing a helmet before the scooter could be unlocked. Bradley Berman is a New York Times writer. | BY Ricki Green | Ikon Communications, part of WPP AUNZ, has appointed global digital and performance media expert Louisa Mennell as its new national head of performance, following a worldwide search. Mennell begins immediately based in Ikons Melbourne office, guiding the agencys proven performance proposition and joining its national leadership team. She was most recently partner, paid search and social, at Mindshare Worldwide in London, and has moved from the UK to take up the position. Says Lesley Edwards, CEO, Ikon: Louisa has an incredibly strong track record of developing successful, integrated and future-facing teams. She brings deep cross-category experience and a passion for building operational models that are both good for clients needs, while enabling people to fulfil their potential. We believe this experience and her proven management credentials make her the perfect candidate to lead Ikons very strong performance product and its team of 25+ people. Responsible for the development of high level strategic thinking across all performance-based output, Mennell has also been tasked with the ongoing development of Ikons performance product, through the application of best practice digital approaches and the latest available technologies. Prior to her role at Mindshare, she worked at a number of leading UK agencies including Zenith, Performics and TradeDoubler. Says Mennell: Im delighted to be joining Ikon at such an exciting time; a business with a truly progressive perspective on delivering performance. With an ever more complex media landscape, Im excited to be part of an agency that challenges the status quo to deliver results for our clients. The high-level appointment follows a period of continued growth and expansion for Ikons Melbourne office, with several other senior hires recently made. Ante Pejic has joined as digital strategy director and Chris Mizeracki has been appointed performance manager. Last month Ikon also announced that Melissa Roberts would join as managing partner for Ikon Melbourne. Says Edwards: The Melbourne office continues to grow both in terms of output and new capability. Were incredibly excited about the future of the office and how the team continues to challenge conventions and build new business solutions. Ikon has also enjoyed success with more formal recognition; it has this month been awarded the YouTube Q2 Planning Award in Googles prestigious Honours program. The award recognises the achievements of the very best Search and YouTube marketing agencies and providers across Australia and New Zealand and more than 37 companies entered the competition in this, its second year. It was the most intense tornado in California history. But, unlike most tornadoes, this vortex had a swirl of flames that reached an unprecedented 143 mph as it barreled toward Redding and scraped the bark off trees, uprooted trunks and incinerated homes, the National Weather Service announced Thursday. The fire vortex that launched the Carr Fire over the Sacramento River ranked a three on the Enhanced Fujita scale, which rates the intensity of tornadoes. The EF-3 equivalent rating (winds over 143 mph) would suggest that it is likely the most intense tornado-like feature in California history, even though the Carr Fire vortex may not have been a tornado in the formal sense, UCLA climate scientist Daniel Swain said in an email. Though fire vortices of similar magnitude have occurred in remote areas in the past, he added, the fire whirl that erupted near Redding is the strongest documented in the U.S. The terrifying weather event provided yet another record in whats been a premature and cataclysmic wildfire season in California. The 17 wildfires raging through California destroyed more homes Friday as crews worked to strengthen containment lines, officials said. The deadly Carr Fire burned to 133,924 acres by Friday night, over 7,000 acres more than the previous day, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, or Cal Fire. Its estimated that the wind that developed into a cyclone of flames and pushed the Carr Fire reached over 143 mph, said Mike Kochasic, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. Ive never seen anything quite like that, he said. The Carr Fire has destroyed 1,070 homes, 21 commercial buildings and 491 outbuildings, making it the sixth most destructive wildfire in California history. On Friday, more than 4,000 firefighters were battling the inferno that has killed two firefighters and continues to threaten 1,358 structures. Four other people were also killed in the fire. The conflagration was 39 percent contained Friday night as firefighters attempted to douse hot spots spurred by gusty overnight winds. A red flag warning is in effect for the area until Saturday afternoon, Cal Fire said, but some residents have been allowed to return to their homes. In Mendocino County, two wildfires growing simultaneously prompted new evacuations as one of the blazes grew significantly, Cal Fire said. The Ranch Fire made significant and rapid expansion, growing to 115,250 acres and moving toward the Pawnee Fire scar, which ignited July 9 and grew to 15,185 acres before being fully contained July 23. Coupled with the River Fire, the Ranch Fire is part of the Mendocino Complex, which has grown to a total of 157,450 acres and is just 30 percent contained. New evacuations were ordered Friday morning for residents in Lucerne, Pepperwood Grove, Paradise Valley, Glenhaven and Clearlake Oaks in Lake County. Gusty winds and dry weather continue to pose challenges for the more than 3,000 fire personnel responding. So far, there have been no injuries. The Mendocino Complex fires have destroyed 41 homes and 47 other structures, and threaten 9,200 structures, Cal Fire said. Crews expect to gain full containment of the Mendocino Complex blazes and Ferguson Fire near Yosemite Valley by Aug. 15. The fire on the outskirts of Yosemite National Park, which has closed all but one of its entrances until at least Sunday, grew by about acres on Friday to 77,207 acres and was 41 percent contained, according to the U.S. Forest Service. Evacuations were ordered Friday for Yosemite Valley, but the area is not believed to be in danger of the fire, officials said. Crews worked on clearing vegetation and potential fuel by starting fires to eliminate opportunities for the Ferguson Fire to continue to grow, the forest service said. Two firefighters have died in the blaze and 11 other people have been injured. Ten structures have been destroyed and 695 were threatened. Sarah Ravani is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: sravani@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @SarRavani The Ferguson fire has torched thousands of acres and forced the evacuation of many of Yosemite National Parks most popular sites, but also appears to have created an opportunity for those hoping to squeeze in one last family trip before the school year begins. The official reservation website for park lodging lists a host of open reservations that are frequently only available to those with their fingers hovering on the mouse moments after the bookings become available. Those willing to gamble on the park reopening Sunday, as planned, can find reservations for next week at the the private cabins at the Majestic Yosemite Hotel, river units at Houskeeping Camp, a variety of room options at the Yosemite Valley Lodge. Mineta San Jose International Airport is one of several airports nationwide chosen by the United States Customs and Border Protection agency to use facial recognition to screen all arriving and departing international travelers. The airport quietly began using the technology on arriving international flights June 25. International fliers leaving SJC will see it in use at departure gates in the coming months, according to the airport. The technology is also in use at airports in Orlando and San Diego. Here's one of the biggest changes travelers can expect: all departing international passengers will be photographed at the gate before they board their flight. The images give the government verifiable biometric proof that a U.S. visitor has left the country, and presumably, will also be used to match citizens when they re-enter the country. When entering the United States off a flight, passengers are photographed at passport control. Facial recognition software compares the image against passport or visa photos the federal government already has on file. The process takes less than a second. It eliminates the need for agents to scan passports manually and visually compare travelers to their passport photos both are time consuming tasks that slow down immigration queues. Interviews and customs luggage inspections will still happen. Travelers enrolled in Global Entry will see no changes in the way they enter the country since those kiosks already photograph and fingerprint arriving international passengers. Travelers who use the Mobile Passport app to digitally fill-out immigration forms and customs declarations can continue to use it, but will also go through the same facial recognition process at passport control. SJC will install biometric readers at each of the seven gates used for international departures to photograph travelers leaving the country. That's coming in the fall, we're told. At SJC, the process has already expedited long passport screening lines which have grown to become unbearable for many travelers. The airport has seen a staggering increase in the number of international flights in recent years (to name a few: Aeromexico, Air China, All Nippon Airways, British Airways, and Lufthansa have all launched flights to SJC in the last decade). In 2017, the airport logged 438,800 international arrivals more than double the number in 2015, when there were 199,900. Simultaneously, airport officials said there has been a shortage of Customs and Border Patrol agents to staff passport control counters because the agency isn't able to recruit and retain enough people willing to put up with the Bay Area's high cost of living. The airport hopes the new automated screening process will shorten wait times and put an end to a lot of the frustration. The use of the technology has raised suspicions by civil liberties groups, which oppose the government's collection of the photographs of citizens. "The biggest danger is that this technology will be used for general, suspicionless surveillance systems," the American Civil Liberties Union warned. "State motor vehicles agencies possess high-quality photographs of most citizens that are a natural source for face recognition programs and could easily be combined with public surveillance or other cameras in the construction of a comprehensive system of identification and tracking." Passengers who want to opt-out of the biometric screening will have the option to do so. The federal government says photos of U.S. citizens might be stored for up to 14 days, but photos of non-U.S. citizens could be stored for decades. 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. Its midterm election season and theres a lot to keep track of. Heres what you need to know before new gubernatorial, congressional and statehouse representatives are chosen: The House and the Senate seats will be determined in midterms on November 6. Where things stand Republicans currently comprise a majority of both House and Senate. This November, 35 Senate seats and 435 House seats are up for election. Senate Republicans have the slight majority with 51 seats over Democrats 47 (as well as two independents who frequently vote with the Democrats). All 435 House seats are up for election this November. As it stands, Republicans have 236 and Democrats have 193 with 6 empty seats. Wave election? Theres been some talk of a wave election, which happens when there is a large shift from one party to the other, both in popular votes and in congressional seats. Historically, this is not implausible. In fact, its generally expected; since the end of World War II, the presidents party has had a net loss of 26 House seats and 4 Senate seats on average in midterm elections, and with Trump approval rate polling at 40%, according to Gallup, we could see a surge in Democratic votes. What needs to happen for a blue wave? While there is no technical definition for a wave, Democrats need to flip 24 Republican House seats and keep the 194 they currently hold in order to gain control of the House. In the Senate, they need to keep 25 and gain at least two new seats. How likely is a Democratic Congress? It is possible that the House will go to the Democrats, but the Senate will be a difficult battle. Democratic incumbents must defend 25 seats to Republicans 8, and 10 of those seats are in states that voted Trump in 2016. Whats more, Democrats need to take 2 of 3 GOP-held seats in battleground states, according to CNBC. Basically, theres no room for error for democrats attempting to take control of Congress. Even the House could be a difficult battle, according to the New York Times, which describes how redistricting made it particularly difficult for Democrats this election. Whats at stake here? A red or blue Congress will play a key role in a number of high visibility concerns: Legislative power If Democrats win the House or the Senate, they could obstruct Trumps legislative initiatives, which include repealing Obamacare, tax cuts, and cuts to welfare and other social programs. So far, he has been counting on the GOP dominated Congress to push through these reforms through budget reconciliation process. Healthcare is the biggest U.S. voter concern, according to polls conducted by Gallup. If Republicans win, they could take another stab at Obamacare, and likely will. Other hot-button legislative issues include immigration reform, gun control, and environmental protection. These are particularly relevant in light of recent discussions of immigrant family separation, school shootings, and second amendment issues. Court Nominations The Senate has the power to veto judicial appointments, like Trumps Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh. They also can block appointments to lower courts. Investigations into Trump administration Congress holds subpoena power. A Democratic flip of the House or Senate could bring more intensive investigations of the Trump administration, in parallel with the Mueller Russia probe. Impeachment Any possibility of impeachment requires at least a blue House. Its still pretty implausible, though: Technically, impeachment requires a House simple majority, a House Judiciary Committee referral, and another House simple majority approval. However, actually removing a president requires a two-thirds Senate approval. Only three presidents have ever impeached, but none have been removed from office. Looking ahead for Democrats Even if they dont get any legislation passed (as they likely wont with Trump ready at the veto, and a Republican Senate), a Democratic House could be key to defining party priorities for years leading up to the 2020 presidential election. The New York Times explains how even vetoed Democratic legislation could be useful for party unification under a new focus on economic opportunity. Looking ahead for Republicans This midterm election has symbolized a shift in the Republican party, as over 40 Republicans from the 115th Congress follow House Speaker Paul Ryan out of the Capitol, leaving behind the question of who will step up to lead the Republicans in Congress. While the reasons behind the mass exodus are varied, they potentially provide a greater opportunity for a Democratic wave. If Republicans do secure a majority, NBC foresees a more Trump-oriented Republican Party, rendering a GOP challenger to Trump in presidential primaries less likely. Redistricting State officials elected this year will be in office for the 2020 census and subsequent redrawing of congressional districts. These lines will determine state races in 2022. Redistricting in the aftermath of the 2010 census will help the Republican Party hold onto Congressional seats during the 2018 election season.This is where state legislators become important: 34 states are electing governors will hold veto power for the next redistricting. 9 Battleground States for Senate Here are the Senate races to look out for: Arizona Republican Senator, Jeff Flake is retiring, leaving the doors open for likely Democratic nominee Kyrsten Sinema to battle it out with one of three GOP reps, most likely Rep. Martha McSally, who backs Trump, especially when it comes to immigration policy. Florida Florida is promising to be a tight race between Republican Governor Rick Scott and Democratic incumbent Bill Nelson. Both candidates are attracting attention for their cash-heavy campaigns. Platform-wise, they represent polar ends of the spectrum: Nelson is focusing on reinstating Obamacare while Scott is determined to dismantle the ACA. Indiana In Indiana, Democrat Senator Joe Donnelly faces Republican nominee, Mike Braun. Braun, a businessman, is backed by Trump and shares the Presidents sentiments about the border wall and Obamacare. This, according to Washington Post, is likely the toughest battle for the Democrats. Missouri Missouri is being called one of the most vulnerable states for Democrats, as Republican Josh Hawley is expected to give Democrat incumbent Claire McCaskill a run for her money. McCaskill, facing pressure to take a stance on Kavanaugh, has been criticized for her personal finances during the campaign. Montana Democratic Senator, Jon Tester is running for re-election against Trump favorite Matt Rosendale. Montana is one of the confusing states that voted in a Democratic governor the same year they elected Trump by a landslide, and is generally considered a toss-up with a slight leaning toward Tester, despite the presidents best Twitter efforts to deter the Democratic incumbent. Nevada In Nevada, Republican Dean Heller defends his seat against Rep. Jacky Rosen. Heller is facing criticism for being a little wishy-washy on everything from Planned Parenthood to Obamacare. Polls favor Rosen, but only slightly. North Dakota Incumbent Heidi Heitkamp is the only Democrat in office in the state of North Dakota. Up against Trump supporter Kevin Cramer, Heitkamp has emphasized her alignment with presidential policies in this 2018 race, while Republicans have criticized her for her left-leaning stances on abortion, tax policies, and support for Hillary Clinton in 2016. Tennessee Tennessee historically leans Republican, but with a seat left open by Sen. Bob Corker (R ), former governor Phil Bredesen is the Democrats best chance since the 1990s. Especially since Corker hasnt been emphatic about his support for Republican candidate Rep. Marsha Blackburn, who maintains a firm stance against immigration and gun control. West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin III (D) defends his seat in a state that voted Trump by over 40 points in 2016. Hes barely leading polls against state attorney general Patrick Morrisey, whose platform targets Obama-era environmental regulations that Morrisey and his constituents view as as hostile to the coal industry. House Battlegrounds While there are too many districts to go into detail on, the New York Times has a helpful breakdown by state and district. LAS VEGAS In the year before Las Vegas gunman Stephen Paddock carried out the worst mass shooting in modern U.S. history, the high-stakes gambler appeared to have become increasingly unstable, distant and constantly complained of being sick, according to a final investigative report released Friday. Financial records also showed Paddock had lost more than $1.5 million in the two years before the Oct. 1 shooting that left 58 people dead and 869 others injured. One of Paddocks brothers told investigators that he believed the gunman had a mental illness and was paranoid and delusional, and his doctor believed he may have been bipolar. Despite the revelations, police say they are closing their investigation without a definitive answer for why Paddock amassed an arsenal of weapons and unleashed gunfire from a hotel suite onto a concert crowd below. What we have been able to answer are the questions of who, what, when, where and how, Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo said. What we have not been able to definitively answer is ... why Stephen Paddock committed this act. Paddock was the only gunman, and he didnt leave a manifesto or even a note to answer questions about his motive, the sheriff said. Today it is still incredibly difficult to try to comprehend this senseless act of violence, he said. With the final report released, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department has closed its 10-month investigation and no one else will be charged, said Lombardo, the elected head of the agency. Earlier this year, U.S. prosecutors charged a man accused of selling illegal armor-piercing bullets found in Paddocks room at the Mandalay Bay hotel-casino on the Las Vegas Strip. Douglas Haig has pleaded not guilty and maintains he sold tracer ammunition, which illuminate a bullets path. Interviews with Paddocks doctor indicated he had a troubled mind but displayed no behavior leading up to the shooting that would have prompted someone to alert police, the sheriff said. One of the gunmans brothers, Bruce Paddock, told investigators he had not spoken with his sibling for more than 10 years but believed he had mental illness and was paranoid and delusional, according to the report. He also said he didnt believe his brother was a violent person or abused drugs or alcohol. Stephen Paddocks girlfriend said he repeatedly complained that he was sick and doctors could not cure him. Marilou Danley told investigators that doctors told Paddock he had a chemical imbalance. The report also included a summary of 14 of Paddocks bank accounts, which contained a total of $2.1 million in September 2015. Two years later, the amount had dropped to $530,000. He wasnt as successful in the gambling as he was in the previous years, Lombardo said. Investigators said Paddock paid more than $600,000 to casinos and over $170,000 to credit card companies. The analysis said Paddock also made nearly $95,000 in firearms-related purchases. Police body camera video made public earlier have shown officers using explosives to blast through the door of a 32nd-floor hotel suite to find Paddock dead on the floor from a self-inflicted gunshot. Ken Ritter and Michelle L. Price are Associated Press writers. TOPEKA, Kan. The evolution of the Kansas Republican Party mirrors that of the national party, a rightward shift from the moderation of Dwight D. Eisenhower to the mainstream conservatism of Bob Dole to the small-government absolutism of former Gov. Sam Brownback and Wichita-based Koch Industries. Now the party appears to be shifting once more: toward the hard-line nationalism of President Trump. And that has delighted Democrats who see an opening to make gains in a conservative-leaning state. A crucial moment will come in Tuesdays primary election when Kansas secretary of state, Kris Kobach a Trump ally who has become a national lightning rod for his controversial views on immigration and voting rights could snatch the Republican nomination for governor from the incumbent, Gov. Jeff Colyer. If Republicans select a candidate as polarizing as Kobach, it could have profound political implications for both local and national Democrats. Not only could they take back a Great Plains state governorship winning veto power in the next round of redistricting but they could also pick up a pair of House seats, making Kansas as pivotal to the battle for control of the House as more traditional, and more liberal, battleground states. The potential for such pickups, turning Bleeding Kansas several shades bluer, has alarmed Republican officials in Topeka, the capital, and in Washington. The Republican Governors Association has lobbied the White House to stay out of the primary, out of fear that a Trump endorsement would effectively seal Kobachs nomination and imperil the partys chances to retain the governorship this fall. West Wing officials also have little desire for Trump to intervene here, but after the presidents recent streak of success in Republican nominating contests, nobody felt confident predicting what he may do in this race. The schism here is playing out in other Republican primaries, where firebrand candidates, mimicking the presidents inflammatory style and focus on immigration and identity-related issues, are unsettling other party leaders who worry that nominating provocateurs could undermine their prospects in November. But the stakes are even greater with Kobach, who has made his name writing state and local immigration restrictions and became the public face of Trumps much-criticized effort to prove there was widespread voter fraud in the 2016 election. In an interview, he volunteered that cracking down on migration would be among his top priorities as governor. In an interview, Colyer warned that nominating Kris would bring a lot of risk because of his unpopularity with the general electorate. Jonathan Martin is a New York Times writer. A former Ida Baker High School art teacher decided to dive into her own business a few months ago when Hands On Art Gallery and Studio opened its doors in July. I opened softly because I wanted to be open for July 4, owner Lorna Bluestein said, adding that she is still perfecting her business with a grand opening tentatively scheduled for September. Bluestein said she wanted to fill what she believes is a need in Cape Coral, a space for creative people. She said she wanted her own studio, as well as creating a space where people can come and collaborate with other creative people. Its a very small and quaint 1,000-square-foot, very comfortable, space, she said, which is located at 1625 S.E. 47th Terrace. Its a cozy atmosphere that I am trying to create. The space provides Bluestein a place to show and sell her artwork, as well as offer workshops, parties and an open studio where people can stop by and create their own artwork. I have a studio for people to make their own art, she said. They can come in while I am there and do their own thing. They are welcome to do that. Or, I can help them. The open studio is available during store hours, Tuesday, through Friday, from 12-5 p.m. The open studio cost includes use of all supplies and studio time. Workshops are held three times a week, for two to three hours at a time. The next workshop will be held from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m., Saturday, Aug. 4. Participants will have the opportunity to paint a pair of flamingos on an 11 X 14 canvas. The workshop is $25 per person. Another workshop, furniture painting, will be held from 12-4 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 5. Participants bring their own stool, chair or small piece of furniture they wish to paint. Lunch is included in the $30 registration price. As far as private parties, Bluestein said individuals can invite whomever they want and she can instruct them in whatever they wish. There is a 20 person limit, due to space restraints. Im open to a variety of whatever people want to do. If I dont have it I can research it and make it happen, Bluestein said. She said she also hopes to attract the younger crowd kids. If younger guys want to come, we can figure out something that they can do that is age appropriate, Bluestein said. Some of the artwork Bluestein is working on includes creating custom, hand-painted signs, painted coconuts and fluid painting. Thats really cool stuff. The way you pour it on is what you create, she explained. Sometimes you dont have control of what you can create and the design. A fluid painting workshop will be held from 6-9 p.m., Friday, Aug. 24. It is $40 per person. Participants will make their own clock using the fluid painting technique. Bluestein is also holding workshops where she is designating a portion of the proceeds to go back to specific organizations. An upcoming event, Coconut Painting, will be held Aug. 10, from 6-9 p.m. It is $30 per person. The theme of the class is paint a coconut to look like a manatee. Ten percent of the sales will benefit the Save a Manatee Foundation. I want to do more of this and give back to the community, she said. Before Bluestein taught at Ida Baker High School, she lived in Colorado for 20 years where she was a preschool teacher for 14 of those years. Art with the little guys was always my favorite, she said. The freedom of expression, creativity and meeting new people is what has kept Bluesteins interest in art for so many years. I love collaborating and freedom to experiment, she said. Bluestein has a fine arts degree from Indiana University. For a full listing of workshops, visit handsonartgallery.com. Although individuals cannot pay for their workshop online, they can register and reserve their space. For additional information, call 239-233-5662, or email HandsOnArtGallery AndStudio@gmail.com. ALEXANDRIA, Va. One of Paul Manaforts tax preparers admitted Friday that she helped disguise $900,000 in foreign income as a loan in order to reduce the former Trump campaign chairmans tax burden. The testimony of tax preparer Cindy Laporta came as prosecutors from special counsel Robert Muellers office focused on the heart of their financial fraud case against Manafort, with jurors hearing testimony that he inflated his business income by millions of dollars and concealed foreign bank accounts he was using to buy luxury items and pay personal expenses. Manaforts defense has sought to blame any criminal conduct on his longtime deputy Rick Gates, while witnesses for the prosecution have testified that Manafort was heavily involved in his own finances and personally directed Gates actions. On Friday, Laporta acknowledged that she agreed under pressure from Gates during a conference call in September 2015 to alter a tax document for one of Manaforts businesses to show the $900,000 loan. When Laporta and a colleague provided an assessment of how much tax Manafort would owe, Gates responded that Manafort didnt have the money to pay it. After a back-and-forth discussion about how much income should be reclassified as a loan to aid Manafort, they settled on $900,000, she testified. Laporta, who testified under a grant of immunity from prosecutors, said she knew what she did was not appropriate, adding that you cant pick and choose whats a loan and whats income. That testimony is important as prosecutors try to rebut defense arguments that Manafort cant be responsible for financial fraud because he left the details of his spending to others. Those others include Gates, who pleaded guilty earlier this year and is expected to testify soon as the governments star witness. Manafort faces charges of bank fraud and tax evasion that could put him in prison for the rest of his life. Its the first courtroom test of Muellers team, which is tasked with looking into Russias efforts to interfere with the 2016 U.S. election and whether the Trump presidential campaign colluded with the Kremlin to sway voters. In Fridays testimony, and throughout the trial thus far, neither Trump nor Russia has been discussed, as evidence has focused on Manaforts work as a consultant in the years before he joined Trumps campaign in the presidential year. While the question of collusion remains unanswered, Manaforts financial fraud trial has exposed the secretive world of foreign lobbying that made him rich. It has also revealed how, when income from his Ukrainian political consulting work dried up, he struggled to pay his bills. The trial in northern Virginia is the first of two for Manafort. A second trial is scheduled for September in the District of Columbia. That case involves allegations that he acted as an unregistered foreign agent for Ukrainian interests and made false statements to the U.S. government. Matthew Barakat and Stephen Braun are Associated Press writers. SAN DIEGO The Trump administration and the American Civil Liberties Union on Thursday revealed widely divergent plans on how to reunite hundreds of immigrant children with parents who have been deported since the families were separated at the U.S.-Mexico border. President Trumps administration puts the onus on the ACLU, asking that the organization use its considerable resources to find parents in their home countries, predominantly Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras. The U.S. Justice Department said in a court filing that the State Department has begun talks with foreign governments on how the administration may be able to aid the effort. The ACLU, which sued on behalf of separated parents, called for the government to take significant and prompt steps to find the parents on its own. Plaintiffs have made clear that they will do whatever they can to help locate the deported parents, but emphasize that the government must bear the ultimate burden of finding the parents, the ACLU said in a filing. Not only was it the governments unconstitutional separation practices that led to the crisis, but the United States government has far more resources. A decision on how to bridge the differences falls to U.S. District Judge Dana Sabraw, who has ordered that more than 2,500 children be reunited with their families. He was scheduled to speak with both sides in a conference call Friday. As of July 26, 431 children whose parents were outside the country were in the custody of the U.S. Health and Human Services Department. The ACLU said it takes a degree of detective work to track down contact information for deported parents, some of whom may be hiding from persecutors. The group said the government provided home-country addresses in U.S. immigration databases with no useful information for about 120 parents. Other addresses had limited use for example, some had calle sin nombre (street without a name) or six addresses connected to one Honduran child, all in the Mexican city of San Luis Potosi. The proposals from both sides come a week after a court-imposed deadline to reunite more than 2,500 children who were separated from their families at the border. Elliot Spagat is an Associated Press writer. This is a great time for fashion and function, says Julia Lam, Tara & Co. CEO and founder, as she settles into a coffee meeting at the Blue Bottle Market Square in the shadow of Twitter. She could be any entrepreneur or tech exec traversing the mid-Market corridor, except instead of the typical worn canvas backpack, shes toting three of her startups new bags, all of which read fashion on the outside but function inside. Tara & Co. bags were born of necessity. As a young female entrepreneur who had worked at Facebook and Bucket, Lam knew she had to take extra measures with how she presented herself. Unfortunately, weve all seen the stats. Its harder in business situations to be taken seriously. Her solution? The Tracy 2-in-1 bag, a sturdy yet sleek black leather backpack that could be worn a variety of ways, and also featured a colorful zip-off clutch. It was named for software engineer and diversity advocate Tracy Chou. There wasnt a bag that could take you from day to night, and protect your devices, Lam said. I really wanted to solve a problem for women today and really support them. Now, less than a year after the successful launch of the direct-to-consumer brand, Tara & Co. has introduced three new iterations, based on feedback from the repeat customers Lam calls women on the go. The series was crowdfunded on Indiegogo in 24 hours, and is at 178 percent of the goal. The campaign closes at midnight Aug. 8. People already use the Tracy bag frequently for travel; I convert it a million times a day. We wanted to look more deeply into that category, Lam says. The woman on the go needs something bigger for clothes and toiletries, from the day to night, and wanted something light and comfortable. Those words kept coming up. That something was the Danielle 3-in-1 Weekender, a nylon bag with leather handles, separate space for shoes and dirty clothes, an interior charger pocket, a leather zip-off clutch (to take out at night), and the choice of a foldable tote bag or backpack for day use. It should be easy for you to use for any situation youre traveling in, Lam says. But Tara & Co. didnt stop there the company also introduced two other 2-in-1 bags: The Sharon Backpack Portfolio, and Heather Work Gym Bag. Both offer the companys signature deep orchid water-resistant lining, and internal organization pockets. Priced at $125 to $320, theyre discounted 35 to 40 percent in this preorder stage, and will ship in November. Given her deep tech background, Lam says she still thinks of herself as head of product. I came up with the concept, and do the market research. She works with a team of designers and a mechanical engineer. More Information Tara & Co.:www.taraand.co. See More Collapse We like to think of it as re-engineering bags. We try to iterate as quickly as we can. Laura Compton is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: lcompton@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @lauracompton The Cape Coral Community Foundation is seeking nominations for outstanding local nonprofit organizations, leaders and partners for the second annual Excellence in Nonprofit Performance awards, ENPYs. Last year was our inaugural award ceremony. It was widely successful last year and back by popular demand, Cape Coral Community Foundation President and CEO Michael Chatman said. Its a take off of the ESPYs that you see on ESPN. Its to celebrate all the great things our nonprofits are doing, really putting a spotlight on what the nonprofit organization is doing. Eight awards were presented the first year. This year, the awards have increased to nine. Nominations are being sought for Nonprofit Organization of the Year; Nonprofit Rising Organization of the Year; Nonprofit Executive of the Year (CEO, president, executive director); Nonprofit Board Leader of the Year (board member); Nonprofit Employee of the Year (paid staff member); Nonprofit Volunteer of the Year (individual who serves organization/community) and Nonprofit Business Partner of the Year (a business who supports nonprofits and the community). Nominations are also being sought for the Community Impact Award, the Paul Sanborn Service Above Self Award and the Elmer Tabor Generosity Award. Submissions are due by 10 a.m. Friday, Aug. 31. Instructions, criteria and nomination forms are available at TheENPYs.com. To keep things ethical and to the highest integrity they are working with an Orlando area marketing association which will choose the winners, Chatman said. They are using people that do not know the nominees so they choose of the winners from an objective standpoint, he added. The finalists and winners will be recognized Tuesday, Oct. 9 during an awards luncheon at the Crowne Plaza Bell Tower, 13051 Bell Tower Drive in Fort Myers. The luncheon will be held from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. The Nonprofit Organization of the Year and the Nonprofit Rising Organization of the Year will be awarded a grant from the Cape Coral Community Foundation. A prosperous community is made up of individuals who dedicate themselves and their time to make it the best place it can be, Chatman said. The ENPY Awards gives us the opportunity to celebrate those exemplary individuals and their contributions in Southwest Florida. Sponsorship opportunities are available until Sept. 10. Information can be found at TheENPYs.com. The Cape Coral Community Foundation began in 1973. It was started by a group of bankers and wealth managers who felt there was a need for a Cape Coral Community trust on endowment to care for the needs of Cape Coral. The focus, of course, has changed over the years, as the foundation has spread its wings to expand throughout the Southwest Florida region. Chatman said the expansion began because Cape Coral alumni began moving outside of the city limits to neighboring areas. We bring the nonprofits together to talk about issues and concerns important to them, Chatman said. We tend to focus on the person doing the work. We focus on the self-care on the nonprofit volunteer, the board member and staff person making sure they are whole. For example they are working with fundraising specialists because Southwest Florida, as well as nationally, is seeing a large turnover in the profession. They are hired and gone within 18 months, Chatman said. They literally fry out in 18 months. We are focusing our attention on what we can do to reduce the level of turnover. A survey showed that fundraising professionals felt they were abandoned after taking the position and that their employers were expecting results too soon. The beautiful thing about what we do at the foundation, I would say, is the personal touch with what we provide. We create a safe space for what excites them and frustrates them, he said. We provide those listening sessions for them and those solutions as well. The foundation works with more than 100 nonprofit organizations. For more information, call 239-542-5594 or visit CapeCoralCF.org Renew Financial recently donated $25,000 to Habitat for Humanity of Lee and Hendry Counties. The donation, presented by Renew Financial Founder Cisco DeVries and Regional Director of Government Affairs Natalie Schneider, will support Habitat for Humanitys Disaster Recovery Program, the long-term solution to address damage caused by natural disasters in Lee and Hendry Counties. Since our founding, Renew Financial has been dedicated to empowering homeowners to make their properties safe, efficient and comfortable. To that end, were very proud to support the critical work that Habitat for Humanity does every day, said DeVries. This donation, in addition to the home improvement financing option we offer through RenewPACE, will help to create a stronger, safer Florida. Shortly after Hurricane Irma, Renew Financial led several efforts to help Florida homeowners recover from the storm. These investments in Floridas long-term recovery culminated in the check presentation to Habitat for Humanity in honor of every Florida home strengthened in partnership with RenewPACE. June marked the start of a new hurricane season for Florida, underscoring the ongoing need for storm-proofing and other upgrades that make homes more secure and comfortable. Renew Financials PACE financing product, RenewPACE, has proved to be an effective option for homeowners needing to repair storm-damaged roofs or windows. RenewPACE is a proactive choice for homeowners seeking storm windows and roofs to better withstand future storms. To learn more, visit www.renewfinancial.com. About Habitat for Humanity of Lee and Hendry Counties Habitat for Humanity of Lee and Hendry Counties is one of the largest Habitat affiliates in the country. Since 1982, 1,500 families in need of a hand up have partnered with Habitat Lee and Hendry to build or improve their home. Habitat homeowners, alongside volunteers, help build their own home and pay an affordable mortgage. Through volunteering, financial or material donations, everyone can help Lee and Hendry county families achieve strength, stability and independence. Through shelter, we empower. For more, visit www.habitat4humanity.org Habitat for Humanity of Lee & Hendry Counties recently unveiled the new FineMark Village neighborhood sign and celebrated the final home dedication in FineMark Village, a Habitat neighborhood consisting of 11 new homes. The event began with the new FineMark Village neighborhood sign unveiling and was followed with the home dedication at 15271 Codie St. In 2015, Habitat acquired 11 home site parcels on Gladiolus Drive in South Fort Myers; FineMark National Bank and Trust invested $250,000 to become the neighborhood sponsor allowing construction to begin on FineMark Village. Those in attendance on July 13 were local community leaders, including Joe Catti, Jessica Stilwell Catti and Robert Arnall from FineMark National Bank & Trust, Habitats Board Chairman Mitch Hutchcraft, local government officials, Habitat board members and residents from the Harlem Heights community. Roger Brownell, an 18-year member of the board of directors for Habitat for Humanity, kicked off the dedication of the capstone home in the Harlem Heights community. He shared, I particularly like the house dedications because there is nothing better than to see the smiles and the happy tears by the new homeowner and especially the children, Dominick Izzo, Habitats director of construction, recognized Jim Gibbons, Michael Webber and Bob Middleton, the Habitat Can Do Crew, for their volunteer efforts on the FineMark Village project in Harlem Heights. We build these houses like they were our own, Gibbons added. Ana Villacis, Habitat Homeownership Advisor, introduced homeowner Gloria, along with other Habitat homeowners who joined in support. Villacis explained, With this home closing today, there are 34 kids in this community that have a safe healthy place to call their home and have somewhere to do their homework, somewhere they know they can come home, where theyre going to have food, where theyre going to have shelter, and theyre not going to have to move, and so they can concentrate on important things like going to school. The Rev. Suzy Post from Iona Hope Episcopal Church offered the prayer of dedication for the home. Gibbons and Middleton presented Gloria and her family the keys to her new home. CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) NASA on Friday assigned the astronauts who will ride the first commercial capsules into orbit next year and bring crew launches back to the U.S. Lt. Col. Nicole Aunapu Mann, a native of Petaluma who attended Rancho Cotate High School in Rohnert Park and went on to F/A-18s for the Marines, was one of two women selected. "As a test pilot, it doesn't get any better than this," said astronaut Nicole Aunapu Mann, a Naval aviator who will make her first trip into space on the first Boeing Starliner crew. SpaceX and Boeing are shooting for a test flight of their capsules by the end of this year or early next, with the first crews flying from Cape Canaveral, Florida, by next spring or summer. Nine astronauts were named to ride the SpaceX Dragon and Boeing Starliner capsules five on the first crew flights and four on the second round of missions to the International Space Station. "For the first time since 2011, we are on the brink of launching American astronauts on American rockets from American soil," said NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine, who made the introductions at Johnson Space Center. U.S. astronauts now take Russian capsules to the space station, with NASA paying tens of millions of dollars per seat. Boeing's first Starliner crew will include a former NASA astronaut who commanded the last shuttle flight in 2011, Chris Ferguson, who's now a Boeing employee. The other commercial crew members are still with NASA. All have a military background. The seven men and two women pumped their fists in the air and gave thumbs-up as they strode onto the stage to cheers from the crowd. NASA has been paying billions of dollars to SpaceX and Boeing to develop the crew capsules to pick up where the shuttles left off, while also paying billions for cargo deliveries to the space station by SpaceX and Northrop Grumman. The cargo missions started in 2012. The crew missions have been delayed repeatedly because of the technical challenges and difficulties of making spacecraft safe for humans. Astronaut Doug Hurley, who will be on the first crew of the SpaceX Dragon, hinted at the delays when he noted, "The first flight is something you dream about as a test pilot, and you don't think it's ever going to happen to you. But looks like it might." "Oh, it better," Bridenstine chimed in. Besides Ferguson and Mann, the initial commercial crew members are: Eric Boe, Sunita Williams and John Cassada riding on Boeing. Robert Behnken, Douglas Hurley, Victor Glover and Michael Hopkins will fly with SpaceX. SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell took a photo of the astronauts before assuring them, "We won't let you down." Boeing's Starliners will soar on United Launch Alliance's Atlas V rockets. Dragons, meanwhile, will fly on SpaceX's own Falcon 9 rockets. The race to get astronauts to the space station first is real; a U.S. flag that flew on the first space shuttle flight in 1981 and the last shuttle flight in 2011, awaits the winner. A white SpaceX launch suit and a blue Boeing launch suit stood on display behind the astronauts on stage. SpaceX is shooting for a test flight without passengers in November and a crew flight in April. Boeing is aiming for a test flight at the end of this year or early next, and the first crew flight in the middle of next year. By handing off crew and cargo runs to the space station which will keep orbiting until at least 2024 NASA has set its sight on the moon and Mars, developing the Orion capsule and the massive Space Launch System rocket. "This is truly an exciting time for human spaceflight in our nation, and believe me, it's only going to get better as we charge off into the future," said Bob Cabana, a former shuttle commander who now heads Kennedy Space Center. ___ 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. Cape Coral Realtor recognized for protecting, investing in real estate industry The National Association of Realtors has announced that Bill Steinke, a Realtor with Miloff Aubuchon Realty Group, has become a Crystal R investor in the Realtors Political Action Committee. RPAC is a national bipartisan grassroots-based political advocacy organization that works to protect the real estate industry and the dream of homeownership for Southwest Florida residents and across the country. Steinke has supported RPAC for 7 years and has been a member of the National Association of Realtors since 2011. Holding a designation of Certified Negotiation Expert, he serves as Director Sales and Business Development for Miloff Aubuchon Realty Group and Aubuchon Homes located in Southwest Florida. He currently serves as past president of the local Royal Palm Coast Realtor Association and has been a director for the National Association of Realtors, as well as Florida Realtors. Since 1969, RPAC has promoted the election of pro-real estate candidates across the United States. The purpose of RPAC is to elect officials who understand and support the interests of real estate professionals and their home buying, selling and investing clients. RPAC uses its resources to seek to elect candidates that understand and support real estate, and to develop public policies that allow consumers to own homes and build their communities through commercial investment. Bills investment will be applied to supporting homeownership, commercial real estate transactions, and the very future of the real estate industry. The National Association of Realtors, The Voice for Real Estate, is Americas largest trade association, representing 1.3 million members involved in all aspects of the residential and commercial real estate industries. Ramage earns RE/MAX Lifetime Achievement Award Judy Ramage with RE/MAX Realty Partners has been presented with the prestigious RE/MAX Lifetime Achievement Award, which honors successful agents who have earned more than $3 million in commissions and have completed seven years of service with the company. Less than 6 percent of all active agents in the RE/MAX network have achieved this prestigious award since its inception. Ramage has been working in the real estate industry for more than 20 years and has extensive experience in residential single-family and condominium and waterfront sales. Among Ramages list of achievements, she has earned the RE/MAX Hall of Fame award and, also her ABR, CRS and CDPE designations. In addition, Ramage actively supports the Savona Homeowners Association and has served as its president for over 10 years. Ramage can be reached at 239-910-3443. Her office is at 3501 Del Prado Blvd., #110, Cape Coral, FL 33904 Lee BIA Builders Care announces return of Charity Clay Shoot Nov. 30 Lee BIA Builders Care has opened registration for its second annual Charity Clay Shoot, a charity tournament that helps fund critical housing repairs for local homeowners in need. The Charity Clay Shoot will be held Friday, Nov. 30, at Bermont Shooting Club, 40571 Bermont Road, in Punta Gorda, where individual shooters and teams will navigate a 14-station course. Registration and check-in begins at 9 a.m., and the tournament starts at 10 a.m. Participants will enjoy a barbecue luncheon at 1 p.m., featuring live music, prize drawings and an awards ceremony to name the top individuals and teams. Proceeds from the event will support Lee BIA Builders Care, the nonprofit charitable arm of the Lee Building Industry Association, and its efforts to provide emergency home repairs and construction services at no cost to elderly, disabled and economically disadvantaged people who are unable to obtain home repairs through traditional means. The entry cost is $200 for individual shooters and $650 for a four-person shooting team, and both options include lunch. Cart rentals are an additional $50. Shooters may bring their own ammunition or purchase ammo at the event. Land Solutions, Inc. is the presenting sponsor. Other event sponsors include Babcock Ranch, Barraco & Associates, Honc Industries and Stock Construction. Two additional sponsorship levels are still available: Big Shot Sponsor: $1,500 for one shooting team, lunch and a cart, plus a company banner and recognition in all marketing materials Prize Sponsor: $2,500 for one shooting team, lunch and a cart, plus a company banner, recognition in all marketing materials and an opportunity to add a logo to awards For more information, please contact Lee BIA Builders Care at 239-938-0056 or email BuildersCare@bia.net. Builders Care and the Lee BIA are headquartered at 6835 International Center Blvd. #4 in Fort Myers. STOCKHOLM Sweden has a new highest point. The countrys highest peak lost its title this week because record heat has been melting away the tip of a glacier that sits atop the Kebnekaise mountain, experts say. A month ago, the mountains southern peak held the title, soaring to 2,101 meters, or 6,893 feet, above sea level. Tuesday, after weeks of high temperatures, it was 2,097 meters high only 20 centimeters, or about 6 inches, taller than the north peak, said Gunhild Rosqvist, head of the Tarfala Research Station near the mountain. By Wednesday, enough had melted to take it below the critical height, she said, handing the northern peak the crown. We can estimate the melt rate based on temperature measurements. We know that it has melted because it is very hot, she said. We are going to measure again later this summer when the melting stops. In a month well know how bad it is. The shrinking peak is symbolic of climate change that also brought marked shifts for animals and vegetation, she said, and badly affected the regions reindeer herders. The snow is disappearing so that not even the reindeer can find a place to get relief from the sun, Rosqvist told the Swedish newspaper Norrlandska Socialdemokraten. July was the hottest on record in many parts of Sweden, with severe drought and some of the worst forest fires the country has ever seen. Even if the northern peak is higher when the mountain is measured at the summers end, the southern tip is likely to grow again in the winter. The peaks could take turns as Swedens highest point over the next few years. The southern peak was first measured in 1880, when it stood at 2,123 meters. Its height has varied from year to year, growing in colder years and shrinking in warmer ones. But since 1995, it has shrunk almost a meter a year, with few exceptions, the newspaper Dagens Nyheter reported. Located in far northern Sweden, Kebnekaise is a popular tourist destination. Last year, about 10,000 people reached the summit of the southern peak, a trip that usually takes 10 to 15 hours. But once the northern peak officially becomes the highest mountain, that could change as climbers seek to summit the new highest peak. It could have that effect, yes, said Stefan Kallstrom, head of the Swedish Mountain Rescue Service. From a safety aspect, the north peak is much harder to climb than the south. It has a different topography. Anders Bergwall, an Arctic guide and alpine rescue worker who covers the Kebnekaise area, also said he expected more people to set their sights on the north summit. I think everybody wants to go to the highest point, of course, he said of the south peak. Its super beautiful, but they will want to go another 700 meters to go to the highest point. There has been a dramatic increase in visitors to Kebnekaise in recent years, he said, adding, Its popular even among people without a mountaineering background. The trek to the north peak is more dangerous. It requires climbing to the southern tip, then a harrowing, 700-meter journey along a cold and steep snow and ice ridge, Bergwall said. But Marit Sarri, manager of the Kebnekaise Mountain Station, said few climbers were likely to change their ambitions. We do not see that this will greatly affect the large proportion of our guests and visitors who want to climb Kebnekaise, she said. The southern peak will still be the natural peak for many visitors, because the northern peak requires completely different skills and equipment. This article originally appeared in The New York Times. Cape Coral City Council will hold two budget workshops next week in conjunction with the citys Budget Review Committee. The workshops, which are open to the public, will be held in council chambers Tuesday and Thursday at 1 p.m. We will have a representative from Stantec (formerly Burton & Associates) with the revenue model so the city can look at various scenarios, input changes to see what kind of impact it will have now and into the future, said city spokesperson Connie Barron. Its a good exercise and a good opportunity to discuss the budget, staffing, projects and other requests. Stantec will present departmental budget models, showing various funding scenarios Council might wish to consider as it works its way through City Manager John Szerlags proposed $780 million budget. The operations budget, which funds city departments and services, is a $211.6 million component. Councilmember John Carioscia, who is taking part in his seventh budget, said things have changed tremendously since he started on the Council, especially with the way the city budgets. With the three-legged stool, that literally brought the city back from financial ruin, Carioscia said of the citys revenue diversification decision. We were able to start a paving program, buy police cars. The joint meetings give us a little more transparency. The models are great because they give us projections even years down the road in real time. Its simple. Mayor Joe Coviello, who was a member of the Budget Review Committee before he was elected, said its great to have the BRC at the workshop because it allows them to ask questions of each department along with the city council. Looking at it from the city point of view, Coviello said this Council seems to have a better grasp of the budget, especially council liaison to the BRC, John Gunter. He believes Council has had a chance to go through the more than 500 pages. We know where were going with the millage rate, the FSA, PST and those numbers have been brought to us in the book weve had for several weeks, Coviello said. We also get e-mails on things the BRC is asking for. If they want information, its forwarded to us. Szerlag recently submitted his proposed three-year budget for fiscal years 2019-21. It will continue to use his so-called three-legged stool approach that relies on added revenue streams. On Monday, the City Council unanimously approved a not-to-exceed millage rate of 6.75, the same as in 2018, with a rollback rate of 6.4402, the levy at which the city would receive the same amount of revenue from property taxes. By setting the not-to-exceed rate at 6.75 mills, or $1 for every $1,000 of assessed taxable valuation, Council cannot increase the rate. The elected board, however, has the option of lowering it. If unchanged, it will be the third straight year at that rate. As proposed, the fire service assessment (FSA) would increase from 59 percent of the cost of operations this year to 62 percent in FY 2019, with another increase to 64 percent the rate two years ago in 2020. An estimated $26.1 million will be raised. The Public Service Tax, a tax on electric bills, will remain at 7 percent with an estimated revenue of $7.3 million. The main reason for keeping the millage constant is the financial impact to the citys fund balance following Hurricane Irma last year, officials said. The city had to pay $9 million in emergency reserves and $8.6 million in unassigned reserves. The city expects to be reimbursed from FEMA at some point, but Szerlag has always said he budgets for what is and not for what might be. It would be very welcome to have those dollars come in this fiscal year, but we dont expect that to happen. There are so many communities submitting for reimbursement not just in Florida but Texas as well, Barron said. Theres large demand on the time and talent from FEMA. This years budget will replenish $4.5 million in emergency reserves, and use $6.5 million from the existing fund balance from the five-cent and six-cent local option gas tax special revenue funds to continue the road paving program. This years proposed budget for all city funds is $780,530,614, of which the General Fund represents $211,642,492. Other highlights in 2019 include: -A 3 percent wage increase for city employees -$311,000 in support services for the citys charter schools -$312,000 for median improvements -$520,000 for alley/spot paving -$1.1 million for 22 full-time police officers needed for the states mandate for all school districts to place one schools resource officer in every school. A third if needed workshop will be held Aug. 23. Public hearings will be held Sept. 6 and Sept. 20 at 5:05 p.m. in council chambers. Carioscia said it is likely they will stay at the 6.75 millage rate, but they are always looking for ways to cut that. We live here. We dont want to pay more taxes. If I can get a discount, Im all for it, Carioscia said. BERKELEY (BCN) Despite tensions among right-wing factions over a rally planned in Berkeley this weekend that has been officially condemned by the Proud Boys, the organizer still plans to go forward with the event. The "No to Marxism in America 2/Exposing Communism" event, which is a sort of sequel to an event in 2017, has not been canceled, according to organizer Amber Gwen Cummings. "I have decided to do another event a year later to expose the corruption in Berkeley and show to this day still has taken no action on the violent communist movement taking place in this city after several terroristic acts taking place at my event and prior events," Cummings said in a statement on the Facebook page for the rally. "My event last year was attacked ... with massive force and it was indeed incited by the mere fact I oppose communism and stand for America," Cummings said. "I plan on returning. even if I have to go alone, I shall do so." The outcome of the event remains uncertain, however. Gavin McInnes, founding member of the Proud Boys that planned a controversial meetup at a downtown Oakland bar last week, released a statement on Twitter saying the group has officially "DISAVOWED" the upcoming rally. "No matter how good their intentions, it is poised to be twisted by the media into some kind of Nazi riot and we don't want nuthin to do with it," McInnes said. Cummings has asked that anyone associated with hate groups avoid the rally, saying that they're "not welcome." The rally is scheduled to take place from noon to 2 p.m. Sunday at Martin Luther King Jr. Civic Center Park in Berkeley, according to a Facebook page posted for the event. An official with the Berkeley Police Department declined to discuss specifics but said they would be preparing for a number of contingencies for the event. Copyright 2018 by Bay City News, Inc. Republication, Rebroadcast or any other Reuse without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited. SANTA ROSA (BCN) Santa Rosa police will conduct a final active shooter training exercise at Piner High School today. The event on Fulton Road is between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Santa Rosa police and firefighters, American Medical Response personnel, Santa Rosa Junior College police, California Highway Patrol personnel and Santa Rosa school personnel will participate. The high school will be off limits to non-participants, and the perimeter of the school will be cordoned off. The training exercise is not expected to impact traffic on Fulton Road, Santa Rosa police said. Two training exercises at the high school took place earlier this week. "This training has proven to be invaluable and has greatly prepared all of us for an active shooter incident," police Sgt. Robert Reynolds said. Copyright 2018 by Bay City News, Inc. Republication, Rebroadcast or any other Reuse without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited. A Stockton man died after a shooting in Oakland's Fruitvale neighborhood late Thursday night, according to police. The shooting was reported at 10:26 p.m. in the 900 block of 40th Avenue and officers arrived to find the victim suffering from a gunshot wound. He was taken to a hospital where he succumbed to his injuries, police said. His name is not yet being released. Anyone with information about the case is asked to call the Police Department's homicide section at (510) 238-3821. A Windsor man was killed early this morning when his motorcycle struck a vehicle that had been driving the wrong way on northbound U.S. Highway 101 north of Santa Rosa, the California Highway Patrol said. Sherry Risch, 53, of Sonoma County was driving a 2005 Kia Rio south on northbound Highway 101 around 12:10 a.m. when she collided with the left side of a northbound Honda Odyssey van north of Airport Boulevard, the CHP said. Both vehicles spun out of control and the Honda Odyssey came to rest in the center divider and No. 1 lane. Risch's Kia came to rest in the No. 1 and No. 2 lanes, and the Windsor resident's 2016 BMW motorcycle struck the Kia in the No.2 lane, the CHP said. The Windsor resident was ejected into the No. 2 lane and later was pronounced dead, according to the CHP. Risch appeared intoxicated and suffered moderate injuries, the CHP said. She was taken to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital and was arrested on suspicion of DUI involving a drug, gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and other offenses, the CHP said. The 44-year-old driver of the Honda suffered moderate injuries, and a passenger in the Honda suffered major injuries that required immediate surgery. Both were taken to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital, the CHP said. The collisions closed northbound Highway 101 until 4:37 a.m. The National Weather Service in San Francisco has issued a Red Flag Warning for gusty northerly winds and low relative humidity in the North Bay mountains and East Bay hills between 11 a.m. today and 11 p.m. Saturday. The areas of greatest concern are located in the higher terrain of northern and eastern Napa County, the National Weather Service said. Fires in those areas will spread rapidly under the red flag conditions, and residents should avoid lawn work, driving on grass, tossing cigarettes, lighting campfires or fireworks especially on Friday and Saturday afternoons, the National Weather Service said. Northerly winds of 20 to 25 mph with gusts up to 35 mph are expected, and isolated highest terrain could see locally higher winds. Minimum humidity readings of 10 to 20 percent will be common during the day, and overnight humidity recoveries will be poor and less than 30 percent. The highest threat is in elevations above 1,000 feet especially in the extreme northern and eastern portions of the North Bay mountains, the National Weather Service said. Police in Menlo Park have arrested a man in connection with a stabbing that occurred last month. Hector Landa-Gomes, 21, of East Palo Alto was arrested Thursday on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon with great bodily injury, according to the Menlo Park Police Department. On July 3 around 5:30 p.m., officers responded to a parking lot at 732 Willow Rd. on a report of a stabbing. Police said the suspect, identified as Landa-Gomes, walked up to the victim and stabbed him twice in the midsection with a sharp instrument. The victim was sitting in a vehicle when the attack occurred. He was transported to the hospital, underwent surgery for the injury and was later released. Landa-Gomes was located Thursday in the 300 block of East O'Keefe Street in East Palo Alto and was taken into custody. Three airports in the San Francisco Bay Area will share $10.1 million in grant money from the Federal Aviation Administration's Airport Improvement Program, U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao announced Thursday. Mineta San Jose International Airport will receive $5.3 million to upgrade runway lighting. Oakland International Airport will receive $4.35 million to install airfield guidance signs and make taxiway, apron and service road repairs. Nut Tree Airport, which is northeast of Vacaville in Solano County, will receive $430,765 to install perimeter fencing. The money is part of a $770.8 million installment, the third, of a total of $3.18 billion in improvement program money. "These Airport Improvement Grants are investments in our country's critical infrastructure," Chao said in a statement. "These grants are down payments to ensure these Bay Area airports remain economic engines as demand grows." According to the FAA, improvement grants are earmarked for projects for runways, taxiways, aprons and terminals. FAA officials said the grants are important for the safety and efficiency of the nation's airports. Airports receive some improvement grants each year based on activity level and project needs but money is also available to supplement the grants if needs exceed the initial entitlement, FAA officials said. Two boaters were rescued Wednesday near Mare Island in San Pablo Bay when their 30-foot sailboat ran aground, the U.S. Coast Guard said today. The Coast Guard was contacted around 4:30 p.m. by the boaters, who reported that their sailboat was disabled and they had run aground west of Mare Island. Because of the shallow water depth, a Coast Guard helicopter crew responded to the scene. The boaters were hoisted into the helicopter and taken to Napa County Airport. The sailboat is anchored where it ran aground as the owner makes plans for salvage. Copyright 2018 by Bay City News, Inc. Republication, Rebroadcast or any other Reuse without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited. China hopes Japan will translate positive remarks on improving relations with China into actions, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Friday. Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) foreign ministers' meeting and related meetings Thursday. Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi (R) meets with Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono in Singapore, Aug. 2, 2018. [Photo: cri.cn] According to reports, Kono said that Japan is pleased that the development of Japan-China relations is on the right track and steady progress has been made in economic cooperation. Kono also said his country is willing to make further efforts to implement consensus between the leaders of the two countries and to create a favorable foundation for the continuous improvement of bilateral relations. Spokesperson Geng Shuang told a news briefing that China hoped Japan would do more to improve China-Japan relations as well as promote bilateral ties so they develop on the right track. To the editor: On Tuesday, I was one of the 500 residents who attended the presentation with the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers in Cape Coral. Going in, I knew that the Corps is in charge of the discharge of water, not the quality. First of all, the speaker Lt. Col. Jennifer Reynolds explained her qualification and that she ran projects around the world Afghanistan, Iraq, Bosnia and Serbia. Most of these countries burn the American flag and support terrorism. If the Corps want to take credit for these accomplishments, versus correcting problems at home with the discharges from Lake Okeechobee that have been a problem since the 1940s shame on them. A common question, I think, on everyones mind is how can you possibly send this water our way? If a private citizen were to dump pollutants into the lake they would be arrested, yet a taxpayer-funded government agency is releasing millions of gallons of pollutants killing off marine life, creating a ecological disaster and affecting our health, tourism, housing values and quality of life. Shame on them for these criminal actions. The lieutenant colonel explained the releases will continue, the water will not stop, there is no where to store it for years to come, and the residents and taxpayers are collateral damage for these failed actions by the corps. Being this an election year for governor and senate positions, be cautious. Sen. Bill Nelson, in the past 40 years, did little to correct this problem; the same with Gov Rick Scott. They say this will be corrected in the future yet little was done in the past. At this time I would like to applaud all people that showed up. Remember there is strength in numbers. James Michalski Cape Coral A San Francisco Superior Court jury found a former Uber driver guilty of misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter for fatally striking a 6-year-old girl on New Year's Eve in 2013. The jury made its decision Thursday. Prosecutors said that 61-year-old Syed Abid Muzaffar, of Union City, struck Sophia Liu with his car around 8 p.m. on Dec. 31, 2013, at Polk and Ellis streets. Muzaffar, driving a Honda Pilot while working for the ride-hailing service Uber, struck Sophia as she walked with her mother and 3-year-old brother, who was in a stroller, in the crosswalk. The family members were injured in the collision, with her mother suffering a major injury; however, they survived. According to prosecutors, after striking Sophia, Muzaffar reversed and backed over her body. Following Sophia's death, Uber officials said that Muzaffar was not responding to a fare at the time of the collision and did not have a passenger in the car. Uber deactivated his account afterward. An air quality advisory has been issued for today due to smoke from the Mendocino Complex fire and other wildfires burning throughout Northern California, according to the Bay Area Air Quality Management District. Winds are expected to push smoke into the North Bay, and maybe other parts of the Bay Area, and air quality throughout the region could be impacted over the weekend. Anyone who smells smoke from the wildfires is advised by the air district to avoid exposure by staying inside with the windows closed and setting air conditioning systems to re-circulate, rather than allowing smoky air to enter their building or vehicle. San Francisco Recreation and Park Department officials announced that Camp Mather, located just outside of Yosemite National Park, will remain closed through next week due to unhealthy air. The announcement was made Thursday. The poor air quality is due to the nearby Ferguson fire, which has killed two people and burned more than 68,000 acres since it started on July 13. The historic family camp, located in Groveland in Tuolumne County, is run by the San Francisco rec and parks department. Rec and park officials moved to close the camp Tuesday, citing air quality, but said they planned to reopen it Sunday. The camp, however, is now slated to reopen on Aug. 12, pending improved conditions. A 22-year-old unemployed ex-con who was recently convicted of felony assault has been charged with attempted murder for allegedly stabbing another man at the Martin Luther King Jr. Civic Center Park near Berkeley City Hall on Sunday evening. Kendall Joe Yazzie, of Berkeley, who is being held without bail, was arraigned on the attempted murder charge on Tuesday and is scheduled to return to court on Aug. 10 to enter a plea. Berkeley police Officer Aaron Gasper wrote in a probable cause statement that officers who responded to reports of a stabbing at the park at 2151 Martin Luther King Jr. Way at about 6:50 p.m. Sunday found the victim nearby close to the back steps of City Hall at 2180 Milvia St. The victim had multiple stab wounds to his chest, a laceration on his right arm and one stab wound on his face, according to Gasper. A Napa woman was convicted Wednesday of setting three wildland fires near the north end of Lake Berryessa between 2015 and 2017, Napa County prosecutors said. Debra Ann Windholz, 60, pleaded no contest to three felony counts of arson of forestland. The three offenses will count as strikes and be on her permanent record, according to the Napa County District Attorney's Office. Windholz was arrested on Dec. 6 and later charged with setting 11 fires in the Berryessa Knoxville Road area between Oct. 30, 2015, and Aug. 10, 2017. The arson charges are not connected to the Tubbs, Patrick or Atlas fires in Sonoma and Napa counties in October 2017. She will be sentenced Sept. 18 to four years formal probation, a maximum of six months in the Napa County Jail and will be required to register as an arson offender as part of the plea agreement, prosecutors said. Copyright 2018 by Bay City News, Inc. Republication, Rebroadcast or any other Reuse without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited. OAKLAND (BCN) Nia Wilson, the 18-year-old woman who was fatally stabbed at the MacArthur BART station in Oakland, was honored today at an emotional memorial service at which politicians and religious leaders called for justice and vengeance. Wilson, who was accompanied by her sisters Letifah and Tashiya, was allegedly stabbed by 27-year-old transient John Lee Cowell on the station's platform at 9:36 p.m. on July 22. Cowell has been charged with murder for allegedly killing Nia and premeditated attempted murder for allegedly stabbing and wounding Letifah. Although the Wilson sisters are black and Cowell is white, police and prosecutors said there's no indication at this point to show that the vicious attack was racially motivated. However, many of the speakers at Nia Wilson's service at the Acts Full Gospel Church in East Oakland, which was attended by about 500 people, said they believe the knife attack was racially motivated. Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Los Angeles, wrote in a letter to Wilson's family that was read aloud at the service, "The murder of yet another African American woman is a shame to our country and it must be heard." Waters said, "We all have become targets." Waters said, "Local law enforcement must conduct a thorough investigation of this murder to determine if the conduct was motivated by race and it should be prosecuted as a hate crime." The audience stood and applauded when Waters statement that, "We must uplift and protect our black women" was read aloud. Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Oakland, who attended the service, told Wilson's family, "We stand with you demanding justice. There is no peace without justice." Lee said, "As a community, we must say 'no more' in Nia's name." Oakland City Councilwoman Lynette Gibson McElhaney said, "We seek justice to make our city safe for everybody." City Councilwoman Rebecca Kaplan said Wilson's death illustrates that, "Black people are subject to a level of violence that is unacceptable and must be stopped." Bishop Keith Clark of the Word Assembly Church in Oakland said he was "angry" and "mad" when he learned about Wilson's death. Clark, who hosts a program on radio station KMEL, received a standing ovation when he said, "I was hoping they caught him (the suspect in Wilson's death) but I was hoping the homies caught him first." Clark said, "I want justice but I want more than that. I don't want to turn no cheeks." After Clark spoke, Pastor Joseph Cotton of Acts Full Gospel Church, who presided at the service, said, "I say amen to all that." Cotton said when he heard about Wilson's death, "I was ready to throw some blows and more than that." According to an obituary that was read aloud at her service, Wilson attended Oakland High School and Dewey Academy, was a spiritual person who read the Bible every day and loved fashion, music and doing makeup. According to an attorney for Wilson's family, who plans to sue BART for failing to prevent her death, her dream was to join the military and be an emergency medical technician. Among those who attended Wilson's service were BART General Manager Grace Crunican and Alameda County prosecutor Butch Ford, who is handling the case against Cowell. After the service, 18 doves were released, one for every year Wilson was alive, and a horse-drawn carriage carried her casket to its resting place. Copyright 2018 by Bay City News, Inc. Republication, Rebroadcast or any other Reuse without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited. The National Weather Service in San Francisco has issued a Red Flag Warning for gusty northerly winds and low relative humidity in the North Bay mountains and East Bay hills between 11 a.m. today and 11 p.m. Saturday. The areas of greatest concern are located in the higher terrain of northern and eastern Napa County, the National Weather Service said. Fires in those areas will spread rapidly under the red flag conditions, and residents should avoid lawn work, driving on grass, tossing cigarettes, lighting campfires or fireworks especially on Friday and Saturday afternoons, the National Weather Service said. Northerly winds of 20 to 25 mph with gusts up to 35 mph are expected, and isolated highest terrain could see locally higher winds. Minimum humidity readings of 10 to 20 percent will be common during the day, and overnight humidity recoveries will be poor and less than 30 percent. The highest threat is in elevations above 1,000 feet especially in the extreme northern and eastern portions of the North Bay mountains, the National Weather Service said. Copyright 2018 by Bay City News, Inc. Republication, Rebroadcast or any other Reuse without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited. A southern sea otter in rehabilitation at The Marine Mammal Center in the Marin Headlands has been named "Sprout" with a little help from roughly 4,500 people who participated in a voting contest, center officials said Thursday. There were more than 800 names initially suggested, but veterinarians working with Sprout narrowed it down to just six, which they said best suited the young otter's personality. The runners up included Abby, Harper, Harry Otter, Lola and Zoe. Sprout ended up in the Marin Headlands to keep Langly, another rescued otter pup, company after Langly's mother suffered a shark bite and subsequently died. Southern sea otters are a threatened species, and bites from great white sharks are a leading cause of their mortality in California. Scientists say the sharks don't usually even eat otters, but they get mistaken for seals. Sprout was just a few months old when she was stranded in Monterey in February. Veterinarians say she was malnourished and found to have a severe parasite infection. She was also suffering seizures. Test results later showed she'd been exposed to domoic acid - a biotoxin that sometimes builds up in shellfish. Officials with The Marine Mammal Center said that anyone who wants to help Sprout can make a symbolic adoption through the Adopt-a-Seal program - and those who do will receive a photo and adoption certificate. Center officials will use the adoption fee to help feed the otters sustainably-caught seafood and buy lifesaving veterinary equipment for use at the center. The Marine Mammal Center is open to the public from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily and is located at 2000 Bunker Road. Copyright 2018 by Bay City News, Inc. Republication, Rebroadcast or any other Reuse without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited. CONCORD (BCN) Police say they've identified a suspect in the murder of 64-year-old Michael Downie at his home in Concord on Friday night, and there's a warrant out for the suspect's arrest. The crime scene, in the 1200 block of Pine Creek Way, was discovered around 9:30 p.m. when friends went over to check on Downie and found him dead. Police said Terrence Boyd Dixon, 55, knew Downie - but detectives have not yet established a motive for the homicide. They say Downie's car was stolen, and they believe that Dixon is driving it. The vehicle is described as a blue 2013 Hyundai Veloster with California license No. 6ZHZ052. Dixon is believed to be armed and dangerous, and police say his whereabouts are unknown. Anyone who sees him, or Downie's car, is asked to call 911 immediately. Copyright 2018 by Bay City News, Inc. Republication, Rebroadcast or any other Reuse without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited. WATSONVILLE (BCN) A suspect in the 2004 homicide of a 17-year-old boy has been extradited to Watsonville from Mexico after police first issued a warrant for his arrest 14 years ago, Santa Cruz County prosecutors said. Mario Alberto Lozano, 32, is currently being held in Santa Cruz County jail on suspicion of first-degree murder with bail set at $5 million. The alleged homicide happened on Dec. 3 in Watsonville in front of Hector's Bakery at 301 Airport Blvd. Police responded to reports of a fight at 4:04 p.m. and found Isaac Guzman lying in the street near Aviation Way suffering from stab wounds. He was transported to Santa Clara Valley Medical Center, where he died of his wounds. Witnesses assisted police in identifying Lozano as a suspect. Lozano, who was 18 at the time, fled Watsonville for Mexico within days of the alleged homicide, according to county prosecutors, and his mother was later convicted for aiding in his escape. Police issued a warrant for Lozano's arrest on Dec.17, saying many people were involved in a fight that broke out prior to Guzman's death, but Lozano was allegedly the only one who stabbed him to death. Multiple American and Mexican law enforcement agencies coordinated to identify, arrest and extradite Lozano, according to District Attorney Jeffrey Rosell. "The victim's family and our communities can now have some sense of relief knowing that this dangerous individual is no longer running free," Rosell said in a statement. Lozano will be arraigned in Santa Cruz County Superior Court on Friday in Department 6. Copyright 2018 by Bay City News, Inc. Republication, Rebroadcast or any other Reuse without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited. To the editor: Again we see tragedy beset the Fort Myers Police Department with illegal alien Wisner Desmaret killing Police Officer Adam Jobbers-Miller. Wisner Desmaret had an extensive criminal record as a juvenile and was arrested 16 times as an adult. Yet, he was never deported by falling through the cracks of the justice system. Ten years ago Officer Adam Widman of the Fort Myers Police Department was shot in the face and killed by Abel Arango who had a significant criminal history and was supposed to be deported in 2001. We all recall the case of Mesac Damas a Haitian living in Naples who was charged with six counts of premeditated murder for killing his wife and five children before escaping to Port-de-Prince, Haiti. He was later extradited back to Florida and he now sits on death row. Although, Damas showed his showmanship in the courtroom during his trial, the jurors judged him not on being mentally incompetent, but rather on being a murderer. The commonality is that they all seemed to slip through the justice system cracks for past criminal activities by claiming mental incompetency as a defense. Remember that the defense for Nikolas Cruz is that of being mentally incompetent after taking so many young innocent lives at Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. Unfortunately the argument fell back on the weapon and not the killer. Now, I am sure we will see Wisner Desmarek seek the same defense. Why not? It has secured him a stay in the United States apparently for his past 16 adult criminal offenses. It should not take a personal family tragedy for those bleeding heart Americans to open their eyes to these continued ills we face in this nation today with illegal immigration? It should be time to put lives of our law enforcement first and not defend this criminal behavior. May we all take the time during our busy days to say a prayer for Officer Adam Jobbers-Miller family. We know he is now in heaven.. May God Bless You, Officer Adam Jobbers-Miller, and watch over your family. Jack Wagner Cape Coral Cape Coral Mayor Joe Coviello says the city needs help getting businesses affected by the historic algal bloom sliming city canals back on track. To that end, Coviello met with a representative from U.S. Sen. Marco Rubios office on Thursday to discuss the toxic blue-green algae blooming shore-to-shore in the Caloosahatchee and Cape waterways, killing fish and leaving a lingering stench. Coviello brought the representative to some of the areas targeted by the city and Lee County as the worst affected. Not only was the algae thick, but smelly. We are looking forward to the senators support. He is looking for some things to do from a funding standpoint that could get us some reimbursement for some of the businesses in the area, Coviello said. I wanted to spend time with them so they understood our plight. Coviello also spoke Thursday with Lee County Commissioner Brian Hamman regarding potential areas of cleanup. The mayor said that while Hamman mentioned cleanup would start on Wednesday, it could also start as early as today. Coviello also spoke earlier this week with the Southwest Coalition of Mayors, made up of all the countys mayors, which will seek an extension to state of emergency declared by Gov. Rick Scott July 9 in response to the algal blooms. The request is expected to be made Tuesday morning at the Lee County Board of County Commissioners meeting. Scott issued the executive order for Glades, Hendry, Lee, Martin, Okeechobee, Palm Beach and St. Lucie counties to combat the blooms with $3 million in DEP funding. Lee County has secured $700,000 from the Florida Harmful Algal Bloom Management Grant Program through the Department of Environmental Protection for the removal, processing and disposal of algae from select sites in unincorporated Lee County and affected municipalities, most notably Cape Coral. There are no city funds dedicated to the blue-green algae situation in the proposed fiscal year 2019 budget, according to Connie Barron, city spokesperson. County Manager Roger Desjarlais warned that the cleanup is a test project, a fact reiterated by Barron, who added the grant money wont go very far and that the method to collect the algae isnt exactly proven. Once they collect the algae from the water there are issues regarding the disposal of it. That issue has not been resolved. Until there is concrete evidence there are treatment methods that are effective and cost-efficient, we wouldnt know what to budget for it, Barron said. A fight between senior citizens over free food led to police being called to a Greenville, S.C., Costco last week. According to The State newspaper, an argument broke out at one of the big-box store's free samples tables. A 70-year-old man was waiting for his complimentary bite-size chunk of cheese, when a second senior citizen a 72-year-old man in a Hawaiian shirt cut ahead of him, snatched the cheese and walked off. GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip Gazas Hamas rulers led several thousand Palestinians in a protest along the frontier with Israel on Friday a show of presence by Hamas as Egyptian efforts intensify to broker a broad truce between the Islamic militant group and Israel. A 25-year-old Palestinian was killed and 90 were wounded by Israeli army fire, Gaza health officials said. It was the latest in a series of protests along Gazas perimeter fence with Israel, aimed in part at trying to break an 11-year-old border blockade. Israel and Egypt sealed Gaza in 2007 after Hamas overran the territory. Fridays protest was attended by several exiled Hamas leaders who had entered Gaza a day earlier for meetings of the groups decision-making political bureau. We want to break the siege on Gaza once and forever, said Hussam Badran, one of the visiting Hamas leaders. The political bureau is discussing Egyptian proposals for a truce with Israel and the U.N.-led reconstruction of Gaza, said Ghazi Hamad, a Gaza-based official in the group. Meetings began Thursday and will continue through Saturday, Hamad said. It marked the first time all members of the political bureau got together in Gaza, Hamas has said. Over the years, truce deals have proven fragile, and it was not clear if the current efforts would succeed. However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday called off a planned trip to South America and scheduled a meeting of his security Cabinet to monitor Gaza developments. Tensions along the Israel-Gaza fence have escalated since Hamas launched regular protests in the area in late March. Large turnout has also been driven by widespread desperation in Gaza, amid worsening conditions linked to the blockade. Power is on for just a few hours a day, unemployment has skyrocketed and poverty is widening. Fridays death brought to 156 the number of Palestinians killed by Israeli fire since late March, including at least 118 in protests near the fence. Others, among them armed Hamas militants, have been killed in attempted border attacks or in Israeli air strikes. Several thousand Gazans have been wounded by Israeli fire since March. Last month, an Israeli soldier was the first to be killed on the Gaza border since a 2014 war between Israel and Hamas. The Israeli military said that about 8,000 Palestinians took part in Fridays rally. It said a tank fired at a Hamas military post in Gaza after Palestinians briefly crossed the frontier and threw bombs. Khalil Hamra is an Associated Press writer. KHOST, Afghanistan At least 29 people were killed when suicide bombers disguised in womens clothing stormed a Shiite mosque in eastern Afghanistan during Friday Prayer, officials said, the latest in a series of bloody attacks on the countrys Shiite minority. Two male attackers, wearing full-length burqas to hide explosive vests and automatic weapons, entered the mosque in the city of Gardez in Paktia province, first firing at the worshipers and then detonating the vests, according to Afghan police. The spokesman for the Paktia police, Sardar Wali Tabasoom, said that guards had been posted at the mosque because of fears of such an attack. But the attackers used the burqas to get close, then shot the guards, he said. Abdullah Hasrat, the spokesman for the governor of Paktia province, said that 29 people were killed and 81 others wounded. There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but previous attacks on Shiite civilians have been claimed by the Islamic State affiliate in Afghanistan. In April, 57 people were killed at a voter registration center in a Shiite neighborhood in Kabul, one of a series of attacks on election sites claimed by the Islamic State. The Islamic State, which is made up of radical Sunni Muslims, views Shiites as apostates deserving of death. In a WhatsApp message, Zabihullah Mujahid, a spokesman for the Taliban, denied involvement in the attack in Gardez. Separately, in the northern province of Faryab, seven members of the Afghan National Army were killed and 10 others were wounded in a Taliban attack Thursday night, Mohammad Hashim Astana, police chief of Shirin Tagab district, where the attack occurred, said Friday. Farooq Jan Mangal and Fahim Abed are New York Times writers. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Beginning today and running through this weekend, Mark's Bake Shoppe will partner with The Depressed Cake Shop, a worldwide organization whose goal is to raise awareness about mental health issues. "We've made specific cake pops and are selling them at our location at 3479 Richmond Road near the restoration," says Mark Intoccia, owner of the Richmond confection boutique. "And proceeds from our homemade cake pops and other sweet treats will be earmarked for the Pride Center on Staten Island." The Depressed Cake Shop benefits non-profit groups that specifically offer mental health services. The "Depressed" cakes are grey on the outside and bright on the inside -- a platform designed to raise awareness of the challenges that goes hand in hand with mental illness and to get people to talking about their problems. "It's for a good cause and we are trying to draw attention to it," Mark says. FYI: 34-year-old -- who was born and raised in Richmond -- recently opened his own bakery, Mark's Bake Shoppe, a charming roadside sweet shop lined with white tile walls, in his hometown community. The bakery carries a full selection of cookies, cakes, cupcakes, muffins, strudel and breads, some of which are vegan and don't contain dairy or animal byproducts. Mark and his wife, Amanda, have deep roots in the Richmond community: Both went to nearby St. Patrick's School. Those with a penchant for desserts can indulge in a wide selection of cakes and sweet treats -- with a German influence-- at Mark's Bake Shoppe. And the business is a family affair. Intoccia has even tagged his confections with names such as "Jo-Jo's Cookies" after one of his sons, Joseph. Visiting Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Friday that China is willing to work with all parties to continue safeguarding the Iran nuclear deal. Wang made the remarks while meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) foreign ministers' meeting and related meetings. China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi, second from right, speaks to Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, second from left, during a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the 51st ASEAN Foreign Ministers Meeting in Singapore, Friday, Aug. 3, 2018. [Photo: IC] Whether the implementation of the Iran nuclear deal, fully known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), can be continued or not has aroused the attention of the international community, Wang said. It has brought a new risk to and posed a new challenge for the situation in the Middle East, he said. "China always holds the view that JCPOA is a multilateral deal which is verified and approved by the Untied Nations Security Council and accords the common interests of all parties and the international community, which must be respected and safeguarded so as to maintain the authority of the United Nations, the effectiveness of multilateral deals and the credibility of the international rules." For this end, China is willing to enhance communication and cooperation with all parties including Iran and do best to continue safeguarding the deal in a bid to maintain peace and stability in the region and the world at large. For his part, Zarif said Iran and China are strategic partners and China has played an important role in the hammering out and implementation of JCPOA. Iran is willing to continue safeguarding and implementing the deal and will continue to work with the parties concerned including China and European countries, the Iranian foreign minister said. The United States has unilaterally announced its pullout from the deal and also threatened to restart unilateral sanctions on Iran, which violates the related resolutions of the United Nations and is opposed by all parties, Zarif noted. The Iranian foreign minister hoped that the United States would listen to the voices of the international community and reverse its wrongdoings, Zarif added. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Red tape between federal agencies over waterfront access could stall the construction of the East Shore seawall, which was set to begin later this year. For the seawall to be built, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers needs access to Miller Field, which can only be granted by the National Park Service (NPS). The agency stated in 2016 that it would provide the access (called an easement), but has failed to do so, raising concerns that legislation would be required to move forward with construction. "So, to think agency back-and-forth might delay the seawall's construction is a risk we cannot take during a time when storms are stronger, more frequent and more dangerous. We have come too far to accept slow-walking it now," said Sen. Chuck Schumer. The city also needs access to Miller Field for maintenance of the land. The seawall would protect vulnerable areas of Staten Island from severe flooding, as well as lower insurance premiums for residents. Schumer had a one-on-one meeting with Department of Interior (DOI) Secretary Ryan Zinke Wednesday, urging him to allow NPS to grant the easements. The DOI oversees the management and conservation of most federal land and natural resources, ultimately governing over the NPS. Schumer said he's optimistic that Zinke "understands and appreciates how critical this project is to Staten Islanders and homeowners alike." "The Staten Island seawall needs a greenlight, not red tape, and an easement is that greenlight to ensure construction gets going and nearly half a million islanders and their homes are protected," he said. NPS and Schumer's office were unable to say when the decision might come. An NPS spokeswoman said the East Shore seawall is a project that the NPS supports and it is looking into legal options to make the easement available to the Army Corps and the city. FUNDING SECURED IN 2018 Earlier this year, Schumer secured $730 million in funding for the Army Corps that had been sitting in limbo was transferred into the then-recently passed federal budget deal for storm mitigation projects. The transfer of federal funding better positioned the Army Corps to fulfill its mandated 65 percent of construction for storm mitigation projects. The seawall, which was first proposed in 2015 and originally planned to extend to Tottenville, is now planned to be built from Fort Wadsworth to Oakwood Beach on the East Shore. The Army Corps also plans to build a flood wall and levee, replacing one that was built in 2000 in Oakwood beach. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- On Tuesday, a witness testified at Leonard Evans' murder trial that the defendant wanted to settle a score with the victim, German (Ricco) Pagan, and had attacked Pagan on the waterfront promenade near the St. George Ferry Terminal two years ago. Evans, 51, took the stand on Thursday and insisted it never happened that way. He testified Pagan, 30, was the aggressor, and he had fought back in self-defense against the larger man, who had stabbed him in the arm with a knife at the outset of a struggle early on the morning of Aug. 4, 2016. "I was fighting for my life," the defendant, who goes by the nickname "Peanut" told his lawyer, Mark J. Fonte. And during the battle, Pagan was stabbed twice -- once, Evans said, when he forced Pagan's arm with the knife into the victim's shoulder and a second time after the defendant said he had grabbed the knife. Evans could not say exactly where he stabbed Pagan, but said it happened when the victim hit him in the groin as he was trying to get off Pagan from behind. "I stuck him a little bit," the stocky defendant testified. "I'm not sure where." But in cross-examination, Assistant District Attorney Mark Palladino suggested Evans' version of the fight doesn't jibe with the victim's wounds, let alone the witness's account. Evans testified he was on top of and behind Pagan when he initially forced the knife, which the victim was swinging back over the top of his own shoulder, into that shoulder. But Dr. Floriana Persechino, a medical examiner who performed Pagan's autopsy, testified one of the stab wounds he suffered went into the right side of his chest. Dr. Pereschino said Evans was killed by another stab wound to the upper center part of the chest that struck a heart ventricle and caused a lung to collapse. Palladino suggested Evans had sparked the fatal confrontation because he was upset Pagan had not apologized to the defendant's girlfriend over an incident the previous day. Evans shook his head. "Not to kill a man over it," he said. Evans was the only defense witness to testify. Garbed in a burnt orange shirt and tan pants, the onetime felon and St. George resident testified for about 85 minutes, 65 of which were on cross-examination. Seated with his hands in his lap, he spoke rapidly and lowly, requiring some of his responses to be repeated. Evans testified he didn't know Pagan before Aug. 3, 2016. On that day, the defendant, his girlfriend and another friend were on Stuyvesant Place in St. George when his buddy told him a man had tried to push his girlfriend into the street. Evans said he called out after the man, but he didn't turn around. Later that afternoon, Evans and the woman were walking near the park behind Borough Hall when he saw the man from earlier in the day. It turned out to be Pagan. Evans said he went over to Pagan and said he should apologize to his girlfriend. Instead, Pagan swung at him twice and missed, Evans said, adding he left the scene without further discussion and walked his girlfriend home. The defendant, who was drinking that day, later went out and when he returned home his girlfriend was not there. He said he went to look for her by the ferry terminal and Richmond County Bank Ballpark at St. George. He saw the witness, Pedro Burnias, on the street, and Burnias came along with him. Burnias, a convicted felon with a long criminal history, testified Tuesday he was actually outside the ballpark when he met Evans. Burnias testified they began drinking beer, and Evans told him of a fight he had earlier that day with Pagan. Evans, the witness said, told him Pagan had punched him twice in the face in the park behind Borough Hall. Burnias said the defendant showed him a pocket knife and said he "wanted to get back at" Pagan. Evans denied the witness's account. He said he and Burnias went down to the waterfront promenade between the ballpark and ferry terminal. Evans said he saw a man seated on a bench with his head in his hands. The defendant, who admitted to being drunk, said he didn't realize it was Pagan. Evans said Pagan came up from behind him, and as he turned around, Pagan swung at him. He said Pagan missed, and he "bum-rushed" the victim. Evans said he then put a "wrestling move" on Pagan, got behind him, picked him up and body-slammed him to the bench. Palladino questioned how that could have happened since Pagan was 8 inches taller and 60 pounds heavier than Evans. To which Evans replied, "Does anybody watch wrestling?" eliciting chuckles from the audience. Evans said Pagan stabbed him with a knife in the arm as he picked up the victim and slammed him. The two men struggled with Pagan facing downward toward the bench and Evans on top of him, the defendant said. Evans said he managed to make Pagan stab himself in the shoulder when the victim tried to stab him as they struggled on the bench. At one point, he gained control of the knife, and was in the process of getting off Pagan, when the victim swung his arm. Evans said he was struck in the groin and "buckled," causing him to stab Pagan. Burnias, the witness, had previously testified Pagan was laying down on the bench, and Evans approached him and hit Pagan in the shoulder. Pagan got up, and Evans punched him in the chest, he said. Burnias testified he did not see a knife in either man's hand or either man get stabbed. Evans said he left the knife at the scene and ultimately was taken to the hospital. The weapon was not recovered. Asked by Palladino if he told hospital personnel he was attacked by three homosexual Mexicans, Evans said no. Evans also said he couldn't recall telling the lead detective he was stabbed when he got between a bald-headed Puerto Rican man and some Mexicans. The defense rested after Evans' testimony. Prosecutors rested earlier in the day. Summations and deliberations are scheduled for Monday in state Supreme Court, St. George. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. - One of the biggest threats to clean air is particle pollution from cigarette smoke, local and national experts say. And it may be one of the reasons why Staten Island, with the highest rate of smokers in New York City, got an "F" in ozone pollution from the American Lung Association's 2018 "State of the Air" report. "When people pick up that cigarette and start smoking, it really negates the difference of living in Staten Island or living in pollution or not," said Dr. Adam Lackey, thoracic surgeon at Staten Island University Hospital. The lung cancer rates for both men and women on Staten Island are significantly higher than the New York City average. The borough has the highest rate of adults with asthma of any borough in the last 12 months. Staten Island also has a higher percentage of smokers, 16 percent, compared to the citywide average of 13 percent. WHAT IS PARTICLE POLLUTION? There are numerous types of air pollution, and while some are worse than others, none are worse than particle matter (PM) and fine particulate matter (PM2.5) created by dust, smog, soot or smoke. Particulate matter is so harmful that the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARG) classified particulate matter in air pollution as a human carcinogen in 2013. Additionally, the World Health Organization recently reclassified the particulate component in pollution as a cancer risk. "I think the biggest thing is concentration and how much we're exposed to; every little bit has a long-term, significant effect," said Richmond University Medical Center (RUMC) pulmonologist Dr. Kieth Diaz. An area with a high number of smokers putting increasingly large amounts of particle matter into the air increases lung-related health issues for non-smokers. Particulates from cigarette smoke are incredibly small, travel long distances easily, and can stay in the air for a long period of time, making it easier for the particulates to travel deep into your lungs, as well as settle on clothes, pets, and in carpet, Dr. Diaz explained. Can residents do anything to reduce their exposure to toxic chemicals? "The biggest thing by far is not smoking," Dr. Lackey said. Dr. Diaz said a High Efficiency Particle (HEPA) filter removes over 99 percent of particle and particulate matter from the air in your home before it has a chance to settle. CIGARETTE SMOKERS DOWN WHILE E-CIG SMOKERS RISE Approximately 15.9 percent on Staten Islanders, or 57,000 adults, were cigarette smokers as of 2016, according to the city Department of Health's (DOH) Community Health Survey. The borough has the highest average of the city. "It's strange in that we all know a 90-year-old who has been smoking for 40 years and hasn't had a problem; it's a mix of genetics and environment. But what we do know is that the more you're exposed and the longer it is, the higher your chances of having a problem are. Taking yourself out of that environment will decrease your chances of repercussions," Diaz said. While the reduction in local smokers is positive, the emergence of electronic cigarettes poses many known - and unknown - risks. Children are picking up electronic cigarettes a higher rate than conventional cigarettes, which forced the Surgeon General to declare it a public health concern. In New York State, youth e-cigarette use rates went from 11 percent in 2014 to 21 percent in 2016; adult use declined from seven percent in 2014 to six percent in 2016. Because they haven't been around as long as cigarettes, it's too soon to fully understand the internal effects of an electronic cigarette, but externally they pose significant harm. "Two studies have found formaldehyde, benzene and tobacco-specific nitrosamines (all carcinogens) coming from secondhand emissions," according to the American Lung Association. "The U.S. Surgeon General has concluded that e-cigarette aerosol is not harmless, and can contain harmful and potentially harmful chemicals, including nicotine." REDUCING SMOKERS BY 2020 New York, at city and state levels, has been implementing laws aimed at continuing downward smoking trends, an effort to reduce the number of non-smokers who are exposed to second-hand smoke. The city DOH, for example, raised the minimum base price for a pack of cigarettes to $13 in an effort to reduce the number of smokers in the city from more than 850,000 to 160,000 by 2020. The New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) has also gone smoke-free; smoking in or within 25 feet of NYCHA buildings is prohibited. The prohibition follows the new federal Housing and Urban Development (HUD) rule requiring public housing nationwide to be smoke-free by July 30, 2018. On a grassroots level, organizations like Tobacco-Free Staten Island through the Jewish Community Center (JCC) have been working with private property owners to go smoke-free. In the last year, nine properties on Staten Island have taken a smoke free pledge through the JCC, said Ashely Zanatta, community engagement specialist for the JCC. The JCC provides the building owners with education and guidance. "The majority is overwhelmingly supportive of the change; their residents want to live in smoke free houses and this allows them to make that available for them," Zanatta said. "Clean air is not a luxury." Prohibiting smoking reduces the risk of fires, lowers maintenance costs, and removes exposure to particles and carcinogens that impact residents who are mostly seniors and young children. Removing the exposure reduces illness like chronic asthma and ear infections, she explained. "We've known all of the side effects of smoking since 1964 when the Surgeon General said there was a direct link between smoking and lung cancer," she said. Reality Check started at the JCC in 2001 and places advocacy in the hands on Staten Island's youth. "It's a youth-led adult movement across different high schools and middle schools, allowing kids to speak to policy makers and advocate for themselves," explained Carissa Mazzeo, Reality Check Lead. Mazzeo said the children are given a multitude of information and tools to educate themselves and their peers, and allows them to hold smoke-free educational events across the borough. "The most effective method we have and most important thing that we can do is to advocate and promote policies that regulate these products to make them less acceptable and accessible to everybody, especially our youth," Mazzeo said. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- The Statue of Liberty climber who echoed former First Lady Michelle Obama's "We go high" speech, trolled First Lady Melania Trump with an outlandish outfit. Therese Patricia Okoumou, 44, showed up for her federal court appearance in Manhattan Friday with a green dress that read, "I really care, why won't u? Be Best." The St. George resident was referencing the infamous green jacket Trump wore to an immigration detention center that said, "I really don't care, do you?" Okoumou was arrested after scaling the Statue of Liberty on the Fourth of July while protesting the administration's border policy. She is charged with trespassing, interfering with agency functions and disorderly conduct. According to prosecutors, Okoumou refused to get down after propping herself by the bottom of the landmark following an ICE protest. During her appearance Friday, the case was adjourned to Oct. 1 for a pretrial conference, according to court records. Afterwards, she sported the dress and matching green headband while addressing the media and fellow Rise and Resist activists outside the courthouse. "America, you mother f---ers! You drug addicts! You KKK! You fascist USA!" she shouted, according to media reports. After her last court appearance, Okoumou, a U.S. citizen from the Republic of Congo, told reporters Obama was her hero. "Our beloved first lady that I care so much about said that when they go low, we go high, and I went as high as I could," she said about climbing the landmark. Okoumou has continued to protest against the separation of children from their families and started an online petition to drop the government to drop the charges. The petition has garnered more than 2,500 signatures as of Friday. James Packers Crown Resorts is failing to adequately monitor and intervene in problem gambling at its flagship casino in Melbourne, according to a government investigation. The findings of a five-yearly review by Victorias gambling regulator, released late on Friday afternoon, outline the need for Melbourne's only casino operator to make drastic improvements to its governance and management in order to meet its commitment to being a leader in responsible gambling practices. Crown Casino in Melbourne. Credit:Justin McManus It ultimately backed the company as a suitable operator to continue holding its licence to run the casino in the Southbank precinct, but identified a lack of progress in its overall approach to responsible gambling to meet heightening community expectations. The regulator said it was not confident that Crown had sufficient staffing to proactively intervene and offer assistance to gamblers at risk of harm, while its policy of only intervening after gamblers spent 16 or 24 hours continuously gambling was described as very conservative and not conducive to responsible gambling, the report said. Australia's biggest listed companies are expected to show solid earnings growth in the forthcoming profit reporting season but not at the double-digit rate of last year. Analysts at investment bank Citi say the market estimate for overall earnings per share (EPS) growth across the top 200 companies is 7.9 per cent in 2017-18, compared with 18 per cent reported growth last year. A sharp jump in iron ore and coal prices, coupled with cost cutting, drove the jump in earnings growth for miners in 2016-17. Credit:Rob Homer Citi head of equity strategy Tony Brennan said the exceptional growth in 2016-17 was driven by the resources sector after "some very poor numbers" from 2013 to 2016 in the wake of the mining bust. A sharp jump in iron ore and coal prices, coupled with cost cutting, drove the jump in earnings growth for miners in 2016-17, benefiting the broader sharemarket. Restaurant owners are not surprised by Foodora's exit from Australia, with some saying the food delivery firm's reliance on bikes rather than cars put it at a significant disadvantage to the likes of UberEats. Foodora announced on Thursday it would stop operating in Australia by the end of August. Burger Urge co-founder Sean Carthew says it soon became apparent that Uber Eats had a significant advantage over the likes of Foodora, because it offered food delivery via car while Foodora drivers were predominantly on bikes. Foodora will exit the Australian market. Credit:Jason South I think that the issue with delivering on bicycles is that in highly populated and dense cities like Melbourne, it might work. But in a city like Brisbane, its not as appropriate, Mr Carthew said. Often, what the better machines and ways of organising things are intended to do is further exploit economies of scale. Point is, its the almost continuous improvement in productivity, year after year, that does most to explain why we are so much more prosperous than our ancestors. Hence economists consternation over the rich worlds unusually weak rate of productivity improvement for the past decade or so, and their search for explanations. Loading The most popular explanation among them, advanced by Professor Bob Gordon, of Northwestern University in Illinois, is one the rest of us would find hard to credit. Its that the present information and communication technology revolution isnt transforming the economy to the extent that earlier general-purpose technologies such as electricity, the internal combustion engine, the automated production line, and even running water and indoor toilets did. A different, but probably only partial, explanation is that much of the benefits coming from the digital revolution are going unrecognised by a system of national accounts (gross domestic product) designed to measure the industrial economy. A month ago, I argued that another partial explanation was that the innovations of too many of our brightest and best brains were being used for nothing more productive than finding new ways to get around inconvenient laws and taxes. Then theres the notion of secular stagnation from Professor Lawrence Summers, of Harvard. Among other things, it says that the ageing of the population and very slow population growth in the rich countries (though not in Australia) means they face a future of weaker growth in consumer spending, thus diminishing the incentive for firms to invest in expansion. Which links to the much more straightforward and thus persuasive explanation offered by former senior econocrat Dr Michael Keating and Professor Stephen Bell, of the University of Queensland, in their book Fair Share. They argue that the key to productivity improvement is investment particularly investment by businesses and the spur to business investment is economic growth and the expectation it will continue. Innovation is fine, but the main way some new technology is diffused throughout the economy is by firms replacing their old machines and structures with new ones that incorporate the latest advances. Investment is also an essential part of the continuous process of change in the industry structure of the economy, where changes in consumers preferences and other developments cause some industries to contract while others expand and new industries emerge. If firms are reluctant to invest, you dont get enough expansion to offset the contraction. If firms are reluctant to invest, you dont get enough expansion to offset the contraction. But what is businesses main motive for investing? Their expectations of increased demand for whatever theyre selling, Keating and Bell say. But this is where the global financial crisis and the Great Recession come in. It was by far the deepest recession the developed world has suffered since the 1930s. The crisis was 10 years ago next month, and the recovery has been particularly weak. Things in America may look pretty good today unemployment is very low, profits are high and the economy grew at an annualised rate of 4.1 per cent in the June quarter. But all is not as it seems. The latest amazing growth is the product of fiscal stimulus from Trump's income tax cuts and wont last. Low unemployment conceals a marked fall in the proportion of the population (particularly less-skilled middle-aged men) participating in the labour force. Many people who lost their job during the recession have given up looking for another one. Their skills have atrophied wasted away and are a loss of human capital to the US economy. Keating and Bell show that business investment fell more in this recession than previous ones and has been remarkably slow to recover. Seeing no great reason to expand, US businesses have been using their profits not to reinvest but to pay big dividends and to buy back their shares on the stockmarket, hoping to boost their price. Trumps company tax cut has pushed buybacks to record levels. Get it? Weak economic growth in the advanced economies is discouraging businesses from investing. Weak investment means weak productivity improvement and skills atrophy. But weak productivity means more weak growth. The main concern is that there is no obvious incentive for the industry given about 97 per cent of the emissions target - or more - will be achieved on the current goal even before it starts. They note too that the model summary provided by the board excludes the second phases of both Victoria and Queensland's state-based renewable energy targets. Against those concerns, though, is the understanding that renewable energy prices are only going to continue to fall, making them ever more viable than new coal or gas-fired power. The rise in the number of companies underwriting renewable generation projects is a sign of that trend. In addition, the current timing of when ageing coal-fired power plants will exit may prove optimistic, with the result that wholesale power prices may be higher than forecast, helping renewables. Illustration: Matt Golding Hydropower generator Meridian Energy chief executive Ed McManus said, regardless of the target we will still see renewable investment, coal is not part of Australia's future energy mix". Can it be scaled? Despite its name, the National Energy Guarantee isn't national. It only applies to the eastern states (and most of South Australia) as members of the National Electricity Market. Without Western Australia and the Northern Territory, which will be permitted to increase emissions, the power sector's so-called 26 per cent "pro-rata" emissions cut will actually turn out to be less. While Energy Minister Josh Frydenberg and the states say the scheme they want is scalable, they differ in how the goals should be changed. The Labor-led states want the power to lift the emissions goal - federal Labor wants a 45 per cent cut - to sit with the minister. Mr Frydenberg and the Energy Security Board say any change should have to be approved by the Federal Parliament. Illustration: Matt Golding For now, Mr Frydenberg has offered a review by mid-2024 to assess the progress. Labor, the Greens and environmental groups say the goal should be sooner, not least because Australia committed at Paris in 2015 along with all other signatories to consider lifting the climate pledge by 2019. What will be the impact on non-energy industries? The low emissions reduction targets for the energy sector which itself wants more ambitious targets means other industries will have to have work harder to cut pollution. Almost no other policies are in place to support such cuts, adding to the expectation they will be more costly for the economy. Government policy will need to include these other sectors, such as transport and agriculture, because if we dont we will miss our targets, Grattan Institute energy director Tony Wood told Fairfax Media. Illustration: Matt Golding The government is yet to indicate whether they will implement a target for other industries. If the agricultural industry moved in sync, it would need to slash emissions by 18.7 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent annually by 2030, according to The Australia Institute. That reduction is not small, and would be about 2.9 million fewer head of beef cattle, 8 million sheep, 300,000 dairy cattle, and 270,000 pigs. So what will happen? Nobody can be certain, given the shifting politics. Odds still favour a conditional approval by the Council of Australian Governments' ministers on August 10 - which leaves open revisiting the policy later on, such as after Victoria's state elections in November. Illustration: Matt Golding Still, it would take a courageous jurisdiction to oppose the policy given it could be blamed for anything that goes wrong in the electricity sector from here on. On the other hand, some view an opportunity for mischief. On the Coalition side, restive backbenchers are demanding a "point of difference" with Labor after recent less-than-hoped for byelection results. Satirists and comedians are not the only benefactors of the scandal-ridden Trump White House - publishers, too, have ridden a wave of interest around a presidency that defies ordinary description. Be they cash-ins or penetrating portraits, Australian readers have been keen to know more about the businessman-turned-politician, but the appetite for Trump exposes is to be tested with a slew of new titles due on bookshop shelves in the lead up to Christmas. Former White House press secretary Sean Spicer has a new book out. Credit:AP Former White House spokesman Sean Spicer's The Briefing has just been released, while Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Bob Woodwardwill publish an inside story on the 45th presidency next month. Given the media interest in previous Woodward books, Simon & Schuster says its print run for Woodward's Fear: Trump in the White House will be ''significant'' and it predicts big sales for a forthcoming explosive Trump expose by Omarosa Manigault Newman, billed as ''female version of [Michael Wolff's] Fire and Fury''. It's ambitious, attempting to fuse together a political narrative with the tropes of the horror genre. The intended result is a political horror story, depending perhaps on your perspective, but one which pivots nearly into a truly disturbing space. American Horror Story is, to some extent, a modern day Dark Shadows, born as its forebear was in a simple telling of a haunted house story in its first season, but evolving with each new season to ever more complex and compelling layers of storytelling. In the 1960s television audiences in America were captivated by a daily gothic horror soap opera titled Dark Shadows. It was the progenitor of modern vampire lit that is, modern vampire lit's pantheon of female authors all grew up watching it from behind the sofa but it also treated its cast like a travelling company of actors, transporting them into new settings and new characters every year. First and foremost: warning, this program contains clowns. Not the funny ones, the genuinely creepy ones. It's like It on steroids.The story kicks off in the final moments of the 2016 election, and two very different reactions to the ascendancy of imminently victorious US president Donald Trump. Ally (Sarah Paulson) and Ivy (Alison Pill) are watching with slowly unfurling dread as they realise things are not going as they planned. Across town, Kai (Evan Peters) is thrilled, as the installation of Trump is the confirmation of his deep frustrations. Not so happy: his sister Winter (Billie Lourd), who had dropped out of college to campaign for Hillary Clinton.That setup might suggest that this season is deeply political. Perhaps it is, though not in the obvious way that you might expect. Instead, American Horror Story: Cult explores the disorientation and disconnection which followed the election and how, as the fine thread which holds the normal world together seemed to fray, the shadows begin to behave differently. Ally, of course, comes with a bunch of issues notably, coulrophobia, haemophobia, and trypophobia, which are, respectively, irrational fears of clowns, the sight of blood and irregular patterns, specifically involving small holes. That grab bag of issues is barely being held together using good luck and therapy, so when Ally's sense of disorientation is amplified, it all starts to unravel. Enter the clowns.There is, of course, a tendency to applaud all of this by simply plopping the credit on the lap of Ryan Murphy, to whose name it is all attached. As usually, the truth is more complex. Murphy and Brad Falchuk wrote a stunning first episode; Tim Minear, James Wong and John J. Gray are among the other series writers. And Bradley Buecker directs a sharp opener, with Liza Johnson and Gwyneth Horder-Payton following up in the first few episodes. Most are, to varying degrees, long-term collaborators of Murphy. Buecker, for example, worked as an editor on Nip/Tuck and Glee. Within the spectrum of American Horror Story itself, Cult is simultaneously the most disturbing and the least steeped in the properly supernatural. The traditional artillery of spooky nuns, creepy shadows and things that go bump in the night have their power, but Cult hopes to mine the most ordinary of situations and moments, and is at times successful with devastating effect. The flip-flop-flip by supermarket chain Coles this week over whether to give away plastic bags is not the most important problem facing the country but it has provoked an unusually sharp debate about how to take collective decisions to solve community problems. To recap, the two main supermarkets - Coles and Woolworths - voluntarily decided a few months ago to ban single-use plastic bags because environmentalists complained the bags clog up waterways and kill wildlife. This particularly affected NSW, the only state to have not announced a ban. Coles will give its "Better Bags" away for free until August 29. Credit:AAP The supermarkets decided to cater for shoppers who forgot to bring their own bags by selling thicker reusable plastic bags for 15c. The price was just high enough to offer to their customers a gentle incentive to get their act together and bring their own bags next time. This Wednesday however, after a sustained campaign by shock jocks and complaints from customers, Coles did a volte face and announced that it was breaking ranks. It would start giving the thick reusable bags away for free. Bag-toting environmentalists immediately complained on social media, pointing out that the free thick bags would be dumped just like the free thin ones but causing even more environmental damage. By Thursday Coles thought about it again and executed a second backflip. It promised to return to its first decision and start charging for the recyclable bags again from the end of the month. When the benefit ended in 2012, the company rebranded the vans to take advantage of a new Medicare benefit scheme: the Child Dental Benefit Schedule. The scheme gives eligible children, aged two to 17, $1000 worth of basic dental treatment over two years. An information pamphlet distributed to parents and schools in 2014. Credit:Smiles Onsite Smiles Onsite has travelled to hundreds of schools around NSW, from Doonside Technology High School and Holsworthy High School in Sydney to rural schools like Cullen Bullen Public School and Canowindra High School, where they treated 400 students in 2014. Staff have made the alarming accusation that, until the company was prosecuted, every child was X-rayed as soon as they entered the van by clinic managers who didn't have radiation licenses. Children and staff were not given proper protective wear and children were not asked if they had been X-rayed recently, potentially exposing some to years worth of radiation dosage in a short period, sources claimed. Children would then see a dentist, often a qualified practitioner who was new to the country. One former clinic manager, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said he applied for a job as a dental assistant in 2013 but was immediately put into a more senior role. "The first thing I noticed was the X-rays, I wasn't sure if the walls were lead lined," he said. "I decided with some other clinicians to ask but the bosses ... got angry and said that we should just concentrate on our individual duties and leave other things to them." He said company heads often monitored CCTV in the van and would call staff to tell them to hurry more students through. "There were a few times that I was called into [the] office to warn me that I had to see a certain amount of students in a day," he said. "If I didn't get that done then they will not roster me to work." Another former employee, who asked to be moved from a dental assistant role to an administrative role because she wasn't given proper safety gear, claimed she was told to bill Medicare for procedures that weren't done or weren't necessary to perform. No charges have been laid by Medicare. Children from Cowra High School pose for a photo after visiting the Smiles Onsite van in 2014. "I raised some issues and it was kind of like 'it's OK, we're not doing anything wrong'," she said. "I didn't have a full enough understanding in terms of what the actual items were. I actually ended up leaving because I just didn't ... feel like what they were doing was right." A fourth employee, who worked in admin for a year, asserted her job was to access children's Medicare information using the Medicare provider numbers of five dentists who didn't work for the company. "We would check every single child in a school to see if they were eligible [for the benefit]," she said. "They were the priority kids that would get treatment." The former sales rep said she worked gruelling hours, driving between rural schools in her own car. The former clinic manager said he would often leave home at 4am to be at a rural school by 9am, then get home late at night. "When I raised my concern the only reply was we can find someone else," he said. Former operations manager, Steven Venter, said he complained vociferously last year when he wasn't paid superannuation or remuneration. A few days later, less than four weeks after he started, he was terminated. Former operations manager Steven Venter said he raised concerns about school children operating a mechanical lift in and out of the mobile dental van. Credit:Steven Venter The EPA launched an investigation in late 2014 and raided the company's Castle Hill headquarters. They stopped X-raying children as a result but the vans have continued to treat students. In a June letter sent to prospective investors, the company said they have expanded to five vans, 10 dentists, 40 support staff and see 30,000 patients each year. Despite being briefed several times on the company's alleged conduct, the Department of Education only circulated an internal memo in April 2016 saying the company had been charged with radiation offences and principals should use their discretion. The memo, based on advice from NSW Healths Office of Oral Health Strategy, said it was "unclear" if the X-rays were necessary and there is "no evidence that these X-rays have been done in a way to endanger children". "NSW Health isn't associated with, and doesn't regulate [the company] ... [their] services are not endorsed by NSW Health," the memo said. A spokesman for NSW Health revealed that, as early as December 2013, the Australian Dental Association raised concerns around the lack of informed consent and improper use of the Child Dental Benefit Schedule by mobile dental providers. In advice passed on to schools, the ADA strongly advised parents to choose a local dentist who is accessible for future appointments, to attend visits, to make sure X-rays aren't taken unless necessary and to make sure "only services actually provided are claimed from Medicare ... to ensure that the child receives the benefit of their full entitlement under the CDBS". Dr Neil Peppitt, president of the ADA's NSW branch, told Fairfax Media that the CDBS was a "wonderful" scheme but there were "concerns about some private mobile dental services that conduct visits in isolation to schools and child-care centres". "The ADA unequivocally supports the prosecution of anyone suspected of abusing the system," Dr Peppitt said. In 2015, the federal health department issued a directive to the company to stop implying in their publicity and forms that they were a government service, the NSW Health spokesman said. Lake Heights Primary School principal Peter Heddles expressed surprise at the X-ray prosecution but said he would still let the van come in August unless the Department of Education advised him otherwise. He said he never received any departmental memos and previous visits had been positive. A letter sent to Victorian school principals from Smiles Onsite in March, 2018 said 22,014 students in the state had been treated. Credit:Smiles Onsite "We're very happy to have them back," he said. "All the people we had were lovely and the parents really appreciated it." Education Minister Rob Stokes said he was "appalled and angry" that the mobile service "potentially put a group of NSW school students at risk by using ... unlicensed X-ray operators". "Fortunately, health professionals view the risks to long-term health as very small, but it is unacceptable that this has happened," he said. During a sentencing hearing last Thursday, defence barrister Scott Goodman, SC, said "no particular harm" had been identified by the unlicensed activity, though he conceded "no doubt there was a potential for persons to be harmed by this radiation". He argued the company should be given a discounted sentence given the guilty plea cut seven days of trial time and saved 12 witnesses from being called. Ian McLachlan, for the EPA, said the business was engaged in "deliberate flouting of the law" and that obtaining a license was a "relatively simple measure to amend". The court heard the maximum financial penalty is $165,000. The company will be sentenced on August 13. Company spokesman Cabral Douglas told Fairfax Media the former staff members' allegations were "false and defamatory". "In fact, due to the latest innovations in the design of our mobile clinics, the standard of care these children are receiving exceed that of the vast majority of standard brick-and-mortar dental practices," he said. He said the company had "opened all of our books" dating back to 2014 to Medicare investigators. Mr Douglas said the legislation under which they were prosecuted was "obsolete" and he had raised the issue with Member for Baulkham Hills, David Elliott, who, he said, had promised to raise it with NSW Environment Minister Gabrielle Upton. "It doesn't contemplate criminalising owners of the regulated material, particularly in clinical settings," he said. "We have mobile clinics providing services ... while the owners of the clinic could be located in another state. "[The legislation has] failed to keep up with innovation and developments in the provision of medical services." He also acted for Rachelle Louise, the former girlfriend of convicted murderer Simon Gittany, in her District Court defamation case against The Daily Telegraph . The parties reached a settlement in 2015 when the newspaper admitted it was wrong to refer to her as a stripper. In his opening address, Evatt had referred to Louise as a modern-day Joan of Arc. In 2012, Evatt secured a $176,296 damages payout for former Guantanamo Bay detainee Mamdouh Habib over defamatory comments made by broadcasters John Laws, Steve Price and Ray Hadley on radio stations 2UE and 2GB. Over a career spanning more than 60 years interrupted by a 13-year period of exile Evatt acted for a host of famous plaintiffs against media outlets, including underworld figure Abe Saffron, architect Harry Seidler and dancer Gypsy Fire, wrongly portrayed by newspaper Truth as Bob Dylan's sex slave. Clive Evatt, one of the best-known defamation barristers in Sydney, has died aged 87. Evatt told the Herald in 2012 that Saffron's pursuit of the Gold Coast Bulletin over a crossword clue referring to a "Sydney underworld figure, nicknamed Mr Sin" was the first case of defamation by crossword. "I never saw any evidence that he is a criminal," Evatt told journalist Michael Duffy. ''Mind you, I think he is on the fringe." The son of the late barrister and NSW Labor minister Clive Raleigh Evatt, QC who also acted for a range of famous plaintiffs in defamation proceedings, including Tom Uren, Shirley Bassey and Dawn Fraser and nephew of High Court judge and federal Labor Attorney-General Herbert Vere "Doc" Evatt, Clive jnr was born in March 1931 and was called to the bar in 1956. Evatt's sisters are equally famous: Elizabeth Evatt is a trailblazing lawyer and was the first chief judge of the Family Court of Australia, while Penelope Seidler (nee Evatt) is a distinguished architect and the wife of Harry Seidler. Evatt, who was also a well-known art dealer and opened the Hogarth Galleries in Paddington, was struck off by the High Court in 1968 after he was found to have engaged in professional misconduct by participating in a scheme in which two solicitors, H. A. P. Veron and B. R. Miles, charged "extortionate and grossly excessive sums" to clients. A man has been arrested after a raid at his Sydney home during which dozens of unregistered firearms, some prohibited, and a number of registered guns were seized, police say. Officers from the Australian Border Force and State Crime Command's drug and firearms squad descended on the home in Frenchs Forest on Thursday, following an investigation into 14 consignments of firearms parts that had arrived at the Sydney International Mail Gateway earlier this year. Firearms confiscated by NSW and Border Force officers at a Frenchs Forest home on Thursday. Credit:NSW Police The 57-year-old man did not have a permit for the importations, police said. Detectives from the drug and firearms squad also conducted a firearms audit at the home, suspending the man's firearms licence and seizing a massive cache of weapons. Police are hunting up to seven men who allegedly threatened a driver at gunpoint during a terrifying carjacking in Melbourne's south-east. Loading The victim was driving in Pakenham on Friday afternoon when the attack occurred around 2.40pm. It is believed the man was trying to park on Savage Street when up to seven men approached his gold Holden Commodore sedan. They then started to threaten the driver. Victoria's judges and magistrates are seeking help on stress and wellbeing at higher rates than ever before, in the face of huge workloads, increasing public scrutiny and the solitary nature of their work. Far from being unaffected by courtroom hearings, some judicial officers are reporting struggles with the physical and emotional toll from their jobs and are being encouraged to speak up to avoid becoming overwhelmed. The focus follows the death in March of magistrate Stephen Myall and that of former magistrate Jacinta Dwyer last year. The deaths, which devastated Victoria's legal community, are the subject of coronial investigations. An OHS audit of Melbourne Magistrates Court is expected later this year. In interviews with The Age, County Court chief judge Peter Kidd and chief magistrate Peter Lauritsen acknowledged the demands on their colleagues. Each magistrate oversees an average 8000 hearings [2500 cases] annually, while half the cases in the County Court are sexual offences, often involving children. Police are investigating after two people died in a head-on collision on the Brand Highway north of Dongara yesterday afternoon. A silver Toyota Camry sedan and white Toyota LandCruiser towing a trailer collided head-on about 2.50pm yesterday in Bookara, after the Camry crossed into the opposite lane. A 53-year-old Landsdale man who was driving the Camry was taken to Geraldton Hospital in a critical condition, but two female passengers aged 54 and 59 died at the scene. The 42-year-old driver of the LandCruiser was also taken to Geraldton hospital with non-life threatening injuries. Major Crash detectives are investigating the incident and are calling on anyone who saw the crash or either of the vehicles driving near Geraldton or Dongara before the incident. Worksafe inspectors visited the the Forrestfield Airport Link project today after a pipe connector providing fresh air to the tunnel failed. Nine news reported up to a dozen workers moved to a different area over concerns for their safety and the union was called. A tunnel boring machine on the Perth airport link project. Public Transport Authority spokesman David Hynes confirmed there was an investigation underway. "Around noon today a pipe connector for a high-pressure air pipe in one of the Forrestfield Airport Link tunnels failed, releasing fresh air into the tunnel," he said. Federal small business minister Craig Laundy has sought urgent advice over ACT laws that could force companies to choose between working for the ACT government or the Commonwealth, as industry groups say the legislation could drive up the cost of public projects. ACT workplace relations minister Rachel Stephen-Smith introduced draft legislation on Thursday that would force all companies that want to tender for ACT government work to undergo an audit to prove they had not ripped off workers. Rachel Stephen-Smith introduced the draft jobs code on Thursday. Credit:Karleen Minney Companies that passed the audit would also have to comply with a new jobs code, or risk being locked out of tendering for territory work for one year. According to the draft code, bosses will have to give new starters a membership form for the union, and allow union fees to be directly debited. If you wish to imagine what a city of that size looks like, think of Britains biggest city, Greater London (8.7 million) or the biggest city in the US, New York City (8.5 million). It might, of course, be nice to imagine Australia having a London or a New York. But heres the rub: Britain has a population of 66.5 million, but it has only one very large city. After London, the only city in the UK with a population of more than 1 million is Birmingham. In other words, the British have managed to spread three times the equivalent of Australias population over a land mass that would fit 32 times into Australias, without building many particularly large cities. Even in the US, with its population of 327 million, there are only 10 cities boasting more than a million residents. And Australia? With just 25 million people, Australia has five cities with populations more than 1 million - Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide. Together, they house around 15 million of Australias people. Loading The result is that while billions are spent on widening city freeways like the Tulla that will soon enough be crammed again, and spending even greater sums on tunnels and skyrails, you need only drive a few hours into regional and rural areas to discover the roads are falling apart. The focus on cities has left country Australia to cry in the wilderness. Even taking into account the immense amount of near-uninhabitable land in Australias interior, Australia has clearly messed up its population planning. But dont imagine that a decent population policy is impossible because so much of Australia is not suited to human settlement. The 10 per cent of Australia that is fertile, relatively well-watered and suited to human population is equivalent to the size of Britain and France combined. Consider, say, the tiny Netherlands, a country that could comfortably occupy a narrow strip of land from Melbourne to Swan Hill. Its people - who prefer bicycles to cars - enjoy a lifestyle envied by the world. Yet it has 17 million people, and bicycles are popular partly because the Netherlands has not one city with a population of 1 million or more. Way back in 1994, a trailblazing parliamentary inquiry into Australias Carrying Capacity, chaired by one of Australias greatest living thinkers, Barry Jones, begged for the question of Australias future population to be elevated to the highest political level. Recommendation 2 of the inquiry exhorted: The Australian government should adopt a population policy which explicitly sets out options for long-term population change, in preference to the existing situation where a de facto population policy emerges as a consequence of year-by-year Loading decisions on immigration intake taken in an ad hoc fashion, such decisions being largely determined by the state of the economy in the particular year and with little consideration of the long-term effects. All these years later, nothing of great consequence has changed, apart from a spectacular growth in the level of immigration to meet the business lobbies demands. Decisions are still taken in an ad hoc fashion, with little serious consideration of consequences for the environment or society. If you think thats dispiriting, consider that forecasts concerning our fast-growing population are always wrong, and vastly underestimated. In 2003, the Australian Bureau of Statistics suggested there would be 26.4 million people living in Australia by 2050. In the past couple of weeks, Australia has clocked up a population of 25 million, 30 years earlier than forecast. By 2006 the ABS outlook for 2050 had risen to 28.1 million. In 2008, the guesstimate had increased to 34 million. Treasurys Intergenerational report of 2010 figured the 2050 population would be 35.9 million. No one has a clue, because the main assumption - the immigration level - can, and does, change at the whim of politicians. The NSW Labor Partys powerful administrative committee has urged all party members to refrain from comment on the Emma Husar investigation, as Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull seized on the affair to declare it had sparked civil war inside Labor. The 44-member committee unanimously adopted a resolution from state secretary Kaila Murnain on Friday, which seeks to calm the uproar over the Husar inquiry. The embattled MP has been accused of staff bullying, misuse of parliamentary entitlements and sexually provocative behaviour towards a frontbench MP. The inquiry, by barrister John Whelan, is expected to report within the next fortnight. The administrative committee notes the status of the Whelan assessment and calls on all party members involved to respect the process, the resolution passed on Friday states. In particular, members should refrain from making comment, either publicly or privately on the matter, in the interests of the integrity of the process and the welfare of all involved Mr Turnbull used the leaking of an explosive letter on the Husar affair to turn up the heat against Opposition Leader Bill Shorten. The main public sector union has called for a complete end to the use of labour hire in the public service, while also calling more jobs in regional Australia. In its submission to the independent review of the Australian Public Service, the Community and Public Sector Union makes 26 recommendations, many calling for more resources and jobs for public servants. Community and Public Sector Union secretary Nadine Flood. The union is calling for an end to labour hire in the public service. Credit:Richard Briggs The union has long campaigned against caps on staffing levels and what it sees as overuse of contractors and consultants, calling instead for a cap on spending on outsourcing. "There is no justification for the use of labour hire in public sector employment," the submission said. Unfortunately, many minutes were lost due to repetitive procedural arguments with points of order being raised about issues such as the use of "imputations" in questions, despite ministers often being quite happy to answer the question being put. It started after Mr Bleijie spoke about a news article and read a brief transcript from a press conference: Mr BLEIJIE: By 6pm, you had ruled out implementing certain elements of the program. Minister, why did you change your mind about the program between your mid-afternoon press conference and the 6pm news? Was it because the Premiers office needed you to clean up another bungle and another mess? CHAIR: Member for Kawana, if you have a question, I ask that you state that question respectfully Mr BLEIJIE: With respect, madam chair Ms GRACE: I am happy to answer the question. CHAIR: I am still ruling. I am not saying that your question is out of order; I am saying that we do not need the additional comments, opinions, arguments and imputations on the ministers behaviour. Minister, you said that you were happy to answer. Ms GRACE: I am happy to answer. I thank the member for the question. Can I start by saying that the question is full of preamble that is grossly false, inaccurate, misleading and the member for Kawana knows it. Mr BLEIJIE: Just answer. Mr SAUNDERS: Point of order. We started today with a little bit of respect. I am asking the member for Kawana to have a bit of respect and let the minister finish her answer to his longwinded question. CHAIR: Thank you, member for Maryborough. Ms GRACE: The reality is Mrs STUCKEY: Point of order. CHAIR: Sorry, Minister, we have a number of points of order. Mrs STUCKEY: Point of order. CHAIR: I am ruling on the first point of order. That is a fair point of order and consistent with the issue that I raised earlier. Deputy chair, your point of order? Mrs STUCKEY: The member for Kawana has simply asked the minister a question about something that was publicly televised and is documented. I believe that the way the minister is answering is not showing any respect to the questioner. CHAIR: Thank you, deputy chair. The minister has barely answered because there was an interjection, which is why we have these points of order. There is no point of order. I ask the minister to answer the question without interruption. Ms GRACE: Thank you very much. [The Minister continues by saying the government would not allow union recruitment of students at schools and never will, and the hub was not operating in schools on a trial basis.] Estimates hearings will be back again in 2019. Daniel Andrews was tight-lipped about the police raids. Credit:AAP Labor has not ruled out making a formal complaint against Victoria Police over its co-ordinated raids on several former field officers arrested for questioning over the red shirts affair on Thursday, with a senior party source saying police had gone out of their way to intimidate the "ordinary people" it hauled in. The partys administrative wing is continuing to gather its own information about the raids from the 17 former casual staff members who were interviewed on Thursday as it considers its legal options. Ministers and MPs in the Andrews government who were also involved in the scheme, including signing timesheets for the field officers, have not yet been interviewed by police. A senior Victorian Labor source said on Friday that the partys administration was still talking to the field officers about their personal experiences as well as seeking legal advice. With great versatile hardware, powerful sound and the full resources of Google's AI and Assistant software, the Google Home Max is more than just a better version of the original Google Home. This is an excellent quality, relatively compact speaker system that will likely be able to handle all your music, and can also act as a voice-activated hub for all your smart home needs. When the original Home launched, being able to play music was just one of its talents. It did a reasonable job of it, but it wasn't designed for serious listening. Since then, there have been a number of solutions to get a combined premium speaker and smart home device into your living room, (including Apple's HomePod, a great speaker hamstrung by limited software). But the Max, arriving in Australia on August 9, blows them away in one hefty but elegant $549 package. The Max is probably overkill for your standard kitchen, but it is as good at setting timers and reading recipes as it is pumping out tunes. The Max has a natural-sounding signature with solid but not overwhelming bass, clear highs and absorbing mids. Party animals might be initially disappointed by the lack of bone-rattling bass, but that's by design so the vocals and clear instrumentation always shines through. On certain tracks the Max will let you know it's got more than enough woofer to go around and if you have to you can adjust a simple equalizer in the Home app to make it more prominent but on the whole the sound rich and balanced. This thing goes louder than any other smart speaker I've heard too. It's to the point where the phrase "Hey Google, turn it up all the way" should prompt the response "Okay, hold on to something". It's louder than you'll ever need in your lounge room, but impressively the speaker takes it gracefully in its stride with no obvious loss of clarity. The bass stays restrained and in its proper proportions. Stockholm: Sweden has a new highest point. The country's highest peak lost its title this week because record heat has been melting away the tip of a glacier that sits atop the Kebnekaise mountain, experts say. A month ago, the mountain's southern peak held the title, soaring to 2101 metres (6893 feet), above sea level. A photo of the Kebnekaise in February 1937. Credit:Swedish Tourist Traffic Association On Tuesday, after weeks of high temperatures, it was 2097 metres high only 20 centimetres taller than the north peak, said Gunhild Rosqvist, head of the Tarfala Research Station near the mountain. Washington Post: The Fields Medal is the most prestigious award in mathematics, a recognition so esteemed that it is often compared to the Nobel Prize. University of Cambridge's professor Caucher Birkar, right, as he receives the Fields medal during the awarding ceremony, in Rio de Janeiro, on Wednesday. Credit:Agencia Brasil Every four years, a selection committee chooses two to four mathematicians under the age of 40 to honour for their "existing work and for the promise of future achievement." Then, at a meeting of the International Congress of Mathematics, they announce the winners and hand out 14-carat gold medals that cost more than $US4000 ($5300) each. Loading When Caucher Birkar, a professor at Cambridge University, heard that he would be awarded one of this year's medals at a ceremony in Rio de Janeiro, he was thrilled. The 40-year-old, who specialises in algebraic geometry, was raised in a Kurdish village in Iran and, after studying at the University of Tehran, sought political asylum in Britain and completed his studies at the University of Nottingham. The people need answers now PHILIPSBURG:--- A continuation of Central Committee meeting of the Princess Julianna International Airport scheduled on Friday 3, August, 2018, to discuss the reconstruction status, was postponed reportedly due to a double booking made by Honorably Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Traffic and Telecommunica-tion Mr. Stuart Johnson. Minister Johnson previously made a confirmation (IS 793/17-18, July 26, 2018) to attend the requested Central Committee meeting via email to Parliaments administration. After Member of Parliament Egbert Jurendy Doran was informed about the postponement coming less than 24 hours prior to the continuation of the Central Committee meeting, he said, This is unacceptable that for the Umpteenth time meetings are being postponed due to lack of availability of the concerned Minister or Ministers. MP Doran further stated that the people deserve more from the government especially as far as it pertains to the reconstruction process and the affects it will have on the people. This Central Committee meeting was a missed opportunity for the government to present to the people of St. Maarten the progress made in the reconstruction phase of the airport stated the Member of Par-liament. He further believes it is of utmost importance to note that the Prime Minister and every other Minister in this country has a replacement in the event of their absence. This was also clearly stated by the Prime Min-ister directly after the swearing of the Council of Ministers when referring to the vervangingsregeling (Replacement Law) and outlined which Ministers replace each other in the event of absence, and there-fore, postponing meetings or any other activity due to unavailability of a Minister is rather unacceptable, as an explanation should also follow as to why said Minister will not be replaced. The Member of Parliament stated that lately the postponement of meetings in Parliament due to the una-vailability of Ministers has increased and Parliament as well as the people of this country who are looking for certain services need to know the reason for this. The Airport, which is our main port to the world, is also one of Sint Maartens main source of income which the people depend heavily upon. MP Doran stated Having the PJIA up and running as soon as possible is one of the main projects Govern-ment must expedite, therefore postponing meetings where the people of this country are deprived of in-formation and answers, is not exactly what is expected of our government, and we demand to see a bet-terment in this behavior rather sooner than later PHILIPSBURG:--- The Unit of Trafficking /Human Smuggling of the police in Sint Maarten is currently conducting a criminal investigation under the direction of the public prosecutor into possible trafficking in human beings, which has affected three Filipino women. They worked at two different employers in the household and the question being investigated is whether there is exploitation. When this case was reported two weeks ago, the women indicated that they wanted to go back to the Philippines. The police in order of and consultation with the prosecutor mediated between the employers and the Filipino women. The women, which at the beginning agreed with what the employer had offered them, however later withdrawn from what was agreed upon and did not make use of the possibility offered to them to travel back. The Public Prosecutor and Police stand for the protection of the human rights. The criminal investigation has not yet been completed, reason why no more details of the investigation can be revealed at this present moment. Prosecutor's Office Press Release J.G. will be released today, pending his Court date PHILIPSBURG:--- The Public Prosecutors Office has agreed to release detective Jerry Gerardus today Friday August 3rd 2018 pending his court date. Gerardus has gained his freedom from pretrial detention after falling ill while in police custody. He has since been a patient at the Louis Constant Fleming Hospital on French St. Martin. Suspect J.G. (42 years) will be released today, August 3 2018, by request of the Public Prosecutors Office Sint Maarten. This in light of this is medical condition and therefore the limited resources in the Point Blanche prison for medical attention and therefore special attention to the suspect. Both the investigative judge and the lawyer agreed to the request by the Public Prosecutor. He will remain a suspect in the Whale-investigation were he is a suspect of bribery, forgery and breach of confidentiality. His case will be handled in Court on October 17th 2018. His release is under specific conditions: He suspect may have no contact with other suspects in this case The suspect will hand over his passport and ID card to the Public Prosecution Service The suspect will not travel abroad without permission from the Public Prosecutors Office The suspect will remain at the disposal of the Public Prosecutors Office and the National Criminal Investigation Department (Landsrecherche Sint Maarten). Prosecutor's Office Press Release. PHILIPSBURG:--- The St. Maarten Immigration would like to inform all residents of St. Maarten that contrary to the relaxing Immigration procedures applied by the Anguilla Immigration Department during Anguilla Summer Festival in the period of July 23rd, 2018 unto August 13, 2018 this will not be the case for (re)entry of St. Maarten. On return or arrival in St. Maarten all the regular necessary documents are required to (re)enter the Dutch-side of St. Maarten and will be checked. These are the following documents: - For nationals/residents (residents with Dutch nationality) either a valid Dutch passport or a valid ID issued in St. Maarten, - For non-nationals/ legal residents (legal residents without Dutch nationality) either a valid passport or a valid ID issued in St. Maarten and their residency-permit. - Captain of either boat or plane must ensure that the names of ALL persons travelling to St. Maarten are properly manifested and accounted for. No one should be allowed to board if their name is not manifested. Also the captain will be held responsible in case undocumented/ non-legal person(s) are transported to St. Maarten. KPSM Press Release. Get Expert IT & Computer Network Support With This Valencia & Burbank Administration Expert Angel City Computers has announced it can now offer a wide range of tech support, along with computer, server and network support, and products. From its Valencia location, it serves Burbank, Northridge, Encino, Santa Clarita, Woodland Hills, Beverly Hills, Sherman Oaks, Palmdale, Lancaster, and Ventura, California. More information can be found at: https://angelcitycomputers.com Anyone wanting expert computer support, IT support, tech guidance or network administration services in Valencia, Burbank and Northridge, California, can get in touch for high quality IT solutions. The company has a reputation for excellent service and prides itself on helping customers with all their IT needs. 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The company states: Look to our experts for strategic IT guidance, management and support that allows you to take your mind off technology and concentrate on your core area of business. Angel City Computers provides cost-efficient solutions that simply make good sense. Full details of the services provided can be found on the URL above. Interested parties can get in touch using the contact details provided on site. Today (Aug. 3), NASA will announce the first astronauts who will fly in SpaceX and Boeing spacecraft for the agency's Commercial Crew Program). The first crewed test flights, which will use Boeing's CST-100 Starliner and SpaceX's Crew Dragon vehicles, are currently scheduled for 2019. The announcement will be broadcast live at 11 a.m. EDT (1500 GMT) from Johnson Space Center (JSC) in Houston, and you can watch it live here on Space.com, courtesy of NASA TV. The event will feature NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine, JSC Director Mark Geyer and Kennedy Space Center Director Bob Cabana. Representatives from Boeing and SpaceX will also participate, NASA officials have said. Back in 2015, NASA announced four veteran astronauts training to fly commercial spacecraft: Bob Behnken, Eric Boe, Douglas Hurley and Sunita Williams. All four have been working with Boeing and SpaceX to test flight hardware and simulations for the Starliner and Crew Dragon vehicles, and the first test fliers and first commercial crew missions to the International Space Station should draw from that astronaut group. [Shuttle Test Pilot Bob Crippen's Advice for NASA's Commercial Crews] SpaceX will use two NASA astronauts on its Crew Dragon flights, whereas Boeing plans to use one NASA astronaut and one Boeing test pilot, Jeff Foust reported for SpaceNews last year. Industry insiders have said that the Boeing crewmember will likely be former NASA astronaut Chris Ferguson, who commanded the final space shuttle flight in 2011 and is now director of Starliner's crew and mission systems, Foust wrote. The SpaceX and Boeing spacecraft will both eventually launch from Florida, marking the first astronaut liftoffs from American soil since that shuttle mission, according to NASA. (NASA is already renovating the astronaut departure lounge at Kennedy Space Center.) Currently, all astronauts and cosmonauts heading to space ride Russia's Soyuz spacecraft, which lifts off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. NASA hasn't committed to buying seats for its astronauts on Soyuz spacecraft beyond 2019, so other options to access the station will soon be essential. NASA's Commercial Crew Program has created a path to approval for the Crew Dragon, which will fly on SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket, and Starliner, which will ride United Launch Alliance's Atlas V rocket, to eventually deliver humans to the space station. Another version of the Dragon spacecraft has been bringing cargo to the station since 2012. The selected astronauts will take questions on Reddit after the announcement, starting at 12:30 p.m. EDT (1630 GMT). Email Sarah Lewin at slewin@space.com or follow her @SarahExplains. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com. HOUSTON After years of vehicle development and building anticipation, NASA has now put the crew in commercial crew spacecraft. The space agency on Friday (Aug. 3) announced nine men and women who will launch on the first crewed test flights and missions of new commercial spacecraft built and operated by The Boeing Company and SpaceX. The eight active NASA astronauts and one former astronaut-turned-corporate crew member will launch on Boeing CST-100 Starliner and SpaceX Dragon capsules to the International Space Station beginning in 2019. The missions will mark the first crewed launches from U.S. soil since the end of the space shuttle program seven years ago. [Crew Dragon and Starliner: A Look at the Coming Astronaut Taxis] NASA's first commercial crews for Boeing and SpaceX spacecraft, from left to right: Victor Glover, Mike Hopkins, Bob Behnken, Doug Hurley, Nicole Mann, Chris Ferguson, Eric Boe, Josh Cassada and Suni Williams. (Image credit: collectSPACE.com) NASA astronauts Robert Behnken, 48, and Douglas Hurley, 51, will fly together as SpaceX's first Dragon crew. Veterans of two spaceflights each, Behnken and Hurley will lift off atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from the Kennedy Space Center's Pad 39A the same Florida launch pad where the space shuttle left Earth for the last time in July 2011 with Hurley as pilot.The commercial crew members took to the stage during an event led by NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine at the agency's Johnson Space Center in Houston. NASA astronauts Eric Boe, 53, and Nicole Mann, 41, will join the commander of that same final space shuttle mission, former astronaut and now Boeing executive Christopher Ferguson, 56, as the crew of the Starliner test flight, launching atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Complex 41 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. Ferguson, who has been involved from the start in the Starliner's development, flew three shuttle missions as a NASA astronaut. Boe piloted two shuttle flights. This will be Mann's first launch, having joined the astronaut corps in 2013. Behnken, Hurley, Boe and Mann are NASA's first astronauts to be named to the test flights of new U.S. spacecraft since the March 1978 announcement of the space shuttle's first orbital flight test crews. Ferguson will become the first former NASA astronaut to return to orbit as a company's crew member when he flies. Prior to their maiden crewed missions, both Boeing and SpaceX plan uncrewed test flights in late 2018 or early 2019. Both companies will also conduct abort system test flights to ensure the astronauts can safely escape should their rockets go awry. NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine (center), with Johnson Space Center director Mark Geyer, Boeing's Leanne Caret, Kennedy Space Center director Bob Cabana and SpaceX's Gwynne Shotwell introduce the first commercial crew astronauts. (Image credit: collectSPACE.com) In addition to naming the crews of the test flights, NASA also announced on Friday the four astronauts who will fly aboard the first operational Starliner and Dragon missions to the space station. Both vehicles were developed in cooperation with NASA to deliver crew members to and from the orbiting laboratory. Josh Cassada, 45, will fly with Sunita ("Suni") Williams, 52, aboard NASA's first contracted Starliner mission. It will be Cassada's first spaceflight. Williams previously logged 321 days in orbit on two stays aboard the space station, most recently returning to Earth in 2012. Victor Glover, 42, and Michael Hopkins, 49, will fly on the first operational mission of SpaceX's crewed Dragon. It will be Glover's first time in space. Hopkins logged 166 days aboard the space station in 2014. NASA's first commercial crew astronauts. Flying on SpaceX's Crew Dragon (at left): Bob Behnken, Victor Glover, Doug Hurley and Mike Hopkins. Flying on Boeing's Starliner: Eric Boe, Sunita Williams, Chris Ferguson, Josh Cassada and Nicole Mann. (Image credit: collectSPACE.com) The two pairs of NASA crewmates will fly to the station with Russian cosmonauts and international astronauts to be announced at a later date. Between the end of the space shuttle program and the start of commercial crew operations, NASA's crew members have and are continuing to launch to the space station on Russian Soyuz spacecraft. Behnken, Boe, Hurley and Williams were named in 2015 as NASA's "commercial crew cadre" and have been working with Boeing and SpaceX on the development of the spacecraft and the simulators that will be used to train astronauts to fly. The two companies have also developed new spacesuits, modified their launch pads and established mission control teams to support the upcoming flights. With the start of four-person commercial missions, the International Space Station crew is slated to grow by one to a seven-person residency in order to maximize the science that can be conducted on board. Boeing's and SpaceX's commercial spacecraft may also open the space station and more broadly, Earth orbit to more privately-funded visitors and spaceflight participants from countries that do not have their own domestic crewed spacecraft and rockets. Follow collectSPACE.com on Facebook and on Twitter at @collectSPACE. Copyright 2018 collectSPACE.com. All rights reserved. NASA announced today (Aug. 3) the nine astronauts who will fly on the test and maiden flights of two new U.S. crew capsules: Boeing's CST-100 Starliner and SpaceX's Crew Dragon spacecraft. Here's who will be on board. The crews include members of a smaller group of astronauts who have already spent three years working closely with the two companies to develop human spaceflight technology. And the full contingent of astronauts will have plenty more time to practice with another other and with their vessels: Yesterday, NASA announced that crewed flight tests would not take place until well into 2019. Today's announcement added the next crucial pieces of information: who will fly on which missions. [NASA Announces First Astronaut Crews to Fly on Boeing and SpaceX Spaceships] SpaceX Dragon crewed test flight (April 2019) NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley will fly on the SpaceX crewed test flight. (Image credit: NASA) NASA astronaut Doug Hurley is a two-time shuttle veteran. Before arriving at NASA in 2000, he was in the U.S. Marine Corps, where he served as a fighter pilot and test pilot. During Hurley's first shuttle flight, in 2009, the International Space Station housed its largest population, with 13 astronauts aboard at once. His second flight was STS-135, the final mission of the space shuttle program and the last time U.S. astronauts launched from American soil. Now 51, Hurley has worked with astronauts in a range of capacities at NASA in the U.S. and at the Russian training center in Star City. See more NASA astronaut Bob Behnken is a two-time shuttle veteran who has racked up more than 700 hours in space and completed six spacewalks. Behnken joined NASA in 2000 after flying with the U.S. Air Force, and since his time aboard the shuttle, he has spent three years as NASA's chief astronaut. During his first shuttle trip, in 2008, he helped deliver part of a Japanese space station module; during his second visit, in 2010, he helped install the station's cupola window, a frequent component in space station photographs thanks to its stunning view of Earth. Now 48, he was a mission specialist on both flights. [Take a Walk Through SpaceX's Crew Dragon Spaceship] Boeing Starliner crewed test flight (mid-2019) NASA astronauts Eric Boe and Nicole Aunapu Mann and retired NASA astronaut Chris Ferguson will fly on the Boeing crewed test flight. (Image credit: NASA) NASA astronaut Eric Boe will take his third trip to space as part of the program. He served as a pilot for the space shuttle, clocking 28 days in space. During his first shuttle trip, in 2008, he helped install new living quarters on the station; his second shuttle trip was the final voyage of Discovery. Boe, now 53, flew more than 6,000 hours for the Air Force before joining NASA as a shuttle astronaut. NASA astronaut Nicole Aunapu Mann, now 41, joined the astronaut program in 2013 and has not yet traveled to space. After earning a master's degree in fluid mechanics, she joined the U.S. Marine Corps, where she served as a test pilot and an operations officer, among other roles. With the Marines, she fought in Iraq and Afghanistan and flew a total of more than 2,500 hours on 47 combat missions. See more Former NASA astronaut Chris Ferguson is now director of crew and mission operations at Boeing. Before joining NASA in 1998, Ferguson served with the U.S. Navy, completing Topgun training and flying more than 5,700 hours. A three-time space veteran, the 56-year-old astronaut served as pilot on his first mission, in 2006, and as commander on his succeeding flights, in 2008 and 2011. That includes the last flight of the space shuttle program, in 2011. During that mission, Ferguson left a U.S. flag aboard the International Space Station to wait for the next U.S.-launched crew, which would bring the banner back to Earth. See more SpaceX Dragon maiden voyage NASA astronauts Victor Glover and Michael Hopkins will fly on the first SpaceX Dragon mission. (Image credit: NASA) NASA astronaut Victor Glover, now 42, will be taking his first flight to the space station aboard the Dragon capsule. Glover has earned three master's degrees, all completed while he was serving in the Navy. With the Navy, he has been a test pilot and served abroad in combat and peace. Before joining NASA, he acted as a legislative fellow in the U.S. Senate. See more NASA astronaut Michael Hopkins has made the voyage to the space station once before, aboard a Russian Soyuz rocket. Before joining NASA, Hopkins served in the Air Force and worked at the Pentagon, including in the office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. His first visit to the space station, in 2013, lasted 166 days, and he conducted two spacewalks to replace a pump module on the station. Since his return to Earth, the 49-year-old astronaut has been working with NASA to support operations for the space station. [How Boeing's Commercial CST-100 Starliner Spacecraft Works] Boeing Starliner maiden voyage NASA astronauts Josh Cassada and Sunita Williams will fly on the first Boeing Starliner mission. (Image credit: NASA) NASA astronaut Josh Cassada will be taking his first flight to the space station. Cassada earned a doctorate in high-energy particle physics, then joined the Navy; with the military, he has been an instructor pilot and has served in combat. He also co-founded a company specializing in quantum communication and computing. With NASA, the 45-year-old astronaut has worked with the Commercial Crew branch to design and test new vehicles. See more NASA astronaut Sunita Williams is set for her third spaceflight. The 52-year-old astronaut joined NASA in 1998 after serving with the Navy, where she flew helicopters and other aircraft. She has spent nine days living underwater and 322 days living in space. At the time of her flights, she held a record as the woman with the most time spent on spacewalks. During her first flight, in 2006-2007, she was a flight engineer; for her second flight, in 2012, she flew aboard a Russian Soyuz to the space station, where she worked on experiments, repaired part of the station's solar-power system and fixed an ammonia leak. Email Meghan Bartels at mbartels@space.com or follow her @meghanbartels. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com. The first U.S. astronauts who will fly on American-made commercial spacecraft to and from the International Space Station wave after being announced on Aug. 3, 2018, at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston. From left to right: Victor Glover, Mike Hopkins, Bob Behnken, Doug Hurley, Nicole Aunapu Mann, Chris Ferguson, Eric Boe, Josh Cassada, and Suni Williams. The agency assigned the nine astronauts to crew the first flight tests and missions of the Boeing CST-100 Starliner and SpaceX Crew Dragon. HOUSTON Call them the Commercial Crew Nine. NASA has unveiled the first astronauts to fly on private spaceships built by SpaceX and Boeing, and, just like the original Mercury Seven, NASA's first astronauts announced in 1959, these 21st century space travelers have "the right stuff." NASA made the announcement today (Aug. 3) here at the Johnson Space Center, with the agency revealing the eight agency astronauts and one Boeing astronaut before a cheering crowd of lawmakers, dignitaries and kids waving signs and American flags. The astronauts will be the first Americans to launch into orbit from U.S. soil since NASA's space shuttle program shut down in 2011. "This is a big deal for our country, and we want Americans to know that we are back," NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine told the crowd. "We're flying American astronauts on American rockets from American soil." [Meet the SpaceX and Boeing Astronaut Crews] The Boeing and SpaceX crewed test missions are arguably the most anticipated spaceship test flights this century. There are four flights in all two each for SpaceX's Crew Dragon and Boeing's CST-100 Starliner vehicle scheduled to launch to the International Space Station (ISS) throughout 2019 once uncrewed test flights are complete. Flying the first crewed flight on Boeing's CST-100 Starliner are NASA astronauts Eric Boe, Nicole Aunapu Mann and Boeing astronaut Chris Ferguson. Ferguson is a former NASA astronaut and space shuttle commander who now works on Boeing's Starliner program. Their mission will launch in mid-2019, if everything goes according to plan. Astronaut Suni Williams waves after being introduced as one of the "Commercial Crew Nine" astronauts on Aug. 3, 2018. (Image credit: Bill Ingalls/NASA) Veteran NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley will fly on SpaceX's first crewed Crew Dragon flight. Their mission is scheduled for April 2019. "It's absolutely the opportunity of a lifetime," Mann, a Marine Corps lieutenant who joined NASA in 2013, said during the announcement. "As a test pilot, it doesn't get any better than this." Hurley agreed. "The first flight is something that you dream about as a test pilot and, you know, you don't think it's ever going to happen to you," he said. "But you know, it looks like it might." Once the first crewed test flights are complete, two more crews will fly on Crew Dragon and Starliner for long-duration missions to the space station. Launching on Boeing's Starliner will be veteran NASA astronaut Sunita Williams (a former ISS commander) and first-time flyer Josh Cassada. The first operational SpaceX Crew will be veteran astronaut Mike Hopkins and first-time flyer Victor Glover. It's been a long trip for these astronauts. Years, in fact. It was back in September 2014 when NASA first announced that SpaceX and Boeing would fly NASA astronauts to and from the International Space Station. At the time, SpaceX's Crew Dragon (known as Dragon V2 at the time) and Boeing's Starliner (just CST-100 back then) won a four-year competition and contracts worth billions to fly astronauts to space. [Take a Walk Through SpaceX's Crew Dragon Spaceship] Then, in July 2015, NASA offered another nugget: Four of its astronauts had been tapped to start training on SpaceX's Crew Dragon and Boeing's Starliner. Those were Behnken, Boe, Hurley and Williams. The astronauts have been training with SpaceX and Boeing, on top of their NASA work, ever since. Today's crew announcement for the SpaceX and Boeing test flights is a major step for NASA's push to restore American crewed access to space from U.S. soil. NASA's last space shuttle mission, the STS-135 flight coincidently commanded by Boeing's Ferguson, flew in July 2011. Since then, NASA has been dependent on Russia's Soyuz rockets and spacecraft, paying upward of $70 million per seat to fly Americans to and from the ISS. Some of the newly named crew, like Cassada, joined NASA expecting to fly on Soyuz spacecraft before any new American ship. "I'll tell you, being able to launch to the International Space Station from U.S. soil, I can't imagine better," Cassada said. Glover, who also joined NASA in 2013, summed it up simply. "This is the stuff of dreams this is a test pilot's dream," he said. "Commercial Crew Nine" astronaut Victor Glover. (Image credit: Bill Ingalls/NASA) SpaceX's Crew Dragon will launch on the company's Falcon 9 rocket. Both vehicles are reusable. Boeing's spacecraft CST-100 Starliner is also expected to be reusable and will launch on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket. SpaceX aims to launch an uncrewed test flight in November of this year, with a Boeing test flight scheduled for late 2018 or early 2019. [How Boeing's Commercial CST-100 Starliner Spacecraft Works] Those launch targets may change. In fact, they've already changed this week. Earlier this year, NASA unveiled a commercial crew schedule that called for the first uncrewed test flights by SpaceX and Boeing this month. The first crewed flights would then follow by the end of 2018. But that changed Thursday (Aug. 2) when NASA rolled out a set of new launch targets. Now, SpaceX will launch its uncrewed test flight in November 2018, with the first crewed flight next spring. Boeing, meanwhile, hopes to launch its first uncrewed test flight in late 2018 or early 2019, with the first crewed launch expected in mid-2019. In the meantime, NASA will still rely on Russia to keep Americans flying in space. NASA, SpaceX and Boeing have repeatedly stressed that they will fly only when the vehicles are ready. SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell touched on that today during the crew announcement. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, she said, founded the company in 2002 to build the safest and most reliable spacecraft possible. "The 7,000 women and men of SpaceX understand what a sacred honor it was for us to be part of this program and for us to fly you," Shotwell told the astronaut crews. "We take it seriously. We won't let you down." Editor's note: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated the name of Josh Cassada as John Cassada. It has been corrected in the story above. Email Tariq Malik at tmalik@space.com or follow him @tariqjmalik. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com. Nine astronauts have new travel plans aboard commercial space capsules, with their mission assignments announced earlier today (Aug. 3). Five of those astronauts flew aboard the United States' last set of spacecraft to travel to the International Space Station (ISS), the space shuttles. But while the newly announced crews are excited to once again launch from Florida instead of Kazakhstan, they aren't very nostalgic for the hardware of the shuttles themselves. During the press announcement of the new astronaut assignments, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine asked two veteran astronauts to compare their new rides to the shuttles they flew more than seven years ago. [NASA Announces First Astronaut Crews to Fly on Boeing and SpaceX Spaceships] "With 40 years' difference in avionics and technology, we have squeezed a lot more into a smaller ship," said Chris Ferguson, who now works directly for Boeing on its Starliner program and who commanded the very last space shuttle flight, in 2011. Ferguson, who retired from NASA at the end of 2011 to work on Starliner, also highlighted safety requirements that have shaped the design of the new vehicles. Those mandates include an ascent abort system meant to protect astronauts at any stage of the flight, which the space shuttle didn't have. "What we really see now is a much greater emphasis on safety," he said. Bob Behnken, who was a mission specialist on two separate shuttle flights, expressed a deep respect for the old spacecraft. "That vehicle was really capable, and it's super hard to try to duplicate it in just the short period of time that we've had," he said. "It's hard to create a vehicle that accomplishes the mission that that vehicle did so wonderfully and so majestically." But the shuttles weren't perfect, he confessed. "There are about 3,000 switches inside, and there was no situation that the astronauts couldn't make worse by touching the wrong switch at the wrong time," Behnken said. "We're grateful that the next vehicle that we're going to fly on is going to be a little bit more automated." That vehicle, in Behnken's case, will be SpaceX's Crew Dragon, which he compared to the ultimate in smooth technology: Apple's handset. "It is absolutely like flying the iPhone," Behnken said. Both of the new capsules come equipped with touch screens, and the astronauts' spacesuits include gloves that allow the spaceflyers to manipulate those screens smoothly. "It is also nice to not have all of the complications of switches and buttons, like we did in shuttle," Suni Williams, whose first mission was aboard the shuttle, wrote in a Reddit AMA. "The new flat screens will make it easier to interact [with] and control the spacecraft." And it's not just about aesthetics the astronauts will also be able to get more done during their limited time in space. "With today's technologies, automation in the spacecraft will help us do our tasks easier and allow us to have more capability," Williams wrote. Email Meghan Bartels at mbartels@space.com or follow her @meghanbartels. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com. A video has emerged which appears to show two 24/7 Security guards, hired for Boonstock, attempting to hide a bottle of vodka from Last Call Liquor Mart in Penticton. The owner Fred Vassilaki posted the video after 8 p.m. Saturday night. In the video the two men are seen looking at vodka, then one of them appears to hide a bottle in his clothes. The security cam footage shows Vassilaki as he approaches the men and then walks off screen. Then one of the guys comes back to the aisle and a bottle of vodka falls from his pant leg, which he then returns to the shelf. "Nothing pisses me off more than people stealing stuff, especially from my own store," Vassilaki said. "These idiots were still wearing their security shirts." "I haven't called the RCMP because [the two men] didn't leave with anything, so there's nothing they can do." According to Vassilaki, police wont charge anybody unless they actually walk out of the store with something in their pants. "I've had this problem many times before." Cst Kris Clark said "The theft has to be completed, certainly that's an element of the offence. If the theft is not completed, then no theft occurred." He added that no reports of other such incidents have come to his attention. Vassilaki said he went to the 24/7 Security Facebook page and emailed them the video. "Since then it seems they've taken their Facebook page down, because I couldn't get back to it." A woman named Navneet Dhaliwhal left comments on the video Vassilaki posted, apparently offering to fire the two men involved. In her Facebook picture she is wearing 24/7 Security clothes, but it's not clear how she is affiliated with the company. Otherwise, Vassilaki says business has been good for Last Call Liquor Mart since Boonstock began. "This was an unfortunate incident. Business has been great for me with Boonstock, it's just theft really gets me. It's a complete lack of respect for me and my store and other people's personal possessions - whether it was Boonstock security or not." This is the first instance of attempted theft Vassilaki has seen since the festival began although he admits there may be others he did not catch. Calls to 24/7 Security were not returned. Today (Aug. 3), NASA announced the astronauts who will fly on SpaceX's and Boeing's first crewed test flights. Former astronauts were among the many to congratulate the new crews. Today, NASA announced the first astronauts who will launch aboard the first crewed spacecraft built by SpaceX and Boeing and other spaceflyers were quick to congratulate the new teams. In 2019, according to an updated schedule, SpaceX's Crew Dragon capsule and Boeing's CST-100 Starliner craft will launch their first crewed test missions to the International Space Station (ISS). T NASA astronaut Ricky Arnold was one of the first to offer the chosen astronauts a hearty congrats. Arnold expressed his sentiments in a video tweeted by the ISS team. See more "We soon will enter a new era of human spaceflight," he said in the video. "Once again, we'll be launching to and from the International Space Station from American soil on American spacecraft." The two missions from SpaceX and Boeing will be the first to launch from the U.S. since NASA's last space shuttle launched, in 2011. U.S. astronauts currently rely on Russian Soyuz spacecraft to get to and from orbit. Arnold continued: "To that end, we congratulate our friends and colleagues who have been assigned to these pathfinding commercial missions. We should all be excited and proud of what we do as Americans in forging the next chapter of human spaceflight. It will be a thrilling chapter indeed." In addition to sending his congratulations in the video, Arnold also expressed his support for the new crews in a tweet on his personal Twitter account. See more NASA astronaut Karen Nyberg also offered her good wishes to the astronauts on Twitter. She specifically congratulated her husband, Col. Doug Hurley, who is also a NASA astronaut and among those who will be launching with the SpaceX team. See more Other astronauts and astronaut candidates also added their congratulations. Jasmin Moghbeli, a NASA astronaut candidate, shared her support, saying, "What a great time to be involved in human space exploration!" See more Non-astronaut William Seely, the U.S. Marine Corps director of communication (public affairs), made sure to offer his support and congratulations to NASA astronaut Nicole Mann. A former Marine Corps test pilot, Mann is a new member of Boeing's team who will be launching to space for the first time. See more All around the world (and even in space), astronauts and non-astronauts alike continue to show their excitement and support for the talented individuals chosen for these groundbreaking missions. Email Chelsea Gohd at cgohd@space.com or follow her @chelsea_gohd. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com. A Texas member of a Muslim congregation said after a man was convicted of setting its mosque on fire that the United States isnt what it used to be. Muslims cant afford to lower their guards, Omar Rachid, a board member at the Victoria Islamic Center, told the San Antonio Express-News for a July 2018 news story stating that Marq Vincent Perez, just convicted of burning the mosque, faces up to 40 years in prison when he is sentenced in October 2018. Rachid then made a claim making us wonder: "The reality of it is that Muslims in America have been subjected to more insults, attacks and hate crimes in the last two or three years than ever before, specifically more than after 9/11," Rachid said, adding: "Islamophobia is thriving. This is not America. It is not the America I came to 35 years ago." We didnt divine how to pin trends in insults. But, we found, the FBI and others tabulate anti-Muslim attacks and hate crimes. Have records recently been set? By phone, Rachid told us he based his declaration on accounts of upticks tied to FBI figures; he emailed us web links to news stories and a commentary published in 2017 and 2018. Included was a November 2017 Pew Research Center blog post citing FBI figures indicating 307 incidents of U.S. anti-Muslim hate crimes in 2016, which marked a 19 percent increase from 2015. Pews post specifies that a record was set in 2016 in the subcategory of anti-Muslim assaults, which rose significantly between 2015 and 2016, per the FBI, easily surpassing the previous peak reached in 2001, the year of the 9/11 attacks. For 2016, the FBI reported 127 reported Muslim victims of aggravated or simple assault, compared with 91 the year before and 93 in 2001, Pew's post says. SOURCE: Blog post, "Assaults against Muslims in U.S. surpass 2001 level," Fact Tank, Pew Research Center, Nov. 15, 2017 (accessed July 31, 2018) "But assaults are not the only form of hate crime carried out against Muslims and other religious groups," Pews post says. "The most common is intimidation, which is defined as reasonable fear of bodily harm. Anti-Muslim intimidation also increased in 2016, with 144 reported victims, compared with 120 the previous year." Pew cautioned, though, that the 2016 "intimidation" count was "dwarfed by the 296 victims of anti-Muslim intimidation in 2001" tallied by the FBI. A general caution: Pew and others that explore anti-Muslim activism stress that the FBI collects hate crime data from about 15,000 law enforcement agencies that voluntarily participate, which means the statistics likely undercount hate crimes. FBI reports on anti-Muslim incidents Next, we looked directly at the FBIs annual reports on hate crimes, which the agency defines as "criminal offenses motivated, in whole or in part, by the offenders bias against" a particular group such as a religion, race or sexual orientation. It looked to us like the greatest percentage spike in reported anti-Islamic incidents occurred between 2000 and 2001. For the latter year, the FBI tallied 481 anti-Islamic incidents--a count up more than 1,600 percent from 28 in 2000. According to the FBI, such incidents decreased by 68 percent to 155 the next year and then dipped to 149 in 2003 before escalating to 156 in 2004. We also reviewed the agencys recent tallies, finding there was not a bigger-than-post-9/11 spike in incidents in recent years -- though the numbers have been on the rise. The 307 incidents noted for 2016 compare to 257 reported incidents in 2015, the FBI says, and that count was up 67 percent from 154 anti-Muslim incidents reported in 2014. Put another way, the 2016 tally reflected a two-year 99 percent increase. But that latest count still fell 36 percent shy of the agencys 2001 count of 481 anti-Muslim incidents. A California researcher Rachid offered among the stories fueling his claim a July 2017 analysis of hate crimes against U.S. Muslims by Brian Levin, who directs the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University, San Bernardino. Levins article, covering every year since 9/11, says that from 2002 to 2014, the FBIs counts of anti-Muslim crimes receded to a range of 105 to 160 though the 257 tally for 2015 was the highest since 2001 and, the article says, the second-highest total of anti-Muslim hate crimes since the agency began eliciting reports of hate crimes from police agencies in 1992. Not only did anti-Muslim crime cases rise numerically, the article says, they grew as a percentage of all hate crimes, accounting in 2015 for 4.4 percent of all reported hate crimes even though Muslims are estimated to be only 1 percent of the population, the article says. By phone, Levin told us that in 2016, per FBI figures, anti-Muslim hate crimes accounted for 5 percent of all hate crimes. After 9/11, Levin told us, anti-Muslim hate crimes represented 4.5 percent of hate crimes reported by the agency. In 2016, Levins published calculations of hate crimes against Muslims were cited by Hillary Clinton to justify her claim that hate crimes against American Muslims and mosques had tripled after attacks in Paris and San Bernardino. Levin said in a 2016 interview that since 9/11, anti-Muslim incidents ranked second to anti-Jewish incidents among all anti-religious hate crimes. PolitiFact rated Clintons claim Mostly True. Civil rights reports by CAIR Hoping for more up-to-date information, we approached several non-government groups about research into anti-Muslim incidents. This tack drew data only from the Council on American-Islamic Relations, which says it challenges stereotypes of Islam and Muslims. Zainab Arain of CAIR pointed by email to the councils latest annual civil rights report. The April 2018 report, based on investigations by council staff, says that in 2017, there were 2,599 U.S. anti-Muslim "bias incidents," including 300 hate crimes--a count exceeding the councils confirmation of 2,213 incidents in 2016 by 17 percent. The report classifies incidents by type. Harassment, it says, accounted for 14 percent of the confirmed incidents in 2017 with incidents in which an individual was "inappropriately targeted and harassed by Customs and Border Protection" proving second-most prevalent. Anti-Muslim hate crimes, including crimes targeting children and families, made up 12 percent of the 2017 cases, the report says, with incidents involving FBI harassment or other targeting of individuals constituting 10 percent of incidents. SOURCE: Web page, "2018 Civil Rights Report: Bias Incident Data," Council on American-Islamic Relations, April 30, 2018 (fetched Aug. 1, 2018) Its counts, the report says, should be considered only a "snapshot of the experiences of American Muslims, including children, youth, and families. From experience, CAIR knows that bias incidents targeting the community are vastly underreported to both law enforcement and community institutions. Community members will often not report incidents, such as harassment and bullying, because of a certain level of desensitization," the report says. Arain told us: "Based on the numbers we report, we have documented more anti-Muslim bias incidents and anti-Muslim hate crimes from 2015 to present than were documented in the year immediately following September 11, 2001." We followed up by checking the councils 2002 civil rights report. It says the group received 1,516 complaints from community members over the year involving the lives of more than 2,250 people, most of whom "were subjected to incidents of bias-motivated harassment and violence" including several murders, the report says. The report says its complaint count was up 300 percent from the year before. "Excluding the September 11 backlash incidents," the report says, "this year's normal reporting period contains 525 valid complaints, up from 366 in 2000/2001--a 43 percent increase." Our ruling Rachid said: "Muslims in America have been subjected to more insults, attacks and hate crimes in the last two or three years than ever before, specifically more than after 9-11." Incidents confirmed by the pro-Muslim CAIR support this statement. Also, FBI hate-crime statistics drawn from police departments indicate there were more anti-Muslim assaults in 2016 than after 9/11 though its counts generally indicate there were more anti-Muslim incidents after 9/11. A footnote: We didnt come up with a way to gauge shifts in the prevalence of insults. We rate this claim Mostly True. MOSTLY TRUE The statement is accurate but needs clarification or additional information. Click here for more on the six PolitiFact ratings and how we select facts to check. C rippling air traffic control strikes in France cost the owner of British Airways almost 30 million (27 million) in the first half of the year, the airlines group admitted today as boss Willie Walsh hammered the European Commission for being dismissive. Shares in International Airlines Group, whose carriers include BA, Iberia, Aer Lingus, budget carrier Vueling of Spain and Level, based in Austria, fell almost 5%, or 32.2p, to 652.8p as the City absorbed the impact of the strikes. More than 16,000 European flights were delayed due to ATC strikes and staff shortages, affecting more than two million passengers, according to official figures from Eurocontrol. IAG filed a legal complaint with the commission alongside arch airline rivals easyJet, Ryanair and Wizz Air last month, saying the strikes breach the EUs fundamental freedom of movement. Walsh criticised the initial response from Brussels, saying officials were very negative and dismissive but that the commission had changed [its] tone completely after the four airlines collaborated on legal complaints. If you get the four of us working together, people do take notice. [The commission] are now looking at this seriously. The right to strike needs to be balanced against freedom of movement, Walsh said. More needs to be done to protect people, like Britons flying to Balearic islands, who should not have been impacted by this strike. Despite IAGs bill for strike action, the airlines groups pre-tax profit still took off in the first half, up 24% to 1 billion. Photo: Twitter - Ranjit Durka Traffic is backed up in the northbound lanes of the Coquihalla near the Inks Lake brake check Thursday. UPDATE: 8:25 p.m. After a closure that lasted more than three hours, the northbound lanes of the Coquihalla, south of Kamloops, have reopened. Kamloops RCMP said a "serious motor vehicle accident" closed the major highway near the Inks Lake brake check just before 5 p.m. Thursday. The highway is now fully open in both directions. ORIGINAL: 5 p.m. Details are sparse, but Kamloops RCMP say the northbound lanes of the Coquihalla are closed, due to a serious vehicle crash. "Kamloops RCMP presently at the scene of a serious motor vehicle accident necessitating the closure of all northbound lanes at Inks Lake brake check for an undetermined amount of time." Castanet will have more information as it becomes available. R oyal Bank of Scotland moved to put 10 years of disaster behind it on Friday, saying it would pay a dividend to long-suffering shareholders in a move which indicates the bank is close to full health. Those shareholders include the Government, which holds a 62.4% stake in the bailed-out bank that it is keen to offload to the City. The 2p a share is 240 million in cash, of which the Government gets 149 million. The path to a sell-off is now clear, with regulators approving RBSs plan to start handing back cash. This week regulator the Financial Conduct Authority said it would take no action against executives over the scandal at RBSs Global Restructuring Group, a unit accused, with considerable evidence, of forcing small firms to the wall. RBS reported half-year operating profits of 1.83 billion, down from 1.95 billion a year ago. Of more note is the 2p a share dividend, which will be paid as soon as the $4.9 billion settlement with the US Department of Justice over mortgage bonds is completed. The fine has been agreed and the money set aside. Last month, the Government sold off a tranche of RBS shares at 271p, well down on the 502p at which the bank was bailed out back in 2008. Today the shares were up 2.5% at 256p. The City expects that RBS will move to raise the amount paid out to shareholders quickly. Share buy-backs are on the cards next year. Investec analyst Ian Gordon said todays results materially exceed expectations. He thinks the dividend could rise to as much as 15p a share by 2020. Finance director Ewen Stevenson is soon moving on. But his fellow Kiwi Ross McEwan is expected to stay as chief executive for perhaps another two years. The pair have been instrumental in returning RBS to functioning order. McEwan said: We still have a lot more to do to achieve our ambition of being the best bank for customers in the UK and Republic of Ireland. However, with our major legacy issues largely behind us, we are able to fully focus on closing this gap. M y, The BBC is getting a verbal battering on social media. There has been the row over whistleblower Chris Wylies conversation with Kirsty Wark on Newsnight, in which she used the term allegations that Vote Leave broke the law and Facebook facilitated it Wylies supporters howled that it was fact. Meanwhile, the Today programme is losing listeners, and has been accused of giving too much airtime to John Humphrys and also supposedly being kid-gloved over favourite Cabinet members (listener figures have returned to the levels before the 2016 referendum was called, which might indicate that the public are yawning at Brexit). There are rows over Tommy Robinson of the English Defence League being left off the news agenda, then given too much time. And then last night I was reading Twitter as Newsnight aired an item on Zimbabwe, in which commentator Georgina Godwin said its elections should be held to as high a standard as ours. This led to a slew of tweets about how our own votes are corrupt and our national broadcaster wont report them. Hang on we arent quite in that position yet. Im not saying particular attacks on the BBC dont bear scrutiny. And there is an army of handwringers within the corporation who do it as well as us. It is more the ferocity of the attacks from all sides that could lead us to something more sinister. At the moment, the BBC holds the unenviable position of having both Nigel Farage and declared Communist Ash Sarkar invited to broadcast. It is trying to do balance between various political factions that grow ever more extreme. Is it the BBC that has got out of kilter, or the forces it is trying to balance at every end, which keep moving to further extremes? Our other great national treasure, the NHS, is worshipped. The BBC used to be. It is now in a weaker position, left exposed by scandals about journalists on plump salaries, on the defensive over accusations of bias and led by a rather wet director-general in Tony Hall and invisible chair David Clementi. But if we, the public, continue this assault, we risk diminishing the centre ground in British media. For its many imperfections and blandness, our public-service broadcaster is attempting to counter the heightened ideological rhetoric on either side, without a rhetoric of its own. We have seen what has happened in Westminster: as factions battle for dominance, and language becomes immoderate, politics becomes dysfunctional. Do you really want the same to happen to our media? A penny (or a pound) for your thoughts on celebrating Brexit The Royal Mail has held off doing a commemorative stamp for Brexit, instead releasing a round of Dads Army 50-year anniversary ones. Choose Dont Panic or Were All Doomed, depending on your point of view. But what about a coin, a Great British pound? Im told the Royal Mint is indeed planning one. It declined to comment when I contacted it yesterday but I would guess it is aiming for March 29, and there are already committees hammering out a design. Short of ideas? May I suggest sunlit uplands, with a road snaking through them. Lined with parked lorries. Queen Anna will decide herself when its time to go When I was editor of Londoners Diary, I spent many column inches speculating that Anna Wintour would be awarded the embassy in Paris by President Obama, for whom shed fundraised. She could have been the Pamela Harriman of the 21st century. And wouldnt Anna have been good now, with her trademark sunglasses to shield her eyes at the court of Emmanuel, Le Roi Soleil? Anna Wintour / WireImage Anyway, I was wrong. So too were those who speculated that Wintour, by handing the editorship of the September issue of Vogue to Beyonce, was sending a signal that she was off. W e are today treated to a demonstration of the perils of having too much power and the misery of too little. When Theresa May arrives at Fort Bregancon, off the south coast of France, she will meet a French President who is stronger than any in living memory. As the leader everyone wants to welcome abroad, and with substantial economic reform and victory over French rail unions achieved at home, Emmanuel Macron has had a spectacularly successful first year since his election victory. But as Agnes Poirier writes opposite, for this self-styled Roi Soleil the fortnight in the Mediterranean sun will also be a moment to reflect on the dangers of hubris. Ignore the outrage over his installation of a swimming pool at taxpayers expense at the presidential retreat (it must be the only Riviera mansion that didnt have one); Mr Macrons real trouble has come from the bizarre story of how a trusted member of his entourage, Alexandre Benalla, came to dress up as a police officer, went out to beat up demonstrators in Paris and was then quietly suspended, before newspaper exposure of a suppressed film of the incident led to his arrest and a very public scandal. For a leader who has made much of restoring dignity to the Elysee Palace after the scandals of Messieurs Sarkozy and Hollande, it is very uncomfortable and has thrown a focus on an overly-powerful President accused by his opponents of surrounding himself with a close clique of unaccountable friends. Fruitless efforts No one could accuse Mrs May of being too powerful or being surrounded by friends. A year on from her election failure she is reeling from the disastrous miscalculation of the recent summit held at Chequers. Lets be clear: there was only one purpose of the meeting there in early July. It was to bind the Cabinet, both its Remain wing and ardent Brexiteers, to the outline of a deal that could have a chance of being agreed by the EU. On its own terms, it has failed. The Foreign Secretary and the Brexit Secretary have resigned, and taken into internal opposition several dozen hardline Tory MPs who will never vote for the Chequers deal. Get ready for a car crash of a Tory party conference. When remaining members of the Cabinet are asked: How, then, do you expect to get it through the House of Commons? They respond privately: with the help of Labour. Putting the countrys future in the hands of Jeremy Corbyn is the very thing the Tories warn against, yet it is now what Downing Street counts on. At the same time, the other purpose of the Chequers summit to come up with a plan which, with some further British concessions, the EU might accept has also failed. Michel Barnier has written an article in 20 European newspapers today that says the British Governments plan would undermine our single market. That was wholly predictable and begs the question: why did Mrs May exhaust all her political capital, cause Boris Johnson to resign, and split the Tory Party, all for a negotiating position that the EU was never going to accept? After two years of fruitless efforts, Downing Street still hopes in vain to split European capitals such as Paris and Berlin from the European Commission. It wont happen. Indeed, when our new Brexit Secretary tweeted yesterday that hed had a good meeting with the French Europe Minister discussing the European Commissioner, she tweeted back sharply Support @MichelBarnier. We suspect that while President Macron will treat Mrs May cordially, he will not break the unity of Europe indeed, he sees it as his central political mission to preserve that unity in the face of threats such as Brexit. W e welcome the Governments announcement that it will review the Modern Slavery Act [Victims of sex slavery suffering hundreds of rapes and assaults, July 30]. However, we are concerned that the review does not appear to focus on the significant shortcomings in survivor care. As the Home Office announcement points out, female victims of trafficking for sexual exploitation are typically raped 400 times. Recovery from such horrific abuse, understandably, needs to be both intensive and long term. Yet currently victims are only guaranteed 45 days of support before being expected to fend for themselves. Thats like using a sticking plaster to patch a soldier up after multiple gunshot wounds. As a result, with nowhere to go and no one to turn to, vulnerable survivors often end up being re-enslaved, tricked by traffickers who offer them a roof over their heads. Additionally, non-UK nationals often face deportation and the risk of falling back into the hands of their original traffickers. All this means very few survivors feel safe enough to testify against their captors. And without these testimonies, successful prosecutions of the perpetrators are limited. We are therefore asking the Government to ensure the review looks seriously at the systemic issues in survivor care. Without substantial improvements survivors will remain vulnerable and perpetrators will continue with impunity. Jasmine OConnor CEO, Anti-Slavery International EDITOR'S REPLY Dear Jasmine The Governments review does appear to be primarily aimed at ensuring that the Modern Slavery Act is effective at delivering the intent behind the legislation of bringing to justice those who exploit others in an often horrific way. Similarly, it seeks to scrutinise whether the existing requirements for businesses to be vigilant about their supply chains are tough enough. All that is sensible, not least because new laws often fail to have the intended effect because of factors that may have been overlooked or not foreseen when they were passed.But you are right to point out that what happens to victims after they are identified is critically important too, both to help them recover and to maximise the chances that they will testify to help bring perpetrators before the courts. Fortunately, their records suggest that the three people chosen to lead the review the former judge Baroness Butler-Sloss and the MPs Frank Field and Maria Miller are unlikely to be blind to this. Lets hope so. Giving proper care to victims is essential. Martin Bentham, Home Affairs Editor Driverless cars are not the future Catherine Hutt, of Addison Lee, has fallen for the driverless-car hype put out by the tech companies [London must plan ahead for the rise of the robot car, August 1]. None of the technical hurdles has been overcome, as the death of a woman killed by a driverless car in Arizona in March shows, and there are massive legal, insurance, software, hardware and regulatory issues that remain to be addressed. Few people want these cars and no realistic business model for their adoption has been put forward. T here are few greater joys in life than a nice cold beer on a warm summer's day, but its even better if it happens to be free. After all, we all know it tastes better when you haven't had to pay. Luckily for Londoners there are plenty of way to make that happen so, from apps to loyalty schemes and giveaways, these are the best ways to grab yourself a free pint. Get the app A wealth of major chain pubs and bars offer free drinks to anyone who download their free apps. London institutions Youngs and Fullers offers pints to first-time downloaders at participating chains, while groups such as Nicholsons, All Bar One, Sizzling Pubs, Miller & Carter, Browns and Geronimo offer wines and cocktails alongside the beer to those with their apps too. Plenty of the apps are genuinely useful and offer loyalty reward schemes and other features, so theyre well worth getting. Drinki Drinki compiles all the best boozy giveaways in the capital, revealing how to get one free drink a night in Londons best bars. Download the app, see which of the dozens of bars and pubs signed up to the app happens to be running promotions that night and enjoy it all totally free of charge. Whats not to love? Yoyo Wallet Mobile payment and loyalty app Yoyo Wallet offer reward schemes for a growing number of high street chains, restaurants, pubs and bars. Unions at London universities including Imperial College, Greenwich and Brunel are all signed up to the app too, so students in the capital take note. Spend through the app to earn points, stamps and vouchers for a variety of rewards including you guessed it free pints. Wetherspoons' Order and Pay Wetherspoons Order and Pay app flipped the classic Spoons experience on its head when it was introduced last year. Downloading the app meant you could order drinks to your table and more importantly order remotely for someone else. When it was first introduced there was a flurry of stories about people requesting friends and family to buy them rounds remotely, while some even reaching out on social media to ask for free drinks. Its not strictly a way to get beer for free so much as a way to get other people to pay for it, but its still pretty fun. Best London beers - in pictures 1 /6 Best London beers - in pictures Scroll to see our pick of the best London beers... Shutterstock / Dean Drobot Fullers London Porter From Londons most historic brewery comes this world classic style. Chocolate malt and coffee flavours mix with just the right amount of hop bitterness to deliver a smooth and creamy mouth feel. Its well-balanced aromas deliver a great lingering finish. Not overwhelming, but a highly-satisfying porter. Goes well with rich meats and chocolate desserts. 1.89, Ocado, Buy it now Redemption Trinity A light ale crafted with 3 types of malts and 3 different hops, the award-winning Trinity comes from Tottenham craft brewery, Redemption Brewing Company. The low strength beer packs an impressive punch for its 3 per cent abv, with great layers of flavour until a nice dry finish. The sweet malty aroma is rounded off to notes of citrus fruit. Bright and extremely drinkable. 2.40, Beer Merchants, Buy it now Brixton Reliance Pale Ale Bright citrus aromas and a hoppy hit to boot make this the perfect tipple for long summer days. Named after Brixtons iconic Reliance Arcade, its pairing of zesty fruit and delicate floral notes lead to a dry finish. Malted barley provides a crisp background for the generous hop flavours. A true artisan ale. 2.45, The Whisky Exchange, Buy it now Pressure Drop Pale Fire A local favourite, Pressure Drop is a microbrewery located in Hackney which is known as one of Londons major beer destinations. Pale Fire is a full-bodied pale ale with tropical fruit notes and plenty of new world hops to give a bold flavour. The best part? Its made with different hops each time. An ever-changing crowd pleaser. 2.39, Honest Brew, Buy it now Beavertown Gamma Ray This American pale ale from Londons Beavertown Brewery is a superstar in the craft beer world. The beer is dry hopped for days to give it the huge aromas and flavours that you can smell immediately and taste from the first mouthful. New world hops shine through a sweet malt backdrop, leading to a long dry finish. Praise all round. 2.49, Honest Brew, Buy it now Ice points T he most colourful event of the year heads to Brighton tomorrow, as thousands of revellers head to the streets for LGBTQ+ Pride. Hot on the tail of London's Pride, which celebrated its 46th year on July 7, its sister parade in Brighton promises fun, floats and from those lucky enough to nab tickets, a performance from Britney Spears. If you're heading down to the Sussex coast this weekend, here's everything you need to know about LGBTQ+ pride in Brighton. What route will the parade follow? The parade will start at 11am, heading off from Hove Lawns and travelling through the city centre along King's Road, past the Brighton Centre. From there, it will pass the Royal Pavilion before heading up London Road and finishing in Preston Park. The closest station to the parade festivities will be Brighton station. Loading.... Who's going to be at Brighton pride? Britney Spears is bringing her Las Vegas show to Brighton, with tickets to her Saturday performance already sold out. Also making an appearance will be Ella Eyre, Pixie Lott, MNEK and Mabel. Pride 2018 1 /29 Pride 2018 A young flag bearer with the Pride flag during the parade Getty Images for Pride In London Parade goers during Pride In London on July 7, 2018 Getty Images for Pride In London A proposal of marriage is accepted during the parade Getty Images for Pride In London Parade goers on and around the statue of Eros, Piccadilly Circus Getty Images for Pride In London London pride AFP/Getty Images REUTERS Parade goers at the start during Pride In London at Portland Place Getty Images for Pride In London It is estimated over 1 million people will take to the streets Getty Images for Pride In London A general view of the Pride of London logo on the big screen at Piccadilly Circus Getty Images for Pride In London A rainbow banner is unfurled for the start of the 2018 Pride parade in London PA Crowds await the start of the parade at Piccadilly Circus Getty Images for Pride In London A parade goer takes a selfie during Pride In London Getty Images for Pride In London Around 30,000 people are expected to join the parade Getty Images for Pride In London A view along Regents Street ahead of the parade Getty Images for Pride In London Parade goers around the statue of Eros Getty Images for Pride In London Members of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) community take part in the annual Pride Parade AFP/Getty Images Mayor of London Sadiq Khan opens the Pride In London parade Getty Images for Pride In London Members of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) community take part in the annual Pride Parade AFP/Getty Images A view along Regents Street ahead of the parade's start Getty Images for Pride In London There are nearly 500 groups in the parade AFP/Getty Images Organisers said the parade is 'our most diverse yet' PA A variety of ornate costumes were seen in the parade PA Pride is a month long celebration of the LGBT+ community PA Revellers take part in the vibrant march through central London PA The streets were flooded with colour PA A parade goer's dog joins the revelry Getty Images for Pride In London There was glorious sunshine in London as the parade was in full swing REUTERS Participants marched through Trafalgar Square Getty Images for Pride In London Pride is one of the world's biggest LGBT+ celebrations Getty Images for Pride In London How can I get tickets to Brighton Pride festival? Saturday tickets for the Brighton Pride festival have sold out. R iver cruises have long been one of the best ways to see the world. The all-inclusive trips mean you dont need to worry about food or accommodation, yet each morning you wake up in a new destination to explore. Many river cruises, though, have hundreds of passengers, meaning it can get a tad overcrowded at times. This is why weve rounded up the best luxury boutique river cruises in the world from safari cruises through Botswana to exploring the Black Sea from Istanbul to Budapest. Aqua Expeditions The Aqua Expeditions Aria Amazon cruise / Aqua Expeditions Having launched over a decade ago, Aqua Expeditions specialise in cruises along the Amazon River and through Cambodia and Vietnam. The 16-suite Aria Amazon and 20-suite Aqua Mekong are the ultimate in luxurious boutique cruises. On the Amazon trips you will encounter spectacular wildlife like pink dolphins, piranhas and sloths while the Mekong cruise will explore emerald flooded forests and local villages. Our pick: Peru & the Amazon, from 6,848 per person for seven nights. Uniworld Boutique River Cruising A Uniworld river cruise / Uniworld Uniworld is at the top of the luxe river cruise game. With cruises offered all over the world, from sailing through Indias Ganges to exploring the imperial waterways of Russia theres a trip for everyone. Plus all 2019 European cruises include transport by flight or Eurostar to the starting port. Our pick: Indias Golden Triangle and the Sacred Ganges, 13 days from New Delhi to Kolkata. From 5,999 per person. Tauck A Tauck river cruise / Facebook/Tauck This travel company has been run by the Tauck family for over 90 years so they know a thing or two about river cruising. Their river cruises will take you through Europes greatest waterways, from the Rhine to the Danube and the Seine. Our pick: The Romantic Rhine, Basel to Amsterdam seven night cruise. From 3,545 per person. Viking A Viking river cruise sailing along the Rhine / Viking Take your pick of one of the Viking cruises that will take you through the waterways of Europe, Russia, Ukraine, Asia and Egypt. Viking has won Best River Cruise Line at the British Travel Awards for nine years in a row so you know youre in for a treat. Each of their cruises are designed for the curious traveller and each ship contains a curated library for your down time. Our pick: Pharaohs and Pyramids 12 days through the waterways of Egypt from 4,505 per person. Avalon Waterways Strasbourg - a destination on Avalon Waterways' Romantic Rhine voyage / Avalon Waterways Along with Europe, Avalon have the far-flung corners of the world covered. Namely their spectacular boutique cruise around the Galapagos Islands where you can snorkel to your hearts content. They also visit rivers like the Ganges, the Irrawaddy River and the Mekong, so the hardest part will be deciding where to go. Our pick: Technically not a river cruise, but with a maximum of 16 guests the Treasure of the Galapagos is the ultimate luxury way to explore the Galapagos Islands. From 5,028 per person for nine days. Ama Waterways An excursion from the Zambezi Queen on the Chobe / Ama Waterways Ama Waterways specialise in luxury cruises through Europe, Africa and Asia. You can pick from wine tasting through Bordeaux, to exploring Europes rivers and castles and going on safari cruises in Africa. Their African ship, the Zambezi Queen, holds just 28 passengers making it the ideal boutique cruise to explore our southern neighbouring continent on. Our pick: Wildlife & the Falls, Botswana, South Africa and Zimbabwe. From 9,994 per person for 13 days. Delfin A Delfin river cruise sailing along the Amazon / Facebook/Delfin Delfin river cruises specialise in taking you along the Amazon with their three-ship fleet. Each of their vessels are unique with the rooms offering panoramic views of the river and selected suites offering a private whirlpool. Watch out for pink river dolphins or go hiking through the Amazon rainforest during your once-in-a-lifetime trip. Our pick: Go for the four-day excursion on the Delfin 1 as it has just four suites on board. From 2,986 per person. Scenic Cruises A Scenic Russian cruise ship / Alamy These award-winning cruises are perfect for wine connoisseurs, architect enthusiasts, history buffs and foodies. Their five-star services include a Christmas Markets cruise along the Danube (which is currently on sale along with a multitude of other 2019 excursions) and a Black Sea explorer from Istanbul to Budapest. F orget the Nae Nae and the floss, a new dance craze has taken the internet by storm - the #KiKiChallenge. If you've even done so much as scroll through Twitter over the past month, you've probably already seen the videos (some better than others). The dance trend characteristically features an individual dancing alongside a moving car to Canadian rapper Drake's hit single, In My Feelings. At first, it started off as a bit of fun and games in the name of Instagram likes, but it's now become a global safety issue, with police around the world warning people against stepping up to the challenge. But what is the #KiKiChallenge, where did it come from and why are police cracking down on the viral dance? Here's everything you need to know: What is the #KiKiChallenge? As social media veterans will know, when it comes to viral challenges, we've just about seen it all. But the #KiKiChallenge is in equal parts both ridiculous and impossible to look away from, and before you know it you've spent your entire lunch break scrolling through the best ones. The #KiKiChallenge, also known as the #InMyFeelingsChallenge, involves a willing volunteer who opens the passenger door of a moving car and proceeds to dance alongside it to the opening lines of Drake's "In My Feelings," from his latest album, Scorpion. The now-iconic lyrics go as follows: "KiKi, do you love me? Are you riding? Said you'd never ever leave from beside me, 'cause I want you and I need you, and I'm down for you always." If you haven't heard it yet, look it up - you'll be singing it to yourself probably for the rest of eternity. Where did the #KiKiChallenge come from? The dance itself went viral after internet comedian Shiggy posted a video of himself on Instagram busting some moves to Drake's song. Interestingly, the original video did not involve a car. The plot thickened when Shiggy's friend Odell Beckham Jr. filmed himself doing the dance outside of a vehicle. And thus, the #KiKiChallenge was born. What has Drake said about the #KiKiChallenge? Drake has let the money do the talking, and can largely thank Shiggy for making In My Feelings skyrocket to the top of the charts. This is despite the song not originally planned to be released as a single. On the day the song went to number 1 in the US, Drake posted a photo of him with Shiggy to his Instagram. Shiggy has since slyly hinted that Drake should cut him a share of the profits. What celebrities have done the #KiKiChallenge? Everyone from Will Smith to Ciara has had a go. Will Smith went the extra mile and did the challenge on top of a bridge in Budapest. In the video, which he posted to Instagram, he says whilst scaling the bridge: "this is definitely illegal." Even Drake couldn't resist giving fans a show during his set at Wireless festival. Why are police saying it's too dangerous? As one would expect, there are going to be multiple risks involved with jumping out of a moving car and dancing alongside it in the middle of the road. Police in Florida have said that anyone caught jumping out of a moving car and dancing alongside it could be slapped with a $1000 fine plus criminal charges. Mumbai police posted a warning tweet reading: "Not just a risk for you but your act can put life of others at risk too. Desist from public nuisance or face the music!" V ictims of an estate agent who stole from clients in a 700,000 scam today branded him nothing but a conman after he was jailed for five years. Jeffrey Gadsden, 60, was convicted of fraud after conning more than 100 people out of money they paid him to manage their properties. He used the cash to prop up his ailing business, Walker Professional Property Services. Many of his victims lost thousands of pounds over about three years. Others were left penniless, with one losing 90,000 from a personal pension plan. The bulk were owners of properties in housing blocks who banded together as private companies to manage their estates. Kathleen Byrne, 64, a personal secretary, lived in a small estate in Newham, east London, where residents were conned out of a total of 68,000. She and other directors alerted East Ham MP Stephen Timms who took the matter to police when WPPS went into liquidation in May 2013. She said: I have no sympathy with him going to jail, he knew what he was doing and was just a conman. As amateur directors of a company we didnt know what we were doing he bluffed us for 18 months. "When we found out, the entire estate was devastated we wouldve lost all 41 dwellings on the estate to creditors. We would have had to rent our own homes back for the rest of our lives. It was awful. Snaresbrook crown court heard most of the money was paid to the taxman and to pay off Gadsdens other debts. Kenneth Forster, 62, from a similar estate in Billericay, Essex, became suspicious when Company House asked them to submit annual accounts. He said: All of a sudden we didnt have a penny until this happened I just thought he was a bad businessman. A Waitrose lorry driver swerved across a busy London road to halt two moped riders who were being chased by police. The pair were being pursued by police through Catford while riding on a scooter on August 1 at around 8.15pm. At one point in the pursuit the rider sped up and drove directly at an officer knocking him to the ground, leaving him injured, police said. He then made off along Brownhill Road where the Waitrose heavy goods vehicle swerved in an apparent effort to stop them in their tracks. The scooter crashed into the lorry and the two riders fled the scene on foot, police said. A Scotland Yard spokesman said both rider and pillion passenger ran from the scene in different directions. The driver of the lorry was not arrested. Officers said the lorry and driver were inspected by the Met's Commercial Vehicle Unit and the driver was not reported for any offences. A 15-year-old was arrested on suspicion of robbery, assault on police, and failing to stop at the scene of an accident. Inquiries are ongoing to trace a second suspect. Kay Sloane, 36, told the Sun: It was really frightening. I was putting the children to bed at around 8:15 when I heard this almighty bang. My husband thought it was thunder. The moped crashed into the police man on his bike first how hes not killed anyone or himself I dont know. What would have happened if I was going out or coming in with the children? Video footage of the aftermath was posted to Twitter. The lorry can be seen in a diagonal position across the entire road. A moped can also be seen on the ground along with police cars and an ambulance. Waitrose refused to comment. T he policing minister has told youth workers mourning the shooting of a colleague that we know we cannot police our way out of the crisis of youth violence. Nick Hurd said the Home Office was examining the public health model that has been used successfully in Scotland to reduce the number of knife attacks and teen murders. It comes after the approach was highlighted by the Evening Standard, leading to the launch of our Save London Lives Fund which will support community projects trying to turn the tide of violence. Mr Hurd met East London youth workers and mentors at Community Links, a Newham charity, and said: As minister of police, I tend to focus on the law and order response to violence but one thing I have learned is that prevention and steering people away is the more important and difficult work in the long term. You just lost someone close. Can I ask your advice: what work should we prioritise to end this devastating cycle of violence? A forensic tent at the spot where Siddique Kamara fell in Camberwell this week / PA De-Andra Peltier, 25, whose friend Tanesha Melbourne-Blake, 17, was killed in a drive-by shooting over Easter, said: Its not just Taneshas shooting weve had to deal with, there was a stabbing as well. Earlier this year, this guy in our building got a phone call to go outside and next thing he had been stabbed 12 times. He dragged himself back into our building. If not for us being there, giving first aid and calling an ambulance, he would have died. Fellow youth worker Tola Jaiyeola, 24, added: The Government has to recognise that organisations like ours can be the bridge between the authorities and high-risk young people but we need resources. This week Home Secretary Sajid Javid announced that funding for the Governments Early Intervention Youth Fund had been doubled from 11 million to 22 million. Floral tributes are left in Warham Street in Camberwell, south London, where Moscow17 rapper Incognito was stabbed to death / PA Arvinda Gohil, chief executive of Community Links, welcoming the additional funds, said: Its good news but to be frank, 22 million countrywide for early intervention is a drop in the ocean. If the Government is serious about wanting communities to be engaged with the solution to youth crime, it needs to enable organisations like us by providing proper resources. Currently Community Links gets zero Home Office funding. Rapper Sidique Kamara, aka Incognito, was stabbed to death in Camberwell Mr Hurd pledged to take their feedback to the Home Office-led Serious Violence Taskforce. Everything I read about communities that have successfully tackled this problem in America is that the key to success is outside of the police and inside communities, he said. You are right that young people wont trust the police. I want to listen to people on the ground because otherwise we sit in big rooms in Whitehall and run the risk of being disconnected. But if we do back the community route, can we win? Youth worker Samson Baptist replied: Yes we can. But we need to understand that high-risk young people wont come into buildings or institutions. We need to meet them and start the conversation on-road. We must give them a reason to leave the road, give them options of making money in a safe way, in the right way. Ms Peltier added: We are in a race because there are way more drug dealers than youth workers so I think, again, its a question of resources. Shot dead in Tottenham: Tanesha Melbourne, 17 / PA Mr Hurd admitted that the National Citizen Service (NCS), which he launched as minister for civil society in 2011, did not serve high-risk teenagers despite hundreds of millions of taxpayer money sunk into it and attempts to increase its social diversity. Last year, the government grant to the NCS was 180 million. Could serious youth violence be solved by diverting the funds to the children who need it? Crisis talks: Nick Hurd meets Samson Baptist, De-Andra Peltier and Tola Jaiyeola / Matt Writtle Ms Peltier said to Mr Hurd: I believe the NCS is beneficial to many youths, but they tend to be ones still in mainstream education. Perhaps government funding could be more equally spread to broaden the outreach. Mr Baptist added: Young people on road definitely would not join NCS. Maybe the concept of NCS could be developed to have a street version, a sort of on-road NCS. Camberwell MP calls for more police after fatal stabbing Mr Hurd responded: I dont think we need to rob the NCS to tackle the hotspots. There is government money aside from NCS money that can be allocated to tackling hotspots. The minister said that London was crying out for strong leadership. The solution for London is not something we want to impose as a central government. Obviously the Mayor , most people expect him to take the lead. M ichael Palin is indignant at the presence this summer of concerts at Kenwood. The Monty Python star and travel writer says that the English Heritage site on Hampstead Heath is being compromised. This is an English Heritage property in trust for the public and its being closed off at the time of year when everybody wants to go there, Palin writes in a letter to his local newspaper, Ham & High. Palin, a Gospel Oak resident who enjoys regular runs on Hampstead Heath, says he has been disrupted by a series of festivals and live music events in the area surrounding Kenwood House. I was aware of the number of days that this rather lovely part of the Heath and Kenwood was closed off, he writes. It wasnt just the two to three nights of the concerts, it was the time before and afterwards that struck me. Even after the trucks, stage, Portakabins and fences have gone, it leaves the grass yellow which isnt appealing for anybody who wants to picnic on there during the summer weve had. Palin is something of a veteran complainer. He has vented over multiple issues including, but not limited to, being famous, being censored, traveling in groups, litter and even fellow actors, who he has described as difficult. He admits to regularly contacting his local council and says he is aware that he has a reputation for complaining all the time. Kenwoods general manager Sam Cooper says he is sorry to hear Palins grievances but says the events provide vital income. We are committed to holding no more than eight large-scale music events at Kenwood every year, he said. This year, for example, they will allow us to replace the surface on the south terrace. English Heritage is a charity and every penny we receive goes towards looking after Kenwood and all the historic sites in our care, hundreds of which including Kenwood are open to the public for free. The BBC passes on Mastermind BBC quiz show Mastermind and music fixtures Later with Jools Holland and Hootenanny are being put out to competitive tender. The corporation is required to accept pitches from producers in order to encourage competition The Proms, Holby City, Doctors and Songs of Praise have already been affected. These are firm audience favourites, Richard Dawkins, of BBC Content, says. We look forward to seeing who will make them for us in the future, as part of our commitment to competition. --- Irvine Welsh recalls when Trainspotting won a Brit Award for Best Soundtrack. I took a really strong ecstasy pill on the stage and was pretty much c****d by the time I got back to the seat, the novelist tweeted last night. I lost the award or maybe I left it in a minicab. #90sShit. --- A new advert for a daunting job in Westminster has appeared: the Home Office is looking for a head of EU exit communications role. The successful candidate will have the proven ability to grasp complex issues swiftly as well as excellent political judgment and news awareness. They will also need very thick skin. Naomie takes to the water as foot model Poppy nurses a toe injury Actor Naomie Harris has spent much of this week paddleboarding, swimming and sailing around the Greek island of Santorini. The Spectre star is proving quite the jetsetter: she was recently in Austria, where she opened a James Bond cinematic experience on the Gaislachkogl Mountain. Lady Amelia Windsor is also enjoying her summer; the royal shared a candid snap of herself with a dog in Mallorca. Actor Douglas Booth, meanwhile, made do with the blazing London heat, tucking into an ice-cream before taking a dip in one of the ponds on Hampstead Heath. In Monaco, Poppy Delevingne took a break from filming the second series of Riviera. She has been in the wars: her co-star Jack Fox shared an image of her bandaged toe this week, declaring once the darling of the foot model industry, now resorted to this. We asked Caras big sister whether her poor toe has recovered, but we are yet to hear back. SW1A Michael Gove has a new party piece: his impression of Martin Selmayr, Secretary-General of the European Commission. the Environment Secretary amused Tory MPs with it when he addressed the Green Chip dining group in June and is said to pull it out on demand. Does Selmayr do a return impression of Gove, we asked one of his team? No. --- We knew that the Cabinet was served a lunch of barbecued chicken wings at the Chequers summit in July. We now learn they were so undercooked that Chancellor Philip Hammond had to step in to stop his colleagues from eating them. Undercooked chicken, Brexit white paper? Metaphor alert. --- Martial arts superstar Conor McGregor was filming himself in New York yesterday dressed in T-shirt and shorts. Who should walk past but Jacob Rees-Mogg, in a tie and double-breasted suit (the temperatures were in the 30s) with his wife and children like ducklings in tow. Quote of the day Im mainly a weekend parent. I think they are fine with it Jamie Oliver says work sometimes gets in the way of fatherhood Tottenham Adonis belongs in the palace The royal couple in Zameros work (Courtesy of Annie Zamero) J eremy Corbyn was today urged by Ed Balls to adopt a widely- recognised code to tackle anti-Semitism. With Mr Corbyn struggling to get a grip on the row, old guard Left-wing allies rallied around him. But he is facing criticism from other Left-wingers, as well as centrist Labour MPs, over his handling of the storm. Mr Balls said the anti-Semitism row in Labour was making him gloomy and worried. He is working with Lord Pickles, as co-chairmen of the Holocaust Memorial Foundation, to put up a memorial and learning centre outside Parliament to honour the six million Jewish men, women and children murdered in the Holocaust, and all other victims of Nazi persecution, including Roma and gay and disabled people. I would much rather the Labour Party was debating how we can remember and ensure there is never a repetition of the catastrophe of the Holocaust and I think that would be a more constructive way to spend our time than a row about anti-Semitism. "I find it very worrying at the moment, Mr Balls said. Asked whether he believed Mr Corbyns office made a mistake in not accepting all the definitions given by the IHRA on anti-Semitism, he added: In short, yes. Pressed on why Labour chiefs had adopted their stance, the former MP turned reality TV celebrity added: No idea, although the news [that Mr Corbyn hosted a Commons event in 2010 at which Israel was reportedly compared to Nazi Germany] is suggestive. Mr Corbyn faces severe criticism over his personal actions as well as for how he has responded to the row. Momentums founder Jon Lansman has described disciplinary moves against Dame Margaret Hodge, who accused Mr Corbyn of being a racist and an anti-Semite in a Commons bust-up, as being a massive tactical mistake. With pressure growing on Mr Corbyn, shadow home secretary Diane Abbott tweeted: A leader with integrity that fights for justice, equality and against discrimination. Im honoured to call him my friend and our Labour leader. We are for the many not the few. #WeAreCorbyn. Shadow chancellor John McDonnell messaged: #WeAreCorbyn I am proud to stand in absolute solidarity with my comrade and friend, Jeremy Corbyn, who has stood with me and so many others for decades in campaigns for peace, justice and against all forms of oppression and discrimination. Ex-Mayor Ken Livingstone, who resigned from Labour after remarks suggesting Adolf Hitler supported Zionism, tweeted: #WeAreCorbyn A voice for the voiceless. But the campaign to prop up Mr Corbyn is likely to raise fresh questions about his leadership. M illions of Britons believe Donald Trump has put Britain in greater danger, a poll reveals today. The Ipsos MORI survey for the Standard found 44 per cent of adults believe the US Presidents actions have made the UK less secure more than four times as many who believe he has made Britain safer. More than half of adults, 53 per cent, also say Mr Trump has damaged the special relationship between America and the UK. The findings were published after Paul Manafort became the first of Mr Trumps former aides to go on trial, accused of bank and tax fraud by investigators probing alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 US presidential election. Mr Trump has also courted controversy by inviting Vladimir Putin to Washington, by clashing with US intelligence chiefs, with his travel ban on citizens from some largely Muslim countries, for attacking London Mayor Sadiq Khan over his response to terrorism in London, and for raising tariffs. Trump rejects claims he was late to meet the Queen However, despite his controversial rhetoric, Mr Trump may have persuaded EU countries to spend more on Nato , and has opened up the possibility of Kim Jong-un abandoning North Koreas nuclear weapons. The poll revealed a gender gap in attitudes towards Mr Trump, who was elected despite a recording emerging of him talking about women and grabbing them by the p****. Some 54 per cent of women believe Mr Trump has had a harmful effect on UK security, compared with 34 per cent of men. Only one in 10 believe Mr Trump has made the UK safer, with 43 per cent saying it made no difference. Only 6 per cent say the US leaders actions have strengthened the special relationship, with 38 per cent saying they had made no difference. Nearly six out of 10 women say he has damaged the ties between the two countries, 59 per cent, compared with 48 per cent of men. Two-thirds of the public have an unfavourable view of him, particularly women. A former RAF airman held hostage in Iraq has revealed he is the target of online trolls but deals with them by being unfailingly polite. John Nichol was a navigator, aged 27, when he and Tornado pilot John Peters were shot down during a mission to destroy an enemy airfield in the Gulf War in 1991. Mr Nichol lost two-and-a-half stone while locked in a fetid cell, pistol-whipped, burned with cigarettes, forced into stress positions and subjected to mock executions. The pair were interrogated by Saddam Husseins secret police, beaten with fists, boots and clubs, and forced to appear on Iraqi television under duress. John Nichol when he was held prisoner in Iraq / Peter Brooker/Rex Now Mr Nichol faces haters needling him about his war record online, where the best-selling author, 54, tweets on subjects including military charities, police work, dogs and his books. The father-of-one from Hertfordshire said: The thing that comes up time and time again is a small amount of people who still criticise my actions for being shot down 27 years ago. I still get people saying: All you did was get shot down, you were useless and here you are spouting off about it. But I let it wash over me. They feel able to say something on social media that they would never consider saying around a family dinner table or in the pub with friends. One of John Nichol's Twitter responses One user snidely suggested that Mr Nichol used a BBC radio programme celebrating the Second World War Spitfire pilot Mary Ellis to promote his book. Mr Nichol replied that the user, who has 14 followers, was firing off spiteful missives from their mums spare bedroom. Instead of blocking the worst would-be bullies, he spends up to 15 minutes crafting responses before posting to his 23,400 followers. John Nichol: 'I love the internet' I say: Thanks for your tweet, its wonderful to see youre supporting me, and they go mad, he said. My advice is even if you are affected, never give any indication. They have won if you give them what they want, showing them that you have been hurt by their silly, spiteful, childish, pointless tweet. Then you are letting the bullies win, and I would never do that. These are the people that 25 years ago would have had to pick up a pen and paper and write something in green ink, put it in an envelope, put a stamp on it and send it to you at a TV studio or to your publishers. He still describes Twitter as a great place to talk to people and talk about different issues. Mr Nichol was treated for post-traumatic stress disorder after being released from Baghdads notorious Abu Ghraib jail after 47 days. U niversity admissions service Ucas has apologised to thousands of A Level students after they told they had been accepted by mistake. More than 4,000 pupils who had applied to Newcastle or Northumbria universities were sent an email saying that they had been accepted on their chosen course The message was sent to baffled students on July 26 three weeks before the exam results are due to be published. It was sent by the organisation to promote private student housing provider Fusion. The students thought they had been offered a place at university / PA The opening line read: You have been accepted at university and you will be studying at Newcastle next year - congratulations! Tom Winetroube, 17, took the email to mean that he had failed to get the grades to make it into Leeds University to study journalism, his first choice. These emails really confused me because not only am I aware that results dont come out until later in August but Newcastle was my second choice, he told The Times. This caused me to feel a bit disappointed because being told that Id been accepted to my second choice insinuated to me that I hadnt got into my first choice. I think Ucas has caused even more unnecessary distress for students who are already on edge waiting for results that could make or break their plans for the next academic year and beyond. I am even more nervous for results day than I was previously as a result of this Ucas error. A Ucas spokesman said: About 4,100 students awaiting their exam results received an email from Ucas which incorrectly said they had been accepted to study in Newcastle. Our mistake was quickly spotted and a follow-up email to apologise was sent that afternoon. All students can log into Track to see the latest information on their application. A gang of armed robbers were caught on CCTV reversing a pick-up truck into a supermarket and driving off with a cash machine. Shoppers ran as the gang fired several pistol shots into the ceiling of the shop in Lady Frere, Eastern Cape. The robbers unplugged the newly filled cash machine containing R450,000 (26,000) and wiggled it to the truck, then drove off. This was over in less than two minutes. Spar store manager Vuyo Mbimbi told Times LIVE that seven men entered just after 8am on Wednesday. Incredible: one of the most brazen robberies ever as seven gunmen reverse a low loader truck into a supermarket and drive off with ATM They pointed guns at customers then loaded the ATM into a [pick-up truck] they drove in. One of them shot at one of the cameras. The store was busy with people withdrawing pension money. Nobody was injured. A n Australian climber who disappeared on one of New Zealands highest mountains was rescued today after surviving nearly a week in sub-zero temperatures. Terry Harch was reported missing on Monday after he failed to return from a solo hike. It is believed the 29-year-old soldier, who was on leave, built a snow dugout to protect himself from freezing 40mph winds that had been buffeting the 9,950ft Mount Aspiring, on New Zealands south island, for several days. He was spotted from the air yesterday, but it was not until this morning that a helicopter was able to rescue him. London climber Linda Blakely scales Everest, then second peak 24 hours later Mr Harch was suffering from slight frostbite, but was otherwise in a reasonable condition, the rescue crew reported. Geoff Lunt, of Rescue Coordination Centre New Zealand, paid tribute to Mr Harchs survival techniques. He has clearly made some good decisions to be able to survive the bad weather, heavy snow and high winds, he said. E uropeans resorted to drastic measures to cool off as a relentless heatwave swept across the continent. Images from across Europe show hot and bothered people dunking their feet in buckets of ice and wading into the sea as sweltering temperatures put some areas on red alert. Here in Britain, the mercury is expected to reach 32C with last week's heatwave set to make a return. Eight locations in Portugal broke local temperature records Friday as a wave of heat from North Africa swept across the Iberian peninsula - and officials predicted the scorching temperatures could get even worse over the weekend. Pensioners cool off in Belgium as temperatures soar / REUTERS Temperatures increased to around 45C on Friday in mainly inland areas of Portugal, and were expected to peak at 47C in some places on Saturday. Large sections of Portugal are on red alert on the Civil Protection Agency's danger scale. The highest temperature recorded on Thursday, when the heat began to rise, was 45.2 C near Abrantes, a town 150 kilometers northeast of the capital, Lisbon, the country's weather agency IPMA said. Visitors enjoy a ride at the open-air aquapark 'Dreamland' in Minsk, Belarus / EPA Portugal's highest ever recorded temperature was 47.4 C in 2003. Emergency services have issued a red alert through Sunday, placing extra services such as medical staff and firefighters on standby. In Portugal's southern Alentejo province, streets were largely deserted. Some farmers chose to work during the night instead of in the heat of the day. Beaches around Lisbon, the capital, were packed. A man refresh himself in a fountain in Cordoba, Andalusia, Spain / EPA In Portugal's Algarve region, some 400 firefighters and fie water-dropping aircraft are battling a wildfire. Portugal sees large wildfires every year, although unseasonably cool weather through the end of July has meant fewer blazes in 2018. The government says only about 15 percent of the 10-year average area has been charred so far this year. Temperatures were being driven higher across the Iberian peninsula by a hot air mass moving northward from Africa, which is also bringing dust from the Sahara Desert, meteorologists said. The dust gave the sky a dark yellow hue in some places. In Spain, heat warnings were also issued for 41 of the country's 50 provinces as temperatures were expected to reach up to 44 C. Spain's highest recorded temperature is 46.9 C in Cordoba, a southern city, in July 2017. A woman protects herself with an umbrella as she walks at Plaza Mayor, as temperatures soar across Europe, in Madrid Spain / REUTERS The World Meteorological Organisation says continental Europe's record is 48 C in Greece in 1977. In northern Europe, Sweden was still under threat from wildfires, which in recent weeks have extended into the Arctic Circle. Sweden's Civil Contingencies Agency warned of "a high risk" for wildfires in central and southern Sweden this weekend because of the continuing dry weather and strong winds. In Moscow, as temperatures rose to close to 30 C, city authorities announced they were opening hundreds of "cool rooms" where residents could rest amid air conditioning, with water dispensers and medical attendants. Visitors cool down in foam at the open-air aquapark 'Dreamland' in Minsk, Belarus / EPA Although that temperature is far below the blazing heat hitting southern Europe, it's well above the Russian capital's average August maximum of 23 C. In Britain, an unusually long, torrid summer has taken its toll on the country's flowers. Morrisons has begun selling "wonky" flowers that have not developed properly. The UK's Met Office weather service says July was the country's third-warmest month in more than a century. A woman cools herself riding a bicycle through a fountain at a park in Moscow, Russia / AP The Met Office said the mercury could soar as high as 32C in the capital on Friday, before a similarly warm and sunny weekend. As Brits are being warned of scorching temperatures on the Costa del Sol, they will thank their lucky stars they are not in Ecija - dubbed the frying pan of Spain. Just a two-hour drive from the tourist-packed beaches, the town is known as being the hottest in the country where you can fry an egg on the pavement. The temperature was today forecast to reach 46, only a shade below Europes record high. Nobody leaves their houses between 2pm and 6pm. Its a ghost town, you wont even find a cafe open, said Enrique Lopradas, 51, a street lottery vendor and self-confessed shade chaser. I drink seven litres of water every day, wear long sleeves and constantly move to the shade, he adds as he swigs an ice bottle, I also shower three or four times a day and dont start work until 6.30pm when its fresher. But another resident, Maria Cepas, 50, has different advice for locals struggling in the heat. Its a mistake to drink litres and litres of water, that makes you vomit. You need a sugary drink, said the nursing home carer, We have to send out warnings to elderly people keep drinking things like Aquarius (a brand of mineral sports drink) in this heat. Friend Paqui Vidal, 50, explains how her colleague an olive picker is forced to leave work sick on the first day of every olive season. It can be dangerous for olive pickers, many go home throwing up with severe sun stroke, added Paqui, an administrator at an agricultural company. Meanwhile, across the main square, 27-year-old Ana Somoza Torres, mops her brow while setting up tables outside a bar as the tmperature reaches 42C. The only way is air conditioning and more air conditioning. Were in Andalusia obviously we have siestas every day for at least two hours. You just cant leave the house until late. Although the young waitress acknowledges this can be annoying, she points out that this is the only way of life the locals know. I would much rather be in this heat than be cold. And what about the frying pan egg-cooking theory? The anaemic-looking one I cooked on a marble bench in the town square wouldnt grace any plate of Full English - but it was 6pm after all. T ourists fled the sea in panic after a shark appeared off a packed Majorcan beach. Police closed the beach yesterday afternoon while bathers including groups of young children by pedalos watched on as the 10-foot shark swam around just a few feet away in the water. The giant fish, thought to be a tintorera or blue shark, made its unexpected appearance at Cala Domingos, a sandy beach that is crowded in August in Calas de Majorca on the islands east coast. Footage showed the animal moving through the clear blue water off the beach before coming in closer and forcing tourists out of the water. The shark was spotted swimming metres from the Majorcan coast English and French speakers could be heard shouting out from rocks overlooking the sea where holidaymakers took refuge - and children screaming as the fish came in closer and closer to where they were standing. Police were later filmed recovering it from the water and dragging it along the sand as stunned youngsters looked on. It was initially thought the shark had survived and been returned to the sea following the drama. But emergency services confirmed that these reports were incorrect and it had in fact been euthanised after being stung by a ray. Blue sharks are among the most common in Spain. They have been blamed for a number of recent beach closures which have affected holidaymakers in Spain. In June one was spotted off the popular beach of Arenal den Castell in Menorca. A sunflower farm in Ontario, Canada, has been forced to close to the public after an "apocalypse" of Instagrammers, Facebookers and other selfie-lovers descended. Bogle Seeds normally opens its gates for two weeks in the summer to make some extra revenue by charging $7.50 entrance per adult. Every year, visitors enjoy walking among the 1.4 million majestic sunflowers stretching out across the 1.3km (0.8 mile) fields at Ontario's largest sunflower grower. But this year, after the Bogle family opened to the public on July 20, snaps taken by daytrippers went viral on Instagramand then the hordes descended, trampling on the flowers. The family's car park with 300 spaces proved far too small for an estimated 7,000 cars that flocked to the farm over the weekend, sparking chaos on local highways, according to local media. I can only describe it as like a zombie apocalypse, Brad Bogle told the Globe and Mail. The family told the newspaper that they were forced to ward off selfie-hungry visitors after local police advised them to shut the event down. Some disappointed would-be photographers reacted badly, with one man even wanting to fight the family rather than leave. W hite House press secretary Sarah Sanders has refused to say the media is not the "enemy of the American people" in a tense exchange with journalists. Ms Sanders repeatedly resisted calls at a briefing from CNN's Jim Acosta to make amends for the wording of the US president's strongest attacks on the press. Instead, she gave a list of reasons the US president is "rightfully frustrated" with the media, saying his achievements are underplayed, and complained that a comedian mocked her at a press event. "When I was hosted by the [White House] Correspondents Association, of which almost all of you are members of, you brought a comedian up to attack my appearance and called me a traitor to my own gender," she said. CNN White House correspondent Jim Acosta told Sarah Huckabee Sanders: 'All the people around the world are watching what you're saying' / REUTERS Ms Sanders said Trump "has made his position known" and blamed the media for inflaming tensions in the country. "As far as I know, I'm the first press secretary in the history of the United States that's required Secret Service protection," she added. Ms Sanders also accused the press of continuing "to ratchet up the verbal assault against the president and everyone in this administration." Critics pointed out that the president has previously made personal comments about the appearance of female journalists, such as when he tweeted that MSNBC host Mika Brzezinski was "bleeding badly from a face-lift". Mr Acosta, who has become a lightning rod for anti-media sentiment, implored Ms Sanders to break from the president, who first decried the press as the "enemy of the American people" last year. "I think it would be a good thing if you were to say right here at this briefing that the press, the people who are gathered in this room right now ... are not the enemy of the people," he said, adding: "All the people around the world are watching what you're saying." Donald Trump launched into an attack on journalists at a rally in Pennsylvania on Thursday / Getty Images After Ms Sanders refused to back away from the rhetoric, Mr Acosta later walked out of the briefing in protest. Later on Thursday, at a rally in Pennsylvania, Trump renewed his campaign against "fake, fake disgusting news", casting journalists as his political opponent. "Whatever happened to the free press? Whatever happened to honest reporting?" Trump asked, pointing to the media in the back of the area in Wilkes Barre. "They don't report it. They only make up stories." He told an increasingly agitated crowd that the press undersold his successes and doubted his political rise, diminishing what he accomplished at his Singapore summit with North Korea leader Kim Jong Un and subjecting him to tough questioning when he met with Vladimir Putin last month. "Only negative stories from the fakers back there," the president said while the crowd jeered and screamed at the press in the holding pen at the back of the arena. His attacks have drawn rebukes from free press advocates, human rights experts, professional journalism associations and the publisher of The New York Times, who said this week that he took Trump to task for "deeply troubling anti-press rhetoric" that is "not just divisive but increasingly dangerous" when the two met privately at the White House this month. A Chinese activist known for his outspoken criticism of the government is missing after police interrupted a radio interview live on air. Professor Sun Wenguang was speaking to US broadcaster Voice of America on Wednesday when he said half a dozen police officers barged into his apartment in the eastern city of Jinan. He was heard exclaiming "I have my freedom of speech" just before the line went dead. VOA said Mr Sun had not responded to attempts to contact him, but that sources claimed he was being held in a military-run hotel in Jinan. Outspoken: Wenguang has criticised the government in the past / AFP/Getty Images Mr Sun, an 84-year-old former professor of physics, has long been critical of China's communist leadership. Most recently he protested against huge spending on development projects abroad at a time when many Chinese remain poor. The comments were seen as a criticism of President Xi Jinping's signature "Belt and Road" initiative that has earmarked an estimated trillion dollars (768 billion) for ports, power plants and other projects linking China to parts of Asia, Europe, Africa and beyond. China censorship bans The initiative has recently run into headwinds as the countries involved appearing unwilling to accept the massive debts they stand to incur. Before the line went dead, Mr Sun could be heard saying: "Throwing money around like this is of no benefit to our country and society." He was also an early co-signer of Charter 08, a call for democratic reform whose co-author, Liu Xiaobo, won the Nobel Peace Prize but died last year while serving a sentence for subversion. T heresa May has met with French president Emmanuel Macron with the aim of winning his support on her latest Brexit plans. The pair met on Friday evening at his presidential retreat in the south of France. Mrs May cut short her holiday in Italy for talks with Mr Macron. According to his office, the pair had a working meeting followed by a private dinner. They dined on tomatoes and saffron flavoured langoustines, thyme-flavoured sea bass and chicken with vegetables. The meal was topped off with a choice of dark chocolate creme brulee or fruit, according to the BBC. The visit comes amid tensions between Britain and the EU / AP Her visit comes amid tensions between Britain and the EU over the terms of a potential Brexit deal. The Fort de Bregancon has been the holiday retreat of French leaders for decades. Isolated on a small peninsula, it can be easily secured. P resident Emmerson Mnangagwa has been declared winner of Zimbabwes first general election since the downfall of Robert Mugabe, the nation's electoral commission has said. The ZANU-PF leader defeated his rival Nelson Chamisa in a poll marred by violence, bloodshed and accusations of fraud, securing 50.8 per cent of the vote. The chairman of Zimbabwe's opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) said the party rejected the results of the election minutes before Mr Mnangagwa was declared the winner on Thursday. After two days of claims and counterclaims, officials said 75-year-old Mnangagwa secured a comfortable victory, polling 2.46 million votes against 2.15 million for 40-year-old opposition leader Nelson Chamisa. Military clashed with protesters as violence broke out on the streets / AFP/Getty Images It comes after an army crackdown on opposition protests amid unrest on the streets that led to the deaths of six people. The aftermath of the election, the first since the army's removal of 94-year-old Mugabe, revealed the deep rifts in Zimbabwean society and the instinctive heavy-handedness of the security forces. Opposition leader Nelson Chamisa, centre, is greeted by supporters during a visit to see victims of election violence at a hospital in Harare, Zimbabwe / AP On Wednesday, troops backed by armoured vehicles and a military helicopter were sent in to crush demonstrations by stone-throwing opposition supporters who said Mnangagwa's ZANU-PF party had rigged the elections. Six people were killed as soldiers, some with their faces obscured by camouflage masks, opened fire with automatic weapons. Zimbabwe Elections - In pictures 1 /63 Zimbabwe Elections - In pictures Supporters of ZANU PF celebrate the results of the general election in the early hours AFP/Getty Images Zimbabwe's Justice Priscilla Chigumba addresses media representatives as she announces the results of presidential elections in Harare AFP/Getty Images Supporters of ZANU PF celebrate the results of the general election in the early hours AFP/Getty Images Zimbabwe Electoral Commission chairwoman Qhubani Moyo, center, announces the results of the presidential elections in Harare, Zimbabwe AP Supporters of the president elect Emmerson Mnangagwa celebrate after the announcement of his reelection in Harare AFP/Getty Images Getty Images Opposition MDC party supporters protest in the streets of Harare during clashes with police AP A soldier fires shots towards demonstrators AFP/Getty Images Supporters of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change party (MDC) of Nelson Chamisa react as they block a street in Harare, Zimbabwe Reuters Zimbabweans run from riot police firing tear gas during protests in downtown Harare, Zimbabwe AP Zimbabwean anti riot police officers stand guard and close the gate of the Rainbow Towers where the election's results were announced, as supporters of the opposition party Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), protest against alleged widespread fraud by the election authority and ruling party, in Harare AFP/Getty Images Military tanks in Harare AP A Zimbabwean soldier beats a man in a street of Harare on August 1, 2018 as protests erupted over alleged fraud in the country's election AFP/Getty Images A protester gestures toward police water cannons outside of the gates of the ZImbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) during a protest against polling results in Harare, Zimbabwe EPA Soldiers open fire to disperse crowds of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change supporters outside the party's headquarters in Harare, Zimbabwe Reuters A protester is hit in the face with a water cannon outside of the gates of the ZImbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) during a protest against polling results in Harare, Zimbabw EPA Supporters of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change party (MDC) of Nelson Chamisa carry stones as they block the streets of Harare, Zimbabwe Reuters Supporters of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change party (MDC) of Nelson Chamisa burn an election banner with the face of Zimbabwe's President Emmerson Mnangagwa in Harare Reuters Zimbabwean anti riot police officers close the entrance to the Rainbow Towers where the election's results were announced, as supporters of the opposition party Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), protest against alleged widespread fraud by the election authority and ruling party, in Harare AFP/Getty Images Police patrol outside the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission offices as opposition supporters gather, in Harare, Zimbabwe AP Zimbabwean anti riot police officers stand guard at the entrance of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) headquarters in Harare AFP/Getty Images Zimbabwean anti riot police officers close the gate of the Rainbow Towers where the election's results were announced, as supporters of the opposition party Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), protest against alleged widespread fraud by the election authority and ruling party, in Harare AFP/Getty Images An opposition party supporter throws a rock aimed at Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa's election campaign poster in Harare, Zimbabwe AP Opposition supporters gesture outside the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission offices in Harare, Zimbabw AP Supporters of the opposition party Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), tear up ballot booths durinas they demand results of general election AFP/Getty Images Police and military are stationed outside parliament in Harare AP Supporters of the opposition party Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), protest against alleged widespread fraud by the election authority and ruling party, after the announcement of election's results, in the streets of Harare AFP/Getty Images MDC Alliance supporters protest the vote count outside the ZEC Offices in Harare EPA Supporters of the ruling ZANU-PF party of President Emmerson Mnangagwa celebrate Reuters supporter of the main opposition party claiming victory, celebrates outside the party headquarters in Harare, Zimbabwe AP Supporters of Zimbabwean opposition leader of the MDC Alliance party cheer as they gather at the MDC Alliance head quarter in Harare AFP/Getty Images Supporters of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change party (MDC) of Nelson Chamisa, sing and dance in the street outside the party's headquarter Reuters Supporters of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change party of Nelson Chamisa sing and dance in the street outside the party's headquarters following general elections in Harare Reuters Supporters of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change party (MDC) of Nelson Chamisa, sing and dance in the street outside the party's headquarters following general elections in Harare Reuters Supporters of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change party (MDC) of Nelson Chamisa, sing and dance in the street outside the party's headquarters following general elections in Harare Reuters Supporters of MDC (Movement for Democratic Change Alliance) leader and opposition presidential candidate cheer outside the MDC headquarters in Harare AFP/Getty Images Former Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe, his daughter Bona and wife Grace cast their votes at a polling station at a primary school in the Highfield district of Harare during the country's general elections AFP/Getty Images Police water cannons are seen in the capital, Harare, Zimbabwe AP Election posters in support of Zanu-PF's President Emmerson Mnangagwa are pasted over a mural of the former president Robert Mugabe Getty Images Zimbabweans check the results posted outside a polling station in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe AP People register and cast their ballots in the late afternoon as they vote at Efusini polling station in the township of Makokob AFP/Getty Images People wait in a queue to cast their vote at a polling station in Harare, Zimbabwe AP Zimbabwe's first lady Auxilia Mnangagwa casts her vote as she accompanies her husband at the Sherwood Primary School in Kwekwe AFP/Getty Images Police water cannons are seen in the capital, Harare, Zimbabwe AP Electoral workers empty a presidential candidates ballot box onto a table during counting operations for Zimbabwe's general election at the David Livingston Primary school in central Harare AFP/Getty Images A long queue of women voters in rural Chinyenyetu, outside Harare, Zimbabwe EPA An elderly woman shows her little finger being marked with an ink marker after she casted her vote at the Batsirai Primary school just outside Harare, Zimbabwe EPA Police officers queue outside St Patrick School polling station in the township of Makokoba AFP/Getty Images A Zimbabwean man points at a newspaper headline, in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe AP Zimbabwe's President Emmerson Mnangagwa casts his ballot as he votes in the general election at Sherwood Park Primary School in Kwekwe, Zimbabwe Reuters Observers check the tally of votes at a polling station for the general election in the suburb of Mbare of Zimbabwe's capital Harare AFP/Getty Images Zimbabwe's main opposition leader Nelson Chamisa casts his vote at a polling station in Harare, Zimbabwe AP Zimbabweans queue as they wait to vote at the Sherwood Primary School in Kwekwe, Zimbabwe AP A woman walks after casting her ballot in the country's general elections in Harare, Zimbabwe Reuters A lady carrying a child in an election queue at a polling station where Zimbabwe President casts his ballot at Sherwood Primary School in Kwekwe AFP/Getty Images A man casts his vote at a polling station in Harare, Zimbabwe AP MDC Party President Nelson Chamisa (C) leaves after having cast his vote at the Kuwadzana 2 Primary School just outside Harare, Zimbabwe EPA Voters queue to cast their ballots in the general elections in Harare, Zimbabwe Reuters An elections officer applies indelible ink to a voter finger during early morning voting in Kwekwe as Zimbabwe conducts a general election AFP/Getty Images A voter casts her ballot in the general elections in Harare, Zimbabwe Reuters People queue early in the morning outside a polling station located in the suburb of Mbare in Zimbabwe's capital Harare AFP/Getty Images Voters await the opening of a polling station during early morning voting in Kwekwe as Zimbabwe conducts a general election AFP/Getty Images Zimbabwe's former president Robert Mugabe is assisted during a press conference at his private residence Reuters The following day, soldiers ordered civilians off the streets of the capital, despite calls from foreign governments and international organisations for calm and for political leaders to show restraint. Police then sealed off the headquarters of Chamisa's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) before storming the building and arresting 16 people. The search warrant said they were looking for unlicensed firearms, grenades and stones. Unrest: Opposition supporters protest outside the offices of Zimbabwe's electoral commission / AP Coupled with video of soldiers firing on unarmed demonstrators on Wednesday, the raid does serious damage to Mnangagwa's efforts to rehabilitate the image of a country synonymous with political repression and economic collapse. Questioning the independence of the judiciary, Chamisa said he was reluctant to go to court to challenge the results, saying this would be "going into the lion's den". Military tanks in Harare as opposition supporters clashed with police / AP "We are not about to be a meal for lions," he told reporters, alleging that Mnangagwa's ruling ZANU-PF party had rigged the poll but without providing any concrete evidence. An MDC official briefly interrupted the results announcement to say the party rejected the result as it had not been able to verify them. Army take streets after Zimbabwe elections Wednesday's crackdown by the army crushed the last vestiges of euphoria that followed its removal of Mugabe in November and fuelled suspicions that the generals who launched the coup remained Zimbabwe's de facto rulers. In Harare, the contrast could not have been starker with November, when hundreds of thousands filled the streets, hugging soldiers and celebrating their role in ousting Mugabe, the only leader Zimbabwe had known since independence in 1980. "They are showing their true colours now. We thought they were our saviour in November but they fooled us," said newspaper vendor Farai Dzengera, saying that the brief dream of an end to decades of repression was over. R iot police in Zimbabwe stormed a press conference by opposition leader Nelson Chamisa and, armed with batons and shields, chased away reporters. The electoral commission overnight announced that President Emmerson Mnangagwa, a former enforcer of longtime leader Robert Mugabe, had narrowly won Monday's election. But Mr Chamisa and the opposition party threatened to challenge what they call the "fake" election results in court. Ahead of the start of a planned news conference held on Friday, police chased away waiting journalists shouting "out, out," a Reuters witness said. Police: the reporters were told to leave by officers / AP Ruling party officials then urged reporters to stay and attend the briefing, and opposition supporters heckled the police as they left. Mr Chamisa later said he held the election result to be: "fraudulent, illegal and illegitimate." Police did not say why they were taking such action, but it heightened the apprehension that remained in Harare after the army rolled in with tanks on Wednesday to disperse rock-throwing demonstrators. Police did not explain why they were asking reporters to leave / AP Zimbabwe's closely-watched elections began with Monday's peaceful vote but turned deadly 48 hours later when the military fired on protesters and six people were killed. Demonstrators denounced Mr Mnangagwa and alleged vote-rigging in the country's first vote after the fall of longtime leader Robert Mugabe. Zimbabwe Elections - In pictures 1 /63 Zimbabwe Elections - In pictures Supporters of ZANU PF celebrate the results of the general election in the early hours AFP/Getty Images Zimbabwe's Justice Priscilla Chigumba addresses media representatives as she announces the results of presidential elections in Harare AFP/Getty Images Supporters of ZANU PF celebrate the results of the general election in the early hours AFP/Getty Images Zimbabwe Electoral Commission chairwoman Qhubani Moyo, center, announces the results of the presidential elections in Harare, Zimbabwe AP Supporters of the president elect Emmerson Mnangagwa celebrate after the announcement of his reelection in Harare AFP/Getty Images Getty Images Opposition MDC party supporters protest in the streets of Harare during clashes with police AP A soldier fires shots towards demonstrators AFP/Getty Images Supporters of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change party (MDC) of Nelson Chamisa react as they block a street in Harare, Zimbabwe Reuters Zimbabweans run from riot police firing tear gas during protests in downtown Harare, Zimbabwe AP Zimbabwean anti riot police officers stand guard and close the gate of the Rainbow Towers where the election's results were announced, as supporters of the opposition party Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), protest against alleged widespread fraud by the election authority and ruling party, in Harare AFP/Getty Images Military tanks in Harare AP A Zimbabwean soldier beats a man in a street of Harare on August 1, 2018 as protests erupted over alleged fraud in the country's election AFP/Getty Images A protester gestures toward police water cannons outside of the gates of the ZImbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) during a protest against polling results in Harare, Zimbabwe EPA Soldiers open fire to disperse crowds of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change supporters outside the party's headquarters in Harare, Zimbabwe Reuters A protester is hit in the face with a water cannon outside of the gates of the ZImbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) during a protest against polling results in Harare, Zimbabw EPA Supporters of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change party (MDC) of Nelson Chamisa carry stones as they block the streets of Harare, Zimbabwe Reuters Supporters of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change party (MDC) of Nelson Chamisa burn an election banner with the face of Zimbabwe's President Emmerson Mnangagwa in Harare Reuters Zimbabwean anti riot police officers close the entrance to the Rainbow Towers where the election's results were announced, as supporters of the opposition party Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), protest against alleged widespread fraud by the election authority and ruling party, in Harare AFP/Getty Images Police patrol outside the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission offices as opposition supporters gather, in Harare, Zimbabwe AP Zimbabwean anti riot police officers stand guard at the entrance of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) headquarters in Harare AFP/Getty Images Zimbabwean anti riot police officers close the gate of the Rainbow Towers where the election's results were announced, as supporters of the opposition party Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), protest against alleged widespread fraud by the election authority and ruling party, in Harare AFP/Getty Images An opposition party supporter throws a rock aimed at Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa's election campaign poster in Harare, Zimbabwe AP Opposition supporters gesture outside the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission offices in Harare, Zimbabw AP Supporters of the opposition party Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), tear up ballot booths durinas they demand results of general election AFP/Getty Images Police and military are stationed outside parliament in Harare AP Supporters of the opposition party Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), protest against alleged widespread fraud by the election authority and ruling party, after the announcement of election's results, in the streets of Harare AFP/Getty Images MDC Alliance supporters protest the vote count outside the ZEC Offices in Harare EPA Supporters of the ruling ZANU-PF party of President Emmerson Mnangagwa celebrate Reuters supporter of the main opposition party claiming victory, celebrates outside the party headquarters in Harare, Zimbabwe AP Supporters of Zimbabwean opposition leader of the MDC Alliance party cheer as they gather at the MDC Alliance head quarter in Harare AFP/Getty Images Supporters of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change party (MDC) of Nelson Chamisa, sing and dance in the street outside the party's headquarter Reuters Supporters of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change party of Nelson Chamisa sing and dance in the street outside the party's headquarters following general elections in Harare Reuters Supporters of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change party (MDC) of Nelson Chamisa, sing and dance in the street outside the party's headquarters following general elections in Harare Reuters Supporters of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change party (MDC) of Nelson Chamisa, sing and dance in the street outside the party's headquarters following general elections in Harare Reuters Supporters of MDC (Movement for Democratic Change Alliance) leader and opposition presidential candidate cheer outside the MDC headquarters in Harare AFP/Getty Images Former Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe, his daughter Bona and wife Grace cast their votes at a polling station at a primary school in the Highfield district of Harare during the country's general elections AFP/Getty Images Police water cannons are seen in the capital, Harare, Zimbabwe AP Election posters in support of Zanu-PF's President Emmerson Mnangagwa are pasted over a mural of the former president Robert Mugabe Getty Images Zimbabweans check the results posted outside a polling station in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe AP People register and cast their ballots in the late afternoon as they vote at Efusini polling station in the township of Makokob AFP/Getty Images People wait in a queue to cast their vote at a polling station in Harare, Zimbabwe AP Zimbabwe's first lady Auxilia Mnangagwa casts her vote as she accompanies her husband at the Sherwood Primary School in Kwekwe AFP/Getty Images Police water cannons are seen in the capital, Harare, Zimbabwe AP Electoral workers empty a presidential candidates ballot box onto a table during counting operations for Zimbabwe's general election at the David Livingston Primary school in central Harare AFP/Getty Images A long queue of women voters in rural Chinyenyetu, outside Harare, Zimbabwe EPA An elderly woman shows her little finger being marked with an ink marker after she casted her vote at the Batsirai Primary school just outside Harare, Zimbabwe EPA Police officers queue outside St Patrick School polling station in the township of Makokoba AFP/Getty Images A Zimbabwean man points at a newspaper headline, in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe AP Zimbabwe's President Emmerson Mnangagwa casts his ballot as he votes in the general election at Sherwood Park Primary School in Kwekwe, Zimbabwe Reuters Observers check the tally of votes at a polling station for the general election in the suburb of Mbare of Zimbabwe's capital Harare AFP/Getty Images Zimbabwe's main opposition leader Nelson Chamisa casts his vote at a polling station in Harare, Zimbabwe AP Zimbabweans queue as they wait to vote at the Sherwood Primary School in Kwekwe, Zimbabwe AP A woman walks after casting her ballot in the country's general elections in Harare, Zimbabwe Reuters A lady carrying a child in an election queue at a polling station where Zimbabwe President casts his ballot at Sherwood Primary School in Kwekwe AFP/Getty Images A man casts his vote at a polling station in Harare, Zimbabwe AP MDC Party President Nelson Chamisa (C) leaves after having cast his vote at the Kuwadzana 2 Primary School just outside Harare, Zimbabwe EPA Voters queue to cast their ballots in the general elections in Harare, Zimbabwe Reuters An elections officer applies indelible ink to a voter finger during early morning voting in Kwekwe as Zimbabwe conducts a general election AFP/Getty Images A voter casts her ballot in the general elections in Harare, Zimbabwe Reuters People queue early in the morning outside a polling station located in the suburb of Mbare in Zimbabwe's capital Harare AFP/Getty Images Voters await the opening of a polling station during early morning voting in Kwekwe as Zimbabwe conducts a general election AFP/Getty Images Zimbabwe's former president Robert Mugabe is assisted during a press conference at his private residence Reuters The military were not visible on Harare's streets on Friday but water cannons and police remained present, however, at the headquarters of the main opposition party, a day after authorities raided it and made 18 arrests. Mr Mnangagwa, 75, Mr Mugabe's former enforcer and confidante, said he was "humbled" by the victory and in a Twitter post urged Zimbabweans to stay peaceful. The opposition said it will challenge in court the results of the election, which Mr Mnangagwa won with just over 50 percent of the vote. Army take streets after Zimbabwe elections Mr Chamisa, who received more than 44 percent of the vote, said on Twitter that "unverified fake results" had been announced by the electoral commission. Mnangagwa urges calm as he casts his vote Zimbabwe's president urged the country to remain peaceful, saying: "We are one people, with one dream and one destiny. We will sink or swim together." The 75-year-old President Emmerson Mnangagwa took over after longtime leader Robert Mugabe stepped down in November under military pressure. Mnangagwa casts his vote Mnangagwa's top challenger is 40-year-old Nelson Chamisa, who took over the main opposition party after the death of longtime Mugabe challenger Morgan Tsvangirai in February. Mnangagwa has cast his vote in his constituency of Kwekwe, about 200 kilometers south of the capital, Harare. Mnangagwa wore a scarf with the country's national colors as he arrived at a primary school converted into a polling station, and chatted briefly with election workers after casting his ballot. C ountry music powerhouse Thomas Rhett has teamed up with sister Danielle Bradbery after championing her music career. Rhett, 28, features on Bradberys new single Goodbye Summer, which is out now. Texas-born Bradberry, 22, said she has struggled to keep schtum about the single, saying it has been a work in progress for a long time. Im so excited for fans to hear Goodbye Summer, she told Standard Online. Its something Ive been working on for a while now, and I had to stay pretty quiet about it. Loading.... The fact that I was able to collaborate with Thomas Rhett on the song makes it 10 times better. Rhett praised Bradberys voice, and said collaborating on their summer tune was a no-brainer. Ive been in Danielles corner since day one, he said. She has the best voice on the planet and has kind of been like a sister to me for a long time, so I am really, really excited to be a part of this single. The release comes months ahead of Rhetts Hammersmith Apollo gig which will see Bradbery as the support act. Rhett recently opened up about his excitement at returning to the capital, saying he hopes to squeeze in some sightseeing. When I was in the UK last year, we were on a tight schedule so didnt have much time for sightseeing, he told Standard Online. But what I love about the UK is theres so much history everywhere you look, whatever town you are in, especially London. Im hoping next time we come over well have a couple of days off to go exploring a little. Bradbery has a handful of famous fans having previously toured with country star Miranda Lambert as well as collaborating with Nick Jonas to sing Tove Los part for his single Close. K atie Price has recalled the terrifying carjacking her and her family endured during a holiday in South Africa. Earlier this year, the model and her family were targeted during a holiday as they travelled around the country with their camera crew. Price recalled the ordeal for her Quest Red show My Crazy Life, reliving the moment the chaos erupted. In scenes to be shown Monday night, she said: The kids wanted a wee, the next thing I know Ive got this guy at the window and his face was just mad. Ordeal: Katie Price relived her trauma for the cameras (Quest Red ) / Quest Red Junior and Princess are screaming and Im going, Calm down, calm down. The guys going, Open the f*****g door. Then one of them came around the other way with a big stick trying to smash on the window, shouting, If you dont open it Ill f*****g kill you. Price then revealed that she was determined not to let the carjackers anywhere near her kids as they reached in to try grab things from the car. Katie Price - in pictures 1 /46 Katie Price - in pictures Instagram/katieprice @katieprice Jeff Spicer/Getty Images Katie Price: Harvey & Me Glen Gratton SplashNews.com @zoejamesmua PA Wire/PA Images The Adventures of Katie and Carl Fluffy style Katie at a film premiere in London in February Dave Benett Crisis talks Katie Price and Derrick Pountney after crisis talks via Showbiz Bang Loved up Katie Price with husband Kieran Hayler, who had an affair with her best friend Katie Price Twitter Image Shining in silver The model pictured at a screening of a Lego film which she attended with her children (Picture: Sean Dempsey/PA) Sean Dempsey/PA Wire Extravagant Katie Price poses with a copy of her autobiography - Love, Lipstick And Lies - in one of her famously extravagant attires (Picture: Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images) Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images Angel Katie Price at aphotocall to launch her new venture KP Rocks (Picture: Ben Pruchnie/Getty Images) Ben Pruchnie/Getty Images My Little Pony Katie Price wore a strange pink horse outfit for the fifth birthday of her equestrian school PA Riding in Katie riding a horse for a book launch in London Ferdaus Shamim/Getty Images Cooling off Katie Price poses in a bikini in the I'm A Celebrity shower ITV/Rex Features Getty Images Getty Images Getty Images Getty Images Getty Images Getty Images Bongarts/Getty Images Getty Images Getty Images Getty Images Getty Images Getty Images Getty Images Getty Images Getty Images Getty Images Getty Images Getty Images Getty Images Getty Images Getty Images Getty Images Getty Images Getty Images Getty Images Getty Images Getty Images Getty Images Getty Images The 40-year-old continued: Im trying to calm the kids down, and inside Im thinking, Were dead, were actually dead The noise, the threats, it was just utter chaos. It was the worst thing Ive ever been through in my life. Pretty shockingly, f*****g scary. Price, who split from third husband Kieran Hayler earlier this year, has recently found love with fitness trainer Kris Boyson. Photo: CTV A Richmond boy is recovering from serious burns received at a Lower Mainland beach. Federica Carcani said her family was at Centennial Beach in Delta recently when her three-year-old son, Bruce, wandered into a discarded pile of fire ashes. "He was crying very quietly, saying 'Mommy, something really hurt my feet,'" Carcani said. Looking around, she noticed a metal fire pit on the beach and the hot ashes in the sand nearby. She and her husband put the boy's feet in the water to cool down, but they were seriously blistered. He's being treated at BC Children's Hospital and may require skin grafts. Bruce has been left unable to walk, prompting Carcani to remind beach-goers to douse fires properly and use ash disposal bins at the beach so other children don't get hurt. "Hopefully by the end of the summer he'll be able to swim again," she said. with files from CTV Vancouver B ritish actress Maureen Lipman CBE is joining the cast of Coronation Street, making her debut next month. Lipman, 72, will play Tyrone Dobbs grandma Evelyn Plummer who will reach out to him following the death of his mother Jackie. Described as an outspoken battleaxe, Evelyn is set to really test Fiz and Tyrone as she muscles in and takes over at number 9. Lipmans character will also find herself clashing with the many residents of Weatherfield thanks to her abrupt nature. Tornado: Evelyn Plummer will cause chaos for Tyrone Dobbs and Fiz Stape following the death of Tyrone's mum Jackie / ITV Coronation Street Producer Iain MacLeod said: I am beyond thrilled that we are introducing such a great new character, played by someone of Maureens pedigree. Evelyn is eye-wateringly withering and will add a fresh dollop of northern humour to the show as she turns Tyrone and Fizs lives upside down. Actress: Maureen Lipman CBE is the latest big signing for the soap / PA This will be Lipmans second appearance in the long-running ITV soap, having made a brief appearance as Lillian Spencer back in 2002. The veteran actress will make her debut on the Cobbles in September, but it is unclear how she will first crash onto the Street. Throughout Lipmans illustrious career, the actress has starred in hit films including The Pianist, Oklahoma and Educating Rita although she is no stranger to the small screen having been in Plebs, All at Number 20 and The Fugitives. But perhaps her most iconic role was welcomed into thousands of households as Beatie in the BT Adverts throughout the 1980s. I n a Manhattan boardroom, an Old Media dynastic struggle is afoot. Its part Shakespearean, part Murdochian. Logan Roy (played by Brian Cox) is the grouchy, thrice-married, soon-to-retire, 80-year-old boss of the fifth-largest media conglomerate in the world. Hes querying his sons puckish enthusiasm for spending $1 billion on a website. The formidable moguls heir-apparent seethes. Its not a f*****g website its a portfolio of online brands and digital video content and its part of an upstream investment strategy to save us, he rattles, rattled, without pausing. Meanwhile, tasked with delivering a report, another scion, played by Matthew Macfadyen queries his deadline: Whats the prekend? Its Thursday lunchtime to Friday afternoon, and its the new corporate norm, stupid. Roy family: left to right, Kendall (Jeremy Strong), Roman (Kieran Culkin), Logan (Brian Cox), Shiv (Sarah Snook) and Connor (Alan Ruck) / HBO Soon the family will depart, at the snap of the patriarchs fingers, in a fleet of helicopters for their country estate. The child of the housekeeper will be humiliated by another of the four Roy offspring, and a consigliere will be summarily fired. Macfadyens character, a clown with a whiff of sulphur, will mentally torture his sad-sack nephew, admitting with a shark-like grin to being a terrible, terrible prick. This is Succession, HBOs latest big-bucks, big-for-its boots and punchily brilliant drama. So far, so Peak TV. But the difference here is that this glossy, 10-episode, uber-American import was written by a Brixton resident, previously best known for very British comedies. And it was dreamed up in the unremarkable environs of an office for hire in central London. We had the writing room here, cause Im based here, explains Successions originator, show runner and scriptwriter Jesse Armstrong, so we hired a Regis office off Oxford Street. Lead: Brian Cox as Logan Roy / HBO Armstrong, 47, is best known as the co-creator, alongside Manchester Uni pal Sam Bain, of Peep Show and Fresh Meat. From top to bottom, from budget to ambition, Succession is a very different beast from those cult sitcoms. In US TV writing-room style, Armstrong headed a team of seven American writers, working 10am to 6pm over six months last year. You know, they got used to the continual sound of drilling, no air-con, warm Coke smiles the cheerful father-of-two as we talk in another grim room, a windowless cell in Successions publicists Holborn offices. Lack of indulgence certainly produced lean, taut scripts that bristle with bitter family strife, incisive commentary on the current global media-political complex and hard-edged humour. Still, Armstrong is uncomfortable with the unwieldy term dramedy, simply stating thats how I write. It is a drama, but it does have some jokes in it. To his mind, The Sopranos, Six Feet Under and Breaking Bad all fit that model. I wouldnt argue my head off with anyone who called those comedies. Sure, blacker than black, and not always comedic, and they also do all sorts of things. But thats what I would aspire to: to have that freedom of [creative] movement. If you exclude comic tone you end up taking some of these powerful characters at their own estimation, as if they never make a mistake. End of an era: Mark throws a party for Jez's 40th birthday in the last episode of Peep Show / Channel 4 After a career largely spent working with Channel 4 and the BBC (he was also a writer on The Thick of It), Armstrong was seduced by the budgets yet undaunted by the rigours of US television production. He insists that he and his team werent regularly buzzed by swarms of incoming HBO execs. They came over once to make sure we werent just getting high off Oxford Street. Theyre the opposite of meddlers. Entertaining on multiple levels, Succession plots a sure footing through the shifting tectonic plates of modern media ownership and tech innovation, and a very vicious political climate. Theyre worlds in which Armstrong has long been interested. In his early 20s he was a really crap researcher for the Labour Party, leaving when Tony Blair swept to power in 1997. Ten years ago he wrote an as yet unfilmed script about the Murdoch clan. Succession isnt looking at daily party politics, although it is trying to engage with why politics is the way it is now. But I wouldnt be crazy about trying to write Brexit: The Sitcom. Succession: The HBO drama is on Sky Atlantic / HBO I tell him that Benedict Cumberbatch is currently filming his Channel 4 Brexit drama in London. Is he? Well, good luck to him! I remember talking to someone who wanted to do a Jeremy Corbyn drama, about what a disaster he was then the election last year comes along and maybe that story isnt going to be what you thought it was Succession has been commissioned for a second series, and writing is already under way. Are they being indulged with a bigger Regis space? No, weve got a nice office this time, grins Armstrong, nearer me in south London. I hope the writers like their new environs but its not Santa Monica! Succession is on Sky Atlantic and NOW TV Jesse Armstrong Hit Box Sets Fresh Meat- Netflix Put six very different young students in a house-share together and the results are at once hilarious and poignant. Starring Jack Whitehall and Zawe Ashton. Peep Show Season 9- Netflix The latest series sees the return of hapless college chums Mark and Jeremy living together in a flat in Croydon. The Thick of It- Netflix Photo: The Canadian Press The Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce is refunding 1.4 million customers for improperly charging credit card fees over 14 years. The country's fifth-largest bank says some credit card accounts in Canada may have been incorrectly charged a fee for exceeding the credit limit between 2003 and 2017. Higher insurance premiums were also charged on optional creditor insurance. Refunds are being made with interest. Average refunds of about $50 will be issued until October. CIBC is notifying affected current and former clients directly. The bank declined to disclose how the error was discovered but says the issues have been corrected. 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"I'm very pleased to reiterate our appreciation for the British Royal Air Forces' presence, namely the rd 160 military deployed at the Mihail Kogalniceanu Air Base and the Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft that are performing consolidated air police, 1 May through 31 August 2018. I'm emphasizing here the professionalism and dedication with which they carry out their daily activity and implicitly contribute to maintaining a regional peace and stability climate. I'm using this opportunity to reconfirm our wish to continue this particularly priceless collaboration to Romania, which alongside a solid exercise joint programme, the affiliation of forces and staff to the allied command and control structures in Romania, as well as a consistent participation in the naval field, will give the bilateral cooperation an enhanced architecture," Fifor said. UK Secretary of State for Defence Gavin Williamson stressed that the British military in Romania help NATO send a signal to its opponents regarding the deterrence of any threat and security preservation.You are defending the Romanian people, the peoples in Eastern Europe and the people of the United Kingdom, in a time of growing international turbulence. No further than last week you took off to intercept a bomber belonging to Russia that was flying close to the NATO air space. We, in the UK, have come to learn, as best possible, the growing perils of the state-to-state aggressions. We have witnessed a ten-time increase of the Russian subs' activity in the Northern Sea and use of a neurotoxic agent in Salisbury (...) a first time when chemical agents are used on European soil ever since the end of WWII. Moreover, you are supporting NATO here - the largest defensive alliance worldwide - to send a signal to its opponents. A signal that we will not allow ourselves to be intimidated. A signal that we stand united in our decision to deter any threat and to maintain the safety and security of almost one billion people. And eventually, you are placing a cornerstone here for the global UK, showing that in darker times it will never recede within its shores, but on the contrary it will continue to defend the continent's security as it has done for centuries now, Williamson stated.The UK guest also talked about strengthening bilateral ties with Romania in defence.Today (Thursday, ed. n.) we have made this commitment even stronger by strengthening the bilateral ties with Romania. And not only by the fact that we have sent military experts to guide the Romania-led South-East Multinational Division, within a larger military application of fight capacity assessment due this year, but also by the agreement to sign a collaboration protocol that will establish, for the years to come, the path of our relationship in defence, the UK Secretary of State for Defence said.The two officials met on Thursday at the southeastern Air Force 57th Air Base Mihail Kogalniceanu with servicemen with the UK Royal Air Forces' detachment deployed to Romania to perform enhanced air police missions, as well as with staff of the Romanian Air Forces which are activating at the 57th Air Base.According to a release by the Ministry of National Defence, in 2018, the British Royal Air Forces have participated with top-notch aircraft (T45 HMS Duncan destroyer) in specific training missions in the Black Sea, while the British Royal Land Forces have had a constant participation in joint drills with Romanian military. The British RAF, which this year celebrate 100 years of existence, have deployed at the Air Force 57th Air Base Mihail Kogalniceanu, for the 2nd year in a row, an Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft detachment to train together with the Romanian air and naval staff, aiming to increase interoperability at allied level and perform enhanced air police missions, from 1 May to 31 August. Moreover the British staff officers are operating in the South-East Multinational Division Command and the NATO Forces Integration Unit /NFIU on Romania's territory. The Police will propose the dropping of charges in the case of the driver of the automobile with personalised plates registered in Sweden, announced on Friday, the Bucharest Road Brigade. The Road Brigade is also due to hand over to the Swedish authorities the customized registration plates. "In accordance with the latest details received on the international police cooperation channels, the Romanian Police will hand over to the Swedish authorities the personalized registration plates, with foul language content, that were picked up on 31 July 2018, given that they were withdrawn by the issuing party. (...) As for the criminal case currently under prosecution, the Road Brigade within the Bucharest Police General Inspectorate will propose today to the competent prosecution unit the solution to dismiss the case," a press release sent to AGERPRES on Friday informs.According to the same source, the vehicle can now only travel using its permanent registration plates."Concerning the erroneous way in which the Road Brigade with the Romanian Police General Inspectorate has accomplished its legal argumentation concerning applicability, in this case, of the Vienna Convention of 1968, the General Inspectorate of the Romanian Police has already ruled the launch of investigations, at the end of which legal measures will be taken and will be brought, at once, to the attention of the public opinion," the quoted press release specifies. The death toll from Saudi-led coalition airstrikes on Yemen's Red Sea port city of Hodeidah on Thursday increased to 52, the city's Health Office said in a statement obtained by Xinhua. "The death toll from the airstrikes that struck in front of the Public al-Thawra Hospital and on the popular fish market increased to 52, while 102 civilians were wounded," the statement said. [File photo: AP] "The toll was not final as scores of injured were in critical conditions," it said, citing the office's director Abdulrahman al-Jarallah. The airstrikes hit a fishing port and a popular fish market, about 5 meters away from the main gate of Public al-Thawra Hospital in the city, a hospital official earlier told Xinhua by phone. The official put the death toll at 30, but adding that dozens of bodies and injured were still trapped at the scenes of the airstrikes because of continuing air and sea bombardments. There were no comments yet from the Saudi-led coalition. The attack was the latest in a series of recent airstrikes launched by the Saudi-led coalition on Hodeidah. Last week, a Saudi-led coalition airstrike killed at least five people of a family in the country's northern province of Saada. The impoverished Arab country has been locked in a civil war since the Houthi rebels overran much of Yemen militarily and seized all northern provinces in 2014, including the capital Sanaa. Saudi Arabia leads an Arab military coalition that has intervened in the Yemen war since 2015 to support the government of exiled President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi. More than 10,000 Yemenis, mostly civilians, have been killed in the war, and about 3 million have been displaced. On June 13, the coalition began a major offensive to retake Hodeidah city from the rebels. The war has since raging on the city. On Tuesday, the Houthis offered a unilateral initiative to their foe Saudi-led coalition forces to halt war for two weeks in the Red Sea. The rebels' initiative came a week after Saudi Arabia suspended its oil shipments through the Red Sea strait of Bab al-Mandeb after Houthi fighters attacked two Saudi oil tankers. Accusing the Narendra Modi government of waging a war against the people of the country especially Dalits and minorities, activists from across the nation on Friday demanded immediate release of all political prisoners and repealing of draconian laws like the UAPA and the AFSPA. Addressing an event titled Kis Kis Ko Qaid Karoge in the national capital, activists demanded the immediate and unconditional release of wheelchair bound Delhi University professor GN Saibaba, activist Rona Wilson and lawyer Surendra Gadling among five arrested under UAPA in connection with the Bhima Koregaon violence and Bhim Army founder Chandrashekhar Azad among others. At the event organised by a host of organisations, activists likes celebrated novelist Arundhati Roy and former Bombay High Court judge GB Kolse Patil called Prime Minister Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah as perpetrators of the 2002 Gujarat pogrom and demanded their arrest. Expressing alarm over the abuse of UAPA and AFSPA to stifle dissent, Roy dubbed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) as Bharatiya Jalao Party and said the saffron brigades defeat was imperative to save the country. As 2019 approaches, the coming months will be more dangerous than you expect. They are the Bharatiya Jalao Party and are ready with matchsticks to stoke communal fire anywhere and everywhere. In the name of caste, in the name of religion, they have been pitting us against each other for their own political motives. What is happening in Assam today will soon happen in other states and across the country. Then who will decide who are Indians and who should reside in the country? said Roy referring to Assam's National Register of Citizens (NRC) which has omitted over 40 lakh people sparking allegations of witch-hunt against ethnic minorities. Referring to various political prisoners including GN Saibaba, Roy said the RSS-BJP regime was using arrest as a weapon to stifle dissent. We all know how the judge who was dealing with Amit Shahs case died mysteriously, but this government instead of probing his death, is busy arresting people who dare to stand against it. Deep down they are afraid of an imminent defeat (in 2019 elections) and they can go to any extent to try and stave off that defeat, said Roy evoking the mysterious death of CBI judge BH Loya. Calling all to unitedly fight the saffron brigade, Roy said: Our fight will not end with their defeat in elections, the fight will end only when the killers of thousands are arrested and sent to jail. Speaking in the same vein, Justice Patil said under the Modi regime there is undeclared emergency. There is undeclared emergency in the country. Whoever dares to stand up against this regime is thrown into jail. Those who opposed the freedom movement (RSS) are now running the show. Unless and until we unite, we cannot fight these forces, said Patil. Calling for the release of political prisoners, Patil said that Shah and Modi should be in jail for their involvement in the Gujarat riots. There are evidences proving both Shah and Modi were responsible for the Gujarat riots. Instead of they being in jail, they are running the country. So it for us to decide whether we want to go down without a fight or stand up and overthrow this oppressive regime, added Patil. Amid the incessant slogans for the release of Saibaba and others, the activists drew the peoples attention towards the serial abuse of laws like the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and Armed Forces (Special Powers) Acts (AFSPA). Enumerating various incidents of UAPAs abuse and misuse, Kolkata based rights activists Sujata Bhadro demanded the draconian law be immediately repealed. He said the fight for human rights will not be completed unless all political prisoners were released and laws like the UAPA were repealed. Activist Kavita Srivastava of the People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) said the Modi regime has unleashed a war on the people of India where every dissenting voice is being thrown into jail. The list of arrestees is getting longer each day. Its a procession which will continue and intensify in the coming months. Their (BJP) aim to shut us up either through arrest, through UAPA and through implication in false cases. They can go to any extent. The only way to save this country and safeguard our human rights to ensure their defeat in 2019, said Srivastava. President Klaus Iohannis lodged with Romania's Constitutional Court (CCR) on Friday, a request for the settlement of the legal conflict of a constitutional nature in the relation with the Prime Minister, the president motivating that Viorica Dancila did not inform him about taking the legal holiday and designating another member of the Gov't to exercise her duties. Decision no. 247/2018 signed by Viorica Dancila is invoked in the request tabled with the CCR, according to which, 6 to 13 August, Paul Stanescu, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Regional Development and Public Administration will exercise the prime minister's duties, holding the operative leadership of the Gov't. "The failure of Romania's Prime Minister to inform Romania's President of the impossibility to exercise her duties 6 to 13 August 2018 and her action to designate another member of the Gov't to temporarily exercise, the prime minister's duties by issuing an act (Decision no. 247/2018) exceeding the competencies established by the Fundamental Law, has brought about a legal conflict of a constitutional nature between the two authorities (...). By proceeding in such a manner, Romania's Prime Minister places herself outside the constitutional framework provided for by Article 107 paragraph 3 in the Constitution," the request shows.According to the same source, premier Viorica Dancila also breached the provisions of Article 1, paragraph (5) of the Fundamental Law, its component that refers to the supremacy of the Constitution, as well as to the principle of loyal collaboration, as it was developed in the Constitutional Court's jurisprudence."The constitutional role and the specificity of the prime minister's duties entail that he/she exercise his/her duties permanently and uninterruptedly wherever he/she might be, including during the legal holiday. However, every time he/she should consider that it is impossible to exercise his/her duties, even on this occasion, take precedence the constitutional provisions regarding the assurance of the prime minister's interim duties," the request for the settlement of the legal conflict of a constitutional nature further mentions. The ordinance for the transposition of Directive 2302/2015 on the package travel guarantee, a legislative draft adopted by the government on Thursday, will allow the complete refunding of package tours paid for and unfulfilled by tour operators, as well as the urgent repatriation of tourists left stranded out of the country because of the tour operator's going bankrupt, the Tourism Ministry said on Thursday. "We succeeded today in doing what no one before had the courage to do. Although we had this danger looming over our heads since 2014, following the first directive compelling us to step up protection measures for tourists, no minister had the guts to implement the 100 percent refunding of packages paid for by tourists and left unfulfilled by troubled travel agencies. The message is clear: 'We no longer allow Romanian tourists to be stolen!' Up until now, travel agencies could sell travel packages running in the millions of euro, and if they ended up in insolvency, the claimants were referred to the insurance policy which, according to the current legislation, is worth 50,000 dollars. In other words, the deceived Romanians did not get compensation, they were left without both the money and the holiday. That's the only way we can avoid getting into situations like the Omnia case, where the travel agency's owner used the people's money for other purposes and not even to this day have the tourists recovered their damages," Tourism Minister Bogdan Trif said in a release to AGERPRES. According to the cited source, the operator may choose the form of guarantee from insurance, bank guarantee letter or mutual fund, solutions that can be applied jointly or individually. What really matters is that the package is insured. "With the implementation of the ordinance, the ministry introduced new protection measures for tourists, in the first place the full reimbursement of travel packages is guaranteed for the event of the travel agencies' insolvency, and the new bill provides for the urgent repatriation of the tourists left outside the country due to the agency's going insolvent," the release said. At the same time, as a further protection measure for tourists, the ministry also changed the licensing requirements for tourism agencies. Thus, the operators holding tourism licenses for the organization of travel activities are required to have a minimum share capital of 25,000 lei, as to 200 lei at present. A contest for political control of Europe is gearing up between two American teams, one headed by the long-established George Soros, and the other now being set up by the upstart Steve Bannon, US President Donald Trumps former campaign-manager. Soros has long led Americas liberal billionaires in controlling Europe, and Bannon is now organizing a team of Americas conservative billionaires to wrest that control from the liberal ones. Whereas Soros claims to represent the publics interests, Bannon claims to represent the populations interests thats the populist side of Americas billionaires, versus the established public-interest (Soros) side of them. Two American brands of philanthropists' will thus now be fighting for control over Europe's political markets (or institutions). Its a battle to serve either the public or else the people, and each political brand will be struggling to keep Europe as an ally in American billionaires war against Russia (which all American billionaires want to defeat), but each team does this from a different ideological perspective, one being liberal, and the other being conservative. Just as there is liberal-conservative political polarization between billionaires domestically within a nation, there also is such political polarization between billionaires regarding their given nations foreign policies; and Americas billionaires are politically very highly polarized, both nationally and, increasingly, internationally as well. None of them is progressive, or left-populist. The only populism that any billionaire currently promotes is right-populist', which is Bannons team. (Stalin was left-populist; and Hitler was right-populist; but neither dictator really was at all populist, which is simply democratic and against the aristocracy.) Both teams demonize each other within the United States for control over the US Government, but both are now competing against each other internationally for control over the entire world, by two different brands: liberal versus conservative. Both brands endorse democracy or the allies; and both support spreading that democracy by means of invading and occupying dictatorships or the enemies. In Europe, this is called imperialism; in America, it is called neo-conservatism or neoconservatism; but no American billionaire actively opposes it (because to oppose it would be to oppose the aristocracy itself, the billionaires control over the Government the very system that has been enormously successful for them, far more than the public itself recognizes). After World War II, Americas billionaires took control of, first western Europe, and, then, after 1990, once the Soviet Union and its communism and its Warsaw Pact military alliance ended, they gradually took all of Europe. They did this not only by expanding NATO after 1990 (even as its mirror-organization the Warsaw Pact had disappeared and thus NATOs nominal raison detre was actually gone) but by means of the EU, which was created in the 1950s as a joint effort by American and European billionaires and their agents all of them being anti-Russian (or, as the public line at the time went, anti-communist). Their real aim was conquest, first of all absorbing all allies of Russia, and then ultimately of absorbing Russia itself complete global conquest. The public announcement of this new war by American billionaires for control over Europe, appeared on 20 July 2018, in the US neoconservative (i.e., pro-imperialism) neoliberal propaganda-site, The Daily Beast (its pro-Soros, anti-Bannon; and so says that Soros has given away $32 billion to liberal causes instead of paid $32 billion to liberal causes for isolating and ultimately defeating Russia). This liberal article, against the conservative Bannon, opened as follows: https://www.thedailybeast.com/inside-bannons-plan-to-hijack-europe-for-the-far-right HELLFIRE CLUB Inside Bannon's Plan to Hijack Europe for the Far-Right Bannon is moving to Europe to set up The Movement, a populist foundation to rival George Soros and spark a right-wing revolt across the continent. NICO HINES 07.20.18 9:57 PM ET LONDON Steve Bannon plans to go toe-to-toe with George Soros and spark a right-wing revolution in Europe. Trumps former White House chief advisor told The Daily Beast that he is setting up a foundation in Europe called The Movement which he hopes will lead a right-wing populist revolt across the continent starting with the European Parliament elections next spring Bannon has spent his career after the US military as an agent for various US billionaires, most recently for the ones that backed Donald Trump in the Republican primaries and so bought the Partys nomination for him. Whereas the chief brain behind Democrat Hillary Clintons campaign was Googles Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt, the chief brain behind Donald Trumps was Steve Bannon who had been hired for this purpose by billionaire mathematician and private-equity chief Robert Mercer who partnered on the operation with billionaire venture capitalist Peter Thiel. After Trump won the nomination, Bannon stayed on and his operation came to be funded most by the US-Israeli casino billionaire couple, Miriam and Sheldon Adelson. But all of the Republican billionaires(Jewish, evangelical Christian, and even some otherwise) were big supporters of Israel. Israel, of course, is allied with the Sauds, who own Saudi Arabia; and both Israel and the Sauds are even more focused on destroying Iran than on destroying Russia (the US aristocracys chief goal). Only Americas billionaires are obsessed to conquer Russia. They've been that way ever since World War II ended. As the columnist Ambrose Evans-Pritchard accurately summarized in Britain's Telegraph, "The European Union always was a CIA project, as Brexiteers discover: US intelligence funded the European movement secretly for decades, and worked aggressively behind the scenes to push Britain into the project. As this newspaper first reported when the treasure became available, one memorandum dated July 26, 1950, reveals a campaign to promote a full-fledged European parliament. It is signed by Gen William J Donovan, head of the American wartime Office of Strategic Services, precursor of the Central Intelligence Agency. The key CIA front was the American Committee for a United Europe (ACUE), chaired by Donovan. Another document shows that it provided 53.5 per cent of the European movement's funds in 1958. The board included Walter Bedell Smith and Allen Dulles, CIA directors in the Fifties, and a caste of ex-OSS officials who moved in and out of the CIA. Bill Donovan, legendary head of the war-time OSS, was later in charge of orchestrating the EU project. Papers show that it [ACUE] treated some of the EU's 'founding fathers' as hired hands, and actively prevented them finding alternative funding that would have broken reliance on Washington. There is nothing particularly wicked about this. The US acted astutely in the context of the Cold War. The political reconstruction of Europe was a roaring success. However, his opinion at the end there isnt entirely true, because at the same time, the CIA was working with thousands of secret Nazi and Fascist agents in Europe, whom the OSS had secretly collected and protected at the end of WWII and who continued secretly throughout the Cold War to carry out CIA operations to subvert not just communist agents in Europe but, even more than that, to subvert democratic agents in Europe who favored not subordination to the US but instead the democratic sovereignty of Europeans, over their own land's politics. Therefore, from the very get-go, the EU was a means to impose, upon Europeans, control by US international corporations, for the benefit of corporate America. That was the overriding purpose of the EU subordination to Americas billionaires, no authentic democracy. Vassalage within the US empire was and is the goal of them all to conquer, first, Europe, and then, the world. Evans-Pritchard urges his readers: In my view, the Brexit camp should be laying out plans to increase UK defence spending by half to 3pc of GDP, pledging to propel Britain into the lead as the undisputed military power of Europe. This pro-imperialist view of his, is an extension of that by Cecil Rhodes late in the 1800s, for a UK-US global empire in which those two imperial powers the old one and the new one would gradually take control over the entire world. George Soros has been working for that objective feverishly. Steve Bannon is against that internationalist viewpoint, and he favors instead the nationalist one, but in both the liberal and the conservative versions, Americas billionaires will take in an increasing proportion of the worlds wealth. The contest between these two teams is over how best to achieve this objective. There is also a second reason why Americas billionaires are rabid against todays Russia, above and beyond that of Americas billionaires demanding to control the world. This reason is that, under Vladimir Putin, Russias policy has been to demand that all billionaires, both domestic and foreign, accept that in Russia, the welfare of the Russian public takes precedence over and above the welfare of any and all billionaires. This is a principle that billionaires everywhere, and especially the American ones who prior to Putins leadership were robbing the Russian federal treasury, cannot tolerate. So: in siding with Americas billionaires, Europeans have been siding also with billionaires as a class siding with the super-rich against the public, everywhere. Why would Europeans be doing such a thing? Arent they supposed to have at least some degree of choice in such a matter? Arent they supposed to live in a democracy? This is something unheard of. A NATO country has imposed personal sanctions on senior officials of another member of the bloc! The White House has announced that the US Treasury Department is imposing sanctions on two Turkish officials, Minister of Justice Abdulhamit Gul and Minister of Interior Suleyman Soylu, because of what has happened to Andrew Craig Brunson, a detained American pastor who was tried on espionage and terror-related charges. He faces up to 35 years in jail if convicted. Brunson is one of 20 Americans who were charged after the coup two years ago. The US has refused to extradite Pennsylvania-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, who is wanted in Turkey for allegedly organizing the 2016 coup detat attempt. Turkeys private citizens and companies have been sanctioned before, but imposing punitive measures on top government officials is a game-changing move. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has refused to bow. He warned that the US may lose a strong and sincere ally in Turkey. No doubt the bitter diplomatic spat is at risk of escalating further. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is willing to meet with his Turkish counterpart in regard to Brunsons fate, but a compromise is not on the horizon, as Ankara has taken a firm stand. The US Congress has just finalized the fiscal 2019 defense bill, which contains restrictions on weapons sales to Ankara. The idea to hit Turkey with punitive measures over alleged human rights violations and its purchase of the Russian S-400 Triumf missile-defense system has substantial support in Congress. Actually, Russia and Turkey are in the same boat now that both are under sanctions from the US. Washington is angry about its citizen who has been detained in another country, but what about its own record? For instance, Russias citizens have been arrested in the US and forced to face unfair trials. Some of them have been detained outside of the United States. They are kept behind bars and sentenced by kangaroo courts. Marina Butina was arrested in the US on July 15. The charges are absurd: a student is being accused of conspiracy and acting as a foreign agent without registering as one. The US has so far refused to let Russia interrogate Americans who could shed more light on the Bill Browder case. The deterioration of US-Turkish relations may lead to a standoff in northern Syria, due to American support for the Kurdish-dominated Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). It may affect the status of Americas military aircraft stationed at the Incirlik air base. Ankara may not allow the US to use Incirlik against Iran if a conflict ignites, which would significantly restrict US air power in the region. The United States Air Force may have to leave the base completely, like the German aircraft did some time ago. Turkeys disappointment with the US and NATO is deepening. The talks on joining the EU are in limbo. During the recent BRICS summit, Ankara said it wanted to join that organization, which is positioning itself as a global pole of power that is independent from the West. Turkey doesn't look ready to ditch NATO for good just yet, but it wont be a US partner if push comes to shove and a US-Iran conflict is triggered. At the moment Iran is readying a large-scale military exercise in the Persian Gulf, which is generally perceived as a step to block oil exports. Iran has threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz. We will make the enemy understand that either everyone can use the Strait of Hormuz or no one, declared the IRGCs commander, Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari, on July 5, 2018. Ankara can spoil things for the US by refusing to take part in its anti-Iranian sanctions. The Turkish government has already said it will continue to trade with Tehran. Turkey imported three million tons of crude oil from Iran in the first four months of 2018, comprising 55% of its crude supplies and 27% of its total energy imports. Ankara could create free-trade zones at border crossings and resume gold exports to facilitate money transfers to Tehran. It all has gone too far. Even if President Trump turned a blind eye to Turkeys S-400 deal and its fruitful energy cooperation with Russia, the US Congress would not. A Senate committee has approved the Turkey International Financial Institutions (TIFA) bill, restricting loans to that country. The House is to follow suit. The process is unstoppable. The lawmakers will go on introducing new measures against Turkey as well as Russia, making the two nations natural allies in opposition to the US global domination. The US will tighten the screws on Turkey, and President Erdogan has no choice but to resist. The American pressure will provoke a backlash. The US refusal to comply with its obligations and deliver F-35 jets to Turkey will inevitably make Ankara consider buying Russian aircraft. There is little the US could do for Turkey in Syria but the Astana process offers a chance to reach its goals through political compromise with those partners. Actually, there is little the West can offer Turkey that would be in its best interests. The differences are irreconcilable, which will shift Ankaras foreign-policy priorities from the West toward the East. Eurasian integration is much more promising for Turkey than the continuation of futile attempts to find its place in the West as an equal partner. For instance, Turkeys membership in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) would pave the way for a role in lucrative economic projects. It would also bring together the Shanghai Pact and the Cooperation Council of Turkic-Speaking States (CCTS) an international organization of Turkic countries, consisting of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Turkey. Moving in the direction of Eurasia is a natural choice for Ankara, and the current rift with the United States is just another example confirming this fact. Photo: Hurriyet Daily News This week saw renewed effort by US politicians and media to ramp up the information war against Russia. The impetus came from the US-based social media network, Facebook, declaring that it had identified coordinated political influence campaigns. Never mind that the internet giant admitted that it did not know the actual identify of the organizers, that did not stop US news media and senior Washington politicians jumping to conclusions that Russia was guilty (again) of interfering in US politics. Facebooks head of cybersecurity Nathaniel Gleicher was quoted as saying: At this point in our investigation, we do not have enough technical evidence to state definitively who is behind it. Somehow this baseless information was miraculously turned into evidence pointing to Russian malign activity. Mark Warner, a member of the US Senate Intelligence Committee, reacted to the non-issue with the following categorical words: Todays disclosure is further evidence that the Kremlin continues to exploit platforms like Facebook to sow division and spread disinformation. Its rather astounding that a senior US lawmaker who is running the intelligence community can make such a preposterous assertion based on no facts. Even the Trump White House, which is caught up in a web of contradictions, was impelled to jump to wrong conclusions. A spokesperson said President Donald Trump will not tolerate foreign interference in our electoral process from any nation state or other malicious actors. It is a clear sign of how collectively paranoid the US political and media establishment have become whenever they make such wild extrapolations based on infantile innuendo and fatuous reasoning. In the following editorial comment in a New York Times report it was stated: Like the 2016 Russian interference campaign, the recently detected campaign sought to amplify divisive social issues, including through organizing real-world events. There is no credible evidence that Russia interfered in the US 2016 presidential election. None whatsoever. Moscow has repeatedly affirmed that it had nothing to do with US internal affairs. President Vladimir Putin reiterated the position earlier this month during his summit in Helsinki with Trump. Trump even appeared to agree, only to do a U-turn under fierce pressure from political opponents back home labelling him a traitor. Nevertheless, in spite of no evidence, the NY Times, like the rest of the corporate American news media and politicians in Washington, has converted fiction into fact, which is then used to provide evidence to substantiate further fiction as fact. Pertinent facts are excluded, however. Such as: Facebook is a global company with a claimed membership of two billion users more than a quarter of the worlds population. Those figures indicate that the US population (310 million) represents only about 15 per cent of Facebooks total users. Facebook seems to be happy to make billions of dollars in advertising profits from having all its non-US foreigners. But when some of those foreigners post messages or information concerning American politics and society then that is construed as interference in US affairs. The point is that Facebook and other US-based social media platforms are global entities. They cant have it both ways. If their predominantly foreign members want to join in conversations, agitation or even erroneous rumors, then thats the way it is. It seems prissy and precious for American online capitalists and politicians to go into hissy fits about foreign meddling. Its all the more ludicrous to extrapolate such activity to precisely Kremlin influence campaigns. Another fact is that modern US politics and society is riven with divisions and acrimony over numerous issues that stem from its own inherent problems. President Trump is at war with large sections of the Congress and news media. The claims about Russia collusion are just a stalking horse with which to attack him. In the wider US society there are growing bitter disputes between, for example, conservatives and liberals, far-right nationalists and anti-fascists, anti-immigration nativists and pro-immigration advocates, religious evangelicals and secularists, pro-war and anti-war, gun rights groups and abolitionists, pro-police and anti-police, climate-change deniers and environmentalists. The list goes on and on. For US media and politicians to cite internet organizers taking up any one of these issues as evidence of sowing division in American society, and specifically to attribute that effort to Russian interference, is a case of living in spectacular denial about the onerous challenges confronting that nation from within. Sowing division in the US is an intrinsic function of its own erosion as a monstrously unequal society under a failing corporate-finance capitalist economy, which seems to only prop itself up by waging illegal wars around the world and demonizing foreigners. Blaming Russia or any other foreign actor for its own internal failing and floundering is a denial by those Washington politicians and news media who do not want to be held to account democratically. The alarming thing is that as the US mid-term elections in November approach over the next three months we can expect an intensification of the information war against Russia as a malign actor. That is a dangerous slippery slope descending into hysterical claims that Russia is committing acts of war. Already such unhinged claims have been made by certain US politicians and media pundits. As the social divisions in the US become ever more desperate, so too will the anti-Russia rhetoric from its paranoid politicians and news media. Click the image above to watch the video In today's forecast occasional rain will be developing in the morning but clearing in the afternoon. The northerly will be dying out in the afternoon. It's a three-clothing layer day with a high of 14 and an overnight low of 6 degrees. Humidity is 100 per cent. High tide is at 11.10am and low tide is at 5.20pm. There's a sea swell of .3m with a sea temperature of 15 degrees. Sunset tonight is at 5.25pm. If you're going fishing today the best fish bite time is between 4 and 6pm. In NZ history on this day in 1872 Anthony Trollope arrived for a New Zealand tour. Anthony Trollope, one of the Victorian eras most famous novelists, landed at Bluff at the start of a two-month tour of New Zealand. In 1941 a Finnish sailing ship was seized as a war prize. Five days after its arrival in Wellington, the four-masted barque Pamir was seized in prize by the New Zealand government. In world history on this day in 1492 Christopher Columbus left Spain on his voyage to the new world. In 1553 Mary Tudor, the new Queen of England, entered London. In 1610 Henry Hudson of England discovered a great bay on the east coast of Canada and named it for himself. In 1914 Germany declared war on France. In 1958 the first nuclear submarine, USS Nautilus, passed under the North Pole. In 2004 on this day the Statue of Libertys pedestal reopened to visitors after being closed following the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Today is the birthday of English poet Rupert Brooke. Born in 1887, he once wrote "I know what things are good: friendship and work and conversation. These I shall have." To get involved in some of the many activities happening around the Bay, please check out our What's on page. Have a great day! Bay of Plenty Are you looking for a labouring job that has an immediate start date? Do you like to be active and engaged while working... View or Apply on GoodWork.co.nz CLAY, N.Y. -- Two years after a fire damaged a Clay home, the former homeowner has been charged with setting the residence ablaze. Scott A. Rockwell was arrested Monday by the New York State Police and charged with arson. The 38-year-old Fulton man was arrested after a two-year-long investigation. No one was home when 903 Allen Road caught on fire 8:14 p.m. on June 15, 2016. Before the fire, Rockwell -- who owned the one family home at the time -- placed a delayed ignition system in basement rafters of the residence, troopers said. A fire eventually started, leaving the home with "substantial" damage, troopers said. Onondaga County fire investigators determined the fire had been intentionally set. The type of delayed ignition system used to start the fire -- along with a motive -- were not specified. Troopers were not immediately available for comment. Rockwell bought the Allen Road home for $150,000 in June 2012, county property records show. He sold the residence for $15,000 in February. Rockwell, of 868 Rowelee Road, was charged with third-degree arson. He was arraigned and released from custody. Troopers were assisted by the North Syracuse Fire Department and county fire investigators. A Syracuse man faces 10 years to life in prison after pleading guilty to trying to have sex with a minor, according to a Thursday news release from the United States Attorney's Office in the Western District of New York. Charlie P. Conant, 27, of Syracuse, sent messages to an undercover New York State Police investigator posing as a 12-year-old girl indicating he wanted to have sex with her, according to the attorney's office. He pleaded guilty to attempted online enticement of a minor. On Feb. 27, the investigator found a post by Conant on a website that appeared to target minors for sex, the attorney's office said. Posing as a 12-year-old, the investigator messaged Conant over the course of several months, the attorney's office said. On May 15, Conant sent messages to the undercover investigator indicating he wanted to meet with her in Seneca Falls, New York, the attorney's office said. They arranged to meet on June 14 in Seneca Falls. When Conant arrived, he was arrested, the attorney's office said. While being interviewed by New York State Police, Conant wrote an apology later to the child who didn't exist, according to a criminal complaint filed in federal court. Conant is set to be sentenced Nov. 5. SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- A woman has been charged with attacking a man with a knife during an argument late Thursday on Syracuse's Near West Side. Kristine Perry, 48, of Syracuse, has been arrested by the Syracuse Police Department and charged with assault. It does not appear she knew the man she stabbed, said Detective George Hack. Police responded to the 300 block of Shonnard Street around 11:20 p.m. When they arrived, officers spoke to a wounded man with a cut on his right cheek, Hack said. Perry had pulled out a knife and cut the man during an argument, the man told police. The man was taken by American Medical Response to Upstate University Hospital. His injury is not considered life-threatening, Hack said. Perry was charged with second-degree assault and third-degree criminal possession of a weapon, both felonies. As of Friday morning, she remained in the Onondaga County Justice Center. SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- Because of a math error, the state education department gave too much federal money to Syracuse's three charter schools during the 2017-2018 school year and shortchanged the city and suburban school districts. The department said a calculation mistake resulted in an over allocation of $12 million to schools statewide, most of them charter schools, and an underpayment of $12 million to school districts. "The state Education Department regrets this unfortunate error and any undue burden it may place on schools," state Education Commissioner MaryEllen Elia said in a prepared statement. The federal funding involved money allocated for educator professional development. The amounts represent relatively small portions of the overall budgets of schools and districts. The state said it will reimburse most districts that were shortchanged this year. Syracuse, Buffalo, Rochester and East Ramapo will be paid over two years, while New York City will be paid over four years. The state will reduce funding over five years to schools that were overpaid to recoup the money. Syracuse's three charter schools were overpaid $136,829, while the city school district was shortchanged by $168,316. Charter schools are free, independent public schools funded by the district and state Every suburban district in Onondaga County was shortchanged by amounts ranging from $1,552 in Skaneateles to $20,582 in North Syracuse. "We are taking immediate steps to correct it and ensure it does not happen again," Elia said. Ithaca, N.Y. -- Catholic Charities in Ithaca began resettling refugees two years ago, responding to increased demand. That year, New York took in more than 5,000 refugees. But a little more than a year after it began, the Ithaca program shut down. The agency planned to start small, resettling 50 refugees a year. In 2016-17, it settled 11. And this year, it settled two. "We received word that we would no longer be able to resettle refugees because of the low refugee admission numbers," said Sue Chaffee, who runs the immigrant services program at the agency. In 2016, New York resettled 5,347 refugees. That year, people who worked in resettlement expected that those numbers would increase. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops prepared by asking places like the Catholic Charities in Ithaca to add resettlement to their programs, Chaffee said. "We were already providing services to refugees in the community so this seemed like a good fit for our program," Chaffee said. But in 2017, the numbers dropped so steeply that Chaffee's program, which planned to start small with 50 refugees, found itself with a fraction of that. The program is one of a handful in New York and more across the country that have shut down as the flow of refugees in the the state and the nation is squeezed down to a trickle by policies that began in the first days of Donald Trump's presidency: He cut legal immigration from several predominantly Muslim and dropped the cap on the number of refugees the U.S. will allow in to 45,000, the lowest it's been since the refugee program began in the 1980s. Refugee arrivals in Upstate NY County 2016 2017 Decrease Albany 541 118 -78% Erie 1,970 682 -65% Monroe 936 231 -75% Oneida 434 193 -56% Onondaga 1,466 416 -72% Total: 5,347 1,640 -69% Source: NYS Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance Experts project the number of refugees settled in the U.S. for 2018 will be about 20,000. (Refugees are counted on the fiscal year, which ends Oct. 1). This week, the White House has been discussing the new cap for refugees, which needs to be set soon. There have been reports that the cap will be set at 25,000 or lower. Part of the rationale for Trump's order and cap reduction was to increase security and improve screening of refugees. Immigration advocates and lawmakers questioned that reasoning because there have been few, if any, examples of terrorism committee by people who were accepted to the U.S. as refugees. There are more than 25 million refugees in the world, waiting to be accepted by the U.S. or another country. The U.N. High Commission on Refugees estimates that half of those are children under the age of 18. Refugees come to the U.S. legally and are put on a path of become citizens. While there is an expense in settling them and helping them get on their feet, data shows that they find employment, pay taxes and often purchase homes. As the number of refugees declines, larger agencies are keeping the programs running by absorbing the costs in other areas, hoping the numbers pick up in years to come. In Ithaca, Chaffee said, they spent a year preparing to welcome refugees, training staff, getting the required certifications and approvals, and getting the community to buy in to the concept. "We were prepared and our community was prepared; it's sad to think about how all that energy is forced to be put on hold," she said. But they'll do it all again if the refugees return. "I'm sure we can get that momentum back." Syracuse, N.Y. -- If you have a backyard pool, New York state wants your help in controlling an invasive pest. August is the month the Department of Environmental Conservation runs its annual Asian longhorned beetle swimming pool survey. This is the time of year when the insects become active outside of the trees they are infesting. Volunteers are asked to check pool filters and skimmers, and email pictures of suspected Asian longhorned beetles. The 1.5-inch beetles are black with white spots on their wing cases, and their black-and-white antennae can be twice as long as their bodies. "Pool monitoring offers a simple, economical approach to surveying for Asian longhorned beetles and gives the public a chance to take an active role in protecting the trees in their yards and communities," DEC Commissioner Basil Seggos said in a news release. Beetles have been found in New York City and Long Island, and those populations were eradicated. DEC officials say the pests could spread. "Since maples are a preferred host, the spread of the beetle into the rest of the state would mean devastating impacts to the maple syrup industry through the loss of healthy sugar bush," according to a DEC fact sheet. Information about the beetles is available on the DEC's website. Contact Glenn Coin: Email | Twitter | Google + | (315) 470-3251 ROME, NY - A number of residents in Rome reported finding weighted plastic bags containing printed information about the Ku Klux Klan, deputies said. The information about the United Northern & Southern Knights of the KKK appears to be have been left between 4 a.m. and 6:30 a.m. Friday in the area of Glen Road South, according to the Oneida County Sheriff's Office. Gov. Andrew Cuomo ordered the State Police to join the investigation to determine the origin of the materials and whether they are designed to promote or incite hate crimes, according to a news release from the governor's office. The state also ordered police patrols increased in the area. Cuomo alos ask the state Hate Crimes Task Force and the Division of Human Rights to launch a public awareness campaign to combat hate. Deputies are asking anyone with information regarding this investigation, whether they had personal contact with an individual or individuals, saw suspicious vehicles or have home security images to call 315-736-0141. All calls will remain confidential, they said. Oneida County Sheriff Robert Maciol said he finds the KKK to be an organization that ""encourages hatred and bigotry, and I don't condone this organization or anything it stands for." Maciol said, however, that leaving the information and soliciting people to join the KKK is a legal right. "If the actions of this group turns to soliciting people to commit violent acts, or they cross the line and break the law, the Sheriff's Office will not hesitate to file criminal charges against them," he said. The sheriff's office is working with the Oneida County District Attorney's Office, the New York State Police, the Rome Police, and the Mohawk Valley Crime Analysis Center regarding this incident. KKK information also was distributed in Westmoreland in Oneida County in March. Syracuse, NY -- Astronaut Jeanette Epps, a Syracuse native who was scheduled to go to space this year only to be pulled from a June launch, was not chosen for future missions that were announced today by NASA. Epps, 47, a Corcoran High School and Le Moyne College graduate, was supposed to go to the International Space Station as part of the Expedition 56/57 crew. Epps would have been the first African-American to live at the station. Fourteen African-Americans have gone to space and several have visited the station without staying. Epps was supposed to live there for about six months. But Epps was pulled from the mission in January without explanation. The flight took off without her. Today, the space agency announced astronauts who will fly to the station aboard a new type of spacecraft developed by two American companies, Boeing and SpaceX. Epps was not chosen for that mission, either. Epps has said she doesn't know why she was pulled from the original flight crew. It was not due to health or family issues, she said. Her brother has suggested "racism" was behind her removal. In public comments in June, Epps said she didn't have enough information to speculate on the racism charge, but hoped she'd be considered for future missions. "There's no time to really be concerned about sexism and racism and things like that, because we have to perform," Epps said in her June interview. "And if it comes into play, then you're hindering the mission, and you're hindering the performance. And so whether or not it is a factor, I can't speculate what people are thinking and doing unless I have a little bit more information." NASA did not immediately respond to a request for information about any future missions that Epps might be assigned to. SYRACUSE, N.Y. - A state truckers association has come out against tearing down Interstate 81 and replacing it with a street-level community grid. The Trucking Association of New York supports high-speed options to bring traffic to and through Syracuse, according to Save81.org, a group pushing for building a new elevated highway or a tunnel to replace I-81 in Syracuse. The state is considering three major options to replace the aging I-81: Community grid: Improved viaduct: A tunnel: The state is expected to decide which option to approve early next year. "We feel it's important to educate the public and the decision makers about why maintaining I-81's existing route will serve our community now and for decades to come," said Steve Erwin, Central Region Vice Chair for the Trucking Association of New York. "We cannot afford to get this choice wrong." Sending trucks on city streets could increase the chances of crashes and would harm air quality, the truckers' group and Save81 said in a news release. Under the community grid proposal, the state estimates about 12 percent of the I-81 traffic is through traffic that would be diverted around the city on I-481. It is estimated that would mean a little less than 12,000 vehicles would be diverted to I-481, state officials have said. Save81.org is a group of residents, elected officials, employers, unions and community groups opposed to diverting I-81 traffic around Syracuse. Heineken is buying a $3.1 billion stake in China's top brewer in a bid to challenge Anheuser-Busch InBev's position as the largest foreign beer maker in the world's biggest market. The Dutch brewer will gain a 40 percent stake in the parent of China Resources Beer Holdings Co., maker of the country's best-selling Snow brand. The move gives Heineken a strong local partner in a market that's embracing imported beers but has proved challenging for overseas players from Asahi Group Holdings to Carlsberg. While foreign companies in industries ranging from cars to clothing are stepping up efforts to tap China's vast consumer market, the beer business is still dominated by affordable domestic brands like Snow, a light brew whose label depicts a mountain climber hanging onto a cliff face. But costlier options like Heineken and AB InBev's Budweiser are driving growth, with the market expected to expand by 21 percent to $106 billion in just four years. The trend toward upmarket brews should benefit foreign producers whose beers are seen as higher quality, but many have struggled to increase their share in a market where a nationwide supply network takes years to build. China Resources Beer "lacks a premium brand for growth, and we lack the distribution reach CRB definitely has," Heineken Chief Executive Officer Jean-Francois van Boxmeer said on a call with reporters. Japan's Asahi sold out of its stake in China's Tsingtao Brewery Co. in December after failing to gain traction for its top-selling "Super Dry" brand, while Carlsberg has relied on its control of a local brewer, Chongqing Brewery Co., to build up a presence largely confined to China's western region. The Danish company has about 5 percent market share overall. AB InBev, meanwhile, has steadily cornered the premium market and holds a 16 percent share overall. It's expanded the Budweiser label while buying up local craft beer brands and aggressively marketing its Goose Island brand to fashionable millennials in China's urban centers. The Leuven, Belgium-based giant inherited a 49 percent stake in the Snow owner via its acquisition of SABMiller in 2016 but had to sell it to settle antitrust concerns. The deal announced Friday gives Heineken a strong partner as the European companies step up a costly battle for share in countries like Brazil and China, with beer sales flattening or falling in the U.S. and other more developed markets. "It's impossible that Heineken can grab a significant larger market share in China by itself," said Barney Wu, an analyst at Guotai Junan Securities Co. "It has missed the chance as other international rivals such as AB InBev have become strong market leaders in the market." In the largest brewery deal to date in China, Heineken is paying an implied price of HK$36.31 a share of the listed entity, a premium of 2.4 percent above its Thursday closing price. China Resources Beer shares fell as much as 2.7 percent in Hong Kong, trimming their gain for the year to 24 percent, while Heineken rose as much as 1.7 percent in Amsterdam early Friday. Heineken's operations in the country will be combined with those of China Resources Beer, and the Dutch brewer will license its brand to the Chinese partner on a long-term basis. China Resources Beer's parent company will acquire Heineken shares worth about 464 million euros ($538 million). The Dutch company will make its global distribution channels available to China Resources' brands including Snow. The deal offers China Resources Beer opportunities for both the Snow and Heineken brands. Chief Executive Officer Hou Xiaohai said the company aims to move the Snow brands upmarket, while building Heineken into the No. 1 brand in China's high-end market. "The premium market is the important battlefield for brewers to win in China," Hou said on a conference call. "The mission is clear, but it's also facing many challenges." Anheuser Busch has expanded Budweiser while buying up local craft beers and aggressively marketing its Goose Island brand to millennials in China's urban centers. Heineken has struggled to build its footprint in China, with less than 0.5 percent of the market last year, according to Euromonitor. Its share has remained stagnant largely due to the lack of a local distribution network, said Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Shen Li. The Chinese market has shrunk 7 percent in volume from 2012, even as it has surged 42 percent in value, according to 2017 data from Euromonitor International, as the rising middle class pivots toward more expensive goods, often imported. China Resources Beer is working with Nomura Holdings Inc. and UBS Group AG, according to regulatory filings. JPMorgan Chase & Co. is acting as sole financial adviser to Heineken, people with knowledge of the matter said, asking not to be identified because the information is private. The National Electoral Council (CNE) of Venezuela and the Carter Center of the United States signed a memorandum of understanding to guarantee the impartiality and objectivity of the... | Read More Steel workers who accepted a pay freeze to save BlueScopes troubled Port Kembla plant three years ago are considering launching strikes to fight for substantial wage rises now that the business is profitable again. Hundreds of staff at Australias largest steelworks are preparing to vote on whether to walk off the job, accusing BlueScope management of refusing to give a fair share back to its workforce after returning to bumper profits. BlueScope workers Glenn Leake, left, and Lance Turner. Credit:Sylvia Liber In a deal praised by BlueScope management as game-changing during the 2015 steel crisis, union workers endorsed a pay freeze, about 500 job cuts and a restructuring of work practices, which helped to achieve $60 million in savings and prevent the closure of Port Kembla. BlueScope posted more than $700 million in profits in the 2017 financial year, and $441 million in the six months to December. Shabia Mantoo retrained to set herself up for a career in humanitarian work. You dont have to look too far to find corporate employees who dream of making more of a difference in their workday. But for each person that dreams of it, a far smaller number make the leap into a career in the non-profit world. Shabia Mantoo is one who did. Although Mantoo reiterates she did learn a lot in her first career, as a corporate lawyer, something was missing. I didnt feel professionally and personally fulfilled. So, I quit my corporate job and went back to the books, she says. Mantoo enrolled in a Masters degree where she studied International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights Law before tacking on other postgraduate studies in management and legal practice. "We have these political hero narratives going through our whole system and in my opinion they're fascist narratives. The way that Trump got elected was by saying 'I'm a hero. I'm going to save you'." She says that the rhetoric in Beowulf and other hero stories is what Trump used during his own election campaign. "It was really effective." Now that Trump is in power, she says, he is extending this monster narrative. "He's closing the borders saying that anyone who isn't an American citizen is a monster and he's adding other categories to that," including people with a pre-existing medical condition, those who have been sexually assaulted, people of colour, and the poor. "I'm interested in how the rhetoric can create mob fear, for Americans to think 'oh my god, the monsters are coming' not realising that they are themselves monsters," she says. Many of the people who voted for him "didn't realise that they would be categorised as monsters, that they wouldn't have health insurance, that they would die from their diseases". She pauses: "He's done nothing heroic." Headley is working on a companion piece, a translation of the original, due out next year. Her novel is revisionist Grendel's mother gets revenge. Headley wanted the feeling that there were some monsters in this story but they were not who the reader expected them to be. Tackling the novel first meant she was able to realise the outcomes she wanted from the story and get those resolutions out of her system. She can now approach the translation authentically. "I got to say what I wanted to say about it," she says, "I have a big agenda but that agenda isn't to get it [the translation] wrong." Richard Yates's Revolutionary Road was inspiration for the suburban setting of The Mere Wife. Headley lived in the well-to-do suburbs of Seattle for 12 years in between growing up in rural Idaho and her current home of Brooklyn. "In my childhood we were really poor so I had a lot of trouble integrating myself into the community of a suburb." She says she found the suburbs weird but also interesting in terms of privilege. "It made me think about the structure of America and it made me pretty critical." Her experience fed into many aspects of the novel, "the way that women interact with each other and the way they interact with men, how they maintain status for themselves". She describes suburban communities as isolationist cells. This contrasts with life in the city: "In New York, you're always speaking to your neighbours." Headley grew up in Idaho with a survivalist father on a property where they raised sled dogs, a setting that has heavily influenced her writing. "I grew up in such a weird version of an American childhood, it was like we were a century back from other people," she says, "there was all this wondrous weirdness. I believed the natural world was full of magic." In her writing, she uses tropes from a range of genres horror, science fiction and fantasy to create a big imaginary world. But she says the genre community sees her as too normal and the literary community thinks she is weird. "I have trouble with genre divides anyway," she adds. The Mere Wife contains unexpected points of view from the natural world including a dog and a mountain, but she would not have introduced these perspectives had her background been in writing realist fiction. Along with her novels for teenagers and adults, Headley has written plays and screenplays, short stories, essays and a memoir. "My whole career has been going 'Oh, what haven't I done yet?', which is not how most people say you should do it." She wrote the first draft of The Mere Wife in two weeks in 2015 and sold it immediately to a publisher, but it's not the same book that has ended up being published. "This book is more political," she says, a result of the events of the past few years. Plus she wanted to refine the novel. "I did a lot more work than I've ever done on any other book and it was really fruitful." But that's no guarantee what she learnt will be useful in the future. "With every book I learn how to be a writer again and then I forget again completely." Headley believes in the transformative power of stories: she wants a more empathetic and fairer society, "so we have a less angry, upset, frustrated, murderous world. That's my goal ... That's why I write." She says "books have changed my whole perception". Her isolated upbringing meant she had little understanding of how society worked. "I learnt it all from books." As a child, she was a voracious reader. Madeleine L'Engle's Wrinkle in Time trilogy was a major influence. In those books, the protagonist's mother is a Nobel prize-winning scientist, which made her realise that girls could grow up to be known for something other than "for being pretty, or for being nice, which are often the tropes that are given to girls". She says: "To have the idea that you could be known for the work your brain does was massively life-changing." The other stories that Headley thinks are changing the world, are the personal narratives coming out of movements such as #MeToo. She is joyful that these conversations are finally happening. "I think that the culture is shifting and that makes me happy. We're not there yet ... we continue to engage in profound oppression as a culture at every level: gender oppression, sexuality, an ableist culture and racist culture." She says Americans have long denied problems with gender equality. "I've been mad for so long about my own tolerance for terrible things. At least now I can talk about it in public without people saying 'oh, you crazy feminist'." "Let them eat cake" seemed to be the mantra at the launch of this year's Good Food Month as it celebrates its 20th anniversary. Not one, but two mouth-watering tower cakes by Andy Bowdy of Saga acted as the centrepieces at the Old Clare Hotel on Monday night, as well as canapes by Clayton Wells of Automata, Victor Liong of Lee Ho Fook and Mitch Orr of ACME. Gemma Oldfield and Rafael Ruiz at the launch of the Fairfax Sydney Good Food Month at the Old Clare Hotel on Monday. Credit:Steven Woodburn Loading The event, which this year runs from October 4-21, will see the return of Hyde Park Palms, Good Food Month's pop-up restaurant in the heart of Hyde Park North which will play host to conversations with culinary masters such as Neil Perry, Bill Granger, Christine Manfield, Stephanie Alexander and Ross Lusted and dinners with international talent such as Italy's Isabella Poti and LA's Jason Neroni. Quarantine stations are by their nature sombre places, where people languished either ill, or in fear of illness. And so I'd never lingered there myself. But as we wandered about the site I realised what a mistake that had been. When we last visited we were disappointed to discover that the road to the fort was being improved, so most of the park was closed. But our picnic lunch was already packed, so we decided to eat it on the beach near the car park, next to the remnants of the old quarantine station. Fort Nepean isn't dressed up. There's no fancy visitors' centre with interactive screens, no audio tour you can hire at a modest price, no gift shop full of plastic souvenirs. Even the signs dotted about the place, outlining the site's history, are rusty and minimal. Of all the destinations that my family regularly visits on our weekend outings, my favourite is Fort Nepean on the tip of the Mornington Peninsula. We always stop to see where Harold Holt disappeared, speculating about nefarious Chinese submarines, before moving on to the spot where the first shot of World War I was fired, as my kids run around the tunnels, fighting imaginary Germans. At the end of the visit we inevitably end up talking about the folly of war, the children full of solemn questions. Like the fort itself, there are few services here, just basic picnic facilities, public toilets, and a modest visitors' centre where you can hire bikes. Some of the old buildings are open, but once again, they are presented without flourish, leaving a lot to the imagination. Yet it's precisely that minimalism that makes the place so haunting. In one building we gaped at the remains of two huge and ancient machines that were used for fumigating new arrivals' luggage. At the old hospital building, my son frightened my daughter with an invented ghost story about a former patient, so much so that she refused to enter. Even after I assured her that he'd made it all up, she couldn't be moved. In a place like this, it's easy enough to believe in ghosts. Afterwards, as we sat on the grass in the winter sun, my husband commented on how peaceful it all was. And that is the most striking feature of the place. Yet it's also the quality that seems most precarious. A decade-and-a-half ago there was a move to develop the Point, but thanks to tenacious activists, those plans were scuttled. Then, just before the last state election, the then Liberal government did a deal to build a luxury resort here, offering up the best parts of the site to the privileged few, while robbing everyone else of a chance to fully enjoy this unique place. Thankfully, that was shut down by the incoming Andrews Government, who earlier this year released a far less invasive plan for the area. The attraction of a place like Point Nepean isn't just that it's beautiful, but that it's untouched, unassuming and underdeveloped. I'm sure that a huge amount of work goes into maintaining it all, but that effort is largely invisible. You feel that the place is presented as it really is, uncurated and authentic. And it's all completely free. India's signature #MeToo moment came in 2012, with the horrific case of Jyoti Singh. A 23-year-old physiotherapy student in Delhi, Singh was gang-raped and tortured on a bus by five fellow passengers, joined by the driver. That attack and her death 13 days later triggered a wave of women's protests throughout India against the "rape culture" that could allow this to happen. Damning statistics came to light, including police figures showing that a rape is reported in Delhi every 18 hours. Rape culture turned out to be just part of the picture. There was the continuing prevalence of practices officially prohibited decades ago: child marriage, dowries and associated "dowry deaths" and the aborting of unwanted girls. There was the relentless harassment of women in the street, poor female literacy, discrimination in the workplace. India was on an economic roll, but when it came to the international league tables of gender parity it was in the bottom quarter. Freida Pinto in Love Sonia, the opening film at this year's Indian Film Festival. "I get asked more about rape in India than about progress in India," says actor Freida Pinto, a strong campaigner for women's rights. Pinto is one of several stars who leapt at the chance to appear in Love Sonia, the opening film at this year's Indian Film Festival, which deals with another abomination: sex trafficking. The International Labour Organisation estimates that trafficking is worth $32 billion a year worldwide, although that is necessarily a rough estimate and a conservative one. Almost all the estimated 5 million trafficked sex slaves are girls. In India, girls are bought or lured from poor village families with promises of domestic work in the city, then put to work in brothels. ''I am interested in this thing I dont understand, which is that strong identification with the place you were born,'' says The Rider director Chloe Zhao. Viewers often assume that Zhao's two prairie films are documentaries or cinema verite: life caught as it happens. It is true that for some scenes, such as those involving the mercurial Lilly, she would simply film whatever they were doing and blend it into the narrative. "These authentic human interactions are what make this film stand up differently from other movies, so we definitely want to honour that," she says. What she had already discovered on Songs My Brother Taught Me, however, was that people at Pine Ridge didn't want to be documentary subjects. Performing was easier; it was certainly easier for Brady Jandreau. "With a story that personal, it makes him feel safe in some way." That was fine with her; for Zhao, the line between documentary and fiction isn't important. "I do think now that cinema has evolved a lot," she says. "Documentaries like An Act of Killing or a fiction film like The Rider, Tangerine, films like this have both truth and poetry. We need both of them in anything human; we may be starting from different sides but we find shades of grey in between." For Jandreau, performance didn't even feel unfamiliar, given that he had been competing in rodeos all his life. "Basically whenever I did rodeo, there were a lot of eyes on me. And when you're selling and buying horses, you have to present yourself in a certain way." I didn't even look like myself. So I must have did OK. Brady Jandreau Just working with a horse is a sort of acting, he says. He thinks he did all right because when he looked at himself in scenes that weren't actually part of his life such as a sequence where the fictional Brady is reduced to working at the local grocery store he almost forgot it was him. "I didn't even look like myself. So I must have did OK." Brady's late mother was also a horse-trainer at one point in the film he says he learned what he knows from her but the rodeo world and its virtues are masculine in a way that hearkens to another era. Once again, Zhao didn't feel that excluded her. "I try not to look at things as 'about men' and 'about women' because I went to a women's college and I find that sometimes it's frustrating to talk about 'us against them'," she says. "I think it is obviously very important for us to tell stories about women and portray them differently from how they have been portrayed in cinema, but also hang with the boys, to show a side of them that is vulnerable and sensitive and still manly and a hero who can be celebrated. It is very important for feminism to reshape that as well." In one crucial scene, the fictional Brady is driving and despairing about his future. The script required him to cry; Jandreau remembers that Zhao asked him to think about "the saddest thing I could remember". "I was like 'OK, there was an orphan colt, you know, like a baby horse, and I raised it on a bottle and it was my colt and when he was about a year old, he fell through the ice on the dam and froze to death." Zhao cuts in. "He doesn't give himself enough credit," she says. "I think to be able to cry on screen and be very vulnerable, that's a quality Brady has. You know, when he's training the horse, I always find he's very maternal with them." Rodeo riders, she says, are often proud of their injuries. When we meet in London, Jandreau shows us his scar and the part of his head underlaid with the plate and describes the fall in detail: the caught stirrup, the blow of the hoof, the eggshell skull on the brain. Far from boasting, he wants us to see how bad it was. Even so, we know from the film that he is still training horses that have never been ridden he shifts in his chair now, like a man keen to be back in the saddle and we can see that he could never give up whispering into their twitching velvet ears, no matter what the doctors say. "I got on my first sheep when I was three years old," he says, by way of explanation. "With my family, you know, my dad's dad rode bulls, then my dad rode bulls and then I rode bulls before I rode broncos. So rodeo has been my whole life." He's only 22, but a life goes back a long way. What Zhao achieves, with some magical whispering of her own, is making us understand what that means. The last film in her prairie trilogy, she says, will be set in the past: an actual western. It should be a revelation. A key government backbencher has warned that the impacts of any last-minute changes to the proposed National Energy Guarantee need to be made clear before the energy deal can be approved by Coalition MPs. Liberal MP Craig Kelly, who chairs the Coalition's backbench energy committee, told Fairfax Media he planned to seek changes to the scheme when it reaches the federal party room on August 14 - assuming the COAG energy ministers sign up for it next week. Craig Kelly, chair of the Coalition's backbench environment and energy committee, isn't happy with what he sees in the national energy policy. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen Mr Kelly was responding to reports Environment and Energy Minister Josh Frydenberg had agreed to incorporate elements of the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission's final report on electricity prices into the guarantee. One key ACCC recommendation was for governments to help fund new competition in the generation sector, a suggestion Mr Frydenberg has described as "very good", according to reports. A former Canberra builder accused of a $500 million cocaine importation has been ordered to pay the tax office $12.28 million. The Federal Court has also restrained or given permission for the sale of assets linked to Tristan Waters, his wife Sian, and associated companies. The freeze order covered 13 properties including 11 in Canberra - and 35 bank accounts associated with Mr Waters. Mr Waters is currently locked up in a Serbian jail for his alleged involvement in a 1280 kilogram cocaine importation, which police estimated to be worth $500 million. Mr Waters - along with Canberra businessmen Rohan Arnold and David Campbell - allegedly had a bag containing a gun and $1 million in cash when they were dramatically arrested by Serbian authorities at a Belgrade hotel in January. "... [It has been] a tremendous shock and heartache for them." Loading A visibly shattered Mr Egan-Richards addressed the media on Friday morning after just a few hours' sleep, saying that staff were spending the day arranging support for children and their families. He said counsellors would be at the school when it reopened on Monday to talk to the children, parents and staff who have been devastated by the incident. Mr Egan-Richards said children were at the after-school program when the explosion happened, but he did not believe any children had witnessed it. "I felt sick. It's horrible," Mr Egan-Richards said when asked how he had reacted to news of the man's death. "Its a very close and tight-knit community in the Lanyon Valley, and they will pull together and support each other. "We will work together and look at what we need to do to provide any support thats required." Mr Egan-Richards said he did not want to say how many children the man had at the school, in order to protect the privacy of his family. WorkSafe ACT confirmed it was also investigating the blast as the car involved was a work vechicle but could not yet comment on the nature of the incident or the canister involved. Crews had worked overnight at the scene alongside police, a spokeswoman said. "Our thoughts are with the friends, family and colleagues impacted by the death last night," she said. The school community rallied quickly after the explosion, with messages of support pouring in online and some families visiting the school on Friday morning. Shortly before 9am, a family with two young children left a floral tribute and a folded note at the school gates, minutes before two car loads of detectives arrived. Four teachers stood outside the school at drop-off time to inform parents who were not aware of the incident that the school was closed on Friday. Dozens of uniformed and forensics officers spent Thursday night and early Friday morning gathering evidence and guarding the car park, which was cordoned off. The white ute remained visible in the car park on Friday morning as investigators examined the scene. There were no scorch marks or other visible signs of fire, but the blast had left part of the right-hand side of the ute hanging off. ACT Policing said it would prepare a report for the coroner with help from WorkSafe ACT. Anyone with information on the explosion is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000, or via the Crime Stoppers ACT website. Information can be provided anonymously, quoting reference number P1674490. It looks like something really clandestine or really fun is going on, on top of Parliament House in Canberra but that big white tent is actually shielding something much more mundane. The tent on top of Parliament House pictured this week. Credit:Dion Georgopoulos The tent, which looks like a wedding marquee or, maybe, an isolation ward, is really just a canopy over scaffolding for workers as they replace the building's skylights, which have been leaking. The Canberra Times reported late last year that the government had provided $18.3 million in funding to fix the leaks, with mopping up after storms a common occurrence. It's now nine months along and the tent is still there. So for how much longer? Tony Bullimore displayed a kind of batty tenacity when it came to sailing. Tony Bullimore, who has died aged 79, was, if not Britains greatest single-handed yachtsman of modern times, certainly the most reckless; his rescue from the icy ocean between Australia and Antarctica in 1997 made headlines around the world, even though there were those who subsequently suggested that he may have been as much the victim of media manipulation as of the mountainous seas of the Southern Ocean. Bullimore was taken from the wreckage of his 18-metre (60-foot) schooner Exide Challenger less than 1500 kilometres off the coast of Antarctica in January 1997 while competing in a single-handed round-the-world race. Rescuers found the vessels upturned carbon-fibre hull adrift in the Southern Ocean and assumed that Bullimore himself had been lost; in fact, he had hidden in a makeshift hammock inside the stricken boat for four days, with water pouring in through a smashed window as a storm raged outside. After one of the most dramatic of modern sea rescues, Bullimore attributed his survival to sheer determination, a little water, a little chocolate. Snatched from certain death, Bullimore was pounced on by various agents, managers and hustlers, all anxious to capitalise on his extraordinary ordeal and even more extraordinary deliverance; much money was talked about when it came to Bullimore recalling which brand of chocolate he had gnawed at as he abandoned himself to what he assumed would be his fate. A 50-year-old Rothwell man has been charged with the murder of his 75-year-old mother, who was found dead at her Mango Hill home on Thursday. Queensland Police were called to the Topaz Drive home at 1pm where they found the woman dead, and the man with serious injuries. Police closed part of Topaz Drive at Mango Hill following the death of a woman in her 70s. Credit:Nine News Queensland He was taken to the Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital in a serious condition. Detectives charged the man at the hospital on Friday morning and a bedside hearing will be conducted this afternoon. A year ago I sat down read the Change the Course report on sexual assault sexual harassment. The report gave us important data from a national survey of students commissioned by universities about the rate of these behaviours in student communities. It also told deeply personal stories of students who had been raped or sexually harassed. Some of them on campus. Some of them in their jobs in their homes policies practices. And that is no small achievement. University leaders engaged the Australian Human Rights Commission to gather this information because they wanted to know what was happening to their students not just on campus. The ongoing trauma of sexual assault affects their sense of safety & Catriona Jackson Joby Rowe has been found guilty over the death of his baby. A first-time father has been found guilty of killing his baby daughter by forcibly shaking her. Joby Rowe, 26, gasped and began breathing deeply in and out on Friday when a Supreme Court jury found him guilty of child homicide an offence similar to manslaughter but applies only to children under six over the death of daughter Alanah three years ago. He had pleaded not guilty. Rowe's trial was told he violently shook Alanah on August 29, 2015 while he was caring for the three-month-old and the baby's half-sister, then aged five, in their Heathcote home while the girls' mother, Stephanie Knibbs, was at work. Ms Knibbs arrived home that afternoon to find her then partner standing over Alanah, who was on the change table. He said: "There's something wrong with Alanah." An ice addict who bashed his partner to death and stabbed her with a samurai sword in the house where they lived as squatters was on bail at the time of the murder, a court has heard. Phuc Thien Tang, 50, admitted to police he knew he became angry whenever he used ice, but after injecting the drug in the early hours of September 7 last year, he returned to the St Albans house where he stayed with Hoa Thi Huynh and killed her during an argument. Phuc Thien Tang, fatally bashed and stabbed his partner Credit:Age Library Tang repeatedly struck Ms Huynh, a 44-year-old mother of two known as Lina, to the head with a vacuum cleaner pipe and stabbed her in the face with the sword, prosecutor Fran Dalziel told the Supreme Court plea hearing on Friday. "He told police he told her to shut up and she wouldn't shut up and he got angry," Ms Dalziel said, referring to Tang's interview with detectives after his arrest. A 16-year-old boy was injured during a brawl involving up to 30 people, some armed with weapons, in Melbourne's CBD on Friday night. Police had to use pepper spray to break up the fight on Bourke Street - near the corner of Russell Street - in one of the busiest areas of the city at about 7:30pm. The teenager was taken to hospital with non-life threatening injuries after the fight, which police believe involved two separate groups of males. Joy Rowley was murdered in 2011. Fears that women still face "Russian roulette" when they report family violence because some police might not take them seriously have merit, the head of Domestic Violence Victoria says. Loading The children of Joy Rowley likened the situation of their mother to the lethal game of chance after the State Coroner released her findings into the Rye woman's 2011 murder on Thursday, calling for a review by Victoria Police into all family-violence related homicides. The publication of the findings came on a day that family violence was thrust back into the spotlight in Victoria, as the cases of slain women Karen Ristevski, Samantha Fraser and Snezana Stojanovska also saw significant developments in court. It's a proposal that has been put by numerous affordable housing advocates, the Canberra YWCA branch and various social services groups in the city. But when Greens MLA Caroline Le Couteur went public with the idea on Monday, it shocked Liberals' housing spokesman Mark Parton, who had believed there was a rare chance for bipartisanship between the two opposing parties. ACT Greens MLA Caroline Le Couteur, who proposed the original motion. Credit:Fairfax Media The idea is to allow landlords an exemption on land tax in exchange for cutting their rent to 75 per cent of the market rent, as long as the property was managed by a regulated community housing provider. Not ground-breaking, and indeed, both ACT Treasury and individual landlords would take a hit in the thousands of dollars a year, if they took up the proposal. Labor has called on Employment Minister Michaelia Cash to "come clean" about whether she is under investigation by the Australian Federal Police over media leaks relating to last year's AWU raids, after the AFP confirmed they believe criminal behaviour may have taken place. "We do believe an offence may have been committed," AFP deputy commissioner Leanne Close told a Senate estimates hearing on Friday. Ms Close declined to rule out whether Senator Cash, or Human Services Minister Michael Keenan, were interviewed in relation to the matter. Employment Minister Michaelia Cash is under pressure over the AWU raid leaks. Credit:Fairfax "Its not in the public interest for the AFP to answer the question on the grounds that it may prejudice the ongoing investigation of a possible breach of law," the deputy commissioner said under questioning by Labor senator Murray Watt. Premier Daniel Andrews has distanced himself from a furious Labor Party statement attacking police raids on former staffers over the red shirts affair as he played down the potential damage to his governments re-election hopes. Mr Andrews emerged to front the media on Friday morning, dismissing questions about whether a directive was given to ministers to cancel scheduled events as the news broke that 17 people were arrested in dawn raids on Thursday. Daniel Andrews on Friday morning. Credit:AAP Many events get rescheduled from time to time and I dont propose to become a daily diary commentator, he said. The raids were part of an investigation by Victoria Police's Fraud and Extortion Squad into Labors misuse of $388,000 of parliamentary funds while the party was in opposition four years ago. Beijing: China said on Friday it is poised to impose retaliatory tariffs on $US60 billion ($81 billion) worth of US imports, including coffee, honey and industrial chemicals, if Washington goes ahead with its latest trade threat. China's Finance Ministry accused the Trump administration of damaging the global economy after the US proposed increasing duties on $US200 billion of Chinese goods in the second round of a dispute over technology. Containers sit stacked at the Yangshan Deep Water Port in Shanghai, China. Credit:Bloomberg "China is forced to take countermeasures," said a ministry statement. It said retaliatory duties of between 5 and 25 per cent will be imposed on 5207 products "if the US side persists in putting its tariff measures into effect." Washington imposed 25 per cent duties on $US34 billion of Chinese goods on July 6 in response to complaints Beijing steals or pressures companies to hand over technology. Beijing retaliated by imposing similar charges on the same amount of US products. Beijing: China on Friday announced retaliatory tariffs on $60 billion worth of US goods ranging from liquefied natural gas to some aircraft and warned of further measures, signalling that it won't back down in a protracted trade war with Washington. China's finance ministry unveiled new sets of additional tariffs on 5207 goods imported from the United States, ranging from 5 to 25 percent. Timing will depend on the actions of the United States, the Chinese Commerce Ministry said in a separate statement. The Trump administration ratcheted up pressure for trade concessions from Beijing this week by proposing a higher 25 percent tariff on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports. China immediately vowed to retaliate, though at the same time urged the US to act rationally and return to talks to resolve the dispute. NEC Corporation is a leader in the integration of IT and network technologies that benefit businesses and people around the world. By providing a combination of products and solutions that cross utilize the company's experience and global resources, NEC's advanced technologies meet the complex and ever-changing needs of its customers. NEC brings more than 100 years of expertise in technological innovation to empower people, businesses and society. For more information, visit NEC at http://www.nec.com Based on its Mid-term Management Plan 2015, the NEC Group globally provides "Solutions for Society" that promote the safety, security, efficiency and equality of society. Under the company's corporate message of "Orchestrating a brighter world," NEC aims to help solve a wide range of challenging issues and to create new social value for the changing world of tomorrow. For more information, please visit http://www.nec.com/en/global/about/solutionsforsociety/message.html Editor's Note: Look at the chart above, it shows that there will not be enough oil in the world to supply gasoline for all of the private vehicles projected to fill roads in a "westernized" China, so without the availability of electric vehicles, powered vehicles would not be available in China...therefore, it's EV's or Bikes! No wonder China is pushing Electric...but why is the rest of the world following like lemmings to the sea? Nissan to Sell Electric Battery Business to Envision Group YOKOHAMA August 3, 2018; Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. (Nissan) today announced it has entered into a definitive agreement with Envision Group (Envision), a sustainable energy operator, for the sale of Nissans electric battery operations and production facilities to Envision. The agreement was signed following the cancellation of an earlier transaction for sale to a third party. Envision has committed to complete the proposed acquisition of Nissan subsidiary Automotive Energy Supply Corporation and battery manufacturing operations in Smyrna, Tennessee, owned by Nissan North America Inc. (NNA), and in Sunderland, England, owned by Nissan Motor Manufacturing (UK) Ltd. (NMUK). Envision will also acquire Nissans Japanese battery development and production engineering operations located in Oppama, Atsugi and Zama. Yasuhiro Yamauchi, Nissans Chief Competitive Officer, said: We are pleased to have secured a definitive agreement with Envision, a leading global company in the field of sustainable energy. The transaction will enable Nissan to concentrate on developing and producing market-leading electric vehicles in line with the goals set in our midterm plan Nissan M.O.V.E. to 2022. We are confident that Envision will be a strong, long-term owner of the new company and that it will further grow as a battery company with increased competitiveness. Lei Zhang, founder and CEO of Envision, said: We are excited to announce the acquisition of Nissans battery business, a leading producer of advanced, safe and reliable lithium-ion batteries. Together with the battery business management team and its highly skilled workforce, this partnership will see Envision expand both organizations footprints into the intelligent energy ecosystem to create new innovative solutions for the IoT value chain. With this strategic acquisition and collaboration, we aim to expand our activities via investment into the new company to realize the value of IoT technology for smart transportation, V2G, and smart city solutions. The workforce at all facilities covered by the deal will continue to be employed. The headquarters and development centers of the business will remain in Japan. Nissan will implement the transaction by first taking full control of AESC founded in 2007 to develop advanced lithium-ion batteries by acquiring the combined 49% minority holding held by NEC Corporation and its wholly owned electrode development and production subsidiary, NEC Energy Devices, Ltd (NECED). NEC today announced its approval of the sale of AESC shares to Nissan and the sale of NECED shares to Envision. Todays announced transaction is subject to normal consultation with staff representative bodies and, pending regulatory approvals, is expected to be completed by March 29, 2019. The transaction is contingent on Nissan purchasing all shares in AESC and Envision concluding purchase of all NECED shares from NEC. Financial terms have not been disclosed. Under the agreement, Nissan has agreed to retain a 25% share or equity interest in the entity newly formed by Envision. Harvey Weinstein. Photo: Jefferson Siegel/Getty Images A federal judge has granted attorneys for Harvey Weinstein permission to utilize emails from one of his alleged victims in a motion to dismiss a criminal case. The legal team will use these communications to argue that Weinstein was in a romantic relationship with his accuser, ABC News reports, as part of an ongoing attempt to get the fist-degree rape charges against him dropped. After Weinsteins council requested an emergency hearing, Judge Mary Walrath decided a motion could include the emails as long as the alleged victims name and initials were censored. Weinsteins lawyers will now be able to use over 40 emails in their motion to dismiss. They are endearing, intimate, pleasant, flattering, friendly emails between her and Mr. Weinstein, Weinsteins lawyer said, according to Variety. If the grand jury had these emails, they would not have indicted. In June, Weinstein pleaded not guilty to one count of first-degree rape, one count of third-degree rape, and one criminal-sex-act charge. The charges stem from accusations made by Lucia Evans, as well two different unnamed women. Maria Butina. Photo: STR/AFP/Getty Images Weve all had those nights. Maybe you knocked back one (or three) too many gin-and-tonics. Maybe you texted your ex a slew of suggestive emoji. Or maybe you risked blowing your cover by boasting about being a Russian spy. Apparently, this last thing was an ongoing problem for Maria Butina, the gun-loving Russian woman accused of spying for the Russian government in the U.S. On more than two occasions, CNN reports, Butina got drunk and openly bragged about her connections to Russian intelligence. Sources say her comments were so alarming that classmates reported her to law enforcement twice. Shes like a Scud missile. Theres no precision, said Robert Baer, a CIA veteran and intelligence and security analyst. In her graduate-level classes at American University where she had enrolled as a cover while working on behalf of the Russian government, prosecutors allege Butina routinely defended Putin, and even once announced in class that she was a liaison between Russia and the Trump campaign, according to a former classmate. Butina was also notable for her prolific use of unencrypted social-media networks, like Twitter and WhatsApp. She has been accused by classmates of being a little too friendly, wantonly initiating footsie games under the table and approaching older men at political events, then friend-requesting them on Facebook. Her overly flirtatious approach, notes CNN, left men wondering what she was truly after. Maria Butina: Russian spy, relatable drunk, horny person, or all three? DROP EVERYTHING. Now. Because your dream job has just arrived. Ferrero Rocher is hiring not one but 60 new chocolate tasters to make sure their new creations are up to scratch. According to the job description, Ferrero's research company Soremartec Italia SRL is looking for people to learn to taste cocoa, hazelnut grains and other semi-finished sweet products, which is apparently a masterable art. Who knew. A three-month PAID training course will start in September, aiming to educate prospective chocolate tasters to taste, smell and better articulate their opinions on chocolate. Oh, and it's in Italy, so there's that. At the end of the course, 60 people will be chosen to become chocolate tasters to work for Ferrero two days a week. If this sounds like you (um, who WOULDN'T want to live in Italy and eat chocolate for a living?!), you can read the job description and apply here. You might need to get out the Google Translate though... An early warning radar installation in Thule, Greenland. A meteor struck 25 miles north of the base in July. (US Air Force) Meteor Explodes with 2.1 Kilotons of Force 26 Miles Above US Air Force Base in Greenland A meteor exploded with 2.1 kilotons of force above a U.S. Air Force base in July, but the military has made no mention of the event, according to reports. NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory said that a meteor exploded 26 miles above U.S. Air Base Thule on July 25. It was detected by the U.S. government. Meteor explodes with 2.1 kilotons force 43 km above missile early warning radar at Thule Air Base. https://t.co/qGvhRDXyfK HT @Casillic Were still here, so they correctly concluded it was not a Russian first strike. There are nearly 2,000 nukes on alert, ready to launch. pic.twitter.com/q01oJfRUp4 Hans Kristensen (@nukestrat) August 1, 2018 Namely, the explosion was above the early missile warning radar at Thule Air Base, The Aviationist reported on Aug. 3. The Director of the Nuclear Information Project for the Federation of American Scientists, Hans Kristensen, wrote about the incident on Twitter on Aug. 1. Were still here, so they correctly concluded it was not a Russian first strike. There are nearly 2,000 nukes on alert, ready to launch, he said. The Aviationists Tom Demerly, who reported on the incident, wrote in an analysis that its concerning because there was no public warning from the U.S. government about the meteor blast. Had it entered at a more perpendicular angle, it would have struck the earth with significantly greater force, he wrote. The Air Force has remained silent about the incident. It will be interesting to see how (and if) popular news media and the official defense news outlets process this recent Thule, Greenland incident. But while we wait to see how the media responds as the Twitter dust settles from the incident, its worth at least a minor exhale knowing this is another big object that missed hitting the earth in a different location at a different angle and potentially with a different outcome, Demerly wrote. Apple, iPhone, and iPad are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. The Thule Air Base is the U.S. Air Forces northernmost base, located 750 miles north of the Arctic Circle and 947 miles south of the North Pole. The base, according to a military website, is home to the 21st Space Wings global network of sensors providing missile warning, space surveillance and space control to North American Aerospace Defense Command and Air Force Space Command. Meanwhile, the Thule Air Base houses the 821st Air Base Group and is responsible for air base support within the Thule Defense Area, it says. The 12th Space Warning Squadron is also located there, according to the military website, and it operates a Ballistic Missile Early Warning System designed to detect and track [intercontinental ballistic missiles] launched against North America. An AMBER Alert was issued for Jinjing Ma, left, who was abducted at Reagan National Airport in Washington D.C. (Missingkids.org) AMBER Alert Issued for 12-Year-Old Girl Abducted at Reagan National Airport in DC An AMBER Alert was issued on Aug. 2 for a 12-year-old girl who was abducted from Reagan National Airport in Washington D.C., according to officials. Jinjing Ma is Asian, has black hair, has brown eyes, is 4 foot 11, and weighs 90 pounds, officials stated. The Virginia State Police and the Virginia Missing Children Clearinghouse issued an AMBER Alert for the girl. She is believed to be extreme danger and was last seen leaving the airport on Aug. 2, officials stated. She was last seen wearing a white t-shirt, blue jeans, and black jackets, Fox5 reported. The child is believed to have been abducted by an unknown Asian woman. She has black hair, is about 40 years old, is 5 foot 0, and was wearing a black dress. Ma was with a tour group who was visiting the United States from China. She had got her passport just before to checking in. Police said she left her group to meet up with the unknown woman in the black dress, WTOP reported. Other details were not provided by officials. Officials are urging anyone with information about the girl or woman to call the Metro Washington Airport Authority at 703-417-2400. Australian Climber Alive on New Zealand Mountain After One Week Missing An Australian soldier was trapped by severe weather on a mountain in New Zealand for a week before being found alive on the evening of Aug. 2. Four alpine rescuers found Army Lt. Terry Harch, 29, stranded on the South Islands Mount Aspiring around 5 p.m. He was standing and waving with mild frostbite on his hands, according to Rescue Coordination Centre NZ (RCCNZ). Soldier On is delighted that Terry Harch has been found safe and well in New Zealand. Terry is an extraordinary Australian and his previous efforts to raise much needed funds for Soldier On by climbing Mount Cook will never be forgotten #safeandwell pic.twitter.com/lC6dyQcVx4 Soldier On (@SoldierOnAust) August 3, 2018 Rescuers spent the night on the mountain with Harch as they waited for a window of safer weather conditions to evacuate. On Aug. 3, Harch was taken to Dunedin Hospital, about 300 km away, for treatment. Mr Aspiring rescue: Hes alive! Rescue team with Australian climber. More to come Maritime New Zealand (@MaritimeNZ) August 2, 2018 He is very lucky to be alive. I dont think he would have lasted another night, RCCNZ officer Neville Blakemore told NZ Herald. Blakemore said that Harch was in a bit of pain and described his condition as quite severe. Harch had failed to return from his solo climb on July 30 after setting off on July 27. Helicopters had been trying to reach him for days, but had to hold back due to poor weather conditionsstrong winds of up to 60km/h, freezing conditions and heavy rain. Mt Aspiring-2: If rescue is attempted, weather permitting, it would involve 2 helicopters flying together. One from Aspiring Helicopters and the other from Southern Lakes. Each carring 2 alpine cliff rescue team members, a paramedic and clothing, equipment, food for the climber pic.twitter.com/G57TNWwMsG Maritime New Zealand (@MaritimeNZ) August 2, 2018 RCCNZs Senior Search and Rescue Officer Geoff Lunt said Harch clearly made some good decisions to be able to survive the bad weather, heavy heavy snow and high winds. Carlyle Group LP is buying a stake in an American International Group Inc.-owned firm as alternative investment managers seek to load up on insurance assets and get more business from an industry desperate for higher returns. The Washington-based firm agreed to purchase 19.9 percent of DSA Reinsurance from AIG and make it into a standalone insurer, Carlyle said in a statement Aug. 1. The deal comes with an agreement that gives Carlyle $6 billion from DSA to invest across its private equity, credit, and real asset groups. Carlyle joins its rivals, including Blackstone Group LP and Apollo Global Management LLC, which have built insurance platforms and brought on executives who can help them attract more business from insurers facing low yields in the fixed-income markets. Carlyle hired Brian Schreiber, the top dealmaker at AIG, two years ago as co-head of the financial services team. Blackstone added an insurance solutions group in January and hired Chris Blunt from New York Lifes Investments Group to run it. We were focused on the insurance sector and here we are executing on the insurance sector, co-Chief Executive Officer Glenn Youngkin said on a conference call with investors Aug. 1. The company also released second-quarter earnings today. Carlyle is using its own balance sheet to invest in the insurance business, creating a vehicle with permanent capital, or long-term funds that the firm can invest without a specific timeline. The company expects the deal to close in the last quarter of the year and the carve-out will probably take about 12 to 18 months, co-CEO Kewsong Lee said on the call. Carlyle raised $12.3 billion in the second quarter, up more than 40 percent from the same period a year earlier, the company said Aug. 1 in its earnings report. Last week it closed it biggest-ever buyout fund, gathering $18.5 billion as money pours into the private equity industry. The firms new insurance business wont be consumer-facing as it will be handling liabilities for AIG. By working through a reinsurance vehicle, Carlyle may sidestep some of the issues encountered by rivals. Apollo-backed Athene Holding Ltd. has been scrutinized by regulators in California and New York due to complaints from annuity clients. Apollo partnered with two firms this year to take back a block of annuity clients from Voya Financial Inc. DSA reinsures $36 billion of AIGs Legacy Life and Annuity and General Insurance liabilities. AIG CEO Brian Duperreault is curbing risks at the insurer that for years has been embattled by higher than expected costs. He created DSA this year with more than $40 billion of invested assets to back a portfolio of businesses that no longer write new insurance contracts. Thats helped him free up capital for expansion. From Bloomberg U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping attend a welcome ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Nov. 9, 2017. (Nicolas Asfouri/AFP/Getty Images) China Announces $60 Billion in New Tariffs on US Goods Beijing proposed a set of new retaliatory tariffs on $60 billion worth of American goods on Aug. 3 in the latest salvo of its trade war with Washington. The tariffs are not yet in effect with Chinas commerce ministry saying that timing will depend on action from the United States. Chinas foreign ministry revealed a list of tariffs on 5,207 U.S. goods, including liquid natural gas, semiconductors, helicopters, small and midsize aircraft, steel products, and coffee. The duties on the goods range from 5 to 25 percent. The announcement from Beijing comes just days after the administration of President Donald Trump proposed raising the tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods from 10 to 25 percent. China vowed to retaliate but called on the United States to return to talks to resolve the trade dispute. The two nation exchanged tit-for-tat tariffs on $34 billion worth of each others goods in July. The United States warned that additional tariffs on $16 billion worth of goods are forthcoming and China vowed to quickly retaliate. The White House and the Commerce Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Beijings inclusion of liquid natural gas to the tariff list marks the deployment of one of its last major weapons from its energy and commodities arsenal in its duel with Washington. Reuters contributed to this report. Chinese leader Xi Jinping attends a meeting during the 10th BRICS summit (meeting of the world's leading emerging economies, Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) in Johannesburg, South Africa, on July 26, 2018. (Gulshan Khan/AFP/Getty Images) Chinese Leader Xi Convenes Political Meeting to Assert Party Support, Hinting at Internal Anxieties After a 10-day tour of African nations, Chinese leader Xi Jinping returned to Beijing to immediately convene a political meeting. On July 31, two days after returning to China, Xi hosted a meeting with the Politburo, a 25-member group of Chinese Communist Party elite. State media reports about the meetings topics of discussion provided hints that Xi needed to demonstrate Party support for his rule, amid criticism that he has not handled well the U.S.China trade disputes. According to the state-run Xinhua, the Party members discussed issues of discipline, new challenges and obvious changes to the external environment in relation to the economy, and resolutely upholding the authority of the Party with comrade Xi Jinping as the core. China political commentator Shi Shi noted that this insinuates the Party leadership was concerned about two key issues: the challenges presented by the trade war, and the subsequent threats to the Beijing leadership. Because the Politburo is emphasizing upholding Xi as core of the Party, that indicates there are Party officials who are not wholeheartedly behind Xi, he said. The Chinese economy has taken a hit since U.S. tariffs went into effect in early July. The yuan has depreciated and stocks have fallen amid investor anxieties, while foreign manufacturers are leaving the country in order to avoid U.S. tariffs from cutting into their profits. This hasnt looked good for the Xi leadership. In recent weeks, China observers have noticed a pattern of events suggesting that the Party leadership is displeased with the way Xi has handled the trade war, including unusual omissions of Xis name from the front page of the Party mouthpiece, Peoples Daily, and a protesters public disavowal of authoritarian rule being allowed to spread on the internet (albeit briefly, as posts on the statement were later censored). Shi said the Politburo meeting and its emphasis on maintaining Xis leadership were tacit proof that those rumors were true. This week, other dissenting posts criticizing Chinas economic policies have also begun circulating on the internet. One by Chinese economist Xu Xiaonian, from a speech he gave in early July at an economic forum, analyzed how the Chinese regime has sought to attract foreign investment yet failed to establish internal sustainable growth. Another by Xu Zhangrun, a professor at Tsinghua Universitys law school, was more direct with his criticism, calling for the reinstatement of term limits for the position of state chairman (Xi formally abolished term limits in March), political rehabilitation for those involved in June 4 democracy protests, and granting citizens the right to own private property (currently, all land belongs to the state and is leased to developers or citizens). As U.S. President Donald Trump escalates the trade dispute with talks of raising tariffs from 10 percent to 25 percent on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods, trade woes are expected to be a major political problem for the Beijing leadership. Top officials are expected to soon hold the annual Beidaihe seaside meeting in August, and at the top of the agenda will be discussing major errors committed, according to an Apple Daily report on July 14. Former Chinese senior military officer and princeling Luo Yu told Radio Free Asia in a July 20 interview that he predicts the U.S.China trade war will be a key topic of discussion at Beidaihe, adding that he believes the recent online criticisms were allowed to circulate because some top officials wished it would be a segue into discussing the leaderships mistakes during Beidaihe. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) speaks to reporters after finishing a speech on the Senate floor on March 11, 2014. (Mark Wilson/Getty Images) Chinese Spy Revealed as Senator Dianne Feinsteins Driver A Chinese spy reportedly embedded in U.S. Senator Dianne Feinsteins office was her driver for many years, according to a new report. Politico, in a larger story about how spies have begun cropping up in Silicon Valley, revealed that Feinstein (D-Calif.) had a staff member recruited by Chinese intelligence officials and reported back to China about local politics. Politico cited former intelligence officials and didnt identify the role of the staffer or his or her name. A source, cited as a former intelligence official, told the San Francisco Chronicle that the staffer was Feinsteins driver for many years. The source said that the driver passed information to Chinese officials based at the local Chinese Consulate. Besides driving her around, the staffer, who hasnt been named still, served as [a] gofer in her San Francisco office and as a liaison to the Asian American community, even attending Chinese Consulate functions for the senator, according to the report. The spying began after the staffer took a trip to Asia to visit family members and was befriended by a person connected with Chinas notorious Ministry of State Security, a source told the newspaper. The FBI investigated after a tip and reportedly concluded the staffer hadnt revealed anything of substance. They interviewed him, and Dianne forced him to retire, and that was the end of it, the source said. Feinsteins office declined comment but a staff member told Politico that no one in the San Francisco office had security clearance. Former FBI agent Josh Harp told CBS that hes not surprised Feinstein was being spied on. Think about Diane Feinstein and what she had access to, said Harp. One, she had access to the Chinese community here in San Francisco; great amount of political influence. Two, correct me if Im wrong, Dianne Feinstein still has very close ties to the intelligence committees there in Washington, D.C. Harp used to run counter-espionage for the FBI in the Bay Area. According to CBS, the staffer worked for Feinstein for nearly 20 years before being discovered. Feinstein, 85, has been a senator in California since 1992 and served as San Franciscos mayor (1978 to 1988) and before that a city supervisor (1970 to 1978). An ambulance from the Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) drives through a street in the town of Beni in North Kivu province of the Democratic Republic of Congo, August 2, 2018. (Reuters/Samuel Mambo) Congo Ebola Outbreak Poses High Regional Risk, Says WHO GENEVA/GOMA, Democratic Republic of CongoAn Ebola outbreak in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo is likely spread over tens of kilometres and poses a high regional risk given its proximity to borders, a World Health Organization (WHO) official said on Thursday. Four people have tested positive for Ebola in and around Mangina, a town of about 60,000 people in North Kivu province, 100 km (62 miles) from the Ugandan border, the health ministry said. Another 20 people died from unidentified haemorrhagic fevers in the area, mostly in the second half of July. Just last week, a previous outbreak on the other side of the Central African country was declared over after killing 33 people. It would appear that the risk, as we can surmise for DRC, is high. For the region its high given the proximity to borders, particularly Uganda, said WHOs emergency response chief Peter Salama. We are talking about tens of kilometres but I stress that this is very preliminary information at this stage. Ebola is believed to be transported long distances by bats and can find its way into bush meat sold at local markets and eaten. Once present in humans, it causes haemorrhagic fever, vomiting and diarrhoea and is spread through direct contact with body fluids. Over 11,300 people died of an epidemic in West Africa from 2013 to 2016. This is the vast, forested central African countrys 10th outbreak since 1976, when the virus was discovered near Congos Ebola river in the north. That is more than twice as many epidemics as any other country. The response to Congos previous outbreak was considered a success despite the 33 deaths, as the use of a vaccine made by Merck helped contain the virus. The kind of Ebola in the latest outbreak has been confirmed as the Zaire strain that the Merck vaccine protects against, Congos health ministry said late on Thursday. This should allow health officials to again use what has become the greatest weapon against Ebola epidemics to date. Still, this outbreak poses new challenges. Eastern Congo is a tinderbox of conflicts over land and ethnicity stoked by decades of on-off war and this could hamper efforts to contain the virus. About 1,000 civilians have been killed by armed groups and government soldiers around Beni since 2014, and the wider region of North Kivu holds over 1 million displaced people. Fast as possible Officials in Mangina rushed on Thursday to educate people about the risks of spreading the virus in a town that one local nurse told Reuters had no ambulance service. Agents were deployed to warn people about the need for strict hygiene and the local radio station passed on messages about how to act, a local journalist said by phone. There is a great panic among the local population following the appearance of the Ebola epidemic, said a nurse by phone, who asked not to be named. The hospital where she works has already seen three people die recently of haemorrhagic fever. The hospital was awaiting help from the Red Cross to bury the bodies properly, she said. Meanwhile, Uganda has set up screening at the land border it shares with Congo and at its Entebbe international airport. Ebola is highly infectious so we have put in place measures, Ugandas Junior Health Minister Sarah Achieng Opendi told Reuters. An international delegation including officials from the United Nations, the World Bank and the WHO is in Beni, 30 km from Mangina. By Tom Miles and Fiston Mahamba The headquarters of Deutsche Bank is pictured in Frankfurt, Germany, March 19, 2018. (Reuters/Ralph Orlowski/File Photo) Deutsche Bank Reports Reveal Gaps in Money-Laundering Controls The bank found pass rate of zero percent in countries such as Russia, Ireland, Spain, Italy, South Africa FRANKFURTDeutsche Bank has uncovered shortcomings in its ability to fully identify clients and the source of their wealth, internal documents seen by Reuters show, more than a year after it was fined nearly $700 million for allowing money laundering. In two confidential reviews, dated June 5 and July 9, Germanys biggest lender detailed the results of tests on a sample of investment bank customer files in several countries, including Russia. Both reviews found gaps in Deutsches screening process, which aims to meet so-called Know Your Customer (KYC) requirements that are a cornerstone of global anti-money laundering controls. Regulators around the world require banks to vet customers so that criminals cannot mask their identity through complex company and ownership structures to launder money or sidestep international sanctions. The two recent reviews show how the bank is still grappling with procedures to ensure it knows who it is dealing with, in part because of staff turnover. In the 13-page June report, which was shared with the European Central Bank (ECB), Deutsche Bank found a pass rate of zero percent in countries such as Russia, Ireland, Spain, Italy, and South Africa when it checked how client files had been processed. The pass rate measures the percentage of files that meet the banks own Know Your Customer standards. Deutsche Bank strives for 95 percent, according to the documents. Hui Chen, a former compliance expert with the U.S. justice department, said that this target was roughly in line with other global banks. The bank told Reuters that the reviews showed its processes were too complex, but said it was making improvements and that overall controls to prevent crimes such as money laundering were effective. We still need to improve in terms of internal processes, it said, when presented with the findings of the reviews. What the documents show is that our internal processes are still too complicated, it said. So it is not about effectiveness, but about the efficiency of our processes. Deutsche executives met with the ECB, the euro zones banking supervisor, in late July, to discuss its control procedures, according to one source with knowledge of the matter. The ECB and Germanys regulator BaFin declined to comment. Banks have been fined billions of dollars for lax oversight, including the failure to identify customers. In January 2017, Deutsche Bank agreed to pay U.S. and UK regulators $630 million in fines over artificial trades between Moscow, London, and New York that authorities said were used to launder $10 billion out of Russia. The U.S. Federal Reserve fined the bank an additional $41 million for failing to ensure its systems would detect money laundering in May 2017. Under Pressure Deutsche Bank is under pressure after three consecutive years of losses, and it agreed to pay a $7.2 billion settlement with U.S. authorities last year over its sale of toxic mortgage securities in the run-up to the 2008 financial crisis. The bank has also undergone management changes and a recent strategic overhaul that includes thousands of job cuts and scaling back its global investment bank. In Russia, the June report outlined problems including a lack of verification of client address and existence and a lack of verification to be able to make an assessment of the clients source of funds. It also identified a lack of investigation into whether a client was a politically exposed person (PEP). Rules to fight financial crime require banks to identify such people because they present a higher risk of bribery or corruption by virtue of their position. These political figures could also be the target of international sanctions. In their 2017 ruling against Deutsche Bank for mirror trades, New York financial regulators criticized the lender for widespread and well-known weaknesses in its KYC processes, singling out its Russia operations for shoddy standards. The issue remains sensitive because an investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice into the case is ongoing. In a written response to Reuters, Deutsche Bank said: We are not struggling with procedures designed to help prevent criminals from money laundering and other criminal action. Our procedures to identify potential anti-money laundering and KYC risks are very effective, it said of group-wide controls. The bank has multiple layers of defense to spot crime, such as monitoring fund movements for suspicious transactions, a person close to the matter said. Backlog Christian Sewing, who became the banks chief executive in April after a management shake-up, has vowed to address weaknesses in the banks controls. In June, he said the weaknesses had arisen over many years Were not yet where we want to be, but were steadily getting there. Deutsche plans to work with regulators on deadlines for improving its procedures, the person with direct knowledge of the matter said. The internal documents show the scale of the challenge and highlight practical difficulties that arise as a result of staff changes in the United States and Ireland. This is a new team, the June report said, referring to Spain. For the U.S., it wrote, U.S. has experienced high attrition rates and teams are still maturing in terms of capability against a backdrop of backlogs. Deutsche said it was not constrained by headcount, that it had increased the number of staff involved in KYC and that staff turnover was not above average. It has also made improvements. The July report showed the pass rate in Russia improving to 67 percent after it hired auditors to help with customer checks. But additional shortcomings emerged elsewhere. Reviews of the KYC procedures in the document resulted in lower pass rates in six of 14 locations highlighted, including in the Netherlands and the United States. By Edward Taylor, Tom Sims and John ODonnell Evie Amati was convicted of attacking several people with an ax in Australia. (NSW District Court) Evie Amati Convicted of Ax Attack After Jurors Reject Transgender Medication Defense Evie Amati, who injured several people in an ax attack last year, was convicted of attempted murder after a jury rejected claims that Amati suffered a psychotic break caused by medications that are used to transition from male to female. Amati, 26, was found guilty on Aug. 3 for the 2017 attack in Sydney, Australia, the BBC reported. The attack was totally unprovoked, said officials. The sentencing phase of the trial will start in September 2018. In the incident, Amati was seen on video walking inside a 7-Eleven store carrying an ax at around 2 a.m. Then, Amati walked up to a man waiting in line, talked to him, and then swung an ax at him. The man, identified as Ben Rimmer, fell to the ground with a facial wound and fractures. I really hope that [Amati] is able to have some sort of rehabilitation because ultimately thats what justice is about, Sharon Hacker, a victim who suffered a fractured skull in the attack, told Australias ABC. Hacker was attacked near the door, according to the broadcaster. Amati attacked a third man, who was able to protect himself with a backpack. Amati was later arrested outside the store. Amati pleaded not guilty to the charges. Amati claimed mental illness that was triggered by hormone medication, marijuana, amphetamines, and alcohol during the time of the incident, according to the Australia Broadcasting Corporation. In July, the 26-year-old allegedly wrote a disturbing social media post that most people deserve to die one day Im going to kill a lot of people, according to the Sydney Morning Herald. Apple, iPhone, and iPad are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. Humans are only able to destroy, to hate, so that is what I shall do, Amati also reportedly wrote. Amatis lawyer said that he began taking hormones in 2012 to transition to a woman, saying the drugs had an effect. In 2015, Amatis mental state deteriorated after undergoing surgery in Thailand to complete the transition, according to the Morning Herald. Visions, hallucinations, and suicidal and homicidal thoughts became commonplace after the surgery, the lawyer stated. A 4-year-old Florida girl was thrown from a bridge and died, and a woman who is believed to be her mother was arrested, police said. (Google Street View) Florida Girl, 4, Dies After Being Thrown Off Bridge; Woman in Custody A 4-year-old Florida girl was thrown from a bridge into a river and died, and a woman who is believed to be her mother was arrested, police said. The young girl was thrown into the Hillsborough River in Tampa at around 4 p.m. on Aug. 2, witnesses told the Tampa Bay Police Department. #BREAKING: 4-year-old girl dies after being thrown off bridge into Tampa river by woman believed to be her mother https://t.co/N1NJiOMIr2 pic.twitter.com/8ShssLZKff Joel Franco (@OfficialJoelF) August 2, 2018 BREAKING: Search underway after report of child tossed into Hillsborough River north of downtown Tampa: https://t.co/ARyjZr6Mb0 pic.twitter.com/qweWgfYROH FOX 13 Tampa Bay (@FOX13News) August 2, 2018 Witnesses called the police after seeing the woman throw the girl, Local10 reported. The girl was extricated from the river and was rushed to a hospital via an ambulance, but she was pronounced dead at the hospital, the report stated. Tampa Police Department later identified the woman as 26-year-old Shakayla Denson while the victim has been identified as 4-year-old JeHyrah Daniels, according to a police statement. Denson has been charged with first-degree felony murder, aggravated child abuse, and grand theft auto. According to the Tampa Bay Times, the child was found in the water around 75 feet offshore. Were still piecing the whole thing together now, Tampa Police Chief Brian Dugan told the Times. Police spokesman Steve Hegarty said the woman was found walking near the scene of the crime, but she has provided little information at this point, the Times reported. Unfortunately at this time, there are much more questions than there are answers, Chief Dugan told Fox5. Its the craziness of the world we live in at this time. Its terrible to see. I dont want to see that happen to a 4-year-old, neighbor Romano Muniz told the Fox affiliate. An environmental activist protests President Donald Trumps decision to pull out of the Paris climate accord deal, in New York on June 1, 2017. (JEWEL SAMAD/AFP/Getty Images) Global Warming Not Our Most Pressing Concern Most people do not really care about climate change In an interview with the Vatican News service published on July 4, former U.S. Vice President Al Gore said, The climate crisis is now the biggest existential challenge humanity has ever faced. We often hear that man-made climate change is our greatest threat. But according to the latest Gallup poll , very few people in the United States actually believe it is. And the United Nations own polling reveals that, across the world, respondents rate climate change last among issues they would like the U.N. and governments to focus on. In telephone interviews conducted July 1 to 11, 2018, with a random sample of 1,033 adults, living in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia, Gallup News Service asked, What do you think is the most important problem facing this country today? The question was open-ended in that any answer was accepted. According to the respondents, the top problems facing America were Immigration/Illegal aliens (22 percent) and Dissatisfaction with government/Poor leadership (19 percent). Two percent of respondents cited Environment/Pollution. This included those who said that climate change was the most important problem facing the country. Considering that many topicsocean pollution, species at risk, and toxic waste, to name just a fewwould also fall into the Environment/Pollution category, the fraction of Americans who labeled climate change as the nations most serious problem must have been very small indeed. This sort of result is also reflected in another poll reported on in The New York Times on July 5. Among the main reasons young adults gave for not wanting (or not being sure they wanted) children, worries about climate change ranked No. 13 out of 19 reasons given. The first three reasons cited were Want leisure time, Havent found partner, and Cant afford child care. While other polls show varying levels of public concern about climate change, when people are asked to prioritize issues, climate change often does not rate highly. Even in 2014, just before then-President Barack Obama addressed the heavily publicized U.N. Climate Summit 2014 in New York City, Pew Research polling indicated that Americans did not consider climate change to be among the top six threats facing the country. The U.N.s own survey confirms that this trend is even more prominent internationally. After polling 9.7 million people from 194 countries, the U.N.s My World global survey finds that action taken on climate change rates last out of the 16 suggested priorities for the agency. This despite the fact that on the survey website , the U.N. lists climate change action as the first choice given respondents. Access to reliable energy, better health care, government honesty, a good education, and so on, are apparently far greater concerns to people across the world. This should not be a surprise. In contrast to vitally important issues people must deal with on a daily basis, concerns about man-made climate change are based merely on a theoretical hypothesis, not what is happening now or even in the recent past. After all, even NASAs Goddard Institute for Space Studies asserts that the global annual mean surface air temperature change from 1880 to 2017 was only just over 1 degree Celsius, despite a reputed 40 percent rise in atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) content. And the impact of further CO2 rise diminishes as the concentration increases. It is not known whether the rate of sea-level rise has increased or not. However, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administrations U.S. extreme weather records database , probably the best of its kind in the world, there has been no increase in extreme weather. So the primary rationale for action taken on climate change through expensive restrictions to CO2 emissions is merely the possibility of dangerous climate change in the future. And this is based on computer models of future climate states, models that have failed to forecast what has actually happened. In his Feb. 2, 2016, testimony before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Science, Space & Technology, Dr. John Christy, Alabamas state climatologist and director of the Earth System Science Center at The University of AlabamaHuntsville, presented the following graph. Five-year averaged values of annual mean global midtropospheric temperature as depicted by the average of 102 IPCC CMIP5 climate models (red, solid line), the average of 3 satellite datasets (green squares- UAH, RSS, NOAA) and 4 balloon datasets (blue circles, NOAA, UKMet, RICH, RAOBCORE). Christy told Congress, [T]hese models failed at the simple test of telling us what has already happened, and thus would not be in a position to give us a confident answer to what may happen in the future and why. As such, they would be of highly questionable value in determining policy that should depend on a very confident understanding of how the climate system works. To create the models requires vast amounts of weather and climate data. We also need accurate data to input as the starting conditions for model-generated forecasts to be performed. Former University of Winnipeg professor and historical climatologist Dr. Tim Ball said that the collection and interpretation of the necessary data has only just begun. He explained that there are relatively few weather stations of adequate length or reliability on which to base model forecasts of future climate. Referring to former-President Barack Obamas worries about dangerous future climate change, Ball concluded, Obamas worries therefore have absolutely no credibility in the real world. Ball is not alone in holding this view. The reports of the Nongovernmental International Panel on Climate Change (NIPCC) summarize thousands of studies from peer-reviewed scientific journals that either debunk or cast serious doubt on the hypothesis that emissions of CO 2 from human activities will cause catastrophic climate change. Yet there is nothing hypothetical about the issues Americans, and indeed, people across the world, list as their top priorities. Problems with immigration and government are happening right now in America. And the issues rated highest in developing countries such as Nigeria, for example (2,735,062 Nigerians voted in the UN poll)access to a good education, better health care, better job opportunities, better transportation and roads, political freedom, affordable and nutritious food, and so onare immediate concerns today, as well. They understand that we have real problems to solve. Tom Harris is executive director of the Ottawa, Canada-based International Climate Science Coalition . Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley directs comments to the Russian delegation at the conclusion of a U.N. Security Council meeting to discuss the recent ballistic missile launch by North Korea at U.N. headquarters in New York on July 5, 2017. (Reuters/Mike Segar) Haley Slams Russia for Violating North Korea Sanctions The U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations criticized Moscow on Aug. 3, for allowing thousands of fresh North Korean laborers into Russia in violation of sanctions against Pyongyang. Ambassador Nikki Haley issued the criticism one day after the Wall Street Journal reported that Moscow granted thousands of new work permits to North Korean laborers in violations of United Nations sanctions. Credible reports of Russia violating UN Security Council resolutions on North Korean laborers working abroad are deeply troubling, Haley said in a statement. These reports are especially concerning as they come just one month after Russia refused to acknowledge North Koreas violations of the UN oil cap and blocked a United States request to enforce sanctions and put a stop to it. Haleys remarks became public hours after the Treasury Department sanctioned a Russian bank for violating sanctions against North Korea. The bank had knowingly authorized a significant payment on behalf of a North Korean living in Moscow who was sanctioned by the U.S. last year. The day prior to Haleys remarks, U.S. intelligence officials told reporters at the White House that the threat of Russian interference in the 2018 midterm election was real. Americans intel agencies are addressing the threat comprehensively, the officials said. President Donald Trump spearheaded an international effort to impose stringent sanctions on North Korea in an effort to force the communist regime in Pyongyang to give up its nuclear weapons program. Though significant progress toward denuclearization has been made, the White House has been firm that the sanctions will remain until North Korea completely, verifiably, and irreversibly gives up its nuclear program. Until we see the final, fully verified denuclearization of North Korea there can be no easing of sanctions, Haley said. Talk is cheapRussia cannot support sanctions with their words in the Security Council only to violate them with their actions. Moscows Denial Russia denied the Journal report asserting that the work permits were issued before the sanctions to North Koreans already in the country. Alexander Matsegora, Russias ambassador to North Korea, said the laborers were allowed to work in Russia until Nov. 29, 2019, as their work contracts had been signed before sanctions came into force, Interfax reported. He said 3,500 new work permits had been issued to workers who had signed contracts in Russia before Nov. 29, 2017, Interfax news agency reported. Labour Ministry records obtained by the Journal showed that a minimum of 700 new work permits had been issued to North Koreans in Russia this year, the paper said. U.N. officials are probing potential violations of the sanctions, which contain narrow exceptions, WSJ reported citing sources. Its absolutely clear that Russia needs to do more. Russia says it wants better relations with the United States, so Moscow should prove that by cooperating with us, not working against us, on this urgent threat to all nations, a U.S. State Department spokesperson told Reuters. It is estimated that North Korean laborers in Russia send between $150-$300 million annually to Pyongyang. Now is the time for Russia to take action: Moscow should immediately and fully implement all the U.N. sanctions that it has signed on to. The labor prohibition is a part of a broader array of sanctions that are aimed at eliminating an important revenue stream for Kim Jong Uns North Korea. Most of the money North Koreans earn abroad ends up in government coffers as workers toil in grueling conditions, the Journal reported. Russian Oil In a report released on Thursday by the non-profit research organization C4ADS, it said initial restrictions in China and Russiawhere around 80 percent of North Korean laborers are believed to workappear to have loosened. For a time, both Russia and China appeared to be expelling North Korean workers well before U.N. deadlines, but more recent reporting suggests that North Korea may have again begun to dispatch labor to both countries, the report concluded. A separate report released this week by the Seoul-based Asan Institute for Policy Studies said between 2015 and 2017 the Moscow-based Independent Petroleum Company (IPC) sold far more oil to North Korea than what was officially reported. The amount of oil IPC sold to North Korea between 2015 and 2017 could be worth as much USD 238 million, the report estimated. This far exceeds Russias official report on its oil exports to North Korea during the same period, which amounted to USD 25 million. Russias ambassador to North Korea on Friday also denied Moscow was flouting UN restrictions on oil supplies to North Korea, Interfax reported. IPC was sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department in June 2017 over its trade with North Korea, and in December 2017 the U.N. imposed its strictest limits on North Korean imports to date. In September last year, Reuters found that at least eight North Korean ships that left Russia with a cargo of fuel headed for their homeland despite declaring other destinations, a ploy that U.S. officials say is often used to undermine sanctions. Reuters contributed to this report. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran's foreign secretary, at the Austrian Chamber of Commerce on July 4, 2018 in Vienna, Austria. (Photo by Michael Gruber/Getty Images) Iran Holds Military Swarm Exercise in Persian Gulf Iran is practicing military maneuvers involving 50 small boats in the Persian Gulf. A report by Fox News on Aug. 1 indicated The Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard was expected to hold the exercise with 100 gunboats within 48 hours. That expectation became reality, but with only about 50 small boats in the Strait of Hormuz, according to an Aug. 2 Fox report. The exercises are not unusual during the fall, but are earlier than expected this year, according to Fox. This is presumably due to recent heated words between President Trump and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani. The swarm exercise could impact the Strait of Hormuz and affect trade. About 10 percent of the worlds oil passes through the strait, according to two unnamed U.S. officials, via Fox News. We are aware of the increase in Iranian naval operations within the Arabian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz and Gulf of Oman. We are monitoring it closely, and will continue to work with our partners to ensure freedom of navigation and free flow of commerce in international waterways, said Navy Capt. Bill Urban, the U.S. Central Command spokesman, in a statement. The United States military has the guided-missile destroyer USS The Sullivans in the region, along with 10 patrol craft. British and French warships are also in the region, Fox reported. Tensions grew recently after Rouhani addressed Iranian diplomats on July 22, saying, Mr. Trump, dont play with the lions tail, this would only lead to regret, and America should know that peace with Iran is the mother of all peace, and war with Iran is the mother of all wars, according to IRNA, Irans state news agency, via Reuters. President Trump responded via Twitter, that same day. To Iranian President Rouhani: NEVER, EVER THREATEN THE UNITED STATES AGAIN OR YOU WILL SUFFER CONSEQUENCES THE LIKES OF WHICH FEW THROUGHOUT HISTORY HAVE EVER SUFFERED BEFORE. WE ARE NO LONGER A COUNTRY THAT WILL STAND FOR YOUR DEMENTED WORDS OF VIOLENCE & DEATH. BE CAUTIOUS! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 23, 2018 President Trump has since offered to meet with Iranian officials, and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo offered conditions for a meeting, ABC News reported. The head of Irans Revolutionary Guards responded by letter with a refusal to meet with Trump or any other U.S. President in the future, according to the Fars News Agency. President Trump is expected to impose more sanctions on Iran in the coming week, Fox reported. From NTD.tv Joseph James Pappas was identified as the suspect who shot and killed the personal doctor of former President George H.W. Bush, Houston police said Aug. 1. (Houston Police Department) Joseph Pappas, Man Suspected of Killing George HW Bushs Doctor, Found Dead Joseph James Pappas, the man accused of murdering the former doctor of George H.W. Bush, was found dead on Aug. 3 after he was confronted by Houston Police officers, said officials. Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo said in a press conference that Pappas, 62, shot and killed himself near his Houston home. This is our suspect, Acevedo said in a live-streamed news conference. The suspect is deceased. He committed suicide when he was confronted by two members of the Houston Police Department, he added. Without the public, he said, we wouldnt be standing here today. Pappas is suspected of murdering Dr. Mark Hausknecht, a cardiologist who had treated the former president. At around 9:21 a.m. local time, police got a call from a person chasing a suspicious person, Acevedo said. The caller said he was near a Jewish community center, saying he believed the person was Pappas. The chief said that when police confronted Pappas, he refused to show his hands to the officer, Click2Houston reported. Pappas, who was also wearing body armor, shot himself when another officer arrived on the scene. On July 20, Hausknecht was shot and killed while biking to the Texas Medical Center, where he worked, by another cyclist, police said. Earlier this week, police released the name of the suspect, identifying him as Pappas. Acevedo said that it seemed as though Pappas held a grudge against Hausknecht after his mother died on the doctors operating table two decades ago, according to the local news outlet. On July 30, Houston police posted a video on social media showing the suspect after the shooting. On Aug. 3, KHOU reported that a former friend of Pappas said he had a hit list and may have been hunting his next victim. Apple, iPhone, and iPad are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. I personally do not think the doctor is the only person that he is going to target, the man told the station. I think [Dr. Mark Hausknecht] was number one on the list. And Joe is extremely intelligent. Hes patient, hes unassuming, hes a deadly shooter. He added: [When we were] hanging out together, over burgers and tacos, telling stories, he mentioned being called the Greek shrimp in high school and said Karmas a real [expletive], and one day the people who bullied him in high school would meet a day of reckoning. [When Pappas] made the comment, at the time I thought it was a joke, Hey, dont worry, youre not on my list. Now, looking back on it, it makes me queasy to think, Oh wait, maybe this guy has a list. Paul Manafort stands in a court room sketch, on the opening day of his trial on bank and tax fraud charges in Alexandria, Virginia, U.S. July 31, 2018. (Bill Hennessy/Reuters) Judge in Manafort Case Warns Mueller Team Case Could Collapse Without Key Witness A federal judge warned prosecutors from special counsel Robert Muellers team on Aug. 2 that they cant prove conspiracy in the trial of Paul Manafort unless Rick Gates, Manaforts former business partner, takes the stand. Prosecutors in the case suggested the day before that they might not call Gates to answer questions. Greg Andres, a member of Muellers team, confirmed that the prosecution will call on Gates. We have every intention of calling him as a witness, Andres said. Gates pleaded guilty to making false statements after being indicted by Mueller. Defense lawyers have painted Gates as an untrustworthy business partner who embezzled funds from Manaforts consulting firm. As part of his guilty plea, Gates acknowledged routinely dealing with accountants in the preparation of Manaforts tax returns and misleading them with false information, although he said he did so with Manaforts knowledge. Manafort routed millions of dollars to the United States by putting it in real estate and spending it on expensive suits, cars, and home renovations, according to prosecution witnesses. Prosecutors said Manafort evaded taxes through this scheme. Five of the 18 counts he faces relate to filing false tax returns. On day three of the trial, the jury heard from Joel Maxwell of a Florida-based company that installs lighting, audiovisual equipment, and automation systems for homes that did work for Manafort. Maxwell testified that some of the Manafort invoices shown to him from prosecutors appeared to be have been forged. As he did on Wednesday, U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis warned prosecutors against focusing too much on Manaforts lifestyle. It kind of engenders some resentment against rich people, Ellis said, about displaying photos exhibiting Manaforts wealth. Mueller was tasked with investigating allegations of collusion between Trump campaign associates and Russia and matters that arise from the investigation. Manafort briefly managed President Donald Trumps election campaign in 2016. The charges against Manafort are not related to collusion or the Trump campaign. Kroger Bans Visa Credit-Card Payment in 26 California Sites Foods Co.a California subsidiary of the Kroger Co.will stop accepting Visa credit-card payment at its 21 stores statewide starting Aug. 14. The new policy will also be applied to five gas stations of Foods Co. in central and northern California. The Kroger Spokesman Chris Hjelm told Bloomberg on July 30, that the company may expand the ban. Its pretty clear we need to move down this path, and if we have to expand that beyond Foods Co., were prepared to take that step, he said. After the ban is implemented, debit cards from Visa Inc. and credit cards from other companies will still be accepted in the affected stores and fuel centers. The ban is the result of a dispute between Kroger and Visa over the swipe feewhich is paid to Visa by Kroger to handle customers credit card transactions. Foods Co. told CBS 11 that the ban will reduce costs associated with Visas interchange rates and network fees. According to ValuePenguin, interchange fees are charged to merchants by card networkslike Visafor processing a debit or credit payment. The average interchange rate for a credit card payment is around 1.81 percent, while the typical rate for debit cards is 0.3 percent. Th interchange fees make up the majority of the cost involved in accepting a card payment. They have been a lasting point of tension between merchants and card companies. Merchants paid $43.4 billion in Visa and Mastercard credit card interchange fees in 2017up 68 percent from $25.9 billion in 2012, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing the Nilson Report. Before Krogers announcement, Walmart Inc. dropped a credit-card deal with Synchrony Financial in the week of July 26, after the two couldnt reach agreement on the economic term. Amazon.com Inc. is also foraying into financial servicesa move expected to save retailers $250 million a year in swipe fees, according to the Bloomberg. From NTD.tv Watch Next: 5 Imported Foods From China You Should Avoid This undated photo provided by the Bexar County Sheriff's Office in San Antonio, Texas shows Anthony Shannon. (Bexar County Sheriff's Office via AP) Man Who Swiped Shark Says Hes Activist, Not a Criminal SAN ANTONIOThe man accused of swiping a shark from a Texas aquarium says he did so because he was concerned about the sea creatures wellbeing. Anthony Shannon is charged with felony theft for stealing the horn shark Saturday from the San Antonio Aquarium. The heist, which was captured on surveillance video , shows a man grabbing the 16-inch-long (40-centimeter-long) shark from a petting tank and later wheeling it away in a baby stroller. The shark, named Miss Helen, was recovered Monday night from Shannons home. Im an activist, not a criminal, Shannon told San Antonio TV station KENS in an interview from his home, which has three saltwater tanks filled with dozens of fish and five sharks. Shannon said hes a lifelong marine enthusiast and that he became concerned about conditions at the aquarium after a friend told him that marine animals were dying frequently. About a month ago, Shannon posed as a salt distributor so he could investigate conditions and take water samples from the tanks, he said. The aquarium said in a statement that employees had no reason to doubt that Shannon was a salt distributor until after the theft, when a worker recognized him. We do daily tests of our water throughout the aquarium and show that everything is within normal parameters on the day Helen went missing, the aquarium said in a statement. Shannon said he took the shark from the petting tank after he saw a guest squeeze it. Its regretful to do something like that, but if its an emergency for an animal, then no, its not, Shannon said. The aquarium said its animals are well cared for and that Miss Helen is on the mend after the caper. We appreciate all of the love and support everyone has shown for Helen and invite everyone to come see her when shes back on exhibit, the statement said. The site of the Route 91 music festival mass shooting is seen outside the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada on Oct. 2, 2017. (REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson) No Clear Motive Found for 2017 Las Vegas Massacre Police have uncovered no clear motive for the gunman who killed 58 people at outdoor concert in Las Vegas last year, in the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history, a sheriff said on Friday. Stephen Paddock, 64, a retired real estate investor, poured gunfire from a snipers nest in his 32nd-floor Mandalay Bay hotel suite into a crowd of more than 20,000 people attending a music festival in October 2017, then killed himself before police stormed his room. Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Sheriff Joe Lombardo said law enforcement can answer questions as to where, when and how Paddock operated, but had been unable to uncover his exact motive. What we have not been able to definitively answer is the why Steven Paddock committed this act, he told a televised news conference in releasing a final criminal investigative report. Paddock, who had amassed an arsenal of high-powered weapons and accessories, did not leave a suicide note or manifesto explaining his actions, Lombardo said. The sheriff has previously noted that a large loss of money by Paddock just before the shooting could have been a factor. At the news conference, Lombardo described Paddock as an unremarkable man whose movements leading up to the massacre did not raise any major suspicion. Lombardo said the investigation concluded there was no second shooter and no conspiracy behind the killing. He also delivered an emotional message to the hundreds of people injured and the families of those killed. The heaviest burden will be carried by the families of those who didnt come home and those who suffered life-changing injuries and psychological trauma, he said. By Jon HerskovitzDownload Picture Former professor Sun Wenguang in his home in Jinan City, Shandong Province, on Aug. 28, 2013. (Tania Lee/AFP/Getty Images) Outspoken Chinese Professors Media Interview With VOA Cut Short by Police A live telephone interview by Voice of America (VOA) with an outspoken Chinese professor was abruptly terminated when Chinese police forcibly broke into his home in Shandong Province on Aug. 1. The police came again! They came to interfere again! Sun Wenguang, a retired physics professor at Shandong University, could be heard yelling in the interview clip that the media outlet uploaded to its website. Sun was making comments in the interview that were critical of Chinas dollar diplomacya term used to describe Beijings strategy of gaining alliances through giving large sums of loans and investments to foreign countries in an effort to jockey for geopolitical influence. The ordinary [Chinese] people are poor, and we should stop throwing money at Africa, Sun said, continuing to talk while a commotion could be heard in the background. Seconds later, the interview abruptly ended, with Sun shouting to the police: What are you doing here? It is illegal for you to break into my house. This is my freedom of speech! VOA tried calling and texting Sun to re-establish contact, but received no response. People familiar with the situation in Shandong later told VOA that Sun had been removed from his home that night, but now has been placed under house arrest. VOA correspondents in Beijing attempted to call the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to inquire about Suns situation, but the ministrys mobile phone number open to the public was turned off and its landline was not answered. Local police stations in Jinan City, Shandong Province, the area where Sun lives, also refused to comment. Sun, now 84, retired in 1994. Outspoken about human-rights issues and critical of government policies in China, Sun has been subjected to constant monitoring and intimidation by Chinese authorities over the years. On Feb. 27, right before the Lianghui, or the two sessions annual political meetings of the Chinese Communist Partys rubber-stamp legislature and national political-advisory body, Sun was taken away and detained for 40 days. Dissidents are commonly harassed and detained ahead of important Party meetings in an attempt to silence them. After Sun returned home from detention in April, he was placed under house arrest and had his retirement pension suspended by university officials. On May 3, Sun was again detained and forcibly disappeared for 43 days, ahead of the 29th anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre, which Sun had publicly commemorated for years. Mentions of the democracy movement and the regimes brutal crackdown are taboo subjects in China. In July, ahead of Chinese leader Xi Jinpings planned trip to the Middle East and five countries in Africa, Sun published an open letter that urged Xi to stop giving away large sums in foreign aid, loans, and investments, because China still has a large population of poor people suffering at home. Sun said it was unnecessary to throw money extravagantly and put up a wealthy front overseas. The letter soon spread among Chinese communities abroad and has since gained tremendous attention, leading to VOAs interview on Aug. 1, to discuss Suns opinions on Chinas foreign-aid policy. I think you all have just witnessed the situation live. This is the current human-rights situation in China, said the host of the VOA television show Issues & Opinions. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo attends the 51st Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) - US Ministerial Meeting in Singapore on Aug. 3, 2018. (Roslan Rahman/AFP/Getty Images) Pompeo Warns Turkey Time Has Run Out for Release of US Pastor Speaking to reporters on Aug. 3, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo pressed Turkey for the release of detained U.S. pastor Andrew Brunson, adding that the clock had run out for the government to act. Pompeos remarks come just days after the Trump administration issued sanctions on Aug. 1 on two top Turkish officials, Minister of Justice Abdulhamit Gul and Minister of Interior Suleyman Soylu, for their roles in the detention of Brunson. The sanctions, imposed by the Treasury Department, mean that any property or interest in property belonging to the Turkish officials within U.S. jurisdiction would be blocked. Americans would also generally be prohibited from doing business with them. The Turks were on notice that the clock had run out and it was time for Pastor Brunson to be returned and I hope theyll see this for what it is: a demonstration that were very serious, Pompeo told reporters aboard his plane as he flew to Singapore from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Brunson needs to come home as do all the Americans being held by the Turkish government, he said. Pretty straightforward. Theyve been holding these folks for a long time. These are innocent people. State department spokesperson Heather Nauert said Pompeo met with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on Aug. 3 on the margins of The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Ministerial in Singapore. She said they conversed on a number of issues and had a constructive conversation. Brunson, a Christian pastor from North Carolina, has lived in Turkey for more than two decades and has been in pre-trial detention since 2016. He was accused by Turkey of orchestrating a failed military coup in 2016 and of having links to terrorist organizations. Both Brunson himself and the U.S. government have denied these claims, neither of which have been substantiated. Near the end of July, Brunson was released from prison and placed under house arrest due to health problems. He has previously called the charges against him shameful and disgusting. According to White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders, the U.S. government has seen no evidence that Pastor Brunson has done anything wrong. She said on Aug. 1. that Brunson is a victim of unfair and unjust detention by the Turkish government. President Donald Trump has repeatedly called for the release of Brunson in the past few months. On Twitter, he called the detainment a total disgrace and called out Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan by name to free him. Automobile traffic moves along the Capitol Beltway during rush hour one day before the 4th of July holiday July 3, 2018 in Fort Washington, Maryland. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) Fuel-Economy Proposal Will Cut Traffic Deaths, Lower Car Prices, EPA Says The Environmental Protection Agency proposed a set of new fuel economy and emissions standards on Aug. 2, estimated to result in 12,700 fewer traffic deaths, make passenger cars more affordable, and give automakers more freedom to create cars based on consumer preference rather than government mandate. Car manufacturers currently are mandated to incrementally reach an average fuel economy of 54 miles per gallon across their passenger car and light truck fleets by 2025, under guidelines put in place in 2012 under President Barack Obama, The Trump administration proposes freezing the increase at 37 miles per gallon in 2020, and keeping that until at least 2025. While the new standard is significantly lower than Obamas 2025 target of 54 miles per gallon, the difference is expected to have a minimal impact on climate. The EPA estimates that the new rules would result in a 0.003 degree Celsius difference in the global climate by the year 2100, compared with the Obama-era mandate. This has very little to do in reality with the globes surface temperature, said climatologist Dr. Patrick Michaels, director of the Center for the Study of Science at the Cato Institute. If the United States emissions dropped to zerothat means all electrical generation emissions, all transportation emissions, all manufacturing emissionsif they all went to zero, it would be very hard to see that signal in the global temperature even by the year 2100. President Donald Trump said in March last year that his administration is working on relaxing the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards set by his predecessor. Im sure youve all heard the big news that were going to work on the CAFE standards, so you can make cars in America again, Trump told a crowd in Detroit on March 15, 2017. Were going to help the companies, and theyre going to help you. If the standards threatened auto jobs, then common-sense changes could have and should have been made. In a 978-page document (pdf) released on Aug. 2, the EPA and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration are also proposing to retract a waiver issued to California in 2013, which enabled the state to set its own stricter emissions standards. Several other states followed Californias guidelines, creating a fragmented set of standards across the country. The Trump administration is arguing that the multiple standards complicate regulation. Despite the waiver, California still fails to meet federal clean air guidelines, the agencies noted. Meanwhile, Californias strict fuel economy and emissions standards have caused financial losses for carmakers, which must raise prices on cars elsewhere to make up for the loss, the proposal states. The National Auto Dealers Association estimates the federal standards demanded by California will add $3,000 to the cost of new motor vehicles by 2025, potentially pricing millions of low-income households out of the market for new cars, Marlo Lewis, a senior fellow at the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI), said in a statement. Kicking California bullies out of the fuel economy playground will expand consumer choice, while making new cars more affordable. California is expected to challenge the withdrawal of the waiver in court. A group of 20 state attorneys general announced their intent to sue the government over the EPAs proposed rules, arguing that the new guidelines would cost Americans up to $236 billion in gas and add the equivalent of emissions from 400 million cars. White House press secretary Sarah Sanders dismissed concerns, pointing out that the standards are only a proposal and subject to a comment period. The reporting that were reversing Obama-era fuel efficiency standards and pre-empting the tougher California standard is simply false, Sanders said. The notice lays out a series of options on how to go forward with CAFE standards and the notice asked for comments on a range of options. Were simply opening it up for a comment period, and well make a final decision at the end of that. The Obama-era rules also drove car prices higher, since prior estimates fell short of what incremental improvements to fuel efficiency actually cost. For example, Obamas EPA argued that a dual-clutch transmission would soon be widely adopted as a cost-effective way to get more miles per gallon. But consumer complaints and quality issues led to reluctance on the part of manufacturers to accept the technology. As car manufacturers boosted fuel economy across their fleets, incremental improvements have become more costly and complicated while returns have diminished, the agencies say. As a result, car prices are soaring. The average new-car transaction is now $36,000, up more than $3,000 since 2014, according to Kelley Blue Book. The prices on new cars have become unaffordable to median-income families in every metropolitan region in the United States except Washington, according to an independent study by Bankrate.com. The newly proposed CAFE standards are thus good news to consumers, according to a statement from Myron Ebell, the director of CEIs Center for Energy and Environment. It means that the federal government will have slightly less control over the kinds of cars and trucks people can buy, Ebell said. It might even cause car prices to stop increasing so rapidly. The soaring prices of cars have led more Americans to hold off on new auto purchases. As a result, the age of the average car in America is now almost 12 years old, the highest in U.S. history, according to IHS Markit. Older cars are less fuel efficient and less safe. The proportion of passengers killed in cars that are older than 18 years is almost double that of cars that are newer than three years, according to a recent National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) study. As a result, the Trump administration estimated that the proposed rule would prevent more than 12,700 on-road fatalities. The Trumps administrations fatality estimate isnt novel to observers of the car industry. In 1989, a Harvard-Brookings study estimated that the modest 27.5 mile-per-gallon requirement at the time caused a 14 to 27 percent increase in traffic deaths because carmakers downsized vehicles. In 1992, a federals appeals court ruled that the NHTSA was using bureaucratic mumbo-jumbo to avoid addressing the lethal effects of the CAFE standards. FILE PHOTO: A booth of U.S. chipmaker Qualcomm is pictured at an expo in Beijing, China, September 27, 2017. Picture taken September 27, 2017. (REUTERS/Stringer) Qualcomm Expects $1 Billion From Chips for Watches, Speakers Qualcomm, Inc. says it expects to bring in more than $1 billion in sales this fiscal year from semiconductor chips for smart watches, connected speakers and other devices outside its core business of chips for mobile phones. The figure is the most recent data point the company has released to prove it can diversify its revenue sources after its $44 billion deal to buy Dutch chipmaker NXP Semiconductors fell apart last month. The sales of so-called internet of things, or IoT, chips is about one-fifth of the $5 billion in revenue that Qualcomm CEO Steve Mollenkopf said the San Diego chipmaker believes it will make outside the mobile phone market. Qualcomm dominates the market for processor chips for phones as well as modem chips that let phones connect to wireless data networks, counting firms like Samsung Electronics Co and Apple, Inc. as major customers. The sales of smartphones have flattened in recent years though and are growing slowly. To respond to that broader trend, Qualcomm had sought to purchase NXP, a dominant supplier to the automotive market, where car makers are adding more chips to vehicles each year. That deal fell apart last month after failing to secure approval from Chinese regulators. Now, Mollenkopf is under pressure from investors to show he can expand Qualcomms sales without NXPs help. While Qualcomm had disclosed that it expected $5 billion in non-mobile chip sales this year, up from $3 billion last year, it had not given any information about the composition of that $5 billion until Thursday. The rest of the $5 billion beyond IoT chips comes from networking chips, Qualcomms own automotive chips and a few other areas. Qualcomms chips for the IoT market typically power small, battery-powered devices that are becoming more common. In a statement released ahead of a planned briefing with analysts on its progress, Qualcomm said its chips are now in more than 200 kinds of so-called wearable devices and 1,300 different wireless headsets, earbuds and wireless speakers. The company also said it expects revenue growth from chips for wireless, internet-connected cameras to increase 120 percent this year versus last year, though it did not give an absolute dollar figure. Reporting by Stephen Nellis A Russian police officer patrols a street in front of the U.S. Embassy in Moscow on Sept. 20, 2012. (Kirill Kudryavtsev/AFP/GettyImages) Russian Spy Caught After 10 Years as Employee at US Embassy in Moscow Secret Service disputes allegations she had access to classified intel American spy-catchers uncovered a suspected Russian mole that had been working in the U.S. embassy in Moscow for over 10 years, according to the British newspaper The Guardian, citing an anonymous source close to the matter. The paper alleges the female agent had access to the intranet and email systems of the U.S. Secret Service, giving her access to potentially classified material, including the schedules of the president and vice-president. The report also claims that when the spy was finally outed, the Secret Service not only failed to launch an investigation, but tried to cover up the security breach by using the Russia-ordered expulsions of 750 U.S. embassy staff members as a cover for her removal. Allegations of a Cover-up The Secret Service is trying to hide the breach by firing [her], the anonymous source told The Guardian. The damage was already done but the senior management of the Secret Service did not conduct any internal investigation to assess the damage and to see if [she] recruited any other employees to provide her with more information. The Guardian did not disclose the suspected spys name or role, and said the woman had not responded to attempts to contact her. In a statement, U.S. Secret Service officials rejected the British papers claims of a cover-up and high-level security breach as categorically false and said the article is wrought with irresponsible and inaccurate reporting based on the claims of anonymous sources. U.S. National Security Compromised? The Secret Service said that all non-U.S. staff members, formally termed Foreign Service Nationals (FSN), are assumed to be susceptible to foreign intelligence influence, and so all FSNs are managed accordingly to ensure that U.S. Secret Service and United States Government (USG) interests are protected at all times. That the Russian spy could have had access to information that compromised U.S. national security, the Secret Service added, was erroneously reported. Michael McFaul was the U.S. Ambassador to Russia under the Obama administration and told MSNBC that he was unaware of any suspicious activity by the undercover agent, although it sounds like this woman worked for me when I was there. McFaul said that there are risk-mitigation procedures in place to prevent non-U.S. staff from having access to sensitive information. I think its highly unlikely that she had access to classified information. That just does not happen in the embassy for Russians, for foreign nationals working there, McFaul said. Oftentimes, we would run counter-intelligence on someone like that to follow them, to understand what theyre doing, to try and get greater fidelity as to how the FSB [Russian Federal Security Service] works, he added. To Catch a Spy A senior administration official told CNN that the Russian spy was the subject of a counter-intelligence operation after coming under suspicion during a State Department security sweep in 2016. She was found to be actively providing Russians with intelligence. We figure that all of them are talking to the FSB, the source said of any foreign nationals working for the embassy, but the suspect was giving them way more information than she should have. American agents set up a sting. We knew it was happening and it was just a process of playing it out and giving her specific information that we saw her give back to the FSB, the source revealed. The Russian spy was eventually caught, and in the summer of 2017 was dismissed. The source also countered the British newspapers claim that the espionage activity compromised U.S. national security. She did not have access to highly classified information, the official said. The Secret Service said that any claims regarding a potential security breach of U.S. Secret Service systems, information, or reporting is unfounded. Shakayla Denson, 26, is accused of throwing her daughter JeHryah Daniels into the Hillsborough River in Tampa, Fla., on Aug. 2, 2018. (Tampa Police Department) Shakayla Denson Arrested After Throwing Daughter, 4, Into Florida River, Police Say The mother of a 4-year-old girl was charged with murder after throwing the child into the Hillsborough River in Tampa, Florida. Shakayla Denson, 26, faces the murder charges as well as aggravated child abuse and grand theft auto charges, according to the Tampa Police Department in a news release on Aug. 2. The slain girl was identified as JeHryah Daniels. Denson waded into the Hillsborough River and tossed the child into the water, police said in the news release, adding that the incident unfolded just north of the Columbus Drive Bridge. Tampa woman arrested after she allegedly threw her 4-year-old daughter into the Hillsborough River, authorities say. https://t.co/xwXGsSOsfr Nightline (@Nightline) August 3, 2018 At around 4:30 p.m. on Aug. 2, about 30 minutes after the woman allegedly threw the girl in the water, a police dive team discovered an unconscious child submerged about 75 feet offshore, the department stated. Police then quickly located Denson walking nearby and was taken into custody, officials stated. Denson had previously stolen a car, a Nissan Altima, from Jordan Auto Repair in Tampa before parking the car near the spot where the child was found.. A witness was quoted by TampaBay.com as saying that Denson forcefully removed the child from the vehicle. The child was screaming loudly and was not cooperating with Denson, the report stated. Police Chief Brian Dugan said, Were going to have to figure out what her mindset was that took her and put her in a place where she would leave a four-year-old to drown in the Hillsborough River, according to TampaBay.com. Tampa woman arrested after she allegedly threw her 4-year-old daughter into the Hillsborough River, authorities say. https://t.co/1mQkdRz2DR pic.twitter.com/anul2TAVqE ABC News (@ABC) August 3, 2018 Our hearts hurt for the loss of JeHyrah Daniels, Sheriffs Office spokesman Danny Alvarez stated. These types of matters are without a doubt some of the most emotionally tolling types of cases law enforcement encounters. Apple, iPhone, and iPad are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. A GoFundMe page that was created by Denson in October 2017 stated JeHyrah was diagnosed with autism, the report said. My goal is to start saving for therapy equipment, and also for jehyrahs future, the page said. Ive also gathered interest in reaching out to others living with autism, and would enjoy providing strategies and resources Ive learn to help them get threw (sic) the day. Thanks and i appreciate it. The childs father, Jedaric Daniels, also issued a comment via another GoFundMe page: In my entire 37 years of living, I have never endured so much hurt (and) pain I loved her with every bone in my body, the report said. Police told TampaBay.com that its not clear if the girl had autism. On the eve of the Paul Manafort trial, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin casually announced that Donald Trumps administration was considering a fresh $100 billion tax cut for the wealthy. The two eventsthe trial and the tax cutshould be considered plot points in the same narrative. Manafort had grown very rich by looting public monies, and Mnuchin was proposing an arguably legal version of the same. Unlike past Trump tax cuts, this proposed cut would be implemented by executive fiat, without a congressional votea highly unusual and highly undemocratic act of plunder that would redirect money from the state to further enrich the American elite, not to mention Mnuchin himself. The trial of Paul Manafort is not merely an episode in a larger scandal that will unfold over many chapters. It is a warning not to be ignored. Its an occasion for the United States to awaken from its collective slumber about the creeping dangers of kleptocracy. The Tesla logo is seen at the entrance to Tesla Motors' new showroom in Manhattan's Meatpacking District in New York City, U.S., December 14, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo Tesla Shares Jump After Cash Burn Worries Abate, Musk Apologizes to Street Shares of Tesla Inc. jumped more than 12 percent on Thursday, after the company convinced investors that it was able to yield positive cash flow and turn a profit, and Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk apologized for past incendiary remarks. The stock added about $6.27 billion in market capitalization and gave the company a valuation of $57.35 billion, vaulting it past General Motors Co. to make it the most valuable U.S. automaker. Musk in a conference call on Wednesday, addressing the companys largest quarterly loss to date, said the electric car maker would not need to raise more cash and that capital expenses would be slightly below $2.5 billion in 2018, lower than most analysts estimates. But it was his remorse for prior remarks to analysts that highlighted the call. Previously, he insulted some analyststurning off investors and shareholders, and knocking $2 billion off the companys market cap. I would like to apologize for being impolite on the prior call. Honestly, I think there is really no excuse for bad manners. I was kind of violating my own rule in that regard, he said. In the previous quarter, Musk called questions posed by two analysts boring and boneheaded, and refused to answer them. This quarter, not only was Musks tone nonconfrontational, but he apologized to both analysts. Musk displayed a noticeably more muted tone, opening the Q&A with an apology for his behavior last quarter, and answering questions with few fireworks, said Bernstein analyst Toni Sacconaghi, who was one of the analysts targeted by Musk. Shares of the company were up 12.2 percent to $337.68. Tesla ended the second quarter with $2.78 billion in cash after spending $610 million in capital expenses. Barclays analysts suggested Tesla tapped into the credit line for $458 million, which boosted its end-of-quarter cash reserves. On Wednesday, Musk reiterated a target of producing 6,000 Model 3 sedans per week by late August. After Tesla produced 5,000 per week in July following several delays in reaching that target, analysts were concerned whether it could maintain the production rate. After three quarters where investors have been in the dark with respect to estimating Model 3 volumes and margins, Q2 felt like there might finally be some light at the end of the tunnel, Evercore analysts wrote. Come Q3, we may even be able to see the end of the tunnel, or Elons Production Hell. Tesla had a record loss of $718 million in the second quarter, but investors and analysts focused on the positives, and more importantly on Musks behavior on the conference call. At least three brokerages raised their price targets and one upgraded the stock to outperform from perform. The eccentric billionaire has been a lightning rod for controversies. Most recently he was forced into an apology for making unsubstantiated accusations regarding a British caver who helped rescue the 12 boys from a flooded Thailand cave. Reporting by Vibhuti Sharma and Jasmine I S Tina Workman (middle in white) and her students after a simulation training. (Photo courtesy of Tina Workman) The Transformative Power of Compassion How a personal tragedy is transformed into something beneficial to others On Jan. 16, 1988, 11-year-old Tina Workman was suddenly handed her two-and-a-half-month-old baby sister Abby, who was not breathing, limp, blue, and lifeless. In a blind panic, Workmans step-mom kept screaming, Tina, CPR! CPR! CPR! Workman remembers that moment, I froze and went blank. I tried to perform CPR but wasnt able to move any air. The panic became terror. Then my dad was able to get Abbys heartbeats back, just in time for the ambulance to rush Abby to the hospital. Abby was born with a congenital heart defect and survived open heart surgery shortly after birth. Unfortunately, the hospital declared her brain dead due to prolonged deprivation of oxygen. She died in my fathers arms shortly after her life support was removed. On that fateful day, a scene was deeply engraved in my mind. Workman continued, I knew exactly what to do in the years to come. Now, 30 years later, Workman is pioneering a new lifesaving procedure at what one of the most prestigious nursing schools in the United States. Her simulation program teaches nurses and physicians how to assess a patient in an urgent situation and perform an emergency intubation that enables patients to continue breathing. As you all go about your careers, there will be challenges, and you will get frustrated. Workman told a group of medical and nursing students at Johns Hopkins University, in Baltimore, MD on June 26, 2018. Please always remember what inspired you to go into this field. Dont lose your compassion. Never forget that each patient you treat is someones mom, dad, brother, husband, wifeor sister. Workman, now an adjunct faculty and designer of Unanticipated Emergency Intubation in the Hospital Setting, dedicated the simulation held at the universitys School of Nursing to her baby sister. The simulation features a hypothetical patient who is named after Tina Workmans sister, Abby Workman. (Photo courtesy of Tina Workman) It brings my soul such joy to see what began as a personal tragedy morph into something so positive, that is now improving outcomes for other human beings. This is not just a job for me. Its a calling and my lifes work. Never Again For the Workman family, the few years after Abbys death were a financial nightmare due to uncovered medical expenses. Workman experienced bankruptcy and homelessness during high school. Yet what Workman remembers are the kind-hearted people in her hometown, Tombstone, AZ, who believed in my potential and refused to let me fail. In particular, the guidance and mentorship of people like Mike Roane, Jim Lindsey, Francis Calderon and Sandra Wendt, were key. After she finished nursing school, Workman entered the area of nursing shes been ruminating since the day her baby sister died. When Abby died, I promised myself that never again I would freeze like that in an emergency situation. For seven years, Workman worked as a critical care float nurse in the ER, trauma bay, cath lab, OB, and ICUs. She then went to obtain a Masters Degree in Nursing Science with a specialty in Anesthesia from Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), where the nursing program was the first of its kind to use high fidelity simulation training in anesthesia. By that time, Workman was already married to an active duty military heart transplant surgeon who also did trauma surgery for the Army. When the Iraq War broke out, he was sent to Iraq for nearly a year. Meanwhile, Workman started to contemplate about her experience in critical care. Ive been in nearly every single type of unit in every single type of hospital setting in this country. As a military spouse, Ive practiced in seven different states. Ive been fully immersed in critical care medicine for the bulk of my career and have been in the shoes of both the hospital nurse and the airway provider, and I began to see a trend emerge. Over and over again, Ive witnessed how poorly we function as a team during emergencies, even in monitored units like the ICU. She felt a sense of responsibility to improve the situation. Setbacks and Triumph However, life took an unexpected turn after her then-husband returned from Iraq. He came back from the war a completely different person. He was angry with me for whatever happened over there. He brought all of that pain back from the war and transferred the pain all onto me. They had a painful divorce, which brought Workmans personal and professional life to a heartbreaking halt. But just like when my sister died, or when I was sleeping in my car, anytime I found myself at rock bottom, when all seemed lost, the only thing to do is to pick myself up, dig a little deeper, focus on something positive and carry on. As a result, Workman went to Johns Hopkins during the worst time of her divorce. I needed a distraction and a place for advancement. So I decided to just go for best. I walked into Hopkins and started introducing myself. Thats how it began. Workman enrolled in the Nurse Educator Program at Johns Hopkins. A year into the program, Workman needed to do a capstone project. Under the guidance of her mentor Sandy Swoboda, Workman decided to address the unanticipated respiratory arrest in the hospital environment through a simulation program. I spent an entire semester immersed with the simulation program at JHUSON, with world-class clinicians and educators like Maggie Neal, Sandy Swoboda, and Nancy Sullivan. Tina Workman (L) and Sandy Swoboda, a Senior Research Program Coordinator and Simulation Educator at JHU. (Photo courtesy of Tina Workman) Sandy and I designed the simulation originally with a hypothetical patient (J.S., 62 years old), a mannequin that can realistically simulate the medical emergency, including vital signs that respond to the teams interventions. A team of students is tasked with accurately assessing the patient, calling for advanced care and performing an emergency intubation. What makes the design unique is that it is truly interdisciplinary team training. It breaks the boundary of specialties and is a chance for medical students, nursing students, residents, currently practicing physicians and nurses of all levels to train together as a team. Dr. Henry Fessler watching a simulation in progress at the Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing. (Photo courtesy of Tina Workman) Dr. Henry Fessler, a Professor of Medicine and Public Health, Director of the Fellowship Training Program in Pulmonary and Critical Care and Assistant Dean for Undergraduate Medical Education at Johns Hopkins, recognized this simulation as a unique and valuable opportunity for his medical students and fellows to gain lifesaving airway skills from an expert while simultaneously learning to lead a team of professional nurses. Dr. Fessler now recommends participation to all of his pulmonary critical care fellows, and it has become popular among the medical students and Internal Medicine residents, space permitting. In addition, every Masters level nursing student graduating from Hopkins is required to go through the simulation. Also because of this simulation program, JHU has formed Rapid Respiratory Response Teams, who utilize the same concept taught in the simulation. This brings us back to the opening scene on June 26, 2018. On that day, the hypothetical patient was officially named after Abby, Workmans baby sister, who would be 31-year-old had she lived. The simulation project is a gift to her entire family, who can now face the tragedy with gratitude. With this, she lives. Workmans father said. Power of Compassion The scene that was engraved in Workmans mind happened in the ER waiting room on that fateful day. I remember being in the ER waiting room with my siblings, all of us obviously traumatized. The ER nurses were amazing. They brought us food and blankets. One of them even held me in her arms while I cried. She assured me that it wasnt my fault, that I had done the very best I could. Ill never forget her kindness and compassion I remember thinking that I wanted to be just like her someday. Tim Allen as Mike Baxter in an episode of "Last Man Standing. (Fox) Tim Allens Last Man Standing Character Will Retain Conservative Views Tim Allens character, Mike Baxter, will retain his conservative viewpoint in the return of Last Man Standing. Baxter is clearly a conservative character, Fox Television Group CEO and chairman Gary Newman told reporters in California on Thursday. However, Newman said that there arent any plans to write in definitively whether Baxter voted for President Donald Trump or not. I will say right now the producers plans are not to address whether or not he might be a Trump supporter, Newman said at the 2018 Television Critics Associations Summer Press Tour, reported Fox News. Newman said that he doesnt expect the series to become more political than it has been in the past. At its heart, its a family comedy, he said. I think that theyre going to tell the same type of stories that they told during its run on ABC. Tim Allen is a big star, he continued. He has a great following. The show is really funny. We know were going to have tremendous material to promote it with because that show, joke for joke, is I think, as funny as any show on TV. One hundred and thirty episodes of Last Man Standing aired on ABC beginning in 2011, but despite being the networks second-highest rated sitcom for the 2016-17 season, it was canceled. With a central character who is a political conservative and devout Christian adhering to traditional American values, the blue-collar comedy appeals to viewers in the Heartland, a constituency that helped elect Donald Trump as president, Deadline noted. The wait is OVER. ? #LastManStanding premieres September 28 at 8/7c on @FOXTV. pic.twitter.com/2GthMjZwuP Last Man Standing (@LastManStanding) June 28, 2018 One year later, Fox Television Group announced it had picked up the show, and executives noted that it appeals to the middle of America. Newman told reporters, that a strong family comedy with a strong point of view can play well in the middle of the country, referencing the success of Roseanne, reported IndieWire. Besides Allen, a number of series regulars are set to return, including Nancy Travis (Vanessa Baxter), Amanda Fuller (Kristin Beth Baxter), and Hector Elizondo (Ed Alzate). Molly Ephraim (Mandy Baxter) and Flynn Morrison (Boyd) are the major characters who wont return, reported TV Line. Both roles are being recast. From NTD.tv Tourist Shot in the Head While Visiting Canada A 60-year-old tourist was shot in the head while traveling in Canada, authorities said. Investigators are searching for a suspect after the German man was shot while driving west on Highway 1A through Morley in southern Alberta on Aug. 2, reported Global News. The shot caused the car the tourist was driving to veer off the road and crash into a tree. RCMP Sgt. Tom Kalis said that it appears the suspect was inside of a small black car being driven by a man with long brown hair and shot the German while passing the tourists vehicle on the highway. One of the theories that were examining at this time is that there may be a road rage incident involving a small black car that was traveling in a similar direction and was passing this truck at the time of the impact and the gunshot, Kalis said. Weve got a fairly significant search scene out there and we have a number of specialized resources that are scouring the scene. Were not seeing any evidence that would support other theories. With HWY 1-A opened back up, we can see the trail of debris left by a truck after its driver a 60 yr old German tourist was shot in the head by an occupant in a passing car. The latest on this shocking incident: https://t.co/PdQePf615v #yyc @GlobalCalgary pic.twitter.com/Tn17y50yKi Blake Lough (@Blake_Lough) August 3, 2018 Whats left at the scene of what RCMP are calling a possible road-rage incident where a German tourist was shot in the head while driving near Morley #yyc pic.twitter.com/eVeM5CUsv0 Michael King (@king_calgary) August 3, 2018 Kalis told CTV that officials are considering the shooting isolated. We dont perceive a risk to the public at all. Its certainly a rather serious and disturbing incident but we dont have any evidence to suggest that this is anything relating to series of crimes, he said. The tourist was airlifted to a hospital with life-threatening injuries but was conscious and talking at the time. The man was with three family members who were not injured in the crash. They were headed to Banff National Park at the time of the shooting, reported CBC. Anyone with information is being urged to contact Cochrane RCMP at 1-403-851-8000 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477. From NTD.tv Trump Administration Expands Health-Coverage Options With Rule Change The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued a rule change on Aug. 1 that would expand the scope of short-term, limited-duration health insurance plans to a year and provide another option to those seeking a truly free-market health insurance plan. These short-term plans are meant to cover people who face gaps in their insurance coverage, such as when they transition to a new job, but under the Obama administration, those plans couldnt last more than three months and couldnt be renewed. Part of the proposal would allow people to not only renew their stop-gap insurance for up to three years, but if they choose to buy another type of insurance called a renewal guarantee, they can get it at the same rate when they renew as they did when they entered, even if they develop a serious condition. To encourage people to sign up for the government-run exchange plans, the Obama administration in effect killed this option, a move that was legally tenuous, according to Michael Cannon, director of health policy studies at the libertarian Cato Institute. The statute actually does not give HHS the authority to regulate these insurance instruments, these insurance products that we call renewal guarantees, much less does it give HHS the authority to ban them, Cannon said. They were trying to ban something they dont even have the authority to regulate. The Trump administration touts the expansion of these short-term plans as another option for Americans struggling to pay unsubsidized premiums for plans under the Affordable Care Act. Under the Affordable Care Act, Americans have seen insurance premiums rise and choices dwindle, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said in a statement. President Trump is bringing more affordable insurance options back to the market, including through allowing the renewal of short-term plans. These plans arent for everyone, but they can provide a much more affordable option for millions of the forgotten men and women left out by the current system. Short-term, limited-duration health insurance, known in health-speak as STLD, is unique in that it was never subject to the regulations that full health care plans were under the Affordable Care Act, widely known as Obamacare. STLD plans dont have to cover someone with a pre-existing condition, are not required to cover certain things, such as maternity care or mental health treatment, and are not subject to cost-sharing limits like full health care plans are. These skinny bundle-type plans may cover a much smaller range of issues, but they are cheaper, which likely will make them more appealing to people who are healthy and make above $48,000, roughly the limit to be eligible for subsidies under Obamacare. The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office estimates that by 2023, 2 million more people who are currently uninsured will gain coverage through STLD plans. This could snowball as premiums rise for Obamacare plans, which rely on healthy people staying in them to offset the costs of covering the sick. By one estimate, from the left-leaning Urban Institute, health care premiums under Obamacare might rise by 18.2 percent next year. Thats on top of increases over last year. Between 2017 and 2018, according to the institute, the lowest-cost silver insurance plans increased by an average of 32 percent. The more expensive gold plans went up by 19 percent over the same period. This concurs with data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), which found that premiums increased by 21 percent in 2017. It also found that enrollment in subsidized health insurance plans remained stable, while the number of people enrolled in the individual market without subsidies declined by 20 percent. We continue to see a crisis of affordability in the individual insurance market, especially for those who dont qualify for large subsidies, CMS Administrator Seema Verma said in a statement. This final rule opens the door to new, more affordable coverage options for millions of middle-class Americans who have been priced out of ACA plans. The other change that could potentially drive healthy people away from ACA plans is the suspension of penalties under the individual mandate starting next year. Except for some exemptions, the individual mandate requires individuals to be insured or face fines at the end of the year. While the individual mandate is still in effect with no sign Congress is going to repeal it, next year it will essentially be toothless. The penalty, starting in 2019, for not having health insurance will be $0. The penalties are still in effect for this year, though, and STLD wont protect someone from those penalties. President Donald Trump has repeatedly called for the repeal of Obamacare, but after three tries, the Republican-controlled Congress has been unable to pass a bill replacing it. In lieu of legislative change, Trump signed an executive order called Promoting Healthcare Choice and Competition Across the United States last October to allow people to buy health insurance plans across state lines, and allow employers, particularly smaller ones, to form associations to offer better health care options to their employees, among other things. Part of that executive order was expanding STLDs. The HHS has issued its final rule on the matter, but it wont go into effect until for at least another two months. Flag-draped transfer cases with the remains of American soldiers repatriated from North Korea during a repatriation ceremony after arriving to Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Honolulu, Hawaii, on Aug. 1, 2018. (RONEN ZILBERMAN/AFP/Getty Images) Trump Thanks Kim for Repatriating Remains of Fallen US Soldiers President Donald Trump thanked North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Aug. 2 for keeping his promise to repatriate the remains of some 55 American soldiers killed in the 19501953 Korean War. The long-awaited repatriation comes after Trump first negotiated the deal at a landmark Singapore summit between the two leaders on June 12. The United States formally welcomed home the remains at a ceremony on Aug 1. Thank you to Chairman Kim Jong Un for keeping your word & starting the process of sending home the remains of our great and beloved missing fallen! Trump wrote on Twitter. I am not at all surprised that you took this kind action. Also, thank you for your nice letter I look forward to seeing you soon! Thank you to Chairman Kim Jong Un for keeping your word & starting the process of sending home the remains of our great and beloved missing fallen! I am not at all surprised that you took this kind action. Also, thank you for your nice letter l look forward to seeing you soon! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 2, 2018 The White House confirmed Trump had received a new letter from Kim but did not reveal its content. A letter to President Trump from Chairman Kim was received on August 1, White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement. The ongoing correspondence between the two leaders is aimed at following up on their meeting in Singapore and advancing the commitments made in the US-DPRK joint statement. Vice President Mike Pence, speaking at the repatriation ceremony inside Hawaiis Hickam Air Force Base, said the move was a sign of goodwill from Kim, adding that the identification process would be completed in the near future. Today, they are known but to God, said Pence, whose father fought in the Korean War. But soon we will know their names and we will tell their stories of courage. I know that President Trump is grateful that Chairman Kim has kept his word, and we see today this tangible progress in our efforts to achieve peace on the Korean Peninsula. North Korea delivered only one identification tag among the 55 caskets sent home on July 27. It marks the beginning of a long process to identify all the remains. Still, the delivery rekindled hopes of continued denuclearization talks with North Korea. More than 35,000 Americans died on the Korean Peninsula and 7,702 are still unaccounted for, according to the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency. The day of the transfer coincided with the 65th anniversary of the 1953 armistice agreement that put a temporary stop to the war between the North and South. Technically, the two Koreas are still at war. In his address, Pence said the remains are only the first batch sent to the United States. It comes after a report based on satellite images from July 20 and July 22 revealed that North Korea was dismantling an important satellite launch facility. But today is just a beginning, and our work will not be complete until all our fallen heroes are accounted for, and home, Pence said. We will see to it in the days ahead that these heroes will be the heroes who led the way to many more homecomings in the future. The U.S. military flew the remains from Osan Air Base in South Korea after they had undergone an initial field forensic review. Results from the review indicate that the remains are what North Korea said they were, John Byrd, director of analysis for the U.S. Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, told reporters at Osan. Byrd said the process to fully identify the remains, now more than 60 years old, could take anywhere from days to decades. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin testifies before the House Financial Services Committee in the Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill on July 12, 2018. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) US Sanctions Russian Bank for Violating North Korea Sanctions On Aug. 3, the Treasury Department sanctioned a Russian bank, a North Korean individual living in Russia, and two front companies tied to a Pyongyang bank for violating the sanctions imposed on North Korea by the United States and the United Nations. The Moscow-based Agrosoyuz Commercial Bank knowingly conducted a significant transaction on behalf of Han Jang Su, a representative of a North Korean bank living in the Russian capital, according to a statement from the Treasury Department. Han Jang Su had already been sanctioned last year and should have been expelled from Russia, yet Argosoyuz still executed the transaction, the Treasury said. The United States will continue to enforce UN and U.S. sanctions and shut down illicit revenue streams to North Korea. Our sanctions will remain in place until we have achieved the final, fully-verified denuclearization of North Korea, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement. The U.S. also sanctioned Ri Jong Won, a Moscow-based deputy representative from the same North Korean bank. Russia should have expelled Ri Jong Won as well, the Treasury said, since he had official ties to Pyongyangs bank. The sanctions also extend to two entities with links to the North Korean bank: one based in China and the other in North Korea. The sanctions mean that any interests or property of the individuals and entities who are in the United States are blocked. Americans are generally prohibited from dealing with the sanctioned people and entities. The majority owner of Argosoyuz is Andrey Shlyakhovoy. The bank is headquartered in Moscow with 74 offices and branches in Russia. Activist Tina Louise Rothery, of protest group Frack Free Lancashire, waits for the arrival of supporters at an anti-fracking camp near the site of a proposed drilling rig on Aug. 14, 2014, in Blackpool, England. (Christopher Furlong/Getty Images) UK Government Report Shows Fracking Increases Air Pollution 2015 report released just 4 days after permit granted to large fracking company LONDONA British government report about fracking, which concluded that the method of shale oil or gas extraction increases air pollution, was left unpublished for three years and was only made public just four days after the firm Cuadrilla was given the go-ahead to start the practice in Lancashire. The report was written by the Air Quality Expert Group and seen by lawmakers in 2015, but only published on July 27, after Cuadrilla was given a permit to start fracking on July 24. The report warned that nitrogen dioxide would rise 1 percent to 4 percent and volatile organic compounds by 1 percent to 3 percent on a UK-wide basis, but locally the impact would be substantially higher. Impacts on local and regional air quality have the potential to be substantially higher than the national level impacts, as extraction activities are likely to be highly clustered, the report said. The increased pollution levels arent just attributable to fracking itself, but also to the industry that surrounds it, such as diesel generators and large trucks that travel to and from sites. Fracking is controversial because of the huge amounts of water that must be brought to the site, and the potential for groundwater contamination by carcinogenic chemicals. Also, the processwhich drills into the earth and uses high-pressure water to break the rock underneathcan cause small earth tremors. Impact on Air Quality A spokesman for the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, told The Guardian newspaper that the report had been based on American data and was published as soon as it had been fully signed-off by lawmakers. However, professor Paul Monks, chair of the Air Quality Expert Group, told the paper that the 2015 report remained valid in its assessment that there would be increased air pollution. That hasnt changed, he said. If you have any industrial process at a local level, you are going to get an impact on air quality. Furthermore, the reports figures were based on an estimation of 400 fracking wells in the UK, but the report estimates there could be as many as 12,500 in the future. If you increase the amount of wells, you are bound to broadly increase [pollution], Monks said. Monitoring of air pollution is taking place in Yorkshire before fracking begins, so that a baseline can be established. So far, spikes in air pollution, associated with times when vehicles have moved near the site, have been recorded. Some areas of the UK already have illegally high levels of nitrogen oxides, so any increase from future fracking activities could be dangerous. Air pollution is already a public-health crisis that cuts 40,000 lives short every year, and this report is yet more evidence of why we shouldnt start fracking, said Connor Schwartz from Friends of the Earth, according to The Guardian. Elsewhere, Mexicos next president said on Tuesday, July 31 that he would end fracking after he is sworn in on Dec. 1. Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said at a news conference: We will no longer use that method to extract petroleum. UN Green Growth Education Envisions State Control of Private Property The United Nations is promoting an agenda that is being used to transform American life and property rights around the country. While the brave new world promised by the U.N. may be visible in two communities in Virginia, a hamlet in Alabama gives hope that Americans can fight back and win against the powerful interests pushing these changes in how we live. I described in my book, U.N. Agenda 21: Environmental Piracy, what life was like in the EcoVillage in Loudon County, Virginia, then at the forefront of the smart/green growth agenda. According to the Washington Post in 2011, the residents were a typical middle-class mix of mostly white-collar workers. The homes in this utopian paradise ranged from a foreclosed home of $359,000 all the way up to an $895,000 to $1.7 million price tag. The roads leading to this community were unpaved, the terrain was rough, and the typical green lawns were replaced by wilderness grasses, which residents preferred in order to reduce their carbon footprints. Gravel roads substituted for unpaved roads, as this reduced car traffic and harmful runoff into the Potomac River. Parking was delineated to lots around the commune, not in front of peoples homes. This green EcoVillage had been founded in 1996, way ahead of the mainstream global green-growth movement that now plagues every county in the nation. Residents of EcoVillage, in a commune fashion, had to abide by strict ecological standards for building, lighting, and landscaping. Villagers could only pick from six approved house plans built in clusters of one-third to three-quarter-acre lots for a total of 14 houses. Each lot sold then for $80,000. The founders of the EcoVillage have lived since 2001 in a straw-bale house with timber beams, encased in thick stucco walls. A rooftop solar system heated the house with a complicated system of pipes and switches, and an electric backup for sunless days. Some homes had geothermal underground pipes and windows were strategically placed to capture more sun. EcoVillagers planted 11,000 trees to replace flora with indigenous varieties. Any species of vegetation that was not local, according to National Geographic, represented biological imperialism. The planted trees offered a haven for local birds, which prompted the Audubon Society to name the EcoVillage a Home Wildlife Sanctuary. Eighty-five percent of its 90 acres are protected open space. Protected space is one of the goals of U.N. Agenda 2030, which aims to make most land protected and unavailable to further development. The EcoVillagers admitted that costs werent effective; their choices were not about the money. They were well-off people trying to escape the traffic and congestion of Vienna, an upscale town with million-dollar homes. The life of the village consisted of potluck suppers and tree planting parties. Adults and children were required to perform monthly community service in the EcoVillage commune. I am unsure if this EcoVillage living model is still thriving in Lovettsville, Virginia. Not Serving American Dream The U.N. Agenda 21, which has now morphed into U.N. Agenda 2030, had directed that growth had to be green and smart, with locally centered lifestyles. But the lifestyles envisioned by the U.N. arent native to American soil or at home with the American spirit. Americans have always loved their cars, the wide-open roads, mobility, their cities, and freedom and are not so much fond of village life. In order to search for the American dream, you had to be mobile. The walking and biking everywhere that Agenda 21/2030 dictated, five minutes from work, play, shopping, and school, is not exactly what Americans desired. They had to be indoctrinated into such a lifestyle. Look at the Chinese and their vast graveyards of bikes that the cities began to remove off the streets, when the fad of city bike-shares started to die off. From space, they look like fields of flowers but, in reality, they are fields of discarded, unclaimed, and unwanted bikes, most of them brand-new. Commune Atmosphere In Ashburn, Virginia, the Willowsford community was planned on a 4,000-acre development containing four villages where farming, history, family, fine living connect with gorgeous single-family homes, says a community brochure. Community living is a concept that the Willowsford founders created, to focus on healthy living and nature. As the brochure explained, residents of Willowsford are able to choose their own fresh food, farm-to-table style, and enjoy the produce grown right in their own neighborhood. The concept of sustainable community living is growing all over the country. Indeed, U.N. Agenda 2030 goals espouse sustainable community living. The unique feel of the expensive commune (home plans are in the $700,000 range and up) is enhanced by the stated goal that each of the four neighborhoods will have its own farm and become an agri-hood. In the months of May-November, Sundays are volunteer days for the community to help out on the farm fields. It is hard to imagine wealthy Virginia bureaucrats, who could afford such expensive homes, farming for their food in a commune atmosphere more suited for communism. Defending Property Rights One of the most worrisome aspects of the U.N. Agenda 2030 is its attack on property rights. The tiny town of Bayou LaBatre, the seafood capital of Alabama, was about to be turned upside down by powerful NGOs who were there with grant money, with strings attached, to tell them how they should live. The quiet, happy, productive lives of the locals of 200-plus years were about to be fundamentally changed by the visioning of powerful environmental NGOs who knew better how private-property rights should be handled. The predetermined visioning was the plan to reorganize communities around the nation, in order to control the land and how people live. They wanted to transform this town to eco-tourism, locking away land from development. As Tom DeWeese, President of the American Policy Council, described, It means that every fly, snail darter, and mosquito has more rights than the people who own and live on the property. The towns future had been carefully visioned by powerful NGOs with rules and regulations that never existed before. Bayou LaBatre would have had restricted growth, destruction of property rights, and no choice for residents who would have been forbidden to rebuild in the event of severe property damage or total destruction in a flood, fire, or hurricane. Instead, the property would be taken over and used for the eco-tourism planperhaps becoming a bistro for the tourists. With help from DeWeeses organization, the townspeople were able to defeat the eco-tourism plan of the powerful NGOs. Local effort and education can successfully push back the U.N. Agenda 2030 goals. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. Donald Trump Jr. at the premiere of Death of a Nation in Washington on Aug. 1, 2018. (Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times) Donald Trump, Jr.: Death of a Nation May Motivate People to Say Enough to False Narratives Dinesh DSouzas new documentary challenges the notion that fascism and Nazism are ideologies of the right WASHINGTONDonald Trump Jr. said on Aug.1 that Dinesh DSouzas new documentary Death of a Nation reveals the true history not taught in schools, motivating people on the right to say, Enough!' Academia and mainstream media all sell the same false narrative and they have been doing it effectively for quite some time, Trump Jr. said at the premiere of Death of a Nation. People really have to see that and have to realize that. I think [the movie will] help motivate people on the right to say, Enough!' Death of a Nation, set to be released nationwide on Aug. 3, had its premiere at the E Street Cinema, and VIPs attending the screening were inspired by the film to comment on the state of the country. Trump Jr., who was among those who walked the red carpet, said the most striking thing about the movie is that it highlights the similarities between the current Democratic Party platform and that of Adolph Hitlers party. You see the Nazi platform of the early 1930s and what was actually put out there and you look at it compared to the DNC platform of today, Trump Jr. said. And you are saying, Those things are awfully similar, to a point that is actually scary. Trump Jr. blamed academia and the mainstream media for wrongly influencing the youth. When you [watch] the movie, youll see that there is a very distinct and clear difference between what actually happened and what is being sold to our youth today, he said. Provocateur Born in India, DSouza came to the United States as an exchange student at age 18. He graduated from Dartmouth College and briefly worked in the Reagan White House as a policy analyst. He has been an author and speaker for most of his career. He has also produced documentaries over the last several years that were critical of the left. Were living through a surreal moment in American politics now, DSouza told reporters. The film challenges the notion that fascism and Nazism are ideologies of the right, rather than the left. It also draws parallels between President Donald Trump and President Abraham Lincoln. When asked about whether he agreed with claims that he was a provocateur, or felt guilty of saying outrageous things, he said, A little bit. But the reality is that the race card and the fascism card were not played by me, he said. Theyre played by the left against Trump. Not only against Trump but also against Republicans, conservatives, patriots, Christians. So who invented the incendiary rhetoric? Not me. DSouza said he thinks the most shocking moment in the film is when a group of senior Nazis is shown sitting around a table and drafting the Nuremberg Laws using the Jim Crow laws drafted by Democrats, which enforced racial segregation in the South. This is a historical fact, he said. And the senior Nazis look at each other, and they basically say to each other, These Democratic laws are too racist even for us. In 2014, DSouza was convicted of violating campaign finance laws. He was given a full pardon on May 31, 2018, by Trump. I welcome the pardon, DSouza said. because to me, it was the rectifying of an original injustice in the sense of an excessive punishment for what I did. DSouza believed his sentence was politically motivated, as the charges followed the release of his 2013 film, 2016: Obamas America, which was critical of President Barack Obama. Death of a Nation producer Gerald Molen said he took the documentary on because he admired DSouza. Molen is an Oscar-winning filmmaker with a resume including Schindlers List, Jurassic Park, and Rain Man. People just need to look at the facts and read about history, he said. Sadly, there are so many kids in school who dont get that opportunity. He added that he was concerned about the growing polarization in the country. In the 1960s and 1970s, there were liberals and conservatives, but there was never this acrimonious dialogue going on between the groups. People were able to get along, have a conversation. That is not the case anymore. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson was among the guests who attended the premiere. My eternal hope is that people recognize that we, the American people, are not each others enemies, Carson said. And we should stop allowing ourselves to be manipulated. Manipulated In Death of a Nation, DSouza delves into the history of slavery, showing that the plantation system of the early Democratic Party lives on in systems of heavy taxation, government dependence, and identity politics. The African-American population has been abused by the Democrat Party over the last 40 years, said Sebastian Gorka, military and intelligence analyst and former deputy assistant to the president. If you take any city with serious issues like crime, underdevelopment, and educationwhether its Detroit, whether its Baltimoreyou find that these are cities that have been run for generations by the Democrat. The movie claims the Democratic Party now uses immigrants the same way they used African-Americans. They are desperate for a new demographic voter base, Gorka said, adding that Democrats oppose Trumps demands for voter I.D. requirements and the border wall because they see the illegal migrants as their new voter base. The problem is that most African-Americans will probably not see the film, said Carol Swain, former professor of political science and law at Vanderbilt University. She said the movie could change the minds of African-Americans if they watched the film in large numbers and examined the history of the Democratic Party. She said she sacrificed her own career for a greater mission: to get out the truth and help people dig deeper. Brandon Straka, the founder of the Walk Away movement, praised the movie, calling it eye-opening. Straka said anyone who has questions about liberalism and the history of the Democratic Party would learn a lot from the movie. Strakas Walk Away movement encourages ordinary Americans to upload videos and photos of themselves explaining why they have left the Democratic Party. I have had a lot of people reach out to me and say, I think Im starting to get it. I think Im starting to see what youre saying, Straka told reporters at the premiere. You know it happens in increments, and thats what happened to me, too. It didnt happen overnight. This picture taken on July 28, 2018 shows a Volkswagen construction plant in Bratislava, Slovakia. (Photo by VLADIMIR SIMICEK / AFP) (Photo credit should read VLADIMIR SIMICEK/AFP/Getty Images) VW Needs `Titanic Effort to Conquer Emissions, Trade Issues Volkswagen AG warned that it will take a huge effort to meet delivery targets this year, as the worlds largest automaker battles trade tensions and stricter emissions rules while preparing to amp up its digital investments. Tougher pollution-testing procedures, aimed at preventing a repeat of Volkswagens cheating scandal, will take effect next month and lead to production slowdowns, the German automaker said Aug. 1. The German manufacturer is also bracing for higher tariffs around the globe, which could particularly hit Audi and Porsche, the groups main profit earners. Protectionist tendencies are escalating worldwide, Chief Executive Officer Herbert Diess said in a speech on Aug. 1. Meeting delivery goals while avoiding deep discounts this year will be a titanic task, said Diess, who recently completed his first 100 days in office. Looking ahead, Diess is trying to ready the automaker for coming challenges, from electrification to self-driving cars to new businesses like car-sharing. The company needs a massive expansion in software and in its digital investments, including partnerships and acquisitions, as it faces new competition from China and the U.S. West Coast, he said. Those are the challenges, Diess said in a Bloomberg TV interview. Volkswagen shares fell after the company, based in Wolfsburg, Germany, said it wouldnt be able to repeat the 23 percent surge in profit it reported for the second quarter. The challenges range from economic volatility, increasing competition and the costs of the ongoing diesel scandal, to new, time-consuming exhaust testing in the EU, Volkswagen said in a statement Aug. 1. The cost of implementing so-called WLTP tests may reach 1 billion euros ($1.17 billion), Chief Financial Officer Frank Witter said on a call. The carmaker churned out more vehicles ahead of the rules change, as production jumped 13.5 percent in the second quarter, twice the growth rate of deliveries. Volkswagen said earlier this year that the company may experience inventory build-up ahead of the Sept. 1 introduction of the Worldwide Harmonized Light-Duty Test Procedure. Diess is grappling with political challenges alongside an internal overhaul in the aftermath of the three-year-old diesel crisis, which continues to burden the industrial giant. In the second quarter, the company took 1.64 billion euros ($1.92 billion) in charges, mainly for a fine from German authorities, raising the total damages to about 27.4 billion euros. Rupert Stadler, the now-suspended head of the Audi luxury unit, was arrested in June by Munich prosecutors and remains in custody. Volkswagen shares fell as much as 4.5 percent, and were down 3.3 percent at 147.28 euros at 4:26 p.m. in Frankfurt trading, taking the decline for the year to 12 percent. From Bloomberg The Tribute in Light is illuminated next to the Statue of Liberty (C), One World Trade Center and the Empire State Building (L) during events marking the 14th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center in New York September 11, 2015. (Reuters/Eduardo Munoz) World Trade Center Developer Loses Final 9/11 Lawsuit Against Insurer NEW YORKA federal judge on Thursday rejected a lawsuit by the developer of New Yorks World Trade Center seeking to take a $14 million cut of a settlement between its insurer and airlines over the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. The ruling from U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein in Manhattan dismissing the developers claims against QBE Insurance Group Ltd resolves the last remaining dispute in a sprawling litigation over liability from the deadly attacks. Scott Katz, a lawyer for QBE, declined to comment. Tyrone Childress, a lawyer for World Trade Center Properties LLC, could not immediately be reached. World Trade Center Properties and other entities affiliated with developer Larry Silverstein have already collected about $4.1 billion from insurers including QBE, according to court filings. The insurers, in turn, reached a $1.2 billion settlement in 2010 with aviation companies including American Airlines Group Inc and United Continental Holdings Inc, whose planes were hijacked in the attacks. World Trade Center Properties sued QBE, arguing that the policy it had bought from the insurer shortly before the attack entitled it to $14 million from the settlement. It also sued the aviation companies itself, reaching a $95 million settlement last November. Its claim against QBE remained unresolved while that litigation was pending. Hellerstein said in his opinion on Thursday that the developers agreement with QBE did not promise the $14 million payment. Roughly 3,000 people died in the attacks when hijackers flew planes into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon outside Washington. A fourth hijacked plane crashed in a Pennsylvania field. Silverstein opened a rebuilt One World Trade Center in November 2014. It remains New York Citys tallest building. By Brendan Pierson Zimbabwe police are seen outside the opposition party headquarters in Harare, Zimbabwe, Aug, 2, 2018. Zimbabwe's President said that his government had been in touch with the main opposition leader in an attempt to ease tensions after election related violence in the capital. (AP Photo/Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi) Zimbabwes Mnangagwa Wins First Post-Mugabe Election HARARE, ZimbabweZimbabwes President Emmerson Mnangagwa won election on Aug. 3, with just over 50 percent of the ballots as the ruling party maintained control of the government in the first vote since the fall of longtime leader Robert Mugabe. Mnangagwa received 50.8 percent of the vote while main opposition challenger Nelson Chamisa received 44.3 percent. The opposition is almost certain to challenge the results in the courts or in the streets. While election day was peaceful in a break from the past, deadly violence on Aug. 1 against people protesting alleged vote-rigging reminded many Zimbabweans of the decades of military-backed repression under Mugabe. Zimbabwes president says he is humbled by his win. Though we may have been divided at the polls, we are united in our dreams, Mnangagwa said on Twitter. This is a new beginning. Let us join hands, in peace, unity & love, & together build a new Zimbabwe for all! Mnangagwa tweeted, after a week that began with peaceful voting Monday but spiraled into deadly violence in the capital on Aug. 1 as the military fired on protesters. Western election observers who were banned in previous votes have expressed concern at the militarys excessive force in the capital, Harare. Their assessments of the election are crucial to the lifting of international sanctions on a country whose economy collapsed years ago. Shortly before the election commissions announcement, Morgen Komichi, the chief agent for Chamisas opposition alliance, took the stage and said his party totally rejects the results and said he had not signed the election results. Police escorted him from the room. Later Komichi said the elections were fraudulent and everything has been done illegally. He said he had refused an electoral commission request to sign papers certifying Mnangagwas win. Were not part of it, said Komichi, adding that the opposition would be challenging the election in the courts. Commission chair Priscilla Chigumba urged the country to move on with the hopeful spirit of election day and beyond the blemishes of chaos on Aug. 1: May God bless this nation and its people. With the military still deployed in Harare, the capitals streets were quiet following the announcement of Mnangagwas victory. By the center where the election results were announced, Charity Manyeruke, who teaches political science at the University of Zimbabwe, said she was delighted. There is continuity, stability, Manyeruke said. Zimbabwe is poised for nation-building. The signs that Mnangagwas election will be disputed appears to deepen a political crisis that was worsened by violence on Aug. 1 in Harare as the military swept in with gunfire to disperse opposition supporters alleging vote-rigging. The death toll rose to six, with 14 injured, police said, and 18 people were arrested at the offices of the main opposition party amid tensions over a vote that was supposed to restore trust in Zimbabwe after decades of Mugabes rule. While Mnangagwa and the ruling party accused the opposition of inciting the violence, the opposition, human rights activists and international election observers condemned the excessive force used against protesters and appealed to all sides to exercise restraint. Police raided the headquarters of Chamisas Movement for Democratic Change party while a lawyers group said Chamisa was being investigated for allegedly inciting violence. He and several others are suspected of the crimes of possession of dangerous weapons and public violence, according to a copy of a search warrant seen by The Associated Press. Chamisa, however, said police seized computers and were looking for what he called evidence that his party had gathered of vote-rigging by Mnangagwas party. The evidence already had been moved to a safe house, he said. Mnangagwa called for an independent investigation into violence on Aug. 1, saying those responsible should be identified and brought to justice. Mnangagwa was a longtime Mugabe confidante before his firing in November led his allies in the military to step in and push Mugabe to resign after 37 years in power. Thousands of jubilant Zimbabweans celebrated in the streets of Harare, greeting the military with selfies and cheers. Since taking office, the 75-year-old Mnangagwa has tried to recast himself as a voice of reform, declaring that Zimbabwe was open for business and inviting long-banned Western election observers to observe Mondays vote, which he pledged would be free and fair. A credible election after past votes were marred by violence against the opposition and alleged irregularities is crucial for the lifting of international sanctions and for the badly needed foreign investment to help Zimbabwes long-collapsed economy revive. Mnangagwa himself remains under U.S. sanctions. While the election on July 30 has been widely judged as peaceful with a high turnout, the deadly violence that erupted on Aug. 1 brought back chilly memories of decades of repression under Mugabe. It was a reminder, as opposition leader Chamisa declared on Aug. 2, that We have removed Mugabe but not Mugabe-ism. The military deployment was the first time that soldiers had appeared in the streets of the capital since Mugabes resignation. Some Harare residents expressed frustration and exhaustion at the dramatic change from Novembers exuberant expression of hope to the current tensions. We are a peaceful nation, said 29-year-old Sifas Gavanga of the latest chaos. We dont deserve the death we saw. By Christopher Torcha and Farai Mutsaka Revolution Lighting Technologies saw its returns drop in the past quarter, as several projects were pushed back to later in the year, according to its latest earnings report released this week. The Stamford-based companys second-quarter revenues decreased 16 percent year-over-year to about $36 million. A loss of $2.2 million compared with a $727,000 loss in the same period last year. Despite the company falling short of quarterly goals, Revolution officials said they were optimistic about the second half of the year because of a record backlog worth more than $50 million and business from a number of projects delayed from earlier in the year. I am extremely pleased with the progress over the past several quarters in right sizing our company, improving our operational processes and strengthening our sales and marketing resources, Robert LaPenta, Revolutions chairman, CEO and president, said in a statement. Revolution shares closed Friday at about $3, down 9.79 percent from their Thursday finish. Among recent milestones, Revolution completed the delivery of an initial order of LED lighting tubes to the U.S. Navy and expects additional shipments in the second half of the year. A lot of the international navies follow what the U.S. Navy does, so we think there is going to be an international opportunity, LaPenta said in a recent interview. In addition to that, were retrofitting bases and facilities on shore, so the government business for us is an exciting business. The company has also announced the doubling of the size of its Simi Valley, California plant, to 125,000 square feet, to support the growth of LED projects that meet the Buy American and Trade Agreement acts. Public-sector contracts are key to the companys growth plan. In Connecticut, Revolution has embarked on a lighting-as-a-service project to retrofit LED technology in several state government buildings in Hartford. Its kind of a pilot program, LaPenta said. Now were hoping that now leads to a much broader program with them retrofitting all their facilities, particularly the big ones. Revolution divisions include Greenwich-based LED specialist Tri-State LED. Beyond this year, the company expects robust business from the growth of smart buildings and other infrastructure that incorporate LED lighting into broader internet-connected control systems. The number of smart street lights worldwide would reach nearly 73 million by 2026, according to a recent report by market research firm Navigant. pschott@scni.com; 203-964-2236; twitter: @paulschott An aggressive Eva Bermudez Zimmerman attacked Susan Bysiewiczs history of repeatedly running for elected office and her legislative voting record during a televised debate for Democratic lieutenant governor candidates Thursday night. We cant expect (to elect) the same kind of leaders and have different kinds of results, said Bermudez Zimmerman, a 31-year-old Latina union organizer. I dont have the kind of past that Susan has. Right now, we are in a crossroads ... that crossroads means we need different kinds of leaders, leaders that are champions, leaders that are not cowards and that are ready to keep their financial promises. Bysiewicz, the partys endorsed candidate, defended her record against Bermudez Zimmermans ongoing barrage, but appeared to only once directly criticize her opponent. I am not seeing a record of accomplishment by my opponent, Bysiewicz said. Bysiewicz, 56, tried to dismiss Bermudez Zimmermans characterization of her as a perennial candidate who would perpetuate the status quo by portraying herself as experienced. Im ready to go day one, she said. Bysiewicz represented Middletown, where she grew up on a potato farm, in the state Legislature from 1993 to 1999. Serving as secretary of the state from 1999 to 2011, Bysiewicz said she trimmed the agencys staff while making operations more efficient, driving revenue to the state. She made the elections so safe Russians could not have hacked them, she claimed. She also spoke of her work as a private sector business lawyer, helping companies create jobs. Meanwhile, Bermudez Zimmerman reminded viewers of the debate, hosted by NBC Connecticut in its West Hartford studios, of the many titles Bysiewicz has sought since leaving state government in 2011. She ran for attorney general in 2010, but was disqualified from the race because she lacked 10 years of active experience practicing law. She ran for U.S. Senate in 2012, but lost in a primary. She was running for governor this year, before agreeing to be the running mate of Democratic-gubernatorial candidate Ned Lamont. While Susan has been running over and over again, I have been on the ground, making sure people are represented, said Bermudez Zimmerman. Bermudez Zimmerman would be the first Latina elected to statewide office, if she can win the primary and the general election. She has never been elected to office, but did serve the Newtown Legislative Council. She unsucessfully ran for state representative and resoundingly lost. But she said she has learned how to represent people through her union work, particularly in the area of health care. Bermudez Zimmerman tried to pin Connecticuts spiraling pension liabilities on Bysiewicz by saying Bysiewicz voted against fully funding Connecticuts pension fund as a state lawmaker. She is asking people to trust her, Bermudez Zimmerman said. How are we going to be able to do that when she deferred the payments? Bysiewicz responded, I have a very strong record of leadership. Bermudez Zimmermans youth was highlighted when questioned about her Congressional work on the U.S. stimulus package in 2009, she described how she had been an intern to former U.S. Rep. Charles Rangel, D-New York. But she repeatedly said she is the change that voters are looking for, someone who can represent everyone. She spoke of herself as a coalition-builder, whereas Bysiewicz called herself a consensus-builder. Mikkel Paris knew very little about making pretzels, but suddenly he was supplying a large portion of the Philippines with them. In 2012, his family company took over as the nations Auntie Annes master franchisee, and he was put in charge of all 17 stores operations. As he got acquainted with the brand -- and learned what Filipinos want in a pretzel -- he realized that his new career path wasnt so different from his previous experience: Hed spent eight years managing the 80-retailer shopping center within Londons bustling Liverpool Street railway station. Both jobs required a lot of creative management, as well as understanding an ever-changing audience. Since taking this new role, he has opened more than 30 new Auntie Annes locations, and he plans to double that by 2020. Related: The 4 Marketing Moves Every Franchise Should Make How did your work in London end up preparing you for life as an Auntie Annes franchisee? Filipinos love going to the mall because of the heat here. Part of our expansion involves finding the right sites and negotiating with the malls. My experience in London, working on the other side of the table, proved very, very useful. The bigger challenge was learning the operational [intricacies] of Auntie Annes. Although I had managed convenience stores and supermarkets before, this is a different thing altogether. What was your first order of business when you took over? We had to renovate almost every single one of the 17 stores within the first year or two. We also had to learn the operational side. Somebody from [Auntie Annes parent company] Focus Brands came in to show me everything that happens in our stores, because you cant lead the team if you dont know what goes on. We kept most of the staff, but we had to retrain everybody. Related: The Top 5 Franchises of the 21st Century How did you let your customer base know the brand was under new management? The Philippines is a billboard nation; advertising and marketing are huge here. But we didnt have a lot of money to invest in big billboards. So I started our Auntie Annes Philippines Facebook page from my cellphone. I learned within the first few months that people engaged most with photos of pretzels inside the warmer, rather than the artistic, Photoshopped stock photos. It shows customers that were a real business and its a real product. What you see is what you get when you walk into the store. Have you made changes to the menu to serve this particular market? In the Philippines, Auntie Annes tends to focus on developing sweet products. One of the most common requests we used to get from customers when we started was to cut up their pretzels, and I saw in the U.S. that they already had the pretzels in nugget form. Over here, everybody loves the almond crunch pretzel, so we decided to produce almond-flavored nuggets and serve them in a cup so theyre easier to walk around the mall with. Related: 10 Franchises Reveal What They Look for in a Franchisee Have you experimented with other products? We launched cream cheese sticks, and when those did really well, we thought, What can we add to them? The Philippines is a tropical place, so we decided to add fruit -- blueberry first, then strawberry -- and both performed well. Now were going to try adding different things, like mangoes. In the Philippines, we love our mangoes. The Auntie Annes product is so versatile. That was one of the beauties of the brand that our family saw from the beginning. Related: Copyright 2018 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved Norwalk Police Department NORWALK A Bridgeport man threatened to shoot up his workplace after a dispute with a manager, according to police. Weslly Rivera, 31, of Poplar Street in Bridgeport, called his job and threatened to come in and kill people on Wednesday, according to police. 31 minutes ago Australia rules out committing to methane reduction target CANBERRA, Australia (AP) Australia on Thursday ruled out promising to cut methane emissions by 30% by the end of the decade in a stance that will add to criticism that the country is a laggard in addressing climate change. Minister for Industry, Energy and Emissions Reduction Angus Taylor announced his governments decision before he was to fly with Prime Minister Scott Morrison to a U.N. Read Article Brit caught in Phuket for over 1,000 day visa overstay NATIONWIDE: A British national was arrested in Phuket in the early hours of this morning when he was found to have overstayed his visa for more than 1,000 days. By The Phuket News Friday 3 August 2018, 03:43PM Tourist Police Bureau deputy commissioner Pol Maj Gen Surachate Hakparn (centre) speaks after the coordinated police raids on several premises in Bangkok and other provinces early today (Aug 4). Photo: Tourist Police Bureau Christopher Michel, 53, was caught after it was found he had overstayed his visa by 1,077 days. Michel was one of 62 foreign nationals detained in the latest police outlaw tourists raids early this morning (Aug 3), which this time targeted 75 locations across the country. Mixed teams of police and officers from several agencies went to pre-selected places in Bangkok and other provinces popular with tourists, including Phuket and Prachuap Khiri Khan. They targeted people at four language schools, 13 secondary schools and 58 other places. A total of 73 suspects 62 foreigners and 11 Thais were detained, Pol Maj Gen Surachate Hakparn, deputy commissioner of the Tourist Police Bureau, said at a media briefing later today. Eleven of the suspects (three from Vietnam, two each from Myanmar and England, and one each from Nigeria, Laos, India and Malaysia) were charged with overstaying their visas. Of these, the longest were Okerie Victor Ugiochukwa, 35, a Nigerian who had overstayed for 1,387 days, followed by Michel after 1,077 days on overstay, and Ravindra Singh, 23, of India, who was arrested in Prachuap Khiri Khan 219 days after his visa expired, Maj Gen Surachate said. Police laid illegal entry charges against 42 other suspects (12 from Laos, 10 from India, nine from Myanmar, five from Cambodia, two each from Vietnam and France and one each from China and Nigeria). The 20 other suspects (11 Thais, three from India, two each from Myanmar and Laos and one each from Kazakhstan and Vietnam) were charged with other offences. Pol Maj Gen Surachate said the raids were the 19th phase of operation X-Ray Outlaw Foreigner, which aimed to sweep out foreign criminals who entered the country to commit crime, such as romance scams, credit card skimming and drug smuggling, as well as overstayers. To date, a total 1,832 suspects had been arrested during raids on 4,084 premises across the country. Read original story here. Fears rise for missing special needs student PHUKET: A search is underway for 15-year-old special needs boy who wondered off from special school grounds at Pa Khlok yesterday (Aug 2). By Eakkapop Thongtub Friday 3 August 2018, 09:57AM Peerapong Thipbunchong, 15, was last seen at Phuket Panyanukul School yesterday afternoon. Photo: Supplied UPDATE: Peerapong has been found safe "in a mangrove forest far from the school". More details to come. Peerapong Thipbunchong, 15, was last seen at Phuket Panyanukul School yesterday afternoon, but by 4pm the school administrators had called his mother, Patcharee Kasikun, 31, to explain that he was missing. Ms Patcharee said that she had dropped Peerapong off at the school at about 3pm after taking him on a trip to Koh Lanta in Krabi for the school holidays. I was driving back to Krabi when I was informed by the school at about 4pm that he had disappeared from the school, Ms Patcharee said. A search of the area was launched, saw Kusoldharm Foundation and other local rescue workers finding footprints on the nearby Tha La Beach. I am very worried about my son. I afraid that he is in danger, Ms Patcharee said. The Phuket Panyanukul School was established on November 29, 1993 and is located at in Pa Khlok, Phuket. It is recognised by the local Region Four division of the Ministry of Education and was established in response to the Thai Governments policy of expanding education opportunities to children from kindergarten to high school level with special needs, including emotional and behavioural disabilities and autism. Govt sounds alert as dam levels rise BANGKOK: The government will set up a war room today (Aug 3) to closely monitor reservoirs which are reaching the limit of their storage capacities. constructionlandweatherenvironment By Bangkok Post Friday 3 August 2018, 08:42AM The unchecked and rain-swollen Mekong River rose more than 11 metres in a week and flooded areas along its banks, like this isolated government office at Nakhon Phanom town. Photo: Post Today Somkiat Prajamwong, secretary-general of the Office of the National Water Resources (ONWR), said a joint task force centre will be set up at the Royal Irrigation Department with officials to analyse information on the situation at reservoirs nationwide around the clock. He said that 11 major dams need to be monitored as they are expected to reach the limit of their storage capacities in one month. Of them, two large dams the Nam Oun dam in Sakon Nakhon and the Kaeng Krachan dam in Phetchaburi are almost full or about 80-90% of capacity and they need to be drained at a faster rate, Mr Somkiat said. The Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation and the people who stand to be affected by the drainage will be informed three days in advance so they can prepare to deal with the impact, he said. The overall water situation remained at yellow alert, which denotes readiness, Mr Somkiat said. He said a close watch is being kept on more than 50 middle-sized dams in the Northeast which are now filled to capacity to assess storage needs and release of dam water. Local governing bodies have also been instructed to handle water management at more than 1,000 small reservoirs, he said. Mr Somkiat also revealed that overall water volumes measured on May 1 were higher than those during the 2011 deluge, though such high amounts were found only at some major dams such as the Bhumibol and Sirikit dams and they were still manageable. Water management measures are also put in place for the Central Plains region as the Meteorological Department predicted further rainstorms in the middle of the month, he said. He added that floodwater drainage was being stepped up in provinces along the Mekong River as water levels in Ubon Ratchathani came down, but Loei, Nakhon Phanom and Mukdahan have still seen water rise to 70 centimetres to one metre, probably due to water discharges from China and Laos. Deputy Prime Minister Chatchai Sarikulya said yesterday (Aug 2) that he had ordered all dams and reservoirs to be drained one month in advance. However, water levels remained unusually high at several dams because rainstorms recently moved in and dumped more rain, filling some dams with up to 30 million cubic metres of water in only one day while discharges were only 2-3 million cu/m per day. Asked about the influence of a new storm predicted to move in tomorrow (Aug 4), Gen Chatchai said the ONWRs secretary-general will now work at the Smart Water Operation Centre at the Royal Irrigation Department 9RID) to follow the situation and provide him with updates. The minister stressed the need for agencies to inform people about how they will be affected by water drainage and to prepare for evacuation. Asked if Bangkok would face floodwater similar to the 2011 deluge, Gen Chatchai said water run-off from the North will be the major factor. But currently, flooding has taken place largely in the Northeast and the West and water volumes in these regions would not have any effect on Bangkok. RID director-general Thongplew Kongchan said all 35 large dams nationwide currently have a combined water volume of about 48.9 billion cu/m or 69% of storage capacities combined. The RID has put in place reservoir regulation procedures or a rule curve to manage the release of water. Dam safety measures have also been put in place to inspect the integrity of dam structures, he said. RID deputy director-general Thaweesak Thanadechopol said five provinces in the Northeast Yasothon, Roi Et, Ubon Ratchathani, Nakhon Phanom and Sakon Nakhon had been affected by flooding triggered by heavy rain. Read original story here. Phuket governor reiterates unregistered croc warning PHUKET: Still strong in his belief that the crocodile caught last Sunday (July 29) near the rocks off Koh Kata, just offshore from Layan Beach, is an escaped crocodile, the Phuket Governor has again warned crocodile owners in Phuket to register their unregistered crocodiles at the Phuket Fisheries Office within August 10. animalscrime By The Phuket News Friday 3 August 2018, 02:15PM Phuket Governor Norraphat Plodthong has reiterated his warning against unregistered crocodiles in Phuket. Photo: PR Dept Phuket Governor Norraphat Plodthong said that Phuket has announced to crocodile owners in Phuket to register their unregistered crocodiles at Phuket Fisheries Office within August 10 or face penalties under sections 19 and 49 of the Wildlife Preservation and Protection Act B.E.2535. If the owners do not register their crocodile, they will be fined up to B10,000 or face one year in jail, or both, if they are caught. The governor has asked for cooperation from local village headmen and local residents in observing those who own the aquatic reptiles. If anyone finds any suspicions of people owning crocodiles, they can report any clues to the Phuket Fisheries Office via 076 212460, 089-8665991 or 081-731 8923. Phuket will give rewards to those who provide information which lead to an arrest. Governor Norraphat first put out his warning about unregistered crocodiles on July 24 after the crocodile initially spotted at Ya Nui Beach in Rawai on July 18 was spotted at Tri Trang Beach just south of Patong on July 23. (See story here.) It also came as Paisarn Sukpunwan, head of the Administration Department at the Phuket Fishery Office, confirmed that the elusive crocodile had not escaped from any of the five registered crocodile farms in Phuket. The crocodile that eluded capture for 11 days since it was spotted off Yanui Beach in Rawai was caught early last Sunday morning near the rocks off Koh Kata, just offshore from Layan Beach. The crocodile was snared in nets by the Kraithong Lumnamtapi team of experts from the Department of Fisheries in Surat Thani, brought to Phuket especially to catch the reptile, at about 5:30am. The crocodile, a female, measured about 2.3 metres long and weighted about 150 kilograms. She was taken to the marine life research centre at Baan Laem Sai in Mai Khao, Thalang. (See story here.) Site of historical Phuket Heroines battle to feature museum, budget not revealed PHUKET: A museum covering 36 rai will feature at the Phuket Historical Park under construction at Thalang Victory Field, the site recognised as where the deciding battle took place in a victory over Burmese invaders in 1785. constructionculturetourism By The Phuket News Friday 3 August 2018, 01:05PM Phuket Governor Norraphat Plodthong yesterday (Aug 2) inspects the site of the Phuket Historical Park in Thalang, which originally was announced to cost B350 million. Photo: PR Dept Phuket Governor Norraphat Plodthong yesterday (Aug 2) inspects the site of the Phuket Historical Park in Thalang, which originally was announced to cost B350 million. Photo: PR Dept Phuket Governor Norraphat Plodthong yesterday (Aug 2) inspects the site of the Phuket Historical Park in Thalang, which originally was announced to cost B350 million. Photo: PR Dept Phuket Governor Norraphat Plodthong yesterday (Aug 2) inspects the site of the Phuket Historical Park in Thalang, which originally was announced to cost B350 million. Photo: PR Dept The plans for the redeveloped area surrounding the monument. Photo: PR Dept The area surrounding the monument is to be landscaped, again. Photo: PR Dept The area surrounding the monument is to be landscaped, again. Photo: PR Dept Phuket Governor Norraphat Plodthong yesterday (Aug 2) inspects the site of the Phuket Historical Park in Thalang, which originally was announced to cost B350 million. Photo: PR Dept Phuket Governor Norraphat Plodthong yesterday (Aug 2) inspects the site of the Phuket Historical Park in Thalang, which originally was announced to cost B350 million. Photo: PR Dept Phuket Governor Norraphat Plodthong yesterday (Aug 2) inspects the site of the Phuket Historical Park in Thalang, which originally was announced to cost B350 million. Photo: PR Dept Phuket Governor Norraphat Plodthong announced the news yesterday (Aug 2) during an inspection of the 96-rai site near Baan Riang in Thepkrasattri, near the heart of Thalang Town. The museum is to relate the history of Phukets renowned and revered Heroines Thao Thep Krasattri and Thao Sri Soonthorn as well as the history of Thalang, he explained. Governor Norraphat said adjust the monument needed to be outstanding and beautiful in order to recall the goodness of Thalang heroes and history. He also called for the area to be landscaped around the monument for the cultural market to attract tourists. The cultural market will occupy the remaining 60 rai at the site. The Governor added that the Phuket Povincial Office had set an administration committee to drive the project forward and co-ordinate work so that it had clear direction. Any operation around the monument must be approved by this committee. Today, a design contractor has presented the initial draft. The draft will be presented to the committee at its next meeting, he said. Governor Norraphat has campaigned heavily for the site, often called in English the Phuket Historical Park to move ahead, The Governor especially ramped up his push for the park project in January in the run-up to the annual Thao Thepkrasattri and Thao Sri Soonthorn Festival held in March, as he believes Thalang Town deserves regaining its status as a critical part of Phukets historical and cultural heritage. (See stories here and here.) However, no budget figures for the project were announced or clarified yesterday. The original budget announced for the entire project amounted to a staggering B350 million for the park and that was in 2013. (See story here.) In 2016, it was announced that B42 million was to be spent on a landscaping, a pumphouse and some exercise swings at the site. (See story here.) The announcement of the B42mn to be spent came from Watcharin Patomwatthanapong, who at the was Chief Administrative Officer of the Phuket Provincial Administration Organisation (PPAO, or OrBorJor). (See story here.) Mr Watcharin is now Acting President of the PPAO as after former Paiboon president died in office after the military takeover in May 2014. (See story here.) However, despite the B42mn including landscaping around the monument, Gov Norraphat maintained that the area needed to be landscaped again. A North Shore man, Graham Jones, received jail time last week for poisoning his work mates with a marijuana-laced cake. The 58-year-old has been sentenced to 22 months in prison with a lead charge of "poisoning with intent" after bringing a cake in to work that was laced with his home-grown marijuana. Nine of the blokes colleagues were hospitalised last December for poisoning after eating the cake, and the investigations then exposed Jones' private weed crop which he'd been growing in his yard. Jones had begun growing his own weed following a battle with cancer 10 years earlier, resulting in the removal of his tongue and teeth which left him in great pain. The judge of the case acknowledged that Jones hadn't intended to harm people, but had been "extremely foolish". "Your offending had a very high potential for harm because it happened in a workplace that uses heavy machinery and equipment. The victims were very vulnerable in circumstances where workmates would have had no reason to suspect there was anything wrong with eating that cake. It is a normal thing for people to bring cakes to work and for other people to eat them," the judge said. Kinda feel sorry for the guy, but the law is the law, especially when unauthorised firearms were also found on Jones' property. What a way to be found out. A coalition of rebellious Tim Hortons franchisees is accusing the fast-food giants parent company Restaurant Brands International Inc. (RBI) of trying to sideline the group by refusing to recognize it and stonewalling efforts to meet and mend their relationship. In a letter obtained by The Canadian Press, the Great White North Franchisee Association told its members it has sent emails to Tim Hortons president Alex Macedo requesting a meeting, but has found Macedo has no interest in sitting down with them. GWNFAs letter said its attempts to meet and work together have also been rebuffed by the companys advisory board, which is elected by secret ballot and meant to represent all Tim Hortons franchisees. On Thursday, GWNFA spokesperson Patti Jameson said the company has so far only been open to meeting with association president David Hughes as an individual restaurant owner and not as a leader of the organization. We are very disappointed and surprised, she said. We continue to have well over 50 per cent of franchisees as part of the association and yet they still seem to want to exclude one half of the chain by refusing to recognize the association and we find that very disappointing and perturbing. Tim Hortons chief corporate officer Duncan Fulton told The Canadian Press that GWNFAs claims are false and disappointing and said that Macedo and Hughes spoke on the phone recently for 45 minutes a call that Jameson also confirmed but refused to share details about. Mr. Macedo offered to clear his entire afternoon to give Mr. Hughes, as a restaurant owner, as much time to raise any issues that he wanted and Mr. Hughes declined to raise any issues at that time, Fulton said. Read more: Tim Hortons parent companys profits rise despite franchisee strife U.S. Tim Hortons franchisee group sues RBI over alleged price gouging, equity theft Tim Hortons tests food delivery service in Vancouver, Edmonton, Ottawa Every effort continues to be made by the company and certainly by the advisory board to take any issues raised by owners, so the suggestion that that is not happening is categorically and completely untrue. Tensions have been flaring between Tim Hortons and GWNFA for months. The two sides have sparred publicly over everything from alleged misuse of a national advertising fund to cuts to employee benefits after Ontarios minimum wage hike, but their spats had quieted after Macedo vowed to improve relations back in May and criss-crossed the country to meet with franchisees in a bid to regain their trust. Macedo also rolled out all-day breakfast, announced 1,500 Tim Hortons locations will open in China and teased that a kids menu, delivery and loyalty programs are coming soon. GWNFA remained quiet through most of Macedos announcements, even abandoning a protest it had planned for the companys Oakville, Ont., headquarters over the treatment of Mark Kuziora, a franchisee who was previously involved in a class-action lawsuit against RBI and has alleged that the company told him it would deny the renewal of his licence for one of his two Toronto locations when the licence expires on Aug. 31. Jameson would not say if the company would be changing its approach to dealing with Tim Hortons or the advisory board, which she said has a minority of GWNFA members who havent publicly shared their allegiance. GWNFAs missive says, we have no choice but to accept the reality that the advisory board and RBI have no interest in working with GWNFA. The letter claims a small group of influential board members agreed to a discussion with the association after at least two GWNFA members reached out, but the meeting was derailed at the 12th hour. The letter did not say why the meeting did not take place. Advisory board representative Lou Gossner said he wasnt aware of why it did not happen, but he didnt think it was any big deal at all. He said board members have always been opening to meet with GWNFA franchisees, but that the association refuses to disclose what their issues are, so that is where the conversation always ends. It doesnt seem like their goal is to resolve franchisee issues. It is more about the association itself, he said. It is really difficult to know why they dont want to bring issues to the advisory board in the same way every other franchisee does. GWNFAs letter also contains a copy of a note Hughes allegedly emailed Macedo asking for a one-hour meeting so we can meet and hopefully agree on enough issues so we can rebuild this iconic brand together. GWNFAs letter also said the association is not at liberty to share Macedo or Hughes messages, but said the net result is that (Macedo) has no interest in meeting with (Hughes) as a member of the Association. The letter ends with a few lines saying all of these efforts to sit down and find a way forward remain on the table and teases stay tuned there is more to come! Read more about: Be seeing you. Only devotees of The Prisoner, the superbly hallucinogenic Sixties-era series about entrapment in The Village, will recognize the shows creepy language of leave taking. The neighbourly farewell was accompanied by forefinger pressed to thumb, as in a circle, and raised to the eye, in the manner of a spy glass. The implication of always being under watch was clear. This is perhaps too extreme a sensation brought on by the intense relationship between Toronto Waterfront Revitalization Corp. (TWRC) and Sidewalk Labs LLC. But such are the spaces the mind occupies when presented with a vacuum. Before you know it youre imagining youre wearing a sensor-packed wristband and walking around with the number 6 stuck to the lapel of your jacket. But back to the modern day. The Sidewalk Labs experiment bumps along, with the two parties releasing this week a plan development agreement which, I guess, is meant to settle the nerves of those who fear that having a Google Inc. affiliate creating a mini city within our city presents serious implications for privacy, data scraping and monetization for Google, and not us. (I try to use the name Alphabet Inc., the still newish parent to Google, but it is hard. When Google founder Larry Page explained the new moniker thusly We liked the name Alphabet because it means a collection of letters that represent language I briefly thought that making a bazillion dollars might not be all that difficult.) Read more: Waterfront Toronto deal with Google sister company is shortchanging city, says board member who quit Deadline for Sidewalk Toronto plan pushed back Torontos high-tech Quayside district takes next step as new deal reached with Google sister company Alphabet is really a collection of initiatives, including the core Google business. So this is a segregation play. Page can envision his 10X bets, or alpha-bets, and pursue them with a relatively small investment in a start-up like Sidewalk Labs and keep it operationally at arms length from Google itself. By making 10X bets, Page means launching initiatives with the potential to make an enormous impact. In the case of Sidewalk Labs and Im using Pages words here the list includes better public transport, less pollution, plentiful parks, safer biking paths, affordable housing and more. On the surface, the plan for 12 acres known as the Quayside pilot, or test bed, extrapolated to the roughly 800 acres that constitute the Eastern Waterfront, sells well, by which I mean it sounds socially progressive and environmentally conscious. But as has been much reported, it failed the essential first test of transparency last November, when Waterfront Toronto revealed that in naming Sidewalk Labs as the winning partner it had also signed a non-disclosure agreement preventing release of the first framework struck between the two parties. Only now, nine months later and in tandem with the release of a further agreement that nullifies the first, has the initial confidential document been released. Thats a shameful example of good corporate governance, or a great example of lousy corporate governance. The citizens of Toronto are due transparent stewardship of waterfront lands and were not offered it. (The CEO of Waterfront Toronto, Will Fleissig, resigned last month. The techies at Google have yet to snip him out of the Sidewalk Labs promotional video. And then theres the subsequent resignation of board member Julie Di Lorenzo. As reported by my colleague David Rider, Di Lorenzos letter of resignation questioned the appropriateness of a single limited company becoming or filter, our gatekeeper and our agent.) In truth, the first framework agreement offered few surprises if you hew to the belief that big business usually wins where municipal governments are involved. Sidewalk Toronto (or the Master Developer, an affiliate of Sidewalk Labs) was put in charge. So the Master Developer will be the primary vehicle through which they will create the Master Innovation and Development Plan, oversee its implementation, and achieve economic alignment between TWRC and Sidewalk. So Sidewalk would ensure alignment between Sidewalk and the TWRC. That sounds like a line out of a gangster flick. The Master Developer was named as the lead hand on everything from establishing parameters for governance to maintaining operating control of the public realm, including parks, streets, etc. A mega-project encompassing the 800-plus acres absorbed as those lands become available to TWRC was assumed. The Master Developer may divest specific land parcels to Development Companies in order to enable purposeful solutions related to vertical development. Vertical development includes new building typographies and new construction technologies. One more: the Master Developer, or its affiliates, may enter into management operations, purchasing, licensing, technology or other services agreements with related parties and third-parties. Heres where we get into the underlying tech side of the story, as in, technology that enables electronic sensing and management of the public realm. In my reading, consideration of the public realm was reduced in the document to procurement standards and little more. Its easy to lose the story line. At the time of Sidewalks launch in June 2015, Larry Page touted its magical prospects: By improving urban technology, its possible to significantly improve the lives of billions of people around the world. With Sidewalk, we want to supercharge existing efforts in areas such as housing, energy, transportation and government to solve real problems that city-dwellers face every day. In the realm of affordable housing, the company posits that new construction methods and cutting-edge designs could create more affordable mixed-use (retail and residential) buildings. What was needed was a willing host city, or Petri dish, upon which to conduct the grand experiment. The nasty framework agreement is meant to be forgotten now, superseded by a much more polished plan development agreement that deploys such language as enabling a meaningfully superior quality of urban life in a diverse city thats more livable, connected and prosperous. (I wonder if Larry Page even read the first go-round. Someone should send it to him, perhaps with the words Dont be Evil printed across the top.) In the new agreement, Waterfront Toronto is defined as the revitalization lead in the public interest. There is a great deal of talk about collaboration. And those 800-plus acres? As the new agreement acknowledges, Waterfront Toronto owns only Quayside and thus no property interest in any other lands can be assumed by Sidewalk Labs. So were good then? No. When Waterfront Toronto put out its request for development proposals in March 2017, Sidewalk Labs responded with a 196-page ode to the future that was based not on Quayside alone, but the Eastern Waterfront, envisioning a dozen or more distinct neighbourhoods with sensors throughout creating a digital layer offering an unprecedented degree of insight into the physical environment. Quayside was just the launchpad for an idea that would be taken to a grand scale, turning the Eastern Waterfront into the most innovative urban district in the world. So a thermal grid pilot at Quayside, by example, can become the foundation of a district-wide energy system that sets a global example for climate-positive thinking. A 12-acre parcel about the size of Nathan Phillips Square offers no scalable opportunities and will fail to meet Googles predictably global ambitions. And financing? Wheres the appeal? What we see now is not a Google-sized business proposition. The way I read it, Google sorry, Alphabets raison detre for getting involved in the waterfront has been lost. Read more about: In a sign that the Toronto area real estate market is in recovery mode, year-over-year resale home prices and sales rose for a second consecutive month in July. Selling prices climbed 4.8 per cent to $782,129 last month, up from $745,971 in the same period last year, for all types of homes in the region, according to the latest numbers from the Toronto Real Estate Board released Friday. The number of home sales also rose 18.6 per cent year over year in July, while new listings declined 1.8 per cent. It appears that some people who initially moved to the sidelines due to the psychological impact of the (Ontario) Fair Housing Plan and changes to mortgage lending guidelines have re-entered the market, said Jason Mercer, the boards director of market analysis. July was the fifth consecutive month-to-month rise in Toronto region housing prices: up 3.1 per cent from June, according to the real estate industrys Multiple Listing Service Home Price Index. Condominiums continued to outperform lowrise housing such as detached, semi-detached and town homes. Condo prices rose 8.9 per cent on average last month to $546,984. About three-quarters of the 2,002 condos sold last month were in the city of Toronto. Of the 2,390 detached houses that sold in the region, three-quarters were outside the city. Regionwide, detached house prices rose only 0.5 per cent on average to $1 million, but the scarcity helped increase prices 3.6 per cent inside the city, while they remained flat in the surrounding 905 communities. A detached house in Toronto cost $1.35 million on average, compared to $907,347 in the surrounding regions. Share your thoughts The lift in resale home numbers so far this summer June prices and sales both rose about 2 per cent above 2017 levels appears to signal the stronger second half of this year that the real estate board and industry executives have been predicting. The real estate industrys MLS Home Price Index showed a slight 0.59 per cent decline in July, but the boards release said, The annual growth rate looks to be trending toward positive territory in the near future. Seasonally adjusted figures, nevertheless, also showed year-over-year growth of 3.1 per cent in prices and 6.6 per cent in the number of home transactions. The MLS index shows that York Region continued to lag other parts of the Toronto area with a 9.06 per cent year-over-year drop in all types of housing, including condos. The city of Toronto saw a 3.85 per cent price gain, according to the same index. The average indexed home price across the region this year to date is $788,822 compared to $856,677 in the first half of 2017 when the market peaked. The Ontario government introduced its housing plan April 20, 2017, to pour cold water on months of double-digit price gains. That policy was followed by tighter lending restrictions that reduced the spending capacity of many consumers, and a series of interest rate hikes, although lending rates remain at historically low levels. There have been 46,834 sales this year, 13,520 fewer than the same period last year. The number of new listings was also down to 98,456 16,655 fewer than the first seven months of 2017. Read more: Why this realtor used Rexy the dinosaur to showcase a waterside cottage listing In Vancouver, it takes 20 years for millennials to save for a down payment compared to 4.6 in Toronto First-time homebuyers in Barrie squeezed by falling property values CALGARYDoctors and allergy experts are warning against turning to unofficial sources for EpiPens amid a shortage of the auto-injectors in Canada. The supply shortfall for the devices, which deliver an injection of epinephrine to treat anaphylaxis, is expected to last most of August. But despite anxiety among Canadas medical community and people with severe allergies, doctors and pharmacists say online ads, like a recent post from a Calgary man selling several EpiPens, should be avoided. Four EpiPens are listed for $80 in the ad posted about a month ago. The man selling them, who would give his name only as Ben, said theyre left over from his uncle, who recently died. (EpiPen) makes a great addition to any first-aid kit, especially having one for home and one in your vehicle for that unexpected emergency you may come across, the ad reads. Read more: Halifax allergy advocate says EpiPen shortage nerve-racking for families Opposition parties demand Trudeau government fix dangerous EpiPen shortage Drug shortages: Single supplier for generic injectables at root of crisis in Canada Food Allergy Canada executive director Jennifer Gerdts said that despite the worrying situation around access to EpiPens, turning to sources other than pharmacies isnt a good option. We would not condone it at all. We dont need some kind of black market solution for this issue, she said. Ben said hes aware of the limited supply issue, and was hoping the EpiPens might be able to help someone who needs them. I dont even want the money. As long as someone can use it, then Im fine with that. I dont want to see it destroyed, especially if theres a shortage. He said he didnt see any problems with selling the medication online as long as the buyer has a prescription. An Alberta College of Pharmacy (ACP) spokesperson said EpiPen as an auto-injector is a Schedule 2 drug in Canada, which means it is available without a prescription, but only in a pharmacy and after consultation with a pharmacist. The ACP advises against buying medication online, saying theres no way to know whether its been improperly stored or tampered with. In Canada, EpiPens are manufactured only by the drug company Pfizer. In a statement Monday, Pfizer acknowledged supply shortages for the EpiPen 0.3-milligram format throughout 2018, but said the next shipment is anticipated by late August. EpiPen Jr., a 0.15-mg format intended for children weighing between 33 and 66 pounds, continues to be in supply, Pfizer said. In an April statement, the company blamed the EpiPen shortfall on delays at the manufacturing facility and limited third-party quantities of a component for the product. Calgary allergy specialist Dr. Joel Doctor said he doesnt recommend patients look for EpiPens online, even if they appear to be unused. Theyre used in the sense that theyve been dispensed, he said. The risk would be the same risk with any drug that you would buy from a source that you dont really know. Are you getting what you really think youre getting? Health Canada issued a statement Tuesday recommending people keep and use their expired EpiPens if necessary. At two Calgary pharmacies contacted by StarMetro on Thursday, there was just a single EpiPen in stock, and one pharmacy had none, with no date for when more would arrive. Only one EpiPen remained at Blue Bottle Pharmacy in Calgarys northeast as of Thursday afternoon, according to pharmacy manager Dan OConnell. And were right in wasp season, he said, adding many families are preparing to go on holidays, or send their kids to camp. They want to have (an EpiPen) on hand, especially if theyre going somewhere remote, he said. If youre stung and its in the city and close to medical services, youre going to get help fairly quickly. But as soon as youre out of town, boy, youre at risk. This isnt the first time pharmacies have seen an EpiPen shortage, OConnell said, which can be stressful for patients with severe allergies. There is no substitute for an epinephrine injection for someone having a severe, life-threatening allergic reaction, Doctor said, making any shortages very concerning. But as long as the supply issues can be resolved by the date promised by Pfizer, he thinks the crisis should be short-lived. Gerdts said the problem underlines the need for another manufacturer of auto-injectors in the Canadian market. Meanwhile, people with allergies may have to be extra vigilant to avoid reactions while they wait out the shortage. (The allergy community) is concerned; theyre worried, she said. They want some clarity on when this ends. Madeline Smith is a reporter/photographer with StarMetro Calgary. Follow her on Twitter: @meksmith Read more about: CALGARYFederal and Alberta privacy commissioners are investigating after Cadillac Fairview acknowledged that cameras in digital directories predict shoppers approximate age and gender. Both investigations, announced Friday, relate to the use of facial recognition technology at shopping centres. The Alberta privacy commissioner is probing reports about the use of the technology at malls in Calgary. Cadillac Fairview spokesperson Janine Ramparas said the company plans to co-operate fully in the investigations and has suspended the use of the cameras Canada-wide pending resolution of this matter. Experts have raised concerns about the use of the technology, first reported by CBC, saying the sensitive nature of facial images opens numerous possibilities for misusing the information. Last week, Ramparas told the Star that because photos and videos arent recorded or stored by the company, they dont require consent. Cadillac Fairview began using the software in June, to further understand the usage of our directories, she said. Read more: Directories at Cadillac Fairview malls have cameras inside Opinion | Rosie DiManno: In a world of high-tech surveillance, shopping mall cameras are just the tip of the iceberg Editorial | Cadillac Fairview raises privacy concerns with its use of cameras inside mall kiosks Cadillac Fairview owns shopping centres in British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec and New Brunswick, according to the company website. Its holdings include Torontos Eaton Centre, Vancouvers Pacific Centre and Calgarys Chinook Centre and Market Mall. The cameras were first brought to public attention on the Calgary page of social media site Reddit, where a user posted a photo believed to be taken at the CF Chinook Centre in Calgary. It showed a display screen with coding that included FaceEncoder and FaceAnalyzer for gender and age. Have your say In Alberta, British Columbia, and Quebec, private companies fall under the provincial privacy commissioners purview. In Canadas other provinces and territories, including Ontario, the federal Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) governs private companies. Scott Sibbald, a spokesperson for the Office of the Information and Privacy Commission of Alberta, said the commission gets more than 150 complaints against organizations in the private sector each year. In this case, Sibbald said there was a complaint lodged outlining general concerns about the use of facial recognition, but privacy commissioner Jill Clayton opened the investigation on her own motion. Essentially, the right to privacy is the right to control your own information, Sibbald said. Thats where people need to be provided clear options and be able to make informed choices of whether they want to use a particular service. Federal privacy commissioner Daniel Therrien also initiated the investigation, according to a statement, in the wake of numerous media reports. Former Ontario privacy commissioner Ann Cavoukian said she was delighted that the investigations are under way. Noting that she defers to the commissioners examining this case, Cavoukian said the investigation will need to answer important questions about whether collecting data such as facial images requires consent. If it was me, I would look at it and I would say, Is there any data being collected? ... Even if you dont retain the data, in order to make the kind of determinations related to age and gender, you have to be looking at something, she said. To me, that is data capture, meaning that they are collected. And, in this case, theyre being collected without the consent of the data subjects. According to the Alberta privacy commissioners statement, the purpose of investigations includes determining what personal information is being collected, and why and whether the data is being shared with third parties, such as other businesses or law enforcement. Sibbald said the Alberta investigation is anticipated to take about nine months. If people in the province are concerned their information was collected without consent by Cadillac Fairview, they can submit a complaint to the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner. Madeline Smith is a reporter/photographer with StarMetro Calgary. Follow her on Twitter: @meksmith Read more about: CALGARYA girl who was gravely injured in a Texas highway crash last month that killed her brother, father and grandmother has returned home to Calgary, where she faces a long and difficult recovery. Mehak Minhas, 10, was flown from Lubbock, Texas, to the Alberta Childrens Hospital on Wednesday. A spinal injury has left her unable to feel or move her legs, and she also fractured her left leg and right arm. We are definitely hoping for a good outcome. However, we were told by doctors team it is going to be a very long and challenging pathway to recovery. Her injury was quite significant, said Gurpreet Singh, a close family friend. Six members of the Minhas family were on a two-week vacation when their minivan and an 18-wheeler collided northwest of Amarillo, Texas, early on July 14. Upinder Minhas, 38, his six-year-old son Mehar and 68-year-old mother Nirmal died. Mehak was airlifted to hospital in critical condition. Her eight-year-old sister Jupleen fractured her collarbone. Their mother Jasleen had broken ribs that punctured her lung cavity and suffered extensive bruising. Singh, a pediatrician in Calgary, has been helping the surviving trio navigate their new day-to-day reality as they grieve their loved ones. He said its too soon to say how much mobility Mehak may regain. Mehak is a young, determined, strong girl. She has begun seeing a physiotherapist and occupational therapist, but intensive rehabilitation will have to wait until her broken limbs heal. The younger daughter and mother have been discharged, but have been staying at the Alberta Childrens Hospital to be by Mehaks side. Family friends have set up a GoFundMe page to raise funds for the family. Upinder Minhas, who worked as a consultant for software firm OpenText, was the primary earner and now the family will have to get by on the wifes income. She is an account manager at Ricoh Canada Inc., and says her employer has been supportive and understanding. Modifications to the familys two-storey home may also be necessary so Mehak can get up and down the stairs. Proceeds could also eventually go toward experimental therapies for Mehak, as well as toward Mehak and Jupleens education. Upinder came from a very humble background. He always emphasized good education and we want that for both of his daughters, said Singh. Singh became friends with Upinder and Jasleen Minhas shortly after he and his wife bought a house close to theirs in Calgary eight years ago. He was the friendliest person that I met when I came to Canada. He was like a brother to me, said Singh, who came from India a decade ago. The gravity of the situation has just begun to set in. Being back in Calgary brings back some memories which are not the easiest to deal with, memories of Mehar, and many reminders of the life that they had in the home that they are in now. Its extremely challenging and overwhelming, said Singh. Its just unimaginable, the psychological trauma that has happened. Singh said he was touched by the kindness of Texans when a big group of loved ones travelled there from Calgary after the crash. Hotels offered up half-price rooms and locals provided free meals. The Minhas family is Sikh, but there was no house of worship nearby to accommodate funeral services. So an area Hindu temple opened its doors for them to pray. It was a display of solidarity which was very exceptional. Jasleen Minhas said she is grateful the outpouring of support. I would just like to say thank you to everybody whos supported us and are there with us at this time, she said through tears. Its been a very unexpected turn in my life. Read more about: A group of Ontario builders and volunteers have brought hope and home-building expertise to a hurricane-ravaged village in Puerto Rico. In return theyve formed enduring, gratitude-filled friendships and made memories to last a lifetime. HOPE Agua Vita (Water of Life), founded by Doug Tarry of Doug Tarry Homes in Saint Thomas, Ont., along with Scott Davis of Winmar Property Restoration Specialists and video producer (and Tarry Homes customer) Juan Pablo Hernandez, have completed two humanitarian home-rebuilding missions in the mountain village of San Lorenzo. They plan on making a third trip this fall. Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico in September, 2017, causing an estimated $90 billion in total damages, with housing damage pegged at $37 billion. The bridge connecting San Lorenzo to the municipality of Morovis was decimated by flooding, forcing residents to wade through the Rio Grande de Manati to find food and water. They lived without electricity for months. The first time anyone goes there to do this work, its just heartbreaking, says Tarry, who found homes infested with mould, standing water full of breeding mosquitoes and rotting garbage. You have to put your best smiley face on and get at it. The village was eight months without hydro and there are still places that dont have it. There is also intermittent running water. These people are poor, and the money they receive from FEMA (the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency) is not nearly enough to cover the cost of repairs, he adds. Months before Hurricane Maria struck, Tarry launched Project Hope to aid the family of a popular St. Thomas building official who died of lymphoma, leaving his wife and two young children. Tarry and volunteers built a 1,440-square-foot Net Zero house in 39 hours, sold it and donated the profits to assist the family. It was a magical experience, and we had 600 volunteers, says Tarry. It ignited a passion in him, and when Hernandez suggested they could help Hurricane Maria victims, Tarry didnt hesitate. After an assessment visit to Puerto Rico with Davis and Hernandez early last November, Tarry returned this past January with 12 volunteers. They used four-wheel-drive vehicles to get through the river to the village, which was disconcerting when you did it at night, Tarry recalls. There were no street lights, so you were literally playing chicken in the middle of intersections. Then in May, he returned with a group of 25 that included trades people, three engineers, a Fanshawe College professor for the Women in Carpentry program, and a University of Western Ontario graduate student studying wood-frame roofing in hurricane zones. HOPE Agua Vita raised $40,000 for each mission. James Bazley, owner of Gregor Homes in Barrie, acted as projects manager; Scott Davis was assessment and remediation supervisor; and Central Elgin chief building inspector Leon Bach was construction training and inspection co-ordinator. Tarrys wife Carolyne handled logistics and she and her friend Chris Davis did community outreach. Hernandez, who is originally from Colombia, provided translation and liaison. The islands homes have three basic types of construction: concrete houses with concrete roofs that were badly damaged by water; concrete houses with wood roofs that suffered severe damage; and wood houses with wood roofs that were catastrophically damaged. The January group of volunteers found an elderly couple sleeping on a wet mattress in their damaged house. They bought them a new mattress, cleaned up the house and waterproofed their roof. When they returned four months later, the Canadians found the roof had not leaked and the couple was in better health. Another roof was fixed during the May expedition and it gave locals on-the-job training about how to make the repairs. Stefanie Coleman, owner of London-area renovation company Pretty Smart Homes, didnt hesitate to join HOPE Agua Vitas May mission after working alongside Tarry at a 2011 Dominican Republic humanitarian build and the Project Hope home in St. Thomas last year. It was a fantastic experience, says Coleman. I like that its a multi-faceted project, not just helping people but coupling that with learning as it relates to research and development on-site with durability and resilience in homes. She helped to train the villages women to seal concrete roofs and install flashing to waterproof windows. The highlight for Coleman was teaching five women how to use a tape measure. Two had broken English and the rest had none but they understood numbers and I was able to explain it that way. Within 45 minutes, they all got it, she says. Something we take for granted gives these women a basic skill to be able to move forward to work on their own. Villager Reuben De Leon showed up every day in the sweltering May temperatures. His wife was recovering from cancer and he is going blind. But they were so grateful to know their house is safe and solid. She became like our mom, and one day showed up with fresh chicken soup. It was so hot, the shift started early and ended by 3 p.m., says Tarry. We built a house and fixed two more roofs. We taught the mamas and grandmamas how to repair a concrete roof. We bought tools and material and are now trying to mentor them to form their own company. The women are hilarious as all get-out. They are fun to be around and some are so loud, he adds. Larry Brydon, vice-president of business development for Vaughan company Cricket Energy, volunteered for the May mission. His expertise is solar power but his role in Puerto Rico was as labourer. I give all the credit to the carpenters and other trades, says Brydon. They did all of the skilled work, and worked non-stop. I was really impressed. Brydon will volunteer again. Our company has a philosophy to give back and this was a way I could personally give back. This was a bunch of people of different backgrounds who hadnt worked together to any large degree. It was inspiring how everyone pulled together, and we are all still in communication. Tarry says the Ontario volunteers gained insights about making houses more resilient to extreme weather events. He points out that the GTA windstorm this past May 4 had gusts just five kilometres less than 1954s Hurricane Hazel, which killed 81 people and caused devastating flooding in the Toronto area. Puerto Rico is Ground Zero for climate change and is a target-rich environment, says Tarry. Its a great opportunity to study and to learn if we can do this cost-effectively with an unskilled labour force. If I can teach a Puerto Rican grandmother who has never swung a hammer how to do this, dont tell me its hard. MORLEY, ALTA.Mounties in southern Alberta are investigating a possible road rage attack after a German tourist was shot in the head while driving on a highway. RCMP say a bullet penetrated the head of the 60-year-old man but he was conscious and talking when he was airlifted to a Calgary hospital. Sgt. Tom Kalis says the shooting happened just before noon Thursday near Morley, about 60 kilometres west of Calgary. He says the tourist was driving a truck near the rodeo grounds of Stoney Nakoda First Nation when he was shot, causing his vehicle to hit the ditch and strike a pole. Three family members who were passengers in the truck received minor injuries. Kalis says a small black sedan was spotted in the area at the time of the shooting and investigators are looking at road rage as a possible motive. Police are interested in speaking to any witnesses about the incident, he said. Read more about: COMOX, B.C. Fisheries and Oceans Canada is asking all vessels to stay out of Comox Harbour unless absolutely necessary while a lone killer whale continues to hang out in the area. The male transient killer whale known as T73B has been in the harbour for several days, entertaining a growing crowd of onlookers with his breaching and leaping. The departments notice to vessel owners says that the whale may approach and interfere with boats in the harbour, which could cause serious damage to their vessels. The notice says the killer whale eats mammals, and interacting with the whale could increase its risk of habituation and reinforce negative behaviours. All boaters have been asked not to stop their vessels around the whale, to remain calm if it approaches and to move away or moor as quickly as possible. The department asked the public to avoid interacting with the whale, including touching, feeding or swimming in its vicinity. Read more: Dolphin-whale hybrid spotted in Hawaii is the first of its kind but its not a wolphin We are starving them: Grieving orca mother belongs to endangered population facing grim future Here's why 12 right whales died in Canadian waters and why more will die if nothing is done Read more about: RED DEER, ALTA.RCMP in central Alberta are searching for three suspects who drove a truck through a shopping centre and made off with two bank machines. Mounties say the truck smashed through an entrance at Parkland Mall in Red Deer on Thursday about 4 a.m. It cruised through the building and stopped in the food court area, where the suspects then loaded the ATMs into the back. The truck then smashed through glass doors at another mall entrance and left. Officers say the driver was wearing a white face mask and dark coveralls with reflective strips, while the two other suspects had dark-coloured hoodies and pants. The truck is described as a white diesel extended cab, possibly a Ford F250 or F350, that has significant damage. Read more about: OTTAWACanadians are concerned about Ottawas handling of asylum seekers, voicing scepticism about why so many are crossing into Canada and demanding tougher measures to curb the arrivals, a new survey shows. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his cabinet ministers have staunchly defended Canadas responsibility to accept the thousands of refugees crossing from the United States and process their claims through official channels. But the poll results released Friday by the Angus Reid Institute make clear the rising political stakes on the issue, revealing that Canadians are questioning the federal governments ability to manage the situation. Theres definitely potential trouble here for the Liberals, said Shachi Kurl, executive director of the institute. While the number of border crossers dropped in May and June, numbers do not matter, Kurl said in an interview. It is perception, she said. The longer that this has been an issue, the deeper that anxiety and concern has settled into the core of Canadians. Read more: Ottawa delivers $11M for Toronto homeless shelters Triage system for asylum seekers in Toronto, Montreal shelters wont arrive until late September Ford government is ending co-operation with Ottawa on resettlement of asylum-seekers The Liberals are at risk of losing control of the narrative on this issue. . . . It is both an ops and management issue for them and it is a communications issue, Kurl said. The federal Conservatives, led by Michelle Rempel (Calgary Nose Hill), the partys immigration critic, have been outspoken on the issue, accusing the Liberals of failing to manage the border, a view that the Alberta MP voiced again Friday. The truth is that the prime minister has only made the situation worse, and permanent, by failing to take action, Rempel said in a statement. The survey suggests the political criticisms are paying off for the Conservatives, showing that 48 per cent per cent of Canadians believe party leader Andrew Scheer is best trusted to deal with the issue, compared with 35 per cent for Trudeau and 16 per cent for NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh. They seem to have finally found the wedge they were looking for, Kurl said, adding that the Conservatives are finding traction on this issue. The online survey of 1,500 Canadians was done July 25-30. A sample of this size would carry a margin of error of plus or minus 2.5 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, according to the institute. The findings also reveal public misperceptions on the issue. For example, refugee experts say the influx does not represent a crisis and that current numbers can be handled by the system. Yet two-thirds of Canadians say the current situation is a crisis and roughly the same number think that Canada has taken in too many asylum seekers for the country to handle, the poll found. Many Canadians also overestimate how many asylum claimants have come to Canada 15 per cent peg the number at more than 100,000; another 33 per cent say its between 50,000 and 100,000. According to government figures, the actual total in 2017 and 2018 is 31,337. The results split along party lines and age. Conservative supporters and those over the age of 35 are less accepting of the asylum seekers and desire tougher measures to curb their entry. But the survey does reveal frustrations across party lines with 56 per cent of Liberal backers and 53 per cent of NDP supporters also saying that the current numbers are too many for Canada to handle. Theres a political danger for the Liberals in not being alive to the sense of anxiety and urgency that Canadians are feeling about this, Kurl said. But she said the Conservatives have to be careful to not to allow partisan criticism to get out of hand. Federal officials have struggled since last year to cope with an influx of refugee claimants who have crossed into Canada from the United States on foot through unguarded sections of the border, mostly in Quebec. The influx has put pressure on Quebec and more recently Ontario to handle the refugee claimants. Toronto Mayor John Tory in May called the situation a crisis and castigated Ottawa for its failure to provide financial support to the city. Toronto MP Bill Blair, newly appointed to the new post of minister of border security and organized crime reduction, met with Tory Friday and reiterated Ottawas pledge to give the city $11 million to help offset its costs with the promise of additional funding to come. Greg MacEachern, senior vice-president of government relations at Proof Strategies, said that Blairs promotion in the July cabinet shuffle suggests that Trudeau is aware of the concerns of Canadians. That shuffle created a new cabinet post dedicated to border security and the appointment of Blair former chief of the Toronto Police Service as its minister puts a law-and-order focus on the issue to counter the concerns of Canadians, MacEachern said. The reality is that in politics or advertising, the fear factor works. There is a need for the government to step up the positive communication, he said. Read more about: KAMLOOPS, B.C.Firefighters in British Columbia are getting some outside help in battling wildfires across the province. The BC Wildfire Service says more than 180 firefighters and support staff from Saskatchewan, Australia, New Zealand and Mexico will arrive in the province over the next week. They are joining 20 firefighters from Alberta and 15 from the Northwest Territories who have been in the province since Thursday helping battle wildfires. The service says there are more than 2,200 people engaged in the provinces wildfire response. Four water-skimming aircraft from Quebec will also join more than 150 aircraft that are being used to support ground crews. Late Friday afternoon, there were 446 active wildfires across B.C. Most of the fires were caused by some of the thousands of lightning strikes from a nearly weeklong series of storms, including about 5,000 strikes recorded Thursday, said Kyla Fraser of the BC Wildfire Service. Luckily most of these are burning in remote areas and are quite small at the moment, she said, but we are certainly bracing ourselves for more fires of significance to pop up this weekend as a result of weather and the sheer number of fires that we have seen. Wildfire risk across the northwestern quarter of the province was ranked at high to extreme, prompting the Regional District of Bulkley-Nechako to issue several evacuation orders and alerts for properties in remote areas around Houston, Burns Lake and Francois Lake. A campfire ban was also imposed Friday across the northwest region where the wildfire service says six of B.C.s 14 most significant fires were located. In southern B.C., the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen issued evacuation orders for a handful of properties south of Cawston that were threatened by a nearly 66-square-kilometre wildfire, the largest active fire. Along the southeastern boundary with Alberta, Parks Canada said three lightning-caused wildfires were burning in Kootenay, Yoho and Banff national parks. Road closures, area and trail closures, as well as evacuation orders, were in place, the parks service said in a news release. Those include the continued evacuation of Kootenay Park Lodge and the ongoing closure of Highway 93 through Kootenay National Park from Radium east to Alberta. That route was not expected to reopen until at least Sunday, with drivers detoured to Highway 95 and Highway 1 via Golden. DriveBC, the B.C. governments online website of road conditions, issued a travel advisory Friday warning of congestion from Radium to Golden. Read more about: Ontarios Ministry of Natural Resources says firefighters continue to make excellent progress in tackling a massive forest fire known as Parry Sound 33 in the provinces northeast. The fire began on July 18 and has burned through more than 100 square kilometres of forest. It was remapped at 11,185 hectares on Thursday and remains stalled about five kilometres from the Trans-Canada Highway. The ministry says crews are holding back the fire in critical areas of Parry Sound 33, especially along the northeast edge. Higher winds tested that perimeter on Thursday, but the hose lines held and the fire was kept in check. The ministry says no new fires were discovered on Thursday and one was extinguished, but there were still 47 active forest fires spread across the northeast and 21 remained out of control. Smoke continues to affect air quality and visibility in the region and Environment Canada has posted special air quality statements stretching from the Georgian Bay area through Espanola, North Bay and east to Mattawa along the Ottawa River. The smoke had earlier forced evacuations in parts of the Municipality of Killarney and prompted an evacuation alert in part of French River. In addition to 47 active fires in northeastern Ontario, firefighters are battling another 101 fires in the northwest, and receiving assistance from crews across Canada, the United States and Mexico. Read more: Parry Sound 33 forest fire forcing evacuations in Northern Ontario Killarney residents flee their homes as Parry Sound 33 fire rages Fire crews from across Canada, U.S., Mexico pour in to help northeastern Ontario ORILLIA, ONT.Provincial police have arrested and charged a teenager who was wanted on a charge of second-degree murder in connection with a homicide in Orillia, Ont., on Monday morning. The 17-year-old male cannot be identified under terms of the Youth Criminal Justice Act A 20-year-old man had earlier been arrested on a charge of being an accessory after the fact to murder. The OPP says they were called to a parking lot just after 7:30 a.m. on Monday about a man in medical distress and determined that a violent altercation took place on a trail near a parking lot. The victim, identified as 25-year-old Jordan Carter-Bonfield of Orillia, was pronounced dead at the scene. FREDERICTONHealth officials in New Brunswick have confirmed three dogs that quickly died after being in or near the Saint John River were killed by toxins in a type of blue-green algae. Witnesses say two of the dogs suffered convulsions and vomiting after playing near the water at Carleton Park near Fredericton on July 22, and another dog died July 20 at a Hartt Island campground, about 10 kilometres from the park. Officials in Fredericton issued a statement Friday saying the dogs had ingested the algae. The officials are warning people not to let their pets swim where there is an algae bloom, and theyre also warning people not to enter the river if they have open wounds or cuts. Swimmers are also being warned not to swallow the water, and to bathe afterwards. However, the officials say that while it has been determined that blue-green algae is present in some areas of the Saint John River, they are not saying people should avoid using the river for recreational purposes. Note to readers: This is a corrected story. An earlier version wrongly stated that all three dogs died on July 22. Read more: Alberta Health Services issues blue-green algae warning for Heritage Lake Torontonians warned to avoid water near Humber Bay after tests find potentially toxic blue-green algae Forecast calls for significant algae bloom in Lake Erie Read more about: Two Quebec men have been charged with running an illegal cannabis grow-op in King Township after York Regional Police seized 288 kilograms of harvested cannabis and more than 4,000 plants, which police say have an estimated street value of $6.5 million. There were three Health Canada licenses for the facility, which allowed for each license holder or a designate to grow 875 plants on their behalf for medical purposes, but the operation at the site far exceed this, police said. Police said they discovered 22 greenhouses on the property at 570 Strawberry Lane, where the plants were grown in an unsafe manner, with no quality control, environmental considerations or security measures. Two men who police said were maintaining the plants have been charged, after a search warrant was executed by the York Regional Police Organized Crime Bureau Guns, Gangs and Drug Enforcement Unit. Sameko Vanvilay, 43, of Laval, Que., and Chi Chung Phan, 36, of Montreal, were charged with producing marijuana and possession of marijuana for the purpose of trafficking. The charges followed community complaints and a safety inspection last week, police said. This criminal enterprise was operating well in excess of Health Canada authorizations to grow cannabis for medical purposes, York Regional Police Chief Eric Jolliffe said in a prepared statement. Over and above the community safety risks associated to unsafe wiring and the use of chemicals, all too often, police are identifying personal and designated production license holders that are growing excessive amounts of cannabis under Health Canada authorizations, Jolliffe said. He said that marijuana is diverted to the illicit market by organized crime groups to supply illegal dispensaries, export outside of Canada and trafficked in our local communities. The owner of a bankrupt Toronto-area restaurant chain has been ordered to serve 90 days in jail for failing to pay her former employees the wages they were owed. Yuk Yee Ellen Pun and 12 other companies under the Regal chain were also fined $900,000 by an Ontario court this week for breaching a 2015 order under the Employment Standards Act. In June 2015, the Ministry of Labour found Pun and the corporations she controlled owed 68 employees $676,700 in basic salary, overtime, vacation, public holiday, termination and severance pays. The defendants were ordered to pay $457,443, however they failed to pay the full amount. On Tuesday, they pleaded guilty to non-compliance. It is one of the few cases where the court has imposed a jail sentence on a director of a company for failing to comply with the Employment Standard Act, said Avvy Go, director of the Chinese and Southeast Asian Legal Clinic, which assisted the affected workers. This sentence shows the seriousness of the breach committed by Ellen Pun and her companies. It sends a strong message to other employers that they must respect the rights of their employees under the law. In 2015, the ministry ordered compensation short of the $676,700 claim, capping the maximum amount awarded to each worker based on the legislative limit at the time. Go said Pun and the other corporate defendants, all no longer in operation, made only a partial repayment. In addition to handing her sentence this week, Ontario Court Justice of the Peace Karen Walker imposed a 25 per cent surcharge on top of the fine, which is to go to a government fund that assists victims of crime. Go said the case highlights the need for the province to hire more employment standard inspectors for enforcement. Premier Doug Ford campaigned on a promise to serve the little guys. These workers and tens of thousands of workers who are doing minimum wage jobs are the little guys that need help to protect their right and their hard-earned money, Go said. Police have recovered a mans body from Toronto Harbour after a car crashed into the Lake Ontario Thursday night. The man, approximately 50 years old, was found inside a red Toyota. His identity has not been released, pending family notification. Police were called to the water near Lake Shore Blvd. E. and Parliament St. over reports a car had entered the lake just after 10 p.m. Thursday, but darkness prevented police marine units from searching until after sunrise Friday, said traffic services sergeant Orang Momeni. Its rare for something like this to happen, but its not unusual. It happens, said Momeni. Toronto police spokesperson Katrina Arrogante said one bystander jumped into the water to try to break a window or the windshield as the car was sinking, but was unsuccessful. The bystander was removed from the water, Arrogante said. In an earlier statement she said the bystander had been taken to hospital, but has since said that is not confirmed. Though she said hypothermia could be a concern, given the temperature of the water. Workers could be seen attaching the Toyota to a police tow truck Friday morning. Police are still investigating the cause of the incident. With files from Clare Rayment , Tamar Harris and Ilya Banares The Toronto Wildlife Centre is asking local nature lovers to keep a lookout for oil-slicked animals along the Humber River, following a recent spill in the citys north end. The Toronto Wildlife Centre's (TWC) wildlife rescue team was first called to the Albion and Weston roads area on July 30 to collect three oil-coated Canada geese from the banks of the Humber; they returned the following day to rescue an additional three ducks. Nathalie Karvonen, TWCs founder and executive director, said that while all six rescued water birds have now been washed and are in stable condition, the centres rescue staff are afraid there could be more animals affected by the oil spill still out there in need of care. The spill is working its way down the Humber, and I know our rescue team leader was concerned about people being on the lookout for sightings all the way down to Lake Ontario, she said in an interview, noting that all aquatic and semi-aquatic animals who call the Humber home could be at risk, including ducks, geese, muskrats, mink, beaver, water snakes, frogs and turtles, among others. Water birds tend to be the ones you notice first, but I personally have wrestled a gigantic, 50-pound beaver coated in diesel oil out of a river during an oil spill before, and theyre certainly just as affected as water birds. As for the spills origins, Hydro One officials confirmed it was caused by a fire that broke just after midnight on July 28 at the Finch transformer station, near Finch Ave. West and Signet Drive in North York. In an emailed statement, the company said its cleanup efforts began immediately after evidence emerged that oily water created by efforts to extinguish the blaze had seeped into nearby Emery Creek and the adjoining Humber River. Hydro One takes its responsibility to the environment and the local community very seriously, the statement reads, noting that Hydro One environmental staff and emergency spill contractors were immediately dispatched to the scene to begin cleanup efforts. In consultation with Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP), Hydro One installed absorbent booms at several key points along the Humber downstream of the spill including Eglinton Ave., Dee Ave., Albion Rd., Sheppard Rd. and the Emery Creek outlet to the Humber River. Additional measures, such as filtration systems, deflection booms, absorption pillows and a diversion dam, have also been put in place. (Hydro One) is committed to a full and complete remediation of any site that has been impacted by our operations, the statement continues, noting that the company continues to work with MECP and city officials in response to the event. In the meantime, Karvonen and her fellow wildlife rescuers at TWC are asking for the publics help in identifying animals who may have come into contact with the oil. In the past, especially this time of year when the weathers warmer, sometimes we get reports of oiled animals for weeks following a spill, she said. While oil-slicked geese and ducks are at risk of losing their waterproofing, leaving them susceptible to hypothermia and at possible risk of drowning, animals that ingest the oil could fall ill with GI (gastrointestinal) tract issues, Karvonen added. So, whether theyre visibly oiled or not visibly oiled, were asking people to be on the lookout for animals acting strangely, she said. Maybe they look miserable, or theyve been sitting in one place for a really long time, or theyre doing a lot of preening or grooming because theyre trying to get the oil off of them. Those are all examples of what to look for. To report a sighting, call TWCs Wildlife Emergency Hotline at 416-631-0662. To donate, go to www.torontowildlifecentre.com/donate/. Toronto police are appealing to the public for more information about a shooting that occurred last month on King St. W., releasing images of a person of interest and a vehicle that they say were in the area the night of the incident. On July 3, at 2:40 a.m., a young man in his 20s was seriously injured in a hail of gunfire, police said. The incident occurred outside, near King St. W. and Portland Ave. Included in the police update is a photo of a greyish sedan that they say was in the vicinity that night. Its unclear whether the person of interest is the owner of the car. The incident came on the heels of a rash of shootings over the Canada Day long weekend, including a shooting at Queen and Peter Sts. that killed two people; and a shooting in Kensington that killed one person and injured three others. There have been about 235 shootings this year, according to Toronto Police Service data. Protesters gathered at Queens Park Thursday, filling the Legislature galleries before spilling out onto the south lawn in a rally against the premiers plan to cut the size of Toronto city council. We are here today to stand together against Doug Fords plan to steal power away from the people of Toronto, Andrea Horwath, leader of the NDP, which had organized the protest, told the crowd of about two hundred people. One of the attendees, Mary Hynes, was seated in the gallery during question period and was removed by security after yelling, We deserve a better government, we deserve to be heard, while members of opposition parties applauded. When someone in the Legislature called out give Doug a hug, Star photographer Rick Madonik captured the premier opening his arms and grinning. Speaking to the crowd outside the Legislature just after noon, Horwath said basic fundamental democracy is what this is all about. Horwath said constituents must have access to their representatives, who can fight for things like better public transportation, affordable housing and cycling infrastructure. Read more: Foes of a smaller Toronto council are in the pocket of downtown politicians, Ford says Should Doug Ford cut Toronto city council in half? Yes Should Doug Ford cut Toronto city council in half? No. These are things that you need to have to build a great life in this great city, Horwath said. And you need your city council at the local level to be there with you to protect those services and to make them better for you and your families. Horwaths remarks on the lawn were attended by several NDP MPPs and members of Toronto city council, including Councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam. What Im feeling personally is anger, said Wong-Tam, who also watched the Legislature from the gallery. Wong-Tam said it isnt simply about a few councillors seats. This is about the quality of our democracy, its about the process of how things happen, she said. Wong-Tam was elected to city council in 2010 for Ward 27 Toronto Centre-Rosedale. She said 12-hour days are not unusual for her staff, and its common for her to work 14-hour days. Miriam Palmer brought a sign that read: hands off our city hall. Palmer said she came to the Legislature to exercise her democratic rights and protest the autocratic bill to cut city council. Palmer said Horwath touched on all of her main concerns and all the things that we really want to bring to light the hypocrisy of it, the fact that we want to be accurately represented and the bill doesnt take that into account. Shay Sanders has been watching the legislative assembly all week online and on television. I am disgusted by Doug Fords and the PC governments attack on democracy, Sanders said, after Horwath addressed the crowd on the south lawn. Sanders doesnt see how the city can be properly represented by only 25 councillors. Thats far too much workload for anyone, Sanders said. Read more about: The welfare minister in Premier Doug Fords government is now denying her controversial decision to kill a basic income pilot project is a broken campaign promise, calling such reports fake news. The claim from Children, Community and Social Services Minister Lisa MacLeod came Thursday as criticism of the move grew deeper, particularly from former Progressive Conservative senator Hugh Segal, who helped the previous Liberal government design the program testing a new course for people on welfare. We did not break a promise, MacLeod insisted in the Legislatures daily question period. That fake news that was in the news today totally mischaracterizes what were doing. The denial came a day after MacLeod conceded that axing the basic income pilot program for 4,000 families contradicted a promise in writing from Progressive Conservative spokeswoman Melissa Lantsman during this springs election campaign. We had a platform that we released. It wasnt in the platform, MacLeod later told reporters before walking away from journalists questions for the third day in a row. Opposition parties said MacLeods claim the promise wasnt broken is a desperate attempt at damage control by a PC party that is now forcing through legislation to cut the size of Toronto city council something that also wasnt in the Ford campaign platform. Its just another example of how this government is prepared to talk out of both sides of its mouth to suit its political agenda, said NDP Leader Andrea Horwath. They were very clear during the campaign that they had no intention of rolling back the basic income pilot project and now what theyve done is kicked thousands of people in the teeth. The promise relayed by Lantsman, a senior campaign official, came in an email exchange in April with the Stars Laurie Monsebraaten, who asked if a Ford government would support the year-old pilot as did previous PC leader Patrick Brown. Let me check with our team on this one and get back to you, replied Lantsman, who later confirmed by email We look forward to seeing the results of the pilot program. When asked directly if the pilot would be cancelled, Lantsman clarified: Nope, as mentioned we look forward to seeing the results. Interim Liberal Leader John Fraser said it took gall for MacLeod to charge media reports were fake news. Yesterday the minister essentially admitted they broke their promise, added Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner, noting MacLeod had initially defended the move as a tough decision. And a day later now shes saying they didnt make the promise. Who are we to believe in this situation, the minister yesterday or the minister today? MacLeod trotted out new arguments for ending the three-year pilot program, which cost $50 million annually, saying that to adopt it province-wide would cost $17 billion about $7 billion more than is now spent on Ontario Works and the Ontario Disability Support Program for about 1 million Ontarians. That was what our decision point was. The minister has been criticized for not allowing the program a tiny fraction of the provinces annual budget to continue by Segal, who wrote a scathing opinion piece in Thursdays Globe and Mail calling MacLeods decision callous and mean-spirited. Looking at the cost of the pilot project is fair enough but frankly, simplistic. We know that poverty is a perfect predictor of poor health and early hospitalization, bad educational outcomes, substance abuse and problems with the police all of which cost Ontario billions. Segal wrote. So if the pilot had revealed that health care usage was diminished, wellness improved, workplace participation increased, educational achievement enhanced and policing challenges diluted, how much would that have been worth? Do the Ford Nation Conservatives even care to find out? With the project already 15 months old, MacLeod said there will be ample results by the time we end up winding the program down. She would not reveal a date for the end but promised an unspecified lengthy and compassionate transition period. Earlier this week, she said it would continue in August, but Thursday said payouts would extend into September. The basic income pilot provided single participants $17,000 annually and couples $24,000 roughly double standard welfare rates to see if the money improved their odds of finding more lucrative employment and improved their housing, health and nutrition, while lowering the costly administrative burden of traditional welfare programs. Although some participants used the money to go back to college or university to boost their odds of rising out of poverty with good jobs, MacLeod branded the pilot program a disincentive to finding employment. It isnt providing the results that the province needs for the money that it would require, she said, adding reforms will be announced in November. The changes that we are going to make in the next 100 days are going to be able to lift people up, get more people back into the workforce, and to ensure those who are the most vulnerable receive the most support. AUSTIN, TEXASAlex Jones attorney Thursday sought to have his client removed from a defamation lawsuit brought by Marcel Fontaine, whose photo appeared on InfoWars.com the day of the February shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., erroneously identifying him as the alleged shooter. The allegations with respect to Mr. Jones are zero, Austin attorney Eric Taube told Travis County District Judge Scott Jenkins. They say he defamed Mr. Fontaine and he published something defamatory, Taube said. He published nothing. Taubes argument is that the decision to publish the photo on the InfoWars web site was made by Kit Daniels, a reporter for Free Speech Systems, LLC, which Taube said publishes the web site, but that Jones himself had no part in publishing the erroneous image and knew nothing about it beforehand. The posting was removed 13 hours later. Read more: Facebook temporarily bans Alex Jones over video posts Lawyers for neo-Nazi will defend conspiracy theorist Alex Jones in Sandy Hook case Opinion | Free speech fear-mongering is the elite equivalent of Its OK to be white posters Jones, InfoWars LLC, Free Speech Systems LLC, and Daniels are all named in the million-dollar defamation lawsuit brought by Houston attorney Mark Bankston on behalf of Fontaine. Taube, who is representing all the named parties, is seeking to have the case dismissed, but, short of that, he is trying to remove Jones and InfoWars LLC from liability. Taube contended that Fred Zipp, in an affidavit on behalf of the plaintiffs, misidentified Daniels as an employee of InfoWars, instead of Free Speech Systems. Zipp, a former editor of The Austin American-Statesman, did a study of the journalistic ethics employed or not employed in the publication of the photo, and concluded that the image of Fontaine, which was taken from an anonymous posting on 4chan, a site well-known for its trolling and hoaxes, was published with reckless disregard for falsity. Asked by Jenkins who exactly Free Speech Systems is, Taube, who has represented Jones in the past, said, I believe Mr. Jones may own it, but that Bankston had not done his due diligence to get that or precisely who InfoWars LLC is in the record. Bankston, in reply, produced a terms of service document, which seemed to tie InfoWars LLC to InfoWars.com, though he acknowledged, I dont know whats behind the curtains at InfoWars, and Taube said Bankstons evidence was ambiguous. Jenkins asked Taube if Jones was not the decider for InfoWars, and InfoWars controls the web site. There is no evidence of it, Taube said. Jenkins will render a decision on whether to dismiss the case against any or all of the defendants within 30 days of receiving any remaining documents in the case. Immigrant fathers formerly separated from their sons are on a hunger strike at a Texas detention center, advocates said, apparently to seek release from government custody and authorization to remain in the U.S. The hunger and activity strike at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility near San Antonio started on Wednesday, and more families joined on Thursday, according to the Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services, a local advocacy group which has been in contact with dozens of detainees there in recent days. Leticia Zamarripa, a spokeswoman for ICE, disputed the account, saying a group of fewer than 50 fathers and children staged a brief sit-in on Thursday but there has been no mass protest or hunger strike. Zamarripa said in an emailed statement that the protesters dispersed after an ICE supervisor explained immigration processes to address concerns they had raised about their cases. But Jennifer Falcon, communications director for the immigrant advocacy group, said about 300 men and 300 boys are participating in an ongoing protest, with adults not eating or drinking and children declining to participate in school activities. Zamarripa said the facilitys school has had no unusual absences. Read more: Employee at Phoenix migrant childrens shelter charged with sexual abuse of a 14-year-old girl Analysis | Facing broad backlash for separating children, Trump digs in and lies Retired lieutenant-general Romeo Dallaire blasts Trump administration for taking children from their parents at border Conditions at the facility couldnt be independently verified because ICE hasnt granted the media access to the facility. The immigrant advocacy group distributed a letter it said was written by a father identified only as Jorge held at the facility. We are desperate, we are tired of being incarcerated and we want to be released with our sons, Jorge wrote in the letter, dated July 31. He said he wrote to let the media know the unfairness we separated fathers are going through. The families are among more than 2,500 that were separated earlier this year after illegally crossing the U.S. border with Mexico under the Trump administrations zero tolerance immigration enforcement policy. Under pressure, President Donald Trump ended the family separation program with a mid-June executive order. The men on the hunger strike are asking to be released with their children and allowed to stay in the U.S. The families do not deserve to be deported after their suffering, Jorge wrote in the letter. The hunger strikers are being held at Karnes County Residential Center, one of ICEs three family detention facilities. Its run by the GEO Group, an operator of private corrections and detention facilities in the U.S. and other countries. Advocates for the detainees said they dont know why families are being held at Karnes while others have been released. There seems to be no rhyme or reason as to why these people were detained and others were released, said Manoj Govindaiah, the groups director of family detention services. At least some of the detainees signed English-language documents agreeing to be deported. Theyve since told attorneys that they thought the documents were to gain the return of their children, Falcon said. These and other reunified families havent been deported because of a July 16 order from U.S. District Judge Dana Sabraw pausing the deportations of recently reunified families, amid concerns from the American Civil Liberties Union that parents signed deportation agreements they didnt understand. A nearby ICE facility that the advocacy group estimated is holding about 100 reunified women and their children, the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, is also facing increased scrutiny. An immigration lawyers group said on Wednesday that a young child allegedly died shortly after release from the center. Gregory Chen, director of government relations at the American Immigration Lawyers Association, said the group had confirmed that a toddler died soon after being released from government custody in the Dilley center, but had no other information about the child. Read more about: Its a Benjamin Marshall building, so it has great architectural prominence, Rutledge said. When we bought the building it had been sitting empty and it had been exposed to the Chicago weather, so it was definitely in bad shape. We had to do some structural reinforcements and augment the foundation, and the terra cotta facade was completely falling apart. HODEIDA, YEMENWarplanes of the Saudi-led coalition fired more than two dozen missiles into this rebel-held Yemeni port city Thursday, hitting the fish market, the entrance to the main hospital and a security compound in an attack that killed at least 30 people, medical workers said. The missile strikes, which were an escalation of the conflict, came after a week of tensions in which Saudi Arabia accused its Yemeni adversaries, the Houthi rebels who occupy Hodeida, of attacking a Saudi oil vessel in a Red Sea shipping lane. At the same time, aid agencies sharpened criticism of the Saudi coalition over civilian suffering in the city, which the coalition has been threatening to invade for months. Hours after the missile strikes, the United Nations special representative for Yemen briefed the U.N.s Security Council in New York about a possible renewal of peace talks in the country, which the U.N. has declared the scene of the worlds worst humanitarian disaster. Yemeni political factions and militias have been fighting for control of Yemen, the Arab worlds poorest country, since power-sharing talks collapsed in 2015 and the Houthis ousted the internationally backed government of President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi. Since then, fighting has devolved into proxy warfare, with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates arming and fighting alongside a disparate group of Islamist, tribal and regional militias against the Houthis, who control Sanaa, the capital, as well as Hodeida and their ancestral territories along the Saudi border. The Saudis and their allies have accused Iran of aiding the Houthis. Iran has denounced the Saudi-led coalition for the loss of life and destruction in Yemen but denies it is arming the Houthis, despite evidence that the rebels are using Iranian weaponry such as missiles. In June, the Saudi and Emirati governments launched the battle for control of Hodeida in an effort to tip the balance of power against the Houthis. The Saudi-led coalition ignored a resounding diplomatic outcry over concern for the safety of the citys 600,000 residents and the possibility that the fighting could disrupt supply lines for urgent humanitarian assistance to millions of others in Yemen. Aid arriving in the Red Sea port accounts for about 70 per cent of imports in Yemen, a country where two-thirds of the 29-million people rely on international aid. Less than a month later, the coalition halted the Hodeida ground assault as it faced the hard realities of urban warfare and little progress. Instead the Saudis and Emiratis said they would support U.N. efforts to find a political solution, as well as a possible formula for a wider cease-fire. Martin Griffiths, the U.N. special envoy, offered a grim progress report to Security Council members. Recently, and despite all our efforts, the pace of war has increased, he said, with Hodeida becoming the center of gravity for the conflict. Since the assault on Hodeida started, more than 330,000 people, approximately half the citys inhabitants, have fled, according to the U.N. Griffiths said he planned to invite the warring sides to Geneva on Sept. 6 for a first round of consultations aimed at convening peace talks. The plan is to discuss a framework of negotiations and specific plans for moving the process forward, he said. Thursday afternoon, however, the Arab coalitions aerial forces were pounding several neighborhoods of Hodeida, according to residents and aid workers. Shortly after 4 p.m., bombs hit the citys crowded fish market, about 200 yards from Al Thawrah Public Hospital. Medics rushed to the scene trying to save lives, but then about 30 minutes later another strike rocked the street in front of the hospital, where the wounded had been transported from the market. By nightfall, medics reported that at least 30 people had been killed and that dozens were in critical condition. Sanitation workers tried to clean the targeted areas of blood and body parts. Missiles also struck security facilities controlled by the Houthis, which like the fish market is a few hundred yards from the hospital. The missile strikes on Thursday were the most intense in a series of Saudi-led aerial attacks over the past week. Earlier attacks hit targets near a reproductive health center and a public laboratory in Hodeida, and a water station and sanitation plant that supplies much of the water to the port city, according to U.N. relief agencies. For weeks, weve been doing everything possible to help hundreds of thousands of people living in and near Hodeida, Lise Grande, the U.N. humanitarian coordinator for Yemen, said in a statement. These airstrikes are putting innocent civilians at extreme risk. Save the Children, which runs a diphtheria clinic at Al Thawrah Public Hospital, the largest government hospital in the city, criticized the targeting of heavily populated civilian areas. Were seriously concerned that the area is simply not safe for civilians and that people seeking help at the hospital may not be safe, said Tamer Kirolos, the aid agencys country director. Read more about: SAN FRANCISCOA deadly Northern California wildfire burned so hot in dry and windy conditions that it birthed a record-breaking tornado of flame, officials said Friday. They also warned of worsening conditions throughout the region. Winds in the fire whirl created July 26 near Redding reached speeds of 230 km/h, a speed that rivalled some of the most destructive Midwest tornadoes, National Weather Service meteorologist Duane Dykema said. The whirl uprooted trees and tore roofs from homes, Dykema said. The whirl measured a 3 on the five-level Enhanced Fujita scale, which scientists use to classify the strength of tornadoes, he said. California has not recorded a tornado of that strength since 1978. That fire continues to burn about 160 kilometres south of the Oregon border as firefighters there and throughout Northern California brace for worsening conditions this weekend. The weather service issued warnings for critical fire weather conditions into Saturday, saying a series of dry low-pressure systems passing through the region would bring afternoon wind gusts. This is a particularly dangerous situation with extremely low humidity and high winds. New fires will grow rapidly out of control, in some cases people may not be able to evacuate safely in time should a fire approach, the weather service said in its bulletin for the Mendocino area north of San Francisco. Forecasters said areas with the highest threat include the massive blaze near Redding and two fires burning next to each other around Clearlake about 160 kilometres north of San Francisco. The Redding fire has grown to 533-square-kilometre and has destroyed 1,060 homes and many other structures. Two firefighters and four other people have been killed since the blaze, which ignited July 23, raced with extraordinary fury toward the regions largest city. More than 1,300 homes remained threatened. Wildfires typically create whirls but rarely of the strength of the one recorded July 26, Dykema said. Whirls are created when hot air rises and twists tightly, he said. The hotter the fire, the faster the air rises and the tighter it twists until it takes off as a tornado. To the southwest of Redding, new evacuations were ordered late Thursday at the Mendocino Complex, where twin fires have ravaged a combined 621 square kilometres, destroyed 41 residences and threatened 9,200 homes. The combined fires have prompted about 15,000 people to evacuate their homes. California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection spokeswoman Jane LaBoa said wildfire remains several miles from the evacuated communities along the Eastern Shore of Clear Lake, about 160 kilometres northwest of Sacramento. But she said trajectory and the weather forecast prompted officials to evacuate the communities Friday out of an abundance of caution. It looks like theres dicey weather on the way, LaBoa said. The wildfire has grown to 280 square kilometres and is a few miles from connecting with a second blaze that has grown to 105 square kilometres. The twin fires have destroyed 41 homes. In Sierra Nevada, firefighters achieved 41-per-cent containment of a 298-square-kilometre forest fire that has shut down Yosemite Valley and other adjacent portions of Yosemite National Park at what is normally the height of summer tourism. The fire has reached into remote areas of the countrys third-oldest national park. Workers who live in Yosemites popular Valley region were ordered to leave Friday because of inaccessible roads. The fire also killed two firefighters. A new report says the first firefighter, a California bulldozer operator, nearly slipped off a steep mountain trail three times before his vehicle finally rolled into a ravine and fatally crushed him. Each earlier slip alone qualified as a near miss warning that the century-old mining trail could collapse, according to the Department of Forestry and Fire Protections preliminary report. Braden Varney, 36, was working alone overnight July 14 fighting the wildfire while his assistant went to get a new hydraulic hose. Varneys radio wasnt communicating with headquarters, so his assistant relayed messages until they lost contact. The report says the death of the 10-year veteran highlights the need for better risk assessment, communication and supervision. Officials have not said how the other three firefighters died fighting blazes near Yosemite and Redding. Read more about: LAS VEGASMore than 10 months after the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history, police say they are closing their investigation without answering the key question: What drove a gunman to unleash a hail of gunfire that killed 58 people and wounded hundreds more? But authorities say after hundreds of interviews and thousands of hours of investigative work, they are confident there is no evidence of a conspiracy or a second gunman. Stephen Paddock was an unremarkable man who showed signs of a troubled mind leading up to the Oct. 1 shooting on the Las Vegas Strip, Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo said Friday. He also was a reclusive, high-stakes gambler who spent more than $1 million (U.S.) in the year leading up to the shooting. What we have been able to answer are the questions of who, what, when, where and how, Lombardo said. What we have not been able to definitively answer is ... why Stephen Paddock committed this act. Paddock, who fired across Las Vegas Boulevard from a room on the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay hotel into a concert crowd of 22,000 people, was the only gunman, the sheriff said. With the closure of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Departments 10-month investigation, no one else will be charged in connection with the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history, he said. Read more: Theres a shooter!: Body-cam video shows officers passing unaware casino-goers during Vegas shooting Families of each person killed in Las Vegas shooting to get $275K Police body-camera video shows guns in Las Vegas shooters hotel room Earlier this year, federal prosecutors brought criminal charges against a man who they say sold illegal armour-piercing bullets that were found in Paddocks room. Douglas Haig has pleaded not guilty and maintains he sold tracer ammunition, which illuminate a bullets path. Paddock didnt leave a manifesto or even a note to answer questions about his motive, Lombardo said. Today it is still incredibly difficult to try to comprehend this senseless act of violence, he said. Interviews with Paddocks doctor indicated he had a troubled mind but displayed no behaviour leading up to the shooting that would have prompted someone to alert police, the sheriff said. One of the gunmans brothers, Bruce Paddock, told investigators he had not spoken with his sibling for more than 10 years but believed he suffered from mental illness and was paranoid and delusional, according to a final report on the investigation. He also said he didnt believe his brother was a violent person or abused drugs or alcohol. Bruce Paddock speculated his brother wouldve had to be very pissed off to carry out a violent attack, the report states. The report also included a summary of 14 of Paddocks bank accounts, which contained a total of $2.1 million in September 2015. By September 2017, the amount in the accounts had dropped to $530,000. Lombardo said Paddock wasnt as successful in the gambling as he was in the previous years. Investigators said over $600,000 had been paid to casinos and over $170,000 was paid to credit card companies. The analysis said Paddock also made nearly $95,000 in firearms-related purchases. Police have released 13 batches of investigative documents, 911 audio, police reports, witness statements and video over the last three months. They have illustrated chaos, heartbreak and heroism from police, first-responders, concert-goers and more. Body camera recordings made public earlier showed officers using explosives to blast through the door of a 32nd floor hotel suite to find Paddock dead on the floor from a self-inflicted gunshot. Assault-style weapons fitted with rapid-fire bump stock devices were strewn about the suite. The FBIs Behavioral Analysis Unit is expected to release a psychological profile of the gunman later this year, Lombardo said, noting authorities want to leave no stone unturned in the case. He said the department is still conducting internal reviews into individual officers actions on Oct. 1, including one veteran officer who froze in a hallway of the Mandalay Bay a floor below where Paddock was firing on the crowd, according to a police report and body camera footage. Officer Cordell Hendrex acknowledged in a written police report that he was terrified with fear, and said, I froze right there in the middle of the hall for how long I cant say, he wrote. Body camera video shows Hendrex, a rookie officer and three Mandalay Bay security officers waiting in the hallway for about five minutes before moving to a stairwell toward the 32nd floor, where they remained for at least 15 minutes. Officials have said the attack had no link to terrorism, but hotel owner MGM Resorts International last month invoked a provision of a federal law enacted after the Sept. 11 terror attacks. The company wants federal courts to qualify the shooting as an act of terrorism and to declare the company has no liability to survivors or families of slain victims. BEIJINGRelatives of Chinese passengers who were aboard missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 said Friday they refuse to accept the latest report on the planes disappearance four years ago and demand the search be restarted. About 100 relatives gathered in Beijing to hear chief investigator Kok Soo Chon discuss the report prepared by a 19-member international team. It reiterated Malaysias assertion that the plane was deliberately diverted and flown for over seven hours after severing communications. But it said the cause of the disappearance cannot be determined until the wreckage and the planes black boxes are found. Some relatives held up banners and chanted that they would never give up before seeing our next of kin. Chinese citizens made up 152 of the 227 passengers on board the March 8, 2014, flight from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to Beijing. Twelve crew members were also on the plane. Read more: Missing Flight MH370 was possibly manipulated off course by a third party, report says Four-year search for Malaysia Flight 370 to end, leaving an unsolved mystery Netherlands, Australia hold Russia liable for downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 Jiang Hui, whose mother was aboard the flight, said she was unhappy with the reports methods. As we see it, this is not a sufficient report in respects to the conclusions, the details of the information, and the measures and technical tools that Malaysia applied, as well as the way Malaysia implemented their obligations, Jiang said. Wen Wancheng, whose son and grandson were on the plane, said Malaysia should appoint a new investigative team, while Li Eryou, whose son was aboard the flight, said the Chinese government also owed the relatives an explanation as to what happened. They echoed the complaints of some Malaysian relatives, who argued that the scope of the safety investigation was too limited, depended too much on information supplied to the investigators by other parties rather than on their own probe, and didnt discuss the scope of the searches. The report said there was no evidence of abnormal behaviour or stress in the two pilots that could lead them to hijack the plane but all passengers were also cleared by police and had no pilot training. However, it also did not rule out unlawful interference by a third party, such as someone holding the pilots hostage, although no evidence has been found to support such a possibility. The investigation showed lapses by air traffic control, including a failure to swiftly initiate an emergency response and monitor radar continuously, relying too much on information from Malaysia Airlines and not getting in touch with the military for help. Malaysias government has said it is open to resume searching if credible evidence of the planes location emerges. Read more about: KABULTwo suicide bombers attacked a Shiite mosque in eastern Afghanistan during Friday prayers, killing at least 29 people and wounding another 81, officials said. Abdullah Asrat, spokesperson for the governor of Paktia province, said the heavily armed attackers, disguised in the all-encompassing burqas worn by conservative Afghan women, opened fire on private security guards outside the mosque in the city of Gardez. Then they slipped inside and set off their explosives among around 100 worshippers. Five of the seriously wounded were small children, he said. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but a Daesh (also known as ISIS or ISIL) affiliate in Afghanistan has targeted Shiite worshippers in the past. The group has also warned Afghanistans minority Shiites that their houses of worship would be targeted. Syed Sufi Gardezi, the most senior Shiite cleric in Gardez, put the death toll at 30. He described a scene of panic and distress outside the Imam-e-Zaman mosque as news of the explosion spread and relatives gathered. Gardezi said the wounded were screaming for help and body parts of the dead were scattered throughout the single story mosque. The dead were all men and boys, he said. Read more: Afghanistans vice-president escapes deadly suicide blast in Kabul Suicide blast outside polling station kills 31 as Pakistan holds general elections Dr. Mohammad Wali Roshan, a physician at a local hospital, said some of the relatives, armed with sticks and guns, were furious at the lack of security and began beating people, even medical personnel who arrived to help the wounded. They were shouting that there was no security and screaming for their loved ones, he told The Associated Press in a telephone interview. Gardezi blamed the Daesh affiliate. He said the Taliban have a strong presence in the area but have never attacked Shiites in the past and have never threatened them. Both the Taliban and Daesh are made up of radical Sunni Muslims who want to overthrow the Western-backed government and impose a harsh form of Islamic law. But they are fiercely divided over leadership, ideology and tactics, and have clashed on a number of occasions. Daesh views Shiites as apostates deserving of death. In the last two years, Daesh has attacked 24 Shiite cultural centres, mosques and schools, said Mohammad Jawad Ghawary, a member of the Shiite cleric council. In Afghanistan they are the biggest threat for Shiites, he said. He called on the Afghan government and the international community to do more to protect Shiites. Read more about: COPENHAGENThe Swedish prosecutor in charge of investigating whether police committed an error when fatally shooting a 20-year-old man with a disability who waved a toy gun, said Friday that it has emerged that several officers opened fire. The man held a weapon-like object and officers opened fire after judging the situation as threatening, Martin Tiden said, adding that the probe was routine because policemen had used their firearms. No police officers are suspected of foul play, he said. Eric Torell was shot early Thursday morning in Stockholm and died of his wounds shortly after. It has subsequently been established that the object was some kind of toy, Tiden said, and more than one police officer made use of his firearm. Torells mother Katarina Soderberg told the Expressen newspaper that her son was the worlds sweetest and most lovable person.Soderberg said that Torell, who had Down Syndrome and autism and struggled to communicate, had been reported missing after leaving home hours earlier. He could barely speak, he could just say mommy, mommy, Soderberg told the Expressen tabloid on Thursday. She said the plastic toy resembled a submachine gun. Swedish police acknowledged the shooting and said an investigation into possible police misconduct has been initiated, but gave no further details. Stockholm police chief Ulf Johansson on Friday called the shooting a terrible event. It is very tragic for all those involved, and I have a great understanding and respect that what has happened has awoken many distraught feelings, Johansson said in a separate statement. Tiden could not say how long the investigation would last. HARARE, ZIMBABWEThe two news conferences embodied Zimbabwes bitter political divisions: Riot police unsuccessfully tried to scuttle an appearance in a hotel garden by the opposition leader who said the countrys election was a fraud, while the president spoke about a flowering of freedom and bipartisan unity from a red carpet in an elegant State House building. Fridays dueling narratives unfolded a day after the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission said President Emmerson Mnangagwa won the first election without Robert Mugabe on the ballot, ending a tumultuous week that began with optimistic scenes of peaceful voting, turned ugly with a deadly crackdown by soldiers in Harare, and ended with the prospect of a legal challenge over the result. The vast majority of Zimbabweans want to escape the debilitating legacy of Mugabe, whose early promise as leader after independence from white minority rule in 1980 gave way to repression, economic paralysis and a string of elections marred by violence and rigging allegations. The events at the end of the week suggested that Zimbabwe is conflicted, clinging to old habits even as it tries to forge a more open future. Police with helmets, shields and clubs surged into a hotel garden where dozens of journalists were waiting for a news conference by opposition leader Nelson Chamisa. They ordered everyone to leave and scuffled with some videographers and others who were reluctant to move and peppered the police commander with comments like: What law has been broken? Weve been threatened by your officers. Under international media scrutiny, the police eventually withdrew and a senior official from the ruling ZANU-PF party arrived to make amends, declaring above the heckles of opposition supporters that the news conference should proceed. Margaret Jay, an election observer representing the Commonwealth group of nations, said the police action was another example of the excessive use of force in political situations by Zimbabwean authorities. On Wednesday, soldiers used live rounds to disperse opposition protesters, some of whom were throwing stones and damaging property in downtown Harare. Six people were killed. When Chamisa arrived for his news conference, he condemned the killings and said authorities should be held accountable. He accused the government of raiding his party headquarters in a failed attempt to confiscate evidence of vote-rigging and promised to pursue all legal and constitutional routes to nullify Mnangagwas election win. We are not accepting this fiction, said Chamisa, a 40-year-old lawyer and pastor who heads the Movement for Democratic Change party. We want a proper result to be announced. Mnangagwa, 75, a former deputy president whose falling out with Mugabe hastened the former leaders ouster, received 50.8 per cent of the vote while Chamisa received 44.3 per cent, according to election officials. Chamisa, however, said the oppositions own count showed that he won and said his party would release evidence of vote-rigging at an appropriate time. International election monitors have praised the freer political environment that led up to the election, in which the ruling party won a majority in parliament. However, they have also pointed out problems with the printing of ballot papers, the late release of voting rolls and the use of state media to promote the ruling partys campaign. In a scene contrasting with the melee at Chamisas event, Mnangagwa made conciliatory remarks in an appearance at his offices amid the clipped lawns of the presidential State House complex. Wearing a scarf with the national colours over his suit, the president said there had been a flowering of freedom and democracy since 94-year-old Mugabes resignation in November, which followed a military takeover, pressure from his own ruling party to quit and large demonstrations. Mnangagwa said the election was free and fair and appealed to Chamisa for unity, while also saying the opposition leader was entitled to air his grievances in court. You have a crucial role to play in Zimbabwes present and its unfolding future, he said. Let us both call for peace and unity in our land. He said the violence in Harare on Wednesday was unfortunate and that the military intervened to save lives after police were overwhelmed by rioters. Mnangagwa, who is close to the military, said he wants an independent investigation of the unrest. It was dusk when the news conference ended. The president walked past two stuffed lions and onto a lawn where he posed for selfies with jostling journalists. The definition of affordable depends who youre asking, Mayor John Tory told my colleague Jennifer Pagliaro last month. How true. For someone like Drake, whose profile among the citys wealthiest citizens is high, a bungalow on the Bridle Path at $6.7 million is quite an affordable spot to bulldoze and start building anew, all the better to accommodate a second sauna and an indoor pool. For someone else say, someone on the Ontario Disability Support Program whose total income is lower than the average rent on a studio apartment and who just saw their projected benefits cut the $6 you have to pay to get a Presto card in order to use it on the TTC could blow a hole in the monthly budget. The definition depends on who youre asking. But if you ask Torontonians, whatever affordable defines, the concept is a core election issue. In a poll last month conducted by Forum research for the Star, Torontonians selected it as the most pressing issue facing the city. Read more: Jennifer Keesmaats critics told her to take her ideas to voters. Now shes running for mayor Mayor John Tory pledges to keep property tax increases at or below inflation Megacity fight against province left legal lessons for city of Toronto More people selected it from a broad list of topics than other hot-button topics like traffic gridlock and public transit, social housing, and traffic safety. Both of the high-profile candidates for mayor seem to be aware of how important affordability is to people here. Jennifer Keesmaat mentioned it in her very first, short statement after registering to run. Tory has made the word an emphasis point in his re-election campaign. In fact, Tory held a campaign news conference this week among the very first of this election that he said was going to address keeping Toronto affordable. At that news conference, his big reveal was that he promised to keep property tax increases at or below the rate of inflation. This was his banner affordability promise in his 2014 campaign, too. Which is pretty much the weakest of weak sauce. I mean, as the man says, it depends on who you are asking. But when we asked Torontonians in that Forum poll, only six per cent said property tax rates were their big issue fewer than said traffic safety or social housing. And if you ask me, a homeowner with three children who has been paying close professional attention to this city and its politics, property tax rates are among the least of my concerns. Property tax rates went up 2.1 per cent this year $81 per year for the average homeowner. $81 per year. Meanwhile, the average monthly rent on a one-bedroom apartment in this city is now over $2,000, an increase of more than 15 per cent in one year. The average price of a house is almost a million bucks. Subsidized housing for the poor? If you dont already live in it, forget about it: the waiting list is over 92,000 names long. Toddler child care in Toronto costs more than $1,700 per month. A transit pass costs $146.25. a month. Car insurance rates are averaging more than $1,700 per vehicle per year. User fees for city-run programs have gone up and up and up for years on end. Hell, if you buy an average-priced house in Toronto right now, you write a cheque for $31,494 in land transfer taxes and half of that, more than $15,000, goes to the city. People get obsessed with property tax bills, its true. But if were talking about actual affordability in the city, the difference between $80 per year more and $120 per year more is not as decisive a factor in most peoples budgets as hundreds of other expenses. If your banner promise to address my household budget will save me 76 cents per week, youre well below rummaging-around-in-recycling-bins-for-returnables territory. Which isnt to say taxes should be somehow cut further. I dont think they should be. And neither, very recently in his time as mayor, did Tory. He has talked about desperately needing more money to provide good services in the city. He increased property taxes beyond inflation to establish an infrastructure fund. He introduced a new hotel tax. He quietly increased land transfer taxes by harmonizing them with the provinces. He dramatically raised garbage and water rates. He proposed tolls on the citys highways and screamed until he was blue in the face about the province spiking his plan. (Incidentally, he and others should be prepared: the new provincial government is likely to drive a lot more spikes into the revenue plans of Toronto mayors.) Mayor John Tory has acknowledged, in ways candidate John Tory hasnt always, that the city needs revenue. Just not from property tax increases. Its a bizarre place to draw a line in the sand. But I guess it depends on who youre asking. The point is not that taxes should be cut, or lowered, or kept the same. The city needs money to do its job which includes making the city more affordable for residents. The point is that the tax rates, especially property tax rates, arent a particularly useful tool for making the city more affordable, one way or the other. And what about his opponent? Keesmaat has talked a bit about ways to create new affordable housing, but the outline of her platform has barely started to become visible in the few interviews shes given since declaring her candidacy. Shes been in the race for only a week, and taking her at her word that the decision to run, inspired by dramatic current events, happened only a week ago, perhaps she has a few days grace on sketching in the details of that outline. But those few days are expiring. Shes been around city hall for years, and is presenting herself as the best choice to lead it. Its time to start showing us her plan. We have a couple of months before the election. The people of the city and both big-name candidates say they want affordability to be a major issue. The problem is big, complicated and not easy to address. But it can be addressed in many different ways. How effective, and how attractive might those ways be? It depends on who youre asking. Im asking the candidates: If affordability is important to you, what are you prepared to do about it? Read more about: For years I resisted the lure of secession, the arguments that Toronto should go it alone and secede from the province of Ontario. I am now prepared to flirt with the idea and to listen, seriously, to the cries of the aggrieved. They will never love my city. They live in it, but are not of it. Instinctively they recoil from its urbanity and diversity mouthing platitudes about home to the world but rejecting the world of accommodations and compromises essential to making the experiment work. I slept with, if not cohabited with, the amalgamators two decades ago a last desperate stab to save the union. Surely, in time, the good citizens of North York, Scarborough and Etobicoke could see the obvious that Toronto from the Rouge River to Etobicoke Creek was one city capable of functioning efficiently under one government. In many ways, the conurbation stretched beyond those boundaries to encompass postal codes and political wards from Burlington to Clarington and up to Barrie. The guys and gals on my touch football teams travel from such municipalities every week for games in Pickering or Mississauga or Markham. We are one functional city region. But, practically speaking, any government entity engulfing such a wide boundary would require too many civic creations to ensure local community participation on the tiny municipal matters that citizens care about. Share your thoughts So, one really super GTA city was to be the fight of the next half century. There were enough battles afoot just to get neighbours on the eastern side of Victoria Park amenable to sharing government with those to the west of the traditional city boundary. Twenty years of amalgamated Toronto has failed to significantly alter the suburban sensibilities. North Yorkers, the most urbanized of the suburbs, are the least conflicted with the megacity. Scarborough behaves like an alien ally constantly hunting out differences where partners would see similarities. Etobicoke? Thats simply a foreign land. I have argued that by association East York, Etobicoke, North York, Scarborough, York and Toronto we would assimilate; and that the urban ethos of the big city would seep into the suburbs and one great metropolis would emerge. After all, the social services network developed across the metropolitan region despite cries against a simple thing like the right to locate group home for our citizens in any municipality. We have one police and fire and transit department. But progress comes from pulling-teeth effort. Even when the suburbs are being gifted superior service, like the LRT to Etobicoke or Scarborough, craven councillors paint it as inferior and whip up anti-Toronto sentiment. Bike lanes are too often greeted with contempt. Its no coincidence that it is Etobicoke that has produced the Fords a chaotic family that tramples on every remnant of decency and convention even as they profess to act on behalf of the people. Etobicoke, based on the political representatives it has sent to city hall, is all about limited government, rugged individualism and no taxes. They are allergic to spending tax dollars. And this means if you need community support or a hand up, better to move east to Toronto. It is so easy to lap up the slop offered by the premier. Who doesnt want to believe that politicians not just yours, but everyones are scoundrels to be trundled out of town? So he disparages Toronto city council as the most dysfunctional government in the country this from a man who was sidekick to his brother as Rob Ford made Toronto the laughingstock of the world and a staple on the American late night talk show circuit. Who are the clowns the city councillors, who held the government together, or the Fords, who brought it to its knees? Now, one of the architects of that four years of hell and disruption and lost transit opportunity looks us in the eye, Trumpian as ever, and tells us the opposite of what exists at city council. And we eat it up. And accept his dismissal of half our city council as a bunch of downtown Toronto councillors. Read more: Opinion | Shawn Micallef: Strong local democracy is worth fighting for Opinion | Edward Keenan: Affordability is the key issue in this election Megacity fight against province left legal lessons for city of Toronto To his base the city haters, the Toronto abusers, the Ontario residents who watch with jealousy every advance or progress or accolade or achievement from Toronto and smirk with every report of gun violence Toronto is best served when it is cut down to size. To the self-loathing citizens, nothing is sweeter than a fake advocate taking the belt to the enemy within. And to media too often more concerned about filing their stories by deadline it is detestable that you propagate the nonsense about nothing being done at city hall. I have argued with media colleagues for decades. Whats it to you or anyone that it takes four or eight days to debate an issue? There is not a single decision waiting today no transit line or pressing infrastructure project that is waiting because the 44 councillors took too much time or ran out of time to debate it. We are lucky if we get 11 council meetings a year. Each meeting, hundreds hundreds of items are approved. Besides, Toronto councillors did not attend a special school. They are just like the ones in Mississauga or Brockville; graduates of the same class as those in Fords cabinet and the provincial legislature. So, if they need to be cut down to size, then the Municipal Affairs Minister Steve Clark may want to look at his own town of Brockville. He is the lone MPP. The town has 22,000 people and eight city councillors. Thats one MPP per 22,000 people. And one councillor per less than 3,000. Toronto has one councillor per 60,000 people a ratio 20 times greater than Brockville. Ford will increase Torontos ratio to one for every 100,000 people while he leaves Brockville and every other municipality intact. Explanation? Brockville is not the hated city Ford wants to target in a vindictive swipe, payback for Toronto councillors holding his late brother to account. Whenever someone behaves badly like Ford has with this loathsome action against Toronto you learn more from watching the people who bend themselves out of shape to explain away the abomination, especially if those apologists are supposed to be your friends and defenders. You also learn much from the less-than-stellar defence proffered by those who oppose with meek words and weak actions. In that vein, former chief planner Jennifer Keesmaats 11th-hour candidacy for mayor is sign that Toronto has a pulse. In 1997, the city sustained a long and vigorous fight against amalgamation and lost. It would not be long before amalgamation supporters realized that the Progressive Conservative government had no interest in improving the city. The goal was to break it, and bring Toronto to its knees. It has taken 20 years to recover from the downloading of services, a debilitating companion piece to the amalgamation that sealed the citys fate and removed all pretence that the Ontario government had any intention of creating a nimble, prosperous city equipped to lead in the world. In spite of that evil design, Toronto has thrived. If Toronto survived amalgamation and downloading the twin devils of deception it can survive anything. The road to secession is long and bloody, especially for a city that cant even decide how many representatives it should have in its municipal government. But it may be time to start playing that tune. Decades hence, maybe 50 years, historians may look back and conclude this was the time Torontonians started fighting back. I have always thought our best future rested with a strong Toronto-centred region. The best way to ensure that may be a strong separatist counterforce that cannot be ignored. Royson James is a former Star reporter and freelance columnist based in Toronto. Follow him on Twitter: @roysonjames Read more about: VANCOUVEREmployees at B.C.s Catalyst pulp operations are reeling Friday after learning the U.S. Department of Commerce has upheld its decision to impose 20.26 per cent anti-dumping duties on their newsprint products. The duty amount is eight per cent lower than the department initially planned, but Catalyst and its employees hoped they would be removed entirely. The company adamantly denies accusations from North Pacific Paper Company (NORPAC) in Longview, Wash., that its injuring the American industry. Mike Rumley, president of Unifor Local 76, which represents workers at the Powell River mill location, said the tariffs spell uncertainty, especially for new employees. Were still in a bit of shock that they upheld and had the tariffs at all, he told The Star Friday. Weve got a lot of new people coming on now young families who want to move back to Powell River, Rumley said. Theyre coming into a very uncertain future off the bat. Catalyst CEO Ned Dwyer said the company has no plans to close its B.C. operations. He called the tariffs both punitive and unpopular in the U.S. and Canada, and said the International Trade Commission would be right to overturn them. This is damaging to the entire newspaper industry in the U.S., he said, since that industry has traditionally purchased newsprint from Canada. Were doing everything we can to protect the jobs and make sure we dont have any job losses as a result of this. That includes what Dwyer called a temporary fix of selling more products to foreign markets. Though the company has no imminent plans to close the B.C. mills, the province is already preparing for that eventuality. Premier John Horgan last week committed to supporting the pensions of Catalyst employees and retirees in the event of a shut down. Bruce Ralston, minister of Jobs, Trade and Technology Friday told the Star it was a necessary measure due to the fact that the companys pension obligations are still underfunded. But union leaders say the measures to help protect pensions though necessary wont make any difference to the workers they represent, or their job security. Workers unionized with Unifor and with Public and Private Workers of Canada have an independent pulp and paper pension plan, which is overfunded. Rumley said he thinks its important for his whole community that the pensions of non-unionized Catalyst employees be protected. But he also thinks more needs to be done for the struggling industry as a whole. The provincial and the federal government have to step up and push back from the bullying tactics by U.S. President Donald Trump, Rumley said. The priority for our members is to get some security. We can do everything we can and then with a stroke of the pen in the U.S. it all gets wiped out. Ralston said those conversations are ongoing. I agree with the unions that job security very much remains a live issue, he said. Senior officials in my ministry are working behind the scenes to see what we can do in terms of transitioning the company into a state where it will be profitable in the long run. Read more about: In April, as the newspaper prepared to move out, Los Angeles-based CIM and Chicagos Golub filed the suit in Cook County Circuit Court over rights to the sign. The developers said the newspaper had informed them that they planned to remove the sign and did not intend to sell it to the developers. Dear Abby: A number of years ago, it came out that my brother-in-law had raped and molested his two daughters and two granddaughters. It tore our family apart. Although my sister said she intended to divorce him, she never did. She also didnt report it so he was never convicted of the crime but we all, including my sister, knew it was true. Since then, my sister has disowned her daughters, my mother and me. She still interacts with her son and his family. Abby, how can we get past this? Our family was always close, and now this. The grief is killing me. Anguished in Arkansas Dear Anguished: It seems there was a conspiracy of silence in the family. Your sister dealt with her husbands crime by choosing to ignore that he is a sexual predator. That your sister has blamed his victims is beyond the pale. Your nieces and grand-nieces should talk with a licensed mental health professional about this, and so should you and your mom. Dear Abby: My boyfriend and I are in our 50s. We have lived together for two years. Hes retired. I work full time. We have a woman friend (married with kids) he sees almost daily during the summer at the swimming pool. Every day he says to her, What time will you be here? Ill be here around 10. See ya then. She brings him food occasionally while theyre there. (He hasnt told me, but I know she has.) Sometimes he can be in a foul mood, and all he wants is to go to the pool to relax. When we go, his eyes search for her and if/when he sees her, they light up and he gets a big smile on his face. When I pointed it out to him, he gave me the silent treatment for a couple of hours. Then he accused me of being jealous. We are in a committed relationship, but I find this threatening. Was I wrong to say what I did? Georgia Girl Dear Georgia Girl: No, but after he accused you of being jealous, what you should have told him was he was right, and that you wish his eyes would light up that way when he sees you. It appears your guy has developed a crush. If you handle it with humor, it will pass. However, if you dont, you will continue to make him feel defensive which is counterproductive so use a light touch. Dear Abby: Im a first-time writer to your column. Im mentally disabled, have MD (muscular dystrophy) and am diabetic. I take a lot of medication. When people ask me why I dont work or Where do you work? what should I say? My disabilities arent visible. Wendy in Pennsylvania Dear Wendy: You are not obligated to disclose your medical history to people you know casually. (If they knew you well, they wouldnt be asking those questions.) All you need to say is, You know, thats personal. If youll forgive me for not answering your question, Ill forgive you for asking. Then change the subject. The shuttle had wings, like a plane. His new spacecraft was a thimble-shaped capsule, far more difficult to control. In this particular test, he'd be facing a worst-case scenario: Every computer of the autonomous spacecraft would be out, meaning he'd have to fly it manually, hitting the atmosphere at Mach 25, or 25 times the speed of sound, then, somehow, bring it down for a soft landing. Two of the four NASA astronauts who had attempted it had failed, losing control of the spacecraft so that it tumbled, and Ferguson was eager to get in some extra practice. HARDIN The Calhoun County Sheriffs Office on Thursday reported via Facebook that on Tuesday, July 31, Steven Patrick Joslin, 30, from Foley, Missouri, pleaded guilty in Calhoun County Circuit Court to charges of burglary and possession of a stolen vehicle, both Class 2 felonies, and was sentenced to 10 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections, along with a total of $2,274 in fines and fees. This includes restitution to the victims. The charges were the result of an incident that was investigated by Sheriff Bill Heffington and CCSO Deputies on Friday Jan. 26, the report states. JERSEYVILLE Recent felony charges filed by the Jersey County States Attorneys Office include: Julianna M. McCarthy, 30, of the 24700 block of Franklin, Dow, was charged July 30 with unlawful possession of controlled substance, a Class 4 felony; and theft, a Class A misdemeanor, after an incident July 29. Bail was set at $5,000. ALTON A crane operator deftly guided, then dropped a photograph-laden obelisk onto a shiny black granite base Thursday morning, putting Western Military Academys pictorial history back in place. Hold on, hold on youre on, shouted Bryan Lang, of Plasti-Lite Signs of St. Louis, to co-worker Bob Stephens, who was maneuvering the crane. Lang was standing on a ladder under the cranes long line and hook next to the obelisk on the WMA Memorial Site plaza at Mississippi Valley Christian School, 2009 Seminary St. The 10:25 a.m. installation success prompted David Thomas, of Dave Thomas Design of Edwardsville, to applaud in approval. Thomas fabricated a replacement, wood-epoxy composite panel from the original design that iZone Imaging of Waco, Texas, used to make the four-panel monument five years ago. Inlandesign of Edwardsville designed the panels, which are filled with reproductions of old pictures of academy students, their activities, daily life and notable alumni and events. The school opened as Wyman Institute in 1879, changing to the military academy in 1895 and closing in 1971. Next, Lang cradled the new eagle statue under his right arm as he rode in the boom trucks cherry picker, rising above the obelisk and setting the bird perched on a ball and pyramid on top of the obelisk at 11 a.m. The eagle faces west, away from the school building. In total, the structure measures about 12 feet tall. Im thrilled, Im ecstatic, its been a long process going through the proper channels, said Michael Doucleff of Alton, chairman of the citizens Western Military Academy Memorial Site Committee. The group initiated the memorial project and raised funds for the monument. Dedication was in May 2013. Constantly, people come by and want to observe or read about Western Military Academy, said Doucleff, who graduated from the school in 1963. It is great for the city of Alton to memorialize this site. The mini-park is set apart from school property on a city easement that contains the monument, engraved commemorative paver plaza, towering flag pole and plaque. Recently the area got fresh landscaping, including flowers and bushes, from Brad Gwaltney of Professional Landscaping Inc. of Wood River. Installation of the newly repaired obelisk, then the more sturdy replacement eagle topper and replacement plaque nearby listing WMA alumni who were killed in World War I and wars that followed was nearly 10 months in the making. On Oct. 9, 2017, an adjacent, massive tree toppled in a storm, landing on the monument and plaque. The obelisk then fell, twisting a support nail on the base. Fortunately, only one of its panels illustrating history of the former military preparatory school was damaged. The fiberglass composite eagle on top, though, was badly damaged and the plaque of war dead split in half under weight of the tree. An ornate, metal welcoming arch for Mississippi Valley Christian School that connected two brick columns at the entrance also was destroyed. Its a miracle it didnt have more damage than it did, Thomas said. This time, the obelisk is more sturdy. The inside is all aluminum, it probably weighs 400 pounds. I felt ill, we put so much into getting it out here, said Charles CB Jackson of Godfrey, a 1968 graduate of the school and member of the committee when he learned of the damage. The citys insurance carrier paid for the $15,361 restoration work, with the committee covering the $500 deductible. Mississippi Valley Christian School plans to file an insurance claim with the city to replace the archway, said the Rev. Alan Waddell of First Baptist Church of Godfrey, which owns the school and property. The obelisk went back into place with one panel temporarily removed so workers could get inside to affix the now, reinforced structure onto the base. Jackson had dropped in a penny five years ago, which disappeared in the storm, with Doucleff adding a new coin before the final panel went up Thursday to seal the structure. Mayors Brant Walker of Alton and Mike McCormick of Godfrey were on hand to see the start of the installation project, as was Waddell, who has been in the Alton area for a month. Its a plus, its attractive, Waddell said of the memorial area just inside school property off Seminary Street that draws visitors and is site of a yearly reunion. I think it is very positive. It helps us have a good light in the community; it is patriotic. I think the history of Western Military Academy helps us build relationships within the community. It can be nothing but positive. Jacksons tie is stronger than just being an alumnus. His great-grandfather was superintendent of Wyman Institute when it changed to WMA, and his grandfather and uncle also were superintendents. Among notable WMA alumni were Gen. Paul Tibbets, Class of 1933, who was pilot of the Enola Gay B-29 bomber who dropped the historic Little Boy atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan, on Aug. 6, 1945; journalist Sander Vanocur, Class of 1946; and William S. Paley, Class of 1918, board chairman of CBS. Noted regionalism painter and muralist Thomas Hart Benton also attended the academy in 1905-06. Reach Linda N. Weller at 618-208-6450 or on Twitter @Linda_Weller SPRINGFIELD For decades, the two dirtiest words in Illinois education were unfunded mandates. Local school boards and administrators hate these orders that come from Springfield but dont come with a check attached. For example, this year, Gov. Bruce Rauner has signed four new unfunded mandates pertaining to: civics exams, concussions, suicide prevention and discipline policies. Since 2000, there has been over 130 new, unfunded mandates that have affected the school districts across our state, WCIA TV recently reported. To be sure, the state of Illinois isnt putting its money where its mouth is. Back in the dark ages, when I was in high school, the unfunded mandate that administrators were griping about was called consumer education. I dont remember anyone who wanted to be in that class. But we were stuck there for a semester because the lawmakers in Springfield said we had to. And, of course, the physical education requirement is a perennial complaint among school districts. Illinois has one of the most comprehensive PE requirements in the nation. But for every hour a child spends playing softball, she isnt in a classroom doing arithmetic or diagraming sentences. Some argue that these decisions on what youngsters are taught are best left up to local educators to decide. But heres a dirty little secret about unfunded mandates: they flow both ways. Illinois taxpayers are on the hook for the bulk of tax dollars spent on educator pensions. So, when the Calumet Citys school board decided to pay their superintendent $400,000 a year, folks in Galesburg, Alton, Kankakee and elsewhere in Illinois are chucking in dough for that fellows gold-plated pension. Why? Because the Calumet City School Board sent an unfunded mandate to Springfield leaving all of the states taxpayers responsible for footing the bill. When a school district agrees to pay an exorbitant salary, Illinois taxpayers follow up by paying an exorbitant pension. Please keep in mind, the state has a total unfunded pension liability of $130 billion. We cant afford to keep doing things the way they have always been done. Unfunded pension liabilities are the driving force behind the states income tax hikes under both Governors Rauner and Pat Quinn. In Springfield, Republicans blame Democrats and Democrats blame Republicans for the states pension woes. The truth is both groups are to blame. But another group that bears responsibility is local school boards. For generations they have gamed the system by giving end-of-career pay raises to teachers contemplating retirement. They do this to artificially bump up pensions paid by the state. Yes, thats another unfunded pension mandate flowing to Springfield. One has to wonder if it is the best public policy for the states taxpayers. The General Assembly has done little to curb this practice. But it did pass and Rauner did sign a measure capping end-of-career pay raises at 3 percent. The states largest teachers union issued a press release this past week arguing the cap ought to be raised to 6 percent. I can understand why they are calling for this, after all, its their job to advocate for their members. But is this what is best for the states taxpayers? Scott Reeder is a veteran statehouse journalist. He works as a freelance reporter in the Springfield area and produces the podcast Suspect Convictions. Illinois has the worst credit rating in the nation due in large part to its massive unfunded pension liabilities, but even modest reforms to the states biggest problem are no match for election-year politics. Two Republican lawmakers already are pushing to repeal a lower cap on end-of-career pension spiking included in the state budget in May. Sen. Dale Fowler, R-Harrisburg, and Sen. Neil Anderson, R-Andalusia, are sponsors of Senate Bill 3622, which is also supported by the Illinois Education Association. The bill would reverse a recent change meant to penalize taxing bodies for pension spiking. The budget for fiscal 2019 mandated statewide pension funds like the Teachers Retirement System to bill a local employer, such as a local school district, for boosting salaries by more than 3 percent a year in employees final years before retirement. The bill sponsored by Anderson and Fowler would push that cap back up to 6 percent, where it was set by a 2005 law before the budget passed this spring. Both Fowler and Anderson voted for the budget back in May. The budget passed with bipartisan support. A news release on Andersons website notes that the budget includes reforms capping end-of-career salary increases that cause pension spiking. Fowler said he reversed course in an effort to ease the states teacher shortage. Fowler and Anderson are clearly kowtowing to the teachers union before the November election. Anderson, who vowed not to take a legislative pension and stop reckless spending if elected, faces a challenge from labor activist Gregg Johnson in November. Fowler faces Democrat Steve Webb in District 59. The 3 percent cap was expected to save the state $21 million a year. Thats not a lot in a $38.5 billion spending plan, but the budget, which politicians from the governor on down hailed as balanced, was precarious from the start. The practice of giving out large end-of-career raises to public employees just before retirement to boost taxpayer-funded pension payouts has contributed to the states growing pension crisis. Past attempts to limit the practice, including the 2005 law, have produced meager results. A recent INN investigation found that school districts have sent more than $50 million directly to TRS to cover the cost of pension spiking since the 2005 law was passed, including $23.8 million since fiscal 2014. Continuing the practice of spiking pensions will simply make the states pension problems worse. The math is simple, as state Rep. Mark Batinick has pointed out. When spiking happens, Batinick said, the pension is based on that much higher amount and there hasnt been enough contributed along the way to the make up for that. And while theres plenty of blame for the states pension mess to go around, doing things that make Illinois pension problem even more unsustainable is shortsighted at best. Even in an election year. Brett Rowland is news editor of Illinois News Network and the digital hub ILNews.org. He welcomes your comments. Contact Brett at browland@ilnews.org. Southwest CEO and Chairman Gary Kelly said Thursday that the incident led to a $100 million drop in passenger revenue during the quarter, but he said there has been strong demand for flights on the airline. Kelly anticipates the revenue impact will be temporary and subside in the third quarter. USAIDs Power AfricaUganda Electricity Supply Accelerator (the Power Africa Uganda Accelerator)Activity is funded by the United States Agency for International Developmentand seeks to rapidly increase the level of electricity access in the countrythrough assistance for off-grid and on-grid energy solutions. The Power AfricaUganda Accelerator is currently looking to hire an electrical engineer toassist with identifying, facilitating and closing transactions for on-grid andoff-grid power. This is a two-year position (conditional on funding). Welfareat Post: Provision of formal and informal support to officers and families onarrival and throughout their posting. Welcoming all staff on posting/temporaryduty/flexible deployment and accompanying families to ensure as smooth anintegration as possible into the life of the Post community; following up tocheck that the settling in process is working; being a source of referral andsupport where questions, problems and difficulties arise; providing short Postcommunity induction. This will include management of the domestic equipmentfloat in liaison with the Estates Officer. The Uganda National OilCompany Limited (UNOC) was established under Section 42 of the Petroleum(Exploration, Development and Production) Act 2013 and incorporated under theCompanys Act 2012. It is a limited liability company wholly owned by theGovernment of Uganda. The overall function of UNOC is; To handle the StatesCommercial interests in the Oil and Gas industry. With India having promised an ambitious Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDC) towards climate change mitigation, it has realised that there will be growing requirement for skilled hands in the green tech sector. A recent MoU between environment and skill development ministries intends to start with training one lakh refrigeration and air conditioning technicians on checking the emission of harmful green house gases. Freon and other gases which are used in refrigeration are known to add to climate change. The environment ministry, had, a few months earlier, launched the Green Skill Mission under which, it hopes to impart training to nearly six lakh people. Environment minister Dr Harshavardhan also said that the ministry of science and technology will also draw up courses to provide green skill development to scientists and technicians. The first course in green skill development was conducted earlier this year for training biodiversity conservationists and para taxonomists; both curses were of three months each. They were done on a pilot basis, with around 250 trainees. These candidates can get employment in zoological parks and bioresources, wildlife crime control, eco-tourism and even organic agriculture. Among the other ongoing green skill development courses are on waste management (Chennai) technical and laboratory assistants for energy efficiency and star labelling (Ahmedabad), river dolphin conservation (Patna), water budgeting and auditing (Patna) and wild bee keeping (Guwahati). The Bharatiya Janata Party has succeeded in pocketing Jalgaon and Sangli municipal corporations in Maharashtra. While the result in Jalgaon municipal corporation is not surprising, the saffron party's victory in Sangli-Miraj-Kupwad municipal poll is being viewed as a solid blow to the alliance of the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party. Jalgaon municipal corporation was controlled by BJP's Sureshdada Jain for over three decades. The party won 57 out of 75 seats in Jalgaon and wrested the control of the municipal body. Shiv Sena succeeded in winning 15 seats while the remaining three seats were won by independents and others. The architect of BJP's victory in Jalgaon is irrigation minister Girish Mahajan. In Sangli-Miraj-Kupwad corporation, the BJP won 40 out of 78 seats to cross the halfway mark. The Congress-NCP alliance has won 35 seats. BJP's tally rose from four in the previous election to 40 this time as it wrested the control of the municipal body from the Congress. Interestingly, Sangli is the home turf of NCP's state president and former Maharashtra finance minister Jayant Patil. BJP's victory in Sangli is a blow to both Patil and his party. It is also a serious setback to Congress heavyweights like Vishwajeet Kadam and Satej Patil as the region has traditionally supported Congress ideology. The election results clearly signify that the unrest among Maratha community on the issue of reservation did not impact the BJP despite the strong presence of Maratha community in both municipal corporations. It also points out to the fact that if at all Maratha agitation has achieved anything, it is the unity of all non-Maratha forces who appear to have backed the BJP. What worked in BJP's favour was also the increase in the price of milk announced by the state government. The farmer community in Western Maharashtra was satisfied after the government's announcement. Sangli-Miraj-Kupwad has a sizable presence of farming community for whom dairy farming is an important source of livelihood. Interestingly, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis was not allowed to visit Sangli by Maratha Kranti Morcha activists. The Morcha had threatened to disrupt his rally and hence Fadnavis had to send a seven minute video of his speech for the campaigning. BJP legislator Sudhir Gadgil told THE WEEK that the development of Sangli had come to a stop altogether during the Congress rule in the municipal corporation in the last 20 years. "People were fed up. What also helped was the work that Suresh Khade and I carried out as local legislators. That is why no agitation had any impact. The only issue was the development of Sangli-Miraj-Kupwad and people showed that they have faith in the BJP," he said. The adage that failures can teach many lessons seems quite... The Maratha Kranti Morcha, which has been leading protests for reservations for the community, on Thursday set a deadline of August 7 for the state government to act on the quota issue, warning of a fresh wave of protests from August 9. The state government had requested additional security forces from the Centre, fearing more protests on the Maratha issue from August 9. "All we want is quota in education and government jobs," said MKM leader Abasaheb Patil who held a sit-in protest in Parli town in Beed district, 370km from Mumbai. The Maratha Kranti Morcha leader said there is nothing left now that needed to be discussed with the government on the issue. The MKM is the umbrella body of Maratha groups demanding 16 per cent reservation under the OBC category. "If the state government fails to grant us reservation by August 7, then a massive agitation will be held across the state," he said. He said the Maratha youth has lost trust in the government, as it is dragging its feet on implementing reservation. The police had detained at least 3,000 youth from the Maratha community for holding violent protests last week, of whom around 500 are facing serious criminal charges such as attempt to murder. "Despite assurance from the chief minister, no police station has started withdrawing the cases against the youth," claimed Vinod Pokharkar, another leader of the Maratha community. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday reiterated that the government is committed to granting quota to the Maratha community that can stand legal scrutiny. The Maharashtra State Backward Class Commission is currently conducting a survey to assess socio-economic backwardness of the Maratha community. The state government had announced that it will convene a special session of the legislature to discuss the Maratha quota demand, after the panel submits its report. The Maratha Kranti Morcha had organised a statewide bandhexcluding Mumbai and some other districts on July 24 on the reservation issue. The next day, the group staged a bandh in Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Thane and other adjoining areas, which resulted in attacks on buses and stoppage of local trains. One more Maratha suicide A 21-year-old unemployed man, belonging to the Maratha community, allegedly committed suicide by hanging in Aurangabad city on Thursday, the police said. Umesh Atmaram Indait hanged himself at his house in Choudhary Colony in Chikalthana area on Thursday afternoon, a senior police official said. A purported suicide note by Indait said he was jobless. "I did not fulfil the dreams of my parents. I am still jobless even after completing my BSc because I belong to the Maratha community," it said. As Maratha organisations are agitating for reservation in jobs and education for the community, at least six cases of suicide by young Maratha men were reported in the last two weeks. In all these cases, the victims purportedly mentioned that they were ending their life for the cause of the Maratha quota, or because they were frustrated over lack of job and education opportunities, the police said. The Narendra Modi government on Friday told the Supreme Court that it has abandoned its plan to set up a Social Media Communication Hub (SMCH) to track and monitor social media platforms to identify "buzz creators". The Modi government also said it would undertake a complete review of its social media policy. Attorney General K.K. Venugopal informed a bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra that the Modi government was withdrawing the proposal. Justice A.M. Khanwilkar and Justice D.Y. Chandrachud were the other members of the bench. The Centre gave this information in response to a petition by Trinamool Congress MLA Mahua Moitra for stalling the proposed move of the Information and Broadcasting Ministry to keep a tab on social media platforms. In July, the Supreme Court had taken strong exception to the Modi government's plans to create a social media hub for monitoring online data. During its hearing on the matter, the bench observed that creating such a social media hub was like creating a surveillance state". Senior advocate A.M. Singhvi, appearing for Moitra, said the Modi government had issued request for proposal and the tender will be opened on August 20. "They want to monitor social media content with the help of this social media hub," Singhvi said. The counsel for Moitra had said the Modi government was trying to monitor the social media content of individuals by tracking their social media accounts on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram and their e-mails. The pop-up celebrating Warpigs one-year anniversary in the U.S. is called The Four Phantoms, and will feature Warpigs three core offerings (Lazurite IPA, Salmon Pants Lager and Foggy Geezer Hazy IPA) plus an imperial blond ale brewed for the event, also called Four Phantoms. Three Floyds beer will also be available on draft through the weekend. "Sirf kisiko maar dene se koi aatankwaad nahin hota, daraana, dhamkaana aur kone mein bitha dena bhi aatankwaad hota hai," (Terrorism is not just defined by the act of killing. Torturing, intimidating and cornering someone is also terrorism). This forms the basic premise of Mulk, a film which aims to shake society's consciousness by questioning its notions about nationhood and patriotism, its definition of terrorism and terrorists, and the sheer inability and parochial attitude that renders them unable to identify Islam and terrorism as independent of each other. Exactly 24 hours before the release of his film, director Anubhav Sinha tweeted "a letter (he wrote) to Pakistan", whose Federal Censor Board has banned its citizens from watching the film. In the letter, he says that ever since the film's trailer released, it garnered strong reactions; while some in India suggested it was way too pro-Muslim, feedback from Pakistan was that the film stereotyped Muslims in a way no other film did. But to anyone and everyone who chose to see the film from the lens of 'us and them,' or pro and anti-Pakistan, Sinha pleaded, "It is about love. About you and about me. Why is it that they do not want you to see the film which talks about co-existence?" Sinha is right. His film does talk about peaceful co-existence; but not before turning the mirror to the viewer and jolting him out of his seat by exposing his naked bigotry and hate for the Islamic community, which, as in the movie, finds itself at the receiving end of a grisly terrorism plot. By way of its exceptionally strong direction and dialogue delivery, the film makes for a gripping watch, especially the intense courtroom drama which makes for most of its 140-minute reel. The film opens in the Hindu-dominated city of Benaras (Varanasi) in UP, which is captured beautifully on camera, with special emphasis on the juxtaposition of the two communitieswhile one side the Muslim's azaan fills in the morning air, at the same time a chant of Ram Naam Satya Hai, echoes in the street below, where a man is taken for cremation. Both the communities are shown to be living together, in utmost harmony, until fissures of communal prejudice tear them apart. Murad Ali Mohammad (Rishi Kapoor), a reputed lawyer, and his wife (Neena Gupta) along with their family, have always lived amicably among their Hindu neighbours, bonding over songs and dance, kebabs and tons of gossip with their morning chai. Everything seems to be going smooth, when suddenly one learns of Murad Ali's nephew Shahid (Prateik Babbar) falling prey to the influence of an Islamic hardliner and carrying out a suicide bomb attack in a bus from Benaras to Allahabad, causing mayhem. What follows is the family's worst nightmare: public shaming, social ostracisation and unforgiving hours of questioning and interrogations. The family pleads innocence; none of them, including Shahid's father Bilal (Pahwa), his mother Tabassum (Prachee), his sister Ayat (Kumud Mishra) and sister-in-law Aarti (Taapsee Pannu) claim to know anything about Shahid's links with the terror mastermind or with its associate groups. Yet, the authorities would have none of it. Both Rajat Kapoor, who is every bit believable as the straight-faced cop, and Ashutosh Rana, who gives a compelling performance as a bigoted public prosecutor, commence on an unrelenting chase to prove the family guilty and involved in "the business of terrorism". At this juncture, it is upto Aarti, a lawyer herself, to prove her family's innocence and bring them back their lost dignity and esteem. The courtroom drama gets a bit theatrical towards the end, but is worth it. The arguments and counter-arguments make one question one's own beliefs and opinions, and touch us at our most primal levels. "Why does a Muslim man's flowing beard give someone the liberty to judge him and equate him to a terrorist?" "Why are we prejudiced towards muslims?" "Why is the word terrorism only attributed to Islamic activities, and not to the number of other killings and tortures and crimes that happen everyday everywhere else?". These and many such questions are addressed in Mulk. A special mention must be given to Manoj Pahwa for essaying the role of Bilal with unmatched finesse. Unless you're shy of talking about things that matter, don't give this a miss. Mulk Director: Anubhav Sinha Cast: Rishi Kapoor, Manoj Pahwa, Taapsee Pannu, Ashutosh Rana, Prateik Smit Babbar, Neena Gupta, Rajat Kapoor, Prachee Shah, Kumud Mishra Rating: 3.5 stars Upon arrival -- without wristbands of course -- the longtime couple had a hard time convincing the tightened Lolla security to go along with their plan. They walked around the perimeter of Grant Park with their photographer friends, innocently assuming they'd eventually pass another entrance with guards to try to persuade. It wasn't until a "kind gentleman" helped them in through the fence by the BMI stage facing Lake Shore Drive that the group made its way in. 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Albany A move by the Trump administration to pare down but not eliminate steep tariffs on Canadian newsprint just means a slower death for the state's newspapers, according to the head of the state publishers association. The tariffs had been set in January by the Commerce Department at up to 32 percent, and this week were reduced to a range that tops off at 20 percent, which is still too high, according to the head of the New York News Publishers Association. "This is less horrible, but it is still horrible," said association President Diane Kennedy. She said the tariffs, which are a kind of tax, are an expense that the beleaguered newspaper industry can ill afford. "This is not going to create jobs or protect jobs in America. This will just destroy newspaper jobs," she said. "This is punitive ... these reductions are still death, just a slower death." She said because of the tariffs, some newspapers are reducing their number of pages, dropping special sections, or cutting back circulation areas, particularly in rural areas. Kennedy said the industry is urging the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) to reject the tariffs entirely when it votes on the matter next month. Canada is the largest supplier of newsprint in the U.S. The tariffs were sought by a paper mill in Washington state that is owned by One Rock Capital Partners, a New York City-based hedge fund. The American Forest and Paper Association, which represents paper producers, has come out against the tariffs. Sign up for The Knick Get the latest news and some area history with our afternoon newsletter. Dan Couto, vice president of operations at the Albany Times Union, said the reduction was " a step in the right direction for newspapers." He said he is waiting to see how Canadian newsprint companies react and "if that will drop their pricing as a result or if the lack of supply will keep pricing high." He also said the pending ITC vote is important. Last month, U.S. Senator Charles Schumer blasted the tariffs during an appearance at Saratoga County printing company Quad Graphics, which estimated the tariffs would add about $90 million annually to its costs. Quad Graphic employs more than 850 people in New York, and Schumer said there are about 17,000 workers at newspapers in New York. Beach books aren't just for grown-ups. When it's that sleepy time after lunch, kids could curl up on a towel under the umbrella with a picture book, graphic novel, comic book, breezy summer romance or a board book. Besides, it's hard to see phones and other electronic devices on the beach, with the sun shining on the screens. If you're lucky enough to be at remote cabin or camping, you probably don't have Wi-Fi. Wherever you go this summer the town pool, the beach, the woods or your front porch throw a couple of books in the beach bag. I had a nutritionist tell me once that asking a child if they wanted a vegetable was the wrong way to go about it. Instead, just put it on the table. I think the same could apply to books; just put some in a pile near the young ones. It doesn't mean you have to run out and buy anything. A lot of summer places have libraries that offer vacationers temporary library cards, like in Ocean Park, Maine, a place we visit most years. Some pools even stock well-read books. And rentals often have books for guests. Grab old books that have been gathering dust on the book shelf, like "One Morning in Maine" by Robert McCloskey. The Caldecott Honor book covers a lot: loose teeth, the ocean, ice cream. The book also makes me want to get in a car and drive up the coast of Maine. Board books, even for older kids, might be fun to look at for sweet memories or for older kids to read to younger cousins. Hit up a used bookstore. You might find some treasures for a bargain and when you're done, leave them behind. For a surprise, buy some comic books. If your kids are into superheroes or have never read comics, this could be a throwback treat for them. A manga series could keep them busy for the rest of the summer. "Fairy Tail" by Hiro Mashima is one my daughter recommends for ages 12 and up. Two other series she likes are "Sweetness and Lightning" by Gido Amagakure and "Orange" by Ichigo Takano. For kids who want to get creative, I recommend "Wreck This Journal" by Keri Smith. Both my girls had fun following the off-kilter journaling instructions, like spilling different colored drinks on a page or poking holes in another page. Inspire them with books from the past: "The Little Prince" by Antoine de Saint-Exupery or "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" by C.S. Lewis. Or my personal favorite: "Harriet the Spy" by Louise Fitzhugh. Or maybe they'd like something from their grandparents' days, like the Elizabeth Enright series about the adventurous Melendy children starting with "The Saturdays." Sign up for The Knick Get the latest news and some area history with our afternoon newsletter. Is your kid curious about animals and an advanced reader? Try out "Being a Dog: Following the Dog into a World of Smell" by Alexandra Horowitz. Then read it yourself. Younger? Pick up a shark or a dolphin book to better understand the fascinating creatures. A couple of "National Geographics" picked up at a yard sale could do the trick as well. Then there's always poetry for both you and them, like "Honeybee" by Naomi Shihab Nye. For the just graduated college student, hand her "the sun and her flowers" by Rupi Kaur. Or splurge on new books by local authors. There's "Bully" by author and illustrator Jennifer Sattler of Saratoga Springs, which is about a frog named Bully who doesn't want anyone else to share his beautiful pond full of flowers and demands that all the other pond creatures leave. Perhaps a good book to read right before school starts. The best part about getting your kid to read on the beach means that if they're engrossed in a book, then you can get back to yours. New agent at Howard Hanna Real Estate Richard Roberts has joined the Howard Hanna Saratoga office on Division Street as an associate broker. Prior to joining Howard Hanna, Roberts worked for CMK & Associates Real Estate and has more than 30 years of banking experience in the Capital Region. He holds a bachelor's degree in economics and business and this year received a career sales achievement award for real estate sales at CMK. And speaking of CMK... Howard Hanna announced this week CMK & Associates is now a part of the Hanna family of companies. CMK & Associates has more than 60 sales associates and staff in six offices in Saratoga, Fulton and Montgomery counties. The team's sales volume was more than $104 million in sold volume. "The focus of CMK over the years has been on growth and improvement so we can provide the best resources to our agents and great service to our clients. Joining Howard Hanna, the third -argest brokerage in the United States, puts our agents and clients in the best possible position for continued success," said Christian C. Klueg, broker at CMK & Associates. "With advanced resources and market exposure, this is the ideal next step in our journey to consistently provide the best in real estate services. I am excited about the opportunity this provides." "We are thrilled that Christian and the rest of his team will be joining Howard Hanna and contributing to our growth in New York," said Howard W. "Hoby" Hanna, IV, president of Real Estate Brokerage. "This is a great time for us to partner with CMK & Associates to provide unmatched, innovative and comprehensive real estate services to more buyers and sellers throughout the state." The Howard Hanna brand will begin appearing on signs, advertising and marketing throughout the areas now served by CMK & Associates. Visitors to the website will soon be redirected to HowardHanna.com, which receives an average of more than 1.6 million visitors per month. New agent at Roohan Realty Diana Gise has joined Roohan Realty as a real estate salesperson. Sign up for The Knick Get the latest news and some area history with our afternoon newsletter. Gise is a member of the Greater Capital Region Association of Realtors (GCAR) and the National Association of Realtors (NAR). Diana lives in Malta with her husband, Charles, and four teenage children. Golf outing for charity Sunmark Federal Credit Union will host its annual golf event Aug. 27 at Shaker Ridge Golf Course in Albany. Proceeds go to the Sunmark Foundation, which gives money to local charities throughout the year. Last year the tournament raised more than $35,000. Start time is 12 p.m., dinner and drinks afterward. Register at sunmarkgolf.com. lhornbeck@timesunion.com 518-454-5352 @leighhornbeck Theyre bringing in new people from Puerto Rico and paying them less money. Thats not right, thats not fair. After what happened in Puerto Rico, its an injustice. Were just trying to make this right, said Local 225 officer Roberto Perez. BETHLEHEM If Bethlehem residents love a particular flowery meadow or enjoy revisiting a nearby family farm, now they have a chance to ask the town to preserve it. A survey is available only through Sept. 16 to do so. The last time Bethlehem offered residents an open space survey was in 2004. Planning Director Robert Leslie said it sparked great interest and an ongoing discussion. "Close to 15 years has passed and so the town is looking to reengage the public to better understand current support and interest for open space and farmland conservation," Leslie said. The "Bethlehem Open Space and Farmland Conservation Opinion Survey" was posted on the town's website Wednesday. (Paper copies are available in the town hall.) It asks residents their ages and, if they own land, in what zip code it is located. The rest of the questions allow residents to choose from a drop down menu ranking how important Bethlehem farms are to maintaining fresh food supplies, how much they value scenic farmland and how they use open space (fishing and hiking are two choices to be ranked). Residents can offer their opinions in detail in response to two questions: naming beloved Bethlehem places they want preserved and they are invited to share thoughts and questions about open space and farm preservation. The survey began the same day Bethlehem recommended the preservation of 11 privately owned Glenmont acres that contain forest where a small tributary of the Normanskill flows. Bethlehem recommended that this land along Bender Lane be conserved forever in a partnership with the landowner through the Conservation Easement Exemption Program. Sign up for The Knick Get the latest news and some area history with our afternoon newsletter. "Willing landowners looking to conserve open space or farmland can apply to the town's conservation easement exemption program or work with local land trusts (such as the Mohawk Hudson Land Conservancy) on conservation options that best address their circumstances," Leslie explained by email. The survey results will be discussed in a public workshop planned for late fall that will focus on land conservation strategies, and local and regional success stories. The online survey takes approximately five minutes to complete depending on how much a resident wants to say. Leslie says his department will offer casual, fun opportunities for residents to discuss open space programs. His department has hosted Hudson kayak eco-tours and plans to have information on Bethlehem's open space program available at the Five Rivers Fall Fest on Sept. 15. ALBANY John MacDonald could have used a positive role model like Noelle Diamond when he was a kid. As a young boy, he got bullied for the things he liked dancing and drama club, instead of sports, making friends with girls instead of boys. "Even without the bullying, I was aware that the other boys didn't act the way that I did," the 28-year-old Cohoes resident recently recalled. "And I didn't really encounter many people who were similar to me in that sense, so that would sometimes feel very isolating." Noelle Diamond, on the other hand, isn't afraid to be herself, even if it draws stares. She wears her femininity with pride her big hair, her glam makeup, her long lashes and platform heels. She likes magic tricks and frequent costume changes. The more outrageous, the better. MacDonald first met Noelle when he was a student at the College of Saint Rose in Albany. A friend invited him to perform in a drag show, and he needed a character. So he created Noelle, and she has since grown up and gone on to perform at various events around the region. On Tuesday, kids from Albany will get to meet Noelle for the first time, when she comes to Albany Public Library's Washington Avenue branch for the city's first-ever Drag Queen Story Hour from 6 to 7 p.m. She'll sing songs and play keyboard, read a couple of books, and lead an arts and craft activity. The program is intended for children up to age 10 with their guardians. More importantly, MacDonald hopes, she'll inspire and comfort. "It would have meant a lot to me growing up to see someone like Noelle," he said. "It would have showed me that it was OK to be different, and that I didn't always have to express myself the way everybody else thought I should express myself." The books that Noelle and library staff selected for the event will reflect that idea, too. The first book, Jacob's New Dress, is about a boy who loves playing dress-up and decides he wants to wear a dress to school, even after some kids say he can't wear "girl" clothes. The other book, Not Quite Narwhal, is about a young unicorn who was born under the sea to a family of narwhals. After he washes ashore one day and spots a creature that looks just like him, he begins to think about the ways he stands out from his own family and wonder where it is he really fits in. Drag Queen Story Hour is a nonprofit that hosts storytelling events worldwide. The goal, organizers say, is to capture the imagination and play of gender fluidity during childhood and to give kids glamorous, positive and unabashedly queer role models. "In spaces like this, kids are able to see people who defy rigid gender restrictions and imagine a world where people can present as they wish, and where dress up is real," the group's website says. The events started in San Francisco in 2015, and have since spread worldwide. Today, 27 chapters organize story hours at local libraries, schools, bookstores, museums, summer camps, afterschool programs and other community spaces. New York has chapters in New York City, Westchester and Garnerville. Hudson Library began hosting events last year. Sign up for The Knick Get the latest news and some area history with our afternoon newsletter. So how did it come to Albany? "Patrons," said Lisa Neuman, head of youth services for the Albany Public Library. "Our patrons were asking for it. One of the librarians who works here has had a number of people in her story time ask if we were ever going to do this, and that if we did they would love to attend." News of Drag Queen Story Hour's arrival to Albany has hit a chord, to be sure. A Facebook page for the event had 59 people respond with plans to attend and 293 people signal interest in attending as of Friday afternoon. A number of parents posted messages of excitement and support on the page, with some recalling their own memories of discomfort around childhood expressions of gender. Not everyone is on board. Scott Jarzombek, executive director of the Albany Public Library system, said Friday he was fielding a lot of angry phone calls about the event from people opposed to the idea. "It's not mandatory," he said. "No one is being forced to go. But we can't say we represent the community if we don't represent the entire community. The library is not four walls. The library is embedded in the community and this is a part of our community we want to welcome." Washington Responding to wide-ranging criticism that it lacked a clear national strategy to protect U.S. elections, the White House said Thursday that President Donald Trump has directed a "vast, government-wide effort" to protect the cornerstone of American democracy. John Bolton, national security adviser, also wrote in a letter to Senate Democrats that "President Trump has not and will not tolerate interference in America's system of representative government." The warning to American adversaries came as top U.S. intelligence and homeland security officials raised alarms about potential efforts to influence the 2018 and 2020 elections. Homeland security chief Kirstjen Nielsen said: "Our democracy is in the crosshairs." "We continue to see a pervasive messaging campaign by Russia to try to weaken and divide the United States," Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats said. Their comments during a White House briefing came after Trump publicly undermined the conclusions of American intelligence agencies regarding Russian interference. After suffering a bipartisan outcry, Trump later said he accepted those conclusions. They, along with National Security Agency Director Paul Nakasone and FBI Director Christopher Wray, appeared together at the White House on Thursday to try to reassure the American people they are doing everything in their power to address the threat. "We're throwing everything at it," Coats said. Nakasone, who is also the commander of the U.S. Cyber Command, said the command and the NSA are both tracking a wide range of foreign cyber adversaries and "are prepared to conduct operations against those actors attempting to undermine our nation's midterm elections." Nakasone did not divulge details of the U.S. cyber playbook or say what U.S. responses might have already taken place, saying the operations are sensitive and require confidentiality to achieve success. "I won't discuss the specifics, except to state that our forces are well-trained, ready and very capable," he said. At one of his confirmation hearings in March, Nakasone said his role was to provide a series of cyber options that might be used as a deterrent to Russian meddling, but he told Congress then that cyber or military options might not be the most effective. "In fact, it may be less effective than other options that might be considered," he said. Sign up for The Knick Get the latest news and some area history with our afternoon newsletter. Asked specifically if he had been ordered or authorized to conduct any offensive cyber operations in response to foreign meddling in the U.S., Nakasone offered a vague response. "So my guidance and the direction from the present secretary of defense is very clear, we're not going to accept meddling in the elections. And it's very unambiguous." Nielsen, Wray and Nakasone had all gathered earlier this week in New York City with leaders of top finance, energy and telecommunications companies for a cybersecurity summit, where they spoke of the urgent need for a collective, collaborative approach to security. At the event, Nielsen said the cyber threat now exceeds the danger of a physical attack against the U.S. by a hostile foreign group. Wray told reporters that compared to 2016, in 2018 "we are not yet seeing the same kind of efforts to specifically target election infrastructure," but that other efforts to influence public opinion continue. He added that the FBI has active investigations on foreign influence across all 56 of its field offices. "Make no mistake, the scope of this foreign influence threat is both broad and deep," he said. ALBANY - An attorney who represents the state Independence Party and the members of the state Senate's defunct IDC is accusing the state's top election enforcement officer of abusing her office's authority. Lawrence Mandelker, the attorney for the Independence Party and former Independent Democratic Conference members, wrote to the state Board of Elections commissioners last week requesting they "censure" Chief Enforcement Counsel Risa Sugarman for "the abuse of her office." Sugarman issued a demand letter two weeks ago to Mandelker's clients, who had formed a controversial fundraising agreement that she challenged in court last year. A judge struck down the fundraising setup in June, and last month Sugarman's office identified more than $1.4 million she said needs to be refunded to contributors and demanded candidates return excessive contributions. The Senate Independence Campaign Committee, and an associated account, were created in 2016 to boost then-IDC Leader Jeff Klein's ability to raise and spend campaign money, as the accounts were able to accept larger campaign donations and transfer unlimited amounts to IDC candidates. The increased fundraising muscle was flexed in 2016 and the funding is expected to be critical for the defense of seats held by former IDC members, who are almost all facing Democratic primary challenges. A judge ruled the arrangement was illegal because the breakaway group of Democratic senators were trying to exercise powers reserved to a political party. Mandelker has maintained that steps were taken to bring the campaign accounts into compliance with the court's ruling from June, including putting the accounts under the control of Independence Party Chair Frank McKay. The subsequent demand letter from Sugarman's office questions whether certain contributions and expenditures made before the campaign accounts were brought into compliance are in violation of state election law. In a written response to Sugarman's office after the demand letter was issued, Mandelker wrote, "Your office must know that the relief you obtained from the court was extraordinarily narrow." In Mandelker's complaint to the BOE commissioners, he claims Sugarman was interfering in the election process and also overstepped by releasing the demand letter to the media. Sign up for The Knick Get the latest news and some area history with our afternoon newsletter. He also highlighted for the commissioners the portion of the judge's ruling that ordered the fundraising accounts to be controlled by the Independence Party, which was taken care of in April. In response, Sugarman disagreed with Mandelker's characterization of the judge's decision and said the letter to the commissioners downplayed the judge's order to "take whatever actions are necessary to comply with the Election Law." Mandelker noted that this language was included in the letter to the commissioners. A spokesman for the BOE commissioners said they had received the letter and were reviewing the complaint, which appeared to be the first of its kind against Sugarman, who was tapped for the post in 2014. A censure would be the equivalent of a public rebuke by the commissioners, who nominally oversee Sugarman's office. It's possible the issue could be discussed by the commissioners at their scheduled board meeting on Wednesday in Albany. David.Lombardo@timesunion.com - 518.454.5427 - @poozer87 Washington The National Archives and Records Administration said Thursday it won't be able to finish reviewing nearly 1 million documents regarding Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh's time in the George W. Bush White House until the end of October, a potential roadblock in GOP hopes for confirmation before the November election. Republican Senate leaders appeared unfazed by the updated timetable, determined to push forward with confirmation hearings on President Donald Trump's nominee next month. The paper chase over Kavanaugh's lengthy public record is emerging as a key battleground as senators scrutinize the 53-year-old appellate judge, a conservative whose views on gay marriage, abortion and executive power could tip the court right for a generation. The documents being compiled by Archives are only the initial request from Republicans. It covers Kavanaugh's time in the White House counsel's office and his nomination to be a judge. But the files won't contain the broader cache being sought by Democrats from Kavanaugh's time as Bush's staff secretary, where an additional 1 million pages passed his desk. A spokesman for Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa said the Judiciary Committee will still be able to undertake its review along the same timeline set previously, which puts Kavanaugh on track for confirmation in early October. Sign up for The Knick Get the latest news and some area history with our afternoon newsletter. While Republicans could hold confirmation hearings before receiving all the documents, a final vote on Kavanaugh may have to wait. With Republicans holding a slim 51-49 Senate majority, cooperation from almost all Republicans would be needed. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said the letter Thursday from the Archives to Grassley "confirmed our worst fear" that even the documents requested by Republicans may be limited because they will be screened by Bush's lawyer under the Presidential Review Act. The New York Democrat said because the lawyer has also represented top Trump administration officials in the Russia probe, including former strategist Steve Bannon and former chief of staff Reince Priebus, the process appeared designed to withhold "the information they need" to evaluate the nominee. Standing before stacks of boxes that will be filled with documents from Kavanaugh's other jobs, Grassley and other top GOP senators argued there will be ample paperwork to review, including Kavanaugh's 300 cases as an appellate judge. Grassley called it probably the "deepest dive" ever on a Supreme Court nominee. Rome Pope Francis has declared the death penalty wrong in all cases, a definitive change in church teaching that is likely to challenge Catholic politicians, judges and officials who have argued that their church was not entirely opposed to capital punishment. Before this, church doctrine accepted the death penalty if it was "the only practicable way" to defend lives, an opening that some Catholics took as license to support capital punishment in many cases. But Francis said executions were unacceptable in all cases because they are "an attack" on human dignity, the Vatican announced Thursday, adding that the church would work "with determination" to abolish capital punishment worldwide. Francis added the change to the Catechism of the Roman Catholic Church, the book of doctrine that is taught to Catholic children worldwide and studied by adults in a church with 1.2 billion members. Abolishing the death penalty has long been one of his top priorities, along with saving the environment and caring for immigrants and refugees. A majority of the world's countries including nearly every nation in Europe and Latin America, regions that are home to large Catholic populations have already banned the death penalty, according to Amnesty International. Sign up for The Knick Get the latest news and some area history with our afternoon newsletter. The pope's decree is likely to hit hardest in the United States, where a majority of Catholics support the death penalty and the powerful "pro-life movement" has focused almost exclusively on ending abortion not the death penalty. The pope's move could put Catholic politicians in a new and difficult position, especially Catholic governors like Greg Abbott of Texas and Pete Ricketts of Nebraska, who have presided over executions. "If you're a Catholic governor who thinks the state has the right to end human life, you need to be comfortable saying you're disregarding orthodox church teaching," said John Gehring, Catholic program director at Faith and Public Life, a liberal-leaning advocacy group in Washington. "There isn't any loophole for you to wiggle through now." The new ruling could also complicate the lives of U.S. judges who are Catholic. TROY The Rensselaer County Legislatures Democratic minority has proposed a local law to prohibit county departments and employees from profiling people seeking assistance and possibly leading to them being reported to immigration officials. The Democrats are pushing back against Sheriff Patrick Russos decision to have his office participate in the U.S Immigration and Customs Enforcement 287(g) program that has two county correction officers checking to see if jail inmates may be in the country illegally. We dont want this to blow up into some sort of profiling hysteria where people are unfairly treated, said Minority Leader Peter Grimm of Troy. This local law will guarantee that services and benefits will not be denied to someone based on race, nationality, language and other characteristics. The law will undoubtedly protect many people from bigoted discrimination, Grimm said. The proposal states: "The purpose and intent of this local law is to ensure that immigrants are welcome in Rensselaer County by prohibiting particular types of profiling and ensuring that county resources are not diverted for the purpose of immigration enforcement." A spokesman for County Executive Steve McLaughlin, a Republican, said, "We will be happy to review the law, but we note that we do not engage in profiling. The Democrat's proposed law would prevent law enforcement from carrying out their duties and protecting the public." "We would hope Democrats instead join us in supporting law enforcement and fighting the crime that hurts our neighborhoods," the spokesman, Richard Crist, said. The Democratic legislators are at the front of a push for legislation in counties. The New York Civil Liberties Union Capital Region Chapter worked on the Rensselaer County measure and helped draft a law that may be presented this month to the Albany County Legislature. These sanctuary pieces of legislation and intent are more frequent and are popping up everywhere, said Melanie Trimble of the NYCLU chapter. Trimble said the Rensselaer County Democrats want to demonstrate their county supports inclusiveness and is not xenophobic. Trimble has been working with Albany County Legislators Merton Simpson and Samuel Fein, both Democrats, on similar legislation. Trimble said the NYCLU recently participated in successfully adopting similar legislation in Westchester County. Sign up for The Knick Get the latest news and some area history with our afternoon newsletter. The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Wednesday that President Donald Trumps administration could not withhold federal funding from cities and counties that limit law enforcement cooperation with federal immigration officials. Russo, a Republican, defended the 287-G program as additional tool to protect county residents. He gained national attention in February as the sole sheriff in the state joining the program to check jail inmates for immigration violations. Deputy Minority Leader Cindy Doran of Troy said she feels the law "will help those that have been vulnerable since Rensselaer County adopted 287(g). Rensselaer County Legislature Chairman Michael Stammel, R-Rensselaer,saw problems with the proposed law. "It's an impediment to the sheriff and any law enforcement," Stammel said. The Democrats had previously tried without success to push legislation out on to the floor of the County Legislature where Republicans hold a 14-5 majority. County residents may speak on the proposed law at the legislatures monthly public forum at 6 p.m. Wednesday at the county office building, 1600 Seventh Ave. ALBANY The state Education Department on Friday said it had erroneously given an additional $12 million to hundreds of charter schools last year for teacher training and, in the process, underfunded hundreds of public schools. As a result, charters will get less money going forward under the program that helps pay for teacher training in disadvantaged schools. This is our error and we own it, Education Commissioner MaryEllen Elia said during a conference call about the error. We are taking immediate steps to correct it. All said, 275 charter schools and three districts will get less money this year under the program while 687 will get more. The misallocations were part of the $153 million in New York funds under the federal Title IIa program that pays for activities like teacher training sessions and mentoring programs in schools that serve needy students. The mistake came at the start of the last school year, when details of the federal program had changed. It was discovered recently as State Education officials began preparations to send out the money for the coming year. The amounts vary. The Albany Community Charter School, for example, received $108,284 last year when it should have gotten $44,532. This year, the school will get $28,524, which is a reduction of $12,750. The reductions will be spread out over four years in order to ease any financial burdens to the schools that were overpaid. Sign up for The Knick Get the latest news and some area history with our afternoon newsletter. At the same time, the Albany district will get an additional $67,716 for a total of $741,800 to make up for last years shortfall. Funding for Title IIa in New York has been dropping, as it has for other large urban states, with the federal Department of Education under President Donald Trump shifting more money toward smaller rural states. New York is set to receive $145,007,794 for this school year, compared with $152,744,759 in the 2017-18 year and $174,957,199 in 2016-17, according to the state Education Department. A list of the allocations is here. rkarlin@timesunion.com 518 454 5758 @RickKarlinTU I wanted to be a realist, writing about what I saw. Almost like journalism, Voinovich told the Washington Post in 1987. But when I published my work, which I thought was really true-to-life, they said, Youre writing satire. I wasnt, it was just life that was so absurd. The more Ive depicted life, the deeper Ive gone, the more Ive become a satirist. Or so they say. ALBANY The state has pulled the plug on a controversial new power plant in Orange County that played a role in the recent corruption trial of one of Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo's former top aides. This week, the state Department of Environmental Conservation declined to renew a critical permit for Competitive Power Ventures. Without a new permit, the now-completed 680-megawatt plant in Wawayanda cannot go online. In a statement issued Friday, DEC said the permit, which was originally issued to the company in 2013 and expired Tuesday, was not renewed because it "does not meet current regulatory requirements." Before the company can operate its plant, which is estimated to have cost about $900 million, it must apply for and receive from DEC another type of air pollution permit, called a Title V permit. That process could take months. These permits regulate pollution under the federal Clean Air Act and require a detailed environmental review. "Facilities of this size and nature must be subject to the most rigorous air pollution controls to ensure the public is protected, and Title V permits provide for greater transparency and community input prior to authorization," according to the DEC statement. In a letter to CPV Vice President Steve Remillard, DEC warned that the company "may not lawfully operate the facility" without the Title V permit. It added that the company could be fined $15,000 a day for any violation. Earlier this month, CPV officials were publicly saying that the plant could become operational in a matter of weeks. The state denial will delay that indefinitely. A former CPV senior executive was caught up in the pay-to-play scandal that ensnared Cuomo's former top aide Joe Percoco, who was convicted in March of trading cash for official favors. In May, former CPV executive Peter Galbraith Kelly, 54, of Canterbury, Conn., pleaded guilty in federal court to arranging what prosecutors called a "low-show job" for Percoco's wife that paid nearly $287,000 between 2012 and 2016. Federal prosecutors alleged that Kelly paid off Percoco for his help in securing a much-needed power purchase agreement for the CPV plant. At the time, testimony showed, the state was seeking replacement sources to generate energy should the Indian Point nuclear plant along the Hudson River close. The case against Kelly resulted in a hung jury, but he subsequently pleaded guilty to a single count of fraud conspiracy related to his efforts to secure the job for Lisa Percoco. Kelly will be sentenced Sept. 28. He faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. Richard Webster, legal director for the environmental group Riverkeeper, said the Orange County power plant, which has been in a testing phase this year, has been causing localized pollution issues. Sign up for The Knick Get the latest news and some area history with our afternoon newsletter. "Operating something like this badly up front, and then being found to have bribed state officials is not something that should be rewarded," Webster said. "There is a larger lesson here: Don't do this in New York state or there will be consequences." Webster said it normally takes a year or more for a Title V air pollution permit to be applied for and reviewed by DEC before any potential approval, so the plant's possibde opening is likely off for at least that long. Riverkeeper represented local opponents to the power plant, including the grassroots environmental group Protect Orange County. In April, Webster and local elected officials made a public plea to DEC to deny CPV the critical environmental permit. A CPV executive said the company wants to cooperate with DEC. "We remain committed to operating within all applicable operating permit requirements and look forward to working with the DEC to address any concerns they may have," said company Senior Vice President Tom Rumsey. "At each step of the process, we have worked collaboratively with regulators at every level of government," he added. Rumsey said Webster predicted the CPV will "pull out all the legal stops" to undo the state's denial. "We will support DEC and the state in their opposition to CPV," he said. A state organizer for Food & Water Watch also supported the measure. "Any action by the state that prevents the CPV fossil fuel power plant from coming online is a good thing," said Laura Shindell. "We continue to call on Governor Cuomo do whatever is necessary to ensure that the CPV never comes online, and reject all fossil fuel infrastructure everywhere." New York State Police COEYMANS - An Albany man was caught with 11 pounds of marijuana after, State Police said, they stopped his car on the Thruway. Jamal Lewis, 43, was taken into custody on Sunday. Troopers charged him with felony marijuana possession. A Washington County woman has been charged with allegedly falsifying records of fire drills at a group home that never happened. Katherine Bover of Hudson Falls was charged with six counts of endangering the welfare of an incompetent or physically disabled person in the first degree and one count of offering a false instrument for filling in the first degree all felonies. These narrators, one after the other, would be suffocating were it not for Laceys sublime prose. On every page, she slips a tiny gem into your palm, a little miracle of perspective. You only learn who youve married after its too late, like one of those white mystery taffies you have to eat to find the flavor, and even then, its just a guess, a man muses after a fight with his wife in one of the longer stories, Learning. In another, a woman questions her attraction to a lovers hair, since hair is less a body part than a cell graveyard, reshaped into an identity, a death halo. ICSA president Patrick Kent has welcomed confirmation by EU Agriculture Commissioner Phil Hogan that State aid could be provided to deal with the damage caused by the drought and that flexibilities around GLAS rules should be forthcoming. ICSA has already called for a hardship fund to help those most affected by the drought, particularly low income cattle and sheep farmers and cereal growers. It is now time for the Minister to take immediate action," he pointed out. Mr Kent said that Commissioner Hogan had indicated that support to fix drought problems was possible, which included buying fodder. He had confirmed that the purchase of fodder can qualify for aid as either material damage or income loss. "However, this now requires a commitment from the Government to put some funding in place. This will be a real test of whether the government cares about the incredible hardships faced by farmers this year. ICSA is not looking for an open cheque book. We want aid targeted at the most vulnerable farmers in the less profitable sectors," said Mr Kent. The ICSA president also welcomed the positive response for flexibilities around schemes and derogations from greening requirements. For example, it has already been confirmed by the Commission that there will be derogations from the three crop rule and to allow land lying fallow under ecological focus areas to be used for growing feed. ICSA also wants to see farmers to be allowed wrap bales on LIPP areas in GLAS and to have the deadline for spreading fertiliser extended beyond 15 September. "We also need flexibility to allow tillage farmers to sow westerwolds or other Italian ryegrasses under GLAS cover crops," he said. Please allow ads as they help fund our trusted local news content. Kindly add us to your ad blocker whitelist. If you want further access to Ireland's best local journalism, consider subscribing to our ePaper and/or free daily Newsletter . Support our mission and join our community now. A Thurles drug addict was given a total of four months imprisonment, with the last two months suspended, for unlawful possession of drugs. Judge Brian OShea heard that Martin Quinlan, of 9 Kennedy Park, Thurles, has been in custody regarding allegations of an alleged incident involving Gardai on the Main Street of Templemore on June 23 last. For this, Quinlan is remanded in custody to appear before Nenagh Court on August 17th next. Quinlan also faces separate charges of assault on different dates, on which Judge OShea refused to take jurisdiction. These matters were adjourned to September next for a Book of Evidence. The nature of these allegations cannot be reported for legal reasons. Separately, Quinlan was charged with unlawful possession of drugs in the Main Street of Templemore on June 14, 2017. Sgt. Lyons said Garda Samantha Meehan searched Quinlan and found 10 worth of cannabis in his possession. On July 29, 2017, Garda Timothy Cullinane was on patrol in the Abbey road, Thurles, when he stopped Quinlan. Quinlan was searched and found in possession of 60 worth of diamorphine, which he said was for his own personal use. In another incident, Garda Cullinane searched the home of Quinlan and found a small quantity of cannabis herb, valued at 20, and again Quinlan admitted it was for his own personal use. Quinlan has four previous convictions, including for burglary, and handling stolen property. Mr Quinlan (24) is facing serious difficulties down the line, said Solicitor Mr Colin Morrissey. Quinlan fell into drug addiction about two years ago, and that underpins his current predicament, said Mr Morrissey. Hes been clean for five weeks. He does appear in good condition. He intends on dealing with his addiction issues and hopes to have residential treatment. Mr Quinlan is holding his hands up and signed a Garda notebook making admissions. He fell into the wrong crowd. He had too much time on his hands, thats what led him into drug addiction, added Mr Morrissey. Judge OShea said that, looking at the drugs offences in isolation, they appeared on the lower end of the scale. However, Judge OShea said he was concerned that one of the offences related to diamorphine, an entirely different class of drugs. Judge OShea imposed two terms of two months each for the two drug offences, but suspended the second sentence on condition Quinlan enter a peace bond of 200 cash. A Thurles woman who stole a cosmetic kit worth nearly 60 from a local pharmacy, was given a 3-month suspended prison sentence at Thurles District Court. Lisa Fanning entered Mahers Pharmacy in Liberty Square, Thurles, on December 6, 2017, heard Judge Brian OShea. Ms Fanning, of 35 Sli na Suir, Mitchell Street, Thurles, picked up a Flique Professional Master Brush Cosmetic Kit, valued at 59.95, and left without paying. The property, belonging to Catherine Maher, was not recovered. She said she could not remember the incident, said Sgt. Andrew Lyons. Ms Fanning was under the influence during the incident, which was captured on CCTV. She has nine previous convictions. Solicitor Mr Colin Morrissey said that Ms Fanning (26) is a single parent and has a serious heroin addiction, but is in recovery. Ms Fanning has attended a meth clinic and has pleaded guilty. She is confident that if she can get a handle on the addiction, she will not be before the Court again, said Mr Morrissey. Judge OShea said it was at the lower end of the range for this type of offence, but an aggravating factor were the nine previous convictions, two of which are for theft. Judge OShea said there was a high risk of Ms Fanning re-offending in the next 12 months. She tells me she is clean, said Mr Morrissey. Judge OShea imposed a prison sentence of three months, suspended for 12 months on condition that Ms Fanning keep the peace and be of good behaviour, that she engage with the probation services, and that she remain drug free at all times. If she failed to meet these conditions, or arrived at an appointment with drugs taken, she will be brought back before the Court, and you will go straight to prison, so its serious for you now, the Judge warned Ms Fanning. The Irish Motor Neurone Disease Association (IMNDA) is the primary support organization in Ireland for those affected by this disease. It offers assistance to the patients, to their families and carers through advocacy, home and professional help. The vision of the association is a world free from Motor Neurone Disease. To achieve this goal, ongoing research is vital. This necessitates both expertise and finance. In 2017 the total expenditure amounted to c 1.7m. As the Association is mainly reliant on corporate, individual donations and on fundraising 82% of above cost was obtained from those sources. Thanks to your generosity in supporting the abseiling challenge in Croke Park and the Wild Life event organized by the Clodiagh Anglers, 11,345 was contributed to the Association. Sincerest thanks to you all for your support. Your financial response merits admiration and gratitude. A special mile buiochas, from the Ryan family, The Line, Upperchurch, Thurles. For more information onIMNDA call Coleraine House, Coleraine St, Dublin 7. Tel: 01 8730422. Helpline: Freefone 1800 403 403. Email: services@imnda.ie [August 02, 2018] Pennsylvania Governor Wolf Visits Delta Dental of Pennsylvania, Highlights Strong Workforce in Cumberland County Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf today visited Delta Dental of Pennsylvania's offices in Mechanicsburg to meet with employees and recognize the company's strong commitment to the Pennsylvania economy as a business leader in Cumberland County. Governor Wolf continues to visit with companies throughout the state of Pennsylvania to highlight the strength of the commonwealth's workforce. Following his visit, Governor Wolf shared enthusiasm for the health care sector and the contribution of Delta Dental in this space. "I was impressed by the quality of work and strength of the workforce at Delta Dental in Mechanicsburg. I look forward to continuing to work with health care providers around the commonwealth to ensure healthy communities and strong economies across Pennsylvania." "Delta Dental of Pennsylvania was honored to host a visit with Governor Wolf today and we appreciate his support in creating a strong business environment for companies in Cumberland County," said Tony Barth, president and chief executive officer of Delta Dental. "We're proud of our commitment to Pennsylvanians - the millions of Keystone State residents to whom we deliver dental benefits and our employees that deliver great service to or customers." Delta Dental of Pennsylvania has operated in Mechanicsburg for nearly 50 years and The Central Penn Business Journal in its 2018 Reader Rankings recognized Delta Dental of Pennsylvania as the best dental insurance company. Delta Dental of Pennsylvania, through the Delta Dental Community Care Foundation, is committed to increasing access to care for underserved Pennsylvania residents. Overall, $1.3 million was donated in 2017. To learn more about Delta Dental please visit deltadentalins.com and to learn more about the Delta Dental Community Care Foundation please visit deltadentalins.com/about/philanthropy. About Delta Dental of Pennsylvania Delta Dental of Pennsylvania, Delta Dental Insurance Company, Delta Dental of New York, Inc., and Delta Dental of California, along with their affiliated companies, together provide dental benefits to nearly 36.5 million people in 15 states plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. All are part of the Delta Dental Plans Association, whose member companies collectively cover more than 75 million people nationwide. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180802006054/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [August 02, 2018] TUV Rheinland Philippines Approved CB Testing Laboratory (CBTL) TUV Rheinland Philippines obtained approval for the electrical product safety laboratory in Makati, Philippines and has become the first approved CB Testing Laboratory in the Philippines. MAKATI, Philippines, Aug. 3, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- TUV Rheinland, a testing and certification leader at the forefront of interoperability, performance and safety in the globally connected world, shares that their TUV Rheinland Philippines laboratory has been accepted to operate in the IECEE CB Scheme (IEC System of Conformity Assessment Schemes for Electrotechnical Equipment and Components) under the responsibility of National Certification Body (NCB) TUV Rheinland Japan Ltd. Approval was obtained for the electrical product safety laboratory for the Product Categories and subsequent standards as listed on the IECEE website. "We are very proud to be the first approved CB testing laboratory in the country. The aim of CB Certification is to help companies gain quick access to world market, save your company from multiple audits, acquire certificate recognized by multiple countries from one source, and surpass the competition by adapting a simplified procedure. We are positive that through this, we can help companies penetrate the international market easily," Engr. Tristan Arwen Loveres, TUV Rheinland Philippines Managing Director shres. "Our CBTL accreditation further strengthens our commitment to provide our clients with world-class standards. We make sure that our laboratory facilities comply with internationally-recognized requirements to guarantee quality and promote the importance of consumer protection," said Engr. Dax Julius Velmonte, TUV Rheinland Philippines Senior Manager for Products. The CB scheme is an international program promoting global harmonization and the reduction of trade barriers. Originally implemented to coordinate the acceptance of product safety test results among laboratories and certification organizations worldwide, the CB scheme provides manufacturers multiple national safety certifications for their products with a single CB certificate. It consists of one single audit and certification procedure to demonstrate the safety of your electrical products to the world's most important markets. Our experts can audit your goods and support you during international product homologation. The advantage of obtaining the CB certificate, the supplemental CB report and further country-specific documents is easier access to acquiring mandated national audit seals. IECEE, the IEC System for Conformity Assessment Schemes for Electrotechnical Equipment and Components, is a multilateral certification system based on IEC International Standards. The IECEE Schemes address the safety, quality, efficiency and overall performance of components, devices and equipment for homes, offices, workshops, health facilities among others. A CB Test Report attached with a CB Certificate become a passport for a product. Test results can be used to obtain certification or approval at national levels around the world, avoiding in-country retesting. About TUV Rheinland TUV Rheinland is a global leader in independent inspection services, founded 145 years ago. The group maintains a worldwide presence of more than 20,000 people; annual turnover is nearly EUR 2 billion. The independent experts stand for quality and safety for people, technology and the environment in nearly all aspects of life. TUV Rheinland inspects technical equipment, products and services, oversees projects, and helps to shape processes and information security for companies. Its experts train people in a wide range of careers and industries. To this end, TUV Rheinland employs a global network of approved labs, testing and education centres. Since 2006, TUV Rheinland has been a member of the United Nations Global Compact to promote sustainability and combat corruption. Website: www.TUV.com SOURCE TUV Rheinland Malaysia [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [August 03, 2018] Vet Online Supply Provides Update on Product Distribution Projects San Francisco, Aug. 03, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Vet Online Supply, Inc. (OTC PINK:VTNL) (Vet Online Supply or the Company), an innovative holistic hemp and cannabis pet products corporation, is pleased to provide an update on their high yielding distribution programs (the Project). The 2018 project for distribution of our hemp and cannabis based pet products on the west coast with a major distribution partner for the dispensary market is now well underway. Although field work at the project started later than expected due to delays in inventory production and the California fire season, our team was able to complete two and a half months of market prep in just four weeks. As a result, approximately $2M of our brand pet products will be distributed to over 500 dispensaries along the west coast from Los Angeles to Seattle. The products include our CBD Treats, CBD Drops, and CBD Oral Sprays as advertised on our website. We have been hiring manufacturing sales reps during the past 30 days, and are now targeting large retailers sch as Petco, PetSmart, Trader Joes, Amazon, Alibaba, Chewy and various large pharmaceutical distributors such as Cardinal Health, Invacare and McKesson. Our team has scheduled meetings in Europe during November 2018 to complete building the sales platform for the EU. With the distribution implementation complete, our team has now turned their focus to completing the remaining hiring of the manufacturing sales reps and design of 2 new products for the pharmamarket. The project will result in more than 200 manufacturing sales reps world- wide, contracts with the dispensary markets and large retail market, 4 Pet CBD brand products and 2 pharmaceutical products with international and domestic sales projected at more than $250M. www.vetonlinesupplies.com ABOUT VET ONLINE SUPPLY: Vet Online Supply Inc., the company, manufactures its own brand of holistic pet products to promote health and well being. The goal of "Vet Online Supply" is to provide the $38B industry with value priced and superior quality holistic pet products. Safe Harbor for Forward-Looking Statements: This news release includes forward-looking statements. While these statements are made to convey to the public the company's progress, business opportunities and growth prospects, readers are cautioned that such forward-looking statements represent management's opinion. Whereas management believes such representations to be true and accurate based on information and data available to the company at this time, actual results may differ materially from those described. The Company's operations and business prospects are always subject to risk and uncertainties. Important factors that may cause actual results to differ are and will be set forth in the company's periodic filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Contact: Meridian Consulting 323-364-3793 [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [August 03, 2018] Leaf Group to Participate At the 38th Annual Canaccord Genuity Growth Conference SANTA MONICA, Calif., Aug. 03, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Leaf Group Ltd. (NYSE: LFGR), a diversified consumer internet company, announced that the Company's Chief Executive Officer, Sean Moriarty, and Chief Financial Officer, Jantoon Reigersman, will attend the 38th Annual Canaccord Genuity Growth Conference in Boston, MA on Thursday, August 9, 2018. Management will be presenting and hosting one-on-one investor meetings at the conference. The Companys most recent investor presentation will be made available on Leaf Groups Investor Relations website at ir.leafgroup.com under the Events & Presentations page. About Leaf Group Leaf Group Ltd. is a diversified consumer internet company that builds enduring, creator-driven brands that reach passionate audiences in large and growing lifestyle categories, including fitness and wellness (Well+Good and Livestrong.com), and art and design (Saatchi Art, Society6 and Hunker). For more information about Leaf Group, visit www.leafgroup.com. Investor Contacts Jantoon Reigersman 310-917-6413 IR@leafgroup.com Shawn Milne 415-264-3419 shawn.milne@leafgroup.com Media Contact Sharna Daduk 310-917-6405 sharna.daduk@leafgroup.com Mark Farrah Associates Launches New Public Website for 2018 Mark Farrah Associates ( MFA (News - Alert) ), a leading provider of market data and intelligence solutions for the health insurance industry, is pleased to announce the launch of its new public website at www.markfarrah.com. MFA is committed to simplifying analysis of health insurance business. To that end, the website was redesigned to provide health insurance industry stakeholders a modern platform containing detailed information about MFA's available health insurance data subscriptions and market analysis tools. In addition to showcasing MFA's data subscripton products, the new website is also the home of the popular Healthcare Business StrategyTM brief series, offering the latest insights about health plan enrollment trends and financial performance. Prospective customers may also preview online products by launching informative product videos and downloading product brochures from the website's product pages. About Mark Farrah Associates (MFA) Mark Farrah Associates is a leading business information provider in the health insurance sector. We provide health plan market data and analysis tools for the healthcare industry and our primary products include Health Coverage Portal, County Health Coverage, Health Plans USA, Medicare Business Online and Medicare Benefits Analyzer. To learn more about our products, access the product brochures and preview informational videos from the "Our Products" tab on our website at www.markfarrah.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180803005034/en/ Global Photonics Market Analysis, Growth, Trends & Forecast 2018-2023, With an Expected CAGR of 7.84% - ResearchAndMarkets.com The "Global Photonics Market - Segmented by Application (Data Communication, Image Capture & Display and Photovoltaic), and Region - Growth, Trends, and Forecast (2018 - 2023)" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The photonics market was valued at USD 590.35 billion in 2017 and is expected to reach a value of USD 928.51 billion by 2023, at a CAGR of 7.84% over the forecast period, 2018-2023. Silicon photonics is an evolving branch of photonics offering a clear advantage over electric conductors used in semiconductors, which are used in high-speed transmission systems. This technology is expected to push the transmission speeds up to 100 Gbps, with companies, such as IBM, Intel (News - Alert) , and Kothura achieving breakthroughs using the technology. Intel optical transceivers developed using silicon photonics are being deployed for 100G connectivity. Image capturing & display deals with a broad palette of interrelated photonics technologies. Te market share of LED technology is rapidly growing, and it is anticipated to become the dominant lighting technology before the end of the decade. This revolution in technology allowed the business to shift from light sources to intelligent lighting solutions. The growth in the photonics market in the United States strongly correlates with the growth of parent markets, such as lighting, safety & defense applications, and healthcare and production technology. Similarly, the country leads the data center hardware market, which remains one of the major applications for photonics, with around one-third of the overall market share. Companies Mentioned 3S Photonics SAS (News - Alert) Finisar Corporation Hamamatsu Photonics KK Hewlett-Packard Company IBM Corporation IPG Photonics Infinera (News - Alert) Corporation. Innolume GmbH Intel Corp Molex Inc. Osram Licht AG Philips (News - Alert) N.V Key Topics Covered: 1. Introduction 2. Research Methodology 3. Executive Summary 4. Market Dynamics 5. Technology Snapshot 6. Global Photonics Market Segmentation - By Application 7. Global Photonics Market Segmentation - By Region 8. Global Photonics Market , Competitive Intelligence - Company Profiles 9. Investment Analysis 10. Future of the Photonics Market For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/p8rdcs/global_photonics?w=4 View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180803005337/en/ [August 03, 2018] Government of Canada will provide 1,200 paid internships to graduates Post-secondary graduates across Canada focused on digital skills to prepare for the jobs of tomorrow OTTAWA, Aug. 3, 2018 /CNW/ - The federal government is preparing Canadian graduates for the middle-class jobs of tomorrow by providing them with the opportunity to acquire the digital skills needed to succeed through paid internships. Over 1,200 underemployed post-secondary graduates will be paired with small businesses or not-for-profit organizations to learn the in-demand digital and problem-solving skills required by today's employers. The internships are being offered through Digital Skills for Youth, a program designed to help recent post-secondary graduates gain meaningful work experience and the digital skills needed for the jobs of today and of the future. Digital Skills for Youth is part of the government's Youth Employment Strategy and aligns with the government's Innovation and Skills Plan, a multi-year plan to make Canada a world leader in innovation and create well-paying middle-class jobs. Quotes "In a modern workplace, digital skills are highly valued. Equipping recent graduates with real-life work experience and a broad range of skills and knowledge will help improve their employability and enhance their career potential. As the economy changes and becomes increasingly knowledge-based, digital skills have never been more critical. Our government is proud to deliver a program that will help 1,200 Canadians gain meaningful work experience and develop digital literacy required for the middle-class jobs of tomorrow." The Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development Quick facts The following organizations will be involved in recruiting interns: Canadian Media Producers Association, Colleges and Institutes Canada, the Ontario Library Association, Communautique, the Pinnguaq Association, the University of Calgary , the Vancouver Community Network, the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador , and the Province of Prince Edward Island . , the Vancouver Community Network, the Province of and , and the Province of . Internships under Digital Skills for Youth will be available until March 31, 2020 . Associated links Digital Skills for Youth Follow the department on Twitter: @ISED_CA SOURCE Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] KBRA Releases Report for the City of Birmingham, AL General Obligation Bonds and Warrants 2018 Series On August 2, 2018, Kroll Bond Rating Agency (KBRA) assigned a long-term rating of AA with a Stable Outlook to the City of Birmingham (the City), AL General Obligation Bonds Series 2018-A and General Obligation Warrants Series 2018-B. KBRA also affirmed the long-term rating of AA with Stable Outlook on the City's outstanding General Obligation Bonds and Warrants. Ratings Issuer: City of Birmingham, Alabama Series/Bond Rating Outlook Action General Obligation Refunding Bonds, Series 2018-A AA Stable Assigned General Obligation Warrants, Series 2018-B AA Stable Assigned General Obligation Refunding Bonds AA Stable Affirmed General Obligation Warrants AA Stable Affirmed KBRA's long-term ratings do not apply to bonds backed by a letter of credit or liquidity facility, unless otherwise noted. KBRA's rating assessment of the City of Birmingham's General Obligation Bonds and Warrants is based on KBRA's U.S. Local Government General Obligation Rating Methodology: Governance and Management Structure and Policies Municipal Resource Base Debt and Additional Continuing Obligations Financial Performance and Liquidity To view this report, please click here. CONNECT WITH KBRA Twitter LinkedIn Download the iOS App YouTube About KBRA and KBRA Europe KBRA is a full service credit rating agency registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission as an NRSRO. In addition, KBRA is recognized by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners as a Credit Rating Provider and a certified Credit Rating Agency (CRA) by the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA). Kroll Bond Rating Agency Europe Limited is registered with ESMA as a CRA. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180803005384/en/ [August 03, 2018] Octo North America Appoints Geoff Werner as Americas' Country Manager to Lead Next Phase of Growth as IoT for Insurance Gathers Pace Fabio Sbianchi, Group CEO and co Founder of Octo Telematics said "Nino started Octo in North America. His entrepreneurial leadership in our early years helped establish the Telematics industry and create positive traction in the market. The market is now maturing and we face a different set of challenges in driving increased adoption together with industrialised service provision for our customers. As such Nino has decided to explore fresh challenges and the Board and I wish him every success in the future." "I've really enjoyed my time at Octo Telematics where I had the opportunity to work with a world class team and the decision to leave was not an easy one," said Nino Tarantino. "My passion is taking a start-up through hyper growth, and we've done that with Octo North America, so it's time for me to focus my sights on my next venture." Insurance Telematics and Connected Car Services are emerging fast in North America with 2.1m UBI policies according to Ptolemus Consulting. With the transition from static data-based insights to dynamic data driven intelligence, Octo has invested substantially in creating a Next Generation Platform that combines all of the facets required for the IOT together with use cases dedicated to the insurance, automotive and mobility industries to drive future growth. With this in mind, Geoff Werner has been appointed Amricas' Country Manager to lead this next phase of growth in addition to his role as Vice President DriveAbility & Consulting. Fabio Sbianchi comments "Geoff is an industry pioneer and since 2008 has led much of the thinking in the Insurance Telematics space. Octo acquired the UBI assets of Willis Towers Watson in December 2017 and this appointment begins the process of fully integrating the Driveability and Consulting team into the Octo business. Geoff's knowledge of data analytics, scoring and technology right across the Insurance value chain will allow us to deliver more value for our customers whilst continuously innovating." Geoff Werner added "as an Actuary and having spent my career in the insurance industry, I am incredibly excited by the opportunities in front of us and the wider transformational impact that data led analytics is having for our customers. The Octo offering is stronger than ever and combining our global expertise in crash and claims with our technology ecosystem will help drive our customers' success." About Octo Telematics Octo is the number 1 global provider of telematics and data analytics solutions for the auto insurance industry. Founded in 2002, Octo is one of the pioneers of the insurance telematics industry. Today, Octo is the largest and most experienced insurance telematics company in the world, transforming auto insurance through behavioural, contextual and driving analytics for more than 100 partners. Octo has more than 5.6 million connected users and the largest global database of telematics data, with over 207 billion miles of driving data collected and 447,000 crashes and insurance events analyzed (as of 30 June 2018). Octo applies proprietary algorithms to this market-leading database to deliver powerful new insights into driver risk, informing solutions that benefit both auto insurance companies and policyholders. The company is headquartered in Rome, with offices in Boston, London, Stuttgart, Madrid, and Sao Paulo. http://www.octotelematics.com/ View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180803005524/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] It may seem like 5G is perpetually just around the corner, but rest assured: the next-generation networking standard is coming soon, and its bringing super-fast speeds with it. And Motorola and Verizon just took a big step toward putting a 5G-ready phone in our hands. A dummy model of Motorola's 5G Moto Mod, on the back of the new Moto Z3. The two companies yesterday (Aug. 2) announced a 5G Moto Mod a modular component that will snap into the back of Motorolas upcoming Moto Z3 smartphone. Attaching that 5G Moto Mod will let the Z3 connect to that soon-to-roll-out 5G network, enabling the phone to pull down data at faster speeds. In many ways, its a clever idea; were not even in 5Gs early days yet, and the components that would enable 5G connectivity are only now heading to phone makers. Add to that the fact that consumer 5G networks wont be in place for mobile until 2019, and the modular approach seems like a good way to introduce 5G in a tangible way, while serving as a necessary proving ground for Verizons infrastructure as it comes online. Still, you could argue Motorola and Verizons joint announcement raised more questions than it answered. Were told the Mod wont arrive until the first quarter of 2019 at best, five months after the only device that will support it comes out. Meanwhile, Verizon's 5G network still needs to materialize. The carrier is testing out home broadband service in several cities this year, before turning its attention to mobile in 2019, and the company will have serious kinks to work out both logistical and technical as it prepares for the new era. The unfortunate side effect of being the first to something as complicated and industry-changing as 5G is that your earliest adopters more or less end up becoming beta testers. Motos 5G Mod could very well be a critical first step as the new networking standard launches. But given the questions that werent addressed at the reveal, its still not definitive whether a Moto Z3 equipped with a 5G Moto Mod will be the answer for the network of the future. Its not coming out until sometime vaguely next year After unveiling its phone and accessory this week, Motorola demoed a pre-production version of the 5G Mod in action. In the test, conducted in a specialized room to ensure no interference, miniature towers blasted a signal directly at a prototype Mod from a few feet away, which then registered download speeds greater than 3 Gbps. Pretty cool. MORE: The Most Anticipated Smartphones - New Phones FOR 2018 and Beyond But there are some caveats to that eye-popping result. The Mod was shrouded by a box and wasnt connected to a phone. Motorola evidently hasnt reached the point where its ready to share this technology running on production-ready hardware yet, even though the Mods release is roughly six months away, based on the companys claims. That doesnt necessarily mean a delay is inevitable, but with so many hurdles on the path to 5G and that launch date looming, a demo of the 5G Mod in conditions more like the real world would have inspired more confidence. Verizon is being cagey about its network and data caps That brings us to the next issue, which is everything Verizon isnt saying about its first mobile 5G product. We know the carrier is launching residential 5G in four cities, including Houston, Los Angeles and Sacramento, before the end of the year. But Big Red is playing its cards close to the chest for mobile data, even though, again, this launch is merely months away. Verizon tells us the 5G Mod wont be a device without a network, which indicates the company will have 5G progress to report soon. But even so, the Mod will presumably only work in certain regions when it sees the light of day, meaning it wont be available to most customers (at least at first). The Moto Z3 is a Verizon-exclusive smartphone that will be the first to work with Motorola's 5G Moto Mod. And then theres the question of data caps. During the demonstration, I asked Motorola product manager Jeff Snow if he could shed light on how much data 5G Mod users will be able to consume in a given service period. Snow said Motorola is still determining that with Verizon. But if the cap is anywhere near as stingy as what carriers enforce now, it could limit 5Gs value. MORE: The Best and Worst Phone Carriers Faster data means you'll hit your limit faster. Even with unlimited plans, you still run into a point where the carrier reserves the right to slow down your speeds. Thats probably not going to change with 5G, but data allotments and prices will almost certainly have to be adjusted. And no ones saying at this point what that will look like, at least for those who will buy the 5G Mod. During the event, Motorola made many of the same bold claims were so used to hearing about 5G, like how it has the capability to allow customers to accumulate unfathomable amounts of content in record time. In 10 seconds, a 5G-enabled phone could save 90 songs off Spotify; in one minute, it could download four 4K-quality episodes of Game of Thrones. But those what-if scenarios will simply be meaningless unless Verizon gifts a sizable chunk of data to its 5G guinea pigs. Youll need a Moto Z3 for it at least for now Up until now, every Moto Mod that Motorola has released has worked on every device in the Moto Z family. That encompasses three generations of smartphones. Its an impressive display of conviction that the company has stuck with this platform so long, but the Moto Z3, due out August 16, will introduce a critical rift. Motorola tells us the 5G Moto Mod will only work on the Verizon-exclusive Z3 initially, although its engineers are trying to find ways to enable compatibility with earlier Moto Z models. The back of the Moto Z3, showing off the Moto Mod connector on the back where the phone will interface with the 5G Mod. Its surprising that Motorola would break its own rules this way. Then again, this is the most ambitious Mod the company has produced, much more complicated than a simple speaker or even a Polaroid printer. MORE: Moto Mods Tested and Ranked Best to Worst The whole purpose of the Moto Mod experiment, as the company has told us again and again, was to allow customers to add features and improve their devices without having to shell out hundreds more on an entirely new handset. Unless Motorola is able to make good on its attempts to bring compatibility to older Moto Z phones, it seems buyers will have to do exactly that. None of this would be an issue, though, if not for the phone the Mod was tied to. To be clear, the Moto Z3 looks like a perfectly fine and even reasonably priced handset, the likes of which you wouldnt expect from a carrier exclusive. However, it doesnt bring much new to the table outside of its 5G possibilities, considering that it employs last years Snapdragon 835 processor and a design almost entirely unchanged from the midrange Moto Z3 Play. In other words, Verizon customers are being asked to drop $480 on a new phone based on a promise of eventual 5G that could take very long to materialize. Meanwhile, theyll be biding their time with a phone that doesnt seem particularly leading-edge. And what about the price? Its important to note that we dont know how the 5G Mod will be priced. But given the crazy technology inside a combination of Qualcomms X50 5G and state-of-the-art X24 LTE modems it could be quite pricey. The LTE modem covers for the one in the phone and is used when 5G service is poor. However, it can still achieve up to 2 Gbps, which isnt far off the 3 Gbps peak in the 5G test we witnessed. Motorola has also equipped the Mod with antennas on each corner, to mitigate the effect that physical obstructions have on 5G signal loss. And if youre wondering how all this gear might impact battery life, consider that the company felt it necessary to stuff a 2,000-mAh battery in its Mod for good measure, simply to offset the speedier drain all those radios have on the 3,000 -mAh power pack already built into the Moto Z3. MORE: Smartphones With the Longest Battery Life - A Comparison Anyone who can remember the early days of LTE understands how new wireless technologies can absolutely crater longevity on a charge. Motorola told us users of the Mod would hit their data limit well before the battery dies, but again, that not saying much when the currency were dealing in is 4K HBO dramas. These are hefty compromises, which is why it might be be difficult for Motorola to charge hundreds for the 5G Mod itself, even with so much going on inside it. Outlook The 5G Moto Mod launch treated us to the same talking points weve heard so many times about the changing mobile landscape and the need for faster data. While we saw pictures of an add-on and a vague release window, were still waiting on specifics. Theoretical download speeds are nice, but in the real world, coverage, data caps and battery life matter and all parties remained ominously silent on those matters. Once you look past the hyperbole of this latest step toward 5G, were still missing far too much of the picture to know if Motorola and Verizon will be able to deliver the kind of experience people are expecting from the next great revolution in our digital lives. Photo Credit: Adam Ismail/Tom's Guide CHICAGO Motorolas flagship contender for 2018 is here at last, though its not quite what we were expecting. The Moto Z3, announced today (Aug. 2) at an event held at Motorolas headquarters, takes the design and nearly all of the features of the Moto Z3 Play, and throws in a more powerful processor and upgraded dual cameras. Like all Moto Z devices, the Z3 is compatible with a slew of Moto Mods already on the market, as well as a new one due out in early 2019 that will enable 5G connectivity on this particular phone. But its whats inside the new Z3 that has us scratching our heads. Surprising specs and a very special mod While 2018s Android flagships are enjoying Snapdragon 845 power, the Moto Z3 makes do with an 835 chipset the same one featured in the Pixel 2 XL. That puts Z3 at an obvious disadvantage in terms of out-and-out performance, though it may be worth the tradeoff, given that Motorola is only asking $480 for the new phone. Thats actually cheaper than the $499 Z3 Play, with its inferior Snapdragon 636 processor though that handset comes with a Power Pack Moto Mod. The Moto Z3 will be available exclusively on Verizon on August 16, and the carrier is offering up to $300 to any subscriber that wishes to trade in their existing phone for it. Motorola representatives have told us that an unlocked variant of the Z3 isnt in the cards. The Verizon exclusivity is partly due to Motorola's partnership with the carrier to launch its 5G Moto Mod. The add-on won't be available until early 2019, and Motorola hasn't disclosed pricing yet. But we do know the Mod is so far only confirmed to work on the Moto Z3, with support for Verizon versions of the Moto Z2 and first-generation Moto Z handsets potentially coming in a post-release software update. That makes this the very first Moto Mod to only work on certain products in Motorola's modular family. Design and cameras From the outside, the Moto Z3 looks exactly like the Z3 Play. Thats not by accident, as the company tends to keep design changes to a minimum for its Z-series products. The footprints of its modular phones need to stay unchanged if they're going to maintain compatibility with existing Moto Mods. However, while previous Motorola flagships like the Z2 Force have brought crazy shatter-proof displays and other unique touches aimed at the premium market, the Moto Z3 doesnt enjoy any of that. In fact, the front and back are still clad in Gorilla Glass 3, even while some phones are sporting Cornings fifth-generation strengthened glass. The Moto Z3 certainly looks and feels well made, but I suspect itll come across as something of a missed opportunity for those hoping Motorola would raise the bar set with the Z3 Play. It certainly isnt as attention grabbing as the leaked Motorola One Power that has been making the rounds in recent months, with its iPhone X-borrowed design cues. At least the cameras on the Z3 are better than those of Motorolas cheaper modular device. On the back, users will find dual 12-megapixel sensors. The main lens has an f/2.0 aperture, while the secondary one only sees in monochrome, to enable true black-and-white photography. That should be an improvement over the 5-MP secondary shooter in the Z3 Play, which produced unconvincing bokeh-effect portraits when we tested it out. Unfortunately, both cameras lack optical image stabilization, which typically improve low-light output and alleviate shaky-handed shots. In all other respects, the Moto Z3 doesnt introduce anything new. The display is still of the Super AMOLED variety, sized at 6 inches with minimal bezels above and below it. The fingerprint sensor is on the edge, just as it was on the Z3 Play, and once again users will find 4GB of RAM alongside 64GB of storage and a 3,000-mAh battery inside. The Z3 is still splash resistant but not certified for water submersion, and the software Android 8.1 Oreo comes with all of Motorolas typical extra features, like an optional gesture-based navigation system and shortcuts to launch the camera and fire up the flashlight. Outlook On one hand, the Moto Z3 appears to be a less ambitious device than the Moto flagships that came before it. But then again, at just $480, it could be a really great value for Verizon customers who appreciate the flexibility that comes with a modular smartphone. Motorola says its trying to avoid the specs race and hone in on the practical needs of their users, that perhaps dont need the newest silicon on the block. Its an admirable strategy, but youll have to wait a few weeks for our full review to know how its played out. And you'll have to wait a bit longer to see what the 5G Moto Mod adds to the party, too. Photo Credit: Adam Ismail/Tom's Guide Pointing to ways to get Windows 10 for free -- or least cheaper. (Image credit: Anton Watman/Shutterstock) You can spend thousands on components for building a PC, but it wont boot without an operating system (OS). Linux is a viable option, but most prefer Windows because it runs all their favorite software, including the latest games. Windows 11 isn't here yet, but fortunately, you can get Windows 10 for free or cheap -- if you know where to look. Getting hold of the Windows installer is as easy as visiting support.microsoft.com. Whether you've paid for Windows 10 already or not, anyone is allowed to download a Windows 10 ISO file and burn it to a DVD or create installation media on a USB drive for free. Once that's done, you can boot from your installation media and load Windows 10 onto your PC. During installation, Microsoft asks for an activation key. You can skip it, but eventually, Windows will start alerting you that your install isn't activated. There are many ways to get a Windows 10 activation / product key, and they range in price from completely free to $309, depending on which flavor of Windows 10 you want. Of course, you can buy a key from Microsoft online, but there are other websites selling Windows 10 keys for less. Theres also the option of downloading Windows 10 without a key and never activating the OS. But what, if anything, are you missing out on if you dont activate Windows 10? And does your carefully crafted PC build face any risks? Below we outline the top ways you can get Windows 10 -- from free, to cheap, to most expensive -- and the downsides of each option. Upgrade From Windows 7 or 8 Don't Activate Windows Student Discount Buy a Cheap Key From a Third Party Buy a Key From Microsoft Price Free Free Free (Windows 10 Education) About $30 (11, $40 AU) Home: $139 (119.99 / AU$225); Pro: $199.99 (219.99 / AU$339); Workstation: $309 (339 / AU$525) Pros Access to all personalization options; Microsoft support access; Free Free Access to all personalization options; Microsoft support access; Equivalent to Windows 10 Enterprise; Free Access to all personalization options; Microsoft support access Access to all personalization options; Microsoft support access; Refunds Cons Theres a small chance Microsoft will reject activation, and youll have to contact support Desktop watermark; Personalization options restricted; Can't use Microsoft support You have to be enrolled in an eligible school There's a chance your key won't work, and you'll have to contact support to get it fixed; Some third parties have bad customer service; Some third parties don't offer refunds Expensive Upgrade From Windows 7 or 8 to Windows 10: Free Nothings cheaper than free. If youre looking for Windows 10 Home, or even Windows 10 Pro, its possible to get Windows 10 for free onto your PC if you have Windows 7, which has reached EoL, or later. (Yes, this still works, as a Microsoft rep has confirmed.) If you already have a Windows 7, 8 or 8.1 a software/product key, you can upgrade to Windows 10 for free. You activate it by using the key from one of those older OSes. But note that you can only use a key on a single PC at a time, so if you use that key for a new PC build, any other PC running that key is out of luck. To do this with a Windows 10-compatible PC (after backing up your important data, of course) download Windows 10. When asked, select "Upgrade this PC now." Note that if you've recently changed your PC's hardware, such as the motherboard, Windows may not find the license for you device. That means you'll have to reactive the OS. Here are Microsoft's instructions for reactivating Windows 10 after changing PC hardware. Downsides of Upgrading From Windows 7 or 8 When using an older Windows key to activate Windows 10, you may run into complications if Microsoft isn't sure whether you're eligible to update or not. In that case, youll have to call a number and go through the process of entering your key and getting a code. However, that seems to be happening less in recent months and years. Don't Activate Windows: Free If you don't have a valid key, you can still use Windows 10 for free on your PC even if you dont activate the OS. I have colleagues who have used non-activated versions of Windows for years without Microsoft ever shutting it down. In this way, you can have Windows 10 Home or Pro running on your PC nearly flawlessly. Nearly... Downsides of Not Activating Windows If the user [installs Windows 10] before activating Windows, they will see an Activate Windows watermark on their desktop, as well an experience a limit on Windows 10 personalization options, Microsoft told Toms Hardware in a statement. Microsoft brands PCs running an unactivated version of Windows 10 with a watermark in the bottom-right corner of the screen. A Microsoft spokesperson told me that activating Windows 10 ensures you have a legitimate copy of Windows 10, and the watermark is an attempt to alert consumers that their version could be false. However, if you downloaded your ISO directly from Microsoft, there's no way your copy can be a fake. You'll have this watermark on your desktop if you get Windows 10 for free and don't activate it. If you dont activate Windows 10, you wont be able to change Personalization options in the Settings menu. That means you can't choose personal desktop wallpapers, slideshow backgrounds, Start, taskbar, Action Center or title bar colors, light or dark color schemes, font choices or lock screen options. The lack of custom aesthetics can be a downer, especially if you like to liven things up by changing colors and images. However, we checked, and you can still change your wallpaper if you right-click an image from the web or a personal photo and set it as your wallpaper. And if you have a wallpaper tied to your Microsoft account, it will appear if you sign into Windows with that account. Microsoft blocks out your personalization options if you get Windows 10 for free and don't activate it. Unsurprisingly, Microsoft won't offer you any Windows 10 technical support if you dont activate the OS. If you call or chat with their techs, they'll start off by asking you for your key, and youll have no response. Use the Microsoft Student Discount: Free Microsoft offers students attending certain universities and high schools the ability to get Windows 10 for free by allowing them to activate Windows 10 Education for free. Meanwhile, teachers can get Windows 10 Education for $14.99. You can see if your school is eligible and download your free Windows 10 key here. The key is yours even after you graduate. Some schools give students and teachers Windows 10 for free or $15, respectively. But is Windows 10 Education any different from Windows 10 Home? Its actually better. Windows 10 Education is the same as Windows 10 Enterprise, which Microsoft calls the most robust version of Windows 10. The OS has features targeting security, device control and management and deployment that Windows 10 Home lacks. Unlike Windows 10 Home, Windows 10 Education has client and host remote desktop and remote app i(nstead of client only), Hyper-V (Microsofts hypervisor) and extra apps, like AppLocker and BitLocker. Although, its likely you wont ever use any of those bonus features. If youre not currently a student but happen to have a .edu email, we dont recommend scamming the system. In addition to ethical concerns, if you get caught, Microsoft can make you pay up anyway. False representations of eligibility voids this offer, and Microsoft reserves the right to collect the full price of product(s) ordered, Microsofts policy states. Downsides of Using the Microsoft Student Discount If your school is eligible for the discount, there isnt really a downside to this method of procuring Windows 10 free. Not all colleges / high schools have it, and you may need to make a special user account to download it. But if you can score Windows 10 Education for free, we dont see any reason not to. Buy a Cheap Windows 10 Key From a Third-Party Seller: Around $30 Retailers, like Kinguin and Newegg, don't give away Windows 10 for free but often sell it for cheap. (Image credit: Kinguin) If you cant stand living with the scarlet letter of an eternal watermark or want the comfort of knowing Microsoft wont disown your PCs OS should you call for help, youll have to buy a Windows 10 key. And while some turn to Microsoft for this purchase, there are third-party websites selling keys for much cheaper than Microsoft. For example, at the time of writing, Kinguin sells Windows 10 Home for $30, Amazon charges $130, and Newegg's pushing it for $109.99 or $130 for the Pro version for OEM. Even Walmart has it for $104.99, as well as a Pro OEM version. According to Wccftech, you can also buy Windows 10 from KeysOff, which is currently selling Windows 10 Home for $16.32 and Windows 10 Professional for $7.45, although we've never used the site so can't attest to its quality, customer service or reliability. Be sure to check their refund policy before buying. Now, let's address the elephant in the room. While we can't vouch for all of them, websites selling lower-priced Windows keys are likely selling legitimate codes. One popular site, Kinguin, has 37 merchants worldwide selling Windows keys. Mark Jordan, Kinguins VP of communications, told Tom's Hardware in 2019 that Kinguin's merchants acquire the codes from wholesalers who have surplus copies of Windows they don't need. "It's not a gray market. It would be like buying Adidas or Puma or Nike from a discounter, from TJ Maxx," Jordan said. "There are no legal issues with buying it from us. It's just another marketplace." According to Jordan, Kinguin's merchants have sold several hundred thousand keys and are not one-time sellers posting listings for codes they dont want. As part of its fraud protection, a Kinguin employee randomly buys a key every now and then to make sure theyre legitimate, he said. Jordan added that its rare for a customer to get a key thats been resold, but if they did, customer support would help them get a new one for free. If there's ever a problem with a key being already activated or something like that, our customer support team helps you get a new key And that merchant would be in deep trouble, so they are very careful with it, Jordan said. However, we've encountered reports of customer dissatisfaction, including from users who wanted a specific type of key (like non-OEM only), ended up with something different (like an OEM version) and could only get a refund, rather than the type of key they originally tried to buy. We've also heard reports of slow customer service. Kinguin hasn't responded to requests for comment. You'll have to enter a key to activate Windows, but you wont have a problem doing that if you bought your key from a place like Kinguin (or Amazon, Newegg, etc.). In fact, Microsoft still offers 24/7 technical support online and via phone even if you got your Windows 10 key from somewhere other than Microsoft. If you do opt to get your key for less, make sure its from a legitimate site. A hint will be if that key is too cheap -- i.e. free or close to free. And, as with anything else, if you haven't heard of a seller, check their ratings or go elsewhere. No matter where you get your product key, you shouldn't download Windows 10 from anyone besides Microsoft. As noted on Microsofts website: When buying Microsoft software as a digital download, we recommend that you avoid auction sites and peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing sites. At the moment there are a limited number of sites where you can legally purchase digital downloads of Microsoft software. Genuine Windows is published by Microsoft, properly licensed and supported by Microsoft or a trusted partner. Non-genuine software results in a higher risk of malware, fraud, public exposure of your personal information and a higher risk for poor performance or feature malfunctions, Microsoft added in a statement to Tom's Hardware. Downsides of Cheap Keys These non-Microsoft websites have varying return policies for software key purchases. While Kinguin seems to have an open return policy, we've seen reports of the service being too slow or the company insisting on replacing the key instead of refunding it or vice versa. Amazon and Newegg both have no-refund policies for software keys. Amazon claims all keys sold on its site are genuine, and any gripes you have with your key must be handled by the individual vendors. If a key you bought from Newegg doesnt work, you'll have to contact Neweggs product support team to get a new key. Still, most, if not all, sites seem willing to accommodate you should you get a key thats already been used or doesnt work. Again, just make sure youre buying your key from a legitimate source. For that reason we dont recommend buying Windows 10 keys from individual sellers (or illegally). This final downside is only applicable if you want to equip your PC with Windows 10 Pro for Workstations. While I was able to find Windows 10 Home on a number of genuine key-selling websites and Windows 10 Pro on some (although fewer) websites, I couldnt find a place to download a key for Windows 10 Pro for Workstations anywhere besides Microsoft (Amazon sells it to ship for $293.83). The most advanced and pricey ($309) member of the Windows 10 clan, Windows 10 Pro for Workstations offers support for the next generation of PC hardware, up to four CPUs and 6TB of memory, according to Microsofts website. But its unlikely youll need the juggernaut of Windows 10 for your personal machine. Buy a Windows Key From Microsoft: $139+ Want a version of Windows 10 where you can enjoy dynamic slideshows on your home screen and vibrant red, green, pink, or purple taskbars? Do you enjoy the thrills of a watermark-free screen and the comfort of knowing you can call Microsoft support if you have any problems? Then you need a key, which, as discussed, you can get from various retailers. But if you want to avoid any chance of getting an unusable key or want the guaranteed ability to get a full refund even if theres no problem with the key, your best bet is buying from Microsoft. In addition to selling keys for Windows 10 Home and Pro, Microsoft is the only place you can get a key for Windows 10 Pro for Workstations. Additionally, Microsoft offers the Assure Software Support Plan for an extra $99 (95/ AU$120). This plan is valid for a year after activating Windows 10. Its applicable for up to five devices and entitles you to online and phone support and one-on-one in-store training. One caveat: Microsoft says the plan is for purchase and activation only in the region in which it was acquired. Downsides of Buying from Microsoft Microsoft charges the most for Windows 10 keys. Windows 10 Home goes for $139 (119.99 / AU$225), while Pro is $199.99 (219.99 /AU$339). Despite these high prices, youre still getting the same OS as if you bought it from somewhere cheaper, and its still only usable for one PC. Plus, the premium price doesnt entitle you to any support perks. Microsofts 24/7 basic phone and online support is available to anyone with a Windows 10 key, even those who didn't get it from Microsoft. After already investing time and money building a PC , it can be difficult to convince yourself to spend over $100 for an OS that you can get with the same specs and support for cheaper. What's the Best Way to Get Windows 10? If you have an old Windows key you can get Windows 10 free by carrying that key over from a previous build -- that's your best option. If you don't have a key on hand, you need to decide whether you're comfortable using an unactivated version of Windows 10, which limits your customization options, has an ugly watermark and leaves you ineligible for Microsoft support. Many would argue that downloading Windows without paying for or already owning a product key is ethically wrong. That said, Microsoft has made this process easier over various Windows iterations and lessened the limitations and nagging that happens when you don't activate. The company isn't trying to close this loophole, probably because its more interested in driving user numbers. I've even seen well-known vendors and Microsoft partners do press presentations with watermarks on their desktop. If you must buy a Windows 10 key, you can save a lot with a low-cost seller such as Kinguin, although customer service will likely be lacking and isn't the best option if you only want a very specific type of Windows 10. Still, Microsoft's price is astronomically high. You can save $100 or more by buying a key from one of these third-party sites, which is money you can spend on one of the best graphics cards, a roomier SSD, or a few AAA games for your new PC. MORE: Running Windows 10 on Raspberry Pi MORE: PC Building Tips for Beginners MORE: How to Build A PC MORE: How to Factory Reset a Windows 10 PC MORE: How to Set Up RAID In Windows 10 The Barna Group conducts lots of research about religion, faith trends and related matters. Next March it plans to release the full results of a study that has come up with some results I find appalling. The study was done... The answer is simple. Be aware. Pay attention. Understand that violence is the byproduct of a city where opportunities for some residents are grossly unequal to others. It is a consequence when a decent education, a good job and the ability to provide a stable home are harder to achieve in some neighborhoods than others. It is the end result when the pain of poverty cuts deeper among some racial and ethnic groups than it does in others. KCMO Gunfire Noise Complaints KC neighbors demand to hear horns instead of gunfire KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Tired of hearing gunshots, concerned citizens from all over Kansas City gathered at 59th and Swope Parkway demanding to hear the sound of car horns, instead. "I have a big concern about the number of people dying," said Sydney Hicks. Fear Kansas City Pink Slip Friday Hundreds to lose jobs at Harley-Davidson plant in KC Many people working for Harley-Davidson in Kansas City will clock out for the last time on Thursday as the company is expected to lay off nearly 200 employees within the next 24 hours. It will make it just one of many rounds as the company closes down in KC. The KCMO McTavish Weekend List 6 Hot Things To Do In Kansas City This Weekend The "dog days" are here, right? Hot. Sticky. Hotter than sticky. If you can't beat the August sauna, join it this weekend - heck, it can't hurt to try - by doing things dedicated to hot snacks, hot music, hot comedy and other sizzling stuff. Sweaty already? Good! 1. Celebrate Chicken Shack Good Deeds KC Chick-fil-A manager braves sewer to help metro mom get her keys KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- A metro woman says one Chick-fil-A employee went above and beyond to make sure she got home safe. Rachelle Crowe was at the restaurant on State Line Road near Ward Parkway Center when she dropped her keys down in the sewer. Low Rent JoCo Amazon Alternative New Johnson County library to open Sunday in Shawnee SHAWNEE, Kan. - Johnson County will open its 14th public library Sunday. The newest library is in the Monticello neighborhood of Shawnee. Specifically, it is located at 22435 West 66th Street. The library officially opens Sunday at 1 p.m. Check Impressive Local Video An introduction: the 'Discovering KC' video series Northeast News Editorial Assistant Northeast News editorial intern Elisabeth Slay spent the summer in Kansas City from her native Oklahoma, and she took full advantage of her time in the City of Fountains. This is an introduction to Slay's video series, 'Discovering KC.' Hop along for the ride. Tech Hits The Road Tech N9ne to kickoff Independent Grind Tour 2018 in Kansas City Posted: Thursday, August 2, 2018 5:50 PM EDT Updated: Aug 02, 2018 05:50 PM Thursday, August 2, 2018 6:58 PM EDT KANSAS CITY, MO (KCTV) - Tech N9ne will be kicking off his Independent Grind Tour 2018 in Kansas City on Oct. 6, he announced on Thursday. Apologies fortardy morning update but it's Friday so I'm not gonna sweat it . . . In fact, right now we're thinking about more casual social media that offers far less information but way more hottie pix.Take a look:Closer to home, here's a collection of important local news links right now . . .is the song of the day and this is thefor right now . . . There have been three shooting deaths in Kansas City since Wednesday and 11 people have been hit by gunfire. ANOTHER INTERNATIONAL STUDENT VISITING KANSAS CITY WAS BRUTALLY GUNNED DOWN FOR NO REASON WHILE TAKING A WALK!!! TKC FAIR WARNING : WHILST KANSAS CITY TOUTS 25-MILLION ANNUAL TOURISTS, THIS KILLING CONFIRMS FOREIGNERS ARE INCREASINGLY TARGETED BY LOCAL THUGS!!! - South Kansas City has its problems but it's not as dangerous as Prospect . . . - Early reports revealed that the shooting investigation covered "several blocks" and may indicate rolling gunfire . . . - Like it or not, this is a trend and to deny that international visitors aren't in danger is to ignore a trend and risk the lives of Kansas City students, guests and tourists. The past 24 hours in Kansas City have been the most violent we've seen so far in 2018.The round-up . . .Even worse . . .And so . . .A few more details . . .News links:You decide . . . Empty seats greet Kobach in Wyandotte County by Mary Rupert The Kobach for Governor Victory Tour came to Kansas City, Kansas, on Thursday afternoon, but there were just empty seats greeting the candidate. As Kris Kobach, a Republican candidate for governor, made a tour of several cities on Thursday, he came from a group of about 30 supporters in Leavenworth, to none... The right-wing hopeful NEEDS JoCo & WyCo to win over the incumbent . . . Today his local rally offered a glimpse at his real world support and possibly a realization that his most strident supporters exist mostly on the Internets whilst GOP establishment INCUMBENT CRYSTAL WILLIAMS ISN'T GETTING A LOT OF SUPPORT GIVEN THE CURRENT HOT MESS JACKSON COUNTY POLITICAL SWAMP!!! "She's obviously living in a fantasy world. If her record of reform is so great. Why is the County in such horrible shape? Her answers to questions about her tenure don't make any sense and at this point she's just fabricating her record. She needs to own the horrible problems with the County if she really wants to claim that she's talking honesty with voters." LET'S CELEBRATE A QUICK LIST OF WRONGS FROM JACKSON COUNTY LEGISLATOR CRYSTAL WILLIAMS!!! She was an ally of disgraced former Exec Mike Sanders and actively worked to support his sketchy political agenda. Let's not forget that Exec Mike entered a guilty plea to felony wire fraud conspiracy charges and is now awaiting sentencing. To be fair, Mike is also a TKC reader and we hear he's not to jazzed about her campaign either. In the distant past, Crystal promised Internets transparency and greater access to the Jackson County budget process. This was 8 years ago and she said she would work to develop a "web page" (whatever that is) that would provide easy to use budget info . . . No progress on that front almost a decade later as most of her social media activism strangely pouts over Hillary Clinton's loss whilst the overwhelming majority of Democratic Party denizens want to move forward. She's now forming an alliance with Exec Frank White and has offered her support to the embattled politico during his feuds with the Legislature. She has been mostly silent regarding the HUMAN RIGHTS CRISIS at Jackson County Jail and hasn't offered many new ideas despite ATTACKS ON WOMEN at the jail. Let's not forget her FAILED Missouri State Senate run . . . She tried and lost an effort to chase a better officer after winning an election and showed voters that she didn't really care about her commitments. A longtime favorite of ourmight soon be OUSTED by voters given the early reports we're hearing from Jackson County insiders.To wit . . .What's even worse is the shameless, disjointed and duplicitous sales pitch she's given voters as we slouch toward the Democratic Primary August 7th.Obviously, we have our own opinions about Crystal but the following bit of community journalism deserves a look because it offers a conversation with both candidates:Courthouse Insider reaction after reading the piece:Crystal's double talk might not matter . . . More than any other candidate, her political career might be sacrificed the sins of a horrible Jackson County governance.Accordingly . . .so voters aren't going to get the red meat they deserve given that Legislator Crystal Williams has proven herself as one of the worst hypocrites currently attempting to cling to political office.You decide . . . KC Country Club Plaza's plan to survive 'retail apocalypse' | The Kansas City Star As the Country Club Plaza celebrates 95 years in business this year, its current owners face a daunting task: How to keep the historic and iconic outdoor mall thriving during an era of mall decline? When Taubman Centers Inc. and the Macerich Co. Dead-Tree coverage offers us a round-up of what we already know but blames the Internets for shopping FAIL without talking aboutthat also threatens the oldest outdoor mall in the nation.Take a look: The Ford Ranger Raptor has the makings of becoming one of the most popular Ford pickups in the industry. Its essentially a smaller and presumably more affordable version of the F-150 Raptor. But as fascinating as the Ranger Raptor is, there is one point of contention surrounding the Ranger Raptor, specifically the absence of a gas-powered V-6 unit. Well, dont get your hopes up because Ford doesnt appear to have any plans of offering the Ranger Raptor with a gasoline or diesel-drinking V-6. We can still cross our fingers, but it looks like the ship has sailed on this one A Diesel-Only Drivetrain Makes Sense in Most Markets Its a bitter pill to slow, especially considering how a V-6 unit, gas or diesel, has done wonders for the Ford F-150 Raptor. But as much as there are people who are clamoring for it, those numbers, according to Ford, are dwarfed by those who dont want it. Trevor Worthington, Fords head of development for the Asia-Pacific region, laid all the cards on the table in a conversation with Australias CarAdvice. According to Worthington, a V-6-powered Ranger Raptor wouldnt work because most Ranger buyers prefer a small-displacement diesel engine. f anything, Ford might find it difficult to sell the Ranger Raptor in this market with only a 2.0-liter diesel engine under its hood. "Well, we havent looked at that one," Worthington said, referring to a V-6 option for the Ranger Raptor, "because as Ive said this morning, the vast majority of the 200 markets that we sell Ranger, and when I say a vast majority I mean 99 percent are all-diesel markets. Itd be like turning up with something that people wouldnt even consider buying." If there is a silver lining to Worthingtons comments, its that hes largely referring to a market that has vastly different needs than the market here in North America. Its entirely possible that when the U.S.-spec Ranger Raptor arrives, a V-6 engine could be offered. Thats far from a certainty at this point, but any outcome that doesnt involve the Ranger Raptor getting shut out of the option for a V-6 is welcome news. If anything, Ford might find it difficult to sell the Ranger Raptor in this market with only a 2.0-liter diesel engine under its hood. That setup, complete with its 210-horsepower and 369 pound-feet-of-torque output, may go over well in the Asia Pacific, but its unlikely to get the same reception from a market that values having options to choose from. If the Ranger Raptor does make its way to the U.S., theres a roadmap where it arrives with a V-6 in tow. Then again, theres another roadmap where the Ranger Raptor doesnt arrive at all. Thatd be two-times the bummer. References Read our full review of the 2019 Ford Ranger Raptor Check out our full review of the 2017 Ford F-150 Raptor Read our full review of the 2019 Ford Ranger Source: Car Advice Mitsubishi has been struggling as of late, first killing off the beloved Evo, then replacing it with a line of less-than exciting models that left us with a very profound sense of meh. However, recent reports indicate a substantial increase in sales over the first half of 2018, and now the company is taking on a new executive design director. Does this herald the dawn of a new day at the beleaguered automaker? Will fresh looks help launch Mitsubishi out its slump? The Full Story Dambrosios resume includes design work at both Alfa Romeo and Volkswagen. Just last week, Mitsubishi declared via press release that it was taking on a new hire, announcing that Alessandro Dambrosio would join MMC as Executive Design Director of Advanced Design, effective this October. Alessandro is a very experienced and skilled designer with a long career at leading car companies, said Corporate Vice President of Design Division, Tsunehiro Kunimoto, a.k.a. Alessandros new boss. I look forward to him inspiring our teams to shape the next generation of Mitsubishi Design and contributing to rebuild and enhance the Mitsubishi Motors Brand as we aiming [sic] for global growth. Dambrosios resume includes design work at both Alfa Romeo and Volkswagen. His new role will include a leadership position at Mitsubishis design studios in Germany and Japan. His first task will include the creation of a variety of new concept models. Will Mitsubishi Be Saved? You know those sappy romantic comedies where the shy, plain-looking girl gets a makeover and suddenly becomes super hot and all the guys want her? You know those sappy romantic comedies where the shy, plain-looking girl gets a makeover and suddenly becomes super hot and all the guys want her? Maybe thats what Mitsu is imagining will happen with Dambrosio onboard. The big question is - where will Mitsubishi design go from here? Will the cars be more interesting, or worse? Most importantly, will a fresh aesthetic help to pull Mitsubishi out of its slump? To answer that, lets first check out Dambrosios past work. According to a recent report from The Truth About Cars, Dambrosio had a hand in the creation of concepts like the Alfa Kamal, Lancia Granturismo, and Maserati MC, as well as production cars like the Maserati Grancabrio, Alfa Romeo 159, Alfa Romeo Mito, and the Alfa Romeo Giulietta. Afterwards, at VW, he helped to create the Audi A4, Audi A5, VW Passat, VW Polo, Bentley Bentayga, and the Audi TT Sportback concept. Looking through these models, were pretty impressed. Each is thoughtfully executed, with a clean appearance and handsome proportions. And looking at Mitsus current crop of designs, that sounds like the perfect recipe to liven it up a bit. I mean, look at the 2018 Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross: The Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross - it feels more like a mishmash of ideas, rather than something cohesive. Putting aside our frustration over the transformation of a classic tuner car into a crossover, we think the aesthetic is just all over the place. The hard lines, the geometric shapes, and that unsightly frontend - it feels more like a mishmash of ideas, rather than something cohesive. Its trying to be unique without bringing anything new to the table. Its trying to be classy without any actual refinement. Its trying to be bold without anything truly striking. Heres another one - the 2018 Mitsubishi Mirage G4: My apologies to whoever penned this thing, but it looks like a clown car, doesnt it? Just because its an affordable compact doesnt mean it has to be so damn lame, does it? Which is why I think Dambrosio is a good pick for the job. Just check out what he did with the Alfa 159: Or hell, even the Alfa Romeo Mito could provide some much-needed guidance: Then of course, lets not forget the Alfa Kamal, the concept that eventually turned into the gorgeous Stelvio: alfa romeo kamal The world could use more of that, and a whole lot less of the Eclipse Cross, dont ya think? Indeed, if Mitsu is gonna survive, its gonna need to sell loads of compacts and SUVs. Luckily, its looking like itll have the design chops to get the job done in that respect. And who knows? If the brand manages to bounce back hard enough, maybe itll tell Dambrosio to design what we all really want - something sporty. If that turns out to be the case, might we suggest pulling cues from the Maserati MC? Further Reading Read our full reivew of the 2018 Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross Read our full review of the Mitsubishi Mirage G4 Read our full review of the Alfa Romero Mito Read our full review of the Alfa Romeo Kamal Source: TTAC He came to my house & confessed to catfishing men with my photos for 2 years to at least 8 men, she wrote to the inspector general, Politicos Shia Kapos, who broke the story, reported. He was unable to provide the names and begged that I let it go. ROBINSINGH@TRIBUNE.COM Tribune News Service New Delhi, August 3 Haryana has been ranked amongst the four best states for business investment potential, according to the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER), State Investment Potential Index. According to the index, compared to the 2017 ranking, Punjab is among the three states that have made the most rapid gains in 2018, moving up by 4 spots to the 12th positions. The key findings of the 2018 index show that Delhi, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Haryana, Maharashtra and Kerala are the top six states for business investment potential. Delhi tops the rankings under the third and fourth pillars on infrastructure and economic conditions in the state. Tamil Nadu comes in second place and tops the rankings in labour and governance. Compared to the 2017 ranking, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Punjab have made the most rapid gains in 2018, moving up by 11, 4 and 4 spots to the 10th, 2nd, and 12th positions, respectively. Compared to 2017, Delhi has jumped one spot to lead N-SIPI 2018, Gujarat ranks at the third position, and Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu move into the top five at second and fifth position, and Haryana retains its fourth place ranking. The NCAER State Investment Potential Index was launched by Ramesh Abhishek, Secretary, Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP). This is the third edition of the annual N-SIPI that ranks Indias States on their competitiveness in business and their investment climate. According to the NCAER survey, corruption continues to be the number one constraint faced by businesses, as found in the N-SIPI 2017 survey. But perceptions of corruption may be changing: the 2017 N-SIPI reports a decline in the percentage of respondents citing corruption as a constraint to conducting business from 57 percent in 2017 to 46 percent in 2017, it noted. Getting approvals for starting a business was the second-most pressing constraint faced by businesses both in 2016 and 2017, though this figure has declined from 72.1 per cent to 43.6 per cent over the years.. Assam, Jharkhand, Bihar least favourable ROBINSINGH@TRIBUNE.COM New Delhi: As part of the concerted effort by the government to woo the MSME sector, the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council meeting will be held on Saturday with focus on issues related to small businesses under the new tax regime. Finance Minister Piyush Goyal will chair the 29th GST Council meeting . Keeping in line with the focus on MSMEs, the meeting would be a special one only for small business issues. It will also take up the issue of incentives for making digital payments popular. TNS Castaneda and her team surveyed more than 750 people in Cook County via an online poll, plus about 200 in each of the other counties, she testified. Some 86 percent of the Cook County respondents said they had not heard of the case, had not decided on Van Dykes guilt or could put aside their decision on his guilt to make a decision purely on evidence, she said. ROBINSINGH@TRIBUNE.COM Aakanksha N Bhardwaj & Ambika Sharma Tribune News Service Jalandhar/Solan, August 3 Truckers eight-day strike may be over, but it has resulted in windfall for transporters of Himachal Pradesh and Punjab as theres been a spurt in bookings, with many exporters willing to shell out more to meet business commitments. Taking advantage of the situation, some transporters are demanding a hefty premium from industrial units of Jalandhar and Ludhiana for transportation of finished goods. The premium on the normal freight rate is often as high as 60 per cent, depending on the distance, the nature of goods to be transported and the urgency factor, executives working in the regions industrial units said. The strike that started on July 20 and ended on July 28 resulted in severe shortage of raw materials and a sharp decline in capacity utilisation of industrial units. Some companies were even forced to temporarily shut down their facilities. The demand has suddenly shot up after the strike was called off. As against 2,000-2,200 vehicles booked every day, there has been a demand for nearly 3,000-3,500 trucks now, said Vidya Rattan, president, Nalagarh Truck Union, the largest in Asia with a fleet of about 10,000 vehicles. An exporter is willing to pay a premium to avoid delay in meeting business commitments. The exporters are already facing penalties by overseas buyers for shipment delays, said a Himachal Pradesh-based exporter. Instead of a normal tariff of Rs 5,500 for transporting one tonne of textile goods from Ludhiana to Delhi, the exporters are paying Rs 6,800. The 24 per cent premium completely erodes exporters margin, which is often extremely thin because of international competition, particularly from China. Exporters are paying around Rs 25,000 as freight charges from Ludhiana to Mumbai for an eight-tonne truck. Prior to the strike, the same trucker used to charge Rs 15,000. Considering high cost and time involved, most exporters prefer railways over trucks to meet export commitments, KG Exports MD Harish Dua said. Jalandhar-based industrialists are also troubled. Truckers are loading goods of those traders and manufacturers who are ready to pay them more, said Balram Kapur, owner, JMP industry, Jalandhars biggest motor parts unit. Traders in Ludhiana are forced to pay higher in case of time-bound deliveries such as export shipments, contract supplies and government tenders, said Badish Jindal, president, Federation of Punjab Small Industries Association. Fastener Suppliers Association president Raj Kumar Singla said due to backlog in factories, many transporters had started demanding higher rates for urgent dispatches. Exporters said freight charges from Mumbai to Dubai are about Rs 10,000, but an exporter pays the same amount for transporting goods from Chandigarh to Delhi. High logistic cost adversely affects competitiveness of Indian exporters. (With inputs from Shivani Bhakoo in Ludhiana) ROBINSINGH@TRIBUNE.COM Tribune News Service Chandigarh, August 3 A special court here sentenced Additional Inspector General (AIG) of the Punjab Police Paramdeep Singh Sandhu to three-year jail in a bribe case on Friday. Sandhu (54) was nabbed by CBI sleuths while taking a bribe of Rs 50,000 from a man, who had multiple criminal cases registered against him. Sandhu was also directed to pay a fine of Rs 1 lakh by the court, but was released on bail after submitting surety bonds of Rs 1 lakh. The court found him guilty under Section 7 and Section 13 (2) read with Sections 13 (1) (d) of the Prevention of Corruption Act. In July 2011, the AIG was caught by the CBI while taking the bribe. However, the AIG told the court that the complainant, Nishant Sharma, had come to pay an instalment of a friendly loan of Rs 3 lakh that his mother had taken from him. Nishant was earlier the Shiv Sena youth wing president. AIG was held in 2008 in Moga sex scandal The AIG was also arrested in 2008 in connection with the infamous Moga sex scandal. The accused allegedly implicated innocent people and demanded huge amounts of money as bribe for clearing their names in the scandal. The case, unearthed in April 2007, pertains to two women, who, in connivance with police officials, allegedly extorted money from people with the threat of slapping sexual abuse charges against them. The chargesheet in the present case said Sandhu was habitual of abusing his official position and taking illegal gratification from the public. In September 1993, when he was posted as the Deputy Superintendent of Police at Mansa, Sandhu was dismissed from service under Section 311 (2) (b) for collecting money dishonestly. However, in 1995, he was reinstated on the advice of the then Punjab Advocate General, ML Sareen. On July 13, 2011, the CBI arrested Sandhu, a Punjab Police Service (PPS) officer, while taking the bribe. Sandhu, who was posted as the AIG (Internal Vigilance Cell) at the Punjab Police Headquarters at that time, was allegedly caught while taking a bribe of Rs 50,000 from Nishant Sharma at a coffee shop in Sector 28. According to the allegations, Sandhu had demanded the bribe for favouring Nishant in an inquiry pending against him. Sandhu had earlier allegedly demanded Rs 3 lakh and he had to pay Rs 1 lakh as an instalment. However, he had brought only Rs 50,000 that day. Timeline July 13, 2011 CBI arrests AIG PS Sandhu while taking a bribe of Rs 50,000 July 20, 2011 Sandhu suspended by the Punjab Police August 10, 2011 Sandhu granted bail May 29, 2012 CBI files chargesheet against Sandhu April 23, 2014 Complainant turns hostile July 31, 2018 Court finds Sandhu guilty August 3, 2018 Court sentences Sandhu to three-year imprisonment ROBINSINGH@TRIBUNE.COM Ramkrishan Upadhyay Tribune News Service Chandigarh, August 3 Ten robberies and dacoities, six cases of snatching, 14 theft incidents and 28 accidents have been reported from 13 dark spots in the city in the past one year. Data compiled by the police reveals that these places, in the absence of proper lighting, have become a den of criminals, who commit crimes taking advantage of the darkness. Besides the survey on crime, the Chandigarh Police have also identified 737 street lights, which are unserviceable. The list of the unserviceable street lights has been compiled police station-wise. SSP Nilambari Jagdale has sent both reports to Mayor Davesh Moudgil, who assured her that the MC would include these in the Rs 26-crore project to illuminate over 9,300 dark spots identified by the MC. Sources said Jagdale, in a letter to the MC, said there was a strong apprehension of crimes in these areas. She said a special drive was conducted by the police to identify places where the street lights were non-functional. Ajai Sahni Ajai Sahni A FLURRY of Khalistani extremist mobilisation across several countries, particularly in the West, as well as warnings of impending activity, including a terrorist threat within India, has built up ahead of Indias 72nd Independence Day. In some measure, this is routine: each major national event in India is ordinarily an occasion for terrorist and extremist formations of different hues to seek to orchestrate incidents and organise protests to draw attention to their cause. For years now, each Independence Day has been preceded by warnings of terrorist attack; yet each year has passed largely free of incident, except in regions already and significantly afflicted by ongoing terrorist movements. This time around, intelligence agencies have warned that two terrorists, Lakhwinder Singh and Parminder Singh, who escaped from Nabha Jail in 2016, had been tasked to stage an attack most likely on Parliament on August 15. While this constitutes a proximate threat, there have been wider and disturbing trends, including an effort at global mobilisation of the Sikh community under the aegis of the Referendum 2020, seeking a sovereign state of Khalistan, with polling purportedly to be held in major cities of North America, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, Singapore, Kenya, the Middle East, and ostensibly, Indian Punjab. The movement has planned a London declaration rally at Trafalgar Square on August 12, three days before India celebrates her Independence Day. The front organisation in charge of the rally and the referendum is the Khalistani Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), but the coordinating presence of Pakistans ISI is evident in rallies supporting the movement across several cities, prominently including Vancouver, Frankfurt, New York and London. Interestingly, the SFJ has offered to sponsor youth from Pakistan to attend the London rally. India has taken up the issue with the UK government, but reports indicate that London has little intention of preventing the demonstration. This is unsurprising, given the long history of Western states support to extremist formations, political asylum to a number of terrorist fugitives, and an extraordinary freedom of political activity, mobilisation and recruitment for movements of hate, as long as this is considered expedient within a domestic political context, or within a foreign policy calculus. Such support had come into sharp focus during the visit of Canadian PM Justin Trudeau to India in February. Reports indicate that Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh had initially resisted meeting Trudeau and his delegation, protesting Canadas policy of support to Khalistani extremists, as well as the presence of such supporters among Trudeaus cabinet, including defence minister Harjit Sajjan, who was part of the delegation. South Block eventually prevailed upon the Chief Minister to meet Trudeau. Amarinder Singh took the opportunity to put across his very strong views on Khalistani activities in Canada, to hand over a list of nine wanted terrorists in that country, and to extract a categorical assurance that Trudeau would crack down on Khalistani extremism and hate crimes. Significantly, after Trudeaus return to Canada, just one of the nine on Amarinder Singhs list, Hardip Singh Nijjar, was briefly arrested, questioned, and then released. Nijjar is an accused in a 2010 bomb blast case and is also wanted in cases relating to the conspiracy to kill Hindu leaders in 2016. Known to be involved in the recruitment and training of Khalistani terrorist volunteers, Nijjar is one of the prominent supporters of the London declaration, and is reported to have posted Referendum 2020 billboards across Vancouver. Terrorism in Punjab was defeated in 1993, after nearly a decade and a half of extreme violence. Nevertheless, the tattered rump of terrorist organisations (in the words of KPS Gill, the man who led the counterterrorist campaign) survived in Pakistan, and in havens in various Western countries, particularly Canada and the US. Much of this, however, manifests itself in fragmented protests and only very occasionally in terrorist attacks in India. The year 2016-17, however, saw a chain of target killings by Khalistani terrorists, with at least nine persons killed (South Asia Terrorism Portal data) and two injured in 11 attacks, which are being investigated by the NIA. Early investigations by the Punjab Police had resulted in the arrest of the principal shooter, Hardeep Singh, aka Shera, as well as key conspirators Jagtar Singh, aka Jaggi, and Taljit Singh, aka Jimmy, both from the UK. Further investigations exposed a network of handlers, conspirators and financers across the UK, Canada and Italy. There are other indices of rising Khalistani mobilisation. According to sources, between 2009 and 2016, 15 Khalistani terrorist modules were neutralised by the Punjab Police. Between 2017 and June 2018 alone, 11 such modules were indentified and neutralised, resulting in the arrest of some 50 terrorists and the identification of 21 Khalistani handlers abroad. In addition to the target killings, principally of Hindu leaders (but including one Christian pastor), which were intended to provoke communal polarisation and violence in Punjab, the Khalistanis abroad have also sought to instigate disturbances through a number of orchestrated events. The most prominent among these was the sacrilege campaign in 2015, in which the discovery of mutilated pages of Guru Granth Sahib resulted in violent demonstrations and eventual police firing, which killed at least two persons at Behbal Kalan. In 2015, the pardoning by Akal Takth of Dera Sacha Sauda chief Ram Rahim Singh, who had been accused of heresy, also provided brief opportunity for radical mobilisation in the state. There has also been a tremendous proliferation of Khalistani TV channels and websites controlled by radical elements in the Sikh diaspora, spewing propaganda and hate; as well as a targeted campaign to create a subculture of extremism within Punjab, largely focused on the extended families of Khalistani terrorists. Apart from the limited activities of the police, within a law enforcement and counter-terrorism context, there has been little coherent state response to these challenges. Worse, 10 years of the SAD-BJP misrule in the state has undermined police institutions and dramatically eroded police capacities. Both the Punjab and Central governments have now acknowledged the growing challenge of Khalistani mobilisation, with its principal sources abroad. Such recognition of the problem is, however, yet to result in any dramatic augmentation of the necessary capacities and capabilities to confront it, or any coherent policy to resolve it. Executive Director, Institute for Conflict Management, New Delhi shalender@tribune.com THE savoury fish on your plate may be contaminated; with formalin no less. A derivative of formaldehyde, it works like slow poison when ingested. The adverse health risks include damage to cells, kidney and liver problems and cancer. Like most other food items, adulteration is not uncommon in fish. The pan-India malpractice is assuming larger proportions. Under Operation Sagar Rani in Kerala, thousands and thousands of kilograms of adulterated fish were seized recently, triggering panic among fish-eaters. In Goa, the Food and Drugs Administration has been alerted following the seizure of formalin-laced fish. Manipur recently banned fish, treated with unpermitted additives, imported from other states. Closer home, traces of the deadly chemical have been detected in sea-fish varieties of mackerel and red snapper being sold in Punjab and Chandigarh. A highly perishable commodity, fish must be stored in ways that spur its shelf-life. Since deep freeze, quick-freeze and vacuum packing are not cost friendly, unscrupulous sellers are using formalin and ammonia to keep it fresh during inter-state transportation. The Food Safety and Standards Authority and the Central Institute of Fisheries Technology (CIFT) have issued guidelines in this regard, but it is not enough. More Sagar Rani-like operations are needed even in the hinterlands like Punjab to check this sordid practice. Raids by food safety inspectors should be swift and sustained. Local fish-eaters should opt for freshwater fish like rohu and singhara and give a wide berth to sea-fishes. For this, the Punjab Government should supplement the efforts of fish farmers, while also ensuring that the river waters are not polluted. Incidents like the recent Beas untreated industrial waste spill that left the fish dead would set the initiative back. CIFT has developed inexpensive rapid detection kits for checking fish adulteration. India needs to get serious about its food safety laws. The easy access to formalin must be restrained. Formaldehyde is banned as per the Food Safety and Standards Regulations. How is it then being sourced in large quantities by wholesalers? Concerted efforts are imperative to punish wilful adulterators who are toying with the lives of people. editorial@tribune.com Parveen Arora Tribune News Service Karnal, August 3 With the onset of monsoon, the National Highway-44 has developed several potholes, posing a serious threat to commuters lives. A major crack has come up near the Gharaunda flyover. The railing of a flyover near Taraori has been uprooted. Covers of drains are missing at several places, posing a threat to commuters. Residents alleged that despite paying toll, they had been given a poor quality highway. They raised questions over the quality of material used for NH-44. Commuters alleged that the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) had been waiting for a major accident. I am a daily commuter and face huge inconvenience due to pathetic condition of the road. The situation has worsened after the monsoon. Several potholes have developed on the main road, but there is nobody to look into the issue, said Narinder Singh, a local commuter. Sukhram Bedi, a local resident, raised questions over quality. He said the NH-44 could not withstand rain and the road had crumbled at several places. He said that a big crack was seen near the Gharaunda flyover. Saurabh Kadyan, another local resident, said SOMA, the company concerned, had been charging toll, but failed to provide a good quality road to commuters. He said the whole stretch was full of potholes. He maintained that several accidents had taken place in the past few years due to construction of the highway. He said there was no check on illegal cuts by the authorities. He pointed out that signage was missing at several places. Nishant Yadav, Additional Deputy Commissioner, said the issue had been brought to their notice and they had sought a reply from the NHAI project director. Jasbinder Singh, NHAI project director, said he would get the highway stretch checked. editorial@tribune.com Saurabh Malik Tribune News Service Chandigarh, August 3 Virtually putting a drugs case on the fast track, a Kaithal court has sentenced three convicts to 14 years rigorous imprisonment (RI) and another convict to 20-yr RI after concluding the trial in just 29 days. The court examined 14 witnesses and 35 exhibits before passing the sentence. Pronouncing the orders, Kaithal District and Sessions Judge MM Dhonchak refused to show leniency to the convicts after quoting a UN report, saying that almost one million drug addicts were registered in India. Judge Dhonchak added that no part of the world was free from the curse of drug trafficking and drug addiction. India, too, was caught in the vicious web of drug abuse and the number of drug addicts was increasing at an alarming pace. In the facts and circumstances of the case, especially the fact that one of accused Pragat Singh was a previous convict, leniency would be misinterpreted by the potential drug peddlers of his ilk. The court has to show grit to eradicate the menace of drug trafficking, Judge Dhonchak added. The accused, Amrender Singh, Iqbal Singh and Bhahal Singh, were sentenced to undergo RI for 14 years and to pay a fine of Rs 1.5 lakh each for the commission of an offence punishable under the provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act. Pragat Singh, meanwhile, was sentenced to undergo RI for 20 years. A fine of Rs 3 lakh was also slapped on him. The three, Amrender Singh, Iqbal Singh and Bhahal Singh, were apprehended by the police on November 2, last year, before 776 kg poppy straw was recovered from their possession. But Pragat Singh fled from the spot. He was, however, identified by a policeman while fleeing. An FIR punishable under the NDPS Act was registered in the Kaithal City police station the same day. The challan in the case was put up before the Special Judges Court on April 30. Taking up the matter, the Special Judge ordered Kaithal Superintendent of Police to file an affidavit on the arrest of Pragat Singh. He was, subsequently, arrested on June 30 and the charges were framed on July 5. editorial@tribune.com Ravinder Saini Tribune News Service Jhajjar, August 3 The project to establish extension campus of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Delhi, in Badhsa village, Jhajjar, has been hanging fire for four and a half years as the authorities concerned have not handed over 50 acres to the IIT. This came to the fore in a recent official communique sent by Minister of State for Human Resource Development Satya Pal Singh to Rohtak Member of Parliament (MP) Deepender Singh Hooda, who sought information about the status of the project. The 50-acre land in Jhajjar has not been handed over to the IIT by the local authorities. Major activities planned on the Jhajjar campus include a bio-incubator facility in partnership with AIIMS, Delhi, said Singh in the communique. Then Union Minister for Human Resource Development MM Pallam Raju and then Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda had laid foundation stone of the project on December 21, 2013. They laid the foundation stone for a similar project at Rajiv Gandhi Educational City in Sonepat the same day. Sources said the Sonepat project was inaugurated on April 3 this year. The Rohtak MP blamed the BJP government for the delay of the project in Jhajjar. He asked the state government to ensure transfer of land to the IIT at the earliest so that work could be started on it. He said the project had been initiated to promote research and technical education in the region and provide international skills and bright future to the youth. The government had been hindering the project by not handing over land to the IIT, he added. Bhupinder Singh Hooda government approved transfer of land to the IIT on November 9, 2013. Mutation and demarcation of land has not been done despite repeated reminders. This has exposed the insensitivity of the BJP government towards the project, said Deepender. Badli SDM Tirlok Chand said he did not have any information on the issue. A Revenue Department official said on the condition of anonymity that demarcation had been done and the process to hand over land to the IIT was underway. monicakchauhan@gmail.com Majid Jahangir & Suhail A Shah Tribune News Service Srinagar/Anantnag, August 3 A soldier was killed while two militants, including a BTech, were shot dead in a gunbattle in north Kashmirs Sopore, 60 km from Srinagar, on Friday. Two Army men, including a Major, and a policeman were injured. The gunfight erupted at Drusoo Behrampora village when teams of the police, Armys 22 Rashtriya Rifles and CRPFs 92 and 172 battalions launched a cordon-and-search operation following inputs about the presence of militants on Thursday evening. As the forces cordoned off the suspected houses, militants opened fire from inside, triggering a gunfight, which ended on Friday afternoon with the killing of two local Lashkar-e-Toiba militants, a police officer said. One of the soldiers, identified as Sawar Vijay Kumar of Bilaspur in Himachal Pradesh, was injured in the gunfight and later succumbed. The militants were identified as Khursheed Ahmad Malik, a BTech from Pulwama, and Reyaz Ahmad Dar of Naseerabad, Sopore. After Khursheed went missing earlier this week, his family in an appeal had urged him to return home. Reyaz, sources said, was released recently after spending two years in jail. He was booked under the Public Safety Act on charges of stone-pelting. The gunfight erupted hours after security forces killed two local militants of Hizbul Mujahideen in Kupwara. Sopore SSP Javid Iqbal said efforts were made to persuade the militants to give up. We tried to persuade the militants to surrender but they were unrelenting. We even called Khursheeds brother and sister from Pulwama to the gunfight site to convince him to surrender, but he did not relent. Some civilians were also engaged in the efforts, the SSP told The Tribune. Some arms and ammunition were recovered from the scene. The authorities suspended mobile Internet in the area and shut all schools and colleges in Sopore as a precautionary measure. Meanwhile, two security men were injured in a grenade attack in south Kashmirs Anantnag town on Friday afternoon. Militants hurled a grenade at CRPF men guarding an SBI branch opposite the DCs office in Anantnag, injuring a CRPF man and an SPO. uttara@tribuneindia.com New Delhi, August 3 The Jammu and Kashmir government on Friday approached the Supreme Court seeking adjournment of the August 6 hearing on petitions challenging the validity of Article 35-A of the Constitution, citing upcoming local body elections in the state. In a letter to the Registrar of the Supreme Court, standing counsel for the state in the apex court M Shoeb Alam sought adjournment in five petitions that were scheduled to be heard on Monday by a three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra. The state "will be seeking adjournment in the matters on August 6 on account of the ongoing preparation for the upcoming panchayat and urban local body and municipal elections in the state of Jammu and Kashmir". The apex court is hearing a batch of petitions in the matter, including the one filed by NGO 'We the Citizens' seeking quashing of the article, which confers special status to permanent residents of Jammu and Kashmir. The matter is listed for hearing on Monday before a Bench comprising Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices AM Khanwilkar and DY Chandrachud. Article 35-A, which was incorporated in the Constitution by a 1954 Presidential Order, accords special rights and privileges to the citizens of Jammu and Kashmir and denies property rights to a woman who marries a person from outside the state. The provision, which leads such women from the state to forfeit their right over property, also applies to their heirs. Political parties including the National Conference and the CPI (M), have moved the Supreme Court in support of the Article 35-A that empowers the state assembly to define "permanent residents" for bestowing special rights and privileges to them. The dates for the local body elections in the state have not been declared yet, but are likely to be held in September. PTI Of the 103 people on board the flight, 17 are still receiving medical attention, 24 are already on their way to their destination and 16 are in the process of being transferred, the airline said in a statement on its website Thursday. editorial@tribune.com Dinesh Manhotra Tribune News Service Jammu, August 3 The regional divide in the state on Article 35A has further widened with the J&K High Court Bar Association (Jammu) on Friday announcing to become a party to the petitions filed in the Supreme Court to abolish the provision. The Bar has decided to challenge the constitutional validity of Article 35A, which they described as unconstitutional, discriminatory and against weaker sections. The decision of Jammu lawyers would further widen the regional divide between the Jammu and Kashmir regions because lawyers from the Valley have already announced to defend the constitutional provision in the SC. On Friday, a general house meeting of the Bar was held in which it was decided to oppose Article 35A in the SC. As the Kashmir Bar had announced on Wednesday that it would send three lawyers to file an intervention application in the SCto defend Article 35A, their counterparts from Jammu have also decided to depute a team of prominent lawyers, including retired Chief Justice of the Sikkim HCPermodh Kohli, to challenge its constitutional validity. Sources said Justice (retd) Kohli, who has also worked judge in the high courts of J&K, Jharkhand and Punjab and Haryana, had given his consent to take up the case in the Supreme Court. General secretary of the association Prem Sadhotra said a battery of lawyers would fight a legal battle to get the provision abolished. Group of lawyers for the Article While the J&K High Court Bar Association, Jammu, decided to oppose Article 35A, another group of lawyers from the city unanimously passed a resolution for strengthening and retention of the special status. A separate meeting of lawyers was held on Friday under the chairmanship of senior advocate AV Gupta, former president, Bar association, Jammu. The meeting lambasted the critics of Article 35A and strongly expressed the need of creating mass awareness among the people of the state regarding its retention. The speakers said those who were in favour of scrapping of Article 35A should first surrender their permanent resident certificates and then work in the state. They said Jammu people must support their Kashmiri brethren on the issue of retention of Article 35A as the state has its own identity and special status guaranteed under Article 370. editorial@tribune.com Suhail A Shah Anantnag, August 3 A militant of the Lashkar-e-Toiba was gunned down in an encounter in Shopian district on Friday evening. Confirming the incident, a defence spokesperson said the identity of the militant was yet to be ascertained. Sources in the police, however, said the slain militant was top Lashkar militant Umar Malik of the Malik Gund area in Shopian district. Two other militants are also believed to be holed in, the sources said. The gunfight has been going on in Kiloora village of Shopian district since 8.45 pm. A senior police officer confirmed that a gunfight between militants and security forces was on in the area. During a cordon and search operation in the village, security men fired some warning shots and in response the militants opened indiscriminate fire, triggering an encounter, the officer said. He said the area had been completely cordoned off. However, the police officer did not comment on the identity of the militant. That will be ascertained in due course of time, he said. harinder@tribunemail.com The second edition of Skill Development Programme 2018 was held by Ingersoll Rand in New Delhi earlier this week. Through this initiative the company seeks to provide training to both men and women as GDA (General Duty Assistant), QCI (Quality Control Inspector) and CNC (Computerised Numerical Control) Machine operator. Upon successful completion of the training programs, the trainees will receive a certificate awarded by Sector Skill Councils (Healthcare & Automotive). The courses selected are aligned with the National Skill Quality Framework (NSQF), a competency based framework for skills which ensures effective quality of the outcomes. The initiative, undertaken in collaboration with the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) and National Skill Development Fund is inspired by the Government of Indias mission to skill 400 million people by 2022.. The core focus of this program is employability and it includes soft skills, digital and financial learning modules. Currently in its second year, the program has seen successful placements of over 70 per cent of its participants and has been very well received by the participants and employers alike. Team Incendium wins Indian Game Development Challenge Students from SRM University, Amaravati's Next Tech Lab have been declared the champions of the Indian Game Development challenge (IDGC) 2018. The winning team Incendium comprising Saptarshi Mazumder, Rajarshi Mazumder, Koushik Bhargav, Aneek Banerjee, Saurav Raj and Saurabh Ghanekar secured the top position in the IGDC organised by Kajaani University of Applied Sciences (KAMK Finland) and APSSDC along with SRM University, Amaravati. The team Incendium was selected amongst over 46 teams and 500+ participants. They will now present their game at the SLUSH conference 2018 in Helsinki, Finland. SLUSH is one of the largest start-up conferences in the world where high-profile dignitaries from the biggest companies and start-ups showcase their products and look for potential investors. The team is expected to be the youngest and the only Indian team to attend this prestigious conference and showcase their product. IGDC required the participants to develop fully functional and playable games within the stipulated time of two months. A team of Finnish professors from KAMK, experts in their respective fields mentored, helped, supported, guided and assessed their progress over the period of two months. Their winning game, Time Track, will be published on the Play Store soon. We are very proud of the achievements of our young students. The Next Tech Lab is an initiative at SRM University wherein the members research in the cutting edge technologies, specially fields such as Augmented/Virtual Reality, Artificial Intelligence and Blockchains, says Prof. D. Narayana Rao, Pro. Vice Chancellor, SRM University, Amaravati. Nissan inspires students in India with "Roots of Design" initiative Designers will play a key role in what the future looks like, not just in the auto industry, but across technology, infrastructure, electronics, consumer durables etc. Through Roots of Design, we are opening the doors to the world of design and the numerous opportunities it offers for aspiring students across the globe, said Alfonso Albaisa, Senior Vice-President for Global Design, Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. While launching the Roots of Design programme in India at Chennai Public School, Anna Nagar Campus in Chennai last week. A report by British Council in partnership with Design Council of India pegged the potential of market for design in India to touch INR 188.32 billion (GBP 1.43 billion) by 2020*. Only about a fifth of this market is currently being tapped. The fact that from a handful in 2010, the number of design institutions has grown to over 70 by 2016 is a testimony to the growing need of talent in this industry. After successfully engaging with aspiring students across schools in Dubai, Bangkok, Singapore and Beijing, Nissan is introducing the initiative for the first time in India. Spearheaded by Nissan Design, the programme is aimed at inspiring the next generation of creators and developing a different perspective towards design and creativity to solve new problems in the automotive industry. At the session Albaisa shared the story of his career with the students, providing them with a first-person example of the exciting opportunities that a career in design can offer. He also gave an overview of the history of automotive design, Nissans design philosophy, and the future auto industry trends like artificial intelligence and automation. ROBINSINGH@TRIBUNE.COM Manpriya Singh When Indian classical vocalist Anjana Nath got the grant for her research The Effects of Indian Classical Music on human body and mind, the first thing she did was dig deeper into the power of music in an asylum. The first day I went with my tape recorder, which had the flute rendition by Pandit Hariprasad ChaurasiaGradually from one to twelve to many more, the gathering increased manifold. I asked them to shut their eyes and listen to the music, and visualise, shares the artiste, as she settles down to further elaborate on her performance in the city, courtesy Indian National Theatre and Durga Dass Foundation. Can you imagine what all they visualised? All of the answers were to do with nature. While some saw ducks floating on the water, others trees, rivers continues the artiste on how two of the female inmates even found a second innings in life. One of them was hysterical and suffering from depression because of domestic problems, and the other girl had some shopping disorder that made her a kleptomaniac, among other things. She adds, It was music plus a little heartfelt perspective on life that ensured that the lady went back home and the girl found a job within that asylum. Today in the city, as a part of the Varsha Ritu Sangeet Sandhya, she is all set for renditions that celebrate monsoon. An A-grade artist of All India Radio and Doordarshan, and having performed in International music festivals across Europe and Canada, she gives credit to Chandigarh audience, for being encouraging and attentive listeners. Music for the soul Not to take away from Western music, while that is truly appreciable for lifting ones spirits, but classical music is something to feed your soul with. It makes you meditative and calm. It was at the age of three that she started crooning to random songs by Lata Mangeshkar. Formal introduction to music happened under the tutelage of Late Pandit Mohan Sanyal, followed by several other gurus. I didnt even come to know when 25 years went by in just perfecting my notes. If only the millennials had that level of commitment and patience, especially in times of overnight stardom and reality shows. The flowers that bloom suddenly are also short-lived, she signs off. manpriya@tribunemail.com (On August 4 at 7 pm, Strawberry Fields High School26 Chandigarh. The entry is free) rajivbhatia82@gmail.com Nonika Singh This entire case, your honor, rests on prejudice. So thunders Aarti Mohammad (Taapsee Pannu) in the court. And its exactly these prejudices, yes most certainly religious ones that Mulk tears into. With force, aplomb and dramatic impact. For too long Bollywood has taken comfort in the facetious communal harmony with the postcard image of Hindu-Muslim bhai bhai, even when fissures between the communities have been anything but dormant. Mulk too begins in a similar fashion. Set in Varanasi, the hotbed of religiosity, it shows families of both religions coexisting with each other. But soon enough Anubhav Sinha, who has written as well as directed the film, looks at the elephant in the room without blinking or squirming and lends a firm and affirmative voice to Muslims. By taking the case of a family, which has unwittingly and unknowingly nurtured a terrorist, he is not ignoring the other facet of the issue either. But should an entire family (community) suffer from the acts of one person is the big question that the film asks loud and clear. Crystal clear! It doesnt really go deep into the making of a terrorist. What makes Shahid Mohammed (Prateik Babbar) turn the other way considering that he comes from a happy regular middle class family is in a way inexplicable. Early rushes establish how his house, held together by the family patriarch Murad Ali Mohammed (Rishi Kapoor), is like any other household in India; happy with minor issues here and there. But soon the narrative progresses to delve deep into discomfiting and relevant concerns, while the actors tap into your emotionalscape. Rishi Kapoor as the head of the family whose peace has come tumbling down lends just the right degree of dignity and vulnerability to his character. One particular scene where he asks how does he prove his love for his country sees him at his best. Taapsee Pannu as the Hindu daughter in-law is simply brilliant especially when she comes into her own in the final moments of the film that hold you in vice-like grip as well as move you to tears. But the real surprise is Manoj Pahwa, the actor known for his comic timing, is achingly believable as the father of the terrorist. His admission of guilt of having fathered a terrorist is indeed one of the most heartrending acts. Ashtoush Rana, the conceited public prosecutor Santosh Anand, is just the boor he is supposed to play. His lines are funny and at once lay bare the demons lurking inside us. Kumud Mishras act of the indulgent judge plays along with Anands tomfoolery, till he too has his moment of denouement. While the film does throw in a bit of sermonizing but the manner in which Sinha gels it all together is commendable. The courtroom drama, even when over the top, never loses its punch or bite. In fact even at the loudest best, Mulk never fails to touch a chord. Us vs them, the affliction that divides India is taken to task in some of the most memorable lines delivered by Pannu. To answer the hyperactive trollers, well, there isnt a thing that is anti-Hindu in the film. For once the director lives up to what he promises. The film which is entertaining and meaningful calls no names. Only wonders aloud why Indian Muslims should be the target and forces us to get rid of the mindset that indicts an entire community. Must we see each other with communal-tinted glasses, as it throws open the all too apparent biases, it becomes a must see, especially for those wearing communal blinkers with glee and pride. War against terrorism cant translate into a war against a community is the sobering reminder that comes through in the film, equally potently with the character of Rajat Kapoor, a Muslim officer Danish Javed of the antiterrorist squad, who too nurses prejudices, not un-surprisingly against his own community. His character may not be an example to follow but the film does set a worthy example, especially in the divisive times that we live in. Indeed, its a laudable version of nationalism. nonikasingh@tribunemail.com uttara@tribuneindia.com New Delhi, August 3 The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is examining a reference from the government to probe the activities of British political research firm Cambridge Analytica (CA), embroiled in a data breach row, and will take a suitable action, the agency said. The US-based social media giant Facebook had in April this year admitted that nearly 5.62 lakh people in India were "potentially affected" by the global data breach involving Cambridge Analytica, and asserted that the UK-based firm's use of such data did not have its consent. "The CBI has received a reference from the government to probe Cambridge Analytica. It is being examined for suitable action," CBI spokesman Abhishek Dayal said. The move comes after Electronics and Information Technology Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad recently informed Parliament that the government had referred the scandal to the CBI. The minister had said in Rajya Sabha last month that "it is suspected that Cambridge Analytica may have been involved in illegally obtaining data of Indians which could be misused. The government has entrusted this issue to be investigated by the CBI for possible violation of Information Technology Act, 2000 and IPC". Facebook has over 20 crore users in India. The Mark Zuckerberg-owned company had said that the data of about 87 million peoplemostly in the USmight have been improperly shared with Cambridge Analytica. After the data breach came to light, the IT Ministry had in March and April this year shot off communications to Facebook and Cambridge Analytica seeking clarification on the issue from them. The ministry's move came after Christopher Wylie, who blew the lid off the scam involving mining of Facebook user data to manipulate elections, tweeted details that claim to expose the British consultancy's work in India dating back to 2003. Wylie claimed that SCL India (formerly Strategic Communication Laboratories, the parent company of Cambridge Analytica) was asked to provide electoral research and strategy for the 2010 Bihar elections for the Janata Dal (United). The JD (U) has rejected this claim. PTI monicakchauhan@gmail.com Satya Prakash Tribune News Service New Delhi, August 3 The NDA government on Friday told the Supreme Court that it has decided to withdraw the controversial plan to create a Social Media Communication Hub, criticised by many as an attempt to create a surveillance state. Attorney General KK Venugopal told a Bench headed by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra that the petition had become infructuous. He said the Centre was withdrawing the RFP (Request For Proposal to create a Social Media Communication Hub for a complete review of the policy. The Bench, including Justice AM Khanwilkar and Justice DY Chandrachud, disposed of the plea in view of Venugopals statement. The proposal to create social media hub was challenged by TMC legislator Mahua Moitra, who alleged that monitoring of social media activities was akin to personal surveillance of citizens by the state. Frowning upon its move to monitor social media platforms, the Bench had last month issued notice to the Centre and sought the assistance of the Attorney General on the issue. If the government is seeking to monitor every single tweet and WhatsApp message that is sent, well be moving towards becoming a surveillance state, Justice Chandrachud had commented last month. He had termed it 360-degree surveillance. Venugopal said the government was taking advantage of what Justice Chandrachud said on the last hearing. The TMC MLA had on June 18 moved the top court challenging the Centres move to set up a Social Media Communication Hub to collect and analyse digital and social media content. Moitra wanted the top court to stay the entire project on the ground that it would violate an individuals right to privacy. Earlier, a Vacation Bench had in June refused to grant urgent hearing to her petition and asked her counsel to either move a high court for urgent hearing or wait till summer vacation got over. The government was trying to monitor social media content of individuals by tracking their Twitter, Facebook and Instagram accounts as also their emails, petitioner counsel Md Nizam Pasha had submitted. This will be a breach of privacy of an individual. Under the project, people, right up to the district level, will be monitored, Pasha had said. The Broadcast Engineering Consultants India Limited (BECIL) a Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) had recently floated tender inviting bids for supply of software for the project. Under the project, media persons were to be employed on contractual basis in each district to be the eyes and ears of the government and provide real-time updates from the ground. They would take peoples feedback on governments policies and follow the news trending in their areas. A technology platform is needed to collect digital media chatter from all core social media platforms as well as digital platforms such as news, blogs... In a single system providing real-time insights, metrics and other valuable data, the tender document read. The platform was expected to provide automated reports, tactical insights and comprehensive work-flows to initiate engagement across digital channels, the documents further read. The platform may be used to disseminate content and hence, should support publishing features, the document says, adding that the platform needs to power a real-time New Media Command Room. shalender@tribune.com Our Correspondent Patna, August 3 Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Friday broke his silence on the alleged sexual exploitation of inmates at a government-funded Muzaffarpur stay home, saying it was sinful and had left the government with a sense of shame and guilt. The Chief Minister said the guilty would not be spared as the CBI had already initiated its probe. Considering the severity of the case, the state government would urge the Patna High Court to monitor the probe, he added. Medical reports suggest at least 34 out of the 42 inmates were sexually exploited. Brajesh Thakur, owner of the shelter home run by NGO Seva Sankalp Evam Vikas Samiti, is the main accused in the case. Speaking at the launch of Mukhyamantri Kanya Utthan Yojna, a government-run scheme for welfare of girls, Kumar said: We are ashamed of what happened at Muzaffarpur Balika Grih. It has left us with a sense of guilt. The Advocate General has been asked to seek a High Court-monitored CBI probe so that it could be conducted in a transparent manner. The guilty would not be spared. Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Modi had last week said the state government would urge the Patna High Court to monitor the case on the next date of hearing i.e. August 7. The police had arrested 10 persons in connection with the case before handing over the probe to the CBI a week ago. The CM stressed the need for an institutional mechanism to prevent recurrence of such incidents. I held a meeting with Chief Secretary, DGP and Principal Secretary of the Social Welfare Department to identify lacunae in the system and asked them to develop a mechanism to ensure that such incidents dont recur, said Kumar. rchopra@tribunemail.com New Delhi, August 3 The Congress on Friday alleged that the managing editor and two anchors of a prominent news channel had to quit due to pressure from the government for airing stories critical of the Modi dispensation. Raising the issue in the Lok Sabha, Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge also accused the government of trying to intimidate the media and curbing its freedom. Strongly denying the charges, Information and Broadcasting Minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore said the government has nothing to do with the internal developments in the channel and accused the Opposition of raising the matter because it has no issues to flag in the House. No show-cause notice was served on the channel when it was running wrong news. The government has nothing to do with it (the resignations). If the government wanted to interfere, it could have as the Free Dish (state-run satellite TV service) is in governments control, he said. The TRP (television rating point) of the channel is going down rapidly, Rathore said. Though Kharge named the channel and the managing editor who resigned, Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan objected to the leader naming a private entity and its employee. According to Kharge, the managing editor with 14 years of service in the channel and the two other employees were forced to quit following government pressure after it carried out a reality-check on a Chhattisgarh woman farmers claim during an interaction with Prime Minister Narendra Modi that her farm income had doubled. Days after the woman, Chandramani Kaushik from Kanker district, claimed during the interaction with the Prime Minister on June 20 through the NaMo App that her income had doubled, the channel aired a story in which she said she was tutored by officials. After the story was telecast, the woman stuck to her remarks that her income had doubled as she had shifted from paddy cultivation to sitafal (custard apple) farming and denied she was tutored. The media is being targeted for doing its duty, for carrying out reality-checks on the governments claim. The media is being intimidated. The managing editor (of the channel) was told to go. Two anchors of the channel were also asked to go, the leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha alleged. He said after the channel ran the reality-check, the government put pressure on the channel to remove the three employees. The Constitution has given the right to freedom of speech and expression... Attempts are being made to suppress the media which is not good, Kharge said. After the story was aired by the channel, Congress President Rahul Gandhi took a swipe at Modi, saying he not only tells people his Mann ki Baat but even wants to hear his Mann ki Baat from them. Everyone knows that the PM tells his Mann ki Baat. But today, it was known that he wants to hear only his own Mann ki Baat, Gandhi had tweeted in Hindi, referring to Modis Mann ki Baat radio address. PTI On the sidewalk outside the hospital, a small group waited for news. Two teens wearing visitor badges said they had been with their friend when he was shot, then called 911 and tried to revive him while they were waiting for help. However, they said his family didnt want anyone to talk yet about the young man or what had happened. shalender@tribune.com Kolkata, August 3 Two Trinamool Congress MPs and an MLA who were detained at Silchar airport in Assam on Thursday have filed two FIRs in Kolkata against Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal. TMC Lok Sabha members Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar and Mamata Thakur accused him of physically preventing them from leaving the airport. A similar FIR was filed by TMC MLA Mohua Maitra. An eight-member team had gone to Assam to take stock of the situation in the wake of publication of the National Register of Citizens. They were made to spend the night at the airport and sent back. The TMC will observe black day in West Bengal on August 4 and 5 in protest. TNS uttara@tribuneindia.com Smita Sharma Tribune News Service New Delhi, August 3 After claiming for months that fugitive businessman Nirav Modis whereabouts were not known to agencies, India has now sent an extradition request to the United Kingdom for the billionaire jeweller. Responding to a written question in Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for External Affairs, VK Singh informed the house of the development. An extradition request has been received in the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) for the extradition of Nirav Modi from UK, VK Singh told the house in a written reply. Interpol last month issued a red corner notice to member states to find and arrest Modi wanted for defrauding the Punjab National Bank allegedly along with his uncle Mehul Choksi to the tune of some 2 billion USD. Incidentally, MEA had dismissed reports of Nirav Modi being in UK earlier in April when Prime Minister Narendra Modi was in London to attend the Commonwealth Summit. A request for provisional arrest to Hong Kong authorities was sent after the diamond merchant was reportedly spotted in the country around that time. Questions are being raised if Nirav Modi was in London all this while and the Indian government was aware of it, but chose to deflect attention to Hong Kong to avoid any embarrassment during Modis visit. The UK High Commission in Delhi has refused to comment, calling it an individual case, even as VK Singh informed that the extradition request has been sent in a special diplomatic bag. The request has been sent by a Special Diplomatic Bag to the High Commission of India (HCI), London for onward transmission to authorities, replied Singh. The junior minister also told Parliament that Nirav Modis passport was revoked on 16th of February and the information was conveyed to the CBI for onward transmission to the Interpol. Responding to queries on possible location of Nirav Modi, MEA spokesperson Ravish Kumar on June 28 said: We have sent another message to all our missions and posts as well as a message to select group of countries requesting the help of that government in denying entry and to inform us if he is residing in that country. Also to clarify that so far we have not received any extradition request in respect of Nirav Modi. shalender@tribune.com Ravi S Singh Tribune News Service New Delhi, August 3 Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday said the NRC published on Monday was only a draft and those whose names did not figure in it would get ample opportunity to present their case for inclusion in the final document. The process being followed to prepare the NRC is transparent. It is being done under the supervision of the SC, Singh said in the Rajya Sabha, adding that some persons with vested interest were trying to create communal disharmony. It is disappointing that some persons holding important positions made provocative and inflammatory statements, he said. Names of those hailing from any state of the country with cut-off date March 24, 1971, will be included in the final document. Residents of other states residing in Assam can also produce their certificate of residence before 1971, or that of their ancestors and prove their linkage. Singh said the present exercise to update the NRC flows from the 1985-Assam Accord signed during the tenure of Rajiv Gandhi to identify illegal foreign nationals. The government had issued notification on December 6, 2013, for the update. A partial NRC draft was published on December 31, 2017. Everyone will be given an opportunity to register their claim and objections before the finalisation of the NRC. Besides, after the final document, those still aggrieved can move the Foreigners Tribunal, he said. Singh said there would be no compromise with security, sovereignty and integrity of the country. He said peace, and harmony would be maintained. The Centre has dispatched paramilitary force to assist the state government. Replying to the charges of Trinamool Congress members in the LS against the detention of six of their MPs in Assam, Singh said it was a preventive step and no protocol was breached. The Assam Government reported manhandling between district administration employees and some of the representatives of the (MPs) delegation at the airport. No protocol breached at Silchar It was a preventive step and no protocol was breached. The local Deputy Commissioner received the MPs at the airport and were explained that the law and order situation was not conducive for their entry into Silchar. Rajnath Singh, Home Minister monicakchauhan@gmail.com Raipur, August 3 One naxal was killed and two policemen were injured in an encounter between security personnel and ultras at a weekly market in Chhattisgarh's Bijapur district on Friday. The skirmish took place around 11.30 am in Basaguda village, located around 450 kms away from the capital Raipur. It happened when a police team was patrolling the area to ensure protection to the weekly market held today, Bijapur Superintendent of Police Mohit Garg told PTI. "As per the preliminary information, a group of 15 to 20 naxalites, dressed as civilians, opened fire on two jawans and also attacked them with sharp weapons in a bid to kill them and loot their weapons, like in the previous attacks committed by ultras during the weekly markets," he said. Two assistant constables belonging to District Force, identified as Punem Shankar and Umant Rao Durgam, sustained injuries in the attack. Naxals tried to escape with their weapons, but could not do so due to heavy retaliatory action by the police personnel, Garg said. In view of the presence of villagers at the market, the security personnel had to be cautious in their retaliatory action, he said. "In the exchange of fire, one naxal was gunned down on the spot while two more ultras sustained bullet injuries. But their colleagues managed to drag them into the forest taking advantage of the crowd in the market," he said. Soon after getting informed, reinforcement was rushed to the spot and the injured jawans were being evacuated to Bijapur from where they will be airlifted to Raipur for treatment, he said. The condition of assistant constable Punem is said to be in a seious condition, he said adding that the deceased naxal is yet to be identified. A joint team of security forces has launched combing in the area to trace the attackers, he added. PTI pardeepdhull@gmail.com Aditi Tandon Tribune News Service New Delhi, August 3 The Congress on Friday said a broad understanding had been reached between various Opposition parties to defeat the BJP in the 2019 General Election and that the issue of prime ministership would be decided after the poll. The party is of the view that firming up alliances in UP, Bihar and Maharashtra is crucial if PM Narendra Modi is to be ousted. A broad strategic understanding between the SP, BSP and the Congress in Uttar Pradesh, which sends 80 MPs to the Lok Sabha, has been struck and details of seat-sharing are being worked out, a top Congress leader said. The Congress Working Committee has authorised party chief Rahul Gandhi to forge alliances, where necessary. Insiders say views of state units will be taken into consideration before any such pacts. We will give priority to the views of our state units like their take on AAP in Punjab and Delhi and wont ally with parties like the Shiv Sena which are ideologically at variance with the Congress, party sources said. Punjab CM Capt Amarinder Singh and Delhi Congress chief Ajay Makan have repeatedly said they dont want an alliance with AAP while the Haryana unit of the Congress wants to go it alone. Also, there are anti-TMC rumblings within the Bengal Congress with state party chief Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury calling West Bengal CM and Trinamool Congress president Mamata Banerjee a chameleon. Mamata Banerjee has prime ministerial ambitions. She is promoting regionalism for political gains. She should not be trusted, he cautioned here on Friday. Sources said the Congress was looking at a two-stage action plan first bring on board all Opposition parties to defeat the BJP and the RSS and then take up the leadership issue on the basis of the election outcome. Discussing a post-poll scenario at this juncture could be counter-productive and "divisive" for the Opposition alliance, the sources pointed out. Meanwhile, there is suspense as to who will contest the Rae Bareli Lok Sabha seat currently held by Sonia Gandhi she or daughter Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. shalender@tribune.com Satya Prakash Tribune News Service New Delhi, August 3 The NDA government on Friday told the Supreme Court that it had decided to withdraw the controversial plan to create a Social Media Communication Hub, criticised by many as an attempt to create a surveillance state. Attorney General KK Venugopal told a Bench headed by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra that the petition had become infructuous. He said the Centre was withdrawing the RFP (Request For Proposal) to create a Social Media Communication Hub for a complete review of the policy. The Bench, including Justice AM Khanwilkar and Justice DY Chandrachud, disposed of the plea in view of Venugopals statement. The proposal to create social media hub was challenged by TMC legislator Mahua Moitra, who alleged that monitoring of social media activities was akin to personal surveillance of citizens by the state. Frowning upon its move to monitor social media platforms, the Bench had last month issued notice to the Centre and sought the assistance of the Attorney General on the issue. If the government is seeking to monitor every single tweet and WhatsApp message that is sent, we will be moving towards becoming a surveillance state, Justice Chandrachud had commented last month. He had termed it 360 degree surveillance. Venugopal said the government was taking advantage of what Justice Chandrachud said on the last hearing. The TMC MLA had on June 18 moved the top court challenging the Centres move to set up the Social Media Communication Hub to collect and analyse digital and social media content. The SC had on July 13 said such a move would be like creating a surveillance state Moitra wanted the top court to stay the entire project on the ground that it would violate an individuals right to privacy. Earlier, a Vacation Bench had in June refused to grant urgent hearing to her petition and asked her counsel to either move a high court for urgent hearing or wait till summer vacation got over. The government was trying to monitor social media content of individuals by tracking their Twitter, Facebook and Instagram accounts as also their emails, petitioner counsel Md Nizam Pasha had submitted. This will be a breach of privacy of an individual. Under the project, people, right up to the district level, will be monitored, Pasha had said. shalender@tribune.com Ahmedabad, August 3 The SIT probing the Naroda Gam massacre case of 2002 Gujarat riots told the special court here on Friday that the main accused and former state minister Mayaben Kodnani was present at the incident site for around 10 minutes and had left after instigating the mob. Special Public Prosecutor (SPP) Gaurang Vyas told Special Judge MK Dave that concrete evidence in the form of eyewitness accounts established Kodnanis presence at Naroda Gam around 9 am on February 28, 2002, a day after the Godhra train burning incident. Questioning the defence witnesses who had claimed that Kodnani was either in the Gujarat Assembly in Gandhinagar, or at her hospital in Ahmedabad or at Sola civil hospital that day, Vyas said such witnesses were created only to save Kodnani. Kodnani had claimed in the court that she was in the Assembly at Gandhinagar during early hours of February 28 and then arrived at Sola civil hospital, where bodies of karsevaks were brought from Godhra. Vyas said Kodnani reached Naroda Gam around 9 am after leaving from Gandhinagar around 8.40 am. The SPP said the records of her mobile tower locations suggested she reached the Sola area around 10 am. Citing testimonies of eyewitnesses, Vyas said people of that area saw Kodnani at Naroda Gam in the morning. He said the case against Kodnani was mainly about instigating the mob by making a speech outside the Naroda Gam area. Eyewitnesses have said that she was there for around 10 minutes. She did not enter the area. She came, made a speech to instigate the mob and left. This case is mainly about inciting the mob, Vyas said. The public prosecutor questioned testimonies of defence witnesses who had claimed that they saw Kodnani at Sola civil hospital. All these defence witnesses of Sola were either BJP leaders or relatives of the Godhra carnage victims. Officials or medical superintendent of the hospital were not examined by the defence. No independent witnesses were examined, said Vyas. After taking submissions of the SIT lawyer, the court kept the matter for further hearing on Monday. On Monday, the court will watch the CD of a sting operation carried out by former Tehelka journalist, Ashish Khetan, on the 2002 riots accused. The court would also watch videos of the crime scene recorded by the local police in 2002 and by the SIT in 2008. The Naroda Gam case is one of the nine major 2002 communal riot cases investigated by the Supreme Court-appointed special investigation team. Eleven persons belonging to the Muslim community were killed in the Naroda Gam riots during a bandh called in protest against the Godhra train burning incident of February 27, 2002. PTI rchopra@tribunemail.com Astana, August 3 External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Friday held a comprehensive discussion with her Kazakhstan counterpart Kairat Abdrakhmanov on deepening cooperation in areas like trade, energy and defence and security. Swaraj is on a three-nation tour to Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan as part of Indias efforts to boost strategic partnership with the resource-rich nations. Strategic partners since 2009! EAM @SushmaSwaraj met Foreign Minister of Kazakhstan Kairat Abdrakhmanov, Raveesh Kumar, the Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson, tweeted. The two leaders held a comprehensive discussion on deepening cooperation in trade and investment, defence and security, energy, Information and Communications Technology, pharma, capacity building and culture, he said. Swaraj was earlier warmly welcomed by Abdrakhmanov at his office ahead of the delegation-level talks. PTI rchopra@tribunemail.com Gorakhpur, August 3 The Samajwadi Party on Friday accused the Uttar Pradesh government of encouraging corrupt practices at Gorakhpurs state-run Baba Raghav Das Medical College, where nearly 60 children died allegedly due to disruption in supply of liquid oxygen last year. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath says his government has zero tolerance for corruption. But in his home town, BRD Medical College is involved in a scam of Rs 5 lakh per month in purchase of liquid oxygen, SP district president Prahlad Yadav said. During previous governments, the medical college used to purchase liquid oxygen at the rate of Rs 16.50 per litre. After August 10 last year, the hospital started purchasing liquid oxygen directly from a company in Rajasthan at the rate of Rs 19.39 per litre. The consumption of liquid oxygen at the college is from 1.20 lakh to 1.50 lakh litre liquid oxygen gas per month. During peak months like August, the consumption is even more, Yadav said, alleging a scam of around Rs 5 lakh per month. Asked about the source of his information, Yadav did not offer any. We have our sources and we know it. If government wants to say something, they should come out with proof to deny the allegations made by us. More than 60 children, mostly infants, died at the hospital within a week in August 2017. There were allegations that the deaths occurred due to disruption in oxygen supply over unpaid bills to the vendor. The state government had vehemently denied that a shortage of oxygen led to the deaths. The district president also said that the state government was not making hospital data public and maintaining secrecy. During the previous Akhilesh Yadav government, directions were given to the hospital to release admission, death and recovery data by 4 pm every day. When BJP Mahanagar president Rahul Srivastav was asked about the issue, he said, All allegations made by the SP leader are baseless. The rates (of liquid oxygen) have increased due to GST. PTI editorial@tribune.com Tribune News Service New Delhi, August 2 Raising the issue of human trafficking from Punjab to foreign countries in the Rajya Sabha, state BJP chief Shwait Malik on Thursday urged the Centre to intervene for effective action against unauthorised travelling agents. He batted for deputing a Central agency to monitor the racket of human trafficking, aided and abetted by fake agents. Bringing up the issue during zero hour, Malik charged the state government of not taking enough measures against the fake agents, who lured people in the name of getting them jobs abroad. The agents charged somewhere between Rs 25 lakh and Rs 50 lakh per person to arrange for travel and job. Although the number of authorised agents operating in Punjab is 11,000, the number of dubious ones runs into thousands, Malik said, terming the situation as grave. The BJP leader said since April 2017 criminal case had been registered against only 700 persons (read fake agents). Youth were also cheated in the name of ensuring them education facilities in foreign countries. The victims met fatal tragedies while on journey, he said, citing reports of youth from Hoshiarpur getting drowned along the coast of Panama in a bid to enter the US illegally. Before this were reports of six men form different villages of Kapurthala, Hoshiarpur, Gurdaspur and Amritsar missing in the Bahamas while trying to enter the US. Two people were shot just after 12:55 a.m. in North Austin while standing on the sidewalk in the 1700 block of North Mason Avenue. Someone shot at them from across the street, police said. They tried to get away in a green SUV and ended up hitting a parked vehicle in the 1600 block of Mason. A 22-year-old man was shot in the head, and a 20-year-old woman was shot in the right foot. Both were taken to Loyola, where the man was in serious condition and the woman was stabilized. editorial@tribune.com Our Correspondent Ferozepur, August 3 Coming out in support of the AAP rebel group, Lok Insaaf Party (LIP) convener Simarjit Singh Bains on Friday said the people who had congregated for the Bathinda convention were the ones who wanted to resurrect Punjab. Bains said the party was being governed in an autocratic manner by people sitting in Delhi who pulled the strings as per their whims and fancies without considering the interests of the state. Bains was here to participate in a protest march against drugs which started from Gurdwara Jamni Sahib in Bajidpur. Addressing mediapersons, Bains said, People of Punjab have woken up against the peril of drugs. We will soon expose the nexus between politicians and police officials who are involved in this menace. He added that the LIP was trying to bring like-minded people who wanted a Progressive Punjab on a common platform. On being asked about the defamation case filed by Cabinet Minister Brahm Mohindra, Bains said he was not afraid of such things. At least 16 cases were lodged against me during the previous SAD-BJP rule, but I fought the battle, he added. I will provide evidence to expose the medical mafia running in the state, he said. Jasbir Singh Bhullar, district president, LIP, said the rally passed through various places in the city and culminated in front of the District Administrative Office, where the party handed over a memorandum to the Deputy Commissioner. editorial@tribune.com Tribune News Service New Delhi, August 3 Responding to a query of SAD leader SS Dhindsa, Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh informed the Rajya Sabha during Question Hour on Friday that the government was planning to ensure the procurement of more coarse grains. Coarse grains is a sub-group of kharif crops, including barley, jowar and bajra. Also, there has been a constant increase in the MSP from 2012-13 to 2018-19 for various crops. The minister said the government had increased the minimum support price for kharif crops by 1.5 times their cost of production. In the budget for 2018-19, the government had announced that the MSP for all unannounced kharif crops will be 1.5 times the cost of production, he added. Dhindsa said farmers would have had better returns on their agriculture produce had the C2 formula been adopted while deciding on the MSP. He asked whether lower returns on farm produce is the main reason behind farmers distress, whether the bargaining power of farmers had declined in the past few years and if MSPs had been stagnant under the present Union Government. editorial@tribune.com Chandigarh, August 3 The state government will make efforts to run all cooperative sugar mills in the state. In a meeting here on Friday, Cooperation Minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa said all cooperative sugar mills running in losses would be renovated and transformed. The present machinery of the mills would be modified or new ones would be purchased. He said the tissue culture would be boosted for this purpose and a sustained campaign would be started to make the people aware about high yielding sugarcane seeds. All general managers of the sugar mills and officers were warned of accruing profits to private sugar mills. He said he would personally visit all mills and hold brainstorming sessions with the stakeholders on steps to improve their profitability. TNS editorial@tribune.com Ruchika M Khanna Tribune News Service Chandigarh, August 3 The state government is set to roll out the second phase of its crop loan waiver scheme within 10 days. In this phase, crop loans taken by marginal farmers from commercial banks operating in Punjab will be waived. Private and nationalised banks have submitted data to the government of 4.52 lakh farmers, who have taken crop loans of up to Rs 2 lakh. Of this, 1.87 lakh farmers took loans from co-operative banks and their verification was done during the waiver process. The verification by the Revenue Department, classifying them as small (having less than 5 acres each) and marginal farmers (having less than 2.5 acres), is in progress. Vishwajit Khanna, Additional Chief Secretary, Development, told The Tribune that the first phase of the scheme, wherein the government repaid crop loans taken by 3 lakh marginal farmers from co-operative banks, had been successfully rolled out. Loans worth Rs 1,750 crore, taken by marginal farmers from co-op banks in Punjab, have been repaid. In the second phase, we are first repaying the loans availed by marginal farmers from nationalised and private commercial banks. The amount for the repayment has been arranged. Once the verification, self-certification by beneficiaries and the social audit is done, this phase will get going, he said. Information gathered by The Tribune reveals that of the list of 2.52 lakh eligible farmers sent by commercial banks, the government has completed verification and other due formalities for 26,000 farmers. Of these, 15,500 are marginal farmers. In the coming days, their loans will be waived after the state government repays the same. The government is conducting a social audit of these marginal farmers so that they get their loans waived once the second phase is launched around Independence Day. The government is targeting to finish the second phase within two months of its rollout, following which the loans of small farmers, taken from co-operative and commercial banks, will be waived. editorial@tribune.com Rachna Khaira Tribune News Service Jalandhar, August 3 The Punjab and Haryana High court on Friday dismissed a petition filed by the Punjab Government against the Permanent Lok Adalat at Kapurthala in a case pertaining to the imposition of fine of Rs 10,000 on Health Minister Brahm Mohindra; Principal Secretary, Health, Satish Chandra, among others. The petition is dismissed as withdrawn on the request of Jasleen Sidhu, Additional Advocate General, Punjab. This is in addition to the cost imposed by the Permanent Lok Adalat, for wasting the time of this court, stated the order. Taking cognisance of alleged negligence towards their duty, the PLA, Kapurthala, in June this year slapped a fine of Rs 10,000 each on Brahm Mohindra, Satish Chandra; Director, Health Services, Dr Jaspal Kaur and Kapurthala Deputy Commissioner Mohhamad Tayyab for not appearing in the court despite repeated summons issued to them in the last six months. The minister and officials were summoned in a case filed by Suket Gupta, president, Human Rights Press Club, alleging harassment of patients and doctors due to lack of infrastructure at Civil Hospital, Kapurthala. While PLA chairperson Manju Rana was removed from her position within a week of imposing a fine on Mohindra and others, the state government approached the Punjab and Haryana High Court to appeal against the order. Speaking to The Tribune, Pooja Negi, defence counsel for PLA, Kapurthala, said after withdrawing the petition, the Punjab Government had also filed their reply in the PLA. shalender@tribune.com A POONA telegram states that the District Magistrate, Poona, on Friday, served a notice on Mr. Tilak under the Defence of India Consolidation Rules, 1915, Rule 3, directing him to abstain from making public speech without permission in writing of the District Magistrate or the Commissioner of Police, Bombay. The prohibition does not, however, apply to any speech made at a Special Session of the National Congress for discussing political reforms. As a reason for this order, the Government state that some part of Mr. Tilaks speech delivered on the 22nd June at Kirloskar Theatre, Poona, contained words calculated to discourage recruiting for the army. We need scarcely say that the feeling of the country will be one of strong indignation. That action is based on the ground that in a recent speech Mr. Tilak used words calculated to discourage recruiting. We know nothing about the speech, but we are entitled to ask, who reported it? singhking99@yahoo.com Andrew Griffin We wont be able to comfortably live on Mars, experts have revealed. Scientists as well as science fiction fans have long hoped that we might be able to change Mars so it has an Earth-like atmosphere, allowing us to comfortably live there. Plans to do so have included dropping thermonuclear weapons at the planets poles. But there simply isn't enough carbon dioxide on the planet to allow the atmosphere to ever become habitable for humans, according to new research. At best we could achieve only a fiftieth of what is needed, and would only be able to raise the surface temperature by less than 10 degrees Celsius, the study published in Nature Astronomy reveals. Proponents of terraforming often suggest that we could use the greenhouse gases that are stored in Mars rocks and polar ice caps. If those were released back into the atmosphere, it would make it thicker, heat up the planet, and allow liquid water to remain on the surface. That, in turn, would allow future Mars settlers to roam around the planet without dying, they suggest. The only greenhouse gas present in high enough quantities on Mars to warm it up is carbon dioxide, according to authors Bruce Jakosky and Christopher Edwards. They explored all of the known reservoirs of the gas across the planet to work out how much is available, by using information provided by the rovers and spacecraft that have surveyed the planet. It is far from enough, they write. As such, it will not be possible to terraform Mars without technology that is currently unknown, the authors conclude. Scientists will learn more about the water and carbon dioxide levels on the planet in the coming years, as a variety of rovers and spacecraft head to the planet. But they will need to find huge and unknown reservoirs if the plan to use greenhouse gases is to work. The Independent singhking99@yahoo.com Jaskiran Chopra If you walk through the streets of Doon valley in the morning, you are sure to catch a strong whiff of biscuits and buns being baked for the day. Baking starts at 5 a.m. and goes on till noon. There are bakeries in every part of this city, some old, others new. But you just cant imagine Dehradun or Mussoorie without this much-cherished tradition of baking, which was started by the Europeans! The tradition is being carried forward by several families of bakers now. The story of how baking started in this picturesque region is as fascinating as the amazing variety of mouth-watering cookies, rusks, cakes, buns, pastries and tarts turned out by the bakeries in the hill towns. Baking in Mussoorie goes back to the time when Landour (old Mussoorie) became a summer retreat of the British soon after it shaped up as a convalescent depot for the British troops in the 1820s. New colours were added to baking after many American missionaries came to settle in Landour. Landours bakers have been known for fudge, stick jaw, marzipan and meringues. Maula Baksh is said to have been the most well-known of them. The recipes, which have been passed down to generations, can be found at various shops in Landour and Mussoorie. Burnt caramel cake, walnut cake, brown sponge and coffee cake are some of these. It was in the 1930s that the Landour Community Cookbook, an important reminder of Landours American connection, was first brought out. It was reprinted in 1938 by the Mussoorie Book Society. Several editions came out after that. In 2001, author Ruskin Bond and his friend Ganesh Saili, both residents of Landour, brought out their version. Though the recipes have a distinctly American flavour, there is an intermingling of European, American and Indian flavours, which created a unique Anglo-Indian aroma in Mussoorie. For those with a sweet tooth, Saili came up with Icing on the Landour Cake: Olde Worlde Cake Recipes, which carries Jean K. Days recipe of Swedish orange cake, Virginia Browns recipe for banana nut cake, Mrs Charles Merchants recipe for Swedish torte and Maxime Burchs recipe for chiffon cake, just to name a few. Landours famous Prakashs Store, known for its peanut butter, chutneys and jams, is a living testimony to the amazing power of the Landour Community Cookbook. The taste of their special blackberry jam, cucumber relish and peanut butter never fails to entice the locals as well as visitors, who keep coming back for a bagful of Prakashs goodies. According to owner Anil Prakash, the blackberry, gooseberry, apricot and plum jams, tangy pickle relish and soft peanut butter made according to the cookbook recipes are extremely popular. The more than 100-year-old store, named A. Prakash and Co, was set up by Anil Prakashs grandfather, Shobha Ram. It keeps people in Mussoorie, Landour and Dehradun well-stocked with cheddar cheese, fresh fruit jams, chutneys and peanut butter. From Mussoorie, the baking tradition was passed on to the Indian population by Europeans and Anglo-Indians to the rest of the country. Ever since a few families arrived in the valley after the Partition and set up their ovens to bake bread and cakes, baking has signposted Dehradun as eloquently as basmati rice or litchis, as the Indian Military Academy or the Forest Research Institute. The basmati and litchi have dwindled greatly but baking is still going very strong. All bakers in Doon believe that the special flavour that one finds in the yeast-based products (rusks, breads, buns) baked here is due to the mingling of the limestone content in the valleys water with the smoke of bhattis. There are more than 200 bakeries in various parts of the valley. Each has its specialties and regular customers. On their days out, the Welhamites and Doscos can be seen in large numbers at the Rajpur Road bakeries savouring the goodies to their hearts content, besides getting bagsful of their favourites packed for the week. Among the top items on their list are chocolate walnut brownies, coconut cookies and coffee-flavoured biscuits. The stick-jaws, also known as butter toffees (plain or chocolate flavoured), are easily the most popular. Cake makers, who are mostly Muslims, at the old bakeries come from villages in Tehri. Five brothers (Ahmeds) from the Durbali village in Tehri district have been the pride of Elloras, the most famous of them. Diwan Singh from Almora at Melting Moments has been working with the Gulati family since 1964. In Ghoghas village, most people are expert at baking cakes and pastries. At Sunrise Bakery in Paltan Bazaar, one can find long queues of customers, who come here to buy rusks, brown bread and atta cookies that this bakery specialises in. There was a time when all bakeries of Doon worked manually but now most have mechanised operations. Giant electric ovens, huge mixers for mixing dough for bread or buns and mechanised cutters have made things a lot easier in the trade. The exquisite cakes are, however, still set by hand and the little icing roses are deftly turned and twisted by fingers of highly skilled workers. Christmas and New Year, besides the wedding season, remain a busy time for bakers in the two towns. Special effort goes into making Xmas cakes and heavily iced, multi-storeyed wedding cakes. People place orders for Xmas cakes as early as November. So when you are in Dehradun, just look around for a bakery. Chances are you will find it at a walking distance from where you would be at that moment. In Doon, as they say, just stand still for some time, and theyll build a bakery around you! And the favourites are... singhking99@yahoo.com Kuldip Singh Dhir In Greek mythology, Icharus, the Son of Daedalus, flew too close to the Sun and the wax that held his feathers together melted making him fall into the sea. Come August 11 and Nasa will outsmart him. Parker Solar Probe (PSP), with 4.5-inch carbon composite shield, will ensure its safety from such a disaster. One of the most powerful rockets in the world, Delta-4 Heavy will ignite bathing Cape Canaveral in light and thunder with PSP atop. A mission to see the Sun from close quarters has been on the astronomers wish list since the birth of NASA in 1958. The Suns surface temperature is 6000 C and quite far away the Suns corona registers a whopping 3 million degrees a fact which has stumped the scientists for decades. NASA has waited for 60 years to let the technology develop for this daring venture. It is going somewhere we have never been. PSP marks a watershed moment in the history of astrophysics as it seeks to unravel mysteries that have confounded scientists for nearly 150 years. The story of Solar Probes started with launch of Helios A and Helios B in 1974 and 1976 respectively. WIND (1994), SOHO (1995), ACE (1997), RHEESI (2002), Hinode (September 2006), STEREO (October 2006), SOLAR/SMO (2008), SDO (February 2010), PICARD (June 2010) and DISCOVR (2015) followed these. So far we have seen the Sun from a minimum distance of 4.25 crore kilometres. PSP will inch seven times closer to it now. Mercury is the planet nearest to the Sun in our solar system. PSP will go 14 times closer to Sun than Mercury even. PSP will fly by Venus in September and then head towards the Sun. It will start orbiting the Sun for the first time in November when it will pass within 30 solar radii of the Sun. This in itself means shattering previous record of experiencing proximity of the Sun by a factor of two. Yet, it is insignificant when we look at its ultimate goal. It will use seven flybys to Venus over seven years to gradually shrink its orbit. It will reach nearest to the Sun on December 19, 2024 when it will hurtle through the outer solar corona at a speed of 200 km/s that is enough to reach Delhi from Agra in just one second. It will perform its investigations in a hazardous region of infernal heat and radiation. Scientists have laid out four prime objectives for PSP. First, understanding the phenomenon of heating of corona. Second, analysis of origin and acceleration of solar winds. Third, studying the effect of dusty plasma and Suns magnetic field on solar winds. Fourth, analysing dynamics of solar flares and solar weather that disturbs and sometimes wrecks long distance communication networks and satellites. Mission duration period is 6 years and 321 days. Instead of usual cameras, PSP is carrying specially designed instruments to sample the particles and analyse the magnetic fields it will be piercing. PSP was envisaged under the generic label of Solar Probe around 2000. It was subsequently named Solar Probe Plus in 2010 and rechristened Parker Solar Probe in honour of renowned astronomer Eugene Parker in 2017. Major instruments on board PSP are SWEAP (Solar Wind Electrons Alphas and Protons investigator), SPC (Solar Probe Cup) SPAN (Solar Probe Analyser), WISPER (Wild Field Images for Solar Probe), Fields (Electromagnetic fields investigator), ISOIS-EPI (Integral Science investigation of the Suns Energetic Particle Instrument). The 10m x 3m x 2.3m PSP spacecraft weighs 685 kg. By piecing together the inner working of corona, scientists hope to understand the mystery of vast temperature difference of photosphere and corona. The data collected will help us to take steps to protect satellites and electronics infrastructure from threats of solar winds, solar flayers and coronal mass ejections. Incidentally, solar wind comprises charged particles, magnetic fields and plasmas. It may open up the window to understand other stars, which might foster a habitable planet like ours. It will also enlighten us about the behaviour of plasmas in deep space. PSP will change entirely the way we think about the Sun at present. It will revalorise our understanding of corona in particular and the Sun in general. PSP is scheduled for launch some time in a 20-day window from July 31 to August 19. The tentative date for launch is August 11. rchopra@tribunemail.com Peshawar, August 3 Six people, including five members of a family, died when the vehicle in which they were travelling fell into a deep ravine in northwest Pakistan, police said on Friday. The incident occurred at Thandyani, a hill station located in Abbotabad district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, they said. The ill-fated family was going to Thandyani from Rawalpindi to attend a condolence meet. On the way, the driver lost control over the vehicle near Thandyani top due to poor condition of the road and it fell into the ravine, police said. All the five members of the family and the driver lost their lives in the mishap, they said. PTI The Department of Justice, in which I serve, must never be a partisan actor, he said during his keynote speech at the American Bar Associations annual meeting at the Hyatt Regency Chicago hotel in the Loop. Our agents and prosecutors are obligated to make neutral decisions, preserve personal privacy, protect national security, and insulate investigations from the reality or the appearance of political interference. sanjiv@tribunemail.com Khost, August 3 Burqa-clad suicide bombers struck a Shia mosque in eastern Afghanistan on Friday as it was crowded with worshippers for weekly prayers, killing at least 29 persons and wounding more than 80 in the latest attack on the minority. Officials said they feared the death toll could rise after the assault, the latest targeting civilians who have borne the brunt of the violence in Afghanistans long conflict. Two suicide explosions happened during Friday prayers in the Khwaja Hasan area of Gardez, said Abdullah Hasrat, spokesman for Paktia province near the Pakistan border. He told AFP the toll had risen to 29 killed and 81 wounded, with children among the victims. The bombers wore womens clothing, he said, and shot first at the mosques security guards before opening fire on worshippers then detonating their explosives. Provincial police chief General Raz Mohammad Mandozai confirmed the incident, and that the pair were wearing burqas to hide their explosives and weapons. Local resident Sayed Naimatullah said he could hear the blasts from inside his home and rushed to the mosque. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, but the Taliban have denied involvement. Last month an IS suicide bomber blew himself up near Kabul international airport. AFP pardeepdhull@gmail.com Kabul, August 3 A suicide bomber attacked a Shiite mosque in eastern Afghanistan during Friday prayers, killing 25 people and wounding 40, police said. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, but police said at least two men had entered the mosque in the city of Gardez in the province of Paktia where about 60 people were praying. The blast hit the Khawaja Hassan mosque. Emergency teams have collected 25 bodies from the mosque premises and 40 people have been rushed to hospital, said Abdullah Hazrat, a senior government official who was at the blast site. One witness told Reuters that Shiite Muslims, a minority in Sunni-majority Afghanistan, were praying when one man detonated his explosives. A second attacker is reported to have opened fire as worshippers gathered. Afghanistan has mostly avoided the sectarian violence that has devastated countries such as Iraq, but there have been increasing numbers of attacks on Shiite targets in recent years. No reliable census information exists on the size of the Shiite community in Afghanistan, but estimates range around 10-20 per cent, with most coming from the Persian-speaking Hazara and Tajik ethnic groups. Reuters rchopra@tribunemail.com Los Angeles, August 3 Harvey Weinsteins attorneys were granted permission by a bankruptcy judge to include 40 emails from an anonymous rape accuser in a motion to dismiss his criminal case. Judge Mary Walrath allowed Weinsteins lawyers to use the emails, provided that the alleged victims name and initials are not used in the motion, reported Variety. Weinsteins attorney, Benjamin Brafman, argued that the emails would show that the Hollywood producer had a friendly, long-term relationship with the woman, lasting for four years after the alleged rape occurred in 2013. They are endearing, intimate, pleasant, flattering, friendly emails between her and Mr Weinstein. If the grand jury had these emails, they would not have indicted, Brafman said. Brafman asked permission to refer to the woman by her initials, which he repeatedly stated are J M. Lawyer for the committee of unsecured creditors, James Stang, objected to using the womans initials, saying that would make it easier to discover her identity. The woman is one of three whose allegations underpin the criminal case against Weinstein. Weinstein faces up to life in prison if convicted. PTI 1. Whether there are advance booking discounts and how far in advance depend on the type of train, it's essentially for high-speed trains (including ICE) that it makes a big difference if you can buy tickets a couple of months in advance (actual availability differs between systems). Start with the trip from Copenhagen to wherever you are going in Germany, using and you may (in fact not always for this international trip) see 2 prices, "Savings Fares" and "Flexpreis", which is the full, and fully-flexible fare. Where there is a savings price it will give you the details, i.e. how far in advance you need to book it and how (un)flexibie it is. Obviously the lowest prices are for fixed bookings, and non-refundable; the more flexibility (including possibility of refund) you want, the more you have to pay. If you aren't sure when you want to travel, don't buy until you are, even if the price is higher then. It is still cheaper to buy on the day of travel at the top price than to buy early at a cheap price but then not catch the train in question and still have to buy a ticket at the full price.. Use the website of the train operator of one of the countries involved in the trip, so for a trip to, in or from Germany, German Railways (DB - the link given above). For other countries, it will give you train times but not prices, for example if you want to travel from the Netherlands to France/ Switzerland / Italy, you will need to use Dutch Railways, and within Italy, Italian Railways : 2. You are the only one who can work out how many days to "give to each country", as YOU are the only one who knows which cities you are visiting and what you want to do there! I don't see how anyone else can comment. If you want to add another country, obviously the closer the better so Switzerland rather than Italy: look at train times between whichever cities you are thinking of. For example, Amsterdam to Milan alone - which is closer than Venice or Florence - takes between 11 1/2 and 12 1/2 hrs, compared with 8 or 9 to Geneva (via Paris). Amsterdam - Paris - Turin - Florence takes at least 14 hrs. However, where are you flying out from? If you can't arrange open jaw flights so as to fly into one end of your itinerary (Copenhagen) and out of the other, you would have to backtrack to Copenhagen (or wherever). Edited: 3 years ago What are your swimming abilities like? If you are a strong swimmer, then someone like Wavelength would be fine, and the staff will help you get used to the mask/snorkel and they can supply a pool noodle for a bit of extra floatation. If you are not a strong swimmer, then yes, Quicksliver would be a safer/easier option for you. Chees. 19 days darwin to perth with a motorhome - please help 19 days darwin to perth with a motorhome - please help Hello to everyone, I know that the distances are big and it is a long trip. But unfortunately we have only 19 days! We arrive in Darwin the 16 of august in the morning very soon, we will leave from Perth in the evening the 3 of September. I'm looking for suggestions, places "not to miss", your experience and your patience you think will help me :-). We are traveling with a motorhome, so we cannot drive on the Gibb River Road, even if I can see that now it seems that road conditions are not so bad. What inspires me the most is Kakadu, Purnululu, Broome, Exmouth area (with also francois peron national park), and Pinnacle Desert. What do you think? Is it doable? Thank you in advance for your kind help. -:- Message from Tripadvisor staff -:- This topic has been closed to new posts due to inactivity. We hope you'll join the conversation by posting to an open topic or starting a new one. To review the Tripadvisor Forums Posting Guidelines, please follow this link: http://www.tripadvisor.com/pages/forums_posting_guidelines.html We remove posts that do not follow our posting guidelines, and we reserve the right to remove any post for any reason. More than 30 million people from different countries go to Canada yearly to visit friends or family. Some go there to embrace opportunities that Canada offers. Any Kenyan citizen planning to visit Canada should be aware that having a visa is essential. You will be required to give a bio-metric image as well as fingerprints at the application center. It applies to anyone applying for a visitor visa, permanent residence, work or study permit. When undertaking a Canadian visa application, there are requirements and procedures that have to be met. Types of Canadian visa It is essential for individuals going to Canada to have an understanding of immigration paths offered by the Canadian government. One of the most vital things to consider includes types of Visa's offered. Visa types are categorized into: 1. Temporary Residence Student visa- Allows students across the world to study in Canada. A Canadian student visa application requires one to have a letter of acceptance from the institution in Canada. He or she should also have proof of the ability to support his or her studies. Work permits- This is a visa permit for individuals who wish to work in Canada temporarily. This is when a job offer has been approved by the Canadian government through the Labour Market Impact Analysis process. Canadian Tourist visa- It permits foreigners to tour Canada. It is valid for about six months from the date of issue. There are two categories of applications for a Canadian tourist visa; single and multiple entriy visa. Single Entry visa allows an individual to travel once to Canada while multiple entry permits many times for a duration of six months 2. Permanent Residence Canadian Experience visa- Those working in Canada temporarily are eligible for a permanent residence. This visa is only available for skilled workers who have met language requirements and have worked in the country for about 12 months. Federal skilled worker visa- It is awarded to foreign nationals who live in and out of Canada. Applicants are assessed based on their education, work experience, as well as knowledge of English and French languages. READ ALSO: US Visa in Kenya Application Guide Canadian Visa application requirements To start the Canadian visa application online, you will be required to fill a visa application form in Kenya. Here are Canadian visa application requirements. Two passport-sized photos that aren't more than six months old. Filling a family form IMM 5645 Approved and verified documents. A completed schedule 1 form that is signed Clarify the purpose of your trip. A valid passport for the applicant. Passports should have about six months from the date you are travelling to Canada. Provide documents relating to employment, family ties as well as property. It is easier convincing officers that you will come back after completing the mission in Canada. If you are working, ensure you give a letter stating employment status, position and duration of staying in Canada. If you are visiting a friend or relative, provide an invitation letter. The Canadian host may as well submit a document that proves your application. It entails immigration status card, Canadian resident card, and passport. If you are visiting on a business trip, you will be required to provide: Financial statements like accounting documents, income tax, bank statements as well as annual financial reports. Business licence. Official invitation contract letter with details such as length and purpose of the trip, telephone number, funding arrangements and address. 11. For official visits, training or conference you will be required to provide the following. Letter from your boss confirming the trip dated, stamped and signed. This should be done within the month of application. It should have a detailed purpose for travelling, position at work as well as length of stay. Proof of financial maintenance for all travel expenses including transportation and your stay expenses while in Canada. Registration proof for the conference. Official invitation for the contract including the position and names of the traveler. 12. For grandparents and parents to get a visa they will have to provide the following. Invitation letter which your grandchildren or child has written that outlines arrangements for your support and care. The letter should also specify the number of people that are in the household of the host. For individuals visiting children or spouse, you will be required to provide an original birth certificate and marriage certificate during the application. 13. It is mandatory to do a medical checkup 14. Students travelling for study purposes are required to have proof of admission letter from the institution. 15. Provide evidence of sufficient funds that can cater for your expenses in the period you will be in Canada. All this information must be provided when filling the Canadian visa application form without which your visa wont be processed. For individuals that are visiting with family, any person that is over 18 years is required to complete the application of Canadian visa. This is done by filling IMM 5257E form or Electronic Travel Authorization (eTA). The contents of the visa application form are self-explanatory and should be filled properly. READ ALSO: UK Visa Application in Kenya: Requirements and Procedures Canadian Visa application procedure To apply online, one has to access a digital camera or scanner that aids in Canadian visa application online procedure. Visit IRCC website and analyze information regarding the requirements needed. Afterwards download a checklist together with an application form that matches with your purpose for visiting. Fill the essential fields in the form electronically and print. Avail supporting documents as stipulated in IRCC specification. Ensure you fill and sign the waiver form then attach to your application form. Read and understand the policy outlined in CVAC consent form then fill it accordingly. Ensure you pay for the biometric and CVAC service charge in accordance to the Canadian visa application fee. Organize your documents to the specification given by IRCC. The supporting documents, and application forms are then forwarded to the Canadian Embassy in Kenya visa application department. Dont forget to include CVAC form, photograph, passport and proof of service fee. One can easily check citizenship or immigration status online depending on what you had applied for. If unable to check your status of Canadian visa application online, use processing times. This gives a guidance on how long it takes to process the request. After sending an inquiry email, a response is given after five working days. Visa office evaluates and decides whether you will be interviewed. If you qualify for the interview, they will let you know the place and time. If your application is rejected you will be sent a letter explaining the reasons. Canadian visa application Kenya contacts Canadian nationals as well as Kenyan residents that have questions regarding services offered can get in touch with the Canadian visa application Nairobi center through +254205147901 or visit their offices that is located at: 5th Floor, Parkfield Building Off Waiyaki Way, Muthangari Drives Westlands, Opposite Safaricom House. The center is open from 7:30-16:00 from Monday to Thursday and Fridays from 7:30-13:00 Whether you are heading to Canada for business or to study, you need to ensure that you meet the standard requirements for a Canadian visa application. Although the process can be hectic,you will get your visa easily when you have everything in place. Source: Tuko.co.ke - Ndii said the government should make bhang smoking legal just like cigarettes - The economist revealed he used to smoke a lot of marijuana while growing up - He has defended his move saying poor people need to be considered as they cannot afford buying cigarettes NASA strategist David Ndii on Thursday, August 2, reignited the tedious debate on bhang after he sensationally claimed the drug should be legalised once and for all. Ndii, known for his undraped opinion, was responding to an incident that saw the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) intercept 17 kilograms of bhang estimated to be worth KSh 680,000 at the Swam border in Trans Nzoia county. READ ALSO: Mkenya Akuku Danger na wanaume 10 walioandikisha rekodi ya kuwa na watoto wengi zaidi duniani READ ALSO: Mike Sonkos management by threats and intimidation growing by the day But Ndii found it laughable the government was still placing so much effort to curb the use of marijuane which according to him, has far less ramifications than other legal products in the country. Why is marijuana (non-additive medicinal) illegal and cigarettes (addictive carcinogen) legal. because ordinary people can roll their own joints, but cigarettes are made by big capitalists, thats why, he declared after a section of online users probed into his declaration that marijuana should be legalised. READ ALSO: Except Raila, Uhuru, Ruto and my wife, I fear no one else - Aden Duale According to Ndii, the drug was nothing more than a herb which would have little negative implications if it was legalised. Amid the online debate, the economist also shared a cheeky secret- that he also used marijuana at some point in his academically excellent life. READ ALSO: Kiambu missing child found with father who wanted to save the baby from mums irresponsibility 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 Tuko Reactions: Maasai React to Western Snacks | Tuko TV: Source: Tuko.co.ke - A TUKO.co.ke poll has revealed ODM leader Raila Odinga is slowly losing popularity - More than half of participants don't want him to run for the presidency again - Raila has vied four times for the top seat but has lost in all attempts - Raila lost in 2017 polls and is currently working with President Uhuru in a new unity deal More than half of Kenyans are against the idea of former prime minister Raila Odinga vying in the 2022 General Election. An opinion poll conducted by TUKO.co.ke established most respondents wanted somebody different in run for the top seat insisting Raila had done his best for the country and needed to rest. Send 'NEWS' to 40227 to receive all the important breaking news as it happens. READ ALSO: Mkenya Akuku Danger na wanaume 10 walioandikisha rekodi ya kuwa na watoto wengi zaidi duniani TUKO.co.ke established that most respondents wanted somebody different to run for the top seat stating that Raila had done his best for the country and needed to rest. Photo: Raila Odinga Source: UGC READ ALSO: Raila Odinga finally takes oath as the People's President This also comes hot on the heel of Busia Governor Sospeter Ojamoong statement that the ODM leader was best placed to vie for the countrys top job in the next election. The survey sampled 682 respondents and was conducted between Wednesday, August 1 and Thursday, August 2. Of those polled, 42% said they would prefer Raila to face Deputy President William Ruto come 2022 while an outstanding 58% dismissed the ODM leader's candidature. READ ALSO: Raila meets Uhuru, agree to end dissent Raila has run for the presidency at least four times (1997, 2007, 2013 and 2017) but has consistently been losing to his close contenders. During the 2007 election where he locked horns with former president Mwai Kibaki, it is believed that he trounced his rival but was rigged out by the poll agency. The 2017 election was defined as his last bullet to mean that it was his only last chance to try clinch the seat, failure to which he was destined for no other chance. READ ALSO: Youthful Kisumu minister swallows pride, apologises for calling journalists silly A section of political pundits have argued out this matter and some of them have claimed there could be a jinx haunting the ODM leader that has since kept him away from the presidency. Some have even argued that Kibaki and Uhuru Kenyatta vied at least once and captured power during the second or third attempt. 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. Top 5 Facts About Uhuru Kenyatta - Raila Odinga Pact - On Tuko TV Source: Tuko News If you bring your child to an urgent care clinic for either of these conditions, you will likely be referred to an emergency room anyway, said Dr. Elizabeth Powell, an emergency medicine physician at Lurie Children's Hospital. Many urgent cares cant do suturing, so it just takes a lot of time, and parents dont need to have waited in two places. And, Powell adds, if youve got a broken bone that needs to have the alignment fixed, that cant be done in an urgent care, either. - David Sankok gave an emotional account of how Ruto helped him with his disability - The MP was paralysed after a wrong injection from a doctor then faced rejection because of his disability - DP Ruto bought him crutches that helped him in walking at a time the politician was very broke Jubilee's nominated MP and chairman of the National Council of Persons with Disabilities (NCPWD) David Ole Sankok gave an emotional account of how DP Ruto helped him buy crutches when he had nothing. The MP said he met Ruto in May 7, 2000 when he was an official in KANU and an Assistant Minister. Send News' to 40227 to receive all the important breaking news as it happens READ ALSO: Mkenya Akuku Danger na wanaume 10 walioandikisha rekodi ya kuwa na watoto wengi zaidi duniani Nominated KANU MP living with disability pens glowing tribute to William Ruto. Photo: Facebook / David Ole Sankok Source: Facebook READ ALSO: Big names among list of nominated MPs In a Facebook post seen by TUKO.co.ke on Thursday, August 2, Sankok said he told Ruto of his aspiration to contest for the presidency of the Students Organisation of Nairobi University. "I gave him my story and my aspiration of contesting on the SONU presidential election, he replied 'go for it and in Jesus name you will win' " Sankok's post. He narrated to the current deputy president how he struggled to overcome all odds despite being disabled by a doctors injection at the age of 12. The 43-year-old legislator told Ruto how his family could not afford crutches and a caliper worth KSh 175 which made him struggle with crawling. He narrated to him how he struggled to overcome all odds despite being disabled by a doctors injection at the age of 12 years. Photo: Facebook /David Ole Sankok Source: Facebook READ ALSO : Jubilee MP brings village to standstill with huge party for daughter who scored A- in KCSE 2017 "I told him how my crutches broke while taking care of my father's cows deep in the jungle and in the evening, as usual, the cows went back home but couldn't report where they left me, I was found 48hours later tired, thirsty, worn-out and hungry my palms and knees Soaked in blood," said Sankok. "I told him how girls use to admire me while I was seated but took off immediately I arose to expose my disability. There is nothing bad as being disabled and poor," narrated the MP. He said the DP was so touched with his story and ordered for crutches for him and since the, he became very good friends with Ruto. 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 Cartoon Comedy: A Funny Story Of a Duck Plasterer | Tuko TV Source: Tuko - Mnangangwa was declared the winner of Zimbabwes disputed presidential election - Opposition party leaders indicated that they would not accept the results - Mnangangwa has been in power since November 2017 after the resignation of Robert Mugabe Incumbent Emmerson Mnangagwa has won Zimbabwe's presidential election, the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) announced in the capital, Harare, early Friday, August 3. Mnangagwa of the ruling ZANU-PF party won 50.8% of the votes cast, with his closest rival Nelson Chamisa of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) Alliance garnering 44.3% Send 'NEWS' to 40227 to receive all the important breaking news as it happens READ ALSO: Mkenya Akuku Danger na wanaume 10 walioandikisha rekodi ya kuwa na watoto wengi zaidi duniani Mnangangwa was declared the winner of Zimbabwes disputed presidential election Source: Twitter READ ALSO: Economist and NASA strategist David Ndii wants bhang legalised in Kenya A candidate needed more than 50% of the votes to secure an outright victory in Monday's poll, Aljazeera reported. Shortly after the announcement of the results, Mnangagwa took to Twitter to thank Zimbabweans and hailed a new beginning. Paul Mangwana, spokesperson for ZANU-PF, said the ruling party was "very pleased" with the results. READ ALSO: Except Raila, Uhuru, Ruto and my wife, I fear no one else - Aden Duale Mnangagwa, of the ruling ZANU-PF party, won 50.8% of the votes cast. Source: Twitter "We're very pleased that our president has won because it means that we can now deliver the change that's promised to the people," he told Al Jazeera. He added that if the Opposition had the courage to claim fraud, then they must have the courage to face the ruling party in court claiming they were ready for the battle. His comments came as Morgan Komichi, MDC Alliance chairperson, described the results as bogus. READ ALSO: Kiambu missing child found with father who wanted to save the baby from mums irresponsibility "We were not given time to verify the results. This result that you are hearing has not been verified. These are bogus figures. They are bogus results, and we believe that a lot of the figures have been inflated," he said, speaking outside the National Results Centre. Mnangagwa, a former vice president popularly known as 'the crocodile' because of his political shrewdness, has been in power since November 2017. This followed the resignation of long time president Robert Mugabe in the wake of military intervention. READ ALSO: I want to form the government in 2022 and I welcome partners - Moses Wetang'ula The 75-year-old has vowed to bring in foreign investment and create much needed jobs. ZANU-PF, which has ruled the southern African country since independence in 1980, also won a clear majority in the 210-seat parliament. The ruling party won 145 seats, followed by the MDC which took 63. The National Patriotic Front and an independent candidate also picked up one seat each. 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 Tuko Reactions: Maasai React to Western Snacks | Tuko TV Source: Tuko When Nairobi county askaris brought down illegal structures in Kilimani area on Thursday, August 2, one man captured the attention of the officers, hawkers and passers-by on the sunny afternoon. Ordinarily, one would expect during such times when roadside shops are brought down, this unidentified man would go for more valuable household items from the debris, but no, he chose to grab a humongous piece of ugali. Send 'NEWS' to 40227 to receive all the important breaking news as it happens READ ALSO: Wabunge wa kike wajipata pabaya baada ya kupigania mpenzi bungeni This unidentified man rescues his precious item, ugali from the demolished structures in Kilimni area, Nairobi. Photo: Silas Jakakimba/Facebook. Source: Facebook READ ALSO: Traders hold demo in Nairobi CBD, decry hard times under Jubilee regime While food vendors rummaged through the debris to salvage whatever they could, the street boy sauntered to one kiosk and pulled out the precious item, maybe opting to eat first. The county government under the directorate of enforcement unit embarked on a crackdown on illegal settlements targeting all the 17 sub-counties. We were dealing with the small structures. We wanted to arrest as many as possible and take them to court to act as a deterrent to others. "We were enforcing all the illegalities. There were some who were dumping wastes, some cooking by the roadside while others were hawking, said Peter Mbaya, head of the unit. Demolitions have been witnessed in Mutindwa market situated in the Buruburu area of Nairobi. READ ALSO: Mkenya Akuku Danger na wanaume 10 walioandikisha rekodi ya kuwa na watoto wengi zaidi duniani 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. Gikomba's Biggest Fire Destroys Property Worth Millions of Shillings - On Tuko TV Source: Tuko Forget about Githeri Man, there's a new sensation in town, an unknown individual whom the Kenyan online community has named Ugali Man for 'rescuing ugali' during demolitions of illegal food kiosks. When Nairobi county askaris brought down illegal structures in Kilimani area on Thursday, August 2, Ugali Man did not bother about the household items but his attention was on a huge mountain of ugali lying somewhere in one of the food kiosks. Send 'NEWS' to 40227 to receive all the important breaking news as it happens READ ALSO: Wabunge wa kike wajipata pabaya baada ya kupigania mpenzi bungeni READ ALSO: Githeri man, TV queen Jackie Maribe and State House man among Kenyans to receive awards from Uhuru And now because of his rare love for the stable food, Kenyans have demanded he be feted the same way President Uhuru Kenyatta honoured Githeri Man alias Martin Kimotho with a state commendation. Kimotho, holding a packet of githeri (mixture of boiled maize and beans), braved the early morning cold and hunger to cast his vote in the 2017 General Election. And because of his instant online fame, Githeri Man was awarded a State commendation, a move that drew sharp reactions from Kenyans, with many arguing he did not deserve it. READ ALSO: Kenyas sensation Githeri Man speaks after being dragged into a nasty scandal Kimotho, holding a packet of githeri (mixture of boiled maize and beans) braved early morning cold and hunger to cast his vote in 2017 General Election. Photo: Dorothy Ongoro/Facebook. Source: Facebook READ ALSO: Famous Githeri man admitted to rehab upon Uhurus directive While it is the prerogative of the president, the National Honours Act, 2013 states that National Honours are given to those who have brought honor, pride, sacrifice, heroism, excellence and glory to Kenya. In this regard, it is not clear what pride the unidentified Ugali Man brought Kenya apart from diverting us from our daily struggles by lighting up the social media space. Below are some reactions. 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. Gikomba's Biggest Fire Destroys Property Worth Millions of Shillings - On Tuko TV Source: Breaking News The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) will provide a loan of $15 million for a period of 7 years to Modern-Expo, a manufacturer and supplier of shop equipment for stores. This is stated in a press release issued by the EBRD, which is available to Ukrinform. "The EBRD supports the activities of one of the largest manufacturers and suppliers of equipment for retail stores and warehousing facilities in Central and Eastern Europe, giving it a 7-year loan worth $15 million," reads the report. Loan funds will be used to increase production volumes on two main production sites in Lutsk (Ukraine) and Vitebsk (Belarus). The company will also be able to restructure its balance sheet. Modern-Expo is a private company that has been working in Ukraine for over 20 years. It started its activities in Belarus in 2014. About 65% of the revenue comes from exports to more than 60 countries. The company supplies its products to such large international retailers as Auchan, Carrefour, Billa, Nestle and many others. The EBRD is the largest international financial investor in Ukraine. Since the bank launched activities in Ukraine in 1993, its total commitments have amounted to almost EUR 12.1 billion in about 400 projects. iy The growth of exports to the EU is significantly higher than in general from Ukraine, President Petro Poroshenko has said on Facebook. "The countries of the European Union are the main trading partner of Ukraine. And the pace of growth of exports to the EU is significantly higher than from Ukraine as a whole. This was made possible due to the work of a deep and comprehensive free trade area between Ukraine and the EU, which came into force on January 1, 2016," the head of state wrote. According to him, the state continues to integrate its economy into the European free market and confidently strives towards its strategic goal - Ukraine's membership in the EU. Ukraine increased exports to Europe in 2017 by 21%. op On August 2, Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Andriy Parubiy signed the Law on Amendments to the Law "On the state budget of Ukraine for 2018 regarding the proper financial provision of the state sector of the coal industry" and sent the document to President Petro Poroshenko. In a post on Twitter, the speaker wrote: I signed the Law on Amendments to the Law of Ukraine "On the state budget of Ukraine for 2018 regarding the proper financial provision of the state sector of the coal industry, No.8362, long-awaited by our miners. I immediately sent it to the President for signature. As reported, the Verkhovna Rada approved draft law No.8362 On the state budget of Ukraine for 2018 regarding the proper financial provision of the state sector of the coal industry on July 13. The law was developed to support the coal industry of Ukraine until it is fully reformed. iy The fairgrounds, and in particular the Coliseum, has been a long-ignored need, and so that magnifies the need for very large donations, spokeswoman Patty Schuh said. While we appreciate every dollar that comes in, the needs of the facilities out there are tremendous and so the foundation has been focused on large donors and those kind of deals take time. The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry continues to demand the release of all Ukrainian political prisoners illegally held in the Russian Federation. Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mariana Betsa wrote this on Twitter. "Kostenko has been released. He has served an illegal prison term in the Russian Federation. We once again demand that Russia release all political prisoners. We are fighting for everyone," Betsa said. As reported, Kostenko is a Crimean resident and EuroMaidan activist. In 2015, a Kremlin-controlled court in Crimea jailed Kostenko for allegedly causing injury to a Crimean Berkut riot police officer during anti-government protests in Kyiv. He served punishment in the Kirov region of Russia. Kostenko was released on August 3. In total, about 70 Ukrainian political prisoners are held in Russia and in occupied Crimea. Among them is Ukrinform journalist Roman Sushchenko, who was sentenced to 12 years of imprisonment in a high-security colony for alleged espionage. op The Russian authorities have denied the international human rights organization Amnesty International access to Ukrainian film director Oleg Sentsov, who was illegally sentenced to 20 years in prison and declared a hunger strike 82 days ago, Oksana Pokalchuk, Amnesty International's Ukraine Director, has said. "Denying us the right to visit Oleg Sentsov is indefensible. After almost 3 months on hunger strike, there are grave concerns for his health. We were planning to visit Oleg accompanied by an independent medical expert who would be able to evaluate his health. In order to dispel all doubts about Oleg's health condition and the adequacy of medical assistance provided to him, such a visit is imperative," Pokalchuk said. She added that the organization once again calls on the Russian authorities to release the Ukrainian political prisoner. "Amnesty International calls for Sentsov's immediate release and demands that, while detained, he has access to qualified health professionals, providing healthcare in line with medical ethics, including the principles of confidentiality, autonomy, and informed consent. In addition the Russian authorities must grant access to Sentsov for Ukrainian consular staff," the human rights defender said. As reported, Russia's FSB detained Sentsov in Crimea on May 11, 2014. The film director was charged with terrorism and illegal possession of weapons. In August 2015, Sentsov was sentenced to 20 years of imprisonment in a high-security colony. In February 2016, he was taken to Yakutia, and since November 2017, Sentsov has been serving his term in the Bely Medved (White Bear) penal colony in Labytnangi (Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous District). On May 14, 2018, Sentsov declared an indefinite hunger strike demanding the release of all Ukrainian political prisoners. In total, about 70 Ukrainian political prisoners are held in Russia and in occupied Crimea. Among them is Ukrinform journalist Roman Sushchenko, who was sentenced to 12 years of imprisonment in a high-security colony for alleged espionage. op More than 150 children from Mariupol, Chernivtsi and Ivano-Frankivsk have a rest in the Luceafarul children's camp in the town of Vadul lui Voda (a suburb of Chisinau), 23 kilometers from the Moldovan capital on the coast of the Dniester River. The camp was visited by Ukrainian diplomats accredited in Moldova and employees of the Moldovan Ministry of Culture, Education and Research, according to an Ukrinform correspondent in Moldova. "First of all, I would like to thank all those who participated in the implementation of this project - Moldovan Prime Minister Pavel Filip and the leadership of the town of Vadul lui Voda. I want to address special words of gratitude to the leadership of the camp and educators for their hospitality, the creation of conditions and a home atmosphere for the recreation and rehabilitation of Ukrainian children," Ukrainian Ambassador to Moldova Ivan Hnatyshyn said. The diplomat spoke about the situation in Ukraine, the state and prospects of bilateral cooperation. He said that Ukraine would cope with all difficulties and live in a family of free European peoples. op In June 2018, a total of 241,095 Ukrainians visited Turkey; the increase in the number of tourists was 12.66%. As a result of the month, Ukraine took the 4th place among the leading countries, giving way to Russia, Germany and England. For 6 months, Turkey received about 16 million tourists from around the world, which is 30.4% more than the same period in 2017. In January-June, 621,889 citizens of Ukraine visited the country (the growth of the tourist flow was 17.28%). Thus, Ukraine took the 7th position in the ranking of TOP 10 countries, leaving behind the Netherlands, Azerbaijan and France. The cities of Antalya, Mugla and Istanbul were the most popular among tourists. "In all respects, June was very successful this year. Tourism revenues in Turkey in the first half of the year increased by 31% compared to last year. Ukraine took the 4th place by the number of tourists in Turkish resorts," the Embassy of Turkey in Ukraine informed. ish The U.S. Embassy in Ukraine condemns an acid attack on activist Kateryna Handziuk and hopes for a thorough investigation to bring her attacker to justice. The embassy wrote this on Twitter. "We condemn the acid attack on Kherson civic activist and advisor to the mayor Kateryna Handziuk. We look forward to a thorough investigation to bring her attacker to justice," reads the report. Early on July 31, in Kherson, an unidentified man splashed acid on an employee of the city council, well-known civic activist Kateryna Handziuk. The victim was taken to intensive care with burns to 30% of her body. On August 1, the activist was airlifted from Kherson to Kyiv's Burn Center. Investigators think the main theories behind the attack are the work of the victim, active civil position and domestic conflict. The case is being investigated under the article "attempted murder with special brutality." Prosecutor General Yuriy Lutsenko said after visiting Handziuk in hospital that he had decided to transfer the case on the acid attack for investigation by the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU). op Amnesty International's representative office in Moscow on July 30, 2018, received a letter from Deputy Director of the Federal Penitentiary Service Valery Balan, denying Amnesty's request to visit Sentsov without any explanation. The Russian authorities have refused to grant Amnesty International access to Ukrainian filmmaker Oleh Sentsov, who has been on hunger strike for 81 days in a penal colony in the Russian Arctic. "Denying us the right to visit Oleh Sentsov is indefensible. After almost three months on hunger strike, there are grave concerns for his health. We were planning to visit Oleh accompanied by an independent medical expert who would be able to evaluate his health. In order to dispel all doubts about Oleh's health condition and the adequacy of medical assistance provided to him, such a visit is imperative," Oksana Pokalchuk, Amnesty International's Ukraine Director, said. Read alsoUkraine Ombudsperson receives letter from Russian counterpart on state of Sentsov's health "Amnesty International calls for Sentsov's immediate release and demands that, while detained, he has access to qualified health professionals, providing healthcare in line with medical ethics, including the principles of confidentiality, autonomy, and informed consent. In addition the Russian authorities must grant access to Sentsov for Ukrainian consular staff." On July 30, 2018, Amnesty International's representative office in Moscow received a letter from Valery Balan, the Deputy Director of the Federal Penitentiary Service, denying Amnesty's request to visit Sentsov in Labytnangi penal colony but providing no explanation. The letter stated that Sentsov's health had been assessed as stable with no "negative dynamic." Ukrainian film director Oleh Sentsov began a hunger strike on May 14, 2018, in protest against the politically motivated jailing of dozens of Ukrainians in the Russian Federation. In 2015, Sentsov was sentenced to 20 years in prison following an unfair trial where he faced "terrorism" charges stemming from his opposition to Russia's occupation of Crimea. Dudka, Bessarabov, and a third Ukrainian man, Dmytro Shtyblykov, were arrested in Crimea in November 2016 and charged with attempted sabotage. The trial has opened in Sevastopol of two Ukrainian nationals, Volodymyr Dudka and Oleksiy Bessarabov, who are charged with plotting sabotage in Russia-annexed Crimea. The defendants' lawyer, Sergei Legostov, told RFE/RL that the trial started on August 2 and is being held behind closed doors. Dudka, Bessarabov, and a third Ukrainian man, Dmytro Shtyblykov, were arrested in Crimea in November 2016 and charged with attempted sabotage. Read alsoUkrainian Panov sentenced to eight years in jail for "plotting sabotage" in Crimea At the time of the arrests, Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) accused the three of being members of a Ukrainian "saboteur group from the main intelligence directorate of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry." Ukraine's Defense Ministry rejected the FSB's allegations, calling them "another fabrication of the Russian secret services aimed at justifying its own repressive measures against local residents and discrediting Ukraine in the international arena." Shtyblykov was tried separately. In November, the Sevastopol City Court found him guilty of attempted sabotage and illegally possessing weapons and sentenced him to five years in prison. Rights activists say Russia has jailed several Ukrainians on politically motivated charges since Russian military forces occupied Crimea in early 2014 and, less than a month later, annexed the territory from Ukraine after a referendum widely condemned as illegitimate. Parkhomenko has been kept in the detention center for 20 months. Member of the Public Monitoring Commission of Moscow Evgeny Enikeev has said former serviceman of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, second rank captain in reserve Leonid Parkhomenko, who is accused by Russia of alleged espionage for Ukraine, has gone on hunger strike in the Russian Lefortovo detention center. Read alsoAmnesty International denied access to Sentsov on 81st day of his hunger strike As Enikeev wrote on his blog page, Parkhomenko, who has been kept in the detention center for 20 months, has been on hunger strike for 18 days so far, the Ukrainian news outlet TSN.ua reported. According to Enikeev, when Parkhomenko was explaining the reasons for his hunger strike to members of the Public Monitoring Commission, saying: "As a result of the investigator's actions, they've started going after my family," Nikolay Vasilyevich Ivanov, the deputy head of the regime and security department, interrupted the speaker and ordered to take Parkhomenko back to the cell. "During the conversation, Parkhomenko told us that he 'had been beaten against the floor' when he was detained, but Nikolay Vasilyevich Ivanov, the deputy head of the regime and security department, who was present during the conversation, forbade him from telling the details regarding the use of physical force against him," Enikeev said. As UNIAN reported earlier, Parkhomenko was detained in the strategic port city of Sevastopol on the Russian-occupied Crimean peninsula in November 2016. Russia's FSB argued the man had allegedly been collecting intelligence information on fleet operations on the instructions of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine. Ukraine considers the neighboring state's interference in its internal affairs unacceptable. Ukrainian Deputy Foreign Minister Vasyl Bodnar has said if Hungary does not provide the necessary explanations as for the newly created post of its authorized minister responsible for the development of Transcarpathia, Ukraine is ready to react strongly, including to ban the official's entry. The Ukrainian government has been expecting official explanations from the Hungarian partners, but so far Budapest remains silent, Bodnar told the news outlet Europeiska Pravda in a comment. Read alsoUkrainian army may deploy additional battalion in Ukraine's Zakarpattia region "If there is no reaction, if there are no detailed explanations and if the name of the position is not changed Ukraine will have to react strongly, we do not rule out a possible ban on entry, although, of course, we would not want that," he said. Ukraine considers the neighboring state's interference in its internal affairs unacceptable and will take all possible measures of diplomatic influence, he said. "We see this as another step in the series of destructive, provocative actions on the part of Hungary, which we have recently observed, despite recent progress in the negotiations," Bodnar added. As UNIAN reported earlier, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine strongly protested against Hungary's decision to create the post of an authorized minister responsible for the development of Transcarpathia and develop kindergartens in the Carpathian basin. The latest meeting of the Normandy Four at the level of foreign ministers was held early June. It was announced that the Quartet's leaders would meet "in the near future." Now, almost two months since the top diplomats met, Russia is claiming there are no conditions for this. At the same time, Russia continues to discuss Ukraine behind its back, offering its own, peculiar vision of the Donbas "settlement." A few days ago, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said there were no conditions yet for a new meeting of the Normandy Four at the highest level because the leaders' previous agreements on arms withdrawal in three eastern Ukrainian settlements, laid down in Minsk accords, have not been met. He added that the Normandy Four leaders meeting before these agreements are fulfilled would hurt the format's "reputation." At the same time, he said, Germany and France as recently as last week expressed the idea of holding the highest-level meeting. However, Russia is not considering such an opportunity until the provision on arms withdrawal is fulfilled and the so-called "Steinmeier formula" starts working. To see the absurdity of these proposals, it is worth recalling the essense of the "Steinmeier formula," put forward back in 2015 by the then German Foreign Minister. It proposes Ukraine to first give the occupied territories of Luhansk and Donetsk regions a temporary special status, and after the elections in "LPR" and "DPR" to grant them a permanent special status. Speaking of the pullback of weapons, the thing is that Ukraine has repeatedly stated: it can happen if ceasefire is observed in the area of Stanytsia Luhanska, but this was never achieved because of the Russian-backed militants constantly shelling Ukrainian troops and breaching the silence regime in every way possible. Chronicle of secret talks behind Ukraine's back In fact, if we analyze all Russian meetings held including with the first persons of the "Normandy Four" - French President Macron and German Chancellor Merkel, the picture looks rather grim for Ukraine: Russia is trying its best to make Ukraine an object of, rather than an actor in the negotiations. The latest meeting of the Normandy Four at the level of foreign ministers was held on June 11. There the top diplomats discussed the prospects for holding a meeting of the Quartet leaders in the near future, as well as deploying the UN peacekeeping mission in Donbas. Moreover, Lavrov already stated at the time that during the meeting the sides had found no common ground "on the sequence of implementation of steps under the Minsk agreement." The next step was the Helsinki summit of Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Tramp, where the Kremlin chief was no longer willing to exchange diplomatic pleasantries and defend the sequence of steps under Minsk. He allegedly directly voiced the idea of holding a referendum in Donbas. In particular, Russia's Ambassador to the U.S. Anatoly Antonov said that Trump and Putin had discussed "concrete proposals" for the settlement of the conflict in eastern Ukraine. In response, the U.S. National Security Council stated that they were "not considering supporting" Putin's proposal for the referendum, while the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry "strongly rejected" the idea. As a result, Russia gradually began to tilt the angle of negotiations from the discussion on UN peacekeepers to the idea of a referendum in Donbas. In particular, according to the State Secretary - Deputy Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation Grigory Karasin, this issue was to be the subject of discussion at the meeting of the political directors of the Normandy Four's foreign ministries late July. Apparently, to prepare the ground for such talks, on the eve of the meeting of political directors, Russian President Vladimir Putin asked German Chancellor Angela Merkel to meet Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces Valery Gerasimov. There have been no leaks on what exactly Russia's arguments were in those talks. "The conflict in the east of Ukraine was discussed," the government of Germany said in a dry comment. But that was not all After an unexpected meeting with Merkel in Berlin, Lavrov and Gerasimov were also received by French President Emmanuel Macron. Once again, it was Putin who asked Macron to meet his men. The details of these "negotiations" also remain a mystery under lock and key. Macron's office resorted to only acknowledging that the conflict in eastern Ukraine had been discussed. Referendum move did not pass, for now It seems that so far, Russia has failed to push through their vision of the Ukraine conflict "settlement" by holding another pseudo-referendum in Donbas. The day before the meeting of the Normandy Four foreign ministries' political directors, OSCE special envoy for Ukraine and Tripartite Contact Group in Minsk, Ambassador Martin Sajdik stated that the topic of discussion would be "possible involvement of UN forces to resolve the conflict in the east of Ukraine." Nothing was mentioned of any other scenarios. Sajdik's words were repeated the same day by U.S. State Department's special representative for Ukraine negotiations, Kurt Volker, who said that the meeting would discuss the shape of the UN peacekeeping operation. He recalled that, unlike Russia's proposal to have the mission only protect the OSCE monitors, the U.S., Germany, France and Ukraine stress there should be a real peacekeeping force to ensure security at a broader level. According to Volker, despite the fact that the U.S. is not part of the Normandy Four, he maintains close contacts with his colleagues from France and Germany. He added that he would soon talk with his Russian counterparts to convey certain ideas to them, and reiterated the need for Russia to withdraw troops from Donbas for the UN mission to be a success. Actually, the political directors' meeting on July 26, made it clear that the Russian ploy with the referendum did not pass. "Despite the existing disagreements with the Russian side, representatives of Ukraine, Germany, France and Russia agreed to continue their work on defining the basic principles of the UN peacekeeping operation in the conflict zone," the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said following the talks. Why Russia needs backdoor diplomacy However, despite the fact that Russia's new ideas of Donbas "settlement" have not been supported, the topic of the Russia-style referendum is unlikely to be completely removed from the agenda. In this regard, the meeting of the Normandy Four heads of state has no clear prospects. According to a senior researcher at the Institute of World History of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Maksym Yali, since Putin announced this proposal at his meeting with Trump, he will continue to try to resolve the issue directly with the U.S. president. "The Kremlin's main goal now is to exclude Ukraine, France and Germany as participants in the Normandy format from taking further decisions, as their position - to act under the Minsk agreements - is unacceptable to Russia. The referendum is rather a smoke screen, because initially it was clear that neither Ukraine, nor international partners will go for it," the expert believes. Putin seems to still harbor some hope in President Trump, despite the negative reaction to the Russian proposal for a referendum in Donbas from the American establishment. No wonder former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, John Herbst, stated that Moscow could expect Trump, himself, would be more willing to offer some concessions. In favor of this view speaks the fact that after Trump's adviser John Bolton said that Putin's visit to Washington is postponed until 2019, Trump immediately received from Putin an invitation to come visit Moscow himself. And curiously, White House Secretary Sarah Sanders rather clearly hinted at Trump's openness to suggestions. In other words, the Kremlin still has some hope to agree on Ukraine with Trump. Moscow does not actually need any meetings in the Normandy Four format, where Putin's proposals are seeing no support. And, unfortunately, Europe cannot restrain these impulses of mutual affection between Putin and Trump. According to Oleh Bielokolos, the director of the department for international bilateral relations at the Maidan of Foreign Affairs Foundation, Europe had high hopes for negotiations in the Volker-Surkov format, after which everyone could be able to reach some agreements with Russia and where the issue of the introduction of UN peacekeepers was discussed, but now the issue is postponed for an indefinite period. "Oddly enough, all negotiations are now going on without any communiques, statements; some kind of backdoor diplomacy is being observed, which leaves room for speculation. Russia is exploiting this and, instead of making some statements, refers to the Minsk process, on which there has been very little information recently," Bielokolos said. Speaking of Minsk, Russia continues to pedal the issue in the vein of Ukraine "failing to fulfill" the agreement. According to a political scientist, candidate of political sciences Olesya Yakhno-Bielkovska, there is a high probability that behind Kyiv's back, the Kremlin has been promoting the idea that Ukraine is an unreliable partner. This gives Russia a few trump cards. First, it's about gradually pushing Ukraine away from the negotiation process. Secondly, it's about delaying negotiations, let them be in the Normandy format, until next year's presidential elections in Ukraine (hoping for a comeback of pro-Russian forces). "The only ultimate goal of all maneuvers is to force Ukraine to fulfill the political part of the Minsk agreements and introduce changes to our Constitution. Now, they will be offering variants that are initially unacceptable for Ukraine, that's only to make the implementation of the political part of Minsk deals seem acceptable. And now, through direct negotiations with Trump, there will be attempts to inflict pressure on Ukraine leadership to start its implementation," says Maksym Yali. According to the expert, the Kremlin is seeing help in this matter from the fact that Trump, with his aggressive policy, compels to make some compromises, including on Ukraine, France and Germany. However, experts cannot be sure that further developments will be only in favor of Russia. Firstly, that's because the date of the new Trump-Putin meeting has not been set yet. Secondly, it is difficult to guess the effect of the Russia meddling probe. U.S. special counselor Robert Muller intends to publish the investigation results before September 1. Anastasia Zaremba If you see a spelling error on our site, select it and press Ctrl+Enter Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 3) Four years after her death, the case of trans woman Jennifer Laude is under the spotlight again. The documentary "Call Her Ganda" chronicles the life, death, and effect of Laude's death at the hands of 19-year-old U.S. Marine Joseph Scott Pemberton. The issue shed light on the challenges of the queer community in the country and of the looming, post-colonial American influence. Pemberton was found guilty of homicide in December 2015. The Court of Appeals affirmed the decision in April 2017, but it has since been forwarded to the Supreme Court. READ: Revisiting the Jennifer Laude murder case The film follows three women invested in the case: Julita Laude, Jennifer's mother; Virgie Suarez, the Laude family lawyer; and Meredith Talusan, a transgender journalist who broke a story of the murder for VICE News, a U.S.-based media company. CNN Philippines' The Source spoke to Suarez and "Call Her Ganda" director PJ Raval on the story. Laude's case has had deep implications for LGBTQ+ rights and Filipino-American relations, but Raval maintains that at its core, it is a story about how a mother lost her daughter. Suarez recalled that this was very apparent during one hearing, when a word from Jennifer's mother Julita moved everyone to tears. "Noong tinanong ko si Nanay, 'Kung babayaran ka ng pera, magkano ang gusto mo tagumpay ng lahat ng danyos?' Sabi niya, 'Walang perang sasapat, walang halagang katumbas,'" said Suarez. "Noong tinanong ko ulit, tumingin siya sa defense counsel, at ang sinabi niya, 'Ikaw Attorney, kung pinatay ang anak mo, magkano mo gusto?'" she added. "That scene was a moment that kept the entire court in silence. Even the defense counsel [was] not able to cross-examine Nanay." [Translation: I asked (her mother), 'If you had to be paid, how much do you want in damages?' She said, 'No money will be enough. Nothing will equal (this loss). When I asked her again, she turned to the defense counsel and said, 'What about you, Attorney if your child was killed, how much would you want?'] "At the end of the day, a mother lost her child," said Raval. "Regardless if you're trans [or] Filipino no one should have to experience that." You can watch the full interview with Raval and Suarez above. "Call Me Ganda" premieres on Saturday, August 4, at the Cultural Center of the Philippines. As a result of the homestead increases, anyone with a home with an assessor-determined market value of $60,755 or less this year wont owe a penny in property taxes. The numbers of homes in that category across the county increased by nearly 16,000, to 26,214, according to data from county Clerk David Orrs office. In Chicago, 6,814 additional homeowners came off the tax rolls, bringing the total in the city to nearly 12,000. The number of illegal migrants from Vietnam is especially increasing. Ukrainian border guards detained 1,432 illegal migrants over the first six months of 2018 (H1). "In the first half of this year alone, border guards recorded an increase in the number of illegal migrants by 22%," the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine has said. Some 1,173 people were detained for the same period last year. Read alsoMost Ukrainians in Poland would leave for Germany media Over the past six months of 2018, the Ukrainian law enforcement agencies detained 417 people for illegally crossing the border, while 1,004 people were detained for violations of the rules of stay. "At the same time, 2,011 potential illegal migrants were denied entry into our country amid border control checks at the state border," it said. The number of illegal migrants from Vietnam is especially increasing: 129 of them have been detained since the beginning of the year, compared to 30 people in the first half of last year. In addition to the Vietnamese, citizens of Iraq, Turkey, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Morocco, Sri Lanka, and India were frequently detained. "Illegal migrants were mostly stopped on the border with Slovakia (141 people), Poland (115 people), Moldova (63), and Hungary (52 people)," the border guards said. Kostenko with the Consul of Ukraine are now going to the Ukrainian Embassy in Moscow. Ukrainian Ombudsperson Liudmyla Denisova has said Ukrainian political prisoner Oleksandr Kostenko has been released from the colony in the town of Kirovo-Chepetsk, Russia. "Oleksandr Kostenko, who was serving a sentence in Russia's Kirovo-Chepetsk, has been released today," she wrote on her official Facebook page on Friday, August 3. Read alsoUkraine's envoy calls on U.S. to continue efforts to free political prisoners in Russia Denisova reminded that Kostenko was a Crimean, an activist of the EuroMaidan. After his return to the annexed peninsula in 2014, a former officer of the Crimean Berkut riot police, who at that time was already working in the occupation security forces of Crimea, filed a statement with the FSB that Oleksandr had allegedly thrown a stone at him during a EuroMaidan protest event when he was on duty to protect public order. In May 2015, the so-called Kyivsky District Court of the Russian-occupied city of Simferopol sentenced Kostenko under Article 222 Part 1 (illegal acquisition, transfer, sale, storage, transportation or carrying of firearms) to four years and two months in prison. Later, this term was reduced to three years and six months in appellate courts. "Now he is under the protection of the Ukrainian authorities. Oleksandr is now with the Consul of Ukraine and they are going to Moscow, to the Ukrainian Embassy in Russia. He is under the jurisdiction of our country," Denisova added. The Ukrainian Patriarch explained how temples of the Moscow Patriarchate could be transferred under control of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church after Ukraine receives from Constantinople a tomos on autocephaly. The statements about the possible "seizure of temples" after the provision of Tomos on autocephaly of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church are an example of disinformation, says head of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kyiv Patriarchate, Patriarch Filaret. "According to the Ukrainian laws, all temples and property belong to the communities - on the basis of ownership or rights of use or rent. [I say] communities, meaning parishes, monasteries, religious educational institutions," the Patriarch said, according to a commentary by the UOC-KP press service, Deutsche Welle reports. "There will be no violence after Tomos, and property will belong to the communities, as it does now," he stressed. "According to the law, the community has property at its disposal. And if the community decided to withdraw from one patriarchate and enter another, it retains its property, because this is its property, not of the Patriarchate," explained Filaret. Read alsoOnly community to decide religious property issues once autocephaly granted to Ukrainian Orthodox Church - Poroshenko's adviser He added that the church's position is that when more than two-thirds of the community have decided at a general meeting that they need to move from one patriarchate to another, then the community shall preserve its property, while the minority has the right to build another temple or equip the building. "If it was a simple majority, two-thirds, who made the decision, then they need to take turns in holding sermons so that both parts of the formerly single community - both the majority and the minority - have the right to use the church," the commentary of the head of the UOC-KP reads. Filaret also stressed that the calls to "seize the Lavra" are a "provocation that plays in favor of the Kremlin." Read alsoOpposition Bloc leader Novinsky warns of civil war if Ukrainian church granted autocephaly As reported earlier, on July 27, the delegation of the Patriarchate of Constantinople handed to President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko the address of the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, who said that the ultimate goal of the Patriarchate of Constantinople was to grant autocephaly to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. The delegation visited Kyiv on the occasion of the 1030th anniversary of the baptism of Kyivan Rus. At the same time, the police official opposes total legalization of light narcotics. Head of the National Police in Kyiv, Andriy Kryshchenko, spoke in favor of decriminalization of light drug storage in Ukraine. This article of the Criminal Code should be abolished, Kryshchenko told LB.ua. The issue should be transferred into an administrative plane, Kyiv police chief suggests. "Maybe I will voice a seditious thought and be condemned by many colleagues, but I would bring the possession of drugs to the administrative plane," he said. Read alsoHope for justice shines through as police detain Kherson acid attacker "I would decriminalize it. I would clearly spell out storage for sale, volumes and quantity. If someone has a joint in their pocket, it's clear that this is for own use. But if someone has 10 bags in their pocket, rolled into joints, then this is already possession for the purpose of sale," said Kryshchenko. The lack of such separation is really messing up our work," Kryshchenko believes. At the same time, the head of the National Police in Kyiv opposed the legalization of light drugs in the country. "I am not a supporter of legalization, I do not think that this will improve the situation or fill the budget," he said. Previously, UNIAN reported that the Ministry of Health of Ukraine plans to increase the admissible levels of drug posession for drug addicts. According to operatives, moderators on orders from Russia posted on social networks calls for altering Ukraine's borders and for supporting terrorists from "LPR" and "DPR." In July of this year, operatives of the Security Service of Ukraine halted the activities of 11 administrators in social networks in five regions of Ukraine who posted anti-Ukrainian materials on the internet on orders of their curators from Russian intelligence. As reported by the SBU press center, computer equipment and mobile devices with corresponding evidence were seized during raids, including the evidence of perpetrators receiving instructions from Russian intel operatives. It is noted that operatives documented the illegal activities of six residents of Odesa, two of Kyiv region, a resident of Bakhmut (Donetsk region), as well as residents of Chernivtsi and Ivano-Frankivsk regions. They were administrators of anti-Ukrainian communities in social networks VKontakte and Odnoklassniki. Read alsoUkrainian lawmakers propose Russian-style internet restrictions in name of national security "The operatives of the special services established that the moderators, on orders from Russia, placed materials in social networks with calls for altering the borders of Ukraine and supporting the terrorist organizations 'LPR/DNR'. For their anti-Ukrainian efforts, perpetrators received financial rewards from their Russian curators," the report said. The actions were qualified under Art. 109 (actions aimed at the forcible change or overthrow of the constitutional order or the seizure of state power), Art. 110 (encroachment on the territorial integrity and inviolability of Ukraine), and Art. 258-3 (creation of a terrorist group or terrorist organization) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. Earlier, UNIAN reported that in Odesa, the Security Service of Ukraine detained a female agitator who distributed anti-Ukrainian materials through the internet. The press center of the JCCC stresses that it is necessary to be prepared for any developments. Russian-terrorist forces are pulling a considerable amount of military equipment toward the line of demarcation in Donbass in the framework of "military exercises" of 1st and 2nd army groups under the command of the Russian armed forces. In a commentary to Obozrevatel, the press officer of the Ukrainian side to the Joint Center for Control and Coordination Oleksiy Harkusha said that the greatest accumulation of weapons is being observed in the zone of responsibility of the North territorial department in Svitlodarsk direction. "In the areas where these maneuvers are being observed, there are several military testing grounds, and formally this is all happening in the framework of exercises that the 1st and 2nd army groups of 'LPR' and 'DPR' are conducting jointly with the Russian armed forces," he said. Read alsoJFO: Ukraine reports 4 WIA's amid 28 enemy attacks in Donbas in past day According to him, as of today, the Ukrainian side no longer sees the amassing of as much equipment as was moved in during the previous days. The Joint Forces HQ is also monitoring the actions of Russian-backed militants. "Amassing of weapons was also observed previously. All of this is being monitored. If there is a real threat, there will be a real response," said spokesman for the JFO, Oleksandr Zavtonov. When asked whether there was the possibility of active offensive operations by the occupation forces, the official assured that "there is no threat of an offensive." However, the press center of the JCCC stresses that it is necessary to be prepared for any developments. "You can expect anything, and under the guise of exercises or maneuvers, military equipment and personnel could be deployed in favorable positions for further action," explained Harkusha. (@rukhshanmir) The authorities in occupied Kashmir have booked Tehreek-e-Hurriyat (TeH) leader, Umar Aadil Dar, under black law, Public Safety Act (PSA) and lodged him at Kathua Jail in Jammu. ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 3rd Aug, 2018 ) :The authorities in occupied Kashmir have booked Tehreek-e-Hurriyat (TeH) leader, Umar Aadil Dar, under black law, Public Safety Act (PSA) and lodged him at Kathua Jail in Jammu. According to Kashmir media service, Umar Aadil Dar was arrested by the Indian policemen posted in civvies outside district court in Islamabad district on Wednesday. He along with APHC leader, Hakeem Abdur Rasheed, was taken into custody by the police when a six member delegation of Joint Resistance Leadership was on its way to Islamabad town to address a public gathering. However, later Hakeem Rasheed was released while Aadil Dar was booked under the PSA on Thursday. Tehreek-e-Hurriyet spokesman in a statement while describing the arrest of Umar Aadil Dar as an inhuman and undemocratic act said that over one thousand Kashmiris remained illegally detained under this draconian law. On the other hand, Indian police arrested a university scholar, Riaz Jamaal, outside a local mosque in Malwan area of Kulgam district without any reason. It is said that Riaz Jamaal was arrested for running a campaign on social media for the protection of Article 35-A of the Indian Constitution and creating awareness among the people about the sinister designs of the communalist elements bent upon its abrogation. Meanwhile, three persons were killed after a truck rolled down into a deep gorge near Battery Chashma in Ramban district. (@FahadShabbir) KUWAIT, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News / WAM - 03rd Aug, 2018) After a decades-long strife by women's rights campaigners for full suffrage, Kuwait has granted women their full political and constitutional rights, making way for them to vote, run for elections and assume leadership positions. Women in Kuwait have proven their worth through their leading role in driving the countrys overall development march, across all domains, including public works, social services, economy and politics. Kuwaiti women would not have achieved this success without a number of factors, including the countrys legislative and social systems that provided them with many opportunities to occupy the highest local and regional positions, not to mention the role of men in supporting them to obtain their rights, especially their political ones. Despite facing difficulties and challenges, the successes of Kuwaiti women have enabled them to assume a leading role across the Gulf where they have managed to as occupy many key positions. Kuwaiti women were not only interested in gaining their political rights, but they have also been keen to obtain their economic, cultural and social rights, as granted by the 1962 constitution and the "Rights of Motherhood and Childhood" in Article 9 , as well as their protection from violence by the "Personal Status Law," and their right to run for elections and vote in civil societies and cooperative organisations. Kuwaiti women have played a key role during the Iraqi occupation of Kuwait in 1990, as they supported men in the occupation resistance, and some of them died or were captured. A total of 82 women died during the war, and Sanaa Al Fudry was the countrys first martyr, followed by Asrar Al Qabandy. Women in Kuwait have occupied many leading positions, including ministers, deputy ministers, university directors and ambassadresses, and were elected as members to the National Assembly. Dr. Rasha Al Sabah held the position of the First Under-Secretary of the Ministry of Higher education in 1993 while Nabila Al Mulla was appointed as the first Kuwaiti Ambassador to Zimbabwe and South Africa in 1993, and was appointed in 2003 as the Permanent Representative at the United Nations, UN, the first Arab Muslim ambassadress to the UN, and she was also appointed as the Chairperson of the board of Trustees of the Islamic Cultural Centre in New York. Dr. Fayza Al Kharafy was likewise appointed as the Director of Kuwait University. We also cannot forget the role of Sarah Akbar, who was recognised by the entire world when she put on her protective helmet and stormed a fire ignited by the Iraqi occupiers, to save Kuwaiti and foreign engineers. On the international level, Lulwa Al Qatami was appointed as an ambassador of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation, UNESCO, in 1990 and occupied the position of Director of the Girls College for Administrative Affairs until 1994, one of the institutions of the Arab Council for Childhood. In the Ministry of Information, Amal Majran al-Hamad became Assistant Undersecretary for External Information and Iqbal al-Ahmad became editor-in-chief of the Kuwait news Agency (KUNA) in December 1998. Regarding their political rights, the National Assembly approved, on 16th May, 2005, a draft law that was presented by the government to amend the first article of the elections law, which allowed women to vote and run for elections. In June 2005, the Kuwaiti Cabinet declared the selection of Fatma Saud Al Sabbah and Fawziya Mohamed Al Bahr for membership of the Municipality Council. In the same month, Kuwaiti women were appointed as ministers for the first time in the country. Dr. Ma'souma Al Mubarak was appointed as the Minister of Planning and Minister of State for Administrative Development. In April 2006, Kuwaiti women practiced their political rights by voting and running for elections for the first time. Jenan Bushahry ran for elections for the Municipality Council of the Salwa Electoral Department. In 2008, 27 women submitted official requests to run for elections, and though they were not successful, their participation gave them the experience to win in 2009. During that year, four female candidates won their seats in the National Assembly: Dr. Ma'souma Al Mubarak, Dr. Salwa Al Jassar, Asseel Al Awadhi, and Dr. Rola Dashti. Kuwaiti women continued their struggle to participate in the countrys political process until their presence in the ministerial formation became vital. In July 2006, Dr. Al Mubarak was appointed as the Minister of Transport, and in 2007, she was appointed Minister of Health while Nouriya Barrak was appointed as Minister of Education and Higher Education. After these two governments, women continued to be part of the Cabinet of Ministers. Dr. Moudhi Abdulaziz Al Hamoud was appointed as Minister of State for Housing Affairs and Minister of State for Development Affairs in May 2008. She was also appointed as Minister of Education and Higher Education. The two ministers were also part of January 2009 government, and in May of the same year, Dr. Al Hamoud was appointed as Minister of Education and Higher Education. In the May 2011, Dr. Amani Khalid Bursali was appointed as Minister of Commerce and Industry, and in November of the same year, she was appointed as Minister of Commerce and Industry and Minister of State for Planning and Development Affairs. In July 2012, Dr. Rola Dashti was appointed as Minister of State for Planning and Development Affairs and Minister of State for the National Assembly Affairs while Zekra Al Rashidi was appointed as Minister for Social and Labour Affairs. In August 2013, Hind Barak Al Subaih was appointed as Minister of Social and Labour Affairs and Minister of State for Planning and Development. She continued to be a minister in December 2016 and was joined by Dr. Jenan Bushahri as Minister of State for Housing Affairs and Minister of State for Services in December 2017. Kuwaiti women are continuing to achieve successes in many fields, proving that they represent half of the community and cannot be marginalised. At the Ministry of Information, Amal Magran Al Hamad was appointed as Assisting Under-Secretary for External Media Affairs, and Iqbal Al Ahmed was appointed as Editor-in-Chief of the Kuwaiti News Agency, KUNA, in December 1998. (@ChaudhryMAli88) The United Arab Emirates and Sudan have discussed means of accelerating cooperation in areas of tourism. KHARTOUM, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News / WAM - 03rd Aug, 2018) The United Arab Emirates and Sudan have discussed means of accelerating cooperation in areas of tourism. This came in a meeting between Hamad Mohammed Humaid Al Junaibi, UAE Ambassador to Sudan, and Mohamed Abu Zaid Mustafa, Sudan's Minister of Tourism, Antiquities and Wildlife, where two sides addressed bilateral relations and issues of common interest. The Sudanese minister commended the robust cooperation ties between the two countries, paying tribute to the significant support provided by the UAE for tourist developments in Sudan, particularly for different museums, such as Sennar, Al Khalifa, in Khartoum, and Shikan, in North Kordofan, as well as the Emirati support provided through ICCROM-Sharjah, a regional conservation centre founded by ICCROM (International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property). Punjab Caretaker Chief Minister Dr Hasan Askari has said that police martyrs have written a history of bravery and courage with their blood. LAHORE, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 3rd Aug, 2018 ) :Punjab Caretaker Chief Minister Dr Hasan Askari has said that police martyrs have written a history of bravery and courage with their blood. In his message issued here on Friday on the eve of Police Martyrs Day, he said that the nation remembered the great sacrifices rendered by police martyrs and paid regards to their heirs on this day. The chief minister paid rich tributes to the police martyrs who had sacrificed their precious lives for the protection of life and property of the people and said that their bravery and commitment to duty had helped in maintenance of peace in the country. The police martyrs gave their blood to make the country a citadel of peace, he added. The immense sacrifices rendered by the police for the safety of citizens are immortal, he added. "The police force and other law-enforcement agencies are fully engaged in eradicating the internal enemies," he stated. He said the police martyrs sacrificing their lives for the beloved motherland were heroes of the whole nation, adding the peace had been restored due to their sacrifices and martyrs' role in maintaining peace would always be remembered. He should be caring more about the African-American community thats getting slaughtered in this city right now, McCarthy said when asked about Emanuels recent comments in favor of Chicago remaining a welcoming city for immigrants who are in the U.S. illegally. And at the end of the day, what Rahm Emanuel does, he talks about global warming, climate change, he talks about the president, he weighs in on federal judges. At the end of the day, hes not in charge of that. Hes in charge of gun violence, the economy and the education system here in Chicago, and hes not paying attention to it. (@FahadShabbir) Like other parts of the country, the preparations for Independence Day celebrations gained momentum in Khyber Pakthunkhwa where the people started decorations of their houses, vehicles and markets to express their love with motherland came into being on August 14, 1947. PESHAWAR, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 3rd Aug, 2018 ) :Like other parts of the country, the preparations for Independence Day celebrations gained momentum in Khyber Pakthunkhwa where the people started decorations of their houses, vehicles and markets to express their love with motherland came into being on August 14, 1947. With the start of the month of August, the people of KP started decorating their houses, buildings, markets, shops and vehicles with national flags, stickers and fancy lights to express their love with the motherland. In the capital city of KP, the people from all walks of life including students, youth, rickshaw, bus and taxi drivers were seen buying national flags, stickers, badges carrying photos of national heroes, at bookshops, stalls and markets in historic Qissa Khwani, Laiquat, Hastnagri, Firdus, Tehkal, board and Hayatabad bazaars besides other markets of the city to celebrate the 71st Independence Day of Pakistan in most befitting manner. The shopkeepers, traders and businessmen have set up special colourful stalls with variety of goods, including stickers, badges, buntings, national flags, banners and pictures of national heroes of Independence Movement including Father of the Nation Quaid e Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah and legendary poet Philosopher, Dr Allama Muhammad Iqbal. Great enthusiasm are being seen among young generation purchasing of national flags, badges and stickers as part of Pakistan's Independence Day celebrations. "I came to Qissa khwani Bazaar Peshawar from hometown Nowshera to buy 500 stickers and badges for myself, brothers, sisters, friends and class fellows as part of Independence Day celebrations," Zeshan Khan, a student of University of Peshawar told APP on Friday. "Like the past, I will celebrate the Independence Day with my friends and relatives with full national spirit and enthusiasm at Peshawar," he maintained. Khan said he and his cousins would be in the provincial capital on August 14 to take part in the national flag hoisting ceremonies. Khurshid Alam, a Govt employee, who was buying badges and stickers at Laiqat Bazaar told APP that like in the past, he came to Peshawar again to purchase national flags, stickers and badges for my young nephews to appraise them about the sacrifices offered by our forefathers during Pakistan Movement. He said 71 years ago on August 14, 1947 Pakistan came into being due to the heroic struggle and sacrifices of Muslims of the subcontinent under the leadership of Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinah. The best tributes to heroes and martyrs of Pakistan Movement was to work hard tirelessly in our respective professions to make the country economically strong and prosperous. He said Pakistan was confronted with a number of challenges including water and energy shortage, environmental, social and economic challenges and the entire nation should extend full support to the upcoming government of PTI to address the same. He said political stability was vital for economic prosperity and development and urged all political forces to show political maturity by accepting verdict of people wholeheartedly. The political parties, public and private organisations have planned scores of events to celebrate the Independence Day in a befitting manner. Rallies, processions, exhibitions and colourful functions in all small and major towns and cities of the province were also planned. The celebrations would be held at provincial, district and tehsil levels in KP including in the recently merged seven tribal districts of erstwhile Fata. Flags hoisting ceremonies would be held at headquarters of tribal districts with national anthem and songs by schools children. Members of Parliament, district presidents, general secretaries, office bearers, and workers of religious-political parties will also display stickers and badges of Pakistan and hoist national flags on their houses, shops, vehicles and motorcycles on this historic occasion. Meetings, rallies, seminars, talk shows and cake cutting functions will be held at districts and tehsil levels, in which general public and young generation will also be invited in large number to express their love for Pakistan. (@FahadShabbir) Lahore High Court (LHC) Friday declined a request for immediate de-sealing of South Asian Free Media Association (SAFMA) premises. LAHORE, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 3rd Aug, 2018 ) :Lahore High Court (LHC) Friday declined a request for immediate de-sealing of South Asian Free Media Association (SAFMA) premises. However, the court issued notices to the Lahore Development Authority (LDA) for August 7 and sought reply on a plea against sealing of SAFMA premises. Justice Shahid Karim heard the petition, filed by the media association through its director. Earlier, petitioner's counsel, arguing before the court,submitted that an LHC bench ordered the LDA to decide the SAFMA application for permission to use its premises as a school for the media while disposing of a petition, filed by a neighbor against commercial use of a Shadman residential area by SAFMA. However, the LDA turned down the application saying that the premises did not have required space for the purpose and ordered for restoring the residential status of the SAFMA premises, he added. He said that SAFMA then submitted an application to the authority for allowing it to use the premises as a library, but the authority, during tendency of the application, sealed the SAFMA premises without giving any notice. He said that under the LDA laws, school or library could be established in the residential area. He pleaded with the court to order de-sealing of the premises as the step was taken with mala fide intention. But, the court declined the request to order immediate de-sealing of the premises and issued a notice to the LDA for August 7 and sought a reply. (@ChaudhryMAli88) Deputy Commissioner Swat has said that media has played an important role in polio eradication by raising public awareness about the disease and importance of vaccination to prevent child deaths and disabilities. SWAT, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 3rd Aug, 2018 ) :Deputy Commissioner Swat has said that media has played an important role in polio eradication by raising public awareness about the disease and importance of vaccination to prevent child deaths and disabilities. "We have the only challenge to convince a handful of parents for cooperation with the govt who are influenced of the negative propaganda of certain anti-state elements and refused to vaccine their infants that also endangered all the new born children against this chronic disease", he added. He said that Pakistan has made phenomenal achievements in polio eradication due to the hard work and commitment of Sehat Muhafiz under the guidance and ownership of the government with the lowest case count in the history of the country. This he said while addressing the inaugural session of two-day media sensitization workshop for journalists conducted by Emergency Operations Center Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on polio eradication initiative (PEI) here Friday. The DC Swat said that media is an important pillar of the state that shapes public opinion and urged it to remove misconceptions related to polio vaccination and generate demand in the community for polio and other essential immunization. Director EPI KP Dr Akram Shah, Technical Focal Person BMGF Dr Imtiaz, Team Leader UNICEF Dr Johar, Provincial Polio Eradication Officer WHO, Dr Illaudin, District Health Officer Swat Dr Subhani, Communication for Development Officer UNICEF Ejaz Ur Rehman and Head of Paediatric Dept of Saidu Teaching Hospitals, Dr Israrul Haq were present on the occasion. Director Expanded Programme on Immunization Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Dr Akram Shah said that efforts for polio eradication was at its peak with the lowest case count since the launch of door to door polio vaccination campaign in 1994 in the country. He urged media to help the government in giving last push to the crippling disease by creating public demand for polio vaccination. He said that media can play the role of bridge between government and public by removing remaining hurdles in polio eradication initiative in the country and can educate and motivate people for polio and other essential immunization services provided by the government free of cost for their children. Provincial PEO, WHO Dr Illaudin in his presentation explained in detail Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV) and IPV vaccination and how it builds gut and serum (blood) immunity and the need for repeated vaccination. Technical Focal Person for PEI Dr Imtiaz Ali Shah welcomed journalists and shed light on border objectives of the media workshop saying that media was the ear and eyes of the society and plays a pivotal role in shaping public opinion. He said that the dream of polio free Pakistan will not be possible without the support of media. "We have shifted from engaging media to partnership with media which means that media persons were equally responsible for creating public awareness and demand for polio eradication", he added. Communication Development Officer UNICEF Ejaz Ur Rehman said that communication strategies were revised with each passing year as per programme priorities adding that for year 2018-19 communication was shifted and tagged as communication for eradication with greater focus on ground level issues and masses appeal. Dr Israr, senior pediatrician and DHO Swat Dr Subhani also spoke on vaccine efficacy and safety and urged participants to build public trust on vaccination and public health intervention by highlighting therisk perception and the prevention of deaths through effective immunization services in the world. As the auspicious occasion of Eid-ul-Azha is just three weeks away, the sale and purchase of sacrificial animals has started gaining momentum in the provincial capital. LAHORE, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 3rd Aug, 2018 ) :As the auspicious occasion of Eid-ul-Azha is just three weeks away, the sale and purchase of sacrificial animals has started gaining momentum in the provincial capital. Cattle markets are being established around the city and people have started visiting the places. However, mostly they return empty handed owing to demands of high prices on the part of the animal sellers. It has been observed that majority of sellers of sacrificial animals demand very high rates, as no price regulatory mechanism has been introduced by the city government. On an average, over 400,000 sacrificial animals are slaughtered in the city on every Eid-ul-Azha and out of the total number of sacrificial animals, around 250,000 are small animals i.e. goats and sheep and the rest are big animals, like cows, calves, camels, etc, said an official of the City government. Survey of different sale points revealed that the price of a normal-size goat ranges from Rs 30,000 to Rs 60,000, a lamb/sheep from Rs 25,000 to Rs 55,000 and a cow/calf from Rs 55,000 to Rs 120,000 in most city markets. The survey shows that prices of sacrificial animals are higher this year due to hike in Dollar price. The sellers of sacrificial animals said that increase in cost of transportation of animals as well as raise in price of animal fodder forced them to increase the prices of their animals. Kabir Khan, a seller said that rise in transportation charges, cost of animal breeding and feed as well as bribe and taxes at various points led to the increase in the animal prices. Naseer Ahmad, another seller from South Punjab, said that the price of green fodder has gone up by 50 per cent this year, while the fare of a truck coming from South Punjab to Lahore had also increased by 100 per cent. "I am worried how come I would be able to sell my animals in loss," he said. Majority of the customers visiting animal sale points said the government should control the prices, but it leaves the general public at the mercy of the sellers who demand very high prices of sacrificial animals. Yasir Mehmood, a resident of Shadman, said that prices of animals have increased but there was no increase in the income, adding that the people with modest incomes are facing the real dilemma as they wanted to buy an animal to fulfil their religious obligation but could not afford it. However, most of the citizens believed that high prices of sacrificial animals may decrease in the coming days because the sellers will not want to take back their animals. One Ashraf Ali said that presently the sellers are demanding high prices, especially of goats but they would have to reduce the prices. Majority of citizens have demanded the government to enforcea price mechanism so that they can purchase sacrificial animals on reasonable rates. Exiled DR Congo opposition leader Moise Katumbi said on Friday he was seeking to return home by road from Zambia to file a presidential election bid after the authorities barred his plane from landing in his provincial stronghold. Lubumbashi, DR Congo, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 3rd Aug, 2018 ) :Exiled DR Congo opposition leader Moise Katumbi said on Friday he was seeking to return home by road from Zambia to file a presidential election bid after the authorities barred his plane from landing in his provincial stronghold. Katumbi has been living in self-imposed exile in Belgium since May 2016 after falling out with President Joseph Kabila. He had planned to fly by private jet from Johannesburg to Lubumbashi, the capital of Katanga province, to lodge his application to stand in long-delayed elections in December -- a move that would heap pressure on Kabila. But the city's mayor said Thursday that Katumbi would be refused entry, while the public prosecutor's office said Katumbi had been charged with "harming the state's domestic and external security" and would be immediately arrested if he returned. Katumbi's spokesman Olivier Kamitatu said "authorisation to fly over and land had been refused by Kinshasa". "We will take off in the direction of (Zambian city) Ndola to take the road to Lubumbashi," Kamitatu tweeted. Katumbi told AFP later that he had arrived in Ndola at around 0900 GMT and was heading to the border post of Kasumbalesa. The drive to the frontier takes more than six hours, according to local sources. - Potential arrest - At least two police checkpoints were set up to screen access to Lubumbashi's airport on Friday and the main road to Zambia had been blocked by a truck, an AFP journalist said. "As you can see, we are waiting for the president (Katumbi), but those in power do not want him to be there," said Katumbi's brother Abraham Soriano. The former governor of the mineral-rich southern province of Katanga had once been close to Kabila before the two had a falling-out. Katumbi, 53, already faced potential arrest after being handed a three-year jail term in absentia in June 2016 in a case of alleged property fraud. He has also been accused of hiring mercenaries and for possessing an Italian passport -- Congolese law does not allow dual nationality. He denies the charges in both of those cases. Another rival of Kabila, former warlord and ex-vice president Jean-Pierre Bemba, 55, returned home this week. He officially launched his bid for the presidency on Thursday. The Democratic Republic of Congo has never known a peaceful transition of power since it gained independence in 1960 -- and some experts fear that the December 23 elections may trigger a bloody conflict. Kabila, 47, has been at the helm since 2001, presiding over a vast mineral-rich country with a reputation for corruption, inequality and unrest. He was scheduled to stand down at the end of 2016 after his second elected term, technically the last permitted under the constitution. Kabila has refused to spell out whether he will seek a new term in the vote. Candidates must submit their applications by August 8 and physically be in the country to do so. (@rukhshanmir) About 50 servicemen of the special operations forces of the Armed Forces of Belarus will take part in the Belarus-China joint anti-terror exercise titled 'Hunting Falcon,' press service of the Defense Ministry said. MINSK, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 3rd Aug, 2018 ) :About 50 servicemen of the special operations forces of the Armed Forces of Belarus will take part in the Belarus-China joint anti-terror exercise titled 'Hunting Falcon,' press service of the Defense Ministry said. The drill will take place in Jinan, Shandong Province on 4-18 August, in accordance with the plan of cooperation between the Chinese and Belarusian defense ministries for 2018. Hunting Falcon is a regular exercise designed to strengthen the partnership between the two armies in counteracting terrorist threats. "We will arrange the Day of Belarusian Culture as part of the exercise. Our military will introduce the Chinese colleagues to Belarusian arts and crafts and cook national dishes," the press service noted. Dubai, Aug 2 (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 3rd Aug, 2018 ) :Dubai's government said Thursday its port operator DP World has won a London court battle against Djibouti after the Horn of Africa nation cancelled a terminal contract. The London Court of International Arbitration "confirmed the illegitimacy of the government of Djibouti's action of seizing control of the Doraleh container terminal from DP World," the emirate's media office said in a statement. It also ruled that a 50-year concession agreement between Djibouti and DP World to run the Doraleh container terminal "remains valid and binding". The government of Djibouti did not immediately confirm the ruling, which stems from a complaint in February when Dubai accused the country of "illegally" seizing control of the Doraleh terminal. DP World designed, built and operated the terminal in line with the concession agreement, and had run it since 2006. But the deal turned sour with Djibouti accusing DP World of under-managing the container terminal in favour of the company's main port in Dubai, as well as allegedly blocking expansion and key decisions. Dubai said the company would "reflect on the ruling and review its options" following the London court decision. DP World operates 78 ports in more than 40 countries and in recent years has expanded its profile in the Horn of Africa. In September 2016 the company announced it had won a 30-year concession to manage a port at Berbera in the breakaway republic of Somaliland. On March 1, DP World, Ethiopia and Somaliland struck a deal giving Ethiopia a 19-percent stake in the Berbera port. The company holds a 51-percent stake, while Somaliland has the remaining 30 percent. Djibouti has been on an infrastructure blitz in recent years, aiming to cash in on its location on the strategic Bab el-Mandab strait, the key shipping lane to Europe from the Gulf and Asia beyond. Last year the tiny country inaugurated three new ports and a train line to neighbouring Ethiopia. It also hosts China's first foreign military base. (@ChaudhryMAli88) Jordan's ambassador in Baghdad Muntaser al-Zou'bi Thursday discussed with Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi prospects of fostering cooperation between both countries in various domains. BAGHDAD,Iraq (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 3rd Aug, 2018 ) :Jordan's ambassador in Baghdad Muntaser al-Zou'bi Thursday discussed with Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi prospects of fostering cooperation between both countries in various domains. A statement issued by the Prime Minister's office said "al-Abadi received ambassador of Jordan for talks on ways to step up mutual cooperation and bilateral ties to serve the interests of both countries' peoples". On the other hand, an official source told Petra's correspondent in Baghdad that the Iraqi government was enthusiastic about enhancing economic cooperation with Jordan and reopen the Turaibil bordercrossing, which would boost ties between the two sides. (@ChaudhryMAli88) Mongolia is ready to work with Australia to expand bilateral cooperation and ties in a wide range of areas, including politics, economy, trade and culture, Mongolian Foreign Minister Damdin Tsogtbaatar said here Friday. ULAN BATOR, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 3rd Aug, 2018 ) :Mongolia is ready to work with Australia to expand bilateral cooperation and ties in a wide range of areas, including politics, economy, trade and culture, Mongolian Foreign Minister Damdin Tsogtbaatar said here Friday. Tsogtbaatar made the remarks when meeting with Australian Ambassador to Mongolia John Langtry. During the meeting, the two sides agreed to increase high-level contacts and exchanges in all areas, and further enhance people-to-people contact between Mongolia and Australia, the Mongolian Foreign Ministry said in a statement. They also agreed to hold an annual consultative meeting of ministries of foreign affairs between the two countries in September in Ulan Bator in order to discuss ways to strengthen bilateral cooperation, according to the statement. The first consultative meeting of ministries of foreign affairs between the two countries was held in 2014 in the Mongolian capital. This year marks the 46th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two countries. Public-sector workers in the West African state of Guinea-Bissau have called off a strike after securing a pay increase in talks with the government, their main trade union said Friday. Bissau, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 3rd Aug, 2018 ) :Public-sector workers in the West African state of Guinea-Bissau have called off a strike after securing a pay increase in talks with the government, their main trade union said Friday. The strike, launched on July 24, ended after the government agreed on Thursday to increase minimum monthly pay from 19,200 CFA francs ($33.91, 29.28 Euros) to 50,000 francs from September, Julio Mendonca, head of the UNTG union, told AFP. However, Prime Minister Aristide Gomes was somewhat more cautious. In a statement to AFP late Thursday, he said, "all parties have accepted the principle" of a pay rise. "We are still in negotiations," he said. "We are all going to work at finding a definitive solution to this situation." The strike, which affected a sector with 13,000 employees, was also followed by state media organisations. Public radio and television went silent and there were strikes at the daily newspaper No-Pintcha and news agency ANG. Guinea-Bissau, a former Portuguese colony with a population of 1.8 million, is one of the poorest and most unstable countries in the world. It has experienced years of volatility, marked by coups and soldiers' mutinies. The country plunged into a power struggle in August 2015, when President Jose Mario Vaz sacked his then prime minister, Domingos Simoes Pereira. After lawmakers did not meet for nearly two years, an agreement was reached in April at a summit of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), which led to Gomes's appointment as prime minister. We are still facing frequent reports of sexual misconduct on college campuses and in workplaces. The first step in stopping these egregious actions is to make sure students are educated on the differences between when is right and wrong, sponsoring Sen. Linda Holmes, D-Aurora, said in a statement. (@ChaudhryMAli88) Saudi Minister for Culture and Information Dr Awad Al-Awad Friday unveiled the media plan to ensure extensive and comprehensive coverage of Manasik-e Hajj-2018 and facilitate 800 foreign journalists, arriving here from across the world for the specific purpose. JEDDAH, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 3rd Aug, 2018 ) :Saudi Minister for Culture and Information Dr Awad Al-Awad Friday unveiled the media plan to ensure extensive and comprehensive coverage of Manasik-e Hajj-2018 and facilitate 800 foreign journalists, arriving here from across the world for the specific purpose. Addressing the launching ceremony, he commended the efforts of the participating Saudi government agencies and their cooperation for the success of the pilgrimage season and praised their keenness to achieve integration and coordination among them. He thanked Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and the Crown Prince for their generosity and generous support to enable the Saudi Ministry of Information and government agencies to participate in the Hajj proceedings. The Saudi Ministry has produced as many as 60 videos on Hajj reflecting efforts of the Kingdom to extend maximum facilities to guests of All Almighty at the holy land with creative and innovative ideas. The Information Minister also launched the website of this season http://hajjmedia.gov.sa to be the main media source for the work of Hajj news, data and information, and the implementation of its initiatives and activities and events. This year, Dr Awad said the ministry will host more than 800 prominent foreign media professionals to cover the Manasik-e-Hajj and highlight them in a professional manner for the Muslims around the world. He said the ministry has equipped several media centers in Makkah Mukarramah and the holy places to facilitate journalists and media professionals and provide them all required media services like communication networks, computers, studios and mechanisms to facilitate their mission to cover Manasik-e-Hajj. The minister said the media centers would provide live and photographic images and complete information and data on the Kingdom's achievements in expanding the two Holy Mosques, developing surrounding urban areas and extensive constructions, carried out in the holy sites to facilitate pilgrims and Umrah pilgrims. During the ceremony, a video was screened to highlight objectives of the media plan and convey true image of the Kingdom and its holy services. The video presented the initiatives and strategies included in the plan, most notably the new identity and the slogan of Hajj 1439H "The World in the Heart of the Kingdom", the media handling strategy for Hajj, the main media messages, the media production plan and its implementation mechanisms, the internationalmedia plan and its features, mechanisms and stages of implementation, proactivemedia for media crises, and the comprehensive digital media campaign. South Sudanese President Salva Kiir said Friday he was committed to a power-sharing deal with his arch-rival Riek Machar, vowing it would not collapse like similar agreements had in the past. Juba, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 3rd Aug, 2018 ) :South Sudanese President Salva Kiir said Friday he was committed to a power-sharing deal with his arch-rival Riek Machar, vowing it would not collapse like similar agreements had in the past. The warring parties last month signed a preliminary powersharing deal which they are expected to finalise in Khartoum on Sunday, that will see Machar return to a unity government as the first of five vice presidents. "This agreement will not collapse and I am sure that it will not collapse because the people of South Sudan have now agreed that they must make peace among themselves," Kiir told journalists. He was speaking after meeting Sudanese Foreign Minister Mohamed Aldirdiri who is mediating the peace talks, and confirmed the final agreement would be signed on August 5. South Sudan's nearly five year conflict began after Kiir accused his sacked vice president Machar of plotting a coup against him in 2013. Machar returned to government as vice-president in April 2016 after a power sharing deal, but fighting between the rival sides erupted in Juba just three months later with Machar fleeing into exile where he has remained ever since. The conflict has already killed tens of thousands of people and forced millions from their homes and resisted numerous ceasefires, leaving the country's economy in ruins. While Kiir said he was "committed" to the deal, he highlighted several challenges going forward, especially in accommodating a bloated government. The deal stipulates that there will be 35 ministers in the transitional government -- 20 from Kiir's group and nine from Machar's, while the rest will represent other groups. The parliament will be comprised of 550 lawmakers, including 332 from Kiir's group and 128 from Machar's faction. "They need security, they need vehicles, they need houses ... five vice presidents, this is a very big responsibility to manage. I need to get for them their transport, and one person needs a motorcade of maybe five vehicles. Where will I get this?" said Kiir. "They also need houses where will I get houses, also they need offices so that they work, where will I get offices. So there are so many things need to be done."str-fb/dcr The United Nations will invite warring sides in Yemen for talks on Sept. 6 in Geneva to discuss a framework for peace negotiations, United Nations Special Envoy for the country Martin Griffiths announced on Thursday. UNITED NATIONS, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 3rd Aug, 2018 ) :The United Nations will invite warring sides in Yemen for talks on Sept. 6 in Geneva to discuss a framework for peace negotiations, United Nations Special Envoy for the country Martin Griffiths announced on Thursday. It is time long past for us, together, to call for an early resumption of the political process, two years since the last round in Kuwait, Martin Griffiths said, referring to the UN-supported peace talks that where first held three years ago in Switzerland before shifting to Kuwait in April 2016. Since the uprisings that broke out in Yemen in early 2011, the UN has been engaged in helping Yemenis to find a peaceful solution. However, on 26 March 2015, a coalition of countries led by Saudi Arabia intervened militarily at the request of President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi to secure the return of the Government to Sana, which had been seized by Houthi militias and allied units of the armed forces. Three years on, the fighting is still raging, and the ensuing humanitarian crisis has only deepened in a country that was already one of the region's poorest. In the 15-member Council today, Griffiths said it is time to begin the difficult and uncertain journey away from war and that there is now a chance to weigh the opportunities for peace in the war-ravaged country. Describing the ongoing the battle for Hudaydah, a port city on the Red Sea, "as the centre of gravity of the war", he stressed that the gap between the two sides is being narrowed in a way that nobody expected. This issue, he said, has a better chance of being resolved within the context of a comprehensive political settlement. He called on Council members to urge the parties to resolve this conflict through negotiation rather than through military means, explaining that he will invite the warring parties to Geneva on 6 September for a round of talks. "These consultations will provide the opportunity for the parties, among other things, to discuss the framework for negotiations, relevant confidence-building measures and specific plans for moving the process forward", Griffiths said, while requesting the Council's support. "We know what can work. We have talked to all the sides. We have studied the experience of past efforts to resolve this conflict. One hundred days in Kuwait is a valuable guide for us", he insisted. The Director of Operations for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), John Ging, also briefed the Council, painting a bleak picture of the situation on the ground. "You have heard the statistics many times: more than 22 million people " 75 per cent of the population " require humanitarian assistance and protection. Three years of conflict have left 2 million people displaced from their homes; 8.4 million people do not know where their next meal is coming from; and, the worst cholera outbreak in the world occurred in Yemen last year, with 1.1 million cases", Ging said. "The humanitarian situation is indeed shocking, both in scale and severity", he stated. "The toll of this conflict on civilians and civilian infrastructure is devastating. Incidents in which civilians are killed or injured continue to be reported with alarming regularity", he said, calling all parties to respect international humanitarian law, including the obligation to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure, and to take all feasible precautions to avoid and minimize incidental harm. Ging also paid tribute to the humanitarian organizations in Hudaydah who stayed and delivere, per their mandates. About 90 per cent of people displaced by recent violence have, in fact, received emergency relief packages. These packages contain food, hygiene supplies and other supplies to reserve dignity, OCHA's Head of Operations explained. Humanitarian assistance, " however effective and large-scale" cannot mitigate the destructive effect of conflict on every facet of daily life, he stated. The Yemeni people have suffered for too long and the have suffered too much. An end to this conflict is long overdue. (@FahadShabbir) A woman in her 40s was found dead on Friday after sleeping inside a coffin as part of a religious ritual aimed at driving out misfortune, police said. GUMI, South Korea, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 3rd Aug, 2018 ) :A woman in her 40s was found dead on Friday after sleeping inside a coffin as part of a religious ritual aimed at driving out misfortune, police said. The 47-year-old, whose identity was withheld, first entered the coffin around 8 p.m. Thursday as part of the ritual at the home of an acquaintance in the southeastern city of Gumi and came out of it two hours later, citing difficulty breathing, according to police. But she entered the coffin again after the acquaintance and another participant in the ritual told her to try to hang on a little longer, and the two others slept outside, according to police. The two opened the coffin the following morning and found the woman dead around 6:30 a. m., police said. Police said there was no sign of nailing on the coffin's cover and that the women could have fallen into a deep sleep or lost consciousness while inside the coffin. An autopsy on her body will be performed on Saturday to find out what exactly caused her death, the police said, adding they are also looking into the possibility that she died of heat exhaustion or heatstroke inside the airtight coffin amid the heat wave that is gripping many areas of the country. The police will also decide whether to charge the two acquaintances for negligence leading to her death. Santiago, Aug 2 (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 3rd Aug, 2018 ) :Workers at the world's biggest copper mine, Chile's Escondida open-pit, voted Thursday in favor of strike action after rejecting as insufficient a salary hike proposed by Anglo-Australian owners BHP. The N1 union said 84 percent of its members had backed the strike, with a "historic" turnout of 2,330 of 2,500 people eligible to vote. "We hope that this overwhelming desire to reject the company's offer... will convince the company of the need to show a willingness to build an accord that recognizes our rights," N1 said in a statement. The union is calling for a five percent salary increase and a conflict termination bonus of four percent of dividends received by shareholders last year, or about $34,000 per worker. Chilean miners earn between $2,500-3,000 a month -- a comfortable sum in a country where the minimum wage is $800. But the workers argue they deserve such a premium because of their harsh working conditions. "A strike at Escondida would have very negative effects on our workers and their families, as well as the company, the region and the country," the vice president of the BHP unit running the mine, Patricio Vilaplana, said in a statement. "We all lose in a strike," he warned. Vilaplana said the company was reviewing "contingency plans" to minimize the effect of a strike. - Mediation snubbed - The company had increased its initial offer of 13.5 million Chilean pesos to 15 million ($23,000) per worker as a bonus for ending the negotiations, which had dragged on for weeks. BHP -- a multinational mining, metals and petroleum company that posted revenues of $38 billion and $5.9 billion in bottom line profit last year -- has the right to request mediation, which could last 10 days. But the head of the N1 union, Patricio Tapia, said the mining company had until next Monday to make concessions, or "we will conclude that it makes no sense to go to heel-dragging compulsory mediation. " Last year, Escondida miners went on strike for 44 days, provoking a 39 percent drop in production over the first half of the year -- costing the company $740 million. Some five percent of the world's copper is produced at the mine, one of the most profitable in the world. It earned almost $1.2 billion last year, a 20 percent increase on the previous year, and that despite the lengthy industrial action. That hurt the local economy, though, in a country that produces almost a third of the world's copper, around 5.6 million tons, fuelled largely by China's insatiable appetite for the red metal. - Government pleas - The Chilean government, which says last year's stoppage shaved 1.3 percent off the economy, pleaded with the miners to reconsider their threatened action. "We are asking that they take into consideration the reality in this country, where employment is needed," Mining Minister Baldo Prokurica said. On Wednesday, Finance Minister Felipe Larrain said: "Strike action is a legitimate tool, but without a doubt we hope the problems can be resolved without resorting to a strike." The Escondida mine is located in the world's driest desert, the Atacama in northern Chile, at an altitude of more than 3,000 meters (10,000 feet). It's the same area where eight years ago, 33 men were trapped 700 meters underground for 69 days following a cave-in at the Copiapo mine. Earlier this week, at yet another mine in Chuquicamata, run by the state-owned Codelco company, workers briefly went on strike to demand the reinstatement of sacked colleagues. Analyst Juan Carlos Guajardo told AFP there was a possibility the mine's workers might not go on strike and instead use legal maneuvers to roll over their current contract another 18 months. "That could generate even worse labor relations with the company," he said. Workers at Chile's Escondida copper mine, the world's biggest, voted in favor of strike action Thursday after rejecting as insufficient a salary hike proposed by Anglo-Australian owners BHP. Santiago, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 2nd Aug, 2018 ) :Workers at Chile's Escondida copper mine, the world's biggest, voted in favor of strike action Thursday after rejecting as insufficient a salary hike proposed by Anglo-Australian owners BHP. The N1 union said 84 percent of its members had voted in favor of the strike, adding that 2,330 of its 2,500 members had voted, "a historic number for our union." "We hope that this overwhelming desire to reject the company's offer... will convince the company of the need to show a willingness to build a accord that recognizes our rights," N1 said in a statement. The union is calling for a five percent salary increase and a conflict termination bonus of four percent of dividends received by shareholders last year, or about $34,000 per worker. The company increased its initial offer of 13.5 million Chilean pesos to 15 million ($23,000) per worker as a bonus for ending the negotiation. BHP, a multinational mining, metals and petroleum company that posted revenues of $38 billion last year, has the right to request mediation, which could last 10 days. If that fails, workers would go on strike. Last year Escondida miners went on strike for 44 days, provoking a 39 percent drop in production over the first half of the year. Some five percent of the world's copper is produced at the mine. The government had pleaded with miners on Wednesday to be "realistic." "Strike action is a legitimate tool, but without a doubt we hope the problems can be resolved without resorting to a strike," Finance Minister Felipe Larrain said. The Escondida mine is located in the world's driest desert, the Atacama in northern Chile, at more than 3,000 meters (10,000 feet) in altitude. It's the same area where eight years ago 33 men were trapped 700 meters underground for 69 days following a cave-in at the Copiapo mine. Earlier this week, at yet another mine in Chuquicamata, workers briefly went on strike to demand the reinstatement of sacked colleagues. She told police that she accompanied Paddock to gun stores and gun shows and helped him set up a gun range in Nevada. Danley told authorities he tended to be obsessive when he dove into a new hobby, and she considered the behavior part of that same pattern, said Detective Trever Alsup, the lead investigator in the case. The Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) issues a Pastoral Exhortation on the 50th Anniversary of Bd Paul VIs landmark encyclical, Humanae vitae. By Christopher Wells After consulting with married couples and parents, the Bishops of the Philippines have issued a Pastoral Exhortation to mark the 50th anniversary of the encyclical Humanae vitae. Pope Paul VIs final encyclical reaffirmed the Churchs teaching on the regulation of birth in the wake of questions concerning the morality of artificial means of birth control. The promulgation of Humanae vitae was marked by widespread confusion and even dissent; but the experience of recent decades has led many commentators to describe Pauls teaching as prophetic. The Exhortation by the Filipino Bishops emphasizes the lived experience of their people. It is natural for married Filipino couples to wholeheartedly embrace each child, who is a fruit of their love for each other, they write. This is true despite fear and criticism of those with large families. But welcoming children also implies responsibility for their upbringing. For the Filipino, the parents are anointed by God to educate their children. Responsible parenthood, then, cannot be reduced to the question of whether or not to have children, but involves caring for them throughout their lives. Quoting Pope Francis, the Bishops say, The gift of a new child, entrusted by the Lord to a father and a mother, begins with acceptance, continues with lifelong protection and has as its final goal the joy of eternal life. Finally, the Filipino Bishops recall the ends of marriage. For the Filipino, it is natural for couples to dream of staying together for a lifetime and to desire to beget children. Following Bd Paul VI, the Bishops affirm married love as fully human, total, faithful and exclusive of all other until death, and fruitful. The Bishops exhortation concludes with a word of encouragement for all those who find themselves in complicated situations. With Pope Francis, they urge people with questions to speak confidently with their pastors or with other lay people whose lives are committed to the Lord. In those conversations, the Bishops say, They may not always encounter in them a confirmation of their own ideas or desires, but they will surely receive some light to help them better understand their situation and discover a path to personal growth. The Catholic bishops of Nicaragua say the country will not host pilgrims attending the Days in the Diocese leading up to World Youth Day in Panama due to their current social-political situation in the country. By Francesca Merlo The bishops of Nicaragua have made the decision to withdraw from hosting the "Days in the Diocese" leading up to the 2019 World Youth Day (WYD). The decision was sent through a letter from the Undersecretary of the Department of Youth of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nicaragua, Fr. Jhader Hernandez and addressed to Mons. Jose Domingo Ulloa, President of the Organising Committee for WYD 2019. In the letter he thanks the Organisation for choosing Nicaragua to host the event, but explains that the current political situation in the country does not make for a safe place for pilgrims to visit. WYD 2019 January 2019: World Youth day (WYD). Previously held in Denver, Manila, Paris, Toronto, Madrid, Rio de Janeiro and Krakow, this year the event will take place in Panama City, Panama. Preceding the main celebrations of World Youth Day, which often draws crowds of 3 million people, are an organised 14 days of Days in the Diocese. These two weeks are an opportunity for pilgrims to spend time in the dioceses in the organising country leading up to the WYD. For the first time, the days of the dioceses will be carried out in multiple countries. Pope Francis this year has requested for the Days in the Diocese to be extended to the Dioceses of Panama, Costa Rica and Nicaragua - as his wish is for the World Youth Day to be entirely Central American. Listen to our report Renouncing for safety In his letter to Monsignor Ulloa, Father Jhader Hernandez states that the Catholic Bishops Conference has made the regretful decision to withdraw from the Days in the Diocese for the safety of the pilgrims and the pastoral staff involved in this Church experience. He ends his letter thanking Panama for the messages and the constant support they have demonstrated towards the people of Nicaragua during this difficult period. Panama fight to save this experience In a Press Release entitled Nicaragua in the heart of the WYD, The Panama Organising Committee is urging pilgrims to live the experience of the Days in the Dioceses in Costa Rica and Panama. They state that these two countries are preparing to welcome and share these two weeks with young pilgrims and that this event is one of the riches that mark, in a special way, the lives of young people. What lead to this decision? Nicaragua is suffering a crisis, after a nationwide revolt against President Daniel Ortega and his wife, Vice-President Rosaria Murillo, erupted. Ortega is being accused of eroding democracy and human rights. The opposition says he has become the kind of brutal and corrupt tyrant that he once fought against during the Sandinista revolution in which, with his help, the Right-wing Somoza government was overthrown. A Saudi-led Sunni coalition, which has the backing of the United States, has been at war with the Shia-led Houthis in Yemen since 2015. By Robin Gomes The United Nations is inviting Yemens warring parties in Geneva on September 6 for a round of talks to end the 3-year old conflict. A chance for peace It is time to begin the difficult and uncertain journey away from war and that there is now a chance to weigh the opportunities for peace, Martin Griffiths, United Nations Special Envoy for Yemen told the Security Council on Thursday. LIsten to our report Griffiths said, It is time long past for us, together, to call for an early resumption of the political process, two years since the last round in Kuwait. He was referring to the UN-supported peace talks that where first held three years ago in Switzerland before shifting to Kuwait in April 2016. The Yemen conflict was sparked by the Shia-led Houthi rebels taking control of Yemen's capital Sanaa in 2014, which sent the internationally recognized government of Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi fleeing to exile. A Saudi-led Sunni coalition, which has the backing of the United States, has been at war with the Iran-backed Houthis since 2015 to restore the government of Hadi. Three years on, the fighting is still raging, and the ensuing humanitarian crisis has only deepened in a country that was already one of the regions poorest. Negotiation, not military solution Griffiths has been leading efforts to prevent a full-scale coalition assault on the strategic port city of Hodeidah on the Red Sea, which is responsible for more than 70 percent of imports to Yemen and is a vital lifeline for a country already teetering on the brink of famine. He called on Council members to urge the parties to resolve this conflict through negotiation rather than through military means, explaining that he will invite the warring parties to Geneva on 6 September for a round of talks to support de-escalation in Hodeidah "and to keep the Red Sea out of the conflict." Humanitarian catastrophe John Ging Director of the Coordination and Response Division of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), also addressed the Security Council on the dire situation in Yemen. He said more than 22 million people, or 75 per cent of the population, require humanitarian assistance and protection. Three years of conflict have left 2 million people displaced from their homes; 8.4 million people do not know where their next meal is coming from; and, the worst cholera outbreak in the world occurred in Yemen last year, with 1.1 million cases. Ging said the conflict in Hodeida "has escalated significantly," saying violence has forced more than 340,000 people from their homes across Hodeida governorate since June 1. The toll of this conflict on civilians and civilian infrastructure is devastating. Incidents in which civilians are killed or injured continue to be reported with alarming regularity, he said, calling all parties to respect international humanitarian law, including the obligation to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure, and to take all feasible precautions to avoid and minimize incidental harm. The humanitarian situation is indeed shocking, both in scale and severity, Ging said, stressing, these figures call for urgent action. The Yemeni people have suffered for too long and the have suffered too much. An end to this conflict is long overdue, he added. FactoryPlaceHospitalityGroup is adding two more locations to its growing presence on the West Coast with its newest Southern Italian-inspired casual-dining restaurant, sixth+mill pizzeria and bar, in Downtown Los Angeles Arts District, opening August 18, 2018 and in Grand Canal Shoppes at The Venetian in St. Mark Square Las Vegas scheduled to open April 2019 (Photo credit: Jesus Banuelos). The chance to open our second location at Grand Canal Shoppes at The Venetian in St. Mark Square places us on the greatest stage and in the most perfect setting to establish the concept. I am excited and thankful to Las Vegas Sands Corp., who trusted our vision and, in a short period of time, gave us the opportunity to have two restaurants within their resort, says Matteo Ferdinandi, CEO of FactoryPlaceHospitalityGrou p. In June, the hospitality group announced plans to open The Factory Kitchen Las Vegas December 2018, also at The Venetian. sixth+mill is a more casual-dining concept from FactoryPlaceHospitalityGr oup and will open first in Downtown Los Angeles. We are thrilled to continue serving our beloved Downtown Los Angeles community that has supported us since day one, says Ferdinandi. sixth+mill is led by Mr. Ferdinandi and FactoryPlaceHospitalityGro up Culinary Director Angelo Auriana. The restaurant reflects Chef Angelos Southern Italian heritage. The focus of the restaurant is intended to elicit the taste and emotion of his childhood memories and offer guests a taste of Southern Italy. Besides the pizza, sixth+mill will also feature small plates, fritters, salads and durum wheat pastas. Chef Angelo also draws upon a few recipes from his fathers home cooking, such as the Pizza alla Montanara, a fried dough topped with a rich tomato sauce and Scamorza, traditionally served during special family gatherings. The Gnocchi alla Sorrentina, a hearty dish from Campania, is a deep simmering dish of garlic-infused potato gnocchi with a bright tomato sauce, topped with bubbling mozzarella and fresh basil. Chef Angelo has imported a Mario Acuntos Neapolitan-style wood-fired oven encased with refractory bricks, allowing a thermal source of heat to provide consistency throughout the baking process. A traditional Italian spiral mixer slow mixes the dough allowing for a better fermentation process that develops a lighter dough and signature flavor. Those elements paired with Chef Angelos own natural yeast and a mix of flours creates pizza that is slightly crispy on the outside, soft and tender inside, light and highly digestible. Imported ingredients including cheeses, cured meats, and olive oil from the mountainous terrain of Molise, coupled with local produce, enhance the authenticity and freshness of each dish. An affordable wine list, designed by FactoryPlaceHospitalityGrou p Beverage Director, Sommelier and Partner Francine Diamond-Ferdinandi, features selections that correspond to the menu and focus on Italian Southern Regions. The Spirits complement sixth+mill pizzeria and bars thoughtful combination of seasonal and locally sourced ingredients. Draft beers offer crisp and refreshing selections from local breweries and beyond, while the cocktail list includes the San Gennaro: Bols Genever, Carpano and a splash of soda and a vibrant red Malafemmena or bad woman cocktail, named after the famous Italian song, made with tomato juice, spices and vodka. Ferdinandi and Auriana share the vision of imparting their Italian roots and memories through food and welcoming hospitality. sixth+mill pizzeria and bar is the second Las Vegas-based restaurant for FactoryPlaceHospitalityGroup. It will join its sister restaurant The Factory Kitchen Las Vegasscheduled to open December 2018at Grand Canal Shoppes at The Venetian in St. Marks Square in April 2019. The Downtown Los Angeles Arts District location will open August 18, 2018 at 1335 East 6th Street. sixth+mill pizzeria and bar will serve an all-day menu, 11 a.m. 11 p.m. Sunday Thursday and 11 a.m. midnight Friday and Saturday at both locations. Born 1911 as Concepcion Andres Picado in San Sebastian, Spanish model, dancer and actress Conchita Montenegro first worked professionally as a model for the famous painter Ignacio Zuloaga y Zabaleta. During her childhood, she learned classical and Spanish dance. She was credited with revolutionizing the presentation of Spanish dances.Montenegro turned from dancing to dramatic acting and starred in numerous productions. She attained theatrical fame in Hollywood, France, and Germany by the time she was thirteen years old. At the age of sixteen, she starred in the French film(1928).Came to Hollywood in June 1930 with a contract at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Montenegro played the leading female part of Tamea Larrieau in(1931). She had been cast in special Spanish-language versions of MGM movies asand(both 1930).Montenegro's movie career in America continued until 1940. That year she performed the leading female part in(Melodie eterne), an Italian production. Montenegro retired from the cinema after filming several movies in Spain with the last of which was(1944).Montenegro died in Madrid in 2007, aged 95. Hang Thiec Street. The Hoan Kiem (Sword) Lake. The Temple of Literature. Viceroy of Ton Kin Hoang Cao Khai's tomb, which is now ruins. A rural market in Hanois suburbs. The street of colorful lanterns. "The nails of a Confucian scholar" photo shows that in the past, Vietnamese scholars did not do manual work. A middle-class woman was cooking rice. Two rural women just picked up spinach, they wore four-panel dress, white brassiere and kerchief. Hair buns, wearing expensive clothes, with servants standing behinds... are the image of women of the wealthier class. In this picture the three women were playing cards. Two girls sitting near the tank wore the traditional costume - white brassiere, black pants, light-colored belt and conical hat. A farmer sitting amid the drying ground, showing the concept of wealth in the ancient agricultural life. The larger the drying ground is, the more rice the family has. Wrestlers worship the village god before a match. The photo of a paper making base in the Buoi village, Hanoi. The paper making trade in this village has disappeared. A village under the Long Bien bridge Artisan of Hang Trong painting The Sword Lake, the Temple of Literature with primitive dirt roads or the girls in brassiere are very lively in the works by French photographer Leon Busy, who was assigned by the Albert Kahn Museum in France to go to Vietnam to capture the lives of the people in northern Vietnam (Tonkin) from 1914 to 1917.Through the photographs, the audience can see the normal life or the social classes at that time. The photos also express the belief and religion of Hanoi.Many photographers left valuable photos of Hanoi in the past, but these photos are special because they are the first color photographs of ancient Hanoi. The photographers got down on their knees to plead with me to take the top off, she was quoted as saying in Ohio newspaper. In 1954 during the Cannes Film Festival, the English starlet Simone Silva exposed herself topless in the arms of actor Robert Mitchum; named Miss Festival that year, the actress caused a scandal with this series of photos. Silva was asked to pose for press photographs with Robert Mitchum on a beach of one the French Riviera's Lerins Islands, near Cannes. The photocall turned into the story of the festival when Silva removed her top and posed cupping her bare breasts in her hands, while Mitchum played along.Such was the scramble to get the best shots that several photographers were injured in the melee, with two reportedly suffering broken limbs.The press loved it, and the photographs were published around the world. The festival committee, however, were horrified that what they considered a vulgar and cheap publicity stunt had completely overshadowed the serious business of the fortnight, and Silva was asked to leave the festival.Silva left the festival a few days later, but remained defiant: As long as sex is box office and I keep my figure, I'm out to be the sexiest thing on, oh, two legs. So I took off the scarf.Immediately after the Cannes furor, Silva traveled to the U.S., hoping to cash in on her new-found notoriety. However she soon ran into trouble with the Immigration and Naturalization Service when it was learned that she had entered the country on a tourist visa and had not applied for a work permit, although she had been offered a contract by an independent filmmaker, Al Petker, and was picking up a salary. In June 1954, the District Immigration Director in Los Angeles refused her retroactive application for a work permit, ordering her to leave the U.S. within 60 days, and observing that: She did not make a sufficient showing to conclude if she was a person of unusual ability and talent, or professional attainment.After her return to England, Silva found it difficult to resurrect her fledgling film career. She made only one more screen appearance, in a small role in low-budget crime picturein 1956. She briefly tried her hand at stage acting, with little critical success a performance in Glasgow in June 1956 was described as too brash, too strident. Her last credit was two episodes of television adventure serialin early 1957. Silva attempted again to garner some publicity by hinting to journalists that she was planning another audacious stunt for the 1957 Cannes Film Festival, but what she had in mind, if anything, is unknown as nothing materialized.Silva was found dead in her London apartment on 30 November 1957, aged 29. An autopsy gave the cause of death as a stroke. Silva's struggles with her weight had been ongoing, and friends believed that her lengthy period of excessively rigorous crash-dieting had been a likely contributory factor in her premature death. Some said it was an inflicted suicide.As for Robert Mitchum, the topless scandal added to his popularity and he was frequently cast as the macho hero of the leading sex symbols of his time, including Marilyn Monroe (), Kim Novak () and Rita Hayworth (). Mitchum passed away at the age of 79 in 1997. The U.S. Treasury Department said it imposed sanctions Friday on a Russian bank for helping North Korea avoid U.N. Security Council actions to restrain Pyongyang's nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs. The development comes as U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is expected to urge leaders of Southeast Asian countries in Singapore on Saturday to maintain sanctions against Pyongyang, which is negotiating with the U.S. to dismantle its weapons programs. The agency said Moscow-based Agrosoyuz Commercial Bank expedited "a significant transaction" with an individual who the U.S. blacklisted for being involved in North Korea's weapons development programs. Treasury said the Russian bank conducted the transaction for Han Jang Su, the Moscow-based head of North Korea's Foreign Trade Bank (FTB), Pyongyang's primary foreign exchange bank. Han's deputy, Ri Jong Won, who is also based in Moscow, also was targeted. The department said both Han and Ri should be expelled from Russia under U.N. resolutions designed to pressure North Korea over its weapons programs. Treasury also targeted what it said were two FTB front companies, China-based Dandong Zhongsheng Industry & Trade Co. Ltd. and Korea Ungum Corporation. Pompeo met Friday with Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Singapore. The two men did not speak to the press after the meeting, but shortly thereafter China warned it would impose new tariffs on $60 billion worth of U.S. goods if the Trump administration follows through with its latest trade threats. The Commerce Ministry said the proposed tariffs of 5 percent to 25 percent on more than 5,200 U.S. goods are restrained and maintained it has the right to take retaliatory action in the escalating trade war between the world's two largest economies. On Thursday, the Chinese Foreign Minister told reporters the U.S. needed to calm down and consider its own consumers, responding to threats by the Trump administration to raise its proposed tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods from the initially planned 10 percent to 25 percent.Wang Yi said raising tariffs would hurt U.S. consumers and businesses located in China. "Instead of achieving one's own goal by doing this, we believe it will only hurt one's own interests," said Wang. The U.S. says it wants wants China to stop stealing U.S. corporate secrets and stop subsidizing Chinese companies with cheap loans that give them an unfair advantage. Natural disasters Before meeting with Wang, Pompeo co-chaired an ASEAN ministerial meeting with Singapore's Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan. Pompeo started off by expressing his sorrow for a number of devastating natural disasters in the region. "On behalf of the United States, let me also offer my condolences to the people of Laos for the loss of life and devastation caused by the dam breach," said Pompeo. He said the U.S. government is providing assistance to respond to this disaster and welcomes the support already provided by the ASEAN Humanitarian Assistance Center.Pompeo also expressed his condolences to Indonesia, where a powerful earthquake struck; and to Myanmar, for the casualties suffered in recent flooding and landslides. Security issues Economic opportunities in the Indo-Pacific region are a major focus of Pompeo's visit, but security issues also are high on the agenda of the ASEAN meetings, as Pompeo made clear. "On security, we appreciate ASEAN's ongoing efforts to promote peace and stability in the region, support the rule of law in the South China Sea, and to strictly enforce sanctions on North Korea. We are also working with ASEAN member-states to counter the threat of terrorism and violent extremism in the region." Pompeo wrapped up a full day with a meeting with Singapore's prime minister, Lee Hsien Loong, at the Istana in Singapore. Malaysia visit He started his Southeast Asia tour Thursday in Malaysia. Pompeo was the first senior U.S. official to visit Malaysia since Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad took office following a May election dubbed "quite historic" by a senior State Department official. Pompeo met with Mahathir early Friday, and congratulated the people of Malaysia on their democratic transition. It was the first stop of his Asian tour, focused on promoting free trade and pressuring North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons. After holding ASEAN meetings in Singapore, Pompeo will head to Indonesia. Detained pastor Earlier Friday in Singapore, Pompeo met with his Turkish counterpart in an effort to obtain the release of Andrew Brunson, a detained U.S. pastor who Turkey accuses of backing terrorism.The Trump administration has placed sanctions on Turkish officials because of Brunson's detention. Turkey says the sanctions are unacceptable. Pompeo and Mevlut Cavusoglu met on the sidelines of a meeting of regional ministers in Singapore. The top U.S. diplomat said "Brunson needs to come home, as do all the Americans being held by the Turkish government. Pretty straightforward. They've been holding these folks for a long time. These are innocent people." Turkey has also detained three Turkish employees of the U.S. consulate in Istanbul. The Turkish foreign ministry has called the sanctions a "disrespectful intervention in our legal system" that would harm "the constructive efforts toward resolving problems between the two countries." Wearing a scarf with the national colors over his suit, the president said there had been a "flowering of freedom and democracy" since 94-year-old Mugabe's resignation in November, which followed a military takeover, pressure from his own ruling party to quit and large demonstrations. Mnangagwa said the election was free and fair and appealed to Chamisa for unity, while also saying the opposition leader was entitled to air his grievances in court. Cambodian-American activists are meeting this weekend to discuss ways to improve their community, but it is expected that the recent general election in Cambodia will dominate discussions. The second annual Overseas Khmer Summit will be held for three days starting on Friday at Mendota Heights, Minnesota, where activists will focus on unity, peace, continuity, and prosperity. The summit comes one week after Cambodians voted in an election that was marred by alleged vote buying, intimidation, and international criticism. The ruling Cambodian Peoples Party of Prime Minister Hun Sen won all 125 seats in parliament. This year we have more associations joining us to discuss ways to improve our community, said Yap Kimtung, president of Cambodian Americans for Human Rights and Democracy. Especially, the summit is being held just after the election so some of us will talk about it and come up with a solution. The CPPs victory will extend Hun Sens 33-year ruling for five more years, making him the longest-serving prime minister in the region. There were 19 other political parties contesting in the poll, but none had an established presence in the National Assembly. The Supreme Court dissolved the main opposition, the Cambodia National Rescue Party, late last year, and banned 118 of its officials from politics for five years. We want to see a free and fair election, where people are free to choose whoever they want, said Yap Kimtung. If people choose Hun Sen, we will respect that. Speakers at the event will include veteran community activists Kompha Seth, executive director of Cambodian Association of Illinois, Vann Sar, president of Khmer Alliance Foundation, and Brad Adams of Human Rights Watch. Yem Rithipol, president of Our Mutual National Interest, said that Cambodias democracy has devolved from the spirit of the Paris Peace Agreement, signed almost 27 years ago in France. Overseas Cambodians appeal to leaders of all political parties and government to acknowledge this reality, said Rithipol. Then they open up the country to let compatriots from overseas ... return home to work together in unity. The CNRP called on people to boycott the poll or spoil their ballots. They claimed credit for almost 600,000 invalid ballots and alleged that the election body made up the high voter turnout. They are calling for a reelection. The CPP is the one who has killed democracy by creating the party-dominated election body, dissolved the [Cambodia National] Rescue Party, and abused other parties, said Soung Sophorn, president of the Khmer Power Party, which boycotted the election process. The Cambodian Peoples Party won an overwhelming victory at the general election on Sunday, picking up all 125 seats in parliament in the absence of an established opposition party. The National Election Committee (NEC) reported high voter turnout, despite calls for a boycott led by the banned Cambodia National Rescue Party and amid a campaign of intimidation. Prior to the election, experts questioned the legitimacy of a vote held in such circumstances. Astrid Noren-Nilsson, a senior lecturer at Lund University in Sweden, in an article published by the East Asia Forum on July 22, said the CPP would, in the likelihood that it won a resounding victory, increasingly allude to the merits of the de facto one-party rule while continuing to fervently protect the formalities of multi-party democracy. Sophal Ear an associate professor at Occidental College in Los Angeles, said the outcome of the elections would be a wasted opportunity that would force Cambodians to the polling stations without giving them a real choice. Instead you force them to go vote and to put their finger in ink and say if you don't put your finger in the ink and prove to us that you voted you, somehow, didnt do your civic duty, he said. Legitimacy Ou Virak, founder of the Future Forum think tank, said despite the CPPs victory being predictable, the party would now have a tough time seeking to appear legitimate. The government is legal, but illegitimate. Even though the new government will be legally formed, there might be a problem in the eyes and hearts of the people because they [the CPP] won without any competitors. The new government is under strong pressure from Cambodians because the people didn't elect the new government freely, he said. For me, the new government needs to be perfectly organized to gain legitimacy from its citizens, he added. Sebastian Strangio, author of Hun Sens Cambodia, said the reported high voter turnout would do little to assuage concerns over illegitimacy. Each Cambodian election has been plagued by the allegation of manipulation, fear, intimidation, and various forms of vote buying, he said. Both nationally and internationally, the CPP will have a difficult time explaining its uncontested win in the election, experts agree. Sorpong Peou, a professor at Ryerson University in Toronto, quoted in The Diplomat, said the lack of legitimate state institutions has left Cambodia more or less in the Hobbesian state of nature, and the politics of survival remains intense. Thus, I dont expect Hun Sen and his CPP to go down without a fight to the death. For me, this is the great Cambodian tragedy. Despite widespread condemnation of the election process, legitimacy in the eyes of Cambodians may be a more complex issue. The idea that the government has to be democratically elected in order to be legitimate is an idea that is contested by some. The Chinese government is not elected, but they actually enjoy quite high approval ratings and quite large popular legitimacy because it delivered economic growth and things like that, added Strangio. Virak of the Future Forum, however, agreed. Many Cambodians rejected the result, but, as I said, in the end, the people don't care about politicians or political parties. They care about the country and their lives. If the new governmenteven facing many criticisms for this electionis well organized and effective and has people who can prepare the policy addressing national issues, I think people will accept it, he said. Sanctions Both the European Union and United States placed limited sanctions on Cambodia ahead of the election, with the E.U. also considering removing Cambodia from a preferential trading scheme that sees Cambodian garments enter Europe at greatly reduced tariffs. But while the political pressure will be brought to bear on Hun Sen, economic pressure, which could be far more effective in securing compliance with international human rights commitments, could be less forthcoming, says Strangio. "Investors like stability. The business community generally is quite supportive of the CPP government. I don't see that changing anytime soon. As long as they can maintain political stability and they prevent any sort of disruptive opposition movement, I think we'll likely see business as usual," he said. One risk I suppose, an external risk, is that the EU and the US decide to withdraw trade preferences from the Cambodian government, preferential trade to access to their market. That could potentially destabilize a large industry in Cambodia. But, they [E.U. and the U.S.] realize this step would be risky and would hurt a lot of ordinary workers before it hurt people in power, he added. As the west retreats from fostering close relations with Hun Sen, China has stepped up its engagement, providing Cambodia with billions of dollars in aid and investment. While some commentators have expressed concerns that an over-reliance on one major power leaves Cambodia exposed diplomatically, Hun Sen has said he is not concerned by such developments. For me, I have no concern over the influence of China or anyone. Our main problem is that we need to make more efforts to foster development, he told filmmaker Robert Lieberman in a 2015 interview. But for ordinary Cambodians, Chinese investment has come at a cost. "Ordinary Cambodians have not benefited much from Chinese investment. There have been negative effects from Chinese investment. Either they lost their land to the Chinese development project or a Chinese dam, or they have not been employed on Chinese projects," Strangio said. Chinese aid cannot replace trade with Europe should the E.U. decide to increase tariffs on Cambodian goods, says Virak, adding that the last time Cambodia received sanctions from the west after Hun Sen led a coup to seize power in 1997, the country was further impoverished as a result. We were poor in 1997. If we want to be poor as we were in 1997, we can go that way. In the 1980s, we were extremely poor, if we altogether want to be poor, we can go that way, he said. Young Voters Milton Osborne, an author of Pol Pot Solved the Leprosy Problem, in an article published on The Interpreter, said Cambodias young population will be the leading influence on the future of the country. Analysis of the 2013 national election, in which the CPPs vote declined significantly, suggested that social media and the voting pattern of young Cambodians had begun to play an important part in shaping political opinion, he wrote. Sokry Zahron, a member of Politikoffee, a youth political discussion group, told VOA Khmer that young people have the potential to have a huge influence on Cambodian politics because they comprise a significant share of the population. Starting in early 2015 or late 2014, some politicians started engaging youth in their parties. Youth is potential for development in Cambodia because youth make up about 60 percent of the total population, Zahron said. Sophal of Occidental College expects the young Cambodians to play a pivotal role in the future. Of course there are good people on all sides. There are people who are decent and reasonable. But, the problem is [that] they are working in the system. There is a political culture that is different. There is a culture of corruption that is already embedded in the country. I expect that young people even if theyre part of the elite are going to change the system that is already built around an expectation of payment, he said. Cambodias environment minister, Say Samal, has touted an era of one-party parliament following the ruling Cambodian Peoples Partys landslide victory at the polls on Sunday. Samal made the comments in an op-ed published in a widely read local daily newspaper, Rasmei Kampuchea, owned by his father, Senate President Say Chhum. Despite evidence of a widespread crackdown on Cambodians political freedoms in the run-up to the poll, including the banning of the countrys main opposition party, Samal said the election had been free and fair. The result of this election reflects the will of the citizens who believe in democratic principles despite the campaign attempting to bar them from voting. The turnout rate of 82.87 percent clearly shows the failure of the opposition group who routinely use democracy as a pretext to cheat on the Cambodian people, he wrote. The CPP won about 76 percent of the popular vote, according to the National Election Committee, claiming all 125 seats in parliament. Samal added that the election result may come in the form of a parliament with one party, two parties, or multiple parties. Whether it is the leadership of one-party or a multi-party parliament doesnt matter, but what matters is that the government is created based on the will of the people, receiving the mandate from the people to secure peace and development, he wrote, comparing Cambodia to Singapore. Samal has become an important player in the CPP in recent years, surviving a cabinet reshuffle after the 2013 election that saw many old hands lose their positions. Prime Minister Hun Sen said on Thursday in his first post-election public appearance that the National Assembly will hold its first session of the new parliament on September 19. The announcement comes amid warnings of further sanctions against the Cambodian government from the United States and European Union. The governments of Australia, the United Kingdom, Germany, New Zealand, Canada, France, and Sweden have all issued condemnations of the electoral process. The opposition CNRP, which was dissolved ahead of the vote after its president was jailed on treason charges, has called the election a sham. But China and neighboring countries Vietnam and Laos, all one-party states, have lent their support to Hun Sen. In a meeting with his Cambodian counterpart Prak Sokhonn on the sidelines of the ASEAN Regional Forum in Singapore on Thursday, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi offered Beijings public support and protection against foreign interference in the election. Cambodia also signed a deal last year with Singapore, which has been ruled by the Peoples Action Party since 1959, to create a political consultation project that oversees the exchange of young officials and sharing of leadership experiences. While rights groups point to the decline in civil rights in Cambodia in recent years, Samal wrote that, while entitled to their opinion, they may not violate the rights or distort the dignity of others, as stipulated by the laws, or shall not manipulate the facts that may harm the national security. Hang Vitou, a political commentator and founder of the Young Analysts Group, said the CPP would likely weather pressure from the international community and go back to business as usual. If the single-party parliament can be like Singapores model, with an anti-corruption mindset and fighting for social justice, I think it may work well. But Cambodias multi-party democratic society is embedded with corruption and political discrimination, I dont think it [a one-party parliament] will work. A pair of suicide bombers, armed with assault rifles, stormed a crowded Shiite mosque in eastern Afghanistan during Friday prayers, killing at least 29 worshippers and wounding more than 81 others. The assailants entered the mosque in Gardez, the capital of eastern Paktia province, and sprayed worshippers with bullets before blowing themselves up, the provincial police chief, Raz Mohammad Mandozai, told VOA. The provincial health director, Walayat Khan Ahmadzai, told VOA that scores of injured people have been taken to two city hospitals. There were no immediate claims of responsibility for the bloodshed in Paktia, which borders Pakistan. Taliban jailbreak Separately, Afghan commandos have raided a Taliban-run prison in southern Helmand province and freed 61 inmates. The regional military commander confirmed the action, saying mostly civilians were among those rescued overnight in the Kajaki district. General Wali Mohammad Ahmadzai told VOA the freed men had been in Taliban captivity for months. The general said the rescue operation killed or wounded several insurgents guarding the illegal detention center, while an unspecified number of others were taken into custody. A spokesman for Afghan Special forces told local media that four soldiers and 15 policemen were also among those freed from the Taliban jail. A Taliban spokesman, Qari Yousaf Ahmadi, confirmed the raid on what he asserted was a civilian prison for drug addicts and those involved in crimes, including robbery, kidnappings, drugs and immoral activities. Ahmadi claimed in a statement sent to reporters that Thursday nights attack on the detention facility was carried out jointly by Afghan and American forces. The Afghan government controls only the district center while the rest of Kajaki has been for years held by the Taliban. The Islamist insurgency controls or hotly contests most of Helmands 14 districts. The largest Afghan province, which borders neighboring Pakistan, is a major poppy-producing region. U.S.-trained Afghan commando forces in recent months have raided several Taliban-held detention centers in Helmand and nearby Uruzgan province, freeing scores of inmates. George Kamau Githome uses a feather duster to clean off hardware and bootleg movies displayed for sale at his kiosk in Mathare, one of Nairobi, Kenya's largest slums. Githome and his family of 10 kids recently lost everything they owned in a fire. But he was able to rebuild because he had purchased micro-insurance, a new product making inroads among small-scale African farmers and business owners. "When they came, they took photos, and saw how helpless I was. I had nothing," he said. "Then they paid off my loan and supported me with something small. I started this business you see out here and the result you see inside." Most African farmers and small businesses operate with no way to protect themselves if disaster strikes. Insurers have been slow to tailor their products to the African continent, experts say, and their methods of operation, using complex contracts distributed through networks of agents, tends to only reach the urban elite. But that may be starting to change. A handful of companies are now offering inexpensive, tech-driven micro-insurance and are making it easy for ordinary Africans to sign up. The company Githome used, MicroEnsure, offers micro-insurance to small-business owners, ranging from farmers in the bush to small kiosk owners in downtown Nairobi. The East Africa regional director for MicroEnsure, Kiereini Kirika, says mobile technology makes micro-insurance cheaper and easy to use. "We enable them to be able to enroll as simple as using their mobile phone just by dialing a particular short code on their phone and then registering their product just by using their first name and their last name," he said. Henry Jaru, a smallholder farmer in northern Nigeria, is buying micro-insurance from another company, Pula, to protect his family farm from the impacts of poor rainfall, army worm infestations and other threats to their crops. "Normally by this time the crops would have gone far but you see we're still planting some of them," he said. "So I think, we're hoping that [will protect us if] we experience any shortcoming from the rain or the worms this year." Pula insures groups of farmers, using publicly available satellite data to track weather patterns, assess the risk and set prices. "When Pula came into the country, they came with the idea of an index insurance, which means that you don't need to necessarily visit every smallholder farmers," said Samson Ajibola, Pula's senior project manager in Nigeria. "You can insure aggregation of farmers under just one policy without necessarily needing to visit each of them." Pula also bundles the policies into small loans or purchases of fertilizer so small-hold farmers are automatically insured. But older farmers, like Jaru's father Thomas, are still skeptical because of bad experiences with insurance companies. "Generally when the time comes for them to pay you, indemnify you, you will not find them," said Thomas Jaru. "They begin to show you the small print you didn't do this, you didn't do that out of the policy. So, it can ruin the whole thing and people get discouraged." Micro-insurance providers hope their services can change that perception and turn a profit while giving Africa's small farmers and businesses some protection if and when things go wrong. On a recent Thursday evening, residents of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, brought bags filled with school supplies, toiletries, games and other items to be donated to a shelter in Baltimore, Maryland, that houses migrant children who have been separated from their families. Galvanized by the Trump administration's now-ended policy of separating detained migrant parents and children, dozens of residents of the historic town showed up with their donations and to attend a forum to learn more about immigration advocacy. "It has hit a nerve with a lot of individuals in our neighborhood," said Gettysburg resident Annette Ehly, referring to the administration's "zero tolerance" policy. "All of a sudden, the lights have gone off, and they're not very happy with the situation." Some 2,500 migrant children were separated from their parents when they crossed the U.S.-Mexico border illegally in May and June. Under a court order, the U.S. government has re-unified about 1,900 children though hundreds more still remain in U.S. government shelters, many because their parents have already been deported. Justice Department lawyers told a federal court judge Thursday that volunteers and nonprofit groups should take the lead in locating these deported parents, instead of government officials.They said the government will provide what information it has about these deported parents to these groups. Polls show the administrations separation policy has met with widespread disapproval. Indeed, Ivanka Trump, the president's daughter and a White House adviser, said Thursday she was "vehemently against" separations of migrant children from their parents. Surveys by CBS, Ipsos and others published in June and July show that up to 67 percent of Americans oppose separating families a practice that was rescinded by the Trump administration in late June. Results are more mixed among Republicans. The Ipsos/NPR poll found just over half of Republicans questioned supported the family separation policy. WATCH: Pennsylvania Volunteers Take Gifts to Migrant Kids in Shelters Disapproval, no attitude change While the family separation issue might seem to be a turning point in American public opinion about Trump administration immigration policy given the extensive opposition, Chris Jackson, vice president with Ipsos Public Affairs, does not see it that way. "I don't think it will have a lasting effect on American attitudes toward immigration. The separated families issue will just continue to have a sorting effect on Democrats and Republicans," he told VOA. "It's more about supporting Trump and won't change how people feel about immigration." The scene of a pivotal Civil War battle, Gettysburg is also an island of blue Democrats in a rural county that voted overwhelmingly for Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election, an election in which he turned Pennsylvania red for the first time in 24 years. Stopping illegal immigration and building a wall on the U.S.-Mexican border were top Trump campaign issues. "Immigration has increasingly become a political wedge issue," Jackson added. "If you look at it by parties, Democrats and Republicans have been increasingly separated over the issue over the past 10 years. It's not new to Trump, he recognized it and took advantage of it." Attitudes toward immigration matter because it is likely to be a key issue in the upcoming mid-term elections in November. Ironically, both Democrats and Republicans see it as a winning issue. Trump has made clear he plans to take the immigration issue on the campaign trail to fire up his supporters to vote for Republican candidates. Democrats are banking on polls showing huge majorities of their party faithful oppose building the border wall and other Trump administration immigration measures. Motivated to take action While the polls may not show a new nationwide attitude toward immigration, they do reflect the fervor on display in Gettysburg. The donation drive and immigration forum was organized by a local activist group, Gettysburg Rising, the nonprofit Interfaith Center for Peace and Justice and the local YWCA. Attendance at these forums, several of which have been held since mid-June, has surpassed expectations. "In each case, there's been like a standing room only crowd," said Donald Marritz, a Gettysburg resident and former Vietnam veteran. "So there's definitely a strong local interest." "I remember being at the first one," said Carey Ehly, husband of Annette. "I was just astounded that they ran out of chairs, they had to keep adding more chairs because the room was filled to capacity." Elsewhere, people across the country have been responding to fundraising efforts by established immigration groups such as the Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services, known as RAICES. The group has raised over $20 million in less than two months to pay for immigration court bonds and travel expenses for freed migrant parents to re-unite with their children. Other groups have emerged online to raise money and organize volunteers to help detained migrant parents find their children. New York City-based Immigrant Families Together, formed in June by nine women almost all of them mothers, has raised over $400,000 in the past few weeks and posted bond for 12 migrant women so far. The group was instrumental in re-uniting a Guatemalan mother with her children in mid-July, in a case that received widespread publicity. Yeni Gonzalez was being held at a detention facility in Arizona while her three children were sent to a shelter in New York City. "We crowdfunded for Yeni's bond and then she was released," said Meghan Finn, one of IFT's co-founders. "And I worked with a group of regular Americans to get her from Arizona to New York City where she was united with her children." Finn, a mother of two young children, said the overwhelming response for help in the Gonzalez case and others shows ". this was such a visceral experience for many Americans, especially parents, that when they are given the opportunity to make even a very small change in someone's life, they will answer the call, they will work together and put themselves out there." There are also smaller efforts. This weekend rural communities in several states plan to hold barbecues and picnics to show support for immigrants. A group of grandmothers set out from New York City Tuesday in a caravan, heading for the border to demand family reunification. Government officials do not typically enjoy a positive reputation in Myanmar, and reform efforts have been sluggish since the country began moving toward democracy. Decades of rule by a military junta that did not regard itself as accountable to the general public have created a legacy of distrust. But successive governments since 2011 the first to be democratically elected in 50 years have initiated some limited reforms aimed at improving trust and making the country's public sector more efficient. One of the first acknowledgments of the issue from the government came in December 2012, when then-president Thein Sein made a speech criticizing government officials for arrogance, corruption and incompetence. His government went on to make some progress in reforms, decentralizing some decision making to states and regions, as well as ending the monopoly on telecommunications services held by the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology. Continued efforts Since coming to power in 2016, the National League for Democracy has tried to continue those reforms. In its pre-election manifesto, the party promised to install a government that "will fairly and justly defend the people." It promised to reduce the number of ministries to cut spending, work to tackle corruption, and amend and enact legislation "for the benefit of the people." President Win Myint, who was elevated to his role in March, has urged the government to continue reforms in this area. "Administrations should not become machines that oppress," he said last week at an event to support people displaced by recent flooding. "Human rights must be protected, and administrations must safeguard and protect the freedom and security of the people. It is required that they be responsible, dutiful, transparent, cooperative and display foresight." Capacity issues Despite the political will for reform in this area, the government still faces major challenges in a country where the concept of electable, accountable officials is only a few years old. "People are frustrated by the lack of capacity," Yee Mon Hsu, executive director of think tank National Enlightenment Institute, told VOA. "There are some government officials who use this as an excuse if they don't want to do something," she said. "At the same time, there are brilliant government officials who are working to try and improve their respective departments and have pointed out what needs to be improved." As an example, she pointed to Soe Thane, who was Minister for Industry under the previous administration, who she said eased restrictions on Small and Medium Enterprises operating in the country by improving their capacity and increasing access to funds. "But now I think motivation in that department is quite low," she said. Naing Ko Ko, who is researching a Ph.D. about corruption in Myanmar's public sector, said the NLD had made progress in some areas, and was actively trying to promote ethical leadership among government officials. In November, the government formed a new Anti-Corruption Commission, and a few months later the then-minister for national planning and finance, Kyaw Win, resigned after it emerged he was being investigated for corruption. Naing Ko Ko said this was a "visible sign of reform" in this area. However, he acknowledged the capacity to implement reforms remains an issue. "This administration has implemented a public-sector reform program, but implementation is a big problem. They have the program, but implementing it is a problem, due to lack of capacity," he said. NLD government officials could not be reached for comment. More reform needed Some analysts have been critical of the public-sector reforms under the NLD government, however. Soe Myint Aung, founder of the Yangon Center for Independent Research, said Myanmar citizens have seen little change in the public system since the party came to power. He acknowledged the party had been consumed by other problems, notably the crisis in Rakhine state, natural disasters in the form of flooding, and the peace process, but said more urgency was required. Soe Myint Aung said it would take more than one commission to deal with the deeply-embedded issue of corruption in the country's public service. "It needs cooperation among many different players, including the business owners as well as the civil society," he said. "You need to increase [public servants'] salaries in order to curb corruption. These are long-term goals, and they cannot be done without planning and being strategic." China's targeting of U.S. liquefied natural gas and crude oil exports opens a new front in the trade war between the two countries, at a time when the White House is trumpeting growing U.S. energy export prowess. China included LNG for the first time in its list of proposed tariffs on Friday, the same day that its biggest U.S. crude oil buyer, Sinopec, suspended U.S. crude oil imports due to the dispute, according to three sources familiar with the situation. On Friday, China announced retaliatory tariffs on $60 billion worth of U.S. goods, and warned of further measures, signaling it will not back down in a protracted trade war with Washington. That could cast a shadow over U.S. President Donald Trump's energy dominance ambitions. The administration has repeatedly said it is eager to expand fossil fuel supplies to global allies, while Washington is rolling back domestic regulations to encourage more oil and gas production. "The juxtaposition here is clear: It is hard to become an energy superpower when one of the biggest energy consumers in the world is raising barriers to consume that energy. It makes it very difficult," said Michael Cohen, head of energy markets research at Barclays. The U.S. is the world's largest exporter of fuels such as gasoline and diesel, and is poised to become one of the largest exporters of LNG by 2019. U.S. LNG exports were worth $3.3 billion in 2017. China is the world's biggest crude oil importer. China had curtailed its imports of U.S. LNG over the last two months, even before its formal inclusion in the list of potential tariffs. It had also become the largest buyer of U.S. crude oil outside of Canada, but Kpler, which tracks worldwide oil shipments, shows crude cargoes to China have also dropped off in recent months. It comes at a time when the United States has several large-scale LNG export facilities under construction, and after Trump's late 2017 trip to China that included executives from U.S. LNG companies. China became the world's second-biggest LNG importer in 2017, as it buys more gas in order to wean the country off dirty coal to reduce pollution. "This will not affect the trade but will simply make gas more expensive to Chinese consumers," said Charif Souki, chairman of Tellurian Inc, one of several companies seeking to build a new LNG export terminal. China, which purchased almost 14 percent of all U.S. LNG shipped between February 2016 and May 2018, has taken delivery from just one vessel that left the United States in June and none so far in July, compared with 17 in the first five months of the year. "The U.S. gas industry will be much harder hit by this as China imports only a small volume whereas U.S. suppliers see China as a major future market," said Lin Boqiang, professor on energy studies at Xiamen University in China. Crude exports to China Meanwhile, according to Kpler, crude exports to China dropped to an estimated 226,000 barrels per day (bpd) in July, after reaching a record 445,000 bpd in March. Sinopec, through its Unipec trading arm, is the largest buyer of U.S. crude. China would likely hike purchases from Saudi Arabia, Russia, the United Arab Emirates and Iraq if the tariffs slowed U.S. flows, said Neil Atkinson, head of the oil industry and markets division at the International Energy Agency. There will be "others who will be offering barrels to China, so it could find itself able to replace lost volumes from the U.S.," Atkinson said. With LNG demand expected to skyrocket over the next 12 to 18 months, there are still some two dozen firms seeking to build new LNG export terminals in the United States and tariffs may limit their ability to secure sufficient buyers to finance their proposed projects. "Cheniere continues to see China as an important growth market and LNG as a "win-win" between the United States and China," said Eben Burnham-Snyder, a spokesman at Cheniere Energy Inc, which owns one of the two LNG export terminals currently operating in the United States. He added they do not see tariffs as productive. About 4 million people in Indias northeastern Assam state find themselves in legal limbo after their names were left off a controversial list of registered Indian citizens. Unless the residents in question can prove their citizenship status, they could face the prospect of statelessness or eventual deportation. The government Monday released the list, known as the National Register of Citizens, or NRC. The database includes the names of people who can prove they lived in Assam or came to the state before neighboring Bangladesh declared its independence in late March 1971. At the time, mainly Muslim Bangladesh was known as East Pakistan. After Pakistan launched a military crackdown that year, hundreds of thousands of Hindus and Muslims crossed into Assam, seeking refuge. For more than a century, Hindus and Muslims have moved from what is now Bangladesh to Assam to earn their living; however, India regards any Bengali-speaking people who settled in Assam after March 1971 to be illegal immigrants. Indias home minister, Rajnath Singh, said in parliament Monday that no coercive action like deportation would be taken against anyone on the basis of the latest draft register. He also said people would have opportunities to get their names in the database, which majority-Hindu India says is designed to identify illegal Bangladeshi immigrants. Still, many Assam residents are worried. Several people in Assam have died or committed suicide in recent years, reportedly because of NRC-related tension. Hanif Khan, a Muslim car driver, hanged himself in Cachar district on January 1, hours after an incomplete draft of the NRC was published and he found his name did not appear in the list. Born in Assam, Khan feared, he would be sent to a detention center or deported to Bangladesh, his wife said. Draft NRC Deporting alleged illegal immigrants has been a key agenda item for Prime Minister Narenda Modis Bharatiya Janata Party, or BJP, which swept to power and formed the federal government in 2014. About 33 million people in Assam sought to be included on the list after the government began the process of updating the names in 2015. Modis Hindu nationalist party also came to power in Assam for the first time in 2016, promising action against illegal immigrants. After the draft NRC was published Monday, the names of many Muslims, as well as Hindus, were reported to have been excluded. Dinabandhu Karmakar, a Hindu college student in Dhubri district, said he was not worried at all, but he noted the list did not include the names of three family members. Assams chief minister, Sarbananda Sonowal, and other ministers in the state have assured [that they will] protect us [Hindus]. They will not deport us. Nor will they send us to detention centers. The government will not put any Hindu in trouble; all Hindus and I believe, Karmakar told VOA. Musabirul Hoque, a social activist in Udalguri district, said the names of his entire family of 10 people, including his father, brothers and sister, are missing from the NRC draft. The Muslim activist said, though, that he is not worried. We submitted documents showing my father passed out of high school in Assam in 1965. This acceptable proof shows that we all in my fathers family are Indian citizens. Perhaps for some technical error, our names have been missed, Hoque, 29, told VOA. After we resubmit all documents, I am sure, our names will appear in the NRC finally, he said. Fears over omission Muslim private school teacher Osman Goni said he fears harassment after the names of 16 members of his 17-member family, including his, did not appear on the list. We submitted copies of my grandfathers land deeds of 1945 and 1952. We also submitted my fathers court document of 1959. They are all solid proof that we all are Indians. Yet, we were not included, Goni, who teaches at a private school in Darrang district, told VOA. If, following the next stage of correction of the draft, we fail to make it to the register, we could be declared foreigners. To prove that we are Indians, our legal fights in a foreigners tribunal or courts will be tormenting for us for financial and other reasons. We are very anxious. Rupam Goswami, a BJP spokesperson in Assam, said no genuine Indian citizens will be left off the register. What has been released this week is actually a final draft of the NRC. This is not the final NRC. People still will get a chance to file claims and objections seeking inclusion of their names to the NRC. All genuine Indian citizens will be included finally. They should not be in tension, Goswami told VOA. Rights activist Prasenjit Biswas is a professor at North-Eastern Hill University in Shillong, India. He said the ruling BJP may be using the issue for political gain by claiming the government is trying to guarantee the rights of Assams indigenous people. So this number of 4 million can act as a potential booster of electoral prospects for the ruling BJP, as the dominant [Assamese indigenous] Asomiya community might see it as freeing Assam of foreigners, Biswas said in an interview with VOA. On the other hand, as these 4 million contain too many Bengali Hindus, their restitution in a later phase by process of filing claims will turn the ruling party into a savior of theirs. Such is a clever electoral game, Biswas said. Each of them is a move on the chessboard of electoral politics, keeping in mind the 2019 parliamentary election, Biswas added. The Organization of American States puts the death toll at 317 from more than three months of anti-government protests in Nicaragua. The OAS's human rights branch said Thursday that 23 minors and 21 policemen are among the dead. It again called on the Nicaraguan government to "fulfill its international obligations concerning human rights" and "promptly and seriously investigate each of these crimes." It also says many of those who have been arrested were not informed of their rights or told of the specific charges against them. Protests exploded in April when President Daniel Ortega announced changes in the country's popular pension system. He soon gave up his plans, but the protests continued along with the government's violent crackdown. The government puts the death toll at just under 200. Ortega has rebuffed the church's call for talks with the opposition and is refusing to hold early elections. He says the demonstrators are terrorists and accuses them of plotting a coup. The United States has imposed sanctions and visa restrictions against Nicaraguan officials it says are responsible for the violence and warns more sanctions could be on the way. Kosovos president on Thursday reiterated his idea of a correction of the border with Serbia, which is widely seen as a territorial swap, as part of a strategy to stabilize relations between both EU-aspirant nations. Kosovos border with Serbia needs to be redefined, or corrected, President Hashim Thaci told VOAs Albanian Service on Thursday, largely repeating comments he made online Wednesday. Thaci was responding to an idea floated by some Serbian government officials that Kosovo, which has an ethnic Albanian majority but also a Serb minority, should be divided as a possible solution to settle a long-running dispute that is hindering both sides ambitions to join the European Union. No divided Kosovo Ostensibly dismissing the idea of a divided Kosovo along ethnic lines as unacceptable, Thaci instead proposed the concept of a redefined or corrected border with its Serbian neighbor to the north. It means that in the process of our future dialogue with Belgrade, we will work together with the international community to define the Kosovo-Serbia border, he said. I want to emphasize that Kosovo will not be divided; I want to forcefully stress it: Belgrade cannot bring to the table the division of Kosovo, a thing that they have asked for in the past. In the context of border correction, I met with the representatives of [Serbias] Presevo Valley, who want to have the right to join Kosovo, he added. I will officially present their request at the next round of talks with Belgrade. Thaci is to meet Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic in Brussels after the summer break under an EU-sponsored dialogue that has made little progress in normalizing relations between Belgrade and Pristina since it was launched in 2013. A partition described Experts and former diplomats have warned that rethinking borders in the Balkans would pose a risk to the stability in a region still struggling to come to terms with the wars of the 1990s, which tore apart Yugoslavia in Europes deadliest post-World War II conflict. Although Thaci told VOA his idea would not amount to a land swap, Daniel Serwer, director of conflict management at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, said what Thaci describes is nonetheless a partition, not a correction of borders. Its a bad idea because it could be destabilizing for the Balkan region, [and it could] enhance political support for those inside Kosovo who oppose Kosovo statehood and want union with Albania, Serwer, a former U.S. special envoy to the Balkans, told VOA. It could also hurt moderates in Serbia, he added. It would also have a bad impact more broadly than that, on Macedonia, on Bosnia and Herzegovina and then you have Russian ambitions to control South Ossetia in Georgia and other territories, so it opens a Pandoras box. It was earlier this week that some Serbian government officials informally broached the idea of a land swap based on geographic concentrations of ethnic Serb and Albanian minorities Kosovos northern Mitrovica region for Serbias Presevo Valley as a possible solution to the Kosovo issue. I did not talk about a land swap or division, I talked about correction of borders, and a solution can be reached if there is a will on both sides, Thaci told VOA on Thursday. Kosovo cannot join EU or NATO without an agreement with Serbia. Serbia, too, cannot join EU without the agreement with Kosovo. In 1999, NATO intervened to stop a bloody Serb crackdown on Albanian separatists in Kosovo. Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008 and is recognized as a separate nation by more than 100 countries, but not by Serbia. Tensions remain high after seven years of negotiations, even though the EU has made it clear to the governments in Pristina and Belgrade that they must normalize relations to advance toward membership in the bloc. Emmerson Mnangagwa has won Zimbabwes presidential election in a poll marred by violence and charges of fraud. The election commission gives Mnangagwa 50.8 percent of the vote, barely ahead of opposition leader Nelson Chamisa. Chamisa is calling the results fake and promises a court challenge. Before the final results were announced about 1 a.m. Friday, an opposition spokesman appeared on the stage in front of multiple microphones and cameras to denounce the results and say his party has not verified them. He was shouted down and could scarcely be heard before security escorted him away. The election commission said turnout was high in most provinces and that a large number of votes had to be rejected. The commission declared the election an unqualified success, but it also said it deeply regrets the violence between protesters and police that left at least six people dead in Harare. Mnangagwa was vice president when he took over the presidency when the authoritarian Robert Mugabe was forced from office last year after 40 years. But Mnangagwa was elected with a bare majority, and Chamisa says he has no interest in being part of a coalition. Mnangagwa and the ruling ZANU-PF party must try to fix Zimbabwes ailing economy and poor international image on its own, while also dealing with a population demanding change after 40 years of Mugabe. Mnangagwa has also said he will call for an investigation into election violence when hundreds of Chamisa supporters, angry that the election results were postponed, threw rocks at police outside commission headquarters Wednesday. Police responded with tear gas and water cannons. The army was called in and witnesses say soldiers beat and shot at marchers, leaving at least six dead and 14 wounded. Chamisa said the place to challenge the election results is in the courts, not in the streets. Kenneth Schwartz contributed to this report. One of Chinas highest-ranking Buddhist monks is facing a government investigation over accusations of sexual misconduct, in what is seen by some as an indication the #MeToo movement is gaining traction in the worlds most populous nation. Longquan Monastery abbot Shi Xuecheng is accused of harassing and demanding sexual favors from numerous nuns in a 95-page statement compiled by two fellow monks at the storied center of Buddhist learning in Beijing. The statement including testimony from the alleged victims leaked this week on social media, prompting an outcry and unusual coverage by state media before it was censored. Chinas State Administration of Religious Affairs said Thursday it would investigate the claims. Xuecheng and the monastery denied the accusations, which also included claims of embezzlement. Latest #MeToo scrutiny A volunteer who answered the phone at the monastery Friday said it was unclear if Xuecheng was still serving as abbot. Shi Xianqi, a monastery deacon who had reported the abbot, said in text messages to The Associated Press that he and the other whistleblower, Shi Xianjia, had been expelled from the monastery and were cooperating with the government investigation. Xuecheng, who heads the Buddhist Association of China and serves on a political advisory body to the central government, is the latest high-profile man to fall under scrutiny as Chinas #MeToo movement accumulates momentum. Well-known university professors, activists and media figures have been accused online and placed under investigation, with at least one dismissed from his post, as more women speak out despite the risk of censorship and official retribution. Well-known, charismatic monk Xuecheng, 51, is a well-known religious figure in China, having published numerous books and daily blog posts for his large social media following. China has roughly 250 million Buddhists and countless more followers of folk religions containing Buddhist elements. Born Fu Ruilin in southern Fujian province, the charismatic monk is credited with reviving the fortunes of the 1,000-year-old Longquan monastery in northwest Beijing, known these days for attracting tech entrepreneurs and elite university graduates who flock there to spend days or years in spiritual retreat and Buddhist study. The temple generated headlines in recent years for allowing monks to study sutras on iPads and building a robot in the shape of a pint-sized monk able to answer questions about Buddhism. The text messages and documentation compiled by Longquans whistleblowing monks painted a picture of a cloistered life where access to phones and the internet was limited, but where the abbots power was not. Whistleblowers Xianqi and Xianjia, two men who identified themselves as holders of a doctorate in engineering who had entered monastic life more than a decade ago, compiled screenshots of text messages and accounts of women who said Xuecheng sent suggestive text messages and forced them to have sex. The document also included financial statements suggesting he embezzled nearly $1.5 million. Xianqi said that Xuechengs power in the temple meant that only the government could step in to protect nuns. The religious affairs administration has the power to remove Xuecheng from his official position but not to bring criminal charges. Its unclear whether police will investigate the charges of sexual misconduct and embezzlement. The monks have been controlled for too long to be able to self-cleanse, self-discipline, Xianqi, whose lay name is Du Qixin, told the AP. We did this to stop more bhikkhuni (nuns) from being hurt, so we asked the government for help. Xuecheng posted a statement Wednesday under the monasterys name that decried the document as forged materials, distorted facts and false accusations. Typical of Buddhist monks, Xuecheng took a vow of celibacy when entering monastic life. The park that surrounds the monastery had been closed for safety reasons, domestic media reported. One Palestinian was killed and dozens of others were injured Friday in protests at the border between Israel and Gaza, as Hamas leaders met to discuss a truce with Israel. The Israeli army estimated that 8,000 protesters turned out to demonstrate against Israel's 11-year blockade of Gaza, put in place after Hamas gained political control of the territory's parliament in 2007. Several exiled Hamas leaders entered Gaza on Thursday to attend a meeting of the group's decision-making political bureau. Visiting leader Hussam Badran told The Associated Press that Hamas leaders hoped to "break the siege on Gaza once and forever." Hamas, a fundamentalist Islamic organization that has been deemed a terrorist group by Israel, the United States and the European Union, said this was the first time its entire political bureau had gathered in Gaza. The leaders were discussing Egyptian proposals for a truce with Israel and the U.N.-backed reconstruction of Gaza. The Hamas meetings were expected to continue through Saturday. Friday's protest casualty was a 25-year-old Palestinian man, according to Gaza health officials. AP said his death put the total number of Palestinians killed in the protests at 156. The weekly demonstrations began in March. Less than two months after a landmark U.S.-North Korea summit in Singapore, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo flew back to the city state on Friday and suggested that continued work on weapons programs by North Korea was inconsistent with its leader's commitment to denuclearize. Pompeo was asked en route to Singapore about his statement in the U.S. Senate last month that North Korea was continuing to make bomb fuel and reports that North Korea, led by Kim Jong Un, was building new missiles. "Chairman Kim made a commitment to denuclearize," Pompeo told reporters. "The world demanded that they [North Korea] do so in the U.N. Security Council resolutions. To the extent they are behaving in a manner inconsistent with that, they are a) in violation of one or both the U.N. Security Council resolutions and b) we can see we still have a ways to go to achieve the ultimate outcome we're looking for." Pompeo thanked ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) at a meeting in Singapore for their efforts in enforcing sanctions on North Korea. In a landmark summit with U.S. President Donald Trump in Singapore on June 12, Kim, who is seeking relief from tough sanctions, committed to work towards denuclearization, but Pyongyang has offered no details on how it might go about this. Pompeo told a Senate committee hearing on July 25 that North Korea was continuing to produce fuel for nuclear bombs in spite of its pledge. Renewed activity On Monday, a senior U.S. official said U.S. spy satellites had detected renewed activity at the North Korean factory that produced the country's first intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of reaching the United States. The Washington Post reported on Monday that North Korea appeared to be building one or two new liquid-fueled intercontinental ballistic missiles at the research facility, citing unidentified officials familiar with intelligence reporting. North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho is also in Singapore and will attend the same regional meeting as Pompeo on Saturday, but the State Department has not said whether the two will meet. Following his talks with Ri, China's top diplomat, State Councillor Wang Yi, said he hoped North Korea and the United States would continue to move forward to implement their leaders' agreement. "China all along has believed that the consensus reached by U.S. and North Korea's leaders meeting in Singapore is very precious," Wang told reporters. "That is, at the same time as realizing denuclearization of the Korean peninsula, to establish a peace mechanism. This direction is without a doubt correct," he said. China is North Korea's most important economic and diplomatic supporter and fought for the North in the 1950-53 Korean War against the U.S.-led United Nations forces that backed South Korea. Previous talks Pompeo, who has led the U.S. negotiating effort with North Korea, visited Pyongyang from July 5-7 for inclusive talks aimed at agreeing a denuclearization roadmap. Pompeo said at the time he had made progress on key issues, only for North Korea to accuse his delegation hours later of making "gangster-like" demands. Trump hailed the Singapore summit as a success and went as far as saying that North Korea no longer posed a nuclear threat, but questions have been mounting about Pyongyang's willingness to give up its weapons programs. Trump has pointed to North Korea's freeze on nuclear and missile tests and its agreement to return the remains of American troops killed in the 1950-53 Korea War. The White House said on Thursday Trump had received a letter from Kim and had responded with a note that should be delivered shortly. But it said no second meeting was currently planned. Prosecutors on Thursday aggressively pressed their bank and tax fraud case against Paul Manafort, presenting testimony and documents to try to prove U.S. President Donald Trump's former campaign chairman deceived his lead bookkeeper and a bank about his finances. On the trial's third day, the prosecution pivoted away from describing Manafort's lavish lifestyle, focusing instead on the nitty-gritty details of actions they believe underpin the charges against him of bank fraud, tax fraud and failing to report foreign bank accounts. Prosecutors have attempted to portray Manafort as a tax cheat and a liar who hid much of the $60 million he earned from political work for pro-Russian politicians in Ukraine by stashing it in undisclosed overseas accounts. Manafort, 69, is facing 18 charges in the first trial stemming from special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation of Russia's role in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Manafort has pleaded not guilty to all the charges in federal court in Alexandria, Virginia, outside Washington. Manafort's client in Ukraine, former President Viktor Yanukovych and his Party of Regions, were forced out of power in 2014, and Yanukovych lives in exile in Russia. Manafort's lead bookkeeper, Heather Washkuhn, who managed the books of his personal and business finances, testified Thursday that by November 2016, Manafort's firm was facing a loss of more than $1 million, which grew to $1.9 million the following month. Manafort was having difficulty paying his bills, including the bills due to her firm, said Washkuhn, managing director of the accounting firm Nigro Karlin Segal Feldstein & Bolno. "I know I had asked multiple times for bills to be paid," she said. Doctored statements Prosecutors presented evidence that Manafort emailed a doctored profit-and-loss statement to a Chicago bank from which he was seeking a loan. They showed jurors an email from Washkuhn to the bank showing that, through November 20, 2016, his business had a net loss of $1,116,497. They then displayed another email they said Manafort sent to an executive at the bank with a profit-and-loss statement for September 2016 attached. The document stated that Manafort's consulting firm had a net income of $3,011,952. Washkuhn said she did not produce that document. The email from Manafort could potentially undercut his defense strategy. Since the trial started on Tuesday, his lawyers have sought to lay the blame for any financial irregularities on his former business partner Rick Gates and went so far as to accuse him of embezzling money from Manafort's firm. Defense attorney Thomas Zehnle did not ask about the questionable document when his turn came to question Washkuhn. Taking long pauses to check his notes in between questions, he pressed Washkuhn on whether Gates was the primary go-to guy for Manafort's financial affairs. "Mr. Gates would deal with DMP items," she replied, referring to Manafort's consulting firm. "But Mr. Manafort was the approval source." Prosecutors also showed Washkuhn a March 2016 email that Gates had sent to a Banc of California executive in pursuit of a loan for Manafort. The email contained a financial statement indicating Manafort's firm had a $4.45 million income for 2015. Washkuhn testified that the income figure was not correct. She said her firm had calculated an income of about $400,000 for the year, and that Gates had been pressuring her to add $2.6 million in accrued revenue to the financial statement. Juror gasped When prosecutors showed an exhibit displaying the differences in the two accounts, one with $400,000 in income, the other showing $4.45 million, one juror gasped, an observer sitting in the second row in front of the jury box told Reuters. "You could tell he had a visceral reaction to that," said Patrick Grasso, a retired civil servant from Alexandria. Washkuhn also testified that she thought she had complete knowledge of Manafort's financial affairs, but was unaware of his holdings outside the United States and in the dark about a laundry list of corporate entities that the government says Manafort used when he wired funds to pay expenses. Vendors who provided goods to the Manafort family testified Wednesday and Thursday that they often received overseas wire transfer payments from companies such as Peranova Holdings Limited, Global Highway Limited and Lucicle Consultants Limited. On Thursday, the jury heard from Joel Maxwell of a Florida-based company that did work for Manafort it installs lighting, audio-visual equipment and automation systems for homes. Some of the Manafort invoices shown to him from prosecutors appeared to be have been forged, Maxwell said. It was unclear who created the invoices or how they were used. Mueller has pursued a 14-month investigation of Russia's role in the election and potential coordination between the Trump campaign and Moscow, though the charges against Manafort predate his joining Trump. Greg Andres, a member of Mueller's team, confirmed on Thursday that the prosecution would call Gates as a witness, a day after another prosecutor suggested the team might not. Gates pleaded guilty of making false statements after being indicted and is cooperating with Mueller's probe, which so far has led to the indictments or guilty pleas of 32 people and three companies. Trump has called Mueller's investigation a witch hunt and wants it to be shut down. Protesters seeking Thursday to draw attention to the problem of gun violence in Chicago briefly shut down the city's famed Lake Shore Drive, which runs along Lake Michigan. The Chicago Tribune reported that while the protest was not large, about 200 marchers achieved their aim of disrupting traffic for thousands of motorists. Organizers said they were marching to demand the resignations of Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson and Mayor Rahm Emanuel for failing to lower gun violence. Organizers said they brought the protest to the heart of the city's more affluent enclaves to "redistribute the pain" of gun violence and economic blight plaguing some of Chicago's black and Latino communities. The protest came during a busy tourism week for Chicago, with the annual Lollapalooza music festival starting Thursday. The Reverend Gregory Livingston, one of the march's lead organizers, called on the festival performers to stand with protesters and cancel their performances. But none of the artists appeared to comply. Chicago has recorded more than 300 homicides so far in 2018, more than any other U.S. city, but a 23 percent decline in killings compared with the same time last year. U.S. firm Best Western Hotels & Resorts, the last Western hotel chain still in Crimea, has pulled out because of sanctions imposed after Russia annexed the region from Ukraine, two hotel employees said. "The Best Western Sevastopol Hotel," a Soviet-era building on the quayside in the port of Sevastopol was one of the few visible signs of an international business presence left since the 2014 annexation. Other major brands, among them McDonald's Corp and Radisson Hotels have already quit Crimea. The hotel is still running but branding identifying it as a Best Western hotel has been removed from the building and is now identifying itself on booking sites under the name "Sevastopol Hotel and Spa." The ending of Best Western's presence this year shows that, even four years after the sanctions were first imposed by the United States and the European Union, they are still forcing Western investors out of Crimea. The sanctions bar U.S. companies from operating in Crimea and prohibit new investment in Crimea. They block business with a long list of Crimean individuals and entities and make it impossible for Western firms to move money through Crimean banks. The general director of the hotel declined to comment. Best Western, which has its headquarters in Phoenix, Arizona, declined to comment, and referred questions to the hotel's owner or operator. The majority owner of the hotel is a company called Sevastopol Investment Group Ltd, which is registered in the Seychelles, according to Russian tax service records. Reuters was unable to seek comment from the Seychelles firm because no contact details were listed for it. Best Western does not own or operate hotels itself but has a franchising system under which hotel owners or operators can pay for the right to use the company's brand, marketing and support services. A member of the staff at the hotel told Reuters the franchise agreement with Best Western ended in October last year because of the sanctions. "Now we're just called the Sevastopol Hotel," said the employee, who wished to remain anonymous. "We stopped paying for the franchise." A second employee also told Reuters that the agreement with Best Western ended because of the sanctions. It was not clear, from the employees' accounts, whether the deal was ended by Best Western, or at the initiative of the hotel's owners, and it was not clear which aspect of the sanctions led to the agreement ending. Russia's annexation of Crimea, still internationally recognized as part of Ukraine, prompted international condemnation and sanctions from the United States and European Union. Russia said it acted to protect Crimea's Russian-speaking population, and that the majority of residents wanted the region to be part of Russia. Since then, Crimea has seen an influx of Russian state investment. Pensions and public sector wages have gone up, and new infra-structure has been built. However, the private sector, which depends heavily on tourism, has suffered from the effects of the sanctions. South Sudanese President Salva Kiir said Friday he plans to sign a final power-sharing deal with rebels and other opposition groups intended to end the country's nearly five-year civil war. Earlier, Sudanese Foreign Minister Mohamed Al Dirdiri arrived in Juba to discuss what he called "bilateral issues" with Kiir and South Sudanese Foreign Minister Nhial Deng Nhial. Al-Dirdiri, the chief mediator of the ongoing peace talks, told VOA's South Sudan in Focus he expects all parties to sign an agreement in Sudan's capital, Khartoum, on Sunday. Most of South Sudan's warring parties signed a preliminary power-sharing deal late last month which would reinstate rebel leader Riek Machar as first vice president. But some opposition groups rejected the agreement. After speaking to al-Dirdiri on Friday, Kiir told journalists he is ready to sign a power-sharing deal with all opposition parties and this time believes it will be upheld. "I believe that this agreement will continue to be implemented with spirit and letter. And so whoever signs this agreement will remain committed to it and this is what will be surprising the whole world," said Kiir. The president said he made some compromises with opposition groups because he wants the agreement to hold. He said he has no reservations about the Khartoum agreement, unlike the peace deal he signed in 2015 that "was forced on us," he said Friday. While insisting he is fully committed to implementing a new deal, the president acknowledged the huge challenges that lie ahead for his government, including how to manage a planned 550 lawmakers, 35 ministries, and five vice presidents. "One person needs [a] motorcade, maybe five vehicles. Where will I get this quickly? They also need accommodation. Where will I accommodate them. Also they need offices to work. Where will I get offices? So there are many things needed to be accomplished before these people enter Juba here," Kiir said. One possible holdout One armed opposition group, the National Salvation Front, led by Thomas Cirillo Swaka, said it will not sign a peace deal that fails to guarantee a federal system of governance in South Sudan. The group's information secretary, Jalphan Samson, said if arguments over the number of states or holding a referendum are not resolved, his group will refuse to sign the deal. "We don't want to cheat ourselves and we don't want to cheat our people ... If the thing is solved before the signing, we will sign but if there is something, we will not sign with reservations because if I sign with reservations, that means I did not agree on that," Samson told VOA. He said the National Salvation Front believes South Sudan's future transitional government should revert back to the original 10 states instead of the current 32, which he calls unconstitutional. Samson also said the federal system of governance should be introduced immediately during the transitional period, allowing everyone to have a voice in government. "Our position is we want every individual South Sudanese must get his right in this agreement. That is why we don't want to make agreement and others feel that they are betrayed," Samson said. Regardless of what the Bible says, many of the Christian women of my generation were brought up on a strict, borderline-Victorian binary of gender roles coined as biblical manhood and biblical womanhood. The biblical man is the king of his domain. He talks, and the women and children listen. The biblical woman is quiet. She selflessly cares for the needs of her partner and their brood. There are passages in the Bible like Proverbs 31, which paints a picture of the ideal wife as successful and independent, a merchant and businesswoman in her own right that fly in the face of this interpretation. So its clear that the binary of biblical manhood and womanhood represents faith with a heavy dose of the patriarchy. New research suggests obesity may be a factor in the transmission of the influenza virus. In a study conducted in Managua, Nicaragua, obese adults spread the influenza virus for significantly longer than non-obese individuals. The findings have significant ramifications, given that worldwide obesity has nearly tripled since 1975, according to the World Health Organization. Epidemiologist Aubree Gordon at the University of Michigan started looking into the correlation between obesity and the flu nine years ago. Gordon explained that "during the 2009 influenza pandemic, it became quite clear that obese individuals were at higher risk for severe influenza. And more recently, some studies have shown that obese individuals don't respond as well to the influenza vaccine." Gordon collaborated with the Nicaraguan Ministry of Health on a three-year research program that followed 1,783 individuals in 320 households. The researchers visited homes where at least one member reported symptoms of influenza. Researchers collected samples every few days for two weeks, tracking infected individuals and others in the home who agreed to enroll in the study. When Gordon and her colleagues analyzed the samples, they found that obese adults shed the influenza virus 42 percent longer than non-obese adults or about a day and a half longer period of shedding the virus. Weaker immune system Previous research found that obesity led to chronic inflammation and a poorer functioning immune system. Will Green, a doctoral candidate at the University of North Carolina's School of Public Health who was not involved in the study, explained how the immune system works to combat the virus. "There's an innate first responder. They're the ones that immediately show up to fight. And then there's the adaptive T- and B-cell memory response. You need both pieces, but the adaptive response is really the one that's been shown to be impaired in obesity," Green said. Because obese people have a weakened immune system, there were concerns that the obese people in the study were shedding more of the virus simply because they were sicker. However, scientists also examined this question by running an additional analysis on the subset of adults who were infected, but had few symptoms. "In people who were either asymptomatic having no symptoms or just had one minor symptom, obese adults still shed for significantly longer than non-obese adults," Gordon said. "In fact, they shed [viral DNA] for about twice as long. "I think this is another piece of evidence that obese individuals really have an altered immune system, and they're having trouble potentially clearing the infection, which could lead to higher severity," Gordon added. Infection rates Nikhil Dhurandhar, chair of nutritional sciences at Texas Tech University, cautions that further research is needed. He told VOA that scientists still don't understand how much the duration of viral shedding is linked to infection rates. "Is it a huge amount of virus that is getting excreted? Is it very little?" Dhurandhar asked. "And also, what we don't know is how infectious that is." Green also noted that if shedding the virus means that obese people either remain sick or infectious longer, "you can also equate that to the greater loss of work time and higher health care costs." Gordon and her colleagues' study, published in The Journal of Infectious Diseases, highlights a risk of obesity that isn't going away anytime soon. As Gordon told VOA, "Obesity is a growing epidemic, unfortunately, and becoming a huge problem worldwide." Tropical Storm Dineo, which has been building along the east coast of southern Africa, made landfall in Mozambique on Wednesday evening, battering two coastal towns with heavy rain and wind at speeds of up to 160 kilometers per hour (100 mph). In Inhambane, 500 kilometers north of the capital, Maputo, television footage showed roofs blown off houses, electricity pylons uprooted and trees sprawled across the streets. There were, however, no immediate reports of deaths or injuries. The government's emergency services had yet to give an update on the situation. One resident told Reuters the storm had also hit the town of Massinga, 75 kilometers from Inhambane. Dineo was expected to develop into a Category 1 cyclone with winds at more than 130 kph, South Africa's National Forecasting Center said in a statement. "This is still a formidable storm system which has the potential to cause much damage to coastal and inland infrastructure," the center said. One of the world's poorest countries and also in the throes of a financial crisis, Mozambique is prone to flooding. It is especially vulnerable now because of a major drought last year; soils degraded or hardened by dry spells do not easily absorb water. Mozambique's National Institute for Disaster Management urged residents in the coastal cities of Inhambane and Maxixe and surrounding villages to reinforce their roofs, to protect windows, and to stockpile food and water. In January 2012, Mozambique was hit by two cyclones that killed 26 people and displaced more than 125,000, according to official data. South African petrochemicals group Sasol said it had suspended drilling at its oil and gas field in Inhambane because of the approaching cyclone. The U.N. human rights chief defended his outspoken criticism of abuses in dozens of countries from Myanmar and Hungary to the United States, insisting that his office doesnt bring shame on governments, they shame themselves. Zeid Raad al-Hussein stressed at a farewell news conference at U.N. headquarters Thursday that silence does not earn you any respect none. Looking back at his four-year term as U.N. high commissioner for human rights, the Jordanian prince said he will give his successor the same advice his predecessor, Navi Pillay, gave him be fair and dont discriminate against any country and just come out swinging. Authoritarianism leads to war Zeid said he leaves the Geneva-based post Aug. 31 very concerned about populism, intolerance and oppression becoming fashionable again. It all builds because once you start down the path of intolerance, its very difficult to stop it, unless at the end of the day you have conflict, he said. Zeid said the question he has been asking populist leaders in Hungary, Poland and Austria, who are making political gains thanks in part to their opposition to mass migration, is where do they want to see their countries in 2030. If the trend is going to be increasing authoritarianism where countries pursue individual agendas, he said those agendas will collide and eventually we have what weve already seen in the 20th century. Zeid recalled that it took 100 million lives lost through two world wars, the Holocaust and the Spanish influenza epidemic to drive humanity to the point where it recognized that it had to begin to do things differently. That led to the formation of the United Nations where countries would try to solve problems together, not at the expense of one another, he said. Governments, not terrorists, will break world But if the populists are allowed into this space, Zeid said, I think were in very perilous waters. He was highly critical of militant attacks, but stressed that the world is not going to break because of these terrorist outrages. It will break because of the overreaction or the exploitation of this agenda by governments, Zeid said. He cited as an example a study by the U.N. Development Program on recruitment by armed groups in northern Mali that found 70 percent of respondents said the major cause was excessive use of force by security forces. We have to put up a mirror before all governments, he said. They shame themselves when they deprive their people of their basic necessities for a dignified life. They shame themselves when they discriminate against parts of their communities. They shame themselves when they stoke fear and make people fear that they have to bend to the will of the government or face consequences. If an election has been stolen, rigged, by a corrupt government and then they claim that I cant say anything because I violate their sovereignty, whose sovereignty? Zeid asked. Sovereignty always lies with the people. Its exercised by government on peoples behalf. Working for the victims Zeid said governments put a lot of pressure on him and his office, but the real pressure comes from the victims whose human rights have been violated in Syria, Iraq, Congo and many other countries because you know the limitations of what you can do. The most meaningful part of his work is stopping an execution, getting someone who has been detained for years released, and successfully pushing for human rights adherence and then receiving a letter of thanks from the family or the individual. We have to speak, and we have to engage, Zeid said, even if it poses difficulties for other U.N. colleagues including Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. Sometimes we make mistakes and I have apologized publicly to governments, he said. But if Im going to make a mistake, Id rather make the mistake speaking out and not regretting that I didnt say anything when I should have said something. What are they hiding? Zeid cited human rights investigations the Human Rights Council has authorized in Syria, Myanmar, Yemen, and most recently in Venezuela and Nicaragua. But he said his greatest success has been demanding access for rights officials. He said when access is barred, including in Myanmars Rakhine state where about 700,000 Rohingya Muslims lived before fleeing a violent military crackdown last year, and Venezuela, he asks: What are they hiding? The United States pulled out of the Human Rights Council in June, citing chronic bias against Israel. I think weve been fair with everyone and firm with everyone, Zeid said. The suggestion that Im an anti-Semite and my office is, I find it really disgusting. Where is Trump taking world? As for President Donald Trump, Zeid again denounced his repeated attacks on the media. He said that he felt as if all of us, humanity, were at the back of a bus and the president was driving the bus, and were careening down a mountain road with steep cliffs on either side, and there is this sense that as one of the principal leaders of the world not knowing clearly where he wants to take us. What is his end point? He said he didnt seek a second term because the five permanent members of the Security Council the U.S., Russia, China, Britain and France need to give their approval and he knew a long time ago that he wouldnt have the support of at least three and probably all of them, which I was happy about. I have no regrets that Ive said what I said, Zeid said. I think Ive tried my best and I hope others will see that at certain times the U.N. needs to speak. Several candidates for the job reached out for advice, and Zeid said he told them that its an extremely meaningful job the most meaningful job Ive ever had but very trying as well, and that they shouldnt think of it if their health is not perfect. Young African leaders from 48 countries are in the United States for the Mandela Washington Fellowship's annual summit, training and networking across the civil, enterprise and public sectors. As Hayde Adams FitzPatrick reports, U.S. officials say supporting the next generation of African leaders is in America's interest. On a few days over the last year, federal agents approached travelers at several U.S. airports flights bound for or connecting to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Frankfurt, Germany, and Dakar, Senegal. The officials part of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement weren't searching for contraband, or guiding bag-sniffing dogs. They were part of a smaller office within the agency that doesn't focus on detaining and deporting people. Instead, they were handing out printed materials. They wanted to talk about female genital cutting. JFK. Newark. Washington-Dulles. They targeted some of the country's biggest international airports. In May, they roamed the gates in Atlanta in the state where an Ethiopian man deported last year was believed to be the first person criminally convicted in the United States for FGC, sometimes referred to as female genital mutilation or FGM. ICE declined a request to speak with the agents for details about how the initiative is carried out. There are brochures involved and, according to photos attached to the agency's news releases, male and female agents chat with women about to board flights abroad. FGC is a federal crime, the agency says it tells travelers. It can have consequences on child custody, and in immigration cases, too, even if the procedure is performed outside the U.S. An agency spokeswoman told VOA via email that "people were happy to hear that's why [Homeland Security Investigations, an arm of the Department of Homeland Security] was out there with materials. Some folks have never heard of it; many have but don't understand it, the extent of the problem and how harmful the procedure and associated complications are. And some women had been subjected themselves to FGM." The project is modeled after one in the United Kingdom, an "awareness" campaign designed to talk about the risks of FGC, and publicize the criminality of the procedure. Removing part of the female genitals for nonmedical reasons is a practice concentrated in a few dozen countries, but performed on a smaller scale in many more, including the United States, where cases have been documented dating to as early as the 19th century. Last year, ICE investigators unraveled the Michigan case of a medical doctor performing FGC on young girls. Reasons given The justifications can include religious, cultural or pseudomedical rationales, like when U.S. doctors used the procedure to treat "hysteria." Hundreds of thousands of women and girls in the U.S. are FGC survivors, or are vulnerable to it, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Mariya Taher, head of Sahiyo a U.S. nongovernmental organization that advocates for an end to FGC has spoken publicly about her experience surviving the procedure. Now, her organization is spearheading its own effort to publicize the stories of other survivors in the U.S., with a video project due out this month. Does Taher think ICE agents handing out pamphlets and talking to families headed to visit relatives abroad, who are maybe considering having the procedure done on their daughters, or planning to have it done on that summer vacation, is an effective method? "A large part of prevention is educating that it IS illegal many people don't recognize that it IS," said Taher. She wants to know more about what information is being shared and how the conversations with travelers are happening before passing judgment on the project. Unintentional effect? "Any effort about the health, legal consequences, support services, I think is really helpful and beneficial," Taher said. On the other hand, she noted, "I feel conflict. We're trying to show that FGC happens across the board, regardless of ethnicity, religion, socioeconomic status. ... I'm a little afraid, if we're just targeting certain countries, that we're unintentionally misrepresenting whom FGC happens to." Dozens of U.S. states have passed laws, in addition to the federal legislation, criminalizing FGC. In the Michigan case, doctors who performed the procedure on girls were charged, as well as four mothers who agreed to the medically unnecessary surgeries. The U.S. "remains deeply concerned with China's long-standing restrictions on freedom of expression online," a State Department official said Thursday, reacting to Google's reported plan to relaunch its search engine in China. "We strongly object to all efforts by China to force U.S. companies to block or censor online content as a condition for market access," the official said. Google shut down its Chinese search engine in 2010, citing government attempts to "limit free speech on the web." But a company whistle-blower who spoke to the online publication The Intercept said Google was in the advanced stages of launching a custom Android search app in China that will comply with the Communist Party's censorship policies on human rights, democracy, free speech and religion. The Intercept cited internal Google documents and people familiar with the rollout. The publication said the project, code-named Dragonfly, has been in development since 2017. It said the project began to progress more quickly following a December meeting between Google CEO Sundar Pichai and a senior Chinese government official. According to the documents obtained by The Intercept, Google said it would automatically filter websites blocked by China's so-called Great Firewall. Banned websites will be removed from the first page of search results with the disclaimer: "Some results may have been removed due to statutory requirements." Empty searches The documents also say that Google's app will "blacklist sensitive queries" by returning no results when people search for certain words or phrases. "We provide a number of mobile apps in China ... [to] help Chinese developers and have made significant investments in Chinese companies like JD.com. But we don't comment on speculation about future plans," a Google spokesman told VOA in a statement in response to the alleged plans. China has 772 million internet users more than any other country and hundreds of millions of potential users who are not yet connected to the internet. China's top internet regulator, the Cyberspace Administration of China, has not commented on the plans. U.S. Senator Marco Rubio, a Florida Republican and former presidential candidate, posted on Twitter that Google's reported plans to set up "a censored search engine" in China were "very disturbing" and could help China "suppress the truth." VOA's Nike Ching at the State Department contributed to this report. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met with his Turkish counterpart Friday in an effort to obtain the release of Andrew Brunson, a detained U.S. pastor who Turkey accuses of backing terrorism. The Trump administration has placed sanctions on Turkish officials because of Brunsons detention. Turkey says the sanctions are unacceptable. Pompeo and Mevlut Cavusoglu met on the sidelines of a meeting of regional ministers in Singapore. Pompeo told reporters traveling with him before the meeting that the U.S. has warned Turkey that the clock had run out and it was time for Pastor Brunson to be returned. The top U.S. diplomat said, Brunson needs to come home as do all the Americans being held by the Turkish government. Pretty straightforward. Theyve been holding these folks for a long time. These are innocent people. Turkey has also detained three Turkish employees of the U.S. consulate in Istanbul. US sanctions The Turkish foreign ministry has called the sanctions a disrespectful intervention in our legal system that would harm the constructive efforts toward resolving problems between the two countries. The American pastor is on trial on terrorism and espionage charges for alleged links to followers of U.S.-based Turkish cleric Fethullah Gulen, who is blamed by Ankara for the 2016 failed coup and whom Turkey is seeking to extradite. Last month, in a move widely seen as a gesture to Washington, Brunson was moved to house arrest after nearly two years in jail. But U.S. President Donald Trump is demanding Brunsons return to America. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan insists Brunsons detention is a matter for the courts. Washington accuses Ankara of hostage-taking, claiming the pastors detention is part of efforts to extract concessions over several disputes between the countries. Pompeos Asian tour Pompeo was in Malaysia Thursday. It was the first stop of his Asian tour expected to focus on promoting free trade and pressuring North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons. Since President Trump met North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in June, U.S. officials have been optimistic that Pyongyang will give up its nuclear weapons, though there is no evidence the North has begun that process. Concerns over ongoing nuclear and missile activity in North Korea surged after The Washington Post reported Tuesday that U.S. intelligence officials believe Pyongyang is continuing to build new missiles in the same research facility it used to build intercontinental missiles capable of reaching the East Coast of the United States. During his meetings with ASEAN counterparts in Singapore this week, Pompeo is also expected to discuss conflicts in the South China Sea, the Rohingya crisis in Rakhine state in Myanmar, and cybersecurity. Pompeo is the first senior U.S. official to visit Malaysia since Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad was took office following a May election dubbed quite historic by a senior State Department official. VOA's William Gallo and Fern Robinson contributed to this report. VOA Mandarin has attempted to reach Professor Wenguang Sun since he was removed from his home during a live interview earlier this week. The professor, who lives in Jinan, the capital of eastern China's Shandong province, has not responded. Sources in Shandong told VOA on Thursday that Sun was in a military-run hotel. On Wednesday, Chinese police broke into the home of the retired Shandong University professor, who is critical of China's human rights record, as he was expressing via a telephone interview his opinions on the Voice of America (VOA) Mandarin television show, Issues & Opinions. VOA Mandarin has attempted to reach Sun by cellphone and WeChat, a popular social media platform. In response to the incident, Congressman Chris Smith, a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and co-chairman of the Congressional Executive Committee on China, said on Thursday, "In an apparent attempt to chill an open exchange of ideas and opinions, Chinese police may have forcibly stopped a Voice of America interview with Professor Wenguang Sun. "There is currently no information about Professor Sun's whereabouts, but we urge his immediate release if detained for engaging in what should be his right to free speech," said Smith, who also chairs the House subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights and International Organizations. "The Chinese and American people must continue to work toward a day when someone like Prof. Sun can openly share his opinions, via a free press, without fear of reprisal," he added in a statement Thursday. Senator Marco Rubio on Thursday tweeted: "Every time you hear overblown rhetoric about how we are on the verge of 'tyranny' or 'authoritarianism' in America remember what real tyranny looks like. In #China the police arrested a Xi critic while he was in the middle of a live interview." A look at Sun's background: * Born in 1934 * Graduated from Shandong University Department of Physics in 1957, where he stayed on as a teacher * Detained in "cowsheds" during the Cultural Revolution in the mid-1960s * Sentenced in 1978 to seven years in prison for "attacking Great Leader Chairman Mao" * Rehabilitated in 1982, returned to teaching at Shandong University * Retired from Shandong University in 1994 * Most recent book, A Century of Disasters: From Mao Zedong to Jiang Zemin, published in Hong Kong in 2004 * Passport application denied in 2005, unable to travel aboard since * One of initial co-signers of Charter 08, a petition for democracy in China * Shandong University reduced his pension in March * Criticized China's checkbook diplomacy in an open letter posted on the eve of President Xi Jinping's July trip to Africa * Police break into his home in Jinan during a live interview with Voice of America on Aug. 1, 2018. Last words via telephone were: "I am entitled to express my opinion. This is my freedom of speech." The World Health Organization (WHO) warns Yemen may be on the verge of another cholera epidemic, which could be deadlier than previous ones because of widespread malnutrition in the war-torn country. Yemen has had two major waves of cholera epidemics in recent years. The World Health Organization reports that an increasing number of cases in several heavily populated areas over the past few weeks indicate the country may be on the cusp of a third major wave of this deadly disease. WHO's emergency response chief, Peter Salama, told VOA another cholera epidemic is likely to be more life-threatening than the previous ones because the population is seriously weakened after three years of civil war. Fighting has been raging between the government and rebel forces. "What we are likely to see is that interplay with cholera and malnutrition occurring more and more and food insecurity," he said. "And, not only more cases because of that, but even higher death rates among the cholera cases that do occur because people just do not have the physical resources to fight the disease any longer." The United Nations is calling for three days of tranquility between August 4 and 6. It wants the warring parties to stop fighting during this period so WHO and its partners can carry out a massive oral cholera vaccination campaign. Salama said 3,000 health workers are being mobilized in three districts in northern Yemen. Their aim is to vaccinate more than 500,000 individuals above the age of one. Last year, cholera cases in Yemen topped one million in the world's worst outbreak of the disease. Crews battling a deadly wildfire in northern California faced the return of gusty winds Thursday, hampering the progress they were making this week to keep the blaze from spreading further. The 11-day-old Carr Fire, which has scorched nearly 127,000 acres (54,000 hectares) in the scenic Shasta-Trinity region north of Sacramento, remains the largest and most fearsome of 18 significant wildfires burning across California and more than 100 nationwide. After three days of light winds that had helped firefighters make significant headway, a red flag warning for heightened fire danger was posted Thursday, citing increasing winds in the forecast through Saturday. Strong gusts began kicking up again Wednesday night across upper ridge lines of the fires mountainous western flank, where the blaze, sparked by a vehicle malfunction July 23, was still burning largely unchecked. Steep, rugged terrain Those gusts were slowing efforts in the steep, rugged terrain to carve out buffer zones in front of the fires leading edge, said Gabriel Lauderdale, a spokesman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CalFire). With high winds expected to worsen, throwing hot embers over containment lines, we could continue to see those conditions pose difficulty for us into the night-time hours, he told Reuters by telephone. A CalFire status update issued hours later said that low relative humidity and an unstable atmosphere have increased fire behavior. The blaze, stoked by drought-parched vegetation and triple-digit temperatures, has killed six people and reduced 1,555 structures to smoldering ruins, including 10,600 homes. It ranks as the sixth most destructive California wildfire on record. Firefighters were fighting to keep flames from spilling over a ridge dividing Shasta and Trinity counties. Failure to hold that line would put the evacuated town of Lewiston, just 3 miles to the west, in harms way, said Lauderdale at CalFire. Thousands evacuated More than 4,300 personnel assigned to the blaze have carved containment lines around 37 percent of the perimeter of the blaze. Lauderdale said 24,285 residents remained displaced as of Thursday morning, down from a peak of 38,000, but the number was dwindling as more residents were allowed to return. Scott McLean, another CalFire spokesman, said roughly 40,000 people were under evacuation orders statewide, many from a pair of fires burning close together at the southern end of the Mendocino National Forest. More than 100 large wildfires were burning across 13 Western states, having consumed more than 1.4 million (582,000 hectares), according to the National Interagency Fire Center. Help from Down Under An estimated 27,000 firefighters have been deployed throughout the West, with California alone accounting for 13,000 of them, CalFire director Ken Pimlott said this week. Many of the fire personnel were being sent from out of state. On Thursday, a special contingent of 100 firefighters from Australia and New Zealand took off from Sydney en route to U.S. assignments reinforcing exhausted fire crews in northern California, Oregon and Washington state. But they were messages in chalk. And theyll be gone quickly. The breeze of passing cars, a quick summer storm or a street sweeper will erase them, and no visible reminder of Thursdays protest will remain. Life on the North Side will go on as usual and the routine murders in swaths of the South and West sides will continue, and Im not at all convinced that memories of the roughly 200 people who marched, hoping to force fellow Chicagoans to pay attention to their plight, will linger. Zimbabwean opposition leader Nelson Chamisa has rejected official results showing he lost Monday's presidential election to incumbent Emmerson Mnangagwa. Chamisa said Friday he would pursue all available routes, including protests, to reclaim what he called the "stolen vote." Chamisa told reporters results from the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission giving President Emmerson Mnangagwa 50.8 percent of the vote were "fiction." He said he won 56 percent of the vote in Monday's poll. "We want proper result to be announced," he added. "We will pursue all means necessary legal and constitutional to make sure that we protect the people's vote. The people have voted, they have cheated. We will not allow it. Mr. Mnangagwa sir, respect the people. Do not usurp power." Chamisa, who heads the MDC Alliance party, accused the electoral commission of rigging the vote for the ZANU-PF party. He said the final vote tallies given to Mnangagwa in some areas were higher than the commission announced after polls closed Monday. In a telephone interview with VOA, Electoral Commission spokesman Qhubani Moyo said the election is now a "closed chapter" for the ZEC. He said "we are not going to comment on what they are saying unless we are in court." Tonderai Bosha, a ZANU-PF youth spokesman, dismissed claims by Chamisa that the election had been stolen. "That has been the narrative during the campaigns, before the elections," he said. "They said ZANU-PF is going to rig, then they said they have got mechanisms on the ground to stop the rigging. They are saying a lot of things in regards to this election. What they only wanted was victory on their side. If it's victory on ZANU-PF side; it's not victory. That's the problem." Chamisa's news conference Friday took place only when journalists regrouped after police tried to disperse them. The opposition leader said police intervention was not necessary if ZANU-PF has nothing to hide. Incumbent Zimbabwe President Emmerson Dambudzo has narrowly won the countrys presidential poll, making him the first democratically elected president to succeed longtime leader president Robert Mugabe. However, the victory, may not be so sweet following contested polls and violence that left six people dead. Mnangagwa won the ballot by 50.8 percent of the votes, giving him the legitimacy he sought after the November military intervention that forced the resignation of former President Robert Mugabe, and ushered him into office. Professor Elliot Masocha of DeVry University says the outcome of the election expresses the will of the Zimbabwean people, despite the rejection of the vote by MDC Alliance leader Nelson Chamisa and his supporters. Its the will of the people. You talked about some people saying it was not fair, well what I want to tell you and other Zimbabweans is that thats the character of opposition politics. They have to do that. Masocha says Mnangagwas victory was pre-destined due to his role in the removal of former President Robert Gabriel Mugabe, or RG as he is also known. When I was in Zimbabwe in May and June, I met a couple of people who really switched their allegiance from MDC to Zanu-PF because of what happened in November. I dont know if you saw a statement that people were saying that he who removed RG, will get my vote. Not all concur with Masocha however, given the questionable handling of the ballot and Wednesdays images of soldiers in the capital beating, arresting and shooting at MDC Alliance supporters, killing six. New York-based professor and analyst, Dr. Wangu Mazodze, says the way Mnangagwa got into office in November, was not embraced by all, including opposition members who wanted new leadership. To be precise, Mnanagwa came in through a military coup. The people gave him a benefit of doubt. But the moment he showed that all that he was saying was just an issue of words without any particular action or any sign that he was divorcing from the culture and mentality of Mr. Mugabe, the least that people expected to have was free and fair elections, which he has failed the test. Executive Director, Jeffrey Smith of Vanguard Africa concurs. If you go through the litany of concerns both in the lead up to the elections, during the elections and after the election, namely the brutality, the violence that we witnessed yesterday, indicates that the vote was deeply flawed and does not reflect the true will of Zimbabweans. Since his inauguration in November, Mr. Mnangagwa and his government have declared that Zimbabwe is open for business and had begun re-engaging the international community, which had isolated Mugabe. The U.S., which had imposed targeted sanctions on some Zimbabweans, is in the process of amending a controversial act known as ZIDERA The Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act. But following Wednesdays violence, some, like Steve Feinstein, a former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State and an Associate Professor at Boise State University in Idaho, says the election victory has been overshadowed. Mnangagwas kind of road show ahead of time, was really meant to try to persuade the international community and many others that it wasnt business as usual, that he represented a break from multiple decades of oppression by president Robert Mugabe as well as the Zanu-PF ruling party. I think a lot of us were skepticalAnd I think what we are seeing now when it comes to the security apparatus, together with the ruling party, start to use the wheels of oppression, something that has been a very prominent part of Zimbabwe politics for many years, I think we are seeing the showing of the true colors of Mnangagwa and his allies. Dr. Masocha disagrees, saying one incident, while is regrettable, is not enough to undo Mnangagwas gains. I think Zimbabwe is going to have a good relationship with the international community. Things have been done in a better way than before, and that should count. I meanthe international community they were there, after a long time when they were not allowed to be there. So they have seen improvements which, if they are not going to be biased, they have to acknowledge that thereve been improvements in Zimbabwe. So, Democracy is a work in progress. Independent analyst Leon Hartwell, says while damage has been done on the part of Mnangagwa, he can turn the tables around. I do sense a lot of anger inside Zimbabwe, and I think it will be hard also for some of the western governments to justify moving forward with him. Hes gonna have to really show that he is genuinely interested in a peaceful Zimbabwe to move forward. It remains to be seen whether Mnangagwa will unite a divided nation following the killing of three civilians by the military in Harare on Wednesday. If you havn't done it yet,to get one of the fastest volcano news online: We're proud to present our 2019 volcano calendar: 13 different and attractive images of volcanoes, volcanic landscapes and phenomena taken during volcano tours over the past few years. Greece has a lot of earthquake activity, but most of them occur around the margin of the Aegean microplate. The Cycladic islands are located in its center and therefore seismically comparably quiet. A remote island in the Flores Sea of Indonesia formed by a single volcano that has been in strong strombolian eruption for years. We regularly lead expeditions to there where we camp several days to observe it. Reports, maps and list of aftershocks. Did you know the seismic waves were recorded everywhere in the world? Our continuously updated worldwide map and list of the most recent largest earthquakes in the world during the past 24 hours.You can also find top 20 lists for given past days / months / years from the archive. Support us - Help us upgrade our services! Maintaining our website and our free apps does require, however, considerable time and resources. We're aiming to achieve uninterrupted service wherever an earthquake or volcano eruption unfolds, and your donations can make it happen! Every donation will be highly appreciated. Improved multilanguage support Tsunami alerts Faster responsiveness Earthquake archive from 1900 onwards Detailed quake stats Additional seismic data sources Download and Upgrade the Volcanoes & Earthquakes app to get one of the fastest seismic and volcano alerts online: Android | IOS to get one of the fastest seismic and volcano alerts online: We truly love working to bring you the latest volcano and earthquake data from around the world.We need financing to increase hard- and software capacity as well as support our editor team.If you find the information useful and would like to support our team in integrating further features, write great content, and in upgrading our soft- and hardware, please PayPal or Online credit card payment )., these features have been added recently: In some ways we are smarter now. Unlike prior generations, children no longer "duck and cover" under their desks due to the threat of nuclear war unfortunately, armed and unstable people drive that fear now. We're also savvy enough to know that the maps showing whole cities how to escape nuclear fallout are ridiculous. Maybe, however, duck and cover should have been kept, if only as a reminder that the Russian government is not now, and has never been, our friend. Yet members of Congress are using the list as a tool for applying pressure on the Kremlin. Targets could be banned from entering the United States, and their assets could be frozen. A letter-writing initiative by lawmakers aims to get financial institutions to identify the assets of people on the list as another form of leverage that could make banks skittish about doing business with them. When Strauss-Gabel decided to work with Jongbloed to bring Flipback versions of Greens titles to the United States, everything about the appearance of his books had to be rethought, from how big the font should be to how many lines could fit on the pages. Strauss-Gabel says her team didnt just want something that looked nice, but something you really could hold open and read. Its all extraordinarily complicated. This isnt just a suite of paintings, though. I became a stork for six months, Hochberg writes in a gallery note. She built a large nest of twigs and grasses that now sits in the center of the room and contains the sort of human detritus birds often collect. (Technically, its artist detritus, from Hochbergs studio.) She also inserted bits of actual junk into the mouths of several of the painted storks, making a 3-D connection between the nest and the birds. The pictures are as lovely and graceful as the creatures themselves, but Hochberg reminds us that many storks live in the mess people have made. The chef roamed the hall with a smile on his face. He wants the next generation of black cooks to experience firsthand the joy of putting on a dinner with people who look like them. He also wants it to be normal for diverse groups of chefs to cook together. It shouldnt be a shocker when women or people of color win big at the James Beard awards, he said. Sauvignon blanc finds its spiritual home in Frances Loire Valley, especially in the prestigious appellation of Sancerre. But the same chalky soils grow some terrific wines in the surrounding areas that dont command the high prices of Sancerre (often upward of $30). Look for some terrific values labeled as Touraine. This is especially true in tricky vintages such as 2017, when frost hit most of Europe during fruit set, reducing yields and potentially affecting quality. While Ive tasted some delicious 2017 Sancerre, the Touraines seem to be offering more for the money. And I understand. Its inconvenient to go down that road. I had a lot of arguments six years ago with my fellow liberals who said my pesky obsession with the tick-tock and other details clouded my view of the larger truths: Blacks are unfairly profiled and denied justice in our society. Martin did not deserve to die. He would be alive today if Zimmerman had just stayed in his SUV as the dispatcher suggested, or had Zimmerman not been emboldened by his gun to begin his pursuit. Todays Headlines The most important news stories of the day, curated by Post editors and delivered every morning. Email address By signing up you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Jalloh is one of several immigrant women who have been fired in recent months by the same Texas-based company, Huntleigh USA, that employs workers at Dulles and Reagan National, according to union organizers with 32BJ SEIU. The airport workers are not represented by the union but have worked with organizers to increase wages. Recently, union members, elected officials and clergy members held a demonstration at Dulles on behalf of the fired women. At least one other woman said she was also fired after being accused of asking for tips. The data, filed in federal court late Thursday, shows a modest increase in the number of youngsters returned to their parents after being separated at the southern U.S. border. But at a court hearing Friday, U.S. District Judge Dana M. Sabraw noted that the government has made little headway in locating let alone reuniting the parents of more than 400 children in families in which the adult has been deported or has returned on their own to their home country, mainly Guatemala or Honduras. Last year, Training Grounds Inc., an organization whose status as a 501(c)(3) was revoked by the IRS in 2016 and reinstated one year later, received $20,000 through the Community Partnership Grant, according to the IRS database. The year before, the organization which says it assists youths with leadership and career development was awarded $25,000. Theyre in this little corner of Virginia, and when we march in D.C., they dont have to see us, said Lawrence Nathaniel, 25, executive director of the National Organization for Change. So we wanted to go out there to them and shut down the road and say: Look, were here now. You have to listen. The prosecution turned to emails to show Manaforts failure to report the bank accounts was no mere mistake. One 2011 email showed Ayliff asking Manafort whether he had any interest in a foreign bank account. Manafort responded that he did not. Ayliff testified that his firm relied on the representations of Gates and Manafort, and that the men never told him of the foreign accounts. Google(BEIJING) -- Google is reportedly building a censored search engine that could allow it to return to the massive market in China, but some experts said the plan is unlikely to succeed at least in part because of Beijing's growing limits on free speech. Restrictions on speech are increasing in China, said Zhan Jiang, a professor of journalism and communication at Beijing Foreign Studies University and a vocal critic of the country's censorship. Its unlikely that Google could yield that much in such an environment. Zhan predicted that any attempt by Google to attain significant market share in China will be "impossible." The internet giant left China in 2010 following criticism over its operating a censored search engine there, and is currently banned by the government. But the company is working on a version of its search that would filter out results related to topics such as democracy and human rights, which are deemed sensitive by Beijing, according to multiple reports. Google's effort to create a censored version of its search engine -- a project it reportedly calls Dragonfly -- could pave the way for it to re-enter the huge Chinese market, according to an article in The Intercept based on leaked documents and subsequent reports by The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. When asked about Project Dragonfly on Friday, Google responded, We dont comment on speculation about future plans. From 2006 to 2010, Google also ran a censored search engine in China. However, facing public blowback and a congressional hearing, it stopped running the site and instead directed Chinese users to its uncensored Hong Kong search engine. This move caused the Google site to be blocked by the Chinese government. When these changes were announced in March 2010, Google cited attempts over the last year to further limit free speech on the web in China as a major reason for its decision. Since then, limits on free speech in China have become even more stringent. Internet circumvention tools such as VPNs, which allow users to bypass the Chinese firewall, are being banned and made increasingly hard to obtain. Attracting a share of the 772 million internet users in China will not be a simple task. Since Googles exit from China, Chinese search engine Baidu has dominated, controlling 74 percent of the search engine market share. Google will also need approval from the Chinese government, which may prove difficult, especially with escalating tensions from the U.S.-China trade war. And, as before, the company should expect some backlash. Amnesty International released a statement Wednesday, saying, It will be a dark day for internet freedom if Google has acquiesced to Chinas extreme censorship rules. Copyright 2018, ABC Radio. All rights reserved. Manila (CNN Philippines Life) Last month, over 20,000 beauty junkies made a pilgrimage to the makeup mecca in Los Angeles called Beautycon, a weekend brimming with booths equipped with foldable makeup chairs and LED mirrors, stages that showcase makeup tutorials sponsored by brands like Revlon, and panel discussions where celebrities like Kim Kardashian show up. Beauty brands have been known to spend over a million dollars for build outs in this single event, and that already gives an indication by how massive the beauty industry has become. In the last couple of years alone, weve seen the rapid rise of beauty newcomers: New York-based startup Glossier, which is dubbed as millennials Estee Lauder; Rihannas Fenty Beauty, which underscored inclusivity by offering 40 shades of foundation; and Kylie Cosmetics, 20-year-old Kylie Jenners makeup empire that nudged Forbes magazine to give her the title of being the youngest self-made entrepreneur. Glossier and Kylie Cosmetics in particular have had one conscious strategy it is to speak to the social-media-using audience. Glossiers Emily Weiss has said that her brand grew because of how social media transformed the way beauty products are consumed and talked about, while Jenner has mainly relied on her Instagram with over 100 million followers for her advertising. The growth of the makeup industry has also been felt in the Philippines. A report by Euromonitor International states that in 2017, beauty and personal care has continued to record a healthy growth, and a highlight from the report is that one of the reasons for this growth is borne out of the rising influence of social media. If theres one retailer in the Philippines that has latched onto this rise of social media to keenly cement and weave together the look and feel of their products, as well as the lifestyle behind them, it most arguably is Sunnies Studios. The brand is once again using an extension of their signature aesthetic for their newest offering: Sunnies Face. Martine Cajucom (right), the creative director of Sunnies Studios, explains that she and Sunnies marketing director, Georgina Wilson-Burnand (left), have actually discussed doing a makeup line even before their eyewear business took a life of its own. Our tagline is Beauty that gets you. And the reason is that we are the consumers. We are you as well, she says. Photos courtesy of SUNNIES STUDIOS Consumer-driven products A big [factor of starting Sunnies Face] was one of our most frequently asked questions to each of us individually is: What lippie are you wearing? says Martine Cajucom, the creative director of Sunnies Studios. This consumer-first mentality, listening to feedback specifically from social media, has informed most of Sunnies previous business concepts particularly Sunnies Specs. With Specs, we developed it because people were converting their sunglasses into eye glasses. Big thing is, you asked for this so we made it happen, adds Cajucom. The new addition to the Sunnies team, Jessica Wilson, who oversees the brand management of Sunnies Face, says that because of social media, there is now a more open dialogue. Brands can now ask customers What do you like? And the customers can say, Make this. Or I like this. And they can see what customers are wearing, she says. Brands have become a lot more personal and a lot less on the high horse, dictating the conversation. Bea Soriano-Dee, the operations director of Sunnies, also shares how on their Whatsapp group, there are a lot of screenshots of customers commenting on their products, voicing out opinions and suggestions. We all take that very seriously, she says. Cajucom explains that they themselves are customers and ardent makeup fans, and she and Sunnies marketing director, Georgina Wilson-Burnand, have actually discussed doing a makeup line even before their eyewear business took a life of its own. Our tagline is Beauty that gets you. And the reason is that we are the consumers. We are you as well, she says. We developed it with that in mind and with that, a big factor of it was obviously formula. Sunnies Faces lipstick line, Fluffmatte, is formulated in Italy, and Sunnies' operating director Bea Soriano-Dee says theyre working with the biggest manufacturer in the world doing all of the big beauty brands. And yet one lipstick only costs 345. Photo by JL JAVIER Accessible luxury The formula or the chemicals needed to arrive at any desired beauty product is a priority of many legacy brands. It is what will ultimately set their product apart and what is needed for customers to keep patronizing them. These brands, such as Estee Lauder or L'Oreal, however, have sold a lifestyle of glamour and luxury to complement their premium products. But these may not resonate with those who dont want an all-done face or who simply cant afford to buy luxury goods but want makeup all the same. Sunnies Face has aimed to do both: take that luxury formula but sell it for an affordable price. Affordable luxury is an oxymoron, but its about a pricing architecture that has driven brands to success. Sunnies Faces lipstick line, Fluffmatte, is formulated in Italy, and Soriano-Dee says theyre working with the biggest manufacturer in the world doing all of the big beauty brands. And yet one lipstick only costs 345. The number one thing that we can offer that really distinguishes us from other competitors is that we are providing everyone a luxury formula that normally would sell 40 to 50 dollars abroad, says Cajucom. Wilson also says that it was hard for the team to come to their price point with that formula because they didn't cut costs on anything. We thought, whats a great product if it's not accessible for everyone? But this philosophy is also not unique to Sunnies Face. Sunnies Studios inaugural product line, the sunglasses, also has kept price points below 500, and Sunnies Specs provides consumers prescription eyewear for 1,999, an amount already cheaper than other eyeglasses brands, considering the range of designs. Bea Soriano-Dee (left) shares that they tested the lipstick shades on different people and different faces. Jessica Wilson (right) adds that the products are inspired by Girl Crush Beauty, a term they coined as an all-encompassing reference for what the Sunnies Face look is. Its this girl crush look which is not intimidating but something that you look up to and are attracted to but you also can do yourself, explains Wilson. Photos courtesy of SUNNIES STUDIOS Reclaiming femininity Besides keeping the price at bay, Cajucom highlights that the nine shades they chose for their first lipstick line is flattering on every skin tone. Soriano-Dee shares they shared it on different people, on different faces, and that they actually went through 350 samples before coming into this nine edit nine warm shades ranging from nudes and peaches to oranges and reds. It doesn't discriminate on age, it doesn't discriminate on skin tone, says Cajucom. The products are inspired by Girl Crush Beauty, a term they coined as an all-encompassing reference for what the Sunnies Face look is. Its this girl crush look which is not intimidating but something that you look up to and are attracted to but you also can do yourself, explains Wilson. The girl crush look is seen in their campaigns the minimally made-up, cool-girl look that invokes a high sense of self-possession. Its this concept that rejects the beauty queen ideal and sells the idea that women dont spend hours on their look but still somehow look great. And while Sunnies Face was built on this pared-down aesthetic, the women behind it do share that prior to their makeup line, they would mix 10 types of lipsticks just to get to their desired shade, and that theyve always bonded over makeup and speak about obsessing over products that many cast off as vapid. In a culture that glorifies masculine pursuits, such as sports, but diminishes things associated with the feminine, such as beauty, perhaps, the motivations behind Sunnies Face is another lesson on reclaiming femininity. We really poured all of our femininity and girlishness into developing it, says Cajucom. It's a girl's dream. *** Sunnies Face will open in Glorietta and UP Town Center on Aug. 10. That Donald Trump and the NRCC would try to bail out Barbara Comstock is no surprise, Wextons campaign manager, Ray Rieling, said in a statement. Shes voted with him 97% of the time and now shes being paid back for putting the Presidents agenda over the interests of her constituents. Neighbors purchase letter from Rosa Parks: A letter written by civil rights activist Rosa Parks describing the 1957 bombing of her neighbors' home has been purchased at auction by the couple who were targeted in the attack. Alabama State University announced that the Rev. Robert Graetz and his wife, Jeannie Graetz, bought the letter describing the bombing of their home. The couple plan to donate the letter to the university. The Graetzes were among the few white supporters of the Montgomery bus boycott and the civil rights movement. Parks, who was the couple's neighbor and friend, sparked the boycott after refusing to give up her bus seat to a white passenger. The parsonage where the Graetzes lived was bombed for the second time in 1957, not long after the boycott, in a wave of attacks on civil rights leaders and churches. Four black churches and the home of the Rev. Ralph Abernathy were also bombed that night. The Graetzes bought Parks's letter from the Guernsey's auction house in New York City' for $9,375. I think some of the attraction is that since we are people of color ourselves, they can come and connect and heal with people who look like them. Theres a level of comfort and trust that they might have with us that they might not have in a predominately white space, Kenya said. Ive changed in a lot of ways from this experience of movement and mindfulness. Ive been creating opportunities and moments for women to have that introspection they need, and it has challenged me to do the same. It has helped me with grounding myself and to really walk my talk. But the Department of Health and Human Services is requiring that any applicant demonstrate three years of experience managing projects of similar scope and complexity in the field of organ transplantation. Organs for Life and another would-be competitor have said they cannot meet that standard. They contend it describes only the operator of the system, the United Network for Organ Sharing. The letter cites a New York Times story stating that a confidential Justice Department report shows that Purdue knew that OxyContin was addictive shortly after it was put on the market in 1996 including reports that the pills were being stolen from pharmacies, crushed and snorted but that the firm did not reveal that information. It said Sackler was told in 1999 about chat-room discussions where people described snorting the time-release painkiller. The report also said prosecutors obtained more than 100 notes from sales representatives from 1997 to 1999 that used the words street value, crush and snort when talking about OxyContin. In 2012, four years after my moms overdose death, I began corresponding with my dad, Steve, then an inmate in jail. He and I had been estranged for years. I blamed him for making my mother an addict essentially, for killing her. However, when my husband and I became parents, I had an overwhelming need to know how my parents came to choose drugs over me. Steve was the only one left to ask. It has been said that the great moments in science occur not when a scientist exclaims Eureka! but when he or she murmurs Thats strange. Flexner thought the most fertile discoveries come from scientists driven not by the desire to be useful but merely the desire to satisfy their curiosity. He wanted to banish the word use to encourage institutions of learning to be devoted more to the cultivation of curiosity and less to considerations of immediacy of application. It is axiomatic that knowledge is the only resource that increases when used, and it is a paradox of prosperity that nations only reap practical innovations from science by regarding them as afterthoughts, coming long after basic science. Fact is, a lot of Russian money has been pouring into this country for some time, especially after Russia defaulted on $40 billion in domestic debt in 1998, and some of the countrys biggest banks started to collapse. Deep-pocketed ex-Soviet citizens scrambled to get their money out and into New York real estate where reporting requirements were scant, and cash and laundered money moved with the ease of a stick floating down the Hudson. Since last year, hundreds of thousands and perhaps millions of innocent Uighurs and other ethnic minorities in the Xinjiang region in northwest China have been unjustly arrested and imprisoned in what the Chinese government calls political re-education camps. Thousands have disappeared. There are credible reports of torture and death among the prisoners. The government says it is fighting terrorism and religious extremism. Uighurs say they are resisting a campaign to crush religious and cultural freedom in China. The international community has largely reacted with silence. Despite his checkered past as an official in Mr. Mugabes government, Mr. Mnangagwa has claimed he wants a new beginning for Zimbabwe. Yet the actions of security forces this week have seemed more like a page out of the old playbook. It is now incumbent on Mr. Mnangagwa to show that he is serious about change. The opposition has some legitimate concerns about the election that need to be addressed, and, as the country sits on a knifes edge, he needs to take the lead in pushing for transparency and calling for calm. He should immediately remove armed forces from the streets, end the harassment of opposition leaders and take steps to hold the abusive soldiers accountable. The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission, meanwhile, should release results from individual polling stations so the results can be verified. The July 28 front-page article Trump has repeatedly sought to punish press carefully laid out the presidents quandary each time hes in a situation in which reporters have been asked to pose questions. President Trumps problem seems to be that he doesnt like the tone of the questions proffered or thinks they are disrespectful or impertinent. It is noteworthy that questionable tone, disrespect and impertinence are the watchwords of Mr. Trumps dealings with the media. Counselor to the president Kellyanne Conway said, This president obviously isnt afraid of questions. We answer them routinely. With all due respect, we wouldnt have to answer the questions if he had done so to some plausible degree in the first place. Example: That very specific, rather unambiguous question to Mr. Trump in Helsinki by the Associated Presss Jonathan Lemire about Russian hacking in the 2016 election produced a lengthy diatribe on the whereabouts of former secretary of state Hillary Clintons computer server. If this president wants to change the dynamics of his interactions with the media, he could do so easily by scheduling meetings with them, minus foreign dignitaries, and answering journalists questions. Today, we have a nominee with an extensive judicial record and legal writings that provide far more insight into his judicial philosophy than any executive-branch record would. On top of that, the Judiciary Committee has requested up to 1 million pages of documents from his time as a government lawyer. All told, the volume of executive-branch documents we review could be more than the last five nominees combined. This is in addition to the more than 17,000 pages of materials that Kavanaugh submitted in response to the most thorough and robust committee questionnaire ever required of a Supreme Court nominee. For this reason, both the Bush and Obama administrations sought a way out of Afghanistan. But they found it difficult to just leave and declare victory. First, the simple reality was that the Taliban inexorably advanced as U.S. troops withdrew, putting the democratically elected Kabul government which is friendly to the United States in mortal peril. Second, as America stepped back, it was clear that other countries regional powers like India, China, Iran and Russia would fill the vacuum. And finally, with all its factions, there was no single Taliban with which to negotiate. Mr. Hogan cannot fairly be blamed for a crisis fentanyl that no one in Maryland or the rest of the country really anticipated. Once it hit, he took it seriously and, in tandem with the legislature and local governments, mobilized a policy response that emphasized not punishment but treatment of drug users. State officials say emergency crews and police administered 20,000 lifesaving doses of naloxone across the state last year. Meanwhile, the Hogan administration is trying to crack down on large-scale traffickers. Broadly speaking, this is the right approach and not all that different from what Mr. Jealous is proposing to do. The public can only gain from reasoned debate about how to deal with a problem that will challenge the state next year, no matter who wins. To their credit, CNN and MSNBC didnt take the rally feed live. (Fox News is hopeless.) But why are journalists allowing themselves to be sitting ducks? We should reduce our presence to the Air Force One pool a small rotating group that shares its reporting with the rest of the media. Any other journalists who wish to cover these spectacles should attend as members of the public as my colleagues and I did when Trump briefly banned The Post and other outlets from covering his events during the campaign. If Trump says something outrageous, report it. If there is violence, or conspiracy theorists taking over the place, report that. But lets not make ourselves into targets, and lets not reward this demagoguery with airtime. But resource-wise, this initiative seems a bit back-to-front. Weve invested $11 million in Chromebooks in the last five years, and this enables us to make use of it, District 5 Superintendent Tom Wilson said. Administrators seem to want to make the case for the expensive take-home technology they have already bought, even though many teachers would tell you that the growing number of screens at home and in the classroom has done more harm than good. Maybe that seemed unsatisfying, then. It would very likely seem unfair now, in an era with little tolerance for mercy in public policy. A colder justice can be attractive. I can understand especially having been raised in conservative Texas why someone might support the death penalty. It isnt solely the province of the simplistic or the cruel. Hannah Arendts imagined speech to the condemned Adolf Eichmann in her book Eichmann in Jerusalem offers a moving rationale: Just as you supported and carried out a policy of not wanting to share the earth with the Jewish people and the people of a number of other nations . . . no member of the human race, can be expected to want to share the earth with you. This is the reason, and the only reason, you must hang. Hang Eichmann did. The desired qualities of the new commissioner are threefold: The new commissioner must have a judicial temperament and the ability to impartially analyze the merits of each case. The new commissioner should have a keen understanding of modern energy markets and the other industries regulated by the SCC. And, the new commissioner must faithfully execute the mission of the SCC, which is not to rubber-stamp business plans of powerful corporations but to be the voice of the consumer and ratepayer. Or they can enroll such people at what looks like a bargain-basement price and then refuse to pay for any care related to preexisting illnesses including illnesses that enrollees didnt even know they had when they enrolled, such as cancer or heart disease. Some plans have dropped consumers as soon as they got an expensive diagnosis, sticking them with hundreds of thousands of dollars in unexpected medical bills. His silence reflects a broader one: In todays GOP, high-profile public commitments to volunteerism are out of fashion. At least since the Progressive Era, the defense of voluntary service, of private associational activity in all its varied forms, and of charity and philanthropy has been a key conservative trope. Figures from Herbert Hoover to Richard Nixon to George W. Bush celebrated volunteerism for its own sake and as an alternative to tax-funded public welfare. Sure, some of these politicians used a mollifying dose of Tocqueville to mask the severity of their regressive policies; after all, private charitable efforts have never been adequate to address the nations most pressing social ills. But for many conservative luminaries, this voluntarism fantasy, as the Roosevelt Institutes Mike Konczal has termed it, was not simply a ruse. It reflected a consistent ideological commitment, one that led its proponents, from Teddy Roosevelt onward, to champion the essential place of charitable and voluntary efforts and to propose means of encouraging them. But you dont see a vigorous embrace of that attitude from leading GOP officeholders today. And Trump and his supporters dont seem to mind. And they can do all this under the cover of anonymity. Attribution the problem of figuring out who is behind that attack on your server or your bank account remains one of the thorniest issues for defenders. When the movie studio Sony Pictures was devastated by hackers in 2014 after producing a film satirizing North Korea, the FBI immediately had good reason to suspect Pyongyang of orchestrating the attack. But as President Obamas aides knew, suspecting was one thing. Proving it was another. Sanger says the intelligence community ultimately obtained the evidence it was looking for. The U.S. government hasnt publicly revealed what it knows presumably because it doesnt want to betray its capabilities to the North Koreans. In the case of the Saudi visit to New York earlier this year, a spokeswoman for the Saudi Embassy said that none of Mohammeds official traveling delegation stayed at the Trump International Hotel in New York. But she said the Saudi Embassy did not know if the Saudi government had paid for anyone elses stay at the hotel during the crown princes visit. When the negotiations were announced in May, Brookfield addressed questions about whether its real estate arm, which is partially owned by the sovereign wealth fund of Qatar, would be involved. The company said at the time that no Qatar-linked entity had any involvement in the deal, and a person familiar with the matter said Friday that remained the case. At a minimum, he has earned the right to due process. Instead, for reasons we cannot fathom, current FEMA leadership has chosen to demonize Mr. Coleman in the media based on an obviously unreliable and faulty investigation. . . . While nothing can undo the harm already done to Mr. Colemans reputation, we will clear his name based on the facts, instead of the rumor and innuendo relied upon by FEMA, the lawyers stated. Trump later tweeted that his daughter was correct to say the media was not the enemy of the people. Rather, he said, it is the FAKE NEWS, which is a large percentage of the media, that is the enemy of the people! In addition to questioning Judge Kavanaugh on health care, womens freedom, presidential power and other issues, Senate Democrats intend to demand that he call for and support the release of all of his files from his time in the Bush White House, the aide said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to freely describe party strategy. Democrats will urge Judge Kavanaugh to ask the National Archives and President Bush to adhere to the same standard that was met for Justice [Elena] Kagans confirmation. One of our main goals in requiring more human ad review is to catch ads that violate our policies before they run on Facebook including those that are discriminatory, said Rob Leathern, Facebooks director of product management, when asked about the complaints. Advertisers across the board may see small delays they arent specific to one type of targeting or advertiser but we think its the right trade off to help keep people safe. The issue of Obamacare has surfaced a few times, such as when Senate Republicans asked Kavanaugh about his dissent in a 2011 D.C. Circuit decision that upheld the constitutionality of the health-care law. In his opinion, Kavanaugh was careful to never actually weigh in on the constitutionality of the law, instead writing that the courts did not have the right to take up the case. The election is not the handoff that Conyers, who was first elected in 1964, seemed to prefer. He announced his resignation with a call to a radio show whose hosts asked why other members of Congress were not being subjected to the same rough treatment. Conyers focused on the future, endorsing his son, John Conyers III, who was just 27 and had never run for office. The fall campaign will test the enduring appeal of Trumps brand of politics in a state that he won handily two years ago but historically has been dominated by more traditional Republicans such as Sen. Bob Corker, an outspoken critic of the president whose retirement opened up the seat. Republicans, who have sought to focus on ousting vulnerable Democrats in pro-Trump states, have grown increasingly worried about a Tennessee letdown. Gordon is heard describing her daughters clothing, when she was last seen, and where she and other family members had searched for the missing child. But there were also moments where she was apparently overcome with emotion. Other children are heard in the background, and there is loud screaming and crying toward the end of the call. On July 15, a suicide bomber detonated explosives outside a government office for rural projects, killing five people. On Thursday, the bodies of three foreign workers from India, Malaysia and Macedonia were found after they apparently were abducted and slain. The three men worked for Sodexo, one of the worlds leading food and catering services. Nicoletta Salvatore, a sophomore at Lincoln-Way Central High School in New Lenox, spent two weeks this summer learning about leadership after winning the right to attend local and national seminars. In June, she attended the Hugh OBrian Youth Leadership Seminar at Benedictine University in Lisle after competing competed with five other students in an essay competition. Students participating in the event learned about both active listening and how to accomplish their goals. IN July, she went on to participate in HOBYs World Leadership Conference, along with 420 students from 14 countries, learning about how to make a positive impact on the world. A year prior, Ethan Fazio of Lincoln-Way Central also attended the local HOBY Leadership Seminar. Since that time, Salvatore has connected with Fazio. Because of their positive experiences with the program, the two Knights hope to host a HOBY-sponsored leadership workshop for freshmen. These are innocent people, he added. Pastor Brunson is an innocent pastor, and they need to let him return to the United States, and they need to let our locally employed folks everyone needs to be let out. Thats the message. We are going to work to see if we can find a way forward I am hopeful. Talks on resuming field operations, which ran for a decade before they were suspended by the Bush administration in 2005, could take place soon, McKeague said. While North Korea at times has unilaterally handed over boxes of remains, as the country did this week, more fruitful in the eyes of U.S. officials have been joint efforts to find and recover remains with American personnel on the ground. He said areas of the country are effectively a black hole for information. There are often lethal attacks where actual death tolls go unreported, so the group uses a standard estimate of 10 deaths for larger-scale events and three for smaller-scale ones. Although this approach could result in inflated tolls, he said the groups use of conservative figures and the likelihood it underestimates fatalities in some cases limit the chances of overstating the overall death toll. Amazon said this week that it would no longer let third-party retailers sell products that feature Nazi and white nationalist symbolism on its platform, after pressure from nonprofit groups and politicians. In a letter dated Tuesday to US Democratic Representative from Minnesota, Keith Ellison , Amazon said it had removed products that violated its policy against product listings that promote hatred, violence or discrimination. Amazon, which is led by Jeff Bezos, removed items sold on its site by other retailers after nonprofits and lawmakers called attention to them. Credit:Bloomberg "We have reviewed the products and content referenced in your letter, and removed the listings that were found in violation of our policies and permanently blocked the seller accounts that were in violation of Amazon policy," Brian Huseman, Amazon's vice president for public policy, wrote in the letter. "We are also reviewing the seller accounts for potential suspension." Onesies with burning crosses, swastika jewellery Supermarket giant Coles told staff it would keep giving away reusable plastic bags - sparking an angry backlash from environmentalists and a hasty backflip - so it could get shoppers through checkouts quicker during its popular Little Shop toy giveaway. Coles removed thin, single-use plastic bags from its checkouts nationwide at the start of July, but for several weeks decided to give its thicker 15 reusable bags away for free as customers got used to the change. Facing complaints from some customers, Coles on Wednesday said it would keep giving its "Better Bags" away for free in eastern states and Western Australia until further notice, and would only start charging once shoppers got used to bringing their own bags. Environmental groups blasted the decision, saying free bags removed any incentive for customers to reuse or bring their own bags, and a day later Coles backpedalled on its decision, saying it would end the free bag offer on August 29. Tesla shares soared 16 per cent on Thursday after the electric car maker reported better-than-expected results and its somewhat erratic CEO Elon Musk impressed investors at the company's earnings call. Financial analytics firm S3 Partners said short-sellers were slammed with $US1.7 billion ($2.3 billion) in paper losses for the day. It would have been a gratifying day for Musk, who in May had warned investors betting against his company to prepare for the "short burn of the century". Tesla shares rallied $US48.70 to $US349.54 after the company showed it's stepped off the gas-burn pedal and would produce its new Model 3 sedan at a profit, following several recent weeks in which output had stabilised. Investors also took strength from the fact that Musk used the earnings call to apologise for his "bad manners" to analysts he had scorned three months earlier for asking "bonehead" and "dry" questions, acting like a real CEO. Appropriately enough in this era of so-called fake news, the very idea of "truth" is on trial in several documentaries screening at the Melbourne International Film Festival. Our New President, from Russian-born, New York-based Maxim Pozdorovkin, tells the story of the 2016 US election campaign, and the first year of President Trump, entirely through clips taken from Russias television networks and social media. "I wanted to try to make a movie about the way information, or disinformation, travels across the internet, where the spine is factual television yet there isn't a single true statement in the movie," he says. Pozdorovkin made a documentary about Pussy Riot in 2013 and wrote a PhD on Russian propaganda. "So I kind of know how it works," he says. Theyll reassure them and get them involved in an activity. Once they get busy, theyre fine, she said. Our first two weeks are going to be accommodating them. Were ready for criers, kids who want to run. So the first few weeks we go over rules and get them used to being around other kids and make them comfortable. What horror. The vivacious faces of four women beam from photographs at a moment striding along a beach, sipping bubbles at a party when they were full of joy, of life. And yet, these four Victorian women are now dead. Another day, another slew of grim stories about women who have been killed. The grind of the police hunts in each case, the incremental criminal trials and the coronial inquests. Samantha Fraser, 38, Karen Ristevski, 47, Joy Rowley, 60, mothers all. Their traumatised young and adult children left to grieve. An 81-year-old Albany man has been rescued from a cold night on Bluff Knoll as extreme weather sweeping through the Great Southern capped the Stirling Range peak in snow. Gnowangerup and Albany police leapt to search for the man with SES volunteers after being alerted about 7.40pm on Thursday that he hadnt returned from his hike at the popular bushwalking spot. Rescuers with the 81-year-old Albany man who went missing while hiking on Bluff Knoll on Thursday night. Credit:Gnowangerup Police/Twitter The extreme weather lashing the southern part of WA and bringing freezing temperatures throughout the week, as well as the mans age, meant police had concerns for his welfare on the track. After beginning the search, police were able to contact the man on his mobile phone and search groups were directed to his location, finding him just off the main walking track in a gully about 1am Friday. Skilled migration into Western Australia has halved as the WA resources economy and related industries have contracted, new census data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows. The number of skilled migrants dropped 50 per cent from the 2007-11 census period to the 2012-16 census period, from 95,000 people to 48,000. Skilled migration has plummeted in WA since 2007. Credit:File image. This drove an overall drop of 44 per cent in the total number of permanent migrants to settle in WA between the two periods, when counting family visa holders and refugees 129,000 to 73,000 from one census to the next. Amanda Davies, a demographer from Curtin Universitys School of Built Environment, said labour types in the data showed the decline was directly related to the mining slowdown and also affected allied professions such as law, engineering and manufacturing. Perth, the week has been dreary, dull and full of rain, cloud and cold, cold weather. But the weekends here and if the Bureau of Meteorologys to be trusted the weather will ease slightly for the next two glorious work-free days. If youre sitting at your desk wondering what to do to make the most of this gap in the grim weather, then look no further; we at WAtoday have done the hard work for you. So, without further ado, heres our top-five picks for whats on in Perth this weekend. Victorian Liberal Party president Michael Kroger. Credit:Justin McManus The committee that runs the Victorian Liberal Party has endorsed all the states federal MPs for the next election despite concerns over the threat to party democracy, ruling out giving branch members a say on the question and sparing former defence minister Kevin Andrews from a potential challenge. State Liberal president Michael Kroger and powerbroker Marcus Bastiaan also took another step towards selling the partys Melbourne headquarters, in a contentious decision to start the process to appoint agents for the sale. The decisions are further examples of the power of the administrative committee at the top of the state division, which is also preparing to choose candidates for the Victorian upper house without giving branch members a vote on the selections. Mr Kroger, Mr Bastiaan and allies including conservative Karina Okotel, a federal vice president of the party, secured a majority to endorse all federal MPs in a contested decision that saw one committee member abstain and three members vote against. I need your help with something. Probably like you, I feel Ive been swamped with coverage of the weekends Super Saturday byelections, telling me they were all frightfully important, and highly instructive. So instructive, in fact, they apparently turned our political landscape upside down: within 24 hours, we went from Bill Shortens leadership being under threat, to Malcolm Turnbulls being the same; from a government resurgent to a government marooned and impotent. But heres the problem: I just dont see it. The more I looked at Super Saturday, the less it seemed to say. Except perhaps that us media types seem remarkably capable of moving from one confident pronouncement to its precise opposite without even pausing to blush. Labor candidate for Longman Susan Lamb and Bill Shorten claim victory. Credit:AAP Lets take the narrative that now has Turnbull in trouble. This boils down to the result in Longman where an optimistic LNP saw itself trounced by nearly 9 per cent, with its primary vote freefalling about the same amount to below 30 per cent. The argument goes that this is a disaster for three main reasons: 1) this seat is almost always a Coalition seat, which Labor only pinched in 2016 on the back of One Nation preferences; 2) this time, One Nation directed its preferences to the LNP which should have ruined Labors chances; and 3) the LNP had run a long, concerted campaign there. And sure, when lined up that way it looks ominous. But then I looked closer. With every swipe and tap of your finger your smartphone, and its apps, are building a picture of just who is using it. That is a key finding in new research out of the CSIRO that warns consumers their distinctive finger gestures could be harvested by data-hungry app developers. The research from CSIROs Data61 division describes touch based tracking which sees your device extracting data on how you tap, zoom, and swipe, including the velocity and acceleration of the movements. Professor Mohamed Dali Kaafar, group leader at Information Security and Privacy at Data61, told Fairfax Media, using a single app for an hour provides enough information to distinguish a user from over a billion others. London: Standing tall in the Wiltshire countryside for centuries, Stonehenge is perhaps the most English of monuments. But a new study suggests that it was actually built by the Welsh. Although it was known that the bluestones of the megalithic monument had been brought from the Preseli Hills in Wales, it was generally thought the builders travelled there from modern-day Wiltshire. Stonehenge, the still-mysterious circle of stones and burial mounds may be Welsh. Credit:NYTNS However, isotope analysis by Oxford University and University College London of the skulls of people buried at the 5000-year-old Neolithic monument show unmistakable Welsh origins. Isotopes of elements occur everywhere in the environment, and those that are in the food we eat or the water we drink become incorporated into our tissue and bones. By looking at the different ratios, it is possible to work out where and when a person lived based on their isotope make-up. Bird introduced me to Adam Malek, pastor of Faith United Presbyterian Church. Malek helped organize the community dinner, which began at his church. People from other churches wanted to help, he said, which led to the weekly rotation. Malek said the idea is modeled after a community meal at a previous congregation he served in Lansing. NORWALK The Norwalk Zoning Commission approved an application for a medical marijuana dispensary at 495 Connecticut Ave. Thursday evening. The decision, less than two months after the Westport Planning and Zoning Commission approved a plan for a medical marijuana dispensary at 1460 Post Road E., only eight miles away, has left people wondering whether the state would really award two out of the 10 possible licenses for new medical marijuana dispensaries so close together. I would assume that the state would not approve two facilities back to back, said Zoning Commissioner Louis Schulman at Thursdays public hearing. Lora Rae Anderson, spokeswoman for the state Department of Consumer Protection, which awards the licenses, confirmed on Friday afternoon that geographic distribution is a consideration, although it does not trump larger concerns such as quality security plans. In fact, one of the reasons we issued a new RFA, or request for applications, was because there are growing numbers of patients, and that means more patients without a facility near them, she said. We hope to make dispensary facilities more accessible to patients once we have new facilities open. Medical marijuana dispensaries have been placed closely together in the past in the last round of applications, two dispensaries were awarded licenses to operate out of Milford. But Anderson explained that only 17 complete applications had been filled out that year, and nine of those were for dispensaries in Milford. In contrast, there are 73 applications this year. So we certainly have a diverse array of applications in a number of cities, Anderson said. Hopefully we will be able to award licenses in a way that dispensary facilities are distributed equally throughout the state. While the fate of Norwalks possible 3,000-square-foot medical marijuana facility, run by Healthport LLC, now lies with the state, it met little resistance at the city level. The public hearing was sparsely attended, with only three people voicing concerns, all staff or owners of other businesses in the building where Healthport would be located. All three said they were not opposed to medical marijuana, but had fears about whether the parking lot would be able to handle the traffic. Jeffrey Pivor, a dentist who works on the second floor of the building, also had concerns about security and the odors wafting up to his office. Joshua Storms, one of the owners of Healthport, addressed security protocols. Until a patient has a marijuana card, they cannot even enter the facility, deliveries will be randomized and the medical marijuana cannot be opened in the building or parking lot, he said. Eighteen indoor and six outdoor security cameras will monitor the premises. As for the smell, Storms said, Our processes for controlling the odor are thorough. Its not just a regular HVAC system. Its a multi-layer system thats basically very analogous to the flow a compounding hood would use. So it really does control the odor. Lauren Leo, the facilities manager, gave a testimonial about the medical marijuana results she has seen in the past. Seeing cancer patients able to eat, able to sleep, she said. It just became very, very rewarding. Healthport LLC has also been approved to open a medical marijuana dispensary at 61 Commercial Boulevard in Torrington. The companys Norwalk application was approved with conditions, including filtering any odors and receiving the final sign-off from all appropriate departments. rschuetz@hearstmediact.com; @raschuetz WESTPORT High school juniors had the highest SAT scores in both math and reading among any district in the state, according to school-administered SAT results released Wednesday. Westports rise comes amid an overall stumble in state SAT scores that saw an 8-point drop in language arts scores and a four-point decrease in math scores. While Staples High School had one of the highest average math scores in the state at 610 points with a rare 1-point increase over last years scores Westports 2018 language arts score, which averaged 610 points, exceeded the scores of all other districts, despite falling seven points behind 2017 scores. Both are out of a possible score of 800. Darien scored higher than Westport in both categories last year, but saw a steep 26- and 24-point decline in math and english scores, respectively, putting Darien behind Westport in both subjects this year. Fairfield Ludlowe High School, like Westports math score, was a rare success store among 2018 scores and pulled a 583 in math 9 points higher than last year and did better in language arts as well with an average score of 590 7 points higher than in 2017. Statewide, average language arts scores remain higher than the grade-level score of 480 set by the state when it adopted the SAT as the states standardized test for 11th-graders three years ago. For the third year in a row, more than 60 percent of juniors taking the test scored at or above the expected target. Average math scores have yet to reach the grade-level score of 530. In math, 40.3 percent of students met or exceed the target. The score decline cut across every category in reading. In math, the one increase was for students who qualify for free meals, which rose from an average score of 435 to 440. In that, Commissioner of Education Dianna Wentzell took some solace. While results have remained relatively stable over the last three years, we are encouraged by the bright spots in the results of this years SAT School Day including a majority of students mastering college and career readiness in English language arts and an increase in achievement in mathematics for students from low-income backgrounds, Wentzell said in a prepared statement. She said the Connecticut SAT School Day serves as an accountability assessment measure, but also provides all high school juniors the opportunity to take a college readiness exam at no cost. The SAT is one of two tests many colleges still look to when admitting students. The results, in addition to measuring student performance, can also be used by students applying to college. Our goal is to make sure all of our students are prepared to succeed in college and their careers, Wentzell said. To that end, we are dedicated to supporting districts efforts to close achievement gaps and raise student performance across the board. As for why overall scores went down, state officials said one reason is that different kids are taking the test each year. It is hard to say why the achievement of this group of 11th-graders was slightly lower than that of the group from 2016-17, said Peter Yazbak, a state Department of Education spokesman. He also characterized the change as narrow. Statewide, 95.2 percent of high school juniors about 37,900 students took the test last spring. For many, testing occurred on a make up day in April, since on March 21, the designated SAT Day, many schools canceled classes because of an expected noreaster. svaughan@ hearstmediact.com; 203-842-2638; @SophieCVaughan1 Courts Premium You do not deserve the title father victims reveal how they suffered horrific sexual crimes as County Wexford man is jailed for five years Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 3) All congressman, including opposition solons, will get a piece of the pie, House Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo assured on Friday. The former President said she saw the list of representatives who were slapped with zero budget under former House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez. She noted that these same congressmen opposed her election -- but she would not take it against them. "No, no, no," Arroyo said when asked if anyone would receive zero budget. "Nakita ko na listahan ng zero budget. Bibigyan lahat ng budget as gesture of goodwill." "I was supposed to make a proper announcement pero nasabi ko na, meron nga akong listahan and halos lahat nga [were] opposing me -- pero ganun pa man as a gesture of goodwill, hindi sila bibigyan ng zero." [Translation: I've seen the zero budget list. Everyone is getting a budget as a gesture of goodwill. I was supposed to make a proper announcement but as I said, I have a list and almost everyone there opposed me -- but nonetheless, as a gesture of goodwill, they won't be getting zero.] Under Alvarez, about 24 congressmen critical of the administration were denied funds. The Davao del Norte Representative also slapped the Commission on Human Rights with a measly P1,000 budget, although this was later undone at the bicameral level. He threatened solons with zero budget again earlier this year if they did not support federalism but he later dismissed the statement as a joke. RELATED: Alvarez: Infra budget of opposition solons realigned to fund free tuition, police salary Akbayan Representative Tom Villarin previously told CNN Philippines that Alvarez's zero budget threats were one of the factors in his ouster later on. Arroyo said she did not attend the last meeting of the ruling party, PDP-Laban, of which she is a member. The party has been divided amid a split between two factions and talk that some congressmen there would move to Arroyo's party Lakas-CMD. RELATED: PDP-Laban could be 'erased from political landscape' - lawmaker Alvarez was present, and he announced he was moving on from his controversial ouster. There was also talk of congressmen recommending Arroyo as PDP-laban Secretary General, a position Alvarez still holds. Arroyo claimed she is not into politicking. "If we concentrate on the legislation and also constituency servicing like this and less on politics, I think we can achieve more," she said. This past week, the former President helped distribute relief goods in Pampanga and Bataan. On Friday morning, she delivered dredging equipment in Calumpit, Bataan. She said she hoped the public would not read into her activities, and maintained that she was not after a higher position. The House Speaker is supportive of charter change, which have led her critics to believe that she is still after more power. The upper house is not so keen on shifting to federalism, at least with Arroyo around. While she enjoys popularity at the lower house, Arroyo has yet to win over the Senate, where she had made a number of enemies. CNN Philippines Correspondent Joyce Ilas contributed to this report. The English language is spoken by more than 1.5 billion people around the world but we dont all speak it exactly the same way, even within the same country. Put someone from Louisiana together with someone from Massachusetts, for instance, and they might not understand one another. That's because American English is so diverse. Accents and pronunciations vary between regions. For example, it's easy to tell you're from the South if you pronounce "caramel" with three syllables. Different states also have their own unique slang words that describe things that don't exist elsewhere or that come from languages spoken by people who settled there. Other English terms have spread across entire regions, dividing the country into sections based on different words people use for the same object and things can get heated when people argue that their region's term is superior. Whether you call it a "sofa" or a "couch," here are 26 word variations that are a dead giveaway of where you're from. (This story originally appeared on The Active Times .) The continued killing of American schoolchildren by men with guns has prompted many artistic responses. This monologue, by the American playwright Martin Zimmerman, was written in direct response to the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in which 20 children aged between six and seven years-old and six teachers were killed by 20 year-old Adam Lanza. Since then, there have been 130 recorded firearms incidents in US schools and campuses. With horrible emphasis, the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland, Florida, which left 17 dead in February this year, happened at the same time as this production was going into rehearsal. So there's no doubting the urgency of a continued examination of the roots of such violence or the originality of Zimmerman's approach, which takes the testimony of an unnamed single mother whose much loved son Michael becomes a shooter's victim. She is an educator herself and the play opens with her description of a dream in which she imagines one of her male pupils, full of entitlement, shooting her. But when her son dies, it is not the gunman's motivation that overwhelms her; in her grief, she becomes seduced and fascinated by the assault rifle he used, finding that when she holds and fires a similar gun, her son appears to her. Her obsession with the weapon itself, takes her in unexpected and frightening directions and leads her to a terrifying conclusion. "To shoot a weapon is to merge yourself completely with the needs of another beingIt is an act not unlike parenting". It's an interesting notion and under the sleek direction of Christopher Haydon, it is powerfully performed by Polly Frame, standing amid a tangle of florescent light tubes (design by Frankie Bradshaw), that pulse and glow when she exhales, finding the still moment of calm that she needs to tell her story and to fire a gun. Donato Wharton's soundscape of muffled explosions and expelled breath adds to the effect. But Zimmerman's language detracts from the direct impact. He is fond of an overwrought phrase "the oasis of Michael's smile", a gun with "an obsidian stare", a "sea of mourning parents" and that straining for effect when his subject really does not need it, turns the play into a heartfelt melodrama. Include a visit to The Dark Side of F Street in your Halloween hauntings! Take some canned foods and grocery ... When you see the flags flying at schools, you dont generally think about who put them up or how they... A Winnipeg Water Services crew gets ready to drill holes in the northbound lanes of McPhillips Street between College Avenue and Redwood Avenue Monday morning after a severe water main break buckled the pavement. We are approaching the time of year that I always dread having to remind people that it is back-to-school time. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 3/8/2018 (1181 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Opinion We are approaching the time of year that I always dread having to remind people that it is back-to-school time. The good news? Not yet. But soon. Lets instead address a more pleasant topic people who head out of the country every winter to escape the cold. My part of that topic is protecting your money, so lets talk about travel insurance and some other tips. The deadline is near to acquire next winters travel health insurance at early-bird rates. The Canadian Snowbird Association (CSA) has just sent out its annual mailing for Medipac, the health insurance provider it endorses. It offers a good range of plans for most people, including some with pre-existing conditions. A quick reminder, though, that there are a lot of health insurance providers out there, some with options and features that fit some people better than others, depending on age and health status. A Winnipeg company that offers independent broker services and works to fit Snowbirds with the best insurance coverage is Medi-Quote Insurance Brokers, formerly Snowbird Medi-Quote. Its website is Mediquote.ca, and it provides an easy, do-it-yourself quote generator to get you started. Since getting the proper insurance coverage can be a complicated process, many people find that having an independent expert on their side is a good idea. Here are some reminders, tips and warnings we have gathered over the years. 1. Dont travel to the United States of America, home of private health insurance, health-care conglomerates and million-dollar doctors, without high quality, high-limit coverage. Treatment for a broken finger runs into many thousands of dollars, while emergency heart surgery will cost several hundreds of thousands. Do not bet your financial security on staying healthy. 2. Before buying, read the actual policy document carefully, noting any exceptions, conditions and other details. 3. Understand the claims procedure, and write down the steps, contact information and any other conditions, so that you or a companion can follow these. In some cases, failing to contact the insurance company prior to treatment can limit the coverage. 4. Fully disclose all current or pre-existing medical conditions. As a result, some conditions might be excluded from coverage, but failure to disclose can void the entire contract. 5. Always keep a record of your departure and return dates. Terry Ritchie, co-author of The Canadian Snowbird in America (ECW Press), has a suggestion to avoid any concerns at the border with regard to residency status. The kit includes required basics like your passport and any other travel documents, but also copies of most recent Canadian tax return or notice of assessment, a utility bill showing your home address in Canada and even proof of ownership of property in Canada, if available. Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. These would provide very good proof to an overzealous foreign border official that you really do reside in Canada, notwithstanding the fact that you are heading south to spend three or four months in a warmer country. This can also be important on the way home. Top tip? Dont talk politics in the United States. I heard the other day that opinions may be a bit polarized there at the moment. Dollars and Sense is meant as an introduction to this topic and should not in any way be construed as a replacement for personalized professional advice. Please consult legal, tax, insurance and investment experts for advice on your unique situation. David Christianson, BA, CFP, R.F.P., TEP, CIM is a recipient of the FELLOW OF FPSCTM Distinction, and recently named in the Top 50 financial advisors in Canada. He is a portfolio manager and senior vice-president with Christianson Wealth Advisors at National Bank Financial Wealth Management, and author of the book Managing the Bull, A No-Nonsense Guide to Personal Finance. Brian Lowes started out washing cars and assisting with sales at a Nissan dealership in Edmonton in 2001 or 2002. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 3/8/2018 (1181 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Brian Lowes started out washing cars and assisting with sales at a Nissan dealership in Edmonton in 2001 or 2002. Now, as president and general manager of Mercedes-Benz Winnipeg, he's just won one of the Canadian auto industry's most prestigious awards the Canadian Automobile Dealers Association's Laureate dealer recognition award, in the retail operations category. The association receives hundreds of nominations, but only three people win, one for each category: ambassadorship, business innovation and retail operations. "This is a very difficult award to win it means a tremendous amount," Lowes said when reached by phone. "It was funny. Time just kind of stopped for a moment it took a few minutes for it to really sink in." The dealership was underperforming, according to June Cotte, a professor at the Ivey Business School at the University of Western Ontario in London, Ont. Lowes took over in 2008, and under his leadership it won the Star Dealer award from Mercedes-Benz in 2015, 2016 and 2017. However, Lowes would not take all of the credit. Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. "What would stand out with us is the team weve been able to build. Certainly the level of commitment, loyalty, dedication to our customers and the brand, and all of our team members interdependently. Thats what sets us apart," Lowes said. "It's a team effort." The industry award isn't just for show 15 finalists in each category are selected by the association, but academics from the Ivey Business School analyze the finalists to select the year's three winners. "It adds legitimacy to the award and to the prestige of it," said Lowes of the selection process. "Brian stands out in a field crowded with incredibly well-run and profitable organizations," said Cotte in a statement. Lowes emphasized that he's grateful to win the award, and hopes to carry on the "tradition of excellence and honour" other winners have set as an example. erik.pindera@freepress.mb.ca Winnipeg's Manitoba Technology Accelerator (MTA) has been added to the list of Canadian entities designated by the federal government to participate in a newly revised program to attract immigrants with startup business ideas. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 2/8/2018 (1182 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Winnipeg's Manitoba Technology Accelerator (MTA) has been added to the list of Canadian entities designated by the federal government to participate in a newly revised program to attract immigrants with startup business ideas. And the MTA plans to use the Start-up Visa Program to make Winnipeg a destination for international entrepreneurs looking for a place to launch their startups. BORIS MINKEVICH / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Manitoba Technology Accelerator CEO Marshall Ring believes the program will help beef up the city's reputation as a great place in Canada to do startups. In April, the federal immigration program targeting quality startup business entrepreneurs was made a permanent program after a three-year pilot, with a three-year budget of $4.5 million. The program requires the applicant to pitch a business plan to a venture capital fund, angel investor group or a business incubator program and then have those firms sign a commitment certificate or letter of support. When it started in 2014 it was the first of its kind in the world. Marshall Ring, MTA's chief executive officer, said since its inclusion on the listing of designated agencies a few weeks ago, it has been getting 10 to 15 inquiries per week. He believes the MTA's inclusion in the program is further acknowledgement of the healthy ecosystem that exists in Winnipeg for new business startups. While the number of participants across the country in the pilot program was modest there were 16 after the first year and a half Ring believes there are significant potential benefits to the city including helping to beef up the city's reputation as a great place in Canada to do startups. "We're getting some good traction and we're pretty excited about the potential that's there," he said. "We think it can help fill some of the talent gaps in the city." He said if the program continues to attract quality applicants, there is the chance MTA could add about 30 new enterprises per year to its client company base. Startups supported by business incubators are exempt from minimum funding requirements but need to be self-financed. (Applicants seeking venture capital of angel group endorsement must secure funding from them for at least $200,000 or $75,000 respectively.) MTA would charge market rates to provide support and mentoring. This program would be like a new international business stream for the incubator which currently receives federal and some provincial operating funds that effectively subsidizes the fees that existing clients of MTA currently pay. In only a few weeks after officially becoming part to the program MTA has signed contracts with one company from Russia and another from Brazil (via the U.S.) Another one from China is in the works. "We will definitely need to expand our footprint and we do have plans to double our size," he said. MTA was the incubator that helped grow Skip the Dishes from a tiny startup from Saskatoon into what is now an international operation with close to 2,000 Winnipeg employees. Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. Dayna Spiring, the CEO of Economic Development Winnipeg, believes it could be a good new tool to attract businesses to the city. Her organization's marketing and outreach arm, Yes! Winnipeg, has already committed to helping to market the program. "Winnipeg is getting a lot of traction these days because of companies like Skip, Bold and 24/7 Intouch. It's exciting," she said. "Marshall is the perfect guy to shepherd this in. He has a great feel for the startup community and what it looks like. We are lucky that he is championing it." Yuri Navaro, the CEO of the National Angel Capital Organization, administers the program on behalf of Immigration Canada for the business incubator and angel capital intake streams. He said the program has always been market driven in that the government has relied on incubators and the angel network and venture capital firms to be the ones who actually do the front end of the work to select the companies that would participate. "The incubator will vet the company on the merits of the business, before immigration officials," Navaro said. "If they decide to accept them into the program at that point, they will write a certificate of acceptance and invite them to apply for immigration." The program does not allow the incubator to charge a fee for the vetting process and Ring said unlike the local companies in its roster, the MTA will not invest in the international startups that it agrees to work with. martin.cash@freepress.mb.ca We take you back in time, a dozen years nearly to the day. This article was published 2/8/2018 (1182 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. We take you back in time, a dozen years nearly to the day. RCMP have surrounded a rural Saskatchewan farmhouse near Kipling, where a notorious convicted pedophile from Ontario is holed up inside with two young boys hes kidnapped and repeatedly raped after several days on the run. The first Amber Alert in provincial history has paid off, with a tipster spotting Peter Whitmores vehicle. And the two random victims, a 10-year-old from Whitewood, Sask., and a 14-year-old from Winnipeg, are alive. After nine hours of negotiations throughout the night, Whitmore surrenders. The boys are rescued and reunited with their families who feared they might never see them again. RCMP unload a robot to deliver a phone to Whitmore on Tuesday August 1, 2006. Police established phone contact with Whitmore to negotiate with him. (Troy Fleece / The Canadian Press files) A community, a province, and a country are relieved. Of course, much damage has been done to the two boys. Theres no telling just how deep the emotional scars run. Whitmore is a seasoned pro, a master manipulator with sex-related convictions involving nearly a dozen children dating back years. Sex offender Peter Whitmore leaves court in Regina in July 2007, after pleading guilty to abducting and sexually assaulting a Saskatchewan boy and a Manitoba teenager. (Troy Fleece / The Canadian Press files) The convoluted way he pulled off his latest crime leaves some in Saskatchewan pointing fingers of blame towards the Winnipeg boy, believing he could have stopped the spree before it claimed a second victim. Whitmore, now 47, is given a life sentence as part of a controversial plea bargain in which a dangerous-offender application is dropped. Despite being eligible for apply for parole, he has yet to do so. "Peter is in Ontario and I speak to him from time to time. For now, he is content with the status quo. In other words, he does not expect to be transferred in the foreseeable future, and he is OK with that for now," his longtime lawyer, Daniel Brodsky, told the Free Press this week. "The community on the outside has not been a hospitable place for him. He is resigned to that fact and lives his life one day at a time." The Saskatchewan boy and his family went to court a few years ago to have the publication ban on their name lifted so they could put a face to their story. Zachary Miller is now 22 years old. He and his parents, Lyle and Pam, have spoken out against the way the criminal justice system deals with repeat sex offenders such as Whitmore. Their case has been documented in a true-crime book, documentary, numerous media interviews, public speaking events and other projects. Meanwhile, the Winnipeg victim and his family, remained anonymous. Now, at age 26, he has decided to speak out. *** MILNER RIDGE CORRECTIONAL CENTRE He tries not to think too much about his past these days, even though it can be all-consuming at times. Its tough to run from your thoughts when youre locked up 24 hours a day, as he has been for the past two years. "I know Im still f----d up. Im never really happy," the Winnipeg man told the Free Press during a lengthy jailhouse interview earlier this summer. Milner Ridge Correctional Centre (Government of Manitoba) Although he has no problem with his name being published, a court-ordered ban has not been lifted. He is close to completing a prison term imposed after the armed robbery of a city convenience store, in which he used a sawed-off shotgun to make off with cash and cigarettes while trying to fuel his drug addiction. Police caught him easily, thanks to a GPS tracker the clerk threw into the bag of loot the man took to his girlfriends house. "I thought I was all good. All of a sudden the sirens were getting closer and closer. The police were all around the house," he says. "It was a stupid idea." Hes to be released in late August on his first adult conviction but isnt sure whats waiting for him. "Im used to it here. This is life for me now. I really dont know where Im going to go," the man says. "Every time Im happy I feel like Ive got to move on. I feel like that wont last. I dont feel like getting too close to people." Every time Im happy I feel like Ive got to move on. I feel like that wont last. I dont feel like getting too close to people. His two young daughters live with their mother in New Brunswick. He barely knows them. Hes spoken with the four- and five-year-olds on the phone a few times, but they dont know hes their father. They call him by his first name. "Shes going to let me come and see them when I get out," he says. Hes also got a family that continues to deal with dysfunction, the result of prolonged domestic abuse along with substance addictions, not to mention the continued fallout from what happened a dozen summers ago. The man's stepdad, after all, had befriended Whitmore as they worked together on highway construction. He allowed the pleasant stranger into their home for a meal and graciously accepted Whitmores gifts of groceries. He gave the pedophile the opportunity to pounce on his stepson. "I never want to see that guy again," he says of his stepdad. They crossed paths on a Winnipeg Transit bus a few years ago, and he said he assaulted the man. CP Whitmore told the Winnipeg teen his stepfather had paid for Whitmore to take him away. (RCMP Handout) All those years ago, Whitmore grabbed the Winnipeg boy and ran off, telling him he was ex-military who had his family under constant surveillance and would kill them all if he told anyone about what was happening. He also told the teen his stepdad had "paid him" to take him away. He was armed with a knife and a fake handgun. They stayed in campgrounds as they headed west. Whitmore showed him child pornography and repeatedly molested him. When they got to Saskatchewan a few days later, they came across the Miller family and Whitmore had his next target. He approached under the guise of wanting to buy fresh eggs from their farm. But he was really laying a trap, presenting a bogus story of how they were new to the area following his wife's recent death from cancer. The house of 10-year-old Zachary Miller is seen in July 2006, as police were frantically searching for the two missing boys. Whitmore approached under the guise of wanting to buy fresh eggs from their farm. But he was really laying a trap, presenting a bogus story of how they were new to the area following his wife's recent death from cancer. (Troy Fleece / The Canadian Press files) Whitmore passed off the Winnipeg boy as his nephew, and the terrified victim didnt say otherwise even when briefly left alone in the Miller home. It is for this reason many in the community, including the Miller family, were initially angry with him for what happened to young Zachary. "I dont really blame them. I did have lots of chances. I was really f----d up in the head. I was scared for my family. I didnt know what to believe," says the Winnipegger. "He really f----d with my head lots, telling me my family was being watched. If I tried to leave, my family was done." He was ordered to take Zachary on a bike ride to see a haunted house. Whitmore was waiting around the corner to grab them. Zachary was gagged with duct tape, tied up and wrapped in a blanket. The Winnipeg boy helped to restrain him. He says as a father himself now, he understands why people might have been angry with him initially. "I cant really blame them. I think about my kids, and how I would have felt," he says. Bedding inside a house that Peter Whitmore used near Kipling, Sask., is seen in a photo used as evidence in court. (Don Healy / Leader-Post) Once they had Zachary, Whitmore escalated his sexual abuse while they were holed up in the abandoned farmhouse. He even forced the Winnipeg boy to participate in sexual acts on Zachary while feeding them both dog food, water and crackers. "I tried talking to him, helping him through it a little bit. Peter told him my family didnt care about me, that they sold me," he says. "When we got found, Zach told me if your family doesnt want you back, I can go there with his family." *** After returning to regular life, he said, things were never the same. He moved to Quebec to live in a First Nations community with family members, but the situation only got worse. He briefly underwent trauma counselling but began having suicidal thoughts. He was arrested and jailed several times as a youth and got into repeated fights with band officers. "I got given a lot of chances. Every week it seemed I was sitting in a holding cell," he says. "I think it was just a lot of emotional stuff that I never dealt with. Stuff come up that I had buried." There were also two suicide attempts. The first, at age 16, involved using a shirt to make a noose around his neck while in a holding cell. A guard "came by at the right time" to stop him. At 17, he consumed a large quantity of Tylenol 3s and was found unconscious in his house by his girlfriend. He was rushed to the hospital to have his stomach pumped. "If she didnt show up, I probably would have died there," he says. Any problems that I have, I dont like to blame them on a certain thing that happened to me. Despite his rocky life, the Winnipeg man tries not to play the blame game even if there appears to be a ready-made excuse for him to jump on. What person could could endure such abuse as a young teenager and not come out of it messed up? "It sickens me. Theres nothing I can do about it now," he says. "But any problems that I have, I dont like to blame them on a certain thing that happened to me." He admits hes thought about what hed say to Whitmore if given a chance. Turns out, hed let his actions do the talking. "I wouldnt want to speak to him. Being alone in a room with him, I wouldnt mind that," he says. "For a long time growing up, I was always thinking of getting myself thrown into a penitentiary in Saskatchewan and finding him. Getting a shank and stabbing him as much as I can." *** Dr. Fred Shane, a criminal psychiatrist who has given expert testimony at hundreds of criminal cases in Canada, said it's not surprising this man's life has spiralled downward in the dozen years since he was victimized. "Whatever course he was on, a trauma of this nature is profound and can be devastating in terms of ones emotional growth and can precipitate significant problems such as an individual certainly becoming plagued by symptoms of the post traumatic stress disorder," Shane told the Free Press. "For individuals who have been traumatized in this type of context, they are usually plagued by intermittent or ongoing recurring thoughts, flashbacks and intrusive thoughts about the trauma. It has a major impact upon, depending on the severity of the trauma, an individuals behaviour. It may profoundly impact their ability to work, socialize, care, love, and obtain an education." A CRIMINAL HISTORY Twenty years of Peter Whitmore's troubling history of abduction and sexual offences. Peter Whitmore is seen in an undated photo released after he was located in Mexico in 2000, when wanted on a warrant for breaching court orders. (The Canadian Press files) click to read more 1993: Peter Whitmore is convicted of abduction and five sexual offences involving four young boys in Toronto. He is sentenced to one year, four months in custody. 1995: Whitmore, who posed as a professional babysitter, is sentenced to five years in jail for sexual offences, including the abduction and confinement of an eight-year-old girl and sexual interference with a nine-year-old boy. He is banned from being close to children under age 14 for the rest of his life. 2000: Less than a month after his release, Whitmore is found in a downtown Toronto motel with a 13-year-old boy. He is sentenced to one year in jail for breaching a court order. 2002: A Toronto judge sentences Whitmore to three years in jail for probation violations because he fled to British Columbia after being found in the company of a five-year-old boy. March 2004: A National Parole Board report notes clinicians believe Whitmore has a "100 per cent probability of recidivism." June 16, 2005: Whitmore is released after serving his entire three-year sentence, and takes up residence in Chilliwack, B.C. June 2, 2006: RCMP issue a news release saying Whitmore will be visiting the area of Morinville, Alta., for a few days. June 15, 2006: After returning to British Columbia for a brief time, Whitmore comes back to Morinville. He willingly tells police he's back. RCMP set a court date so Whitmore can legally extend his stay, but he never shows up. Early July 2006: Whitmore surfaces in Newfoundland and Labrador, where he is renting a property, and tells neighbours he has two sons back home in B.C. he plans to go get and return with. July 22, 2006: Whitmore is in Winnipeg, where he randomly befriends a 14-year-old boy through the man's stepfather, who he meets on a roadside construction site. He abducts the teen and heads west. July 30, 2006: RCMP issue an Amber Alert for a 10-year-old Saskatchewan boy believed to have been abducted by Whitmore. Aug. 1, 2006: A vehicle matching the description of the one Whitmore was driving is spotted near Kipling, Sask., by a local farmer. When RCMP arrive, the 10-year-old boy runs out of some brush on the property. Whitmore surrenders after a nearly 10-hour standoff with police, freeing the 14-year-old boy. Aug. 3, 2006: Whitmore appears in Regina court, charged with numerous crimes including kidnapping, sexual assault causing bodily harm, threats, weapons and child pornography offences. July 23, 2007: Whitmore pleads guilty to his crimes and is given a life sentence with no chance of parole for at least seven years from his date of arrest. Aug. 1, 2013: Whitmore becomes eligible to apply for parole. He has yet to do so. Mike McIntyre Close Shane, who has worked with survivors of concentration camps, residential schools and war veterans, says this young man would share many traits of their trauma. "His ability to survive in the community will be a reflection of his vulnerability to stresses, to the presence of drugs, the impact of his PTSD symptoms and his resilience. Resilience is very important in terms of people being able to cope after experiencing significant traumas. "Rape victims have their own specific issues with which they have to deal. There are many who cope with their lives and are able to tolerate the dysfunctional mental experience and connect with others in a loving way and sustain stable functioning in the community," said Shane. "The odds against this young man being able to cope in the future are of the nature that he will probably remain at risk for significant psychological dysfunction. Having said this, he is young. It is very important he obtain appropriate psychological support to help him cope with his symptoms and help him deal with any depression, suicidal issues, potential drug abuse and dealing with any antisocial behaviour. "He has a history of all of these issues and as well his family supports appear to be very fragile. He is also a father of two children with whom he has little contact and I think it is very questionable whether he had the personal resources to be a stable father. Again having said this, it is critical he become involved with a mental health therapist in the community for ongoing emotional support and guidance in his life," said Shane. *** The Winnipeg man said he is trying to put the anger behind him and focus on making the most of a fresh start once he tastes freedom later this summer. He understands the odds are stacked against him. "Honestly, I dont have time for regrets. If you look back, its done. Theres nothing you can do about it," he says, attributing his outlook on life to several Robert Greene books hes read while behind bars. "People spend too much time in the past. Theyre not in the present moment enough," he says. Honestly, I dont have time for regrets. If you look back, its done. Theres nothing you can do about it." But there will always be lingering regrets about what happened. Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. "I could have said something when he left me at the Miller home. I could have run away. I could have done any number of things, but its in the past. "I was just young. He was in my head. He f----d with my head and s--t. I thought at the time I was helping my family by keeping him away from them," he says. "I used to have a lot (of anger), but I dont see a point anymore. Why give him that satisfaction?" As for thoughts about how life might have played out had he not been victimized by Whitmore? "It would have been really different," he says. "Im not thankful that it happened, but its made me who I am now." The abandoned farmhouse in Kipling, Sask., where Peter Whitmore held his kidnapping victims in 2006 was set ablaze during filming of a movie in 2009. (Gil Segovia / Digital Noise Photography) A Manitoba court has rejected a legal challenge by one of the provinces most notorious killers. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 3/8/2018 (1181 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. A Manitoba court has rejected a legal challenge by one of the provinces most notorious killers. Denis Jerome Labossiere wanted Manitobas Court of Queens Bench to hear his claims that Stony Mountain prison officers withheld evidence of his alleged involvement in in-custody violence before they moved him to segregation and later redesignated him as a maximum-security inmate. His habeus corpus motion was dismissed Thursday, because the court decided it doesnt have jurisdiction to hear his case while hes in custody in Alberta. In 2012, Labossiere was convicted of three counts of first-degree murder for ordering the shooting deaths of his parents and his brother in 2005 over a dispute about how the family farm was being run. He was sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 25 years. An affidavit filed in support of Labossieres claim says he was in medium security at Stony Mountain Institution, north of Winnipeg, before he was accused of orchestrating two violent assaults in April and August 2015, the latter of which ended with the death of a fellow inmate. Both times, Labossiere claims, correctional officials accused him of ordering low-ranking Manitoba Warriors gang members to carry out the attacks. He claims he was told correctional staff had information and video evidence against him, but Labossiere said he was never shown any evidence and continues to deny his involvement. Police investigated both incidents, but Labossiere was not criminally charged. Afterward, he spent about a month in segregation and was later transferred to a federal prison in Prince Albert, Sask. Hes now in medium security at an Alberta prison, but his lawyer said Labossiere is concerned his time in segregation and maximum security will affect his chance of getting released on parole. He still has more than a decade to serve before he can apply for parole. Although the court documents dont include the names of the inmates who were victimized in the attacks, 33-year-old Clayton Korski was killed while serving a life sentence at Stony Mountain in August 2015. Fellow inmate Tommy Raymond Miles was sentenced in January after he pleaded guilty to manslaughter in Korskis death. Court heard there were seven inmates present when Korski was stabbed to death. Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. Lawyer Zilla Jones, who was appointed by Legal Aid to represent Labossiere on the motion, said he will have to relaunch his legal challenge in Alberta if he wants to pursue it. The case is one of many that have raised concerns about overuse of segregation and lack of disclosure in correctional institutions, she said. An in-custody death should never happen, and correctional staff have to uphold security concerns when it does, Jones said. "But it doesnt take away the obligation of the jail to provide disclosure to people about how theyre being dealt with. So, if you think someones involved in an incident, you do have to at least give them the courtesy of telling them enough information about that, so they can defend themselves or take responsibility or do whatever it is they need to do," she said. "I understand theres a balance between that and protecting informants and that type of thing, but I dont know if were getting the balance right yet in this province." A representative for the Correctional Service of Canada was not available for comment. katie.may@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @thatkatiemay The Winnipeg Regional Health Authority hasnt had a full slate of anesthesiologists for more than a year, forcing a number of surgery cancellations over the past several months. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 2/8/2018 (1182 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. The Winnipeg Regional Health Authority hasnt had a full slate of anesthesiologists for more than a year, forcing a number of surgery cancellations over the past several months. The region's limited team is a symptom of a province-wide shortage, experts say. "In order to cover the existing demand for anesthesia services, the WRHA would require a minimum of 100 anesthesiologists working at full time," a spokesperson for the health authority said in a statement Thursday. There are 120 anesthesiologists who work in the WRHA at present, but not all of them work a full-time schedule in clinical practice. Some work in private clinics, hold administrative or teaching roles, or work part-time. Anesthesiologists, otherwise known as anesthetists, are physicians with expert knowledge about the amnesia-inducing drugs used during surgeries to minimize pain and put patients under. They work in all operating rooms where amnesia is required, and can also be found in intensive care units, maternity wards and chronic pain clinics. The limited availability hasn't affected any emergency surgery wait lists, Krista Williams, chief health operations officer at the WRHA, said in a statement Wednesday. However, it has impacted elective procedures. More than 80 per cent of surgical slate (the set amount of time in an operating suite) cancellations this spring, between April 1 and June 30, were due to concurrent conflicts for the surgeon and the anesthesiologist, the WRHA said. An anesthesiologist's availability was cited as one of the reasons for a cancellation -- most of which took place before patients were booked into the slot -- in 2.5 per cent of scheduled slates. Williams said the WRHA has been able to mitigate most of the need by booking surgeries in back-to-back blocks, as opposed to one-off surgeries, and transferring anesthesiologists who practice with adults on pediatric cases "where appropriate and safe to do so." "The WRHA has been actively working to expand our pool of anesthetists for the past number of months," she said. "Due to a number of factors, including simultaneous retirements and moves that took place across a short period of time, the region has not had a full complement of anesthesiologists for over a year." Douglas Duval of the Canadian Anesthesiologists' Society told the Free Press there's a concern about anesthesia being a "bit of a bottleneck" when it comes to wait times both at present, and in the future, across the country. The Edmonton-based anesthesiologist said Manitoba has been specifically "identifying a need" for the specialized physicians. "Its not a nice phenomenon." Nearly a quarter of Canadian anesthesiologists reported they felt overworked in their discipline, according to the latest Canadian Medical Association workforce study. The study results show the average professional works 55 hours every week -- excluding on-call services, which account for another 80 hours every month. Nurses have had "longstanding concerns" about a province-wide anesthesiologist shortage, said Darlene Jackson, president of the Manitoba Nurses Union. They are especially concerned about lengthy wait times for elective surgeries that could significantly improve a patient's quality of life, she said. "That's extremely upsetting for patients and their families and it's frustrating for all of the other health-care professionals who want the best for patients," NDP health critic Andrew Swan agreed, adding it isn't the first time he's heard of such a shortage. "Earlier this year, it came out that there was a huge shortage of anesthesiologists in Brandon, that was resulting in cancellations of many, many surgeries. Those doctors had left and they hadn't found anyone to replace them," he said. Virginia Shemeliuk travelled 100 kilometres south to Brandon from Sandy Lake to get kidney stones removed in February. She said she arrived at the hospital at 9:30 a.m. and didn't get into surgery until 7 p.m. because the surgeon's nurse practicioner told her there simply weren't enough anesthesiologists available. "I had to be watched closely as well, because I have extremely low blood oxygen levels, which makes it even more imperative that I be monitored. It was a long day for everyone," she said Thursday. "It wasn't anyone's 'fault,' just not enough anesthesiologists to do the job." A full complement of anesthesiologists in Brandon would be the equivalent of eight full-time staff. The city is roughly three short of that number, said Penny Gilson, chief executive officer of Prairie Mountain Health. In the long-term, Gilson said her team in Brandon and colleagues across the province are looking to "recruit aggressively." Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. Cameron Friesen, minister of health, seniors and active living, said he's aware there are more vacancies than normal, and recruitment work is underway. The problem doesn't just stem from physicians packing up and leaving for greener pastures, the Canadian Anesthesiologists' Society president said, pointing at retirement. According to CMA data, about 41 per cent of anesthesiologists in 2017 were 55 or older. Duval said that means Manitoba needs to look at "ramping up" the funding provided to post-grad training programs and looking for international medical graduates to fill the gaps. "We don't want to be the limiting factor. We don't want to be the bottleneck. We don't want to be the reason that's behind limiting services." maggie.macintosh@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @macintoshmaggie Manitoba has a new health minister who, like his predecessor, wont be the governments spokesman on womens reproductive health or reproductive rights. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 3/8/2018 (1181 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Manitoba has a new health minister who, like his predecessor, wont be the governments spokesman on womens reproductive health or reproductive rights. Cameron Friesen, who was appointed to the new position Wednesday after being finance minister since 2016, said Rochelle Squires, the minister responsible for the status of women, will continue to represent the government on those files. "In my conversations thus far with the premier, I believe that we will continue in the same approach that weve done thus far with those issues entrusted to the minister responsible for womens issues," Friesen said. "I dont think that theres any Manitoban who is disputing the fact that health is big. So I believe I will have plenty to occupy my time with. That minister (Squires) has already some expertise with her time on that file." The NDP repeatedly criticized former health minister Kelvin Goertzen for deflecting questions about abortions and the pregnancy-termination medication Mifegymiso to Squires. Rochelle Squires: remains spokeswoman NDP health critic Andrew Swan went on the offensive again Wednesday. "Its weird to have another male health minister who is not allowed to talk about female parts. Look: womens reproductive health is very important not just to 50 per cent of the population, but to most of the population," Swan said. "And to have a health minister... to have a new male minister whos not going to talk about things like the abortion pill, whos not going to talk about providing reproductive services is a big mistake and its not fair to Manitoba women." In an interview, Squires said she is proud to advance womens issues and is "always passionate about all things pertaining to women and equality in the province of Manitoba." She talked about teamwork among cabinet ministers and said Premier Brian Pallister has empowered all members to work together. "Its an honour to be the minister responsible for the status of women and I will continue to do that. I will also be hosting my first gender-based violence committee of cabinet very soon. It is something that we had announced awhile ago because its reflective of womens issues, they transcend all cabinet portfolios and all government departments. So its really bringing all ministers together so that we can ensure that were advancing womens issues at an appropriate pace," she said. Nadine Sookermany, executive director of the Womens Health Clinic in Winnipeg, was critical of the government. MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Womens Health Clinic boss Nadine Sookermany says the approach is unfair to women. "In (Wednesdays) cabinet shuffle, the government... had an opportunity to respond to the concerns raised by Manitobans about not including abortion under the health portfolio and they chose not to respond. Continuing to exclude reproductive and sexual health from the health portfolio, while continuing to place it under the status of women, dismisses it from being a health issue," she wrote in an email. Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. "An abortion is one of the most common medical procedures Canadians receive. While we appreciate Minister Squires work on access to abortion, in order to further promote access for northern and rural areas, this health service needs to be provided within the framework of an equitable health care policy and not simply womens rights. Health care is health care." On Thursday, the Free Press asked spokespeople from all provincial and territorial health offices whether their health ministers were responsible for discussing womens health issues, or if they relegated the duty to another minister. Eight of 13 responded. Representatives from British Columbia, Alberta, Yukon, Ontario, Quebec and Newfoundland and Labrador said their health ministers are in charge of womens health duties. A spokesperson from Nova Scotia said their health department provides leadership and will consult with other authorities, like a status of women council, as needed. In Saskatchewan, some health-care issues "have wide implications for all of government and therefore require ministers from different portfolios to collaborate," a government spokesperson said in an email, noting these decisions are "made on a case-by-case basis." jessica.botelho@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @_jessbu Anger erupted in a Winnipeg courtroom Thursday, as a judge ruled a teenage girl who killed 19-year-old Serena McKay will serve a three-year youth sentence for manslaughter. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 2/8/2018 (1182 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Anger erupted in a Winnipeg courtroom Thursday, as a judge ruled a teenage girl who killed 19-year-old Serena McKay will serve a three-year youth sentence for manslaughter. The teen, who will turn 18 on Sunday, is expected to spend two years in custody and another year on supervision in the community as she receives treatment for alcohol and drug abuse as part of her sentence. It is the maximum youth sentence that can be imposed for manslaughter under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, the same legislation that prohibits publication of the accused's identity. Provincial court Judge Lindy Choy's decision was met with rage from McKay's stepfather and a family friend, who shouted at the teen as she was ushered out of the courtroom and who swore at a group of court sheriffs who tried to defuse the confrontation. "No justice!" Roland Mousseau yelled in the courtroom, where McKay's family and friends wore red T-shirts bearing her name. Moments later, after the family gathered in a prayer circle on the front steps of the courthouse, Mousseau said he questioned why the court deemed McKay's killers worthy of lower sentences because they were underage at the time of the attack. "I'm very upset by the justice system," McKay's stepfather said. The Crown had asked for a seven-year adult prison sentence for the teen, who was 16 when she and a 17-year-old girl drunkenly beat McKay after an April 2017 house party on Sagkeeng First Nation. The pair recorded the attack, and left a helpless McKay to freeze to death while they went back inside and boasted about the two-against-one fight. The then-17-year-old co-accused sent videos of the beating to friends on social media, and copies -- showing McKay on the ground, her swollen and bloodied face being pummelled and stomped as the girl sentenced Thursday screamed "I don't want to f---ing see her alive!" -- were posted online for the world to see. The videos attracted international attention to the last moments of McKay's life, and, Choy said, to the "outstanding cruelty" the two teens inflicted on their high school classmate. Steve Lambert / The Canadian Press Roland Mousseau (left) and Delores Daniels (middle-right) speak to reporters after a youth was sentenced in the beating death of Daniels' daughter, Serena McKay, on the Sagkeeng First nation, in Winnipeg on Thursday, August 2, 2018. Mousseau, who was the victim's stepfather, erupted in court and shouted that the youth sentence given out Thursday was not nearly enough. "What could she have possibly said or done in the space of a few hours to warrant you beating her so badly?" Choy asked as she delivered her decision. "It's clear that you had no mercy." But the judge said she gave "significant weight" to the opinion of a forensic psychiatrist who assessed the teen and found she was acting like an adolescent at the time of the attack, not like an adult. "I find that as appalling and cruel as (her) actions were, she did not exhibit adult-like behaviour and judgment," Choy said. The teen's older co-accused pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and received the maximum seven-year youth sentence for that charge. The younger girl was blackout drunk when she started the beating, so she couldn't legally have had the intent to commit murder, Choy acknowledged. "We didn't get what we deserved. My daughter didn't get what she deserved." Delores Daniels, McKay's mother She pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter, and her defence lawyers argued she should receive the maximum youth sentence rather than being imprisoned in an adult penitentiary. She was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and used drugs and alcohol to cope with being sexually assaulted more than once in her youth, court heard. Because her co-accused was sentenced as a youth, it made sense the younger girl should serve a youth sentence as well, Choy said, noting unlike her co-accused, she spoke to a school counsellor about the beating the day after McKay's body was found and later turned herself in to RCMP. The judge backtracked slightly after she announced her intention to impose two years of probation at the end of the teen's three-year sentence, only to be informed by Crown and defence lawyers the law doesn't allow for probation in cases such as this. Crown prosecutor Jennifer Comack declined to comment Thursday when asked if the Crown would consider appealing Choy's decision. FACEBOOK Serena McKay McKay's family said they feel the justice system has failed them. "We expected an adult sentence," McKay's mother, Delores Daniels, said outside court, flanked by her sons, Mousseau and other relatives. They'll remember McKay as a strong young woman who, just two months away from earning her high school diploma, was in the process of getting her education and bettering her life when she was killed, Daniels said. "We didn't get what we deserved. My daughter didn't get what she deserved." Serena McKay was watching in the courtroom when Choy sentenced her older brother, Alexander, for robbery, he recalled Thursday, questioning the judge's decision to impose a three-year sentence for the death of his sister. "The last time I seen her was in the courtroom when I got sentenced. That was the last time I seen her," he said Thursday. Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. "It's important to me (to be here) because she's my little sister and I gotta be here to support her. You know, I missed out on so much these past years for being incarcerated and I just, I feel like I gotta make it up to her somehow for being away." The penalty for taking a life Choy imposed Thursday seemed too similar to the one she imposed on him for crimes in which he didn't physically hurt anyone, he said. Provincial court records show Choy sentenced him in October 2016 to 22.5 months less a day in jail, in addition to 7.5 months' credit for time in custody, for robbery and possession of a weapon. "This doesn't make any sense to me," he said. katie.may@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @thatkatiemay ONE of Winnipegs major arteries is about to be all but severed for more than a month, with transit users and motorists needing to take a huge detour. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 2/8/2018 (1182 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. ONE of Winnipegs major arteries is about to be all but severed for more than a month, with transit users and motorists needing to take a huge detour. The thousands of people who travel north on McPhillips Street, past McPhillips Station Casino, are about to add several kilometres to their commute each day, after unforeseen repairs were announced for the Canadian Pacific Rail bridge crossing between Higgins and Jarvis avenues. In recent weeks, the regular two lanes in each direction have been knocked down to one lane each way, while roadwork was being done in the northbound lanes, creating long lineups during morning and afternoon rush hours. The City of Winnipeg logged about 48,800 vehicles passing through the underpass daily in 2016, a number believed to now be in excess of 50,000. (MIKE DEAL / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS) The McPhillips underpass is being dug deeper so trucks no longer slam into the rail bridge above. Starting tonight at 6 p.m., the section of road will be constricted even more with no northbound traffic allowed between Jarvis and Logan avenues for a period of four to six weeks, according to a letter sent to area residents and businesses by Dillon Consulting. Only a single, southbound lane will be left open. "Motorists are encouraged to take the alternative routes: Route 90 to the west and Salter Street to the east. Please avoid Arlington Bridge," the letter reads. The century-old Arlington Street structure, which crosses the CP railyards, is being eyed for replacement, at a cost of roughly $330 million. Fridays move comes, in part, to the deeper-than-normal excavation work being done on the underpass, aimed at allowing transport trucks access without fear of slamming into the rail bridge. Matthew Hildebrand, the citys project engineer for the underpass project, said the excavations uncovered "buried elements of the bridge structure" and found them to be "in very poor condition requiring immediate repair." "This was unexpected," Hildebrand said Thursday. "As soon as we uncovered that repairs were required, we worked in close coordination with CP... weve asked for that work to get done before September, because we know in September traffic volumes go up." (MIKE DEAL / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS) Winnipeg Water Services crew member wades through the result of a water main break on McPhillips Street on Monday. For the near future, instead of northbound buses travelling the three blocks on McPhillips Street between Logan and Selkirk avenues, several bus routes will now have to take a lengthy detour down Logan Avenue to north on Keewatin Street before going east on Selkirk Avenue to return to McPhillips. "Delays to service are anticipated during this re-route," Winnipeg Transit said. (The routes impacted are: Nos. 30 Inkster Park Express, 33 Maples, 34 McPhillips Super Express, 35 Maples Super Express, 36 Northwest Super Express, as well as the 71 Arlington via Sinclair and 71 Arlington via McPhillips.) Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. When contacted for comment on the upcoming traffic jam, area Coun. Mike Pagtakhan said: "Oh, wow... Thats a bit disconcerting, but if repairs have to be made, they have to be made." Pagtakhan (Point Douglas) said he would expect city staff would have already looked at the best way to tackle the issues. "It will be inconvenient, so well ask people for their patience. At the end, it will be a smoother ride and better for truck traffic." Hildebrand said while CP Rail crews are busy doing their repair work -- and using the third lane thats being closed for construction vehicles and materials -- the citys crews will continue to do work on McPhillips Street. "The goal is still to finish this year," he said. "Were working to see what other work can be brought forward... theres work were proceeding with on either side of the underpass." Andy Cummings, a CP Rail spokesman, said the good news is "the CP bridge over McPhillips Street is structurally sound... CP will conduct this work while the city has the road closed for already planned work." kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca On July 23, the Winnipeg Free Press ran an article titled City, province in the grips of a meth crisis, officials warn, which portrays an oversimplified correlation between the increase in crime rates and meth use. Meth is widely acknowledged as a rapidly growing problem in our city. However, efforts to address increasing crime rates will fail if we focus only on the prevalence of meth and responding to addiction, rather than on the root causes of substance use. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 3/8/2018 (1181 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Opinion On July 23, the Winnipeg Free Press ran an article titled "City, province in the grips of a meth crisis, officials warn," which portrays an oversimplified correlation between the increase in crime rates and meth use. Meth is widely acknowledged as a rapidly growing problem in our city. However, efforts to address increasing crime rates will fail if we focus only on the prevalence of meth and responding to addiction, rather than on the root causes of substance use. The portrayal of this issue in articles such as these catastrophizes a very complex situation. It not only creates a climate of fear but also criminalizes drug users, attaches stigma and further colonizes and excludes our most vulnerable populations. For example, the article reveals that the number of property crimes such as "break-ins" and "home invasions" has increased and directly links this to rising meth use and the need to fuel addiction. The situation is more complex. People on the street will tell you they use meth to stay warm and stay awake so they do not have to sleep on concrete. They often break into buildings so they have a safe place to sleep and use. They would benefit from better access to safe and affordable housing and 24-hour safe spaces in addition to addictions-related programming. When headlines focus on the connection between crime and addiction, we risk missing that addiction takes many forms and is often tied to experiences of poverty, colonization, trauma, isolation, mental illness, and systemic discrimination. Exclusion from education, employment, income security and an extensive social support network can cause or further exacerbate addiction. To combat break-ins, home invasions, other crime and substance use, we must tackle these root causes. What can be done? Make Poverty History Manitoba has called on all levels of government to produce comprehensive plans outlining the actions they will take to reduce poverty. The federal governments strategy is expected to be released very soon. The Manitoba government is working on a strategy that is now over a year late, according to provincial legislation. The City of Winnipeg is the only level of government that has not yet committed to creating a poverty-reduction plan, despite repeated citizen calls. City councils recent support for the Main Street Project shelter expansion initiative is an important response, but it also must fit within a larger poverty-reduction strategy. Poverty-reduction advocates have spoken with people experiencing poverty and those who work most closely with them to suggest concrete actions that governments can include in their poverty-reduction plans. They call for action in areas such as income, employment, education, housing, transportation, recreation, policing and safety, food security, child care, health and mental health. Its not news that simultaneous actions in each of these areas are needed in order to have a real impact on poverty, but competing for political and fiscal pressures often make it difficult for governments to make the required commitments and investments. The actions outlined in Make Poverty History Manitobas community-led poverty-reduction plans address the root causes of addiction and crime. They call for the province to create a livable basic needs benefit that would provide enhanced income security for people living in poverty. Specific recommendations related to mental health and addictions include an increase in provincial mental health spending by 40 per cent over three years. Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. Priority should be given to funding community-based mental health services and other services that improve access for people living with low incomes, particularly Indigenous Peoples who disproportionately experience poverty, and the impacts of intergenerational trauma. Make Poverty History Manitoba agrees with Mayor Brian Bowman that we must work together to solve the root causes of crime. City council recently adopted a motion tasking the public service with having to develop recommendations for reducing poverty. We hope this will lead to a comprehensive city-led poverty-reduction plan that includes training for first responders (including police, paramedics and firefighters) and city program/facility staff in mental health first aid, addictions, de-stigmatization, trauma-informed care, and anti-oppressive health promotion practices. This would help provide city staff with the knowledge and resources they need to refer people to appropriate health care, mental health care and addictions services as needed. While some refer to a meth crisis in the city of Winnipeg, advocates and those with lived experience will tell you that we are actually facing a poverty crisis. Increased crime and meth usage are part of a very complex system that requires strong leadership for comprehensive public policy and prevention strategies. Its not time for an increased climate of fear, but instead a climate of solutions that tackle root causes based in empathy, decolonization and reducing stigma. Michael Barkman and Lorie English sit on the steering committee of Make Poverty History Manitoba. The event is scheduled for 6 to 10 p.m. Afterward, the casino and radio station will hold an 11 p.m. Big Eats in the Big Easy drawing inside the pavilion. Prizes include three trips for two to New Orleans and one trip for two to Asheville, N.C., to attend the Asheville Food Truck & Craft Beer Festival on Oct. 6. The following companies are subsidiares of EnerSys: ABSL Power Solutions Inc., ABSL Power Solutions Ltd., Acumuladores Industriales EnerSys SA, Alpha Alternative Energy Inc., Alpha Broadband Services Inc., Alpha Innovations Industria e Comercio de Produtos Eletronicos Ltda., Alpha Innovations Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Alpha Mexico Network Power S.A. de C.V., Alpha Tech Energy Solutions India Private Limited, Alpha Technical Services Ltd., Alpha Technologies Ltd., Alpha Technologies Pty. Ltd., Alpha Technologies Services Inc., Alphatec Technologies (Shenzhen) Co. Ltd., Argus Research Ltd., Batterias Hawker de Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Battery Power International Pte Ltd., Coppervale Enterprises Inc., DCPM Engineering Sdn Bhd, EH Batterien AG, EH Europe GmbH, EH Global Holdings GmbH, EH Swiss Holdings GmbH, ENAS Industrial Batteries Morocco Sarl, EnerSys (Chaozhou) Huada Batteries Company Limited, EnerSys (China) Huada Batteries Company Limited, EnerSys (Chongqing) Huada Batteries Company Limited, EnerSys (Jiangsu) Huada Batteries Company Limited (94.7%) *, EnerSys (Luxembourg) Finance Sarl, EnerSys (Yangzhou) Huada Batteries Co. Ltd., EnerSys A/S, EnerSys AB, EnerSys AD, EnerSys AE, EnerSys AS, EnerSys Advanced Systems Inc., EnerSys Argentina S.A., EnerSys Asia Limited, EnerSys Australia Pty Ltd., EnerSys BV, EnerSys BVBA, EnerSys Battery Private Limited, EnerSys Brasil Ltda., EnerSys Bulgaria EOOD, EnerSys Canada Inc., EnerSys Capital Inc., EnerSys Cayman Euro L.P., EnerSys Cayman Holdings L.P., EnerSys Cayman Inc., EnerSys Delaware Inc., EnerSys Delaware LLC I, EnerSys Delaware LLC II, EnerSys Delaware LLC III, EnerSys Delaware LLC IV, EnerSys Delaware LLC V, EnerSys Energy Products Inc., EnerSys Europe Oy, EnerSys European Holding Co., EnerSys GmbH, EnerSys Holdings (Luxembourg) Sarl, EnerSys Holdings UK Ltd., EnerSys Hungaria Kft., EnerSys India Batteries Private Ltd., EnerSys JSC, EnerSys LLC, EnerSys Ltd., EnerSys Malaysia Sdn Bhd, EnerSys Mexico Holdings LLC, EnerSys Mexico Management LLC, EnerSys Participacoes Ltda., EnerSys Reserve Power Pte. Ltd., EnerSys S.r.l., EnerSys SARL, EnerSys SNC, EnerSys South East Asia Pte. Ltd., EnerSys de Mexico II S de R.L. de CV, EnerSys de Mexico S de R.L. de CV, EnerSys s.r.o., EnerSys sp. z o.o., EnerSystem Chile Ltda., Enersys Aku Sanaya Dis Ticaret Limited Sirketi, Esfinco LLC, Hawker GmbH, Hawker Power Systems Inc., Hawker Powersource Inc., Hawker Systems GmbH & Co. KG., ICS Industries Pty Ltd, ICS Industries Pty Ltd., ICS Sheet Metal Pty Ltd., Industrial Battery Holding Ltda., International Communication Shelters Australasia Pty Ltd., Lancord Pty Ltd., Lenmic Pty Ltd., MIB Energy Sdn Bhd, N Holding AB, National Infrastructure Pty Ltd., National Infrastructure Services Pty Ltd., NaviSemi Energy Pte Ltd., NaviSemi Inc., New Pacifico Realty Inc., NorthStar Battery Company LLC, NorthStar Battery Company LLC, NorthStar Battery DMCC, Outback Power Technologies Inc., Powercom (NSW) Pty Ltd., Powersonic S de R.L. de CV, Purcell Systems, Purcell Systems Inc., Purcell Systems International AB, Quallion LLC, Riverfront Holding S. de R.L. de C.V., Shenzhen Huada Power Supply Mechanical & Electrical Co. Ltd. , SiteTel Shanghai Co Ltd., SiteTel Sweden AB, Telecomponents & Supply (Hong Kong) Ltd., The Enser Corporation, UTS Holdings Sdn Bhd, UTS Technology (JB) Sdn Bhd, UTS Technology (PG) Sdn Bhd, YCI Inc., and Yecoltd S. de R.L. de CV. The following companies are subsidiares of Carnival Co. &: 1972 Productions Inc., 6348 Equipment LLC, A.C.N. 098 290 834 Pty. Ltd., A.J. Juneau Dock LLC, AIDA Kundencenter GmbH, Adventure Island Ltd., Air-Sea Holiday GmbH, Alaska Hotel Properties LLC, Barcelona Cruise Terminal SLU, Bay Island Cruise Port S.A., Belize Cruise Terminal Limited, CC U.S. Ventures Inc., CCL Gifts LLC, CSSC Carnival Italy Cruise Investment S.r.L, Carnival (UK) Limited, Carnival Bahamas FC Limited, Carnival Bahamas Holdings Limited, Carnival Corporation & plc Asia Pte. Ltd., Carnival Corporation Hong Kong Limited, Carnival Corporation Korea Ltd., Carnival Corporation Ports Group Japan KK, Carnival Finance LLC, Carnival Grand Bahama Investment Limited, Carnival Investments Limited, Carnival Japan Inc., Carnival License Holdings Limited, Carnival Maritime GmbH, Carnival North America LLC, Carnival Port Holdings Limited, Carnival Ports Inc., Carnival Support Services India Private Limited, Carnival Technical Services (UK) Limited, Carnival Technical Services Finland Limited, Carnival Technical Services GmbH, Carnival Technical Services Inc., Carnival Vanuatu Limited, Costa Crociere PTE Ltd., Costa Crociere S.p.A., Costa Cruceros S.A., Costa Cruise Lines Inc., Costa Cruise Lines UK Limited, Costa Cruises Shipping Services (Shanghai) Company Limited, Costa Cruises Travel Agency (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Costa Cruzeiros Agencia Maritima e Turismo Ltda., Costa Group Digital & Strategic Services GmbH, Costa International B.V., Costa Kreuzfahrten GmbH, Cozumel Cruise Terminal S.A. de C.V., Creative Travel Lab Ltd., Cruise Ships Catering & Services International N.V., Cruise Terminal Services S.A. de C.V., Cruiseport Curacao C.V., D.R. Cruise Port Ltd., Ecospray Technologies S.r.L., F.P.M. SAS, F.P.P. SAS, Fleet Maritime Services (Bermuda) Limited, Fleet Maritime Services Holdings (Bermuda) Limited, Fleet Maritime Services International Limited, GXI LLC, Gibs Inc., Global Experience Innovators Inc., Global Fine Arts Inc., Global Shipping Service (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Grand Cruise Shipping Unipessoal LdA, Grand Turk Cruise Center Ltd., HAL Antillen N.V., HAL Beheer B.V., HAL Cruises Limited, HAL Maritime Ltd., HAL Nederland N.V., HAL Properties Limited, HAL Services B.V., HSE Hamburg School of Entertainment GmbH, Holding Division Iberocruceros SLU, Holland America Line Inc., Holland America Line N.V., Holland America Line Paymaster of Washington LLC, Holland America Line U.S.A. Inc., Ibero Cruzeiros Ltda., Iberocruceros SLU, Information Assistance Corporation, International Cruise Services S.A. de C.V., International Leisure Travel Inc., International Maritime Recruitment Agency S.A. de C.V., Milestone N.V., Navitrans S.R.L., Ocean Bahamas Innovation Ltd., Ocean Medallion Fulfillment Ltd., Operadora Catalina S.r.L., P&O Princess American Holdings, P&O Princess Cruises International Limited, P&O Princess Cruises Pension Trustee Limited, P&O Properties (California) Inc., P&O Travel Limited, Prestige Cruises Management S.A.M., Prestige Cruises N.V., Princess Bermuda Holdings Ltd., Princess Cays Ltd., Princess Cruise Corporation Inc., Princess Cruise Lines Ltd., Princess Cruises and Tours Inc., Princess U.S. Holdings Inc., RCT Maintenance & Related Services S.A., RCT Pilots & Related Services S.A., RCT Security & Related Services S.A., Roatan Cruise Terminal S.A. de C.V., Royal Hyway Tours Inc., Santa Cruz Terminal S.L., SeaVacations Limited, SeaVacations UK Limited, Seabourn Cruise Line Limited, Shanghai Coast Cruise Consulting Co. Lda, Ship Care (Bahamas) Limited, Sitmar Cruises Inc., Spanish Cruise Services N.V., Sunshine Shipping Corporation Ltd., T&T International Inc., Tour Alaska LLC, Transnational Services Corporation, Trident Insurance Company Ltd., Westmark Hotels Inc., Westmark Hotels of Canada Ltd., Westours Motor Coaches LLC, Wind Surf Limited, and World Leading Cruise Management (Shanghai) Co. Ltd.. IMI plc, a specialist engineering company, designs, manufactures, and services engineered products worldwide. The company operates through three divisions: IMI Precision Engineering, IMI Critical Engineering, and IMI Hydronic Engineering. The IMI Precision Engineering division develops motion and fluid control technologies for industrial automation, commercial vehicle, life sciences, energy, and rail applications. This division offers actuators, air preparation products, pressure switches, and fittings; pneumatic, hydraulic, electric, and vacuum motion solutions; solenoid valves, angle-seat valves, motorized valves, NAMUR valves, and systems for dust filters; miniature fluid control solutions; precise and accurate syringes, syringe pumps, and rotary valves; and high-pressure control valves, nuclear valves, and pressure transmitters, as well as hydraulic solutions. It provides its products under the Norgren, Bimba, Buschjost, FAS, Herion, Kloehn, Maxseal, and Thompson Valves brands. The IMI Critical Engineering division offers flow control solutions, such as specialized valves and actuators to the fossil power, oil and gas, petrochemical, nuclear, marine, and pharmaceutical markets under the IMI Bopp & Reuther, IMI CCI, IMI Fluid Kinetics, IMI InterAtiva, IMI NH, IMI Orton, IMI PBM, IMI Remosa, IMI STI, IMI TH Jansen, IMI Truflo Marine, IMI Truflo Rona, IMI Truflo Italy IMI Z&J, and IMI Zikesch brands. The IMI Hydronic Engineering division provides products for hydronic distribution systems, which deliver heating and cooling systems to the residential and commercial building sectors. This segment offers balancing and control solutions, thermostatic control and pressurization systems, dirt and air separators, and pressure step degassers under the IMI Pneumatex, IMI TA, IMI Flow Design, IMI Heimeier, and IMI Aero-Dynamiek brands. The company was founded in 1862 and is headquartered in Birmingham, the United Kingdom. Read More Kering SA develops, designs, manufactures, markets, and sells apparel and accessories. The company offers shoes; leather goods, including handbags and wallets, purses, and other leather products; eyewear, textile accessories, etc.; and jewelry and watches, as well as ready-to-wear products for men and women. It also provides perfumes and cosmetics. The company provides Gucci, Saint Laurent, Bottega Veneta, Alexander McQueen, Balenciaga, Brioni, Boucheron, Pomellato, DoDo, Qeelin, Girard-Perregaux, Ulysse Nardin, and Kering Eyewear branded products. It sells its products through department stores, multi-brand stores, and franchise stores, as well as e-commerce sites. As of December 31, 2020, it operated 1,433 stores. Kering SA sells its products in the Asia-Pacific, Western Europe, North America, Japan, and internationally. The company was formerly known as PPR SA and changed its name to Kering SA in June 2013. Kering SA was founded in 1963 and is based in Paris, France. Read More Not all students are college bound. It is admirable to be able to learn trade skills that pay a living wage. High school is the perfect setting to accomplish this goal. This program will provide the Elgin community with future workers that it needs. The $60,000 to be paid over the next three years is worth the investment. Wall Street analysts have given Vanguard Total World Stock 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 Vanguard Total World Stock ETF wasn't one of them. MarketBeat thinks these five companies may be even better buys. View MarketBeat's top stock picks here. American Consumer News, LLC dba MarketBeat 2010-2021. All rights reserved. 326 E 8th St #105, Sioux Falls, SD 57103 | U.S. Based Support Team at conta[email protected] | (844) 978-6257 MarketBeat does not provide personalized financial advice and does not issue recommendations or offers to buy stock or sell any security. Our Accessibility Statement | Terms of Service | Do Not Sell My Information 2021 Market data provided is at least 10-minutes delayed and hosted by Barchart Solutions. Information is provided 'as-is' and solely for informational purposes, not for trading purposes or advice, and is delayed. To see all exchange delays and terms of use please see disclaimer. Fundamental company data provided by Zacks Investment Research. An August 1 derailment of a Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) train in Queens disrupted the travel of thousands of people commuting within or between Long Island and New York City. The eastbound train derailed above ground around 12:30 p.m. between Penn Station and Woodside on the Port Washington line. Fortunately, none of the 400-500 passengers on board at the time reported injuries, and all were transported to another train after about an hour delay. For an unknown reason, two of the trains axles left the tracks, although the train did not tip over. An LIRR worker told the World Socialist Web Site Wednesday evening that they were still determining the cause of the derailment, and as of this writing no further determination has been made. The train remained on the tracks until around 5 p.m., stopping all service on the Port Washington branch for hours. The Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA), which operates most public transit in the New York City metropolitan area, allowed LIRR riders to take parallel subway lines and offered alternative train routes between Port Washington and Penn Station. Service was disrupted well into the evening rush. A sign in the Woodside station at 6 p.m. informed riders: Eastbound LIRR trains are experiencing delays averaging 10-15 minutes between Penn Station and Jamaica due to an earlier derailment. LIRR dispatchers were holding trains well past 5 p.m., and full service was only restored after the evening rush. The derailment had a cascading effect, increasing ridership on the 7 train and alternate LIRR lines. Hundreds of commuters trying to figure out their way home congregated in Penn Station. In a sign of how commonplace transportation delays are in the financial capital of the world, one commuter told Newsday: Its kind of whatever. Im just dealing with it. Im getting home late. The LIRR averages over 300,000 riders every day, making it the busiest commuter railroad in the United States. Most commuters ride from suburban areas of Long Island into Manhattan in the mornings to work, and then commute back home in the evenings. Wednesdays derailment was the second in less than two weeks, following on a July 21 derailment in the West Side Yard, a rail yard just west of Penn Station where trains are stored between the morning and evening rushes. The 10-car train, which was carrying LIRR employees, caused cancellations and delays as workers attempted to safely right it. While the exact causes of the two recent derailments are under investigation, what is known is that the LIRR and other railroads servicing the New York City area remain a threat to passenger and worker safety. According to Risk Management Magazine, the LIRR, New Jersey Transit and Amtrak are all expected to miss the December 31, 2018 deadline to install positive train control (PTC), which would protect against speeding on curves and collisions. Congress has mandated that railroads install this technology, but this deadline has already been extended by two years and will likely be extended again, kicking the can down the road and endangering passengers and workers alike. PTC would have prevented a January 2017 LIRR derailment at Brooklyns Atlantic Avenue Terminal that injured over 100 passengers. Moreover, the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health, an advocacy group, named the LIRRs freight provider, the New York & Atlantic Railway (NYA), as one of its dirty dozen, making it one of the 12 most dangerous employers in the US. NYA, which operates on LIRR tracks, allegedly hired workers outside of a Home Depot, who were then underpaid, overworked, accosted with ethnic slurs, and instructed to hide when inspectors visited worksites. In 2015, an NYA train slammed into a tractor-trailer at a crossing where the gate had not been lowered, after which an uncertified locomotive engineer fled the scene. The situation on the Long Island Rail Road is by no means unique, but is rather part of a national infrastructure crisis that is acutely reflected in the New York metropolitan area, with over 20 million inhabitants, which more than any other American city is dependent on mass transit. Even within the areas transit system, lower-income workers are disproportionately affected. Lower-income New Yorkers are more likely to be reliant on the MTA even when service is bad, have longer commutes, work unusual shifts, and have fewer transportation options. According to the American Society of Civil Engineers, a quarter of rail transit assets are in marginal or poor condition. The New York City subways on-time performance has dropped from 85 percent six years ago to 66 percent today. A report in the New York Times on Monday cited statistics from the MTA, which show that its subway service has declined by 2 percent in the last five months because of poor service, with passengers fleeing to Uber, whose use will move the crisis of transportation off of the rails and onto the city streets. Ag, energy and conservation district block previous agreement WORLAND Washakie Countys Wyoming Public Lands Initiative (WPLI) Advisory Committee met Wednesday at the Washakie County Extension Office, in a final move to end a year-long consensus process, and send to the commissioners three recommendations to determine best-use for county wilderness study areas (WSA). Although in May the group agreed on wording to move forward with recommendations, o... Omarosa Manigault-Newman says the mental decline of former boss Donald Trump could not be denied when she saw the President interviewed by NBCs Lester Holt in May 2017. While watching the interview I realized that something real and serious was going on in Donalds brain, Manigault-Newman writes in Unhinged: An Insiders Account of the Trump White House, an excerpt of which was obtained and partially posted today by DailyMail.com. His mental decline could not be denied. The memoir, from Gallery Books, a division of Simon & Schuster, is set for an August 14 pub date, but the Dailymail excerpts gives a taste of whats to come. The passages include Manigault-Newmans reactions as she watched Trump tell Holt, among other things, that he asked then-FBI chief James Comey if its possible would you let me know, am I under investigation? Trump also called Comey a showboat during the now infamous interview. Many didnt notice it as keenly as I did because I knew him way back when, writes Manigault-Newman, who met Trump as a contestant on The Apprentice and joined his White House communications team in 2017. She was fired following reported clashes with Chief of Staff John Kelly. For the Lester Holt interview, I watched it on a small TV in the upper press room (the lower press room was built on top of the old swimming pool and turned into the briefing room) by the press secretarys office, she writes. Throughout this erratic and contradictory interview, I kept thinking, Oh no! Oh no! This is bad! Donald rambled. He spoke gibberish. He contradicted himself from one sentence to the next. Manigault-Newman also writes that communications director Hope Hicks had gone over the briefing with him a dozen times hitting the key point that he had fired Comey based on the recommendation by the DOJ which the vice president and other surrogates had been reinforcing for days. Story continues Trump, of course, told Holt the opposite, admitting that he had been planning to fire Comey before getting just that recommendation from Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein. Related stories President Donald Trump Thunders Through Pennsylvania Rally With Further Attacks On The Media 'Last Man Standing' Will Not Mirror 'Roseanne's "Issue Of Week" But Tim Allen's Character "Probably Pro Trump" - TCA Sarah Sanders Won't Tell CNN's Jim Acosta He's Not The Enemy - Video & Transcript Three Russian nationals killed in the Central African Republic late Monday are believed to be prominent documentary filmmaker Alexander Rastorguyev, cameraman Kirill Radchenko and journalist Orkhan Dzhemal. The Russian Foreign Ministry has confirmed that the men found dead about 300 kilometers from the capital of Bangui had ID cards on them bearing those names. The trios driver has told Reuters they were ambushed by armed men outside the town of Sibut. Rastorguyevs films have played at the Karlovy Vary and Cinema du Reel festivals, among others. His credits include the 2014 award-winning doc Srok (The Term), about the opposition movement in Vladimir Putins Russia. Dzhemal was a leading military correspondent and Radchenko a former projectionist, according to reports. The crew was looking into the activities of a private security company with murky ties to the Kremlin. The film project is backed by The Centre for Investigation, a news organization funded by exiled oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky who is a vocal Putin critic. In a statement on his own website, Khodorkovsky said he had received an unofficial, but sufficiently strong confirmation that all three film crew journalists have been killed. He confirmed the crew was working on an investigation into Russian private mercenaries, in particular the Wagner group and said, These were brave men who were not prepared simply to collect documentary material, but wanted to feel it in the palms of their hands. The Wagner group is an organization of private military contractors which sources have told Reuters carried out clandestine combat missions on the Kremlins behalf in eastern Ukraine and Syria. The New York Times reported there was no indication the killings were related to the documentary and that Russian investigators have opened a criminal case to look into the deaths. Robbery has been floated as a motive in some reports. Story continues Khodorkovsky added regarding the filmmakers, I hoped until the last moment that they had been captured, and that they could be rescued I will make efforts to identify the perpetrators. Related stories Donald Trump Now Says No Putin White House Invite Until After "Russia Witch Hunt Is Over" Jimmy Fallon Flips Switch On Trump News Network Franchise For 'Tonight Show' Stephen Colbert: Donald Trump To Host Bill Cosby Sleepover, Harvey Weinstein Movie Night After Putin Invite Russian filmmaker Alexander Rastorguyev was killed along with cameraman Kirill Radchenko and war correspondent Orkhan Dzhemal in the Central African Republic while filming an investigative documentary about the Wagner group, a private Russian military firm allegedly linked to Russian President Vladimir Putin, the Reuters news agency reported. The three journalists, who were commissioned by Russian online news organization Investigation Control Centre to make the documentary, died in an ambush by unidentified assailants on Monday, Reuters said, quoting local authorities. The bodies were found in a bullet-ridden car near Sibut (about 300 kilometers from Bangui, the capital), according to the U.N. Mission in the Central African Republic. According to the drivers explanations, when they were 23 kilometers [14 miles] from Sibutarmed men emerged from the bush and opened fire on the vehicle. The three journalists died instantly, Henri Depele, the mayor of Sibut, told Reuters. Russias foreign ministry issued a statement Tuesday identifying the victims and said that Russian diplomats were working with CAR officials to find out what happened. The Investigation Control Centre was founded by Mikhail Khodorkovsky, an exiled oil tycoon and critic of Putins government. The crew were working in cooperation with my project The Centre for Investigation on an investigation into Russian private mercenaries, in particular the Wagner group, Khodorkovsky wrote on his website. These were brave men who were not prepared simply to collect documentary material, but wanted to feel it in the palms of their hands. I hoped until the last moment that they had been captured, and that they could be rescued. Several media outlets have highlighted the controversial nature of the documentary the three men were making in the region. The Wagner group has reportedly been used by Russian authorities to conduct clandestine military operations on their behalf. Russian authorities have denied those reports, according to Reuters. Story continues The Wagner group is headed by Yevgeny Prigozhin, who has known Putin since the 1990s and provides food services to the Kremlin through one of his companies, according to Bloomberg. Related stories CTA Names IBM's Ginni Rometty CES 2019 Kickoff Speaker, After Backlash Over Lack of Women Keynoters Juan Vera's Directoral Debut, 'El Amor Menos Pensado,' to Open 66th San Sebastian Festival CNN's Jim Acosta Faces Taunts from Trump Supporters at Tampa Rally Subscribe to Variety Newsletters and Email Alerts! Hundreds evacuated in Virginia after dam overflows originally appeared on abcnews.go.com Hundreds of people have been evacuated in Virginia after a National Weather Service (NWS) warning sparked fears of a dam burst. Water from the College Lake Dam in the city of Lynchburg, Virginia, was overflowing uncontrollably and the dam was being monitored for structural damage, an NWS bulletin issued at 2:59 a.m. local time said -- warning of resulting flash floods. "Should a dam failure occur, water along Blackwater and Ivy Creeks may rise several feet within a few minutes, with very swift currents," the bulletin said. PHOTO: Members of the Campbell County Fire Department wade through water at an apartment complex in Lynchburg, Va., Aug. 2, 2018. (Taylor Irby/The News & Advance via AP) More than 150 people had been removed from the possible path of dam waters, Luann Hunt, a spokesperson for the city of Lynchburg, told ABC News. "We have about 130 people in one of our shelters, and about 25 in another shelter," she said, adding that engineers with the city's Water Resources Department were in the midst of conducting a dam inspection. Later Friday, officials from the city said the inspection showed "the structure is currently stable and that there is no immediate fear of dam failure." PHOTO: A truck passes a partially submerged abandoned vehicle in Lynchburg, Va. during a thunderstorm, Aug. 2, 2018. (Taylor Irby/The News & Advance via AP) The city said it would open a gate in the spillway on Saturday to drain some of the water from the reservoir before repair work could begin on the dam and roadway. Evacuated residents were not to be let back into their homes "until further notice," the city said. It said that could be by end of day Saturday. Hunt said it was difficult to say how much of the city would be affected by the dam water, because the city has a creek system that meanders through different parts of the municipality. Photo: Getty Images Sexual harassment on the street is unfortunately something that most women deal with regularly. Now, a new in law in France is making it a crime and an expensive one, at that. The new law outlaws sexual harassment on the streets, including catcalling, with a fine of 750 euros (currently worth about $870) that can be imposed on the spot, Reuters reports. French lawmakers approved the legislation just days after a 22-year-old woman named Marie Laguerre was attacked in Paris after she responded to a man who made a wolf whistle at her. In the Guardians account, the man made dirty noises, comments and whistled, and after she told the man to shut up, he punched her. Some critics have said that the law will effectively kill the French reputation for romance, but Marlene Schiappa, the countrys gender equality minister and architect of the new legislation, told Europe 1 radio that isnt the case. Whats key is that the laws of the French republic forbid insulting, intimidating, threatening and following women in public spaces, she said. The new law is getting positive feedback, including from Holly Kearl, founder of Stop Street Harassment. However, she tells Yahoo Lifestyle, the law would be even better if it also focused on educating the public about why street harassment isnt OK. There is no comparable law in the U.S., where laws on harassment vary by state, Kearl says. Every state has a law against indecent exposure and groping, and many have laws against upskirt photos, she says. But there is no national standard, so you have to go piecemeal depending on what action was taken against you. Recently, the city council in Washington, D.C., passed legislation that defines street harassment and requires the collection of data on street harassment, training for government employees to be able to spot and stop harassment, and the creation of educational campaigns on street harassment. Kearl applauds this measure. Its pretty groundbreaking for taking that angle, she says. Story continues Ultimately, the U.S. needs a national standard when it comes to street harassment that stipulates what is and isnt OK, along with a national education program to teach people why this behavior isnt acceptable, Kearl says. And she says the U.S. can learn a thing or two from Frances new law. Street harassment should be taken seriously, she says. Its a problem across the country. Are you uncertain about the harassment laws in your state? Stop Street Harassment has a state-by-state guide to help get you up to speed. Read more from Yahoo Lifestyle: Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter for nonstop inspiration delivered fresh to your feed, every day. Body art can be a beautiful way to express yourself. Many choose to get a tattoo that features the name of a loved one or, perhaps, an image that serves as a metaphor. For example, sailors would get swallows tattooed on themselves to represent how far they traveled and, since swallows return to the same location every year to mate and nest, to ensure their safe travel home. An anonymous woman had the logo of Kmart tattooed on her body to show just how addicted she was to the store. (Photo: Kmart Unhacks & Roasts via Facebook) Yet in one womans case, shes chosen to express, with permanent ink, that she really, really loves the big-box department store chain Kmart. A Kmart fan page on Facebook called Kmart Unhacks & Roasts has a picture of the anonymous Australian womans tattoo and an explanation of why she chose to get the Kmart logo permanently tattooed to her ankle. The story behind getting this tattoo my Kmart addiction, which started back when I was little and would go with my nan shopping at Kmart and having lunch at [the cafe] once a week, good times Still to this day Im addicted [to] going to Kmart every chance I get, the woman wrote. The 35-year-old said she wanted for a year to get the logo tattooed on her body, but she would chicken out. Now, she wrote, Its done. However, she wants to return to the artist to get addict tattooed under the logo. The Kmart superfan also says that she doesnt regret the tattoo at all. Although Americans may be scratching their heads about this womans devotion to Kmart (Kmart filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2002 and has faced a continual decline since, including its now-parent company Sears), Kmart Australias parent company is Wesfarmers and hasnt had any affiliation with the American brand in years. Kmart Australia is more akin to what one would expect from an American Target. What logo would you get tatted onto your body forever? Id probably pick Costco because of those free samples. Read more from Yahoo Lifestyle: Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter for nonstop inspiration delivered fresh to your feed, every day. Taylor Hamlin was pushed to resign (Photo: Facebook) Less than 24 hours after she was named 2018 Maine Sea Goddess, Taylor Hamlin was forced to give up her crown and step down when a photo on social media from a year ago was forwarded to Maine Lobster Festival organizers. The festival organizers insisted that Hamlin sign a resignation agreement, according to the Portland Press Herald. The year-old photo reportedly showed Hamlin holding a joint. A more recent photo also surfaced of the 18-year-old Oceanside High School graduate holding a Juul, an electronic cigarette used for vaping. Hamlin said that when she received the title on Wednesday night, she was honored to represent her community. However, on Thursday morning, when she went on a tour of the USS Hue City, the future University of Maine freshman was approached by Coronation Director Sharon Lombardo. Lombardo told Hamlin that she needed to meet with officials, who then informed the young woman that they had issues with her social media posts, which had been forwarded to them by people in the community. Hamlin shared this post on Facebook: Im sorry to whoever didnt receive the goddess they wanted and felt the need to sabotage this amazing thing that has happened to me, Hamlin wrote, suggesting that others in the competition at the Maine Lobster Festival may have been acting, er, shellfishly. You clearly dont know me well enough or know the real Taylor Hamlin. I am active through out our community, in sports, church, and school. The use of small amounts recreational marijuana is legal in Maine and has been since 2017, as long as you grow your own or are gifted some from a friend. However, you do have to be above the age of 21 to use it legally. In her Facebook post, Hamlin added, Everybody is a teen once, and she isnt wrong. Perhaps these officials should look into their past and be thankful that social media didnt exist in their heyday. After all, teens are actually drinking, smoking, and using marijuana less than ever before. So, you know, He that is without sin among you, let him cast the first stone. Or, stoned in this case. Story continues Hamlin did not immediately respond to Yahoo Lifestyles requests for comment. Read more from Yahoo Lifestyle: Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter for nonstop inspiration delivered fresh to your feed, every day. The Daily Beast DANIEL SLIM/AFP via Getty ImagesTwo foreign female tourists were caught in a crossfire between rival crime groups and shot to death last Thursday in the high-end resort town of Tulum, Mexico. Three other people were also wounded when the firefight broke out in the popular restaurant, La Malquerida, not far from the beach. Of the two women who were killed, one was from Germany and the other India.They were just in the wrong place at the wrong time, and got caught in an exchange of gunfire betwee Tusitala "Tiny" Toese (front), a member of both Proud Boys and Patriot Prayer, addresses supporters after fighting broke out between anti-fascist counterprotesters on June 3 in Portland, Oregon. (Photo: Alex Milan Tracy/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images) Armed, proto-fascist gangs are set to rally in Portland, Oregon, this weekend, stirring fears that the city could witness the kind of political violence not seen since the deadly white supremacist Unite the Right event in Charlottesville, Virginia, nearly a year ago. Members of the two violent far-right groups, Patriot Prayer and the Proud Boys both of which have deep ties to white supremacist organizations plan to rally in Tom McCall Waterfront Park at noon Saturday. The so-called Gibson for Senate Freedom March is being organized by Patriot Prayer leader Joey Gibson, who is running for Senate as a Republican from Washington state. The upcoming event is the latest in a series of rallies Gibson has held along the West Coast since early 2017 in support of President Donald Trump, under the banner of free speech and patriotism. In several cases the rallies have become a pretext for Patriot Prayer members, and more recently Proud Boy members, to commit organized assaults on anti-fascist protesters. The last rally, on June 30, was declared a riot by the city of Portland after Patriot Prayer and Proud Boy members, many in body armor and carrying weapons, repeatedly charged at anti-fascist protesters. A viral video showed one Proud Boy member knocking a masked anti-fascist unconscious. Other videos showed Proud Boys and Patriot Prayer members isolating and circling counterprotesters, beating them. At least six people were sent to the hospital after the days chaos, one with a brain hemorrhage. Nine people were arrested. WATCH: Man gets cornered by Patriot Prayer and Proud Boys and is hit a few times before being led to police. pic.twitter.com/4PMst1iydB PDX Mike Bivins (@itsmikebivins) June 4, 2018 The violence at the June 30 rally appears to have excited and galvanized the far right. Now experts and anti-fascist organizers are concerned that Saturdays rally could be even more violent. Story continues Earlier this week, Gibson announced he was moving the location of the rally to Tom McCall Waterfront Park, where local ordinances will allow demonstrators to legally carry firearms. Oregon is an open carry state and unlike previous events, these groups are not expecting to be disarmed by law enforcement, said Heidi Beirich, director of the Intelligence Project at the Southern Poverty Law Center, a legal advocacy group that monitors extremist activity. After being emboldened by the June 30 rally in Portland that turned violent, other far-right activists have stated that they intend to be in Portland this weekend, Beirich said. Riana Goren, an analyst with the Anti-Defamation Leagues Center on Extremism, told HuffPost the potential for violence is very real. Both Patriot Prayer and Proud Boys are infamous for their deliberate provocations of left-leaning West Coast communities, including Portland, Goren said. For weeks, members of both groups have been talking about the event online and commenting on how much they are looking forward to defending freedom and confronting communist counter-protesters, she went on. Theyve even produced a promotional video showing the name of Patriot Prayers founder, Joey Gibson, emblazoned on a missile falling toward a target an animated antifa sign. Organizers of a counterprotest are hoping hundreds if not thousands of people turn up to chase Gibson and his supporters out of town. One of the things folks keep saying is If you just ignored them, theyd probably go away, Effie Baum, a spokesperson for Popular Mobilization, a coalition of activists formed to mobilize a counterprotest on Saturday, told HuffPost. There are many examples across history that explicitly tell us this is not true. The community at large in Portland has tried ignoring them... Despite that, Joey Gibson and Patriot Prayer have not gone away. If nobody is there to oppose them, then there is nobody to prevent them from targeting the marginalized members of our community, Baum said. We need to show up en masse and chase these violent and dangerous groups back out just like we did in the 1980s and 1990s. Baum also pointed to the success of a counter-demonstration in Boston last year, when tens of thousands protesters turned up to drown out an alt-right rally. Thousands of protesters gathered in Boston last year to march against a planned "Free Speech Rally" just one week after the violent "Unite the Right" rally in Virginia left one woman dead and dozens more injured. (Photo: Spencer Platt via Getty Images) The Pacific Northwest, and Portland in particular, has long been a magnet for white supremacists, fascists and other far-right extremists a fact that came into focus in May 2017, when a white supremacist named Jeremy Joseph Christian allegedly stabbed three men on a Portland MAX train, killing two of them. The three men had intervened when Christian started to harass and threaten two black teenage girls, one of whom was Muslim and wearing a headscarf. Christian had attended a Patriot Prayer rally organized by Gibson just one month before the killings. Although Gibson has often tried to distance himself from white supremacists and neo-Nazis, hes also openly defended or allied himself with white nationalist groups like Identity Evropa and the Traditionalist Workers Party. White supremacists have also routinely turned up at Patriot Prayer events. Gibson has also developed a close relationship with the Proud Boys, a self-described western chauvinist fraternal organization that the SPLC has designated a hate group, largely due to its misogynistic and anti-Muslim views. Many Proud Boys are explicit white nationalists, with some participating in last years Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville. Recently, Proud Boys have gained a foothold in the Northwest, and the groups members have been implicated in multiple assaults in the Portland area. Far-right paramilitary organizations like the Proud Boys and Patriot Prayer continue to escalate violent assaults and confrontations in Portland, Oregon, said Lindsay Schubiner of the Western States Center, a Portland nonprofit aimed at racial, social and economic justice. They are committed to undermining democratic institutions and they have intentionally focused their energy on Portland this Saturday because they believe city leadership has become complacent and ineffective at maintaining order, Schubiner said. Its not a fight between Proud Boys and antifa but an assault on Portland. As reported by The Oregonian, Portland police have sometimes chosen to use a hands-off approach at Patriot Prayer events, as they did at the June 30 rally, allowing brawls with anti-fascists. In a press release Friday, the Portland police department said it will have a significant presence at the protest, and will be searching people for weapons at the entrance to the park. According to The Guardians Jason Wilson, police clarified that people with permits to carry firearms in the state of Oregon will be allowed to do so in the park. Joey Gibson, leader of the far-right group Patriot Prayer. (Photo: Screen shot) Charlottesville activists released a statement Friday denouncing the rogues gallery of white nationalists, fascists and Nazis expected to gather in Portland this weekend. Charlottesville understands all too well what it means to have fascist agitators bring choreographed terror into our community, the statement read in part. We remember bracing ourselves last year against the threat of white supremacist attacks cloaked as free speech. We send solidarity and love to Portland, particularly to communities most targeted by the Islamophobic, transphobic, anti-immigrant, genocidal agenda of Saturdays fascist event, it continued. We call on communities across America to address the deep history of white supremacy, recently amplified by the Trump administration, that generates this latest wave of fascist terror. Gibson, meanwhile, has continued to escalate tensions ahead of Saturdays rally. He and his supporters have twice visited Portlands Occupy ICE encampment outside a federal immigration detention center, harassing those protesting the Trump administrations policy of forcibly separating immigrant children from their parents and placing them in government camps. Gibson has also appeared on InfoWars, the notorious far-right conspiracy website, telling host Alex Jones that Patriot Prayer and Proud Boy members will disguise themselves as anti-fascist demonstrators at Saturdays rally, donning masks to infiltrate their ranks. He later suggested in a Facebook video that this would be part of a ploy to attack the anti-fascists. In another Facebook video, Gibson reiterated that his supporters should be armed on Saturday. Everyone should be carrying around guns at all times, he said. Andy Campbell contributed reporting. Love HuffPost? Become a founding member of HuffPost Plus today. This article originally appeared on HuffPost. Chinas Foreign Ministry has attempted to block a planned address by a pro-independence activist in Hong Kong, in the latest sign that Beijings tolerance is wearing thin for pro-democratic discourse in the semi-autonomous financial hub. Andy Chan Ho-Tin, the 27-year-old convener of a political party that advocates for the territorys independence from China, was scheduled to speak next week at the Foreign Correspondents Club Hong Kong, an internationally recognized hub for professional journalists and a regional stronghold of free speech. News website Hong Kong Free Press reported that a representative of Chinas Ministry of Foreign Affairs urged the club, known by its acronym FCC, to reconsider its decision to host Chan, whose Hong Kong National Party is being scrutinized by local authorities and faces potentially being banned because its pro-independence platform could constitute a national security threat. FCC acting president Victor Mallet confirmed to TIME that a representation was made, emphasizing that the club regularly hosts a diverse range of voices and opinions, and welcomes the views of both the Hong Kong and Chinese governments on issues of public importance. Our position is that we are a club that is a very strong defender of freedom of the press, and freedom of speech, Mallet said. We provide a platform and a venue for speakers of many different political views and opinions. Speaking to TIME Friday, Chan said trying to block the event amounted to an attempt by China to colonize Hong Kong. [The Chinese government is] restraining journalists from reporting news to the international society, Chan said, just like how they do it in China. Read more: Hong Kong Makes History With First Pro-Independence Rally An official flyer for the event said the talk would cover a brief history of Chans HKNP party, and touch on what Mr. Chan feels it means to be at the helm of a movement trying to construct a national identity for Hong Kong, and his reaction to the strong pushback from the government faced by his party. Story continues Last month, police advised the Hong Kong government that a case could be made to ban Chans party under an obscure national security provision. Since a 1997 handover from British rule to Chinese sovereignty, the former colony has maintained a high degree of autonomy and still enjoys a liberal economy and more social and political freedoms than communist China. But many say Beijing is steadily encroaching; authorities have shown little sympathy for activists and politicians who advocate for democracy in Hong Kong, and no tolerance for those seeking independent nationhood for the territory. In what could become a precedent-setting case, Hong Kong authorities presented Chan with a dossier containing hundreds of pages of surveillance collected over the past two years and an ultimatum to respond by September. Lets start with a few basic facts: Barack Obama was born in Honolulu, Hawaii. Ted Cruzs father, Rafael, left Dallas a full year before the assassination of John F. Kennedy. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia died after a heart attack. If you casually follow American politics, these seem like rather uncontroversial statements. But if youre a hardcore supporter of President Donald Trump, you may have had doubts about some of them in the past. Thats because Trump pushed conspiracy theories about Obamas birthplace, Cruzs father and Scalias death for political advantage before and during the 2016 presidential election, and when each theory outlived its usefulness, he moved on. But the damage he inflicted in encouraging this kind of thinking has now seeped into politics in a way that will not be easy to eradicate. As President, Trump has continued the same pattern of behavior. When MSNBC host Joe Scarborough became more critical of Trump on the air, the President tweeted out a conspiracy theory about him. When a secret recording of Trump discussing paying off former Playboy model Karen McDougal surfaced, the President hinted that it might have been edited to make him look bad. And facing an investigation by Special Counsel Robert Mueller into Russian interference in the 2016 election, Trump has floated multiple conspiracy theories about FBI agents, a Democratic National Committee email server, the Democratic head of a Senate committee investigating Russian meddling and Hillary Clintons purported ties to Russia, among other things. These repeated attacks on the facts have helped lay the groundwork for a massive conspiracy theory propagated by a person or group of people called QAnon thats begun circulating independently of Trump, leaping from online message boards to social media and finally to shirts and signs on attendees at a recent Trump rally in Tampa. Read More: Why So Many People Believe Conspiracy Theories Research shows that even debunking the obvious ridiculousness of conspiracy theories like the one spread by QAnon helps spread it, so were not going to delve into it here. Instead, well just repeat some basic facts for good measure: Story continues The FBI investigation into potential contacts between the Trump campaign and Russia began in July of 2016 after foreign policy adviser George Papadopoulos told an Australian diplomat that Russia had dirt on Hillary Clinton. Mueller was appointed special counsel to carry on the investigation after Trump fired FBI Director James Comey, who then leaked a memo he had written about a suspicious meeting with Trump. Roy Moore lost the Alabama special election because multiple women accused him of pursuing relationships with them when they were minors. George Soros is a Holocaust survivor and donor to Democratic and progressive causes. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton are enjoying their retirements from politics. The Titanic sank after hitting an iceberg. The Illuminati are not a thing. In case you havent guessed, the basic outline of the QAnon theory intends to throw doubt on these facts while maintaining support for Trump, who is portrayed as a world-heroic figure secretly masterminding a plan that will be revealed any moment now. To be fair, Trump has done nothing to encourage this theory other than throw out the occasional remark or tweet that QAnon supporters willfully misread, and theres no evidence that its tied to anyone in his Administration, despite QAnons repeated and unproven claims to the contrary. Its unclear if theres anything that Trump could do, even if he wanted, to tamp down the speculation, since any denial could just be interpreted by its followers as part of the master plan. But Trump bears some responsibility for this situation. His repeated endorsement of conspiracy theories have helped push those on the right toward adopting them about his political opponents, while his sometimes inexplicable behavior as President has helped spur a cottage industry on the left selling entirely different ones about Trump himself. On Twitter, commentators like English professor Seth Abramson, game theory aficionado Eric Garland and British blogger Louise Mensch have unspooled elaborate theories tying the latest developments in the Russia investigation to Trumps checkered business history and Russian President Vladimir Putins regime. On a separate note, law professor Paul Campos took to the pages of New York magazine with a sensationalistic theory about the $1.6 million payout from GOP fundraiser Elliott Broidy to Playboy model Shera Bechard, which Trump antagonist Michael Avenatti later hinted at on national TV. As with the pro-Trump conspiracy theories, the anti-Trump theories attempt to weave a coherent storyline out of the constant flurry of new information around Russian interference and the Trump campaigns contacts with Russia. They often include a similar tendency to imagine that a single mastermind sometimes Mueller or other federal investigators is about to blow the whole thing wide open, in this case by indicting or even impeaching the President or revealing some damning information that would seal his fate politically. Before we go any further, lets go over some more basic facts for good measure related to these theories: The process of impeaching a President begins in the House of Representatives, which is currently controlled by Republicans and shows little inclination to do so. The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court only considers requests by intelligence agencies to conduct surveillance and does not issue indictments or convene grand juries. It is an open constitutional question whether a President could even be indicted while in office, and theres little indication that a by-the-book prosecutor like Mueller would take that risk, much less in secret. The marshal of the Supreme Court is basically a bailiff, and plays no role in impeachment. To be fair, Trump has given his critics plenty of ammunition. His campaign claimed it had no foreign contacts during the election before it was revealed that Papadopoulos and foreign policy adviser Carter Page had done so. The Trump team then argued they were only low-level volunteers before it was revealed that Trumps son, son-in-law and campaign manager also met with Russians in Trump Tower. They then argued the meeting was about adoptions before it was revealed the Trump campaign was promised dirt on Hillary Clinton. Its not just conspiracy theorists who wonder what revelation will come next. Read More: Donald Trump Loves Conspiracy Theories All of this is happening at a time when Americans are more vulnerable to disinformation than ever. Social media platforms like Twitter, YouTube and Facebook have become immensely powerful parts of the information ecosystem, making them targets for everyone from internet trolls to bad-faith partisan hacks to Russian intelligence agents seeking to sow discord. Americans have become less trusting of national news organizations (including this one) that can play a fact-checker role Republicans more so than Democrats and even debunking conspiracy theories has been found to help them spread. As Yale psychologist David Rand has explained, repeated exposure to untrue claims can make people more likely to believe them, even when theyre dubious. Or as Lewis Carroll once wrote, what I tell you three times is true. But at a fundamental level, too many of us simply want to believe conspiracy theories. They help us find meaning in the chaos of the daily news; reassure us that someone is in charge whether thats a hero or a villain who could be defeated rather than an array of impersonal forces; and hold out the promise that whatever we find most intolerable about the present will be eradicated once and for all very soon. Trump has long benefited from these tendencies. As a private businessman, he used a conspiracy theory about Obama to gain a foothold in politics. As a candidate, he used conspiracy theories to attack his rivals. As President, hes used them to distract from his own very real controversies. But the weapon has been turned against him, too, and its unclear that America will be able to put the genie back in the bottle. The paranoid style in American politics, as historian Richard Hofstadter once termed it, is now just American politics. Dourdan (France) (AFP) - May Skaf, a prominent Syrian actress and activist who emerged as a fiercely outspoken critic of President Bashar al-Assad's regime after the uprising began in 2011, was buried Friday in France, where she had fled after being freed from prison. The 49-year-old actress was found dead at her home earlier this week in Dourdan, a town southwest of Paris, where she had been living with her son. Relatives said she had died of a ruptured aneurysm. Skaf was a well-known television and theatre actress when demonstrations broke out against Assad in the wake of the Arab Spring protests of 2011. The uprising later became a bloody civil war which has killed 350,000 people and forced millions from their homes. Skaf was arrested in 2012 and held for three days after taking part in a Damascus protest that became referred to as the "intellectuals' demonstration". She was briefly detained again the following year, and eventually fled to Jordan and later France. Maryvonne Boquet, the mayor of Dourdan, said Skaf had been living there since 2015, housed by local authorities who have taken in several other Syrian refugees. "I will never lose hope, I will never lose hope. It's the majestic Syria, not Assad's Syria," she wrote on her last Facebook post. An estimated 500 to 600 people, many with Syrian opposition flags, attended the funeral in Dourdan which was heavily covered by Arabic-language media outlets including Al Jazeera, according to an AFP photographer. "May became a star because she refused any glory, she refused to earn money or work with people who exploited her," her son Jude al-Zoabi said at the ceremony. "I'm sure that May never imagined where her path would take her. She believed in her ideals and took the path that respected those principles," he said. Dima Wannous, a writer and friend of Skaf, said her death was "a loss for all of Syria". "May was a very strong, confident, rebellious and combative person," she said. Judge Rosemarie Aquilina sentenced Larry Nassar, former USA Gymnastics and Michigan State team doctor, to 40-175 years. (AP) LANSING, Mich. On Friday morning Larry Nassars court-appointed appellate attorney had to stand in front of Judge Rosemarie Aquilina and argue that Judge Rosemarie Aquilina, herself, had, at the very least, presented such an appearance of bias that she should remove herself from the case. Predictably, it went quite poorly. Aquilina not only denied the motion argued orally by Malaika Ramsey-Heath, she delivered a blistering, near 30-minute explanation that doubled as a defense of her conduct, ethics and style. It contained none of the softness or heartfelt support Aquilina displayed to the 156 women who Nassar admitted sexually abusing when they stood before her across a remarkable seven-day sentencing hearing in January. After each statement, Aquilina praised and lifted up the victims, often emotionally wrought and visibly shaken young women. Her compassion drew the worlds attention and made Aquilina an unexpected star. You matter, Aquilina said repeatedly to victims. Your voice is strong and being heard. On Friday Aquilina did, however, express a measure of the same disgust she heaped on Nassar when she sentenced him to between 40-175 years in state prison, which was also met with near-universal support from the public. Bias? No, Aquilina said Friday in response to Ramsey-Heath. Justice? Yes. Nassar, 54, is currently serving a 60-year prison sentence on a federal child pornography charge. In addition to Aquilinas sentence, he also faces 40-125 years in a similar case out of Eaton County, Mich. The former USA Gymnastics and Michigan State doctor is attempting to have all three sentences reduced in an effort to give him the possibility of freedom. Knowing he is unlikely to find sympathy here in Aquilinas Courtroom 5, part of the process is getting her off the case. Nassar was not in court Friday. He remains in a correctional institute outside Tucson, Ariz. Aquilina acknowledged Nassar has the right to appeal and if the Court of Appeals or State Supreme Court rules she erred in her sentencing then she would adjust it. Other than that, she saw through this motion. Story continues What the defendant has is buyers remorse, Aquilina said, noting she was prepared to hold a trial but he pleaded guilty. Hes really seeking a reduction in time. Hes really seeking a second chance. In this Nov. 22, 2017, file photo, Dr. Larry Nassar appears in court for a plea hearing in Lansing, Mich. (AP) Nassars argument centered on Aquilinas conduct during and after the sentencing. It includes everything from Aquilinas social media, to an appearance at last months ESPYs, to T-shirts bearing her name becoming popular after actress Natalie Portman sported one on Saturday Night Live. It argued Aquilina was unnecessarily harsh during sentencing, in part because of the reporters and cameras present. It argued Aquilina has become too linked with Nassars survivors and the movement they represent. The appearance of impropriety has been broken by this court, Ramsey-Heath said. And thats when Aquilina in a calm, measured, but unyielding voice dismantled every suggestion. Aquilina noted that sentencing occurred after Nassar pleaded guilty. Even then she twice asked him in open court if he wanted to pull his plea. Judges need not be timid at sentencing. She held up a 4-inch binder she said was filled with media requests she has turned down. She promised that would continue until after the appellate process. While Aquilina didnt specifically say it, many of those are inquiries for paid interviews, reality shows or even her own Judge Judy-type program that could prove extremely lucrative. Im not going to profit off this case, said Aquilina, the mother of five, an Army National Guard veteran and a part-time law school professor. She noted how political groups encouraged her to run for State Supreme Court but she declined, despite, as Michigans most famous and beloved judge, easily being able to win. Instead, she is still working here in a non-descript government building downtown, a parade of domestic disputes, DUIs and simple assaults coming before her. Why did I say, No, thank you? Aquilina asked. Because it didnt feel right. Because it felt like they were only offering because of this case. As for the T-shirts, she said Portman did that on her own with no prior notice. The popularity of Aquilina merchandise actually required the judge to spend money trademarking her name and image. Aquilina is setting up a foundation funded by whatever money she is able to retrieve to support victims of sexual abuse, and not just Nassars. She attended the ESPYs, where Nassars victims were presented an award, but she sat with her daughter, and lots of people were in the audience. The First Amendment allows her to be on social media, she stated. On and on it went, Aquilina growing frustrated that Larry Nassar, of all people, was making her defend her ethics. She had no time for the idea her sentence was too harsh. Her minimum sentence of 40 years (which was agreed to as part of the pleas) accounted for just 93.5 days per victim who appeared before her. Thats what a domestic violence first [time] gets, Aquilina said. So, yeah, she thinks 175 years, or many more, would be appropriate for poor, old Larry. Nassar even blamed a recent prison attack that allegedly targeted him on Aquilinas rough words and demeanor during sentencing. If he was attacked in federal prison, prosecutor Laura Moody argued in opposing the motion, it is because he is a convicted and admitted child molester and not anything this court said. I dont know why he was in general population, Aquilina said, noting Nassar is serving a federal sentence, not hers. Its a well-known fact what happens there. After the denial, Nassars motion was immediately appealed, and perhaps he finds a sympathetic judge somewhere down the line. This much is true: Aquilina handled a unique case in a unique manner but that all falls back on Nassar. Hes the one who sexually assaulted all those victims. Hes the one who damaged so many lives. Hes the one at the heart of all of this, not the heretofore anonymous circuit court judge who received the case. Aquilina warned Nassar on multiple occasions that while he was pleading to just seven counts, every one of his victims would get a chance to address him for as long as they wanted. Originally 88 survivors signed up, but as the powerful and inspiring words and Aquilinas support for them were reported around the country, dozens and dozens of additional women came forward. What started with only limited media coverage, mostly local, became an impossible-to-ignore force of nature that spurred a movement. Yes, Judge Rosemarie Aquilina played a big part in that, a big part in framing exactly the kind of monster Larry Nassar was and the reign of terror he was responsible for, but also the dawning of hope and healing in the aftermath. Those victims are moving onward and upward with their lives. Larry Nassar is fearing another beat-down in gen pop. Bias? No. Justice? Yes. More from Yahoo Sports: EA Sports apologizes for editing out Colin Kaepernicks name in Madden WWEs Kane wins mayoral election in Tennessee Dan Wetzel: Loyalty may be Urban Meyers undoing at Ohio State Terez Paylor: Keeping Big Ben happy is top task for Steelers new coordinator Researchers found that European lead pollution emissions closely tracked known plagues, wars, social unrest and imperial expansion during ancient civilizations. Through the use of very detailed lead measurements in archived North Greenland Ice Core Project (NGRIP) samples and state-of-the-art atmospheric transport modeling, researchers accurately dated measurements in the ice core spans over 1,900 years. The resulting analysis was published on Tuesday, May 15, in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Greenland ice This July 17, 2011 photo shows the melting front of a glacier at the edge of the Greenland ice sheet, near Kangerlussuaq, Greenland. Greenland is the focus of many researchers trying to determine how much its melting ice may raise sea levels. (AP Photo/Brennan Linsley) Their measurements started in 1100 B.C. during the late Iron Age and extended through antiquity to the early Middle Ages in Europe, according to Study Lead Author Joe McConnell. This period includes the rise and fall of Greek and Roman civilizations. Most of the emissions during these periods resulted from mining and smelting of lead-silver ores. Therefore, lead emissions can be seen as a proxy or indicator of overall economic activity, McConnell explained. "Silver was very important to these ancient economies. It was one of the primary metals used in coinage and the production of new silver was linked directly to lead-silver ore mining and smelting," McConnell said. The resulting emissions drifted up into the atmosphere and settled onto Greenland's frozen surface. In a cyclical process, snow and ice covered this lead pollution creating numerous sedimentary layers. The process created a geological record extending for hundreds of feet into the ice. The researchers focused on lead pollution for a number of reasons. Lead was widely used in commercial and industrial applications in the ancient world and still is today. Lead pollution has a close association with precious metals like silver, meaning "that lead pollution is a sensitive indicator of industrial activity and the overall economy." Story continues For example, ice-core records of recent lead pollution in Greenland show a pronounced drop during the economic downturn of the Great Depression, according to McConnell. Greenland ice core Thousands of frozen ice cores stored in canisters inside the minus-33 degree Fahrenheit environment of the archive warehouse at the National Ice Core Laboratory, in Lakewood, Colo, on Aug. 8, 2016. At this facility, ice pulled from the depths of Antarctica and Greenland is sliced up, photographed and tested. (AP Photo/Brennan Linsley) This is not the first time that lead measurements were made on ancient ice cores. In the mid-1990s, a pioneering study of lead measurements were made on selected sections of an earlier ice core from the Greenland Ice Core Project (GRIP). However, only 18 measurements were made on discrete samples during this 1,900-year period. The record was very sparse and discontinuous, according to McConnell. The recent research made over 21,000 measurements during this same 1,900-year period using a unique continuous ice-core analytical system. "Our record essentially is continuous in time and these vastly more extensive measurements provide a much different picture of ancient economic activity," McConnell said. A critical issue in any sort of historical work is precise dating, particularly if comparisons are to be made between documented historical events. Significant progress has been made in accurately dating ice cores and linking ice-core records to tree-ring and other well-dated proxies, according to McConnell. These developments and the continuous, high-resolution nature of the new measurements allowed the researchers to develop a much more accurate age scale than was used in the earlier study. "Evaluation of our new ice-core chronology against the well-dated composite tree-ring record suggests that our age scale is accurate to within 1 to 2 years during the Roman era," McConnell said. Ancient Rome coins Ancient Roman copper, bronze and silver coins dated from the third century D.C. are on display in the San Giovanni underground station of Rome's brand new third metro line, Thursday, April 6, 2017. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini) The study's findings will be helpful for historians and economists. "Historians and archaeologists are interested keenly in understanding how events, such as plagues and wars, impacted ancient societies. In addition, economic historians would like to know how ancient economies fared through time and in response to internal and external factors," McConnell said. Lead pollution emissions began to rise at least as early as about 900 B.C., coinciding with the expansion of Phoenician trading routes into the western Mediterranean. That overall rise continued through the late second century B.C., with ups and downs corresponding with specific war periods, political instability and the opening of new geographic regions to mining. Their record also shows that lead emissions were low during the last 80 years of the Roman Republic, a period referred to as the Crisis of the Roman Republic. Emissions returned to their previous highs at the beginning of the Imperial Rome in the last few years of the first century B.C. This rise coincided with the period of economic prosperity that is often referred to as the Pax Romana. Two great pandemics, the Antonine Plague and the Plague of Cyprian, struck the Roman Empire in the second and third centuries, and both coincided with major declines in European lead emissions. "Clearly plagues had a major and lasting impact on mining and smelting activities and probably on the supply of new silver for coinage as well," McConnell said. European lead emissions stayed low throughout the three to four centuries of the Migration Period. Lead emissions did not return to the high levels of the Pax Romana until the early Middle Ages, when significant mining started in other areas of Europe including France and England. A gun enthusiast looks at a shotgun during the annual National Rifle Association (NRA) convention in Dallas, Texas, U.S., May 5, 2018: REUTERS The National Rifle Association (NRA) may be the most powerful gun lobbying group in the world. Each year, the organisation blocks significant gun control research and legislation in Congress, while influencing local and national elections through funding, media and outreach to its self-reported five millions members. This week, however, the NRA became the focus of a national news story not for falling prey to an alleged Russian spy, or failing to respond after a deadly mass shooting, two issues the group has recently endured about its supposedly dire economic state. The NRA claims to be in a severe financial bind caused directly by Andrew Cuomo, New Yorks Democratic governor, who launched an aggressive campaign demanding companies conducting business in his state to cut ties with the organisation. In its lawsuit against Mr Cuomo and the New York Department of Financial Services, the group alleges state officials sought to "deprive the NRA and its constituents of their First Amendment rights to speak freely about gun-related issues and defend the Second Amendment." Is the NRA really running out of money? In the complaint, the NRA describes its internal state of affairs as having virtually depleted all resources while heading towards bankruptcy. However, while the non-profit's multi-million dollar media entities might actually be in real jeopardy in the coming months, the NRAs foundation remains mostly intact. Despite having a track record of financial instability the group overspent by nearly $46m in 2016, according to a ProPublica investigation the NRA continues to maintain steady donations from its nationwide members. The organisation saw a spike in donations following the Parkland school shooting earlier this year, increasing by nearly 500 per cent from the week prior to the historic tragedy. In 2018, the NRA set fundraising records by garnering the most political donations of any group in a single month, according to Federal Elections Commission records. The NRA Political Victory Fund took in nearly $2.4m in the month of March alone, with the majority of those coming from small donors across the country. Story continues The reason why the NRA is sounding the alarm about its financial state is because it reportedly cannot find insurance companies to support its media components. The group said its media liability insurance coverage was ended shortly after Mr Cuomo began his campaign against the organisation adding that it fears other companies could soon cut ties as well. "The NRAs inability to obtain insurance in connection with media liability raises risks that are especially acute; if insurers remain afraid to transact with the NRA, there is a substantial risk that NRATV will be forced to cease operating," the court filings read, claiming Mr Cuomos actions "will imminently deprive the NRA of basic bank-depository services and other financial services essential to the NRAs corporate existence". Why is Andrew Cuomo at war with the NRA? Under Mr Cuomo, New York has continued becoming one of the most influential states enforcing successful gun control measures in the age of Donald Trump. But the fight between the Democratic governor and the NRA goes deeper than that financial regulators in New York were seemingly keen to crack down on the gun lobby after the NRA began providing illegal insurance coverage policies to its gun-carrying members in New York. The NRA established a program which would pay its members legal fees that were incurred by firing a gun, before the state determined the group unlawfully provided liability insurance to gun owners for certain acts of intentional wrongdoing. With an upcoming primary election against his celebrity progressive opponent Cynthia Nixon, Mr Cuomo appears to be taking a personal interest in the fight. "In New York, we won't be intimidated by frivolous court actions from a group of lobbyists bent on chipping away at common sense gun safety laws that many responsible gun owners actually support," the governors office said in a statement responding to the NRAs lawsuit. "I am proud of my 'F' rating from the NRA, and I will continue to do everything I can to keep New Yorkers safe." Does this have to do with recent gun violence in America? While the lawsuit in question doesn't directly correlate to an increase in mass shootings, public sentiment is growing increasingly frustrated with elected officials who have been unable to prevent or reduce violence. Following the Parkland shooting, the NRA became a contentious point of focus for Democrats, who demanded the organisation present Mr Trumps administration with solutions, as well as Republicans, who defended the group and its advocacy for the 2nd Amendment. Student survivors from the shooting urged to cut ties with the NRA, spurring announcements from over a dozen major companies saying they had done just that. Backlash to the increase in shootings have impacted elected leaders from both parties alike protests in Chicago this week demanded the citys Democratic Mayor Rahm Emanuel resign from his post over continued soaring gun violence and homicide rates, while the Florida student victims of the Parkland shooting aggressively lobbied against Republican officials in the state like Marco Rubio, who they said was not adequately protecting his constituents. To all companies who severed ties with the NRA, those personally affected by their influence on legislation thank you https://t.co/Wei4EepNMu Emma Gonzalez (@Emma4Change) February 25, 2018 The ongoing violence paired with campaigns like Mr Cuomos has not placed doing business with the NRA in a favourable light: activists have said the group has blood on its hands for the recent tragedies in Florida, Las Vegas and elsewhere. What comes next for the gun lobby group? The NRA which did not respond to enquiries is asking for an immediate injunction to prevent Mr Cuomo and other officials from "interfering with, terminating, or diminishing any of the NRAs contracts and/or business relationships with any organisations". But the governor is not letting up either, describing the lawsuit as a futile and desperate attempt to advance its dangerous agenda to sell more guns in his statement. It remains unclear whether other insurance companies will refuse to work with the NRA, though proper liability coverage is an essential necessity for any organisation with media properties. If the NRA is unable to locate other partners for insurance, it may be forced to close down NRATV, its streaming platform, along with other print publications, including its magazine. In short, it may be true that the NRA is suffering from financial instability. Whether any of that is directly caused by Mr Cuomos actions remains unknown. But one thing is for sure: the gun lobbying group is not going to suddenly disappear in the next several months or foreseeable future. For all intents and purpose, the NRA will continue finding ways to push its agenda for years to come, though perhaps not necessarily in the forms it is capable of today. Related Video: Trump Consults NRA on 3D Printed Guns Watch news, TV and more on Yahoo View. By David Brunnstrom SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Less than two months after a landmark U.S.-North Korea summit in Singapore, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo flew back to the city state on Friday and suggested that continued work on weapons programmes by North Korea was inconsistent with its leader's commitment to denuclearize. Pompeo was asked en route to Singapore about his statement in the U.S. Senate last month that North Korea was continuing to make bomb fuel and reports that North Korea, led by Kim Jong Un, was building new missiles. "Chairman Kim made a commitment to denuclearize," Pompeo told reporters. "The world demanded that they (North Korea) do so in the U.N. Security Council resolutions. To the extent they are behaving in a manner inconsistent with that, they are a) in violation of one or both the U.N. Security Council resolutions and b) we can see we still have a ways to go to achieve the ultimate outcome were looking for." Pompeo thanked ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) at a meeting in Singapore for their efforts in enforcing sanctions on North Korea. In a landmark summit with U.S. President Donald Trump in Singapore on June 12, Kim, who is seeking relief from tough sanctions, committed to work towards denuclearization, but Pyongyang has offered no details on how it might go about this. Pompeo told a Senate committee hearing on July 25 that North Korea was continuing to produce fuel for nuclear bombs in spite of its pledge. On Monday, a senior U.S. official said U.S. spy satellites had detected renewed activity at the North Korean factory that produced the countrys first intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of reaching the United States. The Washington Post reported on Monday that North Korea appeared to be building one or two new liquid-fuelled intercontinental ballistic missiles at the research facility, citing unidentified officials familiar with intelligence reporting. Story continues North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho is also in Singapore and will attend the same regional meeting as Pompeo on Saturday, but the State Department has not said whether the two will meet. Following his talks with Ri, China's top diplomat, State Councillor Wang Yi, said he hoped North Korea and the United States would continue to move forward to implement their leaders' agreement. "China all along has believed that the consensus reached by U.S. and North Korea's leaders meeting in Singapore is very precious," Wang told reporters. "That is, at the same time as realising denuclearization of the Korean peninsula, to establish a peace mechanism. This direction is without a doubt correct," he said. China is North Korea's most important economic and diplomatic supporter and fought for the North in the 1950-53 Korean War against the U.S.-led United Nations forces that backed South Korea. Pompeo, who has led the U.S. negotiating effort with North Korea, visited Pyongyang from July 5-7 for inclusive talks aimed at agreeing a denuclearization roadmap. Pompeo said at the time he had made progress on key issues, only for North Korea to accuse his delegation hours later of making "gangster-like" demands. Trump hailed the Singapore summit as a success and went as far as saying that North Korea no longer posed a nuclear threat, but questions have been mounting about Pyongyang's willingness to give up its weapons programmes. Trump has pointed to North Korea's freeze on nuclear and missile tests and its agreement to return the remains of American troops killed in the 1950-53 Korea War. The White House said on Thursday Trump had received a letter from Kim and had responded with a note that should be delivered shortly. But it said no second meeting was currently planned. (Additional reporting by Christian Shepherd, John Geddie and Jack Kim in Singapore and Ben Blanchard in Beijing; Editing by Nick Macfie and Bernadette Baum) A summer heatwave in the Arctic circle has claimed a victim in Swedens highest point, a glacier on Kebnekaise mountain in the north of the country. Melting fueled by the heat has caused the peak to lose 13 feet in height. Scientists say this means another peak on the same mountain one made of rock, not ice is now higher than the glaciers tip. Just a month ago, the glacier reached 6,893 feet above sea level. At the latest measurement on Tuesday, it was just 6,879 feet high less than eight inches higher than the rocky peak. Scientists say that based on the melt-rate so far this summer, it is now no longer the highest point in the country. We know that it has melted because it is very hot, Professor Gunhild Rosqvist, a climate scientist working near the mountain, told the New York Times. We are going to measure again later this summer when the melting stops. In a month, well know how bad it is. Northern Europe has been sweltering in a heatwave that scientists fear is a result of climate change. Banak in Norway, over 350 miles into the Arctic Circle, reached 90 degrees on Monday. Climate change in the Arctic is not just a local problem its a global problem, the World Wildlife Foundation said. The feedbacks from the Arctic are increasing global sea levels, they are predicted to change global climate and precipitation patterns, and the effects of climate change on Arctic species are likely to be felt globally. SINGAPORE (AP) U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo warned Russia, China and other countries on Saturday against any violation of international sanctions on North Korea that could reduce pressure on the North to abandon its nuclear weapons. Speaking on the sidelines of an Asian security forum in Singapore, Pompeo told reporters that the U.S. has new, credible reports that Russia is violating U.N. sanctions by allowing joint ventures with North Korean companies and issuing new permits for North Korean guest workers. He said Washington would take "very seriously" any violations, and called for them to be roundly condemned and reversed. BEIJING (AP) Chinese artist Ai Weiwei says authorities have begun razing his Beijing studio. The frequent government critic says on his Instagram account the demolition began Friday without prior notice and posted videos of an excavator smashing the windows of his "Zuoyou" studio. The studio in the northeast Beijing suburbs has been Ai's primary work space since 2006, although his has mostly been based in Europe in recent years. It's unclear whether the demolition is targeting Ai. Beijing authorities have demolished large swaths of the suburbs in the past year in a building safety campaign, typically giving at least several days' notice. UNITED NATIONS (AP) The United States imposed North Korea-related sanctions Friday on a North Korean bank executive and company, a Russian bank, and a Chinese company and asked the U.N. to add them to its sanctions blacklist. U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin stressed in a statement imposing the new sanctions that "the United States will continue to enforce U.N. and U.S. sanctions and shut down illicit revenue streams to North Korea." "Our sanctions will remain in place until we have achieved the final, fully-verified denuclearization of North Korea," he said. The U.S. imposed sanctions on Ri Jong Won, the Foreign Trade Bank deputy representative in Moscow and an official of the North Korean government. Story continues UNITED NATIONS (AP) The United States is trying to ensure that humanitarian aid doesn't face unnecessary obstacles in getting to North Korea, where the U.N. says around 10 million people need food and other aid and about 20 percent of children are stunted because of malnutrition. New guidelines proposed by the U.S. and obtained Friday by The Associated Press are expected to be adopted Monday by the Security Council committee monitoring sanctions against North Korea. The council has imposed tough sanctions on North Korea in response to its escalating nuclear and ballistic missile programs, but allows for delivery of humanitarian aid. BEIJING (AP) China said Friday it is poised to impose retaliatory tariffs on $60 billion worth of U.S. imports, including coffee, honey and industrial chemicals, if Washington goes ahead with its latest trade threat. China's Finance Ministry accused the Trump administration of damaging the global economy after the U.S. proposed increasing duties on $200 billion of Chinese goods in the second round of a dispute over technology. "China is forced to take countermeasures," said a ministry statement. It said retaliatory duties of between 5 and 25 percent will be imposed on 5,207 products "if the U.S. side persists in putting its tariff measures into effect." Washington imposed 25 percent duties on $34 billion of Chinese goods on July 6 in response to complaints Beijing steals or pressures companies to hand over technology. TOKYO (AP) Japan's government urged a medical university to promptly disclose the results of an investigation into its admissions process after reports alleged it had altered the test scores of female applicants for years to deny them entry and ensure fewer women became doctors. The manipulation started at Tokyo Medical University after the share of successful female applicants reached 38 percent of the total in 2010, the Yomiuri newspaper reported Thursday, citing unidentified sources. Subsequent reports said the alterations might have started even earlier. Broadcaster NHK reported that the manipulation in some years had removed as much as 10 percent of women whose true scores merited acceptance, adding up to perhaps hundreds of denials for nearly a decade due to systematic discrimination. DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) Five days of protests by tens of thousands of students angry over the traffic deaths of two of their colleagues have largely cut off the capital Dhaka from the rest of Bangladesh, as the demonstrators pressed their demand for safer roads. The protests began last Sunday after two college students were struck and killed by a pair of buses and eventually paralyzed the capital of 10 million. An angry mob set fire to a bus after it hit and killed a biker on Friday morning in Dhaka's Moghbazar area. No casualties were reported. The two buses involved in the Sunday accident were racing to collect passengers, a common occurrence in the city, which is regularly gridlocked by traffic chaos. BEIJING (AP) The whereabouts of a Chinese professor known for his critical views of the government remained unknown Friday, two days after police interrupted his radio interview with U.S. government broadcaster Voice of America. Sun Wenguang was speaking to the network on Wednesday night when he says half a dozen officers barged into his apartment in the eastern city of Jinan. He can be heard exclaiming that "I have my freedom of speech" just before the line went dead. VOA said the former Shandong University physics professor had not responded to attempts to contact him, but that sources it did not identify said he was being held in a military-run hotel in Jinan. BEIJING (AP) One of China's highest-ranking Buddhist monks is facing a government investigation over accusations of sexual misconduct, in what is seen by some as an indication the #MeToo movement is gaining traction across the world's most populous society. Longquan Monastery abbot Shi Xuecheng is accused of harassing and demanding sexual favors from numerous nuns in a 95-page statement compiled by two fellow monks at the storied center of Buddhist learning in Beijing. The statement including testimony from the alleged victims leaked this week on social media, prompting an outcry and unusual coverage by state media before it was censored. KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) Two suicide bombers attacked a Shiite mosque in eastern Afghanistan during Friday prayers, killing at least 29 people and wounding another 81, officials said. Abdullah Asrat, spokesman for the governor of Paktia province, said the heavily armed attackers, disguised in the all-encompassing burkas worn by conservative Afghan women, opened fire on private security guards outside the mosque in the city of Gardez. Then they slipped inside and set off their explosives among around 100 worshippers. Five of the seriously wounded were small children, he said. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but the Islamic State affiliate in Afghanistan has targeted Shiite worshippers in the past. Mehanti said Quest will absorb the costs of providing meals to students eligible for free- or reduced-price lunch and those students will have more food variety than in the past. Mehanti said the district previously paid up to $2.75 per meal for students on free- and reduced-price lunch and choices were very limited. Aden (AFP) - Yemen's internationally recognised government is ready to attend UN-brokered talks next month in Geneva but is "not optimistic", a government official said on Friday. "We will go but we are not optimistic," the official told AFP on condition of anonymity. He said there remained "huge differences" between the government and rebels. The UN envoy to Yemen, Martin Griffiths, on Thursday told the Security Council that the United Nations will invite Yemen's warring sides for talks in Geneva on September 6 to discuss a framework for peace negotiations. Griffiths said "a political solution" to end the war in Yemen was "available" and urged world powers to support the new push for peace negotiations. There has yet been no response from the rebels. UN-brokered political talks on Yemen broke down in 2016 amid demands for a rebel withdrawal from key cities and power-sharing with the Saudi-backed government. Since 2015, Saudi Arabia has been leading a military campaign to restore the government to power and push back the Shiite Huthi rebels, who hold the capital Sanaa. The war in the impoverished country has since left nearly 10,000 people dead and unleashed what the United Nations describes as the world's worst humanitarian crisis. BEIRUT - UN peacekeepers returned Thursday for the first time in years to the frontier between Syria and Israel, conducting joint patrols with Russian military police in a reflection of Moscow's deepening role in mediating between the decades-old foes in the volatile region. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter Israel has increasingly sought Russia's involvement in securing its frontier with Syria and in scaling back Iran's influence in the area. Moscow, Damascus's weightiest ally, has in turn sought coordination with Israel as a bridge with Washington in dealing with Syria's complex war. Israel considers Iran's growing influence in Syriait has advisers and allied militias fighting alongside Syrian troopsas an existential threat and had looked for guarantees from Moscow to push pro-Iran fighters away from its frontiers. UN peacekeepers observing border from Israeli side (Photo: EPA) Col. Gen. Sergei Rudskoy of the Russian General Staff said conditions have been created for the resumption of UN peacekeeping patrols along the area separating Syria and Israel. The UN peacekeeping forces first deployed along the frontier in 1974 following an agreement to separate Syrian and Israeli forces after Israel captured the Golan Heights in the 1967 Six-Day War. Rudskoy said Russian military police have accompanied the peacekeepers on patrols, adding that eight Russian-manned observation points opposite the UN points will be set up "to rule out possible provocations." When the situation stabilizes, Rudskoy said, the Russian-manned posts would be handed over to Syrian government forces. UN peacekeepers fleeing the border (Photo: Avihu Shapira) Israel acknowledged a return to normalcy along the frontier. Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman said the situation on the Syrian side of the boundary had returned to its pre-2011 state after Syrian government forces, supported by Russia's military, regained control of the region from armed opposition that controlled since 2014. Lieberman said Israel will have "no cause to intervene or operate in Syrian territory" if Damascus respects the 1974 disengagement agreement between the two sidesand as long as Syria doesn't become a staging ground for Iranian forces to attack Israel or transfer arms to Hezbollah in Lebanon. The area, peaceful for decades since the agreement, became a fighting ground at the height of the Syrian civil war, finally pushing the UN peacekeeping force out in 2014 after al-Qaeda militants kidnapped 45 UN peacekeepers . They were released two weeks later. The kidnapped UN peacekeepers The area had become particularly volatile in recent weeks amid a Syrian government offensive to retake territories controlled by the opposition adjacent to the frontier. Israel has also upped its strikes against suspected Iranian targets inside Syria. A day before the joint Russia-UN patrols, Russia announced it reached an agreement with Israel to keep pro-Iranian fighters 85 kilometers (53 miles) from the volatile frontier. It was the first publicized results of Russian mediation. Russian officials announced that Moscow gave Israel guarantees that that zone would be clear of pro-Iranian fighters. Russia had warned it would be unrealistic to expect Iran to fully withdraw from Syria. During their summit in Helsinki, Russian President Vladimir Putin and President Donald Trump said they were exploring ways to protect Israel from the war in Syria. They didn't elaborate but later Putin said he agreed with Trump on securing Israel's border with Syria in line with the 1974 deal. Trump and Putin meet in Helsinki (Photo: AFP) A week later, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov flew to Jerusalem where he met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in talks that focused on the Iranian presence in Syria. Netanyahu stressed the "extraordinarily important" link between the two countries. The two sides discussed a Russian proposal that would see any forces linked to Iran distanced some 100 kilometers (62 miles) away from the Golan Heights. Netanyahu meets with Lavrov (Photo: Haim Zach/GPO) Reflecting the tension along the frontier, the IDF said Thursday that its aircraft fired on "several armed terror operatives in the southern Syrian Golan Heights" overnight and that troops were on high alert. IDF spokesman, Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus, said in a telephone briefing with reporters that he could not immediately comment on the UN deployment on the Syrian side of the border. UN peacekeepers observing border from Israeli side (Photo: EPA) Conricus said the IDF targeted with a military aircraft and killed seven "armed terror operatives" who had attempted to cross into Israeli territory late Wednesday. He said a preliminary assessment was that the infiltrators were Islamic State militants. Israeli troops were on "high alert and readiness" following the strike. The army's announcement came shortly after Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman toured a Patriot missile defense battery in northern Israel during a military preparedness drill. Speaking to reporters Thursday, Brig. Gen. Nitzan Nuriel, former head of the Counterterror Bureau at the Prime Minister's Office, said Israel should be on alert in the area because Syrian government troops "from now and a year from now, they will not be able to control those who are trying to attack the State of Israel from that border." He said Israel will not accept any changes to the 1974 deal or the presence of any Syrian troops or allied militias inside the disengagement zone. In Amman, Jordan's Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said the Syrian government has not officially requested the opening of the Syria-Jordan border after government forces recaptured its side of a crossing from rebels last month. Jordan has been in discussions with Russian authorities, Safadi said, and will respond to Syria's request "positively" in a way that supports Jordanian and Syrian interests. WASHINGTON - US officials say the Trump administration is staffing up a Middle East policy team at the White House in anticipation of unveiling its long awaited but largely mysterious Israeli-Palestinian peace plan. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter The National Security Council last week began approaching other agencies seeking volunteers to join the team, which will work for President Donald Trump's Mideast peace pointmen Jared Kushner and Jason Greenblatt, according to the officials. The team, which is being set up to organize the peace plan's public presentation and any negotiations that may ensue, will comprise three units: one concentrating on its political and security details, one on its significant economic focus and one on strategic communications, the officials said. US Mideast team meets with Prime Minister Netanyahu (Photo: US Embassy Jerusalem) Timing on the release of the plan remains undecided. The State Department, Pentagon, intelligence agencies and Congress have been asked to detail personnel to the team for six months to a year, according to the officials, who were not authorized to publicly discuss the matter and spoke on condition of anonymity. The agencies declined to comment but an NSC official said that Kushner, Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser, and Greenblatt, Trump's special envoy for international negotiations, "are expanding their team and the resources available as they finalize the details and rollout strategy of the peace initiative." White House officials say the plan will focus on pragmatic details, rather than top-line concepts, that will be able to easier win public support. Kushner meets with Palestinian officials in Ramallah (Photo: GettyImages) Yet the Palestinian leadership has been openly hostile to any proposal from the Trump administration, citing what it says is a pro-Israel bias, notably after Trump recognized Jerusalem as Israel's capital in December and moved the US embassy there from Tel Aviv in May. Since the Palestinian Authority and its President Mahmoud Abbas broke off contact after the Jerusalem announcement, the US negotiating team has been talking to independent Palestinian experts. The White House expects that the Palestinian Authority will engage on the plan and has been resisting congressional demands to fully close the Palestine Liberation Organization office in Washington because Greenblatt and Kushner want to keep that channel open. But officials have offered little evidence to back that up. Kushner meets with Jordan's King Abdullah to discuss the peace plan Palestinian alienation has continued to grow as millions of dollars in US assistance remains on hold and appears likely to be cut entirely. With just two months left in the current budget year, less than half of the planned $251 million in US aid planned for the Palestinians in 2018$92.8 millionhas been released, according to the government's online tracker, www.foreignassistance.gov. The remaining amount is still on hold as is an additional $65 million in frozen US assistance to the UN Relief and Works Agency, which provides services to Palestinians in the West Bank, Gaza, Jordan and Lebanon. In addition, Israel's response to the plan is far from certain. Although Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is one of Trump's top foreign allies, it remains unclear if he will back massive investment in Gaza, which is run by the terrorist Hamas movement. For the plan to succeed or even survive the starting gate, it will need at least initial buy-in from both Israel and the Palestinians as well as from the Gulf Arab states, which officials say will be asked to substantially bankroll its economic portion. Arab officials have thus far adopted a wait-and-see approach. Kushner meets with Egytpian President Sisi to discuss the peace plan (Photo: EPA) Officials say there will never be a perfect time for the roll-out, but that they are laying the groundwork now for when an opportune time becomes apparent. The plan is not done, but is being finalized, including an economic development proposal for the Palestinian people that foresees major infrastructure and industrial work, particularly in Gaza. The officials believe that the hope of a better economic future for the Palestinians coupled with progress on that front, the Palestinians may be willing to delay or modify what have been intractable and to-date unresolvable demands from Israel. Those include the right for Palestinian refugees to return to lands they abandoned or were forced from, the recognition of east Jerusalem as the capital of an independent Palestine. And, they plan to appeal to all sides of the conflict not to let the disagreements of the past hold back their children's futures, according to the officials. The Hamas delegation that arrived in Gaza on Thursday will discuss a ceasefire agreement with Israel that includes the improvement of living conditions in the strip as well as a sea port and an airport in Egypt, according to a report Friday in Lebanese newspaper Al Akhbar. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter Meanwhile, a senior source told Ynet that a prisoner exchange deal between Hamas and Israel, which will include the return of two Israeli citizens and the remains of two IDF soldiers, will happenif at allonly at the end of the agreement's implementation. A high-level Hamas delegation entered Gaza Thursday evening through the Rafah border crossing after holding talks in Cairo on the reconciliation agreement with Fatah as well as a possible ceasefire with Israel. Hamas leaders Saleh al-Arouri and Ismail Haniyeh (: EPA) Most of the Hamas leadership is based in Gaza but was joined by exiled members of the group's political bureau, including Saleh al-Arouri, a founder of the Hamas military wing in the West Bank and a mastermind of violent attacks against Israelis in the past; Hamas's spokesman abroad Husam Badran; senior Hamas official Mousa Abu Marzouk; and Hamas official Izzat al-Rishq. Deputy Hamas leader in Gaza, Khalil al-Hayya, accompanied the delegation to Cairo and returned with it to Gaza on Thursday. The Hamas website Safa said Friday this marks the first time all members of the political bureau have come together in Gaza. Hamas officials have said guarantees were given that the delegation would not be targeted by Israel and that progress has been made toward a truce that could pave the way for a UN-led reconstruction of Gaza. Hamas leader Ismail Hanieyh with Hamas official Husam Badran (Photo: EPA) Israel's Security Cabinet is set to convene on Sunday in an underground bunker in the Jerusalem area in order to discuss a wide-scale arrangement on the Gaza Strip. The ministers will be briefed on the discussions held under the auspices of UN Middle East envoy Nikolay Mladenov and the Egyptians. According to Al Akhbar, the first stage of the ceasefire agreement will come into effect within a week and will include an end to "March of Return" protest activities on the Israel-Gaza border. In return, the Kerem Shalom border crossing will resume activity and the Rafah border crossing with Egypt will be reopened on a more permanent basis. Hamas leaders Saleh al-Arouri and Ismail Haniyeh (Photo: EPA) The second stage will include the improvement of living conditions in the Gaza Strip and the complete removal of the blockade, according to the Lebanese paper. Israel will allow the transfer of goods into the strip and increase the electricity it provides Gaza. The third stage of the plan, according to the report, will include the launch of UN humanitarian projects already proposed in the past, including the construction of a sea port for Gaza in Ismailia, Egypt, operating an airport for the strip in Sinai, as well as the construction of a power plant in the Egyptian peninsula. In addition, the reconstruction of Gaza will go ahead. This reported outline was presented by UN Envoy to the Middle East Nickolay Mladenov to Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh during their meeting last week in Gaza. Among the other incentives to the Palestinians in the plan is increasing the power supply to the strip to four additional hours a day, $31 million in aid from Qatar, and $91 million in aid for UNRWA. In addition, $10 million will be transferred to the strip to pay salaries to Palestinian Authority employees in the Gaza Strip. A Hamas official told Al Akhbar that "there is an agreement in principle to the Egyptian-international roadmap for calm in the strip." However, Hamas's political leadership wishes to first have a discussion on the plan before giving the go-ahead for the final negotiations. On Saturday, Hamas and Fatah delegations are scheduled to return to Egypt and have a joint meeting with Egyptian intelligence officials on the internal Palestinian reconciliation. If no new disagreements emerge, the two warring factions might officially announce the adoption of the Egyptian roadmap for the reconciliation, signed by the two sides several months ago. SINGAPORE - US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says North Korea is far from living up to its pledge to denuclearize and remains in violation of numerous UN Security Council resolutions. Speaking Friday before he attends an Asian security forum with North Korea's foreign minister, Pompeo told reporters in Singapore there was "still a ways to go before" achieving the goal of ridding the North of its nuclear weapons. Pompeo's comments came after the White House announced Thursday that President Donald Trump received a new letter from North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and responded quickly with a letter of his own. The correspondence, following up on their Singapore summit in June, came amid fresh concerns over Pyongyang's commitment to denuclearization despite a rosy picture of progress painted by Trump. Videos from six and eight years ago, which only came to light this week, show Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn calling Hamas terrorists his "brothers" and comparing between the destruction in Gaza to that in Stalingrad and Leningrad during World War WIIessentially comparing Israel to Nazi Germany. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter The videos, revealed by the British Times and other UK media over the past two days, have led to calls to oust Corbyn from the Labour leadership due to his extreme anti-Israeli positions, with Jewish Labour MPs calling on him to resign amid accusations of anti-Semitism in the party. Corbyn, a serious contender for the British premiership, is seen in one of the videos that recently emerged speaking at a rally outside the Israeli Embassy in London in 2010. Corbyn in anti-Israel rally in 2010 X "I was in Gaza three months ago. I saw the mortar shell that had gone through the school buildings, the destroyed UN establishments, the burned out schools, the ruined homes, the destroyed lives, the imprisoned people, the psychological damage to a whole generation, who've been imprisoned for as long as the siege of Leningrad and Stalingrad took place," Corbyn, at the time a backbench MP, told the crowd. "This is a war crime that has been undertaken, but this time on live television," he added. The same year, Corbyn hosted an event at the British Parliament for Gaza on International Holocaust Remembrance Day under the headline "Never Again for Anyone Auschwitz to Gaza." Some of the speakers at the event accused Israel of using the Holocaust for its own political need, while leaflets were handed out claiming Israel is carrying out genocide. Furthermore, according to British media, Corbyn also signed a petition calling to change the name of the International Holocaust Remembrance Day to "Genocide Memorial Day Never Again For Anyone," a general name that ignores the Jewish people. Another video from 2012 is of an interview Corbyn gave to Iran's Press TV in a program titled "Remember Palestine," where he described over 1,000 Hamas terrorists released by Israel in the Gilad Shalit prisoner swap in 2011 as "brothers." On the same show, Corbyn also questioned if there was a "serious case" against the released terrorists, who have been convicted of the murder of almost 600 Israelis. Corbyn's spokesman said the Labour leader had already apologized for some of his past comments, noting that one of the speakers at the 2010 event was a Jewish Auschwitz survivor. Corbyn himself apologized earlier this week for the "concerns and anxiety caused" by the 2010 event, but many in his party refuse to accept his apology. Three British Jewish newspapers published a joint article recently warning there would be an "existential threat to Jewish life" in the UK if the opposition Labour Party, led by Corbyn, won power from the ruling Conservative Party. British Jewish activists also warned a "stampede" of British Jews would immigrate to Israel if Corbyn was elected prime minister. SINGAPORE - Iran's foreign minister said on Friday China was "pivotal" to salvaging a multilateral nuclear agreement for the Middle Eastern country after the United States pulled out of the pact earlier this year. "The role of China in the implementation of JCPOA, in achieving JCPOA, and now in sustaining JCPOA, will be pivotal," Mohammad Javad Zarif said, referring to the technical name for the nuclear deal. Jerry Silverman, the president and CEO of the Jewish Federations of North America, strongly condemned Thursday the controversial Nationality Law, under which only Jews have the right for self-determination in the State of Israel. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter "As strong supporters of Israel, we were disappointed that the government passed legislation which was effectively a step back for all minorities," Silverman wrote in a post on the JFNA Facebook page. Silverman, who is considered one of the more prominent and important Jewish Diaspora leaders, also expressed solidarity with the Druze community, who feel excluded by the law, urging Israeli legislators "to work with the community as soon as possible to address their very real concerns." Jerry Silverman (Photo: Jewish Federations of North America) He added that "At the Jewish Federations conference in Tel Aviv in Octoberthe General Assemblywe will address how Federations are working to help integrate minorities more fully into Israeli society." After discussions with Druze leaders, the Prime Minister's Office released an outline proposal that was called in an effort to allay fears that the Nationality Law will impinge on their equality and basic rights. But Druze leaders decided not to accept the proposal and continue their struggle for full recognition as equal citizens. On Thursday evening, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu abruptly ended a meeting with Druze leaders after one of them, Brig. Gen. (res.) Amal Asad, called Israel an "apartheid state" in a Facebook post, further exacebrating the strain in ties between the State of Israel and its loyal Druze minority group. Earlier this week, the Nationality Law came under criticism by former Likud Minister Dan Meridor, who called the legislation "unnecessary, harmful and mostly disgraceful." "Our constitution is the ID of all citizens in the country. Everyone should be proud of it. But it's not just Arab or Druze citizens, I too cannot be proud of this Basic Law. I'm ashamed of it," said Meridor, the former justice and finance minister. "The State of Israel is indeed the nation state of the Jewish people, but it must have full equality for all of its citizens," he continued. Dan Meridor (Photo: Ofer Amram) "As a Jew whose people lived as a minority for 2,000 years, I am ashamed that in our country's Basic Laws, this government is not willing to write the most basic principle: All people are equal before the law," Meridor added. "One must not be discriminated against over religion, nationality, race, gender or sexual orientation. All citizens, including Druze who serve in the army and Arabs who don't, are full citizens and the State of Israel is their only state." He also called on the Israeli government to cancel the law. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif mocked the US on Friday as his country launched a naval exercise in the Persian Gulf, saying "US Navy cant seem to find its way around our waters." Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter "Perhaps because it hasnt figured out its name: Persian Gulf, as it's been called for 2,000 years longer than US has existed. Or maybe it doesn't know what it's doing in our backyard, 7,000 miles from home," Zarif wrote on Twitter. In a different tweet on Thursday, Zarif said Washington's "addiction to sanctions knows no bounds," noting the "unlawful sanctions" the US imposed against two ministers from Turkey, an allied country, "illustrate not just US administration's policy of pressure and extortion in lieu of statecraft." Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif (Photo: Reuters) Iran launched a naval exercise in the Gulf on Thursday, just days before the US reimposes sanctions on Tehran, a defense official told AFP. The timing of the exercise is unusual, as it appears to be similar in scale and nature to a drill that ordinarily happens later in the autumn. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said several dozen boats were out training early Thursday morning. The vessels are mostly small attack boats, and there have been no interactions with US ships in the area, the official added. Iranian attck boats take part in the drill (: PRESSTV) "We are monitoring it closely, and will continue to work with our partners to ensure freedom of navigation and free flow of commerce in international waterways," Urban said. US warship The exercises come at a time of increased tension between Iran and the United States, which has pulled out of a historic nuclear pact and is slapping fresh sanctions on Tehran on Monday. US officials in recent years have accused both the regular Iranian navy and the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps of routinely harassing American warships in the Gulf. But so far this year, to the befuddlement of some military officials, there have been no such incidents. The Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps is a paramilitary force that answers directly to the Islamic republic's supreme leader. In January 2016, the Iranians briefly captured the crew of two small US patrol boats that strayed into Iranian waters. The 10 US sailors were released 24 hours later. Two weeks have passed since the adoption of the Basic Law: Israel as the Nation-State of the Jewish Peoplealso known as the Nationality Lawand yet the debate is in full swing. The media gives the impression the new law violates the rights of minorities and turns the State of Israel into a racist country. I thought so too, until I read the law, discovering that the truth could not be further from that. You can read it yourself here. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter What is the Nationality Law? The basic law declares that the State of Israel is the nation-state of the Jewish people, that the anthem is "Hatikvah," that the flag of the state is blue and white, that Independence Day is a national holiday, and that the state shall encourage Jewish immigration. All familiar things that every Zionist supports. Sounds great. So why is the law needed? This law should have been passed years ago. Since its establishment, Israel has passed 13 Basic Laws that are in many senses equivalent to a constitution. The previous Basic Laws dealt with the separation of powers, with human dignity and liberty, and so on. This law adds an element that was missing: the special character of the state as a Jewish homeland. In addition, the law is a response to the erosion among some of the Israeli elitesincluding some sections of the Supreme Courtof the Jewish identity of the state. Had the Knesset not passed this law, the High Court of Justice could have been petitioned, for example, over the right of Jews to immigrate to Israel or over the national anthem. So the Druze, the Arabs and the other minorities are right. The law discriminates against them! It seems that when opponents of the law cant find problems with the language of the law, they invent things that are not written in it. Arabs, Druze and members of minorities: you are being deceived. The law does not violate any of your rights, nor limit your partnership in this country. There might be areas in which there are unjustified gaps between sectors, such as in the field of education or infrastructure, and these are problems that must be dealt with; recently the government has expressed its commitment to this task by allocating billions of shekels to it. In any event, this law does not deal with individual civil rights, which are shared equally, but rather only with the national rights granted to the Jewish nation. Individual rights are guaranteed explicitly in other basic laws. Moreover, the law ensures that "the state will work to ensure the well-being of the Jewish people and of its citizens who are in distress ... because they are Jews or because of their citizenship." This was carefully drafted to mean that the state is obligated by its Basic Law to come to the aid of any Druze, Christian or Muslim citizen in harms way due to their Israeli citizenship. If the rights of minorities are not violated, why is the principle of equality not mentioned within the law? This is not the appropriate framework. The appropriate framework is the Basic Laws dealing with individual rights. Indeed, the court has already expanded the interpretation of "human dignity" and granted constitutional protection to the value of equality. The court rejected government decisions and laws whose violation of equality was unjustified in its opinion and the Nationality Law does not seek to change that. Thus, for example, the tax benefits map was rejected on the grounds that it discriminates against Arabs; the IDF was forced to allow the recruitment of female pilots, and so on. Netanyahu meets with Druze leaders (file photo) (Photo: Koby Gideon/GPO) Moreover, the court inserted the value of equality into the Basic Law: Human Dignity and Liberty even though the Knesset did not include it explicitly it in the language of the original law. This is, of course, another reason why Knesset members are suspicious and unwilling to introduce the word "equality" into the new law. Based on the Supreme Courts history of very loose interpretation of existing statutes, the Knesset is legitimately concerned that the Court might one day decide, for example, that in the name of equality, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from the territories can become citizens of Israel through marriage, or that the Israeli religious marriages system should be annulled. These are legitimate questions, but they should be left to the legislators, the peoples representatives, not to the Supreme Court. Is the status of Arabic being downgraded? No. To this day, there is a dispute among jurists whether Arabic is considered an official language. In practice, it is clear that it has never been of equal status to Hebrew, which is apparent, for example, in the fact that Israeli courts will not accept petitions in Arabic. Moreover, the Basic Law clearly states that "the status that is actually given to the Arabic language before the commencement of this Basic Law is not to be harmed." In fact, this means that the status of Arabic in Israel is higher than the status of minority languages in other enlightened countries. In France and the United States, it is impossible to study at a state school in Arabic or Spanish, you study only in the language of the state, French or English respectively. In Israel, the Arab minority studies in Arabic at state schools and will continue to do so. What about the article that says the state will act to encourage Jewish settlement? The relevant article reads "The state views the development of Jewish settlement as a national value, and will act to encourage and promote its establishment and consolidation." This says nothing more than was already stated in the League of Nations mandate and has been a cornerstone of Zionism for over a century. Unfortunately, Israel still is endangered by irredentism and must defend its borders. By the way, Israel has many established settlements and large cities that are exclusively populated by Arabs, who do not wish for Jews to live in their midst. Have you ever tried to live as a Jew in Umm al-Fahm or Rahat? What about the connections with Diaspora Jewry? The law explicitly states that "the state will act in the Diaspora to preserve the connection between the state and the Jewish people." For the first time, the State of Israel affirms in basic legislation the status of the Law of Return and guarantees the connection with Diaspora Jewry. What could be more Jewish and Zionist than that? Arab MKs protest Nationality Law in the Knesset (: ) So why do so many people oppose to the Nationality Law? The truth is that the public relations for supporting the law is poor and there is wild incitement against it in the global media. Even if it is possible and desirable to argue about the law and its sections, the level of media discussion indicates that many critics of the law did not even bother to read it. After they read the law, I would expect all Jewish MKs to support the law or at least to lower the level of incitement. The law ratifies classical Zionism: The State of Israel is a Jewish state. That's all. Like most countries in the world (but unlike the United States and Canada, which are the exception and not the rule), Israel is a nation-state. Those who deny the legitimacy of nation-states cannot do so only in the case of Israel. And those who oppose the law did not read it or automatically react negatively to everything that Netanyahu and his government are promoting. It is possible not to love Netanyahu, but it is fitting and proper to support this just legislation promoted by his government. Now that this law joins the rest of Israel's basic laws, Israel will continue to be a Jewish, democratic state that guarantees full civil rights for all its citizens. Thats the way it was until now, thats how its going to be from now on. We bought property wherever we could, buying it from the individuals who owned it and then, eventually because we publicized it and held the prairie fest in this general area right here, we got the state and the county interested, Godson said. They already knew it was high quality prairie. It was already on the Illinois natural areas inventory. The scope of Iran's aid to the Gaza Strip comes into light as the civil protest against the regime in the Islamic Republic grows stronger amid the grave economic crisis in the country, which is expected to be exacerbated when American sanctions come into effect. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter Iran transfers $100 million every year to Hamas and Islamic Jihad, the two main Palestinian factions in the Gaza Strip. The money is divided as follows: $70 million is transferred to Hamas, while Islamic Jihad gets $30 million. The vast majority of this money is used by the two organizations to further bolster their military wings, instead of aiding the civilian population in the Gaza Strip. While this is indeed a high sum of money, it is only a tenth of the annual budget that Iran transfers to Hezbollah, which is on average $1 billion annually. Over the past year, however, Iran's budget for the Lebanese Shi'ite organization was reduced to only $800 million due to the economic crisis it is suffering from, but the budget for the Gaza Strip remained unchanged. Since the Hamas leadership changed in the last elections, the pro-Iranian faction in the organization, which is led by Deputy Hamas leader Saleh al-Arouri and the military wing's leadership, has grown in power and influence. Iranian aid in Gaza And while the pro-Iranian faction in Hamas grows strong, Egypt is putting all its weight on Hamas and Fatah to implement the reconciliation agreement they signed. Inside Palestinian sources told Ynet that there has been a power struggle inside Hamas in recent weeks between the pro-Iranian faction and the moderate faction. According to the sources, the moderate faction wants to move ahead with the reconciliation process, while the pro-Iranian faction, led by al-Arouri, is opposed to the reconciliation with Fatah, believing it will weaken Hamas's control over the Gaza Strip. Al-Arouri arrived in the Gaza Strip on Thursday in an effort to resolve the internal strife within the organization in future discussions between him and Hamas leaders Ismail Haniyeh and Yahya Sinwar over the reconciliation process and the negotiations for a long-term ceasefire with Israel. Al-Arouri meets with Iranian officials in Tehran (Photo: Reuters) One of the disputed issues regarding the ceasefire agreement is Hamas's continued military buildup. For Hamas, this appears to be a critical matter in light of recent flare-ups in the Gaza Strip, which included extensive Israeli attacks. Ynet has learned that in the latest series of attacks, the Israeli Air Force destroyed Hamas's naval capabilities, primarily sabotaging the organization's elite naval commando force. Hamas has placed high hopes on this forcewishing to maintain its element of surprise, so it can be used in the next round of fighting, as a replacement to Hamas's offensive tunnels capability, which will be rendered useless because of Israel's underground wall project along the Gaza border. Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman on Thursday announced his decision to again halt the transfer of fuel and gas into the Gaza Strip through the Kerem Shalom crossing because of the continued launches of incendiary balloons at Israel. While Hamas did order its fighters to stop sending incendiary balloons, it also decreed that only children under the age of 14 are allowed to participate in this activity, and that it would be carried out only from urban residential areas, to make it difficult for the IDF to attack these children squads for fear of intenational criticism. The family of fallen IDF soldier Oron Shaul, whose body is being held by Hamas in Gaza, urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday not to agree to a ceasefire agreement with the terror group if it does not include the return of their son's remains. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter The family plans to protest outside the Israeli Security Cabinet's meeting on Sunday, during which the ministers will discuss the wide-scale arrangement on the Gaza Strip. The ministers will be briefed on the discussions held under the auspices of UN Middle East envoy Nikolay Mladenov and the Egyptians. Hamas's political leadership is meeting in Gaza on Friday to discuss the possible ceasefire deal, which is reported to include a sea port and an airport for Gaza in Egypt and the improvement of living conditions in the strip. Zehava Shaul, Oron's mother, with a photo of her son (Photo: Ohad Zwigenberg) In a letter to the prime minister and the members of the Security Cabinet, the Shaul family wrote: "We turn to you at this fateful hour, on the eve of the meeting in which the Cabinet is due to make decisions on an agreement in Gaza (hudna)." "We will preface by saying that any agreement that does not include the return of Oron, Hadar (Goldin), Avera and the other citizens (being held by Hamas) will not be worth the paper it's written on, or alternatively the understandings and verbal promises being made. Remember, this will all come back to us like a boomerang," the family warned. IDF soldiers Shaul and Goldin were both killed during Operation Protective Edge in the Gaza Strip in the summer of 2014. Hamas has been holding their bodies ever since. Hamas is also holding two Israeli citizens who accidentally entered the stripAvera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed, both of whom are believed to be alive. "For this agreement to have any practical and moral validity, the first article must be the release of our sons. Only then will the agreement be strong and worthy," the family asserted. Hadar Goldin; Oron Shaul; Avera Mengistu They went on to stipulate that "an agreement that does not include the return of our sons is akin to a high-rise building without foundations. Our sons are the very heart and backbone of the agreement. An agreement without the return of our sons is a capitulation agreement that testifies and will testify to the weakness of our country. This will give the enemy the strength to violate the agreement from time to time, without fear." Turning to Israelis, and particularly those living in Gaza border communities, the family stressed, "our sons went to defend you with their body and soul, they had the courage and bravery. Therefore, you are required by morality and conscience to oppose an agreement that abandons our sons," the family continued. "Furthermore, if the agreement does not include our sons, it will be doomed to fail. An agreement without our sons will not bring to the quiet and calm we long for." Turning back to the prime minister, the family wrote: "You and we know the truthif you had acted with a clean conscience, a pure heart and without foreign considerations, such as the electorate and political agendawe would have had our sons back in their homeland a long time ago. "In conclusion, we'll say unequivocally: had this matter been up to the defense establishment, our sons would've been home a long time ago. Abandoning our soldiers and citizens puts a mark of shame on the State of Israel." Professor Simcha Goldin added that Israels interest should be first and foremost bringing back its soldiers. "Ahead of the Security Cabinet meeting on Sunday, there are plenty of rumors We wont let the money reach Gaza before the soldiers are returned. The interest of the State of Israel is first and foremost to bring back the soldiers. It is clear to everyone, except for the prime minister and this needs to change. "The UN envoy to the Middle East Nickolay Mladenov is responsible for the fact that Hadar is still not with us. Hadar was kidnapped during a ceasefire that was mediated by the UN, therefore the UN is responsible for bringing him back," Goldin concluded. According to Lebanese newspaper Al Akhbar, the first stage of the ceasefire agreement will come into effect within a week and will include an end to "March of Return" protest activities on the Israel-Gaza border. In return, the Kerem Shalom border crossing will resume activity and the Rafah border crossing with Egypt will be reopened on a more permanent basis. Hamas leaders meet in Gaza (Photo: EPA) The second stage will include the improvement of living conditions in the Gaza Strip and the complete removal of the blockade, according to the Lebanese paper. Israel will allow the transfer of goods into the strip and increase the electricity it provides Gaza. The third stage of the plan, according to the report, will include the launch of UN humanitarian projects already proposed in the past, including the construction of a sea port for Gaza in Ismailia, Egypt, operating an airport for the strip in Sinai, as well as the construction of a power plant in the Egyptian peninsula. In addition, the reconstruction of Gaza will go ahead. Among the other incentives to the Palestinians in the plan is increasing the power supply to the strip to four additional hours a day, $31 million in aid from Qatar, and $91 million in aid for UNRWA. In addition, $10 million will be transferred to the strip to pay salaries to Palestinian Authority employees in the Gaza Strip. US firm Best Western Hotels & Resorts, the last Western hotel chain still in Crimea, has pulled out because of sanctions imposed after Russia annexed the region from Ukraine, two hotel employees said. "The Best Western Sevastopol Hotel", a Soviet-era building on the quayside in the port of Sevastopol was one of the few visible signs of an international business presence left since the 2014 annexation. Other major brands, among them McDonald's Corp and Radisson Hotels have already quit Crimea. The LGBT community activists filed dozens of police complaints against Moshe Hasdai, a Channel 7 journalist, who published a defamatory article inciting violence against the community. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter Hasdai, Major Gen. (Res.), who was a director of the youth advancement unit in Kiryat Arba, founder and director of the Regional Youth Department in the Shafir Regional Council and the director of Mevaseret Zion Absorption Center. He has in the past called for a destruction of the Palestinian Authority and the Hamas organization, stating that they, along with the Arab MKs, are neo-Nazis. LGBT activists after filing police complaints He wrote that the citizens of Israel are "fighting for their lives," and has also attacked the Israeli Left. "The power of LGBT and other radical leftist movements, including radical feminism, are penetrating the military and other positions of power, which plays into the hands of the Arab enemy that sees it as an opportunity to weakens our military and national power," he wrote. He reiterated his statements in an interview with Ynet, criticizing IDFs first openly gay major general, Sharon Afek. "When our enemies look at us and see the story about a major general coming out of the closet, all these demonstrations in Tel Avivinvolving nudity, multiple Pride Parades, disagreements within the general publicbecause some people feel very threatened by the whole LGBT issue, they interpret it as a weakness and not strength. "A major general in the IDF must create deterrence in the eye of the enemy the rest does not interest anyone," he concluded in the interview. However, Hasdai acknowledged that his words might be upsetting to some and apologized to those he might have hurt. Channel 7 responded to the uproar following the publication, saying the article was posted on their website due to a malfunction", and issued an apology via their official Twitter account. "Due to a malfunction, Channel 7 posted an article containing language that might be interpreted as violent towards the LGBT community. We condemn any calls for violence make sure the discourse remains respectful. The editor who allowed the article to be posted had been reprimanded and the article was taken down. We hope other media outlets adapt similar policies when it comes to incitement against any group in the Israeli society, concluded the statement. The activists who filed complaints against Hasdai issued a statement saying the police are not doing enough in order to discourage similar incidents. Activists files complaint "Every year members of the LGBT community deal with attacks of this nature and file police complaints that are thrown out due to a lack of public interest. This year it went a step further as the community is compared to the worst of allthe Nazis, the murderers. This kind of incitement is what leads to the incidents such as Shira Bankis murder and hundreds of other attacks against the LGBT community which occur every year," said the statement. The Pink Panthers group also commented on the incident, criticizing the lack of action on the issue from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. "LGBT lives are just as important as any other Israeli citizen. We deserve peaceful and secure lives. The thunderous silence of Prime Minister Netanyahu and his ministers on this issue emphasizes the importance of a civil awakening that has been happening over the past few weeks. Without leadership, it is our job is to protect our LGBT brothers and sisters, said the official statement. The IDF Spokesperson's Unit said on Friday that a number of Palestinians had breached the border fence with Israel in southern Gaza, threw Molotov cocktails and retreated to the strip. The IDF responded by attacking a Hamas outpost. It was also reported that nearly 8,000 Palestinians took part in violent demonstrations along the border with Israel. Hamas spokesman Husam Badran said on Friday during a weekly protest near Gaza City that they will continue to fight against the blockade on the strip. "The Palestinians will never surrender and will not wave a white flag. We want to the blockade on Gaza to be lifted once and for all. We will sacrifice everything in order to protect our people," he concluded. Senior members of the Hamas delegation that arrived in Gaza on Thursday to discuss a ceasefire agreement with Israel, took part in protests along the Gaza border that are part of the March of Return campaign. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter Among those who participated in the demonstrations several high-profile figures had been noticed. Deputy Hamas leader Saleh al-Arouriwho has not visited Gaza in years, Qatar-based Hamas spokesman Husan Badran, Hamas leaders Mousa Abu Marzouk and Izzet al-Rishak. Hamas leaders in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar and his deputy Khalil al-Hayya, were present as well. Husan Badran The protests turned violent in several locations and a 25-year-old Palestinian man is reported to have been killed in clashes between the rioters and the IDF, east of Gaza City. Maher Obeid, who replaced Saleh al-Arouri as the head of Hamas's 'West Bank Headquartersa person in charge of Hamas terror activity in the West Bank, also attended the protests. Gaza protests X Musa Dodin, who is in charge of the issue of Hamas prisoners in Israel, also took part in the demonstrations. Several Hamas members made impassioned speech during the proceedings, vowing never to surrender to Israel. "The people of Gaza, those who protect our nation ... We have come to walk among you, be with our people and our nation. We are proud to belong to this great nation," Badran said during a rally held east of Gaza City. Hamas leaders The Palestinian people will never surrender or wave a white flag. Palestine, as we know it, is from the sea to the river. We want the blockade on Gaza to be lifted once and for all, and we will sacrifice everything necessary to protect our people." During his speech, Badran held a picture of the 17-year-old terrorist who stabbed to death Yotam Ovadia in the the settlement of Adam last week. Gaza border clashes (Photo: Reuters) Throughout the day, several clashes erupted along the border between Palestinian protesters and IDF forces. The IDF Spokespersons Unit said that around 8,000 Palestinians ,took part in weekly border demonstrations. Amid the riots, a group of Palestinian men breached the border fence with Israel and threw explosive devices and Molotov cocktails before retreating back into the Gaza territory. In response, IDF forces shelled a Hamas outpost. No injuries among the Israeli soldiers had been reported. In addition, 26 fires broke out in the Gaza border communities as a result of incendiary balloons flown into Israel from the strip. Hamas's political leadership is meeting in Gaza on Friday to discuss the possible ceasefire deal, which is reported to include a sea port and an airport for Gaza in Egypt and the improvement of living conditions in the strip. According to Lebanese newspaper Al Akhbar, the first stage of the ceasefire agreement will come into effect within a week and will include an end to "March of Return" protest activities on the Israel-Gaza border. In return, the Kerem Shalom border crossing will resume activity and the Rafah border crossing with Egypt will be reopened on a more permanent basis. Hamas leaders arrived in Gaza on Friday (Photo: EPA) The second stage will include the improvement of living conditions in the Gaza Strip and the complete removal of the blockade, according to the Lebanese paper. Israel will allow the transfer of goods into the strip and increase the electricity it provides Gaza. The third stage of the plan, according to the report, will include the launch of UN humanitarian projects already proposed in the past, including the construction of a sea port for Gaza in Ismailia, Egypt, operating an airport for the strip in Sinai, as well as the construction of a power plant in the Egyptian peninsula. In addition, the reconstruction of Gaza will go ahead. Among the other incentives to the Palestinians in the plan is increasing the power supply to the strip to four additional hours a day, $31 million in aid from Qatar, and $91 million in aid for UNRWA. In addition, $10 million will be transferred to the strip to pay salaries to Palestinian Authority employees in the Gaza Strip. Bilal Darawshe, a 44-year-old Israeli man, was killed on Friday in a car accident in Hungary. His wife and three children, who were in the car with him, had been wounded and taken to three different hospitals. The Israeli Consul in Budapest and the Department for Israelis Abroad in the Consular Affairs Section of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs are assisting the family. The United Nations says it is implementing "a gradual return" of its peacekeeping force to the buffer zone between Syria and the Israeli Golan Heights. UN deputy spokesman Farhan Haq told reporters Friday that a key goal in the return of the peacekeeping force, known as UNDOF, is reopening the Quneitra crossing between the two sides. "The ultimate goal for UNDOF is the full return, conditions permitting," he said. News San Luis, Arizona - Images created by 53 printmakers from five countries will be featured at the Arizona Western College San Luis Learning Center as part of the Horned Toad Print Exchange II. The international traveling exhibition is free for the community to attend and will be on display from August 15 to September 14. People can stop by to view the artwork at the AWC San Luis Learning Center, 1340 N. 8th Avenue, San Luis, Ariz., Monday through Thursday from 8 a.m. until 7 p.m. and on Friday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The Horned Toad Print Exchange II was open themed, giving printmakers across the globe an opportunity to submit an edition of 10 original prints using a variety of techniques including lithography, etching, serigraph, relief, and other approaches. The participants received 8 randomly selected prints from the exchange, and the remaining two prints are archived at The Horned Toad Prints studio and used for exhibition. Print exchanges, and their exhibitions, are the most accessible way to spark artistic dialog far and wide. Organized by Manuel Guerra, an artist from El Paso, Texas, the exhibition features prints from Mexico, Canada, England, Australia, and the U.S. The portfolio has been previously shown in Oaxaca, Mexico; Monterrey, Mexico; and twice in El Paso. After being on display at the AWC San Luis Learning Center in San Luis, Arizona, there are also plans to show the exhibition at the Southwest Print Fiesta in Silver City, New Mexico. This effort follows two exchanges from 2014 the first Horned Toad Print Exchange and the YayBig Print Exchange from Tucson. Both of these print exchanges were inspired by the previous "Dialogos y Interpretaciones" series of international print exchanges in 2012-2016, organized by Jules Floss, AWC Professor of Fine Arts, and Jorge E. Rodriguez Osorio, Professor of Art at the University of Caldas, in Manizales, Colombia. Visit www.tinyurl.com/HornedToad2 for more information about the exhibition as well as examples of what prints that will be featured. For additional questions, contact Jules Floss at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or (928) 314-9434. Pierce, 39, who uses a wheelchair, says Orion slipped out that day and she was looking for him. She lives on a peninsula separating Nippersink and Fox Lake on the north side of the village. She said she ran into a woman she didnt know who said she saw the dog near a house about a block from Pierces home, where she said she has lived since she was a child. Yuma News Yuma, Arizona - This September, five Yuma bands will square off at a live performance for a shot at a $5,000 winner-take-all cash prize. You are invited to witness the performances and help select the champion. Tickets are officially on sale for Battle of the Bands, 7 p.m. Sept. 22 at the Historic Yuma Theatre, 254 S. Main St. in Yuma. Tickets range from $10-15 and are available at www.YumaShowTickets.com, over the phone at 928-373-5202, or in person at the Yuma Art Center, Yuma Civic Center or the Parks and Recreation office at City Hall. Competing acts include: A Great Disgrace. Switchblade Mary. The Connors. The Raging Hyenas. Typha. All of the acts that submitted their application by the July deadline and passed through to the live performance round are from the Yuma area. After all competing bands perform, the audience will vote for their favorite band for the $5,000 cash prize. Judges will give feedback following each bands set, said Arts and Culture Program Manager Lindsay Benacka. Were hoping for a big crowd to help us select the winners. Local musician Mark Flint will host and his band Checkerd Past will perform. Whether or not concert-goers may be familiar with these bands, were working to make this a top-notch event, Benacka said. We are going to work directly with the selected bands and design lighting and staging elements specific to their set. Be sure to follow us on social media as the event unfolds. Yuma News Yuma, Arizona - Last night, at approximately 10:26 p.m., Yuma Police Officers checked out with graffiti in the area of 22nd Street and Madison Avenue. Two male subjects, from across the street, yelled at the officers then started shooting. Officers returned fire and the suspects fled on foot. Both suspects were located and taken into custody. One suspect, a 17 year old male, has a single gunshot wound that is considered non-life threatening. The second suspect is a 22 year old male. No Yuma Police Department officers were injured during this incident. This case is still under investigation. The Yuma Police Department encourages anyone with any information about this case to please call the Yuma Police Department at (928) 373-4700 or 78-Crime at (928) 782-7463 to remain anonymous. By Rev. Kail C. Ellis, OSA, PhD This November, Villanova will celebrate the 90th anniversary of the founding of the Mendel Medal. Throughout its 90-year history, it is humbling to reflect that the Mendel Medal has brought some of the worlds most prominent scientists to Villanovas campus. Honoring the achievements of these extraordinary individuals, including six Nobel Laureates has enabled Villanovas faculty, students, staff, and guests to engage the most salient scientific topics confronting contemporary society and culture. Like all significant events, the establishment of the Mendel Medal should be placed in the context of its time: the 1920s, when Darwins theory of evolution was contested as undermining traditional religious values and biblical belief, culminating in the so-called Scopes Monkey Trial, formally known as The State of Tennessee v. John Thomas Scopes. The Tennessee legislature passed a law that made it a misdemeanor punishable by fine to teach any theory that denies the story of the Divine Creation of man as taught in the Bible, and to teach instead that man has descended from a lower order of animals. This is the atmosphere in which Father Joseph Dougherty (PhD biology), the head of the Villanova College science division, advocated that the Board of Trustees establish the Mendel Medal. Father Doughertys career was highly influenced by the seminal Augustinian geneticist Gregor Mendel. An authority on the Mendelian laws of heredity, Father Dougherty lectured widely on Mendelian theories and worked tirelessly to build the Colleges pre-medical program. The significance of the Mendel Medal is that it affirms there is no contradiction between science and religion. At the time that the award was established, scientists were roughly half (51%) as likely as the general public to believe in God or a higher power. In contrast, 95% of Americans believe in some form of deity or higher power. In establishing the award, the Board and Father Dougherty were not trying to assert that one was superior to the other or to challenge non-belief. Rather, science and religion were perceived as two separate but harmonious entities. The Mendel Medal is a symbol of Villanovas choice to celebrate the compatibility of science and religion by honoring outstanding scientists who have given practical demonstration of the fact that between true science and true religion there is no real conflict. Not surprisingly, the hotbed issues of science and religion of Father Doughertys time continue to thrive today. When President Obama nominated the renowned geneticist Francis Collins to be the new director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), a number of scientists and pundits publicly questioned whether his devout religious faith should disqualify him from the position. Nevertheless, the U.S. Senate unanimously confirmed Dr. Collins in August 2009. Villanova honored Dr. Collins with the Mendel Medal in 1998 for his work as director of the National Center for Human Genome Research. Today, the issue of teaching evolution continues to create controversy. The 2009 Mendel Medal recipient, Dr. Kenneth Miller, was the plaintiff's lead expert witness in the 2005 landmark Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District case that challenged the school board's mandate to incorporate intelligent designa religious argument that rejects the theory of natural selection and argues that the complexities of the universe suggests an intelligent cause in form of a supreme creatorinto the curriculum. The mandate of the school district was, with Dr. Millers testimony, overturned. Dr. Olufunmilayo Olopade, the 2017 Mendel Medal recipient, told Villanova students at her lecture how lucky they were to be at a university that celebrates the heritage of Gregor Mendel. Her words affirm the vision of Father Dougherty and the Villanova Board of Trustees in establishing the Mendel Medal. They also demonstrate that Mendels legacy extends beyond the classroom and the lab, and is integral to the Augustinian ethos of the university. The Church has a long history of appreciation for the sciences, as well as a concern for the ethical and environmental responsibilities of the scientific community. The devastation that threatens the welfare of the earth and the environment has come to the fore as a major yet controversial concern. Pope Benedict XVI expressed fear for the continued existence of life on the earth. He wrote of the necessity to Respect the interior laws of creation, of this Earth, to learn these laws and obey them if we want to survive. This obedience to the voice of the Earth is more important for our future happiness . . . than the desires of the moment. Our Earth is talking to us and we must listen to it and decipher its message if we want to survive. Pope Benedicts words anticipated Pope Francis now famous encyclical Laudate Si in 2015, in which Francis issued an urgent challenge to protect our common home to bring the whole human family together to seek a sustainable and integral development, for we know that things can change. Mendel certainly falls within the tradition of concern for the earth. He is famously honored for his discovery of the laws of heredity and for helping to shape the worlds collective understanding of genes, crossbreeding, and heredity. Nevertheless, it is important to remember his achievements as a polymath. He published important works from his meteorological observations, while his study of bees also shaped his thinking on heredity. Mendels concerns for the environment are especially relevant today and were commemorated in the Universitys second Mendel Symposium in 2017: Care of Our Common Home: Pope Franciss Encyclical Laudato Si. Despite the science, both evolution and climate change continue to be controversial and although distinct, linked in the mutual embrace of skepticism. Villanova University is justly proud to celebrate its 90-year vision of the compatibility of science and religion that Father Dougherty and the Board of Trustees intended. RIA money transfer is a money remittance service with the online money sending service platform. This platform allows one to send and receive money relatively fast through a network of contracted agents licensed to deal on behalf of RIA. To start using RIA money transfer, you will be required to open an account by first signing up and keying in your details which include your government recognized name and country of residence. After that, you will now be free to send and receive money from most parts of the world but within the RIA money transfer limit. Go through this article to know more. Source - riamoneytransfer.com In this article, you will get to know many important facts about RIA money transfer platform. We have also provided the ways by which you can send money to someone and the cost incurred in the process. Money transfer in Ghana Ghana is a relatively economically strong country in Africa with a large population and a business acumen among its citizens. For this reason, money changes hands quite frequently for a favourable business environment benefiting both the buyers and seller in general. This factor is compounded with the issue of some of our people living abroad in all the six habitable continents on the globe. The need for an efficient and fast money transfer system is required to ensure the even flow of money throughout. As a result, plenty of money transfer services in Ghana have sprang up. A majority of them were established especially in the last decade with the advent of the internet which makes money transactions way easier accompanied by the cashless transaction concept. If you look into the list of money transfer in Ghana, then you would come across various companies. But I would rather suggest you to choose RIA as it is one of the best options available in the country. RIA money has filled this void efficiently in Ghana by ensuring the existence of over 1500 RIA money transfer locations in Ghana across its major cities and town centers and is a major player in the money transfer sector. Banks and other financial institutions setting base in Ghana have the RIA money transfer services to serve customers who withdraw from them and also offer Forex bureau and foreign currency changing services to their respective clients. READ ALSO: Best way to send money to Ghana RIA money transfer locations in Ghana RIA money transfer is present globally across 149 countries around the world. Its locations are where you will find the various RIA money transfer agents. On the RIA money website is a location tracker. When you turn on your mobile phones or personal computers GPS and location settings on a nearby RIA money transfer in Ghana, agent location will be shown to enable you access it without any hassle. Some of the locations are run by the licensed RIA money agents while some of the locations are run in partnership with various banks operating in the particular region. If you are looking for a list of various RIA money transfer locations where you can send your money, you can try the location finder platform provided by RIA. Source - youtube, @RiaMoneyTransfer RIA money transfer limit RIA money transfer has its regulations including money transfer limits. The online money remittance system has a limit of up to 2,999 US dollars per user per calendar day after account opening. The maximum money transfer per person for a thirty (30) day calendar period is seven thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine (7999) US dollars. How to send money online through RIA money? Sending money is quite simple when it comes to RIA money transfer platform. There are two types of users involved in the online money transfer platforms. One is the new user and the other is the returning user. This process is same when you opt for the money transfer from Ghana option. Procedure of sending money for the new users 1. It takes some time to get you registered with RIA, though next, it will take lesser time to send money. First, you need to register yourself by opening a free account with RIA. For registering with RIA, visit this page and click on the create an account option. 2. After signing up with RIA transfer, you need to decide on some factors including the exact amount you want to send, where to send and the payment option you are comfortable with. After deciding on the above factors, you are required to compute the exchange rate and the payment method price for arriving at the ultimate transaction cost for your transaction. For that, you can use the price calculator offered by RIA money transfer platform. 3. Next, you are required to choose the delivery option that suits you the most. We have discussed the several delivery options available later on in the article. 4. After choosing your preferred delivery option, you need to provide the details about the recipient to whom you are sending your money. The details you need are his/her first and last name as it appears on their ID cards issued by the government, along with their phone number or email address. 5. Finally, you need to select the place where the recipient stays and the mode of delivery. This is the final step of your transaction and the next time it will be much faster than now. READ ALSO: How Can I Track Moneygram Online Transfer? Registered users: the entire system is quick and hassle-free Go through the following steps to send money: 1. First, sign in to your respective account on the dashboard and choose your recipient. 2. If you are sending money to the same person or the persons involved in previous transactions, you just need to select the persons name and hit the quick send option. 3. Now, if you are looking to send money to a new person, then you are required to follow the same procedure as mentioned earlier. You have to provide the name of the recipient along with his phone number or email address. 4. After doing the above formalities, you will get to see a pop-up window which mentions the recipient details, payment details, etc. If you are looking to make any changes, change it in this page and finally confirm the entire transaction by hitting the submit option. After that, your money is ready to be delivered to your desired destination. You can send money from any of the companys locations where you would find their agents or through the online platform if you are staying within the boundaries of the United States of America. The recipient needs to provide the PIN number that RIA has sent to you while receiving the money. You can also send money using the PayNearMe authorized services. RIA transfer has partnered with 7-Eleven and PayNearMe for using their online money transfer platform. To get started, you need to select the Cash Powered by PayNearMe option as the mode of payment while sending money to someone. After that, confirm the details by clicking on the submit option. Soon you will obtain a PayNearMe barcode. Now, you have to show the barcode to a PayNearMe payment outlet along with the cash. The cashier will scan the barcode and take the cash to finally send it to the recipient. Keep the receipt from the PayNearMe outlet as it is the proof of the payment you made. For sending money to other countries, you are allowed to send up to $990 (per transaction). Again, if you are looking to send money to anyone within the US, you are allowed to send money up to $500 (per transaction). Within a period of 24 hours, you can send money under $2,999. If you want to send any amount above $3,000 in a day, you are requested to visit any one of the 350,000 RIA agents as it is not allowed in the online platform. Source - riamoneytransfer.com Money transfer to Ghana from abroad We have earlier talked about how to send money to a person staying in one of the 149 countries. Here, we are providing the entire procedure for sending money to Ghana. For RIA money transfer Ghana, you have to visit the send money to Ghana page. After that, enter the amount you want to send in the Enter amount to end section in US dollars. Soon, you will get to see the corresponding amount in the Ghanaian Cedi which your recipient will receive in the Your recipient will get section. After that, click on the get started option and next you need to provide details about your recipient, modes of payment and delivery. Finally, you need to confirm the entire transaction and then you are done with the sending process. You can check the current exchange rate here. RIA money payment options While making payments for sending money to people within and outside the country, you can opt for any one of the following options 1. Payment through bank accounts Making payments using a bank account is cost-effective but also takes more time than other options. It takes about 3-4 banking days to make the payments as RIA takes time to verify whether the bank has the necessary funds or not. While paying via bank account, you need to provide the bank account and routing number at the time of the transaction. After that, you will be asked to confirm your bank account by entering two small amounts (<$1 each) that RIA would deposit into your account only for the first time. This is done to make sure that you are the real owner of that bank account. 2. Payment using a debit card It is as simple as that. Using the debit card option takes a few minutes to complete the transaction. For that, you just need to enter your full name as scripted on the card, expiry date, card number and the three-digit security code written on the backside of the card. If you want to edit your debit card details, then you have to log in to your account and choose the Payment details option. There you will have to click the edit button and finally, you will be able to edit your details. 3. Payment using a credit card It is the most costly option but the fastest one too. An additional amount is charged as processing fees by the credit card providers. On the other hand, the credit card providers may ask for more money in the form of cash advance fees. Contact the company if you have any issues with the fees. Here, you are also required to provide the details imprinted on your credit card for completing the transaction. RIA money delivery options The delivery options available with you for sending money to your recipient are 1. Courier delivery The courier service is available in some of the countries. They will deliver the cash to the recipients house or office. The delivery service is available in Peru, Nicaragua, Dominican Republic, Philippines, and Vietnam. 2. Bank account RIA allows making deposits to probably all the banks around the world. For that, you are required to know your recipients routing number and the bank account number. 3. Cash pickup Your recipient has the option to collect the cash from one of the 350,000 agents of RIA in around 149 countries. The person is only required to provide a valid photo ID issued by the government and the respective order number imprinted on their receipts. RIA money transfer costs The cost incurred on money transfer depends on three factors like the speed of the transaction, the country where the recipient stays and the amount you are looking to send. Among all the payment options, making payments using credit cards is the most expensive one. Coming to the exchange rates, it is calculated on the basis of the country where you are sending your money. To calculate your total expenses for sending money, you are required to use the price calculator for better results. The cost incurred by you mainly depends upon the current exchange rate. READ ALSO: Western union send money online guide RIA money tracking RIA tracking is an online based system that allows you to track and know the progress and stage of your money transfer process in real-time. Once complete with the transfer process, you will be provided with an order number which is to be used in the tracking process. In case the money is being sent to a pickup location, you will also be provided with a PIN that needs to be sent to the recipient for the collection of funds. In the RIA money transfer tracking page, you will place in either your order number, PIN or reference number, then your order status in addition to the details of your transfer will be brought to you. Source - 4x.ie Source: Yen.com.gh On Wednesday, August 1, 2018, the Bank of Ghana announced the creation of a new bank named Ghana Consolidated Bank Limited. It was created out of a merger of five indigenous banks which were allegedly facing challenges with respect to the required minimum reserve of GHC450, 000,000. YEN.com.gh brings to you some ministries that could merge just like the banks: President Akufo-Addo Source: Supplied READ ALSO: The 5 CEOs of the collapsed banks 1. Ministry of Monitoring & Evaluation: Each ministry could have its own internal monitoring and evaluation department, negating the need for the creation of such a ministry. 2. Ministries of Roads & Highways, Transport, Aviation and Railway Development: The ministries of Roads and Highways, Aviation, Railway & Development and Transport, should be merged to form one ministry, to be referred to as the Ministry of Transport. 3. Offices of the Senior Minister and Chief of Staff: These offices could be merged to create one office that oversees the work of all ministries. 4. Ministry of Local Government and the Ministry of Reorganization: The Ministry of Local Government could have a special unit responsible for the reorganization of the regions of Ghana 5. The Ministry of Business Development and the Ministry of Special Development Initiative: The Ministry of Special Development Initiative could have a special department focused on Business Development. READ ALSO: Shatta Wale reveals the reason why he isn't poor like other musicians Ghana news: President Akufo Addo Asked For More Prayers | Yen.com.gh: YEN is building a platform where Ghanaians can share local news and own experiences with each other. Witnessing an incident? Want to tell about a local problem? Know someone who is extremely talented and needs recognition? Your stories and photos are always welcome. Send us a message via Instagram or on YENs official Facebook page. Source: Yen.com.gh - Nana Appiah Mensah, the Zylofon Boss, has been called on to become an MP - The calls came from the youth of Kasoa who believe Nana Appiah is capable - But Nana Appiah said he is not enthused about being an MP now YEN.com.gh published earlier the calls by some youths of Kasoa who have called on the Zylofon Boss, Nana Appiah Mensah, to become a Member of Parliament (MP). According to that report, the youths are praising Nana Appiah for his developmental interventions in their part of the country. Based on this and other ventures by the Zylofon Boss, the Kasoa youths believe he is capable and must ascend to the position of an MP. READ ALSO: Inna Patty is a real monster - Magaret Dery reveals her shocking Miss Ghana ordeals However, in a tweet sighted by YEN.com.gh, Nana Appiah Mensah has responded to the calls. He has indicated that even though he appreciates the calls to become an MP, he is not ready for that now. He also revealed by his tweet that he is willing to create one million decent jobs for Ghanaians within five years, and that his focus must not be changed. Nana Appiah Mensah tweeted: "I appreciate the call but, I am not enthused about a legislative house member status now. I am committed to creating One Million decent jobs in Ghana within 5 years. Let's keep our gaze on that and that only #nammission #GhanaShallProsper . By adding 'now', the Zylofon Boss could mean that he is interested in serving as an MP someday, hence, revealing his political move. READ ALSO: Ahuofe Patri blasts fan who commented on her weird weight loss in latest photo Nana Appiah Mensah has been in the news recently for constructing a new palace for the Kasoa Chief. He also gave the chief a brand new car. He is also said to be training some youths of the town to be able to get jobs when he he finally completes the factories he intended to construct in the area. Nana Appiah Mensah remains one of Ghanas revered businessmen. He owns a fleet of businesses including Tomreik Hotel, Zylofon Media, Menzgold, and many others. READ ALSO: God gives me all I need because I fear him Shatta Wale Ghana news: President Akufo Addo Asked For More Prayers | Yen.com.gh READ ALSO: Efia Odo releases wild twerk in latest video 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 Ghana Just like ordinary people, many Ghanaians celebrities have also witnessed failed relationships and marriages. Some of the relationships and marriages, according to these celebrities simply did not work out and needed to be ended. Those of others have even ended up in violence and acid attacks. Juliet Ibrahim and Iceberg Slim. Photo credit: Myjoyonline. READ ALSO: Inna Patty is a real monster - Magaret Dery reveals her shocking Miss Ghana ordeals YEN.com.gh brings you six of Ghanas celebrities who have tasted failed relationships and marriages. 1. Chris Attoh: His beautiful marriage with Nigerian actress Damilola Adegbite hit the rock somewhere last year. Though they did not reveal the cause of the divorce, Chris Attoh revealed that it was a mutual agreement. The two had met on set when they both acted a series, Tinsel, together. Chris Attoh and Damilola in good times. 2. Afia Schwar: Afia Schwarzenegger and her ex-husband Lawrence Abrokwa ended their nine-month marriage with violence last year somewhere in October. Abrokwa had gone to their matrimonial home and caught Afia with another man. He then threatened to deform Afia Schwar with a content he claimed was acid. READ ALSO: Ahuofe Patri blasts fan who commented on her weird weight loss in latest photo 3. Afriyie Acquah: Afriyie Acquahs marriage with Amanda Afriyie hit the rock about two years ago following Amandas public declaration that her husband looks like a monkey. She was speaking with her driver who was unknowingly to her recording the conversation. According to Amanda, she used to date Black Stars player, Jordan Ayew, and claimed Jordan has a bigger rod than Afriyie. Afriyies family felt embarrassed over Amandas pronouncement and dissolved the marriage. Afriyie Acquah with Amanda during their marriage ceremony. Photo credit: Myjoyonline.com READ ALSO: Alleged liposuction scar on Moesha's body exposed 4. Juliet Ibrahim: Juliet Ibrahim has tasted both a failed marriage, and failed relationship. Her marriage with a son of Apostle Kwadwo Safo, Kwadwo Safo Junior, hit the rock after many allegations and accusations. Juliet Ibrahim has also been in the news recently following her failed relationship with her Nigerian boyfriend, Iceberg Slim. 5. Okyeame Kwame: The popular musician once dated popular movie star, Nana Ama McBrown, but their relationship failed and never led to marriage. In an interview monitored by YEN.com.gh on the Delay show, Okyeame Kwame revealed that Nana Ama McBrown was a hot character he could not handle, therefore, they relationship had to come to a close. READ ALSO: God gives me all I need because I fear him Shatta Wale There are other alleged relationships that have failed. Though those people were did not confirm or deny their relationships. They include Prince Kofi Amoabeng formerly of UT Bank and Mzbel. Kofi Amoabeng was also reported to be dating Nana Aba Anamoah. Meanwhile, Afia Schwar has said in a recent news that she was never legally married to Abrokwa, but rather, it was a cover-up person. Their case is still in the court. READ ALSO: I am not considering being an MP now Zylofon Boss Ghana news: President Akufo Addo Asked For More Prayers | Yen.com.gh READ ALSO: Efia Odo releases wild twerk in latest video 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 News Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 3) Policies on claimant countries' behavior in the South China Sea are a step closer to being ratified, after a draft was agreed upon by leaders of the Association of the Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and China. The Single Draft Code of Conduct (COC) Negotiating Text was brought up during the meeting of the ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Singapore, according to the joint communique issued Thursday. "In this regard, we emphasised the need to maintain an environment conducive to the COC negotiations," the statement from the ministers read. ASEAN ministers also discussed matters in the widely-contested waters, taking note of concerns of land reclamation and activities in the South China Sea. This year, China has deployed missile structures and bomber planes in the waters, causing other claimant countries such as the Philippines to express concern. The ministers said these actions "have eroded trust and confidence, increased tensions and may undermine peace, security and stability in the region." The COC will define what the six claimants to the South China Sea can and cannot do in the waters. Prior to that, China and ASEAN signed a Declaration of Conduct in 2002, but it was only last year that they finally agreed on a framework for the COC. Aside from the Philippines and China, Taiwan and ASEAN members Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei also have competing claims in the South China Sea which is believed to be rich in resources. He pointed to numbers compiled by a listing company that show rents have risen year over year by as much as 8 percent in Lake Villa and as little as 2 percent in Round Lake Beach. At least one community saw rents fall. - The entertainer has always hand an issue or two with prophets and religious leaders - KSM seems to wonder whether the foresight of the prophets can see economic problems Comedian, actor and satirist, Kwaku Sintim-Misa who is popularly referred to as KSM has wondered aloud as to why prophets in Ghana do not seem to foresee the collapse or closure of banks in Ghana. According to the actor of "Build Your Ark" fame, It does not look as if God was concerned about the closure of banks. This appears shocking to KSM The collapse and closure of banks is a recent spate by which the Bank of Ghana (BoG) is clamping down on irregularities in the financial and banking sector. Only this week, the BoG forced the merger of five independent banks. READ ALSO: Caroline Sampson celebrates birthday in hospital The five banks in question are UniBank, The Construction Bank, The Royal Bank, Beige Bank and Sovereign Bank. They are to be known and called The Consolidate Bank. Customers of the individual banks have expressed worries over the merger. However, banks such as UniBank have informed customers through text messages about new details regarding the merger. READ ALSO: New AMERI deal off will not come to pass according to Daily Statesman KSM who has always had issues with Prophets and some men of God in the country was shocked God did not inform these prophets about the closure ahead of time. Individuals like Bishop Obinim, Nigel Gaisie and co have been fond of doomsday prophecies. Indeed, it does not seem KSM's belief is singularly held. Many commenting on his tweet agreed with him. Ghana news: President Akufo Addo Asked For More Prayers | Yen.com.gh: Do you have a story to share or you have information for us? Get featured on YEN.com.gh. Message us on Facebook. Source: Yen - A pastor from Uganda who is based in the US has reportedly ended his life - According to reports, the 25-year-old pastor was depressed after he found out that his girlfriend had been engaged by another man When it comes to matters of the relationship dramas, it has been reported that people react to heartbreaks differently. Some walk away peacefully while others become violent. Such was the case of a Ugandan man of God, who was said to have killed himself after his girlfriend got engaged to another man. He was based in Massachusetts, United States (US). YEN.com.gh gathers that the deceased was shocked after pictures of his girlfriend went viral on social media. This unfortunate incident happened a month after he left his woman in Uganda. His remains was found at the state cemetery on Monday afternoon, July 30. 25-year-old pastor kills himself after his girlfriend got engaged to another man. Source: Vanesglobalgist.com The deceased identified as Abel Ayinza was the adopted son of Pastor Samuel Mutyaba of New Life Christian International Church, Watertown in Massachusetts. His ex-girlfriend was also identified as Juliet. READ ALSO: Prophet exposes the occultic sacrifices Afia Schwar has been making every 7 years in order to remain popular Ayinza's late father reportedly founded the church that caters for the Ugandan community in 2004. His father also offered immigration and marriage counselling to Ugandans in Massachusetts. He lost his mother on July 14, 2015, while his father passed away on March 24, 2016 and has been under the care of Pastor Mutyaba since the death of his father. However, a Ugandan man living in the US reportedly disclosed that: He was so depressed when the photographs went viral and it became quite difficult for him to bear. READ ALSO: REVEALED: How the latest hot 'adult' video of SHS leaver and 3 guys got leaked Juliet and her lover. Source: Vanesglobalgist.com The late Ayizas body was reportedly undergoing autopsy when the first reports surfaced. Watch: Ghana News: President Akufo-Addo Asks For More Prayers | Yen.com.gh: Do you have a hot story or scandal you would like us to publish on YEN.com.gh? Please contact us on Facebook or Instagram now! Source: Yen Former President John Dramani Mahama has caused a huge stir with his latest post on social media which seems like a thinly-veiled jab at President Nana Akufo-Addo. In 2015, while addressing some Ghanaians in Botswana on the many strikes his government was facing at the time, Mahama made the infamous 'dead goat' statement which later became his unofficial nickname. I have seen more demonstrations and strikes in my first two years. I dont think it can get worse. It is said that when you kill a goat and you frighten it with a knife, it doesnt fear the knife because it is dead already. I have a dead goat syndrome, he said at the time. President Akufo-Addo and former President Mahama exchange pleasantries at a function (Photo credit: supplied) Just a few days ago, President Akufo-Addo, while a conference of internal auditors stated that he was resolute in the fight against corruption and determined to uphold the highest form of integrity that comes with his office and no amount of name calling will deter him. READ ALSO: Broken-hearted pastor ends his life after his girlfriend left him for another man (Photos) Employing a similar idiomatic expression like that of Mahama, Akufo-Addo: I am aware that you give a dog a bad name in order to hang it, but this dog will not be hanged. Akufo-Addo's speech has led to some social media mocking him just like they did with Mahama's dead goat speech. In a subtle response to the development, Mahama has taken to Twitter to offer advice on the use of idioms in speeches as a president in Ghana. Lessons in Ghanaian politics- dont use idioms in relation to yourself. Theyll stick, he tweeted. While this could have ordinarily passed as free advice from the former president to his successor, it is rather causing a stir because of the photo attached to the advice. READ ALSO: Exposed: Photos of young man who reportedly released Ayisha's 'chopping' video surfaces online Former President Mahama decided to make a collage photo of a goat and a dog to get his point across bringing up suggestions that he was calling Akufo-Addo a dog. Though Mahama did not explicitly mention any names, some social media users have taken it as a jab at Akufo-Addo and responded in like manner. @NobleQuansah observed that the goat in the tweet was living instead of being dead. He thus described Mahama as 'incompetent', another one of the many tags Mahama got prior to the 2016 elections: @TynaNarteh agreed with Noble saying Mahama will never: READ ALSO: Prophet blesses 2 former prostitutes with GHC 93,000 to start a new life (Photos) @mon_amin laughed off Mahama's tweet because he thought a dog is capable of overpowering a dead goat any day: But it was not all criticism as many others saw the humour in Mahama's tweet. @Takoradi67 loved the former president's sense of humour: @MaamGyamfuaa2 could not stop laughing: Watch: Ghana News: President Akufo-Addo Asks For More Prayers | Yen.com.gh: Do you have a hot story or scandal you would like us to publish on YEN.com.gh? Please contact us on Facebook or Instagram now! Source: Yen - Miss Ghana 2015, Antoinette Delali Kemavor, has taken a strong swipe at her a former boss Inna Patty - She revealed the terrible things she was put through - She said at a point she drove Inna Patty from Benin to Ghana YEN.com.gh earlier revealed how Margaret Dery, Miss Ghana 2017, took shades at Inna Patty, CEO of Exclusive Events Ghana, organizers of the famous beauty pageant, Miss Ghana. Margaret narrated how she went through hell working with Inna. She revealed that Inna isnt a good person, describing her former boss as a monster in a long post she released on Thursday, 2nd August, 2018. After Margarets narration of her ordeal, in less than 24 hours, another former winner of the aforementioned competition has broken her silence. She is Miss Ghana 2015, Antoinette Delali Kemavor. Miss Ghana 2015 winner READ ALSO: The 3-bedroom house Midland gave to assaulted customer Antoinette in her long piece sighted by YEN.com.gh, revealed the terrible things she was put through by the same Inna Patty . She revealed Inna Patty took her as her personal driver, driving her from Benin to Ghana at age 19.. She also pointed out that Inna tactically planned with a certain man so that the latter can take advantage of her. READ ALSO: 25-year-old Ugandan pastor takes his life after his girlfriend got engaged to another man Ghana News 2018: John Mahamas Salary - Why Everyone Discusses It Now? Your stories and photos are always welcome. Get interactive via our Facebook page. Source: Yen - President Akufo-Addo's bodyguard has been captured on camera 'punching' an old man - The old man was said to have breached security protocol of the president during a tour One of the bodyguards of President Akufo-Addo has been spotted on a viral video punching the face of an old man during a tour. The old man, believed to be in his late 60s, got a humiliation of his life after he was captured on camera trying to exchange pleasantries with the president. The viral video, which is making rounds on various on various social media platforms is generating huge anger among many Ghanaians. The president's bodyguard was clearly captured on camera (Mynewsgh.com) READ ALSO: Broken-hearted pastor ends his life after his girlfriend left him for another man (Photos) Although we cannot immediately confirm the offense of the old man, he has been accused of breaching security protocol of the president. In a 33-second video, the man, believed to be a sympathizer of Akufo-Addo is seen rushing toward the presidents official car as he shouts Nana nie, in a clearly complementary fashion to shake the presidents hand. However, the sequence of the old mans wish was sadly twisted, as he was met with a heavy punch from the Presidents security guard that sent him to the ground. The actions of the presidents security guard caught the attention of many onlookers who have trooped to the ground, including the president himself. READ ALSO: Tension in Suame Magazine as Ghanaians, Nigerian retailers 'clash' The event which is believed to have occurred at one of the presidents nationwide tour has sharply divided social media users over the treatment meted out to the old man. While some supports and justifies the actions of the Presidents bodyguard, others are fuming with anger, claiming the old man was unfairly assaulted. Video source: Facebook This is not the first reported case of presidential bodyguards humiliating grass root persons in their attempts to catch a closer glimpse of their leader. Meanwhile, a number of Ghanaians have condemned the inhuman act of President Akufo-Addo's security guard, calling for justice for the old man who was captured on camera being assaulted. READ ALSO: Kasoa youth begin campaign to elect Zylofon boss as an MP Watch: Ghana News: President Akufo-Addo Asks For More Prayers | Yen.com.gh Yen.com.gh is building a platform where Ghanaians can share local news and own experiences with each other. Witnessing an incident? Want to tell about a local problem? Know someone who is extremely talented and needs recognition? Your stories and photos are always welcome. Message us on Facebook or Instagram Source: Yen Ghana The Bank of Ghana has explained the reason behind its revocation of the licenses of five local banks and the decision to merge them. On Wednesday, the Central Bank announced that The Royal Bank, uniBank, Sovereign Bank, The Construction Bank and Beige Bank have been merged to form The Consolidated Bank of Ghana Limited. The BoG subsequently appointed Nii Amanor Dodoo of KPMG as the Receiver for the five banks. The logo of the newly created Consolidated Bank Ghana. Source: BoG. Source: Depositphotos READ ALSO: Logo of the new Consolidated Bank of Ghana emerges According to Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr. Ernest Addison, all deposits of the five banks are safe and have been transferred to the Consolidated Bank. Speaking at a press conference, he said the newly established Consolidated Bank will act as a bridge bank pursuant to section 127 (11) of Act 930, to assume some of the assets and liabilities of the five banks. He said customers can still carry out their business as usual at their respective banks which will now become branches of the Consolidated Bank. Also, he said, all staff of the merger banks will now become staff of the Consolidated Bank. READ ALSO: Police, land guards pull down Hassan Ayariga's property Dr. Addison said the Central Bank rolled out such measures to strengthen the financial system to protect the interests of depositors. YEN.com.gh bring you some of the reasons why the BoG collapsed these five banks to form the Consolidated Bank Ghana; 1. The Central Bank in their statement said Beige Bank, Sovereign Bank and Construction Bank all obtained their licenses under false pretense. 2. Also these five local banks breached the BoG's cash reserve requirement. 3. Unable to meet their daily obligations 4. Inaccessible paid up capital and declining loan portfolio 5. Over 89% of loans non-performing (uniBank) 6. Loans and advances were over stated Ghana News 2018: John Mahamas Salary - Why Everyone Discusses It Now? READ ALSO: Mahama 'mocks' Akufo-Addo in latest tweet Do you have a hot story or scandal you would like us to publish on YEN.com.gh? Please contact us on Facebook or Instagram now! Source: Yen News - Accusations have come from two former queens alleging mistreatment from Patty - The organiser on her part is seemingly paying no heed to her detractors The Chief Executive Officer of Exclusive Events, organizers of the Miss Ghana pageant, has seemingly thrown a message in the way of all eyes on her. The pageant's 2017 winner,Margaret Dery, has in the last week or so attacking both the competition and its organisers. She has taken to social media and other avenues to unleash what she describes as one of the worst times in her life. She has since resigned as Miss Ghana 2017 before the event coming around again in 2018. The organisers of the pageant have indicated that they have gladly accepted Dery's resignation. This has however not stopped the barrage of criticisms coming the way of Inna Patty and her team. READ ALSO: Nana Ama McBrown and other actresses who can challenge Genevieve Nnaji Inna Patty posted on Facebook on Friday morning in a seeming response to her detractors. Photo credit: Supplied Earlier on Friday, YEN.com.gh reported of how another former winner, this time of 2015, alleges that Patty tried to pimp her out to a man. Antoinette Delali Kemevor narrated her story saying she believes Patty's plan was to have her (Kemevor) grant a prior wish of Patty's male associate. But on Friday morning on her Facebook, Patty posted a rather cryptic message about she was forging on. It is without doubt that she knows all of her appearances are being monitored by sponsors and the general public. READ ALSO: Inna Patty took me to a man's house at night - Miss Ghana 2015 winner reveals It is also reported via peacefmonline.com that Exclusive Events have cautioned Margaret Dery to desist from driving the pageant's future into the ground. The company implored Dery to rise above what it claims is pettiness. Watch: Ghana News: President Akufo-Addo Asks For More Prayers | Yen.com.gh: Do you have a hot story or scandal you would like us to publish on YEN.com.gh? Please contact us on Facebook Source: Yen.com.gh - The Bank of Ghana (BoG) has been sued by shareholders of the defunct uniBank - The plaintiff is suing the central bank because it annulled shares of two companies in adb that eventually scuttled their moves to hand over controlling stake to uniBank The Central Bank has been sued by shareholders of the defunct uniBank for annulling moves to acquire shares in adb. The plaintiff, shareholders of uniBank say the decision by the Bank of Ghana can best be described as "arbitrary, capricious and inconsistent". The shareholders are Belstar Capital Limited and Starmount Development Company Limited. BoG Governor, Dr Ernest Addison. Source: Supplied. READ ALSO: Police, land guards pull down Hassan Ayariga's property In March this year Belstar and Starmount, reportedly pledged their shares, proceeds, entitlement and voting rights to uniBank. But the Bank of Ghana almost immediately, dismissed as false the alleged takeover of the Agricultural Development Bank (adb) by indigenous bank, uniBank. BoG Governor, Dr. Ernest Addison earlier stated that the funds were given to uniBank to help it solve its liquidity challenges by the shareholders. READ ALSO: 25-year-old Ugandan pastor takes his life after his girlfriend gets engaged to another man Announcing the financial health of uniBank after consolidating it with other banks on [August 1, 2018], Dr. Addison said the official administrator, KPMGs reports confirmed, based on a detailed review and validation of the financial condition of uniBank that the bank was balance sheet insolvent. Among other things, the banks interest income and other sources of income are insufficient to cover the associated cost of funds of underlying borrowings and liabilities, as well as overheads of about GH0.31 billion per annum. A significant portion of the banks loan book which forms the largest component of the banks assets, is non-performing. The earning capacity of the bank continues to deteriorate, he added. He observed that key findings from KPMGs reports indicated serious corporate governance, risk management, compliance and management flaws, as well as unlawful transactions involving shareholders, related parties, and connected parties. Watch: Ghana News: President Akufo-Addo Asks For More Prayers | Yen.com.gh: READ ALSO: Akufo-Addos bodyguard 'punches' old man on camera 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 YEN.com.gh has sighted a photo of actress Nadia Buari which she took in the bedroom. Nadia is captured in an all-black attire with a black round cap to match. She is also captured sitting on her bed which has about six pillows beautifully arranged, making her feel so much comfortable. READ ALSO: Nana Ama McBrown releases hot photo with her husband Maxwell Mensah Aside from the photo, Nadia Buaris caption also has her fans talking about her. In the caption, Nadia said not everyone close to you must be trusted because they all are not to be taken as close friends. She added that it was easy for bad people to stab others in the back if they are allowed to come close. Nadia Buari wrote: Everybody isnt ur friend. Just because they hang around u and laugh with u doesnt mean they are there for u. Just because they say theyve got ur back doesnt mean they wont stab u in it. People pretend well and jealousy sometimes doesnt live far. So know ur circle, at the end of the day, real situations expose fake people, so pay attention! READ ALSO: Fans disappointed in Becca for her worsening complexion in latest video Her fans have responded to her advice in the caption and have left many complimentary comments for her. Rosy, for instance, admired Nadia pillows. rosycuddle: I love the throw pillow, but I love you more... Paying attention! Kofi believes Nadias caption gives life in itself. kofirichsoul: Your caption is LIFE. Rita just thanked Nadia in the Twi language for the free advice. apaloo_rita: Medaase!!! READ ALSO: I was forced to make money out of 'dead bodies' - Resigned Miss Ghana reveals Ahmeda couldnt stop admiring Nadias beauty. __abokiahmeda: Why this woman so pretty. Jane believes Nadia spoke the fact. sebjanecollectibles: facts upon facts ...... @iamnadiabuari. Boapim wondered if Nadia has been betrayed by someone. boapim: Mmmm I guess someone have betrayed u right. READ ALSO: 5 respected celebrities who have tasted failed relationship and marriages There are many other comments under Nadias post which show that her fans and followers really admired. The beautiful and forever young actress was massively in the news recently following her own revelation that she had had four children in three years. Nadias revelation stunned most Ghanaians if not all of Ghana because it came as a big surprise. The only thing most people were aware of was her set of twins she had some time ago, however, little or nothing was known about the other two girls she had later. Nadia further indicated that she had known her husband for ten years. READ ALSO: Ahuofe Patri blasts fan who commented on her weird weight loss in latest photo Ghana News 2018: John Mahamas Salary - Why Everyone Discusses It Now? | Yen.com.gh READ ALSO: God gives me all I need because I fear him Shatta Wale 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 Although Assistant States Attorney Jason Humke argued the girl was forced to live in the basement for a year, dealing with flooding when it rained and using a bucket to bathe, and that Katherine Swopes should not be released, Levitt said Katherine Swopes had no prior record and the charges against her were likely to result in some sort of probation anyway. - Ghanas Ashanti Empire King Otumfuo Nana Osei Tutu II has ended his visit to Uganda - The Asantehene also pledged land for the establishment of a factory to manufacture HIV/Aids drugs in Ghana The Ashanti king, Otumfuo Nana Osei Tutu II, has given land to one of Ugandas top pharmaceutical firms to build a factory and manufacture HIV/Aids drugs in Ghana. Otumfuo announced the offer during a visit to Cipla Chemicals plant in Luzira, outside Kampala, as he concluded his five-day visit as a special guest at Kabaka Ronald Mutebis coronation silver jubilee anniversary celebrations. The monarchs offer was on the request of CIPLA chemicals chief executive, Mr Emmanuel Katongole. Left to right: King of Ashanti Otumfuo Nana Osei Tutu II, President Museveni and Kabaka Ronald Mutebi II after a meeting at State House, Entebbe on Wednesday. PHOTO BY PPU READ ALSO: uniBank shareholders sue Bank of Ghana It was a very important opportunity for us to host the Asantehene. He has accepted to provide us land in Ghana to set up a factory, Mr Katongole said following Wednesdays meeting between the companys top officials and the king. According to its website, Cipla Quality Chemical Industries Limited manufactures anti-retroviral drugs (ARVs), Artemisinin-based Combination Therapies and Hepatitis drugs. Otumfuo, accompanied by the Kabaka, also held a meeting with President Museveni at State House, Entebbe on Wednesday during which they explored the significance of traditional institutions in preserving culture, fostering unity and development. The meeting coincided with the date, six years ago, when President Museveni on August 1, 2012 warned Mengo against opportunism, repeating old mistakes and dragging the Kabaka into politics. Antagonism between the two sides was at its worst, but the relations have since thawed. Ghana News 2018: John Mahamas Salary - Why Everyone Discusses It Now? READ ALSO: Akufo-Addos bodyguard 'punches' old man on camera 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 News YEN.com.gh has sighted some cute photos of a buff loaf seller known widely as bofrot' and they have caused a stir on social media with many people drooling over her beauty and her humility. The photos showed the lady who bore the Facebook name, Nana Akua Amankwa carrying buff loaf, known in local parlance as 'bofrot' in a container and took some pictures of herself. She captioned the photos, Thank you Jesus, have started my business again. Please, it is my prayer that you help me and bring many buyers to seek for more. In Jesus Name. Amen Nana Akua Amankwa. Photo Credit: Facebook/Nana Akua Amankwa READ ALSO: Akufo-Addos bodyguard 'punches' old man on camera The young lady who appeared very proud of her job, did not mince words and did not mind flaunting her wares alongside her beauty on social media. Checks from her social media handle showed that she was a professional caterer and specialized in buff loafs. Nana Akua Amankwa. Photo Credit: Facebook/Nana Akua Amankwa Nana Akua Amankwa has branded her business with the tagline, Toogb3 wura and she has attended a lot of programs as a food entrepreneur. Many people who have seen the photos of Nana Akua Amankwa are full of praise for her over her hard work but more credit was given to her over her beauty. Nana Akua Amankwa. Photo Credit: Facebook/Nana Akua Amankwa READ ALSO: Fans disappointed in Becca for her worsening complexion in latest video Not too long ago, YEN.com.gh reported the story of a pretty female shoeshine who was stationed at a lorry station. According to reports, she was so hardworking that many people intentionally came to the station to get her to fix their shoes. Nana Akua Amankwa. Photo Credit: Facebook/Nana Akua Amankwa She was seen in a video busily fixing a shoe for one of her customers. READ ALSO: Nadia Buari causes traffic with her bedroom on the internet Watch: Ghana News 2018: John Mahamas Salary - Why Everyone Discusses It Now? | Yen.com.gh YEN is building a platform where Ghanaians can share local news and own experiences with each other. Witnessing an incident? Want to tell about a local problem? Know someone who is extremely talented and needs recognition? Your stories and photos are always welcome. Send us a message via YENs official Facebook page. Source: Yen - Another respected member of the NDC has 'disown' John Mahama ahead of 2020 elections - Ken Dzirasah has declared his full support for Prof Joshua Alabi who is contesting Mahama A top ranking member of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), Ken Dzirasah has kicked against former President John Mahama to seek re-election in the 2020 election on the ticket of the party. According to the former Deputy Speaker of Parliament, it will difficulty in marketing Mahama stems from the NDC losing the 2016 elections which has informed his decision to back Professor Joshua Alabi for the contest. Mr Ken Dzirasah, top NDC member (Photo credit: Graphic.com.gh) READ ALSO: Akufo-Addos bodyguard caught on camera 'punching' an old man (Video) To this effect, Mr Dzirasah says he and another NDC stalwart, Ambassador Victor Gbeho have thrown their weight behind Professor Alabi's campaign, describing him as the fresh face the NDC needs to unseat the New Patriotic Party. "I would want to say that after several reflections about the way forward for the National Democratic Congress, myself and my big brother Ambassador Gbeho conducted a few investigations and came to the conclusion that the most marketable personality that could carry us into the year 2020 as a flagbearer is Professor Joshua Alabi," Mr Dzirasah told Accra-based Citi FM in an interview. The top NDC man in his media interview added, "We have found in the man a personality that has all it takes, his achievements, his attitude towards the party and a host of other things. Another fact of the matter is that we need to market somebody that can take us for eight years without so we came to that conclusion". READ ALSO: Tension in Suame Magazine as Ghanaians, Nigerian retailers 'clash' The former South Tongu MP also insisted that only a fresh face will enable the NDC to overturn the massive deficit by which it lost the 2016 elections. "Let us not forget that we have come from the backdrop of about 800,000 votes if we want to recover and come to the surface before we start fighting for the 10 million plus one vote. I think that is a yeoman's job and a fresh face will be a better opportunity for us to accomplish that," he said. Meanwhile, a member of Prof Alabi's campaign team, Nii Amasah Namoale says they welcome the support from the NDC stalwarts and their confidence of his victory. Nii Amasah Namoale further added, "We are very happy and we have to thank these two members of the NDC. They have seen a good thing and are telling Ghanaians that everybody should rally around Professor Joshua Alabi. 2020 will be very easy for us and we will win the presidency for eight years". READ ALSO: Nadia Buari breaks the internet with her latest wild bedroom photo Watch: Ghana News: President Akufo-Addo Asks For More Prayers | Yen.com.gh Yen.com.gh is building a platform where Ghanaians can share local news and own experiences with each other. Witnessing an incident? Want to tell about a local problem? Know someone who is extremely talented and needs recognition? Your stories and photos are always welcome. Message us on Facebook or Instagram Source: Yen Newspaper - A top member of the NDC has branded former President John Mahama as 'super incompetent' - Ambassador Daniel Osei believes NDC will lose 2020 election if Mahama becomes party flagbearer A former Ghanaian ambassador to the United Arab Emirates, Daniel Osei, is cautioning members of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), against electing former President John Mahama as the partys new flagbearer. According to Ambassador Osei, John Dramani Mahama still has the corruption tag over his neck like an albatross. Former President Mahama (Photo credit: Graphic.com.gh) READ ALSO: Akufo-Addos bodyguard caught on camera 'beating' an old man (Video) Speaking on Accra-based Asempa FM, Ambassador Daniel Osei revealed that although Jonn Mahama appointed him during his administration, he is fully aware he is incompetent to run the affairs of the country. Mahama appointed me but I know he is incompetent; the NDC will be doomed if we make him flagbearer, he jabbed in a media interview on Friday. Even before the former NDC leader could declares his intention to contest the flagbearership race of the NDC into the 2020 election, there is a grand swell of endorsements from top party members for his candidature. Some Minority Members of Parliament are reportedly collating signatures and even contributing money to support former President Mahamas campaign. The Minority MPs, led by Dr Clement Apaak and Abu Jinapor are convinced the NDC can wrestle power from the New Patriotic Party (NPP), if John Mahama is made flagbearer. READ ALSO: Another top NDC man 'dumps' John Mahama ahead of 2020 election But Ambassador Daniel Osei vehemently disagrees, insisting that it will rather be a recipe for disaster for the NDC. To him, the former President who described himself as a dead goat does not inspire confidence from the rank and files of the party. The former Dubai Consul General said he was not surprised about the supposed endorsement, since it has been the status quo. Weve seen this movie before. Leading up to the 2016 elections, chant of Mahama has won already made the party, and in particular the campaign organizers and engineers, oblivious to the real situation on the ground, he stated. Ambassador Osei maintained that the former President gave the NDC the worst margin of defeat in their history as a party and country in 2016 general elections. He is calling for a new paradigm shift in the NDC if the party is serious about winning the 2020 elections. Im making all these noises because I know we will lose if Mahama is made flagbearer. Ghanaians are ready for real change so this is a golden opportunity for us all to take off our partisan huts and put Ghana first, he added. READ ALSO: Tension in Suame Magazine as Ghanaians, Nigerian retailers 'clash' Watch: Ghana News: President Akufo-Addo Asks For More Prayers | Yen.com.gh Yen.com.gh is building a platform where Ghanaians can share local news and own experiences with each other. Witnessing an incident? Want to tell about a local problem? Know someone who is extremely talented and needs recognition? Your stories and photos are always welcome. Message us on Facebook or Instagram Source: Yen.com.gh You have to take what you get (in life), Salazar said. You cant be negative because of what happens to you, because if its not your fault theres nothing you can do. You have to be positive and not afraid. Ive had total confidence since the day I got my new heart. For years, I thought it would be great to look at issues of race and education in a community such as ours, which has struggled for decades with racial inequities in the classroom, James said. We hope to hold a mirror up to the school and community so that we all have a greater understanding of the personal and educational experiences of our mostly black and biracial students. The series shows some of the ways the school is failing to address inequities, while at the same time showing some incredibly impressive teachers and students. I spoke with the skipper of Denali [which finished seventh in the division], and we both agreed these were the worst conditions weve ever seen, said Smirl. We sailed on a long upwind beat just a few degrees off close-hauled. The wind was steady 20-25 miles an hour; we did see 28. There was a lot of going up the waves and slamming down [on the water]. The waves were 6-7 feet and peaked at 10-12, but kept building through the day; it was brutal. We had waves break over the boat about one-third of the race. We were constantly bailing water manually. I dont know how smaller boats did it. We have worked hard to identify resources and partnerships to help in our blight elimination and demolition efforts, the mayor said. City officials have estimated in the past that some 6,000 vacant structures exist in the city, with many in such physical condition that they could not be salvaged. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 3) Weeks after President Rodrigo Duterte reignited his resolve to eliminate illegal drugs in the country, a former celebrity was arrested for possessing drugs. Former actor CJ Ramos, who was known for starring in movies as a child, was brought to the Office of the Regional Director of Metro Manila in Camp Bagong Diwa, Taguig City, Friday. He confessed that he was a drug user until quitting a year ago. "Tiniis ko talaga, pero noong gabi na 'yun natukso lang talaga ako. Na-one-time, big-time po talaga ako, nasa huli ang pagsisisi talaga," Ramos admitted to the media. [Translation: I resisted, but that night, I was tempted (to use drugs). I was caught one-time big-time. There is always regret in the end.] Ramos was caught purchasing from a targeted supplier during a buybust operation Tuesday by the Caloocan City police. He was arrested and charged for possession of illegal drugs. Metro Manila Police Chief Guillermo Eleazar said Ramos was not included in their drug watchlist, and maintained that regardless of economic status, police action will be undertaken against drug users. "He was not in our list but as a result of our operation it just so happened na nandoon siyaHindi totoo na mahihirap, kung sinong involved sa droga at may ebidensya kahit anong estado sa buhay, we will do appropriate action," he said. [Translation: He was not on our list but as a result of our operation, it just so happened na nandoon siyaIt's not true that only the poor are being targeted, whoever is involved in illegal drugs with evidence, whatever the economic status, we will do appropriate action.] Ramos, who entered show business at four years old, left his career as an actor at age 15 and has been unemployed ever since, he said. He starred in films "Tanging Yaman" (2000) and "Ang TV movie: The Adarna Adventure" (1996). He added, however, that his habit of using drugs did not begin in his brief stint in front of the camera," Never po. Kahit puyatan pa yun' [Even though we worked late nights]" The former child actor said he is willing to undergo rehabilitation if given the opportunity. He denied knowledge of other celebrities involved in illegal drugs but nonetheless advised them to cease their drug habits. "'Wag niyo na subukan kung may chance pa kayo itigil niyo na I hate drugs. Di na ako magda-drugs kahit kailan," he said. [Translation: Don't try it. If you still have a chance to stop, stop it now. I hate drugs. I won't use drugs ever again.] Eleazar clarified the police's campaign against illegal drugs, "Oplan Tokhang", and emphasized that it is an opportunity for users to put an end to their unhealthy habits. "Ang Oplan Tokhang that is our program to convince those involved in drugs to stop what they're doing. Pinakamaganda diyan [The best option] is to avail of the rehabilitation program," the chief said. During his State of the Nation Address on July 23, the President said the country's war against drugs remains "far from over," declaring a more "relentless and chilling" effort to implement operations amid criticisms from human rights advocates. The police responded days later, with a plan to "recalibrate" Oplan Tokhang based on the review of performances from police station to regional offices levels. Over 102,000 anti-drug operations were conducted during the first two years of the fight against illegal drugs. A total of 147,000 drug personalities were arrested, while P14.66 billion worth of illegal drugs were seized, according to government records. International human rights advocates have repeatedly slammed the President's drug war, dubbing it a "bloody war on the poor," but a majority of Filipinos continue to support Duterte's campaign, marking it one of his greatest achievements. After objections from Rep. Vernon Smith, D-Gary, during Fridays meeting, the agreement will be modified to require the district to be consulted on student disciplinary actions. Financial audits and state test results will also be given to the district. This type of cancer tumor does not have a lump, so women dont think of cancer, and neither do their healthcare providers, he said. They need to be aware of this as a potential disease, not just a rash. We have had women whove taken antibiotics for six months before anyone did a biopsy. The 13-year-old girl activated a personal safety app from her cell phone and reported she was being followed by an unknown man in the 5000 block of Dempster Street, police said in a post on the Skokie Police Department Facebook page. I was able in my law practice to see people and hear their stories in some of the most difficult times of their lives, he said. I saw my law practice as being a serious attorney and counselor. I continue to see that role as a pastor. "This was put into effect in January 2017 by the IEPA in the wake of the Flint, Michigan water problems, and it will really help us to determine how many lead water lines we have in town," Duffy said. "If a resident does not have access to the survey, they can contact the Water Department for assistance." My work in the community has led me to the realization that not only do we need to take our work to the polls, but also have someone on the ballot that truly represents our community, Aguayo, who was born and raised in the Back of the Yards neighborhood, wrote in the Facebook post in which he announced his candidacy Thursday evening. We are tired of elected officials that spend millions on speed bumps yet do nothing to tackle the root causes of violence: education, employment, housing, and mental health, he wrote. Following the nation's story from the ancient text of I Ching right up to Xi Jinping's new era, Hugh Peyman's new book plots the country's rapid rise, Andrew Moody reports. When asked why he was moving to China nearly two decades ago, Hugh Peyman said it was because "it was the greatest show on Earth". The author and consultant says the phrase used to promote the 19th-century Barnum & Bailey Circus in the United States just sprang to mind when he was planning to relocate his investment-research business from Singapore to Shanghai in 2002. "I couldn't tell them it was because my son was 18 and we could now leave Singapore, which would have sounded rather pathetic," he says. Having been based in China ever since and witnessing something of the country's economic miracle, Peyman realizes now that his response at the time has proved prophetic. And he has now written a book, China's Change: The Greatest Show on Earth, which examines why what is now the world's second-largest economy has been so successful over such a relatively short period of time. "I flew especially to see a friend's literary agent in New York with an outline of the book, and he said some of the subheads were really good. I asked him which ones, and he replied: 'The Greatest Show on Earth. I really like that'," he says, laughing. The book, which took three years to write and has just been published by the Singapore-based World Scientific Publishing, is far removed from any ordinary business book about China. It follows China's story right up until the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China last October and the launch of Chinese President Xi Jinping's new era. It also encompasses Chinese philosophy, including the almost 4,000-year-old concept of weixin, or constant renewal, as well as many personal anecdotes. You are here: Arts Virtuoso Chinese pianist Lang Lang will hold a charity dinner in New York to raise money for music education. The annual Lang Lang & Friends Gala Concert Dinner, scheduled for Oct. 10 at the Cipriani Hall in Lower Manhattan, also celebrates the 10th anniversary of the Lang Lang International Music Foundation (LLIMF). Lang Lang will lead the foundation's young pianists to perform at the star-studded celebration. The Golden Globe winner Alec Baldwin will be the host. The New York-based LLIMF was founded in 2008 and its mission is to educate, inspire and motivate the next generation of classical music lovers and performers. Uruguay's Confucius Institute has seen demand expand so quickly that more teachers are urgently needed just three months since it opened in April, the rector of the University of the Republic (Udelar) told Xinhua. "We need more teachers because the activity is growing at (a) breakneck speed," said Roberto Markarian, whose university manages the institute in conjunction with Qingdao University in eastern China's Shandong Province. The Montevideo-based Udelar, a leading university in the Latin American country, currently has some 200 students enrolled in Mandarin classes at both the institute and the Foreign Language Center run by Udelar's Humanities Department. After the institute began operation in April, the month of the 30th anniversary of diplomatic ties between Uruguay and China, its classrooms filled quickly, reflecting the rising interest in Chinese culture among local students and business sectors. The Confucius Institute also offers classes for government officials, such as those coming from the National Meat Institute (INAC), the defense and foreign affairs ministries, and several regional offices. "It's one of the most fruitful experiences to have the heads of INAC learn about Chinese customs," said Markarian, adding that INAC General Manager Ruy Fernando Gil also took classes, as well as other "high-level officials." Beef is one of Uruguay's leading exports, and according to INAC figures, China buys almost half of the country's exports. The institute is about to reach an agreement with the Uruguay-China Chamber of Commerce "so business owners can also begin to learn the basic elements" of Chinese culture, said Markarian. For the second year in a row, Udelar plans to host a seminar titled "Language and cultural traditions of China" with the sponsorship of China's commerce ministry to raise awareness about Chinese culture among Uruguayans. "The entire country and its diverse political and cultural sectors are interested in deepening our ties" with China, said Markarian. Cheung-Koon Yim, who directs Uruguay's Confucius Institute, said the idea is to "encourage and develop Uruguayan society's capacity to understand traditional Chinese culture by learning its language." An architect by profession, Yim, in his 80s, has been living in the Latin American country since 1953. "The institute is going to have a much wider reach and many more courses," Yim said. He plans to introduce new classes such as cooking, calligraphy and painting, as well as to launch exhibitions in a bid to help promote different facets of Chinese culture. Over the weekend, the institute hosted the Chinese Bridge competition, an annual international contest to reward non-Chinese speaking students according to their Chinese proficiency. It was the third time that the contest has been held in Uruguay for secondary-school students. This year two of them won a trip to China. Sci-fi horror film "The Meg" swam into China's National Aquatics Center for its premiere in Beijing on Thursday night thrilling the audience. "The Meg," based on the sci-fi novel "Meg: A Novel of Deep Terror" written by Steve Alten in 1997, is a story about a group of people who encounter and fight a monstrous megalodon, a 75-foot-long prehistoric shark once thought to be extinct, but which rises from the depths off the Chinese coast to wreak havoc upon those in its way. Director Jon Turteltaub, action star Jason Statham, Chinese actress Li Bingbing, Ruby Rose, Winston Chao and Cai Shuya were promoting the film in the Beijing National Aquatics Center - a unique and symbolic Olympic building - also known as the Water Cube. The advanced screening attracted more than 1,500 people in the audience who enjoyed the exciting ride in the venue exclusively decorated for the premiere, with images of the deep-sea monster swimming on the screens and projected onto the ETFE-clad exterior wall. The film was described by the audience as a "deep ocean version of Jurassic World" and the "most exciting film of this summer." The director said he thoroughly researched the megalodon so that the creature can be vividly recreated on the big screen. So much so that actress Li Bingbing, who during the filming could only use her imagination to act, said: "Now that the film is finished, I finally realized the monster is so huge, far more beyond my imagination. It is like a big plane." The underwater shooting in New Zealand was very difficult for Li and even for hardcore action actor Jason Statham. It was very different from what they could perform on land, because they had to hold their breath, fight the waves, test their endurance and strength, as well as struggling to communicate when underwater. Yet, Statham said although it was dangerous at times to shoot the film, there was also a lot of fun, "I really enjoyed doing this film." All the actors said they strived to the best of their potential to complete the project, in part pushed by the hard-working, "evilly strict" and demanding director. The film will hit Chinese and North American screens on Aug. 10, 2018. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 3) President Rodrigo Duterte's administration will continue to prioritize the reimposition of death penalty for serious crimes despite the Pope's decision to abolish it, Malacanang said Friday. "The President would still try gentle persuasion, but it's really a decision of the senators now," Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said in Malaybalay, Bukidnon. The House of Representatives approved their own death penalty bill related to manufacturing and trading illegal drugs by a 217-54 vote in March last year. However, the Senate has yet to come up with its version of the bill. Senate President Tito Sotto proposed to reinstate death penalty for "heinous crimes" back in 2014 but did not specify what these crimes were. The Vatican on Thursday announced that the Catholic Church will work towards the abolition of the death penalty around the world after Pope Francis said it was "inadmissible." In the Philippines, the death penalty was already abolished twice first under late President Cory Aquino, and then under the presidency of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. In French film director Jean-Pierre Jeunet's 2001 romantic comedy "Amelie," the protagonist, played by Audrey Tautou asked her steward confidant to take along her father's toy dwarf everywhere with him on journeys around the world and to send back pictures of it in different locations. The idea was to provide solace for the bereaved old man grieving the loss of a beloved wife. Almost two decades later, a teddy bear dressed in orange has becomes a much-photographed similar mascot appearing in a number of conferences around the world - this time not to heal a broken heart but to reinforce the ongoing mission of gender equality. "The Teddy Bear is basically our presentation. We designed it in 2015 and my thinking at the time was it could be a symbol to attract more teachers and peers to attend our conferences and seek to learn more about gender equality," explained Wang Mianchen, a student from the Beijing Royal School (BRS), a private bilingual school opened in 2003. She made her remark on August 1 at a panel session in Beijing of the Forum on Gender Equality and Peer Education, organized by UN Women, the Fazheng Group and BRS. To encourage and empower Chinese people, especially the younger generation, dedicated to spreading the concept of gender equality across the country, Youth Envoy Jayathma Wickramanayake from Sri Lanka addressed the conference on behalf of Antonio Guterres, incumbent UNSG. "The pursuit of gender equality is an ongoing and intergenerational effort, which affects and must engage every member of society regardless of age, gender and nationality. Gender equality is a fundamental human right," stressed Wickramanayake in her opening speech. "Today's young people will influence the social and cultural norms of tomorrow. It is therefore critical we engage constructively with [them] in understanding why gender equality is good for everyone," she added. Wickramanayake called for young males to recognize their role in promoting the empowerment of their female counterparts by using and sharing their power and privilege, adding that the former "have the ability to shift the dominant idea about gender and masculinity." According to her, one in three women in the world is still facing some form of gender discrimination or violence. To facilitate and extend the influence of advocates pressing for gender equality and diversity, the UN Women in Beijing initiated a program entitled "Peer Education and Change Maker" in 2015. The program, in collaboration with Beijing Normal University, was launched in BRS, where it attracted 218 adolescents aged between 13 to 18 in its first phase. It is planned to reach 10 more pilot areas, including, Dalian in Liaoning province, Chengdu in Sichuan province and Shijiazhuang in Hebei province during the second phase to be launched shortly (September or October). By teaching young volunteers about current power structure and ways to reshape it, the program seeks to motivate volunteers to change the stereotypes, social norms and various forms of discrimination that have long underlaid gender inequality in China. The program also invites parents and teachers to assure and inspire teenagers in their efforts to pursue gender equality through daily conversations, writings, drama and screen presentations, as well as online and offline activities. As a male advocate joining the campaign three years ago, BRS student Han Yuexiang has been a change maker promoting the causes of gender equality, diversity and even LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender), all strange concepts to him prior to his participation. "I joined the group and saw lots of cases and learnt from my colleagues all about these things, enabling me to gain some little understanding," said Han. "After that I have felt more powerful and I have more reasons to do this. I want to do something for gender equality and gender diversity as a student from a new generation to join this group to show our power, to use the power as a student, as a boy and then as a man." The UN Women in Beijing has carried out a series of programs, like the Chinese leg of the global campaign named "He for She" and the illumination of an orange light irradiating the facades of landmark buildings in Hangzhou, capital of Zhejiang province and Beijing to implement and support the undertaking. You are here: Opinion The Chinese army has undertaken major missions involving the protection of maritime rights, counter-terrorism and maintaining stability, disaster rescue and relief, international peacekeeping, escort services in the Gulf of Aden, and humanitarian rescue. The first visit to China of Jeremy Hunt, as the new U.K. foreign secretary, outlined the importance he is giving to the harmonious evolution of Sino-British relations. He was appointed to this position on July 9, and only three weeks, here he was in Beijing. Beforehand, Hunt had said that, in leaving the EU, his country was committed to deepening its partnership with China, obviously following the line of Prime Minister Theresa May, who met Chinese President Xi Jinping last February in Beijing. In a press conference with Chinese counterpart Wang Yi, Hunt made a special reference to British exports to China, which rose 32 percent last year from 16.8 billion in 2016 to 22.3 billion. That still leaves a hefty trade gap. Its imports from China were worth 42.3 billion in 2016 and 45.2 billion in 2017. China accounted for 3.6 percent of U.K. exports and 7 percent of U.K. imports in 2017 (relevant figures for 2016: 3.1 percent and 7.2 percent). There are many opportunities for the figures to grow, with implementation of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) opening new windows. Last year, for instance, the first freight train directly linking China and the U.K. arrived in London just 18 days after leaving Yiwu, a city in the eastern province of Zhejiang. As Ma Hui, a senior official in the Chinese embassy to Britain, has said, the train route carries not only goods but also bilateral confidence to create a win-win situation. Moreover, the U.K. has shown a positive attitude to China's opening-up policy. The export of services is critical for the British economy. As an example, last year, services provided by hotels, restaurants, travel agencies and tour operators concerning travel to China, were valued at 1.4 billion. The more China reforms its market, and removes restriction of foreign ownership, the more British companies will be engaged in a wide range of business activities from services to manufacturing. From another perspective, Chinese investments in the U.K. are flourishing. The Hinkley Point C nuclear power station project is a stand-out example, but there are others. Six years ago, for instance, China Investment Corporation (CIC) bought a 10 percent stake in the firm that owns London's Heathrow Airport. The Chinese fund is taking in the realization of plans for the reconstruction of Heathrow involving construction of a third runway. Another Chinese company, Beijing Construction Engineering Group, is co-developing the project known as Airport City Manchester. A study by Baker McKenzie and Rhodium Group shows Chinese foreign direct investment into the U.K. rose from US$9.2 billion in 2016 to US$20.8 billion in 2017. Meanwhile, a Grant Thornton analysis focused on the success of both public and private Chinese companies operating in the U.K., which contribute to the national economy and create job positions. Companies dealing with the financial services and technology have the lion's share. Needless to say, Sino-British financial collaboration yields win-win results as the capital coming from China is important for the preservation of the City of London as a top-class world financial center, in turn contributing to the internationalization of the yuan. So, it was no surprise that the recent 9th China-U.K. Strategic Dialogue was successful and re-affirmed the determination of Beijing and London to enhance ties. Yet, some caution is still needed. For the time being, the nature of the final Brexit package remains a big question mark not only for Sino-British relations but also for the relationship between the U.K. and all its other trade partners. China will have to wait to see how negotiations between London and Brussels conclude. A soft or hard Brexit will make a difference. British exports of road vehicles to China, for example, will certainly be affected by the final U.K.-EU agreement. So, although Beijing and London want to proceed with a free trade agreement, details can hardly be discussed at this stage. The good news for the Sino-British partnership is that the current U.K. government which initially lacked the passion of the previous one under David Cameron in approaching China seems to have overcome its somewhat reserved stance. This can guarantee the continuity Beijing seeks. George N. Tzogopoulos is a columnist with China.org.cn. For more information please visit: http://www.china.org.cn/opinion/GeorgeNTzogopoulos.htm Opinion articles reflect the views of their authors, not necessarily those of China.org.cn. You are here: World Flash Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Thursday that China and Russia should make concerted efforts to push forward the China-Russia all-around strategic cooperation. He made the remarks while meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on the sidelines of the ASEAN foreign ministers' meeting and related meetings. Wang noted that Chinese and Russian leaders reached new important consensus during their meeting in South Africa, adding that this has demonstrated the fact China and Russia are each other's key strategic partners. Noting that there are a series of high-level visits between China and Russia scheduled for this year, Lavrov said Russia expects to work together with China to ensure the meetings a success, and is determined to strengthen strategic dialogue and coordination with China on major international issues. They also exchanged views on issues of common concern. Flash Singaporean President Halimah Yacob met with Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Thursday, promising to deepen bilateral cooperation. Halimah Yacob noted that Singapore and China have enjoyed friendly ties and bilateral cooperation in various fields has yielded fruitful results. She hoped that the two countries would explore new ways of expanding the mutually beneficial cooperation and speeding up the talks on bilateral free trade agreement. Wang Yi, for his part, said this year marks the 40th anniversary of China's reform and opening-up as well as late Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping's visit to Singapore, adding that Singapore has made contributions to China's reform and opening-up in different stages. Wang said China appreciated the fact that Singapore was among the earliest countries to actively support and respond to the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative. He expressed the belief that China and Singapore's commitment to building the Belt and Road together would not only open up new prospects for the bilateral relations, but also inject new impetus into Singapore's development. You are here: World Flash Officials in northern Pakistan said on Friday that miscreants attacked nearly 12 girls schools, causing damages of their buildings. No one was injured as the schools were closed during the overnight attacks. The attackers blew up at two schools while others were torched and ransacked in Diamer District in Gilgit-Baltistan region late Thursday, a major town in northern Pakistan, officials said. A district spokesman said the miscreants burnt several under construction and some recently built schools. TV footage showed damages to several buildings. It was unclear as to who were behind the attacks and officials in the region said they have started investigation of the incident. Previously Taliban militants were involved in attacks on schools in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. But this is the first time schools in northern areas, relatively peaceful region, came under the attack. Officials said police on Friday launched search operation to apprehend the culprits. In 2013, Taliban militants had killed nine foreign tourists in a deadly attack in Diamer district. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 3) President Rodrigo Duterte on Friday set another condition for his resignation. In a tirade against television network ABS-CBN and the national daily, Philippine Daily Inquirer on Friday, the President said he would quit if it is proven that he had over P40 million in his bank accounts. "I am challenging ABS-CBN. Magpunta kami sa Central Bank. I will tell the governor to open my account. Kapag sumobra ng 40 million, I will step down," Duterte said In a speech in Malaybalay City, Bukidnon. [Translation: I am challenging ABS-CBN. Let's go to the Central Bank. I will tell the governor to open my account. If there's more than 40 million, I will step down.] If the media company failed to prove that he had that much money in bank deposits, Duterte said that he would slap them all. "Pag 'di umabot, maglinya kayo. Sampalin ko kayo isa-isa," Duterte dared. [Translation: If it doesn't reach that amount, fall in line. I will slap you one by one.] Duterte issued the challenge after his office ordered the dismisssal of Overall Deputy Ombudsman Melchor Arthur Carandang who investigated claims that President Rodrigo Duterte had accumulated ill-gotten wealth. Carandang, in 2017, had led the probe based on allegations by Senator Antonio Trillanes. He said that he had obtained Duterte's bank records from the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) which showed the President was worth more than 1 billion. The AMLC, which handles issues on bank secrecy, denied this. The AMLC is under the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas. On the newspaper Inquirer, Duterte again took shots against the Prieto family who owns the publication, and said that they are liable for plunder for non-payment of condoned loans to the Development Bank of the Philippines. Duterte had previously said that he would step down if people could prove the existence of the Christian God. READ: Duterte: If you can prove your God exists, I will resign Uh-oh! It could be you, or it could be us, but there's no page here. Foundation Defends Military Cross Memorial from Atheist Legal Attack Contact: John Eidsmoe, Foundation for Moral Law, 334-262-1245, info@morallaw.org MONTGOMERY, Ala., Aug. 3, 2018 /Christian Newswire/ -- The Foundation for Moral Law, an Alabama nonprofit corporation dedicated to the defense of religious liberty and the right to publicly acknowledge God, filed an amicus brief Thursday supporting the Bladensburg Cross, a memorial to military personnel in Bladensburg, Maryland. The American Legion erected the cross in 1925 to honor local soldiers who gave their lives in World War I. The American Humanist Association challenged the monument as an establishment of religion in violation of the First Amendment. A federal district court dismissed the lawsuit, but the Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled that the monument was unconstitutional. The case is now up for review before the U.S. Supreme Court. The Foundation has a filed a brief supporting the petition for review. Foundation President Kayla Moore said concerning the case: "This nation was founded on the 'laws of nature and of nature's God,' to use the words of the Declaration of Independence. The First Amendment was enacted to prevent the establishment of an official state church, but our Founders never intended to prevent the public acknowledgement of God." Foundation Senior Counsel John Eidsmoe added: "Like Count Dracula, the plaintiffs seem to recoil at the sight of the cross. But the cross has always had a special meaning for the military. Crosses abound in military cemeteries, and except for the Medal of Honor the highest awards given in the military are the Distinguished Service Cross (Army) and the Air Force Cross, Navy Cross (Navy and Marines), and Coast Guard Cross. As General MacArthur said in his Farewell Address at West Point: "The soldier, above all other men, is required to practice the greatest act of religious training -- sacrifice." It is entirely fitting that this sacrifice should be recognized with the Bladensburg Cross. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 3) President Rodrigo Duterte said Friday he was considering sending a warship to Libya if gunmen holding Filipino hostages begin to hurt the captives, who have appealed to him for help. Three Filipino workers abducted along with a South Korean from their work site last month called on Duterte to help end their ordeal in a video that circulated online Wednesday. An armed guard was seen squatting behind them in the sand. No group has claimed claimed responsibility for their abduction. Duterte, in a speech in Bukidnon, said he intends to discuss the sending of the warship with security officials during a command conference scheduled on Aug. 7. "If they begin to hurt yung tatlo, magpadala ako ng frigate," Duterte said. (Translation: If they begin to hurt the three, I will send a frigate.) He did not elaborate, but his statement comes after South Korea's announcement on Thursday that it has deployed a warship to Libya. The deployment was an 'apparent show of force' to help secure the freedom of the South Korean hostage taken along with the Filipinos. The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Friday confirmed the three Filipinos seen in the footage are technicians who were abducted by unidentified armed men on July 6. "The Philippine Embassy in Tripoli has confirmed that the three Filipinos shown there are the three technicians who were taken by armed men from their work site some 500 kilometers from Tripoli," DFA spokesperson Elmer Cato said in a message. Meanwhile, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque confirmed there are government efforts to secure the release of the Filipino nationals, but plans have yet to be carried out. "(Labor) Secretary (Silvestre) Bello and I were supposed to fly to Libya," Roque told reporters in a press briefing Friday. "But it was cancelled because of security considerations. But we took steps to prepare for the trip," he added. Last July, DFA confirmed five Filipinos were abducted in Libya and Iraq on separate events, and that the department had commenced working with authorities to rescue the detained nationals. Fundatia Est-Europeana anunta lansarea Programului de granturi pentru sustinerea fondurilor de antreprenoriat pentru tineri, inclusiv unul in Gagauzia Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 3) The judge handling the murder charges against Anti-Poverty Commissioner Liza Maza and three former congressmen inhibited from the case on Friday morning. Judge Evelyn Turla of the Regional Trial Court Branch 40 in Palayan City, Nueva Ecija has inhibited due to pressure amid reports of the arrest order against the accused, according to the defendants' lawyer Rachelle Pastores. Turla issued the unexpected arrest warrant for Maza, former Agrarian Reform Secretary Rafael "Paeng" Mariano, and former Bayan Muna House Representatives Satur Ocampo and Teddy Casino last month. The left-leaning former lawmakers maintain their innocence and filed a motion for reconsideration. The case has been turned over to Judge Trese Wenceslao, who received the relevant documents on Thursday. He said he would come up with a resolution within the amount of time required by law. The accused did not attend the 15-minute hearing, but their lawyers and Makabayan bloc congressmen were present. No new evidence was presented. As it is, the arrest warrant against the four still stands. Pastores said that the call for them to surrender was unfair and unjust because they were innocent. "Hindi natin kayang panghawakan kung ano ang magiging kilos ng (Philippine National Police)," said Pastores. "But ang panawagan nga natin sa kanila ay irespeto ang karapatan ng apat at sana hintayin natin ang resolution sa motion for reconsideration, yun lang po para hindi maging kumplikado ang sitwasyon." [Translation: We don't control what the PNP will do. But we are appealing to them to respect the rights of the four, and wait for a motion of reconsideration, so as not to complicate the situation.] Casino, Mariano, Maza, and Ocampo were accused of killing three supporters of rival partylist Akbayan particularly Carlito Bayudang, Jimmy Peralta, and Danny Felipe in 2006. In 2008, then-presiding judge Turla said the conduct of preliminary investigation was not followed. Instead of dismissing the case, she asked to remand the charges to the City Prosecutor's Office. The accused appealed to the Supreme Court, which said last year the remand was improper and Turla should decide if there was probable cause. She issued arrest warrants for the four last July, in a move that seemed to reverse her ruling in 2008. Pastores maintains there is no clear evidence against her clients, saying witnesses in the case were previously discredited. She also pointed out that one of the murder charges had been dismissed at the Regional Trial Court in Guimba, Nueva Ecija ten years ago. CNN Philippines correspondent Gerg Cahiles contributed to this report. ABC/Adam TaylorDave Grohl has enjoyed an incredible career, but the Foo Fighters frontman said on Thursday's Jimmy Kimmel Live! it was hard to beat that time he got to jam with Prince. Before promoting CalJam 2018, Grohl launched into the story about time he met Prince when the icon was performing at The Forum in Los Angeles. Grohl was asked to meet and perform with Prince on stage, but said he refused because he was "hammered." After the show, however, the pair set a loose date to jam. When Prince hadn't called with details, Grohl decided to just show up during Prince's sound check. "There was no one there. It was an empty room," Grohl explained. "I walked out in the middle of the arena and he sees me and he says, 'What are you doing here?'...'Oh, I thought we were going to jam, Prince.'" After the awkward encounter, Grohl slid behind the drums and the two played "Whole Lotta Love" by Led Zeppelin. Unfortunately, it was the only time Grohl got to jam with Prince but it certainly made an impression. "It was, I swear to god, it was the most amazing experience on my entire life," Grohl said. Later in the interview, Grohl talked about his new project -- a short film, Play, which features him playing seven instruments at once in a "really freaky mushroom trip." He told Kimmel that he created the film because he was inspired by his children learning to play music. "I couldn't help but think about my kids who are musicians and watching them challenge themselves and really try to push themselves and learn new stuff," Grohl said. "You never lose that as a musician. It's a lifelong obsession. Play will be released August 10. Copyright 2018, ABC Radio. All rights reserved. Tacloban City (CNN Philippines, August 3) Vice President Leni Robredo said Congress should recognize members of the Liberal Party in the Lower House as the new minority bloc. "Oo naman, kasi pag 'yung rules ng House ang susundin sila naman talaga ang karapat-dapat," Robredo said in her visit in Salcedo town Thursday. "Pero titingnan natin kung ire-respeto 'yun ng House." [Translation: Of course. If those are the rules of the House, then they should be the leaders. But we'll see if the House respects that rule.] Robredo said the leadership of House Speaker Gloria Macapagal Arroyo will test how she will handle the struggle of three groups claiming to be the real House Minority bloc: the one with leader ABS-Partylist Representative Eugene De Vera, another headed by Representative Danilo Suarez, and the third helmed by Marikina Representative Romero "Miro" Quimbo. Quimbo and Robredo both belong to the Liberal Party. The lawmakers are arguing over a House rule which states that a House member becomes part of the Majority when he or she votes for the person who becomes Speaker. Quimbo told CNN Philippines' On the Record that he leaves it up to Arroyo to resolve the issue. READ: Lawmakers vying for top minority post will defer to House Speaker on leadership decision The Vice President also said that she wishes the new House Speaker well, saying that this is also the time for the former president to disprove allegations against her during her presidency. Arroyo's presidency was marred by the "Hello Garci" election scandal in 2004 and an admission in 2005 that she spoke to the then-election commissioner Virgilio Garciliano to secure her votes. (CNN) The Education Minister of Japan has condemned gender discrimination following reports that Tokyo Medical University allegedly rigged entrance exam scores to lower the ratio of female students. "We are asking (Tokyo Medical University) to investigate and report as soon as possible how entrance exams have been practiced and if it has been properly done," Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi said in a press conference on Friday. "We will wait for their report and consider how we respond. In general, unjust discriminatory selection of entrants for women is totally unacceptable." Local newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun first reported on Thursday that the university had allegedly lowered female scores since 2011. An unnamed university source claimed the alleged practice stemmed from a belief that female doctors would leave the profession to get married or give birth, leaving hospitals understaffed. In 2010, 40% of successful applicants were women, according to the Yomiuri Shimbun. Under the alleged rigging, the number dropped to around 30%, the unnamed source told the newspaper. It dipped even lower this year -- women made up 39% of total applicants, but of the students who passed, only 18% were women, according to Tokyo Medical University. "We are investigating to determine such a case ever happened," a university spokesperson told CNN. "We are planning to have a press conference once it's qualified to share the facts. But we do not know yet when that will be." The news has sparked outrage on social media and in the medical community. "It is absolutely unacceptable that female students are deprived of a chance of education only because they are women," Yoshika Maeda, chairwoman of the Japan Medical Women's Association, posted on Facebook. It wouldn't be surprising if other universities had similar rigging practices, Maeda said. Since private schools are not obligated to release exam scores, the selection process is conducted in a "black box," out of public sight. "This anachronistic move is very problematic and we must not keep it silent." she wrote. "However, it's a good thing that we have a window of opportunity to look into the black box and got a chance to plunge a scalpel into the wrongdoing." The apparent revelation emerged from a separate ongoing bribery investigation involving the university's admission of the son of an education ministry official, Yomiuri Shimbun reported. The fight for working women The scandal comes amid a growing national conversation about women in the workplace, in what remains a traditionally male-dominated society. In an effort to bolster the country's stagnating economy, in the face of an aging population and a slowing birth rate, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe pledged in 2013 to empower more working women. The administration's efforts have seen some improvement -- the percentage of Japanese working women has been slowly increasing, according to Kathy Matsui of Goldman Sachs. Some companies, like the automaker Nissan, offer flexible working hours, parental leave, and on-site childcare facilities to draw more women. However, far more companies have separate gendered career tracks that prevent upward mobility for women. Women typically end up in administrative roles, often referred to as the "mommy" track. Other obstacles continue to hinder female employees, including a lack of childcare services, a culture that largely delegates household duties to women, and a gender pay gap of 25%, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). In the face of such a steep uphill battle, in 2015 the government's gender equality bureau slashed their target for hiring women in senior positions, from 30% by 2020 to 7%. Meanwhile, the economy and shrinking workforce continue to struggle, with the government trying to boost fertility rates with cash payments and other incentives. Japan is simply "running out of people," Matsui told CNN. That's "the economic reality we're facing...so we really need to focus harder on the women." This story was first published on CNN.com, "Japanese medical school allegedly rigged exams to keep women out." Revealing its new creative platform, Get Ready, Aldo launches a bold campaign concept inspired by life's most special events, inviting the #AldoCrew to live them to the fullest https://www.multivu.com/players/English/8376151-aldo-fall-2018/A MONTREAL, Aug. 2, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --A Aldo, a global leader in fashion footwear and accessories, unveils its new creative platform, Get Ready, kicking off with the fall 2018 campaign. Infused with dynamism and boldness, Get Ready taps into the notion of living life to the fullest, embracing the excitement and anticipation of life's most defining events. Aldo's new integrated worldwide campaign will live across all brand touch-points along the consumer journey, including advertising, online, mobile, in-store, out-of-home and social media programs as of August 9th, 2018. Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/726353/ALDO_Group_Aldo_Embraces_Life_s_Most_Defining_Moments_in_Its_Fal.jpg Harkening a new and bold creative direction, the campaign was inspired by the simple, yet hopeful concept of "getting ready". Aldo aims to bring light to the moments of buildup that precede big and small life events, celebrating the magical energy born from anticipation. Aldo Mx., the brand's sneaker sub-brand, is the featured footwear for the fall campaign and truly shines in this creative. To bring this concept to life, Aldo sought out world-class creative agency, Wednesday, alongside the brand's Executive Creative Director, Douglas Bensadoun, Photographer, Josh Olins, Set Designer, Stefan Beckman and Stylist, Beth Fenton. For the first campaign under this creative platform, the brand explored the conceptual "jumping out of a plane", as a metaphor for getting ready for any major moment in life; a new beginning, the butterflies, the thrill of it all. "The concept puts forward a playful, surreal universe, showcasing the most thrilling and exhilarating moment one could think of - jumping off a plane", says Catherine Sabourin, Director of Content Development for Aldo. "The idea was to think of something so exciting, full of energy and pure fun - contextualizing the products in the most unexpected way". The brand's creative platform was inspired by cultural trends and consumer insights - a practice influenced by Aldo's deeply rooted consumer-centric approach to the business. "We know the people who shop at Aldo believe that what they wear is a reflection of who they are," says Daianara Grullon Amalfitano, Senior Vice President for Aldo. "Latest insights have told us how important preparation is to them and that there is an entire culture around getting ready - from playlists, to articles, to prep-routines. We've always been invested in creating personal experiences, no matter where our consumers shop or interact with the brand. With this campaign, we strive to connect further with our global community by celebrating these anticipatory moments with them, being part of their journey". Aldo's campaign direction lays the foundation of a long-term narrative that will evolve over the course of the next few seasons, and for years to come. "Get Ready" will be ignited during key brand moments, and the storyline behind each campaign will be uniquely revisited. The fall 2018 campaign features models/influencers Damaris Goddrie (@damarisgoddrie), Geron McKinley (@geronmckinley) and Steffy Argelich (@steffyargelich). To offer a consistent, seamless omni-channel experience, the brand's fall 2018 launch delivers content created with respect to consumers' shopping journey, in parallel with each channel and brand touch-point. Aldo's fall 2018 campaign will be supported by a 360-global campaign across all channels including digital, retail, out-of-home and social media #AldoCrew extensions. Follow @aldo_shoes and #AldoCrew on social media for information and updates. About The Aldo Group Inc. Founded in 1972, the Aldo Group is a leading international retailer for fashion footwear and accessories with over 2,200 stores in 100 countries. Aldo, the group's flagship brand, delivers fashion to a diverse customer base at prices that make keeping up with seasonal styles a luxury within reach. For more information, visit www.aldogroup.com. Website: Aldoshoes.com Facebook:Aldo Shoes Instagram:@Aldo_Shoes Snapchat: Aldo_Shoes Pinterest: Aldo ShoesA Twitter:@Aldo_Shoes For further information: Canada, Jessica Denomme, EGPR, jessica@egpr.ca, +1 647 352 7874; United States, Dewey Bunfill, BPCM New York, dewey@bpcm.com, +1 646 795 6894; United Kingdom, Anna Garbutt, ModusBPCM London, anna@modusbpcm.com, +44 (0) 20 7331 1433 MONTREAL, August 2, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Revealing its new creative platform, Get Ready, Aldo launches a bold campaign concept inspired by life's most special events, inviting the #AldoCrew to live them to the fullest https://www.multivu.com/players/English/8376151-aldo-fall-2018/A Aldo, a global leader in fashion footwear and accessories, unveils its new creative platform, Get Ready, kicking off with the fall 2018 campaign. Infused with dynamism and boldness, Get Ready taps into the notion of living life to the fullest, embracing the excitement and anticipation of life's most defining events. Aldo's new integrated worldwide campaign will live across all brand touch-points along the consumer journey, including advertising, online, mobile, in-store, out-of-home and social media programs as ofA August 9th, 2018. Harkening a new and bold creative direction, the campaign was inspired by the simple, yet hopeful concept of "getting ready". Aldo aims to bring light to the moments of buildup that precede big and small life events, celebrating the magical energy born from anticipation. Aldo Mx., the brand's sneaker sub-brand, is the featured footwear for the fall campaign and truly shines in this creative. To bring this concept to life, Aldo sought out world-class creative agency, Wednesday, alongside the brand's Executive Creative Director, Douglas Bensadoun, Photographer, Josh Olins, Set Designer, Stefan Beckman and Stylist, Beth Fenton. For the first campaign under this creative platform, the brand explored the conceptual "jumping out of a plane", as a metaphor for getting ready for any major moment in life; a new beginning, the butterflies, the thrill of it all. "The concept puts forward a playful, surreal universe, showcasing the most thrilling and exhilarating moment one could think of - jumping off a plane," says Catherine Sabourin, Director of Content Development for Aldo. "The idea was to think of something so exciting, full of energy and pure fun - contextualizing the products in the most unexpected way." The brand's creative platform was inspired by cultural trends and consumer insights - a practice influenced by Aldo's deeply rooted consumer-centric approach to the business. "We know the people who shop at Aldo believe that what they wear is a reflection of who they are," says Daianara Grullon Amalfitano, Senior Vice President for Aldo. "Latest insights have told us how important preparation is to them and that there is an entire culture around getting ready - from playlists, to articles, to prep-routines. We've always been invested in creating personal experiences, no matter where our consumers shop or interact with the brand. With this campaign, we strive to connect further with our global community by celebrating these anticipatory moments with them, being part of their journey." Aldo's campaign direction lays the foundation of a long-term narrative that will evolve over the course of the next few seasons, and for years to come. "Get Ready" will be ignited during key brand moments, and the storyline behind each campaign will be uniquely revisited. The fall 2018 campaign features models/influencers Damaris Goddrie (@damarisgoddrie), Geron McKinley (@geronmckinley) and Steffy Argelich (@steffyargelich). To offer a consistent, seamless omni-channel experience, the brand's fall 2018 launch delivers content created with respect to consumers' shopping journey, in parallel with each channel and brand touch-point. Aldo's fall 2018 campaign will be supported by a 360-global campaign across all channels including digital, retail, out-of-home and social media #AldoCrew extensions. Follow @aldo_shoes and #AldoCrew on social media for information and updates. About The Aldo Group Inc.A Founded in 1972, the Aldo Group is a leading international retailer for fashion footwear and accessories with over 2,200 stores in 100 countries. Aldo, the group's flagship brand, delivers fashion to a diverse customer base at prices that make keeping up with seasonal styles a luxury within reach. For more information, visitA http://www.aldogroup.com. Website:A Aldoshoes.comA Facebook:A Aldo Shoes Instagram:A @Aldo_Shoes Snapchat: Aldo_Shoes Pinterest: A Aldo ShoesA Twitter:A @Aldo_Shoes Canada, Jessica Denomme, EGPR, jessica@egpr.ca, +1-647-352-7874; United States, Dewey Bunfill, BPCM New York, dewey@bpcm.com, +1-646-795-6894; United Kingdom, Anna Garbutt, ModusBPCM London, anna@modusbpcm.com , +44(0)20-7331-1433 Microsoft, Mastercard and Dollar Shave among high achievers to be recognized at the 14thA Annual Customer Contact West: A Frost & Sullivan Executive MindXchange SANTA CLARA, California, Aug. 2, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --A Frost & Sullivan's CC Awards Program is excited to recognize world-class companies for their outstanding achievement in distinct areas of customer service.A CC Awards high achievers will receive their award on Monday, October 22, 2018, at the 14thA Annual Customer Contact West: A Frost & Sullivan Executive MindXchange at the Arizona Biltmore Hotel, Phoenix, Ariz. In addition, The Big Kahuna Award in each category will be announced at the CC Awards & Cocktail Bash. The CC Awards Program is pleased to announce this year's high achievers in six categories of customer service: THE ROSIE AWARD - ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE This category recognizes companies for excellence in artificial intelligence. This includes the use of artificial intelligence to impact customer satisfaction and customer effort scores. Microsoft SYSPRO Optum Mastercard Welltok THE MONEYBALL AWARD - CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT ANALYTICSA A A A A A A A This category recognizes companies for excellence in leveraging analytics to deliver differentiated customer experiences, while driving improvements in operational KPIs for the organization. Microsoft Web.com Mayo Clinic - Mayo Medical Labs Mastercard ABB Welltok SYSPRO THE MATRIX AWARD - OMNI-CHANNEL CUSTOMER SERVICE This category recognizes companies for excellence in omni-channel customer service strategy and implementation. This takes into account current and future customer engagement capabilities in traditional and digital channels. SYSPRO Albridge North Western MutualA THE SELFIE AWARD - SOCIAL MEDIA CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENTA A A This category recognizes companies for excellence in social media customer service. This includes internal channels, customer communities and support forums, as well as external channels such as Facebook and other social media sites. Microsoft HGS Hayneedle AARP THE SPIDERMAN AWARD - WEB CUSTOMER CAREA A A A This category recognizes companies for excellence in web customer care. This includes web self-service, chat, and integrated customer collaboration and support capabilities. Web.com SYSPRO Dollar Shave Club THE WORK HARD PLAY HARD AWARD - CULTURE AND TEAM SPIRITA We asked companies to get creative and submit an innovative 60- to 90-second video highlighting what makes their culture unique and their people so special. Voting starts online now and will conclude with live voting on-site at the 14th Annual Customer Contact West: A Frost & Sullivan Executive MindXchange. Cast your vote today! Companies in the running for the Work Hard Play Hard Award include: HGS 24-7 Intouch Mastercard Microsoft Teleperformance Erie Insurance Sitel About The CC Awards Program The CC Awards Program, made possible through the coordination of the Frost & Sullivan Customer Engagement Digital Transformation practice, Frost & Sullivan Research Insights practice and the Frost & Sullivan Customer Contact Executive MindXchange, honors companies and individual leaders that are shaping the future of customer service. Honored recipients have demonstrated achievement in one or more of five categories:A Omni-channel Customer Experience, Artificial Intelligence, Web Customer Care, Social Media Customer Engagement and Customer Engagement Analytics. Companies are vetted through a rigorous two-stage evaluation process. The initial stage involves the completion of a questionnaire application. Questions posed range from customer engagement capabilities to business outcomes. Entrants are free to apply in one or more categories, provided responses are complete for each section. Qualifying companies will then progress to the second stage for evaluation by a judging panel consisting of experts from the industry and Frost & Sullivan research analysts. High achievers will be celebrated and the top-scoring company in each category will be presented with The Big Kahuna award at the 14th Annual Customer Contact West: A Frost & Sullivan Executive MindXchange, taking place October 21-24, 2018, at the Arizona Biltmore Hotel, Phoenix, Ariz. For more information about the CC Awards, please go to: https://www.customercontactwest.com/2018/ccawards About Frost & Sullivan Frost & Sullivan, the Growth Partnership Company, works in collaboration with clients to leverage visionary innovation that addresses the global challenges and related growth opportunities that will make or break today's market participants. For more than 50 years, we have been developing growth strategies for the global 1000, emerging businesses, the public sector and the investment community. Contact us: Start the discussion Contact: Nicole CoonsaMarketing Vanguard T: 908.603.7207 E: nicole.coons@frost.comA http://ww2.frost.com "The voices of China. The faces of China. The stories of China." EDINBURGH, United Kingdom, Aug. 3, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- 2018 China Focus will kick off its second year at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, bringing another Chinese feast for theA senses along with five excellent Chinese theatre productions: A Life on the Silk Road, Tu Tu, A Chinese Bestiary, The Creation Myths of China and Painted Skin Return. After last year's success, the Chinese government is ready to take the overseas promotion of Chinese heritage and culture to the next level. China Focus is Edinburgh Festival Fringe's celebration of excellence in Chinese theatre and dramatic production through high-quality art performances. Each is a contemporary show that blends both China's traditional and its contemporary creative currents. China Focus aims to promote Chinese heritage and cultural products among international markets. Officials from the Chinese Embassy, Shanghai Municipal Government, Scottish and Edinburgh government, British Council, the Edinburgh Festivals, the Fringe; and members of the press, along with key artists from the China Focus programme will gather together for the celebration of leading contemporary talent from East to West. Mr. Pan Xinchun, Consul General, Chinese Consulate General in Edinburgh; Mr. Donald Wilson, Convener of the Culture and Communities Committee of the City of Edinburgh Council; Ms. Zong Ming, Deputy Secretary General, Shanghai Municipal People's Government; Secretary General, Organizing Committee of the China Shanghai International Arts Festival; Ms. Julia Amour, Director of Festivals Edinburgh; Ms. Yang Jing, Vice President, The Center for China Shang! hai Inter national Arts Festival and Ms. Rachel Sanger, Head of Participant Services, Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society will be among the guests attending the reception. China Focus triggered the pursuit of Chinese original works in the British cultural market. This is one of the outstanding achievements of the golden era between China and the UK, followed by the cooperation memo between the Shanghai Municipal Administration of Culture, Radio, Film & TV and the Festivals Edinburgh on November 2017, and a cooperation agreement between The Centre for China Shanghai International Arts Festival and the Festivals Edinburgh on April 2018. China Focus proves to be a dynamic strategy and platform to encourage innovation in the UK-China art industries. By bringing the most exquisite and thrilling selection of theatre productions, the annual programme will continue to grow as a mainstay of Edinburgh Fringe's Chinese cultural showcase and strengthen existing relationships and build new links between individuals and organisations in art and culture industries, as well as between governments. Supported by Bureau for External Cultural Relations, Ministry of Culture and Tourism, P. R.China Shanghai Municipal Administration of Culture, Radio, Film & TV A Organised by The Centre for China Shanghai International Arts Festival Co-Organised by Branding Shanghai Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/726664/china_focus_fringe.jpg A (CNN) As many as 29 people have died due to heatstroke in South Korea, according to the South Korean Ministry of Health, Welfare and Disease Control. The country is undergoing an extended heatwave, with at least 15 days of temperatures over 35C (95F) recorded, the Korean Meteorological Administration (KMA) reported. The agency added that Wednesday was the hottest day in Seoul in 111 years, with a temperature of 39.6C. The Office of the Prime Minister has ordered all public construction sites to cease work during daytime hours foe the duration of the extreme temperatures. The government will also focus on medical support to communities, including providing fluid and cooling systems for 1,000 elderly farmers. On the northern side of the Korean demilitarized zone, state media KCNA republished an editorial from state newspaper Rodong Sinmun on Thursday, which said "this year's high temperature(s are) an unprecedented natural disaster." The unprecedented high temperatures are also affecting neighboring Japan, with dozens of deaths reported as temperatures top 41 degrees Celsius. Last week in Kumagaya, a city near Tokyo, the mercury rose to 41.1 degrees (106 F), the highest ever on record in Japan, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency, almost 12 degrees hotter than average temperatures at this time of year. Global heatstorm Much of the northern hemisphere has been experiencing a scorching summer characterized by heatwaves and extreme weather. Asia has been particularly hard hit. At least 21 people died as a result of flash flooding since July, and more than 190,000 people were relocated in and around Shanghai, where Tropical Storm Ampil is striking the east coast of China. Hundreds of thousands have also been evacuated from their homes in the Philippines, with monsoon rains exacerbated by multiple storms, causing flooding and other dangers. It is these types of heatwaves that scientists have been warning would be a consequence of warming the planet through greenhouse gas emissions. "The impacts of climate change are no longer subtle," said Michael Mann, a climate scientist and director of the Earth System Science Center at Penn State University. "We are seeing them play out in real time in the form of unprecedented heatwaves, floods, droughts and wildfires. And we've seen them all this summer," he said. RELATED: Record-breaking summer marches on to the beat of climate change AccuWeather analyst Joel Myers warned that some groups are particularly vulnerable to the high temperatures. "The elderly and those with pre-existent conditions, such as asthma and heart failure, are likely to face declining health due to exacerbation of their conditions due to weather," he said in a statement. "Heat exhaustion and stroke, dehydration, migraines, loss of sleep and mood alteration can all occur due to dangerous heat. Historical data shows that more people are likely to be involved in vehicle crashes due to heat-related impacts, such as decreased ability to concentrate, the poor quality of sleep they get and impaired mood, etc." This story was first published on CNN.com, "Record-breaking temperatures leave 29 dead in South Korean heatwave." When Ghulam Mumtaz arrived in London from India on a cold October afternoon in 1935, one might have assumed the 29-year-old had a bright future ahead of him. After all, hed made his passage on The Viceroy Of India, a majestic ocean liner complete with ballroom and pool. Yet what awaited him was not a fine London apartment, but a modest home in Essex, where his wife Irma and three children awaited him. His marriage to an Irish-born London girl had so angered his wealthy parents, they cut him off for good, and his recent journey to India would be his last. Ghulam would die more than three decades later having never reconciled with his family, while his daughter would experience heartbreaking racism: she was called Blackie at school, and ordered to stand in the corner of the classroom with her back turned. Theirs is one of many poignant tales unearthed in the BBC series A Passage To Britain, in which academic and historian Dr Yasmin Khan explores the ships passenger lists to discover the stories of some of the first British-Asian immigrants. Academic and historian Dr Yasmin Khan explores the passenger list of The Viceroy Of India ship (pictured) in a new BBC series about some of the first British-Asian immigrants From early pioneers struggling to assimilate in the 1930s to those fleeing the chaos triggered by Partition in the late 40s, and the optimistic arrivals from the new Commonwealth in the 1950s, their fortunes are intimately interconnected with the history of the faltering Empire and the rise of home rule. Sometimes theyre trying their luck, sometimes its for romance, for work, fun or adventure. There are so many reasons they came, yet theyre all part of a slice of history, as Dr Khan puts it. Its a slice with particular resonance for Dr Khan, an associate professor at Oxford University whose career has focused on the history of the British in India and South Asian decolonisation. Her Pakistani-born father arrived in London from Karachi in the 70s and settled here after marrying her Irish-born mother, making this film her most personal work yet. When we talk about migration, we sometimes look at the bigger picture and miss the richness of individual stories, she says. Dr Khan turned to a previously overlooked historical treasure trove to unearth these stories: the early 19th-century shipping companies lists that detailed the name, age and occupation of their passengers. Her starting point was the lists of The Viceroy Of India for 1933-1935, a ship that made the 17-day trip from Mumbai then Bombay to Britain more than any other liner during that decade. While 70 per cent of its passengers were British, Asian names were also on the list. Most passengers were part of the ruling class, Dr Khan says. Listed were people running tea plantations, a sherry trader, maharajahs and well-off Indians coming to Britain to study. Ghulam Mumtaz (pictured taking a photo on his journey to Britain in 1935) was cut off from his family after choosing to marry an Irish-born London girl One passenger who caught Dr Khans eye was Mulk Raj Anand, whose passage to Britain in 1933 started a journey that would end with him becoming one of Indias foremost writers and an outspoken voice against the Empire. In his books, Mulk took on not only the Indian caste system, but the British Empire itself, Dr Khan says. He was coming to London to campaign against British rule. It was a campaign in which he had high-placed allies. He was friends with George Orwell, and the writer EM Forster helped him get his first book published, says Dr Khan. Mulk was a charming, good-looking character, embraced by the literary Bloomsbury set. Mulks charisma also caught the eye of one Kathleen Gelder, a vivacious young London intellectual who he married in 1939. Dr Khan tracked down their niece Ann Jasper, a mother-of-five, who took up the story. Three years after Mulk and Kathleen married, they had a daughter, Sheila, but by 1945, as India moved ever closer to Partition, Mulk returned to India, leaving his family behind. Although he continued to visit and support Sheila, he never returned to Britain to live, says Dr Khan. Dr Khan says meeting Sir Lancelot's grandson for the series is a reminder of the UK's connection with India that many wouldn't imagine (Pictured: Indian crew members as they man the ship) It caused an irreconcilable rift with his daughter. On her deathbed she wrote to Ann saying she was glad he left as it was better to grow up without him there. If Mulk and Kathleens marriage was a failure, there were successes too. In the interwar period there were 3,000 marriages between white women and Muslim men, says Dr Khan. Among them was Ghulam Mumtaz, who first came to the UK in 1926, aged 20, to study law at Londons Kings College. He was set for a glittering future until he fell in love with a white woman, which led to him being disinherited by his land-owning family. Without their support, he was unable to continue studying. As his grandson Jeremy Reeve tells Dr Khan, he ended up doing jewellery repairs to support his wife and children. Heading for London in 1935 was Sir Lancelot Graham, a civil servant during the British Raj who became governor of Sindh province now part of Pakistan during its tempestuous lurch towards Partition. His trip was likely to be about negotiating his tenure as governor, says Dr Khan. The British grip on India was shaky, and Sir Lancelot would have known that the India he knew was disappearing. Today, Sir Lancelots grandson Christopher lives near Manchester alongside his grandfathers Indian memorabilia. Meeting him was a reminder of the way so many people you wouldnt imagine in the UK have a connection with India, whether its having worked there, been in the Army or had a family member who came over, says Dr Khan. It underpins just how intricately Indias history is intertwined with our own. A Passage To Britain starts on Tuesday 14 August at 9pm on BBC2. Celebrities share the stories behind their favourite snapshots this week its the turn of actress Jenny Agutter Jenny Agutter shares the background behind a selection of her favourite photographs taken throughout her lifetime 1955: My father Derek was in the Army and we were living in Singapore when this picture was taken of me, aged three, with my mother Kit and brother Jonathan. I have vivid memories of the place the smell of the earth after the rain, and of foods such as sweet rice wrapped in leaves. So began my love of different cultures, which I shared with my mother. She came from Liverpool but left home at a young age and adored travelling. 1964: Between the ages of nine and 16 I boarded at Elmhurst ballet school in Birmingham, and when I was 11 I had a screen test for a Disney film called Ballerina. It was such a treat to meet Walt Disney himself, with whom Im pictured here he was imposing but kindly and very courteous. I got the part, and Ive enjoyed a wonderful acting career ever since. 1968: Around the time I played Roberta in the original Railway Children TV series, I was also in the film Star! with Julie Andrews, about the legendary English stage actress Gertrude Lawrence; I was her neglected daughter Pauline [pictured, with Julie as Gertrude]. Julie was delightful warm, chatty and very down to earth. Her little daughter Emma was there with her and while we were rehearsing she didnt like me calling Julie Mummy. Shed say, Please tell her you are not her mummy! 1969: Walkabout was a haunting, fantastical story about two children lost in the Australian desert who befriend a young Aboriginal, and this is me with Luc Roeg and David Gulpilil, my co-stars in the film. It was an amazing adventure for a 16-year-old. Id often sleep out under the stars on an old iron bed with a mosquito net thrown over it. Little Luc, the son of the films director Nic Roeg, looked adorable it was a shame his two front teeth came out mid-way through filming, and he had to wear two false ones! David was brilliant, a true man of the Outback, whod grown up immersed in the myths, legends and tracking genius of his people. 1972: Here I am on my first trip to America, with the Emmy I won for my role in the TV film The Snow Goose, starring Richard Harris. We filmed in Frinton-on-Sea, Essex, partly because Richard was fond of drink, and Frinton had no pubs! But at one point he was joined by a buddy of his, and it was obvious theyd found some booze because he thought it would be funny to dye his reddish-grey hair and beard jet-black. There was a lot of back-lighting until the hair was stripped back to its original colour. 1991: I was based in LA for 17 years, but in 1989 I came back to England to make the film King Of The Wind with Glenda Jackson and Nigel Hawthorne. We were filming in Bath, and thats where I met my husband, the Swedish hotelier Johan Tham. We married in 1990 and our son Jonathan was born later that year this is him aged nine months. I was delighted when he arrived so late in my life, but it was a shock to discover that after 37 years of doing my own thing, I had dropped very low on the priority list. It was a sea change and a very healthy one. 2000: This was my third foray into the world of The Railway Children, having already appeared in the television serial in 1968 and the film in 1970. In this latest TV movie I took on the role of the mother. Edith Nesbits books had been a part of my childhood, and it was so lovely to be involved in the adaptations. She knew how to put herself inside a childs mind and see things through their clear, innocent eyes. 2012: Im now happily filming the eighth series of Call The Midwife. I love all my co-stars and the young people whove been in it. Were like a family and it feels very real perhaps because its all based on real-life memoirs. Miranda Hart was lovely as Chummy [pictured, centre, with Jenny as Sister Julienne and Jessica Raine as Jenny Lee] and I wish shed come back. Shes such a fine, sensitive actor. Jenny is a patron of the Cystic Fibrosis Trust, whose Sixty-Five Roses Ball is at Londons Plaisterers Hall on 7 September. cysticfibrosis.org.uk. Princess Diana's former butler has warned the Duchess of Sussex will struggle with the level of scrutiny she receives as a member of the Royal Family. Paul Burrell, 60, told how Meghan, 36, might have longed for the fame that her position has brought but that she should 'be careful what she wishes for' as 'sometimes it is not all that it seems'. Mr Burrell, who served as a footman to the Queen before working for Diana, also urged Meghan to 'get on with' having a baby as 'time is marching on' and Prince Harry, 33, is ready to start a family. He predicted she the duchess, who turns 37 tomorrow, would fall pregnant in her first year of marriage. In the interview for Yahoo News'weekly six-part series, The Royal Box, Mr Burrell also weighed in on the Royal Family's treatment of Thomas Markle, saying there is 'no protocol' for dealing with in-laws but that 'somebody has to fix' the situation. Finally, he explained why Diana's own words lead him to believe that Prince Charles, 69, might never be King... Under the spotlight: Princess Diana's former butler Paul Burrell warned the Duchess of Sussex might struggle with the scrutiny she receives as a royal, just as Diana had done. Pictured, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex at an event at Marlborough House last month Candid: Speaking in an interview with Yahoo News' The Royal Box, Mr Burrell (pictured) also revealed why he thought the Duchess of Sussex would soon fall pregnant Royal credentials: Mr Burrell served as a footman to the Queen before working for Princess Diana as her butler. Pictured, Mr Burrell with the princess in 1994 On Meghan in the spotlight... 'It's interesting that Meghan has just joined the biggest soap opera in the world and she has just landed the biggest role of her life as an actress. 'I think, yes she did want to be famous, she's got everything that she wanted, but I [also] think "be careful what you wish for" because sometimes it's not all that it seems. 'Diana found that out, at an early age. To be a royal princess sometimes, losing your anonymity, losing that freedom, that's a big ask for any woman in today's society.' On Harry and Meghan starting a family... Time for a family: The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, pictured at the Sentebale ISPS Handa Polo Cup last month, will start a family within the next year, Mr Burrell predicted 'I predict that Meghan will very soon have a baby... They will have a baby within the first year of their marriage. Well, she will be pregnant within the first year of their marriage. 'Time is marching on and Harry does want a family. I think there's not much time left for Meghan. She's got to get on with it. Two [children] would be enough for Harry.' On the Royal Family and Thomas Markle... Time to act: Mr Burrell weighed in on the Royal Family's treatment of the Duchess of Sussex's father Thomas Markle, pictured in an interview with Good Morning Britain last month, saying there is 'no protocol' for dealing with in-laws but that 'somebody has to fix' the situation 'There is no protocol for people like Thomas Markle, or in-laws, and people who marry into the Royal Family are lost at sea. They have embraced Meghan, they are keeping Meghan safe, but how about all the people in her world? 'I think they need to think about this, it's a problem. Poor Thomas Markle doesn't know how to behave, he is lost. 'I think the best thing he could do is stay quiet and try and reach out to his daughter. Somebody has to fix it. Before it gets more broken. 'Thankfully Meghan's mother has survived with dignity and style and that's the way forward.' On why Prince Charles will never be King... All hail the King? Mr Burrell said he does not believe Prince Charles, 69, will ever ascend the throne. Pictured, Prince Charles with the Duchess of Cornwall at Royal Ascot in June 'I don't think we will ever see King Charles and Queen Camilla on the throne of England. 'I know it's his right, I know he's heir to the throne, I know he's waited his whole life to do it [but] his own wife said: "My husband is not fit for the top job". Diana said that. 'I don't think he will get there. I think by the time the Queen dies - and she will live to be Queen as long as there is breath in her body - she will die aged 101, 102, or 103, maybe. Her mother was almost 102 when she died. Longevity is in the family. 'I think, for the sake of the monarchy - by the time Charles gets there, he's going to be 80 - why wouldn't he say to the Commonwealth, and the people of the United Kingdon: "I'm sure you'd much prefer a younger king and a younger queen to sit on the throne, with those beautiful children, instead of this old thing". Let's hope he does that. 'I think William will be a great King and Catherine will be a great Queen and one day Mummy's ring [Princess Diana's engagement ring, worn by the Duchess of Cambridge] will be sat on the throne of England.' Forget bangle brigades and constellation piercings that extend up the ear, this summer the hot multi-accessory trend is neck stacking. Whether at the beach or on the streets, big name social media stars like Rocky Barnes and Elle Ferguson are adorning themselves with layered gold chains. Celeb jeweler and owner of ByChari, Chari Cuthbert, reveals how to achieve the multi-faceted look like a street style pro. Hot trend: Big name social media stars like Rocky Barnes (pictured here) are adorning themselves with layered gold necklaces. Rocky's Ruffle Bandeau Bikini Top by Kendall + Kylie ($98) was made complete with several dainty gold chains Fashion party: ByChari designer Chari Cuthbert (far right) joined top influencers and REVOLVE in Bermuda this summer Chari custom designed the 'Bermuda' space necklace for Rachel (A.K.A. Rocky) Barnes to wear while vacationing with REVOLVE on the North Atlantic island. Social media influencers like Paola Alberdi (A.K.A. Blank Itinerary), Negin Mirsalehi and Happily Grey's Mary Lawless Lee all showed off their affinity for a good gold stack while attending the same tropical getaway. To get the look, Chari advises that all the necklaces be different lengths. 'I like to start with a choker or a piece short enough that it grazes your collar bone. Ideally a difference of 2 between every necklace allows them to hang and layer well,' said the jeweler. Expert advice: The jeweler shares her top tips on how to achieve the perfect neck stack, like starting with a choker or a piece short enough that it grazes the collar bone Blank Itinerary's Paola Alberdi decorated her yellow LPA top with many different chains while staying at the prestigious Rosewood Hotel in Bermuda, but Chari believes that three is the perfect amount to wear on a day-to-day basis. While turning to your favorite bloggers and editors for inspiration on the trend is a good idea, layering is all about expressing your own personal style, according to the jewelry maker. 'I love wearing my grandmas necklace with newer, on-trend or testament pieces,' she shared. 'Make it yours!' Hotel chic: At the Rosewood Hotel, Paola Alberdi (A.K.A. Blank Itinerary), was a vision in a LPA top ($138) and many gold chains Elle Ferguson proves that accessorizing your swimsuit is about more than just throwing on a pair of flip-flops and putting a floppy hat on your head. At a private beach party organized for the content creators, the Australian beauty completed her Kendall + Kylie two-piece with some personal baubles. From her custom 'Elle' necklace to her gold coins and horn pendant, Cosmopolitan's Woman Of the Year Fashion Social Media, truly made the look her own. Beach babe: Elle Ferguson proves that accessorizing your swimsuit is about more than just throwing on a pair of flip-flops. She jazzed up her Knot Front Top ($78) and High Rise Bikini Bottom ($68) by Kendall + Kylie with some personal baubles Twinning: Ellen V Lora and Mary Lawless Lee (A.K.A. Happily Grey) sunbathed in similar suits by Beach Riot. Ellen wore the brand's one-piece ($176), while Mary opted for a top ($102) and bottom ($112) by the label Picture perfect: Paola Alberdi (A.K.A. Blank Itinerary) posed for the camera in a Ruffle One-piece by Kendall + Kylie ($148) and multiple necklaces As temperatures soared on the beautiful island, Ellen V Lora and Mary heated things up even further in similar palm leaf printed suits by Beach Riot. With an eye for style, the social media stars turned their swim looks into complete outfits by adding a few cascading necklaces. Paola did the same while posing for the camera in a black one-piece by Kendall + Kylie and a colorful scarf around her waist. Happy hour: Happily Grey used a floral Lovers + Friends crop top as the backdrop to her medallion necklaces Sitting pretty: Gold necklaces elevated the feel of Rocky's striped LPA top ($128) and Negin's white Tularosa top ($158) After a day at the beach, Mary added edge to her floral print Lovers + Friends crop top with her go-to gold medallions. Insta famous Negin Mirsalehi and Rocky both elevated the feel of their casual daytime tops with their own riviere assortment. Rocky took the trend into evening, by bedazzling her lime green NBD maxi dress. While the fashion set makes the trend look so easy, when stacking necklaces, strands tend to intertwine. 'If you find that your necklaces tangle, lean forward and run your fingers between the chains from front to back, said Chari. 'It's the easiest way to untangle them. 'Ideally you shouldnt sleep in your jewelry, but to be honest, I never take mine off.' NBD maxi ($148) Get the look: Left: Occhio Necklace by Melanie Auld, $98; revolve.com. Right: Nine Diamond Necklace by ByChari, $745; bychari.com Left: London Necklace by Miranda Frye, $108; mirandafrye.com. Right: Gia Pendant by Lili Claspe, $100; liliclaspe.com Left: Spaced Aloha Necklacy by ByChari, $315; bychari.com. Right: Coin Detail Pendant Necklace by Boohoo, now $4; boohoo.com Left: Cross Necklace with Coin by Benevolence LA, $21.95; amazon.com. Right: Layered Lariat Necklace by Ettika, $40; revolve.com Left: Diamond Solitaire Necklace by ByChari, $370; bychari.com. Horoscope Gold Plated Necklace by Alighieri, $225; matchesfashion.com Left: Viviani Necklace by Right: Troop Necklace by 8 Other Reasons, $51; revolve.com. Right: Troop Necklace by 8 Other Reasons, $51; revolve.com The trend for luxury scented candles has sky-rocketed in recent years, and shows no sign of abating any time soon. But if you're spending a fortune on pretty glass jars only to see them burn faster than expected, then you might be making some of these common mistakes. Nick Smart, from renowned French candle brand Cire Trudon, shared how you can get more life from your scented candles - and revealed why the 'first burn' is key. Take these into account, and those pricey candles are sure to give you more value for your money. Nick Smart, from renowned French candle brand Cire Trudon, shared how you can get more life from your scented candles - and revealed why the 'first burn' is key (stock image) 'You've got to make sure the top of the candle is completely transparent with liquid before you extinguish it,' Nick explained (stock image) 1. The first burn is most important Speaking to Vogue Australia, Nick said that the first time you light your candle is key to how long it will last you - this is because you don't want something called 'welling' or 'tunnelling'. If you've ever burned a candle and struggled to get it to melt evenly each side, this is because wax has a 'memory'. 'You've got to make sure the top of the candle is completely transparent with liquid before you extinguish it,' Nick told the publication. He added that this takes about two hours. While two hours is preferable, Nick said you should avoid burning your scented candle for longer than three - especially if it's the first time you're using it (pictured: Jo Malone candle and Glasshouse candle) How to get more from your candle 1. Make sure the top of the candle is transparent with liquid before you extinguish it for an even burn. 2. Avoid burning your candle for longer than three hours to avoid wasting the wax. 3. Re-centre the wick after each burn to prevent the wick from shifting and blackening. 4. Trim the wick before you burn and if it then has black smoke coming out of it, then trim it. 5. Make sure the wick is never longer than two millimetres. Advertisement 2. Avoid burning for longer than three hours While two hours is preferable, Nick said you should avoid burning your scented candle for longer than three - especially if it's the first time you're using it. 'We've all had candles burning all day, but 1. it's dangerous, and 2. it actually just wastes the wax. After three hours your candle actually doesn't produce and more perfume,' he explained. Once you've had a few hours of burning time, either blow out or extinguish the candle and let the fumes fill the air. Julie Bonin, from Paris-based brand, Diptyque, also said you remember to re-centre the wick after each burn, in order to 'prevent the wick from shifting and blackening the glass'. 'If you have a candle with black smoke coming out of it, it's got nothing to do with the ingredients - your wick is simply too long,' Nick said (stock image) 3. Trim the wick It's a tale as old as time with scented candles - but still thousands of people around the world forget to trim their candle wicks. 'If you have a candle with black smoke coming out of it, it's got nothing to do with the ingredients - your wick is simply too long,' Nick said. As well as trimming the wick before burning for the first time, trim it regularly during the life of a candle for more burn time. The experts recommend it's never longer than two millimetres in length - as the longer the wick, the quicker the candle will burn. For those of us who lack the expertise of Elle MacPherson or Gisele Bundchen, posing for photographs can be awkward, embarrassing and a source of genuine dread. Enter Australian photographer Luke Ayers, who recently shared a video explaining the single trick you need to achieve a portrait akin to Kendall Jenner. The New South Wales based professional revealed posing like a pro has nothing to do with how your body looks or how much muscle you have. When it comes down to the perfect shot, it's all about the angle. Scroll down for video Professional photographer Luke Ayers revealed posing like a pro has nothing to do with how your body looks or how much muscle you have - it's all about the angles According to Mr Ayers, curves and diagonal lines are more appealing to the naked eye than their straight laced counterparts. 'If the person looks boring or something is not quite clicking, get the subject to stand at an angle it really is as simple as that. And if you ever wondered why a photographer instructed you to 'turn to the side' or lift your hold your head in a certain way, Mr Ayers said slanted lines are what makes separates a good full length portrait shot from a great one. 'If the person looks boring or something is not quite clicking, get the subject to stand at an angle it really is as simple as that,' Mr Ayers (pictured) said 'Look at every magazine shot - every portrait photographer who knows their stuff will ask you to tilt your body or try to position the model at an angle,' he said. 'Forget about fancy lighting. It all comes down to lines!' When it comes to head shots where the body is only visible from the shoulders up, Mr Ayers shared another easy trick. 'Look at every magazine shot - every portrait photographer who knows their stuff will ask you to tilt your body or try to position the model at an angle,' he said 'You just get them to put one foot forward. 'By doing this, the shoulders are immediately set diagonally,' he explained. 'It's so simple just take your straight lines and horizontal lines and make them diagonal!' A mother-of-three has revealed how invoking two crucial words to doctors helped saved her sick daughter's life. Ayla Gyde, from Queensland, said her young daughter, Marley, was rushed to hospital with a suspected appendicitis. The mother watched helplessly as her four-year-old daughter's condition deteriorated, with doctors trying to figure out what medical attention she needed. But the fed-up mother decided to take matters into her own hands by invoking Ryan's Rule - a health protocol that allows people to call upon extra help when they feel their concerns are not being taken seriously enough. Taking to Facebook, the mother urged families to 'educate' themselves about the two words that prevented what could have been a tragic case of misdiagnosis. Queensland mother Ayla Gyde has revealed how invoking two crucial words to doctors helped saved her sick four-year-old daughter's (pictured) life How to invoke Ryan's Rule? Step 1: Talk to a nurse or doctor about your concerns Step 2: If you are not satisfied with the response, talk to the nurse in charge of the shift Step 3: Call 13 Health (13 43 25 84) or ask a nurse and they will call on your behalf Request a Ryan's Rule Clinical Review and provide the following information: hospital name patient's name ward, bed number your contact number A Ryan's Rule nurse or doctor will review the patient and assist Advertisement 'My little girl was admitted to hospital with suspected appendicitis... After speaking to the first surgical doctor he explained this was likely the problem,' she said. 'However he wanted a paediatrician to check her lingering cough to rule out possible Mesenteric adenitis (which is swollen lymph glads in the tummy).' The mother said the doctor spoke to her at 5.30pm on Thursday - but by 7am on Friday, she was told an ultrasound was required that day. 'However, as I watched my little girl deteriorate before my eyes and frustrated nurses pacing the corridors trying to find out what was happening, like when the ultrasound would be completed, what pain management or fluid levels they needed and when or if she could stop fasting... I had finally had enough.' By 12pm, the desperate mother said 'I'm calling Ryan's Rule NOW'. Within 10 minutes, she was speaking to a different surgical doctor about her sick daughter. 'By 45 minutes she was getting an ultrasound done, and by two hours after calling Ryan's Rule, they were prepping my daughter for an emergency removal of her appendix as it had perforated. 'Turns out ultrasound hadn't been ordered that morning so we were waiting for nothing... How much longer would she had sat there as the pus infection leaked throughout her abdomen before they got their s*** together?' The mother watched helplessly as Marley's condition deteriorated, with doctors trying to figure out what medical attention she needed (stock image) By sharing her story, the mother wanted to raise awareness about the health initiative that applies to Queensland residents only. 'For anyone who doesn't know about Ryan's Rule then please educate yourself especially if you are a parent,' Ms Gyde said. 'Ryan's Rule is a life saver and so many people don't know about it... educated yourself, let everyone know they have rights if they don't think they are getting the appropriate treatment.' Ryan's Rule was named after a two-year-old boy named Ryan Saunders (pictured) who tragically died in September 2007 after an infection went undiscovered by doctors Ryan's Rule was named after a two-year-old boy named Ryan Saunders who tragically died in September 2007 after an infection went undiscovered by doctors at two different hospitals. His death was found to be preventable but medical staff did not know the toddler as well as his parents knew him. When his parents raised alarm bells about his condition worsening, they felt their concerns fell upon deaf ears at the time. Little Ryan experienced swollen glands before he was admitted to hospital where he later died as a result of a toxic shock syndrome after his serious bacterial infection was not diagnosed. Four years later, Ryan's Rule was founded to provide patients of any age, families and carers with another way to get help. In recent years, a trend of using kitchen staples in skincare regimens has emerged and it looks as though the phenomenon is here to stay. From using turmeric in DIY face masks and swabs of apple cider vinegar to soothe acne-prone skin, the stack of culinary ingredients migrating from pantry to bathroom cabinet is steadily growing. And now, it appears the latest additions to the list are more commonly found as part of a delicious breakfast. From using turmeric in DIY face masks and swabs of apple cider vinegar to soothe acne prone skin, the stack of culinary ingredients migrating from pantry to bathroom cabinet is steadily growing Almond milk and honey, a historical combination made famous by Egyptian queen and renowned beauty Cleopatra, work wonders on dry and sensitive skin. Beauty 'botanist' for The Body Shop Jennifer Hirsch told Whimn the duo are a match made in cosmetic heaven. 'The antibacterial and water-attracting properties of honey complement the soothing and antioxidant properties of almond milk,' she said. 'The antibacterial and water-attracting properties of honey complement the soothing and antioxidant properties of almond milk,' she said The antibacterial quality of honey is ideal for acne treatment and prevention, while simultaneously slowing the ageing process by moisturising your natural complexion Aside from being delicious and rich in health-enhancing vitamin E and other antioxidants, almond milk is associated with fighting dangerous free radicals which in turn combats the deepening of fine lines and wrinkles. The milk, typically found in lattes or on breakfast cereal, enhances skin's natural glow and also protects against sun damage. The cleansing quality of honey is ideal for acne treatment and prevention, while simultaneously slowing the ageing process by moisturising your natural complexion. Aside from being delicious and rich in health enhancing vitamin E and other antioxidants, almond milk is associated with fighting dangerous free radicals which in turn combats the deepening of fine lines and wrinkles Both almond milk and honey have anti-irritant properties, making them ideal for anyone with sensitive skin. 'Dry skin is less effective at reducing transepidermal water loss, creating the opportunity for irritation and infection,' Ms Hirsch said. The holistic skin expert went on to recommend buying a product bolstered with the two which has been dermatologically tested and made with stable ingredients. Most people would happily upload a picture of themselves to the internet with a filter on top of it, but it takes a lot of confidence to go au naturale. However, the Facetune and Snapchat trend has seemingly jumped from our phones to the plastic surgeon's office, with cosmetic enhancers being asked to turn clients into their filtered selves more than ever before. Research from Boston University said it was 'an alarming trend' because filtered selfies often show an unattainable look and blur the lines between reality and fantasy, the Courier Mail reported. Beauty blogger Zilla Stacey (pictured) started getting fillers and muscle relaxants eight years ago But it wasn't until she met with Dr Naomi McCullum from The Manse Clinic that the idea of flawless selfies and surgery clicked Sydney-based owner of The Manse Clinic Dr Naomi McCullum said she frequently gets asked to make patients look more appealing in their selfies. 'Selfies are a massive part of people's lives these days. Selfies are valuable in so many ways, so I can see why people want to have cosmetic treatments to look better in their selfies,' she said. 'They use them for dating and attracting a partner. They use them to help promote their businesses online. Selfies may even be important when prospective employers review someone online for jobs where appearance is relevant. I think it's only logical to want to improve your selfies!'. 'At first it was about improving my profile and Naomi was able to dissolve my double chin,' she told FEMAIL But the 27-year-old, who enjoys wearing heavy make up, said her constant use of cosmetics was causing havoc on her skin 'People use their selfies all the time in a cosmetic clinic. They show their doctor their "flaws" they don't like on their selfies, they tell us what they do on their Facetuning (photoediting app) to improve their features, and then, if it's advisable, we can try and achieve these things in real life. 'I always tell patients which is their younger or more attractive side, as this can really help them get better selfies immediately without even doing any work.' The American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (AAFPRS), the world's largest group of facial plastic surgeons, has uncovered the growing selfie trend among cosmetic surgery patients. Sibel, from The Platter Co, (pictured) similarly wants that youthful selfie skin - and for her it's also a matter of business 'They show their doctor their "flaws" they don't like on their selfies, they tell us what they do on their Facetuning (photoediting app) to improve their features,' she continued FEMAIL spoke to Dr Naomi about the rising trend and whether she notices the demand in her own clinic Known as 'selfie awareness' a study completed by AAFPRS in 2017 found 55 per cent of patients were advising their facial plastic surgeons that their desired outcome was to look better in a selfie. That number is up from 13 per cent of people communicating the same desire in 2016. Beauty blogger Zilla Stacey has spent more than $40,000 on cosmetic treatments to take better selfies. 'At first it was about improving my profile and Dr Naomi was able to dissolve my double chin. But as you keep going, and keep seeing the incredible procedures they have on offer, it makes you excited to try more,' she told FEMAIL previously. 'I always tell patients which is their younger or more attractive side, as this can really help them get better selfies immediately without even doing any work,' she said 'I always tell patients which is their younger or more attractive side, as this can really help them get better selfies immediately without even doing any work,' Dr Naomi continued But the 27-year-old, who enjoys wearing heavy make up and taking filtered snaps, said her constant use of cosmetics was causing havoc on her skin. 'So I began getting facials and fillers done by Naomi, and using specialised skincare, to really improve the look of my face,' she continued. 'Ultimately because I do a bit of beauty blogging I'd be editing my photos and removing anything I didn't want to be seen, so this is a way of achieving that selfie look without Facetune. Known as 'selfie awareness' a study completed by AAFPRS in 2017 found 55 per cent of patients were advising their facial plastic surgeons that their desired outcome was to look better in a selfie 'It saves you so much time in the long run,' she said. Sibel, from The Platter Co, similarly wants that youthful selfie skin - and for her it's also a matter of business. She uses her snaps as content to help grow her platter business on Instagram. Princess Eugenie has revealed the candid photo of her father that landed her in hot water. The youngest daughter of the Duke and Duchess of York shared a picture of Andrew inside Buckingham Palace in June after the Trooping the Colour ceremony. But the seemingly innocent snap revealed to her 288,000 Instagram followers a part of the palace normally closed off to the public - and subsequently earned her a telling-off. Speaking to British Vogue, Eugenie explained: 'I recently got in trouble for posting a picture of Papa in a corridor of the palace that was off-limits to the public'. Eugenie, 28, was explaining her dilemma over choosing a photo to mark Father's Day - fearing a Balmoral snap would be 'too personal' and an Ascot photo 'too formal'. A photo posted by Princess Eugenie last June which got her into 'trouble'. Her father Prince Andrew, 58, looked smart following his debut as Colonel of the Grenadier Guards at Trooping the Colour - but he was posing in a part of Buckingham Palace normally off limits to the public Sisters Beatrice, left, and Eugenie, right (pictured at a Louis Vuitton party in London in November 2017) have taken part in their first joint interview for fashion bible Vogue In the offending photo, Andrew, 58, looked smart in his regimental uniform following his debut as Colonel of the Grenadier Guards. The corridor, lined with marble busts and a plush red carpet, was hung with paintings including one depicting the wedding of Princess Maud of Wales, a granddaughter of Queen Victoria. It was just one of a series of fascinating revelations from Eugenie and older sister Beatrice in their first ever joint interview, for the fashion bible's September issue. During the accompanying photo shoot, at their Windsor home Royal Lodge, the siblings posed in couture clothing from designers including Valentino, Erdem and Simone Rocha. But disaster struck when one of the family's five Norfolk terriers 'relieved' itself on Beatrice's foil cape from British designer Richard Quinn. As Beatrice and Eugenie posed for their first Vogue shoot, they got an unexpected visitor in the form of their mother, the Duchess of York (pictured here at a gala in New York City) And according to Vogue's fashion features editor Ellie Pithers, the team got an unexpected visitor in the form of Sarah Ferguson, who shares a home with her ex-husband and daughters, and had just jetted in from a trip to Sardinia. 'You look beautiful! Great hair. Let's make those eyes pop,' Fergie is quoted as saying, before declaring herself a 'Pony Club mother'. The two sisters - who call their mother 'Mumsy' - also touched on everything from life in the spotlight to fashion, social media and Eugenie's upcoming wedding in the interview. At one point, they discussed living in the public eye as they say they constantly face mockery and criticism. Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie (pictured at the V&A Summer Party in London, June 2017) touched on everything from life in the spotlight to fashion, social media and Eugenie's upcoming wedding in the interview with British Vogue for the magazine's September issue) Speaking in British Vogue this week, Eugenie and Beatrice (pictured at Royal Ascot in June 2017) discussed living in the public eye and said they constantly face mockery and criticism Of doing media interviews, Beatrice, 29, said: Its hard to navigate situations like these because there is no precedent, there is no protocol. We are the first: we are young women trying to build careers and have personal lives, and were also princesses, and doing all of this in the public eye.' Eugenie, who will tie the knot with Jack Brooksbank in October, added: We want to show people who we are as working, young, royal women, but also not to be afraid of putting ourselves out there.' Nowadays its so easy to recoil when you see a perfect image on Instagram - but its important that its real. Were real. See the full feature in the September issue of Vogue, available on digital download and newsstands on Friday 3rd August (vogue.co.uk) Advertisement Goodwood revellers celebrated a successful day at the races today as the booze continued to flow around the racecourse on day four of the festival. Racegoers were seen ringing in the weekend in style, as they poured glasses of Pimm's, beer and bubbly at the Chichester course. Flamboyantly-dressed attendees were seen letting the hair down - with one excited racegoer even pulling down his trousers to reveal his Y-fronts as he posed for pictures with friends. Revellers have been embracing the glorious weather at Goodwood today, with the mercury rising to 27 degrees around the racecourse. Racegoers posed with drinks in their hands as the revelry went into the night Drinks were scattered across the lawns at the Sussex racecourse as revellers smoked and watched the horses Revellers have been embracing the glorious weather at Goodwood today, with the mercury rising to 27 degrees around the racecourse It's party time! Goodwood guests wasted no time in enjoying a few cooling beverages. One high spirited reveller even stripped down to his Y-fronts as he enjoyed a cup of beer with his friends at the festival on Chichester on Friday 3 August Dance time! Glorious Goodwood revellers joke about and hold cigarettes and beer in between watching the races They must have backed a winner! Friends took part in a celebratory dance (left), while others were content with sipping on beer and Pimm's (right) on day four of the Qatar Goodwood festival in Chichester, West Sussex on Friday 3 August Safety first! A racegoer applies suncream to a friend as they sip on drinks at Goodwood Cashing in! Two racegoers slump over a step and inspect their betting slips after a long day of racing Victory! Jockey Frankie Dettori celebrates winning the Bonhams Thoroughbred Stakes (Group 3) with horse Regal Reality during day four of the Qatar Goodwood Festival at Goodwood Racecourse, Chichester on Friday 3 August Here come the girls! Goodwood guests wasted no time in embracing the weather, as visitors donned their summer finery for a fourth day of racing fun in West Sussex wearing (L-R) electric blue, monochrome, and pastel pink shades on 3 August True blue: A trio take colour-coordinating to the next level in matching shades of turquoise at they arrive at Qatar Goodwood Festival on Friday 3 August. The Goodwood style guide suggests that those who don't feel comfortable in millinery accessorise with a headband or beaded clip instead, to add a touch of finesse to their look Each to their own: Guests adopted unique approaches to racing style, ranging from short hemlines (left) to plunging necklines (centre) and demure cover-ups - with most women opting for a statement headpiece - on 3 August Cheers! The ladies of Goodwood were on fine form as they soaked up the sun and sipped wine from plastic cups during day four of the annual race meeting in Chichester, West Sussex - wearing pretty lace and pastel hues Pimm's O'Clock? As the day's festivities got underway at Qatar Goodwood Festival, Sussex on Friday, guests refreshed themselves with cooling drinks, from beers (left) to punches (right) Racegoers check the odds at the tote during day four of the Qatar Goodwood Festival at Goodwood Racecourse, Chichester, where temperatures soared to 27 degrees and visitors donned their glad rags as they sipped on wine Stylish racing fans turned the Chichester course into a sea of colour today, opting for vibrant colours, bold floral prints and towering titfers turning heads. The famous equestrian event attracts guests from up and down the country and is considered one of the more relaxed race meetings when it comes to the dress code, but that didn't stop ladies from pulling out all the sartorial stops. And with temperatures soaring, organisers were forced to water down parched race tracks, while guests cooled off with glasses of champagne. The Qatar Goodwood Festival is touted as the sporting and social highlight of the calendar, with five thrilling days of world-class horse racing and elegant fashion for racing fans to enjoy. Two Goodwood guests embrace the warmer weather in summery dresses. With temperatures soaring, organisers were forced to water down parched race tracks, while guests cooled off with glasses of champagne A group of friends arrive at Qatar Goodwood Festival, Chichester, West Sussex on Friday 3 August. As the mercury rose once again on Friday, ticket holders streamed through the gates in their chicest dresses, high heels and hats Red alert! Colourful guests dressed head to toe in vibrant scarlet hues, with one man opting for an eye-popping blazer, chinos and odd shoes (left), while one woman turned heads in a pretty floral frock and white sandals (right) Arriving in style: A mixed group of racegoers make an entrance at the Qatar Goodwood Festival at Goodwood Racecourse, Chichester on Friday 3 August - dressed in peachy tones (left) and a colourful splash of neon pink (right) Strike a pose! Couples dressed in their finery looked picture perfect (left) while two racegoers posed for a quick selfie as the day's racing fixtures got underway at a very sunny Goodwood Festival, Chichester on Friday 3 August Taking a break: One group of friends stopped for a sit-down on the grass as they cooled off by fanning themselves and sipping on beer. It's a long day for racegoers with several hours of equestrian fixtures not to mention the searing heat Picnic time! One group of friends appeared to have brought their own snacks as they enjoyed the sunny weather at Goodwood Festival, Chichester, Sussex on Friday 3 August. Temperatures hit 27 degrees in the region While some racegoers were lucky enough to take shade in the grandstand, others were not so fortunate and were forced to slum it out on the lawn adjacent to the race track at Qatar Goodwood Festival, Sussex on Friday August 3 Monochrome magic! Not everyone opted for bold colours, with some going for sensible black suits (left) while others stuck to greys and whites. One man sported an unusual floral two-piece at the Qatar Goodwood Festival on Friday 3 August (right) Putting on the ritz! Festival organisers operate a famously relaxed dress code but that didn't stop guests from pulling out all the stops, with some wearing formal suits and cocktail dresses (pictured) at Goodwood, Chichester on August 3 One man takes a sit on the grass and looks at the day's racing tips, while his partner fans herself to cool down. Temperatures soared to 27 degrees on Friday as thousands descended on the annual race meeting in Chichester, West Sussex Ladies accessorise their outfits with statement hats in pink, left and white, right. Qatar Goodwood is considered one of the more relaxed race meetings when it comes to the dress code, but that didn't stop ladies from pulling out all the stops Turning heads: One woman paired her powder blue lace ensemble with a pretty white floral headpiece and statement sunnies for her outfit for the Qatar Goodwood Festival on Friday 3 August, where thousands of guests will take in the racing action True blue! One glamorous guest opted for icy blue, teaming an embellished top with a high-waisted skirt and feathered hat as she joined the masses at Qatar Goodwood Festival on Friday 3 August, with temperatures hitting 27 degrees Two ladies share a joke as they arrive at Qatar Goodwood Festival in Chichester, Sussex on Friday. Gates opened at 11am and racegoers will be treated to another day of glorious weather with the first race kicking off just before 2pm this afternoon Ladies of Goodwood put on a stunning sartorial display as they donned dresses in a range of colourful hues - from (L-R) red to white and girly pink. The dress code at the Chichester race meeting is famously more relaxed than at Ascot Cheers! The booze was flowing early on Friday 3 August as Goodwood racegoers cracked open the bubbly and enjoyed a refreshing drink in the sun. The first race kicked off shortly before 2pm and will go on all afternoon Rainbow ladies! Two female friends wear contrasting colours of yellow and red as they soak up the sunshine at Qatar Goodwood Festival, Chichester on Friday August 3. The dress code at the equestrian event is famously relaxed One female racegoer dressed in a vertiginous titfer enjoys a bottle of Veuve Clicquot with friends ahead of the day's races. With temperatures soaring to around 27 degrees in Chichester, guests took advantage of the relaxed dress code Double date! For some guests at Qatar Goodwood Festival on Friday, the racing event presented an opportunity to spend some quality time with their partners. The meeting is held at Chichester, West Sussex annually Bright and beautiful! One woman shunned tradition as she opted for an edgy metallic sleeveless top with a daring zip up the front, paired with white culottes and a pair of neon pink patent stilettos at the Qatar Goodwood Festival on Friday August 3 As you like it: Qatar Goodwood Festival operates a famously laid-back dress code, and while some ladies opted for traditional floral dresses and hats (left), others made a statement in modern trousers and metallic materials (left) Racegoers arriving during day four of the Qatar Goodwood Festival at Goodwood Racecourse, Chichester in coordinating shades of blue, while this woman's male companion added a pop of colour with a red tie Friday feeling! Guests at Qatar Goodwood Festival were certainly appeared to be in high spirits as they laughed and joked during a gloriously sunny day of racing (left). Others were keen to show off their sartorial prowess in colourful clothing (right) Fashion parade: The ladies of Goodwood turned the racing festival into a fashion parade, wearing bright colours (L-R Yelloe, pink, red and brown) and oversized shades to combat the sunny glare as they descended on Chichester on Friday August 3 Family fun! It wasn't just groups of ladies enjoying the action at Qatar Goodwood Festival on Friday; families (left) and groups of men were out in force as well, lured in by the prospect of action-packed race fixtures, food, drink and sunny weather. Charles Gordon-Lennox, 11th Duke of Richmond, owner of the Goodwood Estate, was also there (right) Desperate times! As the heatwave continued to bear down on Sussex on Friday, Goodwood racegoers resorted to using umbrellas as parasols, unbuttoning their shirts, and taking refuge underneath sun hats No shrinking violets here! Ladies made the most of relaxed clothing guidelines with lace-trimmed mini dresses (left) and form-fitting white frocks (right) as they soaked up the atmosphere at Qatar Goodwood Festival on Friday August 3 Sorbet shades! Ladies looked summery in pastel hues of buttery yellow and candyfloss pink as they soaked up the atmosphere at the annual race meeting Qatar Goodwood Festival, West Sussex on Friday 3 August Racegoers will face increased measures to crack down on disorder, after bosses introduced sniffer dogs at every meeting to detect drugs, and limited alcohol. After a major fight broke out at the first fixture of 2018, officials decided to implement a four pint rule, meaning revellers will not be able to buy more than four drinks in any one trip to the bar. 'We have conducted a thorough and extensive review of everything that happened at our first fixture, of our existing policies and held a detailed consultation with our Safety Advisory Group and Sussex Police, Goodwood Racecourse general manager Alex Eade told Racing UK. Sniffer dogs were previously used at some race meetings, but they will no be on patrol at every fixture and racegoers will be encouraged to use 'amnesty bins' if they are carrying any drugs. When it comes to fashion Goodwood is a lot more relaxed than the likes of Royal Ascot when it comes to the dress code, and hats are not compulsory in an of the enclosures. The style guide suggests that those who don't feel comfortable in millinery accessorise with a headband or beaded clip instead, to add a touch of finesse to their look. Not taking any chances: Two security guards on patrol at Qatar Goodwood Festival, Chichester today. This year, guests will face increased measures to crack down on disorder, after bosses introduced sniffer dogs at every meeting to detect drugs Birds of a feather: Elaborate headpieces decorated with plumage (left) and florals (right) reigned supreme, while a delicate colour palette of white and icy blue also proved a popular choice at Goodwood Racecourse, Chichester on Friday One woman, dressed in cream and beige tones, wears a badge for the Richmond Enclosure at Goodwood. In the Richmond Enclosure, men must wear a jacket and tie or cravat, while smart dress is encourages for ladies too Women opt for pastel colours (left) and floral prints (right). The day's seven races, including four group fixtures, bring some of the sport's biggest names to Goodwood, while the on-track action is complemented with live music, fashion and food Why let the ladies have all the fun? Male visitors pulled out all the stops with eye-wateringly bright jackets and suits as they descend on Qatar Goodwood Festival on Friday in Chichester, West Sussex where the mercury is set to rise to 27 degrees Anything goes! The lenient dress code at Qatar Goodwood Festival, Chichester, this year means ladies were free to dress as they pleased from (L-R) vibrant orange A-line frocks, to bright blue minis and floaty floral maxi dresses Join the dots! This smartly dressed couple opted for monochrome with the lady wearing a sleeveless polka dot dress while her companion wore a smart black suit which may have proved uncomfortable as temperatures soared to 27 degrees on Friday In the Richmond Enclosure, men must wear a jacket and tie or cravat, while the same is encouraged but not essential for the Gordon Enclosure. There's no formal dress code for the Lennox Enclosure, but fancy dress and sleeveless tops for men are not permitted anywhere on the racecourse. Friday's fixtures will kick off at 1:50pm with the Bombay Sapphire Glorious Stakes and finish at 3:35pm with the King George Qatar Stakes - with the latter offering 300,000 in prize money. The day's seven races, including four group fixtures, bring some of the sport's biggest names to Goodwood, while the on-track action is complemented with live music, fashion and food and drink. A smart couple arrive at Qatar Goodwood Festival on Friday 3 August where racegoers will face increased measures to crack down on disorder, after bosses introduced sniffer dogs at every meeting to detect drugs, and limited alcohol Guests are encouraged to wear hats, but they are not compulsory. However female racegoers seemed more than happy to don statement headgear, ranging from traditional trilbies (left) to elaborate broad-rimmed numbers made from straw (right) A glamorous couple arrive at the Chichester race meeting on Friday 3 August. The Qatar Goodwood Festival is touted as the sporting and social highlight of the calendar, with five thrilling days of 'world-class horse racing and elegant fashion' The races at Qatar Goodwood Festival do not begin until 2pm, but guests arrived in plenty of time to soak up the atmosphere, dressed in their racing best - from subtle titfers (left) to statement headpieces (right). Friday's fixtures will kick off at 1:50pm with the Bombay Sapphire Glorious Stakes and finish at 3:35pm with the King George Qatar Stakes Racegoers attend day four of Glorious Goodwood in Sussex on August 3, dressed head to toe in vibrant hues (L-R) Blue with red flowers, smart in an orange linen blazer, mustard yellow, and a green satin frock teamed with grey heels Spots and stripes! Taking advantage of the famously relaxed dress code at Qatar Goodwood Festival, Sussex on Friday 3 August, some racegoers went casual in denim (far left) and pedal pushers (far right) Heating up! Women attempt to combat the scorching temperatures with a hand-held fan (left) and cold ice lollies (right) with the mercury inching up to around 27 degrees at Chichester, where the annual Goodwood race meeting is held Time for a spot of pampering? Two women took a moment to indulge in a bit of grooming as one guest styled her friend's tresses into ponytails, perhaps in a bid to combat the heat as temperatures soared to 27 degrees in Goodwood on Friday Summer style! Glamorous racegoers certainly didn't hold back when it came to their outfit choices, donning (L-R) Statement ruffles and tropical prints; pale pastels and pretty florals; and eye-popping pink and purple hues at Goodwood on Friday Flower power! Goodwood guests certainly didn't hold back when it came to making a style statement at Qatar Goodwood Festival, Sussex on Friday, wearing bright floral prints and high heels One group of lads appeared to be enjoying every moment of their day out, as they soaked up the rays and sipped on pints of bear during day four of the Glorious Goodwood festival, Sussex, on Friday August 3 Club Tropicana! Clad in tropical floral prints and a Hawaiian shirt, these two friends looked summer ready as they sipped on drinks and soaked up the sun during day four of the Glorious Goodwood festival in Sussex on Friday Speaking about the challenges posed by this week's headwave, Ed Arkell, Goodwood's Clerk of the Course, said this morning: 'The ground has dried up half a going description every day, which I think has been a little slower than I expected really, so that has been helpful. 'Last night, we took down the rails on both of the bends to provide fresh ground today and we also put water on the top, bottom and far bends. 'We also watered along what we call the field side from the 10-furlong start to the bottom bend. We don't really touch that too much today, but we do tomorrow so we've decided to put some water on now whilst we've got the chance and we don't have to worry about it tonight.' He added: 'We've had some great racing so far and we've been very lucky with the weather.' Prince Harry is said to be 'worried' that there's 'too much hysteria around Meghan' - as the couple prepare to take a break from the spotlight. They are increasingly spending more time at the home they are renting in Great Tew, in the Cotswolds, according to a friend. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are also expected to join the Queen at Balmoral this month, as is tradition for members of the royal family. It comes after royal reporter Richard Palmer suggested journalists were being kept at a 'distance' from Meghan, to prevent them from overhearing any remarks that might breach protocol. Prince Harry is 'worried' that there is 'too much hysteria around Meghan', according to sources. The couple are pictured here during their tour of Dublin last month According to Vanity Fair sources, Harry, 33, is concerned about the attention Meghan, 36, has been receiving since their wedding in May. A friend told the publication: 'They spend a lot of time in the Cotswolds, more than people realize. 'They are in the country way more than they are in London and they are enjoying a low-key and very domesticated start to married life.' Another source added: 'He worries there is too much hysteria around Meghan and he wants to row back a bit.' The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are not expected to conduct any official engagements until September. The couple's last joint appearance was at the Sentebale Polo Cup in Berkshire last week (above) The couple are expected to attend the wedding of the prince's friend Charlie van Straubenzee on Meghan's birthday on Saturday, where Harry will be acting as best man. However, the pair are unlikely to be seen in public until September, as they take a break from the spotlight. Their last official engagement together was at Sentebale Polo Cup in Berkshire last week, following a busy schedule last month that included a tour of Dublin. The suggestions that Harry is worried about the scrutiny on Meghan comes after royal reporter Richard Palmer claimed the media was being kept at a distance from the Duchess. The couple are expected to join the Queen (pictured last month in Holyrood) at Balmoral this month, as is tradition for members of the royal family Commenting on Twitter, he wrote: 'Journalists are being kept further away from her than we were before the wedding. That means we can't hear what she is saying. 'You go up afterwards and ask what she said. Mr Bloggs said: "The Duchess expressed the hope that women would eventually get the same opportunities as men in this profession." Boring.' He later added that he believes it's part of a strategy by the palace of 'settling her in', so that she doesn't have to worry about being overheard saying the wrong thing. Kensington Palace declined to comment. Advertisement Walk in to Sparrow Mart in Downtown LA, and the shelves are packed with 31,000 products, ranging from meat and produce to Kraft macaroni and cheese. And every single one of them is made out of felt. Sparrow Mart isn't actually a supermarket, but an art exhibit by British artist Lucy Sparrow, located at the The Standard hotel. Sparrow spent a year painstakingly making the thousands upon thousands of realistic plush groceries, every single one of which is available to buy, just like in a real supermarket. Shop 'til you drop! Sparrow Mart in Downtown LA is packed with 31,000 grocery items, including Saltine crackers, Spam, and Crisco The softest supermarket around! Everything in the 'supermarket' is entirely made out of felt, from the Kraft macaroni and cheese to the Frosted Flakes Artiste! The art installation is work of British artist Lucy Sparrow and is located at The Standard Hotel Real dedication! While the groceries are made of felt, Sparrow also covered other parts of the installation in the fabric, including the Coca-Cola fridge and the ATM Time-consuming task: She spent a year making all 31,000 products, enlisting a team of give to help her sew. She hand-painted each item herself, running Netflix in the background to keep her entertained According to Travel & Leisure, the enormous exhibition includes everything you'd find in a real grocery store, including produce, liquor, and frozen and fresh food items except nothing is edible, and it's all a lot more cuddly. Stocking the shelves are branded food items like Ben & Jerry's ice cream, Hunt's tomato sauce, Domino sugar, Spam, and Reese's Puffs cereal. There's candy like Nerds, Whoppers, Swedish Fish, Sugar Babies, Gobstoppers, SweetTarts, and Milk Duds. Brands like Ajax, Tide, Smucker's, Bisquick, and Dunkin Donuts fill the aisles, with one entirely dedicated to First Aid, with products like Band-Aids, Advil, and Tums. Even the equipment like grocery cases, deep freezers, and an ATM are covered in felt, though they also happen to be functional. Plush sausage, anyone? While some of the pieces are name-brand, she also made meat, fish, and produce out of felt I'll take my steak medium-cuddly! The cutsey plush toys all have smiley faces and are available to purchase. Each costs between $5 and $75 Open now! Admission to the exhibit is free and every single item is available for sale. It will be open through the end of August, or until all of the pieces are gone No crabs allowed! She has done similar, smaller-scale exhibits in New York and London, and everything sold out early in New York That's bananas! Sparrow's favorite pieces is the Maruchan instant ramen because the packaging can be taken off the cup. She also loves the Windex because it has a handle that moves, and the steak because it's so big 'I decided to work with felt because I find it's a medium that is so synonymous whit being a child,' she said. 'It's an easy fabric to work with, it doesn't fray. It's available in all the colors you can possibly thing of' Sparrow's favorite pieces is the Maruchan instant ramen because the packaging can be taken off the cup. She also loves the Windex because it has a handle that moves, and the steak because it's so big. The artist worked with five other people on the installation. While her team helped sew all of the felt pieces, she herself hand-painted (and signed) all 31,000 of them. The whole effort took her a year, during which time she kept herself entertained by watching Netflix. She told The Cut she managed to get through 15 seasons of Grey's Anatomy in about three months. 'I decided to work with felt because I find it's a medium that is so synonymous whit being a child,' she said. 'It's an easy fabric to work with, it doesn't fray. It's available in all the colors you can possibly thing of.' Sweet! She recreated lots of name brand products, including Nerds, Red Hots, and Lifesavers candy 'I thought, I wonder if I could make an entire shop, that if you're day-dreaming, you could get away with thinking it was real,' she said Sparrow explained: 'A lot of the time, I think, there is art that is made to provoke, and that's great, 'cause I love art like that,' she said. 'But there's no shame of art that brings you this feeling of wonderment, the same that you would get at the top of the Grand Canyon' 'I'm always interested in food-related stuff, and the fact that no matter what walk of life you're from, people go to the supermarket,' she said Check it out! The exhibit is open every day except Monday, from 11am to 9pm Workin' hard! Though she had help sewing, she painted each of the 31,000 pieces to add detail 'And so I thought, I wonder if I could make an entire shop, that if you're day-dreaming, you could get away with thinking it was real.' She went on: 'I'm always interested in food-related stuff, and the fact that no matter what walk of life you're from, people go to the supermarket.' She also liked making something that made people feel good. 'A lot of the time, I think, there is art that is made to provoke, and that's great, 'cause I love art like that,' she said. 'But there's no shame of art that brings you this feeling of wonderment, the same that you would get at the top of the Grand Canyon. 'It's this feat in effort where it just bowls you over, and that is the exact feeling that I try and capture.' Squeeze squeeze! She loves this Windex bottle because of the handle, which is soft and moves Artsy fartsy: The Standard hotel in Downtown LA has hosted interesting installations in the past Not just food! In addition to meals and snacks, she made household items like Duracell batteries Forget stuffed animals - we want stuffed bourbon bottles! Shoppers can take home bottles of faux-liquor like this Maker's Mark, and either put it on a shelf or snuggle it A bit of fun: The artist said she likes working with felt because it doesn't fray and comes in lots of colors Dive in! Sparrow is pictured with some of her creations, including V05 shampoo, Johnson's baby powder, Shake 'n Bake, 7 Up, Tropicana orange juice, Carnation evaporated milk, Vlassic pickles, and Jack Daniels whiskey Admission to the exhibit is free, and everything in side is for sale, with prices ranging from $5 to $75 including $10 for a piece of sushi and $65 for a bottle of liquor. It's open through August 31, every day except Monday from 11am to 9pm however, that's assuming all of the pieces last until then. If everything sells out, it will close early. That was the case for a similar exhibit called 8 Till Late Bodega in New York City in 2017, which ran out of all 9,000 items a week early. She also did one in London in 2014 called The Cornershop with 4,000 pieces. A teen has claimed that she was kicked out of a mall because her destroyed denim shorts were too short. Gabrielle Gibson, 19, from Mobile, Alabama, took to Facebook on Wednesday to share photos of herself in the outfit she had worn to The Shoppes at Bel Air, explaining that she was forced to leave because of her shorts. 'I was literally harassed and kicked out of the [Bel Air] mall in Mobile, AL today because of what I'm wearing,' she wrote. 'Apparently grown men couldn't contain themselves so I get kicked out.' The Shoppes at Bel Air explained in a statement that it is focused on 'maintaining a family-friendly shopping environment,' and anyone who is wearing clothes that violate the policy 'will be asked to change or leave.' Upset: Gabrielle Gibson, 19, from Mobile, Alabama, has claimed that she was 'kicked out' of the The Shoppes at Bel Air because her shorts were too short Summer attire: The teen took to Facebook on Wednesday to share photos of herself in the outfit she had worn to the mall According to Gabrielle, a security officer told her that he was looking at her 'a** cheeks and it was a problem.' 'Don't look at my a** then, there's a thought?' she wrote. Gabrielle alleged that the head of security and another security officer were just as 'rude' and 'completely unprofessional about the situation.' 'I told them I have bigger thighs and it's just [too] hot for jeans that I can't help they ride up a bit,' she explained. 'If it doesn't bother me then it shouldn't bother you. Story: According to Gabrielle, a security officer approached her about her outfit while she was walking around The Shoppes at Bel Air (pictured) in Mobile Angry: In her post, she said 'grown men couldn't contain themselves' so she got kicked out Rules: In a statement, The Shoppes at Bel Air stood by its policy, which 'requires all of our customers to dress in a manner that reflects our code of conduct' 'They went as far as to threaten to call a police officer. From what I [had] seen today, everyone had short shorties on,' she added, noting that it was 100 degrees outside. 'I don't know why I was pinpointed. I'm just disgusted with the behavior of all these people. I was just having a good time trying to look around.' Gabrielle ended the post by encouraging people to share it, admitting: 'This whole incident has made me embarrassed.' The teen's message has been shared more than 1,000 times, and many commenters noted that they didn't find anything wrong with her outfit. Her story: Gabrielle noted that it was 100 degrees outside and other people had on similar outfits to beat the heat Uncalled for: Gabrielle said she doesn't want anyone else to feel like she did in that moment Gabrielle told the Mirror that she was 'just trying to have a good day and walk around the mall.' 'When I left the house I felt beautiful and happy about myself, but having grown men attack me about what I'm wearing when I'm just trying to walk around and buy things was just so excessive,' she said. 'They didn't have to throw me out. It's a sad day when grown men can't control themselves. I just don't want anyone feeling like I did.' In a statement shared with WKRG-TV, The Shoppes at Bel Air stood by its policy. Hitting back: Gabrielle's story has inspired a group of women to organize a 'Bel Air Mall "Daisy Duke" SlutWalk' to protest the mall's policy 'Given the high degree of importance we place on maintaining a family-friendly shopping environment, our policy requires all of our customers to dress in a manner that reflects our code of conduct. Anyone who violates this policy will be asked to change or to leave the premises.' Gabrielle's story has inspired a group of women to organize a 'Bel Air Mall "Daisy Duke" SlutWalk' to protest the mall's policy. As part of the event, women are being asked to show up a the shopping center in their booty shorts and crop tops on Saturday. 'I have personally worn shorts shorter than what she wore and walked past security and police and no one said one word,' one of the organizers wrote on Facebook. 'It's summertime. In South Alabama. It's hot. WEAR WHAT YOU WANT. 'Don't allow anyone to shame you for what you choose to wear. We're banding together to support our sister in solidarity women's bodies are not shameful,' the person added. 'We shouldn't be forced to cover up because men can't control themselves.' Expectant moms have been known to stage gorgeous, elaborate photoshoots when they're pregnant with a single baby so why shouldn't a mama dog get one when she's about to birth a litter of puppies? Ima, a three-year-old hound mix in Charlotte, North Carolina, is currently pregnant and pulled off her own very glamorous photoshoot this summer, thanks to a doting foster mom. Sarah Freeman, 29, told People that she loves taking photos of her foster animals to show them off on Instagram and hopefully find them permanent homes and this time, she did it with a twist that highlighted her canine mother-to-be's status. Cute: Sarah Freeman of Charlotte, North Carolina, said she loves taking adorable photos of her foster animals to show them off on Instagram Pose: The 29-year-old hopes that her cute pictures will find the dogs homes Sweet! In an effort to help find three-year-old hound mix, Ima, a place to stay, she treated her to an adorable maternity photoshoot Sarah was inspired to stage the images after seeing many of her pregnant friends partake in photoshoots showing off their beautiful baby bumps. 'I thought of the idea because I have so many friends who are pregnant and had their own maternity shoots,' she told Southern Living. 'Also, since she is so calm and sweet, it was easy to photograph her. Plus, how can you not photograph that smile!' In the images, Ima dons a special sash and flower crown, and poses with balloons with the words 'ready to pop' written across them. Sarah added that she thought it would be a great way to spend the afternoon outside for the show, even though Ima is 'huge' and can't do much when it comes to playing, Ima still had a great time and enjoyed 'lots of belly rubs'. Sarah, who fosters dogs, took Ima in after she was left by her previous owner in terrible conditions. Creative: Sarah was inspired by the idea after seeing a lot of her friends partake in photoshoots showing off their beautiful baby bumps Entertaining: Sarah added that she thought it would be a great way to spend the afternoon even though Ima is 'huge' and can't do much when it comes to playing Left behind: Ima ended up in Sarah's care after the dog's previous owner abandoned her 'She was abandoned by her owner and left in her crate for five days unfortunately, three of the owners other dogs got run over,' Sara said. Luckily, Ima's owner's neighbor took in the deserted pooch but she managed to get over the fence and was gone for a month before she returned pregnant. 'The neighbor knew she couldnt afford to take care of Ima and her puppies properly so she surrendered Ima to Paws of Piedmont. Ima was then brought to the Greater Charlotte SPCA (Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals),' said Sarah. The foster coordinator at North Carolinas Greater Charlotte SPCA knew Sarah, who is a volunteer with Greater Charlotte SPCA, so she reached out to her about taking in Ima. Because she has a soft spot for fostering puppies, she jumped at the chance. Sarah has been fostering Ima ever since, and said the pup is just as sweet as can be. On her own: Luckily, a neighbor of Ima's owner took in the deserted pooch, but she managed to get over the fence and was gone for a month before she returned pregnant Friendly: Sarah has been fostering Ima ever since she was brought to the Greater Charlotte SPCA and said the pup is just as sweet as can be Studying up: Ima, who is still 'extremely pregnant,' has settled nicely into her temporary home and soon-to-be motherhood 'Ima is so sweet and loving,' Sarah told ABC News. 'I didn't have to force her to be happy! She just is.' With the photoshoot complete, the next thing to focus on is preparing for Ima's puppies and finding them a home. About six weeks after Imas babies are born, they will both be available for adoption, and Ima will be spayed before going to her next home. But Ima, who is still 'extremely pregnant,' has settled nicely into her temporary home and soon-to-be motherhood. 'She is scared but loving and just wants love and cuddles and to never move again while being pregnant,' Sarah told Southern Living. Those who are interested in adopting Ima or her puppies can apply on the Greater Charlotte SPCA's website. When it comes to fashion, we are all inspired by what we see; whether it be a well-dressed celebrity, a blow-your-mind catwalk presentation or even a super stylish every-day passerby. As fashion editors, we're moved by all of the above, and then some. We're exposed to under-the-radar labels; we get a first-hand look at collections months before they hit stores; we're tapped into brands with chic-yet-cheap offerings and we shop - a lot. To share our knowledge, FEMAIL brings you Style Swoon, a weekly series of the latest, greatest and on the verge. We hope this Friday series will serve as a buying guide and point of inspiration for the clotheshorses and fashion fanatics alike. This week's edition focuses new launches and fresh finds. WORKS OF ART Vans partnered with the Van Gogh Museum Amsterdam to release an exclusive collaboration, available worldwide today. Self-Portrait $65 Vans partnered with the Van Gogh Museum Amsterdam to release an exclusive collaboration, available worldwide today. The collection utilizes Van Gogh masterpieces across iconic Vans Classics and premium apparel silhouettes. With over 2,100 pieces of artwork produced from his decade long career, Vans worked closely with the Van Gogh Museum team to select four main bodies of work that speaks to the creative ethos of Vans design as well as personal moments from the artist familial history. Almond Blossom Bomber, $140 Left: Skull Hoodie, $99.50; Right: Almond Blossom Crew, $94.50 Skull, Almond Blossom, Sunflowers and Van Goghs self-portrait are celebrated through an extensive Vans collection (including apparel, sneakers and accessories), showcasing some of Van Goghs most revered artwork in a a fresh hip way. The Vans x Van Gogh Museum Collection is available to shop at Vans.com, Vans retail stores and select Vans wholesale accounts. Starting today, the collection is also available at the Van Gogh Museum website and in the museum's gift shop at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam. Proceeds will be dedicated to the preservation of Van Goghs legacy and collection of art for the benefit of future generations. Almond Blossom SK8-HI, $75 Letters Turtledove Slip-On, $70 Almond Blossom Backpack, $90 FIRE STARTER Finishing touches: The expression 'shoes can make or break an outfit' really holds true for Kendall Jenner's recent ensemble Too hot to handle: To complete her daytime look, Kendall slipped into a pair of orange flame Prada wedges The expression 'shoes can make or break an outfit' really holds true for Kendall Jenner's recent ensemble. The 22-year-old model stepped out this week wearing a dusty blue Adidas biking top paired with slouchy light-wash Re/done denim. To complete her daytime look, Kendall slipped into a pair of orange flame Prada wedges. The statement-making shoes retail for over $1,000, come in a variety of colors and are guaranteed to spice up any outfit. Fire: The statement-making shoes retail for over $1,000, come in a variety of colors and are guaranteed to spice up any outfit BIG AND BEAUTIFUL COLLECTION Trending: Due to popular demand, 90's favorite Wet Seal re-launched it's plus size line this week Due to popular demand, 90's favorite Wet Seal re-launched it's plus size line this week. The fast-fashion innovator's fans demanded the comeback via the brands innovative online crowd sourcing/voting platform. Designed to appeal to women and girls who dont conform to the industrys 'standard' shapes and sizes, Wet Seal Plus & Curve offers an expansion of Wet Seals on-trend offerings. This comes on the heels of the companys re-launch as an exclusively online retailer. The Wet Seal Plus & Curve launch coincides with an overall social media effort by the brand to further bring together its community of strong, confident young woman through a campaign dubbed #WetSealGetsReal. Something for everyone: Designed to appeal to women and girls who dont conform to the industrys 'standard' shapes and sizes, Wet Seal Plus & Curve offers an expansion of Wet Seals on-trend offerings. Items are available on their website TWO-PIECE PERFECTION Southern charm: Style icon Jamie Chung, 35, was the epitome of summer chic in Atlanta wearing a coordinating set by Endless Summer Style icon Jamie Chung, 35, was the epitome of southern chic in Atlanta this week. The reality star-turned-actress stepped out wearing a coordinating look by California-based brand Endless Summer. The adorable set features an abstract cherry print in a black and white colorway. Sold separately (but who wouldn't want both?!) on shopendlesssummer.com, the 'Katie' top retails for $68, and the 'Elle' high-waisted midi skirt is priced at $110. Jamie completed the look with a blush Loeffler Randall ostrich feather circle tote. Co-op's houmous has scored top marks in a blind taste test - beating more expensive rivals including Sainsbury's and M&S. The supermarket's own brand dip, priced at 1.19, topped the Good Housekeeping Institute's list, after being described as 'flavoursome and well balanced' by experts. Tasters also liked the 'thick, smooth consistency of the dip', which has 'small, diced chickpeas whipped through for added texture.' Tesco's 1.45 own brand houmous came in at second place, while Sabra Yarden Houmous Classic Classique, priced at 1.89 came in third. Co-op scored top marks in the blind taste test with its own brand houmous, priced at 1.19 (left). Tesco's houmous, priced at 1.45, (right) came second Faring less well in the taste test, Asda's own brand dip, costing 1.10, came bottom of the list due to its 'large sized chunks of chickpeas'. The panel of tasters tested 11 different dips in total, including major supermarket own brands. They also tried dips by brands Sabra and Clive's, which are both available at Ocado. Sainsbury's 1.35 houmous came towards the bottom of the list, because tasters wanted something 'creamier'. Meanwhile, Lidl's 65p houmous, which topped another taste test earlier this year, only managed 7th place this time around. According to the Good Housekeeping Institute, its panel of tasters were looking for houmous that was 'full of flavour, with a citrus kick and smooth texture'. Marks & Spencer's Houmous with Extra Virgin Olive Oil (left), priced at 1.50, came fourth in the test. Lidl's 65p Classic Houmous (right) only managed 7th place despite topping a list earlier this year Sainsbury's Classic Houmous, costing 1.35, (left) only managed 9th place on the list. Asda's houmous, costing 1.10, came bottom of the list (right) A 33-year-old woman claims drinking a litre of mineral water daily from a source near the Queen's Balmoral Estate in Scotland has cleared up her rosacea. Kirsten Campbell, from Insch in Aberdeenshire, suffered with red and painful skin before she began drinking the bottled water instead of tap water every day. Now, five years after her diagnosis, Mrs Campbell claims her skin is almost back to normal and the condition is under control thanks to Deeside Mineral Water. The mother-of-two began drinking the water 'religiously' after she read a string of scientific studies about its hydrating abilities, and now swears by the drink. Each week she buys 10 to 12 500ml bottles of the water for 45p each, and says it also comes in bigger bottles for 82p a litre. Deeside, which is bottled near Balmoral Castle, the Queen's holiday home in the Cairngorms National Park, is reported to have more health-giving benefits than other waters. Scientific studies into its effects on skin and arthritis have been published as far back as 1996, suggesting there may be some truth to the claims. Kirsten Campbell, from Aberdeenshire, was diagnosed with rosacea in 2012, when she said her skin was 'red and firey', and she suffered painful bumps on her face But after sticking to a regime of drinking Deeside Mineral Water and using sun cream, Mrs Campbell said her skin has returned to normal something medicine did not help with Experts have said in small studies that, compared to tap water, there were signs it could improve skin hydration and reduce symptoms in arthritis patients. Kirsten Campbell, a financial controller living in Insch, about 27 miles from Aberdeen, was diagnosed with rosacea in 2012, aged 28. She tried prescription face cream but could not carry on with the medicine when she became pregnant with her second child. 'My skin was really red and firey and I had lumps on my face,' Mrs Campbell told MailOnline. 'My nose was very red and sore under the skin, and the bumps on my face were like having a really big spot which would never form a head and never pop.' After trying medication but finding it didn't help and that she could not continue taking it while pregnant, Mrs Campbell turned to sun cream and Deeside water. She now drinks almost a litre of the water every day and is convinced it is responsible for clearing up her skin. 'I knew I had to look after my skin with good hydration' 'I did try medication,' Mrs Campbell said. 'But the cream descreases the skin's ability to protect itself from sun exposure which made the rosacea worse. 'I knew I had to look after my skin with good hydration, and avoiding spicy food and sun exposure. 'Doctors also told me to avoid exercising because that can make it worse but I run so that was a problem for me. I exercise five times a week so I had to find another way. 'I wear SPF 50 sun cream every day and drink five to six litres of Deeside Mineral Water a week.' Now, nearly six years since she was diagnosed, Mrs Campbell says her skin is almost back to normal. 'The redness has gone away and now the bumps are down to little dots,' she said. 'My rosacea is hardly visible and people wouldn't know I had it unless I told them. 'I have no doubt that Deeside Mineral Water is the reason why my skin now looks so good.' Experience backs up company's claims of skin benefits Mrs Campbell's experience chimes with claims made by the Deeside Water Company, which bottles the drink at a spring in the village of Ballater. SCIENTISTS STUDY EFFECT OF THE WATER ON RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS Scientific studies commissioned by the Deeside Mineral Water brand have looked at the effect drinking it has on the symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis, after claims it has been used since the 18th century to treat it. In the most recent trial, done by the Aberdeen Royal Infirmary in 2003, 35 patients were studied when they drank either Deeside Mineral Water or placebo tap water for four weeks. The researchers said blood tests pointed to reduced disease activity and lower pain levels when people drank the bottled water. They said the pain improvement was 'statistically significant' and that drinkers also felt an improvement in overall wellbeing. The study said: '72% of patients in this study benefited from the addition of 1 litre of Deeside Water each day to their regular medication in the treatment of symptoms of mild to moderate rheumatoid arthritis.' Advertisement It says the water 'acts like an anti-oxidant' and claims molecules in the liquid form smaller clusters than in tap water, making it easier for the body to absorb them and making them more hydrating. And a study done by scientists at the University of Leeds in 2008 found women who drank the Deeside water had fewer wrinkles and spots than when they drank tap water, and their skin was 23 per cent more hydrated. The research used 22 female volunteers who spent 12 weeks drinking a litre of Deeside water a day, then 12 weeks drinking a litre of tap water daily. After drinking the bottle water the same women had an average of one fewer wrinkle and four fewer spots. Skin 23.4% more hydrated than when drinking tap water And when tested using a corneometer a device which tests skin hydration skin on their cheeks and foreheads was an average 23.4 per cent more hydrated. 'The results suggest a trend towards perceptible improvements in skin condition whilst using Deeside Water,' the study said. 'It's not rocket science that water is good for the skin,' Mrs Campbell added. 'And I trusted the research the company has done and know the water is used in brand-name makeup. 'I saw improvements immediately and it took about three to six months for my skin to completely return to normal.' 'The water was historically known for its healing benefits' Managing director of Deeside Mineral Water, Martin Simpson added: 'We did a lot of research into the history of the water which dates back over centuries. 'It was known for its healing benefits and is the reason Ballater grew up as a spa town. 'Weve completed many clinical and laboratory trials over the last 20 years to prove Deeside Mineral Water can benefit health. 'The water has a unique combination of natural properties which support living cells and encourage well-being.' Next time you are about to squeeze into a seat on public transport next to a very overweight passenger, think again. For a study suggests that you might be more likely to catch flu from an obese person than from a regular sized member of the population because their bodies tend to harbour the virus for longer. Consequently, they risk spreading the bug to family, friends and strangers for up to twice as long as those of a normal weight, it is thought. A study has found obese people keep the flu virus for longer - and there is more chance of them spreading it Evidence already shows that those classed as obese individuals with a body mass index of 30 or more have a greater risk of suffering complications like pneumonia and death. But no one had previously measured whether they may be infectious for longer. The US study of 1,800 people over three flu seasons, led by the University of Michigan, found that obese adults with flu symptoms were infectious with the influenza A virus for 42 per cent longer than those of normal weight. Those who were only mildly ill, or who had no symptoms, were contagious for more than twice as long. Obesity alters the bodys immune response and causes chronic inflammation, which may allow a virus such as flu to hang around for longer. Dr Aubree Gordon, from the University of Michigan School of Public Health, said: This is the first real evidence that obesity might impact more than just disease severity. It might directly impact transmission as well. The length of time of being infectious was measured using nose and throat swabs that pick up biological markers of the flu. Obese people in the US had the virus for 42 per cent longer than people of average weight The results showed that children aged up to four were a risk for 40 per cent longer than adults, with five to 17-year-olds being infectious for almost a third longer. But the effect is stronger for obese adults those with symptoms were a risk to others for an average of 5.23 days. That was roughly 36 hours longer than the 3.68 days recorded for those of normal weight. Infected obese adults with one or fewer symptoms were capable of passing on the virus for 104 per cent longer than non-obese adults. The study, published in the Journal of Infectious Diseases, states: Obesity may play an important role in influenza transmission, especially as the prevalence of obesity rises, and may be an important target for intervention and prevention strategies. In Britain, just over a quarter of adults are obese, a 15 per cent increase since 1993. The sister of a woman who was diagnosed with dementia at the age of 31 has opened up about how the disease has destroyed her once-lively sibling's life. Becky Barletta's family first noticed in 2016 she started saying things that were out of character and inappropriate, and they thought she might be depressed. But the reality was much worse Becky, a 31-year-old newly married ski instructor, was soon diagnosed with the uncommon condition frontotemporal dementia. And her family say she is the youngest person her doctor has seen with the condition, and think she is one of the youngest people in the UK to have been diagnosed. Now, two years after her diagnosis, sister Sophie Gilbert reveals the horror of watching the spark go out of her sister's life as the condition destroys her brain. Mrs Gilbert, a 31-year-old mother of two from Hundon in Suffolk, lives next door to their parents' house, where Mrs Barletta now lives with her parents and a carer. She tells MailOnline how her sister's personality has changed, she rarely talks to people, and has problems swallowing and going to the toilet. Mrs Gilbert is sharing her story to raise awareness of the condition which, unlike many cases of dementia, often starts in younger people, and to promote the Alzheimer's Society's Memory Walk fundraisers. Becky Barletta (centre) got married in October 2015 but was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia less than a year later aged just 31 her sister Sophie Gilbert (to the right of Mrs Barletta) has opened up about the horrifying effect the disease has had in the past two years Until August 2016, Mrs Barletta worked full-time as a ski instructor in Verbier, Switzerland. She enjoyed running and going to the gym twice a day, and was an 'outgoing extrovert', her family say. But now she is reliant on round-the-clock care, needs help to drink, does not talk to members of her family and is only able to go for walks as her body continues to get weaker. The harrowing transformation has been 'breathtaking' and has stunned her family and friends with its speed and brutality, says her sister. Mrs Gilbert, who lives with husband Ben and children Alfie, three, and Emelia, one, helps to run the family's baking business, Dorringtons. 'Becky doesn't really talk any more,' Mrs Gilbert tells MailOnline. 'We used to get a lot of screaming and shouting and repetitive stories, but now she just mutters things under her breath. 'Although hearing the same stories over and over again was frustrating I knew I would miss it when she stopped and I do now at least it was something. Mrs Barletta (left) used to extremely active and outgoing before she was struck down by an uncommon form of dementia, according to her sister Sophie Gilbert (right) Becky Barletta used to work as a ski instructor in Switzerland and go to the gym twice a day, but she now relies on round-the-clock care because of an uncommon form of dementia 'The speed of what has happened has been breathtaking. 'Of course you just go through life just getting on with things but when you sit down and think about what has happened it does take your breath away. 'She was still driving the day before she was diagnosed' 'I remember she was still driving up until the day before she was diagnosed two years ago, when doctors said she couldn't drive any more. 'She used to be so active and outgoing. She loved socialising, was chatty and beautiful, and put 110 per cent effort into everything. 'It's like a nightmare you just want to wake up from.' Thought to be one of the youngest people to get the disease Mrs Barletta's family think she is one of the youngest people in the UK to have been diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia. Her father, Allan Sharples said last year: 'Rebecca is the youngest person with it to have been seen in Cambridge and presumably she must be one of the youngest in the country as Professor Rowe is one of the leading experts.' Although dementia is common and affects around 850,000 people in the UK and 5.7 million Americans, frontotemporal dementia is far less common. It mainly affects the front and sides of the brain the frontal and temporal lobes which control people's language and behaviour. Mrs Barletta married her husband Luca (left) in October 2015 the pair had met while working together as ski instructors in the Alps. He still runs a business there but regularly comes back to visit her and help the family Becky Barletta and Sophie Gilbert, pictured as children with Sophie on the right, are both now married and live in Hundon in Suffolk with their parents, who look after Becky Most cases are diagnosed in people aged under 65 which sets it apart from, for example, Alzheimer's disease which causes the majority of all dementia cases and is more common among elderly people. Over time frontotemporal dementia causes the brain to degenerate, affecting people's ability to speak, remember things, focus or organise themselves, and eventually ends up being fatal. Other family members struck down by the same disease The condition is thought to run in Mrs Barletta's family her uncle and mother's cousin have already died from it. WHAT IS FRONTOTEMPORAL DEMENTIA? Frontotemporal dementia, also known as Pick's disease, is an uncommon form of the fatal brain degeneration. It begins specifically in the frontal and temporal lobes of the brain, which control people's speech and behaviour. It is caused by nerve cells dying in the temporal lobes on either side of the brain and as more and more tissue dies the brain begins to shrink. The death of the cells, and changes in electrical signals in the brain, can cause people's behaviour and personality to change. The condition is not thought to have as big an impact on the memory as Alzheimer's disease, because a different part of the brain is affected. Frontotemporal dementia is thought to affect men and women equally, and is most often diagnosed in people aged between 45 and 65. There is no cure and treatment is focused on caring for patients and trying to manage their symptoms. Source: Alzheimer's Society Advertisement Mrs Barletta's doctor said he expected her to live between five and 10 years after her diagnosis two years ago, her sister said, but she says the change has been so rapid she thinks that was ambitious. 'I can't see what the next two years will look like unless her condition plateaus,' Mrs Gilbert said. 'Becky is completely dependent on my parents and her carer. 'She needs help toileting and swallowing liquids because her swallow reflex doesn't work properly. 'We make her squash into a jelly so it triggers the reflex when she chews. 'In a way she is easier to manage now that her condition is worse because she doesn't run away, scream at people or pinch food from their plates in public. 'Becky is vacant but I hope she's content in her own little world' 'But now there's just no engagement at all. She's vacant, which is one of the hardest things to cope with you would never know if she was happy or sad. 'I just hope she's content in her own little world.' Mrs Barletta still goes for a couple of walks every day with her carer or her father, who is 70 years old and retired, her sister said. And she also has a weekly singing lesson with a local woman which has changed from Mrs Barletta taking part to mostly being sung to. Mrs Barletta (pictured with nephew Alfie) was given between five and 10 years to live when she was diagnosed in August 2016, but her sister Mrs Gilbert says her decline has been rapid Mrs Barletta's husband Luca, whom she married in October 2015, still runs a business in the Italian Alps but comes back at weekends and as often as possible to visit his wife and help the family. The family visit doctors regularly but there is no way for them to slow down the disease, nor work out what caused it they believe it was simply inherited. 'It breaks my heart she will never get to have children' Mrs Gilbert added: 'What's most shocking is the stark difference between who she is and who she should still be. 'Because she was such a life it is more horrendous. She was just married and it breaks my heart that she will never get to have children.' 'We want to make people aware this could strike anyone at anytime. It can happen in your 50s, 40s and clearly even in your 30s. 'It's relatively unheard of for people so young to get dementia. 'People try to reassure me "you won't get it" but you would have said the same thing about Becky. It's a panic for me every time I forget something or hit the kerb in my car.' Mrs Barletta (right), pictured with her sister Sophie and brother-in-law Ben, used to be outgoing and chatty but now rarely speaks to anyone because of the effects of dementia Mrs Gilbert (right), pictured with her sister and husband, is now committed to raising awareness of dementia and fundraising for the Alzheimer's Society which pays for research into the disease Mrs Gilbert (pictured as a child, right, with her sister and their dog) says her sister's decline has been even more stark because she was so fit and healthy beforehand Family raised 15,000 for Alzheimer's Society The family now want to shine a light the Alzheimer's Society charity and its annual Memory Walks which raise money for research into dementia. They held a fundraiser at their home last year which raised more than 15,000 for the charity, and plan on raising more money in the future. There will be 41 Memory Walks held across the country this year, which hope to raise 9 million towards dementia research. Mrs Barletta, pictured with husband Luca before her diagnosis, was still driving until the day before she was diagnosed, when her life quickly changed from normality 'Dementia can affect anyone at any age' Mrs Gilbert adds: 'We've got to get the message out there that dementia can affect anyone at any age. 'Research is coming along leaps and bounds and hopefully it's something my children won't have to worry about in the future.' Alzheimers Society's chief executive officer Jeremy Hughes said: 'Dementia is now the UKs biggest killer, with someone developing it every three minutes. 'We are therefore enormously grateful that Becky and her family and their friends have united with Alzheimers Society to help us defeat dementia. 'Their fundraising effort last year was inspirational and together they raised more than 13,000 with their own Memory Walk. 'Dementia devastates lives but research can create lasting change' 'Sadly, dementia devastates lives, but every pound raised through Memory Walk will help Alzheimers Society provide vital information and support, improve care, fund research and create lasting change for people affected by the disease. 'I would urge MailOnline readers to unite with us and join a local Memory Walk today.' People can help fund vital research for a cure by signing up to their nearest Memory Walk online. Dengue fever has been wiped out of Townsville, Australia, after anti-virus mosquitoes were released. The experiment started in 2014, with scientists infecting mosquitoes with Wolbachia bacteria, which prevents the insects from spreading the virus. Four million of the midge-like pests were released across Townsville over two years. Four years on, no cases of the infection have been recorded since in the Queensland city, which has around 167,800 residents, compared to 54 in the previous four years. These mosquitoes then mated with wild species, causing them to pass on Wolbachia so their offspring also carried the bacteria. This is the first time modified mosquitoes have wiped out such a virus across an entire city. The dengue virus infects around 390 million people a year worldwide. Most cases cause just severe, flu-like symptoms, however, some sufferers develop life-threatening complications such as bleeding and reduced organ function. Dengue fever has been wiped out of Townsville, Australia, after anti-virus mosquitoes were released in 2014. No cases of the infection have been recorded since (stock) WHAT IS DENGUE FEVER? AND WHAT ARE THE SYMPTOMS? Dengue is a viral infection spread by mosquitoes. In most people, the infection passes in around a week with no serious symptoms, however, it can be life-threatening. Symptoms usually appear four-to-10 days after a person becomes infected and can include: Fever Severe headache Pain behind the eyes Muscle and joint pain Nausea and vomiting Widespread red rash Loss of appetite These usually pass within a week. In severe cases, people may suffer: Severe abdominal pain and bloating Persistent vomiting, containing blood Bleeding gums or hemorrhaging under the skin Difficulty breathing Drowsiness or loss of consciousness Cold, clammy skin Weak but fast pulse There is no cure or specific treatment for dengue. To ease symptoms, people should drink plenty of fluids and rest, as well as taking painkillers. Dengue is not found in the UK but is in: Southeast Asia The Caribbean South and Central America Africa The Pacific Islands The Indian subcontinent Australia People can reduce their risk of being bitten by dengue-carrying mosquitoes by using DEET insect repellent, wearing loose but protective clothing and sleeping under a mosquito net. Advertisement Scheme could wipe out dengue in hard-hit countries On the back of Townsville's success, 11 countries, including Brazil and Vietnam, are trialing Wolbachia-infected mosquitoes. Professor Scott O'Neill, director of the programme at Monash University, Melbourne, said: 'At a cost of around $15 per person, the Townsville trial demonstrates the approach can be rolled out quickly, efficiently and cost effectively to help provide communities ongoing protection from mosquito-borne diseases.' The programme aims to release Wolbachia mosquitoes in larger cities around the world with a target of reducing the cost to just $1 per person. Professor O'Neill added: 'Not only were communities accepting of the technology, but they also became active participants, with residents and local school students growing and releasing their own Wolbachia mosquitoes. 'We believe our approach will be suitable for other cities, with appropriate local adaptation, and provides a framework for scaling-up our deployment, globally.' The researchers add, however, other countries that are testing the modified mosquito roll out have higher rates of dengue than Australia and therefore the scheme may not work as effectively. Despite their concerns, the scientists add results appear positive so far, the New Scientist reported. Dengue fever may be spread via sex This comes after research released last May suggested dengue fever may be passed on through sex. Scientists discovered the dengue virus in the semen of a man more than a month after he fell ill while travelling in Thailand. The virus lingering in the man's semen led researchers to believe the condition could be passed on during sex even after the other person has recovered. The unnamed Italian man, who was in his 50s, was diagnosed with dengue fever last January. He was otherwise healthy but suffered from joint pain, fatigue and nausea. The man was admitted to the National Institute for Infectious Diseases in Rome after feeling ill for nine days. He recovered, with traces of the virus disappearing from his blood and urine after 23 days, however, the patogen was still present in his semen after 37 days. All traces had disappeared by day 55. It's one of the world's favourite alcoholic beverages. And, fortunately for millions of pub-goers, it seems that beer may have a number of unexpected health benefits, too. In addition to quenching your thirst, a well-earned pint also contains nutritional ingredients which help to reduce heart risk and boost brain health. Raise your glasses: Beer boasts more protein and B vitamins than wine, is high in antioxidants and can reduce the occurrence of cardiovascular disease That's according to scientists who've published research in The American Journal of the Medical Sciences. They claim beer boasts more protein and B vitamins than wine, is high in antioxidants and can reduce the occurrence of cardiovascular disease. 'The antioxidant content of beer is equivalent to that of wine, but the specific antioxidants are different because the barley and hops used in the production of beer contain flavonoids different from those in the grapes used in the production of wine,' the study says. 'Physicians should be aware of the growing evidence supporting the nutritional and health benefits of moderate consumption of alcohol as part of a healthy lifestyle.' Nutritionist Sisi Yip told the South China Morning Post: 'Beer contains trace amounts of minerals such as calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, sodium, zinc, copper, manganese and selenium, fluoride, and silicon. 'Beer also includes a range of polyphenols such as flavonoids and phenolic acids that contribute directly to flavour, haze, body and fullness.' These polyphenols are naturally-occurring compounds found in plants, including flavonoids and phenolic acid, that benefit the human body and help fight disease. Natural ingredients: The polyphenols in beer can reduce the likelihood of developing diabetes, blocked arteries and heart disease, which also protecting cognitive function When ingested, they can help to reduce the likelihood of developing diabetes, and heart disease, while also protecting cognitive function. Drinking beer can also lead to greater levels of high-density lipoprotein - AKA good cholesterol. This helps to thin the blood and remove plaque in the arteries. However, there's a snag: these benefits are only enjoyed when beer is consumed in moderation, not in vast quantities. HOW MUCH SHOULD YOU DRINK WEEKLY? According to the UK's Chief Medical Officer, it's safest not to drink more than 14 units a week on a regular basis. This equates to: - Six x 175ml glasses of wine - Six pints of larger - Five pints of cider - Fourteen 25ml glasses of spirits Source: DrinkAware.co.uk Advertisement According to the UK's Chief Medical Officer, drinkers should not consume more than fourteen units per week on a regular basis. This equates to six 175ml glasses of wine, six pints of larger, five pints of cider or fourteen 25ml glasses of spirits. Exceeding this could result in liver damage, heart disease and weight gain. 'Spread your drinking over three or more days if you regularly drink as much as 14 units a week. Ideally, the health limit is up to one pint for men and half a pint for women per day,' Yip adds. Meanwhile, in other beer news, a pair of entrepreneurial mothers have given new meaning to the phrase 'nursing a hangover' by marketing a brand of beer especially toward nursing moms and Gwyneth Paltrow is a fan. Au Liquid Gold so named because breast milk is often referred to as liquid gold is an oatmeal stout created for women who'd like to kick back with a cold one while breastfeeding. The brand cites lactation experts who recommend drinking beer to increase milk production while nursing, and says this particular brew is packed with ingredients that will boost mom's flow. Naturally, the beer has hops, which the company says not only increases milk production but can also treat dry and cracked skin and work as an anti-inflammatory. It's made with oatmeal, which is said to be good for milk production, and can also help with inflammation. Other purported milk-boosting ingredients include fenugreek and red raspberry leaf, and they added other ingredients with health benefits like coconut milk and coriander seed. The unsafe burial of a 65-year-old Ebola sufferer triggered the latest outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Ebola can spread through an infected person's saliva, blood, faeces or vomit. If buried by loved ones, they may have caught the virus from bodily fluids on the dead woman's body. The WHO's emergency response chief Peter Salama claims seven of the deceased woman's immediate family have died from the viral infection, while 10 people who live nearby are suspected to be suffering. This comes just 10 days after the DRC's health minister Dr Oly Ilunga Kalenga declared the outbreak that started in early May and killed 33 people was over. At the time, Dr Stacey Mearns, senior health coordinator of the International Rescue Committee's emergency response team, warned: 'It's always good to see the end of an outbreak, but it's certainly not the end of Ebola in Congo. Ebola is endemic here.' The latest cases have been confirmed in and near a town called Mangina, which is around 62 miles (100km) from the border with Uganda in the country's north-east, with suspected cases in the local town of Beni and neighbouring Ituri province. This new outbreak will be the 10th in DRC's history; more than twice as many as any other country. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director general of the WHO, said: 'We will fight this one as we did the last.' The unsafe burial of a 65-year-old Ebola sufferer triggered the latest outbreak in the DRC (Pictured: Health workers with a girl suffering from Ebola in Liberia in 2014) 'We will fight this one as we did the last' Experts from DRC's health ministry arrived in the nearby city of Beni yesterday, with the WHO moving supplies to the area. Mr Ghebreyesus said: 'Ebola is a constant threat in DRC. What adds to our confidence in the countrys ability to respond is the transparency they have displayed once again.' Dr Kalenga added: 'Although we did not expect to face a 10th epidemic so early, the detection of the virus is an indicator of the proper functioning of the surveillance system.' HAS THE DRC HAD AN EBOLA OUTBREAK BEFORE? DRC escaped the brutal Ebola pandemic that began in 2014, which was finally declared over in January 2016 - but it was struck by a smaller outbreak last year. Four DRC residents died from the virus in 2017. The outbreak lasted just 42 days and international aid teams were praised for their prompt responses. The new outbreak is the DRC's ninth since the discovery of Ebola in the country in 1976. Health experts credit an awareness of the disease among the population and local medical staff's experience treating for past successes containing its spread. DRC's vast, remote geography also gives it an advantage, as outbreaks are often localised and relatively easy to isolate. Advertisement Travel into and out of Mangina has been blocked to try to contain the virus, and governor of the North Kivu region, Julien Paluku, has called on residents to remain calm. DRC's east is volatile, with dozens of rebel groups staging attacks and vying for mineral-rich land. The ministry put security in place to protect the deployed healthcare workers and general population. Ebola in Congo 'reminiscent' of 2014 disaster This year's Ebola outbreaks follow a devastating spread of the disease between 2013 and 2016, which killed 11,300 people in the West African countries of Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea. There were fears the last outbreak, in Mbandaka and Bikoro, would spread to the port city of Kinshasa. At the time Dr Derek Gatherer, a virologist from Lancaster University, warned the case was 'reminiscent' of the 2014 Ebola pandemic. In an editorial for a scientific journal, Dr Gatherer wrote: 'The current outbreak has the potential for rapid expansion in numbers. He added: 'Mbandaka is a port on the River Congo, the main arterial transport link from DRC's capital Kinshasa to inland cities. 'With poor to non-existent provision of running water, sewage and electricity, the similarities with the urban situation during the west African outbreak are obvious.' 'The risk of transmission to Kinshasa central Africa's main megacity either by river or by air from Mbandaka's regional airport, is a major concern.' Much quicker aid response The 2014 international response to the Ebola pandemic drew criticism for moving too slowly and prompted an apology from the WHO. Speaking of the 'eliminated' outbreak, Dr Ibrahima Soce Fall, regional emergencies director in Africa for the WHO, called DRC's response vastly improved after the devastating outbreak in West Africa that killed more than 11,300 people between 2014 and 2016. Congolese and international health officials were praised for a quick response to the last outbreak. They praised a still-experimental jab, known as rVSV-ZEBOV, for containing the virus, with the vaccine being given to hundreds of locals and frontline health workers in Bikoro, Iboko and Mbandaka. There are no proven Ebola vaccines, however, the rVSV-ZEBOV has been shown to be effective in trials in Guinea during the pandemic. Women from across the globe are dying from complications of Brazilian butt lift operations, prompting an international task force of plastic surgeons to warn against the procedure. Driven to fame (or infamy) by the likes of Kim Kardashian and Kylie Jenner, plastic surgeons performed 18,487 such 'butt lifts' in 2015. But the procedures comes with serious risks. For 30-year-old Lattia Baumeister, a butt lift was deadly. She died on the operating table in Florida, leaving her six children in Illinois motherless. She was one of least 33 people have died in the last five years in the US because fat transferred to their butts caused deadly embolisms, and a special task force is now warning surgeons that the way they learned to do the operation may be deadly. Lattia Baumeister (left) died of a fat embolism after a Brazilian butt lift in June of last year. Lidvian Zelaya (right), from New York, suffered the same fate after getting the lift in Florida Bodacious butts are in, and operations to get them are too. In the last five years, plastic surgeons have seen a 150 percent increase in the Brazilian butt lift business. Plastic surgery, as a field, is fairly low risk, with average mortality rates across all such procedures hovering around one in 55,000. But some surgeries are far more dangerous than others. Traditionally, plastic surgeons consider the tummy tuck one of the riskiest procedures they do, with about a four percent risk of major complications. That procedure is complex and invasive, and patients are at risk for developing blood clots that travel up to the heart and can quickly turn deadly. When plastic surgeons inject transferred fat into the muscles of the butt, there is a high risk that a glob of the fat will get into the inferior or superior gluteal veins and travel to the lungs By comparison, Brazilian butt lifts seem like a surgical walk in the park. For the procedure, a surgeon suctions excess fat from one part of a patient's body and transfers it to the buttocks via injection. 'It really requires relatively little technical finesse,' says Dr Mark Mofid, a San Diego-based plastic surgeon. But then in 2015, he saw a study from doctors in Colombia and Mexico, reporting high rates of mortality associated with the procedure. He had never heard of any deaths from Brazilian butt lifts. WHAT IS A BRAZILIAN BUTT LIFT? AND WHY IS IT SO RISKY? A normal butt lift reduces the size of the butt. It is commonly used for formerly overweight people who lost weight. However, a BBL increases the size of the butt, by adding grafted or injected fat. It was created by Ivo Pitanguy, a pioneering Brazilian plastic surgeon, who died in August 2016 aged 90 after carrying the Olympic flame in Rio. HOW IT WORKS: Liposuction to remove fat from abdomen/hips/thighs Fat is 'processed' Fat is injected into buttocks BBL STYLES: Upside-down heart, or 'A-shape': Much smaller waist and larger buttocks towards the bottom Round: emphasis on increasing the size of the butt, not pulling in the waist or thighs HOW TO PREPARE: Don't smoke (increases infection risk and blood clot risk) Don't gain weight (when you lose it again, your butt will change) RISK OF DEATH: Higher than most operations - 20 in 100,000 compared with 1 in 100,000. There are two major risk factors that can make a BBL fatal: Blood clots travel to lungs Accidental injection of fat to blood vessel RECOVERY: Don't work for 10 days Don't sit for 6 weeks Sleep on stomach Final shape will take months or a year to form Advertisement Then the following year, he happened to be present when a medical resident in Texas presented a study abstract reporting in 80 such lifts, there had been eight fat embolisms that landed patients in the intensive care unit. 'This was something no plastic surgeons had discussed in the US, and now I was hearing these high rates from a single surgeon in Texas,' says Dr Mofid. He started doing his own digging, connecting with coroners, pathologists, plastic surgeons and even an NBC reporter in Miami who had begun identifying women who had died from the procedure in South Beach, a plastic surgery hot bed. In South Beach alone, 10 women who had died after having Brazilian butt lifts were identified. The victims were mostly mothers, including Ranika Hall, who had only just had her first baby at 25, and wanted her pre-pregnancy figure back. Heather Meadows, a mother of two, died at the exact same facility in Florida that Hall did. Outside of academic circles and professional organizations, bad butt lifts were beginning to make an appearance in the media around the time Dr Mofid first started looking into them. Most infamously, Padge-Victoria Windslowe was sentenced to 10 to 20 years in jail after the self-styled, and completely uncertified transgender implant surgeon injected almost a gallon of silicon into a dancer's buttocks and the woman died in the process. Dr Mofid and his team published a study on the incidences of these deaths and serious complications. They were shocked by what they found: About one in every 3,000 Brazilian butt lift patients died of a pulmonary fat embolism. Twice as many developed chronic or serious complications. Fat embolisms happen when a glob of fat gets into the blood stream and when it travels toward the lungs it can stop blood flow to them. The blockage can be fatal, or cause a lifetime of subsequent cardiac and breathing problems. The American Society of Plastic Surgeons and partner organizations established a task force to further investigate why these embolisms were happening and to warn doctors and patients of their findings. 'Even on the task force, we had people who had had patients who died during this operation,' says Dr Mofid. 'If they had a patient die, they remembered for the rest of their lives, so they know if they had two people die, but doctors don't remember the exact number of cases they've done, so the rates are probably a underestimate. 'I'm convinced that the number is not one in 3,000, I think it might be higher.' The task force is still investigating, but it appears that Brazilian butt lifts turn deadly when the transferred fat is injected into the muscle, where there are many blood vessels for the fat to find its way into. 'This is how it was taught when I was in school,' Dr Mofid says. In 2017, Ranika Hall (left) had a lift and died shortly after, at just 25 years old. Heather Meadows (right) died in the same building in Florida during the same operation Blood vessels in the muscle of the buttocks feed that fat 'so we can get it to live,' which means more full, longer-lasting results, he explains. But this is also where the danger lies. Now, the task force is recommending that plastic surgeons only do Brazilian butt lifts by injecting fat beneath in a more shallow location, just beneath the skin. Patient's may not get the same aesthetic results, but the change will almost certainly save lives. 'We can't control patient demand for this,' says task force co-chair, Dr J Peter Rubin of the University of Pittsburgh, 'but we want to make sure it is done safely.' 'Of all the cosmetic procedures available, at present time this appears to carry the highest risk, and people need to know that.' Scientists have finally discovered why a drug that was commonly prescribed as a quick cure for morning left thousands of babies with major birth defects. Thalidomide was once a household name, but in the 1950s and 1960s, many women lost their pregnancies or gave birth to babies with missing or malformed limbs after taking the drug. For decades, no one knew why, but Dana Farber Cancer Institute scientists have discovered the drug interferes with transcription proteins that can shut off a gene crucial to limb development. One woman all but single-handedly kept thalidomide from being approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), drastically minimizing the drug's effects in the US. But some Americans were still affected, as were scores in the UK, the rest of Europe and elsewhere around the world. The drug was re-purposed to treat certain cancers, leprosy and lupus and may be reformulated now that researchers understand what once went horribly wrong with it. Globally, some 100,000 babies were born with missing, short, or twisted limbs due to a birth defect related to a once-common morning sickness drug and scientists finally know why. Butch Lumpkins (pictured) is one of the few Americans affected by thalidomide Thalidomide first appeared in west Germany in 1957 where it was prescribed as a sort of cure-all for anxiety, insomnia, upset stomach and 'tension.' It soon found its niche in the treatment of morning sickness, especially nausea. It quickly became an over-the-counter staple. But it took hardly any time at all for its dangers to become clear. Almost as soon as the drug became widespread in West Germany, between 5,000 and 7,000 babies were born with malformed legs and arms, a condition called phocomelia. James Smith of Pound, Virginia was born with malformed hands and does not have fully functional fingers because, he says, his mother took thalidomide as late as the 1970s Elaine Dale (right) was born without arms after her mother took thalidomide. Her children, Sarah (left) and Philip (center) were not born with the same condition Some had no arms or legs at all. Others had extremely shortened limbs, with misshapen hands or feet, or under-developed body parts that looked more like flippers. Another 100,000 babies were born with the same condition around the world. Just 40 percent of the West German babies and 50 percent of those born in other countries survived. In the UK, 2,000 so-called thalidomide babies were born between 1957 and the early 1960s. Thousands of women lost their pregnancies in the late 1950s and early 1960s, a phenomenon also attributed to the drug. The US Food and Drug Administration steadfastly refused to approve and allow the sale of thalidomide, which distributors applied for six times but were denied for not showing adequate evidence that it was effective and safe. Frances Oldham Kelsey, the FDA regulator who oversaw thalidomide's case and kept it off the market, has since been hailed as a 'heroine.' The morning sickness drug was sold as Tensival and Distaval in West Germany. Now it is used to treat leprosy and some cancers under tightly controlled conditions Still, the drug's US manufacturer, Richardson-Merrell, managed to push samples past Kelsey's regulatory blockade to the public for testing purposes. At least 17 babies were known to have been born in the US with thalidomide-related defects. By 1962, the horrors caused by the drug were widely known and it began to disappear from the shelves. Doctors discovered it had some effectiveness for treating leprosy and in the 1980s it was re-purposed to treat a form of cancer, called multiple myeloma, by stopping the growth of blood vessels to feed the tumors. This discovery cast thalidomide in a new light, suggesting it could be a powerful tool in the fight against cancer, but its mysterious and gruesome birth defects have remained a barrier to its use and the development of more related drugs. In recent years, Researchers at Dr Eric Fischer's lab at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute have sought to start clearing that barrier. His mother's thalidomide use left Mat Fraser with shortened arms, but that did not stop him from going on to become a successful actor and musician in the UK Georgina Harrison has similar defects to those her father was born with after his mother (Georgina's grandmother) took thalidomide They expanded on previous work, breaking down what exactly thalidomide does to genetic material. A gene called SALL4 is instrumental to the development of limbs during gestation, as well as coding for a network of other traits. Thalidomide, Dr Fischer's lab and Harvard scientists discovered tampers with proteins that control the expression of certain genes, including SALL4. Retrospectively, they found that people with known SALL4 deletions In people who had not taken thalidomide, people who had a deletion of SALL4 had strikingly similar defects from - unrelated to thalidomide - had birth defects almost identical to those of thalidomide babies. That realization set them on their course of study, and led to the newly-published finding. In Spain, victims of thalidomide including this woman, who cannot walk or fully use her hands, protested in 2015. Most o those affected by thalidomide were born in Europe 'Understanding the targets will help to better understand [how thalidomide effects multiple genes] and may pave the way to new applications,' Dr Fischer told Daily Mail Online. Now that the scientists know the part of thalidomide that causes birth defects, they can begin to reformulate a similar drug that could have all of its same cancer-fighting benefits, without the deleterious effects, and Dr Fischer wants to lead the charge. 'My lab is deeply invested in the development of novel therapeutic strategies that build on the same mechanism of action as thalidomide, what we call "targeted protein degradation." We are pursuing many projects that aim at better understanding and derivatizing thalidomide,' he said. More councils across the country are threatening to issue drivers with fines for leaving their engines idling while they're parked up. This week, Nottingham City Council became the latest to announce it would be issuing repeat offenders with fines of 20 if caught with their engines running. However, figures released by some authorities that have had the powers to fine motorists for idling for up to 15 years reveal that almost none are issued. Idle warning: Around 30 councils now threaten to issue motorists with fines of 20 if they're caught stopped at the side of the road with their vehicle's engine running More councils are opting to exercise their right to slap drivers with on the spot fines for leaving their car engines running on the street in a bid to further reduce emissions levels in their areas. Streets close to schools in particular are being targeted as well as hospitals. In some areas, members of the public are being asked to report inconsiderate drivers who are caught in the act by providing their vehicle information, including the registration number. It's part of increased efforts across the country, with Nottingham joining the likes of Norwich, Wirral, Reading and a number of London boroughs that have started issuing the penalties in the last eight months, according to the Times. It is believed that more than 30 councils now have rules in place to fine the drivers of idling vehicles, according to The Times. Westminster City Council became one of the first to threaten drivers with fines for leaving their vehicle engines running and even quadrupled the charge to 80 last year as part of its #DontBeIdle campaign. The London borough, along with Camden, is employing 'Air Marshals' who patrol the streets, targeting delivery drivers, taxis and members of the public who fail to turn their engines off. The council claims that air marshals will ask drivers who are pulled up but not in traffic to turn their engine off and if they refuse to do so they will be fined. Westminster Council increased its efforts to curb engine idling last year, quadrupling the fine to 80 in an effort to reduce the number of people leaving their vehicles running Nottingham City Council became the latest to introduce fines this week. It joins a host of other authorities looking to reduce vehicle emissions in their areas However, figures revealed earlier this year suggest that not many penalties are being handed out. In March, London Live said Westminster council had issued just 28 fines in the last 12 months. The City of London, which has had rules in place to fine drivers for idling for seven years hasn't handed out a single one. Stats revealed earlier this year suggest hardly any fines are being issued for idling in London And Kensington and Chelsea City council - which has had the powers for 15 years - has penalised just one motorist for leaving their engine running. It raises questions about whether idling can be appropriately policed by councils and if drivers are being deterred by these rules. RAC head of roads policy, Nicholas Lyes,backed the news that more councils are making efforts to curb idling motorists. 'Measures like this can play a big part in changing driver behaviour, by encouraging them to really think about how they reduce their emissions footprint,' he said. 'If schemes like this can make enough of a difference in reducing emissions, there may be less of a temptation for local authorities to implement wider charging schemes for drivers. 'Our advice to drivers is always to switch their engine off when parked or stationary for lengthy periods. If a vehicle has stop-start technology, it should always be enabled.' Of all Britains High Street banks Barclays is the most intriguing. It has been through regulatory hell and back as a result of the antics of former bosses Bob Diamond and John Varley, and the effort to steer clear of a UK Government bail-out. Its choice of a Gulf rescue a decade ago, involving Qatar, left a stain which is not yet erased. Under the stewardship of former JP Morgan banker Jes Staley, Barclays set a new course, ridding itself of its historic interests in Africa and focusing on becoming Europes only fully functioning investment bank. It has been helped by the Lehman legacy, which gave it a strong client base in America, but has not received unqualified support from Whitehall which has preferred Goldman Sachs and US banks for share sales, such as the return of Royal Bank of Scotland to the public markets. Under the stewardship of Jes Staley, Barclays set a new course, ridding itself of its historic interests in Africa and focusing on becoming Europes only fully functioning investment bank Latest results suggest that, in spite of having an arm tied behind its back, Barclays is picking up momentum. A strong quarter for equities in the US saw revenues rise 30 per cent, ahead of some Wall Street peers, and the investment banks profits were up 17 per cent. That may not be enough to send activist Ed Bramson, agitating for a break-up of the investment bank, scuttling back to his New York burrow. It is not very helpful for the City and financial services that one of the big backers of Bramsons outfit Sherborne is Aviva Investors. Indeed, Aviva boss Mark Wilson, who maintains Chinese walls with the investment management arm, is understood to have had his ear bent on the subject. The underlying picture at Barclays is starting to look healthy, with pre-tax profits before various conduct and litigation matters up 20 per cent at 3.7billion in the first half and the banks capital base strengthening. But, like other UK financials, it is suffering a Brexit draft. Big fund managers by necessity steer clear of uncertainty. Nevertheless, years of regulatory chaos and management upheaval mean that Barclays has been a serial underperformer. That should be an investment opportunity but not just for renegade, short-term investors in search of sugar rush returns. Brexit bonus The reality about the City and Brexit is that it has little to fear but fear itself. The latest scare story about the migration of Deutsche Banks derivatives trading to Frankfurt has left UK competitor, the London Stock Exchange, unfazed. New LSE chief executive David Schwimmer notes that its London Clearing House offshoot saw a 34 per cent increase in client clearing of euro-swaps in the last six months and says that support continues to build. City exports hit a record level in 2017 at 59.6billion in 2017, a rise of 3.6billion on the previous year, says official data just published. And inward investment into UK financial technology was the highest among the major industrial countries in the first half of the year, outpacing the United States. The main downer for the City is uncertainty about a future deal in financial services. There were hints from Brussels this week that something around equivalence may be possible if the issue of a tribunal to handle disputes can be resolved. The concern among insurers is that, unfavourable weather in Canada notwithstanding, the Square Mile could be putting itself at a disadvantage. Trump is deregulating Wall Street while the UK is over-regulating, making it more expensive and bureaucratic to work in the City. The UK has been good at exploiting tax and regulatory loopholes which is how the Eurodollar market, followed by US investment banks, arrived here. At times it seems that a legalistic Financial Conduct Authority is fighting battles of a decade ago rather than dealing with the opportunities of being the global financial centre. Onwards and upwards. High off the hog A wonderful insight from Stobart of the way that some directors of public companies regard corporate funds as a personal piggy bank. Former boss and significant shareholder Andrew Tinkler may be a brilliant entrepreneur but it came at a heavy price. As we disclose today, court papers show that Tinkler spent 1m on helicopter travel, 51,399 on a horsebox and bought a 50,000 Range Rover mainly for his daughters use. How gallant. A popular blogger who launched a sleepwear clothing line off the back of her social media success has been hit with claims the products are 'faulty' and refund requests have been ignored. Sophie Cachia, 27, is a blogger with more than 500,000 followers on Instagram and Facebook, famous for live streaming the labour of her second child over Snapchat. The mother-of-two, who has written a series of children's books, last year launched her own clothing brand - 'Cachia'. But Daily Mail Australia can reveal Ms Cachia has been hit with dozens of complaints from women who purchased her pyjamas, only to allegedly have them shrink in the wash. Dozens of furious shoppers have lashed out at mummy blogger Sophie Cachia online, claiming her recently launched line of sleepwear shrinks (pictured) even when washed as directed Ellen Roberts is one of those who was left disappointed after buying Cachia pyjamas. When the 'Gigi' leopard print pants and top arrived at the front door of her home Ms Roberts says she instantly ran them through the wash, desperate to wear them. But when they came out of the machine she claims they were up to two sizes smaller - despite her washing them as she was instructed on the product's label. Ms Roberts claims that her efforts to contact the Cachia label went unanswered even as the brand's owner portrayed her lavish lifestyle online. 'I spent about $400 on the Cachia brand only for everything to be unwearable after only washing it once,' she told Daily Mail Australia. 'Over the course of a couple of months I emailed and called with no response. 'I was informed that a postage bag would be sent out to post the items back in order to gain a refund but it's now been more than 15 business days - yet I managed to get my faulty clothes within just two days. 'Eventually I commented on their Instagram page which was met with something of a passive aggressive response and my comments eventually being deleted.' Mummy blogger Sophie Cachia (pictured with husband Jaryd) wearing a properly fitted pair of the leopard-print pyjamas. Ms Cachia's brand denies their products are faulty and says they've refunded all customers requiring one Furious women have slammed the Cachia brand on Instagram with many claiming the pyjamas shrunk on first wash. But in response, the brand's account replied: 'No shrinkage if washed correctly' (pictured) Fed up with being given the run around by Cachia representatives, Ms Roberts made a complaint to the ACCC, who she claims said they are investigating the brand. A statement provided by a spokesperson for Ms Cachia said their products were not faulty and are 'vigorously tested' to ensure they comply with standards prior to being sold. The spokesperson also claimed they had refunded all customers requiring one, even if they simply didn't like the product. But while Cachia has had many positive reviews, Ms Roberts isn't alone in being left frustrated by the mummy blogger's products. Furious women have flooded the brand's Instagram account in recent weeks to vent about the products. Many women claimed that even when their clothes were washed as instructed they shrunk dramatically. 'I washed my daughter's pink ones correctly and they are still misshapen and shrunk,' one woman wrote. 'We received the PJs as a gift for our daughters and they shrunk too! Followed all the wash instructions but they are so misshapen now and much smaller,' another said. 'I messaged your page literally months ago about a product (and only) just got a reply today! Not the best customer service,' a customer claimed. Ms Cachia (pictured), who boasts more than 500,000 followers across social media, has also received an influx of positive comments from customers who say their sleepwear was not faulty Ms Cachia with husband Jaryd, who played 14 games for AFL club Carlton in the 2013 season 'Ours have shrunk heaps too. Both our pants are 3/4 length and the tops are half way up our forearm. So shattered,' one complaint claimed. 'I think everyone's shrunk! I only ever wash in cold water and noticed after the first wash the shorts were so much shorter,' wrote one upset shopper. The Cachia account laid the blame at the feet of shoppers, writing: 'No shrinkage if washed correctly'. While many comments remain on the brand's Instagram page, some customers who voiced their issues claim they returned to find their comments had been deleted by the Cachia page. A spokesperson for the ACCC refused to comment on the individual brand or any potential investigation. The full statement from a Cachia spokesperson reads: 'We are proud of what we do at Cachia. We have a dedicated team who have worked in the clothing industry for over 35 years and supply some of Australias leading retail chains. All of our garments are made from quality fabrics, are vigorously tested independently prior to sale and comply 100% with Australian standards. We are committed to providing quality garments to our amazing customers and whilst we accept there may be customers who are not satisfied with their purchase, we always strive to respond to their concerns in a timely and efficient manner.' A Chinese military show which purposefully obscured a number of weapons at a Chinese air base has sparked speculation over the mysterious items. China's news outlets have been discussing what the hidden armaments could be after the censored images appeared on a state broadcaster on Monday. According to news site Sina, they were target projectiles used by Beijing to develop new missiles, and they include a supersonic J-7 fighter jet and a Dongfeng-15 missile, also known as DF-15 missile. Although the report did not give details on the alleged new missiles, the news came days after China claimed to be developing a new electromagnetic rocket which is more powerful than ballistic missiles. One of the obscured objects (circled) is a Dongfeng-15 missile currently used as a target by Beijing as it develops new artillery, according to Chinese news site Sina Sina said another hidden weapon (circled) is a supersonic J-7 fighter jet, also used as a target China's J-20 stealth fighter jet China's J-20 stealth fighter jets were commissioned into military service last September, reported state-run Xinhua News Agency. It is said to be capable of carrying multiple types of air-to-air missiles and could apparently dodge radar detectors. Last year, China Central Television Station said J-20 is powered by a made-in-China engine and possess similar combat capabilities to America's F-22 Raptor. Military analysts previously said it was still too early to tell if the jet matches the capabilities of the US F-22 Raptor. Advertisement The images were broadcast during a military news programme on Monday on China Central Television Station (CCTV), the country's state broadcaster. What makes the news intriguing is that the censored objects were displayed around what's said to be a supersonic J-20 stealth fighter, which has been treated as a top secret in China and rarely made appearance on media. 'What are these advanced weapons on CCTV, which have priority over J-20 in terms of secrecy?' Sina wrote on Wednesday. Sina suggested that the targets could be used to develop missiles. It said according to China's military rules, information on missiles are more classified than that of fighter jets. Therefore, it were these items, not the J-20 stealth fighter, that were obscured by CCTV. The TV station also obscured a picture held by a solider as he spoke to a group of officials Sina's report did not explain what missiles Beijing could be testing with the help of these target projectiles. However just a day earlier, the news site reported that China is developing a new type of electromagnetic rocket which could cover a longer range than ballistic missiles. It remains unclear if the two are related. J-20 stealth fighter made its first public flight at the Zhuhai Airshow in China in 2016 (pictured) There were claims to suggest that J-20 had been built in part from plans of US war planes, particularly the F-22 Raptor (pictured), obtained by Chinese hackers CHINA'S J-20 Top speed: 1,305 mph Range: 2,113 mi Length: 67 Wingspan: 42 0 Weight: 43,000 lbs Engine Type: Xian WS-15 turbofan engines Cost: $110m Manufacturer: Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group Advertisement AMERICA'S F-22 Top speed: 1,498 mph Range: 1,839 mi Length: 62 Wingspan: 44 0 Weight: 43,430 lbs Engine type: Pratt & Whitney F119 Cost: $130m Manufacturers: Boeing Defense, Space & Security, Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Advertisement Commenting on China's latest rocket project, Han Junli, a research fellow working for the People's Liberation Army, said electromagnetic rocket artillery could help the Chinese armies destroy invading forces from hundreds of kilometres away without soldiers crossing mountains, according to Chinese state newspaper Global Times, citing Science and Technology Daily. Global Times said compared to conventional missiles, the electromagnetic rocket would be particularly useful in China's vast plateau and mountainous areas because it would not face the problem of the lack of oxygen. China claims to own about 2,500 ballistic missiles, including one of the world's most powerful weapons, Dongfeng-41. Dongfeng-41, or DF-41 missile, is said to have the longest range of any ballistic rockets in the world, and could reach London or the United States with nuclear warheads. The family of murdered Anni Dewani talked of their pain today after it was revealed that her widower has begun a relationship with a man less than four years after he was cleared of killing her on their honeymoon. Dewani, 38, has been enjoying holidays in Ibiza and India with Brazilian-born photographer Gledison Lopez Martins and has confirmed his new love on the internet. Anni's father Vinod Hindocha said: 'He has been to Mumbai with his boyfriend and that hurts us greatly. That was the place that Anni married him. I would have thought that he would keep that place in his heart especially for that memory.' Millionaire care home boss Shrien Dewani, right, with new boyfriend Gledison Lopez Martins The couple was pictured snuggling up during a holiday to Mumbai - where he married Anni Anni, right, was 28 years old and only weeks into marriage when she was shot dead in 2010 Gledison Lopez Martins, Dewani's new lover, has apparently been accepted by the family Anni Dewani's parents Mr and Mrs Hindocha spoke of their pain and fury to MailOnline Dewani, a millionaire care home owner, walked free in 2014 after being found not guilty of masterminding the murder of the honeymoon bride who was gunned down in South Africa. On the first day of his murder trial Annis unsuspecting family heard him confess to paying male prostitutes for sex. They said Anni, 28, would never have married him had she been aware of his sexuality. Today Mr Hindocha said: He kept his gay secret from my daughter and from her family. How could he have had it in his heart to do that? It was an utter disgrace. Now I learn that he has fallen for another man. That is no surprise. I am not against gay people in any way at all. Just this man. He has been to Mumbai with his boyfriend and that hurts us greatly. That was the place that Anni married him. I would have thought that he would keep that place in his heart especially for that memory. But no. He goes there with his gay lover and parades him around. I hate that day he married her. And Ill never be able to see Mumbai with the same eyes. He was even looking at gay websites while I sat in the hotel having gone to South Africa to help him and bring Annis body home. We will never get Anni back and we will never recover from agreeing her marriage to this man. We miss her every minute of every day. Annis uncle Ashok said: If hes been to Ibiza I hope he enjoyed the beaches. My family and I will never be able to in the same way because Anni loved the beach and every time we have tried to go we have left in tears. Her memory and the things she loved hurts us today and always will. Shrien still hasnt made time to sit down and talk with us. My brother Vinod (Annis father) deserves to hear from his son-in-law and about how hes been able to move on. We have not moved on or had a word from him. We accept he did not murder Anni, but he lied to us and had a very secret gay life. He owes us an apology for his lies. We only came to know about him sleeping with men at his trial. But if Shrien had told us the truth about his sexuality before the marriage, Anni would never have married him or gone to South Africa where she was shot dead. The businessman - whose wife Anni Dewani was gunned down in a robbery in South Africa shortly after their wedding in 2010 - has been in a relationship with Brazilian-born photographer for about 18months. The couple have recently holidayed on the Spanish party island of Ibiza and attended a fancy dress party. Dewani was photographed snuggling up with his new love as they enjoyed a holiday in India. A picture that appears on Gledison Lopez Martins' professional photography website Dewani, seated right,on the plane to Ibiza last week to enjoy a holiday with his boyfriend The new couple, back, are seen posing with the Dewani family in a restaurant over Christmas Dewanis family, who had no idea about his sexuality when he married Anni, appear to have accepted their sons new boyfriend. His Brazilian lover, who has Spanish nationality, was invited to their family home for Christmas last year. Dewanis parents, Shila and Prakash, are Facebook friends with Martins and the Dewani family has attended a fancy dress party with him. The couple have posted several loved-up photographs and videos including a film taken on a train in India in which Dewani rests his head on Martins chest. Martins has posted a portrait of Dewani on his website. He also uploaded a photograph of them, heads together, labelled 23 Oct 2017, Sant Josep de Sa Talaia', which is in a suburb of Ibiza. On the first day of his Cape Town trial, Dewani revealed he had been visiting gay prostitutes and was bisexual. Annis family said they had no clue he was romantically involved with men or had been paying for sex until his trial began. During his engagement, Dewani told Annis father, Vinod Hindocha, that he did not want to have sex before marriage which made a good impression. But later it was revealed that he had been paying a male prostitute known as the German Master for sex. The Brazilian photographer poses casually while enjoying some Asian food The man, whose real name was Leopold Leisser, was found hanged in September 2016 at his Birmingham home in what was believed to have been a suicide. Dewani, who did not give evidence at his trial, has spoken publicly only once about his wifes murder, for which three men were later convicted. In a letter to a London coroner in November 2016, he referred to the three convicted men as liars, stating that there had been an attempt to frame him. He wrote: I would like to make clear that I have a significant number of questions which remain unanswered about the night that my wife and I were kidnapped and Anni was tragically shot after being taken away from me. Each of the gang members did a deal with the authorities to gain either full immunity or vastly reduced sentences in return for providing evidence against me. It is the evidence of these proven liars that led to a witch hunt against me and the resulting failure to pursue the truth of what happened that night. It is clear that none of the evidence provided by these persons was corroborated in any meaningful way. 'This has allowed the individuals concerned to literally get away with murder. I understand and share the Hindocha (Anni) family's frustrations. However the extent of my knowledge of the events leading up to Anni's murder has already been set out in a detailed publicly available plea. This document was read out in court at the start of my trial. Dewani and his wife Anni pose happily for the camera before she was shot dead in 2010 Their wedding seemed to be a fairytale affair but just a few weeks later the bride was dead Anni, a Swedish-raised engineer was 28 years old and only weeks into marriage when she was shot dead as the couple toured a rough suburb of Cape Town on November 13, 2010. Three men - Zola Tongo, Mziwamadoda Qwabe and Xolile Mngeni were given jail terms for their role in the killing. They claimed Dewani arranged the hijacking in which he would survive and his wife would be killed, which he also strenuously denied. The Cape Town judges ruled their evidence was flawed and the case was thrown out before Dewani could give evidence in the witness box. The trial was riddled with delays while swathes of evidence were dismissed or considered irrelevant to the case. He said his life was spared as the two gunmen forced him out of the vehicle at gunpoint, before murdering his new bride. The trial was delayed for nearly four years after her death in 2010 while Dewani struggled to overcome mental health issues brought on by the trauma of his wifes murder. He was extradited to face his accusers, but the judge stopped the case saying witnesses were lying and he was declared innocent. Carol Smith and her family walked into their hillside neighborhood Thursday to find her home reduced to mangled metal and piles of bricks after a massive Northern California wildfire leveled more than 1,000 homes. 'We pretty much lost everything,' said Smith, 77, who has lived in Redding with her husband, 80, for 29 years. The family, who wore masks and spotted a sign warning of hazardous materials, received hugs and pats on the back from disaster relief volunteers who met them. Chaplains and mental health experts also were being sent to neighborhoods to accompany those returning home. As the family stood on the sidewalk staring in disbelief at what's left of their house, Smith said: 'I'm waiting to probably break down any minute here... pretty overwhelming.' Scroll down for video Carol Smith, left, gets a hug from her daughter Suzie Scatena, after seeing her fire-ravaged home for the first time Thursday, Aug. 2, 2018, in Redding, California Smith, left, is comforted by her daughter Suzie Scatena after Smith saw her wildfire-ravaged home for the first time Thursday, Aug. 2, 2018, in Redding Smith, far right in blue, her daughter Suzie Scatena, third from right, and husband Tim, third from left, tour their fire-ravaged neighborhood along with support crews Thursday, Aug. 2, 2018, in Redding Tim Smith, at right, gets a first look at his wildfire-ravaged home alongside his daughter, Suzie Scatena, center, and aid worker Deborah Coombs Thursday, Aug. 2, 2018, in Redding 'We're kind of anxious to get in there. I see there's a few statuaries in the backyard that maybe we can save.' The blaze in the Redding area, 225 miles north of San Francisco, is the largest of 18 wildfires burning throughout California. Firefighters were having some success keeping flames away from heavily populated areas, and officials began allowing some residents to return to their neighborhoods. But tens of thousands of others were still under evacuation orders. The fire has killed six people, including two firefighters, and destroyed 1,060 homes and nearly 500 other buildings, including businesses, barns and warehouses, officials said. It has become the sixth most destructive wildfire in state history. A resident, in yellow, wishing not to be identified, is comforted after seeing her fire-ravaged home for the first time Thursday, Aug. 2, 2018, in Redding Redding Police Dept. officer Brian Berg, right, comforts a resident, center, wishing not to be identified, after she saw her fire-ravaged home for the first time Thursday Shasta County Health and Human Services workers and others stand and watch as the procession for Redding fire inspector Jeremy Stoke passes in Redding on Thursday A procession for Redding fire inspector Jeremy Stoke passes in Redding on Thursday Firefighters gather as the procession for Redding fire inspector Jeremy Stoke passes in Redding on Thursday The fire, which is nearly twice the size of Sacramento, was only partially contained after more than a week. 'Unstable conditions, shifting winds, steep terrain and dry fuels continue to challenge firefighters,' a state fire update warned, noting that 35-mph wind gusts were expected on ridgetops that could whip up the flames. More than 13,000 firefighters are battling blazes statewide with the help of crews from as far away as Florida. Just a month into the budget year, California has already spent more than one-quarter of its annual fire budget, at least $125 million, state Department of Forestry and Fire Protection spokesman Mike Mohler has said. Following years of drought and a summer of record-breaking heat, immense tracts of forests, chaparral and grasslands have become tinder that allows even a small spark to explode into a devouring blaze, authorities said. Burning embers swirl around firefighters as they stand guard at a home while battling the Carr Fire, west of Redding, California on July 27, 2018 In this Tuesday, July 31, 2018 photo, bulldozer operators and their machines build containment lines while battling the River fire in Lakeport, California A scene from the Whaleback Fire is shown in this July 27th, 2018 photo The Ferguson Fire started July 13 on the Sierra National Forest. The above photo was taken July 31, 2018 A firefighter knocks down hotspots to slow the spread of the River Fire (Mendocino Complex) in Lakeport, California on July 31, 2018 Gov. Jerry Brown repeated predictions from fire officials that California can expect a future of devastating fires, in part because of climate change. He told reporters Wednesday that 'nature is very powerful, and we're not on the side of nature.' Southeast of Redding, a blaze moved deeper into the Mendocino National Forest, 'an area with some hunting cabins and some private property but no towns,' Lake County Sheriff Lt. Corey Paulich said. Twin fires in Mendocino and Lake counties had burned 14 homes and threatened 12,000 more. A 100-square-mile fire near Yosemite National Park prompted evacuation orders for the community of Wawona inside the park, which has fewer than 200 residents. Yosemite Valley and other areas of the park have been closed to tourists since July 25 because of heavy smoke from the fire, which has burned nearly 100 square miles and is only partially contained. Involuntary manslaughter charges have been dropped against a former Las Vegas police officer accused of killing an unarmed man by using a martial arts-style chokehold last year. The case against Kenneth Christopher Lopera was dropped Thursday after a grand jury refused to induct the former officer in the death of 40-year-old Tashii Farmer Brown last May. Prosecutors will in coming weeks publicly air in a non-court venue 'very similar if not the exact same evidence' that was presented in secret to grand jurors, Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson said. The case spawned community protests and a federal excessive force and wrongful death lawsuit on behalf of Brown's children that is pending. Scroll down for video Charges have been dropped against former Las Vegas cop Kenneth Lopera, left, who was accused of using a martial arts-style chokehold in the death of Tashii Brown, right, last May The dismissal of state charges was hailed by Lopera's legal and union representatives, who had sent to the grand jury in recent months evidence that Brown died of cardiac arrest and methamphetamine intoxication, not a chokehold. That was to rebut a Clark County coroner finding last year that Brown's death was a homicide resulting from 'asphyxia due to police restraint,' with an enlarged heart and methamphetamine in Brown's system as 'significant contributing conditions.' 'We're happy the DA finally recognized the weaknesses in the case and did the right thing,' said David Roger, a former elected district attorney in Las Vegas who represented Lopera on behalf of the Las Vegas Police Protective Association. Andre Lagomarsino, attorney for Brown's mother, Trinita Farmer, said he'll ask the FBI to open a criminal civil rights investigation against Lopera, who was dismissed from the Las Vegas police force last September following an internal affairs probe that found he violated department use-of-force policies. 'What about Tashii Farmer (Brown) posed a threat from the moment Kenneth Lopera encountered him to the moment he squeezed the life out of him?' Lagomarsino said outside the courtroom. 'When somebody is on their back with their hands up, what makes you think you can Taze somebody? When somebody is not resisting, what makes you think you can beat them up and choke them?' Video from Lopera'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 called an unapproved chokehold for more than a minute. 'Don't move! Get on your stomach!' Lopera can be heard telling Brown in the video Lagomarsino characterized Brown's mother and family as suffering during the long and inconclusive state court legal process. Lopera had been the first Las Vegas police officer to face a manslaughter charge since 1990 in a city where police shootings and uses of force drew criticism and led to reform recommendations in 2012 from the U.S. Justice Department's Office of Community Oriented Policing Services. The former officer could have faced up to eight years in prison if he had been convicted of involuntary manslaughter and oppression under color of office. 'Prosecutions should be made in public so there's transparency,' Lagomarsino said. 'From the community standpoint, it's never in the best interest of transparency to do things in secret.' Lopera has never testified about Brown's death. Police union official Steve Grammas said Lopera, now 32 and living in Wood Ridge, New Jersey, will not take part in the public airing of the case. Such oversight proceedings were created by county law in 2013 to replace coroner's inquests following deaths of people during encounters with police. Officers had sued to stop inquests, arguing that they were being subjected to unconstitutional questioning that could lead to criminal charges. Las Vegas NAACP President Roxann McCoy, who met this week with Wolfson, credited the district attorney with taking the case to the public. But she said she also wants the FBI to investigate whether Brown's civil rights were violated. Brown grew up in Hawaii, where records show he was convicted of assaulting his girlfriend and was released from prison in January 2016, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported. He pleaded guilty in February in Las Vegas to misdemeanor driving under the influence. A letter written by civil rights activist Rosa Parks describing the 1957 bombing of her neighbors' home has been purchased at auction by the couple who were targeted in the attack. Alabama State University announced that the Rev Robert Graetz and his wife Jeannie purchased the letter by Parks describing the bombing of their home. The Graetzes were among the few white supporters of the Montgomery Bus Boycott and the civil rights movement. A letter written by Parks describing the 1957 bombing of neighbors' home has been purchased by the couple who were targeted in the attack. Pictured: Rosa Parks at Ellis Island in New York Parks, who was the couples' neighbor and friend, sparked the boycott after refusing to give up her seat on a bus to a white passenger. The couple plan to donate the letter to the university. The parsonage where the Graetzes lived was bombed for the second time in 1957, not long after the boycott ended, in a wave of attacks on civil rights leaders and churches. Four black churches and the home of the Rev. Ralph Abernathy were also bombed that night. A crude package of 11 sticks of dynamite wrapped around a small box of TNT was first thrown at the parsonage earlier that night but failed to explode. A second bomb was thrown and damaged the house. The Graetzes were at home with their children at the time. Jeannie Graetz holds a copy of a letter by Rosa Parks in her home in Montgomery, Alabama 'When the bomb detonated at 2 a.m., it blew our roof completely off of the home, as well as all of the doors; it shattered every one of the windows and did considerable other damage to the rest of our house,' Jeannie Graetz said in a statement released by the university. Parks and her husband came over to help the couple after the bombing. Several men with ties to the Ku Klux Klan were arrested in the wave of bombings, but were not convicted. Jeannie Graetz told the Montgomery Advertiser that the letter, in which she described the family as unharmed but badly shaken, 'just reminds you of a friend that we miss.' 'It's like she was just talking to us, like she was coming over to help,' Jeannie Graetz said of the letter. The family purchased the 1957 letter from New York City's Guernseys Auction for $9,375. Murdered University of Pennsylvania student Blaze Bernstein was targeted because he was gay, prosecutors announced Thursday. Samuel Woodward, 21, will have hate crime charges added to a pre-existing murder charge in the death of the 19-year-old sophomore, according to Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas. Bernstein went missing while visiting his parents' home in Lake Forest, California, in January after going to the park with Woodward, a former high school classmate. One week later Bernstein's body was discovered in a shallow grave at the park, having been stabbed 19 times. Woodward was arrested on suspicion of murder and told authorities that Bernstein had kissed him and he had pushed him away before they went to the park. Investigators combed through Woodward's cellphone, laptop and social media, revealing hateful materials against a range of groups, with prosecutors determining there was substantial evidence the alleged white supremacist targeted Bernstein because he was gay as well as Jewish. The murder of gay UPenn sophomore Blaze Bernstein, left, will be treated as a hate crime, prosecutors said Thursday. The man accused of stabbing the 19-year-old to death in January, 21-year-old Samuel Woodward, right, will have hate crime charges added to his murder charge Blaze's parents Jeanne Bernstein, right, and her husband Gideon, center, speak during a news conference Thursday alongside Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas, left Rackauckas declined to specify what materials were found in Woodward's accounts, but he said they were racist, anti-Semitic, misogynistic and homophobic. 'We have no room for this kind of hate in our society,' he told reporters. The DA also urged anyone with information showing Woodward had ties to hate groups to contact authorities. 'There could be other charges filed as evidence develops,' he said. 'There's a lot there that just spews hatred towards a lot of different groups of people, basically every protected group,' Rackauckas said. 'So it's hatred of many different groups of people. But the evidence of the motivation for this particular killing is we can show evidence that he killed him at least substantially because he was gay.' The image of Samuel Woodward is displayed as Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas, right, speaks during a news conference on Thursday in Santa Ana, California Earlier this year, hundreds attended a vigil and memorial for Bernstein, who was studying psychology and had been chosen to edit a campus culinary magazine. His parents have urged people to do acts of kindness to remember their son. On Thursday, his father, Gideon Bernstein, said learning his son was killed simply for who he was brought the family more pain. 'Our only objective at this point is to make sure that maximum sentence is an option to ensure that no one is ever hurt or killed again by hate,' he said. The slain teen's mother Jeanne reacted to Thursday's press conference saying: 'This is bittersweet for us we do have mixed emotions. Of course, nobody wants to hear their child has been murdered because they're gay. It's devastating to lose someone to such a horrific, violent act just because he was who he was. 'He was so many wonderful, good things besides being gay, he was a brilliant writer, a scientist, he was just a very kind person who wanted to make a difference in the world.' Jeanne reacted to the press conference Thursday saying: 'It's devastating to lose someone to such a horrific, violent act just because he was who he was' Woodward, pictured in January, has pleaded not guilty to Bernstein's murder and is scheduled for a preliminary hearing on August 22 Woodward, who is from the upscale seaside city of Newport Beach, has pleaded not guilty to the killing. He is being held on $5million bail and is scheduled for a preliminary hearing on August 22. With the change, Woodward faces a maximum potential sentence of life without parole. He previously faced a maximum sentence of 26 years to life in prison if he were convicted. Under California law, prosecutors can seek the death penalty when a victim is killed because of race, religion or nationality, but not sexual orientation. Since Bernstein's death, a state bill has been proposed to change that. The remains handed over by North Korea last week in 55 boxes are 'consistent with being Americans,' based on an initial examination, although none has been positively identified, a U.S. scientist who has seen the remains said Thursday. Although President Donald Trump has publicly thanked North Korean leader Kim Jong Un for fulfilling the promise he made at their June 12 Singapore summit to return American war remains, U.S. officials had cautioned that little was known about the remains and that they could not be quickly identified. John E. Byrd, director of the Defense Department laboratory in Hawaii where the 55 cases arrived on Wednesday, cited several reasons for saying that at least some of the remains appear to be those of Americans missing from the Korean War. Byrd was present when North Korean officials turned over the 55 boxes at Wonsan airport in North Korea last Friday, and he was among the U.S. government specialists who made a further preliminary examination of the contents after the boxes were flown to Osan air base in South Korea the same day. Scroll down for videos John Byrd, director of scientific analysis at the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA), center, speaks before a repatriation ceremony for the remains of U.S. soldiers killed in the Korean War and collected in North Korea, at the Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, South Korea on Wednesday Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) Director Kelly McKeague (L) and chief scientist Byrd (on screen) talk to reporters to discuss the 55 sets of remains that were sent from North Korea to America on Wednesday at the Pentagon in Washington, DC A U.S. soldier salutes during a repatriation ceremony for the remains of U.S. soldiers killed in the Korean War and collected in North Korea, at the Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, South Korea, on Wednesday A cursory examination at Wonsan confirmed that the remains were human, he said, and a closer look at Osan gave reason to believe they likely are Americans. 'What we saw were remains that were consistent with what we have found from the Korean War recoveries that we've done over the years, and we found remains that were consistent with being Americans,' Byrd said, speaking by video teleconference from Hawaii. 'We have remains that look to have been in a state of preservation consistent with coming from the Korean War era,' he said, and materials provided with the remains included U.S.-issued military equipment such as canteens and buttons. He said the remains are 'good candidates to be missing Americans from the Korean War,' where thousands died on battlefields and in prisoner-of-war camps during the 1950-53 conflict and remain officially unaccounted for. Byrd said he would not venture a guess at how many individuals are represented by the bones contained in the 55 boxes. The U.S. and North Korean militaries conducted joint excavations of war remains in the North between 1996 and 2005, yielding more than 200 set of remains, not all of which have been positively identified. Separately, North Korea had handed over 208 boxes of remains between 1990 and 1994, some of which have yet to be identified. Vice President Mike Pence, left, Commander of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command Adm. Phil Davidson, center, and Rear Adm. Jon Kreitz, deputy director of the POW/MIA Accounting Agency, attend at a ceremony at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii on Wednesday Military personnel bring in the presumed remains of US soldiers in 55 caskets draped with American flags into Hanger 19 Joint base Pearl Harbor Hickam on August 1, 2018 in Honolulu, Hawaii When the North Koreans turned over the 55 boxes to Byrd and other U.S. officials at Wonsan on July 27 they said the cases contained remains of an undetermined number of Americans, but the only identification item provided was a single military dog tag, Byrd said. Two members of that person's family have been notified, Kelly McKeague, the director of the Defense POW-MIA Accounting Agency, told reporters. McKeague declined to reveal the name on the dog tag. Byrd said the North Koreans at Wonsan provided what he described as a 'short bit, a little paragraph of information' with each of the 55 boxes. The most significant bit of information in each case was the name of the village where the remains were recovered, he said. One of the villages was Sin Hung-ri, which he said is on the east side of the Chosin Reservoir where U.S. Army soldiers fought a fierce battle in the fall of 1950 after Chinese forces entered the war. North Korea had told American officials more than once in recent years that it had about 200 sets of U.S. war remains in storage. McKeague said Thursday that the North Koreans who provided the 55 boxes last week did not say whether they have others. Military members stand at attention after placing transfer cases in a hanger at a ceremony marking the arrival of the remains believed to be of American service members who fell in the Korean War at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii on Wednesday He said the U.S. is prepared to discuss arrangements for future U.S.-North Korean excavations but that this process is not yet underway. Byrd said his laboratory in Hawaii already has begun working on the remains. The first step, he said, is sampling the bones for DNA that potentially could be matched with DNA samples that have been provided over the years by relatives of Korean War MIAs. If matches are achieved, identification can be done relatively quickly, he said, but in other cases the identification work will take years. The forensics work in some cases is aided by records of chest X-rays that U.S. soldiers commonly were given upon entering the military, as well as dental records. In an illustration of how long it can take to identify Korean War remains, McKeague's agency announced Thursday that the remains of a soldier found more than a decade ago, Army Sgt. William A. Larkins, of Pittsburgh, are being returned to his family for burial. He was identified from remains recovered by a joint U.S.-North Korean team in April and May 2005. A Pennsylvania judge has apologized after he was caught on video telling a police officer to shoot a man if he continued to cause a disturbance in the judge's office. The man, identified as Brian Jones, had reportedly been an ongoing nuisance by refusing to leave the office of Magisterial District Judge Thomas Caulfield, according to Forest Hills police. When Jones finally did leave, an officer asked Caulfield: 'How you want to proceed in this event in the future.' 'I want you to shoot him,' Caulfield told the officer, whose body camera recorded the exchange. Seemingly not convinced that the suggestion was serious, the officer responded that the man's behavior could constitute criminal trespass, again inquiring what course of action the judge would want taken if the man came back. Caulfield again says: 'Shoot him,' before the officer appears to turn off the camera. Magisterial District Judge Thomas Caulfield was recorded telling police to shoot a suspect if he came back to the judge's office and caused a disturbance in Forest Hills, Pennsylvania The suspect, Brian Jones, had reportedly refused to leave Caulfield's office, pictured. Jones said he stopped by to discuss an issue in a disorderly conduct case against him Jones said he had gone to Caulfield's office in April 2017 to address an issue related to a disorderly conduct case he was the defendant in. 'They had no reason to call the officer,' Jones told TribLive. 'I wasn't irate. I wasn't causing a problem. I was merely coming to the issuing authority to address an issue I had on the summons.' The 51-year-old was ultimately convicted in November, and the video was released as part of his disclosure in the criminal case. Jones shared the video on Facebook Tuesday evening, and it quickly went viral. After the police officer explains that Jones could be charged with criminal trespass, Caulfield again says: 'Shoot him' Caulfield apologized for his remarks and said he didn't mean them seriously Caulfield responded to the video in a statement saying: 'I apologize for making the statements in the video. I would like to acknowledge that the statements I made in the video were inappropriate. 'It was certainly not my intention for these statements to be taken seriously and I deeply regret any harm that this has caused.' Jones said Caulfield has not yet apologized directly to him, adding: 'I dont think he should be on the bench. Him apologizing to someone else means nothing.' Caulfield was elected to his second term this year and is set to serve until 2024. Investigators say Jones is well-known to law enforcement and that he had appeared in Caulfield's courtroom before. Four people have been arrested on suspicion of drug-related charges, after heavily armed police performed a number of early morning raids in the Fairfield area. Police first arrested a 38-year-old man as he entered his vehicle on a suburban backstreet in Villawood on Thursday April 2. Officers held the man at gunpoint as dogs searched his vehicle, which was found to be carrying substances believed to be methylamphetamine (ice) and heroin. The man was then taken into custody by police officers so that the confiscated substances could be examined by officials and correctly identifed. Scroll down for video Police arrested a 38-year-old man in Villawood on Thursday April 2, after a search of his car revealed that he was allegedly carrying drugs Police swooped onto homes on Karoon Avenue, Canley Heights, Flemington Street, St Johns Park, Thorney Road, Fairfield Heights and a unit on Hughes Street at Cabramatta The 38-year-old from Canley Heights was then charged with multiple offenses, including possession of an illegal drug with the intent to supply, and having ammunition without a proper licence. Later that day, police stormed on a number of homes in the Fairfield area with warrants, and as a result of the raids, three other people were arrested. Police swooped onto homes on Karoon Avenue, Canley Heights, Flemington Street, St Johns Park, Thorney Road, Fairfield Heights and a unit on Hughes Street at Cabramatta. Two men, aged 33 and 34, and a 39-year-old woman was taken to Fairfeld police station and charged with a number of drug-related charges. The man was taken into custody by police officers and the confiscated substances will be examined to correctly identify what they are As part of the raid, police confiscated a number of weapons (left) and (right) The 33-year-old Fairlfield man has been charged with a number of offences, including being in possession of illegal drugs with the intent to sell, and a large sum of money. Another 24-year-old man from St Johns Park was also charged with being in custody of a gun and bullets without the appropriate licence, as well as possession of illegal drug with intent to sell. A number of confiscated substances (pictured) are currently being tested to correctly identify what they are All three men and the woman were charged with allegedly being in possession of illegal drugs As part of the raid of homes in the Fairfield area, police retrieved firearms and bullets (pictured) The 39-year-old Holroyd woman allegedly has two outstanding warrants and was arrested on drug charges, as well as resisting arrest. Fairfield Police Area Command officers established Strike Force Illumination in June 2018 and have been working effortlessly to put a stop to drug pushers in the area. All three men and the woman have been refused bail and are expected to face Parramatta Local Court on Friday 3 August 2018. Alleged conmen are swindling unsuspecting tourists and residents out of their cash by impersonating Buddhist monks and begging for donations on the street - but authorities say there's little they can do to stop it. Many people have encountered the small group of 'beggars' around Sydney, particularly in Circular Quay and the CBD. A spokesperson for Property NSW told The Sydney Morning Herald that rangers working both Darling Harbour and The Rocks have encountered the fake monks on a number of occasions. Alleged conmen are swindling unsuspecting tourists and residents out of their cash by impersonating Buddhist monks and begging for donations on the street The organisation has recorded up to 12 occasions where people have been swindled out of their money at those two locations between March and July. 'On each occasion, these individuals complied with directions to stop their activities, which are in breach of regulations, and willingly vacated the areas,' the spokesperson said. While tourists are said to be most at risk, the fake monks will target anyone and some Sydney residents are also being hoodwinked. The method employed by the fake monks is to approach unsuspecting people on the street, seemingly striking up conversations. They will then hand over a Buddhist token and ask for a donation. They will be carrying a notebook with a list of names and dollar amounts donated, hoping to pressure people into following suit. While tourists are said to be most at risk the fake monks will target anyone and some Sydney residents are also being hoodwinked Unfortunately there is little that the authorities can do to stop the activity. A spokeswoman for Fair Trading NSW told The Sydney Morning Herald that the alleged conduct does not fall within any existing legislation, and that it falls under the heading of 'begging'. Police also said it was 'not a police matter', when questioned about it by Fairfax. While buskers and street performers require permits and in some cases insurance to conduct their business in tourist hotspots, begging is not illegal. Fair Trading did have some advice for people who may encounter the fake monks, explaining that real Buddhist monks will not be begging for money on the street. Cheap, imported furniture from China has left thousands of Australians injured in pokie rooms over the last 18 months. Elderly punters playing poker machines have suffered broken hips and wrists as venue operators cut corners and save money by importing furniture from manufacturing nations with lower safety standards. Patrizia Torelli from the Australian Furniture Association said that complaints to her organisation had increased from barely any to about 50 in the last year and a half. Many pokies players are suffering broken hips and wrists thanks to cheap, imported furniture Other injuries include cuts, bruises and twisted ankles, and most are the result of swivel seats at pubs and clubs having loose stems and eventually snapping in two. 'It tends to be the older players who don't have the reflexes to react quickly when they fall,' she told the Herald Sun. With venue operators directly importing furniture from China and other cheaper manufacturing nations with 'little or no knowledge of standards and compliance', Patrizia said the industry in Australia is 'almost like a dumping ground'. 'In addition, even products made to high standard are not always maintained according to manufacturers' recommendations,' she said. 'Our biggest challenge with some operators is they are trying to reduce overheads and doing it in a way that can become dangerous to patrons.' And while mandatory furniture standards only exist for items such as cots and bean bags in Australia, Patrizia warned that businesses still risk legal action if injuries occur from other types of furniture. The AFA is set to meet with gaming industry representatives later this month to discuss the issue and the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry confirmed that they had been approached to facilitate the discussion. A father has died after his car exploded while outside a primary school waiting to pick his child up from after-school care. The 50-year-old man was in a parked ute at the front of St Clare of Assisi in Conder, south of Canberra, when it exploded shortly before 5pm Thursday. Emergency crews were called to the school following reports of an explosion, and the man was rushed to hospital where he died a short time later, Nine News reports. A father has died after his car exploded while outside a primary school waiting to pick his child up from after-school care (school car park pictured) The 50-year-old man was in a parked ute at the front of St Clare of Assisi in Conder, south of Canberra, when it exploded shortly before 5pm Thursday (car park pictured) The school sent out an email following the incident informing the community a parent had died. 'It is with deep sadness that I need to let you know that following an incident in the school carpark today, one of our parents has passed away,' the email read. 'At this difficult time, we pray for the family and friends. We will offer all the support we can in the coming days and weeks.' In a message shared to Facebook, the school announced it would be closed Friday and reopened on Monday. 'St Clare of Assisi Primary School and OSHC will be closed on Friday 3 August. Parents wanting further details are referred to the Principal's message sent to all families via email and Skoolbag message,' the post said. Emergency crews were called to the school following reports of an explosion, and the man was rushed to hospital where he died a short time later (detectives pictured at the scene) The school sent out an email following the incident informing the community a parent had passed away (detectives and police pictured at the scene) In a message shared to Facebook, the school announced it would be closed Friday and reopened on Monday (school car park pictured) 'School will resume as normal on Monday 6 August.' Members of the school community shared their shock and grief in the comments, with several posting their condolences. There was a hole in the side of a white ute in the car park, ABC News reported. Residents in nearby homes said they heard a large blast and noticed their windows rattle. The incident is being investigated by ACT Policing and WorkSafe ACT. Members of the school community shared their shock and grief in the comments, with several posting their condolences (ladder pictured at the scene) Emergency crews were called to the school following reports of an explosion, and the man was rushed to hospital where he died a short time later (ladder pictured at the scene) Cops say they shot dead a Vietnam veteran with hearing loss, who was protecting his family from a naked intruder, after he failed to drop his gun despite at least five requests. Decorated veteran Richard Black, who had 'significant' hearing loss from his military service, had grabbed his handgun after Dajon Harper, 26, broke into his suburban Denver home and tried to kill his 11-year-old grandson. Moments later police responded to the family's desperate 911 calls about the break-in, and shot the heroic grandfather through the front door, before handcuffing him on the floor of his own home. Black died a short time later in hospital. Now Aurora Police Chief Nick Metz has admitted the police never identified themselves before the officer shot Black. And Black's stepson Chad Hayashi insists he never heard any of the 'five orders' from police for his stepfather to drop the gun before they shot him. Richard Black (pictured with his wife Jeannette) was shot dead by a cop after he failed to drop his gun despite being asked five times due to 'significant hearing loss' from the Vietnam War Aurora Police Chief Nicholas Metz (left) admits that police failed to identify themselves before opening fire, but Black's stepson Chad Hayashi (right) says he never even heard the orders for his stepdad to drop the gun 'I was told that he was told to drop the weapon and he didn't,' Hayashi said. 'I never heard anything about 'drop your weapon.' There was no warning at all. They should have been yelling from the moment they hit the driveway, 80 feet down. It's a long driveway. They should have been yelling, especially as many police officers as there were on scene.' 'They shot the first thing they saw moving, in my opinion,' Hayashi said. Evidence shows that the officers appear to have opened fire without even entering the house. A cop shot Black, four times, through the open front door. Even if they had told the 73-year-old, who was in his living room, to drop the gun, Metz admits it's likely that he wouldn't have been able to hear them because of the hearing loss he suffered in Vietnam. Hayashi says that after the shooting, they were rushed out of the house and were forced to leave Black, who was lying 'face down... and he's handcuffed.' 'I reach down, and I don't remember if I touched his shoulder or his face, but he looked at me and I got pushed off by an officer and out the door.' Black fought in the war in Vietnam where he received a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart for his bravery (pictured receiving the awards in 1960s) and where he also suffered damage to his hearing Dajon Harper, 26, (left) was killed by Black (right), who was then accidentally shot dead by police They were taken to police headquarters where they waited for hours and were questioned before they were finally told that Black was dead. The grandson was taken to hospital for serious but non life threatening injuries and Jeannette was also taken for treatment on a wound that reopened during the chaos. The family's lawyer Siddhartha H. Rathod insists that the 73-year-old 'did everything right'. 'His actions saved his grandson's life. He should be in the mayor's office getting a commendation for his heroism. Instead he's in the morgue,' Rathod said. The officers soon found the intruder - 26-year-old Harper - dead in a bathroom from shots Black fired to protect his grandson. Those were the shots officers heard after arriving at the chaotic scene. Police will not release bodycam footage yet, citing the wishes of the Black family and prosecutors who will decide whether to charge the unidentified officer who opened fire. Portions of the audio and video are hard to understand because of background noise, including screaming, but the police chief said a forensic review will try to clear it up. A family lawyer said Black's wife, Jeanette, gave an emergency dispatcher physical descriptions of Black, her son and the intruder, but Metz said those were not found on any of the 911 recordings. Black was white, and Harper was black. Black, and his stepson Chad Hayashi, woke up to find Harper strangling the homeowner's grandson on the bathroom of their suburban Denver house (pictured is an officer, in protective gear, at the scene of the shooting on Tuesday) The Black family said in a statement released by police that Jeanette Black's 911 call was difficult to understand and acknowledged the police department's position that the officers did not receive descriptions. Jeanette Black was heard on bodycam footage saying, 'He has a gun,' as police arrived, but Metz said he does not know if the officer heard that. In one of several 911 recordings released Thursday night, a woman who identified herself as Harper's mother told the dispatcher that her son was on drugs but was unarmed. 'He's literally kicked in some people across the street door. He's on some type of drug or something,' she said frantically. 'He's running through the neighborhood busting cars, busting in people's doors while they sleep. I don't know what he's on. He's bleeding.' The woman later said Harper is 'hurting this little baby. He kicked in their door.' Harper, who was released from prison in February after serving time for weapons and menacing charges, broke into the home by knocking open the front door. He had left a party across the street, where he became out of control, acting irrationally and damaging cars, Metz said. Metz said his officers responded how he would expect them to respond 'given the very limited information they had' Some partygoers followed him into Black's house to try to get Harper to come back, adding to the confusion. Others were standing outside with Black's wife when police arrived. The police chief said Black acted heroically to protect his family but also defended the actions of his officers, including the one who killed Black, a fellow military veteran who was involved in another fatal police shooting just over a month ago. The officer returned to duty 14 days after that shooting, which Metz said was much longer than the minimum three days of leave recommended by the International Association of Chiefs of Police. 'They were not reckless. These officers responded how I would expect them to respond, given the very limited information they had,' he said. Sighing and looking down at the floor, Metz said the body camera video was heartbreaking. 'I can tell you that when my folks sat around the table and first saw it - and I'm talking about police personnel who have been on the job 25, 30 years who have seen just about everything - there wasn't a dry eye around the table,' the chief said. 'It is very horrific to watch, not just from the standpoint of watching a man who saved his family get shot but also knowing what that little boy was subjected to,' he said. In their statement, the Black family urged people not to threaten or harass police because of what happened, noting that Richard Black deeply appreciated law enforcement. Hayashi became emotional as he described his stepfather as a 'hero' who saved their lives Black, who grew up in Anderson, South Carolina, graduated from The Citadel and fought in the war in Vietnam where he received a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart for his bravery. According to state records, he later held a license as a certified public accountant in Colorado from 1999 to 2008. He came from a military background and his father was a Staff Sgt. during WWII who fought at the Battle of the Bulge. 'He was a wonderful family man who loved spending time with his grandchildren and caring for his garden,' said his half sister Elisa Black-Taylor. An investigation is now underway, by the Aurora Police Major Crimes Unit and Denver Police Department. The 17th Judicial District Attorney's Office also released a statement saying that they will determine whether the officer involved in the shooting should face criminal charges. The shooting marked the second deadly encounter involving Aurora police in three days. A mystery Toyota Aurion sedan could lead police to find the killer of former bikie boss Mahmoud 'Mick' Hawi earlier this year. The vehicle was seized in March in Beaconsfield, and is believed to be the second getaway car the masked killers drove off in after dumping and burning a stolen Mercedes. It comes as strike force detectives executed search warrants on six properties across Sydney's south and southwest in Bardwell Park, Beverly Hills, Brighton Le Sands, Carlton, Hurstville, and Padstow from 7am on Thursday. Assisted by Strike Force Raptor and the Public Order and Riot Squad, officers continued investigations into who killed the former Comanchero president in Sydney's south on February 15. A mystery Toyota Aurion sedan could lead police to the alleged killer of former bikie boss Mahmoud 'Mick' Hawi earlier this year (stock image) NSW Police released footage of armed officers raided a Beverley Hills home (pictured) in Sydney's south on Thursday The residents of this home received an early morning wake-up call from police (pictured) 'Strike Force Amirs detectives have trawled through hundreds of hours of CCTV and identified up to seven vehicles used to coordinate the shooting some of which we have already seized,' Criminal Groups Squad Commander Detective Superintendent Deb Wallace told a press conference on Thursday afternoon. 'The stolen Mercedes Benz that was used as the initial getaway car was located on fire a few streets away from the scene that day, and the vehicle driven from that scene a silver Toyota Aurion was located in March at Beaconsfield. Today's operation is a culmination of further inquiries to identify and locate the other vehicles we believe were used before, during, and/or after the shooting.' Footage released by NSW Police on Thursday shows armed officers storming their way into a Padstow business and a Beverly Hills property. Investigators seized four vehicles of interest to their investigation, along with $22,000 cash, electronic storage devices, mobile phones, documentation, and a portable radio capable of monitoring operational police activity. No charges have yet been made in relation to Thursday morning's raids. In the raid of one property, investigators located a vehicle of interest which will be forensically examined for traces of evidence. A detective wielding a notebook was seen speaking with a man wearing a black 'Cougars' t-shirt outside a property in Beverly Hills. The man was accompanied by a younger looking male, who sipped on a bottle of flavoured chocolate milk. Daily Mail Australia is not suggesting the men pictured had any knowledge of, or any involvement, in the murder of Hawi. A black BMW without registration plates was also seen squeezed into a narrow driveway down the side of the home. Police also released footage of their raid on a Padstow business (pictured) No charges have yet been made in relation to Thursday morning's raids (pictured) A man was pictured leaning on the balcony of a property in Beverly Hills that was raided Thursday morning. It is not suggested the man had any knowledge of, or involvement in, the murder of Hawi Police are still piecing together the movements of those involved in Mr Hawi's death. Det Supt Wallace urged anyone with information that may assist the investigation to come forward. 'It is my belief that those who were involved in the actual murder are aware of our information and how close we are, and I believe they are feeling very vulnerable and very uncomfortable, as they should be,' Superintendent Wallace said. 'Obviously, we would love to hear from anyone who may be able to assist our inquiries and help bring us closer to providing answers to Mr Hawi's family.' Detectives have conducted raids on six properties in relation to the execution of former bikie boss Mahmoud 'Mick' Hawi earlier this year (detective speaking with man at Beverly Hills). It is not suggested the men pictured had any knowledge of, or involvement in, the murder of Hawi In the raid of one property, investigators located a vehicle of interest which will be forensically examined for traces of evidence (detectives leaving Beverly Hills property) A detective wielding a notebook was seen speaking with a man wearing a black 'Cougars' t-shirt (pictured) outside a property in Beverly Hills. It is not suggested the men pictured had any knowledge of, or involvement in, the murder of Hawi The man was accompanied by a younger looking male, who sipped on a bottle of flavoured chocolate milk. It is not suggested the men pictured had any knowledge of, or involvement in, the murder of Hawi A masked assassin fired several shots at Hawi through the window of his car which was parked outside a Fitness First gym in Rockdale just after 12pm on February 15. The assailant fled on foot before getting in a grey Mercedes - stolen during a carjacking nine months earlier - which was later found torched nearby. Two men then left in a second getaway car, with a perpetrator still yet to be pinned down. There were reports Hawi may have had a bounty on his head when he was shot. It was said there was bad blood between him and current Comanchero leader Mark Buddle. A black BMW (pictured) without registration plates was also seen squeezed into a narrow driveway down the side of the home A masked assassin fired several shots at Hawi through the window of his car which was parked outside a Fitness First gym in Rockdale just after 12pm on February 15 (detectives pictured) The assailant fled on foot before getting in a grey Mercedes - stolen during a carjacking nine months earlier - which was later found torched nearby (detective talks to man in Beverly Hills) It is not suggested the men pictured had any knowledge of, or involvement in, the murder of Hawi Hawi was remembered at a ceremony at Arncliffe's Al-Zahra mosque on February 22 exactly a week after he was killed. He became national president of the Comancheros at 22 - just four years after joining the club - but it wasn't until the infamous bikie brawl at Sydney Airport in 2009 that his name became more widely known. Passengers in the terminal froze in fear as dozens of Comancheros took on members of rival club the Hells Angels whose associate, Anthony Zervas, was bludgeoned to death with a bollard. Witnesses described the all-in brawl as chaotic, wild and uncontrolled. The men were 'raging', one said. Two men then left in a second getaway car, with a perpetrator still yet to be pinned down (detectives pictured leaving Beverly Hills property) A Padstow business with a blank front facade (pictured) was one of the properties to be raided A broom and dustpan were seen resting beside its fire door exit and green roller door The violent escalation became the impetus for NSW Police to establish Strikeforce Raptor to target bikie activity. Hawi served time in prison for his role in the killing, however, his murder conviction was quashed in 2014. He pleaded guilty to manslaughter and was sentenced to at least three and a half years for that offence. He was released in 2015 taking into account time already served. Strike force detectives executed search warrants on properties in Bardwell Park, Beverly Hills (car pictured), Brighton Le Sands, Carlton, Hurstville, and Padstow from 7am Thursday A padlock to the Padstow business was seen cut open after the raids on the Sydney properties Parents should be given official advice warning them not to give their children smartphones before they reach secondary school, a leading psychiatrist has warned. Dr Jon Goldin claimed parents are being forced into buying the devices for their young children so they arent left out at school. The vice chairman of the Royal College of Psychologists said government guidance on when to give smartphones to children would help parents stand their ground. Parents should be given official advice warning them not to give their children smartphones before they reach secondary school, a leading psychiatrist has warned (file photo) Speaking to the Daily Telegraph, he said: Children often say to their parents: All my friends are [getting phones] and you are not allowing me to do that. In that situation, parents do need the support of national guidance. I dont think we can legislate [to restrict it to under 11s] but this guidance would back parents up when they were having conversations with their 10-year-olds. Dr Goldin also called on the government to recommend that children under 11 should be restricted to two hours a day on social media. He said social media makes children anxious and depressed, and time spent online can leave them vulnerable to cyberbullying. The psychiatrist called on social media giants such as Facebook and Twitter to make it more difficult for young people to lie about their age and create accounts before they turn 13. Dr Goldins comments come ahead of the publication of a report by the Royal College of Psychiatrists, which assesses the damage caused by children spending too much time online. It is believed almost four in ten children aged between eight and 11 own a smartphone. Dr Jon Goldin claimed parents are being forced into buying the devices for their young children so they arent left out at school (file photo) But more than 40 per cent of parents believe young people under the age of 16 should be banned from owning the devices, a poll for the Priory found. The survey also revealed 67 per cent of parents wanted government to decide how old a child should be before they are given a smartphone. Out of 1,000 parents polled, the rehabilitation centre found 92 per cent thought the internet was impacting their child in a bad way. Some were concerned their childs smartphone addiction was affecting their sleep, while others thought time spent online lowered their childs self-esteem. Dr Goldins warning comes a day after a major report revealed the average adult looks at their mobile every 12 minutes. Dr Goldins comments come ahead of the publication of a report by the Royal College of Psychiatrists, which assesses the damage caused by children spending too much time online Six in ten people told Ofcom they could not live without their smartphones. Almost half admitted spending too long online and even more said that relying on devices was disrupting relationships with family and friends. The wide-ranging report also revealed that 95 per cent of 16 to 24-year-olds have a smartphone, compared with 78 per cent for all ages. In June an expert recommended parents take away their childrens smartphones at night after he banned his 17-year-old son from using his device in bed. Professor Adam Joinson, from the University of Bath, said parents should store the phone downstairs and buy their children cheap alarm clocks instead. Speaking at the Cheltenham Science Festival, he said: It causes endless fights but otherwise he will be on it all night. As parents we have a responsibility of care. Generally, I think parents are remiss if they allow their kids to keep phones in their bedrooms. The Trump administration and the American Civil Liberties Union on Thursday revealed widely divergent plans on how to reunite hundreds of immigrant children with parents who have been deported since the families were separated at the U.S. border. President Donald Trump's administration puts the onus on the ACLU, asking that the organization use its 'considerable resources' to find parents in their home countries, predominantly Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras. The U.S. Justice Department said in a court filing that the State Department has begun talks with foreign governments on how the administration may be able to aid the effort. The ACLU, which sued on behalf of separated parents, called for the government to take 'significant and prompt steps' to find the parents on its own. President Donald Trump's administration says the ACLU should use its 'considerable resources' to find deported parents who were separated from their children at the southern border. Migrant children are seen at a detention facility in Texas in this June 18, 2018 file photo 'Plaintiffs have made clear that they will do whatever they can to help locate the deported parents, but emphasize that the government must bear the ultimate burden of finding the parents,' the ACLU said in a filing, pinning blame for 'the crisis' on the administration and arguing it has far more resources. A decision on how to bridge the differences falls to U.S. District Judge Dana Sabraw, who has ordered that more than 2,500 children be reunited with their families. He was scheduled to speak with both sides in a conference call Friday. As of July 26, 431 children whose parents were outside the country were in the custody of the U.S. Health and Human Services Department. The ACLU said it takes 'a degree of detective work' to track down contact information for deported parents, some of whom may be hiding from persecutors. The group said the government provided home-country addresses in U.S. immigration databases with no useful information for about 120 parents. Other addresses had limited use - for example, some had 'calle sin nombre' ('street without a name') or six addresses connected to one Honduran child, all in the Mexican city of San Luis Potosi. The proposals from both sides come a week after a court-imposed deadline to reunite more than 2,500 children who were separated from their families at the border. The administration also asks that the ACLU consult each deported parent to determine if they wish to waive their right to be reunified with their child, a scenario that may occur if the parent wants the child to remain in the U.S. The ACLU, which sued on behalf of separated parents, called for the government to take 'significant and prompt steps' to find the parents on its own. Trump is seen above at a rally in Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania on Thursday The U.S. would work with foreign governments 'to determine how best to complete reunifications.' The ACLU proposes that parents who want their children sent back home be reunited within a week and that those who want to return to the U.S. to pick up their kids be permitted under humanitarian parole, with round-trip transportation paid for by the government. There are also differences about how to locate parents who were released in the U.S., but they appear less stark. The administration says it will meet with the ACLU to discuss what information it can provide, while the ACLU requests specific details - ranging from last known phone number and copies of birth certificates - as well as volunteers to help find the parents. The government said last week that it had returned all 1,800-plus children to parents and sponsors who were 'eligible' for reunification. But it said more than 700 adults were not eligible because they were in their home countries, have been released from immigration custody, had red flags for criminal records or other reasons, chose not to be reunited, or were still being reviewed. Sabraw ordered the government to submit written updates every Thursday, indicating he plans to keep a close watch on the still-separated families. Each update will be followed by a telephone call the next day with both sides. In late June, Sabraw set deadlines of July 10 to reunify dozens of children under 5 with their families and July 26 to reunify children 5 and older. Fifty years ago, Martin Cooper was a man with a dream. A senior engineer with the U.S. telecoms firm Motorola, he was obsessed with making a mobile communication device inspired by the wrist-radio worn by the comic-book detective Dick Tracy. On April 3, 1973, Cooper summoned the press to the New York Hilton. Brandishing a colossal white phone, the size of the proverbial brick, he dialled his closest competitor, Dr Joel S. Engel, who worked for Motorolas rivals AT&T. Joel, this is Marty, he said cheerfully. Im calling you from a cell phone, a real handheld portable cell phone. And at that moment, history was made. Few people have heard of Martin Cooper. But when historians write the story of our times, his name will surely loom very large. For today we are living in the world he made. Like the inventor Johannes Gutenberg, whose printing press in 1450 catapulted us from the Middle Ages to modernity, the creator of the mobile phone kicked off a social and cultural revolution. Smart phone addiction: Six in ten people say they cannot live without their mobile phone If that sounds like an overstatement, look at the stunning results of Ofcoms research into our relationship with technology, which were published in yesterdays Mail. The average Briton checks his or her smartphone every 12 minutes. People aged between 18 and 24 look at their phones for more than three-and-a-half hours a day on average, and almost half of us check our phones within five minutes of waking up. Six in ten people say they cannot live without them. Teenagers, in particular, define themselves almost entirely through their phones, seeing them as part of their being. So although we often refer to mobile phone addicts as zombies, perhaps it would be more accurate to talk of a nation of androids, fusing man and machine. Like eight out of ten people in todays Britain, I own a smartphone though, as my wife can confirm, I am not very good at answering it, often leaving it buried under piles of books for days on end. They are, of course, marvellous inventions. But there is now, I think, an overwhelming case that they have become a force for ill. When the first phones went on sale in the Eighties, they were derided as gimmicks, comical bricks that were heavy to carry and unreliable to use. A decade later, when mobile phones became more widespread, most of us greeted them as liberators. With the advent of the iPhone in 2007, life became easier in all kinds of ways. In a matter of moments, you could text a friend to arrange a drink, look up your train time, book a ticket, plot the drive to the station and even download a book to read on the way over all using just one slim gadget. But there was a price, of course. There always is. Were so beholden to our phones that most of us cant even get a clean break from the office when on holiday not just because we can be contacted so easily, but because the temptation to check emails and messages, and to respond, overcomes us. One company, more than any other, has become synonymous with our enslavement at the hands of our own technology. That firm, of course, is Apple. Founded, ironically, in anti-authoritarian, counter-cultural California in the Seventies, it has become a monolith that aims to track, control and exploit almost every moment of our lives. Only yesterday, thanks to unexpectedly strong sales of you guessed it its latest iPhones, Apple became the first company in the world to break the $1 trillion market value barrier, confirming its domination of the hearts and minds of the 21st century. Yet as we hand over not just our money, but our personal data, to the Californian giants, most of us are oblivious to the corrosive effects their gadgets are having on our social interactions and the wiring of our brains. Of course, new technology is often the butt of public suspicion. After all, people even condemned the printing press as the work of the Devil. But the press was a liberator, spreading ideas in a way that was impossible beforehand. The mobile phone, by contrast, is a tyrant, crushing other forms of communication and reducing the user to a slack-jawed, red-eyed addict. Albert Einstein is credited with the remark that he feared the day technology will surpass our human interaction. The world will have a generation of idiots. He probably never said it, in actual fact. But he should have done. To take a small but revealing example, when was the last time you used a map to plan a route? So many of us now rely on our phones satnav functions that we have become absurdly ignorant of basic geography. Other examples are more serious. It is sad to see a family having a meal out, the children glued to their phones. But it is even sadder to see children staring miserably into space while their parents scroll obliviously through emails. Eight adults in every ten in the UK own a smartphone. But, according to some people, they are making us less intelligent And, in some respects, our phone addiction has taken on a genuinely sinister form. Last summer, the police reported that thousands of British children had been investigated for using their phones to send sexual images of themselves, including one boy aged just five. As a school governor, I know only too well the dreadful toll that these devices take on the mental health of vulnerable teenagers, who feel they can never escape peer pressure and bullying when the little glowing screen is always there. It is supremely telling that the Silicon Valley bosses themselves ban their children from using mobile phones and social media. Microsofts Bill Gates did not let his children have phones until they were 14. The late Steve Jobs, co-founder of Apple, did not allow his children to use iPads at all. Scientists often talk of the dehumanising effect of mobile phones, which reduce us to mere automata, mindlessly tapping away in search of the next addictive fix. The neuroscientist Baroness Greenfield argues that phones are destroying face-to-face interaction, empathy and social skills. Not only do we no longer write letters: many of us, ironically, do not even bother making phone calls. Instead, we retreat deeper and deeper into our digital bubbles, blocking out the world beyond the screen. The University of Sheffields Digby Tantam goes even further. Human beings, he argues, evolved to communicate on a number of subtle levels all at once, not just through speech but sight, smell and touch. So when we meet face-to-face, we are sending and receiving countless signals, all of which add up to a picture of ourselves and the other person. Experts have said mobile phone addiction is having consequences on our social lives But as we become dependent on social media, says Professor Tantam, we dehumanise one another. Like psychopaths, we forget that other people have inner lives of their own. It explains why social media are dominated by abuse and aggression. What is the answer? Well, there is no quick fix. We can hardly expect the tech giants to stop selling us their addictive gadgets. But two things strike me as absolutely vital. First, we should keep phones out of childrens hands for as long as possible. We still do not understand the damage they are doing to growing brains. Why subject your child to the tyranny of the screen when the world offers so much more? Second, we should remember that the phone is a tool to cope with the world, not the world itself. Scrolling through Instagram is no substitute for seeing the wonders of our planet at first hand. A text is no substitute for a face-to-face conversation. The alternative, of course, is that we slide further towards dependency. Watching people wandering down the street, glued to their phones, I think of the Hollywood blockbuster The Matrix, now almost 20 years old, which imagines a future in which human beings have been enslaved by their own machines. In The Matrix, the world is actually a gigantic simulation, created to subdue the human population while the machines harvest them for energy. When I first saw it, I thought it an outlandish fantasy. But in an age when more and more of us are sucked into our digital bubbles, blocking out reality, it looks more like a prophecy. Advertisement This shocking photo set shows two giraffes brutally fighting in the African savannah. Photos show one long-necked beast brutally kicking his leg into the air and towards the fellow giraffe's head as he attempted to show off his strength. It looked like the pair might get into a spot of bother, but after half an hour the play-fight fizzled out and the giraffes went their separate ways. Photos show one long-necked beast brutally kicking his leg into the air and towards the fellow giraffe's head as he attempted to show off his strength Wildlife photographer Anja Denker, who snapped the pair going neck and neck, said: 'Usually when giraffes spar they swing their necks at each other. 'But this one seemed to be the aggressor, he would constantly nudge the other one. 'He was bending his neck and trying to duck underneath either the back legs or front legs of the other giraffe - trying to topple him. 'It did not work though and looked rather comical. Wildlife photographer Anja Denker, who snapped the pair going neck and neck, said: 'Usually when giraffes spar they swing their necks at each other. But this one (right) seemed to be the aggressor, he would constantly nudge the other one. Anja stood just feet away from the giraffes and watched the fight between the usually docile animals at the Chudob waterhole in Etosha National Park in Namibia 'It was intriguing behaviour and it is the first time I have seen this.' Anja stood just feet away from the giraffes and watched the fight between the usually docile animals at the Chudob waterhole in Etosha National Park in Namibia. She said: 'Usually when giraffes spar they swing their necks at each other. 'We were standing at a waterhole, watching the animals pass and there were a lot of giraffe milling about. 'Some were drinking, but these two bulls were constantly interacting with each other. Anja, from Windhoek, Namibia, took around 50 shots within the time she watched the 18ft tall giraffes battle it out Kick about! One giraffe lifts his hind legs and nudges the neck of his 'friend' as they 'play' in a national park in Nambia 'They were fighting for about half an hour and eventually calmed down a bit and moved off. 'It was just interesting behaviour to witness.' Anja, from Windhoek, Namibia, took around 50 shots within the time she watched the 18ft tall giraffes battle it out. She added: 'I took the photographs around mid-morning. 'There were a couple of other giraffes around, most of them were drinking and standing about, every once and again one or two would watch the action. It looked like the pair might get into a spot of bother, but after around an hour the play-fight fizzled out and the giraffes went their separate ways' 'Some antelopes were also standing around with the Oryx and Impala - they too would watch the antics for a while. 'I took quite a couple of photos because the giraffes were carrying on constantly for half an hour. 'Wildlife photography, is where my passion lies. I love wildlife, especially lions.' Lieutenant Terry Harch (pictured) has been named as the Australian who went missing on a New Zealand mountain The Australian Army officer who was found alive on a New Zealand mountain will be rescued today after his miraculous survival. Lieutenant Terry Harch spent Thursday night with four Wanaka Alpine Rescue Crew who assisted him after he was found 'standing and waving' on Mt Aspiring at 5pm. The 29-year-old was reportedly in good spirits despite suffering from slight frostbite after spending a week in the freezing conditions that plummeted to sub-zero the past two nights. Rescue Coordination Centre NZ Senior Search and Rescue Officer Geoff Lunt said Lt Harch had made some good decisions to survive the bad weather, heavy snow and high winds. Lunt said he assumed Lt Harch was an experienced climber whose army skills would have helped him survive the conditions. Over the past two days when the temperature plummeted, the solider sheltered himself with a snow cave. 'We think he dug himself a snow dugout, a shelter and that's helped in his survivability over these last few days,' Lunt told Radio New Zealand. Rescue Coordination Centre NZ Search and Rescue Mission Coordinator Mike Roberts said the surivavl was 'extraordinary.' Mountain Safety Council CEO Mike Daisley is relieved that Lt Harch was found alive as there were worries he would become another statistic. 'I think like a lot of people I was hoping for the best but feared the worst,' Daisley said in a statement. 'Worryingly, we knew from our insights that 25% of mountaineering fatalities in New Zealand are from Australia, so we're very glad he's been found okay.' A media release from Maritime New Zealand said that the 29-year-old is due to be rescued today by helicopter (pictured) He was found 'standing and waving' at 5pm on Thursday and a rescue crew assisted him on Thursday night Daisley stressed the risk of winter mountaineering for solo trekkers and that climbers - no matter how experienced - should use common sense. 'We urge people, especially those in the mountains solo, to err on the side of caution. There's been a lot of snow in the last couple of days. The NZ Avalanche Advisory for the region was on high when he set out and the winds have been a factor as well. Daisley said that while it may have been a goal to tick off, it was not worse the 'ultimate price' as it would have been a 'bloody scary situation' to be in. Mountain Safety Council CEO Mike Daisley is relieved that the climber didn't become another statistic as 25% of fatalities on New Zealand mountains are Australians He also extended his gratitude to the rescue agencies who responded to the tricky situation with skill and tenacity. The weather conditions are promising for Friday's rescue with 10km an hour south east winds which will rise to 30km by midday. There has been scattered rain which will ease and the wind chill is minus 16 degrees. Snow is at 1200m and the climber and rescue team are currently about 2300m up Mt Aspiring. Lt Harch went on the solo climb in New Zealand's South Island last Friday but failed to return on Monday. His disappearance was reported to authorities by his friend. Mount Aspiring, also known as Tititea, is New Zealand's highest mountain outside the Mount Cook region. It stands at 3,033m (9,951ft). A young girl that was rushed to hospital suffering a runny nose and cough is now facing life with permanent brain damage. Young Jeannette Logan was born with three holes in her heart, and after antibiotics weren't working, she was rushed to hospital. Auckland father Stephen Logan said that a phone call from wife Mele urging him to get to the hospital changed his life forever. Jeannette (pictured) was under two years of age at the time, and was put on a hospital drip before she suffered a heart attack A young girl that was rushed to hospital suffering a runny nose and cough is now facing life with permanent brain damage Talking to Yahoo7, Mr Logan said that they were concerned about their daughter's health after she contracted a virus. After taking antibiotics that weren't working, Mr Logan said he arrived at the hospital to find his daughter connected to various tubes. 'She was rushed to hospital and it was found her glucose level was low and her potassium was really high,' he said. Jeanette was under two years of age at the time, and was placed on a hospital drip. She then suffered a critical heart attack, and her parents were told she wouldn't survive the night. Doctors performed 45 minutes of CPR, saving the little girl's life with the use of a heart bypass machine. Auckland father Stephen Logan (pictured, right) said that a phone call from wife Mele urging him to get to the hospital changed his life forever Her life was saved, but the incident left her with permanent brain damage. 'She was left with brain damage to the motor skills part of her brain,' Mr Logan said. 'She's had to start from scratch and learn how to crawl and grab.' Although Jeanette isn't the same young girl she was before that fatal day in 2016, her father said she still 'always has a smile on her face'. Doctors performed 45 minutes of CPR, saving the little girl's life with the use of a heart bypass machine Following the diagnosis, an ongoing investigation is being conducted by Accident Compensation New Zealand. The investigation found that doctors failed to discover that she had ongoing respiratory issues. The hospital has claimed that they did all they could for the young girl at the time. Female prison officer Amy Connors (pictured) has been charged over an alleged affair with a prisoner A married female prison officer has been charged over an alleged sexual tryst with a cop killer behind bars. Amy Connors, 34, was arrested at a home in Smithtown, on the NSW north coast, on Thursday more than a week after her alleged jail love affair was revealed. The mother-of-two was charged with misconduct in public office and larceny over an alleged sexual affair with prisoner Sione Penisini at Kempsey prison. Police will allege that in July, Ms Connors passed sensitive information to prisoners inside the Mid North Coast Correctional Centre, at Kempsey, where she worked. She also allegedly engaged in and failed to disclose an intimate relationship with Penisini, who is serving a 36-year jail sentence over the 2002 murder of police officer Glenn McEnally. After the pair's alleged affair was revealed the convicted murderer was transferred to Goulburn Supermax prison. Scroll down for video Ms Connors was arrested at her family home in Smithtown, on the NSW mid-north coast, on Thursday afternoon (pictured) The mother-of-two (pictured) was charged with misconduct in public office and larceny over an alleged sexual affair with prisoner Sione Penisini Penisini (pictured) is currently serving a 36-year jail sentence for the murder of police officer Glenn McEnally Ms Connors also allegedly collected a parcel from a post box which was addressed to someone else, before keeping the contents of the package. Ms Connors was suspended by Corrective Services NSW, after having an attempt to resign denied. A colleague of Ms Connors at Kempsey jail last week explained to Daily Mail Australia how the two prison lovebirds would have got away with their alleged affair. The prison officer, who asked to remain anonymous, said Ms Connors' role as a Services and Programs Officer (SAPO) allowed her to spend one-on-one time with inmates. 'The offices and interview rooms aren't under camera, so I know that's one of the places they went,' she said. 'Other than that they would have had to duck into corners or areas that cameras don't catch, so it definitely would not have been a marathon, it would have been a 30 second quickies. Penisini's victim Glenn McEnallay (left) and prison guard turned alleged lovebird Amy Connors (right) The Mid North Coast Correctional Centre (pictured) at Kempsey, where Ms Connors was allegedly involved in a relationship with Sione Penisini 'That's why, I've read some people saying she was entering his cell at night time as soon as you enter the pods or the wings at Kempsey after hours, the alarms go off and honestly you would get caught. 'She did some work as a SAPO and they take inmates into interview rooms and private areas to work with them. 'There's only a desk, chairs, computer and telephone in there - it wouldn't have been romantic.' Ms Connors has been granted strict conditional bail and is due to appear at Kempsey Local Court on Monday 20 August 2018. One day after a 14-month-old girl was fatally mauled by a German Wirehaired Pointer, a breeder has warned the dogs should never be kept as family pets. The toddler was mauled to death by her pet dog in Neerim Junction, 122km east of Melbourne on Thursday morning. After the horrific attack, a German Wirehaired Pointer breeder has said the dogs should never be kept as family pets. Handlers are seen leading the dog away from the home after the vicious mauling Alex Krstic, from the Yarra Valley, said he worked with the breed for more than 30 years and would never sell them as a pet. 'That's not to say they aren't all right for families but they are bred to hunt and they need to be managed properly,' he told the Herald Sun. 'They can make good pets but I don't sell them to the pet market because they have an amazing hunt drive.' The family dog will be put down after the family consented on Thursday. The police said the German Wirehaired Pointer (stock) was seized by the local council and will be put down But another German Wirehaired Pointer breeder, David De Maria, told Daily Mail Australia the dogs' temperaments came down to their genetics and upbringing. 'A chihuahua or poodle could attack a child, it all comes down to how it's brought up and the family environment,' he said. While he said the dogs were bred for hunting, he said they usually knew when to switch off the instinct. 'I hunt my three dogs but when they're inside they switch it off. They know the difference,' he said. 'I 100 per cent trust my dogs around my child.' Victoria Police Sgt Dean Waddell said the mother tried desperately to pull her baby from the six-year-old German Wirehaired Pointer's grip but was unable to stop the attack. 'Mum's tried to step in and she's pulled the dog away. Mum's received injuries as well, hand and leg injuries. She tried everything to save her child,' he said. 'It's devastating, it's a tragedy. We're gutted.' A young girl has died after being mauled on the face by her family's pet dog at a Neerim Junction property (pictured) Paramedics worked for almost two hours to save the girl's life before she was pronounced dead at the scene. Victoria Police spokesman Alex Day confirmed the girl sustained life-threatening injuries and died at the property. 'As you can imagine it's quite an emotionally charged scene,' he said. 'Everyone is in shock,' a neighbour told The Age. 'They're a nice family.' Another neighbour said the horrific mauling left her 'devastated'. The family-of-five reportedly only moved to the regional Victorian property just three months ago for a tree-change. Baw Baw Shire Mayor Joe Gauci said the tight-knit community was reeling from the news on Thursday. 'It's tragic. It's a new family that's moved into our local area, and I don't know how you put words to it. It's just a tragic event that's happened. And we'll just work through it,' he said. Emergency services were called to the property about 6.30am on Thursday, where paramedics worked to save the life of the little girl for two hours before she died Victoria Police Sgt Dean Waddell said the mother tried desperately to pull her baby from the German Wirehaired Pointer's grip Mayor Gauci said the German hunting dog had been secured at the Municipal Animal Pound. The dog reportedly showed no signs of aggression before Thursday morning's fatal mauling. The police are investigating the circumstances surrounding the fatal attack and a report will be prepared for the coroner. The attack happened in the regional town of Neerim Junction, 122km east of Melbourne (map pictured) Baw Baw Shire Council CEO Alison Leighton expressed her condolences to the family. 'Our thoughts are with the family and the tight-knit Neerim Junction community during this difficult time,' she said. Ms Leighton said the council was work with relevant support agencies to assist the family. Detectives are investigating a possible murder-suicide attempt after a man allegedly waited a full day after his mother was killed to call police. The Mango Hill woman, 70, was discovered deceased in her home just after 1pm on Thursday after police received a phone call alerting them to the body. It's alleged the son, who is in his 40s, was the one who phoned police who also discovered him in the home, allegedly with self-inflicted wounds, The Courier Mail reported. The Mango Hill woman, 70, was discovered deceased in her home just after 1pm on Thursday after police received a phone call alerting them to the body Queensland Ambulance paramedics rushed the man to the Royal Brisbane and Womens Hospital, 27km from Mango Hill. Detective Acting Senior Sergeant Richard Hoffman told The Courier Mail that the man was in a stable condition while a friend of the dead woman, who remained anonymous, said she was shocked at the news. 'She was a kind lady, there were times where shes dropped off little gifts at the front of my house, she was beautiful,' she said. It's alleged the son, who is in his 40s, was the one who phoned police who also discovered him in the home, allegedly with self-inflicted wounds 'She never caused any trouble and she was very independent, she kept to herself but she was a loving mother.' Snr-Sgt Hoffman said police will speak to the man in due time. 'Police are currently with him at the hospital and hes having his injuries treated,' he said. So far no charges have been laid and 'officers are not seeking any further suspects'.